Road Trip - Utah
A/N: Arsenal, Superboy, Green Lantern, Robin, Kid Flash, and Firewall, aka Lian Harper, Chris Kent, Milagro Reyes, Damian Wayne, Iris and Jai West, the Teen Titans. Summer Vacation has started and the team decide to take a month long road trip across America to see the sights and have some fun.
It had been brought up a few weekends prior to school getting out for the summer. Iris and Jai had just graduated, while Milagro and Lian officially had one more year left before they graduated from high school. Damian and Chris had graduated the year before. Connor, Bart, and Tim had all agreed that it sounded like a great idea. Cassie was a bit more reserved in her judgement, but even she thought that the team could have a good time on the open road for a month. Cassie's reservations were relieved a little when Milagro assured her that she was a decent mechanic and could handle most problems should they arise.
"Papi lets me work in his shop. I can manage pretty much anything from a big rig to a sports car," Milagro stated. To the Amazon's surprise, all of the teens claimed to have decent mechanic skills in the event a problem should arise.
"What's our Dad do for a day job?" Jai asked.
"That he taught us, because it's such a handy skill to have?" Iris added.
"You've met my Dad and Grampa Ollie, right?" Lian asked. "They haven't needed to take a vehicle to a shop to get fixed since before I was born."
"I can fix a tractor," Chris added with a shrug.
"You doubt I possess mechanical skill?" Damian snorted.
"Okay, okay, okay…point received loud and clear," Cassie had laughed, before deciding that the teens could handle anything that came up.
The evening before they were to depart, the six of them were in a large private garage inspecting their home away from home. "Father has a promotion coming up and he wants us to give this a shake down," Damian explained. He went on to explain that Bruce Wayne had come up with the idea of a coach tour to promote an upcoming project launch set for the following year at Wayne Enterprises.
"Cool, pop the hood," Milagro stated. Damian did so and Milagro smirked. "These things are actually pretty easy to maintain," she purred. "We see them a lot during the winter. Retired folks like the open road idea for retirement."
"I also have spare parts enough to completely rebuild the engine if need be," Damian added. Milagro went to inspect the other major mechanicals on the luxury coach and paused at the power supply.
"That's solar," she muttered. Lifting off, she flew towards the roof of the coach and saw how it was designed. "And those are solar panels."
"Father wants us to attempt to drain this to the point that we would need to hook up to power when we're stopped," Damian proudly proclaimed.
"Three teenage chicks and nerd boy?" Lian commented, jerking a thumb at Jai. "No sweat." Jai glared at her and backhanded her on the shoulder.
"Okay it's all state of the art and everything," Iris huffed.
"But what does the inside of this thing look like?" Chris added with a chuckle. Damian opened the door and waved for his teammates to enter.
"Holy shit!"
"Ay Dios mio!"
"Damn dude!"
"You really need to tell Bruce to stop being such a cheap skate," Chris joked as he took in the luxurious interior.
"Dibs on the master suite!" Iris proclaimed, throwing her arms over Lian and Milagro's shoulders.
"Fine," Damian agreed, taking up a large remote and pressing a few buttons. Sections of the coach began to move outwards and several pieces of furniture began to change. "Fourteen hundred feet of living space," Damian bragged when everything settled into place.
"Can we just head out now?" Lian laughed as they checked the coach out.
"We're leaving at five in the morning," Damian stated. "And I need a volunteer to drive the land rover," he added, jerking a thumb towards a window and the sleek black vehicle parked outside.
"I'm driving!" Lian proclaimed.
"Shotgun!" Iris chimed in.
"You'll be able to get us out of the city?" Damian asked Milagro. She nodded and replied that it wouldn't be a problem. She'd test driven enough coaches of similar design that she felt confident.
"Once we're past Reno, it's all open road right?" she asked. "One of you guys can take over then." She added when she got several nods.
