Chương 27: Chapter 26

"Allow me to introduce myself," Tiff said now that they were in the privacy of the storeroom.

"I am Theophania VanDyne. This is Victoria, Champion of Shadows, the Unyielding Vanguard of the Dark Queen. Unless you want to end up like Vinny and Tony out there, start talking." Don looked furious now that he'd calmed down somewhat and wasn't about to pass out due to pain. He was still sending Tiff a murderous glare (which was softened somewhat by the tears and snot crusting his face), but a quick glance at Victoria quelled any rebellion.

"What do you want to know?" He snarled.

"You said you're the boss of the 5th Street Gang," Tiff pronounced solemnly. She let the words hang in the air while she secretly wracked her brain. She leaned slightly closer to Victoria, though it did nothing to hide her question.

"Where is 5th Street?" Don's jaw fell open indignantly, while Victoria let out a tired sigh.

"It's over by Garfield Avenue." Tiff's eyes widened.

"By the trampoline park? I love that place!"

"Tiff, you're going off track," Victoria shook her head.

"Right," Tiff coughed into her hand and readjusted.

"You don't even know where we're based out of?" Don said incredulously. Victoria shifted on her feet and he blanched.

"I'm a new player in the game," Tiff said, crossing her arms.

"But don't be deceived. I see everything in my city. It was only a matter of time before I found you." Not that she had any idea what she would have done once she did, but he didn't need to know that. Now it was time to move on to more important matters.

"What is it exactly you wanted from this store?" Tiff asked.

"What do you do here?" She was fairly certain it didn't have anything to do with the soft serve machine. Which was both a relief and a missed opportunity on his end. Don looked at her as if he were wondering whether he really needed to spell it out, but given his position, he did.

"It's a cash cow," he shrugged. Tiff tilted her head and he frowned.

"A front company? You know what money laundering is, kid?" Tiff huffed and looked to the side.

"I know it's more than tossing your money into a washing machine." How much more than that, she couldn't say. Don let out a groan and stared at the ceiling.

"What even is my life right now…?"

"I'm young," Tiff said defensively.

"Give it time. So what does it do?"

"You don't wash money, kid. It's a figure of speech. You do something like rob a bank? That's dirty. Your money can be tracked, so you can be tracked. But you don't wanna go to jail. So you gotta clean your money. Make it all nice and shiny and trace-free. You spread it out. Make little purchases in small quantities. Great, now you don't have the dirty bills, but you also don't have your cash and you didn't really want all those things you just bought; you want your dough.

So you either pawn it off to someone else with capital, or you deal in money transfers. This place is good for that. So long as you're pushing less than 5k a week, nobody needs to know who's moving the cash."

"Ahhh," Tiff nodded. That made sense.

"But that's not a lot of money in the long run," she muttered.

"You've got to have other places. What other businesses do you run?"

"You think I'm gonna tell you that?" Don snapped. Victoria instantly laid a hand on his shoulder and he tensed.

"You think you have a choice?" She growled.

"As I said," Tiff waved her hand airily.

"I see everything in my town. I'll find out either way; what matters is how cooperative you are…." She trailed off at the end there because she didn't actually know where to go with that threat. She was already far outside her comfort zone and was finally realizing what she'd gotten her and her sister into.

"Hey, hey!" Don scrambled, trying to nudge himself away from Victoria before being reminded of the pain in his leg and immediately ceasing.

"You want locations? We've got locations. We run the noise over The Plaza! Flat 10% right off the top. We've got another half a dozen locations like this, you know, little mom and pop places who really don't want any accidents happening to their store. Uh, uh, hey, I know! We own that little recycling place down on Clifton and Fairebrook. Legit, too… no funny business. Recycling's the feel-good money, you hear me?" Tiff raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Yes, she did hear…

but she didn't understand half of what he was saying. The man continued to ramble.

"Look, if you're really interested in playing in the big leagues, you need to get in on drugs-""Drugs?" Tiff replied sharply. She narrowed her eyes and Don floundered.

"Premium stuff. Straight from South America. We've got an in with some big boys down in Long Beach who can get it past customs-""Straight. Out." Tiff denied through clenched teeth. Her anger flared and Don shivered.

