The two men walked down a regal hall in silence. While no words were immediately spoken, the heaviness in the air between the two could be cut with a knife. It was only when they were out of earshot of any passers by that words were exchanged.
"He's an idiot," the general noted.
The senator walking with him gave no comment.
"Enemy territory grows on our shores," he carried on. "and he's more concerned with…"
He gave a disgusted noise.
"The people, General," the politician straightened his tie. "He's concerned for the people."
"Bleeding hearts," the military man swore. "They'll destroy this country. Now we got a whole generation of bleeding hearts. These things need to be contained."
"General," the other man sighed. "You were brought on as a consultant for the possible threat these enhanced individuals cause." He held up the papers as proof. "Not only have you blown your own information out of proportion, you've proven yourself a biased and unreliable source of information."
"Says the politician."
"True enough. But you got caught," he pointed out. "And I happen to agree with the decision. The casualties aren't nearly what we projected. Certainly not to the projected casualties a military occupation would bring. And we seem to have our own little angel in our corner."
"Then you're an idiot, too."
"Perhaps," the man mused. He then gestured to himself. "But as long as this idiot is around, your troops won't march on Michigan soil."
He walked away, leaving the General fuming in the pristine hall.
"Oh, and General Law?"
The older man glared at him, now a sizeable distance away.
"I've made the right friends," the senator informed him. "I'll know if and when you move so much as a paperclip in my state."
With that, the man disappeared around the corner. The General had nothing to say. The only thing going through his mind…
Was a misguided sense of duty.
Superman saw the bomb with the ticking timer. With no time to spare, he flew Lois Lane out of Clark Kent's apartment as the bomb detonated.
Leni looked on, as the hero then fetched a water tank on top of the building. Effortlessly, he carried it on his shoulder and punched a hole in it to disperse the water onto the flaming debris.
The scene only caused her to look at her own hand.
"Kind of wish I was that strong," Leni thought out loud.
"You're fine," Lincoln waved off, his eyes only briefly turning away from the cartoon. "I love this episode. Turns out the detective was behind the whole thing."
"Spoilers," Luan jokingly complained. The whole family was seated around the TV, some looking more bored than others.
"Aw," Leni frowned. "That's sad. Police are supposed to be the good guys."
Lincoln glanced at her, sighing through his nose.
"Everyone's a good guy, Leni," he answered. "Or, at least everyone thinks they are."
They resumed their viewing in silence. Their family set up the hospital room's television with Lincoln's collection of superhero cartoons. Lincoln was a lot more aware, but still confined to the bed. Leni stuck close to her brother, while the rest of her family swapped in and out of the room. Her parents usually stuck close by, only occasionally leaving the room to stretch their legs or get something for everyone to eat. From what Leni gathered, her dad had gone with the "crazed arsonist" story for his restaurant. Leni didn't know how to feel about lying about what happened, but she didn't protest.
For the most part, the whole family sat sprawled out around the room, watching cartoons with their brother. The nurses that checked in always looked so surprised, seeing so many people in such a small room.
Lori stuck close by her roommate, seldom leaving Leni out of her sight. It took Leni a while to really notice what was off about Lori, but it eventually occurred to her. Lori hadn't even looked at her phone for the past two days. If she had it on her at all, she used it in the other room. Lori told Bobby almost nothing, keeping to some bare essentials, but she hadn't texted him all day. At least, as far as Leni could see.
"Leni," Luna called from the door. "He's here."
The girl took a breath and nodded. She got up from her chair, a little sore from sitting for so long, and made her way to the door. Lori followed her out, with Luna trailing her, and then she was swiftly trailed by her parents.
"Nothing too violent," Rita warned her children as she exited the door. She pointed a finger at her son. "Lincoln."
When the girl stepped outside the room, she was met by Officer Hobbs himself. Leni realized this was technically the first time they were meeting. No masks, no banter… no games.
She took a breath and outstretched her hand.
"Officer," she shook his hand. "I'm Leni Loud."
"I gathered," he nodded. "You have a lot of people in your corner, Miss Loud."
Leni looked down. She smiled, but felt conflicted by the statement. Her secret may very well have turned her parents against her, and crippled her brother. She didn't know what he meant by "corner," but she figured she was lucky to have one at all.
"Let's sit," Hobbs suggested. "And we can all hash this out."
They made their way downstairs, going over to a far corner of the café area. The few other people in here were dispersed away from them; unknowingly giving the group a modicum of privacy.
