Invincible - Ch. 11
Title: Invincible
Character(s) or Pairing(s):FACES featuring FrUK. In this chapter: Austria, Belguim, Russia
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, Slash, Action/Adventure, Implied Past Mpreg, Character Death
Summary: After a series of lawsuits forces him and the rest of the Supers into retirement, Arthur Kirkland finds himself trapped living a mundane suburban life. When adventure calls he's quick to respond, but how will it affect the rest of his family?
Prologue|Chapter 1|Chapter 2|Chapter 3|Chapter 4|Chapter 5|Chapter 6|Chapter 7|Chapter 8|Chapter 9|Chapter 10
Chapter 11 The Past vs The Future
"What a mess you people make," Roderich huffed, sporting his usual perturbed demeanor as he sat with his arms and legs tightly crossed and his back rail straight. He was currently hard at work glaring the two seasoned Supers down and it was strange that a man without a single super powered bone in his body could make beings such as them feel like mere children. "Do you have any idea how much damage you caused? The paper work alone will cost us a fortune!"
"Well it's not as if it was our fault," Invincible countered. He turned to Élastique for support, but found that he was currently busy using the limousine's phone to check the messages on his voicemail box. Clearly Invincible would have to square off with Roderich alone. "Red Sickle's the loon who released the robot on the city. We were just doing our duty by stopping the thing!"
"Yes well," Roderich began, but stopped himself midsentence. His demeanor softened momentarily as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and Invincible could tell that they were about to witness a truly rare sight. "You did well. But do not think that this means you can come out of retirement. You'll have to let the government figure that one out. Until then just be sure to keep a low profile. And stay out of trouble!"
Invincible sighed as he gave a weary nod. He hadn't been hoping for things to go back to the way they were fifteen years ago, because just the mere act of being thanked for his deed was more than enough for him. What's more the entire family had been through so much these past few days that simply spending some time at home being "normal" sounded just fine to him. He smiled as he turned to Alfred who was starring eagerly out the limousine's tinted windows before switching his attention to playing with the little buttons along the side paneling, causing the lights within the cabin the flicker on and off. Élastique, still fixated with listening to his messages, took a moment to stretch out his arm and slap Alfred's hands away, before returning to his business.
Matthew was sitting between Invincible and Élastique and seemed ready to nod off. Invincible smiled down at the boy as he wrapped an arm around him and pulled Matthew closer to his side. He reasoned that he could allow Alfred and Matthew to miss a day or two of school just to rest and unwind. He was certain that Élastique would agree.
"Are you going throw Red Sickle in jail?" Alfred asked when it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to play around anymore.
Roderich looked at the boy, shifted, and cleared his throat. Roderich wasn't accustomed to dealing with children and Invincible had to wonder if the mere act of sitting next to two strained him. "We will," he assured Alfred. "Now that we are aware of what his little company has been doing all these years and where they are operating from, the government will be sure to keep a close eye on him."
When you find him, Invincible put in silently. He didn't want to frighten the boys, but he had noticed that -- once the authorities had gathered at the crime scene -- there had been absolutely no sight of Red Sickle and Invincible couldn't help thinking that the mad man had managed to escape capture. The very thought was enough to cause Invincible to tighten his grip on Matthew. They would have to be much more vigilant until Sickle was caught.
"Arthur," Élastique began, his words effectively pulling Invincible out of his dark musings. "Listen to these messages. They are so strange."
Invincible frowned as Élastique shifted closer and positioned the car's phone between the two of them. He heard Matthew give a groan of discomfort, but the sound was drowned out by the worried tone of a young girl's voice coming from the earpiece. "Mr. Bonnefoy," the girl began, "I don't want to alarm you, but something strange is going on with your house. The baby and I are just fine, but... well, call me back okay? " The message ended with a loud beep and another one soon started. "The baby and I are still okay, but a lot of weird stuff is happening. When are you coming back?" Another beep and a new message began, only this time there was a shrill screeching in the background as the girl's slightly worried tone shifted into full on panic. "Things are not okay Mr. Bonnefoy! Your kid didn't pay me enough for this! When are you coming home?" Another beep as the message shifted and by now the girl was out right screaming at them. "I'm going to call the cops if you don't come home right now!"
That message alone was enough to cause a wave of panic to seize Invincible's heart and he could tell by the way Élastique had visibly paled that he was thinking along the same lines. The limo had turned on to their street just as a new message began to play and the two Supers were stunned when they found that the girl's voice had settled into a much calmer level. "Hello Mr. Bonnefoy, this is Emma again. Sorry about all those messages earlier. I guess I got a little freaked out, because, well your baby has... special needs."
"Special needs?" Invincible echoed. He could say many things about Angelique, but the girl was as normal as they came. What's more, he couldn't wrap his mind around anything that the infant could have done that would cause such a reaction in this poor teenager. Invincible pushed those thoughts aside when he heard the girl, Emma, continue to speak.
"Luckily your friend showed up when he did..."
"Our friend?" he repeated, jerking away from the phone in order to get a good look at Élastique's face.
"Antonio never said anything about seeing Angelique," Élastique reminded him as fear quickly settled onto his own face.
It was true, Infierno hadn't said anything about the baby, and had only off handedly joked about flying home before Lovino killed him before they had left the city. As scatter brained as Infierno could be, Invincible doubted he be careless enough to leave an infant alone or not bother to mention her well being to her parents.
The limousine had barely stopped in front of their drive way when Élastique jumped out of the door, scrambling to get inside the house. Invincible and the children were hot on his heels. Élastique nearly yanked the front door off of its hinges as he pushed his way inside. They were instantly greeted by the sound of Pierre's panicked chirping when they stepped inside the darkened foyer. The family didn't get to go much further as a beam of red energy soon enveloped their bodies, leaving all four of them completely paralyzed.
"So good of you to join us," Red Sickle greeted, his usual cold smile gracing his lips as he stared coolly at them. "We have been waiting."
To say that Sickle looked horrible was to put things mildly. His usually pristine suit was caked with sooth and his red cape was nearly torn to shreds. There was dried blood decorating the side of his face and drenching his hair and his mask was barely hanging on to him. That poor Emma girl must have been in a bad state if she had willingly allowed this man into their home.
Angelique was sleeping in the crook of his arm, looking surprisingly peaceful curled up next to a mad man and Invincible's arms were burning with the need to grab her and take her away before breaking every bone in Sickle's slimy body.
"Do not worry about baby," Sickle said in a voice that would have been reassuring if it were coming from anyone else. "I will take good care of her. After all, you broke my friend, so I am merely acquiring new one. I will nurture and protect and help her fulfill potential and maybe someday we will come back and pay family a visit. Until then..." With a mere flick of his wrist, Sickle sent all four of them flying across the room, crashing into a nearby book shelf.
