Lucien stepped out of the passenger door of Tiberius’ massive black F350 forty minutes later, closing the door behind him and taking a moment to look at their shared home. Like most residents within the umbrella of New Avalon’s First District, especially the bayside area, the Washington’ house was colossal. A four-storey marble-white modern home with six bedrooms and attached en suites, as well as four extra independent bathrooms complete with shower, tub, and toilet scattered across the house.

The garage that Tiberius had parked in front of was large enough to fit three trucks of equivalent size to his, and the driveway was long enough to accommodate another six. The house was built on an artificially created hill, overlooking the eastern bay area and the distant silhouette of the North American mainland. The three massive ten-lane bridges connecting New Avalon to its parent country ranged across the side of the island, with the nearest about thirty minutes drive from their home.

With the sun heading towards the horizon, it was a stunning view, especially given the prestigious position of the Washington’ home within the small gated community in which they lived. Lucien smiled as he looked down at the distant shore of the white-sanded beach, recalling times he’d gone down to relax in the sun with his mother, or to play in the ocean with Ty when they’d both been young and he’d had his own living parent.

“Luc! You coming in or what?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, my bad.” Lucien answered after a moment, turning to follow his friend towards the massive double-doors at the front of the house. In spite of their delicate appearance, the doors themselves were rated to withstand almost a metric ton of applied force — and wouldn’t open absent proper authorisation from the house’s security database. When Lucien and Tiberius approached and marched up the three steps leading to the pillared entryway, a camera above the door swept them almost instantly.

A chime sounded to identify facial recognition, and when Ty put a hand on one of the massive silver handles a hidden scan of his fingerprints and advanced detection of his biomatter — through the pores of his palm — unlocked the doors’ three-tiered security clearance and allowed him access. In spite of the illusion of pushing them open, the doors themselves operated on a carefully hidden mechanism in the floor, swinging open with hydraulics that calibrated automatically to work with Tiberius’ exerted power and make it seem as if he’d opened the doors naturally.

“Mom, we’re home!” Ty called into the house, though Lucien knew it was unnecessary. Vanessa Washington was a registered owner, which meant she’d have been alerted the moment the driveway cameras picked up her son and god-son returning.

“Kitchen!” She called in a melodious sing-song, her voice echoing from deeper within the house.

Lucien smiled wryly at the faint scent of baking and followed Tiberius past the expansive, chandelier-lit entrance hall and into one of the archways leading deeper into the house, passing through a modern living room complete with wall-screen television and entering the kitchen on his friend’s heels.

Tiberius’ mother met them with a brilliant smile, her long black hair tied up into a neat ‘mom-bun’ atop her head. A tray of fresh triple-choc brownies were cooling on the kitchen island in her ‘domain’. A very successful surgeon in her own right, she’d stopped working fulltime to focus on the duty she’d accepted in raising both Tiberius and Lucien following his mother’s death. A ‘working housewife’ she called it.

“Did you boys have fun today?” She asked warmly, looking between them with jade eyes that matched Tiberius’ own.

“Yeah, Maximum Super Force was way better than we expected,” Ty said animatedly, taking a seat on one of the stools in front of her. “ The action basically leapt out at us.”

Lucien raised his eyebrows at Tiberius as his friend spoke, amused at how daring he was in talking about their close encounter with the fight in central New Avalon.

“What about you, Luc? Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Yeah, it was pretty awesome.” He answered easily, sliding in to sit at one of the barstools in front of the main kitchen counter, joining Tiberius. “The new female lead was pretty amazing.”

“That’s amazing! I’m so glad. I heard there was some trouble down there with Atlas, and Hyperion ended up engaging him right there in the street.”

“Oh, really?” Tiberius asked, not sensing the trap that suddenly had Lucien alarmed. “We heard something about that, but I couldn’t say either way.”

“Is that so?” Vanessa asked casually, applying a light sprinkling of sugar powder to each brownie.

“Yeah, I wish we could’ve seen it, but we were just unlucky I guess.”

Lucien glanced at Tiberius with growing trepidation as he continued to lie, looking back at Vanessa with muted alarm. She knew. He didn’t know how, but he knew that she knew. He could tell. He’d warned Ty of this, but his god-brother never listened.

“So you didn’t see anything at all?” Vanessa asked with an edge to her voice, green eyes hard as she looked between the two of them.

Tiberius, too busy eyeing the brownies, just shook his head with a confident smile — missing the shift that marked the transition to ‘angry mom’ in Vanessa’s gaze. Lucien, however, had the good sense to blush — flashing Vanessa an apologetic look as she glanced at him in turn. A little smile quirked at her lips in response, but was gone just as fast as it came, and she redoubled her gaze on Tiberius.

