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Chapter -16- Trust Trial

Thursday, September 30, 2049 - Evening San Francisco, California ...

Conner Parker narrowed his eyes at Steven Milford. "What are you doing at my house?" Conner leaned against the doorframe of the front entrance, two large oak doors with gorgeous woodwork carvings in them. "Yeah, I know who you are. Karla says I can't trust you as far as I can throw you. Jesus, how did you even get here? This city is locked down from the quarantine."

"I..."

"Jesus, you didn't bring that Septicemia crap, did you?"

"I am immune to the San Francisco Septicemic Plague, young Mr. Parker; I am not a carrier," he said. "Aris Falcon murdered someone very dear to me. I'm not here to attack you. Why would you think I...?"

"Shut up. So what, he stabbed you in the back; that's what bad guys do to each other. They stab each other in the back. Doesn't make you any less of a dick for going along with this shit to begin with."

"If you'll allow me to earn your trust," said Steven with a frown, "I could be very useful."

"Your agenda won't change. You just want to get back at Falcon. Once he's out of the way, you'll want to do whatever it was that you originally wanted to do. Leave."

Steven took a step back and said, "Your sister is going to die when she returns to New Atlantis as part of the attack. Perhaps sooner. There is a capsule in her head, at the base of her skull, which acts as a kill switch. Falcon perpetually has his finger on the button for everyone he wants to kill. I know how to remove it but I will need the help of a skilled surgeon."

Conner narrowed his gaze, as if studying the man's expression. He pursed his lips together in a thin line of threat, but didn't speak.

The man on the doorstep frowned. "Cybil J. Powalski. He's currently in New York with a young man named Rama Darken. I believe you know his father, Rufus. Even if you do not trust me, I assure you that your friends will trust Cybil. The Kincade family respects Dr. Powalski, and can vouch for him. Do you still want me to leave?"

Conner continued to stare at the man for a moment. He took a deep breath and held his left hand up. "Wait here." Conner shut the door, locked one of the deadbolts for effect, and walked back into the house.

Parker went up the stairs and saw his sister talking to Tamamo-no-Mae and Sinopa. "You three."

Sinopa blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Ladies, then. Whatever. Look we have that guy Karla said not to trust - he's on the front door stoop. And the three of you need to come downstairs right now and listen to what he has to say. You, too, Carmen. It's important."

"What's going on?" asked Conner's sister, concern in her voice.

He took a deep breath and ran both of his hands up over his head. "Okay, so, if we can validate what he's saying, then we have no choice but to trust him. But I'm not making decisions for this whole family. I don't want the blame on me. You three need to come downstairs right now."

Carmen frowned and turned to both kitsune. "He doesn't overreact like this unless he believes the world is on fire."

Sinopa nodded and headed for the stairs with her family in tow. "I will hear him out. We will discuss his information at length when Natalia returns." Sinopa's feet hovered just above the steps.

Tamamo asked, "You would wait for the others when making decisions involving your loved ones?"

Sinopa nodded, reaching the last step first. Her feet descended upon the floor at the bottom of the staircase. "We will make large decisions together from here on out to ensure the best chance of survival for everyone involved."

She crossed the foyer and opened the front door. Sinopa eyed the man, and then quietly acknowledged him. "Dr. Milford."

"Sinopa-san." He bowed in respect. "I have no official title or modern education to warrant any such titles."

"Mm..."

He offered a smile. "Just ... 'Steven' will do."

"You have information you wish to discuss with my family? Come inside, if you please, and behave yourself - we are hosting a small army and you are alone."

"Yes, the hunters. I saw. Clever. It may not be enough but it is quite impressive." Steven stepped inside and pulled the door shut. "Carmen Nevada is at risk. As is Fox and Topaz Parker. It is how Aris keeps himself protected. Reno Nevada had one as well, but I understand that Dr. Falcon killed him about a month ago. If it was successful, you have my sympathies."

Sinopa arched her brows. "Is that so?"

Conner asked, "Wait, did you just...?" He drew quiet, seeing a subtle gesture from Sinopa - a covert swish of her hand behind her back.

Sinopa folded her arms, keeping her gaze locked with Steven. "Am I also to understand you consider yourself responsible for Karla somehow?"

