Chapter 12

° GDA Headquarters

Matthew had always liked the sci-fi aspects of this world a bit more than the superhero ones.

Be it the cartoon shows Mark watches about a humanoid cat flying around in a jetpack or internet conspiracies about a guy from Illinois that bonded to a high-tech suit from outer space or even the rumours about an android acting as a government spy somewhere, Matthew liked it all.

He even secretly created a few conspiracies of his about a few true-to-life robberies of life-extending technologies being connected in an effort to help an old Mongolian crime lord live longer. Though admittedly he based that one on an actual person rather than just some fictional character.

So when the Grayson family was escorted into the GDA Headquarters through a top-secret, highly advanced elevator that plunged deep below the Pentagon, Matthew was understandably slack jawed by almost everything about it.

Despite the tense and silent atmosphere inside the elevator, he let his eyes wander around the small room's design as he let himself be distracted for a moment.

The seamless glass pane that served as the machines movement interface, the near frictionless motion of its descent to the depths of the earth, and just about everything else about it fascinated him enough to distract from the air of discomforting and suffocating silence in the room.

It all quietly soothed the slowly building dread inside the young man's heart, if only barely.

But even that did not last long.

The news of Nolan Grayson being severely injured was a severe blow. The fact that someone had enough power had not only managed to out punch but completely beat his father was one thing, the possibility of that person being on the loose was another more heavy fact to take in.

Matthew mastered himself just enough to not  show the tension he was feeling. But, before he could force his attention back on the highly advanced technology to further distract himself, his 'telepathy' acted out once again.

Several thoughts funneled into his mind, each fully distinct and just as loud as if the person thinking it was talking directly into his ears.

What the hell is going on here? Why would Omni-Man be injured? Who could do that?

Dad is hurt. Maybe it was a new villain? Or maybe someone got the drop on him? No, that's stupid

Dammit. Why are we on high alert and on-call 24/7 now? Stupid heroes can't even do their jobs right!

There goes my vacation plans with the wife. Well, I'll just have to adjust to the other wife

The voices of Mark and Debbie were clear, he managed to tune out the others out of respect for their privacy and for his own self-restraint.

He was surprised at himself for being able to suddenly do it on a whim now, at how easy it was, and even more surprised when he realized that there was one person in the elevator space whose thoughts he couldn't hear at all. Almost as if she wasn't thinking about anything at all.

Standing not far from where he was, Thena Laurel was busy minding her glass tablet that showed numerous holographic projections when Matthew turned his eyes on her.

Curious and feeling rather eager to distract himself, Matthew tried something.

He focused his mind on her, visualizing a tendril emerging from his head and touching it on her. Not sure whether or not the intended effect would be accomplished, but he tried.

And...something happened.

Instead of thoughts or words or mental impressions, Matthew perceived a memory. A broken one.

Of two men, a spiky black-haired one standing far away and a blonde who was on his knees. The blonde had a strange-looking golden armor around him that seemed damaged and broken, while the black-haired man wore an sleeveless black top and loose-fitting pants. A steaming rifle-like object glowing faintly red lay between both men on the ground. Bits of scattered voices and angry conversation fleeted past his perception.

-orian bastard! You should have left us alone!

Traitor! You would rut with that parasitic whore than help out one of your own!

Matthew wanted to peek some more, to focus on willing the memory clearer and more fully formed, but was instead shunted out of the memory rather forcefully as a bright flash of light overtook his mental senses.

The silent Thena merely smirked as she cast a glance the boy's way, eyes gleaming in astonishment and slight amusement before returning to her normal calm.

Matthew snapped out of his mental actions and acted like nothing happened, all while wondering what the hell he had just seen.

The elevator crossed the 50th floor before it finally stopped, signaling its passengers of their arrival to the intended lower floor.

The door opened and a plain-looking, bespectacled bald man in a grey work suit greeted the elevator's occupants. He gave a nod to Thena as she ushered the Graysons from the elevators along.

"Thena" the man said in a calm monotone.

"Donald" Thena replied, "You here to escort the Graysons?"

