I switched the chapter names. 37 is now called Tension.

Chapter 38

Tipping point

Xanatos' POV

"Sir, Mr. Davidson is here." Owen announced.

"Send him in." I said.

The young man walked in. Dressed in a white shirt and jeans, he sat in one of the chairs. The sleeves were slightly rolled up. He had a dark brown tattoo of a bird silhouette on his right forearm. His olive green eyes betrayed his nerves. His chestnut brown quiff was slightly messy.

"You've been a spy at Nightstone Unlimited since for 5, almost 6 years. Why would you quit now?" I asked.

"Demo- Dominique can be very harsh… and loud. The last few months have worn us down." He thought for a moment before sighing. "I can't give you any satisfactory answer."

"If you're not going to even try to convince me, just get out my sight." I pointed to the door.

His shoulders eased in relief as he walked out. The sleeves sild back down, but not before I saw his tattoo shimmer with jade, white, and lilac light. Owen came in. He tried to look at what I had seen, but Jack was gone by then.

"Owen, keep Jack nearby. He's lying to me about why he quit. Or at least hiding something." I frowned.

"Yes, sir. Is that all?" Owen asked.

"Read last meeting's minutes." I told him.

"The IV fluid Angela found is standard for malnutrition, with varying levels of electrolytes and minerals. Fox and I got her miniature spy drones from her father; Detective Bluestone has the Sight, the ability to see and touch magic, and Alexander wishes to make a girl robot for Talia." He pulled his notebook out.

"I told Alex we had to finish Kai before we made any more androids, cross that off the list." I said.

He did so. "Fox plans to retrieve the blueprints tonight. She requested that the gargoyles be away from the area."

"I'll talk to them before they leave." I hummed.

"Fox knows how to handle herself." Owen reassured me.

Before I could reply, my office door slammed open.

Xanatos' POV End

Lady Earth's POV

I walked into my daughter's apartment. She would need new hygiene products because her body would be sensitive to the chemicals in mortal ones. My eyes narrowed as I looked around. Iron… why was there so much? I made a pronged stick. Then I gutted the iron out of the walls with a swift efficacy and put it in a cloth sack.

I teleported to Manhattan instantly, storming into the room. Xanatos and Puck's human form… Owen looked at me. I dropped the sack on the desk. Some of the iron flew out of the sack. Puck recoiled instinctively.

"What is that?" Xanatos asked after a minute.

"It is iron. It was hidden in the walls of Talia's home. Thailog must have done it. He had hidden it near her room and workspace to make her weak. So her magic wouldn't have been able to reach out to Puck." I scowled.

"Didn't Talia p-" Xanatos muttered.

"THAT'S how he got away with his scheme! I should have checked the apartment!" Puck frowned, kicking Owen's foot angrily.

"It's not your fault, Puck. We were all distressed." Xanatos told him.

"What matters now is-" I started.

"Hey, Dad…" Adri walked in. "Are you guys busy?"

"Is the playdate going well?" Xanatos asked her.

"Um, Alex spilled paint on the hallway carpet." She scratched the back of her neck.

The brunette girl was very short for a human, but Puck's children often ran short. Her dark blue eyes reminded me of gems. I remembered the mortal when we had told the family of Grandmother's vision.

I paused as the air currant blew into the office. She had a faint scent of Talia's magic. Why was she have been around Talia that much unless…

"Show me where." Owen walked over to her. I followed.

"I don't think it's gonna take two people." Adri said.

Owen looked behind him. "Adriana, this is Lady Earth. Lady Earth, this is Adriana."

"Hello, Adriana." I smiled.

"You can call me Adri." Adri told her.

"You are my daughter's lover, yes?" I asked.

"Huh?" Adri frowned.

"Girlfriend." Owen clarified.

"Oh, yeah." She nodded.

"How long have you known Talia?" I watched the mortal.

"Since we were little." Adri said.

"Really?" I hummed.

"Yeah… Lemme think. Oh, one time we were playing in the park, we were like 6 or something, and…" Adri led us out.

Lady Earth's POV End

Third Person

Titania walked up to the shaded tree where Oberon sat. "Husband?"

