“Why is it still there?” Skerren asked.
“Because he’s still there,” Jack said. “Khalix is still with me, Skerren. He’ll always be there.”
Jack didn’t know what Skerren would think of that. It didn’t make sense to leave any Rüstov parasites alive, least of all the empire’s crown prince. The armada was defeated and the Magus was dead, but as long as Khalix remained, there was a possibility, however remote, that
the Rüstov Empire could one day rise again. Jack had the power to expel Khalix from his body, but he wouldn’t do it. He’d given the Magus his word.
Stendeval rested a hand on Jack’s other shoulder. “The heart of a hero,” he said. “Like no one I’ve ever met.”
Skerren thought about that for a moment. He reached down to the cinders and ashes on the ground and got his fingers dirty. “We’re lucky for it.” Skerren stood up and drew a Rüstov mark around his eye to match Jack’s. “I’ll always be there too, brother. You can count on it.”
Fathers and Sons
Wars never truly end for the people who have lived through them. Every man, woman, and child touched by the hand of war carries with them scars of one kind or another. In this manner, the Imagine Nation’s war with the Rüstov was just any other conflict that had ever been fought since the dawn of time. The fighting might have stopped, but the people involved would feel its effects long after the last shot was fired.
Over the next few days, people from every corner of Empire City banded together to try and undo the damage
done by the Rüstov. The relief effort crossed every borough’s border and was blind to labels such as “hero” or “villain.” Everyone who fought the Rüstov was by definition a hero. Just as it had been in combat, the Imagine Nation remained united behind a single goal—saving lives. Superhuman healers went to work tending to the wounded. Superpowered rescue workers pulled survivors out of the rubble. Condemned buildings were torn down to prevent further injuries, and salvageable structures were reinforced to provide shelter for those in need. The city was in ruins, but it would be rebuilt. Unfortunately, some things were broken beyond repair.
Once Jack and the others had done everything required to care for the survivors, they turned their attention to the needs of those who weren’t so lucky. No war ends without casualties, and the physical toll of the second Rüstov invasion was considerable. It took days, but eventually the bodies of all who had fallen were laid to rest. At least, those bodies that could be found. Many people were missing, and no amount of rebuilding or repairs could fill the void they’d left behind or make Empire City whole again. The Imagine Nation needed
time to heal. Time to mourn the loss of friends and family. Most of all, the people needed time to celebrate their lives and the freedom their sacrifices had delivered. The war was over, and despite the pain that accompanied the loss of every life that the Rüstov had taken, there was still much to be thankful for.
Five days after the Magus surrendered, a ceremony was held in Hero Square to honor the fallen and rejoice in the end of the Rüstov war. That evening, Jack made his way to the center of the city to join in the festivities. He was among the heroes being honored for the role he had played in the battle. When he arrived, he saw a sea of people holding white candles and pictures of their lost loved ones. The crowd parted for him and the people thanked him as he made his way to the sphere. He was among the first heroes to arrive there. Chi and Prime greeted him as the other heroes being honored followed closely behind.
“Hail the conquering hero,” Prime said, holding his fist against his heart in the Valorian salute.
“We’re all heroes here, Prime,” said Jack, returning the gesture. “Everyone who fought the Rüstov is.”
“Some more than others,” Chi said, bowing his head.
“Welcome, Jack. Your modesty is admirable, but your contribution was anything but modest. Your deeds replaced fear with hope when we needed it most. That saved us as much as anything else.”
Jack looked past Chi and Prime to Legend’s monument, which had been returned to its proper place. A far as he was concerned, a statue of Revile belonged right next to it. “I had help,” Jack said. “I didn’t do it on my own.”
“But you made the difference,” Virtua called out. Jack turned and saw the luminous Circlewoman of Machina arriving with Jazen. Blue was a few steps behind them. “Isn’t that what my special assistant always says being a hero is all about? Making a difference?” When she said “special assistant,” she and Jazen smiled at each other like it was some kind of inside joke.
“Go ahead and take the credit for once, Jack,” Jazen said. “Enjoy this.” He waved an arm out, motioning to the crowd. “You’ve earned it.”
“He knows what he’s talking about, Jack,” Virtua said. “We’re all grateful for what you’ve done.”
