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“You’re being completely unreasonable!” Victoria shouted, stomping out of the kitchen, even as her mother followed hot on her heels. She would have flown out of the room, but the dents in the ceiling showed that after only a week with her powers the fifteen-year-old was far from an expert flier. Her mother had forbidden her from even floating in the house, and so she was forced to restrain herself from the awesome joy of shaking off the cruel bonds of Earth’s gravity. “Why are you so stuck in the past? What’s so wrong with me wanting to be my own hero?”
“Because you’ve only been a parahuman for a week, and haven’t even debuted as a hero yet.” Carol caught her daughter at the stairs, and the younger blonde ground her teeth as the lawyer made a decent point. “I’ve been at this longer than you’ve been alive and would appreciate it if you’d just-”
“Let you make Vicky’s decisions for her?” Amy butted in, the fourteen-year-old having gone unnoticed on the couch nearby. She’d been reading quietly, smiling as the evil Roaraxia defeated another hapless hero. But as her mother’s voice got louder, the book had vanished into her hooded sweatshirt’s pocket. “Aren’t you always telling us that compromise is the most-”
“Amy, this doesn’t concern you.” Carol ground out, then turned away as her youngest daughter bristled. “I put these designs together myself, are you saying you don’t trust my work?”
“Ouch, low blow, Mom.” Before her mother could try to walk that back, Victoria countered with a (verbal) jab on her mother’s (metaphorical) chin. “But aren’t those same designs based on ideas you and Aunt Sarah came up with over a decade ago? Why don’t we get an outside opinion?”
“Fine.” Carol turned to face the two people who had been standing silently in the corner of the room the entire argument, and addressed them with a kind tone. “When Sarah hired you as our documentary film crew, you said you’d worked with both the PRT and capes before. Would you trust a veteran hero on a matter like this, or a newbie who just got her powers a week ago?”
***
“Rule number one of making a documentary is that you’re not the star...everyone else is.” Brian sighed and scratched his scruffy beard, then gestured at his face. It was pale, unshaven, and looked a bit glum as the camera zoomed in on it. “But I’m a sound technician and camera guy, so as long as I stay behind the camera it’s all good. Speaking of, why am I on camera again?”
“Oh relax, I’m just testing the camera, we’ll never use this footage.” A female voice piped up from behind the camera, and Brian sighed as she continued. “Also, quit putting yourself down. You’re half the reason this business even exists. Together, we’re gonna make a masterpiece.”
“Always with the pep talks, Morgan...no wonder you’re the boss. Fine, I guess we’d better get in there. New Wave paid us for a whole month, and I don’t want to skip out on the last day of it.”
“That’s the spirit!” Morgan slapped him on the shoulder, taking the camera from him and winking at it. She ran a hand through her brown hair, smoothing out her jacket and checking her gear one last time. Across from her, Brian picked up the second camera, and both hopped out of their van to make their way to the door. “Hey, do you hear shouting coming from inside?”
***
As Victoria’s face twisted at her mother’s uncharitable framing of the question, Morgan spoke quickly to cut her off. “Respectfully, Mrs. Dallon, I think I have a solution that will make both of you happy. I have a contact in the PRT Image department, and I’m sure he’d love to be the tiebreaker vote. He could look over both your ideas, and give an unbiased opinion.”
“Hmm, I suppose that makes sense. I know that the Image department is made up of experts on the subject, so they could look at it through a new lens.” Carol still looked annoyed, but turned to see her daughter grinning with joy at the opportunity to talk with fellow cape nerds. Unable to stop her own lips from turning up a little, she asked, “What do you say, Victoria? Want to go?”
“Yeah!” Victoria was off like a shot, ignoring her mother’s call to stop flying in the house, and had returned in moments with a binder under her arm. The binder was decorated with glitter, and seemed stuffed with more papers than it was made to hold. Several large rubber bands held it closed, and the new hero’s face shone with excitement. “This is gonna be awesome!”
“Fine, but just for that we’re going to drive there.” Victoria’s smile dimmed a few watts, but she didn’t argue. Very carefully placing her feet on the floor, she whispered something to her little sister and began to walk quickly towards the door. Carol turned to the camera, lowering her voice slightly. “You can ride with us. Thanks, by the way. I hate having to be the bad guy, but I didn’t raise my daughter to back down easily, even when she’s wrong.”
