Daughter Riley 4

By Harry Leferts

Taking a deep breath, Riley glanced over to where Panacea was watching with a gently look on her face. Despite a slightly rocky start, the member of New Wave soon took "Portunes" under her wing at the hospital. At the nod from her, Riley stepped forward to the man who grunted a bit. Said man being one of the Dockworkers who had gotten bitten by a snake hiding in a container. "Hello, I'm Portunes. Do I have permission to heal you today?"

Slowly letting out a hiss, the man just nodded. "Y-yeah, Kiddo. You got my permission."

With a nod, Riley summoned her Keyblade and pulled on her magic. 'Esuna...' There was a glow that shot from her Keyblade and entered the man who began to breath easier before he looked down at his arm and clinched his fist. "Are you feeling any better?"

A smile spread across the man's face as he nodded. "Yeah, I am. Thanks, Portunes."

Happily, Riley just nodded and bowed a bit as she looked to the side while Amy walked over and used her own powers to examine a hand, before the older Parahuman gave a nod. "You're welcome."

Several minutes later found Riley sipping a hot chocolate in the break room as she swung her legs back and forth. Across from her, Amy was eating a sandwich and gave a smile to Riley. "I got some good news for you, Portunes." Looking up from where she was about to take a bite out of a slice of cake Sabah had packed away for her, Riley blinked as Amy continued. "I think maybe a month more of training and I'll let you making your rounds by yourself."

Eyes wide, Riley stared at her with her mouth just hung open which caused Amy to smother her giggles. "I... you... really!?"

Simply nodded, Amy finished chewing the bite of food in her mouth before she reached over and ruffled Riley's hair. "Hm-mm. I think that you're almost ready for that."

What Amy did not expect was for Riley to place her snack onto the table and then rush around to hug her around the waist. "Thank you!"

Unseen by Riley was Amy looking around to make sure that her sister was not within sight, it wouldn't have been the first time that Victoria had done so after all. And the comments from her about how Amy was making her own "Mini-Me" with Riley both annoyed and flustered her, even though part of her was bemused by the obvious hero worship. With that though, Amy reached down and gently hugged Riley back. "You're very welcome." Disengaging from the hug, Amy shooed her back to her snack. "Now finish that up, I don't want to deal with Keynote thinking that I'm not letting you eat or rest enough."

From where she sat, Amy could almost feel the confusion coming from Riley who blinked behind her mask. "What? T-... I mean, Keynote-Mama wouldn't do that."

Amy just hummed and took a gulp of her coffee as her mind drifted back to Taylor telling her exactly what would happen if Riley was overworked. Part of her was impressed that Taylor didn't care that she was Panacea, the other was slightly annoyed with how she had found herself wishing that maybe her own mother could have acted similarly. "Perhaps." Shaking it off, Amy looked at the clipboard and slowly nodded. "Right, afterwards we'll pay a visit to Vista who has a rather nasty gash on her leg and you can heal her with that... What did you call it? Cura?" Getting a nod, Amy continued. "Then we'll head to the children's ward for some of the other cases. Once that's done, I believe that Keynote and Parian will be picking you up..."

Daughter Riley 5

By Harry Leferts

Her hands warmed by the mug of coffee held in them as they sat in an isolated part of the hospital rook, well away from any eavesdroppers, Amy watched as Riley sipped at her tea. It always amused her how much Riley had taken after her adopted mothers in an effort to distance herself from Bonesaw. "So... I've been wondering something, Riley."

Looking up from where she was about to grab one of the brownies that Taylor had made for her that morning, Riley blinked as her hood ruffled in the light wind from where it sat around her shoulders. "Um, what, Miss Amy?"

Simply raising an eyebrow, Amy gave her "Apprentice" a look of exasperation. "Riley, how many times have I told you? Just call me Amy, you don't need to call me 'Miss Amy'."

Blushing, Riley just shifted a bit though there was a slight twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "Sorry, Miss Amy."

As she pinched her nose, Amy let out a long sigh as she tried not to groan. Once she shook it off, she stretched a bit and then frowned as she looked out at the city from where they were. She had picked the spot because between the radiators and the like, it was relatively well hidden from view, while still letting people look out over the city. "I've just been wondering why you haven't been using your powers, Riley. To heal people."

That caused the younger girl to blink and then stare at Amy in utter befuddlement before she frowned. "But... I do use my powers..."

Slowly, Amy raised her eyebrow as she turned fully to Riley and away from the view. "I'm not talking about the... magic, that you and your mothers use."

It went without saying that Riley stiffened at that and gulped. "W-what else do you mean...?"

