Daughter of the Timeless

Adolescence Part 1

"Rife with mischief. Rife with mischief, you are!" Yells the maid as she scrubs up the green goo from the shiny white floor of my father's office quarters. 

"Make sure you scrub every inch!" I demand jokingly. "Can't let Dad know you let your guard down to let us color bomb you." I laugh.

My cousins and I got bored. When we get bored, hell breaks loose. Well, teen angst and reasonable anarchy does, at least. 

"She walked right into it, too. You'd think by now they wouldn't fall for our tricks." Doyle laughs plopping down on a black leather couch. 

Audrey and I stand in the middle of the O.Q. as we call it, where modern leather couches form a box with one side open, surrounding an ebony and glass coffee table ontop of a carpet of Zebra hide.

Behind Doyle is a wall of nothing but books and a massive fire place with artificial fire. The mantle is two heads taller than me, who at 15 is nearing 5'9. In the front of the room where the box of couches open up is a foyer, wide and spacious, coming to a massive door too.

Behind me is a wall of glass overlooking the city of Metropolis, small book cases in front of it with a kitchenette for father's servants to bring him food. As long as I can remember Dad won't eat food unless he sees it prepared. 

At the back of the room, yet another momentous wall of glass over looks the city invaded by night. His desk is on it's own platform. To get to it he has to climb three steps to sit at his mahogany and pearl wood desk.

"You don't think he'll be back soon? Will he?" Audrey worries aloud.

"No, and even then he can't be mad at you two. I'm the one who lured her in and set the trap." I say.

"But, Marti, if he asks you and you mention us we will get in major trouble."

"Ah, it is just the older he gets the grumpier he is." I shrug it off and sit down on my own leather couch. I stretch out, laying down to cover it all. "Don't worry about it."

"You can't mention us." Doyle begs.

"You wont get into trouble. I promise. If you do, I will too. We will be in it together."

"When have you ever been punished for anything, Marti? You ruined Grandma's fruit market outside Smallville and still got away with it. We got the lashing." Audrey grumbles.

"Yeah, because you two were standing right there and could've stopped me. And you were too slow and stupid to get away before they found us out." I laugh.

"Still not the point."

"And anyways, you can't feel the pain anyways. It is more just mental lashing for you. I doubt Grandpa's old belt is even the same one they use on you two to whop you every time you step out of line."

"And I wonder who the ring leader is." A perky female voice sings.

"Aunt Lo!" I cheer. "'Bout time you get here."

"Couldn't have missed my only niece's birthday." 

"She's my niece too, Lois." Kara stands out from behind Aunt Lo. As small as Kara is she can still whop 15 large men all at once. Never doubt a  petite blonde from Krypton, or any woman of her size. What they lack in strength they make up for in craziness. 

"Great niece, technically." I counter.

"Yeah yeah." They say waving me off. "Gift time!" Kara squeals.

"Dad said no gifts."

"Well your Dad is an idiot." Kara says.

"Watch it." Lois says.

"Oh, I forgot, Lois is friends with Lex now. Been that way 17 years. Shoulda known better to remark at that." Kara says.

I grab the gifts off the table in front of us. 

"From me. " Audrey says handing me a small package. It is wrapped in old general store wrapping paper. She knows I love the old timey things. "Thought this would entertain you."

In one prick of the paper with my nails, a book is unmasked. "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Ironic."

Lois scowls at Audrey. I don't know if it was a slight at me or a joke. 

"From me." Doyle says handing me an old box. "They are magazines and newspaper clippings of all the Classics major exploits." 

"You know gifts are supposed to be surprise?" I say opening it to find a dark haired man standing in front of the Wayne Crest in a Mansion. "Great. Thanks." I say, a chill running through me at the sight of Bruce Wayne.

I have never been excited about succeeding the Classics. I have never been fond of possessing stolen genetic material from them either. I know they would hate me for it.

"And the best for last." Kara says. "This is from me and Lois and your Grandma."

"It's small." I say sniffing it. "It doesn't seem like much." 

They scoff. "We can take it back." Lois says snatching at it. 

"Too slow!" I say. "And no. You now I'll love whatever it is no matter what. You guys never fail me at you your gift giving. Last year you gave me all of yours and Clark's major writing works. The year before that Gigi gave me that metal thingy." I say, remembering the crib looking capsule. It was what Kal-El arrived in when he came to earth. I have it hanging as a chandelier in my bedroom. 

"The suspense is killing me!" Doyle says, using his newly developed superspeed powers to snatch the small gift wrapped box out of my hand. "What is it?" He says opening it.

"A key?" I say.

"To your very own car."

My eyes are wider than wide. I jump up and grab both of them. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I release them and jump around. "Finally."

"Grandma was so proud of you passing your test and behaving for so long she used some of the money Lex gave her, and all of us teamed up to get you a Lexus."

"Thanks." I say, non too thrilled with being surrounded by my father's name.

"You are getting older, you will get your powers sooner or later. Until then you need your own transportation instead of driving the guardians and chauffer's insane with your begging and conniving." Lois says ending in a giggle.

"Thank you so much." I say softly, hugging them both lightly. "This is awesome."

A guardian bursts into the room. "Sorry, miss. Ma'ams. Kids." He says acknowledging us all one by one. A guardian is basically a nanny body guard. Most of them are big bald men with soft hearts, or hardened women who stick to the rules. Like Mercy 3.0.

"We need to get going. The party is starting." Torque says. "And Miss, you really do need to change into that dress you father has for you. It would make his day."

"I bet it would." I say. "Well, I guess y'all gotta get going then. I gotta date with uncomfortable femininity."