"I ... am unable to comprehend," Ava said sounding confused and slightly frustrated. Her disheveled hair was white with flour and sugar. "It shows on the video how easy it is to crack an egg and yet …"
Ava tried cracking an egg on a bowl but it shattered into bits while the contents spilled onto her hand and the counter.
"This happens!" Ava said as she raised her slime-covered hand and observed it curiously.
"You're putting too much strength!" Alice said as her head popped out from the other side of the counter. She cutely climbed up on a chair, allowing Alina to get a better look at her. The former had batter on her nose which was also powdered with flour.
After mixing the batter, Alice got down from the chair and trotted to the stove. Climbing another chair, she poured the batter into a pan and made an irregularly shaped pancake which began sizzling due to the excess amount of oil in the frying pan.
"Uh … what're two doing?" Alina asked, disapproving of how close Alice was to the stove, and the two froze.
"Oh, umm … making … a … uh …" Alice's eyes moved side to side, looking at everything except Alina as she tried to come up with excuses.
"A surprise breakfast," Ava finished and Alice glared at her before puffing her cheeks and looking away while muttering "Traitor" under her breath.
"Oh," Alina said while looking around at the mess. ". . . Does the surprise include the cleanup too?"
Alice and Ava both looked away, the former guiltily while the latter sheepishly stared off at a distance, but both were embarrassed.
"Sorry," Alice muttered.
"I'm just curious," Alina looked up at the roof pointing at the impressive artwork. "How exactly did you get batter all the way up there?"
"Sorry," this time, it was Ava who lowered her head guiltily.
"Oh. Your pancakes are burning," Alina pointed to the oven and Alice jumped before scurrying to flip them.
"Ava, get the little guys to clean this place up," Alina said as she raised the sleeves of her pajamas. "And I'll help you guys cook something up."
"Even though you don't know how to cook yourself?" Ava asked blithely.
"I at least know how to crack eggs," Alina shot back and Ava grumbled underneath her breath.
Soon after, as Alina helped the two make more pancakes and waffles, a small battalion of little cleaner droids arrived. The head honcho, the same one that the girls adore, looked around the kitchen and buzzed angrily at Ava, especially when he saw the roof, but scuttled away hurriedly when Ava 'smiled' at it. After an hour, the place was finally back to its original state.
"... He's not coming, is he?" Alice asked as all three waited. It was almost eight in the morning, and Alina and Alice were ready to depart.
Alina saw Alice's disappointment and could sympathize with her. The same thing would occasionally happen to her when she was younger; Jason would be absent or gone for long bouts, and she would be saddened when he failed to show up for her.
Alina, to cheer Alice up, picked up a fork and started eating the unevenly shaped pancakes. She took a big bite with gusto and made a face and sound to show how delicious it was but stopped halfway when she bit on some eggshells.
Her face changed, but she noticed how Alice was looking at her with bated breath, so she continued munching on the 'crispy' pancake before painfully swallowing her mouthful.
"It's … uh … it's ... good," Alina said as she used orange juice to wash her mouth. She drowned her entire glass of juice while Alice punched her fist upwards in joy, feeling victorious at making a wonderful breakfast.
"Why don't you try the dessert too?" Alice handed Alina a bowl. Looking down, Alina's stomach churned when she saw the lumps of white goo mixed with flakes of cereal.
"Uh … what is this?" Alina asked while prodding the contents of the bowl with a spoon; she was certain it would come to life from the way it looked.
"It's yogurt!" Alice said cheerfully, pleased with her creation. "I smashed a whole banana into the yogurt and added frosted flakes into it! Then, I topped it with smarties!"
"Well . . . that's . . ." Alina looked down at the bowl again and gulped when a wicked idea crossed her mind. "It looks . . . divine. Tell you what, why don't you save it for Jason? I'm sure he'd love it."
"Ok!" Alice quickly took the bowl back, covered it carefully, and placed it in the refrigerator. Her face was full of anticipation at how Jason would react to her homemade yogurt, and Alice chuckled while thinking that it was better for Jason to join her in suffering.
