Part 5 - Blood of the King

Chapter 76 - Legion

Charlotte Morales-Stacy laughed at a joke her best friend, Rachel, had just told. She was trying to ignore a danger her spider sense told her was close behind, but she knew all too well what it was and had discovered that ignoring it until it attacked was the best tactic. She felt a hand land on her shoulder and she was pulled around to face it.

"'Sup Stacy!"

This was an insult that hit Charlotte twice. In general, it had become a nickname for someone thought to be delusional. For Charlotte, it was her dead mother's surname. She was ashamed of her family's past, as anyone in her position would be.

"Oh hi, Flash. I couldn't see you through your ego."

There were some laughs from Flash's friends. Rachel put a hand between her friend and her tormentor.

"Leave it, Charlotte."

Charlotte knew Rachel was serious whenever she called her by her full name; usually she just called her 'Charlo', and Charlotte called her Rache. Anyone would have thought that by now, at nineteen years old, she would have learnt that it was better to do what her best friend was suggesting and walking away. But Charlotte had a thing for standing her ground and she pushed Rachel's hand away.

"How's mummy doing? Still sleeping with the devil?" Taunted Flash.

Low blow.

"The devil's dead and he can't exactly go back to Hell, right? What about your mum; still with that greasy old cab driver or did she go back to being a pornstar?"

"You'll pay for that."

"Oh look at me! I'm Flash! I think I'm so big and strong but I run screaming like a baby when Mickey Mouse comes on screen!"

Charlotte dodged the fist that came for her with ease before swinging her leg round and sweeping Flash off his feet. The bystanders began chanting:

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

It was the first time the two had physically become violent and clearly everyone had been waiting for it. Flash groaned as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head. Rachel tried to restrain Charlotte but she slipped from her grasp. She watched as Charlotte dragged Flash over to a locker and slammed his head into it, rage burning in her eyes as the bully cried out in pain and collapsed with blood running from his nose. Suddenly, there was a shout and Charlotte sighed, knowing it was the head of school security.

"Enough! Both of you, my office now!"

Flash seemed to be getting treated nicer than Charlotte since he came off worse.

"Miss Morales, I would have thought you would know better. Your father was much better behaved when he was here." Said the officer sternly, handing Flash another tissue for his nose.

Charlotte chose to stay silent.

"You could have seriously hurt him. You should be more responsible with strength like yours. 'With great power comes..."

"Great responsibility'. Yeah, I've heard it since I was two, and probably before then."

"Clearly the message didn't sink in. I'm sending you..."

The phone on the officer's desk started ringing. He picked it up.

"Officer Salas, head of security."

There was some talking from the other side.

"Yes she's here. She was in a fight."

More talking, for longer. It was probably the headmistress to say she was getting expelled. No...the officer's face changed to an expression of shock and concern.

"I'll bring her over immediately." The phone was put down. "You're coming with me. Stay here, Flash."

Charlotte was surprised to see her younger brother, Max, sitting outside the headmistress' office. Salas put his head round the door to say Charlotte was there before leaving the siblings alone.

"So, I hear you kicked Flash's butt?" Said Max with a grin.

"News travels quickly."

"Welcome to Visions Academy!"

"Yeah. I've been here longer than you. Any idea what this is about? I thought I was getting expelled."

"Maybe they're expelling us both?"

"I don't think so. Your pranks are harmless. Even the teachers like you for them."

Max was fifteen and he was respected all around the school for being one of the greatest pranksters. Unfortunately he had never pulled one off on his sister; her spider sense was too acute for that.

"Really? I thought they hated having me in their classes. Guess I'll have to try harder."

The headmistress poked her head around the door and beckoned for them both to come in. As they sat, Charlotte noted she seemed quite disturbed. Max had picked up on it as well: his grin had disappeared and he looked puzzled.

"Can I get either of you anything? Chocolate? Juice?"

That was usually teacher code for 'I'm going to tell you something bad' or 'this is going to take a while'. Neither wanted anything so she just twiddled her thumbs.

"I am aware you were in a fight, Charlotte, but this has nothing to do with that. Your father has been shot."

Charlotte's expression went even more blank, but Max looked mortified.

"Is...is...what happened?" He spluttered.

"As I said, he was shot. It happened less than half-an-hour ago."

"Is he alive?"

"Yes. At least, he was the last time I heard."

"Where? Why? How? Who?"

"I don't know all the details. All I know is someone has been sent to take you home."

"Who?"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

It opened and a woman, perhaps in her forties, walked in. Charlotte recognised her, but couldn't quite put a name to the face.

"Teresa Chelsea. That's my ID in case you need to see it, there's my contact card in case you're paranoid, now let's go you two before someone else pulls a trigger."

"Is that likely?" Asked Max.

"Considering you two are now the only active people in the multiverse with spider powers, quite probably. Do I need to sign any paperwork?"

