"Where is the Hannah of this world, Sister?"
"This is the Hannah of this world, Riley. I'm not really here—my mind is… just borrowing hers."
"Oh. I truly thought you were all you, Sister. It seems we've been apart for so long, I can no longer tell you from the rest of your variants."
"God… you really haven't fucking changed, have you?"
"I could say the sa to you, Sister."
"You don't know anymore. I've changed—a lot."
"Oh?"
"Oh. And don't do anything weird, alright?"
"Why would I ever do anything weird, Sister?"
"God, I forgot how insufferable you are. Just rember what we talked about—I'll be introducing you as my boyfriend, so no one questions why we're spending so much ti together."
"Of course, Sister."
"Fuck… this'll be the first ti I've seen Dad in, what, hundreds of years?"
Once again, everything felt strange.
Riley stood in front of the house that had once belonged to his family—familiar, yet sohow foreign. Maybe it was the subdivision itself, it was no longer empty. There were actual neighbors now, and a few had even stepped outside to watch as Hannah pressed the doorbell.
And imdiately, a quiet Christmas chi rang out from inside.
"The fuck…" Hannah blinked, taking a step back. "Even here, they haven't changed the doorbell music? Seriously?"
"I heard that the Conqueror variant of Father also did not change the music of their doorbell, Sister."
"Where the hell do you even hear stuff like that?"
"From the internet, Sister."
"Wha—ugh, never mind."
Before she could turn back to glare at Riley, the door clicked open, and she spun to face it, her breaths slightly stuttering. She had t almost a hundred variants of her parents before. But this was the first ti she had to actually pretend to be their daughter. She didn't know how to act, what to say, how much to reveal.
And then the door swung open. Diana stared at her. And imdiately, an exaggerated look of disappointnt twisted across her face.
"What are you doing here?" Diana raised a brow. "Don't tell you're here to ask for money again. Hannah, you're thirty. The only acceptable reason you should be standing at this door is to introduce to my grandchildren."
Her eyes scanned her outfit. "I an, seriously? Being a superhero still doesn't pay? I told you—get a real job. Stop following in your father's footsteps."
Hannah opened her mouth—but there was no chance to reply. Diana nagged at her relentlessly, leaving no room for her to even breathe.
It took nearly five full minutes before Diana finally stopped talking—and not because she was out of things to say. If anything, she looked like she was just getting ward up. But she paused only because she finally noticed Riley, who had been standing silently behind Hannah the entire ti, completely expressionless.
"Wh—" Diana's words caught in her throat. She expected Riley to speak now that they were looking at each other, but he simply stood there, looking blankly at her.
They stared at one another for a few seconds, until Diana's expression softened into a curious smile. She stepped past Hannah, forcefully brushing her aside, and stood in front of Riley.
"Hello," she said, her voice suddenly pleasant. "And who might you be?"
"I am Riley," he replied without hesitation. "Happy Mother's Day, Diana Ross."
And without blinking, Riley pulled a bouquet of roses seemingly out of nowhere and offered them to her with a slight nod.
Diana nearly gasped. She took the bouquet delicately, bringing it to her nose with an appreciative sniff before turning her eyes sharply to Hannah.
"And to think, my own child didn't even wish a Happy Mother's Day," she said coldly. "I thought that was why you ca."
"W-what are you talking about!?" Hannah stamred. "I brought those flowers with him!"
"Bullshit." Diana scoffed. "You didn't even know it was Mother's Day. Always the disappointnt."
"Mom!" Hannah's eyes widened. Even in this perfect simulation, Diana had no filter at all. But maybe that was for the best—at least she didn't have to pretend around her.
"Can you just… let us in first?" Hannah asked, trying to keep her composure. "I need to talk to you about sothing."
"Are you pregnant?"
"What!? No!"
"Then I'm not interested." Diana waved her off.
"W—"
"The only reason I'm letting you in is because you finally brought a man with you." Her smile returned as she turned to Riley, eyes practically gleaming. "Co, Riley. Make yourself at ho."
She didn't even look at Hannah again as she gestured for Riley to follow. Naturally, Riley followed without hesitation, also ignoring Hannah completely. Hannah could really only look at teh two of them in disbelief.
"Seriously?!" Hannah threw up her hands as she stepped inside after them. "I'm your daughter, Mom!"
"I'm not hearing you," Diana rolled her eyes. "I'm going to find a vase for these flowers. Why don't you make yourself useful and fix Riley sothing to eat? And don't tell you still don't know how to cook. You've lived alone for ten years now and—"
"Mom! I get it! Jesus…" Hannah groaned, cutting her off before she could launch into another nagging rage.
As for Riley? He did as Diana ordered; he had already made himself comfortable in the living room. He turned on the TV and sank into the couch like he owned the place.
Diana glanced at him from the hallway and chuckled before disappearing into the kitchen to prep the flowers.
Riley reached for the remote, intending to search for Italian Mafia Reborn, but paused as the news broadcast caught his eye.
[Breaking News: We've just received confirmation that an interdinsional spacecraft has entered Earth's orbit. Its origin is currently unknown, but sources confirm gawoman is already in contact with the vessel.]
"Oh?" Riley tilted his head.
An interdinsional ship?
On the very day he arrived in this so-called simulation created by Fate and the primordials?
Was that… supposed to happen?
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