A/N So, Understatement: here's a long chapter. This is actually my longest chapter to date. I didn't fully proof it, and I now realize after finishing it that there's a lot to process here. I recommend reading one section at a time so as to maintain the flow while not becoming overwhelmed with information. There's only about two chapters left, so there's a lot going on at this point! Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 33: Underlying Guidance

One gunshot drowned out everything else in the world for Penny. Only one thing could draw her focus and hold it. Mark's eyes had gone wide in a way she had never seen. They weren't wide with horror, but simply surprise. She didn't know or particularly care if shock was the proper word. It was as though they had both been put into a trance, incapable of breaking their eye contact. Penny knew she didn't want to look down to confirm what her peripherals were telling her. After what felt like an eternity, Mark's eyes fell to his chest. Penny reluctantly followed them to the growing red blotch in the left hand side of his shirt. He didn't even reflexively put a hand over it.

No. Penny's stomach felt like it was somersaulting into a tangled mess. "Dad," she barely whispered. Mark only smiled warmly as he knees buckled. "Dad!"

He fell into her arms, completely deadweight. She lowered him as gently as she could to the floor in the midst of her heart being torn to pieces. "Daddy…" she uttered, turning him over and supporting his head with her hand.

Dear God, no. She removed her rucksack, emptied its contents, balled it up and pressed it firmly against his wound. He winced as she did so and took her hand. "Penny…" His voice had gone so soft and hoarse, it made Penny shiver to hear it. "Listen…"

Please, no. "No," she didn't let him finish. "Don't say anything like that, daddy. You're going to be okay."

Neither of them believed it as much as they wanted to. In mere seconds, Penny's plan had gone from near success to catastrophic failure. She looked helplessly around the now deserted lab for anything she could use, but as expected, there were no medical kits conveniently lying around. A visual sweep of the room also informed her that Adam was gone as well. Had he not heard the gunshot? The main doors couldn't have closed that quickly, could they? Whatever the case, they were alone. Except for Calico.

When she saw the Green-Eyed Man again, he was standing much closer to them, revolver still in hand, wearing yet another vile grin that made Penny's blood boil. She put the arm supporting her father's head under his shoulders protectively. "Get away," she ordered through gritted teeth.

Calico didn't move. "Now, you see, my dear," he said, the arrogance practically dripping from his mouth. "I always win."

That was what pushed Penny over the edge. Blind fury overtook her. She looked down to the floor and saw her 9mm among the scattered contents of the sack. Without another thought, she picked it up, cocked it and leveled it with Calico's head. His normal pupil dilated and he hastily sprinted away from her, wildly firing the rest of his revolver rounds off without even aiming as he did. Penny squeezed the trigger of her own gun numerous times, even after she'd emptied the magazine, pouring every ounce of her raging hatred into each shot. Calico dove behind the cover of several overturned desks and crawled from there to the doors at the far side of the lab.

It wasn't until her father reached up his hand and wrapped it around hers again that she regained focus. "Penny…" he whispered. "It's okay, honey. It's gonna be all right."

Discarding the pistol, she attempted to reapply pressure to the now blood-soaked fabric on her father's chest, but he held onto both of her hands. "Dad, please, you're gonna be okay," she pleaded, abandoning her thoughts on Calico. "You've gotta be okay…"

A wellspring of tears blurred her vision of him. He couldn't go. Not now. She wasn't ready to lose him. He had to see his granddaughter at least one more time. She couldn't lose him now. "Sweetheart…" he said, wiping the first tears off her cheeks. "You've done so well… I'm so proud…" He took a shaky breath. "I'm so proud of the woman you've become…"

Penny's voice began to break. "I wouldn't have gotten here without you… you were such a good father. You… despite the trouble we went through, financially or… we pulled through it…" She bent down and embraced him carefully, crying into his shoulder. "Daddy, don't leave me… don't go… I can't do this without you."

