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Author's Chapter Notes:

A more apt chapter title, thou shalt never find.

 Abigail wasn't impressed, allowing that weight to simply fall to the wayside. Kayla could become as powerful as she liked as far as she was concerned. As big as she wanted. Even if the world were nothing more than a marble before her, there were no circumstances that existed in the universe that would allow Abigail to be even remotely afraid of the woman embracing her. Not of the woman who, as a teenager growing up on her father's little farm, had acted as a guardian for the small colony of Betas that lived underneath her barn. Who had taught them how to read and even write.

 

Who Abigail had been brought before as a toddler, her older brother's hand holding her own as she met her colony's benefactor and climbed onto her palm for what would be the first of many times, before things had gone so horribly wrong.

 

No, Kayla could maintain that aura of intimidation for as long as she liked, it made no difference to her.

 

"You materialize behind me, you read my mind," Abigail answered, unphased, "and last night you may as well have eaten a star. I'm not sure any other term is applicable at this point."

 

And that's not even the pinnacle of what I've seen you do, she thought, uncaring of whether or not Kayla was still in her head.

 

"Maybe so," Kayla answered, and Abigail's ears picked up a certain sentimental sadness to her tone, "but I don't want you of all people to think of me like that." Kayla's embrace tightened a little with those words, and Abigail found herself bringing a hand to her waist to grasp Kayla's own interlocking grip. "You're family to me, Abby. That's why I gave you a piece of me."

 

"That "piece" is in every Omega," she replied, unimpressed by the gesture. "You gave it to all of the First."

 

"I did nothing of the sort," Kayla retorted, her voice heating up in her ear. "You're the only one I chose for this, Abby, and you know that." Abigail felt Kayla's hands wrest from her grasp then, felt her arms part from her waist and the woman's chin lift from her shoulder as her friend put an end to their embrace. Sighing, she quickly caught Kayla's right wrist before her arm could fully withdraw, and it was with some relief that Kayla allowed herself to be halted by her. That remark had been unfair of her, a small lashing out born of her own bitterness. Kayla was here because she was concerned for her, and yet...

 

"I'm sorry," Abigail offered guiltily. "I shouldn't be taking my problems out on you."

 

"No," Kayla replied coolly, "you shouldn't be." Abigail suddenly felt her friend's hand close around her grasping arm. The grip was firm, comforting. "What's bothering you, Abby? I know these last few days haven't been kind, but this isn't like you." Abigail couldn't help but snort.

 

"Do you know who I've spent the last two decades despising, Kayla?" she asked angrily, sweeping her free hand through her dark hair.

 

"Let's say I don't," Kayla replied. Gently, though, and without a hint of patronization. As invasive as Kayla could be at times, she ultimately had a good sense of when to put a stop to that behavior, of when it was better for her to just sit and listen instead of poke and prod.

 

"Corey's birth mother," Abigail answered with a sneer, "I've hated that woman since the night I met Howard, when she abandoned the two of them at a Facility."

 

Kayla's grip on her broke then, and the woman's wrist easily slid from Abigail's own. The telltale sound of Kayla's usual pair of flat boots against the floor followed, and a glance to her left revealed that her friend was circling around to the front of the desk. The woman walked with as deliberate a pace as always, her white lab coat fluttering lightly behind her knees as they passed out of her vision.

 

Finally, Kayla turned to face her so that she could take the opposite seat. The wardrobe for today, like most days, was composed of a mini skirt - brown today - worn over a pair of black leggings that would disappear into her calf-high flat suede boots, and a green sweater. Looking at her friend's face, framed by hazelnut tresses that fell messily to the sides as the rest of her locks were pulled into a short ponytail behind her head, an arched eyebrow caught Abigail's immediate attention.

 

"So what? You think you abandoned him too?" Kayla asked as she took a seat, crossing her legs and reclining into the back of the chair. Their eyes locked then, and Abigail immediately wished they hadn't.

 

Physically, Kayla Everett was indistinguishable from any other Omega. For the most part. She wasn't the tallest, she wasn't the shortest, though she veered toward the former more than the latter. Her strength far surpassed that of herself or any of the others, but that was impossible to tell just by looking at her. Kayla had always been strong, sure. The woman had hit the genetic lottery to begin with, possessing an athleticism and intellect most would kill for. Growing up on a farm and working the fields with her father had also done well in developing her strength, but that was nothing compared to now.

 

No, what set Kayla apart from every Omega, what marked her as the supreme being she had become so many years ago, were her eyes. While always a striking emerald, now her irises were seas of luminous green that pulsated with varying intensity based on her emotions. Disconcerting enough on their own, but a look at the woman's pupils would tell the rest of the story to any Omega that looked, or any Beta that got close enough. They seemed to act as portals to the stars themselves, each one a canvas of shining lights against an endless backdrop of darkness, a canvas that moved as Kayla did. Abigail sometimes found herself wondering if a person could fall into that darkness, to be lost forever.

