There's a bit of darkness in this one. I like it.
I especially like the "Mother is Helping / Calling the Cavalry" Feat. I can see that adding some interesting twists to the story. I wonder what other similar feats could be devised which are relatively benign but create bumps along the way - the over-powered friend who is not subtle, discrete, or all that accurate in their help.
Would the minions be the occasional accidental/on purpose guinea-pig for some of the patrons experiments? Growth potions, etc?