A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!
Jason and Vicky have a talk. I may have accidentally made this fic a soap opera tbh.
-x-X-x-
“Your mother had a mental breakdown at the University today.”
He doesn’t mince words, though he at least told Vicky he had something serious to talk to her about before dropping that bombshell in her p. As such, the two of them are seated on the couch in her apartment when Jason delivers the news. Vicky takes a second to process what he’s just said before her eyes widen and she chokes on her own spit.
“I’m sorry, what?!”
Jason sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He’s honestly been thinking about how to handle this all day. In the end, he knew he had to tell Vicky something because he didn’t know what the fuck Carol was going to do next. The way they’d left things off, she might choose to wallow in her misery for a little while longer… or she might try and seek forgiveness and redemption from any one of her family members literally tomorrow.
That was why Vicky needed to know what was happening from him before she got blindsided by her mother. If she found out after the fact that Jason had known all along what was going on, then it would leave her feeling betrayed. Also… there was Amy to consider as well.
“It wasn’t public or anything like that at least. As you know, I’m one of Carol’s Teaching Assistants over at BBU. I was outside her office getting some work done when I heard something and went to check on her. We talked for a few moments and then she… well, she broke down.”
The look of incredulity and shock on Victoria Dallon’s face is understandable. After all, Jason himself would hardly have believed it if it hadn’t happened to him… plus what he knew about Carol’s hidden actions. Still, it seemed that Carol hadn’t been any more honest with Vicky than she’d been with him, given how hard this seemed to be for Vicky to accept.
“Mom… doesn’t break down, Jason. She’s like a particurly spiky rock.”
Sighing, Jason shakes his head.
“That’s a fa?ade Vicky. Her spiky exterior is weaker than foil. I just think nobody has pushed back against her in a long time, so nobody realizes just how paper thin her act is.”
He keeps the judgment out of his voice entirely, even though he does wonder how Carol Dallon had managed to persist as she did for so long without anyone realizing something was wrong with her. To be fair to Vicky and Amy, they were just kids for most of it, so it wasn’t like one could expect miracles from either of them. But what about the other adults in New Wave? What about Carol’s sister?
… It’s not Jason’s pce to judge though, and it never really will be.
“But why you? Why would you be the one she breaks down on?”
Ah. That was a fair question, given Vicky didn’t know everything. For a moment Jason considers whether he should tell her about Carol’s lying… but in the end, he figures he has every right to spell out her misdeeds when they affected him directly. There’s also a hint of hurt and vulnerability in Vicky’s tone, like she wonders why it couldn’t have been her that Carol opened up to instead.
“Because she was lying to me, Vicky.”
The blonde blinks at that.
“She confessed that the internship with her w firm she promised me wasn’t guaranteed. Apparently, her sabbatical wasn’t entirely her choice and she’s not sure she’s going back. So she can put in a good word for me at the firm, but she can’t be confident she’ll be there to hire me directly.”
It’s clear that all of this, including the forced nature of Carol’s sabbatical, is news to Vicky. She doesn’t look like she knows how to process it. So Jason just keeps going.
“As a result of her guilt over that lie, she’s been treating me harshly, pushing me harder than she would have otherwise. She confessed that she was trying to get me to quit my TA position of my own volition so that she wouldn’t have to make good on the promise she wasn’t sure she would get to even keep.”
“… That bitch.”
Now it’s Jason’s turn to blink, even as Vicky groans and puts her face in her hands for a moment. He wasn’t expecting quite so much vitriol on his behalf, and yet…
“I would say something like ‘I can’t believe she’d do something like that’ but the truth is, I can totally believe it.”
Lifting her head from her hands, Vicky groans as she looks at him.
“That sounds exactly like her… and I guess I’m starting to accept that you’re telling the truth. Dunno why you would lie to me. Jason, I’m so sorry you had to put up with that bullshit. I assume you did quit now… you don’t have to keep tutoring me either. I’ll make sure she doesn’t try and get her money back. It’s the least she can do to repay you after stringing you along all these months.”
Wow. It said a lot about how absurdly damaged their retionship was that Vicky wasn’t even hesitating to side with him over her own mother. The blonde wasn’t even hesitating to judge Carol harshly for her actions. She wasn’t even trying to find a single reasonable excuse for anything her mother had done.
