Chapter Text
Yang exited the tall building, it was a start-up company that developed seriously intense video games for the new hyper-realistic virtual reality system. They needed testers and she needed money. It gave her a wicked headache but the reward was worth it.
She pushed all thoughts of money from her mind as she made her way into the bustling streets of Vale City. Nestled on the states’ west coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Vale is the shining beacon of twenty-third-century progress—not to mention the city she’s called home for most of her life. The little island of Patch may have been her birthplace but she felt more at home in this concrete kingdom.
She stepped into a crowd next to a faunas woman whose skin was covered in fish-like scales, each one reflecting a different color. She supposed this might surprise some people, but never her. NYC had finance, LA has entertainment, and DC has its politics, but VC was the home of the genetically gifted . A place where they really shined. Pun intended.
They were heroes and heroines with amazing powers ranging from telekinesis to something as simple as being able to talk to trees—the Powered . Or even those who didn’t have a “Power” their genetic makeup took a different turn and more so just had a tail, horn or other extra limb—what America has dubbed as faunas . Most would say faunas had useless abilities, what can having horns on your head help with, right? She didn’t believe in those who didn’t consider faunas to be apart of the Powered community. Their senses were far better; heightened hearing and night-vision, unless you shared a dominant trait with an animal that is blind or deaf for example. Along with sharing a physically-visual genetic trait, they also shared other traits. Avian faunas could fly, canine faunas could find missing people and cheetah faunas were exceptionally fast. Yang liked to believe that there was no such thing as a truly useless gift, everyone had their area of expertise and that just made them more unique in her opinion. Everyone is needed somewhere .
”’ With great power comes great responsibility’ is a cliche adage.” As her dad always said. “ The real responsibility isn’t just using your strengths for fighting evil, It also means setting an example for others. Not just physically with your powers, but also emotionally with your kindness, socially with your interactions and mentally with your words.
The power doesn’t make the person, Yang. You do, and it doesn’t make you any better or worse than your Powered or Unpowered peers. The real heroes are the citizens who don’t need powers to do good and get no credit for it, you don’t need superpowers to be a hero. You do good, you die great .”
Something about those words always resonated with her. Notwithstanding, one’s powers were a manifestation of the soul —or as the faunas say “ your spirit animal ”, he was right, it didn’t make the person. What you did with said gifts did.
“ If more people realized this, the world would be a better place. Compassion and benevolence can save as many lives as a guy with laser-beam eyeballs .” Yang smiled, repeating her father’s words to herself.
She took the words to heart and she knew she would help as best as she could. She would do good to her very last breath and die great. Starting with Vale— the most diverse Powered capitol of the country.
A fact she’s reminded of as a quaking sonic boom pulsed through the air. The blonde looked up to see two girls fitted in chocolate-colored armor rocket across the sky, a cloud of gold smoke left in their wake that smelled oddly like coffee. She sighed, knowing that she belonged up there with the Powered Huntsmen .
Yeah, you might not need powers to do good but she felt like she needed the whole package. As much as she wished it could, kind words could not evaporate a super-powered villain, even her parents knew that. Doctors, firefighters, police officers and the military were heroes too, she knew that, but she also knew that she had a gift and she wanted to use it.
These days, one out of every three people is born with Powered abilities and pretty much every one of them wants to be a hero but only the truly great ended up being Huntsmen, the real deal. Especially now that Powered Huntsmen have surpassed normal movie stars, influencers, and musicians to set the standard for A-list celebrity. Athletes still had their own fame though, considering Powered individuals were not allowed in the Olympics or any sports team or league, even if your power didn’t affect your athletic performance. Especially faunas, ever since a rabbit-faunas dominated in the national slam dunk contest and won a million big ones. The sad part was, a piranha-faunas with the dream of being in the MLB was kicked out but was swiftly taken in by the military, used for his infrared sight which was useful in spotting enemy soldiers who could camouflage or turn invisible.
She’d also love to be flying home right now, considering that she simply could unlike most people... However, after one too many repugnant midair collisions, the Vale Department for the Regulation of Powered Resources (VDRPR) designated the skies for government-licensed travelers only.
