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the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars · 5 years

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Writer’s Month Day 24: Betrayal

The story of how Libra betrayed Leo and Scorpio!

It had been on the first day of the year that Jamie and Babs found their gems. Scorpio and Leo joined their lives and Jamie and Babs started training hard. Physically and with their powers. While Babs immediately fell in love with hers – water! She could control water – Jamie hated his fire.

“Come on. Fire is strong. And you control it”, countered Babs.

They were off, away from people. In the mountains. Jamie had always liked the mountains around Los Angeles. They reminded him that this wasn't England. He glared as he balled a fist and summoned flames. They had put up targets against the mountain-side to hone their aim. It was... moderately working. They had improved the tiniest bit – in that they actually hit somewhere on the target by now instead of meters away. That was... progress. Or so the optimistic purple-haired magical girl next to him said. Jamie still couldn't believe Babs had gone full magical girl on her costume. Granted, according to Babs he had 'no room to talk!' because he had gone for the brooding hoodie and the all-leather outfit that showed off skin along the arms and legs. At least he had practical boots though. Babs just rolled her eyes at him at that.

“Oh my god, you are like me!”

Jamie and Babs startled at the sudden high-pitched voice. And they startled even more when they saw a woman descend from the sky. Jamie held tightly onto his sword, staring at her warily. She touched down on the ground with one bright-pink high-heel. She was wearing a light-pink dress that was cut incredibly high on the left side, with a deep cleavage. A silver bracelet on each hand, both attached to what looked like a fluffy boa. Red curls fell onto her shoulders as she landed.

“Who... what... are you?”, asked Jamie suspiciously.

“I'm like you!”, exclaimed the redhead excitedly. “I found a pretty pearl a few days ago and then I suddenly had a talking puppy! Oh, he's adorable! So endearing! And he told me to become a hero! And he told me there are eleven others like me!”

“And you just... happened to run into us?”, asked Babs, as cautious as her best friend.

“Oh no, that'd be a ridiculous coincident”, laughed the redhead. “I've been scanning the city for suspicious occurrences. The fire-hazard here has piqued my interest.”

She motioned toward the burning targets. And oh. Jamie furrowed his eyebrows at that.

“I'm Scorpio. That's Leo”, introduced Babs slowly.

“And one of you has fire-powers?”, guessed the redhead, while Jamie continued glowering at her. “I have... air-powers. Which include flying. Guess burning something down is more practical, huh?”

She laughed as she twirled a hand, causing a small tornado to whirl on her palm. Jamie narrowed his eyes at that. Though their companions had told them there would be ten others.

“I'm Libra, by the way. Or, we could just jump to real names right?”, tagged the redhead on with a smile on her cherry-pink lips. “We're a team, after all.”

“We are not a team”, stated Jamie seriously. “We don't know you.”

“What my partner means is that we have to... get to know you first before we can be a team”, interrupted Babs, resting a hand against Jamie's chest to hold him back.

Jamie sighed and rolled his eyes. Though he knew she was right. They were supposed to be a team of twelve, so it was good they already ran into another Zodiac. Still, she was a total stranger and he didn't trust just like that. He looked her up and down very slowly.

We... come here every second night to train”, offered Jamie slowly. “You could join us. We train together, get to know each other. Become a team.”

“That sounds like a reasonable compromise”, smiled Libra.

~*~

They trained well together. With Libra, Jamie could spar. He had a sword, she had a... he wasn't sure what it was, but it was sharp-edged on all four sides, with a handle at the center of one of the long sides. She wielded it like a knife, it cut from all ends. She was good with it.

After two weeks, they went out to fight their first criminal. A normal robbery, no aliens involved – Los Angeles was actually pretty large and both Jamie and Babs had jobs so they couldn't physically make it to most alien-attacks because by the time the news covered it and they could go and get there, it was already over. Still, they took out three robbers on their own.

“We're good”, stated Babs, laughing high-pitched as she collapsed.

They had returned to the mountain-side where they trained. Babs was laying sprawled out, staring up at the stars. Jamie offered the smallest smile where he sat next to her. Libra took her seat on Jamie's other side. She laughed softly and leaned a little toward him; not against him though.

“This was... exciting”, whispered Libra softly. We really are good. You know, this is... all I ever wanted. To help people. I've been through... so much already. I never want anyone to feel the way I did when I was growing up. No one should, so I want to help.”

Jamie smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. Something about her words was shallow. Empty. He had been through so much and he never wanted anyone else to go through it, so there was something about the sentiment that he'd recognize if it was genuine.

“We could... We could exchange names now, right?”, asked Libra with a smile. “We're a team now.”

“No”, grunted Jamie and shook his head. “I can't... Not yet.”

“It's been three weeks”, countered Libra, something strained to her voice. “Come on. We just busted some bad guys. You have to trust me by now, right?”

Jamie narrowed his eyes. “You're so eager for us to reveal our real identities, but you never volunteer to go first. I just... I can't... Give me more time. I have-”

“Trust-issues. Yeah”, grunted Libra dryly, balling a first next to her hand. “Trust-issues and you'll never get over them, will you? I'm just wasting my time.”

Her voice was cold as she glared at Jamie. He shuddered at that. She always said exactly the right things, with the enthusiastic chipper note that was so familiar to Jamie from Babs. She even knew how to say things to make them sound more convincing. To appeal to Jamie. That was what didn't sit right for him. It was all too tailored. Even the things she had said just before, about the hard life she used to have. She knew how to read someone and how to appeal to them and that was what had rubbed Jamie the wrong way and left him to put her on hold. He screamed wide-eyed when suddenly a searing pain originated from his spine. The last he saw were Libra's dark eyes.

