Warning ⚠️: This book contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Joelee sat in the main lobby, laptop propped up on her lap as she read through an article about Obsidian.

Apparently he had been a hero to the city for quite awhile, long before more metas had begun to pop up in the media. He had taken to fighting petty crime and was doing a decent enough job at catching the bad guys of the city but it seemed as though perhaps there was more to the story than Joelee had previously suspected.

How did he have powers before Doyle unlocked the serum?

She clicked on the next, most recent post about his capture of the metas the night prior. The public seemed to be concerned about the rising numbers of "supernatural" occurrences within the city and the cities around theirs.

Apparently some blamed Obsidian for the sudden appearance of metas as his dramatic saves had previously shown no signs of fowl play. But now as the crime rate rose, the rising numbers were followed by criminals with abilities the public had never seen.

"So the public knows about metas now." Joelee said to the person that had walked up behind her, causing them to immediately stiffen as her words registered.

"How?" Rachel's voice caused Joelee to turn and look at the long haired woman, noticing that the girl was already dressed and ready for the day despite it only being around six in the morning.

"Superhero named Obsidian has been capturing metas for the better half of the month. Apparently he was popular before he became a superhero but now the media is scared as one meta completely made of volcanic glass was completely fine, but multiple freaks with varying mutations and powers is causing a pattern." Joelee deadpanned which caused Rachel to immediately giggle as she realized just why he was named Obsidian in the first place.

"What do we do?" Rachel whispered as she walked closer to read the articles over Joelee's shoulder, wincing as she read the media's reaction to the sudden appearance of metas... Fear always led to panic... And panic always made people do stupid things.

"We're going to have to train now. If we ever get exposed then we'll be in danger if we don't show we mean no harm. One of us has to go covert as an alias and work alongside Obsidian. We need to make it clear that it wasn't us that unleashed the metas on the world..." Joelee paused before she looked up at Rachel who wore the same frown that Joelee did now.

"But we did... Meaning it's more about cleaning up our messes at this point. They're just scared little kids in the end." Joelee muttered before clicking on an attached video link which showed a meta setting fire to a restaurant before running inside.

"Or then again, maybe not." Rachel tensed as she watched the restaurant explode before the meta ran out with a bag seeming completely unharmed by the flames.

_-*-_

"Where did you go on your little trip this time?" Banner questioned from where he stood beside David, the two working on David's project together in an attempt to speed up the small progress that he had made.

"I don't kiss and tell, Banner." David winked which caused Banner's eyes to widen as he quickly leaned closer to David.

"You found Esther? Did you use the memory device on her? Did she remember everything?" Banner questioned in a hushed whisper, making sure to avoid the direction of the camera so they couldn't figure out what he was saying to David.

"She full named me fives seconds after I removed it so, yeah. Worked pretty well." David snickered which caused Banner to laugh as he went back to his work, seeming a lot more jolly now that his coworker was happy.

"What are you ladies snickering about?" A male's deep voice caused both men to immediately stiffen as the room filled with a blood red smoke before a figure appeared in front of them, Alaric smirking at the two who looked immediately suspicious about the meta's appearance here.

"What are you doing here, Alaric?" David was shocked at Banner's harsh tone but he knew the older male had far more knowledge on the visitor from another realm due to how close he really was to Magdalene.

"Can't a guy visit his friends without being questioned?" Alaric tutted before smirking as Banner released a scoff, crossing his arms over his chest now as he glared at the much taller male.

"I'm here to help if you must know." Alaric grinned at the confusion on both males faces as he tilted his head to the side before leaning closer.

"I had a little chat with an acquaintance from another realm and he says that The Monarch there has successfully bonded multiple strands of meta DNA into one specimen. All you have to do is give them five samples from our realm... Enough to make more than one project... And they'll create your little weapon for you." Alaric's words caused David and Banner to immediately exchange glances as they realized what this could potentially mean for the facility.

"Magdalene already approved. I'm just here to pick up the samples." Alaric casually walked over to the vials of blood, hesitating to read each name written on each one before his eyes darkened as he found the name he was looking for.

"This one is specifically requested." Alaric picked up the vial and turned to the men who both seemed uneasy as they realized just who's blood the much taller male held.

"That one is unstable. It doesn't have Cratos serum in it." David said rather quickly which caused Alaric to smirk as he focused his intense gaze on David who seemed tense beneath his neon green eyes.

"I know, darling. But then again, she was unstable before she got the serum." Alaric sneered as he set the vial down in front of the two men.

