Disclaimer: Really? Need me to say it? Okay, I don't own. Happy now?
:}
Jade was almost dancing as she waited for Mrs. V to pick up the phone. 'First Warpath, and now Robbie. Man, this is getting better and better. Assuming our rituals work, He won't look like Grandpa, so I won't have to worry about making that mistake, AND I'll have an ally in the training room. I'll have someone to rely upon, someone who understands, here at school, to help make excuses when I need him too. Best off, he can learn to use some of the cool gadgets that Blue Steel and Constable use. Hell, since the Heroes Crown is magic in nature, I may even be able to juice it up a touch, like to Grendel level. Give our boy some real power. At least enough to be a help when I need it, and Warpath isn't available.'
"Yes, Jade?" Holly answered, sounding almost disappointed to be hearing from the girl.
"Um, is this a bad time?" The goth asked.
"Most times are." The director replied. "If I'm not contacting you, then I'm probably not needing you. And I know, we did give you this number for emergencies, in which case, it's never a good time. However, you've called, so you might as well tell me why."
"I.. I just wanted to let you know Robbie agreed. He's willing to try out for the Pandion project." For the first time since misses Vega took over Project Redemption, Jade felt like a nuisance to the woman. It was a dangerously familiar feeling to the girl.
"Is this a rush, or could you have waited until after school to tell me." The older woman replied. "Now, before you answer, I do want you to know I'm happy he's willing to try out for the project, and this is good news. Just, I assume that you'll only be directly calling me under a handful of conditions, including an emergency, I ask you to call, or something equally notable. In short, don't call unless there's a good reason. Now, I get that your excited, and agree, this is something to look forward too. If you'd told me later, at the base, I'd have been very excited. As is, I'm relieved that this was just an unfortunate learning experience. I'm not your mother, and while I am pulling for you, this phone is for official business. Call it unexpectedly, I'm gonna suspect the worse. Now, we good?"
"S-sure." Jade's voice shook out, almost sad.
"Then I'll see you later." Holly said. "You can tell me as much as you want about Robbie then. Now, inform Mister Abra, cause I want him involved."
"I already, I mean, yes ma'am." Jade pushed out, hiding her hurt.
"Then I'll leave this in his hands, for now..." Misses Vega hung up, leaving the shaken goth worried about feeling so worried.
'I'm the most puissant witch in the city, maybe the state, and yet, I feel like a scolded child. Sure, it was one of the nicest scoldings I've ever gotten, but still, why am I hurting so much?' Not sure what else to do, the pale girl sought out comfort in the one place she knew she'd get it, her girlfriend.
'Funny, was a time I'd have sought out Beck, and probably not gotten the understanding I needed.' Jade contemplated as she looked for her girl. 'I mean, sure, I fucked up, but he could always have held me, let me know it's okay, that I'm still special. Problem was, boy wasn't good at that. He was just, he acted like he was the adult, and me, the brat. Sure, I can be immature sometimes, but really, I'm insecure….' Jade was standing in the hallway, not moving, as she processed her thoughts. 'I'm insecure. My god, I knew this, but I just… I need someone to believe in me, just so… Gods, I got so lucky, so many times, cause Tori, she's the kind who just believes in you, no mater what. I need to find her, let her know how special she really is. I.. I won't make it through this without her...'
Jade found her girl leaning against a locker, talking to Trina. "So, anyways, I was thinking, after school, we hit the mall, just hang a bit." The older girl was saying.
"Love to, except I have a very needy girl friend who can't go to the mall without her probation officers permission." Tori countered. "Not for a while yet."
"You should go." Jade told her, letting both girls know she was there. "Me, I'll be fine. Have lots to do. Loads of work to get through..."
"You look like your about to break down and cry, or kill someone." Trina stated. "Maybe both."
