President Maya straightened her expression and spoke in a thoroughly convincing tone. "What happened this afternoon was an accident. Every mutant awakening comes with some kind of incident — it's precisely that kind of sudden shock that triggers the activation. Right now, Liz isn't familiar with her own abilities yet, but give it a few years and she'll be indistinguishable from any normal person. So relax, keep your distance, don't get her worked up, and everything will be OK!"
After that, Maya spent a good while reassuring the Blacks with explanations, comfort, and — threaded between the lines — veiled threats.
By eight o'clock that evening, Maya had also pulled Liz aside for a one-on-one breakdown of her abilities, run through a list of precautions, and finally said her goodbyes.
"Remember — I'll be keeping an eye on you. If anything goes wrong in the future, don't panic. Call me, come find me at school, or just show up at my house. Stay calm at all times. Don't scratch anyone with your hands. Keep them behind your back whenever possible. No kissing. No sex. That's the deal for now. I'll come find you at school next week."
"Madam President, thank you so much for today. And... could you maybe check in on Andrew for me?"
Maya agreed without hesitation. She was planning to go talk to Lucius tonight anyway — the Andrew situation still needed wrapping up.
When Maya got home, she found that Lucius was already sitting in their small living room.
"Maya, I owe you one for what you did for Andrew today."
Maya had barely settled into the couch before Lucius got straight to the point.
She smiled. Seeing how composed he looked, she said, "Uncle Lucius, you're too kind. Even without me, Andrew's situation wouldn't have been too serious."
Lucius waved her off. "Maya, the doctor told me everything. Without your acupuncture stopping the bleeding, Andrew would've gone into shock for sure. And his... anyway, you helped. A lot."
Jennifer chimed in. "Lucius, we've been neighbors and friends for years. Maya and Andrew grew up together. Enough with the thank-yous — just don't forget to invite us when you throw your album celebration!"
Lucius laughed. "Jennifer, consider this your official invitation. May twelfth, sixty-fifth floor of Rockefeller Center. I've booked the whole thing!"
"Whoa — the Rainbow Room? Lucius, that's a big move. That's gotta be, what, six figures for one night?"
Even Jack was stunned by the extravagance. He'd heard a colleague mention that some big-name director had thrown a party at the Rainbow Room after a hit film and burned through $180,000 in a single evening, drinks included.
Lucius didn't answer Jack's question. He just smiled and said nothing — but the smug satisfaction on his face was completely unmasked.
Jennifer and Jack heaped on a few more compliments, but Lucius seemed to have heard enough flattery lately. He pivoted and turned to Maya. "Maya, the other reason I came over tonight — besides saying thanks — is that I want to know what actually happened to Andrew. He's been unconscious since the surgery. Was it really... you know... what you said at the time?"
Maya hesitated, then spoke without worrying about Jack and Jennifer being in the room. "Uncle Lucius, this involves someone else's privacy. Could we talk at your place?"
Jack tugged Jennifer's arm, cutting off whatever she was about to say. "This does involve other people's privacy. We should give them space. How about you two talk here, and Jennifer and I will head to our room?"
"Ha! Jack, you're a good man. But my place is right next door — just a few steps. Let's go there. Besides, I've got some things for you all!"
Lucius stood and led the way out. Maya followed.
"Here, Maya — have some juice!"
The moment they were inside, Lucius grabbed a bottle from the fridge and poured her a glass.
"Thanks."
Maya accepted the juice, took a sip, and got right to it. "Uncle Lucius, the girl from this afternoon is named Liz Black. She's Andrew's girlfriend. This afternoon, when they were... she was startled, and her X-gene activated."
Seeing the blank look on Lucius's face, Maya explained the X-gene from the top, then concluded: "The ability she awakened is spatial cutting. But it can only trigger through physical contact. At the time, they were... well, you know the rest."
As her words sank in, Lucius couldn't help putting himself in his son's shoes. A visible shudder ran through him, and his dark complexion went ashen.
Am I a mutant too? he thought. Maybe I awakened some kind of special power — one that drains my family's luck? His wife Cookie was a drug dealer who'd gotten busted right when his album was about to blow up. His eldest son Andrew got hit with a freak accident that happened maybe once in a thousand years. His second son Jamal was only nine and already radiating increasingly obvious gay energy. And his youngest was still a baby but had suddenly fallen ill, leaving Lucius no choice but to hand him off to his aunt.
Everyone in his family had rotten luck, and yet he was the one with a hit album, the new hip-hop star. Was he siphoning his family's luck?
Maya had no idea that Lucius's train of thought had veered completely off the rails into some kind of luck-drain fantasy novel. Watching his expression cycle through several shades of distress, she asked with concern, "Uncle Lucius? Are you OK?"
"Uh — yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. I just zoned out for a second." Lucius finally snapped back from the metaphysical to the material.
"Uncle Lucius, I have a favor to ask. I hope you'll consider it."
"Go ahead, Maya."
"I'm hoping you won't mention Liz to the police. The government seems to be setting up mutant detention centers, and we both know what those really are. What happened this afternoon was an accident, and Liz is Andrew's girlfriend — she asked me to tell you she's sorry, and she wants me to visit Andrew on her behalf. At least wait until we know how Andrew's recovery is going before deciding whether to tell the police. Can you do that?"
Looking into the girl's earnest eyes, Lucius thought it over, then said, "All right. This time, I'll take your word for it. I appreciate you being straight with me about Andrew, and I'm grateful for what you did."
Maya broke into a bright smile, thanked him a few more times on Liz's behalf, and was finally walked to the door. Oh — before she left, she also grabbed a few copies of Lucius's album.
Lucius watched the kid bounce her way back home, then returned to his living room with a dark expression and walked straight to the phone on the TV stand.
"Hello — Officer Tom? Ha ha, it's Lucius. Lucius Lyon. Andrew Lyon's father. Right, right — the Central Park thing this afternoon. I went home and got a more detailed account of what happened. Yeah, I was just about to fill you in. Heh, so here's the deal..."