*3 years later*
River's P.O.V.
"Come on Mara, you're simply being aggressive and not using your head."
She charged at me again and went for a high reverse roundhouse kick to my face but I caught her foot and flipped her as she landed on the ground and just laid there in frustration.
"I can't compete with you in a fight Apollo!" She complained. "Its impossible!"
"Yes you can but as I said before you're not using your head."
"Yes I am! You just see every move I'm about to make before I actually make it!"
"Exactly. You're too predictable."
"No, you just fight like you're a god."
I sat on the ground next to her as she continued to lay down in frustration.
"Once I learned how to fight..." I began. "I never got my ass kicked again. You know why? Because instead of zoning out and letting my hands do the work I actually take the time to read my opponent while I'm fighting. I started to pay attention to their patterns and once I caught on I pretty much became unbeatable. You cant be predictable. You cant develop a pattern when you fight."
"But I don't try to."
"Mara I've been training you for the last 7 years and the only thing that hasn't changed about you is the fact that you love sticking to a routine even subconsciously."
"You're training me for combat though Apollo. Our main focus should be on my powers not my ability to fight."
"We use our powers as a last resort Mara. Our powers can kill. We don't just go around killing people just because we're able to. We only use our powers when we're on the verge of death. Which means your ability to fight is very crucial. And the better you are at it the better you are physically, strategically, and cognitively which in turn helps you to get a better grasp on your powers."
"Nah, I'm convinced that you just like beating me up."
"I don't even beat you up.... When have I ever actually had a full on fight with you?"
"You kicked me in the chest and sent me flying into the wall like 5 minutes ago..."
"I was testing your defense... You're acting like I'm sucker punching you to the verge of unconsciousness."
"You did that yesterday..."
"And I apologized for it now come on honey bunches of oats, we've still got two hours of training left."
"I've told you not to call me that."
"Its been 7 years get over it."
"Just kick him in the nose." Said Logan as he walked into the training room.
"Why his nose?" Asked Mara.
"Because its fragile."
"Only cause you've broken it 3 times." I said to Logan.
"I only broke your nose twice."
"Well lets see... The first time you kicked me in the nose, the second time you you also kicked me in the nose, and the third time you kicked a soccer ball into my nose just 5 minutes after knocking the wind out of me when you kicked it in my chest..."
"Correction... Rome broke your nose that time and Kaiser knocked the wind out of you... Not me."
"Geez... Your sons are violent." Mara stated.
"Its not just them. When Meadow was six she kicked me in the dick because I threw her makeup away and told her not to wear it again because she was too young. Speaking of dicks where's your partner in crime?" I asked Logan.
"Benji? He's hanging out with his stupid frat bros."
"Aww is someone jealous?" Mara teased.
"Me? Jealous? No. His fraternity friends are idiots. I don't even know why he hangs out with them. They've done nothing but turn him into a jerk since we started college. Like seriously all he does is talk about screwing chicks and obsesses over himself."
"Don't be too harsh on him. I'm sure he's just trying to fit in. You know how hard that's been for him with being ridiculously smart and all."
"Dad... I literally spent the first 10 years of my life living in a nonexistent forest with a psycho cannibal who restricted me from making contact with other people yet I manage to fit in just fine with a group of friends who aren't stupid frat guys that enjoy belittling and degrading people for fun. Don't try to stick up for him. You know just as much as I do that he's a self glorified dick now."
"What does that make you?"
"Are you calling me a dick?"
"I never said that. Its just a question."
"Well I'm not a dick. Never have been never will be. Though the other 50% of your kids are."
"Who?"
"Don't act clueless. Elise is a dick, Jenna's a dick, and Rome is the biggest little dick there is."
"He'll grow out of it."
"You said that when he was 6.... He's 14 now.... And is way worse. Growing out of it is out of the question."
"Awe, Rome isn't that bad." Mara stated.
"He's the devil in the body of a 14 year old. He tried to shank me the day I moved out...."
