A/N Boiling point
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Draco0905: That's the interesting thing. She didn't live with it. She spent the last five years ignoring it and letting it sit. She is 100% traumatized, to the point that she avoids thinking about it. And one of the reasons she prefers darker areas is because everything bad that happened to her in that week happened in well-lit areas. A sort of reverse aversion to light that Carol has. The only time she felt any sort of safety during the ordeal was when she was hiding in a trash can. Even after the fact, she was locked up in M/S protocol in a bright room.
Gogmazios: You're welcome.
Cassanova5424: maybe.
DancingLeaf: there really isn't anything I can say on the matter that won't spoil anything. But you are right. As a rule, forcing someone to confront their issues is never a good idea.
RadChaos897: thanks, though I still can't help but feel it was missing something.
It's not that Mark was kept in the dark really. It's just that he spends the most time with Kitsu, so there was no good time to let him know.
Carnage will be a Changer with a decent Brute rating. If it were Venom he'd be a Master/Breaker seeing as Venom has a mind separate from its host. Whereas Cletus and Carnage are indistinguishable from each other. So much so that they say 'I' instead of 'We' like every other symbiote bond. And canonically, Carnage is permanently bonded to Cletus through his blood.
Barring comic book bullshit that is.
Regarding Ben? Basically the ones I can make the most sense of biologically. So ones like Heatblast, AtomiX, NRG, Snare-oh, and the like won't be featured. Whereas Stinkfly, Wildmutt, and Ripjaws will be there. And yes, Ben will be a powerful hero, there is no version of Ben that isn't great in some capacity, even the no watch Ben saved the multiverse at one point. Here, he is essentially a Tinker made Changer/Breaker Eidolon. He just needs experience.
Akiralator: I love the questions! I'mma put them at the end to avoid having a massive text wall.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or any other characters in this work, other than my OC. All other characters belong to their respective properties.
-Date, Time-
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
[Shard]
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*Sounds/Actions*
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-Thursday April 8th, 8:23am-
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Vergil "Static Shock" Hawkins POV
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Overall the last couple'a days have been, eventful is the nice way of puttin it.
"So what's going to happen to her?" Dennis ask.
We're currently on our way to first period.
"Well, right now they're talk'n juvie." I say offhandedly.
"What about your aunt, what's she think about all this? Gotta be rough on her." He says.
Reaching the door and opening stepping in I go to reply, only to pause as I see the familiar gold and blue outline where there is no one in the seat. Her pink back pack is next to the seat though.
Normally my aura sense is something I have to mentally turn on, but the faraday cage 'round the school messes with my powers a bit, forces it on while I'm in it.
"Hey, you good?" Dennis asks from behind me.
"Uh, yeah. What'd uh. What'd ya say again?" I ask as I walk past Kitsu and sit at my desk next to hers.
Dennis follows me and leans on the desk.
"I asked how your aunt was taking the news about your cousin."
"Oh, right. Uh, dunno how to put it but. Aunty Janine kinda just, I think she gave up the moment she learned what Sophia was up to this whole time." I say awkwardly.
Really, aunty had given up a while ago. This latest revelation just put the nail in the coffin. It's sad to think about, but it's the truth.
"Oh, uh. Look on the bright side!" Dennis says awkwardly. "No more late-night patrols!"
I just stare at him as he keeps an awkward smile.
After a second or two of us staring at he just nods and heads to his seat.
Kitsu is still invisible and doesn't look to be showing herself anytime soon. Looking over to her, she's still just sat there.
Class starts not long after, with the teacher coming in and starting us off.
Judging by how he looked at Kitsus' bag on the floor. And how he kept glancing to her seat, he probably figured out she's there.
Mr. Midgley was one of those people who just noticed things. Man had eyes as sharp as a hawk.
At the end of class, when the bell went off. He watched us leave. And just as I was getting up he spoke.
"Not you, I'd like you to stay behind."
Lookin' up in confusion I see his eyes staring towards Kitsus' desk.
Not at her, she was already up and halfway to the door. But it was clear to me who he was talkin to.
'The heck?'
"The rest of you can go."
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Kitsu POV
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'What the flying fuck? Can he see me? He's looking right at me.'
I move to the side, and I see his eyes dart to Vergil, then to where I am now.
'Oh! He just knows Vergil can see me. Clever girl!'
I decide to just get it over with and walk to his desk. Waiting for everyone to leave, watching various kids with different levels of confusion walk out the door.
Once the last kid leaves I dispel the invisibility.
His eyes widen a bit as he looks me up and down.
"Okay, your file mentioned the ability to change appearance, was not expecting that." He says slowly. "Want to tell me why you decided to play the part of the invisible man for an hour?"
"How did you even know I was there?" I ask.
"Two reasons, one, your bag was there, you didn't make it invisible until you grabbed it to leave."
'Damnit!'
"Two, when you were first invisible, when you popped up. Vergil was the only one not surprised. This whole class he kept glancing to your seat." He finishes.
…
'Holy shit this guy is goo.'
"Y'know, for a guy who needs glasses you sure seem to see a lot."
He chuckles at that.
"You are certainly not the first to say such a thing. Now, back on track. Why?" He asks with a disarming smile.
"I was, avoiding someone." I say quietly.
He hums in thought.
"I can make a guess as to whom. But I'll respect your privacy on the matter. Just know that whatever issues you have with the person. Avoidance will only make it worse." He says softly as he leans back in his chair.
"I know." I groan out.
"Hmm, right then. I said it before but no powers in class. I'll let it slide this time. But next time I'll be calling your mother." He says.
"That's-" I start but pause with a sigh. "fair. Wait, you mean Carol?"
He nods.
"Right then, now go on. You don't want to be late for your next class." He says and rocks forward to put his elbows on his desk.
I just nod as I head out to the hall, dodging a boy as he opens the door.
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-Dallon house 8:57am-
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Carol "Brandish" Dallon POV
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Drying my hair with a towel as I step into my room and head to the closet. Stretching back with my arms above my head as I notice Mark staring at my naked form.
"You're doing that on purpose." He say with that damn smirk.
"Maybe." I say coyly. "Take it in while you can, you still need a shower, and we need to talk about yesterday."
He rolls over on the bed to sit at the edge.
