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Story by CrimsonVlkyrie , originally posted here:

Mature Content

Crimson and the Mystic - Days of Future Past

"DOWN AGENT DOHERTY!!!" Crimson yelled out as she tackled the slender CIA agent behind a nearby car, a large explosion of magical energy disintegrating a stack of crates where the heroine and agent had been standing just seconds earlier. The two just barely rolled to safety and then recovered, staying in a low crouch as Crimson peered out over the top of the car's hood. "I thought we were bringing down an international artifact smuggling ring, not playing ghosts and goblins..." The red headed heroine said sarcastically before glancing over at her partner. Mariah Doherty shrugged and brushed some of her lovely dark hair out of her face, than casually reached to her belt and pulled out an extended magazine for her modified pistol. Crimson noted that the magazine had several odd glowing symbols etched on it and gave the agent a curious look. "How was I supposed to know they had a warlock leading their little group? Besides, it's a nice bonus for us, we bring down the smugglers, and take down Lady Felwinter at the same time...besides, I have plenty of magic bullets to go around..." She winked at the red haired heroine and gave a little grin as she crept closer to the side of the car, the snarls of a few newly summoned demons drawing closer. "Guess this is what I get for signing up with a paranormal investigator...this is straight out of that awful Masters of the Universe film, all that's missing is Dolph Lundren..." Crimson sighed before giving the agent a grin, the two of them having formed a close friendship over the past week as the redhead had been recruited by the CIA agent to help her with her investigation. "You and your bad sci-fi..." The agent teased and then motioned toward the direction of their foes. "On three..." Crimson nodded and they each crept to an opposite end of the car. "NOW!!!"

On the agent's command both women popped up from behind their hiding place and unleashed their respective weaponry. The barrel of agent Doherty's pistol seemed to glow with a strange magical aura as she unloaded several shots, the special bullets she had loaded into her gun ripping through the demons like a hot knife through butter, causing them to snarl in pain before exploding into clouds of grey ash. A loud hum filled the loading dock area and then Crimson let loose with a barrage from her special wrist mounted energy blasters. Pulses of sizzling purple energy lanced through the air and took down several more demons that were charging toward them, smoking craters blasted into their demonic bodies before they also exploded into misty clouds and vanished from sight. Seeing their brethren reduced in such numbers, the remaining demons pulled back a bit, giving the two women some breathing room. "Not bad, you keep this up I may have to bring you on board as a full time consultant..." Mariah teased as she reloaded her weapon, causing the lovely red haired heroine to shake her head. "No thanks...I've had enough dealings with the Circle of Thorns and the Sorority in Crawfordsville to last me a life time..." This caused Mariah to grin a little as she finished reloading. "Yeah...word on the street is that you're quite cozy with a certain shadowy heroine in Crawfordsville..." She winked at Crimson, who couldn't help but blush slightly behind her mask as she briefly thought of her close friend and often intimate partner, the Shadow Samurai. "Unfounded rumors I assure you...now less gossip and more blasting demons..." Crimson stuck her tongue out at the agent and charged up her blasters as they faced the remaining horde, but they never got a chance to launch their next attack as the air around them suddenly began to sizzle with an intense heat.

"ENOUGH!!!" A commanding female voice boomed through the loading dock as Lady Felwinter herself entered the battle, her hands shimmering with raw magical power as she descended from above and launched her attack. The twin fire bolts that she threw exploded between the heroine and the agent, sending them both flying. Crimson lost track of Agent Doherty as the explosion of magical power knocked her senseless and sent her flying into a nearby wall, the impact pulverizing her as she crashed to the floor and rolled onto her back, dazed and on the verge of unconsciousness. "Uhhhhnnn..." The battered redhead let out a soft groan as she tried to get her wits about her, pain radiating through her lithe body as she rolled onto her shoulder and tried to get up on her hands and knees. "The nerve of you damned capes...thinking you can come in here and destroy my minions...I will show you the true meaning of power!!" Crimson was still clearing the cobwebs from her head when she noticed little swirling portals of dark energy opening all around her. "Ugggh...that...that can't be...good...aaaahhhh!!!" She yelled out with surprise as shadowy black energy tentacles emerged from each portal and shot toward her, the magical restraints quickly coalescing around her wrists and arms before they moved on to restrain her legs. The redhead let out a groan as the magical tendrils tightened, the material of her boots and gloves creaking as the magical energy compressed against her costume. Suddenly they all pulled taut, stretching her out in a spread eagle position a few feet off the ground, an icy cold sensation of weakness ebbing through her body wherever the magical energy came into contact with her suit. "Unnnnhh...some kind of...magical...energy...starting to...siphon away...my strength..." Crimson sighed as she started to feel a bit more sluggish, the cruel laugh of the powerful warlock sounding far away as Lady Felwinter floated over to inspect her catch. "You fools...thinking you could just waltz in here and take down Lady Felwinter..." The villainess reached out and took Crimson's chin between her fingers, raising the heroine's masked face so she could gaze into her cloudy blue eyes and gloat further.

