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Ruben smiles as he wakes up.  It’s two weeks after New Years.  He looks over to Alvie’s bed, expecting their customary good morning back and forth.  Alvie’s not in his bed.  He never wakes before Ruben.  For a split second Ruben panics thinking about all the times they’ve told him about Alvie running away.  He sits up in bed and sees Alvie seated at the little desk in the room.  He’s writing furiously in his journal.  There are papers scattered all across the small table, some crumpled, others laid out flat.  

“Alvie?”  Alvie doesn’t respond; he keeps writing.  Ruben gets up and walks over to the desk.  “Alvie, what’s going on?”

“Shh.  Can’t.  Not now.  Shh.”  Alvie has never shushed him.  Ruben starts reading over his shoulder.  Alvie is taking pains to make sure that the writing is neat.  Another thing he has never done.  Ruben is one of the few people who can read his atrociously messy handwriting.  Ruben’s eyes drift momentarily from the writing to the myriad of other papers scattered around the desk.  Sheets with messy handwriting… and drawings.  These were not here last night when they went to sleep.  

Ruben’s eyes fall on a particular picture and his breath catches in his throat.  The room spins and his hand shakes as he reaches for the image.  Ian.  He feels like he can’t breathe.  It’s unmistakably Ian.  He’s in times square.  That’s today’s date playing across the marquee.  No!   Ruben forces his hands to still as he looks at the drawing.  There’s something different about Ian.  He’s dressed like Jason.  Is it Jason?  No.  Ruben can see it in the eyes.  Something in the way Alvie drew it lets him know that it is definitely Ian.  What is it? He follows the lines of the drawing taking in every detail.  

There!  He has a Lichtenberg Figure running up one arm and across his neck.  That definitely didn’t used to be there.  How?  Oh.  I must have done that.   Ruben’s hands start to shake again.  A spark between his fingers singes a hole into the drawing.  Alvie reaches up and grabs the paper out of his hand and sets it back down on the desk.  Next to an identical drawing. 

“Knew you were gonna do that, so I had to draw it twice.  Go put your bands on, I'm almost done, yeah?”

Ruben has never heard him like this.  He goes over to his nightstand, retrieves his bands and slips them on.  Alvie is still writing.  

“Alvie?”

“Shh!  Gotta concentrate.”

He watches as Alvie painstakingly prints out the last of whatever he’s writing.  “Ok.  Come on.  We gotta go see Alexander now.  We don’t have much time.”

“What are you talking about?  Time for what?”

“Come on.  I don’t have time to say it twice.  Let’s go.”  Alvie gathers up all the drawings and the neatly written pages, leaving the messy ones.  

Usnavi is at their door, fully dressed, when they open it.  “I heard… “  He looks at Ruben.  “You okay?”

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Ruben says shaking his head in disbelief and confusion.  

Alvie sprints down the hall, but looks over his shoulder at the top of the stairs.  “Come on!”

They follow after him as quickly as they can.  Alvie doesn’t stop until he’s in front of Alexander’s door.  He doesn’t stop to knock, he just opens it knowing that Alexander is already working, even at this early hour.  

“Alvie?  What’s going on?  Is there a problem?”

“No.  I mean yes, but it hasn’t happened yet.  I need you to listen to me and not interrupt while I explain.”

Alexander nods as Ruben and Usnavi join him in the study.  

“Ian Price, Jason Cole, whoever he is, is alive and he’s gonna attack Rochambeau today .  I don’t know who his backer is, but he’ll have men with him.  They’re going after Lyra.  Yes, we can call and warn them, but it won’t be enough.  The only way he can be stopped is if we get in the car in the next hour and go there ourselves.  The whole team.  All of us.  And even then, it’s gonna be hard.  We’re gonna  need every single second to do it.  Here, I printed out directions.  We have to follow these to a T or we lose.  Like, we lose permanently.  If we follow these we get Lyra and live to fight another day.”

“What?  You can’t print directions for a vision…” Alex says as he takes the papers that Alvie is thrusting into his hands.  

Usnavi snorts out a laugh behind him. 

“No,” Alvie corrects. “I mean I printed the directions for what we need to do to get there on time to save her.”  He hands Alexander a detailed list of instructions. “See I wrote them out real neat because normally my handwriting is all over the place and no one can read it. I didn’t feel like that would be very helpful right now, so I made sure I took my time. Look, none of the letters, especially the R’s are backwards.” He looks expectantly at Alex as Alexander skims through the instructions in his hand. 

“Go get Lee, Usnavi. We need to leave in less than an hour.”  He thinks for a moment. “And get Pippa. We’re gonna need her to keep Lee calm. He’s going to be beside himself with worry, fear and anger.”

Usnavi rushes from the room.  

“There’s something else,” Alvie’s eyes are shut.  Ruben can see his eyes rapidly moving behind the lids.  They snap open and he looks directly at Ruben.  “Lee ain’t gonna handle this well.  You’ll have to knock him out.  He’ll be fine once we’re all in the car and on the way.  But you’ll have to incapacitate him once we tell him.”

“Could we just not tell him?” Alex asks.  

“No, he’s too stubborn for that and we’d lose too much time.” Alvie responds, touching his head as if it hurts. He sways a little and Ruben reaches out to steady him and then pulls off one of his bands.  Alexander notes to sapphire sparks that flow from his fingers into Alvie.  

Alvie’s frantic pace calms and he takes a deep breath.  “Better?” Ruben asks quietly.

“Yeah.  Thanks.” 

Now it’s Ruben’s turn.  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me Ian was alive? There’s no way Rochambeau didn’t know,” he says accusingly at Alexander.

“I’m sorry.  It was unconfirmed.  Lawless only said they suspected.  I think he wanted to keep you insulated from it.”

“And now I’m going to have to face it.  I don’t get a chance to deal with it.  I’ll have to be fighting him in six hours.  I don’t even know if I can.  You know what he did to me.  I know you do.  You should have told me as soon as you suspected.  If Alvie hadn’t seen that it would take all of us… I don’t know if I can do this.  Every other time I tried to stand up to him I failed and things got worse and worse until he finally tried to kill me.  What if I freeze?”  

“You won’t.” Alvie says, taking his hand and threading their fingers together.  “I’ve seen it.  You’re gonna be amazing.”  

Ruben does not look convinced.  “I’m gonna go get dressed.  You should too.  You can’t fight bad guys in pajama pants and a tank top.  Plus, it’s too cold for a tank top.  Make sure you bundle up.”

Ruben doesn’t wait for an answer, he just turns and leaves.  

“Is he gonna be okay?” Alexander asks him.  

“Yes, when the moment arrives, he will be.  I know what I have to do to make sure he is.” Alvie’s expression clouds for a moment.  

“Are you gonna be okay?” Alexander asks with sudden concern.  

“I’ll be fine.  Ruben will make sure of that.”  Alvie turns and follows after Ruben to get dressed.  

Usnavi returns with Lee several minutes later.  Thankfully Lee’s also already fully dressed with Hester hopping behind him.  Alexander quickly explains what Alvie has told them.  And, as Alvie predicted, he makes a bee line for the door, determined to go it alone.  He’s raging and stubborn.  Pippa does her best, but Lee doesn't listen, just as Alvie predicted. 

“Lee, you can’t go on your own!” Alexander calls as he heads for the door.

“Watch me!” he throws back.

“You can’t drive.”

“How hard can it be?” He retorts.  

“Lee.  Maybe you should slow down and listen to them.” Hester cautions.  He ignores her warning.  

“Lee.  Stop.  She wouldn’t want you to get yourself killed.  She needs you,” Alexander tries.  

“That’s why I have to go.”

He reaches the door and yanks it open just as Ruben runs into the room.  He touches Lee at the base of his skull and Lee crumples to the ground.  Alex kneels down and cuffs his hands behind him.  

“Lets get him in the car,” Ruben says coolly.  “If we’re gonna do this, we need to go now, before I lose my nerve.”

Usnavi and Ruben drag Lee to the car.  There’s nothing for it, so Alex grabs a blanket and wraps it around Hester before picking her up and taking her to the vehicle.  He’s aware he’s not supposed to touch her, so maybe the blanket will be enough of a barrier.  They don’t have another choice, regardless.  They settle the pair of them in the seat and buckle him in, placing Hester on Lee’s lap.  A few minutes later the hare stirs and puts her front paws on Lee’s chest and noses at him.

“He’ll be fine, Hester,” Usnavi assures. “Alvie says he’ll be fine once he wakes up in the car.  Keep an eye on him.”

“Always,” she replies.  

A few minutes later the whole team is piling into the SUV.

“Did you call and warn them?” Ruben asks.  

“Yes.  I couldn’t reach Lawless so I left him a message,” Alexander replies.  

“Good, but it won’t matter,” Alvie says.  He’s leaning against Ruben, eyes heavy, his fingers threaded with Ruben’s.  Ruben’s face is pale, his jaw clenched.  Alex can tell, as he glances at the pair of them in the rearview mirror that he’s tense, nervous, and utterly terrified.  

And who wouldn’t be under the same circumstances?  Not only is the man who held him prisoner and tortured him for nearly a year not dead as he had believed, but he’s also now an active threat to their team, his new friends, and an innocent little girl.  And Ruben is going to have to face him.  Alvie saw that they will have a direct confrontation.  

Alex moves his eyes back to the road.  A few minutes later, Lee stirs. 

“Whatthe-” He slurs.  He’s still groggy from taking however many volts of electricity Ruben pulsed into the back of his head.  He groans.  Yeah, Alex thinks, that probably left him with a headache.   

Usnavi hands him a bottle of water and some Tylenol. “Here.  Take these and drink up.  It’ll help.”

Pippa turns to look at him from her place riding shotgun.  “You okay?” she asks gently.  

“Who hit me?  What are we doing?”

“I’m sorry,” Ruben starts, but he’s interrupted.

“It’s my fault,” Alvie interjects.  “I told Ruben he was gonna have to knock you out.  We didn’t have time for your grandstanding bull and needed to get going.  It was the only way we were going to get in the car and be able to get on the road on time.  We all want to save Lyra.  So I told him to knock you out so that we could do just that.”

Lee turns to look at the pair of them.  “Well aren’t you two just full of surprises?  I’m not saying I’m okay with it, but if it’s what needed to help Lyra then I’ll put it aside, for now.  But we’re going to have a chat later, Alvie.  Now can someone get these damn cuffs off me?”

Alexander fishes the handcuff key and hands it to Pippa who then hands it to Usnavi.  Hester hops off his lap so that Lee can lean forward while Usanvi unlocks the cuffs.  Lee sits back and rubs his wrists as Hester hops back up.  She nuzzles at his hand and he pets her head and strokes her ears.  

“How did Hester get in the car?”

“Uh… I picked her up.  But I wrapped her in a blanket first,” Alexander confesses.  “Sorry, there just wasn't time to be more delicate and none of us have Daemons to pick her up.”

“Well, at least you thought to not touch her directly.” Lee takes a moment to glare at Alvie.

“What?” Alvie pouts. “ I haven’t tried to pet your bunny in months.  I’ve been good.” 

 Lee raises an eyebrow at him. 

“What?” Alvie argues. “I have.  Okay, so she’s not come anywhere near me and I haven’t gotten close enough, but I’ve not tried to get to her either.  I can’t help it that I like soft, fluffy things.  I never had a bunny.”

“Arctic.  Hare.” They both correct.  

“Arctic hare,” Alvie repeats.  

He lays his head back on Ruben’s shoulder.  Ruben adjusts to put his arm around him and lets him lean against his chest.  Within five minutes Alvie is asleep.  Ruben takes his bands off and lets some of his own energy flow into Alvie.  He can tell that he’s drained from the night's dreams and his early rising to write and draw.  He gets sleepy after he’s had really intense visions and these are the most intense he’s had since he started dreaming again.  

---

The six hour journey through the mountains and back down to New York City is a long one.  They all sleep off and on.  When they are not sleeping, Alex passes Alvie’s informal dossier around to each member so that they can all read the directions and look at what he’s drawn out.  Some of the drawings are diagrams, some are images of Ian or the men he’s bringing with him.  Some are specific confrontations for different members of the team.  The most detailed is the last drawing in the folder.  It’s Alvie, sitting on the floor with his back to the wall bleeding from the head.  Ruben standing in front of him, also with a wound and bleeding from the shoulder.  He’s facing off against Ian, in a lab coat and scrubs.  

Lee flips through the instructions.  They are thorough.  A list of who needs to be where and when.  Thankfully, his job is to make straight for Lyra's room inside the compound and get her down to the main lobby.  Then he’s supposed to wait for the team with her on the southwest side of the room.  If he tries to make a run for it, one or both of them, depending on their route, gets injured.  So he’ll just have to wait.  There’s a drawing of him shielding her and throwing lighting at two advancing bad guys.  

He looks at the last picture with Alvie, Ruben, and Ian.  “Alex, Lyra kept talking about a doctor.  Is it this guy?  Has he been near her this whole time?”

“I don’t know.  If so, Lawless hasn’t mentioned it.  But nothing from him would surprise me.  It is odd though.  I mean, maybe it’s just a coincidence.”

Lee narrows his eyes.  “That seems… doubtful given Lawless’ track record.”

“Hmm.” Alex doesn’t know what else to say.  He’s had his suspicions about Ian, but he didn’t really think Lawless would be so careless.  He’s hoping that they’ll get more answers once all of this is over.  

By the time they reach the edge of the huge city, they’re all awake.  Alvie has his sketch pad and pencils, but nothing new has come to him yet.  Just the same stuff.  His directions had given Alex the exact route that they’d needed to take, so there is nothing for him to do.  He bounces his knee next to Ruben’s leg.  

Usnavi turns around and looks at him.  “It’s going to be okay, Alvie.  You’ve done well.  We all know exactly where we need to go and what to do thanks to you.  You gave us the map.  Now we’ll come through for you and follow it.  We’re all gonna be okay and that’s thanks to you.”

Alvie bites his lip and looks up at the roof of the van.  “So many things… So many things could go wrong still.  What if I missed something?  I can’t see us all at the end of the day.  Just the actions leading up to the big conflicts.  I can’t see how they turn out.”

“How did you know?  I mean, how did you know that if we didn’t follow your exact plan we wouldn’t succeed?”

“Oh, well, I saw those outcomes.  They were… no bueno.  But this one, it seemed like we had a chance.  Especially if I-”  He stops and glances at Ruben who is holding his hand.  “Well, especially if I end up in that room with Ian like in the drawing.  Things there work out okay.  But I don’t know about everyone else.  I see me most clearly.  The rest is a little, um, blurry?  Like i think we all make it back, but it’s like that part of it isn’t set in stone.”  he shakes his head to clear his vision.  “I sort of see us all together, but it’s not… clear.  I don’t know how else to describe it.  I think it's because a million little things have to fall into place, go exactly right, or we don’t reach that ending.”

“May I see?” Usnavi asks.  “Do you mind if I touch you?  I get a clearer sound and picture if I can have direct contact.  Ruben, would you mind?  I don’t want to get shocked into next week and you seem pretty sparky right now.”

“Sure, of course.”  Alvie responds.

“Oh sure, sorry.”  Ruben slips his hand out of Alvie’s, puts his bands back on and then takes his hand again in both of his.  

Usnavi reaches back and touches Alvie’s temple with his eyes closed.  Alvie tries to recall as much detail as he can from what he’s seen and he tries to keep it in the order in which he thinks it will occur.  That’s the hardest part is trying to unravel the timing.  

Usnavi is concentrating hard as he takes it all in.  He’s breathing deeply in and out through his nose.  It’s a lot of information.  

When Alvie finishes silently reviewing everything with him, Usnavi opens his eyes.  

“I’m impressed, Alvie.  I didn’t see anything that you could have missed.  Like I said, you’re doing so good.  I know that was a lot and I’m proud of you.  I know today is going to be hard.  But you’re in good hands.”  He glances knowingly over at Ruben.  Alvie nods in agreement.  

“Ruben, would you mind if I try something?  It’s something Pippa thought I should try.  May I touch you, now?”  

Ruben’s hands are shaking like they have been since he saw that picture of Ian this morning. 

 Usnavi lowers his voice, “I know you’re scared.  I know you don’t want to be here.  I know your anxiety has been rising with every second we’ve inched closer to the city.  Let me try to help?”

Ruben’s breathing is a little shallow, but on this side of panicked, but only just.  He nods and Usnavi moves his hands to place them on either side of his head.  They both close their eyes as he speaks into Ruben’s mind.  

Usnavi thinks about what he’s been talking about with Pippa.  He calms his own mind and tries to exude a sense of peace, calm and confidence.  He’s never tried this before.  He has no idea if it will work.  

I’ve seen what Alvie sees.  You’re going to be amazing.  It may not be easy, but you don’t need to worry, okay?  Don’t worry.  He’s seen that part.  He’s seen you.  You’re a badass.  Calm your breathing.  Trust Alvie.

Ruben nods between Usnavi’s fingers.  Now he really tries.  To himself he thinks calm, peace, serenity, confidence.  He pushes this into Ruben’s mind.  Not forcefully, but steadily.  He can feel the thoughts or maybe they’re suggestions?  He’s not quite sure how to describe it, but he can feel them flowing from himself and into Ruben.  

Incredibly he feels Ruben relax under his touch.  He feels him flood with a sense of calm, peace, serenity, and confidence.  Damn!  Did that actually just work?  Did he really just go into Ruben’s mind and help him feel something he didn’t two minutes ago?

He’ll have to worry about it later.  They’re almost there.  He takes a deep breath and breaks the connection.  God, he hopes that it sticks and carries Ruben through the next few hours.  

Alvie reaches into his pocket and hands Usanvi a piece of paper.  “For your eyes only, for now.  We’ll talk later.” He smiles at Usnavi.  

Usnavi turns around in his seat, towards the window so no one can see what’s on the paper.  He unfolds it.  It’s a drawing of him touching Ruben’s head.  It’s the moment that just happens.  At the bottom Alvie has written ‘Yes, it works.  Thank you.  You’re a badass too.’

Usnavi can’t help but smile.  

Next to him, Lee is tense as a coiled wire.  Hester’s mood matches.  Usnavi doesn’t try to touch him, but he dips into his head, nevertheless.  He’s worried, like, really worried.  And that makes Lee scared.  Usnavi is almost overwhelmed by his sense of love for Lyra and fear that he’s not strong enough, that he can’t save her.  

Usnavi gently tugs at the memories of all he’s done for her already, pulling them forward, another thing he hasn’t really tried before.  Lee is in no mood to talk, but he’s also on edge.  Usnavi senses his thoughts turn to the memories that he was just tugging at.  Maybe it had worked, but he couldn’t be sure.  They were memories already close to the surface.  

What about something deeper?  Usnavi went looking.  He drifted through the memories that were in Lee’s head.  Different ones presenting different pathways to follow back through his existence.  All the surface memories that he’s currently dwelling on involve Lyra.  He starts down a path where he’s thinking about how much he hates Lyra’s father.  Lyra’s father was a piece of work.  He sees Lyra sobbing into his arms as she tells him about Asriel killing Roger.  Usnavi feels a tear trickle down his cheek.  He wipes at it and goes back in.  Lee starts thinking about his own father.  Now Usnavi was getting somewhere.  

Lee hates Asriel because he hurt Lyra.  And it makes him think of his own father because his own father hurt him.  A lot.  He sees Lee hiding as a kid, being found, being punished.  There’s more here than he would have wanted.  He withdraws from Lee’s head.

“You’re a good man, Lee.  A good dad.  She’ll be safe.  You’ll get to her.”

Lee looks at him.  “Were you in my head?”

“Maybe.  I can't always help it.  We’re all a little stressed right now.  Makes it harder to control.”  He shrugs and tries to play it off.  He shouldn’t have looked so deep, Lee had a crappy home life as a kid.  But he was the man he was because of it.  

“Seems to me that you need to learn to control it even more under stress,” Lee comments dryly.  

“You’re probably right.  Still, she’s gonna be okay.  You’ll get to her.  You’ll protect her.  I’ve seen it in Alvie’s head.”

Lee gives him a half smile and Hester peers at him.  Her ears twitch.  They are not convinced.  

They pull up outside of Rochambeau.  

“Hurry,” Alvie says.  “We need to be in the building and heading to our places before Ian and his people make their ultimate moves.”

“So, is Ian already here?” Ruben asks.  

“Yes.” Usnavi says, cocking his head to the side.  “He’s been here.  He’s… He was Jason… For a while.  But then, about a month ago, Ian reasserted himself and has slowly been growing stronger.  He hid it until yesterday.  He messed up.  And whoever is pulling his strings told him to accelerate his plan.  That must be why Alvie saw it just in the nick of time.”

“Can you sense who the leader, this guy, is?” Alexander asks when they’re out of the car and on the street heading for the entrance.  

“No.  No, I can’t sense him.  He’s… I don’t think he’s close.  And it’s like Ian’s never seen him.  There's a voice, but it’s shrouded, like he’s purposely trying to hide who he is.”

“But it’s a he?”

“Yes, that’s just about all I can get.”

“Right.”

“We need to go!” Alvie reminds forcefully.  

Alex nods, pulls out his key card and gains access to the facility.

To be continued... 

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Break-So-Beautiful

Chapter Text

 As soon as they are inside they can tell something is wrong.  The lobby is hazy; there’s no one to greet them.  It’s eerie.  It’s oddly quiet in the immediate vicinity, but they can hear dull rumblings and crashings in the distance coming from the floors both above and below them.  

“Well, here we are.  You all know where to go, thanks to Alvie’s instructions.  Good luck, gentleman, Pippa.  With any luck, we’ll all be back here in…” He pauses to check his watch.  “Two hours.  No later.  If we can all be back down here, together, in two hours, all should be well, right Alvie?”

Alvie feels a little sick, like if he tries to talk he’s going to throw up, so he just nods.  

They all split up to head out on their separate assignments.  Lee and Pippa make for Lyra’s room several floors above them.  Alex and Usnavi head for Lawless’ office.  Alex doesn’t think that Lawless is there, he’s probably in a bunker to keep himself safe, but he’s hoping to get a look at his files.  Usnavi is coming with him to sort of keep an eye, or really an ear, on the whole team and inform him of their progress.  

Ruben and Alvie have business with Ian, but not together, also on an upper floor.  Much to Ruben’s displeasure, Alvie insists that they have to take different routes to the fifth floor break room, where they will eventually end up together with Ian.  

Ruben looks around the lobby.  Rochambeau seems different now. It was never a friendly place, but now it seems like the setting of some sort of scary video game, especially since Alvie is able to tell them about some of the horrifying things to expect. 

Ruben doesn’t want to let go of Alvie’s hand, but he has to. It’s the hardest thing in the world to trust him that everything will be alright, but oddly, he does. 

“You remember where to go?” Alvie asks, forcing a smile and shrugging one shoulder. He doesn’t want to let go of Ruben’s hand either. 

Ruben nods, but says, “I don’t want to put you in harm’s way.”

Alvie nods too, but he seems distracted, and not just because their abilities are about to be put to the test. He bites his bottom lip and then says, “I have to tell you something” but it comes out sounding more like a question. 

Ruben waits, dreading whatever it is. Maybe Alvie forgot to tell them something and he’s just now remembering. Maybe he told them wrong. 

“I couldn’t do this if you weren’t here,” Alvie says, idly playing with Ruben’s fingers. “I wanna tell you that...I mean, I think-I-”

Ruben pulls him against him, shaking his head. Alvie is not going to do the cliche ‘let me tell you something you may never hear after this moment’ number. 

“Tonight, okay?” Ruben says, pulling back a little. “You can tell me tonight.”

Alvie hesitates and nods a little. 

“Yeah,” he replies. “Yeah, okay.”

Ruben kisses him Alvie, and it feels like the electricity coursing through him could light him up like a Christmas tree, starting all the way from his toes and going to his hands which are on Alvie’s face and then in his short hair. When he pulls back, Alvie has tears in his eyes.

“Tonight,” Alvie says, smiling a little. He quickly wipes at his eyes.

“Tonight,” Ruben repeats. 

He finally lets go of Alvie’s hand. 

----

Lee runs for Lyra’s room.  Hester races beside him with Pippa just a few paces behind her.  “It’s just ahead, around the corner.  We’re almost there,” Hester says.  

“Yeah,” Lee wipes the blood out of his face.  It’s taken him thirty minutes of hard fighting to get this far.  “But we aren’t alone.”   

There’s a scream from around the corner up ahead.  “Lyra!” Lee yells and doubles his speed.  He rounds the corner with Hester at his heels and Pippa is there a moment later.  

“Lee!” Lyra screams for him. 

Pippa hears Lee roar, a sound she’s never heard before.  There’s a whoosh of wind then sends every ceiling tile in the building rippling upward and then crashing down all around them.  The sudden change in air pressure is the only warning of the oncoming storm.  

“Lee?” Pippa questions.  

“Stay behind me.  Don’t move and don’t get in my way.  I have to concentrate or I’ll hurt Lyra too.  Worse, you might set off her powers and then none of us would stand a chance at making it back to the lobby safely.”

“Her powers? Oh, fu-” but her words are drowned out by the deafening clap of thunder that shakes the building to its foundations.  Water, no rain , sheets through the hall of the building.  The men are still frantically trying to yank Lyra around the far corner of the corridor, but she’s putting up a fight.  

She refuses to go peacefully.  “Lee!” she screams again.  

“I’m coming, sweetheart.  Just hold still.”  

Lyra nods and collapses like dead weight to the ground.  Lightning flashes from Lee’s hands, his eyes are glowing a blinding blue-white.  With each bolt of lightning that he sends flying from his storm, men on the other end of the corridor drop like flies.  The wind rages through the hallway.  Any ceiling tiles that hadn’t fallen before go racing down the hall towards the men attacking Lyra.  They fly at speeds that would kill.  And kill they do.  Anyone still standing after the lighting, was taken out by the onslaught of fiberglass ceiling tiles flying into them at hurricane speeds.  

Lee lowers his hands, but the power emanating from him doesn’t subside.  Pippa hears him give a low curse. 

“This is just like what happened last time, when those ships from the Magisterium were chasing us.  When we came to this world,” Hester is yelling at him over the cacophony of the continuing storm.  “If you can’t get it under control, you’ll bring the whole building down on us all!”

“I’m trying Hester!”  Lee has got his arms wrapped around himself, his eyes tightly shut as he tries desperately to rein in the power he’d unleashed.  

“You know it’s her.  It has to be.  You’re going to have to figure this out!”

“I know that!  Not helping, rabbit!  Give me something else to think about.”

“Think about the wind, think about the open skies, think about anything, just calm your mind.  Oh!  Think about bacon.  Bacon always makes you calm and happy.”

Lee lets out a low groan, the effort he’s expending to draw his power back is clearly taking its toll.  

Pippa is fixated by the scene in front of her.  She reaches out her hand, but a shaft of static electricity jumps off of Lee and into her hand, singeing the flesh on her fingertips.  

“Ouch!”

“I said don’t move.  Don’t touch me.  I can’t protect you and control it at the same time.”

“I’m sorry,” she calls.  

“Don’t be.  Not your fault,” Lee responds through gritted teeth.  Suddenly, just a few feet away and desperately fighting against the raging wind, Lyra is struggling towards them.  She drops right in front of Lee and takes his face in her hands, making their eyes meet.  

“Lee, breathe.  I’m safe.  You saved me, again.  How can you ever think you're not strong enough.  Why would you say that to Serafina? You're the strongest man I know.  Now breathe!”

Lee sucks in a deep breath and again closes his eyes.  The storm ceases immediately.  The end of the corridor is littered with bodies.  

Lee wraps his arms around Lyra.  “My little Lyra.  I couldn’t let them take you.”

Lyra buries her face in his neck.  “I told him.  I told the doctor that you would come for me.  That he couldn’t take me.  He didn’t believe me.  But, I told him he’d be sorry he chose the wrong side.”

“It’s not just me, we’re all here.  Alvie… Alvie saw the attack.  We came as soon as we could.”

“Maybe we should move this back down to the lobby.  Who knows how many other’s stand between us and escape,” Pippa cautions.  

They both nod.  Pan pokes his head out of Lyra’s pocket.  “Well, come on, you heard her.  Let’s go.  Run Lyra.”

They take off at a dead run.  There are men that appear ahead of them, but when they advance towards them, they suddenly disappear.  The advancing attackers take one step forward and in the next moment they're gone.  

“What’s happening?” Pippa asks.  “Why do they keep disappearing?”

“Fill ya in later, right now we need to keep running.  And whatever you do, don’t step towards the disappearing men.  Just run straight until we have to turn.”

“Are you doing this?” Pippa hisses.

“No.” Lee responds but offers nothing further.  They sprint down five flights of stairs, nearly falling on several occasions, but Lee is sure of foot and catches both Lyra and Pippa as they make their way back down to the main floor.  

It takes them almost no time to reach their destination.  Lee looks frantically around for the rest of the team.  

“They’re not back yet,” Hester states, still panting from their run to the lobby.  “We need to get into a defensible position.  Over there.  By the guard station.  That looks like what Alvie drew.  Come on!” She hops towards the small boxy counter top and scurries down behind it.  

That’s when the first shots ring out.  Lee’s not sure he’ll be strong enough to reign himself in a second time, so he’s careful with his storm this time.  He can’t let himself slip over the edge or they might all end up dead.  

“Lyra!  Stay down.” he yells as she pops up from behind her covered position.  

“I can help!” she protests.  

He waves his hand towards her and a powerful gust of wind knocks her off her feet and back down behind the counter.  “Girl, for once in your life, will you be obedient.”

-----

Alexander and Usnavi slump against the door to Lawless’ office.  He’s not here.  Of course he’s not here.  He’s in some basement bunker.  They ran all the way to the office and were working hard to catch their breath.  

Alex moves over to the file cabinets.  Locked.  He turns to rifle through his desk for something to pick the lock with.  That’s when he sees it.  A file, a thick file with Ian’s picture paper clipped to the outside.  He grabs the file and shows it to Usnavi. 

“I think this is why Alvie said we needed to come up here,” Alex whispers.

“Yeah, I saw this in his head.  I didn’t know it was just gonna be laying out, but I saw us reading it.”

Alex starts reading the file.  “Un-freaking-believable!  He’s had Jason working here for months.   And he’s been in direct contact with Lyra.”

“Jason?  You mean Ian?”

“Yeah, well, they're kind of the same.  Lawless brought him on as Jason Cole.  After whatever it was that happened to give Ruben his powers, when Rochambeau’s team went to clean up the scene, apparently Ian wasn’t dead, just knocked out.  Rochambeau already had a bead on the guy, so they took him into custody as well and… and drugged him back into being Jason instead of Ian.  They suspect that the electric jolt he got when he tried to kill Ruben messed with his memory and he forgot about being Ian.  

“See, Jason is a brilliant neurosurgeon.  It looks like he's been having him work as a doctor here with some of the patients or residents, prisoners, whatever they are.  Apparently, they’ve been giving him some drug that Ruben invented a while back.  It had stopped working on Jason, but they were able to adjust it and adjust Jason’s body chemistry so that it worked again. Hmm…  I can’t believe that Lawless thought he could control this guy...”

“Ruben’s not going to like that.”

“No, he’s not.  Especially since it looks like it stopped working again.  Obviously.  And what’s worse, it says there’s a possibility that if Ian reasserts himself again, Jason may be gone for good.”

“So, Jason’s a good guy?”

“That’s debatable, but he’s not a sadist like Ian.  Jason helped hold Ruben against his will while he and Ian battled it out for who would get control of the drug that Ruben was trying to invent in order to get rid of the other.”

“And that's when Ian tortured him and did all those horrible things that made him… well, the way  he is?”

“Yeah.  And apparently Jason didn’t raise a finger to stop it, just treated his wounds as best he could.”

Alex shows Usnavi the picture of Ruben’s stab wound.  “Damn!  That looks awful.”

“You’d think a neurosurgeon would have done a better job of stitching him up.”

“It says this was done in a non-sterile environment.  Jason wouldn’t risk Ruben getting away.  They used alcohol as an anesthetic and just basically did the best they could.”

“God!  Ruben is a badass.  What a survivor.  I’ve seen bits of it in his head, but he works really hard to not think about it.  So, Ian is out now, so does that mean Jason’s gone for good?”

“Maybe, maybe not.  It just says it’s a possibility.  Lawless must have been reading through this file when the attack started.”

Alex and Usnavi both wince as their ears pop at a sudden change in air pressure.  The ceiling tiles lift and ripple and then start collapsing all around them.  They dive to crouch near Lawless’ big wooden desk.  

“What is going on?”

Usnavi gives a sharp gasp as he tries to listen.  The voices outside the building are starting to filter in.  Some windows must have broken and it’s hindering the building’s internal dampeners that helped Usnavi not hear as much in the building.  He curses as his head starts to pound.  However, he’s able to sense Lee’s furious thoughts.  

He growls against the sudden pain.  “It’s… It’s Lee.  He’s found Lyra.  He’s… He’s really angry.  They’re trying to take her and he’s using his power to fight back.  Damnit!”  He clutches his head before he leans over and retches.  

“Jesus! Usnavi are you okay?”

“Yeah, I can… too many voices.  Just give me a minute.”

He takes some deep breaths and works at the exercises that Lawless used to have him do.  He quiets his mind and is able to block out some of the voices.  The pain doesn't go away, but he can manage it.  At least for a little bit.  

“Come on.  Let’s head back to the lobby.”

Usnavi nods and they head out of the office.  

They come under attack about ten feet outside of Lawless’ door. 

To be continued... 

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Break-So-Beautiful

Chapter Text

Alexander shoves Usnavi behind him as a bullet punches into Alex’s abdomen.  Usnvi, caught off guard, feels the voices swell again and he sags against the wall.  Alex does something with his hand as his midsection and Usnavi sees him fling a small metal object away.  Alex then runs straight at the three assailants that are firing a barrage of bullets at them.  He runs at the wall just to his right and then runs up the wall, jumps off of it and catches the guy farthest to the right in the side of the head, instandly snapping his neck.  He roundhouses around and catches the Tech-9 machine gun that the middle guy is firing, knocking it out of his hand.  Alex whirls around again and kicks then middleman square in the chest while his hands fly as fast as his feet and he punches the man in the throat.  The man slumps to the ground and Alex brings his foot down on the man’s neck, silencing him for good as well.  All of this he does before the third man can react and aim his gun at Alexander.  Alex grabs the barrel of the machine gun and smacks it back into the man's nose, breaking it.  He then spins the weapon around and fires into the man’s chest.  

The hallway goes absolutely quiet.  

“What the fu-” Usnavi says.  “Where the hell did you learn to do that?”

“200 years of boredom.  I learned a few different forms of martial arts to keep myself entertained.  I don’t actually like to kill, but I like being shot at even less.  And I really don’t like people shooting at my team.”

“Ha!  That was incredible.”

“Yeah, well. Don’t try that at home.” Alex coughs and spits out two bullets before digging a third out of his shoulder and a fourth out of his left calf.  

“You’re so freaking awesome!  That was way cooler than anything I’ve ever seen on YouTube.  I mean that was totally bad ass.”

“You’re such a millennial.  Let’s go.”  Alexander bends down and retrieves the file he dropped when the first bullet him.  He helps Usnavi up and they head for the lobby.  

---

Ruben stops to catch his breath.  He’s been dodging bullets and bad guys for a while now.  He stops to see if one of the clocks on the wall can give him an accurate time.  None of them seem to be working though.  He’s getting close.  He knows he has to be in that break room soon.  Alvie is going to be counting on him.  He leans back against the wall and rests his head.  Ian.  Ian is going to be there.  How the hell did this happen?  How the hell is Ian alive?  Ruben saw his body on that bathroom floor.  There was literal smoke rising from him.  No one should have survived that.  

No one should have survived having a plugged in toaster tossed into their bathwater either , an annoying voice reminds him.  He’s still got at least a football field’s length to go.  He’s tired, he’s sore, he’s scared.  The last thing he wants to do is face off with the man that nearly destroyed him while his boyfriend watches.  This is an actual nightmare.

He hears a new troop of mercenaries headed his way before he sees them.  By this point Ruben assumes they’re Ian’s guys.  They’ve found very few Rochambeau troops alive.  Damn!  No more time to rest.  Best get a move on.   He turns to head further down the long corridor.  Just as he starts to jog in the direction of the break room he hears the shots.  

He ducks to run lower but there’s a sudden blinding flash of pain and an incredible pressure that spins him around on his feet knocking him towards the wall.  His left shoulder feels like it’s on fire, like someone tried to rip it off.  He slumps against the wall and puts a hand up to the spot that hurts.  It comes away bloody.  Shot?   He’s been shot. In the shoulder.  And then the pain hits him with it’s full force.  Damn! That hurts.  More than fire it’s throbbing burning fire and an ache so deep he almost can’t breathe. He turns and sees several men advancing towards him.  His head swims as he stumbles, his vision blurs.  

No.  He makes it to the break room.  He saw that.  Ruben’s hands start to tingle as blood drips off the tips of his fingers.  

---

Alvie shivers as he stands in the big open room that he saw in his visions.  His heart is pounding.  He knows what comes next and he knows it’s going to hurt.  He rubs at his arms.  He feels cold, despite the sweater that Ruben insisted he wear.  He’s not a physically imposing guy.  He’s little.  He has no powers that will help him physically defeat an enemy.  

He closes his eyes and swallows hard.  He can hear gun fire.  He knows one of those shots just hit Ruben in the shoulder and he clenches his teeth against the urge to run back down the corridor and make sure he’s okay.  He knows Ruben is okay.  In a few minutes he’s going to be in this room and facing off against Ian.  Alvie leans his head back against the wall.  When he opens his eyes he knows what he’s going to see.  

He opens his eyes.  Ian is standing in the doorway, casually leaning against the doorframe as if he isn’t splattered with the blood of people he’s recently torn apart.  

“Alvie, right?  Little Alvie, the runt of the litter.  You’re the one that dreams the future, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”  Alvie is glad that his small voice is steady as he meets Ian’s eyes.  “You don’t succeed, you know.  You won’t get her.  You fail.  I’ve seen it.  You’re nothing more than a school-yard bully.  You pick on people that aren’t as strong as you.  Well, it doesn’t work this time.  We fight back and you lose.”

Ian moves excessively fast and grabs Alvie by his shirt front.  “We?  Ha!  You see the future, huh?  So you know what I’m about to do?” 

“Yes.”

He pulls Alvie towards him and then slams him back against the wall.  Alvie’s head smacks into the wall and a blinding headache over takes him, he grunts.  Ian spins him around and throws him against the wall again.  This time, when his head makes contact with the wall, the thin skin on the side of his forehead opens up and blood pours from the wound.  

Ian has one hand on Alvie’s head, pressing him harder against the wall.  His other hand twists Alvie’s arm up behind his back.  

“Little Alvie who sees the future.  You said you know what I’m about to do.  So, let’s do it in slow motion, shall we?  That way, you can savor every detail.”

Alvie grinds his teeth together in an effort not to scream as Ian slowly begins to pull up on the arm that’s pinned behind his back.  Alvie can’t keep quiet though as the tension slowly increases and his arm is steadily drawn towards an inevitable spiral fracture.  He groans at the mounting pressure on the bone, his cry slowly rising to a scream as the first snap is heard.  Ian keeps pulling at the same slow rate.  Alvie can’t hear anything now but his own screams.  

Ian releases him and Alvie slumps to the ground.  The bigger man towers over him menacingly.  “Should I break your other arm too?  Can you write out your dreams with two broken arms?”

Alvie doesn’t respond, but he looks up and meets Ian’s eyes defiantly.  Ian isn’t going to break his other arm.  He already knows this.  He’s about to pass out and Ian gets bored with toys that don’t cry.  He moans and Ian kicks him on the side of his head.  Alvie drops the rest of the way to the ground, unconscious.  

He’s not sure how much time has passed, but Alvie wakes slowly to a throbbing pain in his head and his arm.  He drags himself up from the floor with his legs and his one good arm and manages to prop himself against the wall.  

Everything hurts.  He knew it would.  He’d seen himself get thrown against the wall like a rag doll.  Ian is insanely powerful.  His arm hangs useless next to his side.  The entire right half of his face feels bruised.  That’s probably from being kicked in the head , he thought.  

He panted and cried out as he tried to get his arm into a more comfortable position cradled against his chest.  He sat there, his breathing heavy and closed his eyes.  

“ Alvie!  Thank God.  There you are.”  Ruben.  Ruben’s hands are on Alvie’s head, his face, checking his arm and assessing the damage, energy pumping in to Alvie.   “Quick.  I need to know where everyone else is.  Did he get her?  Where is Lyra?  Lee?  Alvie?”   Alvie’s eyes fly open.  There, just behind Ruben.  He’s back.  Ian.  Ruben touches Alvie’s cheek, he feels energy rushing into him again, briefly, but enough that he can stay conscious.  Alvie sees the resolve form in the line of his jaw.  

Ruben stands and turns.  “Ian.”  It’s not a question this time.  Alvie smiles.  Ruben knows Ian’s  there.  And that means everything.  

From his position on the floor, Alvie stares out from behind Ruben and his flickering hands.  He’s in so much pain and he’s so tired, but this is what is going to make it all worth it.  Ian steps to his right, and Ruben counters, keeping himself between Alvie and Ian.  

“You…”

“Surprise!”  Ian makes a jazz-hands type movement.  “See I was surprised to wake up in that bathroom all alone.  You were supposed to be the one that was dead.  I guess we both underestimated the power of that Blackout drug, didn’t we?”

“You… You hurt Alvie.”

“The runt?  Only a little.  He got in my way, said stuff I didn’t care to hear.  Things like ‘no’, and ‘you can’t’.  You know how much I hate that sort of thing, don’t you, Ruben? You remember how upset I get.  And how I have to punish those that make me upset.”  His voice hardens at the end and his stare flattens.  “And now you’re in my way.”

“You hurt Alvie.”

“Stop saying that.  I know how you can be a little slow to figure things out.  You can be a bit stupid sometimes, but-”

“He’s not stupid!  He’s the smartest man here,” Alvie doesn’t know why he says it, but hearing someone call Ruben, of all people, slow and stupid fills him with a seething rage.  “He’s smarter than you and you know it.  That’s why you took him.  Why you needed him.  You were too dumb to figure out the kill drug yourself.”

Ruben pales at Alvie’s words, his shoulder throbs and he feels queasy.  He can see Ian’s jaw tensing and the vein on his temple throbbing, giving away the fact that Ian is now beyond livid.

“Be quiet, Little Alvie.  The grown ups are talking,” Ian says with flat rage in his voice.  

“Don’t talk to him like that!” Ruben yells, holding his wounded shoulder.  He can feel the blood still flowing between his fingers.  The room spins a little.  “He’s the reason you lose today.  Him, and me and our team.  We’re all here to make sure you lose.”

“This has been fun, Ruben; this catching up.  But now you’re starting to annoy me.  I know that my men who were trying to get to Lyra had her and then lost her.  Now where is she?”

“Y-you c-can’t have her.”

“R-R-Ruben,” Ian mocks.   “There’s that scared little house pet that I enjoyed toying with so much back on the island.”

“I-I m-may stutter sometimes.  B-but I’m… Not.  Scared.  Of you.  Not anymore.”  Ruben stands up straight, lowers his hands to his sides and squares his shoulders.  He looks Ian straight in the eyes.  “You’re nothing more than a school-yard bully.  You pick on people that aren’t as strong as you.  Well, it doesn’t work this time.  We fight back and you lose.  I fight back.”

Alvie has the distinct satisfaction of seeing Ian pale when Ruben repeats the exact same words that Alvie had spoken to him earlier.  Ruben’s skin moves and shimmers with his blue lightning.  It’s brighter now and it moves across every inch of exposed flesh.  Ruben’s arms, neck, and face, even his hair is sending off thin blue sparks.  