"We could have saved time and taken a shower together." He says raising an eyebrow.
"And we both know that if we did that, the hot water would run out before either of us got clean." I shoot back.
"It'd be worth it." He says.
"Stop tempting me. Now go." I say.
"Fine, fine. I need to go shopping for groceries today anyway." He says and stands up. Clasping both hands behind his back and stretching back.
Wincing and holding back the gag at the very audible pops and cracks. I glare at him and throw my towel in his face.
"You did that on purpose." I accuse.
"Maybe." He says coyly and heads out of the room.
'God I love that man so much.' I think to myself as I pull a set of clothes out of the closet and get dressed.
It's not that I don't want to fool around. Lord knows it's been a while. But there really is quite a bit that needs discussing. And as much as I love the man, his medicine makes it, difficult, for him in bed. And the medicine he takes for that turns him into the living embodiment of stamina. Which is great and all, but not the best when you live in a house with two, now three, other people. Makes it damn near impossible to find a moment to ourselves.
And he really does not make it easy to say no to him. Especially when he's been taking his medicine regularly. It reminds me of a younger him. When we first got together. It doesn't help that he hasn't really aged at all! If you take a picture of him at twenty, and put it next to him now? He's got a bit more muscle and that's it. Almost twenty years and not a difference.
'Lucky bastard.' I think to myself as I finish getting dressed and head to the kitchen.
Off his meds? He's self-absorbed, inattentive, forgetful, and I hate to say more because I know that none of it is his fault.
On his meds he's the ideal husband, for me at least. Attentive, reliable, caring, and more than a little goofy at times. Not to mention he doesn't mind that I'm the bread winner. Something I know has caused friction between Sarah and Neil.
And it makes me grateful that he's stayed with me this long. And ashamed that I didn't help him with his issues more.
*Ring*
Hearing my phone in the other room, I turn around and go to get from the nightstand. Only to be too late as it stops ringing the moment, I reach it.
I open it and scroll through the call log to see who it was, as I'm attempting to recognize the number, I get a notification that a voice mail was left.
Clicking it I get the standard; you have one unheard message. And listen in.
"Hi, yeah, this is Rebecca, Missy's mom. I don't mind her staying the night, I'll drop her off at four tomorrow."
'That's right, Kitsu is having a sleepover with her friend. Wait, she said it was Vista, so Missy is her actual name. I feel like I've heard it before.' I think to myself.
Mark did say her and Vicky are friends, maybe that's where I heard it and I just forgot?
I go ahead and call her back.
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"Hello? Didn't I just leave a voice mail?" The same voice rings out.
"Yes, but I was hoping to actually talk to you. Make sure there wasn't any miscommunication and all that." I say and sit on the bed.
"What more do you need to know? Missy is staying over at your house with Vicky isn't she?" She says in that plain tone of hers.
'Wait.'
"No, she's staying over with Kitsu." I correct.
"Who the hell is Kitsu? This is Carol Dallon, Brandish, right? You said it was a sleepover with your daughter." She asks.
"Yes, and Kitsu is my foster daughter." I clarify.
She's silent for a bit.
"Hello?"
"Yeah, was just googling it. Kitsu? So, you're-" She says dubiously.
"Yes, I am fostering a Case 53. That's not a problem, is it?" I ask with an edge to my voice.
"She doesn't like, eat people or anything weird does she." She asks incredulously.
I have to set the phone down on the bed for second and calm myself down. Picking it back up I resume the conversation.
"No, she does not, in fact, eat people. She has auditory and light sensitivity issues, but that's about it." I say, barely holding in my annoyance.
"You don't have to talk to me like I'm an idiot." She snaps.
'I talk to people the way they act.' I think bitterly.
"I'm sorry, I just woke up and my brain shut off for a second. Back on topic, does Missy have any allergies I should know about? And phobias I need to be aware of?"
"No?" She says in a slightly confused tone, almost like she doesn't actually know.
"Okay, just, wanted to make sure." I say.
*Click*
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She hung up.
"Missy better not be anything like that." I mutter to myself.
Getting up I make my way back to the kitchen to wait for Mark.
Going through the cabinets and fridge I notice we're low on more than a few things like Mark said.
As I'm doing that, I hear Mark walk in. Turning to him I sit down at the table and he follows suit.
"Should I get the wine?" He asks.
"No, there's a bit to do today and day drinking is never a good thing." I say seriously.
He nods his head in agreement.
"Alright, so, what did you learn from Vicky?"
Taking a breath and feeling my heart drop at the topic that's about to spoken I get it out and over with.
"Kitsu, is a Slaughterhouse Survivor." I say seriously.
He doesn't show any reaction at first. Then gets up, puts his hands in his hair, paces to the fridge. Takes a deep breath in, and after a second lets out a shaky breath with a nervous chuckle.
Still staring at the fridge, he swallows a lump in his throat and turns around. Sitting back down with a shell-shocked look, he rests his elbows on the table, hands coming down to cover his mouth and rest his chin on.
"How sure are you?" He says plainly, lacking any real emotion in his voice.
"About three fourths sure. According to Vicky, Kitsu had a panic attack when she, Kitsu and Amy were discussing where Kitsu came from. May ninth, two thousand five."
"The day Leviathan sunk Newfoundland?"
"Yeah, only she showed up in Boston. When Amy pulled up the parahuman wiki, it said she showed up in someplace north of Boston, a few hours after she said she first did."
"Okay? That still doesn't prove anything." He says with a little hope.
"Mark, that's when she had the panic attack. When Amy mentioned it was impossible for her to be in Boston because it was under Quarantine for the Nine." I explain.
He goes silent again, outwardly shutting down at the information.
I don't blame him.
"That, that would, what are we going to do?" He asks.
"Honestly? There's nothing we can do. We have to wait for her to want to do something about it." I say sadly. "Amy is putting me in contact with a child psychologist to get advice, but other than that?" I give a hopeless shrug.
"Therapy? We could let her know she's safe and loved here at least. Talk to her." He says, putting his hands out in suggestion.
"Mark, you and I both know well enough. You can't force someone into therapy, that only makes the issue worse. They have to want to get over their issues." I say seriously.
