by Gideon Mills
“What’s the plan, oh fearless leader?” Felicity asked in a playful tone.
“You tell me.” There was no plan as our first one already hadn’t worked.
Lola pulled out her smartphone and gave Fleur a ring. They should have already had a meeting with Mako and seen what was going one.
The talk was a short one, but with the speed that Lola could talk, a lot was said.
“Mako was hoping that we could stop by the firm,” Lola said.
“Sounds good to me,” I said.
Felicity smirked. “Which one?”
“The one in Brooklyn.”
The squirrelkin nearly jumped off the ground. “Yes.”
Her excitement confused me. I knew that she was in favor of this arrangement, but that seemed a bit much.
“That is the place that Epps designs their latest phones,” Lola said. She held up her phone. It wasn’t stock by any stretch. “Like this one.”
“Oh.” I knew that many people were obsessed with their phones and would spend hours a day on them, just playing games that they liked. A phone was a phone to me.
“You can’t deny they are the best of the best,” Felicity said.
“If you say so.” I just used whatever Lola gave me at this point, and didn’t even pay attention to it.
“Oh my God,” Felicity said. “Trust me, they are so cool. You’ll see. Let’s go, chop-chop.”
We got in the car, and Lola gave me the address and put it into the car’s navigation system. The things humans created these days were truly beyond comprehension at times.
Back when I was born, and spent most of my time here on Earth, we used things in space to tell us where to go, but they weren’t man-made. The stars and the sun were all a person used to need. Not that I’m complaining about turn-by-turn directions. They make it really easy to not get lost, though when I was back on Mount Olympus more than once I saw them lead a person to the wrong place. Technology isn’t perfect by any stretch.
With New York City traffic, we arrived after lunchtime and parked in the tiny lot. Standing next to her car was Athena.
“About time you arrived.”
“Traffic in this place is murder,” I said. “They need to take cars away from some of the people.”
Athena laughed. I swear every time I left the hideout or my apartment for the short period I’d had it, I saw a person do something utterly insane driving.
“Where is Fleur?” Lola asked.
“Inside,” Athena said. “Mako wanted her to see the Epps seven or whatever it was.”
Felicity squealed. “That’s the latest phone, not even out yet.”
She was nearly jumping out of her clothes and eyeing the door. To rush over and see the thing.
“I see she’s a fan,” Athena said.
“Understatement.”
Felicity was the first one at the door and in the building. Like most places, the building was covered in sterile white paint. Plain, boring floors to give the place a neutral feel. In the hallways there were random paintings to give some life to the place, but not enough. An employee took us through a few corridors and dropped us off in a room.
This room was different than most of the building. It was painted a vibrant blue, and had several tables in in. At the far end, was one with phones on it, all placed evenly across it.
Mako and Fleur were looking at the phones. Felicity rushed over. And began to geek out with Mako and Fleur.
“I’m surprised you are over there,” Athena said to Lola.
“I love tech, clearly, but I like making it more.”
That was the Lola I loved. She wanted to make all her own stuff.
“You might learn from that thing,” Athena said.
“I know,” Lola answered. “But right now, we need to focus, and I don’t want to get lost in the tech.”
“Lola, that tech, and you, might be the difference between winning and losing,” I said. “Go get lost in it. If it becomes a problem, I’ll pull you out.”
Lola eyed me. “You sure?”
“Yes. Go learn, invent. Be the savior, Guardian.”
Lola grinned from ear to ear and joined them.
After a while, they all stopped examining the phones and made their way back to Athena and me. I could tell on all their faces that they were enjoying themselves, and that made me happy. Seeing the women I loved in one of their happy places was a great thing. One could never get enough of seeing the people they love happy and content with their life.
“You have fun?” Athena asked.
Felicity was still grinning from ear to ear, and her tail continued to twitch back and forth. She was super hyper as if she’d drunk ten cups of coffee. “Yes,” the squirrelkin said.
It was adorable seeing her like this, and I wanted to lean in and give her a kiss. The others had a glow on them too.
“Have you learned anything that might help us with Fenrir?” Athena was on track and not about to be distracted from the task at hand. It was good that we had her with us. Since I was admittedly willing to let them bask in the glow of this high.
“Not yet,” Lola said. “But Mako here mentioned something that Epps might have. I want to give them a look.”
“Good,” Athena replied.
The next several hours was Mako talking about and showing us all the tech. I really didn’t need to be here since I was more or less a Luddite compared to the people here. Not that I actually was. I kept up with the times the best I could and blended in well. But this was new age shit, and I just hadn’t kept up that well.
By the time we left, everyone seemed to have high hopes of working with Epps and what we might achieve.
11
A Tidy Apartment
That evening Fleur, Lola, and I made our way to Zeke’s apartment. The two had been there before and knew the way. Zeke lived close to his pawnshop, but in a section that was a bit nicer.
