Author's Note: Here's a new chapter, I hope you like it, things will get more interesting and dynamic as time goes by, but right now Powder/Jinx is slowly getting used to her new environment. I want to be realistic.
XXX
Arco Narrativo: A new addition to the family
Episodio 1: Mash you wanted a baby girl for christmas right? (III)
Chapter 2: What's your name?
Plot: Powder wakes up in a place he doesn't know, but it's nice. He immediately meets Bruce, talks to him a bit, then Mash arrives too. Powder has many questions and uncertainties, but he takes it easy, feeling safe with the Master and Servant couple.
XXX
POV Narrator
The little girl named Powder slowly opens her eyes.
The little girl's mind isn't fully turned on, but her senses tell her she's in a warm, soft, comfortable place.
'I feel like I'm sleeping on a cloud.' Powder thinks, with a note of laziness and rest, a luxury for anyone living in Zaun.
"Finally, you opened your eyes." Said an androgynous voice that Powder didn't recognize.
Hearing an unfamiliar voice coming from near her, made her wake up completely.
The blue baby sits up on her bottom, holding the blanket tightly in her hands and close to her chest.
Powder moves his gaze left, right, up and down, expecting to see an ugly, dirty place.
Instead, she sees a huge room, extremely clean, with white and purple furniture, a piano, art materials, toys and books for all kinds of children.
'Why am I in the room of a Piltover princess?' thinks the blue-haired girl, confused as to what is happening or where she is.
Powder looking at her hands, she notices that attached to her wrist, precisely in the area of the veins, there is a small diamond-shaped metal device from which a thin plastic tube starts, connected to an IV held near the bed by a metal support.
'What is this thing? What is it pumping inside me?' Powder thinks in fear, feeling a strong anxiety in his stomach.
'And who is she?' Powder thinks, looking at the person next to the bed she is in.
That person is Bruce, and he sits in a luxurious red leather chair with a gold frame fit for a king. And for the umpteenth 10,000th time, Bruce is confused for being a woman.
The Last Master of Chaldea, wears low-heeled lilac-black boots, tight vanilla-colored pants, a white shirt that shows off his stomach, and a light purple street jacket.
Bruce's hairstyle has changed slightly, his hair is held in a very long ponytail, a fringe covers his left eye and two braids fall on the sides of his head.
It's no surprise that Powder thinks Bruce is a woman.
"I'm sure you have many questions and fears. But you have my word that you are safe." Bruce said trying to calm the blue-haired girl.
Powder wasn't completely calmed down, but she decided not to do anything crazy for now.
Bruce gets up from his plush chair and walks towards the piano, on top of it there is a metal tray with a carafe of water, some glass cups and plastic jars.
Taking advantage of the fact that Brucia is showing him her back, Powder touches the metal device on her wrist, wanting to remove it.
"You don't quite believe me, smart move, there are so many blackened souls in the world who have no qualms about taking advantage of a defenseless child." Bruce comments, as he uses the pitcher to fill a glass with water.
"You could hurt yourself if you try to remove that gadget yourself, it's connected to your veins." Bruce said, walking over to Powder's bed and offering her a glass of water.
The blue-haired girl sighs, stops touching the device attached to her wrist and takes the glass offered by Bruce, but does not drink it.
"Paranoia is one of the qualities that I appreciate, I have cultivated it to the point of being prepared for any type of situation, really any type of situation from the most absurd to the most realistic." Bruce said, as he sits on the luxurious armchair.
"But there's a difference between paranoia and idiocy. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have left you to die in the snow or you would have woken up chained to a table in the castle dungeons or with four less limbs." Bruce lists some bad scenarios that could have happened to Powder if she had been found by an evil person.
Bruce's words filled Powder's mind with some Bad Ends, but they made her remember something very important.
"You're one of those two women I met in the forest, you saved my life." Powder said in a hoarse voice, putting a hand on his neck.
'Later I'll have to run the little girl through my gender identity. But for now I'll let her think I'm a woman, she'll feel more comfortable.' Bruce thinks, putting one leg over the other.
