Changed by Time ✔

twenty.

Nolan started from the moment he realized that he needed to get his hands on the copy of Myths and Tales of the Paranormal Around the World that Abigail had been aiming for since she was assigned to the mission. It was then that he realized that the copy had been thrown around from place to place, eventually ending up at the library in the heart of New York City.

From there, he went around the library and picked up as many other books as he could that were in the same genre to pick up any other clues he may have needed and to generally strengthen his research. That was when he met Wendy Myer, not knowing that she was connected to the original subjects in the Clover Program.

He spoke about how tried to take the book from her, skipping over the part where she absolutely whooped his ass, and how she joined him in his mission to find the SuperSource. He described the picture that Wendy had figured out in the stained-glass puzzle – to which Abigail informed him that they disposed of (as in destroyed) their cell phones after apprehending them.

"That's a nice way of saying kidnapped."

"Please continue," Abigail deadpanned.

Nolan described how they first went into Poplin Library and how it was Wendy that figured out that it was the Castle Fraser book that would lead them to what would be the final key to finding the SuperSource. He breezed through how they were captured, knowing that Abigail was well-aware of that part.

"So that's where my file went," Abigail scoffed. "Wendy has it."

"If it wasn't soaked."

"What?"

Nolan described how they went through the secret passage in Poplin Library, ending up in the pocket below the library. He described the quill and how it would lead them directly to the SuperSource – acting as if a GPS of sorts.

"Where's the quill now?"

"Wendy has it. She's probably using it to get to the SuperSource now." Nolan looked down at the ground, running his fingers over his knuckles. His elbows pressed against his knees.

"That's assuming that she hasn't already gotten there and taken the SuperSource for herself," Abigail countered.

"No." Nolan shook his head. "She hasn't gotten there yet."

"How can you be confident about that?"

"Because if she did, she would've already destroyed it."

Abigail widened her eyes, sharing a similar look with the rest of the operatives. She stood up from her seated position on the bed and went over to the closet, pulling out a black duffle bag and throwing it onto the bed.

She unzipped it and pulled out a leather gun holster, throwing it over her shoulders and onto her back. She pulled out another pistol, shoving it into the holder.

"What do you need all that for?" Nolan asked, slowly standing from the chair.

"Wendy Myer is a natural superhuman – which makes her ten times as dangerous as those who were made into superhumans by my father's program," Abigail explained. "This is in case she decides that the SuperSource isn't the only thing she'll want to destroy."

Nolan swallowed the forming lump in his throat. There were so many things going through his mind at that moment, how everything was leading up to that moment. He had so many things he wanted to say once he got there, but none of them felt right.

Maybe it was because it wasn't how he originally planned it. Maybe it was because he knew that if he took one wrong step, Abigail and her crew wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in his brain.