With a sigh, Amy frowned just a bit as she watched the young girl. She had been... concerned when she had first met her. Who wouldn't as she looked like Bonesaw in every way, except she didn't have bloodstains all over her or the demented grin that the Slaughterhouse Nine member had. And not once had she shown the infamous child-killer's bio-tinker abilities. Most would have just assumed that she didn't have them, but Amy had noticed otherwise. The young girl next to her had shown all the signs of having a fully developed parahuman ability unlike Keynote, though what was going on with the famous key-shaped sword user not even Amy was quite sure. More then that though, Amy had caught Riley looking at the odd prosthesis or body replacement such as pacemakers and her hands would just twitch. Having been around more then a few Tinkers, Amy knew the signs of one wanting to work on something. The fact that Riley had never used her powers was concerning though. "I'm talking about the same power you share with..." For a brief moment, Amy frowned but then waved her hand toward the distance. "You know, her."

The utter stricken look on Riley's face, a mixture of horror, self-hatred, and loathing took Amy by surprise before it seemingly collapsed and the girl set her tea to the side and curled up into herself. "I don't want to..."

Frowning at the reaction she had gotten, Amy laid a gentle hand on Riley's shoulder and ignored her flinch. "Why not? While I will be the first one to say that they... despise what Bonesaw has done with her gift, you could do so much good with it."

Much to her surprise though, Riley shook her head and shuddered. "Because it's a bad power..."

Something... about that struck Amy as wrong and a part of her wanted to simply accept it and move on. Another, stronger part which had come out more and more since the Slaughterhouse Nine had rolled through town, and even before when she had met Keynote, pushed forward though. "A bad power? How so, Riley?" When the girl didn't answer, Amy leaned down pulled her into a hug. "Hey, I promise not to judge." Even though a small part of Amy called herself a hypocrite, she could feel that the young Keyblade user needed to talk with someone. 'Like I did...'

Taking a shuddering breath, Riley looked up at Amy and then sniffled. "You promise not to tell Taylor-Mama or Sabah-Mama...?"

As gently as she could, Amy nodded. "I promise not to tell them."

Shifting a bit, Riley frowned and looked down at her feet. "I don't know if you'll understand though..."

Just raising an eyebrow, Amy gave a hum before she shrugged. "Well... neither of us can know that unless you tell me what's bothering you..."

Riley was silent for several moments as she brought her head up and stared into the distance. Somehow, Amy knew that Riley was not looking at the city or the bay and far off ocean, but at something only she could see. And when Riley spoke, it was with a soft nearly inaudible whisper. "Because it's her power." Furrowing her eyebrows, Amy frowned at that, but Riley continued. "It... it's bad. I mean, sometimes I look at Taylor-Mama and I just know that I could replace her eye. And it wouldn't be that hard to do so but then... I start thinking that I could make it so that the replacement would be way better then her original eye. But then, if I replace it with something better, shouldn't I replace both eyes? So that she'll be better? And if I'm doing that then... why don't I keep making improvements to her? Because it wouldn't be that much harder you know? It's the same for anyone else..."

Unseen by Riley, Ami froze as she could see a nearly transparent version of herself, clutching at her head as she sobbed. The thoughts from that past version of her rolling through her head. 'It would be so easy, I could just tweak the brain chemistry just a bit... make dad happy again... then I can make mom love me and Vicky too...' She could feel the horror, revulsion, and self-loathing roiling off her past self. 'Oh... Oh God...'

Part of her was still listening to Riley as she continued. "And... if I go down that road then I just know that I'll become heragain and... I don't want that! I'm not her, I'm not!" Pulling her knees up to her chest, Riley sobbed a bit. "I want to be a good girl, just like mommy told me to be and I don't want to be bad..."

Gently, Amy just placed her arms around Riley and pulled her into a hug. "Shhh... it's okay." Part of her mind whispered back. 'No it's not.'

"Your parents love you and know that you aren't bad." 'Unlike mine.'

"And just because you can do what your powers tell you, doesn't mean that you will if you try to help out." 'Hypocrite.'

Still sniffling, Riley looked up at Amy with such hope that Amy felt her Heart ache. "Y-you mean it?"

Just nodding, Amy smoothed Riley's hair out and gave her a slight smile that she, herself, didn't quite feel. "Yeah... I do." She then tilted her head toward the brownies in their small container. "Anyways... you should finish up your snack. You need your energy after all."

Blushing, Riley grabbed one of the brownies and bit down. Somehow it seemed to just ooze the love that both Taylor and Sabah had for her, though that could have been the warm chocolate what with Ifrit having done something to the container to keep it warm. Meanwhile, Amy returned to her own coffee, thoughts rolling around in her head as she considered how similar she was in some ways to the girl beside her, yet different.

Annette's Poem

By Harry Leferts

Tilting his head, Ifrit frowned as he watched Taylor where she leaned against the bookcase and staring at the small, leatherbound book in her hand. "See? It's not right... She's been staring at that for almost a half hour."

Above him from where he was watching, Mog nodded. "I know, Kupo!"

