The hero who considered me his own brother, dying in my arms. Soaked dark red with tears of blood.

"I care about my...two brother's safety the most. Please..." Miracle cracked a small smile. "...take care of him for me."

I cradled him in my arms as crimson seeped through his clothes. I begged for him not to go, clutching onto his body fading of life.

"It'll be okay..." Those were his last words to me. I watched as his eyes became empty and soulless. I watched as his body went limp in my arms.

He died to give me a chance.

And in his absence he asked for me to look over you, Gabriel. I decided that day to make sure I would fight until my last breath for your survival.

It didn't matter if the odds were abysmal. It didn't matter if it was an utterly meaningless and pointless task. I fully believed that you would never wake up.

But I would continue until the end.

I swore I'd finish what he started, even if I, myself, lost hope.

And now, after all this time...

...a miracle has occurred.

I stood outside Gabriel's door, glancing towards my companion. Siren stood next to me, a nervous look evident on her face.

I didn't want to overwhelm Gabriel, so I decided I would introduce everyone to him one person at a time, one day at a time.

Gabriel will be in the hospital for a while. He needs to fully recover from the repercussions of the coma. Making sure his health isn't a risk, physical therapy to relearn basic functions like walking, stuff like that.

It'll be a rough road, but if he's woken up after all these years, then he has the will to go through it.

Who am I kidding, it's Miracle's brother.

Of course he does.

But the first I introduced to him during his recovery had to be Siren. The mother who never got a chance to be one. When she had adopted Miracle and Gabriel, the latter was already stuck in the coma.

"Remember." I glanced towards her. "I'm 'Jason'. Jason the Miracle, not Jason the clone."

"Are you sure about this?" Siren asked. "He'll find out one day."

"I know. And when that time comes, if he hates me for that lie, then so be it." I replied. "But I can't tell him now. He's young and just out of a four year long coma."

"I don't want to give him any more pain right now." I clenched my fist. "He's in a much too vulnerable state right now."

Siren sighed. "I understand."

But...there's also one other reason.

Every time I ever talked to Gabriel while he was in his coma...I pretended to be Miracle. I pretended to be "Jason James".

Not the clone. But the original.

And I don't know how aware Gabriel was of the outside world during the coma. For all I know he's heard every time I've talked to him. For all I know he hasn't heard any. Or remembers none.

I'm already four years into this lie.

If it'll keep him safe for now, and give him someone to blame and hate down the road?

Then what's a few more years of facade?

With a final nod and a deep breath, I opened the door. I walked in, letting Siren walk past, and then closed the door.

"...Jason?" A voice weakly spoke from the bed.

"Hey there, buddy." I turned around, smiling. "How are you hanging?"

"...painfully." Gabriel lightly smiled back. "Who is...she?"

"I'm so happy to finally meet you, Gabriel." Siren smiled. "My name is Julia, also known as the superhero Siren."

"Siren...!" Gabriel's eyes went wide as you could practically see the stars shining within them. "...awesome!"

"After the incident, I took your brother under my wing." Siren exclaimed. "And after some time, I adopted him...and you as well."

Gabriel stared at her, his mouth frozen in surprise.

"I don't expect you to call me Mom, but I want you to know that I am always going to be here for you-" Siren stated, only to be cut off with an excited voice.

"Can I really..." Gabriel gasped. "...call you Mom?!"

Tears pooled at the end of Siren's eyes.

"Of course." She whispered. "You may call me that as much as you'd like. You may call me anything you'd like, Gabriel."

"Okay, Mom!" Gabriel smiled with a shining radiance.

She could barely keep in her tears.

Actually, scratch that, she's not keeping them in at all. She's now sobbing into her arm.

The rest of the time we spent there consisted of Siren and Gabriel learning more about each other. Even I learned a few more things I hadn't known about him.

Since I'm not his real brother.

Anyways, when the accident happened, he was eight. Therefore, he's now at the grand age of twelve. It was certainly a strange experience, according to Gabriel.

He could both remember and not remember things during his coma. But one thing he never did notice was how his body grew over the years. Seems like it'll take him some getting used to.

The next day I brought Hikari with me to see Gabriel. Hikari told him about her adventures as Foxfire, and they surprisingly had a lot in common when it came to being fans of superheroes.

We also set up a television in his room so that he could watch things while no one was there to talk with him. That way he could be less bored and could find a way to distract himself when alone in the room.

The third day I brought Alexis with me. We neglected telling Gabriel that she was the daughter of the mafia for obvious reasons, but I wonder if he even knows what the mafia is?