The headmistress pushed a clipboard to Teresa who filled out the form in under twenty seconds.

"Anything else?"

"That's all. Please keep them both safe."

"I'll try."

Teresa was extremely cautious as they left the building. Max noticed she had her hand under her shirt, and he could just make out the outline of a gun.

"What happened? Were you there?" Asked Charlotte, her curiosity now taking over her fear of losing her other parent.

"I'll tell you once we're out of here. You! Step away from the car."

A man had been checking a car out: a heavily modified Range Rover with blacked out windows and all sorts of other things that made it look like it could withstand a nuclear blast if it needed.

"Sorry. I was just looking."

As Teresa came closer to the vehicle, its warning lights flashed to show it was unlocked.

"Get in."

As the spider kids climbed in the back, she gave the car a good look-over. Satisfied nobody had rigged it to explode while she was gone, she sat in the driver's seat and drove off, heading for the kids' house.

"You were gonna tell us what happened." Max pressed.

"Some guy with a sniper rifle in a skyscraper. If HQ start making us all wear bulletproof suits after this, I'll puke."

"You work with dad?"

"Of course. Your sister clearly remembers me. I was at your mother's funeral as well."

"So you work for the Legion? Dad never talks about it."

"Yes, I work for the Ethereal Legion. Oh fuck this traffic."

Teresa pressed a button on the dashboard and put her foot on the accelerator. A siren blared and the cars moved aside.

"What's the rush?"

"Bullet proof glass doesn't protect you from a rocket launcher, Max."

"Rocket launcher? You just said sniper rifle."

"Things are on edge right now. We're not entirely sure what's going on. Anything is possible. If you see something strange, tell me. We'll keep talking when we're back at your house."

Teresa pulled up sharply in front of the spider kids' house. She took a quick look around then beckoned for them to get out, unlocking the front door with a spare key she pulled out of seemingly nowhere. When they were inside, she locked it again.

"ELIS, activate protocol AMM-1-A."

The house windows became darker and the curtains closed themselves. Teresa sat down at the dining room table and flipped open a laptop.

"You two go and do something for a few minutes. I need to check in with HQ."

"OK."

The spiders closed the door behind them and went upstairs. Max pulled out his phone, looking quite amused.

"Want to eavesdrop?"

Charlotte grinned.

"Dad will kill you if he finds out you've got one of those microphone things. Is it you who's been putting them in the staff room?"

"Maybe?"

Max pressed a button on his phone and turned the volume up.

"...ELB checking in. Assets SPI-1 and SPI-2 are secure. Am I the last one?"

"You are." Said a male voice.

"That's Edward." Charlotte whispered to her brother.

"How do you know?"

"Shh."

"...is he doing?"

"The last I heard, he's stable and conscious. Keeps asking after his kids." Said another male voice.

"If anyone talks to him, they can tell him they're safe."

"Good. Sidenote: Big Brother says Orbiters One through Ten are in position."

"I'll check in with them in a minute. Any ideas about our shooter?"

"Maybe. We have reports of a school shooting. Police are responding." Replied Edward.

"Where? The kids' school?"

"Looks like it."

Max and Charlotte exchanged looks of horror. Max knew exactly what Charlotte was about to do, and knew she had their mother's stubbornness so there was little point trying to talk her down.

"I don't know what you can do about it." He said.

"I have to try something, or it won't just be Dad who's been shot."

She disappeared into her bedroom and re-appeared a minute later wearing a suit slightly similar to their mother's. However, it had some key differences: namely the purple-red colour that covered most of it instead of magenta, a lot less black although there was still some, and the teal eyes instead of white.

"Teresa is gonna lose it."

"She doesn't have to know."

Max was left alone, listening to Teresa speaking with whoever it was. He felt nauseous, and though he hated to admit it, he was glad Charlotte was going to help their friends.

Charlotte reached Visions Academy in under five minutes. The first responders from the police were just arriving. She sprinted through the front door into the enormous entrance hall, following her spider sense's directions along a corridor. Soon she heard a gunshot and pushed herself to run even faster. Finally she spotted the shooter kicking a classroom door open.

"Oi!"

She didn't stop running, just jumped up and planted her foot in the side of their head. As they fell, she grabbed them by the throat and slammed their head off the door frame again and again until blood poured from a gash. Finally, she dropped their limp form hoping she hadn't killed them, although half-hoping she had. She peered into the classroom to check nobody had been hurt; the gunshot must have been the lock being blown out by the state of the door. A realisation struck her: she would have been in this classroom if she hadn't gone home. The squeaking of footsteps signalled the arrival of the security officers as well as the police. She decided it was time to leave and let the professionals handle it.

Teresa glared at Charlotte. Max stood awkwardly at the side while the three people on the call watched; Edward and the woman tried to hide their amusement.

