Chapter 7: Vision
Mount Justice
August 11, 18:07 EDT
The team had gathered in the kitchen, with the exception of Arie and Wally. They were all enjoying a cool drink of lemonade that M'gann had made. "So the night is young! Let's go out and do something!" Robin said excitedly as he took a seat on the kitchen counter.
"Robin, get down from there. That's where I cook." Said M'gann chastising the boy, but still her cheery and sweet self.
"Oh, sorry" he said jumping off. "So what do ya think? Anyone wanna catch a movie or something?"
"That would be sooo much fun!" shouted M'gann
"Great! How 'bout the losing team gets to pay for us winners," said Robin with a triumphant smile.
"Oh come on!" said Artemis, frustrated and letting her competitive side get the better of her. "You only won at the last second cuz you cheated! You stepped outa bounds!"
"Hey if Black Canary didn't see it, it didn't happen," he said, lifting his hands up in defense. His triumphant smile changed to more of a mischievous smirk.
Arie walked into the room. She was a little surprised by the slight burst in teenaged emotion. "Woah. Artemis, take it easy it was just a game and Rob stop being such a brat. By the way you so cheated." She said with a cheery smile as she joined her new teammates.
"Oh, you're one to talk."
"I have no idea what you're talking about" she said with a guilty smile.
"Do you really think that no one noticed when you cast a spell on your flag to make it really slippery."
"Hey Canary said we could use our abilities… casting spells is one of my abilities"
"Okay then, not being seen is one of my abilities… so we're even"
"Yea yea yea whatever loser." She said with a childlike playfulness.
"Umm, I think you mean winner," he responded triumphantly. Everyone laughed at the argument between the two.
"Hey, what's everyone laughing about?" asked Wally as he walked into the kitchen.
"Oh nothing. Robin, Arie, and Artemis are just arguing about training," answered M'gann.
"Yeah and we were thinking about catchin' a movie. Wanna come?" asked Robin.
"Definitely." Answered Wally.
"Great, how 'bout the rest of you? Are ya up for it?"
"Movie sounds good to me," answered Artemis. Kaldur just nodded his approval. Then everyone looked to Superboy, who had not yet replied.
"Oh, please Superboy. It'll be fun. Plus it could be like more team bonding. We can all get to know each other better," said the cheery Martian.
"How can we get to know each other in a dark theater," was his reply. Robin and Wally looked at each other, both trying not to burst out laughing. Artemis was biting her lower lip and Arie just looked away, trying to avoid eye contact.
M'gann and Superboy were really confused by their teammates' reactions. They looked to Kaldur for an answer. He had been on the surface world long enough to understand why the others were reacting the way they were. He was clearly uncomfortable and rubbed the back of his neck. Trying to avoid the awkward situation he simply said, "Superboy is correct. It would be more beneficial to us if we could spend time in an environment that encourages fellowship."
"Well, I disagree." Wally said with a laugh, "the movie theater provides plenty of opportunities for fellowship." Robin could no longer contain his laughter.
"Oh yeah, like you would have any idea what that's like," said Artemis with a sarcastic laugh.
Wally glared at her, but before he could answer Ariana spoke up, trying to avoid an argument. "How about we all just take a walk downtown? I'm sure there's some nice restaurants and stuff to do here."
One by one each team member spoke their approval, until it was just Superboy left. They all looked at him pleadingly, "fine I'll go."
"Yay!" exclaimed M'gann. "Let's go wash up and head out." She said as she flew through the halls of the cave to her room.
"I have to go back home and get cleaned up. Give me an hour?" asked Arie.
"Of course, take your time," answered Kaldur.
"Great, I'll be back soon." Arianna gave a friendly wave as she disappeared into a cloud a blue lights.
Arianna reappeared in her home on Earth and sat in front of a large mahogany vanity set on the far side of her bedroom. She smiled as she looked back on training with her new charges. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a soft knock on her door. "You may enter," she said.
"Your grace, it pleases me to see you so happy," said an elderly lady as she entered the room. She was thin and wore a golden robe that covered her entire body and reached up to cover her head, revealing only her pale face, worn with wrinkles. Five young women in the same attire followed her closely. They all bowed to Arianna, who was still seated. "May I inquire as to the cause of your good mood?"
"I spent the evening with my new charges. They are delightful," she responded with a smile.
"I am glad they are to your liking, it has been so long since I have seen you truly happy."
Arianna's smile disappeared and she turned to the older woman, "have you heard any news concerning Lord Jaden?"
She sighed, "I am afraid not, your grace. The council has not yet decided upon his fate. But I hear they seem to be sympathetic to his situation, considering everything."
Arianna began to relax. "Good. I would appreciate it if you kept me informed."
"As you have commanded it will be done, your grace." Said the elderly woman as she gently bowed her head.
Arianna acknowledge her, then rose from her chair, "Esmin, I need my bath drawn and a fresh set of clothes, Earth clothes."
"As you have commanded it will be done," Esmin replied. She turned to the young women behind her. "Jana, Isma, go draw her grace's bath. Illiana fetch her robes. Niskal, lay out a fresh set of clothes. Shalan, go inform the cook that the princess has returned and should have a meal before she must return to her charges." When Esmin was done giving orders, the five handmaidens bowed and turned to leave.
"Shalan, wait. I will not have time for a meal. You are dismissed."
"But your Grace, you have just had a long training session. You should take time to nourish yourself before you must return to your charges." Said Esmin with concern in her voice.
"Esmin, you worry too much. Besides, their training is nothing like ours. It was… pleasant."
