Tesla Academy

1:15 PM

 

Hugh Vinson walked in the corridor connecting the club rooms to the staff’s, he was aware that what he has been doing was bad but couldn’t care any less. Even though the selling of the data collected in Tesla Academy had consequence in the outside world. A lot of villains have become rather apt at containing or overpowering the recruits from the supergroup who have been scouted from the academy. The sandy blonde haired man wanted money; so selling info to another student or criminals and villains didn’t make him stop, in fact, it made him redouble his efforts to sell more. Hugh began to whistle a tune, he passed one of the gynoid in dark blue maid uniform that acted as the duty staff in the academy, it was cleaning the corridor with a blue hand push automatic sweeper. They looked humans but the two antennas part on the top of their head showed that they were not. The maid has long blue and purple hair, with blue eyes and looked like a young woman of Asian descent. If Hugh remembered it well, it was the VESPER model caretaker built by Tesla Industries. He seriously thought about buying the companion model for… experimentation.  

The examiner passed the gynoid after smiling at it and didn’t pay her any mind, but when he felt a hand close around his biceps he turned to see the maid holding onto him. 

“What can I do for you, babe?” He said with his usual amused smile. 

<Suspect Apprehended.> 

Hugh instantly felt a powerful electric current pass through him, he tried to use his ability to teleport but lost consciousness first. The VESPER maid stopped him from falling on the ground, she put an ability inhibitor bangle on the man left wrist and heaved him on her shoulder. 

<I demand extraction.> 

The maid and Hugh were teleported in a shower of blue light, they appeared in a laboratory, there was a dismantled black vehicle that could be seen, and farther a series of shelves containing exotic tools. An armory with alien shaped weapons was under a forcefield that shimmered green, besides it a door opened and two people emerged from it. A twenty years old looking woman appeared, she was blonde with stylish short hair with a fade in on the left side of her head, her eyes were black and her rosy lips were in an inverted arc showing that she was sad. The man following her was like her of eastern European ethnicity, he has raven slicked back black hair, and a thin elegant mustache, he also wore a white lab coat over a futuristic armor with a tool belt around his hips.  

“Calm yourself Annya,” Tesla said holding his daughter’s arm. 

But he couldn’t stop her from walking as she was a superhuman like her mother, her physical abilities dwarfed his. 

“You don’t understand father, it’s my fault.” The soprano voice of the woman and her eastern European accent rang in the lab, attracting the attention of the gynoid maid. 

“You couldn’t have known, моје срце (my heart).” Tesla’s tone was soothing as he employed a term of endearment in his native tongue, Serbian. 

“I should have! I was the one who hired him… it is also my fault if all those young ones died!” Annya cried. She began to cry, she had a lot of friends who lost children lately and she felt responsible because she had hired the man who sold their info from their datanet to the highest bidder. 

Tesla took his daughter in his arms and hugged her tightly, her sobs echoed in his auxiliary lab. The scientist found his gynoid maid looking at them with her cold gaze. It was the maid default expression, she could easily emulate an emotional state but she chose not to.“Ah! Velia, my dear you have arrived.” 

“Don’t worry my girl, everything will be solved.” Tesla murmured in the ear of his child.

<VESPER model maid caretaker X-01, designation Velia returning from the mission with a suspect.> 

“Not a suspect, we know he did it!” Annya shouted she was about to go kick Vinson when her father stopped her with a look. 

<Due Process Protocols activated, querying files on Vinson Unit… Downloading.> Velia tilted her head in a cute way. Her eyes glowed green while she was downloading Tesla’s files. 

“Father, let me scan his memories. It shouldn’t be hard to extract everything from his brain.” Annya said. 

Annya Elaine Tesla was less known that her philanthropist brothers or her heroic father, but she was a powerful telepath who didn’t advertise her powers. She was no hero, and she knew it; however she was the type to care and nurture others, Annya was also willing to dirty her hands to protect those she befriended and loved. Hugh Vinson began to recover his wits, he noticed that someone was carrying him; he tried to teleport but succeeded with no avail, he failed two more times. Then he saw his new jewelry on his wrist and he cursed loudly. Once the downloading of the gynoid was done, Velia let him fall on the ground and stepped back from him and went toward the alien armory. Tesla and Annya approached the man, their bodies looming over him. The examiner looked up and cursed yet again. 

“Ah, mister Vinson. I am glad that you have joined us.” Nikola Tesla said grandly. 

