We're baaaack! So far I'm in love with this story and I'm not even that far in. It's giving me a chance to grow the characters and explore a bit, which will be much easier now as it's based after the graphic novel/movie. (I hope you've experienced both or I will make a sad face.) Margo? I know some of you may be rolling your eyes, but I have great plans for her.
Anyway, thanks for stumbling on this, feedback is mucho appreciated! If you haven't read Just a Flower From an Old Bouquet, please do as this may not make much sense.
On to the story!
It's taken him two years.
He smells the New York air and is automatically filled with adrenalin. It took him two whole years to get back to where he belonged, to his city, the one ravaged by a lie.
Without saying goodbye to any of those on the freight boat he's been working on, he leaves the docks, not liking the memories the warehouses stir in him. There's no need for him to return to the boat, no need to collect his pay. He just needed a way over here that didn't require a passport.
Even from out there, there are buildings missing, a few of them in states of rebuild and covered in 'Veidt' logos. It infuriates him, and he cannot wait until he can speak the truth. There are a few bridges to cross, however. Finding a suitable platform where he won't be condemned as a paranoid lunatic will be difficult. Avoiding being assassinated by Veidt is another, he'll have no choice but to lay low for now. He wonders what happened to his journal, who's hands did it fall into that kept it silent?
He finds an apartment in the slums which he can pay the bond for with what little US dollars he has, it's already fitted with a television left over from the previous and dead tenant. Within seconds of switching on, Veidt's smug, grinning face is being broadcast into his new living room. He switches it off as soon as he can reach the button.
Tonight he will rest, and then he will return to the streets. The Keene act has been revoked, he hears. And what better criminal to start with than the murderer who killed more than 3 million people?
--
"You have to be out of your mind, Adrian."
"It's a perfectly logical proposal, the government is practically asking us to do re-form a vigilante group."
"It's not that…"
Genevieve eyes the television, the news reports all kinds of things about the Keene act, now that it's gone, all the media seem to care about is speculating who will and won't return.
Things for Genevieve have been far from rough, yet not easy to cope with, either, especially since adopting a teenage daughter. Margo had just turned 18 when the Keene act was revoked due to drastic police shortages and a rise in crime. The government had little money to put into military presence, so why use it when they could practically have vigilante groups for free?
The television continues to speculate, naming all kinds of masked vigilantes who will be granted a pardon should they choose to return, Silk Spectre II, Nite Owl II, even Rorschach, who's demise was still unknown to them. Her name had popped up once, the short lived 'Miss Saturn' was spoken of briefly in association with Rorschach shortly before the country's top physicists debated on if Dr Manhattan would return and if this would be a good thing.
And then there was Adrian, who has been trying to convince Genevieve for the past hour that returning as a vigilante is a good idea.
"Is it bring recognized you're worried about?" he asks. "Because we both know there are ways around that, you went a long time under cover and I'm sure we can find ways to cover your tracks."
She shakes her head and takes a sip from her wine glass. "Adrian, look at me. I'm not a vigilante anymore."
"Sure, not now, but with some training I'm sure that-"
"Goddamnit, Adrian, do you really think I can do all that shit I used to?! They don't look it but my legs are still as fucking weak as an old lady okay? You're so fucking insensitive, if you want to start playing super hero again, fine, do it. But don't expect me to put my ass on the line! Only reason I'm even here is because you needed a sexual scapegoat."
He pauses and thinks for a moment, and then nods. "I understand, then."
"So you'll be masking up again, then?" she asks him, slugging down the rest of her wine. He shakes his head.
"Not officially. I quit in advance for a reason… however, I'm very interested in assembling a group and helping manage them."
"So you want the rights for the toy line when the time comes?"
"…Partially."
He pulls up a chair across from her now, she knows he's about to ask something serious.
"Is Margo still enrolled cheerleading and women's defence?" he asks.
She nods nonchalantly. "Yeah, she's co-captain this year, you'd know if you paid any attention to your daughter."
