Super: Origins (22 page)

“We've got some work to do before we go out tonight, so take time to relax first,” Serena said excitedly.

Lex noted first that the bathroom took up more space than the one in her room. As Serena switched the light on, she realized why. The shower stall looked more or less the same, but a huge sink with a vanity mirror had been added, along with shelves beside it and a huge bathtub so big that you could fit a couple of people in it. The room had been elegantly tiled, and different types of lighting had been added, as well. Lex looked around in confusion, not sure what to do next.

“You can put your bags on these top shelves so nothing gets wet,” Serena told her, moving some towels to a lower shelf. Lex followed instructions as Serena started the bath water running. She hummed as the water ran and added some bath salts from a crystal jar, which released the sweet smells of lavender and jasmine into the air. As she tested the water, Serena nodded to herself and stepped back.

“Go ahead and get in. I'm going to start putting your outfit together. I have a few ideas, but I may need to see how you look in a couple of things, so you'll have to be patient, OK?”

Lex agreed automatically. She didn't mind trying on a bunch of clothes, and the bath seemed really appealing, the feel of the steam on her skin enticing and relaxing at the same time.

“Try to chill out for a while and forget about everything that happened today. Read some of those if you start feeling bad.”

Serena had gestured to a stack of magazines on the lower shelf as she left the bathroom, and Lex glanced at them, seeing
Cosmo
,
People
, and
Vogue
, among others. She began undressing but didn't pick a magazine out, opting instead for slipping into the deliciously warm water once she’d shed all her clothes. Lex felt almost as if she could do little laps due to the size of the tub once it had been filled. She smiled at the thought, closed her eyes, and let the warm water work its heat into her tired muscles and bones.

Lex faced the glassy, deep waterfall again. She put her arm into the water this time to gauge the depth, but had to pull it back when the water reached halfway between her wrist and elbow, due to the strength of the current. As she focused her attention, Lex spotted the frozen person on the other side of the waterfall again. She squinted to see more clearly as the person, who seemed agitated, continued trying to tell her something. Lex still couldn't make out the person's face, but this time something about the figure, maybe the way the hair had been cut or their general build, made her think that the person was a woman. Focusing on the woman's pale mouth, Lex finally made out “Watch out for—”

Lex jerked to wakefulness in the bathtub, splashing a little water around. She found that the water level had risen to her armpits and so turned the taps off. Feeling disoriented, just as she had the first time after that dream, Lex sat in the hot water quietly for a few moments, watching the steam rise off her skin. As she began to wake up a little more, Lex started to wonder what the woman wanted her to watch out for. Since she’d only had the dream once prior to today, she hadn't thought much about it, but now… What could it be? A person? A situation? Lex closed her eyes, trying to focus on the dream and see what meaning she could pull out, but eventually sighed in frustration because it seemed too vague. Maybe if she could see the woman better next time…

She sank a little lower into the bathtub, enjoying the hot water and the floral scents in the air. The waterfall had been cold—not icy or bone chilling but definitely uncomfortable—and the contrast with the water in the bath felt pleasant. Lex spread out in the tub then, allowing her limbs to float back and forth like a mermaid. She mentally admitted she couldn’t do laps but confirmed that a few more people could definitely fit in the bath. For a long, clear moment, Lex just felt happy. It confused her when she thought about it, but then she realized that despite the disturbing events of the past few hours (which she quickly pushed her thoughts away from), she’d felt more at home and cared for over the past two weeks than she probably ever had. She didn’t feel absolutely comfortable in her surroundings since Clara and Sauer seemed kind of weird, and she didn't appreciate having to go through so much medical testing. However, having time to hang out with Casey and get to know her, learning under Mr. Chen, and now being taken care of by Serena had made her feel as if she truly belonged. As a little spring of happiness bubbled up in her, Lex brought her knees up and leaned forward over them as if to protect that small feeling, and closed her eyes.

Lex whipped her head around as the bathroom door opened following a quick knock, but she relaxed again when she saw Serena poking in.

“I heard some splashing and wanted to make sure you were OK—” Serena began, but broke off with a gasp before she asked, “Lex! Who did that to your back?”