"Yes, me and Mash, the two of us took the effort to bring you to my mansion, prepare a room where you can rest, a change of clothes and medical attention." Bruce explains, while moving his hands to indicate the room and everything inside.
Powder is silent for a moment, feeling deeply moved, no person she knows has ever done so much for her.
The little girl with blue hair doesn't understand why all this kindness, after all she is a girl who brings misfortune and misery to everyone.
Powder not wanting to think about her bad luck, she decides to drink the whole glass of water in one gulp.
"This is the best water I've ever had in my life!" Powder exclaims, confident that her lips have never touched water so clear, pure and refreshing.
"My water supply comes from a natural mountain spring, it's hard to transport, but the taste is worth it." Bruce explains why the water tastes so good, as he takes the empty glass from Powder's hands.
The blue-haired girl, more relaxed than before, begins to become curious.
First of all, he wants to see what kind of dress she is wearing. Powder moves the big, thick, comfortable and warm blanket, a run done, discovers that she is wearing a ...
"Animal onesie?" Powder exclaims, raising an eyebrow, having never worn something so childish and… comfortable… and cute.
The blue-haired girl wears a sapphire blue and yellow cat onesie, complete with fake cat ears and tail.
"This onesie belonged to my younger sister, Miyu, who grew up to be a married woman with a career as a defense attorney. I've been keeping her things since she was a small and needy child." Bruce said with a nostalgic tone and a sweet smile.
"This onesie belonged to my younger sister, Miyu, who grew up to be a married woman with a career as a defense attorney. I've been keeping her things since she was a small and needy child." Bruce said with a nostalgic tone and a sweet smile.
"I have a bunch of boxes full of my younger sisters and brothers' old stuff. I think it's better to use these items than to let them gather dust in boxes." Bruce said, showing that there's no problem with Powder wearing Miyu's old onesie.
"If you're sure about that, I'll happily wear it." Powder said with a certain embarrassed blush.
Powder shows signs that he wants to get out of bed, but Bruce shakes his head.
"Better stay in bed a little longer, you just woke up, you've been asleep for seven days, you need to take it easy." Bruce said in a calm, stoic voice.
Powder's eyes widen when he hears that he has been sleeping for a week.
"I've been asleep for seven days!" Powder exclaims, having never slept for so long in her entire life.
"Yes, the result of hypothermia combined with enormous exhaustion." Bruce explains why she slept so much.
"Is it serious?" asks the blue-haired girl, in a worried voice, knowing nothing about medicine.
"You are out of danger at the moment, but as a doctor I strongly advise you to rest and avoid further excursions in the snow without proper clothing." Bruce said, denying that Powder is in any real danger.
"Before we continue our chat, what's your name, little girl?" Bruce asks, wanting to put a name to a face.
The blue-haired girl was silent for a moment, not knowing how to respond. Then, a word appeared in her mind.
"My name is... Jinx." The blue-haired girl replies, not too confident in her words.
"Are you sure, little girl? You look undecided." Bruce comments, easily able to figure out that Jinx is not the blue-haired girl's real name.
Jinx/Powder looks down, not wanting to meet Bruce's gaze.
"Don't feel guilty, child, if you don't want to say your True Name, you don't have to.
I've changed my name several times in my life, too. Half my classmates use code names or aliases." Bruce said, knowing that a good portion of his social circle consists of Servants and Superheroes.
"My name is Powder." The blue-haired girl confesses, revealing her True Name.
"I've heard stranger names. Legally, my name is Bruce Bel Bahamut Belmont, but you can call me BB or 4B. If you don't like any of them, my stage name is Saver." Bruce said, giving his two most used names.
"That's a lot of B's," Powder comments, slightly amused by Bruce's strange, long name, not paying attention that Bruce is a man's name.
But a small part of his brain tells him that only people from Piltover have names like that, in Zaun everyone only has a single name.
"What can I do, the universe loves to play pranks." Bruce said, knowing he has an unusual name.