"You realise you could have been killed? What would your father say to that?"

"He'd probably say 'good job'. Talking of him, are we going to visit at any point since he's stable and conscious?"

"What were you doing eavesdropping, anyway?"

"It was my idea." Admitted Max.

Teresa groaned, turning back to the laptop and burying her face in her hands.

"This is why I'm never having kids."

Edward and the woman laughed, although the third man watched steely-eyed.

"Miss Morales. You and your brother need to follow Teresa's instructions. She is trying to keep you safe in line with procedure AMM-1. We don't need an AMM-2 or an ACM-1."

"That's gibberish to them, Robert. And don't try explaining. Miles is still alive; we don't have an AMM-1-F." Said Edward.

"What are all these procedures and stuff? I mean...Dad was just another Legion worker. Why are there all these really specific protocols for him?" Asked Charlotte.

She had always been the more curious of the siblings.

"Here come the questions. Great job." Grumbled Teresa.

"I'll explain everything to you both someday. Or your father might, his choice." Edward promised.

"Maybe we should explain AMM-1 to them? If they knew what was going to happen, they might be able to handle it better." The woman suggested.

"I agree with Lisa. I'll hang up and do some explaining."

"Leave out -F." Edward instructed.

"That's my plan. I'll check in again later."

Teresa hung up the call.

"Sometimes there's questions you shouldn't ask."

"You can answer this one, so…" Charlotte pressed.

"Sit down."

The spiders took seats on the other side of the table and looked at Teresa expectantly. She clicked her tongue thoughtfully, trying to choose the right words.

"Procedure AMM-1 is to be followed in the event your father is attacked. The very first step is to get you two to a safe place."

"I didn't even know the house had automatic curtains. Next time Dad asks me to shut them all, I'm just doing that." Said Max with a grin.

"Good luck with that. ELIS cross-checks everything. The house won't go into lockdown unless there's a valid reason for it."

"So we're SPI-1 and SPI-2?" Asked Charlotte, making a connection.

"Yes. Your next question is going to be 'why', so let me tell you. How much do they teach you about the Imperial Civil War at school?"

"There's an entire unit in history." Said Charlotte.

"I don't take history, even though I liked it. Too many essays, though." Said Max.

"Then you will know about the battle leading up to Lucifer's death?"

"Yeah. The Palace Siege."

"Where did that name come from? It wasn't a siege. A siege is what the Ottomans did to Vienna in the 1700s."

"'Then the Winged Hussars arrived.'" Max added.

"Something like that. My point is, during that fight the population of spider people was knocked from somewhere in the range of thirty to forty down to about five, including your parents. The other three only survived because, like me, they were too scared to fight. Nowadays they're retired or dead from old age."

"Mum and Dad were too scared to fight?" Enquired Charlotte.

"No. Your father went to retrieve the only person who could allow us to defeat Lucifer. Your mother was about to be killed when he arrived. Anyway, enough of that. My point is there's only three active spider people left in the multiverse: your father and you two."

"So, we have to be protected."

"Exactly. That's the first step of AMM-1. After that, I have to check in with the Legion to say you're secure."

"Why you?"

"Because your father and I have been friends for a lot of years. Twenty-five, or there about. He's known your godfather, Edward Melbourne, for longer," She nodded at Charlotte, "But I'm the only 'good guy' who get's the title of having kicked your mother's ass which is no mean feat. Twice, in fact, although people say the second time is debatable. Edward may have Venom, but I could beat him as well."

"I've noticed they leave Mum out of the textbooks apart from the odd mention." Said Charlotte.

"The only knowledge of the things she did is passed down from generation to generation. Eventually it will be forgotten, or become a myth."

"Why?" Pressed Max.

"Remember I said there are questions you shouldn't ask?"

"Sorry."

"Back to AMM-1. If nothing else happens in twenty-four hours, you two will be allowed to get back to your lives. Until then, you have to stay in the house with me. That means get used to my sassy attitude and short temper."

"Oh great..." Charlotte breathed.

The twenty-four hours went by surprisingly quickly. Charlotte spent a lot of it talking to Rachel over the phone, who was freaking out about what had happened at school, along with her friend's father being shot. When it finally ended, the siblings persuaded Teresa to take them to see their father in hospital. Miles didn't look in much pain when they arrived, although his shoulder was covered in bandages. He looked up from a futuristic iPad he was reading from and smiled as his kids entered.

"Hey Dad!" Said Max with a grin and clenching his hand.

Miles twisted himself and gave him a fist bump.

"I hear you were quite the trouble to keep an eye on." He said, glancing at Charlotte.

She was smiling, but he could tell something wasn't right.

"Charlotte stopped a school shooting." Teresa reported.

"So I see."

"So, you've read the report? I'll wait outside. Give me a shout if you need rescued."

"Will do."

