AN: I'd like to thank everyone for their continued support of this story! Thank you to my beta A.M. who has been patient and supportive throughout the writing process as well. This chapter was extremely difficult to write and I had to tinker with it before I was completely happy with it. However, as I have been writing nonstop now for the last few weeks, including other writing projects that I want to post after this story, I have decided to give myself a bit of a break for a bit. Hopefully, the next chapter will be completed and published in two weeks- I just need a bit of rest from the writing process for a bit.

Chapter Five

The silence that met Marc's words was deafening as Lee, Megan, and Tony stared horrified at him after he had revealed the suspicions that he had harboured so close to his chest. Now that he had said what was on his mind, he felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Ever since the beginning of the last mission, Marc had his suspicions that things weren't as they seemed, and that it was possible that they were dealing with somebody related to WOOHP. However, whether it was a fellow agent or a previous villain was something that he was unsure about and he suddenly wondered if he had made the right decision to tell his siblings this information when he had zero proof of it.

However, the more he had considered the few clues they did have in relation to the case, the more the pieces of the puzzle revealed that it was quite possible that a WOOHP agent was the one behind all of this. Marc had to admit that there was a certain sophistication behind the criminal acts of this specific villain, and everything was well thought out and strategised to a fault… even yesterday's attack had been carefully planned and well executed. The only thing that had prevented the villain from being successful was the arrival of Lee and Tony who had returned home and immediately jumped into action.

He shuddered to think what could have happened had his brothers not got there to save him on time. The villain had the full advantage in the attack and was moments away from getting what he had wanted. What would be happening to him now had the bad guy captured him- if that even was their intention in the first place? Marc didn't really know if the intent was to capture or eliminate him- or of course, both options could have been in the cards. It was a terrifying thought, and he found that he was slightly overwhelmed whenever his mind went over the endless possibilities of what could have happened. He shook his head as though to clear it and focused instead on his siblings and to see their reactions to his suspicions.

For several long moments, the silence pressed in on him and he felt like he was being suffocated by it. He started to worry that he had said something that was wrong because his siblings just continued to stare at him, their mouths open in shock as they processed what he had just told them. When his brothers and sister still hadn't said anything, he started to doubt himself again. It was crazy to think that a fellow WOOHP agent could be behind this whole thing… no, it was completely ridiculous and Marc opened his mouth to say so when Lee got over his shock and glanced around the room, a terrified expression on his face as he looked in the direction of where he knew the WOOHP tunnels were.

"Are you sure, Marc?" He asked him in a low voice, his face pale as he turned back to look at his brother. "You're absolutely sure? We can't… this is…" Lee stopped talking and appeared flustered. He tried to get his mind to think the same way as Marc's, trying to fit together the pieces of the puzzle in the same logical way that he did, but he couldn't do it. He wasn't at all like his brother who had the uncanny ability to use his logic and intelligence to see things that he normally missed, and who used those abilities to piece even the smallest piece of evidence to figure out what was going on.

However, it was clear to Marc that Lee could not wrap his mind around what he had revealed to them and could not reconcile the fact that somebody from WOOHP could be responsible for everything that had happened. To the redhead it seemed an impossible thing, but he remembered that Mel had been a former WOOHP agent and he had targeted Lee and his siblings, and then there was Davey Hacker who had been part of a department at the office. Surely, a fellow agent wouldn't do any of this, and if so… what would be their motive for doing so?

It didn't make any sense to Lee and when he glanced over at Tony and Megan he could see that they had come to the same conclusion, but they did not want to dismiss Marc's suspicions because they were afraid that it would make their brother shut down and never talk so openly to them about what was on his mind. Yet, there was also the possibility that Marc was correct and none of them wanted to make their brother feel that he was not being taken seriously. It was not exactly a secret that Marc struggled with feeling as though he actually belonged at both WOOHP and as a member of their Spiez team, and the last thing they needed to do was make him feel as though he was right in feeling that he didn't belong.

"If somebody from WOOHP is responsible for both that warehouse attack and what happened yesterday, this changes everything," said Tony finally when it became clear that Lee was still fighting with himself to know what to say. "Do you think we should tell Jerry about this? It might help to direct his investigation…"

"How would we even bring up that conversation?" Megan asked, hugging Pongo the Penguin to her chest tightly, her green eyes wide. "I mean, we don't want to outright accuse Jerry or his organisation of anything, but if there's concern that there's a rogue agent running loose- we need to have a plan on how to approach this issue with our boss."