Automatically, Lex looked over her shoulder but sighed at the same time as she did it. She knew that Serena meant the scars, like everyone else always did. Swallowing hard, Lex responded.

“My, um, my dad. Unfortunately, there are more, too.”

Serena shook her head. “I see you've had more than your share of bastards in your life.”

Lex sighed. “Yeah, well, the latest one didn't like what the first one did. It was one of the things he was complaining about to his friend on the phone when I got home.”

“That asshole,” Serena said in a low, dangerous voice, “Lex, if I ever meet him, I'm going to slap him so hard that his head is going to swing around like he’s on the set of the Exorcist.”

Lex couldn’t help a small laugh, and Serena smiled in response.

“I know what I want to have you wear tonight now and where we're going to go. So, the jerk thinks there's something wrong with you because you don't look like everyone else? We're going to go someplace where people will appreciate you just the way you are.”

“What do you mean?” Lex asked, knowing her expression showed her confusion.

“Just wait,” Serena answered with a smile. “For now, though, relax a little while longer and then finish getting cleaned up. I'm going to make you even more beautiful than you already are before we go out.”

Lex gulped nervously, not used to anyone talking about her like that. “OK,” she finally replied, settling back into the water as Serena closed the door again.

Sometime later, Lex made her way out of the bathroom with a towel and some underclothes on, after pawing through her bags and remembering she hadn't packed any other clothes. Serena gestured her over to a low vanity table near the projected beachscape that had a large mirror on the wall behind it, various bottles and cases scattered over its surface, and two small lamps in the back corners.

“OK, let's get you ready,” Serena said after Lex sat down on a little bench in front of the table. Serena looked over Lex’s shoulder into the mirror for a little while, as if considering something, and then sprang into action.

Lex patiently did whatever Serena asked, even though she felt skeptical about the eventual outcome. Since her mother had spent so much of her childhood haranguing her about being an ugly duckling, Lex didn't think that anything Serena could do would have much effect. Trying not to worry about it, she closed her eyes and lost herself for a little while in the feel of the fluttering brushstrokes on her skin. When Serena finally told Lex to open her eyes to see the end result and asked what she thought, Lex felt astonished and disbelieving.

She could see her reflection, but she felt it really didn't look like her anymore. The dark color that Serena had used around her eyes seemed to bring their green color out, and the short horizontal lines she’d painted from the outer corners of Lex’s eyes made them look exotic and foreign. Her complexion seemed paler than normal, her hair now curled more than usual and tied up and back in a long piece of black lace.

“Now put this on,” Serena said excitedly, handing Lex a stretchy black dress. “Don't worry; it's one of these things that has a bra built into it, so you don't have to wear an extra one.”

Lex looked carefully at herself afterwards, not sure what to think. From the tank-style top to the hips, the dress pressed tightly against her skin. The skirt split along the sides just past the hip and came down to the knee on Lex, definitely the type of skirt designed to display your legs, she thought. When she turned, however, she nearly gasped as she spotted that the rear part of the dress scooped down nearly to her waist so that practically her whole back could be seen. She looked back at Serena uncertainly. Serena grinned widely.

“Yes, this is the perfect dress for you for tonight.”

“Are you sure about this?” Lex murmured, still staring at her reflection, feeling shaky and worried. “I don’t know. I’m not used to looking like this.”
Or showing so much skin
, she thought.

Serena shrugged, raising an eyebrow. “I was just trying to make you look like the rest of the folks where we'll be going. I think you look great, but it’s not hard to do when you've got good material to work with.”

Lex ducked her head as she felt her cheeks heat up, but finally managed to look up fractionally as she answered her friend. “Well, thanks, but I'm sure I’m not going to look as beautiful as you.”

She’s probably just saying that to be nice
, Lex thought, trying to look at her back in the mirror again, her nervous breaths drawing in the scent of powder.

Serena let loose a brief burst of laughter. “Lex, you're not beautiful like
me
, you're beautiful like
you
. There's a world of beautiful people out there and not one of them looks like any other.”

Lex looked up at her uncertainly, her heart still pounding nervously, not sure what Serena meant.

