Work Text:
“Ho—how much longer… until we reach the outpost, Bradford?” Manson asked in-between gasps of air and grunts.
“Not much longer. Should see it when we reach the top of this hill.” Bradford replied.
“And then how far from there?” He sounded so exhausted.
“Oh, ease up.” Laney rolled her eyes. “Fresh ain’t killing you.”
“The humidity is.”
“Should install a fan into your Gremlin then. Just try to not get thrown out of Shen’s workshop.” She playfully teased, only to get a few curses slung at her. Yuri let out a boisterous laugh.
“You’re just asking for him to get thrown out of Shen’s workshop. Again.” Jody snickered.
“I didn’t know that was her workshop.” Manson said through gritted teeth.
“Go easy on the new guy.” Joshua shook his head. He grabbed Manson’s pack off his back and slung it onto his. Manson gave a quick thank you.
Bradford was leading a squad of about five, him included, through the backwoods of North Georgia. Partially into the Appalachian Mountains. Though it was a cool, spring day, a recent rain had saturated the air as Manson was not dealing with the humidity well.
There were some sound rumors there was a reputable Black Market dealer that made their home deep within the moments. In fact, they had turned an abandoned ADVENT outpost into their base of operations. A bold and dangerous play on their hand, but seemed like ADVENT didn’t care about this region. Barely any patrols ran through the mountain. Maybe the occasional dropship flew by, but not much happened. Hopefully, the trip was worth it. Heard the dealer may have been in possession of some sensitive equipment procured from an ADVENT facility. And they were always interested in getting their hands on sensitive equipment. No telling where it could lead them.
As they crested the hill, there it was. The outpost off in the distance, just a few miles away. A white, grim covered building with several vines growing over it. The sun's rays glistened off one of those gaudy, golden statues of the Elders. A surprising sight. Those things were usually defaced or torn down when abandoned.
“I need… to catch my… breath.” Manson sat down as soon as they reached the top of the hill. He wiped the sweat from his brow before taking a swing of water from his canteen.
“Make it short.” Bradford glanced back at him and then to his watch. They still had a good amount of time before evening would hit. He wanted them to at least get halfway back to the Avenger before nightfall to set up camp.
“You’ve gotta toughen up, man.” Laney was still playfully picking on him. She found a log to step on to do some stretches to loosen up her legs. “Can’t have you on missions if you’re getting this tuckered out.
Manson furrowed his brows at her. “Not used to the humidity.” He was more used to drier climates. “Still getting used to carrying so much gear. I’m more of an engineer than a soldier.”
Manson was a new recruit to XCOM. A former ADVENT engineer fed up with the life and lies. He lived through the invasion as a teenager, and things never sat well with him. Of course, all the things the Elders did were wondrous, but it was all a lie. And then education They brought made his engineering interests flourish, but once he was older and found a job, he felt used. Eventually, catching wind of this XCOM made him want a way out of this false “golden” life. And there were a few others like him. It took some work, but they orchestrated a rescue from XCOM and delivered some equipment and valuable information into their hands. A few left to help with some havens, but most, including him, stuck with XCOM.
He flinched several times as Yuri patted his back.
“You’ll adapt in no time, kiddo.” He gave a reassuring smile in his slightly thick Russian accent. A jagged scar ran up the left side of his face, from lip to ear. His left eye was glassy, but there was a hint of life to it. “If you don’t, you’ll suffer Corvo’s wrath.” He wiggled his fingers and made an ominous “ooOooOoo” sound.
“Don’t remind me of him.” Manson huffed. He wished he never volunteered to join the more military part of XCOM. It was interesting, but he should have just stuck with the engineering crew, but there were hurting to have more people on the field. Corvo was a slave master when it came to training. He wondered how a man like him was married to Shay, who also helped with the training. She was miss peppy to mister cold… who had his own quirks. Annoying Bradford was one of them.
A few minutes passed by as they all caught a break.
“Let’s get going.” Bradford was ready to go. He was already moving.
In about half an hour or so, they arrived at their destination. The outpost. It was quiet. Dead quiet. Just the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling.
“Hm.”
Bradford approached the door. He signaled for three of them to check the windows. The security lasers were down. Boards and tarps had replaced them, as there was no more power to keep them going. He gave another sign for Manson and Laney to have their Gremlins do some scanning. Better safe than sorry. Last thing they needed was them stumbling into a trap. Or a nest of Chryssalids. As they did that, he knocked on the door a few times in a pattern given to them by their sources.
“I have burned my tomorrows and my shadows.” And said the code phrase.
A few minutes passed… and no response.
“Hm.” He glanced over at Joshua and then Yuri.
“Lights out and the place looks empty on this side.” Joshua said.
“This side is dark too.” Yuri said.
“Backs empty.” Jody said, coming back from checking the rear.
“Hm…” He didn’t like that. He then looked back at their Specialists. Laney’s Gremlin had returned to her side.
“Reading no life signs but us.” Manson said. He was letting his Gremlin do more extensive scans. “Just cold on the inside. We’re the only hot spots.”
“Same here.”
“Hm.” Odd.
He looked at the door handle and gave it a tug. The door slide right open, with a bit of help. It stuck a few times and let out a grinding screech at one point. He winced. Somebody probably heard that.
Once fully opened… there was still no response. The place was empty, but it was set up like any other black market they had gone to. Several display cases containing various weapons, equipment, and resources. Dried meats handing off to one side. There were probably more items to be purchased in the side rooms.
“Hm.” He didn’t like this. “Stay alert.” Cautiously, he entered. The others followed. He took in several whiffs and sneezed. Dusty. “Sea… salt?” But he was picking up a faint smell that was like the ocean in the room. Strange. Didn’t look like there were any candles burning.
