Scene 35 - Singles Appreciation
What a stroke of luck that the Manta Troopers rest period fell on Valentine's Day and some of the men were eagerly sharing ideas of what they had in store for their significant others with the prospects of 'getting laid'. Kaldur'ahm rolled his eyes and smiled inwardly as he patted a trooper's back and made an announcement to his subjects, "All of you deserved this break so go out and enjoy yourselves to the fullest."
One of them replied, "What about you, boss? Who's your special lady?" His men were curious about the Atlantean's private life and they secretly made bets on whether he was attached or not.
"I'm married and devoted to my job, gentlemen. Now, I'm sure your girlfriends and wives are waiting for you. Move along," The blonde humoured them briefly and the troopers scattered. He returned to his room and sighed. The first Valentine's Day without Brianna and he wondered how she was coping. It was hard to miss the love in the air which made him rather envious of his men. Shaking his head, he donned a light t-shirt and track pants to head to the gym to help him pass the time, anything to take his mind off his previous relationship.
After all, he had willed and promised himself to stop thinking about her in the day. He couldn't go around breaking it now because he felt alone and forlorn from an over-commercialized holiday. The look she gave him back at Malina Island was still etched in his mind though. Kaldur punched the bag hard and it swung slightly. There will be another time to indulge in such fantasies. Another hit and the punching bag moved a little more. It was all for the good of mankind. The blonde Atlantean kept thinking words of encouragement to himself as he began a rather vigorous training regime which would leave him pre-occupied for hours.
Brianna exhaled and grunted as she landed a strike on the punching bag to distract herself from M'gann's overly sappy and romantic V Day celebration she was having with La'gann in the cave. Or maybe she was using it as an outlet for the events that occurred last month at Malina Island.
A voice rang out behind her, "Come and join us for a girl's day out." She turned her head around and saw Zatanna, Barbara, and Cassie standing at the entrance of the gym.
The brunette pyro raised an eyebrow, "It's Valentine's Day. We're not going to have luck getting seats at the movies and restaurants."
The magician smirked, "I have my ways. Plus, it's Singles Appreciation Day for us. You might not have noticed but it has been tradition for the single women on this team to hang out on this day. To appreciate the single life and show the world that we don't need to be dependent on a man."
Tempted at the idea, Brianna stepped forward, "I think you're using it as an excuse to have fun. I'm in." Zatanna smiled and recited an incantation, leaving Brianna refreshed and in a set of comfortable clothes. She then recited another spell which gave all of them rather stylish black sunglasses that obscured quite a section of their faces.
The girls Zetaed to Chicago, taking to the streets and it soon became pretty imminent what they were going to do; fight crime incognito since people tended to get their guard down on this special occasion.
"Artemis and I started this on Halloween one year and I decided to implement it on February 14th a few years ago so we single ladies could stretch our legs instead of hiding in the cave," Zatanna explained after they took out some muggers who hassled unsuspecting couples.
They then moved to the park and spotted a couple quarrelling. "Ugh. We've already broken up, Tom. Stop harassing me and calling me out on dates!" The blonde woman said irritably and crossed her arms.
The man raised his voice, "Sally, you don't understand, you're mine and mine alone!" He made his move to embrace her and attempted to kiss her forcibly while the girl shrieked. Ember immediately threw her knife and it caught him at the sleeve, driving him backwards while Batgirl pulled the blonde away to a safer location.
"I believe she already said no," Wonder Girl's voice rang out angrily from a tree above Tom and jumped down to knock him out. Zatanna proceeded to bind the man with his own clothes and Batgirl comforted Sally, "You can request for a restraining order against him, you know."
The blonde nodded limply before standing up, "Thank you, I think I'll do that. I have all the evidence I need for his stalking." Sally then called for the police and when she turned her head around, the mysterious gang of ladies who helped her was gone.
The ladies had already ran back to the Zeta tube and teleported themselves to the other side of the country, San Francisco.
