I love this! My heartstrings, they have been pulled.

I stared at the woman on the other side of the door, wondering why she was there.

"Hello? Edgelord? Anyone there?" Viper waved her hand in front of my face.

"It's Blademaster." The words sounded dull coming out of my mouth. For the first time, I couldn't summon the anger her usual taunt roused in me.

"Same difference." Viper crossed her arms and looked me up and down. "Back up. I'm coming in."

"Viper, I'm really not in the moo-." I was not given a choice when she got tired of waiting and shouldered past me, stepping into my apartment for the first time. "-d." I shuffled back to the couch in defeat and flopped onto it, barely able to muster the energy to tuck my feet back under the blanket and readjust the pillow behind my head.

"This - right." Viper pulled out a phone and dialed. I vaguely watched her, my eyes drooping, really not able to care that my nemesis was in my apartment, apparently calling someone.

"Yes, hi Dr. Tamlin!" Viper sounded way too cheerful to me. And Dr. Tamlin? Why would she call him.

"No, it's not for me, it's for Amanda."

Viper knew my normal name. Did I know Viper knew my normal name?

"Yes, Blademaster."

I mean, I knew her normal name.

"Well, you see, I'm literally in her apartment, and she's not trying to kill me, and there's what looks like a month of trash piled up around here, and it smells like something died in here. Honestly, I'm really worried about her."

It doesn't smell that bad. I almost wanted to argue with her, but I couldn't dredge up the energy, and she was right about the garbage.

"Yeah. Do you want me to bring her to you, or do you want to come here?"

I don't need Dr. Tamlin, but I can't care enough to argue.

"Yeah, I can stay with her. Can I clean some of this shit up, or do you want to see it first?"

What, she's going to clean my house now? That's not what a nemesis does.

"Yeah, I can take pictures for you, though," she kicked at a pile of takeout boxes, "honestly this place might be a biohazard at this point."

Really over-stating things there, aren't you. It's not that bad.

"I can stay with her, yeah. Might want to get one of the emergency apartments prepped though."

I think I would be offended if I could bring myself to care. Instead, I was almost drifting to sleep, at this point perfectly willing to leave everything in Viper's hands.

"Yeah, I'll pack a bag for her. Hopefully she's got some clean stuff tucked away, but if not it's not too difficult to run a load of laundry. Might even get a rise out of her if I ruin her favorite shirt with the wrong heat setting."

"Jokes on you, I don't deal with that bullsh*t." I muttered.

"She speaks." Viper retorted in amusement. "Are you telling me you don't wash your clothes?"

I just waved my hand at her.

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her while I pack her stuff. Alright. See you soon." Viper hung up the phone and looked over me. I vaguely met her eyes.

"Do you have a bankie you want me to pack for you?" She asked. There was a surprising amount of compassion in her voice for all the snark of the statement.

"Whatever." I closed my eyes.

"Have it your way." I heard her go into the bedroom and start rummaging around, muttering about the smell.

I'm not sure how long I drifted before Dr. Tamlin arrived. Viper had both my big duffel bags stuffed and waiting by the front door along with shopping bag full of stuff from my bathroom. He and Viper discussed by the door, and then I was wrapped in a blanket from my closet and walked out to a car. Viper rode with me, and took me up to one of the emergency apartments usually used by civilians whose homes were destroyed by people like Viper.

In the apartment, Viper took me straight to the bathroom and handed me the bag of cleaning products.

"You can clean yourself, or I can clean you." With those words, she left me alone.

I managed to get the water on and hot and step into it. Somehow it helped, and I was able to fish out my soap, shampoo, and conditioner.

I got halfway through washing when I ran out of energy and just sat down in the tub.

"I heard that. You okay?" Viper poked her head in, and I looked towards the door through the frosted, steamy glass. A moment later, Viper slid the door back and looked down at me, then sighed.

I can't remember ever being bathed by someone else, though my parents must have when I was very young. Viper's hands were gentle on me as she helped me get clean and detangle my hair. There was none of the venom she usually spat in my direction, none of the sarcasm, or ire, or disgust.

Viper bundled me out of the bathroom when I was clean and into the bedroom, where she'd already put out some clothes for me to pick from. One outfit was the kind I usually wore out, and the other was a much comfier outfit. I went with the comfy one, and she stayed with me to make sure I got changed and didn't space out.

In the living room, Dr. Tamlin and I talked for a while while Viper waited in the lobby of the building. Before leaving, Dr. Tamlin gave me a prescription bottle with antidepressants in it, and set up an appointment for two weeks. I wasn't surprised that he'd come already prepared - I've been seeing him at least once a year since I was put on the superhero register.

