Important A/N at bottom!
Young Justice is not mine.
Ripples
"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water."
- Rabindranath Tagore
GOTHAM CITY
"You are the hero Gotham deserves, Nightfall."
A mischievous smirk stretched across her thin lips, blue eyes glistening in the moonlight as brown locks swayed in the breeze. The girl wasn't fazed by the comment as she turned to face the caped crusader, who wore a defeated expression as he stared out at what once was his city.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.
"I was wondering when you were going to come to your senses, Batman." Nightfall brushed the hero off and stepped around him to crouch down on a ledge, eyes flickering over the quiet city below.
Behind her, Batman grumbled quietly to himself. It was hard for a man of his nature to admit this fourteen year old hero was a superior hero to himself, and it took his young protégé's input to help him realize it.
Yes, Robin had agreed shortly after meeting Nightfall that she was the one that was going to make Gotham a better place. In fact, he had relinquished his role as Robin to the girl, handing over his cape and utility belt in the process. And now the young hero sported the gifted cape and utility belt proudly alongside her own hero garb.
"I relinquish my-"
"Kayanna."
Nightfall blinked as she turned to face the Dark Knight, who looked as equally confused as her. With a shake of her head, she urged, "I'm sorry, you were saying?"
"I was saying that, I relinq-"
"Kayanna!"
There it was again!
Nightfall spun around in a circle and shouted to the sky, "Okay, who's there?" The world around her began to shift and crumble, Gotham fading into the distance as Batman dissolved right before her eyes and the girl felt anxiety bubble up from within herself as darkness closed in on her.
"Kayanna, wake up this instance!"
Wake up? I am awake! Batman's giving me his city-
"Kayanna!
And the next thing the girl knew, she was soaking wet.
She shot up with a cry of shock, blue eyes wide, as she spluttered, "B-Batman, I accept your city!"
Koda quirked an unamused brow as he let out a deep sigh, watching as his daughter slowly put two and two together as to where she was and why she was suddenly drenched with water. Kayanna rubbed at her eyes, shaking off some of the water in the process before her lips quirked up in sheepish smile as she faced her father, who looked less than please.
"H-hi dad…"
"What do you think you're doing?"
Yeah, he was definitely annoyed. The vein in his forehead was most definitely throbbing!
Kayanna stood up from the bench, stretching slightly and doing her best to avoid her father's annoyed gaze, "Resting my eyes?"
"We were on a quick break, Kayanna, not nap time."
Always the serious one he was…
Slightly irked, the young girl rolled her eyes before using her powers to remove the water from her body and drying herself off in the process. And she may have been less than cautious about where the water ended up as she watched, from the corner of her eye, her father hold out a hand to block the water from hitting himself.
"Sorry, Mr. Marine, some of us aren't used to getting only four hours of sleep at night. I mean, who trains at five in the morning!" She threw her hands up and gestured at the clock that hung across the room on a wall.
It read 5:42. They had only been training for twelve minutes.
"People who take being a superhero seriously."
Kayanna pouted as she turned back towards Koda, a frown on her face, "I'll have you know, I take superhero-ing very seriously!"
"Kayanna, this isn't a joke." He stepped towards his daughter, expression softening slightly as a disheartened expression settled on her face. It was hard for him to not be harsh and maybe slightly overbearing, but this was his only daughter- and he knew firsthand how dangerous crime fighting- and just battle in general- could be.
If Kayanna couldn't realize that, then he really didn't want her out in the field.
With a huff, the girl flopped back onto the bench as she began to fiddle with the ends of her hair. She focused her gaze on the floor, staring intently at the cement and tracing the small cracks with her eyes, "I know it's not."
"Well, you could've fooled me." Koda surmised as he sat down beside his daughter, who looked up at him with annoyed eyes. It didn't take a mind reader to know that he was gearing up for another one of his 'overprotective daddy' speeches- which Kayanna got about once a week, if not more! His favorite thing to do was to remind her that she was 'daddy's little girl'.
It drove Kayanna nuts, even if he did mean well.
"I just want to keep you safe, okay? That's why I stress training so much. Bad guys won't take it easy on you like I will, and I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt in the field. This is serious work, Kayanna, and I need to know that you're serious about it."
