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((This is the RP done between myself and Ariya. This is the RP where Joy's powers manifest.))
It was after the party now, and Ace was bounding around Joy excitedly, "Say, Dad, can I show Joy my powers? Can I? Suzie? TOMMY? Please?"
"No." Susan vetoed immediately.
"Oh--yeah! I want to see you try that with Lesley. Wanna do that?"
"Who's Lesley?" Ace wrinkled his nose.
Tom laughed, then gave Ace a time for the following day to come to his house and see. Ace readily agreed, but then found himself trapped in having to go with Joy to her home and drive her over again. The only cool part about that was he was handed the keys to his father's car.
---
So now it was the following day, and Ace was bounding to Thomas' BIIIIGG huge house, and ring-ringing the bell and running in when he heard for him to come in.
"So who's Lesley and what does he DO!?!" He yelled as he bounded in. "Oh, hello."
It was some older man that was greeting him, "I'm Lesley. Good afternoon, Ace."
Oh, British accent. Ace grinned back, "What do you do?" He demanded.
"I'm a water evolved."
Lesley started to laugh at the look Ace gave him. Awhr... But water evolveds weren't COOL!!
It was a good thing Joy had a full night to recover from the party. Her feet were sore and she wasn't certain she'd have been able to keep up a happy face while Ace showed off how amazing he was in compared to her.
Of course...she had enjoyed the ride home. Feigning to have a heart attack every five minutes with Ace driving had been really funny. After saying goodbye, she had climbed the three flights of stairs to her now temporry home, and waited the remaining time left for Alice to make it home. The night had been shorter after that. A quick light dinner, some girls chitchatting while snuggled together on the couch watching the news...then off to bed. Joy would bring up her fathers news later tomorrow when mom wasn't so tired looking.
Now...today she had to 'suffer' another ordeal of being driven by her brother. Pointedly closing and covering her eyes, she smothered giggles as she asked him at every stop if they were in heaven yet. Ace seemed so utterly excited! When Joy did take her hands from her eyes she thought perhaps she knew why. The house...it was so BIG! And beautiful! Subconsciously she smoothed down the front of her lavender dress before opening the car door to follow her brother. She felt a little....well..awed. This was a grand house probably owned by a grand family. Joys hands fluttered to her hair to make certain her bows were in place and her hair wasn't too frizzy.
When Joy had been told she was meeting someone named 'Lesley' she had assumed it was a girl they were going to see. But..looking up at this older gentleman, and hearing that rich crisp accent of his... ~Siiigh~ He sounded so regal! His name sounded so much more refined. Only a real man could carry a name like Lesley! In contrast to her brothers obvious dismay, Joy seemed utterly fascinated. Tipping a toe behind her ankle so she could knee bend a short curtsey, she spoke over her brothers weird face making.
"It's a pleasre to meet you Mr. Lesley. I am Joy Edwards, and I would be honored if you would show me what you can do."
"Would you?" Lesley's voice grew sincere, smiling fondly now at Joy, "Well, you may come along, and I'll gladly show you; however, I'm afraid my abilities only work with children who care to see." His eyes rested on Ace.
Ace had already decided he did not like this man. He made a face, "I can see water evolveds and just about any sort whenever I want. You go on Joy. I'm gonna find Thomas."
Lesley frowned a bit, clearly disapproving of the attitude, but Ace had already hopped off to complain. He wanted to play with Thomas' powers, they were so much cooler!
Joy wouldn't know where the water came from, but suddenly a rather large ring descended around Lesley, "What do you like?" He asked her, forming some of it now into some flowers.
Ace was being so rude! Joy wanted to kick him in the shin right now. But due to the fact there was Lesley present, a witness to her less then ladylike manner, she settled for a mental image of his butt getting booted. She felt a good amount of frustration as Ace would decide to head on off, leaving her there alone. Wasn't he supposed to be showing her his power? She only had a vauge idea of what it was. Obviously it needed another evolved to work. There was nothing wrong with Lesley. So why all the fuss? Still...it was only a bitter sweet mixed feeling she had. At least now she didn't have to watch Ace show off. It was both a relief and a dissappointment.
