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Chapter 32
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Barely any time passed before Judy paid the doctor a visit. She saw Luna instantly as she entered the doctor’s room. Luna, who was sitting up in bed, smiled at her.

“Yes, yes, please come in,” Luna beckoned. “Let me get a closer look at you.”

Judy walked closer to the bed, and noticed the chair that had been placed by it. She stood by the bed to get in front of the chair, but also to let Luna see enough of her.

“Hello,” Judy said to her.

“Hmm,” Luna said, “you must think this strange. I simply had to see you. It’s hard to explain briefly. Please, take a seat.”

“Thank you.”

As she sat, Judy took a quick glance around the room. It was simple. It was polished. The bed was within reach of the window and a single thick curtain that had been drawn back and tied to one side to let the indirect sunlight in.

“Oh, manners! My name is—“

“Not important, dear,” said Luna. “Not for me, anyway. I know that, if not for you and your friend out there, I would not be alive to see such wonderful dreams. It’s strange. In class, we are taught that psychologists should disregard psychics. Wear protection from their power if necessary, but disregard them. But how can I?”

“Is that why you requested to see me?”

“No. I might have told your friend what he needed to know, sooner or later, but it wouldn’t have been right unless I stuck with my training back when I was an intern.”

“Then why?”

“It’s because I was told to expect a young face who’d know before she asked.”

“Know what?”

“Strange, isn’t it? Also strange is that we’re taught never to grow attached to patients. When bombarded with strange things to the point that you lose track of reality, then what good is the doctorate I had earned? I can never go back now and still be the same professional who worked with the most dangerous or heavily afflicted of minds. All because of one man.”

Judy could have said the man’s name, but her attention flew to another room where her mom was playing a tabletop game with Brad and Wyatt. Her mom was laughing aloud even though the game had barely begun.

She reeled her thoughts back into this room.

Luna said, “There’s something you wish to ask me, but I’m afraid I can’t answer you until you ask, dear.”

“That sounds needlessly complicated,” said Judy.

“It pales to life in general. It’s how I try to do things.”

“Fine. What is the Wolfram Manifest?”

“Oh, straight for the big question. Good. I was afraid you were going to spend countless weeks and sessions asking me about my favorite color and how I feel about it.” Pause. “Psychologist humor, dear.”

“I’m starting to think I need to carry aged tomatoes with me everywhere I go.”

It was that or threatening to take up Tatiana’s policy with the worst jokes. Somehow, that didn’t seem like a good idea considering Luna’s mental trauma.

Luna relented, “Yes, well, I tried. You’re aware of the illusions that Bradley can produce, but do you know anything of such visions as prophecy and foresight?”

Judy said, “I’ve always told myself it was nonsense, but I’ve started to question that lately.”

“I know the feeling. For years I believed against them. Then he claimed to have one such vision. He called it his Wolfram Manifest, and began to share it with the world one fateful day.”

“Wait, he was your patient. Isn’t there some sort of confidentiality?”

“A therapist is still obliged to report a murderer, especially when it involves a crime that may be committed soon. This is more complicated than that. The Wolfram Manifest was referred to and danced around as best as I could manage in my time listening to him, with my aim being to lead him away from it, but he insisted on sharing it like I needed to know it word for word. He insisted that one so young and so aware of the Manifest would come and ask, and that this youth must learn of it. He told me that all that he would have to say would be ramblings, nothing more, until the time was right for a child's ears. I’d be unable to say or write more than that until the time was right.

“He said there would one day be a man trying to replace him who would fail, and in that man’s failure a child would appear destined for rebirth. His time to act would come once he’d met this man who failed, and his search would be on to seek the child marked by fate, so that he may guide the rebirth to its greatest purpose. He did not fear being replaced, but he said that the Arachne Regime would ascend to unknown heights once the time came. Then all of Paragon City and the world would know retribution at the hands of this child. So tell me, dear, do you know what he means by rebirth?”

Judy thought back to when everything had begun with her powers. One mortician thought Julian was dead, but Jude awoke on the table while the man who attacked her was placed in custody. A time later, Jude had become Judy after a trip inside of a computer. A month ago, that man who had attacked Julian was killed in his prison cell, with no cameras working right and all eyes looking elsewhere.

But it couldn't have been her that the Manifesto spoke of. It just couldn’t have.

Convinced that she would sooner die than help the Arachne Regime accomplish their goals, Judy said, “I’m sorry, no, I can’t say I do.”

“Is that so?” asked Luna. “Pity. I had hope to solve this mystery myself. Perhaps it truly was the words of a madman, and I have broken a vow of confidentiality for no good reason.”

