Falls on Deaf Ears - Book 1

2 days before the explosion in the park -

The sound of the gavel banging filled the air as the courtroom burst into cheers.

"Order in the court!" The judge continued to bang his gavel trying to bring order and calm down the excited audience. It took a few minutes before things quieted down.

"The decision to award Mr. Berry his children has not been an easy one. I find this difficult to believe based on the evidence presented before me. I simply cannot understand why, you, Mrs. Berry have gone to such lengths to put your children in such a position." The judge nearly snarled as he turned his attention towards Mrs.. Berry. She stared at him smugly with daggers shooting out of her eyes trying to kill the judge for taking 'her' children away. She was about to protest as she stood up fast, but the judge beat her to it.

"Do you have something to say Mrs. Berry?" The judge sternly asked as he was slowly raising his gavel. He practically dared her to give him an excuse based on the look he was giving her.

Mrs. Berry was going to open her mouth, but she thought the better of it and returned to her seat, after a few seconds of exchanging long hard stares with the judge.

"Very well, you have at least shown some common sense in returning to your seat. But that won't stop me from finding you guilty of child endangerment on the first degree and many other charges. The sentencing hearing begins Monday!"

The judge was about to bang the gavel but immediately stopped as the prosecution stood and shouted 'objections' to the judge's decision.

"Mr. Reed, your objection is overruled! I'm surprised you would object to my decision. Frankly, you have no evidence that puts Mr. Berry at fault with the charges you listed and he is not guilty of those charges! I however, find Ms. Berry guilty of child endangerment based on the testimony of William Wyatt and Tyler Gibbs and the surmounting evidence that Mrs. Berry had indeed put her own children at an institute that studies people for abnormal abilities! That in itself is life in prison with no chance of parole! I find this case to be abnormal itself! There is no way in hell - pardon my French - Mrs. Berry will ever have visitation rights to her own children, even after the boys turn 18! As of this minute, Mrs. Berry is no longer fit to be called a Mother!"

Mr. Reed returned to his seat immediately after the judge finished speaking, fearing he was going to lose his case. The courtroom erupted in cheers and applause, causing the judge to furiously bang his gavel in order to bring order back to his courtroom. He secretly wanted this to go on as he was happy with his choice of actions, yet he still had to do his job. The process of calming the courtroom took several minutes at best.

The judge, finally being satisfied with his room under control, eyed Mrs. Berry sternly, "Again, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Mr. Reed looked at Mrs. Berry who had her head hung while staring at the floor. He tried to console her, but she didn't want to be touched and shrugged him off.

The judge looked around the courtroom and banged his gavel, satisfied that there were no more protests. "So, since you have nothing to say for yourself, this court is adjourned!"

As the bailiff stated, "All rise," the judge immediately returned to his chambers as everyone in the courtroom arose. The defense shook hands congratulating Mr. Berry before they left. Mr. Berry was smiling and when he turned around, he looked at Tyler and Will. They returned his smile with thumbs up and made their way towards Mr. Berry.

"Thanks guys... couldn't have done it without you. I..." Mr. Berry got out before the boys stopped him from saying anything else.

Tyler spoke first, "Don't mention it..."

Will finished their sentence, "...we did what we had to do; tell the truth. Ty and I will miss them."

Mr. Berry smiled, "Who said anything about moving?"

This caught the boys off guard. They never expected to hear what Mr. Berry had told them as they both assumed his kids were moving to live with their dad.

"But Mr. Berry... " Will started as he was interrupted by Mr. Berry quickly holding up his hand.

"Please call me Simon."

The boys looked at each other and grinned as their parents walked up from behind the boys.

Simon extended his hand to Ben Wyatt and shook it. "Nice to meet you Ben..." As Simon continued to shake his hand, he turned his attention to Barb, "...and it's nice to meet you as well, Barb. Simon had received shocked expressions to the point where the grip was starting to feel light in his hands with Ben.

Simon's grin got bigger, "I'm sorry, it was the first thing that popped up in your heads." This earned Simon even more surprised looks as their mouths were sucking on air as a fish would to water.

Simon chuckled and lowered his voice some, "I am slightly telepathic."

Barb and Ben exchanged looks and returned the smile to Simon indicating they understood.

Ben started first, "Congrats. I brought Ty here because his parents couldn't make it. They did give me their permission to bring him as he was also a witness in this trial."

"Riiiight" Simon replied then immediately knelt down to two incoming, excited twins. "Oooff... easy on the old man guys!"

Both twins looked up with a grin on their face. Both boys were very identical. They had brown hair and eyes that changed color with their emotions. Both appeared to be 8 years old and showed no signs of slowing down as the twin on the left spoke first, "You're silly, daddy..." Followed by the other twin finishing the sentence, "...you're still young!"

