POTENTIAL: TWENTY-EIGHT

**ALEX POV**

Knowing that Quinn was not in the apartment, we decided to return home. However, we first passed by the mentioned orphanage and inquired about those who went missing. I became suspicious when I found out that all the missing children were Trisha's friends. Sky guessed that Quinn did a background check on us and targeted Trisha first.

Sky gave an extensive lecture to Tita on how to protect herself in case Quinn attacked her while we were rescuing the children. Meanwhile, Maica was comforting Trisha, who had been having anxiety attacks since earlier. I was contemplating how we could locate the whereabouts of the children.

"Any luck?" Sky asked while walking towards me and sitting beside me.

I shook my head, "None. We don't have enough clues except for the tattoo."

"This is difficult," Sky commented, leaning back on the sofa. He looked at his laptop with a picture of Quinn's tattoo.

"That's strange," Tita exclaimed from the kitchen.

"What is it, Mom?" Maica asked, prompting Sky and me to turn to Tita.

"Oh? Nothing! I just tried the barcode scanner on my phone with the only Jerkillious I've hidden here. It's weird because a different product description came up," she explained, furrowing her brow.

"What is it?" Sky asked.

"Burgeun Gums."

"Burgeun Gums? The famous bubble gum that's not made of plastic?" Maica clarified, and Tita nodded.

I noticed Sky's sudden movement as he typed something on the keyboard. "It looks like we have a lead," he declared, turning his laptop toward me. The screen displayed information about Burgeun Gum, including its manufacturing address.

"Unova Food Corp.?" I read the address with a furrowed brow.

"Unova Food Corp. is the no. 1 candy manufacturing company since 2022," Tita explained as she walked towards the sofa to join our conversation.

"It was founded on December 21, 2022, by Quinnie Breese," Sky supported Tita's statement.

"That number! 122122!" Maica exclaimed.

"And the name," Trisha, filled with anger, said, turning to us. "Quinnie Breese. Quinn Reese. It makes sense," she added, causing our eyes to widen. Sky typed something again and showed us Quinnie Breese's personal data, complete with a photo that closely resembled Quinn Reese.

"How's that even possible? Why does she still look so young?" Maica asked in amazement.

"Clones. Machines. Drugs. There are a lot of options," Sky replied.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked.

"We'll start with Unova first," Sky promptly answered.

******

We're on our way to Unova Food Corp., which is a few kilometers away from the city proper. I decided to read about the company while waiting to arrive.

Based on my research, I found out that Unova's founder, Quinnie Breese, came from a wealthy family, and within a year, she opened her factory. Since then, the candies she produced became popular with the masses, and she was hailed as the Candy Queen. However, her popularity waned when the issue about Jerkillious came out, having a similar barcode to her products, particularly Burgeun Gum. Fewer people bought her candies, leading to the point where she had to stop production.

However, the factory reopened after Quinnie was proven innocent in the Jerkillious production, which was found to contain dangerous chemicals lethal when consumed in the right amount. But a year after her company reopened, rumors circulated again about Quinnie's death as she disappeared once she reopened her factory. Some claimed she was murdered, while others believed she died of an illness. It all stopped when Quinnie surprised everyone by holding a PressCon about the issue.

During the PressCon, she explained that she went on vacation abroad, and that's why she disappeared for three months. She said she didn't disclose it for some unknown reason. After her PressCon, everything returned to normal.

This is what's written on Myrtel Dela Rosa's blog site. I want to believe what she wrote, but this was just a blog. There's still a tendency for the author to alter the truth to manipulate and hide what needs to be concealed. But my gut is telling me that there's something wrong. Really, really wrong.

"Found something?" Trisha asked, noticing that I'd been reading for a while. It seems like she's returning to her usual self.

I sighed. "It's just the history of Unova and some stories about Quinnie."

"I see. By the way, why did Maica stay behind?"

"Her Mom needs her. Knowing that Quinn targets those close to us, she needs to watch over her mom," Sky explained, and Trisha agreed.

"Don't worry, Trisha, they'll be okay," I reassured my friend.

"Get ready. We're here," Sky warned, making us look ahead. We could see the two massive smokestacks where the factory is located. I couldn't believe that this factory used human meat for their candies. "We'll stop here and walk our way in," Sky explained, and we agreed.

Sky parked the car and concealed it behind a bush. Then, we started walking into the woods, heading towards the factory. Before reaching it, we paused to figure out how to get inside.

"We can use that tree," Trisha suggested, pointing to a tree with a branch surpassing the fence. It could work, but the branch might not withstand the weight.

"Too weak," Sky commented. We were surprised when we noticed a flashlight approaching us. "Hide."

Trisha and I instantly hid behind a tree, and Sky did the same on the other side. We could hear their conversation through their radios until they moved away. We cautiously emerged from our hiding spots and returned to figuring out how to get to the other side. Then an idea crossed my mind.

I held out my hand and visualized two strings extending from it. I connected both strings to Sky and Trisha's bodies and made them float mid-air. They were both surprised, but there was nothing they could do. I floated them to the other side and gently lowered them to the ground.

"Thanks, but how did you do that?" Trisha asked.

