Chapter Sixty Six

...

"You're still coming to the sex shop, right?" Craig asked Adam as they walked inside.

"For the hundredth time: yes, I'll be there."

"It's only funny if you say you're coming," Craig said, poking his tongue out at Adam as he headed into the kitchen to get an afternoon snack. "Hi Mum, hi Dad," he called out, seeing his parents at their dining table. "Dad?" he said, doing a double-take and stopping short.

"Shit," Adam muttered, taking Craig's hand and squeezing tightly.

"Son. Adam, you're here again," Mr. Forge said disapprovingly.

"Yes, sir," Adam replied firmly, trying to text with one hand without drawing attention to the fact that he was texting.

"We'd like to talk to our son. Alone," Mr. Forge added.

Craig's hand squeezed Adam's almost painfully. Adam coughed, hoping his bones weren't crunching together like it felt they were. "I... Can I use your phone, Mrs. Forge? Please?"

"Of course," Cindy replied, standing to pass her phone to him.

She didn't question why, even though Adam was holding his phone and it chimed with an incoming message a second later. Adam glanced at the message and showed the screen to Craig, who nodded and slowly relaxed his grip on Adam's hand.

"Uh, thank you, Mrs. Forge. I just want to let my father know that I'm here. Did you see that his latest house design was featured in Super Homes?"

"Oh, no, I didn't. That's lovely, dear. I didn't know he designed houses," Cindy said.

"We've known Curtis for seventeen years; he's been an architect for that entire time, Cindy," Mr. Forge said, rolling his eyes at his wife.

"Oh, that's nice. Do you think we could get a tour of his new house? We're going to build and move into a new house in Montana. Or were we going to buy a house and move to Montana?" Cindy asked her husband.

"What?!" Craig asked incredulously, his grip tightening on Adam's hand once more.

Mr. Forge sighed and glared at his wife before turning his attention to his son. "I've been offered a promotion to Montana's head office. It's more money, a corner office, and they've agreed to let me start in two weeks' time, which is very generous. We're leaving next week."

"But I have finals in three weeks," Craig said.

"Then you'll have to do them at a new school."

"Craig would have to redo the school year if he misses finals here. Besides, Montana doesn't even have a school for supers," Adam said.

Mr. Forge's jaw clenched. "That doesn't matter. He doesn't need a school like that. He's normal, aren't you, son?"

"Yes, sir," Craig said, swallowing and trying to step back as his father stepped forward.

"He literally changes into other people," Adam snapped, moving so he was in front of Craig.

"He is normal. He's not like you, he's not a freak, and he's leaving with us, whether he wants to or not!" Mr. Forge bellowed.

The doorbell rang.

The sound was so unexpected that they all went still, incredulous that something so simple could be present in the middle of a heated argument.

"I'll get it," Cindy said cheerfully.

Waiting until his wife was gone, Mr. Forge strode across the room and picked Adam up by the front of his shirt. "You listen to me, you freak. He is my son, so I'll decide what is best for him, not you. He's coming with us to Montana, he's going to a normal school, and if he shows any sign of this freakish behaviour, he's being sent to the first super conversion therapy I can find."

Adam was so very tempted to spit in Mr. Forge's face. It didn't even have to be acidic and it would still be a vindictive pleasure. "You're not taking Craig anywhere," he said, smiling broadly when he recognised Honey's voice at the door.

Honey had brought Frieda and Ms. Martin, who had just so happened to drop by Frieda's to see how Layla was doing in her new home. Layla was still at work, but before Ms. Martin could say or do anything else, Honey and Frieda had both received SOS texts from Adam. She had decided to come with them considering the murderous expression on her client's face.

"Let me in, you insipid cow, or I will kick you down," Frieda snapped.

"Lovely weather we're having for this time of year, isn't it, Honey?" Ms. Martin asked, definitely not a witness to her client threatening someone.

Frieda was at the kitchen doorway a moment later, where Adam was still being held up by the shirt by Mr. Forge. "You put him down this instant!"

Mr. Forge sneered down at her. "I caught this boy trespassing in my home. What are you going to do about it?"

Frieda sized him up, her eyes dark as she saw every secret he'd ever had. She moved around him and kicked him between the legs with all the force she could muster. Considering how angry she was, it was a lot of force. Mr. Forge let go of Adam and dropped to the floor, howling in pain and clutching at his crotch.

