Son of the Sea

Hal fidgeted his leg as he waited for his mother to pick him up from school. He saw her little red car pull up and rushed right over. He gave her a hug through the window, and somehow she could immediately sense something was up.

"Hal, what's wrong? Something happen??"

"Nothing, it's okay...I was just hugging you.."

"Cathal. Was it one of those Jones siblings picking on you again? Whose ass do I have to kick?"

"No, no, it's okay! Please don't fight their mom again, I promise, it's nothing like that... It's just a bit awkward, that's all."

"Hal, I changed your diapers for years, I can handle a little awkward conversation." 

"Uhm...I'll tell you about it on the way home, ma." 

He walked over to the passenger side and got into the car, stuffing his backpack down in the space between his feet. They sat in silence for several minutes as she drove off. Hal started fidgeting his leg, looking out the window at the buildings as they passed. Keilani gave him a glance every so often, trying to give him time to speak when he was ready, but eventually the silence was drawing on a bit too long. She knew he was avoiding whatever was bothering him.

"Hal, honey? What's going on?"

"Oh. Uhm...yea."

"Hm?"

"It's like... I know, that, I like, I'm a little different from other people."

"And there's nothing wrong with that."

"I know, but lately... I dunno, I've been having these weird feelings and stuff.."

"Oh boy. Cathal, well... You know, when boys get older, they eventually hit puberty, and--"

"NO, NO! No, it's not that, I know what puberty is, mam. I did puberty already."

"Good, I don't think I could handle it if you had another growth spurt. You're tall enough as is!" She nudged him playfully.

"No promises." They both laughed a bit.

"So what's going on, baby?"

"It's. It'll sound stupid. And crazy."

"Crazy? Living here? Try me."

"Yeah...guess you're right... It just doesn't make any sense to me, I like. I was in gym class earlier, you know how we're doing swimming stuff right now..?"

"Oh. I didn't realize you'd already started swimming. I'm sure you're knocking them out the park, huh?"

"I mean... yeah, it's not that hard for me. And I've always been really good at holding my breath, but sometimes it's like...I don't have to hold my breath at all? It's like breathing normally, until someone points it out, I don't even have to think about it. And it's been like that for awhile, mam. When I'm in the pool, it feels like breathing in smoky air, or behind a car exhaust, like it feels kinda bad but it's okay? But when we visited tūtū this summer, when I went swimming at the beach, it was just the same as breathing the air outside. I don't know how it works, but it does."

Hal noticed his mother gripping the wheel tightly, her hands shaking a bit.

"Ma, are you okay? Are you upset?"

"No, no baby. I'm sorry, this has been happening since summer? Why didn't you say anything?"

"...I dunno. I didn't think about it at first, I guess. But..." he trailed off.

"Hal? What, did something happen?"

"Uhm, yes... but not to do with that. I... I got permission from Coach Briar to hang out at the pool after school with Alejandro and Jake. I think he wants me to join the swim team, but now I feel like that's kinda cheating? I dunno. Jake says I should, cuz I'd get a cool letterman and girls like that kinda thing I guess? But I think it'll probably clash with wrestling practice, and–"

"Hal." She interrupted him, as he was getting a bit distracted.

"Oh, right. So, me and them were hanging out in the pool, and it was like. I heard this weird...song?"

"A song? You didn't go towards it, did you?"

"No, I know better... But uhm, it was a song, with flutes and singers and drums, it sounded kinda like...gaelic? But weirder than the gaelic Ms. Maeve would use, I couldn't make much of it out."

"It did...? Did anything else happen?"

"Uhm.."

"Hal, you can tell me. It's okay, I promise."

"I started like...seeing things, ma. It was creepy."

"What--" she was interrupted by loud honking, as she was too invested in the story to realize the light had turned green. She cussed loudly out the window at the other drivers, then drove on ahead. Hal's high school was in a different neighborhood, but as they crossed into Bronze Block area, he knew the way home from here like the back of his hand. His mom could pretty much be on autopilot from here, too.

"Sorry, honey. What did you see?"

"We were hanging out in the water, goofing around one minute, right? Alejandro was doing something dumb with the pool noodles, and Jake and me were messing around, and he dunked me underwater."

"Uh-huhhh." She said with that low tone that she used when she wasn't going to say anything, but wanted to remind him that he knew she disapproved of that kind of roughhousing.

"And, well. I stayed underneath for awhile to mess with him. I think it freaked him out a bit, 'cause they tried to pull me up really fast. But when I came up, everything was different, I wasn't at the pool anymore." Keilani was trying to keep her eyes on the road, but Hal could tell there was something going through her mind. "I was on a hill, and everything around me was like, a field with these little red flowers, hills going in every direction. When the wind blew through the field, the flowers kinda looked like...hmm." He took a minute, trying to figure out how to describe it, but she already knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Like waves in the ocean?"

"Yeah, exactly, except red and green instead of blue and white. Wait, how'd you know that?" She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Ma? Mam? Have you seen it before?"

"No, I...finish your story, baby. I'll tell you once we're inside." They were nearly home, now.

"Well, um. I picked one of the flowers in the field. They smelled really nice, I was gonna press it in my math book." She smiled a bit at the sentiment, though the concern on her face was clear to Hal. "Then it all went away, and I, uh. I came to, and the pool was empty. I was laying at the bottom, Alejandro and Jake had gotten out at some point, they looked super freaked out at something. I look up where they're looking, and all the water is up by the ceiling, in the same shape of the pool. I got kinda freaked out too, and used the ladder to climb out and Jake was like telling me to go over with them, so I did. Then all the water crashed back down at once, splashing everywhere. I don't.  I don't know how, but I think I did something, somehow, and it makes sense, too, 'cause I can breathe underwater, so if weird stuff with the water starts happening, it's because of me, right?"

The car suddenly stopped. They were right outside the apartment building. Keilani was staring forward, wide-eyed and gripping the wheel even harder than before. There was a long moment before anyone said anything.

"Ma?" The pause continued for a bit longer, before she finally spoke up.

"Did you tell anyone else about what happened? Did your friends say what happened when you were in the field of flowers?"

"Uhm... we didn't tell anyone, but I'm sure Alejandro will tell Jenny about it at some point even though Jake made us make a bro pact. I wasn't supposed to tell you, even, but. They didn't know about my water breathing thing, I was scared they'd freak out. They said I like, passed out under the water and they kept trying to pull me up because all the water started just, like, falling up? Like someone was pouring it out. I dunno."

"Mhm."

"Ma, what's going on..?"

"It's. It's a long story, baby." She put her blinkers on, and pulled off to the side so that she wasn't just in the middle of the street. Once she did, he turned to face Hal. He looked like he was about to cry. She reached a hand out, cupping his round, stubbly cheek.

"There's nothing wrong with you, honey, you know that right? This'll all make sense soon, I promise." She sighs. "I've never seen the flower fields like you have, but I know who has. I promise I'm gonna explain everything to you soon." She looks at their apartment. "You have your keys, baby?" Hal nods. "Good. Go inside, and we can have a longer talk about this in a bit, okay? I need to make a phone call really quick."

"Alright..." Hal starts getting out of the car with his backpack. As he heads to the sidewalk, Keilani calls out to him.

"How about we have loco moco from that place on the corner tonight?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, why not. You deserve it after the day you've had. You know where the menus are, get me the usual, okay? I'll be inside in a minute. Love you, baby, you know that."

"I know. I love you too, ma." Hal said a bit sheepishly.

Keilani watched him go inside from the car, then rested her head on the steering wheel with a sigh. She takes her cell phone out, and begins dialing a number she never thought she'd have to call.

---

Hal was still processing everything his mother had said as he poked at his food. Keilani watched on, worried. It's not often that Hal's mind is too occupied to eat, but she knew it was a lot to take in. It could've gone worse, at least.

"If you want me to save it for later, that's okay honey. I know this is a lot to deal with."

"Huh?" Hal looked up, suddenly snapped out of his daze. "Uhm, no, that's okay. I just zoned out." He takes a large bite of egg and rice.

"That's alright, Hal. Take your time, I just didn't want it to get cold." She goes back to eating her own food. They both eat in silence, something uncommon for the Aholo-mac Lir household. As Keilani finishes her food, the door knocks. She and Hal exchange a confused glance before she stands up and walks over to the door.

