kirasho52: lol mhanzo40: Does Ghost count?

balt_raven00: how can u like him?

mhanzo40: I never said that I did; answer the question.

kirasho52: does he have n e powers?

mhanzo40: None that I can tell...

kirasho52: then no, I guess...

balt_raven00: whos ur fave? (@jess_VII) jess_VII: You all rem. that video of Ghost in Vegas?

kirasho52: yeah mhanzo40: Yes, why?

jess_VII: I think I know who that other kid is.

mhanzo40: How do you know?

kirasho52: who is it?

jess_VII: Just a friend of mine.

balt_raven00: ask him mhanzo40: What? Just walk up and ask 'do you hang out with the a.s.sa.s.sins?'

balt_raven00: ha ha.

kirasho52: do u see him a lot?

jess_VII: no kirasho52: oh mhanzo40: Just wait. It's not like it's important right now.

jess_VII: You're right.

jess_VII: gtg [jess_VII has left chat]

8:00 PM.

Kenmore, Washington Nick and Amy spent the afternoon talking in the small coffee shop Nick agreed to meet her at. He arrived at four and they hardly had a break in conversation since then. He'd hardly touched his drink and neither had she, but neither of them noticed. Amy wore Nick's jacket and couldn't keep herself from examining the change in him. Nick's hair was longer and groomed and without his jacket she noticed his muscle tone. She hadn't said anything about it to him though.

"So your friend Teresa tripped into a pool?" Nick asked her.

Amy laughed and shook her head, "No, it was more like a coin fountain, but it was still hilarious."

"She wasn't hurt or anything, was she?"

"Of course not. But she did ruin her only formal gown, so she's going out to get another before homecoming," she told him. "I think it might be a bit presumptuous though, considering she hasn't even been asked by anyone yet."

Nick felt a shock run through him, as she obviously brought it up with the intent of letting him know that she wanted to go. He wasn't one for formal gatherings, and even more so opposed and uncomfortable with the thought of dancing, at all. Even at the party they went to weeks earlier, they hardly danced at all, even on the slow songs.

He doubted he'd be so lucky at the next event. Nick felt his pulse quicken and his hands shake, but he asked anyway, "D-Did you want to go?"

She smiled sweetly and said she thought he'd never ask. "It's in a few weeks, so, if you don't mind I'd love to go."

He put on the best grin he could and told her he'd be happy to take her.

Amy thanked him and asked, "So what are you doing tomorrow?"

Nick only shrugged. "I don't know. My work's kind of touch-and-go."

"Oh."

"Why? Did you want t-to do something?"

"Yeah, but if you're busy, we could just hang out later."

"I'd love to hang out tomorrow," he told her, "Just give me a second and I'll call my..." he searched for the t.i.tle, "Employer, I guess, and I'll ask what time he needs me and we can hang out afterwards."

"Okay."

Nick grabbed his phone and dialed a commercial number. After it connected, he quickly dialed the numbers four, six, seven, two, two, and eight. From there it connected to another line where he entered six, four, nine, eight, six, and six before it called Mizuno who answered, "Nick."

"Hey, I was wondering"

Mizuno stopped him and told him to take Amy home. "I need you to get back to your house as fast as you can."

"Okay, what's this about?"

"I'd rather not say over the phone. Just get over here."

Nick agreed, but before he hung up he asked how Mizuno knew he was with Amy. Mizuno only hung up once the question was asked though.

Nick put his phone away and apologized to Amy, "I need to get going, I guess there's something going on."

"Okay. Um, what about tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'll call you in the morning, if that's okay." She said it was fine. "D-Did...Did you need a ride?"

"No, you said you needed to get going."

He shook his head, "No, I can swing by your place on my way anyway." She thanked him and accepted the ride back.

They left the shop, he gave her his jacket and helmet as he always did, mounted the bike, Amy took her seat behind him, and they left.