Itinerary set, the teenagers returned to the garage the following morning just before five and set out on their trip. True to her word, Milagro managed the large coach easily and they were soon on the Oakland Bay Bridge heading east. They stopped outside of Sacramento and the land rover suddenly made sense to the others. After Milagro parked the coach at a mall, they all piled into the smaller vehicle and went grocery shopping. They returned and between the six of them, managed to transfer the food from the land rover to the coach in no time. Chris went to the master suite to take a nap as he would be taking over from Milagro later, and they set out again. Chris had company in the form of Damian's cat, Nefertiti. He'd said the night before that he couldn't dream of being gone for so long and not bringing her along.
In the land rover, Iris snoozed off and on for a while until a screen came to life and her brother's grinning visage greeted her and Lian. "We can stay in constant contact via this system, cool huh?"
"Useful," Lian admitted. The system proved quite useful and it made it seem that they were all travelling in the same vehicle.
"Great Jai," Iris murmured and returned to her catnap.
An hour before noon, Damian instructed Lian to pull off the highway. "There's a rest area near the reservoir. We'll have lunch and swap out drivers."
"Rye Patch Reservoir," Lian commented as she read the sign. "Where's the rye?"
"That might be a patch of it right there," Iris stated, pointing to a dead clump of tussock on the side of the road.
"I don't think much rye grows out here in the desert," Chris chuckled.
They found an area where they could park the land rover next to the coach. Lian and Iris ambled over to the coach and got comfortable in the dining area/kitchen. "How's the snack stash looking Irey?" Jai asked as he went about making sandwiches with Chris.
"Probably take two or three of those, and I'll be good," she informed her brother.
"We've got what? Another four, four and half hours of driving before we hit West Wendover?" Lian asked. Damian nodded. "I'm good to go. If I do want a spell, we can pull off and swap out and catch back up to you guys no sweat," she added.
"If you are certain," Damian shrugged.
"Fine by me, I'm having a ball playing tourist," Iris chuckled. Milagro cracked up.
"I'm loving the descriptions of the scenery," she said between chuckles.
"Beware of deer!" Iris warned. "There's a pack of springbok hiding right behind that clump of dead weeds right there!" The teens howled in laughter at some of the sights they'd already seen and the creative descriptions Iris had come up with for them. They ate quickly and prepared to hit the road again. Chris took over driving the coach and commented that Milagro hadn't been kidding.
"The tractor at Grandma's is more difficult to drive than this thing," he stated as they got underway.
"Ese, if you can drive a tractor, this thing is gonna be a breeze," Milagro stated from the passenger seat.
Once they reached West Wendover, Lian pulled off to allow Chris to drive ahead of her, before following the coach to the RV Park they were going to be staying at for the next two nights. Damian went to check in and pay for their reservation while the others unhooked the trailer the coach had been towing. Chris pulled the coach out of the way and got out to hook the trailer to the back of the land rover. Damian returned with their assigned spots for their stay. Lian followed and saw that she was parking across from the coach. "I hope they're all like this," Iris stated as Lian parked and they got out.
"For real," Lian agreed. "Need a hand?" she asked Chris as he hooked the coach up to the water and sewer systems.
"Nope, got it. We won't need power. Damian wants us to test the solar system," he replied, when Iris pointed out the electrical outlet.
Inside the coach, Damian and Jai were particularly interested in getting underway in the land rover. Milagro snorted at the pair of them as she finished putting the finishing touches on the dinner she was preparing for later. "Ready? We still have several hours of daylight to burn," Damian asked when Chris, Iris, and Lian entered the coach.
"I take it that you're driving," Lian teased as she handed over the keys to the land rover.
"Of course," Damian grinned.
"He's happy and I find it disturbing," Chris chuckled.
"Dude! Ducatis...Bonneville Salt Flats," Jai grinned, pointing east.
"I'm gonna go change and I'll meet you guys over there," Iris stated, shaking her head. She had lightweight riding gear that vaguely resembled her Kid Flash costume.
"I like that plan," Chris exclaimed, taking a seat to wait for Iris.
"Me three," Milagro smirked and held up her power ring.
