Earth of Kin: Heroes

Chapter 1; Part 1

~1986~

A beautiful woman, in the heart of Portland, was not an uncommon sight. Particularly for Desmond Williams. He was an attractive catch. Well-built, swimming in money, and of course, a crucial weakness: he was a pervert masked as a hopeless romantic. He donned such a mask in 1986, faced with the most beautiful of women he'd ever come across. She had such fair skin, and wavy, transcendent hair. A golden mistress who walked with such confidence. Such power. A temple to usurp, Desmond decided, observing her sweet silhouette.

He stood up from the bench he sat on, kicking his shoes against the ground to shoo the pigeons nearby. The sun was shining bright, with many hiding beneath shade. He was in the park with intent to recruit. It was the pornography capital of the West Coast back then, and he needed to make his fortune somehow, right?

'Let me get a look at you,' he said, watching as the woman past him by.

'E-excuse me?' she said, the rhythm of her heels coming to a halt

'I just want to take a look at you. If we're gonna have a life together, I'd best prepare now, right?'

She frowned, 'I don't even know you. Back off, creep.'

Of course, he didn't back off. He continued on without hesitation, earning himself a good slap across the face. Quite a few actually. When Desmond laughed through bruised lips, explaining that it was just a joke, she took pity on the man. It was definitely a sick joke, and most likely not a joke at all, but despite this she managed to fall for him. Somehow, in the process of cleaning up the blood on his lip, and receiving a drink as an apology for his actions, she began to think of him as rather attractive. A nice man, who had simply approached her with the mask of a debauchee. Or was it vice versa? Selina wasn't one to think that far.

Date after date, and little changed. The same two lost souls, traversing a plane they both thought they understood better than they actually did. Desmond told her, 'Baby, all you need is a little bit of fun.'

'Fun?'

'See, you don't even recognise the word.'

Selina told him, 'Baby, all you need is a little bit of direction.'

'Direction?'

'See, you don't even recognise the word.'

The two sat in a café, enjoying one of the more simple outings. He cannot know, Selina thought, fabricating a smile towards Desmond as he made his way to place their orders. She held her hand over her stomach, praying it was just a scare. When he'd returned with Cappuccinos that neither of them would finish.

'What's wrong?' Desmond asked, noticing that Selina didn't even look up when he returned.

'Nothing, I'm just thinking...'

'Hmm, I've been thinking too. About the winter. We can escape it, y'know? Just head to Argentina or South Africa or something. Y'know, take a cruise.'

'I don't know, Desmond...'

'C'mon baby, you're being weird. You know you always feel better after some fun,' he said, taking a sip of his cappuccino as he sat down across from her. Occasionally he'd look out of the window, pretending he wasn't scoping out the sexiest legs around.

'Fun? Des, we can't always focus on that. Especially now. We're a serious thing, right? You wouldn't ever leave me?'

'Never.'

'And you'd never hurt me?'

'Selina.'

'Answer the question.'

'I'll never hurt you. Whatever happens, I'll always be there. Always be good to you.'

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~1987~

A mansion, one paid for in not-so-legal ways, was offered to Selina, and her son, Travis. Desmond wasn't ready to be a father, nor was he ready to tell her that. So he contrived an entire narrative for her. The tale of the good husband, and oh did she eat it up.

As the baby cried in its crib, Desmond held up a toy in one hand and a bottle of milk in the other. He had the look of an ape discovering a new object, shaking it ignorantly as though an instruction manual would just pop out of it. Please let this be the last one, Desmond said, ignoring his phone as it rang, most likely his boss expecting him to do more dirty work.

'That fucking asshole can wait,' he grumbled, and Travis giggled. It was such an innocent sound. A sound of bliss in a world full of misery and treachery, much of which was caused by this adorable creature's father. Desmond smiled, surprised by the action himself. 'You like that, little buddy?'

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~2009~

Travis was not the last. When he turned 6, little Fable was born, and when he turned 12, along came little Ruby. The Williams family was a decorated disaster, shining with elegance and wealth on the exterior, with hatred and rage within. Travis escaped as soon as he could, studying harder than any in his classes for that reason alone. He now spent days in the Yorker University, in the heart of New York of course. He worked hard for years, and even then was still required to do more work. He simply wanted to teach biology courses in university. A difficult but straightforward career path, he hoped. What he hoped for above all, however, was for a better future for Fable and Ruby. They didn't have to work like dogs as he did. No, they would live a happy life, with happy people.

'I'm a testament,' Travis began, staring down his father as though he was a convicted felon, 'A testament to the fact that you two cannot raise a child. You need to resolve your own issues, and leave Fae and Ruby out of this.' He looked at his mother now, still the beautiful "golden mistress" she was back in '86, and he offered her a sympathetic gaze.

'You want to take my children?' Desmond said.

'Your children!? You've done nothing, old man. Nothing,' Travis said.

'No, you don't get it. I'm not disagreeing.'

'Just don't call them your children you piece of shi-'

'Travis!' Selina said, pleading to her son with an outstretched hand. 'Let's not make this another fight.'