“Picking that up too?” Yuri asked, nose wrinkling. Bradford nodded. “The air feels off.”
“Think it’s psionic activity?” Yuri was oddly sensitive to that. The doctors had done some tests. Said he had potential, but currently they didn’t have the tech to trigger that fully for him.
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Could be coming from an artifact lying around. Still, we should be careful.”
He nodded. “Agreed. Careful everyone.”
They all slowly spread out, weapons at the ready for anything, as they searched the outpost for any signs of life. But Bradford stayed in the main room. He just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. No black market dealer would leave their place unsecured like this. They usually had bodyguards besides booby traps.
“Don’t touch anything.” He noticed Joshua about to touch one case by the left wall. The man quickly apologized and backed away. Bradford didn’t take another step further into the room. Something still didn’t feel right. “The dealer could have some nasty security set up.”
“Way ahead of you. Daedalus, do your thing.” Manson has his Gremlin carefully scanning the room to pick up any traps. That blue grid touched every inch of the room. “Clear. Next room, pal.”
As the team continued to investigate, Bradford finally moved. He went over to the counter to see what was on sale. Some elerium, elerium cores, alien alloys, and torn down magnetic weapons caught his eye. Especially that elerium. “Hm…” They rarely had such a thing on display, especially the cores. You usually had to ask for those.
“Hey! WHAT TH—AAH— MM! MM!”
“Who was that?” He asked loudly. The muffled yells of one of his squadmates caught his attention. His finger hovered over the trigger to his shotgun. “Sound off! Everyone!”
“I heard that! Still here!” Yuri said.
“Nothing odd on the scanners!” Manson said.
“Investigating!” Jody said.
“Joining her!” Joshua added.
No response from Laney. She was missing.
“Be careful.” Bradford was weary. Looked like it was a setup.
As Jody and Joshua entered the room they last saw Laney head, no one was there. Minus her Gremlin that was frantically flying around a hole in the ceiling. Dust and debris fell from it and a broken light fixture swayed back and forth.
“Laney’s gone, but her Gremlin’s still here.” Joshua said, turning on his comms. He cautiously moved over to that hole, turning on his flashlight at the end of his shotgun to see what was up there.
And then something fell from that opening and made several metallic tinks on the ground.
“SHIT!” Jody’s eyes went wide.
“GRENADE!” Joshua yelled. “WE GOT TROUBLE!” He swiftly turned and headed back to the door. A second later, the grenade went off, letting off a loud bang and tossing up a lot of dust and debris. It was a flashbang.
A second later, there was a scuffle, several yells, and gunfire.
“Dammit…” Bradford cursed under his breath. He heard several wooden boards snapping from the left and right sides. Manson let out a blood-curdling yell and then Yuri spitting out several curses and gunfire before he was silenced. They were getting picked off quickly.
Before he could move to join them, he noticed a black and white blur swinging down from the ceiling. And then something solid hitting his chest.
“AGH!” The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ground with a solid thud. His shotgun clattered from his hands.
The world spun as he quickly tried to get his bearings. There was something else in that kick. It hit like a truck and was fogging his mind. Reminding him of a Sectoids psionics. As his vision cleared, he saw what kicked him dropping from the ceiling and heading over to him.
Shit. ADVENT.
They had a helmet that reminded him of one of those Stun Lancers. He pulled himself over to his shotgun and quickly grabbed it. Before he could turn it on his attacker, they were on him, kicking the gun out of his hands and planting a knee on his chest. The next second, they had on his hand on his face and in an instant the world blurred again.
He felt his head spin and a headache grow. He noticed a blue glow growing around them and streams of energy traveling from him and up their arm.
Fuck, they’re a psionic! He recognized the unpleasant feeling, but this was different. He felt like he was growing weak. As if his life was being drained from him with each passing second. Hell, he felt like his skin was wrinkling, drying out as the seconds passed.
Need to get them off! Need to cut this connection! Desperately, he tried pulling their hand from his face, but they had one hell of a death grip. He frantically reached for his knife, but they were blocking it. He could feel himself growing weaker by the second. This was not how he wanted to go out.
“Hm…” They muttered as they brought their face closer to his, cocking it to the side.
“>BOSS! STOP!<“ He heard the flanging voice of one Hybrid somewhere in the back. He wondered if they were gloating over taking them out. “>These people are XCOM!<“
He recognized at least one word in there. XCOM. Still needed to learn the language the Elders forced onto humanity, but it was looking like he wouldn’t get that chance. But the draining… the draining suddenly stopped.
“>XCOM?<” The one on top of him asked, turning their head.
“>Yes! XCOM!<“
“XCOM.” This time they uttered in English. That surprised Bradford. And they sounded female.
She carefully shifted to the side, making sure she still had him pinned as she checked his shoulder. That familiar blue, polygonal patch was there. “Hm…” She brought her hand back to his face. He winced when he felt a connection again, but this time, it felt like probing. A quick search through his mind. A gasp left her mouth.
“Dammit.” She cursed under her breath. “>EVERYONE! STAND DOWN! THEY’RE FRIENDLIES!<“ She switched back to the alien tongue.
What the hell is going on? Bradford wasn’t sure why this Hybrid had stopped draining him and stopped to check his shoulder. He still struggled, but barely had the strength to lift his hand. Here we go. He noticed her bringing her hand back to his face. He closed his eyes expecting the worse, but… but he felt his strength returning. A sharp gasp escaped from his lips. His life was coming back.
A minute or two passed before she took her hand off his face and got up. And he felt like himself again, minus the soreness to his chest and back.
“Sorry… sorry about that.” An out of breath apology came from her. And she was speaking in English again. But there was no more of the flanging in their voice like the others. Like she turned it off like a switch. Sounded completely human. And oddly familiar. He couldn’t put his finger on it. There was also a strain to her voice and a slight echo. She was slightly hunched over. Did that life transfer reserve take the life out of her? The skin on the lower part of her face… her brownish-red skin looked unnaturally pale and wrinkled. And then, from what he could tell, her neck was black. Like it was burned.