"Great…leave me with these two," Lian snorted, before following Damian and Jai back to the land rover. Two minutes later as they crossed over the state line, a red and gold blur shot past them. Jai was able to follow his sister for a few moments before she tore off the highway and onto the fabled salt flats. "There go Mila and Chris," Lian declared, as she pointed out two specks in the sky. Damian pulled off a few minutes later and stopped at a designated parking area. Jai bolted out of the land rover and went to get the motorbikes out of the trailer. Milagro landed nearby and wandered over to join Lian who was shaking her head at the two boys. "Where are Chris and Irey?"
"They're at the northern end of the flats racing each other," Milagro replied. She morphed her costume to resemble riding gear when Jai called out to the two girls. "What the hell is all in there?" Milagro gaped, as Jai backed an ATV out first.
"An ATV, two Ducatis, and a BMW touring bike," Damian replied from inside the trailer.
"No expense spared," Milagro muttered as she straddled the ATV.
"Not when I saw where we were planning on going," Damian smirked at her.
"You riding, Lian?" Jai asked as he backed the second Ducati out of the trailer.
"Maybe later," she shrugged. She grabbed a blanket from the land rover and tossed it up to the roof. Grabbing a camera and bottle of water, Lian then climbed atop the land rover and made herself comfortable. "Incoming," she said a moment later, having spotted a plume of white heading their way.
Iris skidded to a stop a few hundred metres from where the others were, sending up a huge plume of salt into the air. She jogged the rest of the way as Chris alighted to the ground next to the land rover. "This stuff is slick," Iris stated, pointing to the salt encrusted ground. "Take it easy getting up to speed, but once you get there…knock yourselves out!" Iris took off again a few minutes later, and led Milagro and the boys towards the race tracks.
"Mind some company?" Chris asked Lian.
"Nope, c'mon on up," she invited. Chris floated up to join her and take in the view. "I can't believe we have the whole place to ourselves," Lian commented a moment later.
"No kidding. I figured it would be packed," Chris admitted. "Actually," he smirked suddenly. "Grab the camera," he instructed, before picking Lian up and lifting off into the air.
"Oh wow!" Lian enthused as she looked down. "You can totally see the state line!" She took several pictures of the stark line marking the border between the two states. Black basalt in Nevada sat perfectly next to the stark white salt marking Utah.
"I think this is one of the only places in the world where the border is so clearly defined…at least by nature," Chris said. Lian looked around and spotted their friends at the race tracks. She zoomed in and got a few shots of them from her aerial perch. Chris suddenly heard the sounds of an SUV and looked for it. "Looks like we're about to have company," he said drifting back down to the land rover.
"That's cool," Lian stated as he set her down on the roof of the land rover. "I got some great shots, thanks!"
"I figured you'd get a kick out of that," Chris grinned. "Tripped Mila and I out when we spotted it on the way over."
By the time the SUV joined them, they looked as though they hadn't been airborne just a few moments earlier. Lian called over their comms and alerted the others that they were about to be joined out at the tracks. "Florida? Damn," Lian remarked as she spied the plate on the SUV. A middle aged woman got out from the driver's side and gave the pair of them a wave. They waved back. Two men that closely resembled the woman got out and went to unload a pair of dirt bikes from a trailer behind the SUV.
"Where'd you kids drive in from?" the woman asked, as she got a chair out and made herself comfortable.
"San Francisco," Chris answered politely. He introduced Lian and himself, and the woman replied in kind by stating her name was Sherry and her two brothers were living out a lifelong dream. "That's at least two of our friends out there," Chris chuckled.
"Jim and Dave have been going on about making this trip since we were all little," Sherry said, rolling her eyes. Lian called out the warning Iris had stated earlier, about taking their time to get to speed because the salt was slick. Jim and Dave waved their thanks and headed out towards the tracks.
"You got stuck babysitting?" Lian joked with Sherry.
"Sad too, as I'm the youngest," Sherry chuckled.
Iris and Milagro were lining up with the Ducatis when Sherry's brothers joined them. "On three," Milagro said.
"Three!" Iris called out and the two girls took off down the track.
"How are the conditions?" Dave asked as he and Jim pulled alongside the ATV.
"Fantastic!" Jai grinned.