"And how is she doing in her defence class?"
"Pretty well, I sat in the other day, she has a great uppercut… wait…" her jaw drops and her eyes thin. "Oh no, no, no, no, don't even fucking think about it!"
"Think about what?" he's smiling smugly, he knows perfectly well.
"Fuck you, Adrian, seriously. You leave Margo the fuck out of this!" She keeps a hushed tone in case Margo is passing the room. "You want to make money and more vigilantes, you ask one of your fucking boyfriends, not my daughter!"
"Our daughter."
"Legally. You hardly have anything to do with her."
"That's not true… I was there for her homecoming game."
"Only because there'd be cameras there… that's not the point. The answer's no, Adrian, we don't need another Silk Spectre scenario. Besides, do you really think that after all the trouble I went through getting her I'm going to let her go out there and get killed?"
He smiles and nods. "You certainly have changed…"
She pauses, and then scowls at him. "Just what are you getting at?!" she snaps.
"You're not Miss Saturn anymore. You're a mother."
--
The apartment is easy to reach from another rooftop. Rorschach shakes his head. After all he's done, he'd hoped Adrian would have been a little more careful. A new grappling gun wasn't hard to come across - even utopias have black markets and pawn shops. It's easy for him to make his way to their balcony.
He lands on the ledge and pockets the grappling gun as he ponders his next course of action. Should he sneak in and get rid of Veidt quietly, or should he just break in? When he realises the glass doorway is locked, he has one choice. A quick punch and enough of the glass smashes for him to get inside, and any hope of a stealthy entrance is obliterated.
At first nothing stirs, but he hears a light switch and prepares himself for Veidt. A door opens, and he hears footsteps in the hall. Something's wrong, they're too light to be Adrian's. It's a woman's footsteps. That would be right, he'd heard something about Veidt marrying. He prepares himself to take unarm her and even take her hostage, although depending on how she reacts he may have to kill her.
The light switches on, and what he sees fills him with so much blind rage he could do far worse to her than end her life.
"Miss Saturn?"
They're both frozen, and the gun she has in her hands drops to the floor along with her jaw. She gasps, as if she's just choked on the air itself and grabs the wall.
"Rorschach?" she stutters, shaking. She's unsure, it could be a copycat… but how would a copycat know who she was?
Without warning and with his hands in fists, he storms towards her and then takes her hair in his hands, literally throwing her to the couch. She cries out as her head hits some of the seat's wooden panelling and tries to pull herself up.
"Explain. Now." He growls.
She gives a groan and puts her hand to her forehead. "You're alive? But I-"
"Explain!" He barks at her, sending her silent. "Why are you here? With Veidt?"
"I'm married to Veidt… Christ, I think I'm bleeding…"
"Married?" he asks, his voice softening.
"Yes. You know, husband, wife… rings…"
"Don't see ring on finger."
"We're less than conventional." She groans, finally flipping her hair out of her face and looking up at him. She was right, she is bleeding. "Do you want to explain to me how you came back from the fucking dead?"
"Not explaining anything to whore." He grunts. "Married Veidt of all people… should erase you now."
"It's not what you think." She snaps. "He… it's a long story, to do with blackmail…"
"Got a lot of time."
"Look, Rorschach," she sighs. "I'd love to tell you, honestly, but I'm kinda trying to understand how a dead guy is hanging out in my house, okay?"
"Not while Veidt's here."
"I'm home alone, he's out."
He pauses, and then eventually gives a grunt. "Never actually died. Manhattan teleported me to Vietnamese slums. Slowly made way to England by working on shipping boats. Arrived here last week."
"So you came for your revenge, then?" she asks.
"You know." He says, crossing his arms. "How?"
"Before Adrian proposed… well, asked me to marry him, he gave me the journal… as a gift, I guess."
"Adrian had journal?" he asks, sounding furious and scaring her a little.
