Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 547: Bad influence.

They left the forest quickly with Sunshine and Ala teleporting everyone away. The rest of clean up could wait until morning, when the danger was cut down by half.

Tension gripped the compound of the fortress on the mountain like a physical weight. Even the usual hum of the machinery seemed to fade under the heavy, worried silence of the crowd. There was relief of course, when they were back in the safety of the bubble, but underneath, everyone could sense trouble.

The super humans in exo suits were already offloading the bodies of the fallen. The sight of the dead bodies lined up at the center mortified everyone that had not yet heard of the deaths. It was a cold reminder that while the children had played hero, real lives had been lost.

Standing on the sides of the quadrangle were the parents of the heroic children. It was a sea of pacing, anxious faces. Tia, usually a pillar of strength, was trembling, her eyes red-rimmed as she leaned into Major Elio’s comforting embrace. The moment she spotted Mickey’s messy pigtails; she didn’t just walk; she launched herself across the pavement.

"Mickey!" she shrieked, snatching the girl up so hard her teeth probably rattled.

The rest of the parents followed suit. It was a chaotic symphony of sobbing, scolding, and bone-crushing hugs. Lyra, burst into tears the second she saw Sergeant Erica.

"I’m sorry, Mom! I’m so sorry, we don’t know what we were thinking." Lyra wailed, burying her face in her mother’s tactical vest.

Erica, a woman known for being tougher than a tank, just stroked her daughter’s hair. "Hush now. You’re back in one piece. That’s all that matters right now." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Hadrian had a disappointed look when he closed the gap between him and his daughter. "You are in big trouble, and your big blue eyes are not going to save you. What were you thinking you silly little goose? You are not even forty inches tall!"

"I am 40.3." She replied. "And I killed three mutant beasts. I saved all the grownups."

Sunshine stood back, watching the reunions. She wanted to scream. She wanted to reprimand every single one of their children for the heart attacks and aches they had caused, but she knew better. Their parents were going to do the scolding.

Well, except for Pico. His father looked mighty proud of his son.

Poncho clapped Pico on the back, his eyes beaming with a pride he couldn’t hide. "Kid, that was incredible! Teleporting into a war zone? That’s my boy! You’ve got more guts than_"

He stopped mid-sentence as he caught Sunshine’s gaze. It wasn’t just a look; it was a promise to report him to Rosario if he did not talk sense into the boy. This little field trip was not allowed to become a regular thing. Poncho’s smile died instantly. He cleared his throat and fixed his expression into a stern mask.

"How could you do that?" Poncho barked, grabbing Pico by the collar. "Follow me! You’re going to hear the worst from your mother when we get home! You’re grounded until I say you are not!"

Sunshine shook her head and turned to Leah and Ala. The girl looked small, her face smudged with dirt, but her eyes remained suspiciously calm. Sunshine opened her mouth, the questions about the orange devices and the prime core weapons burning on the tip of her tongue.

Leah stepped in, sensing the interrogation. "Sunshine, please. She’s exhausted. We’re all exhausted. It has been a long day, a tragic one too. I need to send my daughter home and meet with Old Simon’s family. His granddaughter is going to be devastated; he meant the world to her. Whatever you need to know, it can wait."

Sunshine sighed, the weight of the day pressing down on her shoulders as well. "I understand. It’s late. Go. But Leah? I’m speaking to her tomorrow. No excuses."

Ala looked up, a faint, tired smirk on her lips. "I’m looking forward to it, Mrs. Quinn."

Sunshine frowned at the girl who was enjoying herself, safe in the arms and protection of her mother.

As the crowds dispersed, Nimo leaned towards, her nose wrinkled in distaste. "That girl is a bad influence on the boys," she muttered loud enough for the group to hear. "She’s going to get them killed one day."

"Neems!" Leah turned back, "My God, how can you say that! My daughter is only three and she is a sweet little angel. Don’t make it sound like she kidnapped those kids and forcefully made them fight."

"Keep moving." Phillip at the people that wanted to stick around for drama.

"I didn’t mean it in a bad way Leah." Nimo defended herself.

Ariel, who was usually the politest of the siblings, straightened his back. "She isn’t a bad influence, Aunt Nimo. Ala opened our eyes. She showed us things about the world and that we didn’t even know existed. She taught us to be brave and daring. In a chaotic world, there are no differences between children and adults. Only survivors."

Sunshine didn’t comment. She didn’t have the energy for a debate on educational philosophy. "Home, Ariel. Both of you. Now."

The two boys walked ahead of her, heads bent, feet dragging.

When they finally stepped through the door of their home, the house was eerily still. Hades wasn’t back yet. The boys let out a synchronized breath of pent-up air, hoping they might slip into bed unnoticed.

They were wrong.

A blur of white fur and a small human body collided with them. White and Castiel had been waiting in the living room. White was huffing, pawing at Earl’s legs, while Castiel clung to Ariel as if he were afraid his big brother might vanish again.

Thwack!

The sound of heat-resistant kitchen gloves hitting the floor made them jump. Rori stood in the kitchen doorway, her face a mask of grief and fury.

"How could you both?" she whispered, then her voice rose. "Is the apocalypse a joke to you? I was sitting here, staring at the clock, scared to death that something happened and that it was my fault for not watching you closely enough!"

Tears lingered in Rori’s eyes as she launched into a lecture that lasted ten minutes. She covered everything from "responsibility" to "the statistics of mutant-related deaths in minors worldwide.

Where she got the statistics from, was a mystery!

"We wanted to help, grandma," Ariel said softly, a single tear sliding down his left cheek. "If it was mom or dad out there, Ala would have helped us. We couldn’t just sit and do nothing to help her."

"We had our exo-suits!" Earl added, pouting. "They protected us. This is not a big deal at all."

The air thickened, and not in a good way.