Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Three
...
Sport definitely wasn't waiting for Ammie to come down to the bakery, he was just checking that the security system was still installed and working properly. All of the lights in the security room said it was, but it was always better to check these sorts of things. If he just so happened to run into Ammie while he was down here for the eighth time, then so be it.
"Hello, Mr. Sport."
"Hey, Indigo. How are you feeling this afternoon?" Sport asked, smiling at her.
"Getting used to it; I've almost figured out the whole building," Indigo said, pleased and smiling, even as she held her cane and followed the raised pattern on the floor to stand near Sport. "Now, if only someone labelled the hot and cold water taps in the shower, I'd be much better."
Sport frowned. "They're not labelled?"
"Not in a way that I can recognise. I figured it out in the end, but I was freezing for a good three minutes and terrified of burning myself."
"That's not right. I'll call Hourglass and see if she knows of a voice activated tap."
"It doesn't need to be voice activated. It's all right, really. I don't want to cause any trouble," Indigo said quickly, obviously thinking of the orphanage. "I've got it set up now, and as long as no one goes in my apartment and touches my things, I can live with it."
"I'm calling Hourglass and we're getting a proper tap installed in your shower, Indigo. You shouldn't be forced to live with something when there are alternatives available that are better suited to you. Think of it like this: if someone needs glasses, they go out and get their eyes tested, get glasses made just for them, and that's all right, isn't it?"
"I... suppose?" Indigo said in confusion.
"Right, they need glasses, and you need a shower with taps you can use. I see no difference between the needs."
Indigo's lips twitched. "I don't, either." She paused for a moment, then smiled. "That was a joke."
Sport laughed. "I got it. You'll let me call Hourglass, then?"
"All right, Mr. Sport."
"Thank you. Come on, I'll show you the security office."
"Look forward to seeing it."
Sport laughed again and took Indigo's offered arm to lead her to the security office. "You've got one hell of a sense of humour, Indigo."
"Thanks, Mr. Sport."
...
Frieda had had enough of a difficult time seeing the newest children in the Sanctuary building, and even though Layla was hurt, some traitorous part of her was too terrified to face the children again. She had fled the party soon after the children's arrival, and ensured the scientists' were dead. Even now, almost a week later, Frieda still wasn't entirely sure how she'd made it home alive. She'd spent the rest of the night shaking and wishing she had any other power than her own.
Honey had kept her updated on Layla's condition, so Frieda told herself that it was enough to know that she was alive, recovering, and safe. She didn't need to be at the Sanctuary building with everyone else crowding around Layla and Warren while they were trying to recover, and for five days, she forced herself to believe it was true. She'd sent flowers and a card, a small drop to combat against the wave of guilt she felt. Layla - her daughter for the last year - was hurt and in pain, and she couldn't bring herself to go near the building and the children within it.
Frieda caught herself trembling at the thought of some of the secrets she'd seen, her hands shaking physically enough that she had to set her knitting aside. Knitting was an attempt to convince herself she needed to make Christmas presents, and therefore couldn't go to see Layla. It was also a poor attempt to keep busy so she wouldn't be able to think about everything she'd seen. Knitting was mindless and distracting enough that the technique usually worked - strangers on the street, cashiers at the shops, actors and actresses on TV - they were easy to ignore or forget with enough stitches. This time, however, she found her mind drifting back to the children's secrets and she would inevitably falter, dropping a stitch. Frieda had dropped more stitches in the past two days than she had in the last two years.
A knock at the door startled Frieda and she set aside her knitting to go to the front. Looking through the peephole, she was surprised to see Babel. She opened the door before Babel could knock again. "Babs? Are you all right?"
Babel let out an audible sigh of relief. "I should be asking you that. I haven't heard from you since you left me at the party on Saturday. I was worried you'd fallen and hurt yourself," she admitted, looking Frieda over to ensure she really was all right.
Remembering how Babel's late husband Bernard had died and not been found for days, Frieda winced. "Sorry, dear. I think I set my phone aside and haven't looked at it since. It's on silent, so I'll have to hunt for it."
Babel gave a brief smile. "I imagine you'll be concerned when you do find your phone again. I'm not the only one who's messaged or called. Please ignore my last ten or so messages."
