Hey guys! I honestly was worried I wouldn't finish this before today was over! I'm SO glad I did! Just as an FYI it might take me til later tomorrow to post the next chapter, mainly because I'm going to attempt to get another chapter of Frost vs Luck (RotG). Though I swear I WILL post a chapter tomorrow. Stay traught. -BVDG1
Chapter 4:
In the span of fifteen minutes Artemis had finished and as Rixie predicted it did fit her quite well. The archer remained sitting, figuring she'd be on her feet for most of the night. "Where's Rixie?" she asked, confused and just noticing the girl's absence.
"She said she needed another pair of shoes, which were in a room she can change in." M'gann summarized, looking around the room that larger than rooms they each had in Mount Justice. "Such a big place, with so few people, how does she not get lonely?"
"You don't." Rixie's voice spoke solemnly from the doorway. Both jumped, not entirely sure how she managed that. Looking to her feet Artemis found it even less believable. The girl had five inch heels, with three inch platforms. The younger teen chuckled. "Practice, lots and lots of practice." she answered the unspoken question. Her heels were a yellow gold color, seeming to be sequenced. Accenting the deep gold sparkles in her dress that Artemis hadn't even seen when she first picked it out.
"That's so sad." M'gann mumbled.
Rixie gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I don't need pity, besides, who needs their own house to be home when you have awesome friends." the two girls were glad the girl had friends that were true to her. "To be honest, their houses are my home."
"So, they're less like friends and more like family." Artemis spoke knowingly, this was exactly how she felt the team.
Rixie's cheeks dusted pink. "Most of them…" she admitted, fiddling with her pointer fingernail.
"Ooo, is he cute?" M'gann asked, though the look on Rixie's face told them everything they needed to know.
"I'll take that as a yes." Artemis spoke more to the Martian than the embarrassed thirteen year old.
"Oh, shut up." she grumbled, walking around her bed and dresser and into the bathroom, grabbing something in a bag and setting on top of her dresser and in front of her large mirror. Which even in her tall heels she didn't have to duck to see the top of her head.
"What's that?" M'gann questioned, expressing both her's and Artemis' curiosity.
She undid the snap and let unroll itself. "Hair extensions." she responded evenly. "Bruce would kill me if I didn't wear them."
"Need any help?" Artemis asked.
"No, I've been doing this for months." Rixie admitted. "I got it cut like this shortly after the end of the last Gymnastics Season, then wore these so it looked like my hair hadn't changed." she spoke as she started attaching the strands near her face, they framed it in the way Artemis recognized.
Her and M'gann exchanged a look, knowing it could be considered rude to ask, but they were also curious. "Are you…" M'gann began, but trailed. Even though the girl had only looked to her in the mirror, not even pausing as she began putting in the extensions in the back of her head, starting low and working her way back towards her face.
"What we mean is it… true…" Artemis tried, but couldn't finish as she found those blue eyes seeming to see straight through her. Even as she began to place another row on top of the one she just placed.
"You mean what the media said?" she asked, starting her third and probably final row of extensions. "About me being trans?"
The two girls nodded nervously, but also in sync.
The ravenette sighed. "Yeah." she admitted. "It's true." she said now facing the two of them fully. "I've known for a while, a year, I'd venture to guess."
"Then why is Bruce making you dress like this, I thought he'd be supportive." M'gann spoke up first.
Rixie chuckled hollowly. "He didn't know, and he's mad that I never talked to him about it."
"Why wouldn't you?" Artemis couldn't help but ask.
"I was scared." Rixie admitted, some of the snap they had heard when Bruce called her was returning. "I just… don't want to be alone."
Both girl's hearts went out to the younger girl- err, boy.
However before they could say anything she smiled, this one not reaching her eyes. "Jewelry?" she questioned.
Both girls recognized her tactic for changing the subject, it was about a subtle as Wally's flirting but they let it slide. Nodding.
"C'mon, it's in one of the other rooms." she said, opening the door and walking to her right and down the hall.
Fifty minutes later the two girls and boy emerged, Artemis wearing a silver necklace with alternating emeralds and sapphires. With the lower neckline and the necklace sitting close to her clavicle, it not only accented the gems, but her green eyes as well, especially with her matching earrings. M'gann wearing a simple black gold chain with a single dark ruby. It rested lower and closer to her neckline than the one Artemis wore, but it was right for the dress and her eyes. Rixie had on a gold necklace that was loose like M'gann's but had no gem and came beyond her high neckline. She also wore a headpiece made of the same shade of yellow gold, that had a bright red ruby resting in the center of her forehead, with small strands following the curvature of her head back to the clasp and a few falling to streak in her hair.
M'gann's hair was now in a complex braid that ran from the top of the back of her head to between her shoulder blades. While Artemis had gone for a modest braid that began at the base of her skull, coming over shoulder and resting just beyond her chest. M'gann having a thick black hairband while Artemis had a small silver one with a faux diamond on it and facing front.
