They had to confront their parents.
B. Wells pulled up to the X-Mansion to meet up with DaVan. He needed to talk about this in person.
DaVan stood outside with Professor Xavier, who was already looking pretty adamant in his statement.
"Brandon Wells, it's good to see you again."
"Yeah, you too." The rapper greeted.
"Now that you're here, I'm assuming Evan has told you everything?"
Brandon nodded. "This Emergency ting is crazy, innit?"
"You know that's not why you're here." Charles said seriously.
The boy looked down. "So that's really it? I gotta go home, and my parents will automatically love me again?"
"It won't be easy." Xavier reminded. "You will have to give a good explanation as to why you have been gone. And that's where I come in."
"Xavier's gonna speak through Cerebro into our minds to tell us what to say."
"Oh shoot, really?" B. Wells piped up, excited.
"Yeah, it'll be a little hard at first, but we can get the hang of it. He'll help us give some good excuses that don't reveal, y'know... Superpowers and stuff."
"So, you're gonna speak into our minds?"
"Yes, telepathically. But while I will tell you what you should say, I would advise you speak your mind with your parents. Right now, with The Emergency, they need someone to support them. You can do this. Trust me."
B. Wells sighed. "You're sure about this?"
Xavier nodded. "Of course I am."
Terra stepped towards them from outside the school. "You guys ready?"
"I am." DaVan replied. He turned to his friend. "You?"
Brandon stood there for a second, contemplating the past few days, until finally, he smiled. "Yeah. I'm ready."
"Alright. Evan, let's get you back home. See you, Brandon."
Xavier watched as Terra teleported DaVan back to his house. He turned to B. Wells and smiled. "It's alright, Brandon. You can do this. And remember, if you ever need somewhere to take refuge, our door is open."
B. Wells nodded. "Thanks, Professor. I'm sure I'll come back soon."
The rapper got back into and turned up his volume to listen to the recent song from him and his good bro DaVan. It was time to face his family.
Baby, I will be fine by myself
Sometimes our love is not enough
So we take the pills and make the pain go away
Yeah we need to numb the pain
I have been running from your love since day one
I don't need you okay
So i try to run away
But you come back
Now we are in a death race
I wish I didn't meet you that day
You a demon that's rotting my brain
You know what Juice said
"All Girls Are The Same"
Now you are rotting my brain
Girl, I ain't playing with your mind games
Its time to let me be
Yeah its time to let me be forget about me
Brandon pulled into the driveway for the first time in quite a while. It was actually a little surreal for him.
He could already tell he was in for it when he opened the garage door. Allan looked up from his Harley Davidson and his jaw practically dropped to the floor.
The boy sighed, remembering that Charles would be with him through the whole thing. He just had to remember to avoid talking about the magic, Gordon, Reinhart, and The Doctor.
"Just breathe, Brandon. I'm here."
He did as he was told and stepped out, walking slowly to his father.
"Brandon! Where have you been?" Allan exclaimed, running up to him.
"Say you were with Evan. That much is true."
"Uhh, I was with Evan. I've... Been going through a lot. I needed alone time after Reinhart, and... There's just so much going on in my life. I felt like all I wanted to do was run away."
Allan half-smiled and hugged his son tight. "Your mom was worried sick. And with The Emergency going on... We thought you died."
Uh, wow. It wasn't that serious. It had to be The Emergency talking. They seemed to be really bad off.
"Go see your mother. You're doing good."
The two entered the house, and Margaret stood there, crying. "Brandon!"
She ran to him and hugged him as well, bawling. "I missed you so much!!"
B. Wells didn't know what to make of the situation. Were they just going to forget everything that happened with Reinhart, and him running away, or-
"We've been so depressed lately. Both of us. The Emergency was bad enough, and with you gone, it made everything all worse!"
"Just say what you feel."
"It's alright. I'm fine, Mom. I just needed some time away. Don't worry, I still went to school and work, it just took a while, going to and from Victor. But we worked everything out, me and Evan."
