Arc 7, Healthy Green Glow, Chapter 3
I crept along the backyard, I used to know so well, although I was actually out in the woods by my old haunt. It would be bad to just walk up to the front door dressed like a super hero after all, people would start asking questions. Besides, I want to keep Dad off of the radar in case I get more enemies that want revenge. Less people know the better. I stared at the gnarled tree. Bark split and dry, the hallow cavity seems to have spread since last I looked at it. Worms had eaten away at the exterior, giving it little channels here and there.
There were two ways to look at it. It made interesting and intricate designs, almost like artwork. That was the positive outlook, the negative was a bit different. It was sad, this old tree which had been here and standing strong, long before my father was even born, it was dying. It has been dying for a long time now, clinging desperately to life. Casting off the parts that no longer grew and poured all of its strength into building up more of itself. The problem was that its fate was already sealed. The rot was within the trunk and no matter how it fought once the foundation had been compromised, it was only a matter of time. The corruption would spread without fail.
Here I am, getting emotional over a damned tree. What the fuck is wrong with me? I shook my head and used the built in com system to make a call, it rang a few times before Dad picked up, “Hello?”
“Hey, dad. We still on for dinner?”
“Yeah, drop on by. I am firing up the grill right now,” he replied cheerful.
“Mom isn’t there, is she?” I asked, more to prepare myself for various insults than anything else.
He paused for a moment, “Nope, just you and me.”
“Oh, well I will be right over. I brought some pretty good meat.”
I smiled, walking along, flickering my metal wings. It felt so good, not having to suppress them inside of the suit. It was liberating and made wearing my MKII suit a lot more comfortable than the MKI. They are so beautiful, these wings that look like butterfly wings. Although, my real wings are in the center, which makes it easy to flap them. The jump jet is in the middle where they connect so that is what really generates lift. The wings are more for decoration, than anything else. The benefit to them though, is I get lots of exercise with them now, since I am almost constantly flapping them. The color scheme is a bit mesmerizing, reminds me of a peacock feather. Red with blue and black forming two eye like shapes at the widest parts. They light up and I can control how the colors work in my HUD. They can strobe or glare, even just glow or shut off if I need to be sneaky. It truly is vibrant. Chief and Neon Nurse really out did themselves this time.
I pushed open the back gate to the yard, it creaked a little. Hinges were rusty. The lawn was making a recovery from some neglect that it had received a few months ago. Dad, had sort of give up on it what with me being missing. The bald patches were filled with new growth, but it was easy to tell where the problems had been since they were shaded differently. It looked like it had been real bad at one point. My eyes wandered along the teeter totter that I had not used in years, many years. Actually, I can’t even remember the last time I used it. My antennae squirmed, smelling smoke and I found the source. Dad was over by the porch getting the coals going for the grill.
He was wearing a white Hawaiian shirt with blue and red flowers on it. It was half buttoned so his furry chest puffed out just above the beer belly. He had black hair, much the same as me, back when I had hair. He was sporting some black shorts. It left his hairy legs exposed. He also had those sailor arms, nice and bulky with muscles, but I could tell he had been skimping a bit on working out. They were not as big as I remember. Of course, nothing is. Everything seemed so much bigger when I was younger, so much brighter. Now I have to turn a blind eye just to keep myself from getting depressed.
Don’t think like that.
‘Thanks, Sub.’ I could feel her, patting me on the back.
Dad is a total DILF though.
‘Why would you even go there?’
You know you were thinking it too.
‘I was not!’
Don’t you lie to me. I am your inner thoughts personified.
‘Now who is lying? You know what, just no. In the corner now!’
But I wanted BBQ Ribs… Sub was giving me the puppy dog eyes. Like she literally turned into a puppy and looked all sad, like she was going to cry. Damn it, you know I am weak to that.
‘Alright, but not a word.’
She nodded rather obediently. I don’t know for how long she will be quiet. Well, no use thinking about it. I wiped away my doubts, “Hey Dad,” I smiled.
He turned and looked surprised to see me, “Vesper?”
I nodded, “Pretty cool, eh?”
“You… You look like a fairy.”
I covered my mouth with my hand and chuckled a little, “Well, Dad, I am Mecha Fairy after all.”
He nodded, thinking about something. It seemed that something was bugging him, “What is with the face on that thing? You look like a total dork.”
“You don’t think it is cute?” I pawed the air like a cat.
He shrugged, “Is that what you kids find cute these days?”
“I think it is. Although, I will admit it is kinda weird.”