Alvie laughs softly and then says in a sing-song voice, “ Somebody’s in trouble…”

“What?  Am I supposed to be scared of your little blue sparks?  I’ve felt them before.”  He motions to the Lichtenberg Figure that now decorates most of the right side of his body, and is clearly visible going up his neck and stopping just at his jaw line.  

“You should be,” Alvie says with a big grin.

“How does it feel, Ian?” Ruben asks.  

Ian rolls his eyes and gives an exasperated sigh.  “How does what feel, R-R-Ruben?”

‘To know that I marked you .  To know that every time you look in a mirror, you see what I can do?”

Ian gives another eye roll and steps toward Ruben.  “Enough. I’m tired of this conversation.”  He flexes his fingers and takes a crouching stance, ready to pounce.  

He takes a step towards Ruben and Ruben’s hands fly up.  Alvie’s smile widens.  One of Ruben’s hands makes contact with Ian’s chest.  The other with his face, the heel of his palm driving into Ian’s nose.  

The double blasts of lightning fling Ian’s head and then his entire body backwards.  Alvie swears he’s seeing it in slow motion as Ian’s body arcs beautifully backwards towards the opposite wall, head first, feet off the floor.  His entire body slams with a crunching thud into the wall a split second later and his charred, smoldering form slumps lifeless to the floor.  

Ruben stares at his own hands for a moment, bloody and tinged with blue sparks.    

“DAMN!  That’s what I’m talking about!” Alvie yells from the floor behind him.  Ruben jumps a bit at the sudden loudness of his voice, making his shoulder ache even more.  “You think he’s actually dead this time?”

“No.  I…”  He studies Ian for a moment but doesn’t get too close. “I think he’s just knocked out.  Pretty sure it would take more than a jolt to kill him.  I’ve already done that once before.”  Ruben hopes Ian will have new scars since he hurt Alvie.  Alvie!   He spins around and kneels next to him.  “You stupid man.  What were you thinking going against him?  You know he could have ripped you apart.”

He pulls Alvie in to a bruising hug ignoring the pain in his shoulder, letting his energy flow into the smaller man.  

“I’m okay.  I’m… I just did what I knew I had to do to make sure you beat him.  If you weren’t mad over him hurting me or trying to protect me, there was a chance you would lose.  I couldn’t let you lose.  I couldn’t…”

Ruben presses his lips to Alvie’s.  There’s no time for anything more lingering or substantial, just the slight tingling that leaves both of them feeling like fireworks.  

Ruben help’s Alvie stand up and they get themselves situated so that Ruben’s shoulder wound and Alvie’s broken arm don’t jostle each other.  

---

Usnavi and Alex head to the lobby as fast as they can.  Usnavi’s head is pounding, so it’s a good thing that Alex is able to make short work of anyone they come across.  He’s going to have to get Alex to show him some of those moves when they’re back at the barracks.  By the time they get to the lobby, Usnavi is having a hard time standing upright.  

Lee is in a shooting match with a group of men at the top of the basement stairs.  Alex helps Usnavi to the floor.  “Stay here until the gunfire stops.  Don’t even poke your head out of the stairwell.  You’re not bulletproof and I don't want any of you kids getting hurt.  Just stay down.  Quiet your mind like Lawless showed you.  I’ll come back for you when it’s clear.”

Usnavi has his hands over his ears but nods his agreement.  He closes his eyes and curls up at the bottom of the stairs.  

Alex looks around the corner carefully to assess the situation.  If he can get closer to them, he can take them out, but they are on the other side of the lobby from where he is.  There are support pillars that are large, round, and concrete.  Alex goes for it.  He almost makes it, but takes a bullet to the knee just before he is able to slide behind the pillar.  He pulls his knee against his chest and waits.  A few minutes later, he watches as his body expels the bloody, mangled bullet from his knee.  He waits a few more minutes, gasping a little while the bone fragments knit back together.  

Then he gets up and sprints for the next closest pillar.  Alexander doesn’t think they even see him since they probably thought he was down.  If he can get past two more pillars, he can get at them along the adjacent wall and they would never see him coming.  He hopes Usnvi has gotten some of his abilities back under control.  

Usnavi, can you hear me? He thinks silently.  There’s no response for several minutes.  

But then there’s a strained, Yes.  I can hear you.  What do you need?

Can you distract them so that I can run to the wall? I don’t even know how many there are.  Is there anything you can do?   

Give me a minute.  Let me see.   

Alex’s ears are ringing with the sound of the constant gunfire reverberating off the walls all around them.  He waits for several minutes.  Then he hears Usnavi’s voice in his head again.  

There are three men firing from the basement stairwell.  I think I can distract them, but you need to hurry.  Lee is almost out of bullets.  

Okay.  Just tell me when.  

Five seconds later:  When!

Alex runs, not bothering to stop at the next two pillars.  He reaches the wall.  No one is shooting.  The men are yelling at each other and shouting about voices in their heads.  

Alex rushes for their nest and jumps into their midst.  He grabs the first man’s arm and spins him around, placing his own finger on the man’s trigger; he shoots both of the other two men in quick succession before twisting the gun out of the man’s hand and shooting him pointblank in the chest.  The smoke from the gun clears and all is quiet.  

Alex stands breathing heavily for a beat.  

“Clear!” he called over his shoulder.  He took the guns and ammunition from the bodies of the men he’d just dispatched.  They might need these later.  He carried them over to the counter where Lee had made his stand.  

“Much obliged for the assistance.  Was almost out of bullets,” Lee says.  

“Well, take your pick from all this,” Alex replies before going back over to the stairs to check on Usnavi.  

Usnavi was sitting against the wall in the stairwell, eyes closed, breathing heavily.  

Alex crouched down next to him.  “Hey, kid, you okay?”

“Yeah, just a lot to filter out.  But I can handle it.”  He works to calm his breathing before opening his eyes and looking up at Alexander.  “Say, do you think we could swing though Washington Heights on the way home?  I’d love to see Sonny, and Vanessa, and even Benny.”

“I don’t know that we can do that today.  I think you’ve probably had enough, Usnavi.”

“No, I’m good.”

“Usnavi, you can barely stand and that’s with the partial dampeners inside this building.”

“I know.  I’m just so close and I’m a little… a little homesick.”

“I know.  I’m sorry.  Come on.  Let’s get out there with the others.”

Alex helps him to stand up.  He sways slightly on his feet but he’s able to walk to the counter where the others are huddled.  

Much to Alex’ chagrin, Lawless comes walking up the stairs a few minutes later wanting a full debrief of what the hell they are all doing there.  Somehow, Alex doesn’t think that ‘saving your ass’ will be a legitimate explanation.  

---

Ruben and Alvie make their way down the heavily damaged corridor and stairs.  The evidence of an hours long battle all around them.  

When they reach the lobby, they realize they're the last of the team to come back.  Alex, Lee, Usnavi, and Lawless are huddled together in a corner talking while Lyra, Pippa and the two daemons sit a couple of feet away.  

Alvie suddenly tenses at Ruben’s side.  “No!” Alvie says in a sharp whisper. 

Usnavi’s head snaps around to look at Alvie, then over to Pippa.  A split second later, shots ring out from another stairwell and bullets crack off the tiled floor all around them.  

Lyra screams and Pippa shoves her back behind the counter she’d been hiding behind earlier. Then Pipa’s head snaps to the side and she drops to the floor, a bullet through her temple.

Chapter Text

You Live In My Memories

The men are still firing at them, putting their entire group in danger.  Ruben runs for the staircase opening from where the shots are coming, Alvie screaming after him.  His only thought is to stop the gun fire.  

Before he can make it there though, he feels the electric prickle in the air of an impending thunderstorm.  There’s a clap of thunder and then lightning bolts are flashing past him.  He can see the gunmen ahead of him crumple to the ground.  He pulls up short at the smell of ozone in the air and the sudden, almost deafening quiet.  

It only lasts for a moment.  A beat.  Then there are screams and a flurry of panicked activity behind him. 

Pippa.  Alvie.  Lyra, Lee, Alex, Usnavi! 

He turns.  Everyone is accounted for and seems okay.  Except Pippa.  

“Ruben!  Help!” Alexander calls.  He runs back to where she’s fallen.  Alex is on the ground, cradling her wounded head.  He has tears falling from his eyes.  He’s already covered in her blood, and so is Lyra who is sobbing next to him.  Pan is dog form, nosing at her face, licking her, trying to comfort her.  Lee lifts her up and pulls her into a hug, holding her tight against him.

Ruben crashes to the floor next to Alex.  “Let me see.  Alex, let me see her.”

Alvie hovers over him cursing a string of expletives and berating himself.  “I didn’t see it.  I didn’t see it.  Why didn’t I see it?”

Pippa’s eyes are open and unseeing.  There’s no pulse.  Nothing.  The blood isn’t even spurting or pumping.  It’s just flowing gently out of her now.  

“Alex!” Ruben fixes him with a sharp gaze, but Alex isn’t looking at him.  He’s in shock.  Horrified at what has happened.  He just keeps stroking the hair on the side of her face.  Ruben shakes him.  “Alexander!  Saenz!”  Still no response.  “Alexander Hamilton!”

Alex’s eyes move to his, wide, red and terrified.  

“Alex you can save her!”

“What? Me?”

“You’re blood, Alex.  It’s the only way.  But you have to choose now.  She’s dying.”

“She’s not dying, she's already dead,” Lawless says quietly.  

“Shut up!  You don’t understand any of this,” Ruben hisses.  “Alex, I can do it, but I need your blood.  Can I do this?  Let me do this for you. Will you let me try?”

Alexander nods weakly and then reaches down to grab a shattered piece of glass.  He holds it out to Ruben like a knife.  

“Don’t be gentle,” he says. “You won’t hurt me.”

Ruben nods solemnly.  He turns Pippa’s head so that the ugly wound is facing up.  He slices a deep cut into Alex’s wrist, deep enough to be life threatening if it were anyone else.  Blood sprays from the wound.  Alexander hisses.  Ruben presses his wound against Pippa, forcing Alex’s blood into her body.  

He looks up and makes eye contact with Alex.  “It’ll work.  It has too.  It has too.”  Ruben feels his own tears start to trickle down his cheek.  

Alvie squats down next to him and rests his arm good around his shoulders.  Alexander’s wrist has stopped bleeding.  Ruben pulls it back and slices into his arm for a second time and repeats his actions.  They all count the seconds in silent sobs as they tick by.  

Ruben moves his arms to cut him a third time, but Alvie stops him.  “Look,” he whispers.  There’s something shiny and metal that makes a clacking sound as it slips out of the wound and falls to the floor.  A mangled blood bullet.  They all hold their collective breath as Ruben wipes away the residual blood.  The wound is closed.  It’s not there. 

“She’s going to be okay,” Alvie says, his eyes closed.  “She is.”

“I can hear her.” Usnavi says through gritted teeth.  “She’s coming around.”

Her eyes flutter open, but there’s a confused expression on her face.  

“She doesn’t know who she is or who we are,” Usnavi supplies.  

“Her brain is probably still repairing itself,” Ruben says quietly.  “It may take some time.  She may need an actual transfusion of your blood Alex.”

“No,” Usnavi says quietly, “It’s there.  It’s just trying to find its way to the surface.  Let me see if I can help.”

Pippa closes her eyes again as Usnavi places his shaking hands on either side of her head and reaches into her memories.  He starts with her surface memories, just like he’d done with Lee in the van this morning.  Each memory presents a different path for him to follow.  He just has to find the right one…  

He sees one with Alexander at his desk writing something and follows that one.  Woah!  Usnavi feels like he jumped off a cliff or took a dive into a deep pool.  He grunts as his stomach flips and he has a sense of falling.  He’s deep inside her memories.  Deeper he thinks than any conscious memory could reside.  He strengthens his mental hold on the memory he’s chasing.  It is the only surface image of Alex that he had, and if it’s sinking this deep, he didn't want to lose it. On the plus side, this deep into her memories, all the other sounds invading Usnavi’s head have shut off.   

Suddenly, like the ground rushing up to meeting him, he’s flooded with memories of her and Alexander.  But, something is different.  Usnavi concentrates hard.  He doesn’t like being this deep in her mind.  He grabs at the memories that are the brightest and pulls back, dragging them to the surface with him.  He holds them there, at the surface for her to meditate on.  

Pippa opens her eyes.  She reaches her hand up to Alexander and cups his cheek, “Why do you write like you’re running out of time.”

Alexander gasps as the tears continue to flow and holds her hand against his face.  “What?” He looks into her eyes and there’s something different, but very familiar. It’s recognition. “...Eliza?”

“Alexander,” she whispers back.  

“Eliza, my love, I’ve missed you so much,” Alex whispers to her through his tears.  

“It looks like I’m back in the narrative.”  She smiles up at him while he strokes his fingers through her hair and laughs a little.  

“Oh.  My god!” Usnavi gasps, realizing what he did.  “Damn!  I… I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“What?  What did you do?” Ruben asks.

“I… I think I pulled up memories from a past life.  I think I pulled up memories from Eliza.  His Eliza.”

“Huh?” Alvie says.  “Who’s Eliza?”

“His wife.  Shh,” Usnavi responds.  He’s still in her thoughts, frantically trying to make sure her current memories can still be found and that he didn’t do irreparable damage.  The other voices are starting to filter back in and he knows he only has a few minutes before he’s overwhelmed again.  

They all stay there in stunned silence watching the two of them.  

“There,” Usnavi breathes.  He’s found Pippa’s more current memories.  He brings them up from their hiding place and leaves them next to the deeper ones.  He can’t bear to put the old memories away, but they shouldn’t be there.  

“Alex?” he asks tentatively.  

Alex doesn’t respond to him.  He refuses to break eye contact with her.  

“Alexander.”

“What?” he says, not looking up.  

“Do you want me to put the memories back?  They’re not supposed to be here, not in her conscious mind.  I don’t even know how this happened.  What should I do?”

Alex looks up at him then.  “Put them back?  What do you mean?”

“She’s not Eliza.  She’s Pippa.  I didn’t mean to pull memories from that far back.  I didn’t even know it was possible.  I don’t know what to do.”

“If… If you put them back?” Alex asks.

“She won’t remember you.  Not like that.  She’ll be Pippa, but she won’t remember being Eliza.” He softens his voice.  “It’s how it’s supposed to be.  I don’t know that we’re meant to know the past, not like that.”  Usnavi continues to pull at Pippa’s memories, bringing them up to the surface.  

Alexander looks down at Pippa.  

“It’s okay, Alex,” she says.  “I love you.  I’ve always loved you.  I just wish that you hadn’t left me so soon.  I missed you terribly.”

“And I you.  There’s never been another.  Not for me.  There was only ever you.”

Pippa’s brow furrows.  “But, I’m not me.  Not entirely.  Or rather, I’m more me.  Like, I know more than I did before.”

“And can you live like that?  Knowing you’ve lived before?” He asks, not daring to hope for an answer.  

“I- I feel more like Pippa, than Eliza.  But, yes.  I feel like I can.  As long as we’re together, that would be enough.”

Alex chokes out a sob and cradles her head against his chest.  “Leave them, Usnavi.  Leave the memories.  We’re going to be just fine.”  He leans down and kisses her forehead.  “I’ve found you at last, my love.  I often hoped you would come back to me.  It’s taken 200 years, but I finally have you in my arms again.”

He moves her head so that he can kiss her properly.  It’s the first time in centuries that his lips have touched anyone with any kind of meaning or truth behind them.  

Usnavi sits back panting.  She’s fully Pippa again, but with the added bonus of her memories as Eliza.  He looks for a moment at those memories, not trying to intrude, but just… curious.  Those bright ones that he brought up with him.  Alexander in his Continental uniform standing between George Washington and Philip Schuyler on their wedding day.  That was the brightest memory.  

The others were clear as well though.  Alexander, again in uniform, kissing her hand on the first day they met.  Alexander holding their children, one by one in a line of succession across the years.  Alexander standing between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson at a formal event for the President.  Alexander weeping into her arms next to George Washington’s grave.  Alexander with his writing desk in his lap, there were several versions of that image spanning their life together.  

The last one is Alexander holding her hand and barely clinging to life as she said her final goodbyes to him.  Her sense of loss feels exactly like the sense of loss that so often exudes from Alexander.  They truly seem to match, as if they really were meant to find each other.  

Usnavi smirks.  Seven billion people on the planet.  What are the odds, really?  So, perhaps they are meant to be together.  

----

“We’re leaving,” Alexander says, helping Pippa to stand.  “We’re taking Lyra with us.  She’s coming to live at the Barracks, where she belongs.”

“What!?  It’s not safe for her there!  She doesn’t need to be around all of that.” Lawless counters.  

“Christian!  Look around.  They came for her.  Your men were beaten.  They were dragging her from her room.  If we hadn’t gotten here when we did they’d have taken her.”

“But, your men, they can be dangerous.”

“Exactly.” Alexander’s voice is flat and serious, not an ounce of sarcasm.  

Lee steps up, his arm around Lyra.  “You’re not keeping my girl from me any more.” He tosses the file on Jason and Ian at Lawless.  “You let that monster have close contact with her, knowing how dangerous he was.  Knowing what he was capable of.” He makes a quick sideways glance at Ruben, who holds his head high.

“He was contained.  There wasn’t a trace of Ian Price,” Lawless replies.  

Alex motions around to the battered, bullet-riddled lobby, “I would beg to differ.  Whoever is backing him, found a way to bring Ian back out.  Usnavi says he’s been Ian for several weeks now and your people didn’t even notice.”

“Lyra told me at Christmas time that he was acting strange.  She said he told her that she belonged to someone else.  Now if a little girl knew that, how come you didn’t,” Lee questions.

“The fact is, you are the one who failed to protect her.  And she is safer with us.” Alex, despite being several inches shorter than Lawless, has no problem projecting a larger presence.  

“I want to go with Lee,” Lyra states matter of factly.  “I’ve never felt safe here.  This place gives me the creeps and I liked the barracks.  Being there at Christmas was the first time since coming to this world that I didn’t feel constantly on edge.”

“And she won’t be the only girl there,” Usnavi chimes in, rubbing his head as he reads Lawless’ objections.  “Pippa will be there too.  Isn’t that right Alvie?”

Alvie nods and manages to get out a shaky, “Yeah.  She’ll be there.”  He’s leaning heavily against Ruben.  

“What about her education?  She’s been getting regular instruction here.”

“We’ll take over.  I can teach her literature and history.  Ruben can handle science and math.  Hell, even Alvie could teach her art.  Send us the curriculum.  I’m certain we could manage.  I mean, who better to teach American history than an actual founding father?” Alex asks with a raised eyebrow.  

“What?” Lyra chimes in.

“Yeah, he’s the guy on the ten dollar bill.” Alvie says with a shaky giggle.  

“This is gonna be awesome,” Lyra says with a smile.  Then she turns to Lawless.  “I’m not staying here.  I’m going with Lee.  Try to keep me here and you’ll have hell to pay.  I ran away from Jordan College.  I ran away, well sort of, from Bolvangar.  You can’t keep me here.”  She sees Lawless is about to object, “I don’t mean you can’t keep me here like I'm some petulant child.  I mean, you literally can’t keep me here.”  She snaps her fingers, takes one step forward and she’s gone.  

Lee gasps in shock.  “Lyra!”  

They’re all dumbstruck.  

A second later she steps backward and is at Lee’s side.  She looks at Lawless.  “You.  Can’t.  Keep me here.  Not anymore.  I belong with them.”

Lawless is at a loss for words.  

Lee wraps his arms around Lyra.  “Don’t do that.  You scared me half to death.  We’ve talked about this.  It’s dangerous.  You can’t let people know.”

She looks up at him with a wicked gleam in her eye.  “He already knew.  It was in my file.  Or at least he suspected.”

“Your file…”  Lawless says, confused.  

“Yes.  My file that went missing a month or two ago.  I took it.  I just…” she snaps her fingers, “popped into your office after we’d been having a talk and took it.”

“Her file went missing and you didn’t think there might be a problem?” Alex asks.  

“Well, I thought I’d just mislaid it.”

“For months?”  Alexander is incredulous.  

“Fine.  The girl may go with her father.”  

Alexander and Usnavi glance at Lee.  His eyes are bright and he has a look of absolute, fierce pride on his face as he gives Lawless a crooked smile.  

“But I want to debrief with each of you before you go.  I need to know how and why you are all here.”

“You will not debrief with us individually.  We’re tired, some of us are hurt and need medical treatment.  We can tell you what you need to know here.  Together.  Do you have any medical personnel?” Alex asks.  

“Yes, we have an infirmary two floors up, it’s a secured room, so the staff should have sheltered in place there.”

“Fine, let’s all head up there.  Then we’ll tell you quickly and be on our way.  We have a long drive ahead of us.”

Lawless sighs.  “Alright.  Why does it feel like I can never gain the upper hand with you?”

“Perhaps you should stop trying to.  I keep telling you we work well together and you keep trying to drive a wedge.” 

They start making their way back up the stairs.  

“Perhaps.  But, you just have your team to consider, I have everyone else.  Investors, The Board, the other residents, the staff, the whole operation.”

“I’ll make it easy on you, Christian.  You take care of all of that, and I will take care of my team.  You can mark them off of your list of things to be concerned with.”

“You know I can’t.  I’ve put all my eggs in one basket so to speak and it’s not even under my control anymore.”

“No it’s not.” Alex agrees as they climb the two flights of stairs.  “But tell me, have I ever truly kept you out of the loop?  Have I intentionally kept you in the dark?”

“No.” Lawless’ voice is flat, he knows he’s not going to win.  

“Then I think it’s time you start trusting me.  Trusting us.  We called you this morning to warn you.  We got no response.  Alvie knew we wouldn’t.  We’re not trying to work against you.  We got in the car and drove six hours to get here and prevent an all out massacre.  Someone is after Lyra.  We will protect her.  You use your resources to figure out who it is.  If I were you, I would start with Ian.  Ruben left him unconscious in the fifth floor break room.”

“Ruben?  Ruben took out Ian?” Lawless asks incredulously.

“In seconds,” Alvie says with a proud grin on his face as he and Ruben limp to a gurney..  “One touch and whoosh, spaghetti against the wall.”  

“I’ll… send my men to recover him,” lawless concedes.  “You still haven’t told me how this started.”

“I had a dream,” Alvie supplies.  “I saw exactly what we needed to do.  I saw what happened if we didn’t do it.  So, I wrote out step by step directions so that everyone would be okay.  I knew if I didn’t we’d mess it up.  I even drew pictures of certain scenes so the team would know.”

“You… wrote out… directions?  You saw it that clearly?” Lawless says, fixing him with his gaze.  “And you could read his writing?” Lawless asks, turning to Alex.  

“Flawlessly.” Alex keeps his eyes on Lawless.  

“I can’t believe that.” Lawless says, completely nonplussed.  “He’s never seen anything that clear, or been able to write out step by step instructions.  He’s not capable of that level of coherency.”

Medical personnel come over and start treating Alvie and Ruben’s wounds.  They splint Alvie’s arm and get him fitted into a sling before bandaging his head wound.  

The wound on Ruben’s shoulder was a through and through.  No bullet to retrieve, so they work on making sure they can close up the wound.  He sits still while they stitch up the wound on both sides of his shoulder.  Another scar, but this one he’s proud of.  He turns his attention back to Alexander.  

“I think you’ll find that you were missing a few puzzle pieces where Alvie is concerned.  See, there were things that he needed, and saw that he needed them, but you wrote them off as unimportant.  Tell me, what was something that continually popped up in his visions.  Over and over, for years?”

“What?  Nothing.  He didn’t have a lot of repetitive visions”

Alex shakes his head. 

“You still don’t see it, do you?" He says.  "It’s sitting right in front of you, literally staring you in the face and you still don’t see it.  Unbelievable.  Think Lawless.  Think real hard.  Something, or someone, that he saw over and over for years.  I know you know.  It’s in the file.”

“What are you talking-” Lawless stops suddenly.  He looks at Alvie.  Alvie’s holding Ruben’s hand, their fingers are threaded together.  The medical personnel have finished closing his wound.  Lawless can see the sparks dancing along Ruben’s flesh.  Alvie isn’t reacting.  He knows from the tests that they did on Ruben that Alvie should be on the ground with that much electricity in contact with his skin.  “No.  It can’t be that simple.  It can’t be.”

“I told you keeping them locked away in isolation was detrimental.  That it wasn’t good for them.  Here’s proof of it right in front of your own eyes.  It’s why my way is working.  It’s why you're alive and whoever these guys were don’t have Lyra this very minute.”

Lawless shakes his head. 

“Incredible.”  He looks around at Alexander’s team.  “Anyone else have anything to add?”

They don’t say anything.  They’re content to let Alex speak for them.  

“If that’s all, we’ll be going now.  It’s been a long day already and we want to get home.  As i mentioned, it’s a long drive.”

Lawless huffs and shakes his head.  “I still expect weekly reports.”

“Of course.  Like I said, I’ve never tried to keep you out of the loop.”

“And I’ll send you the curriculum for Miss Lyra’s schooling.”

“I look forward to it.  I’ll make sure you have copies of her assessments so you can see her progress.  We’ll take excellent care of her.”

“I expect nothing less.”  Lawless nods.  “Have a safe drive then.”

“Thank you.”  Alex turns on his heel and the rest of his team follows him out the infirmary.  

To Be Continued...

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Chapter Text

“Yo. I’m starving.  We ain’t had nothin’ to eat.  Can we stop and get some food?” Alvie says as they climb into the SUV.

“Oh!  We could get McDonald’s!  Have you guys had McDonalds?” Lyra asks

“Even better!” Alvie suggests, leaning over the seat. “Lyra, have you ever had IHOP? All night pancakes?”

Pippa laughs.

“Alvie,” she says affectionately. “It’s late.”

“Lyra, tell that lady it’s not too late for pancakes,” Alvie says jokingly. “They have something you’ll love-Funny Face Pancakes. They make a smiley face out of your food, and they have the best chocolate milk.”

“Chocolate milk?” Lyra’s brows furrow. “There’s chocolate milk?”

“Shit,” Alvie throws himself back against the seat. “Alex, IHOP. We’re goin’ to IHOP.”

Pippa looks at Alex, smiling. “We’re going to IHOP.”

“IHOP it is,” Alex says, pulling out his phone and mapping to an IHOP just outside of the city.  “It’s still going to be a bit, so buckle up.  We have to get out of the city first.”  He glances in the rear view mirror at Usnavi who has his eyes shut tight and is holding his head.  

“So, like, we need code names now that we’re officially a badass superhero team,” Alvie says. “I got just the right ones too! Ali, you’re ‘The Falcon’-wait, there might already be a superhero called the Falcon. Usnavi, you’re ‘Brainstorm’. Get it? Or ‘Psych Out’.”

Pippa chuckles. “Those are good.”

Usnavi manages to huff out a laugh.  “Brainstorm or Psych Out.  I’ll have to think, but I’m leaning towards Psych Out.  Why the Falcon for Alex?  He doesn’t fly?”

“Because falcons keep watch over everything,” Alvie explains. “You know? ‘Watch like a falcon?”

“Hawk,” Pippa corrects him. 

“Or Alex could be...maybe…” Alvie ponders. “Star Spangled Hammer.”

“How is that a thing?” Ruben asks from his seat next to Alvie, his shoulder hurts but he’s smiling.  “What about, Star Spangled Ninja?”  

“This is so dumb,” Alex mutters.  He may be a little cranky after having it out with Lawless, again, but he’s smiling too and Pippa shushes him.  “I’m not going to show up anywhere in red, white and blue spandex, just so everyone knows.”

“You’re Dr. Taser,” Alvie tells Ruben with a solemn expression, but it’s clear he’s fighting the urge to smile.

Ruben snorts out a laugh.  “It would be electricity related.  Still, Dr. Taser is pretty cool sounding.”  He doesn’t say it, but he likes the memory of Ian slamming into the wall that comes to his head.  

“You could be, The Sandman,” Ruben supplies, “because your power happens while you sleep.”  

Alvie smiles.  "Yeah, that's cool."

“What about me?” Lyra asks excitedly. “What’s my code name?”

Alvie rubs his chin thoughtfully. 

“Air Drop,” he says, and almost all of the adults laugh except Lee who isn’t familiar with the technology in this world. 

“And you-” Alvie points at him. “You’re ‘The Weather Man’.”  Then he adds dramatically, “From Channel 6 News at Rochambeau, The Weather Man. Forecast? PAIN.”

Lee smirks.  “Speaking of powers, Lyra.  When did you get so adept at that opening portals thing you were doing.  You couldn’t do that before, could you?”

Lyra shrugs. “I don’t know. I wasn’t that great at it before. I thought maybe someone in the facility had the ability to block it, but then they worked when you showed up, just like before.”

Alex swivels in the driver’s seat and glances at her.  “You… you bluffed Lawless?  You couldn’t control it until today and you… wow, kid.  You got guts.  I’m impressed.  You handled yourself well in there.  You have exactly the kind of power he would want to hold on to.  Did he know that you had powers before today, because I didn’t.”

Lee’s smirk turns to a full smile.  “That’s my girl.  She’s clever when it comes to keepin’ secrets.”

Lyra beams. “He had no idea.  He suspected I could do something, but he didn’t know what it was.  He knew I was important because of those other guys that got me when we first came through.  Rochambeau rescued me from them, but then just kept me.  I’m honestly not sure if he kept me because of his suspicions or as leverage for you.”  She looks pointedly at Lee.  “Either way, he thought I was important.  At least he treated me well.  He was always bringing me stuff.  But he always looked sad when he would visit me.”

Lyra then asks Alex and Pippa, “Are we almost at the hop?”

The others chuckle. Lyra looks around, confused.

Alex glances at the map on his phone.  “We still have a bit to go, but it looks like we’re getting out of the major population centers of the city pretty soon.  How are you feeling, Usnavi?”

“I’m okay.  It’s getting better, but I still have a bad headache,” Usnavi replies.  “I may just get my food to go and eat later.  Not sure I could actually eat anything right now.”

“Whatever you need to do.  It’s fine by me,” Alex assures.  

Ruben and Alvie are talking in the back.  “Say, if Alvie is giving us code names, we should have a team name too,” Ruben says.  

Alex rolls his eyes.  Ruben is as much of a geek as Alvie.  

“I’m just saying, I mean, what even is Rochambeau?  Like where did that name come from?” Ruben asks Alex.  

“The Compte de Rochambeau was a commander who helped us win the Battle of Yorktown during the American Revolution.  From what I’ve been able to gather, the organization is named after him.  He was a sort of backup plan.  So, I think that’s how the organization sees itself.  A sort of secondary line of defense to guarantee freedom.”

“Wow.  I would not have guessed that,” Ruben said.  “So, group name?”

They all laugh

“We’re here,” Pippa says.

“Thank God!” Alex says.  “I don’t think I could handle trying to come up with a group name in addition to code names.”  He rolls his eyes at Pippa, but he’s smiling.  

The hostess seems a little concerned by their a[[earance.  They walk up to the host stand with ripped clothes, some of them with blood stains on them, mussed hair, and an overall just been through hell and back look to them, but she doesn’t comment.

“Booth okay?” She asks, never taking her eyes off of them as she gathers up menus.

“Yeah, whatever you have that’ll seat seven,” Alex responds.  

“Right this way,” she says with a forced smile. 

The booth is a large round one and everyone slides in. The hostess drops their menus like hot potatoes and skitters back to the safety of her stand.

“Look.” Lyra points to the menu, showing Lee. “Chocolate milk.”

“And ‘Texas Breakfast’,” Alvie says, reaching over to point. 

Pippa can see how tired Alex is and kisses his cheek. It’s different now. Something has shifted between the two of them.  They can both feel it.  

“Want me to ask the server to leave the pot of coffee on the table?” She jokes softly. 

“Yes,” he states flatly.  He’s going to need it.  “I don’t expect anyone else will be awake by the time we get home, but man it’s been a long day and it’s going to be a long drive.”

“I can drive,” she offers.

“Me too,” Ruben adds.

“No offense, Ruben, but you’ve got a gunshot wound through your shoulder and you’re on pain meds.  You have no business driving tonight.  Plus I’d like for you to keep an eye on Alvie.  He most likely has a concussion.”

“Oh right.  Yeah.  Of course,” Ruben replies, looking at Alvie with concern.  

Alvie smirks back at him.  “Pancakes!” he says enthusiastically.  It makes Ruben smile.  

“Usnavi?” Pippa asks, seeing Usnavi very discreetly put his hand to his temple. He’s looking back at the hostess.

They all turn to see her on her cell phone, but she pauses, hangs up, and sets it down. Usnavi moves his hands.

“What was that?” Alvie asks.

“She was callin’ the cops,” Usnavi says. He picks up his menu. “They got migas here?”

“Is she calling the cops on us?” Alex asks.  

“By the state of our clothes,” Ruben says, tugging at his blood soaked sweater. “I’d say it’s a valid reason.”

“And we brought in a ferret and a rabbit,” Alvie points out. “Sure they don’t count as service animals.”

“Did you stop her?” Alex asks, with a look of awe on his face.  

Usnavi nods. “It’s not easy, but if I can make this... direct connection , I can push my own thoughts into someone else’s.”

He looks around to see the rest of them looking somewhat uncomfortable.

“I didn’t hurt her or anything!” He says defensively. “I just put a sense of ‘it’s okay’, ‘we’re not bad’, and ‘calm’ into her mind.”

“That’s amazing, Usnavi,” Pippa says. “Your abilities have really progressed.”

An older woman comes by in a server’s uniform, the classic diner look, and takes a pen from behind her ear. Usnavi starts to put his hand to his temple, but Doris (as her name tag reads) looks hardly interested in their disheveled state. 

“Cawfee?” She asks in a scratchy voice.

“Yes, please,” Pippa says. “All around, and-” she looks at Lyra.

“A chocolate milk, please,” Lyra asks politely. 

“You got it, Sweetheart,” Doris says, smiling. “Ready to order?” 

“Yes!” Alvie jumps in.  “We’re going to need at least two orders of funny-faced pancakes.  Lyra do you want some too?”  Lyra nods.  “Okay, then three funny faced pancakes.  Ruben, what do you want?”

Ruben looks over the menu.  “I’ll have… the Migas.”

“Yeah I’ll have that too,” Usnavi says.

“Ham and peppers omelette,” Pippa says. She looks at Alexander. “You need to eat. You need more than coffee in you.”

“I’ll have the t-bone steak and eggs.” 

Lee grunts a bit at that selection and looks over the menu.  “I’ll have that too, but throw in a couple of slices of bacon.”  

Doris disappears and returns shortly with their drinks and a coloring page for Lyra. She looks confused.

“I have to fill this out to get my pancakes?” She asks, turning it over. 

“No,” Alvie says. “You have to find all of these hidden words in the jumble of letters. It’s to pass time while you’re waitin’ for your food and your parents are starin’ at their phones.”

Lyra picks up the red crayon. 

“I see ‘Flamingo’,” she says, circling it. 

---

Once their food arrives, they seem to be more at ease with something in their stomachs. Alvie shows Lyra how to use all of the syrups at the table which creates quite the mess. Alexander drinks cup after cup of coffee. When they’re all finished, they seem actually tired rather than just fatigued.

“Uh, Ali?” Alvie tugs at his hair. “I ain't got any money.”

“Not a problem, tonight’s dinner is on Rochambeau.”  He pulls out his wallet and holds up the flat black card.  “I got a company credit card for emergencies.  I think today in general counts as an emergency.”  He winks at Alvie who smiles with giddy excitement.  

Once their food is paid for, they head back out to the SUV and pile in.  They’re all pleasantly full and drowsy after a hard day and a good meal.  Ruben and Alvie take the very back, Lyra and Lee snuggle in next and then Usnavi takes the last seat.  Pippa, as always, is riding shotgun with Alex.  

Alex pulls through Starbucks and orders a venti cup of coffee with two extra shots of espresso.  Pippa orders a grande coffee of the day.  No one else wants anything.  

Within a half an hour, most of the occupants in the vehicle are asleep.  Ruben is still trying to keep Alvie talking just in case he has a concussion, but even he is fading fast.  Usnavi has his head against the window.  Lost in thought.  He looks a little sad.  Alex will have to make sure he gets a Facetime call home.  He knew it was hard for him to be near his home, his family, and not actually get to see them.  

---

Usnavi leans his head against the cold window.  His headache is finally subsiding as the glow of the city lights disappears behind them.  So close.  He’d been so close to seeing his family.  God, he misses them.  He’s been dealing with it.  He’s made regular calls home to Sonny, Vanessa, and Benny.  He’d been fine, or at least he thought he had.  Until today.  He’d been close enough that he could see the George Washington Bridge.  But now he’s on his way back to the Barracks.  And he knows that a phone call or even a Facetime call isn’t going to be enough now.  He needs to hold them.  He needs to put his arms around Vanessa and Sonny.  Hell, he wouldn’t even mind giving Benny a hug at this point.  

He’s tired; it’s been such a long day.  He feels his eyes prickle with tears, but he manages to blink them away.  Maybe he can go home.  He did okay today.  Maybe he can go back for a visit.  He’d just have to tell Alex.  Not tonight though.  Maybe tomorrow.  But definitely sometime in the next week.  He would have to.  He just can’t do this anymore.  Not without seeing his family.  

Usnavi looks at Alex.  How did he do it?  How did he stay away from his family until they were essentially all dead and gone.  Usnavi’s not wired that way.  He needs people.  He’d almost died himself after he lost his parents.  His friends and family had been his life line, his sole reason for getting up every morning and pushing through.  His purpose.  Sure, these guys were good guys.  But it just wasn’t the same.  

He closed his eyes and tried to get a little sleep.  

---

Alex is driving with one hand, Pippa is holding his other.  It’s about one in the morning and they still have another hour or so to go.  

All of the rest of the van’s inhabitants are asleep.  

It’s quiet and peaceful after all the chaos and pain of the day.  He brings Pippa’s finger’s to his lips.  

“I… I almost lost you today,” he whispers to her.  

“But you didn’t.  And I think you’ve found more than you almost lost.”  She smiles at him.  He returns her smile with a sideways glance.  “It’s weird,” she continues.  “Like when I look at you, I see you as I’ve known you for the last few months, but then I get flashes of you from my time as Eliza.”

She reaches over and runs her hands through his hair.  “You used to have much longer hair.  And you loved our family so well.”

Alex’s smile twists downward.  “So well that I went out and dueled someone without telling you, without telling Eliza, and then got myself killed.”

“Don’t say that.  Things were different back then.  Different rules.  You did the best that you could and you were such a good father.”

“I haven’t been that man in a long time.  There was never anyone else for me.  Not until I saw you that day for the first time in Rochambeau.  There was something in your eyes and I just knew.  You were her.  I knew it.”

“So, do we start again?  What happens now?”

“I’m not letting you go.  I don’t care how many times I die.  You know the truth this time.  And nothing could keep me from you.”  He kissed her hand again.  “What do you say?  You wanna be with me?  Again?”

She laughed.  “I thought I already was.”    

----

It’s almost two am by the time they return to the barracks. They’re all pretty beat up and tired, but Lyra’s safe, and that’s what counts. 

Alexander turns to look at them in the very back. Lyra is asleep on Lee’s chest, who looks like he could fall back asleep at any moment. She’s curled up into a ball since there’s nothing to cover her with and it’s probably extra cold in her pajamas up in the mountains. He knows what Lee is feeling. Usnavi does too.  

Alvie lost his battle to stay awake and Ruben lost his battle to try and make him stay awake until he was certain he was okay from the concussion. Alvie’s snuggled up against Ruben, drooling onto his sweater. Ruben has also finally fallen asleep, his head resting on top of Alvie’s.  

“It’s the most calm their minds have been in a while,” Usnavi says to him quietly. “I didn’t read Lee’s mind-not on purpose, but I know if that had been Sonny…”

Alexander nods, killing the engine. The sudden stop makes them all stir awake. 

“We’re here,” he says quietly. 

Lyra stirs and Lee shushes her softly. As they all pile out of the SUV, he carries her like she’s one instead of eleven, Hester hopping dutifully along at his side. When they get inside, he puts her down and she looks around. Pan does too. Lee touches a cut on her forehead.

“You can wash up tomorrow,” He says. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”

It’s almost like everything that happened today is too much for Lyra; she bursts into tears, sobbing into her hands. Lee doesn’t panic or look worried. He simply pulls her against him and rubs her back.

“It’s alright,” he says softly. “You’re safe. You’re home .” 

Usnavi approaches them and Lee looks at him warily. 

“Can I help her to calm down?” Usnavi asks. “I promise it’ll help.”

Lee hesitates, but he can see the genuine concern in Usnavi’s eyes and finally nods. He steps away from Lyra and Usnavi kneels down. 

“He’s right, you know,” He says, very gently placing his fingertips to her right temple. “You’re safe here.”

Sleep, he tells her in his mind, transferring a sense of deep, contented exhaustion to her. They watch, mouths open slightly, as Lyra’s whole body relaxes and her eyes close. Just as she collapses, Lee catches her.

“She’s okay,” Usnavi tells him softly. “She needs the rest.” 

Lee nods, scooping her up over his shoulder like a little child, and starts for the stairs. 

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Alexander says quietly, smiling at Usnavi. 

Usnavi rubs the back of his neck modestly.

“Come on,” Ruben tells Alvie. “Let’s get you to bed.  You’ve had the longest day of us all, I think.”

Usnavi waits until they go upstairs and then tells Alexander in a low voice, “Lyra’s worried. She’s a brave kid, but there’s been so many times she’s been separated from Lee, you know? Unsure of when she’ll see him-if she’ll see him again. I think it just gets to be too much for her sometimes.”

“She is a brave kid,” Alexander agrees, nodding. 

Usnavi bids Pippa and Alex good night and heads up the stairs himself.  

Alex watches him go and then turns and takes Pippa’s hand.  He doesn’t say anything as he guides her to his bedroom.  Things are definitely different now.  And he intends to show her how different.  

As he closes the door behind them, Pippa pulls him into an embrace and then tilts her head, tangling her fingers in his hair as she pulls him to her so their lips meet.  

----

Upstairs, Ruben checks out Alvie’s sling from the infirmary. . 

“I’m sure Alexander can find a doctor to come and fit you with a cast,” he tells him. 

Alvie only smiles a little, and his eyes are so heavy and tired.

“You were great today,” he tells him, his voice slightly raspy from fatigue. “The best.”

Ruben manages a half smile back.

“You’re the best,” he corrects him, leaning in to kiss him softly. 

Alvie grins as they continue to kiss, using his free hand to cup Ruben’s cheek. He then moves into his hair. 

“We need to go to bed,” Ruben says, pulling away. He helps Alvie out of his sneakers and jeans and into his bed. When he starts to go to his own bed, Alvie makes grabby hands for him. Well, hand. 

“Sleep here ,” he says, scooting over. 

Ruben takes off his own pants, leaving the sweater on, and slides into bed next to him. Alvie snuggles up against him, careful of his broken arm, and Ruben pulls the covers up and over both of them.

“I’m really sorry about today,” Ruben says after they’re silent for several seconds. “I’m sorry about everything.”

“I’m not,” Alvie says simply, snuggling even closer. “I’m happy.”

“You’re happy?” Ruben lets out a flat chuckle. “You almost died.”

“But I was with you,” Alvie points out. “Every night in Rochambeau, I feel like I almost died. But I was all by myself. I was alone. That would have been worse.”

Ruben’s heart aches for Alvie. How does he have such a good outlook on everything when he’s had so many horrible things happen to him? 

“I was alone too,” he finally responds. “I felt that way as well. I didn’t know if I would ever leave Jamaica.”  He kisses Alvie’s cheek.  “I feel like you were that light at the end of a very dark, long tunnel,” Ruben says softly, and it’s true. 

Alvie is always so full of hope even when things seem so hopeless. How can he do that even if he sees the bad things before any of the rest of them know they’re going to happen? How can he still be so happy and full of love when he sees the darkest and ugliest things the second his eyes close? 

