Chapter 49：The currency of life

William turned the page of the novel he was reading as the heart rate monitor beeped monotonously. He had found James on the floor of his room and had carried him on a bed of water to the - until now unused - infirmary room. They had connected an IV line to James' bloodstream that drip fed nutrients mixed in with some small traces of Zamerium they were able to manufacture.

James jolted upright and breathed in sharply and some flames started to ignite. William sprayed him with some water and they quickly went out. Whipping his head round to William, James shot an angry look. Without even glancing away from his novel, William pushed James down into the bed.

"You need to rest until this whole nutrient pack is empty. You're lucky we got to you in time. Any later and the entire solar system, if not more, would have been destroyed from your body releasing all the energy stored inside it." informed William. He slapped the book shut and slammed it down on a bedside table. His hand was shaking in anger;

and fear.

"Are you alright? You don't look-" started James.

"Of course I'm not alright! Your body is deteriorating at an unprecedented rate! If we're not careful you could die and take the whole universe with you!" A torrent of tears started to flow down from William's eyes. "You took on Cynthinia's powers as god of fire. But you didn't become a god. Your containing a nuke inside a teacup and soon it'll shatter."

"William, I-"

"I don't want to hear it. Just lay there and think about how special you truly are. You won't whither away like us, you won't lose loved ones like us, and you certainly won't have families like us." William picked up his novel and began to walk out of the room. "And we got a message from the general. She's pinned the universe that Alcie came from. We're leaving tomorrow." With that, James was left alone.

William was right. The ritual gave him infinite time back in the mortal realm and gave him even more power than before. He wouldn't be a hero like he'd once dreamed. Instead he'd be a monster that everyone feared.

"I need to talk to you. And surprisingly, it's taken me fifty years to muster the courage to do so." she said.

"What do you want to talk about?" asked James; completely confused. Abigail sighed.

"Fifty years ago you saved me from what made that crater in the woods, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"You said it was made when you fought Jack back then. One of his attacks." James suddenly became uncomfortable and tried to avoid the line of questioning. But he knew that if he didn't answer her questions she'd only ask more.

"I'm guessing you found out what happened ... what actually happened." said James. Abigail wrapped an arm over James' body.

"When I look at you, I see someone who treated me like his own daughter. Someone who saved me when others wanted to kill me. You're my hero, Dad. So I want to know the truth, please."

"You were a lab experiment. Your abilities became so powerful they could've rivalled mine if you had the proper training. When Jack attacked the lab though, you lost control and your ability was activated. That crater was made by you."

"So why did you save me if I was such a threat?"

"They were going to terminate you. They feared you as my friends feared me. I didn't want another to feel my pain."

The two of them layed there until Abigail fell asleep. This was the first time either of them had been in a bed other than one in a prison so it was a nice change. James kissed Abigail on the head and drifted off to sleep himself.