"I do. Her father is my creation. Karla is part of my experiment to see if I could successfully mate a genetically engineered incubus with another supernatural. So I feel they are both my creation. I had a chance to study Karla's children. I was fascinated to learn they are both natural born. I was equally fascinated to learn one had an active ability, albeit one never documented before; the other had no active abilities."

"What was your experiment?" asked Sinopa.

Steven glanced at Carmen, Conner, and then the Asian woman acting as a host-body for Tamamo. His eyes returned to Sinopa's soft amber gaze. "Madame Kitsune, I am a _very_racist man. Not against skin pigment, or against Asians, or against Anglo Saxon descent white people, or against Africans. They are all the same race, after all, despite what they believe about one another."

"Go on," Tamamo cut in.

Steven nodded. "When I was young, the racism of my kind ... it was very strong. Our racism killed off those you now call 'Neanderthal.' They were starting to crossbreed with H.S.S., and I found it disgusting."

"Homo Sapiens-Sapiens," Carmen concluded aloud.

"Yes, exactly, young lady. And once a racist, always a racist, I suppose. I had a strong dislike for mythological supernaturals at the time - vampires, werewolves, succubae and incubi, just to name a few."

"Get on with it," Conner muttered. "Before dotage sets in, and my clothes go out of style."

Steven frowned. "Very well ... long story short, then. I wanted to see if I could 'cure' a mythological supernatural. I felt if I could engineer their body and create certain genetic traits and features, I could make it so that their descendants would genetically become more like their ancestors - my people. They would revert to the First Age People."

No one spoke.

Steven folded his hands. "They would be born pure. It seems I was successful with Karla, where I initially thought I'd failed. She had ... not one ... but two natural born children."

Carmen crossed her arms over her chest. "And Falcon can kill me by remote?"

"Not if we cut it out. We have to find a man named Cybil. He's in New York. He's a surgeon familiar with supernaturals. He's also an oracle. He has very steady hands. He is my first choice to operate, especially in regards to removing technology so close to the brain. I'm sorry we couldn't save Reno Nevada, but perhaps that will shed light on why he died."

Sinopa looked at her grandchildren and Tamamo. She looked back at Steven. "He's alive."

"So..." Steven smiled a bit. "The rumors are true..."

Sinopa tilted her head, brows arched. "I take it you've talked to Vincent at least once while you were down there, then?"

"Falcon does not tell me very much, Madame Kitsune. However, Vincent did not appear to be in mourning. I thought it was possible for Reno to be alive, but please understand that Falcon assured me he activated the 'capsule' For Reno. They have two functions - their primary purpose is to keep Reno in a medically induced coma. When the patient wakes, it pings a signal one time. When that message makes it to the computer, Falcon knows the patient has awakened. He received the message the day after Reno woke."

Conner narrowed his eyes. "And Falcon pressed the kill switch right away, huh?"

Steven nodded. "It should have killed Reno almost instantly."

Carmen frowned. "Would it fail to kill me, too?"

Steven shook his head. "No. Reno can heal, and his electric ability could have shorted out the capsule. Most likely, his capsule dissolved the first time he empowered himself with a bolt of lightning. Yours will need to be removed."

"I've..." Carmen trailed off.

Sinopa nodded to Carmen, signaling it was okay for her to say whatever was on her mind.

Carmen licked her lips. "I've had headaches since I woke from stasis. Right in the base of my head, at the top of my neck."

"Yes, I imagine the capsule be the cause of your headaches." Steven folded his hands again, trying to appear humble. "Would it be too much to request sanctuary?"

Karla appeared in the middle of the foyer. She folded her arms, glaring at Steven. "I heard everything and I say we let the fucker rot."

Steven opened his mouth but words failed im.

Karla held her hand up. "But! ...We can't just throw him back to Falcon with everything he knows. Plus we have to see how things play out to save Carmen's life. So, as much as I hate this fucker for his role behind everyone dying in 2023..." Karla put her hands on her hips, eying Steven to make him feel uncomfortable. She lifted her chin a bit, looking down her nose at him. "...I vote he stays."

"Karla..." Steven began to walk in a circle around her. "Look at you. Magnificent. You've not aged in four hundred fifty years. Perfect."

"God, shut up." Karla smirked. She added, "I already know I'm perfect. I'll show you to your room if the others have no objections." She glanced up at the two kitsune and the two siblings. "Gang?"

