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“What guy?” Grant asked; his face taking on a stern yet quizzical expression.
“I don’t know!” Mikey flailed his arms out to the side in a motion that easily conveyed his distress. “He said his was our Uncle Emmett. We were surprised enough just to find out he wasn’t dead!” He added, sending an accusatory glare at the, possibly, real Emmett.

The man offered a guilty smile and shrugged, hardly surprised when Mikey’s expression barely changed.

“I had to… um... disappear. It was the easiest way to protect everyone,” Emmett replied without actually explaining anything.

Immediately he sensed six eyes boring into him. Even without looking he knew that each of the boys had realised that his answer had been evasive at best and mysterious and suspicious at worst.

“How do we know you are his uncle?” Frank asked, pushing himself quickly, almost leaping, from the couch. Approaching Emmett with a suspicious frown and pointing an accusatory finger. “From what he’s said, he doesn’t recognise you.”
“I didn’t recognise the other guy either,” Mikey frowned. “For all I know, neither of you are him and he is genuinely dead.”

Ray and Frank exchanged worried glances at the idea that they needed to prove that this man was indeed who he claimed to be. It seemed that even Gerard had been fooled; being so young when he last saw the man, how could Mikey possibly know?

Sighing, Emmett ran his fingers into his hair and scratched the back of his head, before looking up at the ceiling in thoughtful contemplation.

“How can I prove it to you?” He shrugged. “Can I maybe talk about things we did with you, Gee and your parents? Do you have photos?” He paused, frowning with annoyance. “No, that’s not going to help much.”
“Why not?” Ray asked. “How much different can you look in…” he looked at Mikey to fill in the last detail.
“Seven years,” Mikey nodded, still staring coldly at the man.
“Yeah, well, quite a lot actually,” he sighed as he replied. “I had to disappear and stay disappeared. I had some plastic surgery done. It seemed the easiest way.”
“I’ve known him a long time,” Grant added to the conversation. “This is Emmett, all right.”
“How long have you known him?” Frank pressed; as long as Mikey was unconvinced, so was he.

Grant tipped his head and shrugged as he realised that the answer he was about to give was unlikely to help the situation.

“Five years,” he replied, nodding to accept that he hadn’t really confirmed anything except that he was a man that he had known as Emmett for five years. “I guess that proves nothing.”
“Thanks, man,” Emmett turned a bewildered expression towards the Scotsman and flapped his arms out to the side in disbelief at the response.
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you, I’m just saying it doesn’t help Mikey!” Grant replied, his pitch increasing as he defended himself.
“So where does that leave us?” Emmett raised an eyebrow.
“Mikey,” Ray began, his eyes gleaming with an idea. “Can’t you get your parents to confirm one way or the other?”
“Your parents?” Emmett gasped, staring wide-eyed at Mikey.
“What about them?” Mikey’s eyes narrowed, still suspicious of this new supposed uncle.
“But, you’d need the DVD for that,” he cocked his head, confused at how he could have received it. “It was stolen from me by a Sentinel agent years ago. How do you have it?”

Mikey straightened up and his expression softened somewhat; it was beginning to sound plausible that he was who he said he was. Deciding that explaining the provenance of the DVD wouldn’t give anything away that might need to be kept secret should he not be who he claimed to be, Mikey replied.

“Emmett Number One gave it to us yesterday,” he replied, pursing his lips as he observed the man’s response.
“What did he look like?” Emmett asked, now curious about the alternate Emmett.
“Older, sixties or seventies maybe. Very smartly dressed, white hair,” Mikey paused to think for a moment. “Walked with a cane, but he didn’t look like he needed it.”

Emmett turned a concerned glance toward Grant only to receive a grim nod in return.

“Sounds like Oliver,” Grant mused, his brow creasing as he spoke the words.
“Oliver who?” Mikey prompted.
“No, that’s his last name,” Emmett replied, his expression one of confusion. “Benjamin Oliver,” he paused to shake his head before looking back at Grant. “But... It can’t be!”

Grant shrugged deeply, as if trying to shake the very doubt he felt from his shoulders. It sounded implausible to them that Oliver could have turned up out of the blue and with the DVD too. Could he also be involved in Gerard’s abduction? That last detail seemed far beyond their imagination.

“Who is he?” Mikey demanded.
“He trained me and your father,” Emmett replied, still apparently shaken by the possibility.
“And me,” Grant added, with a blank stare of disbelief.
“I mean, he’s a senior Paladin. Possibly the senior Paladin. I don’t understand,” Emmett sighed. “And I especially don’t understand why he’s pretending to be me! He doesn’t need to pretend to be anyone!”
“Mikey,” Ray interrupted the two men’s bewilderment. “Perhaps it’s time to play the DVD again?”

