2.1 - Edited by: Rellawing, AlliterativeArts - 1/13/2021

Leona woke up bright and early to greet the dawn. Despite the night’s interruptions, she felt refreshed and actually pretty good. The sun was streaming in cheerfully through the window. She’d always shunned it a bit on hot days, but it felt pretty nice now. She yawned and stretched. 

 

Her eyes fell down to the globe, finding it turned to ash like she remembered. What she’d experienced last night certainly hadn’t been a dream. 

 

She shrugged and leapt up energetically to dart to the bathroom for her morning ablutions. She scrubbed her face and brushed her teeth quickly before heading downstairs. An amazing smell that made Leona start drooling was wafting up. BACON!

 

Leona pranced happily into the kitchen after bounding down the stairs.

 

Goonie smiled warmly and spoke happily, “There’s our girl! I take it this means you got better rest in those new sheets."

 

 Leona winced at the baleful glare Quinn shot her way and took a step away from her older sister as Quinn said, “Hmpf… dancing into the kitchen like some kind of little star after you woke me up with all that bumping and banging around.” Sadly, the bathroom was directly over the office she slept in downstairs, giving Quinn an earful of the clatter Leona hadn’t thought was too bad.

 

“I’m sorry, sis!” Leona clapped her hands together with very, very apologetic puppy-dog eyes.

 

“You’re both still in trouble before you forget," Goonie interrupted gently. "I know what I said in the heat of the moment last night, but don’t think the slate’s been wiped clean. This breakfast isn’t a reward. You’re both going to need a good start to your day today, so don’t think me unfair. I still love you two and that will never change.”

 

“You’re telling me you’re not cooking bacon to reward us, Mom?” Quinn asked impishly.

 

“It is NOT a reward. Do you want to have just the eggs and toast?” Goonie threatened.

 

“Nuuuuu!” Quinn protested with an unchanging grin. “Doesn’t matter how little sleep I got last night. It’s worth it to have been woken up by the sweet smell of bacon. I just can’t stay grouchy.”

 

Goonie rolled her eyes and laughed. “Have a seat, Leona.” 

 

Nodding quickly, the youngest family member did as told. Goonie soon brought two plates forward and placed them before her girls after she prepared them. Leona immediately noticed the bacon was a bit burnt and the eggs were overcooked, but having a carnivorous meal for breakfast was truly an uncommon blessing!

 

“I love you Goonie!” Leona crowed as she started ravenously digging in. Meat was seldom served at home, much less one of these heart clogging breakfasts, which Goonie assiduously avoided, but oh gosh… it was so tasty! Quinn chowed down on her own portion with equal enthusiasm.

 

Goonie simply had oats and a medley of fruit for breakfast as usual. It would have been strange to see her suddenly eating bacon and eggs, so the sight of her doing what she always did, made Leona smile warmly. Despite being a dyed in the wool vegetarian, her Goonie was an overall good cook even when it came to the things she didn't eat herself. Chief of her issues was that she had trouble with the cooking times, since she had less practice with such things. Hence when she did try, the results tended to be overcooked rather than raw. She’d never serve raw meat to her loved ones, always the conscientious one.

 

After breakfast the siblings washed the table and did the dishes, which was their usual morning routine. As they did, Goonie sipped her herbal tea and spoke, “For the time being, you won’t be punished much. I mean, at least until the facility decides whether or not they’ll sue us." The two nodded understandingly. Quinn was expressing slight guilt for a change and Leona had been contrite from the start, the good girl she was. “You two, stick around for a little longer now.” Goonie pointed to their seats again when they were readying to excuse themselves.

 

Leona nodded and quickly re-seated herself. Quinn tilted her head but did so too. “We’re going to have another little heart to heart. We didn’t really talk all that much last night." Her eyes fixed on Leona. “I know that you miss Sarah, but you have to trust in her. Whether or not you knew what was going on last night, you always have a choice and you should use your voice when you need to. I love you, Leona. I want you to be happy, but…”

 

Goonie sighed and leaned onto the table to rest her head on a hand. “...you can’t just do what you want. You know you were raised better than this. And while it might seem fun, and maybe sometimes it might even feel like the right thing to do, you need to think about the consequences. As you get older, you’re going to have a lot of more responsibility, and that includes taking responsibility for your own actions, even when you feel like someone else is influencing you.” She eyed Quinn meaningfully, craning her neck before returning her eyes to Leona.

 

“I know it’s easy to envy Quinn and want to do what she does… She’s not a bad girl, but she’s not a particularly good one either,” Quinn mock-pouted and then smirked while Goonie continued, “she’s just… downright willful.” Quinn stuck out her tongue with good humor and Goonie deliberately ignored her. “She doesn’t always think about what she’s doing, and I just don’t want you getting into trouble by developing this girl’s attitude. At least not all the time.” Laguna laughed. Quinn’s lips twisted but she laughed too while her mother patted Leona’s hand.

 

Thinking things had concluded, Leona began to stand but Goonie shook her head. “Not yet. The lecture part is over, but now it’s your turn. I want to ask you about last night.” Her eyes became more intent.

 

Leona felt a sense of dread well up. She was afraid of what she wanted her to say. Her observative Goonie had to have noticed something out of the ordinary.

 

“I don’t know what was bothering you so last night. Your dream, I know, but if you need to talk to someone about it, you know your Auntie Goonie… your mom… I mean, you called me that and it touched me very much. I’d never have asked that from you.” Goonie sighed and smiled wistfully. “My sister was dear to me. I could never replace her, and yet… bah, enough of that mushiness.”