"Exhilarating," Damian added.
"What are you kids racing?" Jim asked.
"Ducatis," Jai replied, and Damian gave the specs of the bikes.
Iris and Milagro returned several minutes later and Milagro was practically bouncing in excitement. "Two forty five! Damn Ese, those are some sweet bikes!" she grinned. "Oh Hola!" she greeted their company.
"Hi," Iris grinned. "What did you hit?" she asked Milagro.
"Two forty five point seven," Milagro replied, checking the readout.
"Two forty seven point two!" Iris cheered, and blew a raspberry at the other girl.
"Oh hell no," Jai muttered. "We are not losing to you two," he added, going over to Iris.
"Indeed," Damian growled as he indicated that Milagro get off the bike with a jerk of his thumb.
"What were their speeds?" Dave asked as the two boys took off again.
"Two thirty nine and two forty," Iris smirked.
"Ouch."
"It might register eventually that the physics are in our favour," Iris chuckled.
They continued to take turns racing down the tracks for another hour or so before deciding to call it a day. Dave and Jim stayed behind and raced for a while longer. "Kicked their asses didn't you?" Lian smirked at Iris and Milagro.
"Yup," Milagro laughed.
"Shut up," Damian muttered.
"We're smaller and lighter," Iris suggested to Damian and Jai in a loud stage whisper. Jai replied with an unsavoury comment in Korean that had Iris howling in laughter.
"Your brothers will be back in a bit," Milagro informed Sherry. "We can stay here and keep you company until then if you like?"
"We won't mind," Damian added.
"That's sweet kids, but I can see them coming now. You kids head on out," Sherry politely replied.
The teenagers lingered until Dave and Jim returned to their sister before returning to the RV Park. Jai took the opportunity to wash the salt from their bikes and ATV, while the others headed for the coach. Lian suggested that they could clean up while she and Chris made dinner. Milagro went outside after taking a quick shower, to where Lian and Chris were cooking and asked if they needed a hand.
"Tortillas are all yours," Lian stated as Milagro took the package and began heating up tortillas. "Where was she hiding?" Lian asked Damian a little while later. He had his cat draped across his shoulders and was giving her a scratch.
"She spent the day sleeping in your quarters," Damian replied. The little grey cat jumped from Damian's shoulders to the ground and began to investigate her new surroundings.
"Hey Nefertiti," Jai greeted the cat when he saw her. She gave him a loud meow and returned to her investigation of the ground under the coach. "Salt's all washed off and swept out of the trailer," he reported.
Iris came out with a bowl of food for the cat and threw open one of the unused luggage compartments on the coach. Iris set the food down and called the cat, which jumped up to enjoy her dinner. The others sat around a picnic table and ate and talked about their trip so far.
"So tomorrow is…?" Chris asked.
"Museum," Lian stated.
"Salt Lake City," Damian began before Lian interrupted him.
"Museum."
"Yes Lian. The Natural History Museum is our first stop," Damian muttered. Lian pumped a fist in victory causing the others to laugh. "Then the Great Salt Lake and a picnic, before returning here for the evening."
"Then it's off to Mt Oppression on Friday, Sí?" Milagro asked.
"Mt Oppression?" Chris asked in bewilderment.
"At least three of the hombres carved onto that mountain, are responsible for either oppressing my people or kicking them out of their ancestral home," Milagro stated with a firm nod. Chris and Jai were both counting off on their fingers and recalling their history before conceding that she had a point.
"That's okay, the unofficial 'Take that Yankee' monument is just down the road," Lian smirked.
"Muchas Gracias Don Crazy Horse!" Milagro cried.
"And they're off," Jai intoned as the two girls got up to do victory dances.
The team called it a night fairly early and tucked in. The girls had taken over the master suite of the coach, as there was a king sized bed and a smaller daybed in the suite. Jai crashed in one of the bunks next to the master suite as Damian and Chris each took a sofa that folded out into beds. Nefertiti wandered around the coach for a bit before settling into the bunk below Jai and curling up to go to sleep. The following morning Damian prepared breakfast, while Jai went to town making a large picnic lunch to take with them. Outside, Chris and the girls were unloading the bikes from the trailer.
