The officers exchanged glances.Gray watched them calculate the odds, watched fear war with duty in their expressions.One by one, weapons lowered.But he heard the muttered comment from the back of the group, loud enough to carry: "Even the Initiative's leader can barely control himself.They're all dangerous freaks."
Gray's hands clenched.The officer who'd spoken flinched, realizing his mistake.
It would be so easy.One bolt.One second.The man would be on the ground before he finished his next breath.The Pollux nature that Gray had spent a decade suppressing demanded release to teach this norm what happened when you insulted someone like him.
Hannah stepped out of her car.Gray saw her watching him, saw her clock the struggle happening behind his eyes.She didn't look afraid of what she was seeing.
"Get in my car," he said, not looking at the officers.If he looked at them, he might lose the battle he was fighting with himself.
Hannah grabbed her bag from the sedan and followed him to the black SUV idling at the curb.As they drove away, his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.
They drove in silence for the first few minutes, tension filling the car like static before a storm.
Gray kept his eyes on the road, fingers gripping the wheel hard enough to creak.Hannah stared out the window at the militarized city passing by, feeling the electricity crackling between them.Literal and metaphorical.The bond that neither of them had asked for making itself known with every breath.
Gray spoke first."You didn't have to come back."
"Protogenus leaked my identity and destroyed my life.Where else could I go?"
“You’re always welcome at the Gemini Initiative.No strings attached.”
She snorted. “There’s always a price.”
He ignored that for right now."Evie had no right to visit you.To bother you.To get you involved.”
Hannah turned to look at him directly."She said you're losing control.How bad is it?"
Gray's grip on the wheel tightened."I nearly killed a prisoner two days ago.My lightning went straight to his heart.Three seconds.That's how long his heart stopped."He paused, gathering himself."And in those three seconds, I was glad.Not horrified.Glad."
Hannah didn't recoil."Because he deserved it?"
"Because it felt good to finally stop holding back.Even for three seconds."Gray's knuckles had gone bloodless on the wheel."I can feel it building, Hannah.The rage, the violence, everything I've spent ten years suppressing.Rick says I need to stop fighting my Pollux nature.But if I do that, what kind of leader will I be?What kind of person?"
"The kind who wins."Hannah's voice was flat, certain."You think I came back because of some destined bond that I never asked for?I came back because Protogenus destroyed my life deliberately.Used me as a propaganda tool to scare norms.And I want them to pay."She let the words hang for a moment before continuing."I came back because they're planning something catastrophic and you're the one trying to stop them.And yes, I came back because apparently you need me.But not to fix you or tame you or make you safe.If you need to unleash that Pollux side to win this war, then do it."
"You don't understand what that means."
"Then show me."
Gray pulled the car over abruptly, tires crunching on gravel as they entered an abandoned industrial lot.Rusted shipping containers and dead machinery surrounded them, witnesses that couldn't talk.His hands were shaking on the wheel.
"I'm afraid."The words came out barely above a breath."Not of Protogenus.Of myself.Of what I'll become if I stop holding back.Every Pollux leader who fully embraced their nature became a warlord.A tyrant.Someone who ruled through fear and violence.I don't want to be that."
Hannah reached over, her hand covering his on the steering wheel.The touch sent electricity arcing between them, visible sparks jumping from her skin to his.Their powers recognizing each other, reaching for each other.The bond that hadn't been acknowledged suddenly was undeniable.When she touched him, the electricity between them lifted the tiny hairs on her arms.
For a moment, they both saw it: flashes of what could be.Their powers merged, amplified, unstoppable.The pleasure and terror of complete connection.His lightning and her electricity became an entity that neither of them could control alone.
Gray jerked his hand away, breaking the contact."Hannah, I can't..."
"You're not alone in this."Her voice was firm, brooking no argument."Whatever you become, we'll figure it out.You're afraid you'll turn into a monster?Fine.Then I'll be the one who reminds you you're not.You're afraid you'll lose control?Then I'll be your balance.But you can't keep suppressing yourself.It's killing you.And it's going to get everyone else killed too."
Gray stared at her.This woman who wanted nothing to do with the supe world three weeks ago was now offering to bind herself to his chaos.
"Why?"he asked."Why would you do this?"
"Because I'm tired of hiding.I'm tired of being afraid.I'm tired of letting other people define what I am and what I'm capable of."Hannah's eyes sparked with electricity, blue-white light dancing in her irises."You said you're afraid of becoming a monster.I'm afraid of staying a victim.So let's be something else."
***
