Kingdom Hearts fic: Potentials - Chapter 6

[mistressofmuses]

In chapter 6: Kairi, Riku, and Sora spend a day together, trying to enjoy the calm before the storm.

---

---

The following article appears on the private fanpage “SuperFocus” dedicated to the history of various Superhero organizations.

The Origin of the Defenders of the Light

The Defenders of the Light can trace its history back farther than superheroes being an expected part of daily life, though it started as an organization officially maligned as a vigilante group. Certainly a sharp contrast to its current place in the public consciousness as near-synonymous with heroism.

The original members weren’t superhuman, just men and women who devoted themselves to protecting their city and its citizens, even when that put them into conflict with local police and government. Looking back on their history, and on the corruption they helped to expose, it seems much clearer now that they were heroes, if more mundane ones than we’re used to now.

There’s no true agreement on who the first superhuman was. There have been people with extraordinary abilities and skills for centuries, and an even more extensive tradition throughout human history of quasi-mythical figures that could arguably qualify.

But there is no denying that there was a drastic increase in their prevalence around 15 years ago.

It’s been speculated (though this is merely one theory of many) that the catalyst for that spike was close to an additional 15 years prior, when our universe came into contact with another. As superpowers often manifest near puberty, this date of contact would be relatively close to birth or very early childhood for many of those who would ultimately manifest abilities.

(If dimensional interactions are truly a catalyst for powers to manifest, it is worth noting there was another such event a few years before the spike. This was when the child-hero Starchild appeared in our world, which is also theorized to have been a potential trigger.)

At the time of the first known dimensional event 30 years ago, there was little serious study into alternate realities, so the dimensional brush-up itself passed with little fanfare. But afterwards, individuals began to come forward with claims that they had come from another world entirely.

Many of these individuals were studied, some grew to prominence, and others faded into obscurity. But one young boy, Xehanort, began his own inquiries into his origins. He joined the Defenders of the Light as a child, taken under the wing of their then-leader Ansem. He grew up in the organization, and gradually worked his way to a position of leadership, taking over entirely after Ansem passed away.

In the first year following his ascension, when superpowers began to manifest with frequency that could not be ignored, he welcomed many from the region into the Defenders of the Light. As the original heroes that had founded the organization retired, superpowered heroes began to outnumber the remaining “mundane” heroes, until eventually powers became a de facto requirement for becoming a Hero.

As one retired hero famously said: “Heroism is a superhuman’s game.”

Now, most people view this as an ultimately positive move. The Defenders of the Light has grown within the city it calls home, and similar organizations have taken hold in other regions. These organizations offer a place that newly-manifested superhumans can turn to for help with their powers, and offer a career path that utilizes their genuinely unique skills. It’s contributed to a greater sense of public safety, even as similarly superpowered threats have emerged. The organization’s research department has also grown vastly, and leads efforts to understand what causes powers to manifest, as well as how they can be used, trained, and controlled.

While some people remain skeptical regarding the Defenders of the Light’s stated goals, none can argue that under Xehanort’s control, it has certainly grown to suit a changing world.

---

After another, more forceful, “suggestion” from Headquarters, Radiance was exempt from an extra day of patrol in return for reporting for a full medical checkup.

They’d told her she was overdue, and then Xehanort’s pointed suggestion during their debrief had made it clear that it was a priority, so it wasn’t a complete surprise. She took advantage of their offer by scheduling the appointment for as early as they would let her, leaving her the most free time possible afterwards: Corridor and Keyblade were also not on the patrol schedule for the day.

In addition to their role in protecting the city and its inhabitants from dangers both extraordinary and mundane, the Defenders of the Light’s goal as an organization was to understand what caused superpowers. In service to that aim, all Heroes were required to submit to periodic physical and psychological testing.

At least this particular visit wasn’t going to involve brain activity scans. Those were tedious and often took all day.

Radiance averted her eyes as the nurse inserted the blood draw needle. Radiance wasn’t squeamish exactly, but somehow it was far easier to deal with a genuine injury drawing blood than something deliberate.

“One down, two to go,” the nurse said gently, replacing the vial.

After taking the third vial, the nurse covered the puncture with a cotton ball and taped it down, taking the blood samples and promising to return shortly.

Radiance flexed her arm, trying to chase away residual tension. She leaned back on the exam table, which had been left fairly upright for her. It was lucky she didn’t have a phobia around this kind of medical testing, or she’d have been chased from Heroism to villainy long ago.

