Chapter One Hundred and Forty Seven

...

Ellie looked at the proposal, skim-reading through the contract, and trying to wrap her head around the designs that were included. Shaking her head, Ellie flipped back to the front of the contract to find the contact number, dialling the architect.

"Hello, AAA Construction, this is Curtis."

"Oh, good. Hi, Curt; it's Ellie. Do you have a minute to talk about the designs for the skyscraper? I can't wrap my head around it," Ellie said.

"Sure thing, Ellie. Let me just get Delilah; it should be in 3D," he said, calling out for his colleague. "Can you get contract 3HRM-2 displaying for Mrs. Morton? You'll need to go back to the drawing, Ellie."

"All right, I'm there. Oh, wow," Ellie said, her eyes wide as the picture grew before her eyes.

The building was no longer lines and curves on paper, but standing before her like a model made out of plastic and wire. Ellie wanted to reach out and touch it, but had no idea what that would do to Delilah, and didn't want to hurt the poor girl. Delilah's power never failed to amaze her.

"Which part needs explaining?" Curtis asked.

"I wanted to see the middle of it; the feature section," Ellie said, the side of the building splitting in half and opening to reveal the interior. "Oh, those plants are adorable."

"Thank you. Does it make more sense like that?" Curtis asked.

"It definitely does. I think a few changes can be made to floors twelve through to twenty; the sliding windows are nice, but not exactly secure. And I can't see a fire escape," Ellie said, frowning.

"The feature is the fire escape. It goes up the full fifty storeys and can turn into a slide."

"A slide? It's a way to escape danger, not a theme park."

"It can be both," Curtis said with a grin. "Okay, I'll change it to stairs. The waterfall will have to move so they don't get slippery."

"Thank you. And thank Delilah for this, it's very helpful. Can I take a photo before she closes it?"

"Yes, you'd best be quick," Curtis replied, seeing that Delilah was paling.

"Done, thank you. Can you put me through to my husband?"

"Sure thing, Ellie. Mr. McKinnon, Ellie's on the line for you," Curtis called.

Patrick grinned. "Thanks, Curt. Delilah, you need a cuppa, lass?" he asked, his grin slipping at her pale complexion.

"I'll get it for her, you talk to your wife," Curtis said.

"Ellie won't mind waiting. You sit down, lass; we'll look after you."

"Not a lass," Delilah muttered, her gravelly voice made harsher with her trembling.

"You'll always be young at heart, Delilah. Now, where's that knitted blanket you've been working on?"

Curtis returned with a cup of hot and strong tea, and Patrick left to get Delilah's blanket. When Delilah was settled and some colour had returned to her cheeks, Patrick went to answer his wife's call.

...

Josie glanced to ensure she was alone. Dialling a number, she waited impatiently for the call to connect. When it finally did, she gave her code number and waited for the next call to connect through.

"Another name already? This is the fourth this month," the agent said.

"I know that, and they're all important!" Josie snapped, not liking being questioned.

"Obviously. Who do you have this time?"

"Patricia Hooverman."

"Patricia... You mean Mooseketeer?"

Josie's jaw clenched. "Yes."

The agent was silent for a long moment. "This service is for villains, Jetstream, not your personal vendettas. If you won't take it seriously, then we won't take any more suggestions."

"Fine. I'll find someone else," Josie snapped, ending the call. It wasn't as satisfying as slamming a hand receiver down, and she was tempted to throw her phone at the ground just to see it smash into pieces.

Steve broke his phones all the time, so she didn't see why she couldn't break one lousy phone. Had she backed up her photos? Oh, and this phone was the only one with their lawyer's contact details. And the number for the Italian Ambassador; oh, and that pizza place in Rome.

Frustrated at her own logic, Josie flew up into the air and for a quick round the world trip. She needed some air to clear her head.

...

"Good morning, this is Detective Mia Jordan."

"Good morning, Detective. This is Ollie. Olivia," she said, her voice far quieter than Mia remembered from the day before.

"Hello, Ollie. How are you today?"

