Jay pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot of a closed grocery store a few blocks from his house. He turned the key and took it out, already feeling his chest get tight, feeling the beginnings of the breakdown he had known was coming since… since when? Since he'd heard that his friend had been injured? Since earlier when his mother had pulled him aside to check on him and assure herself that he was safe and he'd had to lie through his teeth to her? Since he'd had to watch all of his friends get split up and, despite his best efforts, Archie and Neil had been saved by someone else? Or could it have been when Chronos had chewed him out for his negligence when he let Archie fall off the boat?
This had been the worst day he'd had in a while, and he wasn't ready to go home yet. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to keep it together, but he knew that if his parents saw just how stressed he was, he wouldn't be returning to school. And if he didn't return to school, to the others, then he would be leaving them down a teammate at a time when they couldn't afford it.
He had to keep it together. Had to keep it from his family that he was hanging on by a thread. Had to keep it from his team that their leader was just as unsure of their next move as they were. Had to keep it from Chronos that… he wasn't sure he was cut out for this. Fighting for survival. Not just his own, but his team. His friends.
Would Chronos kick him off the team? Make him start sitting out when they go on training missions? He wouldn't. Would he? He might, if he thought Jay would make a decision that put someone in danger.
But isn't that what he'd done today? He knew that Archie's life vest was worn out. Herry had even pointed it out. He had seen Archie get onto the boat still wearing his leg brace and hadn't said anything. In fact, he was the reason they'd been out on the water in the first place. They should have been paying more attention to whether or not they were being watched. They should have had some sort of contingency plan in place just in case they ended up under attack during a family day. And the fact that Neil and Archie had had to choose between bunking with a foster family, or being split up? Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he was benched for a while. Maybe the prophecy was wrong and he really wasn't cut out for this. Maybe his friends would be better off with a new leader. Maybe… maybe they would be safer and better prepared with someone else.
He could… what? Leave? Tell everyone that he quit? Go home? Attend a regular high school as a normal teen? He'd be on hand if his sister ever needed him. He'd get to see more of his parents. He wouldn't have to hide or lie to his family again. He wouldn't have to feel the weight of the world constantly on his shoulders. He could make a mistake and not have to panic that it had led to the death of someone he loved. He wasn't cut out to be a leader, descendant of Jason or not, this wasn't a fight he could lead.
He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand and rested his forehead on it. He was tired, stressed, annoyed, sore, and… scared. He was scared. He hadn't asked for this burden. This destiny. And yet, it had become his whole life. His friends were more equipped to deal with their fate, what with their abilities and home lives. But Jay? He was the only one on the team without an ability. His ability was 'leadership instincts'.
Odie, being the team's inventor and weapons crafter, had gotten lucky with his family. Doris was a robotics engineer currently developing a rover that would be launched into space to explore mars, while Helena was a motorcycle mechanic who built custom designs for collectors and competitions.
Atlanta's family hunted and camped whenever they could, and she'd been brought up around weapons. 'Determination' was practically her middle name, while 'quit' was nowhere in her vocabulary.
Jay bit his lip and raised his head from his hand. They needed a leader who could protect them. One who had the power to do so. Atlanta's voice floated back to him.
*If we go into battle, will we have to distract ourselves knowing that you're about to do something stupid?*
He had messed up an attack and immediately ended up flat on his back. Herry had tried to save him, which had distracted him from the giant and left him vulnerable.
His eyes landed on a road sign, lit by a street light just past the exit of the parking lot.
*Gizaville 27 miles*
Twenty seven miles wasn't that far. It would be far enough away that… what was he thinking? Was he really considering running away? From both his family and his team? Would that be the best option?
He closed his eyes and jammed the key back in the ignition, not even pausing as he turned it. The car started and Jay… sat there.
What would the others think? What would they say about him? Would they look for him? Or would they come to the same realization that he had; that they were better off without him? How long would it take for them to notice he was gone?
