173 Interlude: Cherie Vasil 2 Electric Boogaloo

Walking into the main living room where the rest of her family is gathered, at least the powered ones, Cherie does her best to control her emotions.

Only Sam and her father can actually sense emotions like she can, and while she doesn't care about her ten year old brother's opinions, Cherie certainly doesn't want her father to know of the emotional turmoil she just faced.

That would not end well. He'd use it against her, twisting her music until she can't recognise it anymore. Luckily, controlling her emotions is something that she has some practice in for this exact reason, so when she walks through the doors, opened by one of her toys, her father only graces her with a short glance before returning to his own toys.

Cherie can sense the emotions of everyone in the city, so once she saw that Jean-Paul, Nicholas and her father all had a pair of toys with them, she decided that there's no point in sending hers away.

However she only makes it three steps into the room before her leg gives out under her and causes her to fall, only her toy's quick reactions stopping her from faceplanting.

Giving Jean a scathing glare, Cherie focuses on Chastity, who is sitting next to Jean, who has his body-slaves both standing behind him, and she twists her music until Chastity suddenly reaches to the side and uses her power on Jean, making him slump down in defeat, a light frown on his face.

Serves you right you annoying little shit. 

Cherie doesn't bother fixing what she did to her little sister's song, her power isn't permanent anyway. Instead, she simply takes her seat on the one couch still empty.

The room itself is plenty large, it belonging to some rich guy who had the misfortune of having a sexy wife that caught her father's eye, but even then, the room is slightly crowded.

Her seven powered siblings are sitting around in a loose semi-circle of couches, her father lounging in the centre with a woman in each arm, while Cherie's couch is to his left, Valentina's on his right and so on, the eldest being closest to her father.

Other than the nine members of the family, there are also eight toys and a further five 'guards' that her father took, each standing at the ready with P90 machine gun, and she only knows what it's called thanks to video games.

"Good, you're all here," her father says, sparing them all a moment of attention from his harem, "we have a guest, so behave yourselves."

Cherie would point out the irony of saying that only to return to tonging with his harem, but she doesn't feel like pissing herself from terror right now, so she stays silent instead.

However none of that matters once she feels the symphony start to move closer.

Cherie can tell the exact moment that the mad song enters Sam's range from the way his own song spikes and shifts, his body flinching in tandem as he is overwhelmed by the madness that is the tune.

However he soon recovers, his song settling on confusion and curiosity as he looks to the door, and Cherie realises something.

He can't hear it, or just hasn't noticed it.

He can't hear the drums.

Sam gives her a strange look and she immediately tries to think about anything but that infernal ringing before he can catch onto anything, yet doing so seems pointless as that is when the symphony reaches the double doors before them all.

With only the slightest feeling of trepidation, Cherie watches as the doors are opened by a pair of guards, each with their own sub-machine gun at the ready.

But it's the woman who  saunters in that catches Cherie's attention fully.

The most immediately noticeable thing is that she is for some reason wearing a modified nun's habit. She kept the headpiece, but both of the sleeves have been ripped off at the shoulders, allowing for a clear vision of a pair of tattoos.

On the inside of her right forearm, Cherie can see what seems to be a scene shot through a melting hole in a wall, showing a clear sky, parted in a perfect circle around the figure of a man glowing in purple with slight arcs of lightning-like energy sparking from his distant body.

On her other forearm, there is a large, faintly glowing dark blue hand that covers the upper half of her outer forearm, with red, pulsing strings splitting off from it's fingers and attaching themselves to the tops of a number of skulls lit ablaze by blue flame, as if the hand is powering them, feeding their fire.

But that is not all, as her habit has also been cut open to expose her stomach, all the way from where a belt would be until it peaks between her breasts, the sharp angle allowing for a hint of underboob to be shown, letting everyone see the clear lack of a bra.

But what attracts Cherie's attention is the tattoo on her stomach that seems to be depicting a battle of sorts. On one side, stands a King, stout and noble as he directs his troops of cartoon monsters to battle, while opposite him there is what seems to be a wave of mechanical parts, filled with guns and claws and sharp edges.

The two forces seem to clash around her pert belly button, blood and oil spilling in equal measure.

But Cherie would not usually be so drawn to the image of tattoos, it's just that this woman's ink seems to be  alive. The blood rippling and the drawn flesh lightly pulsing as if simply a video in incredible slow motion instead of an image.

It is enrapturing.

However, Cherie has no time to think about it as her mind is suddenly overwhelmed by a  deafening symphony. 

Wide eyes turn to the woman, staring into her blood red eyes that make Cherie feel like she is mere prey. A wild rabbit facing a hungry dragon. It feels like the world is crushing down on her, the weight of the woman's gaze having an effect on her like her father's own.

Except while her father simply forces terror upon her, the feeling Cherie gets from looking into this  thing's eyes is  nothing like that. This is more  primal, more natural. Like a long lost instinct reawakening inside of her, reminding her of what it means to not be the apex predator.

