Side Chapter: Good Talk (Chapter 41.5)

T/N: This chapter takes place between Chapters 41 & 42, specifically during the two week break between the two chapters.

Panicked footsteps echoed through an empty alley as two men ran as fast as they could. Stumbling past a few garbage cans, one turned around to look past his shoulder fearfully. His eyes turned round and he screamed as a figure cloaked in darkness grabbed him and lifted him off into the air.

The second man didn't even pause to look back; he ran straight into a building and began running up the stairs. Occasionally, he would stop and enter a floor, checking desperately for an open door, but would start running again when he heard faint footsteps echo nearby. Eventually, he reached the roof and swore. He yanked out a pipe from a water control system and barricaded the door to the roof desperately hoping that it would stave off the thing chasing him.

Pulling out a gun, he aimed at the door as sweat dripped from his brows and into his eyes. His breathing became more frantic when he heard footsteps and he released the safety lock from his gun only to freeze with dread: the echo of footsteps were coming from behind him. The man spun around and tried to shoot, but a large armored hand clutched his and twisted the aim of the gun askew. Then, the metallic hand crushed his wrist.

"AH! SHIT!" the man screamed.

Before he could say anything else, he felt the ground leave his feet and his vision spun as he was thrown down. Looking up with horror, he saw a . . . thing armored from head to toe with sharp teeth that gleamed menacingly in the darkness. The thing crushed the barrel of his gun before turning to look at him and the man felt pure despair when the large blue eyes locked in on him.

Fenrir looked down at the man impassively for a moment before grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up into the air.

"Your gang is part of the Syndicate," Fenrir growled, his grating voice harsh and metallic. "Where are they?"

"What? T-th-the Syndicate is just a bunch of gangs working t-together!" the man sputtered through gasps as he struggled to breathe.

"I know they worked with the Asāsiyyūn. WHERE ARE THEY?" Fenrir slammed the man onto the ground, knocking the wind out of the latter before dragging him off the ledge of the rooftop. The man's feet dangled and he nearly screamed when Fenrir bellowed his question.

"I-I-I don't know!" the gangster replied desperately in a scream. "They were dressed like a bunch of creeps so we never took them seriously! Th-they disappeared as soon as they landed here, I swear … I swear to god. Please … please don't drop me."

As Fenrir considered his options, the sound of a struggle reached his ear. Gazing downward, he saw a woman being robbed by a teen who was threatening her with a knife. Fenrir ignored them at first, but as he heard the constant begging from the woman, a strange emotion welled up inside him. Fenrir thought about what Alina would do in this situation before grimacing.

It can't be helped, Fenrir thought as he tossed the gangster he was interrogating back onto the roof and into the water control pipes. He threw a stun bola right after, and the ropes went taut around the man's throat and tied him to a pipe behind him.

"I'll be back to deal with you," Fenrir growled before jumping down the building. As he fell towards the ground, he pulled a knife out and threw it with unnerving accuracy at the robber's hand.

The knife hit the robber's own knife, and the force of the impact disarmed the robber who turned to look up as Fenrir's shadow fell on him. Using the force of the fall, Fenrir smashed his knee into the robber who slammed face first to the ground.

"Run," Fenrir ordered the woman but the latter, who was stunned for a moment, instead pulled out her phone and began recording the scene in front of her.

Fenrir, with a noncommittal growl, ignored her and picked the robber up before grappling back onto the roof. Reaching the roof, he tossed the unconscious robber aside and turned to the gangster he previously tied but stopped.

Underneath the helmet, Jason narrowed his eyes as he slowly walked back to the tied gangster, who was now dead. The man had his eyes wide with fear, and a kukri was jammed through his chest. Pulling it out, Fenrir sighed and pocketed the weapon before leaving the rooftop; with his lead dead, he had no reason to stick around.

A kukri, Fenrir thought as he ran across the rooftops. Was it Katelyn?

