Billy Batson (originalmarvel) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-11-06 20:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, anya corazon (spider-girl), billy batson (captain marvel) |
"Holy Moley!"
Who: Billy and Cora
Where: Ancient Egypt
What: Things go very wrong during a market trip.
When: three years in
Warnings/Rating: PG-13 for violence
Status complete
Cora smiled at Billy as they threaded and haggled their way through the market. Every trip was fun, and educational, and if she was honest, she liked watching Billy hoisting furniture, or bags of grain for grinding into flour. Lots of men went without shirts, but this one she was allowed to stare at, because their cover story claimed that they were married.
Sometimes, she had to dodge questions from the women of the village of why they didn’t have and children yet, and when they were going to start a family, but she’d just shrug. She was finally learning to let go of her own childhood. And she wasn’t sure if it was good or bad that she was starting to notice Billy as a man. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, but it had been three years without so much as a wrinkle in time.
Billy smiled to her as he lowered the basket of assorted fruit he had been carrying, and pulled out the water bottle. On the outside it looked clay and small, but inside it was magically ice cold, and bottomless, or very nearly so, anyway. He sipped from it, and handed it to her, nodding, talking to her in english, since no one else could understand it. “Its a nice day for this. you know?” He admired her form and her dress, though it was, mostly, traditional. he still found he noticed her a lot more than other women.
These days, he found himself noticing her a whole lot more. He had been in love with Barbara when he left home, and he still loved her, true, but a part of him was starting to wonder… just what he felt for Cora, that made his heart pound so much, and his eyes widen when he first saw her in the morning.
He blew out a long breath of air, feeling guilty, but he smiled. “I think we have most of our list, yes? And a few extras. Just need the supplies for your crafting yes?”
Cora could feel the tension that seemed to ebb and flow between them from time to time, but she didn’t know how to fix it, or if it was something that needed fixing at all. It didn’t seem to be hurting their ability to work and live together, or be causing any rifts in their communication. It was just there.
She nodded, and reached for his hand, giving a gentle squeeze. “I think so. Unless you want to walk and talk some more?”
He squeezed her hand and shook his head. “Nah. I just wanted to make sure we had these things and…” And then there was a roar from the area toward the river and something giant, green and with lots of teeth came up out of it and seemed to simply devour those closest.
“Holy Moley!”
Cora gasped, her heart leaping into her throat and stomach lurching as she saw the beast swallowing men like grapes. Her grip on Billy’s hand tightened for a moment, and she knew they had a choice to fight or flee. But was it really a choice? Could they really turn and run when they had the power to act?
“We have to do something!”
Billy was already stepping forward and then he closed his eyes, and his skirt shimmered and changed, before her eyes, into Captain Marvel’s uniform. “Sooner or later, it always happens.” He smiled to Cora, eyes wiser, if a little sadder. “Lets stop some bad things.” and he leaped forward, powerful muscles propelling him forward and toward the thing, where he delivered a single punch, sending it back for a moment, with a cry like something out of a dinosaur movie.
Cora nodded, and changed into uniform as well, following on Billy’s heels. If she was honest, it was a marvel they hadn’t run into trouble like this any sooner. But she felt sure they were ready to handle it. She leaped toward the monster, pivoting her hips and delivering a jumping back-kick to drive it further from the civilians, giving people time to run for cover. Perhaps some of the fishermen would join them in the fight, but the fewer people its thrashing limbs could reach while they battled it, the better.
“What’s got you so riled up, huh?” she asked the beast, opening her mind to Billy and stretching out her awareness of their surroundings. Not that she really expected the creature to answer, but she couldn’t help wondering if it was in the habit of snacking on the locals, or if something strange had happened to provoke it.
Billy smiled at her, then gently took hold of the thing, trying to pin it as it roared, and pushed at them with a cry of rage. Something had stimulated it, forcing it to grow, but what? It thrashed and it’s tail slammed down, smashing some stalls too close to the water. “Come on, big guy! Calm down.”
Cora reached out toward the creature’s mind, trying to project calm, while gathering as much information as she could sense about it, and its environment. She heard herself humming a familiar tune, the same one she used to hum to Nate when he couldn’t sleep. Whether she was trying to lull the creature, or simply use the tune to help her focus her powers, she wasn’t sure, but if nothing else, it seemed to help keep herself calm while she assessed the situation.
“What has changed about the river in the past three years?”