"I have a headache, actually. But that's not why I called," Ollie added.

Mia tried not to feel too hopeful about the reason why Ollie was calling, but smiled anyway. "Oh? Why did you call?"

Ollie blinked at Mia's warm tone. Was she being flirted with? Or was Mia being nice? It was her job to be nice, right? That was all this was.

"Um... I'm still wearing the power repressing cuff."

Mia's smile fell from her face immediately. "Oh, my God. I am so sorry. I'll... I have a meeting with the Chief in a few minutes, but... I can meet you after? It's not hurting, is it?"

"Oh. No, it's... well, it's weird. I've never worn one before. I woke up thinking it was the sugar high, and my mother was right, which... well... I'm okay. It can wait. Just... not too long. Please?"

"Of course. Will ten-thirty work for you?"

"I have a meeting at eleven; lunch noon?"

Mia winced. "I have a patrol at that time."

"Oh. I'm in meetings for the rest of the day. We're selling a new drug overseas. I'm a scientist, I mean. It's not anything illegal," Ollie hurried to add.

"I know," Mia said, wincing. She might have looked up Olivia Benson and found various articles about her award-winning contributions to science. She didn't want to admit that though, so continued, "What about after work? I'll definitely be free then."

"Umm... sure. Thank you."

"No problem. Do you know the Paper Lantern?" Mia asked; after going there with Fisher several times, she'd found the food was nice and since they had returning customer cards, she got cheaper meals every time.

"Yes. I can be there at seven?"

"Great; it's a date."

Ollie made a brief noise of agreement and hung up, her cheeks burning bright.

Fisher looked at Mia with a frown. "In all my years, I've never seen someone do what you just did and end up with a date for it."

Mia grinned. "Oh, hush, old man."

...

"Are you sure you're doing all right, Layla dear?" Frieda asked, trying not to sound too worried.

She hadn't actually left Layla alone since she'd moved in. Warren was usually there, or Honey, or anyone, really. But this time it was a whole week, and Frieda couldn't help but be worried. What if she overslept or missed the bus or needed to go out for groceries - unlikely, with her power, but that wasn't the point - or something else happened?

"I'm doing fine, Frieda. I want to hear more about your holiday. How's the Maldives?" Layla asked, grinning.

"Beautiful and expensive, as always; Babs is scandalising all the celebrities and rich people. I'm having an absolute blast," Frieda said with a laugh. "Oh, we saw one of your old teachers. Ms. Littera; she taught you English, didn't she? The dear looks far more relaxed now than she ever did at the school."

"I was going to ask if you'd left the hotel suite yet; Honey showed me pictures. It looks amazing," Layla admitted.

"I'll bring back a tonne of photos, don't you worry about that."

"Don't worry, all the risque photos are on my phone!" Babs called in the background, Frieda laughing again.

"Oh, stop it. We'll be banned from another restaurant and I like this one."

Babs snickered. "That's because the waiters flirt with you, dearest."

"They all flirt with me; they're thinking I'm here on a divorce holiday and wanting to be a sugar mama."

"Now who's going to get us kicked out of here?" Babs asked, drinking from her cocktail and wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh, I'll blame that on you either way, dearest," Frieda said.

"Can I talk to my mother? What's going on?" Honey asked, rolling her eyes.

"They're flirting. I'm a little traumatised. Here's Honey for you," Layla quipped, passing her phone over.

Honey snorted and took the phone. "Of course they're flirting. When do they stop?"

"That's hardly fair, Honey; I have to sleep sometime," Frieda said.

"I slept eight whole hours; I think I'm even more tired than I was before," Babs admitted, drinking the last of her cocktail before taking up the plate of finger food and eating happily.

Frieda was distracted by the sight of Babs licking her fingers and moaning between each bite, and hardly heard what Honey was saying on the other end of the line.

" - and then Super Spaceman came from outer space, kidnapped us all, and traded us to aliens for their secret penis-enlarging technology," Honey said brightly, grinning when Layla looked at her in confusion.

"Uh huh. That's nice, dear."

