Un viejo enemiga regresa

by Jason Spade Thu Jan 25, 2024 3:13 pm

After Octane, a sore and defeated Leon Garra makes his way through the arena, dressed in his casual clothes and pulling his wheeled gear bag behind him. He was really craving one of his electronic cigarettes, but he had promised Ana that he would quit that habit, and naturally, in a continuation of his rotten luck, he had brought his family to this event just in time to see him fail once again. Now he couldn't even sneak a smoke or two to calm his nerves. Ah well... At least they were all together, and stateside, too. Ana and Elena rarely had the chance to go to the mainland with him; maybe he should treat them to--

Leon stopped in his tracks. There was his daughter, alone, save for an adult figure kneeling in front of her. The woman was decidedly not Ana, but instead was dark skinned, with stark white hair contrasting against her deep black... Tailcoat?

Oh no. Quickly, Leon resumed his pace, faster than before, dropping his bag as he did so. It clattered loudly behind him, but neither Leon nor the two figures he was approaching noticed it. Sure enough, as he got closer, his fears were confirmed; the unmistakable one-eyed face of Tailcoat Val was speaking to his daughter, and he couldn't imagine what kind of horrible things that bruja was whispering to his daughter!

"...you know, they aren't talked about very often, but there were actually many women pirates."

"Really?! Cool!"

"Oh, yes. Mary Read, Grace O'Malley, and--"

"Mija!"

Startled by her father's urgency, the giggly smile left Elena's face as Leon approached them. He knelt down, purposely placing himself in between Tailcoat Val and his daughter, and quickly began speaking to her in Spanish so that Val wouldn't understand what they were saying.

"Mija, ¿dónde está tu madre?"

Elena thought about it for a moment.

"Ella fue al baño, papá."

"Ve a buscarla. Me uniré a ti pronto."

"Okay."

Still confused but knowing better than to question her father, Elena ran off towards the bathrooms in search of her mother. Leon stood up straight, breathing a sigh of relief, his back still turned to Tailcoat Val.

"What a nice girl."

Leon immediately wheeled around, pointing a dangerous finger at Val's face.

"Stay away from my daughter. I will not tell you twice."

Val tilted her head inquisitively.

"I've seen the way she looks at you. Like you're a hero; perhaps she still sees Golden Cat, flying through the air like the heroes from her comic books. You don't deserve that."

"What do you know of my family? What do you know of what I deserve?"

Val pauses for a long time, before responding in near-perfect Spanish.

"Sé más de lo que piensas."

The response froze Leon in his tracks; it felt as though someone had dropped an ice cube into his chest. Before he could muster up a response, his wife Ana came around the corner, being dragged along by Elena.

"Papa, I found her!"

Leon turned to look, and his wife noticed the concern on his face immediately.

"¿Estás bien, amore?"

"Yes."

Leon was so shaken that he forgot to switch back to Spanish.

"We were just..."

He turned back towards Tailcoat Val, but she had disappeared. Quiet as a cat...

"Leaving."