A/N: Sorry this is late. School sucks. So much work, so much stress. But luckily it's vacation time so I have more free time (hopefully). Anyways, I was planning on making a sort of one-shot (or maybe two-shot) for this story. A sort of side-story if you will. What do you think? Tell me in your reviews! Also, just so you are aware, I have not gotten back with the co-author, so I don't really know if I should continue the story without him or not. I'll still keep checking. But no promises _"
So, on with the story! Enjoy~!
"AAHHH!" Aura screams as she falls into the dumpster. She sits up, spitting out the leftover chicken bone from her mouth. "Eww..." She continues to spit, trying to get rid of the horrible taste in her mouth. She grabs onto the edge of the dumpster, planning to jump out when suddenly a heavy mass falls on top of her from the still-open portal above her. "Ow..." Aura groans in pain.
"Oh my- are you okay?" It was a girl's voice. Hawk.
"I don't know, are my ribs supposed to hurt this much?" Aura grumbles as Hawk hurriedly gets off of her.
"My bad. Here," she extends a hand toward her, "let me help you up." Aura makes a move to grab her hand when another body decides to crash on top of her. Aura lets out another groan of pain, the breath in her lungs is rushed out of her.
"Can't I get out of the dumpster first before another body tramples me again?" Aura gasps out. The body on top of her immediately gets off of her, but before she can attempt to get up, she is lifted up and out of the dumpster.
She can feel her cheeks heat up as Portal gently sets her down on the ground before jumping out himself. "T-thanks," she stutters out as Portal just nods in acknowledgement. Hawk moves to the edge only to be crushed by Brawler, who chose to fall out of the portal at the exact moment.
"Ow!" She shouts from inside the dumpster. "Get off of me, you giant ape!"
"Nah, I was just planning to stay on top of you forever because falling on top of girls is a hobby of mine!" Brawler retorts back, instantly off of her. He jumps out of the dumpster, without so much as a glance back. Hawk blows away the stray piece of her blue/black hair before jumping out of the dumpster as well.
Aura stares at the dumpster, the words escaping her lips unconsciously. "Again with the dumpsters? Really, Portal. I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose."
"I was thinking of an alleyway. I couldn't think of an alleyway without a dumpster..." Aura blinks as a wave of deja vu flows through her.
"Did we already have this conversation?" Aura asks softly, tilting her head in curiosity. Portal whips his head over at her, his eyes burning with hope.
"Yes, we did... Ring any bells?" He asks, the hope oozing through his words. Aura feels slight pity at having to shoot down Portal's hopes.
"Sorry, I only felt a small sense of deja vu..." His shoulders slumped in disappointment before he returns to his usual stoic self. He turns away from her.
"No, no. Don't worry about it." He tells her without looking at her. He reaches into his bag and grabbing the glasses and hat that Hawk manage to get him in order to look more casual. In Aura's perspective, she thinks it makes him look younger, like how a normal teenager should look like rather than the brooding, superhero-in-training he actually is. Aura notices Hawk and Brawler follow his lead and begin to put on a more civilian disguise.
This confuses her. They never told her she had to look normal! She didn't prepare anything! All she had was the cloak around her neck, which made her look more like some Harry Potter cosplayer. "U-um, Portal? Was I supposed to have something to change into too?"
Portal turns to her as if suddenly remembering she was there. "Crud, I forgot you don't have your powers any more."
"No worries, all she has to do is take off her cloak." Hawk says, pulling at the strings of Aura's cloak and removes it. She gives the cloak to Portal, who stuffs it inside his bag.
Aura shivers, suddenly feeling colder without her cloak. She wraps her arms around herself to keep warm. Portal stares at the girl with an emotion Aura can't pinpoint in words. His eyes grow dark, and before she knows it, he places his coat around her. Before she can thank him, he already is making his way down the mouth of the alleyway.
The coat was two-sizes too big on her that her hands barely went through the sleeves. It warmed her up instantly and had a faint smell of coconut. Probably from his shower at Hawk's place...
She immediately felt embarrassed at her thoughts. What a pervert she was becoming. Being self-conscious just because of a coat. Pathetic. Something must definitely be wrong with her.
"Aura, are you okay? Are you hurt from the fall?" Hawk gives her a worried look. Aura just shakes her head.
"No, I'm fine." Aura gives her a reassuring smile before following them out of the alley.
The streets of Jump City were filled with passing cars, the sidewalks crowded with people, which made blending in much easier for the four. They instantly jumped into the flow of people.
"So what's the game plan?" Brawler asks, as they all walked in-step with each other.
"We have to find Noche Glen." Portal states, walking with his hands in his pockets. "That'll lead us to that O'Malley person, and we'll take it from there."
"You've never striked me as a 'just wing it' person. You looked more like an 'always have a plan' sort of guy." Hawk teases Portal, who remains unaffected.
"Well, we have to start somewhere." Portal mumbles. The three continue to plan, excluding Aura who was clueless of the subject at hand. She sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat useless. She wanted to help them, but she couldn't come up with anything to say. They stop, waiting for the stop light to turn green for them to cross the street. As they waited, Aura was glancing around, amazed at being in a big city like this. It felt like her first time, which in this case it kind of was even though Portal would disagree.
As she stared around, she noticed something falling in the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw a toy dropping out of a kid's open backpack.