"Right. Bye, Mum. Enjoy your holiday. Oh, and leave the restaurant before you get banned," Honey said, raising her voice to ensure her words got through.

Frieda grinned. "No need to yell, dear. Let me know when Super Spaceman rescues you from the aliens, would you?" she asked, ending the call.

"What was that about?" Babs asked.

"Honey said we have to leave the restaurant. I'm quite inclined to agree with her," Frieda said, standing and taking Babs' hand.

"Oh. We're getting room service later, right? I'll need my energy."

"We both will," Frieda promised, leading Babs out of the restaurant and back to their hotel room.

...

"All right, what've we got today?" Craig asked, clapping his hands and rubbing them together.

"Sit your butt down and then we'll hand the food out," Lorcan said, rolling his eyes.

"Aw, but then I can't see it. What's with the baskets, anyway? First Frieda, then Ellie, now your Pepe. Was there a sale on baskets?" Craig asked.

"Mam bought them as presents for everyone. You were at the Welcome to Maxville party, weren't you?" Pat asked with a frown.

"Yes. I was also high on sugar; I don't remember much. Except for Pin the Paper Lantern on the Paper Lantern."

"That's not the name of the game, and you know it," Ry said, rolling his eyes and tugging on Craig's shirt.

Craig batted his hand away impatiently as Maleah opened the basket.

"All right, mine's on top," Najair said, reaching for one of the wrapped tarantulas.

"You can keep that junk, gross," Kiara said, wrinkling her nose.

"Pat, this is for you," Maleah said, kissing his cheek and setting a tub in front of him.

"Pepe didn't add any bugs to our food, did he?" Craig asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Nah. He's too proud about cooking people food to do that," Lorcan said with a grin.

"I'd do it," Najair said around his mouthful.

"That was not a food colour that I ever want to see again," Craig said, paling and sitting down.

"I don't want to know, dude. Just shut up and eat your food," Adam said, he and Ry holding onto Craig's shirt to keep him seated.

"I would if I had it!"

Everyone else thanked Maleah as their food was handed to them - a varying assortment of pastas and rice and vegetarian and carnivore with sauces and marinades - and then she finally handed Craig his container of food.

"What's this on top of the container?" Zach asked, peeling a post-it off and looking at it closely. His frown formed into a grin and he laughed aloud a moment later.

"What is it?" Ry asked, seeing a post-it on his own.

"Mine's Radioactive Man turning into Active Man after being bitten by a spider in lycra. The spider's got a little headband; it's so cute."

"I got Teenage Mutant Ninja Tadpoles; they're eating fungi pizza," Ry said, laughing.

The others all started looking at their containers for more than just food, giggling at the short images depicting frankly odd scenarios and supers.

"What's wrong, Cee? Did you not get a post-it?" Adam asked, seeing his friend with tears in his eyes.

Craig sniffled. "Pepe made me my own tater tots. I love your dad."

Lorcan grinned. "He is pretty awesome."

"Wait, say that again. I'm recording it and sending it to him. Pepe will be so happy for, like, the rest of the year," Najair said, patting his pockets frantically to find his phone. "Hold that thought, Lore."

Lorcan rolled his eyes, ate the final bite of his food, and shifted to his frog form.

"Aww, you suck."

Adam grinned. "Don't worry, I got it."

"Ha, awesome. Can you send it to me? Pepe's going to be ecstatic; Lorcan was always a stoic little shitbag when we were younger. He takes after Aleph in that way, apparently."

Lorcan jumped onto Najair's head, messing up his pink hair.

"Rude; I was just telling the truth."

Lorcan didn't move off Najair's head, even when they all left the cafeteria to walk around the school grounds.

...

Mia blinked, stared at Fisher, and opened and closed her mouth several times. Words failed her. Completely and utterly, for the first time in her life, she felt as though she simply could not say a damn thing.

"Your silence means you agree, right, kid?" Fisher asked.

Mia had enough presence of mind to shake her head. She licked her lips and tried to talk for a third time. "What?"

