Disbelief. Complete and utter disbelief is all I felt while listening to Xpatos explain my current situation.
"You see, I love my family very much but I do have favorites." Xpatos laughed.
Dick asked, "Your sisters?"
"Yes, dear boy. My sisters Xynia and Xylia, were the first birth of the royal family, but Xynia came out of the womb first so she was to be Queen when our parents die. I'm the baby of the family but Xynia always got want she wanted and I wasn't going to go against the grain, she was my idol."
14 Years Ago
Xpatos, crown Prince of the planet Nyarri, was born into a family of royal blended blood. All the royal children either inherited telepathy and telekinesis, who were known as called children of wisdom or inherited fire powers and called pyre bringers. Xpatos was born with telepathic and telekinetic gifts and used his powers for good…mostly. He did become a criminal by the Commonwealth of Galaxies, but in all honesty he was a scientist; a scientist who loved his family and would do anything for them.
He loved his sisters Xynia and Xylia more than the rest of his siblings and followed them around as much as he could as a child. His determination and love for his older sister is what got him into deep trouble. Princess Xynia had been married three times and had ten children by the time Xpatos had earned his seventh doctorate. Upon his arrival to the grand place to share the great news with his family, Xylia, the second born and twin to Xynia, had told him that the Princess was having fertility issues. Xpatos was shocked to hear this, seeing as his sister had many children.
Bad news turned worse when the royal doctor decreed that Xynia could no longer get pregnant. The Princess was distraught and soon became livid, which most people around the palace were used to due to the Princess' volatile behavior. Xpatos took his sister's sadness to heart and genuinely wanted to help her. So, the proud and determined doctor set out to find the cure to his sister's infertility.
Xpatos traveled to several different planets and left a trail of dissected and dead bodies behind him. He eventually figured out that pyre bringers create a special chemical in their bodies in small increments called Paresium. After a decade of failed experiments and death, Xpatos had a solid chance to help his sister, but not without consequences.
Authorities from the Commonwealth of Galaxies had begun to investigate the disappearances and mutilation of alien bodies that appeared in the galaxies of the Commonwealth. The "foot soldiers" couldn't figure out who was dissecting aliens. Xpatos had moved onto Earth, using his telepathic abilities to manipulate human chemical factory workers to dilute Paresium into Liquid Paresium. While there, Xpatos had fallen in with the planet's protectors, The Justice League. He assisted Superman in Metropolis mostly, and stayed at the Watch Tower.
Afterwards, another milestone was reached in his master plan to help his sister. Next, Xpatos had the human scientists combine alien DNA with the chemical and, after days of observation, the chemical was stable.
Unfortunately, Xpatos became irate that he would never get the cure because the chemical factory was shut down, but that wasn't his only problem. Authorities from the Commonwealth of Galaxies had found out about his experiments and were going to arrest him. Xpatos dropped his telepathic links on Earth and staged an explosion outside the Earth's atmosphere to create his "death". Xpatos then teleported back to his home planet with hope that he could get out of being arrested.
There he learned that his sister, Xynia, was also in trouble. She exploded emotionally over her barren womb and took it out on everyone else around her. She eviscerated her handmaidens, lovers and third husband using their blood to decorate the palace walls. Xylia had defended her twin as much as she could, but found the subjects of their planet wanted Xynia executed and because she was her twin they wanted her dead too. Xpatos grabbed both of his sisters and teleported them to the planet Acurajoi Nu; the planet had diplomatic immunity for fugitives.
The trio settled in the capitol city, New Avalonia, where the scientist was free to do as many experiments as he pleased without the threat of being apprehended. Xpatos had explained to his sisters why he was on the run from the Commonwealth and Xynia felt guilty that she may have caused all of their problems to begin with.
Batcave – 4:00 AM – Xpatos, Nicky, Bruce, Dick and Alfred
"Holy shit!" I yelled, while inching away from Xpatos.
Xpatos smirked.
"You're a monster! I would have never agreed to let you into the League if I knew what you had done!" Bruce growled.
Xpatos laughed. "Like I care what you think Batman. The point is, I'm here now, and I'm the only one who can make sure that she doesn't die."
"Um, you still haven't explained how we're related…and I hope you were joking when you said that," I said.
He smirked. "The alien DNA that I had mixed in with the Liquid Paresium belonged to my sister Xynia. The DNA formed with yours, making her your third parent. Technically, second mother that is…she'll be thrilled to hear she has another daughter and a pyre bringer at that. She'll be ecstatic!"
"Well I'm glad that someone can be happy about this," I yelled. "Because I'm not!"
"Hush, dear niece, you have an amazing mother you haven't met yet. Ask Robin, he simply adored being around her. Speaking of which, I'll just pop out for a few hours to grab her and your meds. Bye now." Xpatos said.
A bright light engulfed the Batcave and once it disappeared Xpatos was gone and the bats hanging over head were flying around in disarray. Clearly they weren't the only ones upset about the departure.
"Are you really going to let him talk you like that? You're Batman, put your foot down and grow a pair!"
"Miss Nicole, please don't give your uncle such a hard time," Alfred sighed.
"If you haven't realized by now, I've been accused of murder." I huffed. "I'd like to clear my friends' names too." I said.
