CHAPTER TWENTY

One Month Ago

Jack walked with Dr. Randolph back over to his desk. Dr. Randolph put the resulting data into his computer. "Now that that's over with, you wanna talk to me for a sec?"

"It's not just the stone, Jack."

"What?"

"Theoretically, your body will adapt to anything your throw in its way. And then you can utilize that ability any time you want after."

"So…"

"So, the possibilities are endless!"

"Don't sound so excited, Doc."

"I say we throw you off the roof first."

"DOC! You’re not gonna throw me off the roof."

"What if it grants you the power of flight?"

The next thing he knew, Dr. Randolph stood behind Jack with his eyes closed atop the roof of their apartment building.

"Are you sure about this, Doc?" Jack was worried. If this is how he got the teleportation ability, then what if refusing that instinct to teleport away leads him to falling to his death?

"We won't know if we don't try. Just put off teleporting until you have no other choice?"

Dr. Randolph pushed Jack off the ledge of the rooftop. He fell the short two stories and braced for impact. He did not try to teleport. He tried to think about what flying would feel like. To be able to manipulate the air between his fingers would be the power of a god. Jack heard Dr. Randolph screaming but he could not make out what he was saying as the building rose and he plummeted. It was probably more theories or instructions.

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Finally the floor came up upon him and he could do nothing to stop it from crushing his body. He threw his arms out like he did for the stone. But instead of his skin changing, his palms released a blast that slowed his velocity down tremendously. Jack bounced back up in the air a little before falling again. He shot out two more blasts from his palms and it slowed him down enough to drop safely onto the curbside ground.

People looked at him from both sides of the street. He ducked around the corner and ran down the alleyway. When Jack got back around to his building, Dr. Randolph was coming down the fire-escape. "Have you tried it on command yet?"

"No, Doc. I came right back here."

"Ok, Close your eyes and begin to recall-"

"Yeah, I think I got the hang of it now."

Jack closed his eyes and shook his hands. Nothing happened. He took a deep breath and tried it again. He could feel a slight charge up in his hand. He felt nervous. It was actually quite exciting. The kinetic energy welling in his hands had to be released. But he could not trigger it. He tried again and felt a tear. Jack was unsure of what he was doing. It felt like to him, that he was tearing a hole in the atmosphere. He trusted himself and allowed the energy to boil over. At first it felt okay, the energy slowly growing within him. But as the feeling became too great, and all of his body was packed with energy. He couldn’t stand it anymore and let the sensation take over.

The resulting overload came ripping out of Jack's palms into the atmosphere, shocking the air and pushing the pressure down. The shock wave lifted Jack off his feet. He flung about two stories into the alleyway sky. Jack flailed his arms around like windmills as he arched and approached his downfall. When the ground came rapidly back at his face, Jack put his hands out and blasted out two shock waves again, reversing his inertia. He still had little control and thrusted himself back too hard, landing harshly on the alleyway floor. A puddle dampened his head.

He looked up and it was not Dr. Randolph standing over him, but an unknown assailant holding the butt of a rifle over Jack's head. Before he could teleport away or even react, Jack was knocked unconscious with the stranger’s rifle and dragged away.

It was some time until Jack awoke. When he did he found that he was not alone in being abducted.

Dr. Randolph was tied up next to him along with two more hooded figures tied to chairs. There was only one light in the room. It swung above his head, lighting only him, Dr. Randolph, and the other two. The rest of the room was dark. A door opened light on the rest of the scene. Two gangsters dressed in dark suits with a red dragon emblem on their ties approached the prisoners. Jack had no doubt in his mind now.

They were Triads.

They took the hoods off of the other two prisoners. Jack's mind raced. Who could it be if not Randolph? Did they find his old life? Did they find his Mother and Father? Good God, did they abduct his wife? Poor Sarah thinks he’s dead. What will she think now? All this time had gone by and Jack didn’t return to her. The hoods came off of the two prisoners and Jack was entirely wrong.

It turns out, Sensei and his grandson never left the city.