I immediately climbed the tree she pointed to earlier. I strengthened the branch using my telekinesis until I safely crossed to the other side with them. We didn't linger and headed towards the nearest gate. When we reached it, Sky slowly opened it and peeked inside to see if it was safe to enter.

"All clear," he reported, entering first. Trisha followed, and I went in last. Upon entering, the noise of machines and people's voices startled us. We discreetly observed the workers in their tasks. It seemed like they either didn't know what was happening here, or they knew but were forced to keep it a secret.

"Excuse me?" a man suddenly said, surprising us. With my reflex, I restrained the man by hovering and immobilizing him, similar to what I did to Quinn in Trisha's room. "No... no... please... I'm here to help." Help?

"Why should we believe you?" Sky asked, pointing his gun at the man.

"Because she needs you," he replied briefly, puzzling me.

"She?" Trisha asked, bewildered.

"Madame Quinnie Breese."

******

We are now traversing an underground hallway towards an unknown destination. The man who spotted us earlier is leading the way, with Sky pointing his gun at him. Actually, I'm confused about what's happening now—I mean, we were.

The man stopped in front of a door that immediately opened. He entered, inviting us to follow. I prepared my psi balls, just in case Quinn surprised us. However, upon entering, there was no sign of Quinn. Not a single person, except for us had just entered.

"Welcome, my dear guests," a woman greeted us. I searched the entire place, hoping to locate the origin of the voice, but I saw nothing. All I could see were shelves filled with books and a working fireplace.

"Show yourself," Sky demanded while still holding his gun.

"Jasper."

"Yes, Madame," the man, whose name is Jasper, responded with a nod. Jasper motioned towards the fireplace and did something, making the floor a few meters away from the fireplace open. From the opening emerged a large cylindrical tank, startling us. But we were more surprised when we saw the tank's contents—a girl floating in some kind of liquid, with wires and lines attached to her entire body.

"This is me," the woman said. When I looked at her closely, I was astonished to see the same face as Quinn, but slightly older. Both her eyes were closed, but I guessed she could still see us. A camera, perhaps? "I'm Quinnie Breese."

"You're... dead?" Trisha asked, bewildered.

"Jasper, give them chairs," Quinnie ordered.

"Ah, right! Apologies." Jasper pressed something again near the fireplace, and a sofa popped up on the floor, just a meter in front of us.

"Please take a seat. You don't want your feet to get tired of standing," Jasper joked, and we hesitantly accepted. Once seated, a table appeared in front of us, holding a plate of cookies and a pitcher of juice. It looked delicious, but I didn't give in. "Don't worry. There's no poison in them," Jasper reassured us with a smile.

"Please feel free to ask. I'll answer all of your questions," Quinnie offered.

"All of it?" Sky clarified.

"It depends on how much I can remember."

Sky leaned back on the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest. He released a sigh, followed by a question, "How did you end up like that?"

"It was 24 years ago when I was killed, I mean, almost killed."

I was surprised to hear her say that. "24 years ago? That means your disappearance is actually true?" I asked.

"You're right. I was about to die when a friend of mine helped me live longer than anyone could've imagined. Through this technology, I can stay for another hundred years," she explained, pointing to the tank containing her body.

Another hundred years? What's the use of a long life if you're just confined and floating in a tank?

"And who is this friend of yours?"

"Erick Timothie. He is a great inventor."

"Then if you're dead, who spoke in front of the people during that PressCon?"

"My clone." Clone? Sky seems to be right. "It was my decision to have a clone, to continue my business, and to show this rival of mine how capable I am."

"Rival?" Trisha reiterated.

"Dr. Pestachio Deguro. The man behind Jerkillious and the mysterious disappearance of the street people, including the sabotage he did for my business."

So, someone else was behind all that?

"You knew, yet you prefer not to tell the authorities," I criticized, slightly angry.

"We're doing business here, child."

And she called me a child.

"Why did Dr. Deguro do that?"

"Dr. Deguro was and will always be my rival since we were young adults. He promised me that he would build his candy company and bring me down, but I didn't expect him to be this serious. He even stole my teenage clone for his experiments," she explained.

"Teenage clone?" Trisha asked again.

"Yes."

"Your teenage clone killed 6 people and abducted 10 children. And I believe that it was Dr. Deguro who tasked her," Sky announced.

"He did?! That bastard! He's really going too far!" Quinnie exclaimed after learning that her rival used her face to spread fear in the city.

"Jasper said earlier that you can help us," Sky said, still in the same position.

"Defeating Dr. Deguro? Yes, we sure can," she confirmed. "Jasper?" Jasper approached and handed us a piece of paper with an address written on it.

"That's the location of Dr. Deguro's hidden laboratory," Jasper introduced, pointing to the paper I was holding. Sky and I exchanged looks, seemingly unable to believe what just happened.

"Please keep this a secret. I don't want my other self to be filled with issues again," Quinnie requested.

"We won't, don't worry," Sky replied straightforwardly.

"Jasper, take them outside, will you?"

"Yes, Madame." We stood up, waiting for Jasper. He led us out back to the highway.

"So, Jasper, how long have you been here?" I asked the man.

"I've been here since I was 5 years old. Madame Quinn made me her assistant when I was 10, and now I'm serving her until the rest of my life," he answered.

"Such loyalty," I commented, smiling at him.

"Thank you."