They moved to the dining table, set carefully with plates and utensils, with a space in the middle for all the dishes Charles had whipped up. In her time in his house, she’d yet to see him use the table, or for it to not be covered in mail, takeout boxes, or odds and ends that didn’t have a proper home. Now clean, Vivainne could see it was a gorgeous wooden table, though with its fair share of scuffs and dents from use.

  Vivainne ended up sitting between Jordan and Darcy in chairs that matched the wood and finish of the table. Everything in this home was so earthy, a contrast to the one she’d grown up in. She couldn’t remember anything in that house that wasn’t metal or glass or plastic, or some sort or another.

  Charles sat Vanya next to himself, in a chair far too short for her to reach the tabletop. With a frown, he walked off before returning with a small wooden crate, placing it on the chair and then her on top of it. “Not the safest,” he said, staring at it. “But it’ll do.”

  Sitting down beside her, Artemis laid a hand on the crate. “It’ll work,” she said. “I’m surprised you don’t have a highchair.”

  “I never had young children in the house,” he said. “She’s the youngest.”

  “Really?” Thalia asked, frowning. “I could have sworn you had some younger ones…”

  “I was twelve,” Jordan said, piping up from his seat across from Thalia. “I think I was the youngest, until now.”

  “And I was fifteen,” Darcy said.

  Vivainne glanced between them. She’d never asked before, how they’d ended up with Recompense, and wasn’t certain now was the right time. Still, neither seemed defensive about it. “So, you were here first?” she asked, looking at Jordan.

  “Yup,” he said. “Though I knew him for longer. When my dad passed, he took me in.”

  “Yeah, you were the good one,” Darcy said, taking a sip of her drink.

  “Oh really?” Vivainne twisted around to look at the older girl, the hint of a smirk sitting on the edge of her lips. “And you weren’t?”

  “I was a lot of trouble,” Darcy said, shaking her head. “Thankfully, Charles doesn’t believe a fourteen year old can be a supervillain.”

  “Very rarely so,” Charles agreed. “In most cases, if a child is pushed to that point, it’s the failing of the adults in their lives.”

  “What did you do?” Vivainne asked.

  “I’ll tell you later,” Darcy promised, patting her hand. “And then he got you. And you’re trouble, not not nearly in the same way I was.”

  “You never could stay away from trouble,” Artemis said fondly.

  “I come by it honestly,” he said with a smile of his own. “And I consider it paying it forward. Thalia did the same for me, when I was young and dumb.”

  “Dumber, but yes,” Thalia said, a twinkle in her eyes. “Imagine my surprise when the tech genius who was causing so much trouble for me was a twelve year old boy?”

  With wide eyes, Vivainne turned to Recompense. “You were raised by the Carters?”

  “Hardly,” Thalia said, waving a hand.

  “Yes,” Charles said at the same time. “Fortunately so.”

  “That was more my husband’s work than anything else,” Thalia said dismissively. “Grant was always so much better about the responsible adult thing than me. I just wanted to keep you from causing trouble. Pain in my ass…”

  She shook her head ruefully, and the group of them smiled. Watching them, Vivainne felt as if she was staring into a mirror. No wonder Charles did what he did now, taking in children and raising them. Thalia and Grant Carter had done the same thing for him.

  The very idea was astounding. Imagine being raised by the Carters. As incredible and renown as they were, Vivainne had to imagine it was a chaotic upbringing.

  Though, the other Carter children had also turned out normally. So maybe it wasn’t so strange.

  Dinner went by in a stream of conversation and delicious food, the Carters and Charles falling into comfortable conversation while at the same time making an effort to include the others. By the time they finished their food, Vivainne had relaxed, though she barely managed to wrap her brain around the fact that she was sitting with the Carters.

  Thalia pushed her plate back with a sigh. “That was excellent,” she said. “I’m glad we could do this. It’s been too long.”

  “You’re welcome to visit any time,” Charles said. “You know that.”

  “I lose track of how much time passes,” Thalia said, shaking her head softly. “After so many years on earth, time just seems to go by in a blink. You should be glad I’m not an arthritic, dementia having grandma by now.”

  “Please,” Artemis scoffed. “You’d love the excuse to repeat your glory stories over and over again.”

