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Chapter XIII - Fresh Wounds

Knowledge was a curse. The old saying that ‘ignorance is bliss’ came to mind as Jacob Reaper entered his private room on the carrier-class starship Cornucopia. The black-furred wolf with golden-blonde hair and sapphire-blue eyes that were nearly as dark as his fur slumped into his bed, partially in exhaustion and partially in exasperation. Draping one arm over his eyes, the athletically built lupine let out an exhausted sigh and blanked out his mind. Only one minute later did he allow his brain to start processing recent events.

Mere hours ago, he was forced to abandon his friends and comrades to attend a meeting with the very gods of this reality. The very same gods who had petitioned him, an interdimensional entity, for help and were now rescinding that offer because they didn’t like the way he was helping. He had been forced to barter away precious time in exchange for security and assurances. He felt dirty. Worse. The weight of having left the superhero team known as Assault to the mercies of the Gene Stealers crushed his heart.

It was some little comfort that Caleb Hale, the Outsider known as Weapons Master, had risen to the occasion and started to shine not only as his own hero but as a leader as well. That brought a smile to his face but it was fleeting. Caleb’s brilliant shining light was minuscule in a field of encroaching darkness; a distant star whose warmth was only barely felt. Wheels were in motion. Cogs speeding to a resolution that Reaper wished he could stop. Inevitability was not something he was used to accepting.

This would be no different.

There were certainties in this reality that were inescapable. But that didn’t mean that the conditions leading up to them were set in stone…

… or what happens afterwards.

That was the thing about the gods of this reality. They only saw the end. Never what came after the last page was turned in a book. That thought alone brought a smile to his muzzle again but this smile was tainted by cynicism.

Reaper’s little temper tantrum on the bridge had served its purpose. The traitor in Assault knew that he now had the ability to peer in the future and all its possibilities. That would mean that they would be forced to accelerate their plans if they were to maintain their usefulness to the Gene Stealers. A handy little bit of deception and one that would ultimately benefit his allies. That would mean these carefully laid out plans would be rushed and prone to mistakes. Doubt would claw at the edges of their mind as they pondered exactly what he knew and what he was allowing to happen.

Good.

But it also meant that he had set into motion the final pieces of the machinations orchestrated by the gods themselves.

“You didn’t have to say that to Caleb, you know.”

L4 the Liaison of Life stood quietly in the corner, her arms crossed. The tall, statuesque, dark-haired human with the amethyst eyes was as stoic and unreadable as ever. In her all-white pants-suit, she struck for a severe figure. Just like Life should be; motherly but harsh, fair but uncompromising. He didn’t rise to greet her and just remained in his bed. There was a temptation to just slip under the sheets and go to sleep, never to wake. It would be so easy. Responsibilities and his own conscience kept him moving, however.

“I know but if I didn’t, things would turn out much more differently.” He swung his arm away from his eyes, staring at the metal ceiling of his personal quarters. It was almost possible to see his weary reflecting in the dark metal. “I could’ve just told Caleb about the traitor. He would’ve been more paranoid about it, his suspicions would break up Assault and he’d be taking a step back in his development. This way, he’s going to try his best to ‘save’ me and it gives our mole one last chance to redeem himself.”

Gwen sighed softly, he feature’s softening. “You could just confront them here and now and give them that chance, you know.”

“It would be meaningless if they repent under coercion. That’s why the Christian God is so pissed at all those people who just ‘recognise Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour’ at their deathbed and get into Heaven. They didn’t live a life of devotion and just called it at the end.”

She paused for a moment, holding her breath, before offering a grim nod. “You’re right, of course. This path will hurt. A lot. But I suppose there is a 60% chance that he will decide to admit his faults and willingly aid us. Still, that leaves a 40% chance that he won’t and it will lead to something worse.”

“No matter how much you stack the deck, people will always surprise you.” Only then did Jacob rise from the bed, sitting on the edge with his paws gripping the mattress. “We’ll need to prepare either way. From this point on, our job gets much harder.”

Gwen stepped forward, finally unfolding her arms and revealing a flask. She offered it to him.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“A drink from your favourite bar.”

One eyebrow cocked, Jacob pulled open the cap and took a swing. His eyes brightened. “Huh… the Writer’s Prerogative. Fantastic as always.”

She gave him a wry smile and turned to leave. “Your favourite bartender thought you’d need a little pick-me-up.”

“He wasn’t wrong,” Jacob chuckled, regarding the flask wistfully. “He definitely wasn’t wrong.”

He ran his thumb over the engraved name on the side of the silver flask

Four letters that spelled out…

‘Hale’.

******

The return to West California Island was met with little fanfare except for close family and friends. Naturally, the members of Arsenal that had been infected were kept on the Cornucopia for further observation but based on what the doctors said, after their experiences with Tibia, the heroes were adapting to the changes despite the mental torture the Gimp had put them through. No one recovered faster than Madman who was already training with his new powers and practising shifting from one form to the other. Apparently, Migraine’s mutations had helped harden their psyches.

As for Assault, Caleb returned home to the relieved hugs of Abby and Lillian. The Hale clan was reunited once again and David was out boasting about how he had conquered his lycanthropy. Given that it was only mid-afternoon, there was no point returning to school. AEGIS had already begun disseminating the stories that Lars had been caught up in the Gimp’s attack - as a civilian - and the rest of his close friends had taken the weekend and Monday to see that he was well enough to return to school. They would all be back the following day barring any unexpected circumstances.

Jacob, however, had remained distant the entire trip back to the Island and Caleb didn’t want to push him for information given the recent revelation. A nightmare scenario played before his mind; one where Jacob Reaper, his best friend and confidant, would be the one to betray him at the behest of the gods. It never occurred to him that all three people that would cause him heartbreak, betrayal and death could be the same person. If Jacob betrayed him, that would certainly constitute as heartbreak especially if he was forced to kill his best friend. That sounded like something the conniving deities of this world would cook up.

When his alarm clock rang, Caleb lay on his bed, unsure if he had actually gotten any sleep. The myriad of thoughts swirling around his head had occupied him throughout the entire evening and he wasn’t sure if he had even eaten dinner. Though he had to admit that the exhaustion of fighting the Gene Stealers in two countries in rapid succession as well as dealing with his dad’s burst of lycanthropy had drained him significantly. In an almost zombie-like state, he went about his normal day; having breakfast, brushing his teeth, getting ready for school, packing his bag and then jumping on Ballistic to head back the familiar highways to West California High School. A cloud hung over his head until he entered math class. In walked Lars McLeod.

A ray of sunshine cut through that cloud, his ears perking up and his tail wagging as his boyfriend sat down next to him in their usual position in the middle of the class.

“How’re you feeling?” he whispered from the corner of his muzzle.

Lars couldn’t meet his gaze and just absently gave him a dismissive way. Understandable. It had been less than 24 hours since David had rescued him from the clutches of the Gene Stealers. Probably still recovering. As a superhero, however, it was part of the job to keep up appearances and avoid suspicion. The important thing was that he was in class. Caleb was also painfully aware that no one in Arsenal had really been ‘cured’ as such. They were just one tantrum away from erupting into any of their alternative forms and potentially causing an epidemic of elephants, rhinos or caribous.

For the moment, Caleb just settled into math class, trying to focus on the complex equations expected of his age and year level. There was, of course, the usual spiel about the future near the end once the exercises were done.

“I know you all came back from your break recently,” said Mrs. Yalewood, a gopher. “But I’d like to remind you that despite any interruptions, what you learn here determines your future. How well you do in next week’s test will have an impact on your GPA and which college you get in to. You’re just three years away from graduating, after all.”

Yalewood was one of those types that subscribed to the theory that once senior year came about, students either switched off or switched on. Those that ‘switched off’ became obsessed with making their last year in high school the best day of their lives since ‘they would never get it back’. This involved parties, socialising and, of course, sex. Those that ‘switched on’ buckled down studied as hard as they could. She ‘cared’ for her students by trying to make sure that they developed the habit of studying and getting good grades early on so that even if they did switch off in their senior year, the hit to their grades wouldn’t be so bad.

“So I don’t care if you were hit by a bus, a supervillain or a football, you need to do well in next week’s test.” She gave both Caleb and Lars a fiery stare. Football players were a favourite target of hers.

Thankfully, the bell rang before she could get into a rant about how too many football players coasted on how much revenue they brought the school. Caleb gathered his belongings and stopped when he noticed that there was an email flashing on his tablet. It was from an external source.

‘Sorry I’ve been distant. Lots to do. Don’t forget your transfer papers. I took the liberty of filling them out for you… and forging your parents’ signature… and embellishing a few facts… Okay, maybe don’t use this form? Hell, why am I even writing this when I could just as easily not give you the sheet and just tell you to remember the papers? You know what? I’ve gone this far, I might as well go the whole way. - Jacob.’

Still looking out for him even from a distance. Caleb plucked out the form that was wedged into his book, ignoring the obvious question of how Jake got his school email address when the AI working the school’s system should’ve picked up on it. Maybe Elliot had a hand in it. The grades were definitely altered. No way he was that good at biology or history especially with the constant interruptions of the Gene Stealers.

With Yalewood’s reminder of his future, the seed had been planted in his mind on what he should do in the future. The obvious thing to do was to be a superhero full time. Maybe be the poster boy for Outsiders everywhere; living proof that even without baseline superpowers, he could still save people and keep up with the pros. Australia would definitely have his back given their pro-Outsider outlook. Of course that would mean he’d have to have a mild-manner alter-ego. Or perhaps not so mild-mannered. There was that offer to play college in football.

He grabbed his belongings, stuffed the tablet into his satchel bag and made to leave. Lars was already gone.

“He needs his space for now,” he told himself. “I can respect that.”

He didn’t share his next class with his boyfriend so he just sat through the lecture and ran through the exercises while the possibilities of his future continued to bombard his mind like little meteorites coming to crash into his skull whenever he thought it was out of his mind. Halfway through a lecture on more recent history, he just gave up and let his mind wander.

A football player and a superhero would indeed be a very lucrative role. The fame and fortune would certainly satisfy his dad’s need to have a son in the pros. Not to mention there would be enough money to build Arsenal it’s own secret base without the need to keep mooching of AEGIS and the Cornucopia. But deep in his heart did he really want to play football for a living? Did he even want to be a superhero? Was he just pursuing this path because it’d make his dad proud? Because it seemed logical that after fighting the Gene Stealers, he’d take that next step and represent Outsiders in a world of professional supers?

No. Not really. It was the next logical step but it wasn’t what he really wanted.

Perhaps he should just let Lars be the super and he’d be like his mom, the stay-at-home dad taking care of the kids? Could he be like Ashton, constantly waiting by the door, watching the news and hoping that his husband would get home safely after a particularly dangerous fighter?

No. He could never just sit back and do nothing when he knew he could do something.

Where did that leave him? Tugged in various directions by all these different paths, he couldn’t find a balance between what he wanted and what would be good for him.

“Aaaargh!” he groaned. All too late, he realised that he had moaned out loud and caused the entire class to stare at him.

“I know World War 3 was a while back, Mr. Hale,” said his teacher, “but do try to keep up.”

“Sorry, sir,” he mumbled, ducking his head in embarrassment.

Lunch break couldn’t come fast enough. Caleb went to his locker to pick up his packed lunch only to realise halfway there that he had been in such a daze that morning that he had completely forgotten to pack himself something. Hoping against hope, he went to his locker and pulled it open, hoping for an apple or even a power bar. To his surprise, there was a little plastic layered box there with a blue sticky note sitting on top of it.

“This is called a ‘bento box’. It’s origins are from Japan. Enjoy. - Jacob.”

He was a little frightened and amazed at the level of foresight Jacob had now that he had part of his powers back. The ability to see into all possibilities likely outstripped even Martha Connors’ premonitions. Thinking about the Connors matriarch brought to mind the prophecy, however, and his mood soured. Was Jacob just trying to butter him up after revealing that he could very well betray him? No. If Jacob was half the wolf he knew him to be, he would come right out and apologise. Something told him that his friend was telling him something about the prophecy and it wasn’t that Reaper was the prime candidate to take all three spots. He picked up the bento box and examined it with a sniff. It smelled quite nice and was still warm.

But this was was a message. This alongside the message with the transfer papers.

Normally, he would go to Jacob’s apartment for lunch. By giving him this box, Jacob was saying something loud and clear: do not come here.

Just like Lars, Caleb was going to respect his friend’s privacy.

Pushing the thought aside for the moment, he hurried to the usual table where the gang was gathered. It felt nice that everything was back to normalcy - or at least a degree of it. There was am aura of surrealism. After being kidnapped, taken halfway across the world and then mentally and genetically raped, his friends were sitting at the table chatting it up like nothing had ever happened. Caleb’s tail was wagging happily as he padded over with his lunch. He sat down in his usual spot opposite Lars, beside Mary and Ben.

