That night, before Damian was set to patrol with Batgirl, he and Raven had set out to see what ground they could cover in terms of finding this person Mr Leiwandowsky was after. Raven had opened the black, pebble-like information storing device and the two of them had studied the data. The subject they were after was a hybrid, roughly two hundred years old. Male. A half-gargoyle, half-Mage (dark). Most importantly, Mr Leiwandowsky's son.
It had come to the gargoyle in a letter, poster to his in-city business office. The knowledge that he had a son. The writing was a swirling script and each character was as elaborate as its writer. A copy of the letter presented itself like a hologram, flashing in to their air along with the rest of the information when the magical black disk was activated. The letter told of a son the Polish gargoyle never knew of, conceived and borne away from the cynical eye of preternatural high society. It was signed Evaana Draczka, a name that Mr Leiwandowsky knew all too well.
His old love.
Their passion flared in the faces of the Dark aristocrats and laughed at the disapproval of interspecies love. Two noble houses could've joined under their names, but she left. When Mr Leiwandowsky was young (only a few hundred years old) and their romance had barely been a decade, Evaana disappeared.
He never loved another again.
A classic, almost cliché tale, but a true one.
On her death bed, Evaana had written to him, told him what he'd always wanted to know. Why. Why she abandoned him.
Their son, Dorian, had been out of her life for a few years, but she implored her old lover to seek him out. Get to know the son he never had.
This was Damian and Raven's mission. Find Dorian Draczka- rather, Dorian Leiwandowsky. They wouldn't need to speak with him, only summon his father. That was as far as they were needed.
The part-demons started at the old residents of Evaana Drackza. After an hour of scouring the quaint little house in the north, they'd come to the realisation that nothing here could lead them to the man. Stepping back through a portal and in to the corridor outside their rooms (in Wayne Manor) both Damian and Raven accepted that it was a dead lead. They would move on to the next one tomorrow.
For now, Damian was due to wander around Gotham with Fatgirl looking for crime and trying to tune out her annoyingness. Yay. What fun.
***
The next day, school couldn't pass any slower. Maths- slow. Chemistry- too confusing. Dance- what the hell did the teacher mean 'use your salsa hips!'?, Jonathan's hips couldn't move like that to save his life! English- Jonathan almost rammed his head in to the table. History- too many dates...so...many...numbers...
The only bright side to the excruciatingly elongated day was seeing Donna. Jonathan caught glimpses of her glancing at him during lessons or in the corridors, pushing up his glances every theme she looked his way. He caught two girls (one silvery-haired, the other with short black hair) talking about it whilst he walked along. "It's a classic, Olive,", the one with dark hair sighed, "just look at their ears and cheeks."
"It's cute,", the other (presumably Olive) replied, nudging her, "Sooo...anyone for you?", Olive grinned as her friend scrunched up her nose, "Go oooon...you can't tell me that you, the ever observant Maps, haven't been investigating ANY guys!"
Jonathan didn't here the rest of their conversation, speed-walking through the corridor and to his locker, grabbing his jacket. Fast forwards past the journey back to the Manor, Jonathan was given orders by Mr Pennyworth that he had 'precisely one hour and thirty-three minutes, Jon m'boy, before you must prepare for the Valentine's Gala'.
Jonathan liked Alfred a lot. He also liked Adyn- though the demon had been keeping a lot to himself lately, mostly wandering around the Manor grounds and enjoying nature. Most of all, though it made him blush to admit so, Jonathan liked Donna.
He hoped there wouldn't be a remake of the Christmas Eve party, where they made such a mess on the dance floor that Damian and Raven had to rescue them from looking more ridiculous. It was strange, the bubbly feeling in his tummy- was that supposed to happen. It didn't feel very right, as his heart beat was all funny. With nothing much to do other than play FIFA with Jaime (who'd just finished calling his mother) Jon decided he'd ask someone about the strange feeling: maybe he was getting ill- that would be a horrible, Jon never got sick!
