Garfield rode back on the bus with the class, and taught them a bunch of bus riding songs, such as, "The Wheels on the Bus," "THis is the Song that Doesn't End," and "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves." Old Joe found it hilarious. Rachel just watched, smiling.
Garfield really was good with kids, and not because he hadn't grown up. He seemed to understand children in a way that she couldn't quite grasp. Maybe, now that she thought about his past and life, it was because he'd had to grow up too soon. He had the mind and heart of an adult and a child simultaneously. She didn't know what to make of it, but she knew one thing about it. He'd make a good Dad, if he found the right woman.
Just as she thought this, he glanced towards her and smiled. She found herself smiling back.
Maybe he didn't have to look anymore...
All of a sudden, something slammed into the front of the bus, and it careened crazily. She didn't even think. Her magic leapt out of her body, encasing every student, Garfield, and Old Joe before the bus had even begun the spin. As the bus flipped, she found herself pulled into Garfield's arms, and felt something shift around her.
The bus stopped moving, and her magic withdrew. "Is...is everyone alright?" she called out.
Many of the students were whimpering, but Garfield spoke in her ear. "Everyone's still breathing, and I don't smell any blood." THere were several muffled curses from the front of the bus. "And Old Joe is just fine from the sound of it."
"What did they do to my bloody bus!" Old Joe shouted from the front.
Garfield popped open the emergency exit. "Okay, Rae, you first so you can catch the kids as I hand them out to you, okay?"
She knew he was worried about her, but she didn't say anything. Carefully, she stepped out the back...and felt herself roughly seized.
"Hello pretty," Eric's voice said in her ear.
"Eric, so help me if you don't let me go-" she said, turning.
"Eric? There's no Eric anymore! There never really was!"
She gasped as she saw who was holding her. The metal body suit was MASSIVE, 10 feet tall and at least as wide. There were spiked projections at each of the joints, and the suit was silver with black highlights. Emblazoned on the chest was a blood red "A".
"There is only Adonis!"
Garfield hopped out the back and stared at Adonis. "Let her go if you know what's good for you...punk."
Adonis laughed. "Or what, little man? What do you think you can do against the might of Adonis?" Adonis threw a punch forward, screaming with enough force to knock a building off it's foundations.
Raising one hand, Garfield caught it.
Rachel stared in shock. So did Adonis. "How can someone so puny stop the might of-GYUHH!"
Garfield had yanked forward on the hand and slammed his forehead into Adonis' nose, smashing it in and making him drop Rachel. He thrust his other hand foreward, and there was a sparking sound as his fingers plunged into the chest plate around the A. From that point...he LIFTED Adonis over his head and, with a primal scream, hurled him bodily away, tearing the arm off in the process.
Adonis landed, skidding along the pavement. At this point, Old Joe had gotten the students out of the bus and was keeping them well back. Rachel stood, glowering at Adonis.
Adonis stood up, and the body suit reassembled the missing arm. "Adonis is unstoppable!"
"That's what you've always said," Garfield said calmly. "I've yet to see you back it up."
"You talk nonsense, Doc boy!" Adonis flexed his robotic muscles. "We've never fought before...and never will again!" Adonis charged forward, raising his hand back to deliver a shattering punch.
Ducking under it, Garfield delivered a ripping blow that tore into the circuitry of the suit...then watched in shock as it reassembled. A back hand sent him flying back.
"Garfield!" Rachel shouted out. She stepped back as Adonis turned towards her. She started to gather her power as he came forward.
"Leave Miss Roth alone!" Mary shouted out, pointing at Adonis.
A lightning bolt lept from Mary's hand and struck Adonis full in the chest. He stared in shock.
The other kids began raising their hands. Fire, ice, energy blasts...various forms of destructive energy leapt from the kids hands to strike Adonis, knocking him steadily backwards. Tommy lifted his hands and spread them. Adonis' body suit suddenly tore itself apart.
At Rachel's shocked expression, Old Joe grinned. "Welcome to Smallville," he said with a grin, as a strangely configured gauntlet appeared on his hand. Clenching his fist, he sent a wave of power slamming into Adonis, shattering what was left of his body suit.