"Wait... You went to school... But you never bothered to tell us where you were or what you were doing?" His dad asked, concerned.
"That just would've made you more worried!" Brandon argued. "Like I said, I just needed some time away from everything."
"Away from us?" Margaret shot back through tears.
Allan walked over to his wife. "Margaret, calm down-"
"You don't just leave for days without telling us! Never! I can't believe you! We love you, we do. And we can help you. You just need to-"
"Well, maybe I don't want your love right now! I've been going through too much emotionally right now. It's really hard. Please, just... Stop ganging up on me!"
"Well, it's about time someone ganged up on you, for God's sake!"
"Margaret!" Allan yelled out frantically. "Alright, Brandon, go to your room! We'll talk about this later."
"What? But-"
"Go!! Now!"
Margaret continued to cry as Allan hugged her, trying to calm her down.
B. Wells hurried off to his room, frustrated. He sat down on his bed wanting to just collapse.
It was then that the wise voice returned.
"Brandon, that was not a very smart thing to do, lashing out at them."
The boy sighed. "I know. But it was true. There's just too much for me to handle right now. And with The Emergency, they're worse than ever!"
"The Emergency is clouding their judgements." Charles replied. "Reconvene with them later and try to be more civilized. Try to be caring, loving. The only way out is to give them hope. You know what to do."
B. Wells sighed, still stressed about the whole thing. "I guess I'll try. Thanks, Professor Xavier."
"As I told you, I'll always be here to help."
That gave Brandon some comfort as he put his headphones on to listen to the Valious hook on their new track.
I don't want none of your love
No, I'll be alright by myself
Please tell me what do you want
And maybe I just cannot help you
It's alright, baby, don't you run away
It'll be all fine, baby, it'll be ok
I don't want none of your love
Oh, I'll be alright by myself
Meanwhile
DaVan walked up the road to the driveway.
"How do you think Brandon's doing?" Evan asked.
"Well, he's always had trouble with his parents. They're protective of him, so they don't want him running off. But what about you?"
Evan chuckled. "To be honest, I don't know. They were alright with Gordon being here, but now I think they know about all the trouble we were in, since it was at my house, and all that."
Terra frowned. "Ohhhh.... That's right. So you think they know about Reinhart?"
"Maybe I'll get a pass because of The Emergency. I mean, I know it's a bad thing and I'm being kinda selfish right now, but I need a break, y'know?"
"Yeah, that's understandable."
"They're not that protective either, but I know they care about me. So I'll have to talk either way."
"And that's why I'm here."
Terra could sense DaVan was focusing on something else, and smirked a little. "Xavier talking to you?"
"Yup. I may not need as much help as B. Wells, but I do need some help. Who knows what my parents are like now that The Emergency is in the world?"
"Yeah, that's right. Alright, I'll leave you here. We're coming up on the house."
"Alright, bet. I'll... See you later?"
"Yeah. You need anything, just call me."
"I will. Thanks."
"No problem, Evan."
So Terra left DaVan to deal with his family, but of course he wasn't alone. He had a mentor with him.
He stepped into the home, looking around to see who was in. His mom sat at the kitchen table, her arms crossed.
"I know what you're gonna say." DaVan started. "Where have I been?"
"Actually, I was going to say, what have you been doing over the past few days?!"
"Mention Brandon. She will at least understand that."
"I was with B. Wells. Y'know, trying to avoid The Emergency."
"Is this about that boy who stayed here?"
"Wh- Gordon? No, he's with his parents now."
Evan's mother stood up. "I saw the footage. Why were you fighting out there? You could have gotten hurt."
The rapper paused. So she wasn't gonna ask about the magic?
"You're... Worried about the fighting? What about all the time stuff with the ninjas, and the powers..."
"All I know is that there was a fight on my driveway. And now, with The Emergency... You'd better have a good excuse for being gone."
"Keep going. Brandon had trouble with an angry teacher, and he came to you for help. Make sure everything is said with some truth."
