Private Second, Third, Fourth Chances

[Cato Harth]

Cato furrowed his brows, eyes still glued to their target, "Well, I don't think it's a Hutt," He replied, "It's too… disheveled. A Hutt wouldn't leave their lair looking like that. Someone else moved in." Perhaps there were some old defenses still in place, but it wouldn't necessarily change how they infiltrated. Garm's rival likely just killed him, and left the building there as an example of sorts. Since then, it had been taken over by a squatter: their Fabricator, no doubt. "Nice try on getting me into a slave bikini though."

The shipment they tracked was brought into a loading bay on the first floor. A few goons got out, hauling the supplies inside. Cato pointed towards them, "There. I think that's our best way in." His goggle scanners returned to default, and he stood up, "It'll give us a good look at the operation too."

---

Ashur interrupted the adult conversation with a cry, prompting Inanna to take him off to bed, though not before explaining her own work to Jed. He nodded, quickly distracting himself with his food while she took care of the baby. There was a duration of quiet between the two men and Serena still at the table, until Inanna returned.

“So—what do you do, Jed?”

Jed stopped mid bite, eventually forcing himself to swallow and address the question, "Um… Nothin really, nowadays. Haven't had much time to get back on my feet." He wrung his hands, clearly unsure of how much to say, "I lived on Narsh most my life. Like most folks there my uh, living wasn't always clean." He paused, then admitted with shame, "Most of the time it wasn't. Trying to go straight was hard. Never could get it to stick. Not there. Finally I'd pushed my luck a bit too far and I just had to get out of there. Landed here after a bit of drifting."

"Getting hired as an ex-con can be tough. Even here. With my rapsheet anyway." Jed sat still for a moment, dwelling on his past before he suddenly remembered where he was. His gaze downcast, and he set his hands on the table, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that beforehand. I-I should've, I just… I didn't think you'd give me this chance if you knew I was a crook."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Nice try on getting me into a slave bikini though."

“Too cold for it, anyway.”

Cato pointed out the loading bay as a good entry point. As he stood up, she took a step closer and hooked a finger around his utility belt. “How about I try the grappling hook this time, and you hold on to me?” she asked with a smile, nodding her head toward the goons below. “You can get the drop on those guys.” By literally dropping on them.

---

At the end of Jed’s speech, the empathic Serena let out a little sniffle, her tawny eyes brimming with tears at a pain she was too young to understand. "What's wrong?" Inanna picked her up and plopped the pouting little girl down in her lap. “Are you crying for Mr. Jed? Aww, you’re so sweet,” she said, kissing her cheek and comforting her. She brought her plate over so she could keep eating, though Serena seemed to have lost interest in her food for the moment.

“I don’t exactly have a spotless past either,” Inanna said. “In fact, I’m willing to bet I’ve done worse things than you have. No one is perfect, and we’re all capable of change.”

But these were platitudes that didn’t reflect the reality of the struggles he now faced. Inanna had done pretty well for herself, all things considered. Jed wasn’t so lucky. He couldn’t even get a job to stick as an ex-con. “...We could vouch for you,” she offered, catching Cato’s eye before looking back at Jed. “There must be something you can do, somewhere they’ll take you.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

“Too cold for it, anyway.”

Cato just smirked. He more or less had his plan of action already laid out, when Inanna called an audible. A switch of roles. He chuckled, and detached his wrist-mounted grapple, "Alright. I'm nothing if not flexible."

Cato took a firm hold of her, shifting his weight a few times, "Can you carry me?" He asked wryly.

---

Jed grew a faint, sad smile, when Serena seemed to empathize with him, even if the girl couldn't fully understand the depth of it right now. Inanna showed her support as well, admitting to an imperfect past of her own.

"You could make a whole stand up routine about my mess ups." Cato shrugged, "Everyone deserves a second chance. And sometimes a third. Or fourth."

“...We could vouch for you,”

"You'd do that?"

"Sure. Need some references? Look no further." Cato pointed a thumb at himself, then at Inanna, "The Vonnuvi has all kinds of opportunities for folks like you. If we can help get you through that final hoop, we'll do it."