  “I don’t need an excuse,” Thalia said. “Everyone wants to hear them anyway.”

  “No, they don’t,” Artemis said, and Vivainne wanted to protest. She wanted to hear. She would sit here all night if Thalia would share stories of the early days, when heroes weren’t yet a thing and powers were so new. The way they shaped the world and prevented people from going to war. The way they paved the road for supers to truly become a part of society, to the point that people longed to become supers, to the point Vora had chosen to secure her legacy by attempting to make powers available to all…

  She sobered, the thought heavy in her mind. They’d come such a long way in the past seventy years.

  “It won’t be so long until we see you again, though,” Thalia said, rapping her knuckles against the table in a single sharp movement. “We’re having a party here in a week or so. A birthday/early Christmas party. You have to attend.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “A party?” Jordan gasped, grabbing onto Vivainne’s arm like an anchor. She reached up, pulling back his fingers even as they dug into her shirt. “A Carter party?”

  Thalia laughed. “Probably not the sort you’ve heard about,” she said. “But yes. Pip is turning eighteen. Kind of a big deal, so we wanted to throw a party. Plus, there’s a chance you two may end up going to the same program together.” She met Vivainne’s eyes as she finished speaking. “And, the hero world has gotten entirely too serious in recent years. You have to let loose at some point.”

  “We’re doing better,” Charles said, a hint of pride entering his voice. “The club is doing well.”

  “And wasn’t that a wonderful idea?” Thalia looked exceedingly proud of herself. Had she been the one to give Recompense the idea for a hero nightclub? “I’m still trying to get Artemis to have one put in.”

  “Still no,” she said, shaking her head firmly even as Thalia rolled her eyes. “I will not encourage debauchery in my young students.”

  “I don’t know where I went wrong in raising you.” She stood, and Charles took the cue, rising as well. “I suppose it’s time I get some actual work done.”

  “I appreciate you helping,” he said, then glanced across the table. “Jordan, will you bring us back to the tower?”

  Jordan nearly stumbled out of his seat in a rush to help them, and in a flash, they all vanished.

  Alone at the table, with little Vanya making her escape from the vegetables Charles had tried to get her to eat, Vivainne and Darcy made eye contact.

  “Carter Christmas Party,” Darcy said, her eyes wide. “We need to go shopping.”

  “For once, I agree with you.”

  ******

  From warm pine scented air from the Christmas tree Charles had taken everyone to pick out, to freezing winds and crisp, cool air. Everyone released Jordan, and Vivainne immediately clutched at the coat she’d put on, wishing her suit was thicker.

  “Oh!” Vanya exclaimed. “Cold!”

  “Yes, very cold,” Charles said, grabbing her hands. “Teleportation cover?”

  “Think so,” Jordan said, squinting into the snow. “Are you sure you gave me the right location? I could have sworn I got us to the right place…” He trailed off, turning in place as he looked around. All around them, snow. Only snow. Trees in the distance, dark and covered in fur, bent and heavy laden under the snow.

  “These were the coordinates I was given,” Charles said, a note of apprehension creeping into his voice. He shifted Vanya in his arms and took a cautious step forward. “Could be a field… Darcy?”

  Darcy strode forward at the cue, her back straight and her chin held high. She removed her glove, stretching out a long fingered hand toward the vast, snow covered expanse before them. Energy drifted from her fingertips, the heat palpable, snow melting in the air before it touched the energy.

  The air in front of them crackled, and it took Vivainne a moment to realize it wasn’t because of Darcy’s power.

  “All right, all right, don’t burn it,” said a buttery smooth voice. “You realize how much effort these take, right?”

  “I wasn’t going to burn it,” Darcy said, pulling the energy back inside herself and tucking her hand back into the glove. “It’s just cold as balls out here.”

  “Didn’t know balls were cold,” he quipped. “Welcome to the party, folks.”

  The mirage pulled back like a curtain, revealing the world behind it and the tall, simply dressed man standing in the seam between illusion and reality. He was unrecognizable off the bat, unassuming as he stepped aside, allowing them to pass through to the space beyond.

