#extra piece

So, I thought I’d do a little something on Lily’s father that would end up tying together some future pieces. A not so small glance at her family on their island home and some clues into Lily’s past as well.

The not quite broken in leather seats creaked as Casey Jones shifted restlessly in the front seat of his Dodge Charger, Chief Masters reclining lazily in the seat next to him. Their point of interest at the moment was the run-down warehouse 500 yards in front of them. Casey groaned as he folded his arms across his chest in frustration, stretching his legs out as best he could in the small space. He always despised stake outs. He never understood the logic in sitting in the confinement of a car or dingy room across from your mark for hours when you could just go in and get what you needed. He thumped his skull against the head rest, impatience slowly eating away at the last of his sanity. The chief looked out the corner of his eye and let out a chuckle.

“Just relax Jones. We haven’t been here that long.” The chief offered with a hint of amusement.

Casey watched as the chief Leaned back in his seat, pouring his third cup of coffee from his thermos.  He eyed the warehouse contemplatively as he gently blew across the top of the mug, cooling the much-needed caffeinated liquid.  Coffee was all well and good for some but Casey would kill for an energy drink right about now.

“We’ve been here for four hours. What exactly was it that lead Donnie to believe those hunters were here anyway?” Casey asked in an exasperated voice.

“He’s been reviewing all the cameras in this area and noted an increase of activity here. Men matching the hunters’ description were seen. If these are the same men that attacked the guys on previous occasions and caused harm to my niece then we will sit here for days if need be.” The Chief chided, his own patience starting to dwindle.

Casey took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips as he tried to relieve some of the tension behind them. He knew how determined the chief was in finding these men after Lily had been hit with that tranq dart. He still had a hard time reconciling the fact that Jackson Masters was an uncle to half mutant nieces and nephews. Let’s not forget that he was freaking raised alongside four full mutants either. Oh and can’t leave out that Jackson’s supposed dead younger sister was mated to one of them. Casey had so many questions and found himself angry at Jackson for never mentioning any of his unique family to him or the guys.

Lily and Mona were the biggest mystery as far as Casey was concerned. They had a secret, one that they shared and something in his gut told him it was bad. He didn’t think for one second that either girl had bad intentions and hoped that their unwillingness to talk about it had more to do with not wanting to bring up bad memories. He sighed as he contemplated asking and then decided the hell with it. What did he have to lose? He was thrilled that his guys were happy for once, happier than he had ever seen them. Still, he had to ask, his need to look out for them overpowering his common sense.

“So, I couldn’t help but notice that Lily and Mona have some interesting scars, some interesting similarities. Mona’s never said how she came to live with your brother and neither of them talk about it. What’s the story there?” Casey asked as he shifted his body towards his chief.

He watched the cup in Jackson’s hand twitch and the lines around his eyes crease. The chiefs jaw clenched hard before he released it and a deep breath.

“I’m just asking cause I’m worried about the guys. You know what they were like before Lily and her sisters showed up. Leo and Raph have never been like this and I’m happy for them. I don’t want to see them get hurt.” Casey added quickly.

“Look kid, I understand where you’re coming from, I do. I also understand what the guys were going through, especially Leo. But their story is their own and they’ll tell it when they’re ready Jones. And when they do, it’ll be hard for the boys to take. Those girls don’t have a happy one to tell. I know, I was there. Be patient, they’re working their way up to it.” The chief admitted quietly, not a trace of heat in his tone.

Casey mulled that over as he thought on how best to precede. It was then a large black SUV caught his attention. Signaling the Chief, they both grabbed binoculars as they observed the vehicle pull up to the warehouse doors.

“It’s about damn time. Please give us something good.” Casey pleaded, ready to be out of the damn car.

They waited a few minutes before he saw an older man limp out from the doorway. The chief cursed low beneath his breath as he lowered his viewers. Casey took a closer look at the man trying to see if had missed something during his initial observation. The man had blonde hair, greying some at the temples, small dark eyes and a large scar that ran down the left side of his face. If he could only use one word to describe the man creepy would have to be it. The chief moved suddenly, a whirlwind of expletives and urgency.