He glanced at her, gesturing for her to sit. She sat next to him. "I have been thinking about the recent visions."

"What of it, my lord?" She asked.

"The robin does not fit her magic. It is a precursor." He said.

"I do think it odd, but she is young. It has yet to take root." Titania hummed.

"It should have." He frowned.

She looked at him. "She is also half mortal."

"Yes, but for her to go through puberty now…" His eyes narrowed.

"It is not ideal, but it is what happened. We must retrieve her before the iron harms her irreversibly." Titania reminded him.

The island hummed, a Child had returned. The king and queen got up. Lady Earth bowed before them. She had a sack with her. She was calm, but they could see she had perturbing news.

"Nān Ganhān, what brings you here?" Oberon asked.

She opened the sack. The couple winced as she dumped it out. "Thailog hid iron in my daughter's home before he took her."

Third Person End

Alex's POV

We taught Kai a little bit more then Daddy decided it was good. I made an illusion to follow him. I had more stuff to tell Kai. I looked at the screen.

"C'mere, Kai." I said.

The computer wiggled as Kai stretched and hopped out. He learned while his body's asleep. He was a Whitemark fox. Uncle Owen taught me about foxes. Whitemark foxes were liked for their fur.

His tail wagged as he licked my face. "Hello, my prince!"

"Hello." I giggled, pushing him away. "That's enough. Also, you can call me Alex."

He laid on the ground, nodding. I composed myself. His ears faced me intently.

"I figured out you've been exploring. You dream about your adventures sometimes. But Kai, you almost hurt Mommy when you broke the elevator doors. That's not ok. You have to be careful around her and the others. They hurt easy." I reminded him.

Kai whined, showing me his tummy. "I know you're sorry, but you gotta say it."

"Sorry, Alex." He looked at me.

"Good boy." I smiled and I petted him. His tail wagged fast. After a few minutes he rolled right-side up.

"Alex wants pets?" He smiled at me.

"I'm good. What're you gonna do tonight?" I asked.

"I'm gonna go help Fox!" He licked his nose.

"I don't understand…" I frowned.

"Fox is going to go find where Mistress is kept tonight. Mistress needs me. I heard Creator and Fox talking and Mistress is in the Nightstone building. You said Mistress can't save herself anymore." He explained.

"Ok, but you gotta stay with Mommy. Keep her safe when possible." I said. That meeting must have been at Nightstone. That's why I had to warn Mommy about Tai.

He nodded fiercely. "Protect Fox."

"But try not to get hurt. That'd be bad." I thought. "I'll teach you some spells super quick."

He yipped excitedly, hopping to his feet.

Alex's POV End

Fox's POV

"I'm almost in position, is everyone ready? Over." I whispered.

"Yes, Rena, everyone is ready. Over." The squad leader said.

"From here on out, it's radio silence. I will know if something has happened to you. Rena Rossa, out." I pulled my mask over my face, making sure my hair was tucked away.

I put my hang glider together and opened the bay door. The wind whipped my face. Then I glided off the Fortress-2. I had set the timer to close after I was far enough away so they wouldn't get suspicious. That was the easy part.

"So, you'll sneak onto the Fortress-2 and jump off when it's near Nightstone Unlimited?" David asked.

"Yes, Daddy flies over the city so often, no one will think twice about it." I told him, checking my ninja outfit one last time.

"What if someone sees you?" Owen frowned.

"They won't see me; I have the security cameras ready to be looped in sync with the timer." I looked at him.

"No, I meant when you glide to the rooftop." He said.

"Oh, that. I'm going to give the cloaking device a field test." I put the little button on my outfit.

"It might not cover the glider." David brought up.

"Then I'll give it its own." I grabbed another one.

I landed without a problem. Then I broke the glider down. I hid it out of the way and hacked the keypad to the roof access. The alarms blared. There were people running around. They didn't notice when they bumped into me, but I tried to avoid them all the same. The unmarked squad was keeping all the attention on them. I noticed the stairs where a little bit before the public elevators. The service elevator was on the right side. I used Jack's old access badge on the service elevator and got in, pressing the 8th floor. I pressed my ear monitor in tighter. I couldn't let it get loose. I thought I had it fitted.