~*~

She hummed as she returned home, taking a couple tissues to clean her bloodied hands. Leo had made such a mess when she had stabbed him. Closing her eyes, she turned off the costume. She turned to look into the mirror, smiling as she straightened her dress.

“What did you do, Carry? You were supposed to turn them. Not kill them.”

“Oh, no one got killed. Not yet, anyway”, shrugged Carry with a smile while righting her red curls. “He irritated me. I had the urge to stab him. He'll be fine, probably.”

She turned toward her glowering guest and smiled delighted when she saw the Vogue on the glass-table in her living room, her own face smiling up at her. Oh, she looked good on it. Red Queen Records producing yet another brilliant singer and her, the founder and head of the company.

“Besides, it was pointless anyway”, sighed Carry dramatically before she sat down next to her partner in crime. “I have an eye for talent. They're not cut out for our line of work.”

#writersmonth2019 #Leo: James Saint John #Scorpio: Babara Burkhart #Libra: Carroll Lewis #Story: Written in the Stars #Project: Written in the Stars

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the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars · 5 years

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I drew Scorpio. Because I love my purple ballpoint pens. And I love drawing magical girls. Should have just given all girls a magical girl suit - no, okay, I know that’d be bad all things considered. But still, it’s fun to draw!

#Scorpio: Babara Burkhart #Zodiac Superheroes #Zodiac: Scorpio #Superhero #Art #Project: Written in the Stars #Illustration: Written in the Stars

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the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars · 5 years

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Happy Pride!

For this year, I decided on an all-lesbian line-up, to celebrate the kinda-semi-maybe official new lesbian flag. Two oranges, one white, two pinks. It’s nice, simplistic. I like it! So I picked my five lesbian characters and decided to do them in the colors!

The only one you haven’t met in the story yet is Kit Renard in the left lower corner. And it’s weird seeing Mel in orange and Babs in white. Well, Alina and Noxia aren’t exactly the pink type of girls either, usually, so, the colors feel weird all around, I guess. xD

#Lesbian Pride #Pride Month #Lesbian Stuff #Scorpio: Babara Burkhart #Taurus: Melanie Maguire #Katherine Renard #Alina Preston #Noxia Black #Project: Written in the Stars #Illustration: Written in the Stars #Zodiac: Taurus #Zodiac: Scorpio

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the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars · 5 years

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Writer’s Month: Day 17 - Accidental Baby(/Child) Acquisition

Half a year prior to the main-plot, Ally and Andy start coming around the Pub and Jamie, Jessie and Babs have to figure out a way to deal with the two homeless orphans.

Jessie was the first one to notice them, because she took out the trash that day. Two kids, waiting for said trash to pick out the good stuff. It was clever, she had to admit. She remembered her and Jamie doing the same thing as kids. Restaurants were the best place to score dinner. When they noticed her, they grabbed what they had and ran, the taller girl clinging tightly onto the younger boy's hand as they ran as fast as they could. Jessie furrowed her brows. She'd have to keep an eye on this.

“Guys, we—oh good Lord. I just saw things about Babs that I never wanted to see. You have blinded me. Why would you do this to my poor ace eyes?”, groaned Jessie.

She covered her eyes and quickly turned away, while Babs and Tanya on the couch huffed. Tanya was red-cheeked as she hurried to cover herself, while Babs flipped Jessie off with a glare.

“You knew I had my girlfriend over. You were supposed to go out with someone!”, huffed Babs.

She looked furious. She always did when Jessie got in the way of sex. Jessie smirked unapologetically, shrugging at the two women. Tanya was fixing her hair carefully.

“I still don't get how this thing between you works”, stated Jessie.

“When a girl and a girl like each other really much-”, started Babs patiently.

“I know how being gay works, you dork”, huffed Jessie and rolled her eyes. “I mean, Tanya's Jamie's ex. And Jamie lives here. And you're making out on the very same couch where Jamie and you made out before, Tanya. How's that work?”

“We're adults”, stated Tanya with a pointed look. “Why wouldn't Jamie and I be able to stay in friendly contact? We broke up with each other, it's not like he broke my heart and I can never look into his face again. Not everyone has to be as dramatic as it is on TV.”

“...Oh. Well, that makes sense”, hummed Jessie. “Well, this whole 'relationship' thing, I'm just looking at it from the outside. You allosexuals fascinate me.”

She smiled mischievously at them and winked, while Babs huffed. “Why are you here?”

“Oh. Yeah. There were two street-kids stealing food out of our trash-can. Keep an eye on that?”, requested Jessie with furrowed brows. “Kids shouldn't live on their own on the streets.”

“Oh”, whispered Babs, nodding slowly. “Okay. Sure. Will do.”

“Would you now please go?”, requested Tanya pointedly. “We were in the middle of something.”

Jessie threw her hands up in the air and left. Tanya smiled pleased and returned her attention to her girlfriend, pleased they had the room to themselves again. Babs looked at her with hooded eyes before slowly leaning back on the couch, luring Tanya in to follow her. Tanya sat between Babs' legs and happily leaned all the way down to kiss Babs.

“Okay. This isn't working”, sighed Tanya and sat up after a moment. “You're distracted. What is it?”

“Sorry”, grunted Babs, running her fingers through her hair. “Orphans eating out of the trash are kind of a mood-killer, you know.”