“You stumbled into our trap. We thought you were some of the local raiders that have been plaguing the locals.” She extended a hand to him.
“What the hell?” He quietly muttered to himself.
He eyed her, especially that hand, finally having a chance to study her. She was about a head taller than him, for starters. Never had seen a Hybrid so tall. She wore ADVENT armor; repurposed and repainted black and white. And that helmet was different. At a quick glance, it looked like a Stun Lancers helmet, but it was very different. It didn’t have that red ‘glass-like’ visor, instead an onyx curved piece took its place. Then he noticed this Hybrid had hair. White and brown hair. Hybrids didn’t have hair. This one had to be special as they also had psionics. Blue psionics. What were the Elders up to?
He finally noticed the symbol on the right side of her chest. Those wings and a star. Skirmishers. Ambushed by Skirmishers. What were the chances? Better than ADVENT.
“You guys set up one hell of an ambush.” He said gruffly. Just how troublesome were the local raiders for them to set this up? He finally took her hand and got up.
Just as he got up, the other Skirmishers were entering the main room, ushering in his people. They were all battered, highly confused, and ticked off. Manson was cursing out one Skirmisher in Persian. He had a dislocated right shoulder, and the Skirmisher was holding a very banged up Daedalus in their hands. Poor robot was letting out several pitiful beeps. No amount of “sorrys” was going to make the engineer calm down.
“>Sorry, boss,<” One Skirmisher in black armor came over to them, “>I missed their patches. I should have waited to give the signal.<”
“>It’s okay.<” She raised her hand to silence them. “>We already planned on taking any who entered alive for questioning. Thankfully, none were killed.<”
With that conversation over, she looked at each XCOM member. They were all pretty banged up. Cuts, bruises, and dislocated joints. At least none are dead. She then looked at Bradford.
“Come back to our camp. Our medics can patch up any damage.” She offered. “And we have some supplies and intel we can share. Information on vulnerabilities to several outposts and some facilities nearby.”
Bradford crossed his arms. An apology, of sorts. He wondered if he should accept it. They came out here for supplies and anything dealing with ADVENT. He would rather not leave empty-handed. And it would be best to keep the peace. Last thing Betos probably wanted to hear was some of her people attacking him. Hearing another curse from Manson as Yuri, with the help of one Skirmisher, popped his arm back into place had him leaning towards accepting it. A quick patch up would be a good idea. Probably would spend the night with them, depending on how long it took.
“We accept.”
“What’s your clan?” Bradford asked.
As they were following the Skirmishers back to their camp, and were nearly there, he had been studying their armor, looking for identifying markers for one of the clans local from the area. So far, he was finding nothing.
“I know a few in this region that Betos has informed me of, but not seeing anything on you guys’ armor that says who you are.”
“We don’t exactly have a ‘clan’.” Bastion answered. He had come to know her as ‘boss’ or Bastion. She still had her helmet on as the others had removed theirs as a sign of friendship. Must have been secretive. “We’re more nomadic.”
“Huh.” That was interesting and odd. Even the more nomadic clans had a name.
“You can call us Twilight Drifters.“ Attis, the one in the black armor, butted in. Looked like she was Bastion’s right-hand woman. ”Boss is a bit hesitant about a clan name, but we all felt like having some sort of name was better than nothing!” She let out a hearty laugh as she smacked Bastion’s back several times. Bastion grunted with each hit. She turned her head. The corners of her lips were twitching as they slowly turned into a frown. That just got another laugh out of Attis and there others joined in.
“Here we are.” Bastion said as she moved some brush out of the way. The camp was active. It was a series of cabins deep in the woods they had taken over to be their base of operations for the time being. A mix of Hybrids and some humans were moving about and working.
“Attis. Turel. Get them to the medics.” Bastion instructed. “And Hol’tul and Ermes get the intel from Varkner and his crew. And get some food and sleeping quarters prepped for our guests, just in case. ”
“Yes, boss.” They nodded and went about their duties. Attis and Turel were already barking out orders to the others to alert the medics as they lead Bradford’s crew away.
“You,” she pointed at Bradford, “follow me.” She started heading over to one cabin of to the right.
He raised a brow, but shrugged. Probably had something to tell him. His ears only. He followed.
After they entered the cabin, Bastion locked the door. Didn’t need their conversation being disturbed.
“Hm.” Bradford looked around. Looked to be her quarters and the situation room all in one. A bed shoved into a corner and then several maps plastered on the walls, along with photographs and various weapon crates, spread about. Reminded him of rougher times before he found the surviving remnants of XCOM. He didn’t miss them.
“Again, I’m sorry for the injuries my people caused to your people.” She as said as she headed over to a table. She placed her rifle on the table and started taking off her armor. The gauntlets were the first things to come off.
“It’s fine.” Bradford said. Well, it was to a point. But he could ignore it. They were still alive. “Just one hell of an ambush. How the hell did you hide from our sensors?” He was curious about that.
“Psionics.” She raised her hand, forming that very energy into an orb. “I can deaden our life signatures. Makes us untraceable to most sensors. Usually takes a strong psionic to pick up something is wrong.” With that, she let the orb disappear. “Though, somehow you and one of your men noticed.”
“Huh.” He wondered if Sectoids could do that. That could be a potential headache. Something to note for the future. Especially if ADVENT started fielding Hybrids with psionics. “We just smelled salt. Sea salt. Like there was an ocean nearby.” He still found that strange.
“Hm.”