"But I am serious about it!" Kayanna urged, angling her body towards her father, "I've been training my ass-"
"Language."
"-butt off extra hard for the past three months! And for what? You let me do nothing on patrols!"
(Technically Koda had been training Kayanna ever since her powers had shown up when she was nine, but she had only been training like a superhero for the past three months.)
"You helped me with that bank robbery last night." Koda reminded the girl with a soft grin.
"You made me stay with the hostages while you kicked the bad guy's butts." She corrected him in a deadpan voice, face less than amused.
Koda held his hands up in mock surrender, shaking his head, "You were protecting those hostages, were you not?"
With a huff, Kayanna crossed her arms and diverted her gaze to the floor once more, "You still don't let me do anything."
"You've only been in the field for three months, Kayanna. These things take time." The young brunette opened her mouth once more, preparing to argue further, but her father cut her off, wanting to cut the argument short before it could further escalate.
After all, Kayanna had to get her stubbornness from somewhere.
"We'll pick training back up at nine." Koda stood up from the bench and grabbed his water bottle before tossing his towel over his shoulder. At the sight of Kayanna's confused- and dumbfounded- expression, he added, "Consider it a special treat for the fourth of the July."
Smack!
Kayanna groaned as she landed roughly on the ground for the umpteenth time that morning, the water that was once in her control splashing lifelessly to the floor. She squeezed her eyes shut as she ignored the footsteps approaching her limp form, mind too focused on the throbbing pain that was flaring up her side.
For such a flowy element, water sure could hurt.
"Again."
"Is that like an order o-"
"Now."
The young waterbender made a noise of annoyance before her eyes cracked open, blue meeting blue as her father stared down at her. She rolled her eyes and picked her body up, accepting the hand Koda offered her with slight hesitation.
Kayanna found the room to be spinning ever so slightly as she stood on two feet.
"Your form was sloppy and movements slow." Koda crossed his arms and eyed his daughter, who had pulled up the water from the ground, "If you were up against a bad guy, you would've been killed in a heartbeat."
"Oh, that's reassuring."
"Kayanna-"
Said girl threw her arms up, the water in her control flying outwards and to the sides, where it embedded itself as icicles in the walls as her chest heaved, "I know! No jokes!"
Koda eyed the icicles embedded in the wall with mild disinterest before turning back towards his daughter. This wasn't the first time she's had an outburst like that during training. Heck, the holes in the walls were evidence of that enough, "You need to get your emotions in check."
With a wave of his hand, Kayanna watched as the icicles melted and the freshly liquidized water flowed towards her father. It curled up into a large water ball, Koda allowing it to float above his open palm.
Kayanna kept her eyes glued on the floating ball, the gentle movements helping to soothe her racing heart. She chewed her lip, the motion the only thing keeping her from biting back at her father. The energy slowly left her body and a feeling of lethargy settled upon her.
They had been back at training for a few hours, and though she had given it her all at the start, she could feel her strength slipping away. Her muscles ached and she was soaked from head to foot in a mixture of sweat and regular water. It was an unpleasant feeling, but one she was all but used to thanks to the training regime her father had set up for her.
Koda noticed the distant look in his daughter's eyes, recognizing it all too well as fatigue. Running a hand through his dripping hair, the older waterbender shook his head and dropped his hand, the water he was once holding up splashing to the ground.
Kayanna blinked at the sudden disappearance of the item of her focus, moving her attention to her father. He crossed his arms over his chest and she slumped her shoulders, "I'm sorry." Her voice was quiet, and Koda brushed her off with a half-smile.
"Don't be, Kayanna. You're improving greatly. You should be proud of yourself."
The young girl perked up slightly, a small smile settling on her lips, "Really?"
"Of course."
And it was true. Though he may be hard on his daughter, the improvement was definitely there, even if her form and mobility had been slipping during the last half an hour of training. She was still doing her best to put her best foot forward, and she deserved praise for her effort.
The little moment was interrupted, however, when the computer in the back corner of the room illuminated, a soft beeping echoing in the basement. Koda's demeanor immediately changed as he made his way towards the tech, Kayanna hesitantly trailing behind him.
"Incoming message."
The computer droned, and the older waterbender pressed a button to accept the incoming message.