She peeks through the peephole to find a tall man standing there. He had almost unnaturally beautiful angular features, a long, well-groomed beard and long, wavy hair. He stood in front of the door, looking back through the hole at her. She gasped, stepping away from the door. Hal quickly stood up from his seat and rushed over. The voice then spoke through the door.

"I mean no harm, Keilani Aholo. You called me earlier this evening? You spoke to a friend of mine over the telephone. May I please come in?"

She stepped back away from the door, holding Hal's hand tightly, but then nodded her head. Before Hal could move to open it, the door opened on its own, and the man stepped through. Only, it didn't seem like the hallways to their apartment lie behind them, but rather some sort of orchard. He gently closed the door behind him.

"I am King of Tír Tairngire, Lord and Guardian of the Blessed Isles, and Over-king to the Tuatha Dé, Manannán mac Lir." He nods to Hal. "I am your elder half-brother, Cathal. It's nice to finally meet you. You've grown much since the photo I'd seen last." Hal's mind was swimming. He'd only known about his father's family for barely an hour or two, the reality of it suddenly on his doorstep was almost too much to handle. Keilani could see her son nearly about to keel over from the amount of revelations he'd had in one day, so she took a breath, and stepped in front of him.

"Can I offer you something to eat? We have plenty to go around." The man nodded.

"You're very gracious, Keilani, as always. I would much appreciate a warm meal, yes."

The three of them sat at the table, Hal barely eating his food at this point. The man ate very politely.

"This is delicious, Keilani, what did you say it was called?"

"Loco moco, it's a comfort food I'd have a lot back home in Hawai'i. There's a shop around the corner that's Hal's favorite." She leaned in, as if telling a secret. "He likes it even more than when I make it." He gives a hearty laugh at the statement.

"Now, that is high praise indeed. Perhaps we will take some for the road, hm?" He looks at Hal, expectantly. Keilani shies away somewhat at that statement.

"Well, Mannanán, about that. I didn't realize when I called you that you'd be here so soon. I'd only just told Hal about his father a couple hours ago."

"Ah... I can understand now why he's so sheepish." He turns to Hal. "This must have been a lot for you to take in." Hal nodded a bit.

"It's. It doesn't feel real." Whatever else he had to say, he starts to lose the words. Keilani takes charge of the conversation again.

"I think he's just a bit overwhelmed. I'm sorry for jumping the gun, I thought it might take you a few days at least, considering the distance."

"Perhaps normally, but we'd been waiting to hear this news for awhile." He glances at Hal. "I may have been a bit eager, I admit. But, ah, it's in the past now." He sets his plastic utensils down on either side of his empty styrofoam tray.

"Well. I don't know that I'm going to let him go just yet. He deserves time to process this."

"Nonsense, now that his abilities have awakened in full, it's better to teach him now. Leaving him amongst mortals can only go badly."

"All do respect, your highness. He's my son." She gives him a look, and he seems somewhat taken aback. He gives a small hum, considering the situation.

"Hm. Fair enough. What do you think, Cathal?"

Hal blinks. "Me?"

"Well, it is your life, after all."

"I..." he looks down again at his plate. "Maybe. Would I be able to visit?"

"In certain circumstances."

"Well... this is my home, I need to be able to come back. I need to be able to see my mom."

"Hm... I cannot promise the impossible, Cathal. My lands have certain rules, and even I am bound by them."

"Oh..Well. Uhm." He begins fidgeting his leg again as he considers his options. "Can I have a bit longer to say goodbye to everyone? Just a week, and then I go with you, just long enough to understand my abilities?" He looks at his mother. "Does...is that okay?" She gives a small nod, though he can tell she's reluctant.

"Hm. That sounds perfectly reasonable to me, Cathal." He stands from his seat. "I will see you in a week's time, and I will take you with me back to my home. I will train you personally, and we will learn what all you can do. When you are ready, you can choose to return here, or stay amongst the Tuatha Dé." Hal nodded and stood. He put his hand out to shake on it. Mannanán shook his hand, and he felt something reverberate in the air as they did.

Hal's mother stands up and walks over to Hal. She holds his hand in both of hers, which already look much smaller in comparison despite Hal only being a teenager. He leans down, and she presses her forehead against his own.

"I'll miss you, mam."

"I'll miss you too, baby. It'll be okay."

"...I know."

The tall, sharp-faced man looked down to Hal, putting his long, spindly fingers on his arm to comfort him. Though this isn't many people's ideal of comfort, something about the gesture calmed him down. Maybe it was the way his blue eyes looked like waves crashing down into themselves, the way it filled Hal with nostalgia for somewhere he'd never been. 

"I understand you are afraid, Cathal. Things will never be the same for you, and I'm sorry about that, I'm sure it's a difficult truth for someone your age. But you are a mac Lir, a son of the sea, you deserve to know the ways of your family and your people, my people. Both of our people."

"The people here in Rocosa, they're my people too, you know."

"And you can return to them, I promise. All I want to do is help you understand a bit more about yourself. Don't you want that?" Hal paused for a moment, thinking about it some more.

"...I guess. It would be nice to finally meet Dad. Somehow."

The large man smiles softly at him.

"I'm sure he's eager to meet you as well." Mannanán then turns to Hal's mother. "Now then, Keilani, where do I get more of this loco moco?"

---

"Huh, that's interesting." Damon's voice comes through a bit crunchy and tinny over the speaker. All three heroes perk up as he speaks.

"What? What is it?" Apollo asks, a bit impatient.

"Don't rush me, Brighton. Don't you have any sense of dramatic tension?" God, not even the urgency of the situation is able to stop him from being petty with Apollo. Normally Charlie would be a little amused, but now wasn't the time for this.

"Damon." Charlie says dryly.

"Fine, yeah, okay. It's all leading back to an account owned by Cathal Mac Lir. That name ring a bell to you?" 

Charlie's brow furrows. There's no way that was right.

"Are you sure?" 

"Charlie, I think you know better than to question my skills with this shit. But yeah, that's what it says. Don't shoot the messenger, et cetera."

"Shit." If he was right, this was really bad news. And though Charlie didn't doubt the numbers and code on Damon's end, he knows they don't always tell the full story.

"What? Who is that, what am I missing?" Jasper turned from the phone to Charlie. He was conflicted, there's not a lot of situations where Charlie would give up someone's secret identity. He needed to talk to Hal.

"It's--"

"Fucking TEMPEST?!" Apollo interrupted him, loudly, jumping up from his seat as he had processed what he'd just heard. Jasper turned to him, slightly startled, but mostly just shocked themself.

"Wait, really? Tempest is so sweet, though. That's..." They struggled to process the information.

"Yeah, but look, Brighton. There's something not adding up here, just because the numbers say one thing--"

"Bullshit, you heard what Damon said. Christ. I knew he was too nice, I can't believe he just played everyone like that... He manipulated all of us, the whole fucking time."  Apollo interrupted him again. He paced and gesticulated wildly as he went on. Charlie stands up so as to speak with him at eye level.

"If you'd let me get a fucking word in, you'd realize that sometimes there's more than the numbers say going on. I've worked with Damon for awhile, and yeah, he lays out the facts, but consider who we're dealing with. The facts can be misleading. Use your head, Apollo." He points with his two fingers at his own head to punctuate. Apollo walks back across the room, sizing up to Charlie.

"Come on, Grimms. You've seen how he merchandises his hero shit, if you think he's really that good of a guy, you're kidding yourself."

"I've seen how his manager merchandises it. It's not that simple."

"It is, though. Everyone's got secrets, Charlie, we've all got something. The prettier the package on the outside, the worse it is behind closed doors. We all got tricked, it was an act. Plain. And. Simple. I'm not happy about it, but it's better to just acknowledge it so we can confront him before he figures out that we know."

"Look, Apollo. You've met the guy, it's more than just being nice, his act would have to be seamless. There's no way this guy is funding a murder cult's criminal network without anybody knowing."

"Yeah? 'Cause you would know, wouldn't you?" That was it. Just as Charlie was past his limit and ready to swing on him, Jasper stepped in between the two, making a point to put space between them.

"Look. Nobody's happy about this information. But we need to be smart about this, and not waste our time fighting each other." They gave each of them a look. Apollo and Charlie backed up, each walking to opposite sides of the room to cool off.

"Aw, I was just getting out the popcorn." Damon chimed in from the phone speaker again. Jasper sighed, and went over to pick it up.

"Thanks, Damon. We'll let you know if we need anything else."

