That was true, wasn't it Lee thought. And Kevin had been having a lot of those moments in the last few months. Her ability to fight, both of his parents having been in camps, everything that had happened when his grandparents were there.

And now all of this that had come out that day.

Any one of those things (except maybe her fighting, Kevin had been going to the gym with her for 6 years) would be a lot to try and reconcile.

Kevin was really doing an amazing job at dealing with all of it.

Then Tarin was offering that she could send Kevin to him to answer if he had more questions that pertained more directly to him. "Thanks. I'm not sure how much more there will be about that. Possibly nothing. Possibly a whole lot. But I appreciate it."

Hopefully Lee was right and Kevin wouldn’t have any interest in asking any more questions about either kind of merge. Tarin didn’t like talking about it in best case scenarios, he didn’t even like talking about it with Lee. Sure, it was always lurking somewhere in the back of Tairn's mind, but talking about it out loud acknowledged the possibilities in a far more tangible way.

Lee had been the one to have the whole conversation, but now Tarin just felt melancholy and anxious. Kevin was focused on the things that he’d learned about his parents, as was only right. What if later Kevin really started to think about what he knew about Tarin now? What if the more Kevin thought about it, the more he understood what Robert felt? Worse yet, what if he brought up what they’d talked about with Robert and they talked about it all?

“You might want to fill Rachel and Robert in on what you talked about…” Tarin said, “You know Kevin is going to look for info wherever he can get it. Best that everyone is on the same page…”

Noticing the book for the first time, Tarin nodded towards it, “Find anything Earth-shattering?” he asked, ”I”m coming up with zeroes everywhere I look. I guess we just have to hope that Michael has things under control….”

Let Rachel and Robert know about what Kevin had learned. Then Lee had another realization: Kevin was likely going to ask Robert himself about not liking Tairn. Or his father.

"Good news is, I think Kevin's realizing on his own how much of an idiot Robert can be," Lee let Tarin know. "Though, I am very tempted to let Robert be blindsided when Kevin asks him why he never liked his father, and Robert have to try to explain that without admitting to not believing or trusting me."

Lee thought that would serve the man right after the decades of not believing her.

When Tarin asked about the book, Lee just shook her head. "Nothing," she said with a shake of her head. "Well, the history and religion are fascinating, but I didn't find anything out about actual magic or anything else that seemed relevant."

Tarin hoped that Michael had things under control. Lee nodded. She hoped so too. "I'm sure things are being figured out. Working with Haven, Michael will have a lot more resources than they would have on their own."

The good news was that Kevin was realizing what an idiot Robert could be? Tarin couldn’t help but think that at some point Robert might just stop being an idiot. Maybe pigs would also fly and the sun would rise in the west. Who could tell?

“Maybe it would give him a little bit of perspective. To talk to someone who isn’t his little sister or someone he wants to perpetually punch in the face.” Tarin said off-handedly.

Lee hadn’t found a single thing in any of the books he’d managed to snag from the library either. That was frustrating. Tarin hadn’t known what he was hoping to find in a regular public library, but sometimes there were things people missed. Things that were hiding in plain sight.

He nodded, what he had read had been really interesting, and was probably something he’d have really dove into if the reality of the situation hadn’t been lurking in the back of his mind as a possible threat to the city.

Lee definitely had faith in Michael and their capabilities to hold down the fort. Tarin didn't doubt MIchael’s prowess, but when the fort was the size of New York City….Tarin just hoped that there was plenty of backup.

“You’ve mentioned Haven a few times. If they have the kind of resources that Michael could use to avert a city-level threat…I’m glad they’re on our side?”

Would someone other than herself or Tarin talking to Robert about the merging help him to gain some perspective? Make him possibly understand it a bit better? "I mean, anything is possible?" Lee said with a shrug.

But Lee wasn't counting on Robert actually starting to like Tarin. Like ever. That was fine. Even a distinct lack of hostility would be an improvement, which was sad to say.

Haven did have a lot of resources, at least what she had seen of them 6 years earlier. The fact that the training room (and what she saw of the building) when she'd met Quin had looked pretty much the same, and the fact that Michael was still running security, Lee could only assume that Haven had the same kind of resources and assets.