Almost immediately Batman appeared on the screen, and Kayanna's face immediately flushed, the image of the Dark Knight brining back memories of her earlier daydream.
"Nighttide."
"Batman."
The two greeted each other stoically, neither one showing much emotion. Kayanna always found their interactions weird, it was different than her father's interactions with other Justice League members, like Wonder Woman or Shadow Hunter. With them he was more friendly and open, but with Batman he was so… stoic.
It could be unnerving sometimes.
"Fifteen minutes ago Mister Freeze launched an attack on Gotham Park. Robin and I were able to apprehend Mister Freeze with relative ease, however, during his attack, multiple civilians were left frozen in large blocks of ice. We need your assistance to get them out safely."
"Damage control," Koda nodded, voice slipping into hero mode, "I'll be there ASAP."
"Good," The Dark Knight nodded, "Batman out."
Batman's face disappeared from the screen and the computer clicked off. Koda turned around, nearly bumping into his daughter who had gotten as close as possible to hear everything. She did her best to act nonchalant, turning and stepping away as she fiddled with the ends of her ponytail.
"So, uh," She did her best to feign ignorance, trying to remain calm, "What did Batman want?"
Koda shook his head with a small smile, walking around the young brunette as he made his way towards the opposite side of the basement, "Like you didn't just hear everything." He pressed his hand up against a spot on the wall, where a small scanner appeared to scan his hand.
"Recognized: Nighttide."
A disembodied voice called out. The scanner shrank back into the wall, and soon the wall split and melted away to reveal his- and Kayanna's- super suits.
Koda sat down in the nearest chair and reached down, unhooking his lower left leg and setting the prosthetic leg to the side. Kayana glanced away as her father attached the specially designed prosthetic leg Batman made him a few years ago, not liking the reminder of how much better her father was than herself- even with only one and a half legs.
As her father disappeared to finish changing into his Nighttide garb, Kayanna took it upon herself to start on one of her after-training chores: picking up the water from their training.
It wasn't a hard chore, and it did help her practice her waterbending on a smaller scale, but it was so tedious because the water was literally everywhere. They had large metal vats that sat alongside one of the basement's walls that were filled with the water they used to train with, and it was her job to put all the water back.
Every last drop.
"Can I come with?"
Her voice was quiet and she focused her gaze on her hand, picking at a hangnail on the side of her thumb. Koda paused for a second to glance over at the young waterbender before he resumed what he was doing; pulling on his gloves.
"I don't think so, Kayanna, it could be dangerous."
Wow, what a shocking answer.
Kayanna groaned and dropped her arms, Koda quirking his brow as he slipped his mask onto his face, "Oh, come on, dad! It's just damage, control right?"
"Yeah, but-"
"But Batman and Robin took care of Mister Freeze already! So what's the danger?"
Koda looked unconvinced as he shook his head. He walked towards the vats of water and with a wave of his hand, he filled the water pouches clasped to his side. He turned back towards his daughter, who had seemingly inched closer to the cabinet containing her super suit whilst waiting rather impatiently, "Its Gotham, Kayanna, there's always danger."
"We live in Gotham."
"That is beside the point."
Kayanna groaned and threw her hands up. If you ever wanted to know where her stubbornness came from, look no further. Koda Sanders was the epitome of stubbornness- and his daughter was a chip off the old block.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, after all.
"All we're doing is de-thawing civilians, dad!" The young brunette started once more, not willing to give up just yet, "It'll go faster if I help!" Koda opened his mouth to protest, already shaking his head and Kayanna continued before he could say more, "My ice-bending could use some work!"
That was usually the key to getting her father to let her go on- what could be- exciting adventures: turn it into a teachable moment.
The older waterbender's mouth closed as he raised a gloved hand up to run through his slightly disheveled hair. Kayanna could almost see the gears turning in his head as her father weighed the pros and cons, working on coming to a final decision. The brunette crossed her fingers behind her back, silently pleading to her father with her eyes.
Please let me go. Please let me go. Please let me go.
"Fine," Koda let out a dejected sigh with a shake of his head, and Kayanna jumped into the air with a happy squeal, "But-" She paused in her celebration, fist still in the air in a victory fist pump. There was always a but. "You listen to everything I say, understood?"
