Chapter 12- Empathy Sucks, I’d Rather Be a Sociopath

POV- Phoebe

After the Inner Circle meeting last night, which of course ended in bloodshed, my sisters and I used as executioners by Reeva as she wiped out her competition; the three of us were almost sold on Andy's comment about Reeva, even without investigating Ryan. "We haven't had time to investigate Benedict Ryan yet, but we should be able to after they move in and we begin organising the childbirth," said Sophie.

"During the time when we are organising doctors and preparing a place, we should have all the time we need. To investigate HIM that is," Esme said with a knowing smirk.

"But we need damning proof that she is working with him, whether he's a purifier or not, he still spreads anti-mutant hate." Sophie had a point. The sheer number of people who hear his voice, and listen to his words is in the tens of millions every day, each person exposed to his bigotry.

"And if she isn't? If he was lying?" I pose, though almost certain he believed it, which was worrying.

"Then we continue on with our lives, decide whether to tell Reeva about the lie, then follow her suggestion," Sophie said, correcting herself immediately, "orders." Reeva didn't make suggestions or ask for counsel, but ordered and ignored us. Andy had gotten us used to being treated as separate people, even recognising us on sight through nearly imperceptible differences in posture, body language or by the way we speak. Reeva had been our boss for years, and yet when we tested her, separating to talk to her, she actively avoided using our names, calling us stupid nicknames like 'honey or dear,' as if she were an old fucker flirting with a waitress.

I'd hated it when he started. Calling me by name felt strangely embarrassing, only my sisters called me by name when we were alone. But I saw the effort he put into learning our names, and our habits, even asking things about what I liked and talking to me individually while playing one of his video games or while he was training. He put in an effort that Reeva hadn't, despite knowing us for such a small time.

What's worse is that he did it with my sisters as well, and we felt great, more individualistic perhaps. Separating more from what we were and what we were designed to be, in order to become…people. All of us were fond of him, and if he had lied about Reeva, it would be a deep shame, as each of us would happily serve him.

POV-Andy

Arriving at the tower of evil that would be our new home, I'm surprised by some of the designs. The pale greys and lack of warmth make it look and feel somewhat supervillain-like. Though at least our rooms are still fairly large, Lauren and I again share one room with a retractable wall, in order to speed up the development of our shared telepathy.

"Andy, Lauren. We'd like you to come with us to meet Reeva," the triplets said with Lorna having to meet her after us. The top floor was exactly as it was in the memories, with a bland looking room with a beautiful open window, the only thing of interest besides the coffee machine in the corner.

"The Von Struckers, I'm so glad that we could finally meet." Reeva stood tall, for her, with an unmanageable hairstyle and a tight-fitted dress, completely reliant on the triplets protecting her, and being unknowing of her powers.

"You couldn't take a day trip to the villa?" Lauren asked a little snarkily, and from what I could feel from her she was desperately controlling her face and trying not to crush her throat. I held her shoulder both to comfort and remind her, as Reeva's face twitched.

"There were circumstances that prevented me from seeing you sooner while this place finished construction. I would again like to thank you both for joining the Inner Circle, and for the destruction of that Trask research lab. I'm sure that together we will make a new place for mutants everywhere."

"Yep, just Trask, Sentinels, Purifiers, governments and the public opinion to deal with," I say.

"First things first, you will all be put through rigorous training," she said haughtily, earning a scoff from Lauren.

"He doesn't stop training. I've had to increase the amount I'm training just so that he doesn't completely outclass me, subconscious control, extended use, distance training, cardio, all of this is just to catch up with him, so training is nothing new."

"Training your powers is good, but combat scenarios are-"

"Applications of our powers, unless I just shoot them of course. Sentinels attempt to arrest first, giving us the opportunity to take them out, most purifiers don't have weaponry useful against her shields, or Lorna, and the government are difficult to manoeuvre." I loved the look on her face as I interrupt her. The discontent at being treated as if she were just another person.

"Training simulations will begin in two days, now about your shared abilities." Lauren's disgust somehow grows slightly as she listens. "Would you be stronger now than you were at Trask?"

"Definitely. If we put in a little effort even a building like this would be feasible," I reply earning another twitch. Throughout the conversation, the triplets have been standing behind Reeva, small smiles on their faces as they watch their boss dumbfounded by two teens.

"So, what do you do between missions?" Lauren asked, "Like do you help smuggle out mutants, or is it just attacking the opposition? Nothing against it really, so long as innocents involved."

"We avoid innocent casualties where possible," she began.

"Bad press," Phoebe butted in.

Reeva, now with tense features finished, "However we focus on the bigger picture, helping the collective over the few. Big Picture. Everything we do here is to build a better, safer world for our kind." The conversation ended quickly after that, with her wishing us comfort while we stayed here.

