Clover was so glad to have her mother back, she didn't mind the constant whining when they got back to the cold, uniform WOOHP bedroom that had been declared Clover's. She went through everything in the room, verbally picking it to pieces before putting it back and moving on to something else to bitch about. It was almost nice to be nagged to death... a condition Clover knew was only temporary. But she would enjoy it for now nonetheless.
"You just let them not pay you and hole you up in a cold place like this?" Stella scoffed as she examined the plain white drapery over the window. "Whatever you work for, it's got to form a union or something because this is just preposterous."
"It's the World Organization Of Human Protection mom, not Wal-Mart." Clover smirked. "It's not about making money, it's about keeping the world safe." She neglected to mention her own desire for some kind of compensation for doing all this. Fanning her mother's flames didn't seem like a very good idea.
"Well this is exploitation. You're not even 18 yet, they're not allowed to use you like this." Stella huffed. "That's it, I'm going to go to your boss and demand that something be done."
Clover rolled her eyes, incidentally catching a glimpse of a nearby clock. "Hey, it's about lunchtime. What do you say we go grab a bite to eat, okay?" Clover suggested hopefully. This out of the blue suggestion caught her mother off-guard.
"Well... I guess that would be good." Stella accepted.
"Great, come on." Clover grabbed her mother's wrist and pulled her out of the bedroom, rushing toward the cafeteria. It was made of as much cold steel as the rest of the building, but the atmosphere was reasonably light as people, Tuxedo-Wearing Officers and Secret Agents alike, got their food and sat to eat companionably. Clover pulled her mother into line and stood to wait.
"Would it kill them to put in a few carpets?" Stella grumped.
"Maybe someone's allergic to carpet." Clover smirked. Her eyes swept over the eating crowds as she and her mother made their way further up the line, closer to the food. She stopped in surprise when she saw Brittany sitting at one of the long tables, her violet eyes and blue uniform an instant giveaway. Sitting across from her with her back to Clover was a hauntingly familiar violet suited girl with black hair.
"Mom, hold the spot for a minute okay?" Clover stepped out of the line and made her way through the crowd toward Brittany. "Excuse me, pardon me, hey watch those hands buddy!" Clover slapped one guy who pinched her butt. She continued onward, grumbling about dirty old men until she finally reached the table where Brittany was seated. She moved around the violet-suited girl, her worst fears confirmed when the girl looked up at her.
"YOU?" Clover and Mandy screamed in unison, jamming their fingers at each other.
"What the Hell are you doing here in that outfit?" Clover shouted.
"I work here now!" Mandy shouted. "What about you? What're YOU doing here?"
"I've worked here for years!" Clover shouted back.
"Ah, you know each other. Saves me from introductions." Brittany sighed and looked down at her food, as if trying to pretend she didn't know the girls who were making a scene right in the middle of the cafeteria.
"I don't want you standing around tainting my food with your presence, so go eat somewhere else while I eat with my good friend Brittany." Mandy said sharply.
"YOUR good friend? Oh nonono, Brittany's MY old friend!" Clover exclaimed. "I knew her months before you ever knew what WOOHP was!" Clover turned toward her blue-suited friend. "Come on Brittany, let's ditch this wannabe fashion-model and go eat together."
"Oh screw you, you walking Fashion Faux Pas!" Mandy shouted back. "At least I don't look like the bride of Dracula!"
"No, you look like a grape Popsicle!" Clover shouted back. Brittany sighed and calmly stood up on the other side of the table. Her hands shot out, slapping both girls across the face with a stinging strike.
"OOOW!" Clover and Mandy shouted in unison, turning toward Brittany.
"Sit down before you make more of a spectacle of yourselves." Brittany demanded. Mandy and Clover opened their mouths to protest, but Brittany growled. "NOW!" Both girls fells to their butts on the bench, sitting side-by-side. Brittany sat back down with as much composure as she could manage, straightening her gloves and looking back and forth between them. "Okay, I can see some bad blood between you. But this isn't the time for that. And I will certainly not be fought over like a prize. Do you two understand me?"
"Yes Brittany." Mandy and Clover replied sheepishly. Brittany looked like she was about to speak again, but Alex approached before she could.
"What is going on over here?" Alex demanded. When Mandy saw her she squealed and leapt up from the bench, wrapping the confused girl up in a tight hug.