“Okay”, sighed Tanya and got up, grabbing her coat. “Well, you coming?”

“Coming?”, echoed Babs confused.

“It bothers you. Let's go and see if we can find them and see if they're alright”, offered Tanya.

Babs' eyes softened as she got up. She got on her toe-tips to kiss Tanya's cheek before the two got out of the apartment and downstairs. They slipped out of the pub though the back-door.

“Hey”, greeted Babs softly, smiling.

The kids had come back. Had probably waited for Jessie to leave. The girl glared at Babs.

“It's okay. We don't... Here”, offered Babs slowly, getting two water-bottles out. “I'm... I'm sure you can use something to drink, right? You don't... have to take food out of the trash though. You could come to the kitchen and ask. We have a lot of left-overs. We could just pack them up for you.”

When the kids made no attempt to approach her, she put the bottles down and grabbed Tanya's hand before heading back inside with a sigh. There was no pushing them right now; she wanted them to at least have the water for now. Food was one thing and they seemingly had found enough right now. Once back inside, she leaned her cheek against Tanya's arm.

“We could call child-services?”, suggested Tanya.

“And what good does that do?”, asked Babs doubtfully. “They're not going to... stake-out the pub to find the kids. The most they're going to do is chase the kids away for good and, at the very least, they're getting a warm meal here. Jamie always said that was the hardest thing to find.”

~*~

“Who are you making that burger for?”, asked Chess curiously. “There was no order.”

“Don't worry about it”, assured Jamie before he paused. “There's two kids who have been stealing left-overs from the trash for the past few weeks. I... figured we could leave them something someone else hasn't bitten in yet. Two burgers aren't going to kill the business.”

“...You want fries for that?”, offered Chess with a soft smile.

Jamie smiled at that. He really liked the kid. Okay, okay, okay, 'kid' was a bit of a stretch – Jamie was only three years older than Chess. But Chess had something very... Bambi-esque? For one, Jamie was his boss and also his mentor – teaching him the ways around the kitchen. Chess was excited and eager to learn and it gave Jamie a bit of a big-brother feeling. After all, he was a year younger than Jessie, so it wasn't the hugest leap. Or so Jamie told himself.

“There you go”, hummed Chess and filled two Styrofoam boxes with fries.

Jamie grinned and placed the burgers in the other half of the boxes. Closing them up, he went outside and placed them on the windowsill outside the kitchen.

~*~

It became a routine that Jamie would leave food outside and it'd be gone in the morning. After a few weeks, he started putting notes in. Just to let them know that it was okay to come inside. To communicate with them somehow. Sometimes, he'd even just talk about himself and the others to introduce them to the kids. He'd leave milkshakes too, occasionally. Water-bottles more often.

When it got colder because autumn rolled around, Jamie found himself leaving a blanket with the food. The weather got worse, it started raining more often and Jamie left a note that the kids were welcomed to come inside and eat there, it would be warm and safe. It had been two months now and apparently they had gained enough of the kids' trust that they followed the invitation, because a very excited Babs came barreling into the kitchen highly excited.

“The kids are here. I'm supposed to get them burgers”, prompted Babs.

Jamie nodded sharply and got to it. After he finished them, he turned toward Chess and asked him to hold down the fort while he wanted to go and sit with the kids. It was the first time he was actually getting a proper look at the kids. The boy was at max ten, though probably younger. He was black, with his hair cut very short – which really was more practical on the streets, Jamie remembered a time of short hair too. He looked nearly lost in his large, yellow hoodie. The girl next to him had lighter skin than him and Jamie wasn't entirely sure but she looked Polynesian.

“There you go. Two burgers and milkshakes. Vanilla and strawberry”, offered Jamie with a smile.

The girl took the strawberry one and the boy took the vanilla one. They immediately started wolfing down their burgers while Jamie sat down opposite them with a smile.

“I'm Jamie”, introduced Jamie himself. What are your names?”

“...I'm Ally”, said the girl around a mouth full of bacon. “And he's Andy.”

“Ally and Andy. It's nice to meet you”, nodded Jamie pleased. “You know, you're welcome to come inside to eat. Or, just generally. When it's raining outside.”

“Why?”, asked Ally warily. “Why would you do this for us?”

Jamie shrugged and leaned forward, arms folded in front of him. “I guess... you remind me of me.”

“Sure”, snorted Ally pointedly, dipping a fry into her milkshake.

Humming softly, Jamie reached out and stole a fry from Andy's plate. “When I was sixteen, my mom died. Our... home... died down with her. My sister and I were left all alone on the streets with no home and no family left, fending for ourselves. I was... older than you, yes. But I know what it's like to live from one day to the other, on the streets, not knowing where to sleep and where the next meal would come from. I've gone a whole week with no food to make sure my little sister ate.”

Ally averted her eyes, like that one hit home for her too. It probably did. She was older than Andy, not by much but by a few years. She felt responsible for him, that much was obvious.

“I... stole. Threatened people. Got in trouble. Nearly got caught by the cops before we fled the country and came to Los Angeles to start a new life”, continued Jamie. “I worked my ass off for all of this. I worked and fought tooth and nail to get off the street. And I know that the streets aren't a place for kids. So, if there's any way I can help you, I want to.”

“We can just... come in?”, whispered Andy softly, sounding nearly afraid.

“Anytime. If you need a dry place, food, something to drink, or just a place to sit”, nodded Jamie.

“What if you're not here?”, huffed Ally. “The owner's not gonna let that fly.”

