The final bell rang, and the school hallways flooded with noise. Leo was waiting by Anna's locker, leaning against the wall, projecting his usual easy confidence.
"Ready, fox?" he asked as she slammed the metal door shut.
"Just have to drop this at the library," she said, holding up a history book. "Don't wait for me."
"I always wait for you," he said. "chop chop , come back quick"
They were halfway across the main courtyard, heading for the library entrance, when he heard his name.
"Leo!"
The voice was sharp and angry. Not the way Jessica used to say it. He turned.
She was marching toward him, her face blotchy and red. Her friends were hanging back, watching.
"Hey, Jess," Leo said, his charm switching on like a light. "What's up?"
"What's up?" she repeated, her voice rising. "You ignore my texts. You walk past me like I don't exist. You think you can just treat me like that?"
A few kids stopped to watch. Leo felt a flash of his old-life annoyance. A public scene. How... common.
"Look, I told you, we're friends," he said, his voice flat and dismissive.
"Friends? You don't treat friends like this!" she was almost yelling now. "You think you're so special, with your stupid smile and your smart answers!"
Anna stepped forward, her small frame tense. "Hey. Leave him alone."
Jessica's anger snapped, instantly shifting targets. "Oh, of course. Your little sister has to fight your battles for you. How pathetic."
"Just shut up," Anna said, her voice low and fierce. "You're making a fool of yourself. Just go away."
"He used me!" Jessica shouted, pointing a shaking finger at Leo. "And you are defending him! You're both the same, you think you're so much better than everyone else!"
"That's not true!" Anna yelled, shoving Jessica's shoulder. "Get away from us!"
The shove broke something in Jessica. All her built-up humiliation and hurt exploded. She was beyond reason.
"Don't you dare touch me, you little freak!" she shrieked.
Her hand whipped out and she slapped Anna Marie, hard, across the face.
The sound was a sharp crack that echoed in the sudden silence of the courtyard.
Time stopped.
Leo saw the bright red handprint bloom on his sister's cheek. The world narrowed. All his boredom, his entitlement, his waiting... it all burned away, replaced by a pure, cold rage. He was moving, stepping forward to grab whatever came in his hands.
But Anna was faster.
Her reaction was pure instinct. Her bare hand shot out and grabbed Jessica's wrist.
For one, long second, nothing happened. The crowd was silent. Jessica was frozen, her arm still in the air. Anna was staring, her eyes wide.
Then Jessica screamed.
It was a high, thin sound, full of terror. Her eyes rolled back, and her whole body went rigid. She didn't just faint; she collapsed, all her limbs folding at once, hitting the concrete like a marionette with its strings cut.
She lay perfectly still.
Anna stumbled back, letting go of the arm. She stared at her own hand, horrified. Then she clutched her head, her breath hitching.
"I... I..." she stammered, shaking violently.
Leo rushed to her, his rage gone, replaced by a cold dread. "Anna? Anna, what's wrong? What happened". 'fuck ,it happened way before canon'.
She flinched away from him, scrambling backward. "No... don't! Don't touch me!"
She was looking at Jessica. But not at her. Her eyes were unfocused, swimming with terror.
"I saw..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "I saw... the diner. With him. I saw you... you were kissing him... you said..."
She was seeing Jessica's memories. Fragmented. Confusing.
Leo froze. His blood ran cold. He knew this scene. He'd watched it in a dark movie theater in his old life. The gloves. The white streak of hair. The fear of touch.
He looked at Jessica's unmoving body. He looked at his sister, who was now terrified of him.
It was happening.
His thoughts were eclipsed by the sound of a gasp, and then another. A kid in the crowd was pulling out his phone.
The world snapped back into focus. No. No witnesses. No proof.
"Don't you dare!" Leo roared, his voice cracking. He pointed at the kid with the phone. "Don't you film this! Put that away! Someone call 911!"
He turned back to Anna. She was still clutching her head, lost in the flood of alien memories. "I... it's so... loud..."
Don't touch her skin. The thought was a lifeline.
He lunged forward and grabbed Anna's wrist, his fingers clamping down hard over the fabric of her long-sleeved shirt. "Anna. Anna, come on! We're leaving. Now!"
She was a dead weight, stumbling, still in shock. He hauled her to her feet and started dragging her through the stunned crowd, away from Jessica's body, back toward the school building. He fumbled for his own phone, his hands shaking.
He dialed 911. "Someone's fainted. At the school. Outside the main gym... Yes, she's unconscious." He hung up before they could ask more.
He looked back. The crowd of kids was still there, all watching. A few were already whispering, pointing. His attempt to keep it under wraps was a total failure. Everyone had seen something.
His "cheat" hadn't arrived. His "system" was a fantasy.
His sister's X-Gene had just activated, and he had failed to control the very first second of it.
His "cheat" hadn't arrived. His "system" was a fantasy.
His sister's X-Gene had just activated. And he knew, with chilling certainty, exactly which one it was.