Oh... O'Natural?
Chapter 07 [https://www.rellawings.com/superluminal/chapternum/chaphead_7.jpg]
“Oh no! You have a new attack! But what kind of name is that for an ultimate attack?! It’s like a comic book sound effect! KABACKKKKK!” Leo laughed, flushing a little when Quinn poked her nose through his doorway with a raised eyebrow.
“What are you up to, kiddo?” the newly minted fourteen-year-old Quinn asked. She’d begun blooming in a way that made Leo jealous. The fabulous boobs she was now sporting on her chest made Leo turn bright red whenever he peeked at them, but aside from that moment of awkwardness he experienced when he caught himself, he wasn’t sure what in particular fascinated him about them so much.
“Um—” Leo laughed, jerking his eyes away. “A-actually my favorite hero’s fighting right now somewhere in the world! Way up north, I think!” Leo’s voice stabilized as he soon forgot Quinn’s breasts in his enthusiasm.
“Oh! That Mistral chick! What’s she up to?” Quinn asked, ignoring Leo’s momentary staring at her as she stepped in and seated herself beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Quinn opened her mouth to add something witty, but Leo raised a hand with a grin.
“Just listen! It’s getting good!”
“The fight has begun!” The announcer yelled loudly through the waves. “Garou is standing by while these two long-time rivals face off. Oh! This is the worst thing she’s ever done. This S-plus threat, the Dark Angel, no Black Angel herself from space, is crushing the city with one of her trademark singularities! The waves of energy coming off the thing are tearing surrounding homes to pieces. Everything in its path is being obliterated. When will our Canadian heroine and Garou put an end to this threat!?”
Leo swallowed, his eyes going wide. “A singularity?! That’s—" He lifted his action figures, Black Angel’s higher than Mistral’s. “SINGULARITY! SINGULARITY!”
“Oh! That attack is so powerful!” Leo's voice acted out Mistral’s part in his imaginary fight. “You’re destroying everything! I will stop you though! I’ll freeze you so hard, you evil, horrible villain!” After Leo’s head tilted, he scratched his head as questions about how Mistral might actually accomplish that task filled his head.
The broadcaster shouted, “After a fierce skirmish, Mistral and Garou have cornered Black Angel. Watch the footage! The Black Angel is fleeing from the concerted efforts of these two hard-hitting members of the Society of Sentinels. Wait, where is she going now? Does she intend to set another trap?”
“Um—” After a brief pause, Leo looked to his sister: Quinn the Ever-Wise. “By the way, what’s a singularity?”
Quinn blinked and laughed. “Oh—um… She's singing a loud song, and the city is shaking to pieces! Isn’t that neat?”
Leo looked at Quinn and began hopping up and down. “That’s so cool! I didn’t know she could sing! If it destroys everything, isn’t that, like, really scary though?” The boy thought it over.
“Yeah—it would be really scary.” Quinn puffed her cheeks and grinned proudly. “It’s like a majorly wicked song, and it’s like really deep in tone and sometimes it goes up like wheeeeeeeee!” She shrieked, which caused Leo to clap his hands to his ears with a long suffering expression, but then he started screaming too.
Meanwhile, Laguna, who was downstairs watching television, narrowed her eyes at the sudden racket. Not giving it too much mind, she let it slide this time.
When he grew older, Leo thought back to what Quinn told him and had to wonder if she meant Black Angel had released a single… of villainy!
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As she’d planned for a long time, Laguna took the funds from selling her stake in her father’s business and used them to become the proud owner of her very own small café in San Isidro. This also meant that Laguna was incredibly busy twenty-five hours a day, eight days a week, but she made sure to always cook a healthy meal for her children, no matter what.
Goonie had long ago sworn to herself that so long as it was within her power, no one near her would ever go hungry.
Her Leo would never want for a nourishing meal, even if she didn’t like to serve meat at her table. Those early years where Leo would lose his appetite were a supreme struggle for Goonie, but she understood it wasn’t her or her cooking at fault. It was a side-effect of Leo’s trauma; one that needed time and love to heal, both of which Goonie was happy to give.
If anything, she faced the opposite problem nowadays.
