Chapter 3
Damian wanted to stab Jon while Jon was running to catch up with him with his usual puppy energy.
-Damian, good morning! Did you hear about the raid on the Mayflower Hotel in Gotham? They say Batman was involved!
Jon was as subtle in finding information as an excited golden retriever in a glass shop. Damian sometimes wondered how he could be the son of two journalists, but then he remembered that Superman could write about himself and for the rest he had his super senses helping him.
-Yes, I was close. But I've been busier. – Damian looked at Jon. - Is it true that your mother has little sisters?
-Yes, Aunt Lucy. Because?
-Could she give me advice to keep undesirables away from my new sister?
Jon fell and Damian wondered why no one had yet noticed the number of new cracks in the school pavement since Jon had more and more Kryptonian genes activating. Jon stood up, pointed his finger at Damian and made a sound that only dogs should be able to hear.
-What about what?!
-My father has had an illegitimate daughter, and the idiotic trio seem to want to get between my new sister's legs. So I need advice on how to keep idiots away from her without her noticing.
-Couldn't you tell them not to come closer, Damian? They are your brothers, surely they understand it
Damian sighed. Jon was a truly pure and innocent boy who believed in the inherent goodness of being human. Poor boy, one day he would be disappointed in his life and he would cry.
-I'm going to put it to you in very simple words. Dorea is a nine out of ten in looks, a ten out of ten in personality and her adoptive family belonged to the English nobility and she has a dukedom. She is richer than father. Do you think they would walk away if I asked?
Jon was left thinking.
-No, I don't think your brothers would stay away. But I want to meet your sister. She seems nice. She looks like you?
Damian thought about the answer for a few moments.
-I would say that she looks more like you. But she has hair and eyes of a similar color to mine.
Jon smiled in such a way that Damian wanted to wink his eyes so as not to go blind. How could this boy smile so innocently?
-Then I'll go to your house to meet her! I'll call my parents and tell them that today I'm staying the night with you.
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Alfred was wiping a lone tear from the corner of his eye as he cooked with Miss Dorea. He used to do this with Mrs. Martha…. Although the woman was more inclined to burn the house than to cook something edible. Mr. Thomas had always made an admirable effort in trying to eat what his wife cooked.
Mrs. Martha always said that she wanted to cook with her future daughter. A shame they only had Mr. Bruce. They deserved to have a house full of children and laughter. Still, Miss Dorea had a talent for cooking and now Alfred could enjoy authentic English desserts.
Miss Dorea's butler, Kreacher, was very efficient for his age. He left the rooms sparkling, the laundry perfect,…. If it weren't for how unsociable he was and how he insulted everyone except Miss Dorea in a low voice, he would be perfect.
-Kreacher was my great-aunt's personal butler. She bought it from a geek circus. – Miss Dorea made a face. – Kreacher was always treated as a butler and has served the Black family ever since. He says he will do it until the day he dies.
Of course, Alfred was checking all the ingredients that Miss Dorea used. Nothing was poisonous, nothing was harmful.
Kreacher entered with the mail on a silver tray with a coat of arms that belonged to the Black family. Dorea approached Kreacher and thanked him before looking at his mail.
-Why do I have a letter from the mayor of Gotham?
Alfred took the letter and opened it calmly.
-It is an invitation to the annual gala to celebrate the founding of Gotham. Mr. Bruce also has one, he allows you to bring a companion.
-And who will my father take? – Alfred grimaced slightly and Dorea laughed. – I understand, his playboy fame is legendary. Thanks to that Damian and I were born. Although I don't know who to take as a companion. Maybe cousin Draco. He is an Earl. Or maybe Blaise Zabini, his family has business in Sicily
-Zabini as Sabrina Zabini?
-Yes, she is his mother. We were in the same year at boarding school.
Alfred wrote that down. The Zabini family was one of the great crime families. They didn't get into too shady business or try to make a lot of money quickly, but they were influential in the underworld. Mistress Sabrina was known for killing the men she seduced and leaving a trail of corpses in her wake.
-Were you close to Mr. Zabini?
-No, he's Draco's boyfriend. We didn't talk much until they started dating. Not even after. But he has already accompanied me to a couple of galas in London, he is a pleasant and charming company.
-Miss, do you want me to contact the London house so they can bring some of the gala dresses? We could get some here, but nothing comes close to the quality of the dresses custom made especially for you, miss. – Alfred looked at Kreacher for a few seconds. He hadn't even thought about the jewelry and clothes Miss Dorea should wear. He had failed as a butler and his only defense was that it had been a long time since he had served a lady.
Serving only men had made Alfred complacent since men wore few things to dress up, but women's fashion was much more varied.