"The spy recently quit and time is of the essence so Owen and I tinkered with his badge and got it reactivated. It'll show up as the last person who used it." David frowned.

"Jack quit?" I furrowed my brow.

"Yes, I was surprised as well. We're keeping him in the Owen's area until we figure it out. I found the public version of Nightstone Unlimited's blueprints. I trust you studied it?" David checked.

"Of course. All I have to do to get the real one is hack into Thailog's computer?"

"We don't know, Fox. We're not sure if he keeps a digital copy or not." Owen admitted.

"The squad doesn't mind the risk?" I asked.

"Their families will be compensated if need be." David walked toward me. "Be swift, my dear."

I kissed him deeply.

I picked the lock to Thailog's office, opening it as quietly as possible. Going to the desk, I booted it up and only waited a minute until it showed the login screen. I turned off the cloaking device because it didn't have the best battery life. I was surprised it lasted so long. I plugged the flash drive and let it do its thing.

"Ow!" I hissed as something shocked my ear.

I stood, rubbing my ear and looking around. Where would I hide secret blueprints? I checked behind the furniture for a safe. Thailog was a gargoyle so they wouldn't be heavy for him. I found one behind a file cabinet, but there was only bills and insurance. I hid a few drones, just in case one was smashed.

I heard some books fall down. Then some electric pops, almost like barking. It was coming from the bookcase. There were some scratches on the shelves. I looked at it and saw some indentations on the side. I gripped it and tugged. It was heavy, but I got it to move.

Inside the secret room, there was a desk and a couple of smaller bookshelves. I didn't find anything on the shelves. I opened all the drawers and found nothing. I frowned. The carpet under the desk was bothering me. It looked much flatter then rest… Like he had moved the desk a lot.

I pushed it and found a loose piece of carpet. There was another safe. I got out my tools and cracked it open. Before I get a good look at the stuff inside, the door slammed opened. I stuffed the papers in my shirt.

"WHO DID THIS?!" Thailog bellowed.

I ran out and pulled the flash drive out the computer. I didn't know how much it had gotten. Thailog lunged at me. I jumped to the side, tucking the flash drive in my thigh pouch. The woman he was with tried to attack me, but something pulled her off course. She yelled and thrashed.

Thailog swiped my feet out from under me with his tail. I rolled over the way and got up. He tried to claw me. I got in close and jabbed his nose with the butt of my palm. He stumbled back. I hooked my foot around his leg. The back of his head hit the thin carpet hard. I kicked him in the side a few times. He wasn't wearing his chest piece or pauldrons. Then I stomped on a delicate wing digit, twisting my foot. The bone fractured.

His eyes glowed. "YOU BITCH!"

I ran out of the room, almost slipping the linoleum tile. The hallway was messy with papers and trash. There weren't any people. I heard a crack of lightning or something. They shrieked in pain.

Thailog pursued me on all fours. The elevator was down the hall. I slipped and hit my head. My ears rang. I felt Thailog get closer. I scrambled up. My vision was blurry. I ran to the elevators. Just as it got into view, a bunch of people got out. I turned around, running past Thailog. He made a grab at me. My pant leg ripped.

I made it to the stairs first and climbed them. The door was flung open. I was a flight ahead of him. My lungs burned. I looked over my shoulder. He was getting winded and bumped into the railing. I couldn't let him chase me to the roof. I quickly dug through my pockets. I found a mini acid balloon. I waited for Thailog at the top of the next flight. He scowled, standing up. I tossed the balloon at him. He roared, falling backward. I booked in up the rest of the stairs.

I slammed the door as I pushed myself down the hall. My heart pounded and my head hurt. Once I got to the roof access, I used Jack's badge. I quickly put my glider back together. My ear piece shocked me again. I hissed and ran off the roof. A gust of wind caught my glider and I was flying into the night sky.

Fox's POV End

Thailog didn't put the iron in Talia's apartment; Talia did that herself around chapter 27.

Rena is short for renarde, which is French for "fox," and rossa means red in Italian. Basically Fox's calling herself red fox in mashed up way.

Fox is wearing her ninja outfit from Outfoxed, but her hair is hidden and she's wearing gloves.