A holographic broadcast flickered to life in homes across the island.
The projection showed a reporter standing before hordes of outraged people.
"Recently, all the students and staff have vanished from Schools for the Cursed. The school's high-tech security systems were deactivated. No traces were left behind, leaving people wondering whether this was a grand escape or a calculated attack meant to strengthen enemy armies." The crowd behind her erupted in shouting. She covered her mic and continued, "So far, no one has released a statement, so we're all left in the dark. The schools were left empty for at least a week before anyone realized. We all need answers!" The woman reported.
The camera then shifted to a suited man in a chair.
"Some speculate that these schools were used in a new government attempt at suppressing the Cursed population," he began, "We have some family members here who agreed to be interviewed."
After he said this, the camera panned out, showing a family of three seated on a long couch. The mother was sobbing, while the child with her fidgeted uncomfortably, a forced smile on his face. On her other side sat a man with his arms folded, his leg shaking erratically, and looking anxious.
"Your children went missing in these mysterious abductions, correct?" he inquired, and the woman nodded, wiping her eyes.
"What do you think happened?" he asked further, eyes fixed on the family.
"I..." the mom began, "I'm not sure... they couldn't have escaped. The security there was impossible to bypass." She wiped her eyes shakily. "So if they disappeared... then something terrible must've happened. Th-they must have been killed, or maybe they're experimented on or tortured!" Her breathing was uneven from the crying, and her shoulders slumped. She leaned against her husband before continuing, "I'm so torn up about letting my children go to that school! I wish I had a choice, but I didn't! They were taken from me! But I expected they would keep our children protected, at the very least!" she whimpered out between sobs.
"I believe," the dad began while taking hold of his wife's hand, "That this was an organized attack by another country. There were strange aircraft sightings all over the internet. They were seen near the school at the time everyone thinks they disappeared," he said, his voice wavering, and his fist was clenched in his lap.
"They're systematically weakening our military by stealing potential soldiers. They might be brainwashing my sons, so they'll turn against their own people! We have to do something! Those things they saw in the air were so strange that no one took their reports seriously! We NEED to find out where they came from! We need to look into it!" His voice was getting more heated and intense the longer he spoke.
There was a moment of silence until the interviewer laughed and said,
"With that logic, they might have been abducted by aliens."
Both parents shot him a glare. The father rose to his feet with a darkening expression.
The interviewer immediately cleared his throat and apologized.
The entire time, the child sat perfectly still.His eyes remained fixed on the camera.That same nervous grin never left his face.
The broadcast continued, showing many others asking for answers, and ending with,
"If you have any information, please dial the number on your screen immediately or send a message to the station's email or social media." After saying this, the station quickly shifted to other ongoing issues.
Veil had Flow in his lap, in her living room when the broadcast appeared.
He paused from their flirting and focused his attention on the news entirely. He barely blinked.
Flow had never seen him this absorbed, so she was careful not to distract him.
When the topic changed, he shook his head and sighed.
"Looks like they finally noticed what happened." She noted to break the silence.
He laughed softly, pecking her lips before saying,
"Those were my parents on the screen."
He delivered this message casually, but Flow was stunned and at a loss for words.
Veil stroked her back, giving the words time to sink in.
"... How are you feeling?" she said finally, after going over many questions in her head.
"... I feel... annoyed that they're acting as if they cared about us all of a sudden. Mom probably just jumped at the chance to be on TV," he replied coldly.
Flow's heart quivered, and she hugged his shoulders tightly,
"I could tell you were upset, I just didn't know why," she mumbled.
"I'm not upset," Veil said lightly, while returning her hug.
She shook her head, squeezing him tighter.
"I'm fine..." he muttered, but when she didn't let go, he trembled and pressed his face into her neck,
"I didn't want to see them again."
This time, his voice cracked as he struggled to contain his emotions. He gripped the back of her shirt, clinging to her for an unknown amount of time.
Vision was alone when he saw it, and he stared into the projection quietly.
When his mom appeared in tears, his jaw tightened, and a frown spread across his face.
When she made her final statement,
"I expected they would keep our children protected, at the very least!"
