Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 159: Adoption

Chapter 159: Adoption

Lyra didn’t give the adoption a second thought; it barely made a dent in her focus.

With just two days left before the beginning of her sophomore year, she had already tasked Debbie with scheduling an interview.

Lyra was all set to slide into a peaceful school year.

Well, that was the plan. But you know how life is—trouble always finds a way to crash the party.

Just before noon, the day before the new semester started, Lyra’s phone buzzed. It was Cohen, and from the tone in his voice, he wasn’t calling to chat about weekend plans. "Hey, has Phelixes shown up at your place?"

Despite the urgency dripping from his words, Lyra remained as unbothered as ever. "No," she answered, her tone cold and distant.

Before Cohen could explain further, she cut in, sharper this time. "If he’s gone missing, what’s that got to do with me?"

Without waiting for his response, she hung up.

On the other end of the line, Cohen sighed heavily. He stooding on his hoverboard with a troubled expression.

"Miss Shedd is as... straightforward as always," Kogar noted with a subtle nod.

"It’s none of her concern, really," Cohen replied, still baffled by her ice-cold attitude despite having seen it countless times.

Meanwhile, Lyra polished off the last bite of her meal. She was just about to head over to the combat room when the sharp sound of the school’s alarm tore through the air, loud and shrill.

Seconds later, the intercom blared out an emergency announcement: "Attention! An unidentified individual has breached the campus! Please find the nearest shelter and remain on high alert!"

Zinnia, blinking in confusion, looked around. "Wait, what? Who would invade the school?"

Mandy quickly yanked her back into the cafeteria. "Doesn’t matter who it is. We need to hide first."

Military-trained students snapped into action. Within moments, the campus, which had been buzzing with activity, went eerily quiet.

Patrol robots whizzed by, while squads of security personnel fanned out.

Surveillance drones zipped overhead, scanning for the intruder.

Inside the cafeteria, eyes were glued to the massive screen showing drone footage of the search. Soon enough, the cameras locked onto the intruder.

What everyone saw left them speechless—a kid?!

The boy stumbled around like a confused, lost puppy, eyes wide, darting about in panic. Security guards zipped by on their hoverboards, shouting through their megaphones, "Kid, stop! We’ll escort you out of here safely!"

What had started as a full-scale security breach quickly turned into a chaotic attempt to capture a terrified child.

But Phelixes, as jumpy as a cat cornered by dogs, only ran faster, as if he was running from something much scarier than them.

The guards exchanged bewildered glances. They formed a wide circle around him, trying to corner the boy.

One guard, with a Hydrokinesis superpower, created a lasso made of water, ready to ensnare the frantic kid.

"Don’t!" the boy screamed, flailing his arms like a tornado of limbs.

What happened next stunned everyone. With just a flick of his tiny hand, the water lasso disintegrated into mist.

"Did anyone else just see that?" gasped someone from the cafeteria.

Zinnia scratched her head, musing aloud, "Wait, does this kid have some kind of unique power? Hey, Lyra, what do you think—" She paused mid-sentence, realizing Lyra had slipped away.

Back outside, the security team threw everything they had at the kid, but nothing worked.

After multiple failed attempts, they decided to ditch the powers and try grabbing him by hand.

But the boy, scared out of his mind, darted around even more frantically, cutting himself on tree branches and scuffing his knees.

The guards, unsure of how to proceed without causing injury, were exasperated.

"Kid, if you keep running like this, you’re going to get hurt! Just stop!" one of them called out.

Amidst the chaos, a calm yet firm voice suddenly cut through the noise.

"Stop."

Instantly, the security team froze in their tracks as the wild child came to a halt, his tear-streaked face trembling.

Without a second thought, he ran toward the speaker, sobbing loudly.

"Lyra!"

To say everyone was confused would be the understatement of the century.

The head of the security team approached Lyra cautiously, rubbing his head in confusion. "Uh, you’re Lyra, right? Is this kid... your brother?"

He couldn’t help asking—the kid’s hair and skin tone matched Lyra’s almost perfectly.

"How could you let him run loose like that? He forced his way through the ID verification gate! Do you even realize the chaos he caused? Hurry up and get him out of here."