"Gnnhh...do you...villains...always speak...in the...third person? It sounds so corny..." The fading heroine gave the demonic magic user a wry grin, but then let out a scream of pain as Lady Felwinter zapped her with a blast of magical electricity, causing her to shake and quiver in her restraints for several seconds before the attack was ceased, the lovely heroine going limp and sagging in her bonds as curls of smoke wafted off of her costume covered chest. "We'll see if you're such a smart ass when I consume your soul...you meddling annoyance..." The warlock snarled as she held up one of her hands, her fingertips starting to glow with an arcane yellow energy, a wicked smile spreading across her face as she began to reach for the heroine, though she never got the chance to touch Crimson as a blinding flash of light filled the room. Pure blasts of white energy sliced through the air, cutting the magical bonds that held Crimson aloft, the still recovering heroine dropping unceremoniously to the warehouse floor as Lady Felwinter whirled around, only to come face to face with the powerful interloper who had just freed the heroine. "Consider your reign of magical terror at and end before it even begins..." A beautiful visage of purple floated into a view, the woman clad in the purple corset and cloak grinning as her lovely dark hair framed her face, her long athletic legs adorned with sleek purple over the knee boots with a mystical looking "M" logo on each of her knees. Bracers that shined with pure white magical light were wrapped stylishly around her forearms, though the energy's color changed to a more offensive reddish hue as the magic wielding heroine made ready to attack. "Maya Mystic...here in Paragon City? Impossible!!" The warlock just managed to get her defenses up in time to block a double blast from Maya's gauntlets, the attack pushing her back a little as she strained to keep up her magical shield. "Looks like the cavalry is here...I'd better find...agent Doherty...and try not to...get in the way..." Crimson groaned softly as she started to move away from Lady Felwinter, magical bolts of energy exploding through the room as the two magical combatants engaged one another.

Lady Felwinter and Maya Mystic went back and forth, exchanging the roles of offense and defense several times, though the magical heroine was slowly driving her adversary toward the back of the room. Suddenly shifting to a more defensive posture, the snarling warlock seemingly made a dash for a nearby door, altering her flight path just enough so that she could grab a small urn off of a nearby work table. "If so powerful you are...why leave?" Maya taunted the fleeing villainess before firing two powerful bolts of energy at her. The magical blasts hit just above the door Lady Felwinter was trying to run to, the small explosion collapsing the wall and cutting of the warlock's escape. "Who said anything about leaving?" The woman hissed and then turned, revealing the urn, which was now glowing with a shadowy magical aura. With a cackle she threw the urn toward the purple clad heroine, and just as she expected, the mystic beauty fired one of her trademark blasts at it. Maya's pure white energy blast smashed the urn into a thousand tiny bits, but whatever had been held inside it survived, a glimmering black mass of shadowy energy that simply phased through her attack and then expanded as it closed in on her. "Ugggh!!! The hell is this??!!" The heroine shouted with surprise as the shadowy mass morphed into a net like construct and quickly wrapped around her body, trapping her arms at her sides and squeezing her tight. "Your doom!!!" Lady Felwinter shouted and then blasted the prone heroine with a powerful bolt of negative energy. "AAAAHHH!!!" The blast struck Maya in the chest and sent her crashing into the side of a nearby storage trailer, the impact crumpling the trailer's metal while the stunned heroine fell to the unforgiving concrete, still trapped within Lady Felwinter's fiendish magical coils. "Oh I'm going to enjoy this...as fun as it would have been to dissect that annoying little heroine...your soul should be much more delicious..." The villainess tented her hands and began to chuckle as she floated over toward the seemingly helpless magical heroine. "Annoying huh? You should hear my comedy routine..." The warlock's eyes went wide as she heard Crimson's voice behind her, the powerful magic user quickly whirling around, just in time to catch the business end of a heavy steel pipe right to the chin. The violent blow knocked Lady Felwinter out instantly and sent her crashing to the floor in a disheveled pile and Maya Mystic looked up in surprise as the magical restraints around her arms vanished into thin air. "Nothing beats blunt force trauma...you all can have your fancy magic...I'll stick with physics..." Crimson winked at the magical heroine before offering her a hand to help her up.

