XXII: Beginning of the End
The kid has been inconsolable for the past three hours.
Normally, Horace avoids displays of emotion with much fervor. He knows it sounds horrible, but he finds it uncomfortable. Almost always, he doesn't know how to respond: when someone is so elated that they hug him, when they're so confused with a choice that they're stunned.
When they lose someone they loved that all they can do is cry.
Hezekiah used to tease him about his ineptitude to sympathize well with others. He would tell him that he finds it puzzling because he thinks he has a bigger heart than he's letting on.
Maybe that's why Horace could stand being there with the grieving teenager: he's reminded so much of Kai, his vote of confidence that he can handle being supportive.
Tasha hugs her son for the hundredth time. "Baby…" she mutters in sympathy.
Leo wipes his tears with the back of his hand. His eyes have swollen up from all the crying, but he doesn't seem to mind his appearance much even though he's in a room where more than half of the occupants are relative strangers.
Actually, it's as if he didn't know that they're there at all.
"Leo…" Oliver sighs. "I'm so sorry, man. I…"
But he seems unable to say anything else.
So he doesn't, only allowed the apology to exist in hopes that it will land some time.
Tears continue to come, but after a moment Leo slowly gathers himself together. He fumbles for whatever strength he can muster. Then, he looks up at Oliver.
The devastation in his eyes reminds Horace of Hezekiah during his lowest moments.
"It's – " Leo hiccups. "It's not your fault."
The unexpected forgiveness takes Oliver aback. Instead of finding relief from it, he's only further troubled by it.
"How's...How's Tecton and Sharp?" Leo asks Gamma Girl.
"They're recovering," Gamma Girl says. She suddenly looks at the chief of staff. "They'll recover."
"Yeah. You don't have to worry about them," Horace assures.
Leo nods. He looks down at the back of his hands, soaked with his own tears. Slowly, he drifts off again to a place where none of them can follow.
"How's Skylar doing?" Horace quietly asks Kaz.
"Fine. Cuts and bruises here and there, but she's okay. She complained about some ringing in her ears, so I asked Andrews to check on it for her." Kaz hesitates for a moment before saying more quietly, "I think she feels really guilty about what happened. She's always asking about Leo before. Now, all of a sudden, it's like she doesn't want to talk about him at all."
Horace frowns. "Like...?"
"Like she feels it's her fault."
Everybody does, Horace thinks but doesn't say.
"I'm going to go check up on the others," Kaz dismisses himself. He turns to leave but takes one last glance at Leo.
As Horace thought, he sees the same guilt in his eyes.
After Kaz exits, Leo tells his mother, "I want to go to Paris."
"Uh…"
"I need to see. I need to see if it's true."
Tasha shoots a nervous glance at the superheroes. "Uh, sweetheart...We can't-we can't just go—"
"I just need to see it for myself," the teenager insists. "I just want to make sure that he's really…"
Gamma Girl, known for her impatience and passiveness in the hero community, surprises Horace when she sits down to meet Leo's eyes. She shakes her head when he looks at her. "It's not a good idea," she tells him kindly, gently. "It's better that you remember him the last time you saw him."
Leo sniffs. He thinks about it a moment.
Then, the struggle to keep himself together shows in the quivering of his lips. "He told me he loved me before he left," he says, his voice so quiet and fractured. More tears roll down his cheeks as the memory continue to crush his heart.
"He did." Gamma Girl nods. "He did love you."
The door abruptly swings open at that moment, destroying that moment of consolation. Horace expects Kaz or one of the nurses, perhaps with the urgency of a report regarding one of the many patients that night.
But he only sees the Davenports.
Donald, Bree, and Chase, to be exact.
"Bree. Chase." Tasha comes to the two to give them a warm hug. "I'm glad you're both okay."
As the two teenagers reassure their stepmother, Gamma Girl gets back to her feet, turning away to hide the roll of her eyes.
Horace notes that Blue Tornado, whose expression was gentle and sympathetic just a few seconds ago, also hardens his gaze.
From what Oliver told him earlier, this is not surprising. But what Horace doesn't expect is what he sees on Leo's face.
