Author's Note: There will not be that accelerated growth thing for supe babies, how could the Thundermans have possibly been able to keep Chloe secret if that actually was a thing?
This is word emphasis
This is telepathy
This is copy written stuff
Chapter 9
Hiddenville:
The date of the winter solstice or Yule arrives, after the disastrous fiasco of Max and Phoebe trying to have a part time job at the same place. Max decided to try and get a job at Best Buy instead, since he did know his tech. He became one of the tech support operators two days a week after he proved he knew his stuff about every kind of gadget they sold, including coffee makers, gaming systems, CD players, mp3 players, Me Phones…he didn't even want a Me Phone, the things broke so damned easily. He could build a better phone. Max also gained a nemesis in Mrs. Wong, the owner of the pizza place he and Phoebe had tried to work at. Max was reasonably certain Mrs. Wong was a retired Supervillain.
At the moment all of that is far from Max's mind as he internally worries over whether or not Parisa will like his gift to her. The Halliwell/Warren Clan had celebrated the holiday the night before, which left Parisa free to be with Max on Yule. On the one hand Max loved the idea he could spend the day with his girlfriend, on the other hand he was still worried about how his gift would be received. Only his mentor/best friend/pet bunny could see the turmoil in the teenager's body language. Dr. Colosso did not look back on those parts of his teenaged years with fondness, the angst filled days of wondering about anything really.
Max never let any of his family see him like this, see him as anything less than composed. He runs his fingers through his hair even as he focuses on controlling his breathing. He knew how to calm himself down very well by this point. He used the same techniques for when his telepathy overwhelmed him, especially when he happened to be out and about in public. He stayed in his Lair/Room most of the time for a reason unless Parisa was with him, like he Shielded and Anchored her empathy, she Shielded and Anchored his telepathy. He never went anywhere without his watch band that made sure his telepathy was never noticed along with his electrokinesis. He did manage to finish the power dampeners for the whole family, which he was thanked for, since Barb and Hank had forgotten to keep track of the Achilles Comet.
Phoebe had been extremely grateful as the Achilles Comet was actually scheduled to arrive on the night of a school dance, and neither twin wanted to be stuck within three feet of each other on a prime date night. This would also be the first dance Max could actually take Parisa to since they had neglected to mention their relationship status back when they first started dating. Until he had actually started to see Parisa as a female and not just his friend he'd had no interest in school dances. Now, well the dancing in the Halls at Hiddenville High on Ditch Day…that had given him some valuable insight into what dancing with his girlfriend was like.
He finishes getting ready for the day, and he'd made certain to write down his plans on the calendar that was for him in the kitchen, along with writing a note that Parisa had spelled that would reveal itself should his parents not look at the calendar. Yeah, he'd have to dress warmer since they would be in Metroburg, and the investigation into the High School getting blown up was still ongoing, but it had been definitively proven that Marvin McKeel and his flunkies had known about the bomb ahead of time, making them accessories to the crime at the very least.
Just as he shrugs his jacket on Parisa arrives in swirling white lights, " Béni soit ma belle impératrice. Je t'aime, alors quel est notre plan pour aujourd'hui(Blessed be, my beautiful empress. I love you, so what's our plan for today)? " Max murmurs as he pulls her into his arms.
Parisa just smiles and orbs them out. Dr. Colosso looks at the spot where they had been, and smirks. What no one realized was that Parisa was not a goody two shoes. That was part of the reason why she could barely tolerate Phoebe's presence. Parisa and Max were both realists, people whom knew damned well the world was not black and white but cast entirely in shades of gray. They both couldn't stomach how hypocritical superheroes happened to be, at least the supervillains were HONEST about what they were. They accepted their inner darkness. Superheroes also had this annoying habit of revealing everything they were capable of as well, which was STUPID in the extreme. Supervillains constantly used that information to lay very well thought out traps for their nemeses, which meant other superheroes had to come save that heroes' sorry ass.
Max, as Dr. Colosso had observed, was not someone whom would fight to protect a stranger, instead he would fight to protect those he gave a damn about, no more, no less. Parisa was the same, she may be a practicing Wiccan, but she was also a registered Super which meant the Council of Elders had no sway over her. As long as she didn't use her powers where mortals or non-supes could see she was golden. Oh, she'd deal with any demon, warlock, or darklighter that cropped up in her path, but she didn't go out of her way to do so, though she and Max would both protect children, the only time they would go out of their way to protect anyone.
