Chapter Ninety Eight

...

Connor followed Victor through the hospital, trying to keep his attention on the path they were taking rather than Victor's ass as he walked. Unsuccessful in that endeavour for longer than two minutes, Connor was torn between relief and annoyance as they arrived at the hospital room.

"Good afternoon, Alexandra. I'm Victor, I spoke to you on the phone earlier."

"Oh, yes! Hello, sonny. Come in, I'll get Alex to bring us some tea when he visits; he should be here shortly," Alexandra said with a bright smile.

Connor frowned; Alex was in prison, had no one told her?

"I'm here to talk to you about Alex, actually. I'm representing him in court; I'm his lawyer," Victor said, his words and tone gentle as he sat on the chair beside Alexandra's bed.

"What's happened? Where is he? Where's my Alex?" she asked urgently, the heart monitor beeping wildly.

"He's all right, Alexandra. Alex's friends did something wrong and Alex resisted arrest when the police came for all of them. He's worried about you, Alexandra."

"It's the mohawk, isn't it?" Alexandra asked, sighing heavily. "He said he didn't want it, but I pushed him. I always wanted a mohawk but my parents never let me. I was living vicariously through him, and now he's in trouble for it."

"I don't think it was the mohawk, Alexandra."

"Call me Lexie, please. Can I go to the station? I think I can post his bail - how much is it? Oh, he must be so worried about me. He's a worrier, that one, and he's all alone, and I - "

"Lexie," Victor interrupted, his voice still gentle. "Alex is fine, I promise. Unfortunately, the police are using him as an example because the drugs his friends stole from a pharmacy can be used to make speed and ice. They had alibis, but Alex was visiting you at the hospital, and there's few cameras here that actually work, so it's difficult to prove he was really here."

"Where's my nurse? Nurse!" Lexie called suddenly, pressing the call nurse button on her bed. "Every nurse knows Alex on sight; they can prove he was here the whole time. We're reading The Count of Monte Cristo. It's the only thing that'll get me to sleep in this ward with the - ah, Nurse Nathan! Alex was here on... when was it, sonny?"

"June 10th, about 9pm."

"June 10th, who was my nurse?" Lexie asked, Nathan startled by the question and multiple people in the hospital room.

"Uh, I believe that was Gertrude. I had the shift the morning after her," Nathan said. "Are you all right, Lexie?"

"Apart from another family member being wrongly incarcerated, I'm fine. Can you find Gertie for me?"

"She's gone home, Lexie," Nathan said.

"Can you give these gentlemen her contact number, please? It's important; I can't have both my brother and my grandson in prison. I can't, not when it's my fault. They're both my fault," Lexie said, sounding haunted and horrified all at once.

"I'm sure Alexander's imprisonment wasn't your fault, Lexie," Connor said, trying to keep his tone gentle like Victor.

Lexie's heart was racing on the monitor. "It was my idea, just like the mohawk. I did it to both of them; I got them both arrested; it's my fault, it's my - "

Nathan moved forward and pressed a button on the drip attached to Lexie's hand. "It's okay, Lexie. Just breathe, okay? Just breathe. Alex will be here soon and he'll read to you, just like he always does," he soothed.

Neither Victor nor Connor bothered to correct the nurse, not wanting to hurt Lexie further.

When Lexie was calm and dropping off to sleep, Nathan looked between Victor and Connor, sizing them up with a slight frown. "Are you cops?"

Victor shook his head. "I'm a lawyer. If you could provide Gertrude's contact information, her alibi would be extremely helpful for Alex."

"What? What happened to Alex?" Nathan asked in surprise.

"He was arrested and we need Gertrude's alibi to ensure he won't be in prison longer than he already has," Victor replied.

"Holy shit. He must be going nuts. Hey, take a copy of Lexie's chart to him, yeah? It'll help him calm down; Alex wants to be a doctor when he's older, and he's been obsessive about reading Lexie's chart every night. I haven't had a night shift in... hell, a month, so I had no idea he hadn't been in," Nathan said, heading to the nurse's station to find Gertrude's information.