"Wa--" They hung up the call and set the phone back down, then turned back to the other two.

"Look. We need to be smart about this. There might be more to this than we can see on paper."

"Thank you." Charlie says, exasperated.

"--But. If this is what it looks like, and Tempest somehow managed to pull the wool over our eyes, the second we bring it up, he'd be tipped off. And we've all seen how he fights. If this comes to blows, we need to be ready."

"Exactly." Apollo adds. Charlie gives him a look, but Jasper steps more into his view.

"None of us like this. Nobody wants it to be true. But I think all of us have had experiences with people that are one way in public and another way where nobody can see what they're up to. Charlie, you sounded like you know the guy, you don't think there's anything he could be hiding?"

Charlie crosses his arms, but he considers it. He doesn't know Hal so well that he couldn't hide something, and though he generally trusts his intuition on most people, there's some odd things about the guy, some things that don't add up.

"It's...not impossible. I don't know him that well. But I really don't think this is all him. Even if it's his money, he's gullible, there could be someone pulling the strings..."

"And if there is, we risk falling into a trap. Fighting Tempest could be what they want. And if he doesn't drown us in the process, we could still end up losing our biggest lead yet." Jasper knew exactly where he was going with the train of thought, apparently. He gave them a short nod. They sighed. Apollo stood across from them, arms folded. He wasn't exactly pouting, but it was something close. 

They all sat on the information a bit. The idea of having to fight Tempest wasn't ideal for a number of reasons, but it wasn't undoable by any means. They just needed to play it right.

"Maybe we should confront him about it." Jasper finally said. Both Apollo and Charlie look befuddled, but Apollo spoke first.

"I thought you just--"

"Yeah, but look. If it's not him, if someone's fucking with him, we go to his place, start out by talking to him about it. Sort it out a bit. Best case scenario, he's being framed, we get him on our side and find out who might be doing it. Worse case, it is him, we have to fight him, but if he's at home, he's not suited up, he's still got a secret id, we catch him off guard."

"Just go in through the front door, ready for a fight? You think showing up at his house costumed up wouldn't clue in that something's up even if he is innocent?" Apollo asked.

"Hmm. Good point..." Jasper began to reconsider.

"Honestly? We could show up in mascot costumes, he'd probably still offer us something to eat." Charlie replied. "And if he is some kind of secret crime lord mastermind, he wouldn't want to make a scene anyhow. Either he lets us in, tries to take us out and have a cleanup crew sort out the details, or he'd just lie to get us to leave and try to take us out later or something, where he can't be connected to it."

"And we'd be ready anyhow if he tries something. We wouldn't eat or drink anything he gives us, and uh...you think we should get backup? Alistaire's powers could probably give us an edge with a water guy. Or Pathosis probably could go toe to toe with him, honestly."

Charlie thought about it. "This would be too hero-y for Alistaire, definitely. He's not happy about the Neo Dominus shit, sure, but... I don't think he'd go for it."

"Yeah, probably not."

"I know another guy with electricity powers, though."

"That blue guy, right?"

"Yeah, he owes me one, though he'd probably be on board either way."

"Alright. I might have Pathosis wait nearby, just in case." Jasper groans. It's a fairly makeshift plan, but they don't have a lot of options in this situation, not sure who they could trust. "This sucks. Charlie, do you know where he lives?"

"I think so. He invited me and Alistaire to a party once. I didn't end up going, but I might still have the information somewhere. Otherwise, I'm sure Damon could figure it out."

"I do." Apollo said. "He really wanted the Sentinels to be closer than we were. I guess I never actually hung out with him except for media events, but I know where he lives. Assuming he doesn't have multiple apartments. It's in Nickel, though, so I doubt it."

"Well, then that's what we'll do. Apollo, text us all the address and we'll meet up at his place in Nickel. If it's him, we'll have backup on deck and hopefully be able to subdue him. If not, we talk things out and maybe get more clues in the right direction." Jasper looks between them, in case there's any additions or comments.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Apollo says, taking their lead. Charlie grunts in acceptance more than approval, but it was good enough.

They'd take a couple days to make sure everything was in place.

Unfortunately for Charlie, the Blue Demon angle was the first hitch in the plan. Apparently water was as much if not more of a hindrance on him as his electricity was on any water guy. His partner, Raiden, was also an electric hero, but he was out of the country briefly. Great. Charlie ended up going to Alistaire, even though he basically knew the answer. If nothing else, though, he needed to be filled in.

"I dunno, Charlie. The last time we got close to any of this 'Neo Dominus' stuff was pretty scary." He put Neo Dominus in exaggerated air quotes.  "Not to mention, I got an evil villain rep to keep."  

"Well, if it comes to it, as far as the public's concerned, you'd still be fighting a hero, right?"

"Yeah but it's..."

"Not your thing, I know. I told them as much."

"It's not even just that, though. I don't want to fight Tempest. One, he's really strong in the punch you right through a wall kind of way. Not ideal for me! Two, I know what you said before, but I mean...he's really nice. I don't think some secret criminal...cult...guy would make me one of the best ugly holiday sweaters I've gotten in years! I didn't even show him my wishlist, it was just because he could."

"I mean, Al Capone had a soup kitchen."

"You know what I meeeeean. Like--"

"Yeah, I know. I think there's something going on here. Brighton's...I dunno, he's got his head too far up his ass to listen to reason. Nothing new. And I know Jasper's probably being cautious, but there's something missing here."

"Yeah, I dunno..." Alistaire sighs. "I'm not gonna let you guys get killed or anything though, so I gueeeeeess I could wait outside with Path. We haven't gotten to hang out in a bit anyways. Just as a lookout!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeahhh. But like, Charlie, we've rubbed shoulders with some pretty batshit insane, genuinely awful people. I think if Hal was one of them, we'd know by now."

"Yeah. I'd hope so."

---

Charlie met up with Apollo, Jasper, Pathosis, and Alistaire on a roof across from the place a couple days later. Jasper was going over the plan so that everyone was in the same place. It seems that Jasper saw a bit more of Apollo's argument, since things had changed a bit. Instead of just trying to chat, they wanted to do some recon first. Hal had just left to go to the store, and from what they could tell, his dogs were at the groomer, so they had a perfect opening to snoop around for any information before they potentially tip him off. Alistaire and Pathosis would keep lookout, warn them when he was on the way back, then they'd sneak out, go around and knock on the front once he got inside, hopefully before he could notice anything out of place. Then...they hope for the best.

The three of them sneak in through the back of the building. Jasper noted that it was an older high rise, maybe made in the 70's. All that meant to Charlie was that it probably wasn't much in terms of security or cameras. Jasper was powered down with a mask as they went in, just to not draw too much attention. Apollo being in his Magnum Opal getup wasn't exactly ideal for stealth, but at least it wouldn't be particularly alarming for any of them to be there in costume. They went up to the 5th floor where Hal's apartment apparently was. Apollo remembered the direction more than the number, so it took a moment to find the right door. 

Once inside, they split off. Jasper and Apollo went right to the back, while Charlie stayed where he could see the window, and whatever symbol Alistaire and Pathosis would give from across the street. He started poking around the living room, looking for any conspicuous spots to hide something useful. Hollow walls, fake books, maybe a burner phone if he was lucky. So far, nothing. He found one of those book-shaped boxes, but it was full of recipes, not top secret evil files. The weirdest thing he'd found was a huge empty canister of pre-workout that had been painted and carved to look like a jack-o-lantern. There was no doubt Hal was a bit of an odd guy, but nothing Charlie could find pointed to him being a bad person. It'd only been a few minutes, so he kept looking. He supposed most criminals don't keep an itinerary of their potential future crimes and schemes in their front room, anyhow. Only Alistaire did that.

He'd caught part of Jasper and Apollo's hushed conversation about all the wrestling posters he apparently had as one of them moved from one bedroom to what was probably an office or whatever else people do with a second bedroom they don't need. Just as he'd tuned out of that, something else caught his eye. On the window balcony, there was a crow perched on the railing, looking inside the apartment, right at Charlie. As Charlie looked back at it, it turned its head and cawed at him. It was then he saw a glint in the distance. He looked past the bird to the other roof where his friends lie in wait, realizing the glint was actually the light reflecting off a green compact case that Alistaire had. That was the signal for Hal coming back, but they'd only been here barely 5 minutes, they should've had way more time.

"Oh, shit."

Jasper and Apollo shuffled back into the front room, having heard Charlie.

