Corazon is not just a girl. She's Spider-girl. (beat_and_break) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-06-12 20:30:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, anya corazon (spider-girl), billy batson (captain marvel) |
WHO: Cora Mallory, Billy Batson
WHAT: Placement tests, tutoring
WHEN: following this text
WHERE: the Mallory's
WARNINGS: n/a
Billy was excited to see his friend, Cora, and to do what he could to help her. And frankly it would be nice to talk to someone who understood weird things happening. He wanted to tell her about his weird adventures lately and becoming older for a moment and then back and all of it. So, one afternoon, he headed for her place, carried by the taxi he was very familiar with.
Ben gave the young man a smile and nod as he climbed into the back of the cab. “Good to see you again, Billy,” he said, conversationally. “How’s the recovery? Heading anyplace special?”
He carefully settled in and smiled. Closing the door, he nodded, smiling wider. “Yeah, slow but good. And to my friend, Cora’s house, the Mallory Residence? Do you know it? I have the address if not.”
“Elaine Mallory; Evergrace Massage?” Ben asked, just to confirm. “I know it.” He’d driven a few people to Elaine’s clinic since she’d opened up shop--and to visit the family as well. He gave a nod, and headed that way. “Ms. Mallory’s business seems to be gaining quite the glowing reputation.”
“That’s the one. Thanks.” Billy nodded, grinning. Elaine’s success made him happy. “Yeah. She’s pretty awesome and very good at her job, and I think that shows.”
“I’ve heard good things.” Ben smiled. “Wish I’d known about her that time I tore my hamstring, but I’m not sure if she was set up yet, back then. Oh well. Maybe next time.” He chuckled. “Not that I’m planning on tearing a hamstring ever again.”
“None of that! Can’t have the best cabbie in town getting hurt.” Billy grinned at him, enjoying the banter. “How is work going, anyway?”
“Work is going well,” Ben said, “I was lucky to have Memorial day to catch my breath. Work at the community center is going great, too. What about you? Anything new on your horizon?”
“With summer off from school and tutoring, I can relax and help prep some friends for their next levels casually, and work more hours at Urdnot Ranch and at the studio I work at, once I heal up in a few weeks. For now, it’s rest, rest, rest.”
Billy nodded. He knew he needed it, even if he disliked having to rest.
“Better to rest up now than wind up with complications in the healing process later,” Ben agreed. “But you’ll be back in action before you know it.”
“True. And thanks.” Billy smiled. “Right now, I just want it to be over with, you know? But, time will pass.” He stretched carefully and sat back. “Today, I’m going to meet a friend and help her start boning up for next fall.” He smiled.
“I hear ya.” Ben nodded, glancing in the mirror as he drove. It wouldn’t be much farther to Evergrace, and the Mallory residence. “Best of luck to both of you.”
Billy smiled as they approached. “Thanks. The same to you. I hope everything keeps going well!” He grinned wider, feeling anticipation for the coming meeting. Would Cora look the same in person as she had on the net? How was she? And Miss Mallory? He made a mental note to check in with her, too.
Ben thanked him, and was soon pulling up in front of Ms. Mallory’s residential entrance to let his passenger off. He could already see the younger Miss Mallory-Dresden peering out the front window, then bouncing out onto the porch to greet her friend. “Somebody looks happy to see you,” he teased. “Best not keep her waiting.”
Billy chuckled and paid Ben, then slid out carefully. “Thanks, Ben. Good day!”
And he slowly moved toward that porch, and grinned wider. “Hey, Cora. You look amazing.” And she did, incredibly different, but good! He was suddenly aware that in her new body, she didn’t look much younger than him. And he blushed.
Cora smiled, bounding down the steps toward him with her arms outstretched. She knew she’d have to be gentle, but unless Billy objected, there would be hugs. Because clinging is what Spider-girls do best. “You look like you tangled with an ambulance and lost,” she said, “When did this happen?”
Billy hugged her tight and grinned at her, kissing her cheek. “A few weeks ago. Just after our last tutoring session. I am sneaky sometimes.” He winked at her.
And he hugged her more.
“Sneaky,” Cora echoed, slipping under his good arm to draw him up the steps toward the door. She’d let go once they were there, so she could open doors for him, but in the meantime, she stayed close. “Like my powers, creeping up on me after the recital.”
he moved with her, smiling softly. Billy was grateful for her assistance and smiled as they got toward the door. “Exactly. And mine waking up oddly between encountering orcs and now.”
He made a soft smile at her, and groaned as they shifted up those stairs. Evil things, stairs.
“Should have gone ‘round to the kitchen,” Cora mused, realizing belatedly that there were fewer steps up to the door on that side of the house. “Sorry. Almost there.”
“It’s okay. I’ll make it.” He grinned at her. “Got the best helper in the world.” With her help, he did get to the door and in, and sighed as he did so, leaning against it from the inside. “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.” He smiled wider as he looked at Cora. “And definitely a lot stronger than you look.”
