Dark Skies

Shouts shocked me from sleep. I wasn't sure why or when it began, but someone was yelling something about water and infrastructure. I blinked out of my coma.

"...power to the hospitals is already back! There isn't enough space in the relief centres, so we need to get people back..."

Ah, superhearing. My head moving half an inch was sufficient to stop Jason and Matthius' heated debate mid-sentence.

"You're alive," Matthius said.

"I hadn’t noticed." I squirmed up to sit. "What happened?"

"Before or after you face-planted in concrete?"

"Everything," I demanded, turning to pull myself off the bed. My arm didn't respond, though, as it was in a cast.

Knew it was bad , I grumbled internally. Jason noticed and reached out to gently stiff-arm my chest, stopping me from leaving the bed.

"The dislocation fucked with your muscle. Stay put, I'll–"

"Stop touching me," I warned, earning an eye roll.

"Or what, Bernard?" he sighed. "You're going to ship me off again? Maybe the Philippines, this time?"

I frowned at his tone. It wasn't the haughty, stuck-up timbre he so often employed. He sounded tired.

No, I realized, it's even worse. He's... hurt?

I knocked his arm away. Obviously, he let me, as this was the same hand that'd caught collapsing oil tankers. My legs wobbled against the ground. I needed a moment to fight nausea while gripping the frame of the bed.

"Bernard..." Even Matthius sounded worried. "Hey, man, take a–"

"What is wrong with you two?" I snapped. "We have work to do. How long have I been out?"

Jason glanced at Matthius. "Two days. It's Friday, past noon."

I pulled off my gown and threw on the sweats folded on a chair near the door. "Why are you two here?"

"We've been digging LA out for the past few days, but the medics said you got… a complication. We dropped back to make sure you were–"

"You stopped relief work to check if I was alive?" I exclaimed, aghast.

Jason rubbed his eyes. "Your heart stopped for four minutes."

"Who fucking cares?" I growled, beside myself. "That changes nothing. Angela would continue running SWORD, and you'd still have a city to rebuild. What is wrong with you two?"

Jason darkened. "You were needlessly reckless. You endangered yourself to save those children, even with no real ability to stop the attacker. That was stupid."

My cast took a second to push through the armhole. "Wouldn't that have been fantastic news for you two? No more reporting to the cripple."

"Barn, you're–"

"Do not call me that."

"Are you seriously pissing at Dad 'cause he came to check on you when you died ?"

I levelled a long, hard stare at my younger brother. I knew I wasn't being rational, but having been unconscious since the Den, my battle with Evo felt like only moments ago. I could still feel the panic and disappointment from failing.

Twice.

"November seventh, twenty-eighteen."

Jason and Matthius shared a blank look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's a special date recorded on my medical profile," I explained, raising my shirt to show a scar running across my abdomen. "Because at nine-twenty-six that morning, a semi-truck ran a red and t-boned my sedan at twenty miles per hour, slicing my stomach open and fracturing four ribs. I was out for a week. I flat-lined thrice. The doctors had to perform a thirteen-hour surgery to keep me afloat."

"I never–" started Matthius.

"Yes, you did. Because I made them call you three times, as I’d lost my phone. I needed clothes, and none of you picked up. Angela barely knew me at the time, but she made the two-hour drive to grab some shirts and toiletries."

I sighed pityingly. "I don't know what you saw out there. I'm sure it was horrific. But neither of you give a fuck. You're all too absorbed in yourselves, and I'm too fragile. You didn't come here to check if I was alive. Whether or not you admit it, my death would bring you peace."

"Do not–" tried Jason.

"Go fuck yourself," I snarled, fists clenched. "Both of you find a mirror and go fuck yourselves. You never gave a shit before. You still don't, you're just too confused to see the difference. Do not patronize me with attempts at pretend concern." There was a lump in my throat. I wasn't sure when it'd got there. "You know what I felt when I was melting in the boiler room? Relief. I'd finally be out of your hair, and you wouldn't need to feign affection, the few times you try."

