Author's Note: I own nothing. Yes I have changed the order of episodes.
16 Family Reunions
Jay slept through breakfast in Kevin's spare room. She'd stolen another of his t-shirts, mostly for kicks. It had been kinda cute to see him get flustered the first time she stayed here but today she was too tired to care. When she woke it was almost two in the afternoon. She groaned thinking about pulling the covers over her head and going back to sleep but she really needed a shower after yesterday. The whole fiasco with Michael made her feel crusty, she hated using the shadow magic Hex had taught her but it had been her only option. But it always left her feeling unclean for days after. She dragged herself out of bed to find the house empty.
She was sort of shocked Kevin and his mother trusted her to be alone in their house, though thinking about it Kevin probably hadn't told his mother about her sordid past. She shook her head following her nose to the kitchen. The delicious smell was coming from the closed microwave. She popped it open and found a closed Tupperware with a note on top.
'Jay, hope you're feeling better, help yourself to anything in the kitchen but I thought you might like some soup. I know it always makes Kevin feel better when he's under the weather.' So Kevin hadn't told his mother what had happened yesterday. It made her heart twinge and she slipped the note into her pocket, remembering notes like that in her lunch box from her own mother. She shook off the thought, reheated the soup, ate and headed into Kevin's shower. Once she was clean she took a moment to look herself over in the mirror. She had looked better. Charmcaster was going to kick her ass next time they met, all that work for nothing. Her face was starting to split again and her fingers were stained purple to the second knuckle, the color bleeding into her palm from her thumbs. Her eyes still hadn't returned to their usual green from the bright pink and there was a pink tinge coloring the whites of her eyes as well. Her toes were the same deep purple, it had spread almost halfway up her foot. She wasn't sure there was a way to stop it this time. She shook her head swirling her hand through the air, in a shimmer of deep pink she was dressed, back in the outfit she usually wore as the Sorceress. That was who she needed to be today, not the frightened girl who would never admit to wanting to go home.
She headed out after taking care of the dishes she'd used, pleased to find her car sitting out front and her keys easily accessible on the small table near the door. She swung through the drive through at Mr. Coffee and headed to her warehouse, she had a few things to pick up before she met up with Kevin and Glen.
Kevin grinned as he was handed back the drawing he'd done, now glad he hadn't decided to tear it up and try again. The notes paper clipped to the drawing said that the idea of a tattooed and pierced Titania was original and very progressive. He still wasn't sure why he'd turned Jay into Shakespeare's fairy queen, but the drawing had gotten an A so he was pretty happy. The bell rang and he left the drawing still in his hand. He'd walked to school this morning knowing the plan for the day sort of hinged on Jay coming to get them. He wasn't wrong, she was waiting in the parking lot, though this time she hadn't gotten out of her car. It was unlocked though and he tossed his backpack into the backseat, the drawing along with it and slid into the passenger seat.
"We're getting coffee before we go get Glen, and probably Blondie." Jay said pulling the car out of the lot and down the street.
"You do know his name is Cooper right?" Kevin asked with a slight grin. Jay nodded.
"Oh I know, I just don't respect him yet. Names are earned." She said pulling up to the drive through. She ordered her coffee and glanced at Kevin. "What do you want." It didn't sound like a question.
"Small hot chocolate." Jay rolled her eyes but ordered the drink anyway. They got their drinks and Jay shot him a look.
"If you spill any of that in my car I will make you clean it up with a literal toothbrush." She stated with a straight face and a slight twinkle in her eye. He nodded carefully sipping his hot chocolate as Jay pulled out of the drive through and drove off to Glen's school. They waited for him and Cooper in the parking lot and soon they were hopping into the backseat. Jay glanced at Kevin. "Ok where are we heading?"
Kevin directed her out of town, down a few dirt roads to a hidden oasis. It was a cove set into the landscape, a bit out of place but Jay recognized it. It was Grandpa Max's old fishing cove. She hadn't been here since she was little, well before she ran away. Max had loved taking his grandkids fishing. She shook her head remembering Glen crying when he figured out that fishing meant they would be eating the fish later. Grandpa Max had only done catch and release from that day on. She parked and stepped out of the car.
"Yep this should do nicely. " Jay said turning to her cousin. "Glen roll up your sleeves, this is gonna take a while. You two do whatever, but don't interrupt us, that can be catastrophic." Cooper and Kevin left Glen and Jay alone, heading for the opposite bank of the cove, so they would be well out of the way. It took a few hours before something substantial happened.
Glen gasped as his hand lit up pink. It flickered for a moment before going out. He frowned. Jay though looked pleased.
"Good job." She said smiling.
"But it went out!" Glen said and Jay rolled her eyes.
"You broke concentration. You'll get better. It's hardest to keep concentration in a fight but doable, with a lot of training…." She trailed off a frown on her face. Glen frowned too, there was a buzzing in his brain. He'd felt it before once or twice but had never been able to put a name to the sensation.
"What is that?" Glen asked rubbing his head.
"Someone nearby using magic." Jay said eyes scanning the few trees around the area. She took off into the trees, Glen hot on her heels. By the time she reached the tree where she'd spotted the figure they had vanished along with the buzzing feeling. Jay frowned down at the bright pink flowers that littered the ground. She picked one up as Glen glanced behind them, Kevin and Cooper had caught up, both in their swim trunks.
"What's going on?" Kevin asked as Jay's eyes glowed before going back to the eerie pink they had been all day.
"Someone's been littering in Grandpa's cove. And I can't track them." Jay said shaking her head as Glen pointed to the tree.
"Max plus Verdona? Who's Verdona?"