"I...I'm sorry for Ace. He's a lunkhead." She attempted to apologize for her spazz of a brother. His actions actually made her feel a little embaressed. It wasn't nice to blow someone off because you didn't think their power was 'cool'. You didn't pick on a person for being bald, or wearing glasses, or having big feet. It was just a part of who they were.
The appearance of the water ring from seemingly nowhere quickly washed away any shameful feelings Joy had been feeling. Actually...she had never met and evolved before and this was her first time seeing something so amazing in person. Newsreports just did not count. It was like going to the movies, until you actually saw it done in person it just seemed like a neat special effect.
"Oh wow! That is wonderful Mr. Lesley!" The flowers were so realistic looking! If someone were to freeze them right then she would have sworn they'd have been a perfect example of high quality ice art. Joy simply could not resist but to reach out and attempt to touch one of the petals. "What do I like? Oh...I don't know. Pretty things I suppose. Anything that is elegant and like...oh! Can you do animals?"
The flowers were, of course, water, and Joy's fingers went right through the petals she tried to touch. "Ace doesn't trouble me. Thomas is his real hero, after all. Water abilities just are not much in comparison to his." It was a simple acknowledgment. He wouldn't get into a struggle for the boy's attentions.
"Oh, like this animal?" Lesley asked, his eyes taking on a knowing sort of light. The flowers reformed to form the shark that was Sir Aquifer's signature form: the one he'd though was so cool when he first began his hero work, but later became an effective psychological weapon because criminals knew when they saw it, they were in huge trouble. "Of course, if Ace had stayed, he wouldn't have been skeptical for long, I don't think." His eyes crinkled, joining the smile that he'd had the whole time.
"Who is Thomas Mr. Lesley? He must have something destructive for Ace to like him so much." Of this fact Joy was positive. Only destruction powers or... "Or it must be something gross like bugs or ooze..." It would be just like her brother to want to take her to see and evolved that could do snot manipulation or something.
Pulling her fingers out of the petals, Joy discreetly tried to dry them on her dress while watching, with utter fascination, the transformation of flower to shark. "That is incredible...how do you keep it in the air like that?" She felt full of questions! "How does it feel? I mean, you must feel something different when you..you ah.."
Joy paused and lifted a hand to her temple. She suddenly felt quite dizzy. It just...happened. Like she had looked over the edge of a cliff, without realizing it was even there, and vertigo had struck. Rubbing at her forehead, Joy was unaware that her body was tilting. She was loseing sense of up and down. All there was, was this sickening effect of 'not right'
Lesley was even more amused that Joy didn't recognize the shark's form. He frowned as she stammered in her words, and he did indeed feel something differently. Lesley possessively wrapped his abilities tighter around the water in his hands, and the water he could feel around him; a feat that wasn't hard for the powerful evolved, but took...well, it took him actually having to notice what he was doing. That wasn't at all common for him. His eyes, that had been a normal sort of blue, now ever-so-slowly swirled like pools of water.
He reached out his hands, one on either side of Joy's shoulder, first to steady her, secondly to make sure she stayed steadied, and third to catch her should she fall, "Are you ill?" He asked, concerned, then looked up to cast a quick glance all around the room. No one there, and he knew that Thomas, and so likely Ace, was clear across the house. He looked again to Joy, eyes still concerned, but also considering.
Sir Aquifer knew when his abilities were being messed with.
If Joy had been given a few more moments, recognition would have dawned at the sight of the shark. She wasn't expecting to meet someone as famouse as Sir Aquifer after all. Plus, her mind was still a little distracted by the dissappointment of her brothers skill.
When the dizzy spell hit her though, all went fuzzy. She felt, vaugely, the pressure of something on her shoulders, and it made her feel that sense of vertigo lurch. She was unaware of what Mr. Lesley was doing...she was hardly aware of what she was doing! "I..I can't...I need to sit down. I feel really dizzy...."
