It's normally a two-hour ride back to Lima, but Cooper drives about as fast as he can. He doesn't risk slowing down in case the attackers have decided to follow them. It's only about an hour or so before Cooper's calm enough to drive within the limit. Cooper pulls out his phone when they're almost back to town and the fearful silence is finally broken. Santana glares out of the corner of her eye. "If you're about to call your mom, don't."
He doesn't even blink at the threat. Cooper pulls his mom's number up on the small screen, only for Santana to reach over and grasp it. She shouts in pain, heaving sobs just to stop herself from throwing up. "That was smart," Cooper comments without a hint of sympathy in his voice.
Santana glares at him. "Just take me back home. I can deal with this myself."
"Apparently, you can't, because you almost got killed, or kidnapped, or god knows what by that asshole and his gang of merry douchebags." Cooper's blunt. Despite the way his parents were, he'd like to believe he's an easygoing person. This time, he has absolutely no tolerance for Santana's irrational hatred. How was it his mom's fault that Andre Moretta replaced Maribel with her? What did it matter when some psychopath almost killed him and probably would have done the same to Santana somewhere down the line? He swallows—what if he did that to Tatiana? He pushes the thought away as fast as it comes. He needs to be cool right now. As calm as the hero he's always trying to play. "Why were you there anyway?"
"Why is it any of your business?" Santana growls. Cooper almost growls right back.
"Because I almost got killed saving you and your sister's life could be in danger, and you don't seem to care!" Cooper shouts, his patience cracking at long last. "Do you have any idea how dangerous everything is now? Some kid got killed last night, and you could have been the next target."
Cooper winces at how much he sounds like his mother. It seems to work as Santana tenses. "What are you talking about?"
He sighs. "A sixteen year old girl from Crawford had her throat slashed. I'm no detective, but if I were to guess, I'd say the guy who just attacked you—"
"Dustin. He's Tatiana's man… or was; I still don't know how much she had to do with this," Santana comments. Cooper's relieved she's cooperating on some level but he doesn't like that insinuation. He gets an unsettling feeling in his stomach.
"Was Tatiana there? I didn't see her."
"Nope. Just her jackass fiancée," Santana says. She looks out the window, away from Cooper. The reality of the situation is crashing down on her. "So, it's happening huh? The long talked about war between the shit-heads and the douchebags."
Cooper doesn't know how to answer that. Instead, he asks her a question, "Why would you targeted?"
"Isn't that obvious? It's because of my sperm-donor. I don't know how the hell they were going to do it but I'm guessing they wanted to use me to get to him." Santana laughs with no real emotion behind it. "Jokes on them. He wouldn't have given two shits if I had been kidnapped."
"I'm sure that's not true—"
"It's true," Santana affirms with enough passion that Cooper can believe she believes it. He's not a father. He's not even paternal to be frank. One of the many things he and Chelsea had in common was that they never wanted kids. If he were a father, however, he'd be crushed if his kids ever believed he didn't love them. Andre's not him—he didn't just miss out on Santana's life, but a lot of Tatiana's too; and Blaine's. Now that Cooper thinks about it, why would Santana ever think her father gives a damn about her? Well, he doesn't have a choice now—for whatever reason they wanted Santana and if they did, it could only hurt Andre. "So, what the hell were you doing there?"
Cooper smirks at long last. Santana rolls her eyes when he answers, "I asked you first."
She must know she doesn't have a choice but to trust him. Santana grits her teeth. "Tatiana called me to say she was in danger and needed to leave. She told me she had the Phoenix, too, and wanted to give it to me."
"The Phoenix?" Cooper asks, wondering where he had heard that before.
"It's a necklace—a phasmara to use the 'dictionary' term," Santana explains. He's heard the term before, not for a while though. A phasmara was an item that could be used to harness energy. It did this by collecting a little of a person's energy every so often and keeping it inside the object. They were considered valuable because it took an experienced soothsayer to make one. Being a soothsayer is a rare enough power on its own; it's almost unheard of for them to become powerful enough to give power to an inanimate object. Anyone who owned a phasmara had the ability to store energy and call upon it whenever they wanted. In cases of having energy drained, it could also revive people—however, in most of those cases, it would be necessary for the person revived to wear the phasmara to stay alive. He's heard that people revived by a phasmara have died the moment they take off the item. Making them is illegal by GAIA standards now because people killed and died for them. Also, who knew what could happen if one person collected too much energy? It's not illegal to own one, but so many were destroyed that Cooper's never seen one before, nor has he heard of anyone owning one. "It was Jon Moretta's, my granddad if you want to call him that. He got it from Merida Lane, a psychic. Well, 'stole' is the more accurate word. Her daughter and Jon were like dating or engaged— if you thought Andre's track record was fucked up, you should see his dad's—anyway, so the daughter took the necklace from her mom as a gift for Jon and it's been in the Moretta family ever since. Tatiana's the only 'legitimate' Moretta, so it'd make sense that it'd go to her."
