Meanwhile...
"I know, I know, I'm running just a little late right now, but I am on the way. The meeting went a little longer than expected", Derrick stated as he darted out the office building, almost bumping into someone who was walking by.
"Taxi!"
Yelling, while waving his hand for a cab, he hops in and tells the driver, "Laguardia Airport please".
He lifts the phone back to his ear, smiling, "I'm in a cab and headed to the airport now. I'll be there sooner than later." His daughter, Jackie, sitting in the Applebee's of the airport, "ok dad, I'll see you when you get here." Hanging up their phones simultaneously, Jackie continues drinking her coke, while scrolling down her Instagram. She knew her dad wasn't going to be on time. This is why she set the time to be there early enough before the flight.
Being raised by just her father, she learned how much of a workaholic her dad has become. In the beginning, as far back as she can remember, her dad was always around. Cooking breakfast, bringing lunch to her school, and always having dinner ready by the time she came home. When she began high school was when he started coming around less. There was basic breakfast, and ordering take out most nights. When he got the promotion, there was no breakfast. Just money for lunch and dinner. Growing up, when she asked about her mother, Derrick would tell her hundreds of stories about the dates he took her on, and visiting her family in Egypt. Only having one blurry picture of her mom, Jackie always wished she could meet her.
Although they moved sort of constantly due to the type of work he was in, she definitely saw the effort he put in to take care of everything. When she was younger, Derrick enrolled Jackie in boxing and swimming. "With these skills, you will always be able to protect yourself and be quick on your feet with a very miniscule amount of time." He then explained what miniscule meant to Jackie. Since then, she has moved up weight classes and became a coach for swimming during her last year of high school. "Thanks dad", thinking to herself.
The waiter then walks up to her table with the food. "Alright, we have the BBQ bacon burger with no onions, and a side of spicy bbq boneless wings with Bleu cheese. Was there anything else I can get you?" He looks at the young woman, with a huge grin on his face, "No that would be all. My dad should be here soon. He'll want to order then." The waiter walks away and Jackie starts eating her wings.
"Mom, are you down here?" Mae yelled out as she walked down the stairs trying to put on her left slipper for her competition.
"Yes, I'm in the kitchen", Sui Yung says loud enough for Mae to hear her.
She then continues, "are you ready for the competition?"
Mae walks into the kitchen with her full uniform on. Her uniform is all black, with a gold, glittery lining. On her left side of her chest, the name Watters Security M.A. in bright yellow letters.
Mae was sponsored by her parents' Security business and also teaches martial arts to local kids and adults in their neighborhood at their office dojo.
When Mae Watters was three, her mother brought her to an ancient entity. Mae doesn't remember much about the encounter. Thoth, often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, stood watching the toddler. Sui Yung talking in mandarin, explaining. As Mae sat on the carpet, Thoth whispered three words,
As a young girl at age nine, she was playing kickball with her schoolmates during p.e. It was Mae's turn, and they had one on second base, and one on third. When Jamoni rolled the ball, with all the concentration in her body, everything around her froze. Her aura, almost like a magnifying glass, and infused with the natural rays of magic within the sunlight, the smell of a cool breeze like falling leaves covering the smell of sweaty children.
She noticed that she can watch, pause, and change what she sees within a short period of time of these glimpses or "small clips". She gestured with her two hands. Trying to emphasize the beginning and end while explaining it to her parents.
"They are very weird. It's like I have a choice in the decisions I make or something." Looking at her hands, "I think it's pretty cool. I'm like superwoman or call me Mrs. Freez!" yelling aloud while explaining the meaning of the name and its non relation to Mr. Freeze."
Sui Yung knew exactly what Mae was speaking of, but would only let her know when they were alone.
"You my darling", cupping Mae's hands in hers, "have what your grandmother and great, great grandmother would call foresight." Smiling at her daughter, a tear falls down the right side of her cheek, "you are able to see into the future, and with practice, the strands of time."
Looking directly into her young daughter's eyes, and face becoming hardened, and unemotional, "you must control this, as you have done with every other ability you have." With as much seriousness, "do not think that you can change EVERything!" almost yelling in the home. Holding her hand up in a fist that lit like an old lamp through a cave, the sound muffled itself all at once. Mae watched in amazement. Inhaling deeply, the smell of copper or thousands of pennies in a jar. She then looked at the door, eyes becoming illuminated.
The room, smelling of copper, warm, coiny
"You must be extremely special to have been chosen by Durendal to receive this", as she walked out of Mae's room, turning off her light, and right before she closed Mae's door, at little more than a whisper, Sui Yung speaks the old tongue of
the samurai. The language known to this world as traditional chinese. Her aura lighting the dimly lit hallway with a bronze like hue, "sleep my child, may you prosper, with a guiding light, you shall be at peace".
With her mind and insight abilities, fuelled by the raw power of her clear aura and connection to durendal, she didn't even feel it happen. She awakened and other than the use of her aura and then the exhaustion that followed, she still felt normal. Mae was able to control her powers at such an early age and hide them extremely well, she became a little careless sometimes forgetting the power she holds.
Sui Yung was aware that her family was connected to the sword of air, but never would have thought that it would be her daughter that would manifest powers so fast. Having taught Mae how to control and limit the amount of power she used, Sui Yung trusted Mae.
Since discovering the manifestation, Sui Yung has not reached out to her family back in China.
Looking at Mae practice and stretching before the first match, she knew that if she ever told her family, neither of them would ever see daylight.