Sabah simply raised an eyebrow as she poked her head around the corner and whispered. "I see..."

Right above her head, Boco nodded knowingly. "Kweh."

Without missing a beat, the corners of Taylor's lips twitched a bit before she spoke up. "I can hear and see you perfectly you know..."

It went without saying that Sabah was blushing as she walked into full view. "Sorry, it's just that I've never seen you act like this."

Gently, Taylor ran one fingertip along the back of the book. "I guess..." Her voice dropped down to nearly a whisper. "This is... was my mom's. I don't remember a time that she didn't have it. Every time she came across a poem she liked, she liked to write it in this little book of hers."

Despite his gruffness, Ifrit just nodded. "So she was a scholar, then."

Blinking, Taylor felt that familiar ache in her chest as she also felt her lips twitch a bit. "Well, kind of. She was an English teacher after all." Once more running her finger along the spine, she frowned. "I was just standing here wondering stuff, like my life and... This is really embarrassing..."

Just placing her hand on Taylor's shoulder, Sabah gave her a comforting smile. "You know that you can tell us anything."

From where they stood behind her, Mog and Boco nodded. Once more, Taylor felt the rush of happiness at having friends. And the warmth that seemed to seep from Sabah just from being there. "I know..." Taking a deep breath, she let it out. "I was kind of asking Mom what she thought of all this. Me being a Keyblader and a hero. What sort of wisdom she might have..." Her eye then looked down at the book in thoughtfulness. "I must have bumped the bookcase because this fell out onto a specific page... With a certain poem on it."

Now raising an eyebrow, Sabah looked over Taylor's shoulder. "What poem?"

Lips turned upward, Taylor took a deep breath and began to recite.

"Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul."

Frowning, Sabah furrowed her eyebrows. "That... Sounds familiar... Invictus?"

A smile grew on Taylor's face as she nodded. "Yeah..." Unknown by Sabah who was slightly confused, Taylor just internally nodded. 'Message received, Mom...'

Presentation

By Harry Leferts

Taylor flicked her Keyblade with an odd look on her face, a small amount of mist forming on it. Suddenly, she blinked and tapped her chin and blasted out some more mist and, with effort, held it in place as her Keyblade continued to add to it. With another thought, she shaped the chilled mist into something that looked like her and had it walk around. 'I wonder...' Slowly, she added to it and grinned as it worked. Sure, she would need help, but...

Thankfully she knew exactly who to go to for that...

All she had to do was pay a visit to the former Uber and L33t, but she was certain that they would be game for this. She also needed to run some things past Ingrid first, especially as she needed permission for a little something...

Stretching as she landed on a light pole and "Pretended" not to notice the flashes from cameras and people taking video with their phones, Mouse Protector. It was her second last day in Brockton Bay and she wanted it to be a doozy, so she had challenged Keynote to a "Mouse Off". Part of her wanted to see how far the other cape had come, especially as she heard through the grapevine that Keynote had a surprise. Another, bigger part though, just enjoyed being able to give large servings of ham out. However, that was when an issue arose and Mouse Protector looked around. "KEYNOTE! I AM HERE TO CHALLENGE YOU, MY FELLOW HERO AND SWORDSWOMAN! WHERE ARE THOU!?"

It was then that she noticed the sky darken and looked up to see a cloud appear sometimes flashed through with lightning. At the same time, a familiar tune began to play as Keynote's voice boomed out. "YOU DARE CHALLENGE, KEYNOTE!"

The grin on Mouse Protector's face only widened as she noted the silhouette of Keynote's head in the clouds. "THERE'S NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN THIS TOWN FOR TWO SUPERHEROINES OF OUR CALIBER!"

Out of the clouds a giant, white mist version of Keynote's face drifted out as it's voice boomed. "OH, YOU'RE A SUPERHEROINE ALRIGHT! BUT NOT OF THE SAME CALIBER!"

Her eyes narrowed, Mouse Protector jumped to a higher ledge and leaned forward. "OH!? AND WHAT WOULD BE THE DIFFERENCE!?"

"Keynote's" mouth opened and the real one walked out and down the tongue, though Mouse Protector could just see the two obviously tinker tech platforms under her feet before Keynote spread her arms wide and brought it down. "PRESENTATION!"

All Mouse Protector could do, besides ignoring the laughing Parian and the nearby Wards who were eating popcorn, was to grin even more and laugh. "I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!"

Way out on the rig, Hannah groaned as she facepalmed and watched the livestream that Assault had set up. "Oh God..." Seeing Armsmaster get up, she raised an eyebrow. "And where are you going?"

Armsmaster just looked at her and pointed at the screen. "There's two of them now... and I am going to go and make sure that this is not infectious or some sort of Master power..." And with that, he walked away and tried to ignore Assault's laughter...