Once Eli had calmed down enough to drive, they returned to the car and continued their journey. This time without any further stops.

Eli drove them all the way to the underground garage of Legion in the section where the residential area for employees was located, and from there they continued by elevator to the floor where their team’s apartments were. Creed and Jamie still had their hoods up and kept their faces lowered in front of the cameras — Creed did it automatically, and Jamie had simply picked up the paranoia from him over the past month.

The blond must have noticed it, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he led both of them through the building, even though Jamie also knew exactly where they were going. The only thing he didn’t know was what condition his apartment was currently in.

“Before I arrived in Jonestown, I told everyone to meet in my apartment. I told them to contact me if I didn’t reach out to them within two hours.”

If the dark-haired hero’s calculations were correct, the two hours were close. With the trip there and back and the pause they had taken for the emotional reunion, they had only the last minutes left.

“Did they know where you were going?”

Being around him, Jamie forgot that he wasn't supposed to use his voice too much, and he spoke a longer sentence again instead of pre-planning a shorter version. 

“I didn’t tell them anything,” Eli admitted and turned his gaze to him. “I didn’t want to give them false hope.”

Jamie nodded in understanding. He couldn’t even imagine what they must have gone through during that year. He himself used to feel desperate when he couldn’t solve a case for a long time, and the thought of having to search for someone from the team and not being able to find them filled him with a sense of helplessness.

The rest of the elevator ride passed in silence. Creed didn’t speak when he didn’t have to, Eli still seemed shaken, and although he certainly had questions, he didn’t ask them, and the dark-haired hero in glasses that weren’t his and couldn’t wait to put on the spare ones he had in his apartment was preparing himself. For what, however, he didn’t know yet.

When they stopped and the doors opened automatically, the blond took his hand again and pulled him out as if he was afraid one of them might be left behind. Jamie let him again.

Creed stayed close behind them and looked around himself. He kept close by Jamie’s side, as if he wasn’t sure whether he could trust the other hero, and although Jamie still didn’t know what exactly had happened to him, he partly understood his hesitation.

There were six apartments on this floor in total, like on most of the others. Until recently, that had been the maximum number of members a team in Legion could have, although there were exceptions. Well… the only exception at the moment was the team in Goldby City, if it was still in the same lineup as Jamie remembered.

Elias’s apartment was right next to Jamie’s. The dark-haired hero couldn’t help glancing toward his own door, but he was glad he didn’t have to go there. It was stupid and didn’t make sense, but somehow he didn’t want to immediately compare how well those who had kept him in a coma had managed to imitate the details of his apartment.

“Go first,” Jamie said when they stopped in front of Eli’s door.

The blond turned to him, squeezed his palm in his, and then let go. “Be right behind me, please.”

Jamie nodded, and then it was time to step inside.

He didn’t know why he was nervous. He had no reason to be. It was just his team, yet for some reason he could feel his breathing quicken. Whether it was anticipation or panic, he didn’t know and didn’t want to find out.

“Where were you?” “You know you’re always supposed to report where you’re going.” “We were worried about you.”

Jamie could automatically assign each voice to a member of his team. Nate, Xavier, Adrian… they were all here.

Instead of answering them, Eli stepped aside, revealing the people behind his back and allowing them to step inside.

“Hi.”

Jamie stepped forward and managed only a short greeting, but that was enough for all three heroes to jump to their feet and remain standing with expressions as if they had seen a ghost. And maybe they had. Jamie didn’t know what conclusion they had reached in his case.

“Jamie.”

Nate was the first to recover, and the moment he moved toward him and pulled him into a tight embrace, it seemed the other two heroes recovered as well, and suddenly Jamie found himself surrounded from every side.

In the hero’s mind, a year had passed where he spent every day with them, but in reality, they hadn't seen him for a year. He and Adrian had actually worked together for barely three months, yet he was now clutching Jamie in his arms just as tightly as the others.

Jamie felt conflicted, realizing only now that most of their friendship had been imagined in his head and, in truth, he didn't really know Adrian at all. But now was not the right time to address that. Not when his return had given his team hope. He couldn't ruin it for them right away.

“What happened?” “Are you alright?” “Who do we have to kill?”

Although it seemed no one wanted to let him go and their embrace would last forever, eventually they released him, probably to get answers.

The hero in glasses opened his mouth, even though he didn’t have a satisfactory answer to any of the questions, but Eli spoke before him.

“That’s not important right now.”

His interruption shifted the heroes’ attention elsewhere, and only then did they finally notice Creed’s presence. Jamie also turned his head toward him and so he noticed that although the younger man was still trying to keep his head down and stayed hidden under his hood, he was watching his surroundings with a cautious gaze and studying the strangers in front of him as if trying to determine whether they posed a threat.

“This is Creed,” Eli took over the introductions, even though he had only just met him himself.

“We need to protect him,” Jamie added.

Until now he had been protecting him and doing everything to make sure the unknown kidnappers, about whom Jamie still didn’t know much, wouldn’t find them. Now, however, they were on territory the hero knew well, and so it was up to him to take over that role.

His teammates immediately changed their expressions, realizing the importance of his words.

“I’m Xavier,” the commander immediately spoke up and turned toward the dark-haired man. “These are Nate and Adrian. We’ll do everything to make sure you’re safe.”

Even though his tone left no room for doubt, Creed’s expression clearly showed he wasn’t convinced. Still, he nodded, probably so that more attention wouldn’t remain on him. Especially not from someone from Legion.

“We should let them rest.” Once again it was Eli who decided to save the situation, and Jamie felt a gentle touch on his back. His friend was strangely touchy now, but the hero in the glasses understood and, frankly, didn't mind. It also gave him a sense of reassurance, even though he was beginning to feel his legs stop listening to him.

“Of course,” Nate immediately agreed.

“Come sit down.” Adrian stepped a step back so Jamie and Creed, still partly hiding behind him, had a clear path and weren’t surrounded from all sides. “We’ll make you something to eat and I’ll examine you. Do you have any injuries?”

“No,” the dark-haired man refused immediately, even though neither of them was completely fine.

“We’re okay,” Jamie added in a gentler tone than the man behind his back. He wasn’t telling the truth either, but unlike Creed he had a different reason for it. He didn’t want his team to worry about him even more, so he was prepared to keep pretending for a little longer.

“Let’s get you to the couch.” Unlike the others, the blond hero didn't just speak; he acted. Still with a hand on Jamie’s back, he began leading him toward the dark sofa, and Creed moved with them automatically.

Everyone else was immediately on their heels, and while they gave the two rescued men as much space as possible—leaving them the larger part of the sofa—they sat down on the rest, practically right across from them.

All eyes were now on them, and Jamie had to pretend much more that nothing was wrong with him so he wouldn’t stress them unnecessarily. It was difficult when he felt how the long journey had tired him and he had the feeling that focusing on so many people was starting to give him a headache.

Despite that, he returned their gaze, noticing every changed detail about them. It was proof that Creed hadn’t been lying and that the last year had really taken place only in his head.

He still wasn’t at peace with it.