Chapter One Hundred and Ninety One
...
"You're sure you don't mind helping me with this takeover, Pat? I don't want you to resent me since you didn't get to go with your friends," Ellie said as they drove along the streets, coloured flags and plastic tube men flying in electronically guided winds.
"This helps so I don't mind. Besides, if something goes wrong, they need someone on the outside to get them out. I won't resent you, Mam."
"Good lad. All right, that's the place. I'll wait here, he's likely to recognise me," Ellie said, pulling over further down the street. "Good luck in there, remember the script, and try to keep the sarcasm down; it's a takeover not a takedown," she said, though she grinned at him broadly.
"I'll remember the script, Mam, we went over it enough times."
Ellie raised an eyebrow at him, pointed and amused. "And?"
"And I'll keep the sarcasm to a minimum," Pat added as he slipped out of the passenger seat, heading over to the car dealership.
The banner for Super Motors flew in the wind, promising super deals and super cars, all at a super price. Considering the number of times Pat saw the word 'super' mentioned just from walking up the driveway, he doubted anyone involved in the business was super anything.
The cameras in the dealership would pick up his image and while he was technically in disguise, it wasn't an overly good disguise and anyone with knowledge of the Morton family would recognise him after a minute or two. His presence in Chicago would also provide an alibi for the frogs, as he would be able to claim to have taken them on a date after purchasing his very own car from this dealership. The fact that his mother wanted to buy this place was a side benefit as far as Pat was concerned, though he'd yet to come up with a reason for her wanting a dealership out in Chicago when there were already so many in Maxville and this wasn't even a franchise.
"Good morning! Are you here to look for a car?" a man asked, smiling broadly as he approached Pat from the other side of the lot.
Pat bit back a sarcastic remark about wanting to buy furniture in a car dealership; he deserved something in recognition of the effort it took to keep the sarcasm at bay within the first minute.
Nodding at the salesman, Pat forced himself to smile. "Yes, yes, I am. I'm hoping for a car with lots of room and a fast engine."
The salesman grinned. "Of course! We have plenty of cars that fit that criteria; why don't we have a look, Mr. ... " he trailed off, waiting for a response.
"McKinnon. Pat McKinnon, you can call me Pat," he said, extending a hand to shake.
The salesman shook Pat's hand and gave him a once over at the same time, noting the expensive watch, pressed trousers, Italian leather shoes, button-down shirt with a well-known and expensive logo on the pocket, and designer sunglasses. "Well, it's certainly my pleasure to meet you, Pat. Let's have a look at the fast and roomy cars, shall we?"
Pat nodded and followed the man through the lot. The cheaper cars were at the front with a few expensive ones scattered between to draw in both those with a budget and those willing to go into debt to be seen in a sports car. Both Pat and the salesman knew that the expensive cars - the ones paid for in cash - were at the back of the lot. Thieves would be occupied by the sports cars and completely ignore the even more expensive Bentley, BMW, and Mercedes Benz SUVs at the back.
"Do you have a preference for transmission, engine speed, or any super additions? There's a whole catalogue we can get fitted for you," the salesman chatted as they walked between cars.
Pat almost stopped entirely; he hadn't even had to go through the whole script to hear about the super additions! He might be able to get out of here early enough to get back to Maxville. "If there's a catalogue, I'd be more than glad to go through it. How fast can these additions be added? I need the car for this afternoon."
"Well, we'll see what you need. Let's find the right car first, hey?" he said with a laugh, clapping him on the back.
Pat stumbled at the action, caught himself, and straightened his shirt. "Of course."
"Great! Now, how about this beauty? She's old, but she'll get you where you're going."
Pat glanced from the car to the salesperson, wondering if he was serious. "I was hoping for something a little... newer. This car's older than I am. Not to mention there's no room."
"Well, she's just one of the options... Uh, how about this car? She definitely has the room you're wanting."
"Sir, this is a hearse."
"A new hearse."
Pat rethought his earlier optimistic statement and knew he'd be lucky to leave by lunch at this rate.
...
The Spinner Sisters were in the next room, waiting expectantly like they knew they were coming and had kept them waiting.