He sank back in the driver's seat and pulled out his PMR. With his other hand, he rolled down the window. Odie would be pissed, but they wouldn't be able to track hi-,
The harsh sound of his PMR ringing nearly made Jay drop it, but he fumbled it between both hands and managed to get a good grip on it.
"Uh, hello?"
"What the hell are you still doing awake?" Atticus demanded.
Jay swallowed hard, suddenly trying to keep the stress out of his voice. "I- I was just reading. Why are you awake? And why did you call if you thought I was asleep?"
"I just got off work and…" Atticus trailed off, sounding self conscious. "I wanted to leave you a voicemail for when you woke up. My boss likes to have the radio going while we're working and they were talking about this meteor shower that's coming up in a few days. I know you like space, so I was wondering if you would maybe like to, I don't know, watch it with me?"
Jay didn't respond right away. He was busy staring at the sign to Gizaville. Twenty seven miles was… what was he even planning to do when he got there? Hope they had a hotel? One that allowed teenagers to check in alone? Had… had he actually been about to leave?
"...Jay?"
Would he really have just left everyone and everything he loved? Would he have hit Gizaville and kept going? Or would he have decided he made a mistake and turned around?
"Are… are you still there? If you don't want to, that's okay. I don't want to push you-,"
"No, I- I'd love to. Sorry. I kinda spaced off there."
"Oh. Yeah. No worries. You sound like you should probably head to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah." Jay took one last look at the sign. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Get home safe."
They hung up and Jay shook his head, trying to clear it of all the thoughts that had been running through it. Then he sighed heavily one last time and pulled the car back out onto the road. He had promised his sister that they'd play video games when he got back, and he didn't want to keep her waiting.
Yyyyy
Chronos held out a hand to summon a portal, but stopped when Odie grabbed his wrist.
"Wait. We need to talk."
"About what?" Chronos didn't like how serious Odie's expression was.
"I didn't want to say anything in front of the others, but…" he opened his mouth to say more, but closed it and looked away.
Agnon grunted and knelt down, placing a worried hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I take it that something else happened?"
"There's a chance my moms won't let me come back here."
"They're scared after meeting a god first hand. I can talk to them."
"I don't think you understand. The only reason they agreed to send me to this school when I was six was to keep me safe. They were having legal issues with my father and there was a worry that he'd try some less than legal methods to get custody of me. Now that he's been out of our lives for years, that's not a worry. If they think I'm in danger here, they'll refuse to let me come back." He narrowed his eyes. "If you want to keep me on this team, you need to convince them… and me… that tonight was a one-time thing. If you can't guarantee that my family will be safe when I'm here, then I'm done."
Agnon was the only one who noticed the momentary twitch in Chronos's eye. The god had recovered his composure before Odie saw.
"You know it won't happen again."
"It shouldn't have happened this time. My family was put in the line of fire. Look." He threaded his fingers through Manny's mane, needing to keep his hands busy. "I… I don't want to start anything. I don't want to leave the team, or get into any kind of argument with you or anything like that. But if I have to choose between living here and making sure personally that my family is protected, then I'm choosing my family."
Chronos thought for a moment, hands on his hips. "I understand where you are coming from," he raised a hand and opened a dark, swirling vortex in mid air. "But let's see what your parents have to say, before you make any permanent life plans. Shall we?"
Odie gave the manticore a quick hug, and then stepped through the portal.
Yyyyy
The pair immediately found themselves on Odie's front porch. The lights were on inside, but the porch light was out. They could hear faint voices coming from somewhere in the house and, because he didn't want to scare anyone more than they already had been or risk walking into any traps, Odie knocked.
They heard the familiar, distinct sound of Archie's footsteps; one foot bare, the other clanking with his brace. A second later, the door opened a crack and Archie peeked out.
"Chronos? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be dealing with our surprise guests?"
