Anita glared at her tablet, where the alarm pulsed softly. Go to the tree. Take Samuel and Flor.
She didn't want to. She really didn't want to.
Flor was dangerous. She was dangerous in a way Anita's power could do precisely nothing about. The girl had an emotional range that was almost normal, but used her power whatever mood she was in. A young trigger, and powerful with it, her first act had been to effectively kill one of the wives. Worst of all, it wasn't the wife who had caused the trigger – that was Heartbreaker, of course – but she'd taken the fall for Flor's reaction. She used her power when she was sad, angry, bored, happy, or anything in-between. Anita couldn't predict it, and what her power couldn't predict, it couldn't prevent.
It had been that way since Flor's eighth birthday. The youngest dad ever started trigger attempts, and Flor was lucky enough, or unlucky enough, that the first attempt was successful. Two of the wives had held her down, and he had taken turns with Nicholas to batter her with fear. He hadn't even been in the room for it.
Rhea was probably dead by now, at least. They weren't sure what Flor had done, but as far as Guillaume had been able to see, she'd walked in as straight a line as possible towards the coast. They were pretty sure she'd kept going all the way to the sea, and into it. Pretty grim, but then the other wife had beaten herself to death on the door frame so it could've been worse.
Their father hadn't even been angry. Flor was his new golden child, his latest replacement for Jean-Paul; he encouraged her to experiment with her unpowered siblings, which she did with impunity. The cape kids either stayed the hell away from her, or were immune. Samuel was immune, and had been able to tell them everyone else who was, and who wasn't. Anita was one of the unlucky ones.
She showed Samuel the note, and he shrugged. "It was alright last time," he said, though his mind glossed easily over the specifics. "I'll take her."
He accordingly held Flor's hand as they wandered across the wide lawn in the morning's dewy chill. Flor repeatedly skipped ahead, reaching towards Anita before being tugged back, giggling every time Samuel's arm went taut. They were halfway there before Imp saw them and suppressed her power, which noticeably excited Flor. She nodded along as Samuel explained what they wanted her to do, but kept on tugging, eager to reach the stranger. When she reached the tree she scrambled up immediately, paying no heed to the dirt or the way her skirt was riding up. Samuel followed, and Anita took the rear.
Flor made it higher than any of them, but Imp higher still, supported by her rope. Flor jumped for her legs.
"Whoa!" Imp exclaimed, falling backwards, the rope arresting their fall. Flor laughed loudly, radiating nothing but her childlike callous enjoyment. Imp wrapped her arms around the much smaller girl, hoisted her up, and said, "Hi there."
Flor started making herself comfortable on Imp's lap, grinning like a smug cat might.
"I think she's on board, but she doesn't talk," Samuel said by way of explanation. "And she doesn't get to meet new people...well, ever. But she does like using her power."
Imp was somewhat bemused by the cuddling child, but hugged her back gamely, and Anita felt a prickle of jealousy. Imp needed them now, not her.
Unhelpful. She tapped her jealousy and sealed it away.
"Alright." She tapped Flor's nose, and Anita was glad her costume covered almost all of her skin. "I hear you're a scary brat, but if you'll do me this favour, you can meet all the new people you want."
Flor made happy noises, nuzzling Imp's shoulder. Imp's head turned to Anita: "I guess you're the one who's gonna make sure this gets done," she said. "Keep the kid focused."
Anita reassured her by lifting her tablet, the list on-screen: Guillaume, Juliette, Martina, Nicholas. The remaining siblings who might realise she was there.
The first step was easy.
"Juliette," Samuel said casually, when they were passing each other in the hallway. "I think someone's going to come and kill dad."
She stopped and turned to him. Her eyes met his for a moment. Her face was, as always, utterly blank.
"Just thought I'd let you know, since you tend to enjoy that kind of thing. If you get anything weird on your power, it's probably that."
She nodded.
He strolled on again, moving slightly more awkwardly now that he was also following her senses.
She didn't tell Heartbreaker, or anyone else.
Flor's tagging of the wives was a week-long project.
Most of them were easy. Their father didn't like doing housework, and the kids certainly wouldn't, so he had them take care of it all. They went about it with their usual orgasmic eagerness, oblivious to anything but his wishes. Flor wandered around the house, poking each of them with remarkable restraint. Some of them didn't even notice. Anita trailed after her, keeping track with her tablet. Whenever Flor flagged, Anita tugged away the distracting emotions, wiping the girl out and temporarily robbing her of her agency. She then pointed Flor to the next person on her power's sensor, and the girl went.
That was eighteen. The other four fell into two pairs: the two new girls, and the two parahumans. She wasn't sure of the new girls' names, or even their faces. They spent all their time in Heartbreaker's room. One of them was the heiress whose house this had originally been, back when they'd moved in three months ago. The other was an abductee some of the wives had gone to pick up.
The parahumans she did know. One of them was her mother, a mid-range mover/blaster by the name of Aviator, whom Cherie had snagged from the Guild while three years ago. The other was Nicholas's mother, a small-time ex-villain. One of the first wives; he was bored of her, but given her powers, he kept her around. Anita wasn't even sure of her name.
Both were in the late stages of pregnancy, sequestered in the west wing under Martina's care. Flor had no excuse to enter.
The project stalled for eight hours, until Anita detected the subdued mix of feelings that indicated sleep from all three. Flor was in and out in ten seconds flat. Standing in the doorway, Anita saw that there were only two rooms: one was laid out with two beds and a chaise lounge for Martina, as well as a sideboard of medical equipment and a modest kitchen. The doorway she could see led to a bathroom. A small, uncomfortable layout.
Martina was immune to Flor's power, but Anita sent a message to Samuel, who appeared and tapped her thinker senses.
Martina had a nebulous power that focused on the physical rather than emotional signals of those around her. She had no master effects, but it made her an excellent nurse. More importantly, the layout of the west wing suggested her range was fairly small, and Samuel confirmed it. As long as Imp was careful, she wouldn't be a problem.
Lastly though, were two wives who were kept in the upper floor. Those would be the hardest of all. Heartbreaker himself would have to be interfered with.