Rain began to fall outside.
At first, it was little more than a gentle tapping against the windows, barely noticeable beneath the silence that had settled over the mansion.
The enforcer remained seated on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, calmly swirling the wine in his glass.
He looked completely at ease.
Almost too at ease.
The Espositos stood across from him, watching him carefully. No one had forgotten how casually he had introduced himself.
An enforcer.
The word still hung in the air.
Then—
CRACK!
Lightning illuminated the room.
For the briefest moment, the entire mansion was bathed in white.
The enforcer's eyes shifted toward the window.
Another flash followed.
His expression changed.
Not much.
Just enough for the faint smile on his face to disappear.
He stared through the glass at the rain.
He hated storms.
Not because he feared them.
Quite the opposite.
Storms had a way of reminding him of a night he could never forget.
A night on the sea.
A night when he lost his father.
His fingers tightened slightly around the wine glass.
Every storm brings me back there.
The sound of thunder faded into the distance.
And his mind carried him somewhere else.
---
He was a child again.
The wooden deck of his father's fishing boat shook violently beneath his feet.
Waves crashed against the hull from every direction, sending seawater across the deck. Rain poured from the sky so heavily that the boy could barely see more than a few feet in front of him.
Thunder drowned out almost everything.
His father was shouting something.
The boy couldn't make out the words.
"Dad!"
His father turned toward him.
Another flash of lightning tore across the sky.
For a fraction of a second, the entire ocean lit up.
And something enormous emerged from beneath the waves.
The boy froze.
His father's expression changed immediately.
Fear.
The boy had never seen his father look like that before.
Something enormous towered over the fishing boat.
Tentacles rose from the ocean, disappearing into the darkness above. Water poured from them as they moved, each limb large enough to crush the boat beneath it.
The boy couldn't understand what he was seeing.
It looked like some creature that belonged in a nightmare.
His father knew exactly what it was.
"Stay back!"
The boy barely heard him.
The creature attacked.
One of its tentacles slammed into the deck.
BOOM!
The boat lurched violently.
The boy was thrown off his feet.
"Dad!"
His father was thrown across the deck.
The boy scrambled toward him.
Another tentacle descended.
His father pushed himself up just in time to see it coming.
"RUN!"
The boy reached out.
Another deafening crash followed.
The world disappeared into darkness.
---
The enforcer blinked.
He was back in the mansion.
The rain continued falling outside.
For a moment, he simply stared at the window.
Then he took another sip of wine.
His eyes settled on the Espositos.
A faint smile returned.
"Looks like I'll have to stain my hands with the blood of Breachers once again."
The atmosphere in the room immediately changed.
Mike tilted his head.
"Wait."
He looked at Veronica.
"What the hell is a Breacher?"
Veronica glanced at him.
"You seriously don't know?"
"No."
She pointed toward the enforcer.
"Basically, Breachers are people who can tap into the power of other worlds, and let's just say it isn't exactly... legal?"
Mike's eyes widened.
"Oh."
He paused.
Then he looked around at the others.
"Wait, does that mean we're the bad guys?"
Silence.
Mr. Esposito sighed.
"No."
Mike immediately looked relieved.
"Good."
"It's not that simple."
Mike's relief vanished just as quickly.
Mr. Esposito folded his arms.
"Breachers aren't automatically evil. There are good people among them, just as there are criminals."
He glanced toward the enforcer.
"And the same can be said for the enforcers."
The enforcer's expression remained unchanged.
"There are bad enforcers?"
Mr. Esposito gave him a skeptical look.
"You're asking that as though you've never heard of corruption."
The enforcer chuckled.
"Fair enough."
Veronica looked between the two men.
"So you're saying neither side is inherently good or evil?"
"Exactly."
Mr. Esposito nodded.
"It's what a person chooses to do with their power that matters."
Mike looked thoughtful for a moment.
"So we're not automatically the bad guys."
"No."
"Great."
Mike smiled.
"I got worried for a second back there."
Veronica stared at him.
"You weren't worried."
"I was considering worrying."
"Sure."
The enforcer watched the exchange quietly.
For a brief moment, the tension in the room eased.
Then another flash of lightning illuminated the mansion.
His eyes drifted toward the window once more.
The smile disappeared from his face.
