Noel was right. Ranger needed lessons in using Noel’s power. They had gotten along without Ranger having only the bare minimum level of instruction. It had worked out. Until it didn’t. For the time investment to teach Ranger to use Noel’s power to be worth it, Ranger would need to be Noel for a longer period of time. Giving Ranger lessons, like insurance, was a bet against yourself.

Except it was necessary now.

”Yes.” Ranger agreed, ”It’s a little hazy… but I think I made Zaid an myself f’rget how t’ use glasses last night...” Not a major thing to forget, but twice makes a tradition. Ranger did not want to make just forgetting things a tradition.

Ranger was left holding the flag when Noel stepped down off the bed while talking about using physical things to help remember. Instead of just standing there, holding her arms out with the flag, Ranger brought her arms in and held the flag close. Noel was right, Ranger had a lot of identity wrapped up in the flag.

A nod and a promise, ”No more heart attacks.” Ranger said, her tone serious. The last thing she wanted to do was erase something major from herself and have it lost for good.

When Noel left the room, Ranger put the flag back up on the wall where it had hung before she took it down. When she finished returning it to its home, she stepped back down onto the floor. Noel asked if she was scared off yet. Ranger turned to see her standing there, glass of water in hand and boots removed.

”Enough t’ stop makin’ eye contact.” Ranger said, looking near but not at Noel’s eyes. Her gaze tracking around from nose to cheek to mouth. Anywhere but eye. Ranger had become her worst fear. A psychic who could unmake herself. After a beat she looked at the flag she had rehung and added, ”Where d’ we start? With lessons that is.” She looked back to Noel. As much as she was afraid she would wipe out large parts of herself she would be damned if she was not going to do something to prevent it.

She admitted to forgetting how to drink last night. Noel replied while he dinked around in the kitchenette. "That turned out t' be a benefit. Y' were drunk enough, y' shouldn'a had any more. An' not drinkin' straight is a common enough drunk uh... thing? Not like I have a reputation t' defend." Water for just him seemed rude. He grabbed a glass for each of them and his ice packs, partially melted, that he'd abandoned before. He couldn't speak for Michael, but his face, at least, still hurt.

He noticed the flag was back by the time he'd wandered back.

And he had to check... yeah. He was chasing her eyes around and never quite catching 'em. Dang. She wanted to figure things out, and Noel didn't blame her one bit.

"Here." He passed over the extra glass of water and sat on the rumpled bed. "Y' don' control y'r power in this body. Y'r jus' not used t' holdin' the reins and that's... fine. But you'll have t' make do somehow if y' cain't. With a headache, multiplied probably by your previous mental indescretion? I don' think y' can' start today. I don' want t' set you up t' fail."

But he wasn't about to just not talk about the tools in the box. The toolbox was open and in his hands. It'd be reckless not to.

"Y' got stuck earlier, yeah? When we kissed?" It was surprisingly hard to describe driving by thought. No one else knew what it really felt like... until now. "It's sorta like swimmin'. Y' gotta remember t' come up f'r air. Look f'r clues that y'r underwater. People won't respond t' you. Bein' able to fastforward. No tasting words. That kinda thing?

Y' cain't trust y'r reality. Just... test it."

Upon reflection of her behavior the previous night, Ranger did feel bad about it. Having gotten drunk enough in Noel’s body that forgetting how to use a glass seemed like it could have been just as alcohol related as Noel’s power related. Ranger didn’t apologize, an apology is just words, she committed to do better. If the swap persisted she would make sure she did not get drunk again. Just because there wasn’t a reputation to defend didn’t mean people couldn’t think less of Noel because of Ranger’s mistakes.

Noel handed Ranger one of the glasses of water he carried and sat on the bed. Ranger took a sip of the water before joining Noel. Instruction and training in Noel’s power felt like a ‘better sit down for this’ event. Especially for the one learning to use Noel’s power. Noel described a difference between the power Ranger was used to and Noel’s before deciding training likely wasn’t the best option given the state of Ranger’s head. Which still hurt, but she had taken pain meds and had coffee over an hour prior and stayed in the dark for most of that time. Her head was significantly better than it was.