Marc put a hand through his hair and frowned in thought. The best course of action would be, of course, to alert Jerry of his suspicions. However, Megan had brought up a very valid point when she had said that they needed to make sure that his suspicion didn't come across as an accusation. However, there was another problem with going to their boss that Marc was worried about, and that was the possibility that word would get out as multiple departments at WOOHP would have to get involved in the investigation. He would be put at further risk if the wrong person heard that Jerry was looking into things, but he wasn't just terrified for himself, he was scared for his siblings as well.

Yet, he had to admit that telling Jerry the possibility that a WOOHP agent was involved in this was the best idea, and that they should not withhold this information from their boss. However, he felt doubt eat away at him and suddenly he wasn't so sure that his suspicions were correct.

What if I am wrong? What if I am not even close to being correct? Marc asked himself. The questions repeated over again in his mind and he soon found that he was no longer sure of himself. When he voiced this doubt to his siblings, he noticed that Lee gave him a searching look, his blue eyes stared at him with such intensity that Marc squirmed under their weight.

Beside him, he noticed Megan move slightly before he felt her hand on his arm and he glanced over to see that his sister had a concerned expression on her face. In front of him, Tony shifted into a more comfortable position but remained silent, his brow knitted together as he was deep in thought.

"Don't second guess yourself, Marc." Megan's voice was firm, her gaze upon her twin was unwavering. "Look, your suspicions are valid, and you shouldn't be so hard on yourself for thinking this way, okay? Let's look at the facts of the case because something is happening here… something that is very scary because this is the second time that you have been attacked."

"A WOOHP agent behind this would explain a lot of this case," said Tony, his voice quivered for a moment, but the next time he spoke, his voice grew stronger. He glanced up and looked first at Lee before he turned his attention to Marc. "You mentioned since the beginning of the mission that something didn't feel right, and as we got deeper into the investigation we all noticed that something was wrong. I am with Megan when she says that you shouldn't second guess yourself."

"Think of our training, Marc. What have we been taught by Jerry over the course of a year or so that we've been junior agents?" asked Megan, her hand still on her twin's arm. When Marc glanced up with a questioning look in his eyes, she held onto his gaze and did not look away. "He taught us to trust our intuition because our instincts can save our lives."

Marc remembered everything that had been taught to him by Jerry and their other instructors at WOOHP, but he still felt troubled and broke his gaze with his sister to stare absentmindedly at his hands. He was deep in thought, his mind on the mission and everything that had occurred in the two weeks that they had been on this case. While it was often that he and his siblings relied on their instincts during a mission, he didn't think it was enough to solve anything.

"What's going on in that brain of yours, Brainiac?" Lee's voice interrupted the flurry of thoughts that were in Marc's mind. The redhead noticed the way that Marc grimaced at the nickname and chanced a look at Megan who just shook her head before she turned her attention back to her twin brother whose eyebrows raised slightly when he saw the unspoken interaction between his eldest siblings. "I… we know that something is bothering you. Please, just tell us what's on your mind. We can help you."

For a moment, Marc did not respond. He leaned back on Megan's bed so that he was resting on his elbow, his foot upon the bed frame. He rubbed his eyes and thought carefully of what he wanted to say, but was interrupted by Tony calling out his name, his voice low and questioning. He pushed himself into a sitting position and sighed softly before he looked back up at his siblings.

"I've been thinking," he started before his voice trailed off into silence once more. The thoughtful expression on his face had disappeared, replaced by one that showed just how worried he was.

"What else is new?" Lee asked playfully, his eyes still upon his younger brother. "You're always thinking about something or other."

He frowned at this but chose to tell Lee, Megan, and Tony everything that was worrying him. "Well, I've been thinking that this time we need more than our intuition. We need concrete evidence that shows what exactly is going on and who is behind it." He stopped talking for a moment to collect his thoughts. He noticed that his siblings were waiting expectantly for him to continue, their attention fully upon him. He felt suddenly uncomfortable by this but pressed on. "We can't go to Jerry without anything because all we've got is a circumstantial case."

At first there was silence that met his words. Lee had screwed his face into thought, putting pieces of the puzzle together before he came to a conclusion. He glanced sharply at Marc whose face resembled that of a statue, stony and cold. A determined expression on his face as his eyes blazed into Lee's with such intensity that the older boy had to look away. The meaning behind Marc's words was clear and the redhead did not like it one bit.

