The League

Chapter 23 - The Truth, From the Most Unexpected Person

Phoenix stilled. He was unable to ask a question, form a theory, or demand an explanation. He only stared at Azure, shocked that the Snake knew his name and shocked even more that he knew Jack and Eleanor's.

"I'm working with someone called Ravager," Azure said, "and he's told me some...interesting stories." He was silent for a moment, looking first at the note in his hand and then at the night sky. "He was the leader of a supervillain group of four. A League agent showed mercy to a member, Thunder, and treated him kindly. It prompted him to have a change of heart. To turn good. Ravager didn't like that. They had a falling out, and Ravager ended up killing him. Electra quit. Naturally, the blame fell on the League agent." He finally looked at Phoenix. "John Anderson."

Revenge, Phoenix realized. The entire time, it was about revenge.

"Agent Anderson didn't think Thunder would turn because of him. Ravager's team was skilled, and news about them rarely reached even the most embedded League scouts, so Anderson had no idea the team dissolved, let alone that he was the reason for it. It didn't matter—Ravager wanted vengeance. His remaining teammate, the Ice Witch, was the one with the intelligence and information skills. She later discovered that John was married to a fellow League agent, and they had kids. Twins. Only a few months old."

Phoenix swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew where this was going. He only hoped the details didn't make it worse.

"Ravager ordered the Ice Witch to kidnap the kids, and she did. Then he told her to kill them, and she said she did, and he never saw or heard from her again. Since he knew he wouldn't find her, and he was satisfied knowing the Andersons were suffering, he disappeared, too. The team was history." Azure paused. "But based on information from...other sources, I know the Ice Witch didn't kill the kids. She kept them and told them they were adopted. Gave them her last name—Syversson. Made herself impossible to find. I can only guess that she wasn't cruel enough to murder them for Ravager, but she still genuinely despised John and Helen enough to keep their children away from them. The guilt caught up to her, though. She committed suicide recently."

Phoenix narrowed his eyes. How did Azure have other sources who were able to tell him what Ice Witch did, and that she recently died?

"I don't understand," Phoenix said. "Why do you care about this? How does this have anything to do with you?"

Azure closed his eyes. Opened them. "It matters to me because Jack and Eleanor are Crimson and Violet."

The words rattled around in Phoenix's head a few times before he felt the impact of them. Jack and Eleanor are Crimson and Violet. Kate mentioned that Crimson and Violet might be siblings. They looked to be around the right age. Phoenix recalled all his encounters with them; not even once had anything seemed special.

And yet, he knew this was real.

And somehow, he was learning this from Azure.

Phoenix shook his head. "How do you know?"

"I already knew about my teammates' lives with their mother. After hearing Ravager's story, it was fairly easy to put those pieces together. And that's not all." Azure turned sideways and extended an arm, holding the piece of paper out as far as he could without stepping closer to Phoenix. "This is the Ice Witch's suicide note."

Phoenix mimicked his stance so he could grab the note without getting too close. They were in a temporary armistice, but they both knew better than to risk proximity. He unfolded the paper to reveal small, neat handwriting.

Dear Elle and Jack,

I don't have the time, energy, or desire to write an introduction. There is no good way to lead into what comes next.