Chapter 11- "A peek to the future"
A.N.: Thank you so much for the reviews, favs,.. For AngelShayera, I never saw one of those x) You should listen to Jack White singing Jolene. I promised Ash, didn't I? ;)
"ASH! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" The teenage girl grabbed her satchel and run down the stairs.
"I'M COMING DAD!" She went straight to the kitchen, where John had her breakfast disposed on the table. She quickly drank her milk and bitted a toast. She proceed to grab an apple and tried to speed off the kitchen. Tried. Her mother blocked the exit.
"Mom, I am late!" Little Shayera tried to plea. No use on that, but she always tries.
"I am not your father. I made him change all the awful curtains he had chosen with that look." She had a mother face. Ash wasn't going anywhere.
"Yes, she did. Without the help of my ring. And with your mother always telling me 'John you are doing it wrong!'" His imitation of his wife earned an out of control laugh from his daughter. Shayera did not seem so amused. She semi closed her eyes.
"I will make you pay for that later. Young girl, finish your breakfast. Your ride isn't here yet." Ash made a face and sat down, starting to eat her bitten toast. Shayera made her way to John, who took some steps back just to be safe. Shayera had a predatory look in her eyes.
"Please John, I don't bite." Something about the way her mother said the word bite made the seventeen year old girl choke.
"Please, wait until I leave!" She never heard her parents' reaction. A honk interrupted the family moment and made them look through the window. The boy was waving to her parents and asking her to come quickly, pointing to his pulse watch. She had gave it to him. She will deny it to death, he was annoying after all. And too cocky for her taste. Ash had gave him that watch to thank him for the rides. She couldn't really travel in cars. Her wings were a problem and the air that entered through the windows was not enough to calm her need for space. Even on a convertible. There was no use. Motorcycles seemed the best option. And that was why Thomas Wayne was waiting for her with a big grin that she hated with all her being. It was her mother´s fault this arrangement. Apparently she was not old enough to go alone to school. The real reason was the sad true about Helena Wayne. Since she went missing that super heroes were paranoid about their kids. Helena may not know but she was the reason a special school was created for the leaguers' kids and other children with powers. A safe place.
Ash blew kisses to her parents, it was too awkward to go near them at the moment, and left the house running. She couldn't help but look at him. He was exactly as Bruce had been at his age. Tall and extremely good looking. Dishevelled black hair, visible even with his helmet, a face thinner than Bruce's and wonderful blue eyes. Diana's eyes. School uniform and a helmet on his right hand. Some compared him to a Greek God. As she got closer to him, his smile grew wider and his face mimicked his father's smiling one. Her face was stoic.
"Good morning Beauty." He handled the smaller helmet. She took it roughly from his hands.
"Good morning Beast." He giggled knowingly and his eyes studied her uniform. The skirts could be shorter...
"How charming." She did not look at him as she put the helmet on and waved to her parents.
"I know." They were both ready to go. Thomas blinked his eye to Ash's parents and started the engine when Ash was distracted adjusting her wings. The small girl first instinct was to put her hands around him desperately. He smiled, he loved to mess around with her. "Jerk." She uttered to the wind, loudly.
"So... Where were we?" Shayera knew damn well how to drive John crazy. He leaned to kiss her and ended up kissing the air. His wife was on her way to the kitchen's exit.
"Shayera? C'mon, you are not mad, are you? Shayera?" She stopped, looked back and gave him a sexy smile. Then she returned to her previous path and spoke amused.
"Don't forget to do the dishes." John stood still and started to shake his head.
"Hell with the dishes." He followed his winged woman, put an arm on her waist and pushed her to him. So predictable John. The dishes waited for hours.
"Since when do you have a locker next to mine?" He is unbelievable. Ash is waiting for her friends near her locker. Her hair is unnerving, always in her face. And his presence annoyed the winged girl just a little too much than what needed.
"Since now." He continued to fill the new locker with his stuff. He took off the jacket of the uniform and loosened his tie knot. The first three buttons of his white shirt were know unbuttoned. Ash tried to ignore him. That was not an easy task. Their relationship was complicated. She blamed him. He was unbearable to have around. But she didn't want him away. They were both very competitive. In everything. Especially at school. It was not unusual to be kicked of classes due to their heated arguments. Usually, the pair ended up near the lake adjacent to school talking about their problems and their tastes.
"Are you done with the strip?" Why is no one arriving?
