Ignite Me

All that remains of Omega Point is an enormous crater. As she looks around, Warner screams for her to get down.

Warner tackles her to the ground as gunshots ring out. He urges her to stay down, but she hears Kenji Kishimoto’s voice and disobeys. They hug, each happy to find the other alive. Kenji looks around for Warner, who has disappeared. Juliette tries to explain Warner isn’t the villain they all thought, but Kenji runs off, looking for him. A whisper reveals that Warner is behind her, invisible, having borrowed Kenji’s powers. As Warner experiments, wondering if he can transfer the invisibility to Juliette, he explains that he has practiced borrowing her power, which he can’t use to hurt her, and which doesn’t hurt him. Juliette worries at Warner’s adeptness with his power.

Warner insists they should leave, but Juliette refuses to leave Kenji. She urges Warner to go alone, and he reluctantly agrees after she accepts his offer of help to take down The Reestablishment. He offers her a pager that will allow him to track her and says he will return in four hours. He kisses the back of her hand and leaves.

Juliette asks Kenji what happened to everyone at Omega Point, and he grieves the loss of his childhood home and people he has known his entire life. Juliette, alarmed at the shift from Kenji’s usual take-charge attitude, urges him to get moving. She uses her superpower strength to throw him over her shoulder, enjoying the feeling of power it gives her. Kenji, in turn, is surprised at Juliette’s lack of tears. The two bicker playfully as they head to “unregulated turf.” Kenji reveals that nine members of Omega Point, including Adam, are alive.

Kenji reports that he, Adam, Castle, Lily, Ian, and Alia left the main battle to search for Juliette. They rescued two other Omega Point members, Winston and Brendan (who were captured in Unravel Me), injured but alive. Learning of the planned attack on Omega Point, they raced for the bunker, encountering Adam’s younger brother, James Kent, who had snuck out to join them, wanting to fight with his brother. They did not get back to Omega Point in time, and the rest of the inhabitants were killed in the bombing. Kenji returns to the Omega Point site daily, looking for survivors; Juliette is the first he’s found. Juliette tells her own story: how Anderson shot her and Warner saved her life. She confesses how Warner’s powers work, including an incident in which Warner accidentally channeled Juliette’s powers into Kenji, almost killing Kenji, and that Warner is in love with her.

Kenji, who thinks Warner is “crazy,” laughs at this. They discuss how Warner still doesn’t know Adam is his brother and how both brothers can touch Juliette, though only Warner can do so entirely without consequences. Kenji is incredulous when Juliette starts defending Warner, pointing out that she hasn’t even asked if Adam is injured. They bicker briefly and continue walking, happy to be together.

When they reach Adam’s old apartment, Juliette is eager and nervous to see her former boyfriend. They enter and all the Omega Point survivors stare at Juliette in shock. Adam hugs her tightly, clinging until Kenji begins joking about their sentimental reunion. Juliette wonders what it costs Kenji to constantly perform the role of “the funny one” (62). She feels sorry for her friends, who must mourn Omega Point’s loss more than she does; while she scarcely knew most of the members, the others loved each other like family. She refuses to be defeated, and vows that she will no longer be controlled by her fears.

The Omega Point members are battered. Ian expresses suspicion that Juliette appears unharmed. James asserts he never believed Juliette dead. Castle, seated in a corner, looks unkempt, a contrast to his normal presentation. She realizes that Castle’s near-insensible state must be as challenging for Kenji as losing his home, as Castle is a father figure to Kenji.

The Omega Point survivors are agog as Kenji relays Juliette’s story. Adam fears Warner will track them to the apartment and kill them, and everyone argues emphatically when Juliette defends him. Juliette feels weary of uncertainty as their reactions make her doubt herself. Adam is furious that Juliette is thawing to Warner, though he confirms that the incident with the child was a simulation. Adam reminds her that Warner tortured him, which Juliette had forgotten. She confesses her confusion.

She asks about Castle’s catatonia, which leads him to sit, unmoving, for days on end. Adam expresses material needs, as well: They will run out of food soon and several members need medical attention. Juliette is surprised that Adam seeks only to survive, not to fight back. Adam feels he has no other choice; he’s merely grateful that Juliette and James are both alive. She counters that surviving is not the same as living, and Adam lashes out, saying that her time incarcerated in psych wards has left her unsuited to survival under The Reestablishment. Juliette counters that she does know what it’s like to hide. Adam is incredulous and the two argue about their original plan when fleeing the military compound in Shatter Me; Juliette claims it was to fight, while Adam claims it was just to escape. Their argument is interrupted by Warner’s arrival.

The Omega Point survivors aim their guns at Warner, but he uses Castle’s power of levitation to disarm them. Warner bickers with Adam, who says Juliette cannot leave with Warner, causing Kenji to break into inappropriate laughter. James and Warner meet, neither knowing they are brothers. Warner is polite to the boy. Juliette says she wishes to stay in the apartment with the Omega Point survivors, but confirms she has agreed to ally with Warner to take down The Reestablishment or “die trying.”

Alia agrees to fight, quickly followed by Winston and Brendan. Ian and Lily are skeptical, asking how they can trust Warner. Warner argues that he isn’t trustworthy and only cares about Juliette, which seems to mollify the skeptics, but infuriates Adam, who blames Warner for Omega Point’s destruction. The survivors agree they hate Anderson more than they hate Warner. Adam shouts at Juliette and storms out, Kenji following to calm him down. Castle speaks for the first time in days.