"Unlikely, dear. Here, come in. Are you having lunch or just driving by?" Frieda asked, stepping back so Babel could walk in.
Babel squeezed Frieda's hand as she passed, kissing her cheek. "I wasn't sure what I'd be arriving to find, so I took the afternoon off, just in case. I think Delattre is having a celebration."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to take the afternoon off. I'm fine, really."
Babel raised an eyebrow at Frieda's tone. "You're lying to me, dearest. I'd be upset, but it truly sounds like you're lying to yourself, too. What's wrong?"
Frieda bit back a dismissive response. If she was lying by saying she was 'fine' then she doubted it would be any different if she tried to state nothing was wrong. She sighed and ran her hands over her face. "I haven't seen Layla since she left for France."
Babel blinked. "But... but she's been back for almost a week. Ida said she and Warren almost died."
"I know. I know, I'm an awful mother."
"I never said that, dearest. What's kept you away? Does it have anything to do with why you left me stranded at the Sanctuary?"
Frieda winced and nodded. "The children... their secrets were too much. They... " she trailed off and shook her head. "I can't go back while they're there."
"Ever?" Babel asked curiously, her head tilted.
Frieda opened and closed her mouth, unsure how to respond. "Maybe?"
Babs took a moment to translate Frieda's response - both everything she said and didn't say. "What if I go with you to protect you?"
Relief flooded Frieda so abruptly that she had to take a moment just to feel it completely. "How do you always know exactly what to say?"
Babs smiled. "Just lucky, I suppose. Do you need to get ready or should we go while you're still feeling brave?"
Frieda wasn't sure that she felt brave, but she inhaled and exhaled, then nodded firmly. "I'll get changed and try to find my phone."
"I'll look, too," Babs offered, squeezing Frieda's hand.
"Thank you, dearest," Frieda said, standing on her toes to kiss Babs firmly. "I'll be right down."
Babel watched as Frieda headed up the stairs, hoping that Frieda really would be all right with their trip to the Sanctuary building. From what Frieda had explained, her power didn't work on people a second time, but Babs doubted that the memories would be pleasant. Even memories of her own job could be exhausting at times, so she had no doubt that whatever those children had gone through - and therefore, what Frieda had seen in their heads - would be utterly debilitating.
Sighing softly, and hoping that they could get through the building without meeting many children before they even made it to Layla and Warren on the higher floors, Babs set her bag down and began to hunt for Frieda's phone.
...
Principal Powers had a brilliant idea to combat the divide between Heroes and Hero Support. It was unlikely that Larry was the only one who thought Hero Support were beneath Heroes in some way, and she was determined that the anti-bullying initiative wasn't the only way to help combat that awful way of thinking. The PTA were all too willing to agree to her plans, especially without Jetstream in attendance, and though there was some scepticism from her staff, Linda knew they'd come around in the end.
She wouldn't present it to the children this way, of course; the less they were told about how to think, the less they would rebel. She just needed to implement the strategy as one to further promote unity between the students, and Linda had the perfect way to do it: a field trip.
Maxville's museum was holding an exhibition called Supers Through the Ages which would be a good way to start the Heroes and Hero Support in a collaborative project. Pairing them together and getting them to answer questions based on the exhibition would see how well they worked together. She would ensure that half of the questions were answered by each person on the team so the Heroes wouldn't abuse the good nature of the Hero Supporters.
Linda just needed to get the students' parents and guardians to agree to a trip and pay towards the bus fuel and food for such an outing.
...
"You ready, Craig?" Adam asked, looking at his best friend with a frown.
"Yeah, 'course I am! I'm going to kick their asses and everyone else's asses, too. You, me, everybody!"
"Rush Hour 3, really?"
Craig frowned. "I thought it was Rush Hour 2?"
"Nah, man, Rush Hour 2 is the one with the Snoopy reference."
"Ohh. Shit, I need to rewatch those. Hey, you think Jackie Chan has a power like Ry?"
Adam considered it for a moment, then shrugged. "No idea, man."
"Spattle, Forge: villains or heroes, and who do you choose?" Boomer called from his chair high above them.