"I just, I got a reminder that some people don't need to be told about every little bit of good news." Jade said, measuring what she could share. "I called my probation officer, let them know that Robbie was interested in trying out for that job. Only, the person in charge of that project said I should have waited, talked to them later, at probation. No need to call, cause there was nothing to be done until later anyways." Blue eyes watched the floor. "Plus, when I call, they kinda assume it's bad news, and believe it or not, they're not thrilled to find out they're wrong."
"Probably cause they have a lot of people they're keeping an eye on, and..." Coffee eyes looked to her older sister, begging for more. Anything to make the pale girl feel less rejected.
"It's a mindset." Trina told them both. "Not a fortunate one, but often a necessity. I'm betting the head of that program will be happy that Rob is trying out, assuming he's any good. But knowing now doesn't make things easier, and as you said, the call, it's expected to be bad news. Now, if they never saw you, then maybe. But when you're there daily…?" She shook her head. "No, you can just go in, tell them."
Tori placed a finger under her girls chin, pulling blue eyes up to meet her brown. "If it makes you feel better, I'm excited for you."
"You kinda have to." Jade almost whined. "You're my girlfriend, and you know the kind of beast I can be when upset."
"Plus Robbie's my friend, and I care about you, and this is honestly good news." Tori tacked on. "Jade, baby, I get it. I understand..."
"That I'm insecure?" Jade asked back. "That I often overreact cause I'm so sure that, if I don't, I'm gonna lose everything?"
Both Latina's looked to one another. "I think we're gonna talk to Lane, and after school, maybe I can find out about visiting Jade here at her probation?" Tori thought out loud.
"Yes on mister Alexander." Trina said. "But visiting Jade's probation, not a good idea. Not yet, anyways. So, you and me, we hit the mall, and I'll do Jade a solid, take any cute boys who might hit on you. Wouldn't want her to feel insecure, right?"
"Yea, I think it'd be best if I keep that part of my life strictly need to know." Jade agreed. "I mean, there are things that I don't need to share with my girlfriend." The pale girl showed an unexpected moment of nervousness. "Not that I wanna keep that many secrets from you. It's just, there are things about Probation, before I swapped out my P.O., that I really don't need to remember, and so I treat it as a different world. I wanna share with you. Tor, but not until I feel I've buried the past enough. So, we okay?"
Tori rolled her eyes, but then sighed. "Okay, we're good." She admitted, not happy about letting her girlfriend depend on anyone like she was going to depend on Robbie. 'I'll just have to trust her, and make sure my spies keep an eye on her. Man, if I changed form, like Trina, I could walk in and spy on her myself.' Her smile fell. 'Only, I'm not that person. I wouldn't want to do that. No, I'll just have to learn to trust mom, cause I know she'll keep Jade on the straight and narrow.' She chuckled to herself. 'Or in this case, the gay and narrow.'
Jade, for her part, just watched her girlfriend head off to her locker. "Is it wrong that I'm staring at her ass?" She asked.
"You realize, that's my sister." Trina countered.
"Which is the only reason I trusted you enough to ask the question." The blue eyed girl replied. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be cool enough to warrant my getting your opinion."
Trina had to restrain the laugh, focusing on keeping her face straight and not giving anything away. 'Man, I should be offended, but that was so Jade, and having come to know Dahlia, I get it. Girl is so caught up in what other people think, it sometimes makes it hard for her to be herself. I'm just glad that, when it comes to writing, she doesn't give a flying crap. She'll need the escape.' Her brown eyes looked at the black haired girl. "I think Tori would be offended if you weren't checking out her ass. Just, keep the looking at others to a minimum. I get it, we're human, so we look. But that's the end of things. Touching, that's for Tori alone. Got it?"
"Got it." Jade replied, shrugging. "Thanks for understanding. I think I need a lot more of that in my life."
"Yea, we all do." The older girl said. "Now, I gotta take care of something." Trina walked away with her own goals in mind.
Tori walked in to Lane's office, looking for the guidance counselor. "Lane, got a minute?"
"Sure, whats up?" Mister Alexander asked.
"I was wondering, what should I do about Jade's probation?" The Latina asked, not sure how to phrase her real question.
