Sylvia Wayne "Wildcat"
Gotham City
August 27th, 2010
I was trying to figure out a better tactic to take down clayface as he pummeled Aqualad and sent him flying into the back wall. I was covered in clay as I hid in the shadows. The rest of the team was already incapacitated, and now was a good a time as any. Before Clayface could finish Aqualad off, I charged four Electrostatic Field grenades, two in each hand, before vaulting from the rafter in the ceiling of the warehouse. I threw two at his legs before landing on him, taking a deep breath before allowing the oozing clay to absorb me as Clayface bellowed in his laughter. But it was too late, my grenades exploding with electricity. I only felt the pain of electrocution for a moment as I was expelled from the thick mess of clay, completely covered in it. The second I hit the ground, Batman smashed through the window, ready to intervene, but I had already finished the job. I looked up to him, his silhouette illuminated by the low light of the skyline outside the windows.
"How's that for last minute poetic justice?" I asked, sitting on the ground as I panted, my lungs burned for air. But Batman just looked at me before glancing around at the rest of the room. Aqualad was on the ground nearest the puddle of clay, still conscious. But Superboy, Miss Martian, Robin and Kid Flash were unconscious, sprawled out on the floor, spattered with clay. He waited as I got the other four to wake up. Just like that, we made sure the police removed the puddle that was Clayface, and made our way to the Gotham designated Zeta Tube. As we all arrived following Batman, he finally spoke.
"I need to talk to Aqualad. The rest of you, hit the showers and head home." Batman said as we all made our walk of shame. The mission was successful, but only after everyone was taken down and I had used deceit to bring the clay monster down.
"Head home? I am home." Superboy grumbled as he walked past the Dark Knight. Robin and I approached, expecting to be welcomed as he was our mentor. But tonight, this wasn't the case.
"Just Aqualad." Batman spoke a little less harshly, but it still stung like ripping off a bandaid. Robin looked to me with a frown before the two of us walked to our respective gender locker rooms. I carefully avoided eye contact with M'gann as I stepped into the water, letting it wash the clay off my uniform. It was moments like these that I enjoyed having a waterproof suit, the clay just washing away swirling around the drain. But I still had to pull off my cowl to get the clay out of my long, black hair. It barely came out of it's braid as it was matted and caked with clay. I brushed through my hair with my fingers, washing out the clay. When I was finished, I moved to the mirror, supporting myself on the mirror. With a sigh, I just looked at myself in the mirror, M'gann passing behind me. just put my sopping wet hair into a bun and pulled my sunglasses out of my utility belt. I just put them on and walked out, making my way to the Zeta Tube.
"Hey, Wildcat!" I heard Wally, so I turned around, tired from the extraneous mission. He was all cleaned up and as chipper than ever. I looked up at his fiery red hair, always looking windblown.
"So, I've been gone the past week or so and heard that you go yourself into a bit of trouble at the Tower of Fate." I finally brought it up to him, not really sure what I was going to here. The helmet was here in the Cave, but Wally was on the roof of the tower when Nelson died. His smile didn't even waver as I spoke to him.
"Ended up putting on the helmet, was bio-scripted into Dr. Fate, no biggie." He shrugged, all nonchalant. But I saw something behind his green eyes. For once, they didn't seem as bright and vibrant as they usually were, but they were tired and worn.
"You sure?" I asked, my body involuntarily stepping closer to him. He just sighed and lessened his smile, no longer flashing his white teeth. .
"Yeah, I'm fine." He promised, but I heard his heart beat falter. I knew he was lying, but I didn't want to overstep any boundaries.
"Alright, so you got any plans later?" I asked him, genuinely curious. I was tempted to tell him he was welcome at our place, sure that Robin would enjoy hanging out with his best friend.
"I have Jay Garrick's birthday dinner with Joan, Barry, Iris, and my parents. I'd invite you…" He trailed off, knowing I knew what he meant. It was quite literally the downfall of being the daughter of one the wealthiest humanitarians on the planet.
"Iris would put two and two together as a news reporter. Got it. Can't break Batman's rules." I sighed, giving him a half smirk. "I appreciate the thought though." I finished the sentence with a bit of a yawn.
"But Sylvie," He used the nickname quietly since no one else was around. "Dick invited me over this weekend, so… I'll see you then." He smirked, the awkwardness disappearing from the two of us.
"Okay." I said with a smile, the two of us just standing there for a moment before I turned around and went through the Zeta Tube with the programmed destination of the Batcave. I just shed my uniform, pulling on a tank top and spandex, layering a pair of sweatpants over top. I just walked over to the express elevator and went up, not saying a word to my father who was sitting at his desk, reviewing footage from the mission.
