Bored, so I figured I'd upload this. The chapter is super long (twenty-one pages) and wasn't edited as carefully as the first chapter was, but reviews would help me clean up all those evil, extra commas. No, seriously. Review. I'm not kidding.
. . . Okay, I was kinda kidding.
Disclaimer: Don't own YJ or any character other than Danielle and Arthur. Don't sue me.
Chapter Two – Fitting In
My green eyes widened, my mouth was agate. The butterflies in my stomach had disappeared and been replaced by wasps, stinging the flesh when I thought of what had just been said.
"Dude, I didn't even know you had a villain for a sidekick."
The insects in my abdomen pricked at me again, making me feel somewhat sick. Those eyes of mine shut, as if I were in a bad dream and I wasn't truly here. This was just a nightmare, a sick, sick nightmare, and I was going to wake up on the plane again. But it wasn't a dream.
Noticing my expression, the female stood up for me, scolding the redhead.
"Wally!" She exclaimed it in an innocent, yet surprised voice. The youngest boy joined in, giving him a 'that wasn't cool' expression.
The boy, Wally, seemed surprised by the reactions of the others. Angrily he tried to defend himself. "Come on! Just look at her! The goggles and parka scream Captain Cold," He shouted, thrusting one hand my direction. "Besides, have you guys ever met an ice hero? 'Cause I'll tell you something, I haven't!"
The crack at my looking like Captain Cold struck a nerve, making some bit of me angry, though I couldn't get anything in before Arthur responded to what Wally had just said.
"I can assure you that my daughter has never been a villain in her life," he snarled in a way that was so unlike him. Somehow it was comforting, seeing my foster father, and two of my new teammates, stand up for me. Their reactions dispersed the wasps, and restored me to my usual self.
"Look," I started, my voice calm, while staring the Wally boy down, "Just watch during our next mission. I'll show you who's a villain and who's not." Our green eyes met, mine as calm as I could muster, while his were angry and glaring at me for causing him to be in this situation.
"Fine. Just make sure you can keep up," he replied in a cocky and childish voice, breaking the stare. I let out a breath and stood a bit straighter knowing that I had been able to diffuse the situation. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Arthur lose his glare as well, instead settling his eyes on me in a parental sort of way. I didn't give him the satisfaction, trying to keep the pride I had just received.
"Well," a monotone voice from behind caused me to jump. I had forgotten that Red Tornado had been there, and the butterflies returned once more as I became embarrassed of the scene he had just witnessed. However he turned to me, saying, "It is late. You must get to your room before night falls." I gave him an odd look, but complied anyway. My hand reached over for my suitcase, when I realized it wasn't there. Noticing my expression, Red Tornado added, "Your bags are already in your room."
I nodded, my cheeks getting a bit hot when I heard Wally snicker. Giving him one last glare, I said a goodbye to the others and started down a hallway after Red Tornado, Clairvoyance not too far behind.
"That kid…. I swear…. Have to talk to Barry…." I heard him mutter under his breath, still aggravated at the scene. Slowing, I kept pace with him and elbowed him in the stomach. Arthur bent forward a bit as the breath left him, and he glanced over at me, surprised.
"Calm down, Arthur. Not like you to get so upset," I told him, sounding like the more mature of the two of us. When he recovered, Arthur nodded, his back straightening. Together we both followed the android before us down the metallic halls silently, for we both knew what was to happen within a few moments.
I stared at my surroundings again, the wonder lost, to remember landmarks. We passed a large room that seemed nearly empty. A sign on the opening next to it read 'Training Hall', and I made sure to store this area in my memories. If things kept up like they had today I would need that training hall. A lot.
Red Tornado turned the closest corner, and when I followed I smacked into him, for he had stopped abruptly. My cheeks flared for a moment as I gave him my apologies, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead he looked down at me while gesturing a hand to a metallic door before him.
"This shall be your room," he told me in his robotic voice. Looking at the door, I noticed that it had already been fitted with a sign that held my alias, Black Ice. That should be easy to remember. The android pointed down the hall in the direction furthest from me. "That area contains a living area, kitchen, and lavatory. You should find it pleasing."
A bit taken aback by his odd speech, my eyebrow raised, but I nodded anyway. Tornado then stepped in front of the door that proceeded to open as he neared it. The man walked inside, myself and Clairvoyance a step behind him the entire time. The pair of us glanced around the room, taking in the metallic walls that matched that of the rest of the building, the small bed in the right corner, a table lamp resting beside it on a desk. My suitcase was there, resting between the table and mattress while waiting for me to arrive.
