Chapter 31 : It always starts with a training montage (Pretty please ?)

 

The Thompsons’ home living room, the Thompsons’ home, Forest Hills, Queens, New York, 26th of January, 14:07

 

As I plop myself once again on the couch next to Jessie, Jessica, Gwen and Cindy, eyes still glued on the backs of Flashy and Liz’ as they go upstairs, quietly take a seat around us.

 

“Ok, who was that ?” Belatedly ask Jessica, her eyes still open wide.

 

“Why, Flashy of course.” I answer easily, Jessie nodding next to me as she lean her head against my shoulder.

 

“No, impossible, Flash Thompson doesn’t act like that, all proper like and good manners.” Jessica doggedly argues while shaking her head.

 

“Rude.” Quietly mutters Jessie.

 

Inside our mind-link, I feel Iris’ rising frustration at the fact that she cannot pamper the younger girl out of her bad mood.

 

I sigh lightly, my eyes landing on Jessica.

 

“Flashy went through a harrowing experience.” I tell her bluntly, “It’s not my place to talk about it and if you want some details, you’ll have to ask him yourself, but among all of us, you should be the one with the most intimate knowledge about what trauma can do to people.”

 

I may have come out a little strong with that since her expression distorts rapidly under the simmering anger and hurt she hides so well most of the time, but, after a beat spent in a wordless staring contest, she calms herself down, eyes shifting to the side under my gaze.

 

“Point taken.” She clips, her tone dripping with annoyance.

 

“Just, give him a chance.” I add softly after a beat, under the wary looks of the three others that wisely chose to stay mum, “I know that you’re mad at him because of the way he treated Peter since you fancy him, but that part of Flashy belongs to a distant past for him, now.”

 

She sputters with a bit of outrage as Gwen and Cindy snickers.

 

“How ?” She asks, her annoyance warring with awkwardness as she looks between our three knowing smirks.

 

“Girl, the only one in Midtown High who isn’t aware that you look at him with doey eyes is the guy in question.” Cindy points out mercilessly with a splendid eye-roll.

 

Jessica groans in annoyance as her cheeks take a very interesting color, a fact she promptly tries to hide behind her hands.

 

“I can’t believe everyone knows about it.” She says lamely under her breath, which prompts a collective chuckle from Cindy, Gwen and my part.

 

“Do you need some help to remove his titanium based blinders ?” I tease with a little smirk.

 

“Shut up…” She replies eloquently, face still hidden.

 

“Who’s Peter ?” Asks a curious Jessie, still clinging to my arm.

 

“A subject better left unmentioned, apparently.” I answer while patting her head, eyes dancing with mirth.

 

She wordlessly nods, looking intently toward my shoulder in the corner of her eyes.

 

I kind of see where she’s going on with that.

 

I chuckle as Jessica gathers her shattered pride back, still subjected to amused looks by the two other teens.

 

I clear my throat, pulling their focus back to me.

 

“Anyway, Jessica, Gwen, I have someone that I need to introduce to the both of you.” I start and Jessie’s eyes light up while Cindy mutters something that suspiciously sounds like ‘here we go again’ under her breath, “It can be a little unsettling at first, but don’t worry.”

 

“Sister, if you would ?” I send to Iris on our mind-link.

 

“[Agreement, relief] : Of course.” She answers easily.

 

She oozes and blooms out of the high of my back, the tiny little motes of white, purple and lilac that constitutes her ever flowing until she alights herself in her favorite spot, a hand already lazily pampering Jessie.

 

“Greetings, Jessica, Gwen.” She softly starts with her star-filled voice under two pairs of very googly eyes, Jessica having notably retreated toward the back of her seat, “My name is Iris, and I’m Aria’s blood-sister.”

 

She punctuates the fact with a loving nuzzle of her head in the crook of my neck, which prompts a little smile to curl the corner of my lips.

 

I send a feeling of love on our mind-link because she deserves it.

 

“What the hell ?” Softly mutters Jessica under her breath while Gwen’s brain is apparently still attempting to compute what she sees.

 

“Iris is a Klynthar, a member of a symbiotic alien species that landed here on Earth, and I’m her host.” I calmly explain, and I can see a light of understanding flash through Gwen’s eyes.

 

Always the clever one, uh ?

 

“She’s the one that allowed me to become like this,” I explain while I let my touch-TK disguise drop, gesturing to my golden majestic self, “and also bring Flashy back.”

 

“And she gives the best cuddles.” Helpfully points out Jessie and I have to repress a smirk as Iris starts to coo at her anew while both of her hands, one of her arms passing right through me in some places, start fashioning her a new hairdo.

 

The display of familiarity raises a few eyebrows as one of my hands loose itself in Iris’ tentacly hair mechanically.

 

“Iris takes after me. Like, a lot after me,” I left unsaid that I would rather she had not also taken my most dominating side because the endless teasing I’m currently subjected to is a bit hard to handle, “Which is the reason why she behaves with Jessie like she does.” I explain with a wink.

 

“She’s so precious.” My symbiotic half confirms without an ounce of shame, valiantly attempting to tame Jessie’s unruly mop that the younger girl had forgotten to brush this morning.