Lesley let go of his abilities, and led Joy to the couch in the front room, not letting her go until she had sat down, "I could get you something to drink," He offered.
Joy followed the guidance of Lesley's hands. Stumbling her way to the couch, she gratefully collapsed back upon it. Her legs felt as if all the strength had gone out of them. She felt...felt shakey. Weak. Yet all the same she was starting to feel better now. Her eyes, before unfocused, sharpened, and the strange feeling in her head began to fade.
"I..yes please...I think it's passing now though. Maybe it was the yogurt I had for breakfast...maybe it was bad...I am so so sorry..."
Lesley went and got her some water, then sat down on the couch beside her, "You look much better." He observed, "You are Ace's sister?"
At her nod, he smiled, "You know, quite often the evolved gene can be fickle and only target one person in a family otherwise without it. Other times, it seems to really enjoy a family for some reason. No one quite understands how that works. Not always, but quite often," Lesley now brought back a ball of water and bounced it in front of Joy, curious now to see how it would affect her, "abilities are similar within a family. Ace's abilities are dependent upon being around another evolved. If you had abilities, perhaps yours would be as well. What sort would be similar to Ace's, you think?"
If she started to look sick again at the water in front of him, Lesley would again relinquish his hold, but he was curious to see if he was correct in his thoughts.
Joy gratefully accepted the glass of water. Tilting it to her lips, she took long slow swallows. It was so embaressing! She couldn't believe she had gotten so dizzy! Maybe it was fatigue. All these changes and surprises. Or maybe the party yesterday had drained her more then she had thought. Or maybe...maybe...there were so many things she could think of and none that seemed like it was the right answer!
Lowering the glass to her lap, Joy flicked her tongue over her lips quickly while nodding her head. "Thank you. Yes, Ace is my older brother. Though he hardly ever acts like it." Joy listened with unconcealed curiosity to Lesley's words. She had seen on the news a few reports about scientists trying to figure out why exactly certain people became evolved. As Lesley would form a small bouncing ball of water, the same delight Joy had exhibited earlier brightened her face. "Does that mean if Ace had children they might be evolved too? I...don't know much about Ace's powers. He bragged he could make others more....he could make them stronger..."
The dizzy feeling was returning. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been when she had first felt it. It still came upon her more quickly then she expected, and it was that same lightheaded sensation. As if her mind was far too light for her body. Joy curled her fingers tighter about the glass she was holding, attempting to remain focused until it was Lesley would cease using his ability. Just as before, the lightheadedness would fade rapidly, and Joy would be left with a frustrated blush on her cheeks. "I'm sorry Mr. Lesley. I think something is wrong with me. I keep getting lightheaded. I don't feel sick or anything, but something has to be wrong. I want to keep talking to you but I don't think I am going to be able to provide you with a very good conversation."
Lesley shook his head, "I don't think you'll be dizzy anymore." He let go of the water, "At least, I'm fairly certain you won't." His eyes were just dancing in 'I know something but I'm not telling you.'
Ace skidded in about that time, "Tom tells me you're not JUST a water evolved!" He accused, excitement clear in his voice.
"Yes I am. That is all I do."
"Well, why would he SAY that?"
"Tom is a great liar."
Ace made a face. No he WASN'T!! He pounced to sit on the arm rest of the couch beside Joy, "What's wrong with you?" He demanded.
Joy knew that look. She was missing something. It was the same look her mother had when she had good news that she was barely able to keep secret. How could he be so positive she wouldn't get dizzy again? Joy had the bits of the puzzle, or math equation. She was just having trouble fitting them in the right sequence. Asking her about her brothers powers, mentioning families being effected, asking her what she thought a power -she- could have would be...