“It can’t fucking be. That bastard died in the explosion, there’s no way he survived.” The chief hollered, pounding his fist against the dash in front of him as he reached for his phone.

Casey stared in disbelief, having never seen the chief this pissed off before. What explosion? How did he know this guy? He wanted to ask those very questions but the chief was already dialing a number on his phone. It rang for a minute before a deep, gravelly voice answered.

“Zeus, we have a problem. You need to get here on the double. Someone from our past isn’t as dead as we thought he was.”

 A little while before:

Crystal blue waves surged along a white sandy beach, sprays of salt heavy mist drifted along the landscape to mingle with the heavy sigh from an aging mutant as he stood sentry over his proclaimed piece of paradise. Violet eyes framed with deep lines, a testament to his years filled with heartbreak and laughter, surveyed the rolling water before him. Large, three fingered scar riddled hands griped wood railing as his thoughts processed quickly through his still sharp mind. He was reflecting, life events flashing before him that had defined the male he was today. He glanced down at his hands, instruments that had experienced more in his lifetime than most others their age. Hands that had dealt out four decades worth of violence, destruction and death. Hands that had ended tyrant after tyrant’s cruel reign over the good people they sought to exploit and abuse. His hands alone had brought the end of dozens of regimes and factions, men and woman who wanted nothing more than to watch the world burn.

He flexed his fingers, a small smile curling his lips as he thought of the other, more poignant events they had been gifted. These hands had brought comfort and comradery to his brothers. These hands had caressed, given untold amounts of pleasure and love to his one true mate. They had soothed and protected her when needed.  Hands that cradled his new born sons and then daughters to his heart. Fingers that lovingly stroked the chubby cheeks, pudgy legs and tickled tummies of his cherished offspring. They had swept tears from sad faces and mended scraped knees.

Peals of feminine laughter from toddler antics carried over the breeze, the excited squeals of a child crashed like the sounds of the not so distant sea. Zeus smiled as he spied his human mate playfully running away from their two-year-old grandson as he chased her with handfuls of sodden seaweed. He chuckled as his two younger sons, Apollo and Hermes, provided aid to their nephew by cutting off their mother’s escape. Seems his Maggie was in quite the predicament. He couldn’t help but marvel at his first and only grandchild. So far, he amended thoughtfully. Even though the child belonged to his oldest son Ares, Eros looked more like his aunts, sharing in their more human like appearance. Chocolate curls bounced as Eros jumped up and down in victory at Maggie’s loud screech as the cold seaweed slapped against her skin.

In his youth, he never dreamed that he would one day have children, let alone grandchildren. He watched his mate as she laughed; pulling the offending seaweed from her arms and legs. His eyes raked her frame and a sultry rumble broke free as his eyes devoured her still decadent lithe body. The hum within his chest was now a constant thing, acting as if he had a second heart beating within his chest. If possible, she had become lovelier with age, her blue eyes sparkling in merriment from their years together. He was still growing accustomed to her black hair cut short but was pleased with the open access it allowed him to her sweet neck. All of this before him was possible because of her, determined to give him a world she thought he deserved. She was his heart, one of his most cherished gifts he’d been given from the gods. Truth be told, he had been blessed with many gifts, beginning with the adoptive parents who taught him to have faith and trust in others. Brothers, both mutant and human, who never treated him as anything more or less than what he was. A mate, strong and beautiful that gave him hope and love. Five amazing and completely unique children that were his absolute world. Away from his family his life may have been shrouded in violence but Zeus fought the monsters of the world in the hopes that this place would one day be safe enough for treasures.

Eleven years back he had been hit with the harsh reality that even he couldn’t save his family from every evil that lurked in the shadows around them. His eyes slammed shut as nightmares from past began to invade his thoughts. His beloved daughter flashed before his eyes and a sharp pain hit him square in his heart. His beautiful Liliana Athena. He had put his trust in the wrong person and his delicate little goddess flower had suffered the price of his misjudgment. He remembered that night all too well, the screams from his eldest daughter Ivy, as they shattered the quiet night. Her black raven hair tangled, her frightened face stained with tears and dirt as she ran towards the house and away from the surrounding fields like the devil himself was on her heels. He and his brothers tore from the house in a blur to find her and when they finally did, one word made his already cold blood turn to liquid ice, Lily. He tore off in the direction Ivy had come, tearing down stocks of sunflowers as he frantically searched for his baby girl but it was too late. Someone had dared venture onto his land; someone had made the grave mistake of taking his baby from him. It was said that his roar of rage and anguish could be heard for miles.