Victor called Gertrude as soon as they stepped out of the hospital and while she wasn't entirely pleased to be woken up, Gertrude was more understanding when Victor explained what had happened to Alex. She'd promised to provide an alibi and testify in court, if required. Victor's relief was almost palpable at her promise and Connor hoped that Hyacinth wouldn't incarcerate Alex and take him away from his only relative.

...

Adam rubbed his eyes and then stretched, his back cracking and releasing the tension of sitting in front of his computer. Unfortunately, it didn't do much for the tension about the news he was about to deliver to Layla and Warren. Standing and heading out to the kitchen, he rolled his eyes on seeing Layla and Warren making out. Again. "Seriously, guys? Again? What is it with you two and kitchens?"

"My kitchen, my rules," Warren said, grinning as he pulled away.

"Gonna get my own damn kitchen," Adam muttered. "Now, do you want the good news or the bad news? Actually, there's like... medium news, too."

"Medium?" Layla asked curiously.

"Yeah. Both good and bad, so it kinda cancels itself out."

Warren snorted and led Layla over to the dining area, sitting down and tugging her onto his lap. "Medium, bad, then good."

"That works," Layla agreed, smiling as Adam sat across from them.

"Okay. Medium news... The cops you put in hospital aren't working their cases, but another two cops have taken them on. These cops are apparently racist assholes, so they'll probably come for you and drag my ass out instead."

"We wouldn't let that happen," Layla promised.

"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't either. I've got, like, three escape plans for something like that anyway," Adam said, shrugging.

"If something ever does happen, go into the forest. Whoever follows you won't find you or get out again," Layla promised.

"Huh. Okay, four escape plans. Thanks. So, on that note: the bad news is one of the hospitalised cops has already been released, and she's looking into you off the record, Lay, while the two racists follow up on Warren."

"Off the record doesn't mean shit," Warren said, rolling his eyes. "If she has cause to arrest you, she can still do it. Hell, even a citizen's arrest will be enough without her badge."

"Why would she have cause to arrest me?" Layla asked innocently, her eyes wide, Warren laughing into his fist.

Adam shook his head. "Do you want the good news or not?"

"All right, hit us with it."

"Good news, Victor and Connor were discussing Hyacinth before they got cockblocked by Honey. I mean, she said she wasn't cockblocking them, but she totally was, no matter what excuse she cooked up," Adam said, snickering. "Anyway, Hyacinth is apparently super fast at judging people, and is biased against anyone super or related to supers. It's fucking up Victor's court cases, including an upcoming one with the grandson of the Plight. Wait, his grandmother's brother is the Plight, so he's... Ah, fuck it, he's related to the Plight."

"Uh-huh. How exactly is that good news?" Warren asked, frowning.

"Connor said he was going to deal with her, so that should help with her as a problem if she ever sees you two in court."

"With that kind of bad news, I feel like the good news was kind of a letdown," Warren muttered.

"Hey, I never said I was solving world hunger or some shit. Don't shoot the messenger."

"When's Connor dealing with Hyacinth?" Layla asked, ignoring their bickering.

Adam looked to the clock on the wall. "About now, I guess. Honey said they were coming over for lunch in thirty minutes. That was about twenty-five minutes ago," he added.

"Can we listen in?" Warren asked.

"Sure. But if I have to listen to people chewing, I'm leaving," Adam said with a full body shudder.

"Eww, gross. Maybe we should wait five minutes?" Layla suggested.

"Does Connor seem like the kind of person who would wait where Victor's health or wellbeing is concerned?" Warren asked.

"Hmm, I guess not."

Adam headed to his hideaway and flicked through a program on his computer, selecting a phone's microphone and listening through his headphones briefly before unplugging so the sound would go through his speakers.

...

"Can I ask you a hypothetical question, Hyacinth? As a judge, that is," Connor added.

"Oh. Yes, of course. You haven't done anything illegal, have you?" Hyacinth asked, eyes narrowed.

