Nostalgia Ultra- Jennifer & Khalil (Black Lightning)

Strawberry Swing

"When we were kids, we hand-painted strawberries on a swing . Every moment was so precious then, I'm still kicking it, I'm daydreaming on a strawberry swing."

Over the next year, Philky and I got really close. I learned he was a former ASA member that fell on hard times and that clearly had a drinking problem.Painkiller and I got more accustomed to each other. He was still an asshole but a hell of a lot more tolerable. Philky and I struck a deal that if I broke into this abandoned ASA bunker that he would help me get a handle on PainKiller.We ended up using the money to create our lab and bar. In addition to Philky I also met Donald and Priscilia. Donald who at the time was in a similar state that I had met Philky in, was an ex-military guy with a lot of medical knowledge. He has a duality about himself too. I think that's how we bonded so quickly. He's always a voice of reason amongst the chaos and good at keeping us all in line.

Priscilla is originally from New Orleans. She is a firecracker with southern charm. She moved to Gothan for few years and use to strip. While in Gotham she got into it with people you don't want problems with so she like me decided it was time to find a new place. She came into the bar one day looking for a bartending job. She's been here ever since. She's also a meta with the power of telepathy, shapeshifting and she's even skilled in Martial arts. Needless to say, she's been an asset since she walked in those doors 6 months ago.

"Hey Khalil, you good?" Priscilla snapped her fingers in front of my face at the bar. I snap myself back into the present. "Painkiller" I shrug. "He giving you trouble again? You know I can go in there and whoop his ass" she suggested. She was always volunteering to fight with PainKiller. To be honest I think both of them enjoyed the fights. "Nah, you're good, he says hello though" I replied. "I bet he had more to say than that" she laughed. Since Priscilia is telepathic she can get into the head of just about anybody. She calls it a blessing and a curse because sometimes she can control it, sometimes she can't. Sometimes she hears multiple conversations at once, which can be overwhelming for her. That's where Philky comes in. He's helped her control things a bit better. I think collectively we're all just works in progress here in Akashic Valley.

We were closed up for the night so I headed to my room. I was having one of those nights again. Not bad just reminiscing. I hadn't sketched in a while so I dusted off my sketchbook and pencils and got to work. There was a sketch I was working on I hadn't finished yet. A little time had passed and there was a knock on the door.

I looked up to see Priscilia standing there. " You drawing Jenn?" she teased. Priscilla was like a big sister in a lot of ways. " How'd you know?" I asked. "Khalil I can read minds...." she laughed.

"Aye stop doing that " I threw a pillow at her. " This time it was on accident, I swear" she raised her hands. "Pain Killer is gonna catch you off guard one of these days" I joked."Mane, PK don't want none of this" she started punching the air. Pris had been through a lot too but she was always making things lighter for everyone around her. "Speaking of reading minds, you wanna know what she's thinking right now?" She folded her arms raising a brow. "You can do that?" I was curious. I didn't want to invade Jennifer's privacy but I did want to know.

"I told you Philkys been helping me" she reminded me. She started to concentrate. When she's tapping in so to speak she looks like she's in a trance. Her eyes gloss over and turn a glowing white."She's on a roof...smoking weed". I chuckled a bit. "Sounds like Jenn". " Someone just joined her on the roof, looks like a guy". "Probably TC" I replied."No, actually this guy looks a lot like you....". She was confused at first but she tried to concentrate more.

"This is almost uncanny, this guy looks more like you than PK does". I started to get concerned."What?"

"Philky taught me how to hop to another person's consciousness outside of my original target....let me hop on to this guy. I don't trust this". She tapped over into the guy's brain. Her eyes widened. "What! What do you see Pris?!" I inquired. " This guy does not have good intentions at all. It's a shapeshifter. I think Jennifer is in trouble."What is he thinking Pris?" Her eyes reverted back and she looked me directly in the eyes. "Nothing good, I think he's going to kidnap her". I felt like time stopped for a moment. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Who would want to kidnap Jen?

I grab my phone and call TC. "Hey Khalil? Are you alright? It's kinda late" he answered.

"Yeah, I know.I think something bad is about to happen to Jenn. I need you or Anissa to go over to the house like now." My anxiety was high.I knew time was of the essence.

"How do you know? What's going on?" TC sounded like he was half awake so this call and request was coming out of left field.

"There's a guy who looks like me on the roof with Jennifer right now. It's a shapeshifter and we think he's going to try to harm Jenn, you have to go now." I pleaded.

I look over a Priscilla she's back in the trance. That was until she started shaking. I rushed off the phone with TC as he agreed to go to the house. "Pris!" I yelled out running over to her convulsing body. Just then Donald and Philky ran in. "What's going on? Philky ran over to aid Priscilia. "Let's get her to the lab".

TC attempts to call Jenn but there's no answer. He contacts Anissa and she tells him she's on the way there too. TC gets to the house first but Jenn was already gone. There didn't seem to be any signs of struggle but there was a letter on her vanity.

It read:

" Hey J,

I know it's been a while. I've been trying to stay out the way. Forgive me if this is too much. I could understand if you still want nothing to do with me but I needed to get his off my chest. You've been a light in my life even when everyone else gave up on me.

I cherish the memory of the strawberry swing, where we first met. The moment I saw you, I knew you were going to be an important part of my life.

When I look at you, I just want to protect you even though I know you don't need my protection.

Over the past year, I've made some friends and they have helped with my control of PainKiller. The good news is I don't have the kill order anymore. I really want to see you. If you are okay with it please meet me on the roof for old times sake Saturday night.

All my love,

Khalil

Anissa comes in. "What's going on? Where's Jenn?" she asked."That's what I'm trying to figure out, look at this." TC hands Anissa the letter. She reads it. "Khalil?" "Yes and No, so from what Khalil told me there's a shapeshifter impersonating him and I think it got to Jenn."