My turbulent thoughts didn't help appease the sense of unease within me. All of a sudden, I felt like I couldn't trust anyone around me anymore.

First, it's dad, hiding secrets from me. Next, it's Nathan who hid his identity from me, but I understand his reasons in doing so. Last but not least, it's my best friend that I've known for almost my whole life, that is suspected to be involved in kidnapping me.

"So, how the hell did you end up here? All alone? And from what I saw, you definitely aren't a Apeiron. Neither does this place seem like your home." The mysterious woman questioned me, and I peeked gingerly at the motorcycle mirror.

I couldn't see any more vehicles on our trail, which explains why she decelerated. Giving her a dubious look, I wasn't sure whether to trust her or not.

However, she did save my life, I guess I owe her an answer.

"I was kidnapped." I stated briefly, as if was an everyday fact.

My body lurched forward, bumping roughly against the woman. She halted her motorcycle abruptly, turning sharply towards me.

"Holy shit! For real? Kidnapping?"

"...yep. And it's by Aquarius, that crazy water lady."

That last word made the woman snort. "I wouldn't call her a lady, she's batshit crazy."

I chuckled lightly at her insult for Aquarius, and she broke the cheery atmosphere with another question.

"So, what exactly made you get kidnapped? By the Talbot, especially. They are filthy rich, why are they concerned over someone like you?"

She's blunt and rude, but her words do speak the truth.

I sighed, glancing at up at the sky. "I don't know."

Well, most of it anyway, all I know is that Dad made someone really mad, since he's planning to blow the whistle.

Of course, he hasn't done it yet and I have absolutely no idea why.

"Heh, you are lying. It's so obvious, you are a bad liar. Anyway, it isn't my business to pry."

"Are you always this...brash in your words?"

She suspired at my inquiry, rolling her eyes. "Our gender is way too sensitive to everything--oh damn."

Almost instantly, I heard the engine roaring to life. "How the hell did they find us? I went invisible!"

What?

I frowned at her last few words, my words abruptly cut off by her strong grip on my wrist. "Why the heck do you have this phone?!"

I made a confused noise, looking down at my hand. The smartphone that I stole from the guard was still in my hands, and a thought immediately hit me.

Crap.

They tracked it down, it's probably a company's phone.

"Crap! I'm so sorry!" I blanched, quickly tossing the phone away as the woman growled in annoyance, speeding off.

I could hear vehicles trailing behind us and this time, I dared to open my eyes as she sped up. Glancing back, a slight squeak escaped my mouth when I realised dozens of vehicles were right behind us.

"Hey! Come back here! I went through so much to catch you! Goddamnit!" A familiar high-pitched voice exclaimed, and I groaned in frustration.

"Duck down!"

I followed her command, ducking down and I noticed a flash of blue zooming past me.

Crystal, clear water.

It's Aquarius.

She's trying to grab me and pull me to her, just like the first time.

"Argh!" I heard a furious shriek from Aquarius at her missed attack.

Yikes.

I exhaled shakily, goose bumps raising on my arms at the thought of being kidnapped once again. Regaining my composure, I focused my attention back on the woman.

"...where are we going? Ermm..." I questioned, only to remember that I didn't know her name.

"Kim! Just call me Kim! For now, we just have to lose them, because you brought that damn phone with you!"

"I said I'm sorry about that!"

"Too late now! Hold on!"

The woman, Kim, made a sharp turn, her tires screeching and I felt my body tilting drastically. I held my breath, seeing how close my body was to touching the asphalt surface. The motorcycle came to a sudden stop, facing straight at the cars behind us.

"Don't move a muscle! Just remain in the same position as me!"

"What? They are just right in front-"

"Shut up and listen to me!"

I sighed, following her command and mimicking her position. The vehicles were close now and I shut my eyes close, bracing myself.

A gust of wind blew past me, as all the vehicles drove past us. The position I was in prevented any part of my body from touching against the cars, the space between the cars small enough for both of us to squeeze through unnoticed.

The gust of wind lasted a second, the distance between us and Aquarius became metres apart within mere seconds. The rumbling noises of the vehicles disappeared quickly, leaving us alone in the middle of a deserted road.

My eyes widened in disbelief, freezing in my spot.

They just drove past us! Like we weren't there!

What the heck?

"What...This--wha?" I fumbled in my words, bewildered at what just happened.

"Invisibility is a handy ability to have." Kim simply responded, starting the engines yet again.

"Invisi—when did you even activate-"

"So, where's your home sweet home? I guess it's in Serenity, seeing as how confused you are in this place."

"Er, uhm--yes it is, but how did you-"

"Sorry, no time for questions. I have somewhere else to be, I'll drop you at the train station."

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

Struggling to remove the helmet, I heard someone sigh at my pathetic attempt, easily extricating the helmet from my head.

"Thank you, I-"

"Here you go, some money for the train back to your city and uh, for one call. I've wasted a lot of time, gotta run."

"Oh uh, thanks. What, hey! Wait! I'm not done--and there she goes..."

For the entire journey, she hasn't removed her helmet once.

Or was it just on purpose?

Heaving a long breath, I stared at the money in my hands. It was definitely enough for one train ticket back to Serenity and one phone call.

"Well, this is just great, isn't it Jean? Getting kidnapped, alone in this city and your best friend is suspected to be one of them behind this? Yeah, what a great day." I mumbled to myself, trudging into the train station.