"It's about time!" Shirley and Sylvia said, standing and grabbing the bags they'd made out of their bedsheets.
"Where are your cuffs?" Layla asked in surprise.
"We're reducing our sentence by producing super suit materials; the cuffs don't help with that," Sylvia said.
"Then why haven't you escaped?" Warren asked, frowning.
"We're too old to run fast. Besides, they cuff us before we leave the room," Shirley replied.
"These are all synthetic fibres and utterly useless when it comes to escaping prison," Sylvia added, looking at her outfit with a grimace.
"Will you join us?"
"Can we walk out of here without being turned into infants?"
Layla and Warren looked at each other. The Pacifier was meant to help those with multiple life sentences remove their cuffs, so what happened if they didn't have a cuff?
Static came from Craig's walkie talkie. "Yes, they can leave. I've got their rooms all set up," Honey said warmly.
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. "Rooms? Plural? I don't have to listen to her snoring at night?"
"I don't have to listen to her snoring at night?" Shirley asked, scowling at her sister.
"Yes and yes," Honey replied. "Hey, put that down!" she snapped, her voice cutting off as she moved to deal with a tray-wielding prisoner.
Sylvia and Shirley looked at each other, then to the two across from them and nodded. "We'll join you."
"Excellent. We're gathering in the foyer. Please make your way there in an orderly manner," Sport said.
"Allow me to escort you, ladies," Craig said with a smile and flourishing bow, offering his arms.
"Thank you, dearie."
"I'm here! I'm not late, am I?" Nina called, puffing and out of breath at the guard's station.
Warren felt an odd sense of relief on hearing his mother's voice, glad that she'd come after all. He unclipped his walkie talkie to answer. "Right on time! We're opening the last of the cells. Poe, want to guide her here?" he asked, nodding to the door.
"Sure. Be right back," Corvin replied, shifting and flying back to the guard's station.
"Wait, not yet... Ah, shit, I'll deal with it. Blaze, Molten, get those last three, would you?" Honey called, throwing the tray back at one of the prisoners to distract them.
"A little busy here!" Zach called back, flashing brightly to disorient the prisoner he was fighting.
"I've got them," Ethan replied, nodding for Honey to leave.
"Thanks!" she called, already running for the cafeteria door, just as Corvin flew overhead.
"Hey, is everything all right?" Nina asked, seeing Honey running for her.
Two groups of prisoners were lined up on each side of the hallway, kneeling on the ground with their hands behind their heads. In the distance, Gwen's screams could be heard as she was Pacified for the third time. Honey just needed to make it to the guard's station before her screams stopped and everything would be all right. Only a few more metres...
One of the prisoners glanced over their shoulder to see Honey running for them and decided to take a risk. The door to the Super Penitentiary was right there, the guards were incapacitated, and two masked supers meant nothing this close to freedom. Sticking a hand out to grab at the running woman's leg and trip her, the prisoner let out a scream of surprise and fear as they were dive-bombed by a bird instead.
Honey reached the station just as Gwen's screams cut off. She grabbed the taser that was sitting on the desk behind Nina and hit the guard again. His tensing body went limp once more, and Honey leaned against the counter, breathing heavily. "Holy shit. He would've tased you and all of this would've gone very wrong."
"You couldn't just tell me?"
"You would've been distracted by Poe and not heard me until it was too late. It's all right, a sweaty mess is better than a bloodied one."
Nina didn't quite understand what Honey was talking about but nodded anyway. "So can I go to them now?"
"If you wouldn't mind keeping this lot in place before you go, they won't try to escape."
"Of course. You take a moment to rest, okay?" Nina said, turning on the crowd.
It was far smaller than she expected, even without the extra prisoners - and her ex-husband - that her son was in the process of Pacifying. She recognised a few prisoners both recently incarcerated as well as others that had been here for years. Stare Flair looked older than she was, but Phaser was nowhere in sight. In fact, even a few of the newer villains that had been caught by the Commander and Jetstream weren't there. She remembered that Nocturnal had been a pain in the ass and embarrassed the Strongholds, but Nina didn't see him in either row of people. Ethan and Zach came out of a door a few metres down, Ethan reforming more prisoners, but Nocturnal wasn't there either.
