A/N: This is something that came to me, and I had to write it. Fantasia is more of a one-off char, and yet I wanted to have something from her perspective. Might be a bit of a "spoiler" for the next chapter, but it was in my brain and I wanted to share it! Short, but, yeah.
Interlude - Fantasia POV
Trinity was getting old. She knew it, PR knew it, and the head of her branch of The Guild knew it. They reminded her on a near-weekly basis. She was getting old, powers or no powers. No amount of makeup, hair dye, and face-lifts could fix it. The fact burned her, and was part of the reason she was here, talking to this obviously-not-a-Parahuman-no-sir teenage girl.
She wasn't fit for combat duty anymore. Nothing more than a few purse snatchers, or low-level Brutes. Even her doctor had signed off on those bullshit orders.
But, getting weaker, getting slower didn't mean she was slow where it counted.
It'd been theorized for years that she had some sort of Thinker power. Enhanced perception, some sort of analysis ability. Something that made her more observant, made it easier to see the small details. Even some of the eggheads in the PRT and Guild bought into that nonsense. The idiots.
Just because she had powers didn't mean everything she had or did came from them. They forgot that before she was Fantasia, she was Trinity Hayden. PI extraordinaire, for all her five years in the role meant. You don't just forget those skills when you suddenly become capable of deadlifting a few tons. Not every Brute was a mindless brick.
Still, she didn't correct them. Why bother? If they refused to look past the mask, past her powers, then she wouldn't give them the opportunity. She was on her way out, anyway. Another five years and she would be one of the few Capes to retire - wouldn't that be a treat? Maybe a handful in all the decades since Parahumans first started popping up.
The pension better be fucking amazing. She doubted it. The pay was crap as it was.
Regardless. She knew how to read people, and Cassandra Reid? She was a Parahuman. Oh, she doubted the PRT agent - Anna what's-it - caught on. Cassandra played her role well, keeping her head down, keeping her answers short. Agreeing to some of the bits and pieces, but hardlining against others. Typical teenage crap. Trinity would have bought it if she hadn't seen it a dozen times before in too-smart-for-their-own-good teenagers.
She almost was tempted to interject, to give the "yeah, she's a Parahuman" signal that the PRT and Guild trained her on for these sorts of interviews. She almost had, when her and Anna had traded glances. But, she'd only let her know that the kid had something up - trauma, withdrawal, etc, and to play softball with her. Ha! Trauma.
No shit. All Parahuman's did.
Trinity should have done it. But…
She was tired. She just didn't want to rock the boat anymore. She was paraded out for stuff like this, after all the fighting was done, and had been for years now. It was all PR, all cameras and lights. Small time things, charity work.
Her star came and went years ago, and she knew it. The PRT and Guild knew it.
Once she'd stood with titans like Alexandria, Legend, Eidolon, and Hero. Not in stature or power - she wasn't that full of herself - but as peers. They'd all started around the same time. She'd protected her small little part of Montreal, helped found The Guild. Raised an entire generation of heroes after her.
And then The Guild had failed. And the PRT had to step in. She was shunted to the backburner, like all the other Canadian Capes that didn't have a big stick to wave around - typical American bullshit. Then the grey hair started to come in, the wrinkles. Aches and pains in the morning, small things. Her three ton deadlift became two, became one.
Not everyone can be fucking Alexandria and her eternal youth. Bitch. Trinity smiled kindly at Cassandra, rising to her feet to shake the young girl's hand with the control of decades. The meeting had finally ended. Thank Christ.
"If you need anything, or remember anything you think might help, please contact The Guild or PRT." Trinity said. It was the same bullshit line every time. No one ever had useful information for fighting fucking Endbringers.
"I will, thank you. It was so nice to meet you, Fantasia! My mom…she loved you, you know? You were her idol." She's sure she was. But not yours, not anyone your age.
She was old. She wanted to retire and go out on a high note. Not dead at the hands of some monster, not killed by some young, new, powerful Cape. Someone that clearly had an idea of their powers already, despite Triggering just a few days ago.
Once the young girl was gone, escorted out of the office, Anna turned to Trinity and dropped her kindly-government-agent persona. She was all business with her frown, and Trinity had to hand it to Anna what's-her-name, she wore the Strict Officer look well.
"So, Parahuman?" Anna asked.
Trinity shook her head. "No, just a stressed and overwhelmed young girl."
She wasn't rocking the boat. She just wanted to go home and spend time with her husband.