“What’s that?” Alex asked, having joined them. “We’re not going to Jake’s apartment today?”

“This is actually from him,” Caleb said, pulling open the top lid. There were some lightly battered vegetables and prawns in the top section. When he pulled it away from the box, he was greeted by the sight of some teriyaki-style sliced of beef, perfectly cooked to a medium rare. The last compartment at the bottom was filled with seasoned rice. “He called it a ‘bento box’.”

“Ah,” Ben said haughtily, twirling a fork between his fingers. “A typical lunch for Japanese both old and young. The esteemed Lord Reaper is a man of culture.”

“Lord, now?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Since when did you start using honorifics when referring to Jake?”

“Since he could force two full-fledged supers to their knees with just a couple of words.”

Rhiannon, who was chomping on what looked like a large, fried ball of… something green spoke up. “That is why he is the Writer of Reality. He can literally rewrite the laws of all existence to whatever he wants. From what I’ve been told, he has some mild reality-bending abilities at his disposal, his chain wings, his sight and the ability to claim a domain.”

“A domain?”

“Basically he gets to call a small section in this world as his home. He can do anything within it. Imagine if every god has their own pocket dimension. Reaper now has that.”

Caleb frowned while lifting what appeared to be a fried green bean towards his muzzle. “He must’ve given up something pretty damn big to get all that back.”

“The gods won’t tell me what exactly but from what I gather, he’s now on a time limit. He has to be gone from this reality, from our lives, after certain conditions are met.”

Mary was suddenly at her feet. “That’s unfair! What right do the gods have to tell someone who has been nothing but helpful to us just up and leave like that!”

Rhiannon gave her a tired look. “Don’t try to pretend to know the gods, cutie. You’ll break that pretty blonde brain of yours.” She waved a paw absently through the air. “Reaper is an anathema to the very order of this world. If one plus one equals two, Reaper’s presence offers the possibility of turning that two into something else. He just has to feel like it and you’ve seen how chaotic he can be.” She set down what she was eating which apparently appeared to be a deep friend toffee apple. “You may not like it but our very universe is based on a set of laws that the gods established. If someone were to break those laws for whatever reason even if it’s to save one of us, it could be disastrous.”

“How, exactly?” Mary demanded. “How would breaking a commandment of the gods be so bad?”

Rhiannon gave her a smug smile. “You mean like the one your mother has in place to keep you from meeting her?”

Caleb jerked back in surprise. There were sparks flying between the two women and he was sorely regretting sitting in between them. He slowly leaned towards Ben. “Uh… mind filling me in?”

Ben gently pulled him aside as Mary and Rhiannon exchanged barbed words. “It’s something the Gimp mentioned while he was trying to put the screws to us. I think Mary really wants to meet her mom but I think the gods are against it for some reason. I think it’s pretty obvious she wants to ask Jake to help in that regard.”

“Why not? I mean Mary has a right to meet her mother right?” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Even if she is a literal goddess who helped found the super-secret paramilitary intelligence organisation we’re working with…”

He got a dismissive shrug from Ben. “Don’t ask me about the specifics. As far as the gods are concerned, we werewolves are apparently sinful abominations akin to demons. All I know is that Mary is forbidden by divine decree to meet her mother. Rhia throws up random reasons.”

“Like what?”

His bespectacled friend leaned against the chair, crossed his arms behind his head and glanced away from where the two women were arguing. “Like for instance that the only way Mary would ever get to meet her mother right now is if she were to literally tear down the gates of heaven and unleash hell. There’s some form of Greek Tragedy in there where in their hubris, the gods themselves created the very same environment and situation which would cause the very downfall they were trying to prevent. And her mother is Greek, after all.”

“I’ll give her that…” Caleb admitted. “But what other reason could she give to deny a daughter from knowing her mother?”

Ben gave him a pointed stare. “I dunno. Is your drive to meet your birth parents strong enough to back up that question?”

It was a quandary that he hadn’t really thought about because despite being adopted by the Hales, he considered himself a Hale in all but blood. “Honestly, I don’t really care. My parents abandoned me right out of the womb in an alleyway. My dad picked me up while I was still dripping with afterbirth. As far as I’m concerned, I’m a Hale.” He glanced over to Mary who was now wielding a fork. “My situation isn’t the same as Mary’s.”

His friend gave him a little wince. “You say that now but I’m willing to wager that the moment that little carrot is dangled in front of your face, you’re going to pounce on it. I’ve seen it all too often.”

There was some… weight behind those words; more than just the obvious jab at the many heroes that Ben had likely encountered in his years as a supervillain. Caleb was about to press for more when there was a loud, metallic clang from the table. Rhiannon had slammed a fork into the table as a challenge and both her and Mary were staring daggers at one another. Again, he was about to intervene when he noticed that Lars was sitting in just the right way that he was framed by the two combatants. It was impossible not to notice the dour expression of the doberman and how he was completely ignoring what was happening around him.

The more he looked upon the scene, the more he realised that this was not the normal lunch room group that he had grown to know and love. Ben was being oddly pensive. Mary was unusually combative while Rhiannon, though as antagonistic as she always was, held a serious note to each of her jabs. Then there was Lars who was as strangely non-committal. But this was all fresh off the back of their fight with the Gene Stealers. They barely had a day to recover. Each of them needed to vent and they needed their space.

“You know what?” Caleb said suddenly, rising to his feet. “Enough of this bullshit.” He reached out and seized Ben by the scruff and yanked him off his feet. “You first.”

“Wait. What?” demanded the werewolf before being dragged out of the lunch room by the bigger wolf and out into the courtyard where there were far less people. The snow was at last starting to melt and the temperatures were starting to rise. The weather control rings had finally been put on their ‘cool down period’ and they were slowly easing the Island back to its normal weather around this time of year. Spring was in the air. He dumped Ben in some slush and folded him arms even as Ben gave him a heated stare.

“Okay, this better be good,” growled the werewolf, his eyes flashing red. “Because I like you, Caleb, but trust me, there is nothing stopping me from splitting you in half.”

“With your dick, right?” he answered snarkily. “Yeah, I don’t care Ben. Something back there messed you up. I can tell.”

Of course, Ben did the cliched thing when denying an accusation; his voice when unusually high pitched. “What? You’re kidding me, right? Did you not see how they had to strap me down to keep me from tearing off their asses? I was in control!”

So that’s what it was about. Caleb’s eyes narrowed at his friend and he let out a snort.

“It’s not about control, is it? It’s about power. The Gimp and the Gene Stealers emasculated you. You were pinned out there on that stage, helpless as the Psychos used your own power against me and all you could do was sit there and watch. I bet you’re even pissing yourself realising that I, an Outsider, saved you. I’m not even a werewolf! I didn’t get any of the power ups any of you went through. But I still saved you. To make matters worse, it was in front of a lot of people. Am I getting warm?”

Ben bared his teeth, the points starting to sharpen into fangs while his eyes maintained that fierce, red glow.

“Let me tell you something, Ben,” Caleb said. “I’m not counting.”

There, Ben’s features softened with shock.

“I came to save you because you’re my friend,” he clarified. “I’m not going to hold it over your head or rub salt in your wounded pride. You needed help and I did what any friend would do in that situation. You may be getting stronger with everything the Gene Stealers are throwing at you but there’s only so far that you can push yourself. If you get in trouble, you can bet I’m going to save you even if you’re a total ass and start being all moody while reminiscing about your past and how cliched you’ve become.”

The bespectacled young man lifted his eyebrows. “You saw that?”

“How could I not? You’ve never talked about your past unless you were boasting about it.” Caleb hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “Back there, you were just talking about how you’ve seen heroes fall when you tempted them with desires they never knew they had. If something wasn’t bothering you, you’d be going on about how you’ve taken down this super or that villain by making them submit to you because you gave them exactly what they wanted.” He inclined his head slightly to the side, one ear folded back. “And that’s probably what the Gimp threw at you, didn’t he? He made you question that shit. What you’ve done in the past.”

Ben let out a soft laugh and covered half his face with a hand. “He hit the nail on the head. It’s my modus operandi to take something away from my prey and then tempt them into submission with something they would really want. Sometimes I don’t even have to get to the first point if I knew them well enough, I could just go right at tempting them.” The relatively young werewolf shoved his hands into the pockets of his big, red parka. “He made me wonder if I was actually inadvertently doing that to you guys. I mean, I joke about it all the time but there’s some part of me that really wants you in my pack.” Ben turned his hand to hug himself tightly. “Though it makes me question if I’m doing it because I want you guys by my side forever as my friends or because I know it’ll just give me more power…”

That was a conundrum. Caleb couldn’t offer any advice even though he knew what he would do in that situation. The temptation was there to pander the stock-standard response of advising his friend that he couldn’t force people to make that choice but he knew that wouldn’t be well received by the werewolf who had decades of experience on him. So he asked himself, ‘What would Jake say or do?’

Caleb reached into his pocket and plucked out a quarter. “Heads or tails,” he said.

“What?” Ben asked.

“Heads, I’m going to give you my wrist and you bite me here and now and turn me into a werewolf. Might end up bonding with my dad over the whole thing. I’ll get the baseline superpowers I always wanted, I get to be a werewolf and you’ll get me on your side forever. Hell, we can even fuck right here and now and melt all this snow if you want. Tails, you shut up about turning us and just deal with the fact that you’ll never get us to be werewolves and accept that we’re going to die well before you.”

His friend shook his head in confusion. “Caleb, I can’t -”

“Call it.” He flipped the coin.

In a panic, Ben exclaimed. “Heads!”

Caleb caught the coin and placed it on the back of his paw. It was heads.

“There you have it,” he said, heart racing. He pulled up his sleeve and offered his meaty forearm to Ben. “The coin has spoken. All yours, Ben.”

Benjamin Connors stared. There was conflict in his eyes. They were darting back and forth from Caleb to the offered arm and then back to the door that lead into the cafeteria. His hand reached out… but he took a step back. “I… I can’t.”

“Would you have accepted the choice had it come up tails?”

Ben grimaced and shook his head. “No! Why should I trust your future and mine to a damn coin?”

“Why should we trust ours at your whim?” countered Caleb, stunning the young werewolf. “Look Ben, it’s clear you have doubts on both outcomes. You think you want it but it’s obvious there are downsides to both. If you still have doubts when faced with that kind of certainty, then it’s clearly not what you want.” He reached out and gently grasped his friend’s shoulder. “What exactly do you want?”

“I don’t know, okay?” Ben snapped, brushing aside his paw. “I want to get stronger. I don’t ever want to feel that weak again. The Gimp tore me down and then the Gene Stealers strapped me to a fucking table while they used my powers to hurt you. I know you’ll keep saving me and that’s the reason I want you by my side forever! You’ve been nothing but a great friend and a loyal ally despite my… past. It’d take another couple of lifetimes before I could find someone like you or Lars or Mary or even Rhiannon! It’s just not fair that I have to keep living while you guys have a time limit like Reaper!” He jabbed a finger at Caleb. “And don’t think I’m willing to kill myself when you guys kick it. I like living too much. No hero’s sentimentality either to make me think I’ll change my position on that because we’re close.

Caleb gave his friend a wry smile. “We can make it work. It’s a weird world out there.”

“How exactly?” Ben sighed. “How exactly am I supposed to make you guys immortal or at least ageless?”

He shrugged, offering a helpless gesture. “I dunno. Maybe Mary gets to see her inheritance to it’s fullest and goes through apotheosis. Maybe Rhiannon and Arcturus decide to retire and Lars and I can take their place as the Hounds of Death and Destruction. Maybe we can work out something with Jake?” He rested both paws on Ben’s shoulders, looking him straight in the eye. “The thing is, Ben, we can’t restrict ourselves to the one or two scenarios. We got to adapt. A lot can change, you know.” He then gave Ben’s cheek a light punch. “And that’s why you’ve got us. Don’t bottle this all up. We might be able to help brainstorm ideas. Who wouldn’t want to live forever, right?”

Ben rolled his eyes, glancing away with a soft smile. “Damn… When did you grow up, Caleb?”

“I think you can blame Jake for that,” Caleb laughed softly. “I’m actually learning how to cook, you know.”

“I’ve heard.” Ben sighed softly and folded his arms. “You’re right. There are ways. I mean, we could go looking for the Philosopher’s Stone, right?”

Caleb rolled his eyes at the joke. “Jerk.” They both shared a soft laugh just as the lunch bell rang. There was no time to address everyone else’s issues yet but at the very least, he had gotten one friend settled for the moment. “You know, I was thinking… Jake was pretty rattled after his meeting with the gods. Maybe we should go over to his place and cook him something. You know, show him we’re here for him too.”

His friend beamed.

“That sounds like a great idea.”

