My son, David, the Jumper

Just when I thought my ultimate dream has finally become reality, Jumpers and we, Paladins, are not rivals anymore, I was informed by the Tower of Roland’s encounter with my son, David, at a market place somewhere in Japan...

What was David doing there all the way across the world in Japan? Was he also trying to locate the new Jumper there? I can only occupy my head with all kinds of questions instead of showing my concern for my son while I am here in the Paladins sparkling new headquarter, The Tower. For the past two years, we Paladins have grown so vast both in our technology and number of members. And more and more wealthy businessmen are interested in investing in our organisation so they are pouring in phenomenal multi millions amount of money for the Paladins to research and develop on new advanced devices to capture more Jumpers. Their only selfish intention is so obvious for me to see, they want to posses the ability to jump or in Jumpers’ term, to teleport from one place to another instantly.

To Roland’s pride and joy, he and the team here in The Tower have created the Pulverizer 2000. Although the Pulverizer 2000 looks nothing more like a silver stick to ordinary people, it is actually equipped with two extracting ropes which can paralysed a Jumper with high voltage of electric shock from both end of the ‘stick’. Heaven forbid that Roland had the opportunity to test his new toy on my son David. As for the new Jumper, the only relevant information that we know is that she is a young Japanese girl in her 20’s and she has not really jumped as much as the other Jumpers have. For this reason, the Paladins are simply keeping an eye on her at the moment and let her enjoy her hidden power for a little bit longer and then we will definitely prance on her like the big fat cat in a ‘Cat and Mouse’ game.

Doesn’t fate enjoy playing irony games on people? For I can recall from my earliest memory, my father, David’s grandfather, was the leader of the Paladins back in the days. He used to come home after a long hard day at the office and boost to my brother and I about the good deeds that the Paladins were doing for human kind. As an innocent daddy’s girl that I was, my father was the greatest saviour to the world in my eyes and becoming a Paladin was like the number one goal in my life back then. I knew nothing about all the terrifying and inhumane tortures that my father and the other Paladins used when they were capturing or interrogating the Jumpers. I was so naive that in my mind I believed that they were like preachers at our church; they only talked to them patiently and guide them into the light of God; it never occurred to me that there was so much more to it...

At the tender age of eighteen and with my father’s help, I was recruited as a research assistant in the Paladins’ library. I was ecstatic to have landed such position with the Paladins, my idealistic world-saving organisation. The Paladins emphasised very much on their members’ formal education so I was also offered a scholarship to attend college. Soon after I graduated college, I started officially working for the Paladins. And of course, for the first few years I was only appointed to research on incidents of Jumpers teleporting themselves around the world, but none of the naked truth was exposed to this young girl at this early stage. With my fully committed effort and my father’s influence within the organisation, I was offered the position to be the department head of researches. And to show my commitment and loyalty to the Paladins, I had to sign an agreement that I would never leave the organisation till the day I depart this world. I was so consumed by the thought of being successful in the organisation and with no second thought I signed it. I was only twenty-four years old and I was the youngest department head ever in the history of the Paladins. My father and my family were so proud of me and needless to say that I was feeling the same about myself too!

David’s father, William Rice, and I met in the first year at college. He was not doing particularly well with his studies so he dropped out at the start of the second year and worked as an apprentice at his father’s car workshop. Although William and I were like chalk and cheese in other people’s eyes, we did have an unexplainable attraction towards each other. We had to keep our boyfriend and girlfriend relationship underground especially with my father for he saw William as a burden to my aspiring career with the Paladins upon my graduation from college. Nevertheless, the love between William and I stood the test of time and criticisms from other people. And by the time I turned twenty-four and firmly secured my position, department head of researches, William and I decided to start our own family! This decision was not the only surprise to my father and everybody, though they attempted every way to hinder us but it was all too late, I was pregnant with William’s child! My father was devastated when I broke the news to everyone because he was concerned about how William was going to support our new family. I assured him that with a love as strong as mine and William’s, we could overcome any hardship thrown in our paths.

William and I got married and as a wedding gift, my father had bought us a small but cosy townhouse which I am still appreciative and grateful today. And when next spring arrived, so did our son, David! He was the most gorgeous baby that I had ever laid eyes on and I just wanted to cuddle him all day. By now, William had inherited his father’s car workshop and I was juggling my life being the department head of researches at Paladins and the loving mother to my son, David. Our new family life was going so smoothly that in the back of my mind I knew that something terrible would go very wrong at some stage. My worst nightmare had realised when David turned five and that was the very first time that he ‘jumped’ as a Jumper to the top of the Empire State building in New York!

What was a mother to do? I had been with the Paladins for long enough to fully comprehend the ‘naked truth’ about our organisation and how the Jumpers were being tortured when they were captured. And with the loyalty agreement that I signed, was I to apprehend my own son and hand him over to the Paladins? Even if I keep this as a secret to the organisation, sooner or later they would be able to detect the teleporting that David did; they would hunt him down like a pack of wolves. I had to make the most difficult and heart breaking decision that a mother could imagine. I had to leave my loving husband and my vulnerable five-year-old boy in order to save their lives. I applied to be transferred to work at the Paladins headquarter in New York and the reason was that my marriage was breaking down and my husband was a useless drunk and was abusive towards me. I would never forgive myself for telling such horrible lies about William, my ever trusting and supporting soul mate and husband but I had no choice. And I knew that David would never forgive his mother for abandoning him and his father, I was torn apart...

David, can you still remember the first conversation that we had in Rome after you were captured?

“So you’re a Paladin and I ‘m a Jumper. What happens now?”

“I’m giving you a head start, son. Because I love you.”

I will always love you, son.