Fortunately, it wasn't peak hour and it wasn't a weekend either. Thankfully, I've been here a few times to know the procedure of buying a ticket and I quickly spotted a payphone, approaching it. I held myself back, not buying the train ticket first.

Closing the door behind me, I prepared the amount to use. However, I hesitated when my finger lingered on the number pad, not knowing who to call.

My dad has been keeping secrets from me.

My best friend may be lying to me.

My mum would probably be a mess right now, and I'm not sure if calling her is the right decision.

What if she suspects I'm lying? I can't waste any more time here, Aquarius could be here any minute.

...and if I call Nathan, will he pick up?

"I wonder how he is doing...is he riddled with guilt over not being able to save me?"

A wry smile tugged at my lips as I leaned against the phone booth. "How ironic, when I said I'll save myself, I ended up being saved by someone yet again.

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

Eventually, I decided to buy myself a train ticket back home. I needed some time to think anyway, to contemplate on Jessie's suspected involvement, my family and Nathan. Luckily, I just had enough money to take a bus back to the bus stop near my house. Reaching home would take me another two hours, which would be night by then.

Since I've not been missing for twenty-four hours, they wouldn't have submitted a police report yet.

Nathan would probably be searching around frantically for me, along with protecting the city at the same time.

"I need to see mum and dad first, and confront dad once and for all." I mused to myself, heading for the seats behind.

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

My house was still lit brightly and I breathed out heavily, preparing myself for the barrage of questions from my parents. I paused a little, proceeding to open the door as I removed my shoes.

Welcoming myself into the house, I trudged towards the living room, utterly exhausted. I heard jumbled murmurs and exclaims coming from the living room, blinking in surprise when I stumbled upon a spectacular scene.

Nathan was dressed in his iconic outfit, leaning against a wall. A gloomy atmosphere around him, while Jessie stood in the middle of the living room, gesturing wildly at my parents.

They were standing opposite of Jessie, looking completely infuriated and appalled at something Jessie told them. Fatigued and surprised, I made a clumsy move and knocked my toe against the side of the drawers meant for our shoes.

"Argh! Holy fishcakes of mothers! This hurts like a piece of--ughhh! Give me a freaking break, life!"

I almost lost control of my words there, I was close to speaking in Singlish.

After my sudden outburst, the silence in the room became unbearable after my pain eased away. The silence was suffocating me and I blinked my eyes at them, a nervous smile on my lips.

"He-hey guys, it's me!" I forced a chuckle, waving at them, finally managing my words out after quite some time.

Another pregnant silence filled the room and I stood there awkwardly, scratching away the itch at my arm.

"Jean?!" They all said simultaneously.

"Hi?"

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

A barrage of questions and embraces was an understatement. I felt drained by the time they were finished, if Nathan had hugged me, my soul would have drifted out from my body.

"So, let's get this straight. You were kidnapped, brought to my family's villa, rescued by a woman named Kim and came back here, by yourself?" Jessie summarised my entire explanation, while my parents and Nathan remained silent.

"Yeah, kinda."

"How did you-"

"No more, no more! I have some questions of my own!" I interrupted Nathan, frustrated as I turned my attention to my father.

"Dad, you have to tell me what's going on, right now. I may not be so lucky next time round, so, I need to prepare myself in advance. Please, tell me what the heck is going on."

"You won't get kidnapped ag-"

"No one knows about that. Just tell me dad, and stop delaying, please." I implored my father and he sighed in resignation.

"Alright."

It seems he hasn't told anyone about the whole situation, seeing as how they leaned in closer when my father responded.

"The company that I work for...I have a video evidence of them, and this video evidence—this evidence, could bring the whole company down."

The whole company down?

Christ, just how bad is this evidence?

"What did they do, dad?" I asked, apprehensive. My father's tone didn't bode well with me, especially the way he clenched his fists after my inquiry. My father slowly turned to face us, I could sense the hesitance in him as he finally responded.

"They sabotaged the launching phase of the cube. They caused hundreds of deaths and also, the creation of apeirons."

I gasped in horror, staggering back in shock at the revelation.

Holy crap.

"Wh-what? What does your company exactly do?" Nathan spoke up, alarmed at this newfound information too. He still had his voice changer equipped on him, which led me to assume that everyone here doesn't know his real identity yet.

My father shook his head, frowning at the ground. "I'm not exactly sure, but I know that if this cube were to succeed, it would affect my company adversely. They are very secretive of their projects, a simple worker like me isn't allowed to take a peek, not even once. Only people of higher authority were allowed to take glances at the projects."

"Honey, who do you exactly work for?" My mother finally voiced out her words, narrowing her eyes at my father.

"It's the Tal Inc., and the person I work for is..." My father trailed off, his eyes on Jessie, as if he was asking permission to continue on.

"...it's my grandfather." Jessie spat out, rage swirling in her eyes.

YES, IT'S FREAKING FINALLY HERE, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2! There goes my weekend ;p!

On another note, hey lovely readers! I hope you guys liked this chapter as well and it isn't edited as usual. 

What would you do if you had Superman's powers for an hour?

Also, I just realised we hit 2k reads! I'm over the moon guys, thank you so so sooo much for giving my story a chance. I'm really touched right now, thank you!