"Alex! Oh I'm so glad to see an old friendly face!" Mandy shouted happily.
"Who're you calling old?" Alex demanded. "Who're you calling FRIENDLY? You hate me."
"Don't be ridiculous, you're my favorite little verbal sparring partner." Mandy rubbed her knuckles into Alex's cheek playfully. "Hey, if you two are here, does that mean your third half is here too?" Mandy turned to look around the cafeteria. "Where's Sammykins? I could sooo use a good old Bev. High reunion right now."
"Well, Sam's here, but I don't know where she is." Alex replied. "She disappeared right after we arrived, and nobody's seen her since."
"That's disturbing." Brittany said worriedly. "Have you tried calling her on the X-Powder? Or asking Jerry to help start a search party?"
"I tried the X-Powder, she didn't respond. And I talked to Jerry earlier. He said to just leave her alone for now." Alex shook her head. "Something must be happening..."
"Forget all this depressing stuff. We're all here, we're all alive, let's eat and enjoy ourselves, okay?" Mandy said hopefully.
"You're right Mandy... okay, let's have a little fun." Alex smiled. Even Clover didn't complain, so the four spy girls sat down at the table, and soon were joined by Stella and Carmen, who sat down beside their respective daughters to eat. Mandy looked upset by their presence for some reason, but frankly, Clover didn't care enough to wonder about it.
The next while was surprisingly pleasant, largely because Clover and Mandy avoided direct contact with one another. The others around the table talked lightly and freely about what their lives had been like before, and what they planned to do once this was all over. Clover noticed Gabby sitting by herself at another table with dark circles under her eyes... but there wasn't a whole lot she could do about it.
"How long do you think we'll get to just sit around relaxing like this?" Alex asked curiously.
"We'll probably get sent out on some recovery missions soon." Brittany reasoned. "Actually, if you got here three days ago, I'm surprised you're still here. Why hasn't he sent you back out yet? From what I hear, most of the WOOHP teams are already out on assignment to help with recovery and rebuilding efforts."
"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with Sam." Alex replied. "We're just not a team without her."
"You know, I just thought of something Alex." Clover said. "Have you heard anything about Lady Luna since we got back?"
"No, nothing." Alex realized. "Totally weird."
Mandy squealed. "Lady Luna? The Wacky TV Astrologer to the Stars? I love her!" She exclaimed. "You mean she's actually here? In this building? I have sooo got to meet her! She's the reason I got that tattoo!"
"Well technically she's in prison, but Jerry was supposed to let her out for helping us on our mission." Clover replied.
"Prison? Why would they lock her up?" Mandy asked.
"It's a long story." Clover stood up from the desk. "I think I'm done eating, so I'm going to go ahead and check up on a few things."
"I'll come with." Mandy stood up. Clover glared at her, but she raised her hands defensively. "Hey, I won't start anything if you don't. I just want to know what's up with Sam and Lady Luna." She insisted.
"Fine, come on and keep your big mouth shut." Clover turned to leave, looking back for a moment. "I'll find you a little later mom." Stella waved as Clover headed for the exit, trailed closely by her longtime archrival. Clover tried to ignore her, making her way through the long steel hallways toward the prison section where Lady Luna was probably being held. She approached one of the guards on duty. "Is Lady Luna still here?" Clover asked.
"She was released yesterday morning." The guard replied.
"Really? Do you know where she went?" Clover asked.
"No clue. I think she stopped by Jerry's office at some point, but we weren't ordered to keep tabs on her, so I can't confirm that." The guard replied. Well, at least she knew Jerry kept his promise to release her. That was the important part. She didn't really need to speak to her again. Mandy looked kind of disappointed though.
"Awww man." Mandy huffed. "How come every time I come close to meeting a celebrity they skip town first?"
"They must smell you coming." Clover cackled.
"Hey, you wanna start with me?" Mandy glared.
"No, no, forget I said it. Come on, we still have one more stop to make." Clover turned to leave the prison section, with Mandy following behind her. It was too tempting to taunt the girl into a fight. Honestly, Clover had always enjoyed taking her down a few pegs. But if they were going to be working for WOOHP together, she had to learn to be civil around the girl.
They made their way to Jerry's office, where Clover pushed the door open and went inside. She noticed the dents in the floor right away, but didn't pay them much mind as she made her way into the office. She didn't see Jerry anywhere. "Yo, Jerr! You in here?" She shouted.
