[LSB] Chapter 153: Grudge

“You know… it’s just a game, right? We don’t need to bring any of that into our real lives?”

Hank’s stepmother’s birthday party had been lively. Had been.

Now, the room buzzed only with hushed whispers and nervous glances—every pair of eyes drifting toward one man.

Julian.

He sat at the hosts’ table, right beside the family. The plates in front of him remained untouched, his posture still, his presence suffocating.

Hank’s father, also named Hank, was the one trying, and failing, to break the silence. He chuckled awkwardly, sweat already gathering at his brow as he tried to gauge what Julian was thinking.

He could’ve refused him entry to the hotel, sure—but how would that look?

After all, his son had publicly executed Julian Winters’ character, or clone, or whatever it was. Well, whatever it was, he did it live. In front of millions. Even Hank Sr.’s clients had wavered, some threatening to back out of their deals over the scandal.

Because who was Julian Winters?

The last publicly known mutant. A living anomaly. More importantly… he had a direct, personal connection to Humanity Engineering, the most influential organization in the known strata of the universe.

Even if Julian were nothing more than a mascot, he was too important to ignore.

“Mr. Julian. It’s just a game, right?” Hank Sr. repeated, a twitch cutting across his face. He looked older than he had at the start of the night, a fresh wrinkle practically etched there by stress.

Julian finally moved, both his hands resting flat on the table. His voice was calm—yet anything but friendly.

“Hmm. Is it?”

“Y-yes! Of course, it—”

“But I lost something incredibly valuable there.”

The words cut Hank Sr. short. He gasped softly, leaning back on his chair to wonder.

“Wh—whatever it is, surely we can replace it!” He motioned for his assistant.

“My eyes.”

His assistant’s steps instantly halted as soon as she heard Julian’s words. She froze and then slowly turned to her boss, quietly asking if she should still approach. Hank Sr. subtly waved her away, his eyes finding their way to Julian’s.

He stared at his eyes for a moment before nervously chuckling again.

“I’m… I’m sure we can find something that would fit you here. You don’t have to—”

Hank Sr.’s assistant quickly made her way to her boss, either way, whispering something into his ear.

Hank Sr.’s face twisted, his lips twitching as he looked at his assistant in disbelief before turning his focus back to Julian. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t even think of a single word to utter to him.

Fortunately, or rather, perhaps unfortunately, his wife shattered the tension for him.

“Excuse me, but who do you think you are?” she snapped, unable to stomach the sight of her husband looking so submissive—so pathetic.

“I don’t care what his son did to you. This is my party. You have no right to—”

“Sabrina!” Hank Sr. snapped out of his stupor, yanking his wife back down to her seat. She immediately swatted his hand away.

“No, Hank!” Sabrina shook her head, glaring at the guests before scoffing and stepping behind Julian.

“Listen, I don’t care if you’re some bigshot. Celebrity, streamer, mutant, whatever—but this is my party!” she shouted. “And I find it very disrespectful that you’re making my husband look like a fool. You’re making everyone here uncomfortable, and I want you to leave. Now.”

“I know,” Julian said. “And I’m sorry.”

Sabrina froze, caught off guard by how quickly he apologized.

“But…” Julian continued, “...I’m not leaving just yet. I was told Hank and Mark were here. This may be the only chance I get to… talk with them. I expect I’ll be very busy from now on.”

“Then why here?!” Sabrina fired back, refusing to back down. “You’re being an asshole for no reason!”

“I’m not trying to be,” Julian sighed. “But I do have one reason to be.”

He tilted his head slightly, ear angled toward the door—just a second before it slid open.

“Ah!” Hank Sr. leapt up at the sight of his son entering. He grabbed Sabrina’s shoulders, trying to drag her away. “Let’s… let’s leave them to talk on their own. How about we cut the cake? The guests must be waiting.”

“But—”

“Sabrina.”

Sabrina lightly flinched as soon as she heard her name suddenly being uttered by Julian.

“I’m sorry again for intruding on your party,” Julian said. “I know words aren’t enough, so I asked Victoria to prepare a gift for you beforehand. I hope it compensates for… everything I’ll be doing here.”

“Huh? Who’s Victoria?” Sabrina raised an eyebrow, but Hank Sr. shoved her toward the crowd before she could press further.

He turned on his son with a glare, almost snarling as he gestured for him to deal with Julian.

The room grew heavier. If the guests had been whispering before, now they were utterly silent, every eye fixed on the unfolding scene.

Hank and Mark exchanged a quick glance, then carefully approached the table, lowering themselves into the seats across from Julian.

No one spoke at first. They didn’t have to.

Julian could hear it—their hearts, pounding in panic. They were obviously nervous, and it became evident to everyone there when Hank finally spoke.

“Wh—” His voice cracked, and he quickly took in a gulp and held his breath. He was about to speak again, but Mark spoke over him.

“L-look…”

Perhaps not the best word to use when speaking to a blind man, but Mark was too rattled to think of anything else.

“We’re really sorry, okay? It’s… it’s nothing personal.”

“Hmm.”