Jed rubbed his eyes, almost on the verge of tearful happiness, "I… I still don't understand. It's the right thing to do you said, I get that. But— Why me? How is it that you can offer so much to some stranger like me? Just like that?"

"It's a simple as that, Jed. I know what it's like to be without a direction. And, well…"

"Daddy is a superhero." Serena suddenly said, wiping her eyes.

There was an abrupt pause. Jed seemed to consider what she said literally, perhaps because of all the little hints of deja vous that had bothered him the whole day. Cato's hands fidgeted nervously. He had been gearing up for this, but still struggled to say it.

"…Superhero?" Jed repeated, almost mumbling it to himself. He looked at Cato, then Inanna, then back to Cato.

"…Yeah. I guess so." Finally, Cato reached into his pocket and retrieved his old Moonlighter mask, tucked away in preparation for Jed's arrival. He held it out as proof, "We've known each other for a while Jed. It's me."

The Duros seemed stunned, his reaction indiscernible. Perhaps to him as much as anyone else.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Alright. I'm nothing if not flexible."

“The jokes write themselves. Ooh, did you make this yourself?” Inanna took the grapple and put it on her wrist, admiring it. She aimed it at the other building and fired. It caught on her first try, and tugging on it didn’t dislodge the hook.

Then her attention was drawn to Moonlighter as he shuffled around. “You got a nice firm grip there?” she asked. Her playful smirk faded a little as she wrapped her free arm around his waist, her golden eyes behind the black domino mask softening. “Good luck.”

Then, she swung them over the edge.

The goons didn’t know what hit them. Inanna released her grip on Moonlighter then swooped down feet first, knocking two of the men flat. Dislodging the grapple, she deftly evaded the goons as they came after her. Weeks spent on patrol with Moonlighter had paid off as she used many of the same acrobatic stunts, multiplied by her inhuman shapeshifting abilities, to beat them up. She even used their momentum against them, causing the goons to crash into each other even as they tried to hit her.

When the last one was incapacitated, she turned to Moonlighter, winked, then hurried inside the lair of the Fabricator.

---

Inanna smiled faintly at Cato’s remark. He already sort of did turn his screw-ups into a comedy routine. It was part of that patented Cato Harth charm. But he was right—they had all their fair share of sins and mistakes to atone for, and they all needed plenty of extra chances to make things right.

Except for Serena. She was perfect. Inanna kissed the top of her head, right between her ponytails.

"Daddy is a superhero."

Inanna froze. Her gaze flicked from the teary-eyed Jed, to the fidgeting Cato, then finally to tattling Serena. “Uh, she means that he’s like a superhero,” she said lamely, before Cato retrieved his old Moonlighter mask, ending any hope of keeping up with the charade. The secret was out.

“Daddy, is that for your superhero costume?” Serena pointed to the mask excitedly. Within seconds she had climbed out of Inanna’s lap and scampered over to Cato’s knee, arms outstretched, greasy calzone fingers making grabby motions. “Can I see please?”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Yep. This is my second draft. First one was a bit more uh, jerry-rigged." Inanna got a handle of it quickly, landing the hook at their destination. "I can get firmer, if you like," Cato smirked, finally finding his optimal position. Then, with a last blessing of luck, they swung over.

Moonlighter airdropped directly onto one of the thugs, the sudden weight causing him to crumple, while Cato rolled quickly to his feet and engaged the next target. Together they made easy work of the unsuspecting hirelings. Dancing around with all the weightlessness provided by their powers, Moonlighter and Mimic cleared the room before most could figure out what happened.

Moonlighter stood up, and popped his shoulder, a grin forming behind his mask as his partner took off. He followed, and they soon found themselves in a great atrium. This skyscraper had been practically hollowed out, replaced by makeshift scaffolding and cannibalized electronics. It was as if the building were under complete reconstruction from the inside. "This Fabricator knows their stuff," It was a bit messily put together, but they clearly had the knowledge to make it work.

Sounds of work from high above signaled the source of their troubles. Cato looked to Inanna, "Race you to the top?" Without waiting long, he immediately leapt onto one of the platforms, and began to scale the obstacle course of scaffolding.

