All characters, settings etc associated with Young Justice and DC, as well as Harry Potter and Disney, are not owned by me. I am not making any profit off this fiction venture.
Chapter Warning(s): discussion of classism, mentions of racism, coarse language
Edit: 04/02/13
Maelstrom
Kalladura'ham
"Sisters don't need words. They have perfected a language of snarls and smiles and frowns and winks – expressions of shocked surprise and incredulity and disbelief. Sniffs and snorts and gasps and sighs – that can undermine any tale you're telling."
Pam Brown
3
Atlantean Embassy, Washington D.C. : September 15, 2008 – 12:13 EDT
They are late.
They have superspeed and they are late.
I am attempting to hide my annoyance with their tardiness because Annex Orin and Ambassador Ges'ark do not seem bothered by it. But it is a peeve of mine. They were supposed to be here for the meal at 12 o'clock. It is nearly a quarter past and I know that there is nothing criminal going on in Central City at the moment. I checked when I went to the bathroom.
Annex and Ambassador Ges'ark seem to be considering being absolutely horrid and telling Flash and his brand new protégé that Atlanteans do not eat fish. That is idiotic. What else is there to eat in Atlantis? Seaweed? Kelp? We cannot get enough protein merely from seaweed and kelp. We need to eat fish and, frankly, I am astounded by the sheer amount of surface-dwellers who seem to be under the impression that all Atlanteans are vegetarians.
We are not. Nor do we, well, people like myself, speak to fish. Not telepathically at least.
The only things I do not eat are shark, whale, squid and octopus. King Sha'ark of the city-state Nanauve is part-shark, Blubber is part-whale and Topo is essentially an anthropomorphized squid.
I eat a lot of shellfish, come to think of it.
"Orin, hey!"
I twist sharply in my chair, bored out of my mind and staring at my plate. The Flash is moving towards Annex Orin and Ambassador Ges'ark in all of his bright red glory. I stand quickly as a boy who looks about my own age enters the room behind Flash. He has a mop of red hair that's wildly windblown – presumably from running – and has a pair of red goggles resting atop his head. The top half of his uniform is yellow while the bottom remains the same red as his mentor's. He is lanky, not quite yet having grown into his feet and limbs, and has some extra padding on his uniform, guarding him from injuries that could occur when one runs at high speeds. An easy grin spreads across his face in stark contrast to his gangly body as I move to greet him and his mentor.
"Flash, sir, it is delightful to see you again," I say, quickly shaking the hero's hand firmly after Ambassador Ges'ark and Annex Orin finishing greeting Flash.
He grins at me, "Aqualass, saw you take out those robbers. Nice job."
I avert my eyes quickly, embarrassed by the attention, and nod, "Thank you sir, but if it was not for Annex's plan it would not have ended as happily as it did."
"You're so modest, kid," Flash says and I notice for the first time that he seems slightly tired. He gestures back – yes, definitely wearily – and the redhead boy moves forward immediately, "This is Kid Flash, my sidekick."
I feel a twinge of anxiety as I face the boy who was, presumably, the cause of Flash's weariness. I quickly hide my anxiety behind a professional mask and hold my hand out to Kid Flash in the expected surface-world greeting. Before I get a chance to get a word out he tilts his head and his grin shifts into a smirk as he says, "Aqualicious…you're even more gorgeous in person."
I freeze.
…
What.
Aqualicious?
I…what am I supposed to say to that? He does realize that my name is Aqualass, right?
"It is an honour to meet you, Kid Flash," I say, suddenly aware of the fact that Flash is occupying Annex Orin's attention and Ambassador Ges'ark is speaking to someone about bringing out the first course and I have no idea how to react to this. I hold my hand out to him more forcefully and plaster a small smile on my face.
"A handshake?" Kid Flash seems disappointed. He smiles, spreading his arms wide, "We're gonna be working together, Beautiful. Relying on each other. Don't you think a hug would be better?"
A…hug? But…what? I…what? I do not understand. Is this a surface-world thing that my cousins and parents and Annex Orin failed to educate me on? Is this merely a Kid Flash thing? Is this a male thing?
What?
And 'Beautiful'? My name is Aqualass!
"I…suppose," I relent, lowering my hand. What else am I supposed to do? I do not wish to offend him and possibly jeopardize the Atlantis-Flash working relationship. He grins and promptly hugs me tightly around the waist, somehow managing to lift me off the ground in the process.
I turn when he lets me down and find myself staring at Annex Orin – who is shooting me an odd look – and Flash – who just looks exasperated – sitting at the table. I move to grab my chair but a blur passes in front of me and in the next instant Kid Flash is there, grinning, holding my chair out for me and gesturing for me to take a seat. He mock bows, "Milady."
