#exitthepool

[moonbeam-dragon]

Light of Our Lives Part 5

Moonrise! This is going to be pretty much a bunch of drabbles put together. I can’t write out a full chapter right now so you can have these. Tw:

Paris-Jaide had on a green hoodie as she walked through the city. Elmo and Bud followed behind her, in their respective disguises. Tonight wasn’t even for a heist. Tonight, they just needed to move around and get some fresh air. But, being criminals and presumed dead, the disguises were still needed. It had been almost two months now since the incident at the dam. Summer was shifting away, autumn now in its place. The late night air was crisp and refreshing. Paris-Jaide skipped ahead of her parents a bit, looking around. She didn’t know much about the city. But parts seemed familiar. She looked up at a tall building. That was a department store. She scrunched her nose up at it. It only recalled boredom and agitation in her mind. So she continued walking. Bud noticed the short shift in her mood.

When she continued moving, he put it out of his mind. Elmo did things like that occasionally, struggling with his amnesia. It made sense that Paris-Jaide would also have issues with that. Her memory after the incident wasn’t the best. She had no recollection of before, that was sure. Even aside from that, she had a patchy memory. That was part of the reason they’d come out here. It was her first time downtown in a while. Maybe something would ring a bell.

Elmo caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “You know Mousy’s?” he asked, jabbing a thumb back at the tall store.

Paris-Jaide looked back at it and shrugged. “I think. It stresses me out just looking at it,” she whispered, her ears twitching. “It reminds me of that woman’s face. My birth mother, that is. Maybe she worked there?”

Elmo looked back at Bud, making sure he noted that, because he sure wouldn’t. The watery canine nodded in understanding.

“I don’t really want to remember these things,” Paris-Jaide continued. She looked around at all the buildings in the area. “They don’t matter. Do they?”

Elmo shook his head. “Nope. That’s the price we pay as villains. We have to give up our old lives for the sake of what we believe in.”

Bud nodded, splashing to be next to the others. “Indeed. In order to make an omelet, you must crack a few eggs,” he joked, poking Elmo’s head as a joke. A spark flew between the two, making Elmo growl quietly.

“If you short me out, I’ll plug all the drains in the lighthouse and lock you out,” Elmo said. Paris-Jaide looked back at them, grinning. Despite their villainous behavior, she knew they were empty threats. Just the other day, Elmo had threatened to put Bud in the freezer, and never followed through. Bud gave a cocky grin to the other, unphased by the comment.

Paris-Jaide grinned and pulled them both a little closer. “You know you don’t hate each other~”

Elmo glared at his partner, humming. “Yeah, sure.”

Bud saw right through him, ironically, and put his arm around the other in a hug. “You know what they say. The customer is always right!”

Elmo tried shoving him away, but the quick contact caused him to shock the other, shorting both of them out and zapping Paris-Jaide in the crossfire. Bud fell into a puddle of water with a trenchcoat and a hat on top of it. Elmo groaned and fell to the side, head aching. Paris-Jaide whined at the feeling but it quickly rolled away. It left her with an unpleasant prickly feeling like her limbs had fallen asleep. She stepped out of Bud’s puddle and leaned over Elmo. “You two alright?” she asked.

“We’re used to it,” Elmo explained, whimpering as he got up. Bud tried reforming into his disguise, but that ultimately failed as he came up backwards. Paris-Jaide giggled loudly when she saw them.

___

Paris-Jaide sat on the beach, in the moonlight. She had activated her powers for a bit, testing out a theory. The night she’d discovered her powers, she’d turneed some woodchips into glowing green anomalies. She decided to test this. She had a pencil and paper next to her. She’d heard Elmo and Reggie discussing science stuff. The one thing she clearly recalled was them mentioning testing things three times. So she had three cups of water and the rocks in from of her.

The young mouse held her hand out at the first rock, her dark green eyes narrowing at it. How did her dad do this? He just focused his energy into his hand and zapped stuff. She took a breath, thinking of her hand getting heavier. She pictured her hand glowing, getting dangerously radioactive. Her pastel green fur started glowing on her hand, even brighter than usual. “Okay, now charge it to the rock,” she whispered to herself. She watched intently as the little white pebble started turning green. She kept going for a minute until it obtained a deeper color and was emitting light.

Paris-Jaide felt a connection through her hand. She held the rock up and stared at it. Her curiosity getting to her, she set it on the ground and held her hand above it. She watched as she pulled the rock into her hand without touching it, gasping. She grinned when it worked, standing up and holding the rock out. She threw it and held her hand out, trying to keep it up. It worked. “Oh, yeah! I’m a pro at this superpower thing!” She saw how the rock kept glowing, and moved as her hand commanded. She laughed, putting her other hand out to summon another rock. When nothing happened, she looked at the other rocks she had set out. Maybe she could only move them if she charged them. Paris-Jaide carefully pulled the other rock back to her hand, wrapping her fingers around it securely.

She went over the same thing with the other two rocks, getting the same results. So she was right! She could charge other things. And apparently that allowed her to control them. With more practice, she could find great ways to use them in the field.

Paris-Jaide tried the same thing with the water. She watched as they slowly turned a rich, light green. She pulled her hand up, smiling as the water followed her. She held it above her in an orb, watching it ripple. She held her other hand up to it, making the connection. She pulled them apart and two undefined masses of glowing water. She focused on them, shaping them back into two orbs.

While she was practicing with her water, just moving it around as she dances, Bud came out of the lighthouse. “Two out of two fathers agree that it is time you come inside,” he said, swishing over to his daughter. “Jaide, why don’t you-” He saw what she was doing with the water and paused, watching her.

