2 Years

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Sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for changing my life.

Purpose of a Hero

October 28, 2317

Melody… had a lot to try and wrap her head around. First, there was the fact that she had blacked out in the arena during the Halloween Tournament and woken up in the back seat of her father's SUV over two hundred miles away. Then, there was her father. While the man was almost always larger and louder than life, he was acting uncharacteristically quiet and thoughtful. Melody had never seen anything quite like it from the man that had, for reasons unknown, literally gotten one of his drinking buddies to relocate her childhood home from Brooklyn to New Jersey. Something had happened (she suspected to her) during the tournament to make him clam up, which brought about the evidence of that.

Melody didn't like to think of herself as a vain person. She'd never put too much thought into how she looked. On the rare occasions she wore makeup, it was because her friends had coerced her into doing so. She didn't spend hours putting her hair into a far too intricate hairdo. Most of the time, she kept it up in a messy ponytail and forgot about it. Of course, a few loose hairs were easier to overlook than the streak of dull gray standing out against the sea of red. A quarter-inch wide and running from her hairline all the way to the end of her ponytail in sharp contrast to the rest of her hair.

Again, she'd tried asking her father but had only gotten a sad look in response. And so, for the next ninety minutes, she sat in silence, watching New England pass by in the car window. At some point during the trip, hoping to get a reaction of some kind from her dad, she tried to use her new Partial Phasing to reach her hand through the passenger seat. However, the moment she attempted to use her Quirk, a bolt of pain coursed through her body, and she let out an involuntary gasp. "Melly?"

"I'm… I'm fine," she grumbled, trying to catch her breath. That had certainly never happened before. Throughout her entire week of training with Nathan, she hadn't had a single hiccup learning the new skill. In fact, she seemed to pick it up fairly quickly, much faster than Nathan learning how to use Beast Mimicry for sure. 'What the heck is going on?' she asked herself, only to be met with silence. She glanced up and caught her father looking at her in the rearview mirror. "Dad? What's going on?"

"I am sorry, Melody. Derrick told me how far you were progressing, but I reacted too slowly." Melody had no idea what her father was talking about (what did her teacher have to do with any of this?), but one thing that struck her. He'd used her name. Her actual name. Ever since she was a small child, he'd seldom called her by Melody, instead sticking to monikers like 'Melly'. Carlyle sighed heavily and shook his head, falling silent again.

Realizing that was all that her father had to say, Melody, shook her head angrily and went back to looking out the window. They passed a small hotel (labeled "Sanford Inn") and an old, beaten down mini golf course before coming to a roundabout. Carlyle glanced nervously at the exit marked "Main Street" before muttering something about back roads. The next leg of their journey was spent primarily on rough, poorly paved roads leading through a thick forest, with the occasional house poking through the trees.

For Melody, this was quite a culture shock. She'd grown up in and hardly ever left the five boroughs of New York City. There were a few times in her childhood where she'd ventured out of the city, mostly on field trips or to accompany Nathan's family on their annual visit to Niagra, but she'd never seen this many trees in one place before. The autumn colors were absolutely stunning, and there seemed to be an abundance of wildlife in the haze of thick tree trunks.

She often found herself whipping her head around to catch sight of a mob of deer or a bird that wasn't a pigeon. As they passed a small swamp, she rolled down her window and let the sounds of singing frogs wash over her. After what seemed like an eternity driving down long, twisting roads, Melody finally began to see greater signs of civilization. A small housing development, a trailer park, and a plethora of houses, some large, others smaller than her childhood home. Other vehicles began to appear more frequently, mostly cars but also some ATVs and even a golf cart. Finally, as they drove down a gently sloping hill, Carlyle began to slow down and flipped on his turn signal.

Yet more trees obscured her first sight of the house, but when it finally came into full view, Melody felt a warm feeling run through her chest. The house was large, at least three stories, with maroon exterior walls and a green metal room. To its left was a rather sizeable yard scattered with what looked to be children's toys. On the far end, there was a rusting swing set. Despite the size of the house, only one car sat in the driveway. To Melody's surprise, the small red compact had a New York license plate. "Dad, where are we?"