Mary Rice, mum

Jumper in Japan

There she sat wrapped in a shimmering white kimono on her white wedding dress, thinking this will be the last day of her freedom. Tazuko Komji sits sincerely while her friends and family watches her from out the window. No one knows her deep secret, a secret she’s force to hide from her future husband, a well off property investor. In a few minutes she will leave her parent’s house to her new bird nest that will become her prison cell for the rest of her live. Her thoughts began to wonder far away from the wedding to the day she saw two men fighting before her in the market. How strange it was to see a white man being brutally beaten up by a black man with white hair.
He held a strange stick hitting the bleeding face of the white man. She felt guilty from that day on that she was frightened to help the man lying useless on the ground. She hid quietly behind the fruit basket hoping no one could see her, when tears flow coldly down her face. That’s when it happened. The air went heavy and the grounds shake like an earth quake. Tazuko only had one option even if it means risking the one thing that she hid from the world.
“ help me”, the man scream.
“LET HIM GO”, the deep voice made the air reverberated. A strange shadow of a man walked towards them holding noting but his bag. Bloody Foolish man, what is he going to do she thought.
“It me you want Roland” he said with a cheeky smile on his face.
“Well it’s good to see you too”, he rubs the sweat off his forehead and took one step forward. Not even thinking of having a second look at his victim completely exhausted and wounded from the electric shock lying on the ground.
“It’s been…too long David”
David interrupts. “Well not really, having those pictures of you staring back at me in my room, it feels like we never lost touch at all.”
“Ahaha I see you haven’t lost touch of your humor too, well you’re going to need it after I kill you.”
Tazuko thought she was the only one, until she saw David teleport behind Roland but he was too slow for him. Roland quickly turns around and clicks his strange stick in front of David’s chest that released two electric ropes from both end of the stick wrapping David like a snake on a stick. Tazuko covered her mouth so that no can hear her screaming inside. David’s tears were blood and he couldn’t move muscle anymore. Roland thought it was an easy catch for him.
“You fell right on my trap boy”, Roland grabbed his Mobile, and just as he was about to dial he sense that someone was watching.
He could hear heavy breathing coming behind the fruit basket. He quietly walks towards it and recklessly pushes the baskets away. Tazuko quickly without hesitation ran but her speed didn’t match Roland wires. It grabbed her from her waist, pulling her back and fell bumping her head. She lies unconsciously on the ground. Roland walked up to her and saw she was still alive. Another man runs towards Roland.
“Sir what do you want us to do with them?”
“I want them both alive and make sure no one touches them… got that.”
“Yes sir… but what about the lady.” Roland stares down from the corner of his eyes.
“Leave her she just a witness; no one will believe her when she wakes up”
“But sir…”
“GO NOW!”
Roland and his companion disappeared into thin air before Tazuko woke up. She knew no one will believe her if she told. So she ran from the corner of the busy street where no one can see her and teleported to her home.

Since then Tazuko mind kept taking her back to that very day always wondering who David was and if there’s more out there just like her and David and who was Roland, what did he want? All that thought played on her mind like a tape recorder even when she was asleep.
“Are you already pumpkin?” a familiar voice interrupts her thought, wiping everything out off her thoughts leaving nothing but the anxious feeling.

Follow-up: Jumpers...

We have laid low for two years now, hoping that the Paladins can't get a hold of us. So far, everything is running smoothly according to plan. Griffin has given up being a Jumper and has returned to his family at Ireland. He's trying to live a normal care free life. No worrying and no running away. This time he's taking plane rides to Ireland and to where ever he wants to go. Anyways, Mom (who happens to be a Paladin) said that they have created a new tracking device to catch the Jumpers, including me. I haven't heard from the Paladins either. They're probably laying low as well.

Trisha Kat is doing fine as usual. I hardly hear from her, unless she's in danger of some sort and as for me, I'm in Japan hiding out in the markets, but I'm hoping no one knows that.

We have recruited another Jumper. A new member to the team. She's not so comfortable letting other people know who she is at the moment. She's an awesome girl. She is always eager to learn new things, especially about jumping from one place to another. Now I have to teach her how to defend herself, how to get away from the Paladins. She doesn't know much about them but she does know who they are.

For now, Mom is keeping me up to date with what they're doing and us, Jumpers - are trying to stay far away from the Paladins. I'll probably teach our newest team member how to get rid of the Paladins...except mom. She can take over Griffin's place.
-David (the JUMPER)

Follow-up: Paladins

It has been two years now and it's been really quiet. From what I know, Griffin has vanished out into thin air. He either vanished or he did not use his powers making it more challenging to track him down.

We are still trying to get a hold of the rest of the Jumpers - no doubt about that. That's what we do, we capture jumpers, we destroy jumpers getting them off the face of this planet.

The team and I have discovered a new way of tracking down them jumpers, a new and more advanced device called the Pulverizer 2000. I won't have to use my trusty dagger anymore. We're in the 22nd century and everything has been updated, even ourselves as Paladins have updated. We have become stronger and more powerful than ever. No one can pull us down and nothing can destroy the team of Paladins now.

I have just recieved some news on the Jumpers. They have found a new member and we've been able to track her down already, but we're not pouncing her yet. We decided to let her have her fun first. Let her live for a little while and enjoy the life of being a Jumper while it lasts and let us focus on the others who are more advanaced. We have also just recieved news regarding Griffin, he has disappeared from the Pulverizer 2000 at the main tower, which means he's lost his gift of jumping. So that's one down.

I'm communicating as we speak. I'm now recieving news more often from the tower, so this is how I know things more faster.

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the tower. The tower is a new building that I established last year. It makes life easier as well - so I don't have to keep running back and forth from the office. Only during emergencies I need to see for myself.
-Leader of Paladins: Roland