THIS.
I've seen them called steamed buns or Bao Buns, but when I search for those terms, I also end up with images of Taco-like shapes also or even just yeast roll looking breads.
Is there a word for the particular shape in the first link? Like a doughball that is wrapped around the food inside and pinched at the top with a slight twist.

Stirring awake, Morte slumbered peacefully next to me. Our evening had been busy the moment I woke up from that damn spell, a golden envelope fluttering into my palm. So much for the monster jobs lately, the shrill shriek of my cell phone had me picking it up before it woke up Morte. Roseworth’s voice had me groaning bitterly to myself, my free hand opened up the envelope. An unfamiliar name glittered up at me, Roseworth saying the same name. Cursing under my breath, no files existed with her name.
“Cool. Do you have any information on her?” I whispered into the phone, Morte still slumbering away. Checking the time on my phone, a terse shit escaped my lips. Why did it have to be four o’ clock in the morning! Giving me coordinates, her kind words did little to wake me up. Scratching at my rat nest of hair, a groggy yawn poured from my lips.
“Let’s do this one together. I want it to be the two of us if you don’t mind.” She requested honestly, something seeming off. Hanging up the phone, my bare feet hit the floor. Washing up real quick, nothing eased the swelling dread in my gut. Drying off, my steady hands twisted my hair into a bun. Selecting a steel gray Lolita dress, little relief came to me the moment I slid my feet into my boots. Checking to see if everything was there, I strapped on the case holding my dagger upon the discovery of everything being present. Sneaking past the bed, my fingers snatched my purse on the way out. Avoiding the creaking floor boards, my favorite hearse waited for me. Climbing into the driver’s seat, my fingers typed in the coordinates. Allowing the maps to boot up, the engine roaring to life had me ready to go on my adventure. Driving in pensive silence to the next spot, the trees became the city. The city became more trees, another wave of dread making me sit in the hearse for a good fifteen minutes. Stepping out, a strange fog hung over the sea of endless roots. Locking the door, a few of the trees glitched. Seleste must be a goddess of deception, a lump forming in my throat. The real Roseworth must be captured somewhere around here, the number on the phone matching hers. Kicking my dagger into my eager palm, lord knew what craziness was wandering in that trap. Pausing in front of the thin wall of the trap, my hand slid through. Crossing into the trap, the other side vanished from my sight. Tears welled up in my eyes at a chilling voice, Mr. Bone standing in front of me. Tilting his head back and forth, a cruel grin lingered on his lips. Catching his head in his palm, inky blood painted his gray hair. Quivering in my spot, my hand cupped my mouth. Swinging his head back and forth, shock rounded my eyes the moment a fuchsia dagger slid through my stomach. Sinking to my knees, everything blurred. Cupping my stomach, ocean blue eyes tripled. Hitting the dirt, a rough darkness stole me away.
Stirring awake, chains had me tied to Roseworth’s back. Struggling in my chains, the links clanging woke her up. Fresh cuts and bruises covered her face, my own hands feeling the hole in my stomach. Coughing up a large clot of blood, her kind eyes darkened to an emotion of fear and considerable worry. Sliding off my boot, a strong push had it by her hand.
“Can you pluck out my collection of medicine?” I whispered for only her to hear, her left eye winking once. Shifting through the beat up leather, her steady fingers rolled the one vial in my direction. Flicking it into the air with my finger, my teeth caught the round end. Biting down, glass shattered. Gulping down the milky liquid, the shards tumbling from my tongue. Sliding my boot back over, the worn leather of my boot hugging my feet felt like Heaven. Mouthing the words key, her head nodded towards a hole in the tree. Winking two times, my message for her was received. Rising to our feet, the dirt crunched as we maneuvered ourselves closer to the hole in the tree. Sending a couple of my shadow snakes to retrieve the keys, the bark glitched with every hiss. A couple of snakes dragged my dagger over to me, the keys jingling into my palm. Kicking my dagger into my free palm, Roseworth swiped the keys from my other hand. Flipping through the keys,the right one had the chains clattering to our feet. Melting the keys in her palm, surprise rounded my eyes at my healed stomach. Burying me in a desperate embrace, our phones were nowhere to be seen. Letting her emotions soak my shoulder, my mind working on how to get our asses out of here. Wiping away her tears as she stepped back, something had to draw her here in the first place.
“What drew you here? I had you little stunt double call me. Not to mention, the gods need me to kill her.” I interrogated patiently, checking her over for wounds. “No offense, I can’t make the connection to why you had to come here.” Dusting off her soiled suit, her hands felt around her pocket. Plucking out a black envelope, my fingers curling around the edges precariously. Opening the flap, my name shimmered in the false moonlight. Closing it back up, her shaking hand tucked it back into her pocket.
“When it was at one of our last crime scenes I had to bring it to you. Thankfully, the time and place was on this card.” She explained with a tired smile, pulling her pistol from her pocket. “I don’t know what you are into but you seem to be sniffing too close to the sun. Yet, the will to bring you to a stop is nonexistent.” Smiling quietly to myself, her respect for me was hardly earned.
“This is something that I have to do. What did she look like?” I inquired with a softer tone than before, her hand scratching the back of her neck. Summoning a piece of paper and pencil, the tip moved on its own. Lowering itself in front of me, the goddess almost had a foot on me. The sleek fuchsia bob matched her damn dagger, her cold ocean blue eyes staring back at me. Yanking Roseworth behind the largest tree, scarlet painting my cheeks the moment I covered her with my scent. Seleste came into view, her wool navy dress swaying with each step. Spinning fuchsia daggers in her eager palms, a shrill shriek rang out in the still air.
“Where the hell did you go, you fucking brats!” She bellowed into the rumbling sky, raindrops splashing onto her cheeks. “Goddamn it! The twins told me that it would be easy! There is nothing easy about this!” Stomping her feet in some sort of pathetic fit, my brow cocked at her childish nature.
“Get in the trees and shoot from above. This is going to get messy.” I ordered discreetly into her ear, her protests failing to leave her lips the moment I skidded out of our hiding spot. Moving my wet strands out of my eyes, my dagger extended to its full form. Running the blade along the trees, sparks danced in the air. Whistling one of my childhood songs, the notes seemed to come from every corner of her trap.
“Perhaps the brat is you. Adults don’t throw fits, after all!” I called out, attempting to throw off her composure. A rush of cold air lashed at my cheeks, Seleste appearing over my head. Blocking her daggers with my blade, one push sending her back into the sky. Summoning my shadows, the forms glitched into carbon copies of me. Coming back down, the show was set to begin. Hiding in the trees, my shadows kept her entertained while I prepared a spell to take over her trap. Getting on my knees, a swift slice had inky blood pooling in my palm. Dipping the tip of my finger into shining liquid, the tip of my finger dancing around to produce a ring of demonic symbols. Pressing my palms together, the cost would be half of my magic.
“Powers of the bones of the underworld.” I chanted boldly, loose strands of my hair floating up. “Take what belongs to me!” Laying my palm on the biggest symbol, the circle glowing to life. The forest decayed to a sea of dead trees, the dirt darkening to a deep scarlet. Flicking the wet dirt off of my palm, I made sure to mark random trees in an effort to confuse her further. Catching my breath, her insults grew louder. Preparing myself for a rough blow, an ice bullet prevented her from getting close enough to harm me. Shifting her attention to Roseworth, her gun glinted in the rising moon. Winking in my direction, the next move was mine. Blasting the area around her feet, ice climbed up her leg. Struggling in her spot, another bullet struck her chest. Ice began to devour her body, an idea coming to mind. Moving my lips a mile a minute, the ground rumbled. My giant snake burst from the ground, the fangs piercing her heart. Foaming at the mouth, her body jerked around. Ice shattered with a whip of his tail, her limp body flying into her mouth. Slithering into his hole, the ground slammed shut. Collapsing to my knees, a couple of organs burst from the impact of two spells. Coughing up blood, the trap dissolved into the normal woods. A loud shit burst from my lips at the damn twins towering over me, both of them staring down at me hungrily in their usual outfits. Licking their lips, lightning crackled up and down their arms. Horror rounded my eyes, my muscles seeming too weak to move. Silent tears stained my cheeks, Morte and Croak appearing over their heads. Spinning on their heels, sparks danced aimlessly around me with every violent clash. Shrinking my blade back down to its dagger form, the trees blurring into dozens of trees. Slapping my cheeks, aid would be necessary in a few minutes. Fishing around my boots, a pair of arms tossed me over a pair of feminine shoulders. Sprinting away from the scene, Roseworth’s words seemed to fade in and out, the dirt spinning underneath her boots, a couple more shouts following us. Ripping open the back of a hearse, the frame squealed in protest the moment she leapt into the back. Locking it behind her, her arms held me tight. Glancing up at her, the warm feeling of blood pouring from my lips had me getting nauseated beyond reason. Hitting my face desperately to wake up, her hands ripped the medical kit off the wall.
“Tell me how to heal you.” She pleaded with tears in her voice, a buzzed panic thickening in her tone as I rolled out of her arms. Staring into the box, the engine roaring to life had me bouncing around. Peeling onto the road, Morte and Croak glanced back at me, Croak climbing into the back. Asking Roseworth to hold me still, her slender fingers flipped through the potions. Yanking me back onto her lap, Croak had her head buried into the box. Morte begged for her to help me out.
“I am trying but she broke her magical limit!” She snapped back at him, jolts of pain had me biting my tongue repeatedly, ten vials rolling around in her palms. Mixing them into an empty beaker, the colors blended to form a lovely lilac potion. Opening up my mouth, the sweet tasting potion coated my throat on the way down. Making sure I swallowed it, tears splashed onto my face.
“Stop pushing yourself, love.” She comforted me, her finger tucking my sweat soaked hair behind my ear. “Why did you push yourself so h-” Thuds banged over our head, lightning cracking over the sides of the hearse. Struggling to sit up, my organs were weaving themselves back together. Gritting my teeth, my fingers curled around my dagger. Ignoring the protests, a finger to my lips had everyone calming down. Yanking Croak close to my face, she swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Make Madame Bone appear in front of us.” I hissed with a huff, her head nodding. Crawling up to the window, Morte wiped the sweat off of my brow. “Madame Bone is going to appear in front of us. Drive accordingly.” Climbing up the front seat, wonder brightened my eyes at a gray skinned version of Madame Bone holding her head. Maggots squirmed in the meat of her neck, nausea wracking my body for a second time. The lightning died down, the window groaning down. Pulling myself out, hot air lashed at my cheeks. Wincing as I crept behind them, my dagger spun in my hand. Unable to transform it to the full length, my wits would be my friend. Terror contorted their features, my fingers curling around their collars. Stomping twice on the roof, the brakes squealing to halt had them flying off the roof. Hitting the roof, bones crunching poisoned the air as the brakes hissed off. Reversing the hearse, another wave of crunching had silent tears staining my cheeks. Crawling back towards the front, another gruff groan poured from my lips as I lowered myself back into the passenger’s seat. Bones clicked to place behind us, lightning crackling to life.
“Flood the road.” I spoke simply, his hand hanging out the window. Water flowed freely from his palm, the cold waves hitting their feet. Electricity met water, smoke curling off of their skin. Bringing his hand in, the engine roared with the increase of speed. Peeling onto pavement, lightning flashed in the distance. Curling into a ball onto his lap, his fingers played with my hair. Shutting the window between the back and us, his loving gaze had me smiling tiredly to myself.
“Not that it is any of my opinion but is there a reason you took off today on your own?” He growled through gritted teeth, the steering wheel crying out with his strengthening grip. “I thought you were dead and I can’t live without you damn it!” The others looked up at the plastic dividing us, pure annoyance glittering in my eyes. His tears plopping onto my cheeks stole away any rage I had. Instead of shouting back like I tended to in our fights, his point was valid.
“I am sorry.” I wept softly, everything hitting me. “I am so sorry! You must hate me for being such an asshole.” Shaking his head, he clutched me close to his chest. Kissing the top of my head, nothing needed to be said. Blurred images doubled, a rough slumber stole me away.
Stirring awake, the walls of my bedroom greeted me. Swinging my feet over the edge of bed, a simple onyx summer dress floated over my body. Leaning on the wall, the muscles in my legs screamed out in protest. Making my way along the wall, the warmth of my shadowy powers felt like a sweet hug. Limping down the stairs gingerly, Croak rushed over to me. Draping her arm over my shoulder, her presence felt like Heaven. Friends and family were sure nice to have around, her steady hands sitting me down on the worn leather couch. Staring around the room, the faded wallpaper was a new thing for me. Realizing that the living room walls have never seen my presence, hands cupping my face had me zipping back into reality. Croak’s minty breath bathed my face, her stern expression scaring me.
“What the hell were you thinking!” She berated me venomously, my ears pinning back. “You could have died! We are here to help you.” Hel stomped in, the demon brothers nipping at her heels. Waiting for more chastisement, a movie flew my way. Catching it, a fit of laughter burst from my lips. Parting my lips to speak several times, Hel held her hand up in the air.
“Tonight is movie night and that is that!” She huffed with her hands on her hips, my children bouncing up to me. The brothers grunted gruffly in agreement, the whole crew taking a seat. The bell rang, Wut coming in with a pile of pizzas in his palm. Cal and Morte came in with plates and a case of some sort of soda. Moving over for Morte, cheers erupted around me the moment Wut placed the pizza boxes on the floor. Putting in the movie for us, a rare moment of serenity bathed the space in its breathtaking warmth. Passing the slices around, the mouths were moving on the screen. No words were planting themselves in my mind, Morte leaning closer to me distracting me further.
“How are you holding up, Corspy?” He whispered while adjusting the girls on his lap, a tender blush rising to my cheeks. “Did you learn something on the last mission?” Pressing my lips into a thin line, something did stick out. Why would she work with someone who has water powers primarily? The one good thing that could come from that were a few traps but nothing else came of it. Another thing that haunted me was how many of those new goddesses existed. Thinking back on the details today, Roseworth skipped in with a pile of folders. Shifting Miles around, Roseworth pulling up a chair behind me. Lights painted her face, her breath bathing my neck the moment she craned forward.