Flying may have been off limits, technically, but that had never stopped her. A bit of air travel that cut the time home in half in lieu of taking the freaking over-crowded train wouldn’t hurt anybody. That’s how she justified it at least.
Sure, the cost of transportation has grown crazy cheap since the Schnee Fusion Plant was erected (among the Schnee’s many other businesses) and one of Vale’s best economists and well-known elephant-faunas used her gift of intelligence and calculated the cure for inflation. But that doesn't stop the V-train from taking forever during rush hour. Even though it would be unfortunate to get caught flying illegally, she’d been soaring around Vale ever since she could crawl-fly, so she knew all the best routes to keep herself hidden from view.
Stepping into a deserted alley, Yang leapt into the air and tensed her muscles to kick-start her flight. Most people think flying feels like floating, but she knew it really felt more like swimming —it takes a lot of muscle control and endurance. Luckily, she’s been training for years, the way a runner trains for a marathon, so she can fly today without much trouble. The blonde pulled upward, feeling gravity work with instead of against her.
Keeping close to the cover of the rooftops, she began to weave her way home, cruising in and out of clearings with missile-like precision.
And when a helicopter buzzed its way through the sky above, she couldn’t help but flash her trademark toothy, white smile.
She dropped down to the street as she entered the familiar neighborhood: VC’s East Side, which consisted mostly of public housing projects, pawnshops, a shady strip club, liquor stores and Junior’s rundown night club, which people mainly just used as a bar. Despite its lack of charm, the East Side was still home, so she made herself relax upon approaching the apartment building.
A reverberating crunch of glass snapped her senses to attention. Half a block up, a body careened through the air as he was thrown through the window of a building. A young girl with writhing snakes coiled around her outstretched arms stood on the sidewalk nearby. Great, not only was she a Powered faunas but she was also a rare one—possessing snake traits with a power of...snake hands..to boot. Before Yang can even blink, the body in the building leapt out the window and into the sky. It's another teenager whose woolly knees bent backward, like a goat.
Shit, she cursed to herself—another faunas gang fight. The East Side was home to a large segment of the faunas Powered population, widely known to have the most interspecies tension. There's an especially vicious feud between two local faunas-gangs; The Cold-Bloods—mostly consisting of reptilian and amphibian faunas and The Warm-Bloods—which consists mainly of, you guessed it, mammalian and avian faunas. The fish faunas tended to stay out of it.
As goat-kid (kid-kid?) bounds through the air, snake-girl reacts. Her arm-snakes surge forward, straightening their impossibly long bodies and clamping on to goat-kid’s thighs with their teeth. Snake-girl then whips her arms back, using the snakes as levers to smash the goat child into the hard pavement.
Knowing the goat-boy wouldn’t be able to take much more, Yang made her decision. She was on snake-girl quickly, she never saw it coming.
In addition to flight, Yang found that the ability to generate and command fire would help plenty. Your power can surface at any age but most awaken at a young one, mainly between ages three to thirteen. Lots of laws were put into place for those exact reasons. No one wants to chase around their naked three year old who can survive a truck to the face and bench press its entire family. Yes, that has happened way too often for her liking.
Her own abilities were fitting, alarmingly so. She was a hothead at times, everyone knew that. When she was younger, she knew a boy who knew Chinese and jokingly teased her, mercilessly, when he found out her name after she made a ball of fire dance in her hand. “ I’ve never seen a blonde dragon before !” He would say. Yes, her name was way too fitting but at least her name wasn’t Monkey King .
These were just kids though. She wouldn’t need her full Xiao-Long badassery.
Sprinting a full speed, she jump-tackled snake-girl before she had a chance to defend herself. A quick shoulder-check and she was knocked into the nearby wall.
With snake-girl diverted, she turned her attention back to goat-boy, who was already bounding up the street and mumbling curses as he fled. Which is just as well—her only goal here was to stop the idiots from killing each other, since getting involved is technically illegal and...an act of vigilantism.