---

Inanna tried to salvage an explanation, but Cato had already committed to revealing the truth. He scoffed a laugh and shook his head, "Uh- Maybe wash your hands first, Pink." He told Serena, lifting the mask slightly out of her reach. He was still a little sentimental about it all.

Jed stood up and came closer, making Cato turn stiff again. For a moment, he wondered if Jed was going to lash out, but such an action never came. The Duros looked up and down between Cato and the mask. He then pointed at Inanna, saying nothing but clearly conveying his question through his countenance: Asking if she was indeed Moonlighter's vigilante partner. Cato nodded. "…Now I'm just more confused," Jed finally spoke, a bit of tension in his voice.

"Right. We uh, didn't exactly end on great terms. Or were really ever on great terms… " Cato rubbed his nape, and sighed, "All I ever wanted to do on Nar Shaddaa was help. When I first showed up as a Jedi, I saw nothing getting done. People living in poverty. Crime everywhere. Even from the police. So I made my own justice. You ever watch those old holotoons?"

"The Magnificent Wyyyschokk-Man?" Jed smirked, picking up what Cato was getting at.

"Yeah," Cato chuckled, "Yeah that. Guess you could say I was inspired by my childhood." He then frowned again, "After spending so many years feeling like I was just hitting my head against a wall, I started to get a bit more jaded. And the last time I saw you, I really snapped. I was just so… done with it all. But for a long time I didn't think I could be." He looked back at Serena and Inanna, the ones who gave him a reason to. "Somewhere along the way it stopped being about helping and more about fighting. I wanted to fix that, now…"

Jed remained silent for a few long moments, then finally smiled again, "Well… In your defense… I was, literally, committing a crime. So," He laughed.

"Thank you for saying it. I didn't want to say it and sound like a dick." Cato laughed as well, "As long as we can be on the same page about it."

"Sorry about almost blowing you guys up. And all those other people," He spoke now to both Inanna and Cato, "That was the moment I… think I realized I went too far as well. I was never in that game to hurt people. Spent a lot of nights thinking about how much worse that could have gone."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“It runs so smoothly,” she cooed. “Mmm, I would like that. Don’t want you falling off too early...”

During the ensuing fight, she caught glimpses of Cato in motion. Art of Movement and his athletic physique allowed him to easily perform acrobatic stunts even the greatest of gymnasts would struggle with. But it was more than just ability which made the fight feel breezy. It was fun.

Once inside, the complexity of the Fabricator’s operation made itself known. There was almost an eerie beauty in the way the wires snaked over the architecture, like vines growing over ruins. The ramshackle scaffolding, not so much.

"Race you to the top?"

“You’re on,” Mimic replied with a grin, then leapt onto the scaffold opposite him. It wobbled, but didn’t fall. Hopefully that would be true of the rest of them.

She jumped from platform to platform, keeping pace and then starting to surpass Moonlighter, a grin on her face. It was too early to call victory, but things didn’t look good for her hero. Near the top, she spotted something moving in an alcove. Was that an animal or a person?

Distracted by the sight, her feet failed to hit the solid surface of a platform, missing it by inches. A horrible plummeting feeling speared through her gut as gravity began to pull her down through empty air. Thinking fast, she activated Moonlighter’s grapple, still attached to her wrist. The hook latched on to one of the support rungs of a nearby scaffold, the rattling of metal against metal echoing through the cavernous skyscraper.

Dangling, Inanna took a moment to breathe… and listen. If it was a person up there, she had probably just alerted them to their presence.

---

Serena scurried over to the sink, where a step stool waited to lift her up within reach of the faucet. While she washed her hands, Inanna made her confession. “I’m Mimic,” she admitted. “Or Dupli-Kate. Changeling. Every-Woman. They never did stick with a name.” She didn’t do the vigilante gig long enough for any particular moniker to stick. It was bizarre, in retrospect, to think of just how short that period of her life had been. They were together only a few months before Serena was left on their doorstep, and it quickly became apparent that things would have to change.