How the neighborhoods could shift from one street to another was an amazing thing to me. This was something that was there throughout history. One road could be nasty and vile, with literally shit on the ground. The next one over in pristine shape, shined so well that a person could see their reflection. It was the same here in New York.
The pawnshop was in an area that I wouldn’t call great, but the apartment was in an upscale neighborhood. Not like the place that the Walkers lived in, but still lovely. Like in fantasy when they talk about a wealthy merchant versus nobility, Zeke was the merchant and the Walkers the nobility.
Fleur parked, and we made our way to the door. Before we could even knock, Zeke opened it. He had a big grin on his face. “White Angel, so good to see you.”
“Nice to see you too,” she said. “Hope business is doing well.”
Zeke smirked. “Never better.”
That was the truth, if this morning was an example of what he has been doing. I really hadn’t expected to ever see a pawnshop so full. Maybe that terrible reality show was actually showing some truth. I knew full well that the TV shows, even the reality ones weren’t really an accurate portrayal of real life. They claimed to be not scripted, but many were.
“That’s good,” Fleur said. “Always nice to see a business thrive.”
“So, Ares said he wanted some help on the current situation.”
I nodded. “Look, Fenrir is up to something. More than he is letting one.”
“When isn’t that man,” Zeke said. “I’ve never met him, but I hear he is ruthless. Willing to kill even his own children. I mean what he did to his son. Disgusting.”
That was an understatement. I’m glad I didn’t mention Fenrir was Fleur’s dad, as it appeared that Zeke might not know, or was just not willing to say it in the open. Either way, I wasn’t going to bring it up.
“He’s a pig,” Lola said. “We need to stop him. He’s not the only threat to the city, but to Paragons.”
That got Zeke’s attention. “I had a feeling, but no confirmation. Not good, man. Not good at all. I don’t
need some crazy people trying to take me out.”
None of us did. My mother was crazy that was sure, and so were all the monsters at her disposal if she were to use them.
Once Here made her move and sent mythological creatures on us, we would be in for a rude awakening.
“So mister God,” Zeke said. “What do you think Fenrir is doing?”
I shrugged. “That’s why we’re here. I have no fucking idea what he is doing.”
“Other than trying to kill all Paragons,” Fleur said. “And being a douche to the nth degree.”
Zeke laughed. “Well I heard on the grapevine that he and the president are going to enforce concentration camps. Congress is on board, what with the Reign disaster.”
That was terrible news, and I didn’t like it one bit. The last thing the world needed was for the country to try to force all Paragons into camps and lock them up for just living.
“I’m going to kill him,” Fleur said. Her nostrils flared, and she clenched her fists. She was angry, and it showed. Never had I seen her so disgusted with her father. “That is just wrong. How can the President and Congress be okay with this?’
Zeke shrugged. “Sounds like with Elric here, and some guy down in San Antonio, and one over in San Francisco causing a problem, they aren’t happy. Not to mention, they don’t like the idea of Ryder being one and having the power he does.”
That was sickening.
“We can’t stop him,” Lola said.
“Tell me if there is anything I can do,” Zeke said. “I just found this out after you guys left. I put out a few feelers and got that.”
“Okay,” Fleur said. “We’ll let you know.”
With that, we left and went back to tell the others.
12
Oh Shit
We sat around the table in and told the others. Even McGarrett was there, and he didn’t look happy. “They have access to all the databases,” McGarrett said. “The one here has all of you.”
That made my stomach sick, and the look on the other faces told me they felt the same. This was such bad news.
Lola had her laptop out, and suddenly she went ghost white. I’ve never seen her with the expression she had on her face.
“What?” Felicity asked. She had been quiet for the most part. I had to worry about her. Being a squirrelkin meant she was very noticeable as a Paragon.
“It’s happening,” Lola said.
She turned on the TV closest to us, and on it was one of the political stations that showed Congress. Sure as day, they were enacting a law that made it illegal to be a Paragon. Grinding my teeth, I couldn’t believe what was going on, feeling anger like never before.
“This is going to force a lot of people to go on the run,” Athena said.
Just as she was saying that a call came in from a secure line.
“Ryder,” Lola said.
It was a video call, and Lola put it on the screen. The man wasn’t alone. With him were three women, and I had no shame in admitting, they were attractive, though not as dazzling as Fleur, Lola, and Felicity.
“You okay?” Fleur asked.
“Went underground after I received Lola’s message,” Ryder said. “So did Thorn, and a lot of the others I was able to contact.”
Lola had reached out to as many of the Paragons as she could to let them know this was about to happen. The problem was we didn’t have a list, not like the government did. Allowing them to have our info might not have been the brightest idea.
“How secure is your place?” Ryder asked.
“The most,” Lola said. “Fleur and I made sure of it.”
I had little doubt that we would be safe here. The problem was leaving, and now if we departed and were spotted, we would be hard-pressed to be able to get back and keep it that way. All of us had a lot of training in avoiding being followed, but this was going to be vastly different. The federal government just declared it illegal for all Paragons to live freely. To be who they were.