The cross-light turned green, and the people, including Portal, Hawk, and Brawler who were still conversing with each other, walked across the street. Unbeknownst to the three, Aura had picked up the dropped toy and chased after the child and his parents who were walking in the opposite direction.
"U-um! Excuse me!" Aura shouted after the child, dodging civilians in her way. "Wait!" She finally caught up to the trio, pulling on the mother's jacket. "I-I'm *gasp* s-sorry. Y-you *gasp* dropped *gasp* this." She said in between gasps for breath.
"Oh my! Thank you!" The mother expressed her gratitude, taking the toy from her hands. She turned to her son and immediately noticed his open backpack. "Kevin, you left your bag open again! If this young lady hadn't seen your toy drop out, you would have lost your favorite action figure!"
"Son, what do you say?" The father asks with a stern look. Kevin looked up at Aura shyly.
"Thank you so much..." He said softly. Aura smiled brightly at him, giving him a pat on his head.
"No worries, kiddo. Now, remember to zip up your bag. Something special must always be treasured with care or else you'll be sad when it's gone." She tells him. Kevin stares at her with twinkling eyes of admiration.
"I will!" He told her, which made her smile grow.
"Thanks again," the father states with a smile. Aura nods in appreciation before the three bid her goodbye and go their separate ways.
Aura turns and goes to walk back to the group when she realizes how unfamiliar her surroundings are. The street name was different, the stores weren't the same as she saw from the crosswalk, and most certainly obvious was the fact that her friends were nowhere in sight.
Just how far did she run to catch up with them?
"Oh crud."
"Maybe we should ask for directions." Brawler suggests as they step out of the crowd.
"I'm pretty sure someone would know where the nearest library is." Portal answers, glancing inside the window of the cafe they stood in front of. "I'll go ask the shop owner." He states, walking inside.
Hawk takes a seat in one of the tables outside the cafe. "Man, my feet are beginning to hurt." Hawk stretches one of her legs. "Hey, Aura, you've been awfully quiet. Does your feet hurt as much as-" Hawk turns her head only to see an empty air beside her. Her eyes widen, and she urgently pulls on Brawler's arm. "Where's Aura?"
"What do you mean? She's right-" He gestures to the empty spot and stops short in his tracks. "Oh shi-"
"What's wrong?" Portal asks as he exits the cafe. Hawk and Brawler snap their attentions to Portal with looks of panic.
"Aura is gone!"
Left? No, maybe they turned right? Were they by a petshop? Or was it a supermarket? Wait, there was a restaurant by the traffic light, wasn't there?
Aura sighed in frustration. That's it. She's calling it quits. She was definitely lost.
She's been walking in circles for the past twenty minutes now, and everything around her just continued to be more and more unfamiliar to her. It was time she give up and realize that she was very, very lost. She continued to walk, her head down as she thought up of ways she could find her way back to the group.
Maybe she could ask around? No, that won't work. Obviously, no one would pay attention to how those three look. Or she could just try and retrace her steps. No, even she lost track of where she started. Or maybe-
BANG! The force of the door hitting her face sent her flying off her feet and onto the ground. She could see stars cloud her vision.
A girl dashes to her side. "Oh my god! Are you okay?" She sits up dizzily, rubbing her head, which was becoming slightly warmer. Aura opened her eyes drowsily, blinking away the remaining stars still blinding her vision.
"Can you stand? Do you need to go to the hospital?" the girl asked, but Aura just shook her head, her dark brown hair swishing back and forth.
"I'm fine... I just need to..." She tried to stand, only for the world to spin around her, causing her to tilt backwards. The girl was able to catch her in time before she hit the ground.
"Hey, hang in there-!" The girl stops in mid-sentence and stares at her.
The other girl shakes her out of her reverie, grabbing onto her shoulder. "Talia, maybe we should take her to the hospital-"
"No!" The girl holding her, Talia, immediately declines, which, from the look on her face, surprises her and the other girl. "I think I'll take her home, it's quicker."
"But she could be an axe murderer for all we know!" The other girl whispers, reluctantly, glancing down at Aura.
"Look how tiny her body is! I'm pretty sure the axe is bigger than her! Besides, we can take her if we tag team." Talia states, helping the girl up to her feet again.
Aura shakes her head and tries to stand on her own again. "No, I can't intrude on you like that. I have to-"
Talia raises a hand to stop her. "You, missy, might have a concussion. And seeing as I'm the perpetrator and a witness, I insist you come home with me."
Aura pauses. Should she trust them? For all she knows, these people could be kidnappers who steal dizzy girls and lock them up in the basement for torture. Then again, she's trying to get back to people who could possibly be actual kidnappers... "You could be evil..."
The other girl grins maliciously. "Yes, we're kidnappers who steal dizzy girls and lock them up in the basement for torture. Definitely evil." Oh god, her disillusioned thought was right! Against her will, Aura's eyes well up with tears, making the girl's grin falter and panic. "It was a joke! A joke! We're just good samaritans!"
Aura tries to rub the tears away, but they won't stop falling. "I-I'm s-sorry. I- I just realized how l-lost I am..." She lies, slightly terrified. Where are you, Portal? I'm scared...
"Don't worry, you can use the phone at my house to call your parents or something." Talia reassures her, which fills Aura with slight hope only for her shoulders to slump in realization. Aura shakes her head.