Paris-Jaide saw him and smiled, tilting her head to invite him closer. “Pops! Check out what I can do!” she said, swirling the water around her until it was a solid ring. She kept it still around her, so it was level with her waist. “I can move things if I charge them. I’ve only tested it on rocks and water but I think it can apply to other things.”

Bud came a little closer, watching with interest. He smiled at her. “Isn’t this something?”

Paris-Jaide giggled, pulling the hoop over her head and started spinning it. “Isn’t it cool? Imagine all the ways I could use this in a fight!” she said, suddenly constricing the water so it was likea tube-shaped trap.

“Oh, in a fight now?” Bud said, raising what would be an eyebrow. “You think you’re ready to go fight Darkwing Duck with us?”

Paris-Jaide sook her head, slowing the hoop. “No. But if I keep practicing with this, I could!” she said. Her voice suddenly got really excited, dripping with a crazed kind of glee. “And one day, Darkwing Duck and Quiverwing Quack will regret ever crossing Megavolt, Liquidator, and-” She stopped, her face suddenly going relaxed. “Actually, I don’t know what my villain name is.

Bud smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Ah, things like that may take time. It took your dad quite a while to get a hold of his superpowers,” he said. “But I was quite the fast learner. It had a good grip on mnie in days. Being a much younger example, you might take longer. But I’d say you’re still learning quite fast!”

Paris-Jaide smiled, jumping up and hugging him. “Thank you, Pops!” she said. The glowing water she was holding suddenly splashed apart, falling into the sand and turning it green. The pair watched as the radioactive charge faded away in a minute, no longer being sustained by her focus.

Elmo walked out of the lighthouse, rushing over to them. “It’s late. You should be in bed, young lady,” he said to his daughter.

Paris-Jaide gasped and waved at her dad. “Dad, come here! I need to show you what I can do!”

___

In the dead of winter, St. Canard was covered in ice. Paris-Jaide had to stay home while her parents were out on a heist. It was normally fine leaving her alone for a bit, unless she was bored and wanted to do experiments. So she sat in her room, curled up in a blanket, with a pack of glow sticks. She’d swiped them from a clearance section in a store, just curious to see what would happen.

She could eat battery acid, right? So if she could consume battery acid with no consequences other than her hair glowing more than usual, then what could glow sticks do to her?

Snapping one of the glow sticks, Paris-Jaide watched the fluorescent green spread through the thin stick. She shook it until it was evenly spread and then took a breath. “Here goes nothing.” She bit into the plastic,  taking off the tip of the glow stick. She spat the tip into her hand and put the rest of the stick to her lips, turning her head up and drinking the whole thing. It tasted extremely bitter, and she shut her eyes tighter as it passed over her tongue. It left her mouth with a spicy feel and gross aftertaste. She set the plastic bits on a towel next to her.

She unwrapped her blanket a bit, looking over her arms. She still had light brown fur. Nothing was glowing. She hummed and pulled her braided hair over her shoulder, seeing the same brown as always. Huffing, Paris-Jaide reached to her bedside for a hand-mirror, looking at her eyes. Still brown as well. Did glow sticks just not work on her? That would be disappointing.

After a moment, she got impatient and started shaking herself, not sure what she needed to do to speed up the process. “Come on! If battery acid works, why won’t these?” she asked herself, flopping backwards. Her blanket fell off and she was cold. The lighthouse didn’t have the best insulation or heating, but she didn’t care right now. Then she felt warmth kindle in her stomach. Didn’t glow sticks get warm when you snapped them? She held her arm up in front of her, seeing her fur was now a more pastel green than light brown.

She grinned, sitting up and grabbing another glow stick. She snapped another one, which came out a yellow color. Downing it in one go, Paris-Jaide got up out of bed, jumping and shaking her body to spread the juice through her system. She held out her arm and saw the pastel green was now a little yellow. Different color glow stick, different color body. Made sense. To even it out, she found a blue glow stick and snapped it. She drank the whole thing and stuck her tongue out at the spicy and bitter taste. That would take some getting used to. She shook herself again, pleased to see her fur evening into a richer light green.

Paris-Jaide pulled her hair over her shoulder, bursting out into a fit of giggles when she saw how much brighter it was. Her whole room had a dim green glow about it, shadows shifting as she moved. Her dark green eyes shone as she took in the information. Her long, thin tail twitch back and fourth in her excitement. 

When she heard the bottom door open, she ran out of her room, going down to greet her parents. “Dad! Pops! Check it out! I was drinking from glow sticks and look what it does to my fur and my hair!”

Megavolt looked up, eyes wide. Why was he not surprised that that sentence was the first thing they heard from their nine-year old? “What does-” He stopped himself when he saw the young mouse come running down the stairs, glowing green. “Sweet Tesla, that is bright,” he said.

Paris-Jaide nodded, running over to them. “Yep! This is what happens when I have three. So-” she stopped upon seeing Liquidator covered in snow- Wait, no, he was the snow. “You okay, Pops?” she asked.

Liquidator smiled, slowly nodding. “The Liquidator is fine, thought not in one hundred percent conditions.”

Paris-Jaide smiled sympathetically. It was so cold outside, he’d started to freeze. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing. “I prescribe you with warm hugs to thaw you out!”

Bud sighed, wrapping his arms around his daughter, taking in her natural warmth. Actually, maybe that wasn’t natural. She felt a lot warmer than normal. “It seems you have your own trademark glow-stick-wamrth-charged-hugs,” he commented, feeling relieved as he thawed out more quickly than he’d thought he would. She was really warm now. But she didn’t seem to be burning. And as long as she didn’t seem to be burning, he did not mind.