"No, no. There's got to be another way. I will not allow you to do this," said Lee angrily. He ignored the patronising look that Megan threw him or the way that Tony had tensed his shoulders as he glanced between his two older brothers, a questioning look on his face. "The best course of action is to go to our boss. Especially with this information! He can…"

"... Help us?" Marc asked, an eyebrow slightly raised as he regarded his brother. "Look, even if we did go to Jerry with this information, what if it gets out? Multiple departments at WOOHP would have to be called into this matter to help investigate. It wouldn't be kept secret for very long and if the villain is in fact an agent, it could cause an escalation in attacks."

Lee struggled with himself for a few minutes. His role as the eldest child had been made clear to him at an early age. He was the role model, the teacher, the protector, and above all, he was to care for and lead his siblings. On one hand, he felt that he needed to protect Marc, no matter the cost to himself and his well being. However, on the other hand, he wanted to figure out who exactly was behind the attacks against his brother… but what Marc was asking to do, what he was planning to do- was going to put himself into further danger. The battle between being a brother and being a spy continued to wage, and he suddenly felt as though he were a failure at both these things since he could no longer be both when it came to this case.

"It needs to be done," Marc said quietly when none of his siblings said anything. "We need more evidence because the evidence we have is not enough."

Lee's eyes flashed in anger and he clenched his fists, and when he spoke it was in a voice of forced calm. "What more evidence do we need to have? And what if there isn't any more evidence to be found? What then, Marc? Will we go to Jerry after it's too late? This villain will strike again and the next time we won't be as lucky as we were the last two times!"

"All we've been running on this entire mission is luck," Megan declared in a slightly trembling voice. When her brothers looked over at her, they saw that her face had paled and that she was biting at her bottom lip. She turned to face her twin, her eyes wide and terrified. "You were lucky that Lee and I escaped on time and that he saved you before that… that… manticore robot could do some serious harm. You were lucky that Tony and Lee made it home on time to save you from yesterday's attack. Our luck might just run out the next time and we'll lose you."

"But you won't lose me, I am not asking to go out into the field with you. What I am asking to do is my part so that we can get the bad guy," said Marc pleadingly. "I need to do this. If the bad guy is an agent then they already know we're on the case. What if all the evidence we have given to Jerry is going to be compromised? We need to get it so that I can have it properly analysed before that happens."

"No, absolutely not, Marc! I will not allow you to put yourself in further danger," said Lee heatedly, his face having lost its pallour when he realised the full extent of his brother's plans. When Marc opened his mouth to argue, he raised a hand to stop him, his eyes burning fire. "I said no, Marc. It's too dangerous. Besides, you said it best yourself, if this is an agent behind all of this, they already know that we are investigating them. You'll only be putting yourself at further risk…"

"Since when has that stopped any of us from doing whatever it takes to complete a mission? Especially you, Lee?"

Lee just stared at him, his mouth slightly open as he tried to find the words to answer Marc's words, but he couldn't say anything. Marc was right of course, when had any of them ever backed down from any kind of challenge? What right did he have to stand in the way of what his brother thought was right when handling the threat in front of them? Yet, there had to be another way… there just had to be.

"I am sick and tired of sitting back and doing nothing while all of you are putting yourselves at risk to fight a battle that isn't just yours to fight." Marc knew that the frustration he felt about this was showing, but he could no longer push it back and pretend that it wasn't there. At Lee's startled look and Megan and Tony's questioning gaze, he sighed and continued. "I know that the three of you are still working on the mission, and I want to do my part in getting this bad guy. So, just let me do it, okay?"

Lee looked like he was going to argue and both Megan and Tony appeared upset, but Marc went on relentlessly as he felt anger rise deep within him. "I know that there wasn't a new mission that Jerry had you on within the last few days. You were all working together on some new development in the robot manticore case, weren't you? It's okay, I get it- even though I am not happy about it. I got injured and need to take time off, but none of you thought to keep me updated on anything you've found out?"

Tony was the first to speak, his voice was small and shaky, but he was able to maintain eye contact with his brother whose anger clearly showed on his face. "We wanted to tell you, bro. We really did, but Jerry ordered us not to. He said that you were no longer on the mission and that you were to rest. He'd figure out what to do with you after you got better."

