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Katherine's parents have always thought she was a curse. When she was born, an earthquake struck and destroyed their home, causing her parents to despise her since they didn't have the money to fix or buy a new house.
They lived on the streets until Katherine was five, she was at the market with her parents, she looked around in awe and stopped at a small, run down bakery.
"Hi there! Where are you're parents?"
"What do you mean sir? I'm with my parents right now!"
"Kid... there's no one behind you..."
Katherine turned around, looking for her parents, only to see other people walking down the street, her parents nowhere to be seen. She runs around the street aimlessly for a long time, then collapsed in an alley, crying her little heart out.
"Hello? Is someone here?", a little voice called out. Katherine peeks out to see two young boys, a couple years older than her. She wipes her tears away and steps out of the shadows.
"H-hello..."
"Hey uh--why are you here?"
"I... my parents... I-I... can't..."
"Did they abandon you?"
Katherine nods, wrapping her arms around herself in comfort. The two boys look at her, then at each other and nodded. One of them reached his hand out, a warm smile played across his lips.
"I'm Flow, this is Scott. What's your name?"
"K-Katherine..."
"Well Katherine, welcome to the family."
When they went to the "new home", Pearl scolded them for being out longer than needed.
Katherine thought this family would be with her through thick and thin. Because this? Is a real home...
It's been years since Flow left, it hurt that the same person who brought her to her new home, was the same person who left without hesitation. How ironic.
She's seen the news, he's a hero now, looking proud and happier than ever. Anger boiled in her blood, she seeked revenge. For the heroes, for HACC, for that bastard. He was never her friend, he never cared about them, so she won't care about him either.
Xornoth had taken them in a couple years back, he's been teaching them magic, something that was supposed to be illegal and forbidden, but this is the underground, anything is legal in their territory.
She doesn't know why Scott thought that Xornoth was bad, all he did was teach them how to fight back. Nothing wrong about that.
He's been teaching her Dark Magic, lifting the shadows, controlling the darkness. It was amazing. Her first time, she was able to make black and dark crimson red thorns come out from the ground, it wrapped around the dummy and crushed it into pieces. The arms and legs were covered in tiny holes, the chest was ripped apart, split into two.
She was so happy when she mastered it. People feared her thorns and called her "Killer Thorn", the underground villain that showed no mercy to anyone who dared cross her path.
"Hey Katherine!", she looks behind her and sees Shubble and Joey walking towards her.
"Hey guys! I'm just practicing some magic."
"Cool, you're getting better.", Shubble said.
"Thanks! So why are you guys here?", Katherine asked while continuing her training.
"It's Kalani and the others, they've made a group, taking down some of the big leagues.", Joey explained, Katherine replied with a sigh.
"When are they ever gonna learn?"
"Probably never." Shubble answered. "They're pretty strong, combined with Kalani's skills? They're lethal."
Kalani was the smartest kid Katherine has ever known, she invented gadgets and machines with the scraps of the underground. She's fast, strategic, with insane intelligence. She would become a threat later on.
The trio talked for what felt like ages until Pixl came in with Xornoth.
"Katherine, I want you to take down... a threat near the docks.", Xornoth ordered.
"Yes sir.", she grabbed her pistol and set off.
"We'll be on our way, bye Pixl."
"Bye guys."
As soon as they left, Pixl turns to Xornoth with worry, "Xornoth, about the new recruits. What will they do?"
"False will help Fwhip, Oli will assist in the shipments. Tell that to them as well."
And with that, Pixl walks out of the room, leaving Xornoth alone with his thoughts.
'I will bring you back home, brother, even if by force.'
Sword has always wished to be a hero, he longed to save people from dangers and catastrophes.
It was his dream.
Just not what his parents want.
They tried explaining to him multiple times, being a hero is an impossible dream, especially for common civilians. They would argue about this alot, that was until he actually got into UU Heroics. He moved out and never spoke to his parents again.
Now years later, he's a famous rescue hero, people love him. He has real friends, life's been good to him.
Except for the fact his parents keep sending letters. And they weren't the supportive ones.
In one letter, his dad wrote that he would give him money, with the condition that he studies Law. Another one from his mother, she said that he was ruining his future by choosing heroics even if he was already successful.
It grew to the point where he has to move houses three times in one year, because his parents kept sending letters and finding out his address.
After moving the third time, the letters stopped. Life became peaceful once more.
That was until he got a call from the hospital phone number, it was his mother, he was about to hang up when his mother explained the situation, apparently, his father got a heart attack at work and they can't pay the bills, they needed money for treatment and they had asked him for help.