“You're talking to the owner”, grinned Jamie before nodding over toward the bar. “And that's my little sister. She'll also let you in. When I tell you you're welcome here, I mean it.”

~*~

It was December and pretty cold, even for Los Angeles, when Ally and Andy were lingering in the bar. It was so late already, the last customers were paying up to leave so they could close. Andy was working with a knife on a twig, he was constantly trying to make the perfect slingshot. Ally was drawing something, humming to herself as she listened to music.

“Kids?”, asked Jamie softly, tapping Ally on the shoulder.

They had been coming in for over a month at this point and gotten very comfortable. They had also grown more used to Jamie and the staff – Jessie, Babs, Chess, Ryuu. They were less on guard and even laughed and joked with them. Ally pulled her headphones off and looked up at him.

“Right. Closing time. Let's get going, Andy”, ushered Ally.

“I don't want to”, groaned Andy. “There's this jerk where we're currently staying. He has been making fun of me for days now. I don't wanna go back there.”

“Andy. Stop it”, growled Ally irritated. “It's a good place.”

Jamie frowned, weighting if the time had come. If they had gained the kids' trust enough to offer this without seeming like Stranger Danger and creeps. He just... didn't want the kids on the streets.

“You could stay here”, offered Jamie gently. “Not here in the bar. But upstairs. We have a large pull-out couch in the living room. It's pretty comfortable for sleeping, you know. Had to sleep on it when my ex kicked me out of my own bedroom.”

Ally and Andy exchanged a couple looks and expressions, Andy clearly trying to convince her. In the end, Ally caved and nodded with a sigh. Jamie smiled and led them upstairs, quickly showing them the bathroom and kitchen before bringing them to the living room. He got them pillows and blankets before pulling the couch out for them. He lingered in the doorway until the kids settled in and curled together rather small in the center of the couch. It was just an exception. He was just going to help the kids out, back on their feet and then they'd figure out something for them.

“Night, you two”, whispered Jamie softly.

#writersmonth #writersmonth2019 #Alaula Pele Ahuura #Leander Vaughn #Leo: James Saint John #Aries: Jessica Saint John #Scorpio: Babara Burkhart #Aquarius: Tatiana Tarasova #Ship: Tabs #Story: Written in the Stars #Project: Written in the Stars

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the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars · 5 years

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Chapter 10: Babara Burkhart

When Babara had been barely a baby, her mother had died to save her life with the power of love-

Babara had never met her father, but never could she have guessed he was a god and that--

In her past life, Babara had been the princess of the moon, before her tragic death---

Okay, okay, okay, so maybe Babara wasn't a Potter or a Jackson or even a Tsukino. She was a Burkhart without tragic backstory, or meaningful parentage, or a Great Prophecy.

Babara Brunhilde Burkhart (thanks for that, mom...) had been born on a chilly November-night in Vienna, born and raised in Austria all of her life. She had two loving parents, neither of them dead or abandoning her or having some deep, dark, life-altering family-secret. They weren't rich but also never had to worry about having food on the table or getting new clothes.

And every summer, she got to spend at her grandparents' farm in the alps. Because her parents thought that Vienna was too much of a big city and that she shouldn't lose touch to nature (her mother having grown up on her grandparents' farm). But that was okay, because her grandparents were great – and she wasn't the only one who got to spend the summer there. Her cousin, Sebastian Weinberg, was also sent there every summer by his mother for the very same reasoning. That only made the summers extra awesome, because Sebastian was only two years older than her and he lived all the way in Berlin in Germany, so the two didn't really get to see each other a lot. But every summer, they got to be together at the farm and have adventures together.

Sebastian was a total nerd and the two cousins didn't have a lot in common aside from that, so it was even better that they got to form this bond. As a single-child, Babara liked to experience what it was like to live with another child like that, so that even when they grew older and their parents didn't 'force' them to go anymore, they still opted to. To see their grandparents and to see each other.

When Sebastian was seventeen, the introverted nerd met his best friend – Melanie Maguire. Online, writing Harry Potter fanfiction. For Babara, who had always been the heart of every social event and had an easy time making friends with anyone she met, the concept was slightly odd, but she was happy for him. Especially when the two got to meet for the first time and Babs came to realize it was more than just some random stranger on the internet Basty liked to text with. That was a real friendship. So real, in fact, that the two made plans to move to the same city, country not further narrowed down. Somehow, Babs didn't really like the idea of Basty leaving for good.

Using the puppy-dog eyes of doom (patent pending), Babs convinced Sebastian to take her with him. That the two should move together. After all, that best friend of Basty's wasn't going to move there alone either, she had a little brother she was very close to and didn't want to part ways with.

That was how, in the year 2011, Babara Burkhart and Sebastian Weinberg moved to Los Angeles together, shortly thereafter followed by Melanie and Michael Maguire.

Nothing about Babs' life qualified her to be some great superhero.

There was no tragic loss in her background – her grandparents were happily alive too. Her family was very normal and not magical or anything. She worked hard to get to where she was now, with some missteps but who didn't have those. Yet somehow, for some reason, she had been chosen to become a superhero, a protector of Earth. Scorpio.

~*~

“Y... You reckless idiot!”, exclaimed Babs angrily, throwing her hands up. “Oh, Bee, you shouldn't go on solo missions. That's dangerous, Bee. You should have called me, Bee.”

Jamie grumbled and winced as he sat down on his bed, holding his ribs. “I deserve that.”

“You deserve much more!”, grunted Babs annoyed. “Take off your shirt.”

