I secretly hated sleeping in mount justice.
My room was barren, cold, and uninviting. I knew that I could change all this simply by adding pictures, or bringing my own blankets- making it more pleasant and homely, but that seemed like a traitorous move towards my mother. She didn't want to admit it, but she depended on me for more than she would like. My once strong and proud mother was now trapped in a wheel chair, and her past made her feel ashamed of how far down the food chain she had come. Daily chores had fallen to me, as she was unable to do them. Sweeping, cleaning the shower, making beds- they had become too much for her. Too tiresome. When I was gone, I knew that my mother came home from her desk job and ordered in pho from the Vietnamese restaurant down the street, ate while watching the news, and then went to bed to read until she was able to sleep. Never did she alter her routine. She was too afraid of having some sort of accident and not having me there to help and care for her.
Tonight, I was trapped in the fortress. A hurricane had begun to threaten the harbor, and even we heroes found ourselves on lock down. Red Tornado would not allow any of us to leave, and had reconfigured the zeta tubes in a code that even Robin was unable to hack. My nerves were on end because I had no way to contact my mom- all communication had gone offline two hours ago. She would be worried- but she knew these things happened. She knew the life of both criminal and hero- a good huntress must always learn the pattern of her prey.
This fact, which I played over inside of my head over and over in an attempt to calm myself, did nothing to help except make me worry more about my secret. About my heritage. If the team knew, they would almost definitely get rid of me- Especially Wally. Ever since I had first arrived with Ollie at my side and busted his awkward façade of suaveness, he'd hated me. He called me "The Replacement" as often as he could. I could not remember a day when I had been in his presence and not received glares by the dozen, or found myself in a one on one screaming match from hell. The rest of the team had actually gotten used to hearing his voice rising, cracking at times, and mine becoming embarrassingly shrill over the silliest disagreements.
I was almost certain I would never get along with the stubborn, pain in my ass speedster.
Even though my room was among the ones buried deepest in the Mount, I was able to hear the winds of the storm raging outside. This, culminating with my worry and my utter discomfort in the seemingly ownerless room, left me wide awake, though my body was begging for sleep due to both this morning's tracking mission and the extra training session I had decided to take part in against Conner, Kal'dur, and Robin. I was able to keep up with them, but my body felt the toll in a big way.
I rolled over and flicked on the lights. A standard clock that sat haphazardly on my desk told me it was around three in the morning- I groaned inwardly, and swung myself out of bed. Every muscle in my back ached as I leaned back and popped my lumbar, the pops easily audible. I stood and walked out of the room, the bruise on my calf from receiving a swat from one of Robin's new toys- thick, black, and heavy batons- aching with every other step. Damn that boy and his stupid toys. Damn me for failing to block the hit.
I stood in the kitchen for a moment, then grabbed a pear out of one of the baskets. I longed so to have a window, to be able to view the storm that kept me trapped in this mountain first hand.
However, I did not have this luxury, so I settled on turning on the television and watching the local island news. I pressed the mute button down and settled onto the green sofa in front of the TV. After a few minutes, my eyes got tired of reading the black and white scroll, a blonde woman talking about raging seventy mile winds blowing in onto the coast, ravaging the shore lines and the first line of coastal properties. I closed my eyes, and thought of how Kal and Aquaman and the other Atlanteans were just beneath the water's waves, using sorcery to prevent the storm, and before I was even able to stop myself, I fell asleep.
It wasn't too long before I woke up to the sound of a pot crashing to the ground. My eyes flew open, my body moved itself until my feet found solid ground and my arms flew up into a fighting stance. My vision was still blurry, for god's sake.
Before me, a blurry red headed figure stood, unmoving. I blinked a few times, and the confusion on the speedster's face came into view. Lowering my arms, I walked out from behind the sofa, rubbing my eyes. In his hands were a silver pot and a blue box of macaroni and cheese.
"sorry…" I muttered, my voice betraying my sleepiness. He smiled at me, and I was amazed to see an absence of hatred or malice. He turned on the tap to fill the pot with water without a word, and set it on the burner. He clicked the dial up until a blue flame rose, licking the pot's base gently, the low hiss of the flame filling the silence between us.
"What are you doing sleeping out here?" He asked, his voice kind. The only time I'd heard that kindness in his voice before was when we'd been in the desert and amnesia had besieged us. I made sure to omit no sign of this thought.
"I don't like sleeping here too much… makes me miss home." I said, less sleepy. I sat on a bar stool across from him, crossing my arms. I felt exposed in my cotton shorts and shirt. I felt naked because none of my bows were near. Mentally, I cursed myself because never, no matter how safe I was, or how harmless someone was, I could never let my guard down. I could never show any truth about myself. I was constantly forced to hide who I was.
"What do you miss? Personally, I always miss my bed. And my mom's cooking." He poured a bit of salt into the pot, his impatience for the water to boil becoming obvious. It was almost funny how his stomach was a constant factor in his every moment. For a moment, I wondered how that sort of living would be…. Dad would have tried to breed it out of me, I bet.
"just my mom. She's all I got at home, and I guess it just worries me to be away longer than I need to be." What the fuck was I doing? I wished I could swallow the words back up- I'd let go of too much.
"I see. Well, I'll bet you she's doing fine. It's only one night." He smiled at me, then at the pot- the water had finally begun boiling, and he wasted no time in ripping open the box and pouring its contents into the pot. He was so hasty about it that he even let the packet of fake cheese drop into the water. Suave Wally wasn't really very suave at all.
Only when I let out a little giggle did he look at me, then look down, in the direction my eyes pointed, and then I watched him rip the packet out of the boiling water, burning his fingers on the water. Caught between intense embarrassment and pain, Wally looked up at me, his face red, holding the wrist of his injured fingers.
"Run your fingers under cold water before the burn gets bad, Kid Idiot," I told him, a sleepy smirk on my lips. He complied, throwing me a look of annoyance.
"Shut up," he muttered, not much feeling in his words. I stood and stretched, catching his eye. He stared for a moment, then looked away.
"I will. I think I'm going to try and force myself to catch a few more hours of sleep. Try not to hurt yourself, Wallman." I walked off to my lonely room and collapsed, pulling the sheets up around me. It took all my power to force myself to sleep.
Morning came, and I was awoken by the sound of loud voices outside my door. My annoyance rose rapidly- until I heard the mount's alarm system go off, accompanied by the voice of Batman himself.
"We are under attack. All league members and sidekicks, report."
Batman, normally placid and even in tone, had allowed an ounce of concern to creep into his voice. This was enough to send a shock of terror through my system.
We are under attack.
A/N: So I've been struggling with the essential plot of this story, but I finally figured it out! Plus I tossed in the first of our Spitfire encounters. Also, for future note- this story will take place at different times in the YJ timeline. Be prepared, kids.
Thanks to those of you who reviewed, story/ author alerted, etc. You don't understand how much joy that brings me. READ AND REVIEW! 3