The wood splintered and cracked as piles of books came raining down on top of them. Invincible grunted as he helped Matthew and Alfred up, only for the sound of a large explosion to greet his ears. Dust bloomed before his eyes and when the smoke cleared he found that Sickle had blasted a massive whole in their roof and had used his rocket books to launch himself skyward.
"He took my baby!" Élastique screamed as he untangled himself from the debris and ran outside.
Élastique was already on the front lawn by the time Invincible and the boys had managed to get through the front door. His panic stricken eyes were fixed on the sky and when Invincible looked up, he saw why. Sickle was already several feet above them and fast approaching a massive jet hovering miles overhead. Invincible groaned, because even with his superior vision he could hardly make out Angelique's form from this distance.
"What is wrong with you people!" Roderich chided as he ran out of the limousine and joined them on the front lawn. "Is this what you call keeping a low profile?"
"That bastard is kidnapping our daughter!" Invincible countered as he pointed towards the two figures disappearing into the sky. That was more than enough to silence Roderich, whose face went positively ashen as he joined the family in staring helplessly at the scene above them.
"They stopped," Matthew pointed out.
He was right. Sickle and Angelique were hovering just near the plane's wing, but they didn't appear to be moving into it. They weren't simply floating there either. Invincible caught the very distinct sight of movement, but he couldn't quite tell what was causing it.
"Something's happening up there," Alfred noted, but his words were drowned out by Élastique's frantic shrieks.
"We have to do something!" Élastique nearly howled as he began to shake Invincible's shoulders. "We have to stop him! He's getting away! Do something! Throw something!"
"I can't!" Invincible snapped as he tried and failed to steady Élastique. His grasp was vice like and for a moment Invincible forgot which one of them had been gifted with super strength. "I can't just throw something into the air. I might hit Angelique!"
"Well then..." Élastique's voice trailed off as his eyes once again drifted skyward where he saw a flicker of light erupt from Sickle's hands. "Throw me."
Invincible blinked as he turned to stare at his husband, certain that he hadn't heard him correctly. "What?"
"Dammit Arthur, do not argue with me!" Élastique snapped as he gave Invincible's arm one last shake. "Throw me!"
He knew he didn't have a choice and with a muttered curse Invincible grabbed Élastique by his waist and hurled him into the air as if he were nothing more than a lawn dart.
--
The baby was quite cute. Even its frightened cries were cute and as Red Sickle soared through the air with the infant cradled in his arms he felt certain that he had made the right choice. She may not have been Captain Invincible's blood daughter, but Sickle felt certain that he had saved her from a lifetime of bitterness and resentment. After all, she was like him, a normal human living in a world of Supers. Her so called family would say that they love her, but in truth they would only look down on the child as they flaunted their "gifts" and made the girl feel inadequate.
Sickle would not let that happen. He was going to be the perfect guardian in order to help guide the baby to reach her full potential and she would appreciate him for it and perhaps even love him. He smiled at that thought. Yes, she would love him. She would not abandon him like Invincible or betray him like Toris. She would be a true friend.
The baby continued to sob and shriek as she twisted in his arms and gazed down at the world spreading out below them. His grip on her stayed strong, even as she wiggled about and he learned in that moment that babies were fidgety creatures. "Do not worry," Sickle soothed as he gave the infant's back a gentle pat. They were only a few feet away from his jet now and Sickle felt certain he could take a moment to comfort his new charge. "Old family is gone now. You will no longer be seeing them."
A sharp, searing pain spread through his hand and up his arm once those words left his lips and for a moment he wondered if his equipment had malfunctioned. Yet when he looked down he found that the source of his pain was actually... the baby? That didn't make sense, because Sickle had been certain that the baby only had a few tiny teeth in her mouth full of gums and a bite from her should not cause nearly this much pain.
He hissed as the pain flared up once again as the child's jaw clenched down tighter on his arm and a trail of blood began to drip down his gloved hand. Sickle let out a horrified cry as he pried the baby off of him only to find several rows of razor sharp teeth had sprouted from the infant's pink gums. His mind was positively reeling as the teeth disappeared and rows of spikes soon emerged across the girl's skin.
"I... how...?" he sputtered as he struggled to maintain a proper hold on the child. This wasn't right. He had read over Invincible's file carefully before going to his home and his papers had said quite clearly that the youngest child was an adopted normal girl. This sort of thing should not be possible.
Sickle did not have time to process this new situation as the baby continued to scream and cry and attempt to puncture his costumed arms with her spikes. He felt positively horrified, yet things turned from bad to worse when the spikes disappeared and a pulse of electricity emerged from the infant's body.
He yelped and he could practically feel the circuits in his body suit spark and jerk as his equipment began to malfunction. His boots flared up, propelling him backwards and slamming Sickle into the base of his plane. Sparks continued to fly and Sickle didn't even realize that he had dropped the child until he opened his eyes and realized that both of his hands were now gripping only the wing of the plane.
--
"Whoa Dad, you really threw him!" Alfred gasped as he squinted up at the sky, struggling to keep his eyes on Élastique's rapidly disappearing figure.
Invincible felt as if his insides were on fire as he was stuck standing back helplessly on the ground as he watched the events transpiring above them. He silently hoped that he hadn't thrown Élastique too hard, because he hadn't exactly had an opportunity to aim properly before taking action. It would be absolutely horrible for him to zoom right past the plane.
He could just barely see it, but his eyes had been able to spot Angelique slipping from Sickle's grasp and his heart felt as if it were about to explode.
"What is happening?" Roderich asked as he desperately peered up above, rocking back and forth on the ball of his heels in order to get a better view. "I cannot see anything!"
"He dropped the baby!" Matthew told him as he struggled along with the others to get a better view. "But Papa's not close enough to catch her yet."
"I can't see Red Sickle," Alfred said. "Do you think he got in the plane? Did he drop her on purpose?"
Dammit Francis, Invincible silently groaned. Hurry up. Things were moving far too slowly for his taste and he could see that Francis was feeling much the same way as he proceeded to stretch his body out in order to reach the infant that much faster. A great weight seemed to lift off of him when Élastique's hands finally wrapped themselves around Angelique's tiny body.
"He caught her!" Alfred cheered and Matthew looked ready to collapse in relief.
Invincible wanted to rejoice along with them, but he simply couldn't. Looking past the gradually descending figure of Élastique and Angelique, he could only see Sickle's massive jet looming above them like a dark cloud. That's how it would be forever: Sickle's presence always following them around, surrounding them, and locking them in a state of perpetual fear.
In that moment, Invincible knew that he absolutely could not allow that to happen. He wouldn't let his children live in a world where they had to constantly look over their shoulders and jump at shadows. Invincible scowled as he looked around the lawn, searching for something that could help him. It was then that his eyes landed on the Aston Martin parked in the driveway and everything seemed to click into place.
He sprinted across the lawn and grabbed the sport car, awkwardly, by its bumper. Invincible gave a large grunt as he positioned it in his arms and measured things out carefully. He knew that he only had one chance to do this and it had to be absolutely perfect.