"He bought privately off the guy from New Frontiersman… then he had him killed… and gave it to me."
"You didn't tell anyone?" he asks.
"No… he… threatened to kill me." She notices his hands ball into a fist again. "But, I mean, obviously you didn't either, seeing as it's not top news or anything."
He grunts, shaking his head and relaxing a little. "Tried. Was dismissed as insane. Ignored."
"Something tells me I'd get the same treatment…"
"Why marry him? After knowing that?"
"Well… he uh… he offered to… well, I wanted a child."
He pauses. "Thought you were infertile. TV said so."
"I am." She sighs. "But after all that stuff in New York, there was a lot of orphans, and a lot of red tape… and they were only adopting them out to married couples… and Adrian had the money to get through the complications…"
He's staring at her now, she can tell by the way his mask is shifting. "…Have… child?"
She nods, playing with her hands. "Her name is Margo… she's just a little over 18…"
"Old for adoption."
"I wanted a child that would understand my predicament... This marriage has no love, Adrian just wanted it for the publicity that came with it, I'm surprised you didn't hear about it overseas."
"Obviously not much coverage in England. Managed to ignore most media regardless."
"Oh, it was all the rage here. There was even a commemorative plate out. Anyway," she laughs. "Margo knows why we're married… we've got a good relationship, though, her and I. Adrian might not give her much attention but she calls me 'Mom' and lets me look after her…"
"Margo here?" he asks. She shakes her head.
"She's got a school friend she spends a lot of time with, she's staying there tonight."
"Said Veidt blackmailed you."
She sighs and then nods. "Sit, it's a long one." She gestures to the other lounge chair, and when he's seated she begins. "After we saved the fabrics… he knew who I was, figured it out thanks to the security footage at the hospital. Anyway, his sales were down because of the dangerous fabrics, so to help his image he made a deal with me: I could pretty much be his puppet and he'd put me up in the best care, in the best house and so on… or else he'd let my secret out and I could recover in jail. You have to understand, Rorschach, I was scared and alone and I didn't have anyone…"
"Evil. Evil is only word for it."
"…I didn't mean to-"
"Not you." He butts in. "Veidt, using another's bleak situation for own personal gain. Pathetic."
She smiles, sending him back a little. Why was she smiling?
"Why so happy?" he asks. "Living in sham marriage, should be miserable."
"…You're back."
--
Margo ducks down under the beam as her friend Anne leads her into the basement where the meeting is being held. When Anne said 'underground' magazine party, she wasn't just using a figure of speech.
"Are you sure this is legal?" she asks, already able to smell all kinds of smoke.
"God, Margo!" Anne groans as they head down the final stairs. "You worry too much, girl! It's fine, just a party run by the foremost front of the liberal media."
"You do realise what happens if I get arrested, right? Like, there will be TV cameras…"
"Oh come on, is it the drugs you're worried about?" she asks, as they come to the door. "Because you don't have to take them, you know."
Anne opens the door and she sighs. "No, just 'Veidt' and 'Heroin' don't look too good in the same headline." She mumbles under her breath so as to shut Anne up as they step inside. Anne doesn't hear, the music is already too loud.
It's not long before Anne has managed to drag her over to a group of guys, most of them already off their faces on whatever the narcotic of choice is. They sit in a circle, chatting over the music about conspiracies. At this point, no one has realised exactly who she is yet, she hopes to keep it this way.
"Anyway, so that's why fluoride turns people gay." One of them slurs, passing her a cigarette. She laughs as she lights it and shakes her head.
"So why are they putting it in the water?" she asks in jest.
"Population control." He whispers.
"Population control?" Anne roars, cackling as she does so. "What about all those millions who died when Manhattan went crazy? Logic is flawed!"
The man scowls at Anne as she laughs off his theory, and another, younger one clears his throat.
"Actually," he begins, leaning into the circle a little and waving his cigarette around. "Speaking of Dr Manhattan, I heard this great little theory when I was in London. Would you care to hear it?"
