7 July 2010
Salem Academy Uniform Services, Salem
"…And how's that blazer fitting, dearie?" Croaked Mrs Norwood from beyond the curtain as her claws threatened to yank it back for inspection. Everyone abhorred the leathery hag who ran the academy's uniform store, mostly because she was a cantankerous old woman who would stiff anyone who offended her sensibilities. So working in a private school's uniform store? That tended to be most people. Not that the townspeople didn't deserve some of it; the rumours around her ran rampant with the most popular of them calling her the reincarnated soul of some long lost hanged witch and with a history like Salem's, gossip & superstitions like that could very well be a death sentence.
"Good, thanks" Rachel (Raven) hummed in reply, turning this way & that in the mirror as she despaired over the shapelessness of the school uniform as it hung from her small frame. There was the dark tartan pinafore which flared from her nonexistent hips in a box pleat, brushing against her knees. There was the too-tight collared shirt (which would be swapped out for a long-sleeved version in winter) that hosted the green tartan tie and itchy woollen socks (again, swapped out for tights in winter).
Compared to the boys' uniform, Rachel supposed it wasn't so bad. Where the girls had to wear the tartan pinafore, the boys were forced into tartan slacks and matching suspenders—suspenders, of all things! There was, of course, the school's tartan tie (which matched the girls') and the collared shirt that both parties wore, plus the token itchy woollen socks. Both sets were matched with a green blazer, which despite its stiff, boxy appearance did tie the whole thing together. Their only saving grace was that they were allowed to wear their own—black—shoes. Which Rachel loved, because she didn't know if she could handle wearing loafers on top of this whole ensemble!
Whilst Rachel shifted through the various pieces of her school's uniform in preparation for the coming academic year, her guardian, sat perched outside upon one of the wing-backed chairs as he idly flipped through old magazines, and Mrs Norwood (insistent that he stay unbothered) browsed through the racks in search of the most expensive articles to foist upon the young witch. As she listened to the crone's heels clack against the linoleum, her thoughts turned to the proceedings of the last few days.
The Batman-imposed three-day reprieve was both a welcome and a curse as it festered in the minds of the sidekicks over that time as they awaited judgement. The days seemed to pass in a blur, as if you'd blink and they'd be gone. Then again, they also seemed to drag on like a snail with arthritis. For Rachel, those three days were perhaps the busiest she'd had in a while, if only because Kent Nelson—Fate's current vessel & her guardian—was adamant that she enjoy all the nuances of childhood; including groundings (not that the witch went out much anyways).
Since their self-imposed mission had ended in the wee early hours of the morning, the old man had thankfully let her sleep through the rest of the day. The young witch had barely made it across the Tower's threshold before she was tiredly stumbling towards her room, guided by the shifting walls that she was forever bumping into. But when the second day had dawned, so did her punishments (if you could call them that). Aside from the few errands into town where she accompanied the old man to the uniform store and other such menial places, Rachel was bound to the Tower of Fate, swathed in chores & her studies whilst Kent busied himself with finding Nabu the next vessel of Doctor Fate.
For the young witch this meant weeding and/or pruning around the moss-ridden gorgon statues in the garden and doing her best to avoid the snapdragons that nibbled at her wrists like mosquitoes. She wasn't really sure who each of the statues were before they were cast in stone, or if they were even real in the first place; but with how old Nabu was, she couldn't quite rule it out. Each figurine wore looks of utter fear and betrayal as told from those Greek gorgon tales, and their bodies contorted themselves into impossibly twisted positions that made your head spin. It didn't matter if they were missing limbs, for hungry snapdragons sprung from every crack & crevice and though some of the smaller ones might've been children at one point, they were so overgrown that they were no more than gnome-shaped hedges now.
Then there was the task of cleaning out the different hovels of her so-called pets. Beatrice was the behemoth who haunted the belfry of the northern most turret and guarded her hoard of bells with a vengeance that almost bordered on obsessive. Beatrice, oddly, was a gentle creature, despite her outward appearance. Usually clothed in shadows, Rachel often wondered how the large horned creature could even fit inside the belfry. But she usually just shrugged it off as something the Tower did to accomodate her. Or perhaps it was some unknown behemoth power that no one had documented yet?
On the other side of the Tower, up in the attic, lay Balthazar the dragon. Whilst his lair was much easier to access than the belfry, it was often overcrowded with dusty boxes containing mementoes from past lives, cursed objects sealed tight & placed out of reach and gifts (usually from Constantine) that were put up there for safety reasons. The Tower's magical security was usually more than enough to contain things like these, but the items that the British sorcerer often sent over, well, more than a few spells tended to be needed to keep them in check. Not that Balthazar seemed to mind. While it wasn't exactly your typical dragon hoard, the reptile appeared more than happy to spend most days snoozing amongst the dust bunnies.
There was also the dire undertaking of milking the kamar, a beautiful cow-like creature that bore horns which curved back to rest upon its crown like a halo. With an ivory pelt and milk with a thousand, one could almost consider the creature to be something of legends…if it weren't for the temperamental nature of the beast that send most running for the hills. The only similarity between the kamar and your average dairy cow, is the fact that the bovine needed to be milked least any illnesses befell it. Though, some days Rachel wondered if the numerous bruises, bumps and paralysis that one might obtain even getting close to the kamar, was worth it.
But the worst one of all had to be the rebuilding of the Nebma statue. A stone creation that perched precariously on one point, standing proud and tall in the conservatory. Or it so it had when originally placed there, now it was no more than a pile of crumbling stones upon its monolith. Amazonian in creation, the statue had once consisted of two twining branches that danced around each other and joined back together at the top, making it look like a strand of DNA. In Amazonian culture, this particular statue was said to be something created by a long-passed warrior to represent the complexities of the human soul (its twin sat in Themyscira). But it was also a lesson, one that Rachel had yet to learn. The lesson, as Kent had explained many a-time, was meant to teach her that once something was gone, it was gone for good no matter how many times & ways you tried to retrieve it. Rachel had yet to stop trying to rebuild the beautiful sculpture, however.
