Someone knocked on the door and Ryan stood up to answer it. "Good to see you, Ryan." The voice sounded a little hoarse but gentle too. I walked out into the living room area. An elderly man took cautious steps into the apartment. I noticed Ryan gently held the man's arm and guided him toward the couch.
Ryan spoke to the man. "This is my friend I was telling you about. Molly." Ryan looked at me. "Molly, this is Link."
I held out my hand. The man hesitated and then grasped my hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you," I said.
He lifted his eyes to mine and I noticed a translucent cloud over his eyes. Blind. But he smiled at me and said, "Nice to meet you too."
"Is it Mr. Link or..."
He waved his hand in the air. "No, no, just Link." He felt for the couch behind him and sat down. Ryan sat next to him.
I sat down in the chair and looked at him. There was something about him, something..."You look familiar," I said. "I don't think we've met before but..." I tilted my head, trying to think. I tried to picture him outside of Ryan's apartment.
"You've lived in Primacity for a while then."
I nodded and then said, "Yes, sir. All my life." Where had I seen him before?
Ryan looked between us. He gave me a look, maybe surprised that I knew this man.
The older man smiled at me. "I didn't always go by Link."
I closed my eyes and tried to picture him somewhere else, tried to place him. "You weren't always blind."
"No. Not in my younger days."
I imagined what he looked like as a younger man walking around the city, and for some reason I kept putting him in red and white clothing. A red and white uniform. "You used to be a superhero." Deep red sleeves and matching pants. White chest and torso. A stretched out and slanted S over his chest in that deep red. I opened my eyes. "You remind of Psionic. He's the one."
The man nodded. "Very good. That was me alright."
Ryan stared at me, his mouth open. "You remember him? That was 15 years ago."
I shrugged. "So I know the superheroes of the city."
"You were a child when I retired. Good memory," Link said.
"I remember seeing you on the news."
Ryan laughed and patted Link on the shoulder. "Looks like I don't have to give you much of an introduction." Ryan looked at me. "Psionic retired officially but he stills helps superheroes sometimes in a different capacity. That's why he goes by Link now."
I nodded.
Then Link spoke. "One of my abilities, I can detect different kinds of psychic energies. Ryan told me you have some sort of connection to 8th Wonder. As far as I can tell, 8th Wonder is something new. I haven't detected anything like that before so if there's something related here, I'm very interested in it."
I looked at Ryan and he smiled and nodded. Guess I was doing the explaining. "Okay. This is a little complicated, so bear with me. I'm not aware when it happens, but apparently 8th Wonder sort of possesses my body to do superhero work. It's happened several nights over the past few months. Most recently, last night when Ryan witnessed it."
Link whistled. "First I've heard of 8th Wonder needing a host." He rubbed his hand over his wispy gray hair. "But that answers the question about 8th Wonder having a physical form. It needs somebody."
"If you can detect 8th Wonder's energy, could you detect it on me?"
"Theoretically, yes." Link waved me to him. I stood in front of him.
He reached forward and held my hands. How did he know where they were if he couldn't see? He closed his eyes and leaned his head back a little. After a moment he said, "Yes, it's the same. It's touched you."
I involuntarily shivered and he chuckled. "It's nothing to be afraid of, Molly. I have no reason to think 8th Wonder is dangerous." Link took a deep breath. "I'd like to see if 8th Wonder has made a connection with you mentally. Psychically. Mind if I peek into your mind?"
I looked at Ryan and he nodded. It's safe. I looked back at Link. "Will it hurt?"
"No, but good for you for asking." He smiled up at me. "Most people don't consider what it's like to have someone else in their head."
"Go ahead then. Do I have to do anything?"
Link nodded. "Close your eyes and stay calm." He closed his eyes again.
"Okay." I gripped his hands a little tighter and closed my eyes.
Link was right--it didn't hurt, but I could definitely feel him enter my mind. A weightless, sort of floating overcame my body. I thought I was going to fall down but despite the feeling in my head, my legs felt steady and stiff. I felt Link's mind shifting in my own mind, something moving that wasn't part of me.
Suddenly, all of that stopped and I felt like air was rushing past my ears. I took a startled breath and Link pulled my hands forward at the exact moment I thought I would fall backward. "You're okay," he said in a gentle voice. "Take a deep breath. Everything's fine."
I took several deep breaths and opened my eyes. Link let go of my hands and I sat back down. "That was something."
Link nodded and chuckled. "You did well."
Ryan came out of the kitchen with two glasses of water. He handed one to me and put the other carefully into Link's hand. "Here's some water for you, Link," he said and sat back on the couch.
(When did Ryan get up to go to the kitchen?)
"So?" Ryan looked at both of us.
Link took a sip of water and then said, "There's definitely a psychic connection." He looked over at me. Was he only partially blind? How did he know exactly where to look to meet my eyes? "That's good," Link continued, "because it's two-way. If 8th Wonder can use it to take over your body, you can use it to communicate with her."
"Her? 8th Wonder is female?" I asked Link.
"Well, if it's pure energy, it doesn't have a gender. I like thinking of it as a she." He smiled.
"How do I use it?" Did I want to use it?
"Link can teach you how to access the connection," Ryan answered. "That's the kind of work he does now. Help superheroes when there's psychic stuff involved."
Link nodded. "That's right. I look forward to working with you, Molly." He put the glass on the coffee table. How did he know where the coffee table was in relation to where he was sitting? I didn't want to be rude and ask him questions about his blindness, but it was strange how aware he was of things in Ryan's apartment. "We've done enough for today, though." Link stood up. "You can call me when you're ready and we'll see what we can do." Link held out his hand to Ryan. "It was nice seeing you again." Ryan stood up and shook Link's hand. Link turned toward me and I stood up to shake his hand too. "Molly, it was nice meeting you."
"You too," I said.
He held my hand still and said, "This is exciting, what's going on."
I smiled. "I hope so."
He clasped his other hand over mine. "It is. Don't be frightened. I'll see you soon."
Ryan guided Link back to the door and Link left.