Of Heroes And Villains: The Ties That Bind By Minikisa An assassin. A fallen hero. An unlikely meeting. The road to redemption is long and hard and filled with explosives.

EPILOGUE


Caroline flipped the slightly dusty light switch, slowly turning on the spot to take in the painfully familiar room. There was her bed, still in the same red sheets she had last seen it, and there was her walk-in closet, filled with trendy fashion that was now so unfashionable it was close to becoming retro once again. The walls were decorated with posters of musicians and half-forgotten teen crushes.

Ian had left her room exactly as it was, preserving it like a loving, if slightly creepy, shrine to her memory.

Kara.

Caroline had taken to thinking of Ian as her little sister with relative ease, and referred to her as such even in her head. But thinking of Ian as Kara was proving substantially harder. Ian was the name she had cherished, Ian was the name she had clung to in her darkest hours and Ian was the name etched deep in her heart. Changing those many associations to Kara was a challenge. Caroline slipped into calling her Ian more often than not.

If it bothered Kara, she did not show it, never visibly reacting to Caroline’s mistakes. Still, Caroline had obsessively researched what Ian must have gone through, and fretted that the misgendered name hurt far more than she let on.

She would make the mental switch in time, but Caroline was contemplating asking Stephen to help the process along.

Of course, Kara would likely soon be facing the challenge of trying to call Caroline by a different name herself. She was already getting ready to lay the groundwork for a new identity, although Caroline had not yet settled on what her new name should be.

The Order strongly encouraged breaking all ties with one’s old identity. For all that he had shaped her life, she didn’t know what Assault’s real name was. Radiance, in turn, had never shared her civilian name with any of the other assassins either, and the only people within the Order who had met her before she had chosen to become Radiance were dead at her hands. But she did not delude herself into thinking that there wasn’t someone at the top keeping track of who she had once been.

Revealing Caroline Reynolds’ miraculous survival was out of the question.

In fact, just associating with Ia – Kara was very risky, and not just to her own safety. When she had brought that up, Kara had gone very quiet. Then she had said that some things were worth dying for, and that she would protect Caroline to her last breath.

Caroline realized she might be biased, but it was an undisputable fact that she had the sweetest baby sister in the whole fucking world.

Though perhaps also not the brightest.

Kara wanted to make the new ID a blood relative of some sort – half-sister by way of their father’s many liaisons kept getting brought up – so she could eventually lay a partial claim to the Reynolds fortune. Caroline kept shooting that idea down, but Kara was like a dog with a bone, no matter how often she insisted that she was quite financially secure.

Secure enough to fund Stephen’s remaining education sans scholarship, in fact. She rather liked putting the money she had acquired by less savory means to good use.

Caroline smiled at the thought of him.


Stephen sighed softly, curling up to rest his head on her lap. She gently ran her fingers through his hair while he shuddered, wordlessly comforting him. Sometimes he would get these restless moods, filled with a longing he couldn’t put into words. In response, Caroline would smile seductively and task him with making her scream his name in pleasure.

He was quite skilled at following orders.

But the surge of happiness at being commanded was always tinged with faint shame.

“Stephen,” she murmured.

“Yes, Caroline?” He never called her Mistress. He hated that word. But somehow he managed to infuse her name with all the gravitas of a revered title.

“There’s nothing wrong with devotion.”

He grew still and did not say anything at all.

But she heard him over their link.

“I’d like that,” she whispered, and leaned down to draw him in for a deep kiss.


There was no doubt in Caroline’s mind that they would spend the rest of their lives together. Nor in his. Still, in order to not freak out their little circle of friends with how fast their relationship had progressed, they kept the wedding plans to themselves. For now.

She made her way to the cupboard, gazing at her old eclectic selection of books. Then she spotted what she’d been looking for, bending down and retrieving a thick binder.

The old springs in her bed creaked a little when she bounced to lie atop of it. The sound was almost overshadowed by the steady staccato of heavy raindrops against the window.

Caroline perused the photo album with her lips curved in a bittersweet smile. She glossed over the pictures of friends she hadn’t thought about in years, and could not afford to meet again. Not that she really wanted to; she doubted she had much of anything in common with them anymore. Instead, her gaze lingered on pictures of Ian. Kara. Happier times with their parents.

She traced the outline of an old, grainy picture of her riding on her father’s shoulder.

After many years, Caroline was finally in the position to build herself a future. But she had wanted to take a moment to appreciate her past.

She turned the page – and froze.