******

Mary must have read Ben’s mind or gotten a sense of what Caleb was up to because she had made a point to avoid him at all costs even in the classes that they shared. During art class, he had tried to ambush her in the dark room but she had skillfully avoided him by making sure that someone else was in the room when she was. When the final bell for the day rang, Caleb was due to head to football field for practice. The football finals were at the end of the week and the entirety of the school was revved up at the thought that they would be able to bring home the trophy especially with their superstar new captain who also happened to be the star receiver.

That was his time to strike.

Since Mary had no after-school obligations, he rushed out of his last class, didn’t even bother to grab his things and immediately found her convertible. He jumped into the passenger seat and waited quietly while playing on his phone and mentally singing O Fortuna over and over again so she couldn’t detect his thoughts.

The loud sigh that came a few minutes later notified him of her approach.

“Before you say anything,” she said, throwing her bag into the back of the car with a huff. “I am not being overly emotional, it’s not my time of the month and I am not venting my frustrations over being captured and tortured by the Gene Stealers on Rhiannon.”

Caleb gave her an easy, casual grin, draping one arm over the back of the seat and turning to her so that she knew he had his undivided attention. “I guess we don’t need this conversation after all, huh?”

Her rosy lips pursed together for a while minute. Then she flicked her blonde hair back and placed a hand against her hip. “If you don’t hurry, you’ll be late for practice. Would make a bad impression since it’d be your first day as captain of the football team.”

“True but you don’t really want that, right?”

Mary shut her cornflower blue eyes and let out a long, defeated sigh. “You’ve been hanging around Jacob way too much. Since when did you get good at this?”

“Since I’ve had to grow up without having to rely on you or the others bailing me out.” Caleb offered a helpless shrug. “I guess most of my life you’ve always been my sounding board and moral guide. Admit it, Mary, you’re kind of nosey and bossy. If you feel I’m doing something wrong, you’ll let me know about it. Jake takes a little bit more of a hands-off approach. I have to come to him if I’m having a problem and he generally leads me to the answer instead of telling me what it is right off the bat.”

She sighed and rubbed her temples. “Something else I’d have to get used to… My place in your life is becoming obsolete.”

“Is that why you’re so instant on meeting your mom? You feel like your place in this world is being pushed aside so you not have got to find it?”

“Maybe a little,” she admitted, averting her gaze. “But the main reason is the question of what the hell is my mom doing this entire time. She’s the Goddess of Wisdom! Surely she would’ve done something to come to my rescue!”

Caleb made an off-handed gesture. “If you think about it, AEGIS was founded by Athena alongside Jake so in a way…”

“Don’t give me that,” she snapped. “You and I both know that you can’t go around saying that the gods ‘acted through their faithful’ or something like that. If we’ve learned anything from Jacob, it’s that gods are mortals as well. Only difference is that people are more likely to give them credit for things they did themselves.”

“So they’re credit-hogging middle-managers gunning for a promotion?” That got him the faintest twist of a smile from the corner of Mary’s lips. Progress, at least. He patted the driver’s seat beside him and she rolled her eyes, finally conceding to sit down. She pulled up the canopy of her convertible so that they had a bit more privacy. “So come on, Mary. Talk to me. What’s really bugging you?”

For a long moment, all Mary did was sit in the car, her hands on the wheel and knuckles white from exertion. Then she let out a long sigh and lowered her head, pressing her forehead against the wheel in a sign of defeat. “I just don’t know, Caleb. I’ve lived most of my life without my mother. I never thought I’d even need her but now that she’s so close, I can’t help but feel that she should at least be trying to reach out to me. I keep questioning whether or not she even loves me or cares about me if she’s letting all these terrible things happen to me.”

“You know the gods can’t see what happens to you now that you’ve been… uh…” He stalled seeing the sharp stare she gave him. “… enhanced.”

“Nice save,” she muttered with a faint smile. “And I know. But then I can’t help but wonder if that’s the case, why didn’t they detect the moment I stopped being visible to them? Could’ve they have seen me dropping off the radar in the future and then make steps to prevent that? How is it that an interdimensional wolf has done more for me than my own mother!?” She lifted her head, making claws with her hands and throwing a frustrated gaze into the sky. “Seriously. Jacob organised a whole strike team to come and rescue us! You all risked your lives for me! You went to Madagascar and fought against elite troops, braved the Gimp’s traps and waged war in the streets of Canada! What has my mother done for me!?”

He let her cool off for a minute, at least until she lowered her hands and levelled her gaze. “Why does it really matter? You’ve gone this far without her help. Why look for it now?”

“Probably because of the same reason that you could argue that she was ‘helping’ through you and AEGIS. Jacob is only allowed to be here because they let him. I’m just betting that if I ask where she’s been my whole life, she’ll claim the same thing Rhiannon did. Jacob is a menace to the very order of our universe and she was risking a lot letting him stick around.” Her tone turned mocking. “How much more could she have helped if she was already putting our whole reality at risk?”

“And you’re willing to break the whole of existence to find out what she has to say?”

“Wouldn’t that be ironic?” Mary spat. “Going to all the ends of the earth, literally breaking apart everything that holds the world together just to get my answer only for it to mean nothing because we’ll all die by the time I get it. I can just imagine her looking at me sorrowfully and asking me if it was all worth it. What I had to give up for my answer and I’d have to answer with ‘everything’.”

Caleb dropped his gaze and slowly reached for her, gripping her shoulder tightly. “Look, Mary. There’s a lot about the universe we don’t know about. Hell, there’s even more outside the universe that we don’t know. I’ve honestly been asking myself what I want to do with my life. Not just after graduation but after the Gene Stealers.”

“That’s easy.” She crossed her arms and glanced away. “You’re going to be a hero. You already are with this confrontation.” A grimace touched her lips. “I’m sorry I’m making this so difficult. I want to just let it go and get back to fighting the Gene Stealers but I just can’t.”

“I know, Mary. I know. Wherever I go, that damn prophecy is still haunting me. You know what Jake told me recently?”

Mary glanced at him, her mental probed searching his mind. “Oh Caleb…” she whispered, voice dripping with pity. “You don’t really think he’d be the one to trigger all three parts of the prophecy, do you?”

“Actually, I do.” He gave her a soft smile. “Don’t you think Jake is the kind of person to mess with destiny just to soften the blow? I mean, wouldn’t it just be in his nature to make himself the super-big-bad that forced both us and the Gene Stealers to work together? What’s more terrifying that genetic mutations than the total and complete destruction of reality as we know it?”

Her eyes fell, at dark smile on her features. “I will admit that I’ve probed Rhiannon’s mind every now and then. One of the things she fears the most is the No Ones deciding that our world is unfit to exist. Apparently, if all of them reach a consensus, they have the power to obliterate a reality in its entirety. One of them is powerful enough to do it but they have to all decide as one so that it’s fair.” She let out a bitter chuckle. “Imagine our Hound of Destruction actually afraid of being destroyed?” Then Mary shook her head. “I agree that it’s a possibility and I’m pretty sure the thought has crossed his mind but I don’t think he’ll do that unless it’s the absolute last resort.”

Those words were a comfort to him at least but he decided not to mention Jacob’s other point; that more than one person could trigger two or more of the criteria of the prophecy. He was focusing on her problems. “Maybe but my point is that I’ve been wondering where my place is in this world outside the Gene Stealers.” He pressed a paw against his chest. “I honestly don’t want to be defined by them for the rest of my life. If you think about it, Weapons Master could be like a ‘child actor’. Peaked way too early, didn’t learn responsibility and then became defined by that one role too early while they still have the rest of their life to deal with all the bullshit.”

Mary laughed brightly; the first true laugh that she gave in the entire conversation. “I guess that’s something you don’t really see with all these teenage superhero tropes, huh? What happens when they grow up? You don’t just retire from that.”

“Exactly. So do you want to know what’s at the forefront of my mind?”

She gave him that look that she was reading his mind again. Then her eyes widened in surprise. “Caleb! No!”

He laughed and gently shook her. “It’s just an idle fantasy. I mean, we’ll end up in Jake’s care in the end, right? Why not start planning for the eventuality.”

“So you want to leave us and go universe-hopping!?”

“Jake’s weapons are his ‘Advocates’; they’re people he’s made connections with that keep adventuring with him. Now that I know there’s more out there than our multiverse, I can’t help but want to see it. I mean, I’m just turning nineteen and I’ve only just gotten off the island and seen Africa, India and recently Canada. We live in a world where that sort of travel would take an instant and cost less than fifty bucks but I’ve never been outside of West California Island until this year! There’s still so much of the world I want to see. So much more of life I want to see.”

“What about Lars? What about us?”

Caleb gave her a gentle smile. “We’ll always be the best of friends, Mary. Who says you can’t come with me? I mean, wouldn’t it just be a giant ‘fuck you’ to your mom if you go around jumping from universe to universe and end up even more powerful than her? Hell, I’ve heard Jake has this tendency to ‘hand people their own stories’ and they become their own gods or something. Own their own realities.”

Mary’s eyebrows lifted and a spark of hope - and maybe spite - entered those blue eyes. “You know… that’s actually a very good point. Why should I just stand here and take my mother’s silence? Why shouldn’t I just do my best here, earn Jacob’s respect and then become my own Goddess? Maybe once that happens and I have the full power of a Creator behind me, I can talk to her face to face. I mean, she isn’t even a creator goddess. She’s just the Goddess of Wisdom and War on a pantheon that’s only remembered in pop culture! She didn’t create a whole universe but I can once I get there! She’s stuck here but I’m not!”

Not exactly what he had in mind but he was glad to see the fire in her returning.

“Sure,” he laughed softly. “I guess that’s a different way of taking it.”

“You said it yourself,” Mary said. “We’ll fall under Jacob’s jurisdiction upon death. We can either keep adventuring like what you want to do, settle down like I’m sure Lars would want to do or make our own reality. I’m going for the third option.”

Of course she had to squeeze in Lars’ motivations in there to manipulate him.

“Glad to have you back, Mary,” he snickered.

She smiled warmly at him, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and holding him tightly. “Thank you for bringing me back.” Then she gave him back a sharp slap. “Now get going. You’ll be late for practice. And Lars.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Rolling his eyes, he pushed open the door and set one foot out. He flicked an ear back in her direction. “Oh and maybe have a nice, romantic dinner with Ashton. Show him that you appreciate him. He worries about you, you know.”

With that, Caleb left their conversation and jogged all the way to the football field and their locker rooms. The team was just getting dressed while hid dad was already there barking orders.

“Where have you been, Caleb?” snapped David. “Hurry up and get dressed! It’s your first day as captain and we’ve got the playoffs against Bridgewood next week! We’ve got a lot of ground to cover! Move it!”

The playoffs. After what seemed like an eternity, the rivalry between West California High and Bridgewood was coming to a head at the finals of the season. Caleb was eager to face off against Ballard again but he was now more than just the star receiver. He was the captain now. Giving his dad a salute, he quickly got changed, noting that Lars was significantly more subdued than his normal boisterous, aggressive self. Then again, this was the first time he was facing the team as the ex-captain. Again, there was that nagging sensation not to intervene; to just let his boyfriend simmer for a little before saying something.

His track record, however, was quite good. Thus far, he had managed to inject hope into Ben and Mary. Maybe he could go for a hat-trick.

He hopped over to the doberman who was just slipping on his football armour.

“Hey.”

Lars glanced at him briefly before looking away. “Hey.”

“I know this isn’t really fair,” he confessed. “I mean, circumstances aside, they really should have said something before electing me to be captain but I just thought we should put aside all the posturing, all the ego and do what’s right for the team and -”

Lars spun around to face him, making a slicing motion through the air. “I’m gonna stop you right there, Caleb.” The intensity in his eyes quickly shot down Caleb’s hopes. “I’m not mad that I got kicked out as captain. To be honest, it’s not what I really wanted. Hell, I never wanted to play football in the first place. It’s just something my parents made me do to… help me.”

Caleb could only guess that it was a means for Lars to practice control with his powers. As a super, the muscular doberman was much stronger than the average fur and playing football would help him practice keeping that strength under control. David often regaled them about how his days playing football did the same for him. It taught self-awareness. You had to know when you were showing off too much and when to take a hit.

“Okay. Then what’s wrong, man? I’m your boyfriend, you can tell me.”

Lars smalled his locker shut. “No… I don’t think you can. Just drop it, okay Caleb? Like I said, I’m not mad at you being captain. I’m going to follow your orders, your plays. No question. You’ve got me on your side. Always do. This is just… something I need to work out myself.”

He snatched Lars’ paw and before his boyfriend could yank away, he said, “Jake’s apartment. Tonight. Eight o’clock.”

“I’m not in the mood.”

“Not that. Call it couple’s counselling. Just be there, okay?”

It took a second but Lars finally let out a deep sigh and gave him one short nod.

Not exactly a win but more like… a deferment. Caleb was determined to get through to his boyfriend.