Metroburg:
The young couple meanders their way to the now hibernating rose garden, hands twined together. This didn't mean that Max wasn't aware of the looks directed towards his girlfriend, he was all too aware of them. There was a reason he had claimed her the way he had, Parisa had the kind of ethereal beauty that made other girls jealous, even those into their own gender, and had the straight and bi males panting after her. Max never took moonlit strolls with her for one reason, that ethereal beauty was magnified under the light of the Moon. Seeing Parisa bathed in the light of the full moon…she looked like an actual goddess whom had descended to the mortal plains. That had also been when he'd really noticed her as a female.
Oh, he'd known before then, but in a more abstract way. He'd made his move on his fourteenth birthday for a reason, and he hadn't regretted it since. Parisa understood him, she got that he didn't want to be a superhero, supervillain was his only other choice since the Hero League frowned upon fence sitters. He'd told the Villain League he was more in line with an Antihero, and they understood. Max had no problems with theft, but he drew the line at murder, and the cliché take over/destroy the world villains. Supervillains were accepting of Antiheroes, and gave them a place to be safe. Antiheroes were Supervillains on paper, but mostly left alone. As long as they pulled some thefts, or something that fit in with the Villain League Charter they were golden.
Maybe someday someone would create an Antihero League, a place for all the neutrals, and those that were neither Hero nor villain, but some mix of the two. What Max didn't realize was that he and Parisa would be the ones to do so. Even with snow on the ground at the rose garden it was still beautiful, and then Parisa cocks her head to the side in contemplation, " Que penseriez-vous de trouver les enfants de la rue qui ne sont ni des héros ni des méchants, mon époux(How would you feel about finding the street kids that are neither hero nor villain, my consort)? "
" Puis-je demander pourquoi nous le ferions, ma belle impératrice(Can I ask why we would be doing this, my beautiful empress)? " Max asks her.
Parisa smirks, " Ne pensez-vous pas qu'il est temps qu'un tiers puisse garder les deux autres en échec, mon époux(Don't you think it's about time that there's a third party that can keep the other two in check, my consort)? "
Max's chestnut colored eyes light up in understanding, "Nous aurons besoin de presse-papiers et de stylos. Il est temps que nous recevions une pétition pour une ligue anti-héros, et nous allons directement au maire. Cependant, nous devrons remplacer quelque part en tant que siège (We'll need clipboards, and pens. Time to get us a petition started for an Antihero League, and we take it straight to the Mayor as well. However we would need to retrofit someplace as a headquarters). "
The couple sets to work, they still had plenty of time to exchange their Yule gifts after all. This was something that had needed to be done ages ago. Why the superheroes always seemed to think you had to declare a side was something that not even the supervillains understood. Supervillains wouldn't throw their kids out for being neutral, antihero, or undecided, there may be tensions should their kid go the hero route, but they still wouldn't disown them, most of them anyhow. Supervillains ironically enough were more understanding than superheroes, and they also weren't hypocrites of the highest order either.
The couple sets to work, and by two in the afternoon they have ten thousand signatures, word spread quickly through social media, and they were flocked to the instant everyone that was neither hero nor villain, or a neutral realized what they wanted to do. The Mayor of Metroburg looks at the impressive amount of signatures the teens before him had gathered, " The Antihero League will be created, for far too long the Hero League has bullied too many kids into taking their capes. If I wouldn't be the Mayor I'd also sign this petition. "
" Parisa and I will be co-presidents as Hexerei(Witchcraft) and Verwüstung(Havoc). We'll send you pictures of our true super suits later, our identities remain a secret. Verwüstung will be the public face, but our VP will be handling the day to day affairs until we graduate from High School at the very least. We also already have premises, and they're getting set up as we speak. " Max says.
" Good, I cannot wait to see the look on Kickbutt's face when this comes out. " the Mayor says, " Though I do need to ask the council, it's just a formality with this many signatures. "
The teens slip off to get their true super suits, and slip back into the council chamber after the meeting is called, Verwüstung is the spokesperson, and he speaks eloquently enabling the final formality in the creation of the Antihero League to come to pass. Verwüstung's super suit was a deep purple with silver lightning bolts traveling all over it, and a silver domino mask while Hexerei had on a purple domino mask, and a silver super suit with the phases of the moon on it in lavender. Her boots were also purple along with her gloves. Verwüstung didn't need gloves as his telekinesis coated his hands and kept him from leaving fingerprints, and epithelials behind. His boots were the same silver as his mask. Once out of the city hall the teen Antiheroes find an all-around blind spot to change back into their civilian identities.
