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Epilogue - Grim Mother

9 Years Later - 2010

Annette groaned as the words on the document started to blur together into a jumbled mess. The woman let her hand rest against her cheek as he pure white hair sprawled across her shoulders in a tangled mess. Her crimson eyes darted over the paper in a desperate attempt to decipher its meaning, but trying to figure out PRT paperwork was a task that needed a team of at least ten Thinkers. Various papers were cast out along her desk in a discordant manner in which all logic was lost. The number of forms that she still had to fill out was mindboggling. She wondered if this is why most parahumans became villains, to avoid the paperwork that came with being a hero.

Of course, most heroes don't fight A and S class threats on a regular basis, she thought with dark amusement.

Joining the Guild all those years ago had been the right decision. Though the PRT and Protectorate had brought the parahumans that had abandoned Ellisburg and their comrades on charges of desertion, it had done little to abate her anger. She had appreciated the gesture, but losing her entire family because of their cowardice wasn't something that she could get over easily. Perhaps she was a little unfair for the parahumans in the Protectorate who actually wanted to do their jobs, but nobody ever said feelings had to be fair.

No, joining the Guild had been and still was the right choice. Even if she had to deal with Vanessa's constant nagging to join her gaming sessions. She had wondered on more than one occasion what the world might think if they knew that Narwhal, the woman who had completely reorganized the Guild from the ground up and made it into the force that it was today was a huge gaming nerd.

After a few more futile minutes of trying to read through the dozenth document, she decided to just sign it anyway. A little foolhardy, but the Guild wouldn't have let the paperwork be released to her if they thought the PRT was trying anything untoward with her. And if they were she would just remind them why she the one that helped make the Guild one of the most successful records of fighting S class threats.

Though mind boggling boring, this paperwork was what allowed her to work in the US given that she was an employee of a Canadian organization. It wasn't as if the PRT was trying to stymie her efforts, but having a Master 9 running around in their backyard, even if it was to kill S class threats, that wasn't under their authority didn't fill anyone with confidence.

She could understand their reasoning even if it proved to be frustrating at times. The fact that they had not only let her stay in Brockton Bay but allowed her a rather sizable portion of land a few miles outside the city to grow Spatori showed that they were trying to put their best foot forward in the relationship. Or at the very least Director Renick was.

She was sure part of that land grant had been approved because of her decimation of the Empire's ranks when they came recruiting for her. A mistake that Allfather and Kaiser didn't live to regret.

She knew that quite a few people in the city were still upset that she hadn't taken a more active role in fighting the gangs, but that wasn't her fight. For all the horrors that the gangs committed over the years (and commit them they did), they were utterly paltry compared to the ones she had borne witness to in her career. At the very least their crimes made sense. People were greedy and wanted power and money for themselves. They wanted to better their future and were willing to do anything to do it, even if it meant breaking the law.

Other people weren't so rational. Some didn't want worldly possessions and couldn't be negotiated or threatened into submission. Some people just wanted to watch the world burn.

Monsters didn't just live in stories.

Realizing that she wasn't going to get any more work done now that her mind had gone off on a tangent, Annette pulled herself away from her desk to stretch her legs. She really didn't get cramps of being seated ever since her transformation, but she appreciated the humanity of the act. It kept her grounded to the people around her, it kept her human. If she had let herself fall into that pit of disconnect that she has seen in so many monsters over the years, well, one Nilbog had been enough.

As she made her way to the kitchen the sound of the front door opening and closing caught her attention. The old creaking hinge was something that she couldn't bring herself to fix or replace. Danny had been the one to fix it, claiming that they didn't need to hire a repairman only for the noise to actually end up being worse than before. It was something that had brought her much amusement that she teased her husband over before well….

Pushing back that particular line of thinking Annette moved to greet her adopted daughter. As she turned around the corner she could feel an amused grin tug at her mouth at the sight of her somewhat overburdened child. "I see Victoria kept you on your toes."

Though her adopted daughter would always refuse to acknowledge it, the squeaks that she made when she was startled or surprised were absolutely adorable. Her face flushed such a deep red from her embarrassment that for a moment Annette wondered is her hair might spontaneously combust, even without assistance from her powers.