"You can…" he responded softly. "Penny…" Reluctantly, Penny lifted herself up and looked into his eyes, still shining as bright as ever, however occasionally wincing. "Take care of your family, honey. I know you can… and it will all… turn out okay…" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I love you."

She took his hand and squeezed it tight. "I love you too, daddy…"

At that moment, all his pain seemed to fade. He smiled at her warmly and, with a couple more short gasps, closed his eyes. His smile remained, even as his life slipped away.

Penny's soft cries turned to hiccuping sobs and she embraced her father again, hoping to feel some of his warmth one last time. I will, daddy. I'll take care of them. She promised to him. And herself.

A significant heartache overcame Lightning when he saw the base again. Images of the past he had tried to push out returned to him in an almost overwhelming wave. Almost. He figured he would have had to face them again at some point. He'd been dreading it all the same. This time, he cut himself some slack.

But it wouldn't control him. It couldn't. Emily was still in danger and it was up to him to save her. Right. Just have to figure out how to do that. He continually ran Rhino's words through his head again and again, hoping to find some hidden meaning that would tell him what exactly to do. It was a far-fetched hope, but he didn't exactly have a wide array of options. His mind started to drift to his time spent with Rhino and David.

"Don't be nervous. You need to stay focused."

The words would have made Lightning jump had they not given him a warming sense of security in his heart. He looked around, seeing nothing and yet feeling a calm presence all around him. He knew he'd heard the voice, even clearer than before. Did he need to be barely conscious to actually see him? Instead, he closed his eyes and concentrated. On what, he wasn't sure, but it was something that gave him comfort.

"What do I do, Dad?" he asked out loud, wondering if it would make a difference.

Bolt's voice responded promptly and clearly. "You do what you have to for your family. Nothing more, nothing less."

It may have only been his father's spirit, but did he have to be so vague? "I don't know what that is," he replied. "I can't trust myself to keep anyone safe. I lost Mom last time and endangered Emily. I don't have a full handle on my powers. I can't be held responsible for something else happening."

"You won't be, son," Bolt said calmly. "Everything that has transpired since you and Emily were left alone was not your fault. Nor will what happens next be. I know you're still adapting to your new abilities. I was too at that stage, and I was only five years old at the time. The key is trusting in yourself. Remember what I told you: follow your instincts and know when to hold back."

"How?" Lightning asked patiently, wishing Bolt was actually there with him. "I've been trying to do that, but I can't learn how."

"You can, just as I did before you," Bolt said. "It's a lot to go through, yes, and there are great risks involved. But you've made it so far already. Let me tell you a little secret." Lightning perked his ears up, questioning whether it actually made a difference. "When you do things in the interests of others rather than yourself, you get a crystal clear idea of what to do, when and how to do it, even if it's mostly ad-libbed."

"Dad," Lightning said with a small grin. "This whole thing has been ad-libbed."

"Then it should come naturally to you," he answered, sounding like he was wearing a similar grin. "And for Emily."

"But… what about this thing with my powers? What if I can't control it? What if…"

As expected, Bolt was on top of that too. "Whatever's happening with your abilities is another risk, but part of it may be a result of your fear of failing Emily. Stay calm and focused and don't let fear or anger control you. Take it as it comes.

"When the time is right," Bolt concluded, giving his son another wave of reassurance. "You'll know what to do. It's in your blood."

Lightning couldn't tell if Bolt's spirit was still lingering with him or if had drifted back to… wherever he came from. Maybe it had never even left. His words certainly cemented themselves in Lightning's mind. Calm and focused. Take it as it comes. He could manage that. He felt uneasy just putting the issue with his powers off to the side, but it was what his instincts told him. His father had somehow managed to dissolve his fear in an instant with words he'd already heard before. He only needed to clear his head, to rediscover what family truly meant. But did Mittens have to die before he did that?

