Jacob Olsen sat in Jimmy's room, reading To Kill a Mockingbird in the chair pushed into the corner. It had been almost a month since his son's injury, and Jacob was glad that Jimmy's recovery had been smooth, despite the awkwardness the agent knew his sudden appearance and continued presence in his family's life had caused: Jimmy had initially been cold to both of his parents, talking to them only when absolutely necessary, but over the weeks had slowly warmed up. The agent glanced at the closed bathroom door, listening to the running water as his son took a shower. Things were still tense between the three Olsens, but Jacob knew they had progressed immensely since that night in the hospital. Nevertheless, the agent couldn't help but still feel like a complete stranger with his own family.
The sound of a light tap from the bedroom window caused Jacob to immediately switch modes. He quickly got to his feet, pulling his weapon from his shoulder holster even before the book hit the floor. The agent carefully and swiftly crossed the room, keeping his back against the wall as he stood next to the window. Before he could make another move, he saw the latch unlock of its own accord, and Jacob gripped his gun tightly as
the window opened and a small head popped in; the agent pressed the gun against the person's head.
"Don't move," he growled, his voice low with edge. Swiftly, his gun was yanked from his hand, and Jacob suddenly found himself hanging out the open window, the only thing keeping him from falling being a hand gripping his throat. Jacob struggled as he looked over and stopped, his eyes widening, when he saw Linda standing on the window ledge, glaring at Jacob, her hand around his neck as she gripped his gun in the other. "Linda?"
Linda's expression changed as she recognized the voice—and finally the face. "Mr. Olsen?" she asked, slightly confused. "You're still here."
"Yes, I am," Jacob wheezed before glancing down at the street about a hundred feet below him. "Uh…would it be too much trouble for you to put me down—inside the building, preferably?"
Linda looked apologetic. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. She stepped aside as she brought Jacob back in the room, carefully putting him on the floor.
"It's okay," Jacob replied, smoothing his shirt, then he glanced at the young girl before holding out his hand. "My gun, please." Linda furrowed her eyebrows, then glanced at her hand; she appeared sheepish as she handed Jacob his gun. "Thank you." The agent checked it over before holstering it. "Now, what are you doing here?"
"I came here to see Jimmy," Linda answered, "and before you ask, yes, I have permission."
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you're here," Jacob said.
Linda didn't say a word as she launched herself off the ledge. Jacob's eyes widened as he watched the young girl effortlessly twisted until she was facing the building, floating in midair with her arms crossed.
Jacob was a stunned but reflexively hid it under a neutral expression. "New power, I presume?" he asked in an almost bored tone.
"Your deductive skills are astounding," Linda replied with an amused tone, and Jacob smiled. The teenager took a deep breath, her expression turning more serious, as she floated closer to the building. "So, can I see him?"
Jacob's smile faded as he sighed. "Well, he's been a bit melancholy for a while," he answered, "as I'm sure you're aware from the Skype sessions I've heard you two have had over the past month." He shrugged. "But I think a little brush with antigravity will help lift his spirits."
Linda couldn't tell if he'd purposefully intended the pun or not, but decided it was best not to ask. "You're really okay with that?" she asked.
"Yeah," Jacob replied before looking her straight in the eyes. "Just don't…drop him, okay?"
Before she could respond, the bathroom door opened, and Jimmy walked out with a towel wrapped around his midsection, using another towel to dry his hair. He was halfway to his bed when he glanced over and saw his father standing next to the open window—with Linda floating outside
"Linda?" he asked, surprised.
Linda didn't respond, but her eyes widened slightly before she floated up past the window. Jimmy and Jacob stared in silence for a few seconds before Linda's head—upside down, hair hanging—popped into view.
"Uh…hi," Linda replied nervously, still hanging upside down, trying to keep her gaze from wandering away from Jimmy's eyes.
"I thought you were in Central City," Jimmy said as he slowly walked over.
Linda smiled. "I was, but something came up." She paused, then snickered when she realized what she'd said.
Jimmy smiled in return. "Yeah, I can see that," he replied.
Jacob glanced between his son and Linda, and the agent could tell that both teenagers were totally oblivious to the fact he was even present. After a few seconds of silence, he cleared his throat loudly, startling the two.
"Thank you both for coming back to reality," he said. "Now, Jimmy, if you're feeling up to it, I don't see a problem if you and Linda want to go out for a small, uh," he furrowed his eyebrows slightly, "fly around the city—and, yes, that is something I thought I'd never say in my lifetime."
Jimmy glanced at Jacob, a little surprised. His father had been nothing but firm in keeping the young photographer toeing the line during his recovery. Jacob saw his son's expression and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, that'd be great," he said to Linda, who grinned.
"Okay, then," Jacob replied. He nodded at his son. "You get dressed, and you," he looked at Linda, "are welcome to wait in the living room."
"I'll stay out here, thanks," Linda replied.