Esmin looked at her with disbelief, "Pleasant?" she waited for a response and received a nod. "Well, I always told you mortals were spoiled."
"Alright, everyone's here. Everyone's ready. Let's go," said Robin as M'gann joined the rest of the team in the living room.
"Sorry I took so long. I had to think up the perfect outfit," said M'gann.
"Don't worry about it babe. It was definitely worth the wait," replied Wally as he draped his arm around the Martian.
"Umm… thanks Wally."
The team headed out the door and walked to the nearby town. They reached Main Street in a matter of minutes. Downtown was littered with all types of restaurants.
"Okay, guys, what are ya' hungry for?" asked Wally.
"How 'bout that cute little Italian restaurant?" asked M'gann pointing at a fancy little restaurant across the street.
"Nahh. That's too fancy, they'd expect us to use actual manners and stuff," replied Wally.
"Does everybody like sushi?" asked Artemis as she noticed the big neon sign that read: Ling's Sushi. She looked around at her team for a response, and then thought she might have made a mistake, "Oops sorry Kaldur, I didn't remember that you were…"
"All is good, my friend," Kaldur said with a small laugh. "I do eat fish."
"You do?" said Artemis.
"Sweetie, what do you think they eat in the ocean?" responded Arie with a giggle. "Actually I have never had better sushi than when I spent a week in Poseidonis, studying at the Conservatory of Sorcery"
"You studied at the Conservatory of Sorcery?" asked Kaldur.
"Yeah, I…"
"I hate to interrupt this, but I'm starving. And since no one objected to sushi… let's go." Said Wally as he held open the restaurant door motioning for the team to walk through.
Arie walked in, but stopped halfway through the door. She shook her head and turned around, "not here." She said as she motioned for the rest of the team to follow her out the door. They all looked at her, wondering why she said no to the sushi place. "Kalasei," she spoke in Atlantean, not wanting to insult the restaurateurs. Kaldur nodded and followed her out the restaurant, the the others followed.
The team was back on the sidewalk and walking further down the street. "Okay Arie. What gives?" asked Superboy.
"Sushi was spoiled," she stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh…" was the general response.
"I didn't know you speak Atlantean," said M'gann.
"I speak everything," was her response. "You will all enjoy the pizza over there," she said pointing at the small little shop across the street.
"Great, then it's settled. Let's go,"
The team took seats in a round table outside of the pizza place, while Kaldur and Superboy went in to order. Soon they were all seated and enjoying pizza, all except for Arie.
"Arie, I feel bad you're not eating," said M'gann worriedly.
"I'm fine. I promise."
"But you didn't eat with us earlier and now you're not eating dinner."
"M'gann, don't worry, I'm still not hungry. Tutellians can go days without even feeling hungry."
"Wow, you're like the exact opposite of Wally," said Artemis.
The pizza was eaten quickly, but the team still sat outside talking, laughing, enjoying each other's company.
"So when did you study at the Conservatory?" asked Kaldur.
"About two years ago. I had finally managed to convince King Varonne to let me out of Tutellis. He gave me a week and I took it gratefully."
"We would have been there at the same time, but I do not remember you."
"Well we would have been in different classes. I can't control water or electricity, so I specialized in passive magic like potions, spells, incantations."
"I took very few of those classes, and when I did I never enjoyed them."
"I found them fascinating. Most Atlantean magic is just variations on Tutellian techniques." Arie noticed disbelief flowing off of Wally in waves. She turned to him and said, "Wally, you don't believe in magic?"
Wally raised his hands in defense. "I just think that if we look hard enough, everything can be explained by biology, chemistry, or physics."
She looked at him intently then responded with a nod and a smile, "okay."
"That's it? No argument?"
"I can accept your belief in science, just as you can accept my belief in magic."
"Umm… okay, cool."
"Great," she said smiling. Suddenly her smile disappeared. She gasped sharply, gripped tightly on the arms of her chair, and clenched her eyes shut. The markings on her skin reappeared, glowing bright blue.
"Arie, are you okay?" asked M'gann as she leaned toward her.
"She's fine, she's just having a vision," said Robin as he stood up a draped his jacket around her arms, trying to cover up the markings. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed, no one had.
ooOoo
Arie saw a sinister looking man. He had dark hair, a mustache, and beard. His eyes looked black, soulless and he wore a dark cloak. She could feel hatred and anger radiating off of him. He was looking into a cauldron, using it to watch a young girl. She was no older than fourteen. She had dirty blonde, curly hair and wore a red hoodie with jeans. She was running from something.
Then the vision changed to outside the pizza place. She could see herself and her friends, talking. Then she saw the girl from the cauldron. She was running down the sidewalk and turned to cross the street. Arie could feel her emotions. She was so scared and in a lot of pain. Without looking she ran right in the path of a car. The breaks screeched and the car swerved, but it was too late. The girl was frozen in panic and just stood there. She hit the windshield and was thrown across the street. She lay on the street, blood spilling out onto the ground. Her eyes were frozen open as she lay there, dead.
ooOoo
Arie came out of the vision. She opened her eyes and they shone bright blue, and then returned to normal. The markings once again faded into her skin. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
"Arie, what did you see?" asked Robin.
She didn't answer. She just stood up and looked around. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the girl running down the sidewalk. Arie knew she had to act fast. She took off jumping over the small gate that separated the restaurant dining area from the sidewalk then ran after the girl. The girl ran into the street and Arie leaped after her. Arie managed to push her out of the way, but was hit by the oncoming car. She hit the windshield, hard, cracking the glass. She rolled over the hood and landed in the street.