"He wanted to reassign you to another spy team for the time being," Megan said quickly when she saw that Marc was going to respond. "Lee and I managed to convince him not to because you're not just our brother, but a vital member of our team. You belong with us…"

Marc felt his heart plummet to the pit of his stomach as the colour drained from his face. "Wait, Jerry not only wants me off this mission, but he wants me gone from the SpieZ team?"

"It would have been temporary, of course." Lee informed him gently but Marc could see the doubt in his eyes. "He said you're one of the best agents at WOOHP and that he was concerned that this matter wouldn't be resolved. The team you would have been put with does a lot of stuff behind the scenes. They are sort of like a forensic team, but they don't leave the office like we do."

"Jer is worried about what's been going on," Tony piped up, his face clearly showing how upset he was. "He even said that the attacks against you are concerning."

"When did he say this?" Marc asked in a quiet voice, not even looking at his siblings anymore. Instead he chose a spot above him on the ceiling and stared at that, but he made it clear that he wanted to know the answer because he repeated the question.

Lee was the one who answered him. "Yesterday evening after you had fallen asleep on my bed while we played that CSI board game. Jerry… Well, he called us to say that he was looking into what had happened and would keep us updated. We were speaking to him for a while…"

"And you didn't think to wake me? Don't you think that this entire matter should include me as I seem to be the target here?"

"Well, we… um…"

Marc didn't need to look at Lee to know that his brother was fiddling with his hands as he tried to come up with an answer that would make sense, but couldn't seem to find the words that would even make the slightest bit of sense. How could he say that he couldn't include his brother- that they had to listen to Jerry who wanted to keep him safe from harm just like he was trying to do.

"Marc, we had no choice." Tony's voice was pleading, as though hoping that what he said explained everything, but it didn't because Marc simply couldn't understand. "You understand, right? We couldn't get you involved because…"

"Because of what, exactly?" Marc asked angrily, his attention now on Tony who appeared to wilt under his gaze and who had fallen silent. "Because Jerry said so? Because I got hurt and need time to heal?" He stopped speaking as the anger burned white hot inside him. "Or am I being left out of this because I am seen as being weak or that I am unable to handle anything? Is that why?"

"No, of course we don't think any of these things!" Megan was close to tears, but she struggled to control her emotions and tried to reach out to put a hand on his shoulder, but Marc shook her off and stood to his feet, his nostrils flared and were white- a sure sign that he was angry. He glared at her for a moment before he turned to silently gaze at his two brothers before he moved towards the door, his hand was upon the doorknob when Megan called out to him. "No, Marc! Please stay! I know that you're upset, but we can talk about this!"

He whirled around at this, feeling unbridled rage rise up inside him, and he glared at his twin sister who had gotten up from her bed. Pongo the Penguin had fallen from her lap and onto the floor in front of Tony who quickly grabbed hold of him before he turned to look at Marc white-faced. Lee hadn't moved from where he sat on the floor, but turned his head so that he could see him, but when Marc glowered at him he could see just how exhausted his older brother appeared. However, there was something else written on Lee's face- something that took the younger boy by surprise when he recognised that it was profound sadness.

"There's absolutely nothing to discuss going forward," he said bitterly. "Not only is information being entirely withheld from me, but I am no longer on this mission, remember?"

Then without saying anything else and after throwing each of his siblings one final scathing look, Marc threw open the door and stalked angrily from the room, closing the door with a snap before he walked down the hallway towards his room trying with all his might to fight back the tears that threatened to fall and to ignore the feeling of loss that crept into his heart and threatened to overwhelm him entirely.

Marc longed for the solitude and refuge of the treehouse, and wished to escape both his siblings and the confines of the house so that he could go to the only place where he felt safe to reflect on his thoughts and to come to terms with what he had just learned without being interrupted. His brothers and sister had not left Megan's room by the time he had made the decision to leave the house when the desire for fresh air became too much to ignore. However, the shame he had felt over his actions and harsh words had overtaken him and he felt the urge to apologise to his siblings.

When he had stopped outside of his sister's room and went to knock on the door before he would open it to stick his head in, he overheard snatches of his siblings' conversation. With a jolt, he realised that his brothers and sister were in the middle of a heated argument, and though they tried their best to keep it quiet, it was clear that they were upset and could not keep their voices low. Instead of backing away quietly towards the staircase, he pressed his ear to the door and listened in on their conversation, with his heart thumping so loudly that he was afraid that his siblings would hear it and would throw open the door to yell at him.

