A Tapestry of Crayons

A Tapestry of Crayons by BillA1

Disclaimer: The characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman & Flash and their respective secret identities are all owned by DC Comics. This story is intended for my own pleasure and is not for profit. It has been posted to this site for others to read. Places and characters not own by DC Comics are my own creation. This story is based on characters from The Justice League story: "The Once and Future Thing" written by Dwayne McDuffie. Inspired by the Drabble: Not Quite Wax by Nancy Brown. Thanks to Merlin Missy for her beta on this story.

A Tapestry Of Crayons

Rating: (G)

Synopsis: A post-"Divided We Fall" story about Batman action figures, lost keys, whistles and potato salad.

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue,
An everlasting vision of the ever changing view,
A wondrous woven magic in bits of blue and gold,
A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold. -Carole King - Tapestry

(Sometime in the not too distant future -Rancho Del Oro, California)

The only people who looked forward to school being out for the summer more than the students were the teachers and no teacher looked forward to no school more than a preschool teacher. This was the last day of school for Miss Platt's Preschool Academy and preschool teacher Sylvia Fleming couldn't wait for the day to be over.

This was Sylvia's first year of teaching and she was late for work - again. As she engaged in her daily hunt for her car keys, she wasn't sure that she wanted to be a preschool teacher anymore. Preschool kids had more energy than she was prepared for. Her teacher friends at other schools told her not to worry. The doubt she felt was normal. After all, they said, there was always a student in every class who made one question whether or not she'd chosen the right profession. There was always the one child in each class, they told her, who could be a cute kid one moment and demon spawn the next.

And when a teacher complained to the parents about their child, the response always fell into one of two camps. Either the parents couldn't believe that a teacher would have the nerve to lie about their little angel or the parents were like Rex's, who readily accepted that their child may be a problem, but asked that she continue to try to work with their youngster.

She was sure that she'd searched the entire apartment for her keys. Where are they? Where'd I leave them? She emptied her purse on the sofa. Those keys are here somewhere. I'm going to be late. One more day, girl, one more day. She took little comfort knowing Rex wasn't responsible for her losing her keys - this time. The boy was always hiding something of hers. Always.

Four year old Rex was the only child of an obviously very affluent interracial couple. Normally, in Rancho Del Oro, people didn't pay attention to a person's color...at least not outwardly. The only question they ask was whether your money was old money or new. Rex's family was new money. Their application said they both worked in law enforcement. Sylvia figured they were pretty high up wherever they worked because...well they both just looked like they were used to getting things done their way.

The couple had no problems paying the substantial tuition to the school. Their checks were Wayne Financial Group bank drafts which generally indicated some wealth. Everyone knew that. And yet, they didn't dress as if they had lots of money. Rex's mom normally wore a simple white or yellow blouse and black slacks and his dad generally wore dark colors and a black leather jacket. She admitted that it did bother her at some level that they both wore dark sunglasses all the time - even inside. Like they were some sort of celebrities. There was something familiar about them but she just can't place it. Still, they didn't flaunt their wealth and Sylvia liked that. A lot of the other parents were snobs. They were always flashing their wealth or worse having their kids flash the money.

There was one other thing about Rex's family that did bother Sylvia. While they both religiously showed up for the parent-teacher conferences, and there were many of them, they didn't go on field trips or class outings, instead keeping to themselves. And now that she thought about it, Sylvia couldn't remember Rex on any field trips either. Of course, Rex missed the beginning of the school year when a dog attacked him just before school started. At least the parents said a dog attacked him and that he spent weeks in the hospital. The attack left horrible scars on the boy's back. It didn't look like dog bites but Sylvia didn't think it was child abuse either. She'd have to report that.

No, whatever it was that hurt the boy, Sylvia was sure it wasn't his parents, particularly his mom. Rex told anyone who would listen that his mom was like an angel, with real feathers, and that sometimes his Auntie Zee made his mommy's wings go away so she could come to Rex's school.

Found them. As Sylvia picked up the keys to her car from the kitchen counter, she laughed at Rex's vivid imagination. She would miss the spirited boy.