"Where's Nocturnal?" she blurted out, unable to stop the question.
A few of the prisoners frowned, glancing at each other, then back to her without answering.
Nina grit her teeth behind her mask and powered up, the compulsion to respond itching at every prisoner in unison. Some even scratched their heads in response, but it didn't take long for one of them to break and answer her.
"Nocturnal was taken away the day after he was processed. We only have rumours about where they go, not confirmation or an actual destination, so we don't know where he is at this moment."
"Shut up, Ivan," another prisoner hissed.
Ivan, aka, the Incredible Genius, shrugged awkwardly with his hands behind his head. "It's an accurate response and there's no reason not to answer. They have the control here, not us."
"All right, thank you. Everyone, stay quiet and lie face-down on the floor, please." Nina's instruction came with a firmer impulse than the need to answer her question, and one person slammed down into the floor so hard that blood spurted out of their nostrils. Their whimper of pain was quiet, as instructed, and everyone else hurried to follow Nina's instructions more carefully.
"I'll deal with them, you go," Honey said, nodding for Corvin to lead Nina to Layla and Warren.
Craig arrived with Sylvia and Shirley on each arm, creating two chairs for them to sit on. "There we are, ladies. Is there anything I can get for you? Water, food?"
"We'll be fine, dearie. You keep doing what you've got to do, we'll keep this lot in line," Sylvia said, Shirley giving a gleeful and evil cackle at the idea.
"Are you all right?" Honey asked, kneeling beside Simon with a wince of sympathy. "Here, you can sit up. Let's get you cleaned up, hey?"
"Don't you touch him," Lash snapped in front of them, his voice quiet but firm.
"Carbon, I need cool water, face towels, and cotton balls, please. Quickly," Honey said, ignoring Lash.
"Sure thing, here you go. Damn, dude. Want me to get a doctor?" Craig asked, hissing at the sight of blood covering Speed's face.
"It's not broken, just a few blood vessels and some swelling. Here, I'll be gentle, I promise," Honey said, wetting a towel and gently cleaning Simon's face. "Carbon, keep them down."
"I got rid of the car. Their GPS was turned off after too many wrong turns, so I fucked with the computer chip. They're broken down on the other side of Maxville now," Terrence said brightly. "Oh, Super Jesus!" he hissed at the sight of blood covering a prisoner's face.
"Find the others so you can have a turn at the Pacifier. Quick or you'll miss out," Honey said, not looking away from Simon as she cleared the last of the blood.
Terrence didn't argue, heading in the direction of the screams.
"Okay, everyone stay still. Everything will be explained soon, just stay calm," Craig said, soothing and using Nina's compulsions to keep everyone in place.
"There you go. The cotton balls will help stop the bleeding, but you should rest for a while, okay?"
Simon nodded, still quiet as per Nina's command. He still felt that same compulsion to lie down on the floor, every part of his brain and body desperate to comply and make the itching sensation stop. Honey guided him back onto the floor - carefully this time - and threw the towels towards Craig. They were a pile of ash in a moment, the water disappearing along with the rest of the evidence.
"Is everything going okay up there? Barron was next, wasn't he?" Craig asked.
Honey nodded. "They should be fine."
...
"Good morning, viewers. It seems that the remaining villains from the Suite Quartet have booked in fights with both Earthstone and Airborne this morning. Both heroes are fighting valiantly, though the number of villains outnumber them both greatly. Shifter is assisting Airborne, despite still recovering from a gunshot wound as viewers will remember from earlier this week. Her new outfit has several additional features that certainly shows how far super suit design and construction has come over the years," Brian Anderson said, the screen displaying gloves exploding from Shifter's suit to punch a blue-clad villain while her body was being held by another villain's lasso.
"I remember when the Commander first started with those rubber gloves. I think they melted in his second fight."
