"Here, let me introduce you to your sisters!" America turned the corner and pushed the boy into the room. He followed quickly after, and flashed his Hollywood smile. "Yo!"

"ATTENTION ON DECK!"

No, Sealand did not scream and throw himself at America who had swallowed his cheeseburger and had one arm up and touching his brow. "At ease!" America exclaimed, huge-ass grin still in place. Lowering his arm, America wiggled his brows and then looked down at Sealand. "So, hey, what do you think of your sisters?"

"My..." he turned his head and froze, staring up at... women weren't supposed to be that tall! "Those are my sisters?"

"Well, yeah," America was grinning happily and nodded to the twelve women gathered in the room.

Each one was conservatively dressed in blues, blacks and whites. They stood, all hands behind their backs, straight form, and blond hair in place. Their eyes looked straight ahead, clear and focused, with purpose as if there were something there he hadn't noticed. Shiny medals sat across their chests, and not a single thread, hair, or spec was out of place. They were big, like America was big, and scary, like Sweden was scary. One wrong move and he was sure he was going to be murdered. No, murder was too slow. He would disappear, that was it. One wrong move and he would no longer exist!

At the forefront, slightly ahead of the others, was a woman a little older than the others, and a little shorter and slimmer; but that didn't mean she was any less intimidating to Sealand. She still towered over him and could probably snap his neck with a flick of her wrist.

Sealand had slowly lowered himself from America's sturdy form and landed back on the ground. He shifted uncomfortably in front of these superwomen and looked at each one, but every gaze that did not meet his was cold and focused.

The older nation must have noticed his discomfort because he laughed and nudged him. "Go on, say 'hi' to the ladies."

Here was his chance. These were supposed to be sisters, right? He needed to prove he was a man, capable of... well of great things! So he forced his hand up, filled his chest to speak and, "H-hi!" he squeaked and froze. Dear Lord, did he just squeak, like a mouse? In front of these sharks?

Shaking his head, America patted him on the back. "Yeah, we're gonna have to work on that, Sealand." Looking back at the women, America straightened and nudged the sea fort closer to the leader of the amazons. "Sealand, may I present Kitty Hawk. Kitty Hawk, this is Sealand." The grin on America's face widened even more if that were possible. "Isn't he adorable?"

Finally blue eyes looked at him. They weren't quite the bright sky blue of America's, but something else. Something... more ominous. How could something the same damn shade of blue be that different? At long last those cold lips curved, curled, and cracked into a smile. "It is an honor to meet you, sir."

"Uh, uh, sir?" Sealand tried to calm himself, but it was so hard with her staring directly at him. "You, well, you mean me? I'm a sir?"

"You are older than me," she replied calmly. When those shoulders relaxed and the severe lines settled, they didn't disappear, but they certainly softened, she looked almost like a real woman. It was those eyes though, those eyes that told him she was no ordinary human.

His "father" dragged him to the side then and nodded to the left. "Let's not forget the others, eh? That there is Enterprise."

The woman actually winked at him and smiled a little. "Ready on Arrival; The First, the Finest; Eight Reactors, None Faster!" she greeted.

"Wa- wait, eight reactors?" Sealand turned to stare up at America. "None Faster? These... these aren't your states?"

"Of course not, dear!" He turned to see one of the girls further down the line offer him a full-blown grin. "Vis Per Mare!" she cheered.

"Uh, actually it's 'E Mare Libertas'," Sealand offered.

"No, no," the one on the end laughed, "That's more George's thing," she gestured to one of the younger girls down the line.

"George?" Yes, no one could blame him for staring at America who had his chest puffed up and hands on hips. He looked like a damn rooster standing there like that. "You named her George?"

"Hey, it's a cool name, and about time I did it," America pointed out. "And try not to make fun of it. You're gonna see all of them now and then when I can't check up on you, Sealand. They're always running around the place doing all sorts of stuff. And they're very protective of each other."

"Well,"he bowed his head in thought. It seemed he wasn't even important enough to warrant a state looking after him. "Who are they then, these women?" he nodded to them politely, because even though they were all smiling at him now and looked for the most part like nice ladies, it was only for the most part.

"Oh, they're my girls." America knelt down and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Just look at them. Aren't they beautiful?" He actually sighed and was making cow-eyes at them. What the hell? Weren't they his kids or something? The women for their part preened for him and looked quite pleased with his fawning attention. "Just think. Someday you too will be like they," he breathed.

Sealand shifted uncomfortably. Was America capable of turning him into a girl? Or did he mean somehow making Sealand grow up, physically. "That... that still doesn't tell me what, rather, they are, um, Dad. I mean," he pointed at one of them then in hopes of getting an answer if he was specific. "What is that?"

The shark grin from before came back and spread to the girls, and this time it was bigger than ever. "That, my boy," he leaned in against Sealand's ear as he salivated and his voice lowered, "is '4 point five acres of sovereign and mobile American territory'."

And just like that, the boy smiled.

Vis Per Mare: Strength from the Sea

E Mare Libertas: From the Sea, Freedom

It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Could you figure out who the girls are before the end?