The room was a bit small as the rest of the building went, but it was still a considerable size for a bedroom. Another door was placed in the middle of the left wall, leading to what I presume to be a closet. Still, it was dark in the room, and Red Tornado had to explain the functions of the area.
"These doors shall only open to motion sensors," the android began, gesturing to both the front and side door. "And the lights activate to voice recognition. Say your name."
A quizzical look on my face, I opened my mouth to say, "Danielle", as clearly as I could. The darkness continued. I decided to try again. "Danielle." Still, the lights did not turn on. My ears detected a suppressed laugh to my right, and my body turned to find Arthur there, attempting to hide a giggle.
"What's so funny," I demanded, sounding more proud and cocky than I was right now. Still grinning, the man looked down into my eyes, and they locked on.
"He meant your alias, Hun," Arthur managed before breaking out into laughter again. My face grew warm again, for the umpteenth time today. I really didn't need this right now.
Elbowing him in the gut, I growled, "I knew that" and managed to say "Black Ice" without my voice cracking. The lights flickered on, giving the room some new life. I glanced around once again, noticing a few things that weren't visible in the dark, like the small bookshelf towards the left corner and a chair beside it. Both were bare and cold, like the metallic walls.
"Well," Red Tornado began, heading for the door. "I will leave you two to say your farewells." The robot reached the door, paused as it opened, and left, the door sliding shut behind him with an electric whirr. As it finally closed, a thump was heard as the two metal forces hit each other, and the sound stopped. Arthur and I stood silent, staring at the opening, everything still and sad.
My eyes lost their life, truly remembering why I was here for the first time since my talk with Arthur two weeks ago. Depressed, I made my way over to the suitcase and sat the edge of my new bed, my skin feeling the bumps along the mattress. My hands pulled on the zipper, breaking the quiet for a moment, and then settling down when the bag was opened in its entirety. I sat the bag on its side to ensure that none of the contents fell out, and began to grab items inside. Arthur watched from the door as I put the things away in their new home.
I had emptied out half of the bag before Arthur reacted, pulling me into a hug. I jumped, not knowing that he was so close or what he was going to do beforehand. However, when my body adjusted to the new information my arms raised and returned the hug. We stood there for a few moments, father and daughter embracing each other sadly as they were saying their goodbyes.
"I'm proud of you," Arthur murmured, patting my head with one arm while the other was wrapped around me. I was unsure as to what he was referring to; my joining Young Justice or my reaction to the situation earlier.
A small smile grew on my face, and I nodded into his chest. "It's because I have such a great Dad," I told him, causing him to pull back in surprise.
"Me?" He pointed one finger towards himself. I grinned in response.
"Yes, Arthur. You. You're the best father I've ever had." My voice was sincere, for it was the truth. I watched as his cheeks grew pink under his mask and his mouth became stuck between being agate and breaking out in a smile. A giggle escaped my lips, and my foster father embraced me once more, lifting me off the ground this time.
"Well I can say you're the best daughter I could ever ask for," he exclaimed while twirling me around in his arms, making me dizzy.
"A-Arthur! Enough! I can't breathe," I shouted over his excited laughs. He stopped, putting me back down, keeping his hands on my shoulders.
"I meant what I said before. Keep it up," Arthur told me while gazing into my eyes.
I nodded in agreement, and my foster father took his arms off of me and started for the door. The bad part of my brain started again, causing my arm to reach down and grab one of my shoes and chuck it at the center of my mentor's back with precision. He jumped as it hit him and fell to the ground with a 'clud', then turning to face me once more.
Smiling at him, I said, "I meant what I said, too. But if you tell anyone, I'll deny it and then kill you." Arthur looked at me, surprised, for a moment, and then let a slight grin make its way onto his face.
"I'd be worried if you didn't." And with that, he left. The closing door shutting me off from all that I knew, and emptiness and anxiety filled me. The lights, which up until now had been glowing bright, shut off from the lack of activity.
"Black Ice." My voice cracked as I went over and continued to place objects around the room, the last being a picture of myself and Arthur smiling at the camera. Sadly I let the photograph rest on the desk next to my bed, and lied down, hoping to get some sleep after the eventful day I had had.
…
"Nnnnngh," I groaned as I glanced at the clock for the eighth time. It read '9:58', meaning I'd been lying here, hoping to sleep, for two hours now. However, every time I would close my eyes, memories would flow back, whether old or new, and my brain would not shut up. I was just too anxious for the day to come, and my body wouldn't let me forget it.
