“Am I gorgeous, or what?” he asked, a chirp to his tone.
His tan skin was marred with a large scar—or, a vast series of small ones. They started at the bridge of his nose before cascading around his cheekbones and bleeding into his throat and collarbones. Bright, purple-red skin shined and his cracked lips sent me an easy smile with sharp, white canines.
I knew that smile.
“They’ve been working on me, my… friends,” he paused. “They managed to reconstruct most of it; you’d be surprised what crazy gadgets and medicines you can find in Villain markets. In another year or two, I shouldn’t have more than a small scar. Fuckin’ brilliant doctors in the underground—they charge a pretty penny, though.”
Without the bandages muffling his voice, the light rasp struck me in the chest. It splintered my ribs and brought tears to my eyes.
“Say my name,” I demanded.
His smile wavered. “Daydream.”
“Myrealname.”
He paused, his smile growing easy and gentle. “Alex.”
I lurched forward, wrapping my arms around him as I put my hand through that foreign, white hair. There were different parts now; but I was sure it was him. I wasn’t crazy, or stuck in a daydream—this was real.
“Damnit,” I hiccupped, tears spilling from my eyes now. “Damnit,Joon.”
His arms wrapped around me, tugging me tight against him as he buried his nose in my shoulder. The scent of lilac filled my nose and made the pressure in my chest ease up. It wasn’t familiar—it washome.A missing piece finally set back into place.
“I’m alive,” he whispered. “I’m here.”
I shook my head before pushing on his shoulders. My hand came up before I realized and slapped him across the face.Hard.
“Shit,what was that for?!”
“What was that for?” I screeched before jumping to my feet. I hovered over him, raising a finger for each complaint. “Fucking up the city,kidnapping me, terrorizing Leo?—”
“Heis getting what hedeserves,” Joon—Glitch—snarled.
My mouth snapped closed, eyes widening at the man before me. It was Joon, but it was also… Glitch. A memory of what he was, covered with this strange apparition that leaked poison.
Joon.
Hopper.
Glitch.
Villain.
“He’s their dog, the one they send to do their dirty work.Hedid this!” Joon raised his arms, his energy growing frantic as those eyes flashed purple again. “Heruinedme! And then they… theysavedme. Tell me the real Villain is here; I dare you.”
He stood in a flash, appearing on the other side of the room, before glitching back beside me. This ability—itwasJoon’s — it had been warped, twisted, and turned unstable.
“They didn’t save you.” I shook my head, eyes pleading. “Look at what they did to you. Leogrievedyou,Igrieved you. We haven’t stopped! They turned you into aweapon,Joon, a fucking puppet. They’re using you!”
It was clear now. I’d seen it once—likely the prototype for what Joon had been turned into. In the UAE, there were underground scientists that I was tasked with unmasking. They’d created something; not a chip, but acollar.It was meant to amplify abilities, but the frequencies ended up affecting the brain. All their test subjects ended up dead—their minds had been fried, after trying to use their new power.
Splinter was dabbling in illegal alterations; using chemical and bioengineering to alter Variants. That’s why none of their grunts talked, why it was so difficult to pin them down. I’d gone to the UAE five years ago; science could grow exponentially in five years.
I couldn’t imagine what he’d gone through, what could have caused his dark hair to go white, or what made his eyes flash that strange purple. They’d changed him,experimentedon him. I’d seen the underground labs, bumped elbows with the kind of people that wanted to make humanityevolve.My stomach clenched, and bile pressed against the back of my throat.
Those kinds of experiments were akin to torture. Joon was lucky to be alive.
His expression was wild now; fury and frustration mixing into something terrifying as he reached out, his hand wrappingaround my throat. Still, he didn’t apply enough pressure to make the threat worthwhile. Joon was still inside, still slipping through the monster.