“Then you can explain why this was on the TV.” She said coolly, before activating one of the kitchen’s holographic displays with a curt flick of her wrist. A pre-loaded clip appeared, and played when she waved her hand over it a second time.

The video showed the fight with Atlas and Hyperion, though recorded at a very different angle. Almost the opposite angle, in fact, to where Lucien and Tiberius had been standing. As the fight progressed, and the two high-class Metas duked it out, the camera shifted to follow the action — and Lucien groaned quietly.

There, on the screen, were Ty and himself grinning like idiots; phones out and eyes locked on the fight.

“Ah.” Tiberius said much more calmly than Lucien felt. “Shit.”

“What in the hell were you thinking!?” Vanessa demanded, smacking one of her manicured hands on the marble countertop, drawing a wince from Lucien. “Not only were you there watching the fight, you were within the collateral zone! What if Atlas had been hit into one of you? What if he had used the crowd as hostages?” She threw her arms up. “What if he’d decided to level the area to distract Hyperion?!”

“Atlas doesn’t attack civilians—!” Tiberius started to respond, before Vanessa smacked the counter again.

“You can’t guarantee that! He’s a supervillain, Tiberius!” Then she whirled on Lucien, raising an imperious eyebrow. “And you! I expected better from you as well, Lucien. You’re supposed to be the sensible one, why in God’s name would you play along with your brother’s foolishness?” It was a mark of how she and her husband regarded Lucien that Vanessa and Leonidas referred to Lucien as their ‘son’ and referred to each boy as ‘your brother’ when speaking to the other one. It was something that warmed his heart, even then when he was being — appropriately, he had to admit — reprimanded.

“I’m sorry, Aunt Vanessa.” He said sincerely, bringing his hands together out of nervous habit and methodically cracking his knuckles, his leg bouncing under the counter-top. “I mean it was partially my fault. I really wanted to see Hyperion up close. I was just hoping for an autograph, and Tiberius did ask whether it was really a good idea—!”

“Oh I’m sure he did.” Vanessa fumed. “While taking the damned lead in running for the sounds of punching! God give me strength, you two are as bad as each other! When your father gets home—!”

“No!” Ty said suddenly, eyes going wide. “Mom, please! It’s Luc’s birthday next weekend and Dad said he’d let us have a party. If he finds out about this, he’ll cancel!”

“It’s what you deserve!” She said mercilessly, wagging a finger disapprovingly at her son, who immediately looked to Lucien for help.

While cancelling the party was actually precisely what Lucien wanted to happen, and he was immediately sorely tempted to leave Ty hanging, he saw how desperate his friend was to have it, and he understood that a large part of that desperation was for Ty to be able to try to help him have a happier time in Junior Year. Lucien had immense reservations about the soundness of his god-brother’s plan, but even still he couldn’t bring himself to allow Ty’s excitement to be killed by his own inaction. Swallowing a sigh, he lifted his hands placatingly.

“Auntie V, I know what we did was stupid and wrong… But please don’t tell Uncle Leo. I promise it’ll never happen again, and besides we’re fine!” Seeing her stony gaze, he cursed internally and decided to play his trump card. “Ty thinks this party will help me actually get some popularity going into Junior Year, and to be honest, I kind of agree with him. Mom always said that Junior and Senior years were her favourite, and she ended her Sophomore year with a huge party as well. I’d kind of like to do the same.”

Lucien internally apologised to his mother even as he said the words, but he knew they’d worked. He rarely played the ‘your dead best friend’ card with his surrogate mother, but he knew that when he did, Vanessa Washington couldn’t say no. Her resolve wavered, and he saw the capitulation in her eyes even as she released a long, defeated sigh. “Fine.” She said simply, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe herself.

“Yes!” Ty said jubilantly, punching the air. “Thank you mom!”

Vanessa looked at her son ruefully, eyeing him for a moment in thought before narrowing her eyes. “But, you two are grounded for the rest of the school year. No parties, no ‘study sessions’, and definitely no going to the beach. You’ll come home immediately after Ty finishes practice, and you’ll go straight to school every morning. I’ll be monitoring you as well, so don’t think you can sneak out during free period.”

Tiberius opened his mouth to object automatically, but Lucien cut in first.

“That’s perfectly fair, Auntie V. Thanks. We understand and appreciate your leniency.” A pointed look at Tiberius caught his friend’s attention, and the powerfully built boy swallowed back his protests.

“Yeah. Thanks mom. We appreciate the mercy.”