Maybe… If I hit the training hall and practice, maybe I'll get tired enough to finally sleep, I thought. Well, it had been the only idea that had crossed my mind, so I sat up, preparing to go to the hall. After I had pulled on my suit, I grabbed a large bag I had been sure to put in my closet. It was heavy, so I quickly placed it on my shoulder and walked out of the room while saying 'Black Ice'.
Trying to remember the direction in which I had come, I made my way down the halls, glancing around for the landmarks I had tried to memorize. Everything went well… until I reached a kitchen that was attached to a living area. Staring around, I looked at the large television and modern kitchenware, taking in the nice appliances around. It was much more updated than the one Arthur had, that was for sure. After a moment I snapped out of my daze, looking around for any sign that could point me to the training hall. Unfortunately, there was no such sign. There was, however, footsteps coming down the hall, if that counts.
"Hello, Megan! Telepathy on Earth! Why didn't I pick up on that while watching-," a female voice said as it came down the hall, closer to me. I decided to stay put, for maybe she could point me in the right direction. When the girl walked in the room, she noticed me and stopped talking, staring. After a moment I became a bit self-conscious and a light pink brushed my cheeks.
"Um, hi," I managed to say, hoping it didn't sound rude. The girl, smacking her forehead with one of her green hands, cried out with a "Hello, Megan!", throwing me off a bit.
"I'm sorry," she began, her voice cheery. "You're Danielle, right? I didn't mean to stare; it's just that no one is out at this time of night. Especially not with their suits on." With that my arms reached up and crossed across my chest, as if it would cover up the embarrassment that was my 'super suit'.
"Didn't mean to intrude," I began. "I couldn't sleep, and figured I would get some energy out in the training hall, but got lost." A nervous smile came across my lips.
"Oh, that happens! I can show you to the training hall," the girl, Megan, told me excitedly, removing any anxieties I had about her at the time.
"That would be wonderful." I flashed my pearly whites at the girl, and she returned the smile before turning around to face the opposite direction. I started my way down the hall with her, quickening my pace to walk beside Megan.
"Do you like your room?" I glanced over to see Megan looking at me, general interest obvious in her eyes.
"Yeah. It seems kinda cold though, with all the metal," I told her, staring at the lights on the ceiling. She didn't understand.
"There's a thermostat, you know? In the closets." I turned to her, my face kind.
"You're not from Earth, are you?"
She looked hurt. I'm not sure why, I mean she was green, looking like Martian Manhunter. "No, I'm not. I'm from Mars, but my Uncle J'onn brought me here so I could learn about Earth." Her face brightened. "But I like it here. I've always wanted to come to Earth, and I'm finally here! I even have an Earth name now! And Earth friends!" My lips turned upwards as I listened to her talk about how wonderful Earth was and how she loved the adventures she had had here so far. Before I knew it, we were outside the training hall.
"Here it is," Megan told me while pointing to the sign by the entrance. "The training hall. But I don't know how you're going to train without a partner." Her brow wrinkled, a look of concern over her freckled face.
Walking towards the door, I stopped by the entrance and let down my bag. Bending over, I grabbed its contents, and Megan gasped as a small remote controlled helicopter came out.
"It's so little!" I looked over to her.
"That's the point. It wouldn't be training if it was larger," I told the Martian. She seemed puzzled, so I flipped on the switch on the belly of the copter, then setting the controls to 'auto' on the remote. Releasing the plane, it took off and flew around the room quickly, the movements erratic. "Now watch." Megan watched as I stared at the helicopter, looking closely at its movements and speed. Then, when I was certain, I flung my arm out in the direction of the flying object, a projectile coming out, and heard it hit. The plane swerved in the direction of the hit for a moment, and then went on with its business, nothing but a red dot on its hull.
"How did you…? I thought you had ice powers," Megan asked me while still staring at the undamaged plane.
"I do. Clairvoyance works with projectiles, though, so I naturally use my powers in that way. Look," I pointed to the floor on the farther side of the room. "There's the ice." Megan levitated off of the floor and went over to the object, myself not too far behind. She picked up the ice, shaped like a two sided dagger. The Martian stared at it, puzzled again.
Reaching out, I grabbed the weapon and showed her how my powers worked. "Here," I pointed to my arm "is where I aim. When I finish aiming, I throw my arm towards my target and imagine ice coming out of the tips of my fingers. The water in the air listens, and part of it forms ice the way I tell it to. When the ice is formed, it throws itself in the direction I pointed and, hopefully, hits its target." Megan stared.
"That sounds so complicated." I smiled.