"One of Brandon's teachers was taking his anger out on him, and he was abusing his power. He's fired now, but Brandon came to me for help. He's been having some problems with depression lately, I just wanted to be a good friend. And part of that included... Me being gone for a while. But I'm ok. I guess I should have told you first, but it just kinda happened. I'm sorry... The Emergency has just been really hard on me too."
The woman frowned sadly. "Aww, I know. It's hard on all of us. You know I love you, right? That's why I don't like you going off like this."
DaVan walked over and gave his Mom a hug. "I'll be more careful next time, ok? I love you too."
After the moment passed, Evan let go and walked back to his room, collapsing into his studio chair.
"That was surprisingly easy."
"Easier than what Brandon dealt with."
"Is he ok?" DaVan asked the professor.
"For now. Just stay home for a while. He'll call you when he needs you."
"Alright. I think that's a good decision."
The boy turned on his computer and went into FL Studio. It was time to master some tracks. That was at least one way to deal with his problems, right?
___________________________________________
The next day
"And that is how you make a Yung Penguin beat."
All of the classmates clapped vigorously as B. Wells finished his presentation on Yung Penguin beats.
Salomon loved it, and Matthew laughed as well. Mrs. Taggart wasn't too enthusiastic about it but after the presentation about death before that, they needed something to lighten the mood.
"I mean, I thought I gave a good presentation, but that just... Wow. That blew me away."
"Thanks, I worked hard on it."
"Yeah, you did re-create the beat. That was cool."
"I thought it was great." Salomon complimented.
The bell rang, and the kids all exited the classroom, walking through the halls.
B. Wells caught up to Jesse and tapped his shoulder.
"Oh, hey. How'd it go with your parents?"
The boy hung his head. "Not great. We had an argument last night."
"Oh, I'm sorry. That's awful."
"It's alright, we'll get through it. How are your parents doing with the whole Emergency thing?"
"Honestly, they're not great either. Even Leah's feeling a little down about it. But I feel like there's something else going on here."
"Yeah, me too. Someone's gotta be sending those messages through somewhere. That's what I'm working on figuring out next."
"Well, good luck. And I hope you and your parents come to better terms soon."
Brandon smiled. "Thanks, Jesse. You're a great friend."
"You too." He replied as he walked off to his last class.
Luckily for B. Wells, he had early dismissal. And DaVan didn't have much with his classes either, especially with the city crisis.
At this point, Brandon got out his phone as he walked to his car and called DaVan. They needed to talk after the previous day.
To B. Wells' relief, Evan was already home, so that much was good.
"Hey, bruv. How was it coming back home?"
"Better than I thought." DaVan replied. "Xavier helped me come up with a good excuse. How about you?"
"Ugh, I wish I had it as easy as you. Even with the professor, I still ended up arguing with them. My mom cried and my dad yelled at me."
"Well, they've got to forgive you at some point."
"I don't know. Things are pretty rough."
"I feel like you're not telling me everything. What else happened?"
"I went to my room after the argument."
"And then what?"
The night before
"Brandon?"
"What?"
"Can you come here?"
B. Wells trudged into the living room, where his father sat on the couch.
"Sit down."
Oh no. This wasn't gonna go well.
"Here's what I don't understand. I get that you're older now, but you shouldn't be running off just because you 'need time'. After that whole fiasco with Mr. Reinhart, it's like you're afraid to come home."
"Well..... Sometimes I am. I feel a lot better when I'm hanging with Evan and all of our friends. We don't have to worry about getting yelled at, or being in bad situations. I feel safer."
"You don't feel safe here?"
"Not with The Emergency going on. I know I shouldn't use it as an excuse, but you're affected by it too. I can tell. So is Mom. You-"
"Hey! Don't bring up your mother. We're talking about you."
"And I'm talking about you! Look! You're angry, you're yelling at me because you're stressed."
"Because I'm worried about you!"
"Well, you shouldn't be! You should be worried about yourself! If you weren't feeling so hopeless, and if the world wasn't like this, I might have come home earlier!"
"You made a choice!" Allan snapped. "You chose to run away. You even came back to take the car, but you didn't bother to say hi. We love you. We care about you. Maybe you should care about your family too."