Once in a while, a wheedling Quinn would pair with Leo’s angelic face and Goonie’s health-minded resolve would falter. She’d still serve something good for the heart, but only in a spiritual sense, loosening her restrictions far more for her adopted child than she had for Quinn.
Thus, her children’s combined persistence forced Goonie with great reluctance to learn all the ins and outs of making fried chicken. For a good while, that was pretty much where she drew the line aside from cooking fish, but no matter the meat that she’d rarely serve, she’d never partake.
Quinn stepped up and took care of Leo after school when Goonie opened her café. She prepared snacks for him, and they spent special time together. As with most people, Quinn still wanted a modicum of personal space, so she continued to maintain a slight distance to keep him from getting too clingy as time passed. Regardless, they remained tightly knit siblings.
When Leo one day asked why his auntie was always so busy and occupied so often, Goonie reflected on why he felt so lonely. Was she letting her work get in the way of what was truly important to her? And while Leo had his fair share of troubles otherwise, this question started bothering her.
Leo also started asking questions about clothes and what it meant to be a boy or a girl. When Goonie explained it, Leo’s interest always leaned in a certain direction that was troubling. It meant potential health problems for Leo, so there were some things that would soon need to be explained. Because she was broad-minded and familiar with friends in the community who’d shared Leo’s experiences during their own younger years, Goonie recognized the signs with no need to research the matter beforehand.
But first, Laguna tackled the easier question: what she was doing all the times she was absent from their home and why?
“Leo, you need to understand that what I do is what puts food on our tables. It makes more than the job I had when I adopted you. I know you’re not happy with the situation and I can see that when I come home. When I’m not home, you’re lonely, and you wonder why I’ve left you alone. I have not, even if it seems like that. It’s something that you’ll have to see instead of me just talking about it. I think it’s time for you to see the business I’ve worked hard on creating to support us.”
She smiled warmly as Leo gazed up at her with a puzzled expression. He mumbled the word ‘biz-nuss’.
“O - O’Natural!” Quinn posed dramatically when Leo turned his inquiring gaze on her. She always loved getting the spotlight.
“What?” Leo’s face openly expressed his bewilderment.
“YES! It’s an amazing café called O’ Natural!” Quinn crowed. “Mama made it and runs it now! She does the business stuff, handles the money, hires people and looks after everyone that goes there every day, plans the menus. I… I’ve waited on tables sometimes—it’s really fun!” Her smile broadened into a grin.
“What? A café? With lots of Goonie’s yummy food? Yay!” Leo grinned eagerly, wanting already to see this new magical place Quinn spoke glowingly of.
“It’s ‘Au—Naturel’,” Goonie corrected her daughter, gently emphasizing the spelling.
Quinn replied with a big grin, “Yeah, yeah, I know! It’s some kinda French!” She turned her eyes on Leo to explain more, “It’s the Au! Like awwwww! Au jus! Bonjour! Merci, mama!”
“You’re the one who should have some mercy on me, Quinn. Ahahaha—!” Goonie laughed affectionately, petting her head. Her child was quite the oddball, but her mother more or less got the idea.
“Let’s go and you’ll see.” She took her children’s hands and led them with a merry wink.
“Can I be a waitress again?” Quinn asked with a grin.
Leo thought it over for a beat before jumping up and down. “I still wanna be a cool hero more, but I want to be a waitress too!”
“Dress and all, right? Oh, Mama, if I have to wear a uniform again, can I wear shorts underneath?” Quinn asked.
“I suppose so, but for my sake, don’t start working there full time yet. You shouldn’t try to grow up too fast,” Laguna said. “Enjoy your childhood while you have your youth, but maybe I’ll buy you a uniform in another year or so, if you’re still set on the idea.”
“I need more than just my allowance nowadays, though,” Quinn pouted. “There’s still a million things I want to try!”
Leo interjected, dancing, “ME me me me me me! I want a dress too! I’ve got enough shorts. They’re boring and ugly.” Quinn looked at Leo with a knowing gaze, and Goonie smiled.
“Of course, sweetheart. Yes, you can have a dress.” Goonie squeezed his hand tightly.
Quinn gaped and then laughed, grinning broadly. “I KNEW IT! You’re a girl, Leo!” She beamed at Leo, a child who wore a sparkling, rainbow-filled smile at having heard that. All the dots connected in the minds of the happy family.
