Re: Katawa Superpowers (Spoilers)(Marvel crossover) Chapter1
Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 10:55 pm
Here's chapter 14. One more chapter, then I'll start on revisions.
Chapter 14. Cures
Emi heard a knock on the door to her apartment. Getting up, she dashed over and opened it. Max was there, and he was dressed in a brown shirt and pants rather than his usual red armor.
“Good to see you.” he remarked “Miss me?”
“Very much so,” Emi grinned, “Come on in.” Max smiled and sat down on the couch
“So, I bet your parents were glad to see you.” She then added
“Yes, they were. Especially considering the Exiles had returned my original body to them, or at least what remains of it. They thought they had lost me forever.” He chuckled “But you saved me. You brought me back. I owe you my life.”
Emi laughed, “No need to be so overtly dramatic, cutie. If I could, I'd save everyone. This power is just hard to rely on.” She paused for a moment, “But it brought me closure.”
“What do you mean?”
“While you were gone... I wound up bringing someone else back, you wouldn't know her. It prompted me to wonder 'who else can I bring back?' Answer is, not many people. But I can talk to the dead too. I...” She took a deep breath “I was able to lay an old ghost to rest that way. Achieve closure. I think...I think I'm ready to love again.” She leaned in close to Max and kissed him hard on the cheek “You're a good person. You didn't pry much when I told you I wanted to keep things to myself, and you offered to listen to me if I wanted to share. I think I'm ready to share now.”
Max patted Emi on the shoulder, “Sound good. I'm glad you're willing to open up.”
Emi nodded, “It was my father. The ghost I talked to, that is. Twelve years ago I was in a car wreck. Its how I lost my legs. And my dad. Losing him..I don't know if you've lost people, but it destroyed me. I still cry at night from the dreams where I replay the accident in my head. Even worse, I never even got to say goodbye. Until now. And saying goodbye...It's like finally being able to breath after being underwater,” She took a deep breath “I was scared when I learned about these superpowers, I mean, I didn't want to live for thousands of years, after all, I'd have to say goodbye to so many people, and I'm terrible at goodbyes. Losing my dad alone...” She swallowed, “But I can take the time to enjoy life for now. I think. When I first met you, I figured you'd be someone I play with but never get close to. Like every other relationship I had. But it turns out you're different. You lived your life despite everything that happened to you. You're an inspiration, to be honest. Just promise me something.
“Yes?”
“Promise me you'll do your best to live as long as you can. I want our relationship to last as long as possible.”
“Of course.”
The Grandmaster stared at Rin as she worked on one of her paintings. As she drew another face onto the canvas with her foot's paintbrush, she paused for a moment.
“Do you think I should fill this will green or yellow?” She asked.
“Yellow, without question. Non-vetal forms function well with aurulent paints.” The blue man replied
“I thought that too. It's nice having someone who speaks my language. Though I must say your language is a bit advanced for me. Perhaps you could speak more plainly? I don't understand half the words you use. ” She dipped her paintbrush in the yellow paint and began to fill in the face.
“Perhaps I can attempt such a vocabulary alteration. You know..” The Grandmaster began.
“Many things.” Rin replied.
En chuckled “Well, yes. But I was going to inform you I have the technological advancement to create robotic hands for you.
“No, no need.”
“Really? I would postulate it would be easier than painting with your foot.”
“I like painting this way. And it's what I'm used to. If I had hands I'd have to start over from the beginning. Like a man who watches a movie halfway, then decides he would rather do it in widescreen and rewinds.”
“There are numerous uses for hands however-.”
“No. It's fine. I don't need hands. I could use an automatic orange peeler though, could you make one of those?”
“Well, yes, but...” The Grandmaster tried to think of how to explain himself, but couldn't figure out a good way to phrase it. “Why don't you desire hands?”
Rin shook her head, “I don't need them.”
He shrugged, “I completely fail to understand you people, you know. Shizune completely rejected my offer of healing her auditory system, desiring instead a trivial mental operation. You insist you “don't need hands” despite their inherent utility. Why would any organism reject a chance to be complete?”
Rin looked at him funny, “You don't seem understand this, but we are complete.” Setting down her paintbrush, she turned and looked at him strongly, “We may be different, but we are just the same as anyone else. You're new here, but stick around and you'll find out soon enough. Don't worry.” she picked up her paintbrush and then added “Humanity can still surprise you.”
Yuuko sifted through paperwork. She was lucky in a way. Not many people got a second chance to live, especially if they weren't given powers. The procedure needed to get reinstated as 'alive' was extremely difficult, however. Dozens of forms, many of which had to be filled out in triplicate, each detailing methods of death, time spent away, possible explanations for returning... But she was managing. With luck, soon she'd get the funding needed to move back into a house, get back to work, and restart her life. Then she heard the doorknob turn.