Bree and Chase are obviously unwell and still recovering from what The Incapacitator did to them, but Leo doesn't look at them. He looks at the floor, refusing to acknowledge them.
He thinks at first it might be shame: shame of finding him in this state, shame that his father nearly ended them all.
But Horace sees that flicker of resentment – and he begins to think differently.
"Leo…" Bree starts, but she hesitates to come any closer upon seeing the two superheroes.
Chase glowers at Gamma Girl.
Donald casts the same hostile look toward Blue Tornado. "We'll take it from here," he tells them. "This is a private family matter we don't need you for."
Gamma Girl stares then scoffs. She glances at Blue Tornado, sees that they share the same feeling of vexation. Then, she starts to leave.
"Gamma Girl."
The two superheroes stop in their tracks.
"Please stay. Both of you," Leo asks them kindly. Then, with the same resentment Horace glimpsed earlier, he says, "I decide who I need."
The cool room gets colder with those words.
Horace sees the first crack appear at that moment.
"Leo, sweetheart…" Tasha starts, surprised as the rest of the family. She doesn't finish.
"Whatever it is they told you isn't true, Leo," Chase says, rattled. He glares at Gamma Girl and Blue Tornado. "I don't know what you're trying to play at here, but you're way out of line on this. I know you're upset that we didn't follow your rules or whatever, but this is too much."
"What is too much?" Gamma Girl challenges. "That we're telling your brother about what happened?"
Bree scoffs. "You people are impossible," she mutters under her breath.
Gamma Girl glowers. However, instead of saying anything, she takes a deep breath and remains silent.
"Don't think we don't know what you're doing," Chase continues. "You're putting all the blame on us. 'Everything happened because they weren't good enough. Everything happened because they're inexperienced.' You'll probably tell everyone else that, too, and they'll probably believe you.
"But you know what? I don't care. I don't care anymore what you say." Chase glances at Leo. "Just don't lie to him like that. Don't make him believe we're something we're not."
Gamma Girl openly rolls her eyes at them.
Meanwhile, Blue Tornado scoffs.
Horace takes note of Leo's reaction: nothing. He's staring at the floor, no emotion on his face.
No. Not emotionless.
His fists have balled tighter.
The second crack, this one webbed, longer, and deeper than the first.
Oliver, unknown to him, also noticed what he has noticed. "Let's not talk about this right now," he attempts to intervene.
"We're not children anymore," Blue Tornado says anyway with a small, daring smile tugging at the end of his lips. He shakes his head. "Lie? We don't deal with make-believes. We're adults, and in the adult world, you just deal with the consequences of your actions."
Both bionic teenager chuckle humorlessly.
Donald's glower, meanwhile, increases in intensity. "I appreciate everything you've done to rescue my children, but I think our relationship should end here. It's clear that bionic humans and superheroes can never work alongside each other," he says. "So let's agree to keep to our boundaries and have nothing to do with each other ever again."
Horace sees it, the itch Gamma Girl and Blue Tornado have to come back with a slicing retort. One comes up to his own tongue as well: if they had done this same thing they want in the beginning, this wouldn't have happened.
He's indignant now, just like the two – but he chooses to say nothing.
Donald grabs his wife's hand. "From now on our family will have nothing to do with the superhero world," he tells them. Then, to Tasha: "Come on, honey. Let's go home."
The Davenports make their way to the door—but Leo makes no movement to follow.
Tasha notices it immediately and stops.
Donald begrudgingly turns and looks at his wife, his children pausing soon after.
When her husband asks through a look, Tasha worriedly looks at her son.
Donald waits a moment for the teenager to move. But when he realizes that he's staying put, he shoots an embarrassed but resentful glance at the superheroes.
"Leo," Bree calls. "Let's go."
The teenager says and does nothing for a long, painful while. Then, with drying tears lining his eyes, he asks Blue Tornado: "Can I ask you a favor? Would it be too much to ask you guys to drop me off later?"
"Leo," Bree chides.
Blue Tornado takes a breath, his chest puffing with the feeling of vindication. He gives him a small, sad smile then nods.
"You're going home with us," Donald commands.