Joy's face was a small mixture of uncertainty. She thought...he couldn't possibly be hinting that she... "You don't think I will again... Mr. Lesley..you don't think I'm---"
Ace always had the subtle grace of a wrecking ball through the bathroom wall as you were about to step out of the shower. Giving a small jump at her brothers explosive excited enterance. She listened to the exchange between her brother and Lesley. Why would Mr. Thomas tell her brother Mr. Lesley was more then just a water evolved?
"Me? I have had a few dizzy spells. Mr. Lesley says it won't happen-------" There was silence for about three seconds. During which time her mouth pursed into a O of astounded surprise. The glass in her lap was released, allowed to tilt to it's side and spill the water down the front of her dress. But Joy didn't care. Her hands were shaking as she made small motions. "Oh! Oh my GOSH! Oh my GOSH! Oh my GOSH! Your Aquifer! Your Sir Aquifer! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I LOVE you!!!!! Your so brave and distingued and nobel!!!!!!"
Lesley was surprised for a moment. It had been a long time since he'd been in a position to get that sort of response from people. People sort of lost that sort of thing in war situations. But then he smiled, "Than---"
"NO WAY! THAT IS SO COOL!! How do you make Sir Aquifer more powerful than he already is? THAT'S AMAZING! I can't wait to TRY, and to show you, Joy, and---"
"You can't do that, I'm afraid."
"What? WHY? You told Tom I could!"
"I meant showing Joy."
Ace frowned, "But why NOT?"
"Your abilities would probably cancel out."
"Huh? Why? What are you talking about? Why would my abilities cancel out with yours? Because you're THAT COOL and over the top like that???"
"I was referring to Joy."
Now Ace was just lost and confused... WHAT??
If it were possible, tiny anime hearts would have been bursting from Joy's eyes as she stared at Lesley. True, he wasn't the 'hottest' Super around. But Joy did not find the flashy antics and generally drooled over men of the day to be very attractive. What she personally found wonderful about a Super, was his sense of nobility and the over all romantic appeal of a gentleman superhero.
Joy clasped her hands to her chest, attempting to still the rapid flutter of her heart. She didn't want to gush anymore then she already had, and if she were to open her lips she just knew she's make a complete boob of herself. Besides..Ace was handling that part.
For the next few moments, she was more then willing to let her brother babble like a excited young boy. She could not believe she had been talking to Sir Aquifer and hadn't recognised him! But she had now, and it felt wonderful!
"Ah...?" Joy started, then stopped. Her brother was full of way too much energy to be able to think, or so Joy sometimes affectionately thought. Mr. Lesley...he wasn't talking about his own powers. Of course, Joy was able to make the quick jump in that thought pattern due to the conversation they had been having right before Ace leapt into the room.
"You..think...I am a evolved too? But Sir Aquifer...I haven't made anything happen. All I've done is get dizzy. The only use that would be is if I wanted to get out of class early..."
"You're not dizzy now," Lesley observed, "And you were only dizzy while I was using my abilities. Which--wasn't as simple and automatic as usual. I do believe you're at fault for that. Excuse me." He picked the water off of Joy's skirt, dropping it back into the cup. One swift movement so as not to make her ill again, "Your abilities must be like Soliel's are in Canada there." Soliel, who had nullifed and entire province's worth of evolveds, making a small country of his own there. And Canada had gladly let him.
"We can have power-struggle fights!" Ace cheered, falling from his perch on the couch to drop his arms around Joy.
Lesley raised an eyebrow at Ace. If he was anything like his children, that was already occurring.
The quickness of Lesley's actions spared Joy another dizzy spell, and dried her dress off nicely. "I am very sorry Sir Aquifer. If I had had any clue at all...I...well...I don't know. This is...really unexpected. I never thought I'd be lucky enough to be..well..evolved." Lucky enough. Oh yes, Joy certainly thought she was lucky. As she thought about it more, the more the revelation filled her with a sense of pride. She was an evolved. SHE was an EVOLVED. She did have a way to measure up to Ace now! Now she really could appeal to Daddy. Daddy would be so proud of her!