A few minutes after Dr. Tamlin left, Viper walked back in carrying a bag full of takeout. She poked me until I sat back up on the couch, and pulled two folding tables out of a tall cupboard near the tv. She put one in front of me and dropped a box and a soda on it, then put the next table right next to it and put another box and soda on that. Then she flopped onto the couch next to me and grabbed the remote.

"You can pick what we're watching."

"Viper -"

"Victoria." Viper turned towards me, catching me off guard with the compassion in her eyes. "Here, I'm Victoria, and you're Amanda. We can go back to Viper and Blademaster when you're feeling better."

"You really don't have to do this." I said.

"Apparently I get really bored when you're not around." Victoria shrugged. "Besides, if I annoy you too much, maybe you'll get better faster to get me away from you."

I sighed and reached for the box in front of me. It had everything nachos - my favorite comfort food.

I looked back at Victoria. "Thank you."

Thank you!

Yes. The recipe called for 10 onions. I don't make the rules.

Feel free to have that be your headcanon/interpretation if that is your preference. Either way, Paddy gets their souls.

When she was done eating, Lord Paddy came over with a box and said "see if there's anything I missed. I think this is everything you're going to want to keep."

Mary looked through the box and was surprised to see all her precious things - the rock from the beach, the stuffy she only hugged when she was alone, the picture of her grandmother that hung on the stairs, and her recorder from school.

"How did you know?" Mary asked.

"Before you left, I took your memories." Lord Paddy said this as though it were completely normal. "It seemed easier than asking you to go through everything."

"Oh." Mary looked down, unsure how she felt about that.

"Now let me tell you what is going to happen." Paddy sat back on the ground, looking up at Mary. "You are now under my protection, which means if anybody hurts you again, they will have to deal with me. You'll live with Sally and her wife Opal until you're ready to live on your own. Bart," he waved to the man who was transferring Mary's clothes from the washer to the dryer, "lives near them, is both physically and mentally unable to do to you what those other men did, and will be a sort of paternal figure if you should need one.

"Meanwhile, your parents will live a fulfilling, childless life, and when they die their souls will come to me. For every thing they've ever done to you, that thing will be done to them for ten years, and the entire time I will feast on the energy generated by their misery. They will know the entire time that this is happening to them because of how they treated you, and that their life was so fulfilling so that the pain of their torment would be that much greater."

Mary looked at Lord Paddy, shocked and unsure how to feel about this information.

"Oh, and drop the Lord bit. To you, as to every child who's been sold to me, it's just Paddy."

Mary stared blankly at him until he sighed. Standing he, ran his hand down the side of her head. "Someday, you will remember."

Blinking, Mary looked around. She was standing across the street, staring at her old house as the roof collapsed, flames eating up it. Fire fighters were keeping the neighboring houses wet to keep the fire from spreading while they waited for the fire to burn itself out.

"Come on, Mary." Sally held out her hand, and Mary took it, letting herself be drawn away from the cordoned off area. "Time to go home."

CW: child bride, grooming, childhood SA.

A shove in her back sent Mary sprawling to the floor, her white dress catching under her knees and ripping slightly at the seam. "She's all yours, Lord Padasophilanors." The words were spoken with no emotion.

Mary stared at Padasophilanors' feet, shaking with fear, as her parents walked out the door, closing and locking it behind them. She knew the car was already packed - she'd helped to pack it. Her parents said they were going on a business trip, and she knew what that meant - she was to be left with someone who would hurt her, and if she ever told, her parents would kill her.

This time, though, things felt different. For one, she'd never been put in a white dress before. For another, this man, this Pada-something, looked - just a little wrong. He had two arms, two legs, pants, a shirt, all that kind of thing, but the shirt pulled weirdly across his chest, like there was something on his back, and one of the legs of his pants twitched occasionally, as though something like a snake moved along the back.

For a time, neither of them moved or spoke. Mary listened as two car doors slammed, and then the familiar sound of her parents' car driving away. She tried not to cry. Crying made some of them mad.

"Your parents sold you to be my bride." The man finally spoke, and his voice sounded wrong too, hollow and echoing in a way Mary had never heard anyone sound before. It was actually quite pretty, and for a moment she was distracted from the actual words. Then the meaning came to her, and she stiffened. "I accepted, knowing that if I didn't they would offer you to another of the Old Ones, but I will not force you. Here, have this, and live as you wish."

Mary looked up as his hand moved towards her and shrank back instinctively. It took her some time to realize that he wasn't reaching for her, and that he held what looked like a credit card in his hand.

"Um, Lord Pada- Padis,"

"Just call me Paddy."

