The Wonderful Adventures of Sophia Hess, Babysitter Extraordinaire

[YseultNott]

In the present (2009)



Sophia has mixed feelings about therapy.

On one hand, it's… Useful. It kept her together, after she came back, when she couldn't bear to let Eddie out of her sight, and gave her the tools she needed to deal with the nightmares, or the irrational fear to still be there whenever she's alone.

(The suggestion to modify her room in easily recognizable ways so she can immediately tells where she is when she wakes up, for example, comes from Doctor Wiggins.)

It has even helped a bit with her anger issues.

(Sophia doesn't know who she would have become, had things been different.)

On the other hand, the rotation shit is pissing her off.

At first, it was Doctor Wiggins.

Then it was Doctor Grimes.

Then Doctor Aranello.

Doctor O'Neill. Melton. Savage. Ho. Beltran. Right now, Doctor Pitts.

She knows why the therapists rotate. She can even understand the reasoning behind it, somewhat.

But it was weird, after all that time spent talking to Doctor Wiggins, to have him replaced, only to, a few months later, have Doctor Grimes be replaced too.

By the time Doctor Melton rolled by, Sophia didn't believe anymore she was anything to them but a collection of files and problems to be solved. Didn't believe anymore that they give a shit about her.

So, Sophia has mixed feelings about therapy.

Because, as things are, it helps, but it isn't quite enough.

 

[YseultNott]

In the past (2007)




In the white plastic tent Sophia pries Eddie out of Velocity's arms, and holds him tight.

(There was a Thing with her face in the house that wasn't hers. There was a Thing with her face in the house that wasn't hers, and Sophia can't stop thinking about it, or Eddie, or how close she came to dying tonight, how close she came to have her body warp and melt and become one of them.)

Sophia holds Eddie as tight as she can.

Someone is telling her it's alright, it's fine, it's over, she's safe now, it's all going to be all right, she's safe, it's over, she's back.

She's not sure she believes it.

(There was a Thing with her face in the house that wasn't hers.)

They make her take showers full of chemicals, and wait for days in strange locked rooms, and strange people ask her questions through walls and interphones, and the whole time, she refuses to let Eddie out of her sight.

It's over. She's home.

She can't quite believe it.

 

[YseultNott]

In the present (2009)




"James is stupid!"

Eddie's arms are crossed in righteous indignation, and he's aggressively pouting. Sophia resolutely doesn't laugh.

"James is in your class, right? What did he do?"

Eddie pouts harder, but brightens as he speaks.

"In class, we were talking about superheroes, and then, Miss Mason, she asked who our favorite superheroes were, and I said you were mine ! But then, James, he said you weren't a superhero, because you didn't have powers, or, or, a mask, and a secret identity, and stuff."

Sophia tries not to wince. Eddie didn't understand what her using her powers meant at the time, or forgot about it, and it was deemed safer not to put him back in the confidence.

Sophia is mostly fine with that, but sometimes, it leads to awkward conversations.

"I don't care if you don't have powers! You're still the best superhero in the whole world!"

Eddie beams at her.

She smiles back.

 

[YseultNott]

In the past (2007)




Laser Man's name is Zap.

The PRT says he's a villain, but apparently, he thinks of himself as a vigilante, and only goes after other villains.

His lasers aren't actually lasers, just beams that send people to the other world. The PRT is calling it Earth Vav.

Zap is a villain because once he sends someone to Earth Vav, that's it. He can't bring them back. Apparently, he can tell whether they're still alive, but that's it.

They don't tend to live very long.

Zap didn't mean to send Sophia and Eddie to Vav, but he did, and they could have been hurt, they could have died, they could have…

(There was a Thing with her face in the house that wasn't hers.)

Sophia hates him.

(He surrendered. When he realized he'd sent them to Vav, he gave himself up to the Protectorate, and worked with Armsmaster to make the machine to bring them back.)

(He sent them there, and brought them back, and he will go to jail for it.)

Sophia wanted to be a vigilante, but she can't, now. The PRT knows about her, and so does her mom.

Armsmaster's hand is heavy on her shoulder, equal parts reassurance and burden.

"Welcome to the Wards, Odessa," he says.

 

[YseultNott]

In the present (2009)




"… Is that a kid?" Dee asks.

She asked Sophia to meet her on the Boardwalk, and she's holding a plastic cup full of something colorful in each hand. Sophia came, but brought Eddie. He doesn't like being left out.

"Yes," says Sophia.

Dee and her stare at each other in silence until Eddie get bored and starts tugging on Sophia's hand.

"Eddie, this is Dee. Dee, this is Eddie. He's my neighbor's kid." Sophia says.

"Is there a particular reason he's there?" Dee asks.

Sophia picks Eddie up and settles him on her hip. He's used enough to it he doesn't bother protesting.

"We're a package deal," she says.

Dee stays silent a little longer, then shrugs, and smiles wider, and gives a cup to Sophia and the other to Eddie.

"The more the merrier!" Dee says.