15.

Next Steps

"He's in the driveway," said Magne as light briefly flashed through his silver eyes.

Evo glanced at the door, scowling. Magne regarded him neutrally before lounging back on the

couch. Ergo, on the other hand, was on a tablet in the corner, scrolling absentmindedly.

Mother waltzed into the living room while folding up her apron. "Good. Ergo, put that away.

You've been on it all day."

"Mother," he grumbled irately, "this is important. It would be a gross oversight not to oversee the

recovery of our Canadian assets, as--"

"Ergo." Magne fixed him with a warning look.

Ergo met it, then, with a sarcastic smile, crushed the electronic in his hand. "There. Happy?"

"No," Mother scolded sternly, "because now you’ve left slippery glass all over my floor.”

"I don't slip, M... yes, Mother." Ergo stalked over to the supply closet for a broom.

Magne rose to his feet. "Let me handle the cleanup, Mother. You've been working for hours."

He leaned forward so she could pat his cheek. "Nonsense. You've all worked hard this month.

Besides, you know I love cooking."

Evo said nothing, content to sit and stew frustratedly. Magne regarded him blankly until the door

was politely tapped thrice.

Mother pulled it open. Tacti’s mass eclipsed her. Behind him stood a legion of Breakers. It was a

meaningless security detail, given Tacti’s power, but Evo said nothing.

"Good evening, Mother. Brothers. I’m happy to see you all in good health.”
 They stood as their eldest brother stepped inside. Tacti hugged Mother and Magne, then noticed

Evo’s expression.

"What happened?"

"He failed," Magne reported dryly. "Against a blank. Imagine."

Tacti turned his attention back to their youngest. "Is that true?"

Evo swallowed. "Yes."

"Hmm." Tacti pulled off his boots while nodding Ergo a greeting.

"Don't be so hard on him," Mother asked Tacti. "It happens."

"I wasn't going to," he responded indifferently. "I, too, was caught unawares. The Novas’ Alpha

child blindsided me, forcing a retreat. I'm in no position to criticize, were that my intention."

Evo blinked. "I didn’t think that was possible."

Tacti shrugged. "Neither did I. Prime Nova is revered for good reason. I was... weakened by the

time the child arrived. Additionally, he seemed intent on killing me."

"I'm not surprised," snorted Magne. "You killed thousands of their pets."

"You'd think that'd send the message," chuckled Tacti. "Unfortunately, Mother, they're resilient."

"That's why our plan has so many contingencies. The enemy is powerful." She smiled warmly.

"How are your wounds?"

"Healed by the time I left the Nursery. After ensuring everything was in order, of course."

Mother brushed lint off his chest. "So mature. Come. We're having a macaroni salad."

The giants followed her into the kitchen. Four massive plates awaited them. Mother took her seat
at the head of the table. Tacti and Evo sat on her right, while Magne and Ergo settled on her left.

She raised her arms, and together they all joined hands.

"We're finally back together." She squeezed Tacti and Magne's fingers, though neither really felt it.

"You all did phenomenally well. And now we're that much closer to the end. I know it's normal to get

excited, but it's more important now than ever that we focus. That we rely on each other and reach the

goal we all deserve."

The boys nodded solemnly, then chorused, "Yes, Mother."

"Good boys. Now eat. I can see Evo starting to drool."

Ergo shot him a smirk. The four dug in. Mother took conservative stabs at her meal as they wolfed

through their respective portions. Halfway through, Tacti glanced to his right.

"Tell me, Evo. Who was this mysterious blank who circumvented you?"

Evo seemed to sink into his dinner. "Bernard Skies."

"Ah." Tacti cocked his head curiously. "How?"

"He had a power suit. And was... clever. Quicker than he should've been. Both physically and

mentally. He managed to slow me in time for the girl to jump them clear. Then I heard Novax arrive and

had to retreat. I was in no condition to fight him."

"No. You don't have the ability to fight him in general," Magne corrected matter-of-factly. "He'd

kill you on the spot, regardless of condition."

Evo ground his teeth. Tacti sighed. "What Magne is trying to say, Evo, is that these things take

time. None of us became what we are without time and training. And one day, you will surpass us all."
 "Hopefully, that day is in the immediate future, because running these stupid fucking Breakers has

just about broken my will to--"

"Ergo!" snapped Mother. "Cursing at the table? Where are your manners?"

