Psionic

Fragments of broken memories always played through Katherine’s head when she slept, and she could never figure out how to connect them. Perhaps they weren’t the shadows of real events, but of dreams. They were a mere illusion crafted by her subconscious to entertain her mind throughout the night.

At least, this was what she told herself.

Katherine’s parents passed away when she was little. She didn’t know how they died, and she didn’t want to. It was easier that way. 

She had lived with her adoptive mother, Molly, for as long as she could remember. Looking back, it was difficult to target specific memories. Her past was more of a general idea than a series of events. It scared her.

Fear had a strange way of making her accept half-truths and lies willingly. As long as she could live a comfortable life without some unknown burden pressing down on her shoulders, she was happy to believe any form of reality that the world offered. This was the mutual relationship that she and the universe shared. She buried her head in the sand, and it kept her from facing the terrifying thought that her past was not as she remembered.

But truth always had a way of coming back to make itself known. It was something that not even the universe could keep silent. 

For the first time in weeks, Katherine woke with the sun. During the summer she liked to sleep in late, but this morning was different. Something about the golden tint of sunlight spilling across the polished oak floor inspired her. Or maybe it was because the garbage truck arrived earlier than usual, grumbling down the road and letting out a deafening screech before coming to a stop. 

Either way, Katherine decided to start the day on a high note.

Milo, her adopted younger brother, was already up. It wasn’t unlike him; Milo was the most diligent, productive twelve-year-old on Earth. He sat at the table with his newest Sudoku book, scribbling away with complete concentration.

“Morning,” Katherine greeted.

Milo didn’t look up. “You’re up early.”

“Yeah, well.” She opened the pantry and retrieved a box of Cocoa Krispies. “I was thinking of going to the park to practice my skateboarding.”

Milo was still working through his puzzle intently. He flipped the page after a moment and went on to the next one. “Mm-hm.”

Katherine grabbed the milk from the fridge. “That was my way of asking if you want to come.”

“Oh. Uh… sure,” Milo mumbled distractedly.

“Great. We’ll leave after breakfast.”

Milo looked up at her and blinked. “Leave to go where?”

The park wasn’t far from their house. It consisted of a small basketball court, a field, a playground, and a handful of scattered picnic tables. 

Katherine dropped her skateboard onto the blacktop and started off, her feet finding their places immediately despite her lack of practice. Milo, not surprisingly, took a seat at a picnic table to read.

The blazing July sun quickly began to weigh down on Katherine, who escaped to the shade. She took a seat across from Milo and sighed. “We should’ve brought some water.”

Without looking away from his book, Milo handed her a canteen. 

“Oh.” After a few satisfying gulps, she began to tap the table boredly. “So… what are you reading?”

“Harry Potter.”

Katherine looked at the book cover, and her eyebrows drew together. “Wait. Is that…” she snatched the book from Milo’s fingers and stared down at the title. “What language is this?”

Milo took the book back. “German.” 

“You don’t even know German.” When he continued to ignore her, Katherine added, “Are you trying to seem smart of something?”

Milo let out a sigh of exasperation. “Ja, schwester, ich bin sicher, das ist es.”

When it became clear that Milo wouldn’t act as a source of entertainment, Katherine went back to her skateboard. She attempted to olly, but she still hadn’t mastered that particular trick. Or any other, for that matter.

The skin along Katherine’s spine began to prickle, and an overwhelming uneasiness rushed through her. It was so sudden and powerful that she didn’t know how to react to it; she stood frozen in place and didn’t dare breath.

Is this what a panic attack feels like?

“Milo?” she managed to whisper. She turned her head to look at him, and saw a ripple like clear water rush through surrounding air. “Do you feel that?”

“What do you mean?”

Katherine turned her gaze away as a figure entered her line of vision. The rippling effect intensified around the young boy that stood several yards away. He wore a plaid overcoat and newsboy hat. His dull grey eyes were trained on Katherine with no visible emotion, and his mouth was set into a grim line. 

An explosion of glitching images and high-pitched shrieks echoed against the walls of Katherine’s skull. When she squeezed her eyes shut they only grew louder, like a thousand people were pounding on the sides of her head and screaming.

“Katherine?”

She turned sharply to meet Milo’s eyes, and everything stopped at once.

“Are you okay?” Milo urged.

Katherine blinked, and turned to where the boy previously stood. He was nowhere in sight.

“He just stood there staring at me,” Katherine said at dinner that night. “Then he was gone.”

“It’s creepy,” Milo mumbled. “I mean, I didn’t see anyone at all.”

Katherine picked at her potatoes absentmindedly. “Yeah. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.”

“So… have you seen this boy before?” Molly asked.

Katherine hesitated. “I don’t think so.”

Molly got to her feet. “You probably imagined it.”

“Imagined it?” Katherine repeated in disbelief. “No, I know what I saw.”

“Put your dishes in the dishwasher when you finish,” Molly said. “I’m going to fold laundry.”

“She knows something.” 

