Evil is No Laughing Matter, Chapter Three
By: Guinevere Richardson
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Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: Please vote for a City of Heroes category!
Chapter Three
Richard Hossorn sipped his martini idly as he watched his daughter practice with her rifle. Again. He raised one aristocratic brow at his brother, who wasn't paying Risa any attention. He didn't even start at the sound of her firing. He just kept scribbling.
"Are you keeping score?" Richard asked, smirking at his own quip.
Gerard Hossorn, genius scientist and worth billions CEO of Portal Corp, just blinked, then looked up at his brother. "What?"
Richard twitched as Risa fired again. "Keeping score. For her." He gestured with his martini.
Gerard looked around Richard. "Score of what?"
"How many times she hits or misses?" Richard replied. Gerard chuckled then. "What's so damn funny?" Richard demanded.
"It's just that Risa doesn't miss, Rick." Gerard shook his head. "Do you even know her?? She is your own daughter!"
"We go over this all the time." Richard downed his entire martini. "As the public face of your little company, I didn't–still don't–have the time to put up with a child."
Gerard sighed. It was useless to point out to Richard that neither his company was little nor Risa a child. "Very well. Just don't expect her to care for you when you deteriorate."
Richard shuddered at the thought of getting old. "Pray I die before that happens, if you have any feeling for me at all."
Gerard gathered all his papers. "I would have feeling for you if you cared for anything other than yourself." He gave his brother a reproachful glance over his glasses. "How in hell did Risa's mother ever put up with you?"
A flicker of pain actually crossed Richard's eyes. He was silent for a moment, then turned and faced where Risa was still practicing. "I wish I knew." With that he just quit Gerard's presence, an empty martini glass the only sign the man had been there at all.
Risa completely ignored the fact that her father was with her uncle. She didn't even look to see if he was watching her or not. To her, the man was just a person, a social acquaintance, a name. She couldn't call him father any more than she could call anyone else the same.
Perspiration beaded her face, and she gritted her teeth. Her shoulder was killing her, but she pushed herself further and further every day. If she was to truly go out and be a hero, it would take more than just being a good marksman. Or markswoman, as it were. She smiled at that. She wondered what her mother would think of her doing this. Then she sighed. From what she had learned of her mother, she was far from approving of her daughter toting a gun and going and fighting thugs.
Just then she noticed her uncle was beside her, just waiting. She glanced at him, then realized he had been standing there awhile, watching her stare into space. Risa blushed slightly and set down the rifle. "Sorry."
"No problem, I do it all the time." Gerard couldn't help but be prideful of Risa. The girl was gifted, and she had potential. Potential she could very easily reach.
Risa half-smiled at that, her fondness of her uncle showing in her expression. Her uncle had practically raised her, even being as busy as he had been with Portal Corp. His work was so much more important than her father's, if you could call what he did work, yet he had always found time for her. For that, he would always be first priority. If anything ever happened to him...her own revenge seemed pitiful compared to what she would do to those who harmed Gerard Hossorn.
"Good god, but you are frightening when you get that look on your face." Gerard's eyes had widened substantially.
Risa realized she was grinning. She coughed and waved a hand. "Practice."
"Practice." Gerard nodded, then gestured to the rifle. "Practice for that, too. Why? What in god's name are you going to do?"
Risa knew then that it was time to let her uncle in on the secret. She would need his help anyway. The sooner he knew the better. She sighed, then looked at him again. Would he be able to handle it? He wasn't that old yet, surely no older than his 40s, but it just seemed...she shook her head. "Not here. Somewhere private." Gerard blinked. Before he could reply, Risa added, "Your lab."
At that Gerard was taken aback. What on earth could be so important that she needed the secrecy of his lab to tell him? But his lab is where they would go.
"No."
"What??" Risa cried. "Why not??"
"I refuse to let you go crime-fighting with that." Gerard pointed at the rifle.
"What do you suppose I do? Fistfight?" Risa demanded. She put her hands on her hips. "Do not deny me this. I need to do it...have to do it!"
"And when you destroy the Hellions? Then what?" Gerard sighed and shook his head. "Vengeance is not enough."
Risa clenched her fists in frustration. How to explain? She wanted vengeance, oh, yes. The Hellions would pay for what they did to her. But it was more than that. So much more. Risa looked her uncle in the eye. "I have to prove myself. Not just to Last Laugh, but to myself."