Not long after Cato finished his explanation, Serena returned from the sink, presenting her clean and dry hands for inspection. Grease and pieces of cheese were still stuck to her grinning face.

"Sorry about almost blowing you guys up. And all those other people."

“It’s okay,” Inanna replied, with total sincerity. It was surprisingly easy to say, possibly because the events that followed had inadvertently colored her memory of the explosion in happier shades. “I’m glad you had the courage to stop what you were doing before it was too late.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Both heroes took to the challenge eagerly. Moonlighter kept up impressively, given his human nature and lack of a grappling hook, but Mimic was soon able to surpass him.

Until she missed a platform by inches. Moonlighter stumbled to a halt when he saw it happen, scrambling to throw out his hand for her, forgetting again that his hook was gone. Thankfully, Mimic had it herself. She stopped her tumble quick enough, though not without a bit of commotion.

Faint mech in Al noises from above suddenly stop, and they waited anxiously for the reason. There was a sudden stamping of feet, following by the single whine of a klaxon. Turrets emerged from the walls, firing indiscriminately at the heat signatures below.

"So much for a surprise, I guess," Cato said casually. He drew his sabers, deflecting a shower of blaster bolts, a few of which were returned to sender, "C'mon!" Moonlighter went straight o business, pulling Inanna up to his level with the Force. He grabbed her arm and fired the grappling hook up into the air, where it just reached the final platform. Together they were launched up past the turrets, Cato doing his best to deflect the incoming shots. When they landed, he stumbled slightly, probably having take a few stray hits he didn't have the time to worry about.

"Oh… It's you," A voice said with particular scorn. Moonlighter shook his head, a lull in the action giving him the moment to recognize that voice. He looked up, and saw a feminine figure. She was tall, with pointed ears, predatory eyes, and four arms: A Codru-Ji. She was dressed in what could only be described as a Hallowe'en "sexy mechanic" costume. A short, form-fitting romper in the style of a boilersuit, a neckerchief, hat, and thigh high boots. And just enough actual protective accoutrements to keep the outfit from being utterly impractical. Nonetheless, her appearance was decidedly… striking.

Moonlight stood up, and his cringing could practically be seen beneath the mask, "Aw, shit."

"Who's the skank?" The woman said bluntly, adjusting her glasses, which seemed to be of genuine prescription, rather than a part of her flashy getup.

---

Cato eventually relented, handing over the mask to Serena.

"I liked Dupli-Kate," Jed commented with an easy grin. Presumably for the same reasons Cato and Inanna found it entertaining. Now with it all in the past, and the two of them continue to offer reassurances and good wil his way, Jed seemed to fall into a genuine sense of relief, "It wasn't easy. It's what led me here." He sighed, "Guess it was meant to be, though. What are the odds?"

"I don't even want to think about 'em," Cato chuckled, patting the Duros' shoulder, "Knowing you've turned over a new leaf is all I need." The two men reconciled fully, and eventually sat back down to continue their conversation on fresh terms.

"So… I got an idea how you got into that game now. But," Jed looked to Inanna, "How the heck did you get tied up in all this?

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Her fall must’ve triggered something, because turrets suddenly appeared and started firing. Swearing, Inanna drew her lightsaber and began blocking the bolts. Cato grabbed her and lifted her up, using the grapple to propel them onwards. She kept him safe, deflecting any shots that came their way while he was distracted.

Breathless with adrenaline, her golden eyes darted frantically as soon as they reached the final platform, expecting to find an army of goons waiting for them. But no one else seemed to be around apart from a single female Codru-Ji clad in a very… interesting outfit. She and Cato both recognized each other.

"Who's the skank?"

“Excuse me?” Inanna put her hands on her hips. “You’re the one in the slutty grease monkey getup.” She turned to Cato, since he apparently knew her. “Who the feth is this?”

---

"How the heck did you get tied up in all this?

“It’s a long story,” Inanna replied with a soft sigh. “My niece ran away to Narsh, so I went looking for her. Moonlighter helped me track her down, and the rest is history, really.” She cast a loving look Cato’s way.

