It's been a while, but the 6 week holidays have just began so expect plenty more updates, if you want them that is!
Jinx is referred to as Rosa/ Rosie, because that's what I've given her as her civilian name (I know it's shocking how little imagination I have). She is also called Posy, but only mockingly . KF is referred to as Wally, Wal and West.
Back at the Havering Institute Jinx/Rosa was being fussed over by Chrisy and Harriet much to her distaste, she honestly didn't see the problem. But apparently in the real world what had happened with Psiom was deeply concerning.
Not that most people at the institute knew about Rosa's 'extracurricular activities', but Chrisy had made it her life's ambition to find out about why sometimes randomly upped and left and succeeded worryingly quickly. At first Rosa had been practically apoplectic, convinced that Chrisy would let it slip or worse sell the secret for the huge price, as she knew very well, that was offered for details of a superhero's real identity. But Rosa had gradually come to except that Chrisy was her friend and wasn't going to blab however desperate she was for a new pair of shoes.
Chrisy was a leggy blond with supermodel good looks, but she was by no means a bimbo. She was a A* star student who listed her passions as equestrianism, fashion, boys, gymnastics and astrophysics. Like Rosa she didn't normally gel with other girls but with their shared passion for gymnastics had brought them together and they'd hit it off. Rosa liked that Chrisy didn't let what she was define her, she didn't want to be a superhero, all she wanted was to go to one of the best universities and pass with honors, which nobody doubted was going to happen. However deep down Rosa still couldn't bring herself to completely trust her.
Harriet on the other hand was small, curvy, thirty something woman who had taken to wearing cat eye glasses and was in the process of growing out her turquoise highlights. All Harriet had wanted to do was to mother the kids at the institute and it was something she excelled in, not always meeting praise. Of course there was nobody in the institute who feel anything remotely like bad feeling towards Harriet, and Rosa certainly liked the woman, but she wasn't keen on her smothering attitude. Because of this both Rosa and Chrisy dodged her repeated attempts at friendship.
At the moment though dodging Harriet was becoming an impossibility, as she had decided that Rosa in light of her stay at the Lab was most needing of her over brimming kindness. She had taken to asking if Roe was 'OK' every time she saw her.
It was a few days after Roe had left the hospital and it was one of those occasions. Rosa and Chrisy had just finished their daily gym training and were walking across the quad, their was hair still damp from the showers and their gym bags were slung over their shoulders. They were chatting about the colour that Chrisy should die her hair, Rosa thought neon green, however Chrisy was leaning towards a more conventional chestnut brown. When they spotted the figure of Harriet making a bee line for them.
"Shit." Chrisy said irritated.
With that they quicken their pace. Chrisy and Roe were undoubtedly faster than Harriet, but she was buoyed by her zeal for student support and rushed after them. In turn they sprinted up the stairs to the corridor of dormitories, not sure where they were running to, only that it wasn't where Harriet was.
Suddenly the Rosa felt the strangest trembling inside her, like something long imprisoned was breaking loose.
And then the floor beneath them fell through.
It wasn't half as dramatic as you might think falling through the floor would be, just painful. Rosa was used to being thrown about, but Chrisy wasn't and she had certainly had never fallen 8 feet onto a table. Although to be honest the table was probably what had saved her from more serious injuries. However Chrisy was still in a pretty bad shape, she had of course in true Chrisy style shaken of the incident as a pure accident.
The headmistress was less dismissive.
Lillian Havering was a tall, brunette who was never seen out of her pinstripe suits. Ms Havering he taken over from her father Dr Donald Havering, who as he became increasingly riddled by Parkinson's and had been forced to stepped down as headmaster last year and now resided with his wife in a cosy bungalow a few km south of Keystone city. Ms Havering was nothing like her loving, humorous father who liked to be completely involved in each students welfare, instead she kept to the financial and management side of things. Despite being held nowhere near in such high esteem as her beloved father among the general student body, Rosa quietly respected and understood why Ms Havering was the way she was. Ms Havering had been forced to give up a promising career on at JP Morgan Chase to take over her father's position at the institute. A position she had probably felt that she had a duty to take, thought it clearly wasn't what she had wanted from life, she wasn't her father's daughter in that respect. But had taken to this challenge the same what Rosa assumed she had taken on self inflated hedge fund mangers, with gusto and without hesitating.
Whoever was responsible for the incident on the girl's west bedroom corridor is asked to come to Headmistresses office on the understanding that if they do not and are subsequently found the consequences will be significantly worse.
Ms Havering
"Wow she doesn't mince her words does she." Rosa commented as her and Wally read the message pinned on the common room notice board.
"Do they know who did it then?"
She shook her head. "No. I mean would you hand yourself in after reading that?"
"It does say that if you hand yourself in that that you'll get off easier."
Rosa snuck him a look. "Not much easier. Everybody knows Ms Havering's legendarily strict when it comes to stuff like this."
"But they must have some idea who did it?" Wally said thoughtfully "I mean how many students are powerful enough to bring down entire floors."
"More than you'd think. A fair few. Thing is only specific powers that can do that sort of thing. They're saying that it just crumbled." Rosa scowled thinking of her friend in the institutes' infirmary.
He shrugged, then said as if he'd read her mind. "It'll unravel don't stress." Then with a grin reached across and took her hand. "Besides now you can add falling through a floor to your list of exploits."
