For several seconds, nobody moved.
The rain had stopped, but water still dripped from the bridge above them.
Kane stood in front of his brothers.
Mara remained between them and the stranger.
Adrian Vale didn't seem bothered by their suspicion.
He simply waited.
Kane stared at him.
"You knew our father?"
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
"What was he like?"
Mara immediately looked at Kane.
"Kane."
But Adrian answered before she could say anything else.
"Stubborn."
Kade raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds familiar."
Kane glanced at him.
Kade shrugged.
"What?"
Adrian smiled slightly.
"He was also reckless."
Kade pointed at himself.
"Definitely not me."
Kane gave him a look.
Adrian almost laughed.
Then his expression became serious again.
"Your father was also brave."
Mara stepped forward.
"You shouldn't be here."
"I know."
"You promised me."
"I promised I wouldn't interfere unless they were in danger."
"They are children."
"And someone just broke into Lena's apartment looking for them."
Mara went silent.
Kane looked between them.
"Who's Lena?"
Adrian answered.
"My sister."
Kade's eyes widened.
"Then why did she lie about her name?"
Adrian looked at Mara.
"Because she was trying to protect you."
Kane frowned.
"From who?"
"People who have been searching for your family for a long time."
Kian looked frightened.
"Why?"
Adrian crouched so he was closer to their height.
"Because your father found something."
Mara closed her eyes.
"Adrian..."
He looked at her.
"They deserve to know something."
"They're six."
"They're already being hunted."
Mara didn't respond.
Adrian looked back at the boys.
"Your father discovered that certain mutant abilities were being studied."
Kade frowned.
"Studied?"
"Yes."
"Like at school?"
"No."
Adrian's voice became quieter.
"By people who wanted to understand where mutants came from."
Kane's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Power."
The answer was simple.
Kade folded his arms.
"People are weird."
Adrian smiled.
"Sometimes."
Kian looked at Mara.
"Did Dad know about us?"
Mara's face softened.
"Yes."
Kian looked surprised.
"Then why did he leave?"
Mara took a breath.
"He didn't leave because he wanted to."
That was the first time she had ever said it.
Kane immediately noticed.
"What happened?"
Mara looked toward the darkness beyond the bridge.
"He was being hunted. He thought that if he stayed near me, they would eventually find me too."
Kade's voice became quieter.
"So he left to protect you?"
Mara nodded.
"He told me he'd come back."
Kian asked,
"Did he?"
Mara didn't answer.
The silence was enough.
Kade looked down.
"Oh."
Adrian stood.
"He never got the chance."
Kane looked at him.
"You said you knew him."
"I did."
"Then what happened to him?"
Adrian looked toward the city.
"Three years before you were born, Elias disappeared while investigating a government facility."
Kane frowned.
"Was he killed?"
"We don't know."
Kade looked up.
"You don't know?"
"No."
"Then he could still be alive?"
Adrian hesitated.
"Yes."
Mara looked sharply at him.
"Don't."
Adrian looked at her.
"I'm not giving them false hope."
"You don't know that he's alive."
"I know."
"Then don't make them wait for someone who may never come back."
Adrian lowered his eyes.
Kane had been listening carefully.
He noticed something.
"You believe he's alive."
Adrian looked at him.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he answered.
"I believe your father was very difficult to kill."
Kade smiled.
"That sounds like something I'd say."
Kane sighed.
"Of course it does."
Adrian looked at the three boys again.
"Your abilities are beginning to appear."
Kian looked at his hands.
"How do you know?"
"Because I know what your father could do."
Kane frowned.
"Was he able to disappear too?"
"Yes."
"And change his face?"
"Yes."
Kade looked at his brothers.
"So that's where we got it."
Adrian nodded.
"But those aren't the only abilities you may have inherited."
Kane looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Adrian studied him for a moment.
"I don't know yet."
Kade frowned.
"You keep saying you don't know."
"Because I don't."
"Then why are you here?"
Adrian smiled.
"Because I know enough to understand what might happen next."
A sound came from the road above them.
Everyone looked up.