"Indeed," Brian Anderson said with a brief smile and nod, turning his attention away from his co-anchor and back to the camera. "While the Suite Quartet are keeping Westville's Heroes busy, the Commander and Jetstream have been called in to assist a bank robbery in Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Negotiations are underway and - " he cut off suddenly, pressing his ear piece and surprise filtering across his face for a moment.
"It seems the villains in Chicago have escaped. The Commander and Jetstream risked their lives to break into the bank once the hostages' food had been delivered, only to discover the villains had barricaded themselves into the bank's vault. The Commander made short work of that, of course, but the vault was empty when the dust cleared."
Zero giggled. "It'll stump authorities."
Several other children hushed him, one throwing popcorn at him with a direct hit. "Don't spoil it, Zero!"
"Authorities are stumped and the Commander and Jetstream are assisting the police to interview the hostages."
Brian Anderson's words faded as Zero's eyes unfocused and his attention was caught in a vision instead of the TV screen on the wall across from him.
"Zero? Zero, what's... oh, no. Get a pillow in case he falls," a girl called.
503 set aside her grape crush and carefully moved around Zero to get a throw pillow. The pillow was almost as big as her, and she pouted as the white pillow took the purple colouring she'd spent all morning working on. Setting the pillow beside Zero, 503 grabbed her grape crush and drank down the last of it quickly, hoping her hands would fill in again.
Zero let out a sudden cry of surprise, startling 503 who threw the empty can at him. He swatted it away before it could hit, the can rolling out into the hallway.
"Zero? You okay? What did you see?" a boy asked.
"We have to go."
"What? All of us? Where to? Why?"
Questions were asked in quick succession but Zero didn't have time to stay and answer. He scrambled off the bench and ran out of the room, the rest of the kids running after him.
"Jetstream left the Commander to interrogate the hostages with the police in Chicago. She's coming here to investigate when the building's meant to be open," Zero explained, opening doors, closing others, and pressing the buttons to call for the elevator, even as he ran towards the stairs, the others running after him.
"But no one's here, nothing's open!"
"Exactly!" Zero called over his shoulder, his bare feet smacking against the concrete stairs.
"How can we help?"
"Someone get Gemma; 503, get Enzo and Angelina. We also need Frank and his wife. Ammie... she'll help, but she'll ask questions later. I'll get Security open and meet you all there. Oh, and someone get Phineas and Finnley!"
"I'll get Gemma," a girl called.
"I'll find Frank and his wife," a boy called.
"We'll get Ammie," Lupo called, grabbing Chayton's hand and running for the elevator going up.
503's eyes widened at her instruction. "Where's Enzo?"
"Down in the restaurant!"
503 inhaled, exhaled, and sniffled as she took a big step into the giant elevator going down. She could barely reach the button that had 'Enzo's' written next to it, and held onto the rail tightly as the doors closed.
"Rock, paper, scissors for Phineas and Finnley?" 205 asked Indigo with a grin.
Indigo snorted. "Nope, we're doing that together. C'mon," she said, holding out her hand.
205 sighed and took Indigo's hand. "If they're half-naked again, I'm gonna be traumatised."
"I won't be."
205 laughed and nudged Indigo with her shoulder. "You're knocking on their door then."
503 stepped out of the elevator carefully, looking both ways down the hallway to see where Enzo's restaurant actually was. Seeing a sign above a door, she headed towards it and swallowed down her fear, bravely knocking on the closed door. She trembled as she heard and felt heavy footsteps making their way closer, closer, closer, and then the door opened to reveal a large and towering man. She squeaked in fear and covered her eyes abruptly.
"Hello, there, sweetheart. Are you lost?" Enzo asked, glancing down the hallway for any of the other kids. He knew 503 was one of the younger kids that lived in the building and she wasn't usually left to wander on her own.
503 peeked between her eyes, trying to keep her fear behind her teeth, and saw... Santa. Well, he was round and had red cheeks like Santa, but he didn't have Santa's beard. Maybe Santa grew his beard out for Christmas?
"Angel, I've got 503 here. Can you help?" Enzo called, not entirely sure what to do with a child hiding behind their hands when peek-a-boo wasn't involved. Especially so when that child was purple.