"And I thought I told you to stay on the damn couch." Helena grabbed the door out of his hand when he went to open it the rest of the way and made a shooing motion with her hand. He didn't argue and made his way over to the living room couch which had a pillow and several blankets set up on it. "Odie, honey, what about you? Are you alright?" She ushered her son and his teacher in and shut the door behind them.
"What happened to Kämpe and that scorpion?" Doris asked as she pushed up the sleeves of Odie's hoodie to make sure he really wasn't injured anywhere.
"Mom, I'm fine."
"How about the three of us talk in the kitchen?" Chronos suggested.
Helena crossed her arms over her chest. "I agree. There's some things we need to discuss. Odie, you and Archie stay out here and hang out, alright? And make sure he doesn't move from that couch." She raised an eyebrow at Archie. That, along with the entire decade he had spent with the other boy, led him to know that Archie had been proving himself a restless patient.
Odie nodded and walked over to sit beside his friend.
"So, what happened with dropping Kämpe off with Chronos? If he's here, does that mean you guys just left Agnon alone with her?"
"Archie, do you remember the night you found me and Chronos up late watching crime shows? It was maybe a few months after we started living with him?" Odie sat by Archie's legs, fiddling with his fingers. He wished he could have brought Manny back with him, but with his collar gone that wasn't an option.
"I think so? You had dragged your blanket out there as well, right? Wait, wasn't that back when you used to brag about one of your moms being cast as an actor?"
"Yeah. Apparently I had misheard one of their conversations." He sighed and shifted back to pull his legs up onto the couch as well. "My mom got pregnant with me back when she was still dating my father. They decided that they couldn't see each other in any kind of permanent family, so they broke up. I used to get visitations with him, and I remember we always used to have fun. But then he found out that my mom was getting married. He, um, he had an issue with me being raised by two women and started threatening to sue for custody of me. At some point during the whole process, he made a few comments about just not dropping me back off after getting me for visitation. I… I overheard them venting about what they'd do if he really did kidnap me and just assumed that they were going over a script. I don't know why my mind went there, but I didn't realize I was wrong until a few years later."
"Huh. That sucks that that happened to you. I'm not sure I see what that has to do with anything, though?"
"The reason they sent me to live at a school, at six years old and after being threatened to be kidnaped, was because that was the safest option for me at the time. My dad's not in my life anymore. After tonight, not only do they know that the school is a front, but they saw first hand the kind of monsters I've been trained to fight."
"You think they might not let you go back?" Archie could see how worried his friend was and that told him all he needed to know. "Chronos will talk to them. And besides, you're safer at the school with the rest of us. I'm sure they'll understand."
Odie shrugged. "It's… it's not just that. My home was attacked tonight, Archie. My moms came face to face with a monster. They saw it go after me. They saw her hurt you. They almost saw her kill you. If it comes down to it, I don't care about the prophecy. My priority is keeping them safe. If Chronos can't protect them, then I will." After a moment of silence, though, he decided to change the subject. "I'm sorry, I didn't even ask about you. What did the doctors say?"
Archie lifted his shirt to show the multiple dark bruises of various colors over his ribcage. "I told them I fell down the stairs and I think they bought it. But the fight, combined with needing CPR earlier," he lowered his shirt and looked away. "I got a few cracked ribs. It's nothing too bad, so long as I take it easy for a while."
"Are you going to?" Odie pressed.
"I'll rest as much as I can, but we both know we might not be given the chance. The other gods will be wanting to get their friends back." Suddenly, Archie sat up straight, eyes wide. "If they haven't already. We saw Artemis on the security camera! She could be there now and Agnon's alone!" He went to stand, fully intent on saving the one who had acted as their guardian and protector for most of their lives.
"Sit down before you hurt yourself!" Odie grabbed him by the shirt and hissed, not wanting to interrupt the conversation taking place in the kitchen. "They already came and went."
"What?"
"They sent a giant after Theresa and Neil. They're perfectly fine, don't worry. But when we got back to school, Artemis and Chiron were already there launching an attack on Chronos and Agnon."
