Phone novel Chapter 249: Everyone Else Has Moved On
Chapter 249: Everyone Else Has Moved On
"Can you just get my things from the bathroom? Seth will be here in thirty minutes."
"I don’t think you should be moving, Kath. Much less working—I thought they were going to recast you because of your health?"
"Recast—wait. Was it you who told Nolan to recast me? You know how much this movie means to me, Adam!"
Adam tirelessly followed Katherine all around the hospital room. Despite her pale face, her pace was even more determined than his. She glared at Adam for a moment, sighing before she stood in front of a mirror and started applying makeup.
"And yes, the doctors had already okayed me working—do you know more than the doctor? More than me?"
"That’s not what I’m saying." Adam stood behind her, looking at her reflection with a sigh. He stared at her for a moment, glancing at the lines on her face. "I’m saying that you should consider maybe resting."
"I’ll rest when I’m dead." Katherine rolled her eyes as she put on her mascara.
"Yeah? Well, if you keep this up, that will be tomorrow."
"Excuse me?" Katherine raised an eyebrow as her head snapped back. "I might be near my seventies now, Adam, but I’m still a B-tier Hero. Look..."
Katherine sighed as she faced Adam fully. "If you’re really worried about me, then come with me to the set."
"You know I can’t do that. I don’t want to be anywhere near cameras." Adam also sighed, lazily walking back to the bed and sitting there. "I’ve tried my hardest to stay away from the limelight for people to forget me."
"And what good did that do?" Katherine crossed her arms. "And last I checked, it was the Rousseau sisters who worked hard in trying to scrub you from the media."
"It worked," Adam said, scoffing as he waved her off. "Most people don’t know me now."
"Because most people who know you are dead, Adam. You literally just saw my doctor wearing your face!"
"That doesn’t even look like me." Adam gestured at the door. "And my point still stands. Aside from the cult, most of the world doesn’t know me at all."
"There are more than a hundred million people in that cult, Adam."
"Well, there are two and a half billion people, last I checked."
"You—" Katherine gripped and rolled her hands into fists, seemingly wanting to strangle Adam. "You’re like fifty years old now, and that’s not counting how old you really are. And from what Leona’s saying, you’re really at least five thousand years old. Grow up."
Katherine was about to turn around and continue applying her makeup, but once again focused on Adam while pointing her lipstick at him.
"And why are you even bothering me? Get a love life, Adam. Date one of the billionaire sisters. Doesn’t matter which one, both have the hots for you."
"No."
"It’s been about time for a very long time. Why haven’t you even been married once? Why haven’t you even dated once?"
"Why haven’t you?"
"I’m married to the job."
"Well, it’s about time you divorce it."
"Ugh. Please. Do you know how many Oscars I have?"
"One?"
"Y-yeah? Well, I have three Emmys. Shut up. Go find a wife."
"I don’t need to. I have you, Kath."
"I’m your sister—no. Scratch that. You should be calling me mother because that’s who I feel I was over the past decade."
"Well... that’s certainly what you look like."
"...Excuse me?"
And there and then, Adam realized his mistake. His eyes widened, and he looked straight at the wall with his mouth completely shut. He gulped, trying his best not to turn his head toward Katherine.
But after a few more moments, he nodded and let out a huge breath.
"That was a compliment, Kath," he said. "Most people your age are grandmothers. You... don’t look a day over forty... thirty."
Katherine glared at him, pointing a firm finger at his face before giving a small scoff.
"Well, you don’t look a day over eighteen." Katherine waved her off. "And it’s about time you cut your hair, or donate it to me."
"I..." Adam blinked, softly grabbing the ends of his hair, which had lightened from how old they were. "...I can’t do that."
Katherine sighed at that, shaking her head as she continued applying her makeup.
"The world... has moved on, Adam. It’s time you do, too. And can you please stop talking to me? We’ve already wasted both our time talking—if this were a scene in a book, most people would’ve already skipped by now."