Before any Powered person can start a career as a professional hero, they must apply for a Powered Huntsmen License. To lessen the number of applicants, the VDRPR makes the process rather lengthy and expensive. Yang completed all the paperwork, waited until she was the right age and passed the Power competency tests, but has been saving up for a while to pay the substantial application fee. That’s the delay now, money, as it always is.
So, with those shenanigans neutralized, Yang figured it was time to leave before she got into any unnecessary trouble.
"They were at it for almost eight god-forsaken minutes and no one did a darn thing!”
Turning to the source of the voice, she found a mother and her young son standing on the street, both looking quite relieved. The mother pressed a napkin to the little boy’s cheek, against a small cut.
"They blocked the door to our apartment," the mother says. "We tried to run inside but the debris nicked us. These faunas have been getting so dangerous lately…Anyway, who do I have to thank for stopping them?"
Yang ignored the faunas comment and spoke. She didn’t do this for the attention and it was better to be anonymous but she felt the need to let them know they’d be safe whether she had a stupid license or not.
“I'm Yang," she says, shaking her hand. "Just doing what any other decent person would do."
"Well thank you, Yang," she replied, smiling.
"Are you a Huntress?" the little boy whispers, gazing up at her with sparkling brown eyes.
She wasn’t even a hero yet , never mind a full-on Huntsmen. She didn’t even have a license . But hell, if she gave off the vibe of a pro Huntress then she wasn’t going to question it.
“Uh-“
"Oh, yes I think she is, " the mother answers.
"Just, uh, get home safe," Yang says, continuing her walk to her own home, not admitting that she wasn’t a real hero —
At least not yet .
She walked inside the apartment, instantly hit with the familiar fragrance of roses. That smell always lingered thanks to her little sister, who is also Powered. Her ability to move faster than a bullet was always a hard thing to keep up with. It matched her hyper movement and fast-talking tendencies. Ruby would leave petals everywhere and they were a bitch to clean up when the silver-eyed girl didn’t have the energy to evaporate them all. The apartment has always pleasantly smelled like a rose bush and cookies and Yang couldn't imagine it any other way.
Yang approached her speedster of a sister, kissing her hello on the forehead, then stepped back to point to the new video game she brought home.
"Some extra cash for being their guinea pig and they even let me keep the game, so go nuts.”
"Aw yeah, thank you! And every little bit helps though!" Ruby hurriedly reassured before staring down at the floor, scuffing it with the toe of her boot. "I’m sorry I can’t help you more...”
It may have been hard sometimes, but it’ll never be Ruby’s fault, Yang knew. If anything, her shortcomings with the money situation felt like her fault and hers alone. The rational part of herself knew that they were in a rough patch because she had to go from big sister to mother figure way too fast, she was still learning.
“Ruby. I told you to stop with the apologizing or even the thank yous. You did nothing wrong and you don’t have to thank me like I’d ever want to do something besides have you as my partner in crime. Not getting rid of me that easily, shortstack.” Yang ruffled the shorter girl’s red-tipped hair before heading towards the kitchen.
"What are you in the mood for," she says, turning around to face Ruby. “Because I am starving . We may even have enough cash-money for dessert!”
Turning back around and heading into the kitchen, the blonde stopped short upon seeing the feast laid out on the kitchen table. “Did we get robbed by really nice people?”
"Happy Birthday," Ruby says with a grin, hugging her side.
Yang froze. A million questions ran through her head, followed by a plethora of emotions. What the hell? How did you get the money? When did you get the money? Where was I? You cooked? How is the apartment still standing? How did I forget my own birthday?
Well, the last one wasn’t hard to answer. Frankly, her birthday hardly mattered. She only made an effort to remember Ruby’s and save up for that. It had always been her taking care of Ruby. Always.
That’s why, when Yang finally got her brain in order to speak, a tear escaped her eyes.
The gesture meant something, even a short break from cooking or using up money on fast food meant a lot. She was so tired of being tired...