"Didn't you say Michael was possibly bringing in the X-Men and others too?" Lee asked. She thought she remembered Tarin saying that. "Between their own resources and knowing when and to who they should reach out to when they know they can't accomplish what they need to on their own is good."

Lee paused for a moment, glancing at their hands before looking back up at Tarin. "Though to be honest, if they weren't on our side, I doubt we would know anything about them." Not exactly the most comforting thought, but the truth.

Michael had said that they were going to bring in the X-Men. As well as others and Tarin himself. Tarin assumed that Haven was the others. ”I just feel bad I couldn’t figure anything else out to help. He specifically sought me out and all I was able to do was tell him that she could repel spirits and mess with their heads.”

Surely between Michael, the resources at Haven, the X-Men, and Michael’s own security company the city could handle threats like this. The woman was only one person after all. A very old and very powerful person…but still just a person.

What was far more unsettling was the fact that Lee said they wouldn’t even know about any groups that weren't on their side. “Or they’d be operating under a squeaky clean veneer while doing whatever they wanted behind the scenes.” Like SUPER.

Tarin wished that he had been able to help Michael more, that he would have been able to give more information. "You did what you were able to do," Lee pointed out to Tarin. "I certainly would have been nice if you had been able to tell Michael more, but it was information that Michael wouldn't have been able to get otherwise. And sometimes, a small, seemingly unimportant detail can be the key."

Just like it would have been nice if they had managed to find something in any of the books they had gone through. But the more that they had looked into, the more that Lee realized that was unlikely. 'Ancient Egypt' had been so much larger and lasted for so much more time than she had previously thought that the likelihood of the information they needed having not only survived time, but had been discovered and then written into one of the books they had gotten from the library was miniscule.

Lee could only hope that Michael had found out more since their talk with Tarin.

"I mean, technically that's true of any organization like this," Lee said with a bit of a frown. "You're probably not supposed to know this stuff about Haven. Not beyond their 'legitimate business' that they do."

Lee had a point. Small, seemingly unimportant, details could end up being very important in the grand scheme of things. Tarin didn’t really think it would, but it was a thought. At least Lee hadn’t tried to make it seem like he’d done something amazing.

“I just hate knowing that there’s this thing potentially looming on the horizon. I wish he’d reach out or something.”

Still, what he’d done was better than nothing and having more information was better than having less information.

Lee’s talk with Kevin was still lingering in the back of Tarin’s mind though, and he frowned a bit as Lee pointed out that any organization that was like Haven…or SUPER or anything else.

”SUPER is involved with the government and that makes them just as scary over here as they were on the other side. They just don’t have teeth yet on this side because they’re new. Trust me, they’re worth keeping an eye on.” he said, ”At least Haven is working on our behalf…not putting us against each other.”

There were few things Tarin was immovable about, SUPER was one of them. This side, the other side. It didn’t matter.

Lee just looked at Tarin silently, one eyebrow slightly raised when he mentioned that he hated knowing that there was possibly something going to happen. Something that they knew very little about. Something potentially dangerous.

Did he know her at all??

From Haven, Tarin quickly made the jump to SUPER, stating that they were just as scary as they had been on the other side of the rift. Which Lee didn't think was quite true. At least not yet.

Though the government on this side did not exactly have the best track record toward mutants either.

"I'm sure that Haven's been watching SUPER since before they became properly established over here," Lee said. "But you're right, we probably should as well. Though I'm not sure how effective I would be at that."

Probably not at all, Lee thought. Not with how she was living her life now, with no real connection to Haven or anyone or anything else beyond Sam, Shin, and now maybe Michael.

"I know I can send him to you with his questions," Lee said after a couple moments. "But is there anything you don't want me to tell Kevin about?"

Tarin nodded as Lee explained that she was sure SUPER was on peoples’ radar over here.

Lee wasn’t sure she’d be much help keeping an eye on them, and Tarin shook his head, “It’s more about just staying off their radar.” he said, “And it's not like we are high profile or anything.”

Tarin knew he was being a bit paranoid about the whole thing and this wasn’t really something he and Lee had discussed before one he kind of tried to back off the topic a bit. By all indications there wasn’t anything to worry about yet, so there was no need to be dramatic.

