Brave New World: Black Lightning

Chapter 19

"Jen, are you sure you want to do this?" Anissa asked her younger sister as she watched Jen approach an unconscious Khalil.

"Mom gave the all the clear to do it and it is the best way to get those guys that are yelling at Gambi upstairs to calm down without a big fight." Jen said.

"Or I could just Thunder them out." Anissa said.

"Which would bring the entire shop down on top of them and also break one of Dad's biggest rules. Never reveal our powers to outsiders." Jen reminded her.

"But unleashing a psychotic cyborg is a better plan?" Anissa asked.

"He's not psychotic." Jen said.

"Jen, Painkiller is not Khalil." Anissa said.

"And how would you know that? Honestly Anissa, you've always seen the world as too black and white." Jen said.

"Or, I've nearly been killed by Painkiller before and have no desire to have it happen again." Anissa said.

"And he only nearly killed you because he was forced to by the ASA. Khalil, Painkiller, neither of them ever had a choice about what to become. Tobias and the ASA took that from him." Jen said.

"How can you be so willing to trust him?" Anissa asked.

"How can you be so quick to write him off? Isn't dad always telling us to give people second chances. Especially when they never even really had a choice about what to become in the first place. Khalil didn't ask for this Anissa and honestly, I doubt Painkiller asked to be who and what he is either. Shouldn't we give them a choice?" Jen asked.

"Jen, it's too risky." Anissa said.

"So you get the love of your life back, but I don't get mine? How is that fair?" Jen asked.

"Jen." Anissa said, only to have her sister hold her hand up to silence her, her eyes glowing with electricity as she did.

"No Anissa. I finally got Khalil back. My Khalil. You and Grace found your way back to each other, even before the crisis. But me, I thought Khalil was dead before you told me about him in this reality. Now that I know that he's still alive and I have a chance to be with him again and help him through this, I'm going to take it. So don't try and stop me." Jen said as she held the memory device Lyla had given them and walked over to Khalil.

"Please work." Jen said as she tapped the ring to Khalil's arm.

A few seconds later, his eyes opened and he looked around.

"Who are we talking to? Khalil or Painkiller?" Anissa asked cautiously.

"It's me, it's Khalil." Khalil said and Jen sighed in relief as she hugged him.

"I missed you so much." Jen said.

"Jen, are you sure you want to be with me with all this baggage, with this other guy in my head, especially since he got that weird brain reboot like I did." Khalil said.

"I'm surprised you're not asking more questions about that." Jen said.

"I was dead, now I'm not, it doesn't get much weirder than that." Khalil pointed out.

"Fair enough." Jen said.

"But anyways J, are you sure you don't want to wait until I find a way to get him out of my head?" Khalil asked.

"No I don't, because I've lost you too many times already Khalil and now that I have you back, I'm never letting you go again. Besides, I don't think that you can get rid of Painkiller." Jen said.

"What do you mean?" Khalil asked.

"What I mean is that he is a part of you. A part you may not want and hate, but he is a part of you. The ASA didn't just create him out of nowhere, he came from somewhere deep inside of you Khalil. They just forced him to be a weapon. He's just as much of a victim as you are." Jen said and Khalil said.

"You really are something else aren't you J." Khalil said.

"Why do you think there can never be another me?" Jen asked.

"Because the world can't even handle one of you, let alone two." Anissa said.

"Shut up Anissa. Don't make me light your ass up, since now that you've got your powers back, mom and dad can't stop me from doing it anymore." Jen reminded her.

"Whatever. But anyways, Khalil, there are two guys in Gambi's shop upstairs demanding to know where you are. Who are they?" Anissa asked.

"Philky and Donald. They're the crew I had in Akashic Valley, which is where I was hiding out from the ASA. Philky's an ex ASA agent who actually helped me escape and he's my tech guru, helped contain Painkiller until we could find a way to get rid of them, though considering what Jen's said, we might take a different approach and Donald is my medic. They're good people who you can trust. They know about me and I know that they'll keep your secret. Especially since we're going to be moving to Freeland, since now that the ASA is gone and I think that it's safe for me to come back here." Khalil said.

"And what happens if you lose control and nearly kill Jen or someone else?" Anissa asked.

"You don't have to worry about him killing Jen, since I can hear him talking in my head and he actually likes you." Khalil said that last part aimed at Jen.

"Wait what?" Jen asked.

"He heard everything you said before you woke us up to the truth of this reality and he liked that you were the first person to actually believe that he didn't ask to be like this and I'm starting to think that you were right. I've been running from him and fighting him for so long, it's been a constant war inside my head, even with Philky's help. It's torture." Khalil said.

"That's how I used to feel about my powers when they first surfaced. But Khalil, the only way to end that war is for both sides of it to stop fighting each other. You and Painkiller are just two halves of the same person." Jen said.

"Wow, you'd make a good shrink." Anissa said.

"Well, considering the number of therapists I've needed due to being a member of this family, I've learned a few things." Jen said.

"Fair enough." Anissa agreed.

"But anyways, I think that with Jen's help, I can learn to work with Painkiller." Khalil said.

"Fine, but if either of you step out of line, I'll thunder slam you both into another state." Anissa said as she walked out.

"And I'll light her ass up if she tries." Jen said.

"She's not wrong to be concerned Jen. I am dangerous." Khalil said.

"And I like my man dangerous. Makes things interesting." Jen said with a smile she kissed Khalil's lips lightly before grabbing his and pulling him upstairs.