"And Richard?" Gerard added, prodding a nerve he knew had been there for some time now.
Risa gritted her teeth but nodded. "Aye. Richard too." She glanced down. "And everyone else. I'm not just some rich brat that paid her way into school. I'm not just brains. I'm not just a society beauty. I'm Risa, dammit, and I need to find out just what that is."
"By cavorting through the streets with a gun? How does that make you different from villains?" Gerard questioned.
"Stop with the logical questions. Either you are helping me with this, or you aren't." Risa stubbornly answered, crossing her arms over her chest.
Gerard knew defeat when he faced it. He shook his head, but a smile played on his face. "On one condition."
Risa raised her eyebrow, looking so identical to her father at that moment. "Which is?"
"You can't use that." Gerard pointed at the rifle. "I forbid it."
Risa threw her hands up in the air. "I've already said, what am I supposed to do??"
Gerard stopped listening to her. She went on and on about how she had practically forgotten all her jiu-jitsu, and that she was a girl, and going toe-to-toe would be near impossible. If she just had her gun, she would have the advantage. He smirked to himself that Risa was always so quiet unless you got her riled up over something she really felt about. Going over to a safe, he put in the password, Risa's voice still going on.
"Are you even listening?!" Risa finally demanded as her uncle disappeared into the safe. "I want your help! That means..." She trailed off as her uncle returned to her vision.
What he held in his hands meant more than anything he could say.
"No, I wasn't listening, because all you had to say was things I already knew." Gerard glanced down at the item in his hands, then at her. "Be careful." With that, he handed over Portal Corp.'s AR-6300.
Risa nearly fell under the weight, but she balanced herself. "It has to weigh at least fifty pounds!!" She exclaimed with a grunt. After a few moments though she got a good grip on it, and hefted it in both hands. At her uncle's look, she knew she looked threatening enough. "So? What exactly is this, and am I allowed to be holding it?"
Gerard laughed. "I own this company. You're allowed to do whatever pleases you." He shrugged. "It's a work in progress. It's the AR-6300. It's our latest development on the standard rifle."
Risa laughed. "Come now. For it to weigh this much..."
"That is nothing. It has none of the attachments on it yet." Gerard crossed his arms over his chest. "If you're truly serious about this, then that is what you are going to use. And that means you are going to train before even thinking of heading out into dark alleys."
Risa nodded. "I am serious." Although her shoulder was already screaming at her to drop the gun. She knew her uncle was correct in the statement that she would need training.
"Alright then." Gerard took the rifle from her. "At the moment, as it is now, it can shoot a standard bullet and a short smattering, similar to a machine gun, except it's only three shots."
"Ought to be enough." Risa stretched, trying to ease the strain in her arms from toting the thing, even for that short amount of time.
"For now." Gerard locked up the safe and turned to her. "In the meantime..." He looked her up and down. "What did you have in mind?"
"Have in mind?" Risa repeated, at a loss.
"Yes. For your costume." Gerard shook his head. "You'll have to have one. No self-respecting hero goes without one."
Risa nodded. "I hadn't thought about it." She massaged her shoulder absently. "How about I draw something up and let you know?"
"I'd like to see what you come up with. But I'll wait until you have it made."
"Have it made?" Risa repeated. "But isn't that risking my identity?"
Gerard frowned slightly. "The heroes have to have them tailored somewhere. Unless they all make them themselves..I find that highly unlikely though." He scribbled something down. "I'll look into it. I have discreet contacts, some that help heroes out. I'm sure one of them will know."
Risa's eyes widened. "You're in league with other heroes??"
"Well, yes, indirectly." Gerard smiled. "All of us citizens of Paragon are. It's sort of our duty, you know, since they help us out. But truly, I help a lot of the heroes with their gadgets and whatnot. But," Gerard held up a hand when Risa would have spoken, "No one else will ever have an AR-6300. That's for my Risa and no one else."
Risa sighed in relief. "Good. I'd hate to be cloned."
"Somehow, I find it doubtful." Gerard shook his head. "But, no other heroes will have the gadgets you have. I promise."
Risa nodded. "I'll arrange for a personal trainer, and you let me know who the heroes' tailors, if any, are. In the meantime I'll sketch something out." She glanced at the gun. "I won't come asking for it again until I'm fully suited up and trained. Fair?"
Gerard was surprised Risa gave so much, and realized that this was something she truly wanted to do. Perhaps she had finally found her calling. "Fair."