Archie felt sick. "They… they know where we live. They could come after us again."
"Yeah." Odie pulled out his PMR. "But I think I have a plan."
Yyyyy
"You two are benched." Hera leveled a harsh glare at Artemis and Chiron as they made their way to the infirmary. "Hermes, you're on thin ice at the moment. What were the three of you thinking? This is already a delicate situation, and you've just made it worse."
"My apologies, Hera. We shouldn't have acted as rashly as we did." Chiron clopped after her, trying his best to hold Kampe still so Hermes could try and remove the collar wrapped around her.
Hermes was trying to focus, but his fingers kept slipping due to fiddling with it as they were walking. He refused to make eye contact with any of his fellow gods, despite Artemis putting a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
"No, you shouldn't have." Hera snapped, holding the door to the infirmary open for everyone to follow her into the room. The giant, carrying the scorpion, hurried past, wanting to avoid her attention as much as he could. "I know I don't pull rank often because I like to think that, as gods, you all possess the critical thinking ability to not run off with half-baked plans that risk endangering not only ourselves, but the children, as well."
"We weren't aware of Chronos's true intentions until we were already there." Artemis attempted to defend. "The kids are obviously not safe there. We… we thought we saw an opportunity to save them."
"And just how many of them did you save?" Hera challenged, rounding on her. "How many? Or did you just cement their beliefs that we're the enemy? All you succeeded in doing tonight is making it that much harder for them to trust us. Not only that!" She realized that she had been raising her voice and backed up a half step to compose herself. "They are now more loyal to Chronos than before. In case you were unaware, the children are no longer tied to the prophecy. We have no reason to need them alive. If the battle to recapture Chronos gets too risky, their safety will no longer be priority. At any point, Zeus can decide that saving humanity will have to come at the cost of the young ones. If you really want to keep them safe, then sticking to the plan is the only chance they have."
Hermes, having finally undone the clasp of the collar, let out a frustrated shout and threw it across the room. Immediately, Kämpe grew back to her normal size, regaining her human parts as well, though due to the manticore venom she remained unconscious.
"Hermes-,"
"This shouldn't have even happened. None of this. Chronos got loose so much sooner than we thought he would, and now the kids…" he sighed, trying to get his frustration under control. "Just say it, Hera. We might have to kill them. If it comes down to it, we might have to kill the kids."
Artemis looked to Hera and Chiron, who both wore looks of resignation. "N-no. It won't come to that-,"
"Look around, Artemis! Kämpe, her guard, and her scorpion? The kids took them out by themselves. Chronos wasn't helping them. They didn't even have their whole team together! This is how powerful they are divided!" Hermes threw his arms wide to gesture to the three who had launched the attack, and then dropped them to his sides, almost defeated. "We don't know what Chronos has taught them, but we know what they're capable of. I should have kept a better watch on them years ago."
"Hermes," Artemis tried, but he just turned and stalked out of the room.
Yyyyy
"I'll admit, I always just assumed your parents had been a bit… odd… for naming you after a Greek god. But you weren't named after him, were you?" Doris put a few tools back into her toolbox and pushed it to the side. They could finish boarding up the window later.
"No, I wasn't. I am him." Chronos nodded.
Helena looked like she wasn't sure what to say, but slowly reached out and poked his arm with the handle of the broom she had been cleaning with. He let her, but raised one of his eyebrows at her nonetheless.
"You're… solid."
"Yes. Was… was that a question?"
Helena shook her head and put the head of the broom back on the ground. "I've just never met a god before. I guess I thought you were all… I don't know, like ghosts? Or… not from this plane of existence?"
"Regardless, there's still the matter of Odie. What do you want with our son, anyways? Is playing with the lives of humans-,"
"I can assure you," Chronos cut Doris off. "that playing with your son's life is not what I'm doing. In fact, it is my goal to do just the opposite. I only want to protect him."