She didn’t have to wait long. The woman who returned to the small exam room wasn’t the same nurse; this was one of the Defenders of the Light’s staff therapists. Radiance had seen her a couple of times before, though she’d seen others before and since.

“Hello Radiance, how have you been doing?”

“I’m doing well.” The easiest, safest answer.

The therapists were ostensibly provided to address the mental health of the Heroes. A valid enough concern, considering the relatively unique stress they were under.

But like so many other things, that did not mean they shouldn’t be careful. Heroes who had expressed struggles balancing their Hero and civilian lives, or especially any sort of dissatisfaction with the organization itself, could find themselves being given all kinds of ‘extra help.’ And Radiance really wanted to be as under the metaphorical radar as possible right now.

“Have you been sleeping well?”

“Yes.”

“Any issues with your civilian identity? Struggles with family, or responsibilities?”

“None.” Her parents were aware of what she did. They’d known when they adopted her.

“And what about your social life with other Heroes? Any developments there?”

Radiance bristled at the question, and struggled not to show it. Riku’s paranoia was rubbing off on her. “The same as ever.” She smiled brightly. “Friendships all going strong.”

“Glad to hear it. A strong social support system is important. Have you done any new work on your memory?”

And there was the real question they were interested in answering.

All superpowered individuals did not obtain their powers the same way. Some developed gradually through a person’s life, frequently manifesting around puberty. Some went through some kind of major life stressor or life-threatening event that triggered something within them. Some encountered an external force that bestowed a power upon them. Corridor was the first type, with powers that manifested in his early teens. Keyblade was the third, “chosen” by a supernatural weapon only he could wield.

Radiance didn’t fall comfortably into any of the categories. She’d appeared in the city on the night of a meteor shower, roughly six years old, alone and with no memory of her life before then. Her light-generation powers had already manifested, a rarity on its own for a young child, but even more strangely had been under fairly consistent control.

There’d been plenty of theories about her: that she’d been abandoned by a fearful parent, that she was secretly the lovechild of some ex-Heroes, or even that she was an alien crashed to earth on one of the meteors.

The Defenders of the Light had taken her in, given her the codename “Starchild,” and eventually placed her with her adoptive parents.

But they’d always wanted to know where she’d come from, and what kind of training she’d had before she’d come here. They’d been trying to get her to “recover” her “suppressed childhood memories” for more than fifteen years. Their interest in her case was probably second only to their interest in superpowered twins, which was something notoriously difficult to study.

Radiance glanced away and shook her head before her silence dragged on too long. “Not really. I’ve been dream-journaling the way you suggested, but there aren’t really any themes I can see. I’ve tried to think back, but I don’t want to force something, or convince myself that I remember something I really just made up.”

Honestly, she hadn’t been trying, not recently. When she was younger, she’d desperately wanted to know where she’d come from. But now she had a life, and a future she wanted. She enjoyed being a Hero, even if she hated marketing and scripted plotlines. Struggling to remember a childhood she was literally farther away from by the day seemed unnecessary at best.

The woman took some notes on her tablet. “Well, continue with the journaling, or even recording any weird thoughts you may have. You could think about moments you do remember from childhood, and see if there were imaginative themes that frequently appeared. Imaginary friends, or games you liked to play. Perhaps that could trigger a memory.”

“I’ll try that, thanks.” Radiance smiled, trying to appear more interested than anxious to leave.

“Considering the recent events, with the convergence of a parallel dimension, it is possible that you’ll experience unforeseen effects. We simply don’t know enough to predict it. I’d like you to come in weekly for a while, just so we can monitor any impact this is having on you.”

“All right. I’ll make an appointment.”

The woman keyed in a few additional things and stood to leave. Almost as an afterthought she added, “Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”

Radiance shook her head. “No. Thank you.”

“Someone else will be with you shortly.”

Radiance didn’t have any direct comparison, having only ever seen Defenders of the Light professionals, but she knew enough about therapy to know this was atypical. A cold, clinical setting, seeing a rotating cast of therapists, the questions all coming from the professional, never directed by the “patient.”

This time it was the first nurse who returned, giving Radiance a printed summary of what had been done during the appointment, and a card with a followup date already set for the following week.

And after that, she was finally free.

---

Kairi leaned back in the chair, sipping her smoothie and enjoying the sun. After the morning appointment, the rest of the day off from patrolling (barring emergency) was not to be wasted, especially when all three could spend it together.