Simon chuckled then stood up, "These two are my lil munchkins, Julian to my left and Alexander to my right."

Barb and Ben looked at each other as did Tyler and Will. "How do we tell them apart?!" All four said at the same time, causing a round of gasps and exchanged looks before returning their attention to the giggling trio.

"Well, Julian has amethyst eyes and Alexander has an interesting shade of indigo." Simon spoke as he watched the expressions on the quartet's faces shift from 'aww' to that of a surprised look.

"How in the world do they do that?!" Barb asked in a surprised tone while Ben, Will, and Tyler were gawking at the twins with their mouths open.

Simon shrugged his shoulders, clearly not fully understanding Barb's question, "Genetics, I guess. They were born that way, but they have a unique color, which the other twin can't duplicate, even if they tried."

Barb looked at Simon questionably, "That's not what I meant... I wanted to know how they change their eye color willingly!"

Simon had to chuckle as the twins giggled at Barb, "Again, genetics. Don't ask... the doc gave up when we paid him a visit when the twins were two and able to change their eye color..." Simon paused for a bit for the words to sink in before continuing, "...based on their mood. Like I said, they can't duplicate each other's eyes nor have a matching set. Julian would actually have a darker shade of colors if he changed it and Alex would have a lighter shade of colors. And no, I can't force my eyes to change color, nor could their mother."

Will and Tyler looked at each other then shouted "Way cool!" It took a few moments for them to realize what they did and almost everyone in the courtroom stopped what they were doing to stare at the boys. They blushed to a bright red and it seemed like the room temperature rose a few degrees.

"Please don't mind the boys, they're always like that." Barb said as she began to squint her eyes as she knew what to expect next from them. It didn't take long for her to be awarded with a "mooooooooooooooommmm" and a "Baaaarrrrrbbb" and she had to chuckle at that.

Simon laughed while Ben remained silent. Simon finally noticed Ben's silence, and decided to do something about it. "You ok Ben?"

It took Ben a few moments for him to snap out of the trance he was in. "Huh? Oh yeah, just surprised and was thinking of something."

Simon shrugged his shoulders, "Shall we go someplace and grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure, as long as we get to drive you there." Ben stated, not wanting an argument.

Simon smiled, "How about the buffet across town? It might take a while to get there. I know a faster way if you'll let me..."

Ben interrupted Simon before he could finish, "Allow me, please. I insist. This trial was long and hard on you and your sons. The least we could do is take you out to dinner, our treat."

Simon sighed, "Lead the way." This earned him glares from Julian and Alex, but Simon shook his head 'no' when he felt two pairs of eyes staring at him.

Off in the corner of the hall, few shadows emerged from their hiding places as if they were watching the events unfold.

"I suppose we need to watch that bunch. They do not possess any lockets to contain their abilities, yet I sense nothing dangerous about them." The smaller shadow whispered to the larger one based on their past history of those who did not wear lockets were simply 'out of control'. Their whispers were only heard among each other and not by anyone else. If someone knew what they were listening to, it might have been heard, but only enough to make out as if it were a mouse squeaking.

"Our orders are absolute. I don't care what they can do, they must be assigned a locket per the elder guardian! I don't care if they are descendants of my sister's family or not, how they broke away from needing a locket is beyond me and everyone else. Only the guardian knows and you know how he is." The taller shadow whispered back in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Oh com'on dad! I don't exactly know grandfather's intentions, but whatever. Shouldn't we be observing Trish and her family some more anyway? Besides, Simon was responsible for rescuing Will and Ty, even if they didn't know about it, he should be awarded, not watched!"

"No Chad. That is not for Simon to know and let's keep it that way. Besides, the guardian has come to believe that this group is the most dangerous and yet, lockets or not, I do not think they..." The larger shadow's voice was cut off with the third shadow interrupting the conversation.

"The guardian has called us back. It's time to go." The shadow disappeared after it finished speaking. The remaining two shadows paused for a moment then disappeared from the hallway.

---

Moments later in the parking garage, Barb and Ben arrived at their SUV first before everyone else did as they were chattering along the way about everything and anything. Barb had noted how bad traffic was during rush hour and she looked at Ben, feeling defeated. Ben shook his head and Simon caught some of the non-verbal action going on between them.

"Problems?" Simon asked sounding concerned.

Ben sighed, "Yeah, traffic. Looks like a gridlock down there."

Simon walked over to the edge and looked down from 5 stories up at the non- moving traffic. He chuckled silently to himself then returned his attention to Ben. "Well, there is one other way."

"How? I don't see any other way out of here, other than a helicopter or flying."

"There's that, or we can try their way." Simon pointed towards his twins at the mention of 'their'.

"Huuuuh???" Ben and Barb stated in unison, not sure what exactly Simon was talking about.

