Jupiter [Marvel Phase I]

eighteen.

Seething, furious, enraged. Any of those words might've been Jenn's pick to describe her current state is she were aware of anything other than the anger roiling about in her mind. There were few times in her life she'd ever felt this pissed.

I wonder if this is how it feels inside a storm cloud, a clearer part of her mind supplied. Jenn must've drained a lot during her session, because she could feel the lighting crackling beneath her skin, begging to be unleashed.

When she made it to the workshop, she threw the doors open. They swung apart hard enough to crash and Dev let out a surprised yelp. Normally, Jenn would've apologized, but she was too busy pressing her lips together to suppress a scream of rage.

Dev looked about ready to make a joke until he swiveled around in his chair and caught the look on Jenn's face. "Christ, Jenn." It was only then he seemed to remember what had happened earlier that day.

Wordlessly, Dev held out the note Jenn had prepared in class. Jenn accepted it, only to rip the paper in half, eyes locked on Dev's the entire time.

"...Oh?" Dev asked, glancing between Jenn's expression and the way she was shredding the note. "I, erm, take it you managed to get out of your appointment?"

"No. I went," Jenn said simply. She turned on her heel and headed over to the makeshift dressing room in the corner, grabbing her suit off a table along the way.

"But you avoided the hypnosis somehow?" Dev guessed.

Jenn let out a frustrated huff. She shrugged off her coat, throwing it over the sheet rock that functioned as a wall screen. "No, not that either."

"Then how are you...?" Dev trailed off. He remained silent, watching as Jenn's clothes flung themselves over the barricade. Met with no response, he tried again. "What happened at your appointment?"

Again, Dev was met only with silence. He might've assumed she was too busy changing to give a proper response, but Jenn's mind was occupied with something else. Dev's question was something Jenn herself was struggling to answer. Changing into her suit was an automated process by comparison. In the end, her mouth decided for her, rambling as she tried to put her thoughts in order.

"They're both in on it, Dev. Harry and Dr. Ingram. Maybe more, I don't know. I saw Harry in the dream - that memory. I could feel Dr. Ingram trying to manipulate my memory, but I think I managed to- I dunno, but it didn't work. I don't even know if there was a crash-"

Jenn stopped short, taking a deep breath as the reality hit her. Looking back at the crash felt like trying to remember a nightmare, all foggy and unordered. How had she ever confused it for an actual memory?

Maybe that was why she had such a hard time recalling her parent's voices. Did she even have parents in the first place? Who the hell were the people in that photo?

"I think I'm starting to remember," Jenn continued, fighting to keep her pace even. She didn't know how closely Dev was paying attention at this point, or how much sense she was making. "Not the before or after, but the context. I understand what we were doing and why." She paused to zip up her suit. "Have you heard of C.E.N.T.R.E.?"

"Erm, like, the word?" Came Dev's unsure reply.

"Like the acronym," Jenn explained.

When Dev fell silent this time, Jenn came around from behind the screen. She found her friend staring at her in a mix of confusion, concern, and concentration. "Jenn, do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No," Jenn found herself bristling at the suggestion. She pulled on one glove, and then the other. "I want to hit something."

If Jenn knew one thing about their neighborhood, it was that crime wasn't hard to spot. Not so great for Jenn - or any other civilian, really - but it made her work as Jupiter a whole lot easier.