Chapter 54: 50. Strict Parents Be Like

Mike fumbled with his house keys, a curse rising in his throat when his 16 Agility finally caught up with his 55 Intellect. Having that much Agility placed him at an Olympic level athletics. That was a paltry thing compared to his mind.

If he wasn’t careful, his thoughts could zoom too far ahead and overlook the present matter. And the present matter–regardless of the frightening news Lilith had shared while waiting on assassin attacks–was checking on his mother’s safety.

The Central Florida Zhou Residence was two acres of manicured lawn and animal hedges supporting a ranch-style abode. Each of the three bedrooms had sliding doors leading to the backyard pool. But the heart of the house lay in the sunken living room with floor-to-ceiling glass panes that expressed openness and friendliness even though Mother Zhou was probably the least friendly woman you’d ever meet.

Mike tensed at the edge between the foyer and the living room. At the center of the sunken floor, his mother stood with one fist on her hip and another wrapped angrily around her night slipper.

Half a dozen MPC agents waited on their knees around her.

Mike’s body double was nowhere to be seen.

“The man sleeping in your bed,” she said with a great scowl, “tried to kill me.”

Mike’s heart sank into his stomach. 

“It would’ve come to pass. But Jay’s mother called. She was spouting nonsense about magic, assassins, and our sons embodied in secret global plots. The usual Jhara craziness.” Mother Zhou slapped her sandal into her other palm. “But it made me suspicious since the man taking your place didn’t snore like you. That’s all I needed to know something was wrong.”

“What happened to the assassin?” Mike asked hesitantly.

One of the MPC agents started to answer when he got smacked on the head and forced to be silent.

“I called the cops,” his mother said. “But the assassin attacked before I could explain my suspicions. I ran for my dear life in circles until these idiots finally appeared.”

“We’ve dispatched the double-agent,” an MPC agent said under the baleful eye of Mike’s mother. “And cleaned up the mess.”

“We apologize, Miss and Mister Zhou, for our carelessness,” said another agent. “We are undergoing problems at the homefront. We didn’t expect double-agents this deeply embedded.”

“What do your bosses have to say?” Mike asked them. “Any word from Agent Cabana?”

“It’s chaos or silence,” an agent answered. “We’re to maintain our current mission until told otherwise.”

Mike wondered if this should be enough to ensure his mother’s safety. Or should he take Lilith’s offer and ditch the agents in case another assassin hid among them?

Mike pushed his glasses up his nose. The question was elementary. In the end, his mother was his responsibility.

“Mother, we must go now,” he said in Mandarin.

“No.” She shook the sandal at him. “You need to sit down and return to being grounded. There’s so much you’re in trouble for, Michael Zhou, I can’t even comprehend it myself.”

Nothing short of the old Christian God would shake the firm beliefs of his mother. That stubbornness was why Mike was alive today when the Zhou family wanted his father’s genes removed before birth. Mike was thankful, but that stubbornness bit both ways and had been a long-term bane of Mike’s existence.

So, rather than try to fight her for the thousandth time, Mike raised his hands with the palms facing each other.

The gap between his hands shone with a bright electric blue light as Mike [Mana Manipulated] a single particle into appearance. It cost a solid chunk of mana to show a mana particle, but that was a very negligible cost to pay to knock his mother off her sturdy foundations. This was also an opportunity for Mike to show off what he’d been doing while grounded.

Jay wasn’t the only one exploring the zany parts of his magic powers and Class abilities. And despite the serious issues raised tonight by all the violence spouting south, Mike’s boyish heart sang with glee as he showed off the most straightforward magical building block.

“This is magic at its most fundamental form, Mother,” Mike said. His fingers tingled. Thrumming waves of mana passed in and out of his hands to maintain the visible particle. The [Mage] was feeling very proud of himself. “As you can see, there are more important things I need to discuss with you once we leave here.”

“So, you have magic,” his mom said dryly. “That doesn’t stop you from being grounded and staying your butt home, Michael Zhou.”

Mike’s 55 Intellect was not prepared. He lost concentration. The mana particle disappeared with a sad pop and crackle. He stared dumbfoundedly at his persistent mother.

She was a very petite woman, barely a threat to anyone. She might as well have loomed like a giant to Mike.

“You must be joking, Mother! I have powers you can only imagine! And all you care about is punishing me?”

