Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Eight
...
Ammie still felt somewhat emotional after her day. She wasn't shaking anymore, but every few minutes, she'd close her eyes and see the gun in front of her face, the stranger demanding her money. Sport had encouraged her to close her shop early and Ammie hadn't even tried to argue. She promised she'd be ready and calm in time for their date, but had spent most of the time since then staring at nothing and trying to process everything. She'd forced herself to shower and dress, hoping the water and getting out of her bakery clothes might be enough to wash everything else away.
Why had she been targeted? Why now? Why her bakery and not a high-end jewellery store less than ten metres away? Not that she'd wish it on Gemma or anyone else, of course, but it didn't make sense. Maybe her bakery seemed less secure than the jewellery store since she had a door that opened right onto the sidewalk?
She finished slipping her earrings on just as there was a knock at the door, and she went to answer it with her heels in hand. Opening the door, Ammie smiled up at Sport, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. "You're early."
"I am. I thought I'd give Corvin more time for his questions, and to make sure you're okay. Are you all right, Ammie?" Sport asked.
Ammie had taken the time to look over Sport, who was wearing a black suit with a black shirt, and cleaned up very nicely. "I'm fine. Do you want to come in while I finish getting ready?"
"Yes, please. You look lovely," Sport said, a shy blush on his cheeks, the colour similar to the reddish-pink dress Ammie was wearing.
"You do, too," she said with a warm smile, stepping back so Sport could duck and walk into the lounge room, closing the door behind him.
"Do you mind if I kiss you?" Sport asked.
"I don't mind at all," Ammie said, standing on her toes to meet him as he bent down.
Their kiss felt like it lasted hours, rather than the minute or two it really took, and Ammie pulled away to lick her lips and open her eyes.
"Are you really all right, Ammie? We can stay in, if you like? Pizza, movie, the offer still stands. We can even eat it in our fancy wear, if you're still wanting that fourth-date rule," Sport said, grinning.
Ammie giggled. "Fancy wear?"
"Formal wear tends to be my Navy whites, so this is fancier."
Ammie thought about Sport in a white Navy jacket and hat, biting her lip at the mental image. "I wouldn't mind seeing you in those one day."
Sport snickered. "Officer and a Gentleman fantasy?"
"Maybe. You?"
"I wouldn't say no, especially if it means I get to carry you off somewhere. So you and Corvin are both getting twenty questions, are you?" Sport asked with a broad grin.
"You'll get your turn later."
The front door opened, Sport and Ammie springing apart as though they were guilty teenagers. Corvin looked between the two of them for a moment, his eyebrow raised at the guilt and surprise clear on his mother's face. "I don't want to know what you were doing. You're here early," he added, looking to Sport.
"I thought I'd give you more time for your questions. And I wanted to check on... uh, have you told him yet?" Sport asked Ammie with a wince.
Ammie shook her head. "No. I was waiting to tell Core in person."
"Tell me what?" Corvin asked in a curious tone, looking between them and slipping his bag off his branded shoulder. The ache was long gone and he felt even better than he had before. "Ma? What's going on?"
Ammie sighed and stepped forward to take Corvin's hands. "Someone tried to rob the bakery this morning. They... they pointed a gun at me. Ex took them down before I could say anything, and Sport was there with me for the rest of the day," she said, sending him a small and grateful smile. "But it was... it was scary, and I was worried and I didn't want to tell you while you were at school. You probably would've flown home, and you know you can't fly from your school's altitude. I also didn't want to do it over text or the phone because I needed to see you and hug you, too. I was - oomph!"
Corvin hugged his mother tightly, holding her against his chest. She clung to him, sobbing and ruining both her makeup and his shirt. Corvin just held on tighter. "I'm just glad you're all right, Ma. And you're right, I probably would've flown off the school. Thanks for telling me in person," he murmured.
It was quiet as Ammie cried her day of fear and frustration and confusion and anger away. She finally pulled away, sniffling and her eyes damp. "I'm going to have to do my makeup all over again."
Corvin grinned. "Yeah, Ma. You're a total mess. Go clean up and I'll put my bag away and get a new shirt on. Then we'll come back and do twenty questions, okay?"
Ammie nodded, kissing his cheek. "Okay. We'll be right back," she said to Sport with a brief smile, hurrying to her room.
"Take your time," Sport said.
