What if there was a nice chapter where everyone had a good time and Morgan and Seth just. Weren't there. They're fine, they're taking a nap or building their soup robot or something. Don't worry about them. This is chapter 30, baby! The long-awaited Background Character chapter. The rules for qualifying as a background character are that if I wanted to write you into this chapter I did and if I didn't I did not. Background characters include canon and oc characters, including characters I haven't written in AoV before.

"Are you sure you want to go on this mission alone, Wasabi?" Honey Lemon asked, as she drank her tea and ate her muffin. It was Big Hero Breakfast time and they were discussing Wasabi's weekend plans and whether or not they qualified as a Big Hero 6 mission or not.

"It's just dance class, I've been to a dance class before, I'll be fine," Wasabi said, not liking that all the attention was now on him.

"Yeah, but it's High Voltage's dance class," Hiro pointed out.

"They're doing community service, they're not going to try anything," Wasabi said, having thought a lot about this, "I want to get back into dance and this is a good opportunity, and one of us needs to keep an eye on them, right?"

"Wasabi is tough, he can handle it," Fred said with his mouth full of pancakes.

"One of us should go with you, though. Just to be safe," GoGo said.

"If you wanted to do ballet with me again you could have just asked," Wasabi said.

"Shut up," GoGo mumbled, looking away.

"Again?" Honey Lemon asked, looking at her girlfriend with interest.

GoGo shrugged, "Wasabi and I met in ballet class when we were like, toddlers. It was a different time."

"Yeah… I liked dancing, I'd like to make some better memories. I'd like to make those memories with my best friend," Wasabi said, smiling earnestly at GoGo.

"Yeah, okay."

"We're gonna have to go dancing together," Honey Lemon said, putting her hand on GoGo's arm.

GoGo blushed, "I'd love to."

Fred smirked at her, "You're such a softie."

While GoGo and Fred argued about that, Hiro slipped away to check in on his aunt.

"Hey, Hiro, is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I was just wondering if you wanted any help today. Everyone else has their own plans today, so I was wondering if I could hang out with you and help out."

Cass beamed, "Absolutely! It's beat poetry night, you can help me get ready for that."

"Sounds fun."

Since facing off with Di Amara, Hiro had tried to be a little bit more present in the lives of the people he cared about. He tried to call Karmi as frequently as he could, he made sure never to miss Big Hero Breakfast, he stopped to chat with Morgan whenever he saw her at work, he hung out with Megan at least once a week, and he spent his Saturdays in the cafe with Aunt Cass.

Hiro was hoping that he could have a few minutes without the world ending, without Obake or Di or any of that drama, a few minutes where everything was okay.

Obake was also hoping for a few minutes where everything was okay. Last night he and Kei had gone out for an undercover chicken wing date and he was using the leftover potato wedges to make his standard scrambled egg recipe a little more interesting. He toasted some bread, set up an array of jams for the toast, and threw some frozen sausage links in the microwave. Then he sank into a chair and let out an exhausted sigh, considering the brunch part of family brunch a somewhat success.

Now he just had to navigate the family part. Kei was ready to go, having just gotten out of the shower, gotten dressed, and dried her hair while Obake cooked. Kei wasn't the one he'd been worried about actually showing up. But finally, he heard a knock, lighting up that his invite had actually reached its intended recipient. Since he was technically supposed to be dead, he always had to check before he opened the door, but it was actually her.

"Trina, you changed your hair," Obake said.

"Well, yeah. I didn't get to pick my hair the first time." There was a bit of an edge in her voice.

"You look like me," Obake said, surprised and a little touched.

"I thought you were dead," Trina said, now sounding even angrier, "I had to carry on your legacy because you were dead!"

Obake frowned sympathetically, "You don't have to follow in my footsteps, anymore, Trina, if you don't want to. You can do whatever you want."

"Maybe I want to take over the city."

"Well, I'm sure you'd do an exceptional job at taking over the city. But I do think we should discuss what that entails, because, you know, my wife and I and some other, tolerable people live in San Fransokyo…"

"So now that you have some skin in the game you don't like the idea of everyone you've ever loved getting wiped out with a robotic uprising?"

"Er, yeah."

"You never let me do anything. I shouldn't have come…"

"No, no, no, I'm glad you're here! I missed you! And I want you to meet Kei." Obake was a little desperate to get through to Trina, and a little guilty that he hadn't reached out sooner.

"Alright, but I'm not calling her mom."

"You don't have to."

"I don't even know if I should still call you dad. You were never much of a father."

"That's fair, I understand why you feel that way. But know that I never stopped thinking of you as my daughter."