“We gathered that the twins have seven new goddesses. Well, six now.” She explained calmly in my ear, Morte cocking his brow in our direction. “I am not on the up and up about how one creates a new religious system. Gods can’t exist without support, right?” Grimacing for a minute, part of that was true.
“In all technicality, one supporter is all you need. That is why her little religion works. As long as they worship those gods the system can exist.” I answered with an exhausted grin, my hand cupping hers. “Are these files on them?” Shooting me a steady thumbs up, a quiet thank you escaped my lips. Asking for a slice of pizza, gratefulness glittered in her eyes. Mouthing thank you, her eyes shifted to the screen. Mr. Bone would have cherished this moment, a long sigh drawing from my lips. Scratching at my cheek, Miles lowered my hand. Draping his arms around my neck, the boy buried his face into my shoulder. Rubbing his back, snores echoed in my ear. Hugging him tighter, tears of tainted bliss cascaded from my eyes. How long had it been since a child this small needed me this much? Basking in the warmth until the credits, protests bounced off the walls the moment I rose to my feet. Putting my free hand in the air, an odd silence came over the room.
“How about we do this once a week? Croak picks the movie next week and we will figure it out from there. I have to get this little guy to bed. Come on, girls.” Leaping over the couch, the sound of footsteps behind me reminded me of the good days. Climbing the stairs to their bedrooms, the girls began their night time routine. A broken smile lingered on my lips at them tugging on sweet pink nightgowns, the girls hopping into bed. Hugging the rabbits, life lit up in their eyes at the sound of my old time song. Tucking Miles in, my lips brushed against his forehead. Walking to the other side of the room, the girls giggled the moment my lips grazed their foreheads. Wishing them a good night, a soft stop had me staying by their sides.
“I love you!” They shouted together, time stopping. Fighting the tears, the girls wondering if something was wrong had me hugging them with a flurry of feverish kisses. Giggles twinkled in the air, Morte coming in. Wishing them goodnight, his hand took mine. Dragging me out, the light clicked off. Placing me on his back, curiosity peaked in my eyes. Stepping into the pale moonlight, a cool breeze had my loose hair floating up. Sliding off of his back, his hand spun me around to face him. Yanking me closer to his hips, his hand cupped my cheek. Tracing his skin along my supple skin, his fangs extended over his lips. Grazing my neck, a shiver shot up my spine. A pop signaled his fangs sinking into my skin, the gulps causing scarlet to paint my cheeks. Letting him drink his fill, this had been his way of keeping his composure. Releasing his bite with a satisfied gasp, my blood glistened on his lip. Licking it off, an apologetic smile haunted his features.
“We could barely take down one demon and now we have to take down two. How the fuck are we going to do that?” He complained bitterly, sliding his hand down to my waist. “We should win with you leading the charge.” Cocking my brow with a sarcastic right, my self-doubt was strong enough to drag me into its tumultuous waves. Hoping that he was right, the flames of hope had died down for the first time in a long while.

Part 1: Now We’ll Both Drown
I understand now. You ARE scared of me. Your eyes haven't been looking at me. Oh, your beautiful eyes. They were black holes, sucking my attention. I wanted your eyes on me. I clenched my hands together. Oh, your shakey hands as they tremble to put the pasta I made for you in your mouth. Your hands are so beautiful, that I might have to frame them. I should frame every part of you. You are Plato’s Form of Beauty. I rest my chin on the palm of my vertical arm and smile at you nervously eating from across the table. You are so beautiful, I simply must preserve you. You methodically get up from the dinner table. You're being very particular about your actions, you really are scared! Beads of sweat start to form on your forehead as you try to find an excuse to leave, like a cute little frog. I guess that would make me a scorpion, no? You're already too far into the pond to get out now. I grab your arm and ask if you won’t stay a little longer. My poor frog, you should know better than to be scared of me. I bat my eyes. I have found that this works when they try to leave too early.
You purse your lips as you glance back and forth between my eyes and the wretched door. You're enamoured with me. Who could blame you? I'm beautiful. But I realise that it's not enough for you to just want me. I've learned that with the countless amount of man-whores and sluts that want just that. They should love me. I'd give them everything I have, but time and time again they'll take advantage of me. I wonder... Are you going to be like them? The ones in the past who were all too scared of my love. So disappointing... I guess you are. No, but you are special. I don't think I've ever felt real love before I met you. As I was perusing what recipes I should make for the first time dish, your black holes suddenly lock onto me and become as serious as a book.
"Are you going to hurt me," you ask me. I stare at you, surprised that you would even consider such a thing. Me? Hurt you? I love you too much, I could NEVER hurt you. But you don't give me a chance to respond, you told me what I'd been waiting to hear all of my life. You tell me that the past months have been the happiest you've been in years. You tell me how women had hurt you in the past and that they'd betrayed you. Teachers, classmates, friends: all of these people hurt you. That you were done. That you knew that you loved me. That just a month was enough for you to know that you loved me. You held my hand to your chest and stepped closer. Multiple people have thrown themselves at my feet, but I was right about you, wasn't I? I'm feeling enjoyment instead of impatience. I've never loved any of the men or women that I preserved. You are special. Watching you isn't enough. I need to be whole with you. I'll enjoy you in my stomach, that way you'll be with me forever, I can't risk anyone else having you.
You tell me that my smile would make dry ice sublimate. How lucky must you have been to have met me, how much even luckier to be the object of my affection? I am designed directly in the goddess Indrani's image. I feel my cheeks flush. My poor Frog, how could you hold this all in your heart? You've been loving me like I've been loving you this entire time? You say you see a halo around my head; I am divine, an angel living among the mortal plane. You say that you loved me, that you are mine and hoped I am yours. You cup my face as I feel tears start to fall. You then apologise and tell me that using metaphors was unpious of you. That as long as I love you, you will worship me. I never realised that words could sound so divine. Just by opening your mouth, you're holier than the Buddha. I examine your eyes as you move closer to my face. I was wrong, they are solar systems, with me at the centre. I tell you that I never want you to look at anyone else again. I want those stars to orbit me. I never want anyone else to say my name; it always sounds better when it comes from your lips. You simply whisper in my ear that you are mine. My sweet frog. This is more than love. This is devotion. So much sorrow, I’ll make sure to make those women pay, that is the least I do for you, no? You won't leave me; not ever, I'll make sure of it. You'll be better warm.
Part 2: The Tale of the Frog and the Scorpion
There was a Frog named Avyan. Avyan often passed through a pond on his way back home. But today a scorpion was standing at the bank. Avyan curiously asked what she was doing. The scorpion said that they needed to cross the pond but no one would take her. Avyan asked her why, and she said that because she was a scorpion, everyone thought she would sting them. Avyan asked if she would sting him, and after taking a second to think, she said she wouldn't. Avyan smiled and asked her name. "Aarati".
She wouldn't sting him, and he would start taking her around the pond. They would live happily.
Part 3: The Inn Down the Road
My eyes refocus on my surroundings. The wind threatening to blow off the straw hat laid on my head. The seemingly endless fields of corn. The gorgeous porch to what seems like an Inn. A small dirt road running parallel to the Inn. I rub the bridge of my nose. I had just been listing out things, and didn’t recognise any of them; where was I? I hear a wet gurgle. Looking down I see a small green frog. It stared at me, quietly continuing its ribbits. From the edge of the porch, a small scorpion crawls up and goes up to the frog. The frog, maintaining eye contact with me, hopped off the porch and toward the field of corn in front of the Inn. The vast sea of yellow contrasting with the clear vibrant blue sky was a sight one could lose themselves in.
Yet it is only the second beautiful sight on this porch. I know she is there before I even need to look. I looked at the freshly opened door, to see a needle I could pick out in a haystack. She held a pan of seven pastries. And she smiled at me. Her smile would make dry ice sublimate. How lucky must I have been to have met her, how much even luckier to be the object of her affection? God must have been disappointed after her birth, knowing they would never make anything or anyone as beautiful as her. With her olive skin and her short hair, you would easily mistake her for Indrani. I could always see a halo around her head; she was divine, an angel living among the mortal plane. And she loved me, I was hers and she was mine. She placed the pastries in front of me and sat next to me. Her eyes, they shone like a nebula. No, similes weren’t a proper way of describing her. Nebulas shone like her eyes. She was the blueprint of the Angels. Goddesses of Beauty were based on her. I examined her eyes as she moved closer to my face. And, I realised that I had gotten caught up in my fantasy. My face formed a frown, “Who are you”. She looked almost identical, but it wasn’t her.
The woman in front of me had a coy smile, “I guess I never introduced myself, did I? I’m the Innkeeper.” She placed her hand on my cheek, “I don’t have any other guests so I figure I should be doting on the one I have.” I move away her hand. “I’m sorry, you just look a lot like someone I knew,” I reply sheepishly. “A girlfriend?” she asked with a look that made me feel like she already knew.
“No, my late wife”
“Well, my name is Ava”
“Oh… I’m sorry the resemblance is really uncanny, it’s unnerving” I glance away from her.
“You don't think that I'm her, do you? From beyond the grave?” Ava says with a smile.
“No, it’s just that- I was surprised.”
“Oh, did you love her?”
I feel the temperature around me drop. My throat constricts and my vision starts to get blurry. I couldn’t talk about this, especially not with HER. I look around, trying to find a way to change the subject, “Uh, where am I? I don’t remember how I got here,”
“Calm down,” Ava says rolling her eyes, “You were dropped off by a passerby who found you on the side of the road, passed out. I’m pretty lonely nowadays so I gladly agreed to take you in. The ferry across the river only comes in the morning, so stay the night, and we can go into town together tomorrow. Enjoy your pastries, I had a feeling you would like them. But make sure you don’t stay out too long, it’ll start to rain soon, and we don’t want you catching a cold” She lightly taps my leg and heads back inside The Inn. “I’ll be waiting for you,” she says as she blows a kiss my way. My heart turns traitor, and flutters. Oh… My Scorpion…
After I regain my composure, I go back to my seat and start to eat the pastries. They were Sel Rotis. The same kind that my wife would make for me. I pick one up with a shaky hand and slowly put it to my mouth. My eyes start to well up and, as if on cue, the sky turns grey. I quickly choke down the food, fighting back the memories that were welling up quicker than the tears. As I finish the 4th one, my eyes betray me, and the tears start flowing. I quickly try to wipe them but they fall too quickly. I hear the sky crackle and it starts pouring. I get up, tears still streaming down my face, and walk out of the porch’s cover and into the rain. As I step further away from The Inn, the rain starts pouring harder. The strain of lightning slams into the cornfield and sets it on fire only to be quickly doused out by the rain. It happens again. And again. Louder every time. I frown. The wind grows stronger and tears my hat from my head. I quickly head back to The Inn with the sounds of lightning punctuating my every step.
I close the door carefully behind me, slowly snuffing out the angry weather. The inside of The Inn was a bar that reminds me of what you would expect from a 1980 horror movie. There were chairs and tables scattered around the main level with a bar at the back. There are stairs leading up to a second floor, presumably with more rooms. The ceiling has ornate yellow lanterns hanging that emit a soft yellowish-orange light. Ava is there, at the bar, cleaning shot glasses. She was wearing grey spectacles that hung low on her nose. My wife never wore glasses. A twinge of sadness leaks out of my heart. I place my hand on my chest as if to stop it from spilling. Ava wasn’t her. It was cruel to wish she was.
“I warned you about the rain,” she says with the same smile. I keep quiet; the more I interact with her the more I think of HER. The more I miss HER. “Where is my room? I need to dry off.”
“I’ll show it to you.”
I wish she’d stop smiling at me. It reminds me too much of…
She led me up the stairs. They creaked every time I stepped on them, yet never seemed to creak for her. She led me down the hallway. Several rooms were side by side with the same lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The hallway seemed to run on forever. She takes me to the first room in the hallway and opens it. “Here is where you’ll be staying. There should be clothes that’ll fit you in the closet. Please let me know if you need anything,” she says. Her smile was already burned into my face. I look away to prevent it from being branded.
“Yeah I will,” I say quickly.
After I close the door, I take a moment to examine my room. It was a cosy room with a single bed centred on the wall. The bathroom is surprisingly well-kept. A shower should help clear my mind of them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ava lied. The clothes did not fit me. The sweater was at least a size too big and I had to fold the ankles of the pants to prevent them from dragging. But I figured I wasn’t really in a position to complain, after all; I was given clothes and a place to stay for free. I put my head in my hands and took a few deep breaths. This had been a weird day. I could really use a drink, I told myself, but deep down I knew the real reason why I was going to the bar.
Ava’s hair had been tied back into a bun. Her smile grew when she saw me walk down the stairs. This was definitely a bad idea; I knew shouldn’t trust this place. But she looked like my wife. But she wasn’t and nothing would change that. The stairs creaked like a metronome as I held on to the handrail. As I descended, I felt Ava’s smile on me. As if I was stricken with a plague, I felt the tips of my mouth curl upward.
As I sit down at the bar, she pours me a glass. I take it and circle the rim with my finger. As the amber liquid swirled gently within the confines of the glass, my fingers danced around its rim, tracing invisible patterns in the condensation left behind. I had no intention of drinking it. I wasn’t going to let the last time I saw her face disappear because I was drunk. “How long have you been running this Inn?” I say to her, tearing away my gaze from the whiskey. “Oh, for as long as I can remember. I used to run it with my father, but he died a few years ago, so it’s just been me. You’re lucky we found you in the off-season. Or guess I am, so I can give you my undivided attention” she says, looking at me with a smirk.
“Well, lucky me,” I say, averting my gaze back to the whiskey, feeling my cheeks rise in temperature.
She walks around the bar and takes the seat next to me. She takes off her glasses and moves my whiskey away from me, forcing me to look at her.
“So… How long ago did your wife die?”