The team was more than eager for Caleb to take the reigns as captain. The weakness of the Raptors, however, was their lack of adaptability. All the plays and adaptations were called by Caleb and the coaches. Everyone else had a tendency to do as their told even if what they were told was an unexpected move from the opposition. This was especially evidence with their defence team who acted more like a wall than a moving, cohesive unit. He couldn’t be on both sides of the line during the entirety of the game; that would just exhaust him. What he needed was a co-captain on the defence that could think as fast and be as adaptive as him. Tempted as he was to assign Lars there, it would show favouritism and his boyfriend had always been a quarterback; there was no training him out of that in less than a week.

Here was only one logical solution.

“Hey Gerard,” he announced, clapping the big moose on the back. “Gather the defence team. I wanna pitch you against the offense for a bit.”

“Got plans there, Halestorm?” said the moose with a big grin.

“I do.” He wrapped his arm around Gerard’s broad shoulders - so wide that he almost couldn’t fully reach over to the other shoulder. “I need you to be as adaptable as the offense. You’ve seen how I play but I can only make those calls when I’m out in the field, knowing my opponents. I can’t be in both lines the entire game so I need you to be my eyes and ears.”

Wiping away some sweat, the moose nodded at him grimly. “Alright. See if you can get past us!”

Normally, the starter teams went up against the reserve teams in two separate parts of the field. Rarely did they ever pitch themselves against one another. David nor Coach Davis opposed the notion when both starters squared off against one another at the middle of the field while the reserve teams cared for their bruises and got some rest. Caleb gathered the offense while Gerard did the same.

“Okay guys,” he said, “we’re gonna play the Three-Point Attack. Gerard is going to try and get the defence to be a bit more adaptive than they already are. The point here will be get them to be a bit more flexible and at the same time get to know their movements.”

“What for?” asked one his teammates. “With utter respect, captain.”

Caleb grinned. “Because we’re gonna put practice into play. I know Bridgewood will be ready for us. But I want us all to be able to play either sides of the line at the drop of the hat. Not just the whole team either. I wanna be able to trade players with Gerard with ease.”

It was risky but he knew that the Leviathans would have probably heard about his position hopping and likely will be scrambling to find some way to counter it. However, if the entire team was swapping positions and there was no guarantee where they were going to be or who was going to swap, whatever countermeasures they would put into place would be a little less effective. All things considered, he was applying the strengths of his superpower as Weapons Master into football. In the back of his mind, he realised it was about time he allowed some part of Arsenal to bleed into his civilian life.

“Don’t you think that’s kinda bad?” offered the same teammate. “Shouldn’t we be focusing on our strengths and not wasting time on this kind of shit.”

“Hey,” Lars barked sharply. “You heard the captain. You’re a fucking start, Fred. If you wanna play in the pros, you’ve got to be adaptive. You’re a player not just a fucking offensive lineman.”

Caleb smiled at his boyfriend and offered him a sound nod. “Alright. Let’s go!”

The Three-Point Attack was a play he had concocted after their last game. As soon as whistle blew, Lars ran with the ball instead of throwing it to Caleb. It was then that one of the other offensive linemen broke away from the scrimmage. Lars then threw him the ball. Gerard’s team realised what was happening and immediately focused their attention on Caleb who would be the last person in the ‘Three Points’ and would predictably rush towards the end zone. Predictably, the ball found its way in Caleb’s paws and there was a huge wall of muscle bearing down on him. Caleb grinned as he charged down the wall with Gerard heading the charge. Just before he crashed into the moose, he leapt into the air and spun around. A quick scan of the field and he noticed where Keith was positioned - nice and open. He immediately tossed the ball while crashing into Gerard. The stunned defence could only watch as Keith snatched the ball from the air even though he was behind Caleb and began bolting for the end zone.

Gerard sighed in defeat as he realised there was no way for him or the defence to catch up to the groundhog. “You know, the number of times you keep using me like this makes me think I should start charging you.”

He snickered and slapped Gerard’s cheek lightly. “Come on, man. You know you can do it. We need a star on the defence too.”

They ran through a few more plays, honing the various manoeuvres that he had planned while at the same time skilling up Gerard’s defence to be much more adaptive. Halfway through practice, Caleb had a few teammates swap sides. That threw his plays into disarray and turned the few minutes into a more chaotic affair. But by the end of practice, the team was becoming more cohesive. There was less of a distinction between offense and defence and both sides were starting to get a feel of what it meant to just be the Raptors.

He mildly toyed with the idea of combining Arsenal and Assault and resolved that he’d make that decision depending on how well they did against Bridgewood come Friday.

For now, he had the rest of the team to check on before meeting up with Lars again.

He declined the ride from his dad and took Ballistic to the suburb which he affectionately called ‘AEGIS Central’. There - outside of prying eyes - he triggered his bike’s hover move and excitedly zoomed all the way past the skyline and into the air. The wind in his fur was exhilarating. That familiar feeling of soaring high into the air at top speeds filled him. Weightless, wind whipping and with his jacket flapping, he felt like he was spreading his wings for the first time. He reached for his helmet, tearing it off and letting the crisp air blow through his hair. He released his other paw from the throttle of Ballistic and the hover bike remained several hundred feet in the air, just leaving him soaring there with his arms spread out like he was embracing the world.

A glance down made him realise just how big West California Island was but at the same time and how small he was. Then he caught sight of the Californian coastline and realised just how small the Island was compared to the rest of the world.

“There’s always something bigger, huh?” he mulled to himself. “If it’s not the USA, it’s the world. If not the planet, it’s the solar system, the galaxy, the universe and then the multiverse around that.” To no one in particular, he asked, “Am I being selfish to want to see it all?”

He would ask Jacob if there were any people he knew who wanted to visit all the world but his friend was being evasive. Unwilling to let such dark thoughts bring down his mood, Caleb gave a quick call to AEGIS to let him know where the Cornucopia was so he could dock. After the coordinates were made known, he flew towards the hovering, cloaked starship, slipping through the open hanger and parking Ballistic. It was strange having AEGIS members giving him a salute as he passed them but he returned it nonetheless and headed towards the bridge.

Nathan Rage was there as always, seemingly running through some reports with Bren.

“Caleb, this is a surprise,” Rage said. “Something on your mind?”

“Just wanted to check up on everyone, that’s all,” he responded. “I mean, it hasn’t been that long since we rescued them and Ben, Mary and Lars were acting a little weird today at school so I wanted to make sure everyone here is doing okay as well.”

“Rhiannon has been somewhat more pensive than usual,” Bren responded. “Her jabs and jokes are laden with a deep-seated pain and cynicism.”

“She was being really antagonistic towards Mary today. Went on about how Jake is like an ‘anathema’ to our reality or something.” Caleb fixed his gaze upon Bren. “But how are you doing, Bren? You were there right beside everyone else. Must’ve been tough.”

“I’ve been trained to endure even the most gruesome mental torture,” answered the feline superspy flatly. “They had to place a neural device on me to make sure I didn’t break out of their control.” He tapped the side of his head. “They basically had to trick me into thinking that I was fighting them in order to fight for them.”

“I heard about that from Leon. Maybe you two would make a great team. I mean, his whole power is going around undetected. Could have the makings of a superspy himself.”

“A sniper, maybe, but not a spy. Your eldest brother is capable enough but I think he’s still a little rough around the edges.” Bren lifted a finger. “Contrary to modern interpretations, spies are not front line fighters nor are they the stars of the show. They are supporting characters; the ones that gather the information and get out. They leave the decision making to someone else. Those that go off and do their own thing like in the movies are more like assassins than spies.”

Could Leon be more geared towards being an assassin than a spy? It certainly fit him given how often Leon disappeared during a mission.

“Good to know. But still, couldn’t have been easy. I mean, it wasn’t even a week before the Gimp hit you and then shipped you off to Migraine. From what I hear, whatever the Gimp put you guys through was tough.”

“It was not pleasurable,” answered Bren, clearly hoping for an end to the conversation.

Caleb wasn’t sure how to press the issue without sounding like a brat. Thankfully, Nathan Rage picked up on the queue.

“Why don’t you and Weapons Master do some catching up?” asked the Director of AEGIS. “Gives me time to go over these reports.”

“Very well,” Bren answered gruffly. “I see you want to talk, Caleb. Let’s go somewhere more private.”

Tail wagging and giving Rage a brief nod, he followed Bren out of the bridge. They strode down the hallway and boarded one of the lifts which took them to the very top of the ship. There, protected by a panoramic glass dome, they stood on the Sky Deck. AEGIS troops rarely had time to be pensive and enjoy the 360-degree view of the skies so they were completely alone. Aside from a few chairs and some plants that seemed to have been added as an afterthought, there was nothing on the deck.

“I will let you know now that nothing the Gimp said or mentioned ‘got to me’,” Bren said abruptly. “I am a professional and in my lifetime, I have been accosted by villains who had tried to play mind games on me multiple times. Seriously, I have died more times than I can count. If I do not fear death, I don’t fear anything.”

Caleb took a second to consider those words.

“So you’re afraid of living then?”

That gave Bren pause but after a minute, he admitted, “Yes.”

“I guess since you’re kicked out of the FBI and the fact you’re officially affiliated with Arsenal means that your options are limited. Just like you said, you’ve been a superspy all your life but unlike the rest of us, you don’t have a civilian life or a day job. Even Rhia is the Hound of Destruction and Madman has a huge following. He could be a professional super. When this is all over, you’ve got to ask where you’ll go. The government probably won’t let you rest. Thought about joining AEGIS?”

“AEGIS’s time is limited.”

Caleb frowned at that. “What makes you say that?”

Bren sighed softly and turned towards Caleb. “There are signs, Caleb. Think about it, it’s entire existence is based on the whim of the gods, of Athena, who has Mary as her daughter. Not only that, but those very same gods are openly opposed to the person who helped found AEGIS. The moment Jacob is gone, you can bet all the pantheons are going to do what they can to disband AEGIS. Nothing is more dangerous than a group of dissidents who are together. If they’re scattered, yes their damage could be more wide-spread but against the omnipotent, omniscient gods? I doubt that’d be an issue. Especially given that they know all about the flaws of the supposedly perfect deities and a way to drop off their radar.”

“What’s that?”

The tiger superspy gave him a dead-pan stare. “Get infected by a Gene Stealer strain.”

Caleb reeled at the thought. “You’re not seriously thinking they’d go that far, do you?”

“It’s the next logical step, Caleb.” Bren began pacing, something he had never seen the feline in the pressed suit do even when in the most tense of situations. “They know the gods will do anything to destroy them when this is all over. It’s either AEGIS proves itself constantly worthy of the gods’ patronage or they do something to make sure they are invisible to the gods and cannot be hunted down. All this…” He gestured with a paw at the dome around them. “… you can’t just forget it and you can bet history won’t either. It’s a permanent black stain on the names of the deities of this world and you can bet they will do anything to erase it.”

Caleb folded his arms forlornly. “I guess that makes sense… I mean, even in death they’ll get thrown to the gods that spite them. The only way they’ll ever escape is if they get infected and when they die, their souls go to Jacob and the No Ones.”

“Exactly. AEGIS is doomed.” Bren sighed, his gaze falling. “And I cannot help but find myself in a similar situation.”

Bren, like AEGIS, was a very specialised individual. His entire existence was built around a governing body that had, until just recently, abandoned him. Now that Vernon Washington was openly attacking Arsenal, Caleb realised the precarious situation his ever-spawning friend was in. While the FBI and military were still separate entities, they both fell under the US government. It would be a simple matter for Washington to pull a few strings, get Bren registered as a traitor or maybe even a rogue asset and then have people assassinate him. Then when AEGIS went, there was nowhere for him to go. Unlike the rest of AEGIS, however, he had multiple lives and would not so easily fall into the No One’s welcoming arms.

“Something tells me you’re not the kind of guy to just sit around and wait for the end to come,” Caleb surmised. “The comfort of an afterlife isn’t doesn’t mean you’ll just spend the rest of your life waiting it out until the clock runs out.”

“Doesn’t help that my clock doesn’t quite run the same as everyone else,” Bren chuckled softly. “But yes. While the rest of AEGIS may take comfort in some degree of guaranteed salvation should they decide to infect themselves, I’m not so willing to sit around and do nothing. Admittedly, they haven’t decided to infect themselves to get into the No Ones’ good graces. That’s why they’re still taking a non-combatant approach. Don’t want to risky dying when it isn’t guaranteed.”

“So what do you hope to do then?”

Bren threw his paws up into the air in frustration, the first sign of any emotion he had ever shown even with his ever-present sunglasses blocking his eyes. “I don’t know! Apart from the fact that I can die and potentially spawn a rampaging mutant, there really isn’t much in terms of what I can offer the world. I’m more of a liability than anything else. My greatest strength, Caleb, was my ability to continuously respawn; to keep coming back, having learned from my experience and to keep fighting. But now, the moment I die, there’s a chance that my body will regenerate, transform into one of the three” - he held up three fingers - “Gene Stealers that I’ve been subjected to and go on a rampage!” The tiger let his arms slump in frustration. “For my entire existence, I have never had to deal with the consequences of my death. Dying was literally never an issue and quite frankly, I’m still not afraid of dying. I would honestly be happier if someone put a bullet through my head and that was it. I died. I don’t care for the afterlife or whether or not my souls get claimed by Shin-Lazar or Jacob. What I care about is what happens to my body.”