Just as she pulled off her last bit of armor, she felt woozy. Body wobbling for a moment before her legs gave out. She barely caught herself with the table, hands slamming down to stabilize herself.
“Dammit.” She grumbled under her breath.
Bradford raised a brow. He dashed over to her and helped her back up. “You alright?”
“It’s… complicated.” She grunted. She was out of of breath. “Thanks.”
“You need a medic?” He noticed she still looked pale. She shook her head.
“They can’t really help me.” Another grunt slipped out as she leaned on the table. She looked around until her eyes fell on something. “Can you bring that capsule over to me, please?” She pointed at a cylindrical device.
He fetched the capsule and handed it to her. She thanked him again as fiddled with it. The thing lit up in hexagonal panels that suddenly spun out. A white mist poured out of it. And something glimmered inside of it. She pulled out what looked to be a black crystal about the size of his thumb and sealed the capsule. The crystal had a blue shimmer when the light passed through it.
She gripped the crystal tightly in her hand and channeled her psionics. There was the sound of cracking until a loud snap was heard. Black, blue, and red liquid seeped from her hand. She opened her hand. The crystal was shattered, revealing the liquid came from with in it and a few shards had pierced her skin. Before a single drop could fall, the liquid retreated into those cuts; discoloring her hand to a pitch black. She took in a sharp breath as her body shuddered as the discoloration traveled up her arm. Just as quick as it came, the discoloration disappeared back to a brownish-red. But she looked better. Her skin looked more lively, especially around her face. That paleness was fading.
“Okay…” Bradford wasn’t sure what he had just witnessed. More weird alien stuff. This Hybrid is special. “Just who are you? What type of Hybrid are you?”
“Hm…” She grimaced, turning away from him. Looked to be a sensitive subject.
“Look, I don’t mean to—“
“No, it’s not that.” She interrupted him. “I don’t know how to put this…” She glanced over her shoulder. Looking at him for a few seconds before turning her head away. “I think I know you… and you know me.” As she said that, she started to take off her helmet.
“What?” That made no sense to him. He’d never met her or her group before. Nor did her name ring a bell from some operatives Betos had shared with them. And it was a long list.
He watched her remove her helmet. Curious to see what she looked like underneath. A Hybrid having hair was still a surprise to him. As she removed the helmet, he noticed a few oddities. She had ears. Hybrids didn’t have ears. Then there were no ports from what he could see or those surgical scar lines from them. And there should have been ports, as those ADVENT helmets connected into them.
She set her helmet down on the table, took in a deep breath, and let out a sigh. Almost like she was hesitant to turn her face fully to him. But she finally turned.
“Long time no see, John.” There was a warmness to her voice as she said that. “Can’t believe you’re alive.”
John? He never told her his first name. “How the hell–“ But as she turned, he paused. Those features, she looked more human than the average Hybrid, but some genetic modification was evident. Eyes spaced further apart, a flared nose, and an odd gauntness to her face. Reminded him of one of the Chosen, but with a more human looking skin tone. But there was something about those features that looked to familiar too him. The freckles… Why was her voice familiar to him?
“What the… no…” The gears in his mind were turning. He gasped. He knew her. “Commander Reeves? Jynn?”
“In the flesh.”
“You can’t be…” No. That was impossible. Had to be. No way she could be the Commander they were searching for. No way this person was his missing best friend. In those dreams…. No. Nightmares. In those nightmares, he saw what she looked like. She was in terrible shape, a walking corpse. And here she was, not in that terrible state, but still equally concerning. “You can’t be her.” He shook his head. But he was moving closer to her.
“I am Jynn Gresham Reeves, Central Officer John Bradford.” There was a slight annoyance in her voice as she looked at him with hooded eyes. Saying his title and full name seemed to make him snap too. It was her. But a sigh slipped from her lips. She could understand his disbelief. “Though… changed.”
He reached out to her, raising a hand towards her face, but he stopped. He quickly retracted his hand and turned away, covering his mouth. He tried his best to stifle his disbelief, his weeping. This can’t be her.
She let out another sigh and shook her head. “John.” She placed her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away.
It was a minute or two before he turned to face her again. His eyes were bloodshot. Tears stained his cheeks.
“What the hell did They do to you?”
She sighed. Them. She crossed her arms and looked away.
“A lot of things.” She didn’t know where to start. “They nearly killed me several times with Their experiments as well as being the brains behind ADVENT. Tactical advisor running 24/7 nearly nonstop for several years. Really should be brain dead from that.”
“So that theory is true…” Bradford was always a bit hesitant about that theory, but all the data they had been gathering and just how ADVENT worked leaned towards it being true. And he hated the idea of it being true, even if it meant she was still alive.
“Won’t be surprised if they have a clone of me running the system or some brain scan backup, but I see there’s some breakdown that’s been happening since I escaped. Maker said that probably wouldn’t work due to several reasons.” She darkly chuckled. She could see the Elders frantically working to make the perfect replica of her, but falling terribly. But she soon sighed.
“Raal’Maker… I have him to thank that I’m even alive. A rather benevolent Elder.” She still couldn’t believe there was a benevolent one in that Collective and supposedly his mentor had the same mindset as him. Perhaps there were more levelheaded ones under his mentor. “He tried fixing the damage several times before they ripped me away from him again. Really, my health is still terrible.”
“Benevolent?” Bradford wanted to scoff. None of those things were benevolent with what they did to the Earth.
“Trust me, he’s a good one out of Their mad Collective. Pretty much the only one who was truly concerned about my damn health.”
Health… “What about your health?” He almost didn’t want to ask. But he noticed there was still a strain lingering in her voice, even after whatever she did with that crystal.
“I can’t put this lightly….” She looked away from him. “I’m dying, John.”
“What?” Did he hear that correctly? She repeated herself, which only left his mouth hanging. “What…? How? Why?”