“I’m sorry! Are you mad? Do you not li-“ The rest of Ruby’s nervous babble was cut off as the blonde engulfed the shorter girl in a big bear hug, lifting her in the air. “I can’t breathe!”
“Thank you, Ruby.”
The meal reminded her of home.
—-
Both girls finally pushed their plates away, their stomachs uncomfortably full. It turns out Ruby had been helping out an elderly woman in the neighborhood. She went into town for her, did errands, and grabbed the mail. Ruby had assured Yang that it was fine and perfectly safe because it’s not like anyone could catch her anyway. Even if it still bothered her, the older sister ultimately let it go.
The woman rewarded her week of work with a homecooked meal and some money. A meal that Yang was grateful for, it would last a little while and she wouldn’t have to cook. She didn’t mind it but she was just so, so tired sometimes; a bone-deep exhaustion that she would need to sleep off most days. Sleep that she didn’t have time for.
That woman did better than Yang ever did anyway, her cooking was usually pretty heavy when she could: all meat and bread and pasta, and vegetables that she would have to basically force into the younger girl’s mouth.
Ruby had waited for Yang to finish up, practically vibrating in her seat.
"You’re done! Now I can give you your present!" she says, turning to a shelf above the table where several pictures of their family sat, next to a candle and an artificial rose.
The silver-eyed girl hopped on her tippy-toes and reached for an envelope.
“You know you didn’t have to get me anything.” Yang responded, using her taller stature to easily reach above the girl and grab the gift. “What is it? A birthday card?”
They had this conversation before. “Save the money for yourself, Rubes. I’m not important.” Yang would say.
"Come on, open it," Ruby practically squealed. "I can't waaaaait!"
Knowing it'd be useless to object, she opens the envelope—which is made of a silky fabric—and pulls out a card made entirely out of dried rose petals. Ruby always had an attachment to them. It was a nice touch.
And while this rose-card was especially pretty, the main thing that caught her eye was the envelope’s contents:
A brand new VDRPR-issued Powered License.
Yang read the license, double-checking that the information listed really belonged to her.
Holy shit.
VALE DEPARTMENT FOR THE REGULATION OF POWERED RESOURCES: HERO LICENSE
Name : Yang Xiao Long
Gender : Female (Heroine/Huntress)
Marital Status : Single
Code Name: _____
A code name. She’s been thinking about filling that part out for years. It was blank, obviously, Ruby wouldn’t know anything besides basic information. She never really talked to the younger girl about it much, she didn’t want Ruby to feel like she was the reason she wasn’t following her dream. As always, Ruby was smarter and more intuitive than people gave her credit for.
Now that it was in front of her, she really couldn’t choose. She’s been called lots of things. Her dad called her Little Dragon, her uncle called her Firecracker, her biological mom once called her a Phoenix. Summer, her real mom, called her a Sunflower but said Yang’s conviction and strength always reminded her of a...
Wildfire.
Had a nice ring to it.
Yang stared down in disbelief at the license—Ruby had just given her the gift she’s always dreamed of.
"How…?" she starts to ask, not sure where to begin. “What-“
"All that was left was the humongous bill on your application," Ruby interrupted, waving her off and beaming.
"But Ruby, this is a lot . We can't possibly afford—"
"Shut up," the silver-eyed girl says, crossing her arms. "The lady, Maria, used to be a Huntress! She’s insisted I took it. You would’ve just told me to keep it for myself and this is a way better use for it! Maria’s money plus what I saved up was just enough! You always take care of me, Yang, but who will take care of you? You deserve it.”
Ruby smiled brightly, a smile that they both had in common, but those silver eyes filled with determination only reminded her of Summer.
"Thank you . I-I don’t know what to say..." Is all she could manage, awestruck.
"Then just say you’ll do it," Ruby replies, leaning back in her chair and looking older than she had any right to look. “It’s what mom and dad would want. You won’t just be a normal hero you’ll be a Huntress too, I just know it.”
Yang felt the tears coming back and Ruby responded immediately. It was a role reversal that was not unwelcome; the younger sister comforting the older sister. She was used to being the caretaker but tonight she could let go.