I watch as the miasma rises like a cloud of blood vapor, seeking out individuals upon which it can enact its purpose. I sigh. I don't want to forget. I sit down, resigning myself to the inevitable agnosia. I honestly can't do anything else.
Eventually, I stand. I knew from my power ahead of time that I would lose my ability to recall faces and powers and match them to names. I decide to systematically go through everything I can remember.
In each timeline that I saw, the information I lost changed depending on how the miasma interacted with my powers. Let's see. My caped name is Aeon, I don't know my age nor my race nor my name.
My earliest memory was 8 years ago. I was in that lab. They wanted me to do something that I didn't want to do. I ran. I fought back. I got sucked through a hole in the wall and landed on a battlefield. I don't remember who was there though.
I remember the awe and wonder from watching the fight. I can't see the face, but I can remember that one of the individuals had wings. I always called her 'the angel'. Why do I remember the angel? Is it because she was so integral to my freedom?
I also remember fear. Not paralyzing fear though. More like the kind of fear that makes you run past your limits. I don't remember who it was, but I had seen that whoever was fighting the angel would have taken me back to the lab. What else do I remember?
I came to Brockton Bay to warn about Leviathan. Funny that I remember what he looks like. I remember talking to a few people after the fight but I don't quite remember what was said. I think I was asked to join a few groups, but I turned them down.
I don't remember why I turned down so many requests. I do remember almost getting zapped, then running, and then meeting Team Arc. I remember Fulgur being very loud, Vigilant was nice but he occasionally gave me a headache. Castle was understanding and patient.
As I stroll down the street, I use my power to slow down or stop anyone who looks like they're going to attack. Someone calls out to me. "Aeon." I spin around my hands up and ready to activate my power, but they yell "Woah woah woah. Easy Aeon. It's me, Fulgur."
I narrow my eyes at the girl with blonde hair. I can't seem to remember what Fulgur looks like. "But...Fulgur's loud." A rather stupid response but I can't remember anything else. She pauses but nods "Well yeah, but I'm sneaking right now."
She points at a person behind her "Castle's here too." A tall man with dark hair steps out from the alley. I can't remember what Castle looks like either. I don't know what to believe. My power warned me that if I wasn't with the group that I wouldn't know who I'm talking to in here.
I try to focus my power but it's being sporadic. I frown as I try to focus it. I cough as I take another deep breath of the miasma. "Hey, you okay?" 'Castle' steps towards me and I freeze him in place. 'Fulgur' raises her hands.
"Woah woah. It's ok Aeon. Relax." I release Castle and stare at her. Always possible that they aren't who they say they are. Who was it that I wanted to avoid? There was the people from the lab...but there was someone here in Brockton Bay that I was avoiding.
When did we start walking? I know I tend to zone out but I don't normally walk while I do so. I halt, pulling my hand out of Fulgur's. She looks at me "What's wrong Aeon?" "Where are we going?" She almost looks hurt.
"Is the miasma affecting your short-term memory? We're gonna try to find Vigilant." I remain silent but I don't pull away when she grabs my hand again, pulling me along. Eventually, she speaks up, "Hey, we've been working to explore your powers right?"
I nod "Yes." "What have we discovered so far?" "Just the duplication." Castle looks at me confused "Your what?" Without hesitation, I generate my two copies and Fulgur squeals "Oh it's so cool! You haven't tried it in combat yet right?"
I think back. That's not right. I used it recently, before the miasma. "No. I did. Just before the second bombing run. I used it so I could manipulate Crawler and Mannequin simultaneously..." I have to pause to collect my thoughts, like papers flying in a strong breeze.
"I also used it to help Legend avoid the Siberian and to check out the Endbringer shelter. One might have lost an arm, but I can't be certain." "Really? How did that feel?" I shake my head "I transfer my conscious between them."
I switch from the middle clone to the right "Each one is autonomous though and I still know what they do." I switch to the last clone "I just don't feel what they do." Fulgur is smiling as she furiously jots down notes in a notepad. When did she pull that out.
"A mindlink without sympathetic injury...amazing! Anything else?" "I split my energy between them. I can cancel any of them at any time, reabsorbing their energy and canceling their timeline."
She looks ready to explode with happiness. "Cool. And we haven't discussed any other powers?" "No. I'm pretty sure someone compared me to a remote control. I'm pretty sure it was you since that is something you would say."
"A remote control?" Castle asks. He sounds intrigued. I nod "Because I can fast-forward, slow down, rewind, and pause individuals." "Can you do that to yourself?" Fulgur asks. I feel like I've been through this before but I can't remember who it was with.
"To an extent. It's harder rewind, slow down, or pause myself. But, I can't use it on myself and someone else at the same time." She continues to scribble in her notebook. Castle is deep in thought.