Even though he was a hero, his paycheck wouldn't be able to cover it all. So, for his parents, he took on more missions, skipped meals and was even deciding to teach at UU Heroics to get more money.
But even all of that, all his sacrifices, all the pain he had to endure, his father passed away five months after the call. His mother blamed him for not getting enough money for his father, for not taking care of it properly, saying that this wouldn't have happened if he had chosen a lawyer or doctor.
After his own mother screaming at him, he got into his car and drove for thirty minutes, he stopped at a mansion and rang the doorbell.
There, came out his mentor, Saparata, during his student days, he interned for him at his agency, he was his top intern. Saps loved him like his own. So when he saw Sword, breaking down crying, he welcomed him in without question.
"Should I be asking what happened?" Saps asked, and when he shaked his head, he didn't push further and just stayed there for him, something his parents never did in his childhood.
"You can stay here if you need to. Flux and Planet won't mind."
"S-sure..."
He stayed there for three days. In those days, he talked to Saps and was comforted unlike what his mother did, he helped Planet with homework, even though he too didn't understand a single thing.
After that, life just... became normal. He went back to his regular duties, he smiled for the media and still had a family that he can always come back to.
Two children were playing on a rooftop. Giggling and laughing as the two pushed and chased each other.
"Dream! Savannah! Your mom is calling!"
"Coming!", the two said in unison and headed down stairs.
The hallway smelled like cigarettes and vomit, three men were smoking, two women were drinking, another one was in the floor balling her eyes out and an older man was drunk and bumping into everyone.
Dream knows this apartment wasn't the best place to raise a child, let alone two! But it was all they're parents can afford, it was this or the streets, where people beg for money, get black out drunk, robbed and harassed by others. Yeah, based on that alone makes their apartment building look safe.
Dream shielded his younger sister as they pass the many people in the hallway and reached the apartment at the very end.
Their apartment was a mess, the wallpaper was peeling, dishes piled up in the sink, letters from the building manager on the table, all their furniture had holes and were bought at a garage sale. But even with this mess, they still called it home.
"Well! If you actually start working, maybe we can afford rent!", their father yelled.
"I am working! That place barely pays me shit!", their mother shot back.
"Maybe get another job then!"
"Another job?! I'm working everyday for hours!"
Dream covered his sister's ears as their parents continued fighting, their mother had to take care of them 24/7, but no one wants kids in their business, the brothel only allowed them if him and Savannah kept to themselves in the owner's office while their mother worked 12 hour shifts everyday for ten dollars an hour, fifteen if the client is satisfied enough.
His father works two jobs, one was at a factory, paying him ten dollars an hour for over 10 hours of work, while the other one was at a bar, pays him twelve an hour for his six hour shift. But just recently, their father got laid off his job at the factory due to budget cuts, so now, instead of a six hour shift, he works sixteen hours everyday, coming home to sleep and goes back to work, still exhausted.
His parents skipped breakfast and dinner everyday so that him and his sister can eat properly.
Dream wants to help his parents, but he's only fourteen, jobs would only offer to sixteen year olds. Plus, that meant leaving his sister alone, he can't do that, not until she can protect herself.
He grabs the two plates prepared for them and they both rush into their room as their parents continue to fight.
His sister looks at the food with disgust but she still put some food into her mouth, her reaction made sense, since the food they were given was canned beans that looked expired with rice that isn't even cooked well enough, but there was nothing they could do, this was all their parents can provide with and was the only stable food source in the underground besides bread and fish, and those were too expensive.
"Dream?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you... think we can escape this life...?"
"Well, with HACC, no. That's why we need to depend on each other, mom and dad have their own things to worry about, we need to stick together no matter what."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Eight years passed by in a flash, him and Savannah ran away from home after their mother told them to while physically fighting with their father. They have been living with Techno and his family until the accident.
Savannah has been studying nonstop to become a surgeon to get all of them out of this hell. She only sleeps for about two hours, before getting up and reviewing her research because they couldn't afford real books or a laptop for her. It was painful, watching your sister go through so much all because she wants a better future for them all.
So when Techno proposed becoming villains to earn money, he was all in. After their first mission, Savannah was able to buy study materials, and Techno's family was able to pay rent and the medicine for his sisters.
He never expected that the solution was to be the villain in everyone else's story.
Becoming a villain was the true solutions to their problems. It always has been for the underground and it will always be that way...