"Very lovely weather," Ms. Martin said, trying so very hard not to burst out laughing.

"Craig, I'll need your father's fingerprint, please," Frieda said, leading him over to a painting and tugging it off the wall to reveal a safe.

"What the hell?" Craig said, staring at the safe he'd never seen before.

"Your father's been embezzling from his work, as well as taking bribes from some very bad people. The evidence is all in here," Frieda said, gesturing for Craig to put his fingerprint on the ID scanner.

Craig looked over to his father, who was red-faced and gasping on the ground, then returned his attention to the safe. For the second time in his life, he shifted in front of his father, and used his fingerprint to open the safe. Inside were several leather-bound ledgers and a substantial amount of money, tied up in thick bundles.

"Here we are, Ms. Martin; no one else's fingerprint would be anywhere near this safe. I do hope you've called the police, Honey?" Frieda asked.

"They'll be here in a minute. Come on, Craig, let's go get you emancipated," Honey said with a wink, holding out a hand for him. "Don't do it, Adam. It's not worth the consequences."

Adam reluctantly swallowed the mouthful of acidic spit and helped Honey lead his best friend away.

"Emancipation takes four to eight months though?" Craig said.

"Oh, sweetheart, no. Hyacinth is a judge; it'll take four to eight hours," Honey said firmly. "We should organise a bag for you and make sure you've got all of your homework. You're going to get an A-minus on that essay."

"Really?" Craig asked, sniffling and trying hard not to cry.

"Yeah. Oh, don't forget that blue shirt," Honey said, nudging him towards his wardrobe.

By the time Craig had packed his homework and most of his belongings into a bag, the police had arrived and were talking to his father. As soon as Craig was in Mr. Forge's line of sight, he seemed to lose all sense of self and control. Mr. Forge lunged towards his son, hands outstretched and reaching, his face twisted in anger. After all of his extra-curricular training, Craig didn't think, he simply shifted. A second later, his father was out cold on the floor after connecting with Larry's bulky rock form.

"Uh, sorry," Craig said to the two police officers, who were staring at him in shock.

"I hope your wife and baby girl are doing well, Officer?" Frieda asked one of the officers, the same one who'd answered the domestic disturbance at Greta's.

"Oh. Uh, yes. They're fine. I thought I recognised you."

Frieda smiled and patted the man's arm. "That's very kind of you. Now, I'm sure you won't have any trouble filing the reports and making sure this slug of a man goes to prison for a very long time, will you?"

The officer blinked. "Well, we have all of the embezzling evidence in his ledgers, the cash bribes, eyewitnesses for Mr. Forge attempting to hurt his son, and the video that young man provided of emotional abuse, so he should be locked away for some time yet, ma'am."

"That's lovely to hear. Take care now," Frieda said, stepping over Mr. Forge's fallen body and following her daughter, Craig, and Adam outside. "Now, I brought the Rolls Royce, and I know from experience that it fits through the ice cream store's drive-thru. What do you say?"

"Ice cream works for me," Adam said with a nod.

"Same here," Craig said.

"I suppose I have no choice," Ms. Martin said. "Adam, if you send the video and voice recording to my email address, I can send it through to Hyacinth and get started on the paperwork."

Honey ended her call with Hyacinth and joined them. "Hyacinth will be expecting the paperwork this evening. Craig, you'll just need to sign and agree to become emancipated."

"Is that from my whole family or just my parents? I don't... I don't want to miss out on seeing Elijah and Elliot grow up," Craig said, the same fear his sister had used against him time and time again taking hold in his chest.

Honey hugged him tight. "Don't you worry about that. If I have my way, she'll never hurt any of you again, and you won't miss out on a thing," she promised.

"You sure?" he asked quietly as he hugged her in return.

"I am. Unfortunately, you may need to be bait," Honey said with a wince as she pulled away.

Remembering Cara's threat to make sure that Elliot and Elijah would grow up normal and his father's threat about super conversion therapy, Craig nodded. "I can do that."

...

Anita blinked awake blearily, realising that she'd fallen asleep while reading a book on chess strategies, and that she'd woken up because there'd been a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she called, turning her bedside lamp on and setting her book aside.

Heidi opened the door slowly, then completely when she saw that Anita was awake. She was inside and by her bed in a moment, setting a piece of paper down and signing quickly.

