9. Zion

CHAPTER 9

ZION

Gay for Lizard Dick added Alien Rambo to the chat

The Mouthy One: [Popcorn emoji]

The Mafia Queen: I see you chose violence this morning, Baby Hulk.

This family is fucking wild.

I knew from personal experience that one rarely chose to join the infamous Rabble Chat, and once you were in, there was no escape.

It's like Hotel California up in here.

I'd also enjoyed the hell out of myself since being forcibly added, even if I mostly sat back and watched the 24/7 roasting show. It reminded me of how my siblings and I used to be with each other.

Before the Mikki drama went down.

I still had plenty of days when my anger over how everyone in my family handled the situation would boil over, days when I questioned how I could give any of my siblings a second chance—including the younger ones like Micah, who didn't know any better at the time.

Yes, your clan leader's word was law, so my parents disapproving of me having a kid with a normie was bound to have a domino effect. However, it was also common practice for supe families to claim any offspring of its members, regardless of who the other parent was or whether said offspring was conceived out of wedlock.

It wasn't a shock my classist parents looked down on Daisy's heritage. Normies were long considered beneath us supes, but I'd still hoped they would accept her, if only because she was mine.

Blood is blood.

And that should've been good enough.

I was their first born—their heir— the golden child they'd painstakingly taught to lead our clan since birth.

My loyalty wasn't enough to earn theirs.

Mikki and I tried to create a home of our own for a few years—and maybe we could have made it work if circumstances had been different.

Mainly, if I hadn't been in love with Baltasar Suarez.

After Mikki died, Daisy and I were miraculously allowed to live under my parents' roof again, but I quickly discovered my partner's death and my daughter being rejected by my family wasn't the worst pain I'd ever have to experience.

Because then Baltasar got engaged to my sister .

I wished I could've walked away completely at that point—just moved Daisy into our safe house near Lycra and Lace and asked the ladies to watch her for me during the Deathball season—but I couldn't do it. The truth was, I didn't want to walk away from my siblings, even if I could barely look any of them in the eye across the dinner table.

The same table Daisy wasn't allowed to sit at.

I'd tried to talk to my mother about it when we first arrived—tried to demand she show my daughter the respect she deserved. All I got was a frosty reminder that I wasn't the clan leader yet, and I should be grateful for the second chance I'd been given.

In other words, fall in line or lose your place.

So, I swallowed my pride, because I realized it was better for my daughter to receive a whisper of her birthright than nothing at all.

Looking back—and knowing what I did now—I couldn't help but wonder if our banishment and reluctant reunion had less to do with my daughter's normie genes and more to do with my genetically modified ones.

By diluting my bloodline, I'd thrown a wrench into my parents' little experiment. But then they pivoted—welcoming us back into the fold so they could keep an eye on both their original creation and the one they hadn't expected.

The potential monster they had given up their rights to claim.

"Where you headed, Daddy?" The little queen herself suddenly appeared before us—as impressively unassuming as always.

A practiced spy .

As usual, Wolfy went perfectly still in Daisy's presence, clasping his gloved hands behind his back and focusing all his unnerving attention on her.

Having the Suarez clan leader even look at my daughter freaked me the fuck out the first time it happened, but I'd quickly realized what was really going on.

He wasn't observing her like a predator watched its prey, or even like how one alpha sized up another. Wolfgang Suarez kept an eye on Daisy so the instant she needed something, he could take care of it in the most extra way possible.

It's fucking adorable.

Not that I would ever tell him that.

Discovering The Hand of Death had a soft spot for my kid filled me with an unhinged level of joy while also feeling like a punch in the gut. He treated Daisy like she mattered, regardless of her half-normie genes or that she wasn't his blood.

Wolfy treated her like… family.

I see you, you big, skerry, soft boi.

"We need to go trick Gran into blowing a tropical cyclone off course," I replied, noticing how Wolfy snapped his attention to me. "What are you up to, little queen?"

"Snorkeling!" she chirped, excitedly gesturing at her lizard-print bathing suit with her favorite Wonder Woman beach towel. "I heard that's what the grown-ups are doing today."

"And you decided that plan included you?" Wolfy asked, arching an eyebrow on his otherwise impassive face.

Oh, this is gonna be good.

Daisy somehow looked down at the infamous supervillain, who was almost as tall as me .

But not quite.

"Yes," she sniffed. "Simon invited me, and it sounds way more fun than hanging with a bunch of little kids all day."

Not everyone can be 10 going on thirty.

"Indeed." Wolfy dipped his head to show his deference—and hide his smile. "Well, it sounds like the queen has spoken."

Both queens, apparently.

"Yup." Daisy popped the p as she swept past to continue sassily flip-flopping down the boardwalk. "See ya at the docks, and don't forget your bathing suits!"

The idea of Wolfgang in anything other than a full suit was more than I could handle pre-coffee, so I didn't address it.

One challenge at a time.

"You told her our plan…" Wolfy murmured, giving me an assessing look.

"I sure did," I chuckled as we started walking again. "Daisy is a vault, but even if she spilled, who's gonna believe her? She's just a kid."

A kid I've trained to be my eyes and ears among supes four times her age.

My fellow clan leader hummed thoughtfully. "You don't treat her like a kid."

"Neither do you," I shot back, loving the huff he released at my observation. "You treat her with the respect she deserves."

Thank you.

Wolfy glanced over his shoulder before his brow furrowed. When I followed his gaze, I found Daisy had already disappeared.

God-tier stealth skills.

"So how do you plan to ‘trick' Lady Tempest into helping us?" he asked, no doubt salty that we weren't just going to threaten my mother into complying.