"We know you didn't kill anyone, remember? I told you that when you got out of the slammer!" Dick said, his face formed into a frown.
"Thank you for believing me, Dick. I still want to clear my name though, any suggestions dynamic duo?"
"Bruce has been investigating but with everything that's happened to the League recently we haven't had time." Dick smiled.
I sighed. "Right."
"How did you find out about the cave?" Bruce asked.
"I searched all over the manor when Alfred left me alone for a Bridge tournament. The three of you were acting weird; it caused me to be suspicious, okay?"
"Sorry, Master Bruce. If it helps, I won that tournament." Alfred said.
"And then I had a chat with Black Canary in Star City."
"What were you doing in Star City?" Bruce asked.
Dick snickered.
I shook my head, "That's none of your business."
Bruce glared.
"Ugh, fine. I stayed with a friend, the Riddler attacked downtown, I got caught in it and she found me. She told me to confront you about lying to me, so I did."
"That's great! I can tell you all about the Team and maybe you could join the Team too; they helped find Radiation Master when you got sick. They'd love to meet you," Dick said.
"Wait a minute! I'm not joining a Team, okay? I just want to clear my name," I said.
I must be losing it, how can I think that it's a good idea to jump around the rooftops of Gotham wearing a cape. I should be scolded by Bruce for even breaking into the Batcave. He should have scolded Dick on his eager goals of molding me into a superhero. Me, a superhero? Yeah, right. But then again…there must be a lot of perks.
"I don't know Dick, the internship has me really busy and I don't think I have the time. Besides, I want to find out who's framing me for murder. You owe me that much, Bruce."
"I can show you everything we have on the computer." Bruce said.
"Dick's right, I want in. And I want a cool Codename too, don't try to skip over that either!"
Wayne Manor – Dining Room – 12:00 PM
All of us decided that we needed to sleep and to collect our thoughts about this morning's events. I fell asleep just as I collapsed onto my bed and woke up around eleven o'clock in the morning. It was weird not getting up at an earlier time; Alfred would throw me out of bed by seven most mornings. After taking a shower and getting ready, I went downstairs and sat at the table. Alfred had already gotten Bruce and Dick downstairs. Xpatos was seated next to Bruce and two women sat across from Dick.
They must be Xpatos's sisters; both were beautiful. I couldn't help but wonder which could be my "mother." The alien woman seated closest to Xpatos had long blonde hair and a pleasant aura about her. Her blue skin seemed to shimmer in the sunlight that streamed from the windows and the green scales that freckled her body only added to her beauty. She wore a gray off the shoulder top and black pants and heels. She immediately smiled at me when I walked into the room.
Her sister was less cheerful. She was sizing me up while I sat down. She wore tiny shorts and a white wife beater and boots. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and she wore a look of displeasure. She may look exactly like her sister but she needed an attitude adjustment.
"Ah, Nicole, you're finally up. These are my sisters, Xylia and Xynia," Xpatos said.
Okay, so the happy one is Xylia and the grumpy one is Xynia. It just so happens that grumpy is my other mother…great.
"I was just telling Xynia that some of her traits have passed on to you, Nicole. You certainly have some of Xynia's demeanor in you." He smiled.
"No, I don't think I see it." I scoffed.
Xynia frowned. "She doesn't look like a pyre bringer to me. Most of my children try to catch me off guard. What makes you think you're worthy enough to be called my daughter?"
I laughed. She must be out of her mind!
"Well, first, I almost burned down my hotel room in Metropolis, then I learned how to control my new 'ability' in secret. And I wasn't talking to you 'Mom' so you can stop trying to act like you're important. You're the fugitive here sweetie, no cares what you think, okay? You're not the one with your life on the line here. Your brother needs to fix what is wrong with me. You don't have to be here," I yelled.
I looked to my left to see Dick paled while watching the exchange between me and my "mother".
"And furthermore, don't fuck with me. I am not in the mood to deal with some spoilt brat from a distant galaxy! I'm head bitch around here, got it?"
Xylia and Xpatos were trying to hold in their laughter but failed. Dick looked like he wanted to hide and Alfred grew red in his face. Bruce had his eyebrow raised and waited for what Xynia's reaction would be.
"Well? Are you going to say something or has the cat got your tongue?" I asked.
By the time I finished asking my question I didn't notice that she had lit her hand on fire. I turned and was met with a face full of flames, by the time the flames dissipated Xynia smirked and appeared in front of me.
"You'll do, a bit rough around the edges but nothing I can't fix with time and effort," She said.
I narrowed my eyes. "Now wait just a minute-"
"Xpatos, I'll need our family history books and access to your library. Oh, and I'll need to be able to teleport here. I want to spend as much time as I can with my new, precious pyre bringer" Xynia said.
She engulfed me in a bone crushing hug. My new mother was incredibly strong and my ribs felt her strength. I wanted to run away from her and everything else in my life. I really wanted a do-over of the last twenty-four hours. She was scarily unpredictable and I don't need my new "mother" to teach me anything as a "pyre bringer". I've barely adjusted to the fact that I can control fire. Let's add another crazy murderer to the family. I really hate my life.