The girl composed herself, hand shooting up in a mock salute- earning herself a small eye roll from her father- as she beamed, "Aye aye, sir!"
"Kayanna."
She groaned before taking on a more serious demeanor to appease her father, moving her arms and crossing them behind her back, "Yes, dad, I understand."
"Good." He nodded, a soft smile appearing on his face as excitement bubbled up within his daughter, "Now suit up."
Kayanna cheered once more before snagging her super suit from the cabinet it was locked away in, disappearing into their make-shift changing rooms, all the while whistling away. As she disappeared to change, Koda couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling in his stomach.
And that was never usually a good sign.
"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"
Gotham Park was located smack dab in the center of Gotham City, sporting many barbeque pits and places for various sports. In the middle of the park was a small pond with a fountain in the center.
Under normal circumstances, the park was one of Nightfall's favorite places to go to. Though in the center of the bustling city, it was relatively quiet and a good place to disappear to to complete some homework- or to avoid her father.
You know, whichever the more pressing matter was at the given moment.
Upon entering the park, however, it was obviously not the same serene location it once was.
Patches of ice and ice spikes were strewn about the park, some of the larger ice spikes containing civilians, each sporting shocked and scared expressions.
Nighttide and Nightfall had to weave their way through the crowds that were gathered at the entrance of Gotham Park, a mixture of civilians and press having flocked to scene of the attack in hopes of catching a glimpse- and maybe an interview- with the Dynamic Duo. Luckily for the two waterbenders, the police were already pushing back the civilians and press, making space for the two to pass through.
And as per usual, Nighttide ignored every single person that called out his name, a stoic expression on his face as he pushed forward.
Nightfall, on the other hand, couldn't help but smile shyly at those who looked her way. Though still a relatively new hero, thanks to her father's status as a Leaguer and a well-known hero, people were starting to learn her name and recognize her.
Though there were people that called her Riptide from time to time… and that made her kind of want to scream.
"Nightfall," Said girl glanced up, masked eyes catching her father's gaze, "Make sure you keep up.
Her face flushed slightly at the public reprimand before she nodded and picked up her pace, falling in step with the older waterbender as they made their way across the park.
Nightfall glanced around at the damage, eyeing the piles of snow and ice spikes as they treaded further towards the middle of the park. It seemed as if the further they went, the more damage and destruction- and frozen civilians- there were.
They traversed the hill and the younger waterbender felt her breath hitch in her throat as her gaze settled on Batman and Robin, who were currently in the middle of a deep discussion with Commissioner Gordon. Nightfall's heartbeat picked up, a giddy feeling settling in the pit of her stomach at the mere thought that she was seconds away from meeting Batman and Robin.
She honestly thought they were going to be gone by the time they arrived on scene.
As if sensing their eyes on him, Batman turned his head, gaze landing on first Nighttide, and then Nightfall at his side. Robin, noticing his mentor's attention, followed the older hero's gaze, a smile spreading across his face as he watched the two waterbenders approach.
"Nighttide," Batman nodded, greeting the older hero by extending his hand.
It was accepted, the waterbender nodding in response, "Batman."
"Nightfall."
The younger waterbender's eyes instantly widened upon finding the Dark Knight's attention on her, face flushing ever so slightly and heart rate picking up.
Batman knew who she was!
Oh man, she felt as if her heart was going to burst forth from her chest!
"B-Batman." The girl responded, internally kicking herself as her voice cracked.
Smooth, Kayanna, smooth.
A flicker of a smile graced Batman's lips, though that could have been a trick of the light or a figment of the girl's imagination, as the caped crusader turned back towards her father, "Mister Freeze was apprehended and is currently en route back to Arkham Asylum…"
Batman and Nighttide delved into a deep discussion about the day's earlier events, the former revealing that Mister Freeze was not the only ice villain to have launched an attack that day.
Aquaman and Aqualad faced Killer Frost in Pearl Harbor.
Flash and Kid Flash faced Captain Cold in Central City.
Shadow Hunter and Nightlight faced Minister Blizzard in San Francisco.
And Green Arrow and Speedy faced Icicle Junior in Star City.