"That was entirely your fault." I replied.
"How!?"
"Oh I don't know maybe because you pushed him down the stairs."
"Because he's a little bully! He kept punking Kaiser around! Why do you think Kaiser's so mean now!?"
No matter how hard I tried I couldn't hold my laughter in. Logan always got worked up when it came to Rome.
"Kai's not mean. Just a bit aggressive at times."
He was kinda right though. For years Rome has had a tendency of picking on Kaiser though I've never really taken it seriously because, for one, brothers pick on eachother all the time, and two, its toughened Kai up.
I'm not saying that he was ever weak its just that when he was younger he was such a sensitive kid. He let the smallest little things hurt his feelings and always came running to Cass and I about something Rome or Gray said. Now he never hesitates to attack them both physically and verbally. And its hilarious because every time he does, Meadow jumps in with all of her sassiness and helps him.
My phone rang and I took it out to see that it was Raes.
"Yea?" I answered.
"Can you come up to Cato's office please?"
"I'm in the middle of training with Mara."
"Oh no no its fine. Go ahead." She insisted as she grabbed Logan's arm then headed towards the door. "I'll just go catch the snack bar with Logan even though I would much rather stay here and continue training."
She hurried out before I could say anything and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
"Guess I'll be up there then." I said.
As I made my way up to Cato's office my mind started to think of all the possible things I could've done wrong within the past month. Fortunately that's not why Cato wanted to see me.
Unfortunately the reason he wanted to see me was for something I did not wanna partake in.
I immediately knew what it was when I saw Max sitting in a chair in front of Cato's desk.
"No. I'm not doing it and there's nothing you can say to convince me."
"There's hot Colombian girls involved..." Said Raes.
"I'm in." I stated.
"Funny... That's exactly how we convinced Maxwell." Sehrem replied.
"Your mission this time is to simply attend a wedding."
"But?" I asked.
"But what?"
"There's always a catch."
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." Max began. "The first mission you ever sent the two of us on, the catch was that the therapist's wife was a crazed, horny, cougar that forced herself onto me which resulted in my wife kicking me out and me having to sleep over at River's for a week. The second mission, the catch was that we had to kick a hot Russian supermodel's/spy's ass though River gave in to her seduction and ended up making out with her instead which resulted in his wife kicking him out and him having to stay at my place for a week. The third, we had to hijack a guys plane, kill his pilot, then land the plane even though neither me nor River knew how to which almost resulted in us being sent to federal prison for terrorism and capital murder. The fourth-"
"Okay, okay, I get your point." Cato cut him off. "I assure you there is no catch this time. All you have to do is just act normal. Pretend like you're distant relatives of the bride."
"What's the purpose of this exactly?" I questioned.
"Just make sure nothing out of the ordinary occurs. If it does report it to me."
"Such as?"
"Just anything you wouldn't consider to be normal."
"Why are you beating around the bush?"
"I'm not."
"You totally are." Said Max.
"Okay you two should get dressed and get going." Raes insisted. "The wedding starts in two hours."
Something seemed a bit fishy... Cato definitely wasn't telling us everything.
...
Cassidy's P.O.V.
"I'm never having anymore kids." I said to Julia as I sat down next to her on a beanbag in the mancave.
"I second that." She replied. "I swear my two year old is actually three kids in one."
"It gets worse when they get older... They turn into monsters."
"We're not monsters." Said Meadow as she and Payton sat in the beanbags across from us.
"You two aren't... You're just brats."
"Fair enough..." Payton replied. "I think the boys just have a tendency to be monsters."
"They're heathens." Meadow added.
"You sound like your uncle Legend." Julia giggled.
"Well its true... Especially Roman. I hate that boy."
"Meadow don't say that. That's your brother."
"Fine, I strongly dislike him. He's so- stupid."
"He's going through puberty. Boys are often really immature during their teenage years." I said in Rome's defense.
"Grayson's like half a year older than him yet he doesnt act the way Rome does..."