"I don't know their numbers..." She says, looking down at the ground bashfully. Talia gives her a comforting smile.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. We'll figure something out." Talia helps the girl up, while picking up the other grocery bags. She puts her arm around her shoulders and lets her lean her weight on her a little. "I'm Talia, and that's Lexi." Lexi waves politely as they walk across the parking lot. Lexi puts the groceries in the trunk of her car, while Talia helps the girl into the back seat.
"My name is..." She pauses, unsure of whether or not she should tell them her name. Unable to think of a fake name, she just gives in and utters her name for the second time that day. "...Aura."
Talia offers her a kind smile. "Well, okay, Aura. Just sit down and relax. We'll get some ice for that red splotch forming on your forehead in no time!" Talia teases, shutting the door and heading to the passenger's seat. Lexi starts the car, and they drive out of the parking lot. Aura stares out the window of the stranger's car and out at the passing scenery in utter hopelessness and desperation.
Portal, please come and find me...
"Welcome to my humble abode!" Talia states to Aura, who was currently helping her bring in the groceries. Aura looks around, eyes wide with wonder. "You can put that over here." She gestures over to the kitchen.
"It's as big as a mansion..." Aura says softly, putting the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter
"Well, when you have three brothers and six sisters, you'll need a house as big as this one. Well, counting me and the never-at-home dad, that's eleven in total." Talia states, unpacking all the groceries bags and putting everything away in their respective cabinets. Aura glances at Talia in the corner of her eye, taking note of the sad look on Talia's face.
She decided to move on to a different subject. "Wow, you have a large family." Her gaze shifts downwards, a fond smile on her face. "Must be nice... Having siblings..."
"Annoying sometimes too. But, hey, you can't choose your siblings." Talia says with a tender look on her face. Aura smiles gently before helping Talia unpack the groceries. Talia immediately takes notice of this. "Oh! You don't need to do that!" She takes her wrist and gently pulls her to one of the chairs. "Here, sit. I'll get you an ice pack for your head."
"Really, I'm fine. I've always been a klutz, so an incident like that is normal for me." Aura explains, looking a bit bashful.
"I don't want to risk it. Plus it might bruise up! A cute girl such as yourself shouldn't be walking around with a black and blue bruise in the middle of her forehead!" Talia states, walking over to the fridge and opens the freezer. She grabs the blue ice pack and hands it to Aura. "Here you go."
Aura cautiously takes the ice pack and puts it on the growing bump, wincing a bit when it comes in contact with her forehead. "Thank you." She says politely. Talia just smiles before continuing to put away the groceries. Every few seconds, Talia glances at the girl in the corner of her eye. Though she looked like a porcelain doll, Aura's appearance were rather shabby. Her coat was at least two-sizes too big for her, her hair was stick up at odd angles, and her baggy cargo pants were a bit drenched from falling on the damp ground which was wet from the rain the day before. She kind of looked like a hobo...
"You know you can hang your coat on the coat rack by the door if you want." Talia says, gesturing at the said coat rack. Aura removes the jacket but makes no move to put it away.
"It's okay... I feel sort of comforted having it with me..." Aura states, tightening the grip on the coat. She had a soft look on her face as she stared down at the coat. Talia noted the rip in the bicep part of her silver long-sleeve shirt.
"Hey, what happened there?" Talia asked, pointing at the rip. She could see the wrapped bandages peaking through the hole. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. My god, did she make the right decision in letting this stranger come into her house? Yet, her gut is still telling her that she's doing the right thing...
Aura glances at her arm, confusion written on her face. It was as if she herself did not know what happened. She lets out a nervous chuckle. "Oh... That... Like I said I'm a klutz. I kind of tripped and walked into a fence..." She shrugged her shoulders as if to say "what can you do?". For some reason, Talia knew she was lying but decided not to question her any further since Aura doesn't even look like she knows the correct answer either. "But, anyways, I'm really sorry for making you take me to your house..." Aura softly apologizes with her head bowed.
Talia takes a minute to process her moving lips (which was hard since Aura was mumbling). She shakes her head vigorously after a moment. "Please don't mumble, it makes it hard for me to read your lips.'' Aura tilted her head questioningly.
"I-I'm sorry?"
Talia, realizing how mean that must have sounded, explained herself. "No, no. It's my fault. I forgot to tell you, I'm deaf. Then again, I don't like to shout to the entire world about my disability, so I would rather you treat me as you would to anyone else."
"Of course, I know how it feels like to be treated like you are some freak who needs special attention..." Aura trails off before trying to fix her mistake. "I mean, not that you're a freak. I just mean-"
Talia giggled at Aura's flustered face. "Seriously, it's fine. I understand what you were trying to say." But what does she mean by she feels the same way?
Aura looks up at her with her pale blue eyes staring up at her in wonder. "You're a very kind person..." Aura continues, a little embarrassed of herself.
"You shouldn't be trusting of everyone!" Portal's voice rang through her head. Aura blinks as sudden tears threaten to spill. What was that? Did Portal say that to her? But he's been treating her so nicely. It must have been a mistake... She wasn't Apparition. She was Aura... Right?
So why is it that Portal's words made her heart ache?
Talia notices the tears in her eyes. "Is something wrong? Does your head actually hurt more than you originally thought?"
"Yeah..." But not from the bump on her head.
Talia opens her mouth to question her more when two thirteen-year old girls burst into the kitchen wielding slingshots and water-balloons.