"Mom," Cindy whined as she struggled to hold the ten bags in hand. It was almost amusing to watch as the young woman struggled to hold all of her merchandise. As her adopted daughter's amber eyes glowed with mercy Annette decided to take pity on her.

"Here, let me help you," she said as she grabbed most of the bags. With her enhanced strength, they were virtually weightless anyway. Cindy's shoulders sagged in relief as her aching hands were finally freed from their imprisonment.

"Thank you," she said with such gratitude that it made it seem like she had come home from a war. Using her now free hand she swept aside a few strands of black hair out of her amber eye. "Victoria's a good friend and all, but she really doesn't understand the concept of 'moderation'."

Annette hummed in amusement as she placed the bags on the couch. "I seem to remember someone trying every costume idea that came to their head."

Cindy flushed red again with an indignant scowl, her lips pursing with distaste. "Those were important expenditures!"

Annette raised an eyebrow at her daughter's outburst. "I seem to remember one having nothing but bandages over your chest."

That particular costume had gone in the trash where it belonged. No daughter of hers was going to be caught wearing something like that, no matter how much they pleaded. It was already bad enough with the fanboys on the internet. She was fairly certain that more "official Cinder" panties had been sold on eBay than she had ever even bought for her adopted daughter. She didn't need to add even more fuel to the fire.

"…It was cute," Cindy offered with a sheepish smile.

Annette rolled her eyes at her daughter's defense, but she took on a much more serious tone as Cindy moved to put her new clothes away. "I'm going to be gone for a week or so. You'll probably have to end up staying with the Dallons again."

"Who are you going after?" Cindy asked, a small amount of trepidation entering her voice. Even after years of watching her mother fight monsters that would make most men run away screaming there was always a certain element of dread of having her leave. It wasn't like she was even anywhere near the actual fighting, but it was sill nerve wracking to know that she was willingly fighting such monsters.

"Slaughterhouse," Annette said with a sneer. For all of the group's posturing, they were nothing more than a pack of killers with a little more power than most. They were the lowest of the low, reveling in the suffering of others to distract themselves from their own pain and woes.

Pathetic.

Cindy could feel a chill go down her spine at those words. Though they were far from the level of power that they had been back in their heyday, they were still the boogeyman of the parahuman community for a reason. They were monsters that even other monsters trembled at. Though their name was still officially the Slaughterhouse 9, it was rare for anyone to call them that anymore. The group hadn't had a full roster since 2008, with only the wiliest and strongest psychos surviving. Though from what she had heard a new member had recently joined their group, a case 53 with a scorpion tail and a penchant for ripping people to shreds.

"Y-you'll be okay, right?" Cindy asked in a voice that she hoped didn't sound childish. She was one of the most powerful pyrokinetics in the region, not some baby who needed their parents to take care of the monsters in the closet. Her mother had gone on dozens of these trips before without incident and was one of the most power Master capes on the planet. There was absolutely no reason for her to be afraid of her leaving.

And yet she still couldn't fight back that cold chill of the idea of Annette fighting the Slaughterhouse. They had a tendency to turn people into monsters, just like how they had tried to do so to poor Riley.

It had only been sheer luck on the Guild's part that they had managed to catch the Slaughterhouse unaware and ambush them a few hours after Riley's trigger. The rescue of a forcefully recruited six-year-old child had been an unexpected surprise, but it was a far better alternative than what Jack would have had in store for the girl.

The fact that Riley had latched onto Annette as a mother figure just as she had only solidified her nickname as Grim Mother with the Guild grunts. Given her track record of having children from parahuman, disasters latch onto her as a mother figure the name wasn't entirely unfounded, but it still didn't stop bringing up painful memories. Cindy knew that her mother claimed that the name didn't bother her, but she had caught her adoptive mom fiddling with her locket more than a few times after being called that. Even her inhuman eyes couldn't hide her sadness and pain when she looked into that locket.

Annette only smiled and pulled her adopted daughter into a hug. Though her mother's body didn't emit any heat she had to admit she had pretty warms hugs. It felt like a blanket of safety rolling over her shoulders.

"I'll be fine," she said quietly as if the slightest noise might set her daughter off as she gently stroked her hair. "You just worry about that English test on Wednesday and not burning one of Armsmaster's bikes."