"I do care! I just.... Didn't wanna hurt you."
Allan looked up. "...what?"
"If I came home when you wanted me to, we would have fought and you would have hated me."
"Brandon, I could never hate you. You leaving hurt me more than anything. You shouldn't be scared of me, I'm your dad."
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, I'm scared of so much these days."
"Well..... Just don't run away. We need you."
Allan leaned over and hugged Brandon tight. "You ever need to talk, we're here."
Now B. Wells was left conflicted. His parents didn't know everything. He had superpowered friends, magical fights and just overall chaos in his life. His music was the one normal part of it, and making it with DaVan was something that helped him feel better.
But now here his dad was, trying to make him feel better with a simple hug. He shouldn't feel bad, but he did.
What he didn't realize was that little moment was a tiny step towards stopping The Emergency. With a family's love, everything could be overcome.
Of course, it wasn't at that point yet, but this was a start.
_____________________________________________
"I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas!"
Ethan was singing the apples and bananas song, while Breeze harmonized with him with his own senoj twist.
Nolan was still tilting his head back and laughing from Stevie, a kid who went outside with his class the same time that Breeze and B. Wells had taken a couple of the YMCA after school program kids outside for a bit.
"Why is that so funny, Nolan?" B. Wells asked.
"Because he said, 'Fire is niiice and waaaarrm'. And he kept singing the 'I'm a pancake' song."
"It's not that funny, you scrub." Breeze interjected.
"Nobody aaaaaaaasssked!" Aurora said in a sing-songy voice.
"Shut up, Aurora! You know that's my pet peeve!"
"Jazz hands..." Ethan whispered jokingly.
"Alright, pack it up. We're going outside." senoj announced.
B. Wells picked up the clipboard and his speaker so they were ready to go outside.
As always, it took a long time for the kids to quiet down, so Breeze and B. Wells just sat down, waiting for them to stop.
Greyson continuously shushed the others, but with Nolan and Aurora arguing, it would be a bit.
So after somewhere in between 5 and 10 minutes, they finally calmed down. Breeze stood up and walked in front of the kids. "If you take your time, I'll take my time. We ready?"
"Yes."
This was the start of another day with the BASP at Fairbanks, listening to new B. Wells and senojfromtheroc tracks as the kids played Gaga Ball, getting smoked by Breeze without even making him move.
He wished DaVan could have been there, but he of course had his own agenda at home, writing a verse for the new Jabez Z album over some emotional singing.
Both boys were enjoying themselves at this moment in time. The events of the night before were practically forgotten, as this was their lives now. With Evan making music, and Brandon pushing Goofy Boy Levi Boy on the swing until he screamed loudly, this made their days a little better.
The adults around trembled with unease as The Emergency was a continuing presence around them.
And as for Breeze, something seemed a little different about him. Not in a bad way, just kinda strange. B. Wells wondered if it was Josh from waltstudio, Ty Sol, the Y, or even him, but something was different.
"Word, I'll have him right out..... Greyson Ezra Marie Joquan Taylor! You're leaving!"
"Why do you always say Greyson Ezra Marie Taylor?" Christian asked.
"Because that's his name." senoj reasoned.
"No, it's not!" He laughed.
"And your new nickname is weird!" Nolan shouted out from the top of the playground.
"Stop ear hustling, Nolan!"
Some of the kids were playing a game where they tried to keep each other off of the playground. Kinda like King of the Hill, but with a playground. Christian didn't really like playing it, he'd actually gotten upset about it before. But it was ok because he and Greyson could just be spectators.
Anyway, B. Wells watched as Breeze sprayed Rose with the water-fan thing, and quoted lyrics from Nico & Vinz to Christian.
"But am I wrong? For thinking that we could be something for real?"
"Huh?" Christian looked up, perplexed.
"Christian!! Am I wrong?"
"About what?"
"For trying to reach the things that I can't see? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! That's just how I feel!"
"What?"
"That's just how I feeeeeeeel!"