Five ice villains attacked on the same day. Batman and Nighttide both came to the same conclusion that it was wonky- though they used more technical terms.
Nightfall tried her best to keep up with the rest of conversation, but they delved into some theories as to why the attack happened and they lost her, the girl ultimately zoning out. May not be the best thing when your dad finally takes you out on a semi-League based issue, but she was being ignored.
Well, mostly being ignored.
Nightfall could feel eyes on her every now and then, but was choosing to ignore it as she attempted to at least look like she was paying attention. Appearances were key, after all.
Upon what felt like the twentieth time, her patience wore out and the young waterbender tore her attention from the two Leaguer's, who were still deep in discussion, to face the person staring at her: Robin.
Batman may have offered her a gruff greeting when they walked up, but him and Nighttide jumped into their discussion before an introduction to the Boy Wonder could be arranged.
Not that she really needed one, he was the Boy Wonder after all.
"Name's Robin." The raven jutted his hand out as soon as her gaze landed on him, as if he had been waiting for her attention the whole time.
The introduction was more of a formality than anything really. Of course she knew who he was, after all, Robin had kind of been one of her role models when it came to the sidekick side of the superhero spectrum.
This may have been the first time she was meeting him in person- and she may be slightly fangirling inside (the boy was hella cute)- but this was by no means her first learning of the first sidekick. Nightfall looked up to the boy, and was maybe kind of jealous of him. A fully trained sidekick working alongside on of the world's greatest heroes ever. That was what she wished for herself more than anything.
But Nighttide had her on a short leash.
And up close and in personal with the Boy Wonder, Nightfall found herself at a loss for words as she subtly (okay, obviously) checked him out. Robin's dark hair was lightly tousled, giving him a boyish charm that suited him so well and she found herself wanting to run her hands through his hair. It was probably super soft. Despite being of a short stature and a few inches shorter than herself, it was obvious Batman's training was paying off: the boy was practically ripped for- what the waterbender assumed to be- a thirteen year old.
Was it bad she wanted to feel his biceps?
God, she sounded so creepy! What was wrong with her?!
He also gave off an air of familiarity, as if she knew him from somewhere, but she didn't have time to ponder on that thought as a throat was cleared. Nightfall blinked as her mind returned to reality and she realized she was practically gawking. Robin sported an amused smirk as he eyed the girl, and as her face grew redder, his smirk increased, much to the waterbender's horror.
In an attempt to save herself, Nightfall's hand shot out and quickly clasped Robin's still extended one, shaking it a tad bit too hard, "I'm N-Nightfall." Her voice cracked again, and she immediately dropped her arm and gaze, choosing to stare at the grassy ground, "It's n-nice to m-meet you, Robin." Her voice tapered off at the end and Robin chuckled as the girl worked to fight off her burning face.
"Likewise."
It was a simple response, but Nightfall was surprised to hear how genuine the raven sounded. Her nerves were stemmed slightly.
"So you two will handle it?"
Nightfall shifted her gaze from the ground and to Batman, who was addressing her alongside her mentor.
Nighttide nodded his affirmation, speaking for the two of them, "Of course, Batman, we'll take it from here."
"Good. Now if you'll excuse us," Batman turned towards his protégé, who was still sporting a smirk (it seemed kind of like an almost knowing smirk?), "Robin and I have a prior engagement to attend to." She wanted to ask what this 'prior engagement' was, but held her tongue seeing as it wasn't her business.
With that, he spun on his heel, cape fanning out slightly as he began to walk away. Robin made a move to follow, but paused slightly before glancing back at Nightfall, "It was nice meeting you, Nightfall. Hopefully we'll be able to work together soon!"
Nightfall smiled at the thought, but it was quickly quenched as her father spoke up, placing a firm hand on her shoulder as he stepped between the waterbender and Robin, "Don't count on it, Robin. She's still in training."
"Dad!" The younger waterbender replied sharply as she twisted out of his grasp, "Not cool."
Robin chuckled and shrugged as he shared a glance with Nighttide, some unspoken words seemingly being passed between the two, leaving Nightfall kind of confused, "Of course, sir. Good luck, you two."
