Bad Influence (A Short Fan Fiction)

"Pauline Felicia Parsons, what do you think you're doing!?"

She may have been the most powerful teen in the world, but Felicia still jumped at the sound of her dad's disapproving voice. Paul only used her full name when he was particularly angry. 

"I... it was... listen...!" Felicia babbled in an attempt to explain. Her blinding atomic glare slowly petered out.

"And don't think you can get out of this so easily!" Legacy warned, turning his gaze towards a slowly-shrinking Expatriette.

"...Good to see you too, Paul," the vigilante finally responded, trying her best to force a smile. She kept her eyes trained on the hero as he headed over to the table the two had been clustered around.

"...Bullet holes, and scorch marks," he noted, turning to face the duo disapprovingly. It was Amanda who spoke up.

"I was training her to melt the bullets with her atomic glare before they hit the table," she admitted. 

"That's not a skill she needs. She's bulletproof."

"Not everyone is, Dad!" Felicia exclaimed. "What if, I dunno, someone shot at the Pope while I was nearby? I could melt the bullet before it hit him!"

For a while, Legacy stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"...Felicia, I appreciate that you want to help people in ways I can't," he finally smiled. "But there are three things you could have done." He held up his fingers.

"One, you could have thought about how the hot molten metal would do the same amount of damage. If you really want to train that skill, you need to work on finding a safe distance between the target and the gun."

"...Oh," Felicia murmured, a little embarrassed.

"Two, you could have told me you wanted to practice that skill. I would have gladly helped by standing in as a target. You don't need to bring Amanda here in secret."

"I... I was gonna tell you, but..."

"And three... you could have not used your mother's favourite table."

Felicia, who had been floating up until this point, slowly descended to the ground bashfully.

"I'm sorry, Dad..."

"Oh, honey..." Legacy sighed. "You know I can't stay mad at you." He embraced her in a hug.

Behind his back, Amanda silently mouthed to Felicia that next week's training session would be at her place.