February 9th 2018, 12.05 am, Pearl Manor

How dare you? Anthony glares at his brother who lets out a disingenuous sigh. Meanwhile, his daughter rubs the back of her head, glancing ruefully at a stupefied Jason. I shouldn't have blurted that out. She flits her gaze to her dad who calls. 'Do you-'

'We need to find Carrie,' Tom intervenes. He retrieves his phone and shows the footage to his brother. The guardian rushes in when his sister's physician arches his brows. 'Now that she's here, we need to take her back,' the shapeshifter says. 'That's why I'm here.' Anthony creases his forehead, 'Her treatment hasn't concluded yet. You must know that since you've hacked into our systems.'

'But she's out of the critical phase,' his brother counters. 'I've studied her charts.'

'Dr. Banks,' Jason says, suppressing the gazillion thoughts that gallop across his mind, as he views his comatose sister in the live footage. 'Where's her room?' The physician sighs, 'You've read the charts and yet, you want me to discharge her?'

'Right now, we - I mean, you - need to prove that you are not the mastermind behind the January attacks,' his brother replies. 'What do you mean?' He says, baffled. 'Guys,' Eliza chimes in. 'We can have this discussion later. First let's see the patient.' She looks at the physician who exhales sharply. He steps back, allowing his daughter and brother to enter, 'I'll only take Jason, since he's family.'

'Thank you,' The guardian says, mollifying his agitation. 'No,' Eliza says in a firm tone. 'I wasn't aware of the patient when I took over this place,' She pauses, looking into her dad's staggered eyes. 'Now that I'm dealing with the repercussions of your act, I get the say of what happens.' She glances over her shoulder to face her uncle, 'Please come in.' She turns around, 'and please lead us the way, Dad.' The guardian frantically nods in concurrence, 'Yes, Dr. Banks. I want to see Carrie.'

'We both need to talk after this,' An infuriated Anthony mutters to his brother who walks in. He turns away and beckons Jason as he storms into the hallway. Eliza exhales slowly, rubbing her tensed shoulders as she heads to the front door. What I did was right.

'He did have a valid reason of bringing her here,' Tom says, glancing at his niece. 'I know,' She replies, checking the locked door. 'But he should've told me about Carrie, and the fact that a world exists outside this manor,' She pauses, glancing at the glossy floor and then at him,' Even when I took over as the owner of Pearl Manor, he didn't bother to tell me anything.'

The shapeshifter approaches his heart-rending niece. 'I still can't believe that Dad thinks I'm still a puny, inadequate kid,' She stifles her tears when he reaches her. 'Liz, your dad-'

'I'm fine,' she says, shrugging off her distress. She looks at the receding physician, 'We should catch up to them.' She walks past her uncle, patting her haggard face. Tom follows her, his heart stinging in remorse. I'm sorry.

...

'He's here.' Alexa says, nudging her dormant colleague. She gets up from the bench, watching a semi-composed Anthony enter the wide hallway. 'Yes, I'm here,' Nathan replies, jolting awake. He slouches his back as he gets up, navy eyes drooping in exhaustion, 'Alex, can you please deal with this? Right now-' He trails off when he notices Eliza and Jason behind the approaching physician.

So that's the boy who came here. Failing to keep his leaden eyes open for another millisecond, the all-round elementalist turns back to head to his room; but his Herculean friend's grip stops him, her eyes recognizing the fourth person heading in their direction. 'Ow! Let go,' he cries when he feels his hand's going to be ripped apart from his body the next second. He slowly shakes his hand from her loosening grip as he turns around, 'Why did you-' Drowsiness vanishes in a jiffy when he notices Tom amongst the approaching group. 'Sorry, I missed your calls,' Anthony says. 'I had gone upstairs to search for her.'

'Eliza,' Alexa says, quelling her wrath. He brought him? She steps closer to her protegee, 'Are you hurt anywhere?' She shakes her head, 'No, just a mild headache.' Her dad stares down at his shoes. She's beginning to remember, that's why. 'And this must be the boy who stumbled into this place,' The chief technician says, looking at a jittery Jason. The physician lifts his head, 'How did you know-'

'Mark told us when you wouldn't pick up our calls,' Nathan answers. He eyes his friend's black attire. 'Why are you wearing this?' She glances at the black clad physician and then at the young guest, 'My name's Alexa, and he's Nathan,' she points to the middle-aged man beside her. 'You will be staying here with us until you fully recover.' Jason nods with a weak smile. How did Carrie...How did they save Carrie? His sister's hand slipping from his own flashes in his mind. I saw her fall to- 'We need to meet someone,' Tom chimes in. 'If you don't mind.'

