2.07.2 – A strange family

2.1 - Edited by: Rellawing, AlliterativeArts - 1/22/2021

Leona walked out of the station, cheered up by the positive reactions she got from the rest of the police aside from Ruffino, who was frankly a meanie. The sun shining on her wings further helped improve her mood.

Flapping them powerfully, she rocketed into the sky and did a few laps around the precinct, enjoying the experience of flight anew. She didn’t want to go home just yet, but she was reconsidering going to the camp today. There’d already been an incident to worry about and who knew what else would come up. So, deciding to forestall her visit to Sarah, she turned towards the bay and happily played in the thermal currents rising from it.

She reflected on what might be the cause of Ruffino’s attitude as she majestically beat her wings. Quite soon, she found herself within San Isidro’s downtown city limits. Winging around the taller buildings, she jetted in the direction of the part of the city where her family’s condo complex was nestled. In no time she reached her home and flew low to go to the ground in the same small wooded copse, which seemed to give the most cover, before reverting to her normal form. This time she went back to her baseline outfit; her street clothes and in the process her cellphone and Ruffino’s card were transported to her pants pocket.

Hopping and climbing over various fences and walls, she made it back into the complex and ran inside their condo by throwing open the door and bumping it closed behind her with a heel. As she passed the clock in the living room, she noted that she had two hours to spare before Goonie would return from her cafe.

Hearing someone return, Quinn stepped out from her room and smiled warmly seeing Leona and greeted her with a barrage of questions, “How'd it go? Was she surprised to see you? Did you tell her about your new superhero identity? What about the staff? Did they totally freak out?”

“It didn’t get there.” Leona sighed and leaned against the nearby wall. “There was a near disaster in Seaside City. I had to stop a crane from falling down onto the streets. And then I had to fly over to their precinct and make a statement. This time I was forced, pretty much. By the time I finished ‘formally introducing’ myself to the crabby detective there, I decided it was too late to go. And honestly, I have enough to worry about,” she groused. “There’s always tomorrow though, right? I still need to worry about what Mom will think.”

“Yeah, well, don’t tell Mom you intend to go see Sarah. Good work on being a hero though,” Quinn tried to sound grudging. “So you introduced yourself over in Seaside, but not here? Nice to know they’ll always get all the shiny new stuff up there, pfft!”

“Yeah, it just worked out that way. Because I had to destroy the crane to keep it from falling on people and causing secondary accidents, I got majorly sidetracked.” Too frustrated to react much to her sister’s puns, Leona threw her hands down with a shrug, but smiled nonetheless as she continued, “Anyways, supers aren’t really common in either city right now. Crabbyno was halfway to saying I’m unnecessary right to my face. I think I’ll introduce myself to the police here tomorrow morning. It’s only fair since this is my real home city. Good grief, it’ll be a nice change walking into a Police Department without being escorted by a police officer for a change,” Leona said ironically as she shook her head, her lips twisting.

“A cop escorted you?” Quinn asked. Leona stared at Quinn as though she’d transformed into a strange monster and Quinn shook her own head. “Hah, my sister, once again brought in by the cops. Where, oh where did we go wrong?” She faked a fainting spell and chuckled all the way back into her room. Leona shook her head and stomped.

Leaving for her own room, she decided to relax and wait for Goonie to come home. She took a quick nap in her bed, but was woken up sooner than she’d have liked by a racket downstairs. Goonie’d gotten home early today! Leona looked at the globe she’d shattered and decided to pick up the little bits of glass before greeting her. She wondered what her auntie would think.

Speaking of which, she yelled up the stairs. “I’m home! I have dinner.” Leona blinked and chuckled. Dinner was usually something vegetarian, but once in a while there was chicken or shrimp for the kids. She smiled wryly at the chances of there being any meat on the table after their special breakfast that morning, but headed downstairs to chow down.

“Can I help set things up?” Before even hearing a reply, she started helping Goonie set the table, totally kissing up so the parental response would be more favorable after.

It seemed like it was squash pasta on the menu tonight. As though sensing her daughter’s thoughts, Goonie spoke, “Before you go thinking that’s all I’ve got for my cute daughter, I got some chicken tacos from that little Guatemalan place.” She smiled at Leona.