"Miss Rachel." Alfred spoke up, startling the poor girl to the point where if Artemis hadn't caught her she would've tripped.
She cleared her throat embarrassed. "Yes?" she asked.
"Master Bruce and the young gentlemen are waiting for you in the sitting room." he told her. She didn't comment, just nodding and leading the other two in the direction the butler had obviously came from. When they got to the large ornate staircase, the two heroes stood closer to the railings, while she walked down the center of the staircase, more than three feet from either railing. All three were well composed, but it was impressive considering the size of her heels.
"Wow." was mumbled by all the boys, but with all three of them saying it was audible.
Though Rixie noticed that Conner was looking to M'gann and Kaldur was innocently looking to the three of them. Part of her absolutely did not want to look to Wally, but he was just to the right of Bruce, so she really didn't have a choice. When she looked to the Fastest Teen Alive she nearly tripped over her own two feet, but she wasn't part of the circus for so long and not have good balance. Wally wasn't looking to Artemis like she had expected, he was looking right to her, his eyes zoomed directly in on her as she walked down the center of her ornate staircase. She was used to the attention, sure Bruce had had her walk down this stair in front of guests all the time, but none of them were Wally. Who's malachite green eyes watched her the way she swore he watched M'gann and Artemis when they were at the cave... So that's all she was then, another girl for him to flirt with, if he knew she was Robin, his bestfriend and entirely planning on changing her gender when she reached legal age... he wouldn't look at her that way, she just knew it.
"Rachel, I'm glad you changed your mind." Bruce approached the heiress as she got to the bottom of the stairs.
She barely glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "As if you gave me a choice." however she was so well composed that she didn't even frown, if they hadn't heard her they would've never suspected that she was having a small fight with her adoptive father. She decidedly put those thoughts behind her, and steeled herself for what was to come.
Bruce at least had the decency to look ashamed, something both heroines looked a little too smug about as they came to the end of the staircase.
"These are the other three members of your protection." Bruce spoke up. "Wally, Conner and Kaldur."
"Wally?" she questioned with a chuckle. "What, did you run into walls when you were little?" it was tease that was meant to see if he would rise to the bait, and all of them wondered if he would.
"No." Wally spoke up calmly. "Though I'm still not sure how you got Rixie from Rachel."
Everyone, even Bruce, shared a confused look but Bruce's darkened in the matter of a second as he watched the two teens interact.
She chuckled, once again the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Neither do I." she admitted. "Dad, stop glaring." she stated, not even turning around.
"I-" he tried.
"I can feel your overprotective-dad-glare." she stated. Bruce seemed to admit defeat but clearly didn't like the fact that Rixie seemed to know one of her protectors. Or rather that he knew her. "I told you, we did a project for school with someone from Central City and the two us stayed in contact."
"That was nearly two years ago." Bruce pointed out, sounding slightly shocked.
"Honestly Mr. Wayne I had no clue Rixie was Rachel Grayson." Wally spoke up, instantly defending the girl and shockingly not himself. "She would never tell me her last name, I had to guess for months-"
"A year." Rixie interrupted, a sly smirk falling over her features.
Wally gave her a glare that basically screamed Dude! but continued. "a year." he admitted, "and when I finally got it right did she tell me that I was right."
"When you said you were working for the police, I didn't realize you meant private protection." Rixie told Wally. "I thought you meant with your Uncle."
The speedster shrugged. "Sometimes." The other four were shocked how honest Wally was being, he wasn't outright saying it but he was taking a big risk. "Red and gold?" he chuckled, just now seeming to realize her color scheme.
"I was going for more yellow than red, but I don't look good in yellow." Rixie admitted with a shrug.
Their eyes widen, had she really figured it out?
"That's right, you're a Kid Flash fan." Wally remembered. "I think you did fine." he offered, there was no flirting in his words, like at all.
That particular fact seemed strange to the other two girls and hit the other with an overwhelming sense of dread.
"Would you mind being my escort for the night?" Rixie asked, holding her hand out, palm side down and bent slightly at her wrist.
Wally looked to the hand in shock, unable to actually come up with anything to say, but then he didn't have to. "No, you're going to be alternating." Bruce spoke up, nearly commanding his thirteen year old.
"Master Bruce, many of your guests have arrived." Alfred said, entering from a side door.
"That's my cue." he offered with a chuckle. "I'll text you, Rixie, when everyone's here." he told her, there was compassion in his voice, but it was very much an undertone instead of the main tone of his words.
"Do I have to make a grand entrance?" she questioned with a groan.
"Yes, and you'll do it with these five so they're aware that you have protection." Bruce said giving the girl no room to argue. Then began to walk away, but stopped just short of Alfred. "Oh, and Rixie?"
"Yes?" she questioned back.
Bruce mere said four simple words to his daughter "Take off the shorts." then he left. Leaving the girl staring at the door in shock.