Alvie pulls him into a real kiss then, deep and meaningful and it’s all the words they wanted to say to each other back at the facility but couldn’t. Alvie snakes one of his hands under Ruben’s sweater, gently tracing over the raised flesh and discolored marks that Ruben says are ugly, but to Alvie, nothing about Ruben is ugly. It’s him , so it’s beautiful. 

“Can I take it off?” He whispers, pulling back. 

Ruben hesitates, but then he nods. 

----

It’s a few hours later when the room becomes too cold not to be wearing clothes, at least for Ruben. Still very groggy, he gets out of bed and picks up his boxers and sweater from the floor, putting them on. When he crawls back in, Alvie shifts at the movement, though he’s still asleep. 

“‘s just me,” Ruben whispers, even though he’s pretty sure Alvie’s asleep.

Alvie snuggles up against him, nuzzling his face into the warmth of Ruben’s sweater.*

To Be Continued...

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*see chapter notes below if you’re interested in knowing what happened in between :)

Chapter Text

If you're interested in reading the missing scenes from Chapter 5, click here (and make sure to set update alerts set if you'd like to read odds and ends type ficlets for Rochambeau) 

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Su Casa, Mi Casa!

Lyra wakes slowly the next morning.  She blinks open her eyes and stairs at the ceiling.  She feels Pantalaimon nose at her cheek.  It takes her a minute to recall where she is an why.  She sits up and glances around the room.  Her eyes fall on Lee.  He’s sitting in a chair in the corner of her room, his feet kicked out and crossed at the ankles, Hester curled up on the floor at his feet.  

He’s sound asleep.  He’s got little cuts on his arms and cheeks from the flying debris.  She does too, but she’s here.  Pan wriggles under the blanket and snuggles next to her.  

She watches Lee sleep for a while before turning to look out of the picture window.  The walls are white.  

“Do you think they’ll let me paint in here?  Lawless wouldn’t, but I bet Mr. Saenz would.”

“Yeah, I think he might.  It’s worth asking.”

Lee stirs at the sound of their whispers.  He glances at her and smiles softly.  “Mornin’ darlin’,” he says in his sleepy Texas drawl.  He and Hester both stretch at the same time.  

“Did you stay there all night?”

“Didn’t want you wakin’ up in a strange place by your lonesome on your first day here.  You were a little distraught last night when I carried you up here.”

“It’s not my first night here.  I was here a few weeks ago.”

“Well, I just wanted to keep an eye on you.  Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna make a habit of it.”  He waves dismissively in her direction, but he’s smiling.  “You ready to get up?”

Lyra nods, stretching as she swings her legs over the side of the bed.  

“Come on, I’ll get you a towel and you can clean yourself up after yesterday’s chaos.”

She follows him out of the door and to the bathroom that they share with Usnavi on the second floor.  

She looks skeptically around the small space.  There’s nothing girly in the space.  Nothing welcoming.  

Usnavi pokes his head in behind them.  “We’ll get you some bath and shower products at the store later.  Don’t stress, and yes, I think you’ll be able to paint at least one wall of your room.  I’ll run it by Alex while you get ready for the day.  That’s a great shade of pink for your room by the way.  Anyways, I need coffee, I’ll see y’all downstairs in a bit.”  Usnavi smiles at them and leaves them completely thunderstruck in the bathroom.  

“Does he always do that?” Lyra asks Lee after they recover from their stunned silence.  

“Every now and then he does, yeah.  I think he just forgets that the rest of us don’t just live with unspoken questions.”  he hands her a bottle of generic, baseline shampoo.  “Here, you can use mine.”

She takes it skeptically, “Um… Okay, but we’re gonna have to go to the store, like, today.  I left most of my stuff at Rochambeau.  I mean, I didn’t have a lot, but, you know.  I need some things.”

“‘Course we will.  I’ll make sure you have whatever you need.”  Lee pauses as he remembers the fancy soaps and bath products that Lawless got her for Christmas.  “But, uh, you know this is just a little mountain community.  They’re not going to have a lot of fancy stuff like what Lawless has been getting you.”

“Don’t worry, Lee.  Just get me something that smells good and I’ll be happy.”  She smiles up at him and he hands her a towel before leaving the room.  

Lyra gets cleaned up and it’s like waking up on the first day of a holiday.  She bounces out of the bathroom in a pair of sweatpants that Alvie let her borrow, the drow strings pulled as tight as they would go and a long sleeve t-shirt of Alex’s.  It’s not perfect, but she’s happy.  She feels free.  

After breakfast, Alex, Pippa, Usnavi, Lee and Lyra all pile into the car and head to the little town at the bottom of the mountain.  There’s not much in the village, but there are a few small shops on the town square where they are able to find Lyra some clothes and bath products that she likes.  

Pippa helps her to pick out all sorts of wonderfully girly things.  New pajamas that feel good to hang out in, clothes that are just right for her.  Barrets, and other fun things for her hair, it’s much longer now than when she first arrived.  Pippa even buys her some lip gloss, much to Lee’s chagrin. 

“You look too grown up with that on,”  Lee grumps.  

“She looks lovely and lip gloss is age appropriate,” Pippa corrects as they head back to the car with their purchases.  

They also make a stop at the little grocery store.  Usnavi wants to make something special for dinner, since it’s Lyra’s first real night living at the barracks with them.  

----

“Usnavi, that smells good,” Alexander says, walking into the kitchen. “What is that?”

“Shrimp stir fry,” Usnavi replies. “Sonny and Vanessa go crazy over this.”

In the living area, everyone else is there, listening to Lee and Lyra tell them about their adventures. 

“A bear?” Alvie repeats, his eyes wide. “A full on bear? And you rode it?”

“Him,” Lyra corrects him. “His name’s Iorek. He rescued me from another bear that wanted to slaughter me.”

She’s squished on the loveseat beside Lee, who has his arm around her. He’s beaming. He hasn’t stopped smiling since she’s come to stay. 

“Sounds like a video game,” Ruben says, tending to one of the house plants. 

“Video game?” Lyra’s brows furrow slightly. She cranes her head and asks, “What smells so good?”

“That would be the famous De la Vega shrimp stir fry,” Usnavi says, coming into the room. “It’s a little spicy, but I think you can handle spicy.”

Lyra smiles. “I’ve eaten spicy candy.”

“ Guag !” Usnavi’s eyebrows go up. “ Necesitas probar el caramelo de sandía con chile en polvo!”

“Usnavi,” Alexander says gently, reminding him he’s not speaking English. It’s still one of the kinks they’re working out with his learning to suppress multiple thoughts. 

“You need to try watermelon candy with chili powder,” he says in English. 

Nobody calls any attention to what just happened and continues asking Lyra questions about her world and Pan.

“If I had a daemon,” Alvie says, pointing at Pan. “Mine would be a tiger.”

“Yours would be a lemur,” Ruben tells him, laughing.

“They’re cool too,” Alvie says, shrugging. 

“Alexander’s would be a lion,” Usnavi says, pointing at him. 

Alexander tries to hide how proud this makes him by scrubbing a hand over his growing smile. Pippa laughs and touches his shoulder.

“Coyote,” Usnavi says, patting his chest. “No doubt about it.”

“What would mine be?” Ruben asks.

Surprisingly at the same time, everyone except Lyra says, “Wolf.”

“Really?” Ruben blinks. “I was thinking an inch worm or a finger monkey.”

“Dinner smells delicious,” Lyra says.

“Come try it,” Usnavi tells her, nodding at the kitchen. “You can be the guinea pig.”

Lyra looks at Lee, who nods approvingly and she gets up and follows Usnavi into the kitchen. 

“She’s a great kid,” Alexander tells Lee, who nods.

“The best kid,” Lee agrees. 

---

“Who is Sonny?” Lyra asks as Usnavi hands her the serving spoon with some rice and shrimp on it. 

“My little cousin,” Usnavi replies, smiling. “His ma died when he was nine. I’ve had him since then. He’s sixteen now.”

“You adopted him,” Lyra says, holding out the spoon for more.

“Yeah,” Usnavi says. “It was weird. Goin’ to court and stuff and talkin’ to a judge, but I love him.”

“Does Lee want to adopt me?” Lyra asks.

Usnavi nods. “I’m sure he will.” He pauses. “If you want that.”

“I don’t know if he wants that,” Lyra confesses. 

Usnavi hands her a large serving plate and asks her to help him transfer the rice from the wok to the platter. 

“I wasn’t sure I wanted Sonny at first,” he tells her as they work together to transfer the rice. “I was scared. I didn’t know nothin’ about kids, but I can’t imagine life without him.”

Lyra smiles a little. 

“He’s lucky,” she says. “Sonny. You’re nice.”

“Sometimes,” He replies. “Sonny says I’m mean. I don’t let him stay out past nine and he has to do all of his homework, even on Friday nights.”

“The first time Lee told me no I was shocked,” Lyra says. “We got into an argument and I said I was leaving. He told me no. He said I couldn’t and I wasn’t allowed.”

Usnavi laughs. 

“That means he loves you a lot,” He tells her, and she can tell he’s being truthful. “We’re mean when we love you.”

Lyra smiles when he winks at her. 

Dinner is a fun time now that Lyra is there. They all sit at the table together instead of some at the table, some on the couch, and one upstairs in his lab with the door shut. They pass around the serving plate of stir fry and exchange stories and jokes and it’s overall different. It makes Alex think of the large dinners with Eliza and the children, when they could manage to drag him out of his office. It makes Usnavi think of the busy school night dinners with him and Vanessa and Sonny and Benny-talking in a whirlwind of English and Spanish and the window unit AC blowing loudly in the corner. It reminds Ruben of the dinners with his mother and sisters-the girls wheedling and arguing for their turns to talk after holding hands and saying grace. It reminds Alvie of the dinners with his aunt and uncle and Rachel in which he and Rachel would blow bubbles in their milk until Tio Miguel told them to quit acting like animals. They always laughed. 

After dinner, Alex volunteers to help Usnavi clean up. The two of them work side by side in relative silence, commenting here and there on how nice it is to have a kid in the house.

“We can never catch a damn break, you know?” Usnavi says, wiping his soapy hands on his jeans. “Just makes me think every time things settle down and seem nice, something goes-” he imitates a soft explosion with his mouth and hands.

“Right?” Alexander agrees, but after Usnavi bids him goodnight and leaves the kitchen, a dark feeling creeps up on him.

Usnavi isn’t wrong. Usually after things start to seem good, something bad happens. 

----

Ruben notices a change in Alvie. He’s wired all the time now. He vapes a lot more, stays up longer, ignoring his instructions to go to bed on time. He begs to go out almost every night, fingers drumming and leg bouncing. He’s decided he has all these ideas to make the Barracks better . He wants to go buy paint and new countertops. He cleans his and Ruben’s room a hundred times even though it’s never a mess. 

“Alvie,” Alex says around eleven pm. “Bed.”

“Pfff!” Alvie dismisses him, currently reorganizing the pantry. “Too early for bed. Got stuff to do, you know?”

Alex looks at Ruben who only shrugs. He’s certainly not going to force Alvie to go to sleep. Alex sighs and goes past them to fix himself another cup of coffee. They both listen to Alvie ramble and rap as he moves things around to fit in an order he likes. This goes on until almost two am. 

---

Alex comes downstairs the next day, already showered, shaved, and dressed, ready for a day’s work. Lawless has news for him that there’s been an odd incident in DC. That means trouble is hitting closer to home. When he gets to the living room, he freezes. His large map on the floor-the one carefully noted, dated, and organized, has fat black marks all over it. There are large X’s covering up entire cities. His post-it notes have been removed and are crumpled in balls all over the floor. Nearby, there’s a mega Sharpie, cap off. 

----

BANG BANG BANG.

Ruben is startled by the loud knock at the door. He opens it to see a very frustrated Alexander holding a Sharpie. 

“Hey, Ali!” Alvie says from behind Ruben, zipping up his jeans. 

Ruben blushes, knowing what the state of his rumpled clothes and Alvie putting his on gives away. 

“Hi,” Ruben says, allowing him room to enter. 

“Alvie, did you mess up my map?” Alex asks carefully.

Alvie pulls his sweatshirt over his head.

“I made it better,” he tells him. “You had all of this teeny-tiny handwriting. No one could read that! And I marked where we are on the map. You didn’t have the barracks! What’s the point of havin’ a map if we ain’t on it?”

Ruben looks at Alvie with an almost horrified expression.

“Fu…” Alex sighs, scrubbing a hand down his face. He says, “Do you know how important those notes are to me? To us?”

Alvie runs a hand through his short, slightly messed up hair. He looks nervous now. “Are you...mad?”

“Ruben,” Alex says in a no-nonsense tone. “A word.” He nods to the hallway. 

Alvie starts to follow and Alex blocks him with his hand. Alvie looks dejected, but stays where he is. Alex closes the door behind him and then goes off.

“What the hell is going on with him?” He hisses. “He’s up at all hours of the night doing bizarre shit, he’s talking louder and louder every Goddamn minute! Is he on something? Do you know?”

Ruben shakes his head helplessly. 

“It came on kind of suddenly,” He admits. “And he’s had a lot of trouble winding down at night and he…” he bites his bottom lip. “He wants... physical activity all the time.”

“Do you think it’s his ability?” Alex seems to be calming down a bit, realizing that whatever’s going on might be out of Alvie’s control. “Is his brain short-circuiting, you think?”

Ruben shrugs again, but his face shows that’s contemplating. 

“His file…” he says thoughtfully. “He was in the psych ward for something else.”

“Manic depression,” Alex confirms. “So?”

“It’s Bipolar Disorder,” Ruben explains. “Can we look at his file?”

They go to Alex’s office where all of their personal files from Rochambeau are kept. One Juan Gabriel Alvarez. Ruben flips it open, sifting through some of the papers. 

“ ‘...mood can shift from euphoric, full of energy, even irritability. Patient shows lack of judgement, decreased need for sleep, increased sexual activity, overly confident…’ “. 

“Okay.” Alex nods, crossing his arms. “So this is normal for him.”

Ruben nods, continuing to look. “ ‘Patient has lost interest in friends and family, significant change in appetite, weight loss, increased sleep, attempted suicide…’ “.

He swallows hard, looking at Alex.

“So which one is he?” Alex asks as Ruben passes him the file.

“It’s not which one he is ,” Ruben explains. “It’s which one he’s at .”

Alex frowns. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s highs followed by lows,” Ruben says. “Over and over. He cycles through them. He’s up in the clouds and then down in the dirt. It can’t be helped. It’s brain chemistry.”

“So how do we fix him?” Alex asks, sighing.

“There is no ‘fixing’ him,” Ruben almost snaps. “This is who he is. Rochambeau took him off his meds because it affected their work.”

“So we put him back on his meds,” Alex suggests. 

“It’s not that simple,” Ruben says. “This isn’t a headache. Medication has to be carefully selected and go through trials and very small doses at first.”

Alex can hear the frustration in his voice and says, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make him sound like a broken toy. It’s Alvie, I know.” 

“He’s going to crash,” Ruben says, swallowing hard. “And without being on meds, probably hard.”

----

Alvie seems to settle down over the next few days and seems almost back to his old self. He goes to bed on time and eats meals with everyone else and even writes in his dream journal. So it surprises them when he doesn’t get up on Sunday morning to go walk up one the mountain trails. 

“Alvie?” Ruben asks, coming into the room after showering. “You’re still in bed? Everyone’s ready.”

Alvie rolls onto his side, pulling the blankets over his head. Ruben frowns, sitting next to him. 

“Want me to bring you some coffee?” He asks. 

“ ‘m sick,” Alvie mutters. 

Ruben tells the others Alvie isn’t feeling well and vouches to stay with him. He works in his lab, checking on his boyfriend occasionally, but by the evening when everyone has returned home, Alvie still hasn’t moved. 

“You need to at least drink some water,” Ruben coaxes, tugging the blankets off of him. “Come on, Alvie.”

“Fucking leave me alone!” Alvie snaps, curling up into a ball and putting the pillow over his head. He begins crying. “Just leave me alone, okay?”

Ruben is shocked at how Alvie snaps at him, but then it dawns on him what’s happening. He nods and rubs Alvie’s back, putting the covers back on him. 

----

“The best thing we can do for him right now is to keep an eye on him,” Alex says to everyone gathered in the living room that evening. Alvie has been in bed for almost a day and a half.

 “Usnavi,” he says. “keep an ear out for him.”

Usnavi nods, understanding that he means he’s free to dip into Alvie’s mind. 

“Everything’s okay,” Alex tells Lyra, who looks very worried. “He’s still Alvie. He still cares about us, and we still care about him, okay?”

She nods, and Pan, who is sitting on her lap, squeaks and his ears go down. Lee rubs her back with a deep sigh. Hester nuzzles Pan. 

“Alvie has all of us,” He agrees. “He’s in good hands.”

Lyra leans against him, nodding. 

Ruben is the only one who hasn’t said anything. Alex looks at him. 

“He’ll be alright,” he tells Ruben. “He has the best doctor in the world looking out for him.”

He’s trying to lighten the mood, but Ruben doesn’t look convinced. When he retires upstairs and goes to his room, Alvie’s not in bed. The bathroom door is ajar but the light is off. At least he’s up and moving around. 

“Here,” Ruben says softly. “Let me get the light for you.”

His heart stops and the lights flicker violently when he hits the switch. There’s blood everywhere. In the sink, on the floor, and all over Alvie, who’s holding something in his hand. Ruben’s razor is on the floor, disassembled.  His eyes move from the razor to Alvie, where there’s blood running down one of his arms and on both of his hands. 

Alvie looks up at him with hollow eyes and a tear-stained face.

“I want it out,” he says in a shaky, broken voice. 

It takes everything in Ruben not to start screaming. He kneels down and Alvie bursts into tears, his whole body shaking.

“Shh…” Ruben tells him. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Alvie. I’m here.”

He keeps his eyes on Alvie as he removes the blade from his hand. He places it on the counter by the sink and says, “Let me see.”

Alvie allows him to look at his arm. He’s clumsily tried to dig the tracker out. He’s semi-relieved to see it wasn’t another attempt to slit his wrists like when he was a teenager. 

“Everything’s fine,” Ruben says, his own voice shaking. The lights are still flickering. He reaches for a towel that’s hanging up on the closet door and dabs at Alvie’s arm. “We’re good.”

Alvie looks at him, tears still streaming down his face.

“They’re worse…” he says, his voice still trembling. 

“The dreams?” Ruben guesses. 

Usnavi and Alex and Lee come running into the bathroom. Usnavi must have realized what was going on. 

“Is he-” Lee starts.

“He’s fine,” Ruben says, hoping they’ll pick up on the forced calm in his voice. “First aid kit. Please?” 

Lee and Usnavi disappear to go and get it and Alex kneels down beside him. He strokes some of Alvie’s short hair.

“Hey, Kid,” he says. “You look a little rough.”

“The tracker,” Ruben says, standing up to wet the towel now. “He was trying to take it out.”

He asks, “Is Lyra downstairs?”

“With Pippa, yeah,” Alex says. “She won’t let her come up here. I promise.”

Ruben nods. He blinks back tears and one of the light bulbs burst.

“Sorry,” he mutters. 

“I can handle this,” Alex offers. “It’s okay.”

“No.” Ruben shakes his head, wiping at his eyes. “He needs me.” 

Alex only nods and then stands up and makes room when Usnavi and Lee return with the first aid kit. Ruben goes to work, with Usnavi’s help, and gets Alvie out of his blood-stained shirt and Usnavi wets some more towels to clean him up. Ruben very carefully doctors his arm and Usnavi cleans up behind him, wiping the countertop, mirror, floor-all of the places where blood has spattered. 

“I’m gonna go check on the girls,” Lee says, ducking out of the bathroom. Alex follows him. 

“Come on,” Ruben tells Alvie, helping him up. 

“I can-” Usnavi places one hand to his own temple, and uses the other to wave in a ‘so-so’ motion. 

Ruben hesitates, but nods. Usnavi follows them back into the bedroom and Ruben unbuttons and zips Alvie’s jeans, helping him out of them. They have blood on them too. He helps Alvie to lay down and looks at Usnavi, who goes over to him and places his free hand on Alvie’s temple.

Sleep,  he thinks, and Alvie quickly drifts off, his breathing slow and deep. 

“Thank you,” Ruben says, wiping his eyes again. 

They go back into the bathroom to finish cleaning up. They opt to throw the bloody towels away. As they clean, Ruben starts crying, not hard, but it’s noticeable.

“Fuck…” he says quietly, picking up pieces of shattered glass from the broken lighbulb from the previous events. 

Usnavi looks at him, concerned.

“It’ll be okay,” he tells Ruben. 

Ruben's not a mind reader like Usnavi or a clairvoyant like Alvie, but he knows things will be okay. It's Alvie at stake, so he'll make sure of it. 

To Be Continued...

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Chapter Text

Ruben pulls his glasses off and rubs his eyes.  He’s been staring at Alvie’s file for hours now, going through every little detail.  He’s reviewed his history, his treatments with ECT, his medications, the results of every different combination.  Ruben hated to admit it, but the ECT had shortened Alvie’s lows.  But it’s just not a viable option.  His skin sparks as he thinks about the little scars on Alvie’s temple.  No, ECT is absolutely not a valid treatment for him.  

Ruben looked at his skin.  His power.  His electricity.  Maybe… No that’s ridiculous.  It can’t be that.  Ruben dismisses the thought and flips back over to the medications they’d given him.  It looks like they always gave him sedatives and hallucinogens in combination with the ECT treatments.  Sedatives…

Ruben thinks back to those early years with Jason, before Ian knew who Ruben was.  ‘Your nightly coma,’ he’d called it.  What if he were to use his power in conjunction with Oblivion?  He wouldn’t have to use it long term, but if it could shorten Alvie’s low… that might work.  Sleep and electricity.  

Ruben got to work.  He knew it would take several hours to process Oblivion into the right dosage for Alvie due to his chemistry and size being quite different from Ian’s.  

Ruben leaves the lab for a bit while the drug processes.  He walks to the kitchen.  All the lights are out.  What time is it?  He looks at the clock on the microwave.  1:00 am.  When did it get so late?  

He makes a fresh pot of coffee for himself.  The noise must be louder than he thought because a few minutes later, Alex comes into the kitchen in his pajama pants and a t-shirt.  

“Ruben?”  

“Sorry, I was trying to be quiet.  I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“What are you doing?  Pulling an all-nighter?”

“Not on purpose?” Ruben is a little worried that Alexander is going to order him to bed.  

“Alvie?”

“Yeah.  I have something I’m working on that I hope might work, but I don't know.”

“I trust you with him.  I know you’d never do anything to intentionally hurt him.  Just be careful, okay.”

“I will be.  The last thing I wanna do is create another Ian.”

“Ruben, make sure you take care of yourself, too.  I know you’re worried about him.  But you’re the best chance he’s got at moving past this.  So make sure you don’t burn yourself out.”

“I won’t.  I may not be able to find the right combo during this cycle, but I can at least eliminate what doesn’t work.”

Alexander pats Ruben on the shoulder.  “Just be sure to at least give yourself a few hours of sleep.”

Ruben nods, fixes his coffee and then heads to check on Alvie.  Alvie is right where he left him, curled up on his bed, under his blankets still dressed in his pajama pants and a t-shirt.  Ruben strokes his short hair, running his thumb over the little scar on the side of his head.  

Alvie sighs in his sleep, but doesn’t open his eyes.  

“Don’t worry,” Ruben whispers, “None of us are going anywhere.”  He leans down and kisses his temple.  “ I’m not going anywhere.”

He heads back down to his lab.  It’s another two hours before his computer beeps at him letting him know the compound is ready for him to test on Alvie.  He’s starting off with a tiny dose.  

Ruben measures out the powder and puts it into a capsule and then heads to his room.  

Ruben pulls off his sweater and then unbuttons his shirt.  He shrugs it off his shoulders and lets it fall to the floor.  Then he stepped out of his jeans so that he’s only wearing his boxers.  He pulls back Alvie’s blankets.  Alvie groans at the sudden coldness, but Ruben slips in behind him.  He pulls Alvie up and against his chest.  

“Come on, Alvie.  Open up.”  He gently squeezes Alvie’s jaw, encouraging him to open his mouth.  Alvie protests, but Ruben puts his hand flat on his chest.  “I got you.  Just swallow this one little pill.  Here’s some water.”  Ruben holds the water bottle to Alvie’s lips.  

Thankfully Alive doesn’t fight him and he swallows the pill.  Ruben carefully pulls off Alvie’s t-shirt.  It’s cold in their room and Alvie starts crying at the discomfort.  

“Shh.  Shhh.  It’s okay.”  He lays Alvie back down in the bed and then strips off his pajama bottoms so that Alvie too is only in his boxers.  Ruben takes his bands off and sets them on the nightstand.  

He lets his power come to the surface so that the whole room is lit with his soft sparkling blue light.  Alvie groans at the disturbance as Ruben wraps him in his arms.  He can feel Alvie’s tears on his shoulder when he pulls him against his chest.  Alvie is shaking against him.  Ruben tucks his legs up against Alvie’s so that they’re spooned against each other.  

Alvie keeps crying softly until Ruben is situated enough to pull the covers up over both of them.  

“I”m here.  It’s okay.  I’m gonna take care of you.  It’ll pass.  Just sleep, Alvie.  It’s okay.  You can sleep.”

Ruben keeps his arms around Alvie while Alvie whimpers and cries for a few more minutes.  Even when Alvie’s breathing has leveled out and it’s obvious that he’s slipped back into sleep, Ruben doesn’t let go.  He keeps his arms tight around him, grounding Alvie even as Ruben himself drifts into sleep a while later.  

In the morning, late morning due to Ruben’s late light, Ruben wakes up warm and snuggly, still spooned up against Alvie.  He rubs his stubbly cheek against Alvie’s, seeing if he’ll be willing to get up.  

“Mnrgph,” Alvie obviously still doesn't want to get up.  But he does smile a tiny bit at him without opening his eyes.  Ruben will take it.  Ruben kisses Alvie’s cheek before he pulls back from him to get out of bed.  Alvie whines at the loss of body heat against his back.  

“Shh,” Ruben soothes.  “I’ll be back in a little while.  I’m going to stay with you today.  Just rest, love.  It’ll be, okay.”  He tucks the covers around Alvie and then kisses his cheek.  “I love you,” Ruben smoothes his short hair, “So, so very much.”

---

It’s been ten days since Ruben started the new drug protocol and, what he’s calling sleep therapy, with Alvie.  He’s kept him on the low dose for this cycle.  He’s not comfortable upping the dose yet.  And Alvie seems to slowly be coming out of his low.  

Ruben pokes his head into his and Alvie’s room.  It’s snowing softly outside so that the barracks are surrounded by the utter quiet that only snow produces.  

Alvie actually got up for a little bit today.  Ruben was very glad of that.  Perhaps the treatments were working?  Maybe.  Either way, Alvie needed something to cheer him up.  

He sat down on the bed next to Alvie and nudged him.  “Hey, got something for you.”

Alvie rolls lazily over, “Whasis?”  

Ruben pulls two small fluffy white bunnies, one with brown spots on its back and dark brown ears, and the other with grey spots and dark grey ears, out from where he'd had them tucked in his arm.  “They’ll get bigger.  They’re just little guys now.”  Alvie gasps and sits up.  Ruben gently places the bunnies in Alvie’s arms.   “I know you like soft, fluffy things,” Ruben says with a smile.  

Alvie is surprisingly gentle.  He cuddles the bunnies close to his chest and runs his cheek against his soft fur.  He has tears on his eye lashes.  

“No-nobody ever gave me a pet before.  Didn’t trust me with nothin’ living.  I mean when I came to live with my aunt and uncle, they had a little chihuahua, but it was a grown dog, already part of the family.  I wasn’t mine, ya know.”

“I trust you,” Ruben says softly and then adds more firmly, “Their cage will need to stay in the lab.  I don’t know if I’m allergic to rabbits.  And the two of us are already sharing a room.  He reaches over and pets the brown bunny’s soft ears.  

“It,” Alvie scoffs.  “We’ll have to give them names.”

“I’m also hoping this will keep you out of trouble with Lee.  The next time you feel the urge to pet Hester, you can pet your own damn bunnies.”

“I’ll pet your bunny,” Alvie says suggestively with a smirk and waggled eyebrows at Ruben.  But then he goes right back to petting the tiny creatures in his arms.  “I should name the brown one Lee.  Oh.  No!  I’ll call it Leroy.  That way Lee can’t say anything.  And we’ll call the grey one Chester.”

They both laugh.  It’s the first real laugh Ruben has heard out of Alvie in a while.  Ruben nudges him with his shoulder and Alvie nuges him back.  

“Thanks, Benny.”

“Hmm.”  They stay there gently stroking the rabbits’ fur for a while.  Alvie ends up cuddled in Ruben’s arms, his head on Ruben’s chest.  Ruben kisses Alvie’s short hair.  “Love you,” he whispers quietly.  

“Love you, too,” Alvie replies, just as quietly.  

“You know I read somewhere that these things do better when they have another bunny to play with.” Alvie says.  “I always wanted a rabbit.  And you got me two.” He smiles up at him.  

“I’m a scientist.  I always do my research.”  Ruben replies smiling.  

Leroy and Chester sleep on Alvie’s pillow that night.  

---

“Rachel Alvarez?” Alexander asks, walking up to the desk.

“Yeah?” The girl turns around from rooting around in care package boxes. “Are you here to make a donation?”

She’s little, tiny almost, but there’s something about her that radiates control and authority. Alvie did tell them she’s a bossy little sister. She stares at him with the same large dark eyes as her cousin.

“Actually I’m here to talk to you about Alv-Juan,” he says, looking around. 

---

“It’s nice, this place,” Alexander remarks, looking around at the small office storefront that’s full of boxes and supplies.  “Helping out the homeless and what not.”

She picks up one of the large cardboard cartons full of care packages and nearly drops it. Alexander moves around to the other side to help her before it flips.

“Yeah, well…” she sets it on the desk and tucks some hair behind her ear. “Let’s just say I’m not exactly as charitable as I look.”

She crosses her arms and looks away.

“You’re hoping he’ll come through one of these places,” Alexander guesses. 

She shrugs one shoulder. 

“He used to go to the clinics for free socks and showers,” she says. “And what do you want with him anyway? You a detective? Warrant for his arrest or something?”

She scoffs and begins tending to her work again, tucking away more care packages into another empty cardboard box.

“You’re wasting your time,” she says. “If a PI that my family hired to find him can’t, you won’t have any luck.”

“I know where Juan is,” Alexander says, cocking his head slightly.

She gives him a look that says she doesn’t believe him. 

“I know it was hard on you,” he continues. “When you threw him out in Phoenix. You thought you could protect him.”

“I didn’t throw him out!” She barks suddenly, turning to him. “He went off his meds! Went batshit mental! Maxxed out my credit cards, stayed gone for days at a time, and-”

“And the nightmares were scaring you,” he finishes, knowing what she’s going to say. 

“He was convinced he could dream things that would happen in the future,” she says quietly, and there’s a touch of hurt in her voice now, guilt even. “Not fun stuff either like lottery numbers- murders and natural disasters and terrorist attacks…”

She lets out a long, shuddering sigh. “I told him to get back on his meds or get out.”

Alexander nods, watching her wipe at her eyes.

“The whole reason I took him with me to Phoenix is because I was tired of everyone trying to fix him.”

She starts crying softly then, furiously wiping at her eyes. Alexander wordlessly hands her the box of Kleenex off the desk. 

“You were scared,” he tells her. “It wasn’t your fault. Alvie would have run anyway. He wanted to protect you.”

Rachel’s brows furrow.

“So who are you? You work for one of the psych hospitals or something?” She asks. “He’s been in and out of those for years.”

Alexander looks at his phone. 

“Since you’re a volunteer here,” he asks. “You’re technically not on the clock, right? Do you wanna grab coffee?”

----

They’re at a local coffee shop twenty minutes later, and Rachel is telling him about Alvie. Some things he already knows-they grew up together, went to school together, best friends and practically siblings. Alvie had come out to Rachel in high school shortly before his diagnosis. He trusted her. He told her about his nightmares.

“Did you come here to tell me my brother is dead?” She finally asks.

Alexander shakes his head, sipping at his coffee. 

“He’s alive and well,” he says. “Thriving actually. He talks about you a lot.”

“Where?” She asks, her voice small.

“Rachel,” Alexander says carefully. “He told you he could dream the future, right? Did you believe him?”

Rachel frowns. “He’s manic. He climbed a bridge once because he wanted to jump off and swim. He says lots of crazy shit.”

“But did you believe him?” Alexander asks again. 

Rachel’s quiet for a minute. It’s all Alexander needs to go on.

“He was telling the truth, Rachel,” he says. “Alvie has an ability- precognition , they call it. He does have visions of future events through dreams.”

Rachel’s brows furrow slightly, but she says nothing.

“There are people that seek out people like Alvie-people that work in the government, may work for their own organization. It’s a big secret. Conspiracy theories and... shit ,” he says, adopting the way she talks.

She smiles a little and so does he. 

“When he was in the hospital,” he says. “At some point, one of those people were planted there, and they moved him to their organization. He was there for almost a year.”

“Like a prisoner?” She frowns.

Alexander nods. 

“I went to see him,” he says. “They were regularly inducing him with hallucinogens to see what they could get out of him.”

“There’s no way,” she says, shaking her head. “Whatever he told you-”

“He believed he was in a regular psychiatric hospital,” Alexander interrupts her, knowing that his story sounds unbelievable. “He thought he was getting electroconvulsive therapy and sleep study sessions. I put a stop to it. Real quick.”

“Okay, and who are you ?” Rachel asks skeptically. “And if any of this wasn’t bullshit, you wouldn’t come find me and tell me.”

“I came here to tell you because he cares about you, and I care about him,” he says. “They wanted me too. I told them only if they let him go. He’s under my care now.”

“What? Were you roommates at one of the psych wards?” She scoffs, fishing out a couple of bills to cover their coffee. She grabs her bag, standing up.

“Rachel-” he says, taking a pocket knife from his pants pocket.

She stops and watches as he digs it into the inside of his wrist.

“JESUS!” She says, grabbing for napkins from the dispenser. “HOLY SHIT!”

He takes the napkins from her and holds them to his arm. She rips out her phone, possibly to call for help, but without a word, he removes the bloodied napkins from his arm. He takes a fresh one, dips it in his glass of water and wipes the blood from his arm. 

Rachel’s brows furrow. 

There’s no mark. 

“He wanted me to give you this,” he says, taking something from his messenger bag. A folded sheet of paper. 

She unfolds it and her eyes fill with tears. It’s a sketch of her and her parents from this past Christmas. They’re in the cheesy matching sweaters her mother had bought for them. She’d bought Alvie one too, just by some miracle he’d show up. In the sketch, she’s wearing a slouch beanie. She’d received one from her parents. 

“Please come and see him,” Alexander says. “It would mean the world to him.”

Rachel carefully folds the drawing back up, tears falling down her face now.

“And I know it would mean the world to you too,” he says.

To be continued...

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Chapter Text

“This is it,” Alexander says as they step out of the SUV. 

Rachel stares up at the large, three story structure in awe. 

“Juan wound up here ?” She asks. “Lucky mother-”

“I know you’re excited to see him,” Alexander interrupts her, taking her hands in his. “And he’s dying to see you, trust me. He’s talked about nothing else, but I can’t stress enough how important it is that you keep his secret.”

Rachel nods. She doesn’t want to agree, but if it’s the only way she can see him…

When they go inside, everyone is in the living room. There’s a man and a little girl working on a puzzle together-next to them, a ferret and a rabbit. There’s a young man carrying two coffee mugs into the living room from the kitchen. He passes one to another man in a sweater who goes over to a nearby desk. 

And then she sees him. He’s sitting on the couch, chattering away to everyone just as charming and animated as he always was. When he sees her, he goes quiet and stands up. 

“Rach,” he says softly, smiling a little. 

Rachel’s eyes cloud with tears and before she knows it, she’s on him, hitting him in the chest and calling him names. The others look concerned and Ruben actually approaches, but doesn’t intervene. They relax when Alvie only smiles and wraps his arms around her. She buries her face in his shoulder, sobbing. 

“I missed you too,” he says, burying his nose in her hair. When he pulls back, he wipes away a few tears.

“I thought you were dead,” she says. “Shoved in the back of some psycho’s car or behind an alley somewhere...and you’re...you’re okay.”

She hits him one more time and he lets out a cross between a laugh and ‘ow’. 

“Can I get you some coffee, Rachel?” Usnavi asks.

She nods. “Coffee would be great.”

Alvie says, “Let me introduce you to everyone. That’s Usnavi-he reads minds...like...uh...Professor X. Only, you know, he ain’t paralyzed so he doesn’t get a flyin’ wheelchair or nothin’.”

Usnavi waves a few of his fingers. “Not as glamorous as it sounds,” he explains. “To me it just sounds like people talking. And they never shut up. Like your brother.”

Alvie dismisses the comment and says, “That’s Lee and Lyra-they’re from another world. Lee controls the weather.”

“It is insane that you’re not high right now,” Rachel says, shaking her head, but she manages a smile at the pair. 

“You know Ali,” Alvie says. “He’s Alexander Hamilton. The guy from the ten dollar bill, can you believe it?”

Alex crosses his arms and shrugs. 

Alvie grabs the other guy by the hand and brings him closer. He looks a bit more shy now and Rachel notices he’s still holding his hand after he’s pulled him over. 

“This is Benny-Ruben,” he says, grinning sheepishly. “He’s mad smart and he’s a chemist. He drank some of his own magic juice and it gave him electric powers.”

Alexander chuckles. 

“You don’t have to spill all the tea,” he tells him, but he’s smiling affectionately. 

“Hello, Rachel,” Ruben says, holding out his hand. 

Rachel shakes it. 

“Hi,” she says and looks at Alvie, eyebrows raised.

“He’s uh...he’s my friend,” Alvie tells her, blushing, and he knows that Rachel knows what he means. He's a little too shy to say it.

The others are shocked to actually see him blush.

Rachel nods and then she hugs him. It’s overwhelming enough to know that he’s okay, but to be here with him in this big fancy place with people that obviously care about him, it makes her emotional. He looks so much healthier too. He doesn’t have the dark circles under his eyes anymore and he’s still skinny, but not as skinny as he was. The kind of skinny where his clothes were practically hanging off of him.

“Lemme give you a tour of the place,” he tells her, taking her hand. “This place is HUGE.”

As he leads her upstairs, Alex thinks, This is why Lawless’ methods didn’t work. 

---

Alvie is talking a mile a minute.  Pointing out every detail of the Barracks to Rachel.  He points out everyone's rooms, where the bathrooms are, who has the best view.  Slowly, him and Ruben and Rachel wind their way up to the third floor.  Ruben has her bag in tow for her so she can walk and chat with Alvie unhindered.  

When they get to their room, Alvie pauses.  "This is mine and Ruben's room.  Wait until you see my bunnies!" Alvie says, gesturing at the small space. “His lab is close by. He takes care of all these plants and stuff.”

“Two beds?” Rachel raises an eyebrow at him.

“We were roommates first.” Alvie shrugs. He flops onto his bed and scoots over, gesturing for her to join him.  He nods at the window above his bed.

Rachel looks at Ruben and mouths, 'bunnies?' at him.  Ruben just smiles.  He doesn't want to steel Alvie's thunder.

Alvie opens the door and heads straight for the bunny cage that sits between the two beds.

He pulls out the two fluffy rabbits and holds them up to her.  He motions to the brown and white one first.  "This is Leroy."  He holds up the grey and white one next.  "And this is Chester."

"Isn't that the name of the Texas guy and his rabbit downstairs?" She asks, taking one of the bunnies Alvie carefully passes over to her.

"Ohhhh..." she coos. "Hewwo."

She snuggles Chester and asks, "Why bunnies? You've never expressed interest in pets."

"Well, no one ever let me have one.  But... I like soft things.  They feel good to cuddle."

Ruben chimes in, "I thought maybe he might like the responsibility of taking care of something.  Rabbits are pretty straight forward.  They were supposed to live in the lab, but sometimes Alvie likes to have them sleep on his pillow.  It just made more sense to let him have them in here."

"They're precious," Rachel agrees, nuzzling one.  She passes them back to Alvie.  "Do they help?" She asks. She knows she doesn't need to explain what she's referring to.

Alvie glances at Ruben.  "It does.  But, Ruben helps more.  Mostly they just cheered me up when I was in a place that I could be cheered up."

Ruben smiles at him and takes his hand.  "I was just glad that you liked them.  There wasn't an agenda.  I know things get hard."  He looks at Rachel.  "We all just wanted to help him as best we could."

Rachel grins, reaching over to pet one of the bunnies.

"Mom and Dad are gonna lose their shit."

She looks serious. "You are going to call them?"

“S-sure.  I guess.”

Rachel can sense his hesitation, but she lets it go for now.  She watches as he carefully puts Leroy and Chester back in their cage.  They sit down on his bed together.  

Ruben stands up and stretches before leaning over and kissing Alvie’s temple.  “I’m going to let you catch up.  I’ll come find you guys later.  Take all the time you need.”  He gives Alvie’s hand a squeeze and then walks out the door, closing it softly behind him.  

Alvie looks back at Rachel.  “Just like old times,” he says motioning to the two of them sitting on the bed under an open window.  

Rachel laughs, understanding what he’s getting at.

“They let you smoke here?” She asks.

“Ruben keeps it now,” he says. “But yeah. We smoke together. Me and Usnavi smoke together. Ali once in a while...but...he’s not into it.” 

They lay there for a while and she snuggles up against him. She notices what almost looks like a thinning patch of hair near his temple. She rubs her finger on it.

“It’s a burn,” he says simply. “One of the ETC techs had shaky hands.”

Rachel nods. She wants to kill every last person who almost killed him. Alexander told her what he’d gone through. He told her how he’d put a stop to it. 

“Did you miss us?” She asks.

“Only all the time,” he says, laughing softly. “They told me you and Tia Rosie and Tio Miguel wouldn’t wanna see me. Not until I was better. Even on Christmas I asked if I could at least call and they said no.”

“Assholes,” Rachel scoffs, sitting up. “Of course we wanted to see you. I finished my fucking internship at some kind of human rights thing just in case you might randomly appear looking for a hot meal or something.”

Alvie looks at her.

“Really?” He asks. 

“We hired a P.I., Juan,” she tells him. “Do you know how difficult it is to find some strung-out, Bipolar, twenty-something year old in New York CIty?”

He sits up too.

“I’m sorry,” he says. 

“It’s not your fault,” she says, and then. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I basically threw you out in Phoenix.  I made you feel unwelcome.”

“I wouldn’t work,” Alvie reminds her. “I stole from you. I was worried that you weren’t safe around me anymore. I needed to leave.”

“It was the dreams,” Rachel says. “You saw something.”

Alvie nods again, looking away. 

“What?”

“I saw you get hurt,” he says. “If I would’ve stayed, you would’ve gotten hurt because of me.”

At that moment the door opens and Ruben steps in. He looks a little sheepish.

“Hi,” he says, smiling nervously.

“It’s good, Benny,” Alvie says. “We’re just catchin’ up. Hey, where’s my stash? Rachel wants to smoke later.”

“Left drawer in my lab desk,” Ruben says simply. He looks unsure of what to do so he tends to some plants. 

“Want me to leave?” Rachel offers.

“No, you’re fine,” Ruben says. 

He finally sits on the opposite bed and says, “Alvie talks about you all the time. You’re his favorite person.”

Rachel grins. It’s good to know he never forgot about her or thought they were one more family that threw him away. 

“So how did you two end up together?” She asks. “He wore you down?”

Ruben laughs a little, shaking his head. 

“He was forward,” he admits. “But...just a really good friendship I guess? Turned into more.”

“I shotgunned him on Christmas Eve and then climbed into his bed and made out with him,” Alvie says.

“Now that sounds more plausible,” Rachel agrees. 

---

“Alvie seems extra cheerful,” Alexander says downstairs, eyeing the top floor where Alvie had ushered Rachel to so he could show her everything .