His thoughts returned to that night.
The night his father died.
The night a Breacher left him alive.
And, years later...
The night he finally killed that same Breacher.
His familiar had been the only thing left behind.
He stared into his glass.
I still wonder what my father would have thought.
A faint smile returned.
Especially if he knew how I managed to kill him.
He took another sip of wine.
He never told anyone.
Not even the people who had raised him.
And whatever had happened that day remained a secret buried alongside the Breacher.
The enforcer placed his glass down.
He looked at the Espositos again.
This time, there was no amusement in his eyes.
Only purpose.
Mr. Esposito stepped forward, placing himself between the enforcer and the rest of his family.
" You kids get away. I'll hold this guy off."
Veronica immediately shot him a disapproving glance.
"Who are you calling kids? I'm a grown woman!"
Mr. Esposito turned to look at her.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes!"
"Then where's my grandchild?"
Veronica stared at him.
"What does that have to do with me being a grown woman?"
"Well, in my eyes, you're a kid until you have your own."
"That makes no sense!"
"It does to me."
Veronica threw her hands up in frustration.
"I guess some things never change."
"Of course."
"That's not something to be proud of—"
Click.
A tongue clicked somewhere behind them.
The effect was immediate.
Mr. Esposito and Veronica froze.
The enforcer, who had been watching their argument with growing irritation, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. His eyes shifted toward the source of the sound.
Behind the father and daughter, a brooding aura had begun to emerge.
Then a figure stepped out of it.
Mrs. Esposito.
She wasted absolutely no time.
Grabbing her husband by one ear and her daughter by the other, she pulled them backward.
"You two seem to be having an awfully important argument at such an important time. It's not like we're standing in front of an enforcer or anything, right?"
"No, ma'am. There is an enforcer."
Mr. Esposito's voice carried a degree of hesitation that would have been unthinkable moments earlier.
Mrs. Esposito slowly turned toward him.
"Ohhh, is that so?"
Her grip tightened on Veronica's ear.
"And you?"
Veronica winced.
"Mom, ow!"
"You're awfully quiet all of a sudden. What happened to all that gusto?"
"Ow, ow, ow! Mom, I'm sorry!"
Mrs. Esposito gave both of them one final tug before releasing their ears.
Then, as though nothing had happened, she returned to her usual cheerful self.
Mr. Esposito and Veronica exchanged a glance.
They didn't need to speak.
What a one-eighty.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Esposito was having an entirely different internal experience.
She called me Mom.
Her face remained composed, but her heart was practically dancing.
She really called me Mom!
For a woman who could terrify her own husband with nothing more than a tongue click, she was remarkably easy to please when it came to her daughter.
Unfortunately, the moment wasn't destined to last.
The air grew heavy.
The enforcer rose from his seat, placing his wine glass on the table.
"You people seem not to understand the severity of your situation."
The family's attention returned to him.
Veronica's eyes changed shade.
A familiar, dangerous smile crept across her face.
"Wanna fight, big boy?"
The enforcer looked at her.
For a moment, his expression was unreadable.
Then he spoke.
"Oh, you seem to have one thing wrong."
He lifted a hand.
"I don't fight."
His fingers curled slightly.
"I break."
The world seemed to drop.
Gravity came crashing down upon the Espositos.
The floor groaned beneath their feet, and the furniture around them splintered under the sudden pressure. Their bodies were forced downward as though an invisible mountain had been dropped on top of them.
Mike screamed.
The pressure struck him especially hard.
Unlike the others, he was currently human. He had no supernatural transformation to protect him, no extraordinary physical strength to help him endure the crushing force.
He felt his bones strain.
His breath caught in his throat.
This is bad.
Worry flashed across Veronica's face as she struggled to lift her head.
"Mike!"
She tried to move toward him, but the pressure forced her back down.
Her mother's expression changed the moment she realized what was happening.
Mike couldn't withstand this.
Not in his current state.
She had to get him out.
But before she could act, Mr. Esposito moved.
Despite the crushing gravity, he managed to raise his hand and point two fingers toward the enforcer's chest.
A tiny fireball appeared.
It was no larger than a marble.
The enforcer glanced down at it.
For the first time since entering the mansion, his expression changed.
The little sphere compressed further.
And further.
