It has been weeks now. Nothing else weird has happened. Doctor Keller - Lily's mom - had concluded that there was no danger to his health. Now the two sat together in the library doing an assignment.

"Hey, what do you think of this paragraph. Make sense?" She asked whilst shoving her laptop in front of him.

He took a look at her work for a couple of minutes before he looked at her.

"It's good." He said.

"Just good? I want it to be perfect not good!" She inquisitively enthused.

He smiled. Over the past few weeks he'd learnt quite a good deal about her. Both her parents were doctors. Doctors Keller and White. Her mother still uses her maiden name hence the difference. She was a General Practitioner. Her father, doctor White was more of a specialist. He was a Neurologist. As such Lily had grown up knowing exactly what she had to be. A doctor. Being the only child of two world renowned doctors however had it's own disadvantages. She was under pressure to surpass them both. As such she needed everything she did to be perfect. She was a perfectionist.

"Come on, Lily, you know I rarely give out compliments. My good is worth a thousand ordinary perfects." He said to her with a warm smile.

"Aw, fine! I'm heading out now. It's my turn to cook plus mom is stuck at work for a couple of hours." She said to him whilst tidying up her stuff.

"Okay, see you tomorrow. I just need to finish up a few things." He responded.

He watched her leave before he got back to his own work. He didn't notice the time fly as he was in deep concentration. It was only when he lift up his head that he realized that everyone else had left. Silently cursing himself, he picked up the books he had taken and slowly returned them to their appropriate shelves. As he was returning the books, he could not help but feel that something was wrong. It was a gut feeling. One he couldn't shake. One that intensified as he was setting the last book down.

There was someone behind him, he could feel it. Turning around he came face to face with a red haired guy who was about his age. Before he could react, the guy grabbed him with both his arms. He felt as if the energy was being drained out of him and as his knees gave in from underneath him, he watched in horror as his attacker's features changed and became his very own. As he hit the floor, everything around him went dark.

The imposter studied the now unconscious Mic in interest.

"So, you're the other one." He said with interest.

Just then, his phone vibrated.
"We're good to go." He said upon answering the phone.

"Good. You'd better not fail, Zee." His caller said.

"Relax. You made me to be better than him, remember? I'll deliver. Just keep an eye on the girlfriend." He responded.

"Hm, don't get cocky. Make sure you recover my asset before he goes back to full strength." The caller said before hanging up.

Zee looked at the unconscious Mic one last time before he turned and left him there.

******************************
8 hours earlier

He looked at the steel walls around him. He could hear the faint hum of the van as it moved along the road.

It's almost time, he thought to himself. He closed his eyes and forced all other thoughts aside. He needed to be prepared for when the time came.

Finally we're two miles out of Colorado. I  seriously need to take a piss.

That was the driver's thought after a long journey. Two miles out? This was it. His one and only chance. He had to brave the pain. Embrace it. Because when he was free, he would savour that pain. And he will make them all pay.

Opening his eyes, he felt the cuffs around his hands snap. He was temporarily blinded by the pain that shot into his head. The 'crown' around his head was designed to send an electric shock into his brain should he ever try to use his abilities without their permission. It would kill eventually if he persisted but he had no intention of going down without a fight.
Grabbing the device with both his hands, he willed it to shatter in his hands. The pain nearly caused him to double over but he refused to back down. He felt it start to bend to his will just as he felt the blood begin to flow from his nose and ear. He refused to give in to the pain. Eventually, he felt it snap and watched it fall to the floor in two separate pieces.

"What the heck was that?" He heard the driver say to his passenger.

He would not give them the chance. Closing his eyes, he spread his hands across the width of the van. He felt the impact before it came. But he was already waiting for it. The van overturned mid air, three times before crashing back down with a heavy bang. The four black SUVs that were the vanguard to the overturned van were already flanked around the scene. Waiting. But he knew this. He had expected it.

Stretching out his right hand, he willed the side of the van to crumble away. As he crawled out of the van, he flicked his hand towards the SUVs and watched as the overturned van was lifted off the ground with an invincible force and thrown onto them. Crushing them all instantly. All this time, he was ignoring the urge to keel over because he knew the moment he gave in to his weakness he would never be free.

Standing on his feet, he slowly walked away.

******************************

Present

For the first time in weeks, her dad was home. He was the first person to greet her as she got home from the library.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed as she embraced him in a bear hug.

"There's my little angel." Doctor White said with a smile as he hugged his daughter back.

"When did you get back?" Lily asked excitedly whilst breaking free from the embrace.

"I just got in this morning. I think it was around 10 a.m." he replied. "Why don't you take your things to your room. I made dinner."

With a smile, she rushed to her room where she carefully placed her books and backpack on her dresser before she headed back to the dinning room. The table was already set so she took her seat by the dining table.

"I made your favourite. Spicy meat loaf with a chicken mayo salad and flat bread. The ultimate meaty deluxe." Her father said as he uncovered the food platters.

"Mm, smells delicious." Lily said as she quickly filled up her plate.
She took a bite of the juicy meat loaf and savored it.

"So, how's school?" He asked her.

"It's great. I've learnt quite a lot. I think I'll be just like you by the end of the semester." She replied enthusiastically.

"That's wonderful, angel. I'm glad you're having fun." He said with a warm smile.

"You know, daddy, if you weren't already a doctor you're make a wonderful chef." She said to him whilst helping herself to some flat bread and chicken mayo.

"Well, feeding my little girl is enough for me." He said with a chuckle.

"I'm home!" Came her mother's voice from the door.

Seconds later, doctor Keller came into the dinning room. Doctor White stood up to give his wife a kiss on the cheek and offer her a seat. He took her coat and gave her a seat.

"Welcome home, honey." He said to her.

"Thank you Tom." She replied with a warm smile. "Did you make all this? It smells heavenly."

"I offer the best always to my beautiful girls." He replied with a slight blush.

They had their dinner in peace, sharing the stories of their day. After dinner, everyone went to sleep after Lily did the dishes. As she was brushing her teeth, ready to go to bed, she heard something coming from the basement. Rinsing her mouth, she decided to check it out. Her room had a back door that was connected to the basement. She had been quite an active science geek since she was a little toddler hence her parents had turned the basement into her workshop.

This had meant ensuring that she had access to her workshop at all time. As she walked down the steps that led to the basement, she couldn't help but feel an unfamiliar chill in the air.

"Hello?" She called out.

The only reply she got was the cold echo of her own voice. Huh, nothing to see. She turned around to leave. As she reached for the the door handle, she was startled by the sudden shattering of glass behind her. Turning around, she came face to face with him. Her first thought was 'Mic's wearing a wig.' She wants to laugh but then she noticed everything before her was wrong. For starters that most definitely wasn't a wig. Also, he was bleeding from his nose and ears and he had bruises everywhere.

What the heck, Mic? He's also a little too scrawny. And what's with his fashion sense? Did he get admitted to a hospital or something? She was about to say something when suddenly he collapsed. Rushing forward, she caught him before he could hit the floor. She dragged his limp body towards the bed she had kept in the basement for when she had to study overnight. As her hand brushed against his cheek, she couldn't help wince at his burning temperature.

I have to call a doctor, she thought. My parents, they'll know what to do. She was about to get up and call for them when suddenly he reached up with his right hand and grabbed her. Opening his eyes, albeit with great difficulty, he looked right into her eyes.

"Don't." He said, his voice weak and almost inaudible.

She immediately felt the resolve to get help slip from her mind and found herself settling back down on the mattress. She watched as he fell back into unconsciousness.

******************************