In Which Liza Declares Herself Supreme Champion Of The Universe

By the time the morning came, everything seemed easier. Nothing had changed, exactly, but both of the Kennedy sisters had a good feeling. So good, in fact, that Liza had decided before she even rolled off the couch that she was going to wear her hair back, exposing her face for once. Neither girl could recall exactly why they had fallen asleep on the couch rather than the comfy bed, but it was still a good night's sleep compared to some of the places they had slept in the last few years.

The snow outside was enchanting to see, now that they had time to really appreciate it. Europe's snow had been considered an inconvenience; it was cold and stopped you from travelling anywhere, plus it was never any good for making snowmen or snowballs. It was too crumbly. Today, though, Liza was going to introduce Maggie to a real snow day. Perhaps some of the other kids would be in the park, and they could join in. It had been a long time since either girl had spent time with other humans- it was easy to forget that they were around sometimes. Previously, Liza had tried to avoid parks in the snow. Just thinking about it made her see that nauseating (and slightly beautiful) red spilling onto the white. It was so crisp, so bold, so agonizingly painful…

But for the first time in a long time, the memory didn't scare Liza, and she was about as able to say why as she could explain the overwhelming feeling of absolute unspoiled happiness that had come over her. That was, not at all. She sifted through the one enormous suitcase that they owned, pulling out a pair of trainers for herself and some of Maggie's little leather boots. They would be waterproof enough, and they each had a coat hanging on the back of the door. She glanced at Maggie, sleeping as though she was dead to the world, and slipped into the en-suite. Her sponge was still in the bottom of the shower where she had left it yesterday, and it could stay there for today. The hairbrush on the tiny corner shelf needed replacing- the handle itself had broken off, and the tips had been worn off of the spines, leaving it sharp and painful to use. Still, it would do for now, and Liza tugged it through the mass of curls that sat on her head. Her hair was getting greasy, but it would survive another day without a wash. It would just get soaked in the snow anyway. She pulled it back into a loose ponytail, plaiting it as she admired herself in the mirror. She considered herself very lucky that her hair was so striking- it almost balanced out the state of her face.

"Li, where are my socks?"

Me-time was over.

"Have you checked on your feet, angel? I think you slept in them!"

"There they are!" Maggie squealed delightedly, to the amusement of her sister. She walked out of the bathroom and saw Maggie turning her socks inside out.

"You can just put another pair on, Mags, there's laundry here. Unless you want to smell…?" Liza teased, pinching her nose.

"I don't smell, you smell!" Maggie said indignantly.

"I know I smell good! Forget that, though, we've got plans today!" Maggie's eyes glazed over and her smile drooped. "What's wrong, angel?"

"We aren't moving so soon, are we?" She sounded so hopeless that Liza swore her heart broke just a little bit.

"Of course not! We only just got here!"

"We've moved faster before…"

"Not this time. I promise! That was different, anyway, the man next door had a…" Liza shuddered.

"Dog. I know. What are we doing then?"

"Get your boots on, kid; I'm gonna introduce you to a snow day!"

He knew who was sitting on the chair behind him, similarly strapped in, but he wasn't sure he was ready to talk to her. There wasn't an awful lot to say, really, and certainly not with Phantom sat at the door. The CEO (Chief Espionage Officer) hadn't taken his eyes off the hacker and the singer for the last three hours they had sat here. Bluetooth wasn't certain, but he didn't think he'd seen him blink for all that time either. Not a word had been spoken in all the time that had passed, and the air in the room was clammy with tension and unspoken words. The man didn't think he could take another seconds silence.

"So, got enough cheese yet? I hear there's a delightful little shop downtown that sells lovely brie…" Phantom grunted, and Nevada sighed. "So, feeling chatty are we?"

"Ah got nothin' ta say to ya, sugah." Nevada spat.

She was furious. Not only had Liza been stupid enough to come back to America, bringing that darned kid back with her, but she flew back to Detroit. Detroit! Liza was more of a daughter to Nevada than her own baby girl back in Vegas. She had risked her life to get her away from Caster, and she'd be damned if she didn't die before shouting the kid's ear off. At least, that's how she would have liked to have felt. Instead of a devil-may-care succubus bitch sitting in the chair, there was a worry-sickened old woman biting her lip and blaming everyone for a stroke of bad luck -and stupidity, she reminded herself.

"Hypocrite…" Bluetooth rolled his eyes. Ugh, women.

"Excuse me?!"

"You haven't had anything to say to me for the last four years, sugah," he imitated her so badly he could almost feel the scowl he was no doubt receiving.

"Oh save it, mistah. Who got her busted in tha first place, nerd?"

"Save it." Phantoms voice echoed through the basement, bouncing off the walls and silencing both the fuming captives. "Fight like children, using petty jibes as weapons if you must, but do so quietly."