“What the Elders have done to me…” She touched her face, pushing at her sharp cheekbones and the strange platting-like growths that lined them. “They’re careless. Tried turning me into a Chosen when I was still broken, even after Maker’s warnings.”
“What.” To imagine her as one of those abominations was impossible. But that’s why she looked the way she did. She had some of those familiar features akin to those deathless pests.
“A funny thing, almost a twisted irony of sorts. I’m more like Them. Parasites feeding on ‘lesser’ creatures to survive.” She shook her head and laughed. “Maker was right. Something like this would happen.” She looked back at him. A pang of guilt entered her heart. She fed on him. Could have gone too far and nearly killed him. “Sorry about draining you earlier. I try to incapacitate the head of the group first and was just a bit hungry.”
Bradford was about to say something, but quickly snapped it shut. He didn’t know what to say. He was still trying to process everything.
“At least that draining wasn’t instantaneous.” He cracked a joke. Mainly trying to cheer himself up. She chuckled at that, but soon sighed. “And there’s something else.” What else? He didn’t want to hear it.
Jynn raised her hand and let her psionics flow freely from her hand. It took on the shape of a thin, four armed humanoid creature. Looked kind of like the Elders.
“I’m missing a part of me. Something happened that day they captured me at the base. I was connected to some being that was helping us. Guiding me.” She tried to explain. “When that Muton grabbed me… I disconnected to that being and haven’t been the same since.” She closed her hand and let the figure dissipate. “Even the Elders knew of whatever was connected to me. Called it the ‘Ascended One’ or something like that. Disappointed it was no longer connected with me when They started Their experiments and got me hooked up to their war machine. But They were still looking for it.”
He looked at the figure she made one last time before she let it disappear. Looked exactly like the one that would be behind her in his dreams…. No. Nightmares. He rubbed his face before dropping the hand to his chin. So much more to process. Nothing made sense. He didn’t recall them having an alien on their side back in the day. But then, again some of his memories were shot. He had trauma and alcohol to thank for that. And then so much was going on back then.
“I take it…” He paused, trying to find his words. “I take it you’re looking for this thing?”
She nodded. “Been at it for a few years now. Why my group moves around a lot.”
He let out an exasperated sigh as he moved over to an open spot on the table and leaned onto it. This can’t be happening. But it was. Somehow, all of this was happening.
“So, what have you been up to?” Jynn switched topics, hoping that would help his mood. She didn’t want to dwell on the subject for any longer. Hated thinking about her poor state of health. “I see XCOM’s still alive in some capacity.”
“We’ve been fighting back.” He nodded. “And we’ve been looking for you.”
“Looking for me?” Her ears perked up.
“I didn’t believe you were dead for a second.” He looked at her. He still couldn’t believe it. “They captured you for a reason that day. And the information we found reinforced that… and then some dreams… visions I had.”
“Huh. Really?” She was surprised to hear that. Even more surprised when he said yes. She was touched. He still believed she was alive in this mad world. But the dreams comment was… strange. “How many thought you were crazy? Wasting resources looking for a ghost from the past?” She knew there had to a good amount of doubters irritated with him, and whoever else, being insistent that she was alive.
“A good handful.” He chuckled, shaking his head.
But something still bothered him. ”Sounds like you’ve been free from the Elders’ grasp for a few years.” And if she was, and was with the Skirmishers, she had to know XCOM had come back for quite some time. “I have to ask,” he looked at her, “why did you never contact us?”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “Do you see what I look like?” She snarled, eyes glowing for a second. She gasped, catching her outburst and seeing him quickly move away. “Sorry… sorry…” She backed away for his safety. “There was no way… I’d have no idea who survived our downfall that would remember more and even be accepting of the new me.”
“Right…” That made sense. Hell, his reaction could have been so much worse when she revealed her identity. How would the others back on the ship react? There were several in the group that were extremely anti-alien. Made working with the Skirmishers tense at times. He was somewhere in the middle. But there were certain aliens he hated more than the others.
“Now, you said something about dreams?” She asked. She wanted to make sure she heard that right. “Or did you say visions?”
“Both. From what the Templars told me.” He said, looking away as he thought about them. He hated them. “Really, they were damn nightmares.”
“Explain.” She was curious.
He did his best to explain the nightmares. They were sporadic. Never really having a set pattern when they would occur and he hated that. But when they would occur, they were horrible. He would see her, just like she was before the base was invaded. But over a short period, her appearance would degrade with a flash. Several times. It was gut wrenching watching her degrade into what he could best describe as a walking corpse, barely hanging onto life. And the worst part for him was he could never reach her. There was always a distance between them. An invisible force keeping them from ever meeting.
Her mouth was agape as she listened. Sounded like he saw her through her stages of experimentation. She partially remembered some of them. Barely lucid and screaming her head off as she fought to escape her fate. Just the details he gave… did they have a psionic connection?
“Why… why were they like that?” She didn’t want to bring up the psionic connection as a suggestion just yet.
“I really don’t know…” He shook his head. Then he remembered something. “A Templar told me it may be a psionic connection of sorts. A ‘psionic bond’.” He still didn’t believe that. He didn’t want to. Just the very thought they were visions and what he saw was happening to her always bothered him. “I don’t remember you being a psionic back in the day.”
“Psionic connection…” She muttered under her breath. That just made her curious. Did she do that back then without thinking? “Well, my psionic potential was latent back then.” Something she learned when she was in the Elders’ clutches. Though she faintly remembered Vahlen wanting to run some tests after a routine health check showed something, but she was far too busy to entertain her. A part of her wanted to bring up the possibility of the bond, but decided against it.
“Huh.” He wondered what Vahlen would have done if she learned about that. Probably would have somehow convinced her to enter one of those sarcophagi for testing, despite everything going on. He chuckled to himself, cracking a smile. But it disappeared as he looked at her face. Just so much was wrong.