Usually, the three would spend any mutual time off in their apartment, content to retreat from everything else when they had the opportunity. But today was a beautiful day, and they were all reluctant to spend it inside, so they were having lunch in the outdoor café area of the community college where Sora was a very-part-time student.

They were all dressed in what Kairi sometimes thought of as their “real” disguises, as civilians. Easiest for her; apply some softer makeup, add some body glitter to hide any errant sparks of light, accessorize with some oversized sunglasses, and she was suddenly much more likely to be recognized as ‘Kairi, the mayor’s daughter’ rather than ‘Radiance, local Superheroine.’ Though even that was blessedly infrequent; local politician’s daughter wasn’t terribly glamorous.

Riku had to go to slightly more effort, due to his fairly distinctive hair, but he hadn’t been caught yet. As a Hero, his hair was always down, and his costumes always played up the dark, almost-vampiric bad-boy look. So tying his hair into a ponytail and wearing light colors was startlingly effective disguise. Add in a pair of purely aesthetic glasses, and the cliché hero/civilian disguise was complete.

Sora managed disguise-by-way-of-unremarkability, dressing like a typical college student and just blending in. Even though he had the most to lose, if his identity were to be exposed, since his was the only one that was truly secret. From everyone.

Of course, even their time off was never really free of Defenders of the Light business. Riku’s melancholy picking at the bread of his sandwich was proof enough of that.

Obviously Sora had picked up on it, too. “You know, this is really setting you up to be like, the main Hero. A big dramatic switch back to our side at just the right time, seriously heroic save-the-day stuff, y’know?”

Kairi nodded her agreement. “You’ll step in with just the right information to let us defeat the bad guys, and that’ll be that.”

Riku gave as expressive a shrug as possible while slouching the way he was. “Hope so.”

Because of course, Riku had informed them after the exhibition fight, his extra debrief had been about how this event would require him to play double agent. He was going to be set up to betray the other Heroes and join up with the new villains. He would gather information about them, and ultimately come back to the Defenders of the Light. Though, he said, it was implied that his return to heroism was… negotiable, based on his willingness to toe the line.

Otherwise, it had been nearly as light on details as the rest of the debrief had been, with no more specifics as to who these villains would be. Though the fact he was being prepped to go undercover with them as a spy implied that the Defenders of the Light were more certain than they let on that these villains were going to be fully sentient beings. Regardless, Riku was informed it would be happening, and of course he was absolutely forbidden from telling anyone.

Riku grabbed Sora’s soda and took a sip. “I don’t know how to play it strongly enough that people aren’t going to question my motives. How many times can I credibly switch sides before no one believes it when I switch back?”

Kairi’s gaze swept the café area, but no one was paying any attention to them. The beauty of chatting on campus; college kids were quirky enough as a whole that a conversation like this was beneath notice.

“Last time it was ‘because’ the big bad lied to you,” Sora said, sarcastic twist to the explanation making it clear they were really discussing the way the previous Event had been planned. “And this time, you’re joining up with the bad guys because you think it’s the only way to protect the rest of us. So this is really just like, an extension of the ‘noble motive, wrong method’ track. It shows great consistency of character. I bet I could even write a paper about it.”

At least that got a smile out of Riku. “Well, anything to help you pass a class, Sora.”

“No extra clues about the how and the when?” Kairi asked. “Even unintentional hints?”

Riku shook his head. “Xe— The boss just said my plotline would have to ‘branch off.’ That the stakes would need to be increased, so I’d have to switch sides and join the other side, with ambiguity as to my motives. He did say something about it helping to ‘create both tension for the team and sympathy for the other side.’ A ‘hook,’ he called it.”

Kairi took another sip of her smoothie, turning the information over in her brain. The Scientist’s powerset would be useful at the moment, though for obvious reasons they couldn’t ask him. “So… if they need a ‘hook’ for the villains, then this has to be a totally new group, right? Not another crossover, because everyone already knows the motives for The Bad Fairy and Sea Witch and Boogeyman, you know? Not that everyone thinks they’re sympathetic exactly, but there’d be no need for a hook to get people invested.”

“Makes sense,” Riku said. “Though I wish I knew when it was supposed to happen. Not a fan of it all hovering over my head like this.”

Sora shrugged. “So let’s not worry. I think by now we’ve picked apart what we know, and nothing is going to give us more info yet. Worrying isn’t helping, so let’s not.”