Serena gazed upon the Moonlighter mask with awe… then pulled it over her head, looking through the goggles.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

The Codru-Ji sneered, "Oh, so your tits spilling out of that gimp suit are an accident? Embarrassing," From the get-go, her noxiously 'mean girl' attitude suffocated the room. Sass laced everything she said, and every contour of her expression. She steepled two of her hands together, and stood up with the others behind her back, "Aww, you haven't told her about me? That hurts, baby…"

Cato pinched the space between his brows, "Ugh. Okay, uh- This is Jahira. She's… my… ex."

Jahira cackled, "Don't sound so ashamed, Cato. I know you enjoyed our time together," She purred with a distinct notion of experience.

"Right up until I found our you were totally nutso," Cato said, swiveling to look at Inanna part way through, as if explaining his reasoning to her as well, "Didn't know you were full supervillain nutso, though. The Fabricator, really? Did you just look in a thesaurus and call it a day?"

Jahira hummed, taking off her glasses a moment to clean the lenses, "Well I was always more a science gal than an art major. But theatricality is the name of the game these days. In no small part thanks to you, Moonlighter. You know I helped him make a lot of those silly gadgets."

"Helped refine them, Jahira. Don't get too up your own ass."

"All substance, no style. You know I expected the opposite from your work. Quite the wildcard, this one," Jahira looked at Inanna, "He's fun for a while, darling, but he'll get stale. You ought to just throw him out when you're done with him."

---

Jed seemed fully invested in hearing the entire story, but smiled contentedly with what he was given, "S'like a movie." Cato chuckled, and cast a matching gaze towards Inanna, "Well, maybe one of these days I'll be worth enough of a damn to have something like that myself." He nodded.

"Damn," Serena repeated through the muffled mask.

"Er, sorry." Jed scoffed awkwardly.

"It's a whole thing with her."

"Right… Well, I guess I should probably get out of your hair for the evening. I've kept y'all long enough, with my being late." Jed slowly stood up and brushed himself off, "I appreciate the meal. And the help. More than I can ever express, I think."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Oh, this is no accident.” Inanna traced a finger over the edge of her plunging neckline. “Unlike some people, I don’t stumble upon sex appeal through trial and tacky error.”

Her disposition toward Jahira, aka the Fabricator, only grew colder the more the Codru-Ji ran her mouth. Cato having a supervillain ex (who knew his secret identity, no less—should’ve kept your mask on, Moonlighter) was inconvenient for them, but it didn’t really bother her. What did irritate her was the nerve of this b!tch to talk about her man like that.

"He's fun for a while, darling, but he'll get stale. You ought to just throw him out when you're done with him."

“Why, are you hoping he’ll take your sorry ass back?” Inanna asked, her voice pitched dangerously low. “I can’t blame you for being jealous. He’s one of the few men on Narsh who’s got the whole package—kind, brave, hot as hell and a fantastic lay. But it’s your own damn fault you lost him. Pearls before swine.”

Activating her lightsaber, she advanced toward Jahira. “I almost feel compelled to thank you for being dumb enough to let him get away, because now he’s all mine. After I’m done teaching you a lesson, I’m going to show him the appreciation he deserves. Maybe I’ll do it in front of you so you can hear him scream my name.”

---

“Serena, I told you that’s a grown-up word,” Inanna said, though her reproach was pretty half-hearted. “Look at you. You’re a superhero now, just like Mommy and Daddy. What’s your superhero name?”

“Calzone!” Serena suddenly exclaimed, stooping to hug her racyon, who had decided to emerge from her room in search of food. The toddler reached up toward the table to pick up her scraps, but couldn’t reach them. Before Inanna could intervene, the plate slid toward Serena as if of its own volition. She seized the leftover calzone and fed it to her pet.

Inanna’s attention had been diverted to Jed as he bid them farewell. “Anytime you need a hot meal or help, you’re welcome to come here,” she said, seeing him to the door.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Jahira grew a serpentine grin, finding some satisfaction in fully setting off Inanna. She pouted her lips and cooed, "Ooh, you're a real schutta, aren't you? I like it. Guess Cato hasn't totally lost his tastes," The codru-ji glanced at him knowingly for a moment, "Hell of an idea, sister, but ah, I think you vastly overestimate my interest in my former boytoy."