“Hah. So you only want to get me naked too”, sighed Jamie dramatically.

Babs gave him the stink-eye, while Scorpio and Leo curled together on the small couch in the corner, grooming each other. With another wince did Jamie start to peel his shirt off. Biting her lips, Babara rubbed her hands together and closed her eyes for a moment to concentrate.

“How are you stitched up?”, asked Babs surprised when she saw the wound.

“Matt and Mike called a doctor friend of theirs”, mumbled Jamie, cheeks heating up a little.

“You are so damn lucky that they took you with them and you didn't get caught by the bad guys”, grumbled Babs with a glare as she rested her hands on the wound, making Jamie wince. “That's what you get for nearly getting yourself killed. Idiot.”

She had been training her healing skills. Working with the water inside the cells to close the wound. It took time and it exhausted her, but the others were going to ask questions if they noticed. Even though Jamie would totally deserve to walk around with that wound until it healed naturally.

“Don't worry me like this”, sighed Babs softly. “I don't know what I'd do if you died, Jay.”

“I'm not going to die”, promised Jamie, resting his forehead against hers. “I swear.”

“Besides, I wouldn't know how to explain it to Jess”, grumbled Babs with a glare.

That made Jamie laugh and wince a little. “Sorry. Yeah. Okay. No dying.”

“Or you could just tell your sister”, offered Babs just to sigh and lift her hands up in defeat. “Okay, okay, okay. I kno—ow you're not going to 'drag her into this'...”

Jamie narrowed his eyes at her in warning. The two were usually so close and agreed on everything. There was just one thing they might never agree on. And that was Jessie. Ever since their mother had died, Jamie had been the sole caretaker of his sister. Ten years. Jamie had only been sixteen himself back then. It figured that he would become overprotective, because that was the role he had always played in their relationship. The overprotective big brother, shielding her. Personally, Babs thought it would be easier to tell Jessie so Jessie knew where they went, so Jessie knew to care for the kids and knew what might happen to Jamie and Babs. But Babara knew she couldn't tell Jamie how to handle his own family. He'd have to make that decision himself.

~*~

“Don't think too hard, you might fry something.”

Babs scowled and turned to glare at Jessie. The brunette raised one eyebrow as she tried to look over Babara's shoulder at the newspaper. There was another article about Sagittarius, Cancer, Aquarius and Taurus. They were doing... good. Better than the first time Babs and Jamie had met them, really. Still, there was something about Aquarius...

“I'm picking the kids off from school later. Want me to get something from the store?”, asked Jessie.

“I... think we're good”, replied Babs and shook her head.

Lifting up the newspaper, Babs took a closer look, squinting at the photo some more. Jessie huffed.

“You want me to leave you and the newspaper alone...?”, asked Jessie.

“Ha, ha, ha”, drawled Babs unimpressed. “No. I... I gotta... uh... I gotta go.”

“Where? What—Babara!”, called Jessie after Babs.

But Babara was already out of the apartment, the newspaper in one hand, grabbing her leather-jacket with her free hand and hurrying through the bar, not minding anyone.

~*~

Reaching her destination, Babara started knocking on the door hard and repeatedly. A glare was etched into her features as the door opened. Moments later and the door opened to an unusually disheveled Tanya. Her normally so meticulously put-up hair was only in a loose pony-tail. She was wearing her favorite turquoise dress. Frowning at her, Tanya tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Babs? What... can I do for you?”, asked Tanya slowly. “It's been a while since you came over.”

Eyebrows drawn together in determination, Babs held the newspaper up and into Tanya's face. “That's you. Aquarius. That's you. Of course it's you.”

“Wh... What are you talking about?”, asked Tanya, the look of a deer in the headlights on her face.

“Don't lie to me, Tatiana Yevgeniyevna Tarasova!”, exclaimed Babara in warning.

It always paid off to learn middle-names – or in this case, father's names – for maximum efficiency of scolding. Tanya immediately looked like a scolded small puppy. Rolling her eyes, Babs pushed past her ex and into the apartment. It really had been a while since she had last been here. Things had been majorly awkward for a couple months after their breakup. Curiously, Babs looked around. It made her smile, because it still all looked exactly the same as she remembered it. After all, Tanya was not a fan of change, even the smallest. It had been very... tiresome for Babs back in the day, when Babs had been living with Tanya for a while. Everything had its very specific place and Tanya always fussed when it was out of place. That was, in retrospect, probably why the two had broken up because Babs considered herself creative-chaotic. They just clashed too often.

“You don't actually-”, started Tanya again, rather weakly.

“Tanya”, grunted Babs in warning, glaring at her. “I know your boobs.”

“...What?”, asked Tanya confused.

Babs rolled her eyes and motioned vaguely in the general direction of Tanya's chest. “Your boobs. I spent months sleeping on those. Among other things. I know them. And the rest of you. Like, that's you, in a very tight dress and sure with your hair open, but still it's you.”

Ducking her head with a troubled expression, Tanya joined Babs on the couch. “Did... Jamie figure it out too then...?”

Babs snorted and shook her head. “Please. That boy walked right past me when I had blue hair last year. You wear your hair open and put on a mask and he is completely lost. I love the boy, but he has absolutely no abilities to recognize people when they change their appearance.”

Tanya laughed softly and nodded. It was true. Jamie really sucked when someone changed a major part of their appearance. So Tanya, who always wore her hair pinned up, with flowing curls? That alone would already throw him off but an actual mask...? There was no way Jamie was going to figure this out, Babs knew that. Which only made things harder for her though...

