CHAPTER 49: DEPRESSED
A little two-year-old boy floated off the ground and soared to the ceiling, hitting the ceiling.
“I know it’s hard to control flying, but you should try. Flying will become natural,” Mrs. Lidia flew to the roof of the house and held the little boy to lower him back down, and although she carefully and lovingly hugged him, there was no reaction.
Jonathan, who was looking at the young master and Mistress Lidia, approached them both.
“Young master, should you try to control your ability or do you want to float away when we go for a walk?” asked Jonathan, trying to encourage him a little.
The young master lifted his head to look at him and the purple eyes that were barely glowing simply passed by him and lowered, as he simply threw all his weight around without bothering to hold on.
Mrs. Lidia released him again, and he flew up to the ceiling again and hit the ceiling of the room, while the young master just let himself be without caring about being uncomfortable.
The young master learned to fly. According to Mrs. Lidia and Mr. Austin, it was a phase that everyone in their kind went through and flight was a natural part of growing up, but unlike both parents’ stories where they learned to fly by overcoming their limits, the young master flew in a peculiar situation.
“Control your flight or you will eventually fly into space. You are still too young to fly into space and it can be dangerous when you get out,” Lidia said, speaking softly to him as she flew beside him, but there was no reaction.
Not even when she hugged him and rubbed her cheek against his, or even when they both hovered on the ceiling and she snuggled him in her arms.
There was no discomfort, not that disgusted or unpleasant look when he was hugged, but rather the young master seemed as if he was not in his body, as if he had closed his mind going into a state of hibernation.
The lack of response worried Lidia, who simply sighed and holding the young master descended and put him in the carrier and strapped him in so he wouldn’t fly away.
“Can we talk, Jonathan?” Mrs. Lidia asked, giving him a simple look.
The gray hair was tied back and the woman with her golden eyes showed concern and managed to make the look extremely serious.
Mrs. Lidia was a woman who did not scare easily and even in the worst battles she stood her ground, so such concern was alarming.
Jonathan followed her into the kitchen where Mr. Austin was cooking.
“Still no change?” Mr. Austin asked as Ms. Lidia activated the kitchen security to avoid being overheard.
The security had ceased to be only against super with keen ears and had psychic defenses for those who controlled minds or psychic energy... Which meant the young master wouldn’t be able to hear the conversation, though he probably wouldn’t try to either.
In the state the young master was in, he barely ate or was motivated by anything. Even when he mentioned that there were apes in another city to encourage him to have the young master do ‘nature’s work’ there was no change.
“No. He stays the same. He seems detached, as if he is not present. His body moves naturally, for such a reason he has been able to fly... It means he is not consciously controlled,” Lidia answered, and looking at him, she asked. “What happened, Jonathan? I had imagined that everything had gone well.”
How much did she know? No, this was not the time for such a question. Not when the young master was in that state and he was worried about it.
Ever since the young master had asked him if he had ever thought about ceasing to exist, he had watched Zack slowly lose interest in everything and practically shut himself off.
Jonathan worried that something was happening, or that Zack was thinking about something dangerous.
“He’s depressed. It happened after his friend couldn’t release him,” Jonathan said and seeing that both parents were staring at him, he explained. “He thinks his body is a prison and...”
“We are the jailers,” Mr. Austin said, and when he and Mrs. Lidia looked at him, he sighed. “When I was young, I had a similar reasoning with my father. I saw him as an enemy and became violent. My mother was the one who managed to calm me down and I made peace with my father before he passed away.”
Jonathan looked at him and then diverted his gaze to Mrs. Lidia, who was nodding as if she understood what he was referring to.
Mr. Austin was a man who acted calm and while Mistress Lidia was the one who was best known for her strength, he was still someone strong and for him to say he became violent sounded surprising.
“Then mother told me about our kind and I learned what kind of beings we are,” Austin said and seeing that he didn’t understand, she gave him a calm look and revealed. “Our race is special, even in this universe. It’s complicated to explain.”
