OOC: The CD follows up from the events of last week’s roleplay (Deanna’s).
Project: Black Ice
”Like father, Like daughter…”
The Shakespeare
New York City, New York
July 4th, 2022
2:52pm
“Hello, mom. Hello, ‘dad’. Been a long time, hasn’t it?”
Killjoy grinned almost wickedly, as she at the end of the table where the Frosts and VanHohenheims sat – their moment of happiness effectively spoiled by the foul woman’s sudden presence within the pub.
Fortunately, the shock wore off quickly. For the woman farthest from Killjoy, Selena felt a myriad of emotions. She was still buzzing from the parental test that had proven that she was, in fact, Jonathan and Alejandra’s daughter. She also felt a bit of smugness filling her at the sight of Killjoy – the knowledge she now had growing into a desire to throw it all back in her face.
Another test passed! Another obstacle overcome! she thought.
That was all this had been between her and Killjoy. Test after test. First, Killjoy had tried to destroy Selena by having Deanna incarcerated for nearly two years, torturing the Snow Queen without her beloved’s once-constant presence (merely thinking about it caused the platinum-blonde to reach under the table to grip the redhead’s hand, who held onto the pale hand just as tight). After that, the challenge to headline Rise to Greatness and ‘be happy’ so Killjoy could take it all away. Selena had passed that as well last year. After that?
Malcolm’s death and Project: Black Ice.
The deadline to figure everything out.
Killjoy’s plan to see Selena lose everything at Taking Hold of the Flame.
Selena had beaten it all, though it had been far from easy. The only card Killjoy had left to play had been her ‘killshot’ of claiming that she was the REAL Selena Frost, while Selena was a ‘fraud’ (an accusation that had stung far worse than those in SCW that seemed obsessed with that line like The Brand and most of Infamous in the past).
But that ‘shot’ was debunked now. Selena held the proof in her hand, her eyes treading over what Deanna had read aloud moments ago – all the nines of the 99.9999999% assurance that said she was a Frost!
Still, as she opened her mouth the speak, the voice that came out was not hers.
“You’re not my daughter.”
The voice was cold, commanding, and, for a moment, Selena was sure she had heard the voice of her father, Donovan Frost. While the gold-miner had been a rather pleasant man to many in Nome, even his patience had limits. Selena could still remember the few times those limits had been tested – a few with her stepmother, Anastasia, but another had actually been against Malcolm when his son, Gavin, had first bullied Selena. The man had grown riled and even talked down the politician – it was almost like watching a lion on the attack, roaring and defending his cub…
But this wasn’t Donovan Frost… well, it was but it wasn’t… still, to hear that voice again – that Jonathan VanHohenheim still had it… it almost brought a smile to the young woman’s face, which the situation quickly dissuaded.
Despite the tone, Killjoy merely chuckled a little at Jonathan’s declaration, even daring to pluck a French-fry from his plate next, plopping it into her mouth. “Oh, you’re technically right. I’m Donovan Frost’s daughter. Bet you’re glad you lost all those memories, aren’t you?”
He was almost up and out of his seat and would have punched the woman in the face had it not been for Alejandra holding his arm and, thus, him in place. “Jonathan…” she whispered, her eyes turning to regard Killjoy. “I must admit –“ she held her breath a little. “You do look so much like Selena.”
“Hardly.” Deanna scoffed. “Selena’s eyes are much bluer and prettier and her-“
“The bias lovesick puppy aside.” Killjoy mocked, her eyes back on Alejandra. “I must admit… meeting you for the first time in person, I’m not sure what to feel, Mom.”
“You don’t?” Alejandra asked.
“I mean, on one hand – you’re you. My mom and all that. But, at the same time, if it hadn’t been for you, none of this would have happened.”
“Me?” the dark-skinned Alejandra’s eyes widened. “How did I-“
“Well, let’s see.” Killjoy looked up at the ceiling, as if to count with her fingers. “Coming into Donovan’s life, encouraging him to cheat on Anastasia – I mean, yeah that lead to me being born, but with defective genes clearly!”
“How can you-“ Alejandra tried.
“Because of the hole in my heart.” Killjoy shrugged. “I’ll wager it came from you. Or have you told the faker over there.” She tilted her head towards Selena. “About your own genetic issues in your family?”
Despite herself, Alejandra cast a worried glance to Selena, earning a smirk from Killjoy. “Oh…hit something there, didn’t I?”
“Mother?” Selena whispered, but Alejandra shook her head.
“Difficulties at birth have always been common in my family.” She admitted. “It’s too long a story to go any further.” Her eyes returned to Killjoy. “Why are you here now?”
“Yes.” Selena interrupted, taking charge to prevent any more pain to her parents from Killjoy’s words. “You clearly have been watching us still. Still looking for that ‘way to finish me off’?”