Lane sighed, standing up and walking over to close his door. "Tori, you have a real problem there, in that your parents aren't willing to have you spill any secrets to her yet. I get it, wanting to be there for her. But the truth is, until you have a lot more skills, abilities, you're just not ready. You need weapon training, more hand to hand, and who knows what else, just to be ready to be used as a reservist. Plus, given Jade's raw power, you probably wouldn't be sent in to deal with any of the kinds of threats she'll face."
"I just wanna be there for her when she trains." Tori pushed. "How can I be there for my girl?'
"Why not be there for her after training?" The counselor suggested. "That way, you can put off telling her your own secrets until later, and you get to be her comfort when she has a bad day."
"Only she won't." The singer said. "Mom's in charge now, and she's not gonna abuse Jade like Mister Masters did."
"But even with the best of people running the program, and your mother agrees that Jade needs a feather light touch, but even then, Jade's gonna face days she'll not be ready for." Lane told her. "Jade's in a very dangerous line of work now, and she's going to see things, things she cannot un-see. Be there for her as she discovers just what your father already knows, just how bad it is out there, and how desperately they need a hero."
"And do I get to put a band-aid on her boo-boo's?" Tori asked, almost smirking.
Lane Alexander laughed. "Once the time is right, if you two are meant to be, she'll trust you with this part of her life. Then, if she's hurting, she'll be more then happy to let you take care of her. Until then, while I agree your powers potentially make you a formidable threat, I feel you should pursue your dreams, be a singer, and an actress. Be a star."
"And Jade?" Tori wondered. "When this whole probation is done, will she get to live her dreams?"
"If I have anything to say about it, she'll get the chance." The guidance counselor said. "She'll have to earn it, but given her driven personality, I think she'll do just fine."
"And if she slacks off, I'll set Trina on her, get her motivated again." The young woman declared.
"Trina's good at motivating people?" Lane asked.
"No, but I can get her to sing at Jade, and that'll motivate her to do something, anything, just to get away from that noise." Tori smiled. "No, I get it, small time criminals and pursuing my dreams. I can do that, be held in reserve for when the real drama happens. I'll make sure my Jade is the same, a hero looking to help people out."
Jade, unaware that her future was being planned out, was also doing something she felt was proactive. 'Misses V. said I shouldn't tell her kids about the program, or Black Dahlia, but I may not need to. Whats important is making sure Cat knows just enough, and only tells those I need to know. That means no mass texts.' She smiled. 'Funny, when I chose Robbie, I didn't think about how hard it would be for him to keep anything this cool from Cat. Gonna be hard enough keeping HIM from sending out a mass text, but I think, with a little effort, I can make it so they only tell those who need to know.'
Holly smiled at the report that now sat on her desk. "Looks like Mister Abra has found us a winner." She told her researchers. "Dante's been able to figure out a bit about the workings of that artifact, but with Abra's help, we've managed to adjust the thing. Plus, the Shapero boy has enough potential to use the thing. Looks like things are looking up." She smiled "And project Steel Copper?"
"Mister Oliver has mastered walking, and is starting to learn how to use the systems of the armor. It's going to be slow going, as the armor is a major enhancement on his existing body's abilities. All things considered, however, he's making good time. Soon, Blue Steel will start teaching him how to fly, and then we'll have his start training with Dahlia. Gonna be interesting, this little team you're building."
"Not a team, just some individuals with abilities we'll need." Holly said. "Anything else?"
"Are you willing to let Dahlia muck with the Heroes Crown?" The researcher wondered.
"Under Mister Abra's supervision, and we get Dante there as well, just to be sure." The director told her underling. "Honestly, I'd like Wildcard to be there too, but her powers are still so raw, and we're a long, long way from trusting her on the battlefield."
"Agreed." The man said, nodding. "I also agree, we should let Dahlia work with Abra to try and make a few linked items for Mister Shapiro, who needs a code name. If lucky, they'll be able to further expand what our department can do."