"Jerry is not present at this moment." GLADIS responded. "If you would like to leave a message, write it down, because I have more important things that require my attention."
"Like what?" Clover demanded. "You just sit here all day doing nothing."
"That information is classified." GLADIS said.
"Classified? From me? I have like the highest security clearance there is." Clover complained.
"Negative. Jerry's security clearance is, like, so much higher." GLADIS replied. Clover growled, catching the clearly mocking undertone in the computer's typically monotone drawl.
"Whatever you bucket of rusty bolts. Can you at least tell me where Jerry is so I can talk to him myself?" Clover demanded.
"Negative... you bag of creaky bones." GLADIS shot back.
"Wow, she's touchy." Mandy commented.
"Ah forget her. Let's get out of here." Clover turned to stomp out of the room, still furious that she was being told off by a freaking machine. Aside from verbal sparring with an inanimate object, something felt really strange here. Jerry never simply vanished before, and Sam wasn't known to do it either. And what happened to Lady Luna? Did she just leave? Where would she go? The world was in a state of chaos right now, it wasn't like she could just go home.
"Hey, what's this?" Mandy ran suddenly down another hallway.
"Don't run off like that! There's lots of sensitive stuff around here!" Clover chased after her, hoping to keep her from breaking anything important. Mandy stopped outside a window though, staring inside with a look of wonder on her face. On the other side of the window a team of scientists were busily working on various little things. "Looks like the R&D department."
"You mean this is where they make those nifty little toys I've been using?" Mandy asked.
"Yep." Clover replied. "They're pretty good at it, though they can screw up every now and then." Clover liked playing the senior officer actually, even if she was only senior to Mandy. "One time they gave us a tazer that didn't have any power left. That was pretty awkward."
"Huh...?" Mandy gasped in glee. "It's her!" Mandy took off toward the door.
"Mandy? Hold it!" Clover shouted and ran after the violet-suited spy. They made their way into the R&D room, running around the science labs to a set of stairs that led up to a catwalk. On top they could see Lady Luna chatting with one of the WOOHP scientists, a blueprint sitting on the table in front of them. They were obviously busy, but Mandy rushed up to them regardless.
"Oh my God! Miss Lady Luna! I'm your biggest fan!" Mandy grabbed the older woman's hand; grinning and giggling like an excited schoolgirl.
"Well, thank you little moonbeam!" Lady Luna smiled and grabbed Mandy's wrist. "I'm glad somebody around here appreciates my capabilities. I've been getting nothing from the ignorant louts they hire around here." She glared at the scientist on the other side of the chart, who rolled his eyes. She turned back to Mandy with a smile. "Is there something I can do for you sunshine?"
"I would love a personal reading of my stars. You see, I had this dream the other night that kinda freaked me out, and I could use some assurance that it's not gonna happen. So will you help me out?" Mandy asked hopefully.
"Of course, right after I finish making preparations for my journey home." Lady Luna replied.
"Journey home?" Clover asked curiously.
"Of course, my home is back on the moon remember? I can't very well walk, so I've been trying to strike a deal with these stubborn scientists." She glared at the scientist again. "They just don't see the importance of my connection with the stars."
"When can we do my reading?" Mandy jumped back into the conversation.
"How about tonight? I'll come by your room at about nine o'clock." Lady Luna suggested.
"That sounds wonderful! Thank you. My name's Mandy, and I'm in room number 124." Mandy dug through her pockets for a piece of paper and a pen to write with, soon handing Lady Luna a quickly scribbled note.
"I'll be there right then." Lady Luna smiled before turning back to her argument with the WOOHP scientist. Mandy turned to leave, clenching her hands excitedly in front of her. Clover followed behind her, not really having anything better to do.
"I can't believe I'm gonna get a personal reading from Miss Lady Luna. It's like a dream come true." Mandy giggled girlishly. Apparently celebrity worship extended even after the end of the known world... at least in Mandy's mind. "I just hope she'll be able to help me... I would love to find out that dream didn't mean anything."
"Fascinating, but I think I'm going to go a different direction from you now." Clover said.
"Wait, you can't just leave me here, I don't know my way around. Which way's my designated bedroom?" Mandy asked.
