Chapter Text
May, 1962
Mirage dealt only in absolutes. The work she did demanded it. To question, to doubt, to hesitate—all of that sentimental nonsense led to failure. For example, she always had to remember her distrust of supers. She couldn’t let herself get sloppy. Supers were selfish. They lived only to better their own lives, only helped the common people to inflate their egos. After the ban, they had nothing left to live for, nothing left to contribute to society. Some faded into obscurity, but just as many clung desperately to the Glory Days.
When Syndrome first voiced his contempt for supers, she found him quite harsh. But time had proven him right. She had sat with enough of them on this very jet to know that every single one was as arrogant as they were hollow.
That is why she didn’t care to listen to what Simon Paladino had to say as he sat across from her on the jet bound for Nomanisan Island. She already had everything that mattered about him on file. Mirage prided herself on her thorough examination of her selected supers, gathering intel from both her own observations as well as data collected from the opinions of those who knew said supers.
And Simon James Paladino, or Gazerbeam, was utterly unremarkable. There was nothing to Paladino beyond his job. He had no spouse, no children, no friends outside of work. Lonely, awkward, arrogant, just like the rest.
She thought back to a conversation she had with Apogee years back in this very jet. How the Thrilling Three were more of the Thrilling Two plus Gazerbeam. He had been emotionally closed off, hard to work with, and in the end, the cause of the team splitting up.
Just another super that no one would miss. They were all the same.
“I won’t be coming back a third time.”
Mirage was pulled back into reality with that one, and tried to make it seem that she had been engaged the whole time. Not that he would have been able to tell, since he refused to look at her.
She raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Gazerbeam shrugged. “I was paid well for the first job. It was more than enough to give me leave for a year. In all honesty, I was hesitant to return a second time, but I need to secure a future for someone else. There’s just no reason for me to take a job like this a third time.”
Mirage pressed her lips into a hard line, but didn’t respond. Always focused on themselves, these supers were.
Seemingly uncomfortable with the silence, Gazerbeam quickly added, “Not that I am ungrateful for the opportunity. I just wanted to be upfront.”
Mirage opened up her laptop, pulling up his file. “I’ll make sure to let my boss know to take you off the contact list. I hope you find what you’re looking for, Gazerbeam.”
For the first time that flight, he met her eyes.
“As do I, Mirage.”
***
When Mirage received the “Uploading Data” message, she didn’t bat an eye. She logged his termination, skimmed the footage, and moved on. His mission offered nothing of note for Syndrome, so she didn’t linger on his death.
Surely no one else would either.
***
April, 1964
Finding supers for Project Kronos had become nearly impossible. Mirage had thought the 8 month gap between Vetress’s death and her finding Gazerbeam was long. She could not have been more wrong.
Two years had passed since she last recruited a super, and Syndrome was growing impatient. Unfortunately, all the supers desperate for one last mission had already been picked off. That left only those who had faded into the background of civilian life. Even the NSA files were no longer useful, as no supers had blown cover since Blizerman in 1961.
It wasn’t until there was an alert on the Nomanisan sensors about a rapid drop in the roentgen levels at a nuclear powerplant that Mirage was able to identify her next target. An accident at a plant in Vermont had flooded the area with radiation, and normally would have rendered the area unlivable—
The roentgen levels had returned to normal within an hour.
It was an impossibly quick drop in roentgen readings. She went through the plant's employee logs, and was finally able to find the full name, home address and phone number of Jackson Graham—Gamma Jack.
She had followed him around for about a day, which was admittedly shorter than she would have preferred, but she still arrived at the same conclusion as always: no one would miss him.
Right on time, the phone began to ring.
Mirage picked up the phone, and before she could even answer, Gamma Jack confirmed he was in.
***
Gamma Jack was nothing like his public persona of the 50s. Mirage had braced herself for a larger-than-life ego, for unending flirtatious comments, for an overall unbearable jet ride.
Instead, he just seemed irritated and restless, but she couldn’t figure out what specifically was bothering him so much. Most supers jumped at the opportunity to suit up just one last time, to relive the Glory Days. His eager acceptance indicated he was going to be the same.
