It was abruptly much calmer in the apartment as the young man revealed himself. Patton had checked on Three who reassured him he was fine. More annoyed over his situation than anything, he was glad he pulled this 'Clyde' off of him when he could. He huffed and disappeared in a flash of light, merging back into Patton.

Clyde had only taken a seat on the couch at Logan's insistence. He had his feet up on the coffee table for a total of three seconds before it moved out from underneath them, his feet quickly falling to the floor. Logan stared at him, his eyes still shining from moving the table before he shook his head.

"So, Clyde, are you thirsty? I can get you something to drink!"

Logan almost scoffed at the statement. "Please, Patton, that won't be necessary. He will answer our questions and be on his way."

"Now Logan, be nice. He hasn't done anything to you."

"He tried stealing my journal!" Logan turned to the book that sat on the table and reached out, lifting it into his hand telepathically. "Apparently, he had stolen it before! Why come back for it a second time?" He waved the journal at the intruder who simply looked away. "What would you benefit from stealing something you already stole? How did you even learn about it?"

The only response he got was a grin followed by silence. Logan grit his teeth as he grew impatient with the man. Clyde crossed his arms and leaned back into the couch, his scarf attempting to hide his smirk. "Like I would actually tell you."

"It's ok, Logan. No one was hurt and I'm sure he will apologize!" Patton smiled and motioned for Clyde to speak up. "Remember what it was like before we all found each other?" Logan eased up and turned away from the two. "I'm sure everything he's said and done was just him lashing out! We can talk about this peacefully."

"What he said? Had he said something?" Logan turned and glared over at the man on the couch as he ducked his head away. "What did he say?" Logan looked over at Patton who bit his lip and became uneasy. "Patton?"

The uneasy smile he was met with did nothing to calm Logan's nerves. "It's nothing! I mean, I should have seen it wasn't him. The voice was a little off, though he does a good job on the impressions, I was just nervous because I was actually worried you did want to break up with me but that's so silly because it was a stupid disagreement and-" Logan raised a hand, halting Patton's uneasy ranting before turning back to the couch.

Logan's eyes molten gold flashed for a brief moment and Clyde found himself staring him down, Logan grabbing hold of his shirt and scarf and pushing him into the couch. Patton jumped and attempted to lean forward to stop him before freezing, watching carefully. "You broke into our home numerous times. You lied and stole from us, you invaded our privacy, had the audacity to act tough about it, and then with my face, broke up with Patton?"

"Talk about invading privacy!" Clyde tugged at the iron grip holding him in place. "What, you just read my mind? Uncool, let me go!"

"You lost that right the second you decided it was okay to tamper with the lives of others." Logan shook the man on the couch and saw the flash of fear finally go through his eyes. "Why would you think that was okay?!"

"I thought it would be funny, sheesh! I needed him to leave me alone. No need to get all bent out of shape! Let me go!"

"Logan!" Patton reached forward and placed his hands on Logan's, nudging him to let go. "Clyde is just a kid, he was probably scared and this is not the way we should be handling it."

Logan's eyes finally dimmed back to their regular hue and he let go, dropping the other onto the couch. Clyde huffed and fixed his scarf and readjusted his beanie before glaring back up at Patton. "I'm not a kid."

"You're nineteen, I've got a decade on you, kiddo. You're a kid to us." Clyde huffed and Logan backed away before turning to the door. "Logan?"

"You will leave, you will forget about what you have learned, and I will allow you to make amends for your actions peacefully. Is that understood?"

Clyde looked at Patton who simply nodded as if he knew something Logan did not. "Fine." Pushing himself off of the couch, Clyde eyed Logan carefully as he made his way to the front door. "You're not going to mess with my head, are you? Or do you not have the guts?"

Logan ignored Patton sucking in a gasp as he stared down the shorter man. "I will allow you to go peacefully as I mentioned. However," he stepped closer and watched as the other scooted away from him. "You enter without permission or say a word, and you will lose all rights to that kindness. Is that understood?"

"W-whatever." He turned tail and ducked out the front door, slamming it behind him. Logan could hear the haste of the retreating footsteps to the other door before running up the stairs.