"Protect him from what, exactly? The boys mentioned that they were named in some sort of prophecy?"
Chronos hesitated, but nodded. "Yes." He responded slowly, knowing that he would need to choose his words carefully. "Yes they were. That's why I've gathered them. It's my intention to stop the prophecy and save all seven of them."
"What is the prophecy? And why Odie?" Doris pressed.
"I assume you've studied ancient Greek mythology? I know they teach a bit in schools still."
Both women nodded.
"It's been a while, but I remember a little." Helena leaned back against the counter, arms crossed over her chest. "Chronos is the god of time, right? That's where we get words like 'chronological'."
"Time and space, to be exact." Chronos corrected. "But regardless, I'm talking more about all the chaos that used to be caused by the gods running around and messing with the lives of mortals. Forcing people to fall in love, sometimes with… eh, those of other species. Turning people into trees and plants. Setting monsters loose on villages."
"I remember. Do you want me to dig out my old essays or do you want to tell me what literal ancient history has to do with the monster that just tried to attack my son?" Doris was getting impatient and irritated.
Chronos held up both of his hands, letting her know he wasn't trying to start a fight. "I'm getting to that. The old gods never really went away. They agreed to back off and leave the humans alone, on the condition that every now and then they get some sacrifices. This time around, I've managed to free myself from Tartarus and found out that, along with the kids being identified, the prophecy foretold an apocalypse. It's my belief that being obsolete for so long has led to the gods getting bored and deciding to come out of retirement. They're looking to take the world back to how it used to be when they ran free."
"And… Odie has been chosen to be one of these sacrifices? Why?"
"Mainly due to your ancestry. You and he are direct descendants of Odysseus."
Doris shared a skeptical glance with Helena. "I'm a descendant… he was the one who blinded a cyclops, right?"
"Yes." Chronos nodded.
"The boys also said that they have… abilities."
Helena glanced out the kitchen doorway to make sure that the subjects of their conversation were still where they were supposed to be. They were.
"That's right. We saw Archie jump all the way up onto the roof. Does that have something to do with all of this?"
"Yes. All seven of the children are direct descendants of highly skilled people from the past. As they were named in the prophecy, those abilities were awakened in them, presumably to make it more of a challenge for the gods to, well, hunt them. I'm not trying to scare you, mind you. I just want you to be aware of the situation your son is in and how important it is that he be able to continue training with the rest of his team."
"And the rest of the kids have abilities as well? Because they're descendants of… people like Odysseus?"
"Yes. Archie is actually a descendant of Achilles. His physical abilities greatly exceed what his peers are capable of, and he's completely invulnerable to colds and other illnesses."
Doris nodded, seemingly trying to process everything. "I take it that explains his leg as well? The whole Achilles Heel thing, right?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, he was born with a birth defect. He was so young when he lost his mother, though, that we don't know for sure if this is a hereditary issue."
"That's actually the other thing we needed to talk to you about." Helena shifted slightly, and her sleeve rode up enough for him to see the red dragon tattoo on her arm glaring at him. "When we took Archie to the emergency room, the doctors kept asking about his brace."
Chronos waited for her to continue, not really seeing where this was leading. "...okay? Was it damaged in some way?"
"No. He was more concerned about the fact that it was there in the first place, considering it's not something any doctor anywhere would put on a kid."
"Yes, I made Archie's brace myself. He's gotten along perfectly fine for the last ten years with it, so I didn't see any reason to change that."
"You said you weren't sure if his heel was a hereditary defect. Have you ever taken him to a doctor to find out?" Doris asked.
"Both of my sons get annual physicals-,"
"We mean a specialist. Have you ever had it looked at by someone who could tell you if surgery was an option?"
"No. I haven't seen a reason to do so. He gets along just fine." Chronos didn't like the direction this conversation had taken.
"This is an issue that's going to get progressively worse as Archie gets older. You need to get him cared for."
