Chapter Text
A young fair skinned girl with brown hair was sitting in the corner of the dark, windowless room. Her arms were chained to a pipe, and she was barely alive. Starved, dehydrated, beaten. But Beth wouldn’t give her captors what they wanted. Never.
A way too loud creaking of the door startled her, followed by a blinding light. A silhouette was standing in the doorway, and she knew who it was. The tall, muscular, dirty blonde haired boy again, the one who could control fire. Everyday for - how long has she been here? Weeks? Months? - one of the kidnappers came in and beat her, questioned her, and gave her scarce amounts of food and water, just enough to keep her alive and suffering. She swore she would never give in, but she can slowly feel herself reaching the breaking point.
“Are you going to give us what we want?” the boy asked. “Or am I gonna have to teach you another lesson?”
She couldn’t. She knows they want something bad. Her parents warned her about people like this. She can’t give in, even if it means losing her life.
“Hmm…maybe we’ve approached this wrong. Maybe you need a meeting with Lawrence.”
The boy turned on his heels and proceeded to peer out into the doorway. “Rachel! Get Lawrence. I think our little friend here needs a bit more persuasion.”
“Sure thing Ben,” Rachel’s voice was heard outside the door.
“I’ll never help you,” Beth spat. “Never. You’re monsters.”
“Oh, I think you might come around,” Ben grinned.
A few moments later and a figure wearing a black cloak, hood over his head, crept into the room slowly and menacingly. She could barely see his face, but she didn't fail to see the lack of a nose and pure eyes of darkness staring right at her.
“Don’t worry girl,” his low raspy voice said as he removed his hood, revealing the atrocity that was lying beneath. The entire right side of his face was covered in deformities, seeping down to below his neckline. His hair was messy and ragged, and there wasn’t a single trace of humanity left to him. “This won’t hurt a bit.” The man raised his arms, his palms extended facing Beth. “Actually, you won’t feel a thing.”
Slowly, black fog began to appear from his hands like magic. It slowly made its way towards her, surrounding her completely. She let out a terrified scream, but it was muffled once she was completely lost in the dark mist.
It’s been about three weeks of training with Brenda, and Thomas was pretty good at earth bending. He was by no means a master yet, but he was definitely getting close to Brenda’s level. She was definitely irritated that it took Thomas only a few weeks while it took her a couple of years, and she wasn’t afraid to show it when they were practicing. Like when she would send a rock his way with more force than necessary or make the ground shake while he walked so he would trip.
Besides that, things were going great. Thomas and Newt went on double dates with Sonya and Harriet a couple of times, Thomas loving to see the blonde siblings bicker with one another. Minho started going over some pre-training methods before he would start learning fire bending. And now his family were here in Glade city for a few days to spend some time with him. Actually, it seemed like they’d rather spend time with Newt, being as they’ve basically ignored Thomas the whole time they’ve arrived at The Homestead. Sometimes Thomas wonders if they would rather have had Newt as their son instead.
“So, Newt. What are your plans after you leave Ava’s school?” Vince asked as they were seated in their booth.
Newt seemed taken aback at the question. “I uh...honestly, I haven’t even given that a lot of thought.”
“How come?” Mary asked. “It’s not like you’ll be there forever.”
“But I don’t plan on leaving any time soon.”
“Why is that?” Vince asked. “The Legion would definitely benefit with having someone as powerful as you working with them. I mean, Chaos Magic. Imagine what you could do-”
“Guys, come on,” Thomas interfered, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand under the table. Thomas knew that the conversation was making Newt anxious. “Can we talk about something else?”
“I was just curious is all,” Vince explained. “If you’d ever like to join, just let me know. I still have connections.”
Newt offered a nod to Vince, but didn’t provide an answer. Thomas knows Newt’s answer to that. They’ve briefly talked about that before. Newt doesn’t think he can protect anyone because his powers are too dangerous, yet he also feels like he can’t live a normal life. He’s stuck at a crossroad unsure of which path to take. Thomas was working with Newt so he wasn’t afraid of his abilities anymore, and they were making some progress. But Newt just needs a little more time.
“Can I join too, dad?” Chuck asked. Luckily Thomas’s younger sibling always had a way of easing any bit of tension and changing the subject.
“Of course kiddo,” his father said as she ruffled the boy’s hair.
Thankfully, the rest of the dinner went by smoothly. His parents told more embarrassing stories about his childhood which left Newt laughing hysterically and Thomas burning red with embarrassment. And the two boyfriends hadn’t let go of each other’s hands throughout the rest of the time they were there.