“Kinda?” he laughed and I started laughing as well.
I lifted up a grocery bag, “I come bearing gifts of meat.”
He smiled, giving me a big hug, “I never thought I would see the day that you bought the steak.”
“Well, I got a job now Dad. So I can bring home the bacon.”
I looked down, held his head and gave the hug back with all four of my arms. Sub was even getting in on it, rubbing his back gently. How surreal. My whole life I spent craning my neck to look at his face, yet now I am taller than him and have to look down. When I wear the suit he barely comes up to my neck with the top of his head. Oh Dad, this is really what I needed. We must have been there like that for a good five or ten minutes, just rocking back and forth, holding one another.
Finally we separated when I let go and rubbed his bald head for good luck. Hehe, this never changes. Always so sparkly and shiny. Weird, he had a lump on the back of his head. Did he hit his head or something? I’ll ask him about it later. Maybe, I will get him a hat to keep his head warm? It is starting to get cold at night again. That sounds like fun, I could probably knit it when I get some free time. It is not like I am in a hurry, October isn’t even over yet.
I sat the steaks down on the table, they were T bones. Unfortunately, the largest I could find was only 20 ounces, but I did get four of them. I sat a small bag of potatoes on the table and beside it a large container of honey BBQ sauce. Dad brought out the large rack of ribs covered in tin foil, it smelled delectable. The key was to marinate it overnight in herbs and sauce. Let it soak into the flesh so that it would ooze out as it got cooked. I licked my lips, staring longingly at it. I wrapped the potatoes in foil and handed them over.
The coals were nice and hot now. I sat, watching as he settled them into the bottom to get cooked and placed the ribs in the side smoker to get going. The ribs would not get done anytime soon. They typically take a good three to four hours to cook after all. The steaks on the other hand would be done in like a half hour. He closed the top and sat next to me.
“So, how you holding up?” he asked, laying his arm over my shoulder.
I leaned into him, “I think I am doing alright. I have some friends.”
“Ah yes, I heard.” He gave me a thumbs up. “So when am I getting grandkids?”
“Dad!”
“What? I heard you fucked Glitter Kitten.”
“Who the hell did you hear that from?”
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“Neon Nurse. She was saying you laid eggs.”
“I don’t lay eggs yet!” I yelled, irately.
“Oh,” he said, real disappointed. “It is going to happen eventually right?”
“Yes, at some point I am sure.”
“Well, that is good. So, about Neon Nurse, you going to egg her?”
“Dad… No, that is just wrong. It is weird ok.”
“I want some grand kids before I am too old to play with them.”
“Whatever hell spawn come out of me, I don’t think are going to be too friendly.”
“Just gotta give them some tough love. Maybe a good belting or two.”
“I don’t think it is going to work like that. Something tells me they are going to be biters.”
He let out a sigh, “Who knows. When is Neon Nurse coming by again?”
“I don’t know. She is pretty busy, after all. My best friend though is Sunshine. She is a Moon Sailor fan too.”
He shook his head, “You and those cartoons. Is she nice?”
“Oh yeah, she is adorable. She is like this tall and happy like all the time,” I smiled, leveling my hand to about four and half feet. Might be over exaggerating a little, but that is what it feels like. “You probably saw her on the news. She is the one that makes illusions and looks like an anime character.”
“Oh, the pink one, right?”
“Yeah, that is her. She is so much fun. We share a room.”
“You know,” he said, grinning a little, “I am real proud of you.”
My thoughts froze for a moment, “Eh, what now?”
“I am proud of you,” he repeated and then added more, “I knew that you could do it, if you tried. You are a full blown hero and everything.”
I rubbed the back of my head, “Dad, I have had a lot of help. I mean, if any of the people that have been supporting me were not there, I never would have become a hero. If Fire Chief had not plucked me off of the street or Neon Nurse fought for my assignment to the Junior team, then I don’t know what would have happened. I don’t think that on my own I would have been someone you could have been proud of. Even now, I am such a fuck up. I don’t have that much faith in myself.”
He put his big hand on my shoulder, “Everyone needs help sometimes, and god knows you needed it.”
“Dad, I killed a man and brutalized another. For fuck sakes, I tore his balls off.”
He grimaced a little, “And what did they do to make you so aggressive?”
“Well, the guy I beat into paste shot Sunshine and the other guy was blowing up city streets, he kinda also wanted to rape me, maybe. I Don’t know, but he had a raging hard on and was chasing me around naked.”