He put on a smile that didn’t reach his eyes at all, Hugh shivered when their gazes crossed. 

“I knew that you were onto me.” Hugh’s shoulder slumped as he spoke lamely. 

“You are not even trying to deny your involvement, Vinson.” Tesla was startled by the gall of this man. 

“This was just business.” Hugh tried to justify. 

Tesla kneed him in the head and it sent the sandy-haired man flying in the black car carcass, Hugh’s body dented it. Blood could be seen seeping from his mouth as he swept it with his hand. 

“I met men like you in the war, they are selfish and think nothing of their actions.” Said Tesla with a disgusted tone. 

He had truly seen the ugliness of humanity in the second world war, men who collaborated and closed their eyes on atrocity committed by the Nazi. To him, Vinson was filed in that same category as the one he had to put down. 

“A man has to eat, fuck and live the life.” Hugh laughed as he tried to get to stand, blood ran down his temple and mouth. 

Tesla looked at the man briefly and turned toward his daughter, finally not caring about what happened to this piece of human waste. 

“Take what you need Annya, this схит баг (shit bag) disgust me.” 

Annya approached Hugh and he would have stepped back if the car carcass didn’t stop him. 

“Huh, what?” Hugh tried to say when he saw the gorgeous blonde come toward him. 

She caught him, he slugged her on the face but she didn’t look like he had hit her at all; Annya looked at the sorry man, unleashing her tactile telepathy and he stopped struggling. Hugh felt numb as if someone stopped him from moving; Annya had inhibited his motor skills and began to dig deeper in his mind and perused at the pertaining memories to his shady information brokering business. Her fear was confirmed, the man was a plant for a criminal organization called ‘The Cabal’, she asked herself how she couldn’t find out before? And then she found why *A telepathic block?* This was the first time she heard of such a device. 

“I have everything, Father,” Annya said. 

“Good.” Tesla nodded to her and opened his arm. “Come here and tell me everything, моје срце.” 

Annya still felt like a little girl when she was with her father, she rolled her eyes and let go of Hugh to go toward Tesla. 

“You slut!” Hugh shouted, his face was twisted in a mask of rage as he charged toward Annya and tried to seize her. 

A ray of light and a whistling sound was all Hugh heard and saw before he was disintegrated, Tesla looked at Velia his trusty maid and smiled handsomely at her; the gynoid had one of the alien weapons in her arms, it was a green rifle looking weapon. She had activated her Due Process protocols and was allowed to kill someone she perceived as a threat to Tesla, his business and his family. Nikola had often been cheated from what he was due or used too many times, it had forced him to become as ruthless as his competitors or foes, however, he wasn’t a monster. He always acted with a moral compass, today it was his maid with her Due Process Protocols. 

“Everything is…” Tesla tried to say. 

But his daughter interrupted him.“Not yet father, I am afraid that there was someone behind him.” 

“Говно (shit).” Tesla swore.

 

***

 

Mercer Island

Pocket Dimension

Daphne Snow School of Arcane Art

Princess Tower

09:30 PM

Elissa Von Braun was folding the last of her clothes and storing them into her closet, by color and season. There was a dominance of blue, black and white. She had some greens and purple but she disdained the other colors of the light spectrum. Once the redhead hangs her biking jacket, she looked critically at all her shoes arranged by classification: sandals, pumps, boots, sports shoes matching all the colors of her clothes. Everything was neatly stored in the black stone closet, there was a parlor before it where the redhead had placed her make up kit, bottle of perfumes and body care products and hairdressing tools. 

The young girl was satisfied with having finally finished unpacking, she wished to have speedster speed as her superpower sometimes. Elissa was happy to have her own space in the special class dormitory, the Princess Tower was called that because it was simply put a luxurious suite with six apartments with bathroom and closet connected to the main living room with all the technological and magical comfort that she enjoyed in her own home. Malicia, her mother was behind this as the runic language on most of the enchanted appliances was Phantasian. Elissa got out of the walk-in closet, activated her security wards and went to sit on her bed. The redhead smelled the room, the odor of Glazed Snow Flower was pervasive; it was a scent from home, her real world that her mother cultivated in her gardens. Elissa looked around the room everything was there, her collection of weapons, new posters of fantasy movies and videogames and her functional replica of Phantasian armor made and enchanted by her mother. 

