The first thing that I was aware of when I came to was that I was laying in someone's bed. The bed itself was comfy and smelled familiar but my mind was still a bit groggy. I tried to sit up but my head felt like it was full of water so I quickly abandoned that effort and laid back down. I scanned my surroundings. It was dark so I couldn't make out much but from what I could tell, I was in someone's room, a girl's room if the decorations were anything to go by.
"Where am I?" I murmured to myself.
"Oh good," a voice said. "You're awake!"
I darted my eyes to the source of the voice and was met by the face of my girlfriend, Yasmine. She was sitting in a chair by the side of the bed holding my hand, her eyes looking tired and tear streaks clear on her face. She offered me a kind but exhausted smile.
"How're you feeling, babe?" She asked, leaning forward to touch my forehead.
"Truthfully," I croaked. "Like shit. What happened? All I remember is fighting and then trying to get to the infirmary at school. How long have I been out?"
Yasmine bit her lip nervously. "Kato found you collapsed in the middle of the hallway at school covered in burns and dirt. He said that you were breathing but unconscious and he carried you to the infirmary himself. As for how long you've been out, it's only been a couple of hours."
I frowned at the mention of Kato carrying me to the infirmary.
That must've been who I heard calling my name before I passed out, I thought.
"Well where am I?" I asked, finding the energy to finally sit up.
"My house. Layla called me and said that it would be best because your parents would ask too many questions," Yasmine replied.
I nodded. Layla was definitely right about my parents being interrogative. I looked down at myself and saw that my clothes had been changed. I was dressed in a pair of black jeans, a grey crew neck sweater and my Jordans. My burned clothes were in a pile in the corner of Yasmine's room in a plastic bag that was tied.
I glanced over at Yasmine. "Who changed me?"
Yasmine chuckled. "I did."
My face must've turned scarlet because Yasmine let out a laugh and patted my hand comfortingly.
"Don't worry, Babyboy," she said still laughing. "I didn't see anything I wasn't supposed to."
I shook my head in embarrassment before turning to more pressing matters. I turned so that I was facing Yasmine and took both her hands in my mine. I wasn't sure if this was the right decision but with the way things were going now, honesty and transparency were my best bet.
I have to tell her before things get worse.
Steeling myself, I locked eyes with her. This girl. I had come to care about Yasmine in the short amount of time that we had known each other. No matter how hectic things in my life were getting, every time I thought about her or heard her voice, I instantly felt better. She accepted me for who I was and never asked me to be anything that I couldn't. I trusted her.
"There's something that you need to know about me," I said, my voice oddly calm despite how nervous I was feeling. "When I'm done, I'll let you decide where we go from here."
Yasmine didn't say anything but she nodded her head and squeezed my hands, letting me know that she was listening and ready to hear what I had to say.
Taking a deep breath, I spoke.
"I'm an omega. The reason why I hid my level was because of an incident in my past that's haunted me till this day."
Taking her silence as a sign to continue, I kept talking. I explained to her that my ability was tactile telekinesis and that I was masquerading as a gamma because I couldn't control my powers. I told her about Alexis and what she did that forced me to hide my true power and how I had spent majority of high school pretending to be weak so that I could live without the weight of my past on my shoulders. The whole while I talked, Yasmine didn't say a word but her expression was one of initial shock then understanding. I explained to her why Braxton and I were at odds as well as what had happened during our fight earlier. When I was finished, there was a long silence as Yasmine processed my words.
"I never meant to keep you in the dark," I said softly. "And I'll understand if you're angry with me."
I had put everything out there, from my past to the my secret. Now it was up to Yasmine to respond and tell me how she felt.
"Babe," Yasmine said, looking me in the eyes. "I'm so sorry that you've had to walk around with this....burden on your shoulders for so long. I understand why you would keep your powers a secret. I honestly don't know what I'd do if I were born with an ability that I had no control over. But I want you to know: you aren't the same person you were all those years ago. Your powers aren't something to be afraid of, they're a part of you. They define you just as much as your personality does."