"I know but, the Nine?" He says and turns to me. "Carol, the shit we've seen and been through is, it." He struggles to continue, a look of panic and worry on his face. "The Nine make it look like child's play!"
"I KNOW!" I shout in frustration. "I know, but, there isn't anything we can do."
I don't need to imagine the things she'd seen or been through.
We sit in silence for a few moments before Mark goes again.
"Fuck, what if that was her trigger?" He says in a small voice.
"What do you mean? She's a Case 53. They don't trigger, they just appear." I say confused.
"They have to come from somewhere. And one of the leading theories is that of a trigger event so bad it leads to repressed memories." He says.
It, would make some sense. But still.
"Look, I need to call the psychologist, you need to call the psychiatrist. We can talk more after that okay?" I suggest.
He nods, gets up, and heads back to our room to get his phone.
Pulling out my own I dial the number Amy sent me.
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"Hello?" Says the voice of an older, Indian man.
"Hello? Dr. Ahmad? This is Carol Dallon. Is now a good time?" I ask.
"Ah! Young Amy told me you would call. I have a few minutes to spare, but I must apologize as that's it." He says.
'Better than nothing.'
"I'll make it quick then. Kitsu, you are aware of what's going on with her?"
"Young Amy has eh, informed me as best she can." He says calmly.
"Is there anything you can give me?"
"Honestly? Not much, trust in others is the most important thing when it comes to overcoming trauma from one's past. And from what young Amy has said, Kitsu does not want to acknowledge her trauma. And forcing her to do so could destroy any trust she has in you."
Back to square one then.
"What I can say is this. Make sure she has a safe space, and that she trusts those around her. Hopefully she'll open up with time." He finishes. "Allow her an area she can retreat to, one where she will always associate with safety and relaxation."
"So, stay out of her room?" I ask.
"No. If she trusts you then it is fine. But if she is trying to get away from something, don't bring it in there." He corrects. "That is all the time I can spare unfortunately; I wish you a good day."
"Thank you for your time."
*Click*
Putting the phone on the table, I think about what I could possibly do going forward.
There really is nothing. And if I keep treating her like a porcelain doll she's bound to catch on eventually.
While I'm thinking, Mark comes back in.
"I gotta head to the pharmacy this afternoon. I was wondering if it was okay to take Kitsu with me, spend some time with her and all that. I'll do the grocery shopping right after." He says, leaning against the archway to the hall.
"Yeah, alright that sounds good. Just, try not to treat her differently, okay? Also go ahead and pick up some snack stuff as well as extra blankets and pillows. I talked with Vista's mother, she'll be over at four tomorrow." I say. More tired now than when I went to bed.
"Sounds good, do you want me there to help supervise or?" He asks.
I give him a wry smile and lean forward, resting my head in my hand.
"Mark, it's a sleepover between two, twelve year old little girls. You can, but you'd best expect to have your hair braided and nails painted by the end if you do." I say sweetly.
"My hair is a bit too short to braid." He counters.
"And Kitsu can manipulate biology to a degree that she pull people out of comas and change the color of flowers." I shoot right back.
He stares at me as he considers my point.
"Staying in my room! Got it." He says dramatically.
Looking at my phone, checking the time.
10:34 am
Still so early? The girls don't even get out for another two hours or so.
"Real quick, who the hell are the Delgatto's?" I ask.
He just shrugs. Not knowing either.
"Speaking of, maybe you could give her a pass on that?" He says gingerly.
I level my best 'Are you stupid?' look at him.
"Not like that! I agree that she still needs to apologize. Just, maybe wait until after her sleepover?" He corrects.
I think on that a bit.
"Yeah okay, come Sunday afternoon I'll take her over."
'It'll give me time to figure out who they are, at least.'
"Hmm, I expected the talk with you, Vista's mother, and the psychologist to take longer." I say absentmindedly.
"Well, what do you want to do?" He asks curiously.
I stare at him for a bit.
'It has been a while.'
"Think you can keep it to under an hour?" I ask coyly.
He looks at me confused.
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-12:12pm-
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Kitsu POV
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I was going to confront Amy and Vicky at lunch, but Dennis was there. So, I headed home again. I sent a text as soon as I was out of the school. The moment they leave the school they'll get it.
We live in the same house, they can't avoid me forever.
Right now I'm walking up to the Delgatto's house. Might as well get this over with. Besides, I have a plan.
Making my tail invisible and my eyes normal, I ring the doorbell.
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"Who is it?!" A woman's voice shouts.
"The one who broke your window!" I shout back.
After a few seconds, hearing the soft sound of feet on carpet. A blonde woman in her thirties, maybe twenties, opens the door.
Is it racist that I expected them to be Italian?
"What?" She asks with a glare.
Looking up at her I activate my love me power.
"I, was the one that broke into your house, when you were on vacation." I say in a small voice. Holding my hands in front of me and looking away at the floor of the porch.
She takes a deep breath, breathes out, and then speaks.
"Why?" She asks in a mix of agitation and concern.
"I, didn't have anywhere to sleep." I say quietly.
She doesn't say anything for a second, when I look up at her, all I see is a look of pity.
"Do you, have someone looking after you now?" She asks tentatively.
I nod my head.
"Are they, look, it was a while ago. And the window is already fixed and paid for by the insurance. Just, don't do it again okay?" She says in a tired yet concerned voice.
"You're not mad?" I ask looking up.
"Oh I'm pissed." She says. "But I'm not about to take my anger out on a little girl who broke into our house because she was homeless."
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." I lie.
I'm not sorry, I don't care about these people. Hell, the only reason I remember their name is because it was on their welcome mat. And the only reason I'm here now is so that Carol doesn't drag me over here later. I'm not so confident I could pull this cutesy, 'I'm sowry' act and get away with it if she were watching.
"It's, can you give me their number?" She asks.
I don't see why not; you can literally google Carols number. She has two phones, one for work, one for personal use. So I give her Carols work number.
"Alright, wait. Shouldn't you be in school?" She says.
I shake my head.
"I go to Arcadia!" I say cheerfully.
"Aren't you a little young to go to high school?" She asks.
"I'm super smart!"
"Uh huh." I says in disbelief.
"Okay fine, I'mma cape as well."
She smiles and raises a brow.
"Really? What's your power?" She says jovially.