"Whoever you're meeting tonight, they're a super, right? You don't have your super cuff on you, you met with Olgestein and Bettendorf yesterday, and you'd never leave the cuff lying around. Those things are expensive and Chief would have your head; you're too smart to let him get it, kid," Fisher added, as though the barely-there compliment would be enough to make her agree to his insanity. "So use it against them to find out what Bettendorf and Peace are up to."

"Fisher, no. I... I don't even know where to start in response to that. Just, no."

"But you're going to the Paper Lantern, right? You can check on Peace while you're there. It's a twofer," Fisher added, wondering if his partner was the type to believe in something like fate so he could add that to convince her.

"I said no, Fisher. You don't use someone's power against them, who does that? Tyrone, maybe, but I didn't expect it from you. Jesus fucking Christ," Mia muttered.

Fisher opened his mouth, but Mia gave him a withering stare.

"No, Fisher. I'm leaving," she said, grabbing her bag and leaving the room before she did something she'd regret, like kick Fisher in his shin.

"I heard my name?" Tyrone asked, looking at Mia's retreating back and to Fisher.

"A kid she met has the power to make flowers pretty, but they're at Sky High," Fisher muttered.

"No one would send their kid to Sky High if their power was that lame," Tyrone snorted, rolling his eyes.

Fisher wanted to respond - see, Tyrone agreed with him! - but that would mean agreeing with Tyrone, which he wasn't about to start doing now. Maybe he shouldn't be so hard on Bettendorf; plenty of kids went to Sky High with their exorbitant fees when they could do less-than-heroic things. Right?

...

"You're sure it's all set up?" Honey asked, wringing her hands.

"Positive. Honey, you've gotta calm down; it's going to stress everyone else out. I promise, we're ready for them. I even put in those sound-proof rooms like you asked," Curtis said. "Do I need to call Ida for you?"

Honey shook her head and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. I will, honest. I just... I'll be able to breathe when they're all here."

Ellie hugged her. "I will too, Honey. I promise, they'll love it. And if they don't, my Paddy's taking full responsibility for it, and will make changes for free. You put it in the contract yourself, remember?"

Honey smiled, the action not reaching her eyes. "I remember. All right. I'm ready."

"Are you sure you've got to use the kids, Honey?" Curtis asked, hesitant but not wanting to leave without at least asking for a third time.

She nodded, firm and adamant. "This won't work with anyone else. It's a risk even with Connor."

"You couldn't stop me from going, even if you tried," Connor said, walking down from the elevators. "I'm not letting my son go out there to fight without me."

"He won't be the one you have to worry about," Honey said, biting her lip so she wouldn't say more.

"You know, I usually go into these sorts of things with knowledge of what I'm supposed to be doing," Connor said, arms folded over his chest.

"That didn't help before," Honey said.

Connor's lips thinned. "If that's the way this one's going to go, I'm certainly not letting my son go, Honey."

Honey bit her lip, shaking her head. She was pale but said determinedly, "It won't. Not this time. I promise. You have to let Ry go. He needs... he needs," she caught on the words and swallowed hard. "He... oh, shit," she said, collapsing.

Connor darted forward, catching her in his arms. He held Honey up while Ellie and Curtis rushed to drag over a lounge chair from the foyer. Helping her sit, Connor directed Ellie and Curtis to bring water and a cool cloth, both rushing to the communal kitchen.

"Honey, talk to me."

"You have to let Ry go, Connor - "

"Not that, Honey. I just want to make sure you're okay. You know the date?"

"I never remember that; that's why I have Sarah," Honey said with a brief smile.

"Okay, what about the day?"

"It's Thursday, I think? Again, not great on that one. Ask me something I'll know."

"Date Victor and I first met?"

"June twenty-sixth, 2007; it was supposed to be earlier, y'know, but your flight was cancelled and Victor left without waiting like I told him to."

Connor blinked. "What?"

Honey sighed. "He'd bought a first class ticket and thought it would be wasted, but - "

"Not that, Honey. What do you mean it was meant to be earlier? How much earlier?" Connor asked; he hadn't been on a flight in... well, years.