Like a toothache.

"Is Rex ready yet?" Rex heard his mommy yell from downstairs. "We're going to be late."

"Almost," Daddy answered as Rex looked up into his face. "He's finishing his stretching exercises." They were in Rex's room.

Daddy smiled at him but Rex didn't smile back. His back hurt and every time he raised his arms above his head he felt a little pain. It didn't hurt as much now as it did when Mommy and Daddy took him to the doctor months ago. He was born with feathers like Mommy but his didn't work like hers so the doctors cut the feathers off his back. That hurt a lot. But he was brave and didn't cry...well, not much. And Uncle Wally gave him a Batman action figure because he was brave. Rex liked Batman because he had a cape and he liked Uncle Wally because he played with him and he could move real fast. Rex remembered Mommy and Daddy said some words to Uncle Wally about his Batman toy but Uncle Wally said he wasn't taking it back because Rex could be Batman some day. Daddy then said some bad words to Uncle Wally and Mommy said for them to "take it outside" because it was time for Rex's bath.

Mommy had a lot of big feathers but she didn't wear them when she went to his school. Auntie Zee would say some funny words and Mommy's big feathers would disappear for a while. They would still be there but you couldn't see them. Rex liked Auntie Zee. She gave him his favorite tee shirt. It was a black shirt with a yellow lightening bolt on it. Rex liked that shirt but he really wasn't sure why. He just liked it. Daddy liked it too.

Daddy could make stuff by pointing at things and thinking about it. All the stuff Daddy made was green but after a little while it would all disappear. Mommy always said that the best thing that Daddy made that lasted was Rex and she was very happy to have him.

As he helped Rex get his favorite tee-shirt on, Daddy called down to Mommy, "Is Zatanna still here?"

"Just left. Let's go," Mommy answered. There was silence for a moment then Mommy asked, "What are we bringing for the pot luck graduation dinner?"

"Potato salad. It's in the refrigerator covered with foil," his daddy answered. Then Daddy looked down at him and whispered, "It's okay. I made the salad." Rex smiled. Sometimes when Mommy cooked, it tasted bad but Daddy would say he had to eat it anyway. When Daddy cooked, the food tasted good. He wished Daddy would cook all the time but Daddy said Mommy needed the practice. Rex sometimes wished that he didn't have to eat Mommy's practice.

"We're on our way," Daddy called downstairs. Rex grabbed his Batman action figure off the bed and headed for the door.

"Rex, let's leave that here," Daddy said.

"But I want to take him with me," Rex answered. "Please?"

"Not this time, son," Daddy said. "Let's go."

"But I said 'Please'," Rex protested. Tears started to form in his eyes.

Daddy knelt down on one knee. "Son, I know you said 'please' but today is your big day. Today, you go from preschool to kindergarten. Let's leave Batman here so you don't take a chance on losing him during the ceremony and dinner. Okay?"

Rex sniffled as he put the toy back on his bed. He turned around and looked back at his daddy. "But Batman has to eat too."

Daddy smiled and hugged him. "After the dinner at the school, we will go get some ice cream and we'll take Batman with us, okay? I'm proud of you and your mommy is proud of you, too. Are you ready to graduate to kindergarten?"

Rex wiped away his tears and nodded his head as his daddy stood up. Holding his daddy's hand, he walked down the steps toward his smiling Mommy who was standing at the bottom of the stairs. But I still want Batman to go with me.

Miss Platt's Preschool Academy was located in a heavily wooded and secluded area not visible from the main roads. The entrance to the academy was on a side street. There were no signs on the main street or along the tree lined entrance road that indicated that the school was there. The entrance road climbed about a half-mile before it dead ended into a large parking lot. Once on the lot, the playground and the school were visible and within a short walking distance.

It was late afternoon. The director of the preschool, Miss Platt, had decided the weather was good enough to hold the little graduation ceremony outside. There were fourteen kids in Sylvia's class and as she arranged the chairs, she wasn't sure the outdoor ceremony was a good idea. The small ceremony would be on the playground and for some kids, being on the playground would be too great a temptation. Rex!

