The memories came to him in a series of flashes. Stewart saw images of the Agent's past as an Advent Guard, then the process of him becoming an Agent. Then, Stewart saw Reynolds in a small-town, similar to Faraday, giving an infant to a couple who nodded at the agent, aware of their assignment. Then, when the child was about five years old, he returned, taking the child away from those same parents. They didn’t shed a tear but watched as the child cried, trying to reach out to the pair that he thought was his parents. Then, the memory flashed forward again to an image of giant metal doors with the label: “Section 18.” Stewart saw the silhouette of a giant machine, with scientists standing around it gazing upon monitors capturing footage of places all over Faraday: the “Charles Adams high school”, the mall, and a house in a peaceful neighborhood not too far away. Then the vision drew him to see the Agent speaking to five individuals in full black attire, all of them seated partially in the shadows. Reynolds placed a folder onto their table, and paper-clipped to the front of that folder was a photo of a ten-year-old boy that Stewart recognized.

Kevin.

Stewart’s surprise at the discovery ejected him from the Agent's mind. He looked back at Kevin, whose expression had shifted from concern to confusion.

"What?" Kevin asked.

"It's you," Stewart replied.

In that moment, Agent Reynolds could feel slack in the boy's psychic control. He was able to wiggle his fingers, then to rotate his hands. He brought his hands together and reached for the right sleeve of his suit. Kevin happened to notice but it was too late.

"Stewart, look out!" Kevin yelled.

Stewart looked back at the Agent just in time to see him press a button on his sleeve.

Once activated, it emitted a high pitch frequency akin to a dog whistle that pierced through Stewart's mind. The psychic connection was severed. Stewart cried out in pain as the sound blared. He tried to cover his ears, even though that wouldn’t help. The sound was purely psychic.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kevin asked, reaching forward toward Stewart’s shoulder. He was unable to hear the frequency himself, and seeing Stewart in so much pain was shocking.

Reynolds, on the other hand, had regained full control of his body and noticed the Guards were recovering as well. He wasted no time. He took out a small, flat, square-shaped device from his suit jacket and began to barrel toward Stewart.

Out of the corner of his eye, Stewart saw Reynolds lunging in his direction. Yet, due to the high frequency sound, he thought Reynolds was going toward Kevin. He reached over and pushed Kevin out of the way.

“Look out!” he cried out as Kevin fell.

Then, to Stewart’s surprise, Reynolds slammed the device into the Jin’s chest. The square attached itself to Stewart’s clothing and began to beep. Like a deployed airbag, the device shot out a large elastic band that caused Stewart to stumble backwards upon impact. As he fell, the elastic material wrapped around his upper body like a straitjacket. Once it was secure, it released an electric shock through Stewart’s whole body.

He screamed.

"Quite the skills you got there, kid," Reynolds said, as he approached the now-prone Stewart.

The teen glared at him and tried to use his powers, but they wouldn’t work. This was his worst nightmare. He slowly felt his powers being drained from him. Reynolds smiled.

"These restraints repress your abilities,” Reynolds said. “You know what that means? It means you're normal. Just. Like. Us."

"Let him go!” Kevin yelled out.

He moved to lunge toward Stewart, but two Advent Guards restrained him. Kevin thrashed and thrashed, but it was no use. Stewart, watching from his own restrained position, pushed through the draining feeling as best he could and focused his thoughts on Kevin. With what power he had left, he telepathically connected to him.

It's okay.

Kevin heard Stewart in his head and locked eyes with him. Stewart continued to transmit his message.

I knew I couldn't escape this reality. It was pointless trying to change that.

Kevin grew more and more panicked in his breathing. Reynolds noticed Stewart's calm demeanor and focus and then traced the teen’s gaze to Kevin. Neither teen made a sound nor moved their lips. He stared at them, puzzled.

Stewart knew he had to keep Kevin calm. He tried his best to deliver information slowly, despite the strain it took on him.

Kevin, this place isn't real. They've all been watching you, waiting for your powers to resurface.

Kevin's eyes widened with fear. This confirmed Reynolds’ suspicion: they were communicating telepathically. It had to be stopped.

Reynolds stepped forward and then kneeled down next to Stewart. With one hand, he pressed into the space between Stewart’s neck and shoulder.

"Why don’t you take a nap?" he whispered slyly.

Stewart felt drowsy, as the blood flow at the pressure point was restricted. Still, he focused as hard as he could up until the last moment, transmitting sentence after sentence to Kevin.

Don't trust them... Don't trust anyone... You need… to get out of here.

Stewart’s eyes drooped, and he passed out, severing the psychic link. Kevin’s struggling started again in full, and he kicked and shoved against the Guards’ grasp. Reynolds stood back up and faced the Squad Leader.

"Get him in the van."

The leader nodded and signaled for his men to retrieve the teen. Two guards rushed over and grabbed him by either arm. Kevin watched helplessly, still crying out Stewart’s name until they shoved him into the truck.

He then turned to Reynolds, his voice pleading. "Please, he's not like the others."

"If I recall, you were in a headlock earlier,” Reynolds said, stepping closer to Kevin and almost challenging him to fight back. “He caused an explosion at the school, injuring your peers, and kidnapped you. Not to mention, he turned my own men on me. Doesn’t sound too friendly, does it?”

