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CHAPTER START---
Atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, Horizon watches Cathleen Bates weep while looking over the short wall to see Los Angeles Memorial Park below.
She was a petite and fragile thing, barely a hair over 5ft -150cm- short brown hair messily hanging to her shoulders and her Star and Stripe costume draped on her as if she were a coatrack.
Much of it bunched up around her now oversized boots and nearly half the cape pooled on the floor.
Hearing sobs, Horizon stiffly walks forward and stands beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder to let her know he's still here.
"I'm sorry, I'm not much of a role model right now," Cathleen says. "Just reliving all of that. It was so much."
"I can't even imagine what that was like, so take all the time you need," he says, in a surprisingly gentle tone.She brought him here, to the site where she lost it all, to Arsenal.
Regaled him with her tragic tale, for what reason, he wasn't sure, but nothing she told him was new information.
His family held no secrets from each other, so the only sunrise is the impact it's had on her, and her revealing it to him.
As he's trying to figure out what she's doing, Cathleen turns and hugs him, her head not even reaching his chest as she squeezes him tightly.
"Sorry," he says. "The armor of the body glove makes hugs uncomfortable."
"It's fine," she mutters. "Thanks for listening and being here. This is the longest I've been in this form since I learned how to use my Quirk."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and it's only possible, because you are here."
She takes a step away and dries her tears. Trying to regain some of her heroic appearance after the emotionally exhausting ordeal.
"Are you feeling better now?" he asks.
Cathleen pauses, gazing upon the park and memorial, then leans against a wall.
"Yeah, thanks for listening."
"It's the least I could do, but—"
"Why did I bring you here and dump my tragic past on you?"
"Something like that," he playfully says as she also leans against the wall, enjoying the chilly breeze at this altitude.
It had been a while since she had to consider things like the icy wind on her skin, causing her to feel mortal and vulnerable again.
If not for Horizon being here, she would have retreated back into her mask once more.
"That night, it still haunts me. Even now I still can't get past it. It's like I can feel her looming over me, as if she sent a ghost to haunt me and finish what she started, like some part of her still exists and it would come kill me." ȑ�
"You're a million times stronger than her."
"I know, but I'm still so scared of her," she says. "I must sound crazy, huh?"
"I'm not that kind of doctor."
Cathleen rolls her eyes at him. "You probably have some questions about my story, well?"
"I think you know what."
"My Quirk, or more accurately, the combination of Marissa and my Quirks," she says. "New Order allows me to make two rules. One was hers, the other is mine. When she grabbed me and our blood mixed, she must have given it the order to keep me safe, and it transferred to me."
"Really? And here thought only All For One could do that."
"Apparently not. I'm sure it's unbelievable, a Quirk besides All For One that transfers so easily. By simply mixing blood and saying a few words. Sometimes I wonder if she didn't do that, if—-"
"Then you'd both be dead," he says. "Arsenal would have taken her, probably directly to All For One, and you'd have died in the crash. That was a terrible situation, from all angles."
"I suppose you're right. It's a miracle the Quirk even let me survive, and she survived the crash without it."
"Yeah, it really was. So, one order is hers, one is yours."
"We thought our Quirks were duds until she accidentally activated it at school one day. Then the attack happened a few days later when we were being sent to the new base."
"You were a kid. Can't blame yourself for what happened."
"I know, but still. I was strong enough to hunt her down for a long time, but I was still so scared. All the people she killed in the last two decades, that's on me for leaving that animal out in the world."
"Is that what you're beating yourself up about, not saving more people?"
Cathleen grits her teeth and slams her hand on the wall, immediately feeling her fragile bones crack.
"AHH!" she screams and holds her hand, and Horizon immediately heals it. "Thanks, not used to this form."
"It shows, but about what I said. Nobody can save everyone."
"You could."
"I couldn't save you against Tech, and I almost couldn't save myself either," Horizon says. "You can't live always thinking about who you couldn't save. But you will, because you're a True Hero, it's what you do."
"True Hero?" she scoffs and leans against the wall again, tiptoeing to look over the side. "When I think about Arsenal, that's the last thing I feel like. I don't even think about the people she killed afterward that I could have saved."