"Boys, duck!" Invincible ordered.
Roderich and the children turned towards him, all three of them growing wide eyed and pale before crouching down to the ground as prepared himself for a running start. Invincible sprinted a few steps before pitching the car high into the air. He watched as the car went zooming past Élastique and the baby (and Invincible allowed himself a small bit of relief for that) before crashing into the nose of the jet several feet above.
The explosion was loud enough to be heard from the ground and Invincible felt his lips curl into a triumphant smile as the Bentley tore into plane like a rock through paper. His moment of victory was short lived, however, when Invincible realized that the explosions blooming overhead would only serve to cause the flaming debris to rain down on them.
"You damn fool!" Roderich barked as he spun on his heels in order to properly chew Invincible out. "What do you propose we do now?"
"Uh, well..." Invincible began hesitantly, but his words soon came to an end when he found himself at a loss.
Everything seemed to move that much faster as Invincible and the others stood there helplessly. Élastique landed on the ground, just a few inches away from Invincible, just as the jet's severed nose came crashing down around them. The sound of fire blooming as metal and wires twisted and collapsed around them churned through Invincible's ears and for one horrifying moment Invincible felt certain that it was all over.
Yet when the smoke cleared and the ringing in his ears began to fade, Invincible realized that everything was fine. They were crouched down low, Roderich was curled into a tight ball at his feet, Élastique's arms wrapped around Invincible and the children, Alfred clung desperately to Invincible's chest, and Angelique stayed sandwiched between her parents. It was only when Invincible looked up that he saw that Matthew was standing above them, arms out stretched and face twisted in concentration as he worked to maintain the force field surrounding them.
"There's a good lad," Invincible chuckled as his insides began to swell with pride.
"He gets his quick reflexes from me," Élastique boasted as he stretched himself taller in order to place a quick kiss to Matthew's cheek.
"Uh, what about the house?" Alfred ventured as he nodded towards the charred remains of what had once been their modest sized, contemporary ranch home. "Does this mean we're gonna have to move?"
Invincible felt his stomach rise and fall at the sight of a lifetime worth of memories having literally gone up in a blaze in the blink of an eye. It was a weighty loss, one that he could not dwell on properly given the way Roderich was currently glowering daggers at his side. A small, hesitant chuckle escaped him as he turned towards the clearly displeased man and mentally prepared himself for another long lecture on carelessness. "Well, Roderich old man, what do you say to one last relocation? For old time's sake?"
Epilogue: Fall 2013
The house still smelled like paint. The fumes hung heavy in the air several months after the last coat had been neatly brushed on. Arthur ran his hands along the glossy surface of the walls -- smooth save for a lump here and there -- and confirmed what he already knew: it was dry. Francis had reasoned that it was only because of Arthur's keen senses that he was able to detect anything. He supposed he was right. A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips as he gave the sturdy wall a quick pat before shifting his gaze towards the window facing their backyard.
It was much bigger than the last one had been, with large looming trees, a quaint little tool shed, and plenty of space for a proper garden. ("Big enough for a dog?" Alfred had noted hopefully and Arthur responded with a short laugh and a smirked "Nice try.") Indeed everything was larger now, from the family room to the basement there was more elbow space for all. The boys were most pleased when they discovered that they would finally be able to each have a room of their own and Francis went nearly weak at the knees when brand new, state of the art appliances were installed in their spacious new kitchen. He supposed those little features more than made up for all the things they had to sacrifice.
After everything that had happened two years ago the entire family had come to the conclusion that they simply could not stay in their old neighborhood. Punching a man through a wall was one thing, having your house blown to bits after an ominous black jet crashed into it was an entirely different issue. (Not to mention the difficulty of having to explain why there were four costumed men and children standing amongst the wreckage and holding a baby.) Using the remainder of the money Arthur had received from Red Sickle (money that they had only been allowed to keep after Roderich had conveniently neglected to report it to his supervisors) they had purchased the nice little house in a pleasant neighborhood, along with a brand new minivan, in the next over county.
Of course, uprooting and starting fresh was never easy and the family found themselves having to make adjustments. The boys had to change schools and say goodbye to all of their friends while Francis now had to drive a good hour and a half just to visit Antonio if the man didn't feel up to flying over himself. Worst of all was the fact that Francis's photography business, which had existed almost entirely on word of mouth, now had to start from scratch, a fact that Francis responded to by reluctantly taking a job at a local photo studio. At first, Francis was openly resentful at having to buckle down and take on more structured work, but after the first few months he found himself enjoying capturing the joyous smiles of young couples and soothing the fussy cries of infants and when he did finally restart his business Francis found that he had built a much studier and consistent client basis.
Somewhere in the kitchen, the main phone began to ring and Arthur was quick to grab his mug of tea and tip toe away. The biggest drawback that this house came with -- for him at least -- was that they now lived much closer to Ludwig and Feliciano, which meant a drastic increase to the number of phone calls and dinner invitations they had received in the past. Francis in particular found himself being called over more often ever since little Bertie's arrival at the compound last spring.
Arthur had barely taken a full step out of the kitchen before shuffling to a stop to prevent himself from slamming into Alfred. "Hey Dad, I need you to sign something for me," Alfred said and Arthur was a bit embarrassed to say that he had to stop himself from jumping at the sound of his voice.
It was almost frightening how fast the boys were growing. It seemed as if just last year the twins had barely come up to his elbow, now Alfred was tall enough for Arthur to look him in the eye without tilting his head and his voice was starting to sound a bit more like that of an adult's.
"Another permission forum?" Arthur frowned as he grabbed the paper Alfred had been holding out for him.
"Something like that," Alfred shrugged as he rocked back and forth on the ball of his heels. "Coach just said he needed a signature on this so I can go to the big game next week."
"Another game already?" he groaned as he once again lamented allowing Alfred to sign up for football.
Then again, Alfred was keeping his promise not to use his powers on the field -- a fact that was likely becoming more difficult as Arthur suspect that Alfred might be developing another ability as he ventured further into puberty -- and his mood certainly had improved ever since. What's more Alfred's grades were improving now that he had something to work towards and the other kids on the team were a nice enough bunch. Arthur supposed he just didn't like how much football ate into Alfred's free time with all the practices and games he had to attend. Arthur had found himself missing his son so dearly that he actually began to research football trivia just to have something to discuss with him when Alfred was home.
Matthew wasn't much better since he had taken to playing hockey. His world seemed to revolve around it now with ice hockey in the late fall and winter and street hockey during the spring and summer. Yet once again Arthur couldn't complain because Matthew had made so many new friends since he started playing and no longer had any issues with maintaining his state visible.
He sighed, giving the paper a quick glance -- apparently the next game would require a charter bus and parent volunteers -- before handing it back to Alfred. "Put it on my desk, I'll sign it after dinner."
"Okay, cool," Alfred said with another shrug. He took a step away before pausing and turning back to Arthur. "Wait, you're not cooking dinner tonight, are you?"
