The next morning followed our eventful night faster than Mika or I hoped. We had spent the night chatting away from our beds, occasionally bringing out our phones to text instead when we feared we might have gotten too loud. When Mika turned over to her screen and laughed softly to herself, that quiet but sincere sound I never got used to, I knew this was the latest someone had kept her awake, and she was loving it.

    Eventually, we both passed out somewhere around two or three in the morning. When my alarm nudged me awake just a few hours later, I strangely felt ready while Mika looked deep in rest. I didn't wait on her to get a jump on the day. I gathered my clothes for the day, made a change in the bathroom before brushing my hair and teeth, and headed downstairs. 

    On the tour of the agency I recalled half of the first floor being for domestic use, completed with a standard kitchen that Venus informed me of. Although, I learned that their definition of "standard" well exceeded mine as I stepped into the sleek, modern, and well renovated room. I felt as if all the fancy cooking machines in there might have been smarter than me, so I didn't bother with them.

    I looked over the fridge and in the tall cabinets, thanking some higher power for my ability to do so. Along the way, my hand reached back past the cans of protein mix and dehydrated fruit until a familiar shaped box was in my reach.

    There we go.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

     Minutes later, I was sitting at the bar counter in the kitchen with a bowl of kids' cereal in front of me and the box close to my hand for refills. I wasn't sure why Huntsman kept this in the back of his cabinets behind all of his healthy snacks. It was possibly stored there in case his employees brought their children to work, but for the time being, it was used to feed his new intern who couldn't cook to save her life.

    I sat alone for a good while, monitoring my phone for any missed messages, checking up on my old class group chat, and seeing how my new classmates were holding up at their internships through their socials. As I grew bored with myself, I waited until I heard the ding of the elevator bringing someone down. Footsteps followed through the hallway until a short visitor ducked her head of dark hair through the doorway.

    "Morning," I greeted her, shoveling more spoonfuls of cereal into my mouth.

    Mika only waved back, clearing her throat before speaking back, the tiredness seeping through a gravelly tone, "Good morning."

    My full mouth curled up into a small smile when seeing her act somewhat decent to me, a change I wouldn't ever grow used to or tired of. I pushed a second bowl I had prepared towards Mika, leaving the empty barstool free for her if she chose it.

    "I made you breakfast."

    Her eyebrows knitted down to the bowl as she took the spoon in her hand. "Cereal?"

    I didn't expect Miss Insanely Wealthy to be a picky eater, but I played nice, "Hey, be glad; it's the only thing I can't burn."

    The chuckle I got out of Mika was either amusement or sarcasm, both options seeming better than the cold shoulder. We each ate our breakfast in silence periodically before I finished up and started conversation. It took a few words exchanged until Mika and I fell back into our rhythm of talking, and we grew comfortable with each other's company again. I had forgotten how...pleasant she could be when she wanted to. She even brought up the topic of liking my gadgets, and at one point aspiring for a career in science back in middle school. We had a lot more in common than I thought, and I learned that more and more as we talked.

    Time flew by for us, even as Mika's phone blew up with messages and she ignored them. It wasn't until we heard loud footsteps thundering down the hallway, making a clear path for us, when we stopped. The kitchen door was flung open, no sign of the person waiting to turn the knob. I was paralyzed when met with the raging stare of the Pro Hero in front of me. Huntsman didn't say a word to Mika or myself, and I took it as my cue to turn my head away from his cold glare and look at my empty bowl for a while.

    Oddly, Mik didn't bat an eyelash at her father, even if he demanded to know why she had been ignoring his calls. Mika nonchalantly answered him, saying she never felt like taking his messages until it was time for training. Huntsman looked ready to break the counter in two, but he instead took a breath and stood in front of his daughter as he interrogated her about last night.

    I wasn't sure how she was keeping it together. With his Hero costume on, his tan and white suit free of wrinkles or folds and his dark black cloak dropping over broad shoulders, I was sure he could scare answers out of any kid. But Mika held her ground, not lying to her dad, but not caving in either.