“You have to promise me not to tell him”, stated Tanya, with a surprising amount of seriousness. “No one should know. You shouldn't either. But you have to promise to keep my secret, to not tell anyone. Not Jamie, not Basty, not Jessie. No one. You promise?”

Babs winced, even though she had known this was coming. “Of course I promise. I'm not one to spill other people's secrets, Tanya. You know that.”

And Tanya smiled at her confidently, knowing this to be true. Because it was. Which was a problem. Because heaven forbid that Babs can have it easy, huh? Just tell Tanya that Jamie was Leo and tell Jamie that Tanya was Aquarius and then they could all work together. It'd be so easy. But she knew she couldn't just tell Jamie's secret identity to anyone, not even someone she knew Jamie trusted. And now that Tanya had made her promise, she couldn't just go to Jamie either. Urgh.

“How? I mean, why? You're not exactly the type to... you know...”, drawled Babs awkwardly.

“It just... happened”, replied Tanya, tucking her hair behind her ear and frowning. “I just... it's a responsibility that I can't just shake off or ignore. That's not who I am, Varya.”

Okay, that was true. Tanya was a hard-working and serious person who never avoided any task, regardless of how hard it was. She wouldn't just duck out of becoming a hero. Still, Babs couldn't quite imagine Tanya battling monsters. Then again, supposedly she had already seen it. Aquarius. She had seen Aquarius and Taurus fight side by side.

“Oh... Your sword-fighting lessons”, drawled Babs with wide-eyes.

Tanya had learned traditional sword-dancing as a child and later on taken to learn sword-fight too, since she had already mastered the blade in her own ways. That did explain the big sword.

“The problem is that we have not much experience. Sure, we've been going out for over a month now. And we have some... vague... idea of what is going on, but I feel like Leo and Scorpio know more than us, but they... they refuse to work with us.”

Tanya frowned in frustration, balling one fist. Eyebrows knitted, Babara reached out to grasp Tanya's hand and try to sooth her a little. Tanya looked up and took a deep breath.

“You just... have to prove yourselves to them”, offered Babara gently. “They're a team and they don't know you. It figures that they can't just... trust strangers blindly? Who's to know who the good guys and the bad guys really are?”

“We!”, exclaimed Tanya annoyed. “We're supposed to know who the good guys are! There are twelve Zodiacs. They are supposed to be the good guys, the protectors!”

Babara knew that. But she wasn't supposed to know that; the general public knew nothing about what was actually going on and what the meaning of anything really was. They were just scared of all the monsters and knew some heroes were protecting them in colorful costumes.

“Oh, really?”, asked Babs in fake surprise. “What do you know? I mean, what is going on?”

It'd be a good chance to get a grasp on what the new guys knew compared to what Babs and Jamie knew. Tanya frowned for a moment before she got up and motioned for Babara to follow her to the bedroom. Even in there, everything was still the same, all the way to the exact position of the light-turquoise flower-vase next to the bed with exactly three white tulips in it. Babs remembered having regularly bought her girlfriend such tulips too, after she noticed that Tanya liked to keep them next to her bed. It always made the blonde smile in a cute, pleased way. Babara paused when she noticed that one thing had changed in this room. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the wall opposite the bed. There had been some weird modern art piece of blues and greens and whites that was horribly obnoxious in Babs' opinion. Now it was gone and replaced by a large white board.

In Tanya's neat, nearly print-like handwriting were things written on it, magnets pinning pictures next to the writing. AQUARIUS, TAURUS, SAGITTARIUS, CANCER. In the upper left corner, in big, bold letters, each with a newspaper clipping with a picture of them beneath it. Not even self-taken photos. Clever. Just in case the wrong people followed her home and found this. There was a rounded square around the four, indicating that they were a team. In the upper middle of the board was written LEO and SCORPIO with a picture from last month's front-page. There were further notes scribbled in the circle around their names and pictures. Team Lionheart, potential allies. Beneath the LEO was also marked down fire-elemental, uses sword, incarnation of former leader. Mh. Interesting, but not surprising that their companions had given them some background information of past incarnations too. And yes, in most cases, Leo had been the leader. Zeus, the king of the 'gods'. Beneath SCORPIO, it said water-elemental, whip-wielder, wild-card. Babara grinned pleased by that. Be it Hermes or Serket or Abonde, Scorpio really had partnered with a wild array of different personalities, unlike say Cancer who had always picked the greatest, strongest warriors – Ares and Tyr and Sobek. Vaguely magic and healing and deliveries. A jack of all trades, as Scorpio had told her, which was why those under her patronage were always known for multiple realms – Hermes, the god of travelers and thieves and tricksters and the deliverer of the gods, Abonde, the goddess of magic, snow and misery, Serket, the goddess of healing and magic. And that suited Babs just right. Being so specialized in only one or two skills seemed rather boring to her. Jamie too, he had more than one specialization. The lightning of Zeus and Thor was as much the heavenly fire as Amun-Ra's sun-fire; still, lightning was a fire-power only Leo could control.

Shaking her head to make herself focus again, Babs turned toward the rest of the board. In the upper right corner it said LIBRA, with a large question-mark beneath; a picture missing. Potential enemy?, misguided? was written beneath it. Good questions that Babara couldn't answer either, sadly enough. When they had first met Libra, Babara had thought they had made an ally. The betrayal, learning that she was not on their side... Shaking her head again, this time more violently, Babs looked to see what else there was beside the ones she knew about too.

