came in like a cannonball

MELITA

“Oh, you already are,” Melita indulged with a grand wink from behind her shades and a smirk, and then she was flicking back down from the float again, submerged into the water. It cast down on her like always; bright and serene, gave her a moment to collect herself from below its depths, before she billowed upwards once more, taking a breath and heading for the side to glide outwards and back to the diving board.

But she listened, a wave of understanding passing through the pair. After her mother’s sacrifice, the Honeybee had only ever relied on herself; through bludgeoning and claws and tipping points where she dragged herself across barbarity and sand. Her uncle had been there, but she’d never allowed him to be a stopping point on her ventures – he had enough of his own angst and melancholy going on, that asking him for aid had never crossed her mind. Nor would she be consumed by another’s looming shadow, couldn’t recall a time she had been, unless it was in those brief and sharp synapses of grief – stepping out into the sun, powerful, potent, and mighty all on her own. Sometimes all she wanted was to become was a threat. “I get that,” she managed instead, thinking of Remi and Ronin’s power, potency, and abilities; the way their competency was bright, but potentially overbearing for a young woman who wanted to be more than just their daughter. What would it have been like though – to have that safety, that support, that comfort, all along? “I’d say you’ve done quite a bit for yourself though.” Yes, they’d been there – anchors and spotters, keepers and guards, but plans, concoctions, calculations had been the Doubletake’s own, for better or for worse. “Don’t sell your own shit short.”

Preparing for another launch, she brought her toes to the edge, smiling at the concoction of so many cannons in such a short amount of time; the impending boom music to her ears and horror to their enemies. “Brilliant,” cast a lengthy, slightly menacing grin, the notions of it all taking shape. “Though don’t get me wrong, the underwater monsters are a bonus. They're doin' all right and everything?"

You're all gonna watch me
Disappear into the sun