Chapter 19: Chapter 19- King’s First Decree
POV-Lauren
It was almost 16 hours since Andy's takeover, and the situation was already far different to when Reeva was in charge. The number of members within the Hellfire Club had drastically dropped, so the building felt quiet, even more than it had before. With the twins watching over their sister in an isolated, but very private hospital ward for recovery after last night's injury, surgery and testing, the tower's top floors felt abandoned. Mom and Dad couldn't believe Andy had killed Reeva and taken the position of Black King, as the position was originally called since our grandfather's time in the club. Nor could they accept the deaths of Sage, Fade, and Rebecca, who was only Andy's age.
"It's not right, Lauren. We could have just left, gone back to John and the MU," Dad said to me last night while Andy visited Sophie. "We trusted you when you said the group was trying to build something for your future, but you ignored your mother and me when we told you they were too extreme."
Mom was a wreck, eyes boring into her coffee mug, as she had been since she'd heard about Rebecca's death and Sophie's brutal injuries not even 25 yards from their door. She'd been focused on Sophie's injuries, but since she was taken for scans, she hasn't left her room and barely speaks. She'd been a nervous wreck when I blocked the room off with a shield, not that Dad was much better, fretting over Andy the whole time. But now the panic had faded, Dad was upset, for the first time seeing the kinds of actions Andy kept hidden to make my life easier. 'He doesn't much care anymore what they think, though Dad at least is somewhat understanding, I know he kept his actions hidden from them so that I could at least keep a somewhat normal relationship with them. I'd always been closer to Mom than him, and Dad was never around. He knew I still wanted them with me so he brought them, hid his actions and missions as best as he could, and spent time with them when they bugged me about him spending too much time training.' The two of us hadn't really talked since we fell asleep on the couch together, and he had stayed up all night in our room's lounge area, slumped with a laptop and notepad. 'Hellfire Club's To Do List,' the document he was working on said, which meant his old plans had been thrown out by Sage and Fade's deaths. 'He can't be perfect after all.'
I'd woken this morning to hear about Sophie's X-ray and MRI scan results, which now showed that everything was as it should. But everyone knew the only reason Sophie survived was that Rebecca was toying with her. Stopping her from running or using her hand as she watched. 'Rebecca was a sadistic little psycho and I'm glad she's dead,' I thought when Marcos first said she was only playing with Sophie. Imagining my parents all twisted and warped like some of the nurses in the video files collected from the mental hospital made me feel lucky, and glad, though I know it's wrong to feel that way at Sophie's expense.
This morning Andy called for the first meeting since he took the position, calling everyone but the triplets to the main hall, where he sat on his elevated throne. Part of me still thought it was hilarious he was using a throne, but he was now the 'Black King,' and as long as he doesn't wear a crown, I'll keep my jokes for when we're alone together. The black and silver matched well against his own dark clothes and bright white hair that stood apart from the black chair and jacket as well as the pale-blue walls.
"Good, everyone who can be here is," Andy said with a bright smile. 'I guess the news of Sophie's recovery has put him in a good mood.' "The first thing we need to address is our lack of manpower."
"What about the mission from yes-" Marcos began, but was silenced by a raised hand.
My brother's smile remained, but his eyes turned cold as he looked at the human flashlight. "The mission to release EVERY collar in America has been cancelled for obvious safety and ethical reasons. I need you, Marcos, Lauren, and Cait, to help the MU for the moment, and if there is anyone that seems trustworthy, and useful, in that order, invite them to join us. We need to change the mutant public's views of us as being bloodthirsty human haters and supporting the MU, and having Cait help them with any injured will be a good way to achieve that. *To some degree or another,* he said in my head. "John, I know you don't work for me, but anyone with tech skills that you could find would be appreciated, as well as your promotional support."
"Promotional support?" John asked, looking almost as confused as he was finding out Andy was the Black King.