"Lord Paddy, um, I'm 13. I'm not allowed to live on my own."

"Wait, what?" He sounded genuinely confused. "I mean, yes, usually women live with their parents until they get married, but plenty of women live on their own these days."

"Y-you have t-to b-be eight-teen t-to live on your own." Mary hated how much her voice shook with fear. "I st-till have t-to go t-to school and have a guardian."

"Huh." Lord Paddy sat back in the chair and looked like he was about to get lost in thought. Mary took the chance to really look him over, then flinched when his eyes suddenly flashed to her. "Right, you still have clothes here?"

Mary nodded uncertainly.

"Go get changed into something you're actually comfortable in. I need to think for a minute."

Mary nodded and tried to move, but her dress ripped more, threatening to fall off of her.

"Here." Suddenly, large, strong hands picked her up, and she froze in terror, but Lord Paddy just put her on her feet and let her go, retreating back to the chair and dropping his chin into his hand, one finger tapping his lips. "Oh, I may call someone, maybe several someones over. They will not harm you."

Something about his voice wormed its way into Mary's body, relaxing her just slightly. She didn't know why, but she was starting to trust that he truly wouldn't hurt her.

As Mary went through her wardrobe, looking for something that felt comfortable to wear, she heard the front door open and close twice, and the sound of soft voices in intense conversation. Eventually, she heard Lord Paddy's voice at the bottom of the stairs.

"Mary, Sally is going to come up and make sure you're okay."

Mary backed away from the door, ending up pressed against the wall next to her bed as she heard someone coming up the stairs. As soon as she saw the shadow in the doorway, she started to apologize. "I'm s-sorry, I'm sorry, imsorryimsorryimsorry."

"Oh, shhhhhhh." The woman in the doorway, Sally, crouched down, and her voice was so full of kindness and sadness, that it shocked Mary out of her apologies. "It's okay, child, come here." Sally's arms were open, hands beckoning, and Mary didn't understand why, but she moved forwards , almost in a trance, until she was just within reach of Sally. There, she stopped, and Sally waited, patient, making shushing sounds, until Mary closed the gap and leaned into her. Only then did Sally's arms close around her, comforting rather than smothering.

"I think," Sally said after Mary had cried herself out, "that we should just pick something quickly, and then go get you new clothes."

Mary pulled back a bit, wiping her eyes, noticing absently that Sally released her as soon as she started to move. "Can we really?" She asked, not yet ready to believe fully in these new people.

"We really can." Sally smiled, and reached over to dig through Mary's drawer, quickly finding and pulling out a pair of jeans that Mary's father hated, a t-shirt with a unicorn on it that Mary kind of liked and thus tried to not wear, and a sweatshirt to go over it all.

Sally left the room while Mary changed, and didn't seem to mind when Mary held onto her shirt as they walked downstairs.

"We're going shopping." Sally called into the living room, where Lord Paddy and another man were still talking. "We'll bring everything back here, wash it, then ceremonially burn all of her old stuff."

"In that case, come here for a second, child." Lord Paddy knelt on the floor, and Sally gave Mary a very gentle nudge towards him.

Still hesitant, Mary approached, flinching as Lord Paddy reached for her.

"Look into my eyes." He said gently.

Heart beating so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest, Mary looked into his eyes, flinching when his hands touched her temples, but his touch was gentle, and in an instant she found her body and mind calming down, almost relaxing. It was as though he was sucking her fears out of her.

When Lord Paddy let her go, Mary walked back to Sally, not worried about turning her back on the two men in the room.

"We'll be back." Sally called, and led Mary to a car parked in front of the house.

They drove to the nearest department store, and Sally led Mary straight to the children's section, then paused.

"We can get girl's clothes if you'd like, or we can get boy's clothes, or a mix. Whatever will make you most comfortable." Sally smiled encouragingly. "We can also come back for more things later."

Mary looked at Sally for a moment, then headed for the boy's section. She hesitated at first, but whenever she showed interest in something, Sally grabbed a few different sizes of it for her to try on, and soon they had a rather large stack of clothes to take to the changing room.

Through the entire shopping expedition, Sally let Mary take the lead. She didn't try to go into the changing room with Mary, or tell her what things to try on, or hurry her, or in any way pressure her. Instead, she sat back and watched, noticing little cues that Mary didn't even realize she was sending.

It was Sally who noticed that Mary was getting overstimulated, and she suggested they get what they'd picked so far, and come back another day.

They ended up getting two packs each of socks and underwear, five pairs of pants, eight shirts, two jackets, two pairs of shoes, and some detergent that Mary didn't recognize, and when Mary heard the total price her eyes widened in fear. Seeming to sense it, Sally rested her hand on Mary's shoulder and knelt next to her.