However, Noel was likely right. It was probably too much to add in training on top of. Ranger held her glass against the side of her head. The coolness of it felt wonderful on her head and the act punctuated Noel’s point. ”Okay. Not t’day.” Ranger agreed. Either she would be trained the next day or the day after or they would swap back and she would not need any training. Ranger just needed to make it through until then without doing any more major damage.

To that end, Noel was still providing instruction. At her prompting, Ranger thought back to the last time they had kissed. How it had felt to be inside the memories while stuck. Noel compared the experience to swimming before telling her she can’t trust reality, she should test it.

Ranger nodded, slowly. She felt that she understood what Noel was saying. Had this conversation happened before she had lost herself in Noel’s memories, she would have not understood at all. Having been there made all the difference. ”I… Think I understand.” It was something that would be easier to understand if she could practice it. Her eyes moved to Noel’s lips as she thought about it. Except that course of action had risks. If Ranger had trouble again she could get stuck and the longer she was there, in Noel’s memories, the more of herself she lost.

When in Delta, Ranger had the idea of training a skill or a weapon system to the point you didn’t have to think about it. Train until your body does it instinctively. WIth shooting this meant 50,000 trigger squeezes to adapt to a new weapon system. This mentality left Ranger torn. On one hand, there were dangers associated with even training with Noel’s power, especially while her head was not in the best shape. On the other hand, train how you fight.

If Ranger was stuck as Noel for a prolonged time, she might have to make use of Noel’s power while not in the best physical, mental, or emotional place to do it. Adopting a sink or swim mentality to training had served Ranger in the past. Especially with an accelerated training program to become an operator. Stateside training had become too risky for political reasons so most training was done overseas in a much more aggressive fashion.

Ranger reached a decision, ”I’ve had coffee, I’ve downed grunt candy. I feel, if we go slow, I could do some trainin’.” Ranger said, the statement tasted truthful to herself. ”Y’ never know when the boss might call.” Ranger didn’t know what Noel’s arrangement with SUPER was, but she knew that a call for ‘Ranger’ could come at any time. If the same was true for Noel, Ranger needed to have some level of preparedness.

Michael was convinced he could, and Noel wasn't sure. He couldn't taste is he was faking it. He didn't make a face... she looked quite serious, in fact.

"I'm setting a timer. Two minutes. An' y'r goin' in with a plan.... uh, whatever that may be."

So it was time for the proving grounds. Noel set the glass and ice aside, without even having applied the dang ice. Maybe he should have taken 'grunt candy' too, but there'd been a meeting. And he was used to toughing it out, to some degree. Headaches were pretty normal for telepaths or whatever she normally was.

She was willing.

"And... be careful, I guess." The risk was always hers before. Back when he was the she. He breathed once and nodded. He grabbed his phone, tried to unlock with his fingerprint, and had to resort to the pin... "We should swap phones until we swap back." Assuming they did. He still had hope.

"Uhm. So. What's y'r plan?" He shifted closer and set a timer. How much damage could she do in 2 minutes?

There would be a timer and Ranger needed to have a plan. Two minutes seemed short, but also like it could be an eternity. It wasn’t much time for practice, but when every moment you lost something of yourself… It was too much. Ranger nodded, her brain churning through the sludge of the hangover. Coffee and ibuprofen had done wonders to clean it out but some still remained.

Noel told Ranger to be careful before she nodded and grabbed at his phone. The fingerprint reader didn’t accept it because it’s owner had a different fingerprint. Once she had it open she mentioned that they should swap phones, until they get back.

