Chapter Text
Princess Mary Sue awoke in her room in the Rainbow Petal Palace to the sunlight coming in through the window gently dancing on the skin of her arm. She sat up, stretched and telepathically checked in with her lover, Alex.
Nothing.
She chuckled and figured her sweetheart must have slept in. She shot out of bed, flying in a little loop before landing on one of the posts of her bed. The clock at the other end of the room read 08.12.am. She might have slept in too. That wasn't a problem. She and her friends have saved the world, they deserved a little extra time to rest. She zipped to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. With her superspeed, she only needed a few seconds to get everything ready. Telepathically, she reached out to Alex once more. She was planning on surprising her sleepyhead with breakfast in bed. Maybe afterwards they'd have that perfect slice of life date they had been dreaming of for months. She still didn't pick up on anything. Her telepathy allowed her to reach out to others in dreams, so she considered taking a quick nap and greeting Alex in the dreamworld, but decided against it. She was planning a surprise after all. She left the perfectly prepared and presented meal on the kitchen counter. Summoning it once she arrived would be a lot easier than trying to balance it during her super-sonic flight. Plus it gave her a chance to show off.
Then, her hypersensitive ears picked up on footsteps by the teleporter. Alex's footsteps. Mary Sue could feel her girlfriend's presence, but her emotions and thoughts were, for the first time in two years, unreadable. Did her amazing human get herself some amulet that would block telepathic spying? Did she do it to hide a surprise for Sue? Her birthday was fast approaching after all. The superpowered princess couldn't contain her excitement. She zipped out of the kitchen and over to Alex, picking her up for a twirl into the air, only to find her much heavier than what she remembered. Could someone get this much fatter in such a short time? Her sweet heart didn't look like she had lost or gained much weight. Muscle is denser and heavier than fat, but even someone as dedicated as Alex couldn't build up this much muscle overnight. Something was wrong.
Once the two lovers were in direct physical contact, Sue could finally hear her girlfriends thoughts. Alex was happy to see her; annoyed at her cat for claiming and disassembling a pile of freshly ironed and folded laundry; still thinking of that novel she was reading... Sue thought out loud using her telepathy, focusing it so only her girlfriend could hear: "Welcome to your future palace, oh queen of my heart!"
Alex hugged her superpowered partner tightly. "Good morning, my angel from above!" Mary Sue reveled in her darling's voice. Still, she pitied the girl for always having to speak or write when she wanted to communicate with any other human. Telepathy was much more convenient. The princess still couldn't quite understand how humans ever developed deeper relationships or functional civilizations without it. She returned the embrace, but tighter, paying attention nonetheless not to crush her lover in her strong but unassuming looking arms. "I've made breakfast for you!" she added, also telepathically. To her surprise, Alex didn't react.
"Ow, not using your telepathy today?" asked Alex in a soft, joking tone.
"I literally just used it."
"No, for real." Alex didn't look like she was joking.
"You didn't hear that...?" Something was definitely wrong.
Sue carried Alex to the kitchen, just because she could and would never get tired from it. They ate breakfast together, both trying to convince each other that they were not joking about the use or lack thereof of Mary Sue's telepathy. They came to the shared conclusion that the princesses' power really did disappear or at least was greatly weakened.
"Has this ever happened before?" questioned Alex, mouth full of hotcake.
"Sometimes when I'm about to get a new power... I guess..." Mary Sue thought back to all the times over her life when her powers would falter for a few days, only to come back three times stronger.
"Another one? You're lucky. I'm lucky to be with someone like you. I just wish sometimes I could have just one of your powers, so you wouldn't always be the one looking after me."
Mary Sue laughed: "But I'm not. You're so talented and I'm only looking out for you because I love you and want an excuse to be near you, not because I believe you need it!"
Alex smiled softly and rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's obvious lie. "Are you going to your mom's witch friend? The one with all the creepy family secrets who somehow always knows more about your powers than us or your parents?"
"Grand-Auntie Luna! Of course! You're right, I should visit her! Want to come with me?" Mary Sue got up from the table, excited to get some answers and possibly a new power.
During their flight, Alex in her magic girlfriend's arms, the two exchanged wild guesses on what the realm's hero's new power could be. Regeneration? Talking to animals? Healing powers? Opening portals? The possibilities were endless. But here's the thing with infinite possibilities - each one is infinitely unlikely.
Grand-Auntie Luna didn't announce a new power, but instead advised that the young princess contact a healer. Contact a healer she did only to be given the contacts to another one. Then a curse specialist, then some witch doctor, then another healer. Mary Sue wanted to give up and call it a day, but Alex insisted that if Grand-Auntie had a feeling something could be wrong, then it was best to catch that something early. And so, even with their date postponed, she stayed with the light of her life. That last healer called in the king and queen, as he claimed that they would also want to hear the results.
Drain, stage two. Progressive magical illness. Mary Sue didn't bother remembering the full scientific medical name.
"There are ways to slow down its progression, but it cannot be cured completely and any powers lost before treatment begins are lost forever." The healer went on to explain the genetic and environmental factors to the condition, as well as its early signs. Something about premature puberty. Something about a recessive genetic factor. Something about amulets that could store her magic so it wouldn't waste away as quickly. Something about their dangerous side effects. Something about which powers she was most likely to lose next. Something about keeping a healthy lifestyle. Something about accommodations and much, much more that Mary Sue couldn't listen to. She heard the healer talk, but it wasn't sinking in. What did sink in was that she wasn't just going to lose her telepathy and superstrength, but eventually all of her other powers too.
Alex still sat by her side, squeezing her hand. It didn't help. If anything, it made Mary Sue's heart hurt even more. Soon, her strength wouldn't surpass that of the wonderful woman on her right. That hand squeeze, pitifully weak by her magical clan's standards, was a glimpse into her future.
The rest of her telepathy faded within the week. At four years old she mastered superspeed, at ten she mastered super strength, at twelve she mastered flight, at fifteen she saved the world, at sixteen she would risk losing it all. Not even to a big bad guy, not even in a heroic sacrifice. She would lose it all to her own genetics and lifestyle.