Connor laughed and shook his head. "No, no. Just something I've been arguing with Victor about and I thought you could prove one of us wrong. Now, say a case is presented to you where the person being prosecuted is at a party two blocks away from where a woman was murdered. The evidence shows that the woman was killed outside her apartment, but her roommate swears she was killed in front of her bed inside the apartment. Her roommate also swears that the person being prosecuted is the one that shot her, even though a party two streets over with over thirty people have eyewitness accounts that the prosecution was there at the time of the woman's death."

"Well - "

Connor grinned and held up a hand. "Patience, Hyacinth. I'm not finished yet. Now, the prosecution's not a registered super, but they're related to Chrono."

"The time manipulator?" Frieda asked curiously, wondering what on earth was going on as she looked between Connor and Hyacinth, Connor nodding in response to her question.

"Well, that's different. The prosecution could have been at the party, stopped time, and moved over to kill the woman."

Connor squeezed Victor's hand gently to stop him from arguing the case - it was actually similar to one of his old cases and he still felt the need to prove his client had been innocent, even though he knew Hyacinth wouldn't listen. "And if I told you they were related to Chrono by marriage, not through blood?"

Hyacinth narrowed her eyes. "Then that would be misleading."

"I hadn't finished, but you'd already made up your mind," Connor pointed out.

Hyacinth pursed her lips. "Does my answer solve your argument?" she asked, her words clipped. She was hungry and wished she'd asked Connor to ask his questions after she'd eaten.

"Not quite. Now, a different scenario.

"A man reports being abused at knifepoint, so the police canvas the area based on the provided description and focus on people who have committed crimes in that area in the past. The man picks his abuser out of a selection of photos. The accused person fits the description, but denies the allegations."

"What's the catch?" Hyacinth asked.

"During the court case, you find out the citizen has a fifty-dollar a day heroin addiction and was high as a kite when they picked the accused out of the photos and lineup. The accused is related to Caesar, twice removed."

Hyacinth paused for a long moment, setting her cutlery down as she considered the scenario. The heroin addict wouldn't be very reliable, especially if they were high. But why would they go through all of the police paperwork if they were lying?

"Even if they were high, they wouldn't have a reason to lie. Besides, it would save the city and its citizens from his future crimes if he were put away. No one - heroin addict or not - would willingly go through police paperwork," Hyacinth said firmly, if a bit smug, picking up her cutlery and continuing to eat.

"The police are rewarding people with a thousand dollars for any reports that result in an arrest," Connor said.

Shit, she'd forgotten about that incentive, Hyacinth thought, trying hard not to choke on her food or words.

"One more, and then I'll leave you to your lunch," Connor promised with a smile.

Hyacinth felt her face burning bright red, but she couldn't refuse in front of her friends, and nodded briefly.

"All right. Someone's injured in a park and they're covered in thorns and scratches from several bushes. They blame a super who was in the area at the time. The injured party picks the person out of a lineup of supers who were also in the area at the time they were hurt. The super has the ability to manipulate flora, but says it wasn't them and provides evidence from a cash register showing they were selling products at their business during that time. The receipts includes the date, time, and their name. The person they sold the product to was from out of town and is unable to provide an alibi, and they don't have any security cameras at their business."

"What else?" Hyacinth asked.

"Oh, I don't know. The super is dating Baron Battle's child, and the citizen knows the Commander and Jetstream," Connor said offhandedly.

"Connor - " Victor murmured, Connor squeezing his hand gently.

"Wait, darling. I'm sure Hyacinth has her answer already."

"Cash register receipts can be manipulated, and just because their name is on it, it doesn't mean they were the one to actually log in to the register. Someone else could have used their details. Besides, if the citizen knows the Commander and Jetstream, Baron Battle would probably want to hurt them; I wouldn't be surprised if his child took on his ambitions. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Hyacinth said.

"There you are, darling. You were right," Connor said.

"What were you arguing about anyway?" Frieda asked, though she felt offended that Hyacinth would hypothetically imprison her adopted daughter simply because she was dating Warren.

"Whether Hyacinth was an elitist or not, and biased against supers."

"What?" Hyacinth asked in surprise. "Of course I'm not an elitist! Why on earth would you think that, Victor?"

