AN: Funny story – I got really drunk at a party Saturday night and screwed up publishing the chapter when I got home. Didn't realize it until just now.

"This is the man who began it all, and he's the one who's going to give us the full story. This is the house of Dr. Alexander Burns." That had to be a common name. Boston was a big city, and it had a number of suburbs. Alex Burns couldn't be that uncommon. I had never heard of another one, but it doesn't mean he doesn't exist. I wanted to protest it. Say it wasn't so. I knew, though, that when I walked into that house I was going to meet my math teacher. Former math teacher, I guess. Do criminals still have to go to school? He had never given his title as a doctor, but it was obvious he was a smart guy, so him having a PhD wouldn't have been all that surprising. In a poetic sort of way, it all kind of made sense. It was that day in math that had started everything. Zack falling to the floor while reading Mr. Burns', or Dr. Burns', mind. Zack being rushed to a hospital. Zack being taken away. My family falling apart. My own manifestations. Zack returning. And now we were going back to where it all began, in a manner of speaking.

"Isn't he probably asleep?" Evan looked up at Sarah. I wished I had a watch. It was dark out, but that was all I knew.

"Doesn't matter. Come on – follow me." We carefully picked our way through his neatly cut, well kept lawn into his backyard, hopping the fence to avoid any noise from the gate. I cut my hand on the steel-wire fence, but I didn't say anything. I was too tired to talk. We walked over towards the back door. Sarah tried it. "Locked."

"Good. Let me do it." Evan lit his hand up and smiled crazily. Even after burning down a hotel, he was ready to go again.

"I'd really prefer it if you wouldn't do that." All three of us snapped our heads backwards at the noise. Standing behind us was Mr. Burns, fully dressed, and with a rifle in his hands, aimed at the ground.

***

"It was really stupid of you to come here. You know that, right?" Mr. Burns had taken us into his house and was busy making coffee. We were seated around his kitchen table. I looked over at a clock. 3:45. It was pretty late. I hadn't been up this late since Zack and I had tried to spend the night in the supposedly haunted suite. I smiled, remembering the incident. Sarah was sitting there with her arms crossed, clearly not happy with the way things were going. Evan just looked bored and started dancing fire across his fingers. "Really, what was your plan? Break into my house, hold me hostage, and force me to answer your questions?"

"Something like that."

"One of the most powerful precogs we ever met, and still you don't have the ability to think things through." She glared at him. "Sugar?"

She shook her head. "No, just cream. And we needed answers. Martin was here tonight."

He nodded and set about finishing two cups of coffee. "I know. He had only been gone fifteen minutes when I heard you three in the backyard. I thought maybe he had come back for me." He walked over with the cups, setting one down in front of her and then taking his own and sat down next to me at the head of the table, opposite Sarah.

"Why would he come back for you?"

He shrugged. "I can't tell you that. Possibly, he thought that I might be a liability. It might have occurred to him that, since I wasn't working for him anymore, I might be more likely to help you, should you come this way. He can't have seen it as a coincidence that you showed up in Boston of all places." They stared at each other. Sarah's expression softened, and she reached for the cup.

"It wasn't, exactly. We, Evan and I, came here for you. It wasn't until we actually hit the city that I..." she stopped and looked at me.

"If we're going to have an exchange of information, I think it would be best to be honest with each other."

Sarah started mumbling. "I don't know...exactly...what are you..."

He cut her off. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Now, you've come here to find out what is happening, and I can't tell you that." She started to glare again and opened her mouth to talk. He either didn't notice or didn't care. "I can't tell you that because I no longer am privy to that information. What I can tell you is what has happened." He looked down at me. "Cody, I take it by now you've noticed a common thread between you, Sarah, Evan, and your brother, Zack?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I mean, we can all do stuff, I think." I looked at Sarah. "She sometimes closes her eyes and stuff, and Evan said it was seeing. Like, she knew when Dad showed up, even though it hadn't happened yet." I looked over at Evan, who was no longer playing with his fire and was watching us now. "Evan can create and control fire." I looked back at Mr. Burns. I still didn't feel comfortable thinking of him as Dr. Burns. "Zack can read minds. Or, at least he could. Now he can do all kinds of stuff with people's thoughts. Make them think what he wants." I bit on my finger. It was kind of a nervous habit I had, whenever I got anxious. "And I can move stuff with my mind. But, other than being strange, it doesn't seem like we have too much in common at all."