Carmen nodded. "I kind of like my head attached to my neck. He stays."

"I kind of like my sister. He stays."

Tamamo grinned at her beloved and nodded approvingly to her fellow kitsune.

Sinopa nodded firmly. "It's settled. We can keep an eye on him. However, he is to be restricted from outside communication."

Karla narrowed her gaze. "He's an inventor. I wouldn't put it past him to weave straw into fiber optic lines; he'd get a call out if he wanted to."

A crease of semi-amusement found its way on Steven's forehead. "Weave straw into fiber optic? Have we crossed over from mythological to fable, now? I assure you I want no one to know I am here."

The succubus reached for Steven's sleeve and gave a firm tug on it. "C'mon, Rumpelstiltskin, get your ass upstairs. We have one last guest room available. Lucky you. Don't talk to anyone. Don't smile or nod at anyone. Don't ask questions. You've got a lot of trust-earning to do first." She teleported them both upstairs.

Conner turned back to his girlfriend and his family. "Now we have two people I don't trust staying in my house. I'm not a big fan of..."

Sinopa put her hand gently on Conner's cheek. "I trust Karla. And, Conner, with all due respect, this is my home. I made my family here. I say they can stay. But we must keep an eye on Steven Milford."

"Right," Conner said, looking up at the second story entresol. He heard the door leading to the adjoining hallway open, then close. He sighed in realization that Karla probably overheard him. "Keep your friends close and enemies closer. I get it."

Tamamo placed her hand on Conner's hip. "Good. You know your Sun Tzu."

"Some of it," Conner murmured. "When do we attack the Celestial Realm? I'm going to be on pins and needles until that crap is over."

"As soon as Natalia returns with the mirror," said Sinopa. "She should have been back by now. I'm starting to worry."

No one spoke.

X

X

Karla pulled out her cellphone. She opened the picture application and scrolled up to an old photo she saved. It was a screen shot of text messages she once had between herself and her then-teenaged daughter, Elvena.

The text was a bit grainy due to the difference in stretched screen resolution. The image was older than her phone, imported over from a previous device.

She read it aloud to Steven. "'You think Surge Escobar is a hottie?' to which Elvena says, 'Mom stop. ...you think Surge Escobar is hot?' I replied, 'Elvena stop. I'm more concerned with his soccer skills, of course.' She comes back with all caps, 'OH AS IF!'"

Milford remained quiet.

Karla sighed. "Steven, I used to have a relationship with my daughter. It wasn't until later that she grew to hate me because she now looks older than me, and says I act like a kid."

"I've had the chance to study her extensively, Karla. Her metabolic rate is in the middle of changing. She'll stop aging, like her father, but it will happen at some point in the next few years."

"When? How old will she be?"

"It will happen soon, Karla. Certainly before she reaches thirty."

Karla tilted her head. "And my son?"

"It's too soon to tell. He's a child."

The succubus flopped onto the bed and sighed. "I love my daughter. She's my miracle baby. But now she's a grown woman. She went to that stupid dome because Gregory-fucking-Watson told her to infiltrate the place. That means Watson knows where it's at, and we'll need him."

"Greg Watson would be a wise choice of ally. He takes his job seriously and has connections."

Karla continued overtop, "But those bastards also have my son. He's so young. They just ... took him. That's where I drew the line. That's when I decided it's time to go back to war with Falcon. I'm done playing around. So help me, Christ Almighty, I'm going to go down there and get my son back. And then I'm going to level that place so they never bother me again."

"Karla..."

"I walked away once. I made a deal with the devil. I was emotional and I thought the devil would never come and collect. But sure as shit, that son of a bitch came and took a piece of my soul - my little boy. Well, you know what?"

He didn't reply.

Karla straightened her back. She made direct eye contact with him.

Steven remained quiet.

She clenched her right hand into a fist. "I'm Odysseus. I'm going to Hades and I'm getting back what was taken from me. Neither Hell nor high water will stop me, you understand? And if you aren't here to help, then you're here to get in my way. I'm telling you right now, if you get in my way, I will end your fucking life. Clear?"

Steven licked his lips and crossed his arms over his chest in silence. He nodded in response.

"Good. Now, this is your bedroom. Stay put, Benedict. I'm headed to Kincade Manor to find out what's taking them so long."

"Did you just compare me to Benedict Arnold?"