As she gave the overview of the mission, he continued to maintain his demeanor. Mirage couldn’t stand it.
“Is there something wrong?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
Gamma Jack shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. Just someone back home on my mind.”
***
June, 1964
Mirage had been dreading making a certain phone call all day, but the next Omnidroid was ready to go, and Syndrome would fully stop speaking to her if she didn’t bring Gamma Jack in to test the latest model.
Finally she dialed the number. The voice that greeted her was a completely different person from the one she had met back in April, sounding tired but content when he greeted her.
“Hello, Gamma Jack. We have a new assignment for you.”
The voice on the other end hesitated. “I’m not entirely sure if I can…”
“It’s the same pay as last time.” Mirage pressed, “We could really use your help.”
After a beat of silence, Gamma Jack reluctantly agreed. “But I’ll only go if two conditions are met.”
Mirage frowned. What more could he possibly want? Syndrome was already paying him far too much—
“I want my daughter to be able to come with me.”
Mirage froze.
Since when did Gamma Jack have a daughter?
Annoying to accommodate? Sure. But impossible? Not at all. Though she was sure the second condition would be much more demanding. “I’ll see what I can do. What is your second?”
“I, uh, I don’t want her to know that I’m going to do hero work. It stresses her out. So I’d like for you to make it look like I’m just going to Nomanisan for my job. Some nuclear power issue or something.”
His requests were…surprisingly normal. Mirage shook her head. She shouldn’t be concerning herself with “normal” behavior from supers.
“Done and done. What’s the earliest you can leave?”
Jack laughed, though it sounded much more like relief. “I guess Novea and I will be seeing you tomorrow morning.”
***
The atmosphere on the second jet ride was nothing like the first. Jack was in high spirits, giving Mirage unwarranted anecdotes about his life to fill the silence. He detailed mishaps at his job, Novea’s dramatics at her highschool, and his frustrations with the local Homeowner’s Association.
His daughter, Novea occasionally interjected, correcting names as Jack recounted her high school drama, but she generally left the talking to her father.
It was almost…sweet.
Mirage pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Just because a super brought their kid with them didn’t mean anything.
“I forgot to say this, but thank you for inviting me back and being so understanding about Novea here—it means a lot. And thank you for the pay too, it’ll be a huge help.”
Mirage glanced at both of them, eyes landing on Jack. “What do you mean?”
Jack shrugged. “Her college fund. She’s sixteen now, and I was getting worried I wouldn’t be able to save enough by the time she graduates.”
Mirage stopped. He was back at Nomanisan, risking his life, just to pay for his daughter’s college?
He must love her a lot.
Again, Mirage pushed the thought away. It was from a place of pride, it had to be. A man like Jack wouldn’t want to be seen as unable to provide.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t you start a fund earlier?”
Jack let out a hollow laugh, beginning to fidget with his hands.
“We were a dual-income household until about two years ago. My partner made a lot more than I do, and that’s where most of the money for the college fund came from.”
Only then did Mirage notice that Jack was fidgeting with a gold band around his left ring finger.
Since when was Gamma Jack married?
She made a mental note to better research her targets, because missing that Jack was both a father and a husband was unacceptable.
Mirage swallowed. “I’m sorry to hear that. What happened to her?”
Jack’s face darkened. “I’ve been asking myself the same thing for almost two years. I thought things were great between us, until one day he left for a conference and never came back.”
Mirage was proud of herself for keeping her external reaction to the “he” comment minimal.
Gamma Jack, an infamous womanizer, married a man?
Jack continued, “It’s hard, y'know? Simon was my other half. He helped me raise Novea into the amazing person she is today. Never in our 9 years of being together did anything seem off. He was even telling me about how after this conference he would take time off so we could all go on vacation together.” He sighed, eyes looking into the distance, searching for something she couldn't see.
Simon… the name seemed oddly familiar. She mentally shuffled through files in her mind, searching for the connection, but nothing. Too many names, too many supers, too few people who cared.
She certainly didn’t.
However, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t the slightest bit curious. So she pushed, asking Jack to tell her more about Simon.
