I will be available for the next month due to working on my thesis. Regular updates will be back when it is done.
I have noticed that the quality of my work has decreased in the past few months due to being busy with my thesis and my part-time job. I don't think it's fair to my readers to put a half hearted attempt for them to read. I will still be available to answer every single comment and question. But I will not publish new chapters until mid to late July, when I will graduate.
The news caught like wildfire overnight. While others were protecting her from the bulk of the pressure, there were so many people who had questions. People from JL and other superheroes, reporters who wanted a piece of the picture, and more.
Jade didn't really care. She knew the news would reach Grandfather, and that was it. She had more important things to focus on. Her speech therapy would start once again soon.
They stopped for a period to see if resting would improve her condition. There wasn't much hope for it. At best, she would be able to say a few words here and there, but it could make a difference in the field.
There may be situations in which she had to use her voice to warn others of last-second danger. For that, she needed her few words to be as clear and understandable as possible.
In her last sessions, her words were too muffled and scratchy to be understood by someone who was not paying full attention to her. She wanted to work on this, and the first session was going to be tomorrow.
Today, she was greeted at Pennyworth cleaning sessions. The man was gaining in age, and they recently convinced him to take it easier. They hired a cleaning crew that would come to the manor once a week and clean the whole manor—of course, the whole manor minus their personal rooms and rooms that contained sensitive artifacts regarding their night occupation.
Pennyworth would oversee everything. There was usually a group of them working in sync in adjacent rooms that Pennyworth could oversee. The rooms they didn't want them to accidentally stumble upon would be kept locked for extra security.
Everyone took the initiative to clean those rooms. They each kept their own rooms clean, and for others, they had a chart and a rotation of who should clean which places.
Jade was glad they were all helping the man who did so much for them. Pennyworth was still taking care of the bulk of the housework, but seeing the man sitting on the couch with a cup of tea and a book was becoming more frequent.
If anything, he looked more energetic. He finally had time to pursue his hobbies and relax. They have also recently taken to making their own breakfasts, which was another weight off the man's shoulder.
Overall, life was improving for all of them, which made Jade happy. She got back to cleaning her own room.
It was early evening, and Jade was sparring with Drake. They were practicing hand-to-hand combat, and it was going well. While Drake had a height and weight advantage, her smaller size and speed allowed her to fight on equal grounds.
Her only real disadvantage was her power. She was very strong for her age, but compared to adults, it wasn't much. In hand-to-hand combat, the most she could do was cause bruises.
So she had to improvise. After all, it wasn't the same situation in the league. With a weapon, it was a different matter. She could cause damage with minimal force, and that was why she was training hand-to-hand today. She didn't want to become overly reliant on weapons.
What she did was target weak spots and tire her opponents to the point she could get those weak spots open. Of course, her stamina wasn't suited for a drawn-out fight.
So, she purposefully moved around her opponent in ways that attacking her was likely to leave open opportunities for her. To do this, she had to analyze their fighting style and technique.
She was familiar with how Drake fought, which meant Drake was also familiar with her methods. That was why they were here. Twenty minutes into a spar, they were both panting heavily.
Stubbornness was the only thing that kept them both going. They had both gotten a few good hits but have not been a definite winner. They were staring at each other from across the mat. A few steps apart. Waiting for the other to make the next move.
Just as they both moved, Drake's phone rang. He told her beforehand that he was waiting for an important call, so they stopped with a nod, and Drake walked to the table where his phone was.
Jade grabbed their water bottles and towels before approaching Drake. He took his towel and bottle and mouthed thank you to her. Jade gave him a nod and headed for the showers.
It was the next day, and Jade was playing with Bastet in her room. There was a knock on her door. It was Drake.
"Hey, I'm heading to the mall to get some clothes. Wanna come with me?" He asked. He was wearing a simple shirt and jeans. He only dressed this casually when he was sure he wouldn't bump into anyone who required him to act professionally.
These days, with all the responsibilities of running a WE and the investigations he had to do for their night activities, it rarely happened for him to have free time. It would be nice to spend some time with each other without worrying about anything else, so Jade agreed.
'5 minutes,' She signed.
"Okay, I will wait for you in the car," he said as he headed down the stairs.
Jade just went to her closet to grab a light jacket. The weather was not cold enough to wear anything heavy but yet not warm for just a shirt and jeans she was wearing.
Recently, she had hit another growth spurt, and some of her clothing was starting to get too small for her. Her shirts were usually oversized enough to last her a while, but for the bottoms, some of her pants were not as stretchy and were beginning to be unusable.
She also needed a new pair of shoes. It's been quite a few months since she last ordered a package to the manor. She hadn't had many opportunities to shop in person before, so it would be a new experience.
Their shopping trip turned out to be very fun. Jade picked up three pairs of jeans and a black shirt with a cat printed on the front. The cat reminded her of her own feline friend, and she couldn't resist it. She also had a simple pair of sneakers.
Drake also took his time to pick himself a few items. They accompanied each other around the store and helped each other make their choices. Jade was in a great mood, and they were heading for the checkout line.
Jade was moving things in their basket to separate her items.
"What are you doing?" Drake asked.
'Separating my items. We are near the checkout.' She signed.
"You don't have to do that. I will pay for them all." Drake said as he tried to stop her. he was trying to move the basket out of her reach.
'It's alright; I can pay for my own items, ' she signed. She wanted to grab at the basket, but it would cause a scene in public, and she didn't want that.
"I insist. I have Bruce's card for these cases. It's not gonna make a difference if the money is drawn from the card he gave you or this one." Drake said.
It confused her. Was Father supposed to give her a card? 'Father never gave me a card. I have my own card from my time in the league.' Jade signed. Drake looked surprised.
"Wait, what do you mean he didn't give you a card? I was the one who made that account for you when you first arrived. Alfred asked me to. Every month, some money is deposited into it automatically for your expenses. You mean to tell me you never got the card?" Drake asked and took out his phone to check something.
Sure enough, he accessed the bank account and saw that no money had ever been drawn from it. "So, how were you buying anything for yourself all these times?" He asked.
'As I said, I have some savings from when I did missions for the league. It's not much, but I've been investing in it, so it should last me for a while.' She said.
"You shouldn't have to. You are a kid. It's your parent's job to provide for you. When we get home, give me a statement about everything you have spent since you got here. I will wire it back to your account." He said. His tone had a finality that left no room for argument.
He reached and grabbed her hand in his as the line in front of them moved.