"Criminals are criminals; whether they are jumpers or not is irrelevant."

Burt Hummel stood in front of dozens of cameras and scores of people mid speech about his stance on the Jumper bill. He commanded the attention of politicians and journalists alike, with his always present air of authority and lingering sense of mutual respect.

"It is unjust to classify group of people as a whole based on the actions of a few. Now, I do not deny that the technology developed by RAHTS is useful. It can certainly be used to house criminal jumpers, but not to enslave an entire set of people, lobbing the innocent with the guilty. That is not the just way; that is not what we should stand for. We should not be going around rounding up people's mothers, their fathers, their husbands and wives, their children, because of a trait they couldn't even control getting in the first place, because we do not understand this trait. That is no justification.

Have we not learned from our fore fathers mistakes? Have we learned nothing at all? Ostracizing a people because of something inherent, something genetically unique, something that makes them different from what society calls norm, never ever ends well. Are we going to let history repeat itself or are we going to learn from the wrong steps they took?

Which path are we going to take ladies and gentlemen? Which side of history will you be on? The side that promotes growth, integration and equality, or the side that chooses to be painfully unaware of the facts and therefore willingly participates in the wrong?

I can reassure you, with the utmost certainty, that I will not now, nor do I ever intend in the future, to stand on the wrong side of history. I will continue to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. I will do this alone if I have to, but thankfully there are a number of people who agree with me. Together we can fight this absurdity, fight the injustice of being taken from your family, because believe it or not, these boundaries were being crossed long before holding facilities and frequency meters came into play.

Life should be lived; each man should be accountable for their lives. You cannot label a person as unworthy before they get to show their worth, you cannot label a person as bad before they get to show you good and you cannot take one experience with a person of a certain nature to judge all persons of that particular nature, good or bad.

All I ask is that you think critically, logically on the facts and issues, and not let someone do that for you. Weigh the pros and cons; put yourself in another person's shoes. Would you feel like you were being dealt with justly? This is a question we must ask ourselves relentlessly while making decisions. It will keep us honest; it will keep us human, which we all are in the end. No matter how different we think we are, our blood still runs red, we still breathe the same air, we communicate with each other, socialize with one another; we all need the same things to survive. We are human, every single last one of us."

The guys watched Burt Hummel take his seat on their TV screen, confident that he at least made a point from which debates could start, and they watched the speaker of the house take over. Kurt let out a breath he didn't know he was holding during his father's speech. It was the same speech they went over together two nights ago when his Dad was in Lima.

Blaine and Kurt had only realized that their fathers were working together for Jumper rights a day before Burt came. Kurt exclaimed that he knew the name 'Anderson' rung a bell, thinking about the first day Blaine told him his last name. Blaine had marveled over the coincidence. He realized immediately the danger it posed though. They would have to tell a fib about Blaine's name to Kurt's dad, at least for the time being, at least while the RAHTS was still interrogating people left and right. And so Cooper's ridiculous cover names came back into play, and if Kurt mistakenly calls him Blaine, they'd just tell the senator what they told Kurt's friends; Blaine is a pet name that people who are very fond of him uses. It was the best they could do, for now.

And so they did. The night before the senator went back to Washington, he and Kurt had 'Peter and John Carver' and 'Saun Green' over for dinner. Saun was a 'cousin' of course; Peter was guardian for both boys. When Burt heard the names he chuckled and said "See Kurt, not all Peters are douches."

For all intents and purposes the dinner went well and Blaine could see this amazing bond between Kurt and his father. A bond of love, acceptance and protection. He could see the kind of character that the senator had wasn't one made for TV, instead it was one as genuine as one could ever get. He should've expected nothing less from the man who raised Kurt. Blaine could see the passion in Burt's eyes whenever he spoke on any particular subject of his interest. Whether its human rights or football, it didn't matter; Burt Hummel was a force to be reckoned with. And truth be told, he would have been more intimidated if he didn't have Cooper and Hunter with him.