… Carol was going to have her work cut out for her in earning Vicky’s forgiveness, that much was obvious. And to think, Jason had thought Vicky would be the easiest one for Carol to redeem herself in the eyes of. Frankly, he still had lots of reasons to think that. That said, he was starting to realize how retive ‘easy’ might be.
“Err, no actually. I’m still her TA and I’m going to keep tutoring you Vicky. I… forgave her.”
Vicky freezes at that news, staring at him with wide eyes and a completely different fvor of incredulity at this point.
“What?! Why would you do that?! She doesn’t deserve your forgiveness, Jason! That bitch kept you under her thumb for months for something she might not even be able to deliver on! Carol might not be as collected and ‘together’ as she makes herself seem, but that’s no reason for the shit she put you through!”
Noting the use of the first name, Jason sighs. He’s not going to tell Vicky everything. He’s not going to tell her what Carol tried to do with him, or the… discipline he’d delivered. And he’s certainly not going to tell her what sort of debauched things Carol is doing, especially when he hadn’t even confronted the older woman herself on the subject.
Still…
“I suppose the internship doesn’t matter so much to me anymore, all things considered.”
Pausing, he sees realization wash over Vicky. After all, she knew all about his powers. She knew he was only getting stronger too. One day, Jason might be on the same level as the Triumvirate… and did someone like Eidolon or Legend or Alexandria go around being a wyer in their day to day lives. Jason suspected the answer was ‘no’. Fuck, those three were probably too busy to even have secret identities, let alone have jobs in those secret identities.
Him trying to juggle being a Cape alongside being a Lawyer would be like Alexandria trying to juggle being Alexandria and… the Chief Director of the PRT! It would never work. The whole thing sounded like a logistical mess. The more Jason looked at things, the more he realized he wasn’t going to be able to accept the internship from the moment he got powers anyways.
“… I see. I guess… you’re right.”
Of course someone like Vicky would understand. After all, she herself didn’t want to try juggling everything. In fairness, it wasn’t like Vicky had a secret identity to speak of. Still, she was basically pnning on throwing away her chance at higher education to become a full time cape, even seeking financial compensation for her cape activities through the sponsorship with Amelia. In that regard, she would be rather hypocritical if she didn’t understand where Jason was coming from.
“Still, that doesn’t mean you have to forgive her for treating you like shit for months to drive you away and cover up her fuck ups. She doesn’t deserve your forgiveness, Jason.”
Sighing, Jason leans back and ces his hands behind his head for a moment as he looks up at the ceiling. Finally, he lets out an explosive breath and then looks back to Vicky.
“I told you, Vicky. She literally had a mental breakdown in front of me. I’m not so heartless that I can just ignore that sort of thing. And… she told me the truth, even if betedly. She apologized to me. So I forgave her. Vicky… she’s a broken woman. I don’t think you realize just how broken your mother really is.”
Vicky flinches at that and Jason wonders if maybe she realizes it more than even she knew. When the tears start to fall, however, he wonders if maybe he stuck his foot in his mouth there. In the end, all he can do is offer Vicky his arms… and be grateful as all hell when she’s willing to take him up on the offer, burying her face in the crook of his neck and hugging him tightly as she begins to sob.
It's not quite the second mental breakdown of the day, thank fucking god. But Vicky definitely needs to have a good cry before they can continue their conversation. She cries into his shoulder for quite a while as Jason just holds her close and rubs soothing circles into her back. Finally though, she pulls away and he lets her, looking to see her eyes red and puffy as Vicky sniffles a bit.
“… She’s not the only one who lost someone when dad died. I could have helped her. She could have helped me! But she… she wasn’t there for me! Not like I needed her to be…”
Jason grimaces, but Vicky isn’t done.
“A-And… everything she did to Amy… it took me way too long to see how she was treated in that household! It wasn’t until Amy had to up and leave for her own mental health that I started to realize how toxic everything was! All because of her and her attitude, her outlook on life!”
Gritting her teeth, Vicky clenches her hands into fists, almost shaking in anger.
“And you’re telling me that was all just an act?! You’re telling me that underneath all that coldness was just… some broken women waiting to reach her snapping point?! You’re telling me I have to forgive her now just because she finally opened up?!”
“No.”
Jason’s immediate response takes the wind out of Vicky’s sails like nothing else. The blonde pauses, gawking at him for a moment before almost seeming to defte right there on the spot. She looks even more vulnerable than before as she bites her lower lip and hesitantly repeats what he said back to him.
“… n-no?”