"I can lift cars. I can move a chair," I point out but take a seat regardless and pull it in before he gets a chance to try and push it in for me.
"Which is one of the coolest things ever," he gushes, sitting next to me as Ambassador Ges'ark watches the exchange with a raised eyebrow.
I quickly straighten my posture, noting that Kid Flash does no such thing despite being at a table with an Ambassador and a King, and wait as the first course is brought out. Kid Flash is practically salivating at the sight. What, does Flash starve him or something?
It is apparent as we reach the third course that while both Flashes are capable of eating enough to feed a small family, it is the sidekick of the pair that eats like a garbage disposal. I twitch every single time some food winds up spraying on my arm or face. A piece of meat landed in my water glass. I had to use some sorcery to pull it out and put it quietly and quickly back on Kid Flash's plate. At least Flash has some self-control and doesn't inhale everything placed in front of him within the first five minutes of eating the course. It is disgusting, watching Kid Flash eat. I eat a fraction of what I normally do, unable to stomach the sight of Kid Flash eating, interspersed with attempts to befriend me while brashly disrespecting the fact that he is eating at a table with a King and Ambassador and ignoring the fact that my name is Aqualass, not 'Beautiful', or 'Babe' or 'Gorgeous'.
He is attempting to flirt with me. It is not going well from my point of view, seeing as no matter how many times I interject that my name is 'Aqualass' he continues to refer to me based on various adjectives that describe my appearance. From his point of view, it apparently appears to be going well, seeing as he has yet to stop.
The final course comes and goes and I nearly snap my spoon in my grip.
I am ready to hurt someone.
Preferably, the boy sitting next to me, moaning about how good the food was.
Shut up.
"Babe-"
I tense while standing and we go through the traditional motions post-meal, the discussions on the safety, yes, Aquaman and Aqualass are prepared to support the Flashes, as is Atlantis, and vice-versa.
"Beautiful-"
"My name is Aqualass," I cut Kid Flash off before he can continue speaking. I am ready to punch him, but that would be unseemly and impolite, especially considering the company.
"Yeah, I know," he gives me an odd look, then gestures again to the world map, "So, Beautiful, this-"
"No." I exhale, forcing myself not to grit my teeth, "Call me Aqualass."
He blinks. He looks confused.
"Aqualass, not 'Beautiful' or 'Babe' or 'Gorgeous' and especially not 'Aqualicious'," I am on a roll now, "I wish to be called by my name, not by adjectives emphasizing how I look, which, contrary to popular belief, has absolutely no bearing on how well I do my job."
Stupid magazines and blogs. Stupid stupid stupid.
He looks startled.
"It makes me uncomfortable and I-" I stop, suddenly aware of how in-his-face I was and how alarmed he looks. I pull backwards and hastily apologize, "My apologies, I did not mean to…" I trail off. I have no idea what I did not mean to do. I meant to do exactly what I did. Why am I apologizing?
"I…" Kid Flash rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, "Sorry. I totally didn't mean to…er…insult you. I just thought I…wait. I've been calling you 'Babe' and stuff the entire time. That must have pissed you off, why didn't you say anything sooner? I totally didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He holds up his hands, palms facing me, "I swear I didn't mean to do that."
My eye is twitching.
How can he be taking this so well? Every other time I've objected to how people treated me – mainly those classmates who called me impure – well, a group of them managed to break one of my fingers when I was a kid! They never stopped. They never apologized. No one in the surface media apologized when they got sights of me and Annex made the official announcement of his sidekick to the surface-world and then they attacked like vultures, criticizing the fact that I was a girl in the 'boys' club' of superheroing and a kid at that. Insulting my parents, my patera in particular, for permitting me to go fight crime. As if my patera could stop me once I got it in my head that I was going to do something.
How can Kid Flash…
"You are…sorry?" I repeat, blinking blankly because I have no idea how to react. None whatsoever.
I was ready to back down – I was backing down. I was ready to defend myself. I was not ready for this.
He lowers his hands, "Well, yeah." He shrugs, as if it's no big deal.
"O…kay…" I trail off, confused.
"What? Said that to other guys and they didn't apologize?" Kid Flash laughs.
"Not in the same situation, but, yes."
He stops laughing. His eyes widen, "You're serious."
I am uncertain as to what the big deal is. It is a part of life. You just deal with it, as with everything else.
"I am," I confirm.
"Some guy was hitting on you and even when you told him to stop he didn't stop?" Kid Flash questions, his eyes narrowing.