"No smarty pants!" Arthur huffed, giving his son's shoulder a playful jab. "Your father should be home soon enough."
Alfred laughed as he folded the permission form into a little square and trotted off to the basement office. The boy had just barely disappeared downstairs when the front door began to creek open. Angelique hopped in, mud covered and drenched from head to toe, and Arthur actually found himself start to panic when it looked as if the girl was about to go bounding off to track dirt onto the cream colored carpet without so much as wiping her feet.
"Angelique!" Arthur began, but he was cut off by the sight of an arm stretching from just outside the door and straight towards the toddler. The arm wrapped itself loosely, but firmly around the toddler who suddenly found herself unable to do more than pout.
Francis stepped inside then, a phone clutched firmly into his free hand while an umbrella was tucked firmly under his elongated arm. Like Angelique, Francis was also soaked. The heavy black raincoat and matching umbrella he was sporting were still dripping wet and his hair looked as if he had just gotten out of the shower. Yet Francis was used to this by now and seemed only a bit weary as he trudged inside. "Yes Feliciano, that's wonderful," Francis was saying distantly as he took a moment to shake some excess water off of his umbrella before finally stepping fully inside. "Ah, yes. I will be sure to tell everyone. Yes. Yes, good bye."
A sour expression slipped onto Francis's face as he ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He was quick to smooth the look away before he turned his gaze down to Angelique whom he finally released from his grasp. "What is the first thing we do when we get inside?" he asked her chidingly.
Angelique blinked her wide brown eyes as her soft features turned thoughtful. She gazed down at her feet and smiled as the answer came to her. "Shoes!" she said at last before plopping down on the soggy welcome mat and beginning to remove one shoe at a time. Arthur smiled and used the opportunity to grab a few towels from the hall closet. He returned to the entry way just as Angelique had begun to push herself off of the ground and as soon as she was standing upright, Arthur was sure to greet her with a fluffy towel.
"How was today's 'swimming lesson'?" Arthur asked as he used one hand to offer Francis his own towel before going back to drying Angelique.
"Terrible," he said with an exaggerated sigh as he peeled off his coat before dabbing at his damp hair. "I nearly drowned."
Arthur chuckled.
After Red Sickle's attack triggered Angelique's powers, Francis and Arthur, hesitantly, asked Roderich if he could look into Angelique's history because clearly the adoption agency had not obtained all the facts. What Roderich had found wasn't a great surprise. Her biological father had been a Super, a fact that he had not revealed to her mother until Angelique had been conceived. Just as the adoption agency had said, her mother was very young and confused, what they hadn't known was that the girl had felt certain one way or another she would lose her baby and in her panic she had given Angelique up for adoption in the hopes that she would have a better chance at a normal life hidden in plain sight with normal parents. Clearly fate had a strange sense of humor.
Since then, their uncomplicated powerless baby had turned into a bundle of surprises, displaying the ability to turn her body into a liquid state as well as create spikes from her smooth skin, razor sharp teeth from her gums, and bursts of electricity when startled, frightened, or cranky. For the better part of a year Francis and Arthur found themselves reluctant to leave the infant's side for more than a few minutes for fear of some new power rearing its head, a fact that made leaving the house difficult as they could no longer risk taking Angelique out in public for fear of blowing their cover. Yet when the girl reached two, the other abilities seemed to fade away and she was left only with her water based powers, which was fine enough, but a baby with one ability was still quite a handful.
"It is just like the twins all over again," Francis would often lament.
"Yes, but at least there's only one this time," Arthur would counter.
That was when the swimming lessons had started, because they simply could not stand to keep Angelique cooped up in the house any longer and knew from experience that the best way to deal with a Super toddler was to educate them quickly and even the fact that Angelique was just barely out of diapers was not enough to stop Francis from taking her out once a week to try to teach her to control her water powers. Some days were a better success than others, and today was clearly not one of those better days.
"I thought of a new article for you," Francis said after he felt certain that his hair was acceptably dry. "'Why a good raincoat is a sound investment for any parent.'"
Arthur smirked. He always liked when Francis tried to contribute to his blog, even if his ideas were usually only half serious.
Five years ago, Arthur never would have considered starting his own blog, but back then he had been far too focused on hating his job and resenting his life. Yet after a year of being unemployed and (genuinely) look for work, Arthur found himself writing in his spare time, something he hadn't done since college. It was then that Francis had suggested he try his hand at writing professionally, an idea that Arthur, shamefully, had not thought about since dropping out of graduate school. His blog was started soon after, a site filled with gardening tips, parenting techniques, and (much to Francis's endless amusement) advice on maintaining a functional marriage. His better ideas he sold to magazines, but his blog itself was a modest success with enough sponsors to be considered more than just a simple hobby.
"Nice try, but I already have an idea for this week's article," he said as he stood and lifted Angelique into his arms, "'when to let new parents work things out on their own.'"
Francis rewarded him with a look that couldn't quite be called a glare as there was far too much humor in his eyes. "I see, so that is why you ignored the house phone? You know he always calls me when no one answers at home!"
"Yes and I do recall saying you should reduce the Parenting Hotline to emergencies only," he chided as he carried Angelique over to her play area. She was getting a bit too old to be penned in, but it was the only part of the house covered in a tarp, which meant there would be no fear of water damage to the floor. "So what was the big emergency this time? Macaroni stuck in the nose?"
"No, just another update on Bertie's development," Francis admitted wearily as he made his way into the kitchen. "Apparently he tried some of Feliciano's minestrone and liked it. Feli couldn't be happier."
"If that boy's first words aren't 'marinara' there are going to be tears in that house."
"Yes, well if it is 'bratwurst' they will surely be Ludwig's." Another long suffering sigh escaped Francis as a new thought emerged. "My biggest fear is that the phone calls will double once Antonio and Lovino have their baby."
Arthur chuckled as he helped Francis by washing a few vegetables (one of the few tasks he was allowed to do while they were both in the kitchen). "Yes, well let us just hope that the search for the perfect surrogate lasts at least until Bertie is walking," he teased. "Although knowing those two it'll probably take until he's school aged." He was just about to dig into the drawer to retrieve the vegetable peeler, the phone began to ring again.
Francis turned to him on the second ring, an almost pained expression etched onto his features. "Feli cannot possibly be calling back this soon."
"Maybe Bertie's spit up looks like the island of Sicily," he joked.
Francis chuckled as he dried his hand and picked up the phone with a flat "hello." Arthur watched as his husband straightened and his jaw set, a clear sign that it was most certainly not Feliciano Vargas on the other end. "Yes," Francis said flatly. "Yes. One moment." He turned to Arthur then, a gleam of something in his eyes as he smirked secretively. "Are you up for some excitement?"
"Maybe. Anything interesting?"
"Nothing that would require my talents, but it sounds right up your alley."
He smiled at that and extended his hand towards the phone. "Well, let it never be said that Captain Invincible turns away when adventure calls."