When the former commander had closed the door, Max pulled a chair up and sat down.

"You know everything that happened?"

"I know everything that happens in general." Miles answered with a chuckle. "We all love your pranks, Max. But eavesdropping might be a step too far. Especially when the Ethereal Legion is concerned."

"Why? What's the Legion hiding?" Asked Charlotte.

"Every military organisation is hiding something. It's best not to find these things out or you might get hurt."

"Like hiding what really happened to Mum?"

Max shot Charlotte a look.

"Dad's been shot and you're pestering him about that?"

"Maybe it's time Dad told us why the Legion really has protocols for specifically him being shot."

"Teresa explained that, according to the report." Miles replied.

"But that can't be the whole reason. Why are spider people so important?"

"Charlotte, can we discuss this another time?"

"No. I want to know how Mum really died. It wasn't a heart attack; she would have died shortly after not spent days on end in bed."

"You know, you remind me of her sometimes. And not always in a good way."

"Give it a break, Charlo. Will you be OK, Dad?" Said Max.

"I've been hit worse than this. I'll be good in a couple of days. What about you?"

"Kinda freaked out. I mean...you get shot then there's a shooting at school? That can't be a coincidence."

"I agree. And the shooting was organised: they used a P90, not your standard AK. But that's for the Legion to investigate. We're a family and it takes more than bullets to hurt us. Right?" He looked at Charlotte as he said this.

She sighed.

"Yeah...family."

Miles was released from hospital a couple of days later. Normally a bullet wound would take a lot longer to heal, but being a spider person had its perks. Max and Charlotte had gone back to school where the regular three security officers had been bolstered with ten Ethereal Legion soldiers. Miles sat down in front of Teresa, Edward, Lisa and Robert in the Ethereal Legion headquarters.

"Since it's the first time it's been used, did anyone find any problems with AMM-1?" He asked, tapping the screen of his iPad.

"Other than your daughter's questions, no." Answered Teresa.

"She takes after her mother with that. She's convinced the Legion is hiding something."

"Well, we are. Many somethings." Said Lisa.

"Robert, did the O5 report anything suspicious?"

"Nothing. This incident was not aimed at the Foundation branch."

"Then what are we thinking? Was this an attack on the Legion, my family or spider people in general?"

Edward shook his head.

"We can't be certain at the moment. Our primary suspect died of a concussion. I find it being an attack on the Legion unlikely. Your identity as Senior Director is kept to level fours at the lowest."

"So they were gunning for my family, or spider people in general. Why?"

"Your over-abundant will to protect people." Concluded Robert. "Take care of the spider people and the worlds are left to be run by a bunch of power hungry fools."

"If you mean the O5, I couldn't agree more." Said Teresa.

"I don't think the sniper was a professional." Said Lisa. "They hit your left shoulder, clearly gunning for your heart. Any trained professional would have gone for the head, or managed to score a hit on your heart itself or your lungs at least."

"A crazy amateur." Agreed Edward.

"But where did they get their weapons? A P90 is military issue. We don't know the model of sniper rifle, but it could have been military as well." Miles pointed out.

"We have an ID: Carolus Lucifer Rex." Said Teresa, tapping her own iPad screen causing an image of a man to appear on a screen behind Miles.

"Former Empire supporter?" Lisa suggested.

"What sort of a name is Carolus Rex?" Commented Robert.

"From what I gather from my son's music, I believe Carolus Rex was a name given to a Swedish king." Said Miles.

"Was the shooter Swedish?" Asked Edward.

"No. Philippine." Said Teresa.

"Why the Swedish name?"

"I think Carolus Rex was really young when he took the Swedish throne. All the European powers tried to take advantage of his young age and were given the middle finger." Miles commented.

"Could be fighting to restore the Empire, which explains the middle name. Thinks he should rule the multiverse." Robert concluded.

"Maybe we're looking at this all wrong. Names are often given by parents. Is there any evidence he changed his?" Suggested Edward.

"None that has been found." Answered Teresa.

"Then maybe his parents were Empire supporters and thought he was destined to restore it?"

"Over my dead body." Miles joked.

"Probably the idea. Shall we forget his motives for now and look at the actual incident again?" Asked Lisa.

"There was nothing anomalous with this case. It was an assassination attempt. I think it should be declared 'Foundation' level." Said Robert.

"It certainly wasn't 'Stacy'. A P90 doesn't threaten the multiverse." Agreed Teresa.

"All in favour of logging this as a 'Foundation' level event? All of us, good. ELIS, declare report R-1315 as level 'Foundation' and hand off investigations to security." Miles finished.

"Operation complete."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- SCP Foundation (sort of...you'll see)

Note

Welcome to part five! It's taken quite a while to get this one put together, but I'm really pleased with how it came out. There are thirty-five chapters which makes it the longest part, so stick around because this one gets crazy!