"Yes. 'HE' wants you to look at the damage and give a report on what you can" Donald said, emphasizing the pronoun.

"I know, I just got the pop up" Thena lightly tapped at the borders of her tablet "I'll get right on it"

Donald merely nodded and redirected his attention to the Graysons. Thena gave the man a final wave goodbye, and smiled at Matthew before the doors closed.

Matthew turned around and followed the rest of the family beside the bald man as they were guided further into the underground facility, taking up a place beside his clearly uncomfortable mother.

Mark held his mother close as she walked with her arms folded near her chest, showing discomfort even as her eyes

"Donald, what's happening? Where's Nolan?" Debbie asked the bald man, unable to contain her worry and frustration at all the secrecy any longer.

Donald cleared his throat for a moment before answering.

"Nolan's receiving the absolute pinnacle of care" he assured them, "As the Global Defense Agency, we have access to medical technology far beyond any normal hospital"

They crossed a windowed corridor which allowed one to view an entire military hanger filled with marching soldiers in metal armor and advanced aircraft that hovered off the ground through some unknown means.

"Whoa" Mark quietly remarked.

Matthew followed his gaze and was similarly amazed by the sheer scale of what he saw, whistling in admiration.

The man named Donald seemed delighted at their reactions as he happily explained, "Ah, that's one of our threat-response teams. They're able to get anywhere--"

"We are NOT in the mood for a tour, Donald" Debbie interrupted coldly.

"Sorry, Debbie" Donald replied.

"My dad never mentioned you guys," Mark said, much to Matthew's surprise.

Matthew elbowed his brother and whispered, "Dude"

Mark ignored him.

"That's the idea. We work with superheroes like your father to keep the world safe. Who knows, maybe someday, we'll even work with you and your brother" Donald pointedly looked at the two.

Matthew ignored the implied suggestion, while Mark seriously considered it.

Donald finally stopped by the door of a room that had the placard 'Nolan Grayson' on its side, and stopped for a moment to consider the trio beside him before placing his hand over the console to the side. The door unsealed and revealed a sight that made their hearts skip a long beat.

Nolan was unconscious.

"Oh, my god, Nolan!" Debbie rushed forward to Nolan's side.

"Dad!" Mark ran after her.

Matthew slowly entered the room to let the sight sink in gradually.

"My god, Dad" he said in a whisper as his eyes wandered all over the prone form of his father.

His left arm was in a thick mechanical cast, left eye swollen, nose broken, several bits of bruising littered his face, the right side of his face thickly bandaged, and was completely unresponsive. With only the wide paneled wall behind him indicating any signs of life.

The fact that someone managed to hurt him enough to put him in some sort of coma sent cold shivers down Matthew's spine. Whoever did this to him, was something he doubted either he or Mark could handle by themselves.

"He's gonna be okay, right?" Mark asked Donald.

"We... hope so" Donald said, "And our doctors are doing their best, but we don't get a lot of Viltrumites in here"

Matthew was quietly observing his father when he caught a strange line of thought.

'Understatement of the year, Donald. Couldn't even get a blood sample even after 20 years in the business

The voice seemed to be nearby, and he was right. He turned to search the room for anyone else and quickly found a balding man in a suit quietly leaning on the wall in the darkened area of the room.

The man saw his look and raised an eyebrow, another line of thought entering his mental perception.

'Is this kid jumpy? Or something else?'

Matthew brushed it away and pretended to feel surprised as he cocked his head to the side, acting the oblivious observer.

Mark sighed and asked the important question of, "Who did this?"

Donald didn't reply and instead looked to the side, towards the sitting man who was currently looking at shaking his head at the curious Matthew Grayson.

Ignoring the young man and handling the questions himself.

"We have no idea" he said, attracting the attention of all those in the room "Not yet, anyway"

He walked closer to Nolan's bed and looked at the twin boys, "But we'll find out, and when we do, they're gonna look a hell of a lot worse than your dad right over there"

Then he raised a hand to each one, "Cecil Steadman. Director of the GDA"

They gave it a firm and polite shake.