He muttered,
"Liar," under his breath. His eyes moistened from rage, but tears actually came out when his father started speaking.
The whole interview made his stomach churn. His little brother, Aleck, sat there on screen, not moving an inch.
Faint bruising was visible near his wrists, and it was clear he was afraid to say or do anything.
Aleck was reaching the age where his powers might begin manifesting.
"They're panicking because they don't have a place to dump him off at anymore," he mumbled, eyes set on the shaken child.
He decided to go visit Veil. As he headed out, he noticed a package left on his porch. It was wrapped in brown paper and labeled,
"To my beloved brother," Vision looked over it dubiously, then took it into the house before taking his trip.
Aura and Fenix were cleaning up when they saw it.
Fenix was in the living room.
He turned off the vacuum in his hand and listened closely to the broadcast, while Aura watched from the kitchen.
They stayed silent until the projection ended.
"We can... watch TV here?" Aura said, cutting through the silence.
Her reaction made Fenix laugh. So she pouted and muttered to herself,
"It was a fair question."
"This is an important moment," he said while composing himself. "It's finally time to make ourselves known."
Aura stared at him, dumbfounded for a second, then asked,
"What do you mean?"
"My father, I, and a small group of others will act as Ambassadors. It is time to make our demands known, another step toward changing society for the better," His voice rang with passion.
He seemed so assured that it energized Aura, too.
"I'm coming with you," she declared. His smile faltered, and he glanced away from her,
"... I already promised you could, there's no need to remind me,"
He sounded discontent. Aura made her way over and stood in front of him,
"If you're doing something crazy," she started, while lifting her hand to his cheek, "I want to be there to protect you."
His smile reappeared, and he snorted, trying to hold back a laugh,
"Isn't that my line?" he asked, amused.
"Last time I checked, I'm the one with healing and defensive abilities," she replied smugly.
"You..." Fenix snickered softly before leaning in to kiss her.
"You make it so hard to stay serious... If you're coming with me, we need to talk with my father as soon as possible," he insisted.
He did his best to harden his expression and tone. Aura nodded, looking into his eyes firmly.
"Let's go see him, now."
"We'll head out once you're dressed," he replied, reminding Aura she was still in her nightgown.
She rushed away, flustered, and got ready in a hurry. Fenix chuckled and followed her to the bedroom so he could use the mat to travel back to his place and change, as well.
It took Veil several minutes to answer the door. He sighed as soon as he saw his brother.
"I figured it was you," he muttered.
"Then what took you so long?" Vision responded grumpily, but then he noticed Veil's eyes were slightly red, and his heart twinged. "Their performance got to you, too," Vision noted.
Veil looked away, embarrassed, then he forced a charming smile and said,
"No, I wasn't bothered. You had it harder than me, anyway..." Veil glanced down at the floorboards, "You always had to protect me from them. So I barely have anything to complain about."
Vision stared at Veil in complete silence, but his eyebrows furrowed, and he pressed his lips together in a hard line.
After several awkward seconds, he extended his arms and said,
"Is this when we hug?"
Veil gagged and put his hands up defensively.
"No, don't touch me."
Vision ignored his protests, stepping into the house and then trapping his little brother in a bear hug.
"Let me go!' Veil urged, going stiff as a board.
"You don't have to act tough, I'm here for you," Vision muttered.
Veil palmed his face, saying,
"I know! I know! Let me go already!"
Vision reluctantly ended the hug, and Veil straightened his clothes.
Veil looked flustered, and he scratched his arm anxiously.
"... Thanks for that. I feel very loved," he mumbled out begrudgingly. Vision smiled softly, and that's when Flow peeked out from behind Veil.
"Oh! It's your brother! I haven't seen him since The Thunderbird!" The two men gave her confused looks, so she added, "It's the name of the aircraft we were in."
They both nodded knowingly.
"So... your new girlfriend is the one who knocked out our classmates in front of us?" Vision asked, after a brief pause.
"Yeah," Veil blushed as he began speaking, "the way she took them down was so attractive, I couldn't stay away."
Both Flow and Vision frowned, looking disturbed.
"...I see..." Vision said. His eye twitched as he suppressed his urge to judge.