Jack gave her a weak smile, and told her a bit about Simon and his place in their family. She learned about how Simon was actually the one to convince him to take Novea in, how Simon had defended him in court in the 50s, how he had been by Jack’s side throughout all of Novea’s childhood.
“I mean, you’ve probably heard of him. He’s a pretty famous lawyer, as well as a super rights advocate.”
Mirage shrugged. “Perhaps I have. What was his full name again?”
“Simon Paladino. He was in the papers a few years back—”
Mirage didn’t catch the rest, because suddenly she remembered why Simon’s name had sounded so familiar.
Simon J. Paladino, Gazerbeam, had been sitting in this very plane two years ago, right before she sent him to fight the Omnidroid.
Before I sent him to his death.
Mirage felt a pit form in her stomach as she looked between Jack and Novea. The feeling of dread climbing up her throat was unfamiliar, she never felt anything like this when talking to other supers.
She only had two thoughts in that moment:
One: She had been directly involved with the death of Jack’s husband and Novea’s father, and neither of them knew what actually happened to him. They just thought he was a deserter, a deadbeat who no longer loved them.
Two: If she was able to miss the fact that Gamma Jack had both married Gazerbeam and raised a kid with him, then what else had she missed? How many supers had she been so wildly wrong about? How many families had she torn apart? How many lives had she deemed unworthy because she had overlooked something important?
***
They arrived later that afternoon, and Jack was slated to head out within the hour.
She walked with the pair as Jack unloaded his and Novea’s bags from the jet. The trio headed towards the compound, Jack asking Novea if she really had to pack the whole damn house with her.
Mirage approached Jack and tapped him on the shoulder, gently reminding him that he needed to get ready for his “operation.”
Jack nodded. “Alright, I’ll go get ready. Could you help Novea with her luggage? She’s packed enough to last until next summer.” he said, flashing a genuine smile.
Mirage felt her heart break just a little more. Part of her wanted to call the whole mission off, send the two home, but she knew she couldn’t. She wouldn’t allow herself to crumble so easily. If she was the type of woman to surrender her ideals for every sob story she heard, then she wouldn’t have been the one Syndrome chose.
Jack handed her Novea’s bags before running up to his daughter, pulling her into a hug.
“I’ve got to run to work now, but I’ll be home before morning. Maybe have Mirage show you around to kill time, there’s a lot of cool stuff here.” Jack paused for a moment, before continuing, “Try not to worry.”
Novea pulled away. “I can handle myself for a few hours.” She smiled. “I feel like I should be the one telling you not to worry.”
Just then, Mirage received a notification. Syndrome was getting impatient.
She walked up to the pair, informing Jack that it was time to head out.
Jack pulled Novea in for one last hug. “I love you, Novea.”
Novea jokingly pushed him off, grinning. “I love you too, Dad.”
***
After her father left, Novea retreated to her room to unpack. Mirage had offered to help, per Jack’s request, but Novea had brushed her off.
After a few hours, Mirage decided it was time for them to eat. They hadn’t had much available on the jet, and Novea didn’t seem the type to plunder a stranger’s kitchen. She walked into Novea’s room to find the girl curled up with a book and a plush eel.
The girl looked up, worry crossing her face. “Is something wrong?”
“No need to worry, all is well with your father.” She paused, watching as Novea relaxed before continuing, “I just came to tell you that now is a good time to eat. It’s been a few hours since we landed and I know you skipped lunch.”
Novea looked out the window, seeming to just now notice the sun sinking below the horizon. She dogeared her book before getting up, walking out the door before Mirage could point her in the right direction.
***
“So, what were you reading just now?” Mirage asked, mixing dressing into her salad.
Novea frowned, but after a moment answered, “It’s a book on solar radiation. Simon left it for me before he left, but I only recently decided to grow up and read the damn book.”
Mirage mentally berated herself. Simon Paladino was determined to haunt her, it seemed. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to change the subject, so she gestured for Novea to continue.
“Jack already told you about him, uh, leaving us and all. But I’ve only recently started to let myself start to move on. I mean, clearly he didn’t care that much about us, if he could up and leave so easily, right? So why should I waste all this energy missing him?”
