Kim's house was quiet, but it didn't feel peaceful. It felt tense, like the air itself was holding its breath.
Jack stepped through the doorway, the floorboards creaking beneath his boots. The living room was dim, the curtains drawn tight. Furniture sat untouched, everything still and too clean like no one really lived here anymore. Not since he left.
He didn't get far before the cold pressure of a gun kissed his temple.
"What the hell are you doing here, Jack?"
Her voice hit him like ice water. No warmth. Just fury.
He turned slowly, hands raised. Kim stood behind him, her grip on the pistol steady, her eyes locked onto his like a loaded weapon of their own.
"Last I checked, you walked out," she said, low and venomous. "You abandoned the project I gave my entire life to. Left it behind to chase some fantasy. Trying to cure death, Jack? What a joke."
Her hand trembled not with fear, but rage barely contained.
"So tell me," she hissed, "what's stopping me from putting this bullet through your skull right now?"
He didn't flinch. "Kim… drop the gun. Please. Just hear me out."
There was a long pause. Then she lowered the weapon barely.
"Talk."
"I finished it," he said, voice low but firm. "The project I left you for… it worked."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm living proof."
He took a step forward. She didn't stop him.
"Two weeks ago," he began, "they came after me. People I didn't know. Trained. Armed. They weren't there to scare me they came to kill Me and Joan. Joan… she didn't make it. And I nearly didn't either. Took three bullets. One straight to the heart."
He hesitated, the memory flickering through his mind like a nightmare on repeat.
"I barely made it back to the lab. I had one vial of the serum left. I injected myself. And I died, Kim. I felt it. But the serum brought me back."
His hands clenched. "And something came back with me. Something… different."
She crossed her arms. "Different how?"
"I can move things. With my mind."
"Telekinesis?" she asked, skeptical.
"Maybe. I don't fully understand it yet."
"When did this happen?"
"Today. On the way here. Someone shot at me. I stopped the bullet mid-air."
Kim blinked. She didn't want to believe him but she knew Jack didn't lie. Not about this kind of thing. Still, she walked over to a nearby shelf, picked up a glass cup, and set it on the coffee table in front of him.
"Lift it."
Jack stared at the cup. It was heavier than it looked not physically, but mentally. Like the weight of her trust rested in it.
He took a breath. Focused.
The air seemed to hold still.
The cup shuddered… then rose, floating inches above the table.
Kim's mouth dropped open. She stepped back, eyes wide.
"Okay," she whispered. "I believe you."
But the wonder in her eyes quickly vanished, replaced by a steely edge.
"Just one more question. These people who came after you… what did you do to piss them off so badly?"
Jack looked away. "Nothing. At least, not this version of me."
She frowned. "What?"
"They're from the future. My future self did something to piss them off. They're trying to erase me before it happens. Me and Joan. And they succeeded with her. She didn't just die, Kim. She vanished. Like she was wiped from time."
He gestured to the woman standing behind him silent until now, a shadow watching everything unfold.
"This is Maya. She's from the future, too. Said she's here to protect me."
Kim eyed the girl suspiciously. "And you trust her?"
"I do. She could've killed me a dozen times. She didn't. She saw Joan vanish. Said her past self had just been killed. That was enough for me."
Kim leaned against the table, staring at the floating cup until it gently touched down.
"So what does this have to do with me?"
Jack sighed. "I need Crimson 5. We have to finish what we started. The time machine is the only way I can bring Joan back."
She laughed then—loud and bitter.
"You haven't changed at all, have you? Still the same selfish bastard. I needed this project seven years ago, Jack. I begged you to stay. And now that you need something, you come crawling back?"
"She's gone, Jack. You may have cheated death but she didn't."
He stepped closer, voice trembling. "I know. And I'm sorry. For everything. But I can't do this alone. Please, Kim. Just this once help me."
For a long moment, there was only silence.
Then Kim said softly, "Even if I wanted to… I can't."
His heart sank. "What do you mean?"
"I still have Crimson 5. The core algorithm, the stabilizer matrix, the temporal field generator it's all here. But the prototype the machine, itself it was stolen last week."
Jack's jaw clenched. "By who?"
"I don't know. But my sources say it's going up for auction. Black market. High-profile buyers. In a week."
Jack turned to Maya, who stood silently processing everything.
"We don't have a week," he muttered. "Joan's already gone."
Kim looked at him. "Then what's the plan?"
He met her eyes, steady and clear.
"We steal it back."
The room fell silent once again.
Kim's gaze lingered on Jack, as if searching for the man she once trusted. The man who left without looking back.
"You're going to owe me for this," she said finally.
"I know."
"And if we do this… we do it my way. No half-baked heroics."
"Deal."
Kim turned toward a bookshelf, pulled it slightly aside, and revealed a hidden safe. She keyed in a code and retrieved a sleek device Crimson 5's core unit, glowing faintly with power.
She handed it to Jack. "We'll need this. It's the key to stabilizing the loop."
"I know someone who can get us coordinates for the auction," she added. "He works the underground tech circuits. It's risky, but it's our best shot."
"And you'll also need to learn to control your powers," she said, turning back to Jack. "The time machine won't carry itself."
Jack nodded. "Then let's get ready."
Kim looked at the two of them Jack and Maya, two people from two different times, united by desperation.
She didn't believe in fate. But she did believe in second chances. And this… maybe this was hers too.