The camera shifted to the Dallon girls, the younger one having slowed enough to hear her mother’s remarks. Amy turned an incensed glare at Carol, but before she could start the argument up again her sister yanked on her arm. “C’mon Amy, the sooner we get there, the sooner I can tell Mom ‘I told you so.’ Best of all, the camera crew will get it all on tape!”
At that, Amy’s frown dissolved into a smile, and she started whispering with her sister happily.
The camera zoomed in on the binder under Victoria’s arm...
***
“I’ve been planning this costume for...well, pretty much my whole life.” Victoria shrugged, her voice low as she ran a hand over the binder in her lap. Beside her, Amy was reading a book and sneaking glances at the camera. At the front of the minivan, Carol was driving while Morgan asked her questions from the passenger seat. “I knew that I’d get powers someday, but wasn’t really sure what they’d be. So I had a whole lot of designs, and even more names.”
“Yeah, you should have heard some of the names she came up with.” The camera swiveled to face Amy, and Victoria’s face dropped as the younger Dallon smirked teasingly. “Lady Justice, Thundercat, Sky High, Liberty Lady, Light Lion, Wild Tiger, Princess Sparkle-”
“Ames, shut up!” She was cut off as Victoria slapped a hand over the smaller girl’s mouth, and the two began to wrestle in the backseat. Struggling with her younger sister, Victoria turned to face the camera. “She had dumb names too! Amy wanted to call herself-”
The younger Dallon’s foot hit the camera, as Carol shouted at both from the front seat.
***
“Welcome, welcome!” A stocky man in a suit stepped forward to greet the three Dallons and their film crew, having thrown open the door to the PRT ENE Image Department mere moments before they arrived. Victoria and Amy looked slightly disheveled, but he paid no mind to that as they were guided into the room. “We cleaned up for your arrival, and Dwight’s brewing tea!”
There were several small tables all around the room, as well as workstations, whiteboards, and a variety of bookshelves filled with reference materials. All had been tidied and sorted, any proprietary information covered with cardboard and thumbtacks to protect privacy. Two other PRT agents were scattered around the room in various stages of cleanup, and both waved.
“Now, I hear that we’re going to be helping out with a matter of grave importance, so I’m glad that two of my top guys are here to lend a hand. Oh, I’m Michael, head of Image.” He smiled, putting his thumbs in his belt loops and posing heroically. “I’ve been leading this fine department for well over a decade, and take great pride in the posters we sell in our gift shop...and not just because I designed them all. Also, my thumbs are stuck in my belt loops again.”
The other two agents leaned towards each other for a moment, and then the one who threw paper against scissors cursed and moved to help his boss. Michael had retreated to the back of the room by then, taking exaggerated steps with his elbows sticking out, knocking over an easel and nearly tripping as he tried to catch it with his feet.
“Sorry about that, but Michael really is a decent guy...he just makes hilariously stupid mistakes on occasion. I’m Jim, by the way, and head of the costume design team.” A tall man with curly brown hair winker at them, then shook everyone’s hand. He paused and squinted at the camera, asking, “Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar…”
“I just have one of those faces.” Morgan replied, then took a few steps back and got a wider shot of the PRT and the Dallons. “Anyway, I called Michael because of a little disagreement. He said his team would help out, because you guys know costumes better than anyone in town.”
“Well, I don’t want to brag, but you’re absolutely right.” Jim turned towards the girl with a thick binder clutched in her hands, correctly guessing that she was at the heart of the matter. “Seems like you put a lot of thought into this, so what’s wrong? Having trouble deciding on a design?”
“No, I already made my choice. I just want a costume that represents me.” Victoria dropped her heavy binder on the table, starting to remove the bindings. A newly-freed Michael moved to join them, as his rescuer took a moment to clean his glasses. “I’ve been studying fashion and cape culture for years, and planning this for even longer. But my mom won’t let me use any of it!”
