Chapter 29: Revelations (Part-1)

The journey felt like a sprint – 20 minutes, and they were at the LA airport. They booked a cab to Zen's home. As they hopped out of the cab and stood in front of Zen's house, they were in a neighborhood that seemed to have missed the memo about being close to downtown LA. The community hardly had any amenities.

"Thank you!" Zen greeted the cab driver. Shreya, the vice-director of the academy, wasn't throwing around her fancy title at the moment. She could have arranged the transportation easily, but she didn't want to involve UHF. They were on a stealth mission, or at least that's what it felt like.

"Wow, I'm feeling the warm welcome already! Should I just turn everyone into ash?" Shreya said while looking at all the people surrounding them.

"Chill, master!" Zen hurriedly intervened, Zen immediately came in front of Shreya so as to hide her power from everyone, "What do you expect when you arrive at a rundown community like this? You and Evelyn are practically aliens for these guys. Let's go inside."

In a neighborhood like this, beauties like Evelyn and Shreya always attracted attention. While Anna was beautiful, she didn't wear expensive clothes and everybody knew her.

They knocked on the door, and Zen's mom, Elizabeth, greeted them. The whole 'we don't want attention' plan was already out the window.

"Mom!" Zen and Anna exclaimed, enveloping Elizabeth in a family hug.

"Welcome home kids. I see you are doing good." Anna replied while glancing at Evelyn and Shreya.

"Don't act like you didn't know, mom. Hmph" Anna harrumphed.

"Haha, relax, you two. I'll spill the beans later. Now, go inside. Your dad's waiting," Elizabeth directed.

""Okayyyy"" 

The journey felt like a sprint – 20 minutes, and they were there. As they hopped out of the cab and stood in front of Zen's house, they were in a neighborhood that seemed to have missed the memo about being close to downtown LA.

"Thank you!" Zen chirped at the cabbie, feeling like a reality TV star arriving at their less glamorous second home. Shreya, the vice-director of the academy, wasn't throwing around her fancy title at the moment. They were on a stealth mission, or at least that's what it felt like.

"Wow, I'm feeling the warm welcome already! Should I just unleash my superhero powers and turn everyone into confetti?" Shreya joked, fists raised.

"Chill, master!" Zen hurriedly intervened, shielding Shreya's power like a bouncer at a secret superhero gathering. "This is what you get when you land in a neighborhood that's still using carrier pigeons. Let's just get inside."

They knocked on the door, and Zen's mom, Elizabeth, greeted them. The whole 'we don't want attention' plan was officially out the window.

"Mom!" Zen and Anna exclaimed, enveloping Elizabeth in a family hug. The joy was short-lived as Anna huffed, accusing her mom of acting oblivious to their arrival.

"Haha, relax, you two. I'll spill the beans later. Now, go inside. Your dad's waiting," Elizabeth directed.

"Okayyy," they replied in unison, sounding like a synchronized awkwardness choir.

"Ahem, Evelyn, right? Can I steal you for a moment?" Anna shifted her focus to the newcomer.

"Um, sure," Evelyn replied, feeling a bit like a sacrificial lamb.

"Mom!" Zen warned, "No weird stuff, okay?"

"Oh, so now my son thinks he's in charge? Must be the academy air," Anna retorted with a smirk that didn't quite reach her eyes, leaving Zen haunted by memories of 'training' he'd rather forget.

Meanwhile, Evelyn, dragged into a room, felt like she was meeting the in-laws for the first time. She turned to Zen and her expression changed, 'Zen! ZEN! Don't leave me with her', she silently screamed but Zen just gave her a kind smile, and the door closed behind her.

"I hope we meet again, Evelyn." Anna said like singing a prayer.

Zen, Anna and Shreya marched ahead to the living room. There he saw Mark, fiddling with the television.

"Hey Dad, how's it going?" 

"Hmm, you guys turned out all right," Mark replied, creating a silence more awkward than a family reunion after years of avoiding each other.

Unable to bear the stifling atmosphere, Shreya broke the silence, "Hello, Mr. Ashford. I'm Shreya Tiwari, Zen's teacher."

Since Mark was out most of the time for his work, the kids were attached to their mom a lot. This was the reason that whenever they were alone with their dad, the situation always became a little awkward. 

"Oh! Hello Ms. Shreya. I heard a lot about you from Zen. I hope you like our home." Mark replied with a smile.

The conversation took a nosedive into awkwardness again. Shreya, desperate for a lifeline, shot Zen a look that screamed, 'Say something, anything!'

'What do you want me to say?'

'Anything! He's your dad, for fucks' sake!' Shreya used her expressions.

'Yes, he…' 

"Umm, brother, I don't know what's creepier—the silence or the fact that you're having secret conversations with your master without speaking." Anna whispered.

"Don't speak nonsense." Zen replied with a red face.

Anna just smiled but didn't say anything. Before things could get any more awkward, Evelyn and Elizabeth entered the living room. Evelyn's face was completely red. She couldn't meet Zen's eyes so she just went and sat beside him.

"Sigh. You guys still can' talk. Anyways, let's start." She declared like a CEO entering the conference. But as soon as she said this, the whole atmosphere of the living room changed. Everyone gulped looking at Elizabeth's expressions.

But this time, Zen wasn't intimidated. He knew, now was not the time to falter. "Mom, please tell me what's going on. And I don't want any excuses."

"You sure like ordering me today." Elizabeth looked at Zen dead in the eyes.

"Mom. Not today. I want answers. No, we want answers." Zen also looked at her straight. He was nervous, but today he had to know. So why not face his mom directly?

Elizabeth didn't say anything and just smiled. Suddenly the lights went dark and within a second they were restored. But this time, an old man was sitting on the chair beside Elizabeth. Although he looked old because of the light wrinkles on his face and white hairs, he didn't look weak at all. In fact, if anything, he looked like he could kill everyone here with a wave.

"Who are you?" Shreya, being the strongest, stood up and started summoning her power, but was stopped by Zen.

"I suppose you were the one called by mom to do the talking." He said while signaling Shreya to sit down.

"Haha, you are right. Currently, with your level, you and Anna should have been on the ground because of the fear. Good." The old man spoke and suddenly all the pressure disappeared like it was never there.

"Cut the crap and tell me. Why does our family know someone as strong as you? From what I see, you are way stronger than my master here." Zen squinted his eyes. The old man in front was very amused by what Zen said.

"Eh?" Shreya also exclaimed. There were very few people on Earth that are stronger than me. 

"How did you know that? I could have been using some technique to intimidate you." Old man asked with a smile.

"Hmm, because neither I sensed any power emanating from you, nor did I see you concentrating to activate a technique."

"Excellent observational skills. Lizzy, these kids are more talented than you were."

'Lizzy? Except my father, I have never seen anyone calling my mother that.' 

"Shouldn't you answer my question now?"

"Hmm… Well, Zen, nice to meet you officially. I am Bennett Ashford. I am Lizzy's father and your Grandfather."