"This is the house your mother grew up in," he said solemnly, turning in his seat to look at her. Melody's brow scrunched together in confusion, but before she could voice it, Carlyle began speaking again. "I've kept so much from you, Melody. I've gone against my own judgment and the wishes of your mother to keep you safe, but… now I see I was only delaying the inevitable. I just hope that you can forgive me. For everything."

"What are you talking about?" Melody asked. When she received no answer, her temper flared. Her father had been nothing but quiet and sulky ever since she'd woken up, and now he was practically admitting to lying to her (though about what she had no idea). Suddenly, she began to feel a bit claustrophobic, and warily opened her door. She hadn't noticed when she'd opened her window earlier, too enraptured by the sights, but the air was much colder than it had been at home. In the back of her mind, she thanked whoever had decided her costume needed insulation. The slam of her door echoed throughout the small clearing, followed almost immediately by another as Carlyle followed her lead.

Unable to help herself, she approached a tipped over toy car and placed her hand on it. It looked… relatively new. There wasn't much wear and tear, and the colors hadn't been bleached by the sun. Something was off. She could feel it in the pit forming in her stomach. She turned around and opened her mouth, but before she could ask her father what was going on, a loud crashing sound emanate from within the bottom floor of the house, making both of them jump.

Then, the high pitched laughter of a child.

Before either of them could react, a small boy, no older than four, came bounding out of the door leading to the basement and immediately jumped on the hood of her father's SUV. The boy glanced at both of them in amusement before hopping onto the car's roof and lying down as if he were hiding from someone. That's when it hit her. The boy hadn't come out of the door.

He'd gone through it. Melody's eyes widened in realization just as the door flew open, almost flying off its hinges. Standing in the doorway was a ghost, or at least that's how it looked at first. The woman had long black hair and green eyes, which were currently narrowed in annoyance, and looked so much like her mother that Melody felt her heart rise into her throat. "SAWYER BRADDOCK, YOU COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

"No!" The little boy, Sawyer, shot back, giving up his hiding place almost immediately. The Harmony-lookalike pursed her lips and began to stomp forward but stopped when she caught sight of Carlyle, who, by the look of pain on his face, had seen the same Melody had. In an instant, her mountain of a father was sent flying into a birch tree by a pair of water jets.

"You sonofabitch. You've got some damn balls to show up here!" The woman roared. The shock of seeing her father thrown around like a ragdoll passed, and Melody quickly tried to run to his aide. However, the moment she tried to activate her Quirk, a wave of agony even greater than the one she experienced earlier tore through her nervous system and caused her to scream. Her vision went hazy, and she would have fallen if not for wooden support pillars holding up the deck.

"Melly!" She heard her father cry, though it was deafened, almost like she was underwater, along with everything else. And it certainly did feel like she was in the process of drowning. Her skin was cold and clammy, someone seemed to be playing the drums in her head, and a steady stream of blood dripped from both of her nostrils. She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and looked up into her mother's eyes before the world went black.

Purpose of a Hero

When she finally came to, Melody found herself lying on a couch with a wet washcloth on her forehead. It took a moment for everything to come flooding back to her, but when it did, she immediately shot into a sitting position. That, as it turned out, was a horrible idea. Pain shot through her head, and she grunted before collapsing back into a prone position. Thankfully, the pain passed quickly, and she felt her breathing slow back down to normal. Even moving her head hurt, so she let her eyes roam.

It seemed like she was in some sort of living room. There was another couch not too far away, a well-worn recliner, a wood stove in the corner, and what looked like Halloween decorations hanging from the ceiling. 'What the heck happened? Why is my Quirk acting like this?' she thought bitterly. She couldn't remember a time where her Quirk reacted so violently, not even at her earliest stages of training when she'd get constant nosebleeds from trying to hold it for as long as she could.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps from the hallway to her right. She quickly shut her eyes and tried to act like she was still passed out. The damp cloth was removed and replaced by a shaky hand, feeling for a temperature. The person hummed thoughtfully, and Melody felt the couch by her legs depress as they took a seat.

"There's no need to act as if you're sleeping. Your mother was never good at it, and it looks like she passed that on to you." The voice was feminine but sounded old. Much older than the woman who'd accosted her father earlier. Resigned, Melody let her eyes slide back open and was met with a warm smile. The woman looked to be in her sixties, with graying brown hair and wrinkles around her eyes. "Your Quirk had quite a negative reaction earlier. I haven't had to care for someone like this in years. Since your mother was, oh maybe a year or two older than you."