Well she wasn't wrong. Growing up, Rome and Gray were pretty much the same person. Now that they've gotten a bit older they're completely different. Grayson grew out of his rude, or should I say 'outspoken' ways and has matured a lot. Roman on the other hand.... Oh boy. Don't get me wrong I love him to death, but he's REALLY River 2.0 now. He's even more of a handful than he was before. He's the epitome of a teenage boy. Cocky as hell, stubborn, doesnt have a filter whatsoever, likes picking on his siblings, always looking for a fight, the list goes on. He's really intelligent though so I'll give him that.
"Speaking of the devil..." I stated as he walked in. "What do you want and why are you smiling like you've done something evil..."
"I didn't do anything...yet." He chuckled as he licked his index fingers and stuck them in Meadow and Payton's ear giving them a wet willy.
"You're so disgusting!" Payton yelled.
"Stupid idiot!" Meadow followed up.
"Awe you guys are so sweet." He replied. "Anyways...." He began as he turned to me. "Can I go over to Cody's house?"
"No way, you're still grounded."
"I've been grounded for two months." He groaned in frustration.
"That's your fault."
"No, you and dad are just being overdramatic."
"Roman you wrecked your dad's motorcycle that you weren't supposed to be on in the first place."
"Okay its not like you guys don't have the money to fix it."
"Just because we have the money to fix it doesnt give you an excuse to wreck it."
"Fine. Can I go to Uncle Ryan and Uncle AJ's house?"
"No because they're gonna just let you do whatever you want."
"Uncle J's?"
"Sorry, my parents don't allow wild animals in our house." Payton stated.
He looked at her and rolled his eyes then turned back to me.
"Uncle Max's?"
"Max isn't at home. And you annoy Lindsay."
"Lindsay's mom's house?"
"Why would you wanna go there?"
"Because Lindsay's sister is hot."
"Natalie's way too sweet for you."
"Exactly. Opposites attract."
"No Rome."
"Okay what about Uncle Legend's house? Or Uncle Sonny's?"
"You annoy Legend too. And I'm not gonna give Sonny the burden of looking after you."
"Oh my god. At this point I'll settle with going to my mom's house..."
"Sure." I agreed.
"Ew I was kidding." He quickly said. "That woman has problems."
"And you don't?"
He thought about it for a bit then smiled. "Touché."
"Just go hangout with Grayson."
"He doesnt even like me!"
"That's not true."
"Yea it is! He's still mad at me for scaring off his crush."
"You scared off his crush?" Asked Julia. "Not cool dude."
"I only did it because she's lowkey a whore and he deserves better. I'm just looking after my brother."
"Fine go play with Kai and Morgan then."
"I'm not about to go play with two 8 year olds.... Plus they don't like me either."
"Ooo can he take me and Payton for a walk!?" Asked Meadow.
Rome quickly looked at me. "No. I'm not doing it..."
"Of course he can." I responded with a smile. "Go ahead son, take them for a walk."
He groaned and rolled his eyes as he walked out.
"I hate you." He mumbled.
"Sorry what was that?"
"I said I love you."
"I thought so. Send your brother in here please."
"Which one? I have like... 20 of em."
"Haha very funny. I was talking about Gray."
"GRAYSON MOM SAID GET YOUR ASS IN HERE." He yelled.
"I could've done that myself."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Why do you have to be such a smartass?"
"Would you rather me turn into a dumbass?"
"Too late." Said Gray as he walked in.
"Hey I need you to go with Rome to take a walk with the girls."
"Why do i have to be his babysitter?"
"Because the last time he went walking with Kai and Meadow he left them two blocks away.'
"In my defense..." Rome began. "....... Yea I've got nothing."
"I'll pass on this one." Grayson stated. "I'd much rather plunge a fork into an electrical outlet."
"Wow... That's pretty violent." Said Julia.
"Rome, Grayson, take them for a walk. Now."
They both groaned then walked out of the mancave followed by Meadow and Payton.