"1999, I think; the fashion wasn't great, but most of the 90s wasn't. You still had colour in your hair," Honey murmured, smiling as she glanced at his silver hair.

"Silver is a colour," he said, teasing and profoundly glad that Honey seemed more like herself.

"It was definitely near New Year's, though. There were signs advertising the New Year's Eve party at the hotel."

Ellie and Curtis returned with a glass of water and wet paper towels, fussing over Honey and ensuring she drank her water and cooled her neck and forehead.

Connor wanted to know more about that alternative history, even though he knew it couldn't have ever happened. It could have changed something to do with Elijah and Elliot, and he wouldn't wish that on Victor, even for the extra time together. He adored Elijah and Elliot and refused to think of a reality where they might not exist.

It wasn't until they were leaving - Ellie driving Honey's minivan to the school drop off point, with Curtis and Connor following to pick up their own children - that Connor realised Honey had distracted him from the impending fight.

...

Mia had spilled coffee on her favourite shirt and didn't have time to change between leaving her house and getting to the Paper Lantern on time. Her shirt was black, so the black coffee stain wasn't too obvious. She'd just have to hope that Olivia - Ollie - liked the smell of caffeine.

The Paper Lantern was full, which wasn't surprising for a Friday night, and despite her comments to Fisher earlier, Mia couldn't help but look around for Warren Peace. She wasn't entirely surprised not to see him, since he usually worked in the kitchen, but felt like she could report to Fisher that she'd done her duty for the night. Now she could concentrate on Ollie. Even though she'd said it was a date, it wasn't really a date. Unless it was. Then she was definitely going to date the hell out of the cute blonde. First, she had to get the cuff off the poor woman.

Mia went to the front desk and smiled. "Hi, Mei Ling."

Mei Ling looked at Mia warily. "You're not here to interview me again, are you?"

Mia shook her head. "No. I'd like a table. I have a date, well, I hope it's a date. It might not be, so hold off on the rice wine until I let you know."

Mei Ling laughed. "I think you'd want the rice wine either way."

"Good point. Now, I know you're busy, but is there a table available? I don't take up much room," Mia added, grinning.

"We have your booking, the table's reserved for you," Mei Ling said. "Lucky number eight."

"Oh, nice. Thanks," she said with a smile, thinking that Ollie must have booked the table for them.

That was a date-like thing, right? Mia thought. God, she just needed to ask Ollie when she arrived and then it would be clear if it was a date or not because then she'd know the damn answer.

"All right; I've got a date with a cute blonde, so you'll know when she comes in."

"Should I leave so you can go on your date?" Ollie asked behind her, Mia turning around abruptly.

She wanted to say something in response, but for the second time that day, she was rendered speechless.

Ollie was wearing a red strappy dress and had her hair up in a bun, gold earrings dangling on either side of her face.

"Are those DNA helix earrings?" Mia asked, feeling absolutely ridiculous that it was the first thing she said.

Ollie, however, smiled brightly and touched one of her earrings, the cuff around her wrist stark against the red clutch she was holding. "Yes. My friend bought them for me."

"You must have good friends," Mia said, grinning.

"I do," Ollie said with a shy smile. "I was joking before, about leaving. Unless... the blonde date isn't me?"

"No. I said I have a date with a cute blonde," Mia pointed out, adoring the blush on Ollie's cheeks. "It's definitely you. I mean, if you want it to be," she added quickly.

Ollie's shy smile turned into a broad grin. "I don't wear dresses for just anyone, Detective. I haven't been in a dress since I was a little boy, and certainly not one this fancy."

Mia smiled and offered her hand to Ollie. "I'm glad that I'm that someone, Olivia," she said, leading her to lucky table eight.

Mei Ling bit back her squeal of happiness at seeing these two women so in love right there, and hurried off to get the rice wine.

...

"Okay. I've got news. It's not good news, so sit down. I mean it," Honey said, nodding when a few people looked at her in confusion.