"You knew my mom?" Melody heard herself ask. Even though they hadn't exactly given them a warm welcome, she couldn't help her curiosity. The woman's expression turned sad for a moment before she smiled again.

"I would hope so. I didn't sit through fourteen hours of labor, not to mention her rebellious teens, not to know my own daughter." For a moment, Melody could do nothing but stare at the older woman with wide eyes. Upon closer inspection, she could certainly see the family resemblance. While she didn't have her mother's eyes, she had her smile. She could even see the resemblance between herself and the older woman; they had the same noses, the same complexion, the same jawline.

"Y-You're… but, I… Dad said, that you…" Melody found herself lost for words. Her entire life, her father had told her that they had no other family. Suddenly, his plead for forgiveness when they were sitting in the driveway made sense. As if sensing her confusion and shock, her grandmother placed a hand on her knee.

"Your father has always been a very paranoid man, as was your mother. I imagine that comes with the territory, however. I'm certain that whatever he told you about us was because he thought it would protect you." Before the woman could continue, there was a loud crashing noise from below them, and the sound of a female voice drifted through the floorboards.

"You don't get to come back here after what you did! You're so fucking lucky the old man isn't home!" Melody looked warily at the floor, recognizing the voice as the woman who'd attacked them (or rather her father) earlier.

"I'm very sorry about Kate. She was always very close with her older sister. There's still so much hurt in her over losing Harmony." Sister. That would mean… she was Melody's aunt. Melody felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Then, there was the sound of shuffling from down the hall. She turned her head and met a pair of small brown eyes looking back at her. Following her gaze, her grandmother smiled softly and raised a hand to beckon the boy forward. He was looking at Melody suspiciously as he entered the room. "Come now, Sawyer. This is your big cousin. Come say, hello."

"You look like my mom. 'Cept your hair's red," the boy said in lieu of an introduction. His suspicion vanished in a heartbeat, and the little boy who'd hidden on the top of her dad's car appeared. "I saw your clothes when Ma carried you in. Are you a Hero?"

"Not yet. I'm going to school to be one, though," Melody answered softly. For the first time, she noticed that someone had changed her out of her costume and into a pair of bright blue sweatpants and a yellow t-shirt that read 'Aces High Hero Agency'. The boy's expression turned, somehow, even brighter, and he began prattling on about his favorite Heroes. In turn, Melody happily told him about her encounter with Oddball (pausing slightly as the other prominent memory of that day hit her) and how her teachers were all old Heroes.

They were just discussing Melody's indecent with the laser-mouth man when the door to the basement swung open, and a rather irate looking Kate appeared, followed by her father who awfully like Narruk had after nearly losing control against Andrew the previous month. Her aunt gave one last baleful glare to her father before striding toward her with a purpose. Sawyer, perhaps remembering that he'd been in trouble with his mother last he'd seen her, quickly evacuated to the upper level of the house. There was a rather tense, at least in Melody's case, moment of silence as Kate looked her up and down. Then, she surprised Melody by drawing her into an incredibly tight hug.

"It's been too long, moose," she said fondly.

"Moose?" Melody replied, feeling it was much safer than the alternative, which was to break out in tears. The hug was so familiar, so familial, it hurt. Kate's similarities to her mother definitely didn't help matters. The woman finally broke away and smiled at her.

"The night you were born, your grandpa hit a moose on the way to the hospital with your mom. I was only ten at the time and wasn't very creative with nicknames," Kate explained offhandedly. Melody let out a watery chuckle as she finally succumbed to the overwhelming feeling of home. "Welcome home, Moose."

Purpose of a Hero

As soon as she'd been able to stand (and stop sniveling like a three-year-old), Melody was given the grand tour of the house. On the same floor as the living room, there was also a large kitchen and dining room, both of which seemed to be in a state of disaster, which Kate playfully chalked up to her parents' hoarding problems, which her grandmother (Linda, as Melody came to find out) smacked her youngest daughter on the shoulder. The basement was split in half, one side acting as storage for everything from board games to old sporting equipment to the large, inflatable Christmas decorations that her grandmother apparently liked to put out over the holidays ("and leave up until March," Kate had teased).