“Because it could go crazy…” Caleb sighed. “Damn…”

That was not an easy problem to solve. His friend and former handler was very much correct. What had once been his greatest asset had now turned into his biggest liability. Bren’s death could cause even more chaos out in the battlefield. What could he possibly say or do that could help alleviate that stress? Caleb shut his eyes… and looked past Bren’s words. This wasn’t really an issue of his combat abilities. Considering more than what he just said about his respawning… this was an issue about his usefulness.

“How do you want to be remembered, Bren?”

The question caught his friend off-guard; something that he was doing recently it seemed. “I don’t get your meaning, Caleb.”

“Just that. If you were to die now, no respawning, not thinking about the afterlife, how do you want to be remembered?”

Bren was silent for a long moment, his eyes cast down. “As a spy -”

“I don’t care about how you think you should be remembered. How do you want to be remembered?”

The tiger reached for his sunglasses, pulling them off in a rare display of his bright brown eyes. “As a spy I shouldn’t be remembered. But at the same time, I don’t want to be remembered as the guy that just dies all the time. There has to be more meaning to my life than just cannon fodder and comedic relief.”

“There we go,” Caleb answered with a smile. “Now that we know what you want, maybe we can start working on how you can use that to your advantage.” He shoved his paws into his pockets and began brainstorming. “I mean, maybe we could fit you with one of Jake’s kinetic shields. God knows how much that’s saved our asses. Then there’s the possibility that we could cure you. All things considered, I’ve got the Original in Migraine so I could make a weapon out of some bit of his DNA and use it to restore you back to normal. Hell, you could use the weapon instead of me like Lars uses my Ursa one.” Just the look on Bren’s face told him he was not too keen on either of those ideas. “Or maybe we can find some way to control the beasts that spawn after you die. The Gene Stealers managed to do it, sort of, right?”

There, Bren’s eyes lit up in realisation.

“Wait… they did. They fitted me with an NVR and basically forced me to attack Leon by messing with my senses and making me think I was fighting them.” He crossed his arms, gazing intently at the floor. “A beast will only respawn if the damage to my body is minimal enough that my regeneration will kick in but has also passed the threshold for my consciousness to trigger the Respawn Beacon. If the damage is too great, I’ll still respawn but no beast will emerge. At the same time, if it’s not too much damage, I won’t respawn. So, if we can latch on an NVR, make it as part of the respawn cycle, then that means even if I do respawn and a beast is created, we can still control his actions somewhat. Hell, maybe I can even control it remotely!” He glanced towards Caleb, a rare smile touching his lips. “Caleb, you’re a genius!”

Blushing lightly, Caleb said, “I dunno about that. I was just spit balling ideas.”

“But a good idea is a good idea,” Bren responded, his tail doing loops in the air. “I’m going to run it by Rage and Elliot. This could work!” He practically skipped past Caleb, clapping the young wolf thankfully on the shoulder. “Thanks Caleb. This really made my day.”

Then he was gone, dashing towards the lift and probably back towards the bridge.

Caleb was feeling elated. He may not have gotten to Lars yet but thus far, he had helped three of his friends. This was turning out to be a good day. He could see the appeal of assisting those in need and why Jacob got involved on an emotional level. The payoff was priceless. With a smile, he glanced up at the glass dome, amazed at the beauty of the observation deck. It was criminal that he had never been to this place before. Would make for a great place to relax and be pensive. Maybe he could even convince Rage to bring some gym equipment here so he could work out in private without anyone bursting in on him. AEGIS didn’t seem the type to mill about and watch the clouds go by.

Then he came to a realisation.

This was the first time he had been to this part of the ship.

… and he had no idea of how to get back.

“Son of a…” he muttered, slapping his own forehead.

With only one lift in and out of the dome, he was forced to wait until a minute or so until it returned. He never realised there were so many floors on the Cornucopia before and he was fairly sure the lower levels led to the ship’s bowels. What he wouldn’t do to have one of those handy artificial voices that told him what was on what floor. Taking a wild guess, he pressed a button and waited patiently as the thick, metal doors slid shut and the lift carried him a couple of floors down. The subsequent hallways were unrecognisable. It seemed like he was in some sort of research level as multiple AEGIS members were roaming with white lab coats and clipboards. Logically, he should have asked someone for directions but Caleb found his male pride kicking in at the thought of being exposed as not knowing how to navigate the Cornucopia after months of using it as his base of operations.

To hide the fact that he was utterly lost, Caleb wandered around the floor for about ten minutes, pretended that he had forgotten something by loudly muttering to himself and then turned back around to the elevator. He glanced at the buttons, grimacing as he he didn’t recognise any of them. So he hit them all. He’d have to go to every floor but maybe - just maybe - he’d find a floor he recognised. By the next floor, some AEGIS members entered and they stared at the lit buttons in astonishment.

“Rhia was here,” Caleb supplied with a shrug.

That seemed to be enough for the agents and they just nodded in sympathy.

Much to his relief, the floor after that was one he did recognise; it was the route Bren had taken from the bridge. He bid the agents a good day and gratefully made his way back to the bridge

Nathan Rage was still there, overseeing the operations of AEGIS as a whole.

“How many elevators and floors does this ship have?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head in frustration.

“Depends on which section of the ship you’re talking about,” answered Rage without turning around. “The Cornucopia is almost five hundred metres long and maybe about three-quarters of that wide. We don’t dedicate a whole ‘floor’ in one section for just one function. That’d be a waste of space.”

“I’m starting to realise that.” Caleb quickly glanced at his phone. There was still time before he had to meet up with Lars. “Would you happen to know where Madman or Rhia are?”

Rage glanced over his shoulder, giving Caleb a curious stare with his one good eye. “Doing the rounds, eh?”

“Huh?” he replied, confused.

“I’m sure Reaper would say something about you being the protagonist that does the rounds.” He made a dismissive wave and turned away. “You know. Whenever there’s a lull between main quests, the protagonist always has to go around chatting to his party members to make sure to get their take on their next objectives, progress personal quests and pursue relationships. Happens in every decent RPG.”

“You play video games?”

Rage glanced back at him, brow furrowed. “That’s your take away?” Caleb could only shrug and offer a helpless smirk. “And no, I don’t. I’m just aware of the trends as any leader of an intelligence agency should.”

“But why video games?”

“Because believe it or not, the video game industry offers the most most cutting edge virtual and graphical technology breakthroughs in this world. The NVR was based off a video game company’s desire to pursue virtual reality to the next level. Our simulation rooms is based on another company’s research into make a more physical game. Flight simulations, combat simulations and so many more is based on the game industry’s pursuit for entertainment. In fact, most consoles these days are far more powerful than some supercomputers simply because they have to emulate real life.”

“That doesn’t seem so hard.”

“You would think but where most supercomputers only have to resolve one equation, consoles have to constantly generate and calculate things like the refraction of every single beam of light through water, movement of grass, textures and so much more. You would be surprised how much computing power is put into making an environment look realistic.”

Caleb could only offer a shrug. “I’m going to have to trust you on that.” He pointed back towards the door. “So about Madman and Rhiannon?”

“Madman is down in the training centre. I have no idea where the Hound of Destruction is.”

“Thanks, Nate.”

He turned and jogged back out of the bridge and to the lift he recognised. This one he knew would take him down to the training grounds and it was with much relief that he made a mental note to find some what to map out this whole starship.

Only a minute later, he had arrived at the training grounds. Madman was there by himself, wrapped in the black, leather full-body suit that he could generate and practising a few combat moves against a punching bag. There was confidence in each strike, precision and purpose. A far flung contrast to when he was so dejected after Trojan had drained away his muscles and strength. Caleb entered the broad, high-ceilinged chamber through the sliding door and knocked loudly on the door frame.

Madman same him a beamed. “Hale! Wanna spar?”

Looking at the torn and ripped punching bag, Caleb grimaced and rolled his shoulder. “Not right now, man. I just came back from football practice.”

“Sure, whatever.” The hyena turned back towards the bag and began unleashing a flurry of punches. There was a loud, metallic clanking with each blow and it took him a second to realise that the bag wasn’t filled with sand but some sort of steel ball bearings.

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Nope!” Madman answered with a bright grin. “Every time the Gene Stealers think they’ve got me and mutate me, I get stronger and stronger! The docs say I’m basically as strong as a naturally born super now!”

“And with your adaptive powers, you’d probably retain some of that strength even under anti-super fields, huh?”

“Damn straight!”

Caleb folded his arms and watched Madman unleash on the bag with a ferocity and determination that he had never seen in his teammate before. “So if you could’ve broken out of the Gene Stealer’s grip at any time, why didn’t you go out and rescue the others?”

He had meant the question to be joking in nature but the moment he finished with that final inflection, he realised he must’ve sounded bitter. However, as he quietly mulled over the words in the second before Madman answered, he realised there were genuine feelings behind the question and he couldn’t just let go of them.

“Not like I had control all immediately after they turned me, you know. I still needed to come to grips with my new powers.”

“You sure you weren’t hoping that the Gene Stealers would ship you off to another member of the Legion of Pain, get transformed and get more powers?”

The towering hyena stopped his assault on the bag and turned to him. “Just what’re you accusing me of, Hale?”

Keeping his arms folded - much like his father in times like these - Caleb said, “Look, I don’t know what’s going through your head but I hope you know that a true hero’s value is not in how much power they have or their superpowers but what they do with those powers. I mean, when you think about it, Mary started out just getting an idea of how people felt and she turned that into a way to predict people’s movements while she karate chops them. Hell, my power was unpredictable and yet I still made the best of it. We both kicked your ass.”

“That was then,” Madman growled, cracking his knuckles ominously. “I bet if we were to fight here and now, I’d be kicking your ass.”

“Maybe,” Caleb admitted. “But that doesn’t change the fact that deep down, you were hoping the Gene Stealers would keep thinking you’re just some dumb meathead that they can keep experimenting on while you keep stockpiling that power. Am I right?’

There was a slight wavering in Madman’s smile. “That’s bullshit.”

“Is it really?” he demanded hotly. “Because you basically burst out of that crate all by yourself. It took us hours to fight the Gimp. There were days between when we left India and rescued you. Couldn’t you have busted out and saved everyone else back then!? Couldn’t you have at least found some way of telling us that you were safe!?” Caleb was letting his emotions get the better of him. Good. While his talks with the others were therapeutic for them, he had some angst to vent as well. “Do you know how worried we were about you? All of you? After what the Gimp did…” He winced, fighting back tears. “Fuck, Madman… We travelled halfway across the fucking planet to save you and then we found out you could’ve busted out pretty much any time you wanted!? How do you think that makes us feel!?”

The hyena’s stance eased. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just don’t want to feel useless.”

Caleb instantly regretted his words. Seeing Madman’s folded ears and eyes filled with regret created a pit in his stomach. “Useless? You’re never useless, man. You’re the biggest, strongest guy in all of Arsenal.”

“Muscle doesn’t mean everything. Especially with Trojan around.”

“Is that what this is about?” Caleb approached, waving his paws downward in the direction of the city. “Trojan can go suck my dick for all I care. That asshole used me, remember? Made me turn against all of you. Hell, I’m still scared of using Live Wire in case he’s got some sort of tracking bug on me that’ll make me go berserk the instant I put it on.”

Madman’s ears perked up slightly. “Really? Even after everything Rage and Elliot did to stop that?”

“Hell yeah! You just can’t shake that off. Trust me, we’re all still scared of Trojan and one day, I’m going to make him pay for what he did to me and make me do to all of you.” He reached they humongous hyena and rested a paw on his shoulder. “But we’ve got to get over it, man. We can’t let that one experience, no matter how terrible, define us. If we do, then we’re letting those bastards win.”

The hyena’s eyes immediately fell downward again.

“There’s… more, isn’t there?” Caleb pressed. “It’s not just Trojan?”

Madman shook his head glumly. “Trojan is just one of the shitheads on my hit list.” His eyes locked with Caleb’s. “It’s Gnoll.”

The dots started connecting and Caleb lifted his head in realisation, muzzle opening slightly. “Oh… I see. You want to get more powers and become stronger so you’re not useless all because you feel that Gnoll abandoned you.”

The former steel worker snarled and turned around, throwing a powerful punch at the battered and bruised blue punching bag. “I don’t just feel that he abandoned me. He straight up, fucking abandoned me!” He glanced back over his shoulder. “You remember when we were fighting Minos? When all those huge ink monsters were running around?”