“You… you can have a stake in the hotel I got from Thatcher. Hell, take eighty percent. No—take all of it! It’s yours! Just…” Mark forced the tremor out of his voice. “Just promise you’ll let this go once I hand it over. Please.”

“Mark!” Hank slapped his chest with the back of his hand. “Why are you folding? He hasn’t even asked for anything!”

He turned to Julian.

“If you want a public apology, fine. You’ll get it. It’s just a game, man. If this is about that chick—thick chick—you saw she’s still alive, right? We didn’t hurt her. Look, our characters got wiped too, same as you. The Shield Saint killed us all after that. Mark’s already giving you his hotel. That should be enough!”

Hank pressed on.

“Come on, man. This isn’t serious. Let’s not make it bigger than—”

“Hmm.”

Julian suddenly hummed louder than usual, causing Hank to stop talking. He waited for Julian to finally say something, but he simply rose to his feet.

Hank and Mark also stood up after him. He grabbed his cane, and security quickly approached, but Hank Sr. quickly motioned for them to stand down.

Julian tapped his cane on the marble floor, his head tilting as though to drink in the sound of the room itself. He listened to every heartbeat there, focusing on how they fluctuated and skipped.

But before long, he focused on one single beat—his own.

He listened to his heart, and realized that out of all the people present in this hall, his was the one that was beating the most.

“Hmm,” he hummed again before words finally escaped his lips. “I always thought I didn’t know how to carry a grudge, that I was incapable of it.”

His lips twitched.

“She always told me I was wrong. That I could. But I didn’t believe her.”

Hank’s face tightened. “What the hell are you even talking about? Look, if this is about leverage, fine. I’ll cut you in on my hotel too. Two percent, five, whatever you want. Just say—”

“She was right.”

Julian’s words came from behind him.

“Wha—?!”

Both Hank and Mark jolted backward. Mark spun so violently he nearly tripped, catching himself against the table before he crashed to the floor.

The entire hall froze.

The security acted fast, surrounding Julian despite being as confused as everyone there. They drew their stun rifles, aiming at Julian first before they allowed themselves to be perplexed.

Wasn’t he just… standing in front of Hank and Mark moments ago? How was he suddenly behind them?

As security detail, they had obviously researched and profiled Julian, as he was one of the potential threats to their employer. They knew what he was capable of physically…

Julian Winters wasn’t supposed to be able to do that.

…so what was that?

He just disappeared right in front of their eyes. That wasn’t in his file at all.

And now, despite being surrounded by them, he didn’t even flinch or make a move at all. He only hummed again and continued his words.

“I do bear a grudge, and I believe I bear them quite violently. But I’m not going to do that, not here… and not to the two of you. I don’t want her to think I’m throwing a tantrum. But…” A small, and slightly amused breath escaped his lips.

“She’d probably still say that I’m throwing a tantrum.”

Julian then tilted his head, turning his ear to Hank, and then to Mark.

“Call him,” he demanded. “Call Vijya Thatcher’s father and tell him to come here. Then I’ll leave the two of you alone, and maybe even forget about what you did. You’re just weapons, after all. Forged for the purpose of getting rid of me.”

That was right, Julian was thinking of them as just tools—no. He needed to think of them as such. Because if not, then he didn’t know what he was going to do to them. Weapons, he valued.

But them, as humans? The only reason he hadn’t done harm to them yet was that they weren’t in Artemia.

“He’s not answering our calls!” Mark raised his voice. “Look, I can give you his number. And you can call him—”

“I already know his number.” Julian cut him off. “But I want the two of you to call him. You’re… our bridge. Do you know what happens to a bridge when—”

A loud ringing suddenly whistled in the air, causing Julian to tilt his head at the sound… only to feel the vibration of the noise coming from him.

He patted his suit and then pulled out the thing that was making the music from his pocket.

It was the Exterminator license card.

He held it in his hand for a few seconds before tapping it with his thumb and placing it next to his ear. He stayed like this for a few seconds before humming and slipping his license back into his pocket.

“Let’s continue this some other time. I need to go somewhere.”

Julian turned around to leave. Not before, however, turning his ear to Sabrina.

“Please wait for Victoria’s call. She’ll be the one to give you your gift,” he said.

“What… what is it?!” Sabrina hollered as she saw Julian walking away.

“This.” Julian raised a finger.

“Huh?”

“This hotel. I asked Victoria to claim this hotel from your stepson and transfer it to you. She’ll make it happen.”

And with those words, Julian casually stepped out of the hall, leaving everyone inside completely confused.

“Femty,” he called.

[Yes, Master Julian?]

“Can you leave a message for Ellie and tell her I’ll be gone for a bit?”

[Of course, Master Julian. And where are we going?]

“To Ferros.”

[The home of the Kregans? That’s a few galaxies away, Master.]

“Is it? We’re still going… a portal appeared there.”

***

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Sorry for the abysmal release dates. I'm just going through the roughest patch of my life right now. lol. I'll try to strive for daily release Monday to Friday from now on, rest in weekends. Let's do this. Do holler if you notice any mistakes.