And with that, it began.
Author's Notes: Please vote for a City of Heroes category!
Chapter Three
Richard Hossorn sipped his martini idly as he watched his daughter practice with her rifle. Again. He raised one aristocratic brow at his brother, who wasn't paying Risa any attention. He didn't even start at the sound of her firing. He just kept scribbling.
"Are you keeping score?" Richard asked, smirking at his own quip.
Gerard Hossorn, genius scientist and worth billions CEO of Portal Corp, just blinked, then looked up at his brother. "What?"
Richard twitched as Risa fired again. "Keeping score. For her." He gestured with his martini.
Gerard looked around Richard. "Score of what?"
"How many times she hits or misses?" Richard replied. Gerard chuckled then. "What's so damn funny?" Richard demanded.
"It's just that Risa doesn't miss, Rick." Gerard shook his head. "Do you even know her?? She is your own daughter!"
"We go over this all the time." Richard downed his entire martini. "As the public face of your little company, I didn't–still don't–have the time to put up with a child."
Gerard sighed. It was useless to point out to Richard that neither his company was little nor Risa a child. "Very well. Just don't expect her to care for you when you deteriorate."
Richard shuddered at the thought of getting old. "Pray I die before that happens, if you have any feeling for me at all."
Gerard gathered all his papers. "I would have feeling for you if you cared for anything other than yourself." He gave his brother a reproachful glance over his glasses. "How in hell did Risa's mother ever put up with you?"
A flicker of pain actually crossed Richard's eyes. He was silent for a moment, then turned and faced where Risa was still practicing. "I wish I knew." With that he just quit Gerard's presence, an empty martini glass the only sign the man had been there at all.
Risa completely ignored the fact that her father was with her uncle. She didn't even look to see if he was watching her or not. To her, the man was just a person, a social acquaintance, a name. She couldn't call him father any more than she could call anyone else the same.
Perspiration beaded her face, and she gritted her teeth. Her shoulder was killing her, but she pushed herself further and further every day. If she was to truly go out and be a hero, it would take more than just being a good marksman. Or markswoman, as it were. She smiled at that. She wondered what her mother would think of her doing this. Then she sighed. From what she had learned of her mother, she was far from approving of her daughter toting a gun and going and fighting thugs.
Just then she noticed her uncle was beside her, just waiting. She glanced at him, then realized he had been standing there awhile, watching her stare into space. Risa blushed slightly and set down the rifle. "Sorry."
"No problem, I do it all the time." Gerard couldn't help but be prideful of Risa. The girl was gifted, and she had potential. Potential she could very easily reach.
Risa half-smiled at that, her fondness of her uncle showing in her expression. Her uncle had practically raised her, even being as busy as he had been with Portal Corp. His work was so much more important than her father's, if you could call what he did work, yet he had always found time for her. For that, he would always be first priority. If anything ever happened to him...her own revenge seemed pitiful compared to what she would do to those who harmed Gerard Hossorn.
"Good god, but you are frightening when you get that look on your face." Gerard's eyes had widened substantially.
Risa realized she was grinning. She coughed and waved a hand. "Practice."
"Practice." Gerard nodded, then gestured to the rifle. "Practice for that, too. Why? What in god's name are you going to do?"
Risa knew then that it was time to let her uncle in on the secret. She would need his help anyway. The sooner he knew the better. She sighed, then looked at him again. Would he be able to handle it? He wasn't that old yet, surely no older than his 40s, but it just seemed...she shook her head. "Not here. Somewhere private." Gerard blinked. Before he could reply, Risa added, "Your lab."
At that Gerard was taken aback. What on earth could be so important that she needed the secrecy of his lab to tell him? But his lab is where they would go.
"No."
"What??" Risa cried. "Why not??"
"I refuse to let you go crime-fighting with that." Gerard pointed at the rifle.
"What do you suppose I do? Fistfight?" Risa demanded. She put her hands on her hips. "Do not deny me this. I need to do it...have to do it!"
"And when you destroy the Hellions? Then what?" Gerard sighed and shook his head. "Vengeance is not enough."
Risa clenched her fists in frustration. How to explain? She wanted vengeance, oh, yes. The Hellions would pay for what they did to her. But it was more than that. So much more. Risa looked her uncle in the eye. "I have to prove myself. Not just to Last Laugh, but to myself."
"And Richard?" Gerard added, prodding a nerve he knew had been there for some time now.
