Jesse & Jade #3

My name is Jesse Chambers and I wish to apply for a one-way ticket to Hell. Sorry? You say the next chariot to Hades is full. Don't worry yourself, I'll just stay here with my mother - same destination, more painful….

Jesse looks across the penthouse at the grinning face of her mother as she sips her coffee. When she had planned her escape to the west coast there were three things she had wanted to escape -

1. The other Flashes
2. The New York accent
3. Her mother, Libbie Chambers, formerly the superheroine Liberty Belle.

Oh yeah, that was one to explain as well. Liberty Belle - heroine of World War Two, with a twenty-something daughter. Are you doing the maths?? It's a hyper-adrenaline, mind-over-mantra type thing, but her mother was a septuagenarian with the body of a well-trimmed 40 year old. Jesse fully expected her to be outlived by her mother, which was a sobering thought if only for the rather tacky display she could imagine at her own funeral…

" I see that car didn't last very long? I told you so, didn't I?" There was a smug grin creeping across her mother's face, a prelude to one of her tirades about Jesse's father, Johnny Chambers, the late Johnny Quick.

" Before you even think of starting about Dad, you can just forget it Mom, I'm not interested."

" Whatever do you mean dear?"

" I just don't want to hear you bad-mouthing him anymore, OK? He's dead, for God's sake! I know you had a bad time of it near the end.."

" .. and in the middle and sometimes near the beginning!" Libbie interrupted.

" Mom! Just leave it, please?" Jesse swallows her pride and tries to divert the conversation from the inevitable on-rushing row. " So what brings you to L.A.?"

" Come, come now dear. What you really mean is 'Mom, how on Earth did you find me when I never left a forwarding address?'" Libbie places the coffee cup down and crosses her legs. Even the sound of the beige trouser suit rubbing against itself screams annoyance at Jesse.

" Well it had crossed my mind?"

" Well, when you ran off like that - like daughter, like father maybe? - I made a call to that nice Mr. Garrick to see if her knew where you were and he .. succumbed to my line of argument. I wanted to pop in and see that you had settled down OK. Is that too much to ask from a mother?"

" But I don't need checking on Mom! I'm a fully grown woman now, I can look after myself. I'm not here as Jesse Quick, I'm here as Jesse Chambers."

" That's as may be, young lady, but when I was your age I'd .."

" Fought in World War Two - I KNOW ALREADY!!!"

" There's no need to shout. If you don't want me here, I'll just get my things and go." The waves of emotional blackmail sweep across the room. Wonderful!

Suddenly the tension is broken by the slamming of the front door and the appearance of a seething Kiku Thunder. Head down she storms across the room, towards the kitchen area.

" Uhmm..Kiku? Are you OK?" Jesse has seen her in moods before, but nothing like this.

" Oh, I'm fine - just a little humiliated." She stops and turns around. " Would you believe that I am being bullied? Me? Nearly a member of the Justice Society and some jocks think it's fun to pick on the new girl. I .." Amidst her wild gesticulations she notices Libbie and stops, aghast.

" Uhmm, Kiku, this is my mother. Mom, this is Kiku Thunder - Johnny's daughter?"

Libbie looks the rather thin young girl up and down and raises an eyebrow. " My, you've grown since I last saw you, m'dear."

" Yeah …whatever. Is there any ice-cream in the fridge? I need some comfort food and bad!" Kiku vaults over the leather sofa and jogs across to the kitchen. Libbie smiles weakly at her mother who has her "Doesn't anyone respect me anymore" face on. Before she can start complaining the front door slams again and Jennie-Lynn leaps into the room, with her hands high in the air.

" Begone hordes of Saalaka! You will never capture Princess Jasmini, Heir to the throne of Zang!" She grins as she bows and greets the room. "Hi Jesse! Hi Mrs. Chambers! Hi Kiku!…" Her face drops, " Jesse, a word with you, in my bedroom, now!" Jennie points to her room and storms off

Jennie sits down on the bed and looks up at Jesse. " What is she doing here?"

" She just appeared. I didn't tell her we were here."

" Well she's got to go. You know what'll happen if she stays. First we'll have to hear all of those stories about the 'war' and then she'll be bitching about your father and then she'll start re-arranging the apartment and finally - and need I remind you that this weekend we are hosting the party of the decade here? - we'll have a horde of super villain types knocking at our door asking whether Ms Lawrence can come out to play! She's a danger-magnet, Jesse!"

"C'mon Jennie, she is my Mom? I can't just tell her to go sleep on the street?"

" Oh my God! Don't tell me you said she could stay here? Please…."

" Just for one or two nights. I said she could stay in the downstairs apartment."

" Granny flat now.."

" Jennie! Everything will be OK. We've got an understanding."

" I'm warning you Jesse, we'll never be able to get rid of her! You're going to be stuck with your Mom as a chaperone!"