Elmo took off his hat and battery, setting them on some hooks and going over to his boyfriend and daughter, carefully wrapping his arms around both of them. Bud hummed contentedly at the added warmth. “Oh, geez, kiddo. You really are warmer!” he noted, running his fingers through her hair. Paris-Jaide giggled, relaxing into all the loving touch.

Elmo smiled warmly at the other two. He had gone a long time going out and doing his villain things, then coming back to an empty, dingy apartment. Now he got to come back with his sweet and protective boyfriend, to their darling daughter. He wouldn’t change that for that world.

___

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Paris-Jaide asked, looking up at her uncle curiously.

“Of course I do!” Jacky said, grabbing more aluminum. “I watched an online tutorial earlier. Makes me basically an expert!”

Paris-Jaide sighed. Worst case scenario, she just cut off all her hair. She looked again in the mirror that was set up. Pieces of her hair were sectioned off, just in the front. She watched as Jacky mixed the bleach and put a piece of her hair on a piece of aluminum. “Uh-huh,” she said, trying to relax. She squeezed the squishie that Jacky had given her to keep her from moving too much. It was a colorful butterfly, and when she squeezed it, it made a shrill screaming noise, the eyes popping out with a red liquid on the inside.

“Will the bleach make your powers act up?” Jacky asked as he started brushing the mixture onto her hair.

Paris-Jaide shrugged a bit, thinking. She’d tested her powers with a few things. “I don’t think so. If it does, I won’t explode… I don’t think,” she said with a smirk.

Jacky laughed at that. Elmo would kill him if his daughter blew up while he was watching her. But it was a funny thought that she’d cause an explosion.

Paris-Jaide talked idly about random things while Jacky bleached her hair, mentioning things with her powers and new home life.

“I’m really glad everything’s warmed up. Spring is so much better. And Pops gets freezy all the time. Plus Dad shorts out if it snows too much,” she said as her uncle finished rinsing out the last of the bleach. “They really don’t like winter.”

“I think I’m the only one that does like it!” Jacky said, getting out the dye pack and starting to mix it. “Reggie hates the cold. He just stays locked up in his greenhouse for months!” he said. “Elmo has the whole problem with snow being water and he shorts out just walking through it! It’s actually kind of funny seeing his freak out over a blizzard.” He ran a towel through Paris-Jaide’s hair, making sure the bleached parts were dry. “Bud can control snow and everything. He did use the cold snap to make an ice army,” Jacky pointed out.

“Yeah. He just hates getting cold himself,” Paris-Jaide reminded him. “He gets all slushy and stiff.”

“It sounds cool!” Jacky said. “One thing about not having superpowers that’s nice is not having to deal with things like that! At least your powers don’t get weird in the cold.”

“Nope,” Paris-Jaide shook her head.

Jacky put a hand on the top of her head to keep her from moving. “I know it’s so boring to sit still. But you don’t want my to spoil all your hair!” he said. “Imagine just having messy green spots! You’d look like Splatter Pheonix.” The duck laughed at the idea of that. “Actually, maybe you should do that.”

“No! I want to do streaks. That would look way cooler,” Paris-Jaide argued. “I don’t want to look like that dumb doodler.”

Jacky burst out laughing at her comment, having to put down the bowl of dye so he didn’t spill it everywhere. “Oh, you’re a riot, kid!” he said, hugging her from the side. Paris-Jaide snickered, hugging him back.

By the time her parents came to get her, Jacky had finished coloring her hair. She’d hidden in the next section of his warehouse, wanting to surprise them.

Elmo and Bud looked around when they entered, seeing Jacky but no Paris-Jaide. “Visitors would like to know: Where is our daughter?”

Jacky pulled a horn out of his sleeve, playing it like a royal declaration. “I’m so glad you asked!” he said. “Introducing the radiant and radioactive Paris-Jaide Fludspark!”

The young mouse in question ran out from behind a shelf and threw her hands up in the air. “Ta-da! What do you think?”

Elmo audibly gasped when he saw her hair. She’d taken it out of her usual braid to dye it. A couple strands on each side were now a deep emerald green, which shone in comparison to her dark hair. “It’s green,” he said bluntly, smiling at the child. “I think it suits you!”

“Need a way to express yourself? Want a way to pay tribute to your viridescent villain form? Try dying your hair! It’s a great choice,” Bud said, swishing over and scooping his daughter up in a hug. “That color looks gorgeous on you!”

Paris-Jaide laughed and hugged him back, arms dipping into his water for a second. When he finally set her down, she waved to Jacky. “Thanks for doing my hair, Uncle Jacky!” she said, taking each of her parents hands.

“Anything, anytime, kiddo!” Jacky said, watching his friends and niece as they left. Ha. He had a niece. He felt pretty lucky to just be apart of this group. Sure, they were all ruthless villains, but they were a little family. He’d never admit it to anyone else, but he loved them.

I’m going to stop it there. Hope you enjoyed it, just a bunch of little moments. Remember to like and comment. It makes it so much better when I know what you all think! Farewell, best of luck, avoid roasted cabbage, don’t eat earwax, and look on the bright side of life!Moonset!

[moonbeam-dragon]

Light of Our Lives Part 4

Moonrise! Here’s more of this. Enjoy some legitimate development of character. This will be a little more filler than anything. But whatever. Tw: Child consuming chemicals.