503 slowly lowered her hands and looked up at Enzo. "Are you Santa?"
"Only one night of the year," Enzo said with a grin, thinking of last year's Christmas party.
503's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Santa!
"503? Are you all right, sweetie? Do we need to find one of the other kids for you?" Angelina asked, just as confused as her husband to see the young girl alone - and purple - at their restaurant door.
"No. You need to come to Security with me. Please, Santa and Mrs. Santa," she added, holding her hand up for them to take.
"Santa?" Angelina echoed, frowning.
"Uh... I'll explain that later, Angel. I suppose it's important if we need to go to Security. I thought they had the day off?" Enzo mused, even as he took 503's offered hand - sticky with grape crush - and they both followed her to the elevator.
Gemma was in the elevator with Frank and his wife, and two more of the kids. "You're getting taken to Security, too?" Gemma asked, glancing between the three of them.
"Seems so. Any particular reason we're being called like this?" Angelina asked, looking at the two older children.
The girl and boy glanced at each other, then back at Angelina. "Jetstream."
It didn't explain a damn thing, but Angelina still found herself stepping into the elevator anyway. The doors opened onto the lobby where they saw the Security door wide open, Gemstone's barrier sliding away, and lights turning on.
"Hey, what's going on? We're closed and I thought you were away for... oh, sorry, Zero, I thought you were Baby and Ex. Wait, how did you get in here? You shouldn't have the code."
"Jetstream's on her way to investigate the building. If she comes here and sees everything closed, she'll be suspicious and report it to the Super Bureau. They won't stop until they get us and even with the building's defences, they'll pick us off one by one until we're all kidnapped or dead."
Ammie gasped behind them, Finnley and Phineas gripping each other's hands, and 205 looking traumatised.
"Is it a lie?" Indigo asked 205, who shook her head then realised her mistake.
"No, it's the truth."
"What do we have to do?" Gemma asked, fists tight by her sides.
"Act like it's a normal business day. Ammie, Gemma, Frank, open your stores. Carlotta, pretend to be a client in... Ammie or Gemstone's, either will work. Enzo, Angelina, shop in Frank's and don't worry about the display."
Enzo looked over at Frank's store and saw a large display of cans stacked like a pyramid. "Sorry, Frank. I'll help you clean it up later."
Frank nodded and headed over to his store, turning on the lights with Angelina and Enzo behind him.
"What about us? What do we do?" Finnley asked, determined to do whatever it took to stay in the Sanctuary with Phineas and Corvin.
Zero grinned. "You get to play with the elevators. Keep 'em busy like they're being used by people. You two can help with that," he said, nodding to the boy and girl.
"Done," the girl said, running for an elevator with the boy on her heels.
"C'mon, Phin. If this is what we've gotta do, this is what we do, okay?" Finnley said.
Phineas snarled, low and under his breath about this being all he could do. "You let me know if I can bite her ankles, okay?" he asked, even as he headed to the second elevator with Finnley.
"I will," Zero said, then turned his attention to Indigo, 205, and 503. "Indigo, play it up and get in her way."
Indigo grinned. "Got it."
"What do I have to do?" 205 asked, nervous but determined.
"Hide in Gemstone's and let your power work," Zero said with a firm nod.
205 glanced over at Gemstone's, her eyes widening. "I can hide anywhere in there?"
"Yeah, just make sure you can't be seen by Gemma, okay?"
205 grinned and ran for the jewellery store eagerly.
"What about me?" 503 asked, nervous and terrified.
Zero smiled and nodded to a door. "Champ keeps his popcorn in there. We get to watch."
503 breathed a loud sigh of relief and stepped into the Security room to open the cupboard door and sit beside Zero.
...
"We shouldn't have left the riot so soon," Connor said, even as he followed Ry towards the source of the screaming.
"Honey said they'd be okay. C'mon, Papa, you know you wouldn't want to be alone if you were in his shoes," Ry said, jogging past empty cells and broken doors.
Connor couldn't argue there. He didn't like his parents - the feeling was mutual - but he also wasn't planning on killing them and releasing them from prison, either.