Trina froze, then she smoothed out her red and black hair and continued forward into the dining room without responding. Kei jumped up when Trina entered the dining room and held out her hand. Trina shook it but didn't smile.

"It's so nice to meet you, Trina. I really like your hair."

"Yeah, yours is nice too." Hair was kind of Trina's thing, but she didn't say that. She was still tentative about this whole arrangement.

"Please, sit, eat," Obake urged.

"I can't eat, remember?" Trina said, rapping her knuckles on her synthetic stomach.

"Ah, yes, obviously…" Obake was practically sweating.

"But I see you have a teapot. I can still experience temperatures, I wouldn't mind holding on to a cup of tea."

"Certainly," Kei's smile didn't waver as she poured some tea into a yellow mug with a smiley face on it. Trina's own face did not match the mug.

"So, Trina, I'd love to get to know you. What do you like?" Kei asked him.

"City domination."

"So you take after your father," Kei chuckled.

"He created me. He's barely my father."

"I was… Naive. No, I was cruel, to treat you as a weapon and a part of my plan instead of my daughter."

"It's okay," Trina said with a shrug, "You didn't want a daughter. You wanted a son. Noodle Burger Boy hardly meets your expectations, and Hiro rejected your offer… But you, Kei, maybe you can give him what he wants."

"Even if Obake and I had a child together, we would still want you to be a part of that family," Kei said, while Obake shrank back, staring dismally at his untouched eggs.

Trina grabbed a piece of toast and began to spread some strawberry jam, just to have something to do with her hands.

"Please, tell me if I'm wrong, you're only inviting me into your home, and your family because you're hoping to avoid another catastrophe." Trina's voice trembled.

"Yes," Obake said softly, "but it's not that I'm trying to avoid a robotic uprising. You're my daughter and I'd be proud of your achievements regardless. The catastrophe I'm hoping to avoid is the one that I already set in motion. I was a god-awful father to you and I don't deserve a second chance. I shouldn't be alive, I shouldn't be in love, and I shouldn't have such a brilliant, remarkable daughter because I don't deserve any of that. But I'm asking you to consider standing down and sticking around. Because I want to earn the chance to be in your life."

Trina dropped the piece of toast that she had mostly reduced into a pile of sticky crumbs. She was floored by her father's speech.

"You want me here?"

"Yes," Obake said.

"If you would like, you could move in with us. We'll fix up a nice little space for you, and perhaps you could be part of our family and our criminal empire. It's not as flashy as ruling the city, but we could have a lot of fun together," Kei said.

Trina smiled genuinely for the first time that day, "Y'know, I like you. I think you're the best decision this weirdo has ever made."

Obake laughed, "Kei is one of my best decisions, yes. But I think the very best decision I made was you."

Trina glanced away, beaming, "Oh, whatever, dad. I reserve the right to leave and go do my own thing at any time."

"Of course," Obake agreed. But they both knew, now that this little family was falling into place, they would never want to leave each other.

Another little family was using their Saturday to run errands. While Sadie taught her weekly art class at the community center, which she said was sometimes the only thing that kept her sane after a long week of bartending, Bennet and Dalton did their meal prepping.

Meal prepping with Bennet and Dalton was fun because Dalton knew an unholy amount about cooking and Bennet knew an unholy amount about fruits and vegetables. Bennet had started chattering with a woman and her toddler about how the ugly produce was actually just as good as the pretty stuff, people were just too influenced by aesthetics. The woman did not seem that into the conversation, but Dalton loved listening to his boyfriend talk and was having fun making silly faces at the toddler.

Finally, Dalton had mercy on the poor woman and distracted Bennet by asking his opinion on avocados. Of course, Dalton knew plenty about avocados, but he was happy to include Bennet in their purchasing decisions.

"Are we having avocado toast?" Bennet asked.

"Yes and no. I'm making avocado bread. I saw the recipe online and I want to try it out."

"Don't you have enough recipes in that beautiful head of yours?" Bennet asked with a smirk.

"Hardly."

Bennet was quiet for a moment while he inspected avocados.

"You'd make such a great dad," he said after finally selecting an avocado.

"Hm? Where did that come from?" Dalton looked up in surprise.

Bennet grabbed the cart and kind of shuffled a little bit with it, dragging Dalton further into the store.

"I saw how you were with that kid. I was just thinking… Nah, it's stupid."

"Hey," Dalton said, "my boyfriend isn't stupid. What's on your mind?"

"We've been together for what… Five years now? And we've been with Sadie for two years? And we've never talked about the future, our future."