Finally, she was led to the top floor, which held the house's four bedrooms. There was her grandparent's room, Kate's old room (which she was currently staying in with Sawyer), her grandfather's study… and her mother's room. Everyone paused when they came to the door with 'Harmony' written in bright pink glitter letters. Linda smiled sadly and placed a comforting hand on Kate's shoulder. "It's all the same. I never had the heart to pack her things away, even after she moved out. She would always get so angry when anyone would touch her things."

"That's because it was usually those idiot friends of hers trying to get a peek of her diary or steal from her candy drawer," Kate snarked, though there was a look of definite sadness in her eyes.

"Oh yes, she would always complain about that Abrams boy taking her jellybeans. However, I don't think she'd have any problem with her daughter using her room. You're welcome to it during your stay with us." Melody could hear her heart beating in her chest as she reached for the doorknob. Once she'd grabbed it, it took a moment for her actually to turn it and push the door open.

The room was just a bit bigger than her own back home. The walls were colored a sun-bleached blue and were covered with faded posters of Pro Heroes, bands, and a few movies. The bed was small, pushed into a corner with its sheets still tucked in, though a small depression in the center showed that someone had recently sat on the bed. A small dresser was pressed up against the near wall with a small television and picture frames dotting its surface. Linda gave the room a wistful look before ushering her father and aunt out. "We'll leave you to get settled in. I'll shout when dinner is ready."

Just like that… she was alone. For the longest time, Melody didn't move. She just stood awkwardly in the center of the room with wide eyes. Then, she began to explore. She couldn't help it; her curiosity got the better of her. Very quickly, she realized that while she'd always been somewhat of a minimalist when it came to decorating her own room, her mother was not. Some form of poster or picture, even some paintings that Harmony must have done herself, covered almost every inch of wall space. There was even a whiteboard with what looked like notes Harmony had scrawled to herself, though they were very faded and hardly legible.

To Melody's surprise, there was even a guitar sitting in the corner of the room. It was covered in dust but otherwise in excellent condition after all these years. When she began looking at the pictures mounted on the dresser, her face melted into a smile. Harmony stood, dressed in her Teardrop costume, beside a mini-Kate, who grinned widely at the camera. The next picture was of her mother when she was much younger. She was no older than eleven, and her smile showed off braces on her teeth. She was dressed in a suit of what looked like paper-mache armor, made to look like the Hero Crusader.

The next picture had Harmony as a teenager, and Melody was stunned to realize she recognized the other people in the picture. 'Mr. Holl did say he was friends with my mom,' she recalled. The others were a bit hard to place but based on what her grandmother had said earlier and the only other woman in the photo's similarities to one of her classmates, the couple had to be Andrew's parents. That left the man with his arm around her mother's shoulders. He looked nothing like he did today, but there was no mistaking those red eyes. His daughter had the same eyes, though they were always filled with hatred when they looked at Melody. Seismos.

"What in the world?" Melody muttered aloud. 'Mom and Clara's dad knew each other? They were friends. Then, why does she hate me so much?' Her head spinning, Melody put the picture back down and walked over to take a seat on the bed. When she sat, she felt something under the covers and quickly retrieved it. It was a notebook, no bigger than her hand, and filled with hundreds upon hundreds of pages of writing—her mother's diary. Melody swallowed thickly and cautiously, feeling as if she were intruding on something, flipped the book open to a random page.

August 26, 2289

Tomorrow's the big day! Finally, I get to start at the Forge. I'm so excited to finally get the hell away from the old man and his constant nagging. Even better: I finally get to start training as a Hero! I've been waiting for this day for years; words cannot describe how excited I am (but I'll give it my best shot).

Mom said I should get to bed early, so I don't miss my flight (5:30 in the morning. What the absolute hell are they thinking!?), but there's no way I'm sleeping when I'm this jacked up. Look out, Villains of the world! Your days are numbered!

P.S. Dorm life is gonna kick ass!

Melody smiled as she finished the entry. Her mother had been just as excited as she was when she first started school. Neither of them had been able to get much sleep the night before, it seemed. Her mother's handwriting was much cleaner than her own chicken scratch, she noticed. More sweeping and elegant, like she put so much thought into each letter. Melody flipped to a later entry and began to read again.