 

A blink from Kayla snapped her out of her fixation, and Abigail gave her head a quick shake to clear it. Focusing on those eyes might be just as bad as actually going through them, she thought, while noticing that Kayla's lips had curled into a small grin. Abigail would never fear this woman, but being disconcerted wasn't entirely off the table.

 

"I do," Abigail confirmed sadly, "but that's the least of it. I've spent so many years hating that woman, Kayla, and then I turn around and do the same thing to him. The only difference in my eyes is that at least when she did it, he was only six months old and had no idea what had happened. Me..."

 

"I remember her, now," Kayla remarked, her nose crinkling in disgust. "Some Alpha who thought it was romantic to have a little husband dependent on her, wasn't it? Thought it was cute to take him through school, then didn't take nearly that well to having a little son." Kayla's arms crossed underneath her chest, a look of annoyed contemplation on her face. "I think the excuse was something about not wanting to invest in a...how did you say she put it? "A child with no future," wasn't it?"

 

Abigail responded with a small nod, eliciting a sneer from her friend.

 

"Well, I can't begin to act like I'm in a proper position to evaluate parenting," Kayla noted softly, "not with that little deadbeat son of mine just wandering wherever he pleases for the past fifty years. But the way I see it, you and that woman are about as opposite as you can get. You made the choice that you did because you felt it was it was necessary for his future. At the absolute least, your decision boiled down to doing what you felt was best for him. You didn't just abandon him because of selfish bullshit."

 

Abigail's immediate response was to click her tongue. That sure sounded nice, but it did little to assuage her feeling that she should have gone home...that she should be at home.

 

"Besides," Kayla remarked, a playful smile now on her face, "if you had gone home, he wouldn't have spent last night where he did."

 

"Where?!" Abigail found herself snapping, her melancholy suddenly a thing of the distant past as she glared at her now chuckling friend.

 

"Oh, he spent the night with the elder King girl. Had a pleasant evening together, from what I've gleaned. Seems like it might be the first of many."

 

Abigail's right eye twitched at the teasing mockery with which that last bit had been delivered. It wasn't as if she disliked Melody or anything, the girl was an absolute angel, and her infatuation with her son had been an open secret for years. Her mother, though...

 

"Abby, it's been four years," Kayla remarked with a laugh. "Let it go."

 

"I don't like the woman, Kayla," Abigail stated coldly. "She embarrassed my son in front of Claire's class and took him from her. She had no right-"

 

"She was the instructor, Abby."

 

"-no right to take him from his sister and make him sit on her desk in front of the class, in front of his friends, like a child," Abigail spat, her cheeks burning red with frustration. Melody was a fine girl, and if she and Corey hit it off then so be it, but she did not relish the thought of Grace King becoming part of the family she had shown such complete disrespect towards. That she had had the gall to interfere with her family, with her children...

 

A sudden, sharp laughter came from Kayla then as the woman threw her head back in hysteria before doubling over as the continued laughter shook her body. The sight soothed Abigail's frustration, but she couldn't help but feel a certain sadness over it. When was the last time she had seen Kayla laugh like this? A decade ago? The woman allowed herself a slight amusement here and there, but usually contained herself to much smaller outbursts than what this was. Abigail wasn't even sure what had been funny enough to elicit this kind of reaction. Did she find Abigail's anger funny?

 

"I'm sorry," Kayla eventually choked out between laughs. They were subsiding now as she regained her bearings. "I shouldn't laugh, I know," she continued, looking up to meet Abigail's gaze again, her brightly burning eyes beginning to dim, "I just...Abby, your family has just been a treat to observe these last couple of days. You all love each other so much, it's...well, it's nothing like what I have with Marshall."

 

Abigail couldn't help but grimace. Kayla had seemed so happy for a moment there, to see how quickly that transformed into sadness over the span of a single sentence as her friend thought of her son was such a jarring experience. It was true that her nephew, Kayla's son, had been overtaken by a fifty year wanderlust in his twenties that had left him estranged from his aunt and mother, but...

 

"Kayla, you've always been welcome into my home. You know that. You're part of my family, too, and...and I'd love for you to be involved with Claire and Corey, even if it's just talking to them every now and then..."

 

Images of the past once again flashed through Abigail's mind. Of being that toddler again, and playing with Kayla's fingertip. Of perching on Kayla's shoulder as she read through a small children's book all on her own for the first time. Of curling up on Kayla's stomach and watching so many amazing documentaries. Of eagerly listening to Kayla's science lessons and discovering her own love for physics in the process.