"I guess it does when I put it that way, huh," I laughed, scratching the back of my head. "But really, I just need to aim and my powers do the rest." Megan nodded, and I went back to my spot, staring at the helicopter again.
"Wait," Megan began. "Can I help?" I nodded, picking the control off of the ground, switching the device off of auto, and threw it to the Martian who proceeded to catch it with her telepathy. The plane dive bombed for a second before Megan took the controls and steadied it so that it was turning loops and circles again. We continued this game, Megan controlling the toy and turning it into the most difficult turns, myself running after the helicopter and shooting projectiles at it. Finally we both got tired. Megan dropped the toy to the ground and turned it off while I bent over, hands on my knees, panting from exhaustion.
Megan came over and handed me the toy, smiling. I returned it and took the plane from her hands, placing it in the bag by my feet.
"You'll do fine," She told me, and I looked at her quizzically. "On our next mission. You'll show them that you're a hero." I felt my face grow warmer than it already had been, but I was sure she didn't notice through the pink that was from exercising. I wanted to thank her, but my pride wouldn't allow me to.
I stood up, putting my hand out. "I don't think we properly introduced ourselves. I'm Black Ice, but call me Danielle." Megan, realizing this was how I cope with things, took my hand and shook it.
"I'm Miss Martian. My real name is M'gann M'orzz, but I want to be called Megan on Earth because it's the name of my favorite televisi-." Pink covered her green cheeks.
"Don't worry, Megan. I won't tell anyone," I reassured her. She gave her thanks and we both headed back towards the living area, for my room was in that direction. When we reached my door, I let out a yawn and stretched. Megan smiled at me, telling me good night. A piece of me wouldn't let her leave, not yet, anyway.
"Hey, Megan!" The Martian turned around from her position down the hall, surprised. "Thanks…. For earlier." She smiled back at me and then kept going.
That night I slept well knowing that I had made my first friend here in Mount Justice.
…
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The constant droning of my alarm clock rose me earlier than I wanted. At first I allowed my hand to reach over to its usual spot and turn off the noisemaker, but it couldn't find it. Had Arthur moved it again? Drowsy, I sat up, searching for the black box. My eyes noticed it across the room, on a bookshelf I had never seen before. In fact, I had never seen any of this before. Where am I?
Suddenly it hit me; I was in Mount Justice. That thought rose me quickly, and I jumped out of the bed over to the clock, turning it off and glancing at the numbers. '9:15'. Well, at least I was making progress. My body went over to the closet, and I decided to wear my suit again that morning, for professional reasons. I layered on all the pieces of my outfit, starting with the blue and black spandex top, then putting on the matching, puffy short-shorts. My hands reached down and grabbed the striped stockings that came just below the pants, and slipped them up my leg, finishing it off with my black flats. I grabbed my goggles off of the table, slipping them around my head so that they rested on my forehead where I had just placed strips of blue hair. Finally, I took contacts out of their box and slipped them on, their green color covering my blue eyes. My gloves were then on and I left the room all ready, deciding to leave my parka behind.
I strode through the halls, remembering just how to get to the kitchen; try to go to the training hall. Within a few moments I was in the modern kitchen, finding Megan already there with one of the older boys I had seen yesterday. They were talking with each other, their backs turned to me, so I decided to continue on and not interrupt them. My nose detected a faint smell of eggs; they must have eaten before me. Glancing around, I found a small, metallic toaster on the white counter. Good. Toast is about the only thing I can make, so I looked around for a sign of bread.
"Oh, Danielle!" Megan must have noticed me. Turning around, I faced the girl to see that she was in her suit as well. It was a white shirt, a red 'X' across the chest accented by a blue cape and matching skirt. I must say, it looked nice with her green skin and red hair. The boy beside her, the one I recognized from the news broadcast as Superboy, glared at me with his black eyes. Uneasy, I tried to ignore that menacing expression on his face and focus on the girl beside him.
"Hey, Megan," I said nonchalantly. "How long have you been up?"
"Oh, not too long." Her tone told me that she was lying, not like it surprised me. I was always one to oversleep. "Do you want some breakfast? I could make some." Megan showed me her smile.
"No, I'm fine," I told her. I didn't want to be dependent upon her. The whole reason I was here was to be on my own for the first time, and I wasn't about to ruin that. "You know where the bread is?" She nodded, floating over to a cupboard and opening it with her telepathy. One hand reached inside, grabbing a large loaf of bread wrapped in colorful plastic. M'gann dropped to the floor and handed the food to me, and I took it, grateful. "Than-"
"All members head to the main hall at once."