"I will take my leave but Magdalene expects you to have results within the hour. I have a list." Alaric pulled a piece of paper from his pocket before offering it to David who took it after a moments hesitation.

"Don't disappoint me, boys. You'll regret it." Alaric's voice seemed to deepen as his eyes darkened to black for a moment before he disappeared in a cloud of blood red smoke.

"He reminds me of someone." David said after he was sure the intimidating male was completely gone.

"He's not the superhero that's been parading around town. You and I both know that for a fact." Banner murmured as he gently took the list from David before he began to look it over silently.

"No. He reminds me of Doyle." David's words grew darker as he spoke, rage filling his veins at the mere mention of the pathetic excuse of a man that he had once called a friend.

"He is Doyle, David. That realms Doyle, that is. I did my research. He's only a little bit older than our Doyle is now meaning he was probably born a lot sooner than this realms version." Banner replied as he began to gather the requested samples into a suitcase which filled the air with a small amount of steam from how cold it was on the inside of it.

"How do you know all of this?" David questioned as he sat down at his desk, propping his head up with his palms as he placed his elbows on the desk in front of himself.

"I make it my job to know... Plus... He's not the first time traveler I've come across obviously. You've worked with one alongside me before. The very first one I met was from Alaric's realm." Banner's nonchalant reply had David's mind reeling with memories, his hands dropping as he leaned forward, knowing now was the time to find out more information about the mysterious traveler that he'd gotten to know very briefly so long ago.

"What was his name, again?" David asked but Banner didn't reply as he continued to waddle his way around the laboratory, collecting samples diligently before he closed the suitcase.

His eyes were distant as he waddled over to sit beside David before falling into the chair with a loud sigh, rubbing at the top of his leg before he turned his attention to David who was still impatiently waiting for a reply.

"I never got a name. He refused to give a name in case Alaric hunted him to this realm. From what I understand... A very big war separated their group... They used to all be friends." Banner replied after a moment, his voice low and serious as he gaged David for a reaction.

David's eyes widened, signaling that this was indeed all new information to him and he definitely wanted to know more.

"What changed?" David's question caused Banner to shrug lightly before he inevitably decided that he would give the younger male at least some semblance of an answer.

"I suppose everyone did. That's probably why. War changes everything...and sometimes, the people you love and fight for end up being the enemy after all is said and done. Especially considering one of their friends was the one who started the war." Banner murmured which made David's mouth fall open in shock at the fact that one person started a whole war.

"Why would they do that? Who was it?" David asked which made Banner shake his head as he leaned back in the office chair.

"I don't know the answer to either of those questions. He refused to answer." Banner replied which caused David to frown in disappointment at not being able to know the full story.

"How old is Alaric then? Doyle has always been a little older than me so that makes Alaric over twenty nine then, right?" David questioned, spitting out Doyle's name as though it were a curse word as he forced away the anger so that Banner wouldn't think it was directed at him.

"From my calculations, the realm that they are from is probably at least five years ahead of ours. Making Alaric thirty four." Banner answered as he heaved himself to his feet as the door opened to reveal Axle who glowered down at the much shorter males.

"Magdalene needs you in her office. Now. Bring the samples." Axle growled out which caused Banner to flinch as he turned to give David a halfhearted wave before making his way from the lab.

"Couldn't you have said that through the intercoms?" David snapped before Axle could follow Banner out, causing the much larger male to turn and glare at the younger man.

"I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you, deserter." Axle snarled which caused David to flinch but the scarred male said nothing more as he made his way from the lab, slamming the door behind himself as he exited.

_-*-_

"We've been training for two hours, Joe. Can you just give us a break?" Sam groaned from where they sat on the floor of the makeshift training hall that Joelee had made in the basement of the apartment building.

She had spent quite a substantial amount of the money she had received to renovate the house and make sure the kitchen was fully operational and stocked. But now her funds her almost dry from the amount of gym equipment she had purchased after her talk with Rachel earlier that morning.

"Look, the public already knows about metas. The sooner we have someone showing that we're on their side, the better it will be. We need to keep our home safe." Joelee said as she turned to look at them, face red from exertion while her breathing remained even and steady.

"You do it, then! We may be superheroes now but you're the only one who'd be able to keep up with them. Connor has PTSD flashbacks when anyone even TRIES to throw a punch at him otherwise he'd be a good candidate... Kai knows nothing about the outside world yet so he's out. All of us have been locked in a cell for two years minimum so we're a little out of shape and most of us don't even have control of our powers. So you do it!" Sam snapped as they rubbed at their sore arms, looking extremely annoyed by the situation now as they glared at Joelee who looked a little shocked by their outburst.

