Plus, of course, even if I could sohow trust him, there were practicalities to consider.
Ray had died by so combination of accidentally grabbing a power line so hard that he broke through the protective covering, and Sean ramming a “Deer Crossing” sign through his chest.
Since Ray had lost the “copied Cabal powers” version of himself and lapsed into unconsciousness before the sign hit, I’d suspected that the electricity had killed him.
It was hard to know, though. Though regeneration would have gone away when he turned back to normal, he might have healed just enough to survive—maybe.
Even assuming he’d survived it, the “Deer Crossing” sign made it more difficult. Since we’d all go back to where we left the ti stream, I had no access to the Sean of that era to ask him not to, assuming he’d listen to .
Given that he’d stabbed Ray with the sign because Ray killed his father, I wouldn’t count on it.
“Here’s the problem,” I told Ray. “If you go down the way I rember you going down, you’re super dead. Playing dead isn’t an option. You’re winning, and no one else has a chance, and then everything flips in an instant. Give up before then, and you’d probably survive, but there’s no good reason for you to do it. Give up too soon, and you change history a lot. I an, honestly, you being dead changes everything.
“I’m going to need more options than simply sending you back in ti. We’ve only got one chance to get this right, so whatever I co up with has to be perfect. Plus, there’s one other thing. You were literally ready to begin the process of killing everyone that my friends and I care about when you died, and I can't let it happen. Being stuck in ti here is still an improvent over that.”
Ray looked off to the side, his eyes glancing toward the frozen figures around us, all of them in action—running, dodging, flying, punching, or using their powers. It was hard not to compare it to a giant comic book splash page.
When he looked back at , it was hard to read his face. His eyes and thin line of a mouth gave no hints. His sigh, though, made wonder how much he blad himself for the situation.
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“Look,” he said, “if it makes you feel any better, I’m not yet the guy who did that. The plan, as I rember it, was to push you into working for Syndicate L for however long that lasted. I didn’t think it would last long. You seem capable. That’s why I made sure they had the money up front.”
It was good to know that he thought ahead when making a bad deal with soone.
“I know that sounds bad, but I wasn’t trying to kill you. I was serving my client even if they were fools. You, I respect. You’re effective whether you’ve got powers or not. That’s why I’m pretty sure you’ll co up with sothing.”
I looked out and found Daniel in the crowd. He stood facing a Cabal soldier who’d thrown a punch at him. Even from the middle of the room, I could tell it wouldn’t hit. A second Cabal soldier lay on the ground, sleeping.
“Here’s my first idea. You release the Mystic and the ntalist from being frozen. They’ll find the ti where things can start to diverge that makes the least difference and implant instructions to avoid your death that will be released at the right ti to allow you to do it with the least damage.”
Ray’s face tightened. “Are you seriously suggesting that I let two telepaths ss with my head?”
I stared at him. “Are you seriously suggesting that I help a specialist in killing superheroes survive without taking precautions to prevent him from doing that? It would be one thing if you had a reputation for being trustworthy, but your reputation is for being extrely good at manipulating and then killing people like .”
Ray held up his hands, “Yeah, yeah. I get it, but this is my head. They could put anything in there, force to turn myself in, or put in triggers for anyone to control like the Dominators do.”
Voice flat, I said, “If the Mystic thought that kind of thing was okay, he’d have done it the first ti we fought you. If anyone here cares about not brainwashing you, it’s him.”
“That’s what you say now.” Ray shook his head. “I’ve t supers not much better than . Hey, I admit I’m not the most trustworthy guy, but when I make a contract, I stick with it unless you screw .”
Inside my helt, I raised a querulous eyebrow. “You just told you were planning on ditching Syndicate L, and the way I rember it, you turned on Russ Hardwick and his people.”
He laughed, “Did I? I’m not up to that yet. Besides, none of those were a real contract. Syndicate L broke out of prison because they wanted you and made promise to get you. Hardwick was a ans to put myself in a position to capture you and get out from under Syndicate L’s thumb.”
Ray mid pressing a button and made a buzzing noise. “Wrong answer, try again.”
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