ON HOLD
Book 2 of The Lighthouse Series.
The Man of Steel is dead. The world is in mourning and an uproar. A new threat has surfaced, and a team of incredibly powerful metahumans has been recruited to defeat the one known as Steppenwolf. The one w...
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I didn't go back the next day or the next after that. I stayed inside where Bruce could use me to do all his research. Didn't mind one bit, this is what I told him I'd do so this is what I was going to do. Bruce had given me a dozen articles of Steppenwolf, he was seen as just a myth in some cultures like ours, but in others, he was coveted as a God. It reminded me of how Superman was treated; some believed him a God and others thought he was the worst thing to happen to our World. As I read the destruction and death that was to follow Steppenwolf's arrival, I knew nothing could compare. Clicking out of the dark and depressing readings I took a folder off the top and started working on something else, something more light-hearted that didn't give me a headache.
I was currently looking up the young man who was extremely fast on the camera footage that was sent to Bruce. I had run his face through a database that had his credentials pop up almost immediately.
"Barry Allen..." I hummed to myself as I read his file and gasped at his age. Twenty-three years young, I was taken aback, he would be the youngest of us all if he joined our team, a little part of me wanted to keep him away, but I knew we needed his speed.
The printer next to me whirred lightly as it printed out his record, address and job information. Satisfied, I went to find Bruce. He was upstairs, which was a rare occurrence; he was usually down here watching me or working on his tank of a car.
"Alfred?" I asked the polite older man when I found him in the kitchen.
"Yes?" His accent was warm and polite as he smiled at me. His sleeves were rolled up, and he was cutting mangos into smaller cubes before placing them into Tupperware and placing them in the fridge, "Master Wayne had mentioned you like mangos a great deal. I hope you don't mind them being small. They're less sticky on your fingers if you eat them with a spoon."
"Oh," I hadn't realized Bruce was listening when I had told him about my usual snacks when I was busy, "Speaking of Bruce, have you seen him?"
"He's in his gym."
His gym. Right, because I knew where that was. Instead, I told Alfred to tell him to come to talk to me after his work out and went back to my dim lighted area feeling a whopper of a headache coming on. I squeezed my eyes shut as I rubbed my temples, breathing slowly. I knew by where the headache was pulsating from that I needed water. I can go without it for a while but it dawned on me that the last time I submerged my body in water, like a tub or swimming pool, was before Bruce came to Iceland.
Quickly, I flicked off the light at my desk and scrambled upstairs to my bedroom and private bathroom. My vision was beginning to blur by the time I made it to my room. I had ignored Alfred who had called to me. I'll apologize later. With shaky hands and a body that felt weighed down, I sat on the edge of the bath, turning the water on. It was freezing, but it wouldn't bother me. As one hand undid my shoelaces, I submerged the other in the cold stream, and it was loud against the porcelain.
Antsy and with labored breath I was finally free of my clothes and I could only sigh relief as I lowered my deprived and shaking body into- essentially my life-line. The shakes and dehydration subsided immediately, and I lowered my entire head beneath the still water. My vision wasn't blurred like when I used to do this before meeting Arthur; everything was clear. I laid at the bottom of the deep claw foot tub thinking about how Arthur would react. I could breathe underwater, I could see, and the cold temperatures don't bother me. I frown thinking of the last time I cut myself knowing it was when Yvette struck me with her spear. No matter how hard I tried to ignore the changes to my body or the obvious conclusion, I knew I'd have to face it. Bruce's words echoed in my mind; Two Atlanteans are better than one.
Suddenly, in the hall, I heard my door swing open and before I could act the door to the bathroom was slamming against the wall, and I was being pulled from the water. Bruce had placed a towel around my shoulders as he pulled me from the tub, yelling at Alfred, who stood in the doorway with an unamused look on his face as he averted his eyes. Bruce's hold on me was tight, and I pushed him, not hard- I thought, but he staggered back into the marble sink, grunting at where his back hit the sharp edge.
"What the fuck are you doing?" I growled.
His face was one of determination and annoyance as he straightened his vest. Dark brown eyes locked with mine, and his confidence seemed to waver.
"Ingrid, you ran your bath water two hours ago. I thought something happened." He defended.
Out the corner of my eye, I see Alfred sigh and walk away, mumbling to himself. I turn my gaze back to Bruce.
"So, you thought it'd be smart to barge in here to save me like I was a damsel?" I gritted.
"I wasn't thinking-,"
"Damn right you weren't thinking! I wasn't hurting myself, Bruce. If I remember correctly you're the one who told me two Atlantean's are better than one."
He just glared back at me not saying a word, and it was then that I noticed his posture. Shoulders squared, legs apart and bent, his fists were clenched and slightly raised, his whole body at an angle to ward off an attack.
In the mirror behind him was my reflection. The towel had slipped from my body, and toned muscles glistened under the light, my face was angry, brow furrowed, lips pulled back over teeth, and my eyes-my eyes startled me. My iris was a bright glaring cold blue, and the whites of my eyes were black. I quickly shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut to open them to no change. I saw the world with no difference, but things were sharper like the lines on Bruce's face, I could see his sweat beading on his forehead and hear his heart hammering in his large broad chest.
I tried blinking them away but no luck.
"Uh, Bruce?"
Still standing like I was going to attack him, he responded, "Your eyes aren't changing back."
"I know. We can discuss that after you hand me that towel and leave me to get dressed."
Suddenly flustered, his eyes flickered over my naked body rather quickly before spinning around with his eyes shut and reaching for the fresh towel. He tossed it to me and promptly retreated into the hall.
The moment I heard my door click shut I slammed the bathroom door and hurried to the large mirror, shoving my face as close as I could to it. I looked over my body, and nothing stood out but my eyes. They weren't changing back. Taking in a shaky breath, I laughed.