"We're just taking the touring bike, right?" Iris asked, as she backed it out of the trailer.
"So Damian said," Chris replied. Milagro and Lian were about to load the Ducatis back into the trailer, when Jai called out and asked that Lian leave the one she was on out. "Hey Irey? Move the land rover so I can hook the trailer back up to the bus," Chris called out. Iris moved the vehicle and Chris easily hauled the trailer to the back of the coach and hooked it up.
"You'll be on guard, correct?" Damian cooed to his cat. She gave him a loud meow in response and purred when he gave her a treat. He set the thermostat in the coach and waved at Nefertiti before leaving and locking the door behind him. "Shall we?" he asked, as he mounted the touring bike. Iris hopped on behind him as Jai revved the Ducati.
"Fossil lizards, here we come!" Milagro called out as they all left the RV Park for the highway. After an hour and a half, they were pulling up to the University of Utah and the Natural History Museum. Damian, Iris, and Jai stripped off their riding gear and tossed it into the land rover before the six of them went to the museum. "Ay Dios mio," Milagro exclaimed as she gaped up at the skeleton of a massive sauropod.
"And to think that was a vegetarian," Iris muttered.
"This one wasn't," Chris stated, indicating the fossil raptor named for the state.
"I can't decide what's more sinister," Jai said as he examined the skeleton. "The switch blade toes or the teeth."
"I dunno," Lian murmured. "Those toe claws look like they could screw up your day."
"I believe this one wins in the sinister teeth department," Damian said, indicating a T-Rex fossil.
"Seeing as scientists figure that it had the most powerful bite of any critter that existed…ever. I'd say so," Lian agreed.
"Those jaws are almost as long as I am tall," Chris declared in awe.
"Yeah, any one of us would easily slide down into that thing's gullet in one gulp," Lian shrugged.
"Chica, you're morbid," Milagro laughed.
"Comes with having been dead before," Lian shrugged again.
"Jaime's been dead a few times and he's a little ray of sunshine compared to you," Milagro chuckled.
"Your brother is a rarity in the 'been there, done that' club," Damian pointed out. Milagro had to concede that Damian had a point after she thought about it for a moment.
They moved onto the mineralogy section of the museum and the occasional 'my precious', that Lian would murmur began to unnerve several of her teammates. "She does that a little too well," Chris said to Jai.
"Uh huh," Jai agreed, as Lian purred the phrase again in front of a large piece of kyanite. Damian joined the other two boys as they slowly moved away from Lian and her obvious delight as she looked at the various precious and semi precious stones.
"I like this one personally," Milagro chimed from in front of a massive malachite boulder.
"You like the colour," Iris teased.
"Duh," Milagro snorted and then laughed.
"Oop no! I found my favourite," Iris said a moment later. Milagro and Lian shared a look and a smirk as Iris admired the large quartz matrix with a gold vein through it.
"Yeah, but which variety of gold is your absolute favourite?" Lian asked.
"That kind or the tall, dark, and handsome one across the room," Milagro added, jerking her thumb towards Damian.
"Har, har smart asses," Iris snorted, as she playfully smacked the other two.
Across the room, Jai and Damian gave Chris a puzzled look as he fought to keep from laughing out loud. Damian glanced over his shoulder towards the girls and Jai followed suit. "What did you hear that they find so amusing?" Damian queried.
Chris shook his head. "You don't wanna know," he managed to get out between clenched teeth.
They browsed the museum for a little while longer before leaving for a recreational area at the Great Salt Lake. Jai smacked his forehead as he recalled that he'd left the sunshade back in the coach. Milagro rolled her eyes and shoved past him to dig around in the back of the land rover. "This is where having a Mexican around, comes in handy," she said as she pulled a tarp from the back. She spied a couple of bungee cords and quickly set up the tarp to provide them with ample shade. After swimming and playing around for several hours, they retreated to the shade and had lunch. It was near four in the afternoon when Jai decided that he'd had enough fun for one day.