Zeus and his brothers tore through the underground of the world in search of their youngling. It took fourteen agonizing months to find the traitor responsible for his daughters kidnapping and with his hand around the man’s throat, he wrenched the location of her whereabouts from the bastard mercilessly. His knees had nearly buckled out from beneath him when he heard the name of the man Lily had been traded to in order to satisfy another mans greed. The son of the very man responsible for his own mutation, another demon hiding under the guise of a human.  The sound of cracking bone, neck being severed from skull, was the only sound left in that dingy alley.

They held nothing back as they stormed that facility, delivering to hell anyone that got in their way. They split up to search for Lily but it had been Poseidon and Jackson that had stumbled upon her first. They found her in an iron bar cage along with other female mutant, metal collars around their necks. His daughter had been adamant that the female mutant, who she called Mona, be saved first.  Po made the decision to send Jackson ahead with Mona, needing to stay behind to stabilize his niece before he could move her. He never made it out of that building; an explosion brought the roof down on top of him, Lily and anyone else who happened to still be in there. It took hours to dig through the rubble, each one more torturous than the next. He hadn’t finally found her just to lose her all over again. The memory of falling to his knees as he found his broken and dying daughter in the arms of his lifeless brother would haunt him for the rest of his days. The painfilled whimpers of his baby as he had to pry her from Poseidon’s protective hold, her uncles final attempt to save his niece from the same fate, had killed a piece of Zeus’s soul. As he carefully clutched his child to his plastron, he cried for the loss of her innocent youth and for the loss of his younger brother’s life. Coming back to the present, he pounded his fists against the railing, fighting off another sharp point of pain at the thought of the brother he hadn’t been able to save.

They brought Po’s body home and buried him amongst the tall grasses of their new island home. Zeus spent days mourning his brother at graveside, unable to cope with the loss of his headstrong brother. He and Hades had chosen his resting spot together, it being the one the last place all three had stood together. They all had made the decision that their home in the states would never be a haven again for them. His human brother, Hunter, and liaison between the Olympus Project and several governing agencies had called in a few favors and managed to obtain the family a new refuge among the seas. Their island resided off the coast of the Carolina’s in restricted waters. Here they hoped they would remain safe for years to come.

The weeks following Lily’s return home were ones filled with healing and heartache. Lily was a fighter; had been from the day she was born. She was prevailing, healing stronger and faster than anyone could have imagined. But there were changes, nuances in their girl that gave the family pause. Lily had been the smaller twin, Ivy always being a little bit taller and stronger. Now, she had somehow gained inches over her sister and seemed stronger than any of her siblings. To Maggie’s complete devastation and horror, she determined that the majority of Lily’s injuries weren’t sustained during the collapse of the building, but were there before Zeus and the others had even arrived. Zeus’s mind ran rampant with all the how’s and why’s she could have received such horrid abuse and every new possibility drove the large mutant mad. The extent of her injuries should have killed her but instead she was here, battling with every breath she took. They had recovered little information from the rubble of the facility, just fragmented pieces of reports and experiment results that left them with more questions than answers.

Lily and Mona weren’t providing any help in trying to fill in the gaps either. Lily wouldn’t speak of what happened, not that she was speaking much at all, and Mona followed her lead. His once vibrant and carefree daughter was now reserved and sullen. At night, she often woke up screaming, calling out for someone to save her. Zeus soon found himself unable to leave her side, as much needing to be near as to try and chase her demons away. God, how he had failed her and it was a failure no father should have. It had been almost two months before they discovered all the details of Lily’s capture and keeping. He can recall the night of her admission as vividly as if it happened just yesterday. He had left her side for but a moment, just long enough to retrieve her a glass of water. He heard a commotion coming from her room and instantly recognized Ares’s voice.  Ares felt every bit at fault as his father did. At twenty-one, Ares was the oldest of their five children and he believed he should have known Lily and Ivy had been sneaking out. He blamed himself for what happened and no attempt at convincing him otherwise had worked.