February 18, 2290

UGH. I swear to ever-loving christ Mrs. Hargreaves is the worst teacher of all time! If I have to hear about how my punches are 'very unladylike' one more time, I'm gonna puke! What does that even mean!?

Anyway, Jeanne and Max fighting again, and this time they aren't talking to Derrick either because he told them to, quote: "stop their lover's quarrel and make up already". Yeah, that went over well. Richard and I placed bets ($20) on when this one will end. He says it'll last another week and a half; I say they'll have it all figured out by this weekend. Little does he know that I have an inside woman! Jayjay says she's tired of fighting and wants to make up ASAP, so it looks like I'm getting twenty bucks!

Also… in regards to Richard. I one-hundred percent blame him for this, but things have been a little more awkward than usual. I TOLD him time and time again that it was fine, but he still feels bad about it. Freakin' idiot, it's hand-to-hand training! No one cares that you touched my boob during a takedown except you! Absolute moron.

"TMI, mom," Melody grumbled as she flipped to another page. It was odd reading about her mother's life at school. Harmony had been popular with almost everyone but only really wrote about her close circle of friends. She read about the relationship drama between Andrew's parents (who'd apparently started dating not long after the fight she'd read about), Derrick being constantly annoyed by his younger brother (which her mom didn't understand much, proclaiming that "little siblings are the best!"), and Richard's struggles with his Quirk.

June 24, 2291

He did it again. Stupid, idiotic, moronic, dumb, stupid idiot did it again. I told him to use the damn dampener the support people made for him, but NO! His stupid ego gets in the way, and he nearly blows out his vocal cords again. I tell him time and time again that one of these days he'll lose his freakin' voice if he keeps it up, but NO! I don't get it. I really don't. I'd say he was all brawn and no brains, but he doesn't have much brawn either!

Then, you've got Jeanne and Max with the PDA. Derrick and I have started shooting spitballs at them whenever they get too close. God, I feel bad for Derrick, though. If he loses concentration for one second, he has to hear every single disgusting things they think about each other. I thought listening to Jeanne talk in the shower was bad, but some of the stuff he tells me he hears…. Gah! So gross.

Melody chuckled at the small picture her mother had drawn at the bottom of the page. It appeared to be a very cartoonized version of herself and a young Mr. Holl shooting spitballs at each other. It reminded her of the ones Nathan used to draw on her desk back in Middle School that would get both of them in trouble. She was about to flip to the next page when the sound of a car door slamming caught her ear. She stood up and slowly made her way over to the window overlooking the driveway and front yard. A third car had joined her father's and aunt's. A very beat-up old pickup truck that was colored the same maroon as the house.

Then, standing beside her father's car, appearing to be looking into the windows, she saw her grandfather for the first time. From overhead, she couldn't see much besides a bald spot amongst his silver hair. However, as if he'd sensed her presence, he looked up, and their eyes met. Melody felt her eyes widened as she saw the grisly mess of wrinkles and scars that made up his stern face. His eyes betrayed nothing as he stared at her for another moment until she backed away from the window.

A few seconds later, she heard the front door open, and a man's voice filled with anger. There was the sound of Linda and Kate's voice. They sounded like they were trying to persuade the older man. However, it didn't seem to have any effect because not long after the door slammed shut, Melody heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The door flew open, and Melody came face to face with Frank Kristenson for the first time.

Purpose of a Hero

Well, well, well, for once I actually stuck to my word. Three chapters in three days. DON'T EXPECT THIS AGAIN FOR A WHILE THIS WAS VERY STRESSFUL!

In all seriousness, these past few days have been some of the most productive I've had since this story first began. We only managed 16 chapters in our second year, but I'd like to think we do a bit better in our third. Now that this sprint is over, I'm gonna slow down for a bit. I'm officially moving to the every other week model.

Now, about this chapter. This… is the turning point. This is where the story will really begin to pick up. I chose Revelations for this chapter name because that's what this arc is all about. Melody finding out the truth. This arc shouldn't be longer than maybe 7-10 chapters on the high side.

And since this is a new arc we, of course, need a new OP and ED (I'd have put this at the top of the chapter but wanted to reserve that for a thank you)

OP: Savior by Rise Against

ED: I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Deathcab for Cutie

NOW, onto the preview!

Next Time on the Purpose of a Hero:

Chapter 51: Carlyle's Request