Lucien lay on one of the pool-chairs later that night, staring up at the star-filled sky in silence. One of the many positive impacts of a world of magic and metahumans was the restoration of the planet’s ecosphere, all but eliminating the issue of global warming and restoring Earth’s environment to its ideal conditions. The revelation Vanessa had given him weighed on his mind like an anchor, pulling him further and further down a rabbit hole of self-doubt and mild panic.

Olympus was his father. The Olympus. The Seventh Trumpet. The reality of that connection seemed unreal to Lucien, something that he couldn’t fully quantify or comprehend in a way that made it seem, well, real. Being told your father was a superhero or some kind of famous person, that was one thing. Even a villain would have been easier to accept in a lot of ways, because in his everyday life heroes and villains were just as normal as accountants or lawyers.

Olympus, however, was something else entirely. The Trumpets had been the closest thing to living gods humanity had ever encountered, and Olympus had stood at the apex of the Seven. The Primus.

“I thought you’d be in your room.”

Lucien suppressed a startled jerk at the sound of Leonidas’ voice, sitting up as his godfather approached. “Hi, Uncle Leo.” He said quietly, fingers coming together to crack his knuckles in an old, nervous habit.

“Sorry for disturbing you, kiddo. Did you want to be alone?”

Lucien’s immediate thought was to say yes, but a moment of hesitation made him rethink it. “No, it’s okay. I was just processing.”

“Yeah, I figured. Kind of a bombshell revelation, huh?”

“Yeah… That’s putting it mildly.” He murmured, glancing at the older man and then looking off at the water. “Just kinda hard to wrap my head around it, I guess. I mean… Him. You know.”

“I get it.” Leonidas said lightly, settling himself down on a pool chair opposite Lucien. “You’re feeling like your father’s identity sets up an expectation for you. A path to follow. That’s normal, Luc. Everyone feels that way at some stage.”

“Yeah, but everyone else doesn't have Olympus as their father.” Lucien replied, the bitterness he felt slipping more fully into his voice than he intended.

“Well, no, I suppose that’s true.” Leonidas said with a nod, folding his arms and looking off at the horizon. “But does it really matter?”

Lucien blinked and turned back to his godfather, searching his face incredulously. “Of course it does! I mean… It has to, right? He wasn’t just a superhero, he was the superhero. Olympus was basically a god.”

“He was.” Leonidas agreed as he turned back to face Lucien. “But so what?”

The question jarred Lucien, and his mouth opened in surprise as he tried to formulate a response, though nothing came immediately to mind.

“I’m not saying your worries are invalid, son.” Leonidas said soothingly, smiling in a way that made Lucien relax slightly. “But your worries are just that. Worries. They have no legitimate bearing on your actual future. Okay, so your father was Olympus. So? Does that mean you have to be Olympus Reborn? Of course not!”

“But when people find out…”

“If people find out.” Leonidas corrected.

“You know what I mean, though, Uncle Leo. If they find out…”

“Then they find out.” He kept smiling and leaned forwards, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “Lucien, you know where I grew up, right?”

“Yeah, Los Angeles, before…”

“It’s okay kiddo.” Leonidas said calmly. “Before Calamity detonated it and killed millions of people, including my family. You don’t need to be scared of mentioning it. The Sundering is part of our history.”

Lucien nodded as Leonidas continued.

“I was an orphaned kid with no prospects, Lucien. A black kid, from a poor neighbourhood, surrounded by people who didn’t have time for me and had less than an interest in whether or not I was okay. My path was already set for me, as far as they were concerned. Petty crime, maybe some hustling, and then life behind bars. Just another nigga off the streets.”

Lucien’s eyes widened at Leonidas’ words. “That can’t be true, that sounds—”

“Awful. Racist. Cruel.” His godfather said calmly. “All true, kiddo. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s precisely what everyone thought. Things were different for my generation. Kids like you and Ty in a place like New Avalon? In a world with superheroes? You boys don’t need to worry about that. Eckhart Grant was far from perfect, but his views on equality for race, orientation, and gender? Those moral stances are unassailable.”

“So how did you…?”

“I wasn’t going to let my life be decided for me.” Leonidas said with a grin. “To hell with what people expected. I knew I wanted better for myself, and I was determined to get it.”

“So you avoided everything?” Lucien asked, feeling impressed.

“Hell no, kiddo. I got into my share of bullshit with the police, found myself on the wrong side of more than one petty gangster… But I didn’t let those things define me. I never hurt anyone, I never did anything that would even indirectly bring harm on others, and I stuck to my dreams.”

“So then how’d you end up, you know…?” Lucien gestured around them lamely.

“Rich as hell and living in New Avalon’s premier beachfront community? Simple: I worked for it. I borrowed books from friends, I saved up enough petty cash to enrol myself in bridging courses. I got myself into the military as soon as I could and got them to fund my College education.”

