I'm sorry (Birth of a Heroine?)

[Minako]

"Yo,
I been writing songs since the first grade,
Been running from the truth since my first fade,
To get big cars, to make big stars,
It takes big scars, better get a first aaaaaaaaid~!
Ha, dumb songs are the first played!
No heart, but they're charting on the first day!
How you stay brave, when they throwin' you the worst shade?
Ones with the talent are the worst paid!
Anyway, if I have blue button eyes and blonde hay,
Would I make the magazine on the best page?
Be the leading man, if I was less gay?
If I was a woman would you try to give me less pay?
I could sing for you, but you prefer rap,
Ask God why he made me out of burlap,
Porcelain glass is a hall pass where I'm from,
And I don't know about you, but I think that's dumb~!
Du-du-du-du-dumb!
Du-du-du-du-dumb!
Du-du-du-du-dumb!
I think that's dumb~!"
​

The unforgiving heat of the summer season was rather unfelt inside the car, the air conditioning blasting as loud as the music of one Rosalinda Chandra. The small woman bopped her head rhythmically while she listened to the sick beat on her wireless headphones. She loved music, it helped her relieve her tension and delivered her to happier thoughts and daydreams. Even her old counselor, back when she was in school, told her that this was the perfect release... well, aside her art, of course, but she usually listened to music while drawing, anyway.


She looked out the window to see the rest of the world on the freeway. All driving to their destinations, or from them. All living life and barely surviving each day as if they were being chased by something and hardly escaped it's torturous clutches. Rosie sighed as she wondered why the world was the way it was. Why everyone was so caught up in their own lives that they couldn't bother to give anyone else a second glance... If everyone would just take a moment from their day to help someone else out, how much of a better place would this world be?


If everyone helped each other as the heroes do, the world would be as bright and beautiful as the sunshine fooled her it was each morning it awoke her...


Feeling a tap on her shoulder pull her from her daydreams, the tiny pink girl was forced back to the ugly reality that was her life, and turned her head to see her foster sister, Cornelia, frowning at her, clearly irritated with her for listening to music when Corny was trying to talk to her.



"S-s-sorry, Uhm... d-did you say something?" Rosie asked sheepishly while carefully taking her headphones off and disconnecting them from her iPod, trying to make light of the situation.



"Yeah, I said this is the STUPIDEST THING YOU'VE EVER DONE SINCE YOU DECIDED TO BLEACH ALL THE BROWN OUT OF YOUR HAIR LAST YEAR," Corny "happily" repeated herself.


"ONE person's opinion..." Rosie half-jokingly dismissed Corny's snark as she shoved her iPod and wireless headphones into her pink bunny backpack, hiding the fact that most of her own self agreed with Corny, "And what can I say, I look better as a blondie, don't I? Haha, people may actually believe I'm your actual sister? Too bad my eyebrows and hazel eyes are a dead give-away, huh?"



"You know you didn't have to do that... and you don't have to do THIS either, right? This was a stupid idea, and I can't believe you volunteered for it! Or that Ma and dad agreed to this! I can't believe I don't have a say who gets to test out my OWN designed armor!" Corny tried to talk her out of this, quickly escalating her words to a rant, but it was futile as Rosie had made up her mind to do this a long time ago.



Maybe she had made up her mind when she was eight years old.



"We're here..." Rosie pointed to the building they were quickly approaching through the car window.


It was a strange looking building, an odd mix of blue and silver, almost looking like a giant robot itself in how sleek and futuristic it's over all design was.



Praesidia Labs.



This was a building that they were both familiar and unfamiliar with. To be specific, Rosie had never actually been here before and even Cornelia did not know the full in's and out's of the lab, despite being an employee here... but what they both did know whole-heartedly was that this was the building that their parents worked at.


"Are you--"



"Yeah, I'm positive," Rosie cut Cornelia off before she could finish asking her question.



"...Fine then," Cornelia half-muttered, unsure in her tone of whether she was angry or worried.