I started to answer the easy question but found myself unable to. How long ago did she die? It wasn't that I couldn't remember the exact day, I didn't remember how or when she died. “I can't seem to remember for some reason”
“Oh? I thought you were in love with her? And you can't remember when she died” she said letting a giggle out.
I took a sharp breath. “Don't say that, I do love her, I just can't… remember. My head has felt ill ever since I got here.
“Why do you still love her,” she said as her face turned solemn, “after everything she did to you? And how could she love you after what you did to her?”
“W-who are you?”
She held my hand and placed it on her cheek, “It doesn't matter who I am, I’m here for you. I know what happened and I know what you did,” Ava stares into my eyes. I feel like a safe that had just been unlocked. Like a name that's been said for the first time in a millennia. My hands start to shake and my body stops responding. She leans in closer to me. I pull back, causing the chair I was sitting on to kneel over. My body hits the floor hard as the wind is knocked out of me. Ava gets out of her chair in concern and tries to help me up. I wave her hand away. “Who are you, what is this place, how did I get here? I need you to tell me!” I croak in a shaky voice. Ava just looks at me.
“How did she die?” she asks me in a tone unbetraying of emotion
I stare at her in confusion, “It was sudden, she just got really sick out of nowhere, the doctors said it was some disease,”
Ava shakes her head, “We both know that isn’t true,”
“It is,” I say with the smallest amount of spite.
“Say it,”
“No,”
“Say it,”
“NO,”
“Tell me how she died, you need to accept it
My body starts shaking, and I feel tears well up, “I KILLED HER, I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE,” I curl into a fetal position and start to cry.
“Why didn’t you have a choice? You loved her, didn’t you? How could you hurt someone you loved?”
“I-I, I don’t know, I loved her and she loved me. She loved me so much and I killed her,” I whimper in between sobs.
Ava crouches down to my level and holds me, “We know that’s not why. Why did you kill her?”
“She-She would hit me when I didn’t do what she wanted. She abused me. She hurt people. She said- She said she was never going to stop it,” I cried into Ava’s shoulder.
“Stop what?”
“Stop it, I don’t want to say it. She was perfect, she was everything I wanted. She loved me, she was just bad at showing it, but she loved me. Stop trying to make me say bad things about her. I’m a horrible person, she loved me and I killed her. I’m going home tomorrow and we’ll never see each other again. Why do you want to know? Just let me go back to sleep,”
Ava shifted me to face her, “You aren’t going home. You know how you got here, and you know why you can’t go back,”
I looked at her. That’s right. I gave her the poisoned Sel Roti. Then I ate the other one. I was currently dying. It was over.
“Aarati was a killer. She needed help. And I took the easy way out. I killed her. What… is going to happen to me?”
“That’s up to you” Ava says holding me upright, “Do you want to give up or keep living? Can you live with the fact you killed her?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Damnation Ending-
“No”
Ava looked at me with disappointment, “Why?”
“I can't do it, I loved her and I killed her. I was supposed to protect her, I was supposed to save her. I betrayed her. That's the 9th circle, there's no crime worse,”
Ava’s look of disappointment slowly changes into one of pity. “It's alright,” she holds me closer, “It’s over, and you can stay here with me, my little frog”
I continued to cry in her arms, out of sadness or relief, I couldn't figure out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Salvation Ending-
“Yes”
Ava cups my face and kisses me. “I’ll see her soon,” she whispers, “Aarati” I close my eyes and I feel a quickly rising force in my stomach. My eyes widen as I vomit up the poisoned Roti. I look to my side and find Aarati, dying. She reaches for me, whispering. I crawl over, coughing out tainted saliva. We both pull ourselves to our knees. I cover her shaky hand on my cheek. Tears start rolling down her eyes. “I loved you to death, and you came back” she muttered, her eyes struggling to keep focus on me. I felt panic build in my chest, slowly spreading to my fingers. Aarati grabbed my shoulders and put her mouth to my ear. “Say your name and watch how your voice brings me back to life,” I broke a smile, Mahmoud Darwish. My grip tightens as I feel her hand grow colder. “My beautiful Avyan, I’m sorry I made you do this,” I open my mouth but Aarati doesn’t let me finish. “Have fun out of the pond,” she uttered as she kisses my neck as if to give me the last of her life. This couldn’t have ended any other way. I loved her more than I could quantify. Yet, when I tried to say my name, it was replaced with sobs.
Even in death, she is magnificent. A mesmerising spectre. A Divyansh (rough translation of Sanskrit- Divine Corpse or divine body part). I lay her down, parting her hair to see her eyes, I grab a cloth towel and drape it over her face. I am a priest, doing final rites to my deity. Laying on my knees I recite a short prayer. I already know what to do next. With shaky motions I get the keys and struggle to unlock the door to the basement. Quiet whimpers of fear punctuate every step I take. Not from me, but from the chained-up spectators. For the first time, I look at the room properly. Like a dungeon from a comic, cells lined the basement with an unfinished floor to punctuate the mood. The suffering colours the atmosphere. The noises of varied shades of desperation surge as I reach the centre of the basement, like a conductor of misery. I hold the keys I took from the Divyansh and with determined stability, free all of the prisoners. I call the cops to the background of their wails of relief. They'll be alright. We all will be.

(38F/143lbs/5,6”)
I’ve seen both types before I moved with little help. Are doctors missing something? I’m unsure what specialty to direct myself toward now. Or if i should suggest a certain test? Right now i know im my best advocate but don’t know how to be if that makes sense.
A little health history, I’ll try to make it short(er)…
After my first child (17 years ago) was born I never felt the same. I would have flares where I’d have symptoms then have times when I felt great yet had fatigue that was manageable. Doctors seemed to pass me along until that got me frustrated and I would just suffer in silence at home for a while. To keep this short I’ll just say my symptoms are similar to MS or Lupus but undiagnosed with either. I do have a diagnosis for RLS, neuropathy in feet, Raynauds, cystocele (had surgery for) and Ehlers danlos syndrome (although dna testing says the gene for this is unknown significance).
2019 I had a positive ANA during flare, two more that were negative, taken when I felt decent. CRP usually normal but sed rate consistently high every time. History of up & down HGB & RBC, low end ferritin fine, BUN up & down.
2020 Brain MRI from neuro and showed: *”A single tiny T2 intense focus is seen in the subcortical white matter of the left parietal lobe on FLAIR. Differential considerations include but are not limited to demyelinating/autoimmune etiologies, chronic migraine, vascular causes, amongst others.” *
At f/u that neurologist seemed to not make it a big deal but was very hard to understand. I got busy caring for my dying father which took precedence at the time.
Present: symptoms worsening with severe fatigue, tremor right hand, and muscle weakness to where it is hard to pick up small children. Went to ED for facial droop, tingling in lips, weakness,headache, and worsening brain fog/confusion. Had spine and Brain MRI. Spine seemed fairly normal other than some herniated discs, Schmorl, & intraosseous hemangioma. No MS lesions.
Brain MRI did not present like someone with Ms that was progressing either. It stated: ”T1 shortening noted within the basal ganglia which can be seen in association with chronic liver disease. Correlate clinically No suspicious demyelinating plaques are identified. No optic nerve edema is appreciated. Diffusion imaging shows no acute infarction. There is no hydrocephalus. There are normal signal voids in the larger intracranial vessels. There is no abnormal brain parenchymal or leptomeningeal enhancement.”
I don’t drink. So chronic liver disease would be very strange.
I am following up with another neurologist soon. I feel like no one can seem to put the pieces together to help me get a diagnosis so I can just be treated and get better. I love working out, being active, and caring for others but it’s hard right now.
Thank you tremendously for your time reading this.

The Days in Our Millennia
Stories of the Scions
Relax, we got this. (We don’t got this!)
3
Hale stared in shock and wonder as she was pulled along the very being of the multiverse by a large red, wingless dragon that was bound to the Lesser-Scion of Heroism. She looked over to see her newest companion, Sammy screaming with joy and raising his hands high. Hale had just been made the Lesser-Scion of Responsibility, Sammy was the Lesser-Scion of Change and they were being taken to another reality to be shown how to properly manage their balance or aspect. Hale was still unsure if she had a balance or if she would be managing her aspect on her own. Still, the multiverse’s beauty was something no mortal words could express, so she watched silently until Anna began to laugh.
“What, are we close?” Hale asked. “Or have you lost your mind to the beauty of this?”
Anna turned to look at Hale, “I love the multiverse, but we are getting close. I was laughing at a joke my dad told me.”
Hale looked around in confusion.
“We’re both telepaths by our nature, so we don’t need to see each other to talk and being a Scion and Lesser-Scion we can do that across realities now.” Anna explained, then looked off and smiled. “Ok, tuck and roll and remember if a guy in red and blue or black catches you, they’re helping.”
Sammy shouted for joy.
Hale paused but before she could clarify Anna’s statements she found herself falling into the open air. Sammy was floating, in fact slowly hovering as Hale herself plummeted. It occurred to her she should have the ability to fly, but there was a rather real panic in her heart as pain was still also very real for her. Then something caught her and jerked her upwards. She looked around to see she had indeed been caught by a man in a red and blue costume, the mask of which had very large, white eyes.
“Man, if I didn’t know any better I’d swear New York’s gotten crazier.” The man chuckled and somehow Hale heard him over the whistling wind.
A few moments later she was being placed on a very tall building and Sammy and Anna were waiting, playing a card game on a table. Hale had to briefly stop and stare at the world around her. So many buildings stood tall and nearly pierced the heavens. Her mind raced as she smiled and clapped with joy.
“Hey Spidey!” Anna waved happily to the costumed man.
“Friend of yours?” The man nodded to Hale.
“This is Hale and Sammy. Two new Lesser-Scions. Guys, this is Spider-Man, one of two in New York.” Anna smiled and put down her cards with a smile, “Royal Flush.”
“How?” Sammy blinked. “I swore...”
“Look if you’re gonna play me, you gotta remember I can have an extra set of eyes anytime I want.”
Hong Long coiled around Sammy’s shoulder and growled.
“And we don’t like being cheated.” Anna crossed her arms.
“Won’t happen again.” Sammy nodded as Hong Long detached from Anna and flew over to Spider-Man and gave a happy set of barks and rumbles.
“Nice to see you to HL.” Spider-Man nodded and took a quick tumble down some stairs, only to be caught by Hale.
“Are you all right Mr. Man?” Hale asked.
Spider-Man nodded then did a double take, “It’s not a name. Code-name. Hero name even.”
Hale blinked in confusion.
“Just call me Spidey.” Spider-Man said as he was toppled backwards by a chair that scooped him up. “I must be bushed, I can usually dodge that stuff even without my Spidey-Sense.”
Anna sighed, “M.J. Home?”
“Visiting a friend in Jersey for the day.” Spider-Man said. He never got to ask why as they were in his apartment the next moment.
“Over working yourself as always.” Anna sighed, “So newbies, here’s the mission. We need to give Spider-Man the day off-”
“I’m fine, really.” Spider-Man laughed.
Hale looked at him and frowned, “You mustn't neglect yourself in pursuit of your duties or those will fail in the long run.” She turned to speak with Anna, “What does he do that we must assist with?”
“He’s a vigilante, could be off saving the world, but he protects his home.” Anna smiled, “If his wife were here he’d be getting yelled at like crazy.”
“So we are to find someone to take his place?” Hale asked with an understanding nod.
“And not the other Spider-Man. He’s got his own worries right about now.” Anna smiled, then glared at the Spider-Man currently sitting on his couch.
“Look, I appreciate it, but I’ve been doing this for years.” Spider-Man sighed.
"Fighting tired is only noble in necessity, as it will lead to your death if your opponent is well rested. A dead hero saves no one, though their image looks nice on tapestry." Hale let a soft glare settle on the hero. “Let us help, it is our purpose.”
“What’s that saying you have?” Anna asked with a smile, “With great power comes great responsibility. That means to yourself as well.”
Spider-Man sighed, “I’m not going to win this am I?”
Anna shook her head. “So here’s the assignment. You each are going to find another hero to convince to volunteer to help. You can be as blatant or as subtle as you want as this world has seen stuff weirder than us.”
“Slime tower that possessed New York.” Spider-Man said. “Consumption was it?”
“He’s the new Scion of Evil. He prefers Corruption though.” Anna sighed, “Annoyingly I don’t hate him.”
“It’s foolish to hate a concept as broad as evil. Hate those that listen to him if you must.” Hale said sternly, “Otherwise he is ostensibly an ally.”
Anna puffed her cheeks out and nodded, “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“So, how will we know who’s a hero?” Sammy asked.
Anna smiled, then shouted. “DM!”
A portal opened and a man wearing camouflage and a pair of sunglasses stepped out. He had a briefcase in one hand and a phone in the other.
“Greetings mortal and Lesser-Scions. The Digitalman is here to answer the question of ‘How do I blank?’” He then sat the briefcase on a nearby table and opened it up, inside two small rectangular blocks with two smaller jiggling blobs in containers.
“What is that?” Sammy laughed in amazement.
“Phone mimics, com mimics. Mimics I’ve bred and manipulated to host all sorts of communications technology.” DM explained, then gestured to Anna.
“Mr. Chompy say hi to your family!” Anna held out her phone that shifted and squealed with delight.
DM took out a small hammer and broked the first glass case open. The creature immediately attacked and devoured the small block, then turned into it. DM picked it up and tossed it to Sammy, then repeated the process and tossed it to Hale. Sammy was immediately cuddling it, Hale was just concerned.
“They’re not as dangerous as some other super-intelligent beings like to claim.” DM smiled, “But now you have a phone plan here, access to the internet and all of its information.”
Sammy raised his hand.
“Yes...” DM smiled.
“What’s the internet?” Sammy asked.
“I too would like to know.” Hale smiled as she pushed buttons on her new gift.
DM paused, he did not unpause for some time. Then another portal opened and Perfection walked out, tossed DM into the portal and placed a new DM where the old one had stood. Then DM took off his glasses, revealing another pair underneath, and sighed before putting the older pair back on.
“What the hell?” Sammy blinked.
“What madness was that?” Hale nearly shouted.