Red Tornado's voice came from over the intercom, the robotic sounds echoing throughout the cave. My stomach growling and rumbling inside of me protested, desperately moaning for food. Sighing, I ignored it and followed Superboy and Megan who had just left, taking two un-toasted pieces of bread with me and stuffing them into my mouth. The taste was terrible on my tongue, feeling like rubber as I chewed violently. It made me feel queasy as I made my way down the hall, but I wasn't entirely sure that some of that wasn't from nervousness.
I made it to the main hall and found, much to my dismay, that I was the last to arrive. KidFlash, the one I recognized as Wally from yesterday, stood tall, his arms crossed against his vibrant yellow chest, looking cocky. His green eyes met my own, noticing the pockets in my cheeks where the bread was still hiding, waiting to be eaten, and I heard him snicker. I attempted to give him my death glare, but the green contacts lessen the effect of my naturally cold eyes. He merely put a smirk on that stupid face of his and turned to Red Tornado, making me even more upset than I had been the day before. Angrily I took a spot farthest from him, next to the Atlantean, and waited for the debriefing.
"You all are here now. Good. Danielle, I expect you settled in properly," the android asked, all heads turning to me. I felt my face become a bit warm from the unwanted attention, my stomach turning a bit. My head stayed forward, not allowing myself to have contact with the others in order to keep appearance.
"Naturally," I told my new mentor, a bit of aggression sneaking into my voice as I heard KidFlash mutter something to his short friend. The redhead stifled a laugh while his friend let out a groan of embarrassment.
Ignoring the two boys, Red Tornado completed our conversation, saying, "Good. Now, team." All attention turned back to the adult. "Heat Wave has been spotted terrorizing a parade in Central City. Stop him at all costs." Everyone nodded, and I watched the others move off to an adjoining room. I allowed my legs to follow, for I had no idea where to go after getting information. The walk was short, just long enough to get to a large, red, egg-shaped figure. An eyebrow raised, I wondered how that was supposed to help us get to Central City. The boys slowed, parting to allow Megan in front, I assumed for chivalrous reasons, but then noticed that as she waved her hand at the metal, it sprung to life, turning into a sleek, aerodynamic ship. I watched in awe as the plane opened up and allowed everyone in, making my way inside last as to not insult anyone by taking 'their' seat.
Looking around, I noticed that there was not much room inside the tiny hull. Much of the space was taken up by the command center, a larger area in the middle of the ship that held a seat for Megan and her piloting tools. To each side of this area were seats, two on each side. The others took their places and I was the only one left standing, hopefully searching for something I may have overlooked; a crate, a bump, anything that could hold me so that I was not standing in a moving ship.
Megan looked up as she was about to go for takeoff, but noticed my bewildered and embarrassed person standing in her way.
"Hello, Megan! I knew I forgot something," the Martian exclaimed from her position and then proceeded to wave her hand over to her right, a seat popping from the floor. "There, Danielle. Is that better?"
"Uh, yeah," I replied rather uncomfortably, slumping into the chair between the Atlantean and Robin. Straps came around my sides as I sat and latched together, keeping my body in place while the ship took flight.
I sat, trying to look calm, but felt a frown cross my face as Wally tried hitting on Miss Martian, telling her how kind she was for even talking to me. Turning away, my mind wandered onto anything but the here and now. The Atlantean, noticing my discomfort, whispered quietly in attempt to console me.
"Do not take it personally," he began, his voice deep and formal. "Kid merely needs to get to know you, as all of us do." My eyes met his, and saw the seriousness in his face, but the kindness buried underneath.
"I know. It's just... I didn't join so I could get ragged on for my powers. If I wanted that I would have just stayed home," I sighed, surprised that I could give this boy such personal information so quickly. The male gave me a small smile.
"Well we all have to overcome prejudice, don't we? This group was founded to overcome such difficulties." I suddenly felt horrible for feeling bad for myself whenever he and his friends had to go through hell to get here while I just sat comfortably with Arthur, hardly working. The ends of my lips turned downward in the slightest fashion to get my thoughts across, and the eldest understood. "Now," he extended a hand out to me. "I am Kaldur'ahm, known also as Aqualad. Please, call me Kaldur, Danielle." I nodded, taking his hand and shaking it. He pointed around the cabin.
"That," his finger in the direction of the older dark-haired boy, "Is Superboy. He has no alias yet." Moving onto the next male, the younger of them all, he told me, "That is Robin. We are not allowed to know his identity." Robin, noticing the attention, looked up and smirked.
