her words paralyzing him. Jaw hanging open, beady eyes pinched tight, he tries to process this but shakes his head in denial, unwilling to accept this revelation.
“He never retired: Millie fired him, and he used his insider knowledge to exact his revenge.”
“But…no…” he whimpers, and for the first time ever, I feel connected to Teddy. We may be completely different people, but he’s still a WarNat at heart. Learning that one of the most iconic heroes of all time has switched sides is not an easy pill to swallow.
“I’m sorry, this isn’t easy for any of us,” Bridgette says softly, giving me another concerned look. I want to be brave for her—for Joy—but my insides feel full of lead, rooting me to the ground. “But now that we know, we have to do something. Will you help us, Teddy?”
He looks as lost as I feel, like suddenly he doesn’t recognize his surroundings and has no idea where to go next. But he nods slowly, taking a place on the other side of Bridgette as we head toward the executive section of HQ, Bridgette nearly dragging us both.
I push back another round of tears as she swings open the door to Mr. Know-It-All’s office. He’s nowhere to be seen, though there is a faint rustling coming from underneath his massive veneer desk.
“Hello?” Bridgette calls out, and we hear a thump, followed by a quiet “Oww.”
A pair of eyes peek out from under the desk, Roy cautiously venturing from his little protective hole. “Oh, hey there, kids,” he says sheepishly, pulling himself to a stand. Each hand holds a different kind of fidget device, one spinning uncontrollably, the other rapidly twisting between his long fingers. “I was just, uh…getting a little meditation in, you know? In a quiet space.” But with the way he’s shaking, it’s clear he wasn’t able to find any sense of calm. “What can I help you with?”
Bridgette steps forward. “Mr. Masterson, we’ve discovered the identity of Siege.”
Roy brightens. “Really? You have? That’s wonderful!” he exclaims, picking up his phone receiver. “Let me call Millie in here and—”
“No,” Bridgette interrupts, authority in her command. “You need to see something first.” She holds up the incriminating VHS tape, at which Roy tilts his head.
“I don’t…I don’t have any way to play that,” he admits.
Teddy sighs quietly. “Yes, you do, sir.” He walks over to a keypad on the office’s back wall, typing in a passcode. Suddenly two floor-to-ceiling panels open up, revealing an overwhelming set of technology that looks like it could easily program a space launch. Roy looks on with complete shock, dropping his fidget spinners in surprise.
“I had no idea that was there!” he yelps, running a hand over one of the many screens that’s been sitting behind him all this time. “Did this just get installed?”
“No, sir,” Teddy says, eyes clouded with disappointment.
Bridgette inserts the tape, and once again I have to watch my idol transform into an alternate version of himself, hissing and snarling unthinking threats against the heroes I love.
“Oh my god, Millie,” Teddy says, one hand over his mouth. “What have you done?”
“Wait…wait…wait,” Roy repeats, rubbing his temples. His eyes are so wide, I worry they could pop from their sockets. “Charles didn’t retire?”
“Millie fired him…. That wasn’t your direction?” Bridgette asks.
“No! I mean, why would I fire Charles?! He’s a legend! When Millie told me he retired, I was surprised, sure, but I had no reason not to believe her,” Roy blubbers. “Millie handles everything around here; most of the time she takes care of things without even needing me….” He trails off, likely realizing how ineffectual he’s been all along. “I never wanted this job, you know? I wanted to help people, but I was just…not powerful enough. It was so much easier to let Millie take the reins. I had no idea….”
“Millie screwed this up from the very beginning,” Teddy admits, words laced with regret. “Had she alerted the other Warrior chapters about a possible rogue hero right away, this all could have been avoided.” He frowns, looking up at the ceiling in annoyance. “But Millie doesn’t like to shine a light on problems, and she got herself in too deep. She couldn’t ask for help because it would reveal her actions. I worked by her side every day…. I should have known, somehow.”
“We’re not gonna get anywhere by beating ourselves up,” Bridgette says, the only one who’s staying level-headed here. “We need a plan.”