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"Hard to believe that was all those years ago...I still can't believe you figured out my secret identity that fast..." Mariah teased as she stood next to Tiffany, the two of them keeping watch over a grill full of hamburgers and hot dogs, occasionally glancing over toward the pool when they heard some splashing or laughter. "I mean...pretty CIA agent shows up at my door wanting help with some kind of paranormal threat...only to vanish later while an equally pretty and powerful magical heroine shows up to save my butt..." She winked at Mariah. "Didn't take long to put two and two together..." Mariah laughed and took a zip from her drink. "And here I thought Ashley was the detective..." Tiffany smiled and started to flip a few of the burgers, a delicious smell wafting up off of the grill. "Well, I had doubts at first...but then when I found out you were Melinda's sister in law...I kind of put two and two together...kind of like how you figured out Mindy Marvel's heroine partner was also a familiar scientist..." Mariah chuckled and shook her head. "Ah the ravishing redheads...isn't that what the Steel City papers used to call you two?" Tiffany shook her head and offered a wry smile. "Not the greatest nickname for sure...but John seemed to like it...if anything he got to tease us about it constantly..." The magically gifted CIA agent laughed and looked over to where John and Melinda were relaxing in the hot tub, chatting it up with the other John and his wife Emma Sapphire. "Let the boy have his fun...after all there were many nights he came home to find two exhausted heroines passed out on his couch in need of pizza to recharge their powers..." Tiffany sighed and then smiled. "Those were the days...but thankfully Steel City has a lot more capes and costumes running around now...gives some of us a break now and then. Plus lets some of the younger ones help out a bit, like your amazing daughter." She grinned as she gave Mariah a wink and then rolled a few of the hot dogs over so they wouldn't get burnt. Mariah nodded and scanned the pool area, smiling as she saw so many of their friends having a good time. "Tessa has done an amazing job, but she mostly has you, Lauren, and Melinda to thank for that. I was gone so often Melinda was practically her mom when it came to helping her out with her powers and growth." Mariah's tone took on a bit of sadness, but she suddenly felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder. "Stop it...don't even start down that road...Tessa knows you had important work to do and that you loved her with everything you had. You had to keep your powers a secret back then, and maybe there were a few long trips overseas to deal with things, but you were still a great mom. Nothing Melinda or I helped her out with changes that." Tiffany gave Mariah's shoulder a squeeze and offered her a reassuring smile.