Reminding her of what it means to be  hunted.

However, despite making her eyes making her seem an undefeatable predator, the woman's perfect face simply shows a joyful smile, like that of a child getting a new toy, so full of innocence.

Yet a simple look into her mind is enough for Cherie to see the madness within.

The moment the woman entered the room, her emotions went into flux, changing faster than she could keep track of them all.

First anticipation, then joy, then disappointment, then jealousy, rage, ecstasy, hope and so many more, each emotion burning equally as bright. Enough that Cherie almost feels deaf as her song seems to be in a constant crescendo.

There is so much noise in her head, that Cherie can't even hear the drums.

The first thing the woman does after entering is to take a long look over everyone present and let out an appreciative whistle.

"My oh my,~ if I knew there would be so many children I'd have covered up some more,~" the woman says before crouching down as if to sit on air, crossing one leg over the other despite not actually having a chair, "and I feel kinda out-numbered not gonna lie, why do so many of you get extras?~ Do I not deserve an escort?~ Y'know what? Gimme a sec, I wanna try something.~"

Without waiting for a response, something that Cherie would know even without her power pisses off her father, what seems to be blood bursts out of her back, pooling into two piles behind her before seemingly bubbling and growing.

All of the guards raise their weapons at the same time and a few of her siblings prepare to use her powers, but Cherie just watches in fascination as the two pools of blood rapidly grow in size until they are what appear to be a pair of men, both identical and made purely out of solidified blood.

A new burst of emotions slam into her skull from the woman. Satisfaction, disappointment, happiness, anger, lust?

"Neat, I wasn't sure if that'd work, but it's kinda lame now that I think about it, they don't really help anything,~" she says before seemingly solidifying them completely, turning the, into a pair of statues standing behind her, "well anyway.~ My name is Lusia, and I have a proposition for you, sire Heartbreaker!~ Also, feel free to keep doing whatever you're doing with you're power, it feels so  weird.~ I like it!~ It's like sneezing, you know what I mean?~"

Cherie doesn't know what she means, but when she looks a little closer she can see what she meant about her father using his power. She can 'hear' it, his attempts at manipulating her music.

But it's impossible. Cherie doesn't even bother to try. For their power to work, they have to take hold of the target's emotions, to twist and modify them. 

But Lusia's music is too chaotic. A tune of anger can sound out, but by the time Cherie would have a decent hold of the note, it would recess to silence, her grasp being pushed away by the sheer  volume of whatever note takes it's place.

She's too insane to control.

Cherie doesn't know if that's ironic or not, all she knows is that Lusia's name and eyes vaguely ring a bell, and considering how little she pays attention to the world at large, that means she's probably pretty important. Strong too, given her confidence in showing up here.

And since her and her father's powers won't do anything to her. Well, Cherie is pretty sure Lusia could kill them all, so she's not in a rush to bring the woman's ire upon herself.

"An offer for me?" Cherie's father finally responds after futilely trying to take control of her song, "what could a  Clown like you possibly offer someone like  me?"

Cherie's heart almost skips a beat as she realises that her father is entirely too confident for any of their good, but the madwoman thankfully doesn't seem to take it personally, her emotions generally favouring the positive side.

"Yeouch!~ You wound me good Sire!~" Lusia theatrically leans back in her non-existent seat, holding her hand over her heart, the action making her habit rise up enough to show hint of a nipple, something that causes Jean-Paul to finally start paying attention, "if you would just hear me out, I'm sure I can convince you of my sincerity!~"

Her father scoffs but Lusia speaks up again before he can respond, and for once her father seems to accept a 'defeat', even one this minor. Typically he'd have ordered her killed, provided he couldn't rape her, for disrespecting him by now.

The fact that he simply allows her to lead the conversation in silence shows that she must be pretty scary, if even her father is willing to let her act as she pleases.

"See, I heard about a few years ago, back when I was uh... I don't know, teenager-ish.~ It was during  puberty at least.~ Anywho!~ I remember my mother telling me about you,~ about the big bad Heartbreaker!~"

At this point, she stands up from her chair of air, tucking in the imaginary chair to an equally imaginary table before continuing her impassioned speech.

"She told me of a man with no morals!~ Of a man who did as he pleases! Took who he wanted and never backed down!~ She told me to never visit Montreal, lest you take a fancy of my body and take me as a slave!~ She told me of a man who would bow to no one, a man who single-handedly caused Master's to go from being just another type of parahuman to being the most feared class of us all!~"

Cherie can  feel her father's pride at his ego being stroked, his song of arrogance sounding out louder than ever before, yet a feeling grows in her stomach that his music will soon take a sharp turn.

"Which is why!" Lusia all but shouts, turning to Cherie's father, Nikos, with a finger pointed to the sky as her face suddenly turns melancholic, her emotions burning with disappointment, expectation. A sadness so intense that it's tune almost brings Cherie to tears, "which is why," she says again, much softer this time, barely above a whisper, "I have never felt so disappointed."