'Whom do you want to meet?' The elementalist asks, stepping forward. 'Don't worry,' He replies. 'She's not a resident of this place.' The chief technician shifts her gaze to the physician. He knows? Her friend exhales sharply, 'Jason, come with me.'

'Nathan,' She says, feigning recollection as Anthony walks past her. 'I received a notification when you were-'

'Both of you should come,' The physician says, turning back. He resumes his treading when he sees the elementalist stagger. Eliza glances at a bemused Nathan as she walks past him. That's what I felt too when I found out about Carrie. Her uncle joins her as she heads out of the hallway. 'I'll explain,' Alexa says, looking at her flummoxed friend. 'Of course, you will,' He replies and storms away. All this wouldn't have happened if he had just explained this to everyone. The technician sighs and follows the receding group.

...

'When she was on the edge of the high-rise building,' Anthony explains as he enters a dimly-lit hallway. 'I had secured a safety net that covered the entire frontage. So when she fell, she landed on the net.' Jason heeds to every word the physician says as he walks beside him. 'She had a seizure when we retrieved her,' He continues. 'The cause was that she was highly sedated.'

'She didn't do drugs,' He replies. His sister's appearance flashes in his mind. 'But her eyes were orange.'

'She was under a heavy illusion,' Anthony says. 'Did she listen to you that night?' The guardian shakes his head, 'No. Wait, you knew I was there?'

'It will be all over after this, right?' Eliza whispers to Tom as they enter the hallway. 'Hopefully,' he replies with a weak smile. The uneasy uncle-niece duo watch the physician explain the patient's condition to the guardian. 'So when do you think she'll wake up?' he says as they reach room 16. 'I can't tell,' He replies. 'I'm sorry.'

'No, thank you,' he says, his eyes gleaming with tears. 'I don't have words to describe how grateful I am to you for saving Carrie.' He exhales slowly, 'Thank you, Dr. Banks.' The physician nods, 'This is her room.' He flits his gaze to the adjacent door. 'But first, you'll have to wear a protection suit before you enter.' He guides him to the changing room.

Anthony comes out of the room and inclines on the door, glancing at his daughter, 'If you want to come in, you'll also have to wear the suit.'

'First, let him meet his sister in private,' she replies. 'I'll check on her later.' He nods and enters the changing room. Why did she have to do that then?

Buzz!

The technician widens her eyes when she hears static through her earpiece. No way. She taps her earpiece in anticipation, 'Amelia wants you to meet her in Room 8.' The voice announces. 'Jessie!' She exclaims, startling Tom. 'I thought I lost you.'

'It's urgent,' she replies and disconnects the call. Eliza glances at her uncle, 'You know, it took five years to develop Jessie.'

Tom nods, grinning as he watches his relieved niece. 'Um, you can rest in Room 12,' she says, pointing out to a door at the end of the hallway. 'Right now, I have to meet someone, so we'll talk later.' She heads out of the hallway. 'Wait, I'll come with you,' He says, catching up. 'I might be of help.'

They walk past Alexa and Nathan who enter the hallway. The elementalist greets his estranged friend with a curt nod when he passes him. Anthony exits Room 16 while watching the guardian tread slowly toward his comatose sister. Now, how do I explain this to her? He sighs as he closes the door.

'I'm angry that you didn't tell us about this after it happened,' Nathan says, standing before him. 'Even Eliza wasn't aware of this,' Alexa adds. He casts his friend a cynical look, 'You didn't tell her either?' The physician rubs the back of his neck, 'Sorry for not telling you earlier.'

'So were you able to track the attackers?' He asks. The technician shakes her head. 'They left when we arrived,' Anthony answers. 'But I found out a few weeks later, through the International Database, that they all died after causing a series of nationwide attacks.'

'You said that they were more powerful than us?' The elementalist asking, glancing at Alexa. 'The signs and traces that were discovered,' The physician looks at the door, the plaque inscribed with the number 15. 'They are all similar to what we encountered fourteen years ago.'

