Alexa stood in front of the large, square apartment building. She hadn't stood on these steps since she was five years old. The cheap metal door still hung off its hinges, the wood behind it scuffed and battered with years more careless marks of wear and tear than the last time she had laid eyes on it. Jazz's hand fell on her shoulder.
"Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to do this part." She said gently. Jazz was right, she felt like she was on the brink of a panic attack. But she steadied herself as best as she could and stood up a little straighter.
"It's only a building…" She half whispered back. Before she could tell herself not to, she pushed forward and opened the door. The first floor of the building smelled of mildew, mothballs, and cheap whiskey. There was only one apartment down here, the super-intendent's…not that it mattered. They weren't here to see him.
Alexa slowly walked up the stairs, each one feeling like a cliff she was attempting to scale. Jazz was always behind her, not touching her but her presence felt regardless. With a herculean effort Alexa managed to get herself to the sixth floor landing.
There was the door…it had been painted since the last time she had been there, but the rough wooden surface was just the same, as was the number that hung under the peephole. Alexa could hear the sound of a TV going through the wall, she could almost convince herself that her mother would be waiting for her, hungover from the night before and ready to take out her frustration on her daughter. But she knew better, for one her mother liked game shows, not the daytime soap opera that was leaking through the wall.
Alexa took a deep breath and squeezed Jazz's hand for support before she reached out and hesitantly knocked on the door. The TV went silent and a moment later an older woman with graying hair poked her head around the door.
"Yes…?" She asked quietly.
"Umm…I'm sorry…I really don't know how to ask this…" Alexa responded, shifting her weight uneasily.
"I just…I…uh…" She cleared her throat and tried again. "I used to live here…a long time ago, when I was very small…I was just kind of wondering…I mean it's fine if not…but…um…"
As she stammered and squirmed, the woman's expression went from confusion to comprehending pity. She pulled the door open the rest of the way.
"Do you want to come in, dear?" She asked gently.
"N-not really…but I feel like I have to." She stepped past the front door. Alexa could never describe the feeling that washed over her. It was like a cousin to deja vu, where everything felt familiar but unquestionably off. The orange carpet had been torn up and replaced with white, the furniture was all in a different style, the TV was in the same place, but it had grown and flattened, and of course the floor was not covered in trash as it had been before.
Alexa found herself staring into the kitchen, staring at a set of cabinets under the sink. They had been replaced, she could tell even from this distance, but once upon a time those two little doors had had a latch on them. Alexa turned, almost zombie like, and shuffled down the hall to the smaller of the two bedrooms, thousands of memories flooding her with every step. The little bedroom had been converted into an office with a computer almost a decade out of date huddled in a corner, but it still had a twin sized bed in the other corner, the bedspread decorated with some cartoon characters Alexa didn't recognize.
She was only barely aware of the two behind her, whispering, as she crossed the room to the window. Her hand shook as she rested it against the sill, her eyes looking out at the fire escape and a night years removed from that day.
A shift in the light caused a faint sparkle out of the corner of her eye. She looked down and spotted something that sent yet another flood of memories through her head. There on the lowest pain of the window was a quartet of faded stickers; 3 stars in different primary colors, and a crooked smiley face. She must've only been four years old when Morgan had stuck those to the glass, trying to give her baby sister something to look at through the window aside from the trash strewn alleyway and the side of the next building over.
Tears began to fall…the fact that these things were here at all was nothing short of a miracle, but seeing them here, it almost felt like she could feel her sister's hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to stay strong. She could almost feel the eyes of her big sister, looking up at her from Elysium, that encouraging smile just the same as before her head bobbing lightly.
"Okay…" Alexa said huskily, swiping at her eyes and her damp face. "Okay…I think I got what I needed." She turned to find the old woman and Jazz both staring at her with unmasked concern.
"Are…you sure, dear? You're free to stay for lunch if you really need to." The woman offered gently. Alexa gave her a small, sad shake of the head.
"Thanks for the offer…but we have an appointment to keep."
The MDC in Brooklyn reminded Alexa of her cell in the Gargarean stronghold. Not necessarily the look, the MCD was far brighter and had a significantly higher population, but something about the atmosphere stirred her memory. The smell of concrete, steel, and the general feeling of discontentment brought Alexa back to Washington. Meanwhile, it brought Jazz back to the locker room of her school.
Not that either one saw the cells, their guide, a thickly built man in a blue uniform, led them into a more private area, off the main complex. The little room where they were led to was still a bit utilitarian, but it was a far cry from the prison proper. Alexa was sat in a hard plastic chair, her hands clasped under the metal table to try to control her trembling. A clock on the wall ticked the seconds away terribly slowly. Jazz gently squeezed Alexa's shoulder.
"It's going to be okay." She whispered. Alexa just nodded, afraid if she opened her mouth she may throw up. After what felt like a century the door leading into the prison creaked open and in came a woman. The woman looked haggard, weighed down and stooped into what was likely going to be the start of a hunch. Her skin was papery looking with a sickly tinge, hanging loosely on her skeletal frame. Her hair had fully gone gray and hung from her scalp in an unkempt mess of tangles and curls. Her eyes were the only thing to have remained the same; Cold, angry, and with an underlying madness that put Alexa on edge.
She sat down across the metal table, the guard who brought her quickly moved forward and attached her handcuffs to the table and her leg restraints to the floor. The two stared at each other for a long heartbeat.
"Well?" Tammy Barber growled, glowering at her daughter from across the table.
"I remember you being bigger." Alexa blurted out. It wasn't just a statement on the woman's height, seeing what prison had made of her was starting to dissolve the great and terrible image she had once had for this woman, wrecking it like a sandcastle in a hurricane. Tammy's scowl deepened at the words.