Both boys exchanged relieved looks when Vanessa nodded in satisfaction, smiling at having avoided a potentially far worse punishment. Lucien knew that the grounding would be agony for Tiberius, whose social life was far more active than his own, but he also knew that the party meant a lot to his best friend. Ty would obey his mother’s demands, even if he chafed under the strictness of them.

“Alright, now eat the brownies before they get cold. I’ll divide the leftovers up afterwards.”

Lucien didn’t need any further encouragement, reaching out enthusiastically to take one of the still warm chocolate rectangles and deposit it into his mouth — sighing in delight at the mouth-watering explosion of chocolate. “Gawd,” he said while covering his mouth. “Thith ith amathing, Auntie V!”

“Ya!” Ty agreed heartily, covering his mouth in similar fashion as he chowed down. “You outdith yourthelf mom!”

Both of them shared a laugh at how stupid they sounded, and Vanessa clicked her tongue in feigned disapproval, though a smile lingered on her features. She was, in Lucien’s opinion, one of the best parents anyone could ask for — second only to the mother he’d lost.

A chime in the house announced an arrival, and both boys turned in their chairs as the sound of footsteps entered the kitchen, accompanied by a smile from Vanessa.

“Afternoon, all.” Leonidas Washington greeted warmly, his handsome features spread into a genial smile. “Are those my wife’s famous triple chocolate brownies I smelled at the door?”

Vanessa laughed and came out from around the kitchen counter, wrapping her arms around her towering husband and melting into his embrace. “The boys seem to have dibs, but I made sure there’s enough for you, too.”

Leonidas Washington was a powerfully built man with a deep mocha complexion, and a voice that commanded attention and respect. A pair of rare silver-grey eyes stared out from above his sharp cheekbones, which themselves led down into a squared jaw that gave him a look of considerable gravitas. A clean beard adorned his mouth and chin, with a maintained field of tight facial hair covering his cheeks towards the edges of his jaw. His hair was cut similar to his son’s, buzzed at the sides with a thick but short corporate cut on top. Unlike Tiberius’, however, Leonidas’ hair was streaked with silver.

“I heard that the new Maximum Super Force was supposed to star that teen hero, what’s her name…”

“Silver Rose.” Tiberius supplied with a grin. “Yeah, it did. She’s stupid hot, too. Hella thick for a white girl.”

“Tiberius!” Vanessa admonished, while Lucien snorted a laugh.

“Be respectful in front of your mother,” Leonidas said without heat, winking at the boys over Vanessa’s head, and offering them a stealthy ‘OK’ symbol with his right hand. Based on the playful smack that followed from Vanessa, however, Lucien was convinced his godfather needed to work on his stealth skills.

“I’m stuffy, time to change. Go get showered and ready for the game, boys. It’s the Spartans versus the Saints, and I’ll be damned if we’re watching it while you two are in your sweaty Silver Rose clothes.”

The Washington Patriarch wore a silver-grey three-piece suit, working despite the weekend. Given that he was one of the top investment bankers in New Avalon, that fact hardly surprised Lucien.

“Sure Uncle Leo.” Lucien replied, at the same moment as Ty offered an “Alright Dad” and joined Lucien in sliding off his stool.

Both boys left the kitchen at a leisurely pace, with Ty leading the way to the entrance hall and then up the massive staircase opposite the front entrance. They both turned left at the first landing, ascending the branching set of marble steps towards the office and study level of the house, and then taking another set of stairs to the ‘teens only’ level they shared with several guest rooms.

“Next weekend’s gonna be sick.” Tiberius said with a grin, stuffing the last of his brownie into his mouth.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Lucien replied, smothering his doubts in favour of a reassuring smile to his friend.

“Dude, I know you’re nervous, but it’s cool. Trust me. This is going to be dope, and I promise you won’t have to worry about any of those assholes from the basketball or lacrosse teams fucking with you. Me and the boys’ll handle everything.”

Lucien’s smile flickered for a moment as Ty spoke. Of course, he doesn’t realise his ‘boys’ are just as bad in their own way, with their condescending fucking smiles. Out loud, however, he showed none of his thoughts. “Sounds good, brutha. I’m gonna go shower and change, before your Dad starts buzzing us. See you downstairs in twenty?”

“Sure man. See you then.” Ty responded easily, eyes twinkling with plans for the end-of-year bash. Lucien could tell it was going to be a legendary party just from how easily Ty had accepted his grounding, but somehow he knew to his core that the supposedly miraculous increase in his own popularity would not be one of the outcomes. He’d let Ty have his party, accept it like a grateful brother, and then he’d get to have the steak dinner he really wanted. It was easier than arguing the point.

A mutual fistbump followed, and the boys separated to get ready for the football game.