"That's not true," Dalton said with a frown, "we've talked about us."

"Dalton, do you want to marry me?"

Dalton felt like his heart was about to stop.

"Are you proposing to me in the middle of a grocery store?"

"No, it wouldn't be right to do that without Sadie. But I'm asking you if you can see us getting married one day."

Dalton was frozen in place, "Bennet?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry we've never talked about our future, that's on me. I should've… I just assumed, because we lived together, our future was set. You've always been the man for me, Bennet. You were my first true love and I haven't regretted a moment we've spent together. You and Sadie are the best parts of my life and I hope that we have the rest of our lives together. I didn't want to risk our forever by bringing up marriage or starting a family but… Yes. I very much want to marry you."

Bennet stood there, stunned, with a goofy smile on his face, "Wow…"

Dalton grinned, "We should talk to our girlfriend, though, before we get engaged."

"Probably for the best. I can't make you a baby."

"Who said I want a baby?"

"Do you?"

"We'll talk about it later. After we ask Sadie if she feels the same way about getting married."

"Who gets to propose if we decide we all want to get married?" Bennet asked.

Dalton didn't show his competitive side very often, but he was a football coach who secretly loved winning, "Whoever is fastest."

"Oh, you're so on. I'm gonna propose to both of you so hard."

"If Sadie is ready for that," Dalton reminded.

"Of course."

"Out of curiosity, do you want kids?" Dalton asked.

Bennet mimed zipping his lips and Dalton got the hint. They'd talk about this later. For now, both of them were content with the family they already had.

Booker was also content with his little family, though he admitted he wouldn't mind expanding it, he loved his daughter and he was content with the co-parenting situation. Every few weeks, he and his ex, Nadia, had lunch together with Maya.

Maya was always extra happy when mama and daddy were together. Right now she was sitting in Booker's lap, cheerfully eating the apple slices that came with her kid's meal.

"So, how was your week?" Booker asked, attempting small talk. Things were still awkward between them, but they put the effort in for Maya.

"Good, good. I'm moving to a new department at work, it comes with more benefits."

"That's awesome, Nadia, I'm happy for you. You, uh, you won't have to relocate, right?" Nothing scared Booker more than the thought of losing his daughter. If she moved away he would travel to go see her as often as he could, but he hoped it didn't come to that.

"Nah, don't worry. It'll take a lot to pull me away from this city."

Booker was still nervous, but he let it go.

"How's the whole roommate situation?"

"Oh, it's good."

"You're not uncomfortable living with another couple?" Nadia said with an eyebrow raise.

"What? No, why would I be?"

"When we lived together, with Bram, you always got weirded out when his boyfriend was around."

"That's because 1. Bram was obviously a vampire, and 2. Bram's boyfriend was always hitting on you."

Nadia shrugged.

"I can't believe you're calling someone a vampire when you literally live with a bat."

"Well, that was a result of science. Bram is a paranormal entity."

"Mm-hm. Don't fill our child's head with all this fantasy stuff, okay?"

"I don't think it's all fantasy, Nadia. I mean, weird things are happening in this city every day. I was listening to a podcast the other day-"

"Booker," Nadia said firmly, "we're just going to disagree on this one. You believe in the supernatural and I do not."

"Well, at least let Maya grow up and decide what she believes for herself."

"Just… Don't drag her into anything dangerous, okay?"

"I would never put Maya in any danger," Booker said, and he meant it. He liked his new friends, but he'd cut ties with them in an instant if it meant protecting his kid. Fortunately, he didn't think it would come to that.

"I know. You're a good dad, Booker."

"And you're a good mom. And Maya," he tickled Maya's side, "is the most amazing little girl in the entire world."

"That is one thing we can agree on," Nadia said, grinning while Maya howled with laughter. Maya's joy was what made this whole relationship worth it.

A few tables away at the same diner, Felony Carl and Globby were enjoying a more romantic lunch. Before the afternoon was over they would befriend Booker and his daughter, to the amazement of the more introverted Nadia, but for now, they were more focused on each other.

"It's so good to be good," Globby mentioned offhandedly.

"I enjoy the liberation of basic human decency as well," Felony Carl said.

Globby sighed, practically looking at Carl with heart eyes, "The way you describe the world makes me feel like the luckiest girl at the ball, the one who has secured a dance with the most handsome, well-read bachelor who is notably particular when it comes to romance but for some reason chose me as his dance partner."

Felony Carl chuckled and decided to indulge Globby's whimsy, "Well, does that lucky lady know he's the most incredible person this bachelor has ever met, and he inspired me, er, the bachelor, to be better every day than the day before?"

