After a few blissful days reading Good Omens, Violet made sure to return the book back to the library. It had been so much fun to read that she thought about going over to bookshop and just buying a copy for herself. It felt like any other Monday except for the fact that as she walked out of the bookshop a cheetah had passed her by without much of a second glance or a sniff. It could also do to the fact that the moment Violet saw the cheetah she immediately went invisible until it was safely down the block. There have been all kinds of animals around, but for Violet this was the first big one that she had seen, and a dangerous one at that.
Going back to being seen, she turned her head and saw her friend Julie. She waved with an excited but surprised expression on her face. âDid you see that! It was just,â she paused. âWalking about like it was enjoying an afternoon stroll or something!â
Julie was still staring at the cheetah in shock when Violet caught her attention. âI --â The look on her face was a mixture of excitement and confusion; it wasnât every day that a big cat wandered on past her, even here in Atlantis. Every now and then, people would wake up as an animal (it had happened to her a handful of times already), but this time, it didnât seem like it was due to that. Wouldnât a human-turned-cheetah try to interact with more people instead of walking on by?
She laughed and shook her head, âI canât believe that just happened. Every time I think Atlantis is done surprising me, there it goes again. It was like it didnât even care we were here!â
âI know!â Violet joined Julie and laughed. âI wonder if it has something to do with the mission? I mean with all the songs weâve been singing and this, definitely has that Disney vibe to it.â Which amused Violet to even say considering she knew her own movie was Pixar which she found out was a sub company to Disney.
âIt really makes me want to see an elephant now. Or those really cute desert foxes!â She grinned. âOther than the sudden wildlife takeover, how are you?â
âHuh, maybe.â Julie hadnât had much time to consider the source. Sheâd chalked it up to just weird Atlantis magic. She knew they couldnât be regular zoo animals, because even they would have panicked out in the real world. Now that Violet mentioned it, it did kind of seem reminiscent of The Circle of Life.
âWell, now Iâm kinda sad that you missed me as an elephant,â Julie mentioned. Sheâd been several animals by now, and each time it was a brand new experience with a steep learning curve. âHowâve you been?â
âIâve been a cat, thatâs it.â Violet complained but it was obvious that she was more amused than truly upset. The fact that she had been a cat was a lot of fun and she can only imagine what fun Julie got into being turned into an elephant. âPlease tell me you have pictures? That would be a lot of fun.â Then a thought popped into her head. âI really hope you werenât in your room at the time?â Thinking it couldnât have been too fun if Julie had accidentally smashed her belongings.
âIâve been okay. Iâm catching up in the school work I missed so I should be ready for college in the fall. Plus with training I feel like I havenât had a lot of time for anything else.â That time she was a little more serious in her complaint. It would be all worth it and it wasnât as if she was all work and no play. Catching up was important to her, but she was still a little annoyed she missed two months in the first place. âThereâs supposed to be some kind of root beer festival in the park. I was thinking about checking it out. I havenât had a root beer in ages, and I bet theyâd make root beer floats.â
Between her own work and school, Julie felt like she didnât have enough time for everything, either. She was on the go all the time â but now that school was over for the summer and sheâd decided not to take summer classes, she got a break. It was nice. It felt normal.
âThey probably make root beer everything,â Julie mused. âRoot beer floats, root beer⌠jewelry, root beer perfume, root beer candy.â Beyond Violetâs shoulder, Julie spotted a pair of giraffes walking across the street. âWe should go to the festival. Youâve been working hard enough, you need some fun.â
Violet laughed. âOkay now I really hope they have root beer perfume.â The things this place could come up with, she could never forget the bad times but at least the good times were enough to keep the people of Atlantis going. Cranes flew overhead as Violet turned towards where the festival was being held.
âYouâre right. I do need some fun! What better way to enjoy a root beer festival than with your best gal pal?â She grinned. âShall we? We can catch up along the way.â
âCanât think of anything better, honestly,â Julie answered, placing her hand over her heart for emphasis. âAnd personally, Iâm hoping for some really off-the-wall uses for root beer flavor and smell, even if you arenât.â
She zipped up so she was standing side by side with Violet and offered up her arm. âShall we, mâlady? Iâm really glad youâre back, by the way. I donât think I said that enough before. Itâs been lonely as heck.â She had Susan and the other Pevensies, and itâd been really great to get to know them and Mia better, but sheâd missed Violet a lot. Violet understood a lot of what made Julie Julie, what made Julie Lightspeed, and in a way very few other people ever had.
âAbsolutely, mâlady!â Violet took her arm happily as they began to walk. âThanks, Julie. I canât tell you how happy I am that Atlantis brought me back. I think Iâm over being annoyed with the fact that I disappeared in the first place, but I know I canât stay angry about it, stuff like that happens, and I know I should be grateful to be brought back here. I miss my parents.â Violet sighed. âBut I still feel like I really belong here.â
Julie understood that. She missed her parents and her siblings, and the other friends sheâd left behind, but sheâd found her place in Atlantis, too. Being in Atlantis, with Susan and the friends sheâd made, with the chance to fight back against probably the biggest evil sheâd ever heard about? She wouldnât have traded it for home if she had the chance.
âI think we belong here, too,â Julie agreed. âSometimes I think about, why were we brought here, over ⌠I donât know, my brother Alex? Or even the Cap from my world? Thereâs gotta be a reason for it, even if we canât always see it.â
Julie made a good point and Violet thought the same thing. âIâve wondered that too. My parents were some of the most popular supers and yet Atlantis brought me and Dash. Not that I mind!â Violet quickly added. âBut I get what youâre saying. I suppose itâs not always up to us to question the why. Weâve done so much while weâre here and I would have never met you if I didnât show up!â She gave a faux sad face.
âYes!â Julie punctuated her exclamation with an excited skip. âThere are other people⌠not that we arenât skilled or whatever, but Alex has been a member of the Future Foundation like, consistently, and Iâm the one who wanted to quit being a superhero to have a normal life.â Maybe there was something about the perspective sheâd gained during the time she stepped away. Maybe her world couldnât spare Alex. Sheâd just been going to college; that could be done anywhere.
âHave you given any thought about what you wanna study in the fall?â
Julieâs comment made her think. âMaybe the universe or really Atlantis found a way so you could do both? You are happy here, right?â Violet wanted to check in because even if people could leave if they choose to, that didnât mean staying was always the easy choice. Violet understood that sometimes being in Atlantis can ask a lot of a person.
âIâm not sure yet.â Violet sighed. âI was thinking of being undeclared in the first semester and hope that taking different classes, something would feel right. I mean I need to take a lot of gen ed classes anyway.â She shrugged. âItâs tough when you have a lot of fields youâre interested in.â
Now there was an idea: the universe bringing her to Atlantis so she could go to school and use her abilities. Julie tipped her head to the side a little as she thought about it, a wide grin spreading across her face. There was really no way to know for sure, but she liked the thought of some part of the universe throwing her a bone like that. She was pretty certain she had earned it.
âYouâve got time. Iâm still not sure what I want to settle on, either. I keep thinking, whatâs most practical?â Julie wrinkled her nose a little. âSo I have to get over that and just follow my heart. The rest will fall into place eventually.â The world was at her fingertips, here. It was a little daunting. âAnd yeah, Iâm happy. Really happy.â