 

"You've been such an important fixture in my life, Kayla," Abigail stated sadly, her eyes downcast, "I want you to be there for my children, too..."

 

More images. Of so many piggyback rides from her brother. Of him standing up for her, defending her. Saving her life. Of him never backing down from anyone who questioned the worth of him or any other Beta.

 

Of the looks he had begun to exchange with Kayla as the years had passed by and she went through college and eventually arrived at that awful facility. Of waking up one night towards the end of that ordeal to see him sleeping on Kayla's breast, the larger woman gingerly stroking him while remaining unaware that Abigail had awoken.

 

"...Marshall, too. I want him to at least meet his cousins, even if it's just once. I think Graham would want that, too."

 

Silence overtook them then. Abigail's gaze continued to focus on her desk, though a cursory glance upward would reveal a pensive Kayla.

 

"I agree with that," Kayla said, breaking the silence. Abigail lifted her head to make eye contact. Kayla looked serious now, focused. All business.

 

Which meant Abigail was about to hear something she wouldn't want to.

 

"Get it over with, then," she remarked with annoyance. Kayla sighed.

 

"Being honest, Abby, there's no real reason for you to remain here. We're done with that project, and anything else I might require of you can easily be done from home."

 

Abigail frowned. That sounded like a good thing, but Kayla's tone and expression made it clear that there was something else.

 

"But?"

 

"But," Kayla continued, "I don't want you to go home. Not yet. At least not for another month or so, while I continue to observe things there."

 

"And what, precisely, are you...observing?" Abigail drawled in barely concealed resentment.

 

"Where to start?" Kayla mused, bringing a hand up to correct those fake glasses. "I want your daughter to have plenty of time with those girls, without your influence. I know you, Abby, and I know that the moment you walk through that door you're going to have Claire handling their sentences how you want her to. I don't want that happening. She needs to establish her own modus operandi, what she's comfortable with doing and what she wants from her charges in the future. She's made a promise to each of those girls, and I want to see how well she follows through on them."

 

"And? What else?" Abigail asked. So far, this reasoning was looking rather thin. Another sigh preceded Kayla's next words.

 

"It's changed, Abby. That piece of me. The Fire."

 

"Changed?" Abigail inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Changed how?"

 

"It's...evolved," Kayla explained. "It's honestly amazing. The first generation of naturally-born Omegas, and its already altered itself in most of them compared to their parents."

 

Abigail had to admit, begrudgingly, that her curiosity was now piqued. Those pieces - the Fire - had originally just acted as litmus tests and triggers for the people that had ascended to the new race of Omegas as it sought out people with an intense desire to protect the Betas, to provide them a future in accordance with Kayla's desires. Abigail was the lone exception to that test, Kayla had forced the creation of one more piece to spark her own ascension. That piece had stayed within each of them after the fact, giving them access to a handful of Kayla's abilities, as well as allowing them to handle the Betas with an almost supernatural tenderness. It had also been passed down to their children, after Kayla had given them permission to mate. How could it have changed? What could it be doing?

 

"It's actually acting as a coping mechanism now," Kayla answered, her voice seeping with fascination. "It provides a certain sense of self-satisfaction when carrying out their...dirtier tasks. My current hypothesis is that it's a reaction to the fact that these children weren't chosen like their parents were. They just happened to be born with this responsibility. They're doing what they're doing because that's how they've been raised, but that isn't a substitute for the resolve that allowed you and the rest of the First to do the things that we did. Hell, more fascinating is that it seems to be doing this only in the Enforcers. Melody's Fire, for instance, is indistinguishable from what rests within you and her mother. But even within the Enforcers, it isn't consistent. Jenna Reynolds' Fire is also unaltered, but it also has no need to change for her."

 

"Why is that?" Abigail asked. Jenna, like Melody, was a sweet girl, but with what Kayla had told her it seemed as if she would be a prime candidate for a change in her Fire.

 

"Well," Kayla began with a knowing smirk, "that "sweet girl" is a sadist. Self-aware and with a staggering amount of self-control, thankfully, but still a sadist. She's going to enjoy her work regardless, so again, no need for it to change when her brain chemistry handles the matter for her. In any case, nothing but Class A offenders for her, and no offenders who have a high chance of rehabilitation."

 

Abigail couldn't hide a frown. Hearing that the sweet little girl that she had watched grow up alongside her own daughter, that had handled her son countless times, had such inclinations was...disheartening, to say the least. Still, the girl had never shown anything less than adoration and protectiveness toward Betas, so she supposed there was nothing to fear from that. Kayla certainly hadn't implied anything contrary. It also reminded her of a question she had been meaning to ask.