Anne shrugs. "As long as it's better than captain fluoride here."
He gestures for everyone to listen, as if he's telling a great tale. "Well, my aunt who I was staying with told me this great one. When her boyfriend was working at the docks, he met this guy. Crazy American bloke, not the most social of the bunch, trying to work his way back to the US, anyway," he continues. Margo smiles a little, his accent is making it much more entertaining. "One night, he comes home and tells her that this guy thinks Dr Manhattan wasn't the cause behind those big blasts at all."
"Oh, really?" the first guy snorts. "Then who was?"
"This is the best part. Okay, so according to this guy, right, Adrian Veidt of all people was the one who did it!" This is met by laughter from everyone including Margo. "Apparently, Veidt actually used a machine to copy Manhattan's powers and blow everything up!"
"Why the hell would he do that?" the first one asks. "That doesn't even make sense, Steve."
"Well, remember how everyone thought the Russians were going to bomb us? Well apparently, this guy figured that by blowing up enough people around the world, everyone would focus on one common enemy and stop trying to blow each other up."
Everyone except Margo laughs now. Steve continues. "The best part about this is that there's actually a guy I know who believes it! You know Lionel from Borderline Publishing? Yeah, he believes every word of that shit, thinks it's 'completely logical.' Load of bollocks if you ask me."
--
His mask shifts and she gives a shudder, it's been a while.
"Assumed you were dead." He says. "Avoided blast, how?"
She chuckles a little, shifting in her seat. "Well, Adrian sent me on a cruise. I was half way between Australia and Bali when it happened. Looking back I understand just why he put me on that exact cruise… I guess I can thank him for that much."
There's an incredibly long silence in the room, and it makes the both of them uncomfortable. She sighs.
"How will you explain smashed window to Veidt?" he asks. She shrugs.
"He's in China on business for the rest of the month. I'll have it replaced myself before he's back."
"Surely Veidt keeps check on finances."
"I have an allowance, in my account, in my name. Besides, I'm sure I can come up with an excuse by then…"
--
It's about 3.00AM, Margo and Anne surface from the building where the party was held, Anne intoxicated, Margo exhausted.
"It's so late…" Margo sighs. "If my Mom had any idea…"
"But she doesn't!" Anne slurs as she pats her friend on the back, well, more of a slap than a pat. "Live a little, Margo!"
"Can't we go back inside and call a taxi?" Margo asks, a little worried by their surroundings. The neighbourhood is less than shoddy, and they've come out into probably one of the longest allies she's seen in the city.
"Mar-go!" Anne sings. "The taxi rank is like two blocks away, I'm not paying the extra $5 it takes to call one!"
Margo shivers and follows her friend, who stumbles down the ally, and puts her hands in her pockets. Voices call out from behind her following a long whistle.
"Hello sexy!" one of the male voices calls. Anne turns back to look, Margo tries to ignore them.
"Hey, come 'ere for a second…" the other calls. "Just a second! We just wanna talk to you…"
Margo picks up the pace, grabbing Anne by the sleeve and pulling her along. But she can already hear the footsteps of the men speeding up with them and breaks into a run, almost literally dragging Anne with her. She feels Anne stop, the sudden jolt causing her to stumble a little. One of the men has Anne, and it wasn't long before the other two caught up, surrounding them against the wall.
"Now, ladies, that was a little rude, ignoring us like that…" the tallest man says, grinning as his two friends laughed. The two girls step back until they're against the wall. "But it's okay, I know a way you can make it up to us…"
One of the men grabs Anne by the throat and pins her to the wall, and the tall one makes a grab for Margo. Margo ducks down, and remembering what they learnt in self-defence class, gives him a quick but sturdy uppercut, launching him into the air. The third man comes at her and she uses the first move she learnt – she kicks him in the crotch. Her attention turns to Anne now, who is gasping for air as the man lets her go to attack Margo. This time he's quicker than her, landing a fist to her face, followed by a knee.