"Bulsara vs. May, the accused had video evidence showing they weren't at the scene of the crime, but you discounted that once you'd heard they were related to Magna. One of Magna's lackeys could manipulate video feeds, so you said it was probably done as a favour to Magna, even though they'd died in the explosion the Commander created in an effort to capture Magna.

"Taylor vs. Deacon, the accused was interstate at his friend's wedding, but related to Chrono. You said he could have stopped time, even though not even Chrono can stop time for that long. It would have taken three hours to return to Maxville, injure the victim, and get back to the wedding, yet he was doing the Chicken Dance for almost ten minutes straight.

"Rodgers vs. Staffell, the accused was imprisoned based only on evidence from the opposition's client who had a drug addiction and admitted that in court. As the accused worked night shifts and was asleep during the day, they didn't have an alibi. You were hesitating, then the opposition said the accused was related to Arctic Flame, and your decision was made. They were related to Arctic Flame by marriage and not blood."

"Let me guess: they were all your clients?" Hyacinth asked Victor.

"Eventually, yes. I offered my services pro-bono to appeal your decisions if I knew they were innocent and their only supposed crime was being related to a super, whether I represented them initially or not. Ninety-eight percent were freed by another judge. Hell, Judge Murray paid off her car just because of the extra time she put in reassessing your decisions.

"In the last case I presented to you, Edney vs. Fairclough, the opposition didn't even try to defend their client. They just dug through my client's family history and found out she was related to Power Spike. My client didn't even get to testify and she was convicted. She didn't even know she was related to Power Spike. She had photographic evidence that she wasn't at the crime scene, since she was taking photos of her children with Super Santa at the Christmas Pageant, but that wasn't enough for you. I would have appealed your decision, but she was killed the next day in the crossfire of a prison fight. Her three children were orphans before they were even five years old. Not one of them is a super, and neither was their mother, though that shouldn't have any bearing on whether she was guilty or not," Victor said adamantly.

Seeing that Hyacinth was starting to look guilty, he continued with another example, and then another, and another. The dinner table went silent, no one eating or looking away as Victor continued with another six examples of how the accused parties had evidence - photo, video, alibi, something - to show they weren't at the crime and yet they'd still been incarcerated as soon as Hyacinth knew of their relation to a super.

Hyacinth paled considerably as Victor continued his examples, remembering each of the cases, remembering how sure she'd been doing the right thing each and every time. "I... I'm not... I wouldn't... I'm not biased."

"You just convicted Layla, Hyacinth," Frieda said, frowning at her friend. "Manipulates flora and is dating Baron Battle's child - or did you forget what Layla's power is and who Warren's father is?"

"I..." Hyacinth trailed off, closing her mouth as she considered Frieda's words.

"Everyone is biased, Hyacinth. You just need to recognise that and understand how to get past your own biases to get to the heart of the matter," Connor said, his words gentle.

"I have to go," Hyacinth said, standing with her plate still half filled with food, no longer hungry.

She left without another word, Edith and Frieda looking between the two men and Hyacinth's abrupt exit.

"What was that all about? You've known Hyacinth your whole life, Victor, and you're accusing her of being an elitist now?" Edith asked incredulously.

Victor sighed heavily. "I've been accusing it of her for years, Mother. She just never listened before now."

"Do you think that would be enough, darling?" Connor asked, squeezing his hand gently.

"I really hope so. I'm going to talk to the grandmother this afternoon; do you want to come with me?"

"Always, darling," Connor said, grinning when Victor blushed red at his double entendre.

"I'd say get a room, but I've got next month in the betting pool," Honey said with a grin.

"Ah, yes. About that... Put me down for three weeks," Connor said, taking a bite of his food as Victor groaned and buried his head in his hands beside him.

...

"Nope. I'm out. You can listen to the rest of it yourselves," Adam said, wrinkling his nose.

"That's enough for both of us. Thank you, Adam," Layla said, squeezing his shoulder gently.

"How's everything going with Mrs. Quinton?" Warren asked.