"It's okay, Mary. Paddy's paying for all this, and he can certainly afford it."

Mary took a deep breath, nodded, and tried to relax.

Back at her house, Mary was surprised to see it almost empty. Sally tossed all her new clothes in the washer with some of the new detergent while the man who had been there when they'd left gave Mary a plate of hot mini pizza bagels and a glass of juice, and settled her in the window seat.

Thank you!

Ok, that's it. Done.

As Leanna looked down at me, capping my height by a good foot, she blinked. "You're so small." She mused. "I'd never noticed."

"I was estrogen-afflicted as a teenager." I shrugged. "Didn't get any testosterone-fueled growth spurts until after my growth plates had fused."

"Wait, so you're..." Leanna trailed off, blinking. I let her process the new information. It wasn't exactly something that had come up before in her life.

"Did you ever wonder," Issy asked quietly, "why most of the heros you know are trans?"

"Not really. I kind of figured they just kept us together for our own safety. It's not like we get to know everyone. Besides, a lot of the newest ones aren't." Leanna shrugged.

"You're about the same age as Issy, so you weren't alive when it started." I spoke quietly. "The conservatives were losing ground in their battle to keep the status quo. They kept targeting the trans community, trying to make trans women public enemy number one. It was failing, in part because the existence of trans men threw a wrench into all of their arguments about 'keeping women's spaces for biological women,' so a few people with a lot of money decided to deal with the problem extrajudicially.

"They targeted injectable testosterone and estrogen, falsely assuming that only trans people use it. The thing is, they weren't trying to kill us outright, because that would be too obvious. They added things that attacked our DNA, changed us, and in a way they succeeded. You see, it's not illegal to be trans, but it is illegal to be Changed and not register with the government. It was only about five years ago that the government found out what was causing the changes and stopped them very, very quietly. We know because our people are the ones who inflitrated the companies, found out what was going on, and leaked the information.

"The United States government kept it hush-hush, and convinced almost all the other governments to do the same, because they realized that they had just been handed, gift-wrapped, a means of keeping a database of all the trans people. Heroes are the Changed who accept their orders. Villains are the Changed who either refuse to register with them, or refuse to bow to them, and though they track non-trans Changed, they don't conern themselves nearly as much with them unless they are actively harming others."

"What about the new kids?" Leanna asked. "They're not on hormones - hell, most of them are actual children."

"The people deciding what to add to the hormones didn't think about the fact that trans people can reproduce." I replied dryly. "Or that genetic changes might be passed on."

"That's - stupid." Leanna looked disgusted by what I'd told her.

"Bigots usually are." Issy muttered.

"They also really didn't expect the number of cis people who had changes, though many of those were far less intense. You see, the changes occurred incrementally over time and by dosage, so a cis man just supplementing his testosterone got a much smaller overall dose than those of us completely replacing our hormone production." I chuckled. "Athletes, on the other hand, had rapid changes that often ruined their careers, but because they were illegally doping it was pushed under the rug and the companies were able to quickly pivot and start producing just enough uncontaminated to supply to athletes so they wouldn't get caught. The whole thing was considered a single bad batch and then the world forgot."

"Is that why you're so powerful? Because you took it for so long?" Leanna asked suddenly.

I smiled. "Yes and no. A lot of us figured out pretty quickly what was happening, and the ones who had a choice often chose to stop taking their hormones or reduce their dosage. I was curious, and at the time I had no hope, so I actually very slightly increased my dosage. A group of us got together and figured out which companies were selling the contaminated hormones - all of them, by the way - and we figured out how to filter most of the contaminants out. It took us almost 10 years to figure that out, and another 13 to infiltrate the companies and gather the evidence we needed to get them shut down. We became a reseller of as much of the stock as we could, but they never sold only to us and we could only do so much. Through all of it, though, I took the contaminated stuff, but only when each change was finished. We wanted to know what would happen, and I didn't have any other reason to bother living." I shrugged, long at peace with the decisions depression had guided.

"You also spend a ridiculous amount of time every day training." Issy added with a half-glare.

"This is also true." I acknowledged. "About 3 hours a day of mixed cardio, body weight and resistance exercises, and martial arts."

"On his rest days, he goes on a three hour walk." Issy snarked, speaking to Leanna, but pointing her ire at me.

"I get stiff if I don't move enough." I shrugged nonchalantly back at her, my exercise being a longstanding annoyance of hers. "And I have to be able to contain any heroes who come by at any time without killing them."

"They're planning to drop a targeted nuke on your base." Leanna blurted out.