It had been about two weeks since Paris-Jaide had been adopted. She’d officially taken board in the lighthouse, as it had a room on the second floor she could use. She’d made herself quite comfortable there. There was a small window with a shelf under it. She could look out and see the rolling waves of the Audubon Bay and part of St. Canard’s shore. It was a gorgeous view, even if it was restricted. The shelf held a number of pretty rocks she’d taken from the beach. They were all different sizes, shapes, and colors. She often spoke to them when her parents were gone, or when she was bored. It was almost like how Elmo talked to his lightbulb friends. There was a dresser, which Bud had stolen, next to the window. It was full of pretty clothes Jackie had given her. He apparently had a doll collection of different sizes, and she was perfectly fitting for part of the wardrobe. Most everything in there was a shade of green, blue, or yellow, with the occasional orange. She definitely had a preference. Her bed was on old one that had been there since the lighthouse was built. The wood itself was sturdy enough, but the blankets had been moth-eaten and dusty. The only logical thing to do was for Bud to go out and steal a new comforter set and pillows. The best part was confusing Darkwing Duck as to why he’d do that!

Paris-Jaide sat on her blue-green sheets as she played with a rock. She hummed as she flipped it over in her hand and flipped it on her bed. This rock was particularly playful. It didn’t at all mind being flipped and tossed about, as long as it didn’t get cracked. She wasn’t sure when Bud would be back. He was planning a heist or something with their boss. Elmo was in town, saying something about neutralizing stuff. Whatever that meant.

Paris-Jaide got up and slipped her rock into the pocket of her dress. She walked up to the top room, which served as a lot of things. Part led out onto the balcony. Joined to that was the area with the couch and a stained coffee table. The far end was a sort of kitchen, thought it was really just a fridge, a stove, a sink, and a counter. A huge portion was littered in tools and appliances of sorts. The small desk by the wall had papers and coffee cups all over and around it.

There was an area with a curtain around it. She knew this was where her parents slept. It wasn’t a proper bedroom. Bud had to sleep in an inflatable pool because he couldn’t keep his shape. Elmo just had a twin-sized bed next to it. Paris-Jaide had learned the hard way that they had to be very careful touching each other, even while asleep.

She noticed something on the counter of the kitchen, in a little dish. She walked over to it and inspected the crusty, blue-white substance. It didn’t look much like sugar or anything yummy. But.. Paris-Jaide had the urge to eat it. She reached her fingers out and took a good pinch of it, then put it in her mouth and sucked off the residue. She hummed. It tasted like fizzy rocks. The ones so sugary they were almost explosive. The feeling of something so sour it was sweet intrigued her. She swallowed and looked at the dish again. Whatever that stuff was, it was good. She took another pinch of it and put in in her mouth again. She giggled at the funny feeling it gave her mouth. She didn’t even notice as her brown hair shimmered green for a moment. Before she knew it, the candy powder was gone and her hair was a neon green color, glowing softly.

“Hey, kiddo,” Elmo said, walking up the stairs and entering the main area.

“Hi, Dad,” Paris-Jaide responded, the title feeling natural off her tongue. “What’s up?”

The rat huffed, pulling off his battery and plug cap. “Nothing. Can you believe they don’t have a proper neutralizing chemical for battery acid?” he asked exasperatedly. “Really, do I have to use vinegar and basic stuff?”

Paris-Jaide walked over to him. “Come on, it can’t be that bad. Besides, Dorkwing and Quiverwimp might have a problem with that,” she sneered. “Why would they? It’s not like it’s their problem how you fix the, uh, stuff.”

“Exactly!” Elmo said, throwing his hands out. “I thought you’d- Hey, is your hair green?”

“Hm?” Paris-Jaide tucked her braid over his shoulder to see it. Yep. It was neon green and shimmering. “Oh, yeah! It wasn’t a little bit ago, so that’s weird.”

Elmo took off his gloves and pulled her braid through one hand. “Did you do anything to make your powers act up?” he asked. It was very possible. After all, she hadn’t gotten much of a chance to activate her abilities. There were still a lot of unanswered question from that.

“I don’t think so,” she told him.

Elmo let go of her hair and shrugged. “Oh well. We’ll have to remember to have Bud remember to remind us to remember about that.” He walked over to the counter. “No where did I put that acid?” Paris-Jaide walked over to the couch, pulling her rock out of her dress and starting to toss it from hand to hand. Elmo started searching through the boxes in the kitchen. “I could have sworn I cleaned it up. Unless I still have crusty batteries around here…” He stood up and looked at the empty dish on the counter. “Hey, maybe I did put it here. Then where is it?”

“What does it look like?” the child offered, wondering if she’d seen it and could help.

“Uh.. kinda powdery? Blueish white,” he said.

Paris-Jaide nodded in understanding. “Like the candy powder?” she asked.

“Uh, did we have candy powder?” he asked.

She nodded, pointing at the dish. “Yeah, the candy powder on the counter.”

Elmo looked again at the dish. “Oh, that’s weird. But yeah, the battery acid does look a lot like that. And I thought I left it on the-” He froze mid-sentence, looking at his daughter and connecting the dots. “Did you eat battery acid?!”

“That was battery acid?” she asked calmly. Then it hit her. “That was battery acid!”’

Elmo took a few strides and was by the couch. He grabbed her shoulders. “Do you feel any burning? Are you having trouble breathing?” He put one finger on her chin and opened her mouth to inspect it. “Are your teeth eroding?” he asked.

Paris-Jaide gasped, pushing back and feeling her own teeth. “I- I don’ know-” she said, muffled by her fingers in her mouth. “It- It doesn’t feel like it.” She started breathing heavily, beginning to panic. Her ears and nose twitched in her fear. “I don’t burn. I-” She was having trouble breathing now, but that was more her sudden panic. “Am I gonna die?”

Elmo stared at her. Maybe he should get help? But she was being hidden and he was a villain. Was there some cure he could use? “I don’t- No. No, you’re not gonna die,” he told her, not sure if he was lying or not.

“Why would she be dying?” Bud asked, flowing up the top of the spiral stairs.

Paris-Jaide whined and looked at him. “Pops! I ate the battery acid and I’m gonna die!”

