Regenesis (Book 1): Impact (42 page)

“You
got a job?”

Nick
nodded.

Paul
showed mild astonishment and continued, “They have you working nights?”

Nick
shook his head, “I only work late,” he started. “I-I came home every n-night,
b-but you were always asleep.”

Paul
shrugged and with another three beers in hand, headed back to his lounge chair
in the other room. Nick left without hesitation.

When
Nick returned to his bedroom, he found Strom sitting on Nick’s bed with a book
open. He didn’t look up at Nick when he entered.

“Is
that really what you’re having for lunch kid?”

Nick
didn’t answer him. He opened the sleeve and quietly munched on a few crackers
while he took his seat. Nick offered Strom some but he only chuckled at the
gesture.

“Why
don’t I take you to get something more substantial?”

Nick
frowned, “Why would you do that?”

Strom
told him he didn’t like to see a child starve, but the humor of his quip seemed
lost on Nick. “But seriously, why don’t you just leave and get a bite somewhere
else?”

“We’re
not exactly…” he paused and decided to select more accurate words, “We’re poor,
so eating out is a luxury. And I have a date with Amy tonight, so I, I need to
make sure I have enough to pay for her and myself…”

Strom
dog-eared the page he left off of and set the book aside. “How much do you
need? Hell, how much do you want?”

Nick
blinked. “I don’t need charity–”

“Don’t
give me that bullshit,” Strom cut him off. “You are literally starving Nick and
you aren’t going to take charity from me because you’re too proud or
something?” Strom opened his wallet and removed six-hundred American dollars in
large bills, took Nick’s hand, and forced him to take the money. “Let me do
something kind for once, alright? I want to help you, not because I pity you or
look down on you, but because you are the closest thing I have to a friend and
I am not about to let your drunkard of a father-figure drink away all of your
family’s income. So either you take this, gratefully or not, or I buy
six-hundred dollars worth of food and place it in your kitchen myself and you
can explain who I am to you stepfather.”

The
young man nodded and thanked Strom while he put the money away. He continued to
eat the crackers for a moment before he asked why Strom was at his house.

“I
wanted to check in on you, for starters,” he admitted, “But I also wanted to
ask you what you know about the guy who killed your brother.”

“Why?”

“Because
I want to help you.”

“But
why do you want to help me Strom?” Nick asked. “I don’t understand.”

Strom
glanced away from Nick and told him it was simple, “I like you Nick, and I want
to help because something bad happened to you and I want to bring whoever
wronged you and yours to justice.” He rubbed his eyes, swore under his breath
in German, and continued, “Nick, I don’t need a reason to help you. And like I
said, you’re the closest thing I have to a friend, so I want to help.”

Nick
thanked him again but admitted that he didn’t know much. “Apparently he looked
a lot, well, exactly like I do.”

“So
he was a doppelganger?”

Nick
told him he didn’t know what he meant.

“It
doesn’t matter…” Strom sighed and told Nick he would talk to Mizuno about the
murder. “I’d better be leaving now anyway. But seriously Nick, don’t let your
stepdad have a cent of that, okay?”

He
agreed and watched as Strom left through Nick’s window. Nick removed the money
from his pocket and stared at it, as it was one of the largest sums of cash
he’d ever had in his possession at one time.

---*---

7:50
PM

Kenmore,
Washington

Jessica
sat in her bedroom engaged in a conversation about the uprising heroes
throughout the world. It was the only thing she and her tight knit associates
through REFOIA seemed capable of talking about since they were all granted
access to the enigmatic video of Nick and the assassin Ghost in the Las Vegas
desert. He still worried her, even though they weren’t the best of friends.
They actually only talked when school was involved or on the rare occasion that
he needed her help with something. Things simply weren’t the same since Victor
died, which worried her.

balt_raven00:
u heard about the 2 newest idiots n london, right?

mhanzo40:
Yes.

kirasho52:
of course

jess_VII:
Just this morning, but yeah.

balt_raven00:
well I found 2 more

mhanzo40:
Really?

kirasho52:
who? where?

balt_raven00:
first’s n san diego

jess_VII:
You mean Law?

balt_raven00:
yeah, u kno?

jess_VII:
I told you who he was.

balt_raven00:
oh

kirasho52:
who is he?

jess_VII:
Real name’s Jericho Law. He has heightened senses and strength and I guess is
partially invulnerable.

mhanzo40:
Partially?

jess_VII:
I’ll send you all video…

jess_VII:
One sec…

jess_VII:
He takes crowbar to head, leg and groin and looks like it doesn’t hurt.

mhanzo40:
Thanks again. (@jess_VII)

kirasho52:
how is he part. invulnerable?

jess_VII:
He cuts his fist when he punched through window, watch video.

Jessica
took a quick look at the video and watched as Jericho Law, a hero without a
mask or costume, took on four men at once in a brawl in a parking lot. He
didn’t seem fazed by any of their blows, even when one guy slammed a crowbar
into his groin. What perplexed their group was a part of the fight where Law
missed his opponent and punched through a car window and actually bled from it
(though he continued to fight as if it was nothing at all).

kirasho52:
weird

mhanzo40:
Who’s the other one? (@balt_raven00)

balt_raven00:
In tokyo, called Hanzo, ha ha.

mhanzo40:
Seriously?

balt_raven00:
yeah

kirasho52:
cool, what’s he like?

balt_raven00:
there’s one vid, I’ll send u

The
next video was much different than the first, as the hero in question wore a
suit of armor, carried a katana with him (tied securely to his waist), wore his
long jet black hair tied back behind him, and fought off over a dozen armed
men. Hanzo seemed calm, or rather, if he had any doubt or fear at all, he
failed to manifest it. Bullets whizzed past him but his fluid and controlled
movements prevented him from even receiving a single graze or knick from any of
the projectiles.