This, however, isn't enough to send her to the ground yet. This time she throws a punch back and lands it on his mouth, making a crack sound as a tooth dislodges. The tall one grabs her around the waist and in his struggle to get a hold on her, he rips off her necklace, causing her to gasp. She gives a scream, not one of fear, but of anger – the necklace belonged to her mother before she died. She throws back her elbow and shoves it into his stomach, causing him to let go of her and stumble back trying to breath. Anne is gone now, she can see her running down the ally, screaming, as another man kicks her in the ribs. She stumbles backwards, giving a cough, but still manages to block yet another punch, and continues until she can breath again.
She's against the wall again, so infuriated that the man has the necklace that she feels a new kind of energy as she continues to block, and begins alternating between attack and defence, dishing more than she was taking. She takes another hit to the face and spits out blood as she punches back, now fatigued.
Just as she feels like giving up, she hears an almighty roar and the wind picks up all of a sudden. This is followed by a bright, bright light that causes everyone, even her to stop and look up at what is lowering itself down. All three stare at the giant structure in silence, until she breaks it.
"What the fuck…"
The ship lowers itself down until it is hovering just a little above them and then stops abruptly. One figure emerges… then a second and larger one… and once they are out of the shadows and into the light, the men run in terror, dropping whatever issue they had with Margo.
"Are you alright?" she larger figure asks her. She doesn't respond, she's too shocked at what she's seeing. The smaller figure runs to catch up with the men, but the larger calls to her.
"No, come on, they're gone… are you okay?" he asks her again. It takes her a second, but she nods.
She feels a hand on her shoulder and jumps, but the light touch calms her somewhat. "Are you hurt?" the female voice asks. Margo nods.
"Do you need us to go to a hospital?"
Margo doesn't reply, but instead puts her hands over her face and begins to cry. She has no idea what's going on now. The larger figure looks at the one behind her and nods, before pressing something on his wrist that makes the giant structure lower itself down even more. A panel on it opens and folds out, revealing an entrance and stairs. The lights dim.
"Come on," the female voice whispers. "We'll get you out of here, okay?"
She whimpers and doesn't move, the figure stands in front of her now as the larger one boards. She looks her in the face and for the first time Margo sees the face of one of her saviours. "We're not going to hurt you, alright?" she assures her, her voice soft. "We're here to help you."
And with that, the female figure leads Margo into the structure. It's not what Margo had expected in there. It's warm, and there's music playing. The woman leads Margo to a seat that's bolted into the floor as the door shuts. "Now we're going to take off, okay? But Nite Owl will make sure to take it nice and easy for you, won't you, Nite Owl?" She asks him through gritted teeth as if they've been arguing about this before. He sighs.
"Sure, and Silk Spectre will leave me to worry about the flying, won't you, Silk Spectre?"
Margo's jaw drops as she feels the vehicle move, and even more worrying than the fact they're taking off is who she's in there with. "Wait…" she sobs. "You mean… you guys are… the Silk Spectre and Nite Owl?"
"Second generation, of course." Silk Spectre chuckles, opening a cabinet and removing a first-aid kit. "Now, do you wanna tell us your name?" she asks.
"Margo…"
Silk Spectre laughs as she kneels down in front of Margo and removes some alcohol wipes from the kit. "Do you have a surname, or are you like Madonna and Cher?"
"Margo Veidt."
It's lucky that Dan has already put the machine on an autopilot setting, because they both freeze in their tracks before staring at her.
"Veidt… as in… Adrian Veidt?" Nite Owl asks. Margo nods and Silk Spectre continues to stare at her.
"What in god's name were you doing out here at 3 in the morning?" she exclaims.
Nite Owl, on the other hand, isn't convinced. "Adrian had kids?"
"She was adopted!" Silk Spectre snaps. "It was all over the news."
"Sorry… I try to not pay much attention…"
Margo raises an eyebrow. "To my dad?"