Bud was surprised as she ran to him, and he gave his form surface tension to hold her. He looked up at Elmo. “Surveyors want to know how you got a hold of battery acid.”

“I had some lying around,” Elmo admitted nervously. “I didn’t think she’d eat it!”

Bud groaned, lowering his body to look his daughter in the eyes. “How bad does it hurt?” he asked, seriously contemplating whether or not they should take her to a hospital.

“It… It doesn’t,” she said quietly. “It actually doesn’t hurt.”

Bud felt relieved at that. Actually he was unsettled. Why didn’t battery acid hurt her? Well, drowning didn’t hurt him. Actually, nothing hurt the Liquidator physically. Elmo wasn’t harmed by an electric chair. Maybe Paris-Jaide was impervious to things as well. “It seems, my dear, you just have an original, Paris-Jaide Brand Immunity™!”

“Really?” she asked, letting Bud wipe her tears and take them into his hand. “I can eat battery acid?!” Her face lit up, literally taking on a soft green glow. She was way too excited about that.

“It seems you can. With no side-effects,” the water dog noted, then noticing her hair, which was neon green. “Maybe a few.”

Paris-Jaide gasped. “I bet it makes my powers get stronger!” she beamed. “I wonder what else I can do…” She suddenly remembered the rock she’d been playing with, and saw that it had a bit of a green glow to it. She smiled and left her father’s arms, taking it and holding it in her hand. She held her other hand above it and tensed them up a bit, staring at the rock. “Glow,” she said, “Come on, just let me try this out. I promise I won’t hurt you.” The rock started to turn green and from it came a light. Megavolt snapped and the lights to the lighthouse went out, leaving only the sunset, rock, and Paris-Jaide’s hair as the only lights.

“No way,” she whispered, turning the rock over in her hand. She focused in on herself, bringing her excitement to the surface. Her fur turned light green and her eyes became dark green voids. “I need to try everything!”

I’m cutting this part short. The next chapter will probably be a compilation of drabbles. I hope you’re enjoying so far. Remember to like and comment so I know what you think. Seeing notes really helps me out. Farewell, best of luck, avoid roasted cabbages, don’t eat earwax, and look on the bright side of life! Moonset!

[moonbeam-dragon]

Light of Our Lives Part 2

Moonrise! So it turns out I won’t be able to continue anything until I write more of this so here we go. Tw: Soft Liquidator, trauma.

Why did they take her back to the apartment? It wasn’t like they could give her to Dipwing, Megavolt reminded himself. He’d disappeared after some emergency responders showed up, anyway.

After a whole day, they still had the kid, in their shared hideout, nonetheless. Liquidator had insisted on keeping her here. It was an apartment in one of the abandoned areas of the city. Somehow, it was never bulldozed, and it was a convenient place to meet with each other. Bonus: Negaduck didn’t know about this one, just the four of them. And so would that girl when she woke up.

Megavolt had mentioned returning her to her parents at one point, and the others agreed it might be a good idea. There was the complication with them being untrustworthy villains, though that seemed like something they could work around. But Bushroot came back in with a rolled-up newspaper that finalized their decision.

“We can’t take her back to her parents,” he told them as he came in the door.

Megavolt sat up alertly when the door was thrown open. He nearly shocked Liquidator, who was next to him. “What? Why can’t we?” he asked, watching the plant-mutant tug off his trench coat, gloves, and hat. It was annoying watching him in those. He used it so as not to stand out when he was in public, but in the middle of summer, it only made him stick out like more of a sore green thumb.

Bushroot threw a rolled-up newspaper and it landed on the coffee table. QuackerJack cartwheeled over from where he was in the kitchen. He picked it up and started reading off the front page. “Family of three lost in the St. Canard Dam tragedy yesterday.

“While Darkwing Dork and his sidekick worked to prevent the collapse of the dam, their younger counterparts were evacuating the civilians from the reservoir. In an attempt to rescue the last of the- Something about a zipline and a small family,” QuackerJack read, having all the others focus on him. “Uh- The Pilligas family died. Blah, blah, blah, the parents struggled on the line and fell. Their bodies were found on the bank. Blah, blah. Their nine-year-old daughter was lost in the river. Police believe her body was washed out with what water escaped the dam and into the Audubon Bay.” He threw down the paper, and on the front page was the unmistakable face of the young girl. There was her chocolate brown hair, though it was shorter in the picture, and she had dark brown eyes. “She’s legally dead. Does that mean she’s illegally alive?” QuackerJack asked.

Megavolt laughed humorlessly. “Great. Just by existing she’s a criminal. We’re harboring another criminal.”

Liquidator looked off at the hall. The few rooms there were rarely used, but one of them was currently board for the kid they’d found. Bushroot was talking, which made him zone back into the conversation. “-and since Quiverwing dropped her, the public is going crazy about it. It was all I heard walking past the tea shop,” he told them. “She’s an orphan, and presumed dead.”

“Well, she’s not our problem,” QuackerJack said. “Maybe we could leave her at someone’s doorstep and play ding-dong-dash! Ooh, I love a game of chance.”

Everyone stared at him, very confused in countless ways.

“Quacky what the frick?” Megavolt ended up saying. The clown burst out into laughter at their reactions. When he was quiet enough, Megavolt sighed loudly. “She’s not an infant. That would be weird. Also, she is our problem since dear Buddy here KIDNAPPED her!!”

“False advertising! I rescued her,” Liquidator said indignantly, his arms folded. “There’s a fundamental difference.”

Megavolt groaned, sparks traveling up his hair since he wasn’t in costume. “You still took her. We’ll be stuck with her for a while.”

