"I received a message yesterday," Tom says, checking his phone as he trudges down the elongated staircase. "It was probably sent at around 2 pm." His younger brother marches into a dingy corridor. "It was from Adam." Anthony halts his march. "What?" He says, glancing over his shoulder.

"He had foreseen a terrible incident in the near future and so wanted to prevent that," The shapeshifter answers, placing his phone back. "How did he contact you?" The physician asks. "Wait. Did he mention what the incident is going to be about?"

Tom shakes his head, "But I caught a signal sometime after the message was sent." The Banks brothers resume walking down the corridor, distress clearly reflecting from the younger one's gait. "It was that of an Imperium."

Anthony crinkles his forehead, picturing the manipulative device. "But all the existing Imperia were destroyed. I made sure-" He stops, realizing something. He gazes at the two doors at the end of the long, narrow corridor, "I know where the Imperium might be."

He glances at his older brother, "You think it was used last year?" He nods, "The same exact signal was detected." They both break into a sprint. "It's the right one," Tom says. "I know that," his brother replies, reaching the door. No card lock. He tries to open the door, "It's locked."

The shapeshifter stands behind him, examining the door. "He changed it to sliding," He says, noticing the absence of hinges on the door. "How do you open this?" Anthony says, stepping back. He tries to pull the door handle to his right. This is- He flinches when the door folds open. Tom steps forward, glancing at the figure in the room, "Hello, Fred."

Donned in black, the aged telepath places his bags down and casts a sinister grin when he sees the two quadragenarians, "Look who we have here. The Banks Brothers." He rubs his wrinkled hands, eyes glowering an apple green, "Please, come in." Anthony remains transfixed in his position, trying to comprehend the callous side of his mentor. Why would he do this?

Meanwhile, Tom transmutes into a young boy and zaps across the room. The physician steps forward when he sees the blindfolded telepath before him, now tied to a chair. He finds a pearl-colored pill in his right hand. A mind blocker. The boy stands beside him, munching on his pill, "That's better."

He turns to see the physician swallow the pill, "Well, what are you waiting for?" Tom reverts to his original self and probes the room. Anthony gives a slight nod while he gathers his thoughts. Focusing on the current event, he heads toward the telepath, "Why did you restore Eliza's memories?"

The old man laughs, "They both are doing much better than I had anticipated." The shapeshifter heads toward the chair, "Who's behind this?" He faces the blindfolded man, "I know you wouldn't have planned this alone."

"You haven't changed, Thomas," Fred says in an indifferent tone. Anthony pulls the chair toward him, "Why do you have an Imperium?"

"What Imperium?" The telepath says, trying to feign his gleeful act. Tom examines the bookcase, "This is the last time I'm asking this, Fred. Who's behind this?" The old man's smile cracks into a wrinkled frown. "Answer the question," his brother demands. The telepath nods, "Okay. First untie me please. I'll explain everything."

Tom shakes his head, "You only need your mouth to explain." The aged telepath frowns, "I need to show where the Imperium is." The physician stares at his mentor, "You can tell us where it is." The telepath sighs, "It's in the third shelf, behind War and Peace." Anthony eyes the hefty book on the shelf before him. Meanwhile, his brother faces the bound telepath, "How did you contact all those people?"

The physician removes the book from the bookcase, spotting a white disc in the corner of the shelf. He retracts it out and shows the mid-size disc to the shapeshifter. The telepath grins, "You will find that out soon."

The disc starts beeping, making Anthony place the disk on the table. Tom studies the beeping Imperium while retrieving his wallet from his pocket. He eyes the assorted tools when he opens it and takes out a silver pod as he approaches the disk. His brother steadies the short antenna pointing out of the disk as he fixates the pod on its tip, "That will stop the transmission."

He glances at his brother, finding him frozen in his gape. "Tony?" His gaze shifts to the untied telepath. Fred removes his blindfold and snaps his fingers, making his protege drop to the ground. Tom transmutes into an old man, eyes glowering a fiery purple.

Fred smirks at the old man, "You know Popkin was one of my closest friends." He steps closer, eyes glowering green, "But it's a shame for a weakling like you to be him." He snaps his fingers again. The shapeshifter steps back, watching his wrinkled hands transform back into his own. How? His blurry gaze falls on his unconscious brother. Tony? He collapses to the ground.

Tom feels coarse gravels pricking the back of his neck when he wakes up. Goddamn it! He stares at the pink sky as his clenched fists punch the sandy floor. He jerks while sitting up as something cold damps his shoes.

He widens his eyes when he sees the tranquil seaside before him. "What?" He clasps his throat, astounded by his high-pitched voice. He examines himself, retrieving a broken card from his pocket. "No," he says, when he reads the card.