He looked about the main living room, seeing only Jaime and Stephanie- huh, he thought, she doesn't have a day job?. Damian and Raven were upstairs, probably starting on their joint art project- imagine that, those two...artists! Who else was in the house...Mr Wayne- no way, he was too scary sometimes !-...Harley Quinn...no...Belladonna -she was just a child!
Then Jonathan thought about it again. Children were often a lot more sensible than adults, and wouldn't laugh at you for saying something that didn't make complete sense. It was set in Jon's mind. He would go talk to the five year-old. Maybe she was a secret health guru, you never knew with Batman's kids.
She was upstairs in her room, playing with Superman and Batman action figures. "Pew pew! Aaah! Dofff! HIYAAAH! Kapoof!", she smashed the Superman doll in to the Batman one and vice versa, making the Superman fly over her and swoop down. Belladonna stopped when she noticed Jonathan at the door, greeting him with a beaming, dimpled smile as she tilted her head, "Jonny!", she laughed. "Look! I'm playing with a toy your daddy and my daddy, see?", she slammed the Batman's head in to the Superman's arm, "POW!"
Jonathan laughed, coming in and sitting down on the plush, carpeted floor (a cute shade of sky blue, similar to that of his eyes).
Businesslike, Bella turned to him and asked, "What do you need my services for?", then giggled and whispered, "I heard Daddy say it on the phone yesterday!"
He sighed, "I was hoping you could help me make sense of something."
She listened very raptly, her little eyebrows covering half of her eyes as she frowned in thought, "You couldn't ask your mummy or daddy for help?- or your friends?"
He shook is head, leaning against the wall, "See, there's this girl-"
"Oooh is she your girlfriend?!!!", Bella jumped up. "Do you kiss and get cooties?!"
Jonathan shook his head, laughing, "Naw, she ain't my-"
"Why are you talking like that?", Bella interrupted. "You sound like a cowboy!"
Jonathan momentarily asked the heavens what went wrong for Bruce Wayne to have two annoying children. Honestly, she was just like Damian. A complete family of bullies. Fantastic!
Pushing past her making fun of him, Jonathan asked the child if she could make sense of that very strange feeling he had- the butterflies.
She hummed for a moment, then her grass-green eyes lit up, "Maybe the butterflies flapping is like an alarm and it's saying it's time to talk to her!", she set her Batman toy down. "There's the fancy shmancy ball soon- you could tell her you're in love with her!"
Jonathan spluttered, "WHA-no-I'm not in lo-I mean, really I-"
She giggled, "Look! Your ears are red! You totally love her!", she shouted in a sing-song by voice, "You love her! You love her! Jon and Donna sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-"
The little girl fell to pieces with laughter as Jonathan huffed indignantly and muttered about how 'unfair' it was to be 'cursed with Wayne children roaming the earth '. Bella's shrill giggles ended with her snickering, "Tell her the truth- what if she likes you toooooo?!" She gasped and almost fell off the bed as a thought flew in to her young mind, her curls bouncing in to her face, "This is just like Josephine and Sammy!"
Jonathan phrased it simply.
"Wat."
"Josephine is my friend, and Sammy, from school! Sammy really liked Josephine (he thought she smelled nice) and he told her and she liked his hair a lot and then he became her boyfriend!", Jonathan was begging to think the child was on to something...then she added, cringing, "And they held hands and got COOTIES!"
Belladonna expressed a few more stories about her little friends- and some people that she didn't like as much- who got together and contracted the infamous...
pause for dramatic effect
...
COOTIES
dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUN
Jonathan's like wasn't looking too good. He was sure to die a death of disease at this rate. Still he left the room with one clear message (illustrated to him with lots of chuckles and elaborate hand waving): tell her!
