The Science Of Words

Part 10: The 'HQ'

Fred's 'HQ' is really his giant bedroom, which is filled with all manors of comic-inspired decorations.

There are figurines, magazines, plush toys, and shelves and shelves of comic books.

"You know, I think there's more comic books here then there was at the store." Tadashi says, sounding slightly stupefied by the over-the-top room.

"Fred's been building his collection since he was five." I comment, noting the awed expression on Tadashi face with a smug grin.

"That's...this is...insane." Tadashi says, still looking very blown-away.

"My collection is nearly unrivaled." Fred says proudly.

"I bet." Tadashi says, putting a hand on Fred's shoulder without taking his eyes of the the towering shelves that fill every wall.

"My dad's been working on clearing out a larger room to move my collection too, though this'll still be my HQ, of course." Fred adds.

"So, Fred," I say, cutting to the fact. "Do you know anything that might help us find my family?"

"Yes," Says Fred. "I, in fact, do. I can help you! I can join your team, and with my all my knowledge of supervillains, we can find your family together!"

"Well..." I say. It wasn't the answer I was looking for, but it would be good to have all that 'knowledge' when we're trying to find my family. "That...works. You can join the team."

"Yes!" Fred says, pumping his fist into the air. "What's our name?"

"We don't have a name." Tadashi says bluntly. "We don't need a name. We're just going to find Ivi's family, then go back to our normal lives. So, yeah, we don't need a name."

"Of course we need a name. Don't you know anything about superheroes?" Fred asks.

"We're not superher--" Tadashi starts.

"Hm, what do you think of The Family-Finders? No, that's too specific. Oh, I know! Fred's Angels!"

"Definitely not" I say. "And I agree with Tadashi. We're not superheroes. And we don't need a name."

"Okay, okay, we'll come back to the name later. How about superpowers? I was thinking...fire breathing? Totally fine if you don't like it, but--"

"We're not superheroes!" Tadashi says firmly.

"Ok, fine, not superheroes. But I still don't think fire-breathing is a bad idea..." Fred says, trailing off when he sees the looks we're giving him.

"So, I guess we should have a sort of meeting?" Tadashi suggests to me. "You know, fill Fred in on the details."

"Makes sense." I say, and sit down on a couch. 

Tadashi sits down next to me, and Fred sits on the table across from the couch, facing us.

"So, three days ago, my family went missing. I haven't seen a trace of them since. I was staying at Tadashi's house last night, and someone who said they were my dad called Aunt Cass and asked her if she could bring me home." I pause for dramatic effect. "The thing is, they were calling from inside my house, and they definitely weren't my dad. So I had Tadashi come 'walk home with me' so that Aunt Cass wouldn't know that I wasn't going home. Now, though, I don't know what to do. I can't go home, because the person who called might still be there. But I can't really go back to Tadashi's house, either, since his aunt thinks I went home."

"Well. I don't think we should just leave the guy in your house to escape when he's a clue." Fred says.

"That's actually a good point." Tadashi says. "I wonder if there's a way we could capture the person in your house, or at least figure out who they are, without putting ourselves in danger?"

"Yeah." I say. "What if we called the police, though? We could tell them that we think someone's breaking into my house, and ask them to come check it out."

"They'll probably want to see your parents." Tadashi says.

"That's true..." I say.

Then I notice something odd. Hung on the wall in Fred's wall is a massive painting of my parents. And standing below the painting is my mom, dressed in a long black, cloak. She's holding my siblings in a cage that's swinging from her arm, and she's looking at me, staring directly into my eyes.