"Cute. I can see you haven't gotten any more intelligent, but at least your skill of being a complete and utter disappointment hasn't dulled." Tammy growled.
"Because this is 100% the place of someone who has their shit together." Alexa countered. She could already feel her anger rising, burning like a fire in her gut.
"Just get on with it. What the hell do you want?" Tammy asked, glaring daggers into her daughter's forehead.
"Closure. I came to get closure." Alexa answered, struggling to keep her voice even.
"Oh, so you want me to get all teary eyed and say how sorry I am? You want me to give you a big hug and promise to be a family again? Well tough shit!" She leaned forward slightly, close enough that Alexa could feel the slight spray of spittle coming from the woman's mouth. "My life went downhill the second I had you! I was too sentimental and kept you despite my better judgment and you were nothing but trouble! You're the reason I started drinking, you and that worthless father of yours! Because of that I lost my job and had to take the job at the shithole grocery store! You caused every last bit of it! The only regret I have is that I got the wrong dau- Urk!"
It happened in a flash, so fast even Alexa barely realized it had happened. The fire in her gut suddenly flared white hot and the next thing she knew, she had Tammy by the throat. She could feel her desperate attempts to throw her off, her bound hands utterly worthless and unable to reach. It'd be so easy to end things…one quick squeeze or a twist of the wrist…she desperately wanted to do it. She wanted to kill this horrible stain on the world. She wanted to send her straight to the Fields of Punishment, but she felt Jazz's hand on her arm and a thought seemingly transmitted through the touch; She's not worth it…Tammy gasped and coughed as Alexa relaxed her grip. The guards looked at one another, Alexa hadn't even noticed them move or the one behind Tammy pulling his taser. Some unspoken agreement passed between the guards and they retreated back to a position at the sides of the room, though the one behind the prisoner still had his taser out and ready.
"You don't have the right to talk about her." Alexa whispered. "Do you understand me?"
Tammy's answer was a cough. Alexa glared down at the woman like a vengeful god, her hand still twitching with the desire to finish the job. She forced herself to retake her seat, but her eyes never left the woman on the other side of the table.
"Dad was right about you." She said coldly. She could practically hear the vertebrae crackle in Tammy's neck as her head snapped up to look at her.
"You-!" Tammy started.
"Shut it!" Alexa barked. The near strangulation must've still been fresh in her mind because Tammy's mouth shut with a snap. "After what you did, I went to live with dad's family. I've only met dad a few times, but he's still been a better parent than you ever were! The reason he left your repulsive ass was because of you. Regardless of what you had, you were never happy about it! You had everything; a good job, a roof over your head, two little girls who loved you, but every single day you'd come home and complain or blame someone else for your problems. When the mechanics rightfully fired you and you ran out of people to blame instead of trying to better yourself you started blaming a literal infant and tried to drag us down to your level." Truth be told Alexa had no idea where these words were coming from. Was Hephaestus speaking through her or was the charm of Mnemosyne conjuring up what few faint impressions she still had of those early days? Regardless of how, she could see by Tammy's expression that she had hit close enough to the mark to make her angry.
"I came here today to get past the pain you caused and because I was dumb enough to think maybe prison might've changed you and maybe there's an actual person in there. You've proven me wrong, but at least now I can cut your miserable, self centered, narcissistic, vile ass out of my life and start mourning the mother you never were!" She turned to Jazz and the guard behind her. "We're done here, let's go!"
The guard nodded and opened the door.
"Alexa! Don't you dare turn your back on me!" Tammy growled as Alexa made her way towards the door. "You ungrateful little brat! I am your mother! Don't you dare abandon me!"
Alexa paused to look back at the woman. There was a miniscule bit of fear buried under all that rage, Alexa could see it. But there was absolutely no shred of regret, in its place there was some sort of smugness, as if Tammy was sure she'd come crawling back to her.
"You're not my mother. You never were. You're just the person who gave birth to me. You're nothing to me anymore. I'm happy to wipe my hands of you." The smugness in Tammy's eyes died a painful death at Alexa's words. Once again Alexa turned her back on Tammy and this time she continued straight out the door without stopping.
The moment they were out of sight, Alexa collapsed into Jazz's arms. Jazz held her tight and gently stroked her head, just as she had done every time she had had a breakdown in the past. This one was a little different, longer and involved a much much bigger Alexa than the last one Jazz had had to help her through, but Jazz was happy to be her rock regardless. It took ten minutes to get Alexa stable enough to move but they eventually loaded her back into the car and got her to the apartment Alexa had rented for herself on the Upper East side. Melody was there when they arrived, sitting on the couch and gently petting Luna, but Sean had taken Eddie out to get pizza. He had promised an entire large pizza with pepperoni and onions for Alexa, and something for the rest of the family.
At the sight of her Melody crossed the room and gave Alexa the biggest hug she could muster, which caused the child of Hephaestus to start breaking down again. The three held each other for a long while, but eventually Alexa wordlessly began to pull away. Jazz helped her back to her bedroom. Alexa flopped down on the mattress without removing anything, not even her shoes.
"We'll be right outside…when you're ready." Jazz said. Alexa responded with a grunt and slowly Jazz shut the door.
"Is she…?" Melody asked quietly.
"Resting." Jazz explained "A lot of emotions today…her birth mother was a real-!"
"Jasmine!" Melody scolded.
"Sorry…I just wanted to knock her teeth out." Jazz sighed and glanced down the hallway. "She'll be alright…she just needs to rest."
She knew she was right, Jazz didn't know a stronger person. All the same sitting here was killing her. If there was one thing a child of Ares hated it was feeling helpless.