He quickly found that he didn't have to worry about being discovered as Lee, Megan, and Tony were deeply immersed in their argument and had not heard him approach the room. As he listened to the discussion, he was immediately drawn to the fact that this was a dispute that they had before, and that they had just picked up where they had left off.

"... Of course I feel bad that we kept Marc in the dark about this matter. As a matter of fact, I feel horrible that we had to lie to him. However, we weren't exactly given a choice in the matter. He got hurt! He was targeted by this bad guy and I did not want him to be involved." Lee's voice was nearest to the door, and Marc could imagine that his older brother had stood up and was leaning against the door frame with his arms folded over his chest.

"We had no right to make that decision and neither did Jerry. We should have told our brother everything straight away!" Megan chastised, her words were clipped and angry. "Remember what we had promised each other since the very beginning? We said that there would be absolutely no secrets between us, and that we were to include each other in anything WOOHP related. What have we done in this case? We've kept secrets!"

"What did you expect me to do, Megan?" Lee snapped at her. "Jerry said that we are to keep Marc out of this, that we are to work on this mission without him. I was following orders. Besides, I was thinking of what was best for our brother!"

"Oh right, it was such a great idea to push out a member of our team and lie about everything!" Megan shot back, her voice was bitingly cold. "He deserved to know what was going on. You even made a promise to him a few days ago to tell him everything about our mission, but when we got back, you made the decision not to."

At Megan's words, Lee lost his temper. "Do you have a convenient memory, Megan? I was not the only one making the decisions here- both you and Tony also made the choice to keep Marc out of this! So why is it that you're angry with me after our brother discovered that we were hiding everything from him? And what about Jerry, eh? Are you angry with our boss for also making that same decision… or is it just me that…"

"Don't bring this back onto me, Lee! I was following your lead because I thought that you made a sound argument that we were doing all of this to keep our brother safe."

"Oh, so that's it, right? You were following my lead. You didn't think any of this through and now that it backfired on us because Marc's too smart for his own good, you blame me…"

"Don't you have a go at Marc because of this!" Megan said shrilly. "None of this is his fault!"

"And none of this is mine!" Lee roared, drowning out their sister's voice. "We are all equally at fault here. All of us!"

"Marc is a part of this team or did you forget that, Lee?" Megan asked, her voice dripping in venom. "You don't think he's good enough for our team… for WOOHP, do you? Is that why we are shutting him out?"

"Wha..?" Lee sounded shocked by the question, and Marc could almost see the look that would be on his older brother's face. "How did you come to that conclusion, Megan? Of course, Marc belongs on our team. He's a vital member… no… he's so much more than that… he's the heart of our team. We'd be nothing without him and his contributions."

"It doesn't seem like you think any of this…"

"Wait a minute, let's go back to what you said before because this can go both ways," Lee said in a voice of forced calm. "Did you forget that Marc is a part of this team, Megan? Maybe it's because I've received too many blows to the head from both my sports and from villains on missions, but I seem to remember that you also agreed to keep Marc in the dark about what we were doing. You even said that you were willing to do anything to keep our brother safe!"

"Okay, that's enough! Let's stop fighting!" Tony said in a loud voice, his voice quivering in anger and something else that sounded akin to fear. He had been silent the entire time that Lee and Megan were at each other's throats, his gaze going from one to the other as they fought until he could no longer deal with it. "Look, we all did things we are not proud of here, but we're forgetting that in the process of doing all of this that we hurt Marc. No, Megan, don't you dare speak… and you Lee, stop looking like a fish out of water and just listen!"

A deafening silence met Tony's words and Marc, who was still leaning against the door listening to their conversation, felt admiration for his younger brother rise up in his chest. "How would any of us feel if we were in a similar situation? We'd feel upset and confused, but most of all, I bet that we'd question our worth as both a spy and a member of the SpieZ team. So instead of fighting over who is the most responsible for causing our brother and team member to be hurt, maybe we should find a way to fix the situation and make it up to him."

"Tony…" Lee's voice sounded suddenly tired, as though their older brother felt the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.

"No, I am not finished, Lee." Tony took in a deep breath, held it for a second, and released it. "You said that you were following orders, but that's a lie and you know it! You made a decision because you thought it was the best way to protect Marc, but holding back on information, especially when it was made clear that his life's in danger is not protecting him. Sure, Jerry told us not to include our brother, that it was wise to keep everything hidden from him- but we all made a decision to follow what Jerry advised and now look at where that got us."