Logan and Patton stood silently before Patton went over to the door, picking up his discarded grocery bags. He turned and looked at his boyfriend who kept his gaze up to the ceiling where the footsteps had quieted, his eyes blank and dark. "Logan?" It took a few seconds before he lowered his gaze to Patton. "You read his thoughts, didn't you? Not just about the fight about what he said."

Turning away, Logan looked angered but not at anyone in particular if Patton had to guess. "Kicked out by his parents simply for wanting to be his truest self? I can perhaps relate to that a bit too much."

"Kicked out?" walking up, Logan felt a hand on his back as Patton walked around him. "Your parents kicked you out?"

"I would rather not talk about it. Honestly, I think I could use a bit of a distraction."

Patton hummed and held up the bag with a smile. "Help me with dinner?"

The awkward atmosphere dissipated with the two working together to get dinner made. Almost wordlessly, Logan started boiling the noodles while Patton worked on the cheese sauce. Logan would look over and when Patton caught him, he would make a silly face. Soon, they were both at ease around one another as the situation started to pass.

"As long as you're okay, Patton, we can discuss things after dinner."

"Of course I'm okay! I know I can be a bit much and rush into things, I get it that I probably just worried you."

"Not an excuse to run away and metaphorically throw our plans out the window. I will make it up to you." Patton perked up and smiled, causing Logan to look away, flustered. "One day, we may get a dog."

"Yay!" Patton launched himself at the other, wrapping his arms around him as he giggled. "You were right, we aren't really ready to take care of a pet. It's a lot of responsibility and it's unfair to assume Roman and Virgil will help take care of one." He pulled away and smiled before turning back to the stove. "Thank you and I'm sorry about the silly fight."

"Think nothing of it. I'm sorry I reacted so poorly to it."

They worked in relative silence until the front door bashed open, causing both of them to jump. Logan turned off the stove while Patton ran toward the front door, stopping as Virgil sneered and stomped his way in.

Logan was at the doorway when Roman approached, back in his regular clothes a bit early from his nightly 'heroic patrols' he did. "Oh good, you two look like you made up." Virgil turned to the front door as Roman sheepishly walked in, purposefully avoiding touching the door. "Hey, Roman, wanna tell them what you did?"

"I said I was sorry! Besides, it's not my fault I was assaulted!"

"You were tasered!"

Roman huffed as he crossed his arms. "I didn't ask them to taser me!" A small spark bounced around Roman's form as he spoke. "And no matter what I try, I can't seem to burn off this excess energy!"

Logan placed down the wooden spoon he was holding and walked over to the supercharged man. "That is indeed a problem. I do not own any personal protective equipment and such a large surge of energy could cause damage to this apartment." Logan motioned toward the front door as he spoke. "I would rather we not burn this place down as well."

"Well, where am I going to burn off so much energy? I already tried!" Roman stomped his foot and the surge ran through the carpet as everyone's hair started to stand on end. "Sorry."

Virgil huffed and tried fixing his bangs from standing up as he turned toward the others. "First work, now this? Glad I didn't miss anything exciting here." Patton immediately ducked his head away to avoid eye contact and it was enough for Virgil to grow concerned. "Oh, no. What happened?"

Patton looked at Logan who sighed before turning to the other two. "Apparently Leslie has her nephew staying with her. He also seems to hold the ability to create illusions and snuck into the apartment disguised as me."

"I think..." Patton bit his bottom lip nervously and cleared his throat. "I mean, he stole Logan's journal and has read about all of us, but when he returned it the other day, he saw the notes on Thomas. Maybe he was trying to see if you updated it since I stopped him from reading them back then?"

They stood silently before looking at one another and all their eyes fell to Virgil. The paranoid one. The careful one. He always was telling them to lock the door or keep an eye out and now...

Now, Virgil nodded, not saying a word as he took in the information. "Yeah, okay." He looked up and caught Logan's concerned gaze. "Logan, can you help Roman burn off some of that energy? And Patton, can you, uh..." He sniffed into the air and frowned. "Are you cooking? Can you finish that? I just... I need a minute."