They entered the lab and eventually made their way to the specific lab where their parents were. Though Cornelia knew the way, Rosie felt like a mouse searching for the cheese in a cold, white-walled maze. It wasn't the most welcoming atmosphere, and the smell reminded her of a hospital, but she really didn't mind it. Much.


"Hey Ma, how ya doing...?" Corny greeted them when the sisters finally made their was to their goal, though not as enthusiastically as she normally would granted the circumstances.


"H-hello, s-sorry if we're late or anything..." Rosie also greeted them, checking the time on her phone.


"Hello girls," Their mother welcomed them as she scooped up both of them into a hug.


"Thank you again for volunteering, Rosie... I know this is a bit short-notice, but I promise this suit is 100% safe... The armor is a highly complex matrix of molecularly-aligned, fully crystallized, ultra high carbon iron/steel hybrid alloy that was enhanced by magnetic fields over layers of other ultra hyper alloys, like titanium alloy and or tungsten/vanadium alloys reinforced with carbon nanotubes, creating a shell that is pliable, yet capable of amazingly high resilience and protection," Their father explained, proud of their work.


"O-o-okay, a-and of course, don't worry about it! I-I'm sorry I don't really understand exactly what you said, b-but I also trust the suit will keep me safe from harms way!" Rosie nodded, trying to comprehend what her foster father had just said, and failing.


"Hey, don't make it sound like she's going to go off and do some daring do in this thing o-or whatever..." Corny muttered, worried.



"Don't worry, Sweetheart, of course not, we would never put her in a situation that would endanger her!" Elisabeth reassured her.

"No, of course not! We just want to make sure this is capable of protecting a human, so we might be able to make this armor for the military. We just need a short test run to make sure," Allen also chipped in.


"Oh... okay..." Rosie murmured, a bit disappointed.


"What's with sounding disappointed?!" Corny asked, clearly concerned about this.


"No reason..." Rosie responded, lying.


The two were led to a room apparently made of metal... but that wasn't the most interesting part of the room: The most interesting part of the room was the small metallic armor neatly presented on a huge, equally metallic, slanted "gurney".


It was dark magenta colored, and tiny... A six foot tall soldier could definitely not fit inside this armor... but ROSIE could...


"It's... It's almost like it's made for me..." Rosie muttered, awed, as she came ever closer to the armor.


"Well, we figured when the materials were only enough to make a rather tiny suit of armor, we might make it custom to YOUR specifics," Elizabeth winked at her foster daughter.


"Why on earth tailor a suit of ARMOR for her, though? She's weak and fragile, as well as having NO CLUE how she would USE IT even if you explained the instructions to her... Clearly NOT a good choice for this kind of thing, Ma!" Corny continued to protest.


"Actually, She was our perfect candidate from the start BECAUSE of her fragility," Their father explained again, adding, "If this armor was able to keep her in once piece after all the wear and tear on it, it's strictly doing it's job."


"And if it DOESN'T!?" Corny questioned her parents, rather aggressively.


"Cornelia," Elizabeth sternly warned her blood daughter of the attitude she wasn't liking, "YOU designed the majority of the specs for the suit, so you KNOW most of it is full proof, and that's what we're here to make sure of."


"I trust you all... I... I know I'll be okay..." Rosie continued muttering, making her way to the suit with an ever-extending hand, yearning to touch its cold metal...drawn to it almost as if she was under a trance, like Sleeping Beauty to the spindle of the spinning wheel.


"Heh, looks like we have no qualms from HER," Allen chuckled, continuing, "Well, let's have her put it on and see what this suit can really do!"


"Mmmmnnn..." Corny growled, raising her eyebrows in disapproval, but knowing there was no way she could stop Rosie now.


Their parents pressed some sort of button that matched something on the center of the suits chest-plate, and it somehow was able to reduce in size enough to be concealed underneath clothes. The button itself was small enough to be on a necklace.


