-21 Years Ago.

A much younger Atlas Starr wrenched the door open. The door slammed with a painful thud into the wall, hard enough for a crack to appear in the wall. The usually composed face of Atlas is taut with anger and something more, betrayal. If only he had known that would be the first of many until nothing was left of the close bond, they once shared.

Atlas glares at the handsome man in an elegant suit with Italian black leather gloves on his hands, who lances up from his desk at the loud noise. The other agents appeared startled to see their boss in such a rare state. “What did you do? What were you thinking!” Atlas roared as he furiously strides towards the surprised male figure.

The elegant man gestures to the agents to leave. The agents swiftly rush out and close the door behind them as Atlas comes to a halt before the elegant man. “Calm yourself Atlas, I was merely acting in the best interests of the agency,” the man persuasively said.

Atlas narrows his eyes in anger. “Is that what you were doing? Then why is the Queen Mother’s only child dead-, at one of our agent’s hands? Tell me, how is that for the good of the agency, when making one of the oldest and most powerful factions in existence our mortal enemy?” Atlas demanded to know.

The elegant man ruefully says, “I’m sorry, Atlas, but we needed to make a showcase of our power. How else will the agency be viewed as a powerhouse that is not to be reckoned with? You should be thanking me, really. The factions now fear us and will no longer act as casually as they did before.” The man paused before adding, “Sometimes, blood must be spilled to create a new world. That is exactly what we are doing, making the world a better place for all of humanity and more importantly for our children.”

Atlas seems a bit more appeased by the reasoning, but not entirely satisfied. “I will accept your reasoning this time around, but I won’t tolerate another reckless incident of this caliber, is that understood?” Atlas flatly stated.

“Understood, Atlas,” the man said with a smile before saying, “So, how about lunch?”

Never able to stay angry at him for long, Atlas wryly smiles and replies, “No, Giselle is having a checkup today to see how the baby is doing. We’re going to find out if the baby is going to be a boy or a girl.”

“Well, then off you go, I will run things while you’re gone. But see you later at the pub for a couple of drinks in celebration?” The man friendly asked.

Atlas nods his head in agreement and opens the door. The agents listening at the door almost fall over and with embarrassment straighten back up. An agent feebly lies, “Err, we were, um, practicing listening strategies.” The other agents groan in embarrassment and quietly murmur their apologies before rushing back into the room. The door quietly shuts behind them, but a yelp can be heard from inside as the lying agent is being berated and lightly beaten by his co-workers.

Atlas hides the smile on his face and much more calming makes his way to the medical department. Atlas halts at the door and peeks through the doors narrow window. His face softens at seeing his beloved wife, Giselle, laying on a bed as one of the agency nurses checks the gender of the baby via ultrasound imaging. The doctor glancing over the nurse’s shoulder furrows his brows and subtlety gestures to the nurse to check again. The nurse does so as the doctor kindly smiles and says, “Just a moment, Mrs. Starr, I will see if your husband is here yet.”

The doctors smile disappears as soon as he turns around and opens the door. The doctor stiffens upon seeing the figure of Atlas waiting just outside of the doorway. “A word, Mr. Starr, if you please,” the doctor quietly said.

Atlas feels pale at the doctor’s tone and swiftly follows the doctor into his office. The grizzly medical combatant veteran takes a seat across from Atlas. “Sir, are you aware that your wife is carrying twins?” The doctor asked.

Atlas is startled by the news and lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank god,” Atlas murmured to himself, before straitening back up and answering, “I was not. Why doctor is there a problem with them?”

The doctor sighs and rubs his tired eyes. “Sir, are you aware that both of your children are Esper’s?”

Atlas feels himself stiffen as he narrows his eyes and says, “That is impossible. Neither my wife nor I carry the gene traits needed to pass down Esper abilities.”

“I am perfectly aware of that, sir, as I was the one who performed both of your genetic tests,” the doctor tiredly said.