"What's going on, did you find something?"

"We need to go, right fucking now, he's on his way ba--" Charlie spoke in a hushed tone, trying to shepherd them back into the other room, but he was interrupted by the sound and sight of the doorknob turning. Jasper activated their powers, maintaining their Photon disguise in the process as all three of them turned towards the door. 

The large man came through, muttering something to himself about his wallet. There was a look of surprise on his face as he saw the three heroes, followed by a brief amount of embarrassment.

"When did you three get here? Did...Did I forget an appointment again?" A slight pause. "Do you want something to eat? My mom left some musubi--"

"No, thank you though." Jasper said, politely. Hal slowly closed the door behind him and looked at them, confused at the present situation. "Tempest, Hal... Since we're here, I'm just gonna call you Hal. Hal, we wanna ask you about some stuff we were looking into."

"Oh, absolutely,  go on ahead. You guys looking into some big villain or something? I'll help however I can!" He smiles big at them. Jasper and Apollo exchanged a look, then they continued.

"Something like that. We've been looking into some bad actors, they're genuinely pretty messed up people. When we were, though, your name came up, and we--"

"What do you know about Neo Dominus?" Apollo cut in, aggressively. Jasper shoots him a look, but Charlie's seen what it really looks like when they're mad at him, and this wasn't it. They were doing some kind of good cop, bad cop routine. Or good cop, idiot cop, depending where this went. Trying to get a reaction out of him. There wasn't an ounce of recognition on Hal's face, though. He looked a bit concerned at the subject matter, but bringing up the organization didn't get the reaction they were hoping for. He was a bit relieved, but it only meant so much towards his innocence. 

"Am I....supposed to know what that means? I've never heard of it before. Sounds like, uhh, Latin New... uh, neeew....something. Dominating? I dunno, it's been years since I took Latin." He gives a little laugh, nervous more from the tension than from hiding something, but Charlie's not sure the other two read it that way.

"No, well yes, it is Latin, but it's more than that. It's an organization that's part of the government that has gotten away with a lot of messed up stuff, Hal."

"And you're connected to it. How?" Apollo chimes in, much more demanding.

"I am? How?" He sounds even more confused than before.

"Don't act like you don't know, Tempest."

"Magnum." Jasper sighs. "We found some accounts of yours connected to some goings-on of theirs when looking at their paper trail."

"Oh, well then that's pretty simple of a fix then. You just gotta look at my books, right? When none of it's in there, we can figure out what's going on?"

"Well... it wouldn't hurt, I guess."

"Yeah, I can do that, no problem! Here, I keep them right over here.." Hal shuffled past them into the living room. Charlie noticed that as he did, he glanced at the crow outside, which was still looking inside the apartment. Maybe Hal liked to feed it, or something. He went over to a high shelf, took out a book or two, and put them back. He muttered to himself about where he put things.

"He's stalling.." Apollo whispered to Jasper, who promptly shushed him. Hal gave a little 'oh!,' seeming to suddenly remember where he put it. He went over to a dog statuette sitting next to the tv stand, and pulled it off of its base. Inside, there was a mismatched and disorganized pile of paperwork and mail.

"Lillie was always telling me I need to keep better track of my stuff, so she got me this last tax season! Isn't it cute, it looks just like Manō!" He holds up the stone dog statue up to his face with a little smile. It did kinda look like an Irish Wolfhound. Jasper goes over to the now remaining box of paperwork.

"Can I look at these?"

"Sure! I'll grab the account folders out, make it so you don't have to go through all the boring tax stuff." He placed the statue down on the ground, making a heavy thunk sound as it hit the wood floor. Charlie and Apollo exchanged a look, having both made the observation of how stupidly heavy that thing was. Hal squatted down to shuffle through the box.

"Hmm, oh there it is." He plucks out a file folder with a big sticker on it labeled 'bank statements and accounts,' then stands up as he parses through it. The three heroes, however, were more attentive to the folder that had been uncovered in his shuffling. Just underneath some envelopes, the unmistakable logo of Neo Dominus peered back at them. Jasper reached down for it. Suddenly there was a tapping sound, Charlie turned to the window to see the crow from the balcony, now tapping on the glass with its beak. Hal also turned to it, confusion on his face, but a hint of something else. Charlie couldn't quite place it.

"Hal, what is this?" They both turn back to Jasper, now standing, facing Hal and holding up the Neo Dominus file.

"Uhm, not sure, Photon. I've never seen that folder before, that's a pretty weird designed logo on it. Most of my stuff has like, dolphins and cliffs and rivers!" He turns around the bank statement folder he had, where, sure enough, there's a graphic of a dolphin on it.

"Cut the shit, Tempest. Your idiot sweetheart act isn't working anymore."

"...My what?"

"Hal, this logo belongs to Neo Dominus. I thought you said you didn't know anything about them."

"I don't! Why would one of their folders be in my stuff???" He was backing up somewhat.

"...We're wondering the same question, Hal. These aren't exactly easy to have, and unless you have a really good reason for why it's there... this doesn't look great, Hal."

"What, how would I..." Hal trails off, lost in thought. Charlie could practically see the gears turning in there. The three of them also noticed, though, that every step Hal took backwards was a step closer to both the door and the kitchen. Apollo and Jasper glanced at each other.

"Hal, you need to stay here until we figure this out." Apollo took a step towards him.

"Wait..." Something was clicking in place for him, Charlie could tell.

"What's going through your head, Tempest? How did this get there?" Hal makes eye contact with Charlie as he speaks with his Gunslinger drawl. He figures he'd be hard to read with the hat and bandana mask, but Hal wasn't difficult to read at all. He didn't look like he'd gotten caught in the act, he looked like he'd walked in on something he wasn't supposed to. It still wasn't adding up. Charlie could hear the bird tapping on the glass again, which seemed to cause Hal to respond more harshly than before.

"No! No, this isn't me, I don't have anything to do with any of this. You have to believe me." He turns to Apollo. "Opal, we're friends, right? You know I wouldn't get involved with this."

"We're not friends, Tempest, we never were. I don't know what the other Sentinels told you when you joined, but we're just coworkers, I barely know you. And I certainly don't trust you." Hal visibly sank a bit. He looked to Photon, who had a vice grip on the folder. Then he met eyes with Charlie, but Charlie wouldn't meet his gaze. Hal looked dejected, and while Charlie knew something was up, right now this didn't look good. He just hoped that Hal would cooperate peacefully to get to the bottom of it instead of risking anyone getting hurt.

"I don't know what I did to convince you guys that this is me, but I'm sorry." 

"Alright, I've had enough of this shit."

"Ap- Magnum, wait--" Jasper tried to step in, but not before a sword and shield made of light appeared in Apollo's hands. 

"Don't take another step back, Tempest. You're telling us everything you know, right now." Apollo brandished the sword at him, Hal put his hands up, trying to defuse the situation, but obviously it wouldn't do much. Jasper and Charlie both stepped forward to de-escalate, but Charlie spoke first.

"Don't you see there's something else going on here? Can you calm the fuck down and take your prettyboy alpha bullshit down a notch for one second long enough to see something still isn't adding up?"

"And why're you still defending him, huh? We found the smoking gun in his apartment, Gunslinger. How is that not enough evidence for you that he's not a good guy? I know you've still got a soft spot for other villains, but this is a bit too far, even for you." 

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Charlie's fist clenched.

"I think you know exactly what it's supposed to mean--" Apollo got up close and personal with him. Jasper stepped in once again, interrupting Apollo.

"Can you two focus for one fucking minute? We have to figure this out."

Hal took another step back to give them some space. Apollo quickly turned back to him, appearing to throw his sword at him, with it dissolving into motes of light just before it reached Hal's chest. It was an intimidation trick he had, not losing contact with the sword until the last second, giving it enough momentum to look as if it were being thrown before it dissipates, since he can't seem to wield anything he's not touching. He wasn't sure how many people realized that, though. It was safe to assume that Hal probably did not, on account of the fact that he looked completely shocked. Not fear, not how someone usually reacts to a blade being thrown at them, just shocked that he would do it at all.

"I thought I told you not to fucking move."

"Brighton, are you out of your fucking mind?!" Charlie shot back.

"Using my real name, really? Figures you wouldn't have an ounce of fucking professionalism--"

"Everyone knows your real identity you piece of fucking--"

The volume grew as they talked over each other. Jasper had to yell over them both just to be heard.