"He does now," Carl said, closing the distance between them for a lingering kiss.

It seemed that romance was in the air that afternoon for everyone, not just Felony Carl and Globby.

Wasabi hadn't intended to go to dance class to find love, but, as fate would have it before he could even begin warming up he found himself talking to the irresistibly charming Rafael Flores. GoGo decided to be a good wingwoman and left Wasabi alone to flirt with them while she went to talk to High Voltage.

Obviously, Barb and Juniper didn't recognize GoGo outside of her armor, which worked out to her advantage.

"Hello, will you be joining us for class today?"

"Yes ma'am, and permanently if things work out. I used to take ballet classes with my friend Wesley over there when we were kids, we were hoping to find a new class. And, well, you two are celebrities…"

Barb frowned, "Ignore the stuff in the news. My Juniper and I are just normal people and expect to be treated as such. We just want to lead this class, but if you have a problem with our pasts then we'll have to ask you and your friend to leave."

GoGo glanced at where Wasabi was talking to Rafael, clearly enjoying himself. Then she thought back to something Honey Lemon had said, about everyone getting the chance to redeem themselves. She didn't personally believe that everyone deserved that chance, but she could at least extend it to the dancers before her.

"Of course not. Everyone deserves a chance to live a normal, happy life."

At the San Fransokyo prison, two people were taking that chance. Using his boyfriend's technology and a little bit of brute force, Ian busted Mel out of prison.

They made sure they were at a safe distance away from the prison before having their reunion.

"I've missed you so much, Mel…" Ian said, before swatting him, "What were you thinking? Letting yourself get caught? We were supposed to be in this together!"

"We are! We will be, for the rest of our lives. We just… I just got caught up in the moment. Forgive me, my love."

Ian hungrily pulled Mel in and kissed him as if they'd never kissed before. With how long Mel had been in jail, it felt like it had been ages since they last kissed. Ages since they last gripped each other with a fervent and insatiable passion.

"My plan is coming together, baby. Win or lose, we will make this city remember us," Ian promised when they pulled away.

"Whenever I'm with you I'm a winner," Mel said, "and the rest of the world doesn't matter at all."

Ian couldn't agree more.

Chief Cruz was understandably concerned about the prison break, but he put that away from his mind as he got ready for dinner.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" He asked Megan as she set the table.

"It was good! I visited Hiro at the cafe and we brainstormed some ideas for stories I want to cover. I think I'm gonna do a story about the people who were affected by the mutations. Hiro knows some of them and he's going to put me into contact with them. And that lady, who came to my dance with her daughter, they're doing community service, so it wouldn't be hard to track them down either. I could extend the article to be about rehabilitated criminals, make San Fransokyo really see that no one is as bad as they seem."

Diego loved listening to his daughter talk about her writing. He loved that she was always willing to open up to him and he tried to offer her the same amount of honesty in return. But right now he hid what he was thinking, that the heroes and villains alike were dangerous and that this new jailbreak further complicated things. As long as he was doing what he could to keep his daughter and his city safe, he had to let Megan make some of her own decisions.

"Just be careful, okay, sweetheart?"

"Always, dad."

Diego laughed, "Oh, you are for sure not always careful. Remember that time you broke your arm trying to eavesdrop?"

"That was back when I was an amateur reporter. Now I'm the real deal."

"Okay, Ms. Real Deal, you're doing the dishes tonight."

Megan groaned theatrically, but that was just part of their deal. Whoever cooked didn't have to do the dishes. It was a good system, and their little family ran fairly smoothly most of the time.

Adrianna Lynch had run her own ship smoothly for years now. First, when Philip left to be with his other family, then when Morgan had moved into a place of her own. Now Morgan had a cute little house, a life partner, two cats, and a roommate who had a kid. And, in only a few months, Morgan would be graduating from college and turning 24. Life moved so fast. Sometimes, while she was running her ship, Adrianna wondered where the time had gone.

She straightened a photo of young Morgan, with her arms around Sadie and Seth, and tried not to dwell on it too much. Her daughter was happy and if her daughter was happy then she was happy. She'd have Morgan and Seth over for dinner soon, and Booker, if he was free, why not? They both clearly liked the young man, and he was good company.

And maybe she should look into finding some company of her own. It had been, what, 17 years? That was certainly long enough to move on from someone. Maybe she should download one of those dating apps Morgan had told her about, and try to find a nice guy or gal to go on a casual date with. Even if she didn't find love online it wouldn't hurt to put herself out there a bit more.

