Project Prometheus (Original Setting Superhero Quest)

"Ophélie! You do not take that tone with your sister!"

"I shall take whatever tone I please, for I hate you!" Ophélie cried, slamming the door to her room behind her. She threw herself onto her bed and burst into furious tears.

It wasn't fair! She loved and respected Gwendolyn, the heroine Été, for taking care of her after their parents' untimely deaths, but her sister was simply too much! Ever since Ophélie's power came to her, Gwendolyn had tried to control every aspect of her life. What she wore, how she styled her hair, what she ate, who she associated with! She wasn't even allowed to go to school! If Harrier hadn't helped her secretly get her general education diploma, she would be more ignorant than a child.

Just how her sister wanted her.

And now that she finally found someone who made her happy, Gwendolyn wanted to take her away! She was twenty years old and she was yet to have her first kiss, let alone anything else!

Well. . . until last night, she thought with a smug smile. She and her petite copine had been flying over the Marajó Várzea when she had broached the subject. Towarri hadn't seemed particularly interested; she claimed to not have the same impulses as everyone else and found the concept of kissing "baffling". Ophélie had almost given up on it entirely, when Radiant Silvergirl had suddenly flown over and pulled her close and . . .

Ophélie let out a happy shriek into her pillow as she blushed and kicked her legs. How bold Towarri was! She had pulled back from Ophélie and shrugged while saying, "I still don't get it, but it was less unpleasant than feared. Let's try again in case I did it wrong."

So romantic! Ophélie rolled over, hugging her pillow with a silly grin on her face. It was perfect.

Or so she thought. Unfortunately, an enterprising paparazzo had been following them and snapped a picture of their kiss. This morning she woke up to it splashed all over the front page of Hero for Hire.

Now, Gwendolyn was demanding she break up with Towarri and renounce any relationship! She called Ophélie a "harlot" and "traitor", insisting she was too young to know what she wanted in a partner! As if she hadn't been throwing her at that executive from AGL at that last charity ball!

Still, it was better than the suggestion from Gwendolyn's wretched husband, Jean-Luc. He said they should tell the media that Radiant Silvergirl forced the kiss on Ophélie in order to quash the rumors. He said Justice Unlimited would navigate the fallout just fine, while preserving Ophélie's "beloved innocent character!"

The very nerve of that disgusting man! And he called himself a hero? Printemps? More like . . . like . . . ugh! Just thinking about him made a windstorm erupt from her body.

Her brooding was interrupted by a knock on her door. Then the knob turned as someone entered, "Hey Ophie, I—OH GOD!"

Harrier's nose exploded in a spray of blood as Ophélie blew the door shut into his face. She jerked up immediately with her hands over her face when she realized who it was.

"Harrier! Oooh, I'm so, so, so sorry!"

"Ibs 'ine, ibs 'ine! 'On't wor'y Ophie!" Harrier said through a bloody nose. Ophélie quickly got some tissues and guided him to her bed to sit down while the bleeding stanched.

Ophélie's vision blurred as she cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It thought you were Gwendolyn or Jean-Luc!"

Harrier, the metahuman Hiver, tilted his head back and put the tissues on his nose. "It's fine, really. And it's probably lucky it was me. God, could you imagine the fit that Gwen would throw if you smashed her nose?"

"I don't care! I hate her!"

"Yeah, she's kind of a bitch," Harrier agreed. Ophélie's mouth opened in shock. "What? You know she sucks."

"Language!"

"Leviathan's Blood, you're almost twenty-one! I know Gwen did her best after your folks died, but she sheltered you way too hard."

"Tell her that!"

"I did once. Jean-Luc told me to shut up and I'm scared of him, so I did, in fact, shut up."

Ophélie snorted the way Gwendolyn always told her not to, and curled up in a miserable ball.

"So is this about Gwen finding out about the kiss?"

"What? Did you see it on Hero for Hire too?"

"Nah," Harrier said, shaking his head, "Nora called me. You should check your screen; Towarri thinks you're mad at her."

"I'm not!" Ophélie cried in despair, "And I can't! Gwendolyn has taken it from me!"

"Oh, that sucks. Wait! Do you mean this screen?" Harrier said, pulling it out of his pocket like a magician, "She's not as good at hiding things as she thinks."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Harrier!" Ophélie cried, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. She took her phone and saw the many, many missed messages from Towarri. Oh, her poor amour! She thought Ophélie regretted the kiss!

"I hate my sister," Ophélie grumbled as she messaged Towarri back.

