“Hey, I think he is coming out of it. Give him a bit more,” said a voice I couldn’t distinguish.

“Jason, how are you feeling? Do you remember what happened before you passed out?”

My head swam and I felt my nausea recede, but I couldn’t see anything. I shifted in the bed I had been placed in and felt a spike of pain from my calf when I did so. I opened my eyes and saw Caleb on one side and Rachel nearby and a nurse on the other side of the bed. I felt confused because I remembered bleeding out and this room didn’t look like a hospital room. I already knew where I was in part but asked just to be sure.

“Where am I?” I asked weakly.

“You were brought to a private healing clinic by Thor and me though I am not sure if you remember it,” said Caleb, “It was the only way that you could be brought back from the state that you were in.”

The room was small and didn’t feel like a hospital. The bed wasn’t anything fancy. The only indications that I was in a hospital were the machines to the side I was connected to and the plain color of the walls that all hospitals seem to copy the design language of.

“Yeah, I think I remember the purple skies he made when he arrived. I will have to thank him when I see him in the future,” I turn to the stranger in the nurse outfit, “and thank you for helping to fix me.”

“You are welcome. I will always be there to help assist my fellow dynasty members and their friends,” he said with a smile.

“So, what exactly happened to me and the stranger? I barely remember anything after you got me to the grass and even then I don’t remember much about how it all played out.”

“You sustained some internal bleeding and organ damage from the bullet. It would have been set to kill you slowly with the damage to your intestines. Your calf muscles and surrounding area were sliced by a blade. Luckily it was very sharp, so it didn’t cause many issues when I went about healing it. Right now, you are likely still feeling the effects of the muscle regrowth and general loss of blood and energy,” Frey continued. “You are lucky to be alive. I will have some food brought in for you soon.”

“The stranger got away and escaped,” said Caleb “He did enough damage to you that there was more priority set of having Thor bring you to get help. Thor did send the stranger a few good shocks their way. The coat was good at protecting from damage though because the stranger was able to get away, but they might need to find a way to repair the coat or use other means to disguise themselves.”

“We need to find out what this person wants and who it is. In that, we are all in agreement, but this has grown too large, and you need to explain what’s going on in full,” said Rachel. “I spoke with Nate, and I know that this is now the second time you have been to a hospital in a week. Neither of us thinks it was a coincidence anymore and you are currently in active danger. You need to tell us what you know about the stranger or their potential motives. You need to share so that we can more effectively protect you.”

I sighed deeply and thought about my experiences over the past two weeks and the stuff I had learned. I briefly considered keeping my arrival in this world a secret but decided against it. The two people in front of me and Nate were the only people I had really gotten to know, and I felt that I could trust them. They had been sincere in their words and would help me fix this if I let them do it. I started off slow at first and just let the words come out.

“This whole thing started exactly two weeks ago but some parts of it were likely put into motion before then. I can honestly say I don’t know who the stranger who attacked me and Caleb was though we have suspected it was someone connected to my business operations. Though I can’t be sure because,” I paused. “and I can’t be sure of what happened before two weeks ago because I have no memory of me living here.”

I turned to Rachel. “Before you sent me the message for the mask I had no idea that you existed and for me, the first time I met you was when you came to the warehouse. I didn’t know what to do. I was panicking trying to find a way to get the memories I needed or adjust and fit in some other way but then stuff happened and now we are here.”

“What you’ve said is true, but you are leaving out a lot,” said Frey. “When I healed you, you showed no signs of brain damage or mental manipulation. When exactly did you return to a normal state of brain functionality?”

“I was at the library, and I didn’t know how I got there or what had happened to bring me there. I only knew my name and general information. I used my phone and computer to recover some information about myself, but I know I will never be the same person again.”

“What do you know about what happened before your change in mind?” asked Rachel, “I was at your warehouse the week before this happened to you when I went in to place the order for the mask. Have you been able to figure out what happened between then and now?”

“Not really or else I think I might have figured out what happened to me. I went back through the cameras and security I had at the warehouse and tried to find that answer. The last time I was in the warehouse was on that Monday three days before I reappeared with my memory gone. I had been finishing your mask and then left without returning.”