Atlas stiffens at the implications being implied. “Are you stating that my wife was unfaithful, Doctor?” Atlas growled.

The doctor eyes widen with shock and he hastily replies, “Goodness no, sir! But I believe that would be a preferable explanation to the one that I will give, today.”

“Go on,” Atlas stiffly declared.

“Sir, I have seen many cases in my life, but never one quite like this one. I don’t know who or whom as you have a better idea than I, sir. But your wife and other medical practitioners at the agency have been hiding the minor detail of your wife being pregnant with twins from you. Now that is perfectly understandable as twin Esper pregnancies have high fatality rates for one of the babies at birth or while still within the womb. But sir, I can attest to the fact, that your unborn children were not originally Esper’s, to begin with. Forgive me, sir, but I took the liberty to lie to your wife and perform a fetal blood exam on your children. And sir, I found something-,” The doctor thoughtfully said and paused to gauge the reaction of Mr. Starr, before continuing.

Atlas roughly answers, “Continue, Doctor.”

“Your unborn children tested positive for Sanguniem Vorpal blood transfusion cells. Someone by some unknown means has been introducing foreign blood matter to your children. And rather than killing them in the womb, the resilient Vorpal anti-bodies adapted themselves to their tiny bodies. Their brains awoke sleeping parts of the brain to absorb the new anti-bodies opening the parts of the brain associated with Esper capabilities.

The dosage given was only enough for a single babe and not enough for twins in the womb. I can only speculate what would have happened had the original plan succeeded. One out of two events would have occurred, your wife would have had a miscarriage or given birth to a Sanguniem Vorpal. Though there isn’t any truth to the mythical bite of the Vorpal’s leading to a biological change, it has been found that babes in the womb are susceptible to Vorpal genes that cause the babe to perish or to develop the same deficiency in the blood as a Vorpal creating a similar but much weaker version of the Vorpal’s.

Sir, such a blood dosage could have only been given by someone close to the both of you. Such a low-level dosage would have to be given every day for more than a month at a time,” the doctor softly said. Atlas slowly nods his head in understanding as he attempts to process the doctor’s words. The doctor gently continues, “I am sorry, sir, and I know this is a great shock to you, but I can only recommend you protect your wife from the knowledge of today. But if I may, I have one more item of importance that needs to be mentioned?”

Atlas gaze cools itself as he meets the doctor’s gaze. “The blood injected belongs to a male Sanguniem Vorpal, but not to just any Vorpal, but one directly related to specimen Q.M. in a biological child to parent relationship,” the doctor firmly stated without any hesitation.

Atlas feels dizzy for a moment as pieces begin to roughly fall together to form a shadowy puzzle. Atlas attempts to shake such thoughts from his head to no avail, but still, his heart refuses to believe the truth of the subtle implications. Silent and perturbed, Atlas numbly asks, “Sir, have you told anyone else of this?”

“No, sir, only yourself,” the doctor sincerely replied.

“Tell no one. This meeting never happened,” Atlas sternly ordered.

“Yes, sir,” the doctor said, before leading Atlas to the medical room.

Giselle glances up with a smile and excitedly says, “We’re having twins, a boy, and a girl!”

Atlas attempts to smile and says, “I’m thrilled, love.” Atlas faintly smiles at his wife’s excited chatter, but his mind is so very far away in thought. Could he be wrong? But with a sinking heart, Atlas thinks, “But I’ve never been wrong before.”

Giselle at noticing Atlas distant expression slowly ceases to speak. Worried, she glances down at her belly. Was he always going to continue to be distant like this or would it worsen with time? And if so, had she made the right choice in choosing Atlas?

The doctor returns to both of their belief and says, “All right, Miss Starr. Your children will be due early so we will schedule a C-section for January 15th. How does that sound?”

Giselle smiles and replies, “Good.” Giselle glances up at Atlas for reaffirmation, but Atlas is distant with a cold expression. Giselle keeps herself from biting her lips and says, “Thank you, Doctor.”