Matthius had the temerity to look shocked. "No one wants–"

"No?" I sneered. "Powerlessness isn't the same thing as stupidity. I'm one, not the other."

Jason grabbed my shoulder. "I didn't know you got hit."

"Of course not. Why would you? I'm an ant. You're an Alpha. I don't matter."

Jason reeled back as if physically struck. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't have time to care. "We have work to do, and that won’t happen in the medical wing. You two with me."

"Barn, wait!" started Matthius. His eyes began to glow with frustration. "I get you're mad, but being a dick doesn't help anyone. And you can't direct shit while you're pissy. Either way, you need the doctor's say-so to leave."

"Actually, as I sit on level ten clearance and vet any doctors hired in this building, I don't need anything."

Matthius jogged to keep up with me. Jason took a few seconds to recover and follow us, though he wore a hollow look. I started to get concerned. At a time like this, I couldn't afford to have Jason go through a mental breakdown. He was too powerful to start second-guessing himself. Especially now.

We wordlessly reached the elevator, where the silence stretched until we arrived at my office. Pushing open the doors revealed a peculiar assortment of guests.

At the helm was Angela. Though her lower body was blocked by the desk, her posture was off. Slanting too heavily to the right. Either she was standing on a platform, or her left leg was in a cast. A maskless Blacklight stood at the other side of the table. He looked pissed.

Jasper and Lydia were behind him, distracted by large tablets.

And to my complete, honest shock, Elise Nova was sitting against the far wall, scrolling passively through her phone.

"Bernard!" exclaimed Angela, suddenly in front of me. She'd later insist she hadn't increased density, but her hug came uncomfortably close to finishing the job Evo failed.

I struggled to stay on my feet when she released me.

"Sorry," she said quickly, backtracking. Her uninjured right leg shuffled for balance.

I pointed to the other one. "What happened?"

"Battle," she said with a shrug. "I got sloppy. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, obviously," snorted Elise. "He's walking, isn't he?"

I slowly turned to face her. "What are you doing here?"

"Careful," Elise chuckled. "You're even weaker than usual. Don’t test me.”

I studied my mother with a long, critical eye before striding over to my computer and pulling up report files. No one, even the children, spoke as I spent eight minutes skimming through the essentials of what I’d missed.

The biggest report, of course, was that of Tacti and Jason. The scale of their clash was unprecedented. Early estimates of their isolated catastrophic footprint, or wreckage exclusively incurred between them, currently hung between seventy-five to a hundred and thirty billion dollars. Add the rest and we were looking at a global two hundred. Eighteen-thousand confirmed deaths. Fifteen thousand still missing. We couldn’t even begin realistically graphing the injured.

And Elise had done nothing.

I turned back to look at her, then glanced at the kids. "Jasper, Lydia, have you guys eaten yet?"

The two perked up.

"Yeah, we had waffles for breakfast."

"Well, it's lunchtime. Have one of the guards outside bring you down to the mess hall, and they'll find you something."

Jasper pouted. "I wanna stay here, though."

I shot him a look. With a bit of a grumble, Jasper straightened dutifully and turned to Lydia. He waved his tablet. "Pass."

Lydia scowled as she surrendered hers. Jasper turned and gave them to Angela. "Thanks, Mrs. Beck."

"Just Miss," she smiled, accepting them. "And you're very welcome."

They were gone moments later. The silence returned. I picked up a pen and began tapping it against the flat of my desk, pondering. Jason, Matthius, Blacklight and Angela all waited nervously as Elise finally pulled her head out of her phone to face me.

I looked up. "Do you remember the reporting protocol for international assignment?"

Elise blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"The reporting protocol for international assignment. Recite it."

"I don't remember," Elise replied dryly. "Remind me."

"Every second day, you are to submit a global summary of your progress, hiccups, and objectives. Any requests or updates we need to be made aware of are relayed through these communiques."

"So?" she prodded.

"You were in Norway for two weeks. That means I should've had at least six reports. There are none."