"Hi, sis! Welcome home!" The two girls exclaim in unison as they chased each other around the kitchen. Aura blinks before dodging out of the twins' way as they dash right past her. Talia calmly grabs their slingshots out of their hands as they run past her. The twins skid to stop and turn to their older sister. "Hey, we were using those!" They shout in unison.
"Miriam! Esther! What did I say about water-balloon wars? Not inside the house!" Talia scolds them. The two girls pout, crossing their arms over their chest in perfect sync.
"B-but-!" They make a move to retort when they noticed the extra person in the room. "Who's the hobo?"
"H-hobo?" Aura squeaks out, suddenly feeling self-conscious of her appearance. Talia whacks the back of their heads.
"That's very rude, apologize!" Talia gives them a scary look, making them flinch slightly.
"Sorry..." They mumble awkwardly. Aura's cheeks flush in embarrassment. She opens her mouth to tell them it's fine when they an ear-splitting scream is heard from upstairs. Heavy footsteps make their way down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Talia! Esther and Miriam put a flour-bomb in my room again!" A little girl, maybe around seven, stumbles in covered from head to toe in flour. The twins giggle but quickly choke on it when they notice their sister's death glare.
"Esther, Miriam, how many times do I have to tell you to stop pranking Hannah?" Talia exclaims, grabbing the paper towels and begins to wipe away the flour on the little girl's, Hannah's, face.
"Maybe about ten times?" Esther mutters, making Miriam giggle but are soon silenced when Talia glares at them again.
"Where's Joshua?" Miriam and Esther share a devious look. They open their mouths to tell her when another girl carrying a large textbook enters the kitchen.
"Why is it so noisy down here? I'm trying to study." Another girl states with an irritated look. She looked to be about eleven years old.
"Sorry, Naomi. I was just scolding these two for one of their childish pranks again." Talia explained with a pointed glare at the twins, who whistled innocently.
Naomi paused and stared at the new face. "And this is-?"
The front door opens, and Lexi enters the kitchen with the remaining grocery bags and a nine year old girl and boy.
"Here's the rest of the groceries, Talia." Lexi says as she puts the bags on the counter and begins to put them away.
The girl was jumping with excitement, the notion of good news was evident on her face.
"Guess who got the main lead for the school play?" The girl exclaims proudly, a grin beaming on her face.
"I'll give you a hint. It's the same girl who was bragging about it the whole walk here." The boy states with an annoyed look.
Talia squeals excitedly, giving the girl a big hug. "I knew you could do it, Ruth!" Talia says, pulling away from the girl. "And Luke, be happy for your sister."
"I'll be happy the day shuts her mouth for more than one minute." Luke grumbles in annoyance, walking over to one of the chairs and spots Aura. He cocks an eyebrow at her. "Who's the hobo?"
'Do I really look like a hobo?' Aura thought to herself, looking down at her clothes.
Talia turns to Luke and realizes he was talking about Aura. "She's not a hobo. This is-"
"TAAAL-YYYYYYYUUUHHHHH!" Screams a six year old boy as he dashes into the room. He runs into Talia's arms and holds her tightly. "I saw a spider in my room! Kill it! Kill it!"
"Oh no, you better be careful. It could have laid eggs in your ear!" Luke teases with a snicker. The little boy's eyes well up in fear as tears threaten to fall from his eyes.
"Luke, stop scaring Micah." Talia scolds, rubbing Micah's back to calm him down. "Don't worry, I'll kill it for you. And where on earth is Joshua?"
"Snuck out to watch the cheerleader practice down the street." Naomi answers bluntly, flipping through the pages of her textbook. Talia sighs in frustration.
"I thought I told him to stay here and watch you guys while I went grocery shopping." Talia wipes her hand over her face. "When did he leave?"
"About five minutes after you left." Naomi answers again, not taking her eyes off her textbook.
"And he's still not back? That means you guys were left alone?!" Talia shouts in exasperation. The kids nod without another word, in fear of hitting Talia's breaking point.
"Wait until he gets home. He's going to get a handful of my fist up his-"
The front door opens again, and a happy looking Joshua walks in. His smile, however, falters by the sight of his older sister, and he breaks into a cold sweat.
"Oh! Hey, sis. How long have you been home? I was just-"
"Watching some girls flip in mini skirts and do cartwheels?" Talia crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a stern frown. "What happened to staying home and watching the kids? And what about Arielle?!"
"Chill, sis. Arielle is upstairs taking a nap. Plus I left Naomi in charge." Joshua answers casually as if proud of himself for doing that.
"You left an eleven year old girl to take car of these two pranksters, a six year old, and a napping baby?!" Talia yells, while Joshua scratches the back of his neck.
"Well, when you put it that way..." His eyes drift over to Aura, who had put down the ice pack and was now inspecting her clothing and was wondering why she was being called a hobo repeatedly. Joshua dashed past everyone and took the seat beside Aura. Aura blinked in surprise. "Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Joshua."
Aura shrinks away discretely. "U-um..."
"Joshua, you're scaring her." Lexi says with a giggle. Joshua shoots her a indiscreet glare.
Talia stands beside Aura, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Guys, this is Aura. She's our guest for tonight." She stresses the word 'guest', eying the twins and Joshua. "Which means you must treat her with care and respect, got it?"
"H-hello..." Aura stutters out, looking down shyly. She didn't like all the attention on her.
A bombardment of questions were thrown at her all at once.