So that's where he's heard about it before. Tatiana told him about it a long time ago. Granted, they were both a little drunk and it was nearly ten years ago but it hits him clear as day once Santana says that. "Except why would she give it to you? It's not like you guys are super close."
Santana snorts. "I thought the same thing, but she said she couldn't keep it and that she rather I have it than Andre, which I can believe. If she was in trouble with Sovereign, I don't think she'd have anyone she could give it to."
Well, okay, that did make sense. Tatiana isn't exactly booming with friends so if she were some sort of danger, Santana may have been the only person she could rely on besides him. He imagines the idea of having something that powerful may have overridden Santana's caution as well. "But she wasn't there, right? You didn't see her? Maybe she's in trouble too."
"Really? You suppose Dustin found out about the Phoenix all on his lonesome?" Santana barks, barely twitching in pain when she shifts in her seat. Cooper still didn't want to believe Tatiana could turn against her sister. He still wants to believe in the good in her.
"No but maybe with that one girl's help. I mean, I don't know what she was doing to you but it didn't look pretty. I imagine something like could make someone do just about anything to stop it," Cooper points out. Santana's shoulders release some tension and he realizes that she didn't want to believe Tatiana turned on them either. It's still far more likely that Tatiana is working with Dustin, but at least this way; they can believe she's still on their side.
He starts pulling into the neighborhood Santana said her house was in. When they approach her house, it becomes clear something is wrong. There are cars parked in her driveway and out in the street.
Cooper's chest tightens when he sees his mother standing on the front lawn. Santana scowls. "Did you text her or something?! I thought I told you to butt-the-hell-out!"
"You've been here the whole time, you know I didn't message her," Cooper grumbles, pulling over to the side of the street. He opens the car door and turns to tell Santana to stay inside but she's already out of the car. Robin turns around at that very moment and her eyes widen.
"Cooper? I thought you were—Santana!" Robin gasps likes she's just seen a ghost. Santana practically growls at Robin while Cooper walks towards her.
"Mom, Santana was attacked at Tatiana's apartment. Someone's trying to kidnap her and—"
"I know, believe me I know," she says, her tone becoming very somber. Santana narrows her eyes.
"What the—why are you at my house? Why are all these cars here?" Santana asks. Robin bites her lip.
"Let me go get Andre…"
The girl's eyes widen. "That asshole is here?! Why the hell is he here?" Cooper looks at his mother's eyes and it clicks for him. He's knows that look all too well, unfortunately. His mother's tone is dark and unsteady. She only uses it when she reports horrible news. Santana doesn't need to be raised by this woman to know what it means; she stomps her foot. "God damn it, answer me!"
"It would really be better if you heard this from your father," Robin tries.
"I don't give a fuck who I hear it from, just tell me! Where's my mom?! Where's Brittany?!" Santana screams. Cooper looks behind his mom and sees Andre walking out of the house. With him is a blonde girl about Santana's age—her skin is bone-pale in contrast with the black blanket wrapped around her body. The girl he presumes is Brittany is clutching on to Andre for dear life. Her eyes looking down, almost like she doesn't want to see anything anymore.
Next a group comes out. Acid burns his throat as he battles the urge to throw up. Four GAIA clean-up employees, the same sort who helped Robin clean-up Blaine's mess after the Sadie Hawkins dance, come out guiding a gurney. Upon it, a form mostly covered in a sheet. He squints closer and sees a woman's head lulling to the side. It's Maribel Lopez, Cooper quickly realizes. For the most part, she's peaceful. Her beautiful dark eyes are closed, her laugh lines invisible now that her face is completely relaxed
Santana's eyes catch where Cooper is looking. Santana body pauses—no breath leaves her body, no movement in her eyes. Everything is frozen; life has stopped for a brief second as this is surely etched in Santana's memory, as well as his. He's sure he'll never forget the expression of agony on her face, or the way his mother closes her eyes as if she expected this.