And before another word could be uttered, Robin darted off after his mentor. Nightfall followed his figure with her eyes as he grew smaller and smaller the farther he got. Only when he disappeared from view did she turn towards her father, who was staring at her expectantly.
"Are you done ogling Robin now?"
And the blush was back.
"W-what are you t-talking about? I-I wasn't ogling!" Nightfall rushed to defend herself, words slurring slightly as she stammered them out.
Nighttide shook his head and propped his hands on his hips, choosing to drop the subject and get back on task instead of teasing the younger waterbending some more.
Business first. He could tease his daughter later when the uniforms were off.
"Let's get moving."
You know that feeling when your muscles felt like lead and your whole body just felt dead?
Yeah, that was how Nightfall felt right now.
Though initially damage control seemed like it would be pretty easy, it turned out to be the exact opposite of easy. Her father had taken her idea that this would be used as a training exercise to a whole new level. To show her how things were done, Nighttide unthawed the first civilian, who the paramedics immediately rushed to the aide of before carting them off to an ambulance to be checked over for signs of hypothermia.
And then that was where Nighttide's job ended.
Nightfall suddenly found herself face to face with dozens of frozen people, and it was her job to unthaw them- Nighttide was just along for the ride at this point.
"Straighten your back," Her father barked, standing a good few feet back alongside some more paramedics and a stretcher, "you're slouching."
The younger waterbender groaned as she attempted to straighten her back, the muscles protested every movement. There were only a few civilians left to unthaw, and Nightfall should've been happy about that, but at the rate things were going, she felt as though her back was going to snap and her arms were going to fall off.
Everting was in pain.
She stretched her arms out, doing her best to ignore the aching within them. They shook in the air slightly and she splayed her fingers, eyes honing in on the captive civilian before her. Nightfall sucked in a deep breath, shutting her eyes for a moment in a final bout of concentration before opening them.
The brunette slowly and gently lowered her arms before pulling them back to her side, her mind focusing on the water melting and becoming liquid once more. There was a slight hesitation of the water reacting to her commands, but it was short-lived as the water suddenly liquefied and fell to the earth below, the paramedics rushing in to grab the civilian before she fell too.
Nighttide stepped forward and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. She looked up at him, panting slightly as sweat dripped down her forehead, "Very good, Nightfall." He nodded his head before gently steering her towards another civilian, "Only a few more left."
Though it was a brief compliment, it was still one nonetheless, and Nightfall found herself smiling despite the pain. Koda tried to intersperse compliments in his training to keep his daughter's spirits up, but a compliment from Nighttide in the field was most definitely rare.
Why was the sun so bright?
Nightfall stared up at the sky, eyes squinting slightly as she basked in the sunlight. All civilians had been freed from their icy prisons, so while Nighttide was wrapping up any potential loose ends, she took a mini break. Though her father probably wouldn't approve of her break consisting of her lying on the grass, blinding herself with the sun.
After all, he would consider her position to be leaving herself vulnerable- and slightly unprofessional- but hey, she was tired and the grass was comfy. So sue her.
What was the worst that was going to happen?
Was a random perp going to sneak up on her?
In the middle of Gotham Park?
In broad daylight?
Where many police officers were still hanging around?
Fat chance.
Nightfall cracked a small grin at her dumb thoughts, eyes slipping shut completely as she awaited her father to come fetch her. It was only a matter of time before things were completely wrapped up and she could go home and talk to her mother about things.
And when she said talk to her mother, she meant complain to her mother.
It was really unfair how Nighttide could so effortlessly turn something that should be exciting into something that was oh so painful, and her mother was always happy to lend a listening ear whenever such an event occurred.
She honestly adored her mother.
Don't get her wrong, she usually adored her father too, but right now he was just above the 'I hate you' level on her care-o-meter.
He could easily win her over with some ice cream on their way home though. Not that that would happen- too unprofessional as he would say.
A shadow loomed over her, blocking the sun and darkening her already darkened vision. She cracked her eyes open, peering up at her father who was staring down at her, arms crossed and eyebrow quirked expectantly.
"I was just-"
"Resting your eyes?"
Nightfall nodded and sat up before picking herself up off the ground- albeit slowly and painfully- and turned towards Nighttide, "Now you're getting it!"