Powder chuckles for a moment feeling good about this conversation.
"If you feel up to it, Powder, I can do a quick medical check, so we can avoid any nasty surprises in the future." Bruce said, having to work as well as make the little girl comfortable.
Powder's gleeful expression darkened when Bruce mentioned the word medical check.
"If you're afraid of needles and syringes, don't worry, I won't use them." Bruce replies, as he takes a metal box out of a cabinet.
Returning to Powder's bed, Bruce opens the box revealing a stethoscope, a sphygmomanometer, an ophthalmometer, an otoscope and no needles or dangerous-looking instruments.
"Like I said, no needles, no pain, maybe a little cold when I use the stethoscope." Bruce said, showing the blue-haired girl the medical tools he wants to use on her.
"Can you tell me what these tools are for?" asks the blue-haired girl, partly curious and partly cautious.
XXX
After twenty minutes of Powder asking questions about the equipment and Bruce offering answers before proceeding to the cursory medical exam.
Then it was Bruce's turn to ask Powder if he feels any pain or dizziness, how old he is, how much he eats, etc.
"So, Doc, did I pass your medical?" Powder asks, watching as Bruce sets up his instruments.
"I'm always honest with my patients, I don't see anything alarming in you, Powder. A couple of days of bed rest and I'd give you permission to go running and playing." Bruce said in a serious voice, giving the OK to the blue-haired girl's health.
Powder smiles, feeling great relief.
"But I don't like your weight, a girl of your age and height should weigh more, you are below average, I recommend making a change in your diet, maybe add some nutritional supplements.
I also have doubts about your lungs, did you happen to grow up in an area with polluted air?" Bruce said, having heard irregularities in Powder's respiratory system.
Powder's smile drops, sensing that there could be trouble.
"Zaun isn't known for its clean air, many people get lung disease. But I'm so skinny, aren't I just a small girl?" Powder said, looking at her thin arms, having thought that she was so skinny only because she was the smallest of the group.
"What is Zaun?" Bruce asks, unsure whether Powder refers to a district or a city or a town.
'BB, he's joking, right? How can he not know about Zaun? The people of Piltover pretend we don't exist, but they know about us.' Powder thinks with a surprised expression at his doctor's words.
'Wherever I am, I am definitely not in Zaun, there is no place this elegant in all of Zaun. If there was, it would have been robbed as soon as possible.' Powder thinks, starting to ask himself haughty questions.
"Doctor BB, are we in Piltover? If so, why would a person from Piltover want to help a person from Zaun?" Powder asks, believing he is on the surface among the rich people.
Bruce puts his hand under his mind, thinking about the words of the blue-haired girl.
"I've never heard of Piltover and Zaun. You're on the 'island' of Vexos, on Coroana Mountain, on the Bahamut property." Bruce said, deciding to be honest with the little girl.
Though he failed to mention that the "island" is actually a decaying Beast-type Colossal Titan or that Vexos and many other territories belong to the Bahamut Duchy, who are ruled with an iron fist by Bruce.
The Lord of the Castle knows that he is an autocrat and that his methods can make him appear to be a heartless tyrant, so it is best to keep this information away from the blue-haired girl.
"I don't know much about geography, but I haven't heard of any of these places." Powder replies, not knowing the places Bruce mentioned.
For a moment there was silence in this room.
"I assume Piltover is the rich and affluent area, while Zaun is the bad area, high crime rates and a toxic environment both figuratively and literary.
There is probably a strong social discrepancy and discrimination on both sides." Bruce said, putting his detective skills to work.
This statement serves not only to highlight Bruce's intellectual abilities, but also to change the subject of discussion from geography to something else.
"How did you guess?" Powder asks, surprised at how Bruce had figured it all out in an instant, forgetting about the geography.
If the blue-haired girl thought Bruce was a smart doctor, now in her eyes he's even smarter.
"I don't guess, I deduce." Bruce declares, as if it were the most obvious thing in the Multiverse.