"Let's see, you're wearing red." She stood up from the bed and reached for his tie, giving it a tug. "And you betrayed Lance Patterson. You played for the wrong team because of your crap beliefs."

"Methos betrayed me, Karla. He was Brutus. He stabbed me in the back. He mingled with mutts, knowing a polluted line would..."

"Don't you dare_call yourself Caesar! And maybe your best friend _was Brutus, but at least Brutus acted in the name of honor. He put the betterment of Rome before his own friendship. Methos believed in evolution of the species. He believed in natural selection. He believed in us mutts having equality. And he stayed your friend, and let you live. You know why I've not killed you yet?"

"Continue."

She began pacing. "Because he loved you, asshole. So, out of respect for Methos, I'm letting you live, dickhead."

Steven sat down on the bed where Karla sat moments ago. He slid his shoes off and used his foot to guide his leather loafers beneath the mattress. "Karla, the reason I'm here is out of respect for Methos. I lost the most important thing in my life when he died. I'm here to honor his memory. I'm here to make things right by him."

"Oh, so you're living a tale of redemption now, huh? Yeah, well, we'll see. That's a rare thing for a backslider like you. You're old; you're set in your ways. I doubt you'll get your hands dirty, down here in the mud with us 'mutts'."

"Karla, you're a successfully created, biologically birthed First Age human. Your abilities were given to you using First Age technology. You're my first attempt at giving a First Age human, like myself, abilities that do not go away. Your abilities are now permanent, and they will evolve."

"What're you talking about?"

"When I was young, my people created a way to give each other abilities using technology. But it didn't last very long - a few months at most. And then we learned that the power of the human mind, and perhaps by proxy the human soul, had the natural ability to create gods ... so-called protectors of humanity. But humans are dramatic, and their penchant for drama bled into their creations, making these deities dangerous."

"Continue," she said, repeating what he said earlier.

Steven folded his hands, shifting his weight on the mattress. "Karla, we tried inventing ways to fight them. We had to, in order to keep them from getting out of control. But the best way for us to do that was to create a sub-race of humans, born with abilities, who would fight for us. We created a genetically enhanced army."

"Let me guess, they fought against the gods, put them in the Celestial Realm, then they rebelled against you elitist assholes."

"No, quite the opposite."

"What, you tried to kill your creations?" Karla furrowed her brows. "But you'd need them in case the gods ever rose up again."

"I misspoke," Steven told her. "I meant that the First Age people died out, and the esoteric people flourished. We thought they were sub-humans because they were susceptible to sickness from viruses and bacteria. Many of them aged, just like Nathanial Carrington and Michael Richter."

"Evan would make some sort of comment about how the student became the teacher."

Steven continued. "Initially, they all aged. But some cohabitated with the First Age humans. So, some were born immortal, some had no ability, some became immortals with abilities, and some became helpless mortals."

Karla eyed him. "Please don't tell me that's where the rest of humanity came from."

Steven shook his head. "No, they already existed alongside the First Age humans. We were a close-knit community. They were spread out, nomadic, and still learning agriculture."

"So it's true - religion came before agriculture?"

"Yes, it's true. Religion was born out of desperation - humans begging for it to rain, or begging for a good hunt. Lucky items became religious relics. And then humans learned to farm." Steven looked up at her from where he sat on the bed. "Karla, the First Age community fragmented because of my kind cohabiting with our creations. To me, it was akin to having sex with your servants."

"They were people with thoughts and feelings, and intelligent minds, Steven. That's why I don't get about racism. You assign class and worthiness to another sentient person, and guess what? They might not live up to your preconceived notions. Now you're discounting a possibly valuable member of society." Karla pushed some of her hair back behind her shoulders. "Okay, so you were talking about how sex splintered the offspring into four groups. Mortals, immortals, people with powers, and people with everything. I didn't mean to interrupt you - go ahead."

Steven nodded gestured adjacent to himself, motioning for her to sit down. "No need to pace. So, where I left off - Esoteric Humans can still become sick, only true First Age humans have a tolerance against viruses and foreign bacteria. Most First Age humans thought our creations were lesser people. But they proved resilient in other ways: they flourished and we died off."

"So the child outlived the expectations of the parent." Karla sat down on the bed next to him. "My son is amazing. His ability is unlike anything on record."

