II: On the Verge of a Storm
Leo punches in the last batch of information on the computer while a song from the newest Childish album thumps softly through his headphone. He double checks the record – approximately mid-September 1995 – just to make sure he got it right.
He huffs. All of these repetitive tasks are killing his brain cells. Day in and day out, he does the same things. He'd been an assistant for his stepfather for about three years now. He really thought they would give him a new job, especially since they have an actual school to run.
But no, of course not. All they did was stick him behind a bigger, fancier desk and change his title from Mission Specialist to Information Manager.
They're not fooling anyone. It's the same old job.
He sighs, leaning back on his swivel chair. He really should be out there helping them. He should be a mentor! There are some things he can teach the students.
Secretly, he finds it a little laughable that Bree really thinks she can handle the Modern Living classes. What's worse still is that his stepfather and his brothers actually think it's a good idea, too.
Modern Living? With a girl who's only been out in the world for three years? What does she or any of them know about living in the world out there? They're rich, they're powerful, they're good-looking. Not once in their lives had they ever had to adapt to the harsher realities of real living.
They've never known what it's like to be followed in stores, to feel like people's idea of welcoming them is by distrusting them. They don't know what it's like to avoid certain neighborhoods out of fear for their lives. They don't know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck, to see things and have their hearts break when they realize they just don't have any money to even want for those things.
They've never wanted - they've just always had.
Wait. What are you thinking? He shakes his head then pulls down his headphones to his neck. He can't think like this. His father thinks like this, and…
No. That doesn't mean he's becoming like him. That doesn't mean he would turn into him.
Desperate for a change of thought, he returns his attention back on his task. He double checks the entire record, making sure no blank is left unfilled. Once he's done, he clicks on Update.
He takes a calming breath as it loads. It's okay. It doesn't make you a bad person, he tells himself as condemnatory feelings from earlier thoughts loom like a dark cloud at the back of his mind. It's just not a good day. You're just super irritated. It's okay.
"Hey, Leo!" Chase greets as he and their father stroll into the quarters. "How's data entry going?"
"Oh, you know. Peachy," he tells them, grinning sardonically. "I feel like I am making such a difference in the world by making sure we know Donald the Third's birthday is sometime mid-September."
"You are making a difference in the world," Donald says as he approaches the kitchenette. "You're helping us have an accurate record on the students. Plus, we have to know when the students' birthdays are!"
Right. As opposed to knowing when my graduation was and being there to support me, Leo thinks bitterly but doesn't say. "How did the webcast go?" he asks his stepbrother.
Chase scoffs. "Mr. Davenport didn't let me talk."
"So it went great," Donald says, grinning.
Chase rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Let's just find a company that will mass produce the energy transponder."
"I…already did."
"What?"
"As soon as the presentation was over, I made a phone call. That was it. After that, the deal was done."
Chase frowns. "Why didn't you consult me?"
"Yeah," Leo chimes in. "I thought this would be your 'big project' together."
"Well, if I did that, then I'd have to listen to him," Donald says, pointing to Chase. "I don't know if you know, but he tends to drone on and on about things that no one is ever interested in."
"Hm. Wonder where he got that from," Leo says, brows hitched as he stares at the tech mogul.
"Well, did you at least go with a company that's environmentally conscious?" Chase demands.
"Well, I considered that – and many, many other things," Donald says then grins, "but in the end I just went with the one that will make me more money. Ka-ching!"
Leo and Chase watch as their father walks out of the quarters, a bottle of water in hand, grinning from ear to ear.
Leo leans back on his chair and crosses his arms thoughtfully. "Sometimes I wonder about his fitness in being a father."
Chase sighs. "Don't remind me. I've got a feeling this won't be the only time he'd do it."
"Well, what are you going to do about it?"
"What is there to do? It's not like companies would deal with me," Chase says. "To them, I'm just a collaborator. I'm just his kid."
"Don't you have a copy of the blueprint?"
Chase looks at him thoughtfully, bordering suspicion. "Are you suggesting I make deals on my own?"
"I'm suggesting you're the other half of this project. The company he's chosen can't do anything unless you both sign the agreement."
A smirk of understanding slowly pulls at Chase's lips.
"The ball is still in your court," Leo confirms, smiling. "The buyers can look at you anyway they want, but the fact is that you're 18. Chase, you're not exactly a minor anymore. You've got a say in this."
Chase grins. "You know, Mr. Davenport won't be happy that you pointed that out to me."
Leo slowly turns his swivel chair away from his brother. "Pointed what out to you?" he feigns cluelessness before turning his back completely on him.
Chase grins as his younger brother slips on his headphones back on.
After Chase exits the quarters, armed with a tank of newfound confidence, a text message comes in through Leo's phone.
