Chapter 6: "You're like....You're like a Superhero!"

 

"Are you sure you're okay, mom? Like really, really, okay??"

 

Buffy says with obvious and relatable concern.  Joyce is thinking she would be reacting the same way, if not even more crazy.  She probably would have immediately taken her to the hospital, which in retrospect, may have been disastrous for everybody involved.  She might even be put on some kind of wanted list or something. 

 

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm really REEALLY okay.  Okay?" Joyce says with some childish reassurance for Buffy.  

 

"O-Okay, still, you should take it easy mom."  Buffy's little way of telling Joyce she cares, puts a smile on her face.  She reaches up to grab the dryer to pull herself up, when she loses her footing a bit after softly pressing down on the top, just a soft push folded the dryer inward towards each other like a lawn chair.

 

Buffy being naturally startled, lets out a quick high-pitched scream. The now deformed dryer, though a testament to Joyce's new strength, was now utterly useless. 

 

"Great, more repairs to make.  Domino, I love you, I do, but you are costing me thousands of dollars already and you aren't even born yet!" Joyce, feeling Domino kick like she's saying, "that's your problem, you deal with it."  A sigh escapes in-between Joyce's lips, while Buffy just stood there staring, looking even more confused. 

 

"Mom, how ... strong are you now exactly?" Buffy doesn't ask this with concern this time, her sense of wonder is back and in charge! A smile crosses her face with eyes of admiration. Joyce feeling like buffy is staring straight into her soul, looking for the deepest of answers. 

 

"Well, I could tell you what my 'status' says, but that wouldn't mean very much to either of us at the moment.  But according to the strength ...erm... statistic? I guess you could call it, it says I can bend steel, if that helps you at all." Joyce says with a shrug and a nod. 

 

"Oh my God, that...is...AWESOME! You're like...you're like a Superhero!" Buffy says with an excited grin plastered on her face that doesn't seem to be going away for a while.  Joyce giggles at her cute and funny daughter as she kisses her on the forehead. 

 

"You're so sweet, but let's not get a head of ourselves, now! Before I save the world, I have to buy a new dryer.  We superheroes still have to prioritize." 

 

Buffy giggling at her mom's half serious joke, watches her mom turn to leave the room, before remembering she dropped her glass in the hallway.  She calls out to her mom to wait, but it was too late. 

 

"MOM, WAIT!" Buffy hears the crunching sound of glass and quickly cups her hands to her mouth while letting out a muffled apology. "I'm so sorry mom! I forgot to tell you I broke my water cup on the ground when I saw you fall!" 

 

Joyce looks down, lifting up her bare foot and noticing not a scratch was left on her.  She didn't feel pain, she didn't feel sore, if anything, she felt great.  

 

"Buffy... stop worrying about me, I'm fine, physically anyway, it is kind of scary not knowing my limits though, what else can I do?" Joyce wonders aloud before continuing.

 

"You stay right there, shards of glass might not be able to hurt me... as weird as that is to say, but it will definitely hurt you, so wait here while I clean this up." Joyce says as she points her index finger towards Buffy.

 

After Joyce cleans up the mess with Buffy's help of holding the dustpan at a safe distance, Joyce asks Buffy a question that she definitely didn't expect.  "So.... how about a picnic?" 

 

"S-sure mom, where are we going?" Buffy would pretty much agree to anything right now, considering everything that happened.  She would most likely feel way too guilty to say no.  As Joyce and Buffy make some sandwiches together, along with some fruit and a few sugary snacks, they put it all in a basket and grab a quilt for the road. Buffy finally asks the question that's been on her mind. 

 

"Mom, why a picnic all of a sudden?"  Joyce thinks about what to say, before answering her truthfully.  There are 3 hours of daylight left, while we eat, your sister can eat as well." 

 

Buffy with a squint and wrinkle to her nose, "you say that like Domino eats suns or something." Buffy giggles at her own joke.  "That's because she does, dear." Joyce says while kissing Buffy's forehead once again. 

 

"Wait...what? Mom, I was joking...."