    "Well, Mika," Huntsman began, "Security tells me they found something quite peculiar on last night's camera footage."

    Mika didn't skip a beat, playing aloof and sarcastic flawlessly "You don't say."

    "Would you happen to know anything about that?"

    "Of course, but I think you should scream at me more before I say anything."

    "I'm not screaming!" Huntsman contradicted, playing right into his daughter's game. Huntsman sighed an irritated growl as he pinched the bridge of his nose. I made the terrible mistake of glancing up for a second, only to get those ocean blue daggers thrown my way.

    "I should blame myself for trusting a spoiled General Studies student to not taint my well-behaved daughter, but I'll instead give you the benefit of the doubt. It's impossible to tell what they rot you kids with down in the Business Department. Qonstance was never an adequate authority, but I suppose, those who can't do teach."

    On the inside, I wanted to walk out or take a swing at this guy. It was one thing to condescend me or timelessly forget simple details, but even as he started to contradict himself, I was barely able to hold it together.

    I stood up out of my chair, letting my stare harden at this man. My argument was already prepared to tear this man apart in no less than two minutes, but I froze when I felt a hand wrap around my wrist. I didn't move my eyes, not hinting Huntsman to Mika as she sat with perfect posture and continued eating like everything was ordinary despite her hand underneath the table clutching my fingers.

    For whatever reason it was, I knew exactly what Mika was wanting to tell me. I felt her silently bringing me back to my seat and letting Huntsman rant his anger out to us. She didn't seem at all upset. For a moment, I thought it was because she was used to his tantrums, and it got me riled up again. But I caught a glimpse of Mika's eyes that changed my mind. I saw a sense of content in her green emeralds, and I knew she wasn't letting him do this to her. It was her way of showing how strong she was by taking everything he threw and not giving a damn.

    I tried to learn from her, and as difficult as it was, in the end, it was satisfying.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

    Let's see, as the internship continued, I had to admit that it wasn't my worst nightmare. As Mika and I grew tolerant of each other, I began to enjoy the nights we would "train" upstairs with her video games until I eventually won a few matches.

    The mornings were spent with Venus as he taught me to cook some basic meals. His wisdom didn't last in my head as I burnt every piece of toast I attempted, but Mika enjoyed watching me try and Venus never stopped encouraging.

    In the afternoons, we trained with Huntsman. Eventually, he wanted us to take on more golems, starting with his scorpion. I wasn't afraid though. I knew with the help of my new bestie, we could kick some stone ass.

    With my entire body holding down the scorpion's tail, Mika used her chains to wrap around it, letting me grab the ends and run in the opposite direction, a move we called Rose Quartz.

    This let me wrap up the monster's claws and head; Mika was able to keep it in place with her Quirk. I used my brass knuckles with the help of some extra momentum by swinging from a metal chain, thanks Mika, to knockthe beast down in one hit. When we finally bested Huntsman's scorpion golem, I noticed Mika even showed her appreciation.

    She had turned to me after releasing her grip on her telekinetic chains, sending me a slight nod as she said, "You can count on me for backup on the next one."

    I was aware it wasn't much, but going from silently hating one another to that was a big plus. It was so relieving that I barely focused on the "next one" part.

    Unfortunately though, Mika was onto something. Huntsman didn't stop after we beat the scorpion, a level that Mika had never passed before. We trained and trained with more golem creatures, each one more nightmarish than the last. A week later, Mika and I were pinned against a jade spider that reached the ceilings. If it had been any bigger, Huntsman might have had us step outside to battle. We started off our training with the spider crystal scared to death, something that Huntsman seemed to enjoy seeing in us after we grew confident. But as Venus cheered us on and Mika and I strategized, we both knew the golem didn't stand a chance.