Corvin grabbed his bag and headed to his room, stretching out his branded shoulder. He'd spent nearly four hours in that space of frozen time, walking around and trying to think about Layla and Warren's offer. After half an hour had passed and it was obvious he was still undecided, Ethan had announced he was going to study to get ahead of his schedule. Zach had joined him, Craig following with Adam and Ry explaining Mad Science to their friend. Robin, Justina, and Terrence decided to continue an argument about a radioactive tiger that Corvin still didn't think had a winner. Warren had slept at Layla's insistence, while she'd stayed awake to answer Corvin's questions and concerns.
An hour into the time-freeze, he'd asked about the bald kids who were living in the building - trying not to make his question obvious about Phineas and Finn when the others didn't even know their names - and had learnt more about the orphanage and the so-called scientists. Even now, after another three hours and far too much time to process the information, Corvin still wanted to hunt the assholes down and kill them with his bare hands. On hearing Layla talk about the orphanage and what had happened there, Corvin had known he would agree and join them, but he'd needed other questions answered first.
What happened if someone died? Would their family and friends find out what they'd been doing? Were family and friends even allowed to know what they were doing?
Craig had listed all of the parents and guardians who already knew, others he suspected knew, and then a few more he thought would join if anyone hurt their children. The latter list, oddly enough, included Corvin's own mother, but he couldn't disagree on that point. He knew for a fact that his mother would do everything in her power to keep him safe, even if that meant giving up an important court case so she could return to work to feed and clothe him.
"Oh, and we're working on getting all of the security team, too. Ex and Baby aren't too far off, Sport would probably be next. We need to interact with Champ, Killer, Buddy, and Kid more to be certain before we accept them."
"What is it about them that makes you certain they'll join you? Hell, what is it about me?" Corvin asked.
He'd pranked Earthstone and Airborne, but that couldn't be all it took, surely?
"It's more about what's in us and how it responds to them. And you," Layla admitted.
"What?"
He'd watched in curious fascination as thorns pushed their way out of Layla's arms. They'd disappeared after a few seconds, leaving no wounds or blood behind, but Layla was panting as though it had taken a toll. Considering the drugs she'd had hooked up to her IV, Corvin was surprised she'd been able to do even that.
Not all of his family members had died immediately thanks to his asshole neighbour firing buckshot into the tree, and he'd spent far too long in hospital watching his Aunt Sylvie waste away to nothing. She'd begged the doctors and nurses to let her leave, to let her shift and die as a bird, but they hadn't let her and despite how much she'd tried, Slyvie couldn't even make a feather. Layla keeping vines within her skin and being able to push them out and withdraw them again without a scratch was impressive, even at the low-end of the painkillers that had been pumped through her.
"The vines respond to people, and when they're sharp enough, I know whether someone's ready to join us."
It answered his question, though it didn't really explain a lot, but Corvin had found himself agreeing anyway. They saved kids, they had power, and he could be powerful enough to keep the ones he loved safe, too. That's all he'd ever wanted since he was old enough to shift, even before his father's murder.
Warren had woken up as he'd agreed and helped Layla brand Corvin. It had taken him a moment longer to power up, but Corvin was still impressed that he could power up at all. As they branded him, Corvin had fainted from the pain, someone catching him and settling him on Warren's bed. Once he'd woken up, he had spent time shifted and flying with wings in place of arms. He'd only shifted back because he'd remembered about his mother and needed to see that Ammie was all right with his own eyes.
Returning to the lounge room, Corvin saw that Sport was looking nervous and determined to answer Corvin's twenty questions, while his mother was nervous for another reason entirely. He could tell that she really liked Sport, but Corvin knew that their relationship hung in the balance of these questions.
Sport and Ammie sat next to each other on the lounge, and Corvin grabbed a chair from the dining area to sit across from them. "Let's get started, shall we?"
...
Etta was going to throw up. The journey down the hospital hallway felt like it took hours. Tate had told her about the journalists that were practically camped outside of the hospital. She knew they were intent on getting a sad sob story from her about being the victim of a Hero vs. Hero fight, and also knew that they were only interested in their stupid ratings and journalism awards, and didn't give a flying fuck about her one little bit. She knew that because ever since she'd been hospitalised by fucking Airborne and goddamn Earthstone's stupid fight, they'd offered money and bribes to get a line or phrase from her, and not one had asked her how she was feeling without a microphone or camera being shoved in her face. She'd remained tight-lipped to the point where even the nurses and doctors found it difficult to get a response from Etta, since she didn't know if they would accept the money and bribes that she hadn't. She was under so much stress that she couldn't relax, and recovery felt like an unattainable dream.
