AN: Theo lets his power get to his head a bit, and some insight into Medhall and the Empire. There's also a JoJo reference in this chapter.

Theo never looked forward to weekends. He didn't have choice but to spend them with his father. The problem with that was he rarely ever saw the man in person for more than a few minutes. Max was busy with both Medhall and the Empire, so he delegated time with Theo to his underlings to "Make him a more respectable man". Yesterday he'd been forced into a date with Rune, who was just… She was a real bitch for no real reason. He had no idea what her problem was, but unless she calmed down he didn't want to spend any more time with her than he had to. Sundays were the worst. He was always forced into training. More often than not this meant a day with Hookwolf's branch of the Empire.

He was laid out on his back after an uppercut from the walking chainsaw himself.

"I'm surprised, Theo. You're doing better than usual. You been lifting recently?" Brad asked. Even if the man was a violent sociopathic racist he'd still be the second biggest asshole Theo knew, right behind his father, of course.

"Not really." Theo said as he stood up. Honestly, none of the hits had hurt to badly. He was actually keeping pace with some of the better fighters like Cricket and Stormtiger. Brad could still kick his ass, even with the powers he now had, but that was because the man lived and breathed fighting and nothing else. Even Cricket took a break every so often.

"Well you're doing a lot better."

"Thanks."

"Yeah. You're not nearly as pitiful as before. We may just make a man out of you yet. Though you'll have to actually beat at least Cricket before I start thinking you're worthy of any respect, boss's kid or not."

"Alright." Theo said, toweling his face off.

"Do a couple more laps 'round the place then you're done for the day. Boss wants to talk to you after you shower."

"Okay." Theo said, running his laps before heading off to the showers. Cricket was just behind him.

Maybe it was his powers, but he didn't mind Cricket changing near him anymore. The idea made him red before, but now he felt at least a little interested. Melody was a pretty enough woman. She wore her scars with pride, which he realized he liked, but was generally pretty harsh like Rune. Where Jess and Nessa would tease him about even glancing at them in their costumes or changing, mercilessly and with a little disdain since they were his cousins, Melody didn't even notice. At least till now.

"See something you like?" She asked through her voice box. He hadn't realized he'd been staring at her undress while thinking. She stood with her towel draped over her shoulder instead of wrapped around her.

Where before such a question would have had him stumbling over his words, now he felt them as a challenge more than anything.

"So what if I do?" He asked.

The room was silent for a moment before Melody threw her head back, laughing in her natural broken rasp that came from having her throat slit.

"You're getting real bold, Theo. Brad is right. We may just make a man of you yet." She walked off towards the showers. Theo watched until she turned the corner. Part of the reason he didn't want to change near her, or anyone else, was his new tattoo. It was large and noticeable with his shirt off and would make people question what the mark on the side of his hip was if they for some reason caught him with his pants down but shirt on.

She changed quickly, wrapping the towel around himself higher than he would've before to hide the tattoo. As he ran through his quick shower he couldn't help but wonder where the Espada would go. Taylor seemed strong, both in will and actual power, Madison seemed willing to learn and ready to do what was needed, and he… Had nothing. Hadn't even figured out how to use any of his powers besides the Cero, Descorrer, and his new enhancements, though the latter was coming naturally. Madison was already learning what she could do Lisa and Alec probably weren't far behind. He had to catch up if he was going to matter to this team. If he wanted to help make an actual change and get things done. Maybe these sessions with Brad would actually be useful now that he had a goal to strive for.

He dried off and stepped out the shower, putting his shirt on first as he got dressed. Now was the hard part: Actually talking with his father. Max was manipulative by default and rarely did things for the sake of others. Max Anders was out for himself and the propagation of his Empire. He was the type of person that seemed to want more power simply for the sake of having more power. "The object of power is power" and all that. A lot of capes separated their Cape and Civilian personalities. Drew a line between them either to make it more difficult to discover who they were out of costume or to let their frustrations and desires run wild.