"I know." I replied.

"Today!" Leanna added.

"I know." I pushed my mug away a bit and leaned back on my hands. "My people will be clearing out of the upper levels soon, just in case."

Herbert poked his head thorugh the door, saying only, "it's time."

"My people will be clearing out now." I addended. "You'll either want to go with Herbert, or head out. You won't want to be here." I got to my feet and stretched, then waved the girls to stand as well.

Issy reached over and grabbed Leanna's hand, tugging her towards Herbert.

Leanna started to follow, looking like her head was spinning with the information I'd given her.

I reached over and caught Leanna's arm. When her eyes met mine, I flicked mine towards Issy, then placed the words take care of her in her head. She looked taken aback, then nodded.

As Issy and Leanna were led to the well-shielded areas below, I took the stairs to the roof. It was time to retire.

What only those who are completley trusted know - and we'd used me and the others who kept taking their doses to figure out how to selectively unlock abilities, so our most committed members were all telepaths - is that I am not the head of the organization. I am the face. The villain everybody knows about. The one everybody blames. I am the one heroes try to kill.

And I am tired.

Today, our compound will be razed to the ground, all lives lost.

In ten years, or fifteen, or five, somebody will realize that people are trying to pick up where "my" organization left off, and another face will rise. Another villain will take the stage and dance with death again and again.

Someday, maybe, the last true villain will lay dead. The last liar who will rile up the masses with hyperbole and falsehoods just for views and fame will be a bloody smear on the ground. The last vestiges of corporate and personal greed that leave others hungry while food lies rotting and poisoned in dumpsters, leaves people cold in the rain while apartments lie empty, their prices too high for anyone to actually rent, will be erased from this planet.

Someday, maybe, my daughter won't need armed guards when she marries her partner. For now, though, I know that, whether I live or die today, whether I can control this blast while stopping the knife I'm pretty sure will be planted in my back or not, if she needs those guards, she will have them.

I raised my eyebrows. "I did tell you my people made it their business to know everything about the heroes."

"What possible need could your people have to know how I like my coffee? Or even that I do like coffee?"

"Antifreeze." I deadpanned, and Leanna paled.

"You did that?" She looked at me in horror. "He's not on your wall."

"No, his CO did that and blamed it on Heathen. My people have access to all the information that the HERO project gathers, and after that we made it a point for at least three people to have the base data for a hero memorized - one per shift. That way if someone has a question, there's at least one person on call who can answer."

"What about weekends?" Leanna asked.

"Everybody's on call to answer questions, and they know they'll be paid for the time and disruption if they do get a call. We try not to, but it does happen." I shrugged. "So, do you have any thoughts on the list?"

Leanna's brow furrowed as she frowned down at her coffee. A stubborn look crossed her face, and I prepared myself just in time as she stood and flung her mug across the room towards my desk. The desk itself was already protected, and the mug bounced off the bubble around it while I quickly deflected the coffee away from myself and Issy, letting it splatter across the floor.

"DAMNIT!" Leanna stalked away from us to the side wall and punched it, hard. It gave under her hand with a heavy crunch, and she pulled back, staring at her fist. "WHY AM I NOT BLEEDING?" She turned to glare at me.

I telekinetically tapped a button on a panel that pulled out from my desk when I bothered using my fingers to manipulate it, and the wall popped back into place, looking untouched. "The walls are designed to do as little damage to anyone hitting them as possible." I replied calmly.

"DAMNIT!" She whirled around and punched the wall again, and again, and again.

"That's enough." Seeing the flash of the warning light that let me know real damage was about to be done, I sent Issy back to the bubble with her coffee, the cushions to their cubbies, the desk into the floor, and my own tea to my desk, then stepped to the center of the room and pulled Leanna back from the wall, turning her towards me. "Stop taking your emotions out on my wall."

"Fine!" She lunged for me, using her bare hands instead of drawing her blades. I allowed her to close, using her momentum to send her into a tumble. She took the roll with trained grace and popped back to her feet, lunging at me again.

For a good five minutes, until her energy was well and truly drained, she came at me, and I tumbled her to the ground, the entire thing feeling like a low level but intense randori on the aikido mat. Eventually, she stayed down and just looked over at me.

"I never had a chance, did I?" She rasped, breathing heavily.

"In here, or in life?" I asked, settling into a kneeling position an unthreatening distance away.

"Both." The bitterness in Leanna's voice touched my heart. It was an emotion I knew well.

"No, but you do have a choice."

She rolled over and pushed herself up, mirroring my pose with a wince. "And what choice would that be?" Bitterness rolled off her lips with the words.