Leni sat down across from the detective. Luna and Lori sat down on either side of her, shoulder to shoulder with the girl like they were bodyguards. Her parents sat perpendicular to the ends of the table, facing outward to the rest of the café.
"Alright," Hobbs sighed. "Miss Loud. Or, do you prefer Leni?"
"Leni is fine."
"Good. Okay," he sighed again. "Let's start with what happened a few days ago. At your dad's restaurant."
Leni nodded. She had little to no recollection after leaving Meltdown in the snow. She took a minute before answering.
"They-"
Luna jumped in. "It's not her fault, dude! Meltdown and his gang were holding us hostage!"
"Luna," Lori interjected.
"Luna, honey-" Lynn Sr. tried to help.
"None of that would have happened if they hadn't-"
"Luna!" Lori called again. "Shut. Up!"
Luna quieted down, looking over at her elder sisters. Leni had lowered her head, like she had taken a verbal lashing. Luna shied away.
"…Sorry."
Leni took a moment to catch her breath. She weakly patted Luna's shoulder.
"It's okay," the girl continued. "There were three bad guys. Ink. Noxious. And Meltdown."
She looked down at the table before looking back up and speaking again.
"I.. don't know where they are now," she answered honestly.
"Hmm." Hobbs wrote something down. "So, you went in to help your family, is that right?"
"Yes," Leni nodded.
"By yourself."
"Yes," Leni agreed.
Hobbs stared at her for a moment. His face gave no hints as to what he was thinking.
"You could have called for help," he told her. "Like we agreed."
"I…" Leni lowered her head. "I was scared."
"Of what, exactly?"
"…Meltdown," she said. "He was holding my family hostage. I thought if he saw police, he would…"
She couldn't finish the sentence. Instead she bit her lip and lowered her head. All the while, she could feel the burning gaze her parents, her mother in particular, boring a hole through her head.
Hobbs nodded like he understood.
"So… This Meltdown character. Where's he now?" he asked.
Leni gulped. She opened her mouth, but it was Lori who spoke.
"He escaped," she answered. "With the others."
Leni looked at her older sister. Disbelief leaving her mouth agape.
Lori flicked her eyes to her sister before restating it.
"He escaped." She repeated. "Saw it with my own eyes."
Leni looked at Hobbs, who gave a unmoving look back. Leni wasn't sure, but she could swear that he was there with her family as she was flying out. If Lori saw anything, wouldn't she say something, right away? Wouldn't he have reported it to the other officers on the way?
"Well," he answered her, never breaking eye contact with Leni. "If he shows up again, we will have to coordinate our efforts, and bring him in. Right?"
Leni didn't answer right away. She didn't understand what was happening.
"But I-"
Lori and Luna elbowed her sides under the table simultaneously, eliciting a shocked gasp from the middle girl.
"Er, right," Leni decided to just go with it.
Leni looked to her parents, who looked back and forth between the exchange.
"I assume your parents know?" Hobbs asked the three children.
Leni nodded. "They do now."
"Right," Hobbs sighed.
"I'm sorry," Rita interrupted. "You knew our daughter was out doing these dangerous things, and you didn't stop her?"
"No ma'am," Hobbs denied. "I had no idea who she was. I discouraged her from going out there and told her to go back home every chance I got.
"However," he continued, "Despite my best efforts; your daughter has saved more people than I can count."
A few seconds passed, before Hobbs resumed.
"Every. Day. I got people coming in and calling me, telling me all about how a nice young lady stopped a mugging. Or pulled a cat out of a tree. Or evacuated an entire building on fire. It is absolutely ridiculous how much paperwork I still have to do. She took impossible situations and made them manageable, with little to zero causalities. Your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Loud, is one of the bravest people I've had the pleasure of meeting. She's a good, noble person. Foolhardy, but good and noble, nonetheless."
He turned back to Leni.
"And you," he pointed, "Missy. You are going to bother me every time you have a problem. Whether you like it or not. And I will get to you when I can."
He sat back in his chair and took a breath.
"My father was a Marine," he told them. "He was my hero. He raised me and my brother all by himself, after two tours and after my mom passed. There was nothing he couldn't fix. I talked to him about cars, girls, school, life. He always made time for us; didn't matter how bad a day it was. The man could damn near do it all."
He paused, looking down for a moment. "And then he died."
Leni felt a jolt run up her sides. On instinct, she said, "I'm sorry."
"The man could do anything," he finished. "Except ask for help."
He looked back up at Leni.
"I'm going to tell you right now, Leni," he warned her. "The worst thing you can do when you're in deep trouble, is try to do it all yourself."