Killjoy’s eyes, sapphire in color – just like Selena’s – turned to her, but the Snow Queen pushed forward.
“Tell me something, Killjoy.” Selena whispered, so as not to get the attention of the staff. “Do you ever get tired of seeing your best plans fail?” she crossed her arms over her chest.
“I mean, let’s see…” Selena counted. “You tried to get Deanna and I to stay apart for over a decade with her in prison. Failed. You tried to scare Gavin from becoming mayor. Failed. You forced a deadline and threatened to kill Deanna if I didn’t comply. Failed. And your whole plan to have me ‘lose it all’ last month with Rise to Greatness so close? Yeah…looks like that failed to. And now this…”
Aggressively, Selena thrust the paper in front of Killjoy. “I’d say your ‘magic bullet’ or whatever you call it wasn’t as good a shot as you thought it was!”
Killjoy’s eyes scanned the paper, taking in the details, with Selena just waiting for those eyes to widen in surprise, for the monster to refute this test! To swear up and down that SHE was the real Selena Frost while Selena was a fraud!
None of that came.
Instead, Killjoy merely sat back in her chair, adjusting her leather jacket a little. “And I’d say you’ve worked very hard to fool yourself.” She smiled, clearly amused.
“Fool myself?” Selena asked, confusion gripping her. “How am I fooling myself? You lied. You said you were Alejandra’s and Donovan’s daughter, but you’re not. I am. This proves it.”
“Uh-huh.” Killjoy’s tongue clicked inside of her mouth. “That test proves you’re the daughter of the VanHohenheims, not Donovan Frost.” Reaching into her pocket, the woman pulled out a piece of paper, tossing it right at Selena, watching it bounce off the Snow Queen’s chest and onto the table. “THAT proves who the daughter of Donovan Frost is.”
Despite herself, Selena released Deanna’s hand and took it, unfolding it slowly. As she did, she saw the printed image in front of her, a sort of ‘scanned image’ printed on the computer paper. Reading, she recognized similar words and numbers on the paper – similar to hers. She also noticed the names at the top – “Atlas Scythe” under subject name, with a different blood type than hers: A negative.
“You took Malcolm’s name?”
“I took Rebecca’s name.” Killjoy replied darkly. “Not much of a choice really.”
The other names, under the ‘alleged father’ and ‘alleged mother’ read the names ‘Frost, Donovan’ and ‘Alden, Alejandra’ respectfully. Still, Selena continued to scan and, at the bottom, just like hers, the message read a 99.99999% confirmation of parentage. Desperately, Selena took it in, scanning every aspect until her eyes settled on one particular element.
“It’s fake.” She remarked, tossing the paper back to Killjoy.
“Oh, you think so?” Killjoy smiled, scooping the paper back up.
“Yes, I do.” Selena countered. “That test says it was taken in 2012.”
“I was curious.” Killjoy remarked. “I wanted to see if Malcolm’s words were true. So, I snuck into Nome and-“
“Nice try.” Selena interjected. “But that isn’t what I meant. Donovan Frost disappeared in the mines over ten years before that date! You couldn’t possibly perform a parentage test with him in 2012! Or my mother for that matter!”
Again, Selena’s eyes kept locked on Killjoy, now more desperately looking for any sign of surprise or confusion or- SOMETHING! – but again, the murderer seemed unfazed.
“So, you think that I’m lying?” Killjoy grinned, a chuckle in her voice. “That I’d pin everything on a test you could ‘disprove’ with one glance?” she tilted her head. “Is that how you work in SCW? That why everyone you work with thinks you’re a faker?” her eyes narrowed. “Cause they can see through you so easily?”
“You’re just deflecting.” Deanna stated defensively, coming to the aid of her wife. “The fact is Donovan Frost was nowhere near Nome by that date. He was with Alejandra in New Jersey.”
“True enough.” Killjoy shrugged. “But I didn’t really need either of them there to do a parentage test.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Alejandra remarked.
“Tell me, Alejandra.” Killjoy returned her glare to her ‘mother’ slowly. “Do you remember Donovan saying anything about Anastasia’s inability to procreate?”
“Y-yes.” Alejandra answered after a few seconds. “I think so. Gods, it was so many years ago and…” her eyes suddenly widened, her dark eyes flying from Killjoy to Jonathan to Selena and back to Jonathan.
“Ah…” Killjoy smirked. “You figured it out.”
“What?” Jonathan asked, his temper barely in check. “What is she talking about, Alejandra?”
“Jonathan…” Alejandra tried, gazing up at her husband. “Back when you were in Nome and when we were friends but before I was exiled – your wife, Anastasia, couldn’t conceive… and Malcolm demanded an heir for his fortune and your fortune.”
“Okay.” Jonathan tried. “I know all this.”