"We'll go heroes, Coach," Craig called eagerly.
"We choose Celia and Celine," Adam added.
At four-foot nothing, twins Celia and Celine were used to being underestimated, and they both used that to their advantage. Boomer still remembered the young girls' Power Placements far too well. He'd called Celia up first, just like he'd called little Larry: with a sneer and thinly veiled contempt. Celine had joined her, to his surprise. Both girls had been too nervous to say much in front of a large group of their peers, but Coach Boomer had let Celia tug on his sleeve so she could quietly tell him their powers without getting stage fright, or worse: get kicked out of Sky High for refusing to power up. He hadn't truly believed their powers - he rarely believed anything students told him, if he could help it - and had simply announced "car" before dropping the monster truck from the ceiling. Celia and Celine's response had been incredible, and Boomer had been so stunned that he hadn't been able to do more than say "hero," his voice nowhere near his usual decibel range.
Now, he sat forward on his chair curiously, wondering what would happen between the two longest-running Save the Citizen champions and these new challengers.
Craig grinned at the twins. This was going to be easy.
...
Alice stroked Chayton's hair gently as he slept beside her, trying to stop herself from crying yet again. She still couldn't believe that Chayton was really alive and with her again, her precious baby boy. Her vision swam and Alice quickly wiped away her tears. She looked around for the tissue box, wincing at the sight of the tissues strewn about the room. It looked worse than that time she'd come down with a cold and had demolished four family-size tissue boxes in three days.
Alice vaguely remembered the Roomba dying with a sad series of beeps. Maybe the thing had choked on a balled up wad of tissues or it was stuck under something, perhaps? It was in the room, but no longer beeping and certainly not in working order, that's for sure. The Roomba didn't matter, of course, but Chayton's response to it was still so utterly clear in her mind. He'd shifted and flown at the device, clawing it to pieces until Alice had called out to him. She'd never seen him attack their vacuum back at home, and had to wonder yet again what those absolute bastards had done to her baby.
Chay hadn't seemed to hear her calling to him, and Alice didn't know if he'd attack her instead of the Roomba, so she'd been forced to wait until her son had finally exhausted himself. Finally, after far too long - his shift lasted longer now than it ever had before - hawk's feathers slipped back to arms, and talons were replaced with feet. Alice had been waiting with a change of clothes and had cleaned off enough of the bed that they could curl up together. (Fine, she'd lifted the blanket until everything had fallen to the floor, what did it matter?)
A knock at the door startled her, and Alice's heart pounded as she realised just how close to the edge of the bed she was. Clutching her heart to keep the damn thing in her chest, she headed to the front door quietly, glancing over her shoulder to ensure Chay was still sleeping soundly. He'd obviously thoroughly exhausted himself and didn't even stir.
Wondering who was at the door, Alice bit her lip as some traitorous part of her hoped it was Kid and Buddy. She hadn't seen them since the parking garage a week and a half ago. It felt like a year and a half ago, and she warred between hating herself for not contacting them already and telling herself she needed this time with her son and they'd understand. Well, either way, she wouldn't find out without opening the door.
Hope filled her as she opened the door, and it was immediately dashed on the ground when she saw Hourglass.
"I know I'm not who you're expecting, but I need to see you and Lottie. It's urgent, right now. Chayton will be asleep for the next three hours, and he'll be safe in there, I promise," Honey said firmly. She guided Alice out of the apartment before she could protest.
"Hourglass, I'm... I can't. Let me go back to Chay. I'm not even dressed properly," Alice hissed, her cheeks red as she tried to tug her bathrobe closed more fully over her chest.
Super Jesus, she was wearing pyjama pants and fluffy slippers. The only reason a ratty old tee didn't complete the outfit was because all of her clothes were brand new. Still, she was sure there was a sauce stain somewhere on the fabric to make her look like a complete dag. Thank fuck she'd kept the swipe card in this bathrobe's pocket.
She felt even more underdressed when she saw Lottie. Unlike the last time they'd met, Lottie was dressed in a polka dot skirt and had her hair up in an impeccable curl, and Alice wanted to go die in a swamp because that was obviously where she belonged in comparison to the blonde pin-up goddess.
