h4Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Surrounded/h4

    "Grandmother?" Luna whispered, her silver eyes wide with disbelief.

    "Hello, Luna," the President said coldly. "You have your mother’s stubborn streak."

    "My mother is dead," Luna shot back.

    "Is she?" the President asked with a cruel smile. "Are you so sure?"

    ra stepped protectively in front of Luna. "Don’t y games with her."

    "Games?" the Presidentughed. "This isn’t a game. This is survival."

    More military vehicles surrounded them. Tanks rolled into position. Soldiers with supernatural-enhanced weapons took aim.

    "Madam President," General Morrison said nervously, "the media is still recording."

    The President waved her hand. Every camera in the area went dead.

    "Not anymore," she said simply.

    "How did you do that?" Phoenix demanded.

    "Silver magic," baby Sage whispered, his truth-sight reading the President’s power. "Just like Luna’s, but twisted."

    "Twisted by years of hiding," the President exined. "Do you know what it’s like to be supernatural in a human government? To watch your own kind be hunted while you smile and signws?"

    "Then why didn’t you help us?" Luna asked, her voice breaking.

    "Help you?" the President scoffed. "You children nearly exposed all of us with your little light show."

    "We were protecting supernatural children!" Phoenix protested.

    "You were being reckless!" the President snapped. "Forty years I’ve worked to keep our world secret. Forty years of careful nning. And you destroyed it all in one night."

    "Good," baby ze said defiantly, his tiny mes flickering. "Secrets are lies."

    The President’s silver eyes narrowed dangerously. "Careful, little fire starter. I’ve killed supernatural children before."

    "That’s impossible," Ronan snarled. "No supernatural would hurt children."

    "Wouldn’t they?" the President asked. She gestured to the enhanced soldiers. "Meet my previous experiments."

    The enhanced soldiers’ faces were emotionless. But baby Sage’s truth-sight saw deeper.

    "They were children once," he gasped in horror. "Supernatural children. You turned them into weapons."

    "The Enhanced Human Project," the President confirmed proudly. "We take young supernaturals and remove their emotions. Theirpassion. Their free will. Then we enhance their powers and train them to obey."

    "You monster," ra breathed.

    "I’m a survivor," the President corrected. "And soon, you’ll understand."

    She pulled out a strange device. It looked like a silver cor.

    "Power dampeners," she exined. "They’ll suppress your children’s abilities permanently."

    "Over our dead bodies," Kael growled, his Alpha voice booming.

    "That’s option two," the President agreed cheerfully.

    The enhanced soldiers raised their weapons. But before anyone could move, something unexpected happened.

    The human crowd that had gathered to watch began chanting.

    "Save the children! Save the children!"

    "Let them be free! Let them be free!"

    The President turned, annoyed. "Disperse those humans immediately."

    "Ma’am," a soldier said hesitantly, "there are news crews from seventeen countries here. If we attack civilians on live television..."

    "I said the cameras were dead," the President snapped.

    "The local ones, yes," the soldier replied. "But international satellites are still broadcasting. This is being watched by three billion people worldwide."

    The President’s face twisted with rage. "Then we’ll have to be quick."

    She raised her hand toward baby Sage. Silver magic crackled between her fingers.

    "No!" Luna screamed, diving in front of her baby brother.

    The President’s magic hit Luna instead. She copsed, her silver light flickering weakly.

    "Luna!" Phoenix cried, catching his sister as she fell.

    "I’m okay," Luna whispered. "But her magic... it’s like poison."

    "Silver magic corrupted by hatred," baby Sage said sadly. "It’s the opposite of love."

    "Enough philosophy," the President snarled. "Enhanced soldiers, retrieve the targets."

    The artificial beings moved forward like robots. Their eyes glowed with stolen supernatural power.

    But Kane stepped in their path, shifting into his massive wolf form. "You want them? Go through me."

    Seraphina appeared beside him, vampire speed making her a blur. "And me."

    Timothy joined them, his restored memory magic crackling. "And me."

    Dr. Webb stepped forward despite his mother’s protests. "And me."

    Even Frost created ice weapons in her small hands. "Nobody hurts babies. Ever."

    The enhanced soldiers paused, calcting odds.

    "Overwhelm them," the President ordered coldly.

    The artificial beings attacked all at once. But something strange happened.

    The regr human crowd began moving closer. Not running away from the supernatural battle. Running toward it.

    "What are they doing?" General Morrison asked in confusion.

    A middle-aged woman broke through the military line. "I won’t let you hurt children!" she yelled, putting herself between the enhanced soldiers and baby ze.