The twins grinned at Simon, but their attention was immediately drawn to the elevator shaft as they thought they heard something eavesdropping on them. Simon caught this and squinted his eyes, as if to scan the area. Barb and Ben looked at each other and were preparing for something to appear out of the shadows. Just as Simon was about to make a move, a large rat slowly made its way from around the corner of the elevator shaft and sniffed the ground before moving on.

Simon breathed a sigh of relief and the twins visibly relaxed. Will and Tyler were stiff as a bone worried about what might have happened. Barb and Ben looked at each other and relaxed some.

Ben broke the silence first, "Boys, its all right, it was just a rat."

Will and Tyler exchanged glances and looked around then sighed.

"Well, I suppose we should continue where we left off." Simon returned his attention to his twins with a grin on his face.

Before Barb or Ben could say anything, Alex grabbed onto Will and Julian grabbed onto Tyler. The next second, they disappeared into nothing, causing a small ripple to form after their departure. Ben and Barb let out a gasp as they frantically looked around trying to search for them. Simon quickly came up from behind and placed his hands on them and disappeared in the same fashion as the twins. The garage was now empty and devoid of any human activity, but something was lurking in the shadows and had just witnessed an amazing sight. He laughed evilly and walked behind the elevator shaft where a blue light was emitted then suddenly disappeared.

---

The Buffet - moments later

The twins had appeared out of nowhere behind The Buffet, away from any human activity with Tyler and Will standing motionless with pale-white faces. A small ripple had formed then disappeared the moment the 4 boys appeared. Simon, Barb and Ben weren't too far behind as they appeared in the same fashion, except their faces weren't pale.

Barb and Ben's shocked expression didn't last much longer as they turned their attention to Simon. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

Simon laughed, "Surprise!"

Barb and Ben didn't seem too amused being surprised by the little "trick" Simon and his twins had performed. "I suppose there's a story behind that and all of this?" Ben asked, which caused Simon's happy expression to change to a more serious one.

"I'll tell you over coffee tonight at my place. I don't like the idea of people eavesdropping on us. The last time people eavesdropped on us; it had caused the trial to take place. I don't want that to happen again."

Barb and Ben nodded and Simon continued, "Lets save the serious discussions for later, it looks like our lot is gunna eat us for dinner instead by the glares they're giving us."

This shook Tyler and Will out of their trance and caused them to look at the twins. They then shifted their attention to Simon and began to stare a hole into him. Barb and Ben had just noticed this and broke out laughing. This earned them even more scowls from the boys.

"All right boys, lets go eat." Simon ignored them completely as he walked past them, hoping they would drop the scowls and follow him for a change. They did just as soon as smiles broke out. Barb and Ben breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to each other then followed their marching army to The Buffet.

Once Simon entered, he approached the person behind the stand who greeted him with a smile on her face. "Welcome to The Buffet, how may I help you sir?"

Simon looked around before turning his attention to the woman, "Table for 7 please." He had noticed her name tag as it read "Sheryl" on it.

Sheryl looked behind Simon and smiled, "One moment please" and walked off to search for a table.

Simon didn't have to wait long as Sheryl was back before he began to wonder where she went.

"Right this way please." Sheryl grabbed what appeared to be 7 rolls of napkins with silverware inside and proceeded to walk towards the table at the corner of the building. Simon followed her, along with the rest of the group. The restaurant didn't have too many people there, but the food was quite good for a not so busy place.

Once everyone was seated and the drinks ordered, Sheryl gave them the "go-ahead" to help themselves to the buffet. She was smiling as she walked away from the table to return to her station. She somehow knew the cooks might complain considering the fact that there were 4 boys and she knows how things can get when they don't get their food.

About half way through the adult's meal, the boys were about to head towards the buffet when Barb and Ben looked up and shook their heads. Simon had to snicker at their actions as all three adults earned a "what" from the boys.

Simon put his fork down and picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, "I swear those bottomless pits will someday have to fill up and stay filled."

Ben turned his head to look at the boys filling their plates and nodded, "I agree. I also learned not to come between a boy and his food!"

"Only if I could remember." Simon looked over his shoulder to watch the boys before turning his attention to Ben's 'whatcha talkin about' expression on his face. "Oh sorry, I really can't remember anything that took place before I turned 13. I just... don't know. Don't really talk about it much."

Ben just looked at Simon with a sad expression then turned to look at Barb. She was also looking at Simon with a sad expression, but Ben had an idea. "If there was someone who could unlock those doors to your past, would you really want to find out what happened?"

Simon had a shocked expression on his face, but he quickly changed it to neutral. "Not sure. I mean what if there is something there that I don't want to know about? Even if the person did exist, I just might give it a try, only once."