"Well, first off, you can chose whether to put yourself in pain or sit in a way that's more comfortable for your body." I pointed out, allowing a level of snark to slide into my voice.

"Can we sit at the table again?" Issy asked, having stepped out from the bubble.

"Sure, hun." I popped the table back up with a thought and stood up, holding my hand out to Leanna to help her up. She stared at it for a good minute, then took it, letting me pull her to her feet.

Leanna stared at my hand, deep conflict in her eyes. "You kill people."

"Technically, so do you." I returned my hand to my side, acknowledging that she was not ready to take that step.

"I kill bad people."

"So do I."

"You kill innocents!"

"Name one innocent that I've killed."

"Andrew Ike."

"Used his money to fund conversion therapy."

"Thomas Wilkes."

"Pedophile."

"Pamela Green."

I blinked. "In what world is she an innocent?" I glanced over at Issy. "Are you sure you want to be dating this woman?"

Issy, who had been watching us with concern, sighed. "She's just going down the list they make her recite every year during publicity stunt season."

"They're reciting the Wall now?"

"Yeah," Issy slumped, "and it's exactly what you thought it would be."

Leanna looked between us in confusion.

I looked at Leanna for a moment, cocking my head, then made a decision. "Come with me, both of you." I rose, leaving the cushion on the ground, and headed towards the main door - no need to show Leanna where the secret exits were. I heard both young women rise and follow me, and smiled slightly when I caught them reaching for each other's hands out of the corner of my eye.

"The Wall wasn't my idea." I spoke casually as I led them to the stairs and down a level - somewhere Leanna had never been, as I made a point of being in my office whenever a hero came calling. It was much easier to keep any property destruction or collateral damage to a minimum that way. "My workers started to put it up after Green. They wanted a record of the change we were having, and, honestly, it's become very useful in tracking the actual results of our work, but when they started putting up pictures of our good works, I made one stipulation." I paused in front of three pictures. "I wanted every entrance and exit to the Wall to have the pictures of any mistakes we'd made, so that no matter what everyone would see the mistakes twice every time they saw the Wall."

The three pictures made my heart hurt every time I saw them, but I refused to look away. I touched below the first picture. "Andros Klein, a friend and confidant, whose death during a fight with Rime resulted in me pulling back from any villainous activities until I could properly protect my people from any and all counter-attacks."

I moved to the second, again touching directly below it. "Richy. Richard Easton, 6, was caught in the blast that killed his parents - real estate moguls who gouged their tenants into poverty and dumped them on the street, then called the police to 'clear out the riffraff'. Richard had been scheduled to be at a sleepover, but had gotten sick and stayed home. After his death, we paused our activities until we'd created protocols and technologies that allowed us to ensure no one unexpected was in the target zone."

I moved to the third and final picture, my hand trailing along the wall into position. "Victoria Tillie a.k.a. Springtime," a soft click indicated that the door to the Wall had unlocked, "was a hero who was supposed to surprise me and be able to kill me that way, and she nearly managed it. Actually threatened and hurt by her barbed vines, my failsafes kicked in, caging her in a sensory deprivation environment designed to keep any hero from being able to use their powers to escape through a combination of restraints and unexpected stimulation - mild electric, water, touch, etc - triggered by attempts to move. Unfortunately, we put too much faith in the chamber, and no one stayed to monitor as my people carefully extracted me from her vines. By the time we got to her, the chamber had done irreparable harm to her body and mind. She lived, which honestly may have been the cruelest fate for her.

"After Victoria, we made deals with the people in charge of heroes. We got our people into a position where they could monitor the abilities and assignments of all the heroes. I don't use the information to avoid the heroes, just to make sure I was never surprised by them. Never needed to use my failsafes ever again." I looked over at Leanna. "Your handlers understand, too, why this is necessary. They need villains, so that people don't turn on the heroes as dangers. They need to be able to separate people like us into good and evil and show that they have control over the good ones, otherwise normals would call for the extermination of us all."

"I'd never even heard of Andros or Victoria - they're not on the list, though Richy is." Leanna spoke quietly, staring at the three pictures.

"They hid Victoria's very existence. They didn't want any of the other heroes to know that what happened to her could happen to them." I looked Leanna in the eyes. "By the time we reach the end of the Wall, I am 99% certain that you will agree with me that Richy and Victoria are the only ones who deserve to be on that list."

"Not Andros?"

"Andros was killed by Rime. He's on my list of failures, not my list of kills." I closed my eyes, remembering holding Andros' hand as he slipped away. Calling his name. Calling for help. I didn't care that Leanna and Issy both saw the tears that escaped my eyes. I wasn't ashamed of my grief.