Until it seemed to contain an unreasonable amount of heat within its impossibly small form.
Then—
FLASH!
A blinding burst of light engulfed the room.
BOOOOM!
The explosion shook the mansion to its foundations.
The windows shattered.
The walls cracked.
The force of the blast tore through the room, swallowing the enforcer in fire and debris.
And just as suddenly as it had begun, the crushing gravity disappeared.
Mike collapsed against the floor, gasping for air.
Veronica was the first to struggle back to her feet.
Or, at least, she tried to be.
She managed to stand for barely a second before her legs gave way, sending her tumbling backward.
"Ugh!"
She pushed herself up again, gritting her teeth.
Her vision swam, but she forced herself to look around.
The room had become a disaster zone.
Dust drifted through the air. Broken furniture lay scattered across the floor, and chunks of masonry had fallen from the walls.
Then she spotted her mother.
Mrs. Esposito stood a short distance away, holding an unconscious Mike while vines wrapped securely around Priscilla, keeping her suspended away from the worst of the debris.
Mrs. Esposito looked toward her husband and daughter.
"I'll get them to safety. You two deal with that guy."
Mr. Esposito nodded.
Veronica clenched her fists.
The explosion had bought them some breathing room.
But she knew better than to assume it had finished their opponent.
The enforcer was still alive.
And as the dust began to settle, a figure slowly emerged from the wreckage.
His body was bent at an unnatural angle.
His hands hung at his sides, fingers flexing in ways that made the sight deeply uncomfortable to watch.
Yet he was standing.
The enforcer looked down at his hands.
Then he looked at Mr. Esposito.
"How interesting."
Mr. Esposito's expression hardened.
The enforcer straightened.
His joints shifted with a series of faint, unpleasant sounds.
"You nearly caught me off guard."
"Glad to hear it."
Mr. Esposito raised his hands again.
"Next time, I'll make sure I finish the job."
The enforcer smiled.
"By all means. Try."
He lunged.
Mrs. Esposito had already begun retreating with Mike and Priscilla when the enforcer suddenly changed direction, rushing toward her instead.
Veronica saw him move.
Her eyes widened.
"Mom!"
She transformed.
Massive paws struck the ruined floor as the Behemoth Bear emerged, filling the battered room with her enormous frame.
She swung one paw down from above.
CRASH!
The ground shattered beneath the impact.
Dust and debris exploded outward, swallowing the room in a cloud of grey.
For a moment, nothing could be seen.
Then came the sounds of battle.
A thunderous impact.
The crack of stone.
The groaning of the damaged mansion.
And beneath it all, the occasional sound of something enormous moving through the destruction.
Mike stirred.
His consciousness returned in fragments.
He could hear voices, but they seemed distant.
He opened his eyes.
The world swam.
Mrs. Esposito was carrying him away from the fighting, Priscilla secured beside her by the same vines.
He tried to lift his head.
"Wha…"
His voice came out as little more than a whisper.
Mrs. Esposito glanced down at him.
"Easy, sweetheart. Don't try to move."
Mike wanted to ask what was happening.
He wanted to know whether Veronica was all right.
But his eyelids were already growing heavy again.
The next time he surfaced, he caught a glimpse of something enormous moving beyond the shattered walls.
A shadow stretched across the sky.
Something coiled through the clouds.
He couldn't make out its shape.
Then it came crashing down.
The impact shook the ground beneath him.
Mike winced.
What the hell was that?
His consciousness slipped away once more.
Time became meaningless.
He drifted in and out of awareness, catching only fragments of the battle.
At one point, he heard Veronica roar.
At another, he felt the ground tremble so violently that he thought the entire mansion might collapse.
Then came another enormous impact.
Mike forced his eyes open.
For a fleeting moment, he saw something stretching across the sky.
A colossal, twisting limb descending from above.
It was gone almost as soon as he saw it.
His head fell back.
That kind of looked like a tentacle.
And then darkness claimed him again.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard it.
A sniffle.
Then another.
Someone was crying.
The sound was close enough that he could feel the warmth of their breath against his cheek.
Something wet trickled down his face.
Mike frowned.
Slowly, painfully, he opened his eyes.
Bright light greeted him.
He blinked several times, trying to bring his surroundings into focus.