Caleb scratched his right shoulder where he still possessed a tattoo in memory of the Minos episode. “Hard to forget that. Kind of the first time Arsenal really came to the spotlight.”

“Yeah well remember how Gnoll helped us out and he had two fuckers with him? Two other hyenas?”

“I do. I think one had electrical powers and the other had earth?”

“Yeah. They did. I recognised those two. A father-son duo. Bet they fucked too.”

Caleb rolled his eyes to the side for a second, trying not to think about how such a situation could’ve come about… and how it would’ve been. Then he realised exactly what Madman was leading to and the gravity of his realisation brought his gaze back onto the hyena. “You’re asking yourself why Gnoll would have chosen those two instead of you.”

“Not anymore,” Madman grunted, turning his back to Caleb. “That skinny, red-headed bastard made his choice. I’m with Arsenal now. I’m a fucking hero. Reaper and Gwen helped me realise what my true power is and if that dense motherfucker didn’t realise it then, it’s too late now. I’m going to make sure I ‘educate’ him on his mistake.”

The young wolf felt like he should reach out towards Madman but refrained from doing so. “Madman… Lewis…”

“Madman,” insisted the hulking hyena. “Lewis Sanchez is dead.”

“Right… A problem for another day. But Madman, we are never going to abandon you. You’re more than just a member of Arsenal. You’re my friend. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve relied on you in the past. Maybe I’ve actually been taking advantage of you, dismissing you as the ‘muscle’ of the group.” Only then did he reach out and grab Madman’s shoulder. “But I promise, from now on, I’m going to appreciate you more. You’re more than just my teammate.”

Madman’s shoulder sagged sightly as he let out a sigh. “That’s the one thing I like about being on the side of heroes.” He glanced over his shoulder, giving Caleb a smile. “Heroes actually have the ability to grow.” His eyes went off to the distance. “When I think of Gnoll, Minos, Trojan and even these assholes we’re fighting in the Legion of Pain, they’re all so stuck up in their opinions that they’re not adapting. Gnoll thinks he’s the funniest fucker around, Minos killed himself believing in his fucking ideas, Trojan thinks he’s won and hell, Tibia is still ranting about whatever the fuck he’s ranting about. But you guys…”

“Us,” Caleb insisted.

“Right… Well… But us, we change. We grow. I’m grateful for that.”

The situation called for more physical contact but Caleb was unsure how to proceed. A handshake seemed too impersonal. A kiss was way too intimate and inappropriate. Pat on the shoulder was dismissive and uncomfortable given how much taller Madman was to him. The only thing he could think of doing was…

… to hug.

He wrapped his arms around Madman’s waist and rested his head against the big hyena’s muscular back, holding him tightly.

No words needed to be said and Madman just stood there for a moment, basking in the warmth.

… then it got awkward.

“I’m hugging too long, aren’t I?” Caleb asked.

“Just a little bit,” Madman snickered, giving off a light trademark hyena laugh. “Getting worse by the second.”

“Okay then,” he answered, pulling away. “I’ll leave you to your training.” He took a few steps away. “But you know, I think you’ve been in hiding for way too long. I mean, you never get to go out with the rest of us because everyone basically knows who you are.”

Madman gave him a dismissive shrug. “Can’t really hide my identity as a nine foot hyena even with any magical powers that Rhiannon might come up with.”

“Not what I’m thinking.” Caleb hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “Why don’t you move down to AEGIS Central? I mean, it’s still kind of being isolate from everyone but at least you’ll have others who are in a similar boat to you down there. Plus you’re not breathing recycled air all the time. Might even get to find a ‘normal’ job.”

“Normal?” Madman scoffed. “Right. I’ve always wanted to open a gym of my own. Had fantasies of getting guys to bend and unbend huge I-beams as part of their workout. Maybe I’ll do that.”

The sarcasm was thick but Caleb knew he had planted the idea. “Just give it some thought. Some fresh air and exposure to other people apart from Elliot might actually do you some good.”

Those last words left Madman wondering and that was Caleb’s queue to leave. The young wolf, tail wagging, turned and headed back out of the training room. He quickly checked his phone. There was enough time to quickly head back home, get changed out of his sweaty clothes, clean up and then go out to meet Lars at Jacob’s apartment. He mildly wondered if there was something weird about seemingly getting ready for a date at his best friend’s apartment with his boyfriend but dismissed the thought. An interdimensional entity like Jacob would likely have had weirder things happen to him.

Just as he left the training room, however, he caught the presence of a white-furred figure leaning against the wall just inches away.

“Rhia…”

She turned her bright red eyes at him, one eyebrow lifted. “I heard that you were going around chatting up with members of the team.” There was a faint smile on her lips. “You’ve certainly grown up from the pup that mentally blacked out when I lied about being his birth mother.”

“I’ve had to grow up a lot in the past few months,” he answered, grinning bashfully. “You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve been told I’ve grown up in the last day.”

“I can believe it. Reaper has a that effect on people.” Her eyes turned distant. “Whether he knows it or not, when the Writer of Reality gets involved, people around him change.”

“I don’t think I changed just because of him…”

Rhiannon pursed her lips. “That’s not what I meant. He just has that effect on people. His is an agent of change but people will only change if they want to. You clearly wanted it and he helped facilitate that.” Her lips turned upwards into a smile. “I’m proud of you, kid.”

Caleb flicked his ears at her. “Sounds like you want to change as well. I’m guessing you can’t ask him for help though given you’re an agent of the gods that clearly want him out.”

A soft laugh escaped her lips and she pushed off the wall. “Come on. Let’s talk somewhere private. This isn’t something to be discussing even in the presence of AEGIS.”

Following her lead, the two wolves strolled through the Cornucopia’s winding corridors with no particular destination in mind. It seemed like she was actually just trying to move away out of earshot range of anyone who would be eavesdropping or if anyone was eavesdropping, they would only catch snippets of their conversation. Caleb hurried so that he was walking right beside her, allowing her to speak in a whisper.

“I do want to change, Caleb. I couldn’t protect you or anyone else when the Legion took us prisoner. I should have been stronger than that. I should be. I’m the Hound of Destruction.”

“A temporarily mortal Hound of Destruction,” Caleb corrected gingerly.

“Even then, I have the knowledge of ages. I should’ve seen it coming but I didn’t and there’s only one reason why.”

His voice dropped into a whisper as well. “What?”

“That whoever is behind the Gene Stealers is divine in nature.”

He stopped momentarily but hurried after Rhiannon as she stepped into an elevator. “What?” he hissed as the doors shut.

“The Gods may tout omnipotence and omniscience but even they are blind to some things. But…” She lifted a finger and waggled it. “… if they really focused, they could know absolutely everything about a person. But they still can’t see Chimera or the other Gene Stealers. Only other divine beings could avoid the gaze of a god.”

“What about Jacob and Gwen?”

Rhiannon waved away the idea. “They’re outside of the equation. Outside of our reality. I’m not counting them. And don’t even think about the idea that a No One has gone rogue. They may be frustrating to work with at times but they aren’t evil. Besides, both Reaper and Gwen genuinely care about us. They wouldn’t let another No One mess with this reality.” She shook her head decisively just as the elevator let out a soft ‘ding’. “No. Someone divine is involved.”

They were back in the observation deck, once more surrounded by the glass dome. The sun had already set, leaving them in a shroud of darkness.

“There’s no other way the Gods can’t see the Gene Stealers?” he pressed. “Maybe they have some artifact or something?”

“I thought of that. But I can’t think of any artifact that could somehow make anyone who is infected by the Gene Stealers also immune to divine sight…” Her paws turned into tightened fists. “… even another divine being.”

Caleb’s lips twisted in discomfort. She immediately saw and frowned.

“You look like you want to say something, Caleb. Just say it.”

He sighed and shut his eyes. “Okay… Just… Just don’t squish me, okay?”

“No promises.”

Keeping his eyes shut, he said, “Maybe… Maybe you’re just looking for someone to blame for your own failings? Maybe you’re just looking for that big-bad to blame on the fact that you didn’t see any of this coming and now that you’re infected, you’re scared that Shin-Lazar and the other gods might end up kicking you out of being the Hound because they can no longer see or predict your actions?”

Only then did he open one eye.

Rhiannon was giving him a blank stare for a whole minute… before she turned away and let out a soft sigh.

“All the knowledge of the ages and it takes a pubescent lupine teenager to get to the crux of my inner turmoil,” she grumbled. She rested a paw on her head. “What is happening to me?”

“You’re changing?” Caleb offered lamely, opening his other eye.

“Maybe.” She dragged that paw down her face and stared up at the glass ceiling in defeat. “Maybe this is the catalyst I need to change. Maybe I’ve been secretly blaming Reaper because I was content to be the Hound of Destruction.” Her eyes darted back towards him. “You wanna know a secret about the Hounds?”

“As long as it doesn’t get me killed.”

Her smile was bitter and humourless. “Hounds aren’t made. They die.”

It took him a second to realise he should be surprised by that statement and he quickly tried to adjust his features to make it look like the revelation had surprised him. “Oh! Wait… what?”

“Something tells me you already knew about that,” Rhiannon accused. “Where?”

Her withering stare caused him to shrink back. “I kind of overheard Jake and Arcturus talking back in India. Jake told Arcturus the same thing and it sort of unnerved your counterpart.”

“I’m not surprised. Arty is younger than I am.” She folded her arms and placed all her weight on one foot. “When Shin-Lazar picks a Hound, he/she/it looks through the souls of the dead furs for certain qualities. That soul is then offered the position of the Hound.” She raised a paw at him. “Full disclosure, it’s a bit of a harrowing process and most of the time, Shin-Lazar will tell you if you’re going to be tortured, go to paradise or reincarnated. The afterlife is a little messy with lots of exceptions simply because so many pantheons exist and people believe in different things. With supers running around as well, it tends to complicate matters.” Lowering that paw, she said, “Anyway, if you decide to become the Hound, the condition is that you get your memories wiped. You can’t show favouritism when you’re the heralds of Death and Destruction, after all.”

“I guess I wouldn’t want the Hound of Death coming after me just because I accidentally spilt milk on his shirt one day ten years ago or something,” Caleb chuckled lamely.

“Exactly. Thing is, Shin-Lazar doesn’t stop you from finding your own memories or piecing it together. Don’t know why. Maybe it’s some sort of cosmic lesson where you take all you’ve learned as a Hound and apply it to your most hated enemy and if you can make an impartial judgement, you get into paradise. I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.”

“Until now.”

Rhiannon closed her eyes… then nodded. “After being transformed by Tibia, I realised that I’m no longer shackled to the gods,” she said grimly. “However, I’ve been a Hound of Destruction for centuries. Never once have I questioned my role.” She spread her arms wide and wandered away a few steps. “I have fun! I have no reason to be anything else!” A great weight fell on her shoulders and her arms dropped. “But suddenly, I’m given the worst thing you could give a being of certainty. Choice.” Lifting one paw, she said, “Do I pursue my past and try to figure out who I was?” The other paw rose. “Or do I stay as I was and blissfully ignore the opportunity to deviate while the Gods watch me closely for any form of rebellion; a Sword of Damocles over my head.”

Caleb cocked his head to the side. “A what?”

“It’s an old Greek anecdote. Damocles told his king that he was really fortunate to have all that fame and power so the king switched places with him. However, the king rigged a sword to hang over Damocles’ head, held by a single horse hair, to emulate the idea that even if you’re surrounded by all this luxury, you’ve got to constantly look for danger because that sword could fall at any moment.”

That was true even in today’s world of superheroes and celebrities. One wrong move and adoring fans could turn on him. Archenemies could attack at any moment and put his loved ones in danger. He couldn’t imagine how his dad managed to make it through such a trial for so long.

“What do you want to do?” he asked. “Sounds like you’re curious about who you were.”

“I honestly am,” she chuckled. “Who was I? I’m fairly sure anyone I knew is long dead by now so I’m no afraid my emotions getting the better of me. But it’s just that not knowing that kills me.” She made claws with her paws and scratched at the air. “What don’t I know about myself?”

“Why does it matter so much? You’ve gone seven hundred years without knowing and have done a great job.”

“But perhaps if I had known, I would’ve been strong enough to prevent any of the hurt that the Legion inflicted upon us.”

“You realise you’re going in a bit of a circle there, right?” Caleb said, drawing loops in the air with a claw. “If you had known, you’d never have had this epiphany or this choice and thus would never have gotten here.”

“That’s the frustrating part!” Rhiannon exclaimed. “The divine are not meant to doubt. They are creatures of solidarity and certainty! Yet here I am at a crossroads, a place no god should be put on!”

Caleb stepped forward, placing a paw on her shoulder. “Rhia. You’re not just a god.”

She immediately brushed aside his paw. “Please don’t give me some sentimental crap about being your friend or your family.”

