Daughter of the Timeless

Revelation

I spend the evening ducking in between the posh and polished people, avoiding their grabs and prods. Their gestures to take pictures and to tell them secrets about Dad. They want stories about my childhood, updates on school, how my cousins are doing. Have I spent time with Alenka, Alex, or Cat lately? No? Oh, that's a shame. That is pretty much all I hear all night.

I can't find Kara or Lois or the cousins anywhere. 

I make my way into the side parlor in front of the bathroom entrances. This room is old fashioned rather than a giant white marble tomb. It has lacing of gold in the wood, red drapes on the wall. Brown leather seating, plush red carpets. I sit down with a big breath out. 

Maybe if I set off a stink bomb in this area no one would come to this wing. I know for sure that not even the maids and cleaners would come over here until after all was over with. The last thing they need is to create mass hysteria over who dropped the big brown bomb in the bathroom and splattered the stalls and seeing them running and puking from the smell. That would make my day. Just chunky brownie mix and other gross stuff just painted everywhere. 

Fifteen minutes of silence, and then a sudden swinging of the men's bathroom door. A big puff of air as the persons weight  pressurizes the stagnant leather. 

"Do you remember when we told the twins about Moses and the plagues of Egypt?"

I don't recognize this voice. 

"We flooded the pool with red jello and food coloring and pushed Audrey in. Alex jumped in and then splashed us all with his water bending. We were bright red for days."

"Rich." I say, turning around breathlessly.

"Birdie." He says cheerfully.

I get up and practically tackle him. He lands on the floor.

"For some reason I expected your strength be more than this." He says from underneath me.

I get up and extend a hand to lift him up. "Yeah, everyone was. I am kind of a disappointment at this point in life." I say.

"Far from it." He brushes himself off. 

"I have news for you." He says pulling me behind the red drapes. I half expected him to kiss me, but he is practically my brother. And something tells me Rich wouldn't hide his affection even if my father would have him kicked out or worse.

"You need to be careful." Rich says. "Your Dad isn't what he seems." 

"Huh?" I ask. "This have anything to do with him being a jerk all of a sudden?"

"He is distancing himself from you. Listen, I talked to my Dad." He says.

Oh, well this is great. Just great. Rich is talking to his Dad, The Joker, a terrible villain known for his tricks and sadism. He is everyone's enemy at this point.

"I know what it seems when I say that. But truthfully, he isn't mean to me or Delia. Delia stays away though. She ran away with Mom last week. Waller has been out in force looking for me and Cat for a while."

"Cat's here? " I ask excitedly.

"Yes, but she is busy. Listen to me. You rDad is up to something. His old ways."

"Impossible. Waller would smell that coming."

"Not if she used it as a catalyst."

"For what?"

"You. Or us. To get us assembled. The Ten. My bet is your Dad puts more stock in the twins than you. Their powers have developed way beyond yours. Your expendable at this point."