Star Dust (A Paladin Adventure)

Just all sorts of changes

My mind went blank. "What the shit?" I said,  then shook myself. Deadpool rubs off on you pretty easily. Like pollen. Brad looked a little taken aback.

"Can we talk about this inside?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"No. But have a seat out here." I gestured toward the chairs on the porch. He sat on a chair. I sat on the railing. Loki loitered in the doorway, very quietly.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," Brad began.

"Some," I said waspishly. "Go on."

"I've known about you for a long time," he said quietly. "Sort of. When I had my first girlfriend, Dad sat me down and told me that I had to be careful with sex, to always make sure there was protection, two kinds if at all possible, because sometimes it fails, and not to have sex until I was ready for the responsibility that comes if you get somebody pregnant. Then he said he'd gotten a woman pregnant and had run out on her, and that I needed to be a better person than he was." I sat there and looked at him. "It was a shock. He said that he didn't even know if he had a son or a daughter out there. It wasn't what I expected to hear. I didn't know what to say or do."

"It's rather convenient that you show up now, when she's rich and well-known," Loki said, gliding out of the doorway to stand by me.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Brad asked in bafflement. "You look just like Tom Hiddleston."

"I'm Lawrence Lord," Loki said, frost etching his words. "Emma is my aunt. A few times removed," he added, looking down at me. I almost laughed. "She does not need my protection, but she has it anyway, and it is best to discover motive from the beginning."

"A few years ago, when Captain America got married, there were pictures of them in the media. I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack. He said 'she looks so much like her mother.'  So I've known your name for a few years. But Dad is dying. Lung cancer. I thought you might want to meet him," he said to me. "It's kind of now or never."

"Smoker?" I frowned, and Brad nodded. "Any other diseases that he has?"

"High blood pressure. He's on a statin," Brad looked baffled.

"Quick and dirty medical background check for that side of my genetic material," I said briefly.

"Oh. Grandma had diabetes, Grandpa died about ten years ago of a stroke," he said politely.

"Ok, thanks," I said, and stood up.

"That's it?" he asked.

"Yeah. Your dad isn't my dad. He was just a sperm donor to me. When he left my mom, he left her vulnerable to nasty innuendo. People called her a slut to her face and me a bastard. Growing up, it was like we carried a mild but communicable disease, all because that man ran. My grandpa utterly loathed him until the day he died. My grandma who never had a bad word to say about anybody swore with a surprisingly rich vocabulary at the mention of him. Why on earth do you think I would ever want to meet him?"

Brad's cheeks stained red. "He's dying. I wanted to something for him. He regrets what happened."

"Regrets." I laughed shortly. "He may have had you conned into thinking he's a decent person, but he isn't. He could have found us at any time; we never moved. He could have paid child support, lived up to his obligations. Sent a birthday card now and then. Been a real man. He could have Googled me and sent me an email. He didn't even have the guts to do that. As far as I'm concerned, he can just rot from the inside out. And I hope he suffers."

"He is," Brad said shortly.

"Who are you?"

I looked over to see Bucky walking with purpose  to the porch, Steve not far behind. Brad's face went white.