Summus Proelium

Well, this was going to be… interesting. Not to mention probably loud and violent too.

A small, half-amused smile crossed Irelyn Banners’ face as she drove her car around the corner of the street leading to the gate in front of her family’s house and stopped there. That very thought applied double in this situation. Coming back to this place at all was bound to cause some friction given her father’s attitude toward her (he hadn’t disowned her as a joke, after all), especially when it was on his new daughter’s birthday. She could only imagine the way he would’ve reacted to her appearance on a day like this, even if absolutely nothing else was going on. It would’ve been explosive.

But there was more to it than that. Because Paige wasn’t just his new daughter, she was-- well, he thought she was his possession. Not that that was all that different from how he had considered Irelyn herself as a child, but still. And now, today, they had something much worse planned than anything Irelyn had gone through. Between Aaron Banners and the filth who called himself Paige’s real father, Irelyn wasn’t completely sure which one she wanted to put her fist through more.

No, no, she did know. It was Pittman. She definitely wanted to kill Pittman more. Though that didn’t make her want to break her father’s nose any less. And, more importantly, see him in prison for the deals he had made. He knew what he was doing. He wasn’t tricked or coerced into this plan. At least, not the part he was aware of, which was bad enough all on its own. He had been tricked though. That was what part of today was about. He had no idea what was actually coming. In his mind, soon Paige would be his doll to shape and mold however he wanted. She wasn’t a person to him, even less so than Irelyn had been. She was a tool to be used, a puppet whose strings he could play with to make her dance any way he wanted. He wanted a slave, not a child.

Irelyn wasn’t going to let that happen. And she wasn’t going to let Pittman get his way either. Hard as it had been not to involve any outside help, she had promised Paige they could handle it themselves. The other girl was clearly terrified of what would happen if people in authority found out what she was. To say nothing of what Pittman would do, even from Breakwater. Not that Irelyn could blame her, really. But there would be time to deal with that later, time to figure out how to handle who should know about her and how to get Paige all the help she needed once this part was over.

The guard by the gate had walked over to her car by that point, leaning down to get a look at her. “Uh, Miss Banners, I really don’t think this is the best time to--”

“Open the gate, Lou,” she interrupted in a tone that left absolutely no question or illusion about how badly it would go for him if he tried to deny her. “I’m going to see my sister for her birthday. And then my dad and I need to have a few words.”

Clearly debating a bit with himself about how much he wanted to get involved in this whole situation, Lou finally exhaled before stepping over to the guard shack so he could reach in and hit the button to open the gate. As it smoothly swung open, he gave her a wave before dryly calling, “Good luck, Miss. Feels like you might need it today.”

Part of Irelyn wanted to question how much he knew about that. But she also didn’t want to waste any more time, or give away that she might know more than she should. As it was, her appearance could be passed off as simply being prompted by her estranged family throwing a big party for her ‘replacement’s’ seventeenth birthday. If the guards around here did know what was going on, there was no reason to make them too defensive just yet.

It wasn’t time for the party guests to start arriving. That wouldn’t happen for a couple more hours. But there were several catering and party supply vans sitting out front, with crew and household staff alike carrying things around the house or inside. None of them paid any attention as Irelyn parked her car near the back of the line of vehicles and stepped out. Studying them for a moment, she tried to determine if any were actually Biolems. But it was impossible to tell like that. Which, of course, was one of the main points. You couldn’t just look at them and tell the difference that easily.

How could her father be so stupid? How could he think this was a good idea, that he could actually trust this Pittman asshole? How could he think he had any real control over this situation?

Well, because he was just that arrogant. Irelyn really shouldn't have been at all surprised by any of that. She knew who her father was, after all. She knew him better than most, having been on both the side of his love, or as close as he got to such, and that of his ire. She was his disowned daughter. And in his case, he took the owned part of that very seriously. Aaron Banners didn't have loved ones, he had possessions, and those possessions had the best not do anything to make him or his family name look bad. That was just who he was, even at the best of times.

And yet, this whole situation was even worse than she had thought he was capable of getting involved with. For all his many faults, she had assumed her father at least knew what the right side of the law was, and that he needed to stay there as much as possible. Or, failing that, he would know how dangerous being involved in something like this would be to his precious family name. Was he really counting on none of this ever getting out? Hell, before finding out the truth about all this, she would have hoped that he was a better person than this. Yes, she had her problems with his methods, but being a controlling dick who was obsessed with his legacy and threw his daughter out because she wouldn’t let him dictate her life was one thing. Being willing to work with a convicted supervillain living on Breakwater to create an army of Biolems and replace that daughter with a version he could literally program to do anything he wanted was another. Was he really that far gone? Or had he always been that person and she had simply never, even after being disowned and cast aside, seen it?