Virgil turned and headed to the front door, Roman carefully stepping out of his way. He called out to him but didn't bother to stop him as Virgil slowly clicked the door behind him shut. He stood on the porch and took a deep breath before squaring his shoulders and walking over to the door next to theirs. He rang the doorbell and placed his hands behind his back as he heard someone run down the stairs to the door and unlock it. He put a smile on his face as a middle-aged woman appeared through the screen.

"Hello?" She asked, looking at Virgil concerned.

"Hi! Are you Leslie? My name's Virgil, I'm your downstairs neighbor." The woman perked up and smiled. "I heard Clyde came downstairs and met some of the others and gosh, I haven't even gotten to meet you! I had to stop by and say hi myself." He nodded his head up the flight of stairs. "May I come in?"

"Oh, of course!" Leslie pulled open the screen door and happily motioned for Virgil to enter. "Come on in! I was just asking Clyde where he went. He didn't mention meeting the neighbors!"

Virgil marched up the stairs and saw a similar layout to their own apartment in many ways. "Yeah, Roman and I just got home but he needs to run out. I just couldn't wait, you know? I've waited far too long already!"

As Virgil turned to the stairs, he saw Leslie walk up and pat him on the shoulder. "Well, that is so sweet of you! I'm glad to hear Clyde is getting along! I was so worried!" She slid her hand off his shoulder and walked deeper into the apartment. "Clyde! Clyde, one of the neighbors is here to see us!"

There was a sudden noise followed by frantic footsteps approaching from the side before someone stopped in the doorway. Virgil smiled at the kid who tugged at a scarf around his neck, turning away the second he saw him. "Well, you must be Clyde! Patton just told me he introduced himself to you." Virgil walked forward and extended his hand out. "It's nice to meet you! Sorry I haven't introduced myself sooner."

Clyde had his arms crossed and his hands tucked away as he stared down at Virgil's. Leslie cleared her throat and he reached out, shaking Virgil's hand briefly. "Nice to meet you."

"I've been told you know all about us! So I'm excited to learn all about you." Clyde could see the sharpness in Virgil's smile, the edge in his tone. "I'm Virgil, by the way, in case you couldn't tell."

"You're... different from what I was expecting." Clyde didn't move but tucked his hands away again.

Virgil smiled and placed his hands on his hips proudly. "Well, I have to make a good first impression! Though, I can't stay. I just wanted to come by and say hi, I really should get going. Roman's all charged up for tonight and Patton is so full of energy, it's like there's two of him sometimes!" Turning to Leslie, Virgil saw the woman smile and chuckle at his 'joke'. "I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other."

"Oh, please do stop by, Virgil! You boys are such a pleasure." She leaned to her side and shot Clyde a pointed look. "I'm sure you would enjoy that, right sweetie?"

"Of course, aunt Les. A pleasure." The second she turned away, Clyde sneered at the man as Virgil frowned. "Drop the act." He whispered to the visitor. "I'm not buying it."

"Oh, well, good." Virgil threw his arm over the other's shoulder and pulled him in close. "Then I can make this brief."

Slamming his eyes shut, the rush and lightheadedness overcame Virgil for a brief moment before he stumbled forward, keeping his grip on the younger man next to him. He spun around and grabbed Clyde and pulled him close and kept silent.

The younger man tugged at the iron grip Virgil had on him before turning to his aunt. "What the hell? Let go of me! Aunt Les, help!" He stopped and looked at his aunt as she stood motionless, half facing the stairway to the front door. "Aunt Leslie?"

When Clyde's eyes flickered back to Virgil's, he was met with a menacing grin. There was no fake sugar coating on this one like the ones before had. "Well, now that I've gotten that out of the way, we can have our chat."

Virgil let go and Clyde stumbled back, grabbing the front of his shirt while staring Virgil down. "What the hell did you do?"

Virgil smiled and shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. "I stopped time, duh. We're stuck in this exact second and I'm the only one that can pull us out." He walked forward, Clyde standing up tall in defiance as Virgil stopped a foot away to lean in. "You messed with my family. You messed with me." His smile dropped as he glared. "I don't appreciate that. So, here's the deal. You pull that stunt again? You try ratting us out? Doing anything I don't like? I'm leaving you stuck in stopped time."