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“Welcome to Au Naturel!” Goonie dramatically threw her arms out when they entered the door of her café. She decorated the establishment like a classic fifties’s diner, but instead of being filled with pictures of cars and old advertisements, it was chock full of fineries like tie-dyed curtains and crystalline lamps. There were electronic candles ringing the seating area and on the tables, but the lighting was still kinda low. The chairs and seats were plush and comfy-looking, matching well with the colorful carpeting underneath the tables.
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Several of the patrons wore clothes that matched well with the decor, but there were still plenty of ‘normal’ looking people, too.
Leo danced and squealed, charging into the place, running around.
Goonie laughed and put a hand to her cheek. “Oh my. She’s coming along nicely,“ she commented to Quinn, getting a knowing nod in return. They both knew how energetic Leo could be when he cut loose.
“Take her to a table, please. It’s your job to look after her. You can’t wait yet, so—"
“Where’s my dress?!” Leo called after bounding back.
“Um—" Goonie laughed. “Please sit down and enjoy some food first. Take in the ambience and soon you’ll understand what I do here. I want you to understand my dream. If you want, you can certainly help later, but for now, we’ll give it some time. I’ll let you work here a little when you turn fifteen, at least. Putting you kids to work is a no-go, so don’t think you’ll be doing it too frequently for a while! No one will accuse me of trafficking in child labor.”
Leo tilted his head, looking disappointed. “Trafficking?” He thought about the street lights and wondered what Goonie meant. She clearly didn’t direct traffic for a living.
“C’mon, squirt. This way—”
Quinn took Leo’s hand while Goonie laughed, calling after them, “Have fun, you two, but don’t bother the customers.”
“Goonie!” a man in his fifties who was among those that matched the decor exclaimed as he came over with wide open arms to Goonie with a big grin. In reaction, she greeted this oldish man wearing a bandana on his forehead with a tight hug.
Quinn rolled her eyes as she giggled. “Seems Mama’s still a bit of a hippie here. She loves giving hugs.” Leo looked at Goonie with a pleased grin and looked at Quinn with sparkling eyes.
“HUGS! THEY’RE THE BEST!” Leo exclaimed. The two made their way to a table and sat together on the same side in a corner facing the rest of the restaurant to watch Goonie at work. She was friendly and wonderful, a queen holding court in her domain.
“Leo—” After a while, Quinn resumed talking, “We figured it out earlier—but maybe you’d like to talk about it. So you really wanna be a girl—” Leo looked at Quinn, and the smile that she got in response glowed like the sun itself. The more time passed, the more his cheeks stained pink. His reaction was a clear sign that she and her mother knew Leo better than anyone in the entire world.
He would be her sister soon. Quinn always wanted a brother, but a little sis would be just as welcome.
“It felt really right when you both called me a girl.” Leo said.
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Some days later, they returned to spend time at Au Naturel so Goonie could save on the cost of babysitting more often, although Quinn usually took the brunt of the responsibility of looking after Leo, sometimes a customer would step up and help and all those long-haired babysitters made Leo wonder if it was a new fashion trend that Quinn didn’t seem to be too keen about.
Though the booth they’d long since selected for themselves offered a good vantage point to check out the other patrons, Leo took surreptitious and frequent trips to the bathroom so she could peek into the neighboring booths and at the central tables of Au Naturel.
Rarely bothering anyone, Leo just looked at people’s faces, usually getting warm smiles for her trouble and sometimes her inquisitiveness would earn her an intense hugging session.
Her face would turn so bright red and she’d get so flustered that the patrons of the restaurant would tousle her short hair until the staff came to her rescue.
Eventually, Goonie noticed her activities and looked sternly at Leo, waggling a finger.
“I told you to not bother our customers,” she berated Leo, who sagged.
Quinn laughed from the chair she occupied and waved her hands, “I told Leo to stop checking out the—" Her voice trailed off as, not for the first time, she thoughtfully inspected the medallion around the neck of the elderly man that had been Leo’s latest source of fascination.
The man, known to them as Mr. Davis, had a face that would have been impossible to pick out of a line-up but also had a peculiar air about the way he carried himself.
His sparkling eyes contrasted with his tanned leather skin to give the impression that he was both wise and old as dirt.
