Magnetic Attraction 35 (Patreon)

Magnetic Attraction
Chapter 35

-VB-

Anne hadn’t expected this kind of response…

“B-but-!”

She also did not expect her dad, who let her fucked up little sister go on as she did, to bother with her and her little hobby!

“It’s for your safety,” dad gritted out. “Do you even know how big the Anders name is?”

“Yes?”

“Then why are you provoking them?!”

“Because all I’ve done is go talk to them!”

Dad rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Look, Anne. If you visit the same house five times and ask private questions every single time, it’s no longer just talking to them. You’re being an annoyance.”

“But I have the freedom of speech!”

“Yeah, and just that.”

“... Wait what? You agree with me?”

“Of course, you have the freedom of speech. I’m a lawyer, Anne, but what you are doing is not freedom of speech.”

“Wait, what?”

“After the third time, did they tell you to stop coming?”

“Well, not directly…”

“What about in their business?”

“They did.”

“Then you should have left them alone. Freedom of speech gives you the right to speak out without others crushing down on you for speaking your opinion. It doesn’t allow you to bother other people once they tell you to stop. So you will stop, Anne.”

“I’m not going to.”

“... You know, there was a case.”

Oh God, he was telling another one of his his lawyer case examples.

“In 2008, a man was killed by a rogue in New York City, but instead of prosecuting him, the local Protectorate didn’t even bother to arrest him. Do you know why?”

She hadn’t heard of this before.

“Because the so-called victim was a man who was known for intentionally harassing heroes and rogues who would have to hold back, and he was already known for revealing the identities of a few unaffiliated rogues. Then one day, another rogue he was investigating decided that she had enough and killed him the next tim she saw him.”

He leaned forward. “Though the investigator never went after Protectorate heroes and villains because the former was protected by law and the latter by violence, the Protectorate and the PRT did not go after the rogue, because, and this is from their own public statement, that ‘the investigator consistently constituted harm to the good of the public, and the rogue in question was protecting herself, and thus was acting in self-defense.’” He paused, and she felt a chill run down her spine. “If you found out something you shouldn’t on accident, then it would just be that: accident. However, you’ve already pushed yourself into their business, made yourself known, and continue to investigate despite being warned not to. Under those circumstances, no one will believe you if you accidentally find something out you weren’t supposed to, Anne. They will all believe that you did this intentionally and - if the capes are more belligerent than those in the Big Apple - will silence you without consequences.”

“B-But the law-?!”

“The law only applies where it could win, Anne!” dad snapped with a snarl. “I always told you that I only take jobs that I can win! Did you not learn nothing from me and your mom?!”

She withered, shrinking a little into the seat.

“Show me.”

“W-What?”

“Show me what you got.”

-VB-

“Burn it all.”

“Dad-!”

“ANNE, YOU PUT AN AXE ON EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY!”

That was not from dad but from mom, who had come hom mere minutes after her first talk with dad ended and the board was brought out.

Even dad was inching away from her.

Mom looked down at her with bloodshot eyes.

And then Anne remembered. Mom, along with Taylor’s mom, used to run with Lustrum, and Lustrum was a cape. More than anyone else in this house, she understood the cape scene better. More than that, Lustrum shook the world in an era when the cape scene wasn’t as established or even stable.

Mom stopped herself, closed her eyes, and bit her lips despite the grimace on her face. Or rather in spite of it.

“Okay, I think this has gone on long enough. I’m putting my foot down.” She turned to dad. “You’re taking Emma away from her friends in Winslow. Considering that Taylor has never once come back and the last time I talked to her, she was skittish as hell about Emma, something’s going on and I want to know why. You will take her to a goddamn psychiatrist if she so much as resists!” She then turned on her. “And you!”

Anne might have squeaked out a muted scream. “You are in so much trouble, but it’s the mercy of a cape that keeps you alive and you don’t even know it. No, you go further than that. You spit at his mercy!” mom hissed as she grabbed her.

“M-Mom!”

“Lusturm personally killed her own followers when they did half of what you did, Anne! Allfather torched a hundred people, whites and minorities, for it! It won’t be just you but everyone around you who suffers! Your dad’s little example is the most bland response I’ve heard of!” she screamed before tossing her down. “Tomorrow, you will go visit the Anders one last time. You will apologize for your actions and come straight back home or you can kiss your college goodbye! Is that understood?!”

-VB-

A/N: so far, Anne’s inclusion and the corporate hero building were kind of an attempt at family drama/worldbuilding-ish? Is it working, is it not? What did you enjoy, what didn’t you? Comment.