"What a nutjob. Anyone who says things like big picture is absolutely crazy, little brother."

"I like big-picture thinking." She then turned and looked at me as I smirked at her, a wide grin soon forming on her.

"I guess crazy is hereditary, it must have skipped a few generations. Though, you seem to have gotten my share, Andy. Total whacko." I smack her on the arm lightly causing her to run for the bedroom from the elevator, "Nutjob, Psycho, totally deranged!" I'd missed the casual teasing we used to have together, back when she was a popular nerd, and I was just a bullied loser. The relationship between us had only gone sour after the incident at the park when I kept questioning her about whether we were mutants, unknowing that she actually was one. Also, the fact that the door couldn't lock me out also helped keep me calm.

Days of calm training turned to calm training while performing combat drills.

"Andy, stop juggling those weights and concentrate," I hear from Sage who was standing next to Reeva.

"It's called subconscious control for a reason Sage. What if I need to hold something up and get attacked, I can't just drop the thing. What if it's a bomb? Or a person? This is more realistic and you know it."

"Don't screw up Andy, she's watching."

"As ever."

Two armed holographic guards appear from the side, and glancing up I see the word "Incapacitate," written. Two simultaneous blasts cripple their knees and another slams them into the floor face down unable to move, celebrated with a green glow. Another 5 guards appear surrounding me, the mission to "Kill," which takes far less time as I twist my hands in the air, ripping the heads from their bodies. Green. Ten, Kill. Green. Twenty, Incapacitate for 20 seconds. Green. At thirty I got shot twice, but neither would have been lethal, earning me a yellow, and forty proved fatal. In an environment with barricades and makeshift protection, I probably could have earned a green, but the flat, bare scene gave me nothing to move around to or hide behind as I picked them off or build up energy for a single blast. While I could float them as I can water, the fact they have guns makes limiting their movement significantly less effective.

Lauren was able to create a cylindrical barrier that protected her from all sides, but the continuous strain and the attempts to multi-manipulate both the barrier that was taking fire and the compressed wind blades took her out at twenty-five.

Lorna, with her incredible control and increasing powers, could fling back bullets towards her attackers, however, she couldn't multitask continuously, rather catching batches with each hand and pushing out, leaving her open for attack during this time. She finished with a score similar to mine at thirty-five.

Marcos was significantly less useful until I told him to flashbang initially, then move and pick them off, scoring fifteen, something we teased him mercilessly for.

"It's okay Marcos, we still like your pretty lasers, even if they score a fifteen."

"Yeah, Lauren or Lorna can hold up gas tanks for you to shoot down." He looked even more tired after listening to the two of us, looking between Lorna's belly and us.

Fade scored surprisingly high, only losing to the higher numbers because they used smoke grenades to find him. Twenty. Though he had admittedly used a plastic gun, connected to the sensors somehow. 'Saves being hit by a ricochet bullet.' This kind of training continued, being broken up by firearms training, close-quarter combat, at my and Fade's request, and our free time. For months this continued, as the Frost sisters left occasionally with Fade to handle bribing or persuading someone related to the setup for Lorna's kid.

The most dangerous part of staying in this place was not having anywhere to myself besides the bathroom. My mind is a jumbled mess between my early twenties and 16, but my body is definitely sixteen, reacting to the weirdest of stimuli, the frosts, the goth mommy Lorna, and the idea of hate-banging Reeva one day. I knew Lauren could see, if not feel my emotions but she was polite enough not to mention it, and she was seeming similarly stressed. At least Marcos and Lorna can get it on…gently.

Leaving Lauren alone in the room I grab my new exercise clothes, head down to the gym, finishing a quick forty-minute workout then head to the training hall where the weaponry and punching bags sit. I sucked at close-combat fighting, but I knew that there were people like Pulse who could potentially nullify me, even if it didn't work on Otto in the memories. The idea of being unarmed and without powers was daunting, so I decided to use my built-up stress to work on it. In a light stance, dancing around the bag, I send into the bag, jabs, reverse punches, and front kicks designed to open them for further attacks, or in my case, create distance.

"Wow, something's got you all worked up." Looking up from the bag, I can tell who it is before even laying eyes on them. I can basically hear the teasing smile in her voice.

"Wow Phoebe, what are you some kind of mind reader?"

"Never heard that before," she says with an eye roll. "What's wrong? Did something happen with Lauren?" 'It's sweet that she cares so much, but I'm surprised she's here.'

"No, no. She's up in the room." 'Probably relieving stress too now that I think of it. Weird.' "I'm just itching to do something, anything at this point."

"How about some combat drills? We were both bad at them yesterday and now that you're tired I stand a chance." The beautiful face was only made divine by the teasing smile, like a temptress had taken possession of an angel.