 

“You like kids and so does she.” Gwen mumbles under her breath.

 

“I have a soft spot, yeah.” I answer easily.

 

“She is also the one currently clothing you, if I’m not mistaken ?” Cindy adds with an interrogative look directed my way.

 

An easily made assumption since she saw her do just so yesterday.

 

“She is.” I confirm as I flicker the touch-TK disguise on my ‘clothes’ on and off, one of my sleeves melting into nothingness before blossoming back under Iris’ control.

 

Gwen's thought process visibly halts as she sputters, her cheeks reddening.

 

“So you’re naked ?” She asks, pointing in my direction with a shaky finger.

 

I raise an eyebrow at her statement.

 

“Well,” I drawl, finding her rather spot on deduction amusing, “Do you consider yourself naked under your clothes ?”

 

“I guess not ?” She answers, a bit dumbstruck.

 

“You have your answer, then.” I tell her with a wink, leaving unsaid the fact that I do, indeed, feel like I do not wear any clothes most of the time.

 

Except for that damned corset.

 

“That’s so handy, though,” Cindy comments offhandedly, “You can switch fashion on the fly with a snap of your fingers.”

 

“The fact that I’m more a giant doll for Iris to go wild excluded, it is rather handy.” I answer with a little smile.

 

“You’re letting her choose ?” Gwen asks, a little ‘o’ of surprise on her mouth.

 

To my current dismay.

 

“It’s a mark of my trust, and we have… similar tastes.” I answer back, my smile a little more strained than it should.

 

“Aria is the comfiest host ever,” Iris comments, still trying to pull off a braided crown on Jessie’s head from what I can see, “So she deserves only the best.”

 

Her poker-face is extremely good since she is also sending me [Mirth, amusement, schadenfreude] all over the mind-link while spouting that with barely a twitch of expression.

 

I can’t stop myself from rolling my eyes in annoyance, a gesture that coincidentally reminds me of the corset’s continued presence due to my head’s motion.

 

It isn’t worse than when Gwen hugged me earlier, though.

 

Talk about awkwardness.

 

“Anyway, she’s the sister I mentioned yesterday,” I explain as I look toward Gwen, who wordlessly nods, “Because that’s how we call ourselves.”

 

“Blood-sister.” Iris corrects me aloud.

 

“Blood-sister.” I agree with a little smile, my scritches intensifying.

 

“Because she lives in your blood or…?” Gwendolyn ponders aloud, an eyebrow raised.

 

“Indeed.” I answer with a nod, “That’s where she dwells in when not manifested.”

 

“Since when ?” She asks, head tilted and a hand coming to rest on her cheek in a thinking pose.

 

My heart does a little hiccup at the display despite my best intention.

 

This girl is going to be the death of me, I swear.

 

Getting mentally laughed at by Iris, I answer.

 

“We bonded together Sunday evening,” I tell her easily, “Her vessel landed nearly next to me as I was taking a stroll in Central Park.”

 

“Why ?” Gwen asks, her nose scrunched cutely.

 

“Why what ?” I asks archly.

 

“What were you doing, taking a stroll in Central Park in the first place randomly like that ?” She elaborates, one of her hands gesturing vaguely in askance, “I don’t know, it seems like something coming out of left field to me, I guess ?”

 

Her statement makes me pause, and Iris and I share a look.

 

Motherfucker.

 

“For the same reason you and Cindy here got bitten two days ago, I guess.” I drawl, shaking my head as I look in Gwen’s direction once more, “Now that you mention it, I had that urge to go wander there and I just acted on it, thinking at the time that it was an idea as good as any other to distract myself of my worries about the Oscorp Tower’s tour.”

 

One more point toward my Fate theory.

 

“So, nobody is going to point out that your situation is kind of freaky ?” Finally blurts out Jessica, eyes shifting all around.

 

“Well, I would be more inclined to give your reaction some consideration if you couldn’t fly and weren’t surrounded by two spider-juiced interdimensional magical warriors right now.” I remark pointedly, and Cindy snickers.

 

Jessica’s eyes got wide once more, her eyes shifting toward Jessie.

 

I lazily wave a hand.

 

“Don’t worry,” I answer her unasked question, “Everyone in this house shares the compulsion I put the three of you under for safety reasons.”

 

“It feels weird,” Points out Jessie, scrunching her nose and brows furrowed, “When I thought about it yesterday when my friends asked how I was doing, I had that sudden urge to keep it a secret so I said nothing.”

 

I give her a look, and she withers a little.

 

“Thank you for illustrating why I did so quite splendidly, munchkin.” I say, a smidget of reprobation showing in my tone.

 

Iris looks at me with a frown.

 

“Don’t be mean with the precious one.” She chides me, and the corner of my mouth curls a little in a half-smile.

 

“Sorry Jessie,” I amend easily, a comforting hand coming to squeeze her shoulder.

 

The silence stretches for a beat, the only sounds being heard those of a muffled conversation going on upstairs.