"It's gone cold. She's got her dogs back and the phone numbers that she received her instructions from are all dead. Someone sent her a message - maybe two - and then snapped the SIM. I can't do much with that, especially since it happened in the past," Adam said, sighing.

"Your program didn't pick up our names?"

"I only created the program halfway through their texts, and they didn't use your names. They're focused on Victor and finding Craig, then following Craig, which is why Eth saw her car so much. No one has contacted Mrs. Quinton since she got her dogs back, so I'm guessing they've got the information they needed."

"You're sure Craig can't think of anyone who wants to kidnap him?"

Adam shook his head. "His father's still in prison, Cindy's still on a cruise - or forgot to get back on the cruise ship, no one's quite sure - and Cara's disappeared, completely off the grid from what I can see. No phone, no credit cards, no social media or even email."

"And you're following up on Greta? She tried to get Cara out of prison last time."

"Yeah, I know. She's gone for her weekly luncheons with Mrs. Quinton and a few other women, goes to her golf game every week, and not much else," Adam said, pulling up the tracking on her phone. "She goes grocery shopping every week, and buys a tonne of microwave-ready meals. Not much fresh fruit and vegetables, which is how people get scurvy," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay. Well, keep an eye on her. Can you add names to your program? Can you add Craig, Harland, Forge, and... Cara, just in case," Layla added when Adam nodded.

"Sure. Already had Craig and Forge, but I'll add the others. Cara doesn't really seem like an off-the-grid kind of person. Reckon you'd be able to find her if she was hiding out in a forest somewhere?" Adam asked curiously.

"I don't know. Maybe. I'll start local and see how I go. It's so much easier when I've grown the trees myself."

"You can't replace every tree in the world, hippie," Warren said.

"What a shame," Layla said, laughing.

"Ugh, get out of my room if you're going to flirt," Adam said.

"That wasn't flirting."

"Yes, it was. Out, out, c'mon," Adam said, turning and shooing them both out of his room. "My room, my rules," he added.

"Using our own words against us. Rude," Warren said, even as he guided Layla out of Adam's room and into the kitchen.

"I'm sanitising the kitchen later," Adam called after them.

Layla laughed, tying her hair up in a vine and drawing Warren close to kiss him thoroughly.

...

"Craig, what are you doing?" Layla asked curiously.

"Writing on the birthday whiteboard," Craig said, frowning at the kind of obvious answer as he scrawled another line.

"Yeah, but your birthday was last month; you're not planning a year in advance, are you?" Layla asked.

"If you are, I'm telling Ethan; he'll be so proud," Zach said, grinning. "Why do you want a GPS chip anyway?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Because Mrs. Quinton was following me for, like, three weeks and telling someone everywhere I went and if I was alone or not. If I'm going to be kidnapped, I want to be found sooner rather than later."

"Isn't that what the vines and flames were for?" Warren asked pointedly.

Craig paused, shrugged, and drew large stars on either side of the GPS line. "If they're smart enough to use a little old lady to stalk me, they'll be smart enough to use a power-repressing cuff."

"Is there any point asking for this as a birthday present?" Layla asked, curling her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. "Why not just go buy it for yourself?"

"I don't know what one to buy; Adam'll know and he'll see the board," Craig said, too tense to even enjoy being cuddled by Layla.

"I'm right here, y'know," Adam said, rolling his eyes.

"You weren't there a second ago," Craig argued. "What's that box?"

Adam shook his head and threw the box to him. "I upgraded a FitBit for you. If you're getting kidnapped, I'll find you with or without Layla and Warren's powers," he said, opening the fridge and grabbing a jug of fruit-infused water to pour a glass.

"Nawww. You're worried about me, aren't you?"

Adam snorted. "'Course I am. You're likely to get kidnapped and pull a Caesar to get more money for your own release."

"I'm totally worth a barrel of gold," Craig said with a grin, even as he opened the box and slipped the FitBit on, some of the tension loosening in his shoulders and chest.

"Sure you are, dude. I already downloaded the app to your phone and set it up for you," Adam said, sipping at his glass and heading back to his room.