Ergo wilted. "Sorry, Mother." He faced Evo. "Point still stands. Hurry up. We can't wait forever."

"I understand," Evo said quietly.

Tacti smacked his shoulder. It was like a thunderclap. "You'll get another shot. We'll make sure of

it."

Magne snapped. "Speaking of shots, Mother, your prediction bore fruit. She never showed."

"Of course not. She has a spine. As if she'd let Skies push her around."

Magne pursed his lips, then with a hopeful grimace, said, "So we leave it be? Let the fires grow and

burn the house down from the inside?"

"No, Magne. You know what must be done."

Magne soured. "Just consider the risk. In fact, just consider the inconvenience. We all have a

multitude of assignments to carry out before Evo cleans out the Nursery, and then it's all-out war. We

cannot waste time--"

"Magne."

He trailed off frustratedly. "Mother, please. As I'm sure you realize, I'm understandably hesitant to

put the mission at risk, and I outright refuse to endanger you. Let's just ignore her."

"No. Do as I say, Magne. That's final."

Magne chewed angrily as light danced through his eyes. He stared at his fork for a long moment
before looking up and saying, "Yes, Mother."

"Ergo," Mother declared, "keep the Nursery in order. Let me know when you finally manage to

relocate your Breakers to the School. Evo, keep working with Em-Cee and our contact for your next

opportunity. Like your big brother said, we all make mistakes. And sometimes, we get second chances."

Evo found comfort in her reassuring nod.

"You will succeed, Evo. We all know it. Even Magne, though he's not being very nice."

Magne's brow arched. "Nice? I'm being objective. He failed pathetically. That's all there is to it.

My emotional relationship with his shortcomings were neither mentioned nor are they particularly

relevant." He glanced over to his younger sibling. "However, Mother does speak the truth. You have an

opportunity for redemption. I suggest you take it. If you fail, we will have to cut you another window.

And another, then another, until our house is nothing but holes. And then all the enemy will need to do

is look up, and we are exposed."

He leaned forward.

"Tell us, Brother. Do you want us exposed?"

Evo shook his head. "No, Magne." He swallowed. "I won't fail you. I promise."

Magne scoffed. "Promise? That's pointless. I don't need a promise. Your 'promise' has no bearing

on the probability of success or failure."

"You done?" Ergo asked.

Magne looked at him. "I beg your pardon?"

Ergo blinked, then pointed his fork at Magne's food. "Done your food. You've been monologuing
for an hour or something now, so I assumed you were done."

Magne looked down, then shrugged and pushed it over. Ergo tucked in, while Mother looked on

disapprovingly. "You're going to get skinny, dear. You need to eat."

Magne looked about ready to go on a tangent about his superhuman physiology and how it

wasn't possible for him to 'thin', then he caught the look in her eye and said instead, "Yes, Mother."

She gave him the rest of the platter.

Tacti scraped up the last of his meal, then rolled his shoulders. "I'll get the dishes. Ergo, man the

broom."

Ergo scowled. "I just swept!"

"Yes, which is why you're back on it. Muscles already warmed up."

Evo got to his feet. "I'll help."

Tacti waved him off. "No need. You get your rest."

"Okay," said Evo. "I'll head to bed then."

He turned and jogged up the steps.

Tacti placed a reassuring hand on Mother's shoulder. "He'll be fine. We'll look out for him."

She squeezed his wrist, which was like trying to bend a girder. "I know, sweetie. I know."

***

I walked out of the council room with a migraine. It hurt worse than Evo's backhand, and all it'd

took was obnoxious, self-righteous complaining from elected officials.

 I didn’t have a personal problem with the idea of politicians. It was, in my opinion, just a job.

People's issues often stemmed from how those jobs were handled, which I thought ignorant. No one

reaches the top of a mountain without getting muddy. Those who said otherwise were either idiots or

had never climbed a mountain.

Sometimes both.

My troubles arose from situations like this. Crises. Catastrophes were perfect sieves. They

separated the noble from the opportunists. Thousands of lives lost. Hundreds of thousands irrevocably

altered from the greatest terror attack in decades. The story dominated every news channel. Riots and

unrest had almost brought the country to its knees. Alpha-blank relations were in the gutter. Just

yesterday, a high school had to close for the week when a group of students attacked an Alpha girl. One

of them had lost an aunt in LA. She was one of them, he’d said. He felt justified in stabbing her in the

neck with a pen. Her durability repelled it. The blanks paid dearly. By the time the police arrived, all six

boys were curled up against walls, weeping over the traumatic experiences they'd witnessed through

psychic torment.