"Well, it was – is – not exactly that situation but-"
"Give me the guy's name and I'll give him a little talking to," Kid Flash demands, cracking his knuckles.
I raise an eyebrow disbelievingly, "Right." I turn back to the map, "That will not be necessary. It is being handled."
He doesn't look convinced, but nods, "Kay. So," he turns to the map which notes most Atlantean city-states, "where do you live?"
"Currently, I reside in the capitol, Poseidonis, while continuing my training," I point to the location, "but I used to live in Shayeris with my matim – that means 'mother – and patera – that mean's father."
Sender: knightlight
Date: Mon, 15 Sept 2008 17:13:07 –0400
From: Kalladura'ham D
Organization: Angelia Graphikos
To: glorigrrrl72
Subject: Thought you would find this interesting
P,
Stop smirking. I know you predicted there would be more protégés. You do not need to rub it in.
Would you like to know the first thing he said to me? Would you like to know?
"Aqualicious…you're even more gorgeous in person."
And then he demanded a hug instead of a handshake.
It was awkward. I spent the rest of the meal restraining myself from shouting at him whenever he referred to me as 'babe' or 'beautiful' or 'gorgeous' or 'Aqualicious'. It took me until after the meal to finally tell him to stop. He actually stopped. I…was more surprised by it then he apparently expected me to be.
It was odd.
-K
oOoOo
Sender: glorigrrrl72
Date: Tues, 16 Sept 2008 20:03:54 –0400
From: Pansy Zeelie
Organization: u-Mail
To: knightlight
Subject: Re: Thought you would find this interesting
Jeez, Cuz, that must have been the most awkward meal EVER. How come it took you so long to tell him? I've seen him on the news, he seems pretty easy-going.
Who calls their co-worker 'babe'? That's just stupid.
When r u visiting? I miss u…:( We need to have another HP marathon. We'll watch GoF twice. Come on K, I know you can't resist that.
;P
oOoOo
Sender: knightlight
Date: Tues, 30 Sept 2008 16:54:17 –0400
From: Kalladura'ham D
Organization: Angelia Graphikos
To: glorigrrrl72
Subject: Visit
P,
I am around royalty too much. It is viewed inappropriate then to object.
I might be able to visit the middle of next month. I'll email you later with a time after I talk to Arthur.
Also, those merpeople are ridiculous. Their language makes absolutely no sense, even underwater.
-K
oOoOo
Sender: glorigrrrl72
Date: Thurs, 2 Oct 2008 15:19:22 –0400
From: Pansy Zeelie
Organization: u-Mail
To: knightlight
Subject: Re: Visit
Dude, come for Halloween. You could dress-up as yourself! And I could be Arthur! It'd be hilarious!
Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.
You're calling those merpeople ridiculous? You put the freaking TV underwater to try and make them make sense! You aren't siriusly calling them ridiculous. Why do you keep on forgetting our tech isn't waterproof?
;P
oOoOo
Sender: knightlight
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:07:26 –0300
From: Kalladura'ham D
Organization: Angelia Graphikos
To: glorigrrrl72
Subject: Birthday
P,
It seems I will be unable to make it for Halloween, though that would have been awesome. You could dress up as me or Arthur anyway if you wish. I could even send you a shirt.
By the way, what would you like for your birthday?
Your tech should be waterproof. Most of the planet is water anyway, it's only logical. And stop using 'siriusly' in place of 'seriously' it lost its charm like, three months ago. Seriously.
-K
oOoOo
Sender: glorigrrrl72
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:31:52 –0400
From: Pansy Zeelie
Organization: u-Mail
To: knightlight
Subject: Re: Birthday
You! I want you to come for my birthday girl! I'll even not have ice-cream cake this time and get you some of that rainbow sherbert stuff you love. Make it happen, K. The birthday girl demands it.
Yes, please, send me a shirt. I'm totally being you for Halloween. I'll send some pictures!
Since when have we claimed to be logical? And 'siriusly' is my thing. Like your thing is trying to be obnoxiously grammatically correct in every language you know in an attempt to overcome your issues with being so close to super-powerful-ppl who, for some reason, u think u shouldn't be around. Siriusly, what is up with that?
;P
oOoOo
Sender: knightlight
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:24:08 -0300
From: Kalldura'ham D
Organization: Angelia Graphikos
To: glorigrrrl72
Subject: Seriously?
P,
I have my reasons for talking like I do, you know that. I can use conjunctions, I merely prefer not to. I was not born in a high-class therefore I do not naturally belong there, that is where my "issues with being so close to super-powerful-ppl" comes from. It is a 'thing' in my society.