"I can't control my instincts when threatened. I don't know if I'd be a good person to send either." Joelee said as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously, fear coursing through her veins at the thought of having to go through her painful transformations again... But yet... She almost craved the freedom of being completely and utterly unaware of what was happening around her. It was almost like getting a restless sleep which honestly she would take over what she got when she attempted to every night.

"You need to learn to control it. Regardless of which, Sam is right. You're the best option... And as our leader... You're required to lead a positive example." Connor spoke up which immediately turned Joelee's attention to male, her eyes wide now as she struggled to form words.

"I'm not the leader." Joelee said rather quickly which caused a few people in the room to scoff, Joelee looking extremely confused as everyone walked forward to stand with Connor.

"Who else would be our leader? Connor already showed he didn't want to." Kent piped up as he came to stop next to Connor, placing a hand on the slightly shorter males shoulder to show he was agreeing with Connor's statement.

"Rachel? Kevin? Literally anyone who isn't eighteen and completely messed up mentally?" Joelee argued which caused Connor and Kent to exchange glances before everyone turned their attention to Rachel and Kevin who stood beside each other near the back.

"I want to be a nurse, Joe. I may be a good person to talk to but I don't have leadership qualities or even powers that allows me to battle. I think I'd like to take on the roll of medic for our group." Rachel's words caused Joelee to flinch as she realized she was slowly losing the argument. There was only a few more options that she could even think of at the moment so if Kevin disagreed then she'd really have to think about someone else with good leadership qualities.

"Most won't listen to me, anyway, Joe. I'm Magdalene's son. That makes it hard for certain people to trust me... Plus... I think I agree with Rachel. I can help in battle but I think I'd rather be a group member rather than a leader. I'm not good at decision making when it comes to life or death situations. Plus... I don't want to be the leader." Kevin said with a tone that showed there would be no convincing him otherwise, Rachel taking a step towards him as she gave a nod to signify that she agreed with his last statement.

"I could do it." Alyssa suggested which caused everyone to turn their attention to the short blonde who gave a shy smile.

"You're needed here, Alyssa. You and Joe are the ones who homeschool the kids. If she's away on missions then we'll need you here. Plus... Sam for one definitely wouldn't respect your decisions as leader." Connor ruffled Alyssa's hair, making her frown as she immediately straightened her messy hair. Alyssa sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest, looking a lot more annoyed now as she focused her gaze on Joelee instead. 

"He's right. I like you but there's no way I'm going into a battle with you as leader. If I'm going to risk my life and startling beauty for the greater good then there's only two people I trust to listen to." Sam pointed to Kai and Joelee before they lowered their hands, Kai immediately grinning at Sam's words for the realization that Sam trusted him enough to value his opinion.

"What about me?" Derek piped up which caused everyone to immediately groan in annoyance before the room filled with a resounding.

"No!" Derek sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the group but he didn't dare argue due to how quickly everyone had agreed that he wouldn't be a good fit.

"So it's decided, then. Unless anyone wants to volunteer." Esther muttered as she glanced to the new people who immediately looked away, not wanting the pressure that they knew would come with the leadership role.

"I'd like to." A male with dark brown hair said as he stepped from the crowd, his blue eyes glancing from person to person to see if he had any support. He was rather short and thin with very slight muscle definition in his bony arms, his skin pale from the lack of sun but his cheeks were tinted red from the slight exposure everyone had gotten on the now mandatory morning walks. He had thin lips that were just slightly darker than his pale skin from how much he refused to walk anywhere but the shaded areas of the city. His height being slightly above Joelee's making him around 5'6 but she knew his short height was an advantage to the fact he had super speed, he had been there and fought alongside Kayla previously.

Joelee didn't know him personally but she knew he might do at least a decent job at being leader... But she also knew he only wanted the position for power.

"Andrew? You want to be leader?" Willow questioned which caused the male to turn his attention to the younger girl, immediately looking confused at to how this young girl knew his name but he covered it up quickly.

"I don't want a leader that refuses to lead. So, yeah. I'll do it." Andrew shrugged nonchalantly but Sam immediately shook their head and crossed their arms over their chest.

"Joe will come around. She always does. She'll make a good leader. I won't listen to you." Sam said stubbornly which made Andrew grit his teeth as he turned to glare at Sam.