Leona beamed at her, her mouth happily watering in anticipation of having some tasty tacos. At that glorious moment, Quinn entered the kitchen with her headphones wrapped around her neck and wordlessly pitched in by getting everyone juice from the fridge.

The three started eating soon as they settled in and Quinn shot her little sis a significant look, asking silently whether she’d said anything yet.

Leona shook her head in the negative and gave her a hard look as if to say, ‘Do you think Mom would be this normal-looking if I had?’ ‘The talk’ would happen soon enough, but in the meantime, Leona put on a grin and focused on the savory and semi-sweet flavor of her tinga-chicken tacos.

The dinner proceeded in typical fashion until Laguna cleared her throat and took a drink of juice before asking, “How’d things go today?”

Quinn responded first. “Well, I’ve been messing with my deck, but I imagine Leona’s been flying around here and there all day.”

“Ha-ha, yes, yes, I’m sure. But your sister’s much more of a homebody even if her head’s stuck in the clouds,” Goonie said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

“How can you be so sure? How do you know what your pet cat does when you’re working?” Quinn posed the question, “Heck, there are entire movies dedicated to the antics the critters get up to unsupervised. Maybe Leona’s been out there brightening up the world,” she teased.

Goonie eyed Quinn oddly. “Okay, what’s going on?” She laughed. “Is my wild child another one of her weird philosophical kicks?” She shook her head. “Are you implying that your sister is getting a buddha belly?” She examined Leona. “You’re not, are you?”

“No!” Leona blushed. “A growing girl needs to watch her figure and I’m not going to let myself get fat!” Leona wanted to jump up and hop up and down petulantly, but nevertheless she smiled at her silly Goonie and sis Quinn! She rushed on to debase the suggestion, “Anyhow, with the way we usually eat, we know where the weight would come from. All this wonderful healthy food, and plenty of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if my heart suddenly stopped.”

Getting a big belly wouldn’t be impossible, but it’d definitely be harder with their diet... she thought as she crunched into a taco, salted with the amazingly tasty flavor of hypocrisy. Mmmm.

“Um… by the way, d-did you hear about the superhero in Isidro and Seaside today?” She nommed her tacos and glanced at Goonie sheepishly.

Mom’s response was quick and puzzled, “No, I haven’t had a chance to look at the news today.”

“Oh, I heard this new one’s a real troublemaker,” Quinn teased, pushing more, “She flies around causing all kinds of mayhem, just to fix it herself.”

“Oh, what a shame. It’d be nice if a decent superhero took up around here.” Goonie sighed.

“Plus, I hear she tries to influence the mind of pure and innocent girls,” Quinn went on relentlessly while smiling.

Goonie looked at Quinn pointedly. “I can’t tell if you're trying to poke fun, or if you’re trying to sarcastically say that you’ve not done anything like that before.” She looked at Leona and shrugged, shaking her head. “Well, even though you have a justified bad reputation, I’ll assume it’s the former,” she shot back.

Leona giggled and stuck her tongue out at Quinn, determined to pay her back for all the teasing no matter how half-hearted it was. Pulling out her cellphone, Leona searched for any article of news or some kinda video that might have caught her actions today. Showing Goonie would start putting an end to Quinn’s shameless goofing off.

Considering how many onlookers had been silly enough to risk their lives just to share footage of the crane falling. Naturally, the appearance of a new superhero would draw attention from the accident itself. Checking a forum site she frequently browsed and posted on, there was actually a massive amount of cellphone footage shared!

Naturally, since she’d busted those blimp crooks up on a building, it made sense that there wouldn’t be more than a few blurry recordings. The best footage was of when she’d dropped off the two that had gone over the edge to where the astonished senior was standing. There might not have been as much video, but the site had been discussing it all day when people started to rave about the most recent incident.

Dashing around the table, Leona showed Goonie what she’d downloaded.

Unfortunately, the cameraman of the video muttered about how hot she was and he wanted to sex up the superhero. Leona nearly dropped the phone like a hot coal when she turned up the media volume to blush furiously. Oh jeez! Was everyone a pervert?! She looked mortified at Quinn, but also couldn’t help being very slightly flattered.