    A teenage boy joined her. "Magic or not, they’re just kids!"

    More humans followed. Dozens. Then hundreds.

    "The humans are protecting us," Phoenix whispered in amazement.

    "Not all of them," Darian pointed out grimly.

    Another group of humans was approaching from the opposite direction. These carried signs reading "MAGIC IS EVIL" and "DESTROY THE MONSTERS."

    "Kill them all!" someone in the hate group screamed.

    "Save them all!" someone in the protection group yelled back.

    The two human crowds collided in the middle. Fighting broke out immediately.

    "This is chaos," the President said with disgust. "Enhanced soldiers, ignore the humans. Focus on the targets."

    But the artificial beings were struggling. Every time they tried to reach the supernatural children, more protective humans got in their way.

    "I have an idea," baby Sage said suddenly.

    "What?" everyone asked.

    "We surrender," he said simply.

    "WHAT?" every parent shouted at once.

    "Not really surrender," baby ze exined, understanding his brother’s n. "Pretend surrender."

    "Go with the President voluntarily," Sage continued.

    "Are you insane?" Ronan demanded.

    "Think about it," Phoenix said, catching on. "If we go willingly, the humans will follow."

    "And the cameras will keep recording," Luna added, struggling to her feet.

    "The whole world will see exactly what the government does to supernatural children," Sage finished.

    "That’s... actually brilliant," Darian admitted reluctantly.

    "Also incredibly dangerous," ra pointed out.

    "Everything’s dangerous now," baby ze said wisely. "At least this way, we control the danger."

    The President was watching their whispered conversation with suspicion. "What are you plotting?"

    Baby Sage looked up at her with his innocent crystal blue eyes. "We’lle with you."

    "Sage, no," ra pleaded.

    "We will," baby ze agreed. "But we have conditions."

    The Presidentughed coldly. "You’re in no position to make demands."

    "Aren’t we?" Sage asked. He pointed to the sky. "Satellite cameras from every major newswork. Three billion people watching. What do you think happens if you drag screaming babies away on live television?"

    The President’s smile faltered.

    "Public opinion matters," Phoenix added. "Even to Presidents."

    "Especially supernatural ones," Luna said pointedly.

    The President nced at the cameras she couldn’t shut down. At the crowds of humans fighting over the children’s fate. At the international attention focused on her every move.

    "Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "What are your conditions?"

    "Our parentse with us," baby Sage said firmly.

    "Absolutely not."

    "Our older siblingse too," baby ze added.

    "Out of the question."

    "Then we fight here," Sage said calmly. "Right now. On live television. In front of three billion witnesses."

    "You’re children," the President hissed. "You can’t threaten me."

    "We’re not threatening," ze replied innocently. "We’re promising."

    Baby Sage’s truth-sight began to glow. Baby ze’s mes started dancing higher.

    "Last chance," Sage said softly. "Family stays together, or everyone sees what happens when you try to separate us."

    The President looked at the cameras. At the crowds. At the enhanced soldiers who couldn’t move without hurting innocent humans.

    "You little monsters," she whispered.

    "We prefer ’strategic thinkers,’" baby ze said cheerfully.

    After a long moment, the President nodded stiffly. "Fine. Your family can apany you. But they’ll be detained as well."

    "Deal," both babies said together.

    "This is a mistake," ra whispered to them.

    "Maybe," Sage replied quietly. "But it’s our mistake to make."

    "Together," ze added firmly.

    The President gestured to her enhanced soldiers. "Escort them to the transport vehicles. Carefully. The whole world is watching."

    As they walked toward the military trucks, baby Sage caught his parents’ hands.

    "Trust us," he whispered. "We have a n."

    "What n?" Kael asked urgently.

    Sage smiled mysteriously. "You’ll see when we get to their secret facility."

    "What secret facility?" Darian demanded.

    "The one where they keep all the other supernatural children they’ve captured over the years," baby ze said quietly.

    Everyone froze.

    "There are others?" Luna asked in shock.

    "Dozens," Sage confirmed sadly. "Maybe hundreds."

    "And we’re going to set them all free," ze added with determination.

    "How?" Phoenix asked.

    "By doing what we do best," the babies said together.

    "Which is?" Ronan pressed.

    Baby Sage’s crystal eyes twinkled with mischief. "Being underestimated."

    As the military trucks drove away with their precious cargo, one thought ran through everyone’s minds:

    They were walking straight into the most dangerous trap ever set for supernatural beings.

    But maybe, just maybe, they were about to turn that trap inside out.

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