Ashley cracked his knuckles, trying to work off his nerves on the bus to the DA’s office. So much had happened in the past few days, it was hard to keep track of it all. Jordyn was a clone. It made so much sense that he was honestly surprised he hadn’t figured it out sooner. If de Vygon’s goal was what they assumed – that he wanted to break into the Godling’s prison for a wish – then of course he’d need someone with a power to do the dirty work. He had control over the police, and with it, the coroner’s office. Rosalyn’s death would have been the perfect opportunity to extract whatever genetic material he needed from her without arousing suspicion. Every piece of this horrible puzzle was finally coming into place. Ashley needed to stop him.

  Thankfully, with Jordyn safely hidden away, de Vygon would have no way to make a wish, even if he did come and break into the prison. For now, they were at a stalemate, but Ashley held all the cards. He just needed to get the information out there and in the right hands. De Vygon needed to be locked away where he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again. Ashley needed to convince the DA, or it would all be for nought.

  That little file Steve had retrieved netted them a bit of interest, but only enough for the DA to ask a few innocuous questions about what was going on down in the facility, which hadn’t led anywhere yet. It just didn’t have enough credibility, only making it even that far thanks to Ashley’s reputation as leader of the Union. With Jordyn’s explicit testimony as to her treatment, and the obvious fact that she was a clone, they could really make some headway.

  The legal battle was no doubt going to be long and difficult with all the power behind de Vygon, but Ashley was determined to see it through. Jordyn deserved to get to live a normal life without a bastard like him controlling her.

  Ashley couldn’t fight monsters on the front line like the rest of them. But he could do this. Perhaps this was just fighting monsters of a different kind.

  He got off the bus at the DA’s office and made his way inside, informing the receptionist that he had an appointment with one of the attorneys. He waited in the lobby for about half an hour before finally being let through into assistant district attorney Harriet Morgan’s office.

  “Ashley, good to see you!” Harriet said, getting up and stepping around her desk to shake his hand.

  “Likewise,” Ashley replied. They’d been friends in high school, and had maintained a decent, if distant relationship ever since. He was sure glad for that connection now.

  She moved back around and took a seat behind her desk. Ashley sat down across from her.

  “So, you said there’s been an update in the de Vygon DV case?”

  Her wording threw him for a loop for a second. They really had just believed it was a case of domestic violence back at the start, hadn’t they? He nodded.

  “Do you remember those research notes I brought you a few months ago, that you thought were probably fake?”

  “Of course,” she said.

  Ashley swallowed. “Well, not only do we know for certain that they were real, they barely even scratch the surface of what de Vygon has been doing below precinct 23.”

  Harriet frowned. “What do you mean? How?”

  “Jordyn showed her face to us for the first time a few days ago. She… She’s a clone. Of Rosalyn Garcia-Holmes. And she’s not the only one, either.”

  Harriet’s face twitched in surprise for a moment before she pulled herself back. “I’m sure you won’t blame me if I find that hard to believe.”

  Ashley had expected this, so he came prepared. He pulled out his phone and opened a picture of Jordyn he’d taken that night, before showing it to Harriet. “This is Jordyn. I took this picture two days ago.” He then pulled up a picture of Rosalyn that he’d saved. “This is Rosalyn. Take the time to compare if you need to.” He slid the phone over to her.

  Harriet analysed the pictures with wide eyes, gnawing on her bottom lip. She very slowly let out a breath. Ashley could practically feel her rising tension.

  She looked back up, sliding the phone over. “Okay, I’ll concede that they look pretty much the same, but cloning? That’s pretty far-fetched. How do we know Rosalyn didn’t fake her death or something?”

  “For starters, I had multiple heroes on the field with her when Rosalyn died, who all saw it happen,” Ashley replied, putting his phone away. “It would’ve been incredibly difficult to fake, with little to no discernable motive; considering that by all accounts, Rosalyn was happy with her life. Secondly, Jordyn confirmed that she’s not the only one, and Vivienne Matthews can corroborate that. They both met number five; one of the ones that was omitted from the research notes.”

  He chose not to mention the fact that Jordyn and Vivienne dug up Rosalyn’s grave. That wasn’t something everyone needed to know about.

  Harriet took her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You’re telling me that Andreas de Vygon has a fucking human cloning program set up under the precinct and no one’s noticed?”

