Edit 12/8/2022: Terri's pronouns changed to they/them.
July 4, 2044
Los Angeles, California, Earth
The United States of America is a massive country, so it makes sense that different people would celebrate the country's national day a little differently. Some people go to the beach, some have a large barbecue, and others flock to Coney Island to watch people eat dozens of hot dogs for fun. But whether it's a baseball game or a festival or a picnic, what's important is that people are having fun.
For one particular family and friends in Los Angeles, Independence Day is always rather explosive. (In a good way!)
The Boonchuy-Waybright-Wus unfortunately don't get the chance to spend the whole today together, at least in most years. Anne's amphibian exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific became increasingly prominent over the years, and since the heart of summer is peak aquarium visiting season for both tourists and locals, she usually can't get the day off. She managed it a couple of times, but alas this was not one of them. But Anne knew not to get her hopes up this year. Why? Because the Fourth of July fell on a Monday.
Meanwhile, Sasha and Marcy take the twins over to their grandparents' house where the six of them would make some red, white, and blue snacks for the upcoming party. Well, more accurately it was the adults doing most of the work while Sprig and Polly spent most of the time watching Independence Day on the TV.
They had fun together but eventually it came time to pick up Anne after her busy shift. Anne rode with her wives and children in Sasha's car while the Boonchuys followed them in her minivan.
"Did you two have fun at your grandparents' house?" Anne asked the twins.
"Yeah!" said Sprig. "Decorating cookies was so much fun!"
"And so was that movie!" said Polly. "There were these guys blowing up alien ships! I wanna do cool stuff like that when I'm older!"
Sprig raised an eyebrow toward his sister. "You want us to be invaded again?"
Polly rolled her eyes. "No, I said I wanna do stuff like that. I want action!"
Anne smiled. She loved hearing the twins' silly sibling arguments. They were just like the Plantars.
Both cars drove toward the beach where they would join their friends for Terri's annual Independence Day fireworks display by the sunny Pacific shore. Although Terri's primary field was engineering, the blue-haired scientist had taken up pyrotechnics as a hobby a few years after the Frogvasion. Every year, they invited all their friends and colleagues (many of which they met through Anne) to watch.
The cars pulled up to the beach about half an hour before sunset, giving the Boonchuy-Waybright-Wus time to chat with the gathered guests and give them some snacks. Terri explained how fireworks operate, with certain chemicals creating certain colors, but of course didn't let the children get anywhere near them. Dr. Jan, who over the years had become Anne's mentor in designing exhibits, gave the family a virtual sneak peak of what's coming soon to the Museum of Natural History. They talked to famous character actor Humphrey Westwood, who at this point was probably too old to be so close to the fireworks, but that won't stop him from having a fun time.
Ally and Jess showed the Calamity Moms and the twins one of their latest robots: a lifelike talking cat named Roxy. Anne immediately picked it up and began coddling it.
"Who's a little precious baby?" said Anne.
"I am a precious baby," said the robot.
"That's right, you are!" said Anne, nuzzling the robot as everyone else looked on in amusement.
"Too bad Domino 4 couldn't be here to see this," said Marcy.
"I know, right?" said Sasha, chuckling a little. "Whenever Anne finds a new cat she instantly forgets about her old one. Domino 4 would feel so betrayed."
"Hush, you two," said Anne, not breaking eye contact with the robot.
Anne spent so long gushing over the robot that Sasha told the twins they should go play tag with Terri's son Jack and the IT Gals' daughter Ashley.
"Will you be making more of these?" Marcy asked the IT Gals. "Anne might steal Roxy if you don't." Anne didn't seem to register the comment.
"Eventually," said Jess. "This prototype has been pretty popular."
"Though it'll take longer to mass-produce them if people want them customized," said Ally.
Anne gasped in excitement. "Domino 5 will be a robot!"
Before long, the sun finally set and everyone sat down on the beach in anticipation of the upcoming spectacle. Anne, Sasha, Marcy, and the twins sat on a large towel while the Boonchuys sat on another towel right next to them.
Eventually Terri stepped up onto the makeshift stage they had set up and addressed the audience. "I hope everyone's been having a good time so far!" The cheers from the people on the shore confirmed that yes, they have. "Well then, enjoy the show!" They reached for a remote and pushed a button, activating the fireworks.
Fireworks exploding in the sky never is always enough to amaze people no matter what age they are. The blasts came in all sorts of shapes and configurations, and while most were the colors of the American flag, there were a few special ones. Case in point, right near the middle show Terri set off three special fireworks with explosions in the calamity colors and shaped like the original gemstones. Come to think of it, the trio's space battle probably looked a lot like this fireworks show to the people down on Amphibia.
"Mæ̀, Mom, Mama, what did your powers feel like?" asked Polly.
The trio paused for a moment, unsure how exactly to answer. Sprig and Polly obviously knew some stuff about their moms' Calamity powers—fighting a giant salamander atop a skyscraper doesn't exactly get forgotten—but the trio had never gotten too in-depth about them.
"It's really hard to describe to someone who hasn't experienced anything like it," said Marcy. "It's like trying to explain colors to a blind person."
"That makes sense," said Sprig, nodding in understanding.
"It was kind of like…" started Sasha, "every part of you is burning but instead of being in pain you've got plenty of energy."
"Our senses were definitely heightened," said Marcy. "I remember seeing colors I had never seen before and I'm pretty sure our hearing went beyond the normal human range."
"This didn't happen when I was only using the partial powers, but at full strength, the Calamity Gems essentially made creativity a physical reality," said Anne, sounding very wise and making her family forget that she obsessed over a cat robot twenty minutes earlier.
"That's right," said Marcy. "I remember just thinking I needed a special weapon and then I had a surprisingly effective 20-sided die! And your Mom had pom-poms, and of course your Mæ̀ had a giant tennis ball and racket."
"The big downside of the Calamity powers is how draining they are," said Anne somberly. "They use up a lot of energy so when you go back to normal you're really tired. Human bodies aren't exactly designed to handle that much power…"
Marcy and Sasha both paled, knowing exactly what Anne was referring to. Although the trio had learned the hard way what happens when secrets are kept, they agreed that they wouldn't tell the twins about Anne's death and resurrection until they're adults, if not never.
Luckily the twins didn't notice their moms' uneasy looks since the entire time they kept watching the sky.
"Do you think you might've adapted to it over the years if you kept them?" asked Polly.
The Calamity Moms had actually considered that. Anne lasted the longest at full power since she had the most experience beforehand, so it seemed plausible that enough usage would reduce the powers' energy draining effects.
"Probably," said Sasha. "But we shouldn't worry about what could have been. Instead we should focus on what we have now and what we can do in the future."
"Wow, I thought I was the one being wise," said Anne. "When did you get so smart, Sash?"
"Sometime between when I used a sword as a backscratcher and now."
They all chuckled at that.
"So what did you wish for?" whispered Polly to her brother.
"I'm not telling you," Sprig whispered back. "If I tell you, it won't come true."
Yeah, Roxy the cat robot is just Sox from Lightyear.
Translation: Mæ̀ (mom)