"All right, there they are. Hey!" Ry called, running the last few metres and stopping abruptly beside Layla and Warren.
"Is everything all right in the cafeteria?" Layla asked, looking between them.
"Fine; Papa wanted to be here for emotional support. Who're these cuties?" he asked, seeing three children strapped into strollers.
"Gwen, aka, Royal Pain; Yori from the Ninety Ninjas; and Koshka, she was captured during the Super Cold War. We're leaving Barron 'til last," she added, realising why they'd come here.
"We can take the kids to the front, if that would help?" Connor offered, his whole body tense at the far too familiar screams coming from the prison cell.
"Thank you, that would be a great help," Layla lied.
Relieved, Connor grabbed the handles for one stroller and started to jog back down the corridor. Ry hugged Layla before he grabbed a second stroller and did the same. By the time they returned, the screams had stopped and a new stroller was occupied with a sleeping toddler.
"Do you need a break?" Layla asked Warren, taking his hand.
"We don't have time. The Pacifier takes a long time with multiple lives," he said, shaking his head.
"I'm here, it's my turn!" Terrence announced at the door, out of breath.
"Did you - "
"Redirected their GPS and then took control of the car; no one's coming, we're good," he said with a firm nod. "Who's next? First, let me look at that precious piece of tech," he said, making grabby hands for the Pacifier.
Warren snorted. "Geez, calm down. Here, you can play while Sport and Champ get the next door," he said, handing the Pacifier to him.
Terrence took it, his excited words turning to a murmur as he ran his hands along each part of the Pacifier gently. "Oh, there you are! That's what I've been missing! It's got a negative energy reactor, of course! Ooh, I can do this, I know I can. Just... " he trailed off again, stepping out of the room.
Layla and Warren looked at each other then followed after Terrence to see him building various components with parts and his mind, keeping one hand on the Pacifier the whole time. In a matter of minutes, a new Pacifier was sitting on the ground, almost an exact replica of the one Terrence was still holding.
"Does it work?" Warren asked.
Terrence grinned, handed back the original Pacifier and grabbed his own. "Let's find out."
"Door's open!" Sport called, just as the door was pushed out of the frame and knocked into him.
"You're not gonna take me alive!" the prisoner yelled, using the door as a shield and running down the corridor.
Terrence stepped out of the way, waited until the door had passed, and shot the man in the back. The white stream of energy hit him directly and changed his movement from a run to a crawl, the man screaming the whole time.
Connor grabbed the door before it fell on the infant, and Ry scooped up the tiny human. He wiggled his fingers, and grinned at the number of fingers that wiggled back in return. "Aww, look at all those extra fingers and toes. Radiation or mutation?"
"Mutation, though there was a lot of debate at the time. How many life sentences did he have left, Ace?" Sport asked.
"This was the last one. He's been in there for a while, man."
"We've got the rest of these, you go deal with the Baron," Terrence said firmly.
Nina inhaled, grabbed Warren's hand without even thinking, and exhaled shakily when he squeezed her hand in return and didn't let go.
"All right; we'll meet you back at the front," Layla said, grabbing Warren's free hand and guiding them down to Barron Battle's cell.
"Wait. I just... I need a minute," Warren said, stopping a few metres away, his heart slamming against his rib cage.
"Okay. Take as long as you need. Within thirty minutes, at least," Layla said with a glance at her watch.
Warren managed a brief smile and nod, then let go of Layla's hand and turned to his mother. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
Nina was surprised he even asked, but nodded in response. "It'll be the first time I'm seeing him since our divorce so it's not the way I imagined this going... I'm fine with your plans, I promise. When he's out there, his choices will be his own, just as they always have been. They're not a reflection of you, or me," she added, something she'd struggled to understand or accept for years after Barron's imprisonment. "We can do this."
Warren squeezed her hand again, and drew her in for a quick hug. "You're right, we can do this. Want to Pacify him yourself?"
"Oh, I don't know about that," she said with a far too nervous laugh.
"Okay, let me know if you change your mind. He's still got three life sentences to go through."
