I woke up back on Earth. I was underground, I was alone, and I was broken. Still, I was alive, and I had my mission.

Lucia had taken to resting in Vincent’s room while he recovered. She was still barely sleeping, so using her brother’s couch while he was in the bed wasn’t much of an issue. It meant that she could stay near him while avoiding the endless mental white noise that waited for her outside the shielded chambers.

It also allowed Lucia to have something that had been denied to her for a long time: company that didn’t hurt. The comfort it brought was at constant odds with the guilt. She had felt like some kind of monster every day since she’d Manifested as a Psychic, but never more than now, when a part of her felt like she was benefiting from her brother’s injuries.

Still, she’s stayed with him. For the two weeks since Danny had left, she’d been in this room, sitting next to Vincent, taking care of him as best she could. She changed his IVs, cleaned him as necessary, and spoke to him. Her brother had never been easy to speak to; he always seemed like he was having a half dozen other conversations in his head.

When she’d unlocked the ability to hear thoughts, she’d been undeniably curious. Who wouldn’t be? A window into the minds of others was already fascinating, but a chance to finally understand her mysterious and unusual brother was something altogether different.

The reality had not just been a disappointment, but a painful one. Trying to listen to Vincent’s thoughts was like trying to follow all the conversations in a crowded cafeteria at once. The thoughts overlapped, they bounced around, they contradicted, and they were impossibly fast. Her brother’s mind was like a storm, and she lacked the skill to navigate it.

As she sat next to him, sipping at a cup of tea, she considered that almost everything about reading minds had been different from expectations. Her passive ability had given a window into fragments of thoughts and impressions, and she’d assumed that the full mechanism would provide new insights and clarity.

Instead she’d found that minds were more art than science. Everyone thought differently, and each person represented a unique set of challenges. Danny was wonderfully literal, and hearing his thoughts wasn’t much different from the times where he wouldn’t stop talking. That twisted when he Mimicked another form, however, as his thoughts would suddenly be interrupted by an injection of what he should be thinking, were he actually the person he was impersonating. That was always jarring for Lucia, as the thoughts seemed to suddenly be in a different voice.

Stranger still, however, were the people that didn’t think in words at all. She hadn’t left their little sanctuary much since gaining the new power, but visiting the markets and shops that were considered safe had been a memorable experience. Some people thought in images, others thought more in impressions and instincts.

Emi’s mind was frequently just mathematics, which was easily one of the worst things to hear. While whispering and images were distracting and grated at Lucia over time, nothing compared to a person mumbling formulae in your ear for hours on end, and it was becoming hard not to hold it against the Tech.

That was the real problem, Lucia knew. The real reason why she was ready to go into the viper’s den that was the Cult of the Mind. Her sanity was truly at risk, but it had been the realization that she was growing to hate her closest friends–through no fault of their own–that finally convinced her of what needed to happen.

And now the day had come.

She noticed the time on her KD display, and sighed. Arthur would no doubt be coming to summon her any moment, just as he’d done with Danny. Lucia wondered again at Vincent’s trust in the mysterious man. Was it truly her brother’s idea to send away his entire support network, or had it been Arthur’s?

She knew that part of her distrust came from the fact that he’d been associated with the Cult, who Lucia had spent a lifetime despising. But there was more. Why had he been so willing to listen to Vincent? From what they’d explained, the man had been helping her brother for years, preparing for some master plan neither would disclose.

And why couldn’t she hear his thoughts?

It was one of the first questions she planned to ask her teachers. Lucia’s frame of reference was so narrow that it was possible numerous people were difficult, or even impossible to read. There may even be some common power set that did it, but she doubted it. Arthur was calm, and polite, and helpful, and possibly the most dangerous person she’d ever met.

She couldn’t say why, but it was something she picked up from her passive skill, Psychic Intuition. Before she had the ability to read thoughts, her passive had given her tiny glimpses into people’s minds. Now that she did have the ability, her ‘intuition’ had begun working in other ways.