"Thanks...just sometimes I wish I had been around more often, maybe even told her about what I did when she started to develop her own abilities, but by then Melinda was so well established and in control of her powers I thought she would make a better mentor." Tiffany nodded and went back to cooking on the grill, pausing for a moment to take a sip of her drink. "Not necessarily better, but equally as good. I'm sure Tessa would have turned out to be an amazing heroine if you had trained her, but there's no need to dwell on any of that now." Tiffany gave her friend a grin. "Though...it might be the perfect time to tell her how proud you are, and share those old stories." Tiffany paused for a moment, then laughed. "Just don't show her your costume...Melinda might have a heart attack when Tessa starts wanting a corset top..." Mariah giggled and then glanced over to the side of the pool, where Tiffany's hammock hung beneath some nice shade trees. "Something tells me a little archer might like that to..." Tiffany smiled and followed Mariah's gaze, finding her daughter Amber curled up in the hammock with Tessa, the two of them dozing off peacefully as they took an afternoon nap while everyone else played in the pool. "She is, after all...her mother's daughter..." The agent winked and gave Tiffany a playful nudge, causing the redhead to roll her eyes. "Hey...any of that naughty stuff, she certainly got that from Ashley...I'm completely innocent..." They both laughed and continued to watch the two young lovebirds as they snuggled together. "It is interesting though, how she turned out to be just like you and Ashley, after everything she went through." Tiffany nodded and looked solemn for a moment, remembering the somewhat tragic events that had led to her and Ashley adopting their daughter, who had been cloned from a combination of their heroic DNA, and set loose on the streets of Steel City to cause havoc by the nefarious Doctor Kotetsu. "Well, Tessa has been a huge influence on her, that confidence she inherited from her mom helping Amber come out of her shell a little bit. I'm not sure if Ashley and I could have nurtured that out on our own." Mariah shook her head and gave a playful sigh. "Oh please, give yourself a little credit, the two of your are great moms and you've given Amber the only thing she needs to blossom, your love as parents." She paused for a moment and then gave Tiffany a coy smile. "Speaking of which...when are the two of you planning on bringing number two into this world?" Tiffany gave a little grin at that and let her gaze look up toward the pool area, where Ashley was splashing around and goofing off with Cassie and Amy, the three of them getting into a playful water battle.

"Probably after the wedding sometime, if we can ever get to that. It seems life keeps getting in the way and planning gets put on hold while we deal with the next crisis or super villain...but there's a special Asgardian ritual I've already inquired about, I just hope we're ready..." Mariah chuckled and waved her hands out at their gathered friends. "I wouldn't worry too much, given all the parents we have here, you're going to have plenty of super baby sitters probably fighting each other for the chance to look after their new niece." Tiffany nodded. "That is true, and Ashley's been getting a lot of practice with Allie and CeCe, the only question is if there's going to be enough stress food in the city for the two of us when Ashe is pregnant..." Mariah raised an eyebrow. "So you decided she would carry? I thought the valkyrie had to carry the child?" Tiffany shook her head and smiled. "Well technically Ashley is a valkyrie, she was made an honorary one already, but when we get married she'll be official, plus it's one of her dreams to be a mom and have a baby and given the nature of our child, the pregnancy is going to be very hard on whichever of us carries, probably putting us out of commission for a bit, so I get to be her bodyguard for a little while..." She smiled and gazed at her future wife for a few seconds, then returned her attention to the food on the grill. "I can't wait honestly...add a bit to our family, but first things first, we need to get this wedding in order...though I hear you have been...helping...Mel and Emma plot the bachelorette party..." Mariah looked around innocently and shrugged. "Who? Me? Oh you know, was just giving them a few ideas like body oil Twister...backyard mud wrestling between the bridesmaids...no super powers allowed...that kind of thing..." She gave Tiffany a grin. "Now I see where Tessa gets her mischievous streak...and I want her and Amber to be able to come to the party so maybe those aren't such good ideas..." Mariah just gave a slightly evil grin. "Well, no matter what happens, I'm sure it will be fun. It's always a good time when the family can get together...I just wish I could make it to more of these events..." She closed her eyes and gave a little frown, but then opened them as Tiffany gave her a little hug. "We do miss you, but we know you're still doing important things to keep us all safe. I'm just glad you were able to make it down for the weekend with John and Mel, gives you and Tessa a little time together." Mariah nodded and gave Tiffany a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks hon, for everything you've done really, and for giving Tessa another home away from home where she can keep growing." The two friends smiled at each other as Tiffany started to remove the cooked burgers from the grill. "I just hope you've got your costume creating skills ready for after I show her my suit..."

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A repost of CrimsonVlkyrie 's fantastic story from a few years ago. As I work through a power set and backstory for Tessa's mom / CIA agent / magical mystical superheroine.

Besides being a fun story between Tiffany and Mariah, it helps explain why Tess' mom isn't around that often in prior stories. Hopefully, Mariah/Maya Mystic shows up in the future with her daughter Tessa Terrific and the other super family members in Mindy Marvel's family tree.