"Our department will be limited as long as we don't have full control over who can be empowered." Holly reminded the man. "So we make sure that Dahlia, during her mucking around, never makes the crown universally usable."
"Sorry, why?" The man asked, now confused.
"The police are not the best judges of character." She reminded her underling. "The people they think look the best may not be who we want to give any real power. Even the power of the crown, a physically perfect body, would be enough to cause all kinds of chaos. And the police would find the worst candidate to wear it, pass it from person to person, and eventually we'd have a killer with that power, those reflexes. No, far better to have the limit, and force the police to work with what they have. Individuals are capable of being held accountable, and we do know who each and every meta asset we have is. Plus, we have to take their needs into account, or someone like Masters will just turn the projects into his own private enforcement force."
"But Masters is in favor of law and order." The researcher protested.
"He's an ends justify the means kind of guy who never once achieved the ends to justify the actions he had his people take." Holly spat. "He mishandled every charge, and as a result, managed to fail at turning any of his charges into new heroes. Not even a single success, a single new hero. Worse, he just used those failures to justify his treatment of he next kids, since they were going to fail anyways, and he believes in punishment, but no redemption. I mean, do we shoot the jaywalkers now?"
"If I recall, was a time when you only saw them as subjects, genetic material to be tested and played with." The man risked. "It was, if I'm correct, the reason you and Blue Steel hooked up." he knew what he was doing was challenging the director, but he was already too deep, cast in this role of the mirror she'd be using to figure things out.
"And I've been raising those kids, falling in love with my children and my husband." Mrs. V said, her voice a soft warning. "Moreover, I know this girl. I know she'd eventually break, and either be dead, or we'd be trying to contain something that makes Bullrush seem like a calm, collected young man, but with far more power then he ever had."
"So you're saying you agree with Mister Alexander?" The man asked, his confusion making him a decent sounding board.
"I'm saying that, after the hell that Masters put her through, I wouldn't have been surprised if I had to use the Omega Protocol to stop her. Just glad I didn't have too. Too many lives would have been lost." Misses V admitted.
"That's good." The man smiled. "I kinda like her. She's smart, has a good sense of humor, and is genuinely trying to do her part of the bargain. It's just, she's so damaged. Not sure she'll ever be hero material."
"She is motivated." Holly agreed. "And as for encouraging her to be more of a hero, that's where Warpath, and Steel Copper, and whatever code name we're gonna be giving Robbie all come together. They'll be her friends, and the tools we use to contain her. I believe she'll do a lot to protect her friends. The real question becomes, how far can we push her?"
"And Wildcard?" The man asked, making meticulous notes.
"Could well be our ultimate weapon, more so then even the Omega Protocol." Holly told her underling. "Miss West is driven by her emotions, her heart. For someone she loves, she'll do the most amazing things. She'll be our hero, the backup we use to keep this city safe from all possible threats. And she'll do it willingly, wanting to help, cause she'll realize that her actions keep Wildcard safe."
"So, we done here?" The researcher asked, feeling like he'd served whatever purpose his questions were meant to serve.
"Yea, we're done." She dismissed him. 'Have to be careful about who I have these reflective conversations with, cause I know not everyone here only answers to me. I hate having a spy on staff, but if I didn't, then Masters allies would be trying to do more direct forms of interference. This way, I can give the mayor updates, cause I'm positive he has his own people in that group. Also, I feed them only what I want to give them.' Her brown eyes scanned the papers on her desk. 'Jade, I'm gambling a lot on you. Not just my future in this program, which is bad enough, but now I'm worrying about the kids who'll follow. I know, somehow, that I'll have to deal with sabotage, sooner or later….'
:}
Just a lot of busy work, Jade learning that some good news can wait, while Trina and Tori get to start to better understand the goth. Lane helped Tori, while I'm thinking Trina's task may not be something that major, but you never know. Thinking I'll do what marvel does, and just leave it a dangling plot point, never refer back to it.
Holly clarified a lot, but her underling, thinking she needs someone just for that job, so she can work stuff out, be certain of her feelings.
Thoughts?"