“Right…” Alejandra bit her lip. “But you…Malcolm didn’t care about how he got an heir. He was ready to do anything. And you were so mad at him – you demanded that if he did anything, it had to be part of you, too.”
“Part of- what are you talking about?” Jonathan shook his head, still having no idea what his wife was telling her.
“I mean, you agreed to his ‘methods’ only if it was truly yours. Someone that carried your genes as a Frost. As in…” her eyes shot down for a split second but it was enough for Selena to put the pieces together.
“Artificial insemination.” She concluded, earning a nod from Alejandra.
“I…we both volunteered to donate…” she sighed. “It was the first tip-off to the Scythes and DeCarlos that there was more between us… Still, I couldn’t just let him do this alone.”
“Worthless at the time, it turns out.” Killjoy smirked. “But oh so useful decades later when I learned about them. And since the procedure was done with Malcolm’s signature and his ‘idea’, well… it was easy to get a small sample of whatever was there.” She held up the paper. “Care to reconsider your ‘secure ground’,
faker.” She stressed the last word bitterly, causing Selena’s eyes to narrow.
“But then how am I ‘Atlas’?” Selena countered. “Even if what you say is true – I can’t be Atlas if I’m Jonathan’s daughter. Atlas was just supposed to just ‘look like me’.”
“Look like
me.” Killjoy corrected.
“It still doesn’t make sense!” Selena spat. “Your whole argument is flawed because I’m not some ‘test subject’ or ‘trial subject’! I’m their daughter.” She gestured to Jonathan and Alejandra. “And you can’t explain it!”
“Oh, I can.” Killjoy shrugged. “Because it’s rather clear.” Her eyes turned to bore into Jonathan. “You’re NOT Donovan Frost.”
It was if the air was sucked out of the room, leaving Selena and the others stunned at such an accusation.
“You’re insane!” the statement came from Alejandra. “I knew Donovan Frost – everything about him. I… I loved him.” She pressed. “And when I found him again-“
“You found someone that looked like him with no memory of who he was…yeah.” Killjoy smirked. “Very convenient, isn’t it? I mean…that a man SURVIVED a mine collapse and, somehow, made his way from Nome to New Jersey on the ‘goodness’ of Malcolm FUCKING Scythe! Do you even hear yourself?”
The laugh that came from Killjoy seemed to stab at Alejandra, but it only infuriated Selena. To her right, Deanna could see how the Snow Queen’s hands were clenching and unclenching, just like Jonathan’s were. In fact, the redhead could spy the same glare and slightly-heavy breathing from both of them, similar mannerisms.
“Face it – all of you.” Killjoy eyed them. “All you have that Jonathan was Donovan Frost is your memories, Alejandra. All you have that she-“ she gestured to Selena. “Is Selena Frost is YOUR word. And it’s flimsy at best. This.” She held up the paper. “Proves who I am! Proves that I AM the daughter of Donovan Frost! The REAL Donovan Frost that died in the mines over twenty years ago.”
Despite herself, Selena turned her enraged gaze to her father – and her heart broke in her chest. She could see all the anger and color drain out of his face. His features were blank – it was all the same as it had been for her. That same look and paleness when Killjoy had declared Selena’s own identity was an entire lie.
The monster had just done it to her father! It didn’t matter if he was Donovan Frost or not! Jonathan VanHohenheim was HER father – a good man who didn’t deserve this!
Her hand moved fast, grabbing the large glass by her plate and thrusting it towards the unsuspecting Killjoy. The lemonade flew out of the glass and towards its intended target, splashing the fiend right in the face. Her eyes, for the last time, glared at the murderer, looking for any sign of anger or confusion-
And she got it in spades as Killjoy glared at the Snow Queen. “Truth hurts, doesn’t it.” The soaked woman spat.
“Not as much as you will if you don’t leave right now.” Threatened Selena. “It doesn’t matter who he is, MY father knows how to throw a punch as well as I can throw a kick.” To emphasize her point, Selena pushed herself out of her chair, rising to her feet. Just as she did, Deanna rose to hers, as did Jonathan and Alejandra, immediately causing Killjoy to leap out of her chair. The woman hadn’t even held her own against Selena and Deanna – now she was up against four.
“Hardly seems fair odds.” She tried, her eyes gazing to the exit.
“When have you EVER played fair?” Deanna countered. “You’re lucky you’re still standing right now, cause I’m ten seconds away-“
“I’m nine.” Alejandra stated.
“Eight.” Jonathan added.
“Seven…” Selena whispered. “Six…five…four…”
She finally saw Killjoy’s eyes widen, realizing what Selena was doing. “Three…two…”. With a surge of energy, Killjoy was out like a bolt, running out of the room and out of the pub before the waiters could even say anything – one of them rushing in to check what had happened.
Of course, the remaining family apologized for the commotion and spilled drink on the floor and even left a large tip to calm the staff. Even so, the expression of utter despair on Jonathan’s face did not change - so like Selena’s weeks ago. It became too much as he suddenly walked out of the pub to stand outside.