"I-incredible!" Rosie gasped, taking the reduced in size armor and button and went to change to put it under her clothes.


When Rosie emerged with the armor under her clothes, her parents gave a solemn nod, and Rosie pressed the button... Engulfing herself in a sort of pink of light for only just a second, and the next... Armor clad... Just as the armor was on her, Elisabeth and Allen handed her a pink visor...It seemed to also be connected to the armor...


It was exhilarating... almost surreal... to the tiny woman.


"Heh... You still sorta stick out like a sore thumb, what with your hair and all..." Corny chuckled, rolling her eyes, and fishing something out of her backpack she brought with them.


It was a neon magenta shot-haired wig Rosie had bought for Halloween, but she never really did end up using again...


"Oh Corny! I-it's perfect!" Rosie giggled, hugging her foster sister in her new armor.


"Don't think this means I approve... I just know I can't stop you... And I want all your bases covered..." Corny grumbled like she was a "tsundere" in one of Rosie's manga's...


"Heh...A-a-alright..." The small, pink iron girl nodded.


"Great! Now, if we're ready to start--" Allen began, before surprisingly being interrupted by his blood daughter.


"Hold up, Dad...It's still missing something..." Corny lowly snarled, displeased... not being able to place her finger on exactly WHAT the armor was missing.


"What on earth do you think it's missing, Cornelia?" Elizabeth asked, perplexed.


"Heh, maybe a jacket! In case it gets cold!" Rosie joked, also wondering what this amazing piece of technology could possibly be missing.


"You know..." Corny at first was going to brush off her suggestion, but then she realized that wasn't necessarily a BAD idea.


Without saying anything else, Corny excused herself in body language, ran to their car to pick up her leather jacket that was a bit large for her, and ran right back to their lab, holding it up almost in triumph.


"Humor me and put this on, over your armor!" Corny near demanded as she waved it in front of her metallic sister.


"Uhm...Alright..." Rosie blinked, obliging her foster sister and putting on the cool leather jacket.


It being a bit large for Cornelia, and of course Rosie was well, actually made the leather jacket a GOOD FIT when on over the armor!


"Oh, wow! I-it's a good fit!" Rosie cheered, happy with the added fashion accessory.


"Called it!" Corny victoriously chirped.


"You don't feel it's going to rip or tear if you strain it, Rosie?" Elizabeth asked her, examining the suit and jacket combination.


"Nuh-uh! It's all pretty loose, Mom!" Rosie responded, satisfied with how everything was working out.


"Wonderful! And, I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not, but the jacket doesn't block the gauntlets, does it? Your gauntlets are very special, they translate any sign language into English with a robotic voice. It was a nice addition to the suit for mute soldiers. It has over a thousand different words and phrases uploaded into it. I mean, if you really want to wear it and the gauntlets are not blocked, I don't see why not... Anyway, are you ready for your training?" Allen approved, now wanting to get things back on track.

"Yes, I think I am," The little armored woman signed, studying ASL as an elective in her college years, wanting to show them she could also benefit from this as well, despite not being mute.

They all sort of looked at her with raised brows, wondering if there was actual doubt behind the smile she made while she signed.

"Hee hee! Sorry, I mean 'Of course I am!' " Rosie chirped, ready for anything.



The two scientists led their daughters, while debriefing Rosie on the in's and outs of how to use the suit's force field and repulsor rays (Rosie begged to not get into the specifics of the science behind the shield and rays, as she wouldn't understand it anyway), to a training room of some sort that Cornelia NEVER thought she would be leading Rosie to... The room was completely made of metal and each little crevice in the walls and floor looked like it was a compartment hiding SOME weaponry or some such.


It was the most surreal thing to Cornelia... Her foster sister, now clad in neon magenta armor, was now in a room chalk full of guns, all aiming towards HER. Rosie's first time in this room was beyond the control panel of the training room that even Cornelia herself had never set foot in...


