Special thanks to Temporal Knight for editing and critiquing, expect a time jump soon, enjoy!

I refrained from acting on my instinctive desire to grit my teeth and to step back into the hall primarily because it would serve no real purpose, truthfully where would I have to go that I could not be found in less than fifteen minutes?

So, I Instead smiled and flexed my powers which began tentatively pulling the kitchen counter drawers out in case of hostilities while I eyed my dad, uncle and the stoic man sitting beside them.

"Ah, I see," I stated politely while shooting my dad a pointed look, his eyes crinkled in a pained expression as he tapped his left palm with three fingers twice.

FUCK! My uncle knew about my…extracurricular activities…damn it all…just…fine… Ok, whatever, two can play at this game, time to put mom's training to work.

Gathering my control over the silverware I smiled sweetly as I made my way to the stove, "Well, I am assuming you wished to meet with me due to my mom's untimely passing yes?" Pulling the tea kettle off its wall hook I approached the sink and began filling it as my uncle replied in a practiced tone and it…made me feel weird things. It was like listening to mom, but not…and…and I loved it as much as I hated it.

"Yes Annette had gone through a rather extensive effort to disassociate herself from her heritage in order to protect you from the family business, and I honored that decision for better or worse...but with her passing you are adrift. That is where I come in." Spinning around I saw dad wince while feeling a sneer curl up my lips as all of the silverware in the kitchen jumped from the drawers and began spinning around my uncle in a sharpened halo of cutlery death while I did my best to reel in my hatred for this arrogant…monster.

"You are Kaiser," I practically spat the words out feeling something invisible yet beyond filthy on the tip of my tongue as I did so, it was ever so disquieting.

His response was not endearing, the chopping knives joined the rest of the circling eating utensils a moment later, and he had the audacity to chuckle at me as if I were not a true threat, "That will be well enough dear niece, I mean you no harm, I am after all only here to offer some choices and advice. Perhaps we can both assist each other?"

Smiling smugly he leaned back into his chair, and I felt my hand twitch as I realized it was mom's chair he was sitting in, and he completely ignored my silent fury as he nodded towards the man beside him while casually commenting, "This is my second in command, James Fliescher and he's here to help me assess you."

The cutlery was now spinning like a cuisinart while the tea kettle shook in my hands, "Assess what?"

I… I didn't mean to sound so unsure, but…

Uncle Max stared at me for a moment before huffing, his shoulders dropping as he tilted his head to the side, "Honestly, Taylor? I needed to determine whether you were worthy to be my heiress. Judging by your initial reactions, determination, and ruthlessness...I'm quite impressed already."

"I am not a Nazi," I snapped out with next to no thought, and then he had the audacity to grin at me while spreading his hands wide to his sides chuckling lightly.

"As I am sure my dear sister had informed you, neither am I in truth, and I believe we've already started out on the wrong foot. As I said, I truly mean you no harm nor do I intend to drag you into the shadier aspects of the family trade. Honestly Annette went through quite an effort to disassociate you from the Empire and it would tarnish her memory if I were to undo her efforts in a moment of pique."

Dad spoke up then, "While that is… reassuring to hear at the very least, it does beg the question of how that relates to wanting my daughter to be your heiress."

Max tilted his head to the side as he let out a practiced sigh, "My son, Theo, is a good boy and while he is still young he does not show any of the more…aggressive and shall we say ruthless tendencies our family seems to expressly exhibit. While on paper Medhall and my Empire would be his birthright, in reality I do not actually think he could handle the pressure of it all, and that dear niece is where you come in."

Color me intrigued. "Alright, I'll bite, where exactly do I play a part in this insanity?"

"You are your mother's daughter," James spoke up for the first time, glancing at the still idly spinning cutlery hovering about them before continuing. "We've done some unobtrusive research on you. Top of your class, popular primarily through natural charisma rather than any intentional effort on your part, captain of your schools debate team, training in multiple forms of martial arts, and you exhibit a dissociative ruthlessness when the situation requires it. Case in point," he said raising a finger to the knives and forks.

I stared at the man blankly for a few moments before managing a reply, "That's…kind of creepy, just letting you know that right off the bat, I think you are creepy." I stared at James for a few moments more who just shrugged slightly while I let out a huff and turned back to my uncle while resignedly asking, "How do you know so much about me?"

Max scoffed, "Off hand? I've had my people researching your history to find out whether or not I had a more viable heir to the throne than my own son so to speak, and thus far I find myself impressed."

I resisted the urge to preen, no, do not preen from compliments given by fucking Kaiser girl, even if it makes you feel warm inside with a sense of accomplishment...damn…Still, time to nip this in the bud, "I….I'm gay."

That seemed to freeze whatever my uncle and his tagalong had to say and I distinctly saw my dad raise his hand to hide an amused smile, which in turn caused me to smirk slightly, dad would later tell me I looked just like mom when she pulled something over an obstinate idiot at that moment.

"What?" James spat out, I stared at him with all the unimpressed ire a thirteen year old middle schooler with super powers could.

"I. Am. Gay. Mom was bisexual but preferred men, I'm not bi, I'm a lesbian, figured that shit out last year, so yeah, no Nazis for me, okay? Okay."

I tried for an Emma level 'butter couldn't melt in my mouth' smile but I knew it was a condescending sneer, like mother like daughter after all, ah well.

Then my erstwhile uncle had to derail the entire situation with a scoff and a shoulder shrugging 'meh' equal to my own.

That was…interesting…

Uncle Max met my gaze evenly while shaking his head slowly, "You are so much like Annette, no subtly when you don't care about the situation, just get the job done and move on. I can respect that Taylor, I can respect that quite a bit."

I stared at my uncle for a few moments before dryly stating, "Mom told me bedtime stories of her conjuring anvils above mooks heads at just the right height to reach terminal velocity, 'Loony Toon'ing a Bitch' she called it. I giggled myself to sleep after said stories. Wasn't until I got a bit older that I realized she was telling me about all the unpowered idiots she'd killed under Allfather's orders. Grotesque and tasteless for a small child, yes, but it was still fairly amusing even in retrospect."

Dad, James, and my Uncle Max all stared at me blankly for a few moments, then James turned towards Uncle Max while flatly stating, "Can we keep her?"