JJ Psychic

JJ PSYCHIC PROLOGUE The Experiment The house was peaceful. Morning sunlight streamed through the kitchen windows, painting golden rectangles across the tiled floor. The smell of freshly prepared breakfast filled the room, mixing with the faint sound of birds outside. At the kitchen table, five-year-old JJ sat impatiently in his chair. His legs swung beneath him. He looked at the plate in front of him. Then at his mother. Then back at the plate. Then at his mother again. "Mom?" His mother continued preparing breakfast. "Yes, JJ?" "Is it ready yet?" "Almost." JJ sighed. "You said that before." His mother smiled. "I said almost." "But I'm hungry." "You'll survive another two minutes." JJ crossed his arms. "Two minutes is a long time." His father, who had just entered the kitchen, overheard him. "Two minutes is a long time?" JJ looked up. "Yes." His father sat down beside him. "Wait until you're older." "Why?" "Because then you'll realize that two minutes isn't long at all." JJ frowned. "I don't believe you." His father laughed. "You're five. You don't believe anybody." "I believe Mom." His mother turned around. "Good answer." His father shook his head. "So I'm already losing?" JJ nodded seriously. "Yes." His father laughed. "Traitor." JJ smiled. For a few moments, everything was ordinary. A father teasing his son. A mother preparing breakfast. A child complaining about how long he had to wait. It was the kind of morning that seemed too insignificant to remember. But years later, JJ would remember it. He would remember his mother's smile. His father's laughter. And most of all, he would remember his own voice. Because he didn't know that before the day ended, it would be the last ordinary morning of his childhood. JJ's mother had always been fascinated by science. Even as a young woman, she had been obsessed with questions that didn't have easy answers. Why did things behave the way they did? Could the limits of the human body be changed? Could science accomplish things that seemed impossible? Her curiosity eventually became her career. And her career eventually became her obsession. For years, she had been working on a secret experiment. It had taken countless failed attempts. Some samples had simply done nothing. Others had reacted unpredictably. A few had shown promising results before becoming useless. But she never stopped. Every failure only made her more determined. Then, after years of work, something finally happened. She succeeded. The experiment worked. She had created a strange liquid unlike anything she had studied before. It wasn't much to look at. A small amount of unusual liquid sat inside a sealed container. There was no dramatic glow. No strange sound. No obvious indication that anything was special about it. But its properties were extraordinary. She didn't yet understand exactly what it could do. That was why she had kept it hidden inside her private laboratory. She wanted to study it. She wanted to understand it. And most importantly, she wanted to make sure it was safe. She had no idea that the experiment was about to find its first test subject. Her own son. After breakfast, JJ followed his mother down the hallway. "Mom." She stopped. "What?" "Where are you going?" "To my laboratory." JJ's eyes brightened. "Can I come?" "No." His expression immediately changed. "Why?" "Because I have work to do." "I can help." His mother laughed. "You can help me by staying out of the laboratory." "But I won't touch anything." "You said that last time." "I didn't touch anything." "You almost did." "Almost isn't touching." His mother smiled. "Nice try." JJ folded his arms. "That's not fair." "Life isn't always fair." "That's what adults say when they don't want to explain things." His mother stared at him for a second. Then she laughed. "Where did you learn that?" "Dad." She shook her head. "Of course." JJ smiled. His mother crouched down until they were at eye level. "Listen, JJ. There are things in there that can hurt you. I need you to stay out, okay?" JJ looked toward the laboratory door. "Okay." "Promise?" "I promise." His mother kissed his forehead. "Good." JJ walked away. His mother watched him disappear around the corner. Then she entered her laboratory. She closed the door. Inside, everything was exactly where she had left it. Notes covered one of the desks. Several machines hummed quietly. Different samples were arranged carefully across the laboratory. And in the center of a secured work area sat the experiment. She approached it. For years, she had imagined this moment. She had finally done it. She reached for her notebook and began recording another set of observations. She didn't notice that the laboratory door had slowly opened. JJ had become bored. He had played with his toys. He had watched television. He had eaten a snack. Then he noticed the laboratory door. It was slightly open. He stared at it. His mother's warning returned to his mind. Don't go inside. JJ looked away. Then looked back. He walked closer. He stopped. He knew he shouldn't go in. But curiosity got the better of him. He pushed the door open. "Just for a minute," he whispered. The laboratory was much bigger from his perspective. He walked slowly between the tables. He looked at the machines. He looked at the containers. Then something caught his attention. The small container. JJ recognized it immediately. It was