There's a silence again and the two look at each other. Silk Spectre shakes her head and Nite Owl begins to stutter.
"Uh… to gossip and TV… you know… they weren't uh… they weren't too good to us over the years." He eventually musters.
"Oh, yeah," Margo sighs, wiping some blood away from her mouth. "We have that problem a lot, too. We try to stay away from it."
"Uh, let me get that for you, Margo…" Silk Spectre says, grabbing a wipe again and proceeding to wipe the blood away.
"So… how is your dad?" Nite Owl asks.
Margo gives him a quizzical look, but then remembers the obvious link. "Oh, you two used to work together... he's alright… he's in China on business for the rest of the month…"
"Does he know you're out here?" Silk Spectre asks.
Margo gives a little jump and shakes her head. "Oh, no, god, please don't tell anyone! I will be in so much trouble, like, do you have any idea how freaking colossal my punishments are?"
Nite Owl chuckles and shakes his head. "We won't tell anyone… we uh… don't see Adrian much these days anyway…"
"You're gonna need stitches…" Silk Spectre announces, poking gently at a gash on her cheekbone. "And a good excuse to go with it…"
"It's okay…" Margo sighs. "My Mom's the only one home tonight…"
Silk Spectre closes up the first-aid kit and smiles at her. "Tell Genevieve I said hi, by the way, it's been a while since I met her."
Margo blinks. "Wait, you know my mom? What?!"
"Seems we're linked in more ways than one…"
--
He's helped himself to an apple that was sitting in the fruit bowl and is munching on it. She doesn't take her eyes off the exposed part of his face. There isn't any other sound in the room other than the wind outside and the sound of him chewing.
"Life with Veidt," he begins, taking another bite and chewing vigorously. "How is it?
"Do you want the 'official' story or the truth?" she asks, knowing perfectly well what his answer is.
"Truth."
"Lonely."
"Have Margo."
"Well, yeah, when she's here. And there's things Margo can't do… anyway, it's stupid to go on about that."
"Can't imagine loveless marriage would be anything but isolating. Anyone else outside?"
She laughs. "You know as well as I do that'll never happen. I'm far too bitter."
He finishes the apple, pocketing the core and wiping his mouth. He reaches to his mask. "Shame. Observed woman who'd make good housewife. Waste."
He moves to roll the mask down but she extends an arm grabbing his wrist. He pulls away, and the upper half of the mask shifts. She has some explaining to do. "I… uh… I just… it's been so long… I was hoping… I just want to see what I can. I-I'm sorry, I know you hate this stuff. I'll go to bed…"
She stands to move but this time he grabs her wrist. "Meant what you said in letter?" he asks her.
"…I've never been more honest in my life." She replies very quietly.
For a reason he'll never be able to understand, he removes his hat, and then eventually the mask. Maybe he's lonely, maybe he pities her now, maybe he wants things to be like they were, but he does it anyway and the smile on her face makes him want to seize her in his arms there and then. He tells himself it's pity, she's deathly thin now, and her new home is cold and nothing like her – he can tell she's unhappy.
She puts a hand to his cheek and runs her thumb over his skin. He's here; the man she's been morning for so long is back, in her living room, and she's looking him in the eyes.
"Mom?!" A voice shouts from down the hall. A door closes, and the two pull away from each other in a panic. She shoots him a look.
"Margo, it's 4.30 in the morning…" she calls back. "Is something wrong?"
Before he can even put his mask back on, she's in the doorway, and even he is shocked at the state of the girl.
"Jesus Christ!! Margo! What happened?!" Her mother exclaims, forgetting he's there at all and rushing to her, taking her face in her hands and looking her all over. Margo begins to cry and he figures this is a good chance to pocket the mask before Margo notices him.
"Anne… took me to a party…." Margo sobs, her mother inspecting the cuts on her face. "And… and on the way out we were mugged… and they were gonna hurt us… so I fought them back…"
"Oh my god!" Genevieve whines. "You're gonna need stitches… I'm just glad you're alive…"
"They took my mom's necklace!"