He looked away, retreating back to his thoughts. This was her. It really was her. His mind didn’t want to reconcile such a fact. This has to be a dream. A bad dream. Part of him wanted it to be that, but he knew the truth. Felt the truth. His body was still sore after the ambush and he could still feel the lingering tingle from those psionics. This is really her.
He turned back to her, this time moving towards her. He looked at her from head to toe. Studying her. This new form twisted by the Elders. Like the Chosen, but a proto-form of sorts. But there were so many familiar features. It was her but… she was so changed. And dying. Just why?
The next moment, he hugged her. Tightly wrapping his arms around her, and just cried.
Jynn froze, arms open and drawn back. She was hesitant to touch him. She had been waiting for this, but not so suddenly. A sigh came out as she wrapped her arms around him. Nestling her chin against his head as tears streamed down her face.
Bradford eventually pulled away, but his hands went up to her face, pausing mere inches away. Hesitant to touch her, but he eventually did. He ran his fingers down her jawline, expecting to feel any remnants of pulled ports under the skin, something some Skirmishers did once they were freed. But there was nothing. It was smooth, besides the wrinkled skin. Why did she have to look like them?
She seemed unfazed by him doing that. Almost expecting him to do that. She welcomed it. The touch of an old friend. His hands felt nice. A bit rough from calluses, but nice.
“At least they let me keep my freckles.” A little joke to lighten the mood. He chuckled for a moment before the sadness returned.
“All of this… why?” Part of him desperately wanted to know.
That. She let out a huff. She wouldn’t keep the truth from him.
“They wanted an asset and weapon in more ways than one.” She explained. “XCOM was coming back. What better way than to have the leader of said group be the one to crush it?” The Elders enjoyed doing that. The Hunter was a fine example of that. A Reaper turned against his own kind. “And They don’t care if they have to break you to remake you. Even when one of their brightest advises against it.”
“…Why.”
Hearing that just hurt him deeply. To imagine, if she was still in Their clutches, she would be one of those Chosen. Having to fight an old friend for Earth’s freedom. How would have that gone? What would they have done if they had learned of her identity? What would he have done?
“And you’re dying?” Part of him just didn’t want to believe that. Just hoped that wasn’t true.
“Yep.” Sad eyes told all. “I feel it every day. Always feels like I’m teetering on the edge. I’ve had several extensive medical scans and a…. benefactor… not Maker….” Really… she questioned if she could call that Voice such a thing. “They’ve confirmed it too.”
“Benefactor?”
“That’s hard to explain… makes me feel insane most days.” She sighed.
She reached up to her collar of her under armor and pulled it down. From the chin down, her skin was black. An unnatural black. Like something had charred it black. And there was something else. Eyes. Sharp blue eyes that looked like tattoos were near the center of her neck. Four in total. But there were some others on her neck where more eyes could be, except they were closed.
“What the hell…”
“A gift from my ‘benefactor’.” She questioned if she could even call it that. “Something the Elders fear and it equally hates Them for some transgression They committed against it… him… I don’t know. And then several other species They’ve screwed with he’s ‘friends’ with.” She shook her head. “Feels pity for me for what They’ve and has helped stabilize my form to a point… against my permission.”
Some alien that hates the Elders? At first he thought they may have had an ally until she continued to describe this being. Sounded like she didn’t like it. Trusted them even less. “This benefactor helped you?”
She nodded. “He wants to help me more. More offers to heal the damage. But I don’t trust him. I’ve refused them.” She really didn’t trust it, though its words were sweet and soothing. “The Elders fear it for a reason, though They’re not innocent from Their crimes.”
“I take it this being is still making offers?” He asked. She nodded.
“He’s patient… Scarily patient… The offers haven’t stopped.” She shook her head again. This time she hugged herself. “Sometimes… Somedays… I’m tempted to accept them just to be me again. Human once more.” It was such a dangerous temptation and she had a feeling if she accepted, something terrible would befall her.
“Damn, Jynn…”
How long had she been suffering? Living such a tortured existence? A cosmic plaything from the sound of it. This is so much worse than his fears of finding her in some lab dissected like some animal and… hopefully dead.
He dropped his hands to her shoulders. Head lowering, gaze fixed on the ground, as he dug his fingers into her shoulders. She sigh and patted his back. She hadn’t let go.
“I never got to tell you…”
Should he tell her? This could be my only chance. She is dying. How long will she live if this can’t be fixed?
“Tell me what? John?” She noticed something glisten, falling to the floor. Tears again. They must have been flowing.
He tightened his grip again as he took in several shaky breaths. He raised his head. Those tears were flowing, just streaming down his face.
“That I love you.” He finally said it. Fighting off any hesitation that wanted to come through. Felt like an enormous weight was taken off his chest.
She blinked once. Then twice. Eyes darted around before focusing back on him. He looked serious. Did she hear that correctly?
“W-w-what?”
“I love you, Jynn.” He repeated himself. More confidence in his voice. “I’ve had these feelings since we were teenagers.” Sometimes he wondered how she never noticed it back then, but she was rather oblivious to guys flirting at her kin high school. “Just kept it under wraps when we met again because of the Invasion. Couldn’t have them getting in the way. Keep it strictly business.”
“Uh…” Her mouth hung open. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. This was a revelation to her. Her lack of response did not surprise him. Probably not the best time to tell her, but he needed to get it off his chest.
“I am such an idiot…” She let out an exasperated sigh.
“Huh?” Not the response he was expecting.
She shook her head and smacked her forehead with her palm. “My mother was always the one to point out guys that had a crush on me and I’d just ignore her. She did the same with you!”
“Really?” He asked, holding back a snort in-between sniffles. She nodded.
