Whitney really didn't know how to feel as Melody and Lucy relaxed a little after laying their eggs. Melody relaxed and leaned over onto her father's shoulders while Lucy ended up doing the same with Zoe. She and Grace looked down to the five eggs that Melody and Lucy had just laid and that triggered all sorts of emotions that Whitney didn't feel she was ready for and didn't expect. Her mind raced in multiple directions on the issue. On one hand there was some frustration that Lucy, who had been among the more measured of her children. To a great degree, she figured that if any of her children were to have kids of their own out of wedlock, it would have been Jeff or Zoe. Jeff because he was often rather carefree and Zoe because she could be a bit rebellious at times. Lucy was often the most aware of these sorts of things and that made the fact that Lucy had gotten pregnant with Melody and impregnated Melody was so much of a surprise.
On the other hand, Whitney also hadn't seen anything like what Megan and Jenny had done when they first came to the Chapman home from either Melody or Simon. Neither had openly pushed for sex or let their lusts consume them in a way that had led to what was Whitney's transformation and assured that the rest of the Chapmans would transform later. Whitney could respect that, and at the same time, she'd also noted some very loving stances that Melody had taken and that she volunteered to help them against Cupple gave Whitney some sense that things were not totally bad. There was also her knowledge on Lucy that Lucy wouldn't have even gone as far as she did with Melody if Melody hadn't provided something that went beyond physical attraction. In that sense, Whitney felt the only real criticism that she could really hold consistently was more on timing.
"And I'd thank you for offering to help my family," Whitney spoke, trying to feel the silence that had filled the room, "there could be some issues of timing that I would have issue with... particularly while Cupple is still a threat, and we can't return home..."
"Love often knows its own schedule," Reverand Jack managed from Whitney's right, "and I would add that Simon is honest when he says the colony will do what it can to help protect you."
There was a sense of relief that went through all the Chapmans, and Whitney could feel that through the hivemind. She noted with one eye that Lucy was regaining her strength from laying her two eggs while raising fully onto her tail and not needing Zoe's help to help stand erect on her tail. Whitney's other eye turned on its stalk to see Melody doing the same and not needing to rely on her father. That was both good and impressive, as Whitney remembered being exhausted after giving birth, especially after Jeff and Lucy were born, since they were twins. The difference between humans and Slug People in that regard seemed beneficial, though, stopping Cupple remained the bigger problem. For a lot of his actions, as shown by bewitching Megan and Jenny and seeing to the transformation of the Chapmens went beyond just an eager businessman looking to create a real estate empire in the town. His admission to killing her husband, John, added to that.
"That's all good," Jeff spoke, "but that brings us back to how do we defeat Cupple and stop him... the things being discussed before Melody and Lucy went into labor... or whatever Slug People would use for the process of laying their eggs."
"I would remind you that much of what you're saying you want to do would violate the law," Reverand Jack warned, "Cupple has broken the law... but he's been able to either use what magic he has to avoid detection or has been smart enough that his magic wouldn't be needed to conceal his guilt. Which, sadly, creates a situation where going after him would not be something that the law would look kindly on or what I could use what influence I have to protect you from prosecution. It is, sadly, where the real world wouldn't allow you to be like some comic book superhero and charge in against the supervillain. It would also be where the bad guy isn't necessarily going to give some kind of over-the-top monologue for all to see or hear."
"I think that Jeff was right... that we may be past the point where "the law" is really going to work," Grace said softly, "Cupple may have been able to hide it... but he's at least brainwashed one Slug Woman when she got away from the colony and then had another transformed before moving them in as our neighbors and leading to our transformations."
"And Simon suspects that much of his intentions revolve around using us as magical batteries for weaker wizards," Jeff said firmly.
This drew attention back onto Reverand Jack, and Whitney could fully note his unease. Downcast eyes and occasionally biting at his own lower lip were tell-tale signs of this to her and they were something that Whitney hadn't seen much of from the family's pastor. Of course, some of that likely related to the fact that John Chapman had become a "knight" for the church and was involved in some of the secret "doings" that it engaged in to try and preserve, protect, and defend things that were "right." Things that put John on a collision course with a likely dark wizard that staged a fire to kill John and avoid criminal prosecution. Even though Reverand Jack was human, and Whitney couldn't sense his feelings through the hivemind, she could tell that he felt guilty on all that had happened in that regard and that the truth of things had to be revealed in the way that they were. That was another thing where Whitney's mind wandered between two points, but really couldn't focus on either while Cupple remained the bigger threat.