Looking down at her hands, she thought briefly about Soliel. She had definatly heard quite a bit about him. Debates about what he was doing seemed pretty common on the internet. She turned to Ace a moment later. "We will do no such thing!" She scolded her brother. "Evolveds are supposed to work together to help the world, not compete with each other just for the fun of it! Really, what would Daddy think?" Was her stiff reply. Joy folded her arms over her chest, the mock image of a affronted girl, but did nothing to remove her brothers arm from about her shoulders. "We need to first figure out how I can even use my power without falling down. What good is a power if it leaves you utterly incapable of telling up from down? How does your power work Ace? How do you turn it off, maybe mine will work the same way. Help me?"
"You're BORING. What's the fun of NOT fighting?" Ace protested, tugging at her hair and half-unzipping her dress, then jumping well away to avoid retaliation, "And I dunno, I don't feel mine at all! Suzie says it's just because I'm not listening to myself, whatever THAT means. I think she and Raleigh are crazy."
"If you were wise, you wouldn't consider fighting to be amusement, and you would certainly not fight with your sister," Lesley scolded seriously, reaching over to help Joy with her zipper again, "You should help her. My younger sister was killed because she was an evolved and I failed to help her. Would you like that for Joy?"
Ace looked stunned, "You help the WORLD and you left your sister to die?"
"I was sixteen at the time."
Oh. That would have made his sister YOUNG too. Ace looked down and shuffled his feet. "Sorry." He mumbled.
"I don't believe I'm the one in need of an apology."
Ace shuffled his feet more, looking wholly embarrassed and thoroughly chastened, but not saying another word.
"Hey! Hey!" Joy yelled at her brother. She hadn't even had a chance to retalliate from his boring insult. She would have said he was a dumbhead, since Sir Aquifer was there. Had he not she's have told him he was a stupid a**. Instead her hands slapped to her once again acheing skull. One of these days she was going to grab some of his hair and give it a really good pull! Then she'd see how he liked it! "Will you leave my dresses alone! And it probably means your so busy being annoying you never realize anything at all around you."
Though that did give Joy some things to think about. If the reason Ace didn't realize he was using his powers was because he wasn't paying attention to himself....perhaps what she needed to do was some form of meditation. It might even help with the light headed feeling. After all, if you knew something was coming you could at the very least brace for it and fight it down.
Her thoughts trailed off as Sir Aquifer would be so kind as to zip up her dress. Her cheeks stained a tiny pink tone as a warm fuzzy feeling gilled her chest. That feeling was soon to melt away, however, as Lesley would tell a bit about his own sister. Joy's heart went out to him completely. Poor Sir Aquifer! How utterly awful for him to feel he'd failed in helping his sister. Emboldened by the 'quality time' the two had just 'had' Joy reached out to take on of Sir Aquifer's hands. "I'm so sorry for you Sir Aquifer....Mr. Lesley. I'm sure you would have done everything you could to save her. It couldn't be your fault....Ace!" She turned to hiss at his utterly insensitive comment.
It seemed she didn't need to scold her brother though, for Lesley was doing a very good job of helping her brother realize what an asshat he was being right now. Joy waited, earnestly hoping her brother would at least mumble an apology to her. He hadn't even acknowledged her request for him to help her. It was true, she wanted to learn about her power quickly and start doing good things with it in order to impress Daddy...but her intentions when competeing with her brother were never to make him look bad or less then she was...she just wanted to be just as good as him in Daddys eyes...and she had to try harder was all...
When Ace did not apologize to her, Joy swallowed a dissappointed lump in her throat, and muttered. "No...it's okay. I think he can only say sorry once a day or his head blows up..."
Lesley sighed, speaking quietly to Joy, but looking at his hands, "Unforunately, sometimes it takes--"
"No, I didn't mean THAT, and not in THAT way, like that!" Ace suddenly protested loudly, "Why would I want to hurt Joy for real She's just a sister, I only annoy her. Sisters and brothers ANNOY one another, you know? But if anyone touched her, I'd kill them," He nodded certainly.