“Perfection and DM play with reality like...” Anna thought for a moment, “Kinda like a kid with modeling clay.”
Hale nodded.
“So...” DM sighed, “Spidey, can I borrow that white board?” DM pointed to one with a few drawings on it.
“Please don’t blow it up.” Spider-Man sighed.
DM smiled, “White boards don’t get better with explosions, silly.” DM then set about explaining the internet.
(S)(C)(I)(O)(N)(S)
In the Verge of Order, its master was carving out a spot for his newest Lesser-Scion. He was having an easy time with it as it was just carving a small spot of an infinity that Hale could call her own and modify to her liking in her own little piece of infinity.
“You think she’ll like it?” Astral looked back to see his wife, Ukiko, separating their arguing children.
“It’s her’s to make as she wishes, who wouldn’t.” Ukiko snorted. “And you need to spend some more time with us. Your children want to grow up.”
Astral sighed and nodded, “I know. It’s just very hard to see them grow up everytime.”
The sound of a breaking vase filled the verge, Ukiko spun and groaned. “Takeru Lucas Freight!”
“Wasn’t me.” The child pointed to his sister who was making and dropping vases.
“Oh no.” Astral sighed.
“How is she doing that?” Ukiko blinked.
“She’s a Lesser-Scion.” Astral sighed, “Good news is she’s been around us long enough to know how things work.”
“I wanna break things!” Ren shouted, “This is fun.”
“P!” Astral shouted.
Perfection appeared. “Yeah I picked that up.”
“What is she?” Astral sighed.
“You’d think she was Destruction, but I think she’s Disaster.” Perfection nodded as a dust storm kicked up shortly thereafter. “Just can’t figure out why.”
Astral sighed, “Just promise me you won’t let her get caught off guard by the fucking Org.”
Perfection nodded in understanding, “I will guard her as if she was one of my own.”
Astral sighed as he watched his daughter ride a small dust devil. “My life is a Saturday morning cartoon.”
Perfection grinned. “Could be worse, could be a Farscape life.”
Astral shuddered. “Thanks for that.”
Perfection smiled as he watched Ren ride the dust cloud.
(S)(C)(I)(O)(N)(S)
An hour had passed before DM finally gave up and left in a huff. It took Anna another hour and the help of Spider-Man to explain the internet to the two displaced Lesser-Scions.
“So it is a library in one’s hands.” Hale nodded.
“I can get all the plans for Power Armor on this!?” Sammy cackled, “I’m calling you Freddie, little guy.”
“Do they need names?” Hale asked. “I noticed you named yours as well.”
“They are alive, and pretty smart.” Anna smiled.
Spider-Man was busy using Mr. Chompy. “Kinda cute in an eldritchy, eat your fingers sort of way.”
“Very well, it seems we are just at noon.” Hale checked her phone.
“You can read those squiggles?” Sammy leaned to look at her screen.
“Yes.” Hale nodded, “It's in my language.”
“Ok.” Anna stood up. “Time to embrace another fun aspect.”
Hale and Sammy looked at her.
“Switch phones for a moment.” Anna smiled.
They did so and both blinked in confusion as they could still read the screens.
“Is this a trait of the phones?” Hale asked.
“I don’t think so.” Sammy smiled, “We can read anything?”
“And understand any spoken language.” Anna said, “And in turn be understood and write in any language. “Most human languages will be easy for you. Other species take a brief moment because we started as humans.”
Hale and Sammy switched their phones back and nodded.
“I shall call you Bodley.” Hale smiled, then looked at Anna. “How do I use Bodley?”
“Well, you can use the touchpad to type into the apps...” Anna started and watched both of the Lesser-Scions’ faces glaze over. “Or you can ask it to find things for you.”
“I see.” Sammy blinked. “Freddie, I need information on other people like Spider-Man.” Sammy then laughed, “Neat. I’ll go talk to that one.” He then walked into a portal that opened at his will.
“That is also something I need to learn.” Hale nodded.
“Focus on where you want to go. Vocalizing it may help to start with.” Anna nodded.
“Fair. Bodley, I need to know the heroes of this world and which ones get along with Spider-Man.” Hale said. Her phone gurgled and she smiled when she saw the results. “These are promising leads. I shall speak with this Logan first.” She then saw reality part in front of her and a den of vice and alcohol opened up beyond it. She nodded and stepped through.
“So what are you doing?” Spider-Man asked.
“Making sure you take the day off.” Anna glared at Spider-Man. “Now sit down Parker, or I call M.J.”
Spider-Man sighed, “I’m gonna just take a long bath then.”
“Have fun, I’ll let you know when I need your opinion on who brought the better choice.” Anna laughed. “I’ll be on the roof!”
(S)(C)(I)(O)(N)(S)
Hale stepped into the bar and shivered slightly. She looked at the image Bodley was showing and scanned the room. The entire place seemed to ignore her, except for one man with oddly pointed hair. He seemed to stare right through her, then waved her over to his table. Hale blinked and moved to sit down.
“So, is this an Anna problem or a Spidey problem?” The man asked.
“How?” Hale asked.
“Scent. I got enhanced senses. Anna smells like peppermint run through a cologne factory. Spidey smells like copper and pain. And that crappy detergent he uses. Name’s Logan, I expect you knew that though.” Logan nodded.
Hale looked the man over as she slid Bodley into the pockets of her new outfit, an action she found herself surprisingly adept at given how new they were. She saw an old warrior before her, his description of pain as a scent was something she knew well from her mortal life. It concerned her for the moment, but she would wait to see if her suspicions were right.
“Spider-Man is overextending himself, I have been tasked to find a replacement for the day.” Hale explained.
Logan laughed, “She’s one of them thingies now, you one too?”
Hale nodded, “Lesser-Scion of Responsibility, yes.”
Logan took a sip from the bottle he had. Hale made a mental note to look into the design as it was clearly well designed.
“Not exactly the kinda guy you want to ask that of. Spidey’s all about taking down criminals non-lethally.” Logan nodded, “Kind not my big thing.” He clenched his fist and three metal claws slid out from his hand.
Hale tried not to stare, but she saw him wince in pain. “You need not prove yourself, I can feel the old wounds in you.”
Logan nodded, “Want someone to ask, talk to Cap. Captain America, likely not available, but he’d get it and probably be happy to. Word of warning though, he is another old soldier.”
Hale nodded and pulled Bodley out of her pocket again. “Thank you, Logan, for your time.”
“No problem, just uh, make your exit outside.” Logan nodded to the door.
“Of course, I will need to be more discreet in the future.” Hale nodded and left, she looked over her shoulder to see the man rubbing his hand, then she left and stepped into another portal.
She stepped out, much to her shock in the middle of a fight. A large red man was swinging his fist down on a smaller man with only a shield for a defense. Hale was about to act when another form came crashing into view, it was green and large and it sent the red man sailing into the distance.
“HULK IS STRONGEST ONE THERE IS!” The green man shouted.
“Hulk.” The man with the shield caught his breath, “Thank you.”
“Hulk smash!” Hulk ignored the man and leaped off to chase his quarry.
Then the man with the shield noticed Hale.
“Ma’am, it's not safe here.” He said.
“I am safe.” Hale smiled, “I am helping Anna and Spider-Man.”
The man paused and spoke into his wrist, then walked over and offered his hand. “Captain Steve Rogers.”
“Captain, I am looking for Captain America.” Hale smiled. “Do you know him.”
Steve laughed, “That’s my code-name.”
“Ah.” Hale nodded, “Code-names are still new to me. Logan suggested I find you in regards to this.”
Captain America’s body language changed immediately. “Is Spider-Man okay?”
Hale nodded, “Overworking himself, but otherwise fine. I and another have been assigned to help find replacements for the day. Although I have noticed your own issue.”
Captain America sighed as the red man landed a few hundred feet away. “Red Hulk is a pain.”
Hulk then landed directly on the Red Hulk.
“Can’t believe that he used to be a career officer.” Captain America shook his head.
“If it helps and you’d be willing to help Spider-Man in return I can put a quick end to this.” Hale smiled.
“How?” Captain America asked, “Are you one of them?”
Hale nodded, “Lesser-Scion of Responsibility.”
Captain America laughed, “There’s irony in this involving Spider-Man, but yes I would love to help Spidey.”
Hale stepped forward and began a chant as silver dust flowed about her.
“You are going to need to calm our Hulk though.” Captain America said.
In a flash of words, dust and sigils, Red Hulk was bound by silver light and gagged by a pure white cloth. He dubbed over as the green Hulk focused on Hale.
“You take Hulk’s fight!” Hulk roared.
Hale raised her hands. “I only wished to help and to spare people from danger.”
Hulk marched up to her and looked down at her before roaring at her and stomping off.
“Wow.” Captain America blinked, “He doesn’t usually just stop.”
Hale smiled nervously, the Hulk radiated power and strength and she wasn’t sure if her powers would have actually stopped all the pain. “He is impressive.”
Captain America again spoke into his wrist, then nodded at Hale. “I’m good to go. The rest of the team has the cleanup.”
Hale nodded and gestured, after a brief moment a portal opened and Captain America stepped through followed by Hale.
“You’re late.” Sammy said as he was at a table with Anna and a man in an almost completely red costume.
“Hiya!” The man said cheerfully, the black spots on his mask looked like large bruises. “You’re lucky I’m allowed to interact here, otherwise the other guy in red would be strangling me like Homer does to Bart!”
“Deadpool.” Anna sighed, “You are literally tempting him.”
“I know.” Deadpool’s voice was a smile in and of itself. “He’s my senpai.”
“Cap, care to join us?” Anna asked.
“I’m here to help Spider-Man.” Captain America said, “Where is he?”
“Taking a long deserved bath.” Anna nodded. “When this one isn’t trying to sneak in to join him.” She grumbled.
“He’s my bestie!” Deadpool argued.
Anna just glared at him. “Sammy, you got the spirit. Please check who you’re going to next time, because while he is ostensibly a hero, Deadpool is also the most chaotic individual in this reality!”
“To be fair, that is a change from Spider-Man, is it not?” Hale asked, “Would it not make sense for Sammy to bring such a person?”
“Lesser-Scion of Change.” Sammy nodded and collapsed his hand and tossed it on the table, “Also he’s cheating. Again.”
“Goddamnit Deadpool.” Anna huffed. “Thank you Sammy.”
“She can’t read my mind.” Deadpool snickered. “Well she can but it’s not safe to be in.”
Hale blinked, “Is he okay?”
Captain America sighed and shook his head. “He’s insane.”
“Sadly I don’t have the boxes to talk with me this time but there is this guy at a keyboard and fox-boy-” Deadpool laughed
It was at that moment another portal opened and Perfection appeared behind Deadpool with two large cymbals, then crashed them together on Deadpool’s head. The man in red fell unconscious and Perfection dragged him off.
“Sammy, we’ll talk about this later!” Perfection shouted as he vanished.
“Should I be worried?” Captain America asked.
“No, he’s putting him back in his bed and making this a dream for him.” Anna sighed, “Small miracles.”
“Heya Cap.” Spider-Man waved as he came onto the roof in a pink robe and bunny slippers, his mask still on. “I take it you’re my replacement for the day.”
“I am, and please remember not to overexert yourself. A good soldier gets his rest, and New York needs her friendly neighborhood SPider-Man at his best.” Captain America nodded.
“I’m getting that a lot today.” Spider-Man sighed. “So, okay, I get it. Day off. I’ll let the other Spider-Man know you’re covering for me.”
Captain America nodded, “Now I just need my motorcycle...”
Anna smiled and snapped her fingers, “Downstairs and waiting.”
“Thank you, Anna.” Captain America nodded as he went down the fire escape.
“I have to ask something.” Hale spoke up. “Was it wise to bring either of them here? Spider-Man clearly hides his identity, wont’ this lead enemies to him?”
Anna chuckled, “Most usually know who he is. It’s hard not to notice him coming out of a window, or to link his own pictures of himself back to him. But most villains don’t want to target the man who can lift multiple tons or rip your arms off you like a kid ripping off a fly’s wings.”
Hale paused, “Beg your pardon?”
Anna nodded. “You met Hulk, right?”
“I met a guy who ripped me off of thirty caps.” Sammy said, “But it was p[aper cash when I gave it to him.”
Anna nodded, “Your funds will adapt. But Hulk gets stronger as he gets angrier. Spider-Man has the proportional strength of a spider.”
Hale paused. “That is terrifying.”
“Why?” Sammy asked, “How do these people get their powers?”
“Well, both Spider-Men got bit by special spiders. One was radioactive, the other was a genetics experiment.”
“Radiation doesn’t do that.” Sammy said flatly.
“It does here.” Anna said. “Cap got his via an experiment.”
“He has powers?” Hale asked, confused by the statement.
“Peak human physical condition.” Anna nodded. “And mutants, like Logan, were born with their powers. But Logan’s skeleton is metal because people experimented on him.”
Hale took a moment to sit on the chair Deadpool had been in. “That is...”
“Mega-friggin-cool.” Sammy nodded.
“He was tortured, Sammy. I doubt he sees it as cool.” Hale frowned.
Anna nodded, “So what did you learn?”
“This world and its technology are fascinating, but there’s a level of cruelty...” She paused as the fourth chair filled with a cloud of darkness.
“Yes.” Consumption nodded, “You will find cruelty everywhere. You must not let it sway you from your duty.”
“Hello.” Anna glared.
“Anna.” Consumption nodded, “They’re learning well, but seem not to grasp the lesson.”
Both Hale and Sammy looked confused.
“You both did great at the request.” Anna nodded, “But whose job is it to look out for heroes?”
Hale nodded, “I would say both of ours.”
“I’m a dumbass.” Sammy scoffed and leaned back.
“Anna, you have a genius with you.” Consumption grinned, his far too wide grin spreading back to the edge of where a human’s jaw would end.
Hale glared at him, “If that is an insult, it is poor in taste.”
Sammy snorted, “No, it’s all right, I shouldn't have been helping. “
“To be fair I should have expected Deadpool.” Anna nodded, “But you’re right Hale, we can work together.” She gave a sly smile.