All of those were questions she was going to have to ask her father once this was over. Even if she had to do it while he was sitting in a prison cell. Because one way or another, Irelyn was going to make sure this was dealt with today. Paige wasn’t spending another night in this house with someone who wanted to literally program her brain to enslave her. She was a person. An unconventional one, maybe, but still.

With those thoughts running through her mind, Irelyn walked past the staff carrying boxes and trays, heading right in through the front door. If she knew her father at all, he would be upstairs in one of several offices he kept in the main building, obsessing over every minute detail of what was going to happen today. Hell, that’s what he would’ve been doing regardless, even if there weren’t additional plans going on.

One of the household staff, a maid who had been around since Irelyn was a little girl, tried to say something on her way past, but the woman simply greeted her by name and informed her that she didn’t need anything right then, without even slowing down. She marched right up the stairs, turned at the second landing, and strode toward the office where she could already hear her father’s voice. The way it was rising and falling, he was excited about something. Others might’ve thought he was angry, given the repeated volume. But she knew better. When it rose and fell like that, he was almost beside himself with excitement. When he was angry, it went cold and quiet. He didn’t get loud when he was mad, he deliberately made his voice so soft you could barely hear him. If his voice was projecting all the way down the hall like this, it had to be because he was practically giddy.

And knowing what she did about what today was supposed to lead to, the idea of her father being so happy made Irelyn’s jaw clench. A jolt of anger shot through her, and she had to pause for just a second to collect herself. Barging in there, forgetting the plan just so she could dress her father down and tell the man exactly what she thought of him in that moment, would have felt good right then, but it was a bad idea.

So, she breathed in and out, listening to the tone of her father’s voice. She couldn’t make out the specific words from there, and his door was open so once she was close enough to hear details he’d probably know she was there. The office was situated at the end of the hall, making it impossible to walk up alongside the door without being seen.

But oh well, the plan depended on him knowing she was there. So, once she was certain she wouldn’t blurt out anything briefly satisfying but overall detrimental, Irelyn walked right up to the open doorway and stared at her father. He was, indeed, on the phone, but had stopped talking when she came in view. His eyes narrowed, and he said something about calling the person back before disconnecting and putting the phone in his inside jacket pocket. All without breaking eye contact.

Aaron Banners was not an immediately-impressive looking man. He was shorter than average, his face was quite ordinary (if rather young-looking considering he was in his fifties), and he was just a little bit overweight. In truth, the only thing that stood out about him was his hair. And even that wasn’t real. The man would have been quite bald if it wasn’t for a special hair growth formula he had paid quite a bit of money to patent and control. That hair was still as dark as it had been in his youth, and fell in slightly curly waves to his shoulders. He was very vain about that hair.

“Irelyn,” the man announced flatly, no emotion audible in that voice. “I see you’ve chosen to behave like a child once again. I know you have no respect for me or my work, but I would have thought you might at the very least show some common courtesy for your--” He paused, amending himself in mid-sentence. “--for Paige on her birthday. Was it too much to ask for you to not make a scene today, of all days?”

Raising an eyebrow, Irelyn made a point of gesturing around herself with both hands. “Do you see anyone making a scene, Aaron?” She knew it rubbed him the wrong way when she used his first name. But that was his fault. He was the one who had decided he was no longer her father, after all. “It’s my sister’s birthday, of course I’m going to show up and see her.”

For a second, it looked like the man was going to object to the term ‘sister,’ but he let it go. “Fine,” he announced after brief consideration, “let’s go see her together. You can spend some time with her and then leave. The guest list for the party was finalized weeks ago. If you wanted to attend, you should have called earlier. But then, you were never one to think about how your actions affect others who put the actual work in.”

“Whoa, I’ve only been here for thirty seconds,” Irelyn found herself coolly retorting. “Pace yourself, at this rate you’ll run out of ways to criticize me before I leave, and then how will we fill the time?” It was easier than she’d thought it would be to sound calm in that moment. Possibly because she knew her father wanted her to lash out, and being calm in the face of his childish sniping was more rewarding than allowing herself to be goaded by it.

After staring at her for a long few seconds while he clearly tried to decide exactly how he should react, Aaron forced his next words out in a brittle tone. “You will not ruin this day for us. If that's what you've come to do, you might as well leave now. But if you can manage to think about someone else for once, we can go see her and you can congratulate Paige.” With that, he strode forward, moving right past his estranged daughter as she stepped out of his way. He was a man who rarely encountered anyone who wouldn't step aside as he marched through their space. In most cases, Irelyn would have challenged him more on that, or at least made a point of standing still until he recognized that she wasn't simply jumping out of his way. But right now, the only thing that mattered was following him to Paige and getting on with this.

