This chapter is mainly introduction, and Conner struggling to adjust to being social, since, afterall, he is only sixteen weeks old.
Also- I love reviews! :)
"Why is she here?" Conner asked, slightly upset the girl was still here- and that she was smiling about it, as well. What had Batman done? Given her a welcoming hug?
"She's being apprenticed to Batman, and she's crashing here for a few days until Bats can get the our place ready for her." Robin said, either not noticing or ignoring the dislike in Conner's voice as he sat down on the couch.
"I can't believe you didn't tell us about your birthday!" Megann gished, running in with a plateful of cookies. "Luckily I managed to whip these up for you..."
"Thanks, Meg." Robin took a cookies and grinned, passing the plate around.
"So..." Kadlur said, trying to start conversation. "Where are you and Robin from?"
The happy light in the girl's eyes instantly disappeared, as though she'd shut down. "Nowhere. That's all you need to know." she growled, and to their surprise, Robin didn't scold her or elaborate on the answer, seeming satisfied by the one she'd given.
"So, wait, how old are you?" Artemis asked quietly.
"Eleven. When's training time?" she asked, and her eyes lit up.
"There is no way you are going to train with us." Conner said, blue eyes once again turning icy.
"What's the matter, Super Boy, afraid you'll loose your next fight against me?" she asked good-naturedly, eyes teasing him.
"Okay, kid, I've had enough of you!" Conner jumped to his feet, charging towards her. Sparrow let out a giggle, and stood on the couch cushion, flipping forward and landing safely behind Conner.
"Don't laugh at me!" Conner yelled, trying to land a punch, but Sparrow simply ducked and his momentum sent him staggering, giving the girl time to spring forward and shove him away.
"Stop... moving!" Conner bellowed as she easily dodged all his blows.
"Hey, I'm an acrobat, it's what I do. Why? You consider fighting hitting someone who stands completely still?"
"Uhhhh!" Conner yelled in frustration, managing to land a punch that sent her flying across the coffee table, into the wall. Megann gasped, and everyone stared. Blood poured from Sparrow's nose, but she grinned and jumped easily to her feet. "Nice punch." she said, offering her hand for Conner to shake.
Instead, the boy seized her arm and threw her at the opposite wall, but she turned and managed to land both feet on it and push off, flipping easily to be back on her feet.
"Good throw, too."
"Ugh! You're so annoying, kid! I hope you never join the team!" Conner yelled, before storming out of the room.
"Rob, what did I do?" she asked, looking a bit worried.
"Nothing, Sparrow. Conner's still learning how to joke, is all."
"Now, Batman informed me we'll have a new member for training today?" Black Canary asked, looking expectant.
"Yep. Good to see you again, Canary." Sparrow strode into the room, her cape streaked with different shades of brown and white like feathers. Her shirt was white, resembling the Sparrow's cream colored underbelly, but her back hair and pale face contrasted perfectly to make her look like the songbird, with the help of a black mask.
Not again. Conner thought, feeling guilt wash over him. He really had been harsh with the girl, she'd only been trying to be friendly in that off-handed way she shared with Robin, and he'd given her a bloody nose.
What had Kadlur said to say to someone when you were guilty? Sorry. Right. He hated saying sorry, it was like taking bad medicine, hard to swallow, but then you felt so much better afterwards.
Part of the girl's upperarms were showing, and he felt even more guilt sweep over him when he saw the finger-print bruises there, from where he'd gripped her arms. They looked nasty...
"Sparrow, you'll be with Megann." Black Canary stated, and Sparrow nodded. Soon the drill had started. It was just free sparring, but Conner found himself distracted, darting his gaze over towards Sparrow frequently. Megann wasn't good at hand-to-hand combat, it was true, but he didn't want to see the smallest bird get hurt more...
Sparrow dodged another attack, flipping behind Megann and sweeping the girl's legs from underneath her. She gave Megann a cheeky grin that resembled Robin's before helping the girl up.
They all rotated to different partners. When Sparrow was with Conner, he quietly stepped closer. "Sorry." he said, motioning to her bruised arms.
"Don't worry about it. Robin's done worse before." she said, flashing him that confident smile as she took a defensive stance, and Conner felt his heart lighten. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all, he decided, as she managed to give him a few pointers throughout the match.
"Okay, everyone, last round. Sparrow, Robin, don't beat the stuffing out of each other. Save that for the bad guys." Black Canary instructed, and everyone laughed.
"I'm going to get you, whippersnapper." Robin said, mimicking an old man, and they all laughed even more.
"Alright, go!" Black Canary cried. The fight was over when someone fell to the ground, and everyone stood, circling their opponent, trying to feel them out, when suddenly the noise erupted.
"Hya!" Robin flew at Sparrow in a spin-kick, hoping to end this quickly, but Sparrow ducked and landed a blow to his torso, and Robin staggered back, smiling, slightly proud.
"Engage, Sparrow, engage. You can't win a war playing defense." Robin muttered quietly, and she did a front handspring forward, trying to land another body-punch, but was met by Robin's foot in her face. She staggered back, nose bleeding again, but didn't fall, and Robin grinned, she was tougher than she had been...
The others weren't finished with their matches, but they all stopped and watched the fight play out.
Sparrow faked right and landed a left hook, while Robin retreated slightly, shielding his left side. Sparrow went to move in, but Robin suddenly moved faster, doing an arial and using his momentum to land a strong punch that sent her flying...
She twisted herself so he feet hit the wall and pushed off, staggering but landing on her feet again, in a shaky fighting stance.
Soon they were both tired, and suddenly it was a war of acrobatics and combat on the training floor, blood dotting the ground. Finally, Robin nailed her with a spin kick, and she ended up on the floor,
"Enough, you two." Batman stepped onto the training floor. "I know you're used to training rough, but it looks incredibly gruesome to everyone else."
Robin looked around, as though suddenly aware of his bloody nose and busted lip. Sparrow was sporting a bloody nose and split lip as well, and her eye was swelling...
"Oops. Sorry, guys, we're used to training like that..." Robin apologized, helping Sparrow to her feet.
Batman tossed them each a box of bandaids which they easily caught. "Now go patch each other up." he ordered, and Robin nodded, leading Sparrow away by her wrist to the living room...
"I... training for today is finished..." Black Canary said, more than a little surprised to see Batman acting parental with Robin and Sparrow. She hadn't seen his parental since Sparrow had been sent away, almost a year ago.
The rest of the team tried to look nonchalant as they hurried into the living room...
"Hows it feel?" Robin asked, dabbing at her bloody face.
"Fine, Rob. Just do your thing."
Robin nodded, easily bandaging all the cuts and scrapes like a pro.
"Your turn." she sad quietly, and the switched places, Sparrow sitting on her knees and easily bandaging him as well.
"What do you want to watch?" she asked Robin quietly, and Robin turned on Animal Planet. All the large cats and elephants reminded them of their time in the circus, made them a bit happier.
The rest of the team just watched, slightly surprised Robin had a person besides Batman who could understand him so well.
"What's so amusing?" Batman asked as he saw the smile play on Black Canary's lips.
"Nothing. It's just... odd, I guess. One minute they're fighting one another to the death, the next they're performing first aid on one another." Black Canary said.
"I started that tradition when they were little. Didn't want them to forget that their blows actually have consequences." Batman said, before turning to leave, black cape sweeping the floor.