The being thrashed and struck out at them, pain and anger filling it and wanting only destruction. It’s mind was full of pain caused by something that glowed, far upriver. Billy held on as it started to thrash harder. “He’s going berserk!”
Cora got a flash of something--an image, and impression, and a lot of pain--but as much as she wanted to fix whatever was hurting this strange creature, she knew they wouldn’t be able to do anything until they stopped the creature from hurting any more people. So she swooped in, aiming for the creature’s legs, and looking for weak spots--hoping to bring it down as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Her strikes sent it tumbling to the ground and finally enabled Billy to get a choke hold around it’s neck with his powerful arms. And slowly, slowly, it ran out of air, and fell into unconsciousness. Billy relaxed, breathed deep for a moment, then chanted a soft spell, reducing it in size, and putting it into a bag. “This won't last long., but if we can find out what happened, maybe we can reverse it?”
Cora nodded. “I got a flash of something that I think was one of the creature’s memories. Something glowing, upstream.” She wasn’t sure what it was, but she was sure that there was something there. “We could check it out?”
“Sounds like a plan.” He hefted the creature. “You lead and I will follow.” he winked at her. “Besides, the natives are getting restless.” A ways off, a crowd was forming, some cheering for the heroes.
Cora smiled, but she felt a flutter of nervous energy run through her. She hoped that no rumours would get back to the pharaoh, or that they would just stay rumours. She took off running upstream, not wanting to start flying until they were out of sight of the crowd. "This way."
He ran after her, and admired the view, blushing as he did so. “I’m following, milady.” He grinned as he followed, hoping this would go down as a mystery to most.
"I know." She knew he could keep up, she knew they only had a short time before the spell wore off of the crocodile creature. She laughed to herself, and muttered something about a "ticking crock," as she darted around a building and leaped into the air. She really hoped they could help the poor thing.
He shot up after her, smiling as he joined her in the skies and stretched out one hand to her, companionably holding her hand as they shot toward the start of the mighty river Nile. “How are you feeling? Been our first real action as Marvels together.” You were magnificent.
Cora smiled, and squeezed Billy's hand as they flew. Warmth washed over her at his unspoken compliment, and began to ease the knot of anxiety in her tummy. "Nervous. Excited. Worried about what comes next. A little bit proud." Flattered.
“We’ll kick ass and save the day. It’s what heroes are for, and is what people do, when they have to.” He smiled at her, eyes warm. Just the truth, my dear lady.
She gave the mental equivalent of a nod, letting herself focus on the task at hand, and the knowledge that Billy was right there with her. "I want to try and show you what I saw," she said by way of warning before she attempted to project the image and impression she had gotten from the creature into Billy's mind. She hoped it would become more clear when they got closer to the head of the river, but she also wanted her partner to be as prepared ah possible before they arrived.
He ‘listened’ to what she showed him and hoped they would know what to do when they saw it, or… found it…. or something. He knew they were in for an adventure. What kind, well, that was what he did not know.
“Somewhere ahead is something dangerous, and we’ll have to act together. Can you use your power to link us?”
"I'll do my best," Cora said, with hardly any hesitation. With Captain Marvel's power of knowledge, she'd been able to learn a great deal about her telepathy, how it worked, and what she could do with it. She was able to discern how her bond with Nate had been formed, and how she could strengthen the bond she had with Billy to unite their shared powers. She could sense how their abilities would fit together like two halves of a whole.
She stretched out to him with her senses, touching his aura, and his mind, just as tangibly as she held his hand. She felt a whisper of power go out of her, then rush back, and she wondered if Billy felt it the same way. How's your head?
Billy shivered and smiled as his joy and legitimate warmth of feeling toward her touched her, grinning. Good, very good. I can feel you. Flying with her, and now this? This was awesome!
Awesome. Cora let her fondness and trust echo back to Billy, knowing they would need all the confidence and assuredness they could muster to face...whatever was coming. Not too overwhelming, I hope? It was the first time she had tried something like this in real combat, and getting distracted with new sensations was probably not so awesome as being able to predict each other's moves.
Billy smiled as he felt her emotions and flew along. No, it feels good, like… being held close by someone. A touch of embarrassment, but not guarding to the slight arousal it brought also.Sorry
Mm. She'd only meant to send an affirmation, and assurance that she wasn't upset, but she found the feeling of intimacy strangely comforting after so long without being able to touch Nate's mind. She'd missed it. But she didn't dwell on it, not while they had a mystery to solve, and probably a battle to win. Don't be sorry. You haven't done anything wrong.