And when he finally managed it, he found himself looking into a pair of familiar eyes.
Veronica.
Tears streamed down her face.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Mike managed a weak smile.
"Veronica?"
The relief that washed over her expression was immediate.
"Mike…"
She quickly turned her face away.
Mike watched her for a moment.
Then he chuckled weakly.
"I already saw you crying. Looking away won't change that."
"Sh-shut up."
"Not gonna happen. Talk to me."
He tried to sit up.
Pain shot through his body, and he immediately winced, collapsing back into Veronica's lap.
"Idiot!" she snapped, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "You're not done recovering!"
Mike let out a quiet groan.
"Okay, okay. Message received."
Before he could say anything else, he felt something land on his chest.
He looked down.
Chelsea and Nike were staring at him with worried eyes.
Their concern was so obvious that his expression softened.
"Hey, you two."
He carefully raised his hands and petted them both.
Chelsea immediately leaned into his touch, while Nike pressed closer, seemingly unwilling to let him out of her sight again.
Mike smiled.
"I'm okay."
Veronica crossed her arms.
"Sure. Go ahead and give them attention. It's not like they're letting you rest your head on their lap."
Mike glanced up at her.
"Are you jealous?"
"No."
"Not even a little?"
"Mike."
He grinned.
"Okay, okay."
Then he noticed someone standing in the corner of his vision.
Priscilla.
She was watching him with an expression that was equal parts relief and sadness.
Mike smiled at her.
She immediately looked away.
He chuckled.
Veronica narrowed her eyes.
"What's so funny?"
Mike looked between the two sisters.
"She's definitely your sister."
Veronica blinked.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
He looked back toward Priscilla.
"But why is she all the way over there?"
Veronica's expression changed.
"It's complicated."
Mike studied her for a moment.
"Are things still awkward between you two?"
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Mike sighed.
Then he raised his voice.
"Hey, Priscilla! Come over here! What are you doing over there? Come here!"
He paused.
"The creepy lizard stays, though."
For a moment, Priscilla stared at him.
Then she giggled.
Veronica did the same.
The sound seemed to surprise both sisters, as though neither had expected to laugh so soon after everything that had happened.
Priscilla eventually shook her head.
"No, it's okay. I'm good."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'll just go check out the mansion."
She glanced around at the ruined surroundings.
"Or rather, what's left of it."
Mike followed her gaze.
The laughter faded slightly.
Their home had been devastated.
And the people who should have been there with them were nowhere to be seen.
But before he could dwell on it, he noticed Veronica trying to get up.
She managed to push herself upright before her legs immediately gave way.
Mike caught her before she hit the ground.
"Whoa, easy!"
"I'm fine!"
"Sure you are."
He turned around and offered her his back.
"Hop on."
Veronica stared at him.
"I'm goo—"
"Just get on."
She hesitated.
Then, with a disgruntled sigh, she climbed onto his back.
"Fine."
Mike stood, adjusting her weight.
Almost immediately, he noticed her toes curling.
He couldn't help chuckling.
Veronica leaned forward slightly.
"What's funny this time?"
"Are your feet tingling?"
She groaned.
"I hate how good you are at guessing."
"That's my job."
"Wha—hey! Don't touch them!"
Mike had apparently decided that carrying her wasn't enough.
He began tickling her feet.
"Mike!"
"What? I'm helping!"
"You're making it worse!"
"Don't tell me your feet are still ticklish."
"And what if they are?!"
Mike continued.
"Then I guess I have to help you get over it."
"MIKE! No! Put me down!"
She squirmed on his back, trying to escape his hands.
"Stop it!"
By the time they reached the remains of the mansion, Veronica was completely out of breath.
Mike, meanwhile, looked far too pleased with himself.
Priscilla watched them enter.
She shook her head with a faint smile.
"Some people never change."
Mike puffed out his chest.
"Not at all."
"That's not something to be proud of."
He glanced at Veronica.
"You haven't changed much either."
She raised an eyebrow.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, except you've become all girly and such."
Veronica stared at him.
"Why do you sound disappointed?"
"Because I miss when you were one of the guys."
Her expression changed.
"Idiot. That's exactly why I changed."
Mike blinked.
"What?"
Veronica's cheeks warmed.
She looked away, mumbling under her breath.