"Do you know how to sling shot a water-balloon?"
"Do you know how to sling shot a paint-ballooon?"
"How well is your knowledge in Quantum Physics?"
"Do you want to be the prince for my acting practice?"
"Do you usually dress up like a hobo?"
"How old are you?"
"Can you kill a spider?"
"Wanna go out sometime?"
Talia waved her hands to stop them. "Woah, guys, calm down. She can't seriously answer you all-"
"Um... Yes. Yes. Limited. I'm not that good at acting but I'll be glad to help. No, and I wouldn't say I dress up like a hobo purposely. Nine- I mean, fifteen. Yes. And um, it's getting a bit dark outside to 'go out', don't you think?" Aura answers in order, tilting her head to the side innocently. She gives them all a polite smile.
'She's a bit on the dense side, huh.' Talia notes to herself, watching as Joshua's face falls flat.
"Oh, yeah, you're right. Ha ha..." He chuckles in an effort to hide his embarrassment. Aura gives him another gentle smile, which causes him to blush slightly.
"Now that that's over. Let's-" Unbeknownst to Talia, Miriam had snuck behind her back to attain one of the slingshots. She put a paint-filled balloon in its slot before aiming at Esther.
Aim. Shoot! The paint balloon went flying and was near hitting its target's face when suddenly Esther spotted a quarter left on the floor. "Hey, a quarter!" The balloon sailed over her head, only to hit Aura in the face. Aura shrieked in surprise. Blue paint splattered all over her face, hair, and clothes.
"Miriam!" Talia shouted as Miriam chuckled nervously.
"Oops..." Miriam says innocently, rubbing the back of her neck. Talia dashed over to Aura's side, who removed the paint covering her eyes.
"I-it's o-okay. I-it was an a-accident..." Aura stutters out, using the back of her hand to wipe the paint off her mouth.
"Don't worry, it's washable paint!" Esther assures her.
"I'll take you to the bathroom and get you a change of clothes." Talia says, leading her out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
The ten remaining people in the kitchen watch the pair leave. Lexi lets out a distinct sigh before putting away all the groceries.
"Are you okay with that?" Joshua asks, nodding over at the direction the two left in.
"Of course, I'm okay? Why wouldn't I be okay? I mean, it's not like I'm jealous that Talia has been a little too close for comfort to that girl. Not to mention that she's a stranger and is hiding something. There's something off about her..."
"I don't know. It sounds like jealousy to me." Joshua smirks, giving her a knowing look.
"I'm not jealous!" She shouts a little too defensive. She composes herself, continuing to put away the cereal. "I'm not jealous..."
"How on earth could we possibly lose a fifteen year old girl?!" Portal shouts as he paces in front of the cafe.
"She was right next to me, I swear." Hawk says, running a hand through her hair. "She must have gotten lost in the crowd while we discussing what to do next."
"Who knows what could be happening to her! She could be kidnapped. Raped, even! All alone, by herself, and an amnesiac at that! I should have never taken my eyes off her. I should paid closer attention to her. She's probably scared to death-"
"Portal, calm down-"
"I will not calm down!" Portal shouted. "I've been calm enough for the past few days now. I deserve to worry now!" He grips his hair in frustration. He should have just waited until she remembered. If she had remembered, she would have known how to find them immediately. He wouldn't have to worry about never seeing her again.
"Sit down, lover boy, before you cause a scene." Hawk says between gritted teeth. She pulls him by the arm and sits him down on the bench beside her. "We are going to find her. Let's just calm down and retrace our steps. She's bound to be wandering around somewhere."
Portal took a deep breath, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. "You're right. Okay, let's go back to where we started and work from there."
Brawler looked up at the sky. "Better start now before it gets dark."
"Here's some extra clothes for you. The guest room is the last room down the hall. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs." Talia says handing her the folded clothes and a towel. Talia glances over at the girl, who had managed to remove most of the paint from her face and hair. She eyes Aura's bandaged arm in thought. "Should I bring you some bandages for that arm of yours?"
Aura looks over her arm as well. "Yes, just in case this wound is still fresh- I mean, in case I accidentally re-open it in the shower?" Aura was so unsure of herself that the statement ended up coming out as a question instead. Talia narrows her eyes, trying to make sense of what her lips were forming.
It's not easy being deaf, especially when trying to decipher if strangers were lying. But the trembling falter of Aura's lips signified her unconvincing lie. And yet, Talia couldn't call her out on it. Usually, she was the most cautious one out of all her family with strangers. But for some reason, Aura doesn't strike her as someone dangerous. She somehow gives off this feeling of warmth and security.
There it is again. The same tingly feeling she felt when she met Aura. The instant feeling of trust. Talia grips her butterfly pendant unconsciously, the pendant itself warming her hands.
"Well, okay. I'll bring the first aid kit to your room." Talia responds as Aura nods her head. Talia makes her way out of the bathroom when she spots the coat Aura was wearing on top of the toilet. "Do you want me to bring this to your room too? So it doesn't accidentally get wet?"
Aura looks over at the direction of the coat and nods. "I think that would be best." Talia nods in agreement, picking up the jacket and heading out of the bathroom.
'Where on earth could that first aid kit be?' Talia thought to herself, searching for said first aid kit. She's been looking for it for the past twenty minutes and has yet to see a clue of it. She walks into the kitchen and searches the cabinet. "Joshua, where's the first aid kit?"