Usnavi passes him a cup of coffee and says, “Yeah, but you gotta remember, this is like Christmas morning for him. Having Rachel here.”

Alexander nods at Ruben who joins them in the kitchen and teases, “Feeling third-wheeled?”

“Nah, I just want to give him some space to catch up.  It’s… It’s a big deal getting to see your family after such a long time.”  Ruben frowns and purses his lips.  “I just want him to have his space with her.  They have a lot to talk about.  Apparently Lawless has been lying to Alvie, so there’s a lot to unravel.”

They’re all quiet for a moment, and Usnavi doesn’t have to point out they’re all thinking the same thing-Alvie’s the one who truly got screwed by Rochambeau. 

“And you think…” he looks at Alexander. “We can trust her? She won’t run to authorities or try and convince Alvie to leave with her?”

“I think so.  I mean, there are no guarantees, but it was the right thing to do.  It’s what’s best for Alvie.”  Alex looks at Ruben and then back at Usnavi.  “He has a good reason to stay, isn’t that right, Ruben?”

“I-I hope so.  I don’t feel like leaving, but I don’t want Alvie to go either.  I hope he decides to stay.”  He shrugs his shoulders. 

----

After showing her everything inside of the barracks, Alvie decided to show her outside which is mostly just snow and trees, but it’s certainly different than back home. The air smells fresher and the lack of buildings and people and cars is kind of nice, Rachel decides. It’s good for Alvie. 

“So Mom went fucking nuts and basically the house is now the color of nineties,” Rachel says, following Alvie back inside and they both brush snow from their clothes. 

Alvie laughs at whatever they’re talking about and says, “She’s always wanted that though. Give her that.”

The others smile at them and Alvie smiles back, taking a drag on his vape. He turns to Rachel and says, “Ruben’s gotta uh, re-do my bandages. Wanna come with? It’s pretty gross.”

Rachel snort-laughs and hits him on the arm. She nods and follows him, and Ruben who gets up from the sofa, back upstairs. 

“Did you tell them the first time you mutilated yourself you fucking passed out in the bathtub?” she says, rubbing her arms with her hands-the memory slightly chilling. “You didn’t even do it in the bathtub. You got blood fucking everywhere and then decided to collapse in the shower. Fucking prick.”

Alvie laughs again and says to Ruben, “Ain’t she the nicest sister in the world?”

Ruben smirks as he opens the door to his lab.  “I can definitely see a family resemblance,” he says.  He tugs a little nervously at his sleeves.  

Alvie obediently sits on the barstool next to the work table and rolls up the left sleeve of his jacket where his arms are currently bandaged. Rachel watches as Ruben works quickly, but carefully to check his cuts and redress them.

“You only cut yourself on one arm?” She asks.

Ruben looks at her and then at Alvie. 

“What happened exactly?” She asks, noticing the cuts are much higher than his wrist and seem to be localized to one spot. She notices a deep, textured bruise. It looks like the kind she had when she briefly used the arm implant birth control, only worse. 

“Juan.” She steps closer, taking his wrist in her hands to observe the damage for herself. “What the fuck?”

She looks at him and then at Ruben.

“It’s my um…” Alvie looks at Ruben for help. He can already hear the anger bubbling in Rachel’s tone.

“It’s a tracker.  Rochambeau was worried he was a flight risk, and with his powers they didn’t want him falling into the hands of a group that might do him further harm.  It’s… It’s supposed to be for his safety,” Ruben says, gently rubbing Alvie’s arm.  

“A…” Rachel’s brow furrows. “I’m sorry, but I know you didn’t just say a tracker.”

When Ruben says nothing and neither does Alvie, she turns on her heels to walk out. Alvie sighs and gets up to follow her.

“Rach-” he says as she goes down the hall and to the stairs. He takes her arm.

“Come on,” he pleads. “It’s...it’s not as bad as you think.”

“Is it as bad as you think?” She says hotly, holding up his arm. “You’re the one that tried to fucking dig it out with a razor blade.”

She drops his hand like a hot potato and continues down the stairs, Alvie on her heels.

“The fuck are you gonna do?” He asks, a little worried because he’s seen Rachel tear into other kids, teachers, neighbors, their parents…

Rachel all but almost plows into Alexander, who holds up his coffee mug just in time so it doesn’t slosh all over the place.

“You didn’t tell me he had a fucking tracking device in his arm!” She says angrily. “You didn’t tell me he’s tagged like a goddamn cat. What the fuck?”

“I’m sorry, what is this about?” He glances up with eyes a bit like a deer caught in the headlights, at Alvie and Ruben coming in just behind Rachel.  

“When you came to New Jersey,” Rachel says. “You told me he’d hurt himself. You didn’t tell me that Rochambeau has a tracking device in him and that he tried to cut it out.”

It’s clear that she’s fighting to keep her voice steady and as Alvie moves to touch her, she grabs his wrist and rolls up his sleeve.

“This,” she says. “You didn’t tell me he has this in him and that he tried to take it out and that’s how he fucking hurt himself.”

She lets go of his hand and says, “Juan, let’s go home. Please. Please-” she swallows hard.

Alvie sighs, looking at Alexander briefly and tells Rachel, “Hey, it’s not what you think, okay?”

Rachel looks at Alexander. “I’m fucking taking him home.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Alvarez, but I only recently became aware that it was a problem for Alvie.  I’m looking into possibly getting it removed.  But you have to understand that it was the one condition on which our supervisors agreed in order for him to come here with us and not have to stay where he was previously housed.  I am doing the best I can here.  You haven’t been around to see the progress that we’ve made.  The changes that we’ve put in place.”  He takes a moment to catch his breath.  “It was what we thought was best, given his history at the time.  I can see why you are upset.  And Alvie is not the same kid he was when he first came to us.”

Alvie nods at Alexander and pulls Rachel against him. She starts crying then and he murmurs into her hair, “Fucking weak, Rach.”

“Shut the fuck up,” she whimpers, but kisses his cheek. “I...I need a minute.”

“Great,” he says, mouthing ‘she’s okay’ after she turns to go back upstairs. “I’ll come with you.”

“I said I need a minute.”

“And I said I’m fucking coming with you,” he tells her, following her up the stairs.

“Goddamn,” Lee finally says, opening the microwave to get his Pizza rolls.

“Are you okay?” Pippa asks Ruben.

“Y-yeah.  I-I just wasn’t expecting her to r-react like th-that.  Damn.  She’s feisty.  No wonder Alvie loves her.  But, damn.  She’s scary.”

“Shit, can I…” Alexander runs a hand through his hair and mutters, ‘“drink my coffee now?”

----

Rachel waits for Alvie to put his jacket back on and grab the baggie of weed and paper for them to go back outside. She’s a little embarrassed to go back downstairs, but Alvie doesn’t seem upset. 

“Why didn’t you tell me this stuff?” Rachel asks. “The tracker and big...organization...what is all this shit?”

She relaxes a little when Alvie simply cracks the window and shrugs his jacket off. She takes hers off too, climbing onto the bed next to him as he starts to roll out the joint. 

“Honestly, Rach, I don’t think about it most days.  The tracker has been in for months now and I was so desperate to come here with the rest of the group, with Ruben, that I didn’t hesitate to agree to it.  Back there, at the facility, I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.  I… this place… These guys, they’ve been… They’ve been good for me.  You have no idea how bad it had gotten before… before I came here.”  He finishes rolling the joint and lights it, taking the first drag before he hands it to her.  “It was only when I cycled into that low that it got to me.  I can feel it, but like, it only bothered me when literally everything bothered me.  You know how I get when those moods hit.  I can’t control it and I sort of over react to every little thing.  I scared the hell out of all of them when they found me on the floor in the bathroom with blood everywhere, Ruben most of all.”

Rachel takes a drag, nodding. 

“The first time you got blood all over the bathroom and scared the hell out of everyone,” she says. “This is what we did, remember? Laid in bed and smoked and talked about what a fucking mess you are.”

She smiles at him.

“Sorry I kind of never outgrew the ‘losing my shit and threatening to take you away’ part of that,” she says. “I can see you are doing better.”

He takes the joint from her and pulls in another puff.  “I am doing better.  This was… this was the first low in months.  And Ruben… he’s brilliant.  His powers, they, well, they sort of help like nothing else.  He says that since I can’t feel his electricity, but my body reacts like I’m getting a power surge, that’s what Lawless, he’s the guy who sort of runs Rochambeau, that’s why he was using ECT to shorten my lows.  This is much less, uh, invasive, traumatizing, whatever word you wanna use.  Ruben says Lawless wasn’t wrong but that he didn’t have all the pieces to help me.  But Ruben, he’s, well, I think I already said he’s a genius.  He’s customizing my medication so that I don’t feel like a zombie.  I still feel like me.”

“Whatever works, I guess,” Rachel says, letting out a long sigh. She looks at him. “So you are happy? This isn’t some ‘blink twice’ if they’re listening scenario?”

“I… I know it’s weird, but I sort of love my life here.  I have so many issues and these guys, Ruben especially, they care.  Like you care.  But like, they put up with all my garbage and stick with me.  No one, other than you, has ever done that for me and I really needed that.  Hell, Ruben even trusted me with something living.  He gave me my bunnies.”  He nods to the cage that sits between their two beds, despite Ruben’s insistence that they be housed in the lab, they’d never really left the bedroom.  

Rachel raises up to ground out and flick what’s left of the joint out the window and when she lays back down says, “Yeah, you’re not gonna sit here and talk about Ruben giving you bunnies as the big selling point. Giving you that dick maybe.”  She laughs when he playfully hits her arm.

“So what happens after?” She asks seriously. “After all this...is this...forever? You live here with a bunch of weirdos and a tracker in your arm and raise bunnies?”

“Well, I don’t exactly know.  I’ll stay with Ruben.  He goes where I go and I go where he goes.  I don’t know what that’s gonna look like, but given all my issues, I’ll probably let him decide.  He makes me happy.  I can’t imagine myself anywhere else than by his side.”

“I can tell,” she says, smiling. “Promise me you’ll call Mom and Dad, yeah? Just say you’re living with your doctor boyfriend. That’s all they need to know. I’ll vouch for you.”

“I will.  I promise.  You’re sure they’re going to want to hear from me.  I mean, it’s been so long.  What if they ask questions?”

“The fuck?” She chuckles softly. “Of course they’re going to ask questions. Just say shit happened and you started dating this doctor and now you have two...fucking bunnies...they just want to know you’re safe.”

She hears footsteps outside the door and kisses his cheek.

“I’m going to shower and go to bed,” she tells him. “Before the boyfriend runs out of things to pretend to do out in the hall.”

She gets up, stretches and says, “Sorry I kind of lost it tonight. I am glad you’re okay.”

“I really am okay here.  I hope you can see that.  I’ll tell Alex you’re not going to kidnap me and run away.”  He grins at her.  “Come on, Ruben,” Alvie yells, “you can go ahead and come on in here.  Rachel’s not gonna bite your head off.”

Ruben walks in and smiles awkwardly. Rachel smiles back at him and says, “Goodnight, guys.” 

As she leaves the room, she pats Ruben’s arm and kisses his cheek. After she’s gone, Alvie says, “Breathe, Benny.” 

He pats the spot on the bed next to him. 

“So did you guys talk it out?  I had no idea she could be so… scary.  Yikes.  How did you ever have the nerve to upset her?” Ruben asks.  

Alvie kisses his cheek, snuggling up to him.

“She ain’t scary,” he says. “She’s just fucking loud . That’s all. She’s my best friend.”

He sighs and says, “I did her wrong. I shouldn’t have disappeared on her the way I did.”

“You saw something and were trying to protect her.  Did you explain that to her?”

“You can’t explain stuff to Rachel,” Alvie says. “She’s like you...she’s a fixer . I’m just glad she’s here.”

He snuggles up closer to Ruben. 

“Glad I’m here. Glad you’re here,” he continues. “All of us.”

----

There’s a soft knock at the door. Alvie is fast asleep and Ruben is still up sitting at the desk in  the bedroom working on some notes for Alex. He goes to open the door and it’s Rachel. She notes the main light is off and Alvie is asleep.

“I forgot my phone,” she says quietly.

Ruben opens the door for her, “Come in.”  He nods to her and then sits back down at the desk, expecting her to just grab her phone and head to bed in her room.  

She takes her phone from the end table by the bed Alvie’s sleeping on and then sits down next to him. 

“He had a lot of things to say about you,” she says. “Good things. You’re smart and, and talented and funny and what not.”

When Ruben only looks at her, she says, “This is the part where you say ‘oh yeah I am all those things’ or ‘oh. He said that about me ?’.”

Ruben laughs.  “Alvie’s a pretty amazing guy.  I’ve never met anyone like him.  Did you know that he used to dream about me?  I don’t think I’m anything special.  But… he makes me think I could be.  One day.  And, I can’t believe he said all that about me. ” He smiles at her.  “I hope you know that I love your brother.  He… he sort of saved me, kind of, in his own way.  He made sure that when I needed help, it was there for me.  It led me to him.  Let’s step over to my office so we don’t wake him up.”

Rachel smiles and stands up, following him to the little office.

“I can see how happy you make him and obviously he makes you happy too,” she says. “I’m happy for you guys.” She looks around. “So what is all this stuff? Juan told me you’re a doctor, but he didn’t say what kind.”

“I’m not actually a medical doctor, but I have doctorates in Biochemistry and Engineering.  I can study all of our unique biochemistries and formulate drugs and therapies that might help us better control our powers.  Most of this,” he motions around his small office, “are things that I’m working on for Usnavi.  His ability is proving more challenging than I originally expected.  If he gets around too many people, he’s overwhelmed and experiences debilitating headaches.  I’m trying to find a way to help him manage it. 

“And I’m also trying to help Alvie manage his cycles in a way that will work best for him.  Basically I can invent therapies and tech that can be used together to get the most efficient results.” He pauses and nods as he continues.  “When I can figure out the individual puzzle.”

Rachel nods looking around at the scattered and cluttered sheets of paper and file folders. 

“And before all this?” She asks.

“Well, I-I-I used to w-work at a hospital in Ph-Philadelphia.  I ran the pharmacology lab there.  But, that ended badly when, um, I sort of got kidnapped by a coworker.  He needed me to make a dr-drug for him.  That’s why Alvie sent me help.  Things… things were really bad for a while.  I almost died.  It’s how I got my powers.  I took my own drug and then this happened.”  He held up his fingers and wiggled them like he was waving, letting his blue lighting dance across them.  “I’d really rather not talk about b-b-before, if that’s okay.”  He looks up briefly to try and read her expression before letting his gaze fall back to the desk and it’s scattered papers.  

Rachel nods and doesn’t ask anymore about before Rochambeau. 

“So you think you can help them?” She asks. “Like actually fix them?”  She closes her eyes briefly, remembering how much Alvie hated that word ‘fix’.  “You can help?” She rephrases. “To cope with their abilities?”

“I know I can help Alvie.  I’ve already seen the treatments starting to work.  It’s just a matter of finding the right dosage that will alleviate some of his symptoms.  I can’t stop him from cycling, but yes.  I can help him to cope.  Usanvi is a different issue.  I don’t know yet with him.  I feel like I’m still missing a piece of the puzzle where his ability is concerned.  But, regardless, I’ll keep working, for both of their sakes.”

He looks up and meets her gaze again.  

“I really liked what you said to Alex earlier.  I wish I had your boldness.  I’ve thought every single thing you said to him.  Only it’s not Alex that did it.  It’s Lawless, but, I’m glad you said it.  Alex did let it happen.  But he was desperate to get us out of there.  Alvie most of all.  I think… I think Alvie would have died if Alex hadn’t got us out of there.  They wouldn’t intentionally have killed him, but his ability was just too tempting.  All of ours were.  Alex knew we needed our own place.  But, I don’t like Alvie having a tracker on him.  It… he’s not a dog, you know?  He’s not property.”

“Truth be told,” Rachel says, rubbing her arms with her hands. “He is a runner. When things get hard, he disappears. I imagine that things have been really hard on him these past couple of years.”

She looks at Ruben and adds, “Just be patient with him, okay?”

“Always.  I couldn’t hurt him any more than I could hurt myself.  Probably even less than that.”  He nervously tugs his sleeves down again.  

Rachel looks at her phone and then says, “I believe you.” 

She gets up and kisses him on the cheek again. 

“And I believe what he says about you,” she tells him. “I think you’re good for him.”   

She follows Ruben out of the door and goes to check on Alvie one last time before she heads off to bed.  Old habits die hard , she tells herself.  

Before she leaves, she strokes some of Alvie’s short hair and then closes the door to the bedroom as quietly as she can.

Ruben smiles at Alvie’s sleeping face.  He sets his papers in some semblance of organization and then strips down to his boxers before climbing into bed with Alvie.  He’s still been sleeping skin to skin with him, ever since his low cycle.  Maybe if he does this every night, he can not only shorten the length of the low, but lengthen his more even cycles.  He doesn’t know if it will work, but it’s as good a hypothesis to experiment on as any.  

He snuggles in close behind Alvie and pulls him to his chest.  He’s asleep within minutes. 

Chapter Text

Ruben sits nervously on the couch next to Alvie.  His mom is going to be here any minute.  It’s been well over a year since he’s seen her, well seen her in person.  He bites his lip nervously.  He’s bouncing his knee next to Alvie’s leg.  

“It’s gonna be fine, Ruben.  It’s just your mom.  What’s the big deal?” Alvie asks.  

“I don’t know.  I’m very glad that I get to see her, but… but, I mean, she’s gonna want to know what happened and I’m going to finally have to tell her.  I don’t know how I’m going to do all that.”

“You’ll figure it out, Benny.  You always figure it out.”

“You haven’t had any dreams about it, have you?”

Alvie smiles and hands Ruben a piece of paper.  “I was saving it in case you started to get cold feet about this.”

Ruben flips open the paper.  It’s two drawings, one on the top half and one on the bottom.  The top shows Ruben hugging his mom with his face buried in her neck.  It’s clear it's a tight embrace full of love and meaning.

The second picture is Ruben sitting on the same couch he’s sitting on now, but he’s sitting between Alvie and his mother.  Both of them are holding his hands and they’re all smiling at one another.  Ruben is relieved to see that he looks happy and relaxed.  

He leans over and pulls Alvie into a kiss.  “Thank you,” he breaths as he pulls back.  The doorbell rings and he gets up to answer it.  

He opens the door just as the others join him and Alvie in the living room.  His mom is there, her small but protective stature filling the doorway.  

“Hi, mom,” he says as he steps out to greet her.  He goes to give her a brief hug but then she greets him just like that last time that he saw her and it’s just so overwhelming.  

“Rubén, ¡mi querido!” she says enthusiastically as she pulls him in for a hug.  They wrap their arms around each other and he can’t help it.  He feels like a little boy.  He buries his face in her neck and the tears flow.  They stand there for several minutes, just holding each other; crying.  So much pent up emotion that there are no words for flows between them.  

Estafania breaks the hug first and pulls back, cupping his face between her hands.  “Let me look at my boy.”  She looks into his eyes and he can’t look away.  He’s smiling brightly, but he knows that she can see the things he’s suffered behind his eyes.  “We’ll talk later.  Introduce me to your friends?”  She pats his cheek.  

“Right.  Come in.  Welcome to The Barracks.”

He shows her in and Alexander steps forward.  “Hello, I’m Alexander Saenz.  I sort of run this place.”  He offers his hand for her to shake, but she declines and pulls him into a hug.  

“You’re the one who gave me my Rubén back.  I can’t thank you enough.”

“I didn’t.  Ruben has several people to thank, including himself.  But thank you for the sentiment.  We love having him around her with us.  He’s an invaluable part of the team.”

She nods.  “And who is this?”

“This is Pippa, she’s my… she’s my girlfriend and our team psychologist.”

Estafania shakes her hand.  “It’s so very nice to meet you.”

“You too.  You have a very gifted son.  We love working with him.”

“Thank you.  I’m just so glad to know that he is surrounded by so many people who care about him.”

“This is Usnavi,” Ruben says.  “He owns a bodega in New York and he makes the best coffee and breakfast tacos.”   Ruben smiles as his mom shakes Usnavi’s hand.  

“What an interesting name.  You’ll have to tell me what it means at some point.  I’ve never heard it before, is it Cuban?”

Usnavi laughs out loud.  “No, it’s… my dad made it up.  He saw it on a ship when him and my mom crossed over from the Dominican Republic.”  Usnavi smirks a bit as he hears her roll the name around in her head and then he hears it click as she moves from Usnavi to US Navy.”

“Oh.  Okay.  Your dad sounds like an interesting man.”

“Yes, ma’am.  He was,”  

Estafania smiles sadly at him.  “Ruben lost his papa at a young age too.”  She pats his cheek reasuringly and Usnavi likes her immediately.  She reminds him of his mom.  

“This is Lee and his daughter, Lyra.”

Lee and Lyra shake hands with her.  

“Nice to meet you, ma’am.  Ruben is a fine young man.  Very gifted,” Lee compliments.  Ruben blushes at all the kind words.  

“Yeah,” Lyra chimes in with her bright English accent.  “He’s like a science genius.  He’s helping me get really good grades on all my homeschool projects.  He knows everything.”

“That’s not true,” Ruben says when his mom beams at him.  

Alvie steps quietly up next to Ruben and takes his hand.  

“And this… this is my...this is  Alvie.  His name is actually Juan, but no one here calls him that.  He’s… he’s...he means a lot to me.”

Ruben may be a genius, but he’s not good with the emotional stuff. His mother has always known and he’s glad he doesn’t have to go into a lot of details about the nature of his and Alvie’s relationship. It’s pretty obvious from the way they’re holding hands and smiling at each other. 

“You saved my Rubén?”

“I just saw that he needed help.”

Ruben swings his hand back and forth nervously, keeping their fingers intertwined.  “We sort of saved each other,” he confirms, looking into Alvie’s eyes for a moment longer before returning his gaze to his mom.  

Estafania pulls Alvie into the tightest hug she’s given any of them.  “Thank you.”  

She pulls back and looks at him closely.  “You make him happy.  I can see it.  And that’s all that matters.”  She looks at the rest of them and smiles.  “Now, where is the kitchen?  I’m cooking for you all tonight.  I have groceries in the car.  Can I get some big strong guys to help me unload it?”  

“I’ll help,” Usnavi volunteers and the rest of the guys head off with him to her car when she hands him the keys.  

She looks at Ruben.  “I’m cooking your favorite.  You want to help me in the kitchen?  Roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty like we used to?”

Ruben’s smile falters for a moment.  “I-I-I’d l-love to h-help you, m-mom.  But, um, I can't roll up m-my sl-sleeves.”

She looks at him for a moment, with her head quirked to the side.  “That’s okay.  So long as we get to spend some time together.  I’ve missed you so much, mijo.”

“Me too.”  He says, giving her another hug.  

She rubs his back affectionately as they head to the kitchen and he wonders if she can feel the scars through his sweater.  

---

After dinner, Ruben and his mom sit in Alexander’s office.  It’s just the two of them.  They sit across from each other.  It’s quiet in the room for a long time as Ruben alternates his gaze from the floor to his mom and then back down again.  

“So are you going to tell me where you’ve been, or do I need to keep letting my imagination run wild with what has happened to you?”

“I… There’s so much.  I mean.  I can’t.  Not all of it.  Not yet.  I’m okay though.  I swear.”

“Mijo.  You can tell me anything.  You show up to the house with that doctor friend of yours and then you’re hopping on a plane and telling me to get out of the house and that you’d call and then I don’t hear from you for over a year.”

“I got mixed up in some really bad stuff with Dr. Cole.  Things were… bad, mom.  I can’t really go into it much.  Not yet at least, maybe someday.  But not yet.  I sort of… changed while I was there.  You can’t tell anyone about what I’m about to show you.  Okay?”

“Rubén?”

“Promise me, Ma.  Promise me that you won’t tell anyone.”

“Alright, Rubén.  I promise, mijo.  What has happened to you?”

Ruben sits back and takes off his bands, one at a time and sets them gently on Alex’s desk.  “Just, don’t freak out or scream or anything, okay?”

Estafania nods.  

Ruben holds up his hands and lets his blue sparks come to the surface.  He moves his fingers around and lets the lightning jump between them.

“Rubén?”  She reaches for his hand.  He pulls his hand away from her and then casually puts his bands back on.  

“I’m fine, mom.”  He laughs a little.  “I sort of have an ability, a super power if you will.”  He looks up at her and gives her a sad smile.  “I’m okay, mom.  The guys here have helped me, a lot.  Lee, he… well, he can do some things too and he’s helping me learn to control it.  It’s… It’s part of why I didn’t come home as soon as I could.  I can’t control it without these bands and I was not going to risk hurting you or the girls.  Not after…  Not after everything I went through to keep you guys safe in the first place.”

His mother put her hand on his knee.  “I’m so glad you’re safe, Rubén.  It’s all that matters.  And your sisters, they’re so relieved that you’re alive.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner.  I should have known it would be fine.  But, I… I was just so… I can’t answer your questions.  And I was afraid you wouldn’t trust me to know when and what I could tell you.”

“Rubén, I will always trust you.  You’re my genius boy.  There’s nothing else you need to say.”

Her eyes rest at the base of his neck and he knows that she can see one of his scars there.  He should have buttoned his shirt all the way up, but he hadn’t thought of it.  She reaches up and touches the very tip of the ugly mark that’s just barely visible.  He takes her hand in his.  

“One day.  I promise, Ma.  Okay?”

She pats his cheek.  “Okay.”

He pulls her in and hugs her.  

There is a knock at the door and Ruben sits back, wiping his hand across his eyes.  “C-Come i-in.”  

“Hey, Ruben.”  It’s Alexander.  “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but your mom told me to let her know when the timer went off.”

“Ah, yes, thank you, Mr. Saenz.”  She turns and looks at Ruben.  “Tres Leches.  You left without having any last time.”

Ruben smiles.  “I did.  And yours is the best.  I-I’ve r-really missed it.”

She wraps her hand around the back of his neck.  Alex smiles.  It’s a lot more touching than he’s used to seeing Ruben engage in with anyone other than Alvie.  He’s glad Ruben called her and invited her to come visit.  

Estefania disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Ruben and Alex together.  

“Everything okay?  You guys talk?”

“Y-yeah.  We’re good.  I didn’t… I didn’t tell her everything.  I c-can’t.  B-but I d-did tell her about my p-powers.  Not how I g-got th-them, but just… that I have them.”

“That’s probably good.”

“She saw one of my scars.  She didn’t say anything.  But, I know she saw it.  How can I ever explain what happened to me?”

“You don’t have to.  You know it’s not going to matter to her.  She loves you.”

Ruben nods.  Alvie pops up beside him near the doorway.  “Hey, Benny.  You and your moms good?”

“Yeah.  I think so.”

Alvie stepped past Alex and took Ruben’s hand.  “Come one.  Let’s go get some cake.”

---

Over the course of the next few days, while she stays there, Estafania picks up on a few key details about the new friends in her son’s life.  

Her son is loved by everyone here, especially Alvie.  He’s different then he used to be, more quiet.  He’s often plagued by the old stutter that had been gone for more than two decades.  He has scars.  She hasn’t seen them, other than the one near his neck.  But a mother knows.  She sees the signs.  He never wears anything less than two layers while she’s there.  He nervously tugs at his sleeves.  There’s something on his arms and perhaps more that he doesn’t want her to see.  

They don’t tell her, but she’s able to put together that each of them is special, gifted in some way.  She doesn’t know what it is, but it’s a puzzle that Ruben is working on.  He’s driven, and he’s only driven like that when he’s trying to find answers.  She knows her boy and she’s glad that at least that aspect of him is not different.  

Then there’s Alvie.  He adores Ruben.  She can see it in the way he looks at her son, in the looks they share between the two of them.  She’s never seen Ruben so happy as when he’s with Alvie.  The younger man is bright and bubbly, but she can see the brokenness there too.  They’re all broken, in some way or another.  

Even Lee, then giant of the group, hides something tragic.  She can see it in the way that he looks at his daughter.  A daughter that is not biologically his, but nevertheless, their hearts beat as one, as familia.  The girl is fierce and confident and completely comfortable with him.  Familiar as only a father and child could be.  

Usnavi, the young Dominican with the bodega from New York.  He won her over that first morning when he fixed her Cuban coffee just like her grandfather used to give her.  How had he known?  He seems to often know things he shouldn’t or guess or predict things.  He anticipates moves and conversation and wants with uncanny accuracy.  

And then there’s Alex and Pippa.  There’s something odd about their relationship, but not in a bad way.  She knows from what she has pierced together that Alex and Pippa only met a few months ago, but..the way they move around each other, the way they look at one another.  It’s as if they’ve known each other for decades.  Sometimes, the way Alex speaks, the way Pippa speaks, it’s like they don’t belong in this era.  

They are an odd mix.  But they work.  They move and flow together with a rhythm that is all their own.  The early risers, the night owls, none of that matters.  They’ve been through things together and you can see it in their camaraderie.  She doesn’t know how long Ruben plans to be here with them, but she does know that he’s made an impression on them and they’ve made an impression on him.  That’s the kind of bond that lasts a lifetime.  

She doesn’t know what happened to her son while he was gone all of those months.  She knows he was deeply hurt, but these are the people who have put him back together, given him purpose.  She’s very grateful for that.  She knows she can go home and not worry about him.  He has brothers, an extended family.  

Before she leaves she asks to speak to Alex.  He agrees and guides her to his office.  Ruben is in his lab with Alvie and she promised him that she would be right back.  

“Mrs. Marcado, what can I do for you?” Alex leads.

“You… You lead this little group, in a way?”

“I do, in a way.  I… I see them as my boys.  That may seem odd to you,” he shrugs, “but it’s how I see them.”

“Interesting.  And you protect them?”

“To the best of my ability.  But, in reality, we all protect each other.  We all have each other’s backs.  I can’t explain the bond that we have.”

“It’s just there.  You all need each other.”

“Yes, ma’am.  You don’t have to worry about your son here.  He’s in good hands.”

“I know.  I know you’ll all do everything to protect each other.  I don’t know what happened to him while he was gone.  But I know what happened to him afterwards.  And he’s a better man because of it.  My Rubén was a workaholic.  Nothing mattered but the job.  Here, he has social connections like I’ve never seen.  You all make him better.”

“I hope you know that we think the world of him.  He’s truly exceptional.  He’s selfless.”

Estefania smiles.  “He’s a good boy.  A good man.  I’m glad he’s here.  I can sleep easier knowing that he’s safe.”

Alex smiles at her.  “You’re welcome to come and visit him at any time.  He’s free to go to you, but I don’t think he will.  Not yet.  He… well, he feels safe here.  He didn’t feel safe for a long time.  And, he needs that.  Mostly he needs Alvie.  Those two have a unique connection.  Where one is, the other’s not far off.  It’s been that way since the moment they met.”

Estafania’s grin widens.  “Rubén said they saved each other.”

Alex laughs.  “Yes, they sort of did.  But that’s their story.  I am sure you will hear it one day.”

“I’m sure I will.”  She pauses and reaches to shake his hand.  “I really just wanted to say thank you.  You’ve put this worn mother’s heart at ease.”

“Thank you, for lending us your son.”

Estafania heads back to the lab to say her goodbyes.  She knows that she’ll see him soon.  He’s not lost anymore.  He’s more found than he was before he went missing.  

------

Later that week Usnavi sits in one of the chairs smiling.  Alvie is scrunched up between Rachel, who has come back again to visit with Alvie now that she knows where he is, and Ruben.  Each of them is holding one of his hands.  Alvie’s smile could have lit up the room with how incandescently happy he was.  

Usnavi glanced over at Pippa.  She was smiling and looking at Alvie too from her place next to Alexander.  He knows she can feel waves of joy coming off of Alvie.  

Lee and Lyra are sharing the other chair cuddled up and talking quietly to each other.  Usnavi’s smile falters for a moment just as Alvie meets his eyes and Alvie’s brow knits together.  Usnavi tries to cover his momentary melancholy expression by giving him a wide smile.  Alvie smiles back at him and raises an eyebrow.  Usnavi gasps.  Alvie’s thoughts are on one of his dreams.  It’s Sonny and Vanessa cuddled up on the same couch with Usnavi in the middle.  Alvie winks at him.  

Usnavi feels warm all over.  His sadness from a moment ago washes away.  Vanessa and Sonny are coming to see him.  He’s happy.  

Alvie wiggles, snuggling down even more between Ruben and Rachel.  He smiles as he alternates between laying his head on Rachel’s shoulder or Ruben’s.  It's a perfect evening.  The perfect end to a perfect day.  

To be continued...

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Chapter Text

Rachel stays for a few more days, but when she finally leaves, she hugs Alvie tightly and says, “I’ll be back, you know. You ain’t fuckin’ hiding anymore, shithead.”

Alvie squeezes her back and says, “Yeah, yeah. I already apologized like a hundred times.”

Rachel pulls back and says, “Promise you’ll call Mom and Dad.”

Alvie swallows. “I promise.”

Alex asks Alvie, “You sure you don’t want to make the drive back with us?” 

Rachel can see the hesitation and even guilt cross his face. She tells Alex instead, “It’ll be better if he doesn’t. I’ll beg him to stay.”

She really knows that Alvie is probably terrified of the real world right now. He’s been away from it for so long. She can only imagine the terrible things he went through prior to Rochambeau. He was so thin and sleep-deprived. Of course, things weren’t actually fun and games in Rochambeau either, but she tries to push all that away. Things are better now. That’s all that counts. 

“Be careful,” she tells him, giving him one last hug and cheek kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you,” Alvie says.

Rachel looks at Ruben, who’s seemed kind of nervous around her since she got here. She opens her arms and he embraces her as well. 

“Thank you,” she says, and doesn’t really need to elaborate.

“Safe travels,” Ruben says, kissing her cheek.

He holds Alvie’s hand as she climbs into the car with Alexander to make the long drive back to the city. He knows this is hard for Alvie. It’s probably confusing too. He’s gone from one sense of normal to the next, and none of them have really been all that normal. 

“I wish I could…” Alvie starts, but trails off into silence, tugging at his hair.

Ruben gets it though. The world seems scary to him too. It’s like the barracks have become their own little protective bubble.

“You will,” he says. “When you’re ready.”

-----

It’s been quiet at the Barracks since they’ve had visitors. The excitement of Ruben’s mother and Alvie’s cousin has worn off. They both sort of have a sort of empty feeling now, but so does everyone else. Alex knows it’s because they’re so isolated. They only see each other. They miss their families. 

----- 

When things finally start to settle, they get wild again. It’s a regular Friday night. Usnavi is reading his GED study book. Lee and Lyra are working on a jigsaw puzzle with Pippa. Alex is shut up in his office. Ruben and Alvie are on the couch watching one of the X-Men films. 

Usnavi suddenly  looks up at the door with a start.  He stands up, his GED book dropping from his lap.

“You okay?” Lee asks, standing as well, slowly. He can see the shock and worry on his face.

Ruben, Alvie, Pippa, and Lyra watch him as his breathing becomes short and shallow. He doesn’t even put on his coat, he just tears out the front door.

“Usnavi!” Lee calls, chasing after him. The others follow. 

Alex comes out of his office, hearing the commotion. He half jogs downstairs, following them all outside after Usnavi.

It’s dark out and there isn’t much lighting so they’re cautious as they go out. Usnavi is already pretty far from the house and they see him collapse onto a figure. As they get closer, they realize he has his arms wrapped around them. 

“Are you okay?” Usnavi breathes through tears, kissing Sonny. “What are you doing here? How did you get here? You’re not wearing the right clothes. Oh my God. Shit, Sonny.”

He pulls the boy against him, not even giving him a chance to answer any of his questions. Alexander crosses his arms, but there’s a look of almost amusement in his expression. 

“And who’s your company?” Alex asks, looking at the other two. One is a tall boy wearing a bandana over some curly hair who looks more bored than anything else. The other is a sheepish looking girl, tugging her beanie down over her ears.

“My sister,” Ruben says so quietly only Alvie, who is standing right next to him, hears him. 

“Boyo.” Paola’s eyes cloud with tears. “You’re really here.”

Ruben wipes at his eyes quickly and says, “C’mere” as she runs into his arms, weeping. He holds her tight, burying his face in the same thick dark curls as his own. 

“How did you get here?” He asks, pulling back. “God, does Ma know you’re gone?”

“I left a note,” Paola says, sniffling. “I had to see you. I had to see for myself.”

She starts crying hysterically again and Ruben holds her, looking at Alexander pleadingly. Alexander hmms and haws for a moment, crossing and uncrossing his arms.

“We should go inside,” he finally says. “It’s cold out here.”

----

When they’re inside, Paola allows Ruben to help take off her coat. 

“I knew you weren’t dead,” she says, still sniffling. “Ma took us to the river like we used to do in the summers. She said it was our private goodbye, but I only pretended. I just knew.” 

Ruben nods, pushing some hair away that clings to her tear-stained face. 

“How do you two even know each other?” Alexander asks. He looks at the other boy. “And who the hell are you?”

“Pete,” Usnavi says, his voice flat and dry, looking at the neighborhood tagger he could never shake, and apparently still can’t. 

“After your email,” Paola explains. “I went looking through Mom’s purse. She had a little paper with names scribbled on them. One of the names said ‘Oos-Nahvi’ De la Vega...and the only thing I could find was a bodega in New York City and-”

“You randomly went to New York City off of a name?” Ruben asks, laughing a little. 

“It made sense at the time,” Paola argues. “And then when I got there I met Sonny and Pete and…”

She looks at Sonny hesitantly. 

“And what?” Usnavi crosses his arms. He looks at Sonny. “You told her about all this?”

“She said her mom went to visit her brother who’s been missing and she said ‘Rochambeau’ was written down and she was askin’ me what I knew. At first I tried to play dumb, but if her mom went there, that means someone knew somethin’ and I wanted to see you.”

“Lawless is going to love this,” Ruben says, sighing.

“Lawless doesn’t have to know,” Alexander says quickly. To Paola, “Keep going.”

“Sonny tracked the location off the email you sent and it’s the same place Usnavi called from. When Ma came to see you, I took the GPS history off her phone-well, Sonny did, and we decided to come. We took a bus and then Ubered as far as we could and then walked to the mountain.”

“Kids,” Lee says, chuckling. 

“Hot shower,” Usnavi says, pointing at each of them. “Can’t have you gettin’ sick.”

Ruben hugs Paola again and says, “You’re okay. That’s all that matters right now.”

“Ditto,” she says, laughing through some more tears. 

Usnavi pulls Sonny against him and says, “I want to throttle you, but I want to see you too, so… I get it.” 

He kisses his temple. 

“Missed you, Kid,” he says, and there’s not a sliver of anger or annoyance in his voice. 

He looks at Pete and says, “Missed you too...just...not as much.”

Pete dismisses the idea and replies, “Hasn’t been the same taggin’ your wall without you around to run me off.”

------

 Usnavi leads them upstairs to show them where the showers are, he comes back down and says, “Shit.”

“They really came here,” Ruben says, smiling a little.

Alexander says, “They can stay tonight. Ruben, call your mother. Let her know. One more missing kid is the last thing she needs. Usnavi, call Vanessa and...tell her to call that other kid’s parents. Nobody needs to know the actual location.”

----

Ruben sits in Alexander’s office and starts to dial his mother’s number. He hesitates. Knowing his mother, she’ll blow a gasket. She’ll insist on coming back. It’ll give her an excuse to see him again. He knows it was hard for her to leave. Sighing, he goes out of the office and calls, “Paola? Come in here please.”

Paola slinks in, wringing her fingers together and Ruben asks simply, “What’s Mercedes’ number?’

“Aren’t you calling Mom?” She asks in a small voice.

“I’m not happy about what you did,” Ruben says. “But I also don’t want our mother up and fretting in the middle of the night.”

Paola dials Mercedes’ number on her phone and passes it to Ruben.

“Where the hell are you?” Mercedes says instead of hello. “I saw your note! The hell do you think you’re doing, Paola? Mom’s going to lose her shit! How’s Boyo? Why didn’t you tell me-”

“Hey, Merci,” Ruben says, using the nickname for her that he hasn’t used since she was little. 

“Boyo?” Her voice softens. “Oh my God…”

He can hear her start to cry softly. 

“Paola and I talked,” he says. “We think it’s better if Ma doesn’t know that she lied-” he looks at Paola. “And disappeared overnight. I can bring her home…”

“No.” Mercedes says. “I can come and get her. I was supposed to go on a college tour with Diana and her mom anyway. I’ll tell her I took Paola with me.”

“I don’t like the two of you lying to Ma,” Ruben counters.

“Boyo.” He can almost see her rolling her eyes. “Paola and I have been tag-team lying to Mom for almost two years now. Since you... left, Mom got dictator-level strict and never let us go anywhere by ourselves. If you’re worried about us being deceitful daughters, you’re too late.”

Ruben chuckles softly. “Go figure. I still don’t like you driving by yourself.”

“I drove myself to Chicago a few weeks ago,” she tells him. “I’ll be alright.”

“Counter offer,” Ruben says. “Drive yourself to the airport. I’ll buy you a ticket and we’ll pick you up.”

“Fine,” she groans. “I love you. You know that? I’ve missed you so much. I saved you a seat at graduation.”

“I love you too,” Ruben says. “And I know you looked amazing walking across that stage.”

He stays on the phone with her to buy her flight and says, “Call me as soon as you land.”

When he hangs up, Paola hugs him and kisses his cheek.

“You’re a good brother,” she says, kissing him again. “Even if you’re a big nerd.”

Ruben kisses her back and says, “Now we’re even, I guess.”

“I guess.” She smiles, nuzzling his cheek.”

 Alex comes into the office and Ruben explains to him what’s going on. 

 “Looks like we’re going to have a full house,” Alex says with a sigh, but he’s smiling. Paola runs out of the room to tell Sonny and Pete the news.

“It’s okay, right?” Ruben asks.

“Yeah,” Alex replies. “ I’m happy that you’re going to be with your sisters, Ruben.  You need them.  It’ll be good for you.”

“Y-yeah.  I… I’m a little nervous about so many people, but I think it’ll be good.”

“Just relax and enjoy it.  You have your lab or your room if you need a break.  I’ll handle interference for you if you need it, ok.  Your mom will understand.  But I think you’ll be fine.  I wish you could see how much stronger you are than you think.”

“You remember when we were in that lobby at Rochambeau and they shot Pippa?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Do you remember what you did?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ruben, you ran straight at the gunfire.  I’m the only one of us that’s actually bullet proof, but you ran straight towards it.”

“Well, they were shooting at us.  Someone had to stop them.  Lee did that.”

“Lee only beat you to it because he’s able to throw his lightning and you’re still learning how to do that.  You were the first to see where the shots came from and try to stop it.  I was very proud of you.  I’m sorry I didn’t say anything until now.  I meant to, but…”

“Pippa was dying and you were worried you were gonna lose her.”

“Yeah.”

They understand each other.  Neither of them wants to lose anything else.  

---

“You’re callin’ Vanessa?” Sonny asks, frowning.

“Of course I’m callin’ her,” Usnavi says. He asks, “How have you two been gettin’ along anyway?”

To be honest, he can’t imagine the two of them existing together without him. They’re always making sarcastic comments about the other one and he often has to put a stop to them teasing one another. 

“It’s…” Sonny hesitates. “Weird. We had some weird-ass heart to heart because she started actin’ like Hood Barbie or somethin’.”

“What?” Usnavi laughs. “What do you mean?”

“She started cookin’ and cleaning and yelled at me for missin’ curfew. I was kind of gettin’ weirded out. She stopped doin’ her hair and makeup. She’s always on Pinterest lookin’ at recipes. She’s been runnin’ the store. We take turns-her and me and Benny.”

“Vanessa works at the store?” Usnavi’s eyebrows go way up. “She actually stands behind the counter?”

“She’s good at it,” Sonny says. “And she’s really good about chasin’ out the drunks. Almost as good as us.”