Right then though, he felt damn good that this was the man fighting for his right to just exist, that his Dad had chosen this man to throw his support behind, that if anyone one can get congress to change their minds, its Burt Hummel.

With his mind back in the present, he tightened his fingers around Kurt's and smiled at him.

"I think he nailed it." Blaine whispered.

"I think so too." Kurt replied.

"You really think it can make a difference?" Hunter asked from his seat, daring to hope a little.

"Only time will tell." Cooper piped up from his perch on the counter. "At this point in time we don't know, we can only hope. What I do know though is that you two," he pointed at Hunter and Blaine, "need to hit the training centre asap."

Blaine groaned as he got up to follow Hunter and Cooper to the dreaded room. It had been two weeks since his glowing hands debacle, two weeks since Kurt told him that he saw Blaine's eyes flash white-blue, and in those two weeks, he has not been able to replicate any of these feats. Cooper has been relentless in trying to help him activate whatever it is; they even enlisted Hunter, once he was done with his training material for the day of course, but to no avail. He would start to think that it didn't happen in the first place if he didn't have Kurt as a witness to both incidents. Regardless, he was two training sessions away from being convinced that it was all in their heads.

Kurt had not sat in on any of the training sessions yet, but that was not by design. For the last two weeks, Kurt's father has been home from Washington and Kurt had been helping with anything he could, including the big speech. Kurt was just happy to have his Dad home. He knows that someone has to do the job of being an advocate for what should be basic human rights. And who better to do that than Burt Hummel? But he really misses him when he's not home and was nothing short of thrilled to spend some time with him.

So they had to be apart for most of the time and that should've been no biggie right?

Except it was. Kurt could not explain it. He didn't understand. And the fact that there was something that Kurt didn't understand should alarm anyone. It's normal to miss the person you lo- uh- really like-jeez! Yes it's definitely like, because the alternative is just CRAZY-whenever you were away from them. It's a normal teenage condition, hell it was a normal human condition. But was it normal to feel something akin to a physical ache? Like a throbbing pain in the region of his heart? A throbbing pain that's sharp and relentless every minute Blaine was not in his sight? What was going on with him? He needs sometime to explore that. He knows that the young and in lo- like-yes like, all consuming like- side of him just wants to be with his boyfriend as much as possible. However, the scientific side of him was really intrigued to find out if it was just normal teenage angst, or something more.

He was also intrigued about what Blaine and Hunter actually do to train. So he got up and tried to follow suit, but then Blaine turned around and held his hand firmly.

"There is a room that overlooks the training centre; it has a layer of plexi glass protection, do you want to go there?" Blaine rushed out. As if rushing the question would make Kurt agree to his proposal.

"Why?" Kurt looked puzzled as he asked. "Everyone will be down here, won't they?"

"Yeah, I... I just don't want you getting hurt." Blaine said sheepishly, "It can get a little intense."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Kurt reassured as he squeezed Blaine's hand and brushed his lips across Blaine's cheek.

Blaine admitted defeat before he even attempted to try and sway Kurt into staying behind sturdy plastic. He's learnt that it's almost impossible to convince Kurt of something without a sound and valid argument. And even then, that person had a great task before them.

And then, the coup de grace; the touch of Kurt's lips, in whatever capacity, felt like it set literal fire to his skin. This fire never felt harmful, but it was all consuming. It left him with warm fuzzy feelings he couldn't really give a name to, made all the nerves in his body stand up and take notice.

Well at least he tried.

And now, on with fully embarrassing himself in front of his boyfriend. Blaine sighed. What even was his life right now?

"Come on." Kurt said. He tugged Blaine in the direction Cooper and Hunter went and gasped as the room opened up in front of him.

To a person not used to certain levels of extraordinary, the training centre might double as a torture chamber, an enormous, sophisticated, intimidating, fully outfitted torture chamber.

He could easily spot the room Blaine wanted him to stay in; it looked like a laboratory slash control room containing some interesting technology he'd really love to check out when his mind wasn't going a mile a minute. Then a large portion of the room was just dedicated to physical conditioning. It was like a state of the art gym full of machines, some of which Kurt recognized, but some he couldn't even fathom the use for yet.