Ben leaned in closer to Simon and motioned for him to do the same and in a softer tone so no one would be able to hear, "What if I told you I know that person and how they could help you?"

Simon couldn't believe what he was hearing, "For real?"

Ben just nodded and the boys had returned to the table. All four boys noticed the adults were having a serious discussion by the looks on their faces.

"Daddy, are you ok?" The twins and Will chorused at the same time causing them to slightly giggle after glancing at each other. This broke some of then tension causing Ben and Simon to relax some. Barb just stayed quiet, watching the events unfold.

"Yeah boys, I'm fine. Thanks for asking..." Simon diverted his attention from Ben to his twins then on to their plate of food. "...and you two aren't even full yet?" Simon asked, somewhat surprised.

Before the twins could answer, Ben had done the same and stared at Will and Tyler, as if he was trying to communicate some mind speak with the same question Simon had asked.

"We're growing boys, ya know." Will said with a grin on his face as Tyler looked at them with a matching grin.

Barb and Ben rolled their eyes and continued to finish their meal while Simon looked on, pausing for a moment then looked at his boys whom had a worried look about their faces. Simon reached over and gave them a sideways hug and smiled before returning to his meal. The twins just shrugged, looked at each other, and began the task of stuffing their mouths.

As the adults finished their plates, the boys were slowly finishing theirs and soon it was time to go. As they prepared to leave, Simon surveyed the damages to the buffet and it didn't look to bad or so he thought. Barb and Ben thought the same and proceeded to try and pay the bill first before Simon had a chance to. Simon caught on and turned around quickly.

"My treat, please. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other next time around, so you can have it next time to be fair."

"But Simon, you've been through court! Let us handle this please." Barb insisted seeing how Simon wanted to pay for the meal.

"Yeah, please let us take care of it." Ben nodded, agreeing with his wife hoping to add more emphasis to her statement." Ben sighed as he rubbed his belly with a small belch, causing everyone but Barb to giggle. "Ok, tell you what: Next time we dine out, you can pick up the tab if it isn't too much of a hassle...ooofff!" Barb playfully hit him in the belly causing Ben to snicker a bit. "Sorry but thanks, we got this one."

Barb nodded at Ben's sudden change, "Yes, thanks for understanding, Simon.

Simon chuckled to himself at the banter between Barb and Ben. He excused himself to use the restrooms as Ben took care of the bill.

Ben watched Simon head to the restroom and turned to find his wife, but she was already heading out the door. . Once Ben had the bill, he looked over it to make sure things were in order, handed her his credit card, and turned to look for the boys but couldn't find them in his sights. He sighed and figured they were outside getting rowdy again like they usually do. Once everything was all paid, Ben walked outside to join his wife as Simon and Sheryl followed shortly afterwards.

"Umm, excuse me sir, your card." Sheryl was holding out Ben's card for him to take from her. "I suppose those two cause you to forget from time to time?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

Sheryl smiled and started to walk back to the restaurant, "I've got 4 boys to raise!"

All adults smiled thinking to themselves how insane she must be, then again, Simon had always wondered what it was like raising 10.

Barb and Ben had walked ahead of Simon for a bit in search of the boys but couldn't find them. Simon caught up with them and grinned, causing them to shake their heads.

"Ready?" Simon asked.

"I suppose so." Barb flatly stated unsure if she could get used to teleportation.

"Sounds like fun." Ben smiled, earning a playful swat from Barb.

Simon couldn't help but chuckle as he put his hands on Barb and Ben's shoulders. He felt a sudden sense of pain that told him his boys were in trouble. He really didn't want to have to use his teleportation ability at the risk of losing another ability, but the situation called for it and they needed him NOW. Barb and Ben were completely unaware of what Simon was thinking. Simon quickly prepared himself and then disappeared leaving a faint ripple in place of where they were.

---

Parking Garage - moments later

The three adults appeared right next to Barb and Ben's SUV and visually scanned the area for the kids but they weren't there. Simon had started to become worried as he heard a faint scream. Someone was in trouble and he wasn't sure who it was. Simon closed his eyes in concentration for a few seconds then rage nearly overtook him as he heard the squeal of tires being spun from the level above. Simon walked towards the middle of the road in hopes to block the path of the kidnappers. Barb and Ben were glancing at each other then nodded. Something they were doing had caught Simon's attention.

"I can handle this one." Simon said, trying to control his anger.

Barb and Ben looked at each other in surprise and tried to protest, but Simon was having none of that. A large black car had finally rounded the corner and came to a halt. It revved up its engine then took off towards Simon at a high acceleration. Ben wanted to try to interject, but Barb finally being able to understand something, held him back causing Ben to look at her with pleading eyes. Barb simply shook her head "no" as she told Ben to "watch".