 

“So, what are we going to do today ?” Finally asks a rather jittery Cindy, one of her legs batting to an imaginary tempo, “Because if all we do is just talk, Hector called this morning…”

 

She starts with an awkward smile and is promptly rewarded by three knowing smirks and one puzzled expression, courtesy from Jessie.

 

“We’re going to meet with someone that can help us find a place where we can train our abilities out of the public eye.” I begin more seriously.

 

“Who is this person ?” Gwen asks, getting to the point as Cindy wordlessly nods.

 

A shielded mind suddenly appearing in the backyard halts the beginning of the answer I start to give, and my mouth shuts anew.

 

Shaking my head in resignation, I gesture with my hand toward the backdoor of the house, opening it with a flicker of telekinesis.

 

“Please, come in.” I tell the newcomer, my eyes looking over my shoulder.

 

“Thank you.” Answers the characteristic melodic voice of the Ancient One, and I straighten a little.

 

Gently pushing away Jessie, I raise myself out of my seat under the puzzled looks of everyone else, the younger girl in particular since she knows that the answer came from the backyard’s direction.

 

“Greetings, Ancient One,” I tell her as she crosses the threshold, bowing my head a little, “I was actually just talking about you.”

 

The little smirk she answers me with as she gives me a nod tells me that she knows, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.

 

Sorcerers…

 

Master Vodoo probably put a spell on the house to keep an eye on me while dropping me yesterday.

 

They better have given me some privacy yesterday’s evening or I’m going to blow a fuse on them.

 

The bald woman, clad in a white vishanti garb today, raises a silent eyebrow in my direction after her eyes shift rapidly on the four other persons present.

 

I turn myself towards the others, a hand pointed politely into the Sorcerer Supreme’s direction.

 

“Everyone, let me introduce you to the Ancient One, Sorcerer Supreme of this earth, Headmaster of Kamar’Taj, and the one who will help us finds a place to train.” I explain politely, injecting as much levity in my voice as I can, trying to convey that she isn’t one to be messed with.

 

I’m rewarded by three rather puzzled and warry expressions and one of child-like glee, Jessie’s eyes being full of wonder, intermixed with a rather cautious chorus of ‘Greetings’.

 

“Did you just say Sorcerer ?” Slowly points out Cindy, voice dripping with misgivings.

 

I wince just a bit.

 

“Girls, don’t be crass,” I defuse with my arms raised, “She can probably punt you through the wall in a heartbeat, your newfound reflexes be damned.”

 

My arms falling back alongside my body, the Ancient One sporting a little amused smile as she steps next to me, I carry on.

 

“And considering the Sorcerer Supreme just portal’ed into my backyard, and you and Gwen’s powers origins,” I answer while gesturing toward the two concerned, the Ancient One’s eyes narrowing just a tad and her expression going attentive, “I can assure you that, yes, magic does indeed exist in this universe.”

 

That makes her mouth clamp shut, and I almost want to pat myself on the shoulder for having averted a rather awkward incident.

 

Gesturing toward them in order after turning myself a quarter of a turn in the bald woman’s direction, I continue my introduction.

 

“Ancient One, let me introduce you to Jessica Jones, Cindy Moon and Gwendolyn Stacy,” I explain smoothly, “Cindy and Gwen here are the two chosen of Anansi, as you had probably already inferred.”

 

The Sorcerer Supreme gives me a tiny nod of acknowledgement.

 

Putting my hand on Jessie’s shoulder, the younger girl almost vibrating with excitement, I carry on.

 

“And this one here is Jessie Thomson, the daughter of the house.” I end up with a small smile.

 

That’s roughly when the younger teen’s excitement reaches its peak and she blurts out before I can stop her.

 

“Could I learn to do magic too ?” She blurts out with her best puppy-eye looks, eyes shifting between me and the Ancient One.

 

My expression freeze, my eyes darting toward the Sorcerer Supreme’s direction as Iris’ grip tightens around me.

 

To my sister and I’s solace, she just grants the younger girl a soft smile, and I almost sag in relief.

 

“Everyone can, if they show enough dedication and determination.” She answers easily, her eyes darting in my direction for a second as a thoughtful look ghosts on her face, “At least, that’s what I took for granted until yesterday.”

 

“I cannot draw on the magic of this universe.” I answer the interrogative looks pointed my way, “It’s like my soul is missing the necessary ‘organ’ to do so, if you’re wondering.”

 

A fact that puzzled the Ancient One greatly when she discovered it yesterday, especially when the theory that made the most sense for my arrival is based around the use of overwhelming magical power, which means that magic did exist in my previous universe in the first place.

 

But, for some reason, I am barren from it, which didn’t make any sense for the Sorcerer Supreme.

 

“So, that means I could ?” Continued an undaunted Jessie, seeking confirmation.

 

The Ancient One and I share a look.

 

“I mean, yes ?” I testily answer, already regretting my words.

 

“Could you teach me, pretty please ?” The younger girl asks rather forcefully the Ancient One, puppy-eyes look at full strength.

 

My eyes go shut as I groan while the Ancient One chuckles good humoredly, Iris cooing anew at Jessie’s forwardness.

 

How the hell am I going to spin that to Rosie, now ?

 

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