"You're really good at making speeches and selling your cause, so would you mind doing the same for us if you hear anyone mentioning us? Thanks." *You didn't even give him the choice to refuse,* I telepathically said, and Andy's smile twitched into a smirk.
*Of course not. He's not great at refusing people in need of help, and he's really good at taking responsibility. Why would I give him the opportunity to refuse?*
"What about me?" Dad asked, interrupting our mental conversation.
"You," Andy began, "are going to start training your abilities before they burst out. And then I need you to help look for some possible newbies. We can look over minor offenders together, and see if there isn't anyone worth helping out…and hiring." Looking back at me, he pulled out a list. "Anyone with these powers is top priority, but again, their mental state is the most important. Marcos, make sure to spend some time with Lorna, and John, thanks for helping with the Healer." *Stay safe Lauren.*
POV- Reed
'Training? I hadn't even experienced my mutant ability yet, but he wants to train me?' He'd mentioned them a few days ago after the attack on Creed Financial when my headaches started getting severe and pain began shooting down my arms. I'd thought it was to do with stress, or perhaps nerve damage, but instead, he had brought up my father's attempt to block the X-gene in me. His, "failed attempt," Andy had called it. I'd even called my father after Andy had left that morning, but it seemed Otto agreed with him that it could be a symptom of my bottled-up power's resurgence.
I make my way to the smaller training room that used to be used by Lauren, Lorna and Marcos mainly, as Andy had set up shop in the main one for the past few weeks, leaving only to sleep, eat and play guitar. 'I have no idea where he learnt to play, but I'm glad he kept up with it, even after coming here. Any sense of normalcy is probably a good thing.'
"Wow." The smaller training room was unlike the hologram training room I'd seen before, filled with weighted equipment while the walls were lined with a few dummies and weapon racks. "Why would he even choose the other room, over this?" I wondered aloud.
I'd been so taken aback by the sight of the room that I hadn't heard Andy sneak up behind me, and his words sent me leaping into the air. "Because it provides what this room cannot. The holograms aren't perfect but can still teach me how to deal with different combat scenarios, how to move if there are obstacles or a hostage."
"Oh, I thought you just wanted more room," I said once my heart slowed down a bit. 'It's a little embarrassing to be intimidated by my child, and while I'm not worried he will hurt me in any way…he is a killer.' That was something that was driven home yesterday. We'd heard occasionally about some of his jobs, but it seemed so unreal, like an exaggerated tale of grandeur, but now, with Sage, Fade and Rebecca dead by my son's hand, it was impossible to deny. I think that's why Cait's been so out of sorts today, still processing yesterday's violence. Lauren had shown me a video of how she killed her nurse and explained she killed her own parents, and I had done the same to Cait, but it was more difficult for her to admit her miracle child had killed people. People we knew, lived with even.
"No, no. If I want to grow more powerful, I need to work on manipulating smaller things, rather than larger. If I could somehow manage to rip apart an atom, I would be incredibly powerful."
"An atom? Is that even possible?"
"Theoretically, and if I can, I should be able to create nuclear fission. But creating an explosion is only the beginning, controlling it is the real problem." 'Nuclear explosion?' "ANYWAY," he said dragging out the word, "we're here to work on controlling your powers, which begins with awakening them." He pulled over a small wooden training knife from the wall. "Here," he says, passing me the wooden blade. "Channel your energy into the knife."
"You don't even know what my power is," I chuckled.
His arms were crossed as he ignored my comment, "Eventually, you will be able to just control the ability, but to begin it's easier if you associate an emotion with it. Anger is always better than fear because it's less likely to happen accidentally and easier to draw on."
Rubbing my thumb over the wood I ask, "So just think angry thoughts? That's your advice?"
"I could help you get angry if you want," he said, lifting half a dozen matching wooden knives into the air. "Think of how Sentinels hunted us, at how betrayed you felt when Grandfather, your own Dad left you alone in the hospital with what you thought was cancer. Anything that gets you mad." His voice was even, but the words sent spikes through me. I'd been unable to help protect my family from the same people I'd worked with for years, hunted down because my children inherited my X-gene.