Genevieve pulls her in for a hug, horrified. "It'll be okay, shhhhh, we'll fix you up here, we won't even need to take you to the hospital… you're safe here… shhh…"
He watches them both, and although he hates to admit it, he's a little bit touched by how maternal she's become. It's then that Margo finally picks up on his presence.
"Who's he?" she asks, sounding a little worried. "And why is the window broken?"
He eyes Genevieve who seems to have thought this out already. "Well, there was already a crack against it and I slammed the door a little too hard and the whole thing came down."
"Serious?" she asks.
"Yep. It was really weird. Anyway, Walter here is with the security team and he came up to see what was going on, and it turns out Walter is a very old friend of mine."
Margo eyes him for a moment. "He's gonna stay here, right?" she asks.
Genevieve smiles and laughs a little. "Oh, Margo, I don't think that's really-"
"Mom, I'm really scared…"
She sighs. "Margo, Walter has-"
"Will stay." He says, taking Genevieve off guard a little and causing her to mouth 'what?' at him. "Will be nice to catch up with Miss…" he cuts himself off before he can say 'Saturn.' "…Erm… Veidt."
There isn't a sound for a moment but a few sniffles from Margo until Genevieve speaks up again. "Okay, well, Margo, go have a shower and change into some warm clothes and when you're done we'll stich you up, alright?"
Margo nods and heads down the other hall, leaving just those to in the room. Genevieve wipes a tear away.
"You okay?" he asks her. She nods.
"Just a little shocked, you know… Jesus fuck, now they're even coming after my daughter… you don't have to stay, you know. I'd rather you out there stopping this shit than here."
He shakes his head. "No. Will be day soon. Have much to discuss."
She shakes her head, smiling as she does so. "…Fine. Okay. Whatever. Spare bedroom is down this hall, first on the left." She begins to leave the room and head into the kitchen area. "I'll just be a second, I have to get a medical kit…"
"Will wait here." He grunts.
He remains where he sits as she goes through a doorway, and looks around at the living room.
"Purple." He mumbles to himself. Everything is purple, or lined with gold, or something gaudy that Adrian appreciates. He wonders if she had any say at all in the decorating. There is a photo on the wall of Margo in a formal dress, a banner above her that says 'Prom' and a topknot on her arm. He thins his eyes, he doesn't like the look of him and wonders what Genevieve was thinking allowing her daughter near such scum.
He notices a magazine on the coffee table, a women's magazine. The three of them are on the cover, close together, playing the part of happy family. He flicks through and finds the article, he doesn't know the entire true story but he can gather their publicity stunt is working and fooling the masses. He's not sure why Adrian would want a fake family other than to cover up homosexuality – which is an entire possibility. He notes to ask her about this later. e turns the page and sees a full-page photo, and his blood boils automatically at the sight of Genevieve and Veidt kissing. He puts the magazine down, even if it is fake, he can't overcome his sense of disgust, this is just glamorised prostitution. He hates the idea of her having a family with a man who killed so many, with a man who can't love her…
"Here we go." Genevieve sighs, lugging in a white box and placing it on the coffee table. "Adrian laughed when I insisted we keep a supply of medical equipment, look who's laughing now."
"Should be taking her to hospital."
She shakes her head, removing the lid. "Have we forgotten why we didn't go to hospitals?"
"Not the same."
"No, but when the media attack my daughter for being beaten up at some party somewhere she may as well be a vigilante. They're like flies, Rorschach, and the last thing she needs right now is another scandal, god knows things aren't… sorry, uh, can you take this for a second?" she hands him the antiseptic cream as she gets everything else she needs out.
"Things aren't…?"
She looks up and listens for the sounds of the shower before she replies. "Thing's aren't… easy for Margo at the moment… she's uh… been acting out."
"Acting out?" he asks, watching her close the lid and handing her the cream.