Artwork by PGandara

Description
Story by CrimsonVlkyrie , originally posted here:

Mature Content

Crimson and the Mystic - Days of Future Past

"DOWN AGENT DOHERTY!!!" Crimson yelled out as she tackled the slender CIA agent behind a nearby car, a large explosion of magical energy disintegrating a stack of crates where the heroine and agent had been standing just seconds earlier. The two just barely rolled to safety and then recovered, staying in a low crouch as Crimson peered out over the top of the car's hood. "I thought we were bringing down an international artifact smuggling ring, not playing ghosts and goblins..." The red headed heroine said sarcastically before glancing over at her partner. Mariah Doherty shrugged and brushed some of her lovely dark hair out of her face, than casually reached to her belt and pulled out an extended magazine for her modified pistol. Crimson noted that the magazine had several odd glowing symbols etched on it and gave the agent a curious look. "How was I supposed to know they had a warlock leading their little group? Besides, it's a nice bonus for us, we bring down the smugglers, and take down Lady Felwinter at the same time...besides, I have plenty of magic bullets to go around..." She winked at the red haired heroine and gave a little grin as she crept closer to the side of the car, the snarls of a few newly summoned demons drawing closer. "Guess this is what I get for signing up with a paranormal investigator...this is straight out of that awful Masters of the Universe film, all that's missing is Dolph Lundren..." Crimson sighed before giving the agent a grin, the two of them having formed a close friendship over the past week as the redhead had been recruited by the CIA agent to help her with her investigation. "You and your bad sci-fi..." The agent teased and then motioned toward the direction of their foes. "On three..." Crimson nodded and they each crept to an opposite end of the car. "NOW!!!"

On the agent's command both women popped up from behind their hiding place and unleashed their respective weaponry. The barrel of agent Doherty's pistol seemed to glow with a strange magical aura as she unloaded several shots, the special bullets she had loaded into her gun ripping through the demons like a hot knife through butter, causing them to snarl in pain before exploding into clouds of grey ash. A loud hum filled the loading dock area and then Crimson let loose with a barrage from her special wrist mounted energy blasters. Pulses of sizzling purple energy lanced through the air and took down several more demons that were charging toward them, smoking craters blasted into their demonic bodies before they also exploded into misty clouds and vanished from sight. Seeing their brethren reduced in such numbers, the remaining demons pulled back a bit, giving the two women some breathing room. "Not bad, you keep this up I may have to bring you on board as a full time consultant..." Mariah teased as she reloaded her weapon, causing the lovely red haired heroine to shake her head. "No thanks...I've had enough dealings with the Circle of Thorns and the Sorority in Crawfordsville to last me a life time..." This caused Mariah to grin a little as she finished reloading. "Yeah...word on the street is that you're quite cozy with a certain shadowy heroine in Crawfordsville..." She winked at Crimson, who couldn't help but blush slightly behind her mask as she briefly thought of her close friend and often intimate partner, the Shadow Samurai. "Unfounded rumors I assure you...now less gossip and more blasting demons..." Crimson stuck her tongue out at the agent and charged up her blasters as they faced the remaining horde, but they never got a chance to launch their next attack as the air around them suddenly began to sizzle with an intense heat.

"ENOUGH!!!" A commanding female voice boomed through the loading dock as Lady Felwinter herself entered the battle, her hands shimmering with raw magical power as she descended from above and launched her attack. The twin fire bolts that she threw exploded between the heroine and the agent, sending them both flying. Crimson lost track of Agent Doherty as the explosion of magical power knocked her senseless and sent her flying into a nearby wall, the impact pulverizing her as she crashed to the floor and rolled onto her back, dazed and on the verge of unconsciousness. "Uhhhhnnn..." The battered redhead let out a soft groan as she tried to get her wits about her, pain radiating through her lithe body as she rolled onto her shoulder and tried to get up on her hands and knees. "The nerve of you damned capes...thinking you can come in here and destroy my minions...I will show you the true meaning of power!!" Crimson was still clearing the cobwebs from her head when she noticed little swirling portals of dark energy opening all around her. "Ugggh...that...that can't be...good...aaaahhhh!!!" She yelled out with surprise as shadowy black energy tentacles emerged from each portal and shot toward her, the magical restraints quickly coalescing around her wrists and arms before they moved on to restrain her legs. The redhead let out a groan as the magical tendrils tightened, the material of her boots and gloves creaking as the magical energy compressed against her costume. Suddenly they all pulled taut, stretching her out in a spread eagle position a few feet off the ground, an icy cold sensation of weakness ebbing through her body wherever the magical energy came into contact with her suit. "Unnnnhh...some kind of...magical...energy...starting to...siphon away...my strength..." Crimson sighed as she started to feel a bit more sluggish, the cruel laugh of the powerful warlock sounding far away as Lady Felwinter floated over to inspect her catch. "You fools...thinking you could just waltz in here and take down Lady Felwinter..." The villainess reached out and took Crimson's chin between her fingers, raising the heroine's masked face so she could gaze into her cloudy blue eyes and gloat further.

