JP - Meet Emily

Cody looked at Ami. “What?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. “Oh, right! This is Emily.”

Emily smiled at Ami and offered her hand. “Hello, Ami. I’m Emily.”

“Hi.” Ami said shyly, shaking Emily’s hand.

Tzeitel looked at the lavender hair girl. She had been holding Cody’s hand, so not just sitting with him- they were together. She wished things could slow down, at least a little… even though Cody probably could have been expected to have a girlfriend years before now.

Emily just kept smiling. “You weren’t lying, Cody, she’s just the most adorable girl on earth!” She chimed.

Cody looked at Tzeitel when she gave his obvious girlfriend a once over. “What’s up, mom?”

“Why would Cody say something like that?” Ami blurted to Emily.

Tzeitel arched an eyebrow. “I think I should be asking you that.”

“Because my little sister is the most adorable girl on earth.” Cody said, blinking at Tzeitel as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet. “That’s why if she ever starts dating, I’m gonna chase away all the assholes.” He chuckled and handed Ami a five dollar bill. “For the jar.”

“Oh, don’t talk about Ami dating yet.” Tzeitel groaned, feeling tired and old all of a sudden. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“This is Emily,” Cody said and smiled at her. “Emily, this is my mom, Tzeitel.”

Emily smiled sweetly and offered her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Tzeitel.” She said.

Tzeitel shook her hand, wondering if it was appropriate to threaten this girl’s life if she hurt Cody. “Nice to meet you. You have come at an interesting time.” Tzeitel touched her neck scars.

“Uhm…I suppose I have…” Emily grimaced and brushed back her hair. “I’m a journalist for the Underground, so I often come by here…”

“Ah…” A journalist, Tzeitel guessed this girl already knew more about Tzeitel than Tzeitel knew about her. That damned MegaCorp file. Tzeitel shifted, a little uncomfortable. She knew she talked to Klaire about it, Klaire would probably just tell her to relax. Easy for Klaire to say, her kids were probably a decade away from dating. Tzeitel felt annoyed at poor Klaire.

“I mostly try to make the good acts of metas known, giving the world a side of us that is proof of us being as human as all other people without powers.” Emily added with a kind smile. “Cody has helped me find some of my leads, even letting me know when certain channels are showing off anti-meta speeches and such. I try to give Mark all the information I can as well.” Blinking, she shifted. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble…”

“That’s okay, you’re not rambling.” Tzeitel wondered if there was a way for her to learn that her son had a girlfriend the same moment she met her on the same day that she had learned she had a bullet lodged in her neck within 24 hours of being kissed by Colt that was not incredibly awkward for her. The girl’s rambling killed the awkward silence at least.

“Oh? Really?” Emily’s little wings fluttered with joy. “Anyway, I’ve got some work to get to - finish some writing for my next entry in the newspaper. I hope I can get to know you over time, Miss Tzeitel.” Turning to Cody, she gave him a quick kiss. “See you later, okay!?!”

As she left, Cody watched in silence.

“She seems nice.” Tzeitel said, feeling rather stunned from it all.

“She is nice,” Cody replied and crossed his arms. “Okay, so explain to me what all is going on. You were freaking out too much earlier, so I chose to let you do what you wanted.”

“I found out that there’s a bullet lodged in my neck, it has been there for years.” Tzeitel sighed. “It might be too dangerous to remove, MegaCorp seemed to think so.” Tzeitel folded her arms uncomfortably thinking about it.

“Maybe I could help if you want it taken out. I’ll keep healing you while they get it out so you won’t risk dying.” Cody offered, smiling with hope.

“You should save your powers for life or death situations, Cody.” Tzeitel said.

Ami gave Cody a disappointed look.

Cody frowned. “You say that about everything. This is a life or death situation. A bullet is lodged in your neck!” Why wouldn’t she ever let him help her?! It hurt to feel so useless to the one person that raised him.

“What if while you’re recovering from getting the bullet out of my neck Thrane attacks and seriously injures someone?” Tzeitel asked. “Or another riot?”

Ami stood close to Cody. “Please.” She pleaded with Tzeitel.

Frisk walked over. “The techs want to get a better look at the bullet, where it is.”

Tzeitel just felt sick. It was bad enough having the damned bullet in her neck and feeling so violated by it, she did not want Cody using his power on her. And Ami looked so scared. Guilt ate at her. “Dammit…”

“Are you being serious?” Cody asked, frowning deeply now. “I just want to help you! You’ve given me a home, a life, a chance to just…live! Why can’t I help you?!”

“You're my son, Cody.” Tzeitel said, reaching over to gently squeeze his shoulder. “I should be taking care of you.”