"Too fast, sweetie. I'm still learning," Anita said, signing slow back to her.

"This one," Heidi said, too impatient to sign again, tapping the paper on Anita's lap.

"You've chosen a house already?" Anita asked, adjusting her glasses to pick up the piece of paper and look at it properly. "This wasn't one of the houses," she murmured. "Ethan, did you find this house?" Anita called, looking to her doorway.

As she'd expected, Ethan and Zach were both waiting in the hallway.

"Yes. I kept to your criteria: under a certain budget, within a particular neighbourhood, and made sure that there was enough space for all of us," Ethan said quickly. "I even made sure there was a good-sized kitchen and a basement for Dad's model train set."

Anita groaned good-naturedly. "I was hoping we'd leave that darn thing here."

Zach laughed, turning it into a cough. "Uh, Heids, show Anita the best bit," he said with a nod.

Heidi grinned and turned the piece of paper over. On it were the photos that had been included of the house: the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom with ensuite, three extra bedrooms, and the basement even looked light rather than damp and terrifying. Heidi pointed to one of the bedrooms specifically, a bed with fairy lights strung along the headboard.

Anita frowned and looked from the paper to Heidi, then over to Ethan and Zach. "What is it with the lights? I understand that they're pretty, but that was a lot of lights Heidi received for her birthday. We didn't even have that many lights when we decorated the house for Christmas last year."

Heidi looked over to Zach, who nodded encouragingly.

The room around them became dark, Zach automatically glowing in response. It took Anita a long moment to realise that the lamp light had changed, that Heidi had changed the light.

"You control lights?" Anita asked when the light had returned.

Heidi shook her head shyly, then started to rub her hands together. As Anita watched curiously, Heidi moved her hands apart carefully, cracks of static electricity formed between her palms.

"Oh, lord. Electricity," Anita said, the amount of fairy and novelty lights finally making sense.

"I didn't know you could do that, Heids," Zach said in surprise.

Heidi clapped her hands together once, the electricity disappearing, then signed: accident.

"Do you have any of your birthday balloons left?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Ethan, you are not going to use Heidi for your experiments. I don't want to see her walking around with a string of balloons after her."

Heidi laughed, signing something fast to Zach, who snickered in response.

"Thought balloons," he explained when Anita and Ethan looked at them.

"Oh, dear lord. Ethan, go get your father so we can discuss this house you've found, please."

Ethan nodded, adjusting his glasses on the way out.

Anita waved Zach and Heidi over to sit on the bed beside her. "Thank you for telling me this, Heidi, and for trusting me. I'll make sure that you get to Sky High, okay? Or whichever super school you want to attend," she added, unsure whether Heidi actually wanted to go to her brother's school or not.

"Sky High. Please," Heidi said.

"You don't mind, Anita? I know how much the tuition costs," Zach said.

"Yes, so do I. But it's worth it to ensure Heidi gets the best possible education. I promised myself that you would both be given every opportunity in life I could give you, your education's just a part of that."

"Is this why you want me to go to the opera with you?" Zach asked curiously.

"Yes. That, and it's a brilliant opera," Anita admitted with a smile. "Now, tell me more about this house. Why do you two like it? Besides the bed with the lights," she added.

Heidi started signing quickly again, so Zach translated. "Big backyard for a dog. Bath to wash a dog. Bed with lights and big enough for a dog. C'mon, Heids."

Anita laughed. "I'm assuming you'd like a dog, then?"

Heidi nodded firmly, though her cheeks were red as though she was embarrassed to ask, as if she'd asked adults before and been denied.

"Pets are a big responsibility, sweetie."

Heidi nodded again, seriously and somewhat disappointed.

"Let's find a house first; we want to make sure we can all live there comfortably, not just what's great for a dog, okay?"

"That's a good maybe, Heids," Zach said, signing to her.

Heidi nodded reluctantly, then started to sign again.

"Planning permission for a pool? Where did you read that?" Zach asked, taking the piece of paper to read the fine print. "Huh, I missed that completely. Indoor, too."

"Where do they have the room for an indoor pool?" Anita asked curiously.

"Indoor and outdoor, apparently, since they'd be converting half of the garage and going out into the backyard. But it's not in yet, it's just the permission," Zach said, handing the paper back to her.

"I heard there's a house with space for my model trains?" Richard announced as he entered the bedroom, grinning broadly.