As the car got closer, Simon slightly crouched down and extended his arms. He didn't have to wait much longer as the car finally hit its intended target. The sound of tires squealing filled the air as well as the smell of burning rubber. Simon had successfully stopped the car from going any further than 10 feet from the point of impact. Simon then raised his right arm, balled his fist, and with lightning speed, drove it directly into the engine, instantly killing the motor. He pulled his fist out and walked towards the driver's side and yanked the door off its hinges, sending it flying in the air behind him then disappearing into nothingness. The driver was staring at Simon with a grin on his face and his ex wife in the passenger seat with the 4 boys bound and gagged. This further pissed him off and he reached in to try and yank the driver out, but a loud yelp filled the air as Simon quickly pulled back.

"Like the force field, dear? Simon's ex flatly stated before she turned towards the twins and pressed in some buttons. "In a few moments, we'll be gone with the boys. You'll know where to find us... If you dare to follow!"

This made Simon angrier as Barb and Ben had joined by his side with pissed expressions on their faces. Barb and Ben looked at each other and nodded. They closed their eyes to focus on something and chanted an eerie spell that caused white sparks to emit from the failing force field. Once the field was broken, the boys teleported out of the car and directly behind Barb and Ben, un-gagged and boundless. As the twins were being teleported out, their wrists, legs, and mouths were free from being able to run or scream. The only reason the twins weren't able to teleport themselves out was due to the strange looking device on their wrists. Barb and Ben sensed this and immediately turned around to repeat the same eerie spell. The device on the Twins' wrists crackled and energy flickered as the devices suddenly came apart.

Simon grinned then turned to focus on the driver. He bent down, grabbed him with one hand and tossed him 100 feet through the air towards the point where the car stopped and accelerated from, knocking him unconscious. Next, Simon tore the top off the car, like a can opener, causing his ex to gasp in fear.

"Hello, honey! Today's your lucky day! I swore I wouldn't let you lay a finger on my boys and I almost failed, but you... you... just wanted them as lab rats, didn't you? It's too bad there's laws against killing, but this was the last straw!" Simon raised his right hand and screamed, "NO SECOND CHANCES!" and swiftly brought his fist down, just as his ex disappeared in a blue light. "Damnit! You won't get away next time!" He spat as he kicked the car into the pillars, causing the building to shake a bit, but not enough to cause problems.

"Easy there, Simon." Ben tried to calm him down. "They're gone, and so is the driver. We'll get them next time."

Will and Tyler were knocked out while the twins were rubbing their wrists. They then looked up at Simon and ran to him to give him a big hug. This had somewhat calmed him down, but the crimson colored eyes was still evident. Simon appeared slightly out of breath and loudly sighed before turning to Ben with deep crimson colored eyes staring back at him. It had caused shivers to run down Barb and Ben's spine, once she turned around to check on Simon after she made sure the boys were ok.

"I'm sorry, Julian and Alex." Simon sobbed as he continued hugging his boys.

Julian looked back at Simon with tear stained dark grey eyes, while Alex looked the same, but with light grey eyes. "It's ok, daddy, they were waiting for us when we arrived. We knew they were there and couldn't change locations. Mommy used something on us that caused us to freeze and her driver knocked out Will and Tyler."

Simon sighed then squeezed them tighter, "it's ok. They're gone now."

Alex looked up and scanned Simon's eyes, "What if they come back?"

"They won't." Simon told Alex, feeling somewhat unsure about it then continued, "I don't think she will with Barb and Ben around now."

Simon's eyes had slowly changed their color to its normal brown as he finally calmed down. He turned to look up at Barb and Ben. "Thanks."

Barb sighed, "Don't worry about it. You would have done the same for us."

Ben looked up from checking on Will and Tyler, "Looks like we have a long night ahead of us." There was a long pause and some thinking on Ben's part before he started again, "I think it would be safer if you came to our place tonight. I don't want to take chances with a repeat incident like this. I'm pretty sure our boys are going to be targeted now that your ex has seen what we can do."

Barb started as Ben finished, "Just what does your ex do? Surely she looks like some sort of scientist."

Simon was looking down when he shot his head up fast with a hint of anger evident, "She works for The Institute. She claimed it was highly classified work and she never told me what, but she didn't know I could read her mind and often enough she let things slip by, enough for me to read. When she planned..."

Before Simon could continue, Barb stopped him with raising her left hand; "Let's get out of here while we still can. I'm getting a bad feeling about staying here for too long."

Ben nodded as Simon replied, "I agree." Simon looked at his sons and gave them a warm smile and a hug before standing up, "Ok, let's go."

