Six Shot

Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth peeked through the blinds as Charlotte pulled up. Red cursed to himself as he saw her. "I should have known she would come. I called Sako and she's the one that shows up. Just my fucking luck."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she saw her grab a shotgun from the passenger seat. "Stay back and let me handle this. If I'm not back in two minutes, then come outside."

Elizabeth pushed the door open.

"Can I help you with something, aunt Charlotte?"

Charlotte scowled. "You dare consider me your family? No, you can't help me. I'm here to kill you." She shot at her and Elizabeth blocked the slugs with her tendrils. "Give it up, you'll never win. You're only delaying the inevitable."

Charlotte screamed in rage and grabbed the machine guns from her bag and opened fire. Like before, Elizabeth blocked the shots. She lashed out and snatched the guns away before snapping them like twigs. "Is that all you got?"

Charlotte's hands lit up with hellfire. "No. I can do much more, you bitch!" She charged and Elizabeth morphed her tendrils into blades before slicing Charlotte's arms off at the elbow. She watched as she fell to the ground, screaming in pain. "I don't want to hurt you, but you're not leaving me much of a choice. If you surrender, I can have Red cauterize your wounds. If not, then I can inject you with a neurotoxin powerful enough to kill. It's your choice."

"Liz, don't!"

She spun around and saw Alex standing there, covered in blood. Corey stood behind him, also splattered in gore.

Elizabeth retracted her tendrils. "Corey, ask Red to come out here and heal her wounds. Hurry, she's bleeding pretty viciously."

Corey ran inside.

Alex knelt down next to his aunt. "What the hell were you doing, Liz? I thought we agreed not to hurt anyone else."

"She put our child's life in danger. I had to make sure she stayed safe."

"She? I thought you wanted the gender to be a surprise?"

Elizabeth shook her head and raised the front of her shirt. "I went into labor early. Had Calvin help me out. I was gonna help you, but then Red decided to call the Black and White. I couldn't run the risk of them killing my daughter."

Alex stepped between her and Charlotte. "What are you talking about? Why would they kill a baby?"

Red walked up and healed Charlotte's arms. "Because your stepdaughter is half-demon. She's the genetic spawn of Rapture. I figured that out earlier. I was gonna have Sako try and exorcise the demonic power out of her. But instead, Charlotte showed up."

Alex spun around and aimed his guns at Red. "Bite your tongue. What proof do you have that she's Rapture's spawn?"

Red shook his head. "The pair of horns on her forehead is pretty suspicious. But the key factor is that I felt him. I felt his spirit inside that child. Somehow, he impregnated Liz with his spawn."

Alex shot him in the leg, forcing him to drop to his knees. "LIAR!"

Elizabeth lashed a tendril around his arm and forced the guns away from Red. "We'll work this out, but we can't do that if we kill each other. Have some sense, Alex. He's telling the truth. As much as it scares me to admit it, he's right. Yes, Emma is Rapture's daughter. But she's my daughter as well. If we play our cards right, then maybe we can prevent the demonic part of her from taking over. We can teach her to use her powers for something other than murder and destruction."

Lauren stepped outside and gagged as she saw Charlotte's arms beside her car. "Is she alright?"

Alex holstered his guns and removed his mask. "She's fine, Lauren. Red helped her. Just a malfunction with her engine fan." He turned to everyone, silently warning them to keep their mouths shut.

Lauren teared up. "Is my uncle Victor gone?"

Corey shook his head. "He's still alive, but there's no chance in hell of him messing with you again."

She sat on the garden bench and stared at the ground. "But, where am I going to go? My parents died when I was young. Uncle Victor doesn't want me. What am I going to do?"

Alex reached into his coat and pulled out a blood-stained paper. He unfolded it and handed it to Elizabeth, whose eyes widened as she read it. "Adoption papers?" She smiled. "You want to adopt Lauren?"

Lauren looked up. "I can live with you guys?"

Alex nodded. "If that's what you want. But, that's up to you. We're not going to force you to stay with us."

Lauren teared up and cried tears of joy. "I'd love to," she paused. "Can I ask you guys something?"

Alex and Elizabeth looked to each other, then back to Lauren. "Go ahead. Speak your mind."

"Would it be alright if I called you guys mom and dad? I never had the chance to call anyone that."

Elizabeth smiled and hugged her. "You can call us whatever you want," she wiped a tear from her eye and sat next to Lauren "So, what do you guys say to having dinner at our place? It would be a nice way to celebrate inviting Lauren into the family."

Charlotte grumbled and slid herself against her car. "You were a bloodthirsty psychopath last time we met. What happened to make you change?"

Tamara handed Emma to Elizabeth. "Rapture's death." They answered in unison.

Charlotte's expression softened and she eyed her disembodied arms. "Can you reattach my arms, Ricardo? I know you guys don't really trust me, but after what I just saw, I don't know what to think. Plus, I'm out of ammo anyway."

Ricardo grabbed them and held them against the stubs of her elbows. They reattached themselves seconds later and Charlotte pulled herself up. She faced Elizabeth and Tamara.

"I'm terribly sorry. What I did was wrong. All this time, I saw you as psychotic murderers. I thought all you wanted to do was kill people. But after seeing Alex's memory of you saving him, and watching you stand up to a god like that, I see that I was mistaken. I would be honored to join you guys for dinner. Assuming, of course, you allow me to."

Elizabeth and Tamara slapped her in unison. "You're welcome anytime. But come unarmed. We don't need any incidents."

Charlotte smiled and hugged the two awkwardly. "See you later." She waved her hand and she and her car vanished in a puff of smoke.

Elizabeth poked Emma's horns. "I hope these aren't going to be a burden."