    I struggled to keep my hold on the spider's legs, but Mika used chains made from the jade that covered the spider's fangs to wrap it around itself and keep it in place. We quickly traded places as she held the spider back, and I geared up for a smackdown.

    However, that's when things got weird.

    I focused my energy on my brass knuckles as always, by wrapping my mind around my hand until I felt the warm light refabricate around it. But as I stood face to face with this enormous... thing, my confidence faltered, a feeling I wasn't used to since the sports festival or that fateful night at middle school.

    I stalled and internally chastised myself for it. Before I could fall, run, or get my face ripped off by this monster, I heard Mika scream out my name followed by a rooting cheer that I could do this. My expression hardened as I felt my mind gain control back, and I took a swing harder than I ever had before.

    My eyes had been shut as the feeling in my left fist burned all the way up my elbow. I figured it was the impact from colliding with the jade and stone, but peeking my eyes open, I saw a pink glow surrounding my arm and protecting me from the damage. The translucent light gave me the familiar memories of when I could use my Quirk to its full extent, and I remembered what my friends in Support told me.

    It was my Quirk. Maybe it was thanks to the new bionics, but that sure as hell came from me, and I couldn't have been happier. As Huntsman lectured me on my "so-so" performance, I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. I would have to talk to Rocket or Mei about my new trick later, but for the time being I had, in a way, leveled up. And it rocked!

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

    More days pass with my power growing stronger along with my bonds at the agency. I stepped into my room for what was the last night I would be spending at the Geo Agency, the divided room welcoming me like I'll never leave. After we each changed and readied ourselves for bed, Mika and I hung out as normal. We finished a few rounds of Hero Mania until I let her play on her own for a while. I sat on my bed and brought out my laptop, its scuffed red exterior reminding me that I hadn't updated its model in years. I may be an inventor, but, hey, I was a little sentimental. I ran my thumbs over the old stickers on the case before opening it up to see the bright glow of my homescreen.

I dimmed the light down to fit the room as Mika and I sat with only the glow of her television and a couple lamps in the room. Searching through my emails, I found a lengthy message from Q I had long forgotten to respond to. Of course, he worded every email like an essay filled with many questions and suggestions about my trip. Since there was one day left, and he was sure to follow up sooner than later, I messaged him back to say I could video chat as proof that I was doing okay.

    Seconds later, my screen displayed Q's contact with an incoming call. As I clicked on the answer square, I was greeted with a ginormous smile from the crazy, green-haired scientist that I had missed for weeks.

    "Splendid evening, chuckaboo!" Q waved from his desk computer, leaning in as I waved back from my bed. I mirrore his grin, the warm feeling coming back to me as I learned I had missed his silly nicknames more than I thought.

    "Hey," came my response with a wave back to him. Q clasped his hands together, surely as glad to see me as I was to see him. After waving back and forth for a moment, Q sighed and continued.

   "So, how is it over at the dire headquarters of One Too Many Rock Puns?"

    I chuckled at the distaste in his tone as he spoke of his arch rival's company, being in too good of a mood for bitterness. "The Geo Agency is fine. We have done so much work, but I'm improving. I think I've got a real shot at this Hero thing, you know?"

    My eyes drifted from the screen to the very building I talked about. They followed the light to Mika's dark colored twintails resting against her shoulders as she kept a laser focus on her game. I looked back to Q with my voice falling slightly quieter as I bragged, "I even made a friend here."

   Q wasn't as subtle as he congratulated me with a cheer so big I half expected confetti to fall from his ceiling. "That's amazing! Hard to believe? Sure, but nevertheless impressive!"

    I took the compliment well, knowing I went through hell and back with this Pro Hero to get on decent terms with his daughter, but it was well worth it. Q had the right idea about me needing to learn how to manage myself with others and work as a team. Just one of the many other things he didn't need to hear about how right he was.

    "Nevermind me," I changed the subject, "How have you been?"

    I may or may not have worried for Q these past weeks. He was an adult, I knew that, but still, he had become something close to family that I wondered what he would be up to without having to look out for me.