He shook the thought away. No. The past is behind me. It wasn't my fault and it can't control me. What was his responsibility was the future. Mittens had died believing in him. Bolt still believed in him. Emily never stopped believing in him.

Now, he had to believe in himself.

He would have felt a little better with at least one of them at his side, but one of them he would have to fight for to see again. He needed to continually run that through his mind in order to gather the courage to approach the outer perimeter of the base, keeping his eyes off of the area where Mittens died. That wouldn't happen again. It couldn't.

His original plan was to ram through the fence as he did in Kochi, but another painful flashback swept over him. He swallowed back his fear and searched for an impulse. It came so quickly and so clearly, he was tempted to attribute it to common sense. With a running start, he ran towards the barrier, bounded forward and jumped. Much to his surprise, he lifted off of the ground, clearing the fence with ease, and landed on the other side with a moderate impact. Okay, he said to himself. first obstacle cleared. Next…

Next was getting inside the building. There was a fair sized crowd of formally-attired people standing in the parking lot idly talking amongst themselves with a collective, nervous and fidgety stature visible even at that distance. Most of them seemed to be facing towards the far side of the facility where a thin stream of smoke was rising. His next impulse told him to go and find a way inside there. "Of course…" he whispered. He'd had quite enough of going towards danger, even for Emily's sake. But, these exact circumstances were mostly his fault anyway. With a deep breath, "Hold on, Emily. I'll get you out of there," he said to his person, if not to calm himself.

None of the personnel gathered outside seemed to notice him running to the far side despite their diligence in that particular area. When that side came into view, Lightning could see a line of horizontally-laid cylindrical objects lining the wall, broken by a smoldering crater in both the ground and the building, surrounded by a dozen armed guards with rifles raised at the crater, probably staring in wonder rather than as sentries. Lightning swallowed hard. Not only were these guys unfriendly, but to dispatch them meant taking lives. While that may have been Lightning's current strong point, it wasn't his preference.

Follow my instincts, don't let anger control me. Follow my instincts… It was much easier mentally visualized than done. But this time, instead of running dozens of alternate possibilities through his head, he relaxed and defaulted to his impulses again, letting other thoughts, including senseless killing, drain away. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, but it didn't take any longer than the last for the next idea to pop into his head. It wasn't in any way convoluted, but it was as much of a plan as he was going to get.

Here goes nothing.

Hoping his father knew what he was talking about, Lightning charged forward. Within maybe a dozen steps, one of the guards spotted his approach and exclaimed it. The others spun around sharply, some of them to the point of losing their balance. Before they even had a chance to brandish their weapons, Lightning leapt into the air again, soaring over several guards' heads, and pile-drived into the center of their formation. The shockwave barely phased him and launched all the men around him a few meters into the air. They landed, some of them back in their original places, at varying awkward angles, none of them capable of immediately recovering. Lightning assumed that much by the groans and breathless gasps he heard around them.

For once, he used his powers without causing any death or permanent injury amongst any of the guards. He got such an empowered sensation, he waited for a few moments to hear his father say, "I told you so."

Even after Lightning processed all that had occurred, still none of the men around him could stand, much less fight. He smiled smugly to himself. You'll live.

There was an equal number of guards inside the building, but far less order. Guards and scientists alike were scrambling around the halls, most of the latter of whom were making for the exit. Lightning was pretty sure most of them saw him running through the halls, weaving between the fleeing personnel, and was equally certain that most of them didn't care. Every now and then, he ran into a group of guards who attempted to attack him, to which he responded with another ground stomp just large enough to throw them off their feet. After he continued on past them, not a single one showed any desire to give chase. It wouldn't surprise him if they too decided to flee. Calico's army was crumbling from under him.

But none of that mattered to Lightning. He wasn't fighting to overthrow Calico anymore. Calico could command legions of troops for all he cared. He only wanted to find Emily, to get his family back. As he ran through the maze of hallways past the jumble of people, he began to grow frantic. He was acting on his instincts and controlling his anger, but that didn't help him figure out where Emily was.