I dispel the illusion on my eyes and tail. And take off my hat. Watching in amusement as her eyes widen.
"I gotta get home now, kay?" I say and start walking off.
After I get back to the house, I cut off my master power.
Walking up I can hear the shower running. Stepping inside I'm hit with an unfamiliar smell that I can't quiet place.
I hear footsteps as Carol walks through the hall and leans on the archway.
"Kitsu? You're home early. Avoiding Dennis again?"
"Yeah." I say slowly.
I'm confused because I smell Mark on her more than I smell her.
"You okay?" She asks.
"Yeah, just." I walk closer to her and sniff.
No that's definitely Mark. She's there as well, as well as her soap.
"You smell like Mark. More than usual." I say.
Looking up I see her face heat up.
'Oh.' I realize and feel my face heat up.
We stand there awkwardly.
"Uh, congratulations?" I say with an awkward smile. Looking up at her beet red face.
Normally I'd tease the living fuck out of whoever. But I really don't need the image of what is essentially my foster parents going at it in my head.
"You will say nothing going forward. Got it?" She says seriously.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, it just shows you two have a healthy relationship." I sputter out awkwardly.
"Kitsu, stop."
"Stopping."
I slip past her and dart to my room.
"Oh! And I apologized to the Delgatto's!" I say before closing my door.
Making my way to my bed and flopping down. Intent on blocking out the newly obtained info as best I can. I pull up YouTube to distract myself.
"Great, now I have worry about the resident sex detector. I'm losing privacy by the day." I hear Carol say softly as she passes my door.
Okay, I giggle at sex detector. Mainly because it's unfortunately true.
After a few videos of Red VS. Blue, I hear a knock on my door.
Going over and opening it to see Mark, holding back the blush at the subtle smell under his cologne. And the grimace at the cologne itself.
"Hey kiddo, I gotta do some running. Wanna come with?" He asks.
"Why would you need my help to run?" I ask with a tilt of my head. "Do you have bad knees or something?"
He rolls his eyes with a laugh.
"Errands, Kitsu, running errands. I gotta pick up my meds from the pharmacy and head to the grocery store. And pick up some things for your sleepover with Vista tomorrow." He clarifies.
I forgot all about that!
"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" I say and grab his arm, pulling him to the door.
"Woah! I still need to get my socks and shoes!" He says, having not moved.
I turn around and push against him.
"Then hurry up! Mmragh! Move!"
He turns and moves to his room, me pushing him the whole time.
"Okay, okay. I'm going."
Going through the door to his and Carols room, I see Carol on their bed. Reading a book.
He goes to close the door, but I stop him.
'Ignore the smell. At least the sheets smell changed.'
"Hey Carol?" I say cheerfully.
"Hmm? What?" She says, not looking up from her book.
"You remember when you gave me energy?" I ask sweetly.
"You mean when I lobbed a spear at you? Yes." She says flatly, flipping a page.
"Can you?" I trail off, trying to hold in my excitement.
She looks up from her book, stares for second before standing up, laying the book on her bed and forming a bright spear. It's bright enough that I have to close my eyes as she tosses it at me.
Feeling it get absorbed into me I can't help squeal a little and tremble in delight at the feeling.
It's like eating your favorite food on an empty stomach! It's just so good!
"Mmmn! Thank you!" I say happily.
She doesn't say anything, rather just lays back down and continues her book.
"Alright kiddo, let's go." Mark says.
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-Medhal Pharmaceuticals General Dispensary, 1:13pm-
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Kitsu POV
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This is boring!
We're currently waiting in line, behind three other people.
"I'm bored!"
"Hi bored, I'm dad." Mark says automatically.
That gives me pause. As I'm filled with an odd mix of elation and anxiety and I grab hold of his hand for the comfort it brings.
"Hmm? Is, everything okay?" He asks, looking down at me.
"Yeah, just getting tired." I lie.
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-Whole Foods Market, Downtown, 2pm-
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Kitsu POV
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Hopping out of the car, leaving my backpack in there. I still need it to sit in the car without squishing my tail. I rush over and open Marks door.
"C'mon! Hurry up old man!" I say, pulling his arm to rush him.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Calm down, not everyone has super speed." He says with a slight groan.
I cross my arms and pout at him.
"Mark Dallon! How many years have you been married? You should know, never tell a lady to calm down." I say haughtily.
He puts a hand flat above his eyes, looking around the parking lot.
"What lady? I don't see one." He says.
"AH! I am offended good sir! I do so hope you have a plan in mind for recompense to sooth my soured mood." I huff and turn from him, crossing my arms.
I feel his hands grab my sides, and he picks me up, lifting me over his head and sets me on his shoulders.
I adjust my skirt so that I'm not flashing anyone and so my panties aren't pressed to his neck.
"How does a personal ride for the little lady sound?" He says in a dignified tone.
"Tis a start, now march peasant! You shall further earn your pardon with offerings of skittles and various other sugary tithing's." I say.
"Are you in drama?" He asks, moving to take a cart and head inside.
"No."
"You should be."
"Absolutely not! They're nothing but attention hogs and drama queens." I protest.
Grabbing the cart and heading inside he continues.
"And that's totally not you right?" He says.
"Of course not! I'm not a drama queen! I'm simply a queen. My majesty cannot be delegated to simply one realm." I say.
Making our way in, grateful for my hat as the air unit above blasts us as we enter.
"Do you drink coffee?" he asks as we make our way to the aisle.
"It's alright. I prefer cappuccinos or lattes." I answer with a shrug. "Why?"
"Just curious. I thought you'd preferred juice." He says. Grabbing the basic coffee grounds.
"I do." I say.
"You just said you prefer-"
"That was in regards to caffeine! Not drinks in general." I cut him off.
"Okay then." He says.
I rest my arms and chin on his head, close my eyes and just listen to songs playing over the store radio. Relaxing at the whole of everything.
After a bit Mark taps my thigh.
"What?" I ask, not opening my eyes.
"I can't see." His slightly muffled voice says.
Opening my eyes I see we're in the canned goods aisle, and my tail had wrapped around his head.
"Sorry, it does that." I say and force my tail back down.
"Pfft, I've noticed. Were you falling asleep?" He asks.