Mirage bit her tongue. This girl could never know what actually became of Simon.
Novea continued, lost in her own thoughts, “And I can’t really tell dad about any of this, y’know After he left my dad was never the same. He can’t bring himself to be actually upset with Simon for leaving, and he definitely doesn’t want to hear his daughter complain about the man he still loves.”
Mirage said nothing, averting her eyes from Novea’s gaze.
“I want to hate him.”
Despite her words, Novea was tearing up.
After sitting in silence for a moment, Novea sighed. “Y’know what started all this for me? You guys calling my dad. He seemed to be in such high spirits, it made me think, only for a second, that Simon finally decided to come back home.”
Mirage swallowed the guilt climbing up her throat, giving Novea a dry smile. “I’m sorry to have gotten your hopes up, Novea.”
Novea dabbed her eyes with a napkin. “It’s fine. It made me realize that I need to grow up.”
Instead of responding, Mirage opened up her laptop to begin receiving the Omnidroid data. She needed something to take her mind off of Simon Paladino and his family.
***
The pair sat together in the lounge area, one that overlooked the ocean and night sky. Novea had opened up a lot after dinner, telling Mirage about her day-to-day life, especially the current status of her high school friend group. She truly was her father’s daughter.
“And Mary still denies that her hair isn’t naturally blonde! Speaking of, is that your actual hair?”
Mirage laughed. “Yes, but it’s only this white because of a toner my husband developed.”
“He sounds like a great guy, if he’s willing to engineer a whole product for you.” Novea smiled at her, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Mirage nodded in agreement. “He’s great, the greatest honor of my life is being able to work beside him.” She paused, realizing Novea was looking to compare Syndrome to someone else’s husband. “But we still have our fair share of disagreements. Don’t let my hair make you think we’re the perfect couple.”
Novea shrugged. “At least he stays around when things get difficult. Some people aren’t even happy when things are going well.”
Mirage coughed, desperate to get back to Novea’s petty drama. “What was it you were saying about Mary?”
***
Occasionally, Mirage would tune out of the conversation to check the cameras on her laptop, seeing how Jack was doing in his fight against the Omnidroid. All things considered, he was doing pretty well. It was a tough fight for sure, but Jack was consistently dealing considerable damage.
When he returns, I’ll scrub him and Novea from the record. Tell Syndrome he was terminated but the video was ruined by excessive gamma waves. These two have been through enough.
“Where do you think I should start looking for college?”
Mirage stared at her. “What?”
Why are you asking me?
Novea continued, “I mean, you’re obviously pretty smart, and now you get to work on a beautiful island with the man you love, probably doing a lot of really cool sciency shit. I want to be like that when I get older. So where do you think I should look for college?”
Mirage pondered the question for a moment. “Well, it really depends on what you want from a college experience. And how far you want to go. Because if you want to say in-state, there’s Middlebury. I personally wanted to live in a bigger city, so I attended University of Municiberg.”
Novea nodded, and started pressing Mirage for information about her time at university.
Halfway through the conversation, Mirage received an alert on the camera system. Motion had been detected in one of the caves.
Why? No one’s been down there since—shit.
She watched as Jack stumbled around the cave, clearly struggling to navigate the dark cavern. When he reached the back, he paused, noticing the decaying remains of a man. After what felt like hours, he walked up to the body before falling to his knees, staring in disbelief at the sight before him.
Of all the caves the Omnidroid could have chased Jack down, of course it had to be the one where Simon’s been rotting.
Mirage was grateful there was no audio on the cameras. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle hearing Jack’s reaction to discovering what really kept Simon from coming back home.
She closed the tab displaying any cave cameras. She told herself it was for Jack’s sake. She told herself it was because she shouldn’t pry on such a personal moment.
She told herself it had nothing to do with the growing pit in her stomach.
Mirage placed her laptop to the side, trying to distract herself with her conversation with Novea. She answered questions about her major, Greek life, how she met Syndrome, and what it was like day-to-day on Nomanisan Island. Anything to let her forget Jack and Simon.
***
Jack was getting sloppy. Mirage was getting nervous. Novea was none the wiser.