"Love you too!" Craig called, grinning. "He totally loves me."

"We all do," Ethan said, shaking his head and adjusting his glasses.

"You don't say it enough, Eth."

"Adam doesn't say it either."

"Actions speak louder than words," Craig said, holding up his FitBit-adorned wrist.

Ethan considered his argument for a moment, then nodded and stepped forward, wrapping his hand around Craig's forearm. "There, you've got a knife and a drop of my own water. I'll find you too."

"Aw, you do love me," Craig exclaimed, grinning.

"I can't do anything like that. I'll hug you, though," Zach offered.

"I never turn down hugs. C'mere," Craig said, laughing as he was squished in a hug between Layla and Zach.

Ethan let himself be tugged over to hug Craig too. Warren laughed and wrapped his arms around them, joining in the group hug, silence reigning for a long moment.

"Hey, Eth? Why are you carrying a knife around?" Craig asked suddenly.

"I can use it to get out of ropes, zip ties, or tape if someone kidnaps me and ties me up. Ry has been teaching me how to throw them, so I will have the element of surprise in that regard as well."

"Well, I'm definitely surprised," Layla said, grinning.

"You're not the only one," Warren said, shaking his head.

...

"What is wrong with you lately, Will? You've been snapping and grumpy all week!" Josie said, frowning at Will as he cleaned up the third smashed glass that week.

So much for owning a matching set of glassware.

"There's only two weeks 'til school starts and I still haven't defeated a villain!"

"What about Villainess? You fought her," Steve pointed out.

"Not on my own. And you guys defeated her, not me. I just thought this summer would be different and it's not. Being a hero sucks," Will said, groaning and continuing to sweep.

"Now, don't say that. It's difficult to be motivated when you're first starting out," Steve said, clapping Will on the back firmly. "You'll be fighting villains in no time, you'll see."

Will swept the last of the broken glass into the tray and tipped them into the bin. "I haven't fought anyone in the last three months. What's going to change in the next two weeks?"

Steve opened his mouth, paused with his finger pointed at Will, then closed his mouth and lowered his hand. "I don't know."

"It's embarrassing! It's so humiliating. Y'know, not just for me, but also the family name. Everyone knows you're my parents, so by not fighting Airborne they're not fighting a Stronghold."

Will was right, Josie realised in surprise. She refused to have her son - or her good name - humiliated like this.

...

"I've got tonight and the next two nights off, hippie. That's three nights free from cooking," Warren said, looking excited at the prospect.

"Thank Mrs. Woo for me," Layla said, grinning.

Warren rolled his eyes and tugged Layla so she was pressed against his chest. "Want to spend them with me?"

"I've got a girls' night planned for tonight, but I'd love to spend the next two with you," she replied, kissing his lips briefly.

"A girls' night? Who with?"

"Wendy, Jewel, Honey, Robin, Heidi, and Magenta - "

"You're inviting Magenta?"

"Of course. She's my friend," Layla said sweetly, then burst out laughing at his expression. "We're going to watch movies and eat a small mountain of junk food, so be prepared for a pimple outbreak."

"I've got three on my face right now; I think I'll survive seeing a few pimples on you, hippie."

Layla grinned. "Want me to pop them?"

"No! Stay away from them," Warren said.

"Aww, you're ruining all my fun," Layla said, poking her tongue out at him.

"Uh-huh. C'mon, let's discuss your plans for Magenta. I don't see how a girl's night will help."

"It will show Magenta what female friendships look like and she'll realise she doesn't have any. Well, besides me, that is."

"And? Plenty of women get by without any female friendships."

"Good point," Layla said, frowning as she tried to think of something else. "How about truth or dare? I could dare her to do something drastic."

"Kinda petty, hippie."

"We're teenagers, what else do you expect?"

"Something more... permanent than truth or dare. Besides, what if she chooses truth?"

...

"I choose truth," Magenta said, looking at Wendy's new food colouring-dyed hair warily.

Wendy grinned. "When did you first know you were in love with Will?"

Magenta faltered, looking to Layla at the potentially awkward question and answer. Layla smiled and nodded for her to answer.