Then the moment passes and Santana starts moving again. Faster than Cooper can register, Santana runs over and stops the gurney from moving. Andre sees his daughter and inhales. "Santana, don't—"
One of the GAIA employees reach out to catch her but Santana grabs the sheet and pulls it down.
Santana's eyes are watering as she reaches out to stroke her mother's cheek. Her body is thrashed as bones are unnaturally jutting in her arms and stomach. Blood is starting seep from places Cooper couldn't possibly imagine—ears, fingernails, mouth. Whoever did this didn't just want to kill her; they wanted to do in the most gruesome way possible. Cooper looks down and sees Maribel's wrist is turned outward so her pulse is facing away from her body. He cringes, as it must have been completely broken to look that way.
He also sees an 'x' on her wrist that's leaking blood. It's not on a spot where it would kill her but it wasn't painless either. Cooper loses the battle with his reflexes, and turns away from his mother in time to vomit onto the grass.
Reality hits him hard and now he can't escape it.
()()()()()()()
"Dude, what are we looking for again?" Finn asks as Kurt leads them up into the attic.
Kurt rolls his eyes and switches on the light bulb. It barely illuminates the cramped area but he can read the words on the cardboard boxes, which is good enough for him. Finn has to crouch to accommodate his height but does so without complaint so Kurt explains once more, "Anything that belonged to my mother. Something valuable and important to her. All the sites I use for research say that using a personal item might be our best chance to talk to the dead."
"Haven't you talked to dead people without using stuff before?" Finn asks. Kurt nods, but this is different. He's only talked to Renee and Sebastian—one recently dead and the other a vengeful spirit. His mother's been dead for eight years and she's made no attempt to contact him. Kurt's mother's powers suggested maybe she could have stayed around for a very long time, but if she could, wouldn't she have watched over him? Wouldn't he have been able to hear her? Kurt just hopes that if he makes an attempt to contact her, his mom will answer back. He doesn't know what he'll do if she doesn't.
Kurt finds the first box with Liz written on it, next to a box of Finn's father's things. He pulls it out into the low light and tugs it open. He curses. It's all clothing, nice things that his mother probably liked, but nothing he would deem personal. Finn kneels down. "Is there anything you can use in here?"
"I don't think so. I remember her wearing some of this stuff but…" Kurt pushes it away and grabs another box with her name on it. More clothes. He pushes it aside and finds a trunk made of worn leather. He might have thought it belonged to Finn's father if it weren't for the flowery inscriptions that marked it most assuredly female. The trunk itself looked valuable so surely, she'd keep her more important things in there, wouldn't she? Kurt pops open the trunk and-
Groans when he sees there are only a few novels and a quilt. He tosses the quilt over the books in frustration. "I'm starting to think this is hopeless."
Kurt looks at Finn and sighs. Finn opted to go through the box with his father's name on it. He's holding an old army helmet and staring at Kurt. "It's all right. We got a ton of stuff in here. We'll find something—"
"Finn, my mom was almost 200 years old, maybe older, when she died. She's had a lot of things and known a lot of people in that time. What could possibly be sentimental to someone who's lived so many lives?" Kurt asks, more himself than Finn even though he addressed his stepbrother.
That's all Kurt can think about lately, at least until Renee's death. Elizabeth's name came with a lot of faces—faces of people she probably knew and loved. People who lived and died right in front of her. The things that would traumatize a person once in their lifetime his mother has probably seen over and over again. Yet, she still played mother to him and wife to his father—how much of that was a lie? It seems like everything else she told was. Most of all, he thinks about how she isn't here; how she knew he'd need protection but has failed to protect him. With all the secrets coming out, Kurt wouldn't be surprised if he and his father were just pawns to her. His dad was her front, and Kurt was just her replacement.
Finn doesn't answer the question. He lifts up an army jacket and holds it up against his body. Kurt could tell immediately it would fit Finn perfectly, just as he would suspect. Finn has Carole's skin and her smile but not much else, meaning he'd had to look a great deal like his dad.
Jealousy sparks within Kurt. Why does Finn get to look through his father's belongings with ease? Why did Finn get two completely normal parents while Kurt had the queen of abnormal as his mother? Why isn't Finn the one hopelessly grasping at straws while trying to save more people from getting killed? Why wasn't Finn the one who got sixteen years of lies, secrets, and hidden identity?