Serena sighed then, looking at Lex’s uneasy expression. “All right, I've got to start getting ready so we can get out of here sometime tonight. Do you want to take your bags to your room and check up on Casey? Come back afterwards so we can talk some more while I finish getting ready.”

“Sounds good. I'll be back in a bit.” Lex breathed out heavily, relieved to be doing something other than looking in the mirror, and hurried out.

Lex saw Serena move to sit in front of the mirror as she closed the woman’s door behind her. After dumping her bags on the bottom of her closet, Lex went next door to Casey's room and knocked. She waited for a response as she realized she hadn't been in there before and wondered what it looked like until she heard a muffled invitation to come in.

Going inside, she saw Casey sitting in a large easy chair in front of a flat-screen television on the left side of the room. Through the open blinds Lex could see that the sunset had mostly disappeared and the lights in the buildings across the water shone out brightly. The bathroom and closet placement made Casey’s room a mirror image of Lex’s, and the blonde also had an extra-long bed in the right corner, headboard against the wall shared with the bathroom, a mostly full bookshelf in the far corner near the windows, and a few other chairs alongside the easy chair that she sat in. Casey gestured to one next to her as she remotely turned the TV off. She laughed and whistled as Lex sat down.

“Look at you!”

Lex twisted a little to try to see her back, uncomfortable with the attention. “Do I look stupid?”

“No, you look good. One thing I can say for Serena, she's got taste. If she makes up her mind to make someone look hot, she'll do it. Why? What do you think?”

“I was kind of surprised. It's just not what I'm used to looking like,” Lex replied nervously. “What are you planning to wear? Serena asked me to look in on you and see if you'll be ready to go soon.”

Casey shrugged. “I'm ready to go whenever you guys are.”

Looking over, Lex noticed that her friend hadn't changed out of the blue jeans and t-shirt she'd worn earlier. She smiled to think of what the redhead might say. “I think Serena might be expecting you to dress up, Casey.”

Casey looked up at Lex in surprise. “This wouldn't be good enough?”

Lex tried not to laugh at Casey’s slightly annoyed expression. “Probably not. I think I know the type of place she has in mind, though, so if you want me to look through your closet I could probably pick something out, if you like.”

“Be my guest,” Casey replied with a shrug, watching Lex with interest.

Lex got back up and went to Casey's closet, turning on the overhead light. The crisp scent of lavender wafted towards Lex as she searched through a rainbow of plain t-shirts and a number of pairs of blue jeans until she finally came out with three things: a pair of black jeans, a black t-shirt with a picture of a skull with crossed cutlasses underneath it, and the pair of black boots Casey had worn on the day they’d first met. She laid the shirt and pants on Casey's bed and put the boots on the floor nearby.

“What do you think?” Lex asked.

“I think I'd look like I'm going to a funeral,” Casey replied with a frown.

“Oh, come on! Pretend you're going to a costume party or something. Be someone else for a night. I know I really wouldn't mind…” Lex trailed off, looking at her feet as she realized how pathetic she probably sounded.

She caught the movement from the corner of her eye as Casey shook her head apologetically. “Sorry, I don't mean to be a pain. I'm sure it'll be fun. I'll wear it, OK?”

“Thanks, Casey. While you get changed I'll go over to see how Serena's doing. She asked me to come back and talk while she got ready. We'll check back with you when we're ready to go, all right?”

“Sounds good. I'll wait here until then,” Casey said, nodding as she watched Lex leave the room.

Chapter 9: Rectification

Lex left Casey’s room as she turned on the television again and headed for the set of clothes on her bed. Slipping back into Serena's room, Lex closed the door before turning towards where Serena sat and gasping in surprise.

She’d changed into a black leather bustier with matching neck and arm bands and a long crimson leather skirt lined in black. Serena turned slightly to show off the cut of her skirt—short in the front with the sides longer as they flared out in either direction. Underneath, Serena wore dark red fishnet stockings and short black boots with spiky heels. As always, she’d done her makeup flawlessly; this time, her face looked pale but she had on lipstick that matched the color of her skirt and a black beauty mark by her lip. Her hair was spun up in some sort of complicated updo that included sticks to hold it in place. As Lex neared, she caught a whiff of the sweet scent Serena favored.