JC was lead into the room and forced to sit on a chair facing a table.
This room was much like the other ones he’d seen since he’d been here. Wherever
here was, he thought. He wondered vaguely what day it was, as he had pretty
much lost track of time after the first round of experiments on him. He shifted
a bit, trying to find a more comfortable position on the chair.
Which wasn’t easy when wearing a straight jacket.
JC sat still as a man entered the room. It was the same man that had come to his
parent’s house and had taken him away. He felt his eyes burn at the memory of
that, but blinked away the tears. He would not give this man the satisfaction of
knowing how much he hurt.
“So, JC,” the man said, sitting opposite him at the table. “I hope
you’re not finding our little clinic here too much of an inconvenience for you.”
JC said nothing, just stared at the wall behind the man.
“If you don’t remember, I’m Doctor Essex,” he said needlessly.
Again no response from JC. The other man sighed, then raised a hand, waving it
in front of JC’s face.
JC felt his head turn against his will, forcing him to look at Essex.
“Don’t even try and resist my powers, JC,” the other man said almost
casually. “I’m much stronger than you, even without the dampening field on
your powers,” he boasted.
JC, realizing he had no choice, stopped fighting. “Why am I here?” he asked.
“Because I want to study you,” Essex said. “You have remarkable powers,
though, as I said, not as strong as mine. And since your powers have started to
return, I felt it was the right time.”
“Return from where?” JC asked.
“From underneath. From where they’ve been kept all these years,” came the
cryptic explanation.
JC shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s very simple,” Essex said. “I knew when you were a child you’d be
strong. But I didn’t want you to be strong just yet, or without any training.
So I convinced your parents to keep you on special medication. I believe your
mother called them your ‘vitamins’, to keep your powers dormant.”
“My parents?” JC’s voice cracked.
“Oh, they really have no idea about it,” Essex said. “They knew you were
different, but not how much. There were more than happy to have the help I gave
them, to make you a ‘normal’ child.”
JC’s heart twisted. Yes, normal was very important to the Chasez’s.
“Then, when you left home, I had to convince someone else to keep you
medicated, only this time without your knowledge. Luckily for me, you were
involved with people who would do just about anything for money.”
“I don’t understand…who?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Essex asked, then sighed when JC shook his head.
“Who have you been involved with who was both greedy and mercenary?”
An idea dawned. “Lou?” JC watched Essex nod. “But, we’ve been away from
Lou for years.”
“There was another one, wasn’t there?”
JC thought back and realized it could be only one person. Through it all, he’d
always thought it was for friendship, but now he knew differently. “Bobbie.”
Again Essex nodded. “It’s amazing what one will do for money and fame,
isn’t it?” Essex smiled evilly. “Miss Thomas was quite willing in
assisting us in keeping your powers down, for, of course, a considerable sum of
money and the promise of fame.” Essex stood up. “So, now I have you. A bit
ahead of schedule.”
“What are you planning for me?” JC asked.
“Just what I said,” Essex said somewhat impatiently. “Study you, figure
out why you’re so strong.” Essex eyed JC, a sour expression on his face.
“You have uncharted abilities, and I want to know why.”
There was something wrong with that logic. “I’m sorry, but if you’re
stronger than me, which you’ve already told be about twice, why do you care
about me?” JC asked. “What can you possibly learn from my abilities that you
can’t learn from your own?”
Essex’s face contorted with anger. “Enough for today, I think. Isaac!” The
big man walked back into the room. “Take him back to the holding cell. Perhaps
some alone time will keep him from asking so many unimportant questions.”
Against his will, JC struggled against Isaac’s hold on him as the other man
dragged him down the hall to a doorway. It opened automatically, and JC was
thrown inside. He turned quickly, but the door slid shut before he could right
himself. He looked around the room, taking note of the camera in one corner of
the ceiling. He scooted backwards until he was sitting in the corner, his back
out of view of the camera. He rested his head on his knees, fighting against the
tears of frustration that threatened to spill from his eyes.
Lou. And Bobbie. He shook his head in disgust. Never could he have imagined
either of them capable of that level of deception and betrayal. He laughed
ruefully, knowing that when Chris found out that Lou had drugged him, the oldest
*Nsyncer would go ballistic. And Justin! It will be hell to keep Justin from
tracking down Bobbie and keeping him from strangling her with her own hair
extensions. His lover had never liked the woman Johnny had found and had engaged
to be JC’s beard. Never seemed to trust her as JC did. Seems Justin was right
on that one.
Justin. JC missed him so much. He wondered how Justin was faring, not knowing
where he was. His eyes teared again, and JC instinctively moved his arms to wipe
his face, only to be frustrated by the straightjacket. His anger grew, and he
twisted against the bonds, his thoughts concentrating on the restraints.
Suddenly, he heard a snap as one of the fastenings unbuckled. JC blinked,
wondering if it just came undone, or if he did it himself. He scooted back
closer to the wall, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
Snap
A second buckle was released. Then a third, a fourth. Soon JC had undone all the
buckles holding the straight jacket together.
JC sat still as the full understanding of what just happened hit him. Essex had
said there was a dampening field in the building, one specifically geared to
keep JC from using his powers. But JC soon realized why Essex wanted him so bad.
If I can overcome whatever they’re using to keep me under control,
there’s no telling what I can do, he thought. He smiled, looking straight
into the camera, feeling confident for the first time that he might just survive
this after all.
“Please
let him be here,” Justin said under his breath. He rang the bell again just as
the door opened.
“Roy!” Justin exclaimed. “Is Josh here?” Justin tried to enter the
house, but noticed that Roy wasn’t moving back to allow him entry. “Roy?