"CAN. YOU. NOT. Do this right now? Fuck's sake, what is wrong with you two, we need to focus."

As if to punctuate them, there was suddenly a loud clatter of glass, as Pathosis burst into the apartment through the balcony window, Alistaire in tow under his arm. Shit, they must've seen Apollo summon his weapons and taken it as the signal to come help. Pathosis places Alistaire down safely before charging in.

"Path, wait!" Jasper calls out, but they're not fast enough. He tackles the confused and worried Hal to the ground, but Hal uses the momentum to roll back, feeding his momentum back into him as he tosses Path behind him, flying past the counter and into the kitchen.

"Please, I don't want to hurt you. I'm not trying to fight." He says, then makes a break across the room, for the window.

"Shit! Apollo, don't let him leave." Jasper calls out, as they rush after him. Jasper is clearly much faster, but Hal has a bit more force behind him. Apollo takes the cue to barrel him from behind with a light shield, causing Hal to fall flat on the ground while Jasper guards the exit.

"Stop, let me go, please." Hal pleads.

"Stop trying to leave and make this easier on us, then." Apollo barks back.

"You don't understand. "

"Then explain it to us, Hal. Help us understand, we don't want to fight you either." Jasper chimes in, motioning Pathosis to come over and help pin Hal.

Charlie and Alistaire exchange a look. Neither of them like this, but what were they supposed to do about it at this point?

"Fine, this is the last time then?" Hal says, sounding defeated. Charlie notices he isn't responding to Jasper, Hal was looking past them. He was talking to the crow, which had landed on the balcony again. What was up with that thing? It cawed, almost in reply to what Hal said. Charlie looked at Pathosis, the resident nature guy, who was looking at the crow as well. Path turned his head a bit, like a puppy trying to understand what's going on. 

Hal's reply didn't make any sense in context to what Jasper had said, so everyone else was confused in a different way.

"....What?"  Jasper looked baffled. Hal gave a sigh.

"Morrígna." There was an echo as he said it, the name held onto the air, refusing to be unheard. Suddenly, everyone's ears were ringing as a sharp, shrieking wind blew through the broken window. The wind was so strong it nearly knocked Jasper, Charlie, and Alistaire off their feet. It somehow was even worse for Pathosis and Apollo, as if all the strength of the wind was focused on them.

The sky quickly grew dark, overcast completely as a storm cloud rolled in, and the lack of sunlight caused the shield in Apollo's hand to dissipate, sending him flying back in the rush of wind without his anchor. Pathosis remained, grappling Hal still. The wind suddenly stopped. Everyone barely had enough time to catch their breath before what happened next.

There was a cacophony of sound, and if there was any through the clouds before, it was gone now completely. A huge black mass blocked out the light from this window, and everyone was suddenly aware of the hundreds and hundreds of crows cawing and shrieking from the massive flock outside the window. All of a sudden, they rushed in, barrelling Jasper and Alistaire over entirely. Charlie had managed to dodge just in time, laying flat up against the wall. They were like a feathery fire hose, the force of them pushing Pathosis finally off of Hal.

"Crows?! Why are there crows??? I thought he was the water guy!!" Alistaire called out from the floor.

"He is! What the actual fuck is going on?!?! Jasper shouted back over the sound of wings and the birds’ own screaming. The birds coiled around Hal, making it nearly impossible to see him through the dark wall of feathery wings flapping. They encircled him for a moment, then went back out the window with just as much force as they came in, except, now, Hal was gone. Everyone rushed to look out the window, the mass of birds was in the distance, but Hal was nowhere to be seen. Somehow, they must’ve taken him out with them.

"We have to follow those birds." Jasper didn't even take a second to react before rushing out the window, chasing after the birds at lightning speed. Apollo and Charlie both start to call after them, but they're already gone. Apollo curses under his breath.

"The bird, on the windowsill." Pathosis spoke up. "It wasn't a crow from here, it doesn't look like any of the crows that live here."

"Yeah, I don't think it is, Path. But how do you mean?" Charlie asked.

"It was like..." Pathosis has to take a moment to put the words together. "Like the river, when he spoke to it. It was natural, but...something else?"

"Oh, that's helpful." Apollo was somehow, already, on his phone.

Charlie tried to ignore him. "What river, Path?"

"The one in my forest. When I saw him before, there was a face in the river, he was speaking to it."

"What? I guess...he does control water, usually, but that's not really.."

"It was the river's face."

"...Alright. So, wait, why didn't you mention this before?"

Pathosis shrugged. "If he was a bad person, it didn't seem relevant."

"He told meeee." Alistaire chimed in. "Well, just earlier, when we were waiting on the roof."

"Ha! There you are." Apollo exclaimed, looking at his phone. "I got him."

"What? What're you on about, Brighton?" Charlie responded, but everyone turned their attention to Apollo.

"I got some little tracking tech, and I stuck it on him when I was tackling him, just in case he managed to get out. And it worked! I can see where he's going."

"Huh, actually did something useful for once."

"Yeah, I-- fuck you, Grimms. Ugh. Anyways. All we have to do is to follow this to figure out where he's gone. I'll send everyone the information. Except Pathosis, I guess you'll have to tag along with someone, since you don't have GPS."

"Pathosis, you're pretty fast, how about you take Apollo with you, and try to track those birds? If they dissipate, then follow Apollo's lead with the tracker. Alistaire and I will take the truck using the info Apollo sends us. Hopefully we catch up to Jasper soon."

Pathosis nods and in one swift motion, he scoops up Apollo into a fireman's carry.

"Hey, wait, don't you d--"

There's a high pitched shriek from Apollo as Pathosis jumps from the balcony. Charlie snorts and helps Alistaire up off the ground. Alistaire dusts off his costume, paying extra attention to his cape.

"That could've gone worse." Alistaire finally said, once they were in the elevator.

"Sure, considering Hal didn't immediately try to flood the city?"

"Yeah, oh I should write that down in my scheme journal. Not deadly flooding, obviously, that's no fun. Buuuuuut a few crocodiles or something in the streets could be!" They keep talking as they head to the truck.

"Crocodiles are deadly, Alistaire."

"Hmmm. Not how I do them." 

"That doesn't make any fucking sense." 

They both get into the truck, Charlie pulls up the gps to lock in whatever Apollo had sent. Just as he did, however, he got a call from Damon. He picked it up, put it on speaker.

"Hey, Damon. Kinda busy right now."

"Anyone else with you?"

"Just me!" Alistaire chimed in. "Hiiii Damon."

"Hiiiii Alistaire. How's things going with the sea beast?"

"Could be better, could be worse. We're chasing some birds right now." He hummed.

"Huh. You said that like it meant something to me."

"You got a reason for calling, Damon?" Charlie cut in.

"Right, yeah. So. I've been poking around Neo's stuff some more. Turns out, they've actually had Hal under surveillance for awhile. Doesn't really sway things either which direction, government org would for sure keep an eye on their own agents, maybe they saw him as a threat. But something pinged just a few minutes ago in his surveillance log, but I'm not sure what it means yet."

"I have a bit of an idea. Can you look into something quickly for me, Damon?"

"Probably, depends what it is."

"Can you look into any information about Hal's manager? Lilith something. I think we all went to school at the same time, if that helps."

"A bit, yeah."

Charlie takes off in the direction of the blip from Apollo's tech. It's still moving, and fast too. Hopefully Jasper's able to catch up with it and figure out what's going on with him.

"So, that's fucking weird." Damon says over speaker.

"What is?" 

"Lilith De Luca, she's kind of a ghost at first glance. She's got Tempest's career, some actors, wrestlers, LA heroes on her website, of course. But anything serious seems up in the wind. I looked at the contact email, but it's clearly just the shit her secretary handles, nothing from her."

"Maybe she just is more logged off than we are?" Alistaire wondered aloud.

"Charlie."

"I know, Damon. We saw this a lot when we first started looking into people entangled in Neo Dominus. It's not just social media, there's no birth records, death records, marriage certificates, credit scores. Shit, I knew something wasn't right here. And Hal's wasn't like this?"

"Well, no, but I just assumed it was because he had more of an image to keep, like part of the smoke and mirrors, I guess. I didn't even think to check her. Plus, this isn't even what's weird, Charlie. She's a ghost, no credit score, no transactions, no birth certificate, nothin'. Except. This past week, a credit card under her name was used to buy a plane ticket out of Denver International Airport."