Like a flip being switched, Nikos' song snaps from pride and arrogance to pure wrath as Lusia looks down on him, doubly so as he can tell that she means it with his own power. However, before he can snap anything at her, Lusia speaks again, her magnetic voice all but compelling everyone around her to simply listen.

"I expected something great when I came to visit you y'know? I thought you'd try harder to Master me. I thought you'd force your children to fight me. I thought you'd be parading yourself and your accomplishments through the streets, walking around like a free man, knowing that none can oppose you, taking what you want when you want. But that is not what I see."

The face that Nikos can feel her emotions just like Cherie can means that he too can teel the honesty of her words. To say that she is upset would be an understatement. She appears to be genuinely  devastated that he did not try harder to Master her. Her song sings one of depression, deep and slow and exactly the same as what Cherie knows depressions sounds like.

"With your power, you can do anything you want. You could walk up to the mayor's office right now and make him obediently serve you. You could take  every woman who catches your eye, not just the occasional few. Yet, instead of showing the world who you are, I find you here. Cowering away in an isolated villa, living the quiet life. Boring and stagnant. It's disappointing."

Nikos' face goes through many changes, and Cherie almost worries that he will vent his anger on her, seeing as he cannot do it to Lusia, but eventually he calms himself.

"Who do you think you are  woman to command me?" He says, venom on his tongue, "I  can do whatever I want, I don't need some  woman like  you to tell me that. Get out of my sight and out of my city right now or we'll see just how long you can hold out before you break."

Cherie would commend her father's balls to say such things to a woman that could most likely kill him relatively easily, but she is too focused on keeping track of said woman's emotions while hoping not to see any sign of incoming violence.

Luckily, she doesn't seem to take offence.

"My oh my Heartbreaker.~ Whoever said I was commanding you?~ As it happens, I sort of resent the idea of anyone interesting like you doing anything other than what you want to do, and we both know that what I am talking about is  exactly what you want to do,~" Lusia says, and though her father's anger only grows, he stays his mouth, proving the truth in her words.

Placing a single hand on her hip and the other on her cheek, Lusia leans towards Nikos, smiling seductively, "I am not commanding you anything,~ " she whispers, "It's an offer.~ I want to see you act youthful again.~ I want to see the  old you.~ Daring. Domineering.~ I want to see  that.~ And in return, every time you excite me with your actions, I will give you myself for a night.~ Does the thought not entice you?~ To have a woman like me, powerful and feared more than any other parahuman on the continent in your bed?~ Do you not wish to dominate  me?~ Because I will let you, all you have to do is show me that audacious side of you that you've locked away.~"

Cherie finds herself completely unsurprised when her father's song rapidly changes from prideful anger to the ever present lust that seems to dominate his mind.

This woman clearly knows how to manipulate people, not that her father is a particularly difficult man to figure out, but the ease at which Lusia lead the conversation leaves Cherie in awe, even more so considering that the woman doesn't have any emotion related powers. At least none that she can detect, and Cherie is something of an expert on the subject.

To no one's surprise, her father soon changes his tune upon Lusia's new offer.

"Hmph, you say that as if you will be able to leave after the first night," her father says, full of confidence that Cherie can not rightfully say is undue. 

She can sense the emotions of everyone in the city after all. She knows what sexual satisfaction sounds like, and even among his slave harem, plenty of the woman enjoy his ministrations, even if they hate themselves for it.

"Uhuh uhuh, well, if you're as good as you think you are, then I'm looking forward to it," Lusia flirts back with a wink, before abruptly adopting a different tone and turning to the youngest person present, "hey Aroa right? I heard your power turns people into masochists, but I'm already a masochist. Wanna blast me with it anyway and see what happens? Will my masochism double negative into sadism or will it just turn into masochism squared?~"

The evil little grin that grows on her younger sister tells Cherie enough of what she thinks of the idea, but she still turns to Nikos, silently asking for permission and almost jumping with childish joy when he nods his head.

The next few hours follow a similar tune, with Lusia just messing around with the family as if she is just another sister, fitting in with insulting ease and acting like a magical glue that allows her messed up family to play around together and actually enjoy each other's company for the first time ever.

By the time she leaves, Cherie is almost sad to see her go, same with most of her siblings.

Idly, she realises that Lusia seems to have abruptly taken a position similar to the cool aunt.

What a weird day today has been, and what a fucked up family she has.

=================

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

I don't know what I'm doing. Does this shit even read as coherent? Like is there a fucking direction to this plot? Or does it just seem like a random ass crackfic with shit just happening for no reason all the time?

Idk, maybe I'm just feeling insecure cuz I'm tired. You know what they say, never trust anything you feel after 9PM

In other news, I ripped one of my shirts open action movie style. Just grabbed the collar and ripped it completely open. There was no real reason, I was just passing by my brother and got the urge to say "wanna see something cool?" but I didn't have anything cool to show him so I just did the first thing that came to mind....

I'm glad I didn't care much for this shirt anyway.

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