Taking her shaking fists in his hands, Jason uncurls them and ces his fingers with Vicky. Then, he gives her a warm, sympathetic smile.
“No. You don’t have to do anything Vicky. Just because I forgave Carol for what she did to me doesn’t mean you or Amy have to do the same. I would never expect that of you.”
“… o-oh.”
Jason sighs and gives Vicky’s hands another squeeze.
“That said… I did want to warn you that she might try to seek forgiveness all the same. And so that you could warn Amy as well. Carol and I had a long talk on top of her confessing her lies to me. She wants to do better. She wants to try and fix all of her mistakes. But just because that’s what she wants doesn’t mean it’s entirely possible. Only you can decide whether or not to let her try and repair your retionship Vicky. At least now you won’t be blindsided though, right?”
For a long moment Vicky remains silent. Finally though, she shakily nods. Then, she leans into him again. No tears this time, just resting her head against his chest.
“… Hold me?”
Already in the process of wrapping his arms around the blonde, Jason just smiles.
“Always.”
-x-X-x-
Ding!
Arcane Vassal – Modus – 400 Points
Not only are you a powerful wizard (and respected priest) in your own right but your allies may also cast their own magic through you allowing them to see through your eyes, sense your surroundings and use their magic from your position even if they are safely tucked behind a temple-city wall a vast distance away. They can also augment your magical power with their own if they wish to empower your spells.
You now have 100 Points saved up!
His and Vicky’s heart to heart aside, the world still kept turning even when some of them might wish they could just take a moment and breathe. In this regard, that meant meeting up with Parian again with Taylor at his side because the costumes were apparently already ready… ahead of schedule.
Jason had made sure Taylor didn’t run herself ragged, but apparently he was supposed to be worried about Parian too, because the rogue’s turnaround was something else.
Before he can focus on their meeting, however, he has to deal with a quick power pull. He reads it over and for a moment he’s briefly torn between keeping Chaos Magic and repcing it with Arcane Vassal instead. But then he reads more closely and… well, he’s not sure it’s worth it to be honest. He doesn’t have any friends who have magic in the first pce yet, and more than that, he wasn’t sure if he wanted even his allies to be able to use him as some sort of conduit. No, in the end it had to be a…
Pass.
Letting the power fade away, Jason focuses himself back on the matter at hand. Namely, looking at his and Taylor’s new costumes, showcased by an antsy Parian. Even though she’s all masked up, Jason can tell she’s nervous, even as he and Taylor eye their costumes up and down.
“W-Well? What do you think?”
In Taylor’s case, Parian had seemingly taken inspiration from what Taylor herself had managed before they’d gone this route. That meant the ‘Weaver Costume’ was a bit dark and very grey, but still quite impressive and imposing. Meanwhile, Jason’s costume… well, it was a bit ostentatious and grandiose, wasn’t it? How the hell had Parian managed to color all of that Spider Silk in gold and silver anyways?
Still, it looks very nice. He gives Parian a smile and a nod of approval.
“I like it. Weaver? What do you think?”
“Yeah. It’s good.”
Parian slumps in relief.
“G-Good! G-Great, even! Ah… do you want to get changed now?”
Well… Jason looks at Taylor and she shrugs. Hm, might as well, right?
-x-X-x- The Vote: [ ] Stick with Jason's POV - 22%[ ] Switch to Taylor's POV - 17%[X] Switch to Parian's POV - 61%-x-X-x-
A/N: Will try to keep this up to date at the end of every chapter, get on me if I forget please. Though if it gets too out of hand, might have to change it at some point.
Jason's current banked points:
100 Celestial Points
Jason's current banked power:
= Chaos Magic (1000 Points)
Jason's current powers:
= Fsh Air (Gained in Chapter 1
= Transformation Pendant (Gained in Chapter 4)
= Keen Eye (Gained in Chapter 4)
= Blood, Death, and Demons (Gained in Chapter 6)
= Alchemical Prodigy (Gained in Chapter 8)
= Staff of Magnus (Gained in Chapter 13)
= Bind and Seal (Gained in Chapter 17)
= Hero of a Hundred Faces: Everyone's Leader (Gained in Chapter 20)
= Minor Regeneration via Blood Empowerment Ritual (Gained in Chapter 23)
= Restraining Order (Gained in Chapter 25)
= Focus (Gained in Chapter 28)
= Scarborough Fair (Gained in Chapter 30)