“Huh.” Usnavi blinks. He’d have to see it to believe it. Vanessa used to panic about breaking a nail. 

He calls her on Sonny’s phone and she picks up the phone on the first ring.  

“The fuck are you?” She demands. “I’m gonna wring your little neck! How could you do this to me? We talked about this. Are you okay? Do you need me to come get you? You’re such a little pain in the ass I swear. Sonny, where are you?”

Her voice is a roller-coaster of anger, relief, and worry.

“Vanessa,” Usnavi says, and his heart swells at her voice.

“Usnavi?” She’s silent for a minute. He can tell she’s crying.

“Yeah,” he says. “It’s me.”

“Is Sonny there?” She finally asks, catching her breath.

“He’s here.  He’s ok.  Those idiots walked up the damn mountain.  Can you believe it?”

He hears Vanessa give a sigh of relief.  “I was really worried.”

“I know.  I told him he shouldn’t have done that.  I’m sorry.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you and Benny keeping an eye on him for all these months.  I know you didn’t sign up for this but-”

“It hasn’t been easy,” Vanessa says. “I’m surprised you haven’t killed him or yourself. The store, the house, Sonny...it’s exhausting, but...I did it for you.”

Usnavi could cry he loves her so much.  

“I wish you were here,” he says. “Not that I don’t love that Sonny’s here, but…”

“I wish I was there too,” she says. “What if I could be? I mean, Hell, Sonny got there. Tell me where to go. I’ll call Benny right now. We’ll be there.”

“Babe, it’s the middle of the night,” Usnavi says, laughing softly.

“You think I give a shit?” Vanessa laughs too. “I miss you. So much. Give me the address. I’m coming.”

“You and Benny,” Usnavi tells her. “I don’t want you driving alone out here.”

“So misogynistic,” she jokes dryly.

“Bring sandwiches, Woman,” he jokes back.

He’s excited now. He has Sonny. He’s about to have Vanessa and Benny. He can’t remember the last time he felt this happy. 

“I’m going to call Benny,” she says. “I’ll let you know when we’re on our way. Tell the boys I’m going to kick their asses too.”

Something in the way she calls them ‘the boys’ both makes him feel warm all over and sad at the same time.  He’s not had a chance to really see them and know them as a couple.  

“Okay.  Talk to Benny and let me know.”

“Hang on, Benny’s just coming in. I texted him earlier. Hey, Benny!”

He hears Vanessa have a quick conversation with Benny.  Then Benny gets on the phone.

“Hey, Man. What’s up?  I hear we’re coming for a visit.”

It’s what Usnavi loves about Benny. He’s so casual about everything. He’s just learned in a few hours that Sonny is missing, Sonny is found, Sonny is several hours away in the mountains, Usnavi is found, and they’re going to see Usnavi, who’s been gone for a long time.

“That… That would be awesome!  I… I can’t believe I’m gonna get to see all of you.  You’ll get to meet everyone.  The whole team. It’s… it’s perfect.”

“Will there be room for everyone?”

Usnavi gives a laugh.  “Uh, yeah.  There will be.”

“Why is that funny?”

“You’ll understand when you get here.  It’s off the chain.”

“Ok, bro.  I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Yeah.”

Benny gives the phone back to Vanessa.  

“I can’t wait to see you,” she says.  “To be able to kiss you for real.” 

“Yeah, same.  To actually be able to hold you in my arms.  I ain’t letting you go.”

“Don’t make me say it,” she says when there’s an awkward silence.

It doesn’t matter. He can hear it in her heart.

I love you

“I love you too,” he says softly. 

Usnavi gives her the address so they can map to the barracks.  

“I’ll see you in a few hours,,” Vanessa says.  

“I’ll be waiting.”

Usnavi hangs up the phone and sighs.  Finally.  He hadn’t realized how much missing her had been weighing him down.  He felt lighter than air knowing they were coming.  

---

When Sonny’s out of the shower, he comes back downstairs and Usnavi says, “I’ll cook some food for you guys.”

“Eggs?” Sonny suggests. 

“Sure.” Usnavi smiles. He goes into the kitchen and Sonny looks around.

“Shit, Navi,” he says. “You rentin’ this place from the Kardashians?”

“It’s not as glamorous a life as it sounds,” Usnavi tells him. “I just want to come home. I miss the store and the apartment and you and Nessa and Benny.”

“We want you to come home too,” Sonny says. “Tell that lady to stop bossin’ me around all the time.”

Usnavi chuckles. “She’s takin’ good care of you, it sounds like.”

“She went to my parent-teacher conference,” Sonny says. “Her and Benny both! They got such a kick out of it too! Came home and embarrassed me! ‘Sonny, we didn’t know you were on the debate team!’ ‘Sonny, we didn’t know you took AP calculus!’ ‘Sonny, we didn’t know your teachers think you’re a delight!’ “ 

Usnavi laughs now, setting some eggs and peppers in front of him.

“No tortillas,” he says apologetically. 

“No problem. “ Sonny shrugs one shoulder. 

“You wanna talk about anything?” Usnavi asks gently and Sonny stops mid-bite.

“You in my head?” He asks cautiously. 

“Do you wanna talk?” Usnavi repeats.

Sonny turns red and runs a hand through his curly hair. 

“I didn’t wanna tell you…” he confesses. “Thought you might get mad or be disappointed which is worse than mad, I guess.”

“Sonny, I would never get mad at you for that,” Usnavi assures him. “I love you no matter what. I mean, I wish it wasn’t Pete, but…”

Sonny smiles a little at that.

“I’m proud of you,” Usnavi says. “Gay, straight, whatever. You’re the smartest kid in the neighborhood. You’re a hard worker. You’re funny and sweet. What’s to be disappointed about?”

Sonny nods, looking down at his plate. 

“I didn’t need to be in your head to know it’s on your mind,” Usnavi says.

At that moment, Pete slinks into the kitchen awkwardly. Usnavi wordlessly sets him a plate down on the table. Paola comes in too. She’s wearing one of Ruben’s sweaters and pajama pants that belong to Lyra, who’s tall for her age. Luckily, Paola’s short for hers.

“Smells good,” she says, tucking some hair behind her ear.

“God, you look like your brother,” Usnavi says, handing her a plate.

“We have the same beard,” she says seriously, stroking her smooth face.

They all laugh then. She sits down and starts to eat with Sonny and Pete. 

Ruben and Alvie  come in next. Ruben sighs and tells Paola, “I’m conflicted. On one hand I feel like I should call Ma and rat you out, but on the other…”

“I convinced him otherwise,” Alvie says, waggling his eyebrows. Ruben rolls his eyes and Paola makes a face.

“Mercedes will be happy to see you,” she says, smiling a little. 

“You’re going with me to pick her up from the airport,” Ruben says. “Damn. One sister sneaking out in the middle of the night, the one skipping her college tour to come fetch her. The well-behaved big brother lying for both of them.”

“Yeah, but now you’re a cool big brother,” Alvie says, kissing his cheek.

“I never meant to cause problems,” Paola says. 

Alvie smiles and pulls her against him, kissing the top of her head. Alexander walks into the room then with a deep sigh and says, “Well, shit. Party at the Barracks.”

They laugh a little, relaxing.

“Guess we should make some beds,” Usnavi says.

“What about Lawless?” Alvie asks worriedly.

“What about him?” Alexander frowns. “This is our house, our rules.”

“We’re having a party?” Lyra asks, walking into the kitchen. “Usnavi? What are you making? Can I have some?”

Sonny looks at her and then Usnavi. 

“This is Lyra,” Usnavi tells him, fixing Lyra a plate. “And Pan.”

Sonny waves a few of his fingers and looks at Pan. “Is that a weasel?”

“Ferret,” Pete says through a mouthful of eggs.

“It’s my daemon,” Lyra says, smiling.

“He’s cute,” Sonny says and then turns back to his cousin. “That Lawless guy is still ridin’ your ass? Man, you’re from the heights, Cuz. Why didn’t you tell him to suck-”

“Hey!” Usnavi warns. “Little ears.”

Sonny nods and then looks around. “So...all ya’ll got super powers? Neflix contact you yet?”

Ruben chuckles. “They’re not as flashy as you’d think. Not cinematic at all.”

“Hurry up and eat so you can make beds,” Usnavi tells him.

Sonny frowns. “I gotta do it?”

“All three of you,” Usnavi says. “Since you’re bad kids.” He says it playfully, swatting at him with a dishtowel. 

Lee walks into the kitchen now because that’s where everyone else is, Hester hopping beside him.

“You runnin’ a zoo?” Sonny asks, brows furrowed.

“It’s a long story,” Ruben says, fixing himself some tea. 

“And you’re going to get Mercedes from the airport?” Alex asks him. “I’ll go with you.”

“It’ll be really early when she lands,” Ruben points out. To Paola, he says, “You need to go to bed soon.

“Why are you always trying to boss me around?” She asks and Sonny nods, understanding her dilemma. 

“Because I would come home from high school and change your diapers,” Ruben reminds her, smiling affectionately.

Paola looks between Ruben and Alvie. He had confided in his mother almost six years ago that he was starting to think he liked men (she wonders if it had anything to do with that Dr. Cole guy he never shut up about. The one who disappeared conveniently around the same time), but she never imagined him having someone at all. He was always so buried in his work. 

Alvie is holding Ruben’s hand, leaning against his back, chin on his shoulder as Ruben makes tea. He hardly seems like the kind of guy her brother would date, but then again, there’s so much about him she doesn’t know. So much that’s happened.

----

None of them go to sleep.  They should have, but they’re all just too excited to be together.  It’s been so long, for all of them, some longer than others.  Ruben had teased Paola about going to bed, but he couldn’t make himself do it.  They had moved three other couches from the upstairs storage room down to the main floor living room so that they would have room to all sit.  The tv was off and they were all just chatting and swapping stories.  

Sonny, Pete and Usnavi are on one couch, Pete holding Sonny’s hand and Usavni’s arm around his shoulders.  

Lyra and Lee are curled up in their chair.  Alex and Pippa are on one of the love seats.  Ruben and Alvie sit with Paola on another couch.  

None of them can fathom how whole they feel.  Like the world was perfect.  They all know it’s not, but they take the time to bask in the moment.  

----

It’s close to one am when Usnavi stirs awake from his spot on the couch. It’s like a text message in his brain. He knows Benny and Vanessa are here . To his satisfaction, he sees headlights through the window down below. 

“Is it them?” Alexander asks, walking into the room. 

Usnavi nods. He opens the door and stands there, waiting, and Benny hugs him first, pulling him into a bone-crunching hug and kissing the corner of his eye. He pulls back, wiping at his own eyes.

“The last time I saw you,” he says, chuckling. “You looked like shit.”

“I was about to die,” Usnavi says with a flat chuckle. “Remember?”

He looks at Vanessa, who’s just staring at him, covering her mouth. Usnavi opens one arm and she moves into it. She hates for people to see her cry. He kisses her forehead and then her cheek and then the corner of her mouth.

“Missed you so much,” he tells her. “Babe, it’s okay.”

Vanessa pulls away and agrees with Benny. “You do look better.”

He leads them inside, holding Vanessa’s hand. The others stir awake as Usnavi introduces them. Benny immediately goes to Sonny, who has stood up to welcome them, and scuffs the side of his head. 

“I left a note,” Sonny defends himself.

“Yeah, real clever,” Vanessa says angrily. “ ‘Gone to find Usnavi’. You know he’s a hundred billion miles away in the wilderness!”  Vanessa switches languages on a dime as she both pulls him into a hug and punches him in the arm at the same time.  “¡Estúpido, loco idiota!  ¿En qué demonios estabas pensando huyendo a Dios sabe dónde sin plan y sin permiso.  Casi me matas del susto.”

“Your Spanish has gotten better,” Usnavi says. Vanessa always stood out like a sore thumb because her Spanish was never great. 

“Who do you think’s been teachin’ her?” Sonny asks, hugging her back.

Lo siento, ‘Nessa.  I didn’t mean to scare you.  I just missed him.”  

She pulls back and kisses his cheek.  “Me too.  I’m just glad you’re okay.  And you’re grounded when we get home.”

Sonny slinks down and sits back next to Pete, who is refusing to meet Vanessa’s eyes, and says, “Dang. How many times am I gonna get in trouble for this?”

“And don’t think you’re off the hook for this either, Buster,” Vanessa says, shaking a finger at Pete.  “You may not live under our roof, but if you claim Sonny, we claim you.  Benny,” she says, turning to Benny.  “I think I’ve found out how you’re gonna keep your cab clean.  These two geniuses will be washing and cleaning it every weekend for the foreseeable future.”

They both groan, but know better than to protest.  

“That sounds perfect,” Benny agrees, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.  

“You must be Vanessa,” Alexander says, holding out his hand. “I’m Alexander. I’m...the ‘leader’ of this little outfit.”

Vanessa shakes his hand and then he shakes Benny’s. 

“Can I get you two some coffee? I know it was a ridiculously long drive.”

“Coffee would be great,” Vanessa says, tucking some hair behind her ear. She forgot she’s not at home and screaming at Sonny in front of strangers is a little awkward once she gathers her bearings. 

Alexander, again, introduces everyone and goes to make coffee so Usnavi can spend time with his family. Usnavi tells his new friends about New York City and the bodega.

“Is it true,” Lyra asks, “That bodegas typically have a resident cat?”

“Yes.” Usnavi beams. “We have, like, fifty, but yeah, it’s true.”

“The one that comes inside is named Juan Pedro,” Sonny informs him. “This cat’s like, a million years old and he’s the toughest cat on the block. Doesn’t take shit from any other cat. He earned his place as Bodega Cat.”

Alexander, from the kitchen, smiles as he hears them all chattering and laughing. It seems so much different than when he first met Usnavi-a sunken-eyed scared young man in hospital attire who couldn’t even remember what language he was speaking. Speaking of which, he hears everyone turn quiet as Usnavi rapidly switches to Spanish. 

“Do they-” Vanessa asks him quietly, eyeing Lee and Lyra and Ruben and Alvie. “Speak Spanish, Babe?” 

She looks concerned. She knows something is wrong. Usnavi stops and looks a little embarrassed. He doesn’t want to tell Vanessa there’s a short circuit in his brain sometimes. It might scare her. 

“I just forgot I’m not at home,” he says, forcing a smile. 

She smiles too, but she senses something is off. Usnavi keeps going in English and then Alexander comes in with coffee. 

“Usnavi makes the best coffee,” Alvie says.

“I’m right here,” Alexander reminds him.

“You still don’t make the best coffee,” Alvie shrugs. “And he makes stupid good breakfast tacos. The best.”

“Come to the bodega sometime,” Benny laughs. “The line is wrapped around the block on Saturdays-taco day.”

Alexander’s phone rings. He knows the only people he cares about calling are sitting in the room, so he rolls his eyes as he answers it. 

“Yeah?” He says.

“I got word that an unusual amount of foot and car traffic is coming through the Adirondacks. You know anything about this?” Lawless asks in his usual annoyingly casual tone.

“What does it matter to you?” Alex replies coolly.  He knows exactly why Lawless is calling.  

“Our agreement was you take this operation into your own hands,” Lawless reminds him. “It was to remain underwraps. I’ve learned that three teenagers, Usnavi’s girlfriend and a neighbor, have been made aware of our ‘secret’ location.  And that recently Ruben’s mother and Alvie’s sister have also been to your supposedly top secret location.”  He’s silent for a moment and then asks, “How can you trust them not to return home and tell everyone else?”

“Why would they tell anyone?  These aren’t random people.  These aren’t strangers.  It’s their families.  That neighbor is Usnavi’s best friend. He was there when you took Usnavi into your custody to help him, remember?  And the three teenagers?  That’s Sonny, Usnavi’s cousin and ward, his boyfriend, and Ruben’s sister.  Coincidentally they all know each other.  Oh and before you get your panties in a further twist, Ruben’s mother has been here and his other sister is on her way. I’ll be picking her up from the Burlington airport around five.  He’s not seen his sisters since before Jamaica.  He needs this.  They all need this.”

“And Alvie’s cousin?” Lawless asks. “You’re certain she’s not going to cause problems? You’re getting too close to all of this. This is an operation, not a charity and not some kind of halfway house program. We need these individuals to help save the world.”

“You mean the cousin you told him didn’t want to see him?  Look, they are all thriving.  They gain more control of themselves and their powers with every passing day.  What do you want from them? They're not lab rats.  Just tell me this, what would you give if you knew your daughter was alive?  Wouldn’t you do anything to see her?  If my Philip, or any of my children, were still alive, do you think I wouldn’t move heaven and earth to be with them?”

Lawless sighs, frustrated, and says, “A week. If they’re not gone by the end of the week, I will send people to remove them. If I hear one peep from the outside, Usnavi, Dr. Marcado, Scoresby, and Alvie go right back to Rochambeau. Do not test me, Saenz.”  He’s silent for several seconds and then says, “And don’t forget that I have a cell with Dr. Sain’s name on it as well.”

Threatening Pippa is the last straw for Alex.  “Lawless, let’s review here.  This is my team.  My barracks.  My rules.  I really feel like we’ve had this conversation.  Let me spell it out for you.  If you send men here you will lose.  You need us.  We had to come save your sorry ass when they tried to take Lyra.  You and your entire force were losing to Ian and his men.  We still don’t know who was behind that attack.  The only reason you aren’t splatter across the wall is my team.  You are done threatening them and me.  And if you ever threaten Pippa again, I’ll find you and kill you myself.  I like you.  I think you have the right motives for doing what you do, but we’re not pawns in your little game.  As you’ve admitted yourself, I’ve gotten more out of them than you ever did.  

“So no more threats, no more ultimatums.  Every single person here has a right to be here.  These men are brave and strong and they will save the world.  But they’re going to do it without you breathing down their necks.  Threats have never led to better productivity.  I make it a point to know them, to see what they value.  To help them achieve what they need to achieve.  You just want to get something out of them.  You’ve never given a damn about any one of them.  That stops now.  You have zero reason to complain about how I run this team or what you’ve gotten out of it.  You have your life because of this team.  Don’t you dare forget it.”

Lawless says, “Alexander” but Alex isn’t done.

“There’s a movie Alvie likes to watch.  I feel a strange kinship to one of the characters.  He runs a special school for people with abilities.  He is asked what he will do if anyone ever comes for him or the children at the school.  Do you know what his response is?”  He doesn’t wait for a reply. “ ‘I feel a great swell of pity for the poor fool who comes to that school… looking for trouble.’  I think you should take note of that quote.  Because if you ever threaten me and this team again or if you even think of sending men up here to hurt them or their families… If one single member of their families or their friends so much as get’s a papercut that Rochambeau is responsible for, you will have the devil to reckon with.”

Alexander hangs up the phone.  He’s surprised to see Pippa standing behind him when he turns around. She looks worried, but she doesn’t ask if everything is alright. It’s clear that it’s not, so she moves to wrap her arm arounds him from behind, resting her head on his shoulder.

“You’re a good man,” she tells him, kissing his neck. “And you were right about Lawless. He’s more scared of us than we are of him.”

----

Pushing two am, it really is time for bed and Usnavi, Alexander, Ruben, and Alvie show their guests to their rooms. Sonny crosses his arms when Usnavi has him bunking with Benny and Pete on a different floor.

“Really?” He asks. “Navi, come on.”

“We won’t do anything,” Pete shrugs. “I stay at your place with Sonny all the time.”

Sonny scrubs a hand down his face and mutters under his hand, “Not helping.”

“You’re not old enough to be sharing a bed with your boyfriend.  And before you say anything I’d be saying the same thing if it was a girlfriend.  You can bunk in with Benny and see Pete in the morning.”

“Is Vanessa getting a separate room?” Sonny challenges, raising an eyebrow dramatically.

“That’s different.  I’m an adult.  You… You’re a minor.  You’re still a child.”

“You can read our minds, right?” Pete offers. “You’ll know if something’s up. We really do just sleep.”

Well damn , Usnavi thinks.  He doesn’t have a good answer for that.  Not one.  “Fine.  But you both better bet your asses that I’ll be paying attention.”  He taps his temple leaving absolutely no doubt that he will be listening.  Vanessa smirks behind him.  He turns to her.  

“You let them sleep over?” he hisses under his breath.  

“I took Sonny’s bedroom door off,” Vanessa says cooly, shrugging one shoulder. “He’s pretty brave if he’s gonna try anything without a door.”

Sonny gives her a look that says really?

Vanessa explains, “He snuck Pete in through the window one night so I said, ‘Cool. You want Pete over? He can come over whenever he wants’.”

Benny grins and nods. He was the one that had taken the door off.

Sonny groans and bids Usnavi goodnight, giving him a hug and kiss and mutters, “love you”, begrudgingly. 

After he disappears, Vanessa takes Usnavi’s hand and asks, “Show me your room?” She raises her eyebrows suggestively. “I wanna know what you’ve learned these past few months.”

“I’ve learned to not take you sleeping next to me for granted,” he says, pulling her in for a kiss.  “Can I just say that seeing you lay down the mom law with Sonny is super hot.”

She laughs softly and kisses him back, sliding her hand into his as they walk down the hallway. 

----

Ruben escorts Paola to bed and says, “It’s really good to see you.

“I’m… I really missed you.  I knew you weren’t dead.  I just couldn’t believe you were gone.  I’m really glad you’re okay.”

Okay.  Ruben turns the word over in his mind.  He is okay.  But he’s not the Ruben that left them.  How does he explain that?  Not tonight, that’s for sure.  

“I’m… I’m glad to be able to see you.  Really see you.  I missed you so much.  I never stopped thinking about you.  Or Mercedes.  Or mom.  Not one single day.  The thought of getting back to you all carried me.  I wish you hadn’t scared Mercedes, and probably mom when she finds out, and come here.  But I’m glad you did.”

He leans over and kisses her forehead.  

Paola smiles when he kisses her and then says, “I wrote a letter to Santa last year. I knew it was just silly. I didn’t send it, but I thought about it this past Christmas. It was like my Christmas miracle had come true-when you sent us the email.”

Ruben’s eyes fill with tears.  He doesn’t know what to say.  

To lighten the mood, she asks, “So...Alvie? He seems nice.”

He laughs a bit and wipes his eyes.  “Yeah.  He’s… well, you’ll see.  He’s the best.  He’s been through hell, but he’s just so… he’s almost always smiling and he always tries to make those around him feel good.  We’re… we’re good for each other.” He’s smiling even bigger as he talks about Alvie.  Paola smiles too, seeing how he kind of glows when he talks about Alvie.  

Suddenly blue lightning shoots from Ruben’s fingers, hits the light in the bedside lamp, and the bulb glows too bright and then pops, and the room is suddenly black.  

“What the hell was that?” Paola says, shocked.  

“Damn!  I was hoping that wouldn’t happen.  Um…”  Ruben moves to the lightswitch and turns the overhead light.  “I’ll… Um… well, let’s wait until Mercedes get’s here and then I’ll explain.  I mean, I’ll try to explain.  But I’m not going to do it more than once.”

----

“Couldn’t sleep?” Alex asks, when Ruben goes back down to the living area instead of to his own bed.

“I won’t be able to sleep until I know Mercedes is okay,” he confesses with a sigh. “All of this is so sudden. It’s exhausting.”

“Your family loves you,” Alex tells him. “It really shows. Alvie’s and Usnavi’s too.”

“Is it wrong to feel so far removed from them?” Ruben asks, sitting on one of the few sofas now. “My life at home seems like a hundred years ago.”

“It will stop feeling so strange the more you’re exposed to it,” Alex says. “It may not ever be the same, but it will stop feeling so foreign.”

He looks at his watch. “Should we go ahead and leave for the airport?”

----

Mercedes hugs Ruben so hard he feels a little whoosh go out of him. She starts crying and kisses his face. It’s not the same as reading his email.

“I’m gonna kill her,” she sobs, referring to her sister. “Can’t believe she didn’t take me with her!”

“Don’t kill her,” Ruben jokes dryly. “You already had one deceased sibling.”

“That’s not funny,” she mumbles into his chest.  When she pulls back, Ruben wipes some of the tears from her eyes.

“You’re a whole adult now,” he says. 

She laughs softly. “Hardly. Mom likes to think I’m still thirteen.”

“Please don’t mention Ma,” he groans. “She’s really going to kill me when she finds out about all of this.”

“Actually,” Mercedes says. “I woke her up and told her. You were right about that - it’s not fair to keep lying to her. She wasn’t happy, but I told her it wasn’t fair for her to see you and not us and how could she not think one of us was going to run away to see you? She drove me to the airport.”

“And she hasn’t called to yell and scream at me because…” Ruben’s brows furrow slightly.

“Because I think everything’s different now,” Mercedes shrugs. “Mom is different...life is different, I guess.”

On the way back to the barracks, she tells him about graduating and being excited to start college and her boyfriend, Jose. She goes on and on about him, and Ruben secretly wants to go on and on about Alvie, but Alex is in the car and it might be kind of weird.

When they get back, the house is dark because everyone is sleeping, so Ruben offers to make her coffee.

“Actually,” she says. “I was up all night. I might go crawl into bed with Paola and get up in a few hours?”

“Of course,” Ruben says, giving her a small hug and kiss. 

----

Usnavi opens his eyes.  He was always the early bird.  Vanessa is still sleeping, her head pillowed on his chest.  He lightly runs his fingers up and down her arm.  God he’s missed this.  

He tries to quiet his mind so that he can focus.  Most of the house is still asleep.  Alex gives Pippa a kiss on the forehead before he gets up to go make coffee.  Ruben and Alvie are still lost to the world.  Alvie’s dreaming about the day they're going to have to have today.  Usnavi doesn’t want spoilers so he moves on. Benny is still asleep. He’s in a car chase in his dreams.  Usnavi can’t wait for him to really get to know Alvie, who loves the Fast and Furious franchise as much as Benny, maybe more. That makes him huff out a quiet laugh, thinking of his two friends sitting on the edge of the sofa cheering on Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.  Sonny and Pete are still asleep and they kept their word that they wouldn’t do anything.  Ruben’s sisters are still sleeping, curled up in the same bed.  Lee is just waking.  Usnavi sees him touch Lyra’s hair before leaving the room.  Lee is so content just being her dad.  His whole world is wrapped up in her.  Like he’s found his purpose in life.  

Usnavi looks down at Vanessa.  She’s dreaming.  She’s dreaming about them.  Nothing very interesting at the moment, just the two of them together, hanging out, or kissing, or his arm around her shoulders.  She’s happy.  Content.  

Normally he’d get up and join Alex in the kitchen for coffee.  He’s not about to do that this morning.  He pulls the blankets up over both of them and snuggles in.  Usnavi, the perpetual early riser, is sleeping in this morning.  Well, at least he’s staying in bed.  He doesn’t want to miss a moment with Vanessa.  It’s been so long.  He studies her.  He watches her breathe, the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the soft flutter of her eyes as she dreams.  He can’t get enough.  How has he managed to stay away?  Now that she’s here, in his arms again, he can’t imagine letting go.  He doesn’t think he’ll ever manage to go this long without her again.  

He lays there for a long time just watching her, drinking it all in.  He senses when her mind moves from dreaming to waking.  He kisses her head as she wakes.

“Hey,” she says quietly.  

“Hey,” he replies smiling.  

“You been awake long?”

“Little bit.  You’re so beautiful I couldn’t go back to sleep.  Just wanted to watch you.”

She reaches up and caresses his cheek and then draws him in for a kiss.  It starts off tender, but grows deeper and needy from both of them.  They’ve missed this.  The connection.  Usnavi shifts to get them closer.  He slips his arm around her back and pulls her flush against him, the other is tangled in her hair.  

Thank heavens Sonny can’t read minds , Usnavi thinks.  He’s about to break the rule he laid down for him and Pete.  

To be continued...

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Chapter Text

Big news! The next chapter of Rochambeau is currently being looked over and edited. We want to thank everyone who has enjoyed this story and stuck with it. We never stopped loving it. There's so much written that's just not edited, but we're starting to get there again. The next chapter should be out soon and just wanted to throw this out there in case anyone has an update alert for this fic. We are going to try and get it going again.

Chapter Text

“Mmm…coffee?” Vanessa asks, pecking Usnavi on the lips.

 “Yeah,” Usnavi says. “I need to get up anyway. The others will think I ran away or died. I’m usually the first one up. WIthout me-” He pauses to find his boxers. “They think there’s a coffee fairy or somethin’.” 

Vanessa laughs and says, “Well, when you come home, they’ll have to start makin’ their own coffee again.” 

Usnavi pauses again, his thumb and fingers on the button of his jeans. He’s thought about being back home everyday, dreaming about it every night, but now that someone else has mentioned it...he suddenly thinks of the deafening noise in his brain and the headaches. He knows that if he hadn’t left that night, he wouldn’t be here today.

 “Yeah…” he says finally. “You’re right, Babe.”

Vanessa frowns, sitting up. She reaches over to grab one of his t-shirts and shrugs it on over her head.

 “When can you come home?” She asks. “You seem so much better. You have color in your face. You’re not poppin’ aspirin like PEZ candy…” 

“Soon,” he says, feeling his words are more confident than his feelings. “I’ll talk to Alex.”

 He leans over to kiss her on the lips and says, “Coffe,yeah?”

 She follows him downstairs in only one of his t-shirts and panties, arms crossed. “How about today?” She prods. “We all go home together.”

When they get downstairs, Alex is already in the kitchen with Pippa. He’s on his laptop and she’s on hers.

 “Good morning,” he tells them, taking a sip of his coffee.

 “So the coffee fairy must have paid a visit,” Vanessa says, going to make her own cup. 

Alex picks up at the sarcasm in her voice and looks at Usnavi who only shakes his head. 

Vanessa pours herself and Usnavi a cup and after her first sip, she says, “So, Usnavi seems to be doing a lot better.” 

Alex nods. “Definitely. He’s made a lot of progress.”

 “Enough to go home?” She asks.

 Alex says, “Well, not sure if we’re quite there yet. There are a lot less people here to infiltrate his brain and he’s still working on training his ability with just the handful that are here.”

"I wanna talk to whatshisname," she says suddenly. "Lawson."

"Lawless," Pippa says and then goes back to her laptop.

"Yeah, that guy," Vanessa says. "He said he'd keep in touch and we'd get to talk to Usnavi and fuck if I didn't have to come here after a fifteen year old found out via another fifteen year old where he was."

Usnavi sighs and stands up and she tells him, "No! You're not a prisoner!"

“You really don’t want to talk to Lawless.” Usnavi says. “He wasn’t as much help as he said he was going to be and all the progress I've made is down to these guys.” He sighs heavily. “And Alex is right. When I get around large crowds… it’s not any better. I’m doubled over with migraines and nausea.” 

He panics like a deer in headlights when he sees Vanessa about to lay into him. “But, but, but Ruben is… is working on some tech that might help… eventually… once he figures it out.” His shoulders slump. “I’m sorry. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come home yet. But I really want to. I’m working as hard and as fast as I can.”

"Damn, Ness," Sonny says, coming downstairs with Pete. "You at least gonna put on pants before your crusade?"

He goes to pour his own coffee and spits it back in his cup, making a face.

He looks confused and Vanessa says, "He didn't make it."

"Who did?" Sonny asks. "Tastes like the grounds straight outta the bag."

"That would be Alex," Pippa says, laughing.

She goes over to Vanessa and touches her arm.

"I know how hard this is," she says. "And Usnavi will get better. He wants to go home. I promise."

Vanessa softens slightly and Alex and Usnavi don't point out that Pippa is using her ability to transfer reassurance and calm into her.

"How are things going in Washington Heights?" Pippa asks, removing her hand.

Usnavi works to prepare coffee that Sonny won't spit out.

"Everyone misses Usnavi," Vanessa says with a half shrug. "Benny and I run the store."

"Hey." Sonny frowns.

"Sonny is sometimes physically present," she adds sarcastically. "We just all want him to come home."

Paola and Mercedes come downstairs next just as Ruben and Alvie are coming in from somewhere.

"Do I smell coffee?" Paola asks.

"And hot croissants for the beautiful Marcado sisters," Alvie says, opening a box of donuts and pastries.

Mercedes yawns and mutters, "I gotta call our mom."

Paola goes to open the door and she gasps. It's still early morning, post sunrise, but the scene is breathtaking.

"I want to have my coffee out here," she says.

"We'll join you," Pete says. He looks warily at Usnavi, wondering if he knows that he and Sonny did not in fact sleep in separate bunks. He takes his coffee from Usnavi wordlessly and slips outside with Paola.

When Benny, Lee, and Lyra finally come down and the lower level is packed with people, the barracks feel a lot different. Alex, Usnavi, Ruben, Alvie, and Lee feel different. They don't feel so isolated.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Alex whispers to Pippa, smiling broadly.

Pippa nods. "Yes."

She seems hesitant and finally asks quietly, "What are you going to say to Lawless? You know he's going to show up here."

“We’ll just… have a chat. This is good for them. And what’s he gonna do? The only reason he was able to collect them all in the first place is because, for the most part, they came willingly. The dynamic is different now.”

Usnavi offers Benny a cup and he declines.

"He's healthy now," Sonny says sarcastically.

"Hey, it doesn't hurt to cut a few harmful things out of my diet," Benny says.

Vanessa says, "This is why we need you home. Benny-Milkyway everyday Benny- cut out coffee and sugar and carbs and nitrites and dough conditioners."

"Basically everything that was ever delicious," Sonny adds.

Everyone eventually migrates outside because they're all from the city and the scenic mountain view is new to them and Usnavi and Ruben and Alvie show it off like it's theirs, which it kind of has been for a while now. Paola begs to go on a walk after they eat breakfast and get dressed and Vanessa and Benny say they'd like that too.

------

After the pastries are eaten and clothes are on and teeth are brushed, they all pile out of the barracks to go walking. Alex stays behind under the guise of work, but he does it because he knows Pippa's right. After last night, Lawless is definitely going to show up.

It doesn't take the group thirty minutes to be off on their walk before the keypad code is buzzing from the main door and Christian Lawless lets himself in with two stern-faced agents.

"I saw the field trip as I drove up," he says.

“I told you not to show up here and threaten people,” Alex says with icy calm.

"Do you really still think I'm the bad guy?" Lawless asks, moving to sit in the opposite chair. "Do you think I take pleasure in what I do? What I did to them? Did to Alvie?"

He says, "I told you we have enemies. There are people out there that know about them and if they get their hands on them, it won't be some secret in a guarded building. You'll see it on the news. You'll see it in the streets. You'll see entire nations going to war to get their hands on them."

He gestures with his hand to the door and continues,  "And you're inviting the world in here, not knowing if they'll go back and spread the word. I gave you this location to keep them from feeling like prisoners because I know they trust you but are you doing the right thing? Do you know that kid, Pete? Know that he's not going to run back to the heights and tell? Or Rachel? Tell Alvie's aunt and uncle?"

He says, "I don't know at this point if the mission is compromised, but if someone-a bad someone- knows about this, I will have no choice but to lock them up again."

Lowering his voice he adds, “I care about them too, even if I'm not allowed to show it."

“These aren’t random people,” Alex counters. “ It’s their families. And families should never be off limits. They make us stronger. Give us something to fight for. None of this is a threat. You try to lock them up, ever again and they will end Rochambeau as you know it. They’re never going back to that. They’ve earned this. Right now, they’re working with you. You end this, you won’t be able to win, because they’ll fight you. They’ll fight you at every turn. They’ve tasted freedom and family and peace and community. You can’t take that from them. Now they want to fight to keep this.”

Lawless sighs and snaps his fingers. One of the agents comes over and hands him a small case. Lawless opens it and removes some kind of fabric balled up. He passes it to Alexander who unfolds it. It's a dress shirt stained red with a small hole in the front and one in the back. He passes it back, making a face.

"Someone followed Sonny, Pete, and Paola," Lawless says. "Luckily Rochambeau caught up with them first. You think we don't have eyes on their families? If we do, then so do others. You need to be careful, Alexander. This blood is on my hands, but the next will be on yours."

He stands up and prepares to leave, carefully putting the bloody shirt back in the case.

"You've been doing research," he says. "Locations all over the world where activity is taking place with abilities. There's a company-Numbers. Do some research on them. See what you find. I think you'll see Rochambeau in a different light after what you see they did to the people they got their hands on."

With that he leaves. Shortly after, the group returns, stomping and breathing hard from the cold.

—--

"I wanna stay, Boyo," Paola says, grabbing onto Ruben's coat front. "It's so beautiful out here. You could homeschool me."

"Fat chance," Mercedes says, laughing. "Ma would never let you. Besides, you'd have no one to worship your art skills. There are more paintings on the wall that you've painted than there are pictures of any of us."

"Hey." Pippa smiles at Alex and then notices the concern on his face. Nonchalantly she nods at the kitchen. "Want to help me make tea and hot chocolate?"

Alex nods and follows her into the kitchen.

“You all have a good time,” he asks.

"Yes." She still looks concerned, putting the kettle on.

"He came here, didn't he?" She asks, looking to make sure they're alone.

“He did.” He sighs. “Apparently we’re not as hidden as I had hoped. “I think we’re safe sending everyone home, for now. But in the future it’s probably good if we organize visits a bit tighter and maybe have Lyra teleport them back and forth so that they can’t be tracked.”

Pippa hesitates. "What did he say?"

“Someone tried to follow Sonny, Pete and Paola,” he says in a low voice. “They took care of it, but the threat is probably still there. And he wants me to look into an organization. Numbers? Have you heard of it?”

"Numbers?" She frowns. "The social media platform? Everyone has a Numbers account."

She laughs like the idea is silly, but Alex looks clueless.

"You don't have one?" She asks. "I mean, mine is old, practically untouched."

She goes to get her laptop and logs into some kind of account. At the top in colorful fun letters- NUMBERS followed by Your number of friends only climbs higher!

There's an animated number ticker in the corner showing a climbing number.

"That's the number of accounts," Pippa says, pointing at it. "Why? What does it have to do with anything?"

The very first image has a caption that reads , Meet our newest member, Penelope_Flowers!

A picture of a young woman is smiling with her hands on her hips. She's wearing scrubs and it shows her city and state next to her photo. Center, Iowa.

“So it always shows a picture and where the person is from?” If there is something nefarious going on, a social media site would be an awfully innocent way of gaining people’s information,” Alex says.

"I think you can set filters to hide your location," Pippa says. "It's typically used with the younger generation or to put yourself out there for freelancing or a job..."

It seems to click with her about what’s going on.

"You don't think they find people with abilities this way, do you?" She asks, but there's concern in her voice. "It's not like people are announcing their name and what ability they have."

Pippa knows because she's worked with individuals who willingly came to Rochambeau. They were scared to let anyone know they had an ability.

“I think people are too trusting and take their privacy for granted. They assume they’re protected. But who is monitoring the gatekeepers?” He raises an eyebrow at her.

“I mean it’s really quite ingenious if you think about it. All it would take is the client getting into a private chat and assuming it’s… you know, private. And they admit all sorts of things they wouldn’t share in public. And the company is just recording and logging it all. You’ve given them everything without even realizing it.”

Lyra comes in and asks, "Is the hot chocolate ready?"

“Sorry. Just now putting the kettle on.” Alex says. “Promise it’ll be better than the coffee this morning.”

Pippa closes her laptop and begins to help him, taking the cocoa powder from the cupboard.

“I’ll let you know when the hot chocolate is ready, Kiddo. Everyone having fun out there?”

When they call everyone in to come into the kitchen and get hot drinks, the tense air seems to clear and they go back to having a good time.

"So when do you get to come home?" Mercedes asks Ruben, taking a drink of her hot chocolate.

Pippa knows Alex is dreading this talk again and says, "We're not sure. They're all still adjusting to their abilities, but Ruben's progress has been amazing."

Mercedes nods, forcing a smile. She leans against her brother and he kisses her forehead.

“It’s okay. It’s not for forever and I don’t want to accidentally hurt anyone. It’s good here. I’m happy. And it’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this.”

"So when do we have to leave?" Vanessa asks, holding Usnavi's hand.

“Tomorrow. At the latest. We’ll make sure that you all get home safely. And we’ll welcome your continued visits. But this was dangerous and it puts everyone at risk.” Alex holds up a hand to stop their protests. “As I said, we’ll welcome your visits. But we’ll handle transportation and logistics. Just give your respective family members a call and we’ll agree on a date, time, and place for pick up.”

-----

The rest of the day feels somber like some kind of funeral and everyone retires to bed pretty early. The following morning is even sadder. Lyra teleports them back home in groups and even she's pouting because she doesn't get to explore these new places.

She takes Usnavi, Vanessa, Benny, Sonny, and Pete first.

"Can I please stay?" Lyra asks Alex, who tags along. "Just for a bit?"

Vanessa holds Usnavi's hands in hers and says, "We'll continue to hold down the fort. You'll call us more often now, yeah?"

“As often as I want. And you can call me now.” He kisses her, slow and deep. “I promise it won’t be so long until the next time. Next again.”

He steps towards Sonny, still holding Vanessa’s hand. “No more running away from home, cuz. Okay?”

Sonny nods. He looks like he's trying not to cry, but he holds it together pretty well, hands jammed deep in his pockets.

"Yeah, I won't," he says.

Usnavi yanks him into a hug. “Come on kid. You’re never too big to hug me.” He kisses his neck like he’s done since he was a kid. “I love you Sonny. And I’m proud of you. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Sonny hugs him back and murmurs, "Please come home. I know that's selfish, but please?"

When he pulls back he says, "I'll, uh, keep your two pets in check."

He's referring to Vanessa and Benny, who scuffs the back of his head before pulling Usnavi into an even bigger hug.

"Do you what you need to do, Alright?" He says. "I love you."

“Love you too. Keep an eye on them for me?”

Benny nods and then tells Vanessa, Sonny, and Pete, "Alright. Let's get back to business. Open the store and what not."

Usnavi grabs Vanessa’s hand and spins her back towards him. “One for the road,” he says and kisses her again. “I love you, Vanessa Garcia.”

Lyra teleports him and Alex back and then asks, "Who's next?"

Paola and Mercedes each hold one of Ruben's hands.

“I’ll see you both very soon,” he says. “I won’t disappear on you again. I promise.”

He rubs his cheek across the back of each of their hands. “Be good and obey Ma. Alright? She’s been through enough.”

They both nod and Paola has to pull away briefly to wipe at her eyes.

"We'll be fine," Mercedes says, wrapping an arm around her.

Ruben wipes his own eyes. “It was so good to see you. Both of you. But no more unauthorized visits, okay?” He playfully punches Paola gently in the arm.

—-------

The hardest part is for things to return to normal. All of the visitors leave and it suddenly feels like the place is so much bigger, more quiet. Alexander understands the importance of normalcy because of how everyone is behaving. There’s a thick sadness in the air that just makes everything seem numb. 

It doesn’t help that Lawless is on his ass about more doomsday nonsense. He’s right back to his old self showing up and demanding to know why they aren’t training or more prepared. 

“When I show up,” he says one day after making a surprise visit. “There should be things going on. They should be training their abilities. That’s why I handed them over to you.” 

“ ‘Handed them over’?” Alex scoffs, taking a drink of coffee. “You make them sound like puppies.”

“They might as well be at the rate you’re going,” Lawless scoffs, fingering through some files on Alex’s desk. “How are they doing? Really?”

“We train four days a week,” Alex tells him. “Ruben and Lee tend to train together because their abilities are similar-”

“What is Mr. Scoresby’s ability exactly?” Lawless interrupts. “It’s not the same as Dr. Marcado’s. Some of the updates you’ve sent me seem to tell me we don’t exactly know what we’re dealing with when it comes to our aeronaut friend.”

Alex scoffs this time. “You say that like he didn’t come from another dimension-he and Lyra both-they have so much we’re working on figuring out. Their daemons, for example. I think they’re becoming less dependent on them.”

He jabs his finger at one of the papers on his desk. 

“Usnavi is still having problems,” he says. “The stronger his ability becomes, the harder it is for him to use it. Have we ever known any telepaths before?”

