Mark's mind raced as he tried to find a way to save his mother. The only thing that came to mind was the Design Space. There, he could stretch his time to find a solution to his problems. With a single thought, the young man found himself inside the familiar white walls and computer terminals.
Moving towards the partition wall, he looked at Aurora sleeping in her stasis pod. If there were a solution for his mother's condition, it would be found in the system. It suddenly clicked for him that he had not checked the system's status after the repairs. Perhaps now, more articles of his inventory were unlocked, and he could use something to heal the woman.
He opened the inventory screen. A new list of equipment, weapons, vehicles, and even a small spaceship became available, but at the moment, he was not looking for them. Nothing in particular could help him in his situation. Even the first aid kits he had could not help; band-aids and gauze could not fix the condition his mother was in.
With frustration, he closed the inventory tab and went back to the home page. He intended to scour the abilities tab next. However, as his finger scanned the tabs on the home page, his attention was drawn to an option that had recently become active. The shop tab glowed with bright yellow letters.
His face relaxed seeing the familiar tab operational again. Here, he could find what he was looking for: a way to save his mother. Mark Tapped on the system's shop and began browsing the content. Once again, the shop's menu was organized into tabs that displayed the different product categories. His finger hovered over them; he already knew what he wanted. Pressing on a tab that read Medical Aid, he entered the category, and with haste, he scrolled down the list.
His hand stopped above an item labeled E.F.S. Ampule. Skipping the description, he purchased the Item and sent it directly to his inventory. To his side, a screen projected the cost of 400,000 TP. However, the young man ignored the notification and quickly exited the Design Space.
Returning to his mother, Mark opened his hand and materialized the ampule he had just bought. Breaking the top of it, he emptied the contents over his mother's wound. A chrome-colored liquid covered the injured area. After a few seconds, the solution started moving on its own. It dug through the damaged tissue, getting inside the woman's body. In a matter of seconds, the damage on the surface was no more.
Standing quietly beside Melly, Athena watched in surprise as Mark treated his mother. His armor had taken her by surprise. If she had not scanned his mind as the young man arrived, the woman might have mistaken him for an enemy and acted accordingly.
Her surprise was even greater as he suddenly materialized an ampule out of seemingly nowhere. The feeling of amazement only grew as she witnessed the miracle unfolding before her eyes. She watched as the liquid Mark used seemed to cure his mother quickly. After entering the woman's body, even old scars and age marks were disappearing before her eyes.
Looking for an answer, the shadowy figure extended her senses to analyze the solution. What she found left her even more puzzled. Billions of microscopic machines were tirelessly working to stabilize Rachel's condition. They repaired the damage and optimized her tissues with incredible speed.
Recognizing the technology, Athena wondered how this young man got his hands on nanites. These technologies were mostly available in the central regions of human space. While not impossible to acquire in the Lishean Commonwealth, they were very rare to see and even harder to acquire. Yet this kid, who was still in high school, had access to such things. It was perplexing to her.
Athena could only come up with an answer. The Conclave was backing this kid. However, this kind of technology was only reserved for the top members of that organization. Thinking about why Mark would have access to such things, the shadowy figure remained silent. Mark was either someone very important, or like her, someone's experiment.
A few moments after administering the ampule, Bart arrives at the scene. Upon seeing Rachel's condition, he quickly moved to check on his daughter, who was lying on the floor. Looking at Mark's reaction, the man understood that the worst was behind them. After sighting in relief, the man noticed the shadow next to Melly and felt a bit guarded.
The man turns to Mark, who is kneeling by his mother. Since the young man was wearing his armor, his grandfather addressed him by his gang name. "Hey there, Specter. Who is that over there by the young girl? Is she a friend?"
Mark understood his grandfather's caution. The shadow was not a reassuring sight, but since she helped them, Mark was inclined to vouch for her. "Don't worry, Grandpa, she is Nyx, the friend Melly has been talking about. She has the same abilities as Melly, so she knows who we are."
Since Mark was inclined to trust this Nyx, Bart had no objections. Instead, the man suggested they leave the place. "OK, I understand, but we'd better get moving. We need to take Rachel and Melly to a hospital," He says while looking at Mark, trying to gauge his condition. "You might need one too."
Mark turned his head to look at his grandfather through the visor of his powered armor. He knew the man must be beside himself with worry. "Don't worry about me, I can treat my own injuries. Also, Mom should recover soon. But you are right, we need to get out of here."
Behind the group, an elegant sky-car appears out of nowhere. By this point, Athena was no longer surprised by this. She thought that, like her, Mark had special abilities. However, this was a puzzle for another time. For now, she needed to take her leave. With Melly safe from harm and in the care of her adoptive family, there was nothing else for her to do.
Addressing the men, she uttered a vague excuse. "I will take my leave. There are other things I must do."
Before she could disappear, Mark spoke. "We will need to meet later, there are things we must discuss... Preferably in person."
The shadow looked at him with her golden eyes. It was unclear to her what Mark's intentions were for the next meeting, but she accepted nonetheless. If it meant she could see Melly with her own eyes, it would be worth it. She nodded her head while the shadowy figure slowly faded.
After a while, Rachel woke in the back of a strange sky-car. The last thing she remembered was looking at her chest after being hit by a stray shot. The burning sensation was gone, but the burnt marks still singed her clothes. Looking around, she seemed to be inside a sky car. Spotting Melly still sleeping beside her, the woman embraced the teen.