He nodded. "That's what we thought for a while too. Do you know what the Cold War was?"

I nodded, but Evan shook his head. "The Cold War? What's that, like a war in the North Pole." What an idiot.

"No, it was a prolonged period of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States which manifested in things like the Space Race, Arms Race, and a series of proxy wars." I looked up at Mr. Burns. "Right?"

"More or less. Sounds like a definition ripped straight from a text book, but it will suffice. During the Cold War, the United States decided to look into the possibility of psychic abilities and their potential uses in modern warfare. We were most interested in the ability of precognition and remote viewing, the ability to see things that hadn't happened yet or had happened some great distance away from the observer." He nodded towards Sarah. "Sarah, here, had more potential than any precog we had met."

"You keep saying 'we'."

"Yes, I was the head researcher for Project Stargate, which was the name of the military sponsored project. Our research there led us to the discovery of a number of physic phenomenon – pyrokinesis, the ability to control and manipulate fire; electrokinesis, the ability to control and manipulate electricity; telekinesis, the ability to move objects with one's mind; telepathy, the ability to control and manipulate the mind. Including precognition, which we've already gone over, that means we discovered five such abilities. We're fairly certain we have discovered all of them, though, of course, there could always be more. This research was done almost in complete secrecy to prevent the possibility of Soviet spies learning what we were doing."

"But how would knowing about this stuff help anyone?"

"Cody, think about it." This time, it was Sarah who spoke. "If I could spy on countries thousands of miles away, or predict where and when a military strike was going to happen, that has huge advantages."

"It runs even deeper than strictly the usage of hard power. The amount of economic and diplomatic power a country could gain by being able to predict the happenings of other countries political climates and their markets. And then there's always preventing natural disasters. Cody, the discovery of precognition alone would have been worth the billions of dollars that went into funding this project. And then there were other uses. Telepaths made counter-intelligence a near trivial pursuit. Electrokinetics displayed an amazing ability at espionage when it came to infiltrating computer networks, as well as always having a rather dangerous weapon available, as was true with pyrokinetics. The possibilities seemed honestly limitless at the time."

I nodded. "So, you studied physics?"

Evan laughed. "Captured is more like it."

"It is true that not all participants were voluntary. We had peripheral concerns. Imagine what some of these people could do if left to their own devices. We license people to drive cars or own guns, but here we had the possibility of dozens, maybe even hundreds of people walking around with perfectly concealed weaponry more powerful than most contemporary weaponry in terms of sheer firepower." Mr. Burns sighed and rubbed his face. "At the time, our mode of thinking was that these people posed a significant threat to themselves and others if left alone."

"You just kidnapped people because they were different? Because they were like us?" Suddenly, I started to understand why Sarah and Evan seemed so bitter. "And my Dad was part of that?"

"We captured people because they were dangerous, but you're jumping a bit ahead in the story, although the answer to your last question lies somewhere in between a yes and no. Like I said, we were studying, training, and deploying these individuals across the globe to combat the Soviet threat. Since the operation was mostly in secret, though, it was also hidden from most governmental and military officials. In fact, not many knew of its existence, despite our extensive funding. We operated almost entirely in secrecy from the rest of the country, deciding what we thought would be best given our full access to intelligence, along with our rather more pronounced intelligence system." He looked over towards Sarah. "Whatever you may think of me, we did save lives."

"I notice that you're glossing over some of the more horrid history of that place. How about you tell Cody what happened to those who wouldn't cooperate? How about you tell him what happened to those who didn't "make it"? How about you tell him what happened when Woodward decided that there were inside threats? You're the one who said we needed to be honest with each other." Sarah slammed her now empty cup down on the table and pushed her chair back from it, apparently disgusted to even be at the same table as him.

He sighed again and then looked back at me. "It was a grueling process. We had to be certain that our psychics had complete control over their abilities and could be deployed successfully as field agents with only minimal oversight. It is true that many died during their intensive training. And when it was clear that there was a lack of trust or cooperation, well, we had rather coercive methods of getting them to cooperate." I suddenly remembered my brother and his ability to control people's minds.

"You brainwashed them, didn't you? With the telepaths?"

