Secret base of Miss Radical, same time
Tension.
The dictionary describes tension as an emotional state of nervousness, exaltation or impatience in which a person finds himself in certain circumstances or activities, such as waiting, attention, intellectual or artistic creation, worries, etc... An adequate description for what what was going on in the old warehouse.
Since Dalia had settled on several old cushions and Sarah had cleared a small section next to the central table of the secret base to sit down, no one had said a word. But when I say not one, it is literally not one of the girls.
Rebecca lay reclining on the chair at the end of the table, rubbing a cold can on her neck. The half-breed had been a long time with closed eyes, and both sisters were too worried to bother her to say anything-
"You two, have you come to see my failure or what?" Forget about silence... what a jinx I am sometimes.
"No no! I think we havent meet, my name is-" Sarah tried to present herself politely, but Rebecca raised her palm to the giantess.
"I know who you are, Sarah Reyes Wood, the whole city knows who you are... your mother... is angry with me?" Rebecca seemed genuinely scared of the possible positive response.
"No, my mother loves you so much, I'm sure!" Dalia tried to lighten the atmosphere, but Rebecca's cynical and empty gaze completely cut off the teen giantess's wings.
"Dont pretend to be nice to me... you should not be nice to a failed heroine like me... humiliated in front of you! the mayor and the legendary Hannah! The neighbors! humiliated and defeated! Damn!" Rebecca raised both feet, kicking the table and lifted her almost a foot off the floor.
Sarah tried to reach out her hands to help her. "You havent been humiliated! No one could know Destructrone had one-" But this time it was a punch to the table that fell on her.
"HUMILLATED! It wasnt just that that bastard robot caught me by surprise! NO! THE HUMILIATION... that Dalia had to come to save me for being clueless in front of everyone! This was my great opportunity to reinforce my image as a hero and ended up being... DAMN!" Rebecca stood up suddenly, knocking her chair down and running to hit one of the cork walls that divided the sections of the base.
The half-breed unleashed its anger against the wall, destroying it until it seemed... it seemed... what is flat and with many holes? Doesnt matter.
Sarah and Dalia looked at each other worriedly, neither of them prepared to handle a similar case. While Sarah started looking at her C-com like treating someone completely furious, Dalia...
I know I'm not the best person to do these things, but I want to consider Rebecca my first great friend without counting Sarah (well Sarah for me ... it's disgusting to say... Sarah is my older sister and my best friend, the person I trust the most in the world. Dont even think about having me for a cheesy one... Aggg, I already regret what I said!)
If something I have learned in so many video games and in many series seen with my mothers, is that a friend does not let suffer and sink their friends. I did what I have to do.
Dalia got up from the cushions, circled the table and approached Rebecca. The half-breed continued to hit the cork wall as she snarled, and only stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder."What?!-"
PUNCH!
Dalia punched her best punch in the face of Rebecca, throwing her back and knocking down three cork walls in the process. Sarah was completely white, while Dalia stood firm without looking down for a second, with her eyes fixed on Rebecca.
"You've... You hit me... DID YOU DARE TO HIT ME, BASTARD?!" Rebecca stood up completely furious, running towards Dalia and trying to get revenge, but the giantess managed to hit her again and knock her down.
Rebecca fell to the ground upside down, and a third attempt to get up was frustrated when Dalia sank down on her, holding her by sitting on her legs and grabbing each arm. The half-breed kept stirring and screaming, almost without bothering to pronounce.
"Bastard! Wretched! Drop me once, bitch! Bastard! I hate you! I hate you with all my might, Dalia! You're-"
"SHUT UP!" Dalia shouted with all her strength, silenced Rebecca. The half-breed could not help but be frightened by the power of Dalia's voice ... but the biggest surprise was when the first tear fell on her cheek.
"You're not a hero! You're just a coward! A hero does not run from a fight after being hit! A hero does not blame others and cares about his image! THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A HERO!
A HERO RISES AFTER EVERY HIT, REFUSING TO SURRENDER!
A HERO ALWAYS PRIORIZES OTHERS TO HIS OWN BEING!
A HERO SEES HIS SCARS WITH PRIDE! TREASURE EACH FALL AND MAKE IT A MORE MOTIVE TO CONTINUE FIGHTING FOR YOUR IDEALS!
SINCE I WAS SMALL, MY MOTHER SPOKE ME ABOUT THE GREAT HEROES THAT SHE SERVED HER AS INSPIRATION TO FIGHT EVERY BATTLE! AND AMONG ALL THOSE, THERE IS A HERO THAT HIGHLIGHTS!
A HERO WHO LEARNS FROM EVERY FAILURE! A HERO WHO BELIEVES IN THE HEROES! THE HERO THAT I ASPIRE TO BE! If you want to be a hero, Rebecca... if you really want to be a hero... you cant sink after your first blow! That's not what the heroes do!"
Tears from the teen giantess filled Rebecca's face, melting with her own tears, and Sarah slowly advanced and separated the two girls, taking each in one hand and rubbing both backs.
"Rebecca, I dont know you at all... but I can see how much you want to fulfill your dream... this place... I can see all the effort you have put into it, I can feel your dedication and your efforts in every closet, in every chair...
My little sister and I have grown up with immortal mothers, mothers who lived on earth and who keep every memory of the brightest time of humanity. Both have imbued us with stories and stories that were born with the bright age of humanity, stories that speak of heroes who never stopped fighting even on their deathbed... of heroes who with their sacrifices changed the world to better...