"I will not be having drugs in my city."" Your city?" Don scoffed.

"Girlie, we're talking about Long Beach. You might be the big fish here, but we're in a really small pond. Now… you've got ambition? That's good. You need it if you want to run in this world. But trust me on this. Get the goods. Get some men you trust out there on the streets and you don't even have to do the work yourself. Hell, you want customers for life? Set them up next to a high school and start them young-" Tiff let her anger get the better of her.

She picked up a small container of metal objects (just so it would make a lot of noise) and hurled it to the ground. The resounding screech and clang as what amounted to shrapnel ricocheting everywhere silenced the room. Tiff panted; it was probably excessive and more effort than she should have put in, but it did the trick. She glared at the man squirming in the chair, uncaring of her hateful gaze or how her aura was leaking everywhere. But she was livid.

"If you want to steal money from kids, do it in Roblox. Addicting somebody to abusive substances is vile and you're hobbling them for life. There's a special hell for people like you who prey on children," Tiff seethed.

"Which, if you've forgotten, includes me." Several sirens could just start being heard coming from the distance, and Tiff glanced at Victoria. She nodded and Tiff sighed.

"Be grateful we're out of time. Come, my Champion, let us leave."

"Wait, what?" Don choked out.

"You're just gonna leave me here? Tied up to this chair?!"

"Yes," Tiff nodded firmly, turning around.

"Perhaps, if you're lucky, they can fix your leg. I hear Meta medicine is quite advanced." Tiff paused and smirked.

"You do have insurance, don't you?" And she started walking away.

"Look, you need me!" Don yelled.

"I really don't," Tiff denied. She wanted this man far away from her or her sisters. Preferably behind bars where he couldn't threaten kids ever again.

"My boys'll hear of this! They won't stand for this!"

"Your 'boys' are finished," Tiff said with finality.

"Your gang is done. And besides…it's no longer your concern. You'll be living the comfortable life…in a cell."

Tiff ignored the rants, insults, and shouts aimed at her as she exited the storeroom. Once she and Victoria were back in the main lobby of the shop, they could see how much damage the fight had done. And, really, it wasn't the fight so much as it was that one, singular attack Vinny had made. Tiff frowned. Not only was he some sort of Might Meta, but he had energy projection as well. She looked up at the soda machines, which were mostly large hunks of plastic and metal, and they'd been obliterated.

Her eyes traveled down the snack bar and came to rest on the last machine in the row. Her heart sank. Her precious was destroyed! The poor soft serve machine was ripped to bits! But the only reason she was focusing on that was that she was trying to take her mind off the fact that the blast which caused this much carnage had hit Victoria straight in the chest. If she had been a normal Citizen, even with armor, she'd more than likely be paste on the non-existent wall.

Any pity she felt for the two men on the floor left her. She could see one of them breathe weakly, so there was a chance they were still alive, but even if they were, Tiff was sure their lives were effectively over. Victoria didn't leave anything on the table when she attacked them, and the ground beneath Vinny's head was cracked and sunken. The road to recovery for both of them would be long and arduous… if they recovered. The sirens grew louder and the first emergency vehicle pulled into the parking lot.

Tiff would see the flashing lights reflecting off the various liquids spraying out of broken pipes and sodas pooling on the floor. She nudged her sister and pointed to the hole in the wall. Silently, they both slipped out the back through the improvised exit. As soon as Tiff entered the back alley, she rushed over to the nearest wall. She placed her hand against the rough bricks, doubled over, and retched.

Bile acid stung her throat as what little she had floating in her stomach was forcibly ejected, but she didn't care about that. All Tiff could think about was how close she and her sister had almost come to getting killed. Or, if they'd been captured, possibly something much worse. And on top of that, this was all her fault. Not only had she insisted that Victoria bring her here, but she was the one responsible for the fight. Maybe if she hadn't egged the man on, things could have been settled peacefully? And… and…

and… she ordered Victoria to break a man's legs. Even if Victoria was justified in defending herself, Tiff was the one to give the order. This was her fault, her failing, her-"Get it all out," Victoria said softly. Her voice was back to normal, so at the very least she removed her helmet. A rough, armored hand rubbed her back gently, so she must still be suited up. As the soothing rubs worked their magic, Tiff's stomach revolted again.