  Snow coated the ground, though not as heavily as in the illusion. And instead of a mountainside full of snow heavy evergreens, a massive mountain lodge, warm light glowing from frosted windows. The air was still crisp, the wind no longer biting. String lights ran between old fashioned lamp posts. Music drifted out from the distance, along with shouts and screams.

  “Don’t mind that,” the man said, stepping up to Charles with an open hand. “Just a snowball fight, I believe. You look good, brother.”

  “Excellent work here, Jason,” Charles said, taking the man’s hand and giving it a firm shake. “Been a long time.”

  “Too long,” he said. “Evidently far too long. Art told me you’d acquired two new children.”

  “Indeed I have. Why don’t we head inside so we can talk?” Charles nodded toward the lodge, and Jason turned in kind. Before they moved far, Charles turned to the three. “Why don’t you three find some people around your age to get to know?”

  “You’re relegating us to the children’s table?” Darcy gasped. “Rude!”

  Charles rolled his eyes. “Not the children’s table. I’m saying go talk and get drunk with people your age.”

  “Apollo and Diana are around here somewhere,” Jason said. “If I’m remembering Charles correctly, they should be close enough to your age. Plus, all the others Thalia invited. Go. Have fun. It’s a party. Let us old people talk boring adult matters.”

  Darcy glared at them before letting out a quick “okay” and taking off toward the lodge. Not sure what else to do, Vivainne followed her, trudging through the snow toward the lodge, wishing she’d chosen a different outfit. When she picked out the suit with Darcy, she hadn’t realized they’d be on top of a snowy mountaintop. At least she’d picked out boots to wear, and not slip on shoes.

  The path transformed from snow to cobblestones coated with ice, forcing Vivainne to step carefully as her feet tried to slip out from beneath her. She was so focused on getting inside the lodge safely, she didn’t notice anything else until a softball sized ball of snow and ice struck and shattered against her temple.

  A cry escaped her lips, in shock as much as pain, and the instant of distraction was enough to send her feet out from beneath her. She hit the ground hard, knocking the air from her lungs.

  Vivainne gasped for breath, one hand clutching the side of her head as ice melted into her hair. “Ow…” she moaned, spots dancing across her vision as she opened her eyes.

  “Oh my god.” A shadow loomed over her, before a person appeared in a flurry, scrambling off the sloped roof and landing on the ground in front of her. “Are you okay?”

  She squinted up to her face, staring up at the Asian girl with damp brown hair spilling out from beneath a patchwork beanie.

  Vivainne pulled the hand away from her face, blood damp on her fingers, steaming in the cold air. Her temple throbbed, a bruise already forming beneath her skin. “I’m bleeding.”

  “Uh, that’s not good…” The girl reached out a hand, gloves damp and packed with snow.

  Vivainne wrinkled her nose and pulled back, pushing herself to her feet without help. She didn’t need help from this girl, not after she’d made her bleed. “I’m fine.”

  “I can help you inside,” she said, not moving, blocking Vivainne from stepping back onto the path.

  “No need,” Vivainne said, choosing to trudge through the snow to reach the covered porch beneath the lodge’s overhanging roof. At least while walking in the snow, she didn’t have to worry about slipping on ice. A throbbing pain continued in the base of her spine, radiating across her back along with the cold, clothes soaking through. Great. And she didn’t have anything else to wear.

  Instead of leaving her alone like she asked, the girl rushed down the path and onto the porch, opening a wooden door. “Uh, here,” she said, flashing a smile.

  Without a word, Vivainne stepped inside, letting out a sigh at the warm air. Her relief only lasted for a moment before she began to shiver, the cold seeping into her bones. If only she’d been paying more attention, she could have phased through the snowball and never dealt with any of this.

  “What the hell happened to you?” Darcy rushed over from where she’d made it inside and grabbed her by the arm.

  “Snowball,” said the girl, still lingering in the door. “My fault. I hit it off course in the air and well… I’m sorry.”

  “I’m fine,” Vivainne growled out through chattering teeth. God, why had she agreed to come to this party? She hated parties. She pulled away from Darcy’s grasp and looked around for a bathroom. She needed to get cleaned up. “I’ll be fine.”

  She hobbled off to the bathroom, regretting ever tagging along to this party. Even if it was a Carter party.