And that was all good and dandy.

Except, another part had a padded room with glass walls; Lord knows what that's used for. Another part had certain technologic devices Kurt couldn't explain; this was the section that screamed torture. Every device looked like it was created to test the very limits of human tolerance to pain, discomfort and extremes. Kurt flinched when his eyes landed on some manacles with chains trailing them to a machine he knows not the use of, but he could damn well imagine the use of. Behind that there was a steel door. Kurt couldn't help but wonder what was behind that. Another chamber? A panic room? Who the fuck built this damn place!?

The last section was a wide open space that may be used for sparring, Kurt presumed. Steel walls surrounded it and a Teflon-like material was used for carpeting. There were imposing punching bags and a whole ring in the corner of that section. It was there that they found Hunter and Cooper talking with each other. As Kurt took in everything around him, the crazy thought that he just may be in "The Room of Requirement" flashed through his mind, the place was that unreal. He dragged Blaine over to Cooper by their still attached hands as both boys looked towards them.

"Ready to try again?" Cooper asked Blaine. Blaine didn't look too keen on trying anything again though. As a matter of fact, Blaine didn't look too keen on even letting go of Kurt's hand.

"Maybe it was a fluke. It hasn't shown up once, not even once since that day." Blaine pointed out.

"Well, it kinda did, in your eyes that day in the hallway." Kurt offered. And Blaine has to remember that Kurt wasn't here for the last two weeks when he struggled so hard hoping to see just a damn spark.

"I know, but we haven't seen anything since then. And it's been brutal between having to (he made quotation marks with his fingers) 'try to find the source of the power through meditation'", Cooper rolled his eyes, which pretty much confirmed that the quote was from him, "to having these jerks fling me around and being forbidden to use anything but this mysterious power to retaliate."

By the time Blaine was done talking, he was panting a little. Anyone could see this was frustrating him. It startled Kurt a bit, but for much more worrying reasons. Not only could he see Blaine's frustration, he could also feel it. He could feel his hair standing on end and a bout of uneasy wariness that did not belong to him. Kurt frowned in contemplation.

What in the world?

He stared at Blaine, who looked a bit harrowed, and decided that he would think about what this meant later. Right now, Blaine needed him. Kurt looked at their joint hands and used them to pull Blaine to him. He put his lips right at Blaine's temple and immediately felt Blaine relax. He whispered, "Try one more time. For me?"

Blaine let out a heavy sigh then. He could feel the tension that has been in his body every single time he's entered this room drain right out of him. He also acknowledged to himself that Kurt could very well get him to agree to anything with the question "for me?".

Yeah.

He was so far gone, so fucking quickly.

Kurt released him and stepped aside as much as he could allow himself without being too far out of reach. He watched as Blaine went through meditation. He watched him go through a round of Tai Chi. He winced as Blaine sparred with Hunter and Cooper alternately and as Blaine, not finding the power they all knew was there, resorted to his good old fashioned combat skills, which were pretty superb by the way.

Through all of his observance, Kurt realized something; something that may be the missing piece of the 'what the fuck makes Blaine's power tick?' puzzle. In the two instances that Blaine's power showed itself, Kurt was in danger of some sort. The first was Peter putting his hands on Kurt; the second was Peter threatening their well being together. The only common denominators for both times were Peter and Kurt. And since Kurt can't fathom a world where Blaine gave two shits about Peter, it made him really think. Both times, he was under some kind of threat. What if that's the link? What if someone Blaine lo- umm- cares for has to be put in some sort of harm for it to show up? The only way he could think to test it is to may be pretend he was in danger and see if that works. But, Kurt realized, there is a marked difference between fake danger and 'holy fucking shit, this is real!', and how would he fake one but make it appear real?

