My Super-powered Diary Chapter 18 Road Trip By Amethyst When Maddock Ainsley gets involved in a rescue operation with his unit things go horribly wrong and his life is forever changed. Can the newly minted Merida cope with being a girl and a teenage super hero?

Andy drove us north up I-5 and it was almost a whole hour before we all got tired of playing travel games like “I Spy” or “On my Road Trip”. That was about when we found out that Shu gets motion sickness during long car trips. The poor girl really looked terrible as Mom stood with her, patted her back, and tried to comfort her, after Andy had just managed to pull over in time for her to empty the contents of her stomach on the side of the road. Mei was looking a bit green too, but at least she hadn’t thrown up. They were both still looking a bit green when we were able to stop at a pharmacy in Santa Clarita to get them some Dramamine.

As excited as we all were to be taking a road trip to get to our new home, there really wasn’t all that much to do while sitting in the vehicle except talk and practice with our powers, which would prove awkward in a moving car, especially since one wrong move with my powers tended to make things explode and Mom had already instituted the “no superpowers in the car” rule for everyone’s safety. It wasn’t like the twins could read or play videogames or anything either since the former only made them feel sick and we didn’t have any of the latter, even if they wouldn’t have had the same result. We drove for a little longer after leaving Santa Clarita before stopping briefly at a rest stop in Los Padres National Forest to use the facilities and to stretch our legs for a bit, since sitting in the SUV was starting to get uncomfortable and we all needed some air.

Fortunately we were the only ones at the rest stop at that time of the day so even the Fairies were able to get out for a stretch and a bit of fresh air. Fawn seemed more in her element her as we walked a bit through the trees and she occasionally paused to speak to one animal or another. We were careful to stay close to the parking area, but being outside the car in somewhat fresh air was nice. Fawn was having a particularly engaging conversation with a cute squirrel that she had dubbed ‘Dottie’ when I decided to see how the others were doing.

Vanessa was sitting on a stump, misting her tail while Tasha had produced a pencil and sketchpad and was sketching Fawn and the squirrel while they conversed. The drawing looked pretty good and I was hoping that she might be able to draw another copy for my Fairy, since I figured that Fawn would like that. I may not know art, but I know what I like. The twins were sitting and talking with their Fairy friends and looking very happy to be out of the vehicle for a bit. At least the Dramamine had been helping a little. Still I felt bad that they were suffering like that on their first road trip, and our first trip as a family.

“Are ya feelin’ any better girls?” I asked in concern.

Both of the twins nodded slowly. “I feel a bit better now Merida,” Shu said, trying to give a smile as Peri watched over her looking worried. I felt bad for the Frost Fairy too, but at least with nobody else here she could show her concern and keep Shu company, she hadn’t been able to do so on the side of the interstate because of all the passing traffic.

“Is this place we’re travelling to much farther?” Peri asked. “Couldn’t we just use pixie dust to fly there?”

“Yes, nobody gets motion sickness with pixie dust,” Tink agreed.

I wished that I could answer their question, but I didn’t know for sure how far up north Costa Verde actually was. I had a general idea, but I was pretty sure it was still a good nine or maybe ten hours of driving under good conditions.

Luckily Mom was approaching and had heard the Fairy’s question. “I’m afraid tha’ we still have a good long way to go. We’ll be takin’ rest stops often though an’ instead o’ drivin’ the whole trip today and arriving in the middle o’ the night I booked us a decent place to stay at in San Jose tonight. Maybe we can get there by dinner and play tourist for a bit after. I wan’ to make this trip fun for all o’ ya, not torture. Ya shouldn’t have too much trouble with the motion sickness from here on out so long as we keep up with the Dramamine. I’m afraid tha’ flyin’ would just get too much attention though, it’s best to stay under the radar until we arrive at Costa Verde.”

Peri and Tink looked disappointed, as did Shu and Mei, but all four nodded. They did perk up a bit at the mention of playing tourist. Mom announced that it was time to get back on the road then and as she went to go inform Vanessa and Tasha and the twins and their Fairies returned to the vehicle I went to where I last saw Fawn. She seemed so happy and comfortable out here in the forest, she was a real outdoors kind of Fairy and loved her animals so I was beginning to consider getting some potted plants and such for my room, or taking up camping and hiking. I could probably find some way for her to be around animals more too, even at home and school, maybe a pet? I didn’t want her to feel out of place or uncomfortable if we were going to spend a lot of time together since her needs and interests were just as important as mine. “Where’s Dottie?” I asked the Fairy as I found her and she settled down on my shoulder.

“Oh, she saw something shiny and went off to go find out what it was, squirrels can be like that,” Fawn replied with a knowing smile and an easy shrug. “I should start teaching you animal languages soon, you could have talked with us as well if you spoke and understood squirrel.”

