[T H E N][hr]One minute, he'd literally been about to punch out what some people would consider a demigod, and the next minute he was awake in his car, unable to move, getting to watch in horror as his laptop was annihilated. It might seem superficial, of course, but his entire life was based around that laptop. He made music, connected musical peripheries, communicated with most of his friends...without the laptop, he was nothing, a no one with no talent and no network. It was a self-centered vision of horror, but if the shoe fit...

Next he'd seen his parents shot down by the Triads. Literally the Chinese Triads murdering his family. In hindsight, it was a far more disturbing thought that losing his laptop, and David had to admit that, for all his parents' disapproval, he still loved them and cared for them.

The last memory-vision was the worst. He was Phantom, but he could no longer interact with the world. He couldn't wake up, couldn't speak to anyone, couldn't touch anything. He watched as his newfound friends discovered his lifeless, non-breathing body, how they crumpled as they failed to wake him. He saw his parents devastated, whispering prayers and regrets to at his funeral. He couldn't tell them that he heard them, and forgave them. He could only drift aimlessly, desperately, trying in vain for eternity to communicate with a world which had forgotten him.

That had been the worst of them all. There were more images, but those were the only three he remembered clearly. The rest had faded like bad dreams. The worst of it was that he had no idea where these visions were coming from. He knew somehow that they weren't real, but his mind kept refusing to accept that. He felt the pain of each one as if he were living it.

So when he finally awoke, a real, physical body in his parent's home, he nearly cried in relief. “妈妈！” he called. “[Mama！]” he repeated, when there was no answer.

His mother rushed into the room with a steaming cup of Oolong tea. “小卫！哦，大卫！我很担心了！” She set down the cup with shaking hands and put warm hands on his cheeks as if checking for fever. :[Oh, you poor boy. Can you drink this?]" She offered to him the cup, from which he drank deeply. He drained the whole cup far faster than he had intended to.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "妈妈，爸爸在哪儿？"

His mother glanced toward the door. "[Your father went to fetch an herbalist. You had a bad fever, 小卫。 We were so worried--]"

"Herbalist?" David said in English. "Mom, please!" he began to stand. "I don't need--"

“你坐下！” his mother commanded. He listened to her without meaning to, sitting back down meekly. "[No calls, no texts, for months, and then this? Who was the man that brought you here? Where did you find such a tall and threatening man? If he is your gangleader then I--"

"[I'm not in a gang, mom!]" David hissed. Was she serious? A gang? Ernie had probably just dropped him off. "[He is a friend! We make music together!]"

"[David, you cannot be getting involved with these men. Your father and I did not spend so much of our time pushing you for you to spiral out of control like this. If you are going to quit at ever finding success, then at least do not fall into the dark alleyways and shake your grandmother down for loose--]"

"[I'm NOT in a GANG!]" he said again, shouting this time. "[That man's name is Ernie, and he plays the piano! We are trying to make an album together, not that I've ever had any support of that from you or baba!]"

His mother raised herself to her full height, but that was hardly anything at all. "[Maybe if you learned to play the piano when we tried to start you on it you would not need to meet with this Ernie in the first place!]"

"Oh, forgive me for ONLY learning the violin!" David rose, this time ignoring his mother's demands that he sit. "[It's a miracle I haven't snapped and murdered anyone yet, with how much stress you always place me under! 再见妈妈！你告诉爸爸他的中医是狗屁！"

He stormed out of the house, stopping only to pull on a hoodie and shoes. He made it all the way down the stairs and six blocks away from the apartment before he realized what he'd done. Hadn't he just had a vision about losing his parents entirely?

But it was too late now. Going back there was suicide. He pulled up his hood and stalked away.

[N O W][hr]Ever since that utter failure at apprehending the Finch guy, and the argument David had been in a black mood. The others in the apartment were equally subdued, having all apparently been subjected to their worst nightmares as well. Maria and Hannah were doing what they could, but the others were as shaken as David had been.

The mayor was okay, thankfully. If he'd been lost, they all might have fallen apart entirely. Instead, they simply had to buck up and soldier on. That was proving to be easier said than done.

Every day since then, David had roamed the streets as Phantom. Whatever had pushed him from the skies had been a one time thing, and ever since then he'd had no trouble with dreams or waking up unexpectedly. Which was how he found Finch the second time.

He was roaming when the debris-wielding Epic appeared. He saw the loose tornado of chaos moving casually through the street, and he'd been tracking it when Finch appeared. David felt his pulse begin to race, except it wasn't, because he had no pulse.

"Gotcha this time, you bitch," hissed Phantom, and he dove down toward the petty criminal just in time to see a ring of grenades appear around Finch, the debris guy, and some third weirdo in a mask. Didn't. Fucking. Matter.

David coated himself with his telekinetic energy, planning to tackle the shit out of Finch. Dickleweed wouldn't get away this time.