“Are you sure it’s him?”
Sonya had made it her mission to figure out if Thomas had been in her dreams or not before. And it was hard to narrow it down, being that when she first started recording her dreams, she wasn’t too descriptive. But she thinks she managed to find it. Teresa was just praying she was wrong.
“It has to be.”
“Read it again,” Harriet said.
“There was a city ablaze. People were running and screaming. An older looking man with the face of a rat was smirking. A brown haired boy trying to save them all,” Sonya read from the page. “Then the boy dies.”
“That could be anyone,” Brenda informed.
“But in the corner, I wrote that this boy had moles on his face. Thomas has moles on the side of his face.”
Teresa still didn’t want to believe it. A lot of people had moles on their face. A lot of people had brown hair. It wasn’t Thomas. It couldn’t be.
“But you had a dream of Thomas recently,” Harriet said as she moved over to her girlfriend. “He and Newt were fighting. That was different from this.”
“So maybe they’re related,” Sonya concluded.
“Or maybe they’re not,” Brenda deduced.
“Stop.”
Teresa couldn’t handle thinking about her best friend dying. The boy she had known since she was five. The boy who was practically her brother. He can’t die. She won’t let him. “We won’t jump to any conclusions. All we know for sure is that at some point, Thomas and Newt will get attacked by who knows what. That’s what we need to focus on. Sonya, is there anything else from that dream? Something that can maybe help pinpoint when it might happen? Or where? Anything? ”
Sonya reached over to her most recent dream journal and skimmed to the page she was looking for. She was reading over her words carefully, trying to remember the dream in her head. “I don’t think so. I just remember seeing the explosion and Newt and Thomas.”
“But you mentioned others might be there too,” Harriet added.
“Yeah...but I’m not so sure.”
“What do you mean?” Brenda asked.
“I mean, I don’t know for sure if I saw other people. I just saw this dark figure standing nearby. I just assumed it was someone.”
“And you didn’t see their face?”
“No.”
Damn it. So now they were just expected to wait for Thomas and Newt to get hurt? Teresa won’t just stand by and let that happen. There has to be something they could do to prevent it from happening.
The girls concluded that they won’t tell anyone about their discovery today. At some point, and very soon, they would have to at least tell Ava. As hard as it is not to run and tell her in this moment, Teresa knows it will end with people constantly worrying and looking over their shoulders for an incoming threat. Thomas especially didn’t need to know about the other dream. At least Ava might be able to set up a few precautions to avoid any danger.
But then Teresa remembered what Newt had told everyone about Sonya’s visions: they can happen at anytime in the future.
And no matter what, they will come true.
Rather than drop Thomas and Newt back off at their school, his parents decided to treat them to a movie as well. It was hard finding one for all of them since Chuck was there and his mother didn’t want him to see anything scary or inappropriate, but they all managed to find one suitable for all of them.
Thomas was holding Newt’s hand walking over to the concession stand when his mother grabbed him by the arm. “Vince, why don’t you, Newt, and Chuck save us some seats? Thomas and I will grab the snacks.”
Vince nodded - with that certain look he and Mary always gave one another when they had to talk to Thomas or Chuck alone - and took the two boys with him. Newt was just as confused but he went with them anyway. Thomas turned to his mother with a questioning look on his face. “What’s going on?”
“I did some research like you asked and found the institution where Newt’s parents were moved to.”
“And?” Could she heal them? Can Newt get his family back?
Judging by the solemn look on his mother’s face, the news wasn’t good. “They’re condition has only gotten worse. They’ve both been moved in to solitary, and I don’t think I would be able to help them Thomas. I’m sorry.”
Thomas sighed. “Well, it was just a thought.” Luckily he didn’t tell Newt about it. He would have hated to get the blonde’s hopes up. But Thomas was still deeply saddened that he couldn’t help his boyfriend’s parents.
“That’s not all I found out,” Mary informed. “Newt’s last name is Ross, right?”
“Yeah.”
“His original birth name is Isaacs. So is Sonya’s. The Ross’s adopted the two of them.”
Newt and Sonya were adopted? Did they know that? Their adoptive parents didn’t have any powers - it wasn't uncommon that not every family member had powers, sometimes skipping a generation - so maybe the thought had crossed their minds before.
“So where are they’re birth parents?”
“Remember the story I told you about the attack on Denver? They were there too. Your father and I were acquainted with them. They were killed during the fight. I knew they had children, but I didn’t know what happened to them after they had died. The Legion made sure to keep the records confidential from everyone except a handful of people to keep the kids safe.”