"Is it a tumour?" Craig asked, even as Jewel tugged him down onto her lap.

"Grant, stay powered on, please," Honey said, ignoring Craig's comment.

That, more than anything else, had everyone quieting and sitting on the training mats, looking up at Honey and waiting for the not-good-news.

"I found the organisation. The one with the super orphaned children. They're experimenting on the children. It's not good. Experimentation on children never is," Honey added, glancing at Zach when he looked ready to say something. "I know where they are, I know how to get past their security and wardens. I know how to get the children out and I know where they can go to be safe."

Silence reigned for five full seconds before sound exploded, questions and comments and confusion, but thankfully, no powers. Warren and Layla were both silent as their friends asked questions she couldn't possibly answer. After two full minutes and almost two hundred questions, Connor stepped forward to put a hand on Honey's shoulder and keep her steady.

"One question at a time! Act like adults or we'll treat you like children," Connor snapped, his voice authoritative and firm, everyone going quiet in response.

The group all looked to Warren and Layla as one, as though pulled by an invisible string.

Warren and Layla only had one question: "When do we leave?"

...

Larry was on a high. Becky was the best girlfriend ever and she'd given him a hand job in an empty classroom while the rest of the school was at Save the Citizen. It didn't even matter that Principal Powers had caught them and given them detention because Becky had spent detention making out with him. Larry didn't even care that other people in detention had booed and made puking noises; he had a girlfriend and they didn't, and that's all that mattered.

His mother was upset that he was dating Becky, not to mention the whole "Strongholds getting their heads out of their asses" thing, and made a point of bringing both up as often as she possibly could. His father just shook his head in disappointment and left the room when the subject was brought up. Tonight, Larry's detention had been added to the list of his apparent failures, and he had stormed out of the house to go do his damn job patrolling Westville. He'd even signed a contract with the Mayor of Westville, so he was getting paid, unlike Will and Magenta.

His mother didn't understand him, and she didn't even try! She just cared about their image, and about bragging to other family members; she didn't even care about his wants and needs and hopes and dreams. Larry really liked Becky, and he liked being a Hero, too. He didn't need the Strongholds' approval. He didn't need his parents' approval, either. He was an adult and he'd show them that he'd be a better Hero than all of the Strongholds put together!

Making his way to the bus stop, Larry didn't have to wait long for the next bus to Westville. He sat near the front, watching as suburbia changed to Westville's boutique strip with several high-end fancy clothes stores and jewellery designers. They were starting to close up for the night, which Westville's statistics showed was a high risk time for robberies. Pressing the button for the bus to stop, Larry got off the bus and walked to a nearby alley. Stepping into the darkness, he took his inhaler out of his pocket, breathed and puffed, then settled in to wait for the first robbery attempt.

...

"Welcome to Maxville's Evening News, I'm Tasha, and here are tonight's headlines. Three Maxville locals are feared dead as their missing persons cases go cold with no new leads or information. The Mayor of Maxville is in damage control mode after meeting with Jetstream at a local hotel for what looked to be a sexual rendezvous. Neighbouring town Westville was saved from a crime syndicate by none other than Earthstone," Tasha said.

Will stared at the screen, slack jawed, and for once it wasn't over Tasha. Earthstone had stopped a crime ring?! In Westville?! He forced himself to stay and watch the news for more information. He would then call Earthstone and calmly ask him what happened.

"For those wondering what happened with Earthstone's magnificent takedown of this awful crime ring, we have an interview with none other than Earthstone himself," Tasha said with a bright smile.

Earthstone's larger than life image filled the screen, his gravelly voice describing his work to takedown the crime ring. "I saw a car flying towards a shopfront this evening so I powered up to catch them before they could damage the store. Statistics show Westville has a higher crime rate around this time."

What statistics? No one had given him statistics! Were they brand new? He's certainly never heard of them before.

