38 Chapter 38

° Grayson Residence

Matthew landed in his backyard and opened the back door of the house, immediately frowning at the smell of blood and piss emanating through the crack he opened.

He breathed in and readied himself as he entered through, but nothing could've prepared him for the actual scene of carnage before him.

The torn and dead bodies of the GDA agents in full radical gear, the blood and guts spilling all over the floor and kitchen counter top, the bullet holes and crushed rounds littering the floor and ceiling, the broken weapons scattered all over. It was a scene that would've made him puke before, but he had gone through much in the last few months and his stomach could handle more than what he was seeing before him.

Rather, it was the thought that his dad could've actually done it himself. His militant, strict, but otherwise adoring father decimated these men and women for a reason he still couldn't accept.

He shook his head and refocused, flying around and towards the top floor in search for his brother or at least his cellphone. Calling him all while, and found nothing.

"Fucking dammit" Matthew cursed, slapping a hand on the wall beside the stairs and dislodging the pictures hanging on it.

He calmed himself and glided down the stairs then noticed the large hole in the wall, previously hidden behind a large framed decorative art piece. Whatever did it in left little to no cracks running across the walls and simple bore through. Matthew tested his fist through it and found it a few sizes larger than his own.

It could only have been done by one man in the house, and it didn't help him in believing his father's innocence. In fact, after giving it a moment of thought and remembering the memories he had seen in that brief glimpse inside his father's mind, he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to believe in his innocence at that moment. Maybe his father was always evil but never really showed it until recently, the question of how recently even made him think about it much earlier. When the Guardians died.

Thena's words rang in his mind as he sat on the base of the stairs, filled with indecision at what he should do. Inspecting his own thoughts at a distance to see through the truth of his complicated feelings.

He hadn't arrived at any sort of realization yet when Cecil teleported into the living in a flash of light.

"Kid" he said, glaring at Matthew angrily "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

Matthew glared and snapped back at him "This is my house, Cecil. Your guys just fucking shot it up to hell and you got the nerve--You know what? Just...Fuck you!"

They glared at each other for a long moment before Cecil sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Look, kid. I don't know what happened to you today--"

"A lot happened" Matthew said curtly.

"--but at this moment, it doesn't matter" Cecil continued with emphasis "Right now, I need you to get out of your own head and be at your best fighting form. Can you do that?"

Matthew sighed and looked away, remembering Thena's warning about Cecil and was sorely tempted to out her. But decided to stomp that idea out of his head because of Madison.

"Yeah" Matthew said and kept his face straight as he asked "What do you need me to do?"

Cecil gave him a slight nod in approval and turned, scowling at the messy scene before him "Were you with your brother earlier? Have you heard anything from him since then?"

"No on both counts. I was dropping off Madison and...chatted a bit with her mother before I came here. I haven't seen Mark since we went home separately from visiting Upstate" Matthew said, omitting a large number of things as he summarized his day.

"Shit" Cecil cursed and handed an earpiece to him "Alright. Keep this on and go find him. I suggest you find everyone you know"

Matthew accepted the earpiece absentmindedly.

"Once you do, contact me and I'll bring you both to your mother. She's already waiting for you at the GDA" Cecil continued.

Matthew stood and looked the man in the eye "This is about Dad, isn't it?"

Cecil looked away and messaged the back of his neck "You're a smart kid, Matt. Yes, it is about your dad. He was the one who did all this...and was the one who murdered the Guardians"

Hearing it from Thena first and now from Cecil, Matthew's last hopes of his father were slowly dying off.

"Are you...sure?" Matthew asked hesitantly.

Cecil nodded solemnly "Our forensics team has been combing through the scene for months and testing the evidence thoroughly. The results are 100% conclusive"

Cecil gave it a moment of silence before he continued "Your father single handedly slaughtered the previous iteration of Guardians of the Globe team, but not without suffering major injuries to himself as I'm sure you can remember"

Matthew clenched his fist in frustration and closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down.

"I know there's a lot to take in, but the fact of the matter is that we have the most powerful superhero on the planet going on a killing spree and I got no one on my side that could possibly take him down. Not the Guardians, the other superhero teams, but just you and your brother" Cecil laid it out for him.