He
retrieved a few throwing stars from a small satchel fastened at his waist and
threw them in the general direction of his enemies. Jessica believed he’d
missed at the start and some did only embed themselves into the rooftop where
they fought, but others suddenly arched in various ways and attacked Hanzo’s
enemies. The ones left on the ground prevented his enemies from actually
reaching him, which Jessica believed aided him, though she wasn’t sure as the
video ended prematurely.

kirasho52:
whoa

mhanzo40:
I like him, he’s interesting.

jess_VII:
how many people is he fighting?

balt_raven00:
14

mhanzo40:
Fifteen, actually.

balt_raven00:
srry, frgot ur always right

balt_raven00:
*sarcasm*

mhanzo40:
Well I can count, so I am right.

mhanzo40:
*fact*

kirasho52:
hahaha

kirasho52:
so what is he?

balt_raven00:
A ninja

kirasho52:
yeah right

balt_raven00:
Yeah, heightened senses. He dodged those bullets like a pro would.

mhanzo40:
And it seemed as if he could manipulate where his shuriken flew, as some looped
back after they missed their targets.

balt_raven00:
yeah.

jess_VII:
A living ninja…

kirasho52:
Ninjitsu is still practiced

jess_VII:
Oh…

mhanzo40:
A ninja in the sense of the fantasized take on ninjas would seem more
accurate…though I would still hesitate to even label him in that manner.

jess_VII:
Does anyone know what our count is?

balt_raven00:
over 100

mhanzo40:
One-hundred forty-three allegedly, thirty-four which are confirmed.

kirasho52:
that’s still pretty good

balt_raven00:
k

balt_raven00:
so who’s everyone’s fave?

balt_raven00:
mines law

kirasho52:
*sigh*

kirasho52:
Hanzo

kirasho52:
so far

mhanzo40:
Human Titan.

mhanzo40:
I admire someone of that brash stupidity.

kirasho52:
lol

mhanzo40:
Does Ghost count?

balt_raven00:
how can u like him?

mhanzo40:
I never said that I did; answer the question.

kirasho52:
does he have n e powers?

mhanzo40:
None that I can tell…

kirasho52:
then no, I guess…

balt_raven00:
whos ur fave? (@jess_VII)

jess_VII:
You all rem. that video of Ghost in Vegas?

kirasho52:
yeah

mhanzo40:
Yes, why?

jess_VII:
I think I know who that other kid is.

mhanzo40:
How do you know?

kirasho52:
who is it?

jess_VII:
Just a friend of mine.

balt_raven00:
ask him

mhanzo40:
What? Just walk up and ask ‘do you hang out with the assassins?’

balt_raven00:
ha ha.

kirasho52:
do u see him a lot?

jess_VII:
no

kirasho52:
oh

mhanzo40:
Just wait. It’s not like it’s important right now.

jess_VII:
You’re right.

jess_VII:
gtg

[jess_VII
has left chat]

---*---

8:00
PM.

Kenmore,
Washington

Nick
and Amy spent the afternoon talking in the small coffee shop Nick agreed to
meet her at. He arrived at four and they hardly had a break in conversation
since then. He’d hardly touched his drink and neither had she, but neither of
them noticed. Amy wore Nick’s jacket and couldn’t keep herself from examining
the change in him. Nick’s hair was longer and groomed and without his jacket
she noticed his muscle tone. She hadn’t said anything about it to him though.

“So
your friend Teresa tripped into a pool?” Nick asked her.

Amy
laughed and shook her head, “No, it was more like a coin fountain, but it was
still hilarious.”

“She
wasn’t hurt or anything, was she?”

“Of
course not. But she did ruin her only formal gown, so she’s going out to get
another before homecoming,” she told him. “I think it might be a bit
presumptuous though, considering she hasn’t even been asked by anyone yet.”

Nick
felt a shock run through him, as she obviously brought it up with the intent of
letting him know that she wanted to go. He wasn’t one for formal gatherings,
and even more so opposed and uncomfortable with the thought of dancing, at all.
Even at the party they went to weeks earlier, they hardly danced at all, even
on the slow songs.

He
doubted he’d be so lucky at the next event. Nick felt his pulse quicken and his
hands shake, but he asked anyway, “D-Did you want to go?”

She
smiled sweetly and said she thought he’d never ask. “It’s in a few weeks, so,
if you don’t mind I’d love to go.”

He
put on the best grin he could and told her he’d be happy to take her.

Amy
thanked him and asked, “So what are you doing tomorrow?”

Nick
only shrugged. “I don’t know. My work’s kind of touch-and-go.”

“Oh.”

“Why?
Did you want t-to do something?”

“Yeah,
but if you’re busy, we could just hang out later.”

“I’d
love to hang out tomorrow,” he told her, “Just give me a second and I’ll call
my…” he searched for the title, “Employer, I guess, and I’ll ask what time he
needs me and we can hang out afterwards.”

“Okay.”

Nick
grabbed his phone and dialed a commercial number. After it connected, he
quickly dialed the numbers four, six, seven, two, two, and eight. From there it
connected to another line where he entered six, four, nine, eight, six, and six
before it called Mizuno who answered, “Nick.”