“Kenji,” she said softly.
Kenji nodded, “Hows the bureaucratic nonsense coming along?”
“Getting there. Thank you again for letting me stay here. And providing for me. I don't mean to be a burden.”
“Eh, shit happens. Just don't die again, okay? Too many resurrections gum up the afterlife system. Jean Grey alone has died so often she has a revolving door in heaven.”
“Sorry about that... whose Jean Grey?”
“One of the X-men. Most notably for her simply astounding number of resurrections. She's died a minimum of seven times, thirteen if you count her clone. It's a running joke of sorts, and I've heard the X-men actually take bets on how long it takes her to come back every time she bites it. This sort of thing happens all the time. Superheroes die, then come back, then the fact they came back lead to more people dying, which leads to more people coming back, which leads to more problems...It's a vicious cycle. Pretty soon nobody will die, and then what will happen?”
“Immortality?”
“Yes! I mean, can you imagine all the feminists living forever? I would have hoped someday this madness would end, but if people keep coming back to life, I'll be the last sane man forever. How was the machine coming?”
“Machine?”
“Yes, the one you took my life energy for.”
“Oh, that... It, uh...I couldn't get it to work. Had to scrap the entire design.”
“Oh, so I gave my energy up for nothing?”
Yuuko looked down sadly. Kenji shrugged, “It's alright. Not every miraculous invention comes into promise. If it did I wouldn't have my eye problems. It was worth a shot. Which reminds me of what I wanted to talk to you about in the first place.”
“Ah, ok?”
“Recent events have caused me to question myself,” Kenji made a dramatic pose and continued, “I am beginning to wonder how far the conspiracy really goes.”
“Kenji, I-”
“No, just hear me out. No fewer than three times in the past few months have I been informed by people I trust that my assumptions about certain issues were incorrect. There was my thinking you were a succubus, of course, which was sort of true but you had a very good reason for being one. Then there were the party where all those cute girls were. I thought they might be feminists, but my bro Hisao told me they were friends and allies against the conspiracy. I trust Hisao with my life, you know. He's the only other one who truly understands what is going on. And then he informed me that Lilly was not actually in the mafia, but undercover infiltrating it. Now, maybe if it had been just one or two instances of being incorrect I could ignore it, but three? Something smells fishy, and it's not just my tuna salad.” He grinned. “I'm beginning to reevaluate how deep the conspiracy actually goes. At first I thought the feminists were everywhere. But now I'm beginning to think I may be overestimating their reach. Now, there are a lot of places where there is definitively signs of feminist control, such as Nintendo and McDonalds, just to name two out of forty or fifty. But there are many where the signs are less obvious, and they may have not grabbed a hold of yet. Walmart, for example. And the X-men. Maybe this fight isn't as hopeless as I thought it was.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Yuuko asked, confused.
“I was wondering if you want to help me with the data. You had a pretty sharp thing going, building a feminist-detection machine. Wish I had come up with that. I mean, it was admittedly pretty irrational of me to just jump ship and hide for years because of an incident I never gave you the chance to explain, but no hard feelings?”
“Of course not.” Yuuko's replied
“Good. So, you want to partner up? Figure out the depth of the problem?”
“I'd like nothing better.” Yuuko's heart soared. This was a start. A very good start.
“Excellent. When you finish getting reinstated in the world, I'll bring by my data and we can sort through it. Maybe Hisao can help out too, though he seems a bit busy helping Lilly with her undercover work.” He grinned and sauntered out of the room.
Hanako sat in her room. Eight weeks since the kidnapping. Eight weeks since she had nearly killed her friend. She was improving, slowly. No longer did she burst into tears at the sight of Hisao, and no longer did she feel like a monster. But the images were still there, the memory was still there, and she still had nightmares. She didn't know if she'd ever be back to where she was, but she could endure. She would endure. She had told Hiso she could work through this, and she had kept her word. Now...now she felt like she might survive.
She had her face healed. There was a small measure of comfort in that. For the longest time it had been everything she wanted, but now? It didn't matter that much. It mattered some, of course. Over a half-dozen classmates had invited her out and she had skyrocketed in popularity in her classes. But truth was, the people who truly cared about her...the scars hadn't mattered to them. Lilly, Hisao, Trevor...they had seen her for who she was.
There was a knock on the door to Hanako's apartment. She was a bit surprised but she got up and opened it. Trevor was there, but looked horribly disheveled, like he had just rolled out bed.
“Trevor?” Hanako asked, “What's wrong?”