"I fail to see the point of this exercise."

I steepled my fingers. "I will contact our Norwegian associates to confirm, but I have a sneaking suspicion you and Matthius did fuck all over there."

She snorted. "I assume you're telling us this for a reason."

"Something interesting about Floodgates and... eh, Tacti, right? Barlow and Tacti both have the privilege of complex kill counts. The deaths incurred by their actions are largely secondary, either from debris or shockwaves. They indirectly kill ninety-five percent of their victims."

I sat forward.

"Plague suffers from no such… imprecision. He directly commanded his clouds of venomous insects to murder civilians, making it very easy for autopsies to discern COD." I clenched my fist so hard the knuckles went white. "You were tasked with capturing him in Norway. You failed. Miserably. You didn't even try to look for him, and now eight hundred and twenty-six people are dead because of you. So far ."

Elise barely flinched. "We operated on your instruction. I tried to make it clear how ill-suited we were for the assignment, but you didn't listen. Those people are dead because of you."

"Me?" I scoffed. "I deployed two of the most powerful Alphas alive to apprehend one of the most volatile, and they did nothing. Failure on my part could only happen if you two proved incapable of accomplishing the task, not unwilling . Apparently, though, you can't see the big picture. In fact, you think you're bigger than the whole fucking canvas. You think you're bigger than the husbands and fathers and mothers and wives and children who were gnawed down to blood and bone by radioactive locusts."

I stabbed my finger at Matthius.

"Your son is irresponsible, impulsive, and extremely crass. Yet even he comprehended the breadth of the catastrophe and contributed as best he could. You couldn't climb over your own ego and see the other yard. See the mountains of bodies we still have to find and burn."

Angela slumped a bit at the latter statement. I continued.

"Plague is quite literally a plague. He's unleashed himself all over the city. I doubt there will be anything fertile growing there for the rest of the year, even with our treatment technologies. The bodies will continue to spread disease and radiation if we don't cook them to a crisp." I spread my arms. "All because the great Crimson Nova couldn't bring herself to do her goddamn job."

Elise inspected her nails, letting a bit of plasma roll off the index finger. "Next time, you'll remember your chair is just that. A chair. One that will eventually be occupied by someone more deserving."

"Hmm." I glanced over at Jason and Matthius, both of whom were smart enough to avoid my eyes. Blacklight simply observed her neutrally, which, given his proclivities for causing unnecessary trouble, was unsettling in of itself.

"You've violated multiple tenants of your license, Elise Nova, and for that, you're indefinitely suspended from duty. Leave your badge on the table."

She laughed. I thought it was because she'd been expecting it, but the opposite proved true.

"I'm going to give you some time to get over yourself," she smirked, turning to leave. "And once..."

She drifted off when she reached the door, which Jason was blocking. Tacti must've really beat the bells off him. "He gave you an order, Elise."

"What the fuck are you doing?" she demanded, taking a confused step back.

Matthius didn't speak, not even when she turned to him for help. Blacklight and Angela observed silently.

I kissed my teeth. "Mrs. Nova, you have ten seconds to surrender your badge before I red tag you. Don't believe me? I want you to look into Blacklight's eyes and ask yourself if that's someone who'll hesitate to put you in a coma. I won't even move."

She shot Rush a smirk. "Micah, please. You’re a fine Hero, but let's be real. I'd cut you in half."

"How?" he asked, colour leaking out of his eyes. "Can't cut something you never see."

"And if that isn't enough," I assured her, "Valkyrie is downstairs with Cher Fer and Cryo King. Not to mention," I pointed to Jason, "that thing."

She turned to face her husband. "Get out of my way, Jason."

"You cost lives, Elise. Thousands. The volume of collateral makes incarceration a real possibility. I sucked it up. We all sucked it up. How long has Blacklight wanted Boston? Or Matty wanted somewhere tropical? We all swallowed our pride and did the right thing, and because of that, we almost stopped them. We were close. So fucking close.

