Justen had stopped struggling against his captor as soon as he received the message from his Father.
He needed to persuade Ms Smythe to allow him to be closer to his Mother. He saw that she was crying so he knew that he could convince her to let them be together.
“Can you please let my Mummy stand next to me, I am really scared,” Justen said as he looked up at Ms Smythe and smiled meekly as he started to quietly whimper. “I promise we won’t be any trouble.”
He could tell that she was initially unmoved by his performance so he started to break into a complete sobbing routine, complete with him rubbing his nose on her sleeve.
“Alright, cut it out! Klaus bring his Mother over here and you can hold the gun to his head, this is a silk blouse I don’t want this disgusting child’s snot all over the damn thing,” Ms Smythe said as she handed Justen over to Klaus.
Justen reached out his hand to his Mother and felt comforted by her touch. He knew that they were all in danger and that his Father had a plan to save them. His Father would also need his abilities when the time was right.
He stood with his Mother near the elevator door. He was worried about his friend Mr Baxter, who was lying on the floor with a pool of blood forming beneath him. He hoped that whatever his Father’s plan was he would do it quickly because he knew that his friend was hurt badly.
From where he stood he could only see his Father from the neck up as the rest of him was obscured by a half wall which acted as a safety barrier on the mezzanine level.
He listened intently as the conversation ensued between his Father and the strange looking old man.
Suddenly he received another psychic message from his Father.
Justen, I am going to have to leave you very soon. I want you to focus all of your energy on the device I showed you. It’s in my pocket, can you sense it?
Justen slowly nodded his head and then began concentrating as hard as he could on the strange object that his Father had shown him before they arrived in the control room.
Good, you need to hold on tightly to your Mother and I want you to promise me that you will take care of her for me.
He was just about to answer his Father when he inhaled sharply in shock. The bad man, the one called Stringer, the dragon that he thought he had slain, was standing behind his Father with a very large knife in his hand, the same knife that he was going to use to hurt his Mother.
He felt sick in the stomach when he saw the masses of flesh hanging loosely off the monster’s black and charred face.
He screamed at the top of his lungs.
“FATHER, LOOKOUT HE’S BEHIND YOU!”
He saw his Father calmly turn to confront the monster.
Justen felt confused, he did not understand his Father’s reaction, nor did he understand what his Father said.
“I have been waiting for you Stringer.”
He saw Stringer swiftly spin his Father around and press the blade of the knife against his throat.
Justen seethed with anger as he heard the distinctive cold hard voice of the monster.
“Oppenheimer, you screwed me!”
Justen looked at the strange looking Doctor who seemed surprised at the monster’s statement.
“Mr Stringer! How nice to see you. I hardly recognised you. What happened to you?”
“Fuck you Oppenheimer! I’m going to make you all pay for what you did to me.”
“Now listen here Stringer, there is no need for violence. Calm down, I have convinced Michael that it is in his best interest to join us. As you can see he really has no other option,” Oppenheimer said smugly as he continued moving back towards the console.
Justen knew that he was referring to him and his Mother.
“I don’t give a shit about you or your precious Mundus Nova. By freq locking my TDI you weakened me. That little kid beat me. He did this!”
Justen could see the pain and anguish on the monster’s face but he didn’t care, that man had tried to hurt his Mother and now he was going to hurt his Father. The anger inside of him quickly intensified into a white hot rage.
He used the rage to focus on the device in his Father’s pocket. He could see the faint glow emanating from the device and sense the rage from the monster who was threatening to kill his Father.
He saw that he was holding a small silver device in his hand. It looked like one of the cigarette lighters that his friend Crystal owned. He did not realise the danger that they all faced until he heard the gasp from the group of men which were holding them captive.
He could see the panicked look sweep across the old Doctor’s face and the sheer look of terror on the face of the woman they called Ms Smythe.
“Now don’t do anything foolish Mr Stringer, why don’t you come down here so we can discuss things rationally, I can release your freq lock and you can return with us. I will have my best geneticists work on you,” the Doctor said as he turned his head and nodded to a man who was standing next to a computer console.
Justen did not understand the Doctor’s actions but he could see the resigned look on both his Father’s and the monster’s face and he sensed what was about to happen.
He summoned all of his energy and directed it at his Father’s pocket and then he heard the words which sent a chill down his spine.
“Sorry you’re too late, the lightning fried my TDI Oppenheimer, and there is no going back. I’m doomed to die on this shit hole of a planet and I’m taking you all with me.”
Justen saw Stringer flick open the top of the device and throw it at the old Doctor who screamed in frustration and threw his arms up in the air as if willing the monster to do his bidding.
“NO Stringer – WAIT!”
At the same time he heard his Father’s voice stream through his mind.
Justen, do it now!
Justen’s mind merged with his Father’s and together they created a massive energy bubble which encompassed the entire room.
From Justen’s point of view, time appeared to slow down.
He saw the old Doctor catch the device which was thrown at him. He had a look of pure terror on his face as he turned and ran towards a growing spherical bubble which had formed near him.
He heard all of the bad people, including Ms Smythe scream and grab the backs of their necks before collapsing onto the ground and began writhing in agony.
All of the FBI team had broken loose from their captives and were scrambling for the weapons that had been dropped. Justen thought that this was a futile endeavour.
He looked up at his Father and gasped in terror when saw that his throat had been slashed by the monster’s blade. A shower of blood sprayed from his Father’s neck as the monster threw him to the floor of the mezzanine like discarded trash.
The monster was laughing hysterically at what he no doubt considered his final act of revenge.
Justen squeezed his Mother’s hand tighter and looked up at her face. He could tell that she was terrified. Her eyes were closed and she was mumbling softly to herself.
His heart broke when he received the final message from his Father as it seeped into the deepest recesses of his mind.
I love you son
At that moment the energy bubble contracted.
He felt that tingly feeling again as he and his Mother dematerialised – a split second before the anti-matter weapon detonated.