Rafael "Superego" Cardenas (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
psychicshell) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
overbox2017-01-30 10:17 pm
psychicshell) wrote in overbox2017-01-30 10:17 pm
For Izzy
Rafael sat alone in his room, listening to a mildly distorted voice on a tape recorder. It wasn't quite as messy in here as it had been before Elena had come to town and started yelling at him about keeping things organized, but right now it could have been on fire and he barely would have noticed.
"-as a tyrant, there's nothing I wouldn't do to keep you safe. That is all."
The tap ended. Rafael hit the rewind button and listened to the recording again.
"This message is for my son, Rafael, when he is of an age to hear it..."
He wasn't sure how many times he had listened to it. His father's voice, speaking directly to a son who had never known him. A monster's voice, who had irreversibly taken the world down a darker path. A dead man's voice, speaking from beyond the grave without any awareness.
The tape ended. Rafael his rewind again.
"-as a tyrant, there's nothing I wouldn't do to keep you safe. That is all."
The tap ended. Rafael hit the rewind button and listened to the recording again.
"This message is for my son, Rafael, when he is of an age to hear it..."
He wasn't sure how many times he had listened to it. His father's voice, speaking directly to a son who had never known him. A monster's voice, who had irreversibly taken the world down a darker path. A dead man's voice, speaking from beyond the grave without any awareness.
The tape ended. Rafael his rewind again.
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He shrugged, helplessly. "I dunno, man. It seemed normal at the time."
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Izzy posed the question, speaking without thinking again. The question had been sitting in the back of her mind ever since she had come back with them, though. Especially since Lucita had asked about her brother... or half-brother. Earthling family structure was still a little confusing.
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He hesitated, sorting through alien memories that were frustratingly random and incomplete. He could look up at the night sky and point out which star was Izzy's home, but he couldn't tell you its name. "I...don't know if Outsiders even have families, but they're complicated. Even when you don't have my messed up relatives."
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The way Izzy spoke made her seem almost more alien. She had been standing opposite Rafael but now she moved to face away from him.
"Ashlyn lost her both parents, Lori's father is a villain, Whisper was abused by her father, Ford lost his brother, and you never knew your family outside the short time spent with your mother. I know that you all have a lot of sorrow from those moments, but I cannot fully understand it."
She gave a have smile and chuckle that was filled with regret. "You see why we're called Outsiders now?"
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Despite everything about today being super messed up, Rafael couldn't help but smile a little bit. "But...there's more than one kind of family, you know."
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Izzy was sort of genuinely puzzled, as the concept of another kind of family was something that she hadn't heard of before.
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He struggled to regain his train of thought.
"I mean, when you've got a group of people that you live with and work with and that have each other's backs no matter what. That's also a kind of family."
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"In that case, I guess I do have a family after all."
Just saying it induced a strange surge of warm emotions. Nature dictated that she was not family with the others that she called her team, but humanity said otherwise. This is what made humans so special, to willingly go against nature and overcome. Izzy wiped a welling tear in her eye and laughed, this time sincerely.
"I have a great family, that I'll always cherish more than anything."