As much as Mirage tried to ignore her laptop, she had to check in every few minutes. And every time she checked in, things only seemed to get worse for Jack. Finding Simon’s body had shaken him up, and he wasn’t fighting with the grace and calculation he was known for.
Mirage had seen this story play out a thousand times. Every time a super started getting emotional during a fight, they would lose, especially when they were going against an enemy as intelligent as the Omnidroid. She tried to deny it, but in her heart of hearts, she knew Jack wouldn’t be back by morning.
***
“And that’s how I accidentally stole Anguila. Dad still refuses to walk into that store, he worries he’ll be recognized.”
Mirage laughed in spite of herself. Despite her growing concerns, Novea somehow always managed to lighten her spirits with her presence and easy conversation.
Any and all good spirits plummeted when Mirage received a new notification.
Target Eliminated. Uploading Data.
Mirage slammed her laptop shut before shooting straight up. She turned towards the stairs, just needing to get outside, anything to put distance between herself and that damned computer.
“Mirage? Are you okay?” Mirage turned to face Novea, confusion and concern painting the young girl’s face.
“I just need some air. Excuse me.”
Mirage ran up the stairs. She didn’t stop until she reached the rooftop, finally feeling some sense of clarity when she could smell the sea.
She just stood for a few moments, keeping her eyes closed and facing the sky. She wanted the island to consume her whole.
When she finally opened her eyes, she was greeted with the most beautiful night sky she had ever seen. Ribbons of green and purple light stretched across the atmosphere, decorated by a smattering of stars. The ribbons slowly waved back and forth, dancing as if they were living, breathing things.
The Northern Lights.
After staring up at the sky for a few moments, Mirage’s more rational side kicked in.
Why are the Northern Lights here? We’re far too close to the equator—
“You guys must get these pretty often.”
Mirage turned to see Novea standing behind her, also mesmerized by the sight of the night sky before her.
Mirage frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I just mean, considering the fact that this place is a nuclear power plant and all, it makes sense that you would see artificial aurora borealises every now and then.”
Mirage shook her head. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Novea raised her eyebrow, surprised. “I guess you don’t then. What I meant is that large amounts of radiation being put out in a really short period of time can create an aurora where they don’t naturally occur. My dad used to tell me about seeing them after his incidents at his…old job.”
Novea looked back up at the sky, smiling. “He hasn’t been able to see one of these in years though. I hope he gets back before it fades, he loves these kinds of things.” She paused. “Though in all the photos he showed me, the lights were never this prominent. A lot of radiation must have been released to cause this.”
Mirage felt bile rise in her throat, but she kept it down. She couldn’t let Novea see her reaction to what she knew to be the actual cause of the sight before them.
Novea looked to Mirage, waiting for a reply. When Mirage only stared back at her blankly, Novea must have worried she said something insensitive, and began to course correct. “Not that it’s a good thing to see this! It’s probably really scary for you to see this because it means your employees could be in danger, right? But I wouldn’t worry about it! That’s why you guys brought my dad here right? He’s got it all under control, I can promise you that they’re all fine!”
Mirage nodded, keeping her eyes from meeting the girl’s. “Thank you, Novea. I’m sure they’re fine. I’m going to go check in with my husband now about the source of this radiation. I’ll see you later.”
***
The sun was just beginning to creep above the horizon, and Mirage still hadn’t been able to muster the courage to tell Novea about Jack’s passing.
After she informed Syndrome of Jack’s defeat, she had gone over the tapes what felt like a million times, trying to search for any hint that Jack had somehow survived, but her efforts were all in vain. Even if the Omnidroid hadn’t finished him off, his final attack would have drained him enough to kill.
Mirage could tell that Novea was getting worried. She hadn’t slept all night, just stayed in the living room waiting for her dad to come home. She’d finished her solar radiation book and had begun to read it again. She was two-thirds done before Mirage finally sat down next to her to break the news.
Mirage placed a tentative hand on Novea’s shoulder. “Novea, I have some bad news.”
Novea let out a shaky exhale, closing her book and turning to face Mirage. Her eyes were already beginning to well up.
