Being a Hero

Chapter 36

The song for this chapter is "Beautiful Ones" by Hurts. There's a place to start listening.

"Fight against something and we focus on the thing we hate. Fight for something and we focus on the thing we love." –Tim Fargo

*Jeronim's POV*

"So you're the one pulling the strings?" Dullahan asked, looking me up and down as if noting all my weak spots. "Not at all what I expected."

I narrowed my eyes at the scarred assassin sizing me up. Cal had mentioned we would have a visitor today, but he had left out a few...key details. "Likewise."

Cal broke the tension by stepping between us. "Alright, beautiful, if you'll follow me, I've got your payment this way," He said, pointing down the hall off the lobby.

"Hm, fine." She followed Cal, throwing me a playful smirk as she left. The scars at the corners of her mouth made the look more repulsive than anything.

"You see why I don't like her?" Li Jing whispered, moving to stand two steps to my right with her arms crossed.

"Yes, I think I might. Keep an eye on them? I'm going to check on my brother."

"Of course."

I strolled into the lab a few minutes later. "Any progress?"

Jonas looked up from the computer screen he'd been reading. "With Aurora's power? No. There are a few anomalies on her bloodwork I'm having trouble pinning down, but nothing yet to explain her ability to give powers to others." He scratched his head and glanced over at the unhappy super strapped into an exam chair. "It would be extremely helpful if you could demonstrate..."

"Not happening, sugar," Mrs. Clements spat.

Jonas shrugged as if to say he'd tried everything.

I rolled my eyes and stepped around to look at the monitor my brother was watching. Brain waves, vitals, everything was there and within normal limits for a standard human. Nothing to indicate that the woman before us was even a super.

Another screen held the results from similar tests run on Ethan Foley. Now his differences were more visible. Brain waves were skewed, and there had been something odd about his retinas. "What about a bit of motivation?" I asked, pointing to Mr. Foley's test results.

Jonas frowned and shook his head. "His health is still fragile after the chemical fire exposure." There was an ounce of steel and pain in his eyes when he met mine. "I won't run any strenuous tests on him."

I should say something to him. I'd gotten the story of what happened at the hospital from Selena. He'd been shaken ever since. He second-guessed and hesitated, and he'd taken to defending Mr. Foley for saving that little girl, for keeping him from becoming a murderer.

I understood that sense of debt. I owed Jonas a similar debt when I was first adopted by his family, and being a powerless Atlantean won me no favors in school. Jonas had defended me immediately, even before I liked him or grew to accept him and his family.

We were so close to our goal though. After this is all done, we'll sit down and talk. "I'll trust your judgment, Jonas, but if he's in no position to proceed, we should move on to the more advanced testing here."

Jonas looked down at the monitors for a minute. Then he asked Aurora, "You're sure you won't demonstrate for us?"

Silence and an eloquent glare answered him.

I raised an eyebrow in appreciation and chuckled. "See if she'll trigger in response to stress. Self-preservation's a powerful thing. She'll betray herself eventually, just like the rest."