Matthew looked down, grinding his teeth in anger at the confusing mix of indignation, hesitation, and fury in his heart.

"So what will it be, kid?" Cecil asked.

He looked at him quietly as Matthew slowly got his self-control back and took the earpiece from his hand and placed it on one ear.

Cecil nodded, feeling only slightly relieved given the situation "Good. Stay alert and be safe"

Then he teleported, leaving Matthew staring up at the ceiling and noticing the large hole straight through the roof near the kitchen area for the first time.

"Be safe my ass" Matthew said wryly at the spot where Cecil disappeared, already preparing himself for what was to come.

At what he would need to decide and do soon enough.

***

Matthew considered asking Thena for help, but once again immediately trashed the thought away out of consideration for Madison.

He didn't want to be responsible for putting her mother, no matter how powerful her illusion powers seemed to be, in a situation where her life could be on the line simply to stop Omni-Man. And he wasn't sure if even her powers would be enough. But much of his hesitation in approaching her was because of her betrayal of his trust, the thought that his house was full of cameras was such a breach of trust that it made Matthew want to rip his house apart to find and crush every bit of the miniature cameras he could find.

Given that, he went on his own and flew around to search for his brother.

He went to William's house and scanned his mind for what he needed as he was in a rush, finding that Mark had gone to Amber in an attempt to fix his relationship by telling her his superhero identity. Matthew got the address and flew to her house next with a sigh, scanning her mind once he got within range. What he found made him want to knock both Amber and Mark on both their heads because of how badly the 'superhero reveal' went.

He soon sighed and shook his head "Mark's relationship mess isn't my problem right now"

He went to reach for the communicator Cecil handed him to request some help when a thought came to him. Pulling out his phone and scrolling through his contacts, he eventually settled to calling the one number he hadn't used before.

Not after they hooked up that one time, at least.

When she didn't answer, he tried calling through a messaging app instead. The phone rang a few times before Eve answered.

[Matt?]

Matthew cleared his throat and the hesitation he was feeling away from his mind "Hey, Eve. Sorry for calling so suddenly, but I was wondering if you could help me with something? If you're not busy?"

The phone was silent for a few seconds before Eve stuttered an answer.

[Ye-yeah. I'm not busy at the moment. What can I help you with?]

"I'm trying to find Mark and I was hoping if you've seen him at all today or sometime earlier?" Matthew asked, hoping that she had the answer.

[Oh. He's actually here]

Matthew was both surprised and relieved as he let out a loud sigh "Thank god I was right"

[What's going on? Why do you sound like you just threw a very heavy asteroid off your shoulders?]

Matthew chuckled lightly "Something like that. Can I please talk to him? I'm so sorry to impose but it's really urgent"

[Okay. Hang on for a bit]

The line was silent again except for some mumbled conversation in the background.

Matthew began to wonder why Mark went to Eve after what happened with Amber and felt a little jealous at the conclusions he was coming up with. He shook the thoughts away and refocused back into the situation, but remembered to ask Eve about it sometime later. Thankfully, his brother's voice came through quickly.

[Matt. Now's not really a good time]

"Fuck that, dude. This is important, so shut up and listen" Matthew cut him off "Where are you right now? The place specifically"

[We're on top of a waterfall near where Eve lives, in the...Rideout National Forest. Why? What is this about?]]

Ignoring his curiosity about Eve's apparent home being near a waterfall, Matthew began to search for where the forest was as he continued speaking.

"Something's..." he hesitated for a moment, considering if he wanted to reveal all of this through the phone or personally.

[Something's what?]

Mark asked with a little bit of annoyance in his tone.

"It's...something to do with Dad, but I can't explain it well through the phone. We need to meet up and quickly, so stay where you are" Matthew said, finally finding the direction to go in and began flying forward. Pushing his speed from the get go.

[I don't understand what you're saying, but this better be serious or I'll kick your ass]

Matthew rolled his eyes "It's serious, Mark. I'm not trying to interrupt whatever the hell is going on with you and Eve right now. It's a matter of life and death"

[...Fuck you. I'll wait here]

Matthew flew off towards the direction of Chicago.