Anyways she suggested getting Gabriel a phone. That way he could also text me and his new friends for any reason, or have some games to play. It could also serve as some rehabilitation for his hands.

On the fourth day I brought Gabriel's new phone, inputted with mine, Siren, Hikari, Alexis, and Sophie's contacts.

Ever seen Sophie with a phone? No?

Well, I'm pretty sure it's somehow built into her or something.

Anyways, as one can probably guess, Gabriel was elated about the phone. Oh, and I brought Sophie to meet Gabriel as well. They actually got along surprisingly well, but I think Gabriel can just get along with anyone.

The next day I brought along Eleanor. I wasn't really sure how this was going to go, but she turned down the craziness for this moment. Just for this moment though, the second we left she pinned me to the wall and attacked my neck.

Well she and Gabriel got along, and he got another number to add to his growing list of friends. Something I've seen him look fondly at with warm eyes.

Eleanor also said she'd introduce him to the wonders of anime when he was older so it seems he left a good impression on her as well.

On the sixth day I brought along Aurelia. Just like with Alexis and Eleanor we neglected to tell him that she was a villain currently wanted by the Hero Administration.

I think my reasoning is obvious enough.

Anyways Aurelia is actually really good at dealing with children. And then I found out she worked part time at a nursery for some time, so that was surprising.

Either way it went well, and that's what matters. Another friend for the friend list. Which has been coming in handy, both myself and the others have been getting random texts from Gabriel.

Whether it be something new and interesting he learned, how his physical therapy is doing, how he's feeling, or more.

And then, finally, on the seventh day...

...I brought the person he was probably waiting for all along.

"I'm back again, Gabriel!" I called out, closing the door as Sarah entered the room with me. "With the final person I want to introduce to you!"

"Okay!" Gabriel looked towards us with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Gabriel." Sarah smiled, walking over and sitting by his bed. "Or, I guess we've met before, but this will be our first time talking."

"Stellar!" Gabriel's eyes sparkled in joy. "You remember!"

"I do." Sarah smiled. "It's been so long since then. It's funny, I was on my first year of superhero work that day."

"You were...awesome!" Gabriel cheered. "It was super cool!"

"Thank you." Sarah smiled. "I'm glad you see it that way. Honestly, I was terrified for life when I caught that car that was going to fall on you."

"You were?" Gabriel gasped.

"Yeah." Sarah nodded. "That was one of the first supervillains I went against. I was worried that I couldn't keep everyone safe."

"But you did!" Gabriel grinned.

"But I did." Sarah chuckled. "And I'm so glad I did." Her eyes drifted towards the plushie sitting on the windowsill.

"You're my favorite superhero." Gabriel admitted.

"Thank you." Sarah laughed. "Hey, do you want to know a secret? You have to promise not to tell anyone though."

"What about my..." Gabriel glanced towards me. "...brother?"

"He already knows." Sarah smiled.

"Okay!" Gabriel excitedly nodded.

"My real name is Sarah Salstrom." She stated. "Can I join your friend list?"

"Yes!" Gabriel smiled wider than I had ever seen before.

I wish you could see this, Miracle.

Sarah continued to talk with Gabriel for a while longer, before it was finally time to leave. I bid Gabriel farewell, heading back with Sarah to continue my plans as Checkmate.

This past week I have both been visiting Gabriel every day, but also working as Checkmate afterwards. Taking down more Stromford buildings, negotiations with Vermillion Waverson, making plans on how to deal with my countless clones, and searching for where the bastards Killian Stromford and Vincent Vandercourt are hiding.

On the eighth day I visited Gabriel alone for the first time. I told him he can always ask for one of the others to come and if they're available then they will.

But he only asked for me today.

I opened the door to Gabriel's room. "Hey buddy, I'm here." I greeted as I closed the door.

I turned around, seeing Gabriel was staring off into space. I approached, sitting down next to his bed, finally causing his eyes to look over to me.

"Everything alright, buddy?" I asked.

"Jason..." Gabriel whispered. "...did you...fake your death?"

"That's an odd...question..." My voice trailed off as Gabriel brought up his new phone, a news article clear on the screen.

A news article about Miracle's disappearance, his presumed death, and the stature erected to honor him.

My words dried up in my mouth.

"Miracle is...missing." He stated. "Aurelia's face matches...a villain. You never used to...call me buddy before. But now you do...a lot."

My palms sweated.

"What happened..." He spoke. "...in the past four years?"

Oh, damn it Gabriel...

...you're too smart.