"Oh, so what is the regret?"
"That I didn't kill that bitch myself," she growls out.
Horizon twitches slightly, but she's too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice.
"But she's gone now. Your country took care of it. Now I need to try moving forward."
"Good. Everyone should be a bit more selfish from time to time.
"Even Heroes?"
"Especially Heroes. Especially after the life you've lived."
Cathleen closes her eyes and activates her Quirk, applying her transformation once again.
Her body grows, her hair becomes blonde and her eyes shift into a bright blue as Star and Stripe returns.
She adjusts her Hero Costume slightly before turning to Horizon. "You know, being the big sister feels weird."
"Especially because I'm stronger than you," he says.
She laughs and rests a hand on his shoulder, "You're not the only one who learned new things in that fight with Tech."
"Is that a challenge?"
"Nah," she reaches up and gently taps his visor. "I'm actually here to talk to you about this."
"My face?"
"The visor. Look, I know you can't live without it, and your physical body isn't exactly…compatible."
"You just called me your brother and now you're trying to—"
She taps his shoulder, pushing him back slightly.
"That's not what I'm going to say!"
"Good," he says while rolling his shoulder.
I'm telling you, you don't want to end up like me. I'm 40, with nothing to show for it but this damn Hero Costume. Yeah, I've done a lot, but now that I'm finally getting past Arsenal, I can look back and see all the things fear never let me do.
Having no family or friends, my life was quite…lonely. I was always scared she'd show up again. And because of that, I haven't even been Cathleen Bates for more than ten minutes over the past two decades. For a while I even forgot what she I looked like, the real me.
I don't want this life to consume you as it did me."
"What are you suggesting I do?"
Star' smiles at him, "Makes some friends, maybe get a girlfriend, and hopefully one day start a family of your own. You're a miracle. I'm sure you can figure out how. And that Yaoyorozu girl seemed like she had a crush on you so—"
"No."
She sighs, "Well, you're young, so you've got time. But the point is, don't let that Hero Costume, that visor, isolate you from the world. Don't become like me. Let some people in, or just one, let them see the real you. All the good, and all the bad. Billions of people are jealous of us, of me. They think I'm some god."
"We are."
"Only in power," she says. "But in the currency that matters most, we're poor, because we're alone."
Horizon takes a moment to digest her words, then leans his back against the wall and looks up at the summer sky.
"I'll think about it, but no promises," he says. "I'm busy. Not much time for a personal life."
"Well, it's not like you don't have forever," she says jokingly. "What about the dragon lady?"
"Eh, she doesn't like the fact that I didn't get punished for destroying her city."
"She was too old anyway, so by the time you're ready to have kids she'd be older than I am now."
"Doesn't matter. I can tell the human body what to do about things like that. If I want someone to stay fertile, they will, and if I love them, they aren't allowed to grow old, I forbid it."
"How much does a bottle of 'never age' cost?" she asks while rolling her eyes.
"That one's not for sale. You'll just have to settle for the regular Panacea," he says. "But if you want the other thing, just call me."
Her head snaps over to look at him, "wait, are you serious?"
"Yeah, I can just read your genes and repopulate you. It's easy."
She thinks about it for a moment, then smiles, not the usual Pro Hero smile.
But the smile of Cathleen Bates was shining through.
"If I find someone, I will let you know."
Before he can respond, Horizon's phone beeps, drawing both their attention to it.
"Just make sure your kids aren't annoying," He says before warping away, heading off to deal with the alert he got.
After he warps away, Star and Stripe stand on the roof for a while, looking out at the memorial below.
After all these years running from a nightmare, she wore a peaceful smile.
After believing she'd wasted her entire life and could never get those precious opportunities back.
She finally got another sibling, a little brother, and he'd give her a second chance.
"You really are a miracle," she mutters.
Blissfully unaware of what the future has in store for them both.
The great battle that would reshape regions and forever change the history of this world.
As two Awakened, Mystery Class Quirk users, shatter against each other…
END CHAPTER---