“Well, we welcome you to this little family of madness.” Consumption nodded, “We have work elsewhere, we advise you to listen to the spirit and letter of what Anna is teaching. We must be united to survive what is to come, but we must maintain our aspects of individuality and control.”
“You’re oddly wise...” Anna glared at the Scion.
“I am an amalgamation of many evil beings, not all of them are psychotic.” Consumption smiled, “Farewell for now.” He vanished in a flash of darkness.
“How did he do that?” Sammy asked.
“He’s a full Scion.” Anna huffed, “They get a few more tricks. Like knowing where we are when they want to.”
Hale nodded, “Where to next?”
Anna stood up and Hong Long tore open reality. “Find me to find out!” She leaped through and the pathway sealed.
“I’m boned.” Sammy sighed.
“Sammy. We focus on her.” Hale laughed, then realized she could not sense Anna. “Oh no.”
Their phones rang and each got a picture of a city, the message was from Anna.
“Maybe focus on going there.” Sammy suggested
Hale nodded and focused on Anna and the city. Then a portal opened and she stepped through, she noticed Sammy joined her rather than make his own. They were at a small curbside restaurant and Anna had a meal waiting for both of them, meat in a bun with a cold drink for each of them.
Anna smiled, “Welcome to Metropolis, it’s not what we like to call ‘The Fifth’, but it’s a good DC Reality.”
Hale watched as a man flew through the air above them.
“That was Superman. Sit down, I’ll explain this one in more detail.” Anna smiled.
<<<>>>
The Scions are © /uTheSmogMonsterZX
All other characters not a part of the Scion-Verge-Verse are © Their Original Creators and are not used with intent to infringe upon their creator’s rights.
First Story
Previous Story <<<>>> [Next Story]()
SCIONS Spotify
<<< The Voice Box/Author’s Notes>>>
Perfection: She’s gonna be a crazy one, I can tell.
Smoggy: Yes. Have fun.
Wraith: In other news, we have the artwork for Cassandra Quain done. You all should see it on the next BSF.
Smoggy: It’s damn good. Some changes were made, but Twisted approved it, so I’m fine with it. And should have next chapter up in a day or two.
Perfection: Having a hard time making the buffer?
Smoggy: Someone got me hooked on a game. My brother is sneaky that way.

Author's notes: I just realized I haven't really been updating this story here. I'm currently up to chapter 6, so I'll try to post a chapter every weekend until I get caught up. If you haven't heard of this story before click here to go to the start of it on reddit.
Or read it here https://archiveofourown.org/works/39895998/chapters/99895653 if you want a different format.
—
Chapter 3
"I still can't believe you're going through with this," Josh said, a touch of concern in his voice.
"Not like I can change my mind now, especially after I got a week off to adjust," I responded.
"What did you even do all week?" He asked.
"Oh you know, the usual: Video games, anime, and shitposting."
"Jeez dude, and I thought I was a shut-in."
"I get out, I walked around in a park with Sammy."
"Yeah, one time in a whole week. That's not healthy."
"At least my room is clean."
"Shut up."
Ray butted in. "Look man, I get that you want to move on from Sammy, but this is too much. You're not gonna be online during the week anymore. You shoulda just taken a few days off instead."
"That wouldn't've been enough, and I'll still be online, just only for a couple hours before work. I'll be online on the weekends too."
I heard Dan sigh. "He's changing his scenery, Ray. It's perfectly normal to do that after you have a breakup."
"I still say it's actually because he secretly wants to hook up with that viper chick. Getting it on with your alien war criminal coworker isn't gonna help you forget, Vince." Ray said.
"Ok Ray. First off, I barely know that broad; second, she might not even be a war criminal; and third... uhhh, FUCK - YOU."
He chuckled. "You sound angry, bro, is it because you know I'm right?"
"Look, from what I've seen and heard: I'd sooner put in an anonymous tip to Xcom about her, than take her to dinner and pork her afterwards."
"So you've thought about it?"
"I have n—"
Josh jumped back into the conversation. "Hey, I heard you can get paid for tipping off Xcom to war criminals. Maybe if she's really bad, they'll give you a medal for it too."
"Yea, I could, but they'd be paying me with those physical X-credit things, and what the hell would I do with those?"
Dan answered my question as usual. "You could trade them in at any bank in the city. X-credits are leagues more valuable than shillings, they're backed by Xcom's resources, manpower, and technology.
"That's cool, I don't care about the money, but I'd turn her in to get Ray to shut up."
Ray laughed. "Suit yourself bro, more snussy for me."
"You'd have to visit her in jail if I turned her in. Maybe while I'm at it, I'll turn you in too."
"Hey, if she's my cellmate, I'm game."
Josh laughed. "Nah, you'd probably get paired up with the male muton that likes to rape people, if you're lucky. It'd probably be something even worse."
Ray was silent for a few moments before saying. "Bruh."
I saw my chance to exit. "You know, as interesting as this conversation is, I gotta be to work soon, so I'll catch you guys tomorrow."
Everyone said their goodbyes.
Ray added. "Try to not get killed by the snake." To the end of his goodbye.
"Like I said, I'm just gonna avoid her. I'm sure it'll be fine."
Ray chuckled. "Hope so, brotha."
After I said goodbye once again, I logged out of the group chat, and loaded up #chan on my web browser. I still had a few more minutes and I wanted to see what people were posting in the xenophilia thread before I left.
Despite aliens being on earth for some time now, being interested in them was still niche and there were not many places to discuss it that tolerated it. My friends were cool with it, maybe a little too cool with it, but xenophilia as of now was really only prominent on the net. Space Banditz is a recent example of a company trying to stir the pot, but that didn't happen too often. Can't recall the last time I saw a human even hanging out with an alien in public. Not that there were many in this city; we outnumbered them. I scrolled through and looked at what people were posting. Some posts were arguing about anatomy, other people were asking for alien dating advice, and others were discussing media related to aliens. A couple drawings were posted, one was a tastefully drawn viper. She was on her back laying over the edge of a bed, her feminine features were not drawn not too thick, it focused instead on highlighting her lithe serpentine body's form by having it curve at tight irregular angles, forming a casual sprawl. It was posted somewhat recently, so I replied "tfw no viper gf that hogs your entire bed," to it.
I scrolled down a bit further and saw something surprising. It was a picture of a viper's scaly hand with the tip of her tail draped over her wrist. A piece of paper was next to her hand too, it had today's date and "hi /xeno/" written on it. The text on the post read "I just found this thread, I didn't know humans like this existed. I'll answer any questions about vipers you have." Occasionally aliens would make posts like this, and while it was a treat, it was strange to be reminded that aliens were browsing this thread. This post was only thirteen minutes old, but it already had a ton of responses. The first one was, "tits or gtfo", which made me chuckle. I love this community. There was a response to it, so I clicked it, and was taken to a picture of bare viper breasts with the same paper timestamp as the hand image. She was using one of her forearms to lift up her breasts slightly. They were shapely, with cream-colored scaled plates running down them, flanked by her orange diamond scaled shoulders. While viper's breasts didn't have nipples, I know I'm not the only one who still enjoyed looking at them. The text on that post was "alright. now ask me some questions"
Real lewd images of aliens were hard to come by, even online. They were borderline illegal due to the circumstances aliens lived in. I know a lot of them are in desperate situations, so if someone were to flash some cash to get them to show off some gash, or whatever people wanted to see, it would be hard for them to say no. For that reason, I mostly stuck to drawings to get my kicks. It's hard to enjoy a picture when all you can think about is whether or not the girl in it is doing alright. However, in this case, I didn't feel bad, she wasn't being paid to be here, and was clearly enjoying all the attention.
People asked her mostly joke questions, stuff like: "how far can you squirt (venom)", and "Post a picture of your throat," but, there were a few genuine ones. She responded to all of them. I replied to her post and asked her "what's the quickest way to a viper's heart?" When I hit send, my pulse quickened.
After a few moments, I got a response. "I can't speak for all vipers, but treat her like you would treat a human girl. Get to know her, listen to her, give her food she likes. And most of all, be a good friend to her. Friends are not something all of us have."
About what I expected, but it was reassuring to hear it from the horse's mouth. It's too bad I had to go to work now, I'd like to ask more questions, but maybe some of mine would be asked by other people when I check back later. Not like it mattered anyway, I don't know any Vipers.
It was on the cusp of being dark when I walked to work, and a brisk wind blew. It took even less time to walk to work because not many people were driving this late. When I got to McDougalls and stepped inside the building it was like a breath of fresh air. It was almost quiet, there were only a few people in the dining area, and there weren't people clamoring for the counter to get their orders taken.
I'm liking this already.
There was a tall guy manning the counter, he had a short dirty blonde mop on top of his head, and he looked older than me, but that might be because he looked tired. His dull grey eyes shifted in my direction, as I walked up to the counter. "Wuz up? Are you the new night shifter?"
"Yea, that's me. The name's Vince. Who are you?"
"Ash, well, my name is Ashley, but call me Ash."
"Alright. Is, uh, Mark here? He was supposed to go over some training with me and introduce me to everyone."
"Oh yeah, he left tonight in a hurry, had something important to do, short notice. Told me to tell you he was sorry. But don't worry, he put me in charge of showing you around. Clock in and I'll introduce you to the crew."
As I walked around the counter and clocked in, he asked me another question. "So how new are you, exactly. Mark wasn't too clear before he left."
"I've worked here for a few weeks."
He sighed happily. "Oh thank God, I thought you were, like, brand - new. So what do you know?"
"I can take orders and work the ice cream machine."
He snapped his fingers and frowned. "Damn, that sucks. Oh well, we'll have to train you on the fryer."
I wasn't scared of the fryer, but I was confused. "What do you mean? Can't you just work the fryer?"
He nodded. "I can, but the grease makes my acne flare up, so I avoid it." He crossed his arms and gestured to the air. "We all sorta work the same spot every night, makes things easier around here. Sometimes Carlos and Tay switch jobs, but I'm always up front. Derek, the dude you're replacing, was our fry guy." Hearing the name Tay made my mind flinch, I knew somewhere back in the kitchen she was working, and I was dreading running into her. A part of me was still trying to pretend she wasn't gonna be here.
"That's fine by me, but I've never worked a fryer before."
He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Tay can teach you, she's a master at everything in the kitchen, and we don't get as much business as day shift."
Oh fuck. Why does she have to be the one to teach me? What if she recognizes me? I doubt she'd even want to teach me or anyone else anything. Ash seemed confident when he said that. Maybe he's an idiot?
"Speaking of which, I'll introduce you to Tay and Carlos."
He walked towards the kitchen and gestured for me to follow. As I followed him, I braced myself for whatever came next.
Next to the grill was Tay, the pale viper I saw by the dumpster. She was leaning back against a stainless steel counter with her arms crossed, staring at the floor and tapping a claw against her elbow impatiently.
After standing there for a few moments, Ash said something to get her attention. "Yo, Tay, this is the new guy."
Her eyes darted to him and then to me. She held her gaze on me, I felt my pulse quicken. Fuck, shit, - fuck. What are the chances she remembers me? How many people has she pissed off? I hope that I was just one more dude that made her upset and that she didn't bother to remember me or my name. I didn't see any emotion in her eyes and breathed a little easier when she looked back at Ash. "Don't care."
Ash chuckled. "You should, he's gonna take over fries for you."
That caught her attention. "Yeah? He looks like he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground." She gestured to me and to the ground before recrossing her arms.
"Be chill, of course he doesn't know, he's new and most people don't work with fryers at home."
"Hu, huh. So you're gonna train him?" The way she said that was more of a command than a question.
"You know I am not going anywhere near those things. You'd do a better job than me anyway, I know you've trained people before."
She furrowed her brow and leaned her head forward. "Not gonna happen, Ash-ley."
Ash had been chill up to this point, but now he had a serious look on his face. "Look, just train him on this one thing, or I'll tell the witch about all your extra long smoke breaks."
Upon hearing that her confident composure broke and she let out a guttural sigh. "Ugggh, - fine. You're a dick." She threw her hands up in the air and pointed at him.
"Takes one to know one, Tay. Thank you."
She snorted in response and turned her attention to the grill. She muttered something under her breath, but I didn't catch what it was.
Ash continued walking, and as I followed, I looked back at Tay.
The grill had these press things that were pulled down on top of the burger patties to cook both sides at once. An alarm buzzed, and she lifted up the press to reveal some cooked burgers. She pulled a plastic gun from the top of the grill and squeezed the trigger a bunch to season the meat. Then she leaned over the grill to scoop up the burgers with a spatula and put them in a wax paper-lined plastic tray. As she did, the steam from the grill licked at her scaly face and soaked into the shirt covering her voluminous breasts.
Her eyes flicked in my direction when she picked up the tray and I immediately turned around to face forward. Ash took me back past the breakroom to the big sink. From around the corner, I could hear water spraying and see steam spraying out. When we got to its source, I saw a short brown guy, with short black hair, in an apron, washing a big pile of dishes, mostly spatulas, plastic buckets, and those plastic trays I saw Tay using. He had earbuds in and didn't even look in our direction.
"Hey! Carlos!" Ash yelled.
He continued to be completely absorbed in washing dishes. I could make out the music coming from his earbuds, it sounded electronic.
Ash laughed and looked at me. "Dude listens to dubstep at max volume, all - night. He has the hearing of an old man." After a moment he spoke the words "mute volume," clearly.
Carlos looked confused for a few seconds and turned to look at us. "Eh, - hey, hey. What's up Ash."
Ash gestured to me. "This is Vince, the new guy."
His confusion went away. "Ah, hello." He offered a hand for me to shake, but he was wearing a sopping-wet rubber glove covered with onion pieces. He noticed my hesitancy and took off the glove, and tried to shake my hand again.
I shook it. "Nice to meet you." Then I looked at Ash, "so, who's that witch you mentioned to Tay?"
