Lady Iris

Nova Squad ~ 14

"Talk about stalker." Ayden remarked, and was already up and at the kitchen eating away at something.

"How immature are you?" Ivy asked, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, and to answer your question Iris; no, you're probably not getting a poster. We read up on your briefing and you don't seem all that cool. You shoot rainbows? Come on, that seems like a joke power." Adan sniveled.

"Ayden!" Ivy yelled and turned around, glaring at him.

Shooting rainbows? Was that all they briefed me as?

Oh, maybe the only time they saw me show any signs of powers was that time where...

I shut my eyes to keep my eyes from watering from the memory. I could feel Ivy put her arm around me. "Sorry Ayden is so rude, Iris. Kind of have to learn to live with it. I'm sure you can do even more with your powers than Inferno ever could." Donovan looked on sympathetically at me.

"Yeah, actually we're pretty nice, excluding the all-witty, dark, rude and brooding here." He motioned towards Ayden who sat back down, frowning. He was eating a chicken wing.

"So, why are you hiding your identity?" Ayden said, between bites.

"Why are you?" I retorted back. He just stared at me, and then continued eating his chicken wing.

"At least I'm not wearing a mask when I'm around people I trust."

"Well how do I know I can trust you guys!" I snapped. Ivy and Donovan were frowning, and I quickly added, "I meant that for him. I most definitely don't trust him."

"Aw honey, isn't honesty the best way to get friends though?" Ayden said, raising his eyebrow.

"Adan, can you just be quiet for a minute so we can introduce ourselves?" Ivy retorted.

"But I already read the poster-"

"We want us to introduce ourselves. All those were by the hand of some Nova guy who read our briefs." Donovan said.

I nodded and looked at Ivy. "Well, as you have read my poster, I'm queen of-"

"Are you an actual queen?" Ayden asked, bringing a plate of wings to the table.

The whole table groaned. "For the millionth time, yes Adan. And are you going to share those wings or be greedy like last time?"

"Nope. Whoever makes them gets to eat them."

Out of the corner of Donovan's mouth I could hear him mutter, "pig."

"Thanks," Adan answered, but he didn't seem to be offended.

"Well, I'll just say that I actually am a queen, and an important one too. There is an island off the Cape of Good Hope in Africa named Troika Island. Troika meaning three, as in the three elements, though we haven't met the other elemental tribes yet. It's just us, the ones of earth. Nobody knew about our island until recently, when..."

She rubbed her arm regrettably. "... when one of my own turned dangerous and got loose into the world. He will be looking for revenge soon enough. Even though I'm the one who deserves revenge the most."

She was clutching her fists. I wondered if this had anything to do with her parents 'unnatural' death.

"Off the gloomy topic," Ayden said, waving his chicken wing around; and for once I agreed with him. "Donovan, you go now."

He scratched his head, then started. "Ah, so the glove is basically what makes me 'special'. Or 'worthy' to be in a superhuman squad. Under most circumstances I would not be allowed to keep the glove if it wasn't stuck to me. I was sort of Agent Lab Rat. They decided I couldn't be too much harm however, so they let me keep it, whereas the alternative may be cutting off my arm." He made a face.

"But this," he raised his right hand up, the one with the golden glove. "Is a pretty dangerous item. I can't touch anything with it, because a light tap could dent something. I've learned to basically live without a right arm."

Everyone was then looking at Ayden, who was staring at his last chicken wing and turning it over.

"Your turn Ayden." Donovan said.

Adan looked up and raised an eyebrow. "My turn? Why there's not much more to my story than that I had an accident with a chemical, and now I'm oil man, out to save the day with non-renewable resources!" He seemed to have bitterness behind his joke.

"But what about when you said something about mistake-"

I stopped myself.

'I learned from my mistakes.'

He was talking to Skye when he said that, not Lady Iris.

Please don't notice, please don't notice

"Um, I mean haven't you had a mistake once in your life that made you bitter and made you want to hide your identity? Because I know I have."

Adan was narrowing his eyes, but then be seemingly dismissed my first sentence. "Nope, noppity nope. At least not that any of you need to know."

I knew he was hiding something.

I left him alone about it though. I was hiding something too- my identity. But I'm not sure what's worse to be, and story with a fake name, or a name with a fake story?

"Well, we can't help you until you tell us what's wrong." Donovan said, trying to sound like a therapist. "How about I schedule daily sessions on Monday through Sunday every week for 23 hours? I think you really need those sessions."

Adan had quickly stood up and stood behind his chair. "And who's the therapist? You? No offense, well actually no offense is offensive anyways, but you've got to be the worse therapist in all of Magna City. You can't even control your own temper!"

"Am not, and I can! I was once a therapist for my goldfish and I worked him through depression."

"Goldfish have a memory of seven seconds."

"Don't believe their lies." He whispered, and pointed up to the ceiling, where undeniably his goldfish must be.

I couldn't help but laugh at the whole ordeal, and Ivy was laughing too.

"Well, today was a short day that you came in late for, and now we all have to go back to our living quarters and study up on Eclipse and Equinoxes' strategies and whatever we're supposed to do. Have you done any research on Eclipse?" Ivy asked.

"No," I answered. "All I know is that he's bad and he's got a whole organization called Equinox that's sort of out to get me."

"That's out to get you?" Ivy scratched the side of her cheek. "What do you mean? They're out to get all of us, but haven't quite directly moved against us yet."

"They sort of found me when I was on the train to the city. I don't think they recognized me, but I have no clue how they knew I was on the train."

"It's odd that they have moved against you already. Well anyways, go home and study up on Eclipse. You're going to need it for our future conversations on strategies and whatnot."

The table was already dismissing itself, Donovan going straight to his room and Adan regretfully putting his empty sauce-filled plate into the washing machine.

"Okay," I nodded, and headed towards the door.

Day 1 in Nova didn't seem too bad, did it?

"Oh, and Iris?" Ivy said, and she walked up to me and opened the door. She smiled and held out her hand to me and I shook it.

"Welcome to Nova Squad."