Mt. Justice
November 17th
19:32 EDT
Nightwalker let out a muffled scream of fury as she punched the wall. Simon would be loose in her mind palace right now, but she didn't care. She punched the wall again, ignoring her sore knuckles.
Eve stripped off the dress, heels, and hose the other girls had insisted she wear, dumping them on the bed. She would incinerate the dress in the morning. She never wanted to see it again.
Throwing on a loose robe, Eve made her way to the bathroom, turning off the lights and getting in the shower. Showering in the dark was a habit of hers, one that helped her think.
Gods above and below, she felt filthy. Letting that—that thing touch her felt nasty. Leaning against the side of the stall and letting hot water run down her face, she freely indulged in every curse word she new, even the ones she barely ever said.
That helped, and so did the water. She let it wash her clean, releasing the pent-up anger and sorting through it.
The question she asked herself was the same one every time.
Why am I angry?
I'm angry at Blake. How dare he!
He dared because I encouraged him. I had to. It was my job. I didn't expect it to go so far. I just needed the information.
I tried to use him and he tried to use me. I looked at him, and I saw…
…Me…Or rather, what I could become.
I tried to use him just like he would have used me.
Guess that's what I deserve. I hate being used. I hate trying to use other people. I forgot that. I got caught up in the thrill. And I learned my lesson.
I am never doing that again. If I do…I think I would come to hate myself. I already do.
That thought shocked her out of her stupor. She dropped into her mind and found the poisonous little vine twining through it. Eve grabbed the root of her self-hate, ripped it up, and pulled it out.
She turned back to Simon. Thinking through her anger allowed her to tame it and bring it under control. Simon was now a meek little thing the size of a Chihuahua. With a sigh, Eve picked him up and carried him back to his cubicle, allowing her newfound calm to form a solid green wall over it.
That should hold.
With that done, Eve returned to consciousness and finished her shower. After she had dried off, she returned to her room and changed into a t-shirt and yoga pants. There was a soft knock on her door, and the footsteps hurrying away. Eve opened the door to find a plate of cookies and a note.
I made you some cookies. I'm sorry the evening didn't go well. I hope you feel better in the morning.
—M'gann
Eve let out a small smile, touched at the girl's actions. "Thank you, M'gann," she said aloud, hoping the other girl could hear her.
She went back inside and sat on her bed, settling in with the cookies and eating two. She still felt restless, though, and knew that no amount of sugar would calm her down.
I believe a swim is in order.
Eve made her way to the fortunately empty hanger and descended into the lake, letting her lungs make the switch from water to air. She dove deeper, making her way to the outside.
The water in mid-November was freezing. Even with the Void energy of her body negating most of the temperature, she was still cold. The water did much to soothe her, though, even more than the shower. She used firm strokes to cut her way through the water, not really focused on moving quickly, just on moving.
Eve eventually found herself floating at the drop-off point, where the continental shelf ended, replaced by deep ocean. It was very, very dark. The moonlight did little to cut through fifty feet of water.
With a sigh, Eve sat down, settling herself on the edge. She didn't really have anything to do but think, but she didn't really want to think about what was currently on her mind.
I haven't checked in on the Void in a while.
Dropping into a meditative state, Eve focused on the peculiar nowhere. It was moving a bit slower than it had been in October—which was a pity, but she hadn't expected it to last as long as it had.
So it'll be until April, it looks like. Well, worst case scenario, I'm stuck here till June, so who knows? The currents may pick up. Till then, there are worse places to be.
With that, Eve used her flight to propel herself back to the mountain, coming out in the lake. She gasped as the air it her soaking-wet, very cold clothes.
Another hot shower sounds wonderful at this point.
Mt. Justice
November 17th
10:02 EDT
Eve fell into her dreams, drifting in the Void as usual. Since she had no real purpose, and Garth had been unavailable for a week, she figured that she might as well float and take the chance to rest. There was a 'tug' on one of her psychic links, however, meaning that the person on the other end wanted to talk to her. Eve followed that tug, coming out in Oracle's living room.
The passive dimension crosser was sitting in her living room, waiting for her.
"Hello, Eve."
"Hi, Barbara." Eve didn't have to ask what this was about. After the party earlier this evening, she knew exactly why Oracle would want to see her. "I take it you were watching?"
"Yes. I've never tried to find one of my other-dimension selves before. I didn't want to know. But her—she's happy. She's safe. And she's living the life I should be living—the life we were supposed to live."
"Do you resent her?" Eve asked quietly.
"What? No, I don't resent her. I'm slightly envious, but mostly, I want to protect her. I don't want her to walk—or rather, not walk—the same painful path that I have." The girl gestured at her wheelchair. "She deserves that life. Eve, I know you're going to be there for a while, so I'm asking you, as a friend, please protect her. Don't let this happen to her."