He found the answer almost immediately when he watched Hunter disappear from a kick of Blaine's that would've landed right in his stomach and put him out of commission for at least a few minutes. He's not sure how he'll get the message to Hunter, without getting the message to Hunter, but the other jumper was his best bet. Hunter appeared behind Blaine, but of course Blaine was ready for him, and flipped him over his head unto the mat.

"Damn it Blaine, try to use the thing!" Hunter said exasperatingly, rubbing his back.

"I'm trying," Blaine gritted through his teeth, "in the mean time I'm not letting you kick my ass. I got bruises where there should never be bruises the last time I failed to defend myself."

"Stop." Kurt said before Hunter could rebut, which he fully looked like he was about to do. "I just realized something."

There was a marked silence after Kurt's statement. The guys have long since learned to heed Kurt's 'I just realized something' declarations, because they usually mean 'I've figured everything out, bitches!' Kurt even had a face to go with the sentence that they fully recognize, but one which Kurt will deny ever making til his dying day. And maybe even after that. Regardless, they all ceased what they were doing to listen.

"I think I know what's wrong." He stated. He began to rehash his theory; how in every case he was in some sort of danger, how the other variable would be Peter but it's less likely that Peter might be the trigger and more likely that he was just the danger at that time. "Given that," Kurt tentatively said, "I think you should put me in some sort of danger and see if it would trigger your weapon response."

Blaine immediately started panicking. Kurt's name should never even be in the same sentence as danger unless the words 'out of' separate them and the word 'Keep' precedes Kurt's name. Kurt flinched as he felt a jolt of panic in his chest that wasn't there before. There was no build up, no warning, just full blown panic.

"This is crazy." Blaine stated emphatically. At that moment he knew where the panic was coming from, he just didn't know how it was happening.

"Wait, he might be onto something here." Hunter said after talking in Kurt's explanation. "First of all, it's a thing we haven't tried and we are running out of things to try. Secondly, you know as well as I do that we'd be fools not to trust Kurt's judgment. Also," Hunter turned to Kurt, "He knows the danger, don't you Kurt? We do not play fight in our training, because our opponents sure as hell won't be playing with us. Agreed?"

Kurt nodded his head and said, "Agreed."

"Oh come on we can't just use Kurt as bait!" Blaine said incredulously. "Coop, back me up here." Blaine expected to hear his outcry echoed back to him from his older brother. The silence he heard instead sent his panicking into overdrive.

"I do agree B, but this is his choice; I can't negate that." Cooper said as he nodded to Hunter.

Blaine sputtered a bit in disbelief while Kurt walked to the midpoint between him and a wall with Hunter on the other side. As Hunter began to circle around he shared a look with Kurt that Blaine's brain just couldn't decipher at the moment, with all the plans of ways to keep Kurt as safe as possible running through his head.

"Hunter, I'm warning you..." Blaine gritted through his teeth. Hunter just smirked dangerously and continued to try and get past Blaine towards Kurt. At this point even Kurt was unsure about whether or not Hunter was still pretending.

"Hunter... Stay the fuck away from him." The sentence sounded like it was ripped from Blaine in the most violent way.

"No can do." Hunter sneered as he moved closer to a petrified Kurt. "If this is how it's gotta be then fine. If you don't want him hurt, do something about it. He volunteered; he knows the risks."

Blaine was livid. His eyes started flashing blue-white the minute Hunter started moving toward Kurt. His fists were clenched and he was completely unaware of the electricity cackling around them. Hunter saw though, clear as day. And the way Cooper's eyebrows just hit his hairline indicated that he saw too. Hunter didn't give away the fact that Blaine's powers were finally showing, (which was a good thing, because Blaine was focused solely on him) he just smirked evilly and vanished from his spot.

There was a split second where Kurt looked to where Blaine was, or where Blaine was supposed to be, was more accurate. Kurt didn't even hear him jump, not even the faint signature pop he has come to associate with Blaine's appearing/disappearing acts. In the next millisecond Blaine was in front of him, arms outstretched towards Hunter, who has also appeared in front of him. Except, Blaine hands were surrounded by incandescent bluish-white energy. The next thing he knew, Hunter was 50 feet away sprawled on his back in the vast training room.