Both Carlos and Ash looked surprised. Carlos spoke first. "Oh, you haven't met her yet? Count yourself lucky my man."
Ash chuckled. "She's the general manager for all the McDougalls in the city. Real bitch, no one likes her. When she comes around here it's all hands on deck and she gets up everyone's ass about something. But, you're on night shift now, so you won't see much of her; unless you have to fill in on a day shift, which will probably happen at some point."
"So, what? - You're saying I might see her?"
He rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I mean. Sorry, I'm more tired than usual today, woke up really late."
"Is it hard to sleep during the day?"
They both nodded and Ash responded. "Big time, first thing you should get is some blackout curtains."
"Ok. You know, I'm not really a morning person, maybe I won't have trouble sleeping?"
"You won't, at first," Carlos said. "There is what we call a honeymoon period on night shift. You start off fine, and for some people, it lasts for months and months, but sooner or later you'll be worn down like the rest of us."
Ash chimed in. "Besides Tay, she's the most awake out of all of us, most of the time. Probably because she's a non-human. She might actually be nocturnal, I've never worked up the nerve to ask her about it."
"You guys aren't giving me a lot of confidence."
Ash waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Just have a cup of coffee before you come to work if you're tired. You'll make it to the end of the shift." He looked at Carlos. "We'll leave you to the dishes dude, have fun."
"You know I will."
Ash looked back at me. "Now, let's get you situated with Tay and the fryer." He must've been able to see the nervousness on my face because he said, "Don't let her get to you. Just do what she says and you'll be fine. Should be an easy night for you. Once you're comfortable with the fryer, I'll show you how to get orders ready and hand them out at the drive-thru window."
He led me back to the fryer and Tay, who was assembling sandwiches on the stainless steel counter across from the grill.
She glared at Ash as he walked up to her. "Alright, he's all yours Tay. Try not to break him." He chuckled as he walked to the front counter.
I was a castaway, and he pushed me overboard to swim with a shark because he couldn't be bothered to train me. Abandoned me to the one person I wanted to avoid. I felt someone's eyes bore a hole in the back of my head, so I turned to look at Tay.
Her hands were formed into fists and pressed into her hips, one was still holding a spatula. I was shorter than her, but that was only because vipers didn't have a set height. They could be as tall or as short as they wanted to be, so long as they kept their balance while moving.
I smiled sheepishly and clapped my hands together. "Ey, so, nice to meet ya. What do you, uh, want me to do?"
She didn't say anything and continued to stare. Her tongue flicked out a few times, and she squinted her eyes. "You seem… familiar. Have we spoken before?"
I wanted to look away from her eyes, but I couldn't, it was like I was caught in a trance. "Eh, I donno, maybe. It's a big place, a lotta people work here. We could've run into each other before."
She leaned her head in closer and flicked her tongue out a few times, inches from my face. "No, I know you."
"Ey, uh, mind backing up. You're in my personal bubble."
She backed away and was quiet for a few more moments before I saw recognition in her eyes. "I remember you. You were that retard that ate his lunch by the dumpster." She smirked. "You looked like you were ready to piss yourself when I left."
I had dreaded meeting her, and this exact scenario, but I wasn't about to take that sitting down. "Well yea, looking at sum'n as ugly as you tends to make a guy nervous."
She chuckled. "Oof ouch, my ego. If only I cared what a conformist faggot like you thought!"
I heard Ash yell from the front counter. "Hey! Let's keep it PG-13 in here dudes! We've got orders to finish, Tay!"
She looked up front and back at me. Still clearly upset, she pointed at a spot in front of the fryers. "Stand there two-legs, and don't move."
She was still being an ass, but if she was actually gonna train me, I'd cooperate. I walked over to the spot she pointed at. She slithered over to the counter across from the grill and got to work. Her movements were an impressive skillful blur of pure muscle memory. She pulled out boxes and paper wrappers and assembled the sandwiches from bottom to top: bun, meat, pickles, onions, and lettuce. To put on the sauce, she pulled out these things that looked like caulk guns and squirted them on the top buns before assembling the sandwiches completely. When she was done she slid them down the counter to a spot at the front where Ash could reach them.
After that, she slithered in front of me and started packing fries into fry boxes. The fry cooking area had two parts to it, the fryers, and next to the fryers was a counter with a deep depression to throw the fries in and salt them, and above the fries was a heat lamp and a shelf to set the fry boxes on.
After she set the filled boxes on the warming shelf, she looked at me. "Watch me, this is how you cook the fries."
She grabbed the metal fry baskets and shoved them into this dispenser thing in between the fryers and the grill. It filled both of the baskets with frozen fries. She set them in the grease that foamed up when she put them in. "These are gonna sit for like 5 minutes. It should be obvious when they're done, even a mongoloid could figure it out. They start floating, and then they look cooked."
"Ok," I said, to let her know I was paying attention.
"Don't - say anything. Just watch those fries. Burn the image of them cooking into your mind."
She went to the grill and started cooking more burgers. I did as she asked and watched the fries.
After a few minutes, she broke the silence. "How do the fries look?"
They were floating like she said, but I wasn't sure if they were cooked. "Eh, they - might be done."
She grumbled and slithered over to the fryers. "They're done." She pulled the fry baskets out and hooked them onto the top of the fryer. "You have to leave them like this for a second to let the grease drip off, then…" She unhooked the baskets, "give them a shake like this," and shook them, splattering droplets of grease back into the fryer.
After that, she dumped both baskets into the fry warmer."Salting them is easy. Grab the shaker thing, and turn it over once. It'll dispense all the salt you need for 2 baskets of fries." She demonstrated how to use the salt shaker, and stirred up the fries with the plastic spatula she used to fill the fry boxes. Once she finished, she gestured to the fries. "Try one." Again, what she said was more like a command than an offer.
I pulled one out and ate it. Crispy, salty, and potatoey. "It's good."
"I know. That's what they are supposed to taste like. Burn this into your memory too, if you ever think you fucked up, taste one, and if it doesn't taste like these do, you fucked up."
"I'll, eh, keep that in mind. Seems easy enough."
"Good. Not too much to take in? You want to try making some fries right now?"
"I, eh, I'd like to watch some more."
"Correct." She seemed satisfied with my answer. "Yes. You're going to watch me do this until I feel like you are ready. A grease fryer can scar a thin-skinned human like you for life." She seemed serious about this.
"You know, I worked construction. I'm not a complete idiot. I haven't killed myself in an accident yet."
She smirked. "Most humans believe they are not idiots; most of them are wrong. And from what I've seen of you so far, I'm playing it safe."
"If you're so smart, what's the Pythagorean theorem?"
For just a second, I saw her mask of confidence slip, a moment where her intelligence came into question and she didn't have a response. "Who cares, we're here to cook food. Not do math."
I stole the smirk from her face and put it on mine. "So, you don't know what it is then."
She put a claw to her chin and scratched. "Mmm, You know something about math that I don't, so what? Should I care, should I be impressed? You don't even know how to make fries yet."
Damn, she weaseled out and turned it back on me. "That's on you, not me."
She frowned. "And I have my work cut out for me." She paused for a moment in thought. "I would be impressed if you managed to hurt yourself filling fry boxes. You just watched me, pack these fry boxes. We need two mediums and a small."
"Ok." I grabbed the plastic spatula and looked at the boxes. "Ey, which is which size?"
She snorted. "If you back up, genius, you'll see the labels on the cabinet."
"Oh, yea." Using the spatula in the way she showed me, I filled the fry boxes. "How's that look, pretty good huh."
She inspected my work with the concentration of an accountant laundering money. "If I hated the customers, I would give them these; luckily for you, I do. Try harder next time."
"Alright, wise guy, what's wrong with them?"
She plucked one from the heating shelf and showed it to me, pointing at the fries with a clawed finger as she spoke. "For a start, they're mangled. These fries look like someone threw them down the stairs and scooped them back inside the box."
I couldn't argue with her assessment. "You told me to - pack - them in."
"Yes, and you shoved them in without care, you might as well have used your bare hand."
"Ok, I'll be more careful next time, anything else?"
"Nope, you managed to get the fries in the box. Rather impressive, you have exceeded my expectations."
I took that backhanded compliment in stride. "I aim to please."
She returned to her work and ignored me. A few hours passed as I filled fry boxes for her. I chatted with Ash about video games when there were lulls in the customers.
"…my crit build is awesome, dude. It almost feels like cheating." He said.
"I never thought out my build that much, it's an easy game when you're playing with a full party."
"Of course, it's easier, but you're not getting the real experience if you play with other people. It's really meant to be a single-player experience."
"Yea, but there's other characters in the world. It's not only you vs. everything, if you upgrade your shit you're using someone else's help."
"The game is balanced around that, but I'm not trying to argue. I'm saying you should make another character for a purely single-player experience, it makes it—" he stopped mid-sentence as a customer left the store. "Ugh, finally, hey can you help me move the trash cans?" He asked.
"Sure."
We walked over to the trash cans, which had a big laminate wood box around them, marked clearly as trash cans.
As I helped him push, I realized we were pushing it in front of one of the doors to the dining room. "Are we, uh, blocking the entrance to the dining room?"
He gave me a confused look. "Yeah, why… Oh, shit, you've never done this before. Yeah, we close the dining area after 9pm, or after everyone leaves the dining room. Trash can blockade make it clear to the morons that don't bother reading the signs, or care that the doors are locked."
"Ah, I getcha... So, how do we leave?"
"We use the back door." He said while we shoved the trash can in front of the door.
As we walked to the other one I asked him. "So you use the back door a lot?"
"Yeah, like every night, dude. That's where I go when I get off."
I chuckled. "I didn't take you for that kind of guy, but, ey, if your girlfriend is happy with it."
"Oh fuck—" he burst out laughing. "You got me good ."
After we finished I took my break. When I got back from my break, Tay was giving me a look. "We just ran out of fries, and you're gonna make the next batch."
"Uh, ok. If you think I'm ready."
"I don't, but I don't feel like making fries anymore."
"You know, eh, you're not a very encouraging teacher."
"I don't care what you think. Just do what I've shown you."
"Ooo-kay." I loaded the fries in the baskets and dunked them in the fryers.
She crossed her arms. "Now how long are those gonna cook for?"
"Five minutes."
"Good, let me know when you think they are ready."
I was worried about burning them and making myself look like an idiot more than anything; so, I waited until the fries were floating in the oil and looking crispy before I said anything.
"They're done," I said.
Tay finished putting burgers on the griddle before she came over. When she did, I took the fry baskets out, hooked them, waited, and shook them. Then I dumped them in the fry warmer and salted them.
"How are they?"
She pierced one with a claw and tossed it in her mouth. "They're undercooked, but I could tell that just from looking at them. You'll have to make a new batch."
"Can't I just throw them in the fryer again?"
She shook her head. "Nope, you salted them already. Dump them and make new ones."
"Alright, fine, whatever. But, why didn't you tell me they were undercooked if you knew?"
She smirked. "You didn't ask. Use this fuck up to help you remember to not undercook them again." She slithered back to the grill. "Let me know when your next batch is ready."
I didn't say anything and got to work making another batch. When they were finished and salted, I called her over to try one.
She swallowed one and after a few seconds gave her review. "These are passable, not perfect, but they won't make anyone feel sick. You can use these for the fry orders." She went back to assembling sandwiches.
"Ok." At least she didn't insult me, saved me the trouble of having to think of something to hurl back at her.
The rest of the night went smoothly, towards the end of my shift Carlos finished with the dishes and helped Tay assemble sandwiches. As the morning sun began to peak out on the horizon Ash and I had to move the trash cans back to where they were before. Soon after, morning shift people trickled in and it was time for me to go. My shift ended later than the others, and I said goodbye to Carlos and Ash as they left. When Tay left I said nothing to her, and she didn't even look at me as she left. When it was finally time for me to go, the sun was fully out from the horizon.
I shuffled to my locker and gathered my things before shuffling out the door and being blinded by the sun's piercing rays. Fuck, that felt like someone stabbed a needle in my eyes. I better remember to bring sunglasses tomorrow.
The sun beat down on me as I walked home. I felt like I was walking through the desert after a crash landing. I couldn't focus well and hoped no one would hit me with their car as I crossed the crosswalk. When I finally got home, I stripped off my clothes and collapsed into bed.
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TW: death, suicide, blood
So I just had a very unsettling dream. I was at a concert (it might have been an Arianna Grande concert but whose concert it was didn’t feel important). There were a lot of people there. There were also 5 swimming pools that I knew of at the venue. 2 on stage (probably for part of the performance), 1 at the entrance of the venue (probably for decoration), and 2 in something like a vip zone (probably for the guests to use). I was just outside the vip zone, and I could see the pool at the entrance without looking too hard. Everyone could see the pools on the stage. Now I don’t remember how far it was into the concert, but eventually 5 people ran up to each of the pools, and they didn’t seem to be part of the performance at all. They were all dressed similar and each had their hair in a bun (they were all girls too), but they all had different faces and hair colors. There was no one I recognized. At the same time, they all pulled out the same knife and beheaded themselves. Their corpses all fell into the pools, turning them all red. The crowd at the concert started getting really concerned/scared/upset as anyone probably would after that. I remember trying to close my eyes and not look at the bloody pools and the heads and bodies inside them, but the image wouldn’t leave my mind. It was very disturbing and unsettling. Upon further reflection, the girls who had severed their bards were probably conspiracy theorists.
Second part of my dream: So this happened twice but with different people:
I was with a group of 4 or 5 people, and I don’t remember who exactly they were, but I know they were really important people to me and I loved them a lot. For whatever reason, we had to go back to where the concert was. (This was a few years after the incident). I was anxious about going back. When we got there, we started to walk around the empty venue. Eventually, we got to the same area I had been in years ago, witnessing that horrible suicide. I could see all five pools, in the exact same spots, looking as they did before the concert, but more beautiful and clean. My mind replaced the image with that of the night of the concert, and it kept on replaying in my mind. I completely broke down. I fell to the ground sobbing and hyperventilating. The group I was with didn’t know about that night-no one did. I had to explain what had happened to the group, and they could easily see its effect on me. That happened again but with different people, who I also don’t remember but I know they were also very important to me.
