Bonus Episode Ten: "Call From Home"

The night skyline of New Atlantis stretched beyond the rooftop where Lance sat, cross-legged in a meditative pose, his visor display dimmed so he could see the city with his own eyes. The comms chatter fed to his helmet hummed in his ear, analyzing encrypted police frequencies and scanning for potential threats. 

His HUD blinked to life again, interrupting his quiet moment with a personal call alert. The single word on the caller ID made his stomach twist.

Home.

“You've received three missed calls in the last hour,” O.R.A.C.L.E. spoke through the comms. 

“By the way your blood pressure just spiked. I would assume this one is either more important or causing you some level of anxiety.” 

Lance said nothing, hesitating to answer the call. Just before he finally resolved to answer it, it stopped ringing. Moments later he received a notification of a new voice message. He looked at the time: 2300. He wondered why they would try calling him so late, but decided he would figure it out later.

He stood, brushing dust from his armor, and keyed the comms to Adam.

“Alias, it's quiet out here. I think we can call it early tonight,” he suggested. 

“Roger that, Shield,” came the reply. 

“Returning to HQ.” 

Lance removed his helmet and let out a sigh, taking in the fresh air and roaming through his thoughts. He thought back to the last time he talked to his family aside from when his sister Elisabeth showed up in New Atlantis. He scrolled through messages and call notifications and realized it had been quite some time. He knew he wouldn't hear the end of it when he did finally call. He decided to get back to base, get some sleep, and maybe call them back tomorrow. 

The next day, Lance found himself at one of the terminals, filtering through encryptions and mission logs from their nightly vigilante patrols. This had become part of the routine he had grown accustomed to in effort to avoid the full weight of everything else at once. Then his phone chimed. He barely glanced at it until he saw that word once more. 

Home. 

He stared at the blinking notification. He had put it off long enough. With a deep breath, he tapped the screen and connected the call. 

The screen filled with a mildly chaotic scene–several of his younger siblings talking over each other, their voices overlapping in an excited, albeit frustrated, mess. 

“Oh, so you DO remember how the answer button works!” the second oldest, Lynn quipped over the din. 

“Did you forget you have a family over here?” 

It was sharp, teasing, but edged with genuine irritation.

"Lance! It's been forever!" another voice, higher-pitched and excited, broke through. Catherine.

"Big deal. He’s busy; who cares? He never calls anyway…" a more dismissive tone interjected. Matt.

"Guys, stop talking over each other! He literally just picked up!" he heard Marcus call from the background.

For a moment, Lance just sat there, his grip tightening around the device as his siblings continued their verbal tug-of-war. The commotion was overwhelming, chaotic—exactly as he remembered it. 

He had to admit that he missed it. The noise. The chaos. The warmth.

The din only quieted when a more composed voice took over. His mother, Dinah. 

"Alright, enough. Let your brother speak," she said as she took the device. 

Lance let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. 

"Uh, hey everyone…" Lance began. 

“How’s it going?”

"That’s it? 'Hey everyone'?" his father, Adrian’s voice cut in, calm but firm.

“I know you're busy, son, but it would be nice to hear from you a little more often.” 

Lance ran a hand through his hair. 

“I know… I've meant to check in,” he sighed. “Things lately have just been a little… complicated…” 

His mother sighed. 

"We know you have your own life now, Lance. We’re not trying to pull you back, but... it’s been too long. We just want to know you're okay."

His youngest sister, Maria, piped up. 

"Yeah, we had this whole theory you got kidnapped by space pirates or something."

"That was you," another sibling corrected.

"Not important!" his mother interjected. 

"What’s important is that you’re okay. Are you okay?"

Lance hesitated for just a fraction too long.

Before he could formulate a convincing answer, Adam strolled into the room. Noticing the call, he quickly picked up on the tension and leaned in with a grin. 

"Hey, is this the famous Shepherd family? Finally, I get to meet the people responsible for this guy.”

There was a brief silence before Matt responded. 

“Who is this guy? 

“Only one of Lance’s best friends here in the city!” Adam said without hesitation. 

“He never shuts up about you,” Adam continued smoothly. “Seriously. You should hear the stories.”

Lance exhaled slowly, letting the tension ease from his shoulders.. Adam was giving him an out—lightening the mood just enough.

“Listen,” Lance said, his voice quieter. 

“I’ll call again soon. I promise.”

There was a pause before his mother sighed. 

“Alright. Just… don’t make us wait too long.”

The call ended. The weight in Lance’s chest remained.

Adam studied him for a moment. 

“You okay?” Adam asked gently.

Lance hesitated, then stood.

“Yeah. What’s the situation?”

Adam didn’t push.

“Intel on House 21. Looks like we’ve got movement.”

Lance nodded, shaking off the lingering emotions. He had a job to do. Family would have to wait.