I still do not know if I will make it for your birthday, but I will send you a gift regardless.
-K
oOoOo
Sender: glorigrrrl72
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2008 17:42:48 –0400
From: Pansy Zeelie
Organization: u-Mail
To: knightlight
Subject: Photos!
You belong to about three different societies K. You can't use that as an excuse. Especially when you're not in "your" society. You're pulling BS courtesy of "your" classist society. Me no likey BS…or classism for that matter. Are people telling you that you don't belong or other BS even though you're freaking…A-wesome and the Top Fish are all in on your belonging? Siriusly, if they're saying that then I'm coming down there and knocking in heads because u belong in there more than most of they do.
Look at the photos. Look at them. I look awesome. Thanks for the shirt!
R u coming for my b-day or not? Siriusly, K, I've gotta plan for this thing. Need to know if I need food for lactose intolerants and can do stuff that doesn't involve water thanks to u, u hydrophobic grrl.
FYI, I joined the journalism club at school. It's gonna be awesome.
;P
P.S. B-day. B-day. B-day. B-day. B-day. . Come.
Attached: [PHOTO: a 13-year-old girl with a dark complexion, dark eyes and soft cheekbones with her braided black hair held away from her face with a wide blue headband which reveals the make-up applied to make gills appear to be on her neck is wearing a red, scaled, thick-strapped, scoop-necked tank top with black detailing and a pair of black wetsuit-style pants with obviously handmade black fins sticking out of the backs of her lower legs similar to the handmade fins attached to her forearms. She is posing in a classic body-builder pose in front of a display of Jack-O-Lanterns littered with red, yellow and orange leaves.]
[PHOTO: the same girl in the same costume with her back to the camera but her head is twisted so that the viewer can see her smirking proudly.]
[PHOTO: the same girl in the same costume – although lacking her right forearm fin – carrying two pillowcases filled with candy. She is flanked by a lean redhead with a pale complexion dressed as a frog, a petite dusky-complexioned brunette girl wearing a bright red ninja costume and a heavier girl with an olive complexion wearing a pink hijab and dressed as a zombie fairy. All three are carrying pillowcases filled with candy.]
oOoOo
Sender: knightlight
Date: Tues, 4 Nov 2008 18:06:22 -0300
From: Kalladura'ham D
Organization: Angelia Graphikos
To: glorigrrrl72
Subject: Re: Photos!
P,
I will admit that it can get awkward during meetings and occasionally while training. It is not something to email about though.
You look fantastic, as do Rachel, Gabbi and Marija. How did Marija come up with the idea for a zombie fairy? Also, tell Gabbi that she must be a pretty fantastic ninja to accomplish her ninja activities while wearing bright red. Rachel has taken her love of frogs to new heights I see.
I will be coming up on the 15th and I can stay the weekend if that is alright with your parents. My parents will be unable to come though. They cannot leave the business again.
-K
oOoOo
Sender: glorigrrrl72
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2008 17:42:48 –0400
From: Pansy Zeelie
Organization: u-Mail
To: knightlight
Subject: Zombie Witches
Then I guess you'll have to explain when you get here, because this is just getting weird K and I don't like it.
Thanks! It was actually Gabbi who came up with the idea for a zombie fairy. She keeps on having these super weird dreams where this zombie witch keeps on rising from the dead and doing some awesome magic. What's really weird is that whenever she goes back to sleep her dream picks off where the last dream ended. Totally bizarre but totally cool. Think I've heard it called 'serial dreaming' or something. Gabbi is an awesome ninja BTW. She can pull off red.
Of course Rachel has. She was planning that costume for months, it turned out awesome.
The 'rents are cool with it. Come on the 15th and we'll party all weekend to celebrate me finally becoming the same age as you again. Tell me if you need a pick-up.
;P
Toronto, Ontario : November 15, 2008 – 13:26 EDT
"What are you reading?" Pansy Zeelie questions, sipping her multicoloured slurpee as she tilts her head, trying to get a look at the cover of the novel I picked off the shelf. She grimaces at the sight, "Ew. Werewolves? Bad choice, K. Bad choice."
"What is she reading?" Marija Spevec questions, a hardcover tucked under her arm. Her bright pink slurpee is still in her hand and still half full. I finished mine in five minutes. Marija remains jealous of my apparent immunity to brain freezes.
Atlantean physiology. Woot.
"That series with the werewolves."
"There are like…fifteen of those, Pan," Marija points out. "Which one?"
"The one with the ninjas."
"I didn't think they were terrible."