He smiled over at her as he spotted the sharp cliffs and valley that marked the mouth of the river. “Mmm, there it is.” And he descended. As he did, he suddenly hit a wall of power and found himself falling, the giant creature falling too, before it winked out and vanished, leaving Billy feeling powerless and quickly falling downward.
When she sensed Billy hitting that invisible wall, Cora darted backward, afraid she might smash into it as well. She had a split second to realize that he was falling, and then plunged after him, grabbing hold and slowing his descent with her own power. Safely landed, she looked him up and down to make sure they were both all right and the creature was contained before wrapping her arms around him for a brief, heartfelt embrace.
“What was that? Some kind of force-field?”
He hugged her back, breathing heavy, then nodded. “That and a trap, some sort of pre-set spell set to catch someone not normal.” He calmed and smiled. “Thank you.” He hugged her again, his thanks warm in his mind.
A trap for someone with powers? Cora’s brow furrowed as she considered the possibilities of what that might mean. Had someone already caught on to them, and lured them here deliberately? Was it just a coincidence? She sighed, and pushed the questions away as she returned Billy’s hug, pulling herself together. “We’ll have to proceed with caution.”
“Definitely. I think we should proceed on foot.” He pointed toward some dunes. “If whoever it is doesn’t already know we’re here, it’s that way.”
“Just a second,” she said, clasping Billy’s arm. Shifting her focus, her lips formed a silent, but familiar incantation, and their uniform changed from its traditional colors to something that would blend in with the sand dunes around them. “Just in case.”
Billy felt the change roll over him as his costume and nodded. "You always were the smart.one." He kissed her cheek and smiled as he led the way over the dunes, then come to a halt. "Holy moley!" There below them was.a.spaceship, broken,.crashed, and glowing.
Cora beamed a the praise, and followed Billy toward that glowing beacon. When she saw the wreckage, she just stared, pressing a hand to her mouth. Were there survivors down there? Was it a ward they’d run into, rather than a trap? She tentatively stretched out her senses to scan the area, checking for life--and additional booby-traps.
There was something angry down there, and in pain, and something ancient. Billy even felt it when her probing disturbed whatever it was, and then they both heard the roar. Part of the ship broke off and there was a trembling as something slowly moved along it, until, out of one of the holes, came a being… and Billy stared.
“Holy Moly, it’s a dragon.” Or something like it. Wounded, angry, and with no sign of reason in his eyes, the dragon alien lifted up to back legs (proving it was a male in the process) and roared, a wave of magic going out from that roar toward Billy and Cora. “Down!” Billy held out his hand and snapped out three words, and a glittering sphere came into being around them, just before the wave hit it. It changed several colors, and they were thrown to the ground, but otherwise, nothing got through. “Asimov’s Prismatica won’t hold under that kind of pressure for long.”
“What do we do?” Cora asked, her mind cycling through options as she tried not to give in to panic. This was big. Really big. “Can we heal him?”
“Yes, maybe.” He swallowed as the thing got closer.”I can try to hold it, like with the croc, and you try to heal it.” He nodded. “Just… be careful.” He squeezed one of her hands, worry on his face. “I believe in you.”
Cora held his hand, feeling the strength of their combined powers. She trusted him, and she could feel his unshakeable faith in her, and that gave her hope. She stretched out her mind, reaching for the dragon with her power, to pinpoint the location and the cause of its injury. As she did, she projected calm, and good will, trying to communicate to it that she only wanted to help. Hey there, handsome. Show me where it hurts.
The creature thrashed, and Billy gently pinned it, feeling the strain as it thrashed.more. Its mind fixated on torn internal muscles, and a slow pumping heart.
“Shh…” Cora crooned, reaching out with her powers to try and calm its thrashing and ease the pain. If she could get it to lie still, its heart wouldn’t have to work so hard while she tried to repair the muscles. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes at its suffering, but she ignored them, and concentrated on her work, praying that it would be enough. She’d never tried to do something so intricate before.
And slowly, slowly, the thing subsided, until it was fast asleep, and breathing easier. and Billy, smiling softly, tears in his eyes, looked at her. “You did it.” He stepped toward her, hand outstretched. “You are incredible…”
Cora dashed the tears from her cheeks; trembling with exertion, and triumph as she reached for Billy’s hand. One hand wasn’t enough, though--she threw her arms around his neck and clung to him as the tears continued to flow freely. “We did it.” But what do we do now? They still had a bit of a mess to sort out.