"Of course, you can see why it was such a brilliant answer, can't you? If someone disagreed with us, we'd simply make them agree. And not by harming them, but just by making them think they agreed. It wasn't exactly that easy, as there was always mental resistance that had to be broken down. Agents were never really the same after going through such treatment. It seemed to break the very essence of who they were. Their being, so to speak." A chill went through my spine. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. And now my brother was a part of this sadistic program.

"But you were shut down. I heard my mom tell my dad that. The government shut you down."

He chuckled. "You know, Cody, it's really a wonder how you managed to survive in your house, knowing all that you did. When we spoke about your brother, I knew you were keeping a lot from me, and I wanted to warn you then. But, of course, warning you would simply have put you in more danger." The room was silent, other than the electric hum of the refrigerator. "Yes, we were shut down. General Woodward, who headed up the operation, began to realize even more practical applications of our program. He started reassigning precogs and telepaths to domestic assignments, seeking out those who he viewed as being internal threats and then eliminating them."

"That doesn't seem so bad though. Getting rid of spies?"

Sarah shook her head. "It wasn't just spies, Cody. Woodward had a god-complex in the worst way. He took out anyone he thought even might pose a threat, be it politically, professionally, or otherwise. He didn't even kill them all. He'd have them arrested, discredited, whatever he could do to remove politicians who wanted to cut our funding or people who thought a secret project that had almost complete autonomy was a threat to liberty."

"It's true that he was rather quick to attempt and remove opposition. His work with, and reliance upon psychics led him to quickly distrust almost any other form of information. He believed they were the most powerful tools available to mankind, and should be cultivated and used accordingly. As a result, several things happened in the late 80s. First, there were precious few psychics, and even fewer that made it to adulthood. Woodward commissioned most of the research team to start looking into genetically altering infants in the hopes of giving them psychic powers. However, since they don't manifest until puberty sets in, it was difficult to see the results of our research." I blushed as I realized that this meant Zack had hit puberty before I did. I guess he was right about being older. Nobody seemed to notice. "Secondly, Woodward began to distrust the democratic process, believing it to be based on a limited scope of information. More than ever, he began to interfere with elections across the globe, under the belief that he could make better decisions with his psychics than a mass of people could. Finally, he decided to bring the public into the open and declare that there was no longer a need for any oversight. The project, he said, would now lead the country."

I sat there, trying to comprehend what that would have meant. "You mean a coup? He wanted to take over everything using the psychics he had?"

"Yes, Cody, and not just his psychics. He tried to use what portions of the military he could isolate and convince that the highest officials in the government had been taken over by Soviet spies. There weren't many, but there were some. The insurrection was quietly put down, Woodward was arrested for high treason, as were all of his conspirators, and there was a full inquiry into the research we had been doing at Fort Meade, where we were based. The researchers were told to find a cure for what we had done to those children, and then we would all be tried before a military tribunal and then sentenced to life in prison. I can't say that I blame them, although that life didn't appeal much to me."

"But you're not in jail. Did they find you innocent?"

He laughed. "Hardly. We got wind of what was going to happen before the fort was seized and we were all arrested. I fled. Several of the children were secreted away, although not until after cures were administered. Carey, a field agent who wanted out, was given you and Zack to care for and watch to see if the cure actually worked, in exchange for Kurt getting her out of Meade before they came to arrest her as well. Kurt, who also managed to avoid arrest, routinely checked up on the two of you as the rest of the team that fled tried to reorganize and start again."

"And you still work with them?"

"Not exactly. I gave over everything I took with me to Kurt as he tried to reorganize a team. Other than that, though, I have been out of contact since '92, when the project was permanently shut down. Based on the events of tonight, though, I'd say it's a fair bet that they're working again.

I laid my head down in my arms on the table. I didn't know what to think or who to trust anymore. I looked back up at Burns and fought back the tears that were burning their way into my eyes. "Does this mean that Mom and Dad aren't my parents."

"Cody," I felt an arm on my shoulder. I turned and saw Sarah kneeling down so her head was level with mine. "The children that they used for this project all came from orphanages. Evan, me, and you and Zack too." I pulled away from her touch. Getting up, I walked out the back door, ignoring their calls for me to stay.