"Why go to all the trouble of hiding everything, if you're gonna leave breadcrumbs anyways?" Charlie cursed loudly. "Has it left yet?"

"Tomorrow morning. It's an 11 hour drive." Charlie made a quick U-turn. Other people honked and cussed him out from their cars as he drove back in the other direction, towards the highway he knew she'd have to take out from the city. It was opposite from the direction the tracker appeared to be moving.

"You know this is probably a trap, Charlie." Damon said over the speaker.

"Probably."

"But you're going anyways?"

"I am."

"Godspeed, man. Let me know if I can help at all."

"I will. Thanks, Damon." He hung up the call.

"Alistaire, text Jasper."

---

Hal found himself standing atop a grassy hill, a thick swirling fog in every direction around him. It was so dense that despite knowing it was the middle of the afternoon, you could see almost nothing in any direction. He didn't have to imagine what this space would look like should it be actually dark, he was just glad it looked different this time. Suddenly, a shrieking wind blew through, the kind that sinks the cold into your bones as if you'd never been wearing anything at all to guard from it. The wind is strong, but Hal stands there, and does not falter. After the wind blows through, a woman steps into view from the fog. She is smaller than Hal, but her short stature hides a ferocity. Her hair flows behind her, as black as the starless sky. She wears a cloak of a million black feathers, leaving some behind with each motion she makes.

She steps closer, and Hal blinks. The woman in her place now dwarfs Hal in her stature, but she is much kinder in face. Her hair is like fire, and looking at her, you would not know where it ends and the fog begins, as its orange tendrils flow seamlessly into the air around her as the wind catches it. She looks down to him with the softness of a mother's gaze, but there's something else there. The spark of something he knew would burn him up if he got too close.

She steps forward, Hal blinks again, a third woman in her place. Her features are sharp and gaunt, her skin and hair as pale as milk, and a stained face, as if she had been crying.  When she moves forward to close the final gap, she moves erratically. It causes the same shiver up the spine one would get from watching a spider crawl toward their leg, every muscle screaming to move, the cacophony in your mind so deafening that you can't make yourself move to flee or move to kill, until all of a sudden you panic, a jumbled splay of limbs moving to get away. Hal resists the sensation, as he's not here for her. But when she lunges, he still can't help but flinch.

He hears her shrill laughter on the wind, and as he opens his eyes, the first woman was once again standing before him now, looking up at him, wild ferocity in her eyes. If Hal were to look past her, he'd see the fog has pulled back a mile in every direction, weapons littered what was once a battlefield, marking the graves of those who had fallen. He'd also see flowers sprouting at the base of where the blades met the ground. But Hal knew better than to look past her, he met her gaze with his own.

"Badb."

She nods. "Cathal. You're far from home, Son of Lir."

"This place is my home as well. Er, ma'am."

"Aye, I suppose. You called us?"

"I did...I want to use my last favor, from you." 

She hums a bit.

"You would use the favor of war to protect others?" She laughs, her laughter is loud and sharp, echoing through the fields. "How interesting." She begins to circle him, but he stays put.

"I...you commended my bravery before, is this not the same."

"Hm, is it? I don't think you need me to answer that question." She moves behind him, disappearing as soon as she's out of sight.

"I didn't have a choice." He turns to where she was only to find her gone. Instead, a crow flies down from the foggy sky, landing on his shoulder. It spoke with the same voice as before.

"Having no choice and not wanting to choose from the ones laid before you are miles from being the same thing, lad. It would do you well to see the difference."

"I....you're right."

"As ever." The crow flew off, and the Badb stood before Hal once more.

"I enjoy you far more than your brother, you know?" She sighs. "My summoning is not the same as what you are owed, and so far, it is all you have used. It was clever of you, I suppose, so I will reward it just this once. My favor remains, Son of Lir, what would you ask of me?" 

The damning file in the box that Lilith gave Hal swims to the surface of his mind.

"There's someone I know, who I trusted. I think she's hurt a lot of people, and she used me to do it."

"Hm. Aye, she did. She has hurt many more than you know, and may harm others more still, given the chance. She has helped to make an empire by your name, Son of Lir, deep beneath the surface with the criminals and the salt of Argantom. It is flush with coin and runs blood into the roots of your sparkling city. What do you mean to do about it?"

"I need to find her, and I need to stop her... But I haven't spoken to her in at least a week, I don't know where she's gone."

"I can bring you to her, then."

"With no civilians?" The Badb narrows her eyes.

"It will be done. This is the final favor the Morrígna is owed you, Son of Lir. All else will have a cost."

"I understand." He nods to her, and she smiles.

"If I may, Cathal? I would bestow you wisdom for the future in your new home, on a single condition. You must return to Éire in five years' time, and you will visit my sisters and I, in our domain."

Hal nods, agreeing to the terms without hesitation.

"Good. Our wisdom is this: this goes much further than what Lilith has done to you, Cathal, how she has tarnished your name and that of your kin. She is part of something greater. Your land of Argantom in the west will come to ruin very soon. When this time comes, it would do you well to be by your people's side. They are where you are needed most."

Hal took in what the goddess was saying. He wasn't sure what she was referring to, but he knew he would in time. He nodded to her, accepting what she'd told him.

"Thank you, Badb. I understand, or, well, I will soon, I suppose."

"And with that, we arrive. Remember what we agreed upon, Son of Lir, and remember your people when the time comes."

"Aye. I'll see you in 5 years, Morrígna."

All three sisters now stood before him as he looked on. They nodded to him in unison. Then they were gone.

---

It felt as if he had been falling from a great height, having just landed on his feet with a start. But as far as he was concerned, he was standing on the grassy hill one moment, at the center of a foggy field of a battle long past, and the next, he was here, on an interstate highway outside of Silver City. Despite the time of day, the highway was almost entirely empty, except for him, and a single car, rushing down the road towards him at high speed. Hal stood there, not surprised when he saw a familiar face behind the driver's seat. He felt shame, for not seeing what was in front of him, for letting people get hurt on his watch, in his name. He felt anger, he felt betrayed by someone who had been his friend for so long.

Lilith blanched completely, clearly not expecting to see Hal at all, much less here. And though she should have known better, she floors it, aiming to hit Hal head-on. He stands his ground. Hal is strong, he's not strong enough to not feel the effect of a car crashing into him at full speed down a highway, but wouldn't kill him, so as far as he was concerned, he'd walk it off. He summoned strength he rarely used from deep inside him, digging his feet into the road as the car made impact. His hands gripped the hood of the car, the metal crumpling like paper. There was pain in his chest, his feet, his hands, his legs, but it was all distant, white noise as he stared down Lilith through the shattered windshield. She was conscious, but dazed from the impact of the airbags.

Hal walked to the side of the car, ripping off the side door and throwing it off the road. Just as he began to pull her out of the car, there was a bang, and a large bullet just lodged in the top layer of the skin of his upper arm. He looked at it, then back to her in confusion. She was facing him, pointing a gun that she must have had in her glove compartment, as it hung open beside her. Her stare was icy and distant, barely bothered by what she'd just done, but when Hal looked closer, behind all the cold-blooded malice, there was something there. Was it regret? Was it fear? He wasn't sure, but it hurt.

"...Lillie. Wh--"

"Do you take me for a fucking idiot, Hal?"

As if to punctuate her question, there was a secondary bang, as the large bullet lodged into his skin exploded into shrapnel with immense force, using the entry from the initial shot to shred his arm from the inside out. Hal cried out, clutching his arm. This was something she'd prepared for, she knew how he worked, she knew how to hurt him. He felt hot tears on his face as he watched her crawl out the door on the opposite side, trying to make a run for it. Then, all the rage and sadness and shame burned away until all he was left with was a single white-hot focus, knowing what he had to do.

Hal used his functional hand to draw water from the moisture in the air. The storm that Badb had brought had passed, but it left behind ample weapons for him. He formed a long, thin sliver of water in the air, then threw it forth like a spear. The water shot through in a clean, straight line with incredible force, going right through the back of Lilith's leg, just above her ankle. She fell to the ground, unable to stand as her achilles' tendon had been sliced clean through. Hal began to walk over to her. She turned over to face him, pointing the gun at Hal again. 

"Fool me once, Lillie." The usual softness to his voice was gone in a way she had only heard one or two times before. Before she could take the shot, Hal waved his good arm, and the water on the ground gathered and shot up in an instant, like a geyser, sending the gun flying from her hand.

