Normal's Not The Watchword: 3/?
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3: In The Girl's Toilets
Chloe grimaced as she looked round Neptune High.
It wasn't as colourful as Smallville High, nor as full of school spirit, but it still gave her flashbacks to her years spent in the Torch, searching for 'meteor freaks' and unaware that the world was host to people with superpowers - both good and bad.
She missed working at the Daily Planet, and she knew that working as a journalism teacher would just bring back unwelcome flashbacks. She had never intended to be a teacher, ever, and with what she had found about Neptune High, cliques seemed to be a big part of the school. She wondered if she'd be able to control the class - but then she thought of Bart, AC and Victor and remembered that if she could control them, then 17 year olds couldn't be too hard.
She was in far too early. No students were here and she had absolutely no idea where she was supposed to be going. It didn't look like Journalism was as unpopular as it had been when she was at school, and Chloe had to admit that she was excited at seeing a high school newspaper with more than four employees.
With a sigh, she pushed out of the school and sat on the wall by the car park, brushing some hair out of her face. She watched as a LeBaron pulled into the school carpark and a small blonde stepped out of the car. The girl frowned as she lifted up the front of the car and stared down at the engine, black smoke emitting from the engine.
Chloe winced, walking over to the girl and standing by her, straightening her skirt. The girl straightened, eyes widening when she saw Chloe.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you." She said, smiling.
"It's alright." Chloe replied. "Need some help?"
The girl was silent for a few moments as she assessed the damage to her car. She turned to Chloe, and frowned as she took in Chloe's outfit. "No. It's fine." She muttered. "I'm Veronica."
Chloe smiled. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Miss White." Veronica looked confused. "I'm a substitute journalism teacher."
Veronica smiled. "Really...I'm fine."
Chloe nodded, making to turn away but stopping when she saw a line of three boys standing by Veronica's car. During her short conversation, the car park had filled with cars and people were filing into the school.
The three boys watched as Veronica attempted to fix the engine, then the tall, blond boy smirked.
"Uh-oh." He said, seemingly to oblivious to how Chloe was standing nearby and watching. "Someone's got her eye on the Miss White Trash title."
Chloe rolled her eyes at the awful insult, but started when she saw Impulse standing behind the blond boy. He didn't seem like the Impulse she knew. He was hunched over, and looked uncomfortable with the situation.
"You know, you got a solid effort in the talent competition." Impulse muttered. "But I'd like to see that car up on some cinder blocks."
Chloe raised an eyebrow as Veronica ignored their comments and approached the final boy, grabbing the knife out of his hands as he protested weakly to his friends. Inhaling deeply, she turned her attention back to Impulse.
"Excuse me." Chloe said, smiling as Impulse looked straight at her. "Would any of you mind taking me to the Principal's office?"
The three boys stood in silence for a few seconds, but then Impulse stepped forward, smiling at Chloe. "Yeah, I'll take you. It's just this way."
Veronica watched as Cassidy led the new teacher away from the parking lot, before turning to Logan and Dick.
"What's up with Beaver?" Veronica asked, smiling when Logan turned an interested gaze to Dick. "Has he been doing anything strange lately?"
Dick snorted. "Beaver's not into your sort of thing."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Veronica wondered, turning to walk away. "Never mind."
*
"Anything?" Chloe asked, frowning when Impulse looked at her in confusion. "Anything suspicious about Aaron Echolls?" He stayed silent, leading her through the hallways. "Nothing...well, what was that before? With Veronica?"
He chuckled, avoiding the question. "You just met my brother."
"Brother? Which one?"
He frowned. "The blond one. Logan, the one with the apple, he's Aaron's son." Chloe raised an eyebrow, turning to ask him another question but he held one hand up. "Chloelicious, I'm not comfortable with this... I know we have to do this, but I'd prefer not to have to sneak around looking at my friends."
Chloe nodded. "So, what are you going to do?"
Another silence. "Well, I'm going to get some breakfast..." he said slowly. "...And you're going to talk to Clemmons."
He gestured to the door, which had a plaque on reading 'Mr Van Clemmons, Vice-Principal'. Chloe grimaced, turning to thank her younger friend, but with a burst of wind he had gone.
She rapped on the door, walking in and wringing her hands together as the older man turned to her. "Moira White I assume."
Chloe smiled, nervously sitting at the desk.