“Not any that actually made it into our facility with their sanity,” Lawless sighs. “He seems to be the only one we know of as of now.”

“You’ve been a part of this secret organization for years,” Alex says. “I need you to let me in on what’s really going on-beyond what’s here .” 

Lawless picks up a few pages and skims through them.

“I’ve been thinking of sending someone from headquarters to help,” he finally says. “A brilliant doctor. Possess intuitive aptitude. Can perform heart surgery without ever having stepped foot in med school. Can take a car apart and put it back together.”

“How soon could he get here?” Alex asks.

“She,” Lawless corrects. “Dr. Karen Antonio. She’s a well-kept secret at Rochambeau, one of our best. She understands abilities in a way that we can’t.” 

Alex frowns. “Why didn’t I meet her at the facility?”

“Because she isn’t stationed at the facility I took you to,” Lawless says simply. “We send her all over. When we think someone might have an ability, we usually send Dr. Antonio to check it out. She also works with our more…dangerous intakes.” 

Alex crosses his arms. “And what can she do for us?” 

“Help Usnavi,” Lawless replies without missing a beat. “Help to understand Lee and Lyra, how Ruben and Alvie work, everything really.”

“What exactly are we up against?” Alex asks. “You told me about Numbers , but aside from a social media craze, what are we up against?”

Lawless hesitates for several seconds and says, “There are people-we’re not sure exactly who-possibly in Rochambeau-they’re hunting those with abilities.”

“Sounds just like Rochambeau,” Alex says with a shrug. “What’s it to you?”

“These people simply disappear,” Lawless says. “As if they’ve vanished into thin air.”

He sighs and sits down in the chair opposite of Alex’s desk chair. Alex sits too. 

“What I’m about to tell you,” Lawless says slowly. “Stays in this room. You don’t tell anyone else.”

He looks around, as if someone might be listening, and then says, “We had a telepath. A brilliant one, but by the time she came to us, she was slipping. Someone broke her out, possibly abducted her, and we’ve lost all track of her.” 

“You just told me Usnavi is the only telepath,” Alex says coldly. 

“He is as far as we know now,” Lawless says. “After our telepath disappeared, the people we were trailing began disappearing just as quickly. It was like they had a target on their back. We found a few of them. They’re not alive.” 

“So it’s like a witch hunt?” Alex guesses. “Someone took the telepath and is using her to find these people and kill them?”

“We think someone, or some group,” Lawless explains. “Is using the telepath to find these people and experiment on them-trying to enhance their abilities to the point their bodies can’t take it.”

“You want Usnavi to do the same,” Alex says, saying what Lawless isn’t saying out loud.

“We want to help these people,” Lawless argues. 

Alex stands up. 

“Help?” He barks. “When you brought me on board, you had these people locked up like animals. You were killing Alvie! Don’t bullshit me that you care about any of them!” 

“Maybe Rochambeau has made mistakes!” Lawless says, standing too. “When I was brought on, I was angry. I was bitter. One of you killed my daughter in broad daylight and I felt it necessary to make sure the world was safe, but if you think it’s bad now, you should have seen it before.”

He explains, “Everyone locked up. No matter what your ability is-you could change the color of flowers and they would still throw you in a windowless cell and keep you sedated twenty-three hours a day. Children too. Do you know how many children there were that grew up in that place?” 

Alex says nothing.

“I don’t have the authority you think I do,” Lawless says. “I never did, but I have access and information and I brought you there because I knew you could change things, but you have to meet me in the middle, goddammit!” 

His voice shakes now. 

“They’re watching me too,” he says, and it sounds like he’s trying not to cry. “I am hanging on by a thread trying to keep this together, but if you continue to fight me, you won’t see me anymore or Ruben or Lee or Usnavi or Pippa…” 

He sighs deeply and says, “I’m the one who kept Pippa out of a cell. She was placed with the dangerous group. A brilliant, kind, gentle therapist. The things they were forcing her to do…push fear into people to see how much their minds and bodies could take it.”

Alex swallows hard. His Pippa? They were doing these to her? 

“I convinced them to allow her onto my staff,” Lawless says. “She was still a prisoner, but no longer forced to hurt and kill.” 

“I’m sorry,” Alex says, shaking his head. “I had no idea.”

“What I’m asking you to do,” Lawless says,stepping closer. “Make them stronger so we can change Rochambeau.” 

—---

“I can’t…!” Usnavi sighs, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead. “I’m sorry. I can’t do it.”

“It’s alright,” Alex says, reaching across the small table to pat his arm. “You did good. You were able to pick up thoughts from several miles away. That’s progress.”

“Is it?” Usnavi asks, taking his bottle of water. He takes a long, much needed drink. 

“What do you mean?” Alex asks, brows furrowed. “It’s really good. You would have never been able to-”

Usnavi points his finger.

“Exactly,” he says. “This isn’t helping me. This is just making the telepathy stronger and I can’t catch up to it.I just wanted to be able to control it, not get better at it.”

He sighs and asks, “Aren’t we done? Can’t we go home now? We did everything Lawless asked, didn’t we?”

Usnavi misses his family so much. It’s been weeks since Vanessa, Sonny, and Benny have been here, but it feels more like months, years even. 

“We’re not done,” Usnavi says softly. “Unfortunately, but no, we’re not. There are people out there that need our help and getting stronger is the only way that’s going to help them.”

Usnavi’s brows furrow. “What?”

He pushes his chair back and stands up, shaking his head.

“No,” he says. “What are you talking about? We got ridda Ian. We got Lyra. When do we get to leave? Alex, I have a life outside of here.”

Alex stands up too. 

“You will get to go home,” he promises. “But you’re the only telepath Rochambeau knows of and-”

“You’re lying,” Usnavi says and he doesn’t look angry, just confused. “Why are you lying to me?” 

Alex sighs. 

“There are people after us , “ he says. “Rochambeau isn’t the only organization collecting people with abilities. If we can find them and stop them and then take Rochambeau down, we’ll have nothing to worry about. We can return to our lives.”

He adds, “There’s a doctor coming here. She has an ability of her own-she can figure out how abilities are hard-wired into us and she might be able to help you with yours.”

Usnavi frowns.

“And you were gonna ask for my permission for this…when?” He scoffs. “You know, you’re startin’ to sound a lot like Lawless.” 

This hits a nerve Alex wasn’t prepared for. 

“Fine,” he says simply. “Go home. Do whatever the hell you want, but I can’t stop Rochambeau from showing up at the bodega and taking you right back into lockdown. I can’t stop some other organization like Rochambeau from killing Vanessa and Sonny to get to you.”

He finds himself sounding more like Lawless when he adds, “I don’t have the authority you think I have. I can only do so much to protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection!” Usnavi snaps. “And I don’t want any of this! I just wanna go home and run my store and live my life!”

Before Alex can say anything else, Usnavi storms out of the room and down the stairs. Lyra happens to be walking by and walks in as he’s walking out.

“He sounds mad,” she says.

“He is,” Alex agrees. “But it’s okay. He has a right to be.”

“Who is the doctor you’re bringing here?” Lyra asks. 

Alex scoffs softly. “You sure are nosy, you know that?”

“Or maybe you’re just loud,” she retorts. 

“She’s a special doctor,” Alex says. “Someone like us. She’s going to help us with our abilities.”

“I don’t need help,” Lyra says simply. “I’ve mastered mine.”

She flips her hair over her shoulder and then disappears and reappears in another spot in the room.

“Well,” Alex says flatly. “Maybe she can help the rest of us.”

—---

After their little spat, Usnavi begins working with Pippa to strengthen his abilities rather than with Alex. It seems to be going alright, and Alex is okay with Usnavi being angry at him. He’d rather Usnavi be angry with him than himself. 

Alex glances up at Pippa when she comes in after working with Usnavi late in the evening.

 “How goes the practice?” He asks, rubbing at his eyes. He’s been staring at a laptop screen for too long again.

"He can't concentrate," She replies, sitting next to him. "He's too focused on going home. I think the visit from his family was actually a setback, as bad as that sounds."

"I'm sure that's all it is," he agrees, not mentioning the words that were exchanged between them earlier that week.

They're both silent for several minutes and Pippa finally says, "I did some research on Numbers. It started a small media platform and then boomed. I'm just not getting where Lawless thinks they have something to do with all of this."

She continues, "I've looked at profiles, looked into the history of the platform...nothing circles back to abilities in any way. They've never been under fire for anything either."

“Nope. That’s what I’ve found as well, except for one thing.” 

He pauses for dramatic effect. 

“They have offices in all these cities. Why do they need offices all over the place. Most of these social media companies don’t have that. I checked.”

Pippa frowns thoughtfully. "Maybe it’s so they can do small press or..."

She sighs. "Maybe this is how they obtain information, but I still don't understand how they could find so few out of millions."

“Well, maybe they’ve noticed some of the same trends we have. That the number of people with abilities seems to be on the rise.”

Pippa says, "What if they're bugging people's phones? What if their system is set to pick up on key words or they purposefully target an area where an event has happened?"

"That's how Rochambeau operates," she adds. "Well, that and Alvie. He became their tracker after that. They could hit a hot spot before something happened."

“Targeting or causing.” He glances down at his map. “I need to map a timeline.”

“Maybe Alvie can help going forward,” he adds.

Pippa nods and says, "Let me go and get his dream journal."

She heads upstairs and when she returns, she says, "It's so hard to make sense of this, even as a therapist."

She flips through some pages and explains, "Alvie's sleep is natural now so his visions are more accurate, but that doesn't make them any less confusing."

“What about painting? Lawless used to have him paint what he saw. Maybe we could set up a little studio? Maybe next to Ruben’s lab?”

"He already paints and draws as he pleases," she says. "Like this-right here-"

She points to a particular page.

"He keeps drawing an ear over and over and there's someone's hand on it almost all the time."

She turns a few pages.

"Surgeon tools laid out on a tray," she explains, touching the pencil-sketched image.

“Someone needs ear surgery?” Alex asks. “I don’t know. I’m no good at  Alvie pictionary.”

"It's like he's dreaming of a surgery," she says. "And the position of the hand is always...there's something peculiar about it. I don't think it necessarily draws attention to the figure's ear."

“What do you think it is? Is it the surgeon examining the work? Or potential work?”

"I'm not sure," Pippa says, practicing the motion of the hand and fingers near her own ear. "It's almost like a hearing aid."

She turns the page and it just reads over and over in Alvie's small, neat print, quiet.

“Huh. Well, we don’t know anyone who needs a hearing aid. Oh! Oh. But we do know someone who needs quiet. Huh. Only time will tell. Does Ruben ever look at these?”

"Yes, he does," she says. "Are you talking about Usnavi? I know Ruben has been trying to work on something like his bands, but telepathy is so different."

She turns another page and squints hard at it.

"Alex," she says. "I need a pencil."

He hands her his that he’d been holding so he could put things down on his map. “What is it?”

Pippa takes it and erases one of the many quiets scrawled all over the page. Underneath, written in blue ink- Doctor.

She erases another quiet where she spies blue ink and it reads Ruben.

Alex finds the next speck of ink and she erases another ‘quiet’. 

Usnavi 

They begin erasing all of them now and by the time they're done, there are only a few more words in ink, but this time they make a clear sentence.

Becarefultheyrelistening

Alex takes the pencil from her and scrawls, Who? Lawless? Or Numbers? He points to Ruben’s name. 

“I'm going to see if he can find a way to look for bugs. I think another group walk is in the mix for today. Get the guys together.”

 He then promptly erases everything he wrote as soon as Pippa reads it.

Pippa nods and gets up to go and do that.

When they're all together and ready to go outside, Lee asks loudly, "What's this about?"

Alex holds out Alvie’s dream journal. “This is about potentially solving one problem but finding a bigger one.”

"Why do you have Alvie's dream journal?" Lyra asks.

Alvie tugs at his hair nervously. "Did I do somethin' wrong?"

“No Alvie. You’ve done something very right. You may have saved us all. We just don’t know yet.”

Alvie's brows furrow. "Oh."

“Do you remember this entry?” Alex asks him.

Alvie looks through it and says, "I mean, not really? A lot of the time when I dream, I write it down as quick as I can because it leaves me and don't make sense anymore."

He continues to flip through the pages, shaking his head helplessly.

“It’s okay. You’ve done good. You’ve done enough,” Aex reassures him with a pat on the back and then hands it to Ruben. “I think you have some work to do. This last bit is a warning. Can you find a way to scan the barracks, our phones and any other devices included, for bugs?”

Lee peers over Ruben’s shoulder. “I ain’t seein’ any creepy-crawlies. And why would Ruben be the one to look for them?”

"Not really..." Ruben admits. "I'm a chemist. I don't really know much about bugs and technology and things."

—---

“Nothing,” Pippa says after every single light covering has been removed and every electronic device has been taken apart. They’re exhausted. 

“What did it mean?” Alex wonders out loud. “ ‘Be careful they’re listening’.”

Alvie tugs at his hair. “I’m really sorry. I…I wish I knew.”

Ruben touches his shoulder and murmurs, “Not your fault.”

Lee crosses his arms and says, “All yer phones might be doin’ it. Those are practically spy gear, if you ask me.”

Pippa looks at Alex, remembering their conversation about the social media platform, Numbers. 

“We’ll work on it some more later,” Alex says. “Come on, Team. Let’s get all of this put back together.”

They all groan and Lee asks, “So what about Usnavi?”

Usnavi frowns. “What about me?” 

“We were brainstorming ideas for helping you to control your telepathy,” Pippa says. “Ruben especially. He’s been brainstorming some ideas.”

“I have an idea,” Ruben says. “The bands, like mine, but yours is here-” he points to his own head. “And I can’t exactly put a band around your brain.”

That makes Lyra giggle. Ruben smiles a little. 

“It sounds like you’re moving in the right direction though, right?” Usnavi asks hopefully.

“There has to be some kind of way,” Ruben says, holding one of the light covers, toying with it. “So much progress has been made in neuroscience.I should know because I worked with neurosurgeons for a long time and-”

He stops toying with the light fixture and a sad look crosses his face. Alvie knows why leans his chin on Ruben’s shoulder. This time it’s his turn to whisper soothing words.

“There has to be a way,” he says. “I have the blueprints, I just don’t have the materials, so to speak.”

Usnavi’s brows furrow slightly. “But you think if someone picked at my brain a bit, they could turn it off or somethin’?”

“In theory, yeah,” Ruben says, moving to put the light cover back on. 

—--

“I don’t ever wanna have to go around and check for bugs ever again,” Alvie says, towel trying his hair. “That was mad boring. The worst.”

“It’s a big place, that’s for sure,” Ruben agrees, towel drying his own hair. 

Alvie grins and moves closer to his boyfriend, who’s pulling on a pair of fresh boxers and places his chin on his shoulder. 

“I liked that everyone was here, but I’m glad to have the place to ourselves again, you know?”

Ruben smiles and says, “Yeah, it’s nice.” 

They get to the bed, Alvie tugging on a pair of sweatpants, but he’s getting grabby with his hands and mouth.

“Why did we bother getting dressed again?” Ruben chuckles when they land on the bed with an ‘oomph’. 

Alvie kisses his lips and then his jaw and starts working on his neck, hoping to at least give him a tiny hickey so he can see Ruben’s face later when someone asks about it. He kisses the little scar on his jaw next and then melts into the sensation of Ruben nipping at his bottom lip, signaling it’s time to reverse their roles. He wriggles under him, pulling him down once more for a deeper kiss and says, “Because they’re fresh from the dryer underwear which is also the best.”

“What’s the other best?” Ruben asks when their mouths part.

“This,” Alvie says. “Bein’ here with you in our own room, fresh out of the shower and smellin’ good and shit.”

He says, “We should do this tomorrow. Stay in bed all day. Like, ALL DAY.”

“I do have work I’m supposed to be doing, but a brain break is always good.  Life needs distractions.”  Ruben Kisse up his neck and along his jaw, nipping as he goes just so he can hear Alvie’s breathing catch when he does it.

“Brain break?” Alvie grins, grinding his hips into Ruben’s. “What about other breaks?” 

He goes to kiss Ruben’s collarbone now, taking Ruben’s hands and placing them on him, raising his hips again. 

“I love it when you don’t wear a shirt by the way,” he says, feeling up Ruben’s arms. The raised scars from cuts and burns look like little silver patches on his dark skin, but Alvie’s never been one for enjoying normal. 

He kisses one of those scars. “So stupid handsome.”

Ruben rolls his eyes.  He’ll never get used to Alvie saying things like this, but he knows that Alvie means it with all his heart.  Ruben moves Alvie’s hands and presses them into the pillow on either side of his head and takes his turn running his hands over his body.  He nips at Alvie’s ear while his hands make their way across old scars on Alvie’s wrists and down his forearms. He sucks the pulse point just below his jaw.  He knew exactly what Alvie was doing before and two can play at that game.  

His fingers pause at the small lump on Alvie’s right arm where the tracker sits embedded in the muscle.  He gently rubs his thumb along the permanent raised welt while he moves to the other side of Alvie’s throat with his mouth.  

Alvie whines at the contact and then whines again when Ruben pulls back a little, rubbing at the bruise where the tracker is with purpose this time.

“Why’d you stop?” He asks, moving his gaze to where Ruben’s looking now-at his arm. “Benny?”

“Your tracker.  It’s… It’s implanted.  It’s under your skin.  It’s tied directly into your biometrics.”  

Ruben is thoughtful for several seconds, his fingers still lightly rubbing at the spot on Alvie’s arm.  

“Yeah,” Alvie says, running a hand through his hair, a bit frustrated. “Just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that.”

He pulls him back down.

“Don’t worry about it,” he mutters. “ ‘know it doesn’t hurt or nothing.”

“No… It’s not that… It’s Usnavi.  All the stuff I’ve been trying to help him with…  I think…  I think I’ve been looking at this all wrong.”

“Yeah? You gonna fuck him too?” Alvie asks, but he’s grinning. “We have all the time in the world to help Usnavi. Me, on the other hand…”

He takes Ruben’s hand off of his arm and guides it to the front of his pants, raising his eyebrows.

Ruben smiles and just barely moves his hand. 

“You’re kind of demanding sometimes, you know that?” 

He adds just a fraction of pressure to his touch causing Alvie to moan all the more and shift his hips towards him.  

“Alright, alright,” Alvie says, sucking in some air. “But seriously, we have all day to help Navi. Here, let me help you.”

He wiggles and worms his way out of his sweatpants, forcing Ruben to shift slightly so he can get them past his feet and at the bottom of the bed. 

“Enough about Professor X,” he says. “Pay attention to meeeee .” 

“I thought you liked it when I speak…what do you call it? Scienc-y?.  You can’t get enough of me bein’ smart.” Ruben shifts them and moves his mouth back to Alvie’s, lip moving and battling a bit.  Ruben’s hands move along Alvie’s ribs, down to his hips, and then back up again.  

Alvie whines again and decides he’s done scolding Ruben. He snakes his hand into the front of Ruben’s boxers and asks, “You first?”

He knows that typically they would have all night, but he also knows Ruben well enough that an idea has come into his brain so he will have to share the few hours before bedtime with Ruben’s idea. He strokes him, Ruben grunting and dropping his head in between Alvie’s jaw and shoulder. Alvie kisses just below his ear. It doesn’t take long to stroke him to completion and Ruben shakily exhales into Alvie’s neck. Alvie pulls his hand out and licks his palm and fingers. 

“A quickie is good enough for me,” he says. “If you need to go to the lab. I can rub this one out.” 

“No, no,” Ruben says. “This comes first. This is a priority. Then Usnavi.”

He shimmies between Alvie’s legs and Alvie lets out a breathy laugh.

“ ‘This is a priority’,” he mimics. “That can only be sexy coming from you.”

—------

Usnavi sits on the balcony and stares out at the falling snow. He’s felt so disconnected from everything now that everyone’s left. He’s been happy because he can control the voices in his head and there’s no pain, pain that was so bad it almost killed him. He also realizes how sad he’s been. He’s away from his home and his family and he doesn’t know how long that’s going to be. What if Vanessa doesn’t wait for him? She certainly shouldn’t have to. Sonny? He’s missing out on his kid’s life. He’s missing out on his own life. 

“It’s cold out here,” Alex says, coming out to join him, rubbing his arms. He’s not wearing a coat. 

“Yeah.” Usnavi says, forcing a smile. “I, uh, like the snow. It’s really quiet. In the city it’s still very loud, you know?”

Alex nods. “A Manhattan winter is definitely not a peaceful one.”

He sits on the bench beside him. 

“I think everyone’s feeling a bit down,” he says in an attempt to comfort him. “That’s some family you got. We could definitely use a kid like Sonny on the team.”

“When do you think this will all be over?” Usnavi asks, turning to look at him. “Lawless doesn’t own or us anything, right? Just because he helped to fix me doesn’t give him the right to keep us as prisoners.”

“We’re not prisoners-” 

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Usnavi says with a sigh. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a pain in the ass. It’s just…leavinin’ Vanessa and all this concentrating. It’s draining, you know?”

“I would never stop you,” Alex says. “You know that, right?”

Usnavi softens because he does know that. The only thing that actually stopped him was his own fear. He lets out a slow, shuddering exhale.

“What if I can never go back?” He asks quietly. “Even with all of the training and concentrating and stuff, this is still really hard to control.”

“Telepathy’s intense,” Alex agrees. “And I can’t give you a clear answer. I don’t know. I gave up my life too. I could be back in the city right now, back at my firm, not kissing Lawless’ ass to make sure we all don’t wind up in a triple security cell somewhere.”

“You have Pippa now,” Usnavi counters. “It’s different.”

“Is it?” Alex asks. “You think she’s free? She’s just like the rest of us. She was locked up right there with Alvie.”

Usnavi says nothing because he knows Alex is right and he knows he’s  not the one to blame for any of this. He’s mad at himself, not Alex. 

“Vanessa will understand,” Alex says, standing up. “I can tell by the way she looks at you and talks to you. I’ve been around long enough to read people-she’s in it for the long haul.”

“Even if it means moving up to the mountains to be isolated forever?” Usnavi laughs a little, but it’s a sad laugh. “And Sonny? My store?”

“We’ll find a way,” Alex says. “I want you to go back to them, I do.”

Usnavi blinks back a few tears and wipes at his eyes. Alex pulls him into a hug because Usnavi’s just a kid and he’s sad and lost and things are hard. 

“Hey.” He pulls back. “I’m here because I want to be here, got it?”

“Got it,” Usnavi says. He chuckles slightly.

“What is it?” Alex asks.

“Just thinkin’ about how you said you’d like Sonny on the team,” Usnavi says. “Kid’s a little shit.”

Alex shrugs. “We need someone who can bite back, right?”

He nods at the door. “Come on. It’s too cold out here.”

—----

“She’s from Rochambeau? That evil organization that put us all here in the first place?” Lee asks angrily when Alex has them all gathered in the sitting area to discuss her arrival. 

“Not everyone from Rochambeau is Lawless,” Alex explains. “What we saw was a fraction of the organization. There are good people that work there too.”

He looks at Pippa, his heart still filled with sadness about what Lawless told him about her. He thinks about Lawless too and what he did for Pippa. 

“What do you know about her?” Ruben asks. 

“I know that she’s helped people who struggle with their abilities,” Alex says. “She might be able to help Usnavi. Hell, help all of us even.”

“I vote no,” Lee says simply. “We’re not a bunch of lab rats to be prodded and poked and Usnavi is fine. He’s got his ability under control.”

Usnavi says nothing and stares at Alex.

“We need her,” Alvie says, a bit uneasily as he tugs at his hair with one hand. 

The others look at him. 

“You know her?” Pippa asks. 

Alvie shakes his head. “Not in real life, but I had a dream about her…way before Alex brought her up.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Ruben asks gently. 

“Because sometimes we don’t need to know somethin’ until it’s time,” Alvie responds with a nervous shrug. 

“Fine,” Ruben says. “I guess we have nothing to lose.”

He leaves the room, Alvie trailing behind him. Alex looks at Usnavi, Lee, Pippa and Lyra. 

“I trust your judgment,” Pippa says. “We still need to be cautious. I’ve been with Rochambeau for a while and have never heard of a Dr. Antonio.” 

Lee gestures as if to say, ‘I told you so’. 

“I vote yes,” Lyra says. “Because there aren’t enough girls here.”

Lee rolls his eyes. He points his finger at Alex.

“She even blinks at one of us the wrong way,” he warns and thunder sounds in the distance.

Alex nods. “Understood.”

He looks at Usnavi.

“I won’t let her unless everyone agrees,” he says gently. “Okay?”

“If it can get me home faster,” Usnavi mutters before walking away. 

—---

Lawless wastes no time and at ten am the following morning, he arrives with a caravan of his cronies and a  woman holding the handle of a wheeled suitcase. She’s not like Pippa who’s petite and gives off a sense of serenity. She’s tall, dressed in a thick sweater and blue jeans and simple boots with long dark hair pulled into a braid. She’s wearing a bright turquoise necklace and matching bracelets. She seems to radiate an authoritative presence, like she’s familiar and everyone else is new. 

“You didn’t tell me she was moving in,” Alex whispers to Lawless, but he smiles at her and extends his hand. “Dr. Antonio, I presume.”

“Hi.” For such a delicate hand, she has a heck of a grip. “Yes. Alexander Saenz?”

She glances at Lawless briefly and then turns her attention back to him. 

“I’ve heard so much about you and this program. It’s fascinating. I told Lawless that it was one of his best ideas.”

Alex glances at Lawless with a ‘really?’ look.

“I would agree,” he says. “Lawless has so many great ideas and he’s so agreeable.”

Dr. Antonio notices the sarcasm and she looks between them, but doesn’t ask questions. 

“I’d love to meet everyone who’s staying here,” she says. “And of course, Mr. De la Vega. I’m really excited to work with a telepath.”

Lawless gestures for her to come inside like he owns the place and everyone seems just as surprised to see the new visitor with luggage. 

“I assume you’ve prepared a room for our guest,” Lawless says to Alexander, eyebrows raised high.

Alex stares at him, but puts on his fake attorney smile. “Definitely. There’s a spare room across from Mr. Scoresby, next to Lyra’s.”

“I’m Lyra!” Lyra says, blipping into the room.

Dr. Antonio doesn’t even seem startled.

“Teleportation,” she says, nodding. “I like it. Hello, Lyra.”

“I like your necklace,” Lyra says, pointing to the turquoise jewelry she’s wearing. 

She sees Pan on her shoulder and reaches out to pet him and Alvie, coming down the stairs says, “Oh wait no! Can’t do that! Forbidden ferret!”

Dr. Antonio says, “Oh” but her hand is already on Pan. 

She pulls back quickly and her brows furrow. She looks at Lyra for a long time and then says, “Interesting.”

“It’s hard to explain,” Alex says with a shrug.

“They share a life force,” Dr. Antonio says. “It’s like he’s one of her vital organs, but also a  sentient being.”

“How did you know that?” Lyra asks.

At that moment, Usnavi walks into the main room from outside where he’d been sweeping snow off of the wrap-around porch.

“This is Mr. De la Vega,” Lawless gestures. “Mr. De la Vega, Dr. Antonio.”

“Oh, hi.” He walks over to shake her hand. “Alex and Dr. Sain talked to me about you.”

“It’s really good to meet you,” she replies. “God, I can’t imagine what it’s like inside your head.”

“Like Time Square 24/7,” he jokes dryly. “I just wanna get it under control so I can go home and live my life again.”

As he says this, his eyes shift uneasily to Lawless, who gives him a knowing look, but doesn’t say anything. 

“You’re going to live here?” Lyra asks, pointing at her suitcase.

“For a little while, yes,” Dr. Antonio says. “Is that okay with you? I heard my room is next to yours.”

Lyra smiles and nods. “Yeah and I’ll help you decorate it. I got fairy lights for my room. Do you know what those are? I’ll show you?”

She takes her by the hand and Dr. Antonio says, “I’d love to.”

“Excuse us, Lee,” Lyra says, roughly brushing past Lee who’s coming back inside, brushing snow from his shoulders. 

He stares at the pair as Lyra ushers Dr. Antonio upstairs and then notices Lawless.

“Hi,” he says skeptically.

“It’s Dr. Antonio,” Alex tells him. “I told you about her, remember?”

“You didn’t tell me she was comin’ here with the whole brigade,” Lee says.

“How are you, Mr. Scoresby?” Lawless asks. 

“Good and you?” Lee doesn’t wait for an answer. He walks past him to go about his business.

“So she’s going to stay here? Right here in the barracks?” Alvie asks. “I dunno…” 

“Don’t know what?” Alex asks, brows furrowing.

“She’s pretty attractive,” Alvie says, taking a puff on his vape. “And she’s gonna spend one on one time with Usnavi? Pickin’ his brain and what not.” 

“Grow up,” Alex scoffs. To Lawless he asks, “How long will she be staying exactly?” 

“As long as it takes to fix Usnavi,” Lawless says simply. “Give her credit, though. She could be here for only a week or two.”

He waits for Dr. Antonio and Lyra to come back downstairs and then bids them all farewell. He gives Alex a knowing look as he walks out the door. 

 After he leaves, Alex introduces everyone and then asks, “So we’re all dying to know. How did you know about Pan?”

Dr. Antonio smiles and looks around the room, like she’s trying to decide on something. She walks over to Alvie and places her hand to cup his cheek. He stiffens for a moment and she says, “It’s okay. Relax.”

When she pulls back she says, “Precognitive dreaming. You knew I was coming here.”

“Well, Mr. Lawless could have told you that,” Lyra points out.

Dr. Antonio moves her hand from Alvie’s face to his arm and stops at the crease of his elbow. He’s wearing long sleeves so the tracker isn’t visible.

“I can take this out for you,” she says. “Give you something better? Less invasive?”

“Lawless could have told you that too,” Alvie says quietly and it’s clear he’s uncomfortable by the way he pulls his arm back. 

“I’ll bite,” Lee says, crossing his arms. “What is your ability?”

“Intuitive aptitude,” she replies. “I just sort of know how things work. I know when they’re broken, if someone has an ability, cancer…” 

She stops talking for a moment and then goes over to Ruben.

“Your watch?” She asks, holding out her hand.

Ruben frowns, but takes it off and hands it to her. She holds it to her ear and says, “The batteries will only last about two more months. You’ll need to replace them. And it’s about eight seconds slow.”

“It’s how you got into Rochambeau,” Pippa says, impressed. 

“I was recruited for intake purposes, but I’ve been working for facilities all over the country,” she replies. “And please, everyone, call me Karen.”

“All over the country, you say?” Lee scoffs, looking at Alex. “Dr. Antonio, would you say you enjoy your work at Rochambeau?”

Karen blinks. “Very much. I’ve been there for ten years now. It’s exhausting with it being so under wraps, but of course. For sure.” 

Lee stares at Alex again. How clever of Lawless to send someone like her. 

“What is it?” Karen asks, the silence in the room obviously signaling something is off.

“Nothing,” Alex says, forcing a smile. “We’re happy to have you here.” 

Karen nods and Pippa asks if she would like some tea.

“I’d love some,” she says, following her into the kitchen.

“She’s trouble,” Lee says, moving closer to Alex. 

“Maybe,” Alex says, equally quiet. “But Alvie did dream about her. That has to count for something.”

“Anyone who enjoys working for that snake, Lawless,” Lee says with a scoff. “Is just as bad as him.”

When the women come back into the room talking about psychology and neurology, Lee gives them his best smile and tips his hat.

“Ladies,” he says, going upstairs, Hester hopping behind him.

“Never would have expected a cowboy to be here,” Karen tells Pippa, sitting down. “He also has one of those creatures. How does that work?”

“They’re not from around here,” Pippa says with a shrug, but there’s a smile in her voice. “He’s a good man. A good father.”

“Oh. Oh! Lyra, right. Duh.” Karen laughs. “And…Mom? Is she…back home?”

“It’s a long story,” Pippa says, chuckling.

“Right, later,” Karen says and then the tea kettle whistles. “I got it. Let me get our tea and then we can discuss Usnavi.” 

“Thank you.” Pippa touches her hand, gesturing appreciation, but really she’s trying to get a feel for who Dr. Antonio is. She feels a lot of emotional turmoil, pain, and a sliver of hopefulness. 

—-

“Why are you so mad?” Lyra asks, teleporting behind Lee and trying to keep up with him as he trudges through the snow. 

“Because we’re a bunch of chickens and Lawless just released a fox in the hen house,” he gripes.

Lyra makes a face. “What?”

“Forget it,” Lee says, stopping. “I don’t want you alone with her, do you hear me?”

“Why?” Lyra frowns. “She seems nice and she’s really pretty.”

“So was your mama,” Lee says and then bites his bottom lip. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”

Lyra scowls at him. “Bite me.”

She disappears before he can say anything else. Lee lets out another deep sigh, whispers, “Son of a bitch” and then stomps back towards the barracks. Alvie is outside on the porch, bundled up, puffing on his vape.

“You look like a dragon,” Lee jokes in a flat voice.

Alvie gives him a half smile, but Lee can tell he’s not in a particularly happy mood. 

“You sure we can trust her?” He asks, leaning on the railing. 

“I’m not,” Alvie says honestly. “I just trust my dreams. They’ve never steered me wrong.”

“Let’s hope that that holds true,” Lee says and moves to go inside. As he opens the sliding glass door, he all but almost bumps into Dr. Antonio.

“Oh, sorry,” she says, moving past him sideways. He notices her necklace.

“Navajo?” He guesses. 

“Yeah.” Her brows furrow, but she’s smiling. “It was my grandmother’s.”

She pulls her coat more closely around her and looks out over the balcony. 

“What a view,” she breathes and turns to Lee, still smiling. “I’m not evil, if that’s what you’re thinking. I didn’t pack any torture devices or poison in my bags.”

“You work for Rochambeau,” Lee tells her, also smiling. 

“Yeah, I do,” she agrees. “And you know what I’ve done for Rochambeau? My last assignment was a teenage girl who could turn things into ice. She broke two of her mother’s fingers clean off. I was able to use my ability to crawl around inside her head and fix the broken connection. I fixed her so she didn’t have to go to one of the facilities.” 

“Too bad we all can’t get the Dr. Antonio home visits,” Lee says sarcastically. 

“Yeah, it is.” Dr. Antonio isn’t smiling anymore, but she’s making intense eye-contact with him. 

She goes back into the barracks, shutting the door a little too hard and Alvie takes a big drag on his vape.

“Wow,” he says. “You’re an asshole.”

“You didn’t seem too thrilled with her either,” Lee points out. “You’re out here sulkin, aren’t ya?”

“I’m just worried about Usnavi,” Alvie says. “That’s all.”

—-

“So have you ever worked with a telepath before?” Usnavi asks, sitting inside of Ruben’s lab in a chair as Dr. Antonio looks over his file. 

“No,” she says. “But I’m really liking Dr. Marcado’s idea for an implant. It’s a chip that could actively control the part of the brain that controls your abilities.” 

She glances at Ruben who is looking for said blueprints for his idea. 

“Did you work in neurology, Dr. Marcado?” She asks. “This is some impressive stuff.”

Ruben shifts uncomfortably. “Something like that…I dabbled in unauthorized trials.” 

“An implant?” Usnavi repeats. “Like something that goes in my head?”

Alvie, who is sitting cross-legged in Ruben’s swivel chair, points a ballpoint pen at him. 

“I saw Get Out ,” he warns. “This better not be some fuckin’ body-snatchin’ scheme.”

Dr. Antonio laughs. 

“This will be invasive,” she tells Usnavi. “But it will work almost like a cochlear implant, only in the brain. You'll have a little device that sits behind your ear like a hearing aid and you can use it to switch the chip on and off. When it’s on, you have your ability. When it’s off, not a peep from anyone in your brain except for you.”

“Is it really that simple?” Usnavi asks, brows furrowing. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” she says. “And don’t thank me. Thank Dr. Marcado. I can definitely build it and put it in-that’s what my ability does, but he’s actually the true creator.” 

Ruben smiles a little shyly and looks at Usnavi.

“So what do you think?” He asks. 

“And I could still do all of the things Alex asks me to do?” Usnavi asks Dr. Antonio. 

“It would actually work better,” she explains. “Your body and mind would have rested in between so it’s almost like you’re on power-save mode at all times.”

Usnavi nods. “Yeah, okay…should we do it then?”

“What are the risks?” Alvie asks. “Ain’t there always risks?”

Dr. Antonio nods. “Sure, but if anything were to happen, we could just take the implant out. No serious risks. You could even choose never to use your ability again if that’s what you wanted.”

Usnavi is quiet for a moment and finally says, “I just want to go home.” 

—----

“You still in a huff with me?” Lee asks Lyra when they finally cross paths again in the living room. 

“It can’t just be you and me forever,” Lyra says, staring at the TV. “You know that, right? You’re going to have to trust someone someday.”

“Does she have to be in that mix?” Lee asks, eyebrows raised. 

“Could you just give her a chance?” Lyra also raises her eyebrows. 

Lee sighs. “Fine. You win. I’ll keep my mouth shut for now.”

He moves past her and goes to the kitchen where Dr. Antonio is talking with Pippa and Alex about Usnavi. 

“We would need to take Usnavi to the facility for the surgery,” she says. “He’s one hundred percent on board and immediately after we could bring him back here for recovery.”

“Surgery?” Lee frowns. 

“Yes,” Dr. Antonio says. “To help to control his ability.” 

“I thought he was doin’ fine with you,” Lee says to Pippa. 

Before Pippa can say anything, Dr. Antonio says, “With all do respect, Mr. Scoresby, this is none of your business. Usnavi doesn’t want to struggle every second of everyday keeping voices out of his head. He wants to give his friends and loved ones privacy. It’s his life, not yours.”

“So you’re just gonna cut into his brain and then what? Take out the piece that gives him telepathy?”

“Put a chip in to suppress it,” she replies.

Lee laughs. He looks at Alex.

“You’re not seriously on board with this, are you?” He asks. “She works for Lawless and she’s gonna put a chip in the kid’s head.” 

“Lee,” Alex warns, but Lee shakes his head. 

“What about the rest of us?” He asks Dr. Antonio. “You gonna put one in our heads too? What about my ability, hm? I create storms. How’re you gonna fix that, Ma’am?”

“ Doctor,” Karen corrects him sternly. “And you don’t control storms. You control precipitation on a molecular level.”

She storms off and Pippa snorts and covers her mouth, turning away. 

“Damn,” Alex adds to her shocked laughter. 

“I want her outta here,” Lee says angrily before leaving upstairs. 

“Any news on Numbers ?” Alex asks Pippa.

“Nothing,” Pippa says. “If they’re involved, they haven’t left a trail of breadcrumbs.”

—---

“Surgery?” Vanessa says, staring at her phone as she and Usnavi facetimes. “Brain surgery? You’re seriously getting brain surgery?”

“It’s not like they’re takin’ it out,” Usnavi says. “It’s just a little chip that’s gonna help control all of the voices in my head. I’ll be able to turn it on and off, give you some privacy to your own thoughts and not have my head explode when we go in a crowd.”

He sighs and says, “Ness, I’ll be able to finally come home.”

Vanessa flops onto their bed. 

“It’s still scary though,” she pouts. “And we can’t be there?”

“It’s not safe right now, no,” Usnavi says. “Not after the kids were followed. I promise I’ll be alright.” 

“Who’s doing the surgery?” Vanessa asks. “Ruben?”

“Nah, another doctor. Her name is Dr. Antonio. She has an ability too, but it’s like…she’s a human computer or somethin’.” 

Vanessa sighs and says, “Whatever it takes to bring you home. I’m so worried about you and so tired of Sonny.”

Usnavi laughs and Vanessa does too. 

“You’ve been amazin’ through all of this,” he says. “Really. I’ve never felt so lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Vanessa says. “I just wish I could be there.” 

“I’ll facetime you as soon as I’m conscious and lucid,” Usnavi says. “I might be bald. I hope not.”

“Don’t let them shave your head, please,” Vanessa chuckles. 

“I’ll be home soon,” he says. “I promise. It won’t be long now.”

—----

It’s odd being back in the facility. They’re all allowed to go, which is surprising, but when Lyra has the go ahead to blip them all there, Lawless is waiting and smiling. Alexander nods at him, a thanks, and Lawless nods back. 

“You’re gonna do great,” Alex tells Usnavi, squeezing his shoulders. “And when this is over, you’ll get to do whatever you want, go home even.”

Usnavi nods and pats his hand. Pippa, Lyra, and Alvie, give him a hug. Lee pats his arm. Ruben shows him the chip in a little clear case.

“This is all it is,” he assures him. “Piece of cake.”

“Piece of cake,” Usnavi repeats. 

“It’ll be quick,” Dr. Antonio tells the others. “I promise. Usnavi?”

He gives them all one last nervous smile and follows her and Lawless through some double doors. An agent comes to tell them there is a waiting room they can sit in. 

“Actually,” Alex says. “I gotta use the men’s room. Where’s the nearest one?”

“Just down that hallway on the left,” the agent replies. “I can take you-”

“I got it,” Alex says, smiling. “Thank you.”

He walks in the direction of the corridor she’d pointed to and then makes a sharp turn and towards the elevator. 

“I just realized,” Pippa says, standing up from one of the chairs. “I also have to go to the restroom.”

She follows Alex’s path and meets him on the basement floor she told him to go to. There’s a guard there, looking bored. 

“Can I help you?” The guard asks. 

“Lance, it’s me,” Pippa says, smiling like he’s so silly. 

“Dr. Sain?” He asks. “Where have you been?”

“Holiday,” she says. “And I’m such a goof. I left my badge upstairs in Director Lawless’ office and now he’s monitoring a surgery…I need to go through some intake files-do you mind?” She points at the door.

“Oh, of course,” he says, buzzing her in with his own badge. “Hey, listen, if you’re not busy on Fri-”

“Thank you, Lance,” Alex says, forcing a smile, patting his shoulder as he moves past him.

The two of them make their way into the storage area that’s filled with shelves that are lined with boxes. 

“What are we looking for exactly?” Alex asks. 

“ ‘Missing and Deceased’,” Pippa says. “If we can make some of the connections to who all has a Numbers account, it might help us with our investigation.”

They’re both suddenly startled by a sound coming from another door further inside. They both freeze and Alex moves protectively in front of Pippa. A young man comes out of the room, carrying boxes. He’s gangly with curly hair and glasses and looks to be in his early twenties. 

“Hi…” He says, looking between them. “Can I help you?”

“Who are you?” Alex asks. 

“Trey Warren,” the young man says, sounding confused. He shows them his badge. 

“When did you start here, Trey?” Alex asks. 

“Not long, Sir,” Trey says. “A few months. I was recruited as an intern…it’s why I’m in the files room, I guess.” 

“I’m Dr. Sain,” Pippa says. “I’m the resident therapist here.”

“Ah,” Trey says, nodding. “I don’t really get to see much of the staff or much of anything other than down here.”

He laughs awkwardly and says, “Well, I should get back to work. There’s a lot to organize.”

“Hey, Trey?” Alex asks. “Can you point us to the ‘missing and deceased’ section?”

“Oh, sure,” Trey says. “Follow me. We’ve had a lot of those lately. I’ve looked at a few of them. Mostly suicides, but there are some missing folks.” 

He takes a box and hands it to Alex.

“If you ask me,” he says. “I think something weird is going on.”

“How did you get to be an intern here?” Alex asks him. 

“I was a major in Criminal Justice at Michigan State,” Trey says. “Rochambeau occasionally poses at universities to recruit new agents under the guise of mock assignments for your field-criminal justice, forensics, pharmacology, medicine…they asked me to join, but-” 

He shrugs and lets his arms fall to his sides. 

“Here I am,” he says. “In the basement putting files in alphabetical order.”

“Alex, look,” Pippa says, handing him a sheet of paper. 

Alex takes it from her and says, “ ‘Katarina Mikhailov’, age eight. Ability: Telepathy. Status: Unknown. Presumed deceased’ .”

“There’s never been a telepath here,” Pippa says. 

Alex is quiet, remembering what Lawless told him. 

