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Kyle sat on the edge of his bed for the first time in what seemed like weeks. With the threat that the Pax Metahuman terrorists neutralized, he looked forward to some much needed rest. He lay back on the bed, so sore and exhausted that he didn’t even bother to get out of the rest of his uniform. He just closed his eyes, and before he knew it he began to drift off to sleep.  However, the vision that the Silver Sorceress had imposed on him during the conflict haunted him. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to get it out of his mind. Even now as sleep began to take hold, the vision that the evil witch had forced on him echoed in his mind.

[i]”Sam, please don’t leave me too.”[/i]

Suddenly, he shot up straight and sat in his bed, his heart pounded in his chest as he looked around, relief washed over him as he recognized his surroundings. As relieved as he was, he knew that no matter how hard he tried, or how much he needed it, sleep would not come tonight. So instead of laying back down, he looked to his night stand and saw his phone. He had neglected to bring it with him when he met the others at Sherman Center, and now realized that with everything that had been going on not just in Lost Haven, but all across the country, that was probably a mistake. 

[i]47 messages.[/i]

Though some of them were from his father, and a few were from Dmitri and Hannah, the vast majority were from Sam. The realization of what he had done, what he had put her through over the last twenty four plus hours hit him square in the gut. While he was off with the likes of Icon and Thunderbolt and Boom, she was sitting alone, growing more and more frantic because she hadn’t been able to get a hold of [i]him[/i]. He listened to the messages that she had left on his voicemail, each on becoming more concerned than the last, until finally she had a level of desperation in her voice. 

“Kyle, where are you? Call me.”

As he listened to the messages that Sam had left, as well as the ones that Dmitri and Hannah had left on her behalf, guilt washed over him. Even though he had gone off to save her, to save the world, he had left Sam behind without so much as a word, and he could see the damage that had done to her. He was going to fix this, and he was going to do it now. Without thinking, he grabbed his cowl and put it on, and without hesitating, he took off out the window and headed off in the direction of Sam’s dormitory.

As he approached Sam’s dorm, Kyle questioned why he had chosen to go to her in his uniform. He could have just called her, told her that he was alright and that he was coming over to see her. He knew that this was not the best way to do this, that he could compromise everything if someone had seen him. The only things that he had going for him was that the campus was largely empty due to the terrorist threat. Plus, there was the fact that while Sam and Kerri had been roommates, Kerri had recently started unofficially commuting from home, which had essentially left Sam in the dorm room alone. 

He found himself standing outside of Sam’s dormitory looking up into her window. Sam’s room was on the second floor, a mere twenty feet from the ground. Unlike his own dorm room, Kyle could easily get to her window by way of a simple jump and a bit of parkour, something that had become more than second nature during his time as Lyger.

Before he knew it, he was counting his blessings that recent events hadn’t caused her to keep her windows locked at night as he pushed the window all the way open and pulled himself into the room. The window gave a slight squeal as he closed it, and though it wasn’t much, it was more than enough to stir a young woman who was known to be a light sleeper.

Suddenly, the lights came on.

“What the…?!” Sam’s frightened voice sounded as she caught a glimpse of the intruder.

At first, Sam had thought that someone was breaking into her room. She didn’t know if it was a thief, or worse. Or perhaps, it was just someone else from the dorm trying to pull some sort of prank. However, seeing someone that she had just seen on TV trying to take down the Pax Metahumana terrorist cell standing before her in her dorm room was a bit more of a shock. 

“Wha….what are you doing here?” She managed, fear and surprise stunting her ability to speak.

“Sam…” Lyger said softly as he took a step toward her. As he did so she jumped back a bit in her bed. “It’s okay.” Lyger assured her as he reached up and began to slowly remove his mask.

“It’s me.” Kyle told her, not sure what was going to happen next.

“Kyle?” Sam said unbelievingly as she got up out of her bed and slowly started toward him “You…you’re….”

“Yeah, I’m Lyger.” He said as she wrapped her arms around him, a sense of relief washing over the both of them as their lips met, and the horrors of the last few days finally fell away.