Chapter Text
Thump, thump, thump
All he can hear is the deafening sound of his blood pulsing through his head, and his own raspy breath.
Thump, thump, thump
The sound of his footsteps echoing through the streets, drumming faster and faster despite the exhaustion creeping in his legs.
Thump, thump, thump
He stops short in front of a building. The neon sign on top of it casts a crude light on his face. He has to get to the 16th floor, but he doesn’t have time to take the stairs or even the elevator. Every second counts.
Thump, thump, thump
He looks left and right, making sure that no one is there to witness what he’s about to do. The street is cold and empty, drowned in the dark of the night.
Thump, thump, thump
Finn takes a step back, bends his knees, and propels himself in the air, flying like a rocket to the window on the 16th floor. He lands on the balcony.
Thump, thump
He pushes up the half-open window, but he already knows that something is wrong – the lights are turned on, but there is not a single noise in the apartment. He makes his way through the living room, every last one of his nerves on edge. Eventually, he spots blood coming out from under a door, a thick red line steadily making its way to his shoes, and his heart sinks. Maybe it’s not too late, he thinks with foolish hope, maybe they’re still alive. He opens the door.
Thump
It is too late. They are dead.
The man is laying on the carpet in a sea of blood and broken glass, his mouth open in a silent scream. The woman is slumped against the bed, dead eyes staring into the void and red oozing out of her head. The blood is fresh, the bodies warm – they died only minutes ago.
Finn leans against the door frame, shaking. Once again, he’s too late. Once again, he’s failed. And once again, Kylo Ren has killed, each victim making him stronger than before. Finn clenches his fists as hard as he can, knuckles whitening and nails digging painfully into his palms.
He cries.
Finn takes his time going home. He’s upset, and doesn’t feel like facing the others just yet. His phone has been buzzing non-stop for the last 45 minutes, ignored calls and worried texts piling on top of each other. He sends a brief “I’m fine, on my way home” text before turning it off. Poe is going to be so pissed, he thinks with a sigh.
Still, he’s too shaken to come back to his friends. They’re his only family, and he’s terrified that they are next on the killing list. He’s feeling lost, and so so stupid because he somehow thought that he could help people, but now it seems that he’s doing more harm than good. He tries to think about the few people he managed to get to safety before Kylo Ren or the Company find them, but the pale faces of the corpses he just left haunt his every thought. For every person saved, he had failed so many more.
Finn inhales the chilly air, trying not to fall into his usual self-loathing spiral. Now is not the time to break down. He needs to get his shit together.
He wanders in the foggy streets for a few more minutes, then puts his hoodie back on and heads home.
When he steps into the tiny apartment he shares with Poe and BB-8, everyone is there waiting for him. He takes his time hanging his jacket on the coat rack, trying to delay the confrontation. When he finally turns around, he doesn’t need to use his telepathic ability to know they are upset with him.
Paige is glaring at him, spread on the ratty couch with her arms crossed, and Rose offers him a weak smile, her fingers drumming anxiously on the chair she’s sitting on. Poe is sitting on the floor, playing cards with BB-8 and pointedly ignoring him. Finn knows he’s in big trouble, because Poe only uses the silent treatment when he’s very upset.
“Where were you? You disappeared for hours!” Paige hisses.
“You didn’t tell anyone that you were heading out, let alone where you were going. You didn’t answer any of our calls, and only sent a vague text that could have been written by anyone. We thought that the Company had finally caught you, Finn,” Rose adds, her voice quieting at the end.
“I’m really sorry, guys,” he starts, feeling guilty. He knows they were worried sick about him, and having been on the receiving end of the feeling, he knows how much it sucks. “The thing is…” he sighs, not knowing where to begin. He doesn’t need to, though, because Rose has a tendency to say out loud everything she reads into people’s minds.
“He found two other people with abilities and went to their place,” she says. “But they were already dead when he arrived. Ren’s work, of course.”
Everyone tenses at these words. Poe looks up from the card game, face pale and worried.
“Finn, are you okay? Did you see him, did he hurt you?”
“No, Poe, I’m fine! He wasn’t there when I arrived. I just found the bodies.”
The heavy atmosphere in the room finally distracts BB-8 from her game, and she looks around with big fearful eyes.