"What?" She laughed "Right after getting thrashed by an ninety year old?"
"I think Psiom's closer to a hundred, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."
They walked from the noticeboard through to the quad, where the sun was high in the cloud scattered sky and the air smelled of cut grass.
"Where have you been?"
He shrugged. "I just darted off to the tower."
"How are they?"
"Same as always, Robin and Star are all over each over, Raven's reading and BB and Cy on the console."
"Ahh." Roe said with a giggle. "That's why you went then to top Cy's high score."
"No. Well yes partly, but that wasn't the main reason."
"Oh? You really think I'm buying that West?"
"I wanted to pick this up." And seemingly from nowhere he produced a large, white envelope.
Rosa didn't say anything, she watched him flap the envelop about for a bit until he asked. "Well aren't you going to ask what's in it?"
Rosa smiled at his predictability. "Who says I want to know?"
He almost whined. "Come on Rosie."
"Alright then." She mock relented.
He broke into a beaming grin and whipped a empty picture frame out, it was carved with intricate birds. "Raven was having a clear out of some of her stuff. I figured you could draw something and we could frame it and decorate our Flash/Jinx base with it, she's guaranteed me it has no magical properties, so we won't be swallowed by a black hole or anything."
"That a great idea." Rosa felt a well of emotion open inside her. It was rather sweet.
Sat at a desk in her little room off the girl's corridor, Rosa stared intently down at the piece of paper she was expertly moving her pencil across, drawing something only she could quite see.
Beneath her fingers Rosa felt the paper twisted and crinkled, she sharply pulled her fingers away and she sat horrified as the paper writhed and contorted like it was being tortured. Until it finally stopped moving and all that was sat on the middle of her desk was a shriveled sheet of A4. Rosa couldn't quite take in what she had just witnessed, one minute she had sat drawing the next she was watching a piece of what should have been inanimate paper appear to die before her eyes.
But her shock quickly turned to anger, she lived in a building holding a copiousness number of people 'gifted' in such ways making a piece of A4 appear to 'die' was a simple away the feeling of stupidity for actually being frozen by the sight of her paper coming to life Rosa let the rage at whoever thought it was funny or a good way to spend a boring evening to freak out the local hard nut.
She already had a very good idea who had done the deed. Riley Samson.
Riley was only just 13 but was already in almost complete control of his molecular manipulation powers, it wasn't just this that led Rosa to assume it was him, she had previously had a number of run ins with him for his arrogant and bullying attitude.
Rosa found him easily, he was with his little 'posse' hung around the pinball machine in the recreation room, trying to act far more worldly wise than he really was, with his pierced ears and jeans slung ridiculously low, showing off his vibrant boxer shorts to the world and surrounded by equally ridiculously attired friends.
"Riley." Rosa almost snarled. But it was lost under the noise from the pinball machine.
The already simmering rage inside her boiled over and she scream. "Riley Samson, what the hell'd think you're playing at!"
His mates backed away, but he didn't even budge. "It called a pinball machine. Duh."
All Rosa wanted in that moment was to go over and wring his neck. "Don't play games Riley. This isn't funny, it's sick."
Finally as ball finally fell into a hole he looked up. "I don't know what you're talking 'bout Posy."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Rosa wasn't really keen on telling all of his friends about her drawings.
Riley looked genuinely confused. "Like I said I don't have a clue what you're on about. But." He sniggered. "Hats off to the about guy who got you so cheesed off."
She scowled, she was acutely aware that fuchsia sparks were playing between her fingers.
"Riley." She threatened.
"Yes candyfloss?"
Rosa's scowl deepened. "You even think about trying that again and I'll pull your jeans up so high it's take you weeks to find the seam."
Wagging his eyebrows Riley took a step towards her, Rosa didn't move. "Sounds pretty inviting."
"Tuh." Rosa turned away, disgusted. She strode away, leaving Riley and his mates laughing in the rec room.
Annoyed and incensed Rosa really didn't feel like going back to her room and having to look at the remains of her drawings. So instead she grabbed her coat and left the institute through it's huge, reinforced double doors out onto the dark, rainy Keystone city evening.
With her big military style boots carving through the puddles, her fists stuffed into the pockets of her thick, purple coat and topped off with one of her characteristic cold glares she sent any rare passer by scuttling.
After ten minutes of this she came out of the maze of streets to a park lit by only the odd lamppost. Once upon a time she would have been thinking of painful and humiliating ways to get Riley back for earlier, but a couple of years of do-goodery had, though she would never admit it. She wasn't even sure it was him, he had looked quite confused back in the rec room. The memory of this drove her fists deeper into her pockets.
Further into the park she came upon a tall, bronze statue of. Rosa immediately felt her spirits rise and a small smile began to grace her lips. With his hands on hips and his head held high he looked the epitome of heroism. Her fingers reached out and brushed the cold metal copies of his. It was only the briefest touch but the result was instantly obvious, from where Rosa had momentarily touched the statue it had turned green and it was already spreading up his arm and across his torso.
Rosa gasped, horrified, unsure what to do she simply stood there and watched the statue age before her eyes. Within a minute the statue was completely green and looked like it had been standing there in the park for decades instead of the few months it actually had.
What do you think? My grammer is terrible I know. Please review. Thanks for reading.