“I was going to say you’re a demi_god,” he insisted. “The Gene Stealers are able to _beat the gods because they can’t be seen. You got infected by the Gene Stealers and are standing against them. The way I see it, you’re even more powerful than the existing gods and that’s probably cause to make them doubt you. You could be even greater than they are.”

“And what if I don’t want that?” she demanded. “What if I’d rather put this all behind me and go back to just being the Hound of Destruction? What is a future of uncertainty compared to an eternity of comfort and complacency? Isn’t that what Heaven is?”

“Do you want to go to Heaven?”

Rhiannon grimaced and turned her back to him. “I wish you hadn’t taken Reaper’s lessons so well.” She screamed in frustration, ruffling her multi-coloured hair. “I just don’t know what to do!”

“Honestly, I’m pretty sure most of us don’t either,” he laughed. “Hell, even with Jake’s sight, I bet he still gets blindsided fairly often.” He gripped her shoulder again. “But that’s what makes us better than the gods. We have free will. We’re not robots that need to act because that’s how we’re defined. We have superpowers that evolve with us. The Gene Stealer infections give us more powers. With each power, our choices expand. The gods don’t have that. We do. You do, Rhia. And maybe if you’ve been doing the same shit for centuries, it’s about time to change things up?”

She turned partway towards him. “You would never be satisfied with Heaven of any sort.”

He snickered. “Probably not.”

The Hound of Destruction sighed and gripped his paw. “It’s a lot to process. You can’t make a snap decision about your future when you have seven hundred years of experience to back it up.”

“But you were someone before those seven hundred years, right? Isn’t that worth something?”

Her eyes narrowed and she pointed at him accusingly with her other finger. “Stop that. Stop using your Reaper-Mind-Tricks.”

He could only give her a sheepish grin.

“Fine,” she grimaced, turning around and waving absently over her shoulder. “But you’re going to help me uncover my past. Got it?”

“Epic quest to try and discover the true identity of the Hound of Destruction to the ire of her patron deities?” he asked. “Sure. Why not add that to the fact that I’m friends with a god’s daughter, openly cavorting with interdimensional entities and fighting gene-mutating psychos.”

Rhiannon rolled her eyes at him and made her way towards the elevator. “You are such a hero.”

He waggled a finger at her, stopping just short of the door. “Protagonist. I’m the protagonist.”

“Right. Well, Mr. Protagonist. Here’s something you might not know.” She placed a paw on her hip and the other hovered over the buttons of the lift. “I knew you were going around chatting with people because I’ve been secretly spying on you. I know you got lost your first trip up to the port-side observation deck with Bren.”

“Yeah but I know my way back now,” answered confidently. Then his brow furrowed even if his smile remained in place. “Wait… did you say ‘port-side’?”

“Yup.” She pointed past him. “See that over there? The big dome a little bit ahead of us? That’s the observation deck you were on with Bren. This is a different one.” Her devilish grin returned with a vengeance. “Have fun getting back! Toodles!”

Then she hit the button and the lift’s doors shut…

… leaving Caleb stuck and once again, lost in some part of the Cornucopia he had never been before.

“Fuuuuuu…”

******

On some level, Caleb couldn’t be too mad at Rhia. That last prank showed that she was at least getting back to normal somewhat. Still, that left him running a little late to get to Lars and he didn’t have enough time to get changed. So by the time eight o’clock rolled about, he was still in his blue and gold letterman jacket and driving through the Island’s streets. Ten minutes past eight and he had arrived at the apartment. Lars’ blue pickup truck was already there so it was with much relief that he hurried up the steps and burst into Jacob’s apartment.

“Sorry I’m late!” he exclaimed immediately.

To his surprise, he found Migraine sitting on the couch beside Lars. The two of them were sharing what appeared to be some tea.

“Uh… You’re living here now, Mattias?” he asked.

The former-supervillain and still a caribou nodded with a pleasant smile. Unlike the first time they met, the horned fur was not dressed like a southern gentleman but still went with an all-white ensemble including a white, collared shirt whose short sleeves hugged his enormous biceps rather fetchingly and a pair of long, skinny, white pants that showed off his shapely thighs and ass.

“Jacob invited me over considering how I have no place to call my own and unlike the others who had taken residence in this part of the city, I am an Original. He has been most accommodating.”

“Really? Have you seen him recently?”

Migraine indicated a negative. “He left for work at the Tower Hospital a while ago. Been busy most of the day with Gwen.” The caribou rose from his seat and headed towards the kitchen. “Can I get you some tea?”

“Uh… Sure.” He moved over to Lars, offering an apologetic smile. “Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. Rhia trapped me on the Cornucopia.”

“It’s fine,” Lars murmured, setting down his cup. “I was just catching up on all that happened while I was crazy.”

“Yeah… a lot happened.” A moment later, Migraine returned with a cup for him. “Thanks.” He took a sip and admitted that it was quite flavourful. “What have you guys been talking about?”

“Mattias was just apologising about how he couldn’t do more for us when we were incarcerated in his base.” Lars gave the caribou a faint smile. “It’s okay, man. I understand. You were stuck between a rock and a hard place. No guarantee that we could help or save you.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Lars,” answered the former-villain. “If there is anything I could do for you, just name it.”

An idea sparked in Caleb’s mind and he let out a soft hum to indicate that he had an idea. “Hey, Mattias. Why don’t you talk Lars out for a bit?”

“What?” Lars asked, giving him a quizzical look. “I thought you wanted to talk.”

“Yeah but you clearly don’t want to talk to me about whatever is bugging you. But I know you want to talk to someone about it. So why don’t you talk to someone whose impartial?”

The hunky doberman glanced over to Mattias. “I dunno. I mean, I just spent ten minutes with him. It’s not like I’m comfortable with the idea of spilling my guts to a former villain…”

“Come on, man. You turned into a caribou because of him. In some way, a bit of him is in you.”

Lars grimaced and turned away. “Jesus Wolf Christ, Caleb…” He lifted his paws into the air in surrender. “You know what? Fine. Anywhere you want to go, Migraine?”

The caribou offered a helpless shrug. “How about we just drive around a little. I’ve had little chance to explore the area.”

“Fine.”

Lars grunted and moved past Caleb, being very sure to put at least two feet between himself and his boyfriend. Caleb prayed that this was the right choice. Migraine nodded at him, a silent promise that he’ll try everything in his power to help their relationship. Perhaps it was a dumb move to put so much trust in a former villain but he had a feeling he could trust Migraine. Like Lars, the life of a super was thrust into him and someone was always controlling his actions either with promises of control of his powers or relief. Coincidentally, it was the exact opposite of what Rhiannon was going through; Lars had few choices he could make in his life while Rhia had too many.

But now he was left with nothing to do and some tea in his paws.

“I could go back home…” he muttered to himself. “But there’s no telling when Lars will be back and I wouldn’t be much of a boyfriend if I wasn’t here when he returned.” He sipped his tea a little, lifting his eyebrow. “I’ve got to get some of this stuff. It’s good.”

Caleb began wandering idly around Jacob’s apartment. It was curious who different people had affected the apartment in different ways almost like the environment changed depending on who Jacob was entertaining at the time. When Felix was around, it was a mess kind of like a college dorm room. Trent had kept the place neat and very spartan. Mattias had rather… frilly adornments everywhere that reminded him of a lonely old grandmother. There was even a half-finished knitting project sitting next to the couch. He guessed that when someone was suffering from constant migraines, they had to do something to get their mind off the pain.

His eyes then went to the very same door sitting next to the kitchen that he had never been through.

Jacob’s secret second bedroom.

It was clear that Mattias was sleeping in the lounge area. As he recalled, every one of Jacob’s guests had slept on the couch despite the presence of a second bedroom. Normally, he wouldn’t be curious and stick with his resolution earlier in the year not to snoop and accept his best friend’s privacy. However, with three people having come and gone through the apartment, he had to wonder at the practicality of not letting them sleep in the second bedroom.

“Just a peak…” he told himself.

He set down the cup and wandered over to the door. His paw was already halfway to gripping the doorknob when he stopped.

Was this the right thing to do? What kind of interdimensional horror was Jacob keeping past that door? Should he even look? What if it melted off his face?

…

What if it was Jacob’s sex dungeon?

Caleb shook his head and recoiled from the thought and door.

“Okay… Not going in there.”

“Wise choice.”

He jerked back in surprise to find Jacob standing at the entrance of the apartment, a bag over his shoulder.

“Jake!” he exclaimed in surprise. “I didn’t look! I swear!”

“I believe you,” Jacob Reaper answered, tossing his bag onto the floor. “I was standing here for about three minutes watching you deliberate. You know you lift and lower your eyebrows as you’re thinking? Like every time you ask yourself a question, your left eyebrow rises and then when you think of another one, the other one rises while the left drops?”

“Uh… I don’t think so? What are you doing here? I thought you were at the Tower Hospital.”

“My shift is over.” The black-furred wolf padded over to the kitchen and sniffed the tea kettle. “Urgh… Earl Grey. I miss Alicia’s Crystal Rose Tea.”

“Huh?”

“I friend of mine. She’s an amazing florist and created this beautiful rose that has petals that are as clear as crystal and makes for a fantastic tea. Nice, crisp, clear flavour that’s slightly sweet on its own without actually needing any sugar.” Jacob glanced over to him, one ear flicked back. “What are you doing here anyway? Don’t tell me you’re thinking about popping over for dinner now?”

“No,” Caleb said with a sheepish grin. “I actually wanted to meet Lars here for some ‘couples’ counselling’ with you. He’s been kinda… distant after what happened. He and Mattias went out for a drive because I figured that those two kind of are in a similar situation.”

“How do you figure?”

Caleb gestured to his left. “Lars sort of became a superhero on the insistence of his parents. He joined the football team because his parents thought he’d need to learn how to control his powers. He hasn’t really made any decisions for himself until he met me and joined Arsenal. Mattias has suffered from migraines all his life and people have uses that to control him. I figure they could bond and work things out together and maybe help Lars open up to me more.”

“A decent assessment,” Jacob said with a nod. “Though I honestly don’t think that what’s bothering Lars has anything to do with the amount of control he has over his life.”

“Really? Why?”

Jacob lifted a finger at him. “First tell me why you think Lars wants more say in what happens in his future.”

“Well…” Caleb mulled over the question quickly. “… he did kind of blow up about it when I tried to confront him about me becoming the new football captain. He said that playing football was his parents’ idea.”

“Was he the one that brought up his turmoil about the captainship?”

“No. I did. He was avoiding me all day so I thought I’d bring it up.”

There, Jacob winced. “It’s noble but you were putting words in his muzzle and giving him a way to avoid what’s really bothering him. Tell me, did he say that he wasn’t bothered by you taking over?”

“Yeah but…”

“You didn’t believe him?”

Now that he was being interrogated, Caleb realised just what a fool he had been. “Yeah…”

Jacob straightened and placed a paw on the muscular wolf’s shoulder. “Caleb, this entire issue has been entirely about trust and the faith we put in people. Everything that’s happened so far could have easily been avoided if people - even the gods - could have just put a little faith in each other and us. But that would be too easy.” Reaper sighed and turned back around. “Far too easy.”

“Just like the thing between you and Arcturus?”

That caused Reaper to stop in his tracks… and let out a soft chuckle. “Touche. I suppose you overheard us?”

“Yeah.” Caleb gave his friend a lopsided smile. “Why didn’t you tell the rest of us?”

“It’s really Arcturus’ secret but I suppose you have a point. I should have had enough faith in all of you and told you what I know.”

Caleb lifted a paw. “Then I’ll put my faith in you and trust that you’re keeping Arcturus’ secret for a reason.”

“You’re a bigger wolf than I.” Jacob smiled and leaned against the kitchen counter. “All I can say with Lars is that you should show the same amount of trust you’ve just shown me. Believe that he will tell you in his own time. He loves you very much, Caleb, and he’ll tell you if you ask him enough but it’ll hurt him. I’m sure you don’t want that.”

“I definitely don’t want to force it out of him…”

“Then let him figure it out for himself. Don’t force the issue. I won’t deny that maybe having him drive around with Mattias wouldn’t be bad but maybe you should’ve let it occur naturally instead of forcing this encounter. A choice made by a person is far more effective than a choice made for a person.”

Caleb laughed softly. “I suppose you’re right.” Then he hiked a thumb over his shoulder at the door to the mysterious bedroom. “So speaking of trust, I don’t suppose you’re going to trust me with what’s in there are you?”

“Sorry. That’s private. You’ll get to see it eventually but not quite yet. But here’s a clue, when I rented this place, it’s flagged as a one bedroom apartment.”

That only made him want to see what was behind the door all the more but after all that he had discussed with Jacob, he decided to resist. “Alright. That doesn’t really help but I’ll trust you.” He wandered over to the couch to avoid being in close proximity to the door. “Now I kind of regret forcing the discussions with the rest of the team.”

“Regret is a very powerful thing,” Jacob warned, heading over and sitting beside him. “Reminds me of a story I once heard.”