“The boy’s no trouble,” the grey-bearded man said. “Neither of them are.” He’d been a regular for some time, but today now that the two had finally approached him, he’d taken the time to distract them by teaching the kids a few things while he sipped his daily tea and enjoyed a cruller.
He seemed to have hooked the young Leo with tidbits about some outdoorsy survival skills or how to pick out interesting plants with medicinal properties. The man was a fount of folk wisdom that people had been using a long time before big pharmaceutical companies appeared and more modern medicine came along.
“Your son’s really attentive.” He nodded his head appreciatively.
Leo’s face fell slightly when the man mis-gendered her, but it wasn’t really official yet, so she couldn’t be too picky about it, so she still smiled warmly so as not to mess this up.
“Well—” Goonie blinked and barked a laugh. “If they aren’t bothering you, I suppose that’s fine.” She bustled away, adding, “You two be good.”
Leo nodded emphatically. She was happy listening to the old guy talking about stuff because he looked like he might have something even cooler still to teach.
Peering up at Mr. Davis’ friendly, but ruddy face, Leo’s eyes again fell on his medallion. It had some kind of mandala pattern and a star emblazoned on it with other strange symbols surrounding them that she couldn’t understand, but found that it was hard to take her eyes away from them.
Having noticed that Leo was also taking an interest in Mr. Davis’ pendant, Quinn made a quick choice and flashed a grin before lazily commenting, “Cool, seal of approval acquired—you can cut the act now, Mr. Davis.”
The man blinked, aghast. “Pardon me?”
Leo’s eyes widened and covered her mouth as she looked at Quinn sideways. Ouchie!
“Ah, I see. A skeptical mind. The greatest tragedy of the modern age,” Davis austerely said. “Kindness and educating the young ones is a duty for us old folks and is the sovereign creed of those who love peace.”
“Educating any kid that’ll listen to mix a thousand and one herbs and spices to fix everything from joint pain to muddied spiritual energies? Nah, still not buying it,” Quinn countered.
“Why not? 'There are more things in heaven and earth, young one, than are dreamt of in your philosophy’.” His lips now crinkled with amusement. “What have I done to earn such cynicism?”
“Ooo, Shakespeare. And before you say it, yeah, yeah, I know. I just had to look into the guy who gets to be called ‘The Bard,’ okay. Still, I don’t believe in things that are too out-there or too good to be true,” Quinn smirked, “Hey—that thing around your neck—that part of any rituals to sacrifice lambs by moonlight with a stone knife?”
“H-hey now!” Davis exclaimed, wincing at the graphic nature of her joke. “No! I wouldn’t hurt anyone or any animal! But, I’ve been known to moonbathe in the—ahem——enough of that subject!” Leo looked blankly at the man who was now struggling to recover and his expressions made Leo grin when she thought she sensed a joke here that she couldn’t understand.
Quinn, however, smirked. “A pervert, then.”
Mr. Davis leapt to his feet, looking around with wild eyes, already regretting having said that Goonie’s kids weren’t any trouble for him. But not willing to go back on his word so soon, he forced himself to sit again and eyed Quinn with a very cautious look. “So, I gather that all this is about some curiosity about my relic?” He lifted the medal from his chest, considering stuffing it into his shirt, but gave a shrug.
“Yes!!!” Leo exclaimed, hungry for more information. She didn’t want to be rude by asking about his curious medal-thing, but she looked at Quinn with starry eyes and when the older sister noticed her little sister’s expression of appreciation, she preened.
“We both noticed that thing right away. It’s not like you’re trying to hide it. What’s it for?” Quinn asked.
With a roll of his eyes, Davis sighed. “If you must know, ahem—it’s a focus for internal energies. A tool for meditation. It’s not anything that kids should play with.”
“Ooh? ‘Internal energies’? We talkin’ bout Tai Chi Masters or Wizards, Harry?” Quinn pressed almost sardonically.
Leo perked up at that question, holding her breath as she waited for the old and now mage-hippie’s answer, leaning forward and even fidgeting, kicking her feet.
“————Energy for spell-casting—” Davis paused and heaved another annoyed sigh and admitted, “But sadly, I lack the power to… I—cannot.”
