Part 4 of my interpretation of I Hraet You, make sure to check out the original at Cross-up.

Beat D-4 — The House of Hoigleheimer

Dr. Jocelyn stood in the office, hands outstretched.  A greater form of realization dazzled her rich brown eyes and amplified her already impressive stature.   This was the moment Lloyd treasured more than anything.   The moment when one’s heart unlocked and their aspirations of greatness realized.

She reached out, snagged him by the collar and brought him to her eye level.  Her eyes narrowing to a cold glare.

“What did you do to me?” Joyce hissed the words, giving him a shake.

“Exactly what I said I would do.” Lloyd’s smile was unflappable.  “It’s just a little thing I do.   Unlocking the inhibitions of those oppressed by their own doubts.   Who would have thought you, a lovely doctor was actually a Heroine… of…”

Or… I could blow the lid off a secret I was not supposed to know.   That works too.

“There is no way you could punch through my defenses that easily.”  Joyce gave him another shake.

“Well to be fair… I’ve had a fair amount of practice.” Lloyd said with a small shrug.  As well as the fine art of conserving air from being choked.

“Joyce.   It’s fine.   Put him down.” Jay said from the counter.   “No point in getting angry about it.   We just use him, and call it a day.”

“But he’s a civilian.” Joyce lowered Lloyd to the ground, but didn’t ease her hold on him.

“We all were at some point.” Jay chuckled.   “Besides… if he has this power he likely knows about what we’re looking for.”

“What exactly are you looking for?” Lloyd widened his smile.  “A great deal of strange things happen on Porbeagle.   I could probably start a list.”

Joyce grudgingly  let him go.

“See?” Jay waved a hand.   “Hey you mind if we take this somewhere more private?   Say your house?  It’s save us the trouble of having to find it out later in case we need to kill you.”

“That it would.” Lloyd chuckled.  “But we’re in the middle of school hours, wouldn’t–”

“I’ll take care of that.” Joyce clenched her jaw.   “You two worry about waking up Matt.”

***

“More guests?” Patton knitted his brow.   He sized up the three strangers, paying extra attention to Joyce.

“Is that a problem father?” Lloyd wore a stellar smile.

“We won’t be staying long.   We just have a few things to go over.” Joyce offered a hand in greeting.   “You must be Mr. Hoigleheimer.   My name is Doctor Jocelyn Teller, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s mine,” Patton said, “Go on get comfortable, I’ll get to the meat cooler and throw some steaks on.”

“That really won’t be–”

“I insist.   You can tell wonders about a person on how they eat their steak.    Who’s your other friends?”

“We ain’t friends.”  Matt huffed.

“Matthew Heiber and Jeremy Phieffer.”  Joyce said, gesturing.   “They typically go by Matt and Jay respectively.”

Patton waved them in, closed the door, and made his way to the kitchen.

The three of them eyed the interior, Joyce more than the other two.

“Does your father know about your power?” Joyce leaned against the door.

“More or less, but I’m hard pressed to convince him on the details.” Lloyd said, noting Matt’s wandering into the house.

“Who else lives here, just your Dad?”

“Little brother, Judas Priest.  And there’s Trixie–”

“Sister?” Joyce raised a brow.

“No, Miss Walters is a guest.   It’s complicated.” Lloyd scratched his cheek, searching for a better explanation.

“Why hello there~.” Matt’s voice came from the room beyond the foyer.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Joyce sighed.

Lloyd waved them forward to the living room.   Inside sat his intrepid little brother and Trixie Walters, his delightful housemate and delectable Southern Belle.  Matt had taken it upon himself to settle next to her, wearing a smile one would typically reserve for a hungry wolf.

“You do realize there’s plenty of sittin’ room over there.” Trixie turned an annoyed glare to Matt.

“But this is the best seat in the room, it’s next to you.”

“Oh God.   Now there’s two of them.” JP rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Brother dear, what are you doing home so early anyway?” Lloyd frowned.

“It’s National stock appreciation day.” He said without missing a beat.  “Half day for the business minded youth that don’t want to rely on blind hope that the economy will just fix itself.”

“Ha… You sound like my brother.”  Joyce widened her smile.

“You came in here with my brother, my condolences.”

“So you’re Juda–”

“Call me JP.” He narrowed his eyes.   “But yeah.  You must be Dr. Teller.”

“How did you…?”
“I have ways.”  He tapped his ear, pointing out a small ear-bud. “I have this place wired.   Never know when information will be worth money.”

“Just like my brother.” She sighed.

“Wait… Teller?   You mean the Raymond Teller?” JP’s eyes widened.

“You know him?” Lloyd took the other side of Trixie.

“Only you wouldn’t know this guy.” JP grit his teeth.  “I have stock in his company.   How do you know his sister?  I swear if you ruin anything with your dumb antics…”

“It’s a long story.” Lloyd raised a hand.  “But I’m helping her out.”

“I see.”  JP face fell stoic, well, more stoic than usual.  “Have you considered just offing him?   I mean, Lloyd’s brain damage might cause problems in the long run.”

“We have.” Jay smirked, taking the seat next to him.

“But don’t worry.” Matt took the opportunity to drape an arm over Trixie’s shoulder.  “We’re the good guys.”

“I’m not worried.” Trixie took the opportunity to remove it.  “I’m pretty sure Lloyd is allergic to death or somethin’.   Seein’ what he’s been through this far, makes a girl a believer.”

“New York Strip.  Temperatures?” Patton barked from the kitchen.

“Medium Rare,” Joyce said.

“Rare,” Jay said.

“Well Done.” Matt said.

Patton stuck his head out from the kitchen, a predominant vein bulging at his forehead.  A razor sharp knife sat in his hand, catching light at all angles.   His teeth gnashed behind his beard before speaking again.  “Didn’t catch that last one.”

“We–” Matt interrupted himself, when he took in Patton’s towering figure.   His apron covered in fresh blood, and tension in his muscled arms.  “Ah… Medium?”

“Kids today…”  Patton grunted and made his way back to the kitchen, muttering under his breath.

“If I may Doctor Jocelyn,” Lloyd cleared his throat. “Whatever concerns you might have, I implore you involve all of us.  JP here has connections one should not underestimate.   Miss Walters has a very acute skill set, and father… well… he is father.”

“And I already checked, Lloyd is the only one immune.  Worse case, we off him and wipe everyone else clean”  Jay shrugged a shoulder.  “Tell them what you want.”

“Fine.” Joyce sat at the head of the living room table, folded her hands, and settled her eyes forward.   “Lloyd knows this already, but we’re superheroes.  We’re investigating a weather anomaly we suspect is being caused by outside sources.   We’ve had our eye on Porbeagle for a while now… but nothing raised any red flags worth checking out.”

“Likely cause of Lloyd’s weird powers.” Matt leaned back on the couch.

“Business as usual then.” JP exchanged a look with Trixie.  “Try and convince your brother to get me a spot on his board when I land my degree with high honors, and you can count me in.”

“Done.” Joyce said.

“Can’t be any weirder than what usually goes on here.” Trixie rubbed the back of her neck.  “Don’t expect me to wear tights though.”

“Oh it’s a requirement.” Matt added.

“No it’s not.”  Joyce corrected him.

“You’re no fun.  You know that right?” Matt folded his arms irritated.

“Do I get a costume?” Lloyd’s eyes lit up.

Joyce, Matt and Jay all exchanged looks.