Enigmatic: Sapphire City Supers

Chapter 34: In Which the Curtain Falls for Now

That night we held a big all friends meeting, a couple of hours before we were due at our own Super meeting with our futures very much an unknown. It was an evening of revelations, mostly for Tristan and Stu, neither of whom had any inkling of what had been afoot all this time. Turns out Grace is surprisingly good at secret keeping.

It was a bit exciting to finally go 'public' with Ewan, so to speak, and I could tell he felt the same way by the glow in his eyes. Grant had already been told, so it was pretty much only Tristan that it came as a real surprise to.

I watched his face carefully and saw the flash of shock, confusion and hurt cross it, but in the end he took it graciously, perhaps both acknowledging how much better this was and also that he was still a bit scared of me. That felt pretty good, to be totally honest.

We told them all that we would be watching out for them, and that we needed them to be careful in the uncertainty before Morgan's next move. Who knew who among them might have a dormant gene waiting to be activated, and he wasn't shy about going after anyone important to any of us. I imagined the other Supers would be having similar conversations with their loved ones in the days to come.

There were twenty or so Supers already waiting when we arrived to the meeting, many of whom I recognised from over the years. Everyone was in full kit, and there was a buzz of anticipation and an anxious energy humming through the room. I wondered how many of them knew what Gareth was about to say.

"Good evening, all," he began, his pleasant voice so eerily like and yet unlike his twin's. "I've asked you all here tonight to speak to you about the emergence of a threat unlike anything the Super team has faced in many years. For those of you who are unaware, this is in large part the fault of my own family. I carry the shame of this with me often, and I can't tell you how embarrassing it is to admit that Sapphire City's greatest enemy is now my own brother, Morgan, and his team of Villains. I'm sorry to tell you all tonight that he has succeeded in stealing the two artefacts necessary to create a vast number of new gifted Superhumans by awakening their dormant abilities, who he intends to brainwash into Villainry using his own sinister gifts."

Murmurs broke out amongst the crowd until Gareth put up his hand for silence. "I am truly sorry that we have been unable to prevent him getting to this point. Now, after his stunt at the televised fashion show, we will also have to deal with the fallout of the public losing trust in our goodness and integrity, so we will have to work to build up our relationship with the city once more. It won't be easy, necessarily, since the public is fickle and flighty, but I trust in the ability of each and every one of you extraordinary Supers. Obviously our priority from here will be to rescue those who were snatched from the fashion show, and to prevent Morgan from using the artefacts that he has stolen at all. We've had a lucky break recently that may allow us some intelligence into Morgan's team, in order to formulate our best plan. I ask for your patience and your vigilance as we do this. Continue to protect the city. Be the best citizens you can be. Protect your friends and families. And I encourage any input, if you'd like to see me privately at any time."

Gareth obviously had the same gift as his brother, for he managed to be rational, calm, and yet inspiring to the variety of Supers in the room. Even I felt reassured, though I knew that underneath the veneer, Gareth was worried.

And it didn't seem like he had a plan.

The reassurance wore off over the next few days, and I began carrying a sense of unease. It was too quiet out there, too still. I was chewing on this, staring at my screen and willing something other than real life scenarios to pour from my head to the page, when I was startled by the buzzing of my cell. I answered, even though I didn't recognise the number.