Being that the next chapter will be the last, I wanted to give a little more insight to what really went down. PSA: someone sent me this bomb ass artwork from Pinterest and I just had to share it.
Hope you're all enjoying the story!
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"We need to talk" you had barged into Lucius' office unannounced and a little upset. The fact that you were able to get past the security guard outside of his door wasn't an astounding feat. He looked extremely occupied as he held the phone against his ear.
"This is a very important call—" the office phone went flying across the room; the impact being so great that when it made contact with the wall, it smashed into pieces.
"I said we're talking. Now." He heeded your request, ushering you to sit. "I want to believe that my parents were heroic individuals who influenced the world to what it is today, I really do. But why would you do someone else's dirty work behind the scenes?!"
"What are you talking about?" Reaching into your bag, you dropped your findings onto his desk. You could feel the tension—his blood running cold at the sight of the very items he should've destroyed years ago. He didn't half expect you to find them. But now that you had...it was a problem.
"Would you like me to elaborate some more? What happened to you? You used to be a good person; you cared about your family for a change"
"How could a kid like you even begin to comprehend pain or grief the way someone like me has?!"
"How could I?! I lost my mother to villains! I lost you to this goddamn industry! I lost my brother to work! Even after all the shit you've put me through, with Raleigh being the sick monster he was—you want me to say that I haven't gone through what you have to understand?! I feel like I've walked the streets of hell for the past 5 years and lost some of my sanity while you had everything handed to you since you were born. It's not the same!"
"I did what I had to! Your mother was out of line for her actions. She should've never dragged you to St. Stephens"
"You'd put a 7 year old on trial for something unintentional? Your daughter?!" Lucius was infuriating. Naturally, you could never understand his intentions nor his motives. But you did pick up on some inner conflict. "What were you so afraid of?"
"A child that could get into the heads of others. At three, she could levitate all of the furniture if she threw a tantrum. 5 years old, she cut her older brother's hand because he took something of hers. At 7, killed 53 civilians in the Basilica accident in Hungary. And you don't think that any parent would be afraid of a child like that?" All the horrific times he brought reminisced started coming back, the pieces of your childhood were filling in. "Your mother used her own powers to make you forget everything wrong you'd ever done because she didn't think it was your fault. She put you in those situations"
"She wouldn't"
"Get over yourself, kid. Ali was just as guilty as the rest of us. Hate to say it but there aren't any guardian angels" you knew he was right. Everything Dabi had been trying to tell you up until now was starting to add up. It was unfortunate that the only person who gave a shit about you had to suffer for your mistakes.
"You're just as evil as the rest of them"
"You're no exception. How many dead people have you added to your conscience?" There was no point in talking to him any further and you wanted to be rid of his presence. So you turned to leave.
"Fuck you" however, Lucius wasn't done with your misdemeanor.
"You know, I've been giving your placement into UA some thought. I'm withdrawing you"
"What?! You can't do that"
"Actually I can. You were so mesmerized by your mother's reputation that she blinded you into thinking that she herself was the perfect hero. I'll make arrangements with Raleigh, how's that? Things could've been different if you would've followed orders. Get back to your dorm and pack your shit, y/n" you had no say in this because if you struggled it'd only make things worse with Raleigh.
~~~
What were you supposed to do? Moreover, how would you explain this to your classmates? Deep down, you were hoping no one would catch you departing but unfortunately for you, you spoke too soon.
"You're leaving, Y/N?" The one person you'd hoped to not have to face throughout this ordeal was none other than your best friend.
"Yeah...stuff came up and I gotta go. Family emergency"
"Funny you've been using that excuse for some time now" honestly, there was so much more you wanted to say, the things you were keeping to yourself were beginning to build up. But if you caved now, there'd be hell to pay. And right now, that was a price you couldn't afford. All you could do was silently sling your bag over your shoulder and head downstairs; brushing past the half and half quirk user on your way out. You said you wouldn't cry or show any emotion but the severity of pain and betrayal won this battle.
"Well well...disobeying your father has its consequences," your eyes still puffy and red from your short lived breakdown gave Johess the satisfaction he needed. "Don't worry, think of it as a vacation. Although permanent, I'll get to enhance your abilities. You'll probably surpass your mother" You sighed at the mention of more experimental procedures; pulling your hood into your head.
[TimeSkip]
Well into the night now, you were staring up at the ceiling. Only your first day in and Raleigh had put you through the ringer. Truthfully, you hadn't moved from your position since you were sent back to the cold and dimly lit cell because you were too sore to. Your entire body hurt, and if that wasn't bad enough, you had to be ready for the next project at dawn. Though the pain was unbearable—you groaned upon turning on your side; an attempt to rest your eyes for a moment and to your relief, you had drifted off successfully.
"Y/N..." that voice sounded all too familiar as it echoed in your head. But you couldn't see anything but darkness, it was cold...and lonely. Was this your conscience? Or another vision? They felt so similar that you couldn't distinguish between the two. "Y/N, it's time to wake up"
"Where are you?" A gentle hand rested on your shoulder from behind—the sight of your beautiful mother standing there. You felt happy...but anger and sadness overtook you.
"You're dreaming"
"How are we able to talk?" She looked a bit taken back by your question. Either that or not wanting to upset you.
"The spell... your memories are back so I can finally talk to you" this time she reached out to embrace you; a short impulse when you wanted nothing to do with her, pushing her hand away. "You're angry"
"That's besides the point. You lied to me, about everything"
"I know and as a mother I shouldn't have but, I was trying to protect you" hearing it from her sounded like a joke. Protect you? Seemed like everyone had that in mind.
"You did a pretty shitty job"
"Y/N, your father set you up—both of us! He's the one who—" she paused in telling her side of the story when your finger went up to shut down the notion.
"Let's backtrack. You tell me what business you had with those damn villains and maybe I'll listen to you" her response time was lagging, and you knew she didn't have anything to say about it. She did her dirt. "You know, for years I looked up to you. I committed my training to be like you, to be the aspiring hero you were. Mom, you were the only person who cared about whether I was happy or sad as a kid. You made sure I had what I needed...even kept me sane. All that working on myself just to find out how...evil you really were"
"Y/N!"
"You put people against me! The Basilica in Hungary, that was your fault and I took the blame for it! I killed those people and I didn't mean to! You signed me over to Raleigh just so he could run his sick tests on me!"
"I didn't mean to—"
"What parent doesn't mean to set their child up?! The only people that have been telling me some truth are the bad guys! I'm starting to fucking wonder who the masterminds are now"
"You have to listen! Your powers are stronger than you know, and all Lucius wants is to keep them under his control. If he manages to do that, the world is doomed"
"You're unbelievable"
"I'm trying to help you"
"You let me down, mom!" You cursed as the tears from earlier started again. "You left me here...alone, in the care of the man you called your fucking husband. He's never cared about me! He was afraid, he said it himself... and who wouldn't be? You gave birth to a child whose powers were hard to mange, you couldn't get control. So, he did what he had to in order to get me gone... and you helped him"
"It's not like that...I loved you so much, I did everything in my power to keep you safe"
"Heroes are just as self serving as villains. I don't want to follow in your goddamn footsteps just to let other people down. I didn't ask for any of this, and I sure as hell don't have to be a part of my family's fuck up" you wasted no time in discarding the jade necklace your mother once wore. From this point on, everything was up to you. It was better than living a life of lies, betrayal and pain. You were forging your own path... and you knew exactly where to start.