Leni didn't answer. She just let the message sink in.
"…My brother," she choked out. "His… He got hurt… helping me."
"I'm sorry," Hobbs returned. "But I hope that, working together, we can prevent something like that from happening again."
He turned to Leni's parents. "If Mom and Dad are okay with that," he prompted.
Rita bit her lip, while her husband kept his arm across her shoulders. The silence was deafening across the table.
"I'm…" she finally spoke. "I'm not thrilled with this decision. I always worried about what's lurking in the city, and now it just looks more and more dangerous."
She looked up at her daughters. Her lip quivered before she took a breath to speak again.
"But you girls have grown up so much," she wiped her eyes. "And I can't force any of you to do anything you don't want to do. I just… have to trust that your father and I have done our jobs. We'll help you with anything we can, honey. And I'm sorry you faced so much already without telling us. I don't want to miss anything else."
Leni gave an ugly sniff, tears streaming from her own eyes.
A shakily spoken "Thank you," was all she could manage.
Later in the day, as it got late, the kids started getting weary and the topic of overnight stays were brought up.
"Is Lincoln going to stay here by himself?" Lola unabashedly asked her parents.
Leni shivered before her parents could answer. That pressure in her chest reemerged.
"No, sweetie," Rita answered, cleaning up their trash and gathering her purse. "Daddy's going to stay here with Lincoln tonight."
"Oh," Lola looked down.
"…And me," Leni suddenly added.
"Leni," Rita forewarned. "You don't have to stay, honey. Just come home with us. We can come back tomorrow."
Leni took a breath. "No," she decided. "I'm staying here."
The parents looked to each other, and gave a collective sigh.
"Okay," Rita agreed. "But it's not very comfortable, honey. You can't share the bed with Lincoln, you know."
Leni blushed, having no intention to. "I knew that," she muttered.
She looked at her dad, who just gave an apologetic half smile. If the only thing he had to sleep in were these hard chairs, then she felt somewhat more inclined to stay. She wouldn't enjoy it, but she would stay.
Goodnights were exchanged, and everyone made it a point to give Lincoln a kiss on his forehead, much to his feigned dismay. All her sisters gave Leni a hug, which she welcomed gratefully one by one. Time passed, some shoddy (but edible) meals were had, and night paved the way for their slumber.
Except Leni couldn't let her consciousness go. There was something happening in this building. She couldn't place her finger on it, but-
There. That noise. She couldn't identify it, but it was definitely close by. It was the middle of the night, her father completely hunched over in his chair. Lincoln snored peacefully on the bed.
She got up and walked around the bed Lincoln slept in. There was an urgency in the mysterious noise. Whatever was going on, it demanded her attention.
"Leni?"
The girl looked over to the bed, seeing Lincoln stir from sleep.
"Where are you going?" he rubbed his eyes.
Leni looked over to her dad, totally passed out. Bless the man's heart, he's such a heavy sleeper.
She moved over to her brother, standing next to his bed.
"I'm just… going to stretch my legs, a little," Leni answered. It was a lie, but not a lie.
Lincoln looked at her, clearly not buying it, but not angry with her either.
"Hold on," he reached behind him, leaning over and swiping something off the table. He opened his hand up to her when he returned to his seat. "Use this."
"An earpiece?" Leni questioned. "I thought I lost this. With my mask."
"Lisa had a few spares," Lincoln explained with a smile. "She… wanted to help."
Leni nodded, placing the device in her ear. Afterwards, she leaned in and planted a kiss on the side of his face.
"I'll be right back," Leni promised.
She exited the room, drifting through the halls like a ghost. The toes of her boots were grazing the tiles.
She made her way downstairs, tracking the noise like a hunter. Most of the staff had gone home, but surely there was an overnight crew, right?
"Leni?" Lincoln whispered in her ear. "What do you see?"
"The floor is empty," she answered. "I don't see any nurses."
Lincoln was silent for a moment.
"Didn't…" he pieced together. "Didn't Hobbs say that Spider had to go to the hospital?"
Leni felt a chill creep up her spine. What were the odds? How many hospitals could there possibly be in one blessed city?!
"He better not be in this one," Leni tightened her fists.
"Easy, Leni," Lincoln warned her. "He might be really sick. And he doesn't know we're here. We can just leave him."
Just as he said it, the noise perpetrated her ears again. It was a moan. It was a cry for help.
"Did you hear that?" Leni's breathing hitched.
"No," Lincoln answered straight. "What is it?"
"I think he's…" Leni paused. "He's hurt. He's hurt and in a lot of pain."