I held back on a dismissive snort. “I jus’ didnae ken wot tae say, she was mostly talkin’ aboot nuts an’ tha’ hawk tha’ chased ‘er yesterday. All tha’ talk aboot nuts was jus’ makin’ me even more ‘ungry than I already was an’ I dinnae ‘ave much experience bein’ chased by birds so it was a wee bit awkward.” The being hungry was really bothering me. It wasn’t even lunchtime yet and I was starving again despite my huge breakfast. It was getting a little hard to think with that distraction. I had had a small bag of peanuts on the road and given a few to Fawn, but where she had been satisfied by them it had only seemed to make me hungrier.

Fawn’s eyes widened and a smile lit up her little face. “You understood all of that?”

I nodded and shrugged as my stomach growled audibly. “Aye, weren’t ya usin’ some Animal Fairy magic tae ‘elp me?”

She shook her head and asked, "Are you still hungry? You should tell your mother." There was something different about her voice as she spoke, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.

I nodded my head, but I felt a bit guilty for eating so much at breakfast. Not only was I going to eat Mom out of house and home, and with her bank account balance that’s saying something, but it was probably embarrassing for anyone around me as well. “Aye, bu’ I dinnae wan’ tae bother ‘er wit’ it. We’ll be stoppin’ fer lunch in an hour or so anyway, once we’re on the road agin.”

“Merida!” Fawn’s eyes lit up as she grinned at me. “You just understood me! And you spoke back! In squirrel! Your accent is horrible though.”

That was when Fawn’s little friend Dottie returned. The squirrel seemed to have heard me and gave me a curious look, then ran over to some scattered acorns fallen from the nearby oak tree where her home was located before looking back to me once again. “Nuts?” it asked.

“Mooooooom!” I called out, confused as all hell, but thankfully nowhere near a panic attack or losing control of my powers.

Mom, Tasha, and Vanessa all ran toward me from where they had been talking. Mom was the first to reach me and asked, “What’s wrong Merida?”

“I was understandin’ Fawn an’ tha’ squirrel an’ Fawn says tha' I was speakin’ squirrel. An’ the squirrel jus’ asked me if'n I was noots. I dinnae really ken ‘ow tae answer tha’. Kin ‘unger cause ‘allucinations like tha’?”

“Don’t be silly Merida,” Fawn said hugging my face for a quick moment. “Dottie wasn’t asking if you were nuts, she was asking if you wanted some.”

“Oh well tha’s okay then,” I replied before realizing what I just said and face palming. Was my life really that crazy now that I could take this so casually? That kind of said a lot about my life recently.

“I was wonderin’ if something like this might happen,” Mom said with a shrug, “Yuir quantum connection with Fawn is two-way an’ always there. She gets yuir passive ability when ya turn it on, so it makes sense tha’ there would be some crossover and you’d be able to use her passive ability. Only her ability is with languages an’ it’s always on, so it’s probably always on fer you too.”

“Wow, and we thought you were a Disney princess before, now you can speak to animals too?” Vanessa jibed, obviously trying to cheer me up.

“Stick it up yuir tail Ariel,” I shot back.

“She’s right Merida,” Tasha poked, “Just let us know if you feel the sudden urge to break into song.”

“Alright girls, let’s get back to the others, ya can fight while we drive,” Mom said with a laugh. “Merida needs to eat again soon if all that noise that her stomach is makin’ is any indication.”

They all headed back to the SUV but I held back for a moment to pick up a few handfuls of acorns and fly them up to Dottie’s drey, high up in the oak tree, where I left them for her. Then Fawn and I said our goodbyes and I added, “Be careful o’ the ‘awks Dottie, an’ enjoy the nuts.”

We were headed back to the SUV when I heard Dottie chitter, “That strange human girl seems very nice, but her accent is horrible.”

We stopped for lunch at a roadside diner that claimed its Goldrush burger was the biggest burger in California. It boasted three quarter pound patties, cheddar and mozza cheese, bacon, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, yellow peppers, and their ‘famous’ goldrush special sauce. They also had a Goldrush platter that came with the burger, and a heaping plate of fries and coleslaw. If someone could eat the whole thing they got their meal for free and their picture up on the wall with the three other people who had managed it in the diner’s long history. I ate two, and I still needed to load up on snacks for the road at the gas station next door.

We made three more short rest stops during that afternoon and arrived in San Jose just after four o’clock. We played tourists until dinner and then we made our way toward the place we would be staying at that night to order some pizzas for dinner. When Mom said she had booked us a place I don’t think any of us expected it to be a secluded luxury villa. It was the type of place that celebrities stay at while travelling; private, huge, and with all the amenities anyone could ever ask for. She had been given a special security code to enter and the place boasted five bedrooms, was fully furnished, and even had a pool with a sea salt filtration system.