What’s wrong?”
The older man shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong, Justin.” He finally took a
step back and Justin entered the house. “Josh isn’t here, though. Why would
you think he’d be here?”
Justin entered the house warily, noting Roy’s coldness. “He, uh, well,”
Justin stammered. “There was an accident in Orlando—but he’s not hurt, so
relax, but Josh kinda took off afterwards, and we can’t find him anywhere.”
“Who are we, Justin?” Karen asked as she joined the two men in the foyer.
Justin turned at the sound of her voice. “Karen!” He walked over and kissed
her cheek. Another cold one, Justin thought. What the hell’s going
on here?
“Some friends and I are looking for him,” Justin explained, walking over to
the still open door and waving at the car in the drive. “They were kind enough
to fly me here to look for Josh,”
“We did get your phone message, Justin,” Roy said.
“You should have waited to hear from us,” Karen scolded. “We called right
back telling you that Josh hadn’t been here.”
Justin regarded Josh’s parents with increasing uncertainty. “And you’re
not the least bit worried that Josh is missing?” Justin asked as Logan and
Jean entered the house.
“Of course we’re concerned,” Karen said. “If, in fact, he’s really
missing.”
“Could be he just wanted to be alone, Justin,” Roy said. “He was always
going off on his own as a child, you know. Not one for family or group
activities for long.”
Justin blinked in surprise. Could they really be talking about the same Josh?
The one who would travel cross-country for a lunch with friends? Or the Josh
that prefers to sleep on someone’s couch so he wouldn’t have to wake up to
an empty house when Justin was out of town? Justin had always known there was
some weirdness between JC and his parents, but hadn’t pressed the issue. Maybe
he should have, because it was now suddenly clear to Justin why Josh’s *Nsync
family meant so much to him.
Justin shook off his disgust for one final press. “So, you have no idea where
JC could be? You haven’t heard from him at all?”
“No,” Karen and Roy said in unison.
“They’re lying.” All heads turned as Logan spoke from the doorway. “He
was here. Recently.” Logan walked a bit farther into the house. “And someone
else was here, too,” he said, sniffing the air.
“No,” Karen said, backing up a bit as the other man approached. “Josh
didn’t come here. We don’t know where he is,” she insisted.
Logan walked past Karen, but stopped when Roy stepped in front of him. “I
think you should leave now,” he said.
Logan raised an arm and unsheathed the blades from his hand. “I think not,”
he said, smiling as Roy backed away, pulling Karen with him. Logan walked into
the living room.
“Logan, stop that,” Jean said. She turned to JC’s parents. “We only want
to help JC,” she explained. “Please, if you know anything…”
“Goddammit!” Logan said, returning to the foyer. “Essex was here!”
Jean paled. “No, Logan, you must be mistaken!”
Logan shook his head. “I’m not. I’ll never forget that smell.” He pinned
the Chasez’s with a look. “You gave him to Essex, didn’t you?”
Roy swallowed. “We did what we thought was right,” he explained.
“By giving him to a madman?” Logan countered.
Karen shook her head. “No! Dr. Essex helped Josh when he was younger. Helped
keep him normal.”
“We didn’t want Josh to be a…”
“A what?” Logan demanded. “A freak?”
“Dr. Essex helped Josh,” Karen insisted again. “He made is possible for
Josh to live a normal life!” She turned toward Justin. “You have to
understand…we didn’t know what to do with him. He was different. Too
different.”
“So you allowed him to be drugged?” Jean asked. “Is that how you
controlled JC’s powers?”
“Powers?” Roy spat. “They’re not powers. It’s
an aberration. He’s
not normal.”
“He’s normal for Josh!” Justin yelled. “That’s who he is and you
couldn’t accept it.”
“We did what we thought was right, Justin,” Roy said. “The boy is an
affront to God and nature. Dr. Essex allowed us to at least make him act normal,
even though he wasn’t. Or isn’t.”
Justin lunged at Roy, but felt himself being pulled back by Logan.
“Enough!” Logan shouted. “Where are they?”
“We don’t know,” Karen said. “Dr. Essex said it would be safer for us
not to know where his clinic is located.”
Logan nodded at Jean. “Call the Professor,” he said, just as her cell phone
rang.
She smiled as she saw who was calling. “Yes, Professor?” She listened for a
while. “Thank you, we’ll check in later.” She closed her phone. “He
found JC.”
“Let’s go,” Justin said, only to again be stopped by Logan.
“Kid, you can’t come anymore,” Logan said. “Not if Essex is involved.
It’s too dangerous for a non-mutant.”
Justin shook his head. “I’m coming with you.” He waved a hand toward Karen
and Roy. “I’m his true family, Logan. Not them. I love him enough to risk
anything in finding him.” Justin turned to Jean. “I have to find him,” he
finished softly.
Jean and Logan exchanged a look. “Okay, kid,” Logan agreed. “But do as we
tell you, when we tell you, or you could get killed, understand?” Justin
nodded. Logan turned to the Chasez’s. “I would suggest you not call Essex
and warn him we’re coming,” Logan said. “You’ve already got your son
against you. The last thing you need is me as your enemy.”
Karen and Roy nodded. Roy reached into his pocket for his wallet. “Here,” he
said, taking out the yellowed slip of paper with Essex’s phone number on it.
“Take this.” Logan took the paper from the older man.
“Justin,” Karen said. “Please tell Josh we’re sorry.”
“I will.” Justin agreed.
“And also tell him,” Karen faltered, looking at Roy, who nodded. “Tell him…
ask him, never to contact us ever again.”