Chapter 69: Gar and Nebula

When Nebula got into work the next morning, Rad was waiting for her outside the store with a bag and a drink in each hand. "You took off so fast this morning and I wasn't sure if you ate breakfast" Rad said as he handed her the bag and drink. "Thank you Raddie. You're the best" she cooed and she kissed his cheek. "You seem to be in a bit of a better mood than when we talked on the phone earlier. You refereed to Ice Queen as Miss Bianca instead of Mama Bi when you said that she texted you" he pointed out as they walked into the store. "Well, considering that I get to be with you for the rest of the day, why wouldn't I be in a better mood?" she asked flirtatiously. "Some week huh?" he asked casually as Nebula went behind the counter. "Tell me about it. First Ko had that kinda creepy kid, then he almost gave up on POW cards, and the cherry on top of the weird week was that really nice Jethro with arms, legs, and weird eyes that didn't just say "I am Jethro" all the time" she responded as she began to organize some items on the counter. "So, how did it go?" Rad asked carefully. "It went..." she responded.

Just then, Enid and Ko walked into the store with Carol and Mr. Gar. Carol immediately rushed over to Nebula. "So, is it true? Did Ice Queen really have a baby?" she asked excitedly and Nebula nodded in response. "They named her Solana" Nebula responded quickly as she tried to back away. Mr. Gar noticed this and he put a hand on Carol's shoulder. "You can talk to her later. She needs to get to work" he said, and Nebula let out a sigh of relief. "Oh. Okay" Carol said. She and Mr. Gar shared a quick kiss and she kissed Ko's head before she left.

The day went by as usual and the heroes had just finished another battle with the robots of Boxmore. "So Nebula, what else can you do with your ice powers?" Ko asked curiously. "So far, only freeze stuff" she responded casually as she stocked a shelf. Ko then went over to Mr. Gar who was talking with his mom. "Hey mommy, Mr. Gar. Can I ask you something?" he asked. "of course peanut. What's on your mind?" Carol asked as she knelt down to Ko's level. "What sort of things can Ice Queen do?" Ko asked. "In our time working with her, we've seen her form weapons out of ice, freeze waves, create large usable structures made of ice, even encase her body in ice for her to act as a human shield" Mr. Gar said as he fondly retold all the stories of fighting alongside Ice Queen. Ko's face lit up in pure amazement when he heard everything that she could do. "Why do you ask?" Mr. Gar asked. "Well, Nebula has the same powers as her but she said that all she can do is freeze stuff. I feel like she's has so much potential that is just waiting to come out" Ko explained as he glanced over at Nebula who was finishing stocking the shelves. "It would help her out on the long run if she knew how to do more than freeze stuff" Carol said and Mr. Gar nodded in agreement.

After work, Mr. Gar found Nebula slamming herself into the vending machine. "What are you doing?" Ko asked as he walked over. "The dumb machine won''t give me my juice" she responded as she continued to body slam herself into the machine. "Nebula! Come with me" Mr. Gar ordered. She saluted him and kissed Rad's cheek before she went with Mr. Gar. He led her to his car and he unlocked it. "Get in" he said as he got into the driver's seat. She hesitantly got into the passenger seat and fastened her seat belt. He then took off into the sky and he brought to her to a clearing near 'The Danger Zone' and he motioned for her to get out. "What are we doing here?" she asked. The ground then began to rumble and a large robot worm came out of the ground. "Attack that" he said. Nebula then held a hand palm out and froze the robot. "More will come. What else can you do?" he asked as she levitated the worm into the air and launched it far into the distance. "All I can do is levitate stuff and freeze stuff" she said as more mecca worms appeared. "Focus your powers into your hands and form a weapon" he instructed as he attacked some of the robot worms. Nebula closed her eyes and after a few tries, a sword made of ice formed on her hands. "Woah! Did I just do that?" she wondered. "Give it a swing" Gar said. Nebula smirked and used the sword to destroy the robots. "Very good. Now, try a bigger weapon and change the shape of the sword" he instructed. Nebula held the sword and it then changed into a large hammer. Gar then had her make different types of weapons and they fought against the mecca worms. Once all the mecca worms were defeated, he had Nebula start making structures. He had her start with small statues and once she was making a large ice statue.

