Warning: Descriptions of past violence
09:03 am
Unknown Location
West Coast, America
Erika lowered herself into a dusty chair. After leaving the Thunderman's, she had traveled randomly for half an hour before, after nearly ending up underwater, she had decided to seek shelter. The place she was in now was dusty and smelled a little bit of plant decay but it was safe. This had been one of Wilting Rose's safe houses and Erika had been here many times over her childhood. The place, no longer suitable for Mother's space needs, had been abandoned for years, so Erika knew she had never been deleted from the security system.
Looking around, Erika thought back to Hank's words. She had gone through so much to leave this lifestyle behind. Was he right, though? Erika had been deeply involved in her family's work before becoming Portal, committed to it at one point. Blank eyes gazed absently up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Age 3:
A small girl in a frilly green dress walked down the hallway of this very building, following the noises that had woken her from her afternoon nap. Erika was staying with her mother this month and Wilting Rose had been eager to share her work, despite her former husband's belief that starting too early could cause psychological imbalances later in life. Actually, she was probably so happy to share because it would annoy Mindleader.
The mini-brunette finally reached her destination, the lab where Mother worked on her creations and plotted future crimes. The screams that had woken her had finally stopped, replaced by the sounds of sobbing and small, pained moans. Too small to reach the handprint scanner beside the door, Erika knocked, waiting patiently with her arms folded behind her back. The door slid open to reveal Mother, her usual green and gold bodysuit traded for a stained lab coat. The woman quickly scooped her up, taking the girl inside and setting her town on a nearby table, one giving a good view of her current work. The smaller female saw what had been making the noise. Strapped to a nearby table was the civilian man who had tried to interfere in Mother's latest crime, attacking her and giving the mayor a chance to flee. He hadn't defeated her, of course, and Wilting Rose had a backup plan to get the politician anyway, but the woman's fury towards the defiant gesture had been great.
The thing on the table could barely be described as human anymore, the girl thought, and it wasn't an improvement. He was clearly being used to test Rose's newest inventions. Tan skin was blistering and bubbling under a thin layer of corrosive plant sap, open wounds on his chest and legs had taken a green tint, turning the blood dripping onto the ground a strange shade of brown. His veins had darkened and stood out clearly against his skin. Brown hair had begun to fall out (Erika wasn't entirely sure what had caused that) and his gums looked red and inflamed. Thorny vines kept him in place, several having made his way into his wounds, burrowing into his body. A sickly sweet smell permeated the air, making the child's nose scrunch. Having heard the knocking, his head had flopped to the side, reddened eyes widening at the sight of the newest occupant.
Voice hoarse and cracking, the older male rasped, "A child?" Taking in her green dress, embroidered with a lighter leaf pattern, and a familiar set of eyes, the former Good Samaritan made the connection easily. "You would have your own daughter watch this? Disgusting." The sound of skin meeting skin rang through the air as Wilting Rose's hand shot out, punching her new project, face contorted in rage. His head snapped back with a sickening sound, his body going limp. Back turned towards the girl, Wilting Rose couldn't see Erika flinch at the sound.
"Come here, Sweetling," came her mother's usual purr. Erika hopped off the table, making her way towards the extended hand. Wilting Rose once more picked her up, resting her daughter against a shapely hip. Both pairs of green eyes gazing down at the man, whose breath was coming in rattling gasps. "This man tried to hurt me," she looked down at her daughter. "He interfered in my work, disrespected me. One day, you will meet people who do the same." Red lips opened in a feral grin, "I will show you what to do when the time comes."
Wilting Rose walked her down the hallway, bringing her back to the bed Erika had been sleeping in twenty minutes earlier. Putting her down and drawing the covers over her, red lips kissed the crown of her head. When Erika heard the door close behind the villainess, she pulled back the covers, feeling an unpleasant wetness on the sides of her dress. Green eyes met red. The places where Mother had held her had been stained with blood.