"Alice, do you honestly think I'd let you come here in pyjamas if it wasn't important?" Honey asked, firmly sitting Alice down on a seat beside Lottie and sitting across from them.
"Oh, you look cute as a peach! Those pj's are adorable," Lottie said with such a genuine tone that Alice couldn't help but believe her.
Chayton was upstairs and all alone, and if anything happened to him, she could never forgive herself. Alice felt her heart starting to pound in her chest at the thought, her hands clammy, and her mouth dry, even as she started to stand. "I... I need to go."
"Alice, please sit. We haven't even started yet. I promise Chay will be all right," Honey said with a smile.
"What about me?" Alice muttered.
Lottie snorted. "I know the feeling; I haven't left Lupo alone for this long since I got him back. Poor boy's probably sick of me, but I'm already itching to go back. Thankfully, I know he's safe."
Alice sat down in surprise, frowning. "How do you know that?"
"The security in this building is fantastic; I can't even get into my apartment if I forget the swipe card. Not to mention Killer and Champ are very good at following orders, and they know what I'll do if anything happens to him. Honey said you had two security guards, too? You didn't climb them like trees?" Lottie asked incredulously.
"Lottie, not everyone has your... confidence in climbing trees," Honey said, shaking her head.
"If they're as hot as my trees, then you don't need to climb very far. You just hold on," Lottie said with a smirk.
"The analogy isn't working anymore and you're traumatising poor Alice. Stop," Honey said. "This isn't how I pictured you two meeting properly," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Wait, Alice? Oh, I thought I recognised you! I saw you on the news. You ran The Lost Boys, didn't you? That's how I found out who took my Lupo. I was going to kill them myself, but... well, Honey had two very muscular security guards to stop me. Ooh, I should've tried to get them to kill the bastards instead," Lottie mused, as if the thought hadn't occurred to her before that moment.
"They're already dead, Lottie. The rest of the organisation is being taken care of, as well."
That drew Alice's attention away from Lottie and over to Honey. "You know who they are?"
"Of course. They're listed in the phone book," Honey said with a shrug.
Alice swallowed hard, looking around for some sort of technology so she could find them and update the rest of The Lost Boys. A phone, laptop, tablet, computer; Hell, at this point, she'd take a printer that could connect to the damn Internet. "Where? Who?"
"Whoa, down, girl. Come on, sit down and let me talk, okay?" Honey said, squeezing Alice's hand gently and guiding her back down to her seat.
"You'd better talk fast, Honey."
Honey nodded and did exactly that. She promised to provide the information on the organisation when the time was right, since a reporter was sniffing around The Lost Boys after Alice's disappearance, and he could cause trouble if he found out this information. Honey also promised that the organisation wouldn't exist for much longer, though she admittedly couldn't actually pinpoint the timing herself.
"Why not? You're a seer, aren't you?" Alice asked, frowning.
"Yes, but sometimes there's too much leading up to things that need to happen for me to work out what happens in the future. It's foggy," Honey said.
"Foggy isn't exactly confidence-inspiring," Lottie admitted.
"I know, but it's all I have," she replied, looking between the two women. "Now, we're going completely off-topic. Or, I guess, back to the original topic. Alice, have you talked to Buddy and Kid yet?"
Alice turned a brilliant red colour and shifted on her seat uncomfortably. Every thought of The Lost Boys and the organisation fled her mind at Honey's question. She buried her head in her hands and shook her head. "I can't," she said, the words muffled.
Lottie grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "Can't or won't? Wait, I need to see photos. What do they look like?"
Honey opened a manilla folder, spread out several pages, and turned them to face the two women. "On the left is Buddy, on the right is Kid. Yes, Alice, this is necessary, or do you want to miss out on being with them?" Alice still had her hands over her face, but Honey figured she said something along the lines of "I hate you" and grinned. "You'll thank me one day, Alice. Now, let's work out what message you're going to send them, and then we'll work out what you can wear."
"Ooh, if only I had my sewing machine! I know the perfect dress; I call it the ass kicker, 'cause it knocks everyone on their ass," Lottie said with a grin.