We worked some magic to pull her from police custody, though at the cost of expulsion.

Normally, we'd send her to the Den, but half the faculty was still missing.

Even I wasn’t safe. Revolting blanks saw me as a 'traitor' to my kind. Though Alphas only made

up point zero zero zero seven percent of the American population, alarmists were demanding answers.

People needed a bogeyman, but we knew too little about the Family to go public. The council knew this,

so I sat there mutely, taking my lumps for the better part of four hours.
 I had my suspicions going in, but they let me off with a clock. Two months to bring the

perpetrators to justice, or I'd be removed from my position for someone 'better acquitted'.

Or, in non-bullshit, a Senate-groomed Alpha. My money was on William Adkins. He wasn’t

much Class-wise. Knight, if I remember. What he did have, though, was an unusually square jaw.

Flowing blond hair. A V-torso. I wasn't unattractive, but he had the golden boy charm. He was also a

puppet, which would give the Senators that long-awaited control over SWORD.

How long before Jason was sent to the Middle East? Russia? Everyone knew we had the strongest

Alphas, but tension stayed manageable through SWORD's partial independence. We operated off tax

money, of course, but our management system was detached from the central government.

Adkins would reverse everything.

So, on one hand, I had a mega-powerful terrorist organization trying to rewrite the political

structure of the planet, and on the other... more war? A world war? I couldn't tell.

Fuck me. I grumbled as my guard detail cleared me a path. With Angela a thousand miles south,

still digging out LA, I'd needed replacements. They were trustworthy, of course, but I hated the

attention. No one noticed Angela and I.

Here, I couldn’t find eyes that weren’t on me.

My terrible day worsened considerably at the sight of protesters on Capitol Hill. Barricades were

up to keep them at bay, but that didn’t quell the fervour in their bellows. My escort was ready, of course,

but that didn't stop the furious shrieks of 'turncoat,' ‘city-sinker,’ and a personal favourite of mine, 'cape-

fucker'.
 I checked my phone. Lucas had called. He'd been doing that a lot more after I'd suspended Elise.

Apparently, he really wanted to study her. I glanced up to see a can of spray paint careening toward us.

One of my men, A-4 for this mission, created a force field to deflect it.

The sight of superpowers drove the crowd into a frenzy. They began banging at the fences and

screeching nonsense about being under attack.

A-2 faced me. "Sir, they're getting close to the vans. Earplugs, please."

I shook my head. He wanted to use his sonic whistle. It wouldn't kill anyone, but the discomfort

would sit them firmly on their ass.

And likely crater what little goodwill we held with enraged blanks.

"Let's just--"

"Sir?" exclaimed A-2. "Hold on!"

I immediately reached for my concealed weapon as I rotated to follow A-2’s eyes. I found...

myself? An identical copy, anyway, heading back up the steps. My guard detail ignored the actual me to

run back and cover the double. The blanks, meanwhile, went ballistic, like my copy's retreat signalled a

resounding victory.

Everyone ignored my actual self. Not only did it smell like an ambush, but a superpowered one.

This is how I go out? I wondered. How did the Family even get a psychic in Washington, all the way

to the Capitol? I glanced at the protesters. One of them, maybe? Posing?

"Put that away," scoffed a familiar voice from my rear. Reflex outpaced thought as my Staccato

levelled with his forehead. "Against me, you'll need something a little louder."
 I did no such thing. In terms of top unorthodox encounters, this took the cake. I was well aware

the Family had spies among us, as evidenced by the precision of the Den raid. Could he be dirty? Who

knows. However, murdering SWORD’s single non-Alpha executive on the white Capitol steps while

surrounded by inflamed blank protesters certainly tracked with the Family’s established ethos.

"You're a long way from home, Eye-Lie."

He shrugged tiredly. "Not by choice."

"And this wasn’t arranged through proper channels... why?"

Eye-Lie hesitated, then scowled over at my copy. Keeping the doppelganger believable, apparently,

was easier said than done.

I aimed my weapon at A-1. "The bullet will ping right off his shoulder, and he'll know it's a trap."

"Easy, boss," said Eye-Lie. "With my skills, you know I could’ve killed you a thousand times over

by now." He darkened. "Don't tell me you think I'm with them. Most of my damn nephews are blank,

for God's sake."