Etta had been told time and time again that she was lucky that she was alive, even if her legs no longer worked and her hands shook without her permission and the doctors had had to shave her hair down to her scalp to repair the damage to her brain from glass and bricks and other falling debris. She was lucky that two pissbaby supers had had an argument while she was leaving work, she was lucky the building had collapsed and fallen on her, lucky the debris had severed her spine and broken her bones, lucky she was bound to a wheelchair, lucky that she'd probably need help to use the bathroom or shower for the rest of her life. She was so fucking lucky.
"You okay, Ett?" Tate asked from where he was pushing her wheelchair behind her, his gloves firmly in place and shirt buttoned down to the wrist to avoid touching anything or anyone.
The hospital wheelchair dug into her forearms painfully. It was probably painful on her legs and thighs too, but - lucky her - she couldn't feel it. She forced her expression into something vaguely resembling a pleasant expression since Tate didn't need to deal with her being grumpy on top of everything else the poor kid was dealing with, and forced herself to nod.
"I just want to get out of here," Etta said, wishing she didn't feel like this when it was so obvious that Tate was just grateful that she was alive.
She tried to muster up the same emotion, to be grateful to be alive, to have her brother with her, but it was difficult to pretend when she was in pain and tense all the time. Etta was just glad he couldn't see her expression while pushing her wheelchair.
The tinted exit doors ahead showed more than her expression and bald head. Etta braced herself, gripping the armrests when she saw the crowd of journalists and reporters and people carrying large bulky cameras on their shoulders waiting, all of them poised to pounce and tear her into shreds. Like the world hadn't already taken its pound of flesh from her already.
To her surprise, Tate turned abruptly before they reached the doors. She frowned, tilting her head back to look at her brother. He had a sneaky grin on his face, the same kind she recognised from when they were younger and their parents were alive, and he was doing something mischievous that he was certain he wouldn't get into trouble for this time. Facing the hallway once more, Etta swallowed hard; had it really been that long since she'd seen Tate like this?
"Don't worry, Ett. I've got your back."
"I'm in a wheelchair, you've got all of me," Etta muttered, trying to sound teasing but probably coming out bitter.
Tate snorted a laugh anyway, pushing her wheelchair into the elevator. "Yeah, that too. All right, press the basement for me?"
"What's down there?" Etta asked, even as she reached out with twitching fingers to press the B button.
"Our getaway car. Unfortunately, it's not a convertible, but I'll get there eventually."
Etta rolled her eyes. "You can keep your shitty convertible. I want a monster truck."
"There's a special place in hell for monster trucks."
"Yeah, Dad's is probably driving it," Etta said, grinning at the familiar joke.
"With Mama riding shotgun," Tate agreed, poking her shoulder as the elevator doors opened.
He turned left, as though he knew exactly where he was going, and Etta wondered what on earth was happening. She knew Tate had been doing something while she was hospitalised, but she thought it had been the usual things: paying the bills and organising modifications to the house so her wheelchair could fit, that sort of thing. Whatever she'd thought, it hadn't been an escape plan.
Doors swung open as they approached, revealing the hospital's parking area. Etta's right hand twitched as she tried to grip the wheelchair armrest; journalists could be out there, how was Tate so confident they wouldn't come this way?!
"Hey, Honey. Ready to go?" Tate asked.
Etta tried to push back against her chair when she saw the media badge around the stranger's neck. "Tate, go back!"
"Hi, Etta. I'm Honey Olgestein, Frieda's daughter. No other journalists will be here, just me. They all think I'm bad luck, so I announced very loudly that I was going to wait down here," she said with a grin.
Etta frowned, her grip lessening only because her hands spasmed in pain, and she looked over to Tate in concern. He was still young, maybe he'd been taken in by a journalist's words about fame and fortune by selling his sister's story?
Tate rolled his eyes, reading her doubtful expression clearly. "Honey works at Labyrinth, Ett. Even if she did publish anything, no one would believe it."
"Explain on the way there; we need to get out of here before Tasha comes snooping. I hope you don't mind, but I bought a personal wheelchair for you. That hospital one will be taken care of by staff before the journalists find it. If we leave in the next five minutes," Honey added, guiding a purple wheelchair over to them.