***
They had gone through the routine three-hours-of-makeup-and-hair that was insisted upon so that (in the words of one Stephanie Brown) they could look like absolute SNACKs. Therefore, three hours later, when Raven had slipped in to her dress- an acquired skill considering she had to navigate doing so with styled hair, makeup and nails. They had crammed in to Cassandra's room this time (much to the girl's dismay) as it was claimed to have 'more room to fit them all in'- another one of Stephanie's genius reckonings. Donna, Raven, Koriand'r, Steph, Cassandra, Selina, Barbara (she had come over to help with hair) and even little Belladonna, were all in the room, mostly around the vanity. Today of all days, that normally sparse wooden surface was crammed with beauty products almost toppling over the surface.
It was a repeat of the Christmas Eve gala: so not a total nightmare, but pretty damn close.
Kori- in the middle of eating a mustard, cress and strawberry sandwich- had claimed this would be a great bonding experience. If by 'great bonding experience' she meant 'fantastic opportunity to choke on hairspray', 'chance to get almost get blinded by a mascara wand shoved in to your eye' and 'wonderful way of almost impaling yourself with stilettos because someone tripped you up', then yes, what a fabulous bonding experience!
Raven brushed down her dress and looked in one of the floor-length mirrors erected near the vanity. She tugged down the sleeves a centimetre and tucked her chin-length hair behind her ear, showcasing the serpent swirling around her ear. The snake-earrings had been a surprising present from Mr Pennyworth last Christmas. In the box he had written a note in a fine hand, saying: 'Ms Roth, a merry Christmas to you. What a pleasant young lady you are indeed, certainly one of grace and kindness. I dearly hope you like these- I spotted them one day on the market and was fondly reminded of you. Sincerely, Alfred Pennyworth' . Raven had read that note several times, memorised it word for word. Such kindness from so impressionable a person, it meant a lot to her- more than she could express.
The dress she wore, on the other hand, was of little consequence to her. She had bought it a few weeks ago: for a task her friend Lahra (the fierce warrior from the Blue Dragon) had asked her to complete- simply gathering information at a gathering for some of the Dark world's finest, Lahra had a bone to pick with a few of them. It was a beautiful dress by all accounts: a dark, pine green colour (hinging on black); lace from foot to toe with the vine-like pattern clinging to her like a second skin; a slit ran up its length and pale flesh peeked out of the green folds; and her shoulders were exposed, letting her sharp collar bones frame a simple, silver necklace with a small, circular stone as it's lone ornament. Though the dress touched the floor as she walked, her heels beneath were things of elegance too- only three inches high and plain black platforms, but effective in drawing the attention elsewhere.
I'm thinking something along the lines of this- but not EXACTLY
Pretty cute-no?
A true work of art- and something the the attentive Cassandra was proud of- was the demoness' makeup. Particularly, her lipstick. Sticking with the green-black theme that had been present in her eye makeup and clothes, Raven's lips had been painted black, standing out boldly against her pale skin, and the inner section had been faded to green, shimmering all around and adding to the gothically ethereal aesthetic.
Kori -almost floating off the ground in a flowing lilac gown that proudly displayed her pregnancy- looked at the clock and called, "The party is to commence in half an hour. We should finish here in a few minutes!"
That time warning spurred Selina in to action, braiding Belladonna's hair twice as fast and taming her mess of curls with a practised hand. At the back of her mind rested concern for Harleen (who, as a famous face, would be spending the night in the kitchen with Alfred, probably baking cookies) but at the forefront, Selina was anticipating Bruce's reaction. They'd been though it all together, but it still managed to make her heart (usually as solid as diamond) melt when he unashamedly stared at her with such unadulterated adoration, desire and possession. Selina dressed to be stared at, to entrance, in clingy black leather and exposed flesh teasing the eyes of men- yet there was only one whose attention she craved.
