James looked up at the skyscrapers around him. With time on his hands and a need to calm himself, he decided to go for a stroll and enjoy the city he had missed, starting at Edwards Plaza, the commercial heart of Newport. Part of him wanted to call Peter and ask if he wanted to drink, but he chose against it. Part of it was that he might put him in danger, but more than that, he was embarrassed to see him. Whilst he never blamed Peter for what he did on the job, he had preached that he hated the filthy side of things.
Looking at himself now, at what he had done and what he would continue to do, he felt it was wrong to see his friend, even if he wouldn't judge him. Sighing, James sat on a nearby bench and watched as the city moved around him. No matter the tragedy or any individual's heartache, it always moved, never resting.
His phone rang, and when he picked it up, he smiled at the familiar voice. "Mr Graham?"
"Doctor Grey." Her voice was bright, but James heard a slight fear in it as she spoke to him, "Are you all right? I asked Secretary Parker, but she said you were still recovering."
"No need to be formal. Call me Skylar," Skylar replied
"Then for me, James," James said with a friendly voice, making Skylar laugh.
"Alright. Thank you for your worry. I'm fine now." Skylar paused. James could hear her playing with something metallic in the background as a way to calm her nerves. "James, there's something in your mind that is dangerous; what it is, I don't know, but you must never try to access it. You saw what it did to me. Even now, I'm struggling to understand it. Luckily for you, I could tell it wasn't something you were aware of after sorting through it."
"What was it?" James asked with curiosity. He had thought about his past and couldn't think of anything that would cause such a volatile reaction in someone, especially a person whose entire life was spent helping people deal with trauma and mental illness.
Skylar stopped playing with the thing she had, "I don't know, which is the problem. I have desperately tried to understand it, but all I saw was a small part. It was... hidden away, no that dosen't feel right." Skylar tapped her head, "Sealed. Yeah. There's something in your mind that is sealed off. Not in the usual sense where someone suppresses a traumatic event, but more like someone has purposely made it so you can't access whatever it was. That's the only way I can describe it. I had pierced the seal ever so slightly, and you saw what happened."
James took a deep breath and frowned. "Am I in danger because of it?"
"I don't know, but if I were to lean in a direction, I would say no. This thing inside of you is inherently a part of you, that much I could understand. Someone has stopped you from accessing it. If it's all released at once, I don't think you could handle it, but over a period of time, slowly releasing it may be fine."
James looked to the sky and let the rain hit his face. "Are you suggesting you help me?"
"God no, I never want to be near that thing again." Skylar quickly shut the request down, "This seal is something you have to break yourself if you want access whats behind it, but if you do that, I can't guarantee you will be the same person." James nodded to himself and looked around.
"Then do you have any clue on how to break it?" James asked
"It's a seal and no seal is perminent always needing to be repaired, especially those on the mind and memory. Over time, it should break down unless the person who did it repairs it. Another way I can think of is finding the person who did it. Your ability allows you to copy powers. If you copied theirs, it may have an effect." James could hear that Skylar had another suggestion, but was hesitant to say it.
"Skylar, just tell me." After a few seconds of silence, he finally told her. Skylar clicked her tongue and groaned.
"I don't want to be near your mind again; it terrifies me, truthfully. But with your ability, you could copy my power and enter your mind yourself. With your own hands, you could break that seal. The problem is, I don't know if it's safe or not. Letting it be natural is the best course of action in my opinion." James thought on it for a moment and chuckled.
"It is a way, but dangerous. I am not like you; I have no clue how to navigate a person's mind. My power isn't a one-and-done deal where I know everything about the power as soon as I copy it. It takes time to learn, and I need to understand what I work with. I could do it, but I need you to teach me to make it safe. And that likely means you'll have to use your power with me again."
Skylar's silence was enough for James to know she didn't want to do that. Trying to find a way that could make her agree, he smiled, "You don't need to enter my mind, but if I followed you into yours, or another person's, that would be enough. Over time, I would understand."
Skylar thought about it for a second and sighed, "I'll thi..." Her voice suddenly cut off. James stood up and looked around in confusion, looking at everyone else on the street who paused. Looking up at the building, the advertisements that were playing had vanished, and the street lights turned off. Inside the nearby shops, the light had turned off. The busy streets stopped as people took out their phones, realising they had no signal. Some decided to talk to one another, complaining about the power cut, whilst others carried on with their day as if nothing happened.
In the distance, he heard a few cars crash, followed by screams. The plaza changed once again as the advertisement boards came back on, this time with a different screen. Across the skyscrappers a man sat in a black suit, wearing a mask that covered the top half of his face. Behind him was a row of three people dressed in black robes.
James narrowed his eyes, looking at the people, staring at the symbol on their robes, a bloodied mouth. It was one he knew well, belonging to a terrorist group, The Brotherhood of the Devourer. Those who had stopped noticed the strangeness of what was happening and reacted differently. Some tried to call the police a hopeless endeavour with no signal, and others filmed it all.
"Newport." The sound was near silent, but underneath the man's subtitles appeared, letting his message be heard. "Your police are foolish." The volume increased the man's words, now being blasted through speakers around the plaza. "You are foolish. Wishing for an enemy, handing our great work to another because of a simple joke." The masked figure's lips curled into a mocking smile, "Letting our lightshow days ago be someone elses achivement is sickening."
James narrowed eyes deepened as he realised what was happening. Thinking of the favour Xavier called in before he got arrested, he knew it was his final play to have all the suspicion taken away from New Horizon. 'How did he get a favour from these people?' James asked himself, never taking his eyes off the screen.
"Your sacrifices were beautiful, and His return is drawing near." The man's voice got happier as he began to laugh. "Our work should never be handed over to a heretic who preaches a false truth. Make no mistake, this will be punished." The man moved his right hand, touching under his left eye.
"Purity of soul." Moving his hand again, he touched under his right eye, the people behind him copying in silence, "Purity of faith." Moving once more, his hand touched his chin. "Purity of taste." Lifting his left hand up, he clasped it together, bending his fingers so his finger nails touched, "He will return, and when He does, we shall return to Him. Only those who honour His Name are given salvation; the rest will be sacrificed to awaken him." The advertisement screen turned off before returning to normal as power returned to the plaza.
James stared at it and shook his head. Before, he may have called them a bunch of lunatics who only cared to hurt those around, but he had learnt enough about myths and Gods. They were real or could easily be brought into being. The Brotherhood of the Devourer was by far the most dangerous belief that could birth a God, believing in what they called The Old One, a being which, in return, will devour humanity, taking its faithful to ascend, whilst heretics will become its source of power.
Taking out his phone, James scrolled through his contacts and looked at Xavier's name. Knowing it was too early for him to be released, he scrolled up to Fredrick and called him. Almost instantly, Fredrick answered with an excited voice.
"Have you decided to leave Xavier yet?"
"Why is Xavier in leagues with the Brotherhood of the Devourer?" Frerick was silent for a second before he chuckled.
"He helped a kid out in it a while back, saved his life, he claims. After that, Xavier has been waiting to use it. He always said it would be when that overzealous bunch in New Horizon did something he couldn't distance himself from completely, but he was forced to play it now. As for how I know, he told me what was going to happen a day ago through his lawyer."
James clicked his tongue, "We both know that the Brotherhood's beliefs are dangerous, Fredrick. This isn't a favour he should have."
"I know, but at the end of the day, it's better to have it than not. I personally don't like it, but what can we do?" Fredrick scoffed, "If that's all you called for, I'm going. With this, Xavier should be let out in a few days. Complain to him, not me." Fredrick hung up, leaving James alone. In the distance, he heard sirens closing in.