"Can I press the button?" Tate asked eagerly, even as he helped Etta into her new wheelchair.
Etta couldn't stop her small sigh of relief when she realised this wheelchair didn't pinch her arms. It wasn't comfortable like an armchair, but it was certainly a step up from the generic and crappy hospital wheelchair.
Honey grinned. "I'll do this one so you can get Etta in the car. You can press the button when you get home, Tate."
"Aww, fine. C'mon, Ett. We're rolling in," Tate said, pushing her towards a minivan with tinted windows.
"Definitely not a convertible," Etta muttered, Tate snickering.
"Just wait," he said as Honey pressed a button on her key fob, the door opening and a panel lowering to the floor with a whirring noise. "It fits your wheelchair, isn't it cool?" Tate asked with a wide grin.
Etta couldn't bring herself to smile or even try looking pleasant this time, and just nodded silently. She felt like a slab of concrete was resting on her chest, and while it was a figurative and probably emotional feeling, Etta actually knew what that felt like literally now. Tate pushed her forward, manoeuvring the wheelchair onto the panel, locking the wheels, and snatching the key fob from Honey to press the panel to return to the van. When everything was locked in properly, Tate threw the keys back to Honey and clambered into the passenger seat.
"Let's go already. I want to go home," Etta said, clicking her seatbelt into place.
Tate twisted in his seat as Honey slipped into the driver's seat and started the van. "Uh, about that... "
Etta frowned. "What's that look for? You paid all the bills, right? I told you the passwords for the bank and stuff."
"It wasn't the bills, Ett. The landlord kicked me out 'cause I was a minor and you weren't there to look after me so there wasn't anyone who was technically an adult residing in the place, which is apparently illegal. Or he just bullshitted me because he wanted to raise the rent and get new tenants, whatever. Besides, seventeen is almost adult, and he's an ass, but I couldn't do anything about it, and I had to - "
"Breathe, Tate," Honey said, her voice kind as she drove out of the parking lot.
Etta felt sick all over again. She didn't even notice the evening sky starting to darken, or the journalists and reporters that they drove past. Instead, Etta stared at her brother and tried to think past the drugs and pain and numbness. She glared down at her legs; these useless sticks of meat that couldn't even fucking move and had kept her away from home and her job. They were the reason they were now homeless and forced to live on the streets.
"Ett? Etta, hey. Hey, stop freaking out, and look at me," Tate said, snapping his fingers in her face to bring her out of her thoughts.
"Where... where have you been living? Where are we going to go? We can't go to an orphanage, Tate - "
"Hey, Ett... Shut up, I'm not finished yet," Tate said.
His irritation was familiar and so unlike the fake voice everyone had been using around her recently, like they all had emotional gloves on and feared upsetting the cripple that she'd become, that Etta couldn't help but pay attention. Of course, that didn't mean she had to like his tone, either. "Well, hurry up and finish, then."
Tate looked back and poked his tongue out at her. "Frieda, you remember her visiting, yeah? Yeah, well, she has an apartment we can live in. It's up to date with accessibility things so it fits your wheelchair, and has a bunch of high-tech stuff like a voice-activated shower, and tables that move up and down with buttons and stuff."
"Speaking of which: you have to stop playing with the buttons, Tate. You'll wear the motors out before your sister even has a chance to use anything," Honey said with a snort of amusement.
"You're already living there?" Etta asked in surprise, wishing she could kick the back of Tate's chair for moving out of their home and into a stranger's goddamn apartment and not even telling her.
"Uh, yeah. About a week. Honey and Frieda got me brand new clothes, like, no memories attached at all, and I am so glad I'll never relive working in a sweatshop, just so you know. Oh, and don't worry, I already changed our address with people that matter. It's stopped the lawyers, too."
There was a long beat of silence and Tate glanced over his seat to see his sister glaring daggers at him.
"What lawyers?" Etta asked icily.
Oh, shit. Tate winced at her tone.
"Before you get into that, can I bring up something important?" Honey asked, glancing in the rear view mirror to Etta, seeing her nod reluctantly, and continued, "I convinced the Mayor of Westville, Stanley, to sign an agreement to get cameras installed in Westville, like the ones in Maxville, you know those? Right. Well, the thing is, that agreement also covers super-related incidents in the legal sense. More specifically in your case, it means it excludes you from getting government assistance for everything that happened to you. But I promise it's for the best. The Mayor was planning on using you to get a sympathy vote from the disabled and veteran citizens and supers, as well as anyone slighted by the Commander and Jetstream. There's more votes in that demographic than you'd expect.