Why is Finn the one who gets to be human?
"Do you think maybe if we contact your mom, we can talk to my dad too?" he asks. Kurt presses against his own temple, releasing a long breath. Kurt shouldn't be so mad at Finn; it's not his fault that a government he barely knows about is falling apart. It's a question Kurt's sure he'd ask if the roles were reversed. Actually, it'd be pretty awesome if Kurt could just ask someone—
Wait a minute. Sebastian.
"Oh my god, I'm an idiot," Kurt murmurs, pulling out his cell phone and calling Blaine. Blaine says he hasn't felt his presence since the night of Rachel's party, which was almost three weeks ago. That didn't mean he was gone—he might have just been biding his time. Waiting for a weakness in Blaine's defenses.
"Hi Kurt." Blaine sounds glad to hear from Kurt but mostly exhausted after the events of last night. Kurt feels awful knowing how hard it was for Blaine to see Renee's body, but he can't help thinking maybe, just maybe Blaine had a nightmare. One strong enough to beckon Sebastian.
"Blaine, have you felt Sebastian around lately? Seen him in any dreams? It's important," Kurt assures.
"Not recently..." Blaine trails off with a hint of confusion. Kurt groans which makes Finn raise an eyebrow. "That's a good thing though, isn't it?"
"It would be if he wasn't the only person who might be able to help me contact my mom. You didn't have a nightmare last night?" Kurt replies. His heart's racing, his mind blaring like a loud noise has gone off in his ear. Sebastian only showed up when Blaine was tormented about his past. He hates that he's actually hoping Blaine's had a nightmare but this could be the only way to keep other people safe.
"Well—no. I thought maybe last night, but I didn't really dream. Kurt, do you think it's a good idea to try and get Sebastian to help us?"
He looks at the open boxes of his mother's things—things, not possessions she valued. He blows the hair out of his face. "I don't know what else to do Blaine."
"No, I get it. It's just..." He hears Blaine groan in frustration. "He hasn't been around. I don't feel the depression I felt when he was around."
Kurt closes his eyes. If he hasn't been visiting Blaine, maybe he isn't even around anymore. Blaine then says, "Except, well, Wes was complaining that a lot of the guys have been having…uh, sex dreams lately."
Kurt doesn't know how to respond to that. The blaring stops only out of confusion. What did that have to do with anything? Kurt almost has nothing to say—almost. He manages to tell him, "As glad as I am that the student body at Dalton are normal, functioning boys, I don't see—"
"Honey, didn't you tell me that Trent said Sebastian got energy by appearing in boys wet dreams? I'm not so sure he hasn't done it to me." Possessiveness doesn't flare inside Kurt, instead, he feels hope. Sebastian might not be gone after all if he has other places to get energy. It's the most excited he's been in almost 24 hours.
"You're right," Kurt breathes. His shoulders go slack. "That doesn't help us much. We can't trace him through a sea of desperation and sexual desire."
"So use me as bait."
"No, absolutely not." Although, hadn't Kurt just been hoping that Sebastian visited Blaine? It's one thing for Sebastian to come to Blaine when it's out of his control, but it's another to intentionally put Blaine's mentality in danger to catch a ghost who may help Kurt. It's a pretty hopeful 'may,' too.
"Kurt," Blaine says very somberly. "We can't have anyone else die like Renee did. If Sebastian can help, I don't think we have any other choice."
Kurt doesn't like it at all, but Blaine's right. Sebastian couldn't kill Blaine, but as long as Renee's killer is on the loose, Blaine's life would be as in danger as hers was. He might be in even more danger. "Damn it," Kurt says thus catching Finn's attention once more. "Okay, fine, we don't have a choice, but it's not that easy. You've worked so hard to get over the Sadie Hawkins dance, how are we supposed to get you emotional enough to get Sebastian's attention?"
It's silent. Then Blaine answers, "I…uh, well…"
"What about Blaine's mom? Couldn't she make him feel really bummed about it?" Finn asks. For as long as Kurt's known Finn, he shouldn't be surprised when these little moments of sheer brilliance come through. Now that he thinks about it, why didn't they think of Robin to begin with?
The idea seems simple anyway. Kurt just didn't know how he was going to convince Robin to intentionally hurt Blaine.