The older hero chuckled and shook his head, "Come on," He wrapped an arm around his daughter's shoulders, squeezing them gently, "Let's go home, our work here is done."
Together they made their way towards the park exit, their speed a tad bit slower than normal. A silence had settled over the duo, and for once Nightfall found the silence to be comfortable. Under other circumstances, silences in the field with her father were either tense, or awkward because he was annoyed with her for whatever reason.
But this one, this one was nice.
"You did good work, Nightfall." Nighttide glanced down at his daughter, a soft smile on his face.
Wow, two compliments from NighTide in one day?
Nightfall cocked her head to glance up at him, her own smile mirroring his, "Thanks, dad." She paused for a second, chewing her lower lip as she thought over her next words carefully. She didn't like pestering her dad, but she just had to know, "Does this mean you'll give me more responsibilities in the field?"
The older waterbender shifted his gaze from his daughter to the sky, inhaling a deep breath before slowly exhaling it. He should've seen that one coming, "Maybe, but we can talk-" Nighttide trailed off suddenly, body tensing as he stopped walking. Nightfall quirked a brow as she opened her mouth to say something, but her father held up a hand signaling her to keep quiet before he pressed a finger to his ear, "Nighttide here."
A series of nods and affirmation noises was all Nightfall got from the conversation over the course of the next few minutes. She had already deduced it was League related- after all, what else would it be?- but she had yet to learn exactly what League related thing it was.
So that was still a mystery.
Nighttide slipped a small device from his utility belt, and the young brunette recognized it as his GPS. He tapped a few buttons before a ping sounded from the small device and a mini holographic map appeared, a red dot marking a random location.
"Got it," Nighttide nodded once more, though Nightfall wasn't exactly sure as to who he was nodding to, "I need to take care of Nightfall and then I will be right there. Nighttide out."
That got her attention.
"Take care of me?" The girl stared up at her father, arms crossed, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means…" Nighttide started, brown eyes filled with concern and uncertainty as he thought hard about something. He shook his head and raked a gloved hand through his messy brown locks, a soft sigh leaving his lips, "I'm taking you to the Hall of Justice."
She blinked, "Uh, why?"
"You recall the sorcerer Wotan, correct?"
"You've mentioned him once or twice."
Nighttide nodded before he began walking, the younger waterbender quick to follow on his heels, "Zatara requested League back-up because Wotan is attempting to use the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun."
"That's not good."
"No, no it's not."
The conversation seemingly ended there, Nighttide not having more information to share with his daughter as they exited the park. She stayed quiet for a second, but something was nagging at her.
"So, why am I going to the Hall of Justice then?"
Reporters began to yell at the two heroes, shouting out random questions in hopes they would be answered. Nightfall flinched back slightly, moving closer to her father as microphones were shoved in her face, cameras flashing as they walked by. Nighttide remained stoic throughout the whole thing, voice quiet and gaze set straight forward.
Only when they managed to escape the sea of reporters did the older waterbender speak up once more.
"I don't have time to take you home and then rendezvous with the League, so you get to hang out at the Hall of Justice for the time being."
Nightfall audibly groaned, not bothering to hide her annoyance and her father picked up his pace, "You know I'm perfectly capable of getting myself home safely."
"Home is across town, Nightfall, and you can't take the motorcycle by yourself."
"I could if you taught me how to drive it." She grumbled under her breath, following her father into an alley. He glanced back at her, a frown on his face.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
Nighttide shook his head before walking further into an alley. He approached an old, decrepit phone booth and pulled back the door. Upon Nightfall's confused look, he began to explain that inside the seemingly useless phone booth was what the League called a 'zeta-tube'.
Not that it looked very tube-y.
And she had no idea what a zeta was.
Her father continued on describing it, informing the girl that it was a teleporter device utilized by the League for fast and easy travel across the country- and to some parts of the world. It was the League's main means of transportation, allowing them to quickly and effortlessly get to their missions in a timely fashion.
Which cleared up a lot of unanswered questions for Nightfall.
She often wondered how her father could travel from Gotham City, New Jersey to Star City, California in like five minutes flat.
However, it took a bit of convincing on her father's part that the nasty old phone booth he was standing in front of was state of the art League tech. To Nightfall, it looked like trash and not like something she ever wanted to get into.