“Yeah, she’s pretty hot,” Quinn commented, joking, “Or so I hear. I guess Leona has a new lady-love to pine over instead of Mistral. She’ll be oh so very disappointed in you, little sis.”

“Well, I can see that she is already pretty darn popular,” Goonie commented, not sure what else to say about it. “Are you looking to cosplay like her next? This one’s outfit looks a little less… formal than your Mistral costume does.” Goonie didn’t quite approve of her choice of wardrobe it would seem.

“Well, maybe she came here directly from a Mardi Gras parade,” Quinn fired this newest joke with aplomb and added to it, “but lost her beads in transit.”

Damn it! “Hey now!” This was supposed to put an end to these stupid jokes! Leona stomped and protested, “I’m sooooooo going to get you, Quinn!” She pouted and set her phone down firmly on the table and looked to her mom, more worried about her criticism than Quinn’s ragging on her, “Um… I gather you don’t like the costume? I thought it looked really nice… like it’s both feminine and super sexy…”

“I’m just saying,” Goonie replied, “when I was younger, the ladies’ uniforms were… very buttoned-up and professional. Oh, there’s nothing wrong with it, she does look attractive and friendly.” She looked to Quinn. “Do you think it’s an appealing costume?”

“Actually, yes… for sure,” Quinn admitted sheepishly.

“So yeah, we both think it’s appealing,” Goonie said in a matter-of-fact tone. “It’s just more revealing than something you’d normally wear comfortably,” she said. “I was a little surprised by it, is all. But I’m glad you’re getting comfortable in your own way.” She reached out and stroked Leona’s cheek lovingly.

Leona gaped uncertainly. Had she actually guessed what she was building up to say? Could she actually imagine her daughter being a superhero?

Still somewhat dazed, Leona pressed on to be sure, “Umm… actually, Mom.” She took a calming deep breath. “Okay then… what if I told you I really had spent the day flying around just like Quinn said…as in, literally. What if I said everything she’s implied was true? …except for the sexy part!” she huffed a little at the end, blushing again.

Goonie looked at her daughter quizzically. “I’m not understanding. Were you really running around the town all day?”

“Don’t forget brightening up the world,” Quinn added.

“Oh no, Leona. Are you joining some kind of a weird sun worshipping cult?” Goonie asked pointedly causing Leona to gape. Had she actually missed the point when she seemed like she knew everything already?!

Quinn chuckled and went back to munching what was left on her plate, satisfied that her damage was done. Leona shot her a glare. “You’re being way mean to me right now, big sis!” She stomped and clenched a fist at her.

Goonie stared quizzically at Leona during the long ensuing pause before the girl finally sighed and shook her head. “Okay, I guess I have to just put it out there. Don't freak out, okay?” Closing her eyes tightly, she willed her transformation.

Her auntie freaked out.

“Geez, I’m gonna need to get a set of goggles for when you start the light show. They’d be really stylish, and they’d come in handy when Leona does this,” Quinn said casually after rubbing her eyes a bit at the flash and returning to her meal.

Rubbing her eyes too, Goonie looked over Leona. “Wh-what…? Who are you?” Her jaw dropped.

“That’s Leona Lite, of course. Same bubbly personality, now with 100 percent more feathers. Why she’s so great, she’s practically heaven-sent. Don’t the wings give it away?” Even now, Quinn wouldn’t stop.

Goonie gasped. “Oh God, are you joking? I hope you’re joking! Oh GOD! It was the bacon!” She exclaimed.

“She’s just joking, Mom! It’s what she does!” Leona stomped, blushing, now in superheroine form. “If you keep that up big sis, I’m gonna clap your trap or bind you so tight you can’t move!” She gestured for good measure and a golden ring appeared around Quinn to bind her arms to her sides, pinning her to her chair. While Quinn fidgeted against her restraints, Leona went on to explain to Goonie in detail what had happened to her that day.

Quinn didn’t stop jabbering and protested as bitterly as the criminals had when they were similarly bound during the blimp heist episode.

“Well, that explains your nightmare last night and the weird lights coming out from under your door. It’s not like I didn’t see those but I thought it was just an electrical issue I’d need to look into. So, have you… talked to anyone else about this aside from your sister?” Goonie asked.

