Issue #3: Sad Violin Meme

The last day had been a whirlwind of victory and defeat, exhilaration and disappointment for you. As you yanked off your mask and hurled it across the room behind a potted plant while on the way to answer the door and let in your mother now that she'd shown up for an unexpected visit, you had a sneaking suspicion that pendulum was about to swing back towards the 'defeat' side of things.

Your mind was racing. Although you'd suspected she knew about your new superhero career for a while now, you had been quite sure that she'd be too afraid of pushing you away to confront you directly about it. What was she coming here to do? If push came to shove, she theoretically lacked the standing to you to abandon your new lifestyle - your inheritance money was in a trust and after your victory over the Full House gang and that local mob boss, you were no longer a probationary heroine. The League of Propriety had elevated you to a full C-rank member and you now constituted half of a recognized duo. Molly couldn't make you go home.

Except that no superpower in the world was proof against a stern parent's voice. And in fact, in this case, Molly's stern voice was part and parcel of her own superpower; a power that she had over two decades more experience with than you did. She'd often been permissive with you, and later on, you came to realize that it was because she was always afraid of affecting your emotions with her powers without intending to. There'd been a lot of panic in that time about a few telepathic and empathic supers accused of having brainwashed their families into obedient Stepford Wives. But every time that she had really, unflinchingly put her foot down, you had always broken almost right away.

Showing some tact for once, Dr. Rainbow had already scurried off out of sight somewhere. "I'll get it..." Julia said, smoothing down her hair and hurriedly putting it in a bun.

"No!" You hiss, ducking your head. "She'll be talking about how I 'allowed my servant to get the door'. Besides, I don't mind letting her wait for a minute. That's an awfully thoughtless gesture of her, showing up unannounced like that. I know she was trying to call but that doesn't -" you suddenly stopped and made a sour face, realizing your mistake. "...and she's been able to hear all of this since before we spotted her coming."

Wasting no more time, you fling the door open. "Hi mom! So-o-orry I haven't been returning your calls! Just been quite a transition I've been living through, coming to this city! Um, can we get you a coffee or anything? And will you need the guest room...?"

"Oh, I know it must be difficult for you to find the time to listen to little old me squawk at you from a thousand miles away. I don't blame you." she said condescendingly. "Besides, there must be so many interesting songs in the night, in this city, to distract you." she said with a biting glance.

"I think that's a 'yes' to the coffee, Julia. Would you please make us some? I would get it myself but yours is so much better." You turn and give mom a smile. "Well you're certainly right about it being an interesting city. I'm quite caught up with my column, would you like me to take the day off and show you some of the sights, since you're here anyway?"

"I lived here for years. You've been here for less than one." Mom said. "But, if you're looking for a topic to divert the conversation away from the number of sexual partners you've had at once now that I'm here, I have a much better one."

Blushing, you start to rasp out a reply but she shushes you with a wave of her hand. "Your step-father has invested a great deal of time and effort to give you a boost on this path of yours that you've chosen, and I came to deliver the good news. But first, tell me how the city has been treating you."

Naturally, as you sit down for coffee, you give her nothing but a stream of either invented or irrelevant anecdotes about your civilian life in the city. Over the next 20 minutes, Mom can be seen getting visibly more and more impatient.

"Alright. Let's discuss the elephant standing about, missy." she said in an authoritative voice. "I know you've taken up the mantle of Nightingale. I knew the day was coming since you were a schoolgirl playing with action figures. I don't always agree with the way you've gone about it, but we both want the best for you."

"So, Rikki - Instead of having your song drowned out in the clamor of this city, I've picked out a place where you can really shine. After several supervillains have set up shop there the city of Toronto has gone to great lengths to try and attract their own hero team. The city government has renovated the top floor of the CN tower, the third tallest building in the world, to serve as a headquarters for these new Defenders. But they want a leader for this team that is down to earth, relatable... in other words, with a superpower that isn't so overwhelming that it makes the local authorities nervous. With a little white lie I led them to believe that you are a veteran in your own right. Surely you see that you cannot pass up such an opportunity?"

With great effort you resisted your urge to turn to Julia, roll your eyes, and say that this was "Classic her."

You twitched your lips and grasped for a reply. "Well. I guess I should be glad that you came here to interfere like this instead of trying to help get ASPIC's bill passed. Oh, did you hear about the fact that they turned out to have been manipulated by one of the most perverted supervillains ever and almost laid the city low with an orgiastic inferno?"

"I happen to think they make a fair point regardless," Mom said, quite unrattled, "but that's a discussion for another time. Please tell me that you aren't going to throw this opportunity away in a misguided attempt to prove how independent you are?" She set her coffee cup down a little too hard. "Or do we need to delve deeper into what this is really about? I don't know if that's what either of us really wants to revisit."

Before you could say another word Dr. Rainbow burst in, striking a pose and grabbing you by your shoulder.

"Ma'am! So many apologies for this!" she gave Molly a hurried bow. "But I've just been informed of a terrible, awful plot by the most serious threat that I have ever dealt with! I had a hunch due to how the incident with that playing card lady's husband was described, and now my Chro-microscope has just shown me that the threat is more immediate than I imagined. We don't have a moment to spare!"

Molly was so bowled over by the urgency of Doc's appeal that she just sat motionless. Seeing your chance, you leapt to your feet and opened the concealed door to your equipment room. "It's really that dire a situation, is it?"

"Oooooh!" Rainbow's bright eyes widened with worry. "You have no idea!! , suffering, and the destruction of health and happiness forever in this city! I've dealt with both of these awful, icky, bad people before, but never both at once."

"Well, you hear that?" you say cockily. "Looks like if Nightingale doesn't suit up and stretch her wings right now, then what Hot Stuff had planned yesterday will look like a purse-snatching in comparison."

Molly stood up and put her hands on her hips. She gives a defeated, weary sigh. "If you don't mind sparing a moment for me to ask - what are the names of these... terrible supervillains that Ms. Rainbow here is speaking of?"

Rainbow's face grows dire and her eyes shift to dark blue. "The Baconator... and Gloomy Sunday. They are a threat like nothing the League has faced before, I'm sure of it! I think that because of our powers, Nightingale and I might be the only heroines in the entire city who have a hope of stopping their malignant plot!"

Mom shoots you an accusatory glance. "Well then. Good luck to both of you, and please be safe. Go save the world. I'll be waiting here when you get back."

You and Rainbow slide down a pole to rapidly get down to the garage where your motorcycle is being kept. With practiced grace you strap on your outfit and zip up your riding jacket, making sure you have all your weapons available.

"Great timing there, Rainbow." you say, giving her a pat on the shoulder fondly. "I have to admit... and I mean this as a compliment... with as obsessive as you are about honesty and manners and all that stuff, I didn't take you for the type to imagine up a disaster scenario just to rescue me from that awkward moment."

Dr. Rainbow stares at you blankly, and your giddy smile drains away. She doesn't say anything but her serious, unchanging expression says everything.

"...Oh." You gulp and hop onto the cycle, starting to rev it up.