“The Navy, right?” Lucien asked, remembering the medals and photos in the den.

“That’s the one.” Leonidas confirmed. “Patriot was a big deal when I was growing up, and he was Navy. Young black men saw him as one hell of a role model, and enlistments for my generation were through the roof. The Navy was happy to have us, too, after what Calamity and Nephilim did to the fleet.”

Lucien chewed on his lower lip in thought, idly squeezing his fingers one by one despite not being able to crack them further. His thoughts were frenzied, both thinking about his godfather’s story and dwelling on his own origins.

“Point is.” Leonidas said, drawing Lucien back. “Once I got out of my mandatory five, I met your Aunt. We fell in love after I wore her down.” He laughed. “Your mom helped, actually. She liked me from the first day we met, according to her. She said she saw my life with Vanessa written in the stars.”

Lucien smiled. “Yeah, she said the same thing to me when I asked her.”

“I got a job at a firm thanks to my old CO and his civilian connections, and I never looked back. When your mother asked me to be your godfather… you and Ty were so close together in birth, just within the same school year by a few days. It seemed like fate to me.” Leonidas reached out, placing a strong hand on Lucien’s shoulder. “All this is to say that you are who you want to be, son. No one can tell you differently. If you want to be a superhero, well, I can’t say I like the idea of you out there risking yourself… But Vanessa and I love you, and we’ll support you if that’s your choice.”

Lucien swallowed as the nerves came back to him, but listened as Leonidas continued.

“If you decide not to be a superhero? Well, we’ll support you then too. Your life isn’t laid out for you, Luc. It’s what you choose to make of it. Me, Vanessa, Ty… We’re your family. No matter what you choose, no matter where you decide to go, we’ll always support you. I have faith you’ll make the right choices. You and Ty are good, honourable young men. You’ll choose the right path, and he’ll help you if you falter, just like I know you’ll help him.”

Lucien’s mouth was dry as he listened to Leonidas speak, and tears threatened his eyes. He forced a smile and sniffed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Thanks Uncle Leo.” He said quietly, taking a breath. “I know I haven’t said it before, but… I really am glad I had you and Auntie V in my life. Sometimes I really miss my mom, and…” His voice cracked, and he took a breath to steady himself, feeling hot tears on his cheeks despite his best efforts. “Well, it’s just nice to feel like I have parents, even though mine are gone. Thanks for… Well, thanks for being my Dad.” He said the words hesitantly, only then recognising the fear of rejection he’d harboured despite all logic since the Washingtons had taken him in.

“It is my sincere pleasure, son.” Leonidas said warmly, moving forwards to pull him into a strong embrace. “Vanessa and I have always seen you as a second son. We’ll always love you, kiddo. Don’t ever forget that you can rely on us, and come to us about anything. Always.”

Lucien felt the tears run hot and free at his godfather’s embrace and for at least a little while, surrendered to just being a scared boy comforted by his dad.

They separated a few moments later, and Leonidas smiled at Lucien, patting him on the shoulder. “Now then, come with me kid. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Raising his eyebrows, Lucien wiped his eyes as he followed Leonidas into the house and past the kitchen and lounge. He followed his godfather’s lead up the steps to the second floor, and down one of the halls towards the older man’s office. By that point Lucien was truly curious, since access to the adults’ offices was one of the few things the boys weren’t often allowed. A lesson in boundaries as much as to ensure they didn’t cause any accidents when they were younger.

When Leonidas pressed his hand to the scanner and opened the door, Lucien followed him inside curiously and let his eyes roam. The office was spacious enough for a large corner desk, high-end desktop computer, several bookshelves and even a couch and small wall-mounted television for relaxation. He remembered his godfather vanishing into the office for hours on end plenty of times, and now understood how he could survive so long in the room.

What intrigued him most, however, was the large silver case sitting on the desk in front of the massive computer monitor, its width easily topping a metre and its length at least sixty centimetres. It was towards this that Leonidas moved, motioning Lucien to follow as he patted the metal rectangle. “Here it is.” He said with a grin, taking note of the confusion on his god-son’s face.

“I…” Lucien said, searching for the right words with an expression of bewilderment.

“Ha! Your face.” Leonidas chortled. “Sorry, couldn’t resist doing that. One moment…”

He reached out and depressed two pressure tabs on the case, causing a hiss of decompression that opened the container a moment later — the whirr of machinery clear to Lucien’s sensitive hearing. Leonidas stepped back to allow him to move closer and he did, in spite of not needing proximity thanks to his enhanced vision; it was nonetheless more natural to simply close the distance. The sight within the box caused Lucien’s eyes to widen in shock.