"Stanley was going to get photos taken with you, have you join him in interviews and for his party's political fundraising dinner. Your photos would have been plastered across every billboard, TV, newspaper, and magazine, but as soon as the election results were in, he would've cast you aside and actually forgotten your name in his next TV interview, and then there would've been all of the extra hoops and red tape that mysteriously came up after the election which meant you wouldn't get the assistance he promised anyway, and he was going to pass a motion in Westville to stop anyone getting assistance, whether they were injured in a super-related accident or not." Honey stopped talking abruptly and let out a whoosh of air, her cheeks red. "I'm sorry to have done that behind your back, but I just really needed to tell you before you found out any other way and hated me even more."
Etta was still reeling from the information she'd just learned from Honey and had no idea what to say. The idea of being used by the Mayor of Westville made her so nauseous that she tasted bile in the back of her throat. However, knowing that he would have made it even worse for everyone, not just her - although, the assistance disappearing seemed sort of specific to her, and what kind of asswipe did something like that to a fucking paraplegic?! - made her feel even worse, and she had to cover her mouth and focus on her breathing.
Tate looked over his shoulder at her, wincing when he saw how pale his sister was. "Uh, should I tell Ett what's going on with the lawyers or leave it 'til she's better?" he asked Honey quietly.
Honey turned on her indicator, waiting at a stop sign, and thought for a moment. "Now's best; it will take her mind off the Mayor."
Tate nodded. "Right. So, these lawyers were calling the house about how you might be entitled to compensation... "
...
Jetstream felt as though she waited for hours up in the clouds, hidden from the sight of citizens, supers, and long-range cameras. She was damp with moisture from the cloud cover by the time she saw Gemstone leaving the building, but it was worth it. Gemstone had her arm curled around a redhead - not one of the Levinsky's, but there were so many of them these days that Jetstream couldn't be sure - and they were laughing. Probably about her, she thought with a scowl.
Two more men followed them out of the building, one blonde and one with black hair, and they were holding hands like they didn't even care about who would see them. She just didn't understand why those people had to flaunt their relationships in public like that. Jetstream waited for a moment longer, watching the parking lot entry for the car she'd originally followed.
The man from the museum hadn't left the building yet, and it was getting late, so that clearly meant he lived there, just as she'd suspected. (Inside, Yichen graciously accepted Jared and Sarah's offer to stay the night so he wouldn't drive while impaired. Daryl's number was burning a hole in his pocket, but he would deal with that when he was sober, thank you very much.)
Following Gemstone, the redhead, and the two men as they climbed into a car and then drove through Maxville, Jetstream watched as Gemstone kissed the redhead goodbye. She continued to fly after the car, her eyes widening as Gemstone then kissed the blonde goodbye at the next stop. Her mouth dropped open as Gemstone dropped off the last passenger, kissing him, too.
She'd seen the two men holding hands, so that obviously meant Gemstone was cheating on all of them! The world needed to know the truth about Gemstone and her cheating ways; if the public couldn't trust a Hero, who could they trust?!
...
"I swear it took hours to find a parking spot. Are you sure your brothers got here safely?" Anita asked Heidi when she'd finally parked the car.
Heidi was frowning at her phone and had turned her hearing aid off during the drive to try to get rid of an impending earache and headache all rolled into one. She'd been made partners with the class clown in a Science project. She normally didn't care about his antics unless he was interrupting a lesson she actually enjoyed, but he'd seemed to think that screaming questions at her was funny. He'd been glared at by several students, but some of his friends had laughed and that little spark of attention was all he needed to become a full-blown jerk for the rest of the class. Heidi had zapped him in pure and utter desperation at the end of the class, just for a first and final minute of peace before the school's bell added to the noise. As she stared at her phone and the group chat, all of that faded away.
Anita reached out a hand to grab Heidi, pulling back sharply when more than static electricity hit against her skin. "Heidi? Sweetheart, are you all right?"
Realising she'd zapped Anita, and stronger than she had to the class clown, Heidi winced and apologised with a signed movement. Turning her hearing aid back on, she showed Anita the group chat. "Who is Corvin?"