"Your taste in literature is shitty," Pansy argues. "I come to you for math, not English."
"Everything in here is incorrect anyway," I point out, closing the novel and returning it to its display. Apparently a film based on the novel is coming out soon. I move on to another shelf and start browsing. "Werewolves do not work like that."
"You know real werewolves?" Marija questions, unbothered by Pansy's belief in her taste of literature.
"I have heard of them."
"Well those are just stories, who says those weren't made up and are incorrect?"
I shrug and do not bother to correct her. I heard about werewolves from my matim after she interacted with a werewolf. Perhaps parts of it were incorrect but I know that if the werewolf did half of what they apparently did in that one page I read then Matim would have mentioned it.
Pansy shoots me an odd side look. She knows that usually when I speak of so-called mythological creatures I am speaking of them because they exist. It is not as if my parents and I could keep her and her family in the dark about our Atlantean heritage and, by extension, my status as Aqualass. When I do not return her look she looks nervously back at the door to the bookstore, presumably attempting to spot the moon to ensure that it is not full.
I pick up a biography on Cleopatra and begin to skim through it as Marija makes a noise in the back of her throat. She tugs the straw from where it got caught on one of her front teeth off and explains as I shoot her an odd look, "Rachel just texted me. She won't be able to make it. Her brother just broke his arm and she's sitting in the ER with him."
Pansy and I exchange wide-eyed looks. Marija frowns, inspecting her cell, "She says he's fine, well, except for the broken arm, obviously. It was a biking accident."
"Shit, hope the ER isn't a long wait," Pansy comments.
"He'll probably get a doctor pretty quick," Marija says. "Within eight hours I mean. It'd be worse if they weren't white I think. Like that Cree guy in Alberta. What was his wait time, 12 hours?"
Pansy glowers, "Something like that."
I do not comment. My experience with surface-world ER ends when I get victims into the hands of the doctors then I go back out and continue fighting. I am not even treated in Atlantean Emergency Wards. When I get wounded I am generally seen to by either the Royal Physician and Healer or the nearest Physician or Healer, on command of Annex or Anassa.
"Is Gabbi coming?" I question.
Pansy shakes her head, "Yeah, she's gonna be at my place around 6."
"I see."
"You found a book yet?" Marija questions, leaning forward to look at the book in my hand. "Cleopatra? Cool. Gonna buy it?"
"I suppose I may as well," I shrug. "You two are done as well? Pansy, you do not wish to purchase anything?"
"Mom forbade me from buying any books in the month before my birthday. She said if I did that then people would run out of b-day present ideas for me," Pansy shrugs. "I wanted a laptop this year though."
"Your parents are not getting you a laptop for your birthday," Marija laughs. "There is just no way they'll do that."
"I know, and it sucks," Pansy complains, sticking out her tongue in annoyance.
I smirk and move past them to head to the cashier. Marija and Pansy follow quickly, laughing.
Zeelie Residence, Toronto, Ontario : November 15, 2008 - 18:29 EDT
"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Paaaansy! Happy Birthday to you!"
Pansy leans forward, towards the chocolate cake cut and decorate to look like a giant donut, and blows across the fourteen candles stuck into the treat. All except one candle flame are extinguished. She frowns and her dad, Kaleb, laughs while my patera's sister, Pansy's mom, Peggy, teases, "Oooo you got one boyfriend there!"
Pansy pouts and leans forward to blow out that flame, "There! No secret boyfriends anymore!" She looks back at her 16-year-old brother, Kodi, with a smirk, "Unlike certain other people I could mention."
He rolls his eyes at the reference to his unknown-till-a-month-ago boyfriend.
Marija chuckles, wielding her small pink digital camera with lethal accuracy as Kodi grabs the small gift covered in balloon-patterned wrapping paper and hands it to her. It's obviously a CD and, judging by the fact that Pansy ignores the actual gift and instead takes the card and reads it aloud obnoxiously slowly in an obvious attempt to annoy her brother she knows exactly what CD it is. With some prodding from Kodi and Gabbi she finally puts down the card and unwraps the CD to reveal the soundtrack to, what else, one of the Harry Potter films. She pushes it to the side and eagerly takes Gabbi's gift.
I got her a book, something which is wholly predictable of me, on the history of Western animation. She promptly drools over it, to my delight, and drags me to her side to get the pair of us in a photograph together. Rachel shows up when we're huddled in the Zeelie basement eating cake and attempting to figure out how to play the video game Gabbi got her.
"Is your brother okay?" Marija asks immediately as Rachel joins us in the basement, a plate of cake already in her hand.