Helena took over, apparently having something else to ask. "Do you actually believe the kids have a chance of making it out of this… situation alive?"
"Of course I do. I wouldn't be training them if I thought otherwise."
"Then why has it never occurred to you to fix his leg before now? The doctor was asking him about it and he says that when he was a kid it was just a minor annoyance. He could run and jump and kick things and be completely pain free. It only flared up every now and then. He's not even out of high school yet and it's gotten to the point that he has a severe limp if he walks without his brace. If you truly believe that these kids- your sons, actually. If you truly believe that they have a chance of surviving, why aren't you more concerned about their futures?"
"She's right." Doris didn't give their guest a chance to respond. "If this is how you treat your own sons, why should we trust you with Odie?"
"I've got family down in Florida. What's to stop us from taking Odie and Manny, holing up with my brothers and shooting anything that tries to take our roof off?"
Chronos stepped closer to the two women, one hand on his chest. With his other hand, he took Helena's and looked right into her eyes. "You have my word that the safest place for Odie is with me and the others."
"No offence, but from what I've seen your word is worth-,"
Chronos took his hand off his chest and, before she could move, grabbed her hand as well. "I am the god of space and time. There is nowhere you could hide your son that he would be safer than he is with me."
"Their… their eyes just flashed purple."
Chronos whirled around at the voice, barely remembering to keep a grip on both women's hands. Archie stood in the doorway of the kitchen eyes wide. His PMR was clutched in his hand tightly.
"Chronos, what did you do to them? Did… did you just hypnotize them?" Archie took a step closer, growing more concerned when he noticed that both Helena and Doris had blank stares. Neither had reacted to him at all, not even to scold him for being up and walking around.
"Archie, go sit back with Odie. What are you even doing over-, were you eavesdropping?"
"No. I was getting my PMR off the charger. Odie wanted to play around with them. See if he could make it so the taser didn't drain the whole battery or something." He swallowed and waved a hand in front of Helena's face. She didn't react. "What are you doing?" He stepped back with a gasp when he suddenly noticed that the world had become slightly tinged purple.
"Yes, I had to hypnotize them. And you're not going to tell Odie."
"What? You just possessed his parents! What-,"
Chronos let go of Doris and Helena, who remained frozen in time, and rested a hand on Archie's shoulder.
"Believe me, Archie, I didn't want to. But they were planning to take Odie and leave. They're scared, and understandably so, but that fear isn't doing anyone any good. If they were to take Odie, not only would we be down a teammate, just think about what would happen if the gods learned that one of us was alone?"
Archie, heart pounding, tried to take a step back, but Chronos held onto his shoulder and moved with him. "They-they'd go after him."
"Precisely. You saw what happened here tonight. Now imagine if you and Manny hadn't been here. How would this fight have gone if it had just been Odie and two civilians against Kämpe? Do you believe he could have protected them without backup?"
Archie's eyes shifted to the boarded up window. He remembered vividly the feeling of reacting before he had even processed what was going on. Grabbing the knife in one hand, Odie's hoodie in the other. He remembered stabbing the tail as hard as he could and wrenching his friend free. Kämpe had gone after Odie first. She had launched a surprise attack and, had Archie not intervened, she would have succeeded. "No." He whispered. "No, I don't think he could have."
Chronos nodded and released him. "They're scared. People make mistakes when they're scared. Bad decisions. How long do you think the team would last without Odie?"
Archie looked down at the PMR clutched in his hand. He remembered back when Chronos had first gathered them, back when Odie was just playing around with taking things apart to see how they worked. He'd almost always been able to put whatever he took apart back together again from just memory. Back then, they'd used old, staticky walkie-talkies. There had been no chance of stealth, and the best defense they had provided was being heavy enough to throw.
"We wouldn't last long at all." He finally said.