Most of the fluid was gone, but a few chunks splattered on the walls and stained her shoes; Tiff was too busy dry heaving to care. When nothing else came up, Tiff defaulted to a coughing fit and started curling up into a ball. Victoria said something, but Tiff was mentally trapped. She kept running the scenario over and over in her mind, and she was only vaguely aware of her sister picking her up and carrying her to the car. Just because she was safely deposited in the Camry didn't magically make everything better.

She watched through hollow eyes as some paramedics removed Vinny and Tony on stretchers and a police officer was trying their best to contain a growing crowd of onlookers. She didn't say anything else the entire ride home and Victoria didn't try to make any small talk. Tiff was entirely catatonic by the time they pulled up to the house and wouldn't move from the car. Not because she was trying to be stubborn or rebellious, but her body just seemed to give up.

Once again Victoria had to carry her inside, and this time Tiff could see she was still wearing her entire power suit, minus the helmet. A vague hint of rising panic made her fear what might happen when she walked inside, but she wasn't walking, and she wasn't really good at caring right now either.

Victoria marched resolutely into the house, ignored how Amy came rushing up to her and nearly crashed because of noticing Tiff cradled in her arms, and didn't even stop when Melissa called out from the kitchen asking what all the noise was about. Tiff vaguely recognized a pan crashing to the ground, some muffled and frantic voices, and a growing train of family members as Victoria carried her down the hall. However, she was deposited in a very strange place.

Victoria entered the bathroom, turned on the water in the bath, and impatiently waited for it to heat up. After several moments, she deemed it suitable, and Tiff was dumped inside a slightly-more-than lukewarm tub with all her clothes still on. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Though it wasn't cold, the sudden shock of the water felt like being dunked in ice.

Tiff gasped, and it was like watching a black-and-white photograph slowly develop color. She saw Melissa standing like a sentinel in the doorway, Amy poking her head around her mom, and Victoria dismissing her armor. She gingerly removed her shirt and Tiff heard Amy scream.

"What the hell?" Melissa gasped.

"Tori, what happened?" Victoria's reflection in the mirror told a horror story. The armor protected her from all the normal bumps and scrapes, but there had to be a limit for what it could stand up against, and whatever that limit was, Vinny's power blast exceeded it. Victoria's torso, from the top of her ribs down to the crux of her groin, was a bruise.

A blackish-red welt the size of a baseball sat directly above her navel where the blast struck her dead-on, and concentric circles of yellowing-purple radiated away from it like some sort of sonic ripple. Victoria gently lowered her hand and experimentally touched the welt, but the slightest touch seemed to set her off.

"Ah, fuck." For once, Melissa didn't snap at her for cursing.

"I think I need to go to the hospital," she grimaced. Melissa's grip on the doorframe tightened like a vice, splintering the wood. Amy fled to escape the hail of chips, and Victoria's eyes went wide.

"Mom! Chill! It's not that bad! I mean, yes, it hurts like hell, but I'm not coughing up blood!" Melissa narrowed her eyes. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. Victoria traced her finger along one of the bruise-ripples lining her ribs and winced.

"I think something might be cracked."

"What did this?" Melissa growled." Who did this?"

"I can tell you about it later," Victoria said through clenched teeth.

"But right now, I think Tiff's in a worse spot than me."

"Are you hurt?!" Melissa's head whipped toward Tiff and she slowly lowered herself in the massive tub until her nose was barely above the water.

"No," Victoria gave a wheezing chuckle.

"She wasn't involved."

"I heard screams," Rick said, lumbering into the hallway. He took a look at the ruined door frame and his wife's tense muscles, but he froze when his eyes fell on his daughter.

"Tori…."

"Dad, can you give me a ride to urgent care?" Victoria asked.

"I don't think Mom should be driving right now." Melissa, indeed, looked like a bottled storm ready to be unleashed. In fact, with her wild, flaming hair exploding in an untamed mess, Tiff thought she looked rather like a character from Dragon Ball Z. In any other scenario, she would have laughed. There was a time and a place for jokes, and this wasn't it.

