Chapter 336: Just a few minor hiccups

Rhys’ mission went off without a hitch.

Kellen was so damn relieved hearing that through the comms that he felt his spine relax into the soft cushion of his seat. Brent, who was still holding his hand, gave it a squeeze. His eyes were warm when he met Kellen’s blue eye and Kellen was glad that he had his friend at his side.

He only had to worry about his Mom now. His Mom who had been acting strange. God, what was the worry pit in his stomach for? It wasn’t the same kind of anxiety he had when he was worried something bad was going to happen and that it was going to come true. This was just genuine worry for his Mom.

It turned out that Kellen had every right to worry. ℴ𝒗ⅇ𝑙.

His Mom’s mission did not go as planned. It seemed that the reason that they had so little information about the city that she was going to was because the Esper who was in charge of that city hadn’t been entirely truthful.

The E.A.G. had been using it as a power generator of some sort. Terrifying, and not something that she could easily explain over comms since she didn’t have a lot of time to do so. She was in the middle of making sure that her and her people got out in one piece. One thing that was clear was that the Esper wasn’t with the E.A.G., they were just desperate for help.

Kellen could tell that the others in the room were tense and although Kellen wanted to get up and go be with his family, if he left now, he wouldn’t know what was exactly going on. He also wasn’t going to steal the radio linked to his Mom’s comms from the others. They only had three radios and each was linked with the individual missions. He wouldn’t take one just so he could run to his family.

Instead, he pulled up his cell phone and messaged his Aunt and his Dad.

Both responded quickly, letting him know that they were listening to the same broadcast and they were hearing what was being said. It then became clear why his Mom had been so snappy and anxious.

She’d known that something wasn’t quite right about the information that she’d been getting from the city. At the same time, she hadn’t wanted to alert everyone, but she hadn’t been able to hide her worries. So, she had acted short, gruff, and very much like an asshole to throw everyone off of their groove except her husband and Aunt Dina. Even Kellen had been excluded from the pool that knew the truth.

His Dad was worried, but his Mom had put some plans in place in case things weren’t as they seemed. Through text he sounded rather calm, even though Kellen knew that if he was in his Dad’s place he would be freaking the hell out.

He would not handle it well if Rhys was suddenly in danger like this, even though he knew that Rhys was capable. He knew his Mom was capable, but there was that strange anxiety in his stomach that wasn’t related to his powers again.

He hadn’t seen anything like this in visions. In a way it made him feel like that meant that it wasn’t going to be a big deal, but at the same time...He didn’t like it.

Now that he knew, with almost complete certainty, that his gut feelings were now Esper powers that helped him predict good and bad situations, he was frustrated that he hadn’t been able to help his Mom.

The comms conversations continued, the team keeping in contact with his Mom and her team. Things were getting dicey because while she had planned to fuck shit up, she wasn’t as well versed in destroying power grids as she had been in her youth.

The fact that she was able to joke in a situation like this was commendable, even as Kellen frowned deeply.

Sergei came into the research room while they were in the middle of listening to the comms, making a beeline to Kellen and Brent. Kellen wasn’t sure why, but until Sergei placed his hand on both Kellen and Brent’s shoulders, Kellen felt like everything was going to go wrong.

It wasn’t until the warm heat of his hand sunk through his outfit that Kellen finally felt some relief.

"It’ll be okay, Kellen." Sergei told him, his voice low, supportive. The other Espers and Guides watched on, interested, but their expressions were just as tense as Kellen’s.

"How can you be so sure?" Kellen asked, feeling foolish even saying it out loud.

"She’s your mother, of course I am certain she is going to be okay. The most competent man I know would not be raised by a woman who wouldn’t survive this kind of distraction." Distraction. That was what Sergei was calling it. Just a small little blip, nothing in the bigger picture.

They were sure to come up against worse things the longer that they poked this beast, and hearing Sergei say that made Kellen’s shoulders relax. It was good to hear it from the man who had been practically single-handedly causing mischief in the city without being caught. Almost like an Invisibility Esper despite his catchy appearance.

Kellen swallowed, nodding.

"Yeah. She’s very capable." Kellen agreed, then hesitated. "I just feel worried. A normal kind of worry, but..." Kellen trailed off. He was trying to explain that it wasn’t his powers bothering him, just regular panic, and Brent chuckled. He squeezed Kellen’s hand again, drawing his attention to him. The couple was watching Kellen, both of their eyes soft even as they glowed with their powers. Kellen was sure his own blue eye was glowing too.