"If you are good at using your eyes and ears, you can glean information from the smallest details.
Then, you simply use the information you've gathered and compare it with your own knowledge to get the big picture." Bruce explains simply how his deduction works.
"Are you a clairvoyant? I thought you were a doctor." Powder said in an amused tone, not entirely believing Bruce's explanation.
"Actually, I am many things all rolled into one in more ways than one. At heart I am a seeker of knowledge, a warrior in search of a worthy opponent, and a leader with great ambitions." Bruce said, knowing himself enough to pick out his three main traits.
"I see, you are a person with a lot of free time and a good opinion of yourself. But that doesn't answer my question, if you're not a doctor, what are you?" Powder asks curiously, trying not to sound like a naughty child.
"Guess what? What am I?" Bruce asks with a smile on his lips, wanting to see what will come out of Powder's mouth.
"Rich." Powder replies standing up, not thinking too much.
"Being rich is not a job. Try again." Bruce said, slightly amused by Powder's first attempt.
This time, Powder thinks about his answer and starts looking carefully at Bruce and the room he is in.
'She is beautiful and dresses well, she could be the mistress of a rich man, but she said that this is her home, a mistress receives gifts, but nothing like this.' Powder thinks, removing this option from the list.
Powder continues to watch BB more carefully, noticing her graceful movements, her confident and cultured air. Then, she sees the large amount of books, art supplies and the piano.
"Some kind of high-society artist, someone who knows how to deal with snobs, and with normal people as well." Powder said, this time much more serious and careful with her answer.
Bruce claps his hands in a small round of applause.
"Congratulations, Powder, you've given a partially correct answer. I'm something of an artist and I'm good at dealing with the aristocracy and the plebs.
But if we talk about work environments, people would call me a consultant or a jack of all trades," Bruce said, referring to his work life on Earth.
"I know what it means to be a jack of all trades, but what exactly does a consultant do?" Powder asks, not knowing about this type of work.
"Long story short, I listen to people's problems and offer a solution.
Depending on the client and the nature of the problem, my consultations may be limited to offering my knowledge, impartial advice, acting as a go-between, getting information, finding something or someone." Bruce said, omitting to mention violence, not knowing Powder's level of sensitivity about breaking people's bones and sending them to the hospital or worse.
"A jack-of-all-trades for people with money, you know?" Powder said, more or less understanding what Bruce was talking about.
"I also consult the common people, the desperate and the marginalized. My price depends mainly on the economic possibilities of the client.
The rich spend a chest of gold, while the less fortunate a few coins or a basket of homemade sweets or a favor to be cashed in at a later date." Bruce said, having the door to his office open for everyone from SHIELD to the mother of three with her missing husband.
"I like what I hear." Powder replies in a sincere voice.
At that moment, the door to the room opens, revealing Mash in her old clothes from her time in Chaldea.
Mash wears rectangular-framed glasses, a gray hoodie over a black button-down shirt over a white collared shirt, a red tie with the Chaldea insignia, a black skirt and tights, and brown shoes.
'I haven't seen that outfit in a long time, Mash are you feeling nostalgic today?
Should I wear my old Last Master of Chaldea uniform?' Bruce thinks, pondering the question for a moment.
Part of Bruce's duties as a Master is to observe his Servants, if he notices a change, even if small, he must do something, or else trouble will arise in the future.
Not the "end of the world" kind.
More like, "I dressed up in a nice dress and the Master didn't tell me anything."
Living under the same roof with a dozen Servants is not easy, especially when you are physically and emotionally intimate with five of them.
"Senpai, why didn't you tell me that the little girl finally woke up!?" Mash said, quickly approaching Powder's bed.
"I think I remember you, you were there when I fainted, but you were wearing a strange red dress." Powder said, partially remembering how she was saved by the Master and Servant duo.
"The lilac/pink haired beauty is Mash Kyrielight, she is my assistant/bodyguard. She was the one who picked you up and brought you here." Bruce said, starting the introductions.