“Hell!” She smacked her head again. “Explains why my dad was fine with me hanging out with you so much.”
“Really?” Another surprising detail. He and Mr. Reeves had a friendly relationship, but he found her father to be a rather intimidating person when he was younger. “He did scare me.”
“Seriously?” She held back a snort.
“To a teenager, a military man like him was very intimidating.”
She thought for a moment. A snort slipped out. “You’ve got a point there.”
The two hugged again. Just holding onto each other. Neither really wanted to let go. It had been so long and it felt right.
During the time, she looked at his features. How the years and stress had aged him. She wondered if the scar on his cheek came from the day the base was attacked. Probably wasn’t his only scar from that day and over the years. She ran his fingers through his hair a few times. Seemed like he didn’t mind. In fact, seemed like he welcomed it with the happy “hm” that slipped out. It surprised her to see him let his hair grow a bit, but he had an odd haircut going on. Partially shaved, starting just above his ears.
“About the hair…” She said, breaking the silence. Fingers toying with the little ‘tuft’ of hair. “Interesting cut.”
“Felt like letting it grow out.”
“But the partial shave?” She asked next, fingers feeling the border between the shaved and non-shaved side. He just shrugged. He didn’t really have an answer.
“Huh.” She just chuckled. “The little tuft is cute.” She flicked it.
Eventually, Bradford pulled away from her. Almost having to pry himself from her grasp. He didn’t want to move away, but he needed to breathe. Just so many thoughts and emotions were going through his head. He paced around the cabin as he rubbed his face.
At least she didn’t negatively react to me sharing my feelings. He was happy that didn’t sour the mood.
As he paced, he looked around the room. Eyes falling onto the maps, photos, and blueprints. One photo had a big red circle around it and a quick note scribbled next to it that said “SEND TO BETOS”.
Betos.
“So how long have you been with the Skirmishers?” He asked. He had stopped in front of the photo that had the note. He noticed another photo circled and an arrow pointing to a location. And another note saying, “SCOPE OUT MORE. HIGH SECURITY. HIGH PRIEST IS HEAD OF SECURITY. MAY BE THE PLACE. WILL NEED BACKUP. KEEP IT STEALTHY.”
“About five years or so.” She said. “Still not fully one of them, to be honest.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, how I’m more nomadic for staters and I’ve never told Betos my identity.” She explained. “She never pressed me again once I told her it was for my safety and hers if she never knew it. Last thing I need is the Chosen knowing who I’m with. Especially Jax-Rai, the Assassin.”
She and her group had far too many close calls with her. She was thankful Jax-Rai never used her psionics like Dhay-Vol, the Warlock. Would have figured out who she was ages ago, but thankfully her identity was still hidden from them. But she piqued their collective interest. A psionically capable ‘hybrid’ was running around with the Skirmishers. That caused a new set of problems for her.
“Those things.” He grimaced. He had received some intel from the other factions that those three were hunting something for the Elders, but they didn’t know what. Information was always classified, on another network they had no clue of how to reach. Now he knew it was her.
“They’ve been annoying.” Which was an understatement. “I avoid Dhay-Vol the best I can. Trying to hide my psionic signature when he’s on his hunt is nerve-wracking.” She hated him the most. Had to fry his brain on a few occasions just to escape. Somehow, he was still oblivious to her identity. Should have picked up her psionic signature from her attacks. But maybe her benefactor, that Voice, was hiding it? That thought crossed her mind many times. He could have altered her signature ever so slightly to aid her.
“Jax-Rai is a pain and I think I’ve pissed her off with how much my people and I have escaped. And we’ve bested her a few times.” She shook her head, but chuckled. “Though I think she enjoys the chase. Kind of like her brother, the Hunter. Though not as mad…” She bit her lip. “Kon-Ris… I feel like he’s figured out who I am… but is keeping it secret for some reason.”
He couldn’t imagine the amount of stress she was under having to hide from those three. But her comment about the Hunter interested him. The wildcard of the siblings. “He’s figured you out?”
“Think so. Said a few things he shouldn’t know about me. Enjoys calling me Gresham and brings up XCOM a lot.”
“And he hasn’t told the others or the Elders?”
“Hates his siblings and hates the Elders even more… Probably some part of his brain blocks the info from the Elders.” She was curious how They hadn’t picked that detail up yet. “He’s always been a wildcard for the Elders after an incident with the Reapers happened that made him more flippant. Why he hunts ADVENT and aliens too.”
“Huh.” That was interesting.
“So what’s this?” He pointed at the photo with the note of wanting to scope out some facility with high security. And the photo showed that. There were standard Troopers and MECS all over the place.
“Hm?” She went over to see what he was pointing at. “Oh that. I have a feeling that’s where they may have my ‘backup brain’ running. Want to take it out. Disrupt their tactical information network again.”
“Ah.” He simply nodded. He would have to ask about that in greater detail another time. Still couldn’t believe that theory was true. Explained how ADVENT worked like a well-oiled machine since they were founded.
“So, when’s the raid happening?” He asked.
“Still in the works. Have to scope it out more and request backup from the local Skirmisher clans.” She shook her head. “Though I want to keep it stealthy as possible. Don’t want them teleporting the asset and any other backups out of the place before we get to it.”
“Hm.” Smart. He knew he had some facilities he had people scouting. Get as more information as you can before striking. But there was always a risk. He thought for a moment as he rubbed his chin. “Well, you could… join us. Join XCOM.” He suggested. “We’d be glad to back you up. Glad to have you back.”
She blinked a few times as her eyes went wide. Both brows raised high. He has to be kidding. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“XCOM is your home.”
“John…” She wasn’t sure of that anymore.
“Our medical team may be able to help you.” He almost sounded desperate as he said that. “Hell, the Templars may be able to help you!”