Jacob shrugged. "Suit yourself," he replied. "Just stay out of sight." He closed the window and drew the curtains shut.
Linda waited a few seconds before leaning up against the wall, still floating. She let out the breath she'd been holding as she put her hand on her chest; she felt her heart pounding. "Whoa," she said, slowly smiling.
In contrast to most of the world winding down for the evening, the nightlife of Metropolis was just getting started. The tall buildings of the city glowed brightly like a Christmas tree, and the people bustled around, too lost in their own lives to take notice of the two figures soaring high above them.
Jimmy stared down in awe at the buildings passed under him. Linda was at his side, her arm securely around his waist; her free arm crossed under their chests, holding his hand in hers. The wind whipped around them, but Jimmy didn't feel the least bit cold, even as he only wore a blue t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. He glanced over at Linda and saw her eyes dancing with a newfound freedom; in that moment, the young photographer couldn't imagine her looking any more beautiful. A few minutes later, the teenagers made a small stop on the roof of the Daily Planet building, sitting on the ledge, letting their legs dangle over the edge as they stared at the city below them.
"I can't believe Clark just dropped you like that," Jimmy said.
"Well, it's not like it hurt," Linda replied before giving a small smirk and a shrug, "and I did slug him for it after he landed."
Jimmy stared at her, smiling in disbelief. "You didn't." Linda nodded, smiling, and the photographer actually laughed out loud. "Man, I wish I could've been there." He hesitated. "Wait, aren't you worried about Clark saying something to your folks?"
"Nope, he's more scared about them siding with me," Linda answered before looked at the bright lights and city spreading out below them; she sighed, smiling. "Still, I'm pretty happy with the end result."
Jimmy's expression softened into a warm smile. "Yeah, I know how much you were looking forward to flying." He tilted his head. "Does that mean your quarantine's been lifted?"
"Dad says we'll talk about it after Spring Break," Linda explained, "but I'm pretty sure they'll say it is," her smile widened, "which means I could come visit more often."
"Given our track record," Jimmy replied, amused, "I'll believe that when I see it." Linda chuckled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, causing Jimmy's heart to skip a beat; his cheeks grew warm, and he nervously cleared his throat. "So, uh, speaking of Spring Break, how's it going?"
"So far, so good," Linda replied. "Got to see a little bit of the city with Professor Stein and Cisco, and I managed to fix this ring that used to belong to the Reverse Flash and now Barry can use it to carry his suit in." She smiled when she saw Jimmy's confused expression. "It's a spring-loaded ring that Eobard Thawne could shrink and fit his suit in; Cisco told me he'd wanted to call a friend of his who specializes in shrinking things—someone named Ray, I think—but once I examined the ring, I actually recognized the technology, so I helped fix the spring mechanism and even recreated the formula that compresses and decompresses the suit without damaging it."
"I thought you were there to see museums and galleries and go shopping," Jimmy said.
"I did," Linda replied, "after that—and after Cisco and I tested my abilities." Jimmy raised an eyebrow. "We were bored and wanted to see just how fast, strong, and so forth I am."
"And?" Jimmy asked cautiously.
"Well, I can run Mach 7.8," Linda explained, "lift at least 100 tons, handle a bolt of lightning, and break out of one of the containment units at S.T.A.R. Labs—among other things."
Jimmy whistled softly. "Okay, I knew you were fast and strong," he said in awe, "but that's…wow."
"And Cisco says I'm probably going to only get stronger and faster as I get older," Linda added before furrowing her eyebrows slightly. "I think he's more excited about it than I am." She chuckled. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he's already coming up with ideas for my costume."
"I thought you didn't want anything to do with that," Jimmy said.
"I don't," Linda replied. "I mean, not now, anyway. This is the first time in my life that I remember ever being this happy and normal—and you know what I mean by that. I want to enjoy it for a while before I even begin to contemplate becoming a superhero." She shrugged. "Besides, with Clark and the others around, the world doesn't need any more superheroes."
Jimmy watched as Linda stared at the city below. Despite her attempt to appear unbothered, the photographer picked up on the envious tone in her voice. He decided not to press the issue as he put an arm around her shoulders. Linda responded by leaning against him, and the two just watched the city below them in silence.
Half an hour later, rain poured down on Linda, drenching her, as she soared high in the sky as she headed back to Central City. The wind howled violently around her, and the teenager actually found herself struggling slightly to remain steady as she dodged lightning bolts—more annoyed than worried about being hurt. Logically, she knew she should fly below, around, or above the storm, but she didn't want to risk being seen in the first two options, and she wasn't sure about her atmospheric limits—she'd have to fly over forty thousand feet to clear the top of the storm—so she knew the only choice left (if not the best) was to fly as quickly as she could through the storm itself.
Linda sighed and wiped water from her face before a horrible surge of energy hit her from behind. She shouted out in pain, her entire body feeling as if it was on fire before going limp as she went unconscious, freefalling through the clouds toward the ground below.
(End of Chapter 2)