Character(s) or Pairing(s):FACES featuring FrUK. In this chapter: Austria, Belguim, Russia
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, Slash, Action/Adventure, Implied Past Mpreg, Character Death
Summary: After a series of lawsuits forces him and the rest of the Supers into retirement, Arthur Kirkland finds himself trapped living a mundane suburban life. When adventure calls he's quick to respond, but how will it affect the rest of his family?
Prologue|Chapter 1|Chapter 2|Chapter 3|Chapter 4|Chapter 5|Chapter 6|Chapter 7|Chapter 8|Chapter 9|Chapter 10
Chapter 11 The Past vs The Future
"What a mess you people make," Roderich huffed, sporting his usual perturbed demeanor as he sat with his arms and legs tightly crossed and his back rail straight. He was currently hard at work glaring the two seasoned Supers down and it was strange that a man without a single super powered bone in his body could make beings such as them feel like mere children. "Do you have any idea how much damage you caused? The paper work alone will cost us a fortune!"
"Well it's not as if it was our fault," Invincible countered. He turned to Élastique for support, but found that he was currently busy using the limousine's phone to check the messages on his voicemail box. Clearly Invincible would have to square off with Roderich alone. "Red Sickle's the loon who released the robot on the city. We were just doing our duty by stopping the thing!"
"Yes well," Roderich began, but stopped himself midsentence. His demeanor softened momentarily as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and Invincible could tell that they were about to witness a truly rare sight. "You did well. But do not think that this means you can come out of retirement. You'll have to let the government figure that one out. Until then just be sure to keep a low profile. And stay out of trouble!"
Invincible sighed as he gave a weary nod. He hadn't been hoping for things to go back to the way they were fifteen years ago, because just the mere act of being thanked for his deed was more than enough for him. What's more the entire family had been through so much these past few days that simply spending some time at home being "normal" sounded just fine to him. He smiled as he turned to Alfred who was starring eagerly out the limousine's tinted windows before switching his attention to playing with the little buttons along the side paneling, causing the lights within the cabin the flicker on and off. Élastique, still fixated with listening to his messages, took a moment to stretch out his arm and slap Alfred's hands away, before returning to his business.
Matthew was sitting between Invincible and Élastique and seemed ready to nod off. Invincible smiled down at the boy as he wrapped an arm around him and pulled Matthew closer to his side. He reasoned that he could allow Alfred and Matthew to miss a day or two of school just to rest and unwind. He was certain that Élastique would agree.
"Are you going throw Red Sickle in jail?" Alfred asked when it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to play around anymore.
Roderich looked at the boy, shifted, and cleared his throat. Roderich wasn't accustomed to dealing with children and Invincible had to wonder if the mere act of sitting next to two strained him. "We will," he assured Alfred. "Now that we are aware of what his little company has been doing all these years and where they are operating from, the government will be sure to keep a close eye on him."
When you find him, Invincible put in silently. He didn't want to frighten the boys, but he had noticed that -- once the authorities had gathered at the crime scene -- there had been absolutely no sight of Red Sickle and Invincible couldn't help thinking that the mad man had managed to escape capture. The very thought was enough to cause Invincible to tighten his grip on Matthew. They would have to be much more vigilant until Sickle was caught.
"Arthur," Élastique began, his words effectively pulling Invincible out of his dark musings. "Listen to these messages. They are so strange."
Invincible frowned as Élastique shifted closer and positioned the car's phone between the two of them. He heard Matthew give a groan of discomfort, but the sound was drowned out by the worried tone of a young girl's voice coming from the earpiece. "Mr. Bonnefoy," the girl began, "I don't want to alarm you, but something strange is going on with your house. The baby and I are just fine, but... well, call me back okay? " The message ended with a loud beep and another one soon started. "The baby and I are still okay, but a lot of weird stuff is happening. When are you coming back?" Another beep and a new message began, only this time there was a shrill screeching in the background as the girl's slightly worried tone shifted into full on panic. "Things are not okay Mr. Bonnefoy! Your kid didn't pay me enough for this! When are you coming home?" Another beep as the message shifted and by now the girl was out right screaming at them. "I'm going to call the cops if you don't come home right now!"
That message alone was enough to cause a wave of panic to seize Invincible's heart and he could tell by the way Élastique had visibly paled that he was thinking along the same lines. The limo had turned on to their street just as a new message began to play and the two Supers were stunned when they found that the girl's voice had settled into a much calmer level. "Hello Mr. Bonnefoy, this is Emma again. Sorry about all those messages earlier. I guess I got a little freaked out, because, well your baby has... special needs."
"Special needs?" Invincible echoed. He could say many things about Angelique, but the girl was as normal as they came. What's more, he couldn't wrap his mind around anything that the infant could have done that would cause such a reaction in this poor teenager. Invincible pushed those thoughts aside when he heard the girl, Emma, continue to speak.
"Luckily your friend showed up when he did..."
"Our friend?" he repeated, jerking away from the phone in order to get a good look at Élastique's face.
"Antonio never said anything about seeing Angelique," Élastique reminded him as fear quickly settled onto his own face.
It was true, Infierno hadn't said anything about the baby, and had only off handedly joked about flying home before Lovino killed him before they had left the city. As scatter brained as Infierno could be, Invincible doubted he be careless enough to leave an infant alone or not bother to mention her well being to her parents.
The limousine had barely stopped in front of their drive way when Élastique jumped out of the door, scrambling to get inside the house. Invincible and the children were hot on his heels. Élastique nearly yanked the front door off of its hinges as he pushed his way inside. They were instantly greeted by the sound of Pierre's panicked chirping when they stepped inside the darkened foyer. The family didn't get to go much further as a beam of red energy soon enveloped their bodies, leaving all four of them completely paralyzed.
"So good of you to join us," Red Sickle greeted, his usual cold smile gracing his lips as he stared coolly at them. "We have been waiting."
To say that Sickle looked horrible was to put things mildly. His usually pristine suit was caked with sooth and his red cape was nearly torn to shreds. There was dried blood decorating the side of his face and drenching his hair and his mask was barely hanging on to him. That poor Emma girl must have been in a bad state if she had willingly allowed this man into their home.
Angelique was sleeping in the crook of his arm, looking surprisingly peaceful curled up next to a mad man and Invincible's arms were burning with the need to grab her and take her away before breaking every bone in Sickle's slimy body.
"Do not worry about baby," Sickle said in a voice that would have been reassuring if it were coming from anyone else. "I will take good care of her. After all, you broke my friend, so I am merely acquiring new one. I will nurture and protect and help her fulfill potential and maybe someday we will come back and pay family a visit. Until then..." With a mere flick of his wrist, Sickle sent all four of them flying across the room, crashing into a nearby book shelf.
The wood splintered and cracked as piles of books came raining down on top of them. Invincible grunted as he helped Matthew and Alfred up, only for the sound of a large explosion to greet his ears. Dust bloomed before his eyes and when the smoke cleared he found that Sickle had blasted a massive whole in their roof and had used his rocket books to launch himself skyward.