 

More worrying at the moment, though...

 

"And Claire?" she asked.

 

"It's definitely present within her," Kayla answered, and Abigail grunted slightly. "The girl certainly enjoys her power, and I won't say she's unwilling to get her hands dirty even without that change in the Fire, but it's certainly been attempting to influence her."

 

"Attempting?" The word had immediately caught Abigail's attention.

 

"That's the interesting part, to me. With two of her charges, she actually managed to fight back against the feeling it tried to provide. I was very impressed. Others haven't been nearly that successful."

 

Abigail had to fight back a smile. She couldn't help but feel a surge of pride in her daughter. Still, she had a sudden understanding of why Kayla wanted her to stay away from home.

 

"So, what, you want to observe her without introducing another variable?"

 

"Essentially," Kayla responded. "I want to see if she can continue to control that feeling when she feels that she needs to, and I want to continue to observe her as well as the others I'm keeping an eye on. I need to know if this change can be dangerous, and if it is, then observing your daughter may provide some insight on methods we can introduce to control it."

 

"I'm not a fan of this change, Abby," she stated seriously, "and I intend to contain it if needed. Even if it means keeping you away from it."

 

Abigail sighed. She didn't like this. Any of it. She did want to get home and see her son, to keep an eye on her daughter. But...this change was disturbing.

 

"So, what, you just want me to sit around here doing nothing for a month?"

 

"Not quite," Kayla answered with a suddenly chipper tone. "I actually have a little...travel assignment for you, if you're interested."

 

"Oh?"

 

"I meant what I said earlier, Abby, about wanting my son to at least meet his cousins. Marshall actually let me reach out to him a few days ago. Just for a moment, mind you, a small check-in to let me know where he was. And after our little talk, I was wondering if you might be interested in a little trip to find him."

 

Abigail's heart skipped a beat. Was Kayla being serious? Did she really have a location pinned down for him?

 

"Sort of," Kayla stated. "He's in a city in China, but I can't give a specific location within it. He may have even moved on. But if he has, someone there likely knows where to, and all you ultimately need to do is make him aware of you. He was always fond of you growing up, and I have to believe he'll at least give you the chance to talk to him."

 

"So if I do this, and if I find him, will you allow me to go home?" Abigail asked, bargaining. She was still apprehensive about this, but...it would give her a chance to see her nephew, to see if she couldn't bring her family a little closer together. It was something constructive to do while Kayla performed her little observations.

 

"I'll agree to that," Kayla stated. "Three weeks minimum, though. I want to observe at least that many weeks' worth of sessions."

 

"Fine. But if I find him, and get him to come visit, then you have to come along with him when he does."

 

Kayla smiled at that.

 

"I'll do that regardless. In fact, I'll be there the day he gets out of that Chamber and can walk again. I promise. I owe you that much for asking you to stay away from home." Kayla rose to her feet then, straightening her coat out as she did so. "In any case, I suggest you get ready to leave while the trail's still warm. Just grab my attention when you're ready to go and I'll send you to the Hong Kong Facility. They have a few Detonators stocked, so feel free to grab one, along with any field agents you feel you might need. From there, you'll want to go to Macau."

 

"And...thank you for doing this for me, Abby," Kayla stated as she turned to leave. "I know I'm being...demanding, that this isn't easy for you. I'm sorry for that. But I can't let this go unchecked."

 

Abigail stared at her for a moment, as the woman made her way to the door.

 

"Kayla," she called, one thing still on her mind.

 

"Hm?"

 

"You said nothing but Class-A offenders for Jenna, didn't you?"

 

"I did. Unless they have the capacity to be rehabilitated."

 

"So is that why you transferred those girls to Claire from her custody?" Abigail asked. The choice had bothered her when she first heard about it, but she had forgotten about it in the wake of the Compressor failure. The talk about Jenna's tendencies had served as a reminder.

 

"Partly," Kayla answered flatly, standing at the door with her back turned to Abigail still. "I do think two of them can be rehabilitated, they could even prove useful after the fact if things go well."

 

"And the third?" Abigail asked.

 

Kayla turned around then, and Abigail shuddered. The woman's eyes now burned with such intensity that their earlier brightness during her outburst of laughter may as well have been that of a dim bulb. Her lips were curled into a cruel smile, showing off those immaculate teeth. Kayla's expression was a familiar one: It had typically accompanied the triumph over or the humiliation of someone the woman found utterly detestable.

 

She spoke only two more words before continuing on her way:

 

"A treat."

Chapter End Notes:

Intermission over. Back to Claire and the girls next time. Hope the chapter was enjoyable despite being lax on content, I ended up cutting a few things because I felt they didn't fit.

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