”That’s... not a bad idea.” A person’s phone was practically an extension of themselves. All the cosmetic things were tailored, the choice in apps, text logs, and everything else. Except, it was still a phone and if someone called one of them they were not expecting the other. ”I know if someone here called f’r me or if someone from SUPER called… They’d wonder why ‘Noel’s’ answerin’.” And it was just until they swapped back. Because they were swapping back. Eventually.

When Noel asked what her plan was, Ranger had just come up with one. Noel shifted closer and had a timer ready. ”I need t’ practice takin’ control. Fast forward, rewind, change memory, an’ then exfil.” Ranger took a breath, her mind giving one last pass over her plan. ”The plan is t’ go in lookin’ f’r the oldest memory. Don’t hang around’ in any memory too long. Jump in, move around, change. Bail after two minutes.”

Ranger set a hand on the bed between them and leaned forward. Her heart was beating faster. It wasn't just that she wanted to practice using Noel's power. She touched her top teeth with her tongue and then set her other hand on the closest of Noel’s thighs before closing her eyes and kissing Noel.

Eyes open, and Ranger was in a memory. Sitting in a classroom, looking out the window. There came a call from the front, “Jorge...Jorge!” Ranger turned to look at the teacher. The movement gave Ranger a look at the class. Too old. Ranger took a moment to fast forward the memory to see a question answered before jumping to another memory.

Ranger jumped from memory to memory, some boys and some girls. As she went, she progressed younger and younger. Until she landed in one memory that made her stop.

Ranger was walking with a woman, holding her hand. They were in a store, some kind of grocery store. Ranger fast forwarded. The mother asked, “Do you need to go to the restroom, Angela?” and in response Ranger nodded or rather Angela nodded. They were standing outside of the ladies room. Ranger was not about to hang around and watch that memory… Then Ranger saw it. Something that made Ranger re-watch the same two seconds multiple times. As Angela and her mother walked into the bathroom… Ranger saw Angela’s reflection in the mirror.

Angela was young, maybe three or four years old. Maybe younger, Ranger wasn’t the best at gauging children’s ages. Even still, at such a young age Ranger knew.

That was Noel.

The next thing Ranger knew she was kissing Noel, specifically she was softly biting Noel’s lip. She had pulled herself out of Noel’s memories, and even though she really didn’t want to, broke off the kiss. Leaning back she put her fingers over her mouth for a few seconds as she worked through what she had just seen.

After a long moment she looked up at Noel and asked, ”Does...Does the name… Angela mean anythin’ t’ you?”

A solid plan. He shouldn't complain. He could, but he shouldn't.

It was funny getting the same nervous flutter in this body as he did when he was a she. Funny that it was her body closing in. Did she look like that? Ever? Always? Every time? Or only when she looked at him?

And even funnier that when they kissed... nothing happened. Not nothing, nothing. There were still lips and feelings involved and he inched closer to slide his hands around the small of her back.

Feelings were a lot easier to ignore when he was somewhere else, mentally.

The timer went off, but he was kind of busy. Whether it was the timer or something else, Michael bit his lip one last time before pulling back.

Foo.

"Right." He was always such a gentleman, it was now Noel's turn to return that favor despite really incredibly feeling otherwise. He messed with the phone to stop it from beeping.

Michael needed a minute. Sure. Yeah. Noel just uhh… thought about baseball for a minute. Actually baseball sucked. He checked the weather which was… a temperature. He was looking at his phone without seeing while curling and uncurling his toes by the time she finally figured out words. Maybe she’d just gotten a huge info dump? Maybe she’d forgotten how to talk. It was hard waiting the 10 seconds to get there, even after the timer had clicked off.

> ”Does...Does the name… Angela mean anythin’ t’ you?”

Oh. He’d gotten spooked.

”No, but I got lotsa people in here. Probably one of the govermen’ issue people. Didja find somethin’ juicy? Embarrassing? Spill! Spill!”