As Simon walked towards Ben, Ben knelt and picked up a sleeping Will while Simon picked up a sleeping Tyler and both men carried them to Barb and Ben's SUV. Once Barb unlocked the doors and opened them for Ben, he put Will in the seat and fastened his belt. Barb walked around the other side and did the same for Simon. Simon repeated what Ben did, only Tyler took up residence in the middle seat. Simon picked up Alex and placed him next to Ty. Julian was the last to be buckled in and Simon gave him a kiss on the cheek before closing the door to the large Suburban SUV and he himself entered the middle row. Much to Barb's protesting of him being a guest and had offered him a seat up front, Simon politely declined and Ben climbed in the driver's side and started it up. As he closed the door, Barb hopped in and they were off.

The ride to Barb and Ben's house was long and uneventful as Simon had a hard time staying awake. He had a very long day with the court battle and finally a kidnapping attempt. Barb kept looking behind them to make sure everyone was ok and smiled to herself as she noticed Simon had trouble staying awake.

---

In what seemed like hours to Simon, it was only a matter of minutes before he awoke to the SUV pulling into a driveway of a medium sized house. It was too dark to really tell what it looked like.

Simon stirred some and stretched. "Where are we?"

Barb turned to look at Simon and smiled, "Our house. You are too exhausted to do anything."

Simon just stared at her blankly, not wanting to admit he was actually fatigued from using an ability that takes an ability. "What time is it?"

Ben spoke up as he looked at the clock before shutting the engine off, "Half past 8. I know it's early, but we should turn in early to get well rested."

Simon wasn't sure he liked the idea as it messed with his sleep. He normally went to bed no later than 10 on most days as it had been benefiting for him. Today was no exception and he wasn't going to start now or anytime soon.

Simon sighed as he looked out the window then back at Barb. "Honestly, there's things we need to discuss that can't wait."

Without looking at each other, Barb and Ben simply nodded in agreement and remained silent. Ben was the first to exit the SUV and Barb followed after visually checking on the boys. Simon had stepped out and was about to close the door, but Ben stopped him and shook his head. Ben made sure Simon knew that closing the door would wake the boys and he would like the house peacefully quiet, if it was at all possible. It didn't take long to try and remove 4 sleeping boys from the SUV, but they did it without waking them, without powers of course. (What fun would it be if you could challenge yourself into trying to move a couple of 8yo's without waking them?)

Several minutes had past and when all was said and done, Simon found himself standing in the living room looking around. He took note of how nicely organized the room looked and how tranquil it was with the various objects, obviously decorations, fit for a living room. There was no upcoming holiday that he knew of and thought it must have been a collection of sorts.

Barb came up behind Simon rather quietly, not wanting to disturb him, placed a hand on his shoulder causing Simon to jump.

"Shit! You scared me, Barb."

Barb had to chuckle at his reaction, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"I know you didn't, it's just that sometimes I hate it when people sneak up on me like that... when I least expect it."

Barb chuckled again and shook her head. "I've got the coffee going, let's head to the kitchen." Barb turned to walk towards the kitchen and to the cabinets to get some coffee mugs out for her guest, herself and Ben. Simon looked on and smiled, noting how lucky he was to have made some new friends. He couldn't help but wonder how long it would be till his ex finally succeeds with her plans. This thought of Simon's had caused Barb to look up and frown. Simon had to wonder if she was telepathic, or he was transmitting his thoughts out too much. Feeling it was time to head into the kitchen, Simon walked towards an empty seat at the small rectangular table and sat down with a sigh. Ben came walking in and wondered what was happening, as he had observed the looks on Barb and Simon's faces. He then sat down and Barb poured the coffee into the mugs. She placed one at Simon's side and then Ben's before setting her mug at her seat last.

Simon looked at barb and smiled. "Thanks"

Barb returned his smile, "Don't mention it."

Ben looked up at Barb and smiled. His smile quickly faded as he got serious. "So, did I miss anything?" This earned him sharp glances from Barb and Simon. "Ah, your expressions said it all. So.. ?"

Barb's eyes grew wider but Simon saved her. "I guess I was thinking too hard and it was kinda obvious Barb 'heard' what I was thinking about." Barb immediately glanced at Simon with her eyes wide and her mouth nearly hanging completely open. Simon giggled and continued, "don't worry Barb, I was taught to be a good judge of people and judging by the latest events, I think its safe to say, your secret is safe with me." Barb's shocked appearance slowly disappeared and Simon continued after a moment of silence, "I was worrying too much about the boys' safety. I still get these visions when I sleep. They have been warning me for years of my twins' kidnapping and of today's, now that I think of it. Everything that has happened, pretty much came true. The only exception is you were there to prevent their plan from succeeding at the end. I have no doubts that they might try again later. The next move is theirs."

Barb and Ben were lost in thought and nodded their heads to Simon. Ben decided to ask Simon something that had been bugging him, "I hope you don't mind me asking this: Just how were you able to rip the car to near shreds?"