  It did sound a little far-fetched. But it was the truth. “Yes. We believe that in that facility, he’s creating clones of Rosalyn and training them to be heroes using brutal and abusive techniques. Multiple members of the Union can testify that they’ve seen extensive evidence of the abuse Jordyn suffered under his care. Scars, bruises, the things she says. Permanent injury, even.”

  “But… why? I don’t understand why.”

  “We believe his ultimate goal is to free the Godling and have a wish granted. As for what wish, we don’t know, but obviously we can’t let him achieve that.”

  Harriet leaned back. “Oh god. Yes, that… that is bad. So, I assume Jordyn would have been the one to actually release the Godling and make the wish in his stead, right? Where is she now?”

  “We’ve got her in a safe place, where de Vygon won’t be able to reach her.”

  Harriet nodded. “Okay, good. Um, yes, I think this warrants a full investigation.” She searched around her desk for a moment, pulling out a notepad and writing things down. Apparently, the realisation of de Vygon’s motive had frazzled her a bit. Ashley didn’t blame her; it was a little terrifying. No one had ever done anything like this before. It was completely unprecedented. “I’ll let the DA know and we’ll move forward with taking statements. We’ll want testimony from Jordyn and anyone that can corroborate, and also this other clone if you can find her. Once that’s done, we’ll see if we can’t get a warrant to search the facility, and launch the investigation publically.”

  Ashley smiled and breathed out. That was a weight off his chest. “Thank you so much, Harriet.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. This’ll take time to set up, and I have zero doubts that de Vygon will be prepared for this. You need to keep Jordyn safe from him until the time comes when we can make our move.”

  “I’ve got it covered.”

  She nodded. “I need to get started with this. Was there anything else?”

  He shook his head. “No thanks. I’ll leave you to it.”

  Ashley stood up and left Harriet’s office, thrumming with satisfaction at his victory. As he was stepping out onto the street and making his way back to the bus stop, his phone started buzzing in his pocket. Steve was calling. That was probably a bad sign. Ashley had given him a job as the Union’s security officer, to keep him active and feeling useful, and he’d been informed of the whole situation. He definitely wasn’t ringing just for a chat.

  “Hello?”

  “Ashley, you need to get back right away. Andreas just arrived with a SWAT team and a warrant. They’re gonna bust down the doors if you don’t show up to let them in. I’m watching them through the surveillance system right now.”

  Ashley swore under his breath, flagging down a taxi instead. “I just left the DA’s office. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “You’d better hurry. I told them you were coming through the intercom, but I doubt his patience will last forever.”

  —

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “What the hell are you doing, Andreas?”

  Ashley walked down the last bit of sidewalk, shouldering his way through the crowd of heavily armoured SWAT officers until he reached the front door of the Union building, where Andreas de Vygon was waiting. He was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed when Ashley arrived, but straightened himself out at Ashley’s approach.

  “Mr. Min, I have a warrant here to search the property of the Union headquarters. You will let us in, or you’ll be arrested for obstruction of justice.”

  “What for?” Ashley asked.

  De Vygon’s eyes narrowed slightly. “My daughter has gone missing. I have reason to believe that she’s being held here.”

  Ashley resisted the urge to clench his fists. This bastard. “Well, she’s not here today, I can tell you that much. Besides, she lives here. How could we be holding her?”

  Andreas raised an eyebrow. “Well, we’ll need to look through the place regardless. Despite her skills, Jordyn is a very sensitive girl, as I’m sure you know. All I want is to know that she’s safe.”

  Ashley held fast against the tide of violent urges that statement brought forth. He very nearly strangled de Vygon on the spot..

  He grit his teeth. “Well, I can’t exactly stop you, now can I?”

  Ashley shoved past him and put his hand up to the scanner that unlocked the door. Usually he kept it unlocked, but in the wake of everything going on, he thought it prudent to be a bit more careful with it. Clearly, his instincts were correct.

  The scanner beeped and the bulletproof glass doors to the lobby slid open. Andreas made some gestures, and his assembled team of dickheads all charged in like they were on the shores of Normandy, and not just raiding what was ultimately the living space of a few college students, disabled people, and Ashley himself.