The front passenger seat turned, revealing someone wearing power armor. She looked at the metallic form with suspicion. Clutching Melly in a defensive stance, she questions the figure. "Who are you? Are you kidnapping us again?"
The voice that came from inside the armor tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, little bird, it's me. You are safe now."
The woman recognized the voice immediately. It was her father. She let out a sigh of relief until she remembered Nyx's words. Mark, her son, was back at the gang's base fighting people. With a worried look, Rachel pleaded with Bart. "Dad, we have to go back. Mark is still back there fighting with gang members. We have to rescue him!"
The mask on the Spartan M.K. 1 power suit retracted, showing Bart's face. "Settle down, little bird. Mark is right here." The man points at the driver's seat. He then turns and taps the shoulder of another armored figure.
With a sincere tone, he addressed the young man driving the vehicle. "Mark, you'd better tell your mother everything. After what happened today, she needs to know... If you don't tell her, I will."
Placing the vehicle in autopilot. Mark turned the chair and faced his mother. He was mentally preparing to drop some heavy news on her. After taking a breath, he spoke in a clear voice. "Mom, I know that this is going to be hard to believe, but pay attention and listen closely."
Mark unequipped his armor, storing it back in the inventory. His body still showed the damage he had sustained during the fight with the Boss. Before Rachel could inquire about his well-being, he extended a hand, materializing a familiar-looking ampule. With a practiced motion, he broke the top of the ampule and tossed the contents over his head.
Rachel watched in awe as the chrome liquid entered her son's body and started repairing the damage. His wounds closed, and the burnt areas healed at an incredible rate. In just a few seconds, all traces of the battle were gone as if they had never happened. The woman before him could only watch in disbelief.
Having made his point, his next words explained to an extent what was happening before Rachel's eyes. "Mom, I have traveled in time. I come from the future. Let me tell you how."
Mark's mother watched with incredulity. Inside, she wondered if this was all a dream. Perhaps it has been a hallucination created by the sedatives the gang members used to kidnap her, or perhaps it was a side effect of interacting with Melly's friend. She pinched her cheek to confirm she was awake.
Bart tried to reassure his daughter. The truth about Mark was a hard pill to swallow. "Little Bird, what your son is saying is true. I know it's hard to believe at first, but if you listen closely, everything will become clear."
With Bart's reassurance, Rachel was ready to hear her son's story. Without further delay, the young man began his story. "It all began a few years from now..."
At the same time Mark was explaining things to Rachel, Alex found herself staring at Mark's empty seat. She was worried about him. After Miss Justus had taken him away, the silent teen could only worry about the emergency he had. Since she knew nothing, her mind soared with speculations.
From behind, Livia tossed some words of encouragement. "Don't worry, I'm sure it will be alright. If you want, we can go to his house after the institute and check on him." The truth was that she was also worried about her friend.
Besides her, Steve also planned to go with them. His mind also raced with ideas and scenarios about Mark's emergency. The fact that the teacher only said he had to leave made things worse. Perhaps something had happened to Melly or Rachel, but until he could ask his friend, he could not know.
Meanwhile, at Athena's house, the shadow manifested next to Nora, her attendant. With haste, she issued a few commands. "Nora, let me out of the isolation pod, and contact the people of the Velvet Room. We need to have a meeting. Her attendants scurry about letting her out of the pod while Nora exited the room to fulfill her second request.
After a few minutes, the woman was out of the pod. Once she cleaned the black liquid from her skin, she slipped into a clean set of clothes and walked to her office. There, Nora waited with a comm-pad. The call she requested was on the way.
A man's voice answered the call on the other side. There was no video, only audio. "Athena, is that you? It's a bit early for one of your calls. Did something happen?"
The woman had an annoyed look on her face. With a reluctant voice, she answered the man's inquiry. "Yes, Brad. Something happened. I need to talk with Lady Baba, it's an important matter."
Brad responded at her request, in a sarcastic tone. "Lady Baba is sleeping. Like you, she is a night owl. Since I value my life, I'm not going to wake her. But I can take the message."
Athena concentrated. Using her gift, she sent disturbing images into Brad's head. Then she issued a threat. "I don't need to see you to use my gifts. Do as I say, or you will get more of these."
Brad could only mutter a protest while he moved to do what Athena asked. A few moments of silence later, Brad's voice could be heard in the background, trying to wake someone up. The sound of something heavy crashing to the ground followed soon after.
The rough and angry voice of an older woman came through the comm-Pad. "Athena Parker, you'd better have a damn good reason to wake me up at this time, I can still see daylight outside."
Athena was confident that what she had to say was a dfamn good reason to wake the moody woman. "Lady Baba, I think you are going to want to hear this..."
Back in the sky car, Rachel was in tears after hearing Mark's story. She never expected her son to go through that many hardships. Suddenly, she was able to piece everything together. Her son's weird behavior, the strange knowledge he seemed to have, and even the way he won the lottery.
The woman looked at her son with tears still in her eyes. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all this, Mark. It must have been rough." She extends her hand reassuringly and takes her son's hand in a show of support.
Mark grabbed his mother's hand with a firm grip. "That is alright, Mom, I think the worst is behind me. The truth is, I'm happy to get a chance to redo some things in my life. While I never planned for this, the accident that brought me here was a blessing in disguise."
Rachel looks at Mark and her father; something seems to be bothering her. "I'm only concerned about something. My son is older than I, while my dad is younger. My life now seems like the start of a bad joke." After her words, they all laughed as they headed to the hospital.