Life Light by R.J. Ross Page B

“She was a lovely woman, but small and not very noticeable in comparison to the rest of the team. I do not mean to say you are not noticeable, kitten! You are quite adorable--“
    “It’s okay,” I say. I sound a bit breathless, I notice. “I know I don’t stick out. I look...“ I pause to breathe for a moment, “like a normal girl.”
    “I think you’re beautiful,” Liz says faithfully.
    I give her a grateful grin.
    “It is part of being a healer, kitten,” Grandma says gently. “I think my Nicolas has already told you this, no?”
    “Yeah,” I admit.
    “It is a built in self-defense. But that does not mean you ARE normal. You should have very good stamina and strength--not on our level, of course, but much better than that of a norm. It is needed for your job. That you have another defensive ability is a pleasant surprise!”
    “I...” I keep going down, trying to figure out how to say this, “You... realize that it was mostly Grandpa’s fault that I actually used it, right?” I say finally.
    “Oh, yes, I know,” she says far too casually. “He can be quite frustrating, my Clifford.” I feel a large hand gently pat me on the back. “I am proud of you for putting that behind you.”
    “How DID you put it behind you?” Liz asks abruptly. “I mean, I still feel strange calling him 'Dad,' and I’m a blood relative--I can’t exactly deny it.”
    “Liz!” Grandma scolds.
    “It’s true, Tatiana,” she says. “He was always gone. Nico got to where he absolutely hated him. I was stuck there, listening to him rant about how useless our ‘Father’ really was. He did calm down, though, after Dad ‘died,’” she says, her tone softening. “He started college, moved into the dorms, and met Pan and Summer.”
    “And you?” Grandma asks.
    “I was still pretty much alone,” Liz says quietly, “he would stop by daily, make sure everything was going well--that I was being taken care of by the lady he hired. She kept me fed, took me shopping, signed papers for school, that sort of thing. And then Nico was arrested.”
    “What happened?” I ask.
    “I moved into Central Hall, where I got my GED and started working as a cape,” Liz says. “The closest person to my age was Taurus, and he was transferred to the West Branch before I really tried to get to know him. But then I met Jeanie,” she goes on, her tone turning bright.
    “Jeanie is Star Spangled?” Grandma asks.
    “Yes! She’s a bit older than I am, but we didn’t care--we became best friends almost instantly,” Liz says. I smile, feeling much better about this story now. I always knew that Liz and Jeanie were best friends, but I didn’t know how it started. “She automatically accepted me. She was newly married and had a one-year-old, but she always made time for me. I learned to change diapers and she learned how to lure me out of video games. It was a good time. I just wish I’d known about the twins,” she adds a bit sadly. “I would have grabbed them out of the home in a heartbeat.”
    “So Nicolas did not tell you?”
    “Nico didn’t know,” I say. I’ve heard this part--Emily, Zoe, and Adanna are best friends. I’ve been dragged into a few of their sleepovers. It’s even funner when we get Morgan to come over. We learn a lot about each other on sleepover nights.
    “Yeah, Nico didn’t have a clue. I’m not sure Summer even noticed until Nico was arrested, actually. There was no way to tell him when he was in the Cape Cells--supers aren’t allowed to visit.”
    “And why did she not tell Mastermental?” Grandma demands. “This is why they were not known to you, is it not?”
    “I don’t know,” Liz admits. “I need to ask her sometime.”
    Grandma sighs. “There is much that happened while I was not here,” she complains. “I, too, would have been happy to take the twins in. I... have failed my family so much.”
    “You didn’t fail! Things happened--it could have been a lot worse, you know?” I