Nick didn't know what Mizuno wanted (or that Mizuno even knew where he lived, but Nick guessed he learned that as soon as they met). The urgency and promptness of Mizuno's alert worried Nick, especially since he wanted him to rendezvous at his home, which wasn't the best environment for a meeting whatsoever.

Nick and Amy quickly arrived at her home. She returned his helmet and started to unzip his coat but he stopped her.

"Wh-Why don't you hang on to it?"

She smiled and thanked him. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Nick watched her walk inside before he left.

Nick soon arrived at his house, noticed a black car out front (which he a.s.sumed was Mizuno's), parked his motorcycle in his garage, and hurried inside.

"We're in here Nick," Mizuno called out as soon as he had the door open.

Nick slowly closed the door and walked into the living room. He found Mizuno seated in a chair Nick knew usually housed Paul's empty bottles, though the containers were simply stacked next to Paul's chair and the seat Mizuno took was moved away from Paul.

Paul didn't look happy about entertaining one of Nick's guests at all.

Nick would have been embarra.s.sed by the sorry state of his home, but since he knew Mizuno already knew how bad it was going in, he didn't feel ashamed. It was a mess though, considering Paul hadn't emptied his ashtray in days, bottle caps and chips lay scattered across the floor, along with dirty socks, plates, cups, gla.s.ses, wrappers, and all sorts of other trash.

Mizuno seemed unaffected by it though.

Paul looked up at Nick and asked, "You mind tellin' me why your boss is here?"

"Oh, we just need to chat briefly," the guest answered him.

"Well do it somewhere else," he spat.

Mizuno let out a breath and stood up. "You've misinterpreted what I mean Paul." He walked over to stand between the man and his television while he adjusted his gloves. "We need to talk." Mizuno then swiftly kicked Paul in the chest and caused him and his lounge chair to flip over.

Nick froze and thought his heart stopped when his stepfather hit the floor. Mizuno however brushed himself off and walked away. Paul caught his breath, swore, and got to his feet, fists clenched.

"You really want to go little guy?"

Mizuno forced a laugh and asked, "Do you earnestly believe you could teach me a lesson?" Paul charged him, fist c.o.c.ked, but Mizuno ducked, took a step forward and threw the man into a wall. "You spend one-hundred and five hours of your week asleep," Mizuno began while Paul recovered and threw a left hook, which Mizuno evaded, "Sixty-two hours in front of that mind-numbing box," Mizuno took a step backwards to allow Paul's kick to miss him, "And your last hour producing waste and bathing." Paul clutched one of the many beer bottles and lobbed it at Mizuno. He caught it, set it on the bookshelf behind him, and continued, "What could you possibly know that I already don't?" He briefly glanced at Nick, but returned his gaze to the man when he threw another bottle, with which he repeated the process. "Hey Nick. Do you want to learn something sad about your stepfather here?" Paul charged again while he yelled, though this time Mizuno seized his arm, kicked his ankle in, and coerced him to the ground. He took a seat on top of Paul and continued to restrain him while he spoke, "He hasn't had a job in over three months, has been collecting unemployment checks, and has been lying," he emphasized the final word by tightening his hold on Paul, "To you by saying that they're checks from his job." Mizuno finally let go of him, stood up, and added, "He's hoping he can live off of you by wrapping you up in this wasteland he calls home by making you feel obligated to aid him."

Paul struggled to stand and cussed at Mizuno. "How did you know that? You little b.a.s.t.a.r.d...must have been spying on me..."

Mizuno chuckled and said, "You're not that bright are you? You should have at least taken a whack at the correct answer, considering how much television you watch. Granted, you don't watch the news, so how would you know about current events anyway?"

Paul glanced over at Nick, who still tried to digest what he'd learned, "Don't believe him. He's a lying son of a"

"I highly doubt he's going to listen to you Paul. Nick's a smart kid, and I know he knows what's true here." He turned his back on Paul as he began to leave the room, but Paul charged him.

Nick moved in front of Mizuno and threw his stepfather to the ground. Paul looked up at him and cursed, "Who do you think you are? You little b" but Mizuno stopped him when he took the man off the ground and hurled him into a bookshelf piled with empty bottles.