"A chance to get you back for that comment you made this morning? Done." The two of us get into position, myself aiming a kick towards her chest as she scoops it sidewards, opening my body to a response, but her poor aim and timing means she smacks her punch uselessly against my guard. I use my reach to straighten up, stepping behind her supporting foot and throwing her onto the mats. "Got Yoahh." As she was thrown she managed to grab ahold of the straps on my singlet, making me think of the "No Capes," scene from my memories, pulling me down with her, herself flipping to get on top as she slaps my cheek.

"Got you." Looking up at the panting girl on top of me I freeze mid-smile, focusing on my own breathing and looking elsewhere as casually as I could. "What, no witty remark. No attempt to struggle out?"

"Well… it feels really nice, to be honest, and grinding against you won't help my issues."

"Okay, you banned us from looking in your heads so you're going to have to be a little more direct with what you're saying."

"I'm saying a beautiful young woman in tight-fitting yoga pants is sitting on a pent-up sixteen-year-old. So, GET OFF." Phoebe practically leapt off me.

"Yes, I can see why that might have been…stimulating." 'Is she trying to turn me on or piss me off? The balance between the two that Phoebe has in spades is ridiculously seductive.' As I grabbed a drink and splashed some water over my face to help calm my own lust, I cop a wave of Lauren's who'd seemingly felt my own and worked to relieve it.

"Hey Phoebe, are you guys empathic too?" I basically panted. She looked down saddened by whatever memory of torture or death she was thinking of.

"We are."

"Is there a way to stop it?"

"For normal empaths? Yes. However, you have inherited the same powers as your predecessors and are thus linked, sharing empathy only for each other."

"Then how do you deal with facing your siblings emotions, or feelings?"

Rubbing her arms she shrugged, "Most of the time we are together so-"

Putting my hands up like scissors I gesture, "Like?"

"What? No, well sometimes. Why are you?" Realisation dawned on her as she saw my bright red face, shortness of breath and bulging pants. "That has got to be weird, coming from your sister."

"Is it when your sisters receive your own?"

"We're all girls, but you're not. This does explain the rumours about your great-grandparents."

"Don't say it. We know. Ughh." I suddenly drop to the floor, my knees slamming into the mats. "Holy Fuck. Well, I need a shower, and possibly a therapist. Phoebe, please help me come up with a solution to this shit. Preferably WITHOUT mentioning it to your sisters?" Phoebe nodded and was watching me with similarly reddened cheeks, legs pressed together as I head back to my room, and after entering I engaged in the most aggressive and weirdest staring contest ever.

"What're you doing back here?" Lauren shrieked pulling a doona over herself.

"Taking a shower after my feeling my sister finish, while talking to Phoebe."

"You…? Felt it?"

"Collapsed to my knees in front of her. She 100% knows what happened by the way." My sister was now covering her head with a pillow embarrassed at the idea of seeing Phoebe again.

"Wait if you were with Phoebe why were you hor-hahahaha! You've got a thing for Phoebe. Does that mean her sisters too? So much drama!"

"Why're you judging me, they're hot, just like Lorna, but she's pregnant, taken, and even older than the triplets. And I don't have a THING, I'm just stuck sharing a room with my empathic sister." I take off my shirt heading for the bathroom. 'I wanted to relieve some tension, and despite the 'satisfaction,' I'm more stressed than before.'

Two weeks later I was gifted a sex toy by Phoebe, who left a note saying, "She'll know anyways, tough luck." 'What kind of help is that?'

Back to the training, we had improved further, myself now capable of bending the barrels of guns to collapse in on themselves, essentially trapping the energy inside a pressurised container. Another fun trick I learned was to form pseudo-barricades against bullets or projectiles, as I focused on a cone in front of the projectile and redirect the matter in the space in the direction the object came. Like Lorna, I'm not faster than a bullet, but like her, if I'm prepared, nothing is getting through the matter shield, instead colliding with the opposing air, or when I pull off the timing, being redirected towards a different enemy.

Lauren had learnt to compress windpipes and spines and was working on both speed and quantity. While she would always be worse at offence, my defence was nothing in comparison to hers, which could genuinely stop a tank shell. 'I wonder if I could collapse the turret barrel of a tank? All that pressure."

Luckily Lorna was SUPER pregnant, her hair now hanging long as her belly grew along with it, meaning the pregnancy, and thus the plot would resume. Marcos was frantic with worry, and Lorna was constantly being texted by Sonya, but hearing that the triplets would be collecting a munitions warehouse for the birth, I couldn't help but cheer privately in joy. Caitlyn had been helpful as a nurse that Lorna trusted, and the two of them became somewhat closer, which had been useful at dinner to avoid the past two week's awkwardness between Lauren and the sisters, as Phoebe had giggled on sight the first day or two.