Corny managed to jolt her mind from her daze, now bringing herself back to the control panel section of the training room, watching precariously as their Mother was talking to the new pink heroine through the panels intercom.


"Alright, so, the first test will be the suits endurance under fire," Elizabeth warned the newly armored heroine.


"Okay!" Rosie nodded, preparing herself for the incoming bullets.


"Good luck and be careful, Rosie!" Allen cheered, not believing he was about to willingly fire bullets at his daughter.


"Be careful! Set your shields!" Corny cautiously shouted the same as her Mother to her sister, motioning to her palms to remind Rosie how to activate them.


"Right!" Rosie confirmed, readying herself in a stance.


A hail of bullets buffeted the little lightning, and though Rosie was shook from being shot at, her instincts luckily led her to engage her shield, engulfing her entirely in its protective force field, and and the rain of bullets turned into a "symphony" of clunks as they hit the shield, seemed to be absorbed or something by it for a moment, and then plopped to the ground a moment later. Whatever the shield was doing, or was made out of, caused the bullets to harmlessly fall downward instead of ricochet everywhere.


"That's great! Alright, now, try to destroy them using your rays, okay?" Elizabeth suggested, pleased with the progress they were making already.


"O-o-o-okay!" Rosie nodded, taking a moment to remember the instructions of how to use her weapons.


"A-a-ah! Please be careful here, too! Just... uhm... JUST! AH! Just imagine the guns are being held by ROBO-BAD GUYS! ROBO-BAD GUYS YOU GOTTA STOP!" Corny suggested, hoping in doing so that she wouldn't go into a panic and get herself shot.


"S-s-sorry! R-r-right! Got it! " Rosie nodded, not entirely brimming with confidence, but again going into a stance to prepare herself despite her shaky voice.


"Alright... GO!" Allen signaled to his "eldest daughter", again pushing the buttons that would summon forth machinery that could and would probably KILL ROSIE.


This time, however, Rosie, anticipating the barrage and imagining rouge robots she had to stop were shooting at her, fired the suits repulsor rays with the weaponry of one hand while protecting herself with her other hands shield, and through several shots (For she did not have very good aim, nor good hand-eye coordination) was finally able to bring the machines down.


It was exhilarating.


For the first time in her life, Rosalina Chandra finally felt something positive.


Rosalina Chandra finally felt like she could make a difference.


Rosalina Chandra finally felt like something she did mattered.


It was wonderful.


For that one moment, her heart felt fulfilled, and everything was right in her world.


"Fantastic! The suits shield held up well, despite its efficiency being cut by 20% when the weapon was in use! The bullets just slid right by the armor and flattened like pancakes as they tried to hit the shield!"


"I KNOW, I SAW! Simply AMAZING! Wonderful job on the design, Cornelia dear! Once we show the government what this suit can REALLY DO they'll be begging us to make more and more! Our funding will essentially be endless to mass produce these!"


"Yeah, uhm, that's GREAT you guys, but can we GET ROSIE OUT OF THE SUIT NOW?!"


And then that moment ended, her heart sinking as it did, back to the reality where she had nothing left.


"Oh... uhm... Th-there's no rush...I-I'm sorry... D-don't you want me to test this suit out MORE? M-maybe... uhm... maybe it has other stuff that needs testing?" Rosie meekly asked, hoping in her subtlety that they would not look down on her for wanting to stay in the armor just a little longer.


"...Rosie, get the hell out of the suit," Cornelia commanded her sister, coldly and unamused, very much catching her strong desire and feelings towards the suit already and not being too happy with her.


Before Rosie could comply with Cornelia's order, a distress transmission came from her visor!


"Crown Bank Inc. is being robbed! All units, Crown Bank Inc. on Wilcox Ave. and La Cienega Blvd. is being robbed! Several perpetrators! Send police immediately! I repeat: Send police there immediately! I think we have a hostage situation!"


How-- OH! That was right, they did mention that the visor was hooked up to Police Scanners!