"You were babysitting the Sylvan-Colores children and missed him at the party. You haven't seen him at the Hive?" Anita asked curiously, even as she saw messages between Layla, Warren, and their friends about Ammie's bakery being held up, and Corvin's response. There were a few newer messages welcoming Corvin to the group, and tips on how to stay cool with a burning hot brand.
"They branded him before me."
The hurt and betrayal in her voice was enough for Anita to look away from the messages. She sighed when she saw the unshed tears in Heidi's eyes. "Oh, sweetie. Come here," Anita tutted, leaning over to pull Heidi into a firm hug. "We'll go up there now and get yours this minute."
"No. I don't want to make them. It's not... It's fine. I'm fine."
"No, it's not and neither are you," Anita said, even as Heidi pulled away to wipe tears off on her sleeve, and she could do nothing but watch. Anita inhaled, exhaled, and told herself that she wouldn't do anything drastic. If Heidi didn't want to talk to Layla and Warren about getting her brand yet, then she'd support that decision. "We can still go upstairs; we were going to visit either way, right?"
Heidi looked reluctant but nodded. "Zach said they're not bruised from head to toe anymore, just chest to calf."
"Well, that sounds about right. I'd like a proper hug when we're outside of the car, if you're up to it? There's such limited movement in here, it's any wonder Ethan was conceived."
"Ewww. I didn't need to know that," Heidi said.
Anita laughed. "It was a joke, sweetheart. I was hoping to make you laugh."
Heidi just wrinkled her nose in response.
She grinned and patted her knee gently. "You'll be all right. Would you like a hug?"
Heidi bit her lip as she considered, then nodded firmly in response. Anita stepped out of the car, brushed off her outfit, then went around the car to where Heidi waited to give her the best damn hug of her life.
Hugging Anita firmly and being hugged in return, Heidi felt herself relax in her mother's embrace. Here, she was loved and accepted and safe. She knew that Anita was just as annoyed as she was that she hadn't been branded yet, even if she still didn't entirely agree with Heidi's decision to join. She knew that the orphans had all been rescued because of Layla and Warren, and that held a lot of sway with Anita's judgement, which was probably the only reason Heidi hadn't been forbidden from joining at all.
"How are you feeling now, sweetie?"
She sighed as they pulled apart, the tension in her shoulders gone and even her headache easing. "Better. Can we go upstairs now?"
"Of course. Why don't you get the elevator and I'll lock up the car?" Anita suggested.
Heidi nodded, running towards the elevators without hesitation. She waited while Anita gathered her things and locked up the car, then held the elevator doors open until Anita joined her.
Anita started to say something to Heidi, only for the elevator doors to open at the lobby level. She saw Zach, towering and bright blonde over the rest of his friends, but it was Ethan who had her attention a second later. "Ethan, what on earth happened?" she asked, seeing his eye blackened with a bruise. It looked hours old and already healing thanks to his superhuman status, but whoever had hurt her baby boy would be in a world of pain -
"Uh, that's my fault. Sorry, Mrs. Damsale," Corvin said, wincing when he saw the expression on her face. Yeah, Craig had been right about Mrs. Damsale knowing and being the first parent in line to get revenge if anything happened to them.
"You hit him?"
"Ma, it's fine. I melted him without warning, and Corvin hit me when he reformed. It was an accident and Corvin already apologised," Ethan said. He almost regretted reminding everyone that they'd needed to return to the lobby before Craig restarted time again. His mother could be overprotective at the best of times, and while being punched in the face certainly hadn't been an accident, Ethan didn't want her impression of Corvin skewed by this.
"Mmhmm," Anita said, raising an eyebrow.
"I can apologise again?" Corvin asked, wondering if he should get into a confined space with a woman who looked ready to throw down.
"If Ethan's forgiven you, that's good enough for me."
"I have," Ethan said quickly, then herded everyone into the elevator before the doors closed. He melted himself down to ensure there was enough room for everyone to fit, sliding up Zach's leg so he wouldn't be trampled.
Pat was squished at the back of the elevator, and felt the familiar sensation of frogs settling into his hair and onto his shoulders. Glad they wouldn't be squished along with him, he glanced down at Heidi and saw her reddened eyes. "You okay, Heids?"
She looked up at Pat, then grinned when she saw several brightly-coloured frogs on top of his head. It was too small a space for Heidi to feign ignorance, and at this close proximity, she figured Pat could see that her hearing aid was turned on. "Corvin got branded, didn't he?"
