Chapter 186: Cheating The Game
She was always alone. Jane Lauren was starting to realize that fact. It seemed like no matter how much she tried to get involved, she would just never be able to stay at her daughter's side for very long.
It had all started when her husband, Alexander, got that damn virus. Hope had seemingly drifted away from her. She still got to see her daughter, she still got to talk to her, and she still got to hold her, but something in Hope had changed that day. A light that had been in her daughter's eyes wasn't there. It was made all the worse by the fact she had to work so much.
She was always working. Jane knew that fact long before this moment. She would work so many jobs, going until she threw up, and then she would pick herself back up and do it all over again. All so she could pay the bills and keep her dying husband alive for just a bit longer. He wasn't in her life either anymore. He had been placed into a slumber, seemingly never awake when she came to see him. Maybe it was because he didn't want to cry in front of the woman he loved.
By the time she realized her daughter had settled on being a superhero, it truly was too late. Hope had regained that light in her eyes without her. She wasn't needed. At least, that was the conclusion Jane came up with. Hope had moved on without her. And then, at the same time, her daughter had died, and her husband had been able to leave the bed. Yet she was still alone. Not only was Hope gone now, but Alexander was far too busy helping Paragon keep everyone safe, all while she wallowed away in self-hatred.
She thought it would be different now.
For the first time in forever, she felt like she wasn't alone. Her daughter was back with her, and her husband was able to walk, run, and talk; oh, did he talk. She had them both in her life once again. She wasn't alone.
Until she was.
Jane Lauren stood numbly outside of the destroyed van, staring at the spot where her daughter had been. Just like her father, Hope had been stolen away by a mysterious force. Once more, she was alone.
"Why... why couldn't it be me this time..."
"Did you say something?" Kevin slid out of the van, having transformed into some weird red slime-looking creature. The Pod was seemingly copying, having become the same form as him, and followed after him, but as soon as it noticed the look on Jane's face, it changed and formed around the woman, wrapping her up in a tight silver blanket.
Jane held onto the blanket and forced that hollow feeling that was in her gut down. "Where are they?" She demanded, speaking in a calm tone that shocked even her.