From what Ranger had seen, Noel certainly did have lots of people’s memories in her head. There while there had been a few repeats as Ranger had jumped memories, he saw many different faces.Memories from many different people. It made sense SUPER likely provided many people to remake Noel into what they wanted. The ultimate training program.

Ranger cocked her head to the side and looked off to the side. She bit her upper lip. Perhaps Ranger did find something juicy. She focused on the image of the young Angela in her mind and then looked at Noel. They were too similar for it to be a coincidence.

”I saw… I saw you, I think.” Ranger began, ”I was hopin’ memory t’ memory an’ I landed in one where I was with my… someone’s mom in a store. We, they, went t’ the bathroom, right before I left I saw… There was a mirror, an I saw. You. I think I saw you.” Ranger moved one hand to place it atop one of Noel’s ”The mother had called the little girl Angela… I think it was one of y’r own memories from when y’ were real little.”

With Noel’s power Ranger could see the face plain as day in her mind, recalling it whenever she wished. Noel couldn’t see it though. As Ranger spoke she willed Noel to be able to recall the memory in question and to see remember. ”I don’t mean y’ as y’ are, but a child, four ‘r five. I don’t know, maybe a bit younger, but it was unmistakably you.” Ranger squeezed on Noel’s hand and played the memory again in her mind; seeing the grocery store, walking hand in hand with her mother, being called Angela, going into the bathroom, seeing a young Noel’s face.

Unbeknownst to Ranger Noel’s power had another facet she didn’t know about. The memory Ranger had been reviewing was thrust upon Noel’s mind. Showing him the memory or himself as a young girl.

She saw him? But that was silly. ”I don’ have much a any my mem’ry before New York…”

But Michael wasn’t done. She saw her. And she was, by now, pretty acquainted with how she looked. Noel’s jaw shut with the mechanical slowness of someone who had started something, but whose mind was furiously running in different circles.

Anglea was not Noel. Noel looked at his forearm out of habit, but not only did his body not have the tattoos, neither body in this room did. That had been her cornerstone when she came to New York. She was Noel. Now she… was Michael.

He rubbed his face, determined to keep a lid on the bubble of panic rolling up from his gut.

A trip to the bathroom didn’t sound like a memory worth remembering. And Angela… it bothered him. He was bothered. 4 or 5? He tried to think back. Was t easier or harder to access her own memories without her power? Probably easier, he decided. No organization system to distract him. It was as hazy as any memory more than thirty years gone, colored by time and personal neglect. He could imagine it, but not with great detail. But was he remembering it or just hoping he could remember?

”Y’ think y’ could get to a- uh figure out a place an’ ti--?”

She squeezed his hand and… he saw it. Not with the patina of time, with the crystal clarity of her power. The edges were hazy. Her focus as a child had been narrowed solely to the woman and her objective.

The tiles were yellowish. The mirror had a crack. She couldn’t even remember getting as far as the stalls. What had struck her in that moment, what made her remember, was that her hair was growing long. She loved her hair and that day her momma had braided it for her. She said it made her look grown up. She felt grown up, when she saw it in the mirror.

And she turned and beamed at the woman. Noel felt zero recognition, but the emotion in the memory was enough to confirm…

”Pause. Stop.” He wasn’t driving this memory, but he wanted to see her longer. Memorise what he’d forgotten.

”I don’t… you found… something.” Wait… why was he seeing it? ”Noel? Uh- Michael?” He was seriously getting muddled about who was who.

The memory played again. The same sequence, only when it went just beyond the reflection, to a clear view of the mother Noel spoke up. Surprised, Ranger stopped the memory with a clear look at the face of Angela’s mother. Possibly, Noel’s mother.

Was Noel seeing the memory? It seemed like he was. He had asked the memory be stopped, and his staggered speech seemed to indicate he could. If it was Noel’s mom, and he could see it, Ranger didn’t want to end however she was sharing the memory until Noel was ready. It was when Noel spoke again, questioning which name to call Ranger, that Ranger let the memory slip away. It brought his face back into Ranger’s view.