Mikey nodded; the answers seemed only to be slipping further and further away from him and he was growing ever more confused with each revelation. Realistically, he wasn’t going to be happy until he spoke with Gerard, but he couldn’t do that until his brother fell asleep. Even then, happiness was a relative term.

Not waiting for Mikey to potentially refuse, Frank pressed play for the DVD and angled the TV towards the newcomers. As the screen lit up and Mikey’s and Gerard’s parents appeared, Frank breathed a deep sigh of relief at their first words:

“Emmett, Grant, it’s good to see you again,” Donna beamed a smile. “How are you?”
“We’re okay, Donna and it’s great to see you too, but there’s something you need to know,” Emmett began, a grim expression on his face eliciting matching ones from Don and Donna Way. “The man who brought the DVD to the boys, it wasn’t me.”
“Not you?” Don frowned deeply. “But Mikey said…”
“He told Mikey he was me,” Emmett explained quickly. “Mikey was too young last time he saw me to remember what I looked like. Gerard too, he’d only be about ten.”
“So, who was it?” Donna asked, her brow creased with confusion. “And how did they have the DVD?”
“That’s the problem,” Emmett sighed, barely knowing how to explain something he didn’t understand himself. “It sounded, from Mikey’s description, like Oliver. But why would he pretend to be me? Unless you know anyone else it could be?”
“Mikey,” Don Way began, “think carefully, can you describe the man is as full a detail as you can?”

Mikey appeared thoughtful for a few moments. He had previously given every detail that he had thought of to Grant and Emmett, but perhaps there was more? Yes! There was more. His face lit up as he recalled.

“Yeah, okay, I’ve remembered more. First of all, he was, I’d say early seventies, very… I want to say more creased than wrinkly, tanned skin, white hair, very smartly dressed. I mean like, if he’d been wearing a top hat it wouldn’t have looked out of place! He walked with a silver-topped cane but didn’t lean on it, didn’t even look like he needed it. He read my mind… a lot. I couldn’t guard against him,” Mikey exhaled deeply. “He knew about Frank too.”
“What?” Frank looked up alarmed at the statement that a complete stranger knew about him. “Knew what about me?”
“He told me that… well… he said that Frank wouldn’t be able to keep Gerard from hearing things on the DVD that might confuse him.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” Frank drew himself up, indignant at the suggestion. “I’m better than he thinks I am!”
“Anything else?” Don asked, ignoring Frank’s outburst, his expression now grim and concerned.
“Yeah,” Mikey nodded. “He wore a lapel pin. It was silver, with green bits.”
“Green?” Don stared wide-eyed at the detail.
“Yeah, what does that mean?”

Mikey adopted a part-confused, part-concerned expression as he saw the worry in his parents’ eyes and heard the surprised gasps from both Grant and Emmett.

“Did you see any detail?” Donna pressed.
“No, sorry, it was really tiny,” Mikey looked apologetic, wishing he had paid more attention.
“If it’s what I think it is, it’s the emblem of the Sentinels, a sort of Roman soldier with a sword held up across his chest.”
“A Sentinel?” Mikey turned a puzzled expression towards Grant and Emmett. “But you said this guy trained you! How could he be?”
“That’s a really good question,” Emmett replied, his expression bleak and concerned.
“He said he was coming back today to discuss the DVD and any questions we have,” Mikey announced to everyone’s surprise.
“Is he now?” Grant smirked after the initial shock. “Well, I have a lot of questions myself! I’m going to move the car. Better he doesn’t know you have company.”

Mikey nodded at the suggestion; now more than ever they needed to know who this man really was and what he wanted. Above all, did he know what had happened to Gerard?

*

Gerard was sitting on the bed when he heard the door to the basement open and a few moments later, close softly. A light padding sound on the stairs - not loud, but in the silence of the basement loud enough to be heard - let him know that someone was on the way down. The accompanying click told him that it was the man he believed to be his maternal uncle Emmett. Looking up without moving from the bed, Gerard’s expression was hollow and bleak as he eyed the elderly man approaching the bars.

As the man came into view, Gerard saw that he was carrying a tray. The smell of whatever lay within the bowl intriguing his olfactory senses only moments after his eyes had caught a glimpse of it. As hungry as he now realised he was, Gerard remained stoic, refusing to show what he considered any sign of weakness. Looking up, he stared at the old man with narrowed, resentful eyes.

“Now, now, Gerard,” the man chuckled lightly, much to Gerard’s irritation. “There’s no need for that, it’s just some lunch. I know you’re hungry.”
“Oh, do you now?” Gerard replied, scathing in his tone. “Who are you?”

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he smiled surprisingly kindly at the boy and tipped his head.

“So much anger,” he mused, as he placed the tray atop one of the low cabinets lining the walls of the basement. “I guess that’s to be expected.”

Pushing himself to his feet, furious at what he felt was the man’s patronising tone, Gerard approached the bars. Looking out, he glared at the man who had posed as his uncle.