The group crowds Castle, pleased to hear him speak. Castle praises Warner for “joining” them, which Warner, irritated by the spectacle, refutes to no avail. He repeatedly requests a private moment with Juliette, though his request goes unheeded in the chaos. James eventually offers his room and Warner and Juliette retreat. Warner objects to having the Omega Point survivors joining their cause, but gives in when Juliette points out their assets, despite remaining unconvinced about Adam. He asks if Juliette loves Adam, and she confesses to not knowing, which seems to relax Warner. He urges her to return to base with him so they can plan, but she tells him she already has a plan.

Kenji and Adam have returned and are furious to find Juliette and Warner close together in a small space. Juliette urges Adam to leave their “private problems” for later, which leads Adam to blame Warner and Kenji for those problems. He accuses her of having changed, and Juliette retorts that Adam has changed too. Adam claims he is her boyfriend; she points out they broke up a month prior. Warner is pleased to see Juliette stand up for herself, and Adam attacks him. Borrowing Juliette’s super strength, Warner repels Adam’s punch and pushes him across the room. Adam tries to mount another attack, but Kenji drags him outside.

Warner leaves, needing to get back to base, but promises to return the following afternoon. After he is gone, the group stares at Juliette, astonished that Warner is smiling and kind with her. Kenji reenters, demanding to speak with Juliette.

Kenji and Juliette head to the roof of the building to talk. Kenji chides her for being “a dumbass,” but asserts that Adam will be fine once he recovers from his hurt feelings. Kenji asks about her changing feelings for Warner, and Juliette emphasizes the significance of Warner believing in her. By contrast, she feels Adam only likes her at her weakest. Kenji understands her logic; since Adam was the first person she could touch, it makes sense she might fall for him. He teases her about her physical attraction to Warner but promises that he will fight alongside her against The Reestablishment, even if this means fighting alongside Warner.

They return to the apartment and Kenji sees Castle on his feet for the first time. The two embrace. Adam returns, but ignores Juliette, instead retreating to James’s bedroom with the younger boy, who has nightmares. The rest of the group sleeps on the floor. They bicker, jostling for space until Castle insists they quiet down. Juliette and Kenji grin at one another in the dark.

The following day, Adam ignores Juliette until she mentions Warner coming to retrieve her. Adam refuses to have Warner at the apartment. He says if Juliette wants to be with Warner, she can “drop dead.” Kenji urges perspective; the war is more important than Adam’s bruised feelings. Adam counters that he was happier when he thought Juliette dead. Juliette is aghast at his cruel words, feeling this is not the Adam she knows. He calls her “sick in the head” (100) and storms out, demanding she be gone before he returns.

Juliette trembles, feeling she is in shock. To soothe herself, she methodically clicks the pager Warner gave her. The group, including Castle and James, emphasize that Juliette shouldn’t leave. The door opens suddenly and Warner bursts in, rushing for Juliette. He hugs her, frantic to see her upset. His promises to do whatever she wants shocks the group, who has never seen Warner act tenderly. Warner notes Adam’s absence, demanding to know what Adam did to upset Juliette. When she explains that she doesn’t want to leave her friends, but that Adam has demanded she leave, Warner offers to set up a private space for the group to stay. They refuse, believing it to be a trick, but Warner is unconcerned, saying they needn’t come if they don’t want to. This appeases everyone but Juliette, who fears she will never see her friends again if she leaves. Juliette tears up, which alarms Warner. She begs Warner to negotiate with Kenji. Kenji asks for medical attention, fresh food, and weapons. To his shock, Warner agrees without argument. He tells the group he will return for them the next day and he and Juliette leave.

Juliette, shocked, thanks Warner for listening to her. He tells her to stop, saying her guilt and pain hurt him. He promises not to kill Adam, but bitterly asks how else she wants to “fix [him].” Juliette denies wanting to change Warner. Calling him by his first name, Aaron, she says she thinks he is a good person, not all the things others say he is. She asks if he believes her, and he nods once.

Though Warner doesn’t speak for a long time, Juliette feels she has a better understanding of him as a person forced into a life he didn’t want, yet one who still wants love from his father, his tormentor. Eventually Warner asks what happened between Juliette and Adam. He seems cautiously optimistic when she reveals she defended him, then shaken when she reveals that she didn’t immediately reject the idea when Adam accused her of being in love with Warner. He leaves abruptly.

Juliette takes a bath for the first time in her life, admiring the scent of one of Warner’s soaps. She frets that she will never see Adam and James again, as she considers them unlikely to join the group at the military base. Despite Adam’s cruelty, she doesn’t hate Adam. She reexamines her dreams of a bird (from Shatter Me), which she thought correlated to Adam’s bird tattoos. She now considers them to signify Warner, as his blond hair matches the bird’s coloring. She believes Adam’s actions that day prove he didn’t really love her, yet Warner saved her life even after she’d rejected him. She doesn’t know that Adam would save her if he thought she would fall in love with someone else.

Juliette wakes suddenly in the night. She creeps into Warner’s office, which is huge and full of books. Warner, standing shirtless, seems uncharacteristically nervous, fumbling with a small jar in his hands. She grabs it: It’s medicine for scars. She offers to help him apply it to the scars on his back (which she observed in Unravel Me), snickering at him when he acts self-conscious about the marks. He admits, as Juliette listens in horror, that his father gave them as “birthday presents,” whipping his son each year on his birthday. He confesses that he worries Juliette will be “repulsed” by the scars, and she counters that he is “perfect.” He tells her not to speak to him kindly, but she counters that, despite the many mistakes he has made, he still deserves happiness. He cuts her off and begs her to leave unless she can say she loves him, too. She can’t, so she leaves.