I blinked. She wasn't angry. She understood. She understood why I had lied, why I kept my powers a secret and why I walked around as if I was nervous or afraid. Honestly, my powers did scare me. There was no limit to what I was capable of but control was my biggest hurdle in accepting my powers. Without control, I was just going to be a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment and I couldn't bear the thought of what would happen if I did lose control. But Yasmine....her words just now had struck a chord with me. If I wanted control, I had to accept that my powers were part of me and not just some tool to be used when I needed them.
"Can you show me?" Yasmine asked, breaking my reverie.
"Show you what?" I responded, confused.
Yasmine smiled. "Can you show me your powers, Josiah?"
I gulped but stood up to oblige her. Since her room was a confined space, I need to find a good percentage to use so I wouldn't destroy everything and hurt Yasmine. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, feeling the familiar electric sensation that went through my body as I activated my powers. Opening my eyes, I could see sparks of red energy arching off my body as my tactile telekinesis fully activated. The amount of energy that I was generating made a small gust kick up that made Yasmine's hair flow but she was completely entranced by me and my powers. After a few minutes, I exhaled and my powers deactivated.
"Wow..." Yasmine said, her eyes slightly wide. "That red energy around your body.."
"It's like a self contained force field that protects my body from damage while enhancing my physical attributes so that I can go toe to toe with people like Kato and Braxton," I explained. "The more I increase my energy, the stronger my force field and the stronger I get."
Yasmine watched me as I sat back down on the bed. I was drained still and that little power display had left me slightly woozy but I pushed it to the back of my mind. My main focus was on confronting Braxton. He had gotten stronger. Far stronger than expected and it was becoming apparent that what he wanted was an all out power battle between the two of us to prove that he was stronger than me. A part of me had always known that the day would come where Braxton and I would be forced to fight but I deluded myself with the idea that I could live a life without having to use my powers or worry about anyone caring about my level. But now...everything was on the line. Braxton was out of control and the only person who could stop him...was me.
"You're not alone you know?" Yasmine said, her soft voice breaking my thoughts. "I've noticed that you have this 'lone savior' thing going on but you don't have to carry the burden alone anymore. You've got your friends and, more importantly, you've got me. We're in this together."
Yasmine interlocked our fingers and stood on her tiptoes to place a kiss on my lips. Unlike our first kiss which was passionate but unsure, this one was full of care, reassurance and surety. I wasn't alone anymore. I had people who cared for me and who were willing to stand by me regardless of my level. The past was past and now I had to look to the future. After a few more seconds, Yasmine and I separated and stared at each other, our hands still interlocked.
"Think it's time to hand downstairs and talk to everyone," Yasmine said.
I nodded. Braxton had to be stopped and strength in numbers was our best strategy in beating him. Which is why my mind was already working on a battle plan.
•••
When we got downstairs, all my friends were gathered around Yasmine's dinner table along with Mrs Knight. Ashley, Becky, Layla, my younger sister Eboni, and Kato all looked up when I walked into the room holding hands with Yasmine. I glanced at Kato and there was something different in his eyes. There wasn't any malice in his glance but more so....grudging respect and....understanding. Ashley, Layla and Becky all rushed to me and wrapped me in warm hugs, their muffled voices vocalizing their worry for me and how long I had been out.
"You're one tough cookie, kid," Mrs Knight joked, a small smirk playing on her lips as she eyed me.
"I've had my fair share of battles growing up," I said with a small laugh. "But this is going to be my toughest one yet."
Taking a seat at the head of the table, I motioned for my friends to sit down as I contemplated our strategy. Braxton had gotten stronger in a short amount of time and even with our abilities being two different levels, Braxton's ruthlessness and willingness to use lethal force made him a dangerous person to fight one on one because he was willing to kill in order to win.
"Braxton needs to be stopped," I said, my voice sounding deep and clear.
Everyone exchanged glances before nodding at me to continue. Clearing my throat, I spoke again.
"I'm pretty sure you guys are aware that Braxton has been on a power trip for the last few weeks and it's caused him to severely injure some of the students. He's out to prove that he's the strongest but it's made him power hungry and unstable."