"I hoped you'd finally see me as a woman."
"Huh? What was that?"
"Nothing!"
She tapped his shoulder.
"Now put me down."
"Never."
"You'll regret that."
"Make me."
Veronica's eyes suddenly glowed.
Mike felt her weight increase.
Not gradually, either.
It happened so abruptly that his knees bent beneath him.
"Whoa! How are you suddenly so—"
He stopped.
Veronica leaned closer to his ear.
"Hey, Mike. Choose your next words wisely. You aren't going to call a woman heavy, are you?"
Mike straightened as much as he could.
"Nope! Light as a feather."
"Good. Now put me down."
Mike squatted.
Veronica climbed off his back, and her weight returned to normal.
She brushed herself off as though nothing had happened.
Mike rubbed his shoulders.
"Remind me never to carry you when you're in a bad mood."
"Then stop giving me reasons to put you in one."
"Fair enough."
For a brief moment, the two smiled at each other.
Then Mike looked around.
The smile slowly disappeared.
"Wait. Where are Mr. and Mrs. Esposito?"
The atmosphere changed.
Veronica lowered her eyes.
Priscilla's expression hardened.
"The enforcer…"
Veronica began, her voice quiet.
"He took them both."
Priscilla finished the sentence, her voice trembling with anger.
Mike stared at them.
"Wait, what?!"
"Yeah," Veronica replied.
He looked from one sister to the other.
"What will happen to them?"
Priscilla clenched her fists.
"Since we're no longer connected to the Grid, they've been weakened significantly. They'll hopefully be kept in containment."
She hesitated.
"Worst case scenario… suspended animation."
Mike's expression darkened.
"We need to rescue them."
Veronica nodded, but her face remained grim.
"The Bureau is a fortress. We can't just break in."
Mike looked at her.
"What happened while I was out?"
Veronica and Priscilla exchanged a glance.
Then Mike looked between them.
"Come on. Tell me."
Priscilla took a deep breath.
"We fought the enforcer to a standstill. Then he summoned a Kraken."
Mike stared at her.
"A Kraken?"
He paused.
"What is this, Pirates of the Caribbean?"
"I wish it were."
Mike rubbed his face.
"Then what happened?"
Veronica answered this time.
"I transformed, but it was no use. That thing was too powerful."
Her jaw tightened.
"It overpowered us, and then he went after Mom. We all concentrated our attacks and launched them at the enforcer. We managed to injure him…"
She looked away.
"But he didn't leave without taking Mom and Dad."
Mike fell silent.
Then a thought suddenly struck him.
"Wait. What about Ed?"
Veronica froze.
Priscilla stared at her sister.
Veronica stared back.
"Oh, crap. I totally forgot about him."
Mike slowly turned toward the enormous crater beyond the ruined wall.
"He must be in there."
He sighed.
"Let's go check on him."
And so, with Mike still recovering and Veronica walking stiffly beside him, the trio headed toward the crater.
Somewhere in the middle of it lay Edward.
And judging by the amount of rubble surrounding him, he wasn't going to be happy about any of this.
The three of them made their way through what remained of the mansion, carefully stepping over broken pieces of furniture and chunks of stone. The once-grand building looked as though a natural disaster had decided to move in, redecorate, and then leave without paying rent.
Mike glanced around at the destruction.
"Man, Mom and Dad are going to be so mad when they see this."
Veronica slowly turned her head toward him.
"Mike."
"Yeah?"
"They're gone."
"Right." He paused. "Still, when we get them back, they're going to be so mad."
Veronica stared at him for a moment before sighing.
"Sometimes I genuinely wonder how you manage to survive."
"Natural talent."
"Delusion," Priscilla corrected.
"Same thing, depending on who you ask."
They continued walking until they reached the massive crater outside the mansion. The ground had been torn apart, leaving a deep depression surrounded by fractured earth and scattered rubble.
And right in the middle of it lay Edward.
He was sprawled on his back, staring up at the sky as though he were contemplating every poor decision that had led him to this moment.
"Ow, my back," he groaned. "That octopus guy has no chill. Who sends a man flying like that?"
Mike leaned over the edge of the crater.
"Hey, Ed!"
Edward's head immediately snapped toward him.
