The diner Justin stops and stares at his reflection in the mirror. After their scare at Daphne’s, Justin headed to Liberty Diner, while Daphne decided she wanted to go back to her parents’ house. Washing and drying his face, he continues to look at himself in the diner’s bathroom mirror. He looks the same. But something is different. Sighing, Justin admits defeat. I have no fuckin; clue what is going on. Exiting the bathroom, he walks with his head down and slumps onto one of the barstools by the counter. “You look like shit.” Hunter comments as he comes up from behind, “Did Brian finally realize he could better and kick your ass out? He should call me,” he continues with a smile. Justin rolls his eyes and remains quiet. Chuckling at his own joke, the teen walks behind the counter and pours himself a soda. “Where’s Debbie?” Justin asks; rubbing his face in his hands. Shrugging, Hunter pulls out a straw, “I dunno. I just came here for a free soda before I meet some friends.” Taking a sip, he asks, “Do you have friends?” Justin doesn’t answer. He’s not in the mood to deal with the teen’s immature games. The bell above the diner door rings and Justin doesn’t bother to look up. However suddenly all the hair on his arms stand and he feels a crisp chill down his spine. If it wasn’t for Hunter’s sharp intake of breath, Justin would never have looked up. “I thought it was you,” the older man comments with a smile. Adjusting his wire framed glasses, he takes a step forward. “Ready to go?” Justin can’t move. He can barely breathe and all the images and memories slam into his mind with such force that he’s surprised he isn’t on the floor right now. Hunter stares at the man and then back at Justin. “Oh fuck,” he whispers. “No way…” Turning back to the 50ish yr old man, he can’t help but gasp, “All that shit is true?” Walters smirks, “Of course a stupid little hustler like you wouldn’t believe true science. None of your little shit of friends did.” Checking his watch, he then says to Justin, “Time is wasting, J1. Let’s go.” Slowly Justin can feel his head turning as he signals “no,” while in his mind he is screaming No fuckin’ way!. Hunter can’t believe that the stories were true. Walters, aka. “Weird Scientist” was one of his regular weekly customers when he worked the streets. He and his friends dubbed him the ‘Weird Scientist’ because before any action would begin, the older man would ramble on for about an hour and his job and the failed LINE26, which seemed to be his pride and joy. Hunter, along with all his hustler friends, didn’t believe a word he said. And now… “You’re…” he stammers, staring at Justin as if he’s seeing him for the first time and isn’t sure he likes what he sees. Defiant, Justin narrows his eyes, “I’m Justin.” Walters smiles, “Is that what you’re being called? It fits. Nice choice.” Turning his attention back to the older man, Justin shakes his head, “I’m not going anywhere. How the fuck did you even find me?” Walters chuckles, taking another step closer and Justin is grateful that the diner is practically empty since most of the regular customers are at Babylon or other clubs. Stopping a couple feet away from Justin, Walters explains with amusement. “A few years ago, one of our LINE26s was hit in the head with a baseball bat.” Seeing Justin’s reaction, he comments, “Oh good, you remember that.” As the color drains from Justin’s face, he thinks he might be sick. Walters doesn’t seem to notice or mind. “The injury re-activated your tracking system.” Reaching past Justin, he takes a mug and pours himself some coffee. “At first we thought there was a virus in our system. It wasn’t until a year later, when your brain continued to heal, that your tracking light grew strong enough for us to realize that you were still alive.” Taking a sip, he comments, “This is good coffee.” Slowly shaking his head, Justin whispers, “I don’t understand…that was years ago, and…” “Your GPS re-actived everyone else’s tracking system. You can’t possibly imagine our reaction when we discovered that all twenty six models were still alive… especially after… well,” he shrugs it off. “In any case, it’s taken us some time to locate everyone. I’m sure everyone is already feeling a little different since their whole systems are starting to wake up.” “All thanks to a bat to the brain, huh?” Hunter comments in a daze. “I’m not going anywhere,” Justin states suddenly. Walters nods, knowing that would already be the case. “My stop at the diner wasn’t premeditated. If it was, you’d already be in a van heading back home.” Putting the coffee down, he shrugs, “I just came for some coffee and an hour with someone with a good mouth,” he comments, winking at Hunter, who quickly looks away and forces himself to swallow more of his soda. “I’ll leave town,” Justin whispers, staring past Walters and straight towards the door. “We’ll find you: tracking system, remember? Besides, once your whole system reactivates itself, you’ll want to come home.” “I am home,” Justin says softly, but surely. Sighing, Walters glances towards the door, “We’re not the only ones looking for you, you know. Have you sensed that?” Swallowing hard, Justin nods his head. “Who?” “Some fundamentalist group. I don’t know their story. I just know they found out about the agency and LINE26 and want to obliterate it all. Ignorant idiots,” he says dismissively. Turning back to Justin, he offers, “Come with me now, and I can promise you the safety until Dr. Badier completes the reactivation process.” Justin jerks his body away as if Walters is carrying poison. “Fuck you.” Chuckling, Walters shakes his head, “It’s your call, J1. Of course you would choose the more difficult choice.” Nodding his head to Hunter, he smiles, “Good to see you again, Kid.” He then pats Justin’s arm, “And I’ll see you soon.” They both watch the man go. Once he leaves, Justin can feel Hunter’s eyes on him. “Stop it,” he whispers. Hunter can’t help it. Finally turning to Hunter, he swallows the lump down in his throat. “I’m Justin,” he whispers. Hunter nods. What else can he do? Everything the man had told him before was true. And no one in the world will ever believe him. “What are you going to do?” “Run.”