"Why? Did Luke fall out of a tree again?" Joshua asks, biting into an apple. He sat alone by the counter, watching football on the TV in the kitchen. Lexi was chopping up onions for the spaghetti she was preparing for dinner. All the other kids must have gone to their respective rooms. From the muffled voices, some of them might be in the living room watching TV.
"No, he didn't. Aura needs new bandages for the cut on her arm." Talia explains as she puts Aura's coat on the counter Joshua was sitting on. She takes a seat in front of him, thinking of all the places the first aid kit could be.
"Is this Aura's coat?" Joshua asks, immediately getting his hands on it. He tilts his head to the side in confusion. "Why is she wearing a man's coat?"
"I'm not sure. But don't judge. Maybe it was her friend's or something."
"Boyfriend, maybe?" Lexi asks with curious eyes and another emotion Talia couldn't decipher. But she decided not to pay heed to it too much.
"I mean, I wouldn't be surprised. She is pretty hot." Joshua adds with a smirk.
"Ugh, Josh. Leave the poor girl alone." Talia says with a playful shove. She watches as Joshua picks through the pockets of the coat. "What are you doing? Don't go through other people's pockets!"
"What if Aura's not who she says she is? Aren't you the least bit curious? Maybe she has some sort of ID or something..." Joshua goes through one pocket, and his fingers make contact with an object. He pulls it out from the pocket. In his hands was a black walkie-talkie. "Wow, I haven't seen something like this since I was four years old. Why would Aura have this and not a cellphone?"
"Maybe she has those kind of parents. You know, the strict ones who are very careful about their expenses and doesn't let her have a cellphone. So in order to keep in contact with her friends, she uses walkie-talkies." Lexi observes, pouring in the onions in the frying pan.
"That's her business not ours." Talia answers, repressing the curiosity in her.
"That leads to the question of why did she say she had no way to contact her friends?" Lexi points out, tossing the onions around the pan.
"Maybe she forgot." Talia defends.
"Or she could be some top secret spy who is bent on robbing us blind in the middle of the night." Joshua adds as Lexi nods in agreement.
"No, I doubt that..."
"Why do you keep defending her?" Lexi asks, her patience thinning.
There's a pulsating beat on her chest. Talia fiddles with her butterfly pendant. "I don't know. It's just... A feeling."
"You know little to nothing about her!" Lexi snaps angrily. Talia looks at Lexi in bewilderment. From the angry look on her face, Talia could tel Lexi was yelling at her. Lexi has never raised her voice at her no matter how angry she gets. What was she so angry about anyways?
"Lex, is something wrong? You seem a little tense..." Talia makes a move to get up.
"Wrong? No, nothing's wrong. I'm fine. Completely fine..." Lexi mutters, vigorously splattering the tomato sauce in the pan. "I mean, this isn't like you. You take in some stranger home and just spoil her with blessings. You and I both know how overly cautious you usually are. You wouldn't just take some weird girl home without the thought of her being a danger to your family crossing your mind. But you just easily took her in. She could be a psychopathic murderer for all we know!" Lexi passes Talia a look. "And what if she finds out about your... Abilities?"
"Lex, please. You know I don't just casually use my powers. Magic comes with a price, and the price for me to pay is, at least, a whole twenty-four hours of unconsciousness." Talia explains, passing a hand through her hair. "Besides, I only use my powers unless it's extremely necessary. I can't risk exposure. Didn't you hear the news? A few days ago the old Titans Tower was just broken into by two metas. The police are still searching for them. And then yesterday's news about those metas nearly destroying a whole neighborhood. Metas are being tracked down and arrested as we speak. I'm not willing to go to jail, Lexi. I have to take care of my family."
Lexi opens her mouth to retort when she suddenly turns her head to Joshua. Confused, Talia turns to look at him as well. They see Joshua fiddling with Aura's walkie-talkie. "Joshua, what on earth are you doing?!" Talia shouts, standing up from her seat.
"I was going to try and contact whoever Aura's keeping in touch with." Joshua states, pushing a few buttons.
"What did I tell you? That's Aura's business not ours! Let's wait until Aura gets out of the show-" Joshua puts up a finger to shush her. He seemed to be listening to the walkie-talkie. Was someone answering on the other line? Dammit, this was not a good time to be deaf...
"-ello? Aura? Are you there?" A male voice blared through the walkie-talkie's speakers. He sounded frantic and relieved. "Please tell me you're okay. Thank god, I left that walkie-talkie in that jacket. Where are you?"
"Boyfriend?" Joshua questions. "He's asking for Aura." Talia glares at him and swipes the walkie-talkie out of his hands.
"Who's asking for me?" The three turn their heads in the direction of the doorway. Aura dries her wet hair with a towel, her head tilted in curiosity.
Before they could answer her, the voice in the walkie-talkie speaks again. "Hello? Aura, where are you? Are you safe? Why aren't you answering?" Aura's eyes widens and in three steps, she was right in front of them, the walkie-talkie now in her hands.
"Portal?"
"Okay, let's just break off separately. It'll make searching for her quicker since we could cover more ground rather than being one big group." Portal orders as the other two nod in agreement. They each stand up and turn around to run off in their designated route until a crackling noise sounded from Portal's backpack. Portal stops in mid-walk, reaching into his backpack to search for the source of the noise.
"What is it?" Hawk asks curiously. Portal pulls out a walkie-talkie. To be more specific, Apparition's walkie-talkie. Which means...