Dad’s face got a little dark. I guess he had not heard about that. Oh, right, he didn’t even know that I was Mecha Fairy. I have a lot of explaining to do. Dad looked like he was going to say something, but then the timer went off for the steaks. He got up and flipped the meat, in silence. It seems that he was really thinking it over. I was starting to fear his reaction a bit. If I had nails, I would be gnawing away at them right about now.
Finally, he broke the sizzling meat filled silence, “I would have killed them both.”
“Wait what?! Dad killing is wrong.”
“Honey, some people deserve to die.”
I sat there, staring at Dad like he was somebody I didn’t know. I had never heard him talk like this. I was flabbergasted as far as I could remember he had frowned upon this sort of thing. I mean, it had never really come up, but still. Although, he never really voiced his opinion about this. The only people I know who talked like this were Medavac and… Molotov.
“Wait, Dad, have you killed somebody before?” I asked.
He scratched his scruffy chin, thinking. Why did he have to think? This should be a rather cut and dry thing. He said, “Maybe.”
“What do you mean maybe? Dad, it is a crime.”
“You do realize where I work, right?”
“Duh, Dad, at the Atomic Strobe.”
“Earlier this year some guy pulled a knife on me and it got stuck in this magazine I had in my pocket,” he said, laying a nudie magazine on the table, there was a fat gash in the middle. Holy molly, that was quite the badonkadonk. I wouldn’t mind giving that a ride. Real shame it was missing the middle. Hold on, it feels like I am getting distracted.
“Wait, wait, wait. Dad why the fuck did you have a Big Booty Bitches magazine in your pocket? And who the fuck is trying to stab you in the ass?”
He got a little defensive, “It was a rough patch ok, just drop it. I don’t get on your case about all that weirdo cartoon stuff you are into.”
“Why weren’t you just banging mom?” Oh god, I just imagined that! Igh, dad and mom getting busy. Where the hell is the brain bleach when you need it?
“Things are complicated right now,” said Dad, a bit despondent, “She is only home once a week. It is better than before though, at the least, she stopped drinking.”
Sounds like I just stepped on a landmine, a huge one, it might be a depth charge. Fuck me sideways, this is going to ruin everything. Way to go Vesper! I just screw everything up. Everything I touch just goes to shit. Why is it so hard to be a people? Maybe I should stop trying and just go off and live on some remote island away from civilization like the bug I am. It is already off the tracks, I might as well deal with it. Dad looks like he needs to talk to somebody about this. When the fuck did I become a therapist?
“Is she throwing things Dad, is she beating you? I know how she is.”
He frowned a little, “No honey, she is not beating me or anything like that.”
“Sure about that? Dad, you can talk to me. I won’t think you are a pussy for getting beat up. She crack you over the head with a bottle? I see the damned lump.”
He repeated, “It is not like that. I hit my head while I was changing the oil on my truck. It is just draining to see somebody that you love withering away.”
“Sure, sure. What do you mean withering away?”
“She is working herself to death, you know. Have you not seen her lately?”
“No, been too busy crying in the corner,” I lowly growled, “Stop defending her, she is fucking evil.”
“Vesper, she is not evil. She is hurt and lashing out.”
“Like I am not? I don’t give a fuck. If she would stop throwing things at me and talk like a civilized person, maybe we could patch things up. But no, the moment she sees me the kitchen table flips and she is chucking knives at me. What, you think I want some dysfunctional, broken family? No, but things can’t go back to how they were.”
“Yes, they can.”
“Eventually, you are going to have to choose between her, or me. You know that right?”
“It doesn’t have to be that way.”
“Dad-” I started, why is it always arguing? God, I was yelling at him that night too. I think, I have had enough of this drama. “Alright, you know what, you win dad. I don’t care anymore. If you can get her, to talk to me like a fucking person, then I will forgive her. Deal?”
“I will see what I can do.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” I said, before changing topics, “So, what was this about getting stabbed in the ass by big booty bitches?”
“I didn’t get stabbed in the ass. Anyway, the magazine is not the damned point. It fucking saved my life, this thing was right over my heart. I might not be here, talking to you right now, if it was not there.”
“Well, shit dad, I didn’t know… What the fuck happened?” I asked, looking him over, concerned. I had to hold myself back from ripping open his shirt to see what was wrong.
“I decked him in the face and then Fold showed up. That was the last I saw of that guy.”
It took a long moment to register that, “Wait, Fold, as in the Scarlet Soul’s Fold?”
