Nicholas saw Emily and her friends from the apartment's kitchen window. He glanced at Joseph through the door to the office and saw him bent over the desk muttering to himself under his breath. For a minute a silent debate over whether to warn Joseph about his niece's impending visit waged inside him. Nicholas had been extremely irked with how Joseph had treated her during her first visit. He hadn't bothered finding out that his niece had a brother, didn't bother mentioning her to his companion of over ten years and numerous life or death situations, and, he'd tried to get her out the door before he'd shown up. However, there were a number of documents spread across the apartment that Joseph likely didn't want anyone outside HQ to see.

"Emily's on her way. There's someone new with her." He said turning back to the window.

"What?"

"Em-" Nicholas didn't get a chance to finish repeating himself. Joseph grabbed him by the elbow and steered him out the door.

"We'll head them off. Darn it, that girl has horrible timing. I don't have time for a long, painful discussion today!"

"When do you?"

Joseph shot him a dirty look before continuing down the stairs two at a time and muttering under his breath about young people and their horrible manners.

Emily brought the trio to a halt on the sidewalk as she spotted her uncle and Nicholas coming towards them. Thomas studied Joseph Stanton's face as he approached where they had stopped in front of the entrance to an unkempt park. He tried to reconcile the grizzled beard, thinning hair and the eyes full of deep pain with the hero that his uncle's city made him out to be.

The two groups stood facing each other for a silent minute before Emily spoke. "Uncle Joseph, this is Tom."

"The one who's been outside the city." Joseph said by way of greeting as he gave Tom a firm handshake.

"How did you know...?" He asked startled.

"You look at this city the same way I do. There's got to be something better, something more alive, right?"

Tom nodded as he stared at him incredulously, shocked by how Joseph had managed to put his emotions into words.

"Where'd you leave your brother?" Joseph asked turning back to Emily.

"With friends."

"Have you suddenly acquired some since the last time we met?"

"I didn't ask them last time. Why do you care?"

Joseph sighed, "I do care Emily."

"Really?" She asked, taking a step closer to him and speaking in a low, frustrated pitch. "Then where have you been the last three years? Where were you after Dad died?"

He sighed again, then turned toward the park. "Let's take a walk, I can show you where your Aunt died on the way." He marched into the park, leaving Emily and the three men there for a minute. After shooting Nicholas a questioning glance, and discovering from the expression on his face that he had no idea where this was going either, she let her morbid curiosity get the better of her. She set off after her uncle with Albert right behind her, and Tom and Nicholas trailing behind them.

She caught up with where he had stopped on the trail facing towards an open area of dead grass and weeds. The remnants of a stage were spread across it, like the scattered skeleton of some long dead animal. Tom and Nicholas were still far behind them when she and Albert came to a silent stop beside him, studying the remains, without needing to ask why he'd stopped there.

"We were going to change the world." Joseph said in a cracked voice. After a few more moments of silence he continued. "So much for that, there's no way we can do anything now."

Emily took a breath to speak, but he cut her off. "No, I know what I'm talking about Emily Stanton. This city, it's dead. It has been for years. We fought the darkness -" he stopped to draw breath, but Albert finished the sentence for him.

"The darkness won." He said in a low tone. Emily glanced over her shoulder at him and saw the forbidding look on his face, and the storm behind his eyes.

"Why did I never come Emily?" He asked as Tom and Nicholas came up behind them to study the dead stage. He turned toward her now, "You were better off without me. This city may be dead," he looked past her to meet Nicholas' eyes, "but there are still some of us trying to breathe life back into it."

Standing right behind him, Tom heard Nicholas' sharp breath at that phrase. Standing facing the rest of the group, Joseph saw his shock at the hint to HQ. He paid it no heed and continued.

"The trouble is, there's no point to anything we do. This city can't be fixed. We're fighting a hopeless battle. So, you are better off without knowing me."

He met Emily's eyes to address only her now, "I can only bring hardship."

Silence stood in the park for a full minute before Nicholas spoke.

"You told me that years ago."

"And you were foolish enough to stick around. How many times have you almost died?"

"As many as you."

Joseph sighed yet again as he turned back to the broken skeleton of a stage. The group was silent for several minutes before Tom spoke.

"How?"

The group turned to him confused.

"How are you trying to fix this city? From what they've told me, it should be pretty easy. Inform people, tell them that they have an opportunity to get rid of Wolv..."

"He has more weapons than ignorance, sadly."

"Such as?"

Joseph studied the faces of the three friends, then he looked at Nicholas. He knew that his young friend would be against this, he would consider it one of Joseph's worst decisions among many. But... He looked back at Emily. He'd abandoned her, left her in the dark. She didn't seem to care that she might be better off away from him. She'd tracked him down, demanded answers. He looked to her two friends. He'd done his homework and checked up on the one, Wily, after their last encounter. He hadn't expected the other to come back, but it showed something about his character that he did. He chewed on the idea a minute longer. Emily obviously trusted the two, and she likely wouldn't agree to leave them behind. Nor would they be likely to let her go on by herself. And Nicholas of course...

"This way." He said, coming to a decision. He led the confused group further into the park, despite the harsh looks he could feel coming from Nicholas on the back of his head.


Nicholas wouldn't have been surprised if a roiling black cloud was hanging over his head. This was a bad idea, one of Joseph's worst. Joseph had his brilliant moments, and it would be a mistake to say he was too trusting, in fact the opposite might be true. However, he tended to ignore reason when he really wanted to do something, or when he really wanted something to be true.