“You have to tell us what happened lillipad…you have to. You can’t keep it a secret, you can’t keep hiding from us.”

Zeus had rushed in when he heard his sons raised voice and found Ares hands wrapped around Lily’s shoulders, his face close to hers. Tears were running down both their cheeks as Lily shook her head back and forth in answer.

“ARES! Release your sister this moment!”

“NO! It’s been months and she hasn’t said anything. No more father. We need to know! How else can we help her if she won’t tell us what they did to her. I can’t…I can’t stand this any longer.”

Zeus’s already broken heart cracked as he saw the emotion on his son’s face, the desolation in his eyes. He reached out to separate them but Ares shifted away, tightening his hold on his baby sister. Out of some newly ingrained act of preservation Lily lashed out, slamming her palm against her much bigger brother’s plastron. It sent him sliding backwards and falling hard to the floor. Zeus looked down at Ares’s prone position on the floor in disbelief, no one had ever knocked Ares from his feet before. Ares, taking a minute to assess what happened, looked up at his sister in shock and quickly stood back up. Zeus turned his attention to Lily and found her doubled over in grief, horrified by what she had done. She raced out of her room and down the stairs faster than what he had thought her capable of. Ares and Zeus called out for her, pleading for her to stop but she hadn’t the mind to. Hades, hearing all the noise had ventured up the stairs, attempted to stop the young-lings departure but she had evaded his grasp with ease.

They found her near the water, her body crumbled on the sandy beach. He scooped her up, pulling her tightly to his chest as both Ares and Hades stayed close behind them, not wanting to intrude but needing to stay close.  She begged and pleaded for him to forgive her. Forgive her for hurting Ares, forgive her for sneaking out that night and through hiccuped cries she told him that if it hadn’t been for her, Uncle Po would still be here. The fractured pieces of his soul screamed from somewhere deep inside. God, the anguish in her spoken thoughts tore him apart. He pulled her tightly into the safety of his plastron, trying to shield her from the world.

“Oh my Dear Lil Athena, you are not to blame. You never could be. You can’t blame yourself for the actions of cruel men. We can’t control all the doings of others, it’s what we do to combat them that matters. My flower, it is I that failed you, it is I that is to blame. My error in judgement caused all this. I hope one day you can find it within you to forgive the sins of your father. I love you Lily, more than there are stars in the sky and I hope you never doubt that. I will never let harm come to you again.” He tipped her chin up so she would look at him. She moved to argue with him but he shook his head in response. “Your uncle loved you, you were his bright spot. In any situation, he would have chosen you to live. It’s who and what he was. Don’t fret for he knew the choice he was making.”  

She couldn’t stop then, spilling out all that had happened, every detail up until the moment Po had crashed through her cage. The rage that built up inside him was so toxic, so lethal that he found himself wishing he hadn’t killed the men responsible. He should have kept them alive just so that he could deliver a more deserved punishment that they would have begged for death. He had rumbled, a sound so deep and menacing as he realized death had been too good for them.

“You’re better than them daddy. No matter how bad they were, we can choose to be better. I don’t want you to be like them. I don’t want to be like them. I don’t want to believe that everyone is bad like them.”

He looked down into the violet and blue eyes of his mere thirteen year old daughter and saw absolute determination in them. His own violet gaze roamed over her and he realized where open wounds had once been, scars indicating healing could be found instead. Just as her body needed to heal, so did her mind, her soul. Just maybe this admission was what she needed, a way to rid her heart of all the anger and fear that had been residing there. That was the moment he knew his loving baby girl was still with them. The monsters hadn’t broken her spirit, they may have tried to but in doing so they made her stronger. A small sense of peace wove through his chest, working to mend his own broken self . Later, they walked the beach together, her collecting sea shells along the way. It was the first time she had been out to explore her new island home and he had been in no rush. He’d walk that beach with her for days if that was what she needed. The days that followed were kinder, Lily slowly but surely returning to her former self. Her inner strength, her desire to be who she chose to be made pride swell up inside him. She was the absolute embodiment of the Greek goddess she was justly named for. If possible, their bond grew even stronger bond with each new day. Zeus worked with Lily, teaching her to control and harness her new found physical strength while she worked on mending her inner one. They started each morning the same, walking the beach together before their training sessions would begin. It was a tradition that continued to this day.