"It's easy. Go down the hall there, hang a left, go down two hallways, head into the stairwell on the left and go down two flights, then head to the left, then take a right at the third intersection, a left at the next intersection, turn right and head down two more flights of stairs, then..." Clover stopped when she saw Mandy's glazed over look. Clover sighed. "Fine, I'll lead you there like a lost little girl." She turned to walk down the hall.
"I'm no little girl blondie." Mandy huffed. "Now if you don't stop those insults I'm gonna..." She stopped to think.
"You're gonna what?" Clover prodded. "Tell your mommy I was being mean to you? Hah, she's not even here, she's probably vacationing in Hawaii since she doesn't have to deal with YOU right now." Clover laughed and kept walking. It took her a moment to realize the second set of footsteps had stopped, so she turned to see Mandy staring at the floor, her arms shaking. "Mandy? What's the deal? I was kidding, I'm sure your mom loves y-"
"She's dead." Mandy interrupted darkly. Clover just stared at her, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty. "She died two days ago..."
"I'm... I'm sorry Mandy." Clover said helplessly. "I didn't know." Mandy closed her eyes for a moment, then shook her head and walked forward again, her face going back into its normal mask though her arms remained stiff at her sides.
"Forget it, I've dealt with it. Take me to my room." She pushed past Clover roughly to proceed down the hall. Clover stared after her for a moment, then rushed to get in front of her again and lead her through the large WOOHP building. Through hallways and stairways the uncomfortable silence lingered, until finally Clover found the right bedroom.
"Here you go, get some rest and someone will be along to show you the way to the cafeteria in the morning." Clover opened the door for her. Mandy walked into the room silently and slammed the door behind her, shutting Clover out in more ways than one. Clover had never liked Mandy in any possible way, but she still hated kicking people when they were so down. Insulting someone's dress wasn't nearly so bad as poking at their dead family members...
"Wait, why am I feeling guilty?" Clover asked herself. "I apologized, she's the bitch who won't accept that apology." Convinced that she was once again on the right side of the moral tracks, Clover turned to locate her own bedroom among that maze that was WOOHP headquarters. "Yeah, I'm the good guy here. I didn't know her stupid mother got herself killed. Why is she blaming ME for that?" Clover nodded, confirming her superiority in her own mind.
Of course, she inevitably got to thinking about how she'd feel if the roles were reversed. If they had found Stella's corpse in that pyramid instead of a living woman... would she be able to forgive someone who made that kind of wisecrack around her? Would she even be able to pretend to smile? Like all teenagers she resented her mother's control, but she loved her mother deeply. Thinking about what it would be like without her...
"Whatever." She growled to herself as she pushed the door to her bedroom open. Stella was already in the room, redecorating with various posters and rugs to make the place appear homier. Already the single queen size bed had been replaced with two twins, a fact that made Clover stop and stare at her mother. "No... you're kidding..."
"There are too many people who need shelter to let us spread out too much." Stella replied. "It was either this or we could each share a room with a complete stranger." Suddenly for a moment a life without her mother didn't seem so bad to Clover.
"Just try not to keep me up all night. I have important stuff to do y'know?" Clover said.
"Of course not dear. Now come make your bed, I got these new sheets I think you're going to love." Stella held up a large quilt covered in clovers of all kinds and sizes.
"Wow... how original." Clover muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing, mother." Clover moved to fix her bed. She had to keep reminding herself that Mandy wasn't her problem, nor was her mother's death Clover's fault. It was just an unfortunate miscommunication, that was all. Sam's disappearance, however, was something she couldn't talk herself out of worrying about. Speaking of which...
"Hey, how's Gabby holding up?" Clover asked curiously. Stella looked up from her decorating with a sad smile.
"She's worried sick, of course. And I can't say I blame her..." Stella put down her sheets and walked up to Clover, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Promise me you'll never do that to me Clover... from now on, tell me any time you go somewhere. I don't know if I could take not knowing where you are." Clover tried to shrug her off nonchalantly.
"Mom, you don't have to worry..." Clover said softly, staring into her mother's emerald blue eyes. "But yeah... I promise." She smiled slightly. Stella smiled back and pulled her into a tight hug. Clover reminded herself to treasure this moment... because as Mandy had just shown her, it was inevitable that one of these moments would be the last.
TO BE CONTINUED