She set up the chairs, six in the front, and eight in the back, arranging them so that the children faced the parents' chairs that Miss Platt had set up earlier. Six of the children were moving on to kindergarten; the other eight would be back next year. Rex was one of the six moving on. Thank God for that. Oh. Darn. My whistle. She remembered that she'd left her whistle in her car. She would need it for the song.

She ran out into the parking lot and to her car and retrieved her whistle. Just where she'd left it - in the glove box. As she locked her car, she noticed the arrival of Rex's parents. All of the cars on the parking lot were expensive late model sedans and SUV's - all except for Rex's family. Their car was a very large station wagon and it was clearly several years old. All of the other parents parked their cars near the front of the playground. Rex's parents parked their car in the back of the lot near the woods that surrounded the school. Sylvia watched as Rex's dad got out of the front of the car and then completely walked around their car apparently looking around the lot at the other cars and parents. He even looked up. Then Rex's mom got out of the back of the car with Rex in hand. Both of Rex's parents were wearing very dark sunglasses.

Rex held his mother's left hand while she held a travel bag in her right. She always carries that bag. His dad was carrying a large pan that looked to be glass or Pyrex, covered with foil. Sylvia couldn't help but smile. A Pyrex pan. All the other parents brought obviously expensive serving sets as if they were trying to impress each other. Rex's family looked as if they weren't concerned about impressing anyone at all. They walked toward Sylvia standing at edge of the parking lot.

Rex pointed at Sylvia. His mom looked down at him and then at Sylvia. Rex's dad said something to his wife and she let go of Rex. The little boy ran up to Sylvia and hugged her around her waist. She returned the hug being careful not to rub the boy's back. A few moments later, Rex's mom and dad joined them at the playground entrance.

"So nice to see you again," Sylvia said as Rex's dad approached.

"Nice to see you too," he answered. Rex's mom nodded at Sylvia but didn't say anything as she put her travel bag in her left hand and ran her right hand fingers through her short red hair like a comb. Her hair barely touched the collar of her blouse.

Meanwhile, Rex's dad continued to the table where the food trays were. He set his pan on the table with the other serving sets, re-arranging some of them to make space for his dish. A couple of the parents giggled or snickered as Rex's dad walked away. If he heard them, his dad ignored them and instead joined his wife and Rex with Sylvia.

"Is there any particular place we're supposed to sit?" she asked when he returned.

"No," Sylvia replied. "Any place out there will be fine," she added pointing to the adult seats. Rex's mom looked in the direction Sylvia had pointed then looked back at her husband. "We'll sit in the back," she said, "so I don't get bumped into."

"Right," he replied.

Sylvia took Rex's hand. "Sit here up front, Rex," she said. Rex sat in the small chair and immediately started crying. His mom and dad looked at each other then his dad said, "What's wrong, Rex? Why the tears, man?"

"I want Batman," the boy wailed. Sylvia smiled nervously at the parents. He's going to be trouble tonight. She sighed loudly. Other parents were now watching this scene. Some rolled their eyes.

His dad cleared his throat then knelt down next to boy who had his head in his hands, crying loudly. "Rex, we left Batman at the house, remember?"

The boy sobbed louder. His mom knelt down next to his dad. "Rex, I have Batman here in my bag," she said as she opened her bag and gave Rex the toy. Rex sniffled and stopped crying.

"What the...we left Batman on his bed," his dad said. He sounded miffed. "Did you go back and get it when you said you thought you left the back door open?"

The look Rex's mom gave her husband made Sylvia's blood run cold. "It's his favorite toy. You know he goes everywhere with it. Get over it!" Then she took the toy back from Rex. "Honey, Batman will sit with Mommy and Daddy so he can see you graduate, too. Okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she put the toy back in her bag. She took out a tissue and placing it over Rex's nose said, "Blow." Rex blew his nose, then using another tissue, his mom wiped his eyes and kissed the boy on his forehead. Rex nodded and sniffled, "Okay."