There was a knock at the door and a worker brought in some food. I took the tray quickly from them and they excused themselves. I began eating as Caleb talked. The food was ok but felt made to replenish nutrients more than for the flavors and enjoyment.

“I’m sorry that that happened to you,” said Caleb, “This situation will make things much harder to piece things together. I will try and go back through phone records and track down your locations between then and when you reappeared. I will also start to go through the corrupted files again and try and find the similarities for you. Honestly, we should go back through all of the evidence we’ve collected so far. The fact that you were thrown back into this changes a lot of things.”

“Yeah, I have a feeling that I was not supposed to be living anymore or at least no longer a problem for the stranger to deal with. They continued to target me as I was down even though I was almost dead. Were you able to find anything about the weapons they used or how anything like that?”

“Not really but not all of the analysis of the crime scene can be done overnight. Some investigators are going over to the old lady’s house and are trying to figure that out. I will agree with you that the stranger did have it out for you and from initial reports they got to the house a few minutes before us and went about coercing her.”

“So that is why she acted all fidgety and nervous,” I said as I realized her strange actions and reflected on them.

“Yeah. From the timings of some fires, the stranger likely went straight from the house to the storage facility and burned the whole thing down.”

“Was there any evidence left at the house by the stranger? Did you learn anything about them while fighting?” I asked.

“Not yet. The investigators will grab any evidence the stranger left behind. I do have my theories about the stranger but nothing concrete or easy to pinpoint to one group or person. The stranger was superhuman but didn’t use any visible powers but was great at fighting. He played with me before injuring me and trying to kill you. They were well trained and were only caught off guard when they realized that most of their weaponry could not be used against a technomancer. It was only because I could naturally activate a distress signal with my powers remotely that we were saved.”

“So that gives some idea of the powerset of the stranger and their skill set. Were you able to tell anything else about them from the weapons and gadgets on them?”

“Other than the three that they used I didn’t have the time or energy to get a read on anything else. If I was able to see the person out of costume and they had the energy gun on them then I would be able to recognize its technological uniqueness.”

“And I assume that you can’t just scan for it all the time. How common are that energy gun and the other weapons he used.”

“That is generally correct. I could tell you whether the gun was on this floor of the building, but I couldn’t tell you anything if it was further away. The kinetic gun and blade are pretty standard-issue weapons for the military. They can be bought fairly easily. The energy gun is rarer but obtainable. Usually, one would need to get a license to own one but any superhuman can get one if they talk to the right people.”

“Why only superhumans?”

“Oh yeah, you don’t remember. For the most part, some items are closed off to sell to non-superhumans for safety reasons and just general bias. The black markets have some that are stolen off production lines of factories and sold to people without the guns having an identifying chip on them.”

“How often does this occur? Can you find out where the gun came from? What about the…”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Caleb. “I will find out what I can about the gun. Some of these things take time and you need to take that time to rest. Eat some food. You need to heal.”

“But I want to help you two and I want to be of use to you guys.”

“You can and have done a lot already to help,” said Rachel.

“Then what can I do to help? I don’t want to just sit back in this bed or wait around at home.”

“You can help us by going through those files and you can try and find similarities between them. You can also go back to your regular schedule again and we will be watching for any unusual activity.

“So, I will be bait,” I said plainly.

“Not exactly. Or at least I hope not. Things should go much smoother with someone passively watching you. Nothing like what happened to you yesterday should happen to you again. I have already ordered the modifications to your security as we discussed, and they will be put in place for when you return on Saturday. For now, though you need to stay here a bit longer while Frey makes sure that nothing is wrong with how your natural healing is processing everything. You should be able to sleep in your own bed tonight though.”

“When will that be?”

“Probably three o clock,” said Frey, “I already did most of the check-up before you woke up and will just need to do it once more about an hour before you leave.”

“And you said that someone will be watching me. Who is doing that?”