There was a black envelope in place of a picture.


Radiance


The name was written in an elaborately swirling script using shiny silver ink.

Radiance closed her eyes, taking three deep breaths.

When she opened her eyes, the envelope was still there.

She calmly peeled away the strips of transparent duct tape holding it in place, and then gingerly opened it. Her fingertips closed around the letter inside, tugging it out with great care.

Then she unfolded the heavy paper, gazing at the handful of words written in the same beautiful flowing handwriting.


All good things must come to an end.

Check your laptop.

xoxo

Riora, demi-goddess extraordinaire, oracle without equal, connoisseur of fine wines and tiny marshmallows


Radiance set down the letter. Then she raised her head, gaze focusing on the old laptop that stood, preserved just like everything else, atop her desk. After a moment of staring at it, she slid off the bed and flipped it open. She pressed the start button, only to be reminded that she had to plug it in, and then pressed it again.

Never had booting up taken this long. She impatiently paced the room.

Finally, the telltale musical sequence played out and she sat down at the desk.

The desktop background was an infinity symbol. Radiance’s knuckles turned white before she forced herself to relax. She scanned the files, and her gaze fell on a video file simply titled Marshmallows.

It was dated more than five years ago.

After a moment’s hesitation, she clicked on it.

The screen went black, then filled with static, flickering until it revealed the image of a white-haired woman looking directly at the camera. Radiance hissed in a sharp breath.

Her client.

The woman smiled her vacant smile, yet her gaze was sharp and predatory in a way Caroline had never seen it, her pale eyes sparkling with glee.

“Radiance,” she purred. “You retire and I don’t even get a goodbye? You wound me, assassin. But I am willing to overlook your lack of manners. For old time’s sake. Remember that time you killed someone for me? And that other time? Ah, those were the days. Are the days.”

She laughed and her eyes glazed over as she looked at nothing in particular. Radiance’s eyes were wide as she double-checked the timestamp.

How…

“Everknowing, dear.” And suddenly Riora was looking directly at her, not at the camera. Radiance swallowed heavily. “And yes, I know exactly where you are. I know exactly where you will be tomorrow. And the day after that.” Her smile widened. “Did you really think I only track my employees with a tattoo?”

Lightning struck outside, and the light bulb flickered as thunder boomed. Riora clapped her hand in time with it, laughing in delight.

“Sorry for the melodrama, but it was too good to pass up.”

“You…” Caroline whispered.

“Me.” She leaned back in her chair. “I used to try to do it alone, but really, it works so much better with an organization at my feet. Assassins are ever so useful. The right person out of the way here, a politician dead before they can pass a certain law there. Potential strangled in its crib, a loved one taken away to create a hero, and when you kill all the right people, you can even leave one of the most powerful creatures to ever live alone and desperate for companionship.”

Her smile turned sly.

“That is how you steer history, dearest Radiance.”

The silence was filled with the howling wind and the sound of rain. Then Riora pouted.

“Now don’t look at me like that. You’re the one who cruelly abandoned me, not the other way around. Are you mad at me for my deception? That I’m not just a prolific client? But it’s only the nature of the beast. As your sister will be quick to tell you, villains lie.” Her gaze softened. “There is one lie in particular that has served me well over the years. It keeps my operatives in line. Would you like to hear it? I think you’ll even like it.”

She fell silent, looking expectant.

After a moment, Radiance nodded.

“What you hear now you will not tell another soul. Well, with the exception of the ones closest to you, I suppose that can’t be helped. You are lucky that I play favorites. Anyway, where was I…” She trailed off, looking dazed.

“…the lie.”

“Oh yes! The lie.” Riora leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. “Nobody ever leaves my Order.”

Caroline’s lips parted and the mad woman on the screen smiled happily.

“I reward good service, Radiance. You may leave, and I won’t give chase, provided you do not make your past public knowledge. My lie is, after all, still useful, and if you break the illusion, well…”

Lightning struck again, and suddenly a cold hand was at her throat, lips pressing against Radiance’s ear as she whispered, “Then I break you.”

Electricity sizzled and Radiance whirled around.

She was alone.

Behind her, she heard the recording’s slightly distorted voice.

“Goodbye, dear Caroline. You have served your purpose.”

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Author's Note: Thank you all for reading my little tale. I hope you enjoyed the story of Stephen and Caroline as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, please leave a little review; each and every comment I get makes me happier than you know :)

A special thanks to Ian Samson and Canon-Thought for their lovely fanart!