"He took my baby!" Élastique screamed as he untangled himself from the debris and ran outside.
Élastique was already on the front lawn by the time Invincible and the boys had managed to get through the front door. His panic stricken eyes were fixed on the sky and when Invincible looked up, he saw why. Sickle was already several feet above them and fast approaching a massive jet hovering miles overhead. Invincible groaned, because even with his superior vision he could hardly make out Angelique's form from this distance.
"What is wrong with you people!" Roderich chided as he ran out of the limousine and joined them on the front lawn. "Is this what you call keeping a low profile?"
"That bastard is kidnapping our daughter!" Invincible countered as he pointed towards the two figures disappearing into the sky. That was more than enough to silence Roderich, whose face went positively ashen as he joined the family in staring helplessly at the scene above them.
"They stopped," Matthew pointed out.
He was right. Sickle and Angelique were hovering just near the plane's wing, but they didn't appear to be moving into it. They weren't simply floating there either. Invincible caught the very distinct sight of movement, but he couldn't quite tell what was causing it.
"Something's happening up there," Alfred noted, but his words were drowned out by Élastique's frantic shrieks.
"We have to do something!" Élastique nearly howled as he began to shake Invincible's shoulders. "We have to stop him! He's getting away! Do something! Throw something!"
"I can't!" Invincible snapped as he tried and failed to steady Élastique. His grasp was vice like and for a moment Invincible forgot which one of them had been gifted with super strength. "I can't just throw something into the air. I might hit Angelique!"
"Well then..." Élastique's voice trailed off as his eyes once again drifted skyward where he saw a flicker of light erupt from Sickle's hands. "Throw me."
Invincible blinked as he turned to stare at his husband, certain that he hadn't heard him correctly. "What?"
"Dammit Arthur, do not argue with me!" Élastique snapped as he gave Invincible's arm one last shake. "Throw me!"
He knew he didn't have a choice and with a muttered curse Invincible grabbed Élastique by his waist and hurled him into the air as if he were nothing more than a lawn dart.
--
The baby was quite cute. Even its frightened cries were cute and as Red Sickle soared through the air with the infant cradled in his arms he felt certain that he had made the right choice. She may not have been Captain Invincible's blood daughter, but Sickle felt certain that he had saved her from a lifetime of bitterness and resentment. After all, she was like him, a normal human living in a world of Supers. Her so called family would say that they love her, but in truth they would only look down on the child as they flaunted their "gifts" and made the girl feel inadequate.
Sickle would not let that happen. He was going to be the perfect guardian in order to help guide the baby to reach her full potential and she would appreciate him for it and perhaps even love him. He smiled at that thought. Yes, she would love him. She would not abandon him like Invincible or betray him like Toris. She would be a true friend.
The baby continued to sob and shriek as she twisted in his arms and gazed down at the world spreading out below them. His grip on her stayed strong, even as she wiggled about and he learned in that moment that babies were fidgety creatures. "Do not worry," Sickle soothed as he gave the infant's back a gentle pat. They were only a few feet away from his jet now and Sickle felt certain he could take a moment to comfort his new charge. "Old family is gone now. You will no longer be seeing them."
A sharp, searing pain spread through his hand and up his arm once those words left his lips and for a moment he wondered if his equipment had malfunctioned. Yet when he looked down he found that the source of his pain was actually... the baby? That didn't make sense, because Sickle had been certain that the baby only had a few tiny teeth in her mouth full of gums and a bite from her should not cause nearly this much pain.
He hissed as the pain flared up once again as the child's jaw clenched down tighter on his arm and a trail of blood began to drip down his gloved hand. Sickle let out a horrified cry as he pried the baby off of him only to find several rows of razor sharp teeth had sprouted from the infant's pink gums. His mind was positively reeling as the teeth disappeared and rows of spikes soon emerged across the girl's skin.
"I... how...?" he sputtered as he struggled to maintain a proper hold on the child. This wasn't right. He had read over Invincible's file carefully before going to his home and his papers had said quite clearly that the youngest child was an adopted normal girl. This sort of thing should not be possible.
Sickle did not have time to process this new situation as the baby continued to scream and cry and attempt to puncture his costumed arms with her spikes. He felt positively horrified, yet things turned from bad to worse when the spikes disappeared and a pulse of electricity emerged from the infant's body.
He yelped and he could practically feel the circuits in his body suit spark and jerk as his equipment began to malfunction. His boots flared up, propelling him backwards and slamming Sickle into the base of his plane. Sparks continued to fly and Sickle didn't even realize that he had dropped the child until he opened his eyes and realized that both of his hands were now gripping only the wing of the plane.
--
"Whoa Dad, you really threw him!" Alfred gasped as he squinted up at the sky, struggling to keep his eyes on Élastique's rapidly disappearing figure.
Invincible felt as if his insides were on fire as he was stuck standing back helplessly on the ground as he watched the events transpiring above them. He silently hoped that he hadn't thrown Élastique too hard, because he hadn't exactly had an opportunity to aim properly before taking action. It would be absolutely horrible for him to zoom right past the plane.
He could just barely see it, but his eyes had been able to spot Angelique slipping from Sickle's grasp and his heart felt as if it were about to explode.
"What is happening?" Roderich asked as he desperately peered up above, rocking back and forth on the ball of his heels in order to get a better view. "I cannot see anything!"
"He dropped the baby!" Matthew told him as he struggled along with the others to get a better view. "But Papa's not close enough to catch her yet."
"I can't see Red Sickle," Alfred said. "Do you think he got in the plane? Did he drop her on purpose?"
Dammit Francis, Invincible silently groaned. Hurry up. Things were moving far too slowly for his taste and he could see that Francis was feeling much the same way as he proceeded to stretch his body out in order to reach the infant that much faster. A great weight seemed to lift off of him when Élastique's hands finally wrapped themselves around Angelique's tiny body.
"He caught her!" Alfred cheered and Matthew looked ready to collapse in relief.
Invincible wanted to rejoice along with them, but he simply couldn't. Looking past the gradually descending figure of Élastique and Angelique, he could only see Sickle's massive jet looming above them like a dark cloud. That's how it would be forever: Sickle's presence always following them around, surrounding them, and locking them in a state of perpetual fear.
In that moment, Invincible knew that he absolutely could not allow that to happen. He wouldn't let his children live in a world where they had to constantly look over their shoulders and jump at shadows. Invincible scowled as he looked around the lawn, searching for something that could help him. It was then that his eyes landed on the Aston Martin parked in the driveway and everything seemed to click into place.
He sprinted across the lawn and grabbed the sport car, awkwardly, by its bumper. Invincible gave a large grunt as he positioned it in his arms and measured things out carefully. He knew that he only had one chance to do this and it had to be absolutely perfect.
"Boys, duck!" Invincible ordered.