"…" Lincoln took his time answering.
"Leni," he finally said. "I think we should leave him."
"I can't do that, Linky."
"Why not?" he asked, sounding more concerned than outraged.
"Because… It wouldn't be right," she decided. "He's alone on this floor. I just need to check on him."
Lincoln didn't answer. Finally, he sighed.
"Just… just be careful, Leni."
Leni drifted over to the door and turned the handle. She cracked the door, listening to see if she'd been detected, though not sure what she would do if she were.
The groaning never stopped. The person in question never noted her presence. Leni, feeling bolder, stepped inside and into view of the patient.
She wanted to scream. Her shoulders bunched up and a scrunched up, disturbed look emerged on her face. Spider was just like the day they met, only he was lying back on the bed, hooked up to several machines around the room. He was shirtless, still covered in hair like a tarantula. His wrists were bound to the bed with leather straps. The spider legs across his back were held out around him, elevated in individual slings around them room. Spider himself was heaving on the bed, spouting out different words that Leni had no context for.
"Mamá," he shakily called out, "Lo siento mamá. Nunca quise…"
He let out a guttural cry, Leni felt it reverberate against her ribcage.
"Lincoln," Leni whispered to her brother. "What's happening to him?"
Lincoln took his time answering. He wasn't the resident science guy, but he'd give it his best shot.
"Well," he tried. "Humans and spiders are pretty different, all things considered. I mean, anatomy speaking. So… I guess if you try to force the two tracks of DNA together… It all starts coming undone."
Leni blinked, her head tilting. Lincoln couldn't see it, but he took the silence as what it was.
"He might be dying," he explained further, "and his powers might what's killing him."
"Ayuda…!" Spider called out again. "Somebody help me! I'm burning up in here!"
He hadn't opened up his eyes. He hadn't even realized she was in the room.
She had to help him. She moved without thinking. There was a rag on a table, grabbing it and stepping into the restroom, she ran it under the water and…
She shuddered, before walking past the spider legs to his bedside. She placed the damp clothe against his forehead.
He instantly calmed down, relaxing under her hand.
"Ah…" he breathed out. "Gracias…"
That much Leni did understand.
"You're welcome," she smiled down at him.
The boy opened his eyes, but his red eyes glazed right over her face.
"Who are you?" he switched to English.
"I'm here to help."
He didn't answer. He just looked up at the ceiling.
"I tried… to kill you," he noted.
"You did try," Leni remembered.
"But you're helping me."
"Yes," Leni agreed.
"…" he shifted in his seat. "Why?"
Leni sighed.
"I don't think anyone should have to suffer," she answered. "Or die. I know they do anyway. But I want to help people… not do that… if I can."
He didn't answer. The two just sat there for a long while. In the shadows of the room, with little to no light available, they couldn't even see each other's face.
"Doctor's say… I'm dying soon," he confessed. "I don't know if…"
He didn't finish the thought.
"Could you…" he requested. "Could you stay with me… just for tonight? I don't…"
He started to break down, Leni could just make out the tears under his eyes.
"Shh…" she shushed him. "It's okay. I'm here. I'll stay here with you."
"I don't…" he sobbed. "I don't want to be alone… anymore…."
Leni pulled a chair she had kicked earlier closer to her. She sat down by his bedside.
"I'm not going anywhere." She promised him.
The General marched down the halls, only having one destination on his mind. In his mind, he was backed into a corner. There was no alternative. These freaks could destroy everything America stands for.
And he would die before he let that happen.
But he had other resources to sacrifice.
He approached the cell with the prisoner. It was one of the only convicts they had from the Event in Royal City.
The man in question sat in a far corner of the cell, draped in shadows.
"General Law," he greeted him. "You'll forgive me if I don't salute."
"Save it, son," he dismissed. "Your country has need of you."
"My country…" the creature mocked. "Remind me which one that is?"
"Royal City is a growing fire that needs to be contained," the General explained. "I can't mobilize my men without probable cause. And you're going to go get it for me."
"How do you mean… General?"
"I mean that you're a mad dog," he told him. "A wild animal to be let off his leash, but not out of sight. You leave Royal City, and my man with a rifle will put you down. You fulfill your duty, and we can accommodate some… new arrangements."
The creature threw his head back and laughed. His hardy bellowing could be heard throughout the complex.
"Do we have an agreement?" the General asked, once the man had calmed down.
The creature stood and approached the bars. His face bore a wide grin.
"We do indeed," he licked his chops. "General Law."