"The blue haired girl is either Powder or Jinx, she has yet to decide what she wants to be called. She's been awake for less than 30 minutes, I've been busy checking in on her and talking to her a bit." Bruce said, finishing the introductions.
"I'm glad to see you're okay!" Mash declares happily, hugging Powder.
Unfortunately, Mash hasn't taken into account the height difference between her and the little girl. So, Powder is being smothered in Mash's generous chest.
'It's nice to see that things like this don't just happen to me.' Bruce thinks, watching the scene with some amusement.
"Mash, you're suffocating the little girl who confessed to me that she lived in an area with polluted air, honestly I'm thinking of doing a lung ultrasound on her in the next few days." Bruce said, wanting to "save" the blue-haired girl.
"A thousand apologies." By Chiara Mash, abruptly interrupts the hug with Powder.
The little girl who is "seriously" at risk of fainting again, she took a deep breath.
'It was a new experience and strangely pleasant.' Powder thinks with a certain blush on her face, having no experience with maternal affection.
"A little advice, get used to the experience, until you become a tall enough girl to not be suffocated by every hug from a female with big breasts. Which is sure to happen if you stick around, too many women with maternal impulses who love to give hugs." Bruce comments, giving a small pat of encouragement on Powder's shoulder.
Powder's cheeks turned redder than before, hearing Bruce's warning.
"Senpai, aren't you exaggerating?" Mash asks with red cheeks, crossing her arms under her breasts.
"Minamoto-no-Raikou." Bruce replies as if that name were enough and moves on to finish this discussion.
Mash's face turns completely red reminiscent of certain experiences from Minamoto-no-Raikou.
"You're right, Senpai, there are some overly affectionate women within these walls." Mash said, knowing that for once her Senpai wasn't exaggerating.
"Embarrassment aside, I'm going to get you something to eat from the kitchen. Powder, don't worry, you're in more danger with me than with Mash." Bruce said, giving Powder's head an affectionate nod.
Before leaving the room, Bruce stops next to Mash and... gives him a little kiss on the cheek.
"See you soon, Powder and Mash." Bruce said, exiting the stage.
XXX
For a moment there is silence in the room, Powder remains silent and Mash touches her cheek.
'I'm worse than a middle school girl.' Mash thinks, aware of her purest nature.
'At least Senpai was thoughtful and didn't kiss me in front of Powder, I don't feel comfortable being a loving woman with him in front of the kids.' Mash thinks, only being able to fully enjoy her Senpai's affection when they are alone.
"Are you the Doctor's assistant girl?" Powder asks, starting the conversation with Mash, unable to remain silent forever.
"Yes, I've been by Senpai's side for quite some time, I help him with almost everything." Mash said, she being quite proud of her position.
"She's a good person, something you don't see often." Powder said, having a good impression of Mash and Bruce, something he can rarely find in Zaun.
"Senpai is a complicated person, but he helps a lot of people with his work and actions." Mash said, knowing that her Senpai sometimes does questionable or morally gray things, but often his actions help a lot of people.
"But I'm not here to talk about Senpai, could you tell me a little about yourself?" Mash asks kindly, wanting to get to know Powder better.
"I like... building bombs." The blue-haired girl states with an embarrassed expression, not wanting to be glared at.
Mash blinks once, twice, three times. Then, he looks up at the sky as if he wants to say a thing or two to the universe.
The blue-haired girl seeing this reaction, she curses herself, having had to say something else, like that she likes mechanics or the color blue, not to start with her problem with bombs.
"You'll fit in very well here." Mash said, seeing Powder's interest in bombs as a good sign.
"Are you serious?" asks the blue-haired girl, so far no one but a certain person has reacted well to her explosive little pastime.
"Senpai has three great passions in life, two of them are knowledge and violence. Creating weapons and using them is one of his hobbies, explosives are among his creations." Mash said, ending up talking about one of the morally gray sides of her Senpai, the mad scientist who creates weapons.
Luckily for everyone, Bruce creates weapons, but he doesn't sell them to anyone and he doesn't mass produce them.