Trevor grimaced and pulled out the amulet he wore from beneath his clothes. The emerald inside was pulsing with a sickly green light.
Chapter 14. Cures
Emi heard a knock on the door to her apartment. Getting up, she dashed over and opened it. Max was there, and he was dressed in a brown shirt and pants rather than his usual red armor.
“Good to see you.” he remarked “Miss me?”
“Very much so,” Emi grinned, “Come on in.” Max smiled and sat down on the couch
“So, I bet your parents were glad to see you.” She then added
“Yes, they were. Especially considering the Exiles had returned my original body to them, or at least what remains of it. They thought they had lost me forever.” He chuckled “But you saved me. You brought me back. I owe you my life.”
Emi laughed, “No need to be so overtly dramatic, cutie. If I could, I'd save everyone. This power is just hard to rely on.” She paused for a moment, “But it brought me closure.”
“What do you mean?”
“While you were gone... I wound up bringing someone else back, you wouldn't know her. It prompted me to wonder 'who else can I bring back?' Answer is, not many people. But I can talk to the dead too. I...” She took a deep breath “I was able to lay an old ghost to rest that way. Achieve closure. I think...I think I'm ready to love again.” She leaned in close to Max and kissed him hard on the cheek “You're a good person. You didn't pry much when I told you I wanted to keep things to myself, and you offered to listen to me if I wanted to share. I think I'm ready to share now.”
Max patted Emi on the shoulder, “Sound good. I'm glad you're willing to open up.”
Emi nodded, “It was my father. The ghost I talked to, that is. Twelve years ago I was in a car wreck. Its how I lost my legs. And my dad. Losing him..I don't know if you've lost people, but it destroyed me. I still cry at night from the dreams where I replay the accident in my head. Even worse, I never even got to say goodbye. Until now. And saying goodbye...It's like finally being able to breath after being underwater,” She took a deep breath “I was scared when I learned about these superpowers, I mean, I didn't want to live for thousands of years, after all, I'd have to say goodbye to so many people, and I'm terrible at goodbyes. Losing my dad alone...” She swallowed, “But I can take the time to enjoy life for now. I think. When I first met you, I figured you'd be someone I play with but never get close to. Like every other relationship I had. But it turns out you're different. You lived your life despite everything that happened to you. You're an inspiration, to be honest. Just promise me something.
“Yes?”
“Promise me you'll do your best to live as long as you can. I want our relationship to last as long as possible.”
“Of course.”
The Grandmaster stared at Rin as she worked on one of her paintings. As she drew another face onto the canvas with her foot's paintbrush, she paused for a moment.
“Do you think I should fill this will green or yellow?” She asked.
“Yellow, without question. Non-vetal forms function well with aurulent paints.” The blue man replied
“I thought that too. It's nice having someone who speaks my language. Though I must say your language is a bit advanced for me. Perhaps you could speak more plainly? I don't understand half the words you use. ” She dipped her paintbrush in the yellow paint and began to fill in the face.
“Perhaps I can attempt such a vocabulary alteration. You know..” The Grandmaster began.
“Many things.” Rin replied.
En chuckled “Well, yes. But I was going to inform you I have the technological advancement to create robotic hands for you.
“No, no need.”
“Really? I would postulate it would be easier than painting with your foot.”
“I like painting this way. And it's what I'm used to. If I had hands I'd have to start over from the beginning. Like a man who watches a movie halfway, then decides he would rather do it in widescreen and rewinds.”
“There are numerous uses for hands however-.”
“No. It's fine. I don't need hands. I could use an automatic orange peeler though, could you make one of those?”
“Well, yes, but...” The Grandmaster tried to think of how to explain himself, but couldn't figure out a good way to phrase it. “Why don't you desire hands?”
Rin shook her head, “I don't need them.”
He shrugged, “I completely fail to understand you people, you know. Shizune completely rejected my offer of healing her auditory system, desiring instead a trivial mental operation. You insist you “don't need hands” despite their inherent utility. Why would any organism reject a chance to be complete?”
Rin looked at him funny, “You don't seem understand this, but we are complete.” Setting down her paintbrush, she turned and looked at him strongly, “We may be different, but we are just the same as anyone else. You're new here, but stick around and you'll find out soon enough. Don't worry.” she picked up her paintbrush and then added “Humanity can still surprise you.”
Yuuko sifted through paperwork. She was lucky in a way. Not many people got a second chance to live, especially if they weren't given powers. The procedure needed to get reinstated as 'alive' was extremely difficult, however. Dozens of forms, many of which had to be filled out in triplicate, each detailing methods of death, time spent away, possible explanations for returning... But she was managing. With luck, soon she'd get the funding needed to move back into a house, get back to work, and restart her life. Then she heard the doorknob turn.