"Th—"
"Sshh!" she shushed Adam, leaving him no choice but to shut his mouth... for now. Katherine spent several more minutes in front of the mirror before a knock came from the door.
"Ma’am." It was a man wearing a suit.
"Ah, Seth." Katherine’s demeanor changed. She straightened her back, the tone of her voice deeper, showing her age, as she glanced at her driver. "Can you be a dear and wait a little while longer? Or you can bring my bags, they’re over there...
...as for you, young man."
She glanced at Adam.
"Either you go with me to the set, or go—I don’t have time to babysit you."
"I’ll..." Adam paused, then glanced at the driver’s chest to see if he was wearing the sigil of the CoA—but he wasn’t. Adam remained quiet for a while, but then sighed as he shook his head.
"...I’ll go visit Leona."
***
Meanwhile, in the USA’s Oval Office, the current president of the country was arguing with someone, and from the sigh escaping the country leader, this argument had been going on for a while now.
"How many times do I have to repeat to you? Adam has been declared by the World Government as Untouchable. He is off-limits." The President leaned on his desk, reviewing the papers in front of him and not even looking at the person talking to him.
"No one should be above the law, Mr. President," the man said, not backing away. "As your Secretary of Defense, I highly advise you to consider my proposal."
"I have already considered your proposal, and I have already said no." The president sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he neatly placed his papers to the side to finally look at the Defense Secretary.
The Defense Secretary was... young—not even a single strand of white hair on his head. His blonde hair was neatly sleeked back, and his uniform was as crisp and straight as his posture—the only thing that was out of place with him was the color of his eyes, one blue and the other brown.
"Look, John." The president rested his elbows on his desk.
"I know you have a lot to prove because you’re the youngest in history to become the country’s Secretary of Defense—but the protocol you’re proposing is impossible. You..."
The president’s breath trembled slightly, causing him to pause.
"You..." he continued. "...can not control X-tier Heroes."
"The proposal is not to control him, but put him back into the system, Mr. President." John placed a file on the president’s desk, sliding it close to him. "If he lives in this country, he must abide by our laws."
"And what laws has Adam broken?" The president leaned back, not even glancing at the file as he looked John in the eyes. "You don’t remember this, General. But while you were still crawling and shitting your pants, Adam was the central person who brought us the awa metal and made it possible to uphold the laws on Heroes and imprison us for our crimes."
"Former President Ronald Ohana was the one who brought us the awa metal." John still did not back away. "As for the crimes he had committed—while he has not, his people commit crimes every day."
"His people?"
"CoA."
"Adam has already sworn an oath that he is not a part of CoA—nor does he plan to be an entity of it. You were there. In fact, you were the reason we were all there." The president said, groaning under his breath. "And the CoA is harmless."
"They have harassed several people, forcing them to join their cult." John shook his head.
"And what do you plan to do? Bring the Endless to court, again? We were already warned that he doesn’t want the attention—are you going to bring him in, by force?"
"If that is what is necessary." John stood up even straighter.
"He is an X-tier Hero."
"And I am the strongest S-tier Hero of the entire planet." John did not falter.
The president stared at him for a moment, then once again groaned in frustration.
"You have done very well in your job that I sometimes forget how young you truly are," he said. "This conversation is over, General. I have more things to do than listen to your proposals of trying to control a walking calamity."
"I am not trying to control Adam, Mr. President." John closed his eyes.
"Yeah? Because that is what your proposal sounds like. Leave, this is done."
John opened his mouth to speak, but the president had already started reviewing the mountain of papers on his desk. John stared at him for a moment, then saluted him and turned around.
But as he was about to open the door to leave, he once again turned to the president.
"I am not trying to control Adam, Mr. President," John repeated. "I am trying to put him where he belongs."
The president sighed at this, but still entertained the Defense Secretary.
"And where is that?" he asked.
John looked him in the eyes for a moment, then pointed directly at him.
"In your chair," John said.
"Having this conversation with me instead, Mr. President."