I shrugged. "Sounds like a perfect cover to me."

His concentration wavered, causing my illusion to flicker.

"Do not ever refer to my family as a 'cover', Skies. You've had a tough week. I'll let it slide. But

suggesting I could be in cahoots with child murderers sounds like an excellent reason to quit."

My hand dropped. "Fuck. You're right."

He nodded over to a car parked right on the lawn. I assumed it was disguised, as no one seemed to

care. Eye-Lie noticed my quizzical look. "You’d be surprised how many people ignore a bed of
dandelions, even in a manicured area like this. Come on. My tricks don't last long, especially under

trained eyes."

Sure enough, as I snapped on the passenger side belt in Eye-Lie's sedan, A-2 swiped through the

chest of my illusion.

"One moment," I told him as I dialled A-2's number.

A-2 answered brashly, perfectly in line with protocol. "We don't negotiate. Release him or you'll

be dead by sundown."

"India six, oh-nine victor. I'm fine. Eye-Lie needed to speak with me." I switched to FaceTime to

prove it. Eye-Lie was focused on driving, though, and didn't react. "New developments."

"Is that so?" asked A-2, his eyes narrowing. "And we trust him?"

I shrugged. "I haven't got much of a choice, to be honest. Wasn't your fault. He's the planet's best

illusionist. I'll be at Safehouse Four by midnight."

I hung up, then felt a ripple roll over the car as Eye-Lie dropped our invisibility. Several pedestrians

jumped in shock.

"And if you're not?" he asked.

"Then you're probably dead," I replied honestly. Despite what he'd said, I couldn't be sure. It

came with the job.

He snorted. "Fair enough." Eye-Lie's grip on the wheel got tighter as he began to scowl. "I get it,

though. Not being able to trust anyone."

"The bust," I remembered with a nod.

 I sympathized. From what I knew, Eye-Lie worked hard, and almost a third of his department

came up dirty. It had to be tiring and discouraging to see his efforts so crudely undermined.

Reminded me a lot of the Senate, actually.

"What's this got to do with kidnapping me, though?"

Eye-Lie glanced over. "I can't move on other Heroes without your say-so."

It took a lot longer than it should've for the meaning to register. Deep down, I knew that, like

him, my agency would have its fair share of spies. It came with the territory. But verbal confirmation

from an external source actualized things in a way I wasn’t quite prepared for.

"You have actionable intel?"

"Very. Multiple sources. But I had to run it by you first. I can't take them apart on my own."

I took a deep, steadying breath. "Are the Novas clean?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "But they're not on my list."

"Angela?"

He smirked. "You're a ruthless son of a bitch. You know that, right?"

"Answer the question."

I genuinely did not know what I'd do without her. The thought of her turning traitor made me

sick in ways that didn't make sense.

"No, Boss. Neither is Blacklight, the Committee or any of our royalty."

I exhaled. It was like dispelling poison. "Then who?"

"I'm taking you to where I've stored the info. You need to draw up a plan. I don't have to be a
political savant to guess they lashed the shit out of you in there. We're skating on eggshells lined on a

tightrope a thousand feet over an ocean of broken glass. We won't survive sabotage. Especially at war."

"Agreed." I tapped my chin. "So these ones are in league with the Family?"

He raised an eyebrow. "The Family?"

"LA."

"Ah. Not to my knowledge. But they had fingers deep in Denver's drug pie. I'm impressed we

didn't sniff it out earlier. This shit spans everywhere, Boss. They controlled the scene nationwide and

were about ready to try their hand in an international market."

I followed his line of thought. "Their vices make them exploitable. The Family can use that."

"It's way deeper than that. People are dead."

I looked at him. "They've killed?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. But these fuckers were at the top of the hill. Diplomatic immunity

granted through Hero licenses. When you’re that high, a tiny kick can snowball enough dirt to bury the

whole thing."

And just like that, I had a plan. I knew exactly what I had to do. Was it wrong? Absolutely. My

predecessor would've had me jailed for even suggesting it. It broke nearly every protocol, explicit or

implied. If someone were to discover me, I'd never leave prison.

But we were at war. The Family made it clear that they didn't play by rules.

"Can't scale a mountain with clean hands."

"What's that?" said Eye-Lie.

 I looked at him. Angela could never know. She'd never forgive me. Why did I care? Lives were at

stake. I was Director. I did what had to be done.

"Give me the names."