"It's best to move on after interrupting a few crimes in the city or the police will catch us vigilantes," The magician explained some more and led them to a steak place where she had already made reservations beforehand. She initially planned for seafood but felt that it would be too soon for Brianna who would have associated seafood with Atlantis and a man she wanted to forget.
They ordered a feast, indulging in fine meats, greens, soups, and sweets. "This is the life, isn't it, Brianna?" Barbara asked casually as she ate her chocolate pudding.
The brunette nodded, "It would be a lot more complete with some pampering like a spa or a massage." The girls at the table swooned with approval.
"Maybe next year," Zatanna said as she finished her dessert and dabbed her mouth with a napkin.
"I'm full." Cassie patted her stomach and sunk a little deeper into her seat.
"So, Cassie, do you have an eye on any of the guys on the Team? Blue and Robin are pretty close to your age," Barbara teased the blonde girl and Cassandra sipped her water nervously, "I don't know, they don't seem interested in me…"
Brianna added on, "You won't know till you make the first move. Come on, which one are you more inclined towards?"
Wonder Girl looked around and whispered, "Promise not to tell?" The ladies nodded and Cassie continued her words, "I think Robin is pretty cute. Tall, dark, and handsome too."
Batgirl clapped the blonde's back, "I support you. If you need any help, feel free to ask me for advice."
The brunette decided to turn the tables on the red head, "So what about you and our fearless leader?"
Barbara glared at the pyro momentarily and looked over to Zatanna who replied, "We are no longer dating. It's alright, Barbara."
Batgirl then sighed, "He's not ready for a serious relationship yet so until then, no one knows."
Zatanna and Brianna took turns answering questions about their lacklustre love life. Ember just shrugged and replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Like Zee, there's no one I'm interested at the moment but if it happens, I'll just savour my good fortune." Their conversation allowed them to digest their food and when they decided that they were well enough to walk, they paid for the bill and headed to the movies.
It was another book adaptation that had a teenaged protagonist. The formula was like clockwork; there were action, humor, romance, and drama. Put them altogether and you get young adults and teens drawn to it like bees to honey. The ladies were amused at the rather exaggerated and sometimes inaccurate actions scenes which would be an impossible feat in real life. Oh well, this movie was made for entertainment purposes so why bother fussing on the nitty gritty details? Overall, the plot of the movie was decent and they didn't mind watching the sequel together next year.
The sun had already set when they left the cinema and they decided to call it a night. "Thanks for inviting me for a girl's day out, Zatanna. We should do this more often," Brianna smiled at the magician and gave each of them a hug.
"You're welcome," They chorused as they made their way to the Zeta tube.
Stepping into the transporter and beaming back to her hometown, Brianna walked the streets feeling rather happy on a day associated with love and romance. It was quite a surprise when Nightwing sent an all-girls team to Bialya a few days later and it felt like another girls' day out once more. Who needed men when you had a group of friends that would always have your back no matter what?
Author's Note: Season 2 episodes mentioned in this chapter are "Salvage" and "Beneath". For the former, Brianna went out of the cave early that day with the girls and they return late at night after Superboy's encounter with the reanimated Appellaxian golems. For the latter, it's given a mention in the last paragraph. I chose not to write about it since that episode doesn't contribute to the romance plot, in my opinion. Rest assured that Ember wasn't captured on that mission. =P
To Molly Grace 16: Thanks and continue to read on to find out. ;)
To murdercrowther: Thank you!
To Guest: It would be much more polite if you said 'please'.
To piggythelaw: I know, I felt sad when I wrote this too. =(
To Eszra: Thanks! I am a Roy fangirl too. :) I don't have the inspiration to write anything Roy related though. :/
To Apple Jack: Thanks for reading my story, love your MLP name btw.
As for why I don't post the whole story up, not everyone has the time to read several chapters at one go so I prefer to release it bit by bit. Sometimes people are put off by reading so many chapters and they might miss the little details if they rush through them. I myself wouldn't want to read through so much so I have my readers in mind when I update. I hope you understand.