Benefactors

Chapter 13: Mishawaka Ghost House

August 11, 2025; 2001 HRS

Training Hall

"Think of a time and a place." Athena stated. I narrowed my eyes, staring at the expanded area in front of me. "Mishawaka, Indiana... Night before Easter, 2008." I said randomly. "Now, adjust your watches. Remember, black is the place. White is the time. You'll only need the watches until you can time-travel by yourself."

I adjusted my watches to the time and place I wanted to go. "What do I do now?" I asked, feeling a little stupid. Ben stifled a small laugh, I gave him a quick glare. Athena sighed with a smile and answered, "Just run and think about where and when you want to go. It's all a mental process. That means if you're not stable, neither is your power. It's highly volatile if you get distracted."

"We agreed to this dangerous experiment, why?" I asked nervously. "Because you wanted to stop Horkos since no ordinary human can. He has so much power, not even a god could stop him alone." Athena shook her head. "Just... take the power for a swing." She held her hand up, trying to ignore anything else I might've said. 

I crouched into a running stance. Taking a breath, I felt the universe slow down around me. The vast expanse of the Training Hall now seemed like a short jog. Immediately, I flew far from where I started. The time and place of where I wanted to go was on my mind and that was it. Green sparks spun around me as I gained more and more speed. 

"Well this is odd." I said, distraction seeping into my mind. I shook my head back to focus. A luminescent light flashed into my eyes and the next thing I knew, I was standing outside the bay window of my old house. Memories filtered in my mind as I looked inside. Oh, this was the Easter I got sick. I thought, seeing the 7 year old version of myself curled up on the couch with a bucket. I saw Mom and Ben at the Dining Room table dyeing eggs while my younger self watched them while going in and out of consciousness. I remembered that night, I was pretty sick. 

"Alright. Time to stop being a creeper to my old self." I told myself and turned to the driveway. This house had too many memories. One of them was when Mom taught us how to wish upon a star. "Star light, star bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might. Have this wish, I wish tonight." I chuckled lightly at it, what a good memory. 

I looked up at the sky to see a few stars twinkling here and there in the setting sky. "Time to head back." I told myself. Adjusting the watches to Erie County, New York and August 11, I thought about the exact place I wanted to end up at. Luckily, the driveway was pretty long, so it was easy to run and travel. Just to make sure, I checked to see if any cars were planning to make their way through. There's enough time. I thought and blasted off with speed. 

"Welcome back." Ben smiled. "You've been gone ten seconds." he said, pulling his sleeve over his watch. "More like ten minutes." I stated, wiping a few strands of loose hair out of my face. 

Athena stepped up to us, "Get some rest. Natasha, I want you to try time-traveling with the entire team tomorrow." I looked at her, an are-you-crazy-look shining through my eyes. "I don't think that's a good idea. What if I mess up and get them all trapped in oblivion or something!?" I questioned. "You did better than expected with the solo jump. I want to see how you do with a multi-person jump. Sometimes you need to tear down boundaries before you're restrained by them forever." She said, ending with a strict tone, sharpening her tongue like a viper. 

August 12, 2025; 0236 HRS

Sleeping Chambers

The bed felt lumpy and cold, I couldn't sleep. Why was Athena so imperious towards me and making a jump with the entire team. Perhaps I was overthinking it. Honestly, I don't want to end up trapping them in oblivion. "Just concentrate." I told myself.