Jack sighed. “Okay, maybe I have earned a little . . .” Virtua didn’t seem to be listening to Jack’s reply. She had
taken Jazen’s hand. The two of them looked into each other’s eyes and smiled. Their faces were so close, Jack thought they might kiss. The looks in their eyes made him want to put money on it. “Wait a minute, are you two . . .?”
“Yeah,” Blue said. “They are.” He snapped his fingers in front of Jazen’s face. “Hey, loverboy, wake up. There’s people here.”
“Hnh?” Jazen said, his head snapping around. “Oh. Sorry,” he said with a mischievous grin. Virtua’s projection turned a subtle shade of red. It was a digital blush.
Jack held his hands up and shook his head with a mystified smile. “What gives? You’re going out with Virtua and you don’t say anything?”
“It was no big secret,” Jazen said. “There just wasn’t any good time to bring it up. I seem to remember us being kind of busy the last few days, don’t you?”
Jack looked at Jazen and cocked his head sideways. “I guess you’ve got me there.” He turned toward Virtua. “Now I understand why you were willing to go to war with Hightown over this guy.”
Jazen smiled. “In the middle of a Rüstov invasion no less.”
Virtua’s eyes twinkled. “The things I do for love.”
“Jazen, you dog,” said Roka, who was sitting below the sphere, next to Stendeval. He clapped his hands together and laughed out loud. “I’m happy for you.” He offered Jazen his hand and gave a slight bow to the Lady Virtua. “For both of you. Don’t let anything come in between you two, or you’ll regret it. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about.”
“He’s right,” Hovarth said as he and Skerren entered the shadow of the sphere. “There’s nothing more important than our family and loved ones. We’re going to miss ours forever, just like all of the people here.”
Jack looked out at the sea of mourners and white candles. Hovarth’s words were something that every soul in Empire City could relate to. “We’re lucky we didn’t lose more,” Jack said.
“There you go again,” Blue told Jack. “It wasn’t luck. It was you. You’re the reason we’re all here tonight, Jack.”
Something about the way Blue said that seemed funny.
“I’m afraid we haven’t been entirely honest with you,” Stendeval explained. “You’re not
one
of the heroes being honored here tonight. You’re it.”
“What?” Jack said. He looked out at the crowd of people holding a candlelight vigil. “What about the people we lost?”
“The only
living
hero,” Jazen clarified. “Like I said, you’ve earned it. We didn’t defeat the Rüstov by accident. You won this war for us, Jack. You did it.”
Jack was trying to figure out what to say when Allegra, Trea, Lorem, and Zhi all arrived together. “You didn’t tell him yet, did you?” Allegra asked. “Did we miss it?”
“They told me,” Jack said. He shook his head and laughed, resigning himself at last to stand on the pedestal that his friends, and all of Empire City, seemed determined to put him on. He realized that for the first time, he didn’t have to feel guilty about accepting their praise, or worry about their reaction to something he had yet to tell them. He wasn’t hiding anything anymore. He was surrounded by friends, and his future was wide open. Nothing could have dampened his spirits at that moment.
Nothing except Jonas Smart.
“Hello, Jack,” the former Circleman said. Jack tensed up when he heard his voice.
“Look who’s here,” Jazen said, moving to Jack’s side.
“Come to pay your respects with the rest of us, Smart?”
Smart rolled his eyes. “I’m not staying. This ceremony is a travesty.”
Jack scrunched up his face. He couldn’t believe Smart still had it in for him, even now that the Rüstov were all gone. His friends all started talking at once, reproaching Smart for his total lack of respect. Blue looked like he wanted to let his fists do the talking. “Care to explain yourself, Smart guy?”
“I deserve just as much credit as Jack for this victory,” Smart said, raising his voice to be heard over the group. “It was my SmarterNet that phased the Rüstov fleet and my nullifier that held back the Rüstov prince. I came here to give Jack the opportunity to do the right thing. To go out there and tell those people how we really won this war. You didn’t beat the Rüstov by yourself.”
Jack smirked at Smart. “I never said I did. You’re right, Smart. Someone did help me. His name was Revile.”
“Revile! Now, see here—”
“He laid down his life to save mine. If it were up to you, I would have been killed years ago. Revile’s sacrifice is the reason I was able to figure out how to beat the Rüstov
infection.
