Cover note.

Hey Ali,

I imagine if anyone reads this it will be you.

I’m proud of my work, and the connections I’ve made. But of all my accomplishments, you are the one I am the most proud of. 

So, I’m going to lay out here, and in my other notes everything I learn. Because apparently the world is ending, and I nearly died 2 months in a row.

Something chose me. And now the intuition I have had my whole life is… changing. I can see more things, know things. Talk to the dead. 

I know it sounds crazy. But trust me.

Notes 2:

Something was being moved towards Denver. I don’t know what. I called the police, but I’m not sure if they can handle it.

im going to take a few days then take some time off work to do some investigation. Try out this new ability of mine. 

Alices parents are nowhere to be found. But I have their names. I can talk to them. Get a lead on what happened to her.

if I can find something with the remains of the soldiers, figure out their names, I can question them.

Mel looks at his computer. An eyepatch covering his eye as it recovers. Jacko ( <@592429550223491075>  don't need to do anything) is in the background doing... something. He has food, a place to sleep safe. Is that enough? Mel isn't good at this. He built his life around one thing. Mel rewinds.

Looking at Alice's face. 

_Well not just one thing._

 Mel let's Jacko keep doing what he does... He doesn't know how to do this. He never really has. He was a Dad because he needed to be, because Alice needed him, and he protects Jacko because Jacko needs someone, and...

Mel rewinds.

3 people in the back, one heavily injured. The voice could be compared, hunted down that way. If this is a contractor, which is a safe bet, then there are likely patterns. Patterns that will continue over the next months, making finding them a matter of time. Doesn't matter how magical you are when you are asleep.

His fingers twitch. His brow furrows. 

_That isn't what she wanted_

Computer off

Mel looks around his room. Mostly bare. Tools for his cases, boards where he kept things of interest. A number of files on what he knows of Alice Abernanthy's family, and her history. Collected subtly, just confirming what he already knew.

A life full of one thing, his work. Except for the pictures.

Near his bed, him at Alice's high school graduation. She looked so happy, and in that moment, he thought he did it. All the struggles worth it. For all he failed, at least she is here, healthy, safe, and ready to go out on her own.

He heads into the hallway. A picture of him carrying her on his back. They had gone to an amusement park for her birthday. He got a call from work, and had spent an hour talking though the history of a case, and suspects, and his analysis from the crime scene. She had been so made. That was before she really got why what he did was important. He bought her ice cream, and soon enough she was happy again. Tuckered out at the end of the day, he had a stranger borrow his camera.

He really wasn't ready for her. He could have tried harder. Spent more time...

Mel moves to a closet in the hall. A large wooden chest in the corner. Cracks it open. A photo album. He picks it up. 

He moves into Alice's room. He looks around the room. 

There's a bunch of comic book posters, and a little bookshelf that has a stack of comics in protective sleeves. It's only a third full. On the wall above the shelf is an issue of her favorite that she was so, so proud when she got off E-bay - a real collectors item. (Assuming similar comic situation as our world: ) Suicide Squad #38. The first full appearance of Oracle - the hero that Batgirl became after she was paralyzed. She probably explained that storyline at length to Mel, a few different times.
The rest of the room is fairly sparse - she had a desk in it, with some fidget toys laid out for when she came back.

Mel looks at the comic. A mix of feelings. 

_Did I glorify this life to her? Is this because of me?_

He sits down on her bed. He opens the photo album. 

Alice when he met her, carrying her out of the space she was hidding.

Alice with the adoption papers.

Alice at a party.

Alice, Alice, Alice... Now only images... For now.

Mel looks around the room.

He furrows his brow. Using an ability new to him, he says two names. Alice's birth name. And Alice Melborn . At Alice Melborn Alice responds.