“Whoa,” Trey says. “A telepath? I didn’t even know that was an ability.” 

“Listen, Trey,” Alex says. “I need to take this box. Is that okay?”

Trey shrugs. “It’s not like I’m getting paid, Dude. Take it.” 

—--

"Usnavi came through surgery beautifully," Dr. Antonio says, coming into the small waiting area where everyone has been sitting around for what seems like hours. "He's resting and he'll be a little confused when he wakes up so be gentle with him.

“But he’s okay?” Alvie asks.

Karen nods, smiling. "With the implant he should be able to use his abilities like an 'on/off' switch."

Everyone seems to release a sigh they were all holding in. 

Lyra asks, "Did you have to shave his head?"

Dr. Antonio laughs. 

"Only a little patch,” she says. “ Just where the implant goes. Have you seen a cochlear implant? It's going to look just like one. It will clip behind his ear and work as a magnet to the piece in his brain."

“And I have another treat,” Lawless says, moving to stand beside her. “Who’s hungry? There’s pizza in the cafeteria.” 

“I love pizza,” Lyra says, her eyes sparkling. 

“Alright then,” Lawless laughs. “Follow me, everyone.” 

Everyone does so, but Lee hangs back. 

“Don’t you want to join your friends?” Dr. Antonio asks him. 

“You really helped him?” He asks. 

“Let me tell you something, Lee,” she says, taking a few steps closer to him. “I grew up on a reservation with barely any money, an emotionally absent mother, and an abusive alcoholic stepfather. I suffered for years because of my ability. I ran away from home because I didn’t fit in and didn’t start making connections until I met people like me and those were the people I cared about.”

Lee looks away, but Dr. Antonio doesn’t break eye-contact.

“I am trying to bring Usnavi home,” she says. “All of you home, and it’s fine if you don’t like me or don’t trust me, but I would never hurt your friend.”

“Dr. Antonio-”

“Karen,” she says and then walks away. 

—----

“Alright, let’s see it,” Sonny says through the screen as Usnavi clumsily moves his phone to show the shaved patch of hair with a fresh scar. 

“And it works?” Benny asks. 

“Not sure yet,” Usnavi says. “Karen says I need to rest up a bit before we try it out.”

“It’s gonna work,” Sonny says. “It has to.”

“Babe, we’re so proud of you,” Vanessa says. “This has to be one of the scariest things you’ve ever done.”

“I dunno,” Usnavi laughs softly. “Goin’ up against crazy Ian was pretty damn scary.”

“Well, he’s gone and all of that’s over,” Vanessa replies. “You can come home because we miss you so much.”

“Yeah and Vanessa can’t cook for shit,” Sonny adds and Usnavi laughs again when he sees Vanessa shove him out of view. 

“We’ll let you get some rest,” Vanessa says. “Call us when you’ve tested it, yeah?”

“Definitely,” Usnavi agrees. “I love you guys.”

He hangs up just as Karen, Alex, and Lawless enter the recovery room. 

“How are you feeling?” Alex asks him. 

“Pretty good,” Usnavi says. “A little dizzy.”

“That’s normal,” Lawless assures him. “Think you’re ready to give your implant a test run?”

Usnavi nods. He’s been dying to see if it works since he woke up. Karen hands him something that looks like a hearing aid. 

“See that little switch?” She points. “That turns it on and off. Whenever you don’t want to hear any thoughts, you just push that up and voila! No more noisy head.”

Usnavi fastens it behind his ear clumsily with Alex’s help and pushes his finger up. He doesn’t realize he’s never known absolute silence until this very moment. There’s nothing. Not a single noise.

“Holy shit…” he whispers and then laughs softly. 

“Alright, Megamind,” Alex says. “I’m thinking of a number between one and ten. What is it?”

“Um…five?” Usnavi guesses randomly.

“Ten,” Alex says and high fives him. 

“Okay now click it off,” Karen commands and Usnavi does so. 

“You’re thinking of the number three,” Usnavi tells Karen. To Lawless he says, “One.”

“It works,” Karen says. 

“I’ll be damned,” Lawless says with a chuckle. “You and Dr. Marcado really pulled through for Usnavi.” 

“I’d still like you to give it some time,” Karen tells Usnavi. “We’ll do a few more exercises when you’ve rested a bit, but I think we can count this a success.” 

Alex calls Lee to have Lyra teleport them back to the barracks where they’ve made up his bed for him. The others are excited to see him and hear the news. 

“So do you have to wear that thing all the time?” Lyra asks him, touching his new ear piece. 

“I think so,” Usnavi says. “Probably not when I’m sleepin’, but I’ll need to have it close by.”

As the group huddles around him asking questions, Lee slips away quietly and goes down to the kitchen where Karen is sitting at the table with a cup of tea in front of her. 

“He sounds happy,” Lee tells her. “You did a good job.”

“I hope so,” Karen says, forcing a smile. “He deserves it, you know? Good kid with a family that loves him.”

Lee begins to make himself a cup of tea. 

“Lyra’s a beautiful girl,” Karen says. ”Very bright too.” 

“She’s a loose cannon, that one,” Lee says. “She’s tough.” 

He says, “You may already know, but Lyra ain’t really mine. I love her to death though.”

“I can see that,” Karen says, smiling genuinely this time. “And I can tell how much she loves you.” 

“What about you?” Lee asks, moving to sit at the table. “Any crumb snatchers of your own?”

Karen shakes her head. 

“My work doesn’t really leave me a lot of time for family,” she confesses. “Hell, I don’t even stay in one place long enough to make friends.”

“And you like that?” Lee asks. “Your work, I mean?”

Karen shrugs one shoulder. 

“I get to meet new people,” she says. “I gotta admit, though. I’m going to miss this place once I leave. It’s been pretty fun. Lyra has shown me more Tik Toks in a few days than the average person sees in their lifetime.”

Lee chuckles at that. 

“I’ve got to sit and discuss psychology with Pippa,” Karen says. “Draw with Alvie, talk science with Ruben, get to know Usnavi and Alex…”

She looks at him.

“It’s too bad we got off on the wrong foot, huh?” 

Lee blushes and says, “I can be a real asshole sometimes. Trustin’ strangers isn’t my strong suit. I wasn’t exactly the friendliest guy when I got here either.”

“It’s hard for me to trust too,” Karen says. “So I get it.”

“Maybe we can start off on the right foot right now,” Lee says. “Wanna take a walk?”

Karen’s brows furrow slightly, but her face softens and she says, “Sure.”

The two of them put on their boots and head outside where the snow is falling down softly. As they walk side by side along the tall trees, Karen says, “My ability is strange. I can just look at something and tell you how tall it is.”

Lee nods towards one of the pine trees. “That one?”

Karen purses her lips. “Twenty-one meters.”

She continues, “I can open a book and rearrange every word in alphabetical order. I can look at a healthy-looking person and know if they’re sick.”

“It sounds exhausting,” Lee says.

“Did you notice,” Karen says. “That Hester isn’t with us?”

“ ‘Course she is,” Lee says, looking back. “She’s always-”

He stops. “Where’s Hester?”

“Back at the barracks,” Karen tells him. “You haven’t noticed because she’s part of you, but in this world, you’re both changing. That connection is still there-still strong-but the physical connection isn’t necessary. She’s becoming her own being.”

Lee looks horrified for a moment and Karen takes his hand. 

“You can still feel her, but it’s you,” she says. 

“Lyra and Pan?” Lee asks quietly, his voice quivering slightly.

“The same,” Karen says. “In this world, they’re becoming companions and the part of you that is connected-” she places her hand over his heart. “It’s still here and it’s still strong, but it’s different.”

“I can’t be without Hester,” he says, looking back towards the barracks. “Lyra can’t be without Pan. You don’t understand-”

“Actually, I do,” Karen says. “And it’s frightening, but change can be a beautiful thing.”

Lee contemplates all this and asks, “Hester is still a part of me?”

“Always,” Karen says. “You’re maturing and so is that part of you and that part of Lyra.”

They continue walking, the snowfall now becoming a light flurry and Lee says, “You said I control precipitation. I’ve always wondered about my ability.” 

“You could control this,” Karen says, gesturing vaguely. “If you wanted to.” 

Lee stops and so does Karen.

“What’s wrong?” She asks. 

Lee closes his eyes and there’s an odd sound, like distant wind. Karen pulls her hat down closer to her head as the wind becomes stronger and stronger and in a matter of seconds the snow that has been falling down is now circling them at a rapid speed, as if they were in their own little snow globe. 

“It’s incredible,” Karen tells him, and she genuinely seems to be in awe. 

Lee stops and so does the snow storm, returning to its normal snowfall.

“We should get back,” he says.

Karen nods.

—--

“Alex!” 

Pippa runs into Alex’s office, holding some papers. Alex looks up from his laptop. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks, standing up. “Are you alright?” 

“Over half of the missing persons and deceased had Numbers accounts,” Pippa says, holding up one of the sheets. “And that’s not all. It’s not really Numbers that they even had accounts for. There was an article published a while back warning people to double check the website because there was a fake copycat site.”

“Really,” Alex says, searching for said article on his own laptop. There are several.

“They must have assumed it was to steal identities and credit card info,” Pippa says.

“But they’re stealing people,” Alex adds. “Shit.” 

—---

Sonny whistles as he puts the Swiffer back in the store closet. It's a slow morning for the Bodega. He decided to come in and set up and open since Vanessa spent all night facetiming with Usnavi. He’ll cut her a break and then make her owe him later in the form of extending his curfew.

As he sits at the counter on his barstool, looking at things on his phone, he absent-mindedly reaches for his Starbucks drink (he is not going to tell Usnavi he got hooked on Starbucks any time soon, but damn if they don't have good drinks) he realizes he forgot it on the opposite end of the counter. He turns around to get up and get it when he holds out his hand and his drink flies into it.

That was weird

. He looks around and then at the counter to judge the distance. Was it one of those 'glitch in the matrix' moments? He decides it’s just his mind playing tricks on him and starts drinking his iced matcha latte.

He rings up a few early bird regulars and continues playing on his phone. Someone orders a bagel with egg and he gets up to make it, one handed since it's pretty easy-they order the bagels from a nearby bakery and all Sonny has to do is crack and scramble the eggs and stick bacon on top. He does this while looking at his phone and without being careful as he hands the wrapped bagel sandwich to the customer, he drops his phone. His brand new iPhone that he paid for with his own money.

It's a good thing the customer is practically already out the door because Sonny almost pees himself. The phone is hovering in mid air as he stands before it-his hand out.

"What the fuck?" He says softly, startled. He moves his hand and the phone moves in the same direction. He takes it and then sits back on his barstool. He sits in silence for several moments, ignoring Pete's corny good morning messages, staring into space. He and Usnavi are blood cousins-their fathers were brothers. If Usnavi has an ability...is it possible...?

"Holy shit," he mutters.

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

Lawless stares at Usnavi for a long time and then moves his gaze to Alex. They are seated in the living area-Lawless, Alex, Usnavi, and Karen. 

“So you called me here,” Lawless says slowly. “To tell me that Usnavi would like to go home.”

“It’s a great idea,” Karen says. “A trial week. We could see how he does around people and really test to make sure the implant works.”

She turns to Usnavi, smiling, and pats his hand. 

“You up to that?” She asks. 

Usnavi nods, shifting uncomfortably because there’s a good chance Lawless will say absolutely not. 

“Plus with everything we’re learning about the fake Numbers organization,” Alex adds. “We’re going to need Usnavi in perfect condition to use his telepathy. He can’t train if he can’t be around other thoughts. We’ve put him in a bubble.”

Karen scoffs. 

“And in the few weeks I’ve been here,” she says. “ I can technically read minds. It’s all ‘science this, science’ that, ‘video games’, ‘Tik Tok’-”

She sighs. “God, how do you all deal with Lyra and her Tik Tok addiction?”

“Oh just wait until she tells you have no ‘rizz’,” Alex says. “Ohio sigma gyatt…”

He and Karen are trying to lighten the mood, perhaps to make Lawless more open to the idea, but he doesn’t join in their banter. 

“Usnavi,” he says slowly, taking his coffee mug and holding it in his hands. “There is nothing more I would want for you than for you to return home and to your store and your family.”

Usnavi nods, swallowing. 

“But we’re in dangerous times,” Lawless says. “You’re valuable to us, but others will see you as valuable as well, and you work with the general public. Anyone could come into the bodega pretending to be a customer and do something to you or take you away for their own personal use.” 

“He can contact us now,” Alex reminds him. “He’ll be able to detect danger and Lyra can blip him back in an instant-” he snaps his fingers for emphasis. 

“He’ll be of no use to us if we keep him here,” Karen says. “And it’s just a trial. One week.” 

“Alright.” Lawless says, shrugging. 

“Alright?” Usnavi repeats, eyes widening. He looks at Alex and smiles. 

“But there are some conditions,” Lawless says. 

“Of course there are,” Alex says, trying not to roll his eyes. “What are they?”

“Do not go to work in the bodega,” Lawless says. “Try and keep a low profile. I don’t care what your cover story is, but nobody finds out about Rochambeau or abilities.”

“And?” Alex prods, knowing he probably has more demands.

“You come back alone,” Lawless says. “I know it’s hard to be away from Vanessa and Sonny, but you’ll put them in danger bringing them here.” 

He looks at Alex and then Usnavi. “Kapeesh?”

Lyra walks by and frowns. “What does ‘kapeesh’ mean?”

“ ‘Are we clear’,” Lawless explains to her.

“Then why didn’t you just say ‘are we clear’?” She asks.

“Lyra, go,” Alex tells her, shooing her away. He pats Usnavi’s hand. “You wanna make the call? Let Vanessa know you’re coming?”

—---

“OH MY GOD!” Vanessa all but screams into the phone. “Shut up! Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Usnavi says, grinning into his phone screen. “It’s just for a week, but pretty soon it might be permanent.” 

“Oh, Babe,” Vanessa says. “This is great news! I’ve missed you so much!” 

“Maybe don’t tell Sonny?” Usnavi says, scratching his nose. “I’d kind of like to surprise him.” 

Vanessa suddenly looks uncomfortable and Usnavi asks, “What? What’s wrong?”

“That might not be a bad idea,” His girlfriend replies. “Sonny’s been acting kind of weird these last few days.”

“Weird?” Usnavi repeats. “What do you mean?”

“Just not himself,” Vanessa says. “He gets home from school and shuts himself up in his room and hasn’t really talked to me lately. Or Pete. I’m kind of wondering if they had a fight.”

“Huh.” Usnavi frowns thoughtfully. “Yeah, it’s a good thing I’m comin’ home then. I hope everything’s okay. Maybe school is stressin’ him out?”

“He’ll be thrilled,” Vanessa says, forcing a smile. “We’ve all missed you so much.” 

—--

“I know Lawless is an asshole sometimes,” Alex says as he and Usnavi stand in one of the rooms they now call ‘the gym’ where the guys can train. It has a few scuffs in the wall and is a tad beat up from things flying around and getting shocked and or wind-damaged. “

“Yeah.” Usnavi scoffs, closing his eyes and focusing on trying to hear a voice far away. He opens them and says, “Sorry. I just can’t concentrate.”

Alex shrugs one shoulder. “No big deal. Lawless is an ass, but he means well.”

Usnavi grins. “How did that taste coming out?”

“Not great,” Alex replies. “But sending Dr. Antonio here…I think he really is trying to fix what he messed up.”

“When is she leaving?” Usnavi asks. “I like her and all, but she fixed me. Does she need to stay here?” 

Alex shrugs. “Honestly, I have no idea. I agree, though. It’s nice having her around.”

“Lee likes her,” Usnavi says, grinning more. “I may have read his thoughts a few times when they’re talkin’.”

“I don’t think you need to be a mind reader for that,” Alex says, eyebrows raised. “Man can’t form a sentence when she walks into a room.”

—----

“Karen!” Lyra says, coming into the barracks from outside. “Want to bake cookies with me? I liked the ones you made-Snicker…dooder…”

Karen, who is coming in from the kitchen with a mug of tea says, “I’d love to Lyra, but I’m getting some things ready for Usnavi to go home and visit. Maybe tonight?”

Lyra nods and follows her to the sofa where there are papers strewn around the coffee table. She sits down next to her and says, “I’m really jealous. I wish I could go to New York City. It looks so cool.”

“It’s a cool place, yeah,” Karen says. “We’ll definitely go-just us girls. Have some fun.”

Lee comes into the room and smiles at Karen and Lyra, who are both sorting through papers now.

“Well ain’t this a nice picture,” he says, going to the kitchen to make himself some tea. 

“Karen’s taking me to New York City,” Lyra tells him.

“What?” Lee frowns, turning around. 

“Not now,” Karen tells him, a knowing look on her face. “Someday.”

“Oh.” Lee nods. “Yeah, someday.” 

“Don’t you want to go to a big city?” Lyra asks him.

“I ain’t lost nothin’ in a big city so no,” he says simply. “Too many people and too much light pollution.” 

Lyra looks at Karen and says, “He’s old and boring.”

This makes Karen laugh out loud and Lee comes over, arms crossed. 

“Old and boring?” He repeats. “I have a balloon. I can summon storms.”

“But you can’t do the Hot To Go dance,” Lyra points out. 

Karen laughs harder this time and Lee says, “Damn. Some appreciation I get around here.” 

He goes into the kitchen and Karen follows him. 

“I’m not taking her to New York City,” she assures him. “I am going, though. I’d like to at least see Usnavi off. Maybe stay in a hotel or something nearby just in case something goes wrong.”

“You’re leaving?” Lee frowns. 

“Well, after he gets back, yeah,” she says. “There isn’t really a reason for me to stay here. You all seem to have a good handle on your abilities.”

“Oh.” Lee clears his throat. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

Karen frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“I thought you knew how everything worked,” he grumbles, digging around in the upper cabinet for his favorite mug. 

“Okay, well I don’t need my ability to know that that sounded a little hostile,” Karen says, brows furrowed. “You didn’t even want me here. Now I’m leaving and you’re acting annoyed.”

“It’s just nice havin’ you around, that’s all,” he responds with a shrug. “Lyra’s really takin’ a shine to you.”

Karen cocks her head slightly. “Is that so?”

Lee nods, looking anywhere but her.

“Where is the honey?” He mumbles, pretending to busy himself while Karen continues to stare at him. 

“You know it might be nice to have some protection,” Karen says. “In New York, I mean. I could use a bodyguard or something, with all of these Numbers bad guys running around.”

Lee looks at her and Karen can’t help but smile. He’s blushing.

“Yer askin’ me to go to New York with…you?” He asks. 

Karen nods. “Why not? There’s a Thai place I love. I always go to it when I’m in New York. Do you like Thai food?”

“Thai food?” Lee repeats, voice small and raspy now. He clears his throat and says, “I guess it would be good for you to go with someone who could…be some muscle.” 

Karen moves her gaze from his face to his hand, the one holding the mug. She touches his hand and then moves her fingers up to touch his bicep. She squeezes it. 

“I guess that’ll do,” she says, nodding, lips pursed to one side. She smiles at him. “Alright, Mr. Scoresby. I’ll let Alex know the plan.” 

She leaves the kitchen just as Alvie is walking in and he stares at Lee with wide eyes, his mouth open. Lee frowns at him. 

“You’re gonna get laid,” Alvie whispers loudly.

Thunder sounds in the distance and Lee stammers, “Alvie…! Go away!”

Alvie imitates Karen, walking up to Lee and squeezing his upper arm, only he flutters his eyelashes and says in a high-pitched voice, “so strong”. 

“You little!” Lee takes a swipe at him but Alvie movies away. 

“What’s going on in here?” Pippa asks, coming into the kitchen. She looks at Lee, concerned. “Lee, you’re very red. Are you feeling well?”

“He’s feelin’ great,” Alvie tells her, taking a drag on his vape. “Better than okay. The best he’s ever felt.” 

—-----

“You’re going to New York?” Alex repeats, frowning. He crosses his arms. 

“Dr. Antonio needs someone to have her back in case something goes wrong,” Lee says. “You said it yourself-we have to be on top of our game.” 

“You really have to be on top of yours,” Alvie says from the sofa, not looking up from his sketchbook. Ruben, who is sitting next to him, chuckles and pretends to cover it by clearing his sinuses. 

“Why is Karen taking you to New York?” Lyra demands angrily. “You don’t have any rizz!”

“Oh he’s got rizz,” Alvie says, grinning, still staring at his sketchbook.

Lee rolls his eyes at both of them and tells Alex. “I can also keep an eye on Usnavi. I mean, the kid’s powerful with his-” he wiggles a few of his fingers next to his head. “But he won’t stand a chance in an actual fight.” 

Alex shrugs. “Fine by me. It’s Dr. Antonio’s decision.” 

—---

Usnavi sighs nervously, fixing his hair one last time in the mirror before putting his cap on. Vanessa will be waiting for him. He’s going to see her in just a few minutes. He goes downstairs with his bag where everyone is already waiting. Karen smiles at him. 

“It’s showtime,” she says. “Your implant is off, right? We don’t want you getting overstimulated too quickly.”

Usnavi nods. Lee is standing next to Karen with a much smaller bag. He looks nervous. Lyra is sulking next to him because she can only teleport them there, but doesn’t actually get to stay. 

“So we’ll see you all next Sunday,” Alex says. 

“I’ll keep you updated,” Karen tells him. 

Lyra teleports them to the designated area around the corner from Usnavi’s house and immediately asks, “Can I please stay too?”

“Not this time, Darlin’,” Lee says, taking her hands. “This isn’t a fun trip, it’s a work trip.”

“But the next time,” Karen promises her. “Girl’s trip. I just gotta show Lee it’s not as bad as he thinks it is first.”

Lyra sighs dramatically. “Fine.” 

“Plus I need you to run the barracks,” Lee says. “Alex only thinks he’s in charge. Everyone knows you the boss.” 

Lyra smiles a little and says, “At least bring me something back?”

“We promise,” Karen says. 

“I’ll bring you some of the candy the kids go crazy about,” Usnavi adds. “Reeses, M&Ms, Skittles…”

Lyra smiles more. “Deal.”

She blips back and Karen touches Usnavi’s arm. “You don’t have to turn the implant on yet. We can take it slow.” 

Usnavi nods and says, “Thanks.” 

“We’ll let you get settled,” Karen says. “We’re going to go find our hotel. Make sure to call every two hours. Let me know if you see or sense anything suspicious.”

Usnavi says, “Yes, Boss.” 

Karen nods at Lee to walk the other direction. Usnavi watches them go and turns to go to his house. He’s been gone for so long. It feels surreal being back here. How long has it been? Close to a year at least. 

When he gets to the front door, Vanessa opens it before he can knock and she throws her arms around him, making him stumble on the steps slightly. He wraps his arms around her, inhaling her scent. The barracks smell like fresh pine and snow. Vanessa smells like coconut and flowers. It’s so much better and she feels so warm.

“Welcome home,” she says, kissing his neck. She pulls back to cup his face with her hands. “Oh my God. You’re really here.”

Usnavi kisses her. “I’m home, Babe.”

He follows her inside and notices how clean everything is. There’s a warm, fragrant smell in the air. 

“It looks amazin’ in here,” he says. 

“Sonny and I take turns cleaning every Saturday,” Vanessa says, going to the kitchen to stir something on the stove. 

Usnavi sneaks in behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, holding her close.

  "Missed you.  What's for dinner?"  He nuzzles the back of her neck.

Vanessa leans into his embrace. 

  "Oh," he says, pulling back and looking around.  "Where's Sonny?"

"I'm making wonton soup," she says. "I got the recipe from Tik Tok." She chuckles. "Tik Tok basically taught me to cook while you were away."

“Lord, I can’t escape the Tik Tok,” he groans and then explains about Lyra, which makes Vanessa laugh. 

She says, “Sonny should be home soon. It was his day to run the store. He can only do it on weekends now. After school he takes a college placement class.”

“Sonny’s takin’ a college course?” Usnavi asks, his eyes wide.

“His teachers vouched for it,” Vanessa says. “Told him he might as well get it out of the way for a huge discount.” 

She says more quietly, “I wish he’d talk to me. It’s like he decided to become a recluse out of nowhere.”

“Well he’s sixteen, Usnavi says. “I think they mostly live in their bedrooms.” 

He looks at the soup.

.  

"You learned to cook? You've never been the domestic type." 

 She glares at him, but her eyes are smiling.

  "And I love you for that.  I'm just really impressed.  It smells incredible."  He pulls her to him again and brushes his lips across her hair and then kisses her temple.

“Well, we got tired of pizza and ramen noodles 24/7,” Vanessa explains. “I also invited Benny and Daisy over for dinner. I hope that’s alright. He really wanted to see you.”

“Daisy?” Usnavi frowns curiously. “Did Benny get a dog?”

“Daisy Hernandez,” Vanessa laughs. “You remember her? She used to work at the little cafe around the block. She’s in a culinary program at the community college now.” 

A strange look crosses her face and she says, “Oh my God. I didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“That Benny is dating Daisy Hernandez,” Vanessa says. “He and Nina broke up. The distance thing…”

Usnavi looks sad and Vanessa says, “They’re still friends.”

“ We have a distance thing,” he reminds her.

“Yeah, and we’re not Benny and Nina,” Vanessa counters, touching his cheek. “Our distance thing won’t break us.”

The front door opens and they hear Sonny say, “I’m back. I didn’t sleep well last night so I’m just gonna-”

He goes into the kitchen and drops his backpack on the floor, his mouth open.

“Surprise!” Vanessa smiles, clapping her hands. 

Sonny hugs Usnavi tight. Usnavi wraps him in his arms and lifts him off the floor.  It's harder to do now that their almost the same height.  

"Missed you, Cuz," he says into Sonny's hair.  "I heard about you taking a college class. ‘m so proud of you.”

“You said you didn’t sleep well last night?” Vanessa asks. “What’s wrong? We have melatonin in the cupboard if you need it.”

As if on cue, the cupboard door opens and some things fall out.

“Shit!” Vanessa says as she and Usnavi work to collect them. 

Sonny bites his lip, picking the bottle of melatonin from the floor and hands it to Vanessa. He says to Usnavi, “So glad you’re home.”

“I wonder why this keeps happening,” Vanessa says. “It’s like we have a ghost.”

“What keeps happenin’?” Usnavi asks. 

“Stuff randomly falls,” Vanessa says, counting on her finger. “Doors slam shut. At the bodega, the cash register all but flew off the counter and that mother fucker is heavy.” 

Usnavi frowns. “That sounds pretty serious.” 

He moves to touch his implant and Vanessa notices it. 

“Is that it?” She asks, touching the part that rests behind his ear. It looks like a hearing aid. 

“Yeah,” Usnavi says. “Barely noticeable, right?” 

“Well don’t turn it on!” Sonny scoffs. “You haven’t been home yet long enough to get headaches. Save it for later.”

“You’re right,” Usnavi agrees. “Maybe wait a day or two.”

“Go wash up for dinner,” Vanessa tells Sonny. “Invite Pete if you want. We haven’t seen him in a while.”

Sonny goes upstairs and Usnavi watches him go. He turns to Vanessa and smiles. 

“I’m so glad the two of you are doing so well,” he says, running his fingers along the edge of his implant. 

 "Everything is the same and yet its all so different now.  You're cooking, Sonny's taking a college-level course. He's dating...I mean, Pete, but it’s still pretty big news for me. And Benny.  God, I didn't even think to ask him.  I used to just know but I have it turned off all the time now.  I mean, I can turn it on, but I didn't."

Vanessa leads him to sit at the kitchen table and sits with him. 

“Well, Babe, you’ve been gone for a while,” she reminds him. “Almost a year.” 

She takes his hand. "But not that much has changed. Sonny was dating Pete before you left. It's just not a secret anymore."

Usnavi scrubs a hand down his face.  "Yeah, I know, Ness. It just feels off.  But, anyway.  Enough of this.  I'm just glad to be home."  

A year. 

  Her words echo in his head and he can't help but wonder what else has changed that he's going to have to get used to.

Sonny comes back and starts to set the table. He counts the bowls and then asks Vanessa, "Where are all we gonna sit?"

"Some of us can sit on the couch," Vanessa says. "You and Pete. Kid's table."

Sonny rolls his eyes and continues to put dishes out.

"You have class this weekend?" He asks her.

Vanessa stops digging around in the fridge and sheepishly looks over at Usnavi.

“Class?” Usnavi repeats. “You’re takin’ a class too?” 

"I, um..." Vanessa tucks some hair behind her ear. "It's not a big deal. I thought it might be better if I was licensed to cut hair so I started a cosmetology course at the annex."

"O-Oh.  That's... that's really cool.  I'm happy for you."  He fixes a smile on his face.  "Really.  Vanessa.  I'm super proud of you.  You deserve to move up in the world."  

He debates if he should focus on either of their thoughts deliberately to determine if there are any other surprises.  He suddenly just feels really tired.

He takes a nap until Vanessa wakes him for dinner and when he comes back downstairs, Daisy Hernandez is there-a girl he went to high school with-she was always really nice and her family owns the cafe where all the kids hang out on cold weekend mornings, but he feels weird now that she's in his house.

"I hope you're feeling well," she says, Benny's arm around her all snuggly on the couch. "Trust me-my mom had an illness too so I get it. Benny told me that you went to the best treatment center for neurological disorders."

Benny gives Usnavi a discreet shrug. 

Usnavi turns to see Vanessa walk out of the kitchen, following Pete, who's actually dressed like a real person and not a hoodlum. He's also talking like a real person, explaining something about his tattoo apprenticeship. Pete has an apprenticeship at a tattoo shop? Vanessa shows him something on her phone. 

“Yeah,” Pete says, nodding. “I could definitely do that.” 

“Want to eat, Babe?” Vanessa asks, turning to Usnavi. She’s smiling.

Usnavi forces a smile.

"Yeah.  That sounds good."  He says, trying not to show how awkward he feels.   It's weird to see Benny with someone other than Nina, but he seems happy.  Sonny seems euphoric in his place next to Pete.

“Come help me in the kitchen?” Vanessa asks. 

Usnavi follows her into the kitchen, away from the others, 

"What's on your mind?" She asks softly. She can tell that he's troubled.

"Coming home... It's just not what I had expected.  Everyone's moved on.  They're happy, I can tell.  I'm just not part of how they got there.  I didn't think it would be like this." He helps her to collect bowls and spoons. He stares at the new unfamiliar dishes. 

They work together to ladle soup into bowls and Usnavi samples a dumpling. 

He puts it in his mouth and savors it for a moment.  He laughs a melancholy laugh.  "You made this?  It's really good."  He knows he's fighting back tears, but he doesn't want to ruin everyone else's evening.  So he swallows back the tears, takes a breath and smiles up at Vanessa.  "I'm okay.  It's good to be home."

"It's not what you think," Vanessa says softly, stroking some of his short hair. "It was really hard. It didn't start out this way."

She sighs. "We made it work for you. I picked up where you left off-cooking and cleaning and tending to the store-I never did any of that before, and I pushed Sonny because I know it's what you want for him."

She smiles a little and says, "Different doesn't mean bad."

She touches the earpiece he now ears. "It just means different ."

"I know, Honey..  It's just... going to be an adjustment.  Like everything else.  I know I owe Rochambeau, but if they hadn't kept me from you.  If they hadn't locked me away, kept me from calling home, kept me from visiting.  I just can't help thinking about how different things might be.  How different I might be.  Alex, Ruben and the guys.  They're the ones I owe.  Hell, Ruben invented the damn tech in my head.  But, I couldn't have paid for any of it.  So, I'm torn.  I know I have to go back.  But I don't want to miss anything else.”

Sonny walks into the kitchen, hands deep in his pockets. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Vanessa says and tells Usnavi, "Let's take a walk outside."

When they get out of the apartment she says, "Ask away. Ask me anything you want to know. We'll at least get caught up."

He smiles at her.  "How is Nina with all of this?  Does she know he's with someone else now?  Is she with someone else now?  I know you've had to have talked with her about it.  What’s up with Pete?  You said you've been runnin' the bodega?  What about your job?  Your career."  He takes her hand and kisses it.  "I never meant for any of this to happen.  I never wanted you to give up your dreams for me."

"Nina's good," Vanessa says. "She and Benny...she thought you might think it split us all up when they did, but they're still friends."

"I was showing Pete a picture on my phone-an idea for a tatoo. He's going to give me one,” she continues.

She smiles at Usnavi. "I told him I'll be his first paying customer."

"Maybe we could both do that?  Is he any good?"  Usnavi seems skeptical.  Sure the mural of Abuela had been amazing.  But spray cans and tattoo pens were very different.”

"He's really good," Vanessa says. "He's almost done with his apprenticeship."

She says, "Benny, Sonny, and I take turns looking after the store. I take cosmetology classes on Tuesdays and Saturdays so I'm actually following through with my dreams."

“Where does everyone think I went?” Usnavi ask. “Kevin, Daniela, Carla…”

"Everyone in the barrio knows you were sick with a neurological disorder . It's all they know. You went away for treatment,” she replies.

"The only one in the barrio that could afford specialized treatment.  I bet they think I blew through Abuela's money.  Ha!  Little do they know it was already almost gone.  I can't believe how fast we spent that.  Bills, man, they suck ."  He squeezes her hand.  "I'm gonna make up for all the lost time.  I don't know how yet.  But I will.  Guess you'll just have to stick with me for a while so that I can have the chance to prove it."

"It wasn't time lost," Vanessa says. "As much as I hate it that you were gone, you got the help you needed. It forced Sonny and I to step up and take a lot of responsibility."

She tucks some hair behind her ear.

"I was actually kind of hoping to talk to you about something," she says, a little nervously.

"Oh yeah?  Well, I'm all ears.  Literally you have to actually tell me now or I have to actually flip a switch and focus on your thoughts.  I'm trying not to do that, so, please, tell me."

"When we almost lost you," Vanessa says. "And then you left. I realized how serious things were with us. I could have easily jumped ship and..." she looks down, biting her lip.

"I didn't want that," she says. "I wanted to wait for you to come home, so I stuck around and took care of Sonny and the store and got my shit together- really together."

She takes both of his hands now.

"I think we should get married," she says.

“I’m sorry…” He blinks. “What? Vanessa, what did you just say?”

He can’t believe what he just heard.

“Are you asking me to marry you?” He asks, just to clarify.

Vanessa shrugs one shoulder, playing with a few of his fingers.

“Yeah,” she says. “I guess I am.”

"Look, this isn't some spur of the moment 'oh I'm so happy you're home’," she explains. "I've given this a lot of thought. I want to be with you. For a long time. I took care of your business- our business…and Sonny…” 

She turns red and says, “Don’t make me say more sappy things. You know I hate it.” 

"Yes.  Yes, of course I'll marry you.  I love you.  There's never really been anyone else.  Not... not really.  I mean, it's not how I pictured this going down, but then you're you and I'm me and my damn cousin had to ask you out for me on our first date.  So I guess this is as good as any other way."  Vanessa puts a finger over his lips to stop his chattering.

She kisses him and says, "So let's do it. Let's get married."

Suddenly this last year, getting locked up at Rochambeau, having to spend months at the barracks, the disaster that was Las Vegas, his implant surgery.  None of it matters.  What matters is him and Vanessa and Sonny. No one is splitting up his family any time soon. They’re just adding more to it. 

She lets go of both of his hands and only holds one.

“Come on,” she says. “Let’s go home.” 

—--

After they get back and eat dinner with everyone else, Vanessa and him retire to bed in the room that hasn't changed at all.

"I want to show you something else," she says as he undresses. She takes an album out from one of the dresser drawers. "I've been working on this, for when you came home."

She opens the book and it's filled with photographs.

"This is us at Pride. We went there with Sonny and Pete-the family one, not the whips and chains one."

She points at another and another and another, explaining to him things that have happened while he’s been away. Babies and birthdays, celebrations…she turns to him.

“And now we can start adding pictures of you,” she says softly.

Usnavi doesn't hold back the tears now.  He's not sobbing, they're just quietly there.  "You really were thinking about me at all these things.  These important events?"  

It’s not that he doesn't know she cares.  That they all cared- it's that she took the time to find a way to include him.  To preserve them until he could come back home. 

As he wipes at his eyes, they’re both startled by a loud crash downstairs. 

“What was that?” He asks, standing up. 

When they get downstairs, Sonny is standing in the kitchen wincing. The fridge has tipped over. The kitchen is luckily small and narrow so it could only tip far enough to hit the opposite countertop, but the doors are open and things have spilled out. 

“What happened?” Vanessa asks Sonny. 

“It just fell!” He says helplessly. 

“Just fell?” Usnavi frowns, trying to pick it up. “This thing weighs a ton. It couldn’t have 'just fell'.” 

“Maybe there’s a sinkhole,” Sonny says with a shrug. 

“What?” Usnavi’s brows furrow. “Help me pick it up, Sonny.” 

The three of them somehow manage to get it upright again. Usnavi wipes sweat from his forehead. Sonny is breathing hard, but Usnavi can also see that his hands are shaking. Very discreetly, he flips his implant on.

Shit shit shit shit shit is running through Sonny’s head. It was me. I did it. 

Usnavi doesn’t say anything because he has no idea why Sonny would think it’s his fault. Before he can ask any questions (like was Sonny trying to climb it for some reason?), the silverware drawer opens and flies against the wall. Vanessa screams.

“See?” She tells Usnavi. “I’m tellin’ you! Weird shit is happenin! Like Paranormal Activity level shit!”

Usnavi says, “I have to call Alex. This could be an enemy. Maybe somebody who can go invisible or-”

He stops and picks up on Sonny’s thoughts again.

I moved it with my mind. What’s happening to me?

Usnavi calms down. His heart is pounding, but he can’t show that a new fear has taken over. He suddenly thinks of Rochambeau and Lawless. 

“Let’s clean up the mess,” he says. 

“I thought you said some invisible ninja might be in here or something?” Vanessa frowns. “Shouldn’t we call Alex?” 

Usnavi looks at Sonny, who looks away, almost like he’s ashamed. 

“It’s okay,” he tells him. “Sonny, look at me.”

Sonny swallows hard and finally manages to look at his cousin. It’s obvious he’s trying not to cry. His eyes are brimming with tears.  Usnavi embraces him.

“It’s okay,” he tells him. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Sonny breaks down crying then and Vanessa stands by, looking confused and worried. 

“What’s going on?” She asks. 

Karen, Usnavi says telepathically to the nearest doctor that can help. You busy? I need you.

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

“This is our apartment,” Karen says, unlocking the door with a special card that she pulls from her purse. “Rochambeau really pulls out all the stops when it comes to work like this. We’re not too far from Usnavi either.”

It’s a small apartment that looks extremely modern compared to the rest of the buildings around it. Inside it’s furnished and clean. 

Karen tosses her bag down and says, “There are two bedrooms upstairs and each one has its own bathroom.”

“Uh huh,” Lee says, walking around to inspect. He goes and peers through the window that looks down over a sea of buildings and traffic. “Kind of reminds me of bein’ up in the sky.” 

Karen looks at Hester. “You might be a bit of a problem if we go out.” 

She takes her purse and walks over to the table, dumping the contents out. When it’s empty, she sticks her entire head inside and when she pops out says, “I think she’ll fit in here just fine.”

“You want my daemon to hide in your shoulder bag?” Lee asks, brows furrowed. “Are you serious?” 

“Or she could stay here,” Karen says with a shrug. “I promise you that the two of you will be fine.” 

Lee grumbles slightly and goes to the kitchen, inspecting the cupboards. 

“So what’s in store for Usnavi exactly,” he says, taking a glass out and pouring water from the sink. “What’s the purpose of this trip?”

“To see how well he adapts to being home,” Karen says. “To see how he does with people around. From what I understand, when Lawless found him, he was nearly dead.” 

“And you believe everything Lawless tells you?” Lee asks, taking a drink of water.

“No,” Karen says, crossing her arms. “I don’t believe everything that anyone tells me. I do my research and come to my own conclusions.”

She sighs and asks, “Are you still thinking that I’m sort of evil spy sent by Lawless?”

“No.” Lee puts the glass down and holds his hands up in defense. “It’s not you I don’t trust, it’s Lawless. He had Lyra held captive. He had Usnavi, Ruben and Alvie held captive.”

Karen doesn’t say anything for a moment and then she says, “Well that’s not what I want for them-for anyone. All I’ve ever wanted is to help.”

She moves past him to look in the fridge. It’s empty except for a filtered water pitcher. 

“You want some Thai food?” She asks. 

“Um…” Lee shrugs. “I ain’t never had…Thai food.”

“Then we’re going out,” Karen says simply and then looks him up and down. “You’ll stick out like a sore thumb. You need some clothes. We’re going shopping.” 

“Shopping?” Lee frowns. “My clothes are fine.”

“Yeah if you’re in a Davy Crockett film,” Karen says, frowning. “We need to blend in, not stick out.”

Lee frowns but follows her out the door, a little embarrassed that Hester has hopped into her purse before she puts it on her shoulder. Karen senses his embarrassment. 

“Would you like to hold it?” She asks, offering her big shoulder bag with keychains hanging off-the keychains are glittery.

“No,” he says, jamming his hands deep into his coat pockets. 

As they go down the elevator to the bottom of the building, Karen says, “Big cities are nice, but I really like wide open spaces. I used to sit on the roof of my high school and watch the sunset. There’s nothing like a Texas sunset.”

Lee smiles a little. 

“I’ll agree with you there,” he says. “And this place-” he wrinkles his nose. “Doesn’t smell great.” 

When they leave the building, Karen checks her phone and says, “There’s a few shops I want to take you to. We’ll pick out some things for you, go eat, and then maybe go and check on Usnavi.” 

The first store they step into is large-two floors with an escalator. Lee has never seen an escalator. 

“What is tarnation?” He grumbles, watching uneasily as Karen ascends the bottom step and goes up.

“Come on,” she tells him, waving. “Hurry.”

Lee takes a few steps back and makes a running jump, landing on one of the moving steps with both feet, hard. He lets out a sigh of relief and clutches the railing. On the opposite side going down, some teenage girls give him strange looks and giggle. 

“Ladies,” he says, tipping his hat. 

“Ew,” one of them says and they all burst out laughing. 

When Lee gets to the top and makes another heroic jump onto stable ground, Karen stares at him. 

“What?” He asks. 

“Nothing,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m just…reconsidering this trip is all.” 

For the next half hour, Lee follows Karen around, bored. She takes shirts that all look alike to him and trousers that all look the same as well and forces him to go into a tiny closet and try them on. After the fifth or sixth time, he puts his foot down.

“Alright,” he says, coming out, shifting uncomfortably at the button-down shirt that makes him itch and the slacks that feel stiff. He also doesn’t like these things called ‘tennis shoes’. “Are we done? I feel more violated then Rochambeau stripped me naked and hosed me down in their fancy ‘decontamination chamber’.” 

“You look nice,” Karen says with a shrug. “But yeah, we can go, and look! I got you a t-shirt!”

She holds it up and Lee frowns curiously, reading it out loud, “I… heart… Niuhhkk…”

“I love New York,” Karen corrects him. “I’ll get one for Lyra too.”

“But I don’t love New York,” Lee says. He scratches the back of his shirt. “Can’t I just wear my own clothes?” 

“It’s just for a few days,” Karen says. 

When they leave the store, Lee carrying all of the bags because he still refuses to carry Karen’s purse even though Hester is inside, Karen takes them back to the apartment so Lee can get changed for dinner.

“This is a nicer restaurant,” Karen says. “So wear the slacks, not the blue jeans.”

Lee rolls his eyes as Karen rattles off more orders about wearing the deodorant she bought for him and using shampoo and conditioner. As he turns on the shower, he’s thinking that maybe his little crush on her is starting to wear off. He takes one whiff of the shampoo and gags. It smells sickeningly sweet and makes his eyes burn slightly. When he’s done showering, he redresses and shaves-happy to use his own razor, at least he still has that. He stares at himself in the mirror. He’s dressed in the outfit Karen told him to wear-a button down, pants, a belt, and some black shoes. There’s a coat that goes with it. He feels naked without his own coat and hat. 

