When you're Batman, you take everything as a sign that something bad is going on.
Especially when nothing at all is happening.
After years of fighting crime, he knew the calm before the storm when it knocked on his door.
He didn't know where or what the storm would be, but he knew it was coming.
Batman just didn't think the storm would knock down his door…
Flash was never one to enjoy standing still for more than one minute, and he'd been doing it for FIVE.
'Would it be wrong to hope for a crime spree right now?'
Deciding it probably was, the scarlet speedster considered anything that might interest him.
Of course, it turned out that something interesting was getting ready to slap him in the face.
Well…
Her friend was.
Glaring at the ceiling above the ratty old couch, Karm couldn't help feeling disgruntled and caged in.
There was something inside of her that was restless, begging for the solid crack of metal under her palms, the sweet release of using her full strength.
Consoling herself minutely with the promise of a future trip to the junkyard, Karm sat up to peek into the kitchen.
De was at the rickety old table, metal parts floating around her head and a broken cell phone in her hand.
She had decided to fix it, and now spent her free time trying to upgrade it.
As the news droned on about mysterious, random kidnappings in the area, Karm stretched out her back.
"De, why can't we go out again?"
"Because the last time you went out alone, you caused irreparable damage to a building."
"It was going to be demolished anyway!" Karm defended.
"People were still living there!" De replied, a soft laugh in her voice.
"Well, it's a good thing they weren't home." The brunette decided.
Smiling to herself, the redhead shook her head in amusement and focused on the small contraption in her hands.
A knock at the door caused Karm to raise her head, putting her feet on the ground as the metal parts gently landed on the table.
'Who the hell would visit us?'
De put down the cell phone, head tilted like a curious puppy, and stood up to answer the door.
She managed to open the door a crack, looking out at the man standing in the hallway.
He was certainly an imposing figure, wearing a dark suit over bulging, almost inhuman muscles.
Sunglasses hid his eyes, but De couldn't help fidgeting as if he was studying her.
"Can I help you?"
"Actually, yes."
The door was thrown open by his palm, and De cried out as she flew back onto her butt.
"You two can come quietly."
Getting up from the couch, Karm cracked her neck boredly as De scrambled away from the lumbering man.
"I have a better idea. Why don't you close the door on your way out?"
The concrete flooring buckled slightly under the force of her push, and she flew towards the towering muscled wall in the doorway.
When her fist met his face, there was almost a shockwave before he flew back down the hallway.
Catching her balance, Karm dusted off her hands and smirked triumphantly, kicking the door closed.
"And stay out."
Still on the floor, De breathed out a sigh of relief, relaxing.
"That sure was scary…"
"Scaredy-cat." Karm replied, only mock-serious.
"He was just a poser. Don't overreact-."
The door flew in, smacking into Karm's back and splintering when she didn't move under the force.
"We can do this the easy way…"
Pulling on spiked knuckledusters, the man cracked his knuckles threatening.
"Or the hard way."
Half-turning slowly, Karm eyed the debris from their warped door, brushing some splinters off her shoulder.
"…You couldn't have knocked?"
It seemed her cheeky response was enough answer for him, and he pulled back his fist.
De practically jumped to her feet, concern for her friend spiking up before her logic could console her with Karm's invulnerability.
Catching the blow, blue eyes narrowed in a glare before she grabbed the man's wrist and flung him over her shoulder.
The wall gave way under his weight, and Karm stalked up to the edge, grumbling.
"You'd think somebody would realize a crazy bastard just flew through a wall…"
Turning to De, she gave her a serious, pointed look.
"Stay."
"But-."
"STAY."
Biting her lip, the redhead nodded before her friend would jump out of the hole.
Looking over the edge, she winced as Karm landed on the fallen man with the force of a falling boulder, cracking the asphalt.
"This isn't going to end well…"
She knew this was a fact when Karm was then thrown into a bus stop…
"Uh oh…"
Even from three stories up, De heard her adoptive sister's rage…
"Alright, THAT'S IT! No more Ms Nice Karma!"
Before she could give in to the urge to cover her eyes, De lifted herself out of the hole with her telekinesis and slowly floated to the sidewalk below.
With her feet firmly on the ground, she was overcome with the angry pounding coming from fists meeting flesh.
The very ground trembled from the force, and De felt a spike of worry when Karm was grabbed around the torso in one hand and crushed into the asphalt.
"KARM!"