"I'm starting to get a little cooked," he said as he poured melt water from the cooler over his head.
"Got a headache?" Lian asked, scrutinising him for signs of heat exhaustion.
"Not yet," Jai assured her.
"We'll take the bikes back," Chris said, indicating himself and Milagro. "You guys ride back in the truck."
"You sure?" Iris asked.
"He's Kryptonian and she's from a desert," Lian muttered.
"Good point," Damian stated, handing Chris and Milagro a couple of helmets from the back of the land rover. Milagro used her power ring to make riding gear for Chris and herself, before getting on the Ducati. By the time they returned to the coach, Jai was feeling a lot better. Lian laughed as she parked the land rover and looked over to the coach. Nefertiti was seated in the back of the coach giving them a reproving look for abandoning her all day.
"What's she all huffy about?" Jai snorted. "She's been in air conditioned comfort all day," he added as he opened the coach door. A wave of cool air hit him as he stepped up into the coach and he called out to the cat. "It was wet where we were, cat." She didn't seem to care and swatted him as she rushed past to greet Damian. "Punk," he muttered.
In the master suite, Milagro was glancing around and shuddered. "I need at least one piece of tacky in here," she stated. "I can't handle all this pristine luxury."
"There's a casino-resort right across the street there," Lian pointed out. "Their gift shop is bound to have something."
"Let me grab my wallet," Iris grinned.
"You guys can have the showers first," Lian told the boys as they made to leave the coach. "We'll be right back, we're gonna go hit the store."
"What d'ya need?" Jai asked.
"Chick stuff," Iris deadpanned. Jai shuddered and held a hand up in surrender. "Works every time," Iris chuckled as they headed for the casino.
"C'mon pink fuzzy dice," Milagro murmured as they spied the gift shop. "Ay Dios mio! We've found the mother-load!"
"How about we get two of them?" Iris suggested. "One for the coach and one for the rover?"
"Brilliant," Milagro stated and got a second set of neon pink fuzzy dice with 'Nevada' embroidered on them.
"I have an idea," Lian said suddenly. "How about at every touristy place we stop at, we get the cheesiest tackiest souvenir we can find, and add it to the collection?"
"Even more brilliant!" Milagro grinned. She paid for the fuzzy dice and the three girls left the gift shop.
"Oh my God," Iris grinned suddenly. "You two head back to the bus. I'm gonna dash into Salt Lake City real quick and pick something up from there."
"Snowglobe," Lian suggested.
"Just one for the bus. The dice are good enough for the land rover," Milagro added.
"You got it!" Iris grinned and tore off down the highway. She found what she wanted and raced back to West Wendover, Nevada and the RV Park. She returned just as Lian and Milagro ambled back to the coach. "Check this bad boy out," Iris exclaimed and held up her prize.
"Utah. The Beehive State," Lian read aloud. The globe held a touristy view of Utah inside it.
"With beehive and glitter snow…perfect," Milagro cackled.
Damian considered his reflection in the mirror and decided that he'd leave the stubble for another day. He felt refreshed and revived after his shower and was looking forward to dinner. Upon leaving the bathroom, he immediately noticed that something was amiss. "What in the name of Hell…?" he muttered, pointing to the fuzzy dice hanging in their new home.
"Those are some mighty pink dice," Chris commented. Milagro and Lian took turns explaining their plan with the souvenirs and Chris laughed. Damian immediately became suspicious and scanned the interior of the coach. His eyes quickly spotted the snowglobe on the kitchen counter and he cringed.
"Relax, everything we find is just temporary and won't damage anything," Iris informed him as she placed a kiss on his cheek.
"Chick stuff, huh?" Jai dryly commented, as he stepped from the master suite towelling his hair dry.
"They're pink," Iris shrugged. "Dibs on the shower!" she called out suddenly and raced to the back of the coach.
"Oh no you don't Zippy!" Lian hollered as she and Milagro gave chase.
"This is going to be a long trip," Damian sighed. Jai pointed out that they could have found fringe to hang in the front window. Damian shuddered.
TBC…