Kairi reached out to poke Sora in the side. “Sora’s answer to everything,” she teased as he squirmed away.

“Just to this!” he protested. “It’s a day off, and we never get to just be normal friends or go on a real date or anything, and I don’t think we should spend it all being miserable over something we can’t fix yet.”

With visible effort, Riku seemed to literally shake off his melancholy. “You’re right. So if this is just a regular, real-normal-person-date, then where to?”

---

‘Where’ was a park on the far side of campus, where they could walk and toss bits of French fry to the pigeons. Sora found a four-leaf clover that he pressed between pages of a notebook. Kairi hoped that was a good sign for everything ahead of them. They managed to avoid ‘work talk’ the rest of the afternoon, though the time passed all too quickly.

Campus began to clear out, only the relatively few students with evening classes still moving through the grounds. They’d been content to wander fairly aimlessly back and forth, hand in hand in hand.

“What now?” Kairi asked as the streetlights came on, even though it was almost a given.

Sora glanced slightly wistfully toward the north, the direction his own apartment was in. “I wish I could invite you guys back to my place, but…” he trailed off.

Sora was in a unique position among the Heroes, because his civilian identity was secret even from the Defenders of the Light. Kairi’s identity had been known since she even had an identity, and Riku had come to the Defenders of the Light for training as soon as his powers manifested. But the Keyblade had chosen Sora, and he had volunteered to be a Hero, but the Defenders of the Light had no part in ‘discovering’ him or developing his powers. And due to previous hard-won, messy litigation, they could not require a Hero to reveal their civilian identity.

It was almost too risky for Kairi and Riku to spend time out of costume with Sora at all. None of them were under any illusion that the Defenders of the Light couldn’t discover Sora’s identity with distressing ease. Between their surveillance systems and the tracking they all knew was in place (even if it was officially only allowed when Heroes were on duty), it would take minutes to find Sora and connect him to Keyblade.

But there were also extremely harsh penalties if the organization was ever found to have done so, including forfeiture of all past, present, and future licensing and merchandizing revenue for the Hero in question. And Keyblade was a very profitable Hero. Even so, spending time together in his private residence seemed like tempting fate to an excessive degree.

The three wandered to an area off the pathway, hidden from view by trees.

“So, the usual?” Riku asked, extending his hands as if asking for a dance.

The other two nodded, each taking one of his hands as he pulled all three of them into the dark.

---

The apartment was always their safest place, and they’d all done their best to keep it that way, never letting it turn into a cage. So Kairi was able to genuinely sigh with relief when they crossed the threshold of the dark corridor into what felt like home. It was the place she could drop the vague tension she carried through the day, no longer worried about the wrong person seeing them, or someone coming to the right conclusion about their identities.

Kairi stretched, raising herself up on her tiptoes as the rest of the tension fled. “This was a good day.” She turned back to face the other two. “I’m glad we got to spend it together.”

“We have to take every chance we can get,” Riku said.

“Come on, Riku. Don’t get all sad on us,” Sora protested, aiming an elbow at Riku’s ribs. “Good day, remember?”

“Yes, your brooding is very hot and all, but now isn’t the time.” Kairi aimed for stern, but a giggle escaped anyway.

Riku rolled his eyes and elbowed Sora back. “I’m not brooding. I’m just stating it as a fact: I’m sure you’re right, and everything is going to be fine, but there still might be a stretch of time we can’t be together.”

Kairi’s smile faded. He was right; if he was going to switch sides, he’d be under even more scrutiny than they already were, with none of the guaranteed protections they had when officially sanctioned by the Defenders of the Light. Sneaking away even for an evening to hide out in secret together might carry too much risk.

Riku reached over and tugged a bit of her hair. “Hey, if I can’t be sad, you can’t be either, right?”

She quirked a smile at him. “Just thinking how Sora and I will have to sit here and pine for our mysterious spy boyfriend.”

“Well, the spy will be tragically pining for the lovers he left behind and secretly yearns to return to, all right?” He rolled his eyes.

Sora snickered behind them. “I bet the fan communities will get some mileage out of that one.” Then he schooled his expression to one of deep thought. “Though you know, I do think it’s sort of a shame they didn’t go with the idea we had before, and make Kairi switch sides this time. Because I think Radiance could be a pretty great villain.”

“Oh really?” Kairi crossed her arms and fixed him with a look.

Sora nodded enthusiastically. “See, it already sounds like you’re planning revenge!”

