“He was in a coma,” was the first thing Creed said. There was no doubt he had grabbed the pair of heroes’ attention, though Jamie didn't see it directly as he bowed his head to avoid looking at them. 

It wasn’t that he was ashamed of what had happened to him, but... he didn’t know how to explain it. They had suffered because of his absence while he had lived in another world. He had unknowingly contributed to their pain while losing himself. Could that even be expressed in words?

“The scientists implanted false memories in his head. They manipulated his consciousness so he wouldn’t know he was living inside his own head. They can replicate the real world so well that you can’t tell the difference,” Creed continued explaining. 

Even though Jamie had already known all this, hearing it out loud didn’t feel good. He felt his stomach turn and his breakfast threaten to come back up. So he tried to breathe more deeply and focus on calming himself, which made him miss the next of the stranger’s words.

“...back.” 

He realized that silence had fallen, so he lifted his head again to find out why.

He hadn’t expected to immediately find his friends’ gazes on him—both compassionate, both pitying, both horrified by what they had discovered. On one hand, Jamie was glad they understood; on the other, he didn’t want them to pity him. Not when he hadn't suffered because of their absence.

“Jamie,” Eli addressed him cautiously and shifted his seating position so that he was suddenly kneeling right in front of the dark-haired hero, placing a palm on his knee. 

Their eyes met again, and under the weight of Eli's gaze, Jamie involuntarily blurted out: “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Elias immediately began to reassure him in a firm tone, shaking his head to emphasize his words even more.

“Elias is right,” Adrian joined in immediately when he noticed the hero in glasses opening his mouth to protest. “None of this is your fault.” 

“You were just doing your job. You were following a lead. You couldn't have known what would happen,” the blond continued. 

“If we had been with you—” Adrian took over from him and continued reassuring him, but this time he was unexpectedly interrupted by Creed.

“They would have taken you too.”

The stranger’s words made all three heroes shift their attention to him. The strength of Legion teams lay in the fact that they were never alone. Someone always had their back. Together, they were supposed to be unstoppable. That was why individual team members were always chosen so the team would function as well as possible.

It was clear the dark-haired man wasn’t comfortable with so many eyes on him as he leaned back further into the backrest, but after clearing his throat, he provided further explanation:

“They have their own people with abilities. They manipulated them enough that they’ll do anything for them—just to be outside for a while.”

Once upon a time, Jamie couldn't have imagined how someone could commit evil and hurt others just to help themselves for a fleeting moment. He had always been ready to sacrifice himself for others. Now, he understood.

“How do you know all this?”

Adrian asked a question Jamie still didn’t have an answer for, and he immediately tensed again, though his emotional state was already fragile. Not that he had ever felt completely okay since coming back.

Of course, as always before, Creed didn’t rush to answer.

“Creed,” Jamie addressed him, and when their eyes met, he added, “Please.”

The dark-haired man lowered his face for a moment, but several emotions could still be seen flickering across it. When he raised his head again, he looked calm—almost detached—as if he were distancing himself from what he was about to say.

“I grew up in one of their facilities.” 

Shock was an understatement.

The entire time, Jamie had wondered how Creed could have gotten him out of there undetected. How he could have known exactly where to look and how to transport him in his incapacitated state. He hadn't doubted that the place where he’d been held must have had security, whether in the form of cameras or guards, yet the young man had miraculously bypassed it all. Now, it was starting to make sense.

No one knew how to react to his words.

“Creed.” Adrian was surprisingly the first to speak.

The stranger turned his gaze to him, clearly not expecting it, cautious as if the youngest hero could harm him with a single look. He had no idea that Adrian had no ability for direct combat.

“We’ll protect you here. We won’t let them take you back.” Adrian’s tone was sincere, yet Creed looked far from convinced, if anything, quite the opposite.

“Creed.” This time Jamie addressed him, recalling his reluctance to approach the Legion.

“Do you…” It was hard to say aloud since he wasn't ready for the answer. “Do you think someone from Legion is working with them?”

Though he’d suspected it, he still responded with a frown when the dark-haired man gave a hesitant nod.

The trio of heroes took a breath to protest, but in the end, no one said anything aloud. Jamie had disappeared while investigating a case. Jamie had been saved by Creed, who didn't trust Legion. Both were in danger, and they wanted to protect both.

“Is that why you were avoiding the cameras? Are you afraid someone from Legion will recognize you?” Eli asked, his tone careful, as if fearing Creed wouldn't answer otherwise. But he surprised them again.

“I heard them on the phone with someone from Legion. Some woman from here is helping them,” he revealed.

Perhaps it meant he’d finally started to trust them at least a little, or perhaps he’d just carried this burden on his own shoulders for too long and finally admitted that he needed help.

Besides…

Jamie replayed all the information he had gotten from him so far and recalled the experiments Creed had mentioned, and his abilities that didn’t function properly. If he had spent more time in their lab, would he have ended up the same way?

He couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like for someone whose own powers caused them pain and were difficult to control.

“Do you know her name?” Adrian’s question drew back his attention.

“No.” Creed shook his head.

For a brief moment, silence fell again until Eli interrupted with another question.

“Would you be able to recognize her voice?”

The dark-haired man stared at him for a moment, then shrugged.

Despite not getting an answer to that question, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Now even Eli and Adrian realized the gravity of the situation—that even within Legion, it wasn't as safe as they thought.

Dread overcame them all.

“Did you find any evidence?” Jamie was the one who managed to recover the fastest, probably because he’d already known most of these things in advance. “At the place I disappeared from,” he specified when Eli and Adrian turned to him.

“A shoe print,” the blond revealed. “It had an unusual tread pattern—”

“Atypical hexagons,” Jamie finished almost perfectly in sync with him.

The hero began feeling nauseous again.

All the cases he’d investigated in his mind. All the leads he’d found. Someone was playing a joke on him, handing him everything on a silver platter that was supposed to jumpstart his memory, but it hadn't.

He quickly stood up, nearly tripping over Elias as he tried to bypass him fast enough to reach the bathroom before his stomach turned and he suddenly had the urge to get everything out.

Everything he’d eaten bid him farewell as he watched it accumulate in the toilet bowl, and all the progress he’d made thanks to Adrian’s intervention was suddenly gone. His fingers were shaking, his breathing was rapid, and despite being fine until now, a cold chill suddenly flooded him.

“Jamie.” 

In his rush to get here, he hadn't realized he’d failed to close the door until he felt the brief touch of Eli’s hand on his back. Once again, it was him who rushed to his rescue. 

“I’m okay,” he tried to reassure him, though his tone was weak and betrayed him immediately.

Despite the fact that he hadn't flushed and not only the bathroom must have smelled, but he himself as well after being drenched in a cold sweat, the blond hero moved to the floor beside him and pulled him into his arms.

Jamie rested his face against his chest and allowed himself to close his eyes.

It was ironic, considering he was missing memories from the entire year, but he was glad that whichever ones he could lose, it was these. That way he could still have full trust in Elias, as they’d known each other for years and there wasn't a moment when he couldn't rely on him. 

All those moments when Eli had offered his embrace and been there for him were still there. Still real. Still something he couldn't lose.

“We’ll figure it out. Together.”