“Who are you?” He repeated, raising his hands to grip two of the bars. “You’re not my Uncle Emmett, you can’t be. So who are you? And… what do you want?”

The man turned a concerned eye towards Gerard; the obvious shake in his question suddenly and clearly announcing his barely concealed fear. He frowned as he stared back at the boy, deciding how to respond.

“You’re right, I’m not your uncle,” he sighed. “But, you should know he is still alive and he was supposed to give you that DVD when you turned eighteen.”
“So why didn’t he?” Gerard scowled.
“It was stolen from him,” the man replied simply.
“By you?” Gerard asked in an accusatory tone.
“No,” the elderly man laughed and shook his head. “I… retrieved it.”

Gerard shook his head, furious at the evasive responses. Slamming his hand against one of the bars, his anger overrode his fear and he yelled at the man.

“Who are you? And what do you want?”

The man took in a slow deep breath, at the same time understanding and disapproving of Gerard’s outburst.

“My name is Dr Benjamin Oliver and I’m in charge of keeping you safe.”
“Safe!” Gerard gasped, outraged by the reply. “Safe from what? The only danger I’ve been in is from the guys who brought me here! The one that threatened to push me down those stairs? Who picked me up and threw me in here? Safe from them? I’m in the wrong place for that!”
“Mason did that?” Oliver scowled deeply. “I’m very sorry, Gerard, I will ensure that sort of behaviour does not happen again.”

Gerard stepped a pace back from the bars and calmed slightly; this situation was puzzling to say the least.

“What danger am I supposed to be in?” He asked quietly. “And if I am, what about Mikey?”
“Mikey is only in danger as a means of getting to you. Now that you are not together, no one will go near him.”
“He was in danger? Who from?” Gerard narrowed his eyes, concerned that someone had, at the very least, intended to hurt his brother.
“Unfortunately I can’t answer that,” Oliver replied, his words edged with regret.
“Can’t or won’t?” The accusatory tone returned to Gerard’s voice.
“I promise you Gerard, it’s because I can’t. If I knew who it was, none of this would be necessary.” Oliver swept his arm across in front of him, indicating the bars and Gerard’s newly enforced accommodation.
“I don’t understand, what are you talking about?”

Turning to fetch a chair from the other side of the room, Oliver placed it down in front of the bars.

“I can explain what you need to know, but would you like to eat while I do? I don’t want your soup to go cold.”

Gerard frowned; he was hungry, he hadn’t eaten since he got up and the soup did smell so good. Finally nodding, Gerard gave in to his need to eat.

“Please,” he added.

Using telekinesis to lift the tray, Oliver sat down as the tray floated gently to the floor un front of the barred door. A separate section of bars at the bottom roughly six inches deep unlatched itself and lifted. Gerard watched, pale and unnerved, as the tray slid inside after which the small flap closed and latched itself once more.

“How…” Gerard looked from the tray to Oliver. “How do you do that?”
“It’s one of my powers, like your father and Mikey.”
“M-mikey can do that?” He stammered.
“You don’t know?” Oliver’s brow furrowed at the question. “But you watched the DVD, yes?”
“Yeah, but I… I didn’t think they meant weird stuff like that! I thought they just meant… and I didn’t know they meant Mikey too.”
“But you know that Mikey attends the Paladin Academy?” It was Oliver’s turn to sound confused.

Gerard merely shook his head, bewildered by the information. Had Mikey been lying to him for the last… how long? Weeks, months, years?

“I am very, very sorry Gerard,” Oliver sounded genuinely contrite. “I had no idea that you knew about none of this.”
“What is ‘this’?” Gerard asked, at a loss to know what to ask.
“Gerard, a group of us have been investigating the deaths of your parents. Do you know they were murdered?”

Gerard nodded, his shoulders sagged at the memory and his face displayed his distress at the memory.

“We’re trying to find out who killed them. We don’t know who, but we believe know why.”
“Why?” Gerard asked, moving closer to the bars again, his eyes wide and urgent.
“With their deaths, there was no one to tell you about your powers and to prepare you for them. Your grief probably even delayed their emergence. We suspect that the Sentinels intended to try to recruit you. We’re aware they you’ve been applying to art colleges. Once there, you would be separated from Mikey and they would be able to work to bring you into their organisation.”
“I don’t understand,” Gerard shook his head. “Why me? If Mikey has powers, why not him? Why not both of us?”
“Because, Gerard, you’re an Elemental, or at least you will be, with training. The most powerful of all Paladins. It’s very rare and they want to use you.”
“You mean…” It was as if all the colour and energy had drained from Gerard and he appeared weak and exhausted, still gripping the bars as if for support. “You mean our parents were killed because of me?”

Oliver’s expression softened as he saw the pain in the boy’s face.

“No, Gerard, your parents were killed because of greed, fear and violence. We brought you here to keep you safe and to try to bring justice to your family.”