MAVEN ACADEMY OF ARTS OF SCIENCES

ACADEMIC YEAR 1984-85

STUDENT ID. 126754

NAME: Thomas H. Banks

DOB: 08-04-1969

MAJOR: CS -Sophomore Year

* Class A of Frankfurt Scale (Shapeshifting)

The shapeshifter tosses his ID to the sand and eyes the waves before him, "He trapped me in my past." His gaze falls on the backpack beside him, "Then that means-" He grabs a small, blunt piece of glass from the bag.

He sighs when he views a black-eyed teenage boy in the mirror. "And if I'm here in this state," he flits his head to his left, glancing at a bruised, unconscious boy.

"Tony?" The teen shrugs the twelve-year-old awake. "Huh?" He wakes up; wincing when he realizes his injuries. "Oh," Tom remembers and takes out a vial from his bag. "Have this," he hands it to the young boy. Anthony takes the vermilion vial, widening his eyes as he inspects his small hands, "How?" He hiccups when he realizes his squeaky voice.

"He trapped us here," His brother says, getting up. He gawks at him, rubbing his sore jaw, "What were you doing at that time?" The sixteen-year-old sighs, "First have that." He dusts sand off his creased uniform - yellowing shirt & navy trousers - and gazes at the blanched billboard behind him.

WELCOME TO COBINGS BEACH.

The tween scrunches his face when he swigs the vermilion serum, "I forgot how bitter this was." As he closes the vial, his injuries fade away. He glances at the setting sun and then at his brother's ID, "This was when we got expelled from the academy."

The teen notices a silhouette lurking behind a coconut tree not far from the billboard, "Tony, get up." The young boy gets up, shrugging his black blazer. "I still can't believe they made us wear a bow-tie," He says, loosening his crimson bow-tie.

He steps forward, lifting his head to glance at his lofty brother, 'I don't remember being this short." He traces Tom's gaze to the coconut tree and spots the silhouette hiding behind it. "That's our exit," he realizes.

The teenager nods and sprints to the coconut tree. "Stop", Anthony bellows, trying to catch up. "I forgot," Tom says, looking back at his little brother. He extends his hand, "Come on." The young boy smiles as he glances at his brother's arm, fond memories reeling in. They both run to the now approaching figure, hand in hand.

The Banks brothers stop when the old hunchback appears before them. He glances at Anthony and then at Tom, "The legend is true." They both gaze at him with bewilderment, "What legend?"

Bang!

Tom finds himself in a dingy restroom. He flinches back when he sees a fifty-five year old woman in the mirror. "Oh," he realizes. "Graduation Day." The shapeshifter darts out of the ladies restroom and scans the extravagant passageway. "So Tony would be in the hall," the lady sees the banner in front of her.

Congrats, Class of 1990!

Tom shrugs off his incoming memories and tries to transmute into his normal self. "This is annoying," He says in the lady's voice.

Nicole Banks pats her wavy hair as she strides across the passageway. She stops near the expansive hall, watching parents take their seats. A thought dawns in the shapeshifter's mind, "Will he recognize me?" The spurious mother clears her throat and scans the hall.

"Psst, hey." Nicole turns back to track the source of the sound. "Hey, Tom." She peers into the alcove near the hall. Who is it? She notices someone hiding in the alcove. "Tony?" She says, surprised when she recognizes the hiding seventeen-year-old.

"I thought you would be in the hall," She says, remembering what occurred that day as she approaches. "It's a long story," he says, rolling his eyes. He adjusts his black mortarboard when its white tassels brush against his face, "Now how do we get out of here?"

The mother looks around, "There must be a way." The teenager gazes at her, "And what was that old man blabbering about?"

"A legend?" The shapeshifter spots the same man at the end of the passageway. "There," she points to the hunchback who notices them. "No," Anthony says. "What if we end up in another scene?" Nicole notices something glimmering from the shabby man's shirt, "He has something."

The shapeshifter finally succeeds in transmuting into his twenty-one year old self. "Yes," he says, examining his long fingers and enters the passageway. "You need to change," Anthony says, following his brother. He glances at the parents who stare at the young man donned in a red blazer dress. "Doesn't matter," his brother replies, rolling up his sleeves. "This is not real."

The two young men walk toward the hunchback who awaits them at the end of the passageway. "He sort of looks like Fred," Anthony says, studying the man's visage. His older brother walks ahead and reaches the old enigma. "What do you have?" He asks, straightening his dress.

The hunchback smiles, revealing his crooked teeth. He retrieves something from his pocket and hands it to Tom. Anthony leans forward to see the silver panther embossed on the gilded accessory, "That's the locket we found."