"In the meantime," Alina looked over at Alice, her voice serious. "I think you should go to school. Second Academy has an elementary section and I could ask Ms. Silvia to try and settle you in. Would you like that?"
"But dad …" Alice hesitated. She wanted to spend as much time with Jason as she could.
"Will be there at school, just a corridor away," Alina said soothingly. "Watching you with pride as he teaches."
Watching me with pride, Alice thought about it and she almost agreed. She wanted to make Jason proud, it was an inherent ability all children had, the need to make their parents happy.
"Just try one day, today, and see how it is?" Alina suggested and Alice nodded, barely concealing her enthusiasm.
"Great! Then let's get ready and head for school. I'm sure Jason will show up there," Alina said as she took Alice's hand and prepared to dress her.
Later, the two exited the building and Alina turned to Ava, who was accompanying them. As they walked, a silver coupe came barreling down as soon as Alina pressed a button on her holo-watch. It was a beautiful car with curves like a Maserati, but it had the signature fender and grills like a Rolls-Royce; it was the same hovercar that Jason was driving after the Baron was destroyed.
"Ava, I'm underage, so can you drive us to school?" Alina asked.
"I have already set the autopilot to the coordinates you desire," Ava said and Alina shook her head.
"No, I mean, can you drive us there yourself?" Alina gestured at Ava and the latter understood that she wanted her to physically drive them both.
"I fail to see the difference," Ava stated with bemusement. "But if you insist."
"Thanks," Alina said.
***
"A.V.A, where's Alice?" Jason asked. He was running from rooftops to rooftops at incredible speed while jumping high. He wasn't able to use his bike as the roads were congested and if he used it in hover mode, perhaps his enemies, and the authorities, could track him. He was thinking about getting a flying vehicle that was unidentifiable when he was out as Fenrir.
"I am currently driving Alina and Alice to school," A.V.A said and Jason grimaced, realizing that he was very late.
"How are they?" He asked.
"Annoyed and disappointed at your absence since last night," Ava answered.
"I'll have to make it up to them," Jason muttered. "Somehow."
"Jason . . . there's something else," A.V.A said after hesitating.
"What is it?"
"After your previous encounter, I hacked surveillances to observe Melanie da Pérez and Elizabeth Hyde," A.V.A explained. "I also set a few on Katelyn but she noticed and escaped."
"Of course she did," Jason said. He expected nothing less from the assassin trained by Al Muealam, the leader and Grandmaster of the Asāsiyyūn. "And the other two?"
"It appears they are both aware that they are being monitored," A.V.A said. "The former masturbated in front of the drone . . ."
Hmm, kinky, Jason thought with slight amusement as he saw a short recording A.V.A sent him. Through the window, he could see Melanie pleasing herself on a couch. Her face was painted with ecstatic delight as one hand caressed her nipples through her shirt while the other rubbed itself between her legs at a steady pace.
"Mmm ... yes - ah - just like that," Melanie moaned and gasped between her words coquettishly with her eyes closed. "Mm, harder - yes! - faster!"
Her hands moved faster and roughly as every muscle in her body contorted with pleasure. Finally, she almost screamed as she orgasmed and her eyes opened and stared straight at the camera.
I'm waiting, Jason, she mouthed silently at the camera. Jason watched the entire clip, which was barely a minute, with interest; he couldn't deny that he was aroused by Melanie's action. After all, who would deny a free meal in front of them, especially one as scrumptious as her?
"While the latter . . ." A.V.A continued emotionlessly.
"What about Lizzy?" He asked in a controlled voice that was hiding his arousal.
". . . Here's a live video feed," A.V.A opened a window in Jason's holo-lenses. The tiny window at the bottom of his vision showed her in a bar flirting with a hunk and this almost caused Jason to stumble and almost fall off a building.
He paused and narrowed his eyes before shaking his head.
As much as I'd like to see her, Alice comes first, Jason thought as he began running again. I need to - have to keep her safe, keep her happy.