Johnny stared at the young girl in disbelief as Frank said, "This is my little sister."When Frank said she was disabled, he didn't think it was this bad. He honestly didn't know how she was still alive. She literally didn't have anything below her knees or elbows. Where her eyes should be were empty sockets. Johnny would have thought he was looking at some kind of fake body if he hadn't seen how Frank treated her and the fact that she was breathing."Do you think you can heal her?" FRank asked.Looking at FRank's hopeful expression, Johnny redid his assessment of FRank. He was just as messed up as everyone else. Johnny could see why the rest of the family would want to ditch her. It was impossible for her to live without any help, given her body's condition. He was sure they did try to find people with healing powers to help her but eventually gave up when nothing worked.It would be kinder just to let her die instead of living such a hellish existence.
"What?" Johnny blurted out.While FRank had warned him ahead of time before dropping that secret, Johnny still didn't expect to hear she had been a mermaid. When Frank said inhuman, Johnny really thought he meant something like an extra limb or fused body parts. Those were cases he had heard about in the media. Fins and a tail were way off the mark."I know it's hard to imagine, but it's true," Frank said.There was no reason for Frank to lie to him, so everything he just said had to be true. However, it was still hard for Johnny to swallow. He was now getting any idea why she was missing her limbs. It wasn't a pretty image and was definitely a good reason to stay away from them since nothing good would come from staying by their side."You've probably put the pieces together, but yes. My family removed the fins and tail to make her seem normal. There are plenty of people without limbs. She would still draw attention, but it wouldn't be as bad as if she kept them," Frank said.It soun
When Johnny opened his eyes, he was momentarily confused by his surroundings. IT certainly didn't look like his apartment. IT was way too nice for him to be able to afford and wasn't his style. Then his memories from the day before came rushing in as he abruptly sat up. That's right. He had faked his death and had gone to Frank, who hid him at his place until Johnny figured out his next move.Johnny got to his feet and grimaced down at his clothes. Even though it was brand new and a gift from Frank, he had worn it for far too long. He checked the drawers to see if Frank had left him more clothes to change into. A pile of brand new clothes with the tags still on greeted him. Picking up one of them, he glanced at the price tag and instantly regretted it. He would never be able to pay it back.Forcing himself to forget he saw the price and act as if he hadn't seen anything, he cut the tags. As he was about to change, he paused and took a moment to smell himself. His nose wrinkled in disg
Johnny found himself shutting his mouth and staring into Katherine's calm expression. That was pretty depressing to hear, but it was probably better that she was being realistic about it. Optimism could only get someone to go so far. He would have thought she was too naive or sheltered if she kept holding on despite everything that had happened to her.Placing a hand on her head, he tried to feel his healing power work on her. Unfortunately, just like before, he couldn't tell if it was having any effect on her. It would be nice if his system showed up to explain what was going on. He couldn't help but feel awkward touching her head without any clue if his power was doing anything.After several moments, he awkwardly asked, "How do you feel?""I'm not sure," she said.That wasn't helpful in the slightest, and he asked, "Do you not feel anything at all?""I do, but it's hard to explain," she said as she frowned.Well, he supposed it was better than it not working at all. Unfortunately,
"You two are getting along," Frank said as he stepped into the room.Johnny and Katherine looked away from the TV to stare at him as the former said, "Hey, sorry for bothering your TV."Frank waved off Johnny's concern. "I don't mind. I did leave without saying a word to you.""Brother, welcome home," Katherine said as Frank went to hug her.Watching the siblings interact, Johnny wondered if he could have had something like that. He quickly shook those thoughts out of his head, as there was no point in thinking about what ifs. It wouldn't change a single thing, and it would only make him miserable. Well, he was more miserable than he was now. Frank and Katherine broke apart, and the former turned to Johnny."I assume that you already watched the news," Frank said.Nodding his head, Johnny said, "Yeah. It was hard to miss."Frank winced. "I really didn't want either of you to find out about that.""It's not your fault. Neither of us expected it to be on the news," Johnny said.Frank ga
Suddenly, Johnny slipped on a puddle. As he waved his arms around, trying to keep his balance, his mind whirled with questions. Where had the puddle come from? He was pretty sure it hadn't been there the first time. If it had, how did he miss it the first time? It was a pretty big puddle. When he finally regained his balance, he froze as he felt someone behind him."Who are you and what are you doing here?" Dorothy demanded.Well, that explained the puddle. She must have created the puddle after she passed by. Johnny wasn't sure how he didn't pick up on her plan when she passed by. There hadn't been a hint that she had planned to smoke him out in her mind. Had she really been able to keep it out of her head, or had he let his guard down and failed to catch it?"Answer me," Dorothy said as she poked his back with a gun.That was a bit unexpected. Johnny hadn't thought she would be carrying a gun. He couldn't recall her carrying one in the test, but the point was moot. If he didn't say
Johnny and Frank stared at her gobsmacked. Did she really just say what they thought she said? No, there was no way Johnny could believe it. It was such an outlandish idea that he had to be hallucinating. Why would she suggest making him the head of an enemy family? It made absolutely no sense. They didn't even know each other. This version of Dorothy only knew him as a stranger.It would have been a different story if this was the Dorothy from the test. Then she would have a good reason to put him in the seat. They knew each other and had even been engaged to each other. If he became the head of the family, then she would have a large influence over the family too as his wife. However, none of them mattered in the real world.Frank was the first to recover as he asked, "Dorothy, what do you think?""I'm thinking that this is the perfect time to overthrow the family, and what better way than to place someone like him in the seat?" she said."I doubt it'll be that easy. Even if we some
Several days passed since the incident, and Johnny had done his best not to think about it. Of course this was easier said than done when everything kept reminding him about it. He literally couldn't escape it since he was trapped indoors until he felt certain he could go out without being recognized right on the spot. Johnny sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose."What's wrong?" Katherine asked."I just have a lot of thoughts on my mind," Johnny said as he removed his hand."Do you want to talk about it?" she asked."No, I rather not," he said.There was no way he was going to tell her about Dorothy's suggestion or what was going on with the top families. He couldn't bring someone who was estranged from her own family and was crippled into the picture. Johnny didn't mean it offensively, but it was the simple truth. She had no way to help him. It would only bother her and possibly stress her out like it did to him.Of course, that was only if Frank was willing to let Johnny talk