"Why, Big D? What are 'we' in such a hurry to do?" Leo asks bitingly. "Celebrate that your children are alive? You want us to go home right now for that?"
"Leo…" Tasha coaxes.
"No." Leo gets up – and the fury he had been sitting on blazes through everything in his stance, eating him whole. "Cut off relationship with the superhero world? I've known them a lot longer than I've known any of you. You can cut them off and pretend they don't exist if you want, but you don't make decisions for me."
He turns to Bree and Chase. "And you two. You're worried about people talking behind your back, is that it? That they get this impression that you're not good enough?"
"Why are you getting mad at us?" Bree demands. "It's not our fault, it's theirs! If they had been better at their jobs, if they had dealt with Incapacitator faster, this wouldn't have happened!"
Leo's anger subsides for a few seconds—and that moment is scarier than his blind anger.
The third crack appears, then. It moves along the foundation, revealing the fatal weaknesses in the facade of their strong family. It's cutting, so much so that Horace already feels the pain and horror of what's about to happen.
Bree gasps softly, eyes widening as she realizes her mistake. However, she recovers quickly enough. "You can't get mad at me," she tells, nearly commands, Leo. "He almost got us killed. I'm sorry to hear about what happened, but…" She shakes her head. "You can't blame me."
"Of course," Leo says, numb. "I can't because you're young. You're inexperienced. You're pretty, you're rich. You're stupid."
"Hey!" Chase calls out.
"And what reason are you using today, Chase? Which privilege are you hiding behind?"
"Leo, I know you're grieving, but stop it," Donald says.
"You know? How? Because I finally said something? Because now I'm starting to realize that after all these years, my dad was right? You only kept me around because I made you feel better about yourselves. The future you're building has never been for me."
"That's not true."
"Yeah? Take away Chase's chip, and I'm smarter than him – but you only do all your projects with him. I've lived in this world longer than Bree. I have more experience – and yet, she becomes the teacher to the students."
"Oh, here we go again," Chase mumbles with a roll of the eyes.
"I work three times as hard to prove myself, and yet nothing's happened to me." Leo looks at his mother, his broken heart visible in her eyes. "Dad was right. Nothing will happen to me here. This family never wanted a better future for me."
"What else do you want, Leo?" Donald asks. "You live in a mansion. You work in a tropical island. You'll have a job in Davenport Industries in the future. Other people wish they have what you have. What other future do you want?"
Leo stares at him, brows softly furrowing. "The one where my father survived," he says. "The one where I stop being your children's pedestal. The one where I'm a person and not a thing that sorts information for you. That future."
For a moment, silence blankets the room.
Then, Chase quietly says, "That's impossible. That's never going to happen."
Leo looks at him, the white hot fire from earlier rekindling.
"I know you don't want to hear this, and I'm sorry, but what happened to your dad was inevitable," Chase says, looking Leo straight in the eyes. "He was a bad person. He probably really did want something better for you, but he hurt a lot of people. He almost killed us. Adam, he hasn't even woken up yet, and it's just…"
He shakes his head. "You can rebel and get mad at us or whatever you want to do," he says, "but eventually you need to accept that what you want is impossible. There's no changing things now, no other future for you even if you reject us. Your dad's gone. You only have us and Davenport Industries. Take it or leave it is up to you."
A dark feeling pervades the room. Horace sees it on Gamma Girl's face, on Blue Tornado's face. He even glimpses it on Oliver's.
He feels it, too. Suddenly, all he can think of is Hezekiah, the day he promised him he'll be back as soon as the investigation is over. When he left the hospital that day, Horace never thought that a grandson would come back in his place, bearing his photograph and a news of his untimely death.
Chase was right: The Incapacitator was a bad man.
But Joel Jones...Joel Castle was Hezekiah's son—and Horace refuses to believe that ending his life was the only way to make him pay for his crimes.
"My father was wrong. He wanted to plunge the world in darkness, but he was too late." Leo lifts his eyes up at his brother. Gone is the consuming fire in his eyes. There's only darkness – heavy, crushing, blinding darkness. "It already is."
He then storms out the room, shoulder checking Chase on his way out.