“I wish I could help you there.”

“You don’t need to worry about it. Like I said, my career is as good as over. Oh, I might be on sabbatical, and here trying to heal, but this it is for me. Now I suppose I need to find some new way to support myself, if I can, far away from Paragon.”

“Are you sure he said nothing else? Like this child’s description?”

“No. I’m afraid that much of the Wolfram Manifest was left vague. Strange how so-called prophecies are never very specific about who they involve. It’s equally strange how they become so obvious after they come true. Maybe this Manifest truly was the ramblings of a madman, afterall.”

As she slept that night, Judy dreamed of children disappearing all over the city of Paragon, of giant spiders carting off school buses, and something weighing her down. She couldn’t make out what it was because its form changed every time Judy thought she’d caught a glimpse of it in detail. The weight held down her body and arms. It was getting harder to breathe right.

Then the figure became a shadow, a person. That person was holding something over her head.

It was a knife.

“Bathe in blood, know of rebirth,” the woman whispered hoarsely. It was Luna.

Luna brought down her knife.

Something, or someone, tackled her from the side before the blade could touch Judy. The knife fell against the side of the bed, and Judy was too paralyzed by fear to see Luna struggle with whom or whatever knocked her off of Judy.

“No, let her bathe in it. Let her know! She has to know!” Luna screamed.

The door opened. Judy heard Wyatt say, “Hold her,” before Judy finally managed to turn her head.

It was her mother who was holding Luna and keeping her arms bound behind her back. Wyatt put a hand over Luna’s head, and Luna fell silent. Her body went limp as if she’d fallen asleep in an instant.

“Thank you for waking me,” said Judy’s mom. “I assume that was you.”

“It was. I knew something was wrong when I felt my brother’s mind being knocked unconscious. When I found him, he was bleeding from the head. He’ll be OK once I tend to him.”

“And her?”

“This is some conditioning. It’s like a back-up program hidden inside of the ruins of her mind. Like someone was counting on our visit. That’s going to be a bother to fix, but I’ll see what I can do until we can call on someone else to take over. At the very least she isn't trapped forever in an endless coma. Are you going to be OK, Judy?”

Judy said, “Sure. Why did she come after me specifically? Was that what the conditioning was for?”

“I can’t say for sure, but maybe. OK, Mai, you can carry her to her room. Judy, if you’re still awake when I get back from helping Brad, I’ll need to ask you something, and I’ll need you to tell me the truth. Alright?”

She hesitated. Then nodded.

Judy spent a time breathing just to calm her heart down. She was so thankful that she and her mom were sharing a room, and that her mom had awaken in time to act quickly.

The more she thought about it, the more she could picture her mother as being the one and only Super Mom, cape and all, as she flew everywhere. If she wasn’t Judy’s mom, Judy would have thought her cool.

But she could dream. And that she did in mere moments.

Judy and her mom had to leave that morning to catch the next train. They had breakfast, as well as their respective showers and changes of clothes, by the time Wyatt got up to drive them back to the station.

Wyatt asked, “Judy, what did Luna say to you yesterday? Or would you rather tell me while we’re not in the car with your mom?”

Her mom rested a hand on her own and nodded to her. It was OK. Her mom needed to know what was said as well.

“She explained the Wolfram Manifest,” Judy said. Her mom’s hand twitched, but it did not squeeze. “I think Stone might be after someone, a child. I don’t know who.”

“Why would he be after a child, though?” said Wyatt.

“I-I’m not sure. Something about a replacement, and power. He thinks that someone my age or younger is destined to replace him, and do what the Arachne Regime has failed to do for so long.”

“You’re hardly a child anymore, Judy. Still, did Luna say what this child is supposed to look like?”

“Luna said that Stone never told her. Could he be behind the kidnappings lately?”

“It’s possible.” He hammered the steering wheel with a fist. “But why did she attack you last night? That’s what I’m still piecing together. Her conditioning makes no sense unless it was either for any child or teen that walked in on her, or if she was meant to go after someone specific.”

“Someone like me?”

Her mom said, “You don’t know that, baby girl. It could have been anyone.”

Wyatt said, “When I get back to Paragon, I’m going to have Walter and Warren compile everything they can on the mysterious kidnap cases so far, just in case they are connected like you suggest. Until then, the both of you enjoy the rest of your vacation. I think you both need it.”

“Thanks, Wyatt. What about you, by the way? We’ve met your brother, but what about the rest of your family? Are you going to see them any time soon?”

“I wish I could. Let’s not worry about that, huh?”