"Precisely." Chronos straightened and led Archie out to the living room, where Odie sat on the couch. He was frozen as well, squinting at the internal wiring of his own PMR in one hand, the backing in his other hand. He had pushed his glasses up onto his head to get a better look at what he was working on. "We both know how smart he is. But, at the end of the day, he's still young. Still impulsive. Were he to find out that his parents weren't comfortable with him returning to school, he's already told me he'd leave the team. Which would not only endanger himself and his family, but you six as well. And there's no telling what the gods are planning to do after the prophecy comes true. Him leaving the team could very much endanger the entire world. Now, unless that is what you want…" He trailed off and waited for Archie to respond.
"...no."
"I didn't think so." Chronos straightened up and led them back to where they had been standing when he froze time. "I know this might not feel like the best way to go about things, but it's what's best. Odie's safest with us. Now go back and keep him occupied while we finish our chat, alright?"
Archie swallowed. "Yeah. Alright."
Chronos smiled and patted his shoulder. "There's a good lad. I know I can count on you."
Archie closed his eyes and breathed. When he opened them again, the world was moving again. Chronos was talking, he could hear his friend in the living room muttering under his breath as he fiddled with his PMR, and Doris and Helena-
Archie spun around and hurried back to the living room. He needed to sit down, and he wasn't quite sure if it was because of his injuries, or the fact that… Chronos had froze time again. He was using his powers on civilians, on Odie's parents.
"Archie, hey. Are you okay?" A look of concern was clear on Odie's face as Archie made his way back to the couch. "Sit down. I told you you should have let me grab your PMR." He stood and, grabbing his friend by the arms, guided him to sit. "You're pale as heck. Do you think you aggravated your injuries at all?"
"N-no." He cleared his throat and did his best to pretend that the only thing wrong was… everything that had already happened that night. "I'm just, um, feeling a bit tired." In an effort to distract him, Archie held out his PMR. "Here. You can practice on mine. It's got a full charge."
Odie took it and flipped it over, deftly removing the screws holding the back on. "Thanks." He turned his attention to the device, but made sure to keep a close eye on his friend.
The pair sat in silence for a while, one forcing himself to focus on reworking the PMRs, and the other going back over the conversation he'd just had with their mentor. He hated that he knew what was going on in the other room, hated that he was actively going along with it by distracting Odie. But Chronos had been right; Odie leaving the team would spell certain doom for them. All seven of them.
"I'm…"
Archie lowered his gaze from the ceiling to see that Odie had stopped working. "You're what? You okay?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if I freaked you out before, telling you that I'd leave the team if it meant protecting my family. I… I know Chronos won't let anything like this happen again. I just worry about them."
Archie closed his eyes for a moment, chest tight. Odie was two years younger than him. He was used to seeing him as a teammate, an ally, an equal in nearly all aspects. But every now and then, he was struck with the realization that Odie being younger than the rest of them meant that he sometimes saw things differently. He saw people differently.
"Would you, though? Would you leave the team if you thought he couldn't?"
Odie didn't hesitate. "In a heartbeat. I… I know it's not right, we have a mission and all that, but if it meant keeping my family safe, I'd let the world burn."
Archie opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again. He didn't have anything he could say. Right then, they heard footsteps heading their way and looked up. Helena, Doris, and Chronos walked into the living room.
"Well, we've talked it over and," Doris took her wife's hand. "This has been a lot to take in, but I believe we've come to a decision."
Archie knew Chronos had been right, but he couldn't help feeling like a traitor. He knew it was for the best, but he still felt… wrong. Very, very wrong. But for Odie's sake, he didn't say anything. He listened as Doris told Odie he was allowed to return to school. He smiled and reciprocated his friend's excited high-five. He told himself that this feeling would go away eventually, but he knew, deep down, that it wouldn't. And as the conversation continued on around him, he found himself staring at his father, knowing that, should Chronos have to choose between Archie and the world, it wouldn't be the world that would be left to burn. And once again, Archie knew it was wrong, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling hurt. Empty…
Wrong.