    Q sighed and leaned back in his office chair, "Well, you know me, I must stay busy like the eager beaver I tend to have the hallmarks of. Not much time to kick up my heels as they say." While 'they' haven't been talking like that for a hundred years, I still felt myself growing reminiscent of Q's babbling nonsense.

    "Now, I find that hard to believe," I kidded. Q responded with a wave and something like 'pish-posh', earning another laugh from me doing so. "Come on, without me there what keeps you busy?"

    His bright eyes light up even more behind those thick frames as Q sat up attentively, "I am quite glad you ask!"

    I know after missing him for a while that I shouldn't have been nervous when he said this. The man was bonkers, for sure, but he could handle himself without someone keeping an eye on him. Right?

    Wrong. So very wrong.

    Q leaned down to the floor where only his spiky green hair stuck out to the camera. When he lifted himself back up, he brought into view the tiniest baby kitten scooped up in his arms. Covered in caramel fur with black and white spots dotting its coat like chocolate chips on warm cookies, I was horrified to see the baby feline in Q's arm.

    "Q..." I warned him, leaning closer to my screen.

    He only smiled at the yawning kitten in his arms as he calmly responded, "Tallulah-"

    "Q...!" I didn't need to hear whatever explanation he was planning when I met this cat. I wasn't having it.

    Q kept trying, "Oh, Tallulah-"

    "Q!" But I was too late.

    "Meet my new friend!" I groaned as Q proudly held up the kitten in a Lion King-ish fashion. Q laughed with joy after winning the conversation and hugged his cat close to his chest as he offered a formal introduction.

    "His name is Oxy: short for Oxygen, long for Ox. Fun factoid, I call this rascal Oxygen because, well, I don't think I can live without him."

    I rubbed my forehead with every detail he provided. "Q, we said no cats! I'm gone a few days, and you already replace me with one?"

    "Don't be foolish," the man scoffed. "He's a cheetah."

    "What‽" I nearly choked on air with those words, the questions and lack of answers hitting me in the gut.

    I cleared my throat, but it didn't wash away the utter shock in my voice, "Where did he come from?" Yes, it was an obvious question, but still, I couldn't expect a clear answer from Q. "Just please tell me I don't have to post bail anytime soon."

    Another scoff and, "You're so paranoid," was his only response.

    "Gee, I wonder why," I painfully laughed with the sudden headache making it's way to the front of my skull.

    Q rolled his eyes at my exhaustion. He rested Oxy in his lap as he cautiously explained to me before I freaked myself out. "I'm only keeping an eye on Oxygen momentarily. I chum of mine, Dr. Bea Chiba down at the wildlife center, is running tests on his mother, and I agreed to cheetah-sit for her."

   I wasn't proud to admit it, but the cheetah didn't seem like the most interesting part to me. What piqued my curiosity more than the tiny predator in our house was oddly the detail about Q having a friend, and a female friend no less. I didn't know many of his associates outside of UA other than Huntsman, and I'd hardly call those two close. I tried to dig more into this new person without being obvious, the interest chipping away at me.

    "You know, cheetahs have a lot of anxiety, the most in many other species, so until Oxy can go back to his mother, it's best for him to be attended to by another being."

    "Uh-huh," I faked interest and began shifting the subject. "And was that your idea?"

    "Oh, no," he answered honestly. "No, I wasn't familiar with their behaviors, but Dr. Bea explained they can be easily stressed and she worried for the wee fella until I offered to take care of him thusly."

    "Aw, well, that's nice of you."

    Q smiled at his furry friend, the pleasant thought of possibly something, or I hoped someone, playing on his face. "I suppose it is."