It was a tempting offer, but she wasn’t so sure.
“What will your people think of me?” She asked. “Is there anyone there besides you that knows me?”
“Corvo Samaras.” He quickly responded. As if he was prepared for that question. “He was one of the training officers that moved between the bases fairly frequently. Got nicknamed the ‘slave master monk’ by most of the recruits.”
After naming him, he started naming more. Soldiers, doctors, engineers, and other staff that had survived the downfall of all the bases. She covered her mouth as she listened to him. But from her trembling eyes betrayed her. She recognized several of the names.
“So many of you… so many of you guys survived.”
“And we’re still finding more as the years pass by.” He smiled. “Most haven’t given up the fight. They’ve been eager to join up with us.”
She looked away, bitting her lip. Join them. It was such a tempting offer. XCOM was her home. But so much had change. She had changed. “But what will they think of me?” That was something he didn’t want to think about, but knew it would be a problem.
“I know some back on the ship will be hesitant. Some won’t agree…” He knew several were very anti-alien; including Hybrids. They were barely tolerant of the Skirmishers and any aliens that had defected. Given the opportunity, they would kill them. It was rough keeping that from happening with some meetings and joint missions.
“But you…” He gestured to her. “You’re alive.“ He felt like that was the only thing that mattered. “I don’t think I can let this chance meeting be a secret… Can’t just suddenly drop the search for you. Some will question that.”
He had a point there.
“I don’t know.” But she was unsure. She turned away, taking a few steps away from him. “I have to think about it.”
He reached out to her, but stopped himself. “Just think about it.”
“But I must ask… which part of you is asking this?” She glanced over her shoulder. “That military side of you? Or the part that loves me?” That declaration was still on her mind.
He looked away, closing his eyes. “Both.” He couldn’t lie. He didn’t want to lose her again.
“Hm.” That’s… concerning. But made sense. It just made her leery.
She paced around the room as she mulled over his offer. It was so tempting, but she had her worries. And then what would her people think? She couldn’t just leave them behind. She shook her head. Like they would let that happen. They would follow her to the ends of the Earth, no matter what. They told her that on several occasions. Swearing their loyalty to her despite her protests. They were beyond grateful that they were free of the Elders’ enslavement.
She looked back over at him. He had busied himself with looking at the intel.
“Maybe…” She muttered as she went back over to him. “Maybe I can join… rejoin XCOM. My people and I can join you all.”
“Hm?” He glanced over his shoulder. Looked like he was deep in his thoughts. It took him a moment to process what she said. “Would they be fine with that?”
She nodded. “My people are flexible. Practically have sworn their loyalty to me. They listen to me first before listening to Betos.” That was a headache, but somehow they worked around it.
“Huh.” Looked like she never lost her commanding skills. That made him smile. “Have to figure out the logistics, but we can always use more people. Though integrating Hybrids is going to be interesting.”
“Guess we’ll just have to see what happens when you introduce us to everyone.”
“Right.” He said, then sighed. “Think I need to send a warning first so a few of the levelheaded staff can help me. Got a radio I can borrow?”
“That sounds smart. And yes, we do.”
Bradford looked at his watch, then over to the window. Through the slits of the curtain, he could see the sun disappearing behind the trees as the sky darkened.
“Think we may be staying for the night.” Was probably for the best. Never fun trekking through a forest in the night. Anything could happen.
“Sleeping quarters should be prepared for you all by now.” She said. “And we should have enough food to go around.”
“Thanks for the generosity.” And he meant it.
“It’s what we do.” She smiled.
“Back to joining… rejoining XCOM… I would like to snuff out the local raiders before leaving. A bunch of psychopaths.” She said. A hiss slipped out as she wrinkled her nose. The world was already hard to live in with ADVENT running things, and some people just had to make it worse. No ounce of empathy. No sense of remorse. Everyone was fair game as they pillaged any camp, haven, or ‘authorize’ settlement they came across. Especially the weak.
“I think we can help with that. Won’t be leaving this region for a while.”
“Sounds likes a plan.”
She then gently patted his back a few times before heading to the door.
“Now, let’s get your current crew updated on who I am and what’s going on.” She said as she unlocked it. “And then go from there.”
He nodded and followed. “It’s going to be interesting telling them. Laney may remember you. She’s another soldier that spent most of her time in the main HQ.”
“Laney?” The name didn’t ring a bell.
“Laney Stavros. She was a medic. Still is a medic.”
“Still doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Maybe seeing her face should jog some memories.”
“Maybe.” Hopefully it would do the trick. There was a glimmer in her eye. She was somewhat excited to meet a survivor from the old base.
“Also…” She paused as she opened the door. “We’re going to have to talk about this… love… thing.” He was waiting for that.
He nodded, a small sigh slipped out. “I know.”
“It could become quite troublesome when I rejo—“
“I know.” He cut her off. He knew the risks. “I’ll try to push it to the side, but…” He paused, sighing as he looked away for a second. He turned back and looked her in the eyes. “I don’t want to lose you again.”
Her brows scrunched together, part of her lips turned into a grimace. “Hm.” Her eyes flashed blue for a second. She was picking up a lot of strong emotions from him. And a lot of conflicting ones. “And you still feel this way, especially after seeing how I am now?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice.
She closed her eyes and huffed. What to say? She didn’t know what to say. Now she was feeling conflicted. She felt something deep inside of her. Almost as if she felt the same way towards him, but wasn’t so sure. And then her current state of health wasn’t helping. She couldn’t reciprocate those feelings. She needed to dwell on them. Dwell on them for a long while.
“We’ll… we’ll discuss this later.” She continued out the door.
“Understood.” He nodded and followed. “I’ll hold you to it.”
“Don’t make me regret it.”
Where would the future take them?