“Too bad Kelly isn’t here today, this would have been right down her alley.” Jim muttered, drawing a wry smile from Michael and a glare from the other agent. He turned to face Carol, raising an eyebrow as she took a deep breath. “Sounds simple, so what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that she’s afraid my sister is going to break the mold, and make her frumpy bodysuits look ancient by comparison.” Amy sniped, drawing an annoyed stare from her mother that made the younger Dallon glare back imperiously. “She likes to be in control, and is afraid-”
“Young lady, I have had just about enough of this attitude-”
***
“Look, it’s none of my business, but what’s going on with you lately?” Brian asked, then slid back a little as Amy turned a glare in his direction. “Camera aside, I’m asking as the guy who’s been through hours of footage and has seen you changing. Ever since Victoria got powers, you seem to really be giving your mother a hard time. Being kinda...what’s the word?”
“Bitchy? Mean? Annoying?” Amy began to twist at her sweater as Brian remained speechless, and finally the teen sighed. “It’s just...back when neither of us had powers, it was one of the only things we had in common. My sister plays sports, is good with people, loves fashion, is all into cape stuff, and is so...different from me. Last week, she got powers, and suddenly Carol is always dragging her off to do other stuff. Without me. I feel like...”
“Like you’re being abandoned?” Brian sighed as Amy glared at him again, then turned away. “Look, I’m no expert on family stuff, but they’re always gonna be your mother and sister, no matter what. If there’s one group of people you can talk to about this, it’s your family.”
“Why the hell do you even care?” Amy snapped, starting to get up and tripping over her own feet. She caught herself, swatting at Brian as he reached for her. “Documentaries are all about fighting and conflict, not fuzzy-wuzzy feelings and shit. Leave me alone.”
“I just don’t like to see families fight. Sorry if I was-” The fourteen-year-old stomped off, her hand blurring out as a certain finger was raised at the camera. “Okay, that could have gone better.”
***
“Hey Michael, weren’t you just saying that there was a new exhibit downstairs that you’re working on?” Jim interrupted, stepping between Carol and her daughters, and raising his voice as he waved his boss over. He turned to Victoria, flicking his eyes towards her sister a few times. “Since we’re about to talk about a whole bunch of fashion, maybe you could take Amy down there so she doesn’t get bored or feel left out. Does that sound like a good idea?”
“Does it?” Victoria turned to see her little sister just as confused as everyone else in the room, then it clicked. “Oh yeah! It does! Amy, you’re always saying that fashion isn’t your thing, but you really liked that art display at the Boardwalk. Michael’s a professional artist, I’m sure he’d love to talk about his inspiration and stuff. Mom, are you okay with that?”
“Yes, I’m always happy for my children to expand their horizons.” Carol gently guided her youngest daughter towards Michael, winking at him over her head. “Be sure to really delve into your past, so she fully understands the art that comes from your...soul.”
“Not a problem, I love to talk! I mean, some people say I talk too much, but whenever I ask them to explain they always clam up, so who’s the real idiot?” Michael gently pulled Amy along with him as they left the room, starting his story with gusto. “So, it all started when I was a kid, and my dream was to grow up and get married so I could have a hundred kids. That way, I’d have a hundred friends, and none of them could say no to being my friend…”
As Michael’s voice faded into the distance, Jim closed the door and turned to the other two Dallons. “That’ll buy an hour, so let’s try again. Why don’t we start with Carol’s costume design?”
***
“Michael’s a smart man, don’t get me wrong. Not as smart as me, but that’s only because I’ve been learning at his side for years. I’ve got two brains, but not in a funny way like that movie starring Steve Martin.” The bespectacled man preened, combing his fingers through what looked like the worst haircut possible. “In case you didn’t already recognize me from my long list of accomplishments and awards, I’m Dwight. Now, let’s start with my earlier work-”
“Wait, earlier work? What are you talking about? I just wanted to get your opinion on the costume issue, and you said you had something urgent to show me.” The camera shifted slightly, pulling back as Dwight whipped out a tablet and began to flip through what looked like a collection of pictures. A large house with a garden behind it, a collection of figurines that were an odd purple color, an entire wall of weapons, himself laying on a bear skin rug wearing-
“Whoops, how did that get in there?” Dwight laughed nervously, swiping through over a dozen more pictures just like it, finally tossing the tablet over his shoulder as they reached a picture of him swinging around a katana in his underwear. The tablet smashed against the wall, and he posed awkwardly with one hand under his chin. “I work in action figures and armor design, and it’s actually a funny story how I got started in that. See, I would carve beets into parts of the human anatomy as practice for my art. My favorite part of human anatomy is the-”
“Oh shoot, my camera’s battery is getting low!” Morgan suddenly blurted, the camera turning towards the door. “We can continue some other time, after I get another one from Brian.”