Kiku sits crosslegged on the sofa opposite the hypercritical figure of Libbie Chambers. Out of the corner of her eye she is watching the retired heroine for signs of disapproval. Kiku has had the worst day and she is targeting this 50s throwback to take the backlash. She is demolishing the huge tub of ice-cream with practiced ease, her spoon arcing between tub and mouth like a robotic appendage. In her other hand she plays the remote for the 36" TV like a concert pianist, surfing the channels for something of so little educational value that even she can handle it.

Libbie looks at the young woman and tries not to say anything. Oh she tries so hard. It's a gargantuan effort because she knows that she is just going to cause trouble if she tries to get involved but when has that ever solved anything. " Kiku?"

Kiku grunts in reply with her head half into the tub of dessert

" Did I hear that you were being bullied at school?"

Kiku's head snaps up and her lip curls slightly. " And this is your business because..?"

" Oh nothing, I just thought I might be able to help."

" Yeah right lady, I'm sure you really kick butt at the PTA. This is real bullying with real people. I'll handle it."

Libbie smiles, not patronising this time, but a warm generous smile. " Oh yes dear, I can kick butt with the best of them. Who's bullying you?"

" The jocks. I think one of them has a crush on me, you know, and he's doing the boy-thing and showing me by trying to make me feel >this< small."

" So why don't you just play him at his own game? Boys haven't changed and when I was a young girl they were always all talk and no trousers. Next time he comes onto you, smile back and flirt, he'll be out of there faster than Johnny."

" You really think so?"

" I'm positive. And if that doesn't work I've always found a Grippler Cross Face works wonders." Libbie grins.

" You like wrestling??"

" Like it? I love it! I could teach some of those whippersnappers a thing or two, but the beefcake? What's not to like?" Libbie rubs her hands together and she nods at the remote. " So what about it?"

" ALRIGHT!!! J&J aren't into it but I love it!" Kiku jumps off her seat and sits next to Libbie as the screen shows a match half-way through. " So, lets see where you're at? Wrestlemania - who should have won, HHH or the Rock?"

Libbie Chambers was happy that Jesse had seen sense and was letting her stay. She just wanted to make sure that her little girl was safe in her new home - and this party that they had planned was sounding better by the minute. Anyway, she had a purpose to be here now - to make sure that little Kiku overcame her problems at school.

In the shadows on the far side of the apartment, Geist wonders whether that woman is going to take off anymore clothes before she goes to bed and whether it would be rude to watch! Either that or he may have to be sick.

" And … ACTION!" The director sweeps his arm down and the clapperboard snaps.

" Let her go Zang!" The hero waves his blaster pistol at the arrogant figure on the dais before him. The set is an elaborate affair of red silk and gold settings. The lead actor, Brett Baldwin, is wearing a tight pair of black pants and not a lot else. He was supposed to have just come from the Galactic Gladiators contest where he had won the hand of Princess Jasmini - Jade's role

" Never! I will kill her with my own hands before I hand my daughter over to an Earthman! Guards? Kill him!" Zang, played by an Englishman called Llewelynn laughed a very convincing evil cackle.

" Adam! Adam! Save me Adam!" Oh the drama, the pathos! How Jennie had been forced to concentrate on the emotion and the structure of those lines. Evidently however, she has managed to concentrate more on her lines than the costume people have on this ridiculous bikini outfit. The halter clasp springs open and the top of the outfit falls open, revealing her to the crew. She grasps the cloth to her chest and blushes - quite a feat for a green woman.

" CUT! CUT! Jesus - get someone from costume onto this set now, everyone else take five." The director holds his head in his hands and then looks up. " This really isn't rocket science people? There's a reason they call them B-Movies??!"

Llewelynn snorts at Jennie " If you hired a professional we wouldn't have this problem. I will be in my room when the rabble have sorted themselves." With that he storms off, looking slightly ridiculous in his Emperor of the Megaverse costume.

Llewelynn was furious. Not only was he having to keep up this ridiculous façade of being English but now he was having to work with her. He just couldn't believe his bad luck!. He was sure this was the perfect plan - he got himself into a movie and then, at the premiere he hijacked proceedings and pilfered the jewels of the gathered glitterati. A change of MO certainly, but you have to be inventive nowadays, especially at his age.

He wasn't going to be stopped by some 'resting' superheroine - no, this would be the day of the Monocole!!

Kiku hates maths. No, that's a slight understatement. She detests it with a passion!! There is absolutely no point for her to be here and it really is demeaning. She used to run her own business and she never ever, not once, had to deal with the crisis of not knowing how the calculate the area under a curve using differentiation. How had she survived all of these years without that essential knowledge. Indeed, how had the Bandhesian culture managed to thrive through centuries of peace and tranquility without intricate knowledge of integration? Western, boring rubbish.

