The portal naturally led back to where Cleo, Sawyer and Odin were waiting for them. Ned stayed close to Joey, like he'd done when they were small and went somewhere crowded and unfamiliar. Strangely enough, Ned hiding behind him like that made it easier for Joey to stand strong and face Odin.
"I assume you've briefed Ned on the situation," Odin said flatly, moving a couple of things around on the kitchen table.
"Somewhat," Joey said cautiously. "Ned, this is Cleo. She's a friend. That's Odin. And that's Sawyer." Ned glanced nervously at each of them in turn.
"Hi, Ned," Cleo said, smiling. She couldn't hide the anxiety behind her expression, but seeing her try to act positively made the situation slightly more bearable.
"So..." Ned stepped out beside Joey, his gaze fixed on Odin.
"Long story short, I've offered you a place to live. Rent free. I'll just need your fingerprint and voice. May as well get the face in there too while we're at it." Odin finished fiddling with his devices, then waved for one of them to come over.
Sawyer was the only one to move. He walked up to Odin with a hard glare in his eyes.
"What do you want?"
"Hand." Odin barely waited for Sawyer to respond before he grabbed his right hand and placed it on a scanner. A few moments later, he pulled the hand off and did the same with Sawyer's other hand.
"Okay. Hand scans." Sawyer sighed, releasing a bit of the tension that had been in his shoulders.
"Face." Without another word, Odin grabbed Sawyer's head and fitted a box over his face. A few moments later, Odin pulled it off and put it back on the table.
"Don't warn me or anything," Sawyer said grumpily.
"Talk." Odin shoved a microphone towards Sawyer's face. "No one else say a word."
"What do you want me to say, Odin? Sheesh. You're just as high and mighty and annoying as ever. Sometimes I think I'd rather you just killed me in that jail cell."
"That's good." Odin pulled the microphone away. "The model will get better with time. If you ever have trouble getting in, text me." He leaned in to whisper something into Sawyer's ear, but Joey couldn't catch any of it.
"Got it," Sawyer said, rolling his eyes.
"Next." Odin motioned with a finger. Joey glanced at Cleo, who stepped forward cautiously.
Odin did the same with her as he had with Sawyer, though Cleo was better prepared for it this time. He whispered something to her after it was done, same as he had with Sawyer. After her, Joey went, and learned what Odin was whispering.
"Password is 'lactose intolerant'."
Finally, it was Ned's turn. Odin whispered something to him too, though Joey kind of wondered what the point was if they all knew the password anyway.
"Excellent," Odin said once they were all done. "Now, one note. Your password are all unique to you. Only your specific voice saying those specific words will open the Underwing. If you share your password, you will be evicted. In Cleo Yang's case, you will be killed."
"Why only me?" Cleo asked, glaring coldly at Odin.
"Your Gift is the most dangerous. Perhaps more dangerous than any other gift. The only reason you still stand there is because you can be useful to me. I'm not overly concerned about Joseph Queen. Ned Queen is an afterthought. Sawyer Joseph is already bound to me, so I don't need to worry about him. And I get the feeling Courtney Larsen will behave for me as well. No, you, Cleo Yang, are the most unpredictable and dangerous element here."
Cleo shrank back, and Joey was reminded of the girl who'd crashed into him in the grocery store. She had a similarly scared look on her face.
"Your rooms will be ready on the 12th. I'll make sure they're up to basic standards of cleanliness. Oh, and one more thing."
Odin looked at them, that same blank expression on his face.
"This is not me. The body before you is a robot I created for various purposes. He's proved useful recently, but I don't want to have to control him 24/7. He has his own chores to do, so from now on, assume he's back to being a simple robot. I'll communicate with you primarily through text messages from now on. If you need anything basic, like toilet paper, cleaning or cooking done, just ask. His name is Darius, and he's rather sophisticated."
Odin - or rather, Darius - went silent and still for several moments. Everyone stared, wondering what to make of the situation. Soon enough, however, the body started moving again. Still naturally, like a human, though now Joey felt like he could put his finger on what seemed off about Odin.
"Frick," Sawyer said, looking absolutely flabbergasted. "No wonder he seemed so off if he was a robot this whole time."
"But then where's the real Odin?" Cleo asked, glancing between Sawyer and Joey.
"Uh..." Joey couldn't answer. Sawyer just shrugged, still trying to process everything.
"It's like something out of a sci-fi," Ned said, walking up to the robot, which was now blankly walking towards a door they hadn't been in yet.
"I feel really cheesed right now," Sawyer said, glaring at the robot. "Odin! So help me, if I ever find your real self, I might just pummel you black and blue."
"Watch it! What if the robot gets back at you for that?" Cleo said, moving to hold him back.
The robot didn't seem to care, though. It just opened a closet and pulled out a bucket of what looked like cleaning supplies.
"Darius?" Ned asked, peering into its eyes. Only now did Joey realize just how close his brother had gotten.
What was he thinking?
"How may I help you?" Darius asked, looking at Ned and smiling. "I don't believe we've met."
"Uh...I'm Ned?" Ned said, carefully taking a step back.
"Ned. Hello, Ned. I'm Darius."
"What are you doing, Darius?" Ned asked hesitantly.
"Cleaning. I've received an expansion of my duties, so I have to clean the new areas. Would you like to join me?"
"I'm good." Ned watched carefully as Darius walked away, towards the rooms that they'd be moving into in a week.
It was creepy. Darius moved and acted so realistically. Joey could barely put his finger on what was different, but he seemed just barely off. If he'd met him on the street and no one had told him Darius was a robot, he probably would have mistaken him for a pleasant housekeeper or something.
He didn't know how long they all stood there, letting everything sink in. Eventually though, he noticed Ned grinning.
"Y'know, I was scared at first, but this might be kinda fun." He skipped over to Joey and slung an arm around his shoulder. "My brother's a superhero and I get to live in the secret base with him!"
The other three chuckled wryly. Maybe Ned was being too optimistic, or maybe they were all being too pessimistic. Either way, his attitude made things seem like they might turn out okay.
For the first time since Odin had caught him and Cleo, Joey laughed, catching a bit of Ned's enthusiasm.