His eyes widen in realization. "I left my walkie-talkie in the jacket I gave Aura!" He pushes down on the talk button. "Hello? Aura? Are you there? Please tell me you're okay. Thank god, I left that walkie-talkie in that jacket. Where are you?"
There was a long pause. The silence made Portal anxious. What's wrong? Was she okay? Is she hurt? Are they torturing her? "Hello? Aura, where are you? Are you safe? Why aren't you answering?"
At last, her sweet, soft voice reverberated through the speaker. "Portal?"
He let out a sigh of relief. "I must have left my walkie-talkie in my jacket before I gave it to you." His shoulders relaxed. He couldn't have been anymore relieved than he was at this moment to have such a lucky coincidence. "Where are you? Are you safe? Were you kidnapped? I swear to god if anyone had even touched you-"
She interrupts him in mid-rant. "No, no. I'm perfectly safe. Some nice girl took me home with her after hitting me with a door."
Portal pauses, processing the statement that was just said. "What? You're in some stranger's home? Willingly?"
She must have realized the error of her sentence for she immediately tried to defend herself. "No! I mean, I-I d-didn't-"
"Didn't your parents ever tell you not to follow strangers?!" He shouts in worry and anger. He regrets shouting after hearing her small, guilty voice.
"I'm sorry..." Aura whispered, sounding like a kicked puppy. He sighs, not wanting to upset her any more than he already has. He pinches the bridge of his nose to calm himself down.
"Never mind that, where are you? We'll come and get you." He asks, running a hand through his unruly hair.
There was a small silence, she was probably asking for the address, before a new voice rang through the speaker. "Hi, my name is Talia O'Malley, the person who accidentally hit Aura with a door on my way out of the supermarket and brought her home with me. The address is thirty-nine Noche Glen. If you want, I can go pick you up if it's easier for you."
"O'Malley?" Portal questions, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"This must be the O'Malley in my vision!" Hawk exclaims in excitement.
"That girl is a coincidence magnet." Brawler comments, looking slightly relieved.
'Apparition, how do you always end up in these fateful yet lucky situations?' He thought to himself, pressing the talk button. "We'll come to you. Just give me a set of directions. I'm pretty new to Jump. I'm at a cafe called 'The Coffee Corner'."
"That's four blocks away from my house." The girl, Talia, explains. "Just take a left at the next stop light, then you turn right when you see the bookstore. Go straight until you see the street sign 'Noche Glen'. Keep going straight until you find the mailbox that has the name 'O'Malley' imprinted on the side."
"Thank you very much. We are on our way." Without another word, Portal pockets the walkie-talkie and jets off to the next stop light. Hawk and Brawler chase after him, stumbling to catch up to his pace.
"He's coming. Portal is coming!" She whispered to herself as her anxiety subsided immensely. She could feel her lips curl up into a smile as she could feel herself become giddy.
"Is Portal some sort of nickname? Or is it actually his name?" Joshua asks, making Aura tense up in her spot.
"It's... A codename! You know, you can't have walkie-talkies and not have codenames." Aura lied, hoping they would be convinced. Joshua stared at her for a moment before nodding his head in agreement.
"Very true," he stated in acceptance. Another thought popped into his head. "So why didn't he call you by your codename?"
"Because... he was too worried for my safety that he- uh- forgot?" She cursed inwardly, praying that he didn't realize she had answered his question in such an unsure way. Just to play it safe, she added, "I mean, who has time to remember to call each other by codenames when you've been panicking on trying to find your friend who has been lost for a few hours now?"
"She has a point." Lexi states, though there was still curiosity etched on the three's faces as they stared at Aura.
"But then why-"
"Boy, am I hungry! Is that spaghetti you're cooking, Lexi?" Aura said, changing the subject and standing up from her seat and walking toward Lexi. "I haven't had homemade spaghetti in so long! What with being on the road and living on fruit snacks and canned ravioli-" She cuts herself off, her eyes darkening at the realization of her words. Not only was she about to reveal something unnecessary, but she found the truth in her words shocking. Though she doesn't remember much of her life, her body had vaguely remembered the constant traveling, always eating non-perishable, canned foods, and never having a chance to have a nice homemade dinner with friends. This realization horrified her, making her want to curl up in a ball at how lonely the thought felt, and yet strangely calming.
How has she been living this entire time? Where are the answers to all my questions? No matter how hard she tries, her brain can't conjure up the memories she's lost. And that saddens her to think she could no longer remember the kind young man known to her as Portal...
She shakes her head to clear away these thoughts. 'I meant it saddens me to think that I can't even remember this new self of mine. This Apparition.' She thinks to herself melancholy. She flashes Lexi a smile. "Smells delicious. Now if you would excuse me, I'm going to dry my hair. By the way, Talia, did you find any of the bandages? I used toilet-paper to wrap it, but it's not sturdy enough to stay on. I doubt the kids want to see my split-open arm during dinner." Aura said, lifting up her sleeve to show them the indent on her arm.
"Woah, how on earth did that happen?" Joshua asked in pure concern.
"Oh you know... Being the clumsy person I am and tripping into a gate..." Talia raises an eyebrow.
"I thought it was a fence." Aura eyes widen in alarm slightly.
