Chapter 50.2

"Alice!"

"Daddy!"

After leaving the scene, Jason had removed his Fenrir armour and waited impatiently for half an hour before rushing back to the scene which was now quarantined by both the police and AEM. Ignoring everything else, he ran to Alice first and the latter rushed to hug him as well. From their emotional reunion, it was almost impossible to tell that they had separated less than an hour ago.

"Oh kid, you okay?" Jason pulled Alice away from his arms and checked her for wounds, knowing all too well that she was already healed.

"I'm fine," Alice answered before turning to Emily's direction. Jason also noticed Emily and he walked up to her with Alice in tow.

"Let me know if you remember anything else." A police officer was interviewing Emily who sat on a stretcher with a blanket over her. She nodded and the officer moved away from her as Jason reached her.

"Emily . . ." Jason wasn't sure of what to say. His hand froze halfway to Emily, and he stood there with a complicated face.

Emily saw his face which was full of guilt and regret and she immediately assumed that he was feeling bad about leaving them and failing to arrive in time. She reached out and took Jason's hand, clasping it firmly in her own before pulling it to her face. Hey eyes closed as she felt the warmth of his hand over her cheek and a feeling of security overwhelmed her.

"It's alright Jason, I'm fine - we're fine," she told him soothingly and Jason was able to deduce what she meant instantaneously; he was gratified that she wasn't angry with him. Emily's thoughts, though, had shifted elsewhere and her face was flushed with pain as she recalled how injured Alice had been. What confounded her was when she met Alice again in the alleyway: Emily was stunned to find that she was completely healed, not even scars remained.

She must have the same powers as Jason, Emily thought. Regardless, the pain she must've felt . . .

"I - I should've been here," Jason said, channelling the emotions he felt into guilt. "I shouldn't've left, I should've stayed -"

"Jason," Emily shook her head, interrupting Jason. "You can't be everywhere, all at once. It's not your fault."

Emily paused, contemplating something before adding, "Although, it would've been nice to have you here instead of that psycho."

"Psycho?" Jason's face changed subtly as he repeated Emily's word slowly.

"Yeah, there was someone . . . something here," Emily explained, unaware of the changes in Jason's eyes. "He might've been protecting the children . . . but the things he did, the way he did it . . ."

Emily gestured at the body bags that were being piled in the distance by several vomiting officers, implying that the destruction left behind by Fenrir was evidence enough.

"He - he killed them all so - so ruthlessly like a monster," Emily said with a blue face. "Without hesitation and so cruelly, it's . . . it's horrific."

Emily shuddered, unaware of Alice's raised eyebrow and her repeated stare at Jason with . . . sympathy? Alice gripped Jason's hands tightly as encouragement and Jason swallowed the bump forming in his throat before nodding.

"Yeah, yeah. That's . . . uh, crazy, huh? Sickening," Jason coughed to clear his throat before replying hoarsely. Emily nodded before pulling him closer for comfort and Jason hugged her, his face hidden from her own as he gazed into the nothingness behind her shoulder.

I knew it, he thought, his heart shattered. No matter what we feel for each other, she can never - will never love me. At least, not the real me.

Clearing his throat once more, Jason pulled away with a rather forlorn smile; he wasn't sure of how to deal with Emily and right now, more than anything else, he wanted to leave.

"Do you know where Melanie is?" He asked and Emily nodded before pointing her out. "Look after Alice for a moment? Thank you."

Emily nodded again and watched Jason leave Alice and move towards Melanie with a saddened face. She wanted to spend more time with Jason, having him near her was soothing her nerves, but she knew that she couldn't hog him for herself. Not when Melanie was just as shaken as her.

Melanie was sitting on the trunk of a sedan, alone. Most were giving her a wide berth since she had activated her Council insignia, indicating that she was Phantom while releasing an aura that pushed everyone away with murderous intent.

"Melanie."

Hearing Jason's voice, Melanie froze like a deer in headlights. She refused to look at him and lowered her head even more as her hands curled inwards. She was afraid, deathly afraid, of what Jason would say next.