Leo fell off her chair to the floor and Quinn started laughing and between her gales of giggles she said, “You’re—hehe——hilarious! You’re really just playing pretend!”
The younger sibling pouted and stared up at Davis like he had brutally crushed her dreams. The ex-mage winced and now longingly looked at the café’s exit. “Ahem. It’s been fun, kids. REAL FUN.” He stood and adjusted his collar, and reached to gather his stuff.
Even though the man wasn’t what he seemed to be, Leo couldn’t let him go, looking so distressed. She stood, peering seriously up into the old man’s face, chewing her lip, twiddling her fingers, apologizing, “I—I’m sorry that my sister’s been bullying you.” She looked at Quinn with her patented puppy eyes and Quinn clutched her chest, staggering.
After a moment Quinn looked away, muttering a grudging apology, “S-sorry.”
Everyone in the café had noticed their antics, and many were pointedly looking away or directly at them. A few looked disapprovingly at Quinn, making her face all the redder, but it was only the ones who were sitting close enough to hear whose gazes lingered.
After a moment, Davis set his things down and with a sigh, he pulled the medallion around from his neck and took Leo’s hand. “I’m not giving this to you, kid—but to thank you for your kindness... Would you like to hold this for a moment?” He reached out to mess up Leo’s hair with his other hand, ignoring a now quiet Quinn.
With a tilting of her head, Leo looked seriously up into Davis’ eyes. She reached out and put her hand on the medallion.
The moment her skin met the metal of the medallion, Leo’s eyes widened before soon glazing over.
Davis’ eyes widened a moment after. Looking down into Leo’s empty expression, he could not understand what was happening here.
The moment he yanked the medallion away from Leo’s hand, she started smiling broadly again as though nothing had happened. The corner of Davis’ lips crinkled in befuddlement and he poked the medallion a few times with a finger and grumbled, looking crosswise at Quinn.
“Uhh, what did you just do?” Quinn asked pointedly. “My sister went all blank-like—like she was on some kinda awful trip?” She turned her eyes on Leo. “Leo, are you okay?”
Leo smiled onwards, her eyes shifting to the upper right as she considered the question. “Hmm, I’m fine—but I don’t even remember what it felt like. Can I try again?” she enthusiastically asked.
Davis nodded and pressed the medallion into her hand again and right away, her eyes went blank. He yanked the metal away once more, deciding it wasn’t just a strange coincidence.
Leo grinned onwards, expectantly, still holding her hand out.
“Hmmm—” Davis looked at Quinn again. “How about you touch it too?”
Davis earned a look like she thought he was nuts from Quinn before she shook her head. But then, looking at Leo, she shrugged and put her hand out as well. “Doesn’t look like it hurts people. Just don’t let me turn into an ultra air-head too, okay?”
Quinn laughed as she laid her hand on the pendant, looking at Leo. He tilted his head and shrugged, smiling impishly. Mr. Davis frowned when nothing happened, at least not that he could see. Maybe the kids were still playing with him.
Afterward, Davis gathered his things again and left the café, deciding to never return. The kids must have orchestrated a complex scheme to embarrass him. Goonie’s two mischievous kids were too much for him to handle. What had made his mind up about it was Quinn’s absolute lack of a reaction after Leo’s exaggerated act. Leo clearly had been the straight man and Quinn the ‘funny man’ in their strange prank.
He’d tried his best to teach the next generation a few things he’d learned along the way, but in his eyes, Leo in particular had played a very naughty trick on him.
Anyway, whenever he had second thoughts about Leo’s ‘reaction,’ he decided that kind of reaction was simply impossible for someone with no training. He’d seen gurus touch it with nothing happening.
He thought despite his lifestyle, this was a sign that he was growing old far too soon, so much so that he could no longer understand kids as much as he thought he once did.
Though the kids’ antics had another consequence.
Their Goonie had plenty of harsh words for her children that night. They were to never again bother her customers, no matter how good-natured they were, or else they would have to stay at home and she’d have to pay extra for babysitting, after all. She even reconsidered letting her customers help, since accepting could very well cost her another faithful friend and customer.
“Demanding that my customers prove their wizardry!? There’s a limit to what you can say to people, Quinzel Rosemary Ramses!” Goonie yelled. “Leo, I swear! I’ve had it! What happened to common sense?!”
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