“How long are we talking?” Bushroot asked, sitting on the arm of the couch. “What even is our plan?”

“Sparky’s right, Likki took her so she’s his problem,” QuackerJack said, sitting criss-cross on the table. “And by extension, Megsy’s because they’re in a relationship.”

Megavolt sputtered, trying to get out a good argument, but he didn’t see one. “Yeah, well- She’s mainly his problem. She’s only my problem because he is, too. And don’t call me that!”

“Who are you?” came a small, sharp voice. The group jumped, looking over to see the mouse girl, newly awake, staring at them with wide eyes. Her nose and ears twitched as she stared at them in fright. “Where am I?”

Everyone looked at Liquidator to answer, which was pretty much instinct from having to deal with Negaduck. Also, this was his problem. The canine glanced again at Megavolt before looking at the young girl. “Welcome to the hideout of the Fearsome Four! You are the very first V.I.P. guest,” he told her. “Tell me, young lady, what is your name?”

The girl’s dark eyes flickered as she thought, then widened. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. She gasped and gripped the frame of the doorway she stood in. “I don’t know!”

Bushroot reached over and picked the newspaper back up, scanning through the front-page article. He sighed and looked at Liquidator. “It never says.”

Megavolt slowly stood up, never taking his eyes off the girl. “What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked.

She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes. Letting out an audible whimper, she shook her head. “I don’t know. I just woke up and that’s it.” The four adults shared glances with each other, unsure of what to say or do. Liquidator slowly stood up and moved towards her. The girl tensed up, her nose twitching again. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“You were in an accident,” Bushroot offered awkwardly.

QuackerJack nodded. “Uh-huh. The water got turned all green and poisonous and the dam fell, remember?”

The girl shook her head, stepping backward as if she was going to run the other way. It wouldn’t do much good. That hallway didn’t go anywhere.

“You and your parents fell,” Megavolt added, trying to jog her memory.

The girl’s nose twitched again. “Where are my parents, then?”

Megavolt opened his mouth to answer but bit it back. How did one explain to a young child that their parents just died?

“They’re in that golden playground in the sky! Or the scary one six feet under. Anyone’s guess!”

“QuackerJack!” everyone else shouted.

The girl looked at him, her face unreadable. If her memory was messed up, maybe she didn’t remember her parents. Megavolt frowned at that thought. Not knowing whether to miss them or feel glad, having no good nor bad connection to them, that sounded familiar. “Oh. Okay…” She stared at the ground. “Why am I here?”

Liquidator cleared his throat with an odd burbling sound. “You see, your lifetime guarantee was about to expire. We offered you a free renewal.”

The girl blinked in confusion until Megavolt offered, “You were in danger. He saved your life.”

The girl seemed unsure how to respond, but her face lifted in what was clearly… it wasn’t actually that clear but it was positive. “Thanks,” was what she settled on.

“You’re welcome,” he said, smiling slightly.

After being quiet for a while, she stepped out towards them, smiling. “What are your names?”

They all glanced at each other. Telling her their villain names would be fine. She didn’t remember. But it seemed a little ridiculous. “My name is Bud,” Liquidator ended up saying.

“My name is- uh-” Megavolt stumbled on his words. He had a name. It was short and easy to remember. But he was the one person who didn’t know it.

“Elmo,” QuackerJack said, looking at him with an amused expression.

“Elmo! Right, my name’s Elmo,” he told the girl, looking more sure of it now.

Bushroot gave her a small grin. “It’s Reggie.”

Everyone glanced at QuackerJack. He never mentioned his real name. It made sense that it would be something along the lines of “Jack” or “Jackson” given his alias, but it might just have been to sound nice. The jester glared at them, giving the slightest shake of his head before giving a smile and dramatically placing a hand on his chest. “You can call me Jackie.”

She looked over them, mouthing their names back to herself. “Okay,” she said. She carefully moved into the room. Jackie moved on the table so there was room for her next to him. She sat on the edge of the table, fidgeting with her dress. “Did you know my parents? Is that why you saved me?”

Elmo shook his head. “We were just nearby when everything went to shock,” he told her. “We saw you when you were dropped in the water.”

Bud nodded. “My whole business has to do with water. It was truly no problem, a favor really.”

The girl hummed, looking around and noticing the newspaper. She picked it up, looking at the front page, where there was a picture of a small family. “Is that me and my parents?”

“It is,” Reggie told her.

She stared at the faces, suddenly feeling something twinge in the back of her mind. She squeaked, throwing the paper down. “I don’t like their faces!” she said.

Elmo picked up the paper, trying to look at it again. The adults in the photo looked fairly normal, maybe stiff, maybe a little sour. “What about them? Do they remind you of anything?”

“Anger,” she said. “They just look like anger.”

Bud frowned, looking again at the paper. He carefully took it from Elmo and enveloped it in a watery fist, the ink running all over and the faces melting away. The paper itself broke down until it was just a ball of gross mulch. “Bud-Brand-Picture-Pulverizing. The first trial is free,” he said jokingly.

The girl giggled at his business tone and beamed at him. She didn’t know why that made her feel so much better. Or why the picture had made her feel so bad in the first place. But the faces couldn’t hurt her now! She was fine.

___

It changed a few days later when she was still in the apartment. The others had no clue what to do with her. Unless there was a statement in the public, they had no way of tracking down any extended family. So they were stuck with her for a while.

Jackie came in with another newspaper, laughing like a maniac. “You’ll never guess! Quiverwing Quack is the laughing stock of the town! Ha!” He slammed a newspaper on the kitchen counter. The loudness of it made Elmo and the girl jump, having been tinkering with something at the table.