*
Chloe gently closed the door, peering down the white hallways, images of the bright Smallville High flashing through her mind once again. She walked slowly towards the journalism classroom, ignoring the whispers from the students as she looked for Logan Echolls.
A small smile spread across her face as she spotted him leaning near the girls bathroom. She memorised what he looked like, hoping he studied journalism. She blinked, watching as Veronica hurtled towards him, pulling him into the bathroom.
Chloe smirked, amused. "Subtle..." she murmured under her breath before turning into the classroom.
The freshman stopped talking and stared at her. Chloe paused, nervous, before pasting on a large smile.
"Hi." She greeted, watching as the class continued to stare. "I'm Ms White. I'll be your new journalism teacher."
*
Veronica strode out of Mr Wu's classroom, hoping her plan to steal Tad's phone and delete the video of Carmen would work. She smiled at Logan as she passed him on her way to the journalism classroom.
She paused, seeing the blonde woman from the parking lot rifling through a desk. Veronica cleared her throat, and she turned around. Veronica frowned at the lack of surprise on the teacher's face.
"You again." Veronica muttered and she smiled. "Wait, substitute journalism teacher?"
Chloe nodded. "You take journalism?"
Veronica nodded. "I don't have it now though." She stated. "I just needed to use a computer."
"Go ahead." Chloe gestured towards one of the computer. "I have no class now."
Veronica grinned, settling by the computer and watching as the teacher gathered some papers and left the room. Veronica almost turned, but paused, frowning as she saw Ms White stop Cassidy Casablancas in the hallway, and gesture towards the journalism room.
Cassidy scowled, staring directly at Veronica as Ms White strode away. He shook his head, slowly walking away.
He watched from behind the door as Veronica loaded up the Private Eye website. He swallowed, hoping it was something to do with the rumours that Carmen had asked for her help, but with the way she had looked at him when Chloe had spoken to him in the hallway, he doubted it.
He stayed still for a few more seconds as she typed into the boxes. He inhaled, speeding over to hover behind Veronica for less than a millisecond, able to see the words 'Bart A' written on the screen before she could even press search.
He grimaced. She couldn't search for Bart Allen. Although a Moira White had been written into existence, a Bart Allen was still non-existence, despite the amount of times he had used the name. If Veronica found out Bart Allen didn't existence, it wouldn't slow her down. It would feed her curiosity, and although Cassidy didn't know Veronica Mars well, he was certain that she wouldn't stop until she discovered the truth.
He zoomed away, knocking furiously on the staffroom and asking hurriedly for Ms White. He received a strange look but soon Chloe was with him, her school-issued laptop tucked under her arm.
"Veronica's looking into Bart Allen." He told her quickly. "Now, do some Watchtower magic and stop her finding it before she discovers that Bart Allen doesn't exist."
Chloe nodded, pulling him into the nearby girls bathroom and blocking the door, opening her laptop and logging on.
"How long is it going to take?" He asked, worried.
Chloe grinned. "I'm Watchtower. Even with a crappy computer like this, I can tell you that this PI website will be done in a few seconds."
Cassidy watched as she typed furiously into a black box, green script taking over the screen. "I don't think I've ever done any Justice League related things at school before."
Chloe smirked. "Like this is the only sordid thing that's happened in here."
"What do you mean?"
Chloe laughed. "It's high school." She reminded him, smirking as he rolled his eyes. "Although I spent those wonderful four years tracking down metahumans and avoiding being killed by both fellow students and Lionel Luthor, I know that some people used places like this for more... romantic affairs."
Cassidy raised an eyebrow. "You're not talking about Clark and Lana, are you?"
Chloe laughed. "Clark? Making out in the toilets?" Cassidy frowned. "Definitely not his style." With a furious bash on the keyboard, she smirked. "There. The PI network may be down for a while."
Cassidy relaxed, smirking. "And that's why we have you on the team."
Chloe grinned. "You want Veronica to stay away?" she asked, smirking mischievously. "I think she and a certain Logan Echolls were in this bathroom earlier... and I'm pretty sure they weren't hacking into the PI network."
Cassidy blinked. "So..." he said slowly, confused. Veronica and Logan? "...I'll get you a real Mexican lunch and then you can..."
Chloe held up a hand. "Impulse, stop it." She murmured. "I think I know how you got that nickname."
He sniggered. "See you, Chloelicious." He saluted. "And while you're at it, maybe you should create a Bart Allen. I mean, you created a Moira White."
As Chloe blinked, he vanished from the room.