"Gnnhh...do you...villains...always speak...in the...third person? It sounds so corny..." The fading heroine gave the demonic magic user a wry grin, but then let out a scream of pain as Lady Felwinter zapped her with a blast of magical electricity, causing her to shake and quiver in her restraints for several seconds before the attack was ceased, the lovely heroine going limp and sagging in her bonds as curls of smoke wafted off of her costume covered chest. "We'll see if you're such a smart ass when I consume your soul...you meddling annoyance..." The warlock snarled as she held up one of her hands, her fingertips starting to glow with an arcane yellow energy, a wicked smile spreading across her face as she began to reach for the heroine, though she never got the chance to touch Crimson as a blinding flash of light filled the room. Pure blasts of white energy sliced through the air, cutting the magical bonds that held Crimson aloft, the still recovering heroine dropping unceremoniously to the warehouse floor as Lady Felwinter whirled around, only to come face to face with the powerful interloper who had just freed the heroine. "Consider your reign of magical terror at and end before it even begins..." A beautiful visage of purple floated into a view, the woman clad in the purple corset and cloak grinning as her lovely dark hair framed her face, her long athletic legs adorned with sleek purple over the knee boots with a mystical looking "M" logo on each of her knees. Bracers that shined with pure white magical light were wrapped stylishly around her forearms, though the energy's color changed to a more offensive reddish hue as the magic wielding heroine made ready to attack. "Maya Mystic...here in Paragon City? Impossible!!" The warlock just managed to get her defenses up in time to block a double blast from Maya's gauntlets, the attack pushing her back a little as she strained to keep up her magical shield. "Looks like the cavalry is here...I'd better find...agent Doherty...and try not to...get in the way..." Crimson groaned softly as she started to move away from Lady Felwinter, magical bolts of energy exploding through the room as the two magical combatants engaged one another.

Lady Felwinter and Maya Mystic went back and forth, exchanging the roles of offense and defense several times, though the magical heroine was slowly driving her adversary toward the back of the room. Suddenly shifting to a more defensive posture, the snarling warlock seemingly made a dash for a nearby door, altering her flight path just enough so that she could grab a small urn off of a nearby work table. "If so powerful you are...why leave?" Maya taunted the fleeing villainess before firing two powerful bolts of energy at her. The magical blasts hit just above the door Lady Felwinter was trying to run to, the small explosion collapsing the wall and cutting of the warlock's escape. "Who said anything about leaving?" The woman hissed and then turned, revealing the urn, which was now glowing with a shadowy magical aura. With a cackle she threw the urn toward the purple clad heroine, and just as she expected, the mystic beauty fired one of her trademark blasts at it. Maya's pure white energy blast smashed the urn into a thousand tiny bits, but whatever had been held inside it survived, a glimmering black mass of shadowy energy that simply phased through her attack and then expanded as it closed in on her. "Ugggh!!! The hell is this??!!" The heroine shouted with surprise as the shadowy mass morphed into a net like construct and quickly wrapped around her body, trapping her arms at her sides and squeezing her tight. "Your doom!!!" Lady Felwinter shouted and then blasted the prone heroine with a powerful bolt of negative energy. "AAAAHHH!!!" The blast struck Maya in the chest and sent her crashing into the side of a nearby storage trailer, the impact crumpling the trailer's metal while the stunned heroine fell to the unforgiving concrete, still trapped within Lady Felwinter's fiendish magical coils. "Oh I'm going to enjoy this...as fun as it would have been to dissect that annoying little heroine...your soul should be much more delicious..." The villainess tented her hands and began to chuckle as she floated over toward the seemingly helpless magical heroine. "Annoying huh? You should hear my comedy routine..." The warlock's eyes went wide as she heard Crimson's voice behind her, the powerful magic user quickly whirling around, just in time to catch the business end of a heavy steel pipe right to the chin. The violent blow knocked Lady Felwinter out instantly and sent her crashing to the floor in a disheveled pile and Maya Mystic looked up in surprise as the magical restraints around her arms vanished into thin air. "Nothing beats blunt force trauma...you all can have your fancy magic...I'll stick with physics..." Crimson winked at the magical heroine before offering her a hand to help her up.