In her K-Device Profile, the passive’s information was ludicrously nondescript: Gives insights into the human mind. Lucia was only beginning to understand that what it did was make up for the gaps in her other abilities. Before she could hear thoughts, it provided them. When someone thought in images, it occasionally translated them, and when she met someone like Arthur who seemed like a ghost, it told her to be afraid.

Still, she wasn’t ready to completely trust the abilities she hated to judge people fairly. Outwardly, Arthur had been nothing but kind, and helpful. Though Lucia still wouldn’t have left her brother alone with him. Thankfully Vincent had Robert. She didn’t know the whole story, but whatever the reason, she knew that Berserker Bob would fight the whole world to protect her brother. Doubly so since the incident with the Erasers.

She looked down at her brother. Most of the bandages had been removed, as the superficial wounds had healed rapidly thanks to the constant Alpha exposure in the city. Vincent’s chest and left arm were still a mess of scars, but he no longer seemed to be near-death, as he had been when Robert carried him in.

“I don’t blame Robert,” she said to him. “Danny might, but we both know it wasn’t his fault. It was mine.” Lucia leaned back in her chair, her tea forgotten. “I shouldn’t have said what I did that night. I’d like to believe I wouldn’t have said it if I weren’t falling apart, day by day.”

She thought back to her words, ‘the destiny mom carved into you’. She’d broken a promise to herself in that moment. She was never going to tell Vincent about her worries, about what she thought–and feared–their mother had done. She looked at him again, letting her power pull his muted thoughts into her mind. It was still the vague, empty clamoring of dreams. He wasn’t conscious, so it didn’t really count, did it?

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“I think mom did something to you,” she whispered, and it was like letting out a breath she’d been holding for thirteen years. “You don’t remember her, not the real her. You were too young to see that side of her. But she…did things to people. Things no one else could do.”

Again she listened, making sure he couldn’t hear her confession, before continuing. “I don’t know what she did for the cult. I was just a kid too. But I know what she did to dad. I know they’d argue, and he’d get upset, be mad at her for something. Then she’d speak a few words and he’d just…stop. He’d deflate like a balloon, and leave the room, like it had never happened.”

Once more Lucia felt herself getting pulled in by painful memories. She was seven years old again, in this very building, only a few floors up. Everything was on fire, the world was shaking, and she was holding her father’s hand. He was pulling into the hallway, telling her they needed to run, and then her mother was there.

“I don’t know what she did to him, Vincent. But I know it was bad. Even as a kid I knew it was wrong.”

***

Her father pushed her behind him as NGG soldiers appeared, and then those soldiers had their minds torn apart as her mother arrived. Her mother walked toward Lucia and her father,furious.

Where are you taking my daughter? The words had echoed down the hall, and in her mind as well, somehow louder than the explosions around them.

“Look around you, Ellie!” her father had shouted back. “It’s over! The Cult is dead! I’m not going to lose our children to this!”

“This is nothing,” her mother had said with finality, and kept advancing. “Lucia, come to your mother,” she said while reaching out a hand. But Lucia only retreated further behind her dad. She never wanted to be near her mother when she was like this.

“Ellie, stop!” her father shouted, and her mother did. Then her eyebrows went down, as an expression of rage took over. Her father didn’t seem to care, “Ellie, this is our children. I know how important the Cult is to you, but our kids come first!”

“I’ll take care of the children,” her mother said. “You’re the one wasting time, so give me my daughter!” She gestured above them, “Vincent’s Guardian won’t be able to stop Sam, you know that! I need to get to him!”

“Then go!” her father shouted back. “I’ll get Lucia out of here, and meet you at the safehouse!” he’d taken something out of his pocket then, but Lucia hadn’t recognized it as a child. Her mother must have though, because she got even angrier.