Katherine was pacing back and forth in her room, and Milo sat at the end of the bed playing with a maze ball. 

“I don’t know what it is, but it has to do with the boy at the park,” Katherine continued.

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Did you see how she acted when I told her what happened? She wouldn’t even make eye contact with me.”

Milo hesitated. “She had things to do.”

“Okay, but don’t you think it’s a little bit suspicious that-”

“Just stop, okay? Mom has done so much for us. She takes care of us, she gives us the best life that she possibly can… and you’re making accusations with no proof.”

“Milo…”

“I just want to drop this conversation,” Milo said quietly.

The next day was cloudy, so the air was fairly cool. Katherine stood in the kitchen and gazed out the window, her eyes tracing the edges of the mountains that stood past the forest. 

When Milo entered the room, Katherine exclaimed, “Finally! I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

“Well, here I am.”

“I was thinking of going for a hike,” Katherine explained. “Want to come?”

Milo hesitated. “You and I both know that you’re the outdoorsy one. But… sure. I guess I’ll come.”

“Okay. I’ll go grab the packs while you tell Mom that we’re heading out.”

Milo assumed that Molly would be in her office as she usually was. It branched off of her bedroom, which he walked through silently toward the office door. It was creaked open slightly, and he could hear Molly’s muffled voice. 

“Of course they don’t. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

Milo hesitated. “Mom?”

“I’m being careful,” Molly whispered. “There isn’t any reason for them to suspect anything.”

Milo reached toward the doorknob, but froze when he heard Molly’s next words.

“Milo may be clever, but he trusts me. It’s Katherine that I’m worried about.” There was silence for a few moments, then, “Okay, that’s fine. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

The door swung open and Milo stumbled back.

“What are you doing?” Molly asked in bewilderment.

Milo swallowed. “I was… I was just… I wanted to see if it was okay if Katherine and I went on a hike.”

Molly let out a sigh of what Milo assumed was relief. “Okay… just be careful. I have to run an errand, but I should be back in a little while.”

Milo could only nod. He followed Molly from the bedroom to the living room, and watched as she headed out the front door.

“Where’s she going?” Katherine asked.

Milo wouldn’t meet her eyes. “On an errand.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I heard her talking on the phone,” Milo began. “She said something kind of weird.”

“Well, don’t jump to any conclusions,” Katherine said with the shadow of a smile.

“This isn’t funny, Katherine. She said something about me trusting her… and you being the one she has to worry about.”

Katherine eyed him carefully. She then started off toward Molly’s bedroom, a look of resolution on her face.

Milo followed behind her. “Where are you going?”

“To find out the truth.”

“Katherine-”

“I didn’t say you have to come,” Katherine said firmly. “But we have the right to know.”

Katherine pulled open a filing cabinet in Molly’s office and began to shuffle through it. Milo lingered in the doorway, his heart pounding. “Are you sure this is a good idea? Molly could be back soon.”

“Do you want to know what’s going on or not?”

Milo sighed and stepped into the room. “So what are we looking for, anyway?”

“Um… I guess we’ll know it when we find it.” She pulled out a stack of folders and set them on the floor beside her. 

The two of them began to sort and read, but only tax forms, business cards, transaction receipts, and adoption papers stared back at them.

“Maybe we should stop now,” Milo said finally. “Molly could get home at any second.”

Katherine pulled open the door to a small closet where Molly kept some of her old clothing and other things of sentimental value. She stepped forward and began her search along the shelf that hung on the far wall. “If you want to leave, go ahead. But I’m planning on sticking around until I-”

The floor seemed to drop beneath Katherine’s feet all at once, and she barely had time to scream before the wind was knocked from her lungs. She gasped for breath, and once she’d captured her bearings, she allowed herself to take in the surrounding room. 

She’d never seen it before in her life.

“Katherine?” Milo called from above.

“I’m fine,” Katherine managed to reply. 

“Where are you?”

Katherine’s gaze traced along the dark walls and dirt floor. “I think I’m in a basement or something.”

“I didn’t even know we had a basement!”

“Neither did I,” Katherine said under her breath. 

She struggled to her feet and started to walk around the perimeter of the room. Her eyes caught on a box that sat in a narrow crawl space, and she kneeled down beside it. The label read: Do not open.

“What’s going on down there?” Milo called.

Katherine didn’t answer. She pulled a stack of old newspapers from the box, and her eyes landed on what seemed to be a costume folded neatly at the bottom. 

“Katherine?” Milo shouted.

“Come look at this!”

Milo hesitated. “How do I…”

“Just jump!”

“There must be a better way.”

Katherine rolled her eyes. “Just get down here!”

A few moments of silence passed before Milo dropped to the ground a few

yards away. He got slowly to his feet, and blinked as his eyes adjusted to darkness. When his eyes landed on the box, he approached cautiously. “What is it?”

Katherine held up one of the newspaper articles, and Milo peered at the image on the front page. His eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s me!”

“I think it’s safe to say that my suspicions weren’t in vain.”