From behind her back, she suddenly pulled two firearms of strange design. Double barreled machines that rumbled with pent up energy, plastered with all manner of add-ons and attachments. With her other set of hands, she gripped the weapons and actually separated both weapons into two halves, giving her a total of four smaller blasters with which to fire, "Being a bad guy just suits me better. And it sure as hell pays the bills a lot better." Then she began to fire them all in an indiscriminate barrage, "Bye Cato. Bye skank."

Moonlighter was quick to move, throwing himself and Inanna behind a heavy metallic crate. Blaster bolts pinged incessantly off the container, some ricocheting across the room, "You just gonna hide the whole time? That's not the Moonlighter I knew!" She reconnected two of the blasters, configuring their systems into one high power weapon. Both barrels began to glow, charging up a much higher power shot that the pepper blasts she was just spraying.

"Sorry this is how you find out about her," Cato shrugged, "…You mean everything you just said back there?"

---

Calzone and Calzone finished devouring the last of their calzone, while Cato and Inanna bid farewell to Jed. With a few final expressions of gratitude, he was eventually guided towards the door, "Stop by sometime tomorrow and we'll get that job stuff sorted out."

"Might just take you up on that, Moonlighter."

The old vigilante smirked, "Just Cato now, Jed."

"Maybe so. But you were a hero on Narsh, Cato. To a lot of people," Jed grinned, "Even if I wasn't usually one of 'em."

"You're gonna make me blush, ya goon. In front of the missus? Get outta here," He playfully shoved the Duros' shoulder. At last, Jed stepped through the door.

"You're my hero now, Cato. Thank you."

Cato was, as usual, humbly stilted in his reception of compliments, "…Don't mention it, man. See you tomorrow." The door closed. He propped up against it, and sighed, "…That went pretty well, I think."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“My name is Mimic!” she yelled from behind cover. “I’d say his tastes have improved!”

"Sorry this is how you find out about her."

“Yeah, how come you never introduced us? I can’t imagine why.” Her tone was laced with sarcasm. Jahira didn't seem like the type of gal you brought home to meet your parents, let alone your new girlfriend.

"…You mean everything you just said back there?"

Turning to Cato, she grinned until her nose crinkled, her white hair backlit by bright flashes of blaster fire. “I forgot to mention how smart you are. But otherwise, yeah.”

A bolt from one of Jahira’s guns came a little too close for comfort, ruining an otherwise nice moment. “Okay, Fabricunt—let’s see how you like it,” Inanna muttered. Using her telekinetic powers, she seized the Codru-Ji by the ankles and flipped her upside down, making sure she was facing away from them.

---

“Bye!” Inanna waved to Jed on his way out. When the door closed, her smile broadened.

"…That went pretty well, I think."

“It went great.” She sashayed over to give him a hug. “I’m proud of you, arranda. Forgiving and trying to redeem a bad guy is a lot harder than beating him up and turning him over to the cops.”

Her gaze happened to land on the chrono, and her eyes widened. “It is late,” she said. “It’s past your bedtime, Serena.”

She started toward Serena, only for the toddler to evade her. “No! I’m a superhero! You can’t put me to bed!” she exclaimed.

Calzone was still munching on leftover calzone. It was always fun watching the racyon eat, with its weirdly humanlike hands.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato snorted, "I didn't say I was gonna introduce ya. But in retrospect— Maybe a heads-up would have been useful," He winced as a bolt grazed over the top of their barricade, "In my defense, I had no idea she was this far over the deep end." Inanna doubled down on her kind words, adding in one more for good measure. Cato grinned bashfully, "I guess I am pretty smart." He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, before they were interrupted by another close shot.

Inanna used the Force to dangle Jahira by her ankles, turning her away from the pair, "Hey-!" She whined, "We're not done yet!" She pressed one of the many buttons on her blasters. The four weapons then began to reshape, taking form over her forearms like gauntlets. These weren't just blasters, they were a veritable catch-all tool, a complex series of interconnected parts that could detach and reshape to their creator's will. She pressed a button on one of her newly formed gauntlets, which summoned a flying drone from outside.