"Huh? Oh. Uh, yeah, I did. Is something wrong with it?" Corvin asked, confused and wondering why he felt like he should apologise again.
"No," Heidi said shortly. Then she let out an annoyed huff of air. "I haven't got my brand yet."
"Oh? Oh. I skipped the line, didn't I?"
"There isn't a line. People aren't queueing up for this shit," Craig said with a snort.
"Heidi was promised a brand and hasn't received it yet," Anita said firmly.
"Uh. Yes, Mrs. D. I'm sure Lay and Warren will do it now," Craig said.
Corvin exited at his level so he could see Ammie and ensure his mother was all right, but promised to join them at the Hive the next morning for training. The elevator doors finally opened at the second-to-last level of the building, and they all poured out onto the landing. The frogs reformed, brushing off clothes and Najair fixing his messy pink braid, and Ethan slid to the ground and reformed as well, pushing his glasses up his nose before following Adam and the rest of their friends to Layla and Warren's room.
Layla and Warren looked far better than they had in recent weeks. Despite Zach's description of bruising, Anita could only see healthy and healed skin. She knew that Ida had been working on the two teens since they'd returned, and wondered just how fast bruises healed. Still, despite having the appearance of health, Anita was sure it took a lot of energy to brand someone and Layla and Warren had already done it once today; maybe two times was too many? She made a silent prayer that they wouldn't reject Heidi's request to be branded now.
Layla glanced through the crowd, surprised to see Anita and Heidi with their friends now, and smiled through the sharp pain from the thorns under her skin. "Heidi, you're sure you're ready for this?"
Heidi felt tears welling in her eyes, so utterly glad that she didn't need to ask or beg, or that she wouldn't potentially be turned down if she did either. She started to nod, but Layla held up a hand to stop her immediate response.
"Understand that once we brand you, we'll be able to feel what you feel, and we can power up through the brand to reach you at any time. You'll be protected to the best of our ability, but you'll be expected to fight and train with us. Your power will grow beyond what you have access to right now, and might change in unexpected ways," Layla added, thinking of Ethan's ability to turn into clear liquid rather than a puddle of colour, as well as Warren's flames and her own vines beneath her skin.
Heidi nodded firmly and stepped forward. "I understand. I'm ready," she said and signed at the same time.
"Good. Craig, we might need another time stop. I'm not sure how Heidi's ability will affect the building's electricity while she gets branded."
"More like the state's power grid," Craig said with a grin, shifting to Chrono before stopping time. "Okay, we're good to go."
"Warren?" Layla asked, offering her hand to him. She didn't want to ask if he was all right in front of everyone, but she was sure her worry was clear through the vine tattoo on his wrist.
He smiled, broad and warm, took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles before his hand lit up with warm flames. "Ready when you are, hippie."
Heidi tried not to flinch back when they both rested their joined hands on her shoulder. She tested the range to ensure she could tap her chin to the spot on her shoulder, then nodded and braced herself for the pain. Flames burned and vines burrowed and the pain was beyond anything she'd ever imagined or expected. Heidi's mouth fell open in a wordless scream, electricity sparking around her shoulder, her arm, body, hair, legs until the room crackled with static and bolts of electricity flung outwards in an arc.
"Oh, shit. Hold on," Wendy called, drawing the electricity to her just like lightning, a ball forming between her palms.
The ball continued to grow and expand as Heidi continued to be branded. Overhead, Wendy created a cloud to help disperse humidity and moisture throughout the room so the static electricity would be neutralised. The sparks around Heidi continued despite the extra moisture in the air, and just when Wendy was starting to worry that nothing would turn off the miniature electrical storm, Heidi collapsed. Anita caught her daughter before she hit the ground, ignoring the sparks of static that flowed up her arms, and set her on Layla's bed gently.
"She's all right? Tell me she's all right," Anita said, her voice wavering and her hand trembling, even as she stroked Heidi's hair gently.
"Heidi's fine, Anita. She'll wake up within an hour," Warren promised, his hand too hot to rest on her shoulder to provide any additional comfort.
"What... what would happen if you did that to a citizen?" Anita asked, closing her eyes and not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.
"It depends. If they have any latent abilities or the gene that passes it on, like you or Richard do with Ethan, I would assume the brand would bring that to the forefront," Layla mused.