I just grabbed a snack and a bottle of water from the kitchen before heading to the gym where I found Dick stretching out. I joined him, working out the kinks in my muscles before going to the weight station, pushing my limit of two hundred and ninety pounds at the bench press. Dick joined and started lifting, trying to push himself more than usual in my presence, trying to break his record of one hundred and sixty. But it wasn't necessarily a fair playing field since I had enhanced physical attributes from my time underground.
Dick was silent as the two of us trained, angry about before, and the more I worked, the angrier I became as well. I put my weights back after a while and moved to the salmon ladder, using only my upper body strength to propel myself upward to each notch, taking myself higher and higher until I reversed the process to bring myself back down. I decided to just hop off and get into the leg press, pushing my limits once again. I kept going higher and higher with the weight until I had to stop at three hundred and forty pounds. I got up, stretching out before taking everything out on the weighted punching bags. I was furious, but I tried to focus on my training, reminding myself that it was an advantage to be this strong while still having as small a frame as I did. I noticed Dick moved to the rings, keeping up on his acrobatic skills. He had been pushing himself harder and harder since we got back from the mission.
"Yeah, just Aqualad." Dick growled as he held himself aloft in a plank before swinging back for a dismount, trying to land atop on of his platforms, but he fell back, somersaulting and hitting his back on the wall. He was so angry that he punched the surface, leaving a surprisingly defined impression. I stepped away from the punching bag, moving over to Dick and tossing him a towel and a water bottle, knowing he didn't want to talk. The two of us were resting on a bench when Alfred entered, clearing his throat to get our attention.
"Master Bruce wishes to see the two of you." He informed, his british accent rolling through the sentence. Dick and I shared a look before standing up and following Alfred through the manor. We found ourselves outside at the sport court, the various lines of different sports painted on the ground in different colors. Our father standing before us in a tanktop and shorts, a basketball under his arm.
"What's this?" Dick asked, glaring at Batman. He was obviously angrier than I was.
"Training," He paused, bouncing the ball to Dick. "Hand-eye coordination." He smirked, looking between the two of us.
"Two on one?" I asked, jokingly questioning his sanity.
"If you think you can handle it." He was smiling, unlike his usual brooding expression. Robin just laughed as I ran past my Dad, Dick passing me the ball with precision.
"Yes!" My little brother replied, getting to the far right of the three point line, setting up for me to pass to him as my dad tried to blocked me. We played for a while before I decided to head in, allowing them to mess around with a one on one game. I just went to the kitchen and started making Dick's favorite food to keep his mood up. Judging from the smell, Alfred came by and checked on me.
"Waffles? You clean your own room, you cook and clean up your dishes when you're done. I swear you are every servant's dream teenager." Alfred, smiled, watching me mix the batter as the iron warmed up. I just laughed.
"Well, Alfred, you're more family than a servant to me." I smiled, continuing to cook for my little brother, adding chocolate chips to the mix. I just kept going, making waffles for everyone as a sweet treat to keep the mood up. Things were always better when everyone was happy. I had already made a sizeable stack of waffles by the time Bruce and Dick came in from outside, drenched in sweat. Dick was extremely excited by the pile of waffles.
"I knew I smelled waffles!" He exclaimed as he grabbed a plate and served himself, drawing the waffles in syrup and whipped cream. My dad came over and kissed me on the forehead, silently thanking me for helping out with Dick. I've always been the buffer when the two of them didn't see eye to eye, even before I knew they were Batman and Robin. So there we were, sitting at the table as a family, chatting and laughing about things not involving missions or hero work.
After we were all long finished and the yawning became more and more contagious, we each turned in, returning to our bedrooms. The royal blue walls of my bedroom made the night seem even darker. I went into my bathroom, finally taking a real shower, scrubbing away the grime and sweat remaining from the mission and today's training. When I finished, I simply slipped on pajamas, wrung out my wet hair, and crawled into bed. In the silence, I tried my best clear my head, but at night was when my mind took over itself, remembering pain and suffering of the past. But it ended as all things do, allowing me to drift away, slowly, then all at once.
The Cave
September 3rd, 2010
The Team was congregated in the kitchen, everyone hanging around in their uniforms as we all snacked on sandwiches that M'gann whipped up almost instantly with her telekinesis. Everyone was relaxed, enjoying the end of our day of training. I was once again ignoring Wally as he relentlessly tried to woo M'gann, but there was tension between her and Superboy. Things must finally being moving along between the two of them, despite the slow pace.
"Team, report for mission briefing." We all heard Batman's gruff voice over the loudspeaker. Everyone took their last bites of their sandwiches before exiting the kitchen and doing as instructed. What we found was Aqualad and Batman in front of the holocomputer. We all surrounded him, keeping close attention as we always did. "The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan Desert." He began, showing us diagrams and maps of desert as well as the readings from the power surge.
Author's note: Apologies for the first chapter, but I finally got a little bit into Sylvia's home life. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story and would love it if people would please review!
-thegirlwhoisstillwaiting