“Kenji,” she said softly.
Kenji nodded, “Hows the bureaucratic nonsense coming along?”
“Getting there. Thank you again for letting me stay here. And providing for me. I don't mean to be a burden.”
“Eh, shit happens. Just don't die again, okay? Too many resurrections gum up the afterlife system. Jean Grey alone has died so often she has a revolving door in heaven.”
“Sorry about that... whose Jean Grey?”
“One of the X-men. Most notably for her simply astounding number of resurrections. She's died a minimum of seven times, thirteen if you count her clone. It's a running joke of sorts, and I've heard the X-men actually take bets on how long it takes her to come back every time she bites it. This sort of thing happens all the time. Superheroes die, then come back, then the fact they came back lead to more people dying, which leads to more people coming back, which leads to more problems...It's a vicious cycle. Pretty soon nobody will die, and then what will happen?”
“Immortality?”
“Yes! I mean, can you imagine all the feminists living forever? I would have hoped someday this madness would end, but if people keep coming back to life, I'll be the last sane man forever. How was the machine coming?”
“Machine?”
“Yes, the one you took my life energy for.”
“Oh, that... It, uh...I couldn't get it to work. Had to scrap the entire design.”
“Oh, so I gave my energy up for nothing?”
Yuuko looked down sadly. Kenji shrugged, “It's alright. Not every miraculous invention comes into promise. If it did I wouldn't have my eye problems. It was worth a shot. Which reminds me of what I wanted to talk to you about in the first place.”
“Ah, ok?”
“Recent events have caused me to question myself,” Kenji made a dramatic pose and continued, “I am beginning to wonder how far the conspiracy really goes.”
“Kenji, I-”
“No, just hear me out. No fewer than three times in the past few months have I been informed by people I trust that my assumptions about certain issues were incorrect. There was my thinking you were a succubus, of course, which was sort of true but you had a very good reason for being one. Then there were the party where all those cute girls were. I thought they might be feminists, but my bro Hisao told me they were friends and allies against the conspiracy. I trust Hisao with my life, you know. He's the only other one who truly understands what is going on. And then he informed me that Lilly was not actually in the mafia, but undercover infiltrating it. Now, maybe if it had been just one or two instances of being incorrect I could ignore it, but three? Something smells fishy, and it's not just my tuna salad.” He grinned. “I'm beginning to reevaluate how deep the conspiracy actually goes. At first I thought the feminists were everywhere. But now I'm beginning to think I may be overestimating their reach. Now, there are a lot of places where there is definitively signs of feminist control, such as Nintendo and McDonalds, just to name two out of forty or fifty. But there are many where the signs are less obvious, and they may have not grabbed a hold of yet. Walmart, for example. And the X-men. Maybe this fight isn't as hopeless as I thought it was.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Yuuko asked, confused.
“I was wondering if you want to help me with the data. You had a pretty sharp thing going, building a feminist-detection machine. Wish I had come up with that. I mean, it was admittedly pretty irrational of me to just jump ship and hide for years because of an incident I never gave you the chance to explain, but no hard feelings?”
“Of course not.” Yuuko's replied
“Good. So, you want to partner up? Figure out the depth of the problem?”
“I'd like nothing better.” Yuuko's heart soared. This was a start. A very good start.
“Excellent. When you finish getting reinstated in the world, I'll bring by my data and we can sort through it. Maybe Hisao can help out too, though he seems a bit busy helping Lilly with her undercover work.” He grinned and sauntered out of the room.
Hanako sat in her room. Eight weeks since the kidnapping. Eight weeks since she had nearly killed her friend. She was improving, slowly. No longer did she burst into tears at the sight of Hisao, and no longer did she feel like a monster. But the images were still there, the memory was still there, and she still had nightmares. She didn't know if she'd ever be back to where she was, but she could endure. She would endure. She had told Hiso she could work through this, and she had kept her word. Now...now she felt like she might survive.
She had her face healed. There was a small measure of comfort in that. For the longest time it had been everything she wanted, but now? It didn't matter that much. It mattered some, of course. Over a half-dozen classmates had invited her out and she had skyrocketed in popularity in her classes. But truth was, the people who truly cared about her...the scars hadn't mattered to them. Lilly, Hisao, Trevor...they had seen her for who she was.
There was a knock on the door to Hanako's apartment. She was a bit surprised but she got up and opened it. Trevor was there, but looked horribly disheveled, like he had just rolled out bed.
“Trevor?” Hanako asked, “What's wrong?”
Trevor grimaced and pulled out the amulet he wore from beneath his clothes. The emerald inside was pulsing with a sickly green light.