A pain shot down my arm as it had before, but this time, a bright red glow traced down the veins in my forearm and hand, like the worst cramp of my life. "DON'T FIGHT IT!" Andy called out over my groans. "Relax as much as you can and focus on the knife. Let it out." 'Easy for you to say, this fucking hurts.' Focusing on the knife, I try to slow my breathing. 'Crumble, Crumble, Crumble, Crumble,' I repeated, and the shooting pain moved down my arm and through my fingers, the red glow following. The wood in my hand filled with these red cracks and within a few seconds became nothing more than ash at my feet.
"That…was horrible," I managed, sweating already.
Andy pulled a water bottle out of the fridge in the attached relaxation room, handing it to me. "Maybe, but your control will improve over time, and I'm serious about the need for constant training and emotional association. If you were to associate it with fear, and you were afraid of hurting others, like mom or Lauren, you would create a cycle of issues."
"I…can imagine that would be dangerous." 'I'd probably become a nervous, sleepless wreck with no control if I had. Stress would give me powers, then I'd fear them, and the cycle would begin.' I'd spent more than enough time seeing Andy and Lauren train to control their powers to understand the benefits of training, and hearing his words, I swore to practise every day I could until I had control over such a destructive ability.
Pulling over another training knife, Andy calls for me to continue, each time describing my past failures in helping persecute mutants that, looking back hadn't had a choice and the actions of purifiers, which disgust me to my core.
~~~
2 hours later, we moved to physical training, which Andy said could help with my endurance, though I'm sure Cait wouldn't mind if I started working out again. I'd seen how much Andy's figure had changed these last few months, and the shift from skinny teen to fit young man, went far beyond puberty. It was like his body was reforming to accommodate his power, but I knew that couldn't be true. Weight training and a fair amount of cardio later, I was knackered, and my son, the most strict personal trainer in history sent me off to have a shower before we had lunch and turned to the second half of today's mission. 'It's hard to be annoyed at him for making me work out, when he's doing them right beside me. And as he said, it would train me to not get frustrated and disintegrate something.'
"Here's your ring by the way," he said, sitting down at what was, only yesterday, Sage's computer. "Carmen managed to get me the ID for someone from your old firm, so you should be comfortable with the web design and structure. The two of us are going to analyse the lists of people, looking for powerful, sane and those we think could be won over, especially if they have committed low-level crimes or had a good reason." As a lawyer, I was glad Andy was still respecting the system to ascertain an individual's threat to society, and as a father, I was prouder that he was wise enough to judge a person for a multitude of qualities, not just their abilities. "I asked if she had any tech specialists, but she said she would have to look."
We didn't have access to a tech prodigy, but I was able to access my old firm's list of recent arrests still pending trial, as well as those who were brought in for questioning, but would require representation. "Jennifer Saunders, ages 25. Cryokinetic abilities, arrested for…"
Andy leaned over my shoulder to read the rest, "Murdering three purifiers she claims set off explosives in a health clinic known to help mutants. Definitely possible," he said noting her information in a notepad. Most of the individuals were rejected for possibilities, including a few potentially powerful mutants.
"Ryan Lesmont, aged 31. Can redirect gravity within a space of 15 cubic yards. Arrested for domestic abuse." As I read it my voice soured, and although gravitational abilities can be powerful, I prayed silently that Andy wouldn't want him.
"Rejected. If he cant control himself from attacking those close to him then he's nothing more than a liability, not to mention that with his advanced age, he will be unwilling to listen to a younger boss."
"Hmm, that will definitely be an issue you will have to face, unfortunately. Most people don't like working under those younger than them or with less experience. I remember one guy who came into work, and found out someone six years younger than him had been given the senior position on a big case. He changed firms a week later."