A white bodysuit lay within, folded neatly beside a pair of gloves with stylised golden armour over the knuckles, top of the hand, and segmented along the wrist for movement. A pair of boots in his new size sat inside the box on the other side of the suit as well, complete with more stylised golden armour along the sides and over the boot proper. “It isn’t well-known, but white and gold weren’t originally Hyperion’s colours.” Leonidas said with a smile, stepping forwards to place a hand on Lucien’s shoulder reassuringly. “Olympus wore them until Hyperion did, and then he swapped to white and red instead of gold, supposedly to pass the mantle to Hyperion.”

“Uncle Leo, how…?”

“Oh it isn’t Astral Weave.” Leonidas said with a wry smile, predicting Lucien’s question as the teen turned to him in disbelief. “It’s an Uncle Sam knock-off that never saw mass production. You don’t want to know what it costs, but unlike Astral Weave, this won’t degrade over time. It can be messed up and damaged with enough punishment, but as long as you avoid any monomolecular edges or ridiculous lasers, it should be pretty resilient.”

“I… I don’t know what to say.” Lucien stammered, looking from his Uncle to the suit.

“Consider it a sixteenth birthday present.” Leonidas said with a smile. “I meant what I said, kiddo. You’re a son to Vanessa and I. Even if your skin can stop bullets — which we aren’t sure of yet! — we’d like some kind of insurance policy. This stuff isn’t invulnerable, nothing is, but it’ll protect you from anything most regular humans can throw at you.”

Lucien reached out to run his fingers over the suit, feeling the material. As he did, his super sensitive fingers noticed a change in the surface texture of the fabric — and he pulled his hand away by instinct. “Biometric Alignment.” His godfather explained happily. “The suit will adjust to your size and dimensions, and will change its texture for better comfort and grip. Touching a person versus touching a wall or picking up a knife require different densities and surface settings. Your suit will naturally adapt based on the situation, to give you a better grip or protect your hands from dangerous objects.”

“Forget superheroes, this’d be amazing for just regular soldiers.”

“It would.” Agreed his godfather. “But because of what it is, it’s not even remotely cost-efficient. The suit has nano-material that gives an airtight seal up to your neck once all the pieces are worn. I won’t get into the science of it, because honestly I don’t really understand it.” Leonidas laughed as he said it. “But you should be able to wear it in the water or as high as the upper mesosphere without issue.”

“The Mesosph…?”

“Vanessa and I saw the recording, son. I thought it’d be important to make sure you could fly in it.”

Lucien’s guts twisted at the words, and he cast his eyes back to the suit, some of his enthusiasm dampened. “I can’t fly.” He admitted quietly. “Every time I try, I freeze up. I remember what happened when I manifest, and I just—” he gestured lamely “—can’t.”

“You’ll get there.” Leonidas said without doubt or hesitation, clapping him on the back lightly. “Don’t worry, it just might take some time. Don’t dwell on it.” He nodded to the suit. “Focus on that. If I know your brother, Ty’s going to have that transceiver perfectly dialled in by tomorrow night. I’m just glad we got this organised before you went out for the first time.”

Lucien reached out to take the suit in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over the fabric. It felt like a strange mix between silk, cotton, and leather — with an almost rubbery finish. It was impossible to fully describe, since the material’s texture changed so rapidly. Whatever it was, it definitely felt strong. Very strong. As he held it, a sudden change in aspect overcame the fabric, and a twin-headed golden eagle abruptly appeared in the centre of the suit, right where his sternum would be.

“Um, what’s this?” He asked, turning to his godfather in confusion.

“Ah. Well. You remember how Olympus never wore a symbol?”

“Yeah, he was famous for it. Everyone has one, even the Trumpets had them. Olympus was the only one that didn’t.”

“Well, that’s because he didn’t want anyone to be able to trace it to him. That symbol? The double-eagle? It’s part of your father’s family. It’s been a birthmark in his bloodline for as far back as anyone can remember. Olympus never used it, but it was his symbol.”

“So why didn’t he wear it?” Lucien asked, brushing his fingers over the edges of the symbol.

“I can’t honestly say, but I have a theory.”

Lucien looked at him in curiosity, prompting his godfather to continue.

“I think he knew he might not survive the Trumpet War. I think he knew he might not be around to raise you, and he didn’t want any symbol to exist to allow his enemies — the servants of his fellow Trumpets included — to easily identify a connection.” Leonidas reached out to tap the eagle, smiling. “I think he refused to wear it because of you, Lucien. I think it was his way of giving you something beyond the grave.”

Lucien stared at the symbol at Leonidas’ words, his heart hammering in his chest.

“This is your inheritance from the father you never knew, Lucien. This is Olympus’ gift to you.”

Lucien’s fingers touched the eagle reverently and he smiled, eyes misting with unshed tears for the second time that night.

Thank you… Father.