Simon smiled then frowned, "Well, I really wanted to talk to you about my ex and what she really does, but I'll tell you a little about myself first. Let's see here... besides the good looks, brown hair and brown eyes..." Simon paused before taking his shirt off and continued as he pointed at the scars, "these scars were from a surgery I had when I was 22. I was in an automobile accident and it just happened to be my ex was a witness to the events. The docs told me I might not live and I immediately lost the use of my arms and some parts of my lower back. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here telling this story. The next day she visited me and I immediately fell in love with her. She tried telling me there were other ways for me to cope with the loss of my limbs, but I wasn't having any of it. My idea of living was completely different than hers was. I suppose later that day, I found myself in a lab somewhere. I had been sleeping and with no idea where I was, I was shouting for help and nothing. I knew I lost my arms, but what surprised me was I unconsciously tried to break free and I did. It was pure shock and terror; I wasn't sure what was happening. Next thing I knew, a few security guys came rushing in and I suppose I fought them off. The first one to get to me was sent flying through the door and it caused me to stop what I was doing. My ex walked in and calmed me down enough for them to inject me. I was told I was out of it for several days and I woke up alone, in my bed, in my house. Later on when she came over, I tried asking her what had happened and she kept assuring me it was all a dream, but the scars on my body don't lie. It took time for me to figure things out, but I did and confronted her about it with proof. This was at the time when we were married. She then told me parts of the truth, but somehow, I knew she wasn't telling all of it." Simon let out a sigh before continuing, "a few days later, I had this weird dream. It was me, in my ex's shoes, overseeing my operation. At first I wanted to wake up, but I was curious as to what else they did and stayed to watch. First, they installed cyber-genetic implants and some other shit I didn't recognize. Next came a few 'experimental' chemicals they tested on me, which I suppose got passed onto my twins. I found this out by listening to my ex's thoughts as she was curious what they'd do to our offspring. I ignored this for the most part as I didn't believe any of it. The funny part was, we made love to each other the next night and well... I suppose it lead to what happens now, but there is a greater force at work here that I can't talk about yet." Simon carefully picked his wording as he took a sip of coffee and looked at Barb and Ben.

Barb had been drinking some coffee as Simon was telling the story. She took her last sip and finished it off. "I see. That kind of explains what your twins do. But why don't you have similar abilities as them?"

Ben nodded in agreement with his wife and added, "You still haven't explained about your ex."

Simon glared at Ben and smiled slightly, "Quite honestly, it would take a while and I'd think we'd better turn in. I've had a long day and if I don't get to bed soon, I'd have migraines tomorrow due to irregular sleep patterns."

Barb and Ben looked at each other and shrugged.

"I agree with him, honey." Ben stated, looking at the clock. "It is getting late and it has been a long day for us and the kids."

"I guess you're right." Barb agreed while looking into her empty coffee cup.

Simon sighed as he finished his coffee. He was slightly relieved that he didn't have to tell the whole story as to what actually happened, but he then decided he would tell the truth in the morning. As Simon thought over how he wanted to go about telling Barb and Ben what had happened, everyone remained silent for a few minutes.

Simon broke the silence as he stretched in his chair and yawned. There was something on Simon's mind, but he decided to ask later and pushed the thought to the back of his head. He did want to ask them something else that might get him a short story as it was nearing bedtime.

Simon spoke up, causing Barb and Ben to re-adjust their sitting positions, "Am I to guess the two of you are wizards or something?"

Barb and Ben laughed causing Simon to wonder what was so funny. "Whatever made you want to ask that question? Barb asked first for the two of them.

"Oh, ah, well, there's something different about you. Even if you act normal, you have quite an aurora around both of you."

"Not quite wizards, but close enough." Barb said in a quiet tone. "We don't want our son exposed to what we do. We have seen too many things that have caused me to cringe. I still have nightmares over what we saw. I won't go into detail about that, but I will tell you this: Tyler's parents are in the same boat as we are. They are our team as we usually end up taking care of both boys, more times than not." Barb stood up and walked to the counter to pour the rest of the coffee into her mug and sat back down then continued, "To be honest, we worry about their safety and if they ever return. They were due back a few days ago, but haven't showed up yet. I just hope nothing bad has happened to them."

Ben nodded in agreement and added his thoughts; "We'd really appreciate if you don't tell Julian and Alex about this. We don't tell Will and Tyler anything, but we do tell Tyler his parents send him their love. I don't know what we would do if something happened to them. We don't really want to tell Will and Tyler what we really do. It could cause them to want to join us every time we go on a mission. That is something that I refuse to let happen, but something tells me the boys will need to know... and soon. Somehow, I think they do know a very little bit of what really happens around here. Don't ask me how, but I just know."

Barb simply moved her hand to Ben's and held on to it. Simon simply nodded and looked into his empty coffee mug. Ben stood and stretched while Barb finished her coffee.