This wasn't the case for Kaiser or most of the Empire. Either as Kaiser or as Max, the man was about power and control. He had to lead the conversations. He had to be the one to "Take the first napkin" so to speak. Max led and everyone else followed. Or else. Kaiser got what he wanted. Or else. He was a megalomaniac who stood for everything Theo hated. He used people, picked them apart, molded them to his needs. There was no individuality in the Empire. You were what Kaiser wanted you to be or you were nothing. Possibly even dead. The only reason Theo hadn't been disposed of was because Max wasn't quite monstrous enough to get rid of blood except by way of boarding school and Aster was too young to try to mold into the next leader of the Empire. Hell, He could still see the threads that tied Kayden to the Empire, to Max. She didn't leave because she realized the Empire was amoral, but because she saw their methods as barbaric and didn't want Aster growing up the way he had. So Max had to make do with what he had to work with, and what he had to work with was a son who hated his guts and wanted nothing more than for the Empire to come crashing down. Hopefully while Kaiser was alive to see it. It would have needed to be done from the inside before, but not anymore. Not while he was in the Espada.

The elevator stopped at the top floor and Theo stepped out into the waiting room.

"Hello. Your father is waiting for you inside." Jessica said. She and Nessa had gotten (been given) positions where Max had access to them at all times. Though that wasn't unusual with Medhall. High ranking Empire members who were capable enough got important jobs at the top while the less qualified of them got cushy desk jobs with little to do. Medhall's motto might have well been "Where Nepotism meets Racism". Hell, there was even a race quota. No more than ten non-white people were to be employed at once. Said employees were to be treated the same as everyone else while on the clock, but no one was encouraged to be their friend. Just treat them with some basic respect. Like they weren't worthy of that just because of their skin color. They also were given the most dead end low paying jobs that could be found for them. All so Medhall didn't look like it was related to the Empire 88. That's how conniving Max was. Your intent didn't matter nearly as much as appearances and perception.

Theo walked into the spacious office and stood across from his fathers desk.

"Theo. Take a seat."

He did.

"So, tell me, how did your training session with Bradley and Melody go?"

"It went well. Brad says I'm improving."

"Good. That's good. You know if and when you trigger you'll be coming to work directly under me after school. I'll be training you personally should that happen."

"I'm aware, yes."

"Good. Now, I spoke to Tammi earlier today. She says you were making eyes at some other girl during your date. A Jew." He spat the word like it burned his tongue.

Theo scoffed. "That's not true. We ran into a girl I met a while ago. I talked to her for a bit when we met in the clothing store, then again while Tammi was in the bathroom to ask what the deal was with everyone panicking on the first floor. She was there when Circus robbed a jewelry store and took out some Wards."

"And her race?"

"Don't know. Doubt she's Jewish. She doesn't look it." This was a half truth. If he ever said he didn't care about race in front of Kaiser he had no doubts he'd be sitting in on a very long history lesson from the perspective of someone who thought skin color made someone subhuman.

"Very well then. Don't let it happen again. I'd like you to try to make it work with her. If not, then I suppose I can try to find another girl for you."

"I think I should get to pick who I end up with." Theo said.

"Until you start making proper choices or impressing me, you don't get the privilege. I will make those decisions for you, because I know what's best for you."

He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

"That sure didn't stop you from trying to put me with Tammi."

"You think my choice was wrong?"

"I think you have no idea what I want in a woman."

"If you think you can start making demands of me, Theo, than you'll have show me you deserve to make your own choices. Otherwise you'll do as I say, whether you like it or not, understood?"

Theo looked at his father with something between contempt and offense packed into the most neutral look he could muster.

"Am I understood?" Each word was stressed to get his point across.

"Yes, sir." Theo said blandly.

Max stared at him for a long few seconds, his expression hard but unreadable.

"Good. Nessa will be with you for lunch. She'll be picking. Get whatever you want. She'll drop you off at Kayden's apartment when you're done. You can go."

Theo nodded and stood, leaving his fathers office and closing the door behind him with a soft click.

"You ready to go?" Nessa asked as he walked back into the waiting room.

"Yeah."

"I'll grab you something, Jess." She said as they walked toward the elevator.

"Bye Nessa. Theo." Jessica said.

The ride down to the parking lot was quiet. Theo never really had much to say to his cousins. They were so much older than him and they had nothing in common. He could barely tell them apart half the time.

"I heard your date didn't go so well."

"Tammi's not my kind of girl." He said.