Alice peeked out from behind her hands, curious despite herself. Damn, Buddy and Kid looked great on paper, too. That just wasn't fair. "I can't contact them. I don't have their numbers," she said, clearly grasping for an excuse when everyone in the building knew they were in Security right downstairs.
Honey grinned and held out a gift bag for each of them. "I thought you'd say that. Go ahead, open them," she said with a nod, looking pleased at their expressions when they realised they had brand new phones. "Now, these phones have the contact details for everyone you need both in and out of this building. Don't add any more until I tell you it's safe. I know, it sounds like I'm a control freak, but the organisation can do things not even your nightmares can imagine. It's a safety precaution, and I hate to bring your kids into this, but if you message anyone other than the contacts on your phones, they'll be taken again," Honey said, all hint of a smile gone and everything about her serious, looking between Alice and Lottie to ensure they were taking her words to heart.
"Jesus, Honey, tone it down, would you?" Lottie murmured, goosebumps covering her skin.
"No. You really, really, really need to take this to heart. Do not message anyone else. Understood?"
"Understood," Lottie and Alice chorused.
"Good. Now, let's work out what to message Buddy and Kid," she said with a bright smile.
Alice's face lit up red again and she shook her head. "I can't. Honey, please. I need to go back. Chay attacked the Roomba earlier, he might be awake by now. I don't want him to wake up to an empty room."
"Oh, your kid attacked the Roomba, too? I thought Lupo just didn't like the noise, but that's clearly not the case. Do you know why, Honey?" Lottie asked, raising her eyebrow pointedly.
"Yes, but you're not going to like the reason," Honey muttered, wincing when she saw Lottie's murderous expression in response. She started telling her exactly what the scientists had done with their tests involving the shifters and Roombas.
Alice already knew more about the Roomba and the so-called tests than she wanted to know, and even though Honey was going into more detail than Chay had, she forced herself to clutch the phone and inch out of the room. Slowly, and as silently as possible, Alice backed away from the two women and over to the door. She was gone before either one could truly notice or try to stop her. Behind her, Honey handed Lottie a box of tissues and sighed at Alice's premature departure.
Champ knocked on the door gently, frowning when he saw Lottie crying into a fistful of tissues.
"Is our Alice in there, Kid?" Buddy asked, standing on his toes to try to look over Champ and Killer. "Move, would you? I can't see," he said, tapping at Killer's shoulder.
Killer ignored his friend and followed Champ into the room so they could comfort Lottie together. If she still wanted them, at least.
Lottie wiped the tears from her eyes and looked over to her boys, holding her hand out for them. She almost smiled at their unison sigh of relief, but then they were wrapped around her in a warm hug, and she could do nothing more but cling onto them fiercely in return.
"Alice left early. I'm sorry, Kid and Buddy. I should have closed the door," Honey muttered under her breath. "That thread was small, I thought it would be claustrophobic, and... I really am sorry."
"Not your fault, Honey. You can't do every single thing, right? Those... threads? They're all different futures based on different actions in the present, or some shit like that, yeah?" Kid questioned, knowing Buddy was gearing up to argue that a seer should be able to counter everything and anything.
"Yeah," Honey said, nodding firmly and trying not to smile - expletives aside, it was honestly one of the first times she'd had someone acknowledge the fact outside of her close family and friends.
"Then you can't do everything for all of them. Just... can you tell us if Alice is all right?" Kid asked, grabbing Buddy's hand to keep his partner by his side instead of letting him run out to find Alice, though he was a heartbeat away from doing exactly that himself.
"Alice is fine."
"Fine isn't all right, Honey," Buddy snapped, even as he tugged his hand out of Kid's grip, turned on his heel, and left the room.
Honey blinked as a thread became far too bright to ignore. "Uh, we need to get out of this room before these three fuck each other silly," she said, ushering Kid out and closing the door behind her just as a moan filtered out.
Kid sighed, shook his head, and left to hurry after Bud. "Thanks for trying, Honey," he said over his shoulder.
Honestly, her services were often thankless - especially if she failed - and Honey was even more determined to get Alice with Kid and Buddy now.
...