...

'Sleep,' The blonde colleen mutters as she taps Justin's forehead. His eyes draw to a close as a few greenish snowflakes puff out of his ruddy nose. 'Thank you, Jenny,' His mother says, watching him snore. She faces the intermediate telepath, 'I couldn't reach Fred, and I didn't know what else to do.'

'It's okay,' she replies, leaning back from the boy's bed. She glances around at the frosted room, 'We'll need to take him upstairs.' Amelia nods, viewing an icy lamp that flickers a pale yellow light, 'His cold can't be handled here.' She glances at her son, adjusting the blanket draped over him as she gets up. 'What led to his cold?' Jenny asks, clutching on to her tweed jacket as she steps out of the freezing room.

'I don't know,' She replies, closing the door behind her. 'I found him sneezing frost when I came.' She sees Eliza jog in from the far end of the hallway, 'Hey, you're here.' The telepath turns around to see her best friend approaching, and sighs with relief, 'Thank God, you're back.' She glances over Eliza's shoulder to notice an anonymous man in his late-forties, heading in their direction , 'Who is he?'

'He must be the boy who came here,' Amelia answers, eyes fixated on her wristband. 'Alex told me-' She trails off when she lifts her head to see the "boy" who stands behind her. Blittering fiddlesticks. Tom casts a grin, 'Hello, Amelia.'

'Hey,' Eliza whispers, calling the telepath when she sees the infuriated sprinter. 'Step back.' Her oblivious friend complies with her advice and watches the two adults as she stands beside her. She mutters, 'In 3...2' She grins when Amelia steps forward, her fists clenched in rage. '1.' She crosses her arms, content as she watches the enraged sprinter zap around her uncle. I was so right. Jenny wipes her flying hair from her face as wind gushes across the hallway.

Tom puts on a flat face as his old friend whirls around him, rattling gibberish. The sprinter halts when she sees him yawn and stands before him. 'You're pathetic,' she mutters, shooting him a disdainful look. She turns to Jenny as she wipes her clammy cheeks with the back of her sleeve, 'Meet Tom Banks. He's Anthony's brother.' She steps back and plops on the bench beside her. Eliza grabs a bottle from the adjacent pantry room and hands it to her.

'What?' The telepath says, astounded. 'Why didn't you tell me you had an uncle?' She turns around to see her friend. 'It's been a long time since I last saw him. So it slipped out of my mind,' She replies, taking a seat beside Amelia. She notices Morgan walk out of Room 5 with a stroller, 'Mom, he's not falling asleep.' She peers over to see a giggling Adam. 'Who are you?' She asks as she glances at the stranger before her. 'So this is your daughter?' Tom says, looking at Amelia. He steps forward, 'Hello, Morgan.'

'How does he know me?' She says, baffled. She ignites her right hand in response, 'Who are you?'

'Morgan, stop,' Her mom says, exhausted. 'You need to use your powers wisely. Your brother has caught a nasty cold, so that means you're prone to sickness too.'

'Justin has a cold?' Eliza chimes in. 'Where is he?' Amelia points to the door beside her, 'Go in quietly. He's finally asleep.'

'Listen to your mom,' Tom says, bending down to face the eleven-year-old. 'How do you know me?' Morgan demands, placing her ignited hand right before the stranger's face. Eliza sighs when she watches her uncle extinguish the pyromancer's ablaze hand with his own. She glances at the agape telepath and the startled sprinter, 'I know right.'

She gets up from the bench. He can extinguish fire too. 'Amelia, I'll check on Justin.' She sees her nod, gaze fixated on her uncle. 'Okay,' she says, unlocking the door. A cool breeze exits the boy's room, making her flinch, 'Yup, he has a cold.' The owner of the manor wraps her coat around her as she steps in.

'Return to your original form,' Amelia demands, stepping closer to Tom who's a nineteen-year old boy. 'You know, Gavin Grey,' he points to himself, 'also had a twin like you.' He steps behind. 'Tom, stop it,' the sprinter says and shifts her gaze to her daughter. 'And you, go back to your room.'

Morgan, flabbergasted by Tom's shapeshifting ability, now gazes at her right hand. He can change into anybody.