Her visor was even displaying the banks location, and even how to get to it from THEIR VERY LAB! Apparently, the visor also has GPS...


"A-a-ah! I-I--!"


"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, POLLYANNA!" Cornelia warned her, already knowing exactly what was going on in Rosie's mind.


"But..." Rosie peeped, standing still, hanging her head.


She wasn't defying Corny... but she wasn't exactly complying with her order, either.


"Rosie," Cornelia hissed, her warning not unlike a rattlesnakes rattle, "GET. OUT. OF. THE. SUIT. NOW. PLEASE."


Well, at least she said please...


"I... I can't...I'm sorry, but I can't," Rosie began, again gluing her eyes to the floor and not looking up at Cornelia from the control panel of the training room.


"...Can't, or wont, Rosie? Which is it, 'cause the difference is KINDA important?!" Cornelia snarled at her, not believing what was coming out of her mouth.


"Yes, Cornelia is right, Rosie, lets end this foolishness and get you out of that suit, dear," Allen sided with his blood daughter on this.


"Indeed, that's enough for today!" Elizabeth also agreed with Corny.


"I...I'm sorry... I can't in good conscious shed this suit right now! Not when I know people need my help! Not when I know I could save lives right now! Having this on! Please! Please, I beg you all! Let me just help this ONE time...! Please... All I'll be doing is stopping bullets, under less fire than just now, I-I'll bet, and stopping a criminal while saving a life..." Rosie pleaded, NOW looking up at them from training room.


"...Rosie..." Cornelia sighed, fathoming something like this would happen, but still unprepared for the flurry of emotions experiencing it first hand.


"I...Maybe... Maybe a field test isn't a bad idea," Allen shockingly muttered.


"You can't be serious!" Elizabeth shouted.


"Yeah, DAD! What the actual hell!?" Cornelia quickly reprimanded him, not believing what she was hearing, this time HER hearts turn to sink.


"I'm just saying, they're not going to shoot her with anymore heavier artillery than we just did, and if it's JUST THIS ONCE... " Allen mumbled, scratching his head and looking away from his wife and daughter.


"Doesn't mean we just thrust her into mortal danger!!!" Cornelia continued to protest.


"Allen, this is highly dangerous!" Elizabeth sided with their daughter about this.


"I know it is! I'm just saying, The suit can probably protect her from most things, " Allen defended his stance.


"I... I don't mind it... It's... It's kinda what I signed up for..." Rosie finally squeaked in her two cents, trying not to feel THAT helpless in their decision.


"I don't give a damn what you signed up for!" Cornelia shouted at her, still protesting this.


"Corny, please... It's... it's what I want..." Rosie pleaded, looking up at her from the training room.


"Pretty friggin' sure you don't know WHAT you want!" Corny argued.

"I know I don't want to wake up in the morning being ME. I...I'm sorry, but... I've NEVER wanted to wake up in the morning being me," Rosie muttered while gluing her eyes to the floor.

Allen, Elizabeth, and Corny all paused and looked at each other. It was obvious they had never heard Rosie talk like this before, though they have their suspicions from the moment they adopted her...


"I want to do the right thing. Please... Just... just this once..." Rosie muttered while gluing her eyes to the floor.


"I...I mean the suit would keep her safe," Allen again defended Rosie's desires, outrageously.


"Perhaps... Just ONE field test... It IS almost her birthday..." Elizabeth was also starting to give in, not only had pity overcome her, but curiosity as to how the suit would fair on a filed test as well.

"WHAT?!" Corny blurted furiously, her brain almost not comprehending how surreal everything was becoming.


Her best friend was becoming a Super Hero...


"Thank you! I-I'll be alright! Don't worry about me! I-I won't let you down! Any of you! I-I promise!" Rosie perked up, sounding happier than Corny had heard her in a long time.

"No!" Corny cried, but her cry fell upon deaf ears, for Rosie was already out the training room door.