Adonis staggered to his feet. "You think you've beaten Adonis! Adonis hasn't begun to fight!" He injected something into his arm, and started to change. Before long, a large red animal stood before them, snarling.
Rachel smirked. "There's nothing scary about you anymore, Adonis. Right, Garfield?"
Adonis turned. Garfield stood up...and changed.
"Cool!" Mary called out. "Dr. Logan's a werewolf!"
A black furred Beast wearing a strange collar stood now before Adonis, and the fight began in earnest. They tore into each other tooth and nail, slamming bodily into each other in the ancient animal struggle for dominance.
After a time, Adonis got in a lucky headbutt that slammed into Garfield's neck. The collar sparked...and the hologram dropped.
Adonis' eyes widened in recognition as the Beast Before him turned bright green. Before he could react again, two clawed fists slammed into him on either side of the head, followed by a roundhouse kick that sent him flying, landing right in front of Rachel.
She decided she had had enough of playing the Damsel in Distress. Reaching onto her left hand, she seized the holo ring. "Hello, Adonis," she said, slipping it off. The hologram dropped, and purple and white replaced brown and pink. "Remember me?" Raven asked, raising a huge claw of dark energy.
Adonis whimpered.
About an hour later, the Chief of Police was taking statements. "So, none of you saw anything?"
"That's right," Old Joe told him. "None of us saw anything, especially not a battle between werewolves and half-demons. Ain't that right, kids?"
"Mith Woth and Dr. Logan awe the COOLETHT!" Tommy shouted out.
"Right," the Chief said. "I'll take that into account when I write my report."
"Thanks, Kent!" Old Joe said, never fond of formality. "Knew I could count on you. You do you're old man proud."
Police Chief Andrew Kent smiled. "I'm sure I do," he mumbled. He was young, new to the job, but this was his father's home town. Someone had to look after it.
After he had left, with Adonis in tow, Rachel - holo-ring back on - turned to Old Joe. "So...explanations?"
He shrugged. "Small town, big secrets," he said simply. "And now, you two are a part of it."
Garfield smiled. His holo ring had broken, so he had hid in the form of a snake while the police had been there. Back in his normal form, Rachel saw how he had grown into his looks. The green skin and pointed ears that had made him look like a goblin as a teenager now suited him. His features had become slightly more angular, giving him a more elven appearance overall. "So," he said simply, "the entire town has super powers?"
"Not the entire town," Old Joe said. "Some of us just stumbled across an artifact or two. A few trained for years to gain power, then gravitated here when no one could accept us elsewhere anymore. Take Angela for example. She was trained in magic by monks in some place called Azarath." He paused. "That's Principal Sheradan to you lot."
Rachel's blood went cold. "Angela? Are you sure you don't mean..." she gulped. "...Arella?"
Old Joe swiveled to stare at her. "And how would you know that name, me gel?"
"Because she's my daughter, Joe."
Principal Sheradan appeared in the air in front of them, then light swirled around her. WHen the light faded, the glamor was removed...and Arella stood there.
"Mom?" Rachel said in shock.
Arella smiled, somewhat sadly. "I know this is a lot to take in, Rachel, and this probably not the best way for you to find out about all of this, but-"
"I want a raise."
Arella blinked a few times. "What?"
"Every kid in my class has superpowers of some sort. They know how not to use them, but someone has to teach them how to use them properly when the time is right. And my present teacher's salary isn't enough to cover the level of training I'll need to give them."
Arella blinked for a time, then smiled. "I think we can arrange that, Rachel."
"Thanks, Mom." Rachel paused for a time. "We...never had a real relationship while I was growing up, but..." She paused, looking for a way to explain this properly. "...Principal Sheradan was a good friend...and, in how I related to her, the kind of Mother I wish I'd had." She smiled. "I guess there are worse ways to get to know your own mother, and worse surprises."
Smiling, Arella put the glamor back up. "I expect you at work tomorrow half an hour before the first bell, then...with your revised lesson plan for training," Principal Sheradan said with a grin.
Rachel groaned. "Looks like I've got a long night ahead of me."
Garfield laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'll help."
She smiled up at him. "...thanks."