A vehicle passed.
Then another.
Mara became tense.
Adrian noticed.
"We can't stay here."
Mara shook her head.
"We're not going anywhere with you."
"I expected that."
He reached into his coat.
Kane immediately stepped forward.
Adrian stopped.
Slowly, he pulled out a small metal card.
He placed it on the ground.
"No tricks."
Kane stared at it.
"What is it?"
"An address."
Mara looked at the card.
Her expression changed.
"You still have that place?"
"Yes."
"I thought it was gone."
"It was."
Adrian smiled faintly.
"I rebuilt it."
Mara didn't touch the card.
Kade looked between them.
"What place?"
"A safe house."
Kade brightened.
"Does it have food?"
Kane looked at him.
"That's your first question?"
"Yes."
Adrian laughed.
"Yes. It has food."
Kade nodded.
"Then I'm interested."
Mara almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Adrian looked at her.
"They can't stay here."
Mara knew he was right.
She picked up the card.
"We stay one night."
Adrian nodded.
"One night."
"And after that?"
"You decide."
They followed him through several back streets.
Adrian never walked too quickly.
He constantly checked behind them.
Kane noticed.
"You do this often?"
"What?"
"Look behind you."
Adrian smiled.
"Survival habit."
Kane nodded.
He understood that.
After nearly twenty minutes, they reached an old building hidden behind a row of abandoned warehouses.
Adrian entered a code.
The metal door opened.
Inside was nothing like Kane expected.
There was food.
Beds.
Clothes.
Medicine.
A small television.
Even books.
Kade stared.
"Are we staying here forever?"
Mara laughed despite herself.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not ours."
Adrian looked at him.
"Maybe one day you'll have somewhere better."
Kade smiled.
Kian walked toward a shelf.
There were photographs.
He picked one up.
It showed a much younger Adrian standing beside another man.
Kian stared at the second man.
He knew that face.
He had seen it in an old photograph his mother kept hidden in a drawer.
"Dad."
Mara froze.
Kane and Kade turned.
Adrian slowly walked over.
The photograph showed Adrian and Elias standing together, smiling.
But something else was written on the back.
Kian turned it over.
There was a date.
And beneath it, a short handwritten message.
If anything happens to me, protect my sons.
Kian looked up.
"Why would Dad write this?"
Adrian's face changed.
Mara stepped closer.
She had never seen the photograph.
"Where did you get that?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Kane took the photograph from Kian.
He looked at the handwriting.
"That's Dad's?"
Adrian nodded.
Kane looked at him.
"Then you knew we existed before tonight."
Adrian remained silent.
Kade frowned.
"You knew about us?"
"I knew your mother was pregnant."
Kane's expression hardened.
"And you never came?"
Adrian looked at him.
"I tried."
"When?"
"Before you were born."
"Why didn't you find us?"
Adrian took a breath.
"Because your father made me promise not to."
Kane stared at him.
"Why?"
Adrian looked toward Mara.
She already knew the answer.
"He believed someone was watching me."
Kian looked at the photograph again.
"Who?"
Adrian's expression became cold.
"The same people who are looking for you now."
A loud sound suddenly came from outside.
Everyone froze.
Then another.
A vehicle had stopped outside.
Adrian walked toward the security monitor.
Three black vehicles were parked outside the building.
Men were getting out.
Mara's face went pale.
"They followed us."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
Kane looked at him.
"Then how did they find us?"
Adrian stared at the monitor.
His expression had completely changed.
"They didn't follow us."
He looked toward Lena's photograph on the wall.
Then back at the screen.
"They already knew this place existed."
The lights inside the building suddenly went out.
Kade whispered,
"Adrian?"
The front door began to unlock from the outside.
Adrian stepped in front of the boys.
"Stay behind me."
Kane moved beside him.
"No."
Adrian looked down.
Kane's red eyes were fixed on the door.
"If they're here for us..."
His fists tightened.
"...they're going to have to get through all three of us."
The lock clicked.
The door slowly opened.
And a voice from the darkness said—
"Found you."
End of Chapter Seven