"I... um..." Magenta tried to think of the moment, the realisation of love, and came up blank.

"You don't have to hold back just 'cause Layla's here, y'know."

"When he took me to The Glass Mirror on a date. He was such a gentleman and really attentive," Magenta said quickly, glancing over to Layla.

"So you love him 'cause he paid you attention?" Wendy asked, eyebrow raised.

"No, of course not! It's not just that. Will is really sweet and nice and he saves people."

"So do firemen and firewomen. Fire-people? What's the right term for them?"

"Hot," Jewel said, snickering.

"That was awful. Now, it's your turn to choose someone for Truth or Dare, Magenta," Layla said with a smile.

"I pick you, Layla," Magenta said, not comfortable enough with the other women to ask them.

"Truth," Layla said.

"When did you know you were in love with Warren?"

Jewel and Wendy grinned at each other over Magenta's predictability.

"I don't know that it was something I realised all at once; it was very gradual. I tend to feel love for him over the smallest things not just the big ones. The field of daisies he planted for me was a big one, of course, but I love the way he looks at me and smiles and listens. He really helped me after my mother's death by not treating me any differently. I love how he notices the small things, too, like the book I'm reading and he talks to me about it when I'm done," Layla said, blushing when she saw the other three staring at her.

"What's this about a field of daisies?" Wendy asked curiously.

Magenta looked to Layla, surprised she hadn't told her other friends about it yet.

Layla smiled. "It's something only he and I know about."

Layla trusts me; she trusts that I won't betray her confidence, Magenta realised, pride - and a small amount of smugness - filling her chest.

Layla chose Jewel for Truth or Dare, changing the subject quickly.

...

Honey: Thank you Adam & Ethan. It's brilliant & you're both amazing!

Frowning at the message received through the group chat without any context, Layla started to write a question in response as Warren searched through his phone to find out what they'd done.

"There's a new app on here. See the one with the Hive icon?" Warren pointed out, Layla looking at it closely to read the name.

"Maps? Is it just the Hive?" Layla asked, closing the group chat without sending her question and opening the new app.

A small green dot appeared, a red dot next to it, and as the rest of the app loaded, streets and houses appeared. An orange dot labelled Craig was a few streets down with a yellow dot labelled Adam. There were blue (Heidi), white (Zach), and brown (Ethan) dots in a house a street down.

"Holy spandex. Zoom in."

Surprised at the awe in Warren's voice, she zoomed in closer to her and Warren's dots on the screen. The app took a second to reload the screen, but when it did, Layla had to sit on the floor, her legs giving way.

The underground sewer system was included on the map, with a menu to go to common places including each other's houses, the Hive, the Paper Lantern, Council building, and Labyrinth. Selecting the Hive, Layla saw a green arrow appear on the screen, directing her through the sewers. Flicking through to get to the Hive, Layla stopped short when she finally reached the lower Hive.

The menu changed to show their rooms, the training arena, the entertainment area, and another option called 'SAFE'. Curious about the meaning, Layla selected it and saw their rooms disappear from the map, and the remaining rooms turn a soft shade of yellow.

"It's Adam's safe spaces, where he can go without seeing us making out," Layla realised.

"Huh?"

"I'm at the Hive. Where did you go?"

"The Paper Lantern. Did you know there's a basement in there? Maybe that's where the tiny door leads. I thought it was for decoration," Warren muttered.

"Is the basement being used?"

"I don't know. Maybe? Mrs. Woo might use it for storage or something."

"Wait, what tiny door?" Layla asked curiously.

"There's a tiny door in the break room; between the lockers and window."

"I don't think I've ever seen it."

"It's painted the same colour as the wall, so I suppose that's the point. Oh, hey, those safe spaces are a good idea at the Hive," Warren said, pressing the button a few times to see the yellow shading fade and appear. "There's exit routes, too. In case of emergency, press here," he read.

Returning her attention to the app, Layla and Warren both tried different rooms throughout the lower Hive to see where the exit routes would take them.

...