  Brianna, at the very least, was in class today, so that was one less person to worry about. Steve and his mother would no doubt be subject to whatever the hell constituted a search to these people, though. Hopefully, Steve would know to keep her safe.

  The SWAT team crashed through the building like an avalanche, and Ashley winced at the near-constant sound of things being knocked over and smashing. “Be careful! There’s a lot of expensive equipment in here!”

  Andreas stayed behind with him in the lobby. Ashley watched out of the corner of his eye as Andreas turned to face him.

  “Where is my daughter, Ashley?”

  His voice was so empty that Ashley couldn’t help but shiver. “I don’t know, Andreas. Like I said, she’s not spending the day here today. I don’t keep track of what my heroes do in their free time.” He resisted the urge to add on an ‘unlike some people’ at the end.

  “Are you sure that’s the answer you want to go with?”

  Oh, the nerve of this guy. “Are you threatening me?”

  Andreas huffed a laugh and stepped back slightly. “Of course not. Simply asking a question. In a similar vein, you wouldn’t happen to know where Madeline Holmes and Vivienne Matthews are, would you? Neither came to their door this morning, either.”

  Oh god, he was targeting them, too. It was a damn good thing they all went to that cabin together.

  “Have you checked the shopping centres yet? Maybe all three of them are having a girls’ day out.”

  A muffled electronic voice came from somewhere. De Vygon put a finger up to his ear for a moment before dropping it and turning to Ashley again. “What about Brianna Moore? I know she and Jordyn are close.”

  “She’s at her social work class. I walked her to the bus stop myself.”

  De Vygon’s lips pulled into a thin line. “Hm.”

  They faced off in stony silence for the rest of the SWAT team’s search. When they finally reported back that they found nothing, Andreas’ face twisted. He stepped up close to Ashley, to the point where he was forced to take a step back.

  “If I find out that you lied to me today, there will be consequences, Min. I hope for your sake that you’ve been telling the truth.”

  With that, he turned and left, his SWAT team following along after him like a pack of well-trained dogs. Fucking asshole.

  Ashley seriously doubted that would be the end of things, but for now, it seemed they were safe. He let out a breath. He needed to go check on the state of things.

  Sure enough, wandering through the Union, he found the place a wreck. The officers had destroyed potted plants, smashed picture frames, thrown over furniture, broken in a few doors, and tracked dirt all over the carpet. What could possibly be the point of all of this wanton destruction?

  Probably just de Vygon’s way of showing his power, now that Ashley thought about it. He worried about the implication that de Vygon would be targeting Maddie, Viv, and Brianna now, too. Mads and Viv were thankfully holed up far away with Jordyn, but Ashley would consider making Brea take her classes online from now on, just to be safe. Ashley was caught out in public, but he dreaded to think what Andreas might have done had he gotten his hands on one of them with no prying eyes about.

  He made a point of checking on the door to the Godling’s prison, but found no signs of tampering at a glance. Granted, he didn’t exactly get very close to it. Something about the old rusty thing gave him the creeps, and the less time he spent down this awful dark hallway, the better.

  After that, Ashley headed to the security room, where Steve and his mother would no-doubt be waiting. Thankfully, when he put in the code at the door and entered, they both seemed to be no worse for wear. Steve stood up at Ashley’s appearance, leaning on his crutches, but Ashley held up a hand and he sat back down.

  “Are you guys alright?”

  “We’re fine, Ashley,” his mother answered. “They didn’t touch us.”

  “Yeah, they mostly just backed off after I said they’d be liable for a lawsuit if they broke any of the equipment here,” Steve said.

  Ashley let out a relieved breath. “Good. With the way de Vygon was acting, I was a little worried he’d go all ‘enhanced interrogation’ on you or something.”

  “With what I saw down in that facility, I wouldn’t put it past him for a second,” Steve grumbled.

  “My cousin has some very grand aspirations,” Siobhan said. “I could sense them from all the way up here. If Jordyn is the key to unlocking them, he will stop at nothing to get her back.”

  “Thank god we have someone who can teleport…” Ashley mumbled.

  Speaking of which, it was probably about time to check in with Vivienne at the cabin. Thanks to the burner phones she’d purchased, they could communicate without any worry of the calls being traced. This whole situation had put him on edge; hearing that everyone was fine would be a sorely-needed balm for that, and he was sure she’d appreciate hearing what happened, too.