()()()()()()()
"Broken arms, fractured knees, broken ribs, a nearly broken neck—it's nothing less than a miracle she's alive, though I don't think miracles have anything to do with it," Dr. Rosella Marcus has been at GAIA for years. She twists her long grey hair into a bun and pushes up her thick black frames back up her nose. Robin's never had a problem with the GAIA doctor but the entire room is unbearably tense as Rosella explains Maribel's condition.
Santana and Brittany are huddled close together on one end of the couch while Cooper sits on the other side; each of them giving off different levels of negative emotions. Robin swallows just to try and wet her throat but that makes the knot in her stomach twist even further. Even the emotionally mild Andre is giving off intense waves of anxiousness and fear. The only person who isn't setting off her powers is the patient.
Maribel's attached to a number of machines, one of which was an IV bag with enough pain medication to sedate a horse. Not that it would matter—she's been in a coma since Andre and Robin arrived at her house after receiving her frantic phone call. Unfortunately, not much more than screaming was heard before the line went dead but Robin ordered Jeremiah to go over the phone message anyway. That being said, there's only so much technology would do, and in this case, it looked like it'd be nothing.
"How long is she going to be out?" Santana asks with a hoarse voice. Her chest is wrapped up as Andre demanded Santana be seen as quickly as possible. All she had was a cracked rib but with as distrustful as Santana is of GAIA, she barely agreed to let Rosella look her over. Rosella looks to Andre for confirmation and that, apparently, is Santana's breaking point. "Hey! She's my mom! Tell me!"
"It's hard to say. It could be a few days or it could be a few weeks. Right now, that coma is the only thing keeping her from the most horrible pain she'll ever feel. That and the drugs," Rosella says, crossing her arms and leaning back against the counter. Even if Robin didn't feel it, she'd see just how exhausted the doctor is. "I have to take a closer look at the x-rays. Surgery's still not out of the question but fast-healing is one of her abilities so maybe not."
Rosella pushes up and walks out, whispering something to Andre along the way. Andre follows her, earning both him and the doctor a glare from Santana. Then again, whom in this room, besides Brittany, didn't Santana hate? Robin sits on the arm of Cooper's side of the couch and leans over to whisper, "So obviously, I didn't get all the details about what happened…"
"Tatiana's fiancée jumped our little lady over here. Santana said his name's Dustin Goolsby." Robin remembers the name from somewhere but she can't completely recall from where. "I don't know where she is. Do you think he killed that girl?"
"I don't know but he didn't do this. Maybe arranged, but he didn't do it. He couldn't have been there and here—"
"No, but he's not alone. He had a girl that some kind of strength or weird compulsion and that was one of the ones Santana didn't beat the shit out of. He had at least three more with him," Cooper tells her. She puts her hand on his shoulder. She hasn't heard him sound so hopeless since Chelsea was taken from him. "So, this is a bigger cluster fuck than you told me."
"Honestly hon, I have no idea how big of a mess we're facing." There's some shouting out in the hall. It's loud enough that Robin closes her eyes. "I have a feeling I'm about to find out though."
Robin stands up and rushes out into the hall. Rosella is gone but Andre is still there. He's in the face of one man with another man standing off to the side and watching cautiously. Both men are polar opposites in most ways— the man Andre is arguing with is several inches shorter than Andre is, while the other man is several inches taller; the shorter man is pale white while the other has dark-skin; the short man has young, chubby features while the taller man has narrow yet wrinkled features. Despite their differences, they were both wearing identical black suits with identical gold badges.
It reads NAT. GAIA. The lump that's been building in Robin's throat is now nearly cutting off her breath. The National Section of GAIA.
"What's going on?" Robin whispers. She clears her throat and repeats in a louder voice, "Gentlemen, with all due respect—"
She stops when everyone turns to face her. It's clear her presence isn't expected or welcomed. Nonetheless, the shorter man steps past Andre. "And," he says, continuing the conversation (argument) he was having with Andre, "among other things, Agent Moretta, it seems you have to train your subordinates to have a little respect for privacy."
Robin glares at him. "Actually sir, I'm the Head of Integration, Robin Anderson. I'm also Mr. Moretta's partner with the investigation, which I'm sure is what brought you here."
"An investigation that's gone off the rails. Now as well as already putting lives in danger, Mr. Moretta wants to put the secret of our existence in danger," the taller agent says. Robin turns to Andre out of confusion.