“Oh?”

Jacob cleared his throat dramatically. “Four men died at the same time. They ascended to Heaven and there, they met God at the Pearly Gates. For whatever reason, God was overseeing entrance into Paradise at that time. The first man approached God. God asked him, ‘Why do you believe yourself to be worthy of passing through these Gates and into Paradise?’. The man puffed out his chest and said, ‘Lord, I have devoted my entire life to your name. I have given to charity, I have devoted my time to those in need, I have spread your Word across the world and I have avoided sin as much as possible. I even refused to marry for that is what your priests do and I know I could not divide my attention between you and my family.’”

“Sounds like a stuck-up religious douche,” Caleb muttered.

Jacob lifted a finger at him. “God looked at the man and shook His head sorrowfully. ‘You are not permitted past these Gates,’ he said. ‘You are going to Hell.’ When the man demanded to know why, God said, ‘You have wasted your life, the life I gave you, in devotion to me. While admirable, you have thrown aside the beauty of the world that I have created for you in favour of pandering my name and justifying your lack of love and family to me. Such a soul is not welcome in Heaven.’ Without another word, Angels came down and pulled the first man aside as the second stepped up.

“‘Why do you believe yourself to be worth of passing through these Gates and into Paradise?’ asked God. The man, with a cocky smirk, said, ‘Lord, I have spent my entire life experiencing all the pleasures of the world you have created. Many would call me sinful and I admit there were things that I have done that were far from saintly but I sought to extract everything I could from this existence that you have so graciously granted me. When I sinned, I went to church and confessed. I donated to charity much like the first man and I cleansed my soul.’”

Caleb stuck out his tongue. “Sounds like a guy that just kinds of dials it in to get into Heaven.”

“God looked upon the man and shook his head,” Jacob continued with a nod. “‘You are not permitted past these Gates. You are going to Hell.’ Outraged, the man demanded to know why, constantly saying that he did everything that the first man did not. God replied, ‘You claim your soul is cleansed but it is still marred with the reprehensible actions you have performed. That you found the need to pay your way into Heaven by donating to charity and attending church only when you have sinned is proof enough that you will not be welcome here.’ And with that, Angels took the second man and the third stepped forward.

“The third man bowed towards God as God asked, ‘Why do you believe yourself to be worth of passing through these Gates and into Paradise?’. The man said, ‘Lord, I was a humble man. I have lived an average life. I married, I had two beautiful children, one boy and one girl. I only attended church and sermons when I could. I became jaded to your love and lost belief, claimed myself to be an atheist. I do not believe I did anything totally reprehensible but at the same time, I do not believe I did anything totally noble either. I was but a humble man.’”

“Did he get in?”

Jacob shook his head. “God looked upon the man sorrowfully. ‘You are not permitted past these Gates. You are going to Hell.’ Unlike the first two, the third man did not demand an answer and willingly went with the Angels. The fourth man, stepped up and was asked the question, ‘Why do you believe yourself to be worth of passing through these Gates and into Paradise?’ To this, the man lifted his head and said, “I am an humble man, Lord. I live an average life. I am married. I have two children, one boy and one girl. I attend church and sermons when I can. I am jaded to your love and have lost believe. I am an atheist. I have not committed any truly reprehensible acts but at the same time, I have not done anything totally noble either. I am a humble man.’”

“Isn’t that the same thing the third guy said?” Caleb asked.

“It is but God immediately looked upon the man and stepped aside, welcoming him through the gates. ‘You are permitted through these Gates,’ He announced. ‘Welcome to Paradise.’ Naturally, the three other men were outraged. ‘Why, Lord?’ they demanded. ‘Why is he allowed when we are not?’ To this, God turned to them and said, ‘For this man has no regrets. He continues to treat his life as if he is still living it and he does not regret any of his actions. The true test was not in your response to my first but to my judgement. For the first, in your heart, you knew that you had wasted your life in your devotion to me and regret weighed down your soul. For the second, the moment I told you my judgement, you knew it was a fitting judgement and regretted your actions. And you, my poor third, you told yourself you had not done enough to pass through into Paradise and regretted your life. But for this man, he proudly told me that he still was an atheist, still spoke as if his children and wife were beside him and held true to his actions and convictions. That is a man truly worth of Paradise for Heaven has no place for those who regret the life they live and would go back to change it.’”

Caleb’s jaw fell slack slightly. “Whoa…”

Jacob nodded in agreement. “Often times that’s the very same reason why Advocates don’t want to write their own stories and decide to come with me instead. They harbour so much regret that they just don’t think themselves capable of being happy while they still hold that burden. Whether they realise it or not. So I try to help them find their way into Paradise, their own Paradise.”

“Where’d you hear that story? I didn’t think you’d be Christian…”

“Catholic and I played a Catholic priest more than once.” Jacob glanced off to the side with a smile. “It was to help a kangaroo who was struggling with his identity as a big, buff, military man while also being a bottom for his panther boyfriend. I should check on Marcus…” He shook his head free of the thought and turned to Caleb with a smile. “So moral of the story, Caleb, be proud of your decisions. What’s done is done. You waste more time backtracking and trying to undo what you think you’ve done wrong than you do if you just move forward and learn from your actions.”

He beamed brightly at his friend, glad to have this talk. “Thanks, Jake.”

Caleb mulled over the parable for a few more minutes, imagining the scenario in his mind. Then he mulled over it some more… and then some more predominantly because there was an awkward silence and he had no idea what else to talk about.

“Well… Uh… this is awkward…”

“You’re telling me,” Jacob muttered. “This would be around the time someone should’ve conveniently come in and moved us into the next story arc but I think the big guy upstairs is being as ass after I called him an ass.”

“Hey does God have a big, flowing beard?” he asked.

“Yeah but it’s a strap-on. He only puts it on for social events and divine epiphanies. He says it’s too itchy otherwise and food gets caught in it all the time.”

“I can only imagine…” Caleb slouched forward, clasping his paws together. “Wolf Christ… I have an all-knowing entity that can see through time and space and I don’t even know what to ask.”

Jacob gave him a smirk. “Really now? Nothing about the meaning of life? Which religion is right? How the world will end?” There was a second where he paused but it was enough for Caleb to pick it up and flick his ears in his friend’s direction. “Nothing about the prophecy?”

The young wolf glanced at his friend. Though that easy smile was present, Jacob’s eyes were sharp and watching - the eyes of the Writer of Reality. He was being judged. And he did not want to disappoint.

“You know, earlier today I told Mary to avoid meeting her mom,” he said.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I gave her some spiel about the self-fulfilling prophecies that Greeks are so fond of.” He made a vague gesture through the air. “I think I’m better off not knowing what the future will hold. Not matter what happens, someone somewhere will make some connection to the prophecy. I’ll just live my life. I won’t get bogged down with the ‘what-ifs’.” He smiled at his fellow wolf. “Like you said, I can’t get weighed down by regret, right?”

Jacob shut his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. His smile faded slightly. “Caleb… It makes me really proud to hear you say that.” He reached out and gripped Caleb’s should. “Very proud. You’ve come so far and will go further still. So forgive me for this.”

“Wha -?”

For a second, Caleb thought he was about to get stabbed and his instincts screamed at him when Jacob pulled him close. When their chests collided, he wondered if this was the moment the Writer of Reality kissed him and confessed his love. It was neither of those.

It was just a hug. A tight one… and one that seemed to sing of a farewell.

“Jake…?”

Jacob pulled away, glancing away with the light of the apartment glistening off a faint tear on his cheek ruffs. “You’ve turned out amazingly, Caleb. I would be honoured to be able to be part of the rest of your life and then help you into the times beyond.”

“Why can’t you?”

Jacob lifted his head and puffed out his cheeks. “Because as I told you, I’ve got a time limit.”

“How long have you got?”

“It’s not really a matter of how long but a matter of when I perform a certain act.” Jacob lifted a finger. “I’ve got a technique. A sort of deus ex machina. In my agreement with the gods, I get to use it once. But the moment I do, I have to leave.”

Caleb’s eyes widened in surprise. “Whoa… Really?”

“Infinity Blade,” Jacob clarified. “One use of it. I can use it whenever I want and you can bet that the moment I do, it’s an instant win. Except…”

“Not really. Because then you have to leave.”

The blonde-haired wolf nodded grimly. “I know I’m going to have to use it some time in the future. When I do, I’ll be relegated to the sidelines. I can’t help you no matter how much I want to.” He glanced off to the side. “Well, that is unless someone decides to defy the gods or the gods themselves change their minds but in either scenario, I won’t come to help.”

“Why not?”

He gave Caleb a lopsided smile, half a frown and half a smile. “Because this is a world of superheroes, Caleb. All heroes eventually come back. It’s an eventuality. Except me.”

“You’re not seriously thinking of not coming back just because it’ll break the norm?”

“Me coming back will break the norm.” Jacob glanced off, gazing at the black screen of his TV. “My very presence had disrupted the flow of things. I’ve introduced exceptions to the rule of life and death. Migraine, Felix, Trent, all of you, have been taken away from the cycle of heroism because I became the solution to a problem the gods had. How do you think the rest of the world will react if they realised that I was back?”

Caleb’s eyes dropped. The headlines flashed through his mind. ‘Legion Returns’. ‘Legion is a No One’. ‘A God Walks Amongst Us’. ‘More Powerful than Jesus’. “It’d be bad…”

“Exactly.” Jacob shook his head. “I’m sorry. If I was able to live a normal life and ‘die’ here of old age, that wouldn’t be a problem but what I know and what I can do is a threat to the gods. The fact that my departure now is dependent on my use of Infinity Blade, a very flashy, very powerful attack, will send shockwaves throughout the world. I have to use it. It’s the only way I can go out and end the chapter of Legion. If people think that I died unleashing that attack, that I gave it my all, they’ll be less inclined to try and dig for more information about me.”

“You’d be the honoured hero who sacrificed himself for the world,” Caleb concluded. “No one would try to clone you. They’d honour your memory. Even if people did uncover the truth, they’d be less inclined to tell anyone because you’d be this symbol that would stand the test of time.”

Jacob could only nod grimly. “And that means I won’t be able to see you grow up, have kids, watch your grandkids and have your body interred in a capsule through space so that you’re always travelling even in death.” Caleb gave him a startled stare. “Spoiler alert?”

He knew it was a joke and punched his friend lightly in the shoulder. “Asshole.” With a smile, he reached down and held Jacob’s paw. “Hey, maybe we can’t control what will happen but we can certainly control how it’ll happen, right?”

“My sentiments exactly.”

It was at that point, that the door opened and Jacob was quick enough to pull his paw away before either Lars or Migraine could see that they had been holding paws for a moment. That would have been awkward to explain and Caleb was grateful for his best friend’s quick thinking.

“You’re back,” Caleb said, rising to his feet. “How’d it go?”

“Okay,” Lars said with a nod, a faint smile on his face. “There’s a lot about this world that I don’t know about. But that said…” He padded over to Caleb, holding his boyfriend’s paws tightly. “I’m going to have to ask your patience with me, Cale. I still need time.”

“Take all the time you need,” he answered. “Sorry if I pushed this onto you. Jacob made me realise I’ve still got a lot to learn about how I shouldn’t really interfere as much as I should.”

“You were being a little nosey.”

Suddenly, a myriad of ringing noises erupted from around the apartment. Curious, Caleb reached for his phone while Lars did the same. Jacob had to get up and pluck his phone from his backpack.

“It’s my dad…” Caleb announced.

“This is from your dad as well,” Lars said, holding out his own phone in surprise.

“Conference calls are so convenient in this reality,” Jacob said, hitting the ‘receive’ button on his phone. “Hello conveniently timed story arc transition.”

Caleb answered his own as did Lars. “Dad?”

“Caleb? Lars? Reaper? That you?” David asked.

“Yeah, dad. Why are you calling all of us?”

“Hang on. I’m getting Mary and the others on this as well… I’ve got a big announcement.”

“Are we going the route of fan service again and do the werewolf orgy?” Jacob asked.

“Erugh… no. Shut up, Reaper. Hello? Mary?”

“I wonder how expensive this is.”

“I said shut up_, Reaper. Is everyone on now? Good.”_ David cleared his throat. “Okay, now I know relations are strained between us and the Elemental Alliance right now and Arsenal’s image not to mention Lilly’s is a little messed up with what happened with the Gimp. So, after talking with both Lilly and Hank, we’ve decided that the best way to show the world we are not only strong as ever but also push Lilly’s message of unity, I’m going to arrange… are you ready for this?”

Caleb looked towards Lars worriedly and the doberman returned the glance.

“Dramatic pause…” Jacob muttered.

“Reaper…”

“Oooh, I can just feel the cliffhanger ending of this chapter coming up.”

David sighed.

“Fine. Way to ruin the mood, Reaper. Guys…”

Caleb could feel his dad’s grin through the phone.

“I’m arranging a tournament!”