"Look . . . Ophie," Harrier said with a sigh, "Your sister's an overbearing control freak . . . but she's the reason we're not out on the streets. Your dad was a drunk who hit your mom. Then the two of them died and you guys got saddled with all his debt. You want to know why you're not an indentured servant to a corp? You wanna know why Gwen was able to pay for me to get treated by an oncologist from Ọsanyìn? Because she took the four of us and made Les Quatre Saisons into a brand."

"Then she married someone just like our father!" Ophélie sniffed.

"Jean-Luc's an asshole and a bully, but he treats your sister right." Harrier sighed. "Just . . . cut Gwen a little slack. She's scared of going back to nothing so she's holding onto you too hard."

"I can't believe you're taking her side!"

"I'm not taking sides! I know I owe her my life because she reminds me five times a day. You think I like that? I'm just . . . Look. I need her to be in a good mood for a bit, okay?"

"W-why?" Ophélie wiped her eyes with her sleeve. No, sister, she did not care if it was indicative of "lower breeding"! Her eyes were wet and her clothing was there!

Harrier shifted his eyes side-to-side and made absolutely sure the door was closed. Then he leaned over and said in a low voice, "Check it out."

He pulled a square box out of his pocket. Inside was a diamond ring.

Ophélie had to put another pillow over her face to muffle her squeals. When she was done, she hugged Harrier. "You're going to propose to Abigail?"

"Yeah," Harrier's eyes were shining, "I was at her place the other day. I was going through some stuff and we wound up talking for hours again. I told her some things I never told anyone else and afterwards I had this feeling like, 'I want to be with her forever'. So I asked her to marry me—"

"Without a ring?!"

"Yeeeeeeah. I got ahead of myself. You know how Abbie's waaaaaaaay into the romance stuff. She said, 'It's not a no, but it's a try again.' So I got the ring—"

Ophélie pulled him into another bone-crushing hug. "I am so, so happy for you Harrier! Oh! But Gwendolyn. . ."

"Is going to fucking freak? Yep. Which is why I need to butter her up."

Ophélie giggled, "How betrayed she will feel! Her own cousin is marrying the leader of SLAYERS, Les Quatre Saisons' archrivals!"

Harrier ran a hand over his face and groaned, "You know the rivalry's totally one-sided! SLAYERS doesn't hate us! We don't even take the same kind of contracts. Gwen just can't get over the fact that Abigail killed Hundred-Hand Hecatoncheires on the same day we debuted."

It was an unfortunate coincidence, but the death of a Named-rank Behemoth overshadowed the announcement of a new metahuman team. The Giant Slayer secured her legacy the same day she permanently earned the enmity of Été. It was a mess.

"She will hold that grudge for eternity," Ophélie whined. And then, "Wait, do you think Abigail will let me be in her bridal party?"

". . . sorry, Ophie. I don't think you can be a bridesmaid."

"O-oh."

"Because I need you to be my best man! Seriously, I don't have any friends . . ."

Ophélie hugged him yet again. "Of course! Of course I will be! And if Gwendolyn does not like it, she can keep it to herself for I care not one whit what she thinks!"

"Thanks Ophie," Harrier said. He smiled to himself and looked around the room. "Y'know it's weird that I live in a small house with my cousin, her husband, and her kid sister, but I'm gonna miss you when I move out."

"Move out?"

"Yeah. Abbie and I are gonna get a bigger place. Maybe somewhere we can start a family? I dunno yet; I gotta figure some stuff out first."

Ophélie's face fell before she caught herself and forced a smile. "Y-yes, I will miss you too, cousin."

"Now, none of that 'cousin' crap. I'm not leaving you high and dry. You know that Joelle Chaucer guy? The Famine Slayer?"

"I do!" Ophélie scrunched up her face as she remembered. "He was the only businessman at that ball not looking down my dress!"

"He's a stand up guy apparently. Also loaded. Abbie's gonna talk to him and see if he needs metahuman bodyguards or something. I figure, if he can put Gwen and Jean-Luc on retainer, maybe they won't care as much when Les Quatre Saisons breaks up. Y'know give them a soft landing?"

"But . . . what about me?"

"Well . . . I think it'd be good if you and Gwen had some space. Abbie and I want you to stay with us. Take a break from being a hero. Go to college or something. Y'know, live life as a normal kid for a bit."

Ophélie started crying again for the third time that day, but this time it was out of happiness. "Do you mean it? For true?"

"Yeah, it's gonna take a bit—we gotta save money 'cuz real estate and weddings are pricey—but we're setting the date for a year out. Assuming the world doesn't end, it's a done-deal."

"A whole year? Oh, drat," Ophélie sighed, "Well, we've waited this long to escape my sister. How bad could one more year be?"

"Shhhhh," Harrier said, holding a finger to his lips, "Whoever's in control of irony may be listening."