Chapter Text
Angela Macklin had never been so disappointed in her children. They had deceived both her and her husband, made them buy into their devious tricks and lies all whilst keeping up the portrayal of special, innocent children that excelled so brilliantly in their studies that they managed to obtain places at a boarding school. Now that she was aware of the truth, she realised what a fool she had been. Why did she ever believe something so good could've happened by chance?
She had dragged her children out of the Man Cave after her sister revealed the truth, she didn't care for their superhero outfits, she had once admired the superheroes, protecting her city perfectly and at such a young age, but now her children were the faces behind those pathetic masks, her heart beat rapidly at the thoughts of her children's lives being threatened. She held no unspoken respect for ShoutOut and AWOL because how could she? Her children had betrayed her trust.
Her nose kept flaring when she was behind the steering wheel, and she muttered curses under her breath, insulting her intelligence, and many other things whilst her children sat at the back nauseated into silence. Angela could spot through her rear-view mirror her daughter blinking back tears whilst her face formed a frown, she observed her daughter unable to blink the hot tears back which instead resulted in squinting her eyes closed. Her son was not that remorseful with his feelings, his eyes were downcast, they usually held such joy and optimism, always sparking with life whenever talking about a subject he was heavily invested in but it was robbed from him, his eyes had a cloak drawn over them and his usual self was missing.
The sight of her broken-hearted children almost made her regret her decision in pulling them out of Danger Force, but she had to remind herself how many times she almost lost her children to various villains. Each bruise and cut they quickly hid under their mother's presence fueled her ambition to be protective of them. They were children but were expected to hold the weight of a protected city. Even they couldn't handle such a burden. And as a mother, she wouldn't allow it.
Her children continued to not murmur a word until they got home, her husband was waiting for her with a beaming smile on his face but instead, he was greeted by Angela's disheartened and vexed scowl and his children dressed in superhero costumes. She ordered their children to stay in the lounge, they could rest on the couch but under no circumstances were they allowed to leave the room unless they wanted to face even more dire consequences. Herman watched in perplexity, his wife had never been so cold to their children before, not even when they had royally screwed up.
Angela had left the room, her husband following behind like a lost puppy. They entered the kitchen to ensure utter privacy, she knew her son could teleport but she believed him so dispirited he wouldn't even dare to. Herman reacted the same way she had, with rage and growing distress but he controlled it with less ease than his wife had. He avoided his wife's calming touch and burst back into the lounge, both his children were sat on the couch, and separate ends were claimed despite being stuck in a shared situation, their blinding costumes made his blood boil, his children had been scheming lunatics when they should've been children.
"Take those masks off," He surprised himself with the calmness his voice still held, it was a steady tone despite his wanting to scream and shout about his anger, he couldn't, he had to be reasonable, he had to lecture his children cautiously or else he would push them off into the hands of danger again. His children did what was asked of them, and then it stared him in the face. His Mika and Miles Macklin were superheroes in training, their faces held so much remorse, Mika had sprouted tears whilst Miles appeared too numb to produce anything.
"Your mother and I have been talking about this for a while but due to recent events, we have decided to follow through with it. We're moving from Swellview," Herman announces, Mika and Miles' jaw drops open, they looked at each other and realise just how much of this was their fault. And it was a lot.