The man diverted his attention afterward, away from the boys and to their mother "Deborah. I'm so sorry"

"Cecil, you've got a lot of nerve-" Debbie said, preparing herself to uncork the many complaints she had bottled up.

The man named Cecil already expected this to happen and so decided to stir the conversation to the more important matters himself.

"Someone murdered the Guardians of the Globe last night" he said bluntly.

The Graysons immediately went silent and Debbie put a hand over her mouth in shock, "Oh, my god"

"All of them. Tore 'em limb from limb" Cecil added quickly.

"Even the Immortal?" Matthew asked doubtfully.

"Yes, kid. Even the Immortal" Cecil replied, "Now, we tried like hell to bring 'em back, but Nolan was the only survivor"

Matthew was stunned silent. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he thought of what the new information entailed.

"How is that even possible?" Mark asked, disbelief written all over his face.

"We don't know yet. We also don't know why your dad was at Guardians' HQ" Cecil admitted, "Now, the working theory is, whoever killed the Guardians lured him there, tried to wipe 'em all out at once"

"Why?" Mark asked again.

"Why?" Cecil repeated, a bit surprised "Well, that's the easy part. There isn't a super-villain alive who doesn't want Omni-Man and the Guardians six feet under"

"You really think a single person did all this?" Matthew asked, motioning to his comatose father.

"No, but it's possible. Like I said, we don't know yet.   It could be one guy or a whole cabal of them, nothing is certain yet. I've got my forensics team combing over every inch of the scene and a team of experts examining everything from blood splatter patterns to air humidity" Cecil explained, "If there is anything to find there, then we'll find it"

Matthew felt just the slightest bit reassured at that, just slightly.

"Now, we're keeping this all hush-hush for now, but news will break" Cecil looked at Debbie, "I wanted you and your family to know first"

Debbie wiped the bits of tears that gathered around her eyes and straightened herself as she took in what the man said. She let out a soft breath to settle her nerves after already deciding on how to handle the situation.

"Cold towels, and ice water, and have a cot brought in here for me" she said, listing out the things she would need to stay by her husband's side.

"Deborah, we've got the best-trained--" Cecil wanted to protest but was cut short when Debbie gave him a sharp look.

"I've patched Nolan up for 20 years, Cecil. I am not leaving" Debbie said firmly.

Seeing the look on her, Cecil sighed. Knowing that nothing he could say would ever change her mind, he silently nodded his approval to Donald.

"Of-of course, Debbie" Donald fumbled.

Debbie then looked to her boys, wanting to explain her actions but was relieved to see their understanding looks and nods.

They all shared a long silence as they watched Debbie fix what she could around Nolan, making sure he was as comfortable as he could be.

Matthew was watching his father's face when he noticed a slight twitch and he suddenly found himself reliving another memory for the second time this day. It was short.

The memory was unclear, the vision shaky, hazy, and dark. He saw sprays of blood dotting the floor of the Guardian's headquarters. A loud *clang* and a surge of pain in his head snapped him out of the memory.

Once his mind cleared, Matthew quietly analyzed the memory and sorted it through what he knew now.

Donald reached for his earpiece as an alert noise rang, listening to the report he had just received.

"Sir" he said, addressing Cecil formally, "There's some kind of attack happening downtown, it seems"

Cecil turned for the door as Donald continued his summary.

"Numerous contacts. Heavy weaponry. Multiple casualties" he said.

"Now?" Cecil asked with more than a little frustration, "We're a little understaffed in the hero department"

The pair exited the room, leaving the Graysons to themselves. Mark followed them as they went, taking in the report himself and glancing at Matthew who was also doing the same. They shared a silent exchange before Mark turned to their father and let out a short breath to settle himself. Having reached a decision.

Matthew, understanding his brother all too well, reached the same decision.

Mark held their father's hands while Matthew put a hand on their mother's shoulder, before both left quietly and hurriedly caught up to the GDA Director.

They stopped when Cecil finally noticed them, "What?"

"How can we help?" Matthew asked.