STOP! her mother’s voice had echoed in their minds, and her father froze in place. “I know what you’re doing!” she shouted aloud. “You’re trying to take my children away, but I won’t let you!” Her mother shut her eyes then, and the world seemed to get quiet, when she opened them again, Lucia could feel the power coming from her in waves.

It’s time, her mother’s voice echoed again, though Lucia could tell it was only directed at her father. Leave the children and go. Do your duty. Lucia looked up at her father in confusion, and saw him put the object back in his pocket, then turn and start walking away down the hall. Lucia followed after him, grabbing at a hand that wouldn’t close over hers. “Let him go, honey, daddy has important work to do,” her mother called.

“Daddy, please!” Lucia shrieked, as her father walked back toward the burning rooms they’d just left. She heard her mother running toward them, but suddenly another sound took over. There was cracking, and creaking, and without understanding what was happening, Lucia found herself falling through the collapsing floor, still clinging to her father.

When they finally landed, she was covered in hot rubble, and her body ached everywhere. She couldn’t see much through the smoke, but she could see her father. He stood up, debris falling off of him as he did so, and resumed walking. She called for him, but he didn’t respond, just kept moving forward.

The lower floors were completely ablaze, and the last thing she saw before losing consciousness was her dad disappearing into a raging inferno, as if it were a cool autumn day.

***

“She could control people, Vincent. I know that’s not the rarest power for a Psychic, but she was on a different level. Even the propaganda only claims they can do it for a few minutes, and they can’t make you hurt yourself, but mom...” She stopped talking, thinking about her other reason for joining the Cult.

“I’m going to find answers, Vincent. I’m going to learn the truth. When I’m certain, I’ll tell you, I promise. Even if it hurts.” Lucia closed her eyes, hating herself once more for having spoken to him in anger and exhaustion.

“I know what you’re keeping inside, Vincenzo. I know you blame yourself for Eric and the other students dying during our escape. I know you think you need to change, so it doesn’t happen again. That you need to be more powerful, and less caring…but please, don’t let that happen.”

She reached out and held his hand. “Don’t lose the part of yourself that wants to save everyone…no matter where that comes from.” Lucia stood up, and went to grab her bag, knowing it was nearly time. As she did so, a single stray thought drifted to her through her brother's sleeping, but ever-racing mind.

If you try to save everyone, you’ll end up failing everyone.

***

Lucia wasn’t surprised to find Arthur waiting for her in the hallway. He was always where he needed to be. “Lucia,” he said in greeting, then reached out and took her bag. “I’ll be driving you to the rendezvous site, it’s just outside of town. Don’t worry, Emi and Robert will be staying here with Vincent.”

They began walking back toward the central chamber. “Vincent will be able to contact me when he wakes up?” she asked.

Arthur shook his head. “Not directly, I’m afraid. The Cult doesn’t allow non-members direct communications. I’ll have to forward along any messages he wants to give.” Lucia nodded, not surprised, but still irritated. She saw Robert and Emi sitting together in the kitchen area, looking somewhat comical with her being barely a hundred pounds and him towering over her, likely five times that or more.

They both stood up when they saw she was leaving, and Emi came to give her a quick hug. The Tech was clearly still trying to figure out who she was outside of the Farm, and the hug was quick and awkward, though appreciated. “Be safe over there,” she said, then handed Lucia a small, sealed case.

“What’s this?” Lucia asked, inspecting the black container.

“Just a few things to make sure no one messes with you,” Emi said with a grin, and Lucia couldn’t help but smile in return. Robert stepped up next, warily.

“Mackenzie threw me into a wall, are you gonna explode my brain?” he said in his deep, gruff voice. Lucia knew the gargantuan man enjoyed dark humor, however, and forced a smile in return. She reached out and took his enormous hand in hers.

“Protect them,” she said simply, and the giant took on an especially serious expression.

“With everything I have,” he promised. Lucia nodded, then moved toward the door. She glanced back in the direction of Vincent’s room one last time before she left, then let her mind shift to the madness she was preparing to walk into. Time to run off and join a cult, she thought.