"You want a leader who doesn't want anything to do with leading? She said it herself that she can't control her anger. You can't tell me you don't hear her snarling and crying at night. I live in the room next door. She could snap and kill a few of us. She could hurt the kids." Andrew snapped which caused a few people in the room to exchange glances as they realized he was kind of making sense.

"She wouldn't hurt us. She could've by now but she hasn't. That's good enough for me." Killian argued as he came to stand beside Joelee with a harsh glare, having been standing on the opposite side of the group until now.

"You're biased. Your vote doesn't count." Andrew scoffed as he gave a dismissive wave in Killian's direction but Killian stood firm as Sam, Kevin, and Rachel walked over to stand beside them as well.

"And you're cocky. Nobody likes an attitude. If you just dismiss every single person instead of coming up with a constructive argument then I don't want you as leader either." Connor snapped as he and Kent walked over to Joelee, quickly followed by Willow much to Andrew's dismay.

"I wasn't dismissing him. If he has a thing for her then he's biased. Simple as that." Andrew scoffed which made Killian grit his teeth but he said nothing more so that Andrew wouldn't get justification with his pitiful attempts at convincing everyone else.

But then again he did make some good points.

"If that's the case then you can disqualify me too." Artemis shot back which made Joelee's face immediately turn red as Sam wiggled their eyebrow caterpillars at her.

"Then go. I don't need two measly and biased votes if you're going to take her side just because she had nice boobs." Andrew scoffed which immediately made Artemis and a few other women approach Joelee's side of the room.

"And we don't want a sexist jerk as a leader. If you think that boobs are the reason we want her as a leader then that just proves how immature you are." A male with beautiful neon blue-green eyes snapped as he approached Joelee, standing behind her shorter form as he narrowed his eyes. Joelee glanced at the male, recognizing him as having the name Xavier from previous encounters that they'd had on their walks. He was incredibly handsome with light mocha skin and beautiful full lips that were tinted with pink. He had long, neck length, curly hair that was a beautiful shade of mahogany but she could see the red was a lot more prominent now that everyone was starting to get some sun. He was rather tall, standing around 6'1 behind Joelee who saw everyone that was even slightly taller than her as tall despite the fact she was 5'4, making almost all of the men and a few of the women taller than her anyway.

"I'm older than you. I'm twenty so that doesn't disqualify me age wise." Andrew rolled his eyes which immediately caused a few more people to walk over to Joelee as they realized he wasn't saying that ironically and he actually thought age had a factor in being mature.

"I've been to school, bro. Age has nothing to do with how mature you are." Alyssa explained as she walked over to stand beside her friends, glaring at the male now because there was no way she'd have someone like that leading her.

"Okay, and she's mature? She's not proven she was mature at all either." Andrew argued as Esther walked forward to glare at the male, watching as Derek walked over to join his friends despite still being annoyed that he was rejected so quickly.

"She's a lot more mature than she used to be. She's trying at least. She's up every night making sure nobody needs her assistance. She stayed up with me last night until I felt better. While you were snoring away." Esther looked Andrew up and down with a distasteful look before following Derek, Joelee immediately smiling at her friend. Not because she was defending her, but she brought up the fact that Joelee had in fact made her feel better and that meant more to her than anything.

"She did it for me too." Willow piped up as only one person stood behind Andrew now, everyone having come to stand behind Joelee with defiant expressions.

"So what? Being a leader has nothing to do with your bedside manner." Andrew gritted out as he placed a hand on the last remaining male that stood with him. The male was around 5'2 with back length, slightly greasy, black hair, and grey eyes that had no trace of a pupil in them. Joelee recognized him as being one of the older boys, being old enough to work a few hours at the mall but she didn't know his name yet. He was so shy and quiet, she rarely got anything out of him when they spoke.

"Being a leader involves being there for the people you're intending to lead, Andrew. I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you. If you're not willing to sacrifice your own wellbeing for the good of your people then you're showing you're not willing to fight for them in the long run. You need to be whatever they need you to be... A friend, a teacher, a leader, a therapist if needed, heck.... Even a parental figure. Most of us are still just kids... Even though we're adults by law we still need that parental role. Can you do that?" Joelee questioned and Andrew's eyes immediately flashed with anger as he took a step towards her.

"Are you saying I can't?" Andrew snapped as he got up into Joelee's face but she didn't give him a reaction. Instead she kept her face stern and otherwise void of emotion as she easily met his gaze.