“She’s only talked to me and the police in Seaside… and a few police here in San Isidro.” Quinn helped a little for once, still struggling in the chair. She somehow seemed like she was enjoying herself a bit too much though.

“What I meant was, have you talked to anyone important about this? Like a real superhero?” Auntie asked.

Leona shook her head. “Where would I find one, exactly? They don’t patrol in either of the sister cities these days, or at least not often.” She shrugged, sitting down and adjusted her appearance to become an older version of little Leona, complete with the same clothes she was wearing before, just larger.

“It’d be really nice and all, but I don’t exactly know how to reach out… and if I did, how would it go?” She smiled shyly. “The detective in Seaside doesn’t like me. She was crystal clear about it, pressuring me for every piece of personal info she could get on me. She’d have forced me too if she could.”

“What would it be like if I met a superhero now? Would they like me? I’m really nervous about it,” Leona babbled. ”Do they josh around with each other like we do? Or are they always super serious? I really want to meet one though… and someday Mistral, for sure.” She became starry-eyed.

“Well, you’re on all the fan sites now. Don’t the more established heroes have a way of knowing you’re here? Won’t they eventually come calling on their own? They could probably also contact the police too and get their statements. Anyhow, maybe it’d be best to get you cured.” Goonie rose and walked over to hug Leona. “It’s too much trouble.”

“What? But I don’t want to be cured. This is a dream come true!” Leona blinked at her mom for even suggesting that.

“It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure, but I never thought it would be so fun! It’s such an amazing feeling. I love flying! Do you know what it’s like? To float in the cool air, feeling it blowing around you, whipping your hair all over, feeling the sunshine soak through you to the core. It’s positively heavenly.” She sighed and smiled. “I never liked the sun as much as I do now.”

Goonie smiled warily but nodded slowly in return. “If you’re that set on it, we’ll keep your powers and identity a secret.”

Leona’s attention returned to Quinn who was still happily fidgeting in her chair. Sweat drops. Leona eyed her sister and with a gesture recalled the ring. Quinn pouted for a second but was able to immediately resume eating. She had a very strange sister.

“So, are you completely a girl in this form?” Goonie asked.

“IS SHE EVER!” Quinn exclaimed. “...Ahem, trust me. Very very very much so, yes.” She nodded her head enthusiastically.

Leona blushed and grinned. “I am! Well, only when I’m like this. I can be the same age as big sis, biologically, without the boybits down there. I’ve been so fixated on my wings that I haven’t really thought about that fact as much as I probably should have, though it makes me happy too. It means a ton to me, and it was the first thing I noticed when I changed.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll only transform when it’s necessary, and not just mess around with a fully female body like someone else might, right?” Goonie smiled wryly.

Quinn looked away petulantly and nibbled at her food.

“For now, it’s probably more important to test your powers than anything else. Are you planning to patrol the city before sundown from this point on?” Goonie asked.

“For now, yeah. I don’t know what my powers are like at night yet. There’s a lot I don’t know. I feel there’s an affinity I have for the sun, and if I fight at night, I don’t know if that would be a problem. And I do need to test the limits of my powers so I can understand them more fully. It’d help keep me from getting into a situation where my lack of know-how about them might cause a problem.”

Quinn, having finally finished her dinner,  fixed her clothes and walked off with a scoff at her levity being so readily dismissed, “Hmph.”

“Seriously,” Laguna said, “have you given any thought as to where you can practice, or even what to practice?”

Leona shook her head. “Not so much yet, no. I guess seeing what I can do at night is a good place to start. But where? I don’t know. I could go out onto the bay and shoot at waves or something. But if my powers cut out there, I’d probably have to take a dip however far from the shore I was.” Smiling wryly, Leona finished, “I don’t know if that’s taking a risk, but I know I was drained when I had to deal with that huge crane. I didn’t feel as though the transformation would ever reverse against my will, but I was sure tired anyhow.”

“Well, maybe I can drive you someplace tonight to try out your powers and experiment? What do you say?” Goonie offered.

“I think that’d be a good idea.” Leona nodded with a warm smile.