"Wait Toddles where's Wesley?"
"Why should I know?" Payton asked.
"Um because he's your brother..."
"I dont know. He's probably with Harley. Last time I saw him was an hour ago."
"Payton your dad's gonna kill me if I lost Wesley."
"Uncle J's not gonna kill you." Meadow began. "Remember that time when he accidentally left me in North Dakota? Now you two are equal."
She and Payton smiled as they walked out of the door.
"Jordan left Meadow in North Dakota?" Asked Julia.
"Its a veeeery long story."
"I've gotta hear it."
"Sure, while we look for Wesley. Come on."
...
Legend's P.O.V.
"But I still dont see how that's fair..."
"Sweetheart I've explained it to you three times. First you clean your room, then I'll let you have icecream for dinner."
"But daddy why can't I just clean my room afterwards?"
"Because I'm not about to let a 7 year old play me. Be glad I'm even compromising with you. Your mom would kill me."
"Mommy's a party pooper."
"You got that right." I replied. "Now hurry. Go clean your room. We've got 2 hours before the party pooper gets home."
"Can you help me?"
"Nope because you're just gonna trick me into doing it by myself again."
She looked up at me with an adorable set of puppy eyes but I knew better than to give in.
"Nice try kiddo now go before our deal is over."
She groaned and ran upstairs to her room as I turned my attention back to my coworker Francis.
"Sorry about that." I apologized. "She's relentless."
"Oh dont worry I've got 3 of my own so I completely understand." He chuckled. "Anyways, how's your project coming along? Made any breakthroughs recently?"
"I haven't made a breakthrough since January yet Sheffield is expecting a briefing of my progress next Friday.... Basically, I'm screwed."
"Welcome to the wonderful world of computer engineering."
"I didn't think it'd be this demanding."
"You'll get used to it after a few years."
"I've been doing this for like 4 years already..."
"I've been doing it for 10 and I still havent gotten used to it truth be told..."
"Oh great. Thanks for that lovely boost of hope."
"You'll be fine Legend. As the youngest in the company you've surpassed the majority of us by far. You're a very talented engineer and I'm sure in just a few months tops you'll have this whole project finished."
"This project isn't the only thing that's making this job hard to get adjusted to. It seems like the more time that passes the less amount of time I have to spend with my wife and daughter. I leave for work at 8 in the morning and don't get back home until 9 p.m. Savannah is usually in bed by then and Olivia hates the fact that I don't spend time with them. I convinced her to leave France and move here to Minnesota a few months after she told me she was pregnant so that we could raise Vannah together but once I got this job its like I don't even have time for her anymore. Its starting to affect our marriage now. We argue like crazy."
"I remember those days myself."
"How did you get through them?"
"Do you love your wife?"
"Of course I do. She means the world to me."
"That right there is enough to get you through this. Love is what helped to keep my marriage together. But if it ever gets to the point where you find yourself choosing your job over your family, abandon your job. Its a lot easier finding another job to suit your needs than to find another woman that suits your needs and spend years trying to rekindle the relationship between you and your daughter."
"That's true." I stated, saying nothing more because his words were racing through my head like wildfire.
I had a lot to think about now.
There was no way I was gonna risk losing Olivia.
And I sure as hell wouldn't go as far as to even think about putting anything before my daughter.
Jesus Christ, no one ever told me being an adult would be this hard.
Either that or I just never paid attention....
Time to put on your big boy pants Legend. Time to get your life together.
I talked to Francis a bit longer until he had to leave around 8. After walking him out of the door, going back inside, and heading upstairs, there was a knock on the front door.
Figuring that it was just Francis who'd forgotten something I opened the door without seeing who it was.
Bad call.
"Long time no see... What do you say you and I go for a walk."
"You're supposed to be in jail." I said.
"We'll talk about that on our walk."
Not wanting to risk getting hurt or my daughter getting hurt I agreed and walked out of the front door and closed it behind me.
Following Mark as we made our way down the sidewalk.