Phantasia, that elusive world her family has come from. The young girl had researched it in the Sanctuary of her mother, the repository of knowledge was full of millennia-old knowledge, culture, philosophy, history, and magic. It had it all, but there was a question it hadn’t been able to answer: if it was such an awesome magical and technological world why did they have to leave? 

Elissa had questioned and prodded her mother and father, but they didn’t want to tell her, apparently, she had to be ‘ready’. The young girl remembered about two years ago, when she had tried to ask her uncle, Achilles, about it, he was eager to tell her but he got cursed by her mother and ran out of the house. It was too excessive! She avoided the subject when she got grounded for no reason and has been the perfect yes girl of her mother since then. *One day, I will know and it better not be a silly political refugee thing!* Elissa laughed in her heart as she thought of that. 

*Now I have other problem, Dawn is living in the neighboring bedroom and I want to see her naked again. I thought I was straight? What is going on with me?* The redhead thought. 

She remembered f the Asian girl bared her bare flesh as she was changing into her field uniform when the exam started. Her white skin, bountiful chest, and curves that were hidden by baggy clothes. 

Knock. Knock. The girl of her fantasy opened the door, smiled at her, closed it and said, “Hey.” Elissa almost thought that she was still dreaming open-eyed. But the smell of fresh clothes and the wet hair of the Asian girl as she entered told us another story and that she was still in the real world. 

“Hey.” Finally answered after deciding to calm down and not jump on the poor girl. 

She had tried to be with Saladin before, her first male friend at school but either he was as dense as a black hole or he ignored her attempt because of his religion or his family wouldn’t approve. Elissa was sure that she liked boys, but didn't expect it to extend to girls now? She couldn’t see Kelly, her friend in this light; but when she met Dawn Kusanagi and got to know her, something had changed in her. 

“Hum, thanks for earlier. I didn’t think your sister would go this far, she seems to love you a lot.” 

“She’s too spoiled.” Elissa rolled her eyes. 

“Though I don’t think I will babysit her again…” 

“I understand, she has run off a lot of them over the years.” Elissa laughed. 

When Elissa got back from her ride with her father, she found Dawn being cornered to a wall with Cassandra trying to hug her with her full strength, only with a purple spheric shield protecting her. When she had seen Elissa, Dawn teleported to her and hid behind her back. The redhead stood up from her bed and went before Dawn. 

“You’ll need to be careful around her now, I don’t know why she doesn’t like you.” 

“I may have told her that I like you…” Dawn said as she stepped back when Elissa advanced more. Yet again she was cornered against the door by a Von Braun girl.  

Elissa leaned toward Dawn and slapped the door as the young Asian girl tried to open it. Dawn couldn’t believe that what she saw in dramas and anime happen, wasn’t this the legendary Kabedon? She shook her head, it was not the time to fangirl and enter into an Otaku debate with herself. 

“I like you too.” Elissa’s voice gained a sultry quality as her face was close to Dawn’s.

“I mean, like roman-” Dawn tried to say, but Elissa put her fingers lightly against her lips. 

Dawn looked at the red-cheeked Elissa, and was that timidity that she was seeing in the body language of the young girl? Dawn for once felt emboldened, for the first time in her life. 

“We barely know each other, let’s go slow. I barely understand what’s happening.” 

The Asian girl felt that if she pushed just a little bit more she could have what she wanted from Elissa, but she understood that she shouldn’t. After all, she passed by this phase too, she didn’t think she was normal when she discovered that she liked girls. Society was harder on those who didn’t fit its mold, even though it became more accepting, religious nuts all over the world put gays and lesbians to death or beat them. 

“Then why are you so close? Do you want to kiss me?” Dawn’s voice became huskier as she put a hand on Elissa’s right cheek and caressed it. 

The redhead gulped and looked at the rosy lips of the Asian girl who’s feverish gaze became entrancing. 

“Yes.” Elissa finally murmured between her teeth. 

“Then, why aren’t you doing that?” 

With titanic efforts, Elissa resisted this new instinct that told her to take and possess the girl before her and pushed her against the door as she was too close of her. The redhead didn’t trust this feeling as she might slip. 

“Because like I said, we barely know each other, and I want to explore this. You are the first girl I am attracted to… I thought I was straight.” 

Dawn felt flattered about that. 

“I am happy to be the rare Unicorn able to make you feel like that...” She put on a shy smile that melted Elissa’s heart. 