"Tony, I… Look, I did what I thought was for the best…" Lee sounded so upset that his voice was shaking, but Marc recognised that it wasn't out of anger, and that his eldest brother was about to break down. "I did what I thought was right…"

"You did what you thought was right." Megan seemed to recognise the same thing that Marc did and immediately lost all the anger she felt, going into protective sister mode and trying her best to soothe Lee. "We all did what we thought was for the best, but obviously we need to rethink what to do and form another strategy because our idea of what was for the best is not good enough for this situation."

"I just tried so hard to protect Marc from this… whatever this is." The defeat in Lee's voice nearly broke Marc as he listened. "For whatever reason, he's always been the one that the villains target the most. They perceive him to be the weakest, but he's not and it always upsets me when I see that he's been hurt or captured. I just thought that if I kept him far away from this whole thing that I'd force the bad guy to go after me instead of Marc, but yesterday showed me that no matter what I do, I can't always be there to… I just don't know what to do."

"That's okay, Lee. You are only human. You're not some super spy robot that has been programmed to do its job and not feel or have any kind of weak spot," Megan replied in a voice full of emotion. "We all, Marc included, know that you're only human. You're allowed to make mistakes. You're allowed to feel vulnerable. Even the strongest person has their weak moments, and it's okay."

"I think that you've lost sight of the fact that you are only human. You are always so concerned about all of us that you forget to take care of yourself," Tony piped up. It always astonished Marc that his youngest brother could be so observant and could say the right thing when the situation warranted it. "It's just like what Megan said, you don't always need to feel strong. You're allowed to have your weak moments. That's why all of us are here with you. We work well together as a team because we're able to come forward with our own strengths."

"Yeah, and don't underestimate our brainiac of a brother, either." Megan put in. "While being the protective older brother is part of who you are, you don't need to be so overprotective of him, Lee. We've all seen him in action, he's more than capable of fighting for himself and usually finds a way to get the upper hand regardless of the villain. It's great that you come to his aid because I know that he appreciates it, but sometimes you've got to let go of that protectiveness and see his strengths and allow him to do what he feels is best."

"What we're saying is that you don't need to run yourself into the ground to keep us safe." Tony hesitated for a moment before he added. "It's okay to remain vigilant and to come to our aid when we need it, but not when doing so hurts you because you forget to put yourself first."

"But… I… I just can't stop being who or what I am," Lee stammered. "Besides, Marc was willing to put himself in danger. I can't just ignore that!"

"He wasn't asking to be brought into an active role and be out in the field with us." Megan pointed out in a quiet voice. "His plan was to work behind the scenes to collect and analyse evidence so that we can have a concrete case to present to Jerry. To be honest, with how this case is going, we do need his help…"

"No, I will not allow him to put himself in risk," Lee said firmly. "No, Megan, this is not up for debate. What if Marc's correct in his suspicions that this is an agent responsible for this whole thing? What if they are alerted to the fact that we are getting closer to finding out their identity? We are barely able to fight him off to begin with! You were right when you said that we've been lucky thus far, but what if the next time Marc is injured worse than he is now, or worse? What if he's captured… or… or…"

Lee was unable to complete the sentence before he fell silent at Megan's sharp intake of breath, but Marc recognised that his older brother was upset because he had thought of all the possible outcomes that would come out of his plan. He felt his heart ache but remained still when he heard the conversation pick up again, but his siblings were speaking in such low voices that it was difficult to discern anything that they were saying.

He quietly retreated down the hallway and was outside in the backyard where the treehouse stood. Brilliant orange, red, and yellow leaves twirled and danced upon a light breeze as they made their descent to the leaf strewn ground that seemed to come to life with splendid colour. He kicked absentmindedly at a small pile of leaves, watching as the ones on the top lifted up in the breeze before falling back to the ground. He made his way slowly to the treehouse, his head slightly bowed and his hands in his pockets, but when he reached the ladder that would take him up, he paused and looked around the backyard.

The drumming of a woodpecker was heard somewhere in the trees that lined the Clark property. Marc listened closely and was able to pinpoint where the bird was and looked over to see the distinctive red cape of a male Downy Woodpecker upon the trunk of an ash tree. He heard a dull thud coming from the direction of Miss Peverell's yard, and glanced over to find that a wild apple had fallen from one of the fruit trees and onto the ground on their side of the fence. The stench of rotting apples assaulted his nose, but he noticed that the spoiled fruit had drawn in wasps, honey bees, and fat bumblebees that flew quickly among the fruit to get as much as they could before the day got too cold for them to be outside.