“I don’t understand,” Milo whispered.

“The costume you’re wearing in the picture is in the box, too.”

Milo lifted it; a grey jumpsuit with orange accents. The material was like that of a dolphin’s skin. “This is too weird.”

A creak reverberated off of the walls and the two of them scrambled to their feet. A movement on the wall divulged a door just as it opened, and Molly stepped forward. “I think I have some explaining to do.”

Soon Molly sat at the head of the table, and two sets of eyes watched her expectantly. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“Maybe you could start by telling us how much of what we thought we knew was a lie,” Katherine said bitterly.

“Everything I did was to keep you both safe.”

“Safe from what?” Milo urged.

Molly’s eyes were cast down on the table. “From everyone who wanted to hurt you.”

Katherine shook her head. “What do you mean, ‘everyone who wanted to hurt us?’ And why wouldn’t we remember any of it?”

Molly took a deep breath. “Because Psionic wiped your memories.”

Katherine stared blankly at Molly for a few moments, before letting out a nervous laugh. “What?”

“I know this is going to sound crazy.”

“It kind of already does.”

“Let her talk, Katherine,” Milo muttered.

“Psionic was a terrible person,” Molly said. “She destroyed cities for fun, and got into people’s heads to make them go crazy. When you tried to stop her… she erased your memories.” Milo and Katherine exchanged a bewildered look, and Molly continued. “The outfit that was in the box you found… that belonged to Milo. During his hero days, people called him Atlas.”

Milo smiled timidly. “Okay… but why wasn’t there anything about Katherine in the box?”

Katherine’s mouth dropped open. “Hold on. You’re seriously buying into this?”

Molly ignored the interruption. “I’ve been storing her suit somewhere else.”

“This is ridiculous,” Katherine remarked. “I can remember my whole life, and it’s normal.” The moment the words left her lips, she knew that they were a lie.

“You remember what I told you to remember,” Molly explained.

“What do you mean?”

“I used to be like you,” Molly whispered. “I had the ability to make people see and think what I wanted them to. The power of perception. I gave you fake memories to replace what Psionic took away.”

“I still don’t believe it,” Katherine mumbled.

“Can’t you think of anything you’ve ever done that didn’t seem human?” Molly urged.

“I can learn things really fast,” Milo suggested.

Katherine sighed. “Milo… that’s not a superpower.”

“No, I mean really fast. Remember how I was reading that book in German at the playground yesterday? I read a German to English dictionary last week when I was bored, and I can remember every word of it.”

“Intuitive aptitude,” Molly agreed. “That’s one of your unique abilities.”

“What about the boy at the park?” Katherine asked carefully. “I could sense him, and I was the only one who could see him.”

“That wasn’t your power, but his,” Molly explained. “He can go invisible to certain people, and let himself be seen by others.”

“So you know who he is?” Milo asked.

“His name is Logan. He’s an old enemy of yours. I guess he tracked you down.”

Katherine frowned. “But he’s just a little kid.”

“Don’t underestimate him,” Molly warned. “That’s what he wants. He’s more powerful than you can imagine.”

“So what are we going to do?” Katherine asked.

“What we always do.”

Milo frowned. “But we don’t have our memories.”

Molly’s eyes sparkled. “You do have your powers.”

That night, Katherine couldn’t make her mind turn off. She and Milo were to begin training (or re-training, technically) in the morning, when she would get her suit back. According to Molly, she was a superhero named Andromeda. 

Something about the story didn’t seem to add up. 

Katherine rolled onto her side and stared at the wall. If she could just remember, everything would be okay. She would understand herself and her past, and maybe even what was meant for her future.

When it became clear that sleep wouldn’t be arriving any time soon, Katherine sat up and pulled out her laptop. She went onto the web and searched Atlas and Andromeda. It came up with countless articles, news stories and even fanfictions about Atlas, but there was no mention of Andromeda. 

Katherine clicked on a video posted two years ago, with Atlas standing in front of a demolished skyscraper. It seemed to be an interview of sorts, with several reporters standing around him asking questions. 

“Atlas, how do you plan to defeat Psionic?” one of them asked.

Atlas looked straight into the camera and took a deep breath. “Well, I can’t say that it will be easy. But I won’t stop fighting her until the citizens of America are safe.”

Katherine hit the spacebar and the video froze. She sat in silence for a moment, her heart pounding. What if…

No. That couldn’t be true. It doesn’t make any sense.

With trembling fingers, Katherine clicked out of the video and returned to the search bar. She typed in Psionic slowly, but her finger hovered over the enter button.

If she clicked it, then she would know the truth. What if her suspicions were correct? She could never take back what she would see.

Was it possible that Psionic had wiped out her own memory, somehow? That she was taken in by a woman who vowed to keep her from ever finding out who she really was? 

Katherine’s fingers lowered to the button, and she felt adrenaline rush through her veins. 

One click. One click, and she would know the truth. 

Katherine slammed her computer shut. If she didn’t bury her head in the sand, the universe might never forgive her.