Blaine's eyes where no longer flashing; instead the light from them had become constant blue-white beacons in the training room and he was panting like he'd run 200 miles. Adrenaline rushed through his body, along with a rush of... something... something he couldn't describe... It was like a force that pumped alongside his blood, flooding through every channel in his body and back, following the cycle. He looked down at his hands that were still surrounded by this mysterious power, he could feel it surging and growing throughout him. It felt distinctly freeing and incredibly powerful; like a better, faster, stronger version of himself... with wickedly cool fire power? Or was it electricity? A mixture of both? These crackling threads were definitely new right? He felt his panic for Kurt's safety replaced by a dangerous calm. One that infuses the confidence he has in his ability to protect. One that assures him clarity to make strategic decisions, in order to protect. One that made his body instinctively aware of various tools he had in his arsenal to make him defensively and offensively a fucking nightmare.

"Ow." Hunter stated dryly from the flat of his back across the room, and it snapped Blaine out of his musings. "You didn't have to hit so hard you douche, I wouldn't even think about hurting Kurt for real!"

"Well I didn't know that did I?" Blaine retorted angrily. The lights started to flicker and a bulb at the far right end of the training area popped. Blaine's eyes were still glowing, his hands still surrounded by light and tendrils of electrical power.

Kurt reached out from behind Blaine to touch his shoulder; a surge of energy flowed through his finger tips as he made contact. Twin gasps echoed from the couple. Blaine still had his eyes firmly on what he perceived as danger, even though Hunter was still on his back. He lifted one of his hands and placed it on his shoulder over Kurt's. A warm sensation flowed from his hand to Kurt's and back to his; just ebbing and flowing.

"Have you got an explanation for this, smarty pants?" Blaine jibed, but with no real heat behind his words. It was undoubtedly scary having things happen to you that you can't identify with. And as his fear for Kurt's safety was ebbing, the fear of 'just what the fucking hell is wrong with me?' kicked in.

Kurt felt light and warm as energy flowed in and out of him. He felt like a conduit for Blaine's enormous energy. Like Blaine's body can't handle it all on its own, so it filters some to him and drags what it filtered back when it can cope. He chuckled at the pleasant feeling, and at the pet name Blaine had adapted for him.

"I'm not positive yet," Kurt began, but Cooper interrupted him.

"Which means he's got about 75% of this figured out and he needs to be at least 90% sure before he tells us anything."

Apparently, they all have gotten fluent in Kurtian.

Kurt's face pulled into a smile at the accurate description. "Cooper, is all the code sequence information on the monitor in the control room?"

Cooper smirked. "Of course it is; ready and waiting for you. With extra features tailor made for your genius-ness, it's essentially your space; I've been a busy bee."

"Great!" Kurt said happily. He lifted his hand out of the cocoon of Blaine's hand and shoulder. The loss of contact was jarring for them both. Kurt could feel the residual thrum Blaine's energy left inside him. At the same time they could see the energy around Blaine's hands dissipate, the crackling electricity died down and his hands were changing from distinctly blinding bluish-white to the tan-olive tone it usually is. His eyes were the last to dim from incandescent blue-white to the clear bright hazel-green miracle Kurt adored.

"Whoa." Hunter whispered.

"That's what I said the first time." Blaine agreed, flipping his hands over.

"That's some serious fire power squirt." Cooper said in awe. He then turned to Kurt and asked, "Is this what Dr. C meant by 'weapons'?

Blaine felt that this just may be it; he had certainly felt like a weapon with all the energy that was flowing through him at the time, with the awareness he had of every inch of his body and what he could possibly use them for.

Kurt continued to study Blaine's appearance. He was pretty sure this was exactly what the doctor meant, but there were things he needed to get to the bottom of before voicing all his opinions. He needed to prove them to be as close to absolute fact as he can get them. He walked towards the control room with unwavering determination.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure yet, but you can bet your last breath of air that I'm going to find out."