Nicholas followed them into the tall, dilapidated building that served as HQ. The building was dark except for a few lights visible in some of the higher windows, and most of the lower windows were broken. In the heart of the city it blended in perfectly.

He was only half listening to what Joseph was saying as they walked in. He didn't really care what was being said anyway. Essentially what it'd boil down to would be: "Wolv could turn half the city into a crater with the push of a button if he wanted to, so we need to tread lightly when we're trying to thwart him." More or less, give or take some explanations and dramatic effect. In any case Nicholas was distracted when he walked in the doors of HQ by the sight of Gwen. Slipping away from the group he joined his wife on her way upstairs.

"Done for the day?" He asked taking her hand as they climbed.

"For now, the Council's been let out until two. Who was with Joseph?"

"His niece and her friends. He's giving them the full tour I'm sure. Learn anything interesting?"

"Nothing besides the usual proposals for tax hikes and increased weapons development. We have to keep up with the Power you know." She rolled her eyes at that. "I didn't know Joseph had a niece."

"Neither did I. At least the mayor isn't pulling any surprises on us today. Is Joe at Anne's?" He asked as they climbed past the third floor.

"Yes, I'm on my way there, we were going to have lunch together. You should join us."

"You don't think Anne will mind?"

She laughed and pulled him through the door leading from the stairwell to the fourth floor. A few moments later they stepped into Anne's modest apartment. As soon as he caught sight of his parents Joe rushed to the door.

Gwen knelt to give her six-year-old son a hug. Working as a double agent and leading a small resistance movement didn't leave much time for the three to spend as a family, but they made do with what they had. Nicholas picked his son up off the floor to say hello after Gwen had moved aside and gone to greet Anne.

"How are you buddy?" Nicholas asked as he carried Joe back into the apartment to the table for lunch.

"Hungry." Joe replied, bringing a smile to his father's face. "Will Mom be back before I go to bed tonight?"

"Maybe, we'll see how long the Council keeps at it tonight. My guess is she'll be home just in time to say goodnight."

Nicholas' black mood had improved slightly when he'd found Gwen, but the appearance of his son's namesake shortly after lunch threw him back into the cynicism. Joseph stuck his head in the door and beckoned with one hand. With a sigh Nicholas picked Joe up off his lap and sent him to play with Anne's kids. He leaned over and swiped a kiss from Gwen before sullenly heading downstairs.

"What?" Nicholas asked closing the door to Joseph's office behind him sharply and leaning back on it with arms crossed.

Joseph looked up at the tone, "Why are you angry with me?"

"Did you finish giving your tour?" he asked pointedly.

"We can trust them." Joseph turned back to a paper on his desk, dismissing the problem.

"And what makes you think that? You hadn't met the other one until today."

"He's been outside the city, and we know we can trust the other two, Christopher checked on them last week."

"Why don't we start recruiting from outside then?" Nicholas asked with a snort.

"You know why, Wolv would notice."

"Hmph, you don't think he'll notice one of his own came in here?"

"Gwen's careful, you of all people should know. Besides, Wolv doesn't know there is a base."

"I wasn't talking about Gwen." Nicholas crossed the room, grabbing a folding chair from the card table covered in papers and dragging it behind him as he went. He put it backward in front of Joseph's desk and sat down. "I was talking about Thomas. He worked in the Mayor's office."

"3 years ago yes, he was desperate for money, didn't have any options and shortly after lost both his parents. Then he moved north to live with his uncle and learn. We talked about this over lunch."

"And where is he now?"

"I believe he went home. They'll all be back tomorrow."

"Why?" Nicholas asked in an extremely aggravated tone. "Why were they here in the first place, what possible reason can you have for bringing outsiders who can't help us in here?"

"They can help us Nicholas. Thomas has been on the outside, he's seen what this can be like. He wants to change this city, a lot like another young man I knew several years ago." Joseph gave him a pointed look. "I had to bring them here, the same way I had to bring you here. They came looking for hope and a way to change things."

"And just how," Nicholas answered, fighting to keep an even tone in his voice, "will they help us change things?"

"Thomas knows about those weapons that Wolv has, he's studied how they're made in the city further north."

"Studied." Nicholas put in skeptically.

"Yes, which is a lot more than you or I can say."

"And a lot less than I'd like to trust a plan too."

"Do you have one he can practice on?" Joseph asked, giving Nicholas a good, long stare.

"He's studied them," Joseph continued, his point made, "that combined with the fact that Wolv is 'reelected' every term -"

"We can't use that loophole, you've said a thousand times -"

"Before we couldn't because Wolv would blow us out of the sky if we tried to. But because Thomas can get rid of those -"

"How?"

"He has an idea from what he's learned further north -"

"From when he's studied them."

"Again, do you have a way for him to test it?"

"No, but we could send him with Gwen, maybe he can learn something more, help inspect them or something."

"Gwen doesn't have access to that."

"You haven't asked her! She doesn't now but she might be able to swing something for us."

"Swing something?" Joseph stared at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Isn't that what you're talking about? Swinging this operation around the idea that some kid that's happened to spend some time reading farther north might be able to make this work?"

Joseph glared at Nicholas. "They'll be here tomorrow. Ask Gwen tonight about getting close to the weapons with Thomas. We'll discuss it then, I want her there."

"I'll see if the mayor is willing to oblige." Nicholas sneered, giving Joseph one last glare on his way out the door, and muttering to himself down the hall to the lab.