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"Hard to believe that was all those years ago...I still can't believe you figured out my secret identity that fast..." Mariah teased as she stood next to Tiffany, the two of them keeping watch over a grill full of hamburgers and hot dogs, occasionally glancing over toward the pool when they heard some splashing or laughter. "I mean...pretty CIA agent shows up at my door wanting help with some kind of paranormal threat...only to vanish later while an equally pretty and powerful magical heroine shows up to save my butt..." She winked at Mariah. "Didn't take long to put two and two together..." Mariah laughed and took a zip from her drink. "And here I thought Ashley was the detective..." Tiffany smiled and started to flip a few of the burgers, a delicious smell wafting up off of the grill. "Well, I had doubts at first...but then when I found out you were Melinda's sister in law...I kind of put two and two together...kind of like how you figured out Mindy Marvel's heroine partner was also a familiar scientist..." Mariah chuckled and shook her head. "Ah the ravishing redheads...isn't that what the Steel City papers used to call you two?" Tiffany shook her head and offered a wry smile. "Not the greatest nickname for sure...but John seemed to like it...if anything he got to tease us about it constantly..." The magically gifted CIA agent laughed and looked over to where John and Melinda were relaxing in the hot tub, chatting it up with the other John and his wife Emma Sapphire. "Let the boy have his fun...after all there were many nights he came home to find two exhausted heroines passed out on his couch in need of pizza to recharge their powers..." Tiffany sighed and then smiled. "Those were the days...but thankfully Steel City has a lot more capes and costumes running around now...gives some of us a break now and then. Plus lets some of the younger ones help out a bit, like your amazing daughter." She grinned as she gave Mariah a wink and then rolled a few of the hot dogs over so they wouldn't get burnt. Mariah nodded and scanned the pool area, smiling as she saw so many of their friends having a good time. "Tessa has done an amazing job, but she mostly has you, Lauren, and Melinda to thank for that. I was gone so often Melinda was practically her mom when it came to helping her out with her powers and growth." Mariah's tone took on a bit of sadness, but she suddenly felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder. "Stop it...don't even start down that road...Tessa knows you had important work to do and that you loved her with everything you had. You had to keep your powers a secret back then, and maybe there were a few long trips overseas to deal with things, but you were still a great mom. Nothing Melinda or I helped her out with changes that." Tiffany gave Mariah's shoulder a squeeze and offered her a reassuring smile.