Cato saw it just in time, "Look out!" He rolled away as blaster fire busted through the window behind them, forcing the heroes out of cover.

---

Cato accepted the hug, letting his shoulders drop and a sigh escape his lips. It had taken a tangible weight off his mind, taking this step and helping Jed turn over a new leaf, "Thanks." He replied genuinely.

Unfortunately, their dinner had gone a bit late, and only just know were they realizing how much Serena had overstayed the evening. And she wasn't the least bit tired, it seemed. Cato put on a sinister grin, "Oh yeah? Well I'm the supervillain. And I say all heroes must go to bed!" He gave his best bad guy laugh, and chased his daughter with extended claws. Calzone looked up to watch the nonsense unfold, then went right back to eating, where it's priorities lied.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“What did she do to you?” Inanna asked, willing to lend a sympathetic ear to his past relationship woes. (And potentially fishing for inspiration for her next novel…)

With Jahira left dangling, it seemed like they had the upper hand. But nothing is ever easy when it comes to fighting the bad guys. Cato issued a warning beforehand, but Inanna wasn’t quite fast enough.

As the smoke cleared after the first round of drone fire, she lay motionless on the floor out in the open. She had failed to make the jump to safety without getting hit, but she was merely unconscious, not dead. The drone’s weapons began to power up again, aiming to finish her off.

---

Serena gave a shriek and ran down the hall, trying to escape her new nemesis. Wincing, Inanna listened for a cry from an awakened Ashur, but thankfully the baby remained blissfully asleep.

She headed for Serena’s room, deftly sidestepping her daughter and then her husband as the latter chased the giggling former around the ship. When she returned, she was armed with pajamas and a toothbrush. She made eye contact with Cato, her message clear: bring her to me.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Well I broke up with her after I found out she was surveilling all my tech. Broke into all my systems like nothing. Also she uh tried to kill a guy. That too," Cato flinched as another shot rang past, "Now isn't really the time for kiss and tell."

Broken glass and blaster bolts showered the two of them as the drone made its sudden attack from behind. Cato managed to get out of the way, but Inanna wasn't so swift. He turned to see her lying in the open, "Stop!" Jahira just grinned.

Moonlighter hurled one of his tonfa sabers at the drone, spearing through its central system and causing it to spiral out of the sky. Its cannon sprayed bolts in a haphazard trajectory, a few hitting both Cato and Jahira as it sweeped over the room before falling out of view. Cato managed to pull his missing tonfa back just in time, stumbling a bit as he approached Inanna, "Please don't be dead," He muttered, checking her over.

Jahira, meanwhile, was trying to recover from her wounds, scowling at the pair from a distance.

---

Serena proved more deft than her father anticipated. But his gangling limbs had the reach he needed to eventually snatch her up. She squealed, and he laughed maniacally, "I've got you, Moonlighter! There's no escape from my clutches!" He held her up, and presented her to Inanna, "Now, get ready for bed, or you will never be a superhero again!"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Ow,” Inanna mumbled, black blood smeared across her lips as she was flipped over on her back by Cato. “She shot me.”

The bolt had burned through her left lung, quite literally knocking the wind out of her. She winced, grasping Cato’s upper arm. “I’m not… I’m not dead,” she muttered, dazed by the pain. “Right?”

---

“Time to unmask this superhero,” Inanna said, tugging the Moonlighter cowl over Serena’s head.

“Oh no! My secret identity!” Serena yelped in dismay, reaching for the mask as Inanna passed it to Cato, taking the toddler in her arms instead. “Mommy…”

“What?” Inanna asked, praying she wasn’t about to start whining or crying.

“I need to go potty.”

“Okay.” Grateful and a bit amused, Inanna took her into the ‘fresher. She emerged a few minutes later with Serena all ready for bed. After the exciting chase sequence with Cato, the toddler seemed sufficiently tuckered out, resting her head against her mother’s shoulder. But not so tired that when Inanna whispered the question, “Who do you want to tuck you in?” in her ear, she failed to respond.