"They're publicly available through the Super Bureau of Statistics, and date all the way back to the 1800s. I'm a dedicated Hero and wanted to know as much about my town as possible," Earthstone added. "Back to the crime ring: I stopped the car from damaging the store and carried it over to the police station to hand the potential thieves in to the authorities. It was discovered that they were part of the Red Diamond gang, who have been flying stolen cars into storefronts and stealing as much jewellery as they can carry over the last year."

"The Chief of Police stated that the capture and arrest of the first four led to their chop shop being raided and another twenty citizens being arrested," Tasha said with a bright smile. "Congratulations to Earthstone for his hard work in protecting Westville from these nefarious villains. There is even talk that the Mayor will be awarding Earthstone a medal for his hard work and bravery."

Will crushed the TV remote control in his hand. Larry was getting a medal? All he'd done was pick up a lousy car!

Dropping the remote pieces on his lap, Will unlocked his phone and scrolled to Larry's contact number, pressing the call option and cracking his screen. Ignoring the damage, Will listened to the ring tone as he waited for the call to connect.

"Hello. The person you are trying to call is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone or hang up now."

Will clenched his jaw and phone at the same time, the phone breaking into pieces along with the remote control on his lap. Wincing at the mess that had gathered, Will brushed it off his jeans and went to get a dustpan and brush before his mother found out. There was more than enough in the joint Stronghold bank account to buy a new phone, too. His mother never checked the statement until the end of the month, so she wouldn't even know until it was too late to return.

Steve made his way out of the Secret Sanctum, running his fingers through his greasy hair. He'd finally found the switch to get out of the sanctum - and beaten both Will's top score on the Xbox as well as his wife's score on the pinball machine - and was looking forward to having a shower. After he watched the news, of course.

Seeing that the TV was already on - he was late for the start of Maxville's Evening News, since Tasha was already on the screen and halfway through some sort of segment about people going missing from Maxville - Steve hurried to sit down, wincing when he heard a crunch beneath his ass.

"Dad!" Will said, eyes wide as he walked into the lounge room, seeing the mess Steve was trying to clean quickly, looking tired and old with his beard coming through in patches.

"Hello, son. Get a new remote from the drawer, would you? And the dustpan... Ah, you've already got it. Great. Quick, before your mother finds out."

Will thought quickly even as he held the dustpan and brush out to his father. "My phone was next to the remote. Did you break that, too?"

Steve looked at the mess and determined that whatever was left of the phone couldn't be saved, swearing under his breath.

"And next up on the news: the Mayor of Maxville was caught naked in a hotel room with none other than Jetstream. What will this mean for the world's greatest super couple?" Tasha asked brightly.

Steve stopped cleaning the mess and looked at the TV with a frown. "What?"

Will hurried to clean the last of the mess before his father could realise that sitting on a phone didn't break it into a million pieces - they'd both already done that twice and knew what it should look like - and replaced the brush in his father's hand with the remote control. "Mum said it was a huge... uh, misunderstanding. She was trying to go to some financial meeting and the Mayor was waiting for... I think it was his wife? I don't really know more than that."

"Boys, I'm home!" Josie called from the front door, hanging her purse and keys on their respective hooks, and walking into the lounge room where she could hear the TV playing. "Will, there's groceries in the... Oh, hello, dear. I'm glad you finally found the switch for the stairs in the Secret Sanctum. Maybe next time you'll take deodorant with you?" she suggested, wincing at the smell permeating from her husband.

"The Mayor couldn't be contacted for comment, but Jetstream stated it was a misunderstanding and has no further comments. Is she protesting too much or not enough? And considering no one has seen the Commander in several days, it could be a sign of the strain on their marriage. Being active supers takes a toll on everyday supers, after all, so it must be even worse when you're two of the greatest superheroes in the world," Tasha added with a hint of pity in her voice.

Steve looked around the room as a commercial started playing, his eyes red and bloodshot from his time in the Secret Sanctum, and frowned when he saw that Josie and Will were both staring at him. "I'm going to have a shower. Good night."

"It's ten in the morning, Dad," Will said.

Steve didn't reply and headed upstairs.

...

End of the hundred and forty-seventh chapter.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the updates.

Happy new year!