Marc reached up to start climbing the ladder so that he could go into the treehouse when he felt the hair on the back of his neck raise, and he pushed himself away from the tree to look around the property again. There was hardly anywhere to hide here, outside of the grove of fruit trees that had been planted when the house had been built over a hundred years earlier. Yet, Marc could see nothing that explained the eerie feeling that rose up in his chest, but the oppressive feeling that something bad was about to happen made him bite back on the fear he felt deep within him and walked back towards the house.

He stopped within reach of the back door of the house and turned so that he could look out at the backyard once more. Nothing had changed that would put him on alert, but the fact that he had the gut feeling that something was not right was more than enough for him to act on it. Marc was about to go into the house when the door opened behind him and his mother stepped outside with a bucket and a set of garden shears. He uttered an exclamation of surprise as he jumped forwards and nearly lost his balance.

"Oh, Marc! I am sorry for scaring you." His mother dropped the buckets and grabbed hold of his arm before he could fall. "I had no idea that you were out here." She bent down to pick up her bucket and straightened with a frown on her face. "Where are your brothers and sister? I thought you were with them."

"I needed some fresh air," Marc said shakily, his heart felt like it was in his throat, but he soon was able to calm down and gave his mother a small smile. "Lee, Megan, and Tony are upstairs in Megan's room. However, I needed to step out because…"

"Are you sure you're okay, sweetheart?" His mother's frown deepened as she studied her young son. She took in Marc's pale face and how he trembled slightly. She set the garden shears into the bucket and placed the palm of her hand against his forehead to take his temperature. "You don't have a temperature, but I want you to go inside the house and lie down."

"Mom, I'm fine." Marc took a step back and glanced up at his mother who still wore a worried expression on her face. He noticed that his mother was wearing a blue and white flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. She had pulled her hair into a ponytail and wore a white wide brimmed straw hat with a black ribbon. When he saw that his mother didn't look convinced, he quickly added. "I just needed air, mom. The house feels like a prison sometimes and I just had to come outside."

His mother's eyes softened at the last part of what he had said and she set a hand on his shoulder to squeeze it gently. "Well, I suppose you're right about that. You've had to stay at home for the last few days, so I can imagine that you'd feel trapped." She looked towards the grove of crab apple trees in the backyard and turned back to look at him with a smile. "If you feel up to it, do you want to help me harvest those apples so that I can make some crab apple jelly later? If you want to go and rest for a bit, you can do that. Your father will be out in a bit to rake up the leaves so he can help me if I need it."

Marc bit his lip and considered the invitation. He didn't feel as though he was in danger now that his mother was outside, but he was still nervous. His uncertainty must have shown on his face because his mother ruffled his hair and told him that he could go inside the house. A shadow flitted briefly on his face when he looked through the window next to the door and he saw that Lee and Tony had come downstairs. He saw that his younger brother noticed him and had come to a complete halt, he nudged Lee with his elbow and pointed in Marc's direction. Lee, who had been looking down at his phone, glanced up, his eyes locked with Marc's for a moment, but he frowned and pulled Tony away into the living room.

Tony glanced back towards the window, an upset expression on his face, but he allowed Lee to pull him away. Marc suddenly felt as though his heart was about to shatter when he watched his brothers disappear from sight. He did not understand the rush of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him when he realised that something had changed between him and his siblings. It was as though there was now an invisible wall that separated them… a wall that was so thick and tall that it was impossible to get through or climb over.

For a moment, he stood there and stared at the spot where he had last seen his brothers before they had vanished from his sight. He felt strangely empty, as though all the emotions that had threatened to explode inside him moments earlier had drained out of him and left him with a hollow feeling that couldn't be explained. He felt the exhaustion creep up inside him when he realised that he was now on his own, and that he no longer had the support of his siblings.

Suddenly, he felt the desire to be left alone. Without looking back at his mother, he walked into the house and went as quickly and quietly as he could to his room. He needed to think about what he needed to do going forward, and quickly. He knew that it was only a matter of time before this villain struck again and he needed to be prepared for that fight when that time came.

"If only there was a way for me to figure out what exactly my siblings were up to in the last few days. There has to be some kind of log or something that would tell me," Marc mumbled to himself as he shut his bedroom door. His eyes immediately went to his computer as an idea sprang into his mind. He knew exactly what he needed to do now… and damn the consequences.