"Rosie! Rosie, STOP!" Corny yelled as she barely managed to catch up to her sister just outside the building.

"Please, don't try to stop me! I've already made up my mind!" Rosie begged her, stopping for a moment and turning around.

She was frowning at Cornelia like she hadn't before and standing her ground like she was in the training room.


Cornelia stopped dead in her tracks.

She had never seen Rosie this determined, or motivated.

She didn't even think Rosie was capable of such resolve.

Corny, very clearly, stood corrected.

"Rosie... You don't... You don't have to do this... You really don't," Corny pleaded her to stay, trying to save her from herself.

"I'm sorry... But, I think I do... Maybe... Maybe I was meant to. They say there are really only two important days in someones life: The day they are born, and the day they find out why. What if this is it? What if this is the day I find out why? What if this is the day that MUST happen to me?" Rosie perked up as she asked, more determined than Corny had ever heard her.


Corny looked down and sighed. It was in that moment that she knew that there was NOTHING she could do or say to her foster sister to stop her. For the first time ever, Rosie wasn't the wishy-washy weak girl she had turned into when her Mother and Father were taken from her.

For just a moment, that strong Rosie that Cornelia met the first day they knew each other was back.

That Rosie before she started apologizing was back.


Corny hated herself in that instant for liking that.

Rosie apologized too often.

Heck, she apologized for apologizing too often.

She always said "sorry" to the point the word "sorry" had probably left her lips far more often than "Hello" or "Hi". She was ALWAYS sorry.

She was always "sorry" for everything that never went right, even if it wasn't her fault... Because she saw herself as a burden. A catastrophe. A hot mess.

It was because she had convinced herself that she wasn't good enough. Because they world was constantly telling her she wasn't good enough.

The world looked upon this unfortunate girl who had her parents taken away from her with such harsh, cold eyes that saw only her flaws magnified, how could she not? How could she not see herself as only a storm in her head and a blizzard in her heart?

How could she not apologize to the very air she breathed when the world made her feel like she should after it took the people she needed the most?




But Rosie didn't expect Corny to understand that.


"There's... There's really nothing I can do or say to you to stop you from going out there...is there?" Corny tried to reason with her, hoping this wasn't the last time she would see her sister.

"N-no... I don't think there is.. I-I'm... I-I'm so--" Rosie began, but was interrupted.

"Don't. Don't you dare. Go. Just... go," Corny nearly choked saying this... Her faith in that suit and in Rosie all that was keeping her sane at the moment.

"I'll be back as soon as I've apprehended those criminals. I swear by it," Rosie, invigorated now more than ever obtaining Corny's blessing, reassured her, lightly approaching her foster sister and embracing her. Embracing her like she had never embraced her before, but careful and gentle to not hurt her while in the armor.

"...You damn well better," Corny softly sobbed, embracing Rosie right back, her heart imprinting this moment into her mind... half for fear this may be her last opportunity to have any memory with Rosie...

And the other half due to the immense pride she had in her sister that, despite all her pain... Rosie still tried to do good in this world. She took her pain and used it as a fire that never went out to help others. In her world of darkness she wished to only be a light.

"So...What... You just gonna go off and use this suit to stop bank robbers and help cats out of trees? You'll be out there for forever if you try to be everyone's heroine, ya know..." Corny weakly chuckled, wiping her tears, unsure why she was joking at a time light this, and also unsure how she possibly couldn't jest at a time like this.

"Right now those people at the bank need a heroine. I know that, even as heroes, we can't help everyone... But everyone can help someone," The tiny pink heroine signed, smiling and making a peace sign at the only girl who she had a bond with that was deeper than skin, or blood.

With that, and her destination clear on her visor's GPS, she jetted off and took to the skies.


Rosie once heard it said that after you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes to the sky...

And she now knew it to be true: There she was, and there she would always long to return.



Flying was quite easy to her, really... Now that she had shed everything that was weighing her down.