“When you know that I am ready to delve in this thing we have together, you’ll be aware of it; but for now… let’s start as friends?” Elissa asked. 

“For now,” Dawn said with certainty, she finally found someone interesting and she won’t let her go. She understood that Elissa wasn’t in the kind of emotional place to really start something. 

With time they would be happy. Though she felt happy right now! Dawn nodded to Elissa and lowered her gaze to wipe some non-existent dust on her white T-shirt. 

“Good,” Elissa said and passed a hand in the wet hair of the Asian girl. 

“Let’s go have dinner and watch Netflix? Wait, what do you like to watch?” Elissa offered.

“Anime.” Dawn didn’t even hesitate. 

Elissa looked at her in disapproval. 

“I know of them, but I was kind of put off to see the oversexualized characters and that they have no plots whatsoever…” 

The Asian girl opened her eyes wide, she put her hands on Elissa’s shoulder. 

“That’s because you don’t know what to look for!” Dawn looked at Elissa as if she had insulted her, then the Asian girl gazed at the redhead from head to toe, looked at the decoration and the numerous weapons on the walls and made a devilish grin. “Elissa let me show you the Fate/Stay Night series and Magic Knight Rayearth and if you don’t like it… you can forget it.” 

“Hmph, I bet it’s not even that good.” Elissa looked down at Dawn. 

“Challenge accepted,” Dawn said with a big grin. 

***

 It was a beautiful day and I felt that it would bring big changes into my life, after my ablutions I banded my chest with linen, put on a fresh tunic and pants, my Mythril circlet, then my armor and boots in cave lizard leather. When I had received them I was impressed by the skill needed to make such flawless equipment. I sheathed my sword in its scabbard. Before leaving for our Demesne, Mother had offered it to me last night with the armor, they were heirlooms of our house; The Ducal House of Snow has been one of the pillars of the Inadora Kingdom since its birth. We were descendent of the first Sorceress, Magda Stormborn and we always acted with honor with those that deserved it and ruthlessly with those against us. It was our family credo.  

Once I was ready I left my quarters and followed the corridor leading out of the Hurricane Temple, this was the place where I will pass the next five years of my life and be taught the art of Inshek directly by the Tempest Monk, the founder of the martial style. The walls were grey and bare, I resolved that I will have to do something about that if I had my way… A breeze came from the exit before, it smelled fresh and inviting.  

I was finally out of the corridor and appeared in an open courtyard, the two suns beating down on me. Looking at the emerald sky, I noticed that the three moons Xelia, Astrae and Andraste were still out, the fact that they are of each different colors had always fascinated me. Bare-chested Werecats monks were running or doing strength training by lifting boulders in the courtyard, their fur glistening with sweat. It was the first time that I was near one of the wild people, they were new to Phantasia and had become common enough to the people to not be wary of them anymore. My station didn’t permit me to familiarize myself with them before, now it’s different. 

“Do you like what you see?”  

I heard a voice behind me, it was a bass like one and it had an accent that was unmistakable. 

“Master Tempest.” I turned toward my new master. 

He was bare-chested with a black short like the other monk in the courtyard, he was a hybrid of ancient human and werecat as could be seen from his fluffy black ears and spot of furs on his arms, shoulders, and legs. His was roguishly handsome with a full beard, blue stormy eyes. My gaze roamed his body and I couldn’t deny that he was built as if Hekate had crafted him, Tempest was muscular and solid looking. I wasn’t used to seeing men half naked but I tried not to let it appear on my face. The cocky smile of Tempest showed that I failed quite miserably. 

“Good day to you, Xara.” He bowed his head and I did the same. 

“This is different from what I expected, but nothing I can’t handle,” I said decisively. 

“We will see about that, are you ready?”  

“Yes.” I stood straight, arm against my side as I looked at my master in the eyes. 

Tempest grinned at me. 

“Then, strip off that armor, and put your sword away. I hope you put on some undies.” He said. 

I opened my eyes wide, shocked by what master was asking me. 

“W-what?” I asked, astonished by the demand of the man. 

“Close your mouth, girl you might swallow some poisonous fly. I told you to strip, we are in the sweltering wastes, my little Lady. You won’t survive with this lumbering piece of junk slowing you down.” He said, waiting expectantly for me to comply. 

Decisions, decisions… I didn’t want to bare my flesh before a man I wasn’t married to, Mother should have known what training in the wastes entailed after all she had the same apprenticeship that I am currently having with the master. I sighed heavily. 

