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Morgan had stopped attending the yearly ‘Fabulous Family Weekend on the Yacht’ trip years ago, before they had turned villain. The plan was to never attend another, but they had received a call from their mother last week. She insisted that there was family news, news which would be announced on the trip. She said it would be best for everyone if Morgan ‘put their silly grudge aside and turned up to congratulate Dee”.
Their mother had sounded suitably annoyed to be making the call which implied it was really Dee, as always, who actually wanted Morgan to attend. Morgan wished Dee would have chosen more neutral ground to announce what was likely a new member of the ‘fabulous family’ but they would show up for their sister, as always.
Although they would leave after giving their congratulations, there was only so much time they could spend confined to a yacht with Chad.
Since Morgan was only attending dinner, the yacht had already left the harbour when they arrived. They wandered the empty docks as they waited for a member of their parents' staff to come retrieve them. It was dusk and the air was still, the occasional boat was lit up against the blue haze of the evening. They used to spend time waiting on the docks playing hide and seek with their siblings, Morgan always won. Young Morgan knew that Chad would hide by a boat with a funny name, they knew Dee would try to change spots to out smart them, and that when it was their turn to hide, they should find a spot the other two couldn’t follow. The hide and seek games had stopped after they all got their powers. Chad would use his to win, Dee would try not to use her powers and ended up worse than before, and Morgan found their siblings could follow them into all their old spots.
A boat pulled up to the dock and Morgan recognized one of their parent’s personal assistants as the driver. The assistant nodded at them but said nothing, this was the usual greeting Morgan received from anyone employed by their family. Morgan climbed aboard and prepared themself for a silent trip.
Dee was the only family member Morgan trusted, even after she had decided to marry that annoying… Discus man. Even so, if she was going to have a kid Morgan knew they needed to be there. They wouldn’t let another kid grow up thinking the only way to be happy, to get approval, was by following the rules of the Fabulous Family. Maybe the child would have fantastic powers and fit right into Morgan’s parents’ visions, that would be great for the kid. But if not, if they had an undervalued power or were drawn to villainy, Morgan would be there for them. Morgan would support them whatever they chose, like every kid deserved.
A cough brought Morgan back from their thoughts, the assistant was aggressively clearing their throat and gesturing to a ladder on the side of the yacht. Morgan wondered briefly if the staff were actually forbidden from speaking to them. They climbed onto a silent deck and made their way to the dining room.
They assumed this would be a family-only gathering. Their parents wouldn’t invite their super friends if Morgan was in attendance. As they reached the door to the dining room the only sign of life was the light under the door.
Morgan pushed through the door without knocking, a pet peeve of their father’s, and looked around at the expectant faces of- just their parents.
“Where are the others?” Morgan asked
“Have a seat,” Their mother replied.
Morgan took in the table, not set, and their parents stern faces. “Dee’s not pregnant, you just wanted to stage an intervention.”
“Have a seat Morgan,” Their mother repeated.
As Morgan sat they took their phone out of their pocket and held it below the table. They pressed their programmed “please find my location and come pick me up” button. One of their minions would be there as soon as they were notified. Morgan hadn’t expected any ambushes so while no one was on immediate standby, help should arrive within 20 minutes. They could handle their parents until then.
They took a deep breath; “What do you want?”
Morgan’s mother smiled; it didn’t suit her. “We only want to talk, and you never visit unless Dee is involved- “
“How strange.”
Their mother continued without acknowledging the interruption; “Now that you are here, we have a proposition for you. This villainy nonsense has gone on long enough and reflects poorly on all of us. We understand you were upset at the idea of being your brother's sidekick and so we would like to support you in becoming a hero.”
That was not what Morgan had expected to hear, this was not the usual script of ‘stop being a villain’ ‘no’ ‘then you aren’t invited to Christmas no matter what Dee says’ they had all been following for years. This was new and Morgan felt the boat lurch slightly, unsure if it was a wave or anxiety.
“You have been very clear over the last decade that I am good for nothing but Chad’s emergency escape route. What changed?” Morgan asked.
Their father answered, implementing his usual strategy of ignoring any part of their statement he didn’t like; “We realized that for our family to be together again we would need to accept you won’t be a sidekick, and we understand! I would never stoop so low myself.”
Morgan stared blankly at him, they wondered if he honestly believed that statement would win them over.
Morgan’s mother took over the pitch; “We are offering to help you reform into an E-tier hero, you have shown yourself adept at planning, you would fit in with the strategy team at the Fairness Association and can take on any minor crime you would like in accordance with your tier.”
Morgan stood up from the table. “No.”
“You haven’t even considered it! Don’t you want to be a hero? A family?” Offered their father.
“I have no desire to be a part of this family beyond seeing Dee and, once in a while, seeing Chad.” It pained them to admit but Chad was more brainwashed by their parents and the fairness association than actually malicious towards Morgan, they did still care for him, once in a while.
Morgan checked the time on their phone, it would be a while yet before they were rescued but they didn’t have the energy to face their parents any longer. “I was never going to be a hero; I would have hated it. My villainy isn’t rebellion, it has nothing to do with you. I am going to wait for my ride, I’ll see you both at Dee’s next family event.”
Ignoring their parents’ protests Morgan made their way out onto the deck. The cold night air felt like a much-needed shock, this had been the most elaborate villain intervention yet, but next time Morgan would do better. Next time they would at least confirm with Dee first.
They wandered to the back of the boat, grateful that they weren’t followed outside. It had been a lovely night at the shore but here, wherever they were, the wind was fierce. Morgan leaned against the boat, shielded from the wind, and stared out over the water as they reflected on the brief but strange conversation. Had their father really admitted he would never sink to the job he had chosen for his child? It was quite funny in a sharp and painful way. Morgan had told the truth, villainy was always where they were headed, their parents had just pushed them into it a little sooner.
“Morgan, a word?”
Morgan jumped. Their father was standing only a few meters away, they hadn’t meant to zone out so much in enemy territory. They nodded at their father, reluctantly giving him the go ahead to try another tactic at winning them over.
“We know it was difficult for you, seeing your siblings shine and resenting your place in our family, but that is no excuse. No, we aren’t going to have anyone ruin what our family stands for. This was your last chance, Morgan.” Their father had stepped towards them as he spoke, and Morgan instinctually backed away.
“I said I was leaving. You are the ones who keep cornering me-” Morgan was cut off by a sudden gust of wind. The boat was no longer providing shelter as the wind seemed to come from every direction, Morgan lurched forward and clung to the railing as their feet were lifted off the deck.
“Stop! Dad-” They couldn’t hear their own voice over their father’s power, Morgan had previously experienced it as a light breeze to hold up their kite as a child. Never this wrenching force which was going to pull them from the boat any second.
Perhaps their father responded, it was the first time Morgan had outright called him ‘dad’ in years, but they didn’t hear if he did. Morgan was mostly a normal human, not meant to withstand superpowers. The wind was numbing their hands and after barely a minute they lost their hold. The wind sent them tumbling into the water where waves surged up to meet them.
The yacht left, quickly becoming a faint glow that Morgan couldn’t focus on between the waves. They tried to summon someone, ideally Dee who would be able to save them from the water, but that took concentration and Morgan was struggling to stay afloat. They tried to find their phone to call for help, it wasn’t in their pocket, had they been holding it when the wind started? When their father attempted to murder them? Morgan pushed the thought away; they couldn’t think about it now. They would just breathe air, breathe and swim, they would stay alive.
An unknown amount of time later Morgan found themself clinging to some wood, they didn’t remember finding it, but it was stable enough to rest their head on above the water. They kept focusing on breathing. Eventually they lost consciousness.