Much to her surprise, there was some new information on there. In the lower left corner, beneath GEMINI, was a dark, not good photo of a person in an ally at night. Looked like a screenshot from a surveillance camera. Frowning, Babs knelt down to see. Air-elemental, vigilante, works alone, uses batons, protects. Huh. That... That was actually news to Babara.

“Who's this? I never saw them in the news before?”, asked Babara innocently.

“Gemini. Or at least I think so. He – well, I'm actually not sure on that one, the costume isn't very revealing about body-shape or anything, really – has been working as a vigilante, since around the time Leo and Scorpio first appeared. I went through the local news all the way back to the date the Zodiacs arrived, to see if I can find any more. After all, there should be twelve. The only solid lead I found was a vigilante who has been keeping the streets at night safe. Beating up robbers and rapists, predominantly protecting girls who are out alone late. Usually, there is a symbol left behind with spray-paint, right above the tied-up criminal. Four lines that cross in a square. But I think it's not a square; I think it's a hastily drawn Gemini-sign”, explained Tanya. “Whoever it is, they're good though. Good at fighting and good at dodging people who try to approach...”

Babs hummed and made a mental note to look into this too. Interesting. She and Jamie had been wondering where the rest of the Zodiacs were too. Seemingly, Gemini really was the only one Tanya had a lead on though. VIRGO – earth-elemental, ARIES - fire-elemental, CAPRICORN - earth-elemental, PISCES - water-elemental, they all stood empty. Four Zodiacs still stood unaccounted for. Were they aligned with Libra...? Had they gotten lost at their arrival on Earth? Were they still training to not go out there completely unprepared? Or were they entirely declining the responsibility and danger of becoming heroes...? Who knew.

Babara sat down on Tanya's bed, leaning back onto her hands and looking at the chart. In dead-center, the villains. She grinned fondly at the name Tanya had given them.

“Snake Nest Villains?”, asked Babara amused.

“They're snake-themed”, grumbled Tanya with a faint blush. “Their leader is Serpentarius. Literally the snake-bearer. The second-in-command, from everything I've seen so far, is Serpens, the snake. Then Hydra and Hydrus. Sure, there are plenty of... one-off-minions. Constellations that... admittedly, mainly Scorpio and Leo had beaten. Monsters possessing innocent civilians. But those three – Serpens, Hydra and Hydrus – are the reoccurring ones. They're... bigger.”

“You're adorable”, grinned Babs fondly.

“Oh, shut up”, huffed Tanya embarrassed and crossed her arms over her chest.

But true enough, inside the largest circle, the one for the villains, she had written those four names the biggest, SERPENTARIUS in the center, the other three in a triangle around it. A sheet of paper was pinned there, a printed-out list of all 88 constellations, with those crossed out that Leo and Scorpio had already defeated. She really was diligent and loved details. Maybe Babs should get onto such a wall and list too. It would make the job easier. Then again... she lived with two nosy children and an equally nosy Irish woman. Such a chart would stay hidden for like half a day.

“Promise me you'll call when you're in a tight spot”, stated Babara after a beat.

“Varya, there's nothi-”, started Tanya with a chuckle.

Babara got up, standing to her full height in front of Tanya (and effectively being on eye-level with Tanya's boobs...), head tilted back to stare up at Tanya with her most serious look. It shut Tanya up.

“Promise me you will call if you're in a tight spot”, repeated Babs. “There are things I can't say, but if you need me, I will always be there to help you, Tatiana.”

Tanya nodded, albeit reluctantly. If Tanya took this clue to figure out Babs' secret all on her own, then good. If not, oh well. Babara was going to find a way to solve this mess sooner or later anyway. With a sudden, sunny smile did Babs pull Tanya into a hug.

“Stay safe, blondie”, whispered Babs softly. “Don't you dare get yourself killed.”

“I'll do my best”, promised Tanya with a chuckle, wrapping her arms around Babara. “Thank you.”

~*~

An hour later, Babara was once again knocking hard and obnoxiously against a door. It took considerably much longer for this one to open and the face greeting her was by far not as friendly as Tanya's. Sebastian Weinberg glared, hair messy, no shirt and pants on backward.

“Basty! My favorite cousin!”, exclaimed Babs with a bright smile.

“I'm your only cousin”, grunted Basty annoyed, ruffling his ginger hair. “And I thought I got rid of you when you moved out. What do you want...? I was busy doing... something.”

“Hello, Angel, I guess you're 'something'?”, greeted Babs, waving past Basty.

Angelique Lamour was flushed a bright red, less from embarrassment and more from... exercise, Babs guessed. She was wearing one of Basty's light-green hoodies and nothing else, rubbing the ankles of her long, pale legs against each other. Her fingers were playing with the thick, blonde braid laying over her shoulder, on her lips a smile that was pure amusement.

“Ye—ep. I'm something”, confirmed Angel lightly. “But it's okay. An orgasm gets better with built-up and delay anyway, so come on inside. What's going on?”

“A... Angelique!”, hissed Sebastian, his face dark-red. “You can't just-She's my cousin!”

