Young Justice: Generations

Chapter Twenty-Three

        She couldn't understand how time worked anymore. The days slipped through her fingers as easily as she could breathe. Leonardo was in and out of the apartment, he barely said a word to her these days. On top of that his mother arrived, she was absolutely smothering. His mother was a proper British woman with old-world values. The devilish woman kept her locked in the apartment which Mar'i was quickly starting to realize that it was becoming more of a prison. Her father was still bitter, not to mention Damian practically wished to never see her again. Coming back to Gotham wasn't going quite how she planned.

        The wedding date was creeping up on her, everything was getting so blurry now. Mrs. Huxley had taken control of the entire planning of it.

"Sit up straight dear, you look like a ghoul," Mrs. Huxley hissed.

        Mar'i had completely forgotten where they were. Leo's mother demanded that she and Mar'i have a 'bonding day'. The youngest of the latter wasn't too pleased to be going but at this point she would do anything to get on Mrs. Huxley's good side. They were sitting in a lavishly decorated restaurant in the heart of the fashion district. Mrs. Huxley had some woman at the apartment last week taking Mar'i's measurements. She had tried to argue that she wanted to pick her own dress but the woman wouldn't budge, talking about how she needed to look modest and not to dress like a floozy.

        When Mar'i tried to plead her case to Leo later that night he simply agreed with his mother. Then again, he always agreed with the damned woman. Mar'i was not much of a fan of the Huxley's old-world ways.

"You need to be trained; I can't have you acting the way you act. You'll be Leonardo Huxley's wife, you need to act properly," Mrs. Huxley huffed.

Mar'i blinked, "And how is it you wish me to be trained?"

"That American spirit you have needs to be subdued. It's simply unacceptable, you need to be there for my son everyday and you can't do that with your sad little hopes and dreams in the way," she said with ease.

        Mar'i's jaw nearly dropped to the table, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. At first, she had to look around to make sure she was still in the same reality as everyone else was. She was never brought up with this way of thinking, Mar'i had her own aspirations in life and she knew Leo knew that.

"Beg you pardon?" Mar'i asked, hoping Mrs. Huxley would repeat it.

        The woman rolled her eyes, "My dear you are to be a Huxley, a part of one of the finest families in the world. This is the start of Leonardo's life, he has a purpose and you need to be there to help him fulfill it,"

        The Huxley's were always so high class, Mar'i was so jealous of Leo and Antonia's lifestyle when she was younger. She remembered heading on holiday breaks to their large family home, sipping tea and giggling upstairs with Antonia while her parents dealt with business below. Now that she thought about it, she didn't quite recall what Mrs. Huxley did as a career. She wasn't really a stay-at-home mother either, there were nanny's that watched over Leo and Antonia. So, what did the bitter woman really do with her life?

"Tsk, not listening as always. You need to be more attentive," Mrs. Huxley commented.

"I'm sorry but you're being ridiculous, I'm not going to give up my life to serve my husband,"

"You want to be a part of this family, yes?" she asked, cutting into her steak.

Mar'i nodded.

"Good," she paused to chew her piece of meat, "...you need to forget every stupid thing your childish parents taught you, you need to be trained properly,"

"My parents aren't childish!" Mar'i argued.

        Mrs. Huxley smirked, "Really? Your father has yet to apologize to you and is instead childishly ignoring you. Meanwhile your whore of a mother is nowhere to be found while your 'step-mother' busies herself with her numerous offspring,"

        She was at a loss for words. Mar'i's tongue felt heavy in her mouth, like lead unwilling to move. Was this woman thinking correctly? Rage flooded through her body, stretching down her legs and to the tips of her fingers. She bit her tongue, standing and about to leave the restaurant. Mrs. Huxley snatched her hand, perfectly manicured nails digging into her skin. She gave Mar'i a chilling smile and eyed for her to sit back down at the table. A few other patrons in the restaurant looked at the small scene happening, Mrs. Huxley was trying to save herself from the embarrassment.

"If you leave now -"

"You'll what? Kill me?" Mar'i laughed and ripped her hand from the woman's grip.

        Murmurs travelled through the restaurant as she weaved through the tables to the front entrance. She pulled her phone from her purse and dialed her father's number, she really wanted to hear his voice. The longer the phone rang the more frustrated she became.

"The number you are dialing cannot be reached, please try again later," the robotic voice said before the line went dead.

"Seriously?" she yelled aloud, glaring at the phone.

        He had blocked her number. Was he really this childish? She remembered her father always had a flare for the dramatics but she didn't think he was this serious. The next number she dialed was her mother's, no answer either. Frustrated tears began to blur her vision, she shoved the phone into her purse and headed down the street. Gotham was slowly eating her up from the inside out, she didn't want to be in this city anymore.

        She woke up in a cold sweat that night, feeling absolutely awful. The bedsheets were soaked from her sweat, a bubbling began in her stomach and started coming up her throat. Within seconds she was on the washroom floor heaving into the toilet. It took a minute until Leonardo was at her side, awkwardly rubbing her back. He was never super amazing when it came to comforting ill people. The heaving continued as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl.

        The hours blurred by in a mess of puking and sweating and shivering. Somewhere in between her puking in the washroom and her being transported to the couch Leo's mother appeared.

"Oh, the poor dear," Mrs. Huxley said, sounding concerned for once.

        Mar'i was wrapped up in multiple blankets while laying on the couch. Leo had been pacing back and forth throughout the living room on the phone until his mother arrived. Again, he was not great when it came to taking care of people. She felt Mrs. Huxley's hand against her forehead, a lot of the woman's words were incoherent.

"I want my mum," Mar'i groaned.

        Mrs. Huxley sat on the edge of the couch and smoothed the dark strands of hair out of Mar'i's eyes. Mar'i started heaving again, leaning over the side of the couch to the bucket Leo placed there. Nothing came out but bile this time, she felt like death. Mrs. Huxley rubbed her back soothingly, not that it helped all too much.

"Leo's called your parents multiple times, neither of them has yet to answer. But don't worry dear, you have us," Mrs. Huxley said with a smile.  

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Author's Note: Yes, I've made a reappearance after I believe two years of radio silence. I understand how frustrating it is to start reading something only for it not to be finished. So that's what I'm going to do, I'm going to finish something that I started back in the beginning of High School. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the rest of this story as it gets published, I promise I won't disappear again until it's done.