"Not if I have any say in it," Anita muttered.

"Why don't you like the trains?" Zach asked.

"Oh, I'm fine with the trains. It's the creepy little people that terrify me," she replied, then held out the piece of paper. "Ethan's done some research of his own."

"I expect nothing less," Richard said, kissing Ethan's temple before taking the paper. He read over the fine print, eyebrows raising when he saw the included permission for the pool, then turned the page over to see the photos. "Ah, the bed with the lights. You want that for your bed, do you, Heidi?"

She grinned and nodded.

"That's not all," Anita said, tapping Heidi's hand gently to prompt her to demonstrate to Richard as well.

As Heidi was sitting next to Zach, she zapped him with her static electricity accidentally, wincing when he jolted back. "You okay?"

"Fine, Heids. Better than last time," Zach admitted, though his hair was standing on end.

"Are you sure I can't get just one balloon, Ma?" Ethan asked, grinning.

"Ethan, no. Besides, you should all be in bed now, it's a school night. Your father and I will discuss this and make our decision in the morning. Thank you for finding it," Anita said.

"Good night," Zach said, hugging Anita and then Richard on his way out, waiting for Ethan and Heidi in the hallway.

Ethan kissed his mother's cheek, then hugged his father tightly, and went to wait with Zach. Heidi hugged Anita and kissed her cheek quickly, then did the same with Richard.

"Good night, sweetie," Anita said.

"Good night, kids. Sleep tight," Richard said.

Anita set the piece of paper aside and pressed a hand to her cheek. It was the first time Heidi had kissed her cheek.

Richard looked as stunned as she felt, but smiled broadly and crossed the room to hug and kiss his wife. "We're doing okay with them, aren't we, Annie?"

Anita nodded and hugged him tightly in return. "Lord, I hope so."

...

Warren frowned in confusion when he saw Layla sitting on the bus with Craig and Adam. Continuing down the aisle to his seat, he sat between Layla and Craig. "What's going on?"

"Coffee first, explanations later," Layla said, offering him a travel mug.

"All right. Anyone else getting on the bus that I should know about?"

"Just the usuals," Layla replied.

Accepting her answer, Warren nodded, closed his eyes and sipped at his coffee. He finished it by the time the bus flew off the highway ramp, so he set the empty mug aside and opened his eyes once more, waiting for an explanation.

"My dad's super-phobic, homophobic, and was also embezzling and taking bribes. He, uh, tried to attack me and Adam last night. Adam messaged Honey and Frieda stopped my dad from hurting Adam."

"You missed the part where he was trying to get you to move to Montana, go to a non-super school, and didn't care that you'd have to redo this whole year if you moved in a week's time," Adam added.

"That too," Craig conceded with a nod.

"Hyacinth had him emancipated by the end of the night," Layla added. "Craig's going to stay with us until Honey's worked out his other accommodation."

Warren's jaw clenched and he looked ready to set someone or something on fire. "Next time someone tries to attack you, call me. All these lousy fathers and I haven't had a chance to thank any of them."

"Why would you want to thank them?!" Craig asked incredulously.

"Code for beating them up," Layla explained.

"Oh, okay. That makes more sense. So, you're just pissed because you didn't get to 'thank' my dad?" Craig asked, rolling his eyes.

"Well, that, and I'm pissed because he hurt you. He sounds like a complete bastard. C'mere," Warren said, curling an arm around Craig and letting him cuddle in close.

Craig hugged Warren firmly, not planning on letting go until they reached Sky High.

"We're landing," Adam said from his corner, far too soon for Craig's liking.

He tightened his grip on Warren as the bus landed on the runway. "I'm alive."

"Good, now get up," Adam said, plonking Craig's bag on his lap.

"Not cool, dude," Craig groaned, clutching his bag as he stood up.

Warren grabbed his and Layla's bags and followed Craig out, while Adam followed after Layla.

"Thanks, Warren," Layla said, taking her bag and kissing his cheek.

"Thanks, Warren," Craig said, kissing his cheek.

Warren rolled his eyes. "Go to home group, dork."

"Love you, too," Craig called over his shoulder, grinning.

Layla stopped at the tree by the retaining wall and grew some fresh apples, setting them in the basket that had managed to stay by the wall, even after the storm.

"You're so nice, hippie," Warren said, kissing her cheek.