***

Alina sat down on the sofa wearily, her exhausted eyes were shut tight. She was currently at the newly decorated mansion, a place she didn't know Jason owned until recently. If not for their penthouse exploding and Alice, Alina was certain that Jason would've never revealed this place. It wasn't because of some misguided pride, but rather, he was concerned over how she, Alina, would feel over living in a large mansion once again.

"Are you ok, auntie?" a voice from besides Alina asked her softly, interrupting her musings.

Opening her eyes Alina looked over and her breath stilled. Leaning forward towards her was Alice, whose porcelain skin, blonde hair, and bright blue eyes gleamed beautifully.

Such a doll, Alina thought as she tried smiling. How could I miss the obvious resemblance?

Alice was almost a perfect duplicate of Katelyn, the only difference being her hair which was pale blonde as opposed to dirty blonde, and yet Alina failed to realize the similarities until after almost a week of interaction with the child.

"I'm fine, thank you, Alice" Alina answered while giving the gentlest smile she could to Alice.

"Are you sure? You looked really sad," Alice said. She was apprehensive as she realized that Alina had been looking at her strangely for the past few days.

". . . This place. It brings back memories," Alina looked around with reminiscence as she spoke, her hand combing through Alice's hair. She turned back to Alice before continuing in a gentle voice, "Reminds me of my home. My old home."

Alina's eyes stared straight at Alice. She continued staring until Alice became fidgeted, nervous and anxious as to why Alina gave her such a longing gaze that was full of grief and pain.

"You look just like her. Your mother," Alina added when she saw Alice's confused look.

"You knew mommy?" Alice asked and Alina nodded with teary eyes.

"She was my . . . maid," Alina noticed Alice's surprised gaze and quickly added, "But more than that, she was my best friend and the closest person that I - I considered to be my sister."

Alina continued emotionally, "She was . . . incredible. Calm and serene no matter what happened, and more stunning than anyone else. No, not stunning. Gorgeous. She was gorgeous."

Alice listened raptly in a manner that was unbefitting her age. She only knew her mother as cold and emotionless, but Alice could imagine how her mother appeared when she was younger.

"Mommy was a maid?" Alice asked in surprise once Alina paused.

"In-training, yes," Alina answered fondly. "I … wasn't close to my parents. I met ... Katie -"

Alina's voice broke before she continued with a light cough.

"Your mother, was hired when I was eight, almost your age. And ... she raised me for the most part.

"Dressed in a maid outfit and always catching everyone's eyes," Alina laughed throatily before continuing. "She was a real looker. It's why your dad got together with her. He could never keep his eyes off her, and neither could she. It was obvious even to a kid like me. The girls, the rich and powerful, hated her for that, but Jason was always beside her, keeping her safe. Along with me. And . . . mom."

"What was dad like when he was with her?" Alice asked curiously.

"Your dad was … well, your dad," Alina replied with a small laugh. "He was charming and brilliant, but feral and ruthless. Never enjoyed those little get-togethers we had with the one percenters. But he had a soft spot for your mom."

Alina sighed and looked away as she spoke, "I was so happy to see them together. If only I knew . . ." Alina cleared her throat and sent Alice a gaze full of gentleness before continuing, "Your mother was the best of us."

"Was?" Alice noticed the past tense in Alina's sentence and repeated it in a mutter, sightly bemused.

"She . . . she passed away with everyone else two years ago," Alina answered. Her voice broke and closed her teary eyes as she cleared her throat once more.

Mom, Dad, Katie, Blake, and Merideth . . . they're all . . . they're gone, Alina couldn't voice out her thoughts but she could see each one of them flashing through her mind. She realized that Alice was quiet and faced the latter with a watery smile.

"I'm sorry," Alina said while hugging Alice. "If only I was stronger ... if only I knew how to fight back then, maybe . . ."