Nina nodded and as Warren moved away, she found herself being hugged by Layla. "Oh. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm worried about you. Barron means nothing to me, but you do. If you need to leave, don't worry, I'll do the rest. That goes for you, too," Layla added, looking at Warren as she stepped back.
Nina didn't know what to say. She objectively knew that Layla had met Barron once and he didn't mean much to her beyond being her boyfriend's biological father. Nina hadn't truly realised just how much she meant to Layla, or in turn, what the young girl meant to her.
"I know. I'll leave if I have to," Warren confirmed with a nod.
Surprised yet again, Nina realised that he truly meant his words. Finding her voice, she replied, "All right. I'll leave if I need to go."
"Thank you."
"We didn't bring the guys for the door," Nina realised, moving to turn.
"It's all right, I can do this one," Layla said, her eyes glowing green as vines slid out and fire formed on her hands.
Throwing the fire at the frame, Layla kept it burning hotter, weakening the frame as her vines pushed at the door frame, bending it out of shape. There was a solid sound as the titanium rods slammed into place but they scraped along the misshapen door frame instead. The door creaked in protest, the charred metal burnt even more until the tiled walls started to melt in globs, and the vines pushed the door into the cell.
Barron stepped over the door and out of the cell, looking at the melted and charred frame with a grin. "Took you long enough, son."
"It wasn't me," Warren said, Pacifying his father before he could say anything else.
Screaming as his body aged unnaturally fast, Barron stopped as he felt death's cold hand reaching for him. The Pacifier switch was thrown and then he screamed through his body getting younger and smaller, his height and muscles shrinking to an infant child.
"One down, two to go," Warren murmured, flicking the switch again.
Nina had just watched her ex-husband go through life to the brink of death, and then back towards his childhood, and she had so many emotions swirling through her that she doubted she could name them all. "Wait, can you stop that at a certain age? I want to ask him something."
Warren paused. "I think so. I have to let go of the trigger at a certain time. When were you thinking?"
"Early twenties."
"You sure?" Warren asked, knowing just what had happened in Barron's early twenties: him.
Nina nodded. "Please."
Warren nodded and pointed the Pacifier at the baby that was his father. Aging him through childhood and teenage years, he let go of the trigger as the last of the baby fat gave way to muscle. His father stood before him, younger than Warren had known, but barely older than himself now. He held his breath as he waited for Nina's question.
"Barron. Look at me," Nina said, firm with a compulsion, his head snapping to her immediately.
He gave her a once over and grinned lazily. "You got old, sweetheart."
"You got prison," Nina snapped. She inhaled, exhaled, and forced herself to focus. "You're twenty, twenty-one?"
"Twenty-two."
"Good. We would've been married by then. You told me you loved me, gave me a ring, and then used our wedding to bait the Commander into fighting you. Did you do it?"
"The Commander brought the church down," Barron said with a shrug.
"You were wearing your super suit under your tuxedo. You planned the whole thing. Did you... did you propose to me just to get the Commander to fight you?"
Barron snorted. "As if I'd waste all of that time going through dresses and seating plans just to fight the Commander. He's so easy to rile up, I could've fought him anywhere."
Nina wasn't twenty-one and terrified anymore. She wasn't going to let that answer slide. "The truth, Barron."
"Ow, fuck! I proposed to you 'cause you were pregnant, Super fucking Jesus. What else was I supposed to do?"
"How about not fight the Commander on our wedding day?"
"It was too good an opportunity to let it pass by. It showed your parents that I wasn't a weak piece of shit, didn't it?"
Nina didn't focus on that comment; her parents' opinion of Barron had always been a sore point for him, and they'd spent most of their twenties arguing about that already. "My cousin died! She was my best friend!"
Barron shrugged. "Casualties happen."
Nina grabbed the Pacifier from Warren, pointed and shot her ex-husband, watching again as he aged to his thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, and stopped at his eighties. "The truth, Barron. You're old enough to know better, to reflect and show remorse."
Barron looked at Nina, his body aching in unfamiliar ways, his throat hurting from screaming, his knee throbbing from where the Commander had tackled him to the ground. "It was worth it to show everyone just what the Commander was like. He only came because I was his rival for Oklahoma! and didn't even know about Baron Battle until I challenged him from the altar."