"If they don't have anything, it would probably create a scar like a regular fire and plant wound. We would probably still be able to access our powers through it, but that's a guess," Warren added.
"Do you want it done, Anita?" Layla asked and offered all at once.
Part of her wanted to say yes. When she was younger, back when she was so desperate to be special and loved for her differences for a change, Anita had begged and prayed to have a superpower. To her young mind, being a superhero was the only way she could be loved in a world that hated her for something she couldn't change, and oh how she'd pleaded with Super God for that chance. She'd give up anything Super God asked of her, do anything, be devout, and go to church every day - between fighting villains and meeting adoring fans, of course - if she could just be a super. They wouldn't look at her skin and hate, they wouldn't listen to her mind and dismiss, they wouldn't hear her fears and laugh; they would love all of her, just like they loved the Commander and Jetstream without and above reproach.
Then she'd met Richard and found that his love was worth more to her than any stranger's. Even in the face of their outright hatred, Richard's love was stronger and she knew then what she hadn't when she was younger: she didn't have to change herself to be loved, she just needed to find someone who loved her for who she was. He loved every inch of her, worshipped her body, knew her mind and fears, and helped her face the world by standing by her side through it all.
Throughout the years, Richard had shown her facets of herself that she hadn't seen before but he could see clear as day. She was strong, courageous, loved and loveable, and all of that was far more important than a superpower or a stranger's emotions. She was a whole and complete person without Richard - none of that rom-com bullshit about him completing her, like she'd been a shell of a person with nothing to offer before his arrival, thank you very much - but Richard made her want to be more. He was her reason for getting up and facing the world each and every day, and now she did it with pride.
She'd had Ethan, and he had been a whole other reason for getting up to face the world. She'd been terrified of doing something wrong, of being responsible for raising a tiny human with morals and judgement and common sense, and Richard had admitted the same fears, but they'd faced them together as they always did, and Anita had thought they'd done well. They'd worked together through the ups and downs of raising a child and building a family. The super powers that she'd begged and pleaded for as a child were present in her own child instead, and Richard had held her as a new fear was brought to the forefront, as she now knew that those with superpowers weren't as beloved as Jetstream and the Commander; they were the exception to the rule, and her son would face the same trials that she'd faced, only with the public watching and judging his every move. Then Zach and Heidi had joined their family, and they became her children just as surely as the one she'd birthed, and Anita found that she still had more love to give and receive. Super God worked in mysterious ways, and he'd given her so much more than she'd ever expected, even if it was in ways she'd never anticipated.
Now, she'd been offered to be even more, to potentially be a super, to not only get up and face the world, but to fight it, too. She wanted to reach out and take it for so many reasons, and could practically hear her inner child pleading, begging, desperate to be loved without knowing why or what it truly meant to be loved. Now, Anita knew the truth of love, and she knew why she'd been so desperate for the love the world hadn't given to her then. Now, she had her own respect, her own love for herself, the love of a husband she adored with every fibre of her being, the love of children she had the honour of knowing and watching grow into adults that would take on the world in ways she'd never dreamed. Oh, there would be a time when her children would rebel and say they hated her, when they would hate the whole world as cruelly as they thought it hated them, and it would be a time of tears and frustration and high-strung emotions, just like most teenage years, but that love would still be there. She'd love them like the world had never loved her, and she would make Super God damn sure they knew it and would never have to beg or plead for an unconditional love as she had once. Anita knew that love didn't need to be asked or begged for, only accepted and given in return. Just like that love, this power shouldn't be asked for, it should simply be known.
She opened her eyes, brushed Heidi's hair back from her peaceful face, ignoring the static along her fingertips, and pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead, her lips numbing against electric sparks. Then Anita turned to face Layla and Warren, smiled, and shook her head. "Thank you for the offer. It means more to me than you'll ever know, but my answer is no. I'll make sure you all have a safe place to return to no matter what happens, and I'll keep you safe however I can, but I can't accept."
Layla nodded as though she'd already known what Anita was going to say, smiling and reaching out to squeeze her hand gently. "We appreciate it, Anita. We'll keep her safe, just like we do with Ethan and Zach."
The promise was soft-spoken but it was the look in Layla's eyes that made Anita fully, finally, believe it for the truth. Layla and Warren would look after her babies and bring them home to her.
...
End of the hundred and seventy-eighth chapter.
Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it!