The doctor and the nurse leave them alone as Atlas suddenly asks, “Giselle, who have you been seeing every day?” Giselle stiffens indignantly. She had clearly chosen Atlas over him, so then why was Atlas suddenly being territorial. “I’ve been seeing plenty of people each day. Why is it a problem who I see?” Giselle snapped as Atlas glances down startled at her tone.

Giselle's eyes widen at the surprise on her husband’s face. “I’m sorry, it’s just I’m tired and worried about the babies, that’s all,” Giselle swiftly said.

Atlas sagely nods and gently places a kiss on her forehead. “Rest love,” Atlas murmured as he helped her to feet. Atlas tenderly helps her put back on her shoes as she can’t see her swollen feet because of her extended stomach.

“See you later, Love?” Atlas asked as he escorts Giselle out of the medical hospital.

Giselle fondly smiles and says, “No, I’m sure the boys will invite you out for a celebratory drink. How about a late midnight snack?”

Atlas flashes a sheepish smile and says, “My bad. What would I do without you?”

Giselle snorts, “It’s a wonder to me that you managed to do without me all these years.” Atlas places a gentle kiss on Giselle’s cheek in response, before purposefully striding away. Giselle places her hands on her back and tries to stretch her tired back. With a sigh, Giselle waddles away to the nearest bathroom.

Finished, Giselle waddles over to a lunch area to munch on something. Pregnancy had given a whole new meaning to the word, snacking. It wasn’t even just snacking for one baby but for two! She even sometimes found herself eating while napping or falling asleep while eating. It was a disturbing thing to behold or she had been told.

Giselle fills a tray with appetizing goodies and waddles to a comfortable looking chair, before carefully lowering herself in. Struggling to peel an orange, Giselle almost drops the orange as a masculine voice in her ear whispers, “Can I be of any service, milady?”

Giselle scowls at the handsome dark-haired man, who casually takes the orange from her hand and begins to peel it for her. It was him of course. Who else could it be? Giselle thought.

The handsome man in the tailored suit and Italian leather gloves says, “So, how did it go?”

Giselle smiles and says, “Great, we set the date for a C-section. It will be the 15th of January.”

“The 15th, huh?” The dark-haired murmured. “What did Atlas have to say?”

“He was rather quiet,” Giselle replied as the dark-haired man raises an eyebrow at her response. Giselle frowns and hastily jumps to her husband’s defense. “He has a lot on his mind, that’s all. Besides he has been very supportive of me throughout the pregnancy,” Giselle defensively said.

“Is that so?” The dark-haired man muttered as he gently places the peeled orange slices before Giselle. “If it had been me, I would have been leaping for joy,” The dark-haired man whispered as he gazed into her eyes.

Giselle feels her heart begin to thump as she pulls her gaze away and reaches for a slice of the peeled orange. “How is your fiancé?” Giselle hastily changed the subject.

The dark-haired man drily smiles and says, “The wedding date has been set for December 7th,” as he grabs a hand wipe to clean his gloves.

Giselle is unable to speak as a great weight is suddenly on her chest. Giselle hopes her voice doesn’t waver as she says, “Congratulations to you both, I am sure you will be happy.”

“Thank you,” the dark-haired man said as he rises to his feet. The dark-haired man suddenly reaches into his pocket and pulls out a large chocolate covered truffle. “Here, I almost forgot, our daily ritual,” the dark-haired man said as he carefully placed the truffle next to the orange.

Giselle smiles and says, “You’ve never forgotten, my favorite, have you?”

“How could I ever forget?” The dark-haired man answered. The air turns heavy as the dark-haired man says, “I better be going. Take care of yourself,” before rapidly striding away.

Giselle is unable to help herself as her eyes remain on his figure until he vanished from view. Giselle with trembling fingers unwraps the truffle and places it in her mouth. Unnoticed moisture glimmers in her eyes at the familiar sweet, bitter taste that spoke of unspoken memories. Memories that were better off buried, but that was easier said than done.