“But the battery light on your camera is still blinking green.” Dwight protested. “Hey!”
“Oh, that just means I need more...um...lens fluid. Yeah, I gotta go. Bye!”
The door slammed, cutting off Dwight’s reply.
***
“-and the whole point of the uniform was to be just that, a uniform.” Carol finished, taking a sip of the tea Jim had brought over as her daughter nibbled at a biscuit Dwight claimed was an old family recipe. Her story had been long, but Victoria seemed oddly subdued as she listened to it.
“So is this the first time that someone on the team has tried to make a suit that was different?” Jim asked, flipping through some photos he’d dug up from his records and pointing at a man in darker clothing standing beside a much younger Brandish. “But I remember Lightstar had black sleeves and legs, and Flashbang has all that armor.”
“Which always seemed silly to me, no offense.” Dwight butted in, sharing a grin with Victoria as he continued. “A flashbang has smooth sides, so unless he designed his costume using the design that the British Army’s Special Air Service used back in 1979…”
“Ahem. Though there may be some variations, like Flashbang’s armor, the base of New Wave’s costumes has remained the same.” Carol stared at Dwight as he trailed off, then redirected her attention at Jim and her daughter. “All because we wanted to be a unified front, something that people could recognize, but with our own little flairs and customizations as time went on.”
“Okay, I think I understand the situation a little better, so with that in mind let’s turn to Victoria.” Jim gestured at the younger Dallon, who snorted her tea and broke into a coughing fit. Jim had to hold back from slapping her on the back, pretty sure it wouldn’t do much to an Alexandria package. “Er, sorry. In your own time, run us through your costume, and why you chose it.”
After clearing out her lungs of delicious tea and biscuit crumbs, Victoria nervously wiped the surface of her binder with one hand. Then she stood up, sat back down, then stood up again with a slight blush. Shaking her head and taking a deep breath, she opened up the binder…
***
“For the last few days, Mom’s been so happy that it’s almost like she’s an entirely different person. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just...I mean, it’s a dream come true for me, too.” Victoria ran a hand over the binder she’d pulled out from under the bed, nervously looking at it and glancing back up at the camera. “But she also has certain...choices that she’s always made for me, and I’m not sure she gets how it feels for me when she does that.”
“Not to state the obvious, but have you tried telling her?” Morgan asked, and Victoria leveled a flat stare at her in response. “Okay, different question, why are you so dead set against this? I mean, you’re fourteen years old, how do you know your design is better than Carol’s?”
“It’s because she sees it as a uniform, a way to make us all blend in together as a team, like her suit when she’s doing the lawyer thing. But for me it’s something far greater...even more than just a costume.” Victoria smiled suddenly, eyes blazing with confidence, and her voice grew stronger as she spoke. “It’s a symbol of my individuality, and represents something greater than myself. Something bigger than just one team, or one family. Let’s start with the tiara...”
***
“...it’s like that of the Statue of Liberty, or the one on Lady Justice.” Victoria turned the page in her binder, showing several shots of a statue holding a sword in one hand and a set of scales in the other. “Like both of them, I want to be a protector of justice, and a shining beacon of light that all can look to in times of need. The tiara itself even has tines that travel outward, like the rays of the sun, because I can radiate both power and hope. As for the boots...”
She continued, going through her binder as Jim and Dwight asked questions, pausing only to drink some tea or point out various sections where she’d written up individual ideas. The amount of effort that had gone into this binder was amazing, and the camera focused on magazine articles dating back several years.
Throughout it all, Carol’s face was impassive at first, but a small smile occasionally appeared as her daughter continued to gush about her plans and dreams. It was almost as though she was really seeing her daughter for the first time, and was feeling something she hadn’t in a long time.
Finally, as Dwight wiped a tear from his eye and the last page of the binder closed, Carol stood. She took a deep breath, staring at her daughter with an unreadable expression on her face. It was easy to see the resemblance between them as they faced off, one generation to another.
