Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Victoria was laser-focused on the game, dodging around the other girls on the court with an ease born of practice and skill. She dribbled left, swept right, and barreled forward, pausing for half a second to launch the ball into the air. It had just, JUST, left her hands when another girl crashed into her, sending them both onto the ground in a painful tangle. She heard the sound of the ball hitting the hoop and going through the net, seconds before she hit the ground and heard the referee's whistle. Would her shot be counted? Had she won the game for her team? She looked to her coach, who gave her a reassuring nod, then to the stands... where her mother was focused on something on her phone.

Her own mother, caring more about her work then her daughter...

Amy, at least, was paying attention--even waving with a rare grin. Well, at least somebody believed in her, at least somebody cared.

"Dallon!"

Victoria shook off her resentment and refocused. "Yes coach!"

"Talked with the ref. You're getting a foul shot."

"Right, thank you coach!"

"Don't thank me. Far as I'm concerned, your shot should have counted. This is your chance to prove me right."

Victoria straightened, nodding with conviction. "Yes, coach, I won't let you down!"

She marched to the position, taking the ball and gathering her concentration. Nothing else mattered but the throw. Not the crowds that pestered her for not being part of New Wave. Not the way her father laid at home most nights. Not even the wish she had for her mother's love and affection.

No, right now, all that mattered was the ball, and the shot.

She took a deep breath... and she tossed the shot, the ball landing directly into the hoop.

DIAMOND ACHIEVEMENT: Unbroken! Power through what should have been your trigger event.
Master Polearm Mastery [Epic Skill]: You are a true master of polearms, the kind only spoken in legends, your skills are spoken in the same vein as people like Cu Chulainn and Lu Bu. You can handle and all polearms such as spears, glaives and scythes with mastery.​

The locker room was filled with cheers and praise. Everyone was getting there due, good and bad. There was some light-hearted ribbing, a lot of compliments, and the general pride of women proving they were the real winners in a male-dominated field. And at the center of it all, Victoria was grinning like a loon, the hero of the hour.

"Well, Dallon," the coach said with a small grin, "you certainly proved yourself out there. Keep this up, and we might even make State this year!"

Victoria rolled her eyes, but her grin never faded. It was a running joke that nobody from Brockton Bay ever made it past regional, for reasons mostly related to the gang activities, but that didn't stop them from trying (again, for reasons mostly related to the gang activities). "I was far from alone out there, coach," she pointed out, wrapping an arm around a teammate. "Hell, I'm pretty sure I only scored six or seven points. Chelsea here scored twelve."

"And she was amazing, but you helped your teammates score a lot," the coach replied. "Passing when you needed to, blocking and snatching the other team... you kept your head in the game, Dallon, and you did it with ease. Nobody watching could have missed that."

GOLD ACHIEVEMENT: Team Player! Help your team achieve victory!
Silk Weaver [Rare Ability]: You are able to produce and control silk that you produce from your body. You can use it to grapple around, restrain targets, fasten objects etc. The durability of the silk and the amount you can produce scales with your physical stats.​

Victoria's smile dimmed. Anybody watching, sure. But not everyone had been paying attention...

No, actually, screw her. If she wanted to miss out on her daughter's achievements, she could absolutely live with the consequences. Such as...

"Hey Chelsea, you up to hosting a celebration party for the team?"

Chelsea nodded, already texting her parents.

"Is your mom going to be okay with that?" Brianna asked.

"She'll be fine," Victoria declared casually. "It's just hanging out with the team, no biggie."

"If you're sure..."

"It'll be fine!" Victoria promised, turning her phone on silent.

BRONZE ACHIEVEMENT: Teenage Rebellion! Do something harmless your mother would not approve of.
Child Friendly [Common Trait]: Let's keep it PG. Allows you to activate a filter that makes you more presentable to a younger audience, placing a censor on your privates, getting rid of gore on your body, etc.​

The party lasted for a couple of hours, mostly consisting of the girls eating pizza and chatting amicably with each other. Despite both common movie tropes and the proclivities of Brockton Bay teenagers in particular, there was a surprising lack of drugs, sex, or rock and roll. Granted, Victoria had eaten more than she probably should have, if the way her stomach was twitching was any indication, but she managed to keep it down through sheer force of will.

BRONZE ACHIEVEMENT: Down the Hatch! Eat way too much without throwing up.
Digestive Expulsion Independence [Trash Trait]: You never piss or shit. Don't ask where all the waste in your body goes.​

From the way her mother was glaring at her, however, she might as well have stuck her veins through with the most potent narcotics on the black markets before dancing naked with the nazis.

"Not one call," she ground out. "For two hours. Not even a warning that you'd be late coming home."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "I was hanging out with my team after winning an important game. Perfectly normal."

"And for all I knew you could have been kidnapped, or murdered, or--" Carol took a deep breath. "We need to know where you are at all times. You may not be a member of New Wave, but you are, just by being connected to us, a celebrity. You know what happened with your cousin. And your aunt, if I'm honest."

Victoria scowled. As if any of that was her fault! She was a literal child when the triple B unmasked! She hadn't chosen to be the daughter of a family of unmasked capes! But for more than a decade, her behavior had been policed more stingently than any prisoner, demanding total perfection and obediance for even the slightest of things.

"Clearly this basketball obsession is messing with your critical thinking skills," Carol continued. "If you can't be bothered to keep me in the loop, I'll have no choice but to have you removed from the team."

"You can't do that!" Victoria protested.

"I am your mother. If I think something is interfering with your growth as a person, I am allowed to take steps to make sure it does not do so."

"My grades are fine!" Victoria insisted. "They're great, even! I have a healthy social life, and friends I care about! And you'd rip that away just because I forgot to text you over something so trivial as hanging out with the people who actually give a shit about me for something that isn't who I'm related to?"

"If you're putting your friendship above this family's needs--"

"Oh, like you don't put your career first, Mom," Victoria snapped. "Or should I call you Brandish?"

"Victoria!"

"What? You don't give a crap about me as a person, you just care about New Wave's precious image!"

"Victoria--Victoria get back!" Carol shouted after her. "Get back here now, or I--"

She slammed her bedroom door shut behind her, fell onto her matress, and screamed into her pillow.

PLATINUM ACHIEVEMENT: Calling the Old Woman Out! Confront your mother about her poor parenthood.
Blood Tax [Rare Ability]: Whenever someone injures you, they lose a portion of their energy or stamina to you, allowing you to recover your energy and stamina even as you are getting damaged.