Risa gritted her teeth but nodded. "Aye. Richard too." She glanced down. "And everyone else. I'm not just some rich brat that paid her way into school. I'm not just brains. I'm not just a society beauty. I'm Risa, dammit, and I need to find out just what that is."
"By cavorting through the streets with a gun? How does that make you different from villains?" Gerard questioned.
"Stop with the logical questions. Either you are helping me with this, or you aren't." Risa stubbornly answered, crossing her arms over her chest.
Gerard knew defeat when he faced it. He shook his head, but a smile played on his face. "On one condition."
Risa raised her eyebrow, looking so identical to her father at that moment. "Which is?"
"You can't use that." Gerard pointed at the rifle. "I forbid it."
Risa threw her hands up in the air. "I've already said, what am I supposed to do??"
Gerard stopped listening to her. She went on and on about how she had practically forgotten all her jiu-jitsu, and that she was a girl, and going toe-to-toe would be near impossible. If she just had her gun, she would have the advantage. He smirked to himself that Risa was always so quiet unless you got her riled up over something she really felt about. Going over to a safe, he put in the password, Risa's voice still going on.
"Are you even listening?!" Risa finally demanded as her uncle disappeared into the safe. "I want your help! That means..." She trailed off as her uncle returned to her vision.
What he held in his hands meant more than anything he could say.
"No, I wasn't listening, because all you had to say was things I already knew." Gerard glanced down at the item in his hands, then at her. "Be careful." With that, he handed over Portal Corp.'s AR-6300.
Risa nearly fell under the weight, but she balanced herself. "It has to weigh at least fifty pounds!!" She exclaimed with a grunt. After a few moments though she got a good grip on it, and hefted it in both hands. At her uncle's look, she knew she looked threatening enough. "So? What exactly is this, and am I allowed to be holding it?"
Gerard laughed. "I own this company. You're allowed to do whatever pleases you." He shrugged. "It's a work in progress. It's the AR-6300. It's our latest development on the standard rifle."
Risa laughed. "Come now. For it to weigh this much..."
"That is nothing. It has none of the attachments on it yet." Gerard crossed his arms over his chest. "If you're truly serious about this, then that is what you are going to use. And that means you are going to train before even thinking of heading out into dark alleys."
Risa nodded. "I am serious." Although her shoulder was already screaming at her to drop the gun. She knew her uncle was correct in the statement that she would need training.
"Alright then." Gerard took the rifle from her. "At the moment, as it is now, it can shoot a standard bullet and a short smattering, similar to a machine gun, except it's only three shots."
"Ought to be enough." Risa stretched, trying to ease the strain in her arms from toting the thing, even for that short amount of time.
"For now." Gerard locked up the safe and turned to her. "In the meantime..." He looked her up and down. "What did you have in mind?"
"Have in mind?" Risa repeated, at a loss.
"Yes. For your costume." Gerard shook his head. "You'll have to have one. No self-respecting hero goes without one."
Risa nodded. "I hadn't thought about it." She massaged her shoulder absently. "How about I draw something up and let you know?"
"I'd like to see what you come up with. But I'll wait until you have it made."
"Have it made?" Risa repeated. "But isn't that risking my identity?"
Gerard frowned slightly. "The heroes have to have them tailored somewhere. Unless they all make them themselves..I find that highly unlikely though." He scribbled something down. "I'll look into it. I have discreet contacts, some that help heroes out. I'm sure one of them will know."
Risa's eyes widened. "You're in league with other heroes??"
"Well, yes, indirectly." Gerard smiled. "All of us citizens of Paragon are. It's sort of our duty, you know, since they help us out. But truly, I help a lot of the heroes with their gadgets and whatnot. But," Gerard held up a hand when Risa would have spoken, "No one else will ever have an AR-6300. That's for my Risa and no one else."
Risa sighed in relief. "Good. I'd hate to be cloned."
"Somehow, I find it doubtful." Gerard shook his head. "But, no other heroes will have the gadgets you have. I promise."
Risa nodded. "I'll arrange for a personal trainer, and you let me know who the heroes' tailors, if any, are. In the meantime I'll sketch something out." She glanced at the gun. "I won't come asking for it again until I'm fully suited up and trained. Fair?"
Gerard was surprised Risa gave so much, and realized that this was something she truly wanted to do. Perhaps she had finally found her calling. "Fair."
And with that, it began.
