[ENG] Family Family

VIII - Vigilantes For a Day

Silence briefly returned as we surrounded Monty, waiting for him to finally speak.
Stella had been right all along, and I finally found myself comparing my relative to our average foe. But who could have blamed me more than Stella herself? My future self; I was almost more embarrassed than worried.

- I want you to apprentice my children. -

Stella blinked a few times, probably unsure whether the scene unfolding before her was real or just an absurd fever dream.
- Montgomery, I'm not sure if you know what you're talking about. It's infeasible - she calmly explained, as usual.
- Why so? -
- There's a a high risk of death for inexperienced people in such an activity, don't you think? -
- It is? What about Viktor Frankenstein over there? -
Our thoughts immediately went to Henry.
- I remember hearing about someone raising the dead... -
We then looked at mom, who was holding back her tears and regretted sending even just a letter to her beloved brother.
- Also, a little bird told me someone here lacks a soul: he's just an empty shell! -
That was what Helen had whispered in his ear earlier. Henry really didn't need that revelation, considering everything he had gone through, although I hoped there'd be no way for Monty to know that, or to care about it in the slightest.
- Now, it may not look like it, but I am really not the bad guy I seem. I've always wanted to become a superhero, but I never found a good hero name that suited me. Perhaps The InKiller? Or maybe something simpler, like The Novelist? Anyway, I have passed this aspiration on to my children, and since vigilantism is not really taught in school... -
- I understand, but... -
- My children would be a really nice permanent addition to your team, wouldn't they? - he said, waving the document in her face.
Stella sighed.

Helen wandered around the living room, taking in every single detail. Unlike her brother, she didn't know what living in a real house meant. The enormous marble table was too long to fit in her camper, I thought she was thinking.
Something caught her attention: above the table, right by a window, a painted canvas was hanged.
- I assume it's Veronica's work - Helen stated, before reading the label on the golden frame, which confirmed her hypothesis. - It's... grim. I like it. -
- It's much more than that - explained Stella. - I still remember that day like it was yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I remember every day like it was yesterday, but I must admit that leaving a trail of blood behind had turned out an amazing idea. -
Helen had no idea what Stella was talking about, and she turned to check if her brother Larry had something to say.
She sighed after seeing him on the couch while looking at his phone and with both Yin and Yang curled up on his lap.
- Cat person, huh? - I asked.
- I do have a cat. A sphynx named Fluffy - he said with his signature monotonous voice.
- Well, not any better than Achilles the tortoise. -
- What? -
- Forget it. -
I turned after overhearing Henry asking Helen if cats had souls, question to which she answered nodding.
They then all gathered around the painting. Not only because it was fascinating, but also because of the trapdoor in the floor below, previously concealed beneath a large carpet.
After Stella unlocked it, a metal ladder appeared, descending into a deep, narrow pit along with a pole similar to those that firefighters have in stations.
The guests waited for Stella to go first, but she smiled and shook her head.
- After you. -
Helen used the ladder, while Larry simply walked down one of the walls.
That pit led directly to the central corridor of our headquarter, which was more of an empty square room with four doors, each one leading respectively to the containment zone, the training area, the utility section and the living quarters, where we were going.
Despite our warnings, Larry detached from the group and silently opened the door to the first zone out of curiosity, but Stella quickly intervened, stopping him. - We don't wanna wake up the unnamed, uncommunicative and unsociable villain with cockroach physiology, do we? -
Struck dumb, Larry was the first to enter the living quarters, then Helen followed and finally we were all in.

- Hang on, I'll make you some costumes... - said Stella while heading to the utility section, presumably not to show her characteristics' manipulation to complete strangers, as we agreed.
- Costumes? That's ridiculous! - Larry tried to hold back a laugh after hearing such statement.
- Someone here doesn't know the rules of vigilantism, it seems. You're not gonna need a cape and tights, if that's not what you seek or if your team has its own pre-established dress code, which is unfortunately our case. -
- Uh, Nicholas, right? - Helen spoke.
- Yeah? -
- I'm sorry for what Monty is doing to you. -
- It's alright. We're used to this type of things. -

It didn't take long for Stella to return with the clothing: the usual matching grey pants and shirts.
- Larry, your new pants' pockets have a zipper to prevent objects from falling when you crawl on walls, while Helen's have nothing special - Stella explained while handing them over.
- How do you know my size?! -
- It's a characteristic I can look up, Larry. So, unless you wear a permanent Heater suit underneath your clothes, - she said, referring to me - you guys will have to dress up in those restrooms like everyone else. -
As everyone queued up in front of the room's door on the left, I - as I really wore a permanent suit - and Stella stayed where we were. Stella never had a costume of her own; as the mastermind, she instead wore a white suit and black tie, even in the rare moments when she left the headquarter and took the field.
- Are we really letting them work with us? - I asked looking at the restrooms where the cousins were currently wearing our team's clothes, which technically made them part of it.
- Nicholas, we've already done this. Remember Zeno? Remember Leonard I, overlord of the remote parallel dimension? Furthermore, we're risking both a permanent change in our team and the creation of a rift between our family's members. -
Yet another response from Stella that left me speechless. We sat at the table, waiting for everyone else.

We didn't need to get our guests some chairs, as we already had mom and dad's ones, on either side of Stella's.
- So, as you should know, our team is comprised by me, the mastermind, and three duos, each one specialized in its own area. For example, whenever the emergency is a natural disaster, we deploy Nicholas and Layla, who make up Duo CAT-LOAF. -
- What the hell is a cat loaf, if I may ask? - Helen spoke, almost aloud.
- I picked the name - I explained. - It's when a cat sits with all feet tucked underneath its belly. And it's a pun on our abilities. -
- Anyway, - Stella resumed - every night, at approximately 2 am, we let a random member patroll a site of interest, whether it's the last place we've fought at, or the nearby area. -
The persistent ticking of the wall clock kept distracting our guests, and it was the only element suggesting that time passed in the headquarter.
- Now, what do we do? - Larry's voice broke the almost total silence.
I stood up. - A boy in my class found a mechanical glove in my school's physics lab, appropriated it and, what's more, used it against me. I suggest we should... -
- Nicholas, we've patrolled school for four days straight. It might now be the securest building in the world, but we must not neglect the rest of the latter. We'll investigate that later on. -
- You're right, Stella... should we browse in the news? Maybe there's someone who needs us... -
She turned her phone's screen towards us.
- I found: "Local museum and its offices closed for technical issues." -
- Stella, we're vigilantes, not a tech support group. That's ridiculous - I ranted.
- I suppose... - Helen shyly interjected - that heroes should take care of any mishap, regardless of its nature - she whispered, and Larry subsequently nodded.
- Well, if our guests all agree, I suppose we could give it a try. I'll come with you, Stella. -

- First time? - I asked the cousins, both of them seemingly dizzy and perturbed by the sudden change of location. They were looking around, as if to check if the teleportation actually happened.
The museum was a large two-story building, which turned out much moderner than I thought it'd be. The entrance had a small canopy, supported by some concrete pillars, and the metal door was left wide open for us to enter.
To welcome us, the paper cutout of a cartoon robot stood right before the reception booth.
- Welcome to the Wareheim Museum of Robotics! - said someone right behind it.
- Oh, so it's that kind of museum... - I smiled, relieved.
- There's a sign right by the gate, did you not cross it? -
It was gonna be more interesting than I initially thought.