Tasha sipped her drink, smiling as she watched Roger and his wife entertain their children, hoping to wear them out so they could relax for the rest of the evening. Roger's wife eventually coerced her children inside with the promise of food, and Roger wiped his sweaty forehead as he made his way over to Tasha.

"You really shouldn't spoil them with all that sugar, Tash. They're gonna be up all night now," Roger said, though there wasn't much heat to his tone.

"I know, but I rarely get to see them, so I have to be the cool friend who brings them junk food. It's a difficult role I'm obliged to fulfil," Tasha said, grinning.

Roger snorted and shook his head, sitting across from her and taking up his own drink. "So, are you going to tell me which station you're leaving me for?"

Tasha smiled, taking another sip of her drink. "I still haven't decided, Roger. I'm debating between Maxville's News Tonight and Channel Five's Morning News. I think Brian Anderson could do with some competition in the morning, but the hours are exhausting."

"Especially for a night-owl like you," Roger said, grinning.

"True," Tasha agreed with a nod. "So, how's everything going with the kids? Little Billy had whooping cough, didn't he?" she asked curiously.

"He's okay. Just needs a dehumidifier every night, which is hell on the bills. It's coming out of his college fund," Roger said. "I'm kidding, don't give me that look, Tash. You'll make me feel bad."

"Don't blame me for your feelings."

"Thanks, Tash. You're as empathetic as always," Roger said, rolling his eyes at her. He waited until she'd taken another drink before asking, "Have you heard from Airborne lately?"

Tasha almost choked on her drink in her hurry to answer or not blush or something, and glared at Roger, wiping her mouth and spilled drink off her clothes. "No, I haven't. He wasn't happy about the interview."

"Can you blame him? No one wants to air their family's dirty secrets, let alone on TV. And he's only seventeen, so he's probably been grounded until he's eighteen, or whenever he leaves for college, whichever's sooner," Roger said, shaking his head.

"Seventeen?" Tasha asked, her eyes wide. "He's an active super; they never go active until after they've graduated high school or college."

Roger shrugged. "He must've been released early since he's the son of Jetstream and the Commander. Are you okay, Tash? You're looking a little pale."

"I... I'm fine. I just need to check my phone; I think I heard a text message," she lied, quickly navigating to her search browser and Googling the age of consent in Maxville.

Relief filled her when she saw that it was sixteen. That meant Airborne's decision was his own fault and she hadn't done anything wrong. She certainly hadn't forced an underage teenager to have sex with her; Airborne would be considered a consenting party in a court of law, even if he wasn't legally considered an adult yet.

Still, if anything did happen, then her insurance policy - namely the recording of them having sex - wouldn't be useable in court. She would have to be very careful how she played Airborne, if it ever came to that.

"How do you know how old Airborne is? It's not public information," Tasha said, frowning over at Roger.

Roger flushed at the question. "The missus was Jetstream's midwife, though there was a whole NDA and everything. They didn't ask me to sign anything," he added quickly.

Tasha blinked at this revelation. "Do you know the exact date, then?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"What about the hospital? I've got an idea for a follow-up story," Tasha said.

Roger frowned. "C'mon, Tash. I can't give you that. It's one thing knowing his age, it's another getting hospital records; we both know you'd go for those."

Tasha sighed. "Ah well; he moved when he was younger, anyway. No real point in it."

"Good. Come on, the missus is calling us in for dinner," Roger said, standing and offering Tasha his hand.

Tasha tried not to wince at the shrill sound of his wife's voice calling them. Everyone in the neighbourhood would know their dinner was ready.

As they ate and drank - the kids fighting over who would sit next to Tasha and explain their reporter and cameraman game in great detail, much to her amusement - Tasha couldn't help but wish she'd asked Airborne's age before having sex with him.

It would have ruined the blackmail opportunity, though; Tasha knew she'd need that when Airborne finally realised that it was illegal to record a conversation without his consent, and probably came after her with hard-assed lawyers and legal action.

Putting the thought aside, Tasha turned her attention to the two children still vying for her attention, and revelled in their unconditional love and affection for the rest of the night.

...

End of the ninety-eighth chapter.