"I'm just helping out my fellow students," Layla replied, taking his hand in hers.

He laughed, low and hot against her skin. "You forget that I've seen your plans, hippie. I know what you're going to do."

"I think you mean what we're going to do," she said sweetly, kissing him hard and bruising before gently pushing him back into the flow of students.

Warren grinned and licked his bloodied lip.

...

"I'm not saying it's not a good idea, I just don't think that a petition is the best way to achieve this kind of goal," Will said, subconsciously putting his hands on his hips in a heroic pose.

"Then what would you suggest?" Katherine snarled, looking ready to claw his eyes out.

Will blanked. He hadn't thought that far ahead, honestly.

"Me," a familiar voice said behind him.

Will's eyes widened and he spun around to see his mother there.

Josie took off her glasses and Jetstream smiled down at the four seated students. "The petition is a wonderful start, but to really make a difference, getting the support of Jetstream and the Commander would mean that your voices are actually heard."

"So, you're saying that without your support, no one will listen to us?" Grant asked.

Jetstream faltered. "Uh, no, of course not. It's just that..."

Will's friends came out of the cafeteria, taking a moment longer to clear their trays than their friend with the power of flight. All three of Lisa's eyes widened at the sight of Jetstream standing there. Ignoring the four protesting students, Lisa moved into Jetstream's line of sight.

"It's so great to see you again, Jetstream. I'd like to question you about Blue McQueen's allegations and why you're supporting the studio and director instead of her?"

"Lisa!" Will hissed at her, but she ignored him and kept her eyes on Jetstream, waiting for a response.

A bright shimmering light drew everyone's attention and then Principal Powers was in the hallway, smiling at Jetstream. "There you are, Jetstream. I'm ready now, if you are?" she offered, ignoring the bristling and eager students.

"Yes, I'm ready. Thank you, Principal Powers," Josie said, slipping her glasses back on. "Have a nice day, Will dear," she said, kissing his cheek and wincing at the lipstick mark she left behind.

Will groaned and rubbed at the mark ineffectively, glaring when his friends laughed. Josie flew after Principal Powers' comet form without looking back.

Shifting back before reaching her office - she'd discovered all too quickly that the power repressing beams forcing her shift was not pleasant - Principal Powers waited for Josie to stop flying before guiding her inside.

"Thank you for your well-timed rescue, Linda. Have the students always been that intense?" Josie asked as she sat down, still reeling.

When she was a student at Sky High, she would have given her front teeth to meet Captain Stronghold. If he'd offered to help her with a ridiculous petition, she would have been grateful, not snide and rude! Josie tried to remember that student's name and face so she could ensure that Will wasn't actually friends with him. Graham?

"Passionate, perhaps, but intense is a stretch," Principal Powers said with a slight smile.

Josie forced herself to smile in return. "Of course, Linda."

They smiled at each other for a moment longer, neither one wanting to give. A second later, Principal Power looked to the paperwork on her desk. Josie smiled in triumph as she took her glasses off to negotiate for Magenta to be allowed to leave school with Will during Westville's super-emergencies.

...

"Shouldn't you be studying, Craig?" Cara asked as she arrived at the café with the twins in their stroller.

"Taking a break is good for my mental health," Craig replied, setting his hot chocolate down to wave at Elliot and Elijah and make them giggle.

Cara rolled her eyes; mental health was just a term for people who couldn't keep their shit together. "I don't know why you wanted to meet me at the mall; there's a perfectly good coffee machine at home. Speaking of, I need a coffee; you'll look after the twins?" she said over her shoulder as she headed to the counter without waiting for an answer.

"Of course I will. Always gonna look after you, aren't I?" Craig cooed.

Elijah grinned up at his uncle, freckles appearing on his face. Beside him, Elliot laughed and waved up at his uncle with six-fingered hands.

"Super Jesus, look at you both!" Craig said, trying hard not to be too loud in his excitement.

Cara returned while he was still cooing over the twins. She sat across from him, frowning at his behaviour, and sipped at her coffee. "You heard about Dad? I can't believe those bastards would betray him like that, after all the work he did for them," Cara said, her jaw clenched.

"He was stealing their pension money, Cara, and taking bribes from the competition to provide information that would ruin the company," Craig replied incredulously.

"So what? He doesn't deserve to be in prison over that. There are worse people out there," she added, her gaze flicking over to him.

