Raven & Josie - Chapter 12

Raven and Josie stumble upon a funfair, where they are greeted with an unpleasant surprise.

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"Isn't this awesome?" Josie shouted over the wind as she swooshed through the sky, startling a flock of geese when she barged right through them.

Being right on her tail, Raven raced up to her sister. "It's not like this is the first time I fly, you know."

"No, but it is the first time you fly while not giving a fuck about anything," Josie said, throwing a mischievous grin over her shoulder.

Raven smirked. "Even that is not entirely true."

Josie looked to the side, puzzled.

"I still worry about you doing something reckless," Raven said, giving her sister a knowing glance.

"Listen," Josie said, her voice becoming earnest. "I know what I'm about to say might sound stupid, but…"

"It already does." Raven quipped.

"Come on! Be serious for once, will ya?" Josie said.

"Says the clown of the two of us."

"May I continue, please?" Josie said, her voice heavy with sighs.

Raven waved her hand for ayes, approving Josie to continue her story.

"Thank you. Anyway, it's hard to explain, but while reading Mom's farewell letter, it felt like Mom was telling me something."

"Yeah, that she's not coming back anymore," Raven said dryly. "What's so hard about understanding that?"

"No, that's not what I mean," Josie said.

"Well, what is it you mean then, Riddler?"

"It was like she was giving me a message. Like…”

"Like?..." Raven prodded Josie to continue.

"Promise me you won't laugh," Josie asked.

Heaving an exaggerated scoff, Raven said, "To someone like you?"

"Promise! Or you won't hear shit." Josie said.

Raven pantomimed zipping her lips shut, indicating that she won't laugh no matter what.

Josie heaved a deep sigh before carrying on. "It felt like Mom was telling me doom is approaching and I'm the only one who can prevent it."

"Doom?" Raven arched a brow.

"I'm telling ya, I'm destined for greatness," Josie said, igniting a burst of laughter from Raven.

"You promised me you wouldn't laugh!" Josie said.

"I did. Sorry." Raven said, still chuckling as she tried to compose herself. "I couldn't help it. That one really caught me off guard." Raven snorted, becoming serious. "Destined for greatness, puh! Do you hear yourself speaking?"

"Didn't you read the last line in her letter? Polish well, my diamond in the rough, it said. I believe she means me."

"Oh, for the love of God, Josie! Your keenness to twist things around to amplify your ego never ceases to amaze me. She probably meant to state it in the plural form but accidentally missed a letter."

"I miss her." Josie's voice trembled as tears welled in her eyes, which got carried away by the harsh wind, leaving faint trails at the corner of her eye.

Raven flew closer to her sister and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Do you actually believe that she's…?" Raven asked, not daring to say the word what she thought out loud.

Josie shrugged, wiping away the tears that soaked her eyes and made her sight blurry. "I don't know what to believe anymore. The only thing I do know is that no one, not even you nor Dad, will make me feel small again. This is who I am. Who we are, Raven. We should embrace it. Mom did so too."

"No one besides Dad knew Mom's true identity. And everyone loved Mom. I'm not so sure they will feel the same way about us." Raven said solemnly.

"They are going to love us too, Raven. Mark my words." Josie said, a spark of confidence shining through her eyes.

The clamor of people talking and screaming caught their attention, drifting up from the city beneath them. Both girls peered down and noticed crowds of people on a square, teeming about. Some of them were pointing up at them. "Well, this is your chance to harvest some of that love."

Josie beamed. "Looks like something exciting is going on there. Let's go!" And she dove down, swooshing through the air towards the city far beneath them. Raven followed suit.

"Cool! A fairground!" Josie wore a grin from ear to ear as she descended from the sky with her hands on her hips amidst a square where a collection of rides, entertainment attractions and little shops stood stationed, selling sweets and delicacies that could rot your teeth. Cheery music surfed the breeze, guiding hundreds of dazzling multi-colored lights that gleamed off each ride.

Raven landed beside her sister, looking ill at ease in a scene with so many people gawking at them. "Okay, what is your plan exactly? Because I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

Josie snorted. "You're such a spoilsport! Doesn't this smell tempt you to devour a cotton candy? Don't these bells not make you wanting to shoot down some rubber duckies?"

"Nope and nope," Raven said.

"You're boring!"

"And yet, still, you want to hang out with me." Raven bumped her hip playfully against her sister’s.

"Whatever, come let us get frightened in the spook house," Josie was about to walk off, only now noticing the wide eyes of everyone surrounding them. "Why are they, like, looking at us like that?"

Raven snorted. "The hell you think? We just descended from the skies like Lord Jesus Christ himself. We're the only ones who can do shit like that on this planet, remember? It astonishes them."

"Rad!" A broad smile spread across Josie's lips. "It's still weird using my powers so openly. I bet it makes them adore us!" She rubbed her hands together. "Wanna see some more awesome tricks, peeps?" Josie bellowed, catching the audience's attention. She cracked her fingers and let an arc of electricity spark from one finger to the next.