Simon stood feeling sleepy, "Is there a place for me to sleep? I think I'm callin it a night."

Barb smiled, "We are, too. The guest room is right around the corner, to your right. We have 4 bedrooms; Alex and Julian are in the second bedroom. The first guest bedroom and 2^nd bedroom each share a bathroom, so you should be all set. Have a good night, Simon."

Ben yawned, "Night, Simon. Breakfast is at 8am; try to be here before the food vacuums get here."

Simon had to let out a laugh, "I'm sure they would love hearing that, then again, it seems all they do is eat everything you have."

Barb and Ben laughed then waved to Simon as he walked towards the bedroom. Moments later, all lights in the house were off and everyone was fast asleep.

From the corner of the dining room, a small shadow appeared and materialized into a shape of a boy who looked no more than 14. He quickly scanned the room and found the house to be quiet. He knew what he had to do, but he also didn't want to do it. Something had been bothering at his conscience that placing lockets within each room was a bad thing. Unsure how to proceed, he quickly decided that he'd better do what he was told rather than getting caught doing nothing. Reluctantly, he started with Simon's room first. As he approached the room, the door was partially open, so he simply walked into the room. He neared the nightstand and fished out a locket, then began to gently place it on the table but a hand had stopped him from accomplishing the task and caused him to jump in surprise. An eerie blue light illuminated the room as Simon began sitting up in bed looking at the intruder, while holding his hand.

"You have 10 seconds to explain yourself!" Simon said in a hushed tone that commanded authority. He was ready to defend himself as needed, but also tried searching the youth's mind for any hostile intentions, but found none.

"Do you recognize these?" The youth spoke gently as he held up several lockets in his hand.

Simon's eyes widened in surprise. "I think I do. Why are you here anyway? I was sure I heard whispers in the courtroom hallway earlier and you are one of them."

Now it was the youth's turn to be surprised. "No way! That's impossible!"

"Is it? I can hear your thoughts and I don't advertise what I can and can't do. I do have exceptional hearing and when I feel something is off, I will listen for threats. Now, I'm going to let your hand go and when I do, don't go anywhere." Simon was staring down the youth as if he dared him to run.

The youth gulped as he nervously nodded. Simon could tell he was nervous and slowly removed his hand from the lad as he rubbed his wrist. Simon couldn't help but observe the lad some more. He appeared to have dark brown hair and stunning blue eyes that could capture your soul. Simon mentally shook his head to try not to get captivated by those blue eyes.

"What's your name? I'm Simon, but I suspect you already know."

"Chad." He paused for a few moments then continued, "You know what I came here to do and I'm sure you know what these are. I understand your mother was part of the council of light a long time ago, but she disappeared. I understand that the lockets weren't passed down when the time came and I suppose that was what happened."

"Hmmm" Simon thought for a few moments then had an idea. "You know, I could destroy those as easily as they were made. I don't think they will work as well for everyone here. Yes I assumed Ben and Barb are aware, but are hiding from them as well. Don't worry, I won't tell them you paid us a visit, but I still need to get some information out of those two."

Chad gasped in shock at the news of destroying the lockets. "Prove it that you can destroy these!" Chad extended his left hand with all five lockets.

Simon chuckled to himself and closed his eyes. He moved his left hand and covered them entirely as a green glow began to fill the room over the blue glow. As the green glow died down, he removed his hand and the lockets were gone, causing Chad's eyes to widen in surprise.

"No way!" Chad exclaimed, causing Simon to chuckle. "Uh oh! I gotta run."

Chad was about to move a few steps back when Simon stopped him. "Something will happen in a couple of days, something bad. I have seen it in my visions and dreams too many times to count. I have a task to do that requires us all and none of your interference. I can't say much more otherwise, a time paradox could happen. I'm sorry Chad, but you must let them know, even if they did believe you. I just simply cannot allow having my abilities or anyone else's in this house being controlled to a point where we can't fully use them to their potential."

Chad was about to protest, but he understood and slowly nodded his head. He stared at Simon for a few moments then stepped into the corner of the room and shifted into a shadow then disappeared. Simon sighed and wondered what would happen if things had been different. Simon made a mental note to remind himself to talk to Barb and Ben in the morning. He yawned then the eerie blue glow slowly dimmed the room till it was dark. Simon then laid back and pulled the sheets up and fell fast asleep.

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To be Continued.....

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Author's notes:

Admittingly, things are different this time around. I suppose I've added more people to this story and from the looks of it, there's action coming! Somehow, I've been threatened by another fellow author regarding cliffhangers and the CHP! Have no fear...all will be resolved.......sometime... or maybe never! Hehehehhehehehe! Comments welcome: xhammertime@gmail.com

~Hammy