"You can't do that!" Clyde seemed mostly sure of himself as he spoke. "You can't, I read Logan's notes!" He smirked a bit. "You're bluffing."

Virgil stepped forward and Clyde immediately stumbled back. "You seem so sure, how about I just leave you here, then?" They stared each other down silently before Virgil's started smiling again, wider and wider. It was enough to unnerve Clyde to shake his head. "Good. That's what I thought."

Clyde stumbled to the side suddenly, throwing his arms out to try and catch himself while Virgil turned to look at him, somehow almost halfway across the room.

"Clyde! You okay?" He looked up and saw his aunt staring at him concerned while Virgil smirked at him from his spot. Virgil had resumed time so effortlessly, he wasn't expecting it. Clyde nodded and pushed himself upright while she sighed in relief. "Well, say goodbye to our nice neighbor! I'll see him out, I'll be right back!"

---

Virgil entered the apartment and headed straight for the kitchen. Patton perked up and smiled at him before turning back to the macaroni and cheese he and Logan had made together. "You feeling better, Virge?"

"Yeah, actually." He walked over to the table and sat down, letting out a huff. "I think everything just became too much for me."

Patton hummed and checked on the backing macaroni dish before leaving it to bake a little more. "Work has been rough too, right?" Virgil shrugged in response. "The Roman thing didn't help any."

"It's fine. Actually, work is going a little better. I'm starting to get used to the extra responsibility so it's not as stressful. Took me almost two months." He leaned back in his chair and Patton glared at him. He quickly put it back with all four legs on the ground, not wanting to upset him further. "Knowing what has been causing me to be uneasy has helped, though I'm not thrilled it's some teenage punk thinking he's hot shit."

"Virgil!"

"What? I'm not wrong." They sat silently, Virgil staring at the clock ticking by while Patton focused on the timer counting down on the stove. "Do you think Roman will be okay?"

"Of course he will! He's just got to burn off some of that energy and I'm sure Logan can help."

"No, not..."

Patton turned and saw Virgil staring at his phone. "Oh." He walked over and placed his hands on Virgil's shoulders. "Virgil, he's got us! Even if he does get himself into danger, we will be right here to protect him."

Luckily, it wasn't much later that Logan and Roman returned. Roman was full of energy, in a good way, talking about all the cool things he managed to pull off with so much energy.

"My whip was sturdy enough to be like a real rope and I started to climb it, it was the coolest thing! I wonder if I can pull that off normally, that would be awesome! I had so much energy I almost started burning my clothes off. Oh! I also had enough of a charge to levitate some large pieces of metal and even stand on them! Man, Static Shock makes it look so easy!" Virgil grinned and listened to his boyfriend go on and on excitedly, keeping silent his worries only for the moment. "Of course, I'll probably never be able to do any of it again so it was fun while it lasted." Virgil looked up from the table as Patton set a plate down for him. "Too dangerous, gotta keep safe. Right, sidekick?" Roman raised his glass of water he was drinking and smiled, causing Virgil to smile back and nod.

The night quieted down and Roman felt off, having for the first time in his life burned off all his energy he gathered. The fuzzy feeling that he had grown accustomed to was almost nonexistent. He flopped down on his bed and sighed, feeling himself start to pull into unconsciousness when there was a knock on his door. He called out and looked up, spotting Virgil standing there, hunched over and skittish.

He watched Roman lazily look up from his pillow and smile, wishing him a quiet goodnight when Roman let out a long groan. Virgil stopped and Roman reached out, making grabbing motions with his hands. He patted the bed and waved Virgil to come over, sighing content when he felt his bed dip and pulled him close.

"Virge."

"Yes, Roman?"

"M'sorry I was attacked today. Didn't mean to worry you."

"It's fine, Roman. Let's just go to sleep."