***

I was sitting on a porch swing. My first thought was to run away, but I was tired, and I really didn't think it was worth it. Nobody had lied to me, exactly, although Dr. Burns had been very misleading all year while playing as my teacher. Even if they were all lying to me, it wouldn't have mattered. I still had nowhere to go. I sighed and kicked my shoe into the ground, sending the swing backwards. Where was Zack when I needed him? He always knew what to do. I was smart and could help him when it came to pure thinking, but I never could make a decision. I examined everything too thoroughly, always second-guessing everything. Zack could make a decision in a heartbeat. They weren't always good decisions, but he always had something. And, more often than not, it was his quick thinking that got us out of trouble. The swing went back and forth, losing momentum with each pass until it came to a stop.

A hand touched my shoulder and someone sat down next to me on the swing. I looked over. It was Sarah. "Hey, how ya doin'?"

I shrugged and shook my head. I didn't know what to say. One more thing I didn't know. "Cody, I know how you must be feeling right now -"

I cut her off. "Oh, do you?"

"Yeah, I do. Hurt and confused. You just found out that you've been lied to your entire life by the people who were supposed to care about you. You're trusting your lives to complete strangers who haven't been very honest with you so far either. You miss your brother, and you just want to go back to having a normal life, before any of this started." She gently rocked the swing backwards and forwards. "That about sum it up?"

I took a deep breath. "When we were younger, everyone called me the smart twin. Zack never really made good grades, and he didn't ever care a lot about school. But I did. It was the only thing I had. We were moving around all the time, never staying in a city for very long, and so I didn't really have any friends. Just Zack. Nobody ever likes the new kids. So I studied hard all the time. It was just who I was. I wanted to be able to help Mom out, so she wouldn't have to work her whole life, and I wanted to be able to help Zack out too, because I never thought he was going to amount to anything." I paused and looked down at my shoes. "It used to make me feel really guilty when I'd think things like that. Zack supported me a lot. We fought and stuff, but it was just brother fights. He always let me be the smart one because I needed that. And he was the athletic one. You know what I figured out though?"

"What's that?"

"Zack was always smart. He just didn't care about school. I learned facts and memorized equations, but that doesn't make me smart. It just means I memorized a lot. Zack could work through real-life problems faster than anyone I know. Whenever we were in trouble, or just whatever, it was always Zack who came up with a plan to get us out. Even tonight, it was Zack who worked out how to save me in just the few seconds he bought us. Zack's good when it comes to real life stuff, and I'm just his tag-along kid brother who plays at being a scholar."

"Cody..." but she didn't finish that, so I went on.

"And that would be fine, but I'm not even Cody Martin. I'm just some test subject. The lesser twin without a family that was experimented on. Mom and Dad aren't even my parents, and they never cared about me anyway. To them it was just an assignment. I think Mom loved me. At least, that's what Dad accused her of." I laughed bitterly. "Accused her of it like it's a bad thing to love her kids." I sniffled, trying to fight back the tears welling up in my eyes. I had been trying not to cry for far too long. They came, and there was nothing I could do to stop them.

Sarah wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in to her, bringing her other hand up to stroke my hair. "Cody, listen to me. It doesn't matter what Alexander told you. You're still Cody Martin, and nothing can change that. Your brother's abilities, your insecurities, and your lineage don't matter. You're twelve year old Cody Martin, and it's okay to be scared, and it's okay to be upset. If you need to cry right now because of how alone you feel, that's alright. I'll stay right here with you and not say a word about it tomorrow. But I want you to know you're not alone. You don't have any reason to believe me – everyone who's ever asked for your trust has broken it so thoroughly that I'd be surprised if you ever managed to trust another living person again. But it wasn't a coincidence that I picked you up on the street."

I looked up, confused. Her body more than physically warmed me; it sent a sense of security through me. I saw in her a strange mix of sisterly affection and motherly protectiveness. We weren't related, and, yet, we were. All because we had been tampered with to produce human weaponry. We were related at a fundamental level that could not be denied.

"I had been watching you from a distance for a long time. Evan and I both. I know you don't exactly like him right now, but, trust me, he's a good kid." I yawned, and she kept talking about their life. How she had been fourteen when the project was officially terminated. She had managed to escape with an infant, Evan, after he had been genetically altered. How, even though they weren't related, she had raised him as her brother. "So you see," she said, "even though we weren't related, we're still family. We're all a family, Cody." She went on, describing their life on the streets, trying to stay away from government agencies in case they were spotted. And how she finally had seen a vision of he and Zack, and how she knew that she needed to come to Boston to finish Project Stargate, once and for all.

I closed my eyes and took comfort in the presence of her voice as I drifted off to sleep. A sleep that came after what felt like weeks of horror.