The bell rings and Kiku is out of her seat like an Olympic sprinter. She had learned her lesson now. She had less than a minute to get to her locker and dump her things before the Jock Squad arrived. As she darts out of the room she slams into the flailing form of Vince, her erstwhile knight in shining armour from her first day at the school. She doesn't stop to see whether she has hurt him. She just sort of uses him for purchase as she runs over his prone form and sprints down the hall, past three No Running signs.

Gaahh! Too late, her nemesis is standing with his back to her locker, waiting. " Hi Kiku…." His friends titter as he blocks her way.

" Look, just get out of my way, you big…"

" No need to get nasty, sweet thing, I just wanted to have a chat with you. Check that you were settled in at the new school?" His posse of cronies cannot suppress their giggles at his ultra-sincere tone.

" Why don't you just stuff it, OK. Hell, I don't even know your name?"

" Bruce. The name's Bruce babe - don't wear it out."

Kiku could feel a seething anger building inside her. She had read about this before - the killer rage of the Bandhesian female when faced with Neanderthal throwbacks. OK, she had never read about it at all, but it might stand up in court as a defense when she gouges his eyes out.

" Kiku! I was trying to …uhmm hi Bruce…" Vince staggers up to Kiku, adjusting his glasses after his collision. Kiku rolls her eyes and sighs.

" Thanks Vince, but as a early warning system, you're pretty useless. Now as a starting block, you're great, but I don't need one of them at the moment."

" Hey, Vince, why don't you just butt out of it?" Bruce stabs a thick finger into the chest of the emaciated young student, sending him staggering backwards across the hall. His cronies gather behind him in an act of over-the-top aggression. " Me and Kiku here have plans to make, places to go, right babe?"

Kiku is just about to launch another verbal assault on the bully when she sees their collective snarl drop like a stone to a cowering panic. To be honest she doesn't know what on Earth is going on but she's pretty glad it is. She takes a step backwards and collides with a very firm chest. She gingerly takes a step forwards and turns around.

When Kiku was on the streets she used to dream about moments like this. Her saviour is a guy she had seen in one of her classes. He is easily six feet tall and buff! Short dark hair, dark skin, deep blue eyes and a nice line in tight t-shirts. He even smells nice!

" I think you should be moving on now Bruce, don't you?" His deep, smooth tones seem to have an almost laxative effect on the bullies, as they sprint in the opposite direction. " Hi, my name's Carlo. You're Kiku - nice to meet you."

" Ehhmmm… >shuffle< … Hi.." Kiku is experiencing serious girly-embarrassment!

" I was thinking, maybe we could get together sometime? There's a party at the weekend at Mikey's house, could I take you?"

Hmm…school party with a dreamboat or hiding in the bathroom from Jesse's friends? " Yeah, that would be great. Pick me up about seven?" Kiku and Carlo walk off, making their arrangements whilst Vince stands, mouth open and heart breaking.

Jennie lies back in the bath and lets the thick bubbles soak into her skin. What a week she's had. The production company on that movie are seriously bad. Even the crew that managed Blood Pack could have done a better job than that. Still, it was work and exposure - two things that she really needed at the moment. It had been a hard choice between her acting and her photography, but she had decided that she needed to make a clean break with her life with Kyle and well, she could get some great green parts!

She looks down at her hand and the dull, emerald starburst on her palm. It had been almost a year since she had lost her powers to the Starheart. At the time she thought that she wouldn't be able to handle it. She had grown up with her powers and they had become an extension of her own body. Other people used a remote on the TV, she just flicked her finger! Or at least she used to…

Her thoughts are broken by the ring of the doorbell. She waits, hoping that Kiku or Libbie have returned since she got in the bath. The bell rings again. For Christ's sake! There is no rest for the sexually attractive. She hauls herself out of the circular bath and quickly slips on her white toweling robe. Still dripping water she shuffles to the door and looks through the peek-hole. It was one of her neighbours. She opens the door a little.

" Yes?"

" I..I.. I'm sorry to disturb you but I think this note was on your door and had fell off." The nervous looking young man holds out a shaking hand and passes her a piece of paper. " My name's Gary…are you really Jade?" He tries to suppress an excited giggle.

Jennie sighs " Yes, I used to be Jade. Thanks for the paper. Bye!" She shuts the door on the man and shakes her head. Why does she have to live with people like that?

Outside the door, Gary is still staring, stunned!

Jennie looks down at the paper. It was from Jay Garrick, the Flash.* Oh God, her Dad must have told him after she had let slip that she was staying with Jesse. If Jesse found out about this… Jennie folds the note up and puts in her address book on the telephone table. She had some serious thinking to do!

(* As seen in Flash #1 - Neil)

The bustling terminus is noisy, smelly and crowded - just the way he remembered it. Rick Tyler swings his holdall over his shoulder and begins to pick his way through the crowds. His tall, broad from cuts a swathe through the mixture of students and families and he finally emerges onto the sidewalk, bathed in the hot LA sun. It was good to be back, good to be fit again, and good to have a purpose in life.