Adrianna loved her family and she loved the way she ran her ship, but maybe it was time for things to change. 17 years was a really, really long time.

17 years and Philip Lunch was quite content with the life he'd made for himself. His second marriage had lasted for ten years of that, but he had a career and a daughter in Nevada, so going back to San Fransokyo had never even occurred to him. Of course, he visited occasionally with Holly to see Morgan, but he'd found that his oldest understandably wanted very little to do with him.

So he focused on what he had here. Right now that was Holly and her boyfriend Nicolas, who was joining them for family game night and destroying the father-daughter duo at Monopoly.

To distract from the sting of defeat, they were discussing the near future.

"Morgan's staying here when she comes for my graduation," Holly reminded before swiping the dice from Nicolas to take her turn.

"Ah, yes. That'll be good. And her partner?" Philip didn't actually remember their name but he did remember their pronouns, which was something.

"I'm not sure if Seth can make it or not."

"And where will you be staying when you go down for her graduation?" It was hard to believe that both of his girls were graduating this year, one after another.

"I think I'm staying with Adrianna. Nic, are you sure you don't want to come?"

"I'd love to, but y'know my parents aren't too jazzed about the idea of me traveling alone with my girlfriend."

"It's a pity," Holly said, "We'd have so much fun in San Fransokyo."

"Once I move out I'll make my own rules but while they're supporting me and my transition I should probably listen to them," Nicolas said with a shrug.

Holly grinned a shit-eating grin and made eye contact with her dad, "Listening to your parents is overrated."

"Hey, it's not too late for me to not pay for your plane ticket to San Fransokyo," Philip warned.

"And disappoint both of your daughters?" She challenged. She was right, he wouldn't do it. Philip had a good relationship with Holly and he was slowly trying to regain a relationship with Morgan. Refusing to buy a plane ticket for Holly would not earn him any points.

"Why aren't you going, Mr. Lynch?" Nicolas asked as he sorted his fat stacks of monopoly money. He had hotels on half the board.

"I don't think Morgan wants me there," he answered honestly.

"He doesn't want to try," Holly said.

"That's not true, young lady. I do want a good relationship with your sister."

"It's not too late for you to come with me and surprise her for her graduation."

"If my parents knew you were going there they probably wouldn't mind me traveling with Holly," Nicolas remarked innocently.

"Alright, yes, okay, I'll do it. I'll buy two more tickets after we finish this game."

Holly glanced at the board, decked out with all of her boyfriend's hotels.

"I think it's pretty much over."

"Not my fault that you keep inviting me to family game night," Nicolas laughed, leaning over and kissing Holly on the cheek.

"I'm gonna find a game I can beat you at," Holly said, "Even if it takes me the rest of my life."

"I look forward to it."

Philip smiled at the young lovers, reminded of how he used to be and knowing deep down inside that his kids would be so much better than him when it came to love.

"How was your Saturday?" Booker asked as he and Sadie got ready for a long night at The Queer Bait.

"Oh, good. I had class this morning which was a lot of fun, the students I have right now really seem interested in learning to paint."

"That's awesome, Sadie."

"And the boys went shopping and apparently had some deep conversations so…" Sadie grinned and leaned forward to speak in a whisper, "I think we're getting engaged pretty soon."

"Congrats! Do you know who will be proposing?"

"Me, if I get my shit together. But you cannot tell Morgan or Seth. Pretty sure Seth would be devastated if they found out I told you before I told them, but I had to tell someone, y'know?"

"Well, I appreciate you telling me. This is a really exciting time for you and I'm glad I get to be a part of it."

"What about you? How was your day?"

"Oh it was great, Nadia and I took Maya out for lunch and then we went to the park together, and I befriended this biker and his goo boyfriend, it was fun. Nothing as life-changing as your day, but still not too bad."

"Yeah, well, I think I don't need anything else life-changing for a while, myself. I just want to focus on the proposal, y'know? Things are finally in a good place." After what happened, with Seth's disappearance, their family needed a minute to breathe.

But that was clearly asking for too much, because, before the night was over, Sadie's older brother slipped inconspicuously into the bar and rocked Sadie's world with three little words.

"I need help."

Don't worry about Simon, he'll be fine. For now.

Question Of The Week- Which Original Characters from this chapter do you want to see more of in the future?

We're kind of entering the end game of AoV but I don't really know how many chapters there will be after this one, or what kind of note I want to end on. I have so many ideas and plans I want to do for these characters I've come to love, and I'm just not sure where I want to cut the story off, or if there will be a sequel or an epilogue or anything like that. It's all incredibly complicated.