That's exactly what the pair did. It was one way to pass the time, at least.

They had started the day with a snowball fight, which had eventually grown from battle to war, Maggie and Liza teaming up with Jaimie and one of his friends (Liza had long since forgotten his name.) against nine or ten other kids. Surprisingly, they had won, though the kids claimed that it was because Jack was on their side. Way to make me feel appreciated, guys, she thought- jeez, lay off the praise a little!

The snowball war was promptly followed by a snowman building competition. Liza and Maggie won for size, since Liza was about twice the height of everyone else playing, but Jamie and Jackwon for detail. That kid had some serious skill with the snow- it was less a snowman and more an ice sculpture. Apparently, Jack was getting competitive. But it wasn't until Liza decided that she had had just about enough of an imaginary friend beating her that she suggested the sled race. She just about threw her arms up in the air with frustration when she saw the smirk grow on Jamie's face- but she was hit with inspiration in a similar manner to that of a snowball earlier in the day.

"You have to build the sled." She grinned, winking at Maggie when the little girl looked up at her questioningly.

"What?!" Jamie shouted, "That's not fair!"

"Of course it is. You have, let's say 20 minutes, starting now, to build the best sled you can out of whatever you can find in the park!"

Liza was running before she finished the sentence. She was going to obliterate the competition, once and for all, and declare herself supreme champion of the universe. Perhaps she was getting a little over-competitive, but nobody could blame her for having seen an opportunity and taken it; an opportunity in the form of a fairly clean looking dustbin lid near the park entrance. She giggled- all the kids would be strapping sticks together with anything on hand.

"Liza…" Maggie started, biting at her lip.

"Yeah?" Liza was strolling towards the statue where they would all meet with their sleds and glanced over her shoulder to speak to Maggie.

"Are you sure it'll work?" Liza gasped melodramatically- she could mess with her sister while she waited for the other kids to arrive.

"Do you… doubt me?" She began, holding back a giggle. Maggie didn't bother to do the same. "My own sister- my own flesh and blood! Oh, the betrayal!"

"Li…"

"I mean, to think that I trusted you…!"

"Liza…"

"No- don't speak to me, evil one!"

"LIZA!" Maggie shouted just as the snowball hit the back of Liza's head. "I tried to warn you!" She chuckled.

Liza turned around and for a few seconds, she was sure that her heart stopped beating. There was, at Jamie's feet, four sticks- two runners and two seats, frozen inside a solid block of sled shaped ice. The redhead stared at it, blinking rapidly, stuttering out 'how's, and 'what's. She pulled her long plait over her shoulder, fiddling nervously with the end. The dustbin lid in her hand didn't seem quite so ingenious, now.

The race itself was a straight course down the hill and across the lake (Liza considered it more of a pond, really, but Jamie seemed offended when she said that, and she received a snowball to the head when she turned her back). It started off with Jamie obviously in the lead, Maggie sat between Liza's knees on the dustbin lid trailing behind, until Liz twisted violently sideways, up a seemingly insignificant little mogul like a ramp and gaining just enough air to land next to Jamie. That was when she saw the ice that was appearing in front of his sled, like magic, and decided to cut in. She leant to the side, easing her puny dustbin lid in front of the ice-sled and zooming forward with the temporary lack of friction. She went flying toward the lake, reaching it just as Jamie pulled up to her side. In a last ditch effort, seeing the tree line at the end of the ice, she stuck her hand into the snow beside her, spraying it into Jamie's face. He spluttered, rocked a little and lost a tiny bit of ground- just enough for Liza to cross off of the lake and jump into the air, swinging Maggie around her in a great big circle.

"Take that, Jack Frost!" She cried, "Eat my snow!"

"She cheated, I mean c'mon, that last move she pulled…!" Liza turned toward the new voice and squeaked. There was a boy, floating on a stick, waving his arms around in frustration as he ranted to Jamie. The white hair and blue hoodie were familiar- she realised she had seen them last night. She bet that if he would turn around she'd see those same striking blue eyes…

And then she realised he was actually flying. Like the cake, but less… cakey. And more… boy-ey. And she flat out fainted.

And, Chapter 7. I hope you enjoyed this one, it was kind of a filler because I don't want to rush the plot and make it seem like everything happens at once, and also make sure the characters are fully developed. Bluetooth and Nevada, for example, are about to become very key in the narrative and I really want them to strike a chord with you guys as readers, especially when *spoilers* something happens. *end spoilers*. Anyway, thanks again to JukeboxHero333 whose review was lovely and made me grin like a Cheshire cat. It was the only one however, have you all become shy? ;)

Anyway, any comments about the pacing, the characters, the plot, your mum's pie, whatever. Drop me a review, or PM if you'd prefer. Hope you enjoyed :)