Nina frowned. "But if he didn't know... you invited him to our wedding?"
Barron grinned. "It was a classic move; they'll be talking about it for years."
"No, they won't. Here, I'll take it now, you might take him too far past death," Warren said, taking the Pacifier back from his mother gently.
Barron blinked slowly at the exchange, and smiled. "Ah, my boy. You look just like I did when I was younger. You must drive the girls crazy," he said with a chuckle.
"You want to have a conversation now?" Warren asked incredulously.
"I've had time to reflect, like your mother said."
"You've been in prison for ten years, none of that time was used to reflect? You just sat there every fucking year and... lectured me! You talked at me, not with me, and you think now is a good time to talk?!"
"No time like the present," Barron said with a grin.
"Super fucking Jesus. I'm killing you myself after all of this is over. You've gotta get through two more life sentences and go out there to distract the Commander and Jetstream."
"One more," Barron said.
"What?"
"I only have one life sentence left. I tried to escape and it didn't go well; they kept it out of the official records. You'll see," he said with a low laugh, wiggling his cuffed wrists.
Warren didn't believe anything his father said, but knew the cuffs would only come off after his life sentences had been lived through. They'd find out soon enough, he thought as he pointed and shot.
Barron's cuffs fell off just as Connor and Ry arrived.
"What did we miss? Whoa, what did you do to that door?" Ry asked, double-taking when he saw the burnt remains.
"We got in. Did you get the rest of them?"
"Yep, Electro even let me use the Pacifier," Ry said proudly.
"Excellent work, thank you. Gramps, would you mind taking Peacekeeper to the front? Dragon, you can take Barron. We'll age him once we're outside," Layla said.
"Yeah, sure," Ry said, clipping Barron into the stroller and heading down the hallway.
"Peacekeeper," Connor said with a smile behind his mask, offering his arm to Nina.
"Gramps," she said with a brittle laugh, taking his arm and leaving Warren and Layla behind.
"We've got ten minutes," Layla said, grabbing Warren's hand and leading him to a room. "Talk to me."
Warren shook his head. "We don't have time for this. I'm fine. I will be fine," he amended. "We just need to let him leave, fight the Commander, and probably get killed or captured. It's fine."
"Don't make me age you to a time for reflection," Layla threatened.
Warren frowned. "Might as well; it'll be faster than dealing with all of this emotion when we've still gotta get Grant."
"You mean it?"
Warren swallowed hard and nodded, holding the Pacifier out to her. Layla took it, waited a breath for Warren to change his mind, then pointed and shot. She'd already used the Pacifier on several people and knew when the tug of their death made her stop shooting. Even as she reached Warren's sixties, seventies, eighties, Layla didn't feel that familiar tug, and wondered just how long he'd live. Still, she stopped at his eighties and looked at the man in front of her.
"Is that enough time? How do you feel?" she asked.
Warren opened his eyes and nodded. "I don't regret it all. I wish he'd been a better father but like Ma said, it was his choice. I had to deal with the consequences of his actions, but they were still his actions, not mine. Super God, that feels good to admit and just know, y'know?"
Layla smiled at the look of relief on his face. "Any chance you know what we're going up against with Grant?"
Warren shook his head. "It only ages me from the original point, it doesn't take me through the future. It would be nice to know though. I miss having Grant around, and he's going through things that no one should," he said, touching the brand on his wrist.
"I miss him, too. We're going to get him back, I promise. Are you ready to come back to me?" Layla asked, pointing the Pacifier at him once more.
Warren kissed her hand. "Thank you for taking the time to do this, Layla. I love you. Okay, now I'm ready."
She squeezed his hand briefly. "I love you, too," she said, then pressed the trigger.
Warren breathed in deeply as he stopped de-aging, Layla watching him for a moment to ensure he'd be all right. "Thanks for that, hippie. I'm good now; let's go get some permanent markers."
Layla smiled brightly and took his hand, both of them returning to the foyer where the prisoners waited.
...
End of the hundred and ninety-first chapter.
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