Family Begins With You

by Jmaster49

Arc XXIV Episode X: Begin The Operation

Aidon and Haven continued to talk with each other while her daughters--Pipp and Zipp--were busy playing a game of beach volleyball. Though Pipp would often stop the game to take photographs of herself--much to Zipp’s chagrin.

“If you ever do manage to bring him over, bring Starswirl to me so that I may personally show him the dangers of this world and the suffering he’s put your kin through,” Have offered as she sat upright and opened a tanning mirror.

“...you’d go out of your way to do that for me?” he asked with a surprised tone.

“Of course. You’ve saved this school--and by extension this entire side of the country--multiple times from what I’ve seen on the news. You’re a living legend, good sir.”

“...I just do what I can for the sake of my students. Though since we’re currently on summer vacation, I won’t have to worry about teaching for a while. I might take more time to myself and Luna…”

Haven sighed and shook her head. “Lucky her. What I wouldn’t give to have a nice man that I could boss ar--er, have some fun with every now and again.”

Aidon paused and realized what she meant. The woman was essentially raising her two daughters all on her own! But how to respond to such a thing…

“Well…I’m sure the right gentleman is out there for you somewhere,” he said with his best smile, “You just need to have faith.”

“I suppose. What I wouldn’t give to have the right man fall into my lap, right on my--”

“MOM STAHP--!” Zipp shouted from nearby, “We’re like, right here!”

“Oh please,” Haven waved her hand dismissively, “You’re going to need to learn a thing or two someday if you ever hope to find yourself a good partner.”

“Ughh…don’t remind me,” the girl huffed as she tossed the ball back to her sister.

Aidon couldn’t help but snicker to himself, noting just how interesting their relationship was. “Well they have quite the dynamic don’t they? Still, I suppose she has a point. Starswirl won’t know exactly what it’s like to live here unless I bring him here myself. But just how would I go about doing that? I don’t quite have the power to create my own portals between dimensions…yet.”

Nevertheless, he wanted to express his gratitude towards the lady for listening to what he had to say.

“Thank you for hearing me out,” he said, “I’m glad someone here is willing to take my issues seriously.”

“It’s no problem at all, sir. Tell you what…if you and Luna ever need a private vacation spot…” She handed him a business card with detailed information on Zephyr Heights. “You can come on up here. We’d love to have you.”

Aidon accepted the card and read it over. “Hm…you know what, one of these days, I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Glad to hear it,” Haven chuckled to herself. “It’ll be a getaway you’ll both love…”

---

A few days later…at Flash’s house…

The young man in question was busy raking the early fall leaves off of his lawn when he got a phone call. “Hm? Yo?”

On the other end, it was a video call from Micro Chips. “Hello? Are you there, Flash?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” he replied.

“I’ve located their new compound,” Micro went on, “It seems to me that they’re using the local baseball stadium as a way to cover their tracks. Figures--baseball is a pretty big thing in their culture.”

“Meh, I prefer ice hockey,” Flash commented on their preference of sports, and resumed the conversation, “What’ve you been doing to cover your tracks? Do they realize who you are?”

“Nope. But getting in was the easy part. The hard part will be locating where exactly they make this Zarin compound. I’ve been doing my research, and I’ve found it to be a more advanced form of the Sarin compound. A chemical that’s so hard to detect, that you’ll be dead as soon as it reaches your eyes.”

“....Yikes,” Flash visibly shuddered, “I don’t even wanna imagine how that stuff is used. Just be careful alright? The last thing I want is for you to get hurt.”

With Micro Chips…

“Please. No one’s going to suspect a thing from a lowly custodian,” he replied as he put on a dull-blue janitor’s uniform and grabbed a mop. “I just need to get closer. I’ll keep you posted as soon as I find anything.”

“Alright,” Flash replied over the phone, “I’ll let the boys on the ground know when it’s time to start moving.”

As soon as Micro hung up his call, there would be a knock on the outside of the supply closet that he was currently hiding in.

“Hey, new guy. Get to work. I need this place spotless!” a raspy young man’s voice shouted.

Micro exited the closet with the supplies he needed to start cleaning. “No problem, Mr…?”

“Tatsu--that’s all you need to refer to me as,” the green-skinned young man with blonde hair addressed him, “My old man is expecting this place to be fresh for when his business partners arrive later today.”

“Business partners?”

“Yeah, that’s all you need to know,” Tatsu sneered as he walked off, “Get to work already.”

Micro thought to himself about what he had just heard. “That sounds about right. If my perceptions are correct, it could be more people he plans to sell that chemical to. Or it could be people who just like baseball. Either way--I won’t know until I try. Come on, don’t let your fears stop you now.”

He took a deep breath and started mopping. As much as he tried to deny it, the overwhelming sensation of knowing just how much on the line there was had started to eat away at Micro’s confidence. But all he could do for the moment was push it deep down as he worked.

“I have to do this. I can’t fail.”

Comments

[Snowdrifter]

The three best cover identities are secretary, janitor and security guard. Well played.