“I understand,” I said between my teeth glaring at my master. 

My mithril armor was off after one minute and I put my sword at its side on the ground before Tempest. He looked at me clearly amused by my situation, damn cat. 

“The tunic too, you will thank me later.” The master said. 

I closed my eyes tightly, made a fist with my hands and exhaled loudly and took off my tunic. Thank the gods I had put on linen to support my heavy chest. Looking at Tempest, I saw no spark of interest in his eyes as he watched my body. It was like I didn’t exist as a woman to him. 

“You had some decent training before coming here. You are obviously a Swordswoman, but you have no training in the empty handed martial arts. I can see it by the way you move and the way you breathe.” Master Tempest slapped my shoulder and let his hand roam my biceps, he looked closely at my muscles. 

“Good. We have less work to do, Melissa did a good job of giving you a good base to start with.” He said the name of my mother the Duchess so casually, I became aware that they were more than familiar with each other. 

“Your mana core is still unsealed, it is strange that your Mother didn’t let you study magic.” Master Tempest wondered. 

I understood why he came to such a conclusion after all the Snow family produced powerful sorcerers, mages, and witches since its founding. But I felt that the life of a mage wasn’t for me, I will let my sisters and brother walk the path of mages; I wanted to become strong, forge my own way with my body and weapons. To destroy my enemies with my own hands personally. 

“I don’t like magic, I favor weapons and martial arts,” I said simply to Master Tempest. 

“So short-sighted and so young,” I heard the catman say silently; then loudly he began to say, “we will have to work on that Xara. Are you ready?” 

I frowned, what did he mean? I thought we already started. 

“Didn’t we already begin, master?” 

Master Tempest looked chagrined. 

“Not yet, forgive me little Lady; I really have to unseal your Mana core.” 

“Wha-” I tried to say. 

Pain, unfathomable pain is what I felt as Master Tempest put his palm on my belly, then the other on my heart. I screamed. I screamed until my voice became hoarse and my vision became black, sweet darkness enveloped me in its numbing embrace. 

***

 “Elissa! Elissa wake up!” The redhead heard as she woke up suddenly. 

Elissa came to and opened her eyes to see Malicia looking at her with concern. The young girl was on her bed and felt tired, it was fatigue beyond anything she had experienced before. Her eyes felt heavy as sleep still had a hold on her, the young girl scrubbed her eyes with her hand. 

“Mom?” Elissa's voice cracked with fatigue. 

The young girl tried to remember how she came to be on her bed, she remembered watching anime with Dawn. Delightful old Japanese animation with knights, heroes, and magic. Then she went to sleep at one in the morning after kissing Dawn on the cheek good night. Elissa looked at her shield clock near the door of her bedroom - it was 3:00 AM. 

“You were screaming,” Malicia said, worried. 

She caressed her daughter’s face, slowly prompting her to calm down. Malicia remembered when Elissa was younger and screamed in her sleep and crying about horned monsters, it was after she gave her a silver athame to create a shield spell that she had stopped coming screaming into her and Heracles’ room. 

“I-I had a dream... It felt so real, it was about Phantasia! I… was someone else.” The redhead confessed what made her scream while asleep. Elissa began to hyperventilate and panic, her eyes dilated and she began to sweat anew.

“Breathe Elissa, breathe!” Malicia put her hand behind Elissa’s back and began massaging between her shoulder blades.

It took a minute for Malicia’s daughter to calm down and settle her nerves, the young girl relaxed slowly and stopped hugging her mother as if she was the only buoy in the open ocean. Malicia undid the force spell around herself, Elissa couldn’t control her strength when she was in that kind of state. 

“Mom, Phantasia has two suns and three moons right?” Elissa asked Malicia. 

The sorceress opened her eyes widely but reigned in her surprise, not letting it appear. The fact that Elissa has dreamed of Phantasia meant something to her and was a signal that they were now on a schedule. Elissa was too tired to see how the gaze of her mother became more detached and calculating. 

“Yes.” The sorceress said mechanically. 

Her brain was already in overdrive, plans within plans were already building themselves; the long term goals she had given herself became short terms ones, part of a bigger end result and it pleased her. Certainly, Elissa would suffer but she was made of stern stuff; Malicia had made sure of it. 

“This...wasn’t a dream,” Elissa said as she realized what Malicia had already guessed. 