Craig forced himself not to throw his drink in her face. He wasn't going to waste five bucks worth of hot chocolate on her. Craig was glad that his sister didn't know that their father had attacked him as well as embezzled money; she'd probably think he'd been right in that, too. "How's things going with Victor? You said you didn't need me to babysit for your date night last week," he added.

Cara set her mug down too quickly, the cracking sound of ceramic on glass loud even in the mall. "He wants to go to couples therapy," she sneered, spitting the words out.

"That's good. Isn't it? Victor obviously wants to make your relationship work and he's willing to talk about it in an environment where you'd both be comfortable and safe," he said.

Cara laughed cruelly. "Oh, you're so sensitive and weak, Craig. But I'm not. No, I know what he's really doing."

Craig sighed. "What's Victor really doing, Cara?"

"He's trying to get the twins away from me. Just this morning, he said he'd take them out to the park and look after them for the day! Can you imagine that?!

"Besides, I know that he's doing this whole couples therapy thing as a way to prove that I got pregnant just so he'd marry me. He doesn't love me, he's only staying with me because of the twins, and if I lose them, I lose my husband."

"But you don't even like him."

"That's what being married is about, Craig: pretending to love your partner so they'll stay with you for another year," Cara sneered. "His social standing is what's important. I need him to have that societal influence for myself. Do you honestly think Edith would invite me to all of those luncheons and charity galas if I wasn't married to her son?"

Craig honestly couldn't bring himself to answer that. He and his friends had all received an invitation to an upcoming charity gala from Hyacinth, Edith, and Frieda, all of whom planned to take them shopping for the occasion. The gala itself was to celebrate the addition of the Monet painting to the Maxville Art Gallery, where Frieda was to be the guest of honour due to her donation. The charity side of the gala was a way to raise money for the gallery's local arts program.

Craig wanted to rub the invitation in his sister's face, since he knew that Edith hadn't invited Cara, but he knew that she'd be pissed off and would probably refuse to let him see the twins again.

The ground beneath them started to rumble, a slow build that turned into the building shaking, the lights flickering, people screaming in surprise and fear at the earthquake beneath their feet.

Craig shifted under his shirt and threw himself over the twins and their stroller, protecting them. Overhead, the coffee shop's sign swayed dangerously, the screws creaking as the building moved, and with a loud wrenching sound, the sign fell directly onto Craig's back. It splintered into pieces as it hit his reinforced back, Craig letting out a small grunt of pain.

Slowly, the building stopped shaking and the earthquake subsided. Craig stood up carefully, checking the twins were okay before looking at the building around them. There was some damage, mostly to the stores' contents, but a few people were scratched and bruised, and a lot of children were wailing their fear loudly.

"Cara?" Craig said, realising that he couldn't see his sister.

A flash of movement had him looking down, and he saw that Cara had moved under the table when the earthquake had started.

"Don't just stand there, help me up," she snapped.

Craig lifted her to her feet, not as gently as he could have. Cara had only thought about herself, not her children; if he hadn't been there, Elijah and Elliot would have been hurt by the falling sign. Cara's eyes widened when she saw the broken sign and she glared at Craig.

In the entrance, Will and Magenta had arrived - Magenta wearing one of Jetstream's cast-offs until her own suit could be made - and the media weren't far behind.

"Airborne, it's such a relief that you were here! You stopped the majority of the building from moving in the earthquake, is that right?" the blonde reporter said, holding her microphone out to him.

Will smiled broadly. "That's right, Tasha."

"I helped too, Tasha," Magenta said pointedly.

"Oh? And who are you? Airborne's never mentioned you before," Tasha said with a pretty and sharp smile.

"This is Shifter, my side... Hero Support," Will introduced.

"How lovely. And how did you help, Shitter?"

"Shifter," Magenta corrected, her cheeks burning.

Tasha ignored the correction and returned her attention to Airborne, reaching out to touch his bicep and cut the camera's view of Magenta. "The people of Westville must be so proud to have you as their Hero, Airborne."

A loud scream had the cameraman whirling and Tasha running towards the noise.

"Just you wait until Dad gets bailed out; you're going to the first super conversion therapy place that will take you! How dare you save them over me? I am your sister! And don't even think you can go crying to your boyfriend and girlfriend, you greedy freak! They're going to leave you as soon as they realise what you are! You're going to be fixed, you're going to be normal, and so are the baby freaks! I'm going to make you all normal if it's the last thing I do!"