Thomas’s heart sank. Newt and Sonya already had enough of a troubled past, and now it turns out their birth parents are dead. Two of the best people he has ever met didn’t deserve so much tragedy in their lives.
“So Newt,” Vince said as they sat in their seats, leaving space for Thomas and Mary, “I realized I never asked before, but do you know the source of your magic?”
“I was born with it?”
“Well, yes. You were,” Vince nodded. “But I mean, the true source.”
Newt shook his head. He just thought everyone’s powers were given to them at birth. He knew there was some design to them, everyone having a power that cancelled out one another or being two that were connected in some way, like a yin to a yang. Water and fire, light manipulation and shadow manipulation. “I don’t believe I do, no.”
Vince smiled at the boy. “Next time you’re with Thomas, try to connect your magic with his gem. See what happens.”
“What do you mean connect it? How-”
“Sorry we took so long boys,” Mary cut in, her and Thomas returning with hands filled with snacks.
Thomas took the empty sit between Newt and Chuck while Mary took the seat beside her husband. Thomas immediately reached out for Newt’s hand and began to trace circles with his thumb. Newt smiled, decided to put his questions away and just enjoy a simple movie with his boyfriend and his family.
What was once a tall, functioning factory was now a withered down building left to rot. Old broken boxes lay scattered, windows vandalised leaving shards of glass on the cold floor, and the creeping feeling of total isolation.
Frypan grimaced as he took a step into the large complex, his resounding footsteps echoing as they hit the cement floor. “Great meeting place to pick Winston,” he whispered. “Couldn’t have picked a warm restaurant or something. No, had to be a cold empty warehouse.”
“Shut up Frypan. It was discreet and no one is ever here.”
“About time you guys got here!” a girl’s voice called.
The two boys were met with Miyoko, an Asian girl with wavy black hair, and George, a tan skinned man with slightly lighter hair than his accompaniment. “What was so important that you had to meet?”
“We did it,” Winston grinned. “We found him.”
“You did?” Miyoko asked. “Then why aren’t you telling Janson?’
“We have an idea.”
“What is it?” George asked.
“We don’t tell Janson yet. Rather, we get the Exemplar first and then bring him to Janson. This way we can show him just how great we are, get him to see what we're capable of.”
“Won’t it be risky fighting an Exemplar?”
“Nah,” Winston assured George. “He’s still learning. If we get enough of us to corner him, it’ll be a piece of cake.”
“It’ll take a lot of planning but we can do this,” Frypan stated. “We take Ben and Rachel with us too. We could use them. But we have to wait a while. Winston and I will keep tabs on him, see when we can get him alone.”
“But we’re definitely going after him?”
“Yeah,” Winston declared. “Let’s get ourselves an Exemplar.”
After the movie, when Newt and Thomas got back to Thomas’s room - Minho was staying at Brenda’s - the two were getting into bed when Thomas pulled Newt flushed against him, their noses brushing against each other. The blonde chuckled at this. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just...I love you so much.”
Newt smiled and pecked Thomas on the lips. “And I love you too.”
Thomas knows Newt deserves to hear the truth. But not tonight. Tonight, he just wanted to hold him close and just stare at Newt’s face beautifully illuminated by the blue light -
Wait, what?
Thomas and Newt both looked down and saw the gem in his medallion was glowing. “Tommy, what’s going on?”
“I’m not sure.”
And now he felt uneasy. His heart began to pound, he started taking quick rapid breaths, a chill was going down his spine, almost like a storm was brewing in his chest. It was the same feeling he had right before Aris and Alby had surprised attacked him that time, only much worse. It was like the gem was speaking to him, warning him. He tried to shut it out, holding onto Newt and grasping onto the bracelet the blonde had given him, hoping the feeling would pass.
Newt brought a hand over the gem and connected his magic to it. Thomas was about to ask what he was doing, but something weird happened. Thomas could feel Newt. He could literally feel him inside of him, coursing through his veins, in his heart. It eased away the eerie feeling he had and the light from the gem began to fade.
“What do you feel?” Thomas asked.
Newt had the most wondrous expression on his face. He was clearly concentrating on his magic, but he couldn’t hide his sense of fascination. The gem had stopped glowing and Newt withdrew his palm, stopping the flow of his magic. Newt put a hand on the brunette’s cheek and grabbed his hand with the other, and smiled softly.
“I just feel you.”