B. Wells burst out with laughter as this atrocity kept going on, so much that he didn't see the adults around him holding their heads.
And just a few seconds after, to everyone's shock, Breeze started to feel some pain too.
"Breeze? Are you ok?" Nolan piped up, seeing this.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just- agh!"
Brandon snapped back into the real world as the commotion continued. It was happening again.
"Woah!" He slid down the slide to help senoj. "What's going on? Is it The Emergency?!"
"I don't know, it's really weird. I feel... Strange."
The adults started to recite the words that had been sort of a motto in the city now that the issue had become much bigger.
Breeze covered his face and yelled out in what seemed like pain, but at the same time.... Something else.
And as soon as it started, it stopped.
The singer got up and walked towards the bench to get the clipboard. It was funny, because all of the kids except for Ethan were being signed out at almost exactly the same time.
Christian's mom joked about having it "planned" and that they should do it more often. Many parents agreed as they took their kids to their cars.
It all happened pretty fast, but soon enough, Ethan was the last one there.
"Breeze, are you ok?" Ethan asked again as the man got back to him.
"Yeah. Sorry, I don't know what happened. That was weird. Here, go get this ball."
He picked up the green ball that he had just aired up, and kicked it into the air........
"Woah!!"
Really high. And this wasn't just an ordinary Breeze kick. This was... A super kick.
"Yo, how did you do that?" Ethan asked.
"I-I don't know I just... Kicked it."
The ball flew back to the ground, surprisingly not breaking. Because that was one powerful kick.
B. Wells took senoj aside. "Was that... Super strength?"
"I don't know what that was. But it was... Kinda cool."
"I think... The Emergency gave you powers somehow. Something sonic must have awoken in you."
"What? That doesn't make sense."
B. Wells smiled. "Lemme let you in on a secret. DaVan has powers too."
"Yo, wait. Really?"
"Yeah. Like you, but a little different."
"You gotta show me."
"Someday. But for now, we gotta do our jobs. Yo, Ethan!"
The pair turned around to look for Ethan.
"Oh no."
"He's around here somewhere. There's no way he's not. Suge!"
The guys looked everywhere on the outside area, but Ethan was nowhere to be found.
"What do we do?" B. Wells asked.
"... We could ask around, I guess. But seriously, he was right here. Where could he have gone?"
Then Brandon got an idea. "Actually, I might know someone who can help."
A few minutes later
"So Professor Xavier isn't available right now, he's on a mission with the X-Men. Luckily, we have a backup plan."
"Hey, guys!"
Billy waved to the Y employees as he landed onto the ground.
"Our backup is a kid?"
"Yeah, but he's great. He can fly. Like a mini Wanda."
"Aw, thanks!"
"You're welcome. Anyways, you know why we're here."
"Yup. You lost Ethan."
"And?" Breeze chimed in.
"And I can help you find him. Just gotta concentrate..."
Billy held his fingers to his temples and closed his eyes, focusing on his surroundings.
"Brown hair, big eyes, tan?"
"That's him." B. Wells confirmed.
"He's... In the woods? Why would he be in the woods? He seems like he's curious, searching for something."
"Where in the woods?!" Breeze asked in a distressed tone.
"Follow me!"
Breeze and B. Wells ran after Billy as he flew high to get an overhead view.
"How does he-"
"He's the son of the Scarlet Witch. There's a lot of explaining to do."
"Heck yeah there is!" Breeze exclaimed.
The musicians followed the boy into the plethora of trees to find the kid before his mom came to pick him up, which could have been any time at that moment. But that didn't matter. They just wanted to get him back safe.
After a couple minutes of rushing through the forest, Billy yelled for them for stop. He floated down, still concentrating.
"He's just ahead." Billy informed.
"One question." senoj interrupted. "How do you do that? Sense where he is?"
"I'm a telepath. And an empath. I can even read your mind."
"Well, don't!"
Billy laughed. "I won't, don't worry. Now let's go!"
The boys continued to run until they finally saw a figure in the distance.