Seeing a chlorokinetic selling flowers that she grew right then Max buys a thornless red rose, and immediately places it behind Parisa's right ear, " Je t'aime, ma belle impératrice(I love you, my beautiful empress). "
Juuban:
Aino Minako jolts awake as a strong, pure wave of love reaches her. Yes, she could feel the strength of bonds from anyone around her, but this one had traveled a long way to reach her. Her sleep hazed mind finally cottons onto why she would be feeling something from so far away…the Hime. Did this mean that she had actually found her other half now? She groans as she looks at her alarm clock, six in the morning, the day after the Winter Solstice. Her work with Mizuno Ami/Mercury was going well, the girl was gaining confidence in herself, finally. She had managed to lay down the law with Luna to not awaken Mars until Venus herself gave the okay, unless Mars' civilian form was in life threatening danger. Since Venus was in fact the leader of the senshi she had the final say.
Jupiter's help was essential in the hand to hand combat training sessions though, with three of them the youma were easier to take out since one of them could guard Mercury while the other one kept the youma semi-contained. Mercury was working hard to regain her attacks, she had regained Hyperspatial Sphere Generate, and was working on being able to use it to reduce collateral damage. She also had Mercury Aqua Upper unlocked, a good attack for close quarters combat, and was working on creating weapons out of ice when necessary. Out of all the active senshi Mercury needed the most work with physical fighting, especially hit and fade attacks, which is what was worked on with her, with training weapons. Mercury was essentially an assassin it was time she learned some stealth, dammit!
Of course, that could only happen when Ami-chan gained some confidence in herself, as the poor girl had been systematically bullied for her intelligence for years. Jupiter, Kino Makoto had not been wrong when she said they needed to help her gain a bitch mode. Of course, Ami and Luna still had no clue as to Jupiter's civilian identity. As Makoto, she had volunteered to teach Mizuno Ami some basic self-defense, the things all single girls should know. Minako decides to get ready for the day, and work on some of her winter break work.
Metroburg:
Once again Max effortlessly was making males feel inadequate in the romance department, first with the thornless red rose he tucked behind Parisa's ear, then by carrying her over a patch of ice when she started to slip…all told it was just the little things he did that had all the romantics around them practically swooning. The teens make their way to the Globe Shop that Max's Aunt Mandy McBooger ran when not being a superheroine, not that Parisa knew this just yet. Mandy was quick to hug her eldest nephew through her sister Barb, " So, this is Parisa, huh? " Mandy asks him, taking the blonde haired, mocha eyed girl beside him.
" Yeah, this is Parisa. Parisa Mathews this is my maternal aunt Mandy McBooger, Aunt Mandy, my girlfriend, Parisa Mathews. " Max says, introducing them properly, " I tracked her down when I needed someone to talk to about the things I refuse to share with my parents, and Phoebe. Aunt Mandy understands what it's like to be overshadowed by a sibling, and unintentionally hurt by one as well. " Max states.
Parisa looks at him, and quirks an eyebrow, " For someone so damned intelligent academically, and streetwise, you'd think you'd realize exactly why I only just tolerate Phoebe. "
Even Mandy pays attention to this, " I never did figure out why you chose me to play with back in kindergarten. "
Parisa rolls her mocha colored eyes at him, " Phoebe is naïve to the extreme, way too idealistic, incapable of keeping a secret, unable to understand that all things in life are shaded gray…besides it was my empathy that sent me your way. "
Chestnut colored eyes meet her mocha ones, " I have noticed that you do seem to just automatically avoid certain people, but don't you want some actual female friends? "
Parisa sighs wearily, " Males are easier to deal with, and generally don't have hidden agendas like my own gender does, a prime example would be my Aunt Phoebe. "
Max and Mandy both wince, " Fair point. " Mandy admits, " You're okay with being an empath? "
" Wiccan born, Super by choice. " Parisa deadpans even as she and Max look at the wares. They needed a globe to track supernatural activity, and she also wanted to give one to Chris as well. Working out the spell needed for something like what they wanted the globes for wasn't easy. It had been Future Chris to hint at the idea, and really it made a great deal of sense. They were still hashing out that part of things, though really the Antihero League would need one as well, which would mean they would need three globes. Having them powered by magic would keep them off the grid, and make it harder to track them down. There was a reason why she would be warding their HQ with the same kind of spells that were on the Book of Shadows. Tech could be gotten around, warding, the caster would know someone was trying to do an end run.
" Think we could head up to your loft, Aunt Mandy? " Max asks her, and even gives her a peach colored rose.
Mandy smiles, and runs a hand through his hair, " I don't mind in the least. " You don't need to hide from me, Max.
Externally Max looked as relaxed as always internally…he was terrified, How do you even know? I'm paranoid levels of careful when it comes to making sure no one knows about my telepathy.
