Days passed.
Not dramatically.
Not explosively.
Just… comfortably.
Which, in hindsight, should have worried everyone.
The Back to Normal (Suspiciously Peaceful)
Mornings started the same way every day.
Training.
Not the flashy kind—no shadow armies marching across Forks at dawn. Just disciplined, controlled strengthening. Speed drills through the forest. Strength tests that left craters I politely fixed afterward. Shadow manipulation so precise that even the Cullens couldn't tell when I was using it.
Because when you rule shadows, subtlety becomes a choice.
School followed.
Forks High remained Forks High—gray, damp, and painfully under-stimulating.
Lunch was always the same table.
Seven Cullens.
Emmett, laughing too loud.
Jasper, calm but always scanning.
Edward, brooding professionally.
Alice, vibrating with excitement.
Rosalie, elegant and lethal.
Alexia, silver-haired and quietly observant.
Diana, short, sharp, and sarcastic.
And me.
Humans stared.
Whispered.
Gave up trying to understand the seating arrangement.
I ignored them.
Evenings were better.
Movies.
Games.
TV shows from multiple universes.
Lily loved anything with political intrigue.
Petunia preferred documentaries and magic theory crossovers.
Alice binged everything simultaneously.
Rosalie pretended not to care and then quoted lines perfectly.
Weekends?
Dates.
Sometimes with Alice.
Sometimes with Rosalie.
Sometimes group chaos that barely qualified as "romantic" but absolutely counted as bonding.
Life was… good.
Which meant—
Something was coming.
Baseball Day (Ah. There It Is.)
The Cullens decided on baseball.
Thunder.
Lightning.
Overly dramatic rules.
Exactly like the movie.
We stood in the clearing.
Alice danced across the field.
Emmett swung like he was trying to break physics.
Rosalie moved like art in motion.
Edward listened.
Jasper watched emotions ripple through the forest.
I leaned against a tree, arms crossed.
"…You know," I said casually, "this is how horror movies start."
Emmett grinned. "Relax! What's the worst that could happen?"
The forest answered.
Three new scents.
Three unfamiliar heartbeats.
Three predators who thought they were apex.
The Nomads.
Victoria.
Laurent.
James.
Edward stiffened instantly.
Alice's smile froze.
Jasper's entire posture shifted into war.
Rosalie's eyes flashed gold.
And me?
I sighed.
"…Oh. These idiots."
James Makes His First and Last Mistake
They emerged from the trees like they owned the place.
Confident.
Curious.
James's eyes scanned the field.
Then—
Locked onto Bella.
His expression changed.
Predatory interest.
The smell hit him.
Edward moved half a step forward.
Too slow.
I was already done.
No Chase. No Threat. No Movie Scene.
There was no dramatic standoff.
No dialogue.
No "run, Bella!"
No warning.
I stepped forward.
Shadows moved.
Not fast.
Instant.
The forest darkened—not with night, but with authority.
James opened his mouth.
He never finished a word.
A shadow spear pierced his chest, pinning him to the air itself.
Victoria screamed.
Laurent turned to run.
Bad choice.
"Arise," I said calmly.
The shadows ate them.
Not violently.
Efficiently.
Three bodies hit the ground.
Still.
Dead.
Then—
They stood back up.
Eyes glowing shadow-blue.
Silent.
Kneeling.
The entire event lasted maybe two seconds.
Absolute Silence
The baseball field was quiet.
Too quiet.
Thunder still rolled in the distance, completely unaware that canon had just been murdered.
Edward stared.
Jasper didn't blink.
Emmett's bat dropped.
Bella stood frozen, unaware she had just skipped an entire movie's worth of trauma.
Alice?
Alice covered her mouth.
Then—
She giggled.
Rosalie joined her.
Soft laughter at first.
Then full, delighted giggles.
"Oh my god," Alice said, eyes shining. "That was so clean."
Rosalie smiled. "I told you he wouldn't let them monologue."
Emmett finally spoke.
"…You didn't even let him try."
I shrugged. "I don't negotiate with plot devices."
The Cullens Process… Poorly
Edward turned to me slowly.
"…You killed them."
"Yes."
"And then… raised them."
"Yes."
"And they're… obedient."
"Yes."
Jasper swallowed. "That wasn't emotional manipulation."
"No."
"That was… dominion."
"Yes."
Carlisle arrived minutes later, drawn by the disturbance.
One look.
One breath.
Then—
"…Adam," he said carefully, "what exactly did you do?"
I gestured casually to the kneeling shadow soldiers that had once been the Nomads.
"Prevented future inconvenience."
Cullens House Meeting (Emergency Edition)
Which is how we ended up in the Cullen living room.
Everyone seated.
Everyone tense.
Except Alice and Rosalie, who were whispering and smiling like this was the best date ever.
Carlisle sat forward.
"Adam," he said gently, "we knew you could control shadows."
"Yes."
"But this…" he gestured vaguely, "this was not control."
"No," I agreed. "That was authority."
Edward rubbed his temples.
"You didn't hesitate."
"No."
"You didn't check the future."
"No need."
Jasper looked genuinely unsettled.
"They didn't feel fear," he said quietly. "They didn't feel anything."
"Correct," I replied. "They were already dead."
Emmett finally broke the tension.
"…So. Uh. If we ever fight you—"
"Don't," Alice and Rosalie said together.
Emmett nodded. "Fair."
Alice and Rosalie Are Enjoying This Too Much
Alice bounced slightly in her seat.
"You should've seen it from the future perspective," she said happily. "One second—danger. Next second—nothing."
Rosalie leaned closer to me, smirking.
"Efficient," she said. "No mess. No risk."
Edward stared at them.
"You're okay with this?"
Alice beamed. "He protected Bella."
Rosalie shrugged. "And removed a threat permanently."
"…By raising the dead," Edward muttered.
I looked at him calmly.
"Edward," I said, "you've killed people for less."
Silence.
He had no rebuttal.
Boundaries Established
Carlisle took a deep breath.
"I need to ask," he said. "If you can do this… why haven't you done more?"
I met his gaze.
"Because I choose not to."
That answer unsettled them more than anything else.
I stood.
The shadows behind me shifted, subtle but unmistakable.
"The Nomads are gone," I continued. "Bella is safe. Forks is safe."
I looked around the room.
"And I'm on your side."
Alice smiled brightly.
Rosalie squeezed my hand.
Jasper nodded slowly.
Edward exhaled.
Carlisle closed his eyes for a moment.
"…Very well," he said. "But next time—"
"There won't be a next time," I replied gently.
Aftermath
The shadow soldiers dissolved back into nothing.
No evidence.
No trail.
No canon remains.
We left shortly after.
As we walked back through the forest, Alice leaned close.
"That was kind of hot," she whispered.
Rosalie smirked. "Kind of?"
I sighed.
"…You're both impossible."
They laughed.
Behind us, the Twilight world continued.
Unaware that one of its major arcs had been deleted.
I glanced at you.
"…And that," I said, "is why villains don't get introductions anymore."
Because when you hesitate—
Someone else decides the ending.
[Chapter Twenty-Three Complete.]