Ranger left her hand on Noel’s and when she spoke she did so softly. ”Did… Y’ just see the memory?” Ranger asked, before moving on to more important questions with less obvious answers, ”Was that you?... Was- Was... that’ y’r mama?”

It was Noel’s memory, but often childhood memories especially, seemed to get lost only to surface at the oddest of times. The way Noel’s power organized her memories… It was likely that it could be buried under a pile of gathered memories. Lost but still there for Ranger to find with Noel’s power. Ranger had no idea what such a revelation could mean. She couldn’t fathom being in that situation. Learning that your name might not be your name and seeing your own mother’s face for what must feel like the first time.

He was flustered. Embarrassed and confused.

”I though’ maybe I remembered somethin’ on my own, but then you played it for me in memory-D. I dinn't think anythin’ of it because it's what I'm used t’ with taken memories.”

The Ranger could lift trucks. Why wouldn’t she send memories? Apparently they’d both grown a bit in the last ten years.

Noel ran his hands over his forehead and gingerly across his black eye. The memory sat awkwardly like a wooden building block stuffed inside of a filing cabinet. It was all technically wood, but it didn't fit in the file folders the same way paper did.

He could think back on the memory and it was fresh in his mind, but he couldn't pause or rewind like her power allowed. It was just a memory, and that frustrated him to no end. He wanted to dissect it, look at every angle, pan for clues...

Was that his mother?

”I see what you saw, but… I don' recognize her. If you hadn' shared t’ me a clearer picture, I could have passed her on th’ street and never known.” He shifted awkwardly. He didn’t usually get into family things. He didn’t need other people. That was a major goal of his, to be independent and not need no man… or mom.

”When it's y’r mom aren' there magic hormones and angels singing and such?”

Maybe it was a little sister or something… half sister? But when would she have gotten it as a memory?

Seeing the memory had seemed to throw Noel for a loop. His face and speech conveyed that to some level he had become flustered. He said that he had seen the memory and it was like what he was used to his power doing. Except that it had not been Noel in his own woman body seeing the memory in… Memory-D? Funny. It had been Ranger in Noel’s woman body steering the power. That meant it was a facet of Noel’s power that Noel didn’t know was there.

”I guess it ain’t jus’ my power that’s changed from what I remembered.” Those lost ten years had given them both surprises.

As to whether the woman was Noel’s mother… Noel didn’t know. And from her body language it looked like the topic of family was an uncomfortable one. It made sense though, she had memories of families from other people but not much of her own. With her memories of life ever changing, not thinking about family was likely the best way to manage.

”I don’t know about hormones ‘r angels, but… Maybe?” Ranger wasn’t sure what to say. She had memories of her parents; good, bad, fond, not so fond. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows growing up but Mom was Mom. If Ranger didn’t have the memories… Maybe she wouldn’t have the feelings associated with thinking of Mom. ”Maybe… those feelin’s need memories t’ support them?” Which would mean that any close relationship Noel had could be wiped out completely all thoughts and feelings by one poorly managed memory wipe or memory replacement… Which meant the same was true for Ranger now as she wielded Noel’s power.

After chewing on a thought for a moment, Ranger asked, ”We could see if there’s more… Maybe y’ have more buried in there? Y’ cain’t use y’r power t’ look at y’r own memories an’ find them… but I can do that f’r y’.” The hunt for Noel’s true memories would cost Ranger some of her own, but Noel didn’t even recognize his own mother. It was worth it to give him that.

Knowing your mom was supposed to be instinct. But it also seemed that it was supposed to be built on a foundation of the beginning of life, too.

This was stupid.

"I feel like I should say yes to that offer, despite i' not makin' a lick a difference to my life now." This was a now or never… or rather, they had until whenever they changed back, which he refused to think we'd take a long time. So. Now. Or never.