“Everyone’s talking about her failure the other day,” Bushroot clarified, taking off his trenchcoat. “They’ve started repairs on the dam. The water is being cleaned out by a uh- a new scientist team.”

Elmo glanced at the page, reading the names at the top of an article. “Drs. Sara Bellum and Rhoda Dendron- Hey, didn’t you used to date one of them?” Elmo asked, snapping at the realization.

Reggie blushed. “We- Well, I kinda had a thing with Dr. Dendron but it- it didn’t really-”

“She’s playing hide’n’seek from him,” Jackie assisted.

While Reggie and Jackie started arguing, the young girl looked at the newspaper, getting up from the couch to take a closer look. She saw a girl in a mask on the front page and picked it up to inspect her. She had a green mask, hat, cape, and gloves. Her main piece was a violet color. Her hair was pulled back in one red ponytail. She recognized that from somewhere. “Who’s this?” she asked, running over and shoving the packet in front of Elmo.

He seemed annoyed that she’d interrupted his tinkering again but kept quiet about it. “Oh! That’s Darkwing’s successor, Quiverwing Quack. She totally bombed it at the St. Canard Dam a few days ago.”

“When you saved me?” the girl asked as she was given back the paper. Elmo nodded, muttering something about her as he went back to his work. “If she’s a hero, why didn’t she save me? Why did you have to?”

Elmo looked up from his work, staring at her. He should have spoken more carefully. “Well… Bud, do you have an educated guess or anything?”

The canine was in the kitchen at the time, listening. When he heard his name, his ears pricked up and he looked over. “She failed to accomplish that task,” Bud said solemnly.

The little girl clutched the paper in her hands, crumpling it under her fingers. Her fingertips tore into it, through several pages. No child, not even most adults, had a grip that strong. “She let me fall,” she whispered. Elmo glanced at the others. Had they mentioned her falling at all. “Slipping,” she whispered. Her breathing was suddenly heavy, like panicked pants. “Her hand.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Let go.” Her hair started curling. Elmo looked at her again- she had straight hair a moment ago, right? He stood up and backed away from her uncertainly. “Falling.” Was her fur turning green? Elmo looked at the others, and by the looks on their faces, they were seeing the same thing she was seeing. “Sinking.” Her hair turned green, curly around her face and neck. It- it was glowing. Her hair was glowing. “Drowning.” Her eyes widened until her pupils were the only things there, but they weren’t black, just a depth of dark green. Her pink nose had turned so dark it could be black. It looked like there was a completely different girl standing in front of them. “She dropped me.” She gripped the newspaper harder, and it had a green light over it until it disintegrated and fell through her fingers to the ground.

“Uh, kiddo, you-” Elmo was cut off by the girl beginning to sob, wiping her eyes furiously. He looked at the others for some help. He acknowledged emotions and accepted them. It didn’t mean he was any good at comfort or empathy or any of that.

Before anyone could step in, she ran across the room and threw open the door. She bolted out of the apartment, and her sobbing could be heard down the hall. The others glanced at each other in surprise. Then they were all scrambling towards the door. Elmo forgot about hiding his identity and ran out with the others without his costume. It was almost sunset, and pretty much nobody was in the part of town.

Once they were outside, they realized how fast she went. Liquidator took the head of the group, looking left and right. “It looks like this project needs to be split through the departments. QuackerJack and Bushroot, go left. Megavolt and I shall take the right.”

Everyone nodded, running in opposite directions. A few blocks down, Megavolt noticed the power lines. They were closer to the populated part of the city! He stopped to climb one of the poles, pulling himself up to the lines. He stepped on one of them, harnessing the electric flow in it to run across. He kept an eye out for the little girl, finally seeing a glow of green down the street. “Hey, this way!” the rat yelled down, motioning for Liquidator to follow him.

He kept his eyes on the light, chasing it with all the speed he could muster. He really hoped Dorking didn’t decide to show up. He saw the light disappear behind a building and picked up the pace. When he finally caught up to it, he noticed it had stopped in a playground. Megavolt motioned for Liquidator to slow down.

He climbed down a power pole, looking at his boyfriend uncertainly. They were standing outside the fence of the park. “She’s somewhere in there,” he said quietly. “What’s our game plan?”

“Assure her that staying with us includes a clause on protection,” Liquidator answered. He took Elmo’s hand, squeezing lightly. The rat looked uncomfortable. But he nodded, walking with him through the archway of the fence.

It was easy to spot the little girl kneeling in the woodchips, a circle of them around her glowing. They had time to take her in. Her fur was all a grassy green, but her hair was neon, glowing softly in the low light. Her dark eyes were swelling with tears. She cried to herself, confused and panicked. She was having an onslaught of memory, but it was just her near-death experience over and over again. There was nothing else.

“Are you alright?” Elmo asked as they came closer.

The girl’s ears suddenly twitched when she heard his voice and she spun around to see them. She shook her head, tears flowing down her cheeks. “What’s happening to me?!” she asked. “I can’t run fast or burn paper or do- do this!” She picked up one of the glowing woodchips, throwing it away as if it had offended her. The green glow followed it across the playground, where it landed among other woodchips. It slowly faded, returning to normal.

“It seems you have been granted a prototype superpower, much like Elmo and myself!” Bud said enthusiastically. “Welcome to the company.”

The girl shook her head. “How?” She held a few more of the woodchips in her hand, staring into the depths of the glow.

“Well, the water you fell in had a chemical in it,” Elmo said, hooking a finger under his chin in thought. “I guess it mutated you.”

The girl dropped the woodchips and stared at her hands. “So I’m a mutant?”

“Oh, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Bud told her, sitting by her side and putting an arm around her shoulders. He dropped the slogan talk, which he only did when he was serious about something. “I’m made completely out of water.”

