She blew out a breath before starting. "Joel seems to turn invisible and create a projection of himself. He can also suppress abilities through physical touch. So, um, it sort of feels like he used his own energy to restrain mine. Although it was easy to remove once I found it."
Joseph wrote notes staying silent.
"Uh, Jean was wondering why you are making me train him when I've only been here for a few months..." Joseph met her eyes but remained silent. Hera sighed again.
"I don't trust him. Anger and grief fuels Joel and honestly, I don't blame him. They killed his dad, and when I brought it up to him, he said Mr Anders was more like a father to me than him. I thought that was kind of ironic considering my own father was absent my entire life, but... you know. I digress."
The Director wore a mask of indifference, causing frustration to grow inside Hera. "I don't know what else you want me to say." She paused and bit her lip, frowning. "Is there any news from Monroe yet? Are the safe houses set up because I think we should send everyone as soon as possible..." He raised his hand to silence her ramblings, and she frowned deeper.
"There is one more settlement to secure, and then they will leave, regardless of Panacea coming or not. I've realised it will be better to have us spread out so they can't take us out in one fell swoop."
"And what if something happens before that?" She questioned him, but he only shook his head.
"It won't. I have ears outside, and there has been no inkling that they know where we are."
Power surged through her palms, and she rubbed them together, soothing herself.
"Okay, well, what about Joel? Was it really a good idea to bring someone here that we don't know? You said he went to a safe house, and they sent him away. Why? We don't know what motivates him or if he's even on our side."
"That is your job to find out." His voice raised slightly, " Did you know they killed his whole family, Hera. Not just his father. Our families were friends when you were little, and Panacea took his mother to try to get to Michael. They fled before we were," he paused, choosing his words carefully. "Separated. And that's likely why they looked after you for so long. I gather Joel has forgotten this fact, or Jackie took the memory."
Hera reeled at the revelation. She wondered if he was the other child in her earliest memories Jackie returned to her.
"Why were we separated? Why didn't you look for me?" Hera whispered then, refusing to let the tears fall that burned her eyes.
Joseph sighed, "When I came to, everything was destroyed, and there was no sign of you. I thought you were dead, and I had to bury your mother." His voice broke, and he cleared his throat before continuing, "I wasn't in my right mind at the time. I went into hiding for a while, and then I heard the news about a Community of Evolved living underground, barely surviving. So I moved in, helped train young Evolved, and turned this place into a home for people like us. I never once stopped thinking about you or Lily. The first Director of this community, Kyro, was killed by Panacea, and I was voted into the position."
He leaned back in his chair and spun, returning Joel's file to the cabinet. "I sent Theo, Jean, and Zeke to capture 'Vulture' on the docks the day they found you to stop Evolved trafficking, and the rest, as they say, is history."
Hera sat, letting the new information wash over her. She had so many questions, like, was his name actually Vulture, but the one she actually asked was, "What was she like?"
The question surprised both of them, and a solitary tear spilt from her dad's eyes before he swiftly wiped it away. "She was incredible. She was a healer, the most powerful one I have ever come across, and I loved her instantly. It felt like a piece I didn't know I was missing had finally come home."
He smiled ruefully, "She was clever and intuitive and feisty, and I miss her every day." He swallowed a lump in his throat and gazed at Hera for a few moments in comfortable silence.
"You look just like her. I think the only part of me I see in you is your blue eye. Couldn't even be both eyes; her genes were so powerful." He chuckled to himself, and Hera couldn't help but smile back.
"You know," He started again with a thoughtful expression, "she was so certain when she was pregnant with you that there were twins in her belly. We never did any scans because she didn't trust the medical system, but she would tell me, 'these two will be a handful, Hunny. They're already giving me grief...' But then you were born. Just you. I remember her looking into your eyes, and she cried. For days."
He looked troubled at this. "But she came around, and she loved you more than anyone in the world."
Hera sniffled and swiped her tears away, "I wish she were still here. I hardly remember her anymore."
"I know. I wish it were her that survived..."
Hera was shocked to hear those words and quickly shut them down. "I don't wish it were you instead of her if that's what you think." She was firm with him but softened as she continued, "I'm just hurt that you didn't say anything when I arrived, and I guess I'm mad at the world for all the time I missed out on..."
"I wasn't entirely sure until Jacqueline showed up. I thought it might have been a trick of some kind. I'm sorry, Hera, I want to make it up to you somehow, but I don't know where to begin." He looked sheepish, and Hera smiled at him encouragingly.
"Well, getting to know my history was a pretty good start. How about you show me your powers?"
Joseph laughed, "I'm afraid I only use them in emergencies now. Or training the young ones."
Hera smirked, "Alright, well, I've never trained with you, so you owe me a sparring session."
"I'll meet you there when I finish up this filing." Joseph shook his head, smiling at the papers on his desk.
"Why do you have paper records of everyone anyway? It's pretty old school, right?" Hera questioned, and he nodded.
"It's all rigged to burn if anyone comes in here without authorisation, so everyone's details will be safe. Two of our community members have a photographic memory, so they are technically the backup if we lose any files."
"Damn, that's a lot of paperwork to have in your head. So boring too." Hera laughed at her dad's expression. She turned on her heel and called over her shoulder as she walked out, "I'll be waiting for you at training."
YOU ARE READING
Evolved
Fantasy"Do you know what you're doing to me?" He leaned his head forward and buried it in her neck, inhaling deeply before peppering kisses along her sternum. She was on fire now. Her energy had a mind of its own, intertwining with his and causing them...