“Is Finny hurt?” she asks with a small, quiet voice.
“No, he’s fine, everything’s fine,” everyone scrambles to say, trying to reassure the little girl. Finn closes his eyes and curses himself for making her worry. Poe hugs BB-8, kissing her forehead.
“There’s nothing to be worried about, BB,” he says. “Finn is okay, everyone’s okay. We all protect each other, remember? And bad guys can’t hurt people who stick together. Okay?”
“Okay, Daddy,” she nods very seriously.
“Now, why don’t you go play in your room? We’re gonna have a grown-up conversation and it’ll be sooo boring for you,” Poe adds with a playful tone and exaggerated facial expressions, making the little girl laugh.
BB-8 gets up, gives everyone a hug, and starts walking toward the room she shares with her father.
“And don’t you try to eavesdrop! Rose will know if you’re there, invisible or not,” he calls after her.
She pouts, but still goes into her room and closes the door behind her.
“All good,” Rose declares after a couple of minutes, her head tilted like she does every time she’s reading someone’s thoughts. “She’s focused on her Lego game.”
Everyone’s attention goes back to Finn, who squirms under their disapproving stare.
“Why did you go there alone, Finn?” Poe asks in a tired voice. “And how did you even find those people?”
Rose opens her mouth to answer, but Paige stretches her leg to kick her.
“Let him speak!” she hisses. Rose huffs and glares at her sister, but stays silent.
“Okay. So,” Finn starts, pulling a battered chair towards him and sitting on it. “I wouldn’t have disappeared like that if things had happened differently. But earlier today, I painted the future.”
He pulls out two crumpled sheets of paper from his jeans’ pocket, unfolding them and putting them on the coffee table. They are watercolor paintings, clearly done in a rush but still beautiful. The first one depicts a tall building with a neon sign standing out against the dark sky, the window on the 16th floor being the only one lit up. The second one is morbid, depicting two dead bodies in a bedroom, red painting smeared all over them. Poe and the Tico sisters lean over the paintings to have a better look.
“Out of the blue, I painted this,” Finn goes on. “And I felt, I knew this was going to happen in a matter of minutes. I know I should have warned you, and I know we usually handle this kind of situation as a team, but I had no time! I had to get to their apartment before Kylo Ren.” He closes his eyes and slumps back in his chair, feeling despair curl up in his chest. “But I arrived too late. I found them just as dead as in this damn painting. I don’t--” Tears sting the back of his eyes, and he lets out a bitter laugh. “I don’t know why I keep trying to change the future when it seems to be set in stone.”
He feels a warm hand on his own, and suddenly the tight knot in his throat loosens, and a soothing feeling washes over him. It’s like someone lifted the heavy weights resting on his chest, and he feels relieved. He knows the sensation is artificial, though.
“Paige,” he sighs, his eyes fluttering open. “Please stop manipulating my emotions.”
“I’m taking away your pain,” she argues, her face twisted in worry. “I’m an empath, remember? I can feel everything you feel, and right now it’s really awful. I’m just offering you a break, okay?”
“And I appreciate that. It’s just that… it’s not real. It makes me hide from my feelings, and when you’ll stop touching me I’ll just feel worse.”
Paige sighs, but takes her hand away. And sure enough, despair, sadness and fear immediately crash over him like a suffocating wave. Paige winces, and he feels bad for putting her through this. It’s not her fault if he’s such a mess. He’s about to open his mouth to say so, but Poe cuts him.
“I swear to god, Finn, tell me you’re not about to apologize for your feelings.”
His silence says enough, and Poe throws his hands in the air with an exasperated huff. He doesn’t need to have telepathic abilities to know how Finn’s mind works, he’s known him for years.
“Finn, buddy.” He gets up from his place on the floor and sits on the coffee table, looking the younger man in the eyes. “You’ve got to stop beating yourself up for every bad thing that is happening. And you’ve got to stop shouldering all that burden by yourself. We’re a team, remember? A family.” Poe gently grabs his hands, earnest and affectionate.