There was a gentle hand on her knee and Barbara looked up to see Eve looking at her with a serious expression on her face.
"I understand, Barbara. And I swear to you on my powers, my connection to the Void, and everything I hold dear, that I will do anything and everything to protect her for as long as I am able."
The two women stood there in silence for a moment before Eve moved to the couch. "So. How's life going for you? I assume you've been checking in on me, but I haven't been able to visit you."
"Life is actually going quite well. I've got a job at Wayne Industries, one that lets me work from here. And…well…" she blushed, and Eve grinned.
"I knew it! Who is he?"
"This world's Dick Grayson. He's a lawyer. He's the one who helped get my contract hammered out fairly, and he started stopping by to see if I needed anything. Not damsel-in-distress stuff, just friendly, gentlemanly things." She gave a soft smile that hardly anyone ever saw. "I think there's some serious potential there."
"I say go for it," Eve told her. "Good luck. If that's all, I really need some deep sleep tonight, so I'll just be going now. Same time next month?"
Oracle nodded. "Goodbye, Eve."
Mt. Justice
November 18th
7:04 EDT
Zatanna was up early the next morning. She wasn't usually a morning person, preferring to work at night, but she had gotten more sleep than usual last night.
Making her way into the kitchen, Zatanna saw Eve lingering over a cup of tea. Not wanting to disturb the older girl, Zatanna started to leave, but Eve looked up before she could. "Hello, Zee. It's okay. I won't bite."
Zatanna uneasily sat next to the other girl. "Are you, you know, okay?"
Eve grinned. "Perfectly chalant. Now, at least. Sorry about last night. And before you ask, I don't want to talk about it. Interrogate Robin if you want. Oh, and we're supposed to be getting a new teammate today."
That last part caught Zatanna's attention. "Really? Who?"
"Dunno yet. I was just considering that. Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and Icon all have protégées. There isn't another Green Lantern, or at least not one so young. It's barely likely that Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Red Tornado, the Hawks, or Captain Atom would have anyone like them. Black Canary isn't taking on a sidekick anytime soon, and neither is Red Arrow. So who does that leave?"
"Um, Black Lightning, the Atom, Wonder Woman, Plastic Man, and…wow. That's about it. Unless Bats has another he hasn't told us about."
They both considered it for a moment, and Eve shrugged. "He's had several Robins in other dimensions, but it's too early here for that. At least, I think it is."
"So, d'you know anything about Wonder Woman's sidekicks?"
"Not much. There's a Wonder Girl vaguely associated with the Titans, but I haven't met her. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Why are there so many sidekicks recently?"
M'gann drifted into the room. She flew over to Eve, looking worried. "Are you alright? What happened? Where did you go?"
Eve held up her hand to stem the flow of questions. "I'm fine now, I don't want to talk about it, and I went for a midnight swim. I do that a lot. It's a good way to calm down. Anyway, we're getting a new teammate today."
The statement distracted M'gann as effectively as it had Zatanna. "Really? Who?"
"We've narrowed it down to a protégée of Wonder Woman, Black Lightning, the Atom, or…" Zatanna considered it. "I think we can rule out Plastic Man."
"Probably. Bats barely allowed him on the League in the first place. Allowing him to take on a protégée, especially given his shady past, does not sound likely."
"Well, at least we'll have someone new. When are they supposed to be arriving?"
Eve held up a piece of paper. "Sometime around noon. It mentions that Bats wants all the members of the Team here. At least, I think it does. I may or may not have accidentally spilled tea on it." She looked chagrined.
"Allow me," Zatanna said. "Erotser siht repap dna kni." The note shimmered before returning to normal. "It says that he wants all female members of the Team here."
She grinned at Eve and they both chorused, "Wonder Woman."
So! Any guesses as to the who the new character is? I can tell you this: They were never in the show. So no, it's not Wonder Girl.
DreamTrance14: Hello! I'm glad that you're enjoying this story! Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing!
Um. I will not be doing Wally's birthday. Because I have no inspiration, and frankly, no time. So let's just assume that he and Artemis are eighteen and in college, but Superboy and M'gann are still at HHH. Just because otherwise it doesn't make much sense. So this is roughly a bit less than two years after the end of Season 1.
Anyway, REVIEW PLEASE! They give me inspiration to keep going with this story even when my evil little head demons jump all over me and convince me that this is a horrible idea and I should give up. So yes. Review!
Oh, and I saw "Man of La Mancha" and it was EPIC.
You know the drill. Next chapter will be up in two days!