“Once you wear this, it’ll be attached to you for a long time.” Carol started, holding up a hand to stall her daughter’s attempt to defend herself. “I just want you to be absolutely certain. That you’re not going to change your mind in a month and decide a skirt was a bad idea, or that-”
“I’m certain.” Victoria was implacable, standing firm in the face of her mother’s potential disapproval. Unlike before, she wasn’t annoyed or raising her voice. She calmly looked back at Carol without a hint of worry. “This is who I want to be. No, this is who I am.”
“You’re not going to give up, are you?”
“Never. I mean, would you give up if you were me?” The two shared a smile, and Victoria added, “No matter how many obstacles you put in front of me, I won’t stop moving forward.”
“Well in that case, I guess I’ll stop being an obstacle-” Carol was cut off as her giggling daughter hit her with a flying hug before she’d even finished speaking. Only Victoria’s strength and flight kept them from falling, and she spun them around happily. The agents and camera crew all chuckled, Dwight grumbling and slipping Jim $20. “I’m so proud of you, Victoria.”
***
“It’s hard to explain, and I know how that sounds coming from a lawyer.” Carol shook her head, a smile still on her face. Behind her, Victoria was looking over Jim’s shoulder as the costume designer used a program on his workstation to put together an advanced version of her design. “I guess she reminded me of myself, which I also know sounds silly...given she’s my daughter.”
“You see a lot of yourself in her, that’s understandable.” Brian agreed, then lowered his voice and zoomed in a little. “But I’m surprised that you finally went along with this, after putting up a fight for so long. Was her argument today really that good?”
“No, it was pure pathos, dreams and hopes, all without a shred of evidence...but that’s just the lawyer side of me talking. As a mother, I know that my daughter is always going to throw herself into everything she does, giving 110% to try and make people happy. It’s tough, because I want her to be…”
“Safe?”
“No, comfortable.” Carol grinned as Brian choked a little, then pulled at her sleeve. “My uniform makes me feel safe and powerful, and not just when I’m wearing it. With my family around me in similar suits, I knew we were all one unit, standing tall against anything. That’s why this was my most challenging suit ever. I was trying to do it all myself, when it should’ve been a team effort.”
“Aren’t you still afraid of her going out into the field, charging into battle?”
“I’ll always be afraid, even when I’m there by her side...even when all of us are. But we’re a team and a family, and today I got a look at what kind of hero she’s going to be.” Carol rose to her feet, smiling proudly as she watched Victoria. “The kind who fights for others. One that people can look up to. My daughter is going to do amazing things someday, I just know it.”
***
“Well, thanks again for making time for us.” Carol shook hands with Jim, turning her body slightly as the wind on the rooftop blew hair over her face. Brian and Morgan were talking about ‘lens fluid’ nearby, while Dwight was mysteriously absent. “Today was probably the most challenging suit I’ve ever had to work on, and in the end I barely had any input at all.”
“We’re just glad we could help you out, and the autographs didn’t hurt either.” Jim chuckled as Victoria smiled at him from above. Her mother had given her permission to fly home, carrying her costume binder in a leather satchel the PRT had loaned the teen. “Brian, Morgan, it was a pleasure to meet you both as well. We’re always happy for some free advertising, you know.”
“Speaking of freedom, I’d better get going too.” Brian clapped Jim on the shoulder, then lifted his camera and turned to the older Dallon. “Morgan’s sticking around for some paperwork, so I’m ready to go whenever you are. Oh, on the way, I have some footage I wanted to run by you...”
The two headed for the stairwell, Victoria floated closer to Morgan and whispered in her ear, getting a laugh and playful shove in return. Jim drifted in their direction, pausing as both glanced at him and went quiet. Trying to break the ice, he joked, “Hope you caught my good side on camera. If your footage has me with a tiny moustache, that’s the evil side. Watch out for him.”
“Told you so.” Victoria replied, more to Morgan than Jim, and then hovered back as the older woman swatted at her. She flew and hid behind Jim, stage whispering, “Morgan’s just bashful because I told her that you’d been looking at her all day. Were you looking for her good side?”
Before either could reply, the teen hero shot up into the air, jeans and sweater flapping in the wind. Victoria paused for a moment, the sun appearing from behind a cloud and surrounding her with a halo of light. It made Morgan wish she hadn’t given Brian her camera.
