Mt. Justice
October 24th
12:24 EST
Nightwalker hit the floor of the training room again. "Shit," she muttered, hauling herself to her feet.
"You did better this time," Black Canary said, standing over her. "You held out for much longer than you did at first."
"Good," Eve said, rubbing her head. "I would hate to think that I spent two weeks getting bashed up for nothing." She winced as she stood up. "What do I need to work on?"
Black Canary smiled to herself. She remembered Eve from the incident with the Frost Giants, and was pleased to have the chance to work with her again. She had been training the young woman in hand-to-hand combat ever since her return, and was very, very pleased by the progress Eve had been making. She was strong, she was respectful of her teachers, she was focused, and she took instruction and learned quickly. "You still stay on your toes, like you're expecting to fly. You need to work more on grounding yourself. And you don't guard your center, I expect since you're used to relying on your bo-staff, but you need to pay more attention to that. Your blows pack plenty of power, but you're too reluctant to strike."
Eve nodded, registering the words. She shifted her position until her feet were anchored firmly. "Like this?"
"Yes, but pull your arms in more. You need to keep your guard up in your chest. It's where you're the most vulnerable. Like this—" Black Canary walked over and showed her how to position her arms.
Eve found it easier to move with her arms tucked in. She was close to landing a blow against Black Canary when she heard the Zeta tubes whir. Ignoring it in favor of her match, she only paused to catch a glimpse of Aquaman bent over the console before twisting out of the way of a kick aimed at her midsection. There was an announcement that she didn't quite catch before she maneuvered around the ring to catch a glimpse of…
"Garth?" she gasped, stopping in her tracks. She paid for her distraction with a blow to the solar plexus that left her gasping on the floor—again. She muttered a few choice swear words as she got to her feet, looking at Black Canary before even thinking about taking a closer look at who had come in.
"Except for getting distracted, nice work," the older woman told her. "You're getting better at standing your ground and maintaining your guard, but you let it slip at the end. Don't do that again."
"Understood. Are we finished?"
"For now. Aquaman, good to see you."
"Greetings, Black Canary. Nightwalker. Allow me to introduce Tempest and Aquagirl, or as you already seem to know them, Garth and Tula. They have advanced greatly their studies at the Conservatory of Sorcery, and shall be joining the Team to gain some hands-on experience."
"Congratulations," Black Canary said, holding out her hand to shake. Nightwalker took the opportunity to study them both. This Garth bore some resemblance to her old friend—his black hair and facial structure were similar, and he was tall and somewhat muscular, but a bit skinnier and he dressed differently. His eyes were the main difference. While the Garth she knew had pure black eyes that always managed to look lively and humorous, this Garth seemed to have normal eyes, but with purple irises. He wore a skintight swimsuit that left his arms and most of his legs bare, dark blue armbands and belt, and a dark blue semi-vest around his neck.
The other girl, Tula, was slender, with red hair and eyes of a stunning aquamarine. She wore a yellow sleeveless top revealing her midriff and a garment around her waist like a sarong with yellow yoga socks around her ankles. Yellow fingerless gloves covered her palms and wrists. Both of them moved with a certain grace, yet clumsiness, that she had come to associate with Atlantians on land. Without the water around them, they were unused to supporting their own weight.
"It's wonderful to meet you," Eve said, holding out her own hand. She carefully extended her empathy to sense the emotional currents around them. Ooh—how long have they been together? Some time, it seems.
"And it is wonderful to meet you," Tula said, shaking hands in response. "Is Black Canary your mentor?"
Eve chuckled. "Not exactly. I'm an—unusual case, to put it mildly. Would you like me to show you around the Cave?"
"That would be most kind of you," Garth said, smiling. He and Tula picked up their bags, and Eve grabbed her sweatshirt and tied it around her waist, leading the way to the living quarters.
"So these are the rooms. Everyone has one here, just in case, but Miss Martian, Superboy, Zatanna, and I are the only ones who stay at the Cave full time. You two have your pick of the rooms that are left."
"I will take this one," Tula said, poking her head inside the first empty room.
"And I will take the one across the hall," Garth said.
"So, how much do you two know about the Team?" Eve asked, walking into the room.
"Kaldur has told us much," Garth said. "He did not mention you, however."
"Like I said, I'm an unusual case. It's a long story. Have you two had lunch yet?"
"No."
"Neither have I, and I'm starving. Let's discuss this over food. Do you two have civvies?"
"Civvies?" Tula asked, clearly confused.
"Civilian clothing. Stuff to let you blend in with surface-dwellers."
"Yes. Our king insisted that we bring some."
"Well, I need a shower and a change of clothes. I'll meet you in the hangar in ten minutes and take you for lunch in town. Sound good?"
"Oh, yes," Tula said. "I am most eager to see what life on the surface is truly like."
Eve, halfway out of Tula's room and on the way to her own, turned around. "Have you two ever been to the surface world before?"
They exchanged looks. "Not really," Garth admitted.
Eve grinned. "This should be fun. In that case, it might be a bit longer. Do you mind if I call Kaldur and invite him? He'll be able to explain several things much better than I could."
"No, not at all," Tula said.
"All right. Ten minutes!"