"Thanks...just sometimes I wish I had been around more often, maybe even told her about what I did when she started to develop her own abilities, but by then Melinda was so well established and in control of her powers I thought she would make a better mentor." Tiffany nodded and went back to cooking on the grill, pausing for a moment to take a sip of her drink. "Not necessarily better, but equally as good. I'm sure Tessa would have turned out to be an amazing heroine if you had trained her, but there's no need to dwell on any of that now." Tiffany gave her friend a grin. "Though...it might be the perfect time to tell her how proud you are, and share those old stories." Tiffany paused for a moment, then laughed. "Just don't show her your costume...Melinda might have a heart attack when Tessa starts wanting a corset top..." Mariah giggled and then glanced over to the side of the pool, where Tiffany's hammock hung beneath some nice shade trees. "Something tells me a little archer might like that to..." Tiffany smiled and followed Mariah's gaze, finding her daughter Amber curled up in the hammock with Tessa, the two of them dozing off peacefully as they took an afternoon nap while everyone else played in the pool. "She is, after all...her mother's daughter..." The agent winked and gave Tiffany a playful nudge, causing the redhead to roll her eyes. "Hey...any of that naughty stuff, she certainly got that from Ashley...I'm completely innocent..." They both laughed and continued to watch the two young lovebirds as they snuggled together. "It is interesting though, how she turned out to be just like you and Ashley, after everything she went through." Tiffany nodded and looked solemn for a moment, remembering the somewhat tragic events that had led to her and Ashley adopting their daughter, who had been cloned from a combination of their heroic DNA, and set loose on the streets of Steel City to cause havoc by the nefarious Doctor Kotetsu. "Well, Tessa has been a huge influence on her, that confidence she inherited from her mom helping Amber come out of her shell a little bit. I'm not sure if Ashley and I could have nurtured that out on our own." Mariah shook her head and gave a playful sigh. "Oh please, give yourself a little credit, the two of your are great moms and you've given Amber the only thing she needs to blossom, your love as parents." She paused for a moment and then gave Tiffany a coy smile. "Speaking of which...when are the two of you planning on bringing number two into this world?" Tiffany gave a little grin at that and let her gaze look up toward the pool area, where Ashley was splashing around and goofing off with Cassie and Amy, the three of them getting into a playful water battle.

"Probably after the wedding sometime, if we can ever get to that. It seems life keeps getting in the way and planning gets put on hold while we deal with the next crisis or super villain...but there's a special Asgardian ritual I've already inquired about, I just hope we're ready..." Mariah chuckled and waved her hands out at their gathered friends. "I wouldn't worry too much, given all the parents we have here, you're going to have plenty of super baby sitters probably fighting each other for the chance to look after their new niece." Tiffany nodded. "That is true, and Ashley's been getting a lot of practice with Allie and CeCe, the only question is if there's going to be enough stress food in the city for the two of us when Ashe is pregnant..." Mariah raised an eyebrow. "So you decided she would carry? I thought the valkyrie had to carry the child?" Tiffany shook her head and smiled. "Well technically Ashley is a valkyrie, she was made an honorary one already, but when we get married she'll be official, plus it's one of her dreams to be a mom and have a baby and given the nature of our child, the pregnancy is going to be very hard on whichever of us carries, probably putting us out of commission for a bit, so I get to be her bodyguard for a little while..." She smiled and gazed at her future wife for a few seconds, then returned her attention to the food on the grill. "I can't wait honestly...add a bit to our family, but first things first, we need to get this wedding in order...though I hear you have been...helping...Mel and Emma plot the bachelorette party..." Mariah looked around innocently and shrugged. "Who? Me? Oh you know, was just giving them a few ideas like body oil Twister...backyard mud wrestling between the bridesmaids...no super powers allowed...that kind of thing..." She gave Tiffany a grin. "Now I see where Tessa gets her mischievous streak...and I want her and Amber to be able to come to the party so maybe those aren't such good ideas..." Mariah just gave a slightly evil grin. "Well, no matter what happens, I'm sure it will be fun. It's always a good time when the family can get together...I just wish I could make it to more of these events..." She closed her eyes and gave a little frown, but then opened them as Tiffany gave her a little hug. "We do miss you, but we know you're still doing important things to keep us all safe. I'm just glad you were able to make it down for the weekend with John and Mel, gives you and Tessa a little time together." Mariah nodded and gave Tiffany a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks hon, for everything you've done really, and for giving Tessa another home away from home where she can keep growing." The two friends smiled at each other as Tiffany started to remove the cooked burgers from the grill. "I just hope you've got your costume creating skills ready for after I show her my suit..."

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A repost of CrimsonVlkyrie 's fantastic story from a few years ago. As I work through a power set and backstory for Tessa's mom / CIA agent / magical mystical superheroine.

Besides being a fun story between Tiffany and Mariah, it helps explain why Tess' mom isn't around that often in prior stories. Hopefully, Mariah/Maya Mystic shows up in the future with her daughter Tessa Terrific and the other super family members in Mindy Marvel's family tree.

Artwork by PGandara