"And morally, I agree with you," Reverand Jack said while still looking down, "my point remains though, that if you do anything beyond argue with him, you could end up in more trouble than you expect. And you've been through so much... please... please don't do something that would only bring MORE harm on you. Either Cupple kills you and I would have failed your father's memory... or you succeed in stopping Cupple, but end up being imprisoned for murder and any attempt on my part would only make things worse for us all... ALSO failing your father's memory."
"And that's because the police won't believe a report in "magic," right?" Lucy asked.
"That would be the legal reasoning, yes," Reverand Jack nodded as he looked up, "which has been a big part of why knights for our church have been trained for conversation, debate, and defensive actions and things that could be legally defensive... because people just don't believe in sorcery anymore. They'll even reason that the low level magics that Slug People have for their own individual defense have some kind of scientific reasoning... even their ability to transform someone would be seen as having scientific reasons, just not one they know of now."
"What if we come back to something that would expose Cupple's magic," Jeff spoke up, "like what we were getting to before the eggs were laid... something that would provoke Cupple into launching some kind of attack that would be an obvious show of magic and wouldn't be easily written off as some kind of accident or something else."
"That could expose his magic and grant credibility to the base accusation that he forced your transformations," Reverand Jack answered with a nod, "but that's where I worry that that explosion could be lethal to you. The hivemind may protect you from being enslaved, but you are not immortal or invincible. Regardless of his power level... he could kill you. And that's not something I'd want to see."
"But it may be the only way to get the law on our side," Zoe spoke up, "it may not be a great idea... but it would be the only idea we have."
"Otherwise... he may do to others what he did to us and manage to get away with it," Jeff agreed, "in this... we have to do what is right for everyone. And if that means taking certain risks... then we may have to do it. Not Lucy or Melody... but the colony and the rest of us."
"What do you mean, not me?" Lucy asked to her brothers.
"You just became a mom, Lucy," Jeff turned his eyes to Lucy while his face and body faced Reverand Jack, "I wouldn't want them to grow up without their mom."
"And I'm just to sit on my tail and watch to see if Cupple doesn't shoot you full of lightning?!" Lucy demanded, "NO! That man is a threat to everyone's individuality, and I will not just hide when by family is at risk. And that includes you and the rest of the Chapmans."
"The colony can protect the eggs," Simon offered, "and we do have our own law enforcement here, should there be any criminal activity. Human criminals are often turned over to the city police for custody and "comfort," but by agreement, any trial would still be held here and if found guilty, they would be responsible for any and all damages done. Cupple wouldn't try anything here."
Simon said that as Whitney felt a surge of worry from Jeff and then determination from Lucy. It was as if the twins were essentially sharing the same concerns and wanting to solve it in a different way. There was some measure of relaxation that came after that from both of them, though Whitney's eyes could note that Reverend Jack was still uneasy, and from some of his words, she guessed that he didn't want any more friends or members of his church to be killed by Cupple. And some of that was a possibility, remembering the burst of lightning that Cupple had hit Jeff with the previous day after they got out of the house.
"You're sure?" Jeff asked.
"Of course, we're all in this together," Lucy answered, "and with all of us we can then at least hammer home the accusation."
"That might be part of it," Jeff said slowly, "but... there might be some other way to try and get him to a point where he'd do something that would expose his magic. For accusing him of something might not do much... particularly if he knows that the only legal response would be a case of "he said/she said" sort of thing. We'd need something else to go after him with..."
"If you're going to go about debating or engaging Cupple in a way to drive him to lose his temper... and thus expose his magic," Reverend Jack said slowly, "it may be best to look into his business dealings. Technically, nothing he's done has been illegal, BUT a lot of the deals he's made have also seemed to have carried some rather shady elements to it. Like certain properties were bought for development at well BELOW their market value and then when resold, with only a minimum of actual development, sold for well OVER the market value based on what Cupple's company bought the property for and how much they put into developing it. It would be like buying your home for $100 and then selling it again for $3,000,000 after only cutting the grass."
"And that's all he's done?" Zoe wondered.
"Among other things," Reverend Jack commented, "your father and I had been keeping track of these dealings... and there are some other potential sources of influence and/or contacts that would be less than perfect. Nothing we can prove legally... but something that Cupple would also want to keep quiet, as it might hurt his business and the ability to attract clients."
"Some of that could work," Jeff mused, "though it might also mean a sort of continual pressure campaign. Showing up outside his business and protesting and being loud and vocal about it."
"I could paint signs with the right slogans on it," Lucy gave a smile.
"We would, however, need humans as part of this protest," Jeff then spoke, "it can't be just us or the colony. It would need to be something that would show that Cupple is in the wrong..."
"And before that... we'd need some way to have some defend ourselves against Cupple's magic," Whitney spoke, "as Reverend Jack is right that exposing him will come with risks. We'd need to have some way of defending against them."