"What's this, Aqualad? Showin' the new girl around," he asked. "I'm Robin, friend of that moron over there." He jerked his head in the direction of KidFlash, who was still throwing lame pick-up lines to our pilot. "But I'm cooler." I let a laugh escape, throwing my head back as I did so. The sound filled the cabin, and all eyes were on me for a moment.
"I can see that!" Robin, being taken aback, had tensed up in his chair, but happily relaxed as I complimented him. That trademark smirk came across his face as he replied.
"Thought you were gonna insult me there," he explained while sounding somewhat relieved, yet oddly cool. I shook my head.
"Nah, I only make fun of Arthur," I ended, allowing Kaldur to point around at the remaining two team members. He seemed happy that I was getting along with most of the others, almost in a big brother sort of way. It was nice, having someone worry so much over someone they just met.
"You recognize Wally, also known as KidFlash." The energetic redhead stuck his tongue out as I allowed my eyes to follow Aqualad's extended arm. I rolled my eyes in return and he turned with a 'humph' while crossing his arms angrily.
Aqualad, attempting to divert my attention from the boy, quickly pointed to Megan, who was still staring out the front window, driving. Her face seemed calmer now that Wally had quieted, yet a bit serious due to her current task. "That is M'gann M'orzz. She has just come to our planet with the help of Martian Manhunter, and goes by the alias Miss Martian. She wishes us to call her 'Megan'." I nodded.
"We met last night. She helped me get to the training hall," I smiled, still looking at Megan. The Martian noticed the attention and glanced over, meeting my eyes.
"That's right!" Megan let only that come out before she turned back to her controls, but her face softened after the conversation. Smiling, I turned back to the Alantean.
"Do you have any questions," He asked me. I thought for a moment, allowing my hand to rub my chin and my eyes to look towards the ceiling in thought.
"How do we work together," I asked, realizing I had not yet fought with them, practice or otherwise. The boy's pale eyes met my own, a shimmer of hope and happiness in his stern face.
"That is up to you." I nodded, a new spark growing inside of me, yearning even more to do my best on this first mission.
"Thank you, Kaldur," my voice filled with both happiness and pride. Aqualad let a small smile slip onto his face for a moment, but it left when our pilot announced:
"We're here." Everyone turned from what they were doing, seeming professional and tense while waiting for the aircraft to land safely. Out of the corner of my eye Wally sat up, staring out the front window at the treetops. The boy in front of him, Superboy, even seemed to sit up a bit, which was more than I had seen from him so far. Pulling my goggles down over my eyes, I stiffened, gazing strongly at the rising trees.
Not fifty yards away from the ship was a man dressed in red, throwing fire over the nearby roadway. Civilians cowered down before him, ducking away from the flames coming from the device in his hands. The large building behind them, looking old and somewhat unstable, fought off some of the flames, the exterior being made of stone, but the heat began to melt the glass windows and lick the rooms inside. The large, oak door had already taken to the heat, orange dancing over the wood, devouring more with each passing second. That building would not stand for long, the crowd eventually being burned or crushed by the building, for they were surrounded by flaming floats on either side, Heat Wave blocking their front.
"Let's move," Kaldur exclaimed as we all jumped out of the ship, ready. I ran quickly, lagging behind the others due to their quick speeds, Megan's levitation, and Superboy's amazing jumping ability. Heat Wave did not seem to notice our arrival until the crowd of victims spotted the bright uniform of KidFlash coming up behind the man. Seeing the flash of yellow reflected in shiny metal, Heat Wave saw Wally coming up behind him and turned quickly, throwing flames our direction, laughing. Megan and Kaldur faltered more than the others, stopping in their tracks in horror, ten feet or so from the fire. I slowed along with the remaining team members, proceeding cautiously while covering my face.
Superboy was the first to strike, jumping yards off the ground and coming in for an aerial attack, yelling loudly as he readied to punch the man. Heat Wave quickly looked above, throwing fire at the lad, making him steer off course in pain. Superboy's clothing was singed, many areas covered with flaming holes that continued to grow. Kaldur threw water at the boy to put out the flames as Robin attempted to throw birdarangs at the criminal. The projectiles were caught in midair, exploding in a sea of flames as Heat Wave surrounded them with his fire, then turning on Robin. He fell back, avoiding the fire.
I thought the only smart move would to be to remove the civilians from the area, noticing KidFlash was behind the villain, doing so. I ran up, hurriedly telling the people to evacuate their now open prison. Many complied, while some stayed behind, paralyzed with fear. KidFlash took those people off, picking one up at a time and moving them down the block before grabbing another. Black Ice helped, grabbing the hands of two at a time and trudging them along the pavement as fast as the people would allow themselves to move.