Mt. Justice
October 24th
12:45 EST
Kaldur walked into the main room of the Cave, curious as to why Nightwalker had called him in. All she had said was that they were going out for lunch and that there was a surprise.
"Kaldur!" someone called. Kaldur turned around to see Nightwalker, dressed in a gray sweatshirt and black slacks, grinning at him. That in itself was a surprise, given that she had been avoiding any and all contact with anyone else for the past three days. Two familiar figures stood next to her.
"Tula? Garth?" he asked with surprise.
"Kaldur, meet Tempest and Aquagirl, the two newest members of the Team. I offered to take them out to lunch, and since you're friends, I thought it would be good to invite you."
"Kaldur, it is wonderful to see you," Tula said in Atlantian. "King Orrin instructed us not to inform you. He wished it to be a surprise."
"I am glad to see you as well, and pleased to know that you will be joining us here," Kaldur replied in the same language.
"Hey!" Eve complained, in English. "I'm multi-lingual, and I still have no idea what you're saying. D'you mind translating for the poor, ignorant surface-dweller?"
"They were merely exchanging pleasantries," Garth informed her.
"Thank you. Can we go to lunch now, please?"
"What did you have in mind?" Kaldur asked her.
There was a glint in her eyes. "I think it's about time someone introduced you two to hamburgers."
As she shooed the newcomers towards the exit of the Cave, Kaldur caught up to her. "Eve, are you alright? You have been avoiding us all for days."
"I had a problem with my shields," she explained. "It's fixed now. Come on! I just had to go through a two-hour training session with Black Canary. I'm ravenous."
Happy Harbor
October 24th
13:02 EST
The four teenagers walked down the street, talking about the Team.
"So we will be going on undercover missions?" Garth asked. He was wearing a jacket like Kaldur's that zipped up to his neck to hide his gills. Tula wore a scarf to cover her own.
"Sometimes," Eve said. "And sometimes other things. How good are you with hand-to-hand combat?"
"Not very," Garth admitted. "We mostly rely on sorcery."
"Well, you will have to learn," Kaldur told them. "It is required. Black Canary is the instructor."
"What you saw her do to me?" Eve asked with a grin. "That'll be happening to you on a regular basis. I just train extra with her because I don't have much else to do. My other abilities are pretty much under control. Which reminds me—what can you two do?"
"We have both studied at the Conservatory of Sorcery, and are versed in Atlantian magics," Tula explained. "I can manipulate water and generate electricity."
"As can I," Garth added. "I can also summon miniature storms and tidal waves."
"What about you?" Tula asked. "You promised to explain who you were."
Eve let out a long sigh. "First thing you need to know about me: I can cross universes and dimensions. There are many, many different universes, and they are all surrounded by the Void, which is a force that moves over, under, around, and through every world. I was born with the ability to move in and manipulate it. This isn't my home dimension, however. I come from an entirely different one. My job was to explore the different universes and make sure they didn't leak into one another. That's just begging for trouble right there. Anyway, I got here in June, right before the incident with the Frost Giants. You remember that?" They both nodded and she continued. "It was an invasion attempt by their leader from another dimension. I was the one who helped the League get them out of this universe and back to their own. Unfortunately, to do that, I had to throw the worlds out of alignment, and cut this universe off from the Void, from inside. That means I can't leave. I didn't tell the League this, though."
They stopped outside the diner she had been taking them to, and paused long enough in her story for them to find seats and order, Kaldur and Eve making suggestions. As soon as that was done, she returned to it.
"I didn't want to have to rely on the League for charity, so I pretended that I had left this universe for a while. In the meantime, I lived as a migrant worker. They're traveling farmworkers, often illegal immigrants from Mexico. It worked for three months. The League and Team had no idea I was still here." She shrugged at Aqualad in apology. "But two weeks ago, Batman figured it out and offered me a spot on the Team until I leave, which isn't for another six months. Even without travel through the Void, I can fly, breathe underwater, and create items out of Void stuff if there's enough of it around. I'm also a powerful empath—I can sense and control emotions. And I have limited telepathy as well. I've been training with the rest of the Team, since there isn't much else for me to do."
"That is a long story," Tula said. "So you do not have a mentor?"
"Not really. I'm the only person I've ever met who can move between dimensions, and I learned how to control my abilities a long time ago. I've just been studying with Black Canary because she's in charge of training for the Team."
The waitress brought their food over to them. They had all ordered burgers and fries, and various milkshakes. Tula and Garth were immediately distracted by either eating the burgers or pummeling the two Team members with questions about surface life.
Guess who's ba-ack! Ha ha ha ha ha!
Yes, here it is, the sequel I promised you all. Like I said in my last story, I'm sticking to canon as closely as possible. I will take a little creative license in writing characters who never actually appeared in the show, but not too much. And I'll try not to bump into any established events.
This story will be updated every few days until I run out of ideas. Like the last one, I have several chapters written out, so I can post for quite a while without worrying about running out of space.
This story is more fluff than plot, so sorry if you don't like that kind of things. Pairings will be canon. As adorable as I find BirdFlash, it just won't work with this story.
Oh, and is anyone else having a hard time with the copy+paste method of uploading on Fanfiction?
Have a good however-long-until-the-next-update!