 

*****

 

"Mom, you said we are going on a picnic, we've been driving for more than an hour, where are we going, exactly?" Buffy says with mild impatience. 

 

"Well, originally I thought we could go to Mount Hollywood, but there are too many people there at this time. So, we are going to Morton Peak, with still having a beautiful scenery, we won't run into too many people, and there are hills covered by sunlight, it would be a perfect picnic spot.  It's about an hour and a half a way. so, relax, we are almost there.  Just turn on the radio if you are that bored, honey." Joyce says with a small shake of her head. 

 

"Ugh, I just want to eat already!" Buffy's tummy rumbling seems to be music enough for her own ears. 

 

Joyce and Buffy finally arrive at the peaks.  Wide curvy trails wrap around the peaks, but an easy enough hike for both of them to take. "Wow, it really is beautiful here, mom! Where are we setting up our picnic?" Joyce takes a quick look around, before noticing the peak with the most sunlight. "There, here get on my back, and hold tight."

 

Buffy listens to her mom and hops on her back, Joyce looks behind her to make sure buffy is settled in and safe. "Ready?" Buffy nods her head and holds on for dear life, even though she wasn't sure what to expect. 

 

Joyce runs towards the peak at an average horse's speed.  Wind rushing around them as they make it to the top of the peak with relative ease.  Joyce seems fine, no, more than that, that was pure joy to her.  She loved every second of that. 

 

Buffy on the other hand... "MOM! Did...you..have..to..go..so..fast?!" Buffy pants as if she was the one sprinting. She finally catches her breath and continues.  "I almost dropped all the food!" Joyce laughs as she sees her daughter's hair all disheveled. 

 

"You were fine, I had you the whole time, and I could see the food right in front of my face as I was carrying you, there wasn't a worry to be had! Now, here's the blanket, set up the food, I'm going to feed your sister first, go ahead and start eating, Buffy."  Buffy huffs but listens to her dear old speedster of a mother.  

 

While Buffy struggles to stretch out the blanket onto the ground in the moderately high winds, Joyce starts to walk a few feet away to find the spot with the best sunlight. She lifts up her shirt above her belly and stands there staring up at the sky with her eyes closed and a smile gracing her face as the sun beats down on her. Buffy stares at her mom in awe as she takes a bite of her sandwich.  She stares at her, watching the sun bathe her in light.

 

Joyce stretches her arms outward to her sides and takes it all in.  It's not just the sun, it seems Domino's own white and orange light can be visible surrounding her mother's womb.  Even from roughly 10 feet away, Buffy can visibly see Domino move and kick within her mom's belly. 

 

After about 30 minutes, Buffy has almost eaten every sandwich by now, she's eating some chips as she watches her mom continue feeding Domino, like she wants to eat the entire sun or something.  Domino starts to kick more violently, but Joyce still remains there with a big, beautiful smile on her face.

 

Her belly starts to expand outward, like her little sister is growing at an inhumanly rapid pace.  She has never seen anything like this before. Her sense of wonder is at an all-time high.  "Oh..My..God...I love my life!" Buffy whispers to herself with excitement evident on her face. 

 

Another 30 minutes go by, and the sun starts to set. Joyce finally snaps out of it and notices the extra weight she's carrying. She looks down and sees Domino almost at full term.  Joyce feeling like her jaw is about to hit the floor in shock. 

 

"Y-You ate that much??? You little glutton!" Domino kicks and punches and Joyce holds her belly with a smirk on her face. She turns to see buffy slack jawed.  She walks over to her expressive daughter and sits on the blanket with her as she grabs a sandwich to eat.  "Did you enjoy the show?" Joyce says with a light giggle as she fills her cheeks.

 

"Mom, y-you look like you are about to pop any day now!" Buffy says while pointing to the mini glutton inside her momma's belly.  

 

******

Joyce and Buffy are on their way home, listening and singing along to the station of Buffy's music of choice. Taking the long way and enjoying the scenic route, "so, when do you think Domino will be born? I mean, this is definitely not a normal pregnancy, right?"  Buffy asks while knowing damn well there isn't anything normal about this at all. 