“You're so cute when you're a prude, mon amour”, laughed Angel delighted. [French trans: my love]

Babara grinned impishly as she just ducked beneath Basty's arm and walked over to sit next to Angel on the couch. She used to live with them. Well, she used to live with Basty, back when they first moved to Los Angeles. And then, five years ago, after Angel and Jamie had broken up a few months prior, Basty finally got the girl. Oh, he had had a crush on Angel ever since he met Jamie's then girlfriend at the St. John's Pub. But he had thought he stood no chance with Angel, especially since Angel and Jamie had been dating. The fates were on their side though and after Angel and Jamie broke up, Angel found her way to Basty – and the two were just perfect together. Babs had never seen Basty with anyone the way he was with Angel. She brought out the best in him. Regardless of how cute she thought they were, they got rather obnoxious to live with after Angel started spending most of her days at their apartment, which was the reason she had ultimately moved out and decided to move in with Jamie and Jessie.

“No—ow, what's up, Babsie?”, asked Angel and threw her long legs over Babs' lap.

“Don't call me that”, groaned Babara and wiggled her nose.

“Aw, you're so cute”, grinned Angel and bopped Babs' nose.

Babs grumbled a little and got more comfortable. “Okay, so... hypothetically speaking... Say you know a secret from a friend and if you were to tell another friend, that would actually be beneficial to both parties. Do you tell the second friend or not...?”

“Mh...”, drawled Angel thoughtfully, twirling a bright-blonde strand around her finger. “If they will both benefit from it, then they would be grateful in the end, so I would tell them...”

Basty scolded, which was his default facial expression anyway. Far too serious. Babs raised an eyebrow, looking at her cousin and waiting for him to express what annoyed him.

“You shouldn't tell your friend's secret”, stated Basty as he started pacing. “Mel is... hiding something from me. And I would be rather mad if someone else were to tell me. Because that'd mean I hadn't yet earned the right to know that secret. Whatever it is, it's Mel's to tell and she will tell me once she's ready. I know that, so I'm not pushing and I wouldn't want for anyone to get involved, Babs. It's a matter of trust, simple as that.”

That gave Babs a pause. In a way, Basty was probably right. Even though she knew Tanya and Jamie could trust each other... in the end, it should be their decision when or if to trust each other about this secret. Groaning, Babs ran her hand over her face.

“Ange—el, this isn't the answer I wanted”, groaned Babs frustrated.

“Basty, mon amour, go get the ice-cream?”, requested Angel with a smile.

“And put on a shirt, cuz! No one wants to see that!”, called Babs out.

“Now, that's just factually wrong”, chided Angel, wagging her finger at him.

Babs chuckled and got more comfortable as she waited for her cousin to bring the ice.

~*~

“This looks like you've been... busy... What is this, Bee?”, asked Jamie carefully.

Babs bit her lips and looked up at him. Scooting over a little, she motioned for Jamie to join her on the floor, which he reluctantly did. Printed articles were spread out in front of her.

“Okay so I did a little bit of digging, because it's really weird that there are only seven out of twelve Zodiacs accounted for, right? And I found this. A vigilante who's mainly been protecting women from rapists at night and people from robberies. They always leave this sign on the wall where they leave the tied-up criminal for the police to find and I think it's the symbol of Gemini.”

Babs pointed at the crime-scene photos from a newspaper article three days ago. Some tied-up thug with the symbol sprayed right above his head. Jamie frowned and pulled it closer to look at the symbol. It just looked like the Roman number two, so it was a bit of a stretch...

“It makes sense, I guess. Became a hero too, but without a team, staying small-scale”, mused Jamie thoughtfully, tilting his head. “So, do you want to... track them?”

“I figured that could be interesting”, shrugged Babs with a grin. “See who they are, what they're up to. We're only two. We're supposed to be twelve, Jamie. We need to find and approach the others.”

“But-”, started Jamie with a serious frown.

“I know, I know, you still don't trust the Unicorn Princess Squad”, huffed Babs.

“Is... Is that really what they're called?”, asked Jamie doubtfully, frowning.

“It's what the newspaper dubbed them after seeing the unicorn and, mistakenly so, Aquarius look all princessy”, chuckled Babara amused. “They figure she's the leader and so far, Sagittarius is the only companion the newspaper caught on camera. I think it's cute and I'm glad we picked our own name before the news could. That'd have been a disaster...”

“Oh yeah”, grunted Jamie before he shook his head. “But no. I don't trust them yet.”

“They've done heroics all on their own”, argued Babs. “They took down Musca all on their own last week. If they are aligned with the bad guys, this would be the most fucking elaborate scheme to gain our trusts ever! You have to see that, James.”

Jamie frowned at that. It was rare for Babs to call him 'James'. Babara crossed her arms seriously and glared at Jamie, awaiting his answer. Running his hands through his hair, Jamie leaned back against the bed and sighed. He looked up at the ceiling with an even deeper frown.

“I'm still not convinced, Babs. I just...”, drawled Jamie.

“Jay, we're supposed to be a team of twelve. We are supposed to trust ten other heroes. If you keep standing in the way of that and keep rejecting anyone who offers to help us... then we will fail. Fail this city and planet and the whole purpose of why we got these powers”, argued Babs urgently, taking Jamie's hand. “Yes, this version of Libra betrayed us. Yes, she nearly killed you. Yes, you not breathing and nearly bleeding out in my arms will haunt me to my dying day. But that only means we really do need allies, so I will never have to stand there alone. So we have back-up. So we can liberate Libra from this human and find a worthy human host.”

There was doubt and caution in Jamie's eyes as he regarded Babs and mulled her words over. She knew he'd need some longer, but she also knew that she was right.

Read here on AO3!

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#Scorpio: Babara Burkhart #Zodiac: Scorpio #Story: Written in the Stars #Own Story #Superheroes #Zodiac Superheroes #Project: Written in the Stars

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