All this was the hardest on Felicity. Her pain was evident on her face, and I wanted to help her. To hold her and make her feel safe and loved. None of us should have to go through this.
The Bionic Man nodded. “Good,” he said. “My team will be ready to fight when you need us, but we won’t be taking any risks here.”
That was both smart, but bad for the city of Detroit. He was all that was keeping many of the citizens safe from criminals. The same could be said for here.
With me being forced to go underground, I wondered what the Third Street Dragons would be up to. If they would be our allies or turn us in. I had to look into that. I hadn’t been in contact with them since we’d defeated Elric and Reign. The leader had actually turned out to be a decent man.
“Okay,” Fleur said. “You heard from Major Thorn in San Antonio. He has a safe house?”
Ryder nodded. “It’s not as secure as either of ours, but he does.”
Thorn wasn’t a regular Paragon, he was once a solider that had been turned into a super-soldier, and served in the military until very recently. I had to wonder how that was going to work for him. He would be an excellent ally for us once we started to fight.
“Good, and John in San Fran is safe,” Lola said.
I wasn’t familiar with that Paragon, but it sounded like he went to the academy with Ryder and Fleur. If I was right in my guess, that meant he was another top-notch hero and would be useful in the future, either against Fenrir or Hera.
The talk with Ryder didn’t last too long. No matter how secure one thought the tech they had was, it could be broke. Lola and Ryder might be the best of the best. But if a thousand people just beneath their talent level went to work, they just might break through. That was a risk none of us wanted to take.
Ryder cut the call, and we all sat there in stunned silence. Unable to truly comprehend how the world was changing around us.
It was like time was going backward, and we were living in a comic book. Or worse, a lousy movie. In my life I had lived through times like this and thought that was never going to happen again. Sure, even today across the world a lot of bad people lived and did things that made my stomach turn.
Yet, I didn’t think the greatest nation right now would stoop to such a level. The president let a vile man and God twist him. Make him do something that not many would even think was okay.
The last time something like this occurred on this type of scale, it had left a black scar on the world. One that in some ways, was still healing. I hated that I might be part of this one.
“We have to stop this,” I said.
Everyone stared at me. Like I had stated the obvious, which I had. But that didn’t change the fact we had to, and the sooner, the better. This couldn’t be allowed.
“How do we do that?” Felicity said. “We lost. Fenrir won.”
Her voice had a defeated tone, and she slouched in her chair. “We can,” I said. “I have faith in us. We are the best of the best.”
“Clearly, that isn’t enough,” the squirrelkin said. “We lost. Fenrir won. I’m going to be turned into a fur coat for some rich lady to wear around in victory.”
Just the thought of that made my skin crawl. I couldn’t control my anger. “I will not let that happen. I’ll kill every single person who tries,” I growled. It had been years and years since I had this anger or rage in me. “No one will hurt you. I promise that.”
Felicity looked at me. The others did too.
“Ares is right,” Fleur said. “Nothing will happen to you. To any of us—we can figure this out.”
Felicity didn’t look convinced. “I can’t leave here. I can’t live as a person right now. I’m a squirrel in a cage. That’s not natural.”
She was right about that, locking her up wasn’t natural or fair.
“Just for now,” I said.
It was time to find a solution and save the Paragons again.
13
Consoling
Felicity left the table and we
nt back into the private quarters of the building. Everyone else remained seated, but I couldn’t let her go back and sulk. She needed to know that she was loved and cared for. That she wasn’t alone in this.
“I’ll make sure she’s okay,” I said.
“Please make sure she knows we love her,” Fleur said.
“Yes,” Lola added. “We’ll see if we can figure out our next move.”
“Good,” I said.
I stood, but before I made it to the door, my dear half-sister was next to me. “Ares,” she said.
“Yes?”
“This feels like Hera’s doing.”
“I know,” I said. “Nothing we can do about it.”
Athena shrugged. “We could try to reach out to some of the others that are here.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who else is here? All the Gods are in Mount Olympus or in the Underworld.”
“I’m not talking about Gods,” Athena said.
I cringed at what I thought she was implying. “You don’t mean seeking out the Titans.”
“Lord no,” Athena said. “But Poseidon’s Cyclopes are here, and the Giants and plenty of others to aid us. Like the Centaurs.”
“Most of them and I aren’t on good speaking turns,” I said. I’ve killed a lot in my life, and many of them were related to or part of those groups. So had Athena for that matter, but she was generally more liked.
“I know,” Athena said. “But what if I, and say a certain Paragon that can’t be seen in the city, travel to some remote places to seek their aid?”
She was trying to help Felicity and us at the same time. I liked the idea of making Felicity feel like she was being useful, but hated the idea of not seeing her for an extended period of time.
“I’ll see,” I said.
“Good,” Athena said.
She went back to the table, and I made my way to Felicity’s room. I gave it a gentle knock. “Felicity,” I said.
“I don’t want to talk.”