Roderich and the children turned towards him, all three of them growing wide eyed and pale before crouching down to the ground as prepared himself for a running start. Invincible sprinted a few steps before pitching the car high into the air. He watched as the car went zooming past Élastique and the baby (and Invincible allowed himself a small bit of relief for that) before crashing into the nose of the jet several feet above.
The explosion was loud enough to be heard from the ground and Invincible felt his lips curl into a triumphant smile as the Bentley tore into plane like a rock through paper. His moment of victory was short lived, however, when Invincible realized that the explosions blooming overhead would only serve to cause the flaming debris to rain down on them.
"You damn fool!" Roderich barked as he spun on his heels in order to properly chew Invincible out. "What do you propose we do now?"
"Uh, well..." Invincible began hesitantly, but his words soon came to an end when he found himself at a loss.
Everything seemed to move that much faster as Invincible and the others stood there helplessly. Élastique landed on the ground, just a few inches away from Invincible, just as the jet's severed nose came crashing down around them. The sound of fire blooming as metal and wires twisted and collapsed around them churned through Invincible's ears and for one horrifying moment Invincible felt certain that it was all over.
Yet when the smoke cleared and the ringing in his ears began to fade, Invincible realized that everything was fine. They were crouched down low, Roderich was curled into a tight ball at his feet, Élastique's arms wrapped around Invincible and the children, Alfred clung desperately to Invincible's chest, and Angelique stayed sandwiched between her parents. It was only when Invincible looked up that he saw that Matthew was standing above them, arms out stretched and face twisted in concentration as he worked to maintain the force field surrounding them.
"There's a good lad," Invincible chuckled as his insides began to swell with pride.
"He gets his quick reflexes from me," Élastique boasted as he stretched himself taller in order to place a quick kiss to Matthew's cheek.
"Uh, what about the house?" Alfred ventured as he nodded towards the charred remains of what had once been their modest sized, contemporary ranch home. "Does this mean we're gonna have to move?"
Invincible felt his stomach rise and fall at the sight of a lifetime worth of memories having literally gone up in a blaze in the blink of an eye. It was a weighty loss, one that he could not dwell on properly given the way Roderich was currently glowering daggers at his side. A small, hesitant chuckle escaped him as he turned towards the clearly displeased man and mentally prepared himself for another long lecture on carelessness. "Well, Roderich old man, what do you say to one last relocation? For old time's sake?"
Epilogue: Fall 2013
The house still smelled like paint. The fumes hung heavy in the air several months after the last coat had been neatly brushed on. Arthur ran his hands along the glossy surface of the walls -- smooth save for a lump here and there -- and confirmed what he already knew: it was dry. Francis had reasoned that it was only because of Arthur's keen senses that he was able to detect anything. He supposed he was right. A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips as he gave the sturdy wall a quick pat before shifting his gaze towards the window facing their backyard.
It was much bigger than the last one had been, with large looming trees, a quaint little tool shed, and plenty of space for a proper garden. ("Big enough for a dog?" Alfred had noted hopefully and Arthur responded with a short laugh and a smirked "Nice try.") Indeed everything was larger now, from the family room to the basement there was more elbow space for all. The boys were most pleased when they discovered that they would finally be able to each have a room of their own and Francis went nearly weak at the knees when brand new, state of the art appliances were installed in their spacious new kitchen. He supposed those little features more than made up for all the things they had to sacrifice.
After everything that had happened two years ago the entire family had come to the conclusion that they simply could not stay in their old neighborhood. Punching a man through a wall was one thing, having your house blown to bits after an ominous black jet crashed into it was an entirely different issue. (Not to mention the difficulty of having to explain why there were four costumed men and children standing amongst the wreckage and holding a baby.) Using the remainder of the money Arthur had received from Red Sickle (money that they had only been allowed to keep after Roderich had conveniently neglected to report it to his supervisors) they had purchased the nice little house in a pleasant neighborhood, along with a brand new minivan, in the next over county.
Of course, uprooting and starting fresh was never easy and the family found themselves having to make adjustments. The boys had to change schools and say goodbye to all of their friends while Francis now had to drive a good hour and a half just to visit Antonio if the man didn't feel up to flying over himself. Worst of all was the fact that Francis's photography business, which had existed almost entirely on word of mouth, now had to start from scratch, a fact that Francis responded to by reluctantly taking a job at a local photo studio. At first, Francis was openly resentful at having to buckle down and take on more structured work, but after the first few months he found himself enjoying capturing the joyous smiles of young couples and soothing the fussy cries of infants and when he did finally restart his business Francis found that he had built a much studier and consistent client basis.
Somewhere in the kitchen, the main phone began to ring and Arthur was quick to grab his mug of tea and tip toe away. The biggest drawback that this house came with -- for him at least -- was that they now lived much closer to Ludwig and Feliciano, which meant a drastic increase to the number of phone calls and dinner invitations they had received in the past. Francis in particular found himself being called over more often ever since little Bertie's arrival at the compound last spring.
Arthur had barely taken a full step out of the kitchen before shuffling to a stop to prevent himself from slamming into Alfred. "Hey Dad, I need you to sign something for me," Alfred said and Arthur was a bit embarrassed to say that he had to stop himself from jumping at the sound of his voice.
It was almost frightening how fast the boys were growing. It seemed as if just last year the twins had barely come up to his elbow, now Alfred was tall enough for Arthur to look him in the eye without tilting his head and his voice was starting to sound a bit more like that of an adult's.
"Another permission forum?" Arthur frowned as he grabbed the paper Alfred had been holding out for him.
"Something like that," Alfred shrugged as he rocked back and forth on the ball of his heels. "Coach just said he needed a signature on this so I can go to the big game next week."
"Another game already?" he groaned as he once again lamented allowing Alfred to sign up for football.
Then again, Alfred was keeping his promise not to use his powers on the field -- a fact that was likely becoming more difficult as Arthur suspect that Alfred might be developing another ability as he ventured further into puberty -- and his mood certainly had improved ever since. What's more Alfred's grades were improving now that he had something to work towards and the other kids on the team were a nice enough bunch. Arthur supposed he just didn't like how much football ate into Alfred's free time with all the practices and games he had to attend. Arthur had found himself missing his son so dearly that he actually began to research football trivia just to have something to discuss with him when Alfred was home.
Matthew wasn't much better since he had taken to playing hockey. His world seemed to revolve around it now with ice hockey in the late fall and winter and street hockey during the spring and summer. Yet once again Arthur couldn't complain because Matthew had made so many new friends since he started playing and no longer had any issues with maintaining his state visible.
He sighed, giving the paper a quick glance -- apparently the next game would require a charter bus and parent volunteers -- before handing it back to Alfred. "Put it on my desk, I'll sign it after dinner."
"Okay, cool," Alfred said with another shrug. He took a step away before pausing and turning back to Arthur. "Wait, you're not cooking dinner tonight, are you?"