"Sure, baby. Let's go."

"Hold up one sec," Victoria said. She turned around and faced Tiff as she wallowed in the tub.

"Munch, you okay?" Victoria asked softly.

"I bet this isn't how you thought things would go down earlier when you got that prompt, huh? Or I don't know," Victoria hummed thoughtfully.

"Maybe this was exactly what you were afraid of?"

"What's going on?" Melissa demanded.

"What prompt? Victoria VanDyne, what in the world are you talking about?"

"Mom," Victoria said, standing up. She plastered on the most serious face she could muster and stared dead into her mother's eyes. Melissa had a full foot and probably 200 pounds on Victoria, but she didn't back down.

"Don't you dare give Tiff any shit for this. I make my own decisions and I own it. This time, I may have screwed up. Not sure. But if I find out you give her grief, I will fight you." Normally, no one in the family had any beef with anyone else. At most, there were a few catty squabbles amongst the sisters as they fought over the good cushions on the couch or made schemes for who could eat the most dessert. This might have been the first time Tiff ever saw Victoria stand up to her parents.

Melissa's jaw clenched, and the amount of tension she held in her body felt like a tangible radiator of power. But after a long, nerve-wracking moment, she deflated.

"Tori, I expect answers when you get back. But for now, your dad will take you to the ER."

"Eh, it's not that bad," Victoria said defensively as Rick took hold of her elbow to steer her away. But even the small twist of turning her body around made her grimace, so she fell silent.

"Now," Melissa said, turning toward Tiff.

"What's this all about? And what happened to your shirt?"

"I threw up," Tiff said lifelessly. Some of the orange-ish chunklets were still clinging to her clothes, while most of it was now floating in the water. Melissa observed the state of the bath and grimaced.

"Amy," she said tiredly as her youngest daughter tried squeezing her way into the crowded bathroom, "Go get Tiff some pajamas."

"B-"" Now, child," Melissa growled. Amy fled.

"Come on," she sighed, "Let's get you cleaned up." Tiff didn't resist the whole time her mom sat her up and helped her undress. They drained the tub, ran the shower for a few minutes to wash away the obvious filth, and then refilled it. With steaming hot water this time. Melissa gave Tiff a warm, affectionate smile, but it was clearly masking huge anxiety and nerves. Strangely, Tiff didn't feel all that nervous herself. In fact, she was only experiencing a single emotion. Guilt.

Her chest tightened and it felt like she was crammed in a small box. Only it wasn't enough that she was stuffed inside a space with her knees clutched to her chest, but somebody had gone and put a water balloon on top of her. And it was actively filling with water. Every inch of the box was filled, and the weight pressed down irresistibly, undeniably, and uncontrollably. Tiff felt like she was about to burst. So, she took a deep, shuddering breath. And she cried.

"Mom," Tiff wailed, "I'm a bad guy!" Melissa looked confused, but a playful smirk wormed its way onto her face. Through her tears, Tiff saw her mom open her mouth, likely to contradict her, but Tiff shook her head.

"No! It's true! I'm a bad guy, I'm a horrible person, and I dragged Tori into something that nearly got her killed! Because of me, she might have killed somebody!" Melissa's brows shot up and her smile quickly fell. She still looked confused, but was now more concerned.

"Tiff, slow down," Melissa tried to soothe.

"Take it easy. One breath at a time. There's a good girl. Now. How about you explain this to me…nice and slow?" Tiff closed her eyes. The image of walking up to the shop counter to buy a cheap snack was burned into her mind like a bad video left on pause.

"I'm a Villain, Mom," Tiff said after a lengthy pause.

"A real one. A bad guy. Somebody so far down on the Greyscale, the System recognizes it. And not just that, I'm a Super villain." Tiff kept her eyes closed and summoned her screen. She didn't bother looking for her mom's reaction.

"I'm rotten to the core. My entire Class is evil. It gave me a territory, and it stole all the authority from whoever had it before. Now I'm getting notifications about all the things that go on, like gang wars and who has what influence in what area. The System gave me a tool that lets me see everything, and I do mean everything! So I'm some sort of walking, talking dictator for everybody in a 20-mile radius! And everything I do makes me more evil.