The shattering draws out different reactions from the fragmented and the watchers: shock, shame, confusion. Fear.
Who catches Horace's attention out of all is Tasha. He sees sympathy for Leo in the anger she suddenly directs at Chase.
Chase's eyes widen. "What?"
"What? Of all the apps you download to your chip, you couldn't have downloaded sympathy and tact?"
"Don't talk to Chase that way," Donald says.
"Fine. You talk to your son however way you want." Tasha makes her way out the room but stops at the door to level a glare at Donald. "Matter of fact, you go home with your kids. I'll go home with mine whenever he wants to go."
The door swings shut a second later, stirring in its wake a bigger cloud of contempt.
Gamma Girl grins sardonically. "Nice job, Davenports! This is exactly what we were trying to prevent," she remarks. She makes her way to the door, Blue Tornado in her tow. "If he decides to keep the information of where the energy transponder is, and if he knows where the Arcturion is? If he decides to become the most powerful supervillain in the planet and destroy all heroes, I truly, sincerely, deeply hope that he starts with you three."
She turns around, opening the door with her back as she raises her hands in mock excitement. "At least before I die I can have the consolation that the people responsible for it went first!"
As her laughter rings out in the hall, Blue Tornado darts a final look of disappointment at the family.
Then, he's gone, too.
"The League will probably have your blasters once the investigation is completed," Oliver tells the Davenports. He makes his way to the door, walking backward as he reaches it. "Do you need to talk to me and Kaz today?"
Horace shakes his head. "Clock off for now. We'll talk tomorrow."
Oliver nods. He leaves the room without even a second glance at the Davenports, at Bree.
The silence that draws out afterward is painful – both for him and for the family. He allows them a moment, not looking their way to not embarrass them even more.
But then he feels their gaze. He looks up and find that they're waiting for him to say something, anything.
So he shrugs. "I'm not going to leave, if that's what you're wondering," he tells them.
He finds a sliver of relief in Donald's face – and that kicks up in him the same indignation he felt earlier. Unable to help himself, he adds, "That's because this is my hospital."
Chase frowns. Horace isn't sure if it's out of confusion or offense. Either way, it moves the teenager to leave the room, his older sister in tow.
Donald stays a moment longer, seemingly determined to say something. However, out of sheer exhaustion, he decides to drop it.
With a shake of his head, he also leaves.
The door hasn't closed shut yet when another person comes into the room. He's winded, wild-eyed. He's in a hurry for something, but for what, Horace couldn't tell.
His presence, though, makes Horace's brows knit. What is he doing here? "Absolute Zero," he greets.
"Dr. Diaz! I'm glad I found you. I've been looking for everyone, but they're either unavailable or not around," the hero says. He places his hands on his hips as he takes a couple of breaths. Then, he says, "I came here as fast as I could. What happened?"
"Uh, you have to be more specific."
"The Incapacitator. I just got back from a situation in Onyx City. They said the fight in Paris is over," he clarifies. "What happened?"
Horace blinks. "It's...over. They didn't find the transponder, but they did rescue the hostages." Seeing that he seeks for more, he finishes with, "The Incapacitator is gone."
Absolute Zero's face clears in shock. "G-gone?"
Horace nods, confused. "There was an accident and...he died."
Absolute Zero releases a breath – but not out of relief. He backs into a chair then slumps down on it, devastated. He murmurs something as he runs his hands down his face.
"Uh...If…" Horace racks his brain for words to say but finds he has none. So, instead, in his second attempt, he leads with a question: "How did you know the League was going after Incapacitator?"
Absolute Zero takes a deep breath, irritated. "We've crossed paths before," he said. "I trusted they would catch him when I gave them that tip. I practically gave them everything they needed – how could they be so bad at it?"
"Tip?"
"Yeah. I sent them a tip regarding his possible location about two days ago." Absolute Zero's frown deepens in offense. "They didn't mention that?"
No. As far as he remembers, the tip was from a watchdog regarding villains coming to a residential house. He distinctly remembers the members being surprised to find Leo there.