"No smarty pants!" Arthur huffed, giving his son's shoulder a playful jab. "Your father should be home soon enough."
Alfred laughed as he folded the permission form into a little square and trotted off to the basement office. The boy had just barely disappeared downstairs when the front door began to creek open. Angelique hopped in, mud covered and drenched from head to toe, and Arthur actually found himself start to panic when it looked as if the girl was about to go bounding off to track dirt onto the cream colored carpet without so much as wiping her feet.
"Angelique!" Arthur began, but he was cut off by the sight of an arm stretching from just outside the door and straight towards the toddler. The arm wrapped itself loosely, but firmly around the toddler who suddenly found herself unable to do more than pout.
Francis stepped inside then, a phone clutched firmly into his free hand while an umbrella was tucked firmly under his elongated arm. Like Angelique, Francis was also soaked. The heavy black raincoat and matching umbrella he was sporting were still dripping wet and his hair looked as if he had just gotten out of the shower. Yet Francis was used to this by now and seemed only a bit weary as he trudged inside. "Yes Feliciano, that's wonderful," Francis was saying distantly as he took a moment to shake some excess water off of his umbrella before finally stepping fully inside. "Ah, yes. I will be sure to tell everyone. Yes. Yes, good bye."
A sour expression slipped onto Francis's face as he ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He was quick to smooth the look away before he turned his gaze down to Angelique whom he finally released from his grasp. "What is the first thing we do when we get inside?" he asked her chidingly.
Angelique blinked her wide brown eyes as her soft features turned thoughtful. She gazed down at her feet and smiled as the answer came to her. "Shoes!" she said at last before plopping down on the soggy welcome mat and beginning to remove one shoe at a time. Arthur smiled and used the opportunity to grab a few towels from the hall closet. He returned to the entry way just as Angelique had begun to push herself off of the ground and as soon as she was standing upright, Arthur was sure to greet her with a fluffy towel.
"How was today's 'swimming lesson'?" Arthur asked as he used one hand to offer Francis his own towel before going back to drying Angelique.
"Terrible," he said with an exaggerated sigh as he peeled off his coat before dabbing at his damp hair. "I nearly drowned."
Arthur chuckled.
After Red Sickle's attack triggered Angelique's powers, Francis and Arthur, hesitantly, asked Roderich if he could look into Angelique's history because clearly the adoption agency had not obtained all the facts. What Roderich had found wasn't a great surprise. Her biological father had been a Super, a fact that he had not revealed to her mother until Angelique had been conceived. Just as the adoption agency had said, her mother was very young and confused, what they hadn't known was that the girl had felt certain one way or another she would lose her baby and in her panic she had given Angelique up for adoption in the hopes that she would have a better chance at a normal life hidden in plain sight with normal parents. Clearly fate had a strange sense of humor.
Since then, their uncomplicated powerless baby had turned into a bundle of surprises, displaying the ability to turn her body into a liquid state as well as create spikes from her smooth skin, razor sharp teeth from her gums, and bursts of electricity when startled, frightened, or cranky. For the better part of a year Francis and Arthur found themselves reluctant to leave the infant's side for more than a few minutes for fear of some new power rearing its head, a fact that made leaving the house difficult as they could no longer risk taking Angelique out in public for fear of blowing their cover. Yet when the girl reached two, the other abilities seemed to fade away and she was left only with her water based powers, which was fine enough, but a baby with one ability was still quite a handful.
"It is just like the twins all over again," Francis would often lament.
"Yes, but at least there's only one this time," Arthur would counter.
That was when the swimming lessons had started, because they simply could not stand to keep Angelique cooped up in the house any longer and knew from experience that the best way to deal with a Super toddler was to educate them quickly and even the fact that Angelique was just barely out of diapers was not enough to stop Francis from taking her out once a week to try to teach her to control her water powers. Some days were a better success than others, and today was clearly not one of those better days.
"I thought of a new article for you," Francis said after he felt certain that his hair was acceptably dry. "'Why a good raincoat is a sound investment for any parent.'"
Arthur smirked. He always liked when Francis tried to contribute to his blog, even if his ideas were usually only half serious.
Five years ago, Arthur never would have considered starting his own blog, but back then he had been far too focused on hating his job and resenting his life. Yet after a year of being unemployed and (genuinely) look for work, Arthur found himself writing in his spare time, something he hadn't done since college. It was then that Francis had suggested he try his hand at writing professionally, an idea that Arthur, shamefully, had not thought about since dropping out of graduate school. His blog was started soon after, a site filled with gardening tips, parenting techniques, and (much to Francis's endless amusement) advice on maintaining a functional marriage. His better ideas he sold to magazines, but his blog itself was a modest success with enough sponsors to be considered more than just a simple hobby.
"Nice try, but I already have an idea for this week's article," he said as he stood and lifted Angelique into his arms, "'when to let new parents work things out on their own.'"
Francis rewarded him with a look that couldn't quite be called a glare as there was far too much humor in his eyes. "I see, so that is why you ignored the house phone? You know he always calls me when no one answers at home!"
"Yes and I do recall saying you should reduce the Parenting Hotline to emergencies only," he chided as he carried Angelique over to her play area. She was getting a bit too old to be penned in, but it was the only part of the house covered in a tarp, which meant there would be no fear of water damage to the floor. "So what was the big emergency this time? Macaroni stuck in the nose?"
"No, just another update on Bertie's development," Francis admitted wearily as he made his way into the kitchen. "Apparently he tried some of Feliciano's minestrone and liked it. Feli couldn't be happier."
"If that boy's first words aren't 'marinara' there are going to be tears in that house."
"Yes, well if it is 'bratwurst' they will surely be Ludwig's." Another long suffering sigh escaped Francis as a new thought emerged. "My biggest fear is that the phone calls will double once Antonio and Lovino have their baby."
Arthur chuckled as he helped Francis by washing a few vegetables (one of the few tasks he was allowed to do while they were both in the kitchen). "Yes, well let us just hope that the search for the perfect surrogate lasts at least until Bertie is walking," he teased. "Although knowing those two it'll probably take until he's school aged." He was just about to dig into the drawer to retrieve the vegetable peeler, the phone began to ring again.
Francis turned to him on the second ring, an almost pained expression etched onto his features. "Feli cannot possibly be calling back this soon."
"Maybe Bertie's spit up looks like the island of Sicily," he joked.
Francis chuckled as he dried his hand and picked up the phone with a flat "hello." Arthur watched as his husband straightened and his jaw set, a clear sign that it was most certainly not Feliciano Vargas on the other end. "Yes," Francis said flatly. "Yes. One moment." He turned to Arthur then, a gleam of something in his eyes as he smirked secretively. "Are you up for some excitement?"
"Maybe. Anything interesting?"
"Nothing that would require my talents, but it sounds right up your alley."
He smiled at that and extended his hand towards the phone. "Well, let it never be said that Captain Invincible turns away when adventure calls."