Rex's parents took their seats in the back as Sylvia now concentrated on greeting the others parents and seating their children.

The graduation program started on time and moved quickly. Miss Platt welcomed the parents and announced that tuition would be going up next year. Then she turned the program over to Sylvia.

"Your children have worked very hard this year and they want to sing you a song," she said to the audience. She turned to the children. "Please stand."

All of the children stood up quickly and quietly - even Rex. She blew a soft note on her whistle, then counted rapidly, "One, two, three." On 'three' the children started singing the song that Sylvia had worked with them on for two weeks:

"Five little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
'Quack, quack, quack, quack.'
But only four little ducks came back."

Even Rex sang well. Sylvia glanced at Rex's mom who was holding up the Batman toy so Rex could see it. Sylvia thought this caused Rex to sing louder than the other children.

When they finished singing, the parents applauded. Even Sylvia was surprised at how smoothly it was going.

Suddenly, Rex stood up and said, "I'm going to go play on the swing." Oh. No. As the boy started to move, a voice came from the back row of the seated parents. His mom's voice. It was a surprisingly commanding voice.

"Rex Hol Stewart. Sit down!"

Rex sat down immediately, focused completely on his mother. His father lowered his head as his mother looked around at the parents who were now staring at her. She ignored the stares as she said in a sharp voice, "Stay seated." Then she sat down.

It was awkwardly silent for a moment then Miss Platt moved in front of the seated parents. She cleared her throat loudly and said, "I will now hand out the certificates for our students who are transitioning to kindergarten."

Sylvia stood next to Miss Platt and handed her a certificate. Miss Platt read the name: "Susan Keiser. Come on down."

A girl in the first row stood up and walked to Miss Platt and took her certificate amid the applause from the audience. The little girl giggled as she sat down in her seat next to Rex.

"Rex Stewart, come on down."

Rex didn't move. "Come on Rex," Sylvia said. Her voice was pleading but the youngster didn't move. Come on. This is almost over.

"Son, get your certificate," his dad said standing up. The other parents looked at the man then back at Rex. There was nervous laughter from the crowd.

"Mommy told me to sit down," the boy answered in a weak voice.

Rex's mother stood up. Her voice was unexpectedly soft as she said gently, "You can get up, sweetheart, and get your certificate. Batman says it's okay." She held up the toy. This time the laughter wasn't nervous.

Rex stood up and walked over to Miss Platt and got his certificate. As Rex took the certificate, applause erupted from the parents. Rex's parents clapped as they both sat down.

Rex returned to his seat and Miss Platt called the next child, "Misty Flora, come on down." Soon all the children going on to kindergarten had been recognized and then Miss Platt handed out certificates to the children who were coming back next year.

When all the certificates were handed out, Miss Platt announced that the ceremony was over and encouraged the parents to enjoy the potluck dinner. The parents applauded and then gathered their children and moved to the tables with the food. All the parents that is except for Rex's parents. They remained seated in the back, staring at the seated Rex until only Sylvia, Miss Platt and Rex were alone up front. The other parents had clustered at the food table, quietly talking. Rex, however, remained seated, strangely quiet, and seemingly focused on his parents Sylvia thought.

The boy's parents stood up at last and approached Sylvia. Rex's mom extended her hand, palm up, toward the boy who then, as if that gesture was a signal, ran to greet his parents. Both parents hugged the child, kissed him and told him how proud they were of him. Then Rex's mom gave the boy his Batman toy. He clutched the toy and grabbed his dad's hand as his mom said, "We both want to thank you for what you've done for Rex. He hasn't had many children to play with and he really liked coming here. He thinks you are so -"

She suddenly stopped talking. Sylvia watched as each of Rex's parents put a finger to their ear, frowned and said almost at the same time, "What?" They were loud and both sounded angry. Are they talking to me? Some parents turned their heads and looked at the couple and Sylvia. Sylvia could hear a couple of voices grunt their disgust.

Rex's parents were both silent for a moment then Rex's mom looked at his dad and shook her head. "Your turn," she said flatly.