"Titan warned me of the Family. Blacklight learned their names and nearly captured Floodgates. The Committee realized Ergo wasn't the only one of his kind, and had Bernard gotten Plague, our final piece, we could've deduced the attack. Prevented or mitigated. So many people would still be alive, but you couldn't buckle down and help. It had to be about some idiotic vendetta."

Jason's eyes were glowing now, as were his veins. Elise wasn't a pushover, but handling Prime Nova at close quarters for anyone other than Tacti was a death sentence. "I fought him alone, and almost died , Elise. You weren't there. Bernard fought and almost died, and he's fucking blank. Beck wasn't too far behind. We all bled and suffered. Even Matty. But you? You made the wrong choice."

"You're taking his side?" asked Elise in disbelief.

"I'm taking the right side. Now leave your badge, or we'll take it." He scowled deeper. "Do not make us take it."

Elise finally seemed to realize how badly she'd messed up. Jason was shaken. Badly. Tacti was powerful enough to make Titan look tame. The damage he'd caused was beyond anything SWORD had on file.

Jason, for all his faults, was justifiably angry.

Elise pulled her badge from her jacket and flicked it across the room. She aimed right at my forehead with superhuman throttle. I would’ve gone right back under, had Blacklight not snagged it out of the air.

"Mom, seriously?" snapped Matthius. "You're already in deep enough shit. Stop fucking around."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" she growled. He flinched back. "Speaking of," she continued, "why exactly am I being the only one punished?"

"You're not," I assured her. "But Matthius bought back some goodwill by hightailing it out of Boston when Jason needed him to. You sat in a cushy Suburban while Los Angeles went under. So you'll stay there while the real Heroes, the ones who actually give a shit about the work, keep at it."

Elise straightened. "Think very carefully about what you're about to do, Bernard. I won't come crawling back."

"Good. You're already useless on your feet. I can’t imagine how you’d look on your knees."

She bristled, then stormed out. I sank back into my chair to contemplate my actions. Was that the right choice? Discarding her was a dangerous play, especially given her skills, and I disliked manipulation.

However, the gravity of the situation called for action of equal measure.

"How much is left?" I asked my caucus.

"Forty percent," said Angela. "The major collapses trapped a handful deep underground, which we can't just rip out in fear of collapse. Blacklight and I usually take the reins there since our powers can bypass rubble. Unfortunately, though, as I'm... encumbered, progress is slow. I can't get to the deeper areas, which raises Blacklight's load."

I nodded. "Unsurprisingly, I've received a board summon. In front of a global council."

"Ouch," Matthius grimaced. "Will they come for your job?"

I paused to think. "Probably, but not immediately. They'll need me to cook this crisis a bit more to make a move. Controlled chaos is the optimal environment for takeover. Currently, it’s just chaos. I’ll wait a month before starting to look over my shoulder."

Blacklight scowled, then asked, "What can we do?"

"Get back in the yard and shovel. My job isn't more important than civilian life. I want people clear of danger by the end of the weekend."

I pointed to Jason. "You're relieved of relief duty."

"What?" he exploded. "You need me–"

"Yes. Exactly. And your head is scattered."

Jason narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't–"

"No? I've been scratching my pen against the underside of my desk for the past five minutes. Matthius has been cringing the entire time. You barely noticed. Your awareness has dulled. I shudder to imagine how you’d cope with another ambush. Do you genuinely think you'll be able to recapture Crackle in your current state?"

"Re- capture?" he repeated.

"She broke out the second Tacti surfaced." I spun my monitor around to face him. A blurry image of a purple lightning tree shredding her cell occupied it. "How, I hear you ask? She was hiding new ink."

I zoomed in to a point on her hip, where the beginnings of a tattoo could be seen poking through her jumpsuit waistband.

"Mother's Kiss," Jason realized, fussing his hair furiously. "How did we miss it?"

"It was on her thigh, woven into a larger, more elaborate design. Security never saw it coming. She can now not only manipulate but become electricity. Crackle blew out the western wall, then knocked the prison back to the Stone Age with a simple EMP burst. Thirty-two percent escaped."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" barked Matthius, punching a hole in my wall.