When he took another turn down yet another hallway, he collided with someone and fell to the floor, rolling to a stop. He shook off the impact and got to his feet again, ready to scare off another guard.

But to his surprise, the person he had tripped wasn't one of Calico's black-suited agents. It was a young girl dressed in casual attire. Picking herself up, she looked at Lightning. Their eyes were locked for only a few moments, but each pair widened at the sight of the other. To Lightning, she seemed so foreign to everything going on around her. Just an innocent person amidst terrifying circumstances. They were two of a kind.

Lightning turned his head in the other direction and this time saw one of Calico's top men, wearing a black, almost business-looking suit and standing a short distance away. He looked startled at Lightning, but mustered a resolute expression and ran past him towards the girl.

"Lindsay, come on!" he urged, helping her up. "We've got to get out of here."

"Yeah…" the girl responded breathlessly, keeping her gaze fixed on Lightning.

The man turned her towards the hall from which Lightning had come and hesitantly pointed a finger in the other direction. "Down there," he said, sounding not so sure of himself.

This act perplexed Lightning even more than the girl's presence, but any specific direction would work for him. He barked once as a reply and continued running, memorizing both of their faces. Whoever they were, they weren't so different from his own family.

Other than the fact that he had yet to actually find his own family.

Any other personnel he passed after that didn't seem to notice or care about him, which gave him a mixture of confidence and concern. If there was a good reason to ignore security breaches in order to escape, it meant Calico didn't have the strength to oppose him much further. It also meant Emily should also get out of the building as well. But his instincts still weren't giving him an exact location. All he had was the direction given to him by a single, random guard. It was likely he would run into her at some point, but why did he have to…

Lightning slowed himself to a halt at a junction in the hallway and perked up his ears. What was that? The sound had been distant, but clear. He couldn't make out from which direction it came, but it was unmistakable. A whistle. He looked around the halls, trying to find anyone who might have called for him. It seemed stupid, considering there were only four people he knew of in this place who would do that, but then again, those were the ones whom he needed to find.

Thankfully, the whistle came again, sounding undeniably like it was summoning a dog. His ears picked up on the direction and he ran down the hallway to his left, feeling his heartbeat accelerate. The sound repeated itself again and again, only growing louder with each step Lightning took. He rounded another corner, and there, running down the hall in the opposite direction, whistling away, was Emily. He quickly barked a few times, sending a new sound echoing through the halls.

Emily stopped in her tracks and spun around, hastily scanning his direction until her eyes fell on him. Not even a full day had passed since he left her, and to him it felt like years had passed since he'd seen her sweet face. Her expression melted into a timid smile with wide, bright eyes. "Lightning!" she called.

With energy they were both unaware they had, the two sprinted towards each other. Any doubts Lightning felt dissipated when Emily's arms wrapped around his neck. He nuzzled his head into her shoulder, cherishing her warmth. An immense sense of security came over him. In their embrace, there was nothing that could hurt either of them. They were home.

"I knew you'd come back," Emily whispered into his ear.

She finally pulled out of the embrace and held his head in both her hands. Lightning barked softly and licked her face. Emily laughed and playfully pushed him away. She then scratched behind his ear and kissed the top of his head.

Of course he came back. He always found his way home.

No matter how intimidating the bison herd may seem, make enough noise in the right places, and they scatter in chaos. Talon had never actually seen a bison herd in real life, but he liked to think Calico had just as much organization as a wild animal right about now.

Not even a passing squad of armed guards noticed him leaning against the rounded corner in the hallway among the panicked frenzy of fleeing technicians and scientists. He smiled to himself and glanced at Clint, who responded with a less timid smile than he was accustomed to. The kid finally seemed to be catching on. Or maybe he'd just learned how to act like he understood. Either one worked fine at this point. They'd done their job. Simply watching the commotion was payment enough.

Well, almost enough.