"Finish it, then. Get it over with. I know you, Hal, you don't have the balls to do what needs to be done. You never have."

"...I'm not gonna kill you, Lillie. Not yet."

She scoffs. "Of course not. You're too sentimental."

Hal squats down beside her on the road.

"...What did you do, Lillie? What's Neo Dominus?"

"I think you don't need me to answer that if you're here, Hal."

"I want you to tell me."

"...You know, it wasn't personal, Hal. You were just in the right place at the wrong time."

"When? When, Lilith? When did I stop being someone who mattered to you, I thought we were friends."

"Oh my god. You think that about a lot of people, Hal. Really, it wasn't really very hard at all to fool you. Most people need money to look the other way, or blackmail to force their mouths shut. I didn't have to give you anything but attention. You so desperately want to be loved by others, to be adored, to be a symbol of something greater than yourself, you fail to see all the ways people placate you, telling you what they want to hear to push you in the direction they want you to go. You're not a hero, you're not a god, you're just a thing, a tool waiting to be used, waiting to be pushed in whatever direction I saw fit."

There's a long pause. The empty road was silent aside from them.

"Explain the whole thing to me. Where it started, where it's all going, all of it. Make it a little easier on me to take this apart, at least."

"If I make things easy for you, Hal, you'd have no reason to keep me alive."

"...You really think that?"

"If I was smart? Yes."

"...Lilith, I don't want to kill you. And it's not because I need you to tell me how to undo this, I'll figure that out."

"Of course it isn't."

"But I can't let this go on further. Not with what's about to happen."

She narrows her eyes. "And what do you know about what's about to happen, Hal? What'd you find?"

"Lillie. Do you even regret any of it? The lives you ruined? Doesn't it hurt when you take advantage of people, even a little bit?"

She takes a moment, pretending to think about it. "I regret not finding a better way to take you out. I thought the heroes would be excitable enough to do it for me."

"You'd do the same thing, if given the chance?"

"I don't know what you want me to say, Hal."

Hal takes a deep breath.

"Then I have no reason to keep you alive either way, do I?"

Lilith rolls her eyes a bit, unconvinced. The Hal she knew wouldn't kill anyone, he'd barely hurt a fly on purpose. And it was true, the threat of death rarely meant anything from Hal. He enjoyed a good tumble, but he doesn't really indulge in violence. 

But this wasn't the average villain fight, and she wasn't just some suped up goon like he always went up against.. She betrayed him, tarnished his name, and turned others against him. She'd enacted something that had hurt many people, that would hurt many more still. He knew that if he gave her a chance, she'd manipulate him again. He also knows that leaving her to be sorted out by the system was pointless, she had a million ways out of a charge even before anything to do with this Neo Dominus thing. And she showed nothing that led Hal to believe she would change.

 Hal doesn't break eye contact with Lilith for a long moment. For just a second, her confidence falters. As Hal stands up, he notices another car coming down the road in his periphery.

---

Charlie sped down the highway, hoping to trim the expected arrival in any way he could. So far, they'd been oddly lucky. Every light had been green just in time as he drove out of the city, hardly wasting any of his time at all.  And even though Damon set him up with a toll pass, Alistaire had pointed out that the toll collection booths were already empty as they passed, as he'd been watching out the window for a bit after Charlie threatened to kick him out of the truck. And now, despite it being right in the evening rush period, Charlie hadn't seen a single other car on the road in miles. Something was definitely up by this point, but he wasn't sure what.

"Charlie, look! Is that the freak crow you and Pathosis were talking about earlier?!" Charlie glanced up to what Alistaire was pointing out. There was a crow flying overhead. It didn't seem interested in them at all, unlike the crow on the balcony.

"I think that's just a crow, Alistaire."

The storm had passed, but the wind was just as bad as before, so strong that Charlie could feel it against the truck. 

Just ahead, something, or someone, came into view. To Alistaire, it was barely a few specks on the horizon, but Charlie could see it much more clearly. It was Hal, standing next to a wrecked car and looking down at something on the road. His body was obscuring whatever it was, but Charlie had a hunch.

"Shit. That's Hal up ahead."

"How can you even tell this far away?! Are the others with him?"

"No, I don't see them."

As they got closer, Charlie noticed Hal's arm, as well as the blood on the ground pooled from Lilith's leg.

"Fuck. Shit. This isn't good."

"We're not gonna try to fight him without the others, right Charlie?" When he didn't immediately respond, Alistaire turned to him, grabbing his arm. "Right, Charlie??"

"I don't know, we'll do what we have to. Maybe stall for time, until the others arrive."

"How the hell did we get here before them? How's Jasper not here yet?!"

"I don't fucking know, Alistaire."

As they approach, the truck skids to a stop, and the two step out. Hal turned around, surprised to see them here. Something is clicking in his mind for a moment, then he seems to realize something.

"I only said no civilians, didn't I..." he says quietly, to himself. "I guess that's on me."

Charlie approaches cautiously, while Alistaire hangs back by the truck. He can now see Lilith laying on the ground behind Hal, only somewhat bruised aside from a bloody ankle. He also notices the faintly glowing tattoos that cover Hal's arms, something Charlie's only seen him have as Tempest, while using his powers.

"Hal, what're you doing?"

"...I realize this looks bad, Gunslinger, but--"

Lilith cries out, putting on a show. "Mister Gunslinger! Please help me, he's gone completely out of his mind, just attacked me and pulled me out of my car in the middle of the road! Please, help me, he's going to kill me!"

Charlie glances at the large and odd-shaped gun a few feet away from her.

"Lilith, we've met before. I know who you are."

"...Oh? Well, I need you to get me out of here, still!"

"Gunner, I--"

"I know, Hal. I know she has something to do with this. But that doesn't explain.." he gestures to Hal's arm, then to Lilith's leg. "What happened? And where's Photon?"

"What? I haven't seen them since we were at my apartment."

"That doesn't make any sense, they were following right behind you... Whatever, that doesn't matter right now. Hal, back away from her, we'll figure this out."

"...Gunner. I can't let her go."

"I know. I told you, we'll figure this out. We'll get the full story out of her, explain it to the others... But you need to back away. Now."

"Promise me she won't get away."

"She won't, Hal."

Hal looked down at him, with his piercing blue-green eyes. He took a hesitant step away from Lilith, and towards Charlie. With his attention focusing on getting Hal to back down, Charlie hadn't noticed Lilith inching towards the gun nearby.

"STOP HER!" Alistaire called out, grabbing his attention. He turns to Alistaire who was gesturing at Lilith. Charlie reacted quickly, but not quite before they heard a BANG!, seeing the flash of the gun's muzzle as she shot Hal from behind. Though he knew bullets rarely stopped Hal from experience, Charlie stopped her from making a second shot, shooting the gun out of her hand. Charlie's energy bullet did cause the bullet inside the gun itself to react, exploding with tiny shrapnel in Lilith's hand. She cried out as it shredded her hand just as it had done to Hal's arm. The bullet she had just lodged into Hal's side then followed suit with the second bang of a small explosion of shrapnel in Hal's abdomen. Charlie and Alistaire both rushed over to him as he cried out.

"Shit shit shit." Charlie supported the large man under his good arm. Alistaire fidgeted a bit, not sure what to do to help, but unsettled by the look of the injury.

"What do we do?! What kind of bullet was that, hello???"

"I don't know, I don't actually do guns, Alistaire.  You know that."

"I know, I know, I'm just like ?!?!?!!?!?" He lets out a little sound of confusion and panic

.

"I don't know either, bullets aren't usually a problem for me." Hal said. Charlie walked him over to the pickup truck, pointing Alistaire to it so he could open the bed of the truck ahead of them. Alistaire scurried over and opened it, and Hal plopped down on the edge. 

"Thanks."

"Don't thank us yet, Hal. You're not allowed to die in my truck." Charlie pointed at him with 2 fingers. Alistaire hops up onto the truck bed with him, helping him peel his shirt off to get a better look at the wound. They both noticed that the fading tattoos on Hal's arms continue onto his chest and back.

"Don't know if I'll die, honestly. It just hurts a lot." 

"Holy shit. I think I'd be more worried if you told me it didn't hurt." Alistaire says, though he can barely stand to look at the mess of mangled flesh where the bullet exploded. There wasn't much anybody could do for him either way, Charlie's messy stitches weren't gonna work here. They had to get him back into Silver City to get this looked at.