“Someone named Jake,” said Rachel, “You wouldn’t have known who he was regardless of the memory loss. He is someone who is with the Police Superhuman Task Force. He will monitor what happens around you for any problems and I along with a few others will be on call if the need arises. He will also be your contact if you have any other problems.”

“I get that Caleb will be doing the tech stuff and I will have to wait for results, but what will you be doing while I am stuck under house arrest? Someone needs to be actively searching for this guy. This was brought on by me somehow. Caleb was injured because of me. What are you going to do?” I said with a bit more anger in my voice than I intended.

“First. You aren’t actually going to be locked at home, but you will need to be in contact with Jake if you want to go anywhere else. I will get you his number. And secondly, I can’t just go up and solve these issues for you,” said Rachel firmly raising her voice as she did so. “And thirdly it is not your fault, and we weren’t thinking that it would be. It is our job to be the ones who get hurt and stand in front of a gun if need be. It is why I signed up to be a hero. Sure, it was in part the culture and family, but I have been doing this for long enough that I have seen the conclusion to my actions when I save a person. A father, a mother, a sister, or a brother to someone in the world. I will do everything I can to fix this, but I have my work to do and other things to take care of. I know you probably feel like you need to be actively involved and I know from that look that you think you will be able to solve this by yourself and maybe you can. But you need to work with us as a team. So please.”

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I just don’t like the feeling of waiting. I am sure that you will do a great job and that you will avoid having to see me in the hospital for a third time. Just keep me updated okay.”

“That we can do,” said Caleb. “And let us know if you find anything within the files or your searches. I can only process so much of it myself and you have a more personal connection to the data broken into and your warehouse shop broken into.”

“Stay safe and don’t get into any more trouble we have to go back to the police station,” said Rachel, “Thor will check on you and see how you are doing tomorrow. From what I and Nate have seen your crafting abilities haven’t been hampered much so he would like you to repair his costume. It is the least you can do after he saved your life.”

I chuckled a little. “I guess I will see what I can do. It will keep me busy at least. Is there anything else I should be aware of or keep track of?”

“I don’t think so,” said Caleb, “Keep your head low and help me with the information gathering after you have rested. I’ll see you around Jason.”

Caleb and Rachel left the room, and I was left alone with Freya. He had stayed silent and showed no emotion about the topics discussed. He had found a chair to sit in while he waited. I turned to him.

“What do you think?” I asked leaving the interpretation pretty broad. So far he had been mostly silent, observing and listening to my predicament.

“I am not very familiar with your recent actions and their results, but I know you are not the Jason I spoke to some weeks ago. You do not have the same scars under your clothes and your hands do not have the same markings of a craftsman-like he did. I would not recommend impersonating him any longer. His memory should be separated from your present self. Despite that, you do still hold some similarities between your two halves. Miss Jace might have caught you sooner otherwise, but she has had much to deal with. She is a competent hero and will uphold her word and will do what she can to help you. Caleb is also of good character. The topics you have discussed will not leave this room as I have to uphold patient confidentiality. I am not sure why you didn’t want to share but I know that there were no mental changes to you. At least not recently. So, there must be some other reason that you have no memory of Rachel, Nate, and the others around you. Understand that it is my duty to assist those under my care in any way I can while following a code of secrecy with those who need my help. Now tell me, would you like to share? Your honesty and assistance in this matter is important to me Jason after I have done what I did.”

I looked at Frey. He had taken off his surgical mask and had set it aside. His face didn’t strike me as one of a hero’s. He had a calming presence around him. Something I suspected to do with his powers. He had the looks of a young man but behind his eyes shone a pearl of greater wisdom and power. I briefly considered not divulging the rest of the half-truths I had shared but something told me I should let him in even when I had not shared all of the knowledge of my origins with the others. I pointed to the IV bag.

“Can you get me some more painkillers first? My leg feels like it's burning,” I said before going into the brief story of how I was pulled through a portal because of some unknown source and then ended up in the library.

Frey listened attentively and quietly as he fed me more drugs through the IV bag. Once I was done he thanked me for sharing my story before leaving me alone in the hospital bed.