If I spot someone committing a crime, can I turn them in for good-guy points? Nope! I get rewarded for betraying other bad guys and I gain Infamy! I think it's already getting to the point where the System is telling people to watch out for me, like I'm some bad bitch that's going to ruin their day!" Tiff took a shuddering breath and she heard her mom cough awkwardly.

"That's…not exactly taking things slow, Tiff."

"Oh, it gets better," Tiff ranted.

"Every day for the last week, I've been getting Quests. They're evil things for evil people. Like, go watch that guy rob a place, or hire a minion. I'm getting more evil just by existing! Soon enough, if I gain too much Infamy, are Heroes going to start noticing my presence and come shut me down? And it's already started to affect the family; it's dragged Tori into my mess at least twice now!"

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked.

"Okay, so, we went to the 24-Heaven a few days ago to get ice cream. Just hanging out, having a good time. Only, apparently, a local gang runs a racket here and they sent somebody to collect. We thought they were being robbed. They threatened us, so Tori beat 'em up. And when we turned to the cashier, he thought I was the new mob boss! I don't know how or why, but the System must've told him. He recognized me when we went back in today.

"Oh, and that's another thing. So, the part of my Class that spies on everybody? It also tracks gang wars, apparently. Not that I wanted to know what gangs get up to, but now I do! And, guess what? It turns out, they like killing each other! So I got notifications and updates about the aftermath of all these people dying, and then, BAM, a few minutes later, I get an alert. It says my territory, which, by the way, isn't something I asked for, it says my territory is being contested.

So I think back to the screen that says 'everybody dies,' and I don't want that to happen to us. You know, just because the System gave me territory? So I beg Tori to take me down to the shop." Tiff took another deep breath and Melissa waited tensely.

"We get there, and nothing's happening. I think, maybe it's a fluke? But the guy behind the counter sees me, even though he didn't recognize Tori, who walked in first, and he's all, 'Oh wait, I already paid you this week!' And, of course, to make things worse, an actual gang leader walks in next! Like, a real gang leader of a real gang! And he's all big and tough and he's got big, tough guards, and he starts making these claims and threats and I got pissed off.

"Why didn't I just keep quiet? Why did I have to drag Tori over there? Because now, she got blasted with a force-punch, the shop is practically destroyed, and Tori may have killed two people. Oh, and to top it off, I had her tie the boss to a chair and demand to know what else he does in the area. And, and, and…Mom. It wasn't because I wanted to shut him down, but I was outraged that he was moving in on my area! Like I'm some sort of mafia guy! And I had Tori break his leg!"

"Well," Melissa said awkwardly, "That sounds-""Mom," Tiff said sternly.

"I have a Quirk." Tiff shoved another window in her mother's face even as she covered her own.

"I'm not lying, Mom. I don't know exactly how this thing works, but at the very least, I'm pretty sure I'm telling the truth as I know it. And when I say I had Tori break his leg… I very much told Tori to break the guy's god damned leg. And, do you see the Skill I have? Indomitable? It makes me not afraid? Well, it works, but it doesn't fundamentally change who I am. I still would have done all those things on my own, even without the Skill. It just makes it so I don't cower out if somebody's trying to be a bully."

Tiff sank back down into the tub, despite the fact that she was becoming a grade-A prune. She blew some frustrated bubbles out of her mouth, but her frustration quickly evaporated into apathy. She'd said her piece. Now she just needed to wait for Melissa's judgment. Which didn't take the form Tiff thought it would.

"Tiff," Melissa said at length. Tiff looked up to see her mom slumped with sagging shoulders, looking incredibly sad.

"Tiff," Melissa repeated, "Do you know the difference between right and wrong?" Tiff tilted her head. Of course she did-"Yeah, there's plenty of platitudes we can both spew out, but I'm not here to give you a sermon," Melissa chuckled.

"It's choice, Tiff. That's the difference between right and wrong. It's what you do with the hand life deals you."

"But I chose to stick Tori between those guards and me! If I didn't drag her there-""Then there would have been a different set of choices," Melissa shook her head.