My son was for a moment, the same young teen who'd sneak bites out of my fires and groan when I nagged, rolling his eyes at my words. "Guess I better find a decent old man mask then," he joked, rubbing his face. "Unfortunately experience matters little in these groups, and power reigns supreme. Which is good for Lauren, Lorna and me I guess, but still annoying." Another name came up when looking through the admittedly small list. "Open the file on Joshua Fairbanks."
"Aged 14. Ability to enhance the growth speed of plant life. Arrested for involvement in an illegal drug operation. No known relatives. Currently held in the temporary containment office for minors."
"Temporary containment office?" I hear over my shoulder.
"It's where minor offenders and those just about to undergo their trial are placed to keep them separate from the prison population. It was next to the Court of Appeals, and where I met most of my clients."
"So Fairbanks is currently there? What about the Saunder woman?"
"Uhm, she is…" scrolling back up the list and finding her file, "being tried in about forty minutes, but she should remain there until tomorrow morning at the earliest. It wasn't that heavily fortified, but you should maybe bring Lorna for protection."
"No need. I'm bringing you."
"WHAT?!" I shouted in panic.
Andy printed out the two files he wanted and shrugged his shoulders in reply. "You need experience, and you know the building more than any of us could. I could level the building so long as there's no adamantium, but with you, we can take our time and avoid some casualties."
"But it's still guarded," I began to refute him, but my son wouldn't hear it.
"I'll keep the bullets away from you, promise. Now go grab these for yourself," he ordered, thrusting a list into my hands.
"Kinetic-dispersion vest, small sidearm, tactical mask."
"Tactical mask?"
Sighing heavily, he turned back to look at me from the doorway, "These masks cover the whole face, but act like a one-way mirror. Not great for protection, but at least it should hide your identity somewhat in case Mom checks a tv." 'He's more worried about how his mother would react to me helping him than he is about other people identifying me…that's fucking hilarious.' I had to hold back my laughter as I headed off to the armoury. 'Cait is definitely more intimidating than the Sentinels,' I mused.
POV- Andy
Waiting in a side street parking lot, Dad was fully covered in gear. He was dressed for the job, from the combat boots to the reflective mask covering his face, there was no way he could be identified. While I hadn't bothered wearing a mask, that was partially to act as a means of promotion. 'Nothing says come join us like me collecting those I want and bringing them with me. Though if they refuse it might be a little awkward…oh well.'
With my hood up, the two of us jogged over to the prisoner detention entrance positioned at the back of the building. "Remember Andy-"
"Don't kill them. Yes, I heard you the first twenty times." There were only a few men guarding the rear entrance and a few digital detection devices that were ripped apart the moment I saw them. I'm sure an alarm was sent through, but I didn't plan to be here more than 4 minutes, and slamming the three guards into the concrete wall head first, our entry was unimpeded.
"You've definitely gotten better at that," Dad said, looking at the knocked-out, and soon-to-be bruised guards. "How'd you practise not injuring people?"
"Using weighted dummies, I practise applying a set amount of force to the head. It's not perfect, but better than nothing." A metal detector stood inside, but I was almost certain it also had mutant detection abilities, but regardless it had to go. "Destroy it in ten seconds or I'll rip it and the guard under that desk apart," I said clearly and loud enough to carry across the room. Dad grumbled but leapt towards the device, eyes clutched tightly shut and a red glow shot out of his palms by the time I counted to eight. The scanner disintegrated into ash within a second, and Reed let out a relieved sigh.
"So, you won't kill the guard?"
"What guard?" I replied, walking past the spot the scanner once was, and the bare desk with nothing under it. Footsteps were followed quickly by gunfire, but despite my father's panic, no one was injured, apart from the two men holding firearms, who were now left slumped on the floor with a bloody smear from a broken nose painting the wall. Making our way into the prisoner detention zone, I let out a smile. "Time for some fresh meat."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone