In his room, James felt his phone vibrate and couldn't help but be confused. Seeing the Captain calling him only doubled the feeling as he carefully answered, "Sir?" James couldn't be sure if the man was trying to track his call, and held his phone ready to hang up at a moment's notice.
"James, I need information." The Captain said with a low voice, as if trying not to be heard. James squinted and bitterly chuckled.
"You're kidding me, right. I'm a criminal now because of this, and what, you steal my work and ask me to help you." James said in disbelief. There was a momentary silence followed by a dry laugh.
"You knew the deal, James. I would burn you if you were discovered. Secondly, it's not my fault you were played. I mean, did you ever wonder who it was that reported you to us?" James frowned and narrowed his eyes.
"Cain... no, it would have been one of his allies," James replied.
"I could hear that woman's voice on the other side of the phone when you paid her a visit. She was the one who reported you, not for what you did in the club, but for murder. The worst part is, if you didn't run from the hospital, I could have cleared you on George's murder, afterall, I'm sure there would have been a phone log much like Rose had luring you to Unit 13." The Captain said.
James lowered his phone and looked across his room through the door to where Xavier's own was. "Let me ask. Would I have still faced prison time, even if I was cleared of George's murder?"
"Maybe. It depends on how good a lawyer you had. You would have most definitely lost your badge, but the manslaughter charges from your leak could have easily been swept away. Only crimes they had you dead to rights on would be vigilante-related ones. Once again, you were played and forced to leave. Now, even if you turned yourself in, you're looking at life." The Captain coldly said.
There was silence once again, as James shook his head. He knew he had been played, but he wasn't sure if it was by Xavier or The Gentleman. As the Captain said, he may not have avoided prison, and maybe Xavier had seen that. James collapsed onto the edge of his bed and grabbed his head, sighing.
"You're right. Forgive me for getting mad, we had a deal afterall." The Captain huffed in acknowledgement, "What do you want?"
"What is Zoktis, James? You asked about it before, and even the ISD places importance on it. I need to know what I'm fighting. I understand you want to solve this yourself, but help me protect the city." The Captain asked, leaving James silent, wondering where to begin. Even he couldn't be sure, and what he did know was so outlandish he feared the Captain might call him crazy.
"I can't be sure. You can probably guess I'm with Xavier, right?" The Captain replied 'yes', letting James continue, "What he said is that Zoktis Home is the source of all abilities. That whoever has control of it or is able to use it can obtain Godhood. It's crazy, and I can't be sure if it's true, but that's what he led on."
James was expecting him to laugh and be annoyed and make up such a bizarre lie, but instead was met with silence, with only the sound of him pacing back and forth coming through. "Anything else?"
James looked to the ceiling and nodded to himself. "The alleyway murder. Inside the briefcase was one of the keys to open the Door. I don't know how many there are, however." The Captain made another noise in acknowledgement.
"Thank you, James. Is there anything else you can give me? We're on the same side here, even after everything." James looked to the ground, unsure of what to give. This wasn't like Chicken Head, where he was willing to feed half-truths and his own personal opinions. These were people he worked with, and anything he said that was wrong could endanger any one of the people he had known for years.
"Two things, and this is it. One, the singer seems to use some sort of narcotics. I can't be sure, but it looked like it. Secondly, the Gentleman's ability is some sort of mind control or something; once again, I can't be sure of its true nature. Anyone infected by its power can be killed if they are threatening to leak information. Rose saw this firsthand. None of the people in the inner circle on my wall had this power inside them, however."
"Thank you, James." The Captain paused, "I'm sorry for how things turned out."
"Say no more. I won't stop, Captain, but going forward, we can't keep doing this. I'll try and do things by the book, but that will be hard for me now." James took a deep breath. "Good luck, sir." James hung up and fell backwards, sinking into the silk sheets.
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The next day, James arrived at the location where Xvaier had gathered all the ability users who had the power of invincibility. Numerous stood in a line as he, Fredrick and Xavier walked up and donned the line, letting them tell the nature of their ability in as much depth as possible.
James listened to everything, making sure to get a good look at each one's aura. Some had a living component in them, much like Xavier, whilst others were a simple colour. Sending those away with a living thing inside of it, there were only five left. James stared at each one, deciding which was best before singling one out.
The man's aura was a thin, translucent white fog. His power manipulated the light of the world when it struck his body, rendering him invisible to the naked eye. Some powers could see through it, but with James' eyes, he could avoid those who could.
Watching him activate it, the fog left his body and covered it, making him vanish from sight. Turning his eyes on, James couldn't see the person himself, but his power, a cloud over his body. Nodding to himself, he stepped back and thought in his mind the nature of his power.
'Light. A calm light that doesn't wish to be seen. It doesn't require fine control and even feels... friendly.' James was unsure why he felt that way, but he was used to it. Some abilities gave him a strange feeling like the Gentleman's own purple aura, which felt incredibly hostile.
Closing his eyes, he looked inside of him at his own aura and slowly tried to change it. He chose it because it was easy to activate. Anything else would have taken too long to be made practical. Fredrick stared with interest as James held the man's hands and focused on himself.
His aura changed, becoming the translucent white fog, quickly escaping his body without his need to activate it. He knew he would need more training to use it at will. Fredrcik jumped up in excitment seeing James vanish. Rushing to where he stood, he reached and waved his hand where James stood, hitting him, knowing he still existed.
"Magnificent," Fredrick said in awe, "He is copying the power. No, that doesn't feel entirely right. He is changing the very nature of his own power. Maybe, I can't be sure." James looked at Fredrick, taking a step back, seeing the man's crazed eyes, staring where he stood as if he wished to dissect him and study what he had just seen. "This should be impossible. This is not an evolution of an ability but a goodly power, impossible for a human to have."
Fredrick turned to Xavier, "Give him to me. Think how much I could uncover with this." Xavier chcukeld and shook his head.
"Unfortunatly doctor, I quite like him. He's not for sale." Fredrick opened his mouth, ready to say something, but stopped and sighed.
"If that is what you want. But the moment you get bored, let me know." Fredrick said with a slight anticipation. Jame sundid the ability, returning his aura back to normal, taking a deep breath. Touching his forehead, he felt sweat building up on his brow.
"It drains me too much." Saying to himself, he turned to Xavier, "I need a couple of days to get used to it. Right now, if I push myself, I can get maybe ten minutes. Beyond that, it will be dangerous."
Xavier nodded and looked to Fredirck." When do negotiations start?"
"Two days." Xvaier nodded to himself again.
"You heard him. I'll try to drag the talks out as long as I can. New Horizon believes they can be done in a week, but I can maybe buy you two if necessary, but that will make the Children suspicious. We're on a clock here, James."
"I know." James looked back at the man he copied, "Let me understand his power a little better." The two nodded.
"Do what you must. Fredrick and I still have some things to prepare before we begin talks." Xavier walked over to the old man, who still stared at James with wonder, "Old man, we're being rude now." Wrapping his arm around Fredick Xavier forcfully dragged him off until he began walking on his own.