“Daddy!”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato tensed up seeing the blood, and began fishing for a bacta patch on his tool belt. Her question brought a gentle smirk, "N-no," He replied, doing a poor job of hiding his concern, "Or— if you are, then I am too." Moonlighter touched at his bloodied arm for a moment, then retrieved a patch, placing it over Inanna's injury. "Are you able to walk? Or is that asking too much right now?" He scoffed wryly.

While he was focused on tending to her, Jahira was stumbling to her feet, and approaching him with a powered up gauntlet from behind.

---

While Inanna got Serena to the bathroom and ready for bed, Cato started on cleaning up the kitchen, getting most of the dishes washed and put away (although Calzone had already done much of the plate cleaning for him). He returned in time to hear the request for him to tuck Serena in, "Anything for my little hero," Cato took the girl to her bedroom, set her down on the mattress and snugly draped her in her favorite blanket, "There— All tucked in. Oh," He looked down at her almost-forgotten nightlight, and switched it back on. At last he leaned over, planted a kiss on her head, and whispered, "Sweet dreams, Pink. I love you."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Heh, you died from a shot in the arm,” she muttered with a grin. It was a pretty ghastly sight with her teeth coated with blood. Laughing hurt.

“It’s too much to ask for you to carry me right now.” Her lips pulled back in a snarl as she saw Jahira coming up behind him. Seizing her lightsaber with telekinesis, she thrust it toward the Fabricator’s eye.

---

Inanna watched from outside the room as Cato sweetly put Serena to bed. Hopefully the toddler would stay in bed for the rest of the night. She checked on Ashur, who was sleeping like a… well, like a baby. As she closed the door, Cato exited Serena’s room across from her at the same time.

“We have such cute kids,” she whispered. “But now we gotta put ourselves to bed.” She reached for his hand.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Embarrassing, right?" Cato put on a weak smile, faltering slightly at the sight of blood on her teeth. His distraction was so severe that he didn't register the danger creeping behind him. Not until Inanna was already acting. He spun around to see the lightsaber fling past, and towards an encroaching Jahira.

The Codru-Ji gasped and tried to move, sparing herself a lobotomy, but not an eye. She yowled in pain as the blade streak past, burning out half her sight and leaving a scorched scar across the side of her head. The Fabricator fell to a knee, and Cato awkwardly stumbled up to confront her. With a final weary punch, the villain was knocked out cold. Moonlighter stared down at his victory for a few long moments, before suddenly remembering Inanna. He knelt back down placing a hand beneath her for support, "Nice save."

---

The kids were all tucked in for the night. The pets had curled up and done the same. All that was left was for the parents to retire. "We do," Cato concurred, taking her hand, "It has been a busy day."

In the bedroom, Cato plopped down on the mattress and began to undress, "Tomorrow will be busier." Serena needed to be taken to preschool. They'd need to offer Jed some help. Cato would be needed at the Enclave. And Ashur would be as attention-needing as all babies are.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna grit her bloodstained teeth. She had taken Jahira’s eye, yet that wasn’t enough. She had wanted her head, lobotomized, dead.

Moonlighter—Cato knocked her unconscious, an act of mercy Inanna couldn’t have summoned up the will to commit. The touch of his hand under her body reined her back in. She was reeling from blood loss and a vague sense that she had gone too far. But when had she not gone too far?

“Maybe this job isn’t for me,” she mumbled. “When I see people hurting other people, hurting you, I just get so angry. I want them dead…” Losing consciousness, she clung to Cato, trusting him to take care of her.

---

Inanna hummed contentedly as she stretched out on the bed. “It’s nice to be busy sometimes,” she said, watching him raise his shirt over his head. Her fingers stretched toward him, drifting over his scars, wondering if any of them had come from Jed. The Duros hadn’t been much of a fighter, if she recalled correctly, but he’d tangled with Moonlighter before she came along…

“How do you feel about this whole thing with Jed?” she asked, unable to shake the feeling that it was all too good to be true. Not just Jed’s apparent redemption, but Cato’s positive attitude toward it. “You can be honest with me.”

Cato Harth​