"Melanie. Look at me," Jason stood in front of Melanie and spoke in a voice that refused to give her an option. Slowly, and hesitantly, she raised her head to look at him through her wavy hair. Jason was surprised and taken aback when he saw her puffy eyes and gaze of emptiness. He realized that he was too tough on her earlier and sighed when Melanie grabbed his shirt with both her hands.

"I'm sorry," she said in a broken voice. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That won't happen again. I'll do better next time so please . . . please don't go. Please . . . don't leave me. Not again, please."

Melanie bowed her head which landed in his chest as she almost sobbed. Jason's eyes softened and he felt guilty as he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry," he finally said softly as he felt her tears soak his shirt. "I . . . I didn't mean to get angry with you. I just . . . I was so worried about Alice, I didn't -"

Jason then pulled away from Melanie. He brushed her hair away and gazed at her softly with a hand on her cheek; he wanted to see her face, her eyes as he made up his mind. "It's not your fault. And I will never leave you, alright? Never."

Seeing how fragile she was at the thought of him leaving her, Jason decided to also treat Melanie the same way as he did for Emily and Elizabeth. He wasn't certain of what his feelings were for Melanie, but that didn't matter. He knew that if he continued leaving her hanging by a thread then she would eventually be heartbroken. And he refused to have her shattered broken a she was now, not from his decisions.

What Jason failed to realize was that Melanie had intended this scenario from the start; she was worried about how angry he was and decided to act frail and hurt in front of him, drawing his sympathy while increasing his attachment to her.

"Jason . . ." Melanie went back to hugging him, hiding her face in his shirt while taking deep breaths of his musky scent. She didn't want him to see her tears, her pain, and the joy hidden deep within her eyes. Jason acquiesced himself to her by stroking her hair and murmuring soft nothingness in her ears, unaware of her happiness at his acceptance of her.

Unfortunately, their sweet moment ended as Junco arrived, flanked by Dhole and Suni, both of whom had their weapons ready with the safety off as they stared at the two with caution, especially Jason. Junco stared at the two with a raised eyebrow before she turned to look at Emily from the corner of her eyes. She had been watching Jason ever since he had arrived and noticed how he seemed to have a rather complicated and complex relationship with both Emily and Melanie.

Two-timing right in front of them, Junco thought. And neither seem to mind it . . . I can't tell if the girls are crazy or if he is.

"Jason," Junco shrugged her thoughts aside and turned to glance at Jason with a sharp gaze. "Were you responsible for this . . . crime scene?"

"Can't say that I am, no," Jason had pulled away from Melanie and answered calmly, his onyx eyes stoic. "After all, I just got here myself. Speaking of which, where's your boyfriend?"

"Major Raphael is currently preoccupied," Junco placed an emphasis on Raphael's rank to deter Jason's suggestion that the two were romantically involved, but failed to realize that the smirking Jason had never mention Raphael's name. "But I'm more interested in where you were while this was happening."

By this time, Emily had realized that something was wrong and came rushing towards them with Alice in her arms. She heard Junco's comments and turned to Jason with confusion.

What does this have to do with Jason? Emily thought. Even though she had witnessed his brutality before, she couldn't fathom that he was the masked individual who had both frightened and rescued her.

"Well, if you insist. I was on a bedroom date with a redhead," Jason replied casually, a rather perverted smile on his face betraying his inner thoughts. "Mhm, them redheads sure are fiery and all."

Both Emily and Melanie's faces changed and Jason stopped smiling as he felt their gaze burrow into his back.

Oh, shit, he thought as their glares pierced him like knives. Forgot about them for a moment. Shit, I'm dead now.

"Right," Junco answered stiffly, her eyes still glazed with suspicion. "And I don't suppose she can give you an alibi?"

"Nope."

"Take him in for questioning," Junco ordered without hesitation to Suni and Dhole. Without questioning her order, both of them raised their weapons and aimed at Jason, their laser pointers aimed at his heart while the latter raised an eyebrow in response.