"Mike?! Thank goodness! Help me up, brother! I'm dying here!"
Mike climbed down, carefully navigating the uneven ground before reaching out a hand. Edward grabbed it, and with a little assistance, managed to get back on his feet.
He immediately clutched his back again.
"Ah! Easy! Easy! I'm a fragile man!"
"Could've fooled me."
"I'm wounded, Mike. Have some compassion."
"Sure. Anyway, while you were enjoying your flight, the enforcer took Mom and Dad."
Edward froze.
For a moment, even the complaints about his back seemed to disappear.
"Hold up." He slowly turned toward Mike. "You're telling me you forgot I exist?"
Mike blinked.
"That's not important."
Edward's expression fell.
"You're saying I'm not important?"
"No, no, I'm saying there are bigger fish to fry."
"Bigger than me?"
"Yes."
Edward placed a hand over his chest as though Mike had physically stabbed him.
"How dare you? I'm offended!"
"Well, go ahead. Not like you getting offended will bring Mom and Dad back."
Edward opened his mouth.
Then he closed it.
His eyes widened.
"Wait, what?"
Veronica, who had been watching the exchange with the exhausted expression of someone who had experienced far too much family nonsense in a single day, let out a long sigh.
"Finally, you're listening to me. Mom and Dad are gone. The enforcer took them."
Edward looked between his siblings, apparently hoping one of them would suddenly announce that this was all an elaborate prank.
Neither did.
His expression hardened.
"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go save them!"
"Yeah," Veronica replied. "We just need a plan."
Edward's enthusiasm faltered slightly.
"A plan?"
"Yes, Edward. A plan. You know, that thing people make before rushing headfirst into a situation they don't understand."
"I understand perfectly well! We go after the enforcer, beat him up, and bring Mom and Dad home."
Mike raised an eyebrow.
"Brilliant. And how exactly do we beat someone who took down our parents and has a giant Space Kraken?"
Edward opened his mouth again.
He paused.
"...We'll figure that part out on the way."
"That's what I thought."
"Don't act like you have a better idea!"
"I have several. None of them involve you improvising your way into another crater."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
"You do that."
Before their argument could continue, footsteps approached from behind them.
Priscilla had gone to inspect the remaining ruins, but she was now returning with her head lowered and a troubled expression on her face.
The change in her demeanor was enough to draw everyone's attention.
"We may have another problem on our hands," she said quietly.
Edward immediately groaned.
"What is it now?"
He threw his hands into the air.
"Oh, man, why didn't they take you too?"
"Hey," Mike warned.
Priscilla glanced at Edward.
"Big bro, be nice."
Edward went completely still.
Mike turned toward Priscilla.
"Big bro?"
Priscilla nodded innocently.
"Yeah?"
Edward's jaw dropped.
"BIG BRO?!"
He pointed at Priscilla, then at Mike, then back at Priscilla, as though he were trying to establish whether the laws of the universe had suddenly changed.
"Not even I have been called that!"
Mike stared at him.
"Careful. You'll catch flies."
Edward immediately shut his mouth, but his expression remained one of deep personal betrayal.
"Seriously?! What does he have that I don't?!"
Priscilla tilted her head.
"Well, for starters, he's more mature."
Edward looked personally offended by the very concept.
"I'm mature!"
"Sure."
"I am!"
"Of course, baby boy."
Edward's eye twitched.
"At least call me a man!"
Priscilla considered that request for approximately half a second.
"Nah. Veronica is a lot more man than you."
Silence.
Mike slowly turned toward Veronica.
Veronica slowly turned toward Priscilla.
Both sisters were glaring at her.
Priscilla raised her hands defensively.
"What? Just saying."
Mike tried to hold it in.
He really did.
His shoulders began shaking, his lips pressed together, and he turned his face away in a desperate attempt to maintain some dignity.
Then Edward looked at him.
That was all it took.
Mike burst out laughing.
Edward stared at him in disbelief, while Veronica covered her face with one hand. Even Priscilla eventually joined in, and soon the crater echoed with the sound of their laughter.
For a brief moment, the disaster surrounding them seemed a little less overwhelming.
Unfortunately, Priscilla had not forgotten why she'd returned.
Once the laughter died down, she took a breath.
"Anyway, jokes aside, we have a serious problem."