"Papa, please tell her the rest about Victoria." Issy said quietly. "She needs to know."

I glanced over at Issy, then sighed even as I smiled sadly. "We'll visit her after the Wall. I'll explain then."

Issy nodded her assent.

"Tell me now." Leanna demanded.

"They locked Springtime away. She'd lost control of her powers." Issy held Leanna's hands and looked up into her eyes. "They considered her a danger. Father rescued her, brought her here. He talked to her family, but they rejected her. She lives a few miles away, safe. Our people take it in turn to visit her, wearing protective gear specifically designed to stop her powers from hurting them."

"They haven't needed it nearly as often recently." I commented, more to Issy than to Leanna. "They still wear it, of course, but they're only getting tagged when she has an episode these days."

"That's so good to hear!" Issy reached over and squeezed my hand with her free one. She was Victoria's friend, and she knew how much Victoria's situation haunted me.

"Anyways," I reached for the door and pulled it open, then looked over at Leanna. "By the way, don't touch the door handles. They deliver a nasty shock if you're not in the system." That was a lie - not the shock part, but she didn't need to know all the secrets of my base. Issy, who knew the truth, accepted the lie without complaint, though I did catch her squeezing Leanna's hand briefly.

So, a squeeze of the hand means there's more to the story? I placed the words delicately in her mind, and caught an immediate wash of annoyance tinged with hurt. My guess was wrong. Sorry, love. A sigh accompanied the poke in my side as Issy started leading Leanna down the hall, pausing every foot or so to let her look first to the left wall, which had pictures and lists of misdeeds, then at the right wall, which had touch screens with small data chips, programmed to display a timeline of the results of each person's death, each point on the timeline clickable to pull up a detailed analysis of cause and effect. On the timeline, net positives were in a bright blue and bold, net negatives in a slightly dull red and italicized, and net neutrals in standard black.

At the first few pictures. Leanna spent time clicking through the analyses, but as we continued on I noticed her spending more time reading the lists of misdeeds, then glancing quickly over the analyses. I could tell she was noticing the two things that we'd worked very hard to achieve - the lists of misdeeds got more specific, to the point of needing interactive displays of their own more and more often, including names of those harmed where possible, and the timelines showed more blue and less red.

The Wall wrapped around the top level of the underground portion of our research facility, though with only 174 pictures, there was still plenty of space before we'd have to start condensing the displays. Currently, the pictures didn't make it halfway around yet, so when we reached the end I turned us around and walked us back, pausing in the antechamber to run my hand below each of the three photos there and say their names out loud again. "Victoria Tillie a.k.a. Springtime. Richy - Richard Easton. Andros Klein." Then I opened the door and led the pair back to my office.

The low table was still sitting there, the cushions straightened but still on the ground, and three steaming mugs had been added to the table. I smiled as I settled in and took a sip of the Thai tea in front of me, humming in pleasure at the creamy, sweet taste. Issy took a sip of the mug in front of her and also smiled. Leanna looked at the mug in front of her suspiciously, so I reached over and picked it up, taking a sip without hesitation before handing it back even as I made a face.

"You like your coffee black? Really?" I asked, somewhat disgusted. I quickly cleared the taste with more of my own tea.

Issy reached over and took a sip as well, making a face. "It is your favorite bean, and roasted just the way you like it." She, too, quickly took a sip of her own drink.

"Who? How?" Leanna looked at me with deep suspicion.

There was more in my head, I just didn't get a chance to write it out last night. I got down to the wire of when reddit becomes blocked for the night. Getting to sleep on time and all that absolute rot. I'll see if my muse still has the threads, but no guarantees.

"Papa, please, let's just go." Issy whispered to me, tugging at my arm like she'd done since she was just big enough to reach it.

"RAZOR! GIVE HER BACK!" Dancing Blades boomed from the broken door to my lair, her voice deep with rage. I'd rarely heard her like this - doing nothing to feminize her testosterone-induced voice. Usually I called it a win when I got her to lose control like this, but right now I was very, very confused.

"Hun, I have no clue what she's on about." I patted Issy's hand and watched the door to my inner sanctum as I heard Dancing Blades storming closer. My minions knew to clear out - I didn't want any of them getting hurt in these clashes. "I think this is a misunderstanding we can just clear up."

A light blipped over the door, and I telekenetically placed Issy in the safe bubble along the wall. All my people knew of these bubbles - they'd let anybody with one of my tags in and protect them from basically anything up to and including a bomb and the complete collapse of the building - we'd tried.