"Yes. As I recall, he can access information shared wirelessly. So long as he can sense a way to the world wide web."

Karla nodded emphatically. "Who needs a big hippocampus when a person can access the internet like it's another lobe of the brain?"

"He fascinates me, Karla. You and your children are the new lineage of First Age humans. Your father was created, and we carefully controlled things in his life until he mated with a willing hybrid, a First-Age human with abilities - your mother."

"Why?"

Steven tilted his head a bit. "I thought my experiment failed because you went so long without children. I had big plans for you..."

"I mean, why did you choose an incubus if you hated us mythological types? Incidentally, how did the mythological race come about?"

"Mythological beings are mutated variants of people stripped of their immortality who tried to repair what was taken from them - immortality."

"Okay, so why choose an incubus, Steven?"

He held his hands outwards, using gestures to accentuate his speech. "You have some of the genetic makeup of a so-called 'sex demon' so that you would be driven to have sex. It was my hope that you would become the mother of a renewed First Age race. But with all the sex you had, you weren't getting pregnant. I didn't want just anyone to be compatible with you, but after several centuries, childless, I ... I thought I failed."

"Isaac," she said, using his old name, "You should know that it's rare for an incubus to have children because they have low sperm counts. And a succubus has a choosey cervix. Okay, maybe 'choosey cervix' isn't exactly the scientific terminology, but ... it's hard for our race to have children."

"I was very thorough with my genetic manipulation, Karla. I planned it from the beginning - I wanted Azazel to have a daughter. I wanted you to be the mother of the new race. But I made it so your cervix was activated by certain hormones, and, medically speaking, the..."

"Stop," she said.

Steven blinked.

"No 'medically speaking,' babe. Don't do that. Try speaking figuratively, instead of going into the technical jargon. I'm smart, but I want to make sure we're both on the same page, here."

Steven sighed and gave her knee a gentle pat. "Karla, I wanted it so that you could only get pregnant if you were in love."

"...What?" She tilted her head. "How are you going to populate the world with the New First Age people like that? I'm a hopeless romantic, babe, but ... love? The world doesn't work like that."

"I didn't want you to experience the stress of having children without knowing the father, or without him there to help. So if you started to have feelings for a 'regular,' that would make it easier for your body to become pregnant. Surely you've had feelings for someone every now and then. You're a woman. You're more in touch with your emotions than men."

Karla looked away, glaring at the ground. "I wasn't in love with Eric when I first became pregnant."

"Well you must have felt something, Karla."

She recalled the particular display of passion that Eric made her feel. Karla nodded quietly. She cleared her throat, pushed Steven's hand off of her knee and stood up. "I've got to go check on the Kincade family. Don't cause any trouble, Isaac. You've got nowhere else to go."

"I've gone into hiding for decades at a time, Karla. I could go anywhere I want. However, I've _chosen_to come here. That's what you need to understand. I realized I was wrong, and now I'm here to do right by Methos. It's as simple as that."

Karla feigned a smile. She turned to face him for a moment and saw some measure of conviction in his eyes. Neither spoke.

Karla nodded, and then, without a word, she vanished from the room.

X

X

Fifteen minutes later...

Karla Loupe appeared in the foyer of the living room adjacent to her purse clutch. She bent at the knees, picked up her wallet and put it into her handbag with Kuda.

The little fox lifted his head from the bag and sniffed at the air, ears perked.

Karla looked around at the mess. Small sculptures and books were strewn about near the far wall. Muddy footprints covered the tiled floor.

She drew in a deep breath and narrated aloud. "And then the beautiful blond succubus-hero appeared in the foyer, at the heart of danger, knowing something foul was afoot. No, wait ... that sounds like something Evan would have said."

No reply.

Karla shouted, "Hey! Evan! Are you here?" Her voice reverberated off the tile floor of the large, open foyer. "Is something foul afoot?!"

Silence.

"Shit."

She rolled up the sleeves of her blouse, making nice, neat, matching cuffs just above her elbows. "Time to clock in to a battle zone, Kuda. If you smell or hear anything that might be trouble, you bark. Okay?"

Kuda looked up at her with beautiful amber eyes. His gaze lowered, peering over the edge of her purse. His ears perked up and he began sniffing at the air.

"Alright then. Let's find whoever caused this mess, and get this damn mirror back."

---

Next Chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/799865