"Now then, let's test your combat skills" he said and he swung his fist at her. Nebula crouched down to dodge his attack. She then turned her body and kicked him with both of her legs as she uses her hands to launch herself. He then held up an arm. "Go ahead, punch it as hard as you can" he instructed and she nodded. She swung her arm and her fist hits his muscular forearm."Punch harder" he ordered and she began to punch his arm harder. "Remember, you can use a person's height and body against them. If they have more muscled on their upper body, you can use the weight against them" he explained and she crouched down and swung her legs to knock him off of his feet. He back flipped and he gave her a thumbs up. "Very good" he praised.

Once they had finished her training the sun was beginning to set and Gar cleared his throat to get her attention. "Let's go" he said as he got into his car with Nebula following. "That was so cool! I can't believe that I can make ice weapons and structures now! Thank you so much for teaching me" she said happily. "Soon you'll be able to make working vehicles and buildings. But those will come in time" he said. They then drove in silence for a while and Nebula was on her phone.

"You did good back there. You want a treat to celebrate? What do you want? You want milk?" he asked. Nebula looked up from her phone with a puzzles expression "Um what?" she asked in confusion. "Why are you always on your phone? What exactly are you doing?" he asked. "Oh you know, the usual teenage girl stuff. Texting friends, checking out and working on my social media, editing pictures, and I edit videos for Ko sometimes" she responded. They went silent again and Gar caught a quick glimpse of her screen and he saw that she was looking at houses and apartments. "So, how are things with you and Radicles? I heard that he slipped up the other day" he asked. "We're good. He was just trying to show off to Drupe that he is the hottest model and I didn't like it. We're fine now" she replied. "How is it living with him and his parents?" he asked. "It's really good! They always tell me how they can't wait for me to be their daughter in-law and it's really nice" she replied solemnly. "What about Bianca and Laserblast?" he asked. "They already have their baby. I have no place with them. I was created, not birthed" she said venomously. "You don't think of Bianca as your mother?" he asked. "I used to. Now I just feel like she's the scientist in the movies that created a creature for the specific purpose of serving everyone. I wasn't created because she wanted a child, I was created because this world always needs heroes" she said as she began to tear up. "Sorry Nebula. I can't come to the Plaza Parent Day, I have to go on patrol" Nebula said as she mimicked Bianca's voice. Mr. Gar remembered how on that on Plaza Parent's Day, how upset Nebula was to be surrounded by everyone and their parents but she had no one.

He pulled over and put a hand on her shoulder. 'Is there anyone that you think of as your parents?" he asked and Nebula nodded. "Who-" before he could continue his question, Nebula pointed at him. "Me?" he asked and she nodded. "Ever since I first got to Lakewood, you have always been there for me. When I broke up with Rad the first time, you were the one who took care of my injury and I've always thought of you like a father. You probably don't feel the same and I don't blame you, no one wants to have someone who was created as a daughter. Not even the person who created me" she said sadly. Mr. Gar frowned at her and sighed. He then surprised her bu hugging her the best he could over his center console. "I would be honored to be your father figure" he said and Nebula hugged him tightly. "Thank you Mr. Gar" she said and she began to shed tears. Mr. Gar pet her head as he comforted her.

"What you said is untrue. I would have loved to have you as a daughter and as you said, Radicles' parents can't wait to have you be their daughter in-law. You think that no one wants you when you couldn't be more wrong. You are dearly loved and we all love having you around. You're tough, kind, sincere, brave, and loyal. You work hard and you put everyone else's needs above your own" he said sincerely as he looked at her over his sunglasses. "Thank you Mr. Gar. You have no idea how much that means tome" she cried. Once he got her calmed down, he dropped her off at Rad's home and as he left, he watched her going into the house through his rear view mirror and he smiled softly when he saw Nebula waving at him.