Andre grits his teeth and tells her, "Agent Fairchild and Agent Lee want to clear out Brittany's memory."
Oh no, Robin thinks. That would break Santana. Robin knows a thing or two about secret relationships and she's almost positive Brittany and Santana are in one (if the cuddling was any indication. Santana didn't seem like a cuddler). The poor girl's already been attacked and had her mother taken away in such a short amount of time. The last thing she needed was to lose her rock too. It's hard enough to get Santana to trust them; if GAIA did this, they'd never get her to help them.
They need to find a way to work the law in their favor. Fortunately, Robin knows a lawyer.
Thus the end of chapter 26. Honestly, I had so much more I wanted to write in this chapter. If I continued writing everything I wanted to write though, it would have been way longer before I got this updated. Besides that, I've been feeling productive this week, so who knows what could happen? :)
In any case, another big thank you to my readers, reviewers, followers, and people who have added this story to their favorites! You guys are fantastic as always! Also, a big thank you to my beta, irishflute! My awesome, awesome, awesome beta!
Rori Potter- Well, I thought it was soon—then I looked and realized it was nearly a month later. So close to being a quick update! All well, hope you enjoy it anyway :) Thanks for reviewing!
cold kagome- Thanks! Yeah, but I think if my boyfriend were in a similar situation (or about as similar as a real life could be to this situation, lol) I think I'd be mad too. Thanks for reviewing!
ToniBalogna978- I know, so many questions! But they should (and I feel like I say this all the time, lol) be answered one by one soon. More action sequences are coming as well :) Thanks dear! Glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!
AlexCardew- Yeah, lol, I remember describing this scene to my beta and saying "Santana does a bunch of badass stuff". Some more ass kicking will be coming! Thanks for reviewing!
msdarque- Thanks! I try to keep things exciting (sometimes to the point of being overdramatic but hey, at least it's not predictable, lol). Thank you for the review!
thexkat- Definitely more serious! Yeah, I was really worried about whether or not it would fit Santana's character, but I figured if there was a big enough reason for her to go there (which we'll learn more about this chapter) it would work. One of my favorite Cooper moments thus far! I know, Blaine's such a sweetie. We have a little bit of Klaine this chapter—not a lot, but a scene anyway. Lol, glad that's good because I don't it's going to get any easier for Kurt. He is superhuman royalty after all. We'll be seeing more of Jesse soon and have a clearer idea of which side he's on ;) A don't kill Robin campaign, huh? Well…can't say one way or another but I do appreciate how much you like her! Especially since she's an OC :) Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks for the review!
TwilightEclps- Thanks! Glad you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing!
CastleQuill- Thanks dear! Yes, sometimes it gets a bit overdramatic—I like to joke that this story is inspired by my love for soap operas, lol. Some times I don't even know what happens. Sometimes, I decided to do something and then when I actually write it, it turns out to be something different, lol. Glad you love it! Thanks for reviewing. And, I agree, Cooper is amazing!
GleekyPatronusWolfyStarkid- Thanks sweetie! Hope you like the new chapter. Thanks for reviewing!
Rin- Aw, thank you so much! It means a lot that people like her (especially since she's an OC and she's done something that's difficult to overcome and be liked). I love writing both Blaine and Robin scenes and Kurt and Robin scenes. In many ways, she's like a second mother to him (and you know, if they get married, she'd be like the perfect mother-in-law, lol). Honestly, I'd be over the moon if we got to see Blaine's mom on the show, even if she's not like Robin—and she's not a complete bitch. As for the side story suggestions, I'm happy to say we'll be seeing some more TrentXSugar soon! We'll also learn more about Katherine. We'll also be seeing more Wes soon.
Thanks! I like using the dialogues and putting them in different situations. It's just kind of a nice salute to the show itself. I'm hoping to transfer a bit farther from angsty and more into action, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like angst. Opps! Hope your brother isn't too mad. In any case, glad you like the fic! Thanks so much for reviewing and for your kind words!
Orgasmic Bunnies- Agreed! Especially since asshat is such a fun name to use! I like CoopTana as a name too! Glad you liked that scene. I think they'll be more to come :) Thanks for reviewing dear!
Megachrisfan- Thanks! Yes, Dustin isn't all powerful—he's powerful but not too powerful without his team. They'll still be quite a match for Kurt and Blaine. Thanks for reviewing!