Alice said nothing but tightened her tiny hands that were around Alina. The two finally closed their eyes and soon slow, steady breathing came out from the two as they feel asleep.

***

Jason sighed as he massaged his neck and exited a secret entrance that was located in the basement of the mansion. He was recently using the time when Alina and Alice were safe within the mansion to go out and look for leads on Katelyn, however he was frustrated by the lack of progress in his search; every lead he had always went cold.

Instead, his monstrous Fenrir persona had been caught on social feeds by passersby and victims whom he saved on a whim while searching through the Sumps. In the past, he was able to use A.V.A to delete feeds before they grew popular but since he had been seen countless times during the past few days, Fenrir had turned from the bogeyman into an overnight sensation; now there was just no way to delete the pictures and videos discreetly.

"Jesus," Jason muttered when he entered the living room and saw the TV screen.

A grainy video of him as Fenrir smashing an armed thief into a brick wall before jumping up onto the rooftop of a twenty-five story building was being shown on the television. With local news now showing video clips of him, he was certain that the populace would begin viewing him as a vigilante. Or worse, a superhero.

"Idiots," Jason murmured. "As if heroes exist."

He turned and saw both Alina and Alice on the sofa, but sighed in relief when noticed them sleeping peacefully. Smiling, he gently lifted them both up with telekinesis and took them upstairs.

"Dad . . . mom . . ." Alina sobbed quietly as she curled closer to the 'arms' holding her.

A flash of guilt and pain echoed through Jason's eyes as he slowly and gently used his telekinesis to place Alina into his chest. He hugged her into a princess carry and softly kissed her forehead.

"Shh. It's alright, kid. I'm right here," Jason murmured and Alina relaxed before diving her head deeper into Jason's chest.

"Jason . . ."

Jason settled Alina into her bed before turning to Alice who was still floating next to him, but he was taken aback when he saw her awake. Alice was quietly staring at Jason while hovering sideways; it looked like she was sleeping in an invisible bed. Jason lifted Alice into his arms and walked to her bedroom while using telekinesis to silently close the door to Alina's bedroom.

"Hey, kid," Jason said while smiling. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't sleeping," Alice answered with a yawn. While in her father's arm, she rubbed her puffy eyes before looking at him sulkily. "I was waiting for you, daddy."

"Of course you were," Jason laughed and Alice puffed her cheeks in anger. He had taken so long to arrive that she had fallen into a light nap, but that didn't mean she had truly fallen asleep.

"Aunt Alle doesn't know?" Alice asked seriously and the smile on Jason's face faded as he looked troubled. "Why didn't you tell her mommy's alive?"

"I . . . I, uh," Jason opened his mouth but the words died out in his throat. He looked away from Alice's inquisitive glance and composed himself before continuing. "If I told your aunt, she'd - she'd go looking for your mom. And I don't want Alle, your aunt, to get hurt."

"Couldn't you just tell her to leave it to you?" Alice asked naively. She was smart, brilliant beyond her age, but she was still a child.

She fully believed that her dad was incredible enough to do everything himself, and didn't realize that Jason had a deeply rooted secret about her mother; if he told the truth to Alina, if he told her how he abandoned Katelyn, then she would never forgive him. He would lose her forever.

"I will. I will, kid," Jason replied shakily. "Just . . . not - not yet. Once I've settled everything - once I bring your mom home, I'll tell her.

"Until then, let's keep it a secret, alright?" Jason rubbed his nose against Alice's nose and the latter laughed while nodding.

"Ok, daddy," Alice answered excitedly, overjoyed at the idea of her and Jason having a secret of their own that no one else knew. "I love you."

"I love you too, kiddo," Jason kissed Alice on her forehead as he tucked her into bed.

After leaving and closing the door to Alice's bedroom, Jason sunk to the ground and covered his face.

Goddamnit, He thought miserably. Will she love me when she finds out the truth? Will either of them? Katelyn . . . what am I supposed to do?