Adam glanced over at a knock at his door, frowning at the noise. Most of his friends didn't knock, and those that did - namely Warren, Layla, or Ethan - were either at the Sanctuary recovering or in the middle of a mock exam, according to Eth's schedule. Considering he'd only just taken his headphones off to give his ears a break, Adam figured it was Honey. "Come in, Honey."
"I was wondering if you'd guess it was me," Honey said with a grin. She closed the door behind her and sat on the bench behind his desk, watching as Adam spun to face her. "You okay?"
He sighed. Craig had apologised a few hundred times already, but Adam couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that they'd lost. "Yeah. It's just Save the Citizen; it's a game, and it doesn't matter that we lost... That's not what you're asking about, are you?" he asked, seeing her raise an eyebrow at him.
"Terrence isn't the only one having nightmares about those collars. You can talk to me about it, I was there, too."
Adam shifted on his chair uncomfortably. "Yeah, I know. I'm... " he sighed heavily, feeling like all the weight of the world was in the sound and motion. "I'm doing okay. That meditating app you sent helps me if I wake up in the middle of the night, at least. I'll be fine."
"Fine isn't all right, Adam. Can I refer you to Doc? She's made a priority for all of you as a favour to me, so I'm making sure you all get therapy. Terrence should be seeing her right now, in fact," Honey added.
"Ah. Wondered why his location was at the Sanctuary building," Adam murmured. "You... Doc, she's taking new patients?"
"Yes."
"And she knows what happened in France?"
"She knows what you and Terrence had to do. She probably knows what went on in France from the orphanage kids, but they're slower in getting their stories out than you and the others will be," Honey admitted.
After everything the kids had been through at the hands of adults, Adam wasn't surprised to hear they didn't immediately trust an adult, even one that Honey had approved of. He sighed again, then nodded. "All right, I'll go see her."
"Good, thank you. I have good news and better news. Good news first?" she offered.
"Uh, yeah. Sure."
"Good news is you can stay here while you see Doc - she does appointments online and over the phone. Hell, you don't even have to turn the camera on, if you don't want to."
Adam snorted in amusement; that was her good news?!
"And the better news?"
"I have a puzzle for you," Honey said, holding up a portable hard drive, the box shiny even in the glow of his computer screen. "While you and Terrence were working on the collars, I downloaded everything on those fuckers' computers. You get to crack their encryption software."
Adam blinked. "You stole information from the organisation?"
"Yes."
"Did you encrypt it using their software or does that drive have its own?"
"I just plugged it in and dragged and dropped everything in sight, and then a few folders that looked important. You and Terrence were busy, and I didn't want to interrupt."
"Their own encryption software probably includes tracking information. That means it's either restricted to their own computers, or it has to be one completely secure. Hell, they probably have a way of alerting the rest of the organisation even if it's not on a server. Fuck, this is going to be difficult. I wish [unknown] was replying to my messages; they'd have this thing cracked in an hour. It's going to take me days, maybe even a week, and I have to wait for Terrence to build me a secure and non-networked computer, too."
Honey cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck. "So... From what I can tell, [unknown]'s location is on that drive. Obviously, not under the name [unknown], but it's the only way to find them since the rest is blocked for me. You need to crack it in two days before the files destroy themselves."
Adam had always been suspicious about [unknown]'s location and whether they were a super. From what Honey was hinting, this drive held not only their location, but possibly the location for another orphanage where even more kids were being experimented on by the organisation.
"Great. No pressure, then," Adam said, eyes wide, even as he reached out to take the portable drive. He sighed yet again, feeling like that's all he was doing these days. "Thanks, Honey. You probably risked a lot to get this information."
"Terrence was the one who got me into that basement in the first place, so thank him. And thank you for doing this. You're doing a great job, and I know Warren and Layla are glad you're keeping everything going for them."
"Me?" Adam scoffed. "Ethan's the one keeping everyone studying and going to school. If he hadn't text me on Monday, I would still be in bed, probably bawling my eyes out."