Bruce should have been finished loading the last of those smaller "Resource Collection" cylinders onto Talon's truck, despite Bruce's worries over what would happen if Calico discovered it. Talon really didn't understand why the man was so scared at this point. It was clear to anyone with half a functioning mind that Calico's plan had fallen apart. His power base had dissolved from under him. He would be out of his mind to try and hold out any longer, which he probably was and he probably would.

But it didn't matter. The market price for those cylinders would set Talon and Clint up for some extensive and well-deserved time off, even after the split with Bruce, which would also easily outmatch eighteen months of whatever salary Calico was giving him. Talon almost felt bad that Emily and her family weren't getting similar compensation, but he reminded himself of what he'd read that Mark earned at Clarion and felt relief at not having to split his reward any further.

But speaking of Emily…

He'd hoped to see the kid by now, or at least Penny, running through this side of the building looking for something else to sabotage or just trying to get away from Calico. But ever since Clint had detonated the charge on the west wall, there was no sign of them. Calico claimed that he'd pinpointed Emily's location somewhere in the west wing, but even if he wasn't bluffing, it didn't look like any of the remaining guards cared all that much. Plus, the smaller explosion in the main lab couldn't have been that bad. So where was she?

His mind raced to think of what kind of advantage Calico could possibly still have over them, but it only made him worry, and worrying sent the job off course. Besides, the dog probably found his way here by now.

He was about to settle for that when one of the people running through the hall caught his eye. A man whose clothes sharply contrasted those of the people around him ran around the corner, holding his hands in front of him as though they were binded. A few seconds later, Talon saw that they were. A second after that, he realized who the man was. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked around urgently. His eyes rested on one of the traditionally-dressed security guards, also running, to whom he ran towards.

"Help me, please!" he cried, feigning a panicked tone, Talon could tell. "Can you get me out of these."

The guard came to a stop, hesitated, then took a pair of keys off his belt and unlocked the man's handcuffs. One of the black-suited guards witnessed this and also stopped. "Hey!" he shouted, facing the other guard. "What do you think you're doing?"

The security guard looked perplexed that the other man even cared at this point and was about to continue running.

The black-suited guard grabbed his arm and drew his sidearm. "You're releasing one of our prisoners, you son of a―"

Talon was already behind him. In a flash, he'd snatched the pistol out of the guard's hand and, when the latter turned around, used it to strike him in the head, sending him onto the ground. Both of the other men stared at Talon in mild surprise for a couple moments. Talon merely tipped his hat, then nodded for the other guard to leave. He stepped towards the former prisoner. "Adam Hendrick?" he said.

Adam gave him an expression with more surprise this time. "Yes…" he replied warily.

"Looking for your daughter?"

"How do you…" he began. But he looked behind him and, this time, wore a very surprised expression. "Wait… Penny?!"

Talon was also surprised, perhaps not to the same extent, that the man only just now realized that no one was running with or behind him. Not the brightest, but useful all the same. He brought Adam's attention back on himself. "Listen up, partner," he said firmly. "You need my help, and I need your help."

That second part wasn't actually true, but what the hell? He'd give the poor bastard a hand. "How can you help?" he asked, swallowing back his new wave of regret.

"I can help you get your family out of here," he answered simply. "Don't ask me what part I'm playing in this. It gets way too technical. Just trust me."

Adam changed his expression to disbelief amidst his confusion. He could make a decent actor. "Trust a man I just met?"

"And the man who just saved your ass," Talon reminded him. "Now follow me. Clint."

Clint was already at his side. "Get the merchandise out of here and then come back for me," Talon ordered. "Gotta a few loose ends to tie up. Got it?"

Clint raised an eyebrow. "Do these loose ends have anything to do with a certain spot in your heart reserve for―"

Talon didn't let him finish. "The life threatening part is over kid. Now get going."