Billy hugged her tight and kissed her hair, stroking her back lightly, gently. You are amazing, and now…; I think a little more magic can help this. The ship looks repairable and that means we can send it away. Send this guy home. Which would be good for everyone, really.
She smiled, letting out a breath of relief as she glanced over at the ship. It was like they were the heroes in their very own movie--but they could laugh and cheer about that more when the job was done. “Go-go gadget, sonic screwdriver!”
Okay, maybe they could laugh and cheer while they got the job done.
Billy laughed. “Almost!” He eyed the wreck, puts his hands together and cracked his knuckles, and then called out in an ancient language the magic would translate to her, in formal tones. “Ancient spirits of fire, air, earth, and water, I choose you!” He winked at her, then went on.
“Something alien has come to Earth and needs help to be on it’s way. To right the balance and set things right, I call upon the ancient truces, and request thy aid!”
And the air itself shimmered as a flicker of flame, a whirlwind of air, a spout of water, and a spinning ball of rocks appeared before them. A gravelly voice spoke after a moment.
“Child of Earth. Long has it been since one of you called on us. On the word of the ancient truces, we will aid you. And because we too do not wish this alien thing here.”
“Thank you, Lord Earth. “
Then he nodded to Cora. “Now you’ll see some real magic.” The ancient spirits could do things like no one else. Brownies and gnomes had come from mortals touched truly by them, those able to repair and take things apart so well, and these were the true spirits.
Cora watched, awestruck, as the elemental spirits appeared. Her world was growing bigger and bigger all the time, and even knowing things like this existed somewhere, to have birthed the stories that she loved so well, seeing with her own eyes was another matter. All she could think was "wow."
And Billy snagged one of her hands as he spoke with the element lord and soon the ship was slowly being rebuilt, shifted, and fixed, until it gleamed once more and the spirits, not ones for small talk, vanished. “Think you can communicate with the Dragon man that he can take his ship and it is repaired now?”
Cora felt a surge of awe and gratitude, but she didn’t get a chance to express it out loud. Still, she supposed the best way to do so would be to send their guest on his way. She nodded, and brushed the Dragon’s mind, gently rousing him with the knowledge that the repairs were made and he was free to take his leave with their goodwill. Hopefully, no further complications would arise...but she knew they’d roll with the punches just like always.
The dragon swore at them in an ancient language and then crawled into it’s ship. A moment later the ship was rising, before one turret turned their way. “Watch out!” Cora was just as strong as Billy was, so it was silly, but he flung himself between her and the ship as it fired, then shot off into the sky.
“Ow!” Nothing but his pride and his skin was hurt, but that had stung. Nearby the crocodile shrank back to normal size and scuttled away.
Cora ducked, blinking in astonishment and indignation as the ship fired at them. How rude! Rude, rude, rude. She took a deep breath, reminding herself that she wasn’t twelve years old (even if she really was), and turned her attention to more important things. With the crocodile gone, that left her alone with Billy, who had just tried to take a bullet (laser-bolt?) for her. Sillybutt.
“Are you alright?”
Billy nodded, and smiled at her. “Just out of breath.” He chuckled and then sighed. “That was wild.” He glanced around, and nodded. “It’s beautiful up here. Wouldn't mind living some place like this.” He turned back to her, eyes bright. “You were magnificent. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, though once Billy turned to look at her, it was harder to pay attention to the scenery. It was lovely, but it sort of faded into the background. “I’m okay.” A little tired, but at the same time, exhilarated.
Billy hugged her tight, pulling back slightly. “You were amazing! And I thought that yu might get hurt and then….” His heart was pounding as he stared at her so close and shivered, adrenaline and emotions filling him.
She held him tightly, feeling him shake, and searching his face. He seemed more scared than in pain, but there was something else. Something that made her feel warm, and tingly, and...she really wanted to kiss him. She was rising on her toes, lifting her face toward his almost before she registered the thought.