"Little bit, yeah." I say honestly and snuggle the side of my face into his head.
"Don't clock out yet, I don't need you falling off and hurting yourself. Maybe you should walk?." He suggests.
I consider it and realize he's right. So I move my legs around his shoulder as he takes the hint and crouches down to let me slide off his back. I drop down not a foot of the floor and we continue.
Walking through he grabs basic essentials, carrots, soup, pasta sauce ect.
Finishing here we make it the meat section, and I cover my nose at the smells. Not at the meat smell, the seafood.
"It smells worse than the docks." I whine.
"Don't worry, we just have to grab a few things. Then we'll be out of here." He says placatingly.
He grabs a pack of chicken breast, and a roll of ground beef and we head out as fast as we can. Which meant I zipped over to the cheese section and waited for him.
I'm waiting there when I hear small footsteps behind me. Turning around I see a small child in a pink shirt, maybe three or four, reaching for my tail.
Moving it away from them with a glare, they start crying.
I see their mother come over and grab the kid. Giving me the stink eye.
I ignore her soothing the child as Mark reaches me.
He looks to the crying child and mother.
"Is everything alright?" He asks.
Before I can say anything the woman goes before me.
"Just a little freak who scared my kid." She says spitefully.
He looks to me with and raises a brow questioningly.
"He tried grabbing my tail." I say plainly.
"Then-" Mark starts.
"She just wanted to pet it." She says back.
'You do NOT get to cut off Mark. That's reserved for me and Carol!'
"I don't care. Would you let some random kid grab your butt?" I say.
"I think-" Mark tries again.
"That's diff-" The bitch cuts him off.
I ignore her and enhance my thinking speed to come up with a way to shut her down and end this.
After about five minutes my time, maybe a couple seconds real time, I go.
"You realize you're arguing with a random child on why you should let your child touch them without their consent right? Feel proud of yourself?" I say, cutting her off.
Her face gets apoplectic before she picks up her kid and walks off.
"So, Was I even needed here?" Mark asks.
I hug his side and nuzzle him.
"You were a good emotional support human."
"That's all I am to you women, emotional support and manual labor." He says jokingly.
"Yep!"
Moving forward to the frozen section saw us play a game of me dumping packs of frozen pizza into the cart, and him putting them back. We did this wordlessly for about ten minutes and it ended with a silent agreement of ten pizzas. After a bit more shopping of frozen foods we finish here and move on.
We then moved on to various other aisles, chips, cereal, dairy, ect. And I got my skittles at the end, as well as a pack of suckers and gum I managed to sneak in when he wasn't looking.
Got a weird look from an old man staring at my tail. I actually giggled at his remark. 'I'll never understand this new age fashion.'
We're currently walking back to the car.
"So, Kitsu."
"Hmm? Yeah?"
"What do you want to do when you get older?"
The question catches me off guard . And I need to think for a bit about it.
"I never really considered it." I honestly.
I was just surviving until recently, and even then I figured I'd worry about the future after I'd survived or prevented Gold Morning.
"Maybe a model? Or actor? Maybe a singer." I say.
"Model? Maybe, I can see it with your ability to change your looks and your natural cuteness." He says.
'Damn straight!'
"As for actor or singer?" He gives a small laugh.
"What?" I pout.
We reach the car and, after fishing the keys out of his pocket, he pops the trunk.
"Kitsu I can't see you being an actor." He says and starts moving bags to the trunk.
"And just why not?" I ask in a huff.
"You realize you have to behave how someone else tells you to right?" He says.
"And?"
He stops and gives me that smug look of his.
"Kitsu, I don't see you acting in any way you don't want to, even if you were being paid to."
…
"I can still sing!" I protest. Not wanting to admit he's probably right.
I begin to help him, handing him bags from the cart.
"Can you?" He asks.
"I can, you just never heard me sing." I say.
I really can sing rather well. I just never get the chance.
"Maybe you can show me on the way to the mall?"
"Sure!"
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Mark "Flashbang" Dallon POV
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Sitting in the car, listening to Kitsu sing. I realize she could become a professional singer.
Getting to a stop light I pull out my phone and text Carol.
(I'm about to call, I'm putting you on speaker. Don't say anything, just listen.)-M
…
(Why?)-C
(Trust me.)-M
(Okay.)-C
Calling her and setting the phone to speaker, she listens in as Kitsu sings Country Roads. She's missing every other word, but still.
Driving forward again at the green light I look to her in the rearview.
"Know any other songs kiddo?"
"A few, though none of them by heart. So, who's listening in?" She responds cheerfully.
'Oops.'
"How could you tell?" I ask.
"The background static." She says simply.
"Me, Vicky and Amy." Carol says from the phone.
"Amy's there? Did she finally take a break from the hospital!?" Kitsu asks excitedly.
It is rather odd for Amy to be home at this hour.
"Kinda, we're discussing a few things in regards to recent events."
"Ah." I say in understanding.
"It's not about me is it?" Kitsu asks accusingly.
'Shit.' I think to myself and keep my face from showing any reaction.
"Not everything is about you." Amy's voice rings out.
"That's not a no." Kitsu says with a glare.
"Kitsu, what are you going to do if it is?" Carol says.
That gives Kitsu pause as she blinks a few times.
"I'unno. I just don't like the idea of you all keeping something from me when it's about me." She shrugs.
"I talk to you about it when you get home." Carol says and hangs up.
There's a pregnant pause before Kitsu says something.
"You know what's going on don't you." She says, though it's phrased as a statement. Not a question.
"I'm, not the best person to explain it." I say honestly as we pull into the malls parking lot.
She pouts and mumbles something under her breath.
'I really hope you know what you're doing Carol.' I sigh mentally.
How do you sigh mentally? Is it just a sound we associate with the word? In that case does it make 'sigh' one of those words that is just said differently to how it's spelled? Like bologna?
"What are you thinking about?" Kitsu asks as I park the car.
"You know what sighing is right? Why do we spell it completely different to how it sounds? And why do we spell other words differently to how they sound?" I say, venting my thoughts.
She just gives me a look that's a cross between wanting to laugh, and utter confusion.
"Guys are weird." She says and unbuckles.
"Why do you girls say that every time you ask what I'm thinking?" I say to myself.