The security captain struggled to keep his cool, but it was clear that if Lyra wasn’t such a high-profile student bringing honor to the academy, he’d be shouting at full volume by now.

At the mention of "get him out of here," Phelixes latched onto Lyra’s waist like his life depended on it.

"I don’t want to leave! I wanna stay with Lyra. Please, don’t abandon me!" His voice wobbled, filled with desperation, as if Lyra was the only safe place in the world for him.

After she had stepped in to save him earlier, he couldn’t bring himself to trust anyone else.

His heartfelt plea didn’t just pull at her; it sent waves through the crowd.

"No way! Did Lyra actually ditch her own brother?"

"That poor kid, though!"

"Get a grip. Lyra’s real brother is Kail, from Elden Prime. He’s 21 this year!"

Lyra glanced down at the boy clinging to her, her expression unreadable. "Are you sure you want to stay with me?" she asked, her tone cool and detached.

Phelixes nodded with so much enthusiasm, it was a wonder his head stayed on.

"Fine." Lyra’s voice was as calm as ever. "We’ll handle the adoption paperwork this afternoon."

Wait, what?

The murmuring crowd only got louder as she casually explained the situation to the security team. They were clearly impressed, nodding along as she walked away, Phelixes trailing behind like a puppy.

By the time Debbie pulled over the Lev, she was practically choking on air. "A-Adoption?!"

Her reaction was pretty justified—Lyra wasn’t exactly known for her charitable side.

"Got a problem with that?" Lyra’s sharp tone made it clear this wasn’t up for debate.

Phelixes, standing beside her, glared at Debbie like a guard dog, ready to defend his newfound "guardian." Debbie, caught off guard, stared back. Before she could even process the situation, Lyra nudged the boy aside.

"From now on, Debbie will take care of all your business. Don’t bother me unless you’ve grown into someone useful."

Phelixes sniffled and nodded, looking up at her with tear-filled eyes. "O-okay..."

Debbie felt a pang of sympathy for the kid. But the moment they stepped out of the car, Phelixes yanked his hand from hers, glaring at her as if she were a villain straight out of a bad fairy tale.

Debbie rolled her eyes. ’Yeah... so much for sympathy.’

When Cohen found out about the adoption, he rushed over, his face a mix of disbelief and frustration. "Do you even know what you’re doing?"

Lyra didn’t miss a beat, flashing a knowing smile. "If you’d told me earlier about his little superpower, we could’ve avoided all that mess."

She knew this kid had potential—a good investment, really.

Cohen gritted his teeth. "I knew it! You’re just going to use him, aren’t you? He trusts you, and this is how you repay him?"

Regret washed over Cohen. Bringing the boy to the academy hadn’t made him forget about Lyra; it had only pushed him right into her arms.

"I’ll raise him, and when he’s older, he’ll work for me. Fair trade," Lyra said, her tone icy and businesslike. Before Cohen could argue further, she added, "Besides, who says he’s unhappy?"

Cohen had no real comeback. He remembered how the boy woke up crying in the middle of the night, desperate to find Lyra again, and the look in his eyes when he’d finally reached her.

Letting out a long sigh, Cohen rubbed his temples. "Raising a kid isn’t something you can take lightly. Make sure you teach him right." After a pause, he added, "And while you meet the financial criteria, the adoption process might be tricky since you’re single. I’ll help smooth it over."

In the end, Phelixes was officially registered as Lyra’s ’younger brother’ in the family records.

Once the paperwork was squared away, Lyra wasted no time handing him off to Debbie.

Phelixes didn’t protest, knowing he’d see her again soon. He followed Debbie obediently, though his wide eyes kept flicking back toward Lyra with hope still written all over them.

Back on campus, the principal dropped by with a special request.

"Any chance you could help us secure an Aesculapius’ Grace unit?" he asked, attempting to sound casual, though the eagerness in his voice was hard to miss.

Lyra gave him a level stare. "At the pace the Alliance is moving, Planet Nagano should be fully equipped soon enough." She paused, adding coolly, "But as of now, I don’t have any extra stock available."