  He made his way up to his room – which was thankfully mostly unharmed – and called Vivienne. It took a few rings to go through, but eventually, she picked up.

  “Hey Ash, everything alright?”

  “Yeah, mostly. De Vygon just raided the Union with a SWAT team, but he didn’t get anything. Be on your guard if you’re ever back in the city, though. He’s looking out for you and Madeline.”

  “Shit, alright. Thanks for letting me know.”

  “How are things over there? You sound a little stressed.”

  There was a sigh over the phone. “It’s nothing, it’s just… Maddie left her edibles out and Jordyn didn’t know what they were so she ate like half the packet.”

  “Is she alright?”

  “She’s been lying on the floor motionless for the past half-hour, but we’re keeping her company. How’re you feeling, Jordyn?”

  Ashley vaguely heard Jordyn mumble something that sounded like “My body is schwibbly.” He resisted the urge to chuckle at her misfortune.

  “There you go.”

  “At least you’re all having fun.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. Uh, if there wasn’t anything else, I might hang up now. I’ve gotta get dinner started.”

  “No worries, Viv. Stay safe, okay?”

  “You too, man.”

  There was a click, and the line went dead. Ashley sighed.

  He missed when things were simple.

  —

  Vivienne was… tired.

  Maddie woke up early this morning, screaming Rosie’s name loud enough that it echoed through the whole cabin. Vivienne couldn’t get back to sleep after that. She made everyone breakfast and did the dishes with Jordyn, and then she busied herself with tidying the place up, before retreating to her room to decompress and nap for a while.

  That didn’t last long, though. Not after Jordyn’s little edible incident.

  She wasn’t that hard to look after, mostly just vegetating, but it was still stressful worrying about if she might set something on fire or break something with her shadows. It turned out fine, but the damage to Viv’s psyche was done, regardless.

  Now, it was evening. The fire was crackling in the fireplace, and all three of them were sitting on the couch, trying to relax after the news that confirmed Andreas was hunting for them. Jordyn was still coming down, curled up in Vivienne’s lap with her head against her chest. Apparently, she was a bit of a snugglebug when she was high.

  Those… feelings were still there, lingering at the back of Vivienne’s mind like an itch that refused to go away, and much more noticeable with Jordyn in her lap like this. If she closed her eyes and forgot about everything that happened between their kiss and now, she could imagine that this was a normal relationship, and they were just two regular girlfriends cuddling. But that wasn’t the truth, and Vivienne couldn’t delude herself for long. It was dangerous to think like that. A relationship wasn’t what Jordyn needed right now, and it probably wouldn’t be good for either of them. As much as she yearned for it – yearned for Jordyn – Vivienne needed to just put her feelings aside. Jordyn’s safety and health was more important than a silly little crush. Even if that crush might’ve been developing into something more intense.

  At least for now, she could enjoy holding Jordyn close. It didn’t need to mean anything. Having her in her arms would have to be enough.

  Madeline was on the other end of the couch, playing on her Switch. The sound effects emanating from the device kept making Jordyn twitch. She poked her head up, looking over.

  “What’re you doing?”

  “Playing a game,” Maddie answered, not looking away from the screen.

  “What game?”

  “Metroid. You play as a bounty hunter in space, and you’ve gotta explore places to find upgrades so you can reach new places to complete your mission.”

  Her curiosity apparently piqued, Jordyn wiggled out of Vivienne’s arms and crawled across the couch, resting her head on Maddie’s shoulder and looking at the screen. Maddie paused, looking at her for a moment, before continuing on with a slight smile on her face.

  It was like someone ripped a hole through Vivienne’s body. Something hot and ugly bubbled up in her chest, and she resisted the urge to drag Jordyn back to her. She felt cold without Jordyn’s warmth weighing her down. Fuck. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard.

  “I’m going to bed,” she said, getting up and walking to her room. Both of them called out a ‘goodnight,’ but Vivienne had no more energy to respond with. She crawled under the covers and curled up, letting that artificial warmth surround her instead. It was lonely now, but at least here, no one would see her cry.

  The pillow muffled the sound of her quiet sobbing, until eventually she ran out of energy even for that, and finally fell into a dark, empty sleep.