There was a beat of silence before Yasmine spoke up.
"So what're you suggesting we do?" She asked.
"You, me, and Kato have to face him," I replied. "He can't fight all of us at once and with all three of our abilities, we should be more than a match for him."
Kato grunted. "So how're we doing this then? We can't afford casualties so we'll have to lure him somewhere."
"I'm getting to that," I said curtly, causing Kato to blink in disbelief at my tone.
"If I may," Mrs Knight vouched, raising her hand to intervene.
I turned my attention to her, nodding for her to continue.
Mrs Knight rested her chin on her palm as she spoke.
"While your plan sounds good initially, what're you going to do if you beat him? I doubt he'll turnover a new leaf and go back to being your friend. The only other option is turn him over to the authorities to be detained and rehabilitated."
A heavy silence hung in the atmosphere. Mrs Knight was right. Even if we did manage to beat Braxton, it wouldn't stop him. He'd do everything that he could to pursue his goal of obtaining power. I gritted my teeth. All of this had happened because of our rivalry. His drive for power was because he wanted to surpass me in terms of strength but now we had gotten to a point where I had to take him down in order to save him from himself. But it was necessary.
"Brother."
Hearing my sister's voice snapped me from my thoughts and I locked eyes with her. With us being fraternal twins we shared a quasi telepathic connection. We knew what each other were thinking without having to speak and it contributed to the close bond that we had with each other. We also happened to share a secret that only our family knew about.
"Babe," Yasmine said softly. "We're with you. So what's the call?"
Steeling myself, I laid out the plan in intricate detail. When I was finished, everyone stared at me grimly but all nodded their approval of the plan.
"It's ballsy," Kato murmured gruffly. "But it could definitely work."
Ashley nodded. "You'll be in the fight of your lives though."
"And I can only heal non-fatal injuries," Layla reminded us. "So I'll need y'all to not get too heavily injured or I may not be able to heal you."
"I know," I said, clenching my fist. "But it's necessary and it's the only plan that will have the highest level of success with minimal injury. With that being said, those of us who are going to fight need to prepare."
"What about those of us who are staying here?" Becky asked, pushing her glasses up on her nose.
"It should only take us an hour to put the plan into action," Yasmine said.
"But if we're not back or you don't get a call, come looking for us," Kato finished.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," I murmured.
•••
After the meeting, Yasmine and I sat outside on her front porch. The sky was dark and stormy and only served to enhance the already grim atmosphere that had settle over us. We were holding hands, Yasmine resting her head on my shoulder as we stared at the sky in silence.
"Are you sure about this, Jo?" She asked, finally breaking our silence.
A swift breeze blew past, blowing Yasmine's curls in her face. Pushing her hair back, she looked up at me, the question repeating itself in her eyes. I exhaled softly. To be quite honest, I wasn't sure if I could do this. I was basically taking down my best friend and while I would be fighting to incapacitate him, he'd be fighting to kill me. I bit the inside of my cheek contemplatively before I answered.
"I don't know, Yas," I responded honestly. "There's a lot of uncertain factors and we don't know how far he'll go to beat us."
Yasmine sighed. "I know that you're conflicted but we have to save him before he spirals down completely."
I nodded. I didn't want to see Braxton lose himself to his power hungry drive and end up destroying everything around him. Despite how sour our friendship had turned, I still viewed him as a brother and you didn't leave your brothers behind. I replayed the plan in my mind and tried to make sure that there weren't any possible loopholes that could throw it off. It was foolproof but the fight would be the most difficult part, especially with how powerful Braxton had gotten. I also wasn't too sure if my current power output would be enough to go toe to toe with Braxton. I hadn't mastered my energy blasts just yet so I'd be on the defensive is the fight turned into a long range battle of attrition. The only person who would be able to compete with Braxton in long range would be Kato but his energy blasts got weaker the longer he fought.
"We'll be okay," Yasmine said, squeezing my hand reassuringly.
I kissed her forehead but remained silent. The time for our plan was an hour away.