Kevin knew Reynolds had a point, but this didn’t feel right. "He was only protecting himself…”

Reynolds’ instinct was to continue pushing the boy until he broke, but instead, he smiled. He looked at the guards who still had Kevin restrained and signaled them to release him. He smiled as Kevin looked around, confused by the sudden freedom.

Reynolds spoke slowly, calmly. "That Seirei Jin is a telepathic. Do you know about Seirei Jin Variants? Well, that’s one of the most dangerous and manipulative variants of Jin we have to deal with."

"Manipulative?" Kevin shot back.

"They can get in your head. Distort your sense of what's real and what's not."

Kevin didn’t have an answer to that. The agent could be telling the truth. Stewart had told him earlier that he can control people’s minds. What if Stewart had just been messing with him the whole time? That had been Kevin’s first instinct anyway, and talking to Reynolds just seemed to confirm it.

Reynolds squinted his eyes with curiosity. "By chance, did he try to do anything to you just now?"

Kevin narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the two of you looked like you were having a staring contest back there,” Reynolds said nonchalantly. “Did he talk to you with his mind?”

Kevin paused for a second. Should he tell the agent the truth? He glanced at the SUV, where Stewart was held. No matter how unsure he felt about Stewart’s intentions, the sight still brought Kevin pain.

He looked back at Reynolds and shook his head. “I-I don’t remember. It feels like a blur.”

Reynolds stared at Kevin, trying to discern if he was lying, but the teen’s stoic face revealed nothing. He nearly pushed harder, when a high-pitched voice burst onto the scene.

“There they are!” yelled a field reporter.

Kevin and Reynolds turned to see the reporter and her cameraman running toward them. The media members looked a bit out of breath from chasing the Advent Guard over here, but otherwise, they were picture perfect.

"Oh good, the media,” Reynolds announced sarcastically.

He looked back at Kevin, who was curling into himself at the sight of cameras. For just a moment, Reynolds felt a pang of sympathy for the kid.

“I'll have these guards take you to your residence," he said gruffly

That offer made Kevin feel just as uneasy. "That’s OK. I got my own ride."

"I insist. That reporter wants you on the six o’clock news. If you don’t want to be bothered by those vultures, I’ll take the heat for you, let them know you're safe, and tell them that you and your family wish to have some privacy at this time."

Kevin narrowed his eyes, puzzled at the friendly gesture. He didn’t know what had gotten into him. He tried to relax, though it was difficult. He really was still suspicious of Reynolds.

"You would do that for me?" Kevin asked. “Why?”

"A favor now for a favor later," Reynolds said. "We're not the bad guys. Our job is to make sure threats to public safety are contained. That’s all. And sometimes, the media is a threat to public safety, if you know what I mean."

Kevin tried to find it in him to laugh, but he couldn’t. Reynolds then took a business card from his trench coat and gave it to Kevin.

"Call me, if your…memories come back.”

Then, he walked away before Kevin had any chance to answer.

For the most part, the ride home was peaceful. The Advent Guard were respectful and kept him out of view of the media, but Kevin felt odd that the Guards secured him in the back of their van. He really did want to believe they were the good guys. Yet, even as he directed them toward his home, he felt a sense of unease. Something wasn’t right, but he didn’t know what.

The sun had set by the time Kevin and the Guards returned to the Riley residence. The family ran outside the moment they heard the SUV pull up. They knew Kevin was safe by now—the Advent Guard and the news had informed them that the Jin was now captured—but the sound of car doors opening filled them all with a sense of relief. Kevin was home.

“Thanks for the ride,” Kevin said to the Guard as his mother came barreling toward him.

“You’re home!” she cried out, wrapping her arms around him. “Thank goodness, you’re home.”

Kevin had no idea how to react. Hearing those words, hearing her voice crack as she held back tears, he felt his chest grow warm. She began to cry into the shoulder of his jacket, but he didn’t mind. He could only imagine how worried she’d been.

How had Stewart said not to trust anyone? Not even his mother? Not even his family? He had no idea what to believe.

“Idiot!” yelled Sara.

Kevin and Alexcia turned back to see Sara standing in the doorway. She was clearly furious, but at the same time, there were tears streaming down her face. Alexcia released her son, and he approached Sara. When he got close enough, she socked him in the left arm with full force.

It hurt, but Kevin didn’t flinch. He completely understood her reaction. Behind her, he could see Johnny and his father wanting to intervene but staying back to give Sara space for her reaction.

“Why are you always like this?” she yelled. “Why can't you be selfish for once? Why do you have to run off and help others and put yourself in danger like that?”

Kevin remained silent and took her hits. He had no way to argue with her.

“Don't you care what happens to you? Did you ever think that we were worried?”

Kevin remained still.

She straightened up and took a step back. “Don't you care about us?”

“Sara,” Kevin said softly.

Before she could say anymore, Kevin stepped forward and embraced her. She tried to resist, but he just squeezed her tighter until she gave in to the hug.

“I'm sorry, I made you worry,” he said.”

“Just…shut up.”

They hugged for a long time there in the doorway, and everyone around them was filled with emotion at the sight of their argument. Eventually, Sara was willing to let Kevin go. Then, he returned his attention to the others, offering hugs and smiles to whoever needed them. Internally, he let out a sigh of relief, letting go of the anxiety and fear he’d been feeling all day. The Agent must have been right. Stewart was messing with his head. These people loved him. He knew he could trust them. He just had to.

It’s good to be home.