The shapeshifter opens the hinged locket. It's the same. He muses, glancing at the two sepia photos; a glaring girl on the left, a grinning boy on the right. "But we found this sixteen years ago- I mean - twelve years later," the graduate says, glancing at the colleen's photo. Tom lifts his head to face the hunchback, "What is this for?" The old man grins, "The legend is true."

"Oh no," Anthony says. He notices something in the old man's hand, "Wait-"

Bang!

Anthony jolts awake, his eyes accustoming to the well-lit hospital room he's in. "That man had a card." He gazes at the calendar on the wall beside him, "It's October 2003." The physician gets up, shrugging his white coat. "Then-"

He glances at the empty bed, "Eliza?" He steps back when a young patient peeps from under the bed. "You found me," She says, coughing. Anthony sighs, his pallid visage beaming when he sees his daughter, "Now that the game is over, let's get you back in bed".

"When's uncle Tom coming?" The eight-year-old asks as her dad tucks her in bed. The physician recollects the day's incident. "He'll come after you take a nap," He says, casting a grin. "Really?" Eliza says, excited.

She slams her eyes shut and pretends to snore. The physician chuckles, brushing his daughter's forehead. A tear escapes from his eye as he recollects his twenty-two-year old kid.

The door slides open, making Anthony flinch, "Oh." He recognizes the resident who enters, "Mark." The young man approaches, glancing at the patient and then at him, "He's here. Should I send him in now?" The physician nods, remembering the reaction he gave when this question was asked before. I regret saying no. Mark gives a concurring nod and exits the room.

Anthony watches a lady around his age, enter the room. He motions her to stay quiet, pointing to the dozing girl. The physician leads Ms. Wright into the adjacent room, the latter transmuting into Tom. "I have the locket, " The thirty-four year old whispers, retrieving the locket from his tweed jacket.

"I saw the hunchback holding a card," Anthony says, watching his daughter. He shifts his gaze to the shapeshifter, "It was a black one." Tom leans back, "That must be the key." He clutches the locket, "Then why did he give this?"

"That might be the second key or something," Anthony guesses, looking around. "We need to find the old man." His brother nods, getting up from the couch. His gaze falls on the empty bed, "Where did she go?"

The physician turns back, "Eliza?" The two brothers search for the young girl. "Thomas and Anthony," a voice announces. The younger brother jerks, hitting his head against the bed, while the older brother scans the room for the source of the sound.

The young girl enters the room, startling the duo. "Eliza?" Her dad says, approaching her. Tom stops him when he notices his niece holding a card. She's the key. The shapeshifter muses when he sees the card attached to her palm.

Anthony feels a sharp pain in his forehead as he gazes at his daughter. We're approaching the end. The young girl steps forward, tying her bushy hair. The physician glances at his brother, "I think we need to place the locket around her neck."

Eliza smiles in response, eyes glowing green. Tom retrieves the locket and ponders as he kneels down. "Tony, where did we find this?"

"At Mansfield Harbor," He answers, recollecting the bittersweet memories associated with the harbor. The young girl approaches her uncle while gazing at her dad. She extends her card-embedded hand, "Anthony." She shifts her gaze to her uncle who stares at the locket. "Thomas."

Anthony kneels down to face the young girl while his brother lifts his head. Eliza eyes the locket. "Right," Tom says, placing the locket around her neck. The locket glows when she steps back. She hands the card to her dad and grins.

Tom leans in to see the message inscribed on the card. "The legend is true," he mutters. Anthony sighs in annoyance as the young girl snaps her fingers.

The physician examines his hands when he wakes up. He exhales sharply when green blemishes swirl on the back of his hands, "We're back." He sits up, ignoring his aching back as he glances around, "And he disappeared."

He gazes at his brother who groans as he sits up. "Why did he make us go through that?" Tom mutters, squinting at the open door. "He took the Imperium," Anthony says, jumping to his feet when his eyes fail to detect the white disk. "Don't worry," He replies, stretching his taut neck. "He can't use it for a few days."

"But he disappeared with it," his brother counters, hurriedly tapping his wristband. "He can't flee," The shapeshifter replies, retrieving his phone. "The illustrious Alpha Team will greet him when he steps out of the estate."

"What?" Anthony says, flicking his gaze from the screen before him. His brother nods, switching on his phone. The physician relaxes his creased forehead when he reverts to the screen. Why do I keep forgetting that the president's kids are here? He taps on his wristband to check the missed notification.

"Why do you think he chose those memories?" He says as he gets up. His gaze falls on the stunned physician, "Tony?" He traces his gaze to the holographic screen before them.

The Banks brothers bolt across the narrow corridor. "Was Liz supposed to wake up now?" Tom yells as his brother outruns him. "No," Anthony yells back, climbing the staircase.