"Oh? Maybe you're looking for something a little… closer to home?" She asked with a mocking tone. He'd never live down the one time he spent a little too long looking at her and Jessica change.

Theo side eyed her, causing her eyes to widen a bit.

"No."

"Jeez, it was just a joke, Theo."

"Where are we eating?"

"There's this restaurant not too far from here I've been wanting to try. It's a nice place that's a little upscale but not super fancy."

"Alright."

The elevator stopped and they got into the car. The ride was short enough that they could've walked, it wasn't like they were in danger of being attacked in Empire territory, but he appreciated not having to spend that extra bit of time with her. As they were sat at a table looking over a menu, Nessa started talking.

"You know Tammi's really nice once you get to know her."

"She doesn't seem to like me very much and I can't say I'm into women that are so quick to anger."

"Then you're not into women."

Theo blinked.

"That seems a bit of a stretch."

"Listen, Theo, if you're going to be dating a girl of your fathers choosing, the chances of you getting a girl like… Like Heith are low. Max thinks you need a fire under your ass and he thinks she can be that fire."

"You know I don't remember my mother." Theo ground out. Heith Anders had been killed in a gang war with The Teeth when he was three years old. He never really had the chance to know her.

"Sorry." She said lowly. He knew Heith had taken care of them, and it was always a sore spot that they got to know his mother more than him, but it wasn't something he could let himself linger on. "My point is that Richard let Max marry Heith because Max was motivated and ambitious. You aren't. So Max is trying to find you a girl that will make you those things."

Theo scoffed.

"The man can barely find the time to have a simple conversation with me without trying to throw his weight around like I'm one of *you." The word came out with a little too much venom, but he continued quickly, hoping she wouldn't notice. "Like I'm another of his subordinates. What would he know about my motivation or aspirations or ambitions. He's too busy trying to make me into a carbon copy of himself."

Nessa sat back in her seat, surprise on her face. Theo was usually passive and quiet. He was smart, that was something she could easily see in him when he wanted to shine, but she'd never herd such vitriol from him before. It was probably the first time she'd seen him anything close to angry.

"Wow… I…"

"Listen, Nessa, I'm fine to go through whatever he wants me to for now. I'll train with Brad and Melody and James. I'll take Tammi on dates. I'll do as asked within reason. But at the end of the day my choices are my own to make and he doesn't know enough about me to be making them for me."

She nodded. There was little conversation afterwards. They ate with little chit chat and left silently. When they got to Kayden's apartment, Nessa stopped him from leaving.

"Tammi's nice enough when you get through her shell. I'm serious. She's just got a complicated family situation going on. So please giver her a bit of time to warm up to you, alright?"

"Alright." Theo sighed.

"Okay. See you."

"Bye, Nessa."

Theo made his way up to the Apartment feeling tired. Interacting with Max was always a drain.

"You back, Theo?" Kayden asked as he came in.

"Yeah." He called.

"How was it?" She asked. He could tell she was just being polite by asking, but he answered honestly anyway.

"Got stomped by Brad but managed to keep up with Melody, who I later saw naked, then had a tense conversation with my father, then lunch with Nessa then came back here." He said.

"I'm sorry, did you say you saw Melody naked?" Kayden asked, taken aback.

"She went to the changing room to shower at the same time as me. The woman is not shy." He said, making his way to the kitchen while Kayden silently followed.

"I see. What did you talk with Max about?" He could hear a bit of… He couldn't tell what it was, but he'd call it longing. That was bad.

"He asked me about my date with Tammi. It went the same as talks with him usually go: He tries to pressure you into giving in to what he wants."

"You don't like Tammi?"

"She's grating."

"Ah… Well, welcome back."

"Thanks." He smiled.

—

It was nearly ten now. Meaning he had already been in bed for half an hour. So who was calling this late at night?

"Hello?" Theo answered.

"It's Taylor."

He shot up.

"Taylor. Hi. What's up?"

"You told me to call you today to see when you were free for training."

"Right. I did do that. Yesterday. Okay, I think I can swing Friday afternoon. I'd have picked Wednesday, but I got roped into another date with Tammi."

"Ouch. But Friday works. I'll tell Madison tomorrow."

"Thanks. See you then."

"Later."

Theo flopped back onto his bed. He'd never looked forward to a Friday more.