Like a bird, finally free of its cage and let loose upon the infinite blue sky, the hero who would soon debut as Glory Girl let out a whoop of excitement and flew off into adventure.
***
“-anyway, while we wait for your mother and sister to get back, let me tell you about some of the music I’ve been producing in my spare time.” Brian slowed down and gestured for Carol to go ahead of him, getting an uncertain look from her before she entered the Image office. Inside, as they drew closer, both heard Michael’s voice as he explained his passion to someone. “My most recent masterpiece is called Beers in Heaven! The song goes a little something like this…”
At the far end of the room were Michael and Amy, the former singing a rather creative parody of a much better song. The Dallon girl’s arms were crossed, her body hunched in on itself, and she looked to be halfway between boredom and annoyance. Then Carol cleared her throat loudly.
Even later on, watching the video in slow motion, Brian would wonder if Amy had some kind of mover power. One moment she was suffering in silence, and the next she was latched onto her mother and refusing to let go. Carol was rocked back on her heels, and calmly thanked Michael for his assistance in expanding her daughter’s appreciation of fine art.
Once they were outside the office, Carol twisted a finger in her ear and muttered about Michael’s voice sounding like a harpsichord someone pushed down the stairs. Amy started laughing, snorting and then blushing when the camera pointed at her.
The Dallons walked side by side for a few moments, Brian ahead of them with the camera over his shoulder. He flipped the microphone in their direction just in time to pick up Carol’s words.
“We’ve been fighting a lot this week, haven’t we?” Carol’s voice seemed to take Amy by surprise, and the teen’s face fell. She put her hands in her sweatshirt’s pocket, mumbling something inaudible as her mother went on. “It’s been an important week for your sister, but while I don’t appreciate your attitude...I probably wasn’t making it easy on you by focusing on her. I’m sorry if it seemed like I was neglecting you. I didn’t mean to make you feel abandoned.”
“Abandoned? Really?” Amy’s eyes locked onto the camera, glaring as Brian remained silent, and then rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. So Victoria’s flying home, I’m guessing? Suppose we’ll meet her there, since she was the whole reason we came here in the first place.”
“Well, we don’t have to go straight home.” Carol held out a hand, directing a small smile at her daughter. “First, I think we should get some food, anywhere you want. After that maybe we could chat, just the two of us, about what kind of costume you’ll want to wear someday.”
Amy looked at her feet, probably thinking that this was just her mother trying to put on a nice face after seeing footage of her daughter being depressed. It was only going to last the afternoon, and then she’d be right back to her old self.
Yet despite her worries, she nodded and leaned against the older woman, taking her hand.
When she looked up, Amy wasn’t glaring or frowning anymore.
***
“So, been staring at me all day, huh?” Morgan grinned as they watched Victoria vanish into the distance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jim tug at his collar. “What’s that about?”
“First of all, it’s because you look really familiar...” Jim trailed off, then slumped a little. “Sorry, that doesn’t make it any better. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Morgan.”
“Nah, I think I know what it is. You probably saw me downstairs. See, before I got into film, I was working at the PRT receptionist desk. I quit a few months ago, but you saw me every morning.”
“That was it!” Jim slapped his forehead, groaning. “Why’d you stop working here, anyway?”
“Well, most little girls don’t dream of being a receptionist. Brian down in Mailroom was always saying I had a good voice and that he had some experience with cameras, and here I am. Happier than I’ve been in a long time.” She gave an extravagant bow, and he clapped lightly. “Anyway, that was ‘first of all,’ what were the other reasons you kept looking at me?”
“Well, as you already said, you have a nice voice.” Jim blushed a little, looking away for a moment before adding, “Also, you’ve got a good sense of humor. It was fun hanging out with you today.”
“Who says we’re done hanging out?” Morgan rubbed her stomach, grimacing slightly. “If you’ve got time, I haven’t eaten all day. Wanna treat a girl to some PRT cafeteria food?”
“Sure, I left a Confoam grenade in Dwight’s desk, so he’ll be busy for a few hours.” Jim held out an elbow, and Morgan laughed as she looped her arm around it. “Morgan, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
“Morgan’s actually my middle name, I use it to sound all professional.” She grinned up at Jim, liking the way the sun sparkled against his eyes. “My friends call me Pam.”