"Why? Were you enjoying it?" He took a step closer to her and their eyes met. Ash was quite smaller than him and she always refused to wear high heels. She was a Converse fan. Thomas liked the way she was different from the other girls. "I know you were..." His cocky smile smoothen to a corny one. He continued before she had time to react. "When will this dance stop Ash?"
A windblast broke the precious moment, what made both growled to the new comer. But their expressions softened at the sight of the ten year old child. Iris West was one palm smaller than Ash. Her red hair was in too high ponytails and piercing green eyes were watering. Her noise was red.
"Iris are you ok?" The younger girl looked to the teenagers and talked with a strange nasal voice.
"I have a cold... Excuse me..." Her sneeze was loud. And bizarre.
"Did, did green flames just came out of your nose?" Ash was incredulity in person.
"I know! It's just, I can't control it... Mamãe does it so easily... "Flash's daughter was so sad, she felt like she was failing with her mother. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice where her most recent sneeze was being directed. The fire alarm went off and in seconds they were soaked up till their bones. The vernal decorations hanging from the ceiling had burn rather quickly. It was Iris' class the artist behind the decorations. They were going to hate her.
"I'm so sorry..." Sad tears were streaming down her face. Thomas picked her up and smoothed the crying child.
"It is a false alarm. It's requested to the students to stay exactly where they are. You will be dried up in seconds. Iris West to principal's office. Thank you and good morning. "The Martian's voice echoed till inexistence. A warm breeze spread in the entire school, eliciting comments from the students. "Oh man, sometimes I hate this school!" "C'mon! Students also need a day off!"
Iris kept crying in Thomas' embrace. He exchanged a look with green eyes and started walking down the hall with Ash holding the other girl's hand.
"It's not your fault, you don't need to feel bad. And nothing really happen..." Both teens kept calming her until the office's door came to view. All the way eyes were on them, they had learn to ignore this since really young. Ash knocked and heard a come in from the other side. Iris knew she had to take responsibilities for her acts. She detangled herself from the worried boy and walked to the chair in front of the principal's desk. The older kids nodded to the principal and left the office. Iris heard her name being called. She hesitantly looked up through tears. She fixed her look on the plate with the principal's name. Lois Lane.
"Sweetheart, no one is mad at you." Lois had quite an experience with uncontrolled powers. It was her duty to make sure this children felt safe and normal inside this school. She sadly glanced to a photo of her family. Clark has a little blond girl in his arms. She desolately remembered that those two didn't talk for two years now. She made her way to Iris and kneeled in front of the girl. This is never going to happen to another family.
As in every school with teens chatting around, gossip was the very favourite subject in the hallways. And today's theme was Iris. Beatriz was doing her best to ignore some snotty comments she was hearing. Accidently, green fire flew in the direction of someone who had called her daughter a freak. Deus, I've been around Shayera for too long. Ash and Thomas were near the door she had to go in.
Late in the afternoon
"And they say we are getting old..." Shayera kissed him on the cheek and started to leave.
"Hey, a little help with the dishes?" Shayera played the insulted paper, opening her eyes even more. Her wide open mouth was mocking John with fake disbelief.
"I can't believe you! Are you patronizing me? Because I'm a woman? That's just wrong, you should be ashamed. "She shook her head in disapproval and turned to leave.
Helena was waking up really happy. Like she had felt asleep in her mother's arms, shielding her from the world. She missed that. Your mother is dead Helena. She felt someone smoothing her hair and opened her eyes. She missed that touch. When she started to shift her position, black locks that didn't belong to her touched her face. The vigilante stopped mid shifting. Carefully, her eyes found blue scared ones. None of them moved. Helena had forgotten how to speak, those were the eyes from her nightmare.
"Mommy..." Diana smiled widely. And that was the moment her daughter chose to notice the rest of her face. Bertinelli jumped from the bed and kept shaking her skull, eyes closed and hands on her head.
"No, no, no... It can´t be, it can't be... I'm not daughter of Wonder Woman, my mother is Maria Bertinelli. Was... I... I don't understand... You shouldn't be here and I shouldn't remind you..." Helena was crying and with an overwhelming headache. Memories of her and Diana together came flying to her mind and she was fighting it. Whoever wanted her to remember was committed to the job. She screamed in pain and felt to her knees.
"SHAYERA CALL BRUCE!" Diana run to her daughter and tried in vain to help her. Dinah, Shayera and Vic were incapable to help as well. Helena Wayne was on her own against higher powers.