He could turn his back on the idea of family. Start his own, maybe. Be an effective orphan… or find what he already had.

He'd stressed and hemmed and hawed for maybe a minute, but it felt like a year.

"Okay. Maybe y' won't find anythin', but I guess you c'n search in ways I never could. Y' might lose somethin' of yours in return..."

It cost him nothing. A little smooching? Sure. Fine. But she still had precious childhood memories.

He scooted closer with a flutter of excitement that he mentally squished, murdered, and buried. "Do y'r worst, I guess." He was going to make her drive, though. Best to let her be ready.

Noel didn’t immediately say yes to Ranger’s offer. When she did she cautioned that Ranger might lose something of hers in return. Ranger nodded, already aware of the risk.

”I know the risk.” Ranger said. She knew it academically. Aside from a couple accidental deletions, Ranger wasn’t aware of what she lost using Noel’s power. She had yet to have a big instance of reaching for a memory of her own and drawing out one she gained from Noel.

Noel scooted closer. Ranger felt a rush of excitement. She had to tamp down on it as she focused on her plan of action. She was looking for memories from Noel. Noel’s true memories. The memories that were hidden, buried, or lost to time in his head. ”I… Don’t know how long I’ll need. If y’ think it’s been too long, pull me out.” Just in case, Ranger wanted to have something to protect herself from losing herself if she failed.

Once Ranger had a plan in her mind, she met Noel’s gaze for just a moment before she leaned in and closed them. Her heart was beating fast. Her mind was focused on her mission. Her lips met Noel’s.

Noel’s childhood was her target. Memories of Noel’s parents. Noel’s family. Noel’s home. If that failed Ranger wanted to find clues to allow them to find Noel’s family.

Jumping from memory to memory, Ranger only stayed long enough to discern if it was a memory from Angela or not before moving on. Sometimes it was easier—if the memory was from a young boy Ranger could move on. Sometimes it took longer—if it was from a young girl Ranger would have to stay long enough to see if it was Angela or if it would yield no results even if it was.

When Ranger finally opened her eyes she felt like she had explored virtually every corner of Noel’s childhood memories. Only a few memories with any depth. She had seen; car rides, dentist appointments, shopping trips, movie nights, dinners, leaving for the first day of school, and more. Only a few had been from the perspective of Angela. There had been something weird in there too.

Ranger ran her hand along Noel’s abdomen, feeling the muscles under the shirt before it stopped on his chest and Ranger used it to break off the kiss. She rocked her head, her lips pulling away from Noel’s face but her forehead gently touching. Ranger had a lot of memories that she had just downloaded and was taking a moment to keep everything straight. She had some she was certain were from Angela and some she was skeptical of. She reviewed those memories. Especially the last she found.

When she felt ready, Ranger leaned away from Noel. ”I... Found somethin'. I think y' need t' see it.”

Taking Noel’s hand in hers, Ranger tried to repeat what she had done before to show Noel the memories. ”Ready?” Ranger asked before she played the memories to Noel. 

How long could it take, really? If Noel was doing this for someone else? He’d call it after a minute. He was fast and precise, but more importantly, he really only had stolen memories at this point. What did it matter if he removed or replaced a section? He knew how to download and bail and then sort through things later… with actual memory on the line? Michael would be reviewing before she decided what to take.

He knew the rules and so did she.

”Okay.” Resigned, he let her drive. His heart and lips weren’t really in it. Maybe it was creepy, but he never closed his eyes. He couldn’t focus on her face, really. But he could see eye brow bunching and how still or not still she was. Eventually, she seemed to gain control of her arms. That was the beginning of the end.

He gripped her upper arms, willing her to speak. Afraid there was nothing. Afraid of what might be there, too.

It turned out to be… something.

”Yeah. Show me.” He let her take his hand and he realized he was tapping his foot. Again, he tried to dismiss it as stupid before all his senses were consumed.