"He'll be fine," Rachel nods. "Got a green cast out of it so he's happy."
"ER went fast," Pansy comments.
Rachel grimaces at the mention of the ER, "Faster than I thought, yeah, but I went straight from there to here so not that fast." She tosses a bright blue gift bag to Pansy, "Here's your gift, by the way."
"Awesome!" Pansy dives on the gift immediately and tears it open.
"Do you know how to play Zombie Apocalypse II?" Gabbi questions as she knifes a zombie and in the process gets in my way, causing my character to die a zombie death. I shoot a glare at Gabbi. She huffs, "The only person who's any good at this game is Pansy."
"I am good at everything, Gabbi," Pansy boasts.
At the desktop computer behind us, Kodi snorts.
Pansy ignores him. Gabbi continues, shooting zombies while grabbing a handful of barbeque chips from the bag next to her, "Kalla sucks. She keeps charging into the zombies like she's invulnerable or something."
I keep forgetting that my characters do not have Atlantean physiologies. It is a problem.
"Then Mari is just plain bad," Gabbi continues.
"I am perfectly alright with being terrible at first-person shooters. I can still build a robot out of Lego," Marija says, taking a photograph of Pansy with Rachel's gift to her, consisting of a new poster of Wonder Woman and "official" Wonder Woman bracelets.
Rachel climbs over the couch and shoves herself in-between Gabbi and I, still eating her cake, "Yeah, I can play. But I'm eating cake. Cake comes first. God, Pan, your Mom is like…the best baker ever."
"She has a thing for cakes," Pansy shrugs, taking a gulp of her soda. "Likes decorating them. Should have seen the one she made for Kodi. It looked like a lime."
Rachel turns her head and questions Kodi, "Hey, Kodi, why'd you want a cake that looked like a lime?"
"Because limes are awesome."
"God, you're weird."
"You dressed up as a frog for Halloween."
"…your point?"
He doesn't bother answering.
"She made one for Kalla's birthday that looked like Ariel," Pansy laughs in remembrance, "You know, like from The Little Mermaid?"
I scowl at the memory. I hate that movie. The filmmakers knew that Atlantis existed then and created a terrible representation not only of underwater kingdoms – there is a city-state called Atlantica, by the way – but also of our people, especially our monarchs. Terrible film. Made everyone who looks like Topo be seen as evil, and removed all of the diversity we have amongst our people, not to mention made our monarchs seem to be either bigoted or horrendously selfish and irresponsible.
Aunt Peggy had been trying to do something nice, I realize that, but it backfired. Magnificently. I was insulted, Matim was insulted, and Patera wound up playing mediator while Matim and I fumed.
"That must have been awesome," Rachel gushes. "I wanted to be Ariel when I was a kid."
"Belle for me," Marija said. "I was always jealous of the fact that she got free books."
"I know, right?" Pansy grins. "Meg was my favourite."
"You would love Meg," Rachel laughs.
"I wanted to be Aladdin," Gabbi grins. "He had a genie. I wanted a genie."
"Dude, yes. Aladdin too. But Meg hung out with Gods," Pansy argues. "Oh, and Simba and Nala. They were awesome."
"The Lion King was just awesome. Period," Gabbi points out as I exchange my controller for Rachel's empty plate and she begins playing instead. I grab my own soda and tuck my feet underneath me, unbothered by the others seeing my webbing – Pansy had explained years ago that the webbing was something I was born with, an anomaly of sorts.
"Who was your favourite Disney character, Kalla?" Marija questions.
"Er…"
"Not Ariel," Pansy snorts, nearly coughing up her mouthful of soda. "God-" cough, "you-" she clears her throat, her eyes watering from the soda presumably going down the wrong tube, "you hated Ariel so much!"
"What? Why?" Rachel questions as she shoots a zombie in the face.
"I…disliked their portrayal of Atlantis."
"It was Atlantica though. I don't think it was supposed to be like Atlantis."
"There is a place in Atlantis called Atlantica and the filmmakers knew of Atlantis when they were creating the film," I argue, sinking lower on the couch.
"Seriously?" Rachel glances at me, surprised.
"Yes."
"Huh. Well that was stupid of them. Wait, so Pansy's Mom made you a birthday cake of Ariel and you hated her?"
"She was unaware of my opinion of Ariel at the time."
Rachel snorts, "Well that was a screw-up."
"Have you seen Pocahontas, K?" asks Pansy. "You'd probably like her."
"I do not believe I have seen Pocahontas," I shake my head.