Mike's smile faded.
"Right. What is it?"
Priscilla's expression darkened.
"That yakuza lady has Carla and your crush captive."
Edward's head whipped around so quickly that Mike briefly wondered whether the enforcer had broken his neck after all.
"My what?!"
Priscilla looked at him with an innocent smile.
"Your crush."
"Don't call her my crush!"
"Isn't she, though?"
"I refuse to answer."
"That's basically an answer," Mike remarked.
"Stay out of this!"
Mike raised both hands, still wearing an irritatingly amused grin.
"Hey, I'm just an innocent bystander."
"An innocent bystander who won't shut up!"
"That's me."
Veronica pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Can we please focus? Carla and Lucy are missing, Mom and Dad have been taken by an enforcer, and we're standing in a crater arguing about Edward's love life."
"I'm not arguing about my love life!" Edward protested.
"Then stop talking about it."
He immediately fell silent.
Mike stared at Veronica.
"Wow."
"What?"
"Nothing. You're scary."
"Good."
Priscilla folded her arms, looking considerably less amused now.
"The situation with Carla and Lucy is serious. That woman has them, and we don't know exactly what she's planning."
Mike's expression grew serious.
"Do we know where she took them?"
Priscilla shook her head.
"Not for certain. But we do know we can't afford to waste time."
"How much time do we have?"
She hesitated.
Then she answered.
"Three days."
The words seemed to hang in the air.
"Three days?" Veronica repeated.
Priscilla nodded.
"That's the time limit we've been given."
Edward's earlier theatrics vanished. Mike's hands slowly curled into fists, and Veronica's gaze sharpened as she began considering their options.
Three days.
They had to find Carla and Lucy, rescue them, and somehow deal with the enforcer who had taken their parents. And with the Bureau having excommunicated the Espositos, they couldn't simply rely on their usual access to the Grid and its crystals.
Their family had been weakened at the worst possible time.
Charging straight into another battle without a plan would be reckless, even by Edward's standards.
Mike looked at Veronica.
"So, what do we do?"
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then she straightened.
Her expression shifted from frustration to determination, and when she spoke, there was no hesitation in her voice.
"Only three days?"
Priscilla nodded again.
Veronica took a deep breath.
Then she looked at the others.
"In simple words, get ready, people. We're heading to Japan first thing tomorrow morning!"
"WHAT?!"
The shout rang out across the ruined grounds.
Edward stared at her.
Mike stared at her.
Even Priscilla, who had brought them the news in the first place, seemed momentarily caught off guard by the sheer certainty of Veronica's declaration.
Veronica simply crossed her arms.
"What? We have three days, don't we?"
"That's not the point!" Mike exclaimed.
"Then what is?"
"Maybe the part where you just announced an international rescue mission like we're going out to buy groceries!"
"Would you prefer I make a speech?"
"No!"
"Then stop complaining."
Edward raised a hand.
"Wait, wait, wait. We're really going to Japan tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"To rescue Carla and Lucy?"
"Yes."
"While Mom and Dad are still missing?"
Veronica's expression briefly softened.
"We're going to get them back, too."
The certainty in her voice quieted him.
For all their arguing, teasing, and ridiculous family antics, none of them had forgotten what was at stake. Their parents were in enemy hands. Their friends were in danger. And the people responsible were unlikely to make things easy for them.
They had little time, fewer resources than usual, and no guarantee that their next move wouldn't lead them into another fight they weren't prepared for.
But waiting wasn't going to save anyone.
Mike looked toward the ruined mansion, then at the people standing beside him.
"All right," he said at last. "Japan it is."
Edward nodded, trying to look more confident than he felt.
"Yeah. We'll get everyone back."
Priscilla smiled faintly.
"And we'll deal with that yakuza lady."
Veronica turned toward the horizon.
"First thing tomorrow morning," she repeated. "So get some rest while you can. We're going to need every bit of strength we've got."
Nobody argued this time.
Well, almost nobody.
Edward raised a finger.
"Does this mean we're flying?"
Veronica closed her eyes.
"Edward."
"What? It's a reasonable question!"
Mike sighed.
"We're doomed."
Priscilla giggled.
And somewhere beyond the ruins, the next chapter of their troubles was already waiting for them.
To be continued...