Clint clearly understood now that there was more to this job than what he'd been told, but fortunately knew well enough to obey. As he walked away, Talon took Adam by the shoulder and guided him down the opposite hall. "If Penny isn't here," Adam said to himself. "She and dad must be back at―"

"Take it easy, hondo," Talon said. "We'll get all your family back in one piece. Right now, we need to find your daughter and the dog."

Adam's eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks. "You know where they are?"

"I said, take it easy," Talon repeated.

The words were barely out of his mouth when a resounding bark echoed through the hall over the footsteps of the remaining personnel. Talon raised his eyebrows. Speak of the Devil. Adam impulsively ran off in that direction, and Talon resisted the urge to roll his eyes and followed.

Before he reached the second corner beyond which Adam had gone out of his sight, he heard the man shout, "Emily!"

A younger voice replied. "Daddy!"

By the time he arrived in the hallway, Adam was on his knees hugging the kid closely to him, lightly stroking her hair. The dog was standing just beyond them. Talon suppressed the obvious reminder that they couldn't linger and let them enjoy their moment. It was a touching reunion and all, but Calico would be getting desperate at this point, and when he got desperate, he was at his most unstable state.

Adam pulled back after over a minute and gazed at Emily, keeping both hands on her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, sweetie," he said somberly. "We never should have… we could have…"

Ironically, Emily found her words more easily than her father did. "It's okay," she said with a smile. "I had Lightning with me."

Adam's eyes fell on Lightning, and he made a face that said to Talon "Maybe I was wrong…" But maybe he was merely seeing things. Adam gently patted the dog on the head. "Good boy," he said, timidly.

Talon could speculate the details of this family's situation later. Right now, he just had to make sure they got out of here alive.

"Where's mom and grandpa?" Adam asked, looking around behind her.

Emily adopted a puzzled expression. "I thought they'd be with you."

"I thought they were with you," Adam countered, returning to a frenzied panic.

The girl's eyes dilated. "Well, then where could they…"

Her voice trailed off when her eyes crossed over Talon. Adam followed her gaze and proceeded to also gawk at the man. Talon sighed quietly and took a step forward, which was met with a dissuading growl from the dog. He stopped and stated, "I'm a friend of your mom's, kid. If you want to see her again, I suggest you do as I say. Understand?"

Emily eyed him cautiously and glanced at her father. Adam simply shrugged and got to his feet to face Talon. "Can you tell us where she is?" he asked.

Still with the stupid questions. Oh well. "I don't know that, but I have a good idea where both she and Calico might be."

At the mention of Calico, Adam put a hand protectively on Emily's shoulder and took a half step forward. "We don't want Calico, we just want Penny and her father," he clarified.

"I know," Talon responded. "You'll find her, but it'll require some teamwork. Shouldn't be too hard, should it?"

Adam grimaced, but nodded slowly. "No, not at all," he said. "What do we need to do?"

"Your daughter and Penny have sabotaged one of Calico's energy collection chambers," Talon explained. "If he's still as predictable as ever, and I can assure you, he is, he'll be trying to restore the balance to those cylinders. You'll probably find Penny and her father there. If you split up, you'll―"

"No!" Adam shouted suddenly. "We're not separating again! You didn't hear Calico. He doesn't need dad, he only wants revenge on us! He'll kill us on sight!"

"Trust me, Mr. Hendrick," Talon assured. "He'll put keeping his would-be empire afloat way ahead of any other objectives. Local emergency services are already on their way. You don't need to do anything other than get out of here."

Adam hesitantly glanced at Emily, then Lightning, then back to Talon, still unable to form any intelligible sentences. The kid took his hand and looked up at him. "Daddy," she said in a calming tone. "It'll be okay. I'll be okay. We'll just find mom and grandpa and be out of here."

Adam hesitated a moment longer before sighing. "Okay," he conceded. "But we'll only be apart for a short time, right?"

"Of course," Talon responded smoothly, with a spry smirk. "This is all you need to do."