"You are deprived," Rachel decides. "I mean, they totally screwed up the story of Pocahontas and the culture and stuff, but Pocahontas herself was cool. And Meeko. Meeko was awesome. So was Flick, and her Dad and…I like that movie."
"You'd like Mulan too," Pansy adds. "You've seen Mulan, right?"
"Yes. I do enjoy her character," I confirm. "She is a good soldier, albeit a bit…less than willing to follow orders, especially considering she engaged in a relationship with a superior officer, which isn't done in any military I know of."
"Well duh," Pansy rolls her eyes, grabbing a handful of chips from the nearest bag. "She dressed up as a dude and entered the army when women weren't allowed to be soldiers. Of course she didn't like orders. You need to see Pocahontas though, you'd love her. She puts her people first, not going off with the g-"
"Spoilers!" Gabbi exclaims. "You can't spoil the ending for her!"
Pansy's eyes widen, "Right! Sorry K. Forget I said anything. We'll watch Pocahontas later."
"If you wish."
"You're really formal, you know that?" Marija comments, fiddling with her camera.
"…yes?"
"It's cool."
"Yeah," Rachel grins, "every time after you come here and we hang out my English mark goes up. It's awesome."
"I am glad I could help."
"Just don't enroll in my English class. You'll make me look awful."
I smirk, "Noted."
23:16 EDT
I lean against the couch, flipping through the teen girl magazine Essence and amusing myself by reading an article on the introduction of Aqualass as Aquaman's official sidekick and looking at the various surface-world fashions while munching on the remaining chips. Pansy is sprawled out across the couch with her quilt wrapped around her like a cocoon, and is flipping through the special features on the DVD of Pocahontas. She was correct. I liked the titular character despite the obvious rampant disregard for the facts of Pocahontas and her culture, which was irritating, but at least the titular character was aware of and respected her duties to her people.
Rachel, Marija and Gabbi had all left around two hours ago to let Pansy and I, in Gabbi's words, "cousin-bond". The fact that Gabbi had to look after her younger siblings the next morning wasn't mentioned. Nor was Rachel's concern for her brother and Marija's eagerness to get to work as soon as possible on brainstorming for the Engineering Club's new creation.
"So," Pansy begins, letting the remote fall back to one of the coffee tables, "you gonna tell me what that shit about not being good enough is about? 'Cause you are good enough, you know that right?"
"Yes, I know," I protest, reading about how to achieve a smoky eye as I tug my borrowed quilt tighter over my knees. "I am simply not suited for the nobility."
I can feel Pansy giving me The Look before she states, "That's a load of BS, K."
"I was not born into nobility. I was born homeless and in hiding from some…negative force my matim never specified."
I hear Pansy roll over to face me completely, "Seriously, K, just 'cause you weren't born into nobility doesn't mean you don't deserve to be in or belong in nobility. You talk like a Queen and should be treated like one, I mean seriously girl. And I know you talk like that just to make everyone believe you belong in nobility so don't go telling me that you don't want to be in a position of power like that."
My grip on the magazine grows tighter, "I don't."
"What'd I just say?"
"I'm telling the truth!" I protest. Quickly, I lower my voice so as not to wake anyone else in the house up and explain, my control over my language slipping quickly, "I do not want to be in a position of power like that. I mean, people's lives would rest in my hands and I'm not good enough to be trusted with something like that."
"Maybe not now, I mean, you're still pretty new to this whole hero thing," she waves her hands vaguely, the light from the television glinting off her Wonder Woman bracelets, "but put a few years under your belt and you'll have the knowhow. Come on," she props herself up on her elbows, "this classist stuff is a load of shit and you know it. You've hung around people in the lowest classes and in the highest classes and everything in-between and you're trying to tell me that those people couldn't be in other classes pretty easily?"
I lick my lips, aware that she is correct, but keep my eyes focused on the carpet right in front of the television, "No, of course not."
"So you agree that people in the lowest classes could be leaders. Like Joa and them."
"Yes, Joa could be a leader."
"And your Mom and Dad?"
"Yes, but I-"
"But nothing, you've got skills Kalla. You've got the drive to see it all through." She sighs, "Remember what you told me you wanted to be when we were ten?"
I tense and bring my bare knees closer to my chest, "A General."
"A General! Girl, you wanted to be a General and I can see it in your eyes, you still wanna be one and you're working towards that now!"
"I was young. I did not have the knowledge I do now."
"Beepbeepbeep! My BS detector is freaking out. Now you're just making excuses K."
I frown and crane my neck to face Pansy, "If it wasn't for the nobility I wouldn't be where I am today. I owe the nobility everything."