"There uh… she's been spotted at a few… okay, someone got a picture of her at Happy Harry's. Next thing we know, there's a media circus because she was drinking underage in a dive bar. Then all of a sudden all this other stuff surfaces… Margo didn't take it too well…"
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"She uh… I'd rather not talk about it." She replies, biting her lip and blinking erratically, signs that it was a sensitive topic. "But the point is, the girl's had it hard enough without seeing pictures of her bloodied mug all over the fucking TV."
"Need backup story." he announces. "Assuming daughter doesn't know of past proclivities."
She shrugs and takes a seat, nodding. "We… were co-workers?"
"You worked for Veidt. Won't hold up."
"But before that." She continues. "I… uh, okay, what about if we tell her we were housemates for a while when I was in college, and you were the landlord or something?"
He pauses, seems like a fair enough idea. Not too far fetched, easy to run with, not a lot of questions to answer.
"Fine."
It's then that Margo comes back in, dressed in pyjamas, her hair still wet and cringing from her swollen face. She sits next to her mother, who immediately begins attending to her daughters wounds. He watches her, almost in total awe of her gentility. Usually she was a rough, violent and hot headed woman, but not now. The woman in front of him is soft and kind, cooing at her daughter as she winces from the needle. Eventually she finishes, snipping the surgical thread and placing the needle done.
"There, all done." She whispers before leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. "Now, don't pick at it and it should be fine, okay?"
"Mom," Margo snaps. "You're embarrassing me…" this just makes Genevieve laugh and pat her on the shoulder.
"Alright, off to bed now Margo. You may not have school but you've got to be tired."
"But…"
"It's okay," she assures her, finding a little humour in the fact that the girl who wanted independence before was now clutching to her. "Nothing's gonna happen to you, Walter and I are here, okay?" she winks at him and he casts his eyes away.
Margo nods, wiping her eye and standing up. "Alright… night Mom… I love you." She's teary and emotional.
"I love you too."
She turns to Walter. "Night…"
He doesn't reply, but it doesn't matter as Margo has already started to walk to her room. They hear the door shut and Genevieve laughs.
"Well, that's my daughter." She shrugs, beginning to clean the medical supplies.
"Taking this well." He begins. "Thought you'd seek vengeance."
She laughs, closing the lid on the box. "I'm well past those days… besides, I'm just glad she's okay. I have time to be angry later, right now it's best if she rests…"
He smiles a little and this scares her more than his mask ever will. She looks at him suspiciously. "What's got you so happy?" she asks.
"Seeing new side of you… maternal… like it." He wasn't lying, in fact, he was playing it down. It was making him feel things… like when he'd watch her smash whore's heads with glass bottles… he's gone so long thinking she was dead, seeing her face again was like eating for the first time in months. After all that time they both spent thinking 'what if' and playing situations in their minds over and over, they finally have a chance to do what they told themselves they would, even if they tried to deny it.
She stands up and sits down on the couch next to him and takes his hand, he's a little taken back by how soft hers are compared to his gritty, rough palms. She envelops his in hers and smiles at him. "I missed you…" she says quietly.
He has words he can say, but he can't bring himself to say them at all. He's happy, and even though he shouldn't be and he's happy for all the wrong reasons, the face in front of his overshadows all inner dialogue. He pulls her hands closer, and she follows, closer and closer until their lips meet. She can feel him trembling a little, from nerves probably, and even though it's not the most earth-shattering kiss she can tell she'll remember it forever.
She pulls back, not sure if it's going to fast for him, knowing what he's like in these situations.
"Are you going to run away this time?" she asks.
"No."
That's all she needs to hear, and evidentially, it was all he needed to say before they could indulge in a longer, closer and deeper kiss. Her heart begins to race at a speed she didn't think it could reach anymore, she never thought she'd feel this again, neither did he. She stands up, taking him by the hand and leading him down the hall into the guest room where he's staying…