Taking his confusion as admission, Absolute Zero sighs. "Of course. They're gonna take credit for that, too," he says. Then, under his breath, he mutters, "They always steal everything."
The clouds of suspicion brew. Horace thinks it's more than an issue of not giving credit where it's due. Absolute Zero is furious, devastated—but what he couldn't understand is why.
Why is he reacting like this? If he and The Incapacitator just fought before, why is he taking news of his passing so personally? And why is he so against the League? He doesn't remember him being interested in being a member, ever.
Why is he so against them? And what did he mean they steal everything?
Then a memory comes to mind, of the draft that he saw just a few hours ago. Solstice. The gap between the date in the paper and the actual foundation of the group.
It gives him the likeliest – and the most tragic – hypothesis.
"Is there…" Absolute Zero begins to ask, but he finds he doesn't have the strength to finish yet. He takes a deep breath, clears his mind, and then retries, "What's going to be done to him?"
"To Joel?"
The surprised look that Absolute Zero throws him – a glare if you don't look too closely – suffices as further proof.
"The League is collecting what's left of him," Horace says. "Afterwards they will be giving his remains to next of kin."
Absolute Zero takes a deep breath another deep breath, eyes up on the ceiling as he nods. He tries to hide it, but Horace can see the tears teasing. He gets up from the chair then clears his throat. He nods again. "Good to know," he says then starts toward the door.
"Snow," Horace says matter-of-factly, effectively stopping the hero in his tracks. "I know I've heard of the name before."
Absolute Zero stares at him, brows softly furrowing. "What name?"
"Snow."
He scoffs. "Well, of course you've heard of it before. I have been admitted here two, three times already."
"Arthur Snow did, yeah." He looks him dead in the eye. "But not Doris Snow."
Absolute Zero's eyes widen – but only for a few seconds. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes. You do. You know." The suspicion in the superhero's eyes, the same one that moves him to size the doctor to see what he knows, is enough confirmation for Horace. He puts his hands on his hips and sighs. "Right. Of course. You're Kai's youngest son."
"Is that what Dr. Kline said?"
Horace picks up on the viciousness of his defensiveness. "No. He knows nothing of this. And something tells me that he should never know anything of it."
Absolute Zero only levels a glower at him.
"Believe it or not, I'm not tied up with the League. Mighty Med and I are our own entity," Horace says impatiently.
Absolute Zero gauges him for another moment. "I think you're a good man, Dr. Diaz, so I will choose to believe you for now," he says, "but believe me when I say that I don't take to betrayals lightly. I also don't like it when people ruin my plans."
"Oh, I have no plans to," Horace says, hands up in surrender. "Plus, I have questions that need some answering."
"I don't feel obligated to answer them."
"Yeah, I figured that." The weight of the revelation weighs so heavy on him that he's moved to take one of the empty chairs. He leans forward, elbows on his knees as he stares at the floor, and then sighs.
The head of Mighty Med's neurology department. A NASA employee who might have very well been a gifted. Their oldest a supervillain, their youngest a superhero. Why would you leave when your kids are like this, Hezekiah? Horace thinks. "Your father and I were close friends, you know," he says. He looks up at the young man with a weary smile.
He finds only the same, tiring suspicion on Absolute Zero's eyes.
"Well, Leo believes me, at least," Horace says, more as a consolation to himself.
"Leo?"
Horace nods. "I don't know where he went, but he just talked Blue Tornado into giving him a ride back to California." He chuckles. "I don't know how he did it, but both Blue Tornado and Gamma Girl were willing to do just about anything he asked. Guess that's what happens when you feel sorry about someone losing a loved one."
He looks up at him. "You should hang around a bit longer. Your nephew will come back," he says, smiling.
Absolute Zero blinks. "Nephew…" Absolute Zero says. "Joel has a son?"
"Yeah. You...You didn't know?"
Absolute Zero shakes his head.
Hezekiah's oldest son just died, his grandson's family has just fallen apart forever. One of his patients, a person he's helped get back to health before, turns out to be the youngest son in the family.
And he had no idea after all these years that his nephew even existed.
What kind of secrets did your family hide from each other? Horace asks as he thinks of his best friend and the woman that he married.