He nodded, “That would be him. He is actually a pretty nice guy.”
“Dad! He threw a fucking cement truck at me. He tried to squash me like a bug.”
“He didn’t throw it, he made a portal and used momentum to launch it at you.”
I shook my head in disbelief, wait a minute. “Dad, how did you know that?”
“I seen him do that stuff from time to time. He sets up before hand. Puts one portal on the floor and the other on the roof and shoves something in. It keeps going through the two until he replaces one of the portals. This launches it out at terminal velocity.”
I mumbled, “That is pretty fucking cool actually.”
“See?”
“Wait, that is not the point. He tried to kill me!”
“Alright, I will give him a stern talking to,” said Dad, with a rather confident look on his face, rolling up his sleeves.
I grabbed his hand, “Don’t do that, are you crazy? He would kill you.”
“Well, what do you want me to do?” he asked, rather unsure.
“Nothing, don’t even mention it. I mean fuck. He would use you against me, if he knew that you were my dad.”
“Ok, if that is what you want.”
“Don’t scare me like that. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”
He just smiled and patted my helmet with his hand. I love you Dad, you would fight a Super Villain for me. That is pretty cool in my book. Rather heroic, I would say. Shit, maybe he should be the hero? Seems to be more suited for it than me. All that I do is run around like a chicken with its head cut off. Speaking of chicken, that sounds pretty good right now, shame I didn’t get any.
“Dad.”
“Yeah?” he asked, looking up at me.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He went over to the grill and the savory smoke filled the air. The steaks were done. Wow, we sure were talking for a while. It feels like we had caught up on just about everything I could think of and then some. Except for one thing I suppose.
“Hey, tomorrow we are clearing out the sewers.”
“Oh,” he said, “Be safe there are mutants down there.”
“I know dad. I seen them. Rats as big as dogs.”
“No, no. Like people mutants. Atomic Raiders are down there.”
“Oh, right. I forgot about them,” I said, looking down.
“You will be fine, I believe in you, Vesper.”
“Thanks dad,” I wanted to cry from sheer happiness, but I held it back.
“Let me see your face,” he said.
“You sure?” I asked wearily.
“Honey, I have seen it before. This is weird, talking to you with that helmet on. That cat face has been bugging me this whole damned time.”
I nodded and unhooked it, setting it to the side. Urgh! The light, it burns! Damn, I think I might really be nocturnal. The suit had been filtering it. All four of my eyes squinted, trying to adjust to the change in the light spectrum. I blinked away the glowy spots and focused in on his face. He smiled at me and I felt all three of my hearts seize up. There was no rejection, no revulsion, just love. I had to take a deep breath to calm myself.
“I don’t scare you?” I asked.
He laughed, slapping me on the back, “Of course not. You are my little girl.”
My face scrunched up as I held back the tears. “Dad.”
“It is ok, cry if you need to. I will always be here for you. You don’t have to always act strong, you know.”
It was like the flood gate opened and I buried my face in his chest, “Dad. I am scared. I didn’t think it would be like this. If I did not regenerate I would be dead ten times over by now.”
“It is ok,” he said, just holding me. “I have and always will be proud of you.”
I sat there as Dad pet my head, I leaned into it, wanting more. I didn’t really know what else to do and it felt so good to be loved. I felt so safe in his arms. Yes, yes! Adore me! He ruffled my head tendrils and I nearly purred. Or at the least I think it was a purr. I am not a cat so who knows what the hell that sound was. He didn’t seem to mind at all. Since nobody ever pays attention to them, I had forgotten how sensitive the things were. He coaxed them and scratched them, all the while my leg had started to spaz out delightfully. That is it, ooh oho, right in the feelers. They coiled around his fingers. I really am a simple creature, just want some love.
You know, whispered Sub. Technically, biologically, he isn’t our father. I mean, Neon Nurse ran those tests and we are not human at all.
‘Sub what the fuck are you on about? You trying to say we are adopted? You are literally destroying this moment.’
I am saying, it wouldn’t be wrong to seduce him. I wonder how big his-
I cut her off, ‘You are ruining this family!’
But Daddy loves us.
‘Not like that. I can’t believe I am even having this conversation with you. No, just no.’
You are no fun, you know that? You know what is fun though?
‘No, what?’
Incest, it is fun for the whole family!
I smacked her over the head, ‘Get back in the corner, you filthy degenerate! You are not getting ribs.’
NOoooo! Cried Sub.
‘This Sub, this is why we can’t have nice things.’