When he goes downstairs, shrugging on his coat, he stops on the bottom step. 

“You ready?” Karen asks. 

Lee doesn’t know what to say. Karen is wearing a dress that comes just below her knees and shoes with heels. Her long, straight dark hair falls down her back and there are gold dangling earrings hanging from her ears. She’s also wearing a little makeup and her already beautiful lips are shiny. 

“Oh.” He blinks, coming all the way down. “You look nice.”

“Thanks.” She smiles. “I hardly ever dress up, but it’s nice every once in a while.” 

She looks him up and down and says, “Um…so do you. Wow, you really cleaned up.”

Lee notices she looks away quickly, tucking some hair behind her ear. 

“Shall we?” She asks, sounding a bit more nervous than usual. “Hester stays or Hester goes?”

Lee can’t help but stare at her lips again and forces himself to meet her eyes. 

“Stays,” he says. “I think it’s okay. Just this once. As a trial. Like with Usnavi.”

“You sure?” Karen asks. “If you’re not ready…”

Lee nods. “I’m sure.” 

Hester looks at Lee and then at Karen. She gives Lee a little nudge with her head and says, “I’ll be fine.”

When she nudges him, he all but bumps into Karen. 

“Sorry,” he says, quickly stepping back. “Sorry, sorry.” 

“It’s fine,” she says, laughing nervously. “Come on. Let’s go feed you the best Pad Kee Mao you’ve ever tasted.” 

—--

Lee is actually enjoying himself. Karen laughs when he fumbles with chopsticks, and she takes his hand and moves his fingers around the wooden utensils so he can use them properly. 

“It’s tricky,” she says. “I can ask the server for a fork.”

“No,” he says, trying again. He manages to stab a shrimp. “This is fine. I think I’m gettin’ it.”

Karen smiles and says, “Yeah, you’re gettin’ it.”

The noodles are more tricky and they keep slipping in between Lee’s chopsticks. He finally sighs and says, “Dammit, I need that fork.”

“No worries,” Karen says, and waves a server over who happily fulfills their request. 

“I just know Lyra would go crazy over this,” Lee says, looking around. It’s dimly lit inside with a large, beautiful fountain in the corner and each table has a candle in a glass jar. “It’s right up her alley.” 

Karen nods. “There’s so much here in the world that you could show Lyra.” 

She takes a sip of her plum wine and asks, “Do you worry about her abilities?”

“All the time,” Lee says automatically. “I worry that she’ll just get mad and POOF be gone and I’ll never find her again, but she’s a good kid.”

“I was a lot like Lyra, I think,” Karen says. “I couldn’t wait to just POOF and be gone. It was so much harder for me because I understood so many things. I was Lyra’s age when I could take our family car apart and put it back together. I was bored in school. I remember this clock-God, this clock.”

She takes another sip of wine.

“It was in my kitchen and it was a few seconds slow,” she explains. “I told my mother we needed to get rid of it because of that and my mother said no, so I threw it away when she wasn’t looking. This didn’t make her or my stepdad very happy and I paid for it with a belt.” 

Lee takes a sip of his wine. 

“I remember the belt,” he says darkly. “My daddy used to give me a lick if I sneezed too loud. I don’t think I was even Lyra’s age when I left home.”

Karen reaches over and touches his hand. He smiles a little and says, “That’s all behind us, right?”

“I see you with Lyra,” she says softly. “You’re not your father.” 

Lee places his other hand on top of hers and says, “I’m sorry I was a jerk before.”

Karen’s smile is genuine. 

“Water under the bridge,” she says. “Let me get you some sticky rice pudding. You can tell Lyra all about it.” 

—--

They barely make it into the apartment before their mouths and hands are on each other. Karen smells and tastes earthy-like fresh rain or a campfire. He groans into her mouth as she pushes him down onto the sofa, her legs on either side of his lap. 

“God, I wanted to jump you ever since I saw you come down here in these clothes,” she breathes, pushing some of his hair back. 

They go back to kissing, her hands tugging at his hair and then she stops, pulling away. Lee feels like he’s waking up from a dream.

“What’s wrong?” He pants, stroking some of her hair. 

“Usnavi,” Karen says, removing herself from him. 

“Usnavi?” Lee frowns. “Is he okay?”

“We need to go,” she says, smoothing out her dress. “Now.” 

“Of course.” Lee stands up and groans slightly. “You mind if I take care of somethin’ real quick? In the powder room?”

Karen frowns. “Really?”

“You started it,” he reminds her. 

“I’ll call them here,” Karen says. “It might be safer anyway. Go take care of your business and hurry please.”

—----

Sonny sits on the couch, a strange woman in a cocktail dress touching the side of his head. Usnavi and Vanessa hang back anxiously. 

“Telekinesis,” Dr. Antonio says. “Wow, we’ve never had someone with this ability before. There’s not even any records of it.” 

“So…Sonny actually can move stuff with his mind?” Vanessa asks. “He has an ability?” 

“It’s strong too,” Karen says. “Sonny, when did this all start? Any experiences as a kid?” 

Sonny shakes his head. 

“Just a few weeks ago,” he says. “And now it’s like a tick. I can’t stop it sometimes.” 

Usnavi suddenly dips into a blurry memory from a few months after he brought Sonny home, just after his mother died. Sonny was angry that he had to change schools and angry that Usnavi was making him join the gifted and talented program after he’d tried to hide the note from his teacher in his backpack. 

"You ain't my dad!" Sonny barks in the small room they’re currently sharing and then something strange happens. On Usnavi's side of the room, one of Usnavi’s mother’s  china dishes comes off of the shelf and flies across the room like a frisbee, smashing against the wall into several pieces. Sonny jumps a little when it smashes.

"Okay," Usnavi says calmly.  "That's fine."  

He looks around the room and huffs out a breath,  "I'm going to get a broom.  Don't get off your bed.  You're not wearing shoes and I don't want you to cut your feet on the glass." 

The nine year old looks just as afraid as Usnavi feels. 

“Interesting,” Karen says, pulling back. “Well, you and Usnavi are genetically related. It makes sense that you could also possess an ability.” 

“What’s happening to me?” Sonny asks.

"What's happening with you," Karen says, standing up.  "Is that a part of your brain is causing particles around us to react to your stimulation.” 

She explains, "Think about when the air is dry and you're walking around on carpet with socks  and then you pet a dog. The dog's hair will move a little even when you're not touching it yet. Your brain is creating much more electric currents that allow that 'tap' than most people's. So much that you can easily move things without touching them or being close."

"But wouldn't the electrons collapse?" Sonny asks. "There would have to be some kinda vacuum or something."

“Lord, we have a little Ruben on our hands,” Lee chuckles dryly, massaging his eyes with his fingertips. “Science mumbo-jumbo.”

“Oh yeah,” Vanessa agrees. “He’s real smart, but a smartass too.”

"If you picture yourself as a shepherd," Karen says. "and those electrons as sheep, a normal person/shepherd would cluster the sheep together in a herd. Your brain works differently. As a shepherd all you have to do is touch one sheep and the others would disappear at the speed of light. That's how the movement works."

She shrugs and says, “"particles are everywhere and nowhere at the same time,but your brain is able to 'herd' them as you wish."

“The more you know,” Vanessa says sarcastically, exchanging looks with Usnavi. 

“So how do I fix it?” Sonny asks. “How do I stop-”

He waves his hand helplessly and a bottle of wine on the kitchen table falls and rolls off the table, shattering on the floor. 

Usnavi moves to sit beside Sonny, rubbing his hands up and down the boy’s arms. He looks at Karen. 

“That dude,” Sonny says, sounding worried. “Lawless. What if he wants to lock me up? Like he did with Navi?”

“That will never happen,” Usnavi replies sternly. “I would never let that happen.” 

“I think it’s safe to say,” Karen says. “Things are a lot different than when Usnavi’s abilities were discovered. Mr. Saenz made sure of that.” 

“I don’t wanna leave,” Sonny says, swallowing hard. “I’m-I’m in school and I have Pete and the bodega. We already lost Navi.” 

Karen blows some air through her lips and paces briefly. 

“I know you don’t want to leave,” she says carefully. “But with how strong your ability is, I wouldn’t say it’s too far-fetched that you might end up flinging a car or two. What about a trip to the barracks just to get a second opinion from another doctor?”

“Who?” Sonny asks. 

“Ruben,” Usnavi tells him. 

“And I wouldn’t have to stay?” Sonny asks. “I could come home?”

“Yes,” Usnavi says quickly. “You could come home.” 

“Just for tonight,” Karen says. “Because it’s late-Usnavi, maybe you can help him sleep. I’m sure Sonny could use a nice, deep sleep.”

Usnavi rubs Sonny’s shoulder. 

“Would that be okay?” He asks. 

Sonny nods. 

Karen continues, “The most important thing right now is that you’re safe and everyone around you is safe.”

Usnavi nods and he and Sonny both stand. He pulls his younger cousin against him. 

“Thank you, Karen,” he says. “I’ll get back to you in the morning.”

—----

When they return home, Sonny gets ready for bed and Usnavi hangs out in his open doorway, hand on his implant switch. He very carefully clicks it on and he can hear all of the worries and fears running through Sonny’s head. School, college, Rochambeau, Pete…

“Is this gonna hurt?” Sonny asks, still sitting up. “This is fuckin’ weird.”

“Yeah,” Usnavi sighs. “A little, and no it ain’t gonna hurt. Just lie back. I call this Navi-tonin.”

Sonny smirks and does as he’s told. Usnavi places a few of his fingers to the side of Sonny’s head and sends a message, deep, content, exhaustion.

“Go to sleep,” he whispers, thinking it at the same time and then Sonny’s eyes roll back in his head and he’s in a deep sleep. 

Usnavi strokes some of his curls and then leaves the room where Vanessa is waiting in the hallway.

“Well if this doesn’t put a damper on the whole ‘let’s get married’ thing,” she scoffs softly. 

Usnavi pulls her into an embrace and says, “we can still get married.”

Vanessa hugs him back.

“Things are so much different now,” she reminds him.

“Different isn’t bad,” he reminds her. “It’s just different.”

—------

“So now Sonny has an ability,” Karen says, pacing around the living room. “And telekinesis at that. Holy fuck.”

Lee watches her from his place on the sofa. 

“Lyra’s got an ability and she’s younger than he is,” he says. “I’m sure the kid will be fine.”

“What are we going to tell Lawless?” Karen asks him. “I know it’s dangerous to keep him here, but Usnavi Isn't really going to be in agreement of bringing him back to the barracks.” 

“Why not?” Lee asks with a shrug. “There’s plenty of room, fresh air, space to train. We also have all those extra buildings just sittin’ around. He wouldn’t have to live in the main house with us if he’s too rad .” 

Karen frowns. “Did you just say ‘rad’?” 

“That means cool,” he tells her.

Karen ignores that and ponders thoughtfully. “You might be onto something actually.”

She moves to sit beside him and he starts to kiss her throat. 

“There actually are a handful of people Sonny’s age,” she says. “Maybe just a little older, who have abilities. We’ve been keeping tabs on them, but haven’t approached them because they’re not too dangerous.”

Lee pulls away, realizing she’s not interested in his advances. 

“Are you suggesting we bring more teenagers to the barracks?” He asks. “I can barely handle the eleven year old we have now.” 

“You mentioned the unused buildings there,” Karen points out. “What if we turned one of them into a youth house?”

She turns to face him completely and says, “Lawless actually had this idea that maybe Rochambeau could build a community. He told me that after the progress Alexander had made, he felt like it was something to look into. This would be a great opportunity to try something like that out.”

“Lawless said that?” Lee asks in belief. “Christian Lawless?”

“Maybe Sonny would be more open to staying and training there if there were more kids like him,” Karen suggests. “It’s worth talking about, right?”

Lee shrugs and says, “I guess so.” 

“Maybe we can talk about it after we do some other things,” Karen says, going to take his hand and pull him off the couch. 

“Oh, OH,” Lee says as he’s pulled from a sitting position. His hands move from Karen’s arms to her waist. 

“My bed or yours?’ She asks. 

—---

“Mornin’, Sleepyhead,” Usnavi says when Sonny comes into the kitchen. “How are you feelin’?” 

“How long was I asleep?” Sonny slurs, yawning.

Usnavi shrugs, pouring a cup of coffee. He offers it to Sonny. 

“Just through the night,” he says. “I just put you in a really deep sleep is all.”

Sonny nods and takes the coffee muttering a thank you as he moves to sit at the table. He watches as Usnavi prepares breakfast. He’s so much different than the last time he was here. He was tired all of the time, didn’t eat much, and always had headaches. 

“I don’t know what to tell Pete,” Sonny says, shifting uncomfortably. “How do I tell him?”

Usnavi goes to sit across from him.

“You tell him, ‘hey, I can move things with my mind’,” he says. “Pete will understand. He might actually think it’s kind of cool.”

“I don’t wanna have to go away,” Sonny says. “But Dr. Antonio said it ain’t safe if I stay here.”

Usnavi knows there’s nothing he can say to really reassure Sonny. He pats his hand and says, “It won’t hurt just to let Dr. Marcado have a look at you.”

Sonny nods and says, “Sorry I kept it from you. I should’ve told you.”

Usnavi dismisses the apology with a ‘nah’. 

“It’s not something you really feel like broadcastin’,” he agrees. “Especially after what happened to me.” 

He says, “Dr. Antonio was right about one thing, Alex really turned things around. He’d never let what happened to me happen to you.” 

Sonny manages a half smile and takes a sip of his coffee. 

“Morning,” Vanessa says, coming into the kitchen. She moves to kiss Usnavi and then ruffles Sonny’s hair. “Weirdo.”

“Hey.” Usnavi warns her, but his tone is playful. 

“I can’t believe I’m stuck with Professor X and Magneto,” she says, pouring herself some coffee.

“I can’t believe you made that reference,” Usnavi replies. 

“Sometimes I read the comic books you have under the counter at the store,” she says with a shrug, taking a sip. “God, I missed your coffee.” 

“Cinnamon,” Usnavi says, going for the spice cabinet, but the door opens by itself and all of the contents fly out and onto the floor. 

“Sorry!” Sonny jumps up to clean up the mess. “What the fuck is wrong with me?” 

Usnavi and Vanessa help and once everything is put back into the cabinet, Sonny sheepishly hands Vanessa the bottle of cinnamon powder. 

“So what’s the plan?” Vanessa asks Usnavi. “You go back to Rochambeau and leave Sonny here to live out his life as a poltergeist?” 

Usnavi sighs and says, “I think it’s best I head back for Rochambeau today-with Sonny- and have Ruben and Alex take a look at him. Assess the damage control.”

“What?” Vanessa frowns. “You just got back-”

“And you’re coming too,” Usnavi tells her.

Vanessa looks surprised. 

“What?” She asks. 

“Look,” he says, taking her hands. “You just asked me to marry you yesterday-”

“WHAT?” Now it’s Sonny’s turn to look shocked. 

“We’re in this together,” Usnavi says. “And I don’t care what Alex or Lawless or anybody says. Wherever I go, you go. I ain’t doin’ this without you no more.” 

Vanessa looks like she might cry. 

“Are you serious?” She asks. 

“The fuck did they do to you in that place?” Sonny asks and Usnavi rolls his eyes. 

There’s a knock at the door and Usnavi says, “I called Karen and let her know what’s going on. Pack your stuff, you two.”

“The store-” Vanessa says, but Usnavi holds up his hand.

“I’m not worried about the store,” he says and looks between her and Sonny. “I’m worried about not bein’ with my family.”

—---

“Alex and Lawless will handle the store,” Karen says after she gets off the phone with Alex. “And don’t worry, Lawless doesn’t know a thing about Sonny yet.”

She puts her hands on her hips and looks at Sonny. “Telekinesis. Wow.”

“And you think if I go,” Sonny says carefully, sitting cross-legged on the sofa. “Dr. Marcado can at least help me to control it?” 

“We’ll definitely help you,” Karen says assuringly.

Lee sits beside Karen, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Usnavi flips his implant on and then quickly transfers a message to Lee.

Did you and her…?

Lee looks at him and winks. Usnavi nods.

Nice. 

Karen glances at Usnavi. 

“It’s early,” she says. “But I want to talk about something with you and Sonny. I think it’s a nice compromise.” 

—----

Lyra is called to blip them back to the Barracks and is only a little disappointed that she can’t explore the city. Usnavi slips her a plastic bag full of treats and that seems to pacify her. She frowns at Sonny. 

“Are you coming back with us?” She asks. 

“Uh, yeah,” he says awkwardly. “Is that okay?”

Lyra shrugs. “I guess so.” 

When they arrive in the living area, Vanessa says, “That was weird.”

“Hello, Sonny,” Alex says, walking into the room. “I have a very excited doctor waiting to talk with you.” 

Alexander talks to Usnavi about how things have been going and stuff Sonny really doesn't understand or pay that much attention to. He just jams his hands deep in his pockets and looks around and out the window. It’s nothing but trees and distant mountains. He suddenly misses Pete terribly. 

"Don't worry," Alexander tells him. "He’s not going to draw blood or anything like that."

He leads them into the kitchen where Ruben has just made himself a cup of tea. 

"Hello,” he says to Sonny and to Usnavi, “Did you have a nice time?”

Usnavi sighs and says, “It was great, but a little stressful.” 

 He grabs Sonny's shoulder and pulls him close.  "You remember Sonny?  He's here legally this time."

Sonny rolls his eyes and looks at the floor.  "Hey, Dr. Marcado."

The spoon Ruben just set on the counter flies across the kitchen and impales itself in the drywall.

"Huh,” Ruben is all Ruben says. “Interesting.”

He moves to get a new spoon from one of the drawers. "Do you feel anything when this happens?"

'Yeah," Sonny says. 'But it's like a tick. I don't know when it's gonna happen or anything."

He asks sadly, "Can you make it go away?"

"No, but we can help you learn to manage it so that you control it, instead of it controlling you,” Ruben replies honestly. 

Sonny sighs deeply, looking dejected. 

"Come on.  Let's go have a chat.  Would you like some tea or maybe a soda or something?” Ruben nods at the kitchen table. 

Sonny says, "Tea is fine."

Usnavi tries to be helpful and says, "You, uh, know, Dr. Marcado. Sonny is a whiz in math and science. He just did a big thing that got shared by his school on Youtube about the new footage from the Mars Rover. Vanessa told me.”

He smiles at his younger cousin. 

"Oh?  That's really neat.  You'll have to show me the video.  I'd love to see it and hear all about it.  That new Rover has so much potential.  What do you find most interesting about it?"  Ruben is more animated than Sonny's ever seen him as he fixes Sonny a cup of tea.

Sonny shrugs and seems more relaxed, sliding onto one of the stools at the kitchen bar.

"How the sky looks on Mars," he says. "And the potential for life to exist there."

“Sonny’s also taking a college-level course,” Usnavi adds.

“What is this?” Sonny asks. “A job interview?” 

" I just want Ruben to know that you're going places.  You got a future.  You make us all proud with how smart you are."

Ruben, please tell me he doesn’t have to stay here like the rest of us. I can’t have him locked up here. I can’t. 

Usnavi is smiling, but the message he sends to Ruben is anything but happy. It’s full of worry. 

“I’d definitely like for you to stay a few days, “ Ruben tells Sonny. “Just so I can observe and get an idea of how it all works.” 

Sonny’s shoulders slump and then the tea kettle flies off of the stove and nearly hits Alex in the head, who’s walking into the kitchen. 

“Goddamn,” he says simply, staring at it on the floor and then looks at Sonny. “That’s some force.” 

“I just want it to stop,” Sonny groans, burying his face in his hands. 

Alex picks up the kettle and moves to get a dish towel to clean up the spilled water. 

“Usnavi and Sonny,” he says. “Dr. Antonio mentioned to me an idea Lawless had.”

Usnavi gives him a look and Alex says, “Don’t worry. He doesn’t know about Sonny yet.”

“Yet? Usnavi repeats. “Are you planning on telling him about Sonny?”

“If he already doesn’t know,” Alex says. “I have to.”

He moves to touch Usnavi’s shoulder.

“He will have no authority over Sonny, I promise you that,” he says firmly. “And if he has a problem with that then he and I will have words.” 

He continues, “Sonny, there are kids like you out there. They’re struggling with having an ability. Rochambeau hasn’t reached out to them because they never wanted to bother with kids, but Dr. Antonio thinks we could use one of the spare buildings to create a kind of a youth house. A place where we could house some younger people-young adults, I mean.” 

He crosses his arms. 

“When you’re surrounded by people like you,” he explains. “It doesn’t seem so intimidating anymore. Usnavi, Ruben, Alvie, Lee, Pippa, me…we’ve all been where you’ve been-it’s agonizing and lonely, but it helps if you have others like yourself on your side going through what you’re going through.”

Sonny says, “That…doesn’t sound too bad I guess.” 

“Wait.” Ruben looks at Alex. “You’re talking about bringing more people here?” 

“Just a few,” Alex says. “And eventually, yes. I’d like to build on the idea that we could make a community for people like us.” 

“And how much freedom would people like us have?” Usnavi asks, crossing his arms. 

“No more facilities,” Alex tells him. “We could build houses, schools…and everyone would be free. It would be a safe haven.” 

—----

“So Dr. Antonio told you my idea?” Lawless chuckles as he and Alex sit at the nearby bar which is virtually empty given the town’s population. 

“Why did you keep that from me?” Alex asks. “It’s a great idea. Shit, I should have thought of it.” 

“It’s a pipe dream,” Lawless says, taking a sip of his drink. “The higher-ups would never go for it. They don’t trust people with abilities.”

“That’s another thing,” Alex says. “Rochambeau has to stop the ‘us vs them’ mentality. It does more harm than good. We’re all on the same side, right?” 

Lawless looks at him. 

“I know about Sonny,” he says. 

“I know that,” Alex says. “And you know that Usnavi would have your ass if you mess with him.” 

Lawless nods, “I do.” 

They’re both silent for a moment and Lawless says, “I have a few intake files I’d like you to look at. A few kids that meet the criteria-level for Rochambeau-dangerous.”

“You’re saying yes to the youth house idea?” Alex asks. 

“I’m saying we need all the help we can get proving to Rochambeau that people with abilities can coexist with people who don’t have abilities.” 

He continues, “Invite Sonny’s boyfriend and Ruben’s sister too or something. Throw a few normies in the mix. If we can prove that a bunch of high schoolers and college kids can survive a few months without catastrophe, then I think we’ll be on the road to something better.” 

He takes another drink. 

Alex stares at him for a few seconds. 

“Yeah,” he says. “Okay.” 

The door opens and a man comes in, looking around. Alex pays no mind to him and says, “We could do it, Christian. We could build a community.”

“I think so too,” Lawless says. 

“Christian Lawless?” 

They both turn around to see the man from before. He has a gun and fires a single shot into Lawless’ chest. The bartender ducks behind the counter and Alex jumps the man within seconds, wrestling him for the firearm. The assailant fires two shots into his torso. It hurts like hell, but Alex manages to get the pistol from him. He begins punching the guy over and over, feeling the bones in his hand break against his face. 

“Lawless!” He groans, throwing the man aside and crawls over to the other. “Hey…!”

He takes him in his arms and pats his cheek roughly. “Hey!”

There’s blood coming from the other man’s mouth and he’s very still.

“Call an ambulance!” One of the patrons cries. 

Alex places two fingers against the other man’s throat and feels nothing. He sets Lawless down gently then goes back to the other man, grabbing him by the front of his jacket and yanks him up.  Before he can speak, he coughs up the two bullets. 

“Who are you?” He demands, shaking the man. “Answer me!”

“It’s all set in motion now,” the man says, grinning. He coughs out some blood. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Alex asks again. 

The man takes something from his pocket and before Alex knows it, he’s taking out a small vile and he unscrews the top and drinks it all in a split second. Alex can only stare at him, still angry but now confused, as the man begins shaking and foaming at the mouth. He goes limp in Alex’s grasp. 

Alex lets him go, the other man falling to the ground, and then the local sheriff comes in with a young deputy. 

“Hands!’ The sheriff says to Alex. “Now!”

Alex holds up his hands, staring at Lawless’ body behind him. 

“It wasn’t him!” The bartender says and then Alex puts his hands down as the bartender and other patrons hastily explain what just happened. 

Alex takes out his phone and calls Usnavi. 

“Hey,” he says. “I need you down at the bar. ASAP. Have Lyra bring you, but don’t let her in.” 

—---

Usnavi is there in a flash with Karen and Lee who direct Lyra home. With the cop car out front with its flashing lights and arriving ambulance, Karen tells Usnavi, “This is where things are going to get hard for you. Send them all home.”

“What do you mean?” Usnavi asks. 

“You’re going to push the thoughts into their heads,” Karen explains. “They didn’t see anything and they’re going home. The patrons, the bartender, the cop, all of them.”

“I-” Usnavi swallows. “I don’t know if I can do that-” 

“Hey, folks!” the young deputy tells them, approaching. “Crime scene! Can’t come in!”

Karen nods at Usnavi. He takes a deep breath and switches his implant on. 

Go home , he tells him. This is a dream. It didn’t really happen. 

It’s a different kind of force, pushing the thoughts, and he has to really concentrate. The deputy looks at him for a second and says, “I need to go home.” 

“You’re going to do the same thing when we go inside,” Karen says. “It’ll be harder.”

When they cross the yellow tape and go in, Karen gasps and covers her mouth. Usnavi is shocked by what he sees, but he knows he has a job to do. He concentrates extra hard, head hurting at the other voices-all full of fear and confusion-but one by one, they all exit the bar like zombies, void of any expression. 

“What the hell happened?” Lee asks, looking around. 

“He came in,” Alex says, gesturing to the mysterious man lying on the floor. “He shot him. I…I couldn’t save him.” 

Karen goes to the other man and then to Lawless. 

“I have to call Rochambeau,” she says. 

“Who is he?” Lee asks. 

Alex shrugs, wiping blood from his face that’s not his own. Usnavi goes to him and asks, “You okay?”

“Lawless had files,” Alex tells Karen. “Of kids. I want them.” 

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: New Beginnings

Alex is still in blood-soaked clothes as he waits in the small room at the Rochambeau facility. After agents had arrived to collect the bodies and the mysterious assailant, they’d taken Alexander. It had been a long drive and now he’s sitting in the same room he and Lawless had made a deal in.

To free Usnavi, Ruben, Alvie, Lee and Pippa. 

“Sorry for the wait,” a woman says, coming into the room with a sigh. “It’s a madhouse right now trying to figure things out.”

Alex says nothing. He hadn’t even fought being cuffed to the table. The woman moves over to him and uncuffs him. 

“It’s procedure,” she says simply. 

Alex only looks at her, but still says nothing. 

“I’m agent Walker,” she says. “I’ve been here for a while.” 

“Who was he?” Alex asks in a flat voice.

She seems to understand that he’s referring to Lawless’ killer. 

“Nicholas Benson,” she says. “Part of the Numbers organization.” 

“You know about that?” Alex asks, but there’s no amusement in his voice.

Agent Walker nods. 

“We do now,” she says. “After reading Benson’s manifesto. He intended to die tonight. It seems like the whole organization has gone dark. It was probably struggling to begin with.”

Alex isn’t sure if he believes that, but he’s not concerned about the entire organization right now. 

“Why Lawless?” He asks. 

“Because he was too close,” Agent Walker says. “Supposedly Director Lawless kept secrets from the rest of us.” 

She’s quiet for a moment and then passes him over some file folders. 

“Dr. Antonio said you asked for these,” she says. “Director Saenz.” 

Alex frowns, confused. 

“Director Lawless had you listed as the assistant director for Rochambeau,” she explains. “He’s gone now. That makes you the new director.”

“I thought I was his grunt man,” Alex scoffs, opening the first folder. There’s a photo of a young woman with a file attached. He takes the next one and sees a boy. The next one is another boy. There are four in total. 

“Lawless thought highly of you,” Agent Walker says, folding her hands. “We need to know if you’re the real deal, as good as he said you are.”

“I’m going to turn this place around,” Alex says, scooting his chair back and crossing his arms.

“I’m going to end the years of entrapment and abuse. This is going to be a safe haven, not a prison.” 

—---

“Oh my God!” Pippa gasps when Alex is finally allowed home, throwing her arms around him. She doesn’t care about the state he’s in. 

“What happened?” Lee asks, and the others are all standing around anxiously. 

“Christian Lawless is dead,’ Alex says, swallowing hard. “He left me in charge. I’m the director of Rochambeau now.” 

“What?” Usnavi asks. “What does that mean? You’re gonna go to the facility or-”

“No,” Alex cuts him off. “Nothing like that. I’m going to fix Rochambeau. We’re going to start a youth house and then a community.” 

He looks at Karen. 

“I want you to be the assistant director,” he says. “You know Rochambeau better than I do. You don’t have to take the position, but we’d like for you to stay. I’d like for you to stay.”

Karen blinks, surprised.

“Um…yes,” she finally says. “Of course.”

To the others, Alex says, “You’re all free to go, if that’s what you want. I know that’s all you’ve ever wanted, but I could really use your help turning this place around. You’d be free to come and go as you please, but…” 

He swallows again. 

“I need you,” he says quietly. “All of you.” 

It’s been so long since he’s needed the help of others. He doesn’t realize how scared he suddenly is of losing them. 

“Could Vanessa stay here too?” Usnavi asks. “And what about my store?” 

“Vanessa, you’re more than welcome to stay here,” Alex says. “There’s miles and miles of land here. We could start building houses.” 

To Usnavi he says, “I’ll find someone to take over the store, if you like. I know it means a lot to you and what’s important to you is important to me. I’d be very careful in my selection.” 

He looks at Sonny. 

“The youth house could really use someone like you,” he says. “I need leaders and I knew from the moment you showed up here that night that you have leadership ability. Pete could come here too.”

Usnavi and Vanessa look at each other. 

“Our own house,” Vanessa says. 

“No bills,” Usnavi jokes dryly, but the worry on his face is there. He looks at Alex and nods. 

“I guess…” Sonny says nervously. “If Pete can come…”

Alex addresses Ruben next. 

“I understand if you want to go back to your life in Philadelphia,” he says. “But I could really use a scientist here. To help people who have no control over their abilities.” 

Ruben nods.

“I died the night I boarded that flight in Philadelphia,” he says with a deep sigh. “I felt like I didn’t start living again until I came here.”

He manages a half smile and Alvie takes his hand, leaning his chin on Ruben’s shoulder. 

“Alvie?” Alex asks. “I’d never make you do anything, but your dreams are useful. You’re important to us, and we definitely need someone with a positive spirit.” 

“Wherever this guy goes-” Alvie says, nudging Ruben’s face with his own. “I go.” 

Alex turns to Lee and Lyra. Lee looks at Karen, blushing, and clears his throat. 

“I’m fine right where I am,” he says simply. “Lyra?”

“As long as you take me to New York and LA and Disney World,” she says with a shrug. 

The others chuckle at that. 

“We’ll make sure you get to Hawaii if you agree to stay,” Alex promises her. 

He turns to Pippa and she’s already smiling. She goes to him and wraps her arms around him. 

“I’m not losing you again,” she says softly. 

—----

Sonny sighs as he trudges up the stairs to Ruben's office. He feels like all he does is get tested. It's the gifted and talented program all over again.

"Good morning," Ruben says, setting up his laptop.

"Mornin'," Sonny mutters, taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk.

It’s been two weeks since Sonny’s been here. It was a shock to Pete when he finally called him back after leaving him in the dark for so long to find out why Sonny had been so distant, but Usnavi was right. He understood. And now he’ll be here in just a few days. 

"Long day already?" Ruben asks, taking in his slumped and slouching posture in his chair.

"Trig," Sonny says. "My math teacher sent all my stuff over.”

“And what’s the cover story there?” Ruben chuckles. 

“Family emergency out of the country,” Sonny replies, rolling his eyes. He slumps down in the chair. 

"But, you like math, don't you?  Trigonometry...  That's advanced math for your age, isn't it?"

Sonny shrugs.

"It's alright. Navi wanted me to take all the classes I could at a college level."

He plays with a stress ball on the desk. 

“He should just let me quit school at this point,” he grumbles. 

"Why?  Don't you wanna graduate and go on to college?  How does developing an ability stop you from doing that?"

"I almost have enough credits to graduate," Sonny explains. "and now the telekinetic stuff and school and college applications. It's stressful. And he says I still have to do summer courses."

He wants to add And I miss home and Pete but he doesn't say that.

Instead he asks, "So are we gonna do those brain exercises?"

He tosses the stress ball into the air and holds it there. Small items are not that bad. He's got a grasp on levitating and moving little things.

"Sure.  We can do that.  Let's start with some relaxation."  Ruben looks at him with concern.  "I know you think this is useless and not really helping.  But it's what helped me gain control.  Plus, it might help me figure out what sets off your lack of control.  Then we can put some strategies or maybe some eventual tech in place to help you even more."

Sonny nods and obediently moves one item at a time as Ruben times him. The larger the item, the harder for him to hold it still.

Ruben watches him and he can't help thinking of Star Wars when Luke is trying to use the force.  It makes him smirk.

"Okay." Ruben says, taking a few items from the desk and rearranges them.  "I want you to turn your back to the items and close your eyes.  You know where the smaller items are.  I want you to try to do it without looking at them.  Start with the small items and just see if you can touch them.  If you can feel them. Then, if you're comfortable, try to move them.  But only if you think you can."

Sonny nods and stands up to turn around. 

"So, we've talked about Trig, but what's your favorite subject?  I was always fond of the sciences, but I did alright in math, too.  I mean, I did okay in most subjects actually.  School just sort of came naturally to me.  But, what about you?"

“I’m good at math,” Sonny says, his back turned. “I like English and writing papers too. Science…I like it all, I guess.” 

He hears the laptop crash to the ground and winces. 

“Sorry,” he says, knowing it was him. He turns around to see Ruben pick the laptop up from the floor. 

“No worries,” Ruben says simply. “Remember, it’s all about concentrating. Imagine that you’re using your hand to touch these things. You can feel yourself grab an apple or a ball.”

Sonny nods. 

“Yeah, for sure,” he agrees. 

“Well if it makes it easier,” Ruben says. “You can use your hand. Turn around.”

Sonny obeys and Ruben says, “Take the ball.” 

Sonny starts to take it and Ruben says, “Stop!” 

Sonny stops, looking at him. 

“Your hand is just a guide,” Ruben reminds him and then touches Sonny’s head with his pointer finger. “The movement is here.”

Sonny nods and mimics picking up the ball and to his surprise, the ball lifts in the air, following his hand gesture. 

“Your brain is communicating with your hand as if you were physically touching it,” Ruben explains. “You won’t always need that guidance, once you get a handle on this.”

Sonny moves his hand around, the ball moving around as well. 

“I sort of feel it,” he says. “This… pull .” 

“You’ll get there,” Ruben says. “We all had to train our abilities.” 

Sonny gently lowers the ball down onto the table. He smiles at Ruben.

“I think I’m startin’ to get it,” he says and then flinches when everything else flies off of the desk. Ruben grabs his laptop before it can smash into the wall.

“You’ll get there,” he says, and holds up his hand. 

Sonny seems confused and tries to shake his hand so Ruben turns his hand and there’s just confusion. 

“It was supposed to be a high-five,” Ruben says awkwardly. “Sorry, I know I’m not the best at this.”

“Nah, you’re great,” Sonny says, gesturing for a fist bump instead. Ruben fist bumps him. 

“Plus,” Sonny says. “It’s nice to have someone to talk to about the intellectual stuff.” 

Ruben leans against his desk, arms crossed.

“So what do you think of this whole ‘youth house’ project?” He asks Sonny. 

Sonny scoffs.

“Navi’s never even let me have a sleepover,” he says. “So I can imagine how much this is gonna stress him out.” 

“A bunch of teeangers with super powers living together in a house?” Ruben pretends to feign innocence. “I can’t imagine why.”

—---

“Alright,” Karen says, sitting in Alex’s office. “So we have four candidates plus Sonny with abilities.” 

“And then three without,” Alex adds. “And we could always check in on them.”

“Not to mention we have Usnavi,” Karen says. “It would be good exercise for him.”

Alex nods. 

“The building we picked out,” he says. “We’d have to do a bit of construction, but we could easily have it put together in just a few weeks. Does that give us enough time to contact these kids and their families?” 

Karen shrugs. 

“There’s no guarantee their parents will even sign off on them coming here,” she says. “It’s worth a shot though, right?” 

Alex nods. He thinks of Lawless and how much faith he put in him. 

“Yeah,” he agrees quietly. 

—----

“Alex?” Pippa asks when he comes downstairs. She closes her laptop and meets him at the stairs. 

“Hey, Sweetheart,” he says, giving her a kiss. “Everything alright?” 

“Can we talk?” She asks.

Usnavi, who is cleaning the kitchen, catches something in her voice. He doesn’t want to spy, but he never hears this kind of concern in Pippa’s voice and after what’s happened to Lawless and now having Vanessa and Sonny here, he wants to be careful. 

“I’m right in the middle of making calls,” He hears Alex say. “Can it wait just a few minutes?”

“Of course,” Pippa says. “Whenever you have the time.” 

“I love you.” Alex pecks her again. “I won’t be long.” 

Usnavi picks up something in Pippa’s head and nearly trips over the mop he’s using. He lets it drop and all but runs out of the kitchen. Pippa is biting her bottom lip, playing with some of her hair. 

Listen to Pippa, he channels to Alex, turning his implant on. It’s important. 

“What are you doing?” Alex stops and turns around, frowning at him. He’s confused.

Usnavi raises his eyebrows and nods at Pippa. Alex notices the uncertainty on her face and goes to her. 

“Are you alright?” He asks, moving close. 

“I’m pregnant,” Pippa says. 

—---

“Can you say something?” Pippa asks when she and Alex are in the privacy of their own room.

“I’m just…” Alex paces back and forth. “Pippa, this is-”

At the same time she says, “troubling” he says, “amazing”. 

“What?” She looks confused. “Alex, this is absolutely the worst time to have this happen to us.”

Alex takes her face in his hands. 

“I disagree,” he says softly. He places his forehead to hers. 

Pippa lets out a sigh and takes his hands in hers. She then moves his hands down to rest on her abdomen. 

“I love you,” he whispers. 

“I love you,” she responds, finally smiling. 

—-----

Days go by, weeks, and soon a month. Alex makes good on his word. With Karen and Usnavi’s help, he goes through the employee database of Rochambeau and fires every person who’s ever lied, cheated, or tricked someone into imprisonment. He brings in new agents-people with and without abilities. The people without abilities have loved one with abilities. He uses Usnavi to telepathically ‘scan’ each and every person he interviews to see if their intentions are pure. 

Houses and buildings are in the early stages of construction. Pretty soon everyone can live in their own homes. Eventually, there will be more homes and schools and grocery stores and hospitals… 

“How’s the search for our teenagers going?” Pippa asks, walking into Alex’s office with two cups of coffee-decaf for herself. 

“It’s going,” Alex says with a sigh. “The first one is this kid in Arizona. He can phase through walls, but according to the file Rochambeau has on him, it’s amazing he’s still alive.” 

“Children are resilient,” Pippa says, rubbing her stomach. She smiles at Alex. 

Alex smiles back and places his hand over hers. 

“You hear that, Kid?” He says to their unborn child. 

When he pulls back, he says, “I guess Karen and I will go to Arizona. I think it’ll be weird if I just show up.”

“Creepy even,” Pippa agrees, brows furrowing. 

“ ‘Hey, Kid’,” Alex says in a fake, raspy voice. “ ‘Come outside to my van. I got some candy for you’.” 

Pippa laughs. 

“Please don’t,” she says, kissing his forehead. “And remember, I’ll be here to help with the… shock of it all.” 

—--

“It’s lookin’ good,” Sonny says, walking into the building that is soon to be the trial youth house. Pete stands next to him and whistles. 

“It’s like a college frat house or something,” he agrees. 

“Don’t even joke,” Vanessa says with a sigh. “Usnavi will have an aneurysm.”

Vanessa, surprisingly, has found her calling and it’s not hair. Once the idea for the youth house came about, everything was put into place-which building, how it would be run, who would live there, what the rules would be…there was just one problem. Nobody knew a thing about building beyond the actual construction. There were no plans for furniture or wall colors or flooring…

“Pete, I think the mural should go on this wall,” Vanessa says, pointing. “That way the sunlight from the opposite wall really makes it stand out. It’ll be beautiful.” 

“I still can’t believe you’re in charge of all this,” Sonny says, shaking his head. “Vanessa the interior designer.” 

“I’ve just always had a knack for how things should go together,” Vanessa replies with a shrug. “Remember when I redesigned the fugly bathroom upstairs back home? It looked like a prison shower.” 

“It was just Navi and me,” Sonny counters. “We weren’t tryin’ to impress nobody.”

“You had Dawn dish soap as body wash,” Vanessa retorts. 

“I agree with you,” Pete tells her, cocking his head, eyeballing the space. “And I know what colors to use too. It’ll match the furniture you picked out.” 

Sonny groans. 

“You two are gonna bore me to death,” he says. “It’s just a safehouse-like a secret base or somethin’. Why does it have to be all Ikea’d up?” 

“Because we want it to be inviting,” Vanessa reminds him.

Sonny hears the joy in her voice and he suddenly realizes he’s never heard her sound this cheerful. Vanessa and Usnavi are no longer struggling with rent and bills and keeping up a house or with Usnavi’s headaches. The two are now engaged and living out in the open away from the city and Usnavi has a handle on his abilities. Vanessa has a job that she enjoys. They’re finally happy. 

“I’ll leave you two,” he says, smiling. “The ‘artists’ to it. I’m gonna go train.” 

—--

 “Still nothing?” Alex asks, walking outside to the balcony where Usnavi is looking out over the mountains. 

“Nothin’,” Usnavi agrees. “It’s like they know I’m listenin’.” 

“They probably do,” Alex agrees. “But we’ll find more about Numbers , I promise, and this isn’t all on you. You’re doing the best you can.”

“I have Vanessa and Sonny here now,” Usnavi says sadly. “You have a kid on the way. This shit really worries me.” 

“Hey.” Alex touches his shoulder. “We’re all together and we’re a pretty fucking good team. We can handle whatever they throw at us.” 

“And you’re going to get the kid from Arizona?” Usnavi asks. “Should I go too?”

“Nah, I think Karen and I have it covered,” Alex replies with a shrug. “I think it’ll just be a matter of explaining who we are and how we can help him.” 

Usnavi nods. 

—---

“So are you excited your little sis is comin’ here?” Alvie asks Ruben.

Ruben sighs and temporarily stops clacking away on his laptop. 

“I am,” he says. “But I’m also worried. Paola is a good kid and all, but teenagers with abilities? In a house together? It sounds like a recipe for disaster.” 

“Please.” Alvie scoffs, sitting in the chair next to Ruben’s desk chair. “It ain’t so different from when we were teenagers. I was constantly sneakin’ around, drinkin’, smokin’, bangin’...”

“I wasn’t,” Ruben says, shaking his head. “My idea of a wild Friday night was going to bed after midnight, and usually that was because I was lost in a book.” 

Alvie kisses his cheek. 

“You woulda been wild with me,” he says. “We woulda been wild together.” 

“Just promise you’ll help me keep an eye on her?” Ruben asks, meaning his baby sister. 

Alvie nods.

“I’ll be poppin’ into that house everyday. Movie night? Everyone has to sit with cushions between them. No holdin’ hands. No eye-contact even. Bedtime at nine pm sharp. No alcohol. Not even mouthwash.” 

Ruben chuckles. 

“I don’t think you can get wasted on mouthwash.” 

Alvie rolls his eyes.

“Benny,” he says. “Take it from someone who actually was a fuckin’ stupid teenager, you can get wasted on anything you put your mind to.”

Ruben groans and puts his head down. 

“Please don’t let this go south,” he says. 

To Be Continued…