Charlie walked away from the truck, over to where Lilith was slowly trying to crawl away, despite her mangled hand and foot. He squatted down beside her.

"You know, Neo Dominus set you up."

She stopped, looking up to speak to him.

"You're bullshitting me, Gunslinger. I'm not an idiot. You won't get anything out of me."

"If you say so, but my friend found it really easy to find your ticket in Denver, even though everything else about you was tucked away." Her eyes went wide when the flight was mentioned. "Maybe their tech guy suddenly got careless, maybe they're just wrapping up loose ends. Maybe they're placating us by giving us a small win. Whatever it is, I'd watch out if I were you, Lilith."

She narrowed her eyes, trying to read Charlie's face despite the bandana mask he wore. She seemed satisfied that he was telling the truth, then lost in thought about what to do with this information.

"If you bring me in, they'll kill me."

"Probably."

"You have to help me."

"Do I?"

"What was the point of stopping Hal, if you're just gonna let me die anyhow? How are you any better if you just look the other way while they cover their tracks, Gunslinger?"

"Huh. You make a good point." Charlie stands up, then swiftly kicks her in the head, knocking her out. "I'm not."

He picks her up, carrying her over to the truck bed. He squints a bit, seeing someone on the horizon walking their way. Considering how large they seemed, he figured it must've been Pathosis. As they got closer, he could see that Jasper was with them too, sitting on his shoulder, while he carried a pouty Apollo under his arm. As soon as the trio got within distance for them to spot Charlie and the rest, Jasper hopped off and lit up, rushing over to the group in Photon form. Even without hardly any visible facial features, their shock was fairly obvious.

"What the actual fuck happened here? How did you two get here before us?!"

Charlie and Alistaire looked at each other, realizing how little sense it made.

"Dumb luck." Hal said from the truck bed. Jasper turned to him. He looked worse for wear, but it wasn't the injury that was concerning. Well, it was, but Hal didn't seem too worried about it. Honestly,  what was more concerning was his demeanor. Hal, in and out of costume, had always been a shining beacon of positivity and hope. Even when they were accusing him of crimes he didn't commit, he was hurt, but not like this. Charlie could see in his eyes, something had cracked.

"Alistaire texted me about what they figured out about Lilith. Hal, I'm sorry we accused you. We got ahead of ourselves, and we should've heard you out first."

"It's alright. I think that was kind of the point. She thought you would take me out, I think." Hal nodded to Lilith slung over Charlie's shoulder.

"Where'd you end up, Photon?" Charlie asks.

"I was following the crows, but at some point they just completely dispersed, out in the Mangrove. But then I saw Alistaire's text about you running into some trap by yourselves, so I ran this way, ran into Path on the way, and then Hal's tracker suddenly reappeared on the opposite side of the city."

"I had a tracker?"

"Damn right you did." Apollo says, looking as smug as someone can while being hoisted in the air. Realizing there was no reason for this now, he squirmed a bit to get put down. Pathosis places him gently on the ground and walks over beside him. Apollo makes a face once he sees Hal's wounds. "What the fuck happened to you?"

"I got shot. Oh, and hit by a car, but mostly shot." Pathosis nods in understanding. He's been there.

"Right...Anyways, I'd like my tracker back."

"Uhm...where'd you put it." Hal tries to look for it on his person.

"On your back." Alistaire tosses Apollo the bloodied shirt, hitting him in the face with it. He yelps, and Alistaire cackles.

"Oh, there you go!" Hal says, sounding pleased. As that interaction continued, Jasper walked over to take an aside with Charlie. He dropped the Gunslinger drawl he was using with Hal as they spoke in hushed tones.

"Seriously, what happened? Why is it so empty out here, it's rush hour."

"I don't know, but it was like that when we drove out here. We found him in the middle of the road, ready to kill Lilith. I've never seen him like that.. I don't think anyone has."

"Jesus."

"Yeah, I tried to talk him down, but then she shot him. I didn't realize she had these insane exploding rounds, so it ended up taking a chunk out of him, and out of her hand when I tried to disarm her."

"It's a good thing you got there when you did, I guess. We can at least get some kind of information out of her."

"Yeah. It looks like Neo set her up to be found. I'm willing to bet they knew Hal would hunt her down, but.."

"But? You think this is a bigger trap for us?"

 Charlie shrugs. "Can't be too sure. If it is, I don't think she knew about it."

"Huh. We take her back, see what she knows, try to go from there." Gunslinger nods, then starts to walk off. Jasper stops him.

"Charlie, do you think Hal will try to kill her again?" Charlie looks at Hal in the truck bed. He looked a bit dazed, like he was somewhere else.

"...I don't think so. But we probably should talk to him too. I think he's kinda messed up by this. You know, we went to the same school, I think he mentioned that's where they met, so if they've known each other that long..."

"Ouch, yeah. We should keep an eye on him."

"Agreed."

"One more thing, before he left, did you notice anything weird? Like, before the wind and stormy crow stuff? He said something, right?"

"Yeah, well, there was some weird crow on the balcony the whole time we were inside. I didn’t think anything of it until, you know. Path noticed it, too. I don't know what it was that Hal said, but Path said he also did some weird shit at a river?"

"Well, that's water, right? That's normal for him."

Charlie shrugged again. "Path didn't think so. Ask him about it."

Jasper tapped their chin, looking off towards Pathosis by the truck. "Maybe I will."

The two walked back over with the group. Charlie gently put Lilith's unconscious body down in the truck bed. He used some cuffs he carried in his bandolier to bind her, just in case she woke up.

"So... were you and her ever like....a thing?" Apollo asked. Hal's expression soured a bit, Jasper elbowed him lightly.

"Ow, I'm just asking! I didn't know how close they were."

"We were close, but no. Lillie wasn't really my type." He glanced at her in the truck behind him. "And she definitely isn't now."

Apollo shrugged. "Yeah, that checks. There were some rumors, but there's always some bullshit rumor, so I wasn't sure if there was any meat to it." He and Jasper walked away from the group. Charlie could hear them muttering about something, Jasper saying something along the lines of 'I told you so' and Apollo exclaiming it 'doesn't prove anything when she's a cult member crime boss,' only barely managing to keep his voice down.

Pathosis climbed in the truck bed next to Hal, who gave him a little nod.

"I'm glad you're not evil, Hal. I didn’t think you were, but sometimes…people are hard to read."

"...So am I, Pathosis. Oh hey, you know, you've got a mean tackle, you ever play any kind of sports? I'm real big into WWE and even though it's not really--" Charlie loudly cleared his throat, cutting in. He switched back to his Gunslinger drawl.

"Sorry to cut in, but how are you feeling, Hal? Do you like...do you heal like Path does? Or do we need to get you to a hospital?"

"Uh..." Hal looks down at his injuries. "Hospital is probably a good idea." Charlie nods.

"Hospital it is, then." He calls out to Jasper and Apollo. "You two hopping in or what?"

"...You want us to sit in the back of your truck?" Apollo says, as if it's an insane thing to ask.

"Would you rather walk?"

Apollo looks the way they came, Silver City just a twinkle on the horizon.

"Not really."

"Then get in the fucking truck. Alistaire has shotgun."

Charlie gets into the driver's seat, waiting for everyone to pile in before taking off back down the highway.

---

Somewhere sits a group of people, staring at rows of screens. One of them turns their attention to a specific screen in their setup, which soon goes black. They press a series of buttons, sending a message on an important new development. 

Somewhere else, an assistant runs through a hallway, clutching a clipboard to his chest. He passes all manner of rooms filled with hellish sins against nature and god, but all in the name of furthering science. He tries not to look at them. 

He approaches a large observation deck, and punches in the code to go in. There's a tall woman with long black hair, writing down notes as she observes the lab below, and beside her, a man of similar height who watches on, wordlessly. The assistant approaches the man, putting their head down as they offer up the information on their clipboard, so as not to make eye contact.

"Our surveillance has paid off, sir. We know that he's used the last favor. He shouldn't be an issue, now."

The man smiles. "Thank you, you may go now."

The assistant nods and hurriedly runs back out of the observation deck. The man looks on.

"You see, Dr. Williams? The power of observation allows us to achieve great things, does it not?"

"Of course." She says, barely taking any attention off of her work. "What now, sir?"

"Hm. If the brat hasn't killed De Luca, make sure she's taken care of. Then, make sure everything is in order to move forward. It's nearly time."

"Of course, sir."