”Wellll this is awkward.” It was her. A much younger her than she was even now. She noticed the accent, the clothes, the age. Noel didn’t have time to glean much else because she kept talking. ”You want me to talk to you? Like you’re me?” She breathed and shook her hands out.

”Okay. So. You’re poking around in your past, but that’s against the ruuuules. I sorta always knew this day would come so I’m leaving myself clues. I wanna be able to get back here, make my own decisions. I likely won’t always be with the psychic contingent. And if I am, who cares? I’ll just wipe it all again anyway. But at least I should get to go see. You know?”

The person acting as the “camera” for this scene nodded.

”Right. You’re not going to talk and incriminate yourself. Cool. So. Tattoo.” Angela turned around and showed off the peeking top of a feathered tattoo. ”I got the cliche angel wing tattoo. Full back. Hard to miss. That one’s obvious and tattoos are permanent. Hopefully I won’t ever forget my name’s Angela.”

She said it. She confirmed— but she was also still going.

”I worked hard to gage my ears. Aren’t I so freaking clever? My code name is Gage so hopefully I’ll put that one together, too. Or first. Or… I’m covering my bases, here. The gage isn’t so fat that it’s obvious, I don’t think, but this is definitely more risky. Pull them out and open them up. If they’re the ones I’m wearing today, your last known home address of Angela Selene Castillo de Jaager is in there. One in each ear. Re-freaking-dundancy, baby.

Oh. And you wanna know how freakin’ clever I am? Write down the name Noel and it’s just a few pen strokes off from Angela. Slap an A on the front and back. There’s no freakin’ way I’ll forget. There’s no way.”

That… that was it?

As his vision came back to what he could control, there was very little doubt in his mind that Noel was Angela. Not after that little… whatever that was.

”I was still a teen when that memory was made.” He noticed goosebumps racing up his arms and rubbed at the skin to make them go away. It was just so creepy. Out of body, totally zero recollection… or any of it. ”I guess I wasn’t as clever as I thought I was if I never put any of that back together.”

He looked back at himself, doubly disturbed to be talking to his own face. He scanned the earrings in Noel’s ears, but… there weren’t any. The memory showed a gaged plug and several rings in each ear. She’d looked a little goth or punk rock. The Noel of now wasn’t sure which.

”What kind of name is that…?”

The delay between when Ranger ended the kiss and when she spoke must have been driving Noel mad. While Ranger was sorting everything in her mind, Noel had grabbed her by the arms. Ranger couldn’t blame him. Ranger was the one avenue for him to know anything about his past.

The memory Ranger showed Noel was one she almost hadn’t found. Ranger had spent most of her efforts filtering through childhood memories. The memory was odd in that it was not a memory from Angela, like Ranger had been looking for, it was a memory of her talking. It was like Noel’s past self had left herself a lifeline.

The various ways that Angela had tried to build in ways to remember herself were clever, but time had undone them. The tattoo, the gaged ears, the plugs in the ears. None had lasted, but the message to herself time capsule had. It just needed someone else to look into her mind with her own power it seemed.

When the memory ended, Ranger let hers and Noel’s senses return. Ranger had other assorted memories she showed from when Noel was younger. They felt unimportant in light of that one memory. There were a few others, but he could show them later. For the moment she would let Noel process what he had experienced.

Noel rubbed at his arms which had become prickled with goosebumps and looked at Ranger. From where Noel’s eyes looked, Ranger could tell he was scanning his own ears for signs of the earrings.

When Noel asked what kind of a name that was, Ranger chimed in, ”It sounds hispanic… With a dutch surname?” Ranger had met a de Jager while in the service. Otherwise she would have had no idea of where it was from. She wasn’t certain though as she knew some combloc countries had Jaager as a name. ”An’ I don’t think it’s a lack of bein’ clever-” Ranger felt at her ears, where there was a lack of gages, ”Y’ were a decent bit younger in that memory an’ the physical clues f’r y’rself ‘re gone.”