"That’s normal." Brent told him. "Of course it is. She’s your Mom. You were tense like this too until Rhys said that they were finished. She’s got decades of experience, Kellen. She’s got this, even if there was a spy on her team or someone who wanted to foil her plans. Did you forget that she was the one who practically shooed me out of the room with Colby so she could get her hands on him? She’s got a revenge streak wider than either of us can comprehend." Brent said, shaking his head with a smile. "She’s got this. Have faith in her. Don’t rely on Rhys’ powers too much, alright? They’ll cloud your judgment." Brent was right.

He’d had to word it in a strange way because no one knew he had two types of powers outside of Brent and Sergei in this room, but he was right. Kellen had been relying on his gut feelings a bit too much, and this kind of worry was normal. Hearing them say it, even if Sergei wasn’t moving his lips, made Kellen feel more confident.

Yes, he should have more faith in his Mom. After all, his Dad and Aunt Dina weren’t that worried. They were panicked that things hadn’t been normal, but they weren’t panicking as if the world was falling apart.

Kellen calmed himself, Sergei’s hand a stable force he wasn’t aware that Sergei could give him. Brent, for his part, had raised his free hand to rest on top of Sergei’s on his shoulder and Kellen was just glad that he was being so sweet to them.

Sergei stayed with them, listening to everything that was happening, feeling how Kellen flinched when something didn’t go right but his Mom took care of it. The worst part was when there was 20 minutes of silence. The comms team was trying to get in contact with her, but getting nothing in return. Not even anything from the rest of her team either.

They hadn’t been told that they were going dark either, and Kellen sat there, panic and fear inside of him. He didn’t have Rhys here to help him and Sergei’s grip tightened on his shoulder in support and comfort. Brent was there as well.

It took another 10 minutes after the solid 20 minutes of silence before they finally got a rough transmission.

As soon as his Mom had taken out the main power generator, they had to run. They had used powers to do so, but it was like E.A.G. members had come out of the woodwork like damn roaches. They’d been caught up in fights, and they were also on a timer.

His Mom had brought explosives and she had set a timer to go off at a certain point but with the fighting things had gotten tense.

Her team had made it out in one piece, that was no problem. They were fine, but there had been a moment there where things had been tense. She hadn’t realised that she hadn’t kept her comms link on, but she hadn’t been able to turn it back on in the moment either.

The explosives had gone off, the team was out. They were injured, but nothing that couldn’t be taken care of on the way home, patched up until they could see Uncle Vance in person.

Kellen hadn’t felt this relieved in a while.

Sergei even let out a breath he’d been holding while Brent grinned like a fool. A few of the others in the room matched his energy. Not only had she survived, she had also probably dealt them a big blow because of what she had done. This was absolutely something to celebrate.

Kellen did leave the research room then, Brent and Sergei coming with him as he went up to his Aunt’s apartment. She opened the door as if she was waiting for him and when Kellen caught sight of his Dad, curled up on the couch, his face serene but his hands shaking where they held his cup of tea, Kellen went to him immediately.

They didn’t say words, just holding each other. They needed a few minutes to gather themselves, shaken by what had happened. His Aunt welcomed Sergei and Brent, speaking in hushed tones to them and then speaking in hushed tones to her Lieutenants. Life moved on around them while his Dad and Kellen took the time to be with each other.

They eventually pulled away, speaking of other things. However, Kellen’s Dad wouldn’t let go of Kellen’s hand as they did so. Betraying that while over the phone his Dad had sounded calm and collected, he had been anything but. He hadn’t wanted to worry his son, and Kellen understood that. After all, while he and Rhys would never have true children of their own, the people of their Guild were Rhys’ kids.

Kellen had put on brave faces for them before.

They stayed together as a group when Uncle Parker and his team came back, and then Rhys and his team came back. They had only had a small notice of what was and wasn’t going on. They only knew that Kellen’s Mom’s mission hadn’t gone as planned, but that everything had worked out.

They were sent in completely different directions so they wouldn’t have been able to help even if they had wanted to. Rhys looked upset at that, but Kellen was fine. Uncle Parker also looked uncomfortable, but they wouldn’t have been able to do anything like Aunt Dina said.

Now they just had to wait for Kellen’s Mom and her team to come back.

They also had the Guides that Uncle Parker brought back to worry about.