A few minutes of flight later, he once again saw another much stronger beam of light once again descended from the sky and brightened the horizon to his side. He ignored it and continued on.

Not a moment later, the earpiece Cecil gave him let out a sudden ping noise that momentarily threw him off his flight path and almost sent him crashing through a Ranger cabin situation on top of a mountain range he passed.

[Kid, you there?]

"Yep and thanks for the warning, nearly plowed through a mountain top because of it" Matthew said sarcastically.

[Don't get snippy with me. Not the time]

Matthew rolled his eyes "Yes, sir"

[Where are you on finding your brother?]

"I'm on my way to where he is, in a forest park a few dozen miles off Chicago" Matthew informed.

[Is he alone?]

"No, he's with Atom Eve. Don't know why, didn't bother asking"

[Shit. Fine. Just get there as fast as you can, before your father finds you both. I'll buy you as much time as I can]

Matthew gritted his teeth and pushed himself faster, speeding through the landscape faster than he ever did before. He felt that it only took a moment for him to enter a heavily forested area and quickly noticed the oddly artistic natural treehouse on top of a thick tree situated in a cliff face that overlooked a significant part of the forest.

He flee closer to the house and took a second to appreciate the fine work before getting back on point, flying higher to get a better vantage point. He spotted a small stream that led to a wide and beautiful natural waterfall, but found no one there waiting for him.

"Goddammit" Matthew cursed and tapped the earpiece to call Cecil.

It took less than a moment for the line to connect and he quickly spoke first.

"They're not here anymore, Cecil. Did you have eyes on them right now?"

[I'm working on it, kid. But in the meantime,--]

His voice was interrupted when Debbie spoke through the connection.

[--Matt! Oh thank god, you're okay. You need to find your brother quickly]

"Mom, I'm trying. But he--I don't know what he's thinking right now. I told him to stay put and wait for me but apparently he didn't understand" Matthew replied.

There was a muffled argument that Matthew barely heard a word off from the other side of the line before Cecil replied.

[--t me handle this, Debbie. Kid, we found them. They're about a hundred miles 150 miles from your location and 20 miles from Chicago. Heading on an intercept path towards your father, so you better hurry before it's too late]

Matthew growled as the connection cut off and shot away. 150 miles was merely short distance as he hurried to catch up and caught the faint pink coloration of Eve's costume as well as the blue and yellow of Mark's before he arrived behind them.

"Mark! Eve!" he shouted as he got closer.

They both stopped and turned quickly to face him.

"Matt? How did you--"

A loud roar cut through Mark's words, followed by an even louder thud that shook the surrounding road and trees where they stopped. They all turned to the source of the sound and saw a colossal kaiju with vibrant yellow appendages resembling tentacles around a massive maw filled with menacingly jagged teeth the size of pickup trucks as one of it's many tentacles slapped something white and red to the ground.

Matthew recognized the kaiju and who it was attacking then quickly reached for his brother's shoulder to pull him back, but was a moment too slow to do so.

Mark, recognizing his father in danger, shot forward and called out to him.

"Shit" Matthew cursed and tapped on his earpiece "Cecil, I found them but Mark--"

[I see them, kid. Get Eve away there first before you go help your brother]

Matthew looked at his brother and father as they struggled against the kaiju, hesitating as he struggled with wanting to help his brother but also wanting to weaken his father enough for him to confirm everything.

[Kid, can you hear me? Why aren't you moving?]

Matthew pulled the earpiece out, frustrated at being badgered, and handed it to Eve as he looked her in the eyes.

"Put that on and go. You're not safe here" Matthew said gravely.

Eve stared at the earpiece, then to Matthew, and then to the fighting happening just ahead.

"Eve" Matthew shook her out of it "Go, now. Trust me, I'll handle this"

Eve blinked and nodded, gently picking up the earpiece and giving him a scared look.

"Okay. But...just be careful, okay?" Eve said.

Matthew clenched his teeth and nodded stiffly.

Eve turned to go but Matthew suddenly spoke up again.

"And please, tell Madison I'm sorry. I think I'm gonna have to break my promise to her this time" he said before turning to fly off, towards the kaiju.