On instinct, Selena followed him, pushing the doors open to reach the outside, seeing her father leaning against the building that housed the hotel/pub building, the New York traffic filling their ears with noise.
“Father?” Selena asked, standing against the wall beside him, close enough to hear the escaping sigh.
“You know I hated not knowing who I was.” He admitted. “The fact that I couldn’t remember anything Alejandra told me. That you told me. But…even then…” another sigh. “It wasn’t so bad. Because the way you two told me those stories…. It made me…sort of… relive them, and-“ she could hear the tremble in his voice, the crack just barely there. “It made it seem real to me. That I could have been this amazing man named Donovan Frost.”
“You are.” Selena insisted. “Don’t let what she said-“
“How can I not?” Jonathan laughed bitterly. “She was right. All you and I have are some words and ‘memories’. I LOOK like your father – like Alejandra’s old boyfriend. But what if I’m not?” he turned his gaze towards her. “What if ‘looking the part’ is all I am?”
She could see the internal storm in his eyes – one she was beyond familiar with – before he turned his head to observe the cars whizzing down the streets. Some were even honking their horns loudly in impatience.
“What was it you said to me?” Selena whispered, regaining the attention of her father. “When I was uncertain of who I was – when I let Killjoy’s words get to me?” When Jonathan couldn’t give her an answer, she provided one. “You said it didn’t matter in the end if I’m Selena Frost or not – that I’m still your daughter. Well…” she gazed up at his sad expression. “It doesn’t matter if you’re Donovan Frost or not. You
are my father.”
“But it does matter.” Jonathan gave a sad, but knowing, chuckle. “It matters to you.”
They were silent for a moment, neither able to find the right words at first. “Killjoy used some old sample of him…” her voice was barely a whisper. “But…I knew Donovan Frost, too.” She sighed. “How he got mad – it always started with him tightening his fists until they turned white. I do that too.” A small smile crossed her features. “How he always ate his sandwiches crust first. I refuse to do that. Never understood it. How he couldn’t sing a note to save his life.”
“Your mother says I can.” Jonathan shook his head.
“Well, that bonk on the head wasn’t all bad then.” Selena tried to joke, though it clearly fell flat. “Point is – I have over a decade of knowing who ‘Donovan Frost’ was… and-“ her eyes returned to gaze at her biological father. “No matter who you were before you lost your memory, he would have liked who you are now and would have gratefully shook your hand for looking after me – for always being there for me. For… for being my father. Because….” She felt a slight choke in her voice, her emotions threatening to overtake her. “Because I am.”
There was only a second of time passing before two broad arms wrapped around Selena’s smaller frame, the lithe Snow Queen embraced by the emotionally-struggling Jonathan. On instinct, her arms wrapped around his waist, hugging tightly.
“I am REALLY starting to have enough of that woman showing up and causing shit.” He whispered after a few moments, earning a laugh from Selena as she spotted Alejandra and Deanna emerge from The Shakespeare pub, the two women immediately spying the father-daughter pair. “I mean, I REALLY have had enough of her. I don’t know what Donovan would have done, but my god…”
Selena silently nodded her head in understanding before leaning away from the embrace just in time to catch Deanna’s hand as it reached out to hers, taking it gently. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alejandra do the same for Jonathan, his troubled expression returned at the sight of his wife.
“I married you.” She whispered to him gently. “Because I love you. And I’m never going to regret that for as long as I live – maybe longer.” Emboldened by her own words, Alejandra was up on her tiptoes, kissing Jonathan’s cheek.
It was a short/quiet exchange, but it caused Selena to turn her head to observe her wife’s waiting gaze. “Oh, are you waiting for something?” she teased.
“Maybe…” Deanna played back, biting her lower lip in a smile, though the concern for her beloved was clearly in her voice.
“Maybe indeed.” Selena smiled back, leaning down to kiss her wife’s forehead gently. “Maybe I love you.” She whispered, their affectionate phrase reaching Deanna’s ears.
“Maybe I love you.” Deanna replied without hesitating, cupping her wife’s face to kiss her cheek like Alejandra had for done for Jonathan a second ago. “But I agree with Jonathan.”
“We all do.” Alejandra sighed. “Even if she’s right – she’s still my daughter. But…” Alejandra shook her head. “I can’t just forgive her because of that.”
“No one expects you too.” Jonathan assured her. “She needs to be held accountable for what she’s done. Regardless of the motivations and who she is.”
The four agreed to that. No matter what the truth, how they all fit together in each other’s lives, biologically/family-tree or otherwise, that was one of the few certainties from all of this.
Killjoy, regardless of who she was, could not be absolved. More than that… and Selena knew this down to her core…
Killjoy needed to be stopped.