---

They had a plan. They never said it very loud in case there were listening ears, but it was a plan none-the-less. Logan demanded they all use their spare keys, locking the doors even when someone was home. They removed the emergency backup key that was hidden on top of the door frame and moved it elsewhere. A place they knew no one would look, under the porch on the side of the frame. It was so impractical but it would work in case of a dire emergency.

They fell into this comfortable pattern for a few days without any big issues. Logan knew if needed, he could pick the lock and break in. He didn't have much experience with it but he did pull it off that one night with Roman. Virgil was always extra careful and Patton's keys held his work keys so he always had them on him. Roman was the biggest one with trying to remember but having to need them for work more and more, he adjusted well enough.

Then all that calmness went out the window when one day, someone knocked on the door.

They were all home and raced toward the front door, stopping and standing silently as the door knocked once more.

"Who is it?" Patton cried out, approaching the door.

"Thomas."

Patton stopped and turned, looking at the others. "Did someone invite over Thomas?" He whispered loudly to the others. His question was met with a series of head shakes. "Just a minute!" he cried out to the door. "Did we tell Thomas the backup code word?"

"Patton," Logan sighed. "We didn't make a backup code word."

"I told you we should have!" Roman cried out a little louder than normal.

Thomas knocked on the door once more and Patton turned and hurried to open it. Thomas stood on the other side and smiled. "Hey." He took a step in and stopped, seeing the other three staring back at him. "Woah, you guys okay? What's going on?"

"Thomas?" Roman asked carefully. "You're really Thomas?"

"Last I checked?" He looked around and grew more and more worried. "What's going on?"

"How do we check?" Patton asked, turning and biting his thumb. Logan seemed to have an idea and Patton shook his head. "Without you reading his mind."

"I'm missing something big, aren't I?" Suddenly, a song started playing loudly, coming from Thomas. He looked down and pulled out his phone from his pocket and stared down at the screen.

Thomas looked up at Virgil who stood there, holding his phone to his ear. "You should pick that up."

Thomas pressed the green button on his screen and slowly held it up to his ear. "Hello?"

"Yo, it's Virgil. Hey, we have a weirdo neighbor who also has powers and can make illusions and was pretending to be us to sneak into our apartment. Is that you?"

"There's a what?!"

Virgil hung up and pocketed his phone. "Yep. That's Thomas."

They led him into the apartment and explained everything carefully. Thomas nodded and leaned back into his seat on the couch before looking up at Logan. "So, did you only check the city for others just the one time or...?"

"Hey, yeah. Do you regularly check the city for other superpowered people?" Roman perked up, suddenly much more interested. "We found Thomas that one time!"

"Purely by chance, it looks like." Virgil huffed out.

Everyone looked at Logan who stood there silently, panicking. "I... have not. I suppose people with powers could move to and from the city on a regular basis. It has been a year since I've thoroughly checked so..."

"Is this a thing?" Virgil spoke up. "Are we going to have to keep checking for the rest of our lives?"

"Well, no. I don't think it's necessary," Logan explained. "If I thought it was necessary, I would have continued to do so. However, what does it matter? What would finding others do? We could hardly handle ourselves."

"Well, obviously Clyde needs a helping hand too!" Patton jumped up from his spot. "I'm gonna be his friend and help him out!"

"Just be careful," Logan called out. "He's shown he's not bothered by pulling dirty tricks." Finally turning to Thomas, Logan gave him his full attention. "Now that we have that covered, why have you decided to visit us today?"

"Oh. Uh, well..." Thomas ran his hands through his hair. "Oh goodness gracious. Sorry." He cleared his throat and looked up at Logan. "So, I took what you said into consideration. You're right, this whole..." he waved his hands around as he thought of a word. "-thing that happened with that smokey snake... thing. It uh, it really messed with my memory. I keep finding bigger holes of things I've just... forgotten. Things I know I should know but I don't know I don't know!"

"You've lost me." Virgil got up from the couch and headed toward the kitchen. "I'm grabbing a snack."

Thomas sighed and took a moment to gather his thoughts. "I don't remember a lot of things but the reason I can walk around is because we used our powers together. That's what fixed my memories." Logan nodded and Thomas looked at him and leaned in. "I'm ready to try again. Teach me how to use my powers."