I want to know why I got this dream. My guess is that it represents me opening up to people, but I don’t really get why it was so dark and scary and disturbing. I woke up thinking that I had witnessed that horrible night in real life.

Our world has been a dismal place for as long as anyone mortal can remember. Super powered people rule everything in little fiefdoms. According to what little history we of the unpowered resistance have been able to find, it was a different world up until the 1870's when the first supers started appearing. Not just supers, but super scientists doing weird experiments which of course resulted in more, weirder, stronger supers. And then for some reason in 1894 actual magic started working as well, so there's evil wizards now too.
Through the tattered remains of history we've been able to glean that there once was an age of heroes, when justice reigned, before they were all killed. Sounds like a dream.
Amongst the heroes was a great man, the one man the league of villains couldn't erase from history, Harold J. Alchemizer. Super scientist, Super Wizard, super nice guy, by all accounts. And he left us clues no villain would have the patience or virtue to follow on how to unravel the mysteries of his lair.
This led us deep into the amazon jungles, which fortunately had made a wonderful recover from when the league of villains burned it down. Unfortunately it was because of Mistress Eve and her New Eden insanity. We lost Teddy and James, Alexis and Samantha, and Toby, the dog, just getting to The Alchemizer's lair. The location was well known, and so was the danger inside. We managed to solve the riddles, and slip past the traps on the first floor with only a few scrapes and bruises. This place was designed to only let in good folk, and keep out the bad, and it seemed to have worked.
There were more than a few skeletons with recognizable costumes in here, mostly starting on the second floor down and onward. I'd always wondered what had happened to Electric Annihilator, and there he was, impaled on a spike that narrowly missed Amanda. Apparently he also heard rumors of a great power capable of defeating even the most potent foe. An Infinite Power. The Alchemizer's notes said that he was unable to finish his device and activate it before being pulled away to defend Alliance headquarters, but that he'd left his machines to finish the job for him. From what we can piece together, he never made it back to his base to activate it.
But we've made it all the way down here. Twenty one riddles, puzzles, and traps per floor. Twenty one floors of upside down mad wizard-scientist's tower. The gravity reversed on the 3rd floor and we've been climbing updown ever since. We've been in here for over a week and finally we're there, the bottom. We lost another eight companions on the way. Amanda, Carl, Dan, Kyle, Kylie, Eric, and Sven all died. I'm not... exactly sure what happened to Rayna, but it sounded horrible, and we couldn't go back.
The notes say this place was abandoned in 1962, but this floor is spotless. Every spec of dust has been removed and the sterile while tiles gleam in the low power magi-lights. How is that possible after eighty four years?
"Hello." A Robotic voice utters through a tinny, static filled speaker, "Are you here to push the big shiny button?"
"I am." I say. Confidence is key.
The three of us that are left walk cautiously, but confidently. There were no notes of any kind to help us through the last two floors, that's why we lost so many.
A pedestal forms up from the ground, as though the room is made of a million tiny blocks that can reform into any shape it wishes.
Atop the pillar is a
BIG
RED
BUTTON
The kind of big red button that screams "Push me" into the human psyche.
The kind of button that Demands to be pushed.
The kind of button that makes you think, If you weren't supposed to be pushed, why are you soo... enticing.
I have been whammied by magic before... but I...
I push the button.
There is a kind of... negative pressure wave from further into this white sterile space and a flash of bright white light, following by billowing smoke.
From inside the smoke I hear a woman coughing. She's fanning the smoke away from her face. As it clears I notice there are four of her, no... eight... oh my, what have I summoned. Their popping into existence has pushed the smoke away and cleared the air.
The sudden crowd of the same woman turns to the three of us. The one in front steps clear of the smoke enough for us to see her and she's wearing an out of date, but still professional skirt and collared button down top. Her brunette hair is up in a bun on the back of her head.
"Shannon, Jeremy, Alfred?" She asked... how did she know our names.
"Yea... but, how-"
"Most adjacent universes have more or less the same people, and I know every single human in my each of my universes, so it stands to reason that if you look the same as someone, you probably got the same name." She says with a disarming smile.
Alfred pipes up, "That's confusing miss..."
"Misses, Infinity. Charmed." Infinity huh? Her duplicating stopped at ten, but as if to answer my question, she suddenly becomes twenty.
The one who has been speaking continues while some of her duplicates start pulling bandages from pockets that couldn't possibly hold them. "Alfred, I know you're smarter than that young man. Why, I'm sure that with what I've told you've already deduced a great deal. And Jeremy, looking healthy, mostly. Would you mind letting me treat some of those cuts. They don't look too good."
Alfred and Jeremy are totally disarmed by a pretty face and a kind word, but I still don't trust her. She's a super, and all the supers I ever met are evil as they come.
"Shannon dear, I know that face. you're never good in any universe at hiding it when you thing someone is full of it." She's got me there. My face has got me in trouble more than once, saying more than my mouth ever could.
"Okay, so you know I have a shit poker face, so what." I tell her, but she just smiles and asks me what year it is. "2040."
"Interesting, the date is off more fifteen years." She says, pulling a hexagonal device from her pocket and punching in the date before reading it.
"What is that?" I ask.
"Oh, it's a device to find me. The Alchemizer gave them to me to put on all my mes after I started having them be abducted into other universes after the 2012 apocalypses ravaged so many universes."
"Your Alchemizer is still alive!?" A hundred year old Alchemizer would wipe the floor with most of the villains today. Everyone knows Wizards grow more powerful with age.
"Your Alchemizer wasn't a villain?" She says, "I had to reform mine. Long story."
Just then a crack of electricity sparks across the back wall. Then another. The Infinities all move out of the way. And before I realize it they're treating my wounds as I stare slack jawed at a portal from another universe opening.
There he was, apparently, Harold J. Alchemizer, short, grey, bald, and ugly. He hobbled along with a cane.
I don't know why I expected him to be taller than me, or sexy. He's over a hundred. I'd never seen his image before, but I had certainly imagined a hunk. Images of him and any other alliance member have generally been banned since the fall. I guess I just expected the guy I had fantasized about taking me away in the night to make sweet love to me in the new mown hay to have a full head of hair too. Maybe a little less... whispy and shitty of a beard. How was this elderly gremlin the man I wanted to lose my virginity to when I was twelve.
"I can read minds, you know." He said to me, "And I suppose I'll decide to be flattered, and only a little creeped out."
"I didn't know humans could get that shade of red without sunburn. I'll not ask what she was thinking, but I can only imagine." An Infinity wearing a super science combat suit, says. She has a very noticeable shaved head when she walks out of the portal, and starts duplicating. Suddenly it's crowded with bald Infinities in combat suits. A dozen drones drop the pockets of The Alchemizer and fly off.
"So Dear," An Infinity who is just finishing putting some sort of magic salve onto a bandage and sticking it to my skin says, "Tell us about your world. And don't worry, we'll get it all sorted out in a generation or two."
Alfred, Jeremy, and I spend hour telling them about all the supers we know about, and the crimes of each of them in as great of detail as we are able. When the first hour is up I see the combat infinities bringing back the first of their prisoners.
"H-How?" The Terrible Tickler whimpers to her as one of her kicks him in the back to force him to keep walking. "How did you defeat me?"
"This power-share-suit lets me mimic the powers of the most powerful hero in my universe, and I strategically matchmade his family line over almost two hundred years to be so powerful. He is thus far unique in all the universes I've encountered. A part of his power set is a complete lack of humor. So your tickling power don't work on me. Also you're a nasty creep. Get in the box, pervo!" And with that she shoved him into a strange metallic box, hundreds of which had spilled forth from the open portal to another universe. small thruster lifted the box up and shot the tickler through a new portal that opened in the wall.
The Alchemizer laughed. "I"m sending them to prison with a quick detour through the universe of infinite farts!"
I can't help but laugh too. "What the fuck?"
"I used to be a villain you know. She lets me get it out on the bad guys a little." He smiles at me, "Nah, I don't think my old bones could handle you lass, but I appreciate the mental image. Almost pumped a drop of blood into me ol-"
"HAROLD!" A Nearby infinity takes a break from scolding her catch to scold Harold.
"Oh you're no fun anymore Claire." He blows a raspberry at her and smiles at me.
I spend another three days there, watching the non-stop procession of villains, and after that she says the world is safe, and she'll be teaching kindergarten from now on, whatever that is.

Finishing up the last corpse from yesterday’s job, Morte decayed the bodies. Miles bounced downstairs as I was chucking my dirty gloves into the trash can, his body smashing into my legs. Dragging him over to the sink, he chatted my ears off as I washed my hands. Sliding off my white examiner’s coat, my rockabilly scarlet dress hugged my torso wonderfully while floating away from my hips in a lovely manner. Tugging on my worn leather gloves, Miles reached for me. Scooping him up with a big smile, his arms draped over my neck. Silent tears danced down my cheeks, memories of me holding my girls back then flashed in my mind. Sunlight danced over us, a rare moment of serenity coming over me. A golden envelope hitting my head snapped me back to reality, my brow cocking at the inconvenient summoning. Opening it up with my free hand, an unfamiliar name greeted me. Who the hell was Sorgona? Carrying him to the office, the piles had been organized into new filing cabinets. Tracing my fingers along the tops, the letters caught my eyes. Ripping open the drawer, the file I needed floated into the air. Catching it in my palm, Miles snuggled into me harder the moment we crashed into my worn leather chair. Flipping through the pages, her mother had been Medusa. Curiosity twinkled in my eyes at the prospect of a secret daughter, Morte letting himself in.
“Today is going to be us and us alone. Apparently our plans to hold the fort down fell through.” He mumbled bitterly, his hard expression softening in Miles’ direction. “Miles, we have to work but we will be back by dinner.” Shooting out a quick okay, one final squeeze had me stunned as he bounced into Cal’s arms. Thanking him silently, my fingers curled around the bag holding the half finished bunny. Tossing me my leather coat, his fingers drummed on the top of his scythe. Groaning as I rose to my feet, Morte noted my tears. Kissing the tears away, nothing needed to be said. Plucking the file from the desk, his elbow hooked around mine. Guiding me to the hearse, the door groaned open. Popping in, the door shutting back blew any loose strands of hair back. Clicking on my seat belt, my attention shifted to his bunny. Stitching away as he climbed into the hearse, his sad smile lingered on me as the engine roared to life.
“Why do you insist on torturing yourself by making him one? Bad memories will only haunt you.” He asked with pressed lips, his hand cupping mine. “Don’t shoot me for requesting this of you! Do you mind having another child with me after all of this madness is over?” Stunned by his words, his other hand fell onto my flat stomach.
“I don’t see why not. It would be nice to give them a little brother or sister.” I returned with a busted smile, his finger lifting up my chin. Kissing my lips tenderly, time slowed down. Our heartbeats drummed in our ears, the sounds rushing in the moment he ended his spell. Cupping my cheek, his lips grazed against my forehead. Rumbling forward, the needle moved swiftly in and out of the fabric. Humming to himself, songs from our time filled the hearse. Smiling softly to myself, a memory played out in my mind.
Staring down at my large bump, the candles burned bright as I continued to stitch the twins’ bunnies. Rubbing the rough gray wool, winter had an extra bite this year. Morte came in with a deer, his deep voice humming those same sweet notes. Setting the gutted deer on the table, his shadow danced along the wall. Kissing my bump feverishly, his wild hair was a far cry from his style today. Silent tears stained my cheeks, his lips moving. Torn by the lack of words hitting my ears, a loud ringing had my ears pinning back. Snakes hissed in the distance, the snakes seeming to be attached to a pale female head. Covering my eyes, a slinky dress brushed against my skin. Chills ran up my spin, scales meeting my paling face. Clammy sweat beaded on my brow, a gloved hand reaching down into my lap. Fingers snapping ripped her away, the scene fading out.
Sucking in a deep breath, a sleek outdoor club had music booming. A migraine throbbed to life, Morte seemed to have his arm deep within a leather bag. Tossing me the Gothic version of Jessica Rabbit’s dress, scarlet silk gloves dangled off of his palm. Climbing into the back to get changed, my previous outfit hit the floor of my hearse with a thud. Sliding on the new dress, two slits allowed my legs to move. Fussing with the low cut sweetheart neckline, my breasts were one wrong spin from falling out. Snatching my gloves from his hand, wonder mixed with shock at his designer scarlet suit. Yanking them on, bright neon lights flooded into the back the moment Morte ripped it open. Helping me out, his steady hands slid a garter up my right thigh. A magically hidden case caught my eyes as he dropped my dagger into it. Undoing my bun, perfect waves floated down my back. His fingers played with my hair. Tugging me close to his hips, hunger burned in his eyes. A throat cleared, Cloak appeared over our head in a lacy black body con dress. Black heels shimmered on her feet, her fingers pointing towards my beat up boots. Tossing me a scarlet pair of heels, a quiet fuck tumbled from my lips while my shaking hands exchanged the shoes. Digging the thin heel into the dirt, these damn things would be a hindrance. Draping her arms over my shoulders, her grin widened with true bliss.
“Don’t worry about my task. Like a good sister, I finished early. Let’s kick some ass.” She whispered gleefully in my ear, my eyes lingering on the nearly finished stuffed bunny. “Dang, that is so cute. Maybe you can make me a stuffed cat.” Hurt dimmed my eyes, her arms dropping to her side. Those stuffed animals held bittersweet memories, my hand waving around striking away any concern. Getting into line, demons and gods of all sorts were gabbing away around us. Staring into the sea of fairy lights and granite bars, statues lined the sea of colorful flowers. A tin roof hung over the important parts, the rest of the business seeming to be left in the open. A woman with a black silk head wrap and sparkling sunglasses made her way to the bar, her slender hands fussing with the slinky violet dress. Placing her hands on her hip, her creepy green lips curled to reveal snake fangs. Croak shifted uncomfortably behind me, her fingers digging into my arms. No fear showed in my eyes, this foul creature meeting me already. Donning a wicked grin, her slender fingers lifted up the velvet rope.