Billy had something similar building in him and he did not question it, not here and now. Instead, he kissed her, slow and long, and full of warmth, care, and need. He groaned into the kiss, arms sliding around her, pulling her close, and meeting her there on that field of battle and victory with care. When the kiss ended, he felt stunned. and was blushing. “Wow…”
Cora felt a rush of emotion and sensation as she returned the kiss, carefully, lovingly, tenderly--yet eagerly at the same time. She was a little breathless when they parted, but it seemed to her that Billy felt the same way. She blushed, and stepped back a bit, but stayed within the circle of his arms. Wow seemed to say it just about right.
“I, ah… we should go home, and then we should do that more and maybe talk about it some. Yes?” He swallowed, and pecked her on the lips fast this time, grinning. He was reluctant to let go of her. So, why not? It took an effort of will and then they were aloft, his arms around her.
Cora nodded, not quite able to find her voice just yet. She hugged him tighter, and let him fly away home, her head resting on his shoulder.
***
When they landed in the alley behind their house, he using the magic to shield them, he was glad to open their door and let them in, where he turned to her and smiled, arm still around her. And he kissed her again. It felt good, to do so, and warming, and…Barbara. Guilt hit him, but not as much as he had thought, and not nearly as sharp, but he sighed and slowly eased back. “We should probably talk about this.”
Cora let Billy lead her into the house, in a happy sort of haze; wrapping her arms around his waist once they were safely inside. She wasn’t really thinking outside of the present moment, and in the present moment, she felt very accomplished, and very affectionate. And then Billy broke away, leaving her with parted lips, and a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Barbara.
And Nate.
“Oh, my god, Billy--I’m so sorry!” She turned, and covered her face with her hands. She hadn’t meant to make him cheat on Barbara. She hadn’t meant to cheat on Nate.
“Whoah! You didn’t do anything wrong! Nor did I. Which is why we need to talk!” he poked her in the nose. “Come on. Let’s sit down, because we need to talk this out right.” He led her to the couch.
“Now, first off, I can feel your emotions a little… we are not cheating on anyone. I feel guilty because of what I had with Barbara. But we’ve been here for three years. Will we be rescued? Probably someday. Should we live as nun and monk until then? Nobody would want that, no one good, anyway, and I know our loves are good.”
He smiled softly, realizing as he spoke that he spoke with intent and what was in his heart, explaining it to himself as he did to her.
“I love Barbara, even now, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t love you, too, Cora. Maybe it’s not the same, but… I dunno that it’s a bad not the same. I’ve been living with you for three years. and I’ve known you for over a year before that, through agings and powers and all! Hell, I know you better than I know Barbara. “
He sighed. “I’m not saying we should dive into anything, fast, but I am saying we have nothing to feel guilty about.”
Cora blinked at his gentle, yet almost playful redirection; allowing him to guide her into the house, and sitting down beside him, trying to quell the flutter of nerves in her stomach. SHe listened to what he had to say, and didn’t argue, even though her mind was whirling. She knew that Nate had said that he would wait for her; that he would always find her, no matter what happened, but time was wibbly-wobbly, and time-travel often went backwards, forwards, upside down, and sideways. Nate might be an old man by the time he found her, or perhaps no time would have passed for him at all. He would want her to be happy, she knew that. And she did love Billy. But she didn’t want to hurt Nate.
“If we haven’t done anything to feel guilty about, then why do we feel guilty?”
“Because we love two other people, and we are afraid we are going to hurt them. And that is valid, but it is also true that we are not there, and they are not here, and we need to live.” He smiled then and shook his head. “Which is to say… maybe we should consider looking at the idea of a serious relationship… in time.” He smiled softly at her.
Cora could still feel her heart pounding, and she sucked on her bottom lip. She didn’t like the idea of Nate moving on without her any more than she liked the idea of him being miserable forever. She didn’t want to hurt him, or Billy, or even Barbara whom she had never met. She wasn’t sure she would be able to look Barbara in the eye right now.
So she just did her best to look Billy in the eye, instead. “What happens if...when...we do go back? Even when Nate came back to his younger body, things didn’t just go back to the way they were.”
Billy shook his head. I don’t know. We are in our bodies, I think…” Billy rubbed his face softly. “All I know is that I’m a little different than I was when I left. And If this lasts longer, I might be even different. I don’t want to hurt anyone, or lose them, but I also have no idea what would happen if we went back even now.” He shivered. “I’m 20 years old now, for gosh sakes! I was seventeen when we left! I’ll have to get new Identity papers or something…”
Cora slipped her arms around his waist, hugging him gently. She didn't mention her own
age, because that would just muddle things even more. "Let's think about us, then," she said. "We love each other. That won't change, I hope, no matter where we are. Going back to 2013, 2014 will be a change, no matter how soon it might or might not happen. So, what do you want for us? Are we just...just for right now? Do you think we could last, in the long run?"
