Jared

I snickered as she continued digging and realized I was enjoying myself with no over-arching goal in mind, something I hadn't done for days.

"Yes Rain I have a belly button, not as a machine but right now I do," I looked over at Mike and M.B. "Mike take M.B to this address." I handed him a paper, our hideout wasn't there nor anywhere near it but I had to give him something. "From there ditch your vehicle and start walking north. That is if either of you wish to come to our hideout."

"Why not just go from here?" Mike asked.

"Because they can track your car," I answered. "I need your car away from here and can't take it to my place. My car is untraceable."

They both nodded and left. Rain and M.B didn't appear to wish to leave but I gently grabbed her arm and turned her to face me.

"You want to know about me," I didn't ask it. "I'll tell you but you have to swear to keep it secret."

She didn't say anything until we got in the car so I started talking before she made a promise.

"I was created inside my mother's womb by magic from my mother and father and formed over four hundred years. They bestowed a great deal of knowledge and even tempered my powers to be what they are. I am the only one left who was born with magic and that makes me extremely valuable to our enemy."

I started the car and began driving randomly around town.

"Why?" She asked. "You aren't that much different than the rest of us, are you?"

I chuckled, "I am actually. My people came from the stars. They crashed here thousands of years ago. When they first arrived they were very different from humans and those differences gave them respect and reverence from the humans that dwelt here. Later one came who had the same power I do, he mastered it and reduced all of my people into barely looking different than the humans around them. The respect faded and was replaced with hatred and cruelty, forced to defend themselves a war started. Only the one who made them almost human made others to fight them and the war ravaged the land and all vestiges of advanced technology was obliterated." I turned a corner and got on the phone, "Yeah Ivar. You know M.B, I need you to go pick him and Mike up and bring them back to base. Take someone with you too. Thanks."

"Sorry I needed someone to pick them up," I grinned. "I wanted to check this baby out. I just finished the modifications yesterday."

I got back to the subject at hand, "Genetically speaking humans and my people were always quite similar but, they didn't look the same. Once they had established their second state power as I have they became what their power was. I was created to make sure that happens once more. I can change between my second state and normal as my power would always be, but it isn't perfect. I'm one or the other, not both and therefor less powerful and vulnerable."

I noticed a lot of vehicles following us, "Looks like they're on to us."

"It's a heavily used highway why would you think that?" She argued.

I pointed at the speedometer which was over one hundred. She gulped and double checked her seat belt. I laughed.

"This is going to get fun. I just hope the inertial dampener works properly." I glanced at Rain. I pushed in the clutch and shifted into the sixth gear. She looked quite concerned. "Relax Rain, I haven't forgotten my promise to you."

I saw it register in her mind what I was talking about but she didn't relax, "Push the little blue button on the stick would ya?"

She complied and the vehicle began to change shape and form. The sleek design narrow as Rain's seat was moved to behind me and wings emerged from the sides, they locked into place and the exhaust moved and changed into those a jet with twin engines would have.

"Rain," I said into the com system. "Put on the mask, you might need it. I don't know if this will remain pressurized, I didn't get a chance to test it."

She quickly put the mask on. I glanced next to us and waved at the little kid who was staring at us as we passed. I quickly got off the ground and turned back to the city. A few minutes later some fighter jets were hailing me.

"Unidentified aircraft please divert your course," They called.

"Oh come on," I said back to him. "You know you want to see if your earth planes can keep up with a UFO. I'm pretty sure you can't."

I accelerated and got a missile lock-on warning.

"What's that beeping?" Rain called out.

"Oh it's nothing," I really didn't want to hurt anyone but... "Rain I'm going to send the car back to base. I'll be back soon." I deployed countermeasures and evaded the missile before setting the autopilot and ejecting.

I heard the leader yell, "I don't see a chute. Where is he?"

I landed on the top of one of the jets and activated to magnetic boots before he tried to lose me. I switched to his channel and stared at him through the cockpit, "I don't want any trouble. No need to fire on my ship."

Unfortunately for him he started to spin, the boot held their grip, but his craft didn't hold together. Part of it broke off as he spun, the part with me on it. He ejected and I began off into the distance, when something unexpected happened. My machine hailed me, the one that does the analysis on DNA.

I read the details as they popped up in the corner of my eyes.

"This is not good," I started back to base as quickly as I could when I got hit by an aircraft's machine guns. It slightly damaged my armor and hurt, a lot. I looked ahead and saw Rain landing on the ground and heading off to the base. I'd have to land and get there on foot. I let myself drop until I was close to the ground. I landed and kept running, letting the armor fade. I felt slightly damp where the bullet had hit me but it wasn't serious. I reached the base without them being able to follow me and snuck inside breathing heavily.

Rachel tried to stop me but I pushed her back, "Where's Kimberly?"

They pointed to the one place I was afraid she was. I ran into my lab and grabbed a few things before sprinting as fast as I could to the workout room. She was in the middle of a run when I injected her with the sedative. She looked at me curiously as she fell to the ground, unconscious.

Ivar was also in the room, "What the hell was that?"

I could barely breath and slumped to the ground. He walked over and repeated, "Why did you do that?"

"She'd be dead right now if I hadn't," I explained. "I had to lower her heart rate and kill the adrenaline running through her system to save her life. The thing I injected her with did both."

"Which was?"

"Something I made myself," I said. "It's main design is to temporarily disable someone's powers by disabling the source. Well I thought the source was adrenaline at the time but it's actually just from the blood. However, in her case the adrenaline is what allows her to keep up with you, but it's too powerful for her body to handle and slowly the body dies, quickly if she's doing things like this."

He didn't say anything, he did pick her up and carry her with me to the lab. I sat back and relaxed against the wall when Rain came in, either concerned for my safety or something else, I wasn't sure, maybe wanting help finding her mom.