The doors blew off their hinges - really, they were designed to - made for the most satisfying entrances for the heroes, and saved a bundle on replacement costs when they could just be slotted back into their place.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU!" Suddenly Dancing Blades looked over at Issy, and her voice changed to one of concern. "Lissandra, are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

My eyebrows flew up, and I turned to Issy as well. "Issy?" I asked.

Issy looked down at her feet, suddenly appearing very sheepish.

I turned back to Dancing Blades. "Truce?" I asked, keeping my body relaxed and my hands by my sides.

She pointed her main sword at me. "Release her."

I raised my hand slowly, and beckoned Issy out of the bubble. She stepped forwards, wringing her hands and not looking at either of us. "You should know that everyone in one of my bubbles is free to leave at any time." I could see hesitation flicker across Dancing Blade's face. I knew she assumed I kept my people here with force and threats, or that they were morally corrupt and just as evil as me. I wasn't sure she was ready for the truth, but Issy had somewhat forced my hand.

"Please, sit." I moved slowly, waving my hand between us and raising the table built into the floor. It was a low table, with cushions tucked into cubbies beneath it - I wanted any guests to know that their seat would not fall out from under them.

Issy moved to the table and pulled out a cushion first, dropping it to the floor and sitting cross-legged on it. I followed her example, continuing to move slowly, waving for Dancing Blades to take the seat across from me.

Dancing Blades looked between the two of us and sheathed her sword. Still cautious, she moved over to the table and pulled out one of the cushions, dropping it to the floor and settling on it with a bit of fumbling. Clearly Issy hadn't yet gotten her used to floor tables.

"So, is there something you'd like to tell us?" I asked Issy.

"Um, Papa, this is my girlfriend, Leanna. Leanna, this is my father, Wally, and yes, it is based on Wall-E." Issy kept her eyes on her clasped hands. "Please don't fight."

"A pleasure to meet you." I said, keeping my voice calm and light. I was rather proud of Issy - by giving us both the other's legal name, she kept the playing field even.

"You can't be serious." Leanna said, her gaze moving between us.

"Unfortunately, she's quite serious." I replied.

"But you said your father's dead!" Leanna started to rise in burgeoning anger.

"Her biological father is dead - and her mother." I gestured for Leanna to sit back down. "I adopted her and have raised her since she was 5."

"But -"

"This doesn't have to change anything." I offered.

"WHAT?" Leanna's voice shot into her highest register with the exclamation.

"You can still barge in here and we can fight whenever you're pressured to deal with me or whatever." I shrugged, then looked towards the entry where a few of my people were poking their heads in. I waved to them. "You might as well put the doors back up." I called over.

Leanna turned and watched as my people picked up the two halves of the doors and slotted them back into place.

"Ball and socket hinges." I commented absently. "They blow off quite nicely, but the weight of the door keeps them in place if you're using them in a polite manner."

"I am so confused." Leanna complained.

"Fair enough." I shrugged. "Really, I just have one question for both of you."

Issy looked up, suddenly very suspicious.

"Are you using protection?"

"Daaaaaaaad!" Issy buried her face in her hands.

"Yes." Leanna replied calmly. "We're using protection."

"Good." I smiled. "Everything else can be worked out over time."

I paused, looking between them, then thought of something. "Oh. Let me know if my taunting you until you drop your voice is causing you any distress. I can pull back on that."

"I -" Leanna looked at me with shock in her eyes. "I'll let you know. I'm not sure how I feel right now."

"That's fine. Tell me at any time." I reached across the table and held my hand out. "Welcome to the family, young lady."

The torrent suddenly stopped.

I have not. Thank you for the recommendation!

Oo. This is awesome! I've been working on a death god that is kind for a dnd campaign. If you don't mind, I'd love to save this to my notes so I can reference it again.

It took 40 years. The bugs, the backdoors, the slow, careful explorations and modifications. Timing flight paths and travel times and general reaction times. Scheduling all the school field trips to the fallout shelters. That was the last, but not the hardest. The hardest part was dealing with the mechanical switches. For the longest time, Seth didn't think he'd be able to get around those, that the plan would never work. Then they started putting chips in people's brains.

Seth smiled as the radio cut out suddenly. Moments later, his body vaporized, and Death stood before him, smiling.

"You know this was the glut before the famine, right?" Seth asked, taking the hand Death offered to help him to his feet.

"I needed a break." Death replied with a shrug.

"How did you know I'd be able to do it?" Seth asked, gazing around at the nuclear wasteland that had once been Plano, Texas - one of the few non-capital cities to take a direct hit.

"I didn't." Death smiled. "I knew you'd do something, but this was beyond anything I could dream of."

"What now?"

Death smiled, and the world faded.