Mirage steeled herself, hardening her grip on Novea’s shoulder. “Due to an unforeseen accident, your father has passed away.”
She watched as Novea processed what she had just heard, her face cycling through confusion, sadness, anger, and everything in between. The girl pushed away from Mirage, folding into herself, trying to disappear. She refused to look up, clearly trying to suppress her emotions.
Mirage didn’t know what to do. She had never been good with even her own emotions.
Offering comfort is always a good move, right?
“You don’t have to be strong in front of me, Novea. I might not be who you want to see right now, but I’m here for you.”
Before Mirage could say anything else she was pulled into a hug by Novea, who had begun to break down into full-body sobs. She was clinging to Mirage, who just weakly wrapped her arms around the girl.
She tentatively began to brush her hand through Novea’s hair in an attempt to soothe her, recalling how her own mother used to comfort her. “Let the tears fall when they come, Novea. It is what they must do.”
Novea just let out a muffled wail. Mirage wanted nothing more than to make all her pain disappear.
After a few minutes, Novea pulled away, wiping her eyes with her hands. Mirage grabbed a tissue box from the coffee table and held them out for the girl.
With that, Novea burst into tears again. “It’s—it’s just that I don't know what to do. I can’t go back to the NSA, Mirage!” Mirage looked down to see the girl’s hands violently shaking. She placed her own over them, hoping to calm her.
“I have no one left. Simon left and now dad’s left me too.” She took a tissue from Mirage and blew her nose, using her other hand to wipe tears. “I’m going to be forced back into those terrible labs with those terrible people who want to make me a weapon—” she was crying too hard to finish her sentence.
This time, Mirage was the one to offer Novea a hug. She held the girl as she continued to sob, continuing to brush a hand through her hair, wondering what to do next.
The guilt was swallowing her whole. She was the one who allowed all of this to happen. If she had just been more thorough in her research, if she had asked Simon more questions on that first plane ride or at least given him the time of day—
If I hadn’t ever met Syndrome.
She shoved that thought away. There was a difference between acknowledging her role in someone’s death and completely dismantling her husband’s life goal.
“We’ll figure it all out, Novea. I’m sure we can take you in, we have more than enough space. And while I’m not entirely sure where your worries with the NSA come from, trust me when I say that I have friends in high places.”
Novea’s face as she pulled away was unreadable. “You guys would really take me in?”
Mirage nodded solemnly. “It’s the least I can do.”
***
After Novea had no tears left, she passed out on the couch. Mirage knew she would have to tell Syndrome about Novea later, and she would probably get hell for it, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was taking responsibility for what she had done.
***
Mirage stared down at Jack’s body. She couldn’t see much through the visor on her hazmat suit, but she could make out enough to see that it was, in fact, the once great Gamma Jack.
His face was painted with bruises and minor cuts, and his hair was a mess, but at a glance one would assume he was just asleep after a rough battle.
Mirage almost wanted to.
Of course, once her eyes left his face, she saw the gaping stab wound in his chest. The Omnidroid had killed him by piercing a claw clean through just as Jack had begun to charge up his final attack. When he died the radiation was released, leveling the surrounding area.
Mirage signaled to the single Nomanisan soldier she brought with her to pick up Jack’s body. There was one last thing she had to do.
***
After wandering around for half an hour, Mirage finally found the cave she was looking for.
With the soldier in tow behind her, she walked in, using a flashlight to guide her to the back.
Simon’s body was a grave sight. She imagined herself in Jack’s place, finding her husband rotting here after years of no contact. She felt tears well up in her eyes.
I’m sorry, Simon.
Mirage commanded the soldier, “Lay him here. After that go wait outside until I rejoin you.”
The man nodded once, laying Jack next to Simon without much thought before retreating.
Mirage knelt down looking between Novea’s parents, not knowing what to say.
After a long silence, she stood.
Mirage had always lived by absolutes. She had always had an easy answer, someone else to blame. But now, for the first time in her life, there was no rule, no answer, no direction.
“I’m sorry I took you from her. But I’ll protect her. I’ll try to be the mother she needs. I don’t know how, but I swear I’ll find a way.”