"And Tori made her own choice when she decided to fight. Yes, she hurt people. She hurt them badly, and maybe she did kill somebody. But if what you're telling me is true, and I believe you when you say it is, then she did it in self-defense. What would have happened if you both surrendered at the start? Would they have treated you nicely? Kidnapped you? Worse?" She added in a severe tone.

"Some people might say there was always another way. That there's always another choice. Who knows? One day, maybe we'll all be judged. But for now, we make our choices, and we move on." Melissa sighed and rested her arms on the tub, dangling her hands in the water and swirling them around.

"So the System gave you a messed-up Class. Great. So it's dragging you into its schemes at every turn. Big whoop, we can deal with that. Does that inherently make you evil? No. Did you see that Class, those quests or whatever, and immediately use them to hurt others or put yourself above them?" Melissa waited and Tiff shook her head.

"See? Your hand is crap, Tiff. If this were poker, you'd have a 7-2. Doesn't mean you can't win, it just means the game's stacked against you. So you know what? Screw 'em. Rig it. Play dirty. So long as you make the best choices you can in the moment, I'm not gonna hold it against you." Melissa thought for several moments before eventually nodding to herself. She rolled up her left sleeve, and twisted her body so Tiff could see the inside edge of her shoulder, just above the crux of her armpit.

Somebody would have to be really looking for it, but Tiff could just barely make out a faint, faded tattoo. It was a tiny butterfly, smaller than her pinky nail.

"See this?" Melissa asked. Tiff nodded in amazement. She never knew her mom had a tattoo. It wasn't something she ever talked about, and it wasn't like Tiff could see that high normally, especially since it was in an area that was almost always hidden.

"This is probably the most evil thing I've ever done." She paused for effect…and, well, it worked. Tiff clearly took the bait and scowled. Melissa laughed.

"I know, right? Tattoos aren't evil. They can't be evil." Melissa paused to think.

"Unless your Class is some sort of weird, tattoo-based voodoo. Then, yeah." She chuckled and rolled down her sleeve.

"It's not the tattoo itself, but why I got it. You know I don't talk much about my own mom and dad. I was, let's say…a rebellious youth. Got into a lot of scrapes, and, well, that's a story for another time. But this?" She tapped her arm.

"Drove a spike right through my mom's heart. And the worst part was? I did it on purpose. Some things were said, some things that can't be unsaid, and we haven't spoken since. Don't even know where they moved to, or if they're still alive. Do I regret it? One hundred percent. But that's a part of life. We need to live with those choices. I promised myself long ago, when I first met your dad, that I'd be different. I wouldn't be so stubborn; I wouldn't make the same mistakes.

I didn't want my family to be like the one I grew up in. But the thing, Tiff, is that I wouldn't know any better if I didn't make those mistakes. Some lessons, only life can teach. But I can do my damndest to try and pass them on. So, Tiff, you aren't evil. You just haven't made enough mistakes to figure that out yet." For the first time today, Tiff felt a genuine smile break across her quivering lips. She looked up at her mom, who held her arms wide open. … Tiff considered the fact that she was completely soaked.

Maybe it was okay to be a tiny bit evil. She leaned into the hug, getting water everywhere. Melissa pulled Tiff bodily from the tub as she stood up in a hug, swinging her back and forth. Eventually, she put Tiff down so she could dry off and get changed. Eventually the talk turned to Victoria and Melissa had Tiff describe the fight. Her mom was, perhaps, just a touch bloodthirsty. Melissa had Tiff stop and explain the "force-punch," as she'd called it, multiple times.

"Damn," Melissa nodded appreciatively.

"It took out the back wall of a convenience store? Those things are made of concrete or cinder blocks. That ain't nothin' to sneeze at. Not sayin' I'm not glad, but I didn't know Tori was that tough."

"She got a Class change when she became my [Core Guardian]," Tiff sighed…but then she grinned.

"It came with a Might boost. She's S now. Tori might be able to beat you in arm wrestling." Melissa's eyes bulged and her spirit flared. She flashed Tiff a savage grin, and for some reason, everything felt like it was going to be okay." Nobody beats me in arm wrestling in this house!"