"Are you always with her?"
"NO!"
"Then what makes you think you'll know when someone is bothering her?"
"She's HAS a cellphone."
"What reason has she to call you? Just because you're her brother?" Even though it didn't seem like Lesley had changed his voice inflection, something about the way he'd said that seemed to be piercing. Maybe it wasn't Lesley, maybe it was Ace, who was slowly beginning to understand what Lesley was saying.
Ace certainly heard the unsaid words loud and clear, but whether they were Lesley's unsaid words, or Joy's, or his own interpretative swing, he didn't know. Ace kept his eyes at his feet.
"Excuse me, I'll be back in a moment." Lesley stood and left the room. If Joy would try to follow him, he'd smile and say he was finding the restroom and she should sit tight and stay there anyway, since she'd been so dizzy earlier.
Ace fiddled as Lesley left, but immediately came down to take his vacant seat beside Joy once he was entirely out of the room. He still didn't say anything, something highly unusual for the energetic boy with a constant case of mouth-running, and his seemed glued to the floor.
Mweflth. Feeling anything but happy-go-lucky was alien to him.
Joy's opinion of Sir Aquifer simply grew in the past few moments. She had known a good amount about the Super, from clippings and newsreels she'd seen. She already had a very high opinion of him. It was utterly romantic that he'd been knighted. A real and true Knight! But his personal kindness was something even more heart warming then any of his recorced speechs or actions could reflect. Sir Aquifer was such a perfect gentleman.
She allowed the conversation between Lesley and Ace uninterrupted. Somehow she had the feeling Ace would be quicker to understand if he didn't have his little sister sounding all intelligent at him. She knew Ace was older, and that he had to be just as smart, if not smarter then her. She just often wondered if maybe his mind was a lot like..him..always moving so fast. Zipping from one thing to another without taking the time to notice the details the way she did. He really wasn't that bad of a brother. He was just...a brother.
When Lesley rose to leave, Joy would immediately rise. "Do you need some help?" She was quick, and a bit eager to ask the Super. His excuse made her color again faintly. Partly because of where he was going, and partly over his concern for her. She settled herself back down on the couch, and waited. Hands in her lap as Ace would sit himself down beside her. He was so quiet now! He had to be thinking...but about what?
"You're not..always annoying you know...sometimes your pretty cool....for a boy."
Ace shrugged, "You...you know I wouldn't...I mean...Not like..."
He sighed. Joy was right. He couldn't bare to squash his ego long enough to say what he meant to.
Knowing...and hearing were two very different things. Joy waited quietly, but had little belief her brother would do what was right. Regardless of how she felt. He was still a boy, a little boy, and it was about how he felt.
She sat in silence, waiting for Lesley to return. Her eyes on her hands in her lap...until it was she tired of the awkward silence and jabbed her elbow against her brother. "Your sitting on my side of the couch, scoot over before I get all icky with boy germs Ace." Her lips curled into a waiting smile. Waiting for him to accept the playful jibe as a opening to just drop the whole silence. "So how should we tell Daddy? We're not even certain what I can do exactly...how do we find out? Is there some super secret way of knowing? I'll bet there is...I'll bet there's lots of stuff you can show me now that I'm like you."
Ace indeed did counteract, throwing himself onto Joy and giving her a big, fat kiss on the cheek. "Ace cooties are GOOD for you! You'll be less of...of..." But the lecture was still smarting and he couldn't think of a good enough insult that wasn't insulting.
"You should come to Raleigh-class with me. YOU can get hit by the stupid fan. They SAY that helps." Ace grumped.
"Gak! Ew ew ew!" Joy feigned a second of gagging after being kissed on the cheek while rubbing the back of her hand against the kissed area. "Wait...they hit you with a fan? WHY!? How is that supposed to help? I'm not sure I want to go if I'm going to get hit!"