Blinded by her concern for a single moment, De didn't notice a red blur heading towards the fight until the large behemoth of a man reared back in pain.
Taking advantage of the moment, Karm kicked her opponent in the throat and levered him over her body.
Standing up, she turned an almost murderous glare on De, who shrunk in on herself.
"Damn it, De! I don't need your help!"
"But…"
"But what?!"
"That wasn't me…"
Blinking a moment in confusion, Karm's brow furrowed as she tried to understand what that meant.
"Then who the hell-?"
"WHOA THERE!"
A red blur grabbed her, pulling the brunette away from the harsh blow about to land on her head.
When they stopped, Karm looked up in mild surprise at the Flash, who returned a cheeky grin.
"Wouldn't want to get that pretty face punched in."
Eyes narrowing, she pulled away to stand on her own two feet, looking more intimidating that her height of 5'7''.
"I'm not a china doll, and I can beat this guy up without any help. THANK YOU."
As Karm stomped back to the still-dazed man to beat the crap out of him, Flash stared after her for a second before looking towards De.
Slightly embarrassed by her friend's behavior, she offered an apologetic smile.
"Karm's not in a good mood."
"Compared to a certain Bat I know, she's like an ice cream Sundae."
Giggling at the comparison, De felt the sidewalk rumble underneath her feet as Karm threw a certain person into a wall.
It crumbled as De covered her eyes, not wanting to see what was probably left of the poor man.
Sure, he had frightened her and thrown their front door at Karm, but did he deserve this?
"HEY!"
The sudden movement made the world blur together, and De gripped the only sturdy structure she could feel.
Once everything seemed to return to normal, she didn't have the heart to look up and see what had happened.
"Hey, Red. It's alright to look now."
Lifting her head, De blushed as she realized the position she was in.
Flash was carrying her in a bridal hold, with her arms around his neck.
She couldn't help a blush when he grinned cockily.
"I know I'm handsome, but maybe you should watch out for flying cars instead."
Moving her eyes away, half because she was self-conscious and half because she was curious, De spotted the crushed car.
It was buried in the asphalt where she had been no more than twenty seconds before.
THAT had been a close call…
"Damn it-! WATCH OUT!"
Karm's shout had De looking at the empty bus as it flipped through the air towards them, and she raised a hand.
The bus stopped in midair, and she carefully lowered it to the ground on its wheels.
"Now THAT is cool." Flash praised.
"Could you do that with flying monkeys?"
Before De could find the words, the speedster moved to face the other heroes that had apparently accompanied him.
"Hey, Bats! What took you guys so long?"
A crash brought everyone's eyes to the fight, which hadn't slowed down even a moment since Karm had returned to it.
Held up in the air by her shoulders and throat, she was gripping the wrist and grinding her teeth.
To anyone else, it would seem as though Karm was frustrated by defeat.
To De, this meant Karm was trying to rein in her temper…
A movement caught both combatants attention, and the blue-eyed brunette almost growled.
There was a frightened little girl clinging to her mother, hiding behind some debris from the battle.
It seemed her opponent wasn't happy with witnesses, and dropped Karm as he began to stomp towards them.
Choking for a moment, she stood up, not noticing Batman or Green Arrow as they rushed to their aid.
"Damn it…"
Focusing her strength into her legs, Karm propelled herself forward hard enough to make a crater in the asphalt.
Running now, she passed the man, who tried to match her pace once he realized what she was doing.
Picking up both mother and daughter, Karm felt the angry presence at her back before pushing off the ground.
As the force sent her into a jump, she avoided his grab, holding onto both passengers carefully.
Flipping backwards, she landed behind him and put down her cargo.
"Get out of here. It's not safe."
The woman nodded, clearly still shell-shocked, and lifted up her little girl before starting to run.
Setting her jaw, Karm turned back to her opponent as he righted himself, hellfire in her cerulean eyes.
"This ends here." She growled, fists clenched painfully tight.
"Yes, it does."
A set of sharp knuckledusters rushed for her face, but Karm caught the fist, the metal spikes bending or snapping against her skin.
Using the momentum, she grabbed his arm and spun in three strong circles before throwing him upward.
Ignoring the cracking ground as she jumped up, Karm grabbed his ankles and spun downward as fast as she could before slamming his face.
Dust filled her vision, and the brunette stood up as it settled, glaring at the unconscious form.
"And stay down."
Turning to see if De was alright, she stopped to see at least three superheroes staring at her in what seemed to be surprise.
"What?"