I pull out my phone and shoot another text to Carol.
(Two things. One, what all do I need to get? Two, am I weird?)-M
…
(Two spare sets of blankets and pillows, we need AA batteries, a few packs of light bulbs for the house, trash bags, paper towels, and I think that's it.)-C
Okay that's too much.
(And yes, you are.)-C
I roll my eyes at that.
"Hey!" Kitsu yells.
"I'm coming!"
Looking back to my phone as we walk, I get another text.
(Thanks to Amy and Vicky, we're going to have to talk to Kitsu.)-C
'Great, that's going to end well.'
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-Dallon house, 4pm-
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Kitsu POV
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Pulling into the house I hop out of the car and rush to the back. Mark gets out and walks around to were I am.
"Unleash the hatch!" I say, pointing to the trunk with a stern look.
He raises an eyebrow and unceremoniously holds up the key fob. Pressing the button, the trunk unlatches and pops open.
I use my speed and grab the bags, two at a time, and rush them into the kitchen. Placing them on the table, enjoying the look of surprise on Carols face as I set the bags down. Her look of surprise fades after the tenth bag.
After all the bags are on the table I run back to Mark.
He just stands there and looks between me and the now empty trunk.
"Huh, remind me take you with every time I need to get groceries." He says.
"Sure!" I say excitedly.
He closes the trunk and looks back to me. I just stand here, rocking on my heels.
"What?"
I shrug.
He looks to the side and hums in thought for second.
"Did you forget your backpack in the car?" he asks.
Running to the back door of the car and hopping up to peer in, I see that I did in fact leave my book bag in the car.
I look to him and nod sheepishly in embarrassment. He chuckles, rolls his eyes and holds up the key fob to unlock the car.
Hearing the click I open the door and grab my bag. Rushing it to my room and throwing it on my bed, I run back to him. He closes the car door and turns to me.
"What now?"
I take off my hat and nudge the top of my head towards him with an expectant look.
"Of course, how could I forget?" he says with a chuckle.
Reaching his hand down, I melt against him as he scratches the top of my head. Scratching the nook of my ears I squeal in bliss at the feeling. Carol does it better, he has rough nails that occasionally nick my ears the wrong way. Whereas she has smooth and even ones. Even still though.
We stay like this for a bit before he starts walking. I keep in step with him until we reach the door when he stops. And steps through before me.
"Alright sweetie, anymore and my hand will start cramping." He says. "Besides, we still have to put everything up. Unless you did that too."
"Aww." I whine, missing the feeling.
It really does feel that good. Like a hug mixed with a massage and a warm bath on my head. You just want to relax and sink into it before stretching out and letting everything pop.
Putting my hat back on, we making our way to the kitchen with me following behind Mark. I see Carol had already set out to putting some of the stuff away.
"Kitsu, take the blankets and pillows and put them in the hall closet." Carol says. "After we're done I need to talk to you."
'Finally! Maybe I'll get some answers!'
Ten minutes later after the table is cleared, using my enhanced speed to help Mark and Carol put everything away.
"Alright, sit." Carol says.
Taking the seat adjacent to her, she looks to Mark. He walks around and sits next to me.
"Alright, because apparently the people in this house can't hide secrets from you, I'll go ahead and start out with this." She reaches into her pocket and hands me a little card.
(Dr. Druhv Ahmad)
(Child Psychology Specialist)
(***-***-****)
'Why would she have, much less give me, the card to a child psychologist.'
"We know about what happened five years ago." She says, as though reading my thoughts.
Fives years ago? That was-
My heart pounds at the realization, and dread fills my chest with a pain so cold it burns as I'm forced to remember. I want to move, to do something. But the cold sense of fear roots me in place.
'No, no. Don't, please don't.'
"Kitsu!" Carol shouts.
Flinching slightly at the sound, heart still pounding, I look to her.
"It's okay. We're not here to remind you of it." She says.
I want to snark back at how she's doing a shitty job of it. But the lump in my throat is keeping me from responding.
I feel something grab my shoulder, and out of reflex I jump out of the chair. Picking it up and holding it above my head in a silent threat towards whatever tried to grab me.
I can feel my heart pound against my chest, and I relax as I realize it was just Mark. Starring, wide eyed and fearful in surprise.
I start feeling bad as I realize I was a second away from throwing a chair at him.
"Sorry!" I say and drop the chair.
Only to flinch at it breaking, hitting the floor at an odd angle causing its leg to snap off.
"I-I-I'm sorry! I, I didn't mean! It was just-"
"It's okay! We can buy another chair." Mark reassures.
"Kitsu, you don't have to talk about it. We just want you to know we're here if you do want to talk. And if you want, we can put you in therapy." Carol says.
"I, uh. That's"
'Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Carol, Mark, table, fridge, chair.' I think frantically. Going through a mental checklist to ground myself.
"I, I, I." I try and speak but can't get passed a single syllable.
"Kitsu." Carol says and I look to her.
"In, out. Okay? You're safe. Breathe with me. In. Out." She continues.
Taking several shaky breaths. I calm myself enough to move on my own.
Looking awkwardly around, seeing as I broke my seat. Mark gets up slowly and walks towards me.
He kneels a foot in front of and opens his arms.
I slam into him and take in his scent. Trying to distance myself from the memory as much as possible.
"Do you want to go to your room?" He asks softly.
I nod head into his chest and he picks me up. Taking me to the safety and darkness of my room. I start to cry wordlessly
He says something to Carol, but I don't pay attention.
Having reached my room he walks through the doorway.
"Door." I mutter out.
He closes the door behind him. Casting a comfortable darkness over the room. He goes to set me on my bed. But I don't let go of him. I know he won't leave if I just ask him to stay. But I don't trust my voice right now. Besides, he takes the hint and lays down while holding me.
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Mark "Flashbang" Dallon POV
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Having tried, and failed, to lay Kitsu down. I find myself reclined on her bed. With my head against the wall, her narwhal under my back and Kitsu burying herself into me. I just hold her as she silently stains my shirt, giving a sob every now and then.
"Shh. It's okay. I'm right here, we're in your room. You're perfectly safe." I say softly.
"Don't, don't wanna talk." She gets out in a shaky voice.