the experiment his mother had been working on for years. He approached it. "Is this the thing Mom was talking about?" He leaned closer. The strange liquid sat quietly inside. JJ reached toward it. Then— His hand knocked against the container. It fell. The glass shattered against the floor. JJ jumped. "Uh-oh." The liquid spilled across the floor. He stepped backward. Then he felt something. A strange sensation moved through his body. His hands began trembling. His vision blurred. He grabbed the edge of the table. "Mom!" His voice sounded frightened. His mother heard the crash. She rushed toward the laboratory. "JJ!" She stopped when she saw the broken container. Her expression changed instantly. "No..." She ran toward him. "JJ!" "Mom..." "What happened?" "I—I dropped it." She looked at the liquid. Then at him. "Did you touch it?" JJ nodded. His mother immediately became terrified. "How long ago?" "I don't know." "JJ, look at me." He looked at her. "Are you feeling sick?" "My head feels funny." She knelt beside him. "Can you stand?" JJ tried. His legs shook. "Mom..." She caught him. "I'm here." "What's happening?" "I don't know." His eyes began to close. His mother held him tightly. "Stay awake." "I'm tired." "JJ, stay awake." He looked at her. "Am I going to be okay?" She hesitated. Then forced a smile. "Yes." She didn't know if it was true. But she couldn't let her son see her fear. The next few hours were terrifying. JJ survived. His condition stabilized. But his mother quickly realized that something had changed. At first, she noticed small things. A pencil rolled across a table even though nobody had touched it. She assumed the table had been uneven. Then a toy moved. JJ was sitting several feet away from it. She stared. "JJ?" He looked at her. "What?" "Did you move that?" "No." She looked at the toy. Then at him. "Try again." "Try what?" "Move the toy." JJ looked confused. "I can't." "Just concentrate on it." JJ stared at the toy. Nothing happened. His mother waited. Then— The toy moved. JJ's eyes widened. His mother froze. "Did I do that?" She didn't answer immediately. "Mom?" "Yes." "How?" "I don't know." JJ smiled. "Can I do it again?" His mother stared at him. "Yes." JJ concentrated. The toy lifted into the air. His mouth opened. "Whoa." His mother immediately reached for her notebook. She began writing. JJ watched her. "Are you writing about me?" "Yes." "Why?" "Because I need to remember everything." "Am I special?" His mother stopped. She looked at her son. "Yes." JJ smiled. "Really?" "Really." The abilities continued developing. A pencil moved whenever JJ stared at it long enough. A toy flew across the room whenever he became frustrated. Objects sometimes moved without him deliberately trying. His emotions seemed connected to his abilities. When he was frightened, things around him shook. When he became angry, objects could suddenly fly across the room. And when he was calm, he could control them with surprising precision. His mother tested him carefully. She placed increasingly heavy objects in front of him. At first, JJ struggled. Then one afternoon, she placed a heavy object in front of him. "Try lifting it." JJ looked at her. "That's too heavy." "Try." He placed his hands on it. He lifted. His mother stared. JJ looked at her proudly. "I did it." She didn't respond. "Mom?" She quickly wrote something down. JJ frowned. "Why aren't you saying anything?" She looked at him. "I'm sorry." "For what?" She smiled. "Nothing." But there was something else she needed to understand. JJ's powers weren't limited to telekinesis. She discovered that when he concentrated on an object, he could sometimes make it disappear. At first, she thought the object had simply moved somewhere she couldn't see. Then it appeared on the other side of the room. She repeated the test. Again. And again. JJ could teleport non-living objects. His mother stared at him in disbelief. "JJ..." "What?" "Do it again." JJ shrugged. "Okay." The object disappeared. Then reappeared beside his mother. She stared at it. For the first time, she realized just how extraordinary her son had become. JJ's father had been watching everything. At first, he had seemed concerned. He asked questions. "Is he safe?" His wife answered carefully. "I don't know." "What exactly can he do?" "I haven't discovered everything yet." "How strong is he?" "That's not important." His husband looked toward JJ. "Of course it's important." She turned toward him. "He's our son." "I know." "Then stop talking about him like he's a project." He didn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on JJ. The pencil on the table slowly rose. His expression changed. It wasn't fear. It wasn't sadness. It was fascination. Potential. JJ wasn't simply their son anymore. At least, that was how his father had begun to see him. He saw the greatest scientific breakthrough he had ever witnessed. And somewhere inside his mind, a decision was beginning to form. A decision that would eventually destroy their family. JJ sat quietly beside his mother. He looked at his father. He smiled. His father smiled back. JJ didn't know that the man smiling at him had already begun thinking about taking him away. He didn't know about the organization. He didn't know what his father was planning. He didn't know that his life was about to change forever. All he knew was that he had once had a normal family.