Though hidden by her shoulders and sprawling black hair Annette knew that her daughter's face had lit up like a Christmas tree once more. Her sharp hearing managed to pick up her daughter's muffled whisper of, "That only happened once."

"Well, let's sure it stays that way," Annette said with an amused twinge to her voice. As funny as Armsmaster's face had been when he found his precious bike as nothing more than a pile of burning slag, the bill that had been sent their way had been far less amusing. It wasn't as if she couldn't pay it off with her salary and the bounties that she had collected over the years, but it hadn't been cheap.

As her daughter pulled away from her embrace, she couldn't quite hide a flash for fear from her. "I'll be in the presence of half a dozen Guild heroes and if, if anything happens to me Riley would be more than capable of patching be up," she added in an attempt to mollify her adopted daughter's fears.

"I know," Cindy said in a clear attempt to end the conversation. Annette could tell that her daughter still had reservations about this, but she knew that she was strong. Despite her meek like behavior at the moment her daughter could be a hellcat when enraged. Very few villains made the mistake of ticking her off twice. Those that did were the ones that had seats reserved for them in the hospitals.

"I'll call you every night," Annette promised. She would have called Cindy every night anyway, but it was best to remind her that she was going to be just fine. She supposed that the irony was that fighting S class threats was easier on her than it was Cindy. At the very least Annette knew what was happening on the ground and all the horrors that were being committed were shoved in her face with the subtly of a sledgehammer, but she knew what was going on.

Her adopted daughter would have to spend every hour of the day wondering if she was safe. She wouldn't know what she was going through and would allow her imagination to run rampant with horrors that were far worse than the reality of the situation.

"Why don't you go put all of this away so we can go out for dinner?" Annette asked as she gestured to the bags littering the couch. It was a little early for dinner, but it would be nice to have a good meal with her daughter before she had to head out. The paperwork would still be waiting for her when she got back, and the health and wellbeing of her daughter were more important. Something nice and relaxing would take her mind off such dark thoughts for the time being.

Cindy said nothing as she nodded in agreement. Annette watched with her crimson eyes as her adopted daughter picked up her clothes to carry them to her room. Her gaze shifted to the locket her fingers were fiddling with as it flicked open. Even after all this time, Annette could still feel her heart clench up at the image within.

It had been taken a few days before they had left, Danny had decided that they needed a more updated family picture. He stood to the side with a grin on his face while Taylor's legs dangled around his shoulders. Her daughter's expression was lit up with a bright smile, unmarred by her missing baby teeth. Annette herself stood to the side, wrapping her arms around her husband's torso with a loving smile. Her skin lacked its now pure white texture and crisscrossing veins that dotted her arms and face.

A breathy sigh shook Annette' throat as she closed the locket. While the picture was one of the few things she had left to remember her family, it proved to be a constant reminder of what she had lost on that day.

And what she had gained.

Annette looked up to see Cindy walk down the stair with her purse in hand. Her adopted daughter's heels clicked against the wood floor as she straightened out some wrinkles in her dress. The dress was a bit shorter that she would have liked, but she wasn't going to get into an argument tonight over it. Not when this was meant to be a happy outing.

Nilbog may have taken her family, but he had given her the opportunity to gain a new one. Cindy. Riley. The Guild. They had all helped to heal the hole in her heart just as she tried to do the same with them. They would never replace Danny and Taylor, nothing ever could. Just as she could never replace the people and family that they had lost. But together they helped each other, together they healed and made way for a brighter future.

A future that monsters all around the world were trying to take away. Not only for herself, but for everyone.

Never again.

She would make sure that no monster would ever be allowed to repeat what had happened in Ellisburg. That no monster would be able to twist people physically and mentally into the stuff of nightmares. She wouldn't stop until all the monsters were dead and done, just as she hadn't for the past nine years. There was a reason that even A and S class threats were wary of facing her.

They may all be monsters, but she could birth them by the legion.

As she made her way to the door Annette allowed her hand to slip into Cindy's and give her a comforting squeeze. Not only for her daughter's sake but for herself. A reminder of why she did what she did, of what she would never allow herself to lose.

Not again.

Never again.

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