“And maybe I am.”

“Or maybe Sora just has a type,” Riku suggested, pretending to examine his nails.

“Uh, wait…”

“Oh, don’t try to backpedal now, just because we’re on to you,” Riku teased.

“Yeah Sora. Bad-boy boyfriend just not enough? Need a bad girl, too?” She took a predatory step forward. Just because that wasn’t really her style… they were all damn good actors after working for the Defenders of the Light for this long. “And you never just asked?”

“Uh…” Sora’s cheeks were pink. He was so easy to fluster. He backed up a step without seeming to realize he was doing it, hands coming up like he was trying to talk down a lion. “I mean…”

Riku and Kairi shared a quick glance, and she thought he understood exactly what she was hoping he’d do. “Villains do gang up on Heroes all the time,” he said.

“They do.” She licked her lips and took another stride toward Sora, who took another nervous, giggly step back… right through the dark corridor that Riku opened up.

And backwards onto the bed.

Riku using his powers for such a short jaunt was rarely worth it—costing more energy than just walking—but the look on Sora’s face as he was gently shoved backward definitely made this a worthwhile exception.

Kairi’s attempted ‘villainess’ persona fell apart as fast as she’d tried it out, as she couldn’t help but lean down and kiss Sora while he was still flushed and scrambling for what to say.

He seemed slightly relieved when she dropped the act, though it gave her some ideas for a future date. Maybe someday, when it felt like they had all the time in the world, when it seemed like it wouldn’t be a waste to turn their time together into a game. But they all spent so much time playing roles already… it was hard to give up one of the few chances they had to be nothing more or less than themselves.

After that, she tried to snapshot pieces in her mind, thoughts she could recall if this did drag them apart for some length of time, like some inoculation against loneliness.

She wanted to remember the arch of Sora’s spine when Riku ran his hands down past the small of his back, easing his jeans down. The breathless gasp Riku let out when she and Sora both went for his neck. The feel of Riku’s fingernails sweeping up her back, and the gold sparks it sent flickering off her skin.

The fall of Riku’s hair shielding his face as Sora pressed him face down into the mattress, and the dazed expression she revealed when she brushed it back, her fingers trailing a streak of violet light. Sora pulling her back against him, Riku in front of her, surrounded and sheltered completely as she came apart. The way Sora would get quiet as he got more desperate, until Riku kissing him gently and her fingers barely touching him pushed him over the edge.

The slow touches and kisses bringing them all back down.

---

It was after, in the hazy warm afterglow—something that was uncommonly literal for Kairi—that Riku spoke again.

He was in the middle, Kairi resting her head on his shoulder, Sora holding Riku’s other arm between both his own, their legs all tangled together.

Riku’s arm was pinned under her head, but he still ran his fingers through the part of her hair he could reach. “I’ll make sure you know,” he said. “When it’s time.”

And of course Kairi knew what he meant.

So did Sora. “Do you think they’ll give you much notice?”

“Probably not. If I can’t warn you ahead of time, I’ll… give you some kind of signal. A code-phrase.”

The three were all quiet for a moment, Kairi tracing aimless patterns on his chest in time with the movement of his fingers through her hair.

“‘This is how it had to be,’” he said. “I think that sounds suitably melodramatic if it happens in the moment, don’t you?”

“That line’ll be on every highlight compilation and news broadcast for at least a week. I don’t think they could write you something with more drama,” Sora said.

“Top ten cutting betrayals material for sure,” Kairi agreed, but she softened the comment with a kiss to the spot just under his collarbone.

“Maybe we’ll all get acting awards at the end. We can give some teary interviews about how we all knew he didn’t mean it, how our faith never wavered…” Sora suggested.

Kairi laughed at the thought. “You know, between what you said about ‘pining for the lovers you left behind,’ and ‘this is how it has to be,’ I really think you should start writing some of those ridiculous books you can buy at the grocery store checkouts.”

Short novels of varying quality about superheroes—some not-so-subtly based on real heroes—and their secret lives and dramas were a big market share. Kairi had read several. Some she’d wanted to throw out a window. Some she’d read so many times she’d had to tape the covers back together.

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, our audience loves a cliché.”

“I guess I can’t argue with that,” she said.

Riku pulled both of them in tighter. All three of them clung together, and Kairi desperately hoped this was what their future was going to be, not whatever conflict was looming. But at least it was their present, and for now, that was enough.

[previous chapter] [next chapter]