 

"I don't have the slightest idea, could be tomorrow, or a week from now.  If I'm being quite honest though, I love that this isn't a normal pregnancy.  If I had to spend 9 months of this, I would go absolutely bonkers! Your sister and I seem to have many things in common now, one of them being our patience, we equally are just about done with all of this."  

 

Domino kicks and punches with evident agreement, which brings a smile to Joyce's face.  "Mom, can I feel her kick too?" Buffy asks with her hand slightly above her mom's belly. "Sure, Honey go ahea----" Joyce slams on her breaks and lightly hold's buffy back to her seat.

 

"Wha-What was that about, mom?" Buffy asks with slight fear to her tone.  

 

Driving though a forested area with a graveyard to the right of them, Joyce stops abruptly to avoid crashing into a down tree in the middle of the road.  "Stay in the car, Buffy, I'm going to see if I can move this out of the way."  Joyce gets out of her car, and less than a minute goes by before Buffy decides to ignore her mom's wishes and gets out too.

 

"Buffy, I said stay in the---"

 

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?!" Three people walk out from behind their hiding spots, two female, and 1 male.  All three of them with yellow eyes and shriveled faces from their noses up.  Fangs protruding from their gumlines.

 

"Oh, look, this one's pregnant! Three for the price of one!  It's like a value meal!"  One of the female vampires says with a huge smile on her face. 

 

"What do you guys want?" Joyce asks without a hint of expression written on her face. 

 

"To eat of course, don't you see what big teeth we have, my dear? Didn't your mother ever teach you to not approach a wolf pack in the woods? Well, we're not wolves... but same difference." The other female vampire says with a story-like tone to her voice.  

 

Joyce hears a scream; she turns to see the male vampire gripping her daughter by the chin and yanking her head to the side by her hair.  "Don't you dare touch my daughter!" Joyce screams with a murderous tone. 

 

"Oh, don't worry, we won't harm her, yet... she's going to watch as they tear you apart, limb from limb!" The male vampire says with satisfaction and a creepy grin.  With patience running thin, the two female vampires grab Joyce, and simultaneously dig into her neck...only to have been met with the biggest mistake they've made in their short vampiric lifespans.  

 

They both put their hands over their mouths as they visibly bleed through their fingers and let out high pitched screams. 

 

"M-My teeth!"  Their fangs drop to the ground as they step back in fear. 

 

Joyce still expressionless, taking a step forward at a speed not visible to the naked eye, her hand is already clenching the neck of one of the female vampires and lifting her off the ground.  With seething rage evident on Joyce's face, balls her right hand into a fist and punches right through her chest, rips her heart out and squeezes. 

 

The vampire immediately turns to dust in her grasp. The other female looks on in horror as she turns to run away, only to be met with Joyce standing right in front of her. Joyce grabs her by the hair while dropping her to her knees with a kick to the shin.  Joyce stares into her eyes with a blank expression as she pulls. 

 

A ripping sound can be heard as the skin from her neck starts to tear apart at the bone, a quick and loud shriek escapes the woman's mouth, "Stop!!" Being the last thing, she says before her head is torn from her shoulders and her body turns to dust. 

 

Joyce turns her head to see the man with visible fear in his eyes.  Next thing he knows, she's right in front of him, her hand on his wrist as she yanks it away from Buffy's neck.  Buffy knowing to run towards the car away from... whatever was about to happen.

 

The man trying to put up a fight raises his other hand to throw a punch, only for Joyce to catch that as well. 

 

"W-what are you??" The man tries to inquire some answers, thinking he'll never make this same mistake again if he lives through this. 

 

".... I'm a mother!" Joyce yells out before kicking him so hard in the chest his body goes flying towards a tree in the distance and being impaled through the heart. Joyce holding on to the torn off limbs, watches as his body turns to dust, along with the arms in her hands. 

 

"...Mom...you, really are a Superhero!"

 

*****