In regards to her studies, Rachel had an endless amount of homework—both regular and magical—that lay in towering piles about her desk; mountaineered by the wayward stationary left there as unwilling bookmarks. Crime fighting and summer reading filled most of her days, not that she minded, of course. But with Salem's fondness for witches, it was sometimes hard to tell where the school-board approved books ended and the grimoires began (as attested by her terrible handwritten notes on the matter).
Shaking her head free of those thoughts she turned again in front of the mirror with her hands roving over curves that had yet to appear on her prepubescent body, smoothing out barely-there wrinkles on the steam-pressed dress. A put-upon sigh fell from her lips, one that felt heavy on her little ten year old shoulders. In the mirror, her twin stared back at her.
8 July 2010
Mount Justice, Happy Harbour
Early the next morning found all five sidekicks (sans Speedy) stood in the hallowed halls of Mount Justice. They had yet to take a tour of the place, since the League had spent those three days repairing & reinforcing the Cave's security systems. Currently, two zeta beam tubes stood proudly at one end of the hall whilst a holo pad dressed up like a frozen waffle, stood beneath their feet. Twisting dark hallways that branched off from the main room promised more rooms to explore at a later date.
Rachel found it odd seeing her peers out of uniform, and even stranger still to be standing there, like that, amongst most of their uniformed mentors (Superboy wasn't the only one missing a mentor; Kent had gone off again in search of a new vessel for Doctor Fate with a sense of urgency that worried Rachel). For the young witch garbed in touristy witch tee, pocketless jeggings, studded earrings (glamoured to hide the gem in the middle of her forehead), a knitted beanie that slouched over like a hood—all coloured in monochrome, of course—she was the perfect picture of 'comfortable witch' Something which fit right in with the boys' jeans, layered jackets, t-shirts & windbreakers.
"Since you five are determined to sat together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms" Announced Batman. "Red Tornado has volunteered to live here and be your supervisor" Batman continued, dragging Rachel from her musings. "Black Canary's in charge of training and I will deploy you on missions"
"Real missions?" Robin asked skeptically.
"Yes, but covert" His mentor asserted.
"The League will still handle the obvious stuff" Flash explained joyfully, "There's a reason we have these big targets on our chests"
"But Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter" Aquaman continued. "Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly"
"The six of you will be that team" Batman ended.
"Cool!" Robin grinned excitedly, sharing in the palpable enthusiasm of his peers.
"You alright there, Rae?" The ginger grinned when he noted Rachel's gleaming eyes.
"I'm not the youngest anymore!" Rachel replied, teasing grin exploding across her face just as one of the light fixtures hanging over their heads burnt out with the slip of her magic. "Oops"
"Wait…" Robin blinked, turning back to his mentor as the latter half of his mentor's sentence seemed to click. "Six?"
"Recognised: Martian Manhunter 07" Sang the Cave's computer as the zeta tubes behind them lit up for the first of many journeys. "Miss Martian B05"
"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Ms Martian" Batman nodded as he introduced the green-skinned girl & her accompanying uncle.
"Hi" Ms Martian waved shyly as the others approached.
"Liking this gig more every minute!" Wally grinned as he sped over to greet the beautiful girl. "Welcome aboard! I'm Kid Flash, that's Robin, Aqualad, Raven, Superboy—it's cool if you forget their names"
"I'm honoured to be included"
"Hey Superboy! Come meet Ms M!" Robin called over his shoulder to the clone who still hung back, wary of the newest addition. Thankfully he was garbed in something other than his solar suit, but still baring the kryptonian 'S' upon his chest.
"Hm" Conner sighed, but joined the others anyways.
"I—I like your t-shirt" M'gann murmured as the white of her shirt faded to the same black as the kryptonian's. "What d'you think?"
"Nice!" Wally grinned, a faint blush pulling at his freckled cheeks.
I see a love triangle in your future! Rachel hovered close by, a knowing smirk pulling at her own lips.
With the pleasantries out of the way, the newly introduced Team soon found themselves splitting apart as each member went their different ways, leaving some to stay and some to go. "Superboy, most of us will be leaving shortly" Batman turned to the clone who looked rather sour about the whole return-to-the-underground-bunker thing, particularly after his recent liberation from Cadmus. At least this time, he could come & go as he pleased (for the most part). "You are not to go anywhere. Just sit tight until Red Tornado returns"
"What's the stitch, Batman?" Robin pestered his retreating mentor.
"We're headed back to Gotham"
That doesn't bode well. Rachel mused as the martians explained that they would be returning soon with M'gann's belongings after she familiarised herself with the place.
"Hey, while we're gone, you should pick out a room!" Wally suggested to the clone. "It's gonna beat sleeping upright in a closet the way you do. Y'know, all Dracula like"
There's a story there.
"Recognised: Flash 04" Chirped the Cave's computer as the zeta tubes lit up. "Kid Flash B03"
"No worries, Supey! we'll be back before you know it!" Wally farewelled before he & his mentor were swallowed up by the light. The last thing Rachel saw as she retreated for the tubes (and in turn, those piles of homework she had yet to do), was Ms Martian racing off towards the back of the Cave with Superboy hot on her heels.
"Have fun, dude!" Robin shot over his shoulder before he turned back with a smirk on his lips. "He gets to live with her in the Cave full time? I don't think Kid Flash picked up that little tidbit. He's gonna be so jealous! Haha!"
"Recognised: Raven B08, Aquaman 06, Aqualad B02, Batman 02, Robin B01"