"And you don't have to." I reassure her. Reaching up to scratch her ears.
Her tail doesn't wag. Telling me it's a hollow comfort.
"Then why?" She asks in a tone that breaks my heart to hear.
"We, we just wanted to let you know we're here for you." I say, rubbing her back comfortingly.
That and according to what Carol texted me at the mall. Amy and Vicky had dug themselves a hole because Kitsu had called them out on their unusual behavior. And Amy had said they'd tell what it was after school was out to buy time to figure out what to say.
But I'm not saying that because implying in any way shape or form that this is her fault is a bad idea.
We stay there for a bit longer. Me holding her as she slowly calms down more and more. After a good few minutes Kitsu starts sniffing.
"What is it? I don't stink do I?" I say lightly.
She chuckles before responding.
"No, well, you do. But that's not it. Carol made pizza." She says.
"Do you want some?" I ask.
I feel her nod her head against me. But doesn't move to get up.
"Do you want me to carry you?"
She shakes her head.
I grab my phone out of my pocket and text Carol.
(She doesn't want leave her room. Can she eat in here? Also I might be spending the night.)-M
…
(Just this once.)-C
After a few seconds Carol comes in with a plate of pizza. Light spilling into the room as she leaves the door open. Kitsu turns her head away from the light.
She reaches us and holds out the plate.
"This is a one time thing. And if you want more you'll have to get up and go get it yourself. Okay?" She says.
Not turning to her, Kitsu nods her head.
Carol sets the plate on the end table and goes to leave. Only to stop as Kitsu grabs the hem of her shirt.
"Stay?" Kitsu asks in a small voice. Ears down and tail pushing against my stomach, hiding much of her from Carols view.
Carol is still for second before she sighs and moves to sit down on the bed.
Kitsu turns over in my lap, sliding off and sitting next to Carol. Leaning over and taking the plate. She munches on the pizza as Carol brings a hand to scratch her ears.
I take this opportunity to sit up.
"for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Carol says.
"S'okay." Kitsu mumbles.
"Like we were saying earlier. You don't have to. But if you ever want to. Me and Mark are here to listen." She finishes.
Kitsu says nothing as she just continues to eat her last piece on the plate.
"Can I go on patrol?" She asks quietly.
Me and Carol share a look.
"Can we ask why?" I ask.
She just shrugs before answering.
"I just need to distract myself. Don't wanna be here right now, wanna be alone."
I look to Carol and shrug. Not knowing how to handle this.
I've been flying by the seat of my pants since the beginning.
"Okay, if you think you're up to it. I want you to call every hour and be back by ten. Alright?" Carol says.
'That's reasonable.'
"Okay."
I get up and grab her plate. Intent on leaving her to get changed. Carol follows me out and closes the door behind her.
She sits at the kitchen and I put the plate in the sink. Going back to the corner of the room and picking up her hat where she dropped it in her panic. I place it on the table and we both sit in silence.
*Click*
…
*click*
Sounds like Kitsu left.
"Mark." Carol says.
"Yeah?" I ask, starring at Kitsus' hat.
"I'm signing back up for therapy." She says wordlessly.
I look to her in astonishment.
'It's been almost twenty years. What am I suppose to say to that?'
Say that's good and imply she needs it?
"I'm not questioning the decision. But why?" I ask.
"Maybe if Kitsu sees me going to therapy, she'll, maybe consider it." She says evasively. "She'll see there's no shame in it."
Carol wouldn't go to therapy if she didn't think she needs it.
"That's not the only reason, is it?" I say.
She stays silent at that.
*Ring*
We both flinch at her phone going off. Pulling it out she turns to me.
"It's Sarah." She says and answers it.
"Now's not a good time. Can it wait?"
I watch as her face scrunches up in confusion. She puts the phone down and looks to me.
"There's a little boy who showed up to her door, he wants to join New Wave." She says uncertainly.
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-Docks, 6:58pm-
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Kitsu POV
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"So where are you now?" Carol says.
"The docks, just past the north end of the ferry."
"Alright, thank you for calling. Stay safe okay?"
"I will, love you bye."
"Bye."
*Click*
I'm sitting here atop a warehouse, just starring out at the water.
After everything that happened I'm, a bit conflicted.
On the one hand I'm LIVID, I know Vicky was the likely culprit who told about my little freak out. She said she wouldn't talk about it and not even a full week later I get a sit down. Then there's everything that happened during said sit down. I tried calming myself, I know I need help. But I can't even think about what happened all those years ago without panicking.
Which leads me to the other hand. I'm a little glad it was brought to light. An encounter with them is inevitable according to canon. And I can't be freezing up and panicking the moment I see them.
I need help. I want help. But I'm not ready to talk about it.
After contemplating a bit longer, I get up and turn west. I need a distraction and I intend to find one.
Jumping off the roof I turn invisible and head towards Empire territory.
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-Timeskip, 7:38-
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Lurking around the less reputable areas of E88 territory. I find what I'm looking for.
A dog fighting ring. It's situated in an apartment complex. Likely the basement from where I'm hearing the sounds of the crowd. If I stay still and focus, I can smell blood, and wet dog. And more than a few drugs.
Hopefully Wolfy is in there.
Beating the shit out of him always makes me feel better.
I normally use my powers sparingly, seeing as I don't generate my own energy for them. But with how Carol topped me twice. I'm brimming!
Dropping down to the back of the apartment. There's a skinhead with a tattoo on his cheek of the number 18. He's obviously guarding the door.
'Be more obvious jackass.'
I'd normally just stab his throat and dump him. But I can't do that anymore. So I grab him and force his pineal gland to overload his body with melatonin. In less than ten seconds he gets a confused look before he slumps down the side of the wall and passes out.
Ruffling through his pockets, I grab his wallet and take seventy five bucks from him. And his keys.
Just to fuck with him.
Putting his wallet back in his pocket, I stop as I notice something off.
The smell of dog is getting stronger.
Moving my ears around I hear multiple footsteps. One set of boots, and multiple softer steps. All coming from the alley on the side of the building.
Jumping up back to the top of the building, I watch as a brown-haired guy walks three dogs down the alley towards apartments back, a rottweiler, a mutt, and a smaller dog. Wait, no it's a girl. Halfway down the alley she reaches into her jacket and pulls out a rottweiler mask.