"You've ruined my business, you fuckin cunts!" a balding geezer said, scowling at them with deep furrowed brows.

Raven's head flashed in the guy's direction, shooting him an annoyed look. "Excuse me?"

"Dry Feet Crossing, that name ring any bells?" the man said. More people came crowding in, drawn by the palpable tension building up. "The bridge you wenches destroyed is the deathblow for my company. Without it, I can never hope to deliver on time to my clients. They all ran off to other suppliers. I might as well fold up my business."

"I-I'm… uhm, sorry," Josie stammered.

A woman stepped forward. "You girls concocted this together, didn't you?"

"What? No!" Raven replied.

"You wanted so badly to be a hero, so you simply decided to create an urgent matter so you could look the part, isn't it?"

"Hey!" Josie stepped forward, clenching her fists. "Don't you dare accuse my sister of something she didn't do."

"And you're the worst." Another man stepped forward, flashing a finger at Josie. "Do you have any idea of the consequences of that stunt you pulled in the Persian Gulf?"

Josie gaped, speechless.

"90 gallons of crude oil has leaked into the ocean." The man continued. "One of the biggest amounts in human history. Damaging marine life severely by causing hypothermia among certain affected animals, poisoning others, drowning some, and inducing deformities and fertility problems among many more! And I'm not even talking about the economic consequences of a disaster like this on nearby coastal communities as fishers cannot catch for a living and tourists avoid contaminated beaches. Unthinkable!"

"I-I know. I'm sorry. I will fix it. I promise." Josie said, her voice laced with a hint of desperation.

"Then what the hell are you doing here? People are struggling to make ends meet, animals are dying, and yet you still think it is more than appropriate to enjoy a ground fair instead?"

"I said I would fix it, didn't I?" Josie scowled, feeling her anger rising. "You know what? I will go right away." Josie was about to leap up into the air when another voice spoke, sounding harsh and cold.

"The world doesn't want your kind here."

"But you folks did want Infinity Woman, is it not?" Raven replied, pushing back against the onslaught of hatred directed at them. "So why the animosity against our kind all of a sudden?"

"Are you Infinity Woman? No! Where is she anyway? What have you done to her?"

"We're her daughters, for crying out loud!" Josie said, overwhelmed with emotions. "We can do all the shit she can. And we're with the two of us. Can you imagine what we can accomplish?"

The man snorted, malice dripping from his words. "Who's to say you're not a congener with the same powers? You've probably abducted her and now pass yourselves off as her daughters. For freaks like you, a trick like that is easy to pull off."

"But I am Tara's daughter!" Josie stared with blazing eyes, unwittingly revealing her mother's real name to the public. While stating it, she stomped her foot on the pavement, sending cracks through the stone. It made people around her gasp in alarm. "Look at my goddamn face. Don't you see the resemblance, you blind fuck?"

Raven grabbed Josie's wrist. "I think we should go now," she said firmly.

"Hell no!" Josie tore her arm free. "These people must learn to listen."

"Listen to your sister and go, sweetheart." An old lady said.

"Yeah, you won't find any love here." Another person added.

As if in agreement with that statement, a baby in a young woman's arms began to wail. Its mother glared balefully at Josie, blaming her for upsetting her child.

"Now, Josie!" Raven said.

"But I…" Josie gaped helplessly at all the angered people glaring at them with hate in their eyes, who painted them off as egocentric brats and imposters. She wanted so desperately for them to see the truth.

Raven breezed and cannoned up, pulling her sister along with her while pulling her wrist. A primal scream erupted from Josie's throat in protest.

"Let go of me!" Josie shrieked and pulled herself free from her sister's hand when they soared a significant distance away from the fairground. "Don't you ever do something like that again, you hear me?"

"Do what? Pulling you away before you're about to do something stupid?" Raven said.

"You've embarrassed me in front of all these people! And I think I've told you before." Josie soared up to Raven's face. "No one is ever going to make me feel small again!" she spat. "Ever!"

Raven stared back, unflinching by her sister’s enraged breath washing over her face. "Simmer down there, Yosemite Sam. You don't have to throw a tantrum, sheesh. Listen," Raven placed a hand on Josie's shoulder that was immediately shaken off and met with a deep scowl. "we're going to fix this, I promise."

Josie snorted, crossing her arms while looking away.

"You don't believe we can?" Raven asked.

"Do you?" Josie replied.

Raven followed Josie's line of sight as her eyes landed on a motorboat passing below them over the river.

"I'm out of here," Josie said.

Raven lifted her head in surprise. "Where are you going?"

Josie shrugged, not bothering to look her sister in the eyes. "Wherever I want."

"This isn't exactly the time to frolic around, Josie. We should stick our heads together and see a way out of this."

"You're not the boss of me, Raven," Josie said.

"No... No, I'm not."

"Then quit acting like one." Josie blasted off.