That’s
how we won this war. You nearly cost us everything. You underestimated me, Smart. All you ever saw was the Rüstov. It’s no surprise that you of all people didn’t factor in what was in my heart.”
Smart stood there chewing the inside of his cheek as Jack chewed him out. Jack could tell he was getting to him. Smart was doing his best not to show it, but Jack figured Smart had to know that everything he was saying was true. “I want you to know I apologize for nothing,” Smart said. “I was only doing what I thought was right. What I thought was necessary to protect the Imagine Nation.”
“Nothing personal, right?” Jack asked.
“Exactly,” Smart replied. He and Jack eyed each other with an equal amount of contempt. There was no love lost between them, and never would be. “I have something for you,” Smart said as he used his pocket holo-computer to generate a piece of SmartPaper. “Enjoy.” Smart handed the paper to Jack and disappeared into the crowd.
Jack looked at the paper and gritted his teeth. Smart’s parting shot had found its mark.
“What is it?” Allegra asked.
Jack held up the paper. “It’s a backup copy of my
history file. Conclusive DNA proof that I’m part of the Noteworthy family.”
Allegra stretched over to Jack’s side. “Are you sure it’s real?”
Jack nodded. “It’s real. He’s getting in one last dig at me, doing the right thing and telling the truth about my family, but only because he knows it won’t make me happy. Have a look.” He held up the record for Allegra to read. “You almost gotta respect the man’s commitment to being an evil genius.”
“Evil?” a voice called out. “Surely it’s not evil to reunite a father with his son.”
Jack looked across the plaza and saw Clarkston Noteworthy standing beneath the sphere.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” said Solomon Roka.
Stendeval shushed Roka as Noteworthy came forward. The Circleman of Hightown looked humble. Contrite. “Too many families have been ripped apart by the Rüstov already, Jack. They may be gone, but if we let them add ours to the list, they still win.”
Jack couldn’t believe that Noteworthy was here. He looked around at his friends. They were all wide-eyed and
silent. Other than Roka, it seemed none of them wanted to inject their opinion into a family matter.
A family matter
. The words felt all wrong to Jack. Jack squeezed Allegra’s hand and let it go before taking a step toward the man he now knew to be his father. “Is that what we are now?” he asked. “A family?”
“You’re a Noteworthy, Jack. That sheet of paper in your hand is proof.”
Jack gripped the paper tight. “Sounds to me like someone’s getting a jump on next year’s election campaign.”
Noteworthy took a breath. He put on a wounded look. “I deserve that. It’s true. For a long time—too long, in fact—I couldn’t see past that mark on your eye, but I see the truth now.”
“And what’s that?”
Noteworthy reached out a hand to Jack. “You’re my son, Jack. You were always my son.”
Jack recoiled from Noteworthy’s touch. “But you were never my father. Where were you all this time? Every time Smart went after me . . . every time I needed someone to stand up for me, where were you? Where was the head of one of ‘the most respected families in Empire City’?”
Noteworthy said nothing. “Did you suspect I was your son when I first got here?” Jack asked him.
“No!” Noteworthy said instantly. Jack gave him a skeptical look. “I may have thought there was a remote possibility, but—”
“But you didn’t want to risk associating yourself with a Rüstov spy. An infected boy raised in the real world with a stain on his reputation that could never be washed off. Remember that?” Noteworthy clammed up. A year ago, Noteworthy had said those words about Jack in the Inner Circle’s sphere. He had said them to his face. Jack had no intention of letting him play the doting father now.
“It’s different now, Jack,” Noteworthy said. “Now I know the truth. And you’ve defeated the Rüstov—you’re a hero! We can write the next great chapter in the Noteworthy book, you and I. We can do it as a family.”
Noteworthy offered his hand once more, pleading with Jack to take it. As Jack looked at his father’s hand, he thought about what Hovarth had said. How nothing was more important than family. The more Jack thought about it, the more he was inclined to agree. The problem was, Noteworthy didn’t know the first thing about family.
The Magus was a better father to his son than Noteworthy ever was to Jack.
“I already have a family,” Jack said. “You’ve met them. It’s made up of people who were there for me. People who backed me up when no one else would.” Jack motioned to his friends. “You can keep the Noteworthy family name,
Dad
. My name is Jack Blank.”