And he didn’t want to explain the reasons why they were special, either. It wasn’t about trust, but Mr. Austin didn’t seem to want to complicate the situation further and more so when he wasn’t one of them.
Jonathan nodded. At this point, it was impossible to ignore the young master’s quirks. From his high strength, despite being a baby, as his intelligence, mental development and even the ‘friend’ who was definitely not someone just like his parents.
He didn’t decide to delve into it now or even when the young master talked about freedom or treated his body like a prison or his parents like jailers, because to Jonathan, regardless of the truth, the young master was someone he had to protect.
“How about calling my mother-in-law?” Lidia asked casually and....
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“No,” Austin answered immediately and realizing that Lidia was looking at him, raising her eyebrow curiously, he coughed and explained. “My mother is... An unstoppable force, and they will get along badly with our son.”
Jonathan looked sideways at Mrs. Lidia and thought that she was a kind of ‘unstoppable force’ and it was impossible not to treat her that way when she forcibly overcame the young master’s defenses.
From feeding him, as from cuddling or coddling him when the young master didn’t like any of it.
It was hard to imagine that the young master put up with all that because he respected his mother and it was more likely that he did it out of caution because of the beating he received.
Still, if someone else came... Jonathan kept silent, not wanting to say that the young master could end up fighting with his grandmother.
“So what do we do?” Lidia asked, giving a slightly exhausted sigh.
She was a first time mother and was having a hard time dealing with her son and it was rare to see her slightly depressed as she felt helpless. Lidia was a strong woman, but for Jonathan, a son like the young master would overcome any kind of strength.
“It’s all right, honey. Let’s just give him time. Our son is a special case, even among our kind,” Mr. Austin said, hugging Mrs. Lidia and then murmured. “And if things don’t work out, I’ll ask mother to come visit. She’ll be able to deal with him.”
Jonathan kept silent, doubting Lord Austin’s words and if he was sincere, he had overwhelming confidence in the young master and his abilities... Also in his stubbornness and his facility for anger.
Mrs. Lidia nodded as she was hugged, and Mr. Austin turned to him and, after hesitating for a second, sighed.
“How about taking Zack for a walk? You know, so he can clear his head a little and let him have some fun to get his spirits back up,” Mr. Austin asked.
Although he didn’t mention it, the look in the man’s eyes was asking him to learn about his condition and see if he could help the young master recover.
Jonathan nodded immediately.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
He didn’t mind Mr. Austin asking him to do so, as he himself had wanted to encourage the young master, even if it meant getting into trouble.
Should he try to motivate the young master to eliminate the robots? He seemed to hate them... Or perhaps he should motivate him to sell his bottles?
The task was going to be complex.
******
Mia, who was at the door of the gym for the supervillains at the headquarters of the Transcendental Organization, saw the owner of this organization that took control of the city hovering in the air.
No, not only was he floating, but from his waist he had a belt and rope tied to him and the one who was carrying him like a balloon was Golden Girl while she was working out.
“There are many new supers who want to join the organization. Since we already control the whole city, many have decided to join. It was to the point that someone took my place in the casino. I’m proud of my quick hands, so it’s a pity. Anyway, I earn more money here. No one can keep up with my speed, though. Since I started working openly in this, I’ve noticed that my speed increases, even if I didn’t use your power. What do you think it is? The Architect says it’s my divine blood. I say I’m talented, but Donovan has scoffed at my idea. Anyway, have you heard the rumors? They say the Circle of Villains is interested in you.”
Gloria liked to talk. Mia had learned it after she was caught by that woman and practically held for hours on end, and she heard much of Gloria’s life.
She couldn’t tell her too much, not only because the woman was a speedster who was among the organization’s greatest forces, but the woman was close to Donovan and the transcendental didn’t do anything to her.
Like now, he was being carried around like a balloon while the Golden Girl trotted on a treadmill and she talked to him without him bothering.
