Spectacular World

The Giant, The Daughter, The Beast

"You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do." River looked past the window she stood in front of, her eyes focused on the young child in the other room. "If I don't, then he wins."

"The Emperor doesn't win just because you don't take care of his experiment." Jill scoffed.

"His kid." River corrected.

"His experiment." Jill doubled down.

River just sighed and shook her head. "You just don't get it."

"You're right. And God, do I hope I never do. That man was a monster. It would only be fitting if his spawn vanished off the face of the earth, never to be seen again."

They were in a hospital. It had been less than five years since the Emperor was finally defeated. After raiding some of the final bases he had left behind, the Victorian had uncovered a dark truth about the former Lord of the Land and Life. He had a daughter. The monster that had nearly ended all life on earth and successfully killed Full Monarch had a child with someone—or at least he had made it look like he had a child.

In reality, the girl's DNA was a total mess and filled with dozens of errors. She was basically just a monster that was grown from nothing with bits of the Emperor's cells, as well as the cells of three other people in that bastard's army.

They brought her to a hospital which had been conducting a few tests on the young girl to make sure her cells wouldn't simply give out and combust. Now that they found out she actually had a shot at life and would most certainly go on to awaken her powers, the argument about what to do with her had begun.

"So, your solution when faced with a child is to just kill her?" River asked, clenching her fists a bit and allowing water to swirl around them.

"I never said that." Jill rose off of the ground by a few inches and began to glow with a faint golden aura. "Don't go putting words in my mouth, Ocean Empress."

"Then what's your solution?"

"She's just a kid. Not even I'm cruel enough to suggest we just get rid of her." Jill explained. "I think it would be best if she was kept by the Hero Branch."

"So, they can poke and experiment on her?"

"So, she can be used to help people when she awakens her powers," Jill stated in a blunt tone. "We lost Doctor Blue and Doctor Alma, two of the best healers the Branch had. Her father was a Lord of Life. There's a good chance she'll have similar powers eventually. My father once told me Nier used to use his powers for good before he snapped. If there's a chance that she can be used the same way, then-"

"Then you're forcing a life onto a child and not allowing them to decide," River responded flatly. "If she does awaken healing-based powers and decides to use them to help the heroes and the Branch, then I think that's fine, but what if that isn't what she wants? You can't just force a destiny onto someone."

"So, allow her to decide for herself and just pray that another Emperor isn't born when she inherits her father's wrath?"

River turned and looked her friend in the eye. "My father, Old Dog, sometimes talks about his time during the war. Back in the day, things were much worse than they are now. A constant battle with Lucifer. Supers back then didn't get to decide what they wanted to do with their lives. My father, my grampa, your father, and even the mighty Emperor were all forced into a life of battles where every day they fought and had to use their powers. This lifestyle is what created not only the world's greatest villain in the form of the Emperor but also the world's greatest hero by giving us Full Monarch. I don't think people start off inherently evil just because of their parents and the choices that were made. Otherwise, we'd all be screwed."