Parisa frowns even as she moves closer, sensing his emotional turmoil, allowing Max to wrap his left arm around her shoulders, It was something you didn't even realize you did at the time, you answered a question I hadn't even verbalized, but I continued the conversation like I had. I know why you're so apprehensive about anyone finding out, what with the stigma surrounding empaths and telepaths. I will never knowingly betray you, Max.
Max leans into his aunt cupping his cheek, to have actual familial acceptance…it meant a lot to him. Parisa keeps her thoughts to herself until they reach the loft, and have the door shut behind them, " Mon époux, de quoi s'agissait-il(My consort, what was that about)? "
Max sighs wearily, " Just Aunt Mandy letting me know she knows, and nothing has changed. "
Parisa's eyes widen at this, How did she even find out?
I apparently slipped up around her, and answered a question she hadn't verbalized, but she carried on the conversation as though she had. She accepts me telepathy and all. Max replies, running the fingers of his right hand through the hair behind her left ear, not wanting to dislodge her rose.
She lets him hug her to himself, she better than anyone knew he needed to level his system out. Max was exceedingly good at never letting anyone see him sweat, but she always felt his emotional distress. " How is it I've never heard of your Aunt Mandy before today, or even met her. I've met Blobbin. "
" Mom and Aunt Mandy had a falling out, Mom let Aunt Mandy down when it came to something that was really important to Aunt Mandy, and they haven't spoken to each other since. Hell, Mom doesn't even know I know Aunt Mandy. " Max admits.
" Come on, mon époux, enough heavy thoughts for now, today's a holiday for me. " Parisa says, and she orbs out, only to reappear just out of arm's reach, grinning mischievously.
Max shakes his head at this, but an answering grin appears, pulling out his gift to her from his coat pocket. Parisa has her own gift in hand, and they exchange them. Parisa's eyes widen when they take in the silver crescent moon jewelry set, earrings, necklace, and bracelet, edged with mini alexandrites and aquamarines, her birthstone and his. Max was in for his own surprise when he opened his gift, a simple silver band that had his birthstone surrounded by Parisa's. " Great minds think alike, huh? " Max murmurs.
" I just can't believe Aunt Prue was willing to spend so much. " Parisa admits.
" I think it helps that we helped them come up with a cost effective way to keep the Manor in good repair, and maybe this was also to make up for not being able to know you while she was alive in our time. " Max muses, even as he slips the simple band on his left ring finger. Parisa was already putting her new earrings on, orbing the ones she'd had on previously into her jewelry case. Max puts the necklace and bracelet on for her, chestnut and mocha eyes meeting as he secures the necklace around her neck. Max would never be sure which one of them moved first that late afternoon/early evening, all he remembered was the all-encompassing conviction that Parisa was HIS.
Until that moment the true depth of their connection, their bond, had been hidden. Yes, since they had been dating he acted possessive…he'd seen her in the moonlight, and in a bikini…several times for that last one. Thankfully they'd been too busy for that beach trip she'd wanted to go on while he'd still been dealing with a broken arm. If it had just been the broken arm that would have been one thing, but a severely bruised back as well…that had just sucked. On the plus side, he did get to have Parisa in his arms while his back was healing, it had taken his parents a little bit to figure out how that was helpful, until they remembered Parisa happened to be an empath. She had siphoned off some of the pain while they slept, making it so he could get a better quality of sleep.
Prolonged exposure to Parisa was actually helping his parents to realize that not all empaths were emotionally manipulative assholes. Empaths could also take the injuries of others on as their own, and then transfer them as well. Parisa didn't need to do so since she could generally be healed by either her mother, or her cousin Wyatt. Parisa had yet to gain Healing herself, a whitelighter's healing was triggered by Love, and her mother gained her healing to save her step-father when he had been shot in a bank heist. Before that they'd had to rely on Leo, her uncle, though then he'd been forced to fall from Grace thanks to that absolute asshole Elder by the name of Odin.
For real emergencies they could call on Sam Wilder, Parisa's maternal grandfather before Paige gained her healing, and Wyatt had healed them a few times as a toddler as well.
Time Gates:
Sailor Pluto can only stare in stunned disbelief that Crystal Tokyo wasn't even a possibility in this dimension, it had always been there as a possibility throughout the entirety of the multiverse until now. It wasn't even a glimmer in this dimension, and she had yet to figure out where the Princess/Hime had ended up. It was rare that she was reincarnated as someone other than Tsukino Usagi/Serena, but it did happen. Figuring out whom she had been reincarnated as was going to be a pain in the ass, to say the least. It didn't help that there were no power fluctuations that could help her pinpoint where the Tsuki no Hime had been reborn either!
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, Thundermans, or Charmed!