Trooper Station | Saturday

[knife_bender]

Diego was glad to have the excuse to leave this morning after meeting his kids. He felt kind of bad leaving the twins with Annie, but in all fairness she was the people person between the two of them. Also, he wasn't under the delusion that he wouldn't get a visit at work today.

So he was enjoying the silence where he could, eating cookies he had grabbed from Danny's desk.

[Open]

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[knife_lights]

That silence was not going to last long, no.

"Hi Dad!" Autumn had hurried ahead of her brother and Weird Young Mom to make her way into the trooper station first, waving at Diego with some kind of extremely large whipped coffee drink.

Yes, Annie had caffeinated the teenagers in revenge for being left alone with them. It wasn't a great plan, since she would continue to be left alone with them, but you know. Annie was new to to this.

"Are those, like, police cookies?" she added, going to help herself to the chair Annie usually sat in when she visited. Super weird how Weird Young Dad was totally, like, a cop or whatever. "Are they evidence?"

[knife_lights]

Ben, naturally, was right behind his sister with something equally terrible for you to drink. "If they were evidence, why would he be eating them?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Excellent point, Ben," Annie said, wandering in behind them at a significantly slower pace. "You generally don't eat evidence."

Look, she was tired. It had been a long night -- a long week -- and while Annie had known this might happen, she hadn't thought teenagers were a potential possibility, nor had she anticipated them showing up the day after prom.

She had a terrible-for-you coffee drink for herself, too, though the cup she had for Diego was just black coffee. If you asked Annie, it was further punishment for abandoning her with their children, but really it was that she didn't have the energy for a whipped cream negotiation today.

[knife_bender]

Diego barely suppressed a groan. Come on, he just needed a few more minutes of peace.

He was grateful for the coffee, even if it wasn't fancy. "They're just regular Danny cookies."

[knife_lights]

"So they're stolen," Autumn supplied, wide-eyed and scandalized. "Oh my God, Dad, you're supposed to be, like, an example."

[knife_lights]

"I mean, it is sort of an example of how to steal things," Ben pointed out. "He's eating the evidence, it's the perfect crime."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Still have to dispose of the packaging," Annie noted lightly, smiling over her coffee cup over at Diego. Like, this was already exhausting, but they were so their kids, and she was kind of quietly loving this. Even if it was a little weird how they were only a few years younger than her. "Guys, show your dad what you showed me."

Because, like, good Lord, the Diego and Annie who were actually these kids' parents must be run ragged, based on what Annie had already seen.

[knife_bender]

"Show me what?" he asked, sounding a little wary. He could tell Annie was amused by all this so he had a healthy suspicion of what was going to happen.

[knife_lights]

Autumn rolled her eyes like it wasn't even a big deal, then narrowed them as she focused on the cookie Diego was holding.

She held a hand up and lightly pinched her fingers together in a point, and the cookie crushed into itself, disintegrating into crumbs.

[knife_lights]

Ben rolled his eyes at his sister being a show off. So, naturally, he also had to show off. He took another cookie from his dad's desk and threw it up in the air, holding up his hand to slow it's trajectory downwards before speeding it up, causing it to dramatically explode into little crumbs when it hit the desk again.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That," Annie said nonchalantly, her smile growing a bit.

Was Annie maybe a little disappointed that neither of the kids had light powers? Like, she could see herself in both of them in other ways, already, but it was just a little sad to her that neither of them took after her in that way.

[knife_bender]

Diego couldn't help the little surge of pride at seeing the kids having his powers. As far as he knew his niece didn't have any powers, so he didn't even know if it could be a thing.

"Okay, that's pretty cool."

[knife_lights]

Claire might not have powers, but she was hardly their only cousin.

"Can I get that on the record? Like maybe a signed testimonial?" Autumn asked, glancing over at Ben. "For, like, our other parents."

It was entirely possible they did not always use their powers for good.

[apocalypsehow]

"What is happening today?" Five demanded, teleporting right to Diego's desk.

[knife_bender]

"Christ--" Can't a person eat stolen snacks in peace? "Your morning can't possibly be as weird as mine."

[apocalypsehow]

No. No, they couldn't. Because Five was stealing that cookie for himself.

"Is that so?"

[knife_bender]

"Are you the father of teenaged twins with telekinesis?" Diego asked.

[betterthanacube]

There wasn't a sound so much as a child mannequin just showing up in the chair at Danny's desk. Because this was the Hargreeves tradition.

[apocalypsehow]

Which Five immediately jabbed a finger in the direction of. Because this was their lives.

This right here.

[knife_bender]

Yeah, okay. That was weird. "What the fuck is that?"

[apocalypsehow]

"It keeps following me." How dare you, Five. That was your beloved son, Timothy Hargreeves.

[knife_bender]

"That doesn't make any sense." And it didn't to him. Why would it ever occur to Diego that Five's girlfriend was a mannequin?

"Maybe you pissed off someone at Prom and they cursed you to be followed around by a creepy mannequin." Honestly, that was less disturbing than the concept of Dolores.

[apocalypsehow]

Look, it wasn't exactly coming to Five's mind either. Mostly because Dolores was very much a real person there.

"Belle," he hissed. Oh, he'd get her back for this.

[betterthanacube]

Look at that! Tim somehow had a stolen cookie in his mannequin hand now!

Don't ask how. Just doooon't ask.

[knife_bender]

"Okay, I don't like that." Diego wasn't rattled by much but magical creepy mannequin would do it. "Go apologize to whoever you pissed off and make that thing go away."