We spent that evening playing in the pool and Vanessa gave the twins a swimming lesson before we all turned in early. Vanessa was going to sleep in the pool, happy to not be sleeping in a bathtub that didn’t really work well with her large tail for once. I had set up my new mattress, pillows, and portable energy shield system nearby. The nightmares and flashbacks had come again as they seemed to every night now, but Fawn was there to talk me down after I had lost control of my powers in the midst of another anxiety attack.

We left the villa as soon as we were all up and about, which was pretty much after I was calmed down from my anxiety attack and had put my bedding back in the pocket dimension that Shu had set aside for me. After I consumed yet another massive breakfast at The Waffle Hut we were on the road once again. We took the 880 and just over an hour later, just after eight o’clock in the morning, we were driving across the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and heading into San Francisco much to the delight of all of my sisters, none of whom had ever been there before.

We spent the next four hours playing tourist, Mom taking out her digital camera as we visited the sites and bought souvenirs. I was careful the whole time to stick with Mom and the others since I didn’t want to risk getting put in a position where I could become overly emotional and lose control of my powers. We went to Golden Gate Park, Aquarium of the Bay, and Fisherman’s Wharf, and even took a cable car. Even though they had to remain hidden in our purses, the fairies loved the botanical gardens at Golden Gate Park, Vanessa’s favorite stop of the day was of course Aquarium of the Bay, and we all had a lot of fun exploring all around Fisherman’s Wharf; learning the history, watching and listening to the street performers, and finishing up with a hearty meal gathered from the historic sourbread bakery and an outdoor stand selling Dungeness crab.

After lunch we were back on the road again, crossing the famed Golden Gate Bridge. The twins and the Fairies were in absolute awe, and even I found myself enjoying myself as we chatted and took in the sights as we drove. Mom and Andy wanted to get to Costa Verde by dinner time so we only took one short rest break on our last leg of the trip. Driving more than an hour without something to break the tedium was boring though and we were all starting to get a little tired of being in the car once five thirty rolled around. I was also starving again which wasn’t exactly helping my disposition.

“Are we thaaaaaiiiiir ye’?” I whined, staring blankly out the window at the scenery going by, not too different from the scenery that had gone by an hour earlier. “I kin fly faster than this, a’ leas’ then I’d be movin’ under ma own power.”

“Soon Merida,” Andy assured me from the driver’s seat.

“Complaining isn’t going to get us there any faster Mer,” Tasha pointed out.

I turned to look at the others, who were looking as bored and tired as I was. This was why I could only handle travelling by car or passenger plane in short doses. I was okay as long as I was the one driving, because at least then I was doing something, but I had always been a physical person, I needed to be moving and active or I felt like I was spinning my wheels. Sitting still or staying in one place for long periods of time always made me antsy, that’s why Reaper had always made a better sniper than me, and why I preferred to be in the thick of the action. I let out a sigh and looked down at Fawn who was currently napping in my lap. The Fairies had been just as bored as we were and had all decided to sleep for a bit. I would have tried to get a nap in myself if I thought that I could be trusted to do so without blowing up the vehicle, and everyone in it, when I woke up. “I’m starvin’ though, an’ bored an’ we dinnae ‘ave anything tae dae tha’ we ‘aven’t done fifty times already.”

“I’m bored too,” Shu agreed, “and I’m starting to feel sick again. I hope we get there soon.”

“I’d make a new friend for you to talk to, but Mom said no powers while we’re driving,” Mei pointed out with a bored sigh.

Vanessa sighed in the seat beside me where she was trying to keep comfortable in full mermaid form, she had given up on keeping her legs for the moment to give herself a break from shifting while we made the last leg of our trip. It wasn’t as if anyone could see inside our vehicle with its tinted windows, and even if they could her tail would have been well below the level of the window. “I feel you girls, I’m getting bored and fidgety too, but we should be there soon. I can’t wait to get to where I can get wet. I’m getting itchy again, I need some real water. Still, Tasha is right, complaining won’t help.”

“I ken, bu’ I’m getting’ tired o’ lookin’ out a’ the side o’ the road. I swear the damn scenery is playin’ on an infinite loop or sumthin’.”

“Well look up ahead then,” Mom suggested.

“Fine,” I muttered, rolling my eyes and turning my head toward the windshield. We had just crested the top of a hill and there, ahead of us and nestled against the sparking Pacific Ocean, there was a decent sized city. A sign by the roadside read, “Welcome to Costa Verde, Population 208,347.” We had arrived at last.