“Come on in, you crazy freaks!” She shouted with some sort of battle cry, everyone filing in. Burying ourselves into the crowd, the scents covered ours. Piling onto the marble dance floor, the three of us hid behind one of the many statues to avoid detection. Flashing through the images of the victims, shock rounded my eyes at the matching outfit. Yanking Morte down by the collar of his suit, scarlet painted my cheeks at how close she was. Pretending to kiss the nape of his neck, a deep crimson rose to his cheeks at how we looked.
“Is there any way to return humans back to normal or is this a way to free them with her death sort of solution?” I growled through gritted teeth with pure fury burning in my eyes, his shoulders shrugging. Wut popped up behind us, a sly grin twitching on his lips. Stifling a laugh, a glowing milk jug spun in his palm.
“While you two love birds were about to go at it, I am going to sprinkle the poor victims while you create a distraction.” He announced nonchalantly, my lips twitching into a wicked smirk. “Don’t give me that look.” Pushing us into the spotlight, daggers shot in my eyes in his direction. The music died down, Sorgona rising to her feet ominously, dirt crunching as I stumbled back. Tearing off her hair wrap, snakes hissed to life. The attendees disappeared in puffs of smoke and ribbons, the battle had been intentionally started. Flipping off Wut, the statues were becoming human once more. Kicking my dagger out of its case, a couple of kicks had the heels sliding across the dirt. So much for coming up with a plan, Croak disappearing from the corner of my eyes. Morte hit the dirt, a bleeding snake bite catching my eyes. Panic rounded my eyes, Wut picking up on the situation. Popping up next to me, his arms scooped up Morte.
“Don’t worry. He is in good hands with me.” He promised me while running off with victims. Mixed emotions had me paralyzed in my spot, his life force floating off of him. Silent tears stained my cheeks, Sorgona beginning to lift up her sunglasses. Raising my foot over my head, a shadowy ball built around my heel. Smashing it into the dirt, shadowy spikes burst from the ground. Wincing in pain, a dull crack announced my broken heel. Missing my boots, those things were fortified for my amplified strength. Limping behind a couple spikes, I lifted my blade enough to see where she was coming from. Violet eyes glowed in the distance, my shadow snakes slithering down my arms to my broken heel. Creating a makeshift boot, something else seemed off. Mirrors rose from the flower beds, Croak waving on top of one of my spikes. Skidding down, a couple of flips had her next to me. Bouncing her blade against her legs, her hot breath bathed my neck upon her leaning close to me. Watching our target in the reflection of my blade, the color drained from my face at how close she was getting.
“What do you need me to do, Love?” She inquired with a cheerful chuckle, her hand lingering on my shoulders. “Don’t worry your little head, dear. Wut probably has him cured by now.” Hoping that she was right, an idea had a Cheshire Cat Grin on my lips. Wicked laughter burst from my lips, bewilderment making Croak look incredibly innocent.
“Turn every single of these into a mirror for me.” I order simply, ready to take down the one who hurt my husband. “After that we get to kick ass. How about that for a blast, my dear?” Winking in my direction, one touch had the inky surface shifting into the clean sheen of mirrors. Storm clouds rumbled over my head, Madame Bone’s voice hitting my ears. Laying low for a minute, my arms buried Croak into a loose embrace. Perking our ears up, patience would be our winning strategy in this situation.
“How have you not killed her yet?” Madame Bone demanded venomously, a frustrated scream bursting from her lips. “Get on it or I will take your life!” Pushing her inches from us, time slowed down as she turned her head. Seconds from meeting my eyes, Croak blocked my way. Placing her arms out, violent sobs wracked my body as stone devoured her body. The mirrors shattered, shards of glass flying into my skin. Pushing through the pain, I needed to move. Darting around the spikes, glass buried itself into the bottom of my feet. A trail of blood gave me away, her snakes hissing not far from me. Searching for a mirror, the bathroom caught my eyes. Sprinting into the bathroom, a yelp flooded from my lips at the lock clicking on its own. Ripping the mirrors of the wall, my shadows moved to create a trap. Sinking into a puddle of shadows, the role of bait fell on me. The door flew open, the lights flickering with every click of her heels. My blade covered my eyes. Energy built in the air, my hair floating up.
“A statue is what you should be.” She hissed venomously, a glow shimmering over the edge of my blade. “Strike me like the monster you are!” Stepping back slowly, her footfalls followed me. Wicked laughter rumbled in my throat, a couple of stomps had the trap rising around her. Shrieking shrilly, her stone turning powers bounced off the ceiling. Sinking to my knees, I buried my head into palms. Waiting patiently for the shrieking to stop, the last one got drowned out in the groaning of stone devouring her. Rising to my feet, glass shattered across the floor the moment the mirrors dropped from my shadow’s grasp. Bracing myself for more acute pain, more glass embedded itself deeper with every footfall towards her. Pushing off the broken tile, a swift swing had her petrified form shattering into thousands of pieces. Using my hilt to grind each piece into dust, an icy breeze had the dust flying out the door. Madame Bone blocked the moonlight, another one of her spells trapping me in place. Terror mixed with defiance at her claws extending from her nails, her twins popping up behind her. Slicing off her head, inky blood painted my face. Whipping her blood off of their straight blades, the one in all pink with her pale pink blade sauntered towards the corpse. Crouching down to their mother, the color drained from my face at the sight of her slamming her fist into her chest. Ripping out her heart, Madame Bone’s head had tears pooling around it. Tearing it in half, her weak whimpers fell on deaf ears. The miniature version of Madame Bone scooped up her head, a toss had it floating through the air. Slicing it with her ivory blade, snow white lightning cooked it to dust. Kissing the silver rose hilt, her palm caught half of her mother’s heart. Choking it down, ruby eyes glistened with tears. Gripping her blade tighter, a layer of sweat glittered on her skin.
“Listen up, rookie. You will remember our names. I am Travaca and the dumb one in the pink is Salacia.” She introduced herself coldly, her steady heads fussing with her pristine ivory suit. Salacia hissed in her direction, her silky pink dress floating in a hot breeze. Twisting her silky gray hair around her fingers, her bangs did little to hide her cocked brow. Tugging on her sister's matching hair, my chance to escape was now. Backing up slowly, glass crunching gave my plan away. Snapping their heads in my direction, Salacia traced her silver rose hilt with a devious smile. How did the heart not affect her?
“Where are you going, sweetheart?” She giggled childishly, cocking her head back and forth. “Tavy, shall we cook her alive?” Flashing each other matching crazed grins, both of them lifting up their blades. Not understanding why they killed their mother, matching crow tattoos spoke of an alliance with the dark gods. Shit! When did they go over their mother’s head? Something felt off, my sword shrinking down to its dagger form. Time to go. I thought to myself, a puddle of shadows formed underneath me. Sinking into the floor, their swears were the last thing I heard. Rising up in the middle of a thick New England forest, the pain hit me. A loud fuck burst from my lips, my body collapsing onto a stump. Holding my dagger in my teeth, the next few hours of hell had me knee deep in plucking out pieces of glass after glass. Lifting up my dress, a thick silk liner would be good enough to wrap my feet. Dropping the dagger into my palm, a quick cut had two thick ribbons of fabric on my lap. Wrapping my feet, a knot secured them both. Struggling to my feet, a flash of blonde darted past me. A deranged demon was heading after who I believed to be Hel, my dagger bouncing off of my palm. Aiming for his heart, a flick of my wrist had the dagger smashing into the beating organ. Collapsing onto the dirt, Hel skidded to a stop. The body decayed to ash, her frightened expression upon seeing me sitting calmly. Snapping my fingers, my dagger whistled back into my eager palms. Dismay dimmed my eyes at the heart crumbling to ash. Smashing into me, she buried her head into my shoulder. Emotions soaked my shoulder, her nightmare of a mission flooding from her lips. From what I picked up, a nightmare demon latched itself onto her. Somehow she managed to wake up but the damn thing came with her. Too afraid to describe the nightmare in deep detail, an inkling told me that it had to do with her face. Lifting up her chin, tears dripped off of my hand.
“Did you happen to have a nightmare about your face?” I questioned cautiously, her darting eyes answering my question. “You look stunning to me. There is not a thing on your face that I would change.” Wiping away her tears, wails had her head buried into my shoulder once more. Holding her until the tears dried up, her body collapsed into my arms. Adjusting my feet with a grunt, a kick had my dagger back into its case. Placing her on my back, her arms draped around my neck amidst her slumber. Swiping the car keys from her pocket, they jingled in my fingers. Sending out my snakes to find my hearse, a few swift minutes passed. Slithering back to me, branches cracked underneath my feet. Wendigos of all sizes followed us to the hearse, their hooves began to walk away. Putting my hand in the air, a gift would make my presence a little less irritating. Laying Hel down in the hearse, the hollow eyes watched me fish around the glove box. Finding a bag of homemade tea leaves, their deer skulls turned in my direction. Walking up to the wendigos, my palms pressed together as I bowed. Pressing the bag of tea leaves into his palm, a grunt with visible breath announced his pleasure. Bowing in direction, he motioned towards my dagger’s case. Offering it to him, wonder brightened my eyes as his claws carved a symbol of protection.
“Thank you very much, you kind soul.” I chirped cheerfully, his hands pressing my case into my palms. Patting the top of my head, they lumbered back into the trees. Crashing into the driver’s seat, the seat belt clicking had Hel jumping awake. Embarrassment colored her cheeks, shame dimming her eyes. Laying her head on my lap, no words needed to be said. Turning the key, the engine rumbled to life. A numb look haunted her features, my fingers playing with her hair. Pulling up to the mansion, the others surrounded us the moment we limped in. Anxiety swelled in my chest, the myriad of voices driving my mind crazy. Every breath grew shorter, the room beginning to spin.
“Shut up!” I roared thunderously over the chaos, the floor groaning as everyone took a step back. “We have two new problems. Madame Bone’s twins murdered their mother for the dark gods. They are our new target. Leave me alone to th-” My three adopted children pushed their way through the crowd, all three tiny bodies smashing into my legs. Getting down on their level, Miles pointed to the blood pooling around my feet.
“What happened, Mommy?” He questioned innocently, the word Mommy breaking me. Violent sobs wracked my body, a quiet concern dimming the others’ smiles. Choking down the pain, everything hit me at once. How long has it been since a kid spoke such words? Cupping my face, Miles cute thumbs wiped away my tears.
“You took me out of the darkness and will forever be called my mommy.” He demanded sternly, kissing my forehead. “You can’t change a darn thing about it.” My girls hugged me from my sides, both of them saying the same thing. Morte ruffled their heads, his arms scooping me up. Carrying me to our bedroom, Cal asked the kids to make something special for me. Sitting me down on the bed, a grimace twisted his features that infected cuts on the bottom of my feet. Pulling out a milky liquid from his dress boots, he poured the liquid over my feet. Wincing at sharp jolts of agony, the wounds began to seal shut. Plopping onto the bed next to me, he buried my face into his shoulder.
“You don’t have to say a word but I am equally happy but sad that he called you his mommy. Please give him a chance.” Morte pleaded lovingly, his jacket soaking up my emotions. “Sleep.” Exhaustion hung on my eyelids, sweet slumber stealing me away.

It was a short picture book that’s shaped like a chapter book about a girl who wants to become a ballerina.
The things I remember are: - It’s the story of a real ballerina (her childhood) - She’s blonde with a front fringe/blunt bangs - A plot point is that she has glasses from a young age - For some reason, I think it may have been set in Chicago? - It’s focussed on her childhood, but does include her husband and kids at the end. - I think her husband is also a dancer - It has a real photo of her at the end (and possibly at the front - one of these are her doing an arabesque or grand jete in a satin(?) pink tutu - I may be misremembering the cover, but it may have had a picture of her as a child (illustrated) looking into a mirror and seeing a real photo of herself as a professional ballet dancer - this may also just have been one of the images in the book - In the book, as a teen she gets a role in a professional production, she gets put in a green costume with a headdress and is upset before she goes on (can’t remember why), but she pulls through and dances well, her family brings her flowers and is very proud of her. - At the back of the book there was an illustrated guide to doing a ballet bun
Edit: Adding more details.

What I find sad about the Status Ban and Removing of MartyM's creations is that... these guys (along with others) have put out creations with mods that have been super popular. Let's remove Male vs. Female superstars because I honestly don't think that specific mod is used a ton and I don't see WWE or 2K budging on it.
But with the other creations: • 2 hai3 hair combinations • Appying images to superstars • Creatings Arenas with rotated Trons • Backstage areas
These are mods yes, but they're mods that these guys created WITHIN THE GAME. It's not like they fucking had Sonic as a playable character. Or replaced the model for a character with a Blender creation.
2K sees what's possible and they don't bother even TRYING to make it possible to add these in as features for fans...???
I mean the 2 hair mod for example, this is so freakn useful to create alternate looks for creations. I'm sure 2K could slightly adjust the code and make these options available in-game. Same with rotating the trons, these are ideas that would make the sandbox of creations sooo much better. Oh and editing superstars....I can make Roman Reigns come out wearing a dress and high heels, but God forbid I give him a man-bun. Right? I don't get what the hard limit is on that since we could add images etc. To stars back in 2K14, has something changed since then? If we can alter a superstars likeness with attires, why the hard restriction on adding images etc?
Is this game so fundamentally broken that 2K themselves pretend like a little more than 5% effort will cause the whole game to crash? If that's a real fear...Fix the game and make it more stable! Ironic too because all the patches ever say is "stability fixes" yet patch after patch it becomes more unstable.
Now.. Status himself has stated he is aware that he broke the Terms of service. And to be fair, I've experienced multiple times times ths game crashes when I save caws with the 2 hair glitch. It's not perfect. But that's not Statuses or anyone else's fault. They tried giving us a glimpse of what's possible.
If anything...I think 2K should pay these guys for the IDEAS they created and then add in the options for fans in the next gam