"Ow! That's cold," one brown haired teen exclaimed as I grabbed his and his girlfriend's hands.
"Hot or cold. Your pick," I returned tiredly, referencing the literally heated battle not far away. The boy loudly opened his mouth, but kept quiet and continued on where I led him. Within a few moments Wally and I had moved everyone from the makeshift barricade, my team mate glaring at me as I searched around for anyone that could be left.
"I could have done that myself." I glanced over, not that he would notice with my dark glasses on.
"You shouldn't have such a big ego when lives are in danger," I replied icily, then returning to the fight as quickly as my legs could take me. KidFlash, upset, ran full speed towards Heat Wave, beating me there, but running smack into Superboy who had decided to take the villain head on and missed. With a groan the speedster passed out, Superboy on the ground near him, growling.
Running past them I came up behind Heat Wave, catching Megan's eye. We stared at each other for a moment and eventually we both nodded, Megan taking flight and grabbing some nearby debris with her telekinesis. I aimed at the man before me, being sure to point my arms to each side of the man, in case he were to dodge Megan's attack. The Martian hurtled a large section of a flaming vehicle towards the villain, myself throwing two of my ice daggers at his sides.
Heat Wave attempted to block the projectile to his front with more flames, but found it too large to incinerate quickly. Desperately the man dodged and was struck with one of my chunks of ice, letting out a yelp of surprise. He whipped his head back to glare at me and shot flames in my direction. I quickly jumped out of the way, my stockings getting singed due to my lack of speed. Aqualad and Robin, however, had taken the opening to attack Heat Wave, the younger throwing two explosives and the elder hitting the man with electrified water.
The villain screamed in pain as the two attacks met with his skin. He fell onto his knees suddenly, staring at the flaming treetops above in horror. It seemed that we were just about to beat him, Superboy coming in for one last attack, yelling loudly as he did so. Superboy's punch landed on the older man's chest and caused him to fly out of the park-like area that he had sat and onto the road behind, hitting the still burning building.
Angrily Heat Wave stood up, shaking and unsteady, glaring at the group of us. I noticed his eyes dart from side to side, looking for an opening, but he had landed within his own makeshift prison, trapping himself between flaming floats and the teens that had beaten him. Desperately he searched for any escape route, not finding any.
"Yeah! You got 'im!" A young and cheery voice rang out in the distance. Everyone turned to the cause of the noise, finding a young boy dressed in yellow and blue standing in the middle of the road. He jumped with joy as he saw that we had defeated his previous tormentor and captor, smiling and showing his lack of two front teeth. The boy was an open target for the villain, and quickly Heat Wave shot his arms out, throwing flames at the child as he attempted to run out of his cage.
"No!" We all screamed in horror, knowing that none of us could reach the boy with our speedster out of commission. Trying to think quickly, I dropped to the ground and placed my gloved palms on the cool grass by the road, watching it frost up from behind my goggles. The ice created a path that raced towards the boy, creating a semi-circle around him. As swiftly as the ice had formed, a large, glassy shield formed in between the villain and boy. Ice had formed, keeping the flames from hitting its target.
The fire reached the wall of frost, covering the surface and attempting to melt through. Panting I stood back up, a bit light headed, and raced towards the boy as fast as I could. Sweat ran down my head as I attempted to keep the shield up, my stamina quickly depleting as I reinforced the walls with fresh ice as the previous layers melted away. My legs burned, protesting with each stride, and my forehead broke out in sweat in worry that I would not be able to keep up the shield long enough.
Finally I was feet from the boy, taking in the horror in his young brown eyes and the panic strewn in his brow. Tackling the boy, we both rolled away from line of fire, myself finally releasing hold on the wall and allowing it to melt away. Flames flew through the frost quickly, again licking at my legs and igniting the cloth covering them. My lips allowed a hiss to escape as they ate away at my calves, the flames depleting as the boy and I rolled across the ground to escape, but the pain lying forever on my muscles.
Both the child and I stopped, my body protecting his from any other attack that could come. A few moments passed and I heard nothing but the beating of both our hearts, pulsating rapidly with adrenaline. My breathing slowed along with my heart and allowed me to hear a loud, "Umph!" coming from Heat Wave's position. Slowly looking up, I saw the man in red lying on the ground, unconscious, Wally having awoken and beaten him over the head with a quick fist. Why couldn't he have awoken sooner?, I thought while focusing on the burns on my legs. When Superboy had grabbed the villain and assured he was out cold, Robin taking his flamethrower, I allowed myself to get up, holding the little boy's hand and helping him to his legs.