Finn looks around the small room, taking in Paige’s concerned eyes, Rose’s kind smile and Poe’s open and worried expression. If he focuses, he can faintly hear BB-8 babble to herself as she plays with her action figures. It’s his family, and they are all here with him. He feels himself choke up with emotion, and squeezes Poe’s hands.
“I know,” he manages to say, voice strangled. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m still not used to people caring about me, let alone sticking around when everything goes to shit.”
“Hey, you’re not a lone wolf anymore,” Poe says. “Like it or not, you have us.”
“And we’re sorry if we got a little… aggressive when you came home,” Paige adds. “We had started to think that you were in danger, and I don’t think that anyone here could bear it if something happened to you.”
He nods, knowing that if he tries to speak he’ll just start crying. Poe is already wiping his tears with his sleeve, his other hand still holding Finn’s. Rose gets up from her chair and hugs Finn from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder.
“Still, you better warn us next time you have to rush out, especially if it’s to run toward danger,” she sighs. “It’s not safe out there for people like us.”
“I promise I will.”
The sound of small feet pounding the floor in their direction catches their attention, but there’s no one to be seen other than the four of them. He notices that BB-8’s door is half-open and shakes his head, smiling. She doesn’t fully control her power just yet and sometimes becomes invisible without realizing it, much to Poe’s distress. He lives in the constant fear that his daughter will get kidnapped and experimented on by the Company, and he freaks out every time she disappears.
“BB, we can’t see you,” Finn calls out.
“Ah! Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” a tiny voice pipes out of nowhere.
A few seconds later, the air in front of them shimmers and distorts itself, colors and shapes bubbling up until the little girl finally appears. It’s a sight Finn still isn’t used to, despite having himself gained the capacity of turning invisible at will ever since he met BB-8, thanks to his copycat ability. The little girl studies the four of them with concerned brown eyes, taking in their exhausted expressions and watery eyes.
“What’s happening?”
“Nothing, we were just talking,” Poe says.
She doesn’t seem convinced, but she nods and climbs on her father’s lap anyway, frizzy red hair bouncing on her shoulders. She sits back against Poe’s chest and takes one of his hands in her own, frowning. Then she asks very quietly :
“Did the bad guys find us?”
Finn can feel his heart breaking, and judging by the look on the others’ faces, he’s not the only one. Poe’s face is a heart-wrenching mixture of guilt, sadness and anger. Despite their best efforts, BB-8 overhears much more of their depressing conversations than she lets on. Finn feels guilty – they all do – because she’s only 7 years old and should be carefree, not scared. She already went through so much, with her parents getting murdered by Ren before Poe adopted her. They wish they could give her a safe, peaceful childhood, but between power-hungry serial killers and evil organizations trying to experiment on them, people with “special abilities” like them just can’t catch a break.
“No, sweetie,” Poe sighs, rubbing her arms. He makes her turn around a little so he can look into her eyes. “Don’t worry, alright? We’re safe and the bad guys have no idea where we are.”
“Then why is everyone sad?”
“We’re not sad,” he says, offering her a warm smile. “We’re just happy to be all together.”
“Like when people in the movies cry because they’re so happy?”
“Exactly.”
BB still looks a little dubious, but doesn’t object. She stares at them for a minute then suddenly smiles, all dimples and freckles on light brown skin.
“Can I have a group hug?”
Finn, Rose and Paige briefly look at each other, and before Poe has the time to notice the sparkle of mischief in their eyes, they jump on him and BB-8 with their arms spread open, careful not to crush the little girl between them. She squeals in delight and they all start laughing, until the coffee table they’re piling on starts creaking under their weight.
“Uh-oh.”
The music is loud in her ears, the upbeat rhythm of the song allowing her to stay focused while she works on the blue Chevrolet 3100 that’s been assigned to her. It’s an easy repair and she works almost on autopilot, her hands having made the same gestures a thousand times before. A faint sound that doesn’t fit with the song she’s listening to catches her attention, and she uses her arms to propel herself from under the car. Jess is looking down at her, an eyebrow raised in mild annoyance. Rey sighs, and takes one of her earbuds out with dirty fingers.
“Rey, I’m sick of having to yell every time I want to talk to you,” Jess huffs. “And you’re going to end up with fucked up eardrums.”
“I know, sorry.”