My mothers have never been able to confirm if those heroes really existed or not, but we two have one thing clear. Maybe they didnt exist, but their ideals exist... and therefore, if you want to become a hero, you must know the mantle that you are carrying on your shoulders.
A hero is the one where the inhabitants of the ardent alliance put their hopes and their illusions... an icon that lights up their darkest nights and will protect their dreams and their lives from beings like Destructron. Excuse my sister's two punches, but that's what she wanted to make you understand..."
Rebecca said nothing, jumping from Sarah's knee and walking aimlessly until she stopped next to the chair she had knocked down earlier.
The two sisters watched as the Half-breed dropped to its knees, staring at the chair. "All I know about heroes comes from my grandmother... my memories are vague... but everything you said ... are things she also said...
I've always wanted to become a hero to be someone that people want to support and trust... but seeing their faces of concern when Destructron has thrown me against your door... I just wanted to run out of there, just I wanted to hide so they would stop looking at me..." Rebecca grabbed her chest with both hands, breathing deeply.
"I'm a nephalem, a kind of extra-human between demon and angel... I've never been able to believe in order as much as my mother does, or believe in discord as her mother did... I've always been in the middle, lost , stranded in a sea of r03;r03;looks that doubted if she was my true mother'...
And at the same time I'm half Iloa... but I have nothing of it except for my thick and hard skin... I know it's going to sound like an excuse... but when my grandmother told me that anyone could become a hero if it had the necessary strength of heart... I thought that this had to be my destiny... to be an example for everyone who is in the midst of two worlds like me..."
"And why dont you make it your identity, why do not you make that desire the fuel to light your heart?" Dalia asked without moving away from her sister's knee, letting Sarah comfort her.
"I guess... because I did not think I'd get the attention being like that... Look at the C-net... it's full of people looking to be different like me without seeing the disadvantages... that's why I make Miss Radical! A brave and strong heroine who would fight at breakneck speed imitating the techniques of the greatest hero of New Bahia! Your mothers will not be upset because I copied the Sun wave, right?"
"No! it's more, my mother Elsa keeps asking herself how you have managed to perfect the Sol wave without having any tutor!" Sarah answered with the best of her smiles, relieving some of Rebecca's concern. "Can I ask how you have achieved it?"
Rebecca smiled slightly, even laughing a little while looking at her hands. "It was not easy, really... I've been watching your mothers' old combat videos for 7 years, and imitating their movements until they're exhausted! But it's been worth it ..." Rebecca smiled proudly as she lit her clenched fists and prepared The sun wave. "You are her daughters, so I'm going to ask it. How long did you two take to learn how to make a Sol wave?"
Dalia looked at her sister, completely uncertain about her answer. Sarah sighed as she stroked her sister's head. "If I remember correctly, I used my first Sol wave with 5 years and Dalia with 3... to talk she resisted enough, but to imitate all the dangerous things-" Sarah stopped talking the moment Dalia pinched her arm and pointed at Rebecca.
The half-breed was with its mouth wide open and its gaze divided between surprise and absolute defeat.
"5... and 3 years... I've been 7 years... and starting from 12! ..."
"But it's incredible that you've learned it without a tutor or anything!" Sarah tried to fix the situation, but Rebecca kept turning to the new data thrown into the conversation.
In the end, Dalia got up again, getting up from her sister's knee and walking towards Rebecca. The giantess grabbed Rebecca by the shoulders, lifting her quickly. "Rebecca, do you have any techniques of your own?"
"Eh ..." Rebecca was completely white, and both sisters sighed at once. "It's possible... that I've spent all my time training my Sol wave... is that a problem? Heroes usually have flagship attacks, dont they?"
"You said it yourself. Attacks, plural... Sarah, you're a genius and I've seen a lot of movies, so I'm sure we could do something to fix this problem, right?"
Sarah raised an eyebrow at her sister, sighing and nodding. "We can try, yes ... but if you plan to stay here all night, go home to-"
"THANK YOU BIG SISTER! IM BACK RIGHT NOW!" Dalia ran out of the Warehouse at full speed, leaving Sarah and Rebecca alone.
Neither of them had properly presented themselves beyond the exchange of courtesy cut at the beginning, so Sarah decided to resume her presentation from that point.
"Rebecca, I need you to tell me the full extent of your abilities, I cant make any attacks to you without-"
"I'm telling you later, but what has Dalia gone to look for? There's a supermarket nearby, so we can buy food and that..."
"No no, she has gone for her growth track and for the extra-strong painkillers-"
"Growth track? What's that supposed to be?" Rebecca approached Sarah, but the giantess did not seem too cheerful.
"Do you always interrupt in that way?" Rebecca swallowed nervously, not knowing what to say. "It's a joke, kidding! The growth track is the clothes that a giantess has to wear by law during the third growth, it's a wide and super elastic track that allows up to 3 feet growth without starting to stretch"
"... third growth?" Rebecca's face changed to an expression of insecurity that Sarah couldnt determine the origin.
"The reason why Dalia cant use the aura is because she has started her third and last growth, which will take her up to 60 feet or more"
"..."
"60 feet is more or less my height, so you can get an idea"
"Ah..." Rebecca was very quiet, breaking her idea into a thousand pieces while the Dalia of her mind became an intractable mountain.
"Fuck this... my sweet masochistic big girlfriend... is going to be a dominant mountain size... I dont know if I can..."