Mizuno walked over to Paul, gripped his shoulder tightly, and whispered, "I know what you've done to Nick and his late brother. I know that Nick is only colorblind in his left eye because you beat him so badly once that he had to undergo a very risky surgery to replace it. And I will only say this once, if you ever think about harming him again, I will come back here and I will take this gun," which he pulled it out of his jacket, "I'll place it against your back like this," he said as he flipped the man over and pressed it near the bottom of his spine, "And I'll shoot you in a way that'll leave you crippled for the remainder of your wretched life. I'll harm you so you won't die, so you'll become far more worthless than you are now, and at the end of your meaningless existence, I'll be sure to see you off as you travel down river to your eternal h.e.l.l." He put the firearm away, flipped Paul over, and asked, "Do you understand me?"

Paul stared blankly at the j.a.panese man. He spat at Mizuno, who in turn took the ashtray from the small table adjacent to Paul's overturned chair and threw it in his face. Paul didn't have time to react and the ash covered his face and eyes. He screamed while Mizuno left him there on the ground.

Mizuno stood up, wiped Paul's spit off his face, and walked over to Nick. He retrieved some money, gave it to him, and told him to lay low in a hotel somewhere for a while. "I wouldn't be so cruel as to leave you here now that I know everything about this worthless sc.r.a.p of meat." His eyes flashed and he told Nick he'd see him tomorrow.

Paul wasn't through though; he ran after them, but Mizuno was long through toying with him. He landed a clean blow in Paul's gut, swung around him to strike him in his left kidney, kicked in his knee, and rammed his skull into the edge of the wall. Mizuno didn't bother to see whether Paul was out or not; he simply adjusted his gloves once more and headed for the garage door.

Nick didn't move. He only looked at Paul's still body on the ground and asked, "Is h-he..."

"He'll be fine," Mizuno muttered. "Let him figure things out on his own for once."

Chapter 16.

September 8th, 2029 10:05 AM.

Tokyo, j.a.pan Drake sat in his cell with a smirk when the two detectives walked in. He'd managed to discover his ability and eagerly wanted to display it and expedite his release. The detectives shut the door behind them once they entered and noticed a spot of rust on the door that hadn't been present before.

"When did that happen?"

"That's just it," Drake told the detective, "I can rust metals instantly."

He asked if the men would like a demonstration, which they both welcomed. Drake walked over, set his hand on a part of the door that hadn't been rusted, and concentrated. Within moments, the paint on the door chipped away and the metal rusted very quickly.

Both of the detectives were amazed by the display. Neither said a word until Drake asked them, "Does this annul my case?"

Obata said they weren't sure. "We'll contact the right people and see where things stand," he said. He looked at Amano and asked if they could tell him the other development.

Amano looked at Drake and said, "They managed to prioritize the forensic examination of the gun Seattle police believe killed Tony Winchester and the results came back."

"My fingerprints didn't match, did they?"

"No, no they didn't."

Obata took a breath and added, "With the sudden appearance of super powered individuals there is some possibility of the individual being something of a shape shifter, which would explain your appearance in Seattle at an impossible moment for you to be in Seattle."

"It would also explain the tattoo on the individual," Amano murmured.

Both men agreed to expedite their conversation and the revelations there to the authorities in the United States. Before they left Detective Amano told Drake that barring some unforeseen evidence he should be released very soon. They left and Drake returned his focus on what actions he would need to take once he'd returned to the United States.

7:08 AM.

Both.e.l.l, Washington Nick fled Lynnwood after the revelations Mizuno unearthed about Paul. He didn't feel safe, even in a hotel room a city away where Paul wouldn't be able to find him, a.s.suming Paul even wanted to find him. It was the same hotel Nick's mother would take her two boys whenever she and his stepfather were fighting and on two occasions Victor was the one who brought Nick there when things were very bad. As such, the hotel didn't bear fond memories.