The fear came from the fact that he did remember. He’d felt a disquiet starting just before Magnus stepped into the room with Dayton back at Sean’s mother’s apartment.

It made me wonder if the root of our issues might be feeling something similar at a low enough level that neither of us could tell. Also, it might be that Jody was a jerk.

Magnus continued talking, leaving me no time to think it through fully.

“There are a few of us, you see, with a strong enough lineage to those ancient beings that we have a touch of their power. It’s hard to say why we exist. It may be because the Abominators trapped one of the ancients and used him for inspiration when creating humans with powers. That’s the story we’ve found in the Cabal’s oldest writings and one that our scientists have confirmed.

“I think it’s part of a larger destiny for you, me, and the human race. It’s given to me to see the future. I don’t see it all at once or in detail, but I do see flashes. In one future, I saw this world attacked and destroyed by the ancients. In another, I saw it survive, defended by humans imbued with the ancients’ power. They weren’t as powerful, but they won because they had control of a device capable of destroying, stars, planets, and even galaxies.

“This device exists. It’s accessible somehow from here.”

Pointing his finger down at the ground, Jody said, “Here? As in right here, this beach? Or do you mean Earth?”

Magnus stretched out his hands, “Earth and the space around it. It extends into other dimensions and you and I can access them. Your speed comes from an ability to move partially outside of this reality—which means that you can interact with it. While you’re not the only one with the ancients’ heritage, you have the crucial factor that separates you from the rest of the human race. Many people have bits of the ancients involved in making their powers work.  You can draw in ambient energy from the interactions of alternate realities to sustain yourself, as can I.

“This separates you from the common man, but it makes you better. You no doubt assume that I’m simply the oldest of the Cabal or you may even know that I was once one of the Dominators. I am more than that. I’m not immortal because I’ve inherited it. I’m immortal because I learned to use outside energy to sustain myself. I was not as physically strong or enduring as I am now. I learned how to feed my latent powers with the energy I absorbed. You can do the same.

“I’ll need your help. We need to organize the human race into a unit capable of fighting the ancients. Beyond that, we’ll need to locate people similar to us. Some we’ll be able to recruit. Others, we will have to destroy. We can’t leave anyone alive who wants to use the galaxy core device for their own ends. It can only be left in the hands of those who understand its true purpose—defending humanity from those who would destroy it.”

As Magnus talked, I felt both Jody’s suspicion and. as Magnus told him how he was set apart from the common man, his relief and then confidence that that was true.

I remembered hearing that Magnus had lost his ability to manipulate people’s minds, but I couldn’t help but wonder if a whisper of it might persist. If it were only Magnus’ words that accounted for Jody’s attraction to the idea of being better than a common person, he had to be ripe for the picking.

How much self-esteem would he need to be lacking to fall for the first guy who told him that he was better than everyone else?

Jody stood there, watching Magnus in case he attacked, eyes flicking left and then right to watch for an ambush. He asked Magnus, “What about my friends? I’m here in a group with them.”

Magnus nodded, flashing a grin at him. “We’ll need them. As much as I’m pleased to discover someone else like me, I know it can’t work without more. We need help and your friends, they’re among the best humanity has to offer. We need lieutenants and generals, people to lead along with us. They’re strong. If they carry part of the load, it will help us carry ours.”

Keeping whatever his emotions off his face, Jody said, “We’ve got another hero team in this city. What about them?”

Magnus glanced out toward Lake Michigan and the water crashing against the beach, “For now, I don’t anticipate any help from that direction. I offered them the opportunity to be part of this crusade. I don’t think that they trusted me. If they work against us, we’ll have to fight them, but they may come around. If they do, we’ll be generous. We need them too.”

Jody nodded, “I have to get back to my friends. They’ve been calling. I’ll give you your answer later.”

Meeting Jody’s eyes, Magnus said, “I can’t ask for anything more. I thank you for your consideration.”

Jody ran toward Grand Lake, the world around him turning into a blur except for the road ahead. It, along with the cars and the people, might as well have been frozen in place as he squeezed through gaps in the traffic.