'Craved' was the right word, because even after being officially together for a few weeks, her heart was obsessed with that man. The formidable, dangerous Batman and the teasing, sexy Bruce Wayne. The only thing putting her at rest was that she knew he was as captivated as she was. Batman lived for challenge. The biggest challenge he had overcome was managing to somehow make Selina's heart (which had only ever held love for riches) his, and vice versa.
She tied Bella's hair, shaking her head at the little girl's complaints about 'It's too tight! My head huuuurts!', knowing full well that she'd plaited it incredibly loosely. A few more touches here and there, and the girls were done...apart from Stephanie: she had mucked up her eyeliner when Kori stepped on her foot and had to redo the whole eye or be at risk of looking like Cleopatra.
The boys, on the other hand, wouldn't be done for another half-hour.
Was punctuality even a thing in this house?
***
Billy Batson stared out of the diner window and sighed, his head propped up by his hand while the other drummed on the table. He'd finished school a few hours ago, and after rescuing a few people from a shop fire (while aimlessly wandering around Gotham City Center), he decided it was time for a burger. With pretty much all his friends occupied on Valentine's Day -the lucky idiots that they were- Billy was left with an empty schedule.
Un-Shazamed, the teen tried to entertain his mind (and ignore the three couples making out and making googly-eyes on respective tables) by counting all the red cars that drive past.
...16...17...
Ooh a Ferrari!
18...
Bruce Wayne had a Valentine's ball, Billy recalled hearing Superman talking about it to Batman at the JLA meeting yesterday (a short-notice gathering to discuss rising anti-alien violence).
...19...
Maybe he would pop over in a bit- as Shazam, of course- and give Batman something to shout at him for. It would be quite the spectacle, Shazam turning up for one of Bruce Wayne's galas. The media would love it. ...20... Billy let the waiter set down his burger and thanked the man, his mouth watering as the cheese dropped further down the sides of the patty, and dam!- that was an extra juicy looking patty in that burger...Gotham was doing alright in terms of food.
..21...22...23...
Something caught Billy's eye, through the window, something that didn't seem right. He grabbed his burger, abandoned the plate, shouted his thanks to the diner owner, and fled out of the faded red door. Taking a munch out of the burger, Billy focused his eyes on the two shifty looking figures he'd seen stalking past reeeeeeal dodgy. The pink guy was still in sight.
Billy found himself only a few more red behind the two men, nudging past busy business people, pick-pockets and shoppers, in their wake. They were trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, walking as if lingering too long on one stride would set their feet on fire. The glimmering platinum one held the door open for the curly man and the two of them ducked in to a building.
It was as inconspicuous as they were trying to be- plain, square shape, brown bricks, worn down exterior. Billy considered the burger in his hands for a moment, almost breaking a year as he came to the shocking conclusion...Billy had to abandon it. Oh the horror! He looked around- there was a bin near him. The boy looked closer, a second time, and saw what he needed. Billy handed the 1/5th eaten burger to the man (unshaven, rolled up in his blanked and with a cardboard sign in front of him) sitting on the ground a metre or so from the bin.
Back on task, Billy prepared himself to transform, slipping inside the building. Cursing himself for curiosity, the teen passed an eye over the discoloured white walls of the unfurnished room. That's all it was, a room, with stairs leading to a second, predictively sparse room, and fought 6mx7m in area.
What was more alarming were the two he had followed to this place, caught in a passionate kiss, fingers threaded through hair and bodies aglow with magical energy. Instantly aware of his intrusive presence, Billy tried to walk away, only causing the floor to creak and to two of them to break apart in surprise.
The sight Billy was greeted was even more surprising than the last.
It was that prisoner, the magical blonde Council-dude...and the pinkish demon...
A.N:
So, this are moving a bit mad in Adyn's life- oi oi!
Next week's chapter is obviously going to be hella cute- the gala and all that- so be prepared for that ish. And Jonathan's life is a bit hard when he tried to take advice from Wayne kids, bless him.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed that one my lovelies!
Thanks!
-Bats :3