My power shows someone approaching. I whirl around, freezing them in time. It's a female. Castle steps up. "Could be Siberian." I shake my head. "No its not." "How can you be so sure?" His tone is almost accusatory. Not sure why, but I decide to explain.
"I can't affect Siberian." "But I thought you could affect living things." I nod and look at Fulgur. "I can. But Siberian is a projection, not a living being." They both look startled. "How do you know that?" How do I know that? Oh yeah!
"My power requires an individual to be autonomous and self-sustaining to be alive. That's why I can affect Endbringers. Clearly, Siberian is neither so she can only be a projection." Fulgur scribbles a bit more onto her notepad. I don't remember her doing that so much.
There's a bit of a silence while I debate how to deal with the other cape. Fulgur speaks up "Can you affect people on the inside?" I furrow my brow as I look at her "I don't understand." "Can you affect someone's internal organs or just the body as a whole?"
It doesn't take long for me to come up with an answer. "I can, though I don't know the extents. I once rewound a man's heart so the gash in it disappeared, putting him into a timeline in which his heart was never slashed."
"His heart was slashed?" I wave it off with a hand as I walk away from the paused woman "An Endbringer probably." "I don't suppose you remember which one? Leviathan? Simurgh? Behemoth?"
I stop, I can picture Leviathan and Behemoth, but that last one "Simurgh?" Castle seems curious. "One of the Endbringers. Haven't you spent years fighting them?" I nod "Yes. But I've only ever fought Behemoth and Leviathan." Fulgur hums in thought.
"You use your precognition to find them right?" I nod "Maybe you just didn't know that what you were looking at was an Endbringer?" I shrug "It is certainly possible. ...How did we get on this topic again?"
Her face contorts as she racks her brain, trying to retrace the conversational steps to the beginning. She snaps as she figures it out. "Oh right, using your powers on people internally. So, in theory, if someone were captured by the Slaughterhouse Nine, you could make them trigger?"
"So, you are asking if I could fast-forward someone's brain, putting them in a timeline in which they trigger?" She nods. I pace as I think out loud "I've never even considered using my power on someone's mind."
There's a darkness to Castle's voice that serves to remind me that I have no confirmation that he really is Castle. "So you won't mess with someone's mind?" I shake my head quickly, trying to encourage him to dispel the thought.
"I never said I wasn't willing, just that I have never considered it to be a possibility." He nods and 'Fulgur' hums, looking like she's forming an idea. I highly doubt I can affect my own body on such a small scale, but I can probably affect others.
'Fulgur' looks behind me and I turn to see the woman still frozen there. She can still breathe and everything, but she's been frozen this whole time. How did I keep her frozen? Surely I lost my concentration on her minutes ago.
She should be free to move. A question for another time. "Can you try it on her?" "Try what?" "Anything really, I'm just curious if you can affect her mind." My precognition is starting to fill in a few of the gaps, including that Fulgur preferred testing powers on bugs and rodents over people.
My process of elimination is sorely lacking information right now, but I can guess the identities of my would-be teammates. If I'm right, then I need to be cautious. So, I focus on the woman. Holding out my hand I focus on her.
My power is having a hard time focusing right now, and I'm having a very hard time unfocusing enough to get a good look at the visions making up the background. I can feel it, the moment my power moves from her limbs to her brain.
She falls to the ground but stays still. Her body will be a bit sore from holding that position for so long. I can feel my power take hold. I try to see what she's going to do but I can't see any of her thoughts.
I try to access her memories but still I am denied access. I try rewinding her mind, a few minutes, releasing my hold on her. She glances at us and stumbles away from us in surprise. That did something. I grab hold of her mind again, restoring whatever thoughts or memories I'd 'erased'.
She sprints away from us and I let her go. 'Fulgur' looks at me "Anything?" I give a half nod. "Sort of. I'm not sure what I did. I think I deleted her memories of our conversation and of spotting us but I am not certain."
I should ditch my current company before they decide to drop the charade, but how? I'm not one for acting. I focus on my visions, trying to get them to opacity so I can see what they show. It takes me several tries just to view them, then a few more to find what I want.
"Aeon? You okay?" 'Fulgur' asks. I jump, producing my two doppelgangers. "Woah! Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." I glare at her "What is my real name?" I growl, taking up a fighting stance. Please be the real Fulgur. Please be the real Fulgur.
"What?" She asks. "Aeon, calm down." 'Castle' says. All three copies shake their heads and the two I'm not controlling freeze the two in place. I step back, and then run away, shunting myself to the ends of streets.
I have the clones do the same, going in separate directions. 'Castle', no. Jack cuts down the leg of one but I cancel her, reabsorbing her power into the two remaining. I focus on running away. I'm several blocks away when I eventually cancel the other copy.
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