"There he is." B. Wells pointed out. "Ethan!" He called.
The trio hurried over to the small boy, who stood at the end of the woods, looking up.
"Ethan! What were you thinking, running off?"
Ethan winced, hearing Breeze's harsh tone. "I'm sorry! I just heard something."
"You heard something? That's your excuse? Your mom is probably really worried right now."
"No, she's actually not here yet." Billy responded. "I'm Billy, by the way. Hi, Ethan."
"...Ok, well, she will worried be if you don't come back now!"
"Wait." B. Wells interjected. "You said you heard something. What did you hear? A voice?"
"Yeah. He was saying all the stuff that everyone else is saying. That Emergency thing. 'The missing aren't missing'. It sounded like it was coming from here."
Brandon stepped towards Ethan. "He? Who's he?"
"I don't know. But it sounded like that guy you showed me from school... Mr. Reinfart?"
The rapper stopped in his tracks. "Mr. Reinhart?" He asked, his voice cracking a bit.
"Yeah, Mr. Reinhart."
"But... Mr. Reinhart's d- gone. He left. How would -"
"-That was not Mr. Reinhart."
Everyone turned around suddenly, hearing a voice behind them.
A woman stood there, an African accent and a stern look.
"Where'd you come from?" Breeze said, jumping.
"I've been waiting ever since we took the signal and directed it from our base. Brandon Wells, I've heard about you. Ever since that fight with those extraterrestrials."
"Wh- I don't understand. What's going on?" Breeze asked.
"We can explain later." Billy replied.
"Who are you? And what do you mean, that wasn't Mr. Reinhart?"
The woman smiled. "My name is Rhonda Kazembe. The Erik Reinhart you knew was a clone, a trick by those aliens known as The Daleks. They detected The Emergency long before it started and their leader took himself into Reinhart's likeness. The true Erik Reinhart did live here once, and did once teach chorus. But he found another motive."
"I'm still not following." Breeze said.
"Come with me. Everything will be explained very soon."
"How do we know we can trust you?" The singer asked.
"You don't. Not yet. But if you want to help prevent The Emergency, you need to come with me."
"But what about me?" Ethan said meekly.
"This won't take long. You'll be back in no time."
"Can I come?" Billy pleaded eagerly.
"Yes, all of you."
Breeze leaned in. "What do you think? Should we go with her?" He whispered.
"What choice do we have?"
The group followed Rhonda out of the woods to what looked like a pretty big house. A headquarters of some kind with some weird gadgets on the top.
"Woah, cool." Billy muttered.
Rhonda led the group through the door of the house and through an elaborate looking maze, with doors and puzzles.
"This is insane." Ethan said, amazed.
"I agree." B. Wells replied in awe.
"Stay close. We're almost there."
Soon, everyone came to flight of stairs where a bell sat at the top. They walked up, and found themselves in front of a big door.
"Remember, you must tell no one about who and what you see. This is classified information."
Rhonda opened the door, letting everyone peer inside.
There stood another woman in a yellow outfit, looking kinda peculiar. There was a tall, long haired, intimidating man next to her.
"Mr. Benedict? They're here."
"Oh, great!"
B. Wells watched as someone behind the desk stacked with books got up and stepped in between the two others.
"No way." He said in horror.
"Is that..."
"Mr. Reinhart? With hair? Yeah." Brandon replied, his voice shaking.
The bearded man widened his eyes. "Oh, Mr. Reinhart?" He chuckled a bit, then quickly gained composure. "No. I'm not Erik Reinhart. I'm... His brother."
"His WHAT?!" Brandon shouted out in surprise.
"Hey, hey, it's alright. There's actually a really long story behind that, and I can't get into it yet. I guess I've got a lot of explaining to do. I'll start by introducing myself."
The man took a deep breath, keeping himself calm as B. Wells, Breeze, Ethan and Billy watched, still quite confused about everything.
But that would soon be cleared up, beginning with one greeting.
"Hello. My name is Nicolas, but you can call me Mr. Benedict. Welcome.... To the Benedict Society."
4720 words.