"I really want to see what kind of bombs he makes!" Powder exclaims with uncontrollable joy. Until now, Powder has never met anyone who shares her passion for explosives.
"If you are a little girl interested in mechanics and engineering, many people who live here do research and experiments of various kinds.
You'll definitely like Amalia's lab, she's the Cabal's ace when it comes to machinery and stuff." Mash talks about things you can find in Bahamut's Castle.
"How big is this place?" Powder asks, having no idea that he is in a titanic fortress that could house the entire population of Zaun with ease.
"Big enough that I need to consult a map if they go to an area I don't frequent often." Mash replies with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"Besides bombs, is there anything else you like? Fairy tales?" Mash asks, hoping the blue-haired girl isn't completely eccentric.
"I'm too old for bedtime stories." Powder replies quickly, not wanting to be considered the youngest child here either.
"Aren't you like 10?" Mash asks, raising an eyebrow, believing that at 10 years old, fairy tales and good stories are still looked upon favorably.
"I'm 11, I'm a big girl!" Powder exclaims, not knowing that these words prove otherwise.
"I'm 34, but I still like reading Scooby-Doo books." Mash said, trying to be helpful.
"34, impossible!? You barely look older than 17." The blue-haired girl said, being able to consider Mash as an older sister, but she could be her mother.
"Thanks for the compliments, Powder, I can say that I am a born lucky woman." Mash responds with a half-truth.
Her born lucky is a very short way of saying that she survived the experiment that made her a Demi-Servant, stopping her aging in the process.
"What is Scooby-Doo?" asks Powder, unfamiliar with one of the most famous dogs in the world.
"Scooby-Doo is a really popular franchise around here," Mash said, happy that the blue-haired girl isn't just interested in bombs.
In Bahamut's Castle there's already a little girl who tends to blow things up, there's no need for a second little girl who plays mad scientist, even if that will probably happen in the near future.
"The group of characters consists of a talking Great Dane dog named Scooby-Doo and four kids: Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley and Shaggy Rogers.
These five characters make up "Mystery Incorporated", and they travel around the world in a van called the "Mystery Machine" solving mysteries that usually involve stories of ghosts and other supernatural entities.
At the end of each episode it turns out that these forces have a rational explanation and are usually malicious people who try to scare and drive people away in order to commit crimes undisturbed.
Throughout the series, there are more variations on the supernatural theme and new characters are introduced, either in addition to or in place of original characters." Mash explains what Scooby-Doo is all about.
"This seems like a nice book series to me." Powder said, not having the opportunity or means to obtain many books to read.
"You're in luck, Powder, there are some Scooby-Doo books and comics on the shelves." Mash said with a smile, taking the children's book Scooby-Doo: The Ghost's Treasure from a shelf.
As if she were a mother reading a book to her sick female child, Mash lies down on Powder's bed.
"I can't read, I don't know the language." Powder said, unable to understand what is written, at least it is a book with colorful pictures.
"I don't mind reading books to children, I do it quite often, make yourself comfortable." Mash said with a big smile, loving to do such things.
XXX
Half an hour later, Bruce returned to the room, carrying a metal tray filled with food that looked like it came from a five-star restaurant.
"I see you guys are getting along well." Bruce said, enjoying the sight of Mash reading a children's book to Jinx.
"Yeah, we were reading Scooby-Doo." Mash said, placing a bookmark between the pages.
"Do you like Scooby-Doo or do you want more reading material?" asks Bruce, curious about Powder's taste in books.
"I love it, it's one of the funniest things I've ever read in my life." Powder confesses that she has become a fan of the most famous dog in the world.
"You have good taste, Powder. Now it's time to eat, then Mash can read you the rest of the book." Bruce said, placing the tray full of food on Powder's bed.
'I don't know where I am or how I got here, but so far I like it here.' Powder thinks, immediately starting to eat.
But deep inside the little girl's head, a faint voice whispers: 'How long will this happiness last? After all, I'm the little girl who brings bad luck to everyone.'
Continues ...