“The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven”

Mercy always enjoyed quoting that bit of Shakespeare, particularly when she was coming out of the rafters onto her target. Dropping in a small Cessna from several thousand feet up into the humid air of the Sugar Land Municipal airport didn’t have quite the same thrill to it, but she was fairly sure her day would improve. She shifted her weight, the ugly green nylon of her track suit rustling over her combat suit. The skintight flexible armor was loaded with alien tricks and toy that allowed Mercy to infiltrate even the most highly guarded hostile compound. Unfortunately, it didn’t help much when they were walking into a hospital. Joy leaned over to pat her hand comfortingly and Mercy smoothly dodged the touch. She didn’t like to be touched, not even by her sister, but added a bit more from her favorite quote.

“Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:”

She grinned nastily at the back of the pilot’s head. He was still pale and nervous from the suddenness of this trip. He hadn’t been planning to fly from the Rogue Isles to Houston, but a large pay-off and an extremely sharp knife pointed into his spine convinced him to change his flight plan. Mercy tilted her head and rubbed it fondly against the hilt of the katana strapped to her back. She didn’t think they’d need to kill the man when the plane got there, but he didn’t need to know that. Fear of death normally kept people on their toes.

When the plane touched down Mercy and Joy staggered out into the foggy pre-dawn. The thick mists should have been cool but instead were filled with the promise of another hot day. Mercy was the one who noticed the red pick-up that still had the keys on the seat in the parking lot and they drove into Houston with only a few bits of glass from the broken window to spoil the drive. It seemed that Daddy was dying and Joy wanted to see the old philanderer off. Mercy would just as soon have stayed in the Isles but she knew Joy would need her for this. Even if she didn’t really remember the man, she knew the half-sisters would be there.

When they reached the ward where the old man was sleeping, Mercy made sure Joy paid off the nurses. Even if the legal family tried to keep them out, a little money in the right hands should take care of the problem. Nurses weren’t paid all that much and she knew none of them had seen her blade and might suspect trouble. She could hear the other family coming in and she wanted to keep this as neat as possible. Mercy moved down the hallway slightly to a spot where they could watch the door and began to set up as if she were planning a hit. Each family member was identified with a verbal confirmation from Joy and sorted in her mind as to how much trouble they might cause. Soon enough, Gamer’s Widow and Gentleness came into the hospital heading for the door. Mercy gave Joy the signal and they fell back to the waiting room to plan what happened next.

No matter what the old man did or didn’t do, Mercy was sure there was going to be trouble. Gamer’s Widow looked pretty high-strung and twitchy and she didn’t have a reputation for very much self-control back in Paragon City. As the nurse pushed Gentleness, Gamer’s Widow and an older woman down the hall, Mercy swept all the magazines off the coffee table and composed herself in the full lotus on top of it. Through slitted eyes she could see Joy taking the other corner, dropping into a chair and toying with a knife. Mentally she snorted at her sister for being so flashy, but not a sound escaped. They’d talked about taking the old lady hostage for their share of the estate and killing her when they got it, but Joy turned the idea down. Mercy figured that Joy was just being squeamish for no reason, but if it came to that she could put a knife in a back from a distance. Just because the woman had been married to their father didn’t mean she wasn’t expendable.

“But Mercy is above this sceptered sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;”

Mercy recited the lines to herself as she practiced her breathing forms. The slow cycle of oxygen filled her lungs and she began to feel invincible again. She rested her head back on the hilt of her blade and let it comfort her as always.  The clean feeling of power pulsed through her veins with every inhalation and she settled into the feeling of ‘no mind’ easily as they all waited.  “an attribute to God” indeed. She felt that she could clear the whole hospital with a wave of her hand.

She heard the nurse come down the hall and ask for them. Mercy pulled herself up from her meditation and moved down the hall behind Joy. She noticed Joy had hidden her knife away and smiled to herself at the thought. It’s not like either of them needed the blades to get a job done and this was just another job. They all filed into the dingy little room where the old man lay, rasping on his pillows. "Daddy?" Gamer’s Widow said "What's going on? Who are they?" and the old man made an effort to sit up, reaching for her hand.