“No, it wasn’t.” Her mother said, confirming it. 

“I was someone called Xara Snow.” Elissa looked at Malicia who sounded bothered by what she was hearing. 

“An ancestor of yours.” The sorceress didn’t try to lie. 

Her dual nature didn’t permit her to tell lies or fiction, Demon and Fae couldn’t speak falsehoods. Elissa was too tired to understand what Malicia meant, as she employed ‘yours’ and not ‘ours’. The physical contact between the two didn’t make it any easier either, Elissa was really relaxed in the arms of the sorceress. 

“She hated magic, she was studying under a werecat named Tempest.” The young girl told her mother what she experienced. 

Malicia chose to tell her little one what this new ability to see the memories of her ancestors entailed, the success of their quest to get the Phantasian throne depended on it.  

“Elissa, if you ever have another dream like this you should know that what you saw happen was real. It was a memory. You can use what you saw, knowledge, skills.” Malicia began, she looked at the young redhead in the eyes and her hands on her face.“I think that me putting on the demonic seal spurred your body to look for a way to permit you to defend yourself. I took away your capacity to weave spells, and the Inshek martial art that Xara Snow used only requires that you can manipulate your mana to reinforce your body and weapons by imbuing them with it. My advice would be to give in to the memories and make her skills and knowledge yours, but you should dissociate your personality from hers.” 

Elissa quickly realized what Malicia had implied, her mind was blown by the implications. As for Malicia, she felt disgusted with herself as she danced around the truth of Elissa’s ancestry; she didn’t have the courage to tell her beautiful baby that she wasn’t her flesh and blood mother. 

“Those are… genetic memories? Mom, isn’t that cheating?” Elissa was surprised, a bit dismayed and interested. 

Malicia chuckled.“No, it’s a really good way to pass on knowledge and secrets in the family. However, you'll have to be careful with who you mate now that this ability is available, you wouldn’t want that ability to carry on outside your lineage.”  

*Yes, my poor daughter will have to be careful with who she dates now, or her real mother might choose someone for her. Oh, Daphne. I don’t think it will be easy to take Elissa’s fate in hand.* Malicia missed her best friend and occasional… lover. *Soon, we will deliver you.* The Sorceress thought. 

The redhead began to laugh throatily, slapping her thigh with the palms of her hands. 

“I see, now I can use my cryokinesis, speak to animals and understand language after being in contact with them, have a siren voice to control people’s mood; and now use my DNA to store my memories and review those of my ancestors… is there anything else?” Elissa looked semi-amused. 

“None at the moment,” Malicia said smiling. 

This wasn’t entirely true as Malicia was deliberately keeping Elissa’s body starved of cosmic energy and not come into her power too fast. There were more abilities for her daughter to unlock as she saw Empress Daphné do some incredible things. The Dae woman felt guilty about that, but later she thinks that her daughter was going to thank her for it. 

*Better to learn while you are weak than getting cocky and getting yourself killed. Achilles and Heracles would have pushed for you to get back to Phantasia too early if you were as strong as them.* The sorceress thought in her heart. 

“Mom, why are you in a catsuit?” Elissa asked the sorceress. 

Malicia wore a tight black catsuit made from black Swamp Drake skin that shimmered under the mage light in Elissa’s room. The sorceress wore her battle jewelry, the redhead was a tad nervous when she realized that her mother was geared to kill. Malicia was even wearing her dark gold focus bracer, it had a bloody ruby built in it. It was the most powerful mana focuser that the sorceress possessed. 

“Oh, that? I am going to make a trip to Italy.” Malicia said nonchalantly. 

Elissa’s gaze gleamed with interest. 

“Oh! Can I go with you? I always wanted to taste genuine Pasta bolognese from there!” The young girl was suddenly wide awake, gone was her sleepiness. 

“This isn’t a leisure trip, so no. I am going to take some things.” Malicia pinched Elissa’s right cheek. 

Elissa averted her gaze, she knew what it meant when her mother said something like that. She was about to steal things, and her daughter didn’t like that one bit. But she agreed that she would never try to stop Malicia. 

“I didn’t hear anything.” The redhead chose to ignore what she heard. 

“That’s my girl.” Malicia grinned. 

Malicia kissed her daughter’s forehead, caressed her red hair and then disappeared in a shimmering greenish-yellow light. 

“I can’t wait to know how to do that,” Elissa said, a hint of envy slipping into her voice.