"I asked you a question and you answered it with violence. That means you don't think you can." Joelee answered rather simply which made Andrew's eyes flare with rage but he immediately looked away, not being able to hold her intense gaze anymore as he struggled to reply.

"It's settled then. Joe is our leader. Any objections?" Connor looked around as the final male came to stand behind Joelee now, gently taking Joelee's hand but she didn't pull away as she gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Just one? Great. That's settled. Can we get lunch now?" Sam grinned at Andrew's anger but Joelee immediately nodded, fear coursing through her at the newfound role that she had basically been forced into.

"I'm not trying to invalidate you, Andrew. I didn't intend for it to come out that way. I think you're a very valuable asset to this team." Joelee said as Andrew turned to leave, the male only hesitating as everyone filed out before he could.

"More valuable than you, that's for sure." Andrew snapped in response before he filed out of the room, leaving Joelee alone with the boy who still held her hand.

"Did you really mean it? You'd fill the parental role for us?" The boy questioned as he looked up at her, the milky glaze over one of his eyes making Joelee realize that he was partially blind in one eye and fully in the other.

"I'll be whatever you need me to be whenever you need me to be... Eugene." Joelee assured when she saw his lower lip quivering, she knew just how much these kids needed and missed their parents.

Nice mind reading quicksave.

"My dad and mom hated me for being half blind and useless. My sister was athletic but I liked computers more... After the accident in the school lab... I went partially blind and that ruined what little athletic skill I had... So... They sold me to The Monarch." Eugene's words caused rage to flood Joelee as she pulled the boy into a hug, seeing the tears forming in his eyes at being abandoned.

"They will never touch you again, Eugene. You're safe here. You don't need to be anything more than what you want to be." Joelee assured, noticing Artemis watching from the doorway with a smile on her face but she didn't dare say anything for fear of Eugene feeling like he wasn't being validated in his feelings.

"Promise?" Eugene whispered as he pulled away to look up at the slightly taller woman who immediately smiled and brushed the males greasy hair from his face before she nodded.

"I promise. You should eat though. I know you're hungry." Joelee assured him which caused a smile to spread over the males face before he turned and hurried from the room, leaving Joelee alone with Artemis who she immediately turned her attention to.

"You'd make a good mom." Artemis grinned but her smile immediately faded when she noticed that Joelee flinched but the blonde woman immediately shook it off as she forced a smile.

"To these kids, maybe. If they need one." Joelee recovered but she knew Artemis had already seen her reaction as the beautiful woman walked closer now.

"You don't want kids, do you?" Artemis guesses as she hesitated just in front of Joelee who immediately shook her head no in response, gazing up into the woman's beautiful eyes for a moment before she spoke.

"Nah, they're not in my cards." Joelee murmured as she took in how gorgeous this Artemis' eyes really were, she enjoyed seeing the woman every day now.

"You have plenty here, anyway." Artemis grinned as she looked down at Joelee with red tinting her freckles cheeks.

"True..." Joelee murmured, just now noticing that Artemis was at least a foot taller than her due to the fact they'd never been this close before... Joelee's cheeks darkened as she realized just how close they were actually standing before she cleared her throat and backed away.

"We should go get something to eat." Joelee said a little too quickly as she silently cursed herself for developing a crush so quickly after a breakup but she knew she wouldn't be able to form a relationship right now. She wasn't the type to move on so quickly... Especially considering her ex had been one of her closest friends in the past.

Artemis looked incredibly shy now but gave a nod as the two walked up the stairs together, Artemis' cheeks still red as she walked beside Joelee.

"Hey, Artemis? Will you paint the halls of the apartment? They need a little life to them." Joelee's words caused a smile to immediately break out over Artemis' face as she quickly nodded excitedly.

"I can do that! I'd love to." Artemis squealed which made Joelee smile as well. She'd already seen how beautiful the art outside was and she knew they'd be more at home if the apartment was less dull.

"Then we'll take the leftover paint and you can go wild. Do whatever you want to." Joelee's words touched Artemis a lot more than she could express. She'd never really been supported by her family when it came to her art... She guessed now she actually did have a real family.

"Thank you, Joe." Artemis kissed her cheek before hurrying into the kitchen where everyone was making sandwiches, not noticing how Joelee hesitated with a blush all over her face now.

"Not a problem..." Joelee whispered, mostly to herself before heading into the kitchen as well... A sandwich would definitely help right now.