“I care about how you lied to me,” she snapped back. “I knew you were hiding something when you returned yesterday. You think Jay’s girlfriend calling ahead will distract me from this?” She slapped the sandal into her palm again, making the agents flinch. “Don’t give me that look, Michael. She wasn’t your type. And good riddance. She would’ve distracted you from your studies.”

“Studies? Are you seriously discounting I have real magic powers because you can’t deal with me taking the second spot behind Lilith?” Mike raged. “Well, guess what, Mother? It doesn’t freaking matter! I might not even go to university.”

A long pause took over until the AC unit kicked in quietly in the background.

“What?” she muttered.

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“I wanna go exploring the Multiverse,” Mike said. “And this is a terrible time to drop this since I’m in the middle of a war against assassins, but there, it’s happening. I’m kind of in a rebellious phase with all the magic.”

“You’re double grounded,” Mother Zhou said.

“C’mon,” Mike whined.

“And your magic. That’s grounded, too!” she shouted. “Double grounded magic!”

“Okay, this is going nowhere,” Mike said, losing some of his fear. “We’ll talk about this more later. We need to get going.”

He started moving to grab his mom when his 25 Perception noticed two of the MPC agents tensing. They were like coiled springs with their hands reaching into their leather boots. It was too late for Mike to pull out his wand, which he foolishly looked over in haste to get here.

But he was not without tools or weapons. His ability to [Mana Manipulate] wasn’t all benign. By combining [Mana Manipulation] and [Manapusher] through his palms, Mike released a shockwave of bright blue magic that clapped like thunder.

Sparks of magic and electricity burned trails over the rug and along the sofa. The chandelier overhead exploded into smelly smoke and melted glass fragments. None of which touched him or his Mother. He pushed a force of pure mana against the debris to protect them.

His attack sent the assassins hurtling out of the sunken living room and through the windows. They crashed into a rolling stop near the pool, their bodies charred and unmoving.

“Stay down!” Mike shouted at the other MPC agents. They could be possible assassins.

They cowered with hands raised. The sweat dripping off their faces caught bright blue glints of light that seemed to perpetuate themselves despite the living room lights being out.

“Michael,” his mother stuttered, sounding less stubborn and more worried now, “your eyes. They are like lightning caught in sapphire gems.”

Mike lost his edge.

“My eyes glow now?” he asked excitedly, paying close attention to the blue light shining on his mom’s face.

The light faded, plunging them into darkness. Mike [Mana Manipulated] a shiny mana particle to illuminate the room. He could try using his [Guiding Light] Talent, but this was good for his Skill levels.

“I guess it’s a short-term effect from producing pure magic without a wand.” Mike checked his Mana Status. He winced. Manipulating pure mana was certainly an inefficient use of magic without a focus.

“I don’t like this, Michael,” his mother said.

Mike shifted the mana particle to hover between two fingers. He wrapped his arm around his mom and gently guided her to the garage. “I know. And you’re right. I was wrong for lying.”

Not everybody’s mother could be as cool as Jay’s, but this type of secret didn’t work out like the comic books. If only things weren’t happening so fast. Mike could barely get his head on a swivel.

He almost wanted to blame YoAnna. But she’d warned them ahead of time, didn’t she? Mortals would try to ruin the things Mike cared for most. His friends, his mother, and becoming a true [Mage].

“The Jeep?” Mike asked as he started the garage door up.

Or his father’s motorcycle?

“The van,” his mother said. “Because I rather assassins shoot the soccer mom cart than our actual babies.”

Mike helped her into the driver’s seat. “You’re taking this pretty well.”

Mother Zhou frowned as if she couldn’t bring herself to speak right away.

Mike narrowed his eyes. “What are you hiding, Mother?”

“It’s Jhara’s fault,” Mother Zhou blamed as quickly as she breathed. “There was this one time we had a girl’s night out that involved some business with the mafia. She settled it.”

“What did Jay’s mom do?!”

“It’s Jhara we’re talking about. What hasn’t she done?” Mother Zhou quickly reversed, skidded around on the main street, and followed where Mike pointed as she shifted into drive and SCREEEE’d off. “So, believe your mother that she was a bystander the entire time.”

“Mother!” Mike gaped at her. “Why am I having a hard time believing your innocence?”

“And this is how you treat me, Michael?” Mother Zhou accused, breaking into a tearless sob. “Your grandmother wanted you aborted, but I fought and fought and lost my inheritance to save you, my only son! How can you turn on me like this when I’ve sacrificed so much!”

Mike groaned into his hands as he listened to the same story for the thousandth time. Being a magical badass didn’t stop a parent from being a royal pain.

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