Two adults, one woman and one man, came running towards me, a look of terror and shock on their faces. The woman had the same eyes as the little boy, the man the same facial expressions. They must be his parents. The boy broke my icy grasp and returned to them, crying. Both parents looked over their son, searching for any injuries and not finding any. Sadly I walked away, seeing Kaldur putting out the flames over the treetops and deciding to assist him.
My legs limped over, getting to his position slowly, but still with enough time to extinguish two treetops by creating a large chunk of ice and allowing Megan to levitate them over the fire, melting them and eliminating the angry flames with a hiss. We then went over to the building, a few fire engines having arrived after the danger was gone, and helped them out as well, finding that the interior was badly damaged and the flaming prison was nothing more than charred rubble. Sighing, the group got together, tired from the work.
"Black Ice, that was wonderful," Megan exclaimed, breaking the silence that had previously ensnared the team. I let out a weak smile.
"What? What'd she do," the other redhead asked loudly, searching around the others for answers.
"She saved a boy from Heat Wave when the rest of us could not. Without her he surely would have perished," Kaldur explained formally, looking over to me with his pale eyes. KidFlash could not believe what he was hearing, staring at me in disbelief before becoming angry again.
"What boy? I don't see anyone!" I rolled my eyes behind my shades and looked over to the youngster who was still in the same spot with his folks, all of them staring over at me. I returned the look, somewhat longing to talk with that child once more before we left. Robin noticed my expression.
"You can go. We'll wait here," He told me, giving off that signature cheeky grin. I nodded, smiling back and slowly walked over, my limp still present though I had placed a piece of ice over my burns, hoping to numb or cool it. My ears detected a small dispute behind me, but I was too tired to listen in on what the others were saying, instead fixating myself to the boy.
"Hey," I said, crouching down to look into the boy's eyes when I reached him.
"Hey," He returned, awestruck. His eyes were open wide again, terror replaced with respect.
I decided to cut to the chase. "You shouldn't have gone back out to the road. We told you not to, didn't we?" He nodded, looking sad that I was upset. Trying to keep him from crying, I continued. "That was dangerous and you shouldn't have done that. Why did you?"
His large, muddy eyes met my shades innocently. "You guys were getting hurt. I was gonna help, but you had already stopped him." I stopped, touched by his childish voice and bravery.
"Well," I sighed, taking off my goggles and revealing my false green eyes. "That was bad, and you shouldn't have done it, but it was also very brave." The boy looked up, a grin spreading across his face. "Now listen, bravery is a good thing, but if you ever think it could get you into trouble like today, don't listen, okay? Be good, but be safe, too." He eagerly nodded. "Now tell me, what's your name?"
"Robbie."
I grinned and stuck out my hand. He took it and we shook hands. "Be good, Robbie, okay?" He nodded and I stood up straight, wincing as my leg throbbed. I placed more ice on it and then faced his parents.
"Oh, thank you for saving our son," the mother exclaimed, happily near tears.
"If there's anything we could do to help you," the man trailed off, glancing at my leg. I stared at it, my eyes dead as I thought of my own parents.
"Just one thing. Pass his test," I told them quietly, turning to leave before they could ask any questions. Surely no one else had heard what I said, either. Sadly, I returned to my team, my expression written on my face as I relived childhood memories.
Glancing up when I approached the bio-ship, I noticed everyone looking at me with seriousness in their eyes. Wally glared down at his toes, seeming ashamed.
"Sorry," he muttered. I raised an eyebrow.
"For what?" The speedster looked up, a bit peeved that he had to explain himself.
"For calling you a villain." His voice sounded childish, like a son forced to apologize for destroying his neighbor's plants, though he despised those people.
I stared at him, somewhat amazed.
"Let's just forget about it," I told him. "No need to have this hanging over our heads forever." His expression changed to surprise.
"Uh... Sure," He said, and the rest of the group looked over us both, happy that we had gotten past our issues. I walked forward, moving into the bio-ship slowly and felt myself raised off of the ground and the world spinning. Suddenly I was sitting in my seat, buckled in with Wally standing beside me, proud.
"You didn't need to do that."
He laughed. "With your speed? It would have taken you all day to get in here if I hadn't." I rolled my eyes, smiling.
"Yeah, yeah."
Finally, we returned to Mount Justice a team.
…...
On the ride back to Mount Justice, Robin stared at Danielle, wondering.
"Pass his test."
She had said it so seriously, sadness in her voice. What on earth could that have meant, and why did she need to say it to strangers?
Sitting back, the boy decided to leave it be… for now.