His dad nodded and then said, "Shayera's not available. She's going to have ice cream with Batman." There was a pause then he added, "Private joke. I'll be there in ten minutes." Who is he talking to? Shayera? Where have I heard that name before?

He turned to Sylvia and said, "We have to go. Again thanks for everything. We won't forget you." Then he knelt down and hugged Rex. "Rex, we can't stay. Daddy's got to go to work but Mommy's going to take you and Batman out for ice cream. So remind Mommy to bring me back some sherbet, okay? Do you remember what kind I like?"

"The green kind," Rex answered.

"That's my man," his dad answered as he stood up.

Rex's mom knelt down and said, "Let's put Batman in my bag." She opened the bag, put the toy inside, and quickly closed the bag. Sylvia caught a quick glimpse of something grey, possibly metallic. A hat? A stick? His mom picked up Rex and stood, clutching her bag and the boy. She looked at Sylvia and smiled weakly. "We have to go now but as I started to say I wanted you to know that Rex thinks you are wonderful. Thanks for being there for him. He won't forget you." She looked at Rex. "Say goodbye to Miss Sylvia. Then give her back what you took."

"Goodbye," Rex said. The boy opened his arms and leaned toward Sylvia. Sylvia hesitantly moved toward the boy. Rex's mom then moved closer to Sylvia so that Rex could hug her. The boy kissed the stunned Sylvia on the cheek. "Here," he said as he held up in front of her a set of keys. Her keys. As she took the keys, the boy smiled and then wrapped both hands around his mom's neck.

Sylvia watched as Rex's parents walked into the parking lot and seemingly disappeared among the cars. She'd just turned her attention to the other remaining parents when Miss Platt rushed up to her and said, "Was that Rex's family that just left? Did you get any of their potato salad? It was delicious. Do you know if they want the pan back?"

How in the world would I know that? Sylvia thought but instead answered, "I'll try to catch up with them to find out."

Preschool teachers learned to move fast or they got crushed by the young children. Sylvia ran out to the edge of the parking lot. The Stewarts' car was gone. Boy, they moved quick.

Wait. Over there. They moved their car along the side of the woods. Why would they do that?

In the far corner of the parking lot, she saw Rex's family standing near the back fence. There was no one else near in this secluded portion of the lot. She was sure that they couldn't see her and was positive that no one else would have seen them unless they were standing where she was standing.

Sylvia was just about to call out to them when she saw Rex's dad kiss his wife. Then Sylvia's jaw dropped as a green and black uniform suddenly appeared on Rex's dad. She recognized the uniform. He's a Green Lantern. Oh. My. Gosh. His father's the Green Lantern. She gasped as the Green Lantern jumped in the air and sped away into the woods and then rose skyward. She quickly covered her mouth, as if trying to hold back the sounds she'd just made, and stepped back among the cars not wishing to be seen by Rex or his mother.

She watched as Rex's mom put the little boy in the back seat and then started the station wagon and drove away. Ohmigosh. Rex's story about feathers. A metal stick in the bag. Is she Hawkgirl?

She rubbed her forehead as she walked back to the school, trying to process what she'd just seen. At first she walked slowly, then her paced quickened as she broke into an ear-to-ear, teeth showing smile. When she got back onto the school playground, a couple of her students ran up to her and hugged her around her waist. As she looked down at the children surrounding her, she decided right then that she was going to teach again next year.

Miss Platt tapped Sylvia on the shoulder, interrupting her thoughts. "Did you catch up with them? Did you ask them about the pan?"

Sylvia grinned and then shook her head. "No, I missed them. They took off before I could catch up with them. I'll take the pan... and make sure they get it back."

Miss Platt looked at Sylvia and then frowned. "Okay."

"You know, I think I'm going to miss that little guy," Sylvia said.

Miss Platt grunted, "Yeah, right," as she moved away to say goodbye to some parents who were leaving. It was getting dark.

Sylvia grinned to herself. Fingering the keys Rex had returned to her earlier, her smile broadened. I won't forget you either, Rex. She held her keys a little tighter and then suddenly wondered where her whistle was.

END