"Grace, you were first," he rasped and his fingers closed around her wrist. She shuddered at the chill of his hands and looked sick. "Joy was next though, my second daughter." He held onto Joy as well and she looked at Gamer’s Widow in sympathy. "Then Patience and finally little Mercy." He nodded to Gentleness and to Mercy, then rested back against his pillows. "All my lovely red haired daughters…be good to your mommas…don't tell them." His hands loosened and he fell away from them. Mercy caught her breath as he died, feeling a sense of loss for just a moment. Then she threw the feeling away and settled her mind to the job at hand. Here’s where it would get messy.

Gamer’s Widow moved convulsively towards the door, but Gentleness stood there, looking at Mercy and Joy carefully. "Maybe we should talk some" she offered quietly. Joy thought about it and shook her head. This was going to be hard enough on them without forcing a whole set of sisters in as well. "Not much to say I don't think." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear "We're just here for the will, then we'll get out of the way." A little simple closure and they could walk away and forget they knew each other. Mercy thought it was too easy but she also figured Gamer’s Widow wouldn’t let it happen. She’d guessed right from the look on her face. As Gamer’s Widow opened her mouth to make some comment, Gentleness laid a heavy hand on her wings and steered her towards the door "Outside, Grace."

Joy held went out the door first behind Gamer’s Widow and Gentleness, following them  out to the parking lot. Mercy hung back for a moment and began to assess the terrain. Out in the open wasn’t a good place for a fight on her terms but Joy wasn’t going to back down now either. Mercy could tell that Joy was hurt by the rejection of her offer to leave.

"He was our Daddy too," Joy was forcing herself to speak calmly "Only you got to keep him for most of your life. We didn't even know where he was when he got sick. He just didn't come home." She stopped and shrugged, hugging her arms tight across her chest. Mercy watched from the shadow of the building. She breathed deeply and evenly, letting her weight settle into her stomach.

"He came home!" Gamer’s Widow snapped back "He came back to his wife and his real family and we took care of him." She pushed her face forward into Joy's.

"Real good care I can see," She examined her fingernails again, and Mercy grinned to herself. This fight wouldn’t take as long as she’d thought. Mercy silently unzipped her jacket and dropped it behind her. "Well doesn't matter. We'll take what's ours and go."

"I don't think so," Grace returned coldly "You'd have to prove you were actually some sort of relative and not just some back-street whore's spawn. Which you can't prove."

Joy's first punch knocked Grace clear across the parking lot. For a moment she lay there on the hot tar, stunned. Gentleness summoned a sword of ice, already melting in the hot humid air. Joy took a single step and kicked her square in the face, the swing of her leg knocking the girl backwards. Grace muttered and twisted her hands, somehow forcing Joy to miss the next punch she threw. Mercy dropped the track pants on the ground and turned on the device that allowed her to deflect light for a short amount of time. The air in the parking lot shimmered as she suddenly appeared from nowhere, bringing the hilt of a katana down on Patience's head. She hit hard and fast, cursing mentally at Joy’s choice of a combat zone. Suddenly Joy and Mercy started bog down in the melted tar of the parking lot. Mercy worked the switches on her suit quickly to go invisible again but Grace raised her hands and summoned up a dozen possible futures that confused and distracted Joy and her sister. Joy's eyes narrowed again and she fought her way out of the tangle of luck-threads. Mercy froze, helplessly staring at the possibilities that filled her mind. What could she do? Which movement would be best? Where was her enemy? Suddenly, Joy’s hand grabbed her by the collar and dragged her out of range. There was no way they could get to Gamer’s Widow and Gentleness in a head on fight. No matter how hard they hit them, they would only heal and entangle their opponents. It made more sense to leave now and come back when the others weren't ready for them.

Mercy meditated as they rode the bus back to Rhode Island. Beside her, Joy fumed and fretting, turning the confrontation over in her mind, but Mercy was still calm. She chanted a few more lines in her head as she felt her sister playing with her gloves.

“Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;”

"Mercy," Joy smiled grimly to herself "We may be expecting company at some point soon."
Mercy opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow. In response Joy held out the four business cards left in her glove. "One card is missing, probably from when I hit Grace."
Mercy bared her teeth in a grin "Since when do we wait for the heros to come to us and fight fair?"