-I think we should ask them to send us the jade green dress with silver roses. – Miss Dorea said it thinking. –The jewelry set that Sirius gave me for my fifteenth birthday will be pretty good.
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Bruce looked at Dorea. She was immersed in tables of symbols and numbers. There were at least twenty ancient looking tomes around her and she had her hair tied up in a sloppy manner.
-Nordic runes?
-A dialect of a small region in northern Russia where Vikings lived about fifteen hundred years ago. – Dorea bit a pencil calmly. – I am translating a found text and trying to see how the Kartak language, the most common, ended up being derived in these symbols here. It's like reading French and trying to find the connection between its Latin roots and Spanish.
-It seems hard
-Yes, but the strange thing about this dialect is that it is a women's language.
-Women's language?
-There are differences between the way men and women speak, they tend to be very subconscious. But they can be found. Even in the runes. This dialect has all the signs that it was only used by women.
-That's weird? I can't imagine languages that are only used by a part of society. – Dorea shook her head
-No, it's quite common. Most women in many cultures lived in isolation. So they developed secret languages to pass information without men knowing. In China there are many examples, secret codes hidden in fans or dresses. The strange thing is that this language was not hidden in any way, the real question is why there is no evidence or signs that a man used it
Bruce looked at the board and the photo of a piece of old wood where some marks could barely be seen.
-Alfred told me that you have received an invitation to the mayor's gala.
-Yeah. I think it's the classic move of a politician trying to get close to the rich.
Bruce chuckled.
-Yes, it always is. It doesn't matter who the mayor is. I would like you to take one of the boys as your partner. They are loud and will flirt with you, but they will keep you safe if something bad happens
-Is something bad going to happen?
-I hope not, but Gotham has a very high crime rate and one of the local villains may try to do something at the party. And I trust the boys' abilities to protect you if something happens.
-I'll keep it in mind.
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Dorea finished putting on her makeup and looked in the mirror. Actually the makeup spells and so on were very useful. Her hair was up in a Dutch crown braid with loose strands that hung almost to her hips.
Her dress covered her scars but was still very flattering with the silver roses running down the entire side of the dress and framing the opening of the skirt that reached to Dorea's knees.
He took the case out of her and opened it. Every witch received a set of jewelry for her fifteenth birthday just as wizards received watches on her seventeenth birthday. Dorea carefully took out the star earrings and then her necklace with the Canis Major constellation in exquisite diamonds.
“Even if I can't be by your side with this necklace you will always have me close.”
Sirius's note was still something sweet that Dorea treasured. After that she put on the silver bracelet with the engraving of a lily and the ring with the impression of a deer hoof on the inside.
Dorea went downstairs and could see Tim in the hallway trying to tie a bow tie without much success. Dick was part of the gala's security team and Jason had been hired by a rich lady to be her date/bodyguard at the gala. So the only one available had been Tim.
-Need help?
Tim turned and gasped when he saw Dorea. She took the cloth from his hands and tied it with well-trained quickness.
-You are precious
-Thank you. Shall we go see the little ones before we leave? – Dorea looked at the living room where Damian and Jon were playing video games. – Be good to Alfred. I have prepared pizzas, they are in the oven and you just need to turn it on. I have also left brownies for dessert, but you can only have one serving each.
-Has he given you time to cook and get ready like that? Are you a witch and can you do everything?
-I just work fast. – Dorea laughed and took Tim's arm while Damien growled that they weren't babies. She then looked at Tim and made a gesture like cutting her throat. Tim nodded. -Don't threaten Tim, I doubt he'll do anything with Bruce present.
-Just in case. – Damian mumbled. – Be careful if you get kidnapped or something like that
-We would have to be very unlucky to end up in a kidnapping or hostage situation!
Two hours later Dorea was locked in a closet with Tim and watching the armed men walking around the room. It was time to use magic.
-Tim, hold on to me.
Dorea appeared at the mansion in front of the children. Tim looked around in amazement.
-You are a metahuman!
-No, I'm a witch. At least a good one. I should go back and try to help father. – Dorea got up and got a little dizzy, falling on her ass. That was strange, perhaps there was a wizard among the assailants and Dorea had crossed an anti-apparition barrier. But she was too tired – The apparition has taken a lot more of me than usual. Do you carry a lot of metal on you, Tim?
-Yeah. But nothing happens. – Tim rested her hand on Dorea's head. – We take care of it
-It's time for the super sons! - Jon screamed and floated before turning and taking off his glasses, showing a Superman t-shirt and a cape.
-Idiot, even if we knew his secret you don't have to reveal ours!