"I don't know, he's gay!" Ace stated in frustration, "and makes you sit like this," He scooted to the floor on his knees, feet flat on the ground, "and makes the stupid Hmmmmmm sound, and says to call him sushi!" Ace knew very well it was senshi, because he had been a big enough Ninja Turtles fan at one time, but making fun of it and pretending to be an idiot was a lot more fun, "He says it'll make me listen to myself, but then he told me to concentrate totally on him. He's so gay!"
Joy caught on quickly enough. Seeing how her brother say, the noise he was supposed to make..and the wrong pronunciation was more then enough to confirm her earlier thouths as right. "Oh you are such a boy! He's trying to teach you how to meditate Ace. Maybe if you meditate and get really good at it, you'll be able to use your powers better...and maybe if -I- do it...I won't fall over or faint if I use my power. Then I'll actually be able to see what it does!"
Here Joy paused. Sticking her thumbnail between her lips, she began to nibble upon the trimmed end. "Maybe we shouldn't tell Daddy yet. Not until I figure out how to use it right. I can get meditation tapes to listen to at the house...and you can tell me the other exersizes they have you do. Then, once I can use my power right...then I can show Daddy and maybe it'll make him happy...and don't call people Gay. It's not politically correct. If your going to be a super hero you gotta remember to be politically correct."
"Oh NO!" Ace groaned and flopped over, "I don't wanna. We should just take the stupid martial arts classes or something. But that's gay...no, that's...that's....just as mating-challenged as Raleigh is! Don't tell Dad. I know you want him to be happy with you. He was just MAD at me." Ace made a face, "He makes no sense!"
"I don't think Daddy will let me take martial arts Ace. It's not a girl thing....but I do gymnastics...maybe I can talk mom into letting me take those self defense courses you can sometimes find for free. I can tell her I'm going to need it here in the big city." She was certain her mother would let her do that. It wouldn't be the same, but it would at least teach her to defend herself.
"Mad........?" Joy's chest fell almost immediatly after hearing her brother say that. Had she been wrong? Had she made a mistake? Maybe Daddy didn't want his children to be evolved. Maybe he wanted his little girl to be just a normal little girl... "Ace...I think your right. Let's not tell Daddy at all...I mean...my power probably isn't even as good as yours. It probably would just be a problem for him...." Should she even practice it then? Joy began to nibble upon her thumbnail even more quickly." I'll practice meditation..so that I can keep it from going off..and the self defense classes so I won't feel scared enough to lose control if I ever do get in trouble...we just won't tell Daddy anything at all."
"We'll practice alone anyway. We'll still be great."
"You're tell your father. You'll call him now." Lesley stepped out from the hall way, and came to sit at another seat.
"But---" GEEZ, that wasn't a look meant to be disputed, "Hand me the cell, Joy, I'll do it," Ace mumbled. He gave her a LOOK. STUPID ADULTS!!
"You really think so?" Joy began. It was such a relief that her brother was being...brotherly. That relief was quickly lost as Lesley re-entered the room. Jumping a little in her chair, Joy didn't even think of questioning his very firm order to call their father. he looked very...well... set. Mom sometimes got that look when Ace was trying to get away with something naughty.
Joy reached into her pocket to pull out the cellphone that Ace had given her the otherday. She had already 'girlied' it using some sticker gemstones left over from decorating her school books. Little pink glistening hearts twinkled at Ace as she handed the phone to him. She had previously been looking forwards to seeing his face when he saw the glitter stones..and the sweet white kitten wallpaper she'd replaced his with inside the phone...but now seemed like a bad time. "Uhm...thank...you Ace... Sorry about the phone..but it was such a...boy phone..."
"It's ok, I'll have Dad buy me a new one." He did shoot her a bit of a wicked grin then, opening the phone now and calling their father--and putting it on all call at Lesley's suggestion, "Hey, Dad..?"
"What's wrong?" Jim demanded. "What did you do to your sister?"
"I didn't do anything!" Ace whined, "Why do you assume that? Sir Aquifer wanted us to call you."
"What have you done to HIM?"