This time, though, it wasn’t like he was putting up with the annoyance. Mia could tell, for as she looked into the transcendental’s eyes, she saw a faint gleam as if he wasn’t present.
Sighing to herself, she walked away, heading for the room of her master who was working with the architect and halfway there she stopped and headed for the office with the door open.
“Even if Gloria bothers him, he doesn’t react,” Jonathan said in a worried voice.
“He won’t react. The master is not present in his body,” Donovan replied.
“What do you mean, he’s not present? Then where is he?” asked Jonathan, even more worried.
They were both so focused on their conversation that they didn’t notice that they didn’t close the door and that she approached and Mia entered, not of her own free will, but because of that entity controlling her body.
“He is in the dream world.”
Mia spoke... No, the one who spoke was her master. Hope, the brightest transcendental.
Both men looked at her and it was Jonathan who gave a serious look before closing his eyes to calm himself.
“Thank you for the information. Could you help me contact him?” asked Jonathan in a respectful and calm voice.
The man wasn’t speaking to her with respect because he knew the strength of her master, but he did so because the transcendental respected her master and he, as a subordinate, held the same respect as the one he served.
Even though the man stood toe to toe with the City Sun without giving his all, he still maintained respect without showing any pride...Mia had heard the story of Gloria’s battle and while that woman was talkative, she was not a liar.
“He listens to you if you talk to him, though it’s another matter if he ignores you,” Hope said and this time the voice came from everywhere, then continued. “You won’t encourage him. He’s...”
The voice stopped and this time the psychic energy manifested near her, taking the form of a light blue girl and she received Jonathan’s concerned look and Donovan’s seriousness.
“He’s depressed,” Jonathan murmured in understanding and, looking at Hope, he asked. “Can you help me cheer him up? I’ve tried everything. From mentioning to him that we should go destroy apes or fight robots, and I even mentioned to him about finding ‘kids’ for him to teach.”
What kind of a way to ‘cheer up’ was that? Mia was silent and from the chagrined looks on the faces of those present, she could tell that the transcendental was eccentric.
However, her master lowered her head and then raised it again.
Hope did not mention what was going on, nor did she mention that she was working hard with the architect to find a way to ‘free’ the stronger transcendental. Mia couldn’t understand the whole thing, but it was obvious to her that such a release was what the transcendental was looking for.
“You can get him to talk to people who catch his attention or try to get him to meet new people. Even if they are inferior beings, he may be interested. It can also work to arouse their curiosity with something new. Knowing him, it is best to stay away from anything technological referring to cybernetic beings. He is a very conservative transcendental,” Hope said and, giving a sigh, muttered “I can’t think of anything else that would interest him.”
Along with those words, she disappeared completely, though Mia knew she still remained listening through her.
Mia watched both men linger, pondering the advice.
“I heard that Hugo Dumont was dismissed from the Thorn auction house. The master might be interested in that information. It was Hugo who mentioned the tower,” Donovan said, and unsure, muttered. “Didn’t the master owe him a favor? Perhaps he might be interested in hearing about it.”
“If it might be possible,” Jonathan replied and frowning, commented. “The Circle of Supervillains has sent some messages mentioning a courier. They want to make an official approach - perhaps he might be interested?”
Wasn’t that just a rumor? Mia was curious.
The Circle of Supervillains was a highly recognized and extremely important worldwide supervillain group. Unlike other supervillains who caused destruction in the different cities on the continent, they controlled the underworld of different cities and both their individual power and the influence of the organization they led was high.
That they sent someone, perhaps it was to meet the new owner of the Blue City officially and see if he was fit for the job.
Though if he wasn’t, it would probably mean they would be looking for trouble, but seeing the look on Jonathan’s face, Mia realized that option was the one they were hoping for.
The stronger Transcendental would probably have someone to have fun with if they came to challenge him. After all, being belittled would be an attack on pride and the Transcendental was very proud.