She does feel a little guilty for making Jess shout herself hoarse to get her attention, but they both know she’ll be doing it again the next day. She loves her job but sometimes she just needs to be alone in her bubble, away from loud noises and persistent small talk. She doesn’t like talking to people outside of Jessika, the only person she trusts.
“You needed something?”
“Not really,” Jess says. “The boss left so it’s just you and me in the shop, now.”
Rey looks out the window, surprised that night has already fallen. She often loses track of time when she’s engrossed in her work.
“Okay, thanks for letting me know. I’m gonna stay until midnight, what about you?”
“Same.”
Jess resumes working on a client’s bike and they fall into a comfortable silence. Rey likes being alone in the repair shop with her friend, it’s one of the rare moments she feels free to be herself. The shop’s security cameras are broken, so she enjoys these few hours to use skills she usually conceals. She lifts cars and heavy engines with her bare arms, relishing the way her muscles are finally used to their full capacity. Fixing bodyworks and pipes gets done a lot faster when you can manipulate metal with your mind, and every time she puts her hand on a car, she can feel the metal humming and pulsating, waiting for her to play with it. In these moments, she’s more in tune with herself than ever. Jessika seems to enjoy these private evenings just as much, as she keeps phasing through walls to move from one room to another, arguing that it’s way faster than opening and shutting doors.
Minutes, then hours quickly tick by before Rey takes a break. She glances at the clock – it’s half past 11 pm. She wipes her hands on a greasy rag and stretches, trying to relieve her stiff back and arms. The loud rumbling of the garage door slowly rolling up startles her, and she calls Jessika.
“Hey, what’s up with the door?”
“Uh? What are you talking about?” she answers, half of her body coming out of the wall like a ghost. “You’re the one who can control metal.”
“I’m not doing anything to that door. I thought it was you who was opening it.”
“Well I’m clearly not.”
The two young women stare at each other, then at the door. It’s still rolling up, revealing black boots and the bottom of a long dark coat. Jess walks up to Rey, grabbing a wrench on her way.
“We’re closed!” Rey yells, hoping that it’s just an annoying client who decided to ignore the sign put on the door. Still, she doesn’t know how they could have activated the blind without the remote.
“Whoever you are, I’m warning you, we have guns!” she tries again. There are no firearms in the repair shop, but the stranger doesn’t know that.
The pair of boots stays put, though, and the stranger doesn’t answer. Rey glances at Jessika, heart thumping in her chest. She considers calling the police but quickly drops the idea, not wanting the authorities to stick their nose in her business and find out about her secret. If this person thinks they can rob them, they’re going to have a bad surprise.
The rumbling stops, the door being finally wide open. The stranger is tall and menacing, dressed in black with their face hid by a hood. They take a few steps forward.
“Stop right there or I’ll knock you out,” Jess shouts, holding up her wrench.
The stranger snorts, then flicks their wrist. Jessika flies through the room with a scream and crashes in a shelf with a sickening sound. Rey rushes toward her, fear icing her veins. But before she can reach her, she suddenly feels herself being propelled backwards. Her back brutally hits the wall, the impact driving the air out of her lungs and leaving her breathless. The stranger makes their way toward her, slow and calculated like a vulture circling their prey, and she can’t move a muscle. She’s pinned on the wall like an insect, unable to turn her head to check on Jess.
The attacker pulls their hood back, revealing themselves. It’s a man, pale as the devil with a long scar running across his face. He’d be of mundane appearance if it wasn’t for his spine-chilling expression – conceited yet utterly empty, not a hint of compassion, regret, or even hesitation flashing across his face. He tilts his head and studies her with cold, soulless eyes, as she strains against the invisible force preventing her to move. The more she tries to writhe, the more her muscles painfully tense, keeping her in place. She can’t even scream. The monster’s mouth twists itself in a snarl as he enjoys her struggle.
“Hello, Rey. I believe you have something that belongs to me, and so does your friend Jessika. Unfortunately for you, I will have to take it back.”
He raises a gloved hand, reaching for her head, and Rey tries to recoil. She’s frantically trying to think about a way out but her brain seems to have short-circuited, the terror coursing through her veins drowning everything but the desperate need to run.
“Your powers are mine now.”