"Uhm, I didn't, but, uhm---What DID you do to him?" Ace asked Joy.
"Joy?" Jim asked, voice losing the demand as it fell into surprise, "What's wrong with Joy? Tell me now!"
"Get one with an MP3 player on it. Those are really cool phones." Joy suggested a little sheepishly as her brother dialed their fathers number. As they waited for the ringing to stop and pick up, Joy shot small glances at Lesley. She felt embaressed at being caught talking about hiding something from her father, and she had a very strong feeling that Lesley had not approved.
Approval or not though, her fathers immeidate assumptions that Ace had done something to her, or Lesley, was kind of funny. Her lips widened into a tense smile after the stressed 'him'.
"I...I'm okay Daddy." She stammered. What should she say? She supposed it was easier telling him over the phone, but she found herself dreading his reaction. Her palms quickly becam clammy and she felt a cool sweat on the back of her neck. "I just got dizzy....twice. Mr. Lesley... he thinks I..uhm..." Wetting her lips she glanced up at her brother then Lesley. "I might be...like Ace. That I'm a.....a...evolved...."
There was silence on the other end of the phone, "Like Ace?" Jim demanded, "Why couldn't it be that Ace did that? What makes him think it was you?"
"Mr. Edwards?" Lesley asked.
"Yes, Sir Hyland?"
"Ace was not around, and I believe her abilities were opposite."
"Typical." Was Jim's clipped response.
Ace started to grin, Lesley wouldn't have noticed the difference in Jim's business-like voice, but he certainly knew, "Isn't it COOL??"
"If there's a child that needs to oppose powers, it is you, Ace! Why must you always be difficult and go for the things that will KILL you? You should be more like your sister." GAH!!! Ace HATED that when his parents said that! "Do not throw the phone down, young man."
Ace jumped and looked around. How had Jim known his hand was raised to do just that? How did he DO that sort of thing? "So she's gonna train with me, right?"
"That is first her choice, then Susan's." Jim had lost the edge to his voice -- what was that there instead? Just being tired, perhaps? It had changed again when he addressed Joy, still that part that had muted a little, but with a very, very small, subtle lilt in his voice that was a father's caress for his daughter, "Joy, you sounded upset. Don't be upset. It's not a power that is harmful, or that anyone even has to know about, if you don't want that. Decide the way it makes you happy."
Jim's clipped reply gave Joy a confused meaning. She did not pick up the change in tone that Ace had. Was Daddy mad? Upset? Angry? She couldn't tell and it gave her a sick feeling trying to decide.
The conversation happened quickly, but Joy was able to follow it. The thing that truely struck her was Jim's wishing Ace was more like her. Perhaps he liked her power more then her brothers? Just the fact alone he approved, or seemed to, of her power was a relief in and of itself. Joy felt her shoulders relax from the tense state they had somehow gotten themselves.
Jim's own 'power' of being a father seemed to kick in then, and she could not help but giggle at Ace's bewildered expression as their father seeme to know he was about to throw the phone. "Yeah! I just downloaded a Mozzart ringtone!" Her father was talking to her then, and a bit of the anxiety returned as she listened carefully. He didn't sound mad at all actually.
"I...Well....it would be the right thing to learn about my power Daddy. I won't tell anyone else though. I mean...it's not like my power can be noticed by other people. And I don't think it'll be very useful...but it makes my head very light and I get dizzy when it is doing whatever it does. So I should probably learn to control it at least..."
"You do that then. Be safe with it." He took a breath, "Take care of yourselves."
"Do you GOTTA go? Don't you wanna come and SEE?"
"Ace. You know I'm very busy."
"Well, I don't see why. It's all over with anyway." Ace grumbled, slamming the phone shut, then made a face at Joy, then grinned, "SO COOL!!" He pounced on her now, giving her a great big hug and sitting in her lap, grabbing arms to try to pin her.
Yousei Akki · Fri Feb 15, 2008 @ 02:46am · 0 Comments |
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