 

Goonie went on, changing the subject abruptly, “I myself had a terrible nightmare. I told you I’d had some trouble sleeping myself, and it was thanks to that dream of mine. In it, you were getting kidnapped, and frankly the idea scared me. Soon as I woke up, I had to check on you.” Leona nodded and chewed her lip. Considering what Black Angel had nearly done to Leona, Goonie’s dream was kind of creepy.

 

“In my dream,” Goonie sighed as her lips compressed. “You were angry with me about what I’d said, Leona, you left and got kidnapped by some really bad guys right away. Oh gosh… it worried me so much that when I heard all that noise in the bathroom, I thought maybe it wasn’t just a silly dream I was having. I worried those goons were really in our home."

 

Leona sighed in relief, since she hadn’t dreamed of a certain Supervillain with black plumage. Goonie sighed simultaneously and shrugged helplessly and finished with a lame little chuckle, “Maybe it’s just the Alzheimer setting in. I’m getting older faster every day.”

 

Leona bobbed her head and looked down. “I’m sorry you were scared for me, Mom… Goonie… I… know you aren’t a replacement for Mama, but you’re just as special in a different way.” Leona smiled warmly and Goonie returned her heartfelt emotions with tear-filled eyes.

 

“Hah… I’m glad.” She looked at her two children and smiled. “Okay, you’re both free to go about your day. Don’t go too far from home though. I’m still worried. You’re not under house arrest or anything like that, but you’d best answer your phones if I call. You got it?”

Leona left the kitchen smiling. Having called Goonie her Mama last night had embarrassed her, but it meant so much to her and it didn’t feel wrong saying it either. 

 

She went to the bathroom again and studied herself in the mirror, making sure she wasn’t any different. She really didn’t look like anyone or anything other than herself. Her family likely would have reacted if that was the case, but after her dream and the change… A change she still didn’t really believe happened, she still wondered if anything at all about her was different. Leona half-thought that last night was just a fan-girl dream… a desperate yearning for something more than her simple life. 

 

A wanting to be just like her heroes.

 

Leona remembered how statuesque she’d become and blushed, staring holes into her reflection. She obsessed over details about herself like becoming more feminine, cuter, changing things she didn’t like about herself, and other things no one else would pay attention to. Leona wondered if she really had become a super-powered being. If so, what were her powers? What could she do? She recalled Black Angel’s power-set and winced. Singularities and darkness… She thought about things Black Angel did last night and dreaded if her powers had ended up being the same.

 

If she really was an angel, would she fall the same way Black Angel had? Gritting her teeth, Leona shook her head. No answers seemed forthcoming no matter how hard she stared into the mirror. Nothing or no one could give her any answers for who she was. Needless to say, it frustrated Leona.

 

Leona was interrupted by knocking on the bathroom door. “Hey, girl,” Quinn called, “I’m heading out. You wanna come along?”

 

She opened the door as cheerfully as she could manage, nodding. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’d like to get moving, just not in my pajamas.” Leona laughed.

 

“Nah, they’re adorable, but that’s your choice.” Quinn snickered and tousled Leona’s hair.

 

“Where to?” Leona asked as she headed around the corner to her room.

 

“Nowhere that’ll get you in trouble if that’s what you’re askin’,” Quinn reassured Leona, “I ordered a custom deck a while ago and they just texted me that it came in yesterday. We can pick up some lunch on the way back.”

 

Leona paused. “But your car was impounded off in the boonies.”

 

Quinn blinked and laughed. “You got me. We’re gonna have to haul it home the hard way.”

 

Leona winced. What had she been roped into this time? “I’ll get dressed appropriately, I guess.” She returned to her room and picked out some sporty-ish clothes she felt like wearing. A few things caught her eye, so soon she was dressed in a cami with Mistral’s cartoonized likeness on it and a pair of jeans Quinn would approve of since they were hole-ridden... in a fashionable way. She had her gaff on, of course. Even with tight clothes, it was best to be sure. She grabbed her tout bag and shouldered it while she ambled downstairs. 

 

Goonie was there, waiting. "Where are you two going?”

 

Quinn headed down with Leona and spoke, “She’s just coming along to help me lug that new deck I ordered home. You remember, that thing I haven’t shut up about?”

 

"Promise you're not going to do anything else foolish,” Laguna said with a little frown.

 

“When do I ever do anything foolish?” Quinn quipped.

 

After so many years, it had become a kind of ritual for her to say these things to Quinn before she left the house. Leona’s presence usually tempered Quinn a bit, but she enjoyed being disruptive a bit too much to ever give it up.

 

“Actually, can I borrow the car?” Quinn asked with a wheedling expression.

 

“No way, young lady. One of us still has to work today.” Goonie wagged a finger at Quinn. “But I’ll give you bus fare until we’re able to get your car back.”

 

Quinn pouted and crossed her arms beneath her breasts, grumbling in general about buses. Leona wondered how she had intended to get there to start with if she didn’t like buses.

 

“We should probably start hoofing then, huh sis?” Leona smirked.

 

Quinn raised an eyebrow at Leona and looked at her mother, rolled her eyes and stuck out a hand palm up. “All right… bus fare, please. I don’t want the tyke getting tired from all that walking.” 

 

Laguna chuckled as she pulled some money from her apron and handed it to Quinn. “There you go. ‘Thanks, Mom’.”

 

Quinn sighed. “Thanks, Mom.”

 

After a moment, Goonie whispered into Leona’s ear. “Thanks for acting like she’d have to walk the whole way. That got her thinking a bit more.”

 

“Clock’s ticking!” Quinn groaned. “We gotta get to the bus stop asap. We might miss the next!”