Pansy's face twists into something nearly unrecognizable. She opens her mouth. She closes it. Opens. Closes. She splutters, "Wha-what?" She snaps, "That is the biggest load of-of-of crap I've ever heard! It wasn't because of the nobility that you kept on waking up and immediately started going through your physical training! It wasn't because of the nobility that you started researching strategy, military history and the history of the superheroes! It wasn't because of the nobility that you got your hands on every possible weapon and learned how to use it! You did that all yourself! You made yourself, not anyone else, and certainly not the nobility. Seriously, K, I'm beginning to think that you're just making excuses because you don't wanna take responsibility for the fact that you are seriously badass and turned yourself into this kick-butt hero that makes flippin' Pocahontas and all those other Disney Princesses – even Meg and…no not Mulan, she's still badass and did like, the same thing you did, just with a trainer – whatever. You make them look like complete wimps! Your make the Princes look like complete wimps! Even Mufasa!"
I glare at her, "Maybe I do not want that kind of responsibility, Pansy."
Pansy frowns, "What do you mean?"
I glance at the ground, my grip on the magazine loosening, "The first time I tried being a hero, someone died. The first time I tried being a hero on the surface-world, I messed up. Then I nearly wound up leading a bunch of men to their deaths at the hands of a bunch of Sirens."
"So, what, do you not want to be a hero?"
"…I do not know. I…no…but…yes. I…I have no idea." I sigh, loudly, and fall back onto the pillow at the foot of the couch. I lift my hands into the air and gesture as I explain, "On the one hand, I love it. I love the rush I get from fighting, I love outsmarting the bad guys, I love the satisfaction from saving someone, I love feeling…strong and being recognized as strong. But…" I let my fists fall, my fingers brushing across the magazine, "then when I lose…when people nearly die…when people do die or get hurt." I hesitate, "I cannot help but feel as though failing once makes me terrible at my job and I should just be forbidden from ever being a hero again." I put my hands over my face, clenching my eyes shut.
For a long moment, Pansy doesn't speak. When she does, she questions softly, "If you were forbidden from being a hero ever again, what would you do?"
"I…I do not know."
"Would you be mad because you couldn't be a hero anymore? Would you be sad?"
"…" I press my lips together firmly, disliking the idea of not being a hero. I do not even wish to consider it.
"Just imagine that you weren't a hero. Is there anything else you would want to do?"
"…I suppose I could work for my matim's business."
"Would you enjoy it?"
I sigh, dragging my hands off my face, "No. I hate working there."
"But you can't think of anything else you'd rather do than be a hero, right?"
I recover my face with my hands, admitting, "…no."
"So be a hero. There are gonna be shitty times, K. I think that's just the nature of the job. But you can handle them. You've turned yourself into this totally badass chick and you can keep on being that badass chick for the rest of your life."
I chuckle, "How'd you get so smart?"
"By listening to you, mostly, and Marija."
I pull my hands off my face and let them rest on my stomach, atop the magazine. Pansy frowns, "Hey, wait, are you saying that I'm not usually smart?"
I attempt to keep a calm expression, "No, of course not, I would never-"
"You might have those other sidekicks fooled but girl I've seen you on your worst days. You so meant it!" Pansy grabs the nearest pillow and hits me across the head with it. "You're such a jerk!"
I fall backwards, defending myself with the magazine, laughing.
"Girls!" Aunt Peggy calls from the top of the stairs. We freeze. She leans down the stairs, shooting a glare at us, "People are trying to sleep, you know. You two should get to sleep too."
We keep our mouths shut tightly and nod, frozen in mid-pillow fight. She rolls her eyes – Kodi clearly inherited his habit of rolling his eyes from her – and retreats from the basement.
Pansy and I look at one another, fighting to keep poker faces. Our lips twitch. Abruptly, we buckle over, laughing.
A/N: FYI, just because the characters I write about have certain opinions does not mean that my opinions are identical to their opinions. Marija's ER comment was inspired by something that I read in 2011 (maybe 2010?) about ER wait times somewhere in Canada. Wish I had a source. Also, I watched Girls Town before finishing up this chapter so some of the speaking patterns were influenced by that.
Angelia Graphikos, u-Mail, Ambassador Ges'ark, Pansy (+ family), Marija, Gabbi, Rachel, Zombie Apocalypse II, Essence, and that series with the werewolves and ninjas (as of yet unnamed) are, in fact, my Original Creations. Harry Potter is in here because canonically in YJ it exists (see Wally's comment on Dumbledore in 'Denial'). I threw werewolves and ninjas in to make everything 20% cooler. I have no other reason.