"Um, did I say gate? I meant fence. That's right..." Aura chuckled nervously. "Oh man, my hair is about to dampen the shirt you gave me. I should dry this up immediately. I'll just be in the guest room..." Without another word, Aura dashed up the stairs, trying hard not to seem more suspicious than she already had.
Let's just hope they're as kind as I have pinned them as...
"Did you see that? She changed the subject twice! There's something she's hiding!" Joshua exclaims just as Aura's out of ear shot. Talia rolls her eyes and continues to look for the first aid kit.
"It's not uncommon for people to have their own secrets, Joshua. Besides, we're just strangers who helped her out. She doesn't really have any obligation to trust us and spill out all her secrets." Talia explains, opening one of the cabinets under the counter. She spots the big white box with the red plus sign on the type and the words 'FIRST AID' in bold letters above it. She hummed in accomplishment. "Here it is. Remember? Mom used to carry this around everywhere we went before she-" She stops in mid-sentence, shaking away all the bad memories.
Joshua also seemed to be reminiscing the past before snapping out of those saddening thoughts. "Don't you think it's better to be safe than sorry? Aura could be some patient who escaped a psych ward and is planning to murder us all in our sleep!"
"Look, if worse comes to worse, I'll take care of it with magic if I have to. Don't worry. Who do you think is going to win in a fight? A petite, vulnerable girl or a sorceress?" Talia questioned, her eyes twinkling with pride.
"I'm just saying, there's something that just giving me weird vibes is all." Joshua states before picking up the remote to the TV in the kitchen. He turned it on, the TV turns on to the local news channel.
"-and there is still no information on the whereabouts of the two metas who had snuck into the old Titans Tower. Police are now searching high and low for these felons. Detectives say that these two metas had broken into the Tower and had stolen important files encrypted in the Tower's database." The newscaster lady says, a picture of the run-down Titans Tower in the corner of the screen.
"Seriously, who would be stupid enough to break into that old, rundown tower?" Lexi says, while Talia's eyes stayed glued to the TV.
"Someone desperate enough for the information." Talia says, staring at the screen with intense attention. Something was telling her she should keep watching.
"Do you think there's a game on-" Joshua lifts the remote, about to change the channel. Talia grabs the remote out of his hands before he could.
"Wait, hold on a minute." Talia says as she continues to watch the news forecast.
"-we have received word of security footage being leaked, showing the two metas breaking into the Tower. Though these security cameras have not been updated in years, the footage is blurry, and we are unable to hear any sound but we are still able to take note of these two metahumans. Watch," a video plays and sure enough it is blurry but just clear enough to make out the front of Titans Tower where two figures stood in front, inspecting its every detail. They're hands moved about, so they were conversing with each other. One of them, the shorter of the two wore a hooded cape which hid their hair and facial features, circling the Tower, probably wondering where the entrance was.
"That jacket looks familiar..." Joshua says, tilting his head in thought. He points at the other figure who looked to be surveying the area. It was obviously a guy, from the tall, lean build. He had pitch black, shaggy hair that went up to his shoulders and seemed to cover his dark eyes. Joshua feels as though he's seen the jacket the person was wearing from somewhere... But where?
The shorter one turned to the other, giving the security camera a good angle to glimpse at the person's face. Long white hair peeked out from the hood as the girl's gray eyes focused on her accomplice. Her lips were moving but no words came out. But that's not what shocked Talia the most. It was the fact that the girl looked just like-!
"Wait, isn't that-?" Before Lexi could finish asking, the doorbell rang, making two out of the three jump in their seats. Talia, since she couldn't hear the doorbell, continued to stare at the screen in shock.
"That's Aura, isn't it? Guys, that's her! Minus the white hair and gray eyes, that's definitely her! She's a- What's wrong?" Talia asked, giving the two a questioning look, taking notice of their tense stances.
"The doorbell just rang." Lexi says, glancing at the front entrance. Talia turned her head to the front door as well, debating in her mind whether she should go and open it. It was probably that Portal guy coming to pick Aura up, which clicked something in her head. If Aura was the second person on the screen, does that mean this Portal was the other person? She wasn't sure, but it wasn't unlikely either.
Talia glanced back at the tv. The news still continued on without a care in the world. "If you come into contact with these two, remember, take necessary precautions, they are highly dangerous metahumans and may attack. Please take immediate action and contact the authorities." She swallowed the lump in her throat, hearing the scurry of hurried footsteps trot across the upstairs floor. Talia got up and dashed to door before Aura made it down the stairs.
With a deep breath, she unlocked the door and readied herself for any oncoming attacks. Slowly, she twisted the door knob and pulled it open.
And there, with his hands up as if to ring the doorbell a second time, was a young man with shoulder-length, dark hair, which was tied back and under a Gotham baseball hat, and dark eyes to match. He stuffed his hands in his dark-wash jeans, inspected her up and down and glanced back to one of his friends, a girl with blue, black hair and blue eyes with specks of gold in them. The girl nodded, crossing her arms over her black bandeu top. Another guy stood beside the girl, nearly towering over her with black hair and pale skin, his eyes hiding behind a pair of sunglasses.
"Hey, you must be Talia O'Malley. We're here for Aura."
Talia paled as realization overcame her. Because the guy standing in front of her was a carbon copy of the Aura look-alike's accomplice.
"Holy shi-" Joshua mumbled as he caught sight of who was at the door. Lexi nudged him before he could finish cursing. Talia could feel herself began to panic.
Not good. Not good at all.