Cora smiled back at him for a moment,then her expression shifted in concentration; the blue exoskeleton growing over her head, neck, and shoulders, and down her arms. Or at least, she tried to coax it out, but either it was being shy, or it knew she wasn’t really in danger, and it only crept out part-way before vanishing again; retreating back to wherever it went when the coast was clear. “A lot stronger.”
Billy gaped, then grinned at her. “But not nearly as strong outside as you are inside, still.” He hugged her tight, and smiled. “Now help me to a chair, young lady, and tell me more.” His eyes danced.
Cora led him to the living room, where he could sit and relax while they talked. She told him about the falling lights, and how she’d thrown herself over the younger girl, and the symbiotic exoskeleton had protected her; and how she’d woken up the next morning to discover that she was almost grown. “So now I have to change schools, or be home-schooled so I don’t have to explain why my birth certificate says I’m only nine years old.”
Billy smiled at her and settled down, then listened and nodded as she told him her story. Her tale was amazing. No more, so, maybe than others he knew, but he knew her closely, and so it felt more so.
He reached out to squeeze one of her hands. “I’m sorry. That sucks.”
He nodded to her, thinking. “Can I help?”
She held his hand, grateful for the comfort as she considered the offer. “It helps, having someone to help me figure out where I’d fall in class. And that I would know somebody there. I think I want to go to your school, if I go anywhere.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do. ’ll help you find your place, and help you find your way around creekside if you go there.” Billy smiled wide. It would be cool to have a friend there.
“Cool!” Corazon brightened, and leaned over to give Billy another gentle hug. “Do you want something to eat or drink before we start?”
He hugged her warmly, and smiled, nodding. “Uhm, sure. Some water, if you have any bottled?” he didn’t want anything heavy, and he hoped to find where she should be placed before he had to go.
“Sure. Mom keeps some in the fridge for clients and guests.” Corazon excused herself to the kitchen to grab a bottle, then returned to sit beside her friend. She was excited to begin, and hoped that she would be able to keep up.
Billy smiled as he watched her go, then came back. “Okay. now, I grabbed some basic assessment tests. Don’t worry about what you can’t fill out and repetition can be ignored. We just want to see what you know and how you feel about it, okay? No pressure.”
"Okay." Cora grabbed a pencil from the box she'd set out on the coffee table in preparation. "How long do I have to finish?"
“As long as you need. This isn’t a test to see how you do at a test, just to see where you fit in as far as knowledge and you can ask general questions about the questions, just not specifics.” He felt nervous. He had never overseen anyone doing anything like this, and he was hopeful for his friend.
“Okay.” Cora nodded, glancing over some of the questions on the first page. As long as she didn’t have to worry about a time limit, she thought she would be okay. Countdowns made her a little nervous, especially since this was somewhat new material. But she was also a little bit excited. “I’m ready. Do you want something to read while you wait, or anything?”
Billy grinned and pulled a comic book out, and waved it. “I brought something, but thank you. You just relax and do what you can, and if you need to stop, just tell me.”
Cora nodded, and began to work, skipping over a few things here and there, and going back to them later. Some of them she was able to work out, with hints, or the memory came to her if she gave her brain a rest. Some of them she just drew blanks.
“Okay,” she said, setting down her pencil after a while, and reaching for her own water. “I think I want to take a break for a minute. Do you want to look at my progress so far?”
“Sure. Get some water, walk around a little. I can mark what you’ve answered so far, as done, and when and if you are ready to go on, you can.” He rose and hugged her, then took her work and started checking it through. She was ahead in some places, almost college level and past that in a few places, and in others still lower down in grades, But in all levels, so far, she was years past where she had been. He was impressed.
Cora took her water bottle to the kitchen to refill, and then let Mister out into the back yard with her while she stretched her legs. When she returned, she brought the cat back in with her, along with the clean laundry that had been hanging on the line. She left the basket on top if the dryer, and went back to find Billy. “How did I do?”
Billy smiled at her. “Really good. You placed smack dab in the middle of average for 10th grade work, and with some college level work as well raising your scores, so far.” He grinned at her. “Unless something changes in the rest, you could be on your way to sophomore year this fall.”
Cora smiled, bouncing in her seat a little. she'd only expected to start out as a freshman, so the news that she wasn't actually behind all that much, and even ahead in some places was pretty exciting for her. "That's awesome. I'll keep going, so I know what I need to study over the summer. I'm having a lot more fun with it than I expected."
Billy smiled, eyes twinkling at her as she expressed her enthusiasm. He liked that about her. Like him, she seemed to take joy in learning. He hugged her impulsively. "I have every confidence that you'll do well. And when you get there this fall, I'll be there to help." It would be his senior year, and he was looking forward to it.
Cora hugged him tight, latching on to the prospect of attending school with one of her best friends. Sure, he’d graduate before she did, but she’d find her balance by then, and they would always have the Valarnet to keep in touch. And they had at least a year before they had to worry about graduations. “It’s gonna be great!”
Billy smiled at her, and nodded, hugging her close. “Yes it is! You and me, in high school? Exploring a whole new frontier? This rocks!” He was looking forward to it.