'Bitch?'
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Bonus
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Missy "Vista" Biron POV
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I'm laying on my bed, scrolling through my phone as I look at Kitsus' PHO account.
It's not creepy! I'm just seeing what she likes! I just don't want to offend her or anything.
So far I'm seeing she likes to dress up. A lot.
I can only assume she's using her illusions, because there is no way someone can have that many outfits and props.
She's wearing a shark hoodie in a few, wielding a blue trident while her hair is white with blue highlights. She's wearing a striped, torn, blue and purple dress and playing a black and purple guitar in others. Again white hair. There's a few of her in that really cute outfit she had on at the mall. And one where her hair is blueish black, she's wearing a red scarf, white beanie, and black dress with a pink hemmed skirt.
There's one of her on her bed, she's cuddling a stuffed green whale and is mostly covered up by her tail. Only one half of her face is visible, the other half being smooshed against the plush. She's innocently looking to the camera with a wide smile. With a caption that read, Meet Mr. Star!
It's so freaking cute!
That may or may not be my new home screen.
Those are just a few. She has names for her outfits too.
One of the top comments on the thread with the punk rock get up is from Vicky's civilian handle. She was complaining about her taking up the bathroom.
There's a lot of her in her hero outfit. Which I learned she calls her Irida outfit for some reason. Pictures of her in San Francisco, LA, Texas, she's been around.
There's a post about her ranting that Hawaiian pizza makes no sense because the only reason it's called Hawaiian is cause that was the brand of pineapple the guy who invented it used. Just imagining her going off on a rant like that has me holding in a laugh.
Other than the fact she likes to play dress-up, and is clearly out of my league, I'm learning nothing I didn't already know!
'Wait, will she want to dress me up?!' I think in embarrassment. 'She'll see my scars! What if she thinks they're ugly! She has flawless skin! Why would she want to settle for me? If the comments on the pictures she's posted are any indication, she can do a lot better. She's a cute bubbly blonde. Who can shapeshift! That puts her at, like, fifteen out of ten!' I think with dread.
"Wait, she can heal! Maybe she'll just fix them?" I say to myself hopefully.
'No! I can't ask her to do that! What if she thinks I'm vain! Or that I only want to be her friend because of her powers!'
"Okay, think. What does she like?" I ask myself, sitting up on the bed.
'Okay, I know she had the hots for Dennis, but that went south. She likes Vergil. That much is clear. Though I get the feeling she likes Static Shock more than Vergil. Pizza? Cosplay?'
…
I slam my face into my pillow and scream in frustration.
'That tells me nothing!'
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A/N to clarify, she isn't scared of the Slaughterhouse Nine.
Jack is someone she wants to kill.
The Siberian scares her, but not to the point of panic.
She feels bad and honestly relates to Bonesaw.
And Crawler? He disgusts her, but that's it.
Who she's traumatized of, is Mannequin, the one who pushed her over the edge.
.
Mr. Midgley is based on my middle school art teacher. Man was one of those teachers who could be looking at the board for the last five minutes, and show no sign of looking behind him. Then you pull out your phone and he'd go. "Put it away 'persons name'." Without even looking!
I remember me and my friends joked that he has eyes Superman would be jealous of.
.
I gave it a fifty/fifty on whether Kitsu would flee the scene. And realized it would depend on how bad it went.
If she was likely to bolt just from the situation being brought up. She would've done it the first time when it was just Amy and Vicky there. After taking everything into account, I couldn't see Kitsu bolting from the situation entirely unless something was happening to escalate the situation further out of control.
.
Also yeah, Carol having gone to therapy herself, and Mark actively seeing a psychiatrist, would both know that forcing someone to face their issues is not a good idea. More often than not, forcing someone to face their trauma when they don't want to, or are not ready to, only makes their trauma WORSE.
Amy already knew that, seeing as she was talking to Dr. Ahmad about the issue.
That and, Mark and Carol are veteran heroes, I can't think of a single reason they wouldn't have dealt with someone having PTSD in their near twenty years of experience.
The only person in the family who is likely to push the issue under the guise of trying to help would be Vicky.
.
QUESTIONS!
For Newb
Akiralator has a couple of questions in regards to Kitsu abilities.
1. Could Kitsu Increase her own heat so that her power recognizes it and reabsorbs it. Making it so
Newb: Her body temp going up is the result of the energy she has leaking. Once it hits 102 f it starts getting reabsorbed and it's a constant thing, if she couldn't absorb heat she'd likely set herself on fire. I see what you're saying. But all that would do is create a cloud of heat around her, when she manually increases her body temp, her ability to absorb heat gets turned off to allow it.
And the field is more like a range, any heat above 102f/39c that enters the range is absorbed so long as it isn't attached to something physical. Like if an actual spear was super heated, she would need to touch it and let the heat transfer through thermodynamics. She couldn't just siphon the heat of anything coming in range like Delsin Rowe.
So basically only energy based things get absorbed in that half inch range. Lasers, fire, photonic energy, ect.
2. Could she gain energy from walking?
Newb: Yes, but it's a matter of diminishing returns. It's one of the reasons she prefers to run instead of flying on her illusions, the force of her feet hitting the ground and the heat she generates from the friction of moving so fast creates an imperfect feedback loop. Like for every 5 points of energy spent running, she gets 1.8 points back in heat, and 2.8 points back in kinetic rebound.
Keep in mind that she uses energy to move at all, and technically doesn't even need to eat.
3. Does her Biokinesis use mass or just generates it?
Newb: It uses mass, it's why she can't just sprout wings or give people extra muscle. It's also why all she really does with it in regards to herself is change her hair and eye color to match her outfits.
And why in an earlier chapter when she healed Squealer she used the mass in her boobs to heal her hand.
She only pulled mass from one boob just to fuck with her though.
4. Does gravity count as kinetic energy for her?
No, she can't absorb gravity. She could throw herself off a building and absorb the impact at the end of the fall. But not gravity itself.
5. How much control does she have over absorbing energy?
Newb: She has almost no control. She can activate her ability to negate knockback to absorb more kinetic energy from a hit, and using energy to actively increase her body temp shuts off her ability to absorb heat. But that's it.