"Look, when the computer tells you to, just enter the phone booth and you'll be teleported to the Hall of Justice, where I will be waiting for you."
Nightfall still looked skeptical, "Seems sketch."
"I don't have time for this, Nightfall." Nighttide's patience was wearing thin and it was beginning to show in the tone of his voice, "Just do what the computer says and all will be fine."
She was still definitely unconvinced, but she knew her father was growing impatience so she nodded her head and watched as he climbed into the phone booth. He gave her what was supposed to be reassuring smile before closing the door, but it didn't help at all.
A part of her expected her father to jump out of the phone booth and yell "just kidding!" or something- but she knew that was implausible.
A bright light suddenly emitted from the phone booth causing Nightfall's eyes to widen. A feminine computerized voice droned out some words, but the girl was too surprised to catch them. The door unexpectedly slid open and the waterbender jumped back at the sudden motion.
She cautiously stepped towards the open phone booth, taking in the fact that her father was no longer inside the machine- which must mean it was working.
"You may now enter."
Nightfall jumped back once more, heart suddenly leaping up into her throat at the unexpected voice. It same voice that spoke when her father disappeared, and the same voice their computer at home spoke with.
It must be a League thing.
"You may now enter."
The voice droned again. Nightfall sucked in a deep breath before stepping forward. She first poked her head into the phone booth, glancing around the interior of it. There wasn't anything unusual about it, in fact, if a normal civilian were to step up to it, they would think it was just an old, decrepit phone booth and not some high-tech League machine.
Which made it all the sketchier to Nightfall.
Only when the voice called out to her a third time did she step fully into the machine, carefully closing the door behind herself. A bright light began to glow from the center of the machine, and she soon found herself surrounded by it.
Here goes nothing…
A/N: Hey friends!
Now I know what you are all probably thinking: 'Another Young Justice story? Don't you have anything else to write?'
lol the answer is no- I'm trash.
But seriously, next to a Falcon rewrite, I've honestly been DYING to write out my bby Nightfall's story! She's the OC that's the closest to my heart (probs because she's based off of me, but you know, whatever xD ) and I've had people asking me to write out her story for a while now, so here I am! As I get older and I'm forced to adult more, I know I'm probably not going to have time to write out her story, but it's something I really want to do so here I am!
This is for all of you Nightfall fans! c:
And yes, for those who are new to my smol water child, she is shipped with Dickie-birb because he is my love! I was shipping with him before it was cool B)
lol jk
Well, maybe... Kayanna has been shipped with Dick for years now though... and if any of you guys want to learn more about them, feel free to check out my deviantART account: Rawwwrchel! Got loads of ship art of the two smol nugs either being cute or giving each other anxiety because that's what they do best!
For those of you wondering about Falcon's story, I fully intend to finish it! I mean, I'm like halfway done already so I have to push forth! I also have plans for a rewrite of 'When Lightning Strike's' once Falcon's story is done and have more exciting plans for Falcon for those of you who may think she's boring! xD
And sorry to disappoint, but I am OFFICIALLY DISCONTINUING STRIKE. Nightfall was going to make an appearance in that story, but I've lost all my ideas and inspiration. If there's anyone out there who may want to adopt it, let me know? I know I said I wouldn't abandon a story, but I think I bit off more than I can chew and it's hard to write a character when you don't have any inspiration for them- trust me, I've tried.
Okay so I had wanted the first chapter to encompass all of Independence Day to so I can just go off the episodes from there... but then this chapter ended up being like 6.5K words and if I added everything else it was going to be probs close to 20K and that's a huge af chapter lol so this is now like a prologue!
This is going to be a trial run (I say that with all my stories, don't I? pfffft-) but I'm just going to kind of be gauging people's reactions I guess? So make sure to leave a review and tell me what you think! I would love to know if you guys wanted me to continue this or what! ^^
-SnowWolf22
P.s. Shadow Hunter and Nightlight will be reoccuring characters and they are OCs that belong to my wonderful friend xdarkhikarix on deviantART! This is primarily going to focus on Nightfall of course, but you will be seeing plenty of Nightlight along the way to! She's Nightfall's 'mom' friend who tries to make her stick to the rules because water child can be nutz.