Aaron said nothing to her as they moved through the house. He also said nothing to any of the staff they passed, though she had no real illusions about being on that same level in his eyes. Staff were useful. He had already decided she wasn’t. Not anymore.

Soon, they reached the top-most living area on the eastern wing. This was where Paige lived, because it had been where Irelyn lived. The girl had simply been put in her old rooms, as though it had been as simple as slotting her into Irelyn’s old place in every way. Only now did the man address the nearby staff, ordering them to leave the hall. He didn’t want anyone around to witness what he believed would be some sort of tantrum or other ‘problem’ created by the daughter he had already cast aside.

Once the corridor was empty, Aaron walked right to the girl’s bedroom door, and was about to announce his presence for the intercom when it abruptly opened. Instead of his new daughter, the man was facing his wife. Both looked surprised to see one another.

“Aaron?” Constance Banners, a tall, red-haired woman with a surprisingly kind-looking face given her general disregard for such frivolities, stared that way. She was clearly confused about his presence. “What are y--” Her words were abruptly interrupted, as a hand snaked around her from behind to hold a soaked cloth to her face.

Just as Aaron reacted to that and reached out, Irelyn produced her own soaked cloth and covered his face as well. Soon, both the matriarch and patriarch of the Banners were unconscious. Irelyn and Paige looked around their respective targets, met one another’s gazes, then quickly pulled the two into the bedroom.

The two of them worked swiftly, binding the so-called parents and removing all of their tools and communication devices. Not just their phones, but the emergency alerts they both had several of. Aaron Banners was nothing if not paranoid about his enemies. Fortunately, the two of them knew about all his signal devices. Soon, the man and his wife were secured inside one of Paige’s closets. They both began to wake up then, focusing on the figures in front of them. Immediately, Aaron and Constance began to bellow their annoyance and anger about the situation, demanding to know what was going on in between shouting for assistance. Which, of course, included attempting to activate the intercom.

“That won’t work,” Paige informed them coldly. “I disabled the system already.”

“And you made sure this room was completely soundproof a long time ago,” Irelyn added. “After all, you couldn’t allow the sound of anything either of us were doing in here to escape out into the rest of the house. Our music, our shows, the way we played, that was all safely locked up in here where we couldn’t bother anyone.”

Constance’s pretty face scrunched up a bit in annoyance before she forced out, “Irelyn, listen to your father and me. Whatever game this is, you don’t know what you’re doing. If you want some of your inheritance back, or--”

“Oh don’t worry, I know exactly what I’m doing,” Irelyn interrupted. “I know what’s going on, what you two are responsible for and who you’re working with.”

“She knows what I am,” Paige put in. “And we’re not going to let it happen. Believe it or not, we are helping you.”

Irelyn gave a short nod. “She’s right. You two were supposed to disappear in about twenty minutes. They’re already working on replacing the rest of the staff with Biolems.”

“What are you babbling about?” Aaron demanded angrily. “There are no other Biolems--you don’t even know--we are partners with Pittman, you small-minded, arrogant, immature--”

Again, Irelyn interrupted. “You know what the benefit of not caring what you think anymore is? I can do this.” Without another word, she closed the closet door and turned to look at the other girl. “You can seal this room?”

Paige nodded. “I can scramble the lock and make sure no one gets in. At least, not easily. They’d have to break the door down and that’d take time with the steel lining there and in the walls. Every room in this house is like a minor panic room.”

“Yeah, and the actual panic room is like Fort Knox,” Irelyn agreed. “Anyway, they’re safe now and we can deal with them later. You still can’t tell me anything else about what Pittman wants you to do today?”

“I can’t,” came the soft response. “All I can do is talk around it and tell you to be ready. The party has to happen and all the guests have to come. And I can’t do anything about the other Biolems, not yet.”

Irelyn offered her a faint smile. “Fortunately, I can. Okay, you do what you need to do to make sure everything’s set up for the guests. I’ll start working on the Biolems and spread the word about Aaron and Constance leaving. With any luck, whoever’s running point for Pittman will think they figured out they were being targeted and made a run for it. As soon as you do… whatever it is you need to do, we’ll go from there.”

She started to turn away, only to stop as Paige caught her arm. The younger girl seemed awkward in that moment. “I--thanks. Thank you. I didn’t think there was anyone who could help me deal with this. I wasn’t… I wasn’t planning on getting out of this tonight.”

Putting her own hand over Paige’s, Irelyn met her gaze. “Hey, you’re not alone. Not anymore. You’re my sister.

“Now let’s get through this together, so we can make sure all of our piece of shit parents end up or stay exactly where they belong.”