Craig stood there as Cara screamed at him and hoped that this would all be worth it in the end. He'd already shifted his face so no one would see him breaking down at her words, at the piercing doubts, at everything he was being thrown in his face. He clutched at the twins' stroller handles tightly, his hands sweaty, and all he wanted to do was get the hell out of there.

Over her shoulder, the reporter and cameraman were zooming in on Cara's outburst. Around them, citizens were making their way out of the mall to the arriving medics to treat their shock and bruises. Will and Magenta continued to help and guide the citizens, Will glancing over to the camera and hoping they'd turn back to see what great work he was doing. Magenta saw where he was looking and glowered at the blonde reporter, wishing she could shift and bite her ankles or something.

"Good morning, citizens. For your own safety, you should head outside," Will announced, interrupting Cara's ranting.

"Don't you tell me what to do, you spandex-clad freak!" Cara snapped, turning around. Her face burned bright red when she saw the reporter and cameraman standing there. "How dare you! Delete that! It's an invasion of privacy! I'll sue you, I know people who will make your lives a living Hell - "

"We're reporting live here from Westville Mall," Tasha said, turning to the camera and ignoring the outraged citizen behind her. "Airborne and his sidekick have just saved the citizens of Westville when an earthquake shook the mall down to its foundations, Airborne using his super strength to keep the building steady. It's lucky WET sent through the seismic activity register early this morning and, as always, we're lucky to have an amazing Hero like Airborne to protect us. Of course, not everyone agrees," she said, glaring over her shoulder at Cara, who was now pale as a ghost.

"The video evidence is overwhelming. I saw the video evidence on the news, I'm surprised they didn't edit it," Hyacinth said. "Now, what about this claim that Cara was manipulating her husband?" she asked, looking between Ms. Martin, Honey, Craig, and Victor.

Victor still looked stricken about everything that had happened to Craig, and how Cara had threatened his children. He soothed Elliot against his chest and continued to bounce Elijah on his knee gently.

Craig swallowed hard at this, knowing that Victor didn't truly know the extent of what Cara had done. Setting his phone down, he pressed play on the recording he'd taken at the café. His sister had never thought that he'd record their conversation, knowing that she could threaten him by not allowing him to visit the twins, so Cara had thought she was safe to say whatever she wanted without consequence.

Victor let out a strangled noise when he heard Cara saying how she'd gotten pregnant just to marry him, the disbelief continuing as he heard his wife of three years talk about using him for his social standing, for his mother's influence, for her own gain. Elliot whined at his father's anguish, and Victor inhaled deeply, closing his eyes tightly as he settled his son down again.

"I retract my previous offer; I'm applying for full custody," he said firmly.

Ms. Martin nodded and pulled the appropriate paperwork out of her briefcase. She'd heard the evidence earlier for herself and knew that Victor wouldn't want Cara anywhere near the twins once he'd heard it as well. As soon as the correct sections were signed, Ms. Martin handed the forms to Hyacinth.

"Thank you, dear. Victor Harland, you now have sole custody of Elijah and Elliot. Your application to be Craig's guardian has also been accepted," Hyacinth said. "As it's doubtful that your ex-wife will remain in jail for long, I suggest you take measures to ensure that she won't be able to come anywhere near your beautiful children."

"Thank you," Victor said.

He hated the idea of taking out a restraining order against Cara, but Victor knew that he had to in order to keep his sons safe. At least there was a super restraining order that would mean that Cara literally wouldn't be able to come anywhere near Elliot and Elijah.

"I didn't know you'd applied to be my guardian, Victor," Craig said, taking Elijah up and cuddling him close before pressing a kiss to his head and settling him in the stroller.

"You're my brother-in-law, Craig. I'm not going to leave you out in the cold, not when you saved my sons, not when you love them as much as you do. I'd never keep Elijah and Elliot from you," Victor said, shaking his head, before setting Elliot in the stroller next to his brother.

Craig hugged Victor tightly, surprising him. Victor smiled and patted Craig's back.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I'd better put in the super restraining order before Cara gets bailed out of jail," Victor said with a reluctant sigh.

"Can we put the twins somewhere outside to watch her bounce off the super restraining barrier?"

"Super Jesus, Craig, no."

...

End of the sixty-sixth chapter.

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