The Rapid Shadow

Chapter Five

Tim was riding his motor-bike, patrolling the neighborhood during the afternoon. He then came to a stop beside someone's house. As Tim was still in his normal-human-skin form, he flipped his hood on his head and formed himself back into his crystalline-skin form. A lady (Linda) was just sitting on the porch and saw Tim entering the street, and started to find him familiar to her when she saw Tim in his human-skin form. So she got up and walked outside to the end of her yard. Tim was just getting his gadgets and gears set up, until the lady came up to him.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"Need something?" Tim answered.

"Yes. A son." she said, as she was trying to be confident.

"Well I'm sorry, my powers are not creating beings."

"But I know, I'm the mother of the Harsels."

Then, that's when Tim went shortly speechless as he heard Linda mentioning his exact last name. The lady started to pull out her picture of her, holding the baby in her arms on the day the baby was born.

"You happen to have this, right?" she asked.

Tim suddenly recognized that photo from the day he was holding it as a kid in the foster home but threw it away then. Even though his mind was pending, he realized that it could be his mom.

"It's me, Tim," said Linda. "It's your mother."

Everything was starting to come back to Tim's mind as Tim lowered his head, mentally recapping this moment.

Tim and his birth-mom were sitting face-to-face in the kitchen as they were reuniting with each other. His mom was chatting about how she was doing, but Tim was personally bored out of his mind as he could not care less about seeing or looking directly at his birth-mom's face, after the years he had been through with her.

Tim's mom was chatting to Tim. "Everything's going great. I'm fine. I get some exercises, keep myself in good health, I take walks around the neighborhood, mornings and noon. I even started painting my shed in the backyard, painted my fence. It's going nice."

"Good to know." Tim responded as he drank his waterbottle, thoughtlessly for a moment.

Linda continuously talked to Tim. "So you work as a cop now," she mentioned.

"Yeah," Tim responded. "Just doing my job and all that."

Linda noticed that Tim was barely conversing with her.

"Something you want to say?" she asked. "Something in your mind you would like to share?"

"No, not really," Tim answered. "Asides why you brought me to your kitchen and make this like some entertaining group session crap."

"I just want to rebuild connections with you, now that you're here, after so many years."

"Don't you think it's way too late to do that?"

"It's been 29 years since I lost you. And I never knew what happened. Now that you're here, I want to take a good look at my son."

"Jesus Christ, QUITE CALLING ME THAT!!!" shouted Tim as his rage was visually exposed with his fire blasting out of his shoulders as his voice transformed into a deep, terrifying, inhuman tone.

Tim's mom shockingly jerked herself back.

"My childhood was nothing but hell, especially around you." Tim spoke. "You were always neglectful, always a shame of me and for what, Christ knows how or why. But you never see me as a son. You never even looked at me and when you would. I had to watch you exposing your hateful expressions to me. All you cared about is getting drunk, partying, getting high, sniffing coke, especially when you're home. You were just a crackhead, not even an example of a role model. You were never proud of what I was. Always characterize me as a pile of s**t in front of you. I was never lost by you, you knew, just the day when you threw that damn chair at me, begging to not have me, well that was the day when I got the hell out of your shattered cage, sent to foster-care (not satisfied for hell, by the way), to do you a favor, 'cause I was sick of being around you and your wasted life, and rather vomit all on your face than to stay with you for years. Not to mention, you knew I ran from home, you just never gave a damn. And that's when I realized you were nothing but a drunk, wasted, stoned creature that I happened to be with. You weren't even a mother to me. Not then, not now, and not even in your life in hell, I would look at you as one, even when we have the same blood. You deserve to have nothing in your life. And I still hate you from my soul."

Tim's mom turned her head down at herself, after listening to what Tim said to her.

"I'm sorry you felt that way, Tim." said Tim's mom. "And you're right. I was a crappy mom to you. I wish I could change that as much as I want to. I hate remembering what I've done to you. I should've been a better mom, not letting you go. But that's why I'm doing this, Tim. To be a mom again. To be here for you." Linda placed her hand on Tim's arm.

As Tim felt her touch, with his massive rage, he took Linda's hand off of him, grabbed her on the shoulders and lifted her off the ground as his hands were tightly on her neck.

"Care to Explain to me what I Did to DISAPPOINT YOU!!?" Tim shouted with his massive tone of voice.

"Tim, please....." Linda begged in her strangled voice.

"WHAT DID I DO!? WHAT DIDN'T I HAVE FOR YOU TO LOVE ME AS YOUR SON!? MY POWERS? THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU INVITED ME TO YOUR HOUSE AT FIRST, RIGHT!? WHY WOULDN'T YOU LOOK AT ME AT FIRST!?

"Tim, please, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't've been abusive back then. I screwed up many times for you. And it really killed me inside not looking for you when you ran. Please, Tim. I'm trying to make this right." Linda placed her hands softly on Tim's wrist.

Tim felt his mother's hand on his wrist, then he decreased his rage as he lowered Linda to the ground and let go of her slowly. Then he sat down and covered his face with two hands, nearly crying. Linda walked up to him, beside him.

Linda placed her hand on Tim's back. "I never had the strength as a parent, Tim. I never knew how to gain it. I was always scared of being a mom. I never knew how I would raise you before I did, and it wasn't easy. I always felt lost and alone trying to get everything in order in the house. The more I struggled, the deeper I fell. I never hated you, Tim. I hated myself. I guess I just....never saw it that way, but never wanted to have a son to see what a feared person I was when I started raising you."

As Tim held in his tears, his mother wrapped her arms around him.

"I know what it's like to be afraid," Linda said. 'Cause I know I messed up as your one parent. I want to change my mistakes this time. I'm trying to be the best mom this time. Let's be a family again."

Linda held Tim in her arms as Tim leaked his tears with his hands still placed and covered on his face.

"Shh. I'm here, baby.." she whispered to Tim.

Tim then placed his hand on his mother's arm, and kept them tight, realizing and regretting what he had done and said to her.

"I'm sorry." Tim said.

"It's okay." said his mother. "I'm here for you now."

Out at the back of the Nollson-Industry building, the jet (driven by Felix) was driven slowly as it was coming to a stop. Then, Felix took his phone out and started to text the boss [Everything's picked up. The formula's with me, and luckily, brought its weakness, another chemical I found that affects the Genorssa energy], then the boss replied [Well done. Now it's time to play your most valuable part]. Felix put his phone away, went out, and not only brought the formula of the Genorssa-Stabilizer, but also a few little canisters of liquid Regmor chemicals, which contain high radiation against the Genorssa system. He grabbed his gadgets and left the jet as he walked off.