    I began to think about what his world must be like. For us neurotypicals, it's easy to think of a million reasons not to keep a cheetah in your home, but Q was special. His brain was wired in a way that didn't think of this as so black and white. He simply saw an animal that needed a home and welcomed it in. He loved pets, and this kitten needed someone to love him, so to Q, it was a flawless plan. As much as I enjoyed learning about how his mind processed and watching him talk about this mysterious friend of his with a sincere smile, I tried talking him out of keeping Oxy.

    "I'm coming home tomorrow, and we already have enough pets as it is," Istarted, only to see Q looking to his phone with deep concentration.

    "Are you listening?" I asked.

    "No."

    Offended but intrigued, I tried looking closer at the screen to see if I could point out what Q was reading. He didn't say a word though, and I tried going back on topic.

    "This is important, Q."

    "No, no, Tallulah, I'm serious. Have you checked the news lately?"

    I was starting to worry again, but answered with an honest headshake. I let Q go on, my arms wrapping around my stomach with the painful suspense I was being left on. "What's wrong?"

    Q's mouth dropped open as he stalled with his answer. He pushed up his glasses and leaned over to the computer to type away and avoid telling me. Before I couldn't take the wait anymore, Q finally led me on by telling me to turn on channel 3 and watch.

    I didn't pause for a second before I was climbing out of bed and pacing over to the couch where Mika was playing more rounds of Hero Mania. I leaned over her shoulder and told her in all seriousness, "We need to turn on the news."

    "Okay." She didn't fight with me on it, and I was grateful to see her quickly pause her game and switch to the live news reports of a helicopter view of a city downtown, Hosu.

    "Is that...?" Mika whispered as I climbed over the back of the couch to sit next to her, watching the TV unblinking. I couldn't answer her just yet, not until I could make sense of it all. Names pan over the screen as the on site reporter describes the brutal attack that threatened Heros, sidekicks, and interns with an out of the blue villain attack. People were thrown into mass panic as villains once roamed the streets with one ideal in mind, slaughtering any Pro in cold blood. No warnings, no hints, no clear answers. Countless others  abd I were frozen in our seats as the name of the fearless criminal claimed the lives of innocents: Stain.

    If only I could have said that's where things got interesting.

    "I'll be damned." Mika turned up the volume as the news reporter read out the names of the people stopping the attacks and fighting back. My heart dropped when the names and faces of a handful of UA students flashed on the screen. My new classmates had made themselves known to the media in a way I never expected them to.

    I felt the shaky thoughts float out in pure disbelief, "No...fucking...way..."

    My hands held onto the laptop where Q waited for me. I looked down to him with a loss for words as he hugged onto the shivering cat and consoled me.

    "I'm so sorry, kid."

AN:

Hello again, background baddies! I apologize for the late update, but I was working hard to pack so much into this chapter. There's a TON to talk about here, and I'm excited to dive into it all!

This is the last part of the internship arc meaning that RLR will be put on hiatus until the next arc is completed and I can continue regular updates. This won't be long at all, but I'm determined to finish the current side works I have before I focus all my attention to the next arc. I have a good feeling you guys are going to like this next arc as it's more involved with 1-A and about Rose's new connections there. I am thrilled to start that, and I hope you all will stick around for that!

For now, I'm curious to know what your favorite part of this current arc was? This was one of my favorites to write, and I'm very grateful in my opportunities to write long chapters and publish them on time for you guys.

I want to also thank you all for sticking around not only in this story but also giving me 10k on Rocket's book! That, and you guys have been so awesome with your support to Rocket's new side story, TFIOS, featuring Koto Yamada from Muted Voices.

I've said it a hundred times, but I have the BEST readers in the world here with me! You guys are incredible!! Thank you for everything, and I can't wait to see you again with the next arc!

Tune in for more updates here and in my other works. I'll try hard to be quick with more of RLR, but until then, I'll see you guys in the next update: The Exam Arc!

Character Spotlight: Professor Q
(Original)
Quirk: Blueprint
Likes: animals

Thank you so much to marchdoodlesalot on Instagram for commissioning this for me!

Dedicated to -butterfly--effect-