"Yeah, I know. Ethan's the one keeping people going, but you're the one keeping them safe. Craig and Ry know you've redirected traffic away from their homes, and Wendy knows what you did to her phone so she'd stop getting messages from all of the adults about what happened. Zach's wearing his FitBit 24/7 when he barely wore it before. Not to mention, Ethan only texted because he knew you and the other Heroes had that test with Mr. Medulla. Otherwise he'd still probably be in bed, bawling his eyes out, too. Hell, they all would be if you hadn't responded first."
Adam looked down at the shiny hard drive and saw it blur in his hands, tears in his eyes. "I didn't... I didn't think they were affected. No one's talking about it, except Terrence, and even then he ain't saying much."
"They'll talk about it if you start, I promise," Honey said. "Can you be brave one more time and do that?"
Adam felt like this sort of bravery was a million times worse than holding Terrence's blood-soaked hand and pulling goddamn wires out of kids' heads. But he sniffed and wiped his tears away so he could see clearly. "Yeah, okay."
"Good. Terrence is here, and Ethan's mock exam just finished. I suggest you talk to them before he attempts to grade it. No one wants to see what happens when Ethan gets a B," Honey said with a brief smile.
Adam nodded, more tears slipping out, and set the hard drive down carefully. It was important, but fuck, so was this.
Heading out to the kitchen where his friends were collecting their mock exams, Craig groaning and moaning loudly about receiving the worst score, ever - a theatrical act that this time might not be an act, after all, especially after he froze like a human-sized ice block during Save the Citizen - Adam stopped in the doorway. He heard the door to the Hive open behind him and knew that it was Terrence. He waited a moment until Terrence was behind him, then reached out a hand. "Hey. I need to be brave this time. Will you hold my hand?"
Terrence nodded quickly, even though he looked emotionally exhausted from his session with Doc already, his eyes puffy and bloodshot.
Adam squeezed his hand gently and looked out at his friends, knocking on the doorframe to get their attention. "Hey, guys? We need to talk about what happened in France," he said, a little concerned about how pale Justina became at his words. Beside her, even Robin had gone pale. Craig stopped his noise, the room falling silent as they all looked at him, waiting for his next words. Behind him, Terrence's grip had turned just as bone-breaking hard as it had been at the orphanage. "I'm... I'm trying to get over it, but I'm not over it, and I don't think anyone else is, either."
Surprisingly, it was Grant who burst into tears first. Jewel put an arm around his shoulders immediately, Beau looking devastated beside them, and Craig looking as lost as Adam had ever seen.
"I keep having this nightmare that I wasn't quick enough, and that scalpel cut into my brain," Ry said, touching the scar on his eyebrow.
"I... I know I didn't do as much as the rest of you, but... I can't stop thinking that I could've been one of those kids," Zach said, his voice small, drawing his legs up to his chest.
"You were there. I'm so fucking useless that I couldn't even go. I can't even handle the memories," Donny said, looking nauseated and horrified and frustrated all at once.
"I couldn't go, either," Wendy reminded him, her voice oddly gentle.
"Yeah, 'cause you had to babysit me."
Wendy had no idea Donny had been feeling this way and was determined to set him right, but she didn't know what to say. She truly hadn't been 'babysitting' Donny at all; she'd chosen to stay behind, since they needed help to prepare for the kids' arrival.
Adam felt Terrence tugging his hand out of his grip and he turned to him, seeing Terrence covering his eyes with his free hand and clearly crying as well. "Hey, it's okay. You're allowed to cry."
Terrence shook his head. "I... I don't want to cry in front of you again."
"Hey, I'm crying in front of you. It's only fair. Who's up for a cuddle pile in the training arena?" Adam asked when he saw that behind them, even Honey was crying into a handkerchief.
"That's your best idea today, Ace," Craig said, standing to help guide his girlfriend and boyfriend and friends downstairs.
Honey came down to the training arena a moment later, setting pillows and blankets and a few stuffed animals down between them all, then joined the group herself. "Thanks, Adam."
Adam led them down the training arena and waited until everyone had curled up on the mats together, then joined the edge of the group carefully. "If anyone breathes on me, I'll spit on you."
"Love you, too, Ace," Zach said with a soft snicker.
"Yeah, I know. Love you, too."
...
End of the hundred and sixty-third chapter.
Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it!