I made a note to contact repairs. "Like I said. We need you, but not this... broken version. The address I'm sending you is to an Italian villa. Catch up on your sleep and work your shit out with the psychiatrist. When I recall you on Tuesday, be ready."

Jason looked ready to argue, then remembered my treatment of his wife and backed down. "Okay."

Jesus Christ. It felt fundamentally wrong to see Jason so defeated. I'd made the right choice.

"Angela, you stay here with me. Fer will replace you in LA. Blacklight and Novax will switch with Nova on Tuesday, where he'll take over the investigation. The Committee is already working the op."

Matthius' eyebrow arched. "Wait, so Dad gets a resort or whatever, and I get... what? Well wishes? A participation sticker?"

"Three nights in your Quebec penthouse. I've made arrangements to have Candy, Snow and Coral there waiting for you."

Matthius' jaw dropped. "How do you know about my..."

"Friends? I write your checks, genius. You think I wouldn’t know where they end up? You'll be in Canada because... exchanges are legal there, and I'm not about to break the law at a time like this. Get whatever you need out of your system, then be back ready to work. With Elise out of the picture, you'll need to put in overtime. A lot of it. Can I depend on you?"

"Yeah." Matthius swallowed. "Wait, so you knew–"

"Yes, Matthius. Same way I know where your stashes are. Now get out. We have work to do."

The Novas exchanged looks, then hurried out. I turned to Blacklight.

"Finish up in LA, then spend a few days with Kait. Sleep the edge of, attend your premiere, then I want you right back on Floodgates. I have an idea of where to look."

"Boss, I'm not going to see Kait. Not at a time like this. We need everyone we can–"

"And we will. But you're hit, too. Just because you're better than Prime at hiding it doesn't mean I can't tell you're not in top shape. Pace yourself. We can't afford any more in-field hiccups. Every move we have to make from here on out needs to be airtight."

Blacklight hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. If anything happens, though, call me. Seriously. I know you ain't calling your folks."

"I don't trust them," I replied frankly. "Save Jason, and even then, it's not so much him as it is his values and mental patterns." I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "Elise, too, but in a... different way."

"Your family is extremely fucked up," Blacklight informed me as he reached the door. "Don't be a silo."

When he was gone, Angela fixed me with a stern look.

"What?" I asked.

"You're a hypocrite."

I was almost too tired to sigh. "Meaning?"

"We both know I don't need to. Going after their mental state when you yourself are in shambles? Your words to Blacklight go both ways."

"I'm fine."

She scoffed. "Is that why you snapped in your hospital room?"

I grounded my teeth. Of course she'd reviewed the footage while I dismissed Elise.

"Everyone wakes up cranky."

"Not you," she pushed. "You made sure of that years ago." Angela reached out to grab my arm, though with confusing timidness. "Tell me honestly."

"Angela..." I started.

"Do you actually think your death benefits us?"

I met her eyes. "Objectively speaking, my death carries the least blowback. Friction between my mother and management plummets. My father and brother resume work as usual, though without added turbulence. You'd have no trouble taking over. Blacklight adapts, the Committee carries on. No one else really is affected. Given the importance of the Nova family, the impact is a net positive."

She shoved Jasper and Lydia’s tablets into my chest so hard, I was knocked off my feet. They clattered to the carpet around me.

"Fuck you, Bernard."

I watched her storm out and slam the door hard enough to send a jagged crack straight down the middle. My own mouth, this time, dropped. Not necessarily because of the attitude. I was used to her bite.

My confusion came from the welling in her eyes. Not once had I seen Angela cry. Certainly not over me. Which then begged the question, why? Had she also been affected in LA? If so, how, and what was the connection to what I'd said?

I rubbed my temples. I've been awake for twenty minutes and am already tired. God dammit.

I rose wearily to my feet, scooping up the fallen electronics.

How the hell am I supposed to deal with all this?