That is up until her and his other greatly missed daughters had left for New York. Oh gods how he missed them. He missed Ivy’s, his Alathea’s sassy nature and chaotic personality. His outspoken daughter had the ability to turn any situation into one of positivity and humor. He missed Mona’s strong hugs and open defiance. It had taken awhile, but Zeus had won Mona over and today she no longer showed much sign of the frightened young girl she had once been. The day she called him dad had made his heart happy beyond measure. She was just as loved and cherished as his biological children were to him. For all that she had endured, Mona managed to have a heart forged of gold and fit within the Master’s family seamlessly. He missed Lily’s gentle demeanor. Lily was the light that kept this family together. She had the gift to calm others around her, bringing a tranquil atmosphere to this sometimes-hectic clan.

Zeus knew his daughters wouldn’t be returning to the island and an ache spread throughout his chest at the realization. He was well aware of his Maggie’s plans when he allowed the girls to leave. One would think that after more than 30 years together that his mate would know she couldn’t hide anything from him. He knew all about the four mutant brothers that protected the city from below. Years back, when the girls were much younger, he and his brother Hades had gone to New York to search out and observe these other terrapin mutants. Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello were responsible for saving countless lives all while keeping to the shadows. He respected and even admired the brothers seeing as it took a strong man to sacrifice himself to protect people who could very well turn against them if their presence was ever discovered. It had been a difficult decision but ultimately, he and Hades had decided not to make themselves known, not ready to bring four strong males into the girls’ world just yet.

All that changed after his human brother, Jax, learned of the brother’s existence and shared that with his sister. Maggie had become relentless in her pursuit to get her daughters to the states. He understood his mates desire, not wanting their children to live life without love but he hadn’t been ready to let go. Ares was the only one of their children that had been blessed with finding their mate and Ella was an amazing woman and loved Ares fiercely. He wanted the same for his girls but not just anyone would do. Whoever managed to capture their hearts had to be individuals of honor and loyalty, nothing less would do for his girls. Grudgingly he agreed to let them go, not being able to deny the hope in Lily and Ivy’s eyes as they contemplated the possibility of an adventure all their own. Mona hadn’t shared the same intensity but would never leave Lily’s side for a long measure of time.  Now it seemed they had found something much more serious than Zeus had been prepared for. If Jax was right, Lily for certain had felt the mating hum with the leader, Leonardo. She was lost to him for there was no greater pull then the one of your one true mate, the one that would complete you.

He felt before he saw Hades and then Hera come up from behind as they made their way onto the porch. He acknowledged them both as they moved to flank him on either side. Hades mimicked his stance before slamming his shoulder against his own. Zeus rolled his eyes humorlessly and swore it was Hades’s mission in life to see how deep he could burrow himself beneath Zeus’s skin. Hades was lucky his brother loved him as much as he did, anything less and he might have suffocated the younger turtle in his sleep he mused.

“Hades, leave brother alone. It doesn’t seem as if he’s in the mood for your antics today.” Hera scolded playfully before swatting her mate with her tail.

“Do that again my dear and you’ll find yourself over my knee.” Hades offered with a waggle of his eyebrows at Hera.

“Promises promises.”  She answered with a laugh.

“Alright you two, take it back inside if you plan on continuing.” Zeus ordered, trying to hide his smile.

🥳💜💖

my reaction...

some days i've felt

as if i were

an extra piece.

the kind that

is packaged along

in furniture sets.

the "just in case" piece.

never gets used,

is never needed.

you always sit

for awhile

holding that piece, wondering where

it belongs.

only to discover

it is unneeded.

it doesn't fit anywhere...

some throw it

away.

others place it

on a shelf

or a drawer.

that piece has

no home

no home where

it fits in...

some days