Lee helped by changing the subject and as she asked her question Tarin sighed a little bit and shook his head, “Other than the obvious…no.” he said, “I just…” he said, pausing for a moment, ”I feel like we were getting along really well…I hope he’s not too freaked out.”

Just staying off SUPER's radar. That should be easy enough. At least it would be for others, would have been for her the last few years. But not everyone had videos of their sparring matches go viral or had buildings collapse when they tried to volunteer.

Still, it was easy enough to try to accomplish.

Nothing was off limits except for the obvious. Lee nodded. "I don't think he's really freaked out," she told Tarin after a moment. "He was shocked and confused before you got home, but not freaked."

"And Kevin's always wanted to be alone when he's giving something serious thought. He just needs to have time to go through and figure out everything he learned today."

Lee didn’t think that Kevin was particularly freaked out. Tarin was a little skeptical, but Lee knew Kevin better than anyone so if she said he wasn’t freaked out, chances were he wasn’t freaked out.

Lee also pointed out that Keven generally liked time to process things on his own. The fact that he had looked at Tarin like that and hadn’t said anything, and had left the room without saying anything were surely just side effects of that need for time.

Surely.

“That’s definitely understandable.” Tarin said, he’d knew that he would have needed about a week to wrap his head around everything that Kevin had learned today.

Tarin thought back through everything Lee had said to make sure there wasn’t anything else. There wasn’t, but he gave her a small kind of sad smile, “Thanks for being so sure it’s never going to happen again…” he said, but then frowned slightly, “But what if it does….?”

Tarin definitely looked sceptical when she said that Kevin hadn't been freaked out. But he had taken things a lot better than her siblings had when they found out more details about certain things, and they had known about merging for over a decade.

But Lee thought that everything would be fine between Tarin and Kevin. Kevin just needed time to think. A lot of time. Because he also had to change a lot of ways that he thought about his father as well.

Then Tarin was thanking her for being so sure that a merge wouldn't happen again. Lee squeezed Tarin's hand as she gave him a small smile. "I still think the only reason it happened is because it was that spirit," Lee said softly.

She then just sat there looking at Tarin for a couple moments when he asked what if it happened again. "And if it does, then we will deal with it," Lee told him, her voice still just as soft, though certain. "We'll deal with it together. Just like everything else that may come our way."

Lee was convinced that it was the spirit that had been the problem and not Tarin. When Tarin thought about it, there was something almost wildly creepy about the thought that the spirit had been lying in wait for an indeterminable amount of time and waiting for the opportunity to take over.

Tarin had almost willfully given that opportunity over though, and that was a mistake he wasn’t going to make again. So hopefully Lee was right and there was never going to be an issue again.

“Well, now I know.” Tarin said grimly but firmly, wondering if there was anything he could do in the future if the thing managed to come back.

And if it did happen again, they’d handle it together. Tarin kind of wanted to argue that it wouldn’t be together because he’d be on a ride along in his own head and Lee would have to deal with everything…but Tarin knew exactly what she was trying to say and smiled with a sigh.

“Don’t pull any punches if the other thing ever happens either.” he said, knowing that this was a weird and heavy conversation to have after Lee’s already weird and heavy conversation earlier.

“I do wish there was a way I could know what to expect…”

Lee knew that Tarin had known before; when he'd told her months earlier what he knew to watch for with a spirit merge, he knew what to watch out for in case it was happening without him realizing. Those were all excellent things to watch for, as well as what Lee had suggested to Kevin to watch for and ask, looking from the outside.

That particular spirit was just very smart, patient, and sneaky. And he managed to do a damn good job making those things to watch for useless.

But now he knew, though Lee wished that he hadn't needed to learn that lesson. And she knew that it was possible for a spirit to come back after whatever it was her siphoning had done to make it disappear.

Both of them were going to be able to watch for if it ever came back.

Tarin was also telling her not to pull any punches if the 'other thing' happened. Lee nodded slightly. "I won't," she whispered.

As Tarin continued, Lee's eyes slipped closed and she nodded again. "I do too. If I had any way of knowing what might happen ahead of time, it wouldn't scare me so much."

After a moment, Lee opened her eyes and tugged on Tarin's hand slightly. "Should we find something to watch?" she asked. "Or would you rather do something else tonight?"