Monday, 12:16 PM
Hey. You with your mom?
Leo frowns at his phone.
No. She's out in Bakersfield on an assignment. Why?
12:19 PM
You're with your family?
Yeah? Why?
You didn't tell me you'd be there.
It feels like he had been doused with cold water.
That doesn't sit right with him. He doesn't like the suspicions and theories rising in his head one bit.
Dad…
Please don't tell me you're trying to do something
You agreed they're off limits
I agreed YOU'RE off-limits, and your mother.
Leo gets up, taps the phone icon on top of the text messages, then places the phone on his ear. He crosses the quarters as it rings, looking around to make sure there's no one within earshot. He walks out as far as he can from the building and from the surveillance cameras that might hear.
The other line rings for a few more seconds. Then: "Leo?"
"Dad? Where are you, and what are you doing?"
He chuckles. "I'm used to this level of suspicion from superheroes, not my own kid."
"Because it sounds like you're planning something." Leo glances behind him and sees no one. He whispers, "Why do you ask me if I'm with them? You wouldn't have done that if you didn't think I could get hurt."
"I just wanted to know where you are!" his dad says. It grates a little on Leo's nerves to hear him laugh. How could he find this amusing? "What are you doing right now?"
"I'm helping out my stepdad with their student records. I just finished the last file."
There's a pause. "You know I don't like you doing this," his father finally says, and it's not difficult to pick up on the inkling of disappointment. "You're a smart young man. You finished high school earlier than your stepsiblings. You can create and do things no one else can! Why are you letting them do this to you?"
"What about you? You could have chosen to be a superhero."
His father sighs. "Superheroes are fighting a lost cause, son. You know that," he says. "And you know why I won't be like them. They're incompetent. Why would I willingly work alongside them?"
Leo closes his eyes in surrender. Of course. His father never liked heroes because of what happened to his family. "I'm sorry, Dad. I've just been super irritated today. I don't like this at all either," he confesses wearily. "I'm wasting away behind a desk. I know that, too."
"You know you can always join me."
Leo smirks. "What, and get pummeled during our first fight? I barely survived the ones I've gone on with my stepsiblings." He chuckles. "You know I'm not like you. I don't have any abilities."
"But you're smart. You can just put together what you need."
"I've told you about the attack orbs. It ended up in a disaster."
"Ah, it's been a year since. Plus, I can always help you."
Leo grins. He would never admit it, but the thought does make him feel a lot better. "You said you'll let me choose what I'm going to be."
"If your stepdad doesn't promote you any time soon, I'm gonna have to change my mind. The heroes are just wasting your talent."
Leo laughs. "Seriously, Dad. Where are you? What are you doing?"
"Nothing important. I just finished lunch." He pauses for a moment. "I've been working on something. It's all for you."
Leo smirks albeit with his brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I've been thinking about your future. I'm not going to get any younger, Leo. My line of work is thrilling, and even though I think most superheroes aren't bright enough to catch me, I know that one day someone will come along and end my career." He chuckles. "I'm not exactly in a line of work where people can just retire. Others…make us retire."
He knows his father is being realistic, and it's good that he views the future with some humor. Still, he can't look at it with the same level of apathy. "Please don't say that. That's not funny."
"I'm just being real. I won't be a good father if I just filled your head with fantasies," his father replies. "Hey. We should meet up soon. I want you to see this one place. When will you have some time off?"
Leo thinks about it. "It's smack dead in the middle of summer. Since I'm not a student here, and I don't really care to stick around to be their errand boy, I'd say sometime tonight."
"Your stepdad won't be suspicious?"
Leo scoffs in disgust. "He's too busy conning my stepbrother and daydreaming about more money. I doubt he has any room to think about anything else."
"Hm. Your mom really could have married anyone else. She could have married Tecton, and I would have preferred that a lot better."
"Usually, I would say that it's not a good idea, but you know what? Today, I agree."
His father chuckles. "All right. I'll call you soon."
"Okay. Bye, Dad."
"Bye, son."
Leo hangs up but stares at his phone a while. I'll call you soon, his father says. He chuckles. He really should ease up on the paranoia.
Urged with thoughts of hunger, he comes back into the main building then heads for the cafeteria. He thinks of the fact that he would get to spend time with his father soon. They didn't get to hang out after his graduation, probably because his mother was there. He saw him in the crowd during the ceremony but he was gone right after.
The hopeful images of him being taken away from there bring a certain lightness to his steps. He likes the island, but he doesn't like much what goes on between the people who live in it.
As he lists the things he'd like to do on his vacation, he neglects to notice the alert that the hydroloop is jetting inland at lightning speed, carrying with it the person he didn't know was already coming.