"I have my ways…" I teased, even though a not-so-small part of me wished I could just go full Godzilla on the very supes who'd made me this way.

It still occasionally bothered me that my superpowers were limited to turning into a giant lizard—although less so now that I knew the truth of why. Even so, I couldn't help wondering what I might have been had my parents not fucked with my DNA.

And if B and I could have power-shared the way other inventus pairs can…

There was nothing to be done about it now, and I didn't need power-sharing proof to know Baltasar was mine.

Although, fuck, if he wouldn't look hot in scales…

Wolfy didn't demand more intel, and it pleased me to no end that the notoriously controlling clan leader seemed to actually be compromising on our co-mission.

Soon enough, we arrived at the grand lodge that housed the dining hall, bar, and a long row of guest rooms upstairs for non-wedding party attendees.

Suckahs!

Sticking my parents in one of these rooms instead of the over-water bungalow my mother surely would have expected had she still been in a position of power brought me a ridiculous amount of petty satisfaction.

In lieu of true revenge, I'll take what I can get.

I knew letting my parents live after treating me like a "lab rat" in their personal play for power was a questionable decision to some, but the idea of making a decision of that magnitude on behalf of my seven siblings didn't sit right with me.

Like I said, I'm no Wolfgang.

So instead of threatening the death they rightly deserved—even if I couldn't bring myself to deliver it—I politely knocked.

"Yes?" Lady Tempest's haughty voice was like nails on a chalkboard. She flung open the door to reveal a sour face to match the tone. "Can I help you, Zion?"

Lawd, give me strength.

Wolfy chose that moment to glide into view like a vintage vampire, which shut down the queen routine real quick.

Knowing the good cop, bad cop vibes could work to our advantage, I blasted my mother with my most charming smile. "Just stopping by to see how you're settling in after your flight and to invite you to join us for snorkeling today." My smile only widened as she glared so hard, a thin layer of ice skittered over my skin.

"The flight would have been better had the entire family not been packed in with us," she sniffed.

Did she just complain about the private jet?

What a hardship.

"It wasn't the entire family," Wolfy smoothly cut in, making my mother deliciously flinch. "Both Zion and Micah were with us, since they are both attached to members of my family now. "

This man does not play.

"Excuse me?" Lady Tempest scoffed, attempting to look affronted instead of confused. "Micah's here? Why did no one tell me he'd reappeared from… wherever he went? And just who would attach themselves to him?"

That's it.

I was about to forget my manners when Wolfy held up his gloved hand and spoke with enough ice to rival hers. "Micah no longer answers to you, as Zion is now the head of your clan. And if you must know, Micah is with Ziggy Andromeda."

There was no hiding her confusion now. "The Deathball player? How is he part of your clan?"

"Simon," was all Wolfy said, making Mother Dearest flinch again.

This is better than The Rabble chat!

Well…" Lady Tempest sniffed, already losing interest in her forgotten son. "At least Andromeda is a hero."

Oh, you think so?

I wasn't about to blow up the Stellarian's spot, especially as having a posse of Alien Rambos in our collective pocket was the ultimate secret weapon.

"And no," she continued absently, clearly also losing interest in us. "Of course I wouldn't be interested in snorkeling, Zion. How could you possibly think I would lower myself to that sort of group activity?—"

"Bonded," Wolfy interrupted her once again, harsher this time. "I should mention your son and Ziggy are yet another inventus pair . This means they can power-share, and with those powers being what they are…" He dramatically pa used, knowing full well my mother didn't give Meek's powers the respect they deserved. "It might be time to put them to use—separating the wheat from the chaff."

Okay, I can work with this.

Regardless of Wolfy's apparent inability to hold a conversation that didn't involve threats of bodily harm, he'd given me the perfect opening.

"Oh! On that note, the staff told us about a tropical cyclone that might swing this way. Do you know how we could get a hold of Dahlia, Ma? Her powers would be suuuper useful right about now to?—"

"Oh, I'll just handle it," Lady Tempest huffed, as if she wasn't offering just to save her own skin. "Diverting a storm is child's play to someone like me. We should discuss a trade, of course…"

It's showtime.

"The trade is good press," I smoothly replied, practically bursting with petty pride at the trap I'd set. "Since reporters from Supe Newz Zone will be flying in on the day of the wedding, we'll be sure to mention that the gorgeous weather is thanks to the impressive Lady Tempest."

Gotcha.

I knew from experience that this was the ultimate prize for someone as self-centered as her. With Wolfy at my back, we'd convinced my parents to step down as clan leaders—not with the threat of death, but by mentioning the potential scandal to their names if they put up a fight.

SNZ would've had a field day with the news that a prestigious hero family had been dosing their own son for personal gain. Never mind that my parents didn't recognize the kindness they'd been given .

I'm sure they only saw it as a weakness.

Since image was everything to Lady Tempest, I knew this ‘trade' would get me exactly what I wanted while costing me nothing but my pride.

It's mostly a win-win.

"Done," she snipped, holding out her hand so we could shake on it.

"No handshake for me, Tempest?" Wolfy purred. "A rain check then, depending on the weather."

It was all I could do not to outright laugh over the horrified look on my mother's face before she slammed the door in ours, but I managed to hold it together until after we'd made it to the boardwalk.

"Damn, Wolfy!" I howled, finally letting loose as we walked back toward the huts. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you enjoy being seen as the goddamn grim reaper."

He shrugged nonchalantly, but I saw that elusive smile twitch his lips. "I get my kicks where I can, Zion. You see what I have to deal with on a daily basis."

As if on cue, my phone vibrated rapid-fire in my pocket, no doubt with more ball-busting in The Rabble group chat.

This family is fucking wild.