She was hesitant to say forever, even though the ponies and princesses side of her still clung to happy ever afters, but she was grown up enough to know that people changed all the time, and if you didn't grow with them, sometimes you grew apart. And there was no telling whether they would have grown into Barbara and Nate at this point in their lives.
"I've never done this before. But I don't think our relationship is not serious just because we aren't...you know. Having sex."
He hugged her equally gently. “I think we’re married now, as much in spirit as we are in name, and while we went into it as a cover, its become more. I love you, too, and… yeah, we could last, long term. I think we should take our time, keep getting to know each other, keep learning about each other, you know?”
He planted a silly little kiss on her nose. “I like holding you and doing things with you, and now, well, kissing you. And I know that back in the future world, we would have other jobs and whatnot, but… I’ve been thinking I might get into the metalwork field there, and maybe even look into running a store of some kind. I want to be a psychologist, but… that’s a long term thing, you know?” He blushed and smiled at her.
“I don’t know what will happen when we go back, but I guess we should think… when and if we go back, do we want to try to make us work, or do we want to try to go back to those others we love?”
He held her and if his hands were maybe only just above her rear on her back, well, he felt that he was still being pretty darned good.
Married. Billy’s words wrapped around her like a warm blanket, helping her to relax. His arms around her certainly didn’t hurt. “I don’t know what I want to do for work, or college,” she said, ducking her head against his shoulder. “My daydreams were still full of ballerina ninjas when we left home, and I was still trying to figure out what that might look like in real life. My goal was to survive my freshman year of high school, and take classes online if I couldn’t stand it.”
Her fingers idly stroked the front of Billy’s uniform, up and down his sternum. “I don’t know if I can answer all these questions yet, but I don’t think I could just switch back and pretend like this never happened. I care about you both too much.”
“Then, here is my idea. We go forward being us, and we kiss, and hug and snuggle and we talk as we go. If something evolves, then it does, and if not, then it doesn’t.” He nodded.
Cora nodded back, lifting her head to kiss the corner of Billy’s mouth. He had always been so understanding, and patient. “If something does evolve,” she said, “What about pregnancy?” This whole adventure had started because Nate and Neena’s baby had been left behind in that alternate timeline, and she didn’t want that to happen again just because ancient contraception techniques took more work and forward planning than modern ones. Besides… “I’m not ready to be a mother.”
He kissed the side of her mouth, and hugged her. “We have a couple of spells. If you think about pregnancy and about magic, the spell will come out. It should stop pregnancy for some time.and can be done for both bodies.” He blushed, cheeks red. “I’m not ready to be a dad, either, so, yes.” He smiled at her, eyes dancing. “And we can cast that simply enough, then not be worried in case… something comes up.” His chuckle was gentle.
Cora giggled softly, and hugged him again. “Okay.” One less thing to worry about, anyway. She smiled. “So, I guess we’ll see how things go.”
Billy nodded and hugged her. “We should have dinner and then we can--” He was interrupted by a banging on the door and a chanting outside, a chanting the magic translated into something sinister. “Witches! Demons! Evil!”
And another voice. “In the name of the Pharaoh, come out and into the custody of the Pharaoh's own!”
Billy went pale. “I suppose it was too much to hope for that people would not have realized it was us, or that they would be grateful.” He reached for her hand again, and nodded. “I’m sorry, but I have a feeling we have to go.”
Cora shivered, and squeezed Billy’s hand, but nodded as well. “We’ll get through this. Together.”
And together, they shot out the hidden roof door and into the sky, and Billy glanced back. Then he shook his head. “Darn it.” He flew in silence a moment. “We’ll have to make a new home, I was thinking we could head for America. It’s a long ways away, but with our powers we can get there swiftly. Make a new home in areas not yet explored even by the Native Americans, and spend our lives there, together. Or we could head for England, which is not much civilized yet, either…”
“Whatever you think is best,” she said. It was harder than she thought, to leave everything behind that they had worked to build over the past three years. But at least they still had each other.
Billy sighed. “The wisdom says it is, but… I hate it.” he hugged her close as he arced them West, toward Europe, and toward all that would lay between them and a new life. “We can do anything, together.”
~fin~