The girl leaned into him a bit. “How did you get your power?”

Bud chuckled. “Actually, I also get dropped into poisonous water by a superhero,” he said. Then he added, “Well, I was actually the one who poisoned it. But he still pushed me in.”

The girl sniffed, the glow from the woodchips starting to die down. “What about you, Elmo?” she asked.

Elmo thought deeply for a minute. “A lab accident of some kind in high school. Part of it was my brain got fried. I can’t remember all the details,” he told her.

She smiled a little. Maybe she wasn’t so alone in this. Maybe she wasn’t dying. Or a freak. Her smile fell again. “Is it bad that I want to hurt her? That Quack girl. I want to hurt her so bad!” She clenched her fists, eyes lighting up for a moment.

Elmo sat on the other side of her, sighing. “It’s wrong. But we get it. We’re villains,” he told her.

“Does that mean I’m a villain?” she asked, looking up at the others.

The electric and water villain’s exchanged glances. This child had been let down, literally, by a hero, gotten powers, had trauma, a grudge, and nowhere else to go. But villainy? They couldn’t force that on a nine-year-old. They weren’t that evil. “If that is the career path you wish to pursue,” Bud said.

“Would I get to be your sidekick?” she asked, calming down. The woodchips nearby stopped glowing. Her fur, hair, and eyes gradually faded back to brown. The curls in her locks disappeared.

“Something like that,” Elmo said with a smirk.

The girl giggled, throwing her arms around them. “Then I’ll be a villain!”

Elmo hugged the girl back, smiling. It was her choice. It wasn’t like she had another option. At least then they could make sure she was safe. From the government, from heroes, and from anyone who would upset her like her parents seemed to have. Bud wrapped his arms around the both of them hugging tightly, enjoying the little girl’s giggles.

And if he hugged a little too tight and all three of them shorted out, they were all fine.

___

After a few days, the Four had come to a decision. Since the incident when she ran out of the apartment, the young girl had shown different abilities. She had a very strong grip and punch, as Jackie discovered after spooking her in the hallway.

She’d gotten more settled in the lighthouse after they’d decided she should stick with Elmo and Bud more. The girl quickly became connected to the two, preferring to stay near them whenever she could.

Jackie had offered clothes for her since she didn’t have anything else. Why he had so many doll’s clothes in her size, the others didn’t want to know. She had a collection of clothes in a locker in the lighthouse, which was serving as her closet for now. Her favorite was a cyan dress with pockets on the front, which she wore more often than anything else.

Bud sat with Elmo on the couch of the lighthouse, waiting for her to come upstairs. They’d had a long conversation with the other regarding this decision. He’d been sure to bring up solutions to every problem, giving the others little room to object. “Besides,” he’d reminded them. “This matter is not subject to board approval. This is an executive decision. We simply thought our teammates deserved to know.”

The young mouse came bounding up the stairs, holding a round dark stone. “Hey! Look what I found outside. Her name is Velma and she’s my new pet.” She held the stone in her cupped hands. When the adults just stared at her, she frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” Bud assured her. “There is a company matter we would like to discuss with you.”

The girl nodded, going over to the couch and sitting between them. A company matter, huh? It sounded very mature, which made her feel very mature. “What is it?”

“It’s about you becoming a villain with us. We’re all for it,” Elmo started. “But there’s uh- Something that doesn’t quite fit.”

She frowned. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but she couldn’t. Bud put a hand on her shoulder. “We can’t just keep referring to you as ‘The Kiddo,’ you know. So we needed your signature of approval on your new name.”

Her eyes lit up (almost literally) in excitement, and her cheeks flushed a happy green. “Really? What did you have in mind?”

Elmo held a paper and a pencil in front of her. “We had a few different ideas, but-”

“As long as you like it, we think we’ve come to a compromise,” Bud finished, motioning to the paper. It looked all professional, probably done on Elmo’s typewriter. The girl took the page into her hands, reading it, though slowly.

Certificate of Surprise Adoption This is to certify that __________Paris-Jaide__________ Has been informally adopted into the ________Fludspark Family________ by ___Elmo Sputterspark and Bud Flud___ on this _10th_ day of ___Octbober___ Signed ___Bud Flud___ Signed _Elmo Sputterspark_ Signed ____________

“Are you two serious?!” she exclaimed excitedly, looking between them. “Paris-Jaide? That’s so pretty!”

“We’re glad you like it. It was custom-made,” Bud said.

Elmo tapped the pencil. “And if you sign here, it’ll be unofficially official!”

“So you’ll be my dads?” she asked, voice going even higher. Her face was blushed a pleasant green. The adults nodded in response. Without further ado, she signed the paper, copying the letters at the top.

Certificate of Surprise Adoption This is to certify that __________Paris-Jaide__________ Has been informally adopted into the ________Fludspark Family________ by ___Elmo Sputterspark and Bud Flud___ on this _10th_ day of ___Octbober___ Signed ___Bud Flud___ Signed _Elmo Sputterspark_ Signed _Paris-Jaide Fludspark_

Paris-Jaide smiled, setting down the paper. “There, it’s unofficially official!”

Elmo threw his arms around the girl, holding her close. “It’s the dream I’ve never had come true!” he said. Paris-Jaide giggled a bit at that. She wasn’t expecting this, either. But she couldn’t be happier with the result.

Bud wrapped his arms around the pair, and they stayed in a tight hug for a while. And this time, nobody got electrocuted.

There you go. I’ll have at least one more chapter on this come out. But I have like three other stories I want to go through. So take it. I hope you enjoyed. Remember to like/vote and comment to let me know what you think. Farewell, best of luck, avoid roasted cabbages, don’t eat earwax, and look on the bright side of life!Moonset!