A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update! I've had a lot of school work but hopefully I'm back on track now!
Sylvia Wayne "Wildcat"
Central City
November 11, 2010
It's been a week now since I've stopped sleeping at Wally's. It's been a lot easier to sleep alone now that the bruises are fading along with my anxiety. But on this fine morning, I woke up having slept the entire night and got ready for the day in good spirits. Right now it was snowing as I took a cab from the downtown Central City Zeta-tube to the West Residence with a Birthday present in hand for Wally. The second I climbed out of the taxi, my feet sank into the snow. It was about a foot deep as I trudged through in my boots. Oddly enough, Gotham was getting the same weather. I knocked on the door and it wasn't long before his mother, Mary, answered.
"Good morning, Sylvia." She smiled. It was easy to be around this house, they knew both of my identities and didn't even make a fuss about anything. I'm always treated differently as Sylvia and other heroes I've met beside the Team think I'm something to be feared because of my mentor. But here, it's like I'm just a normal human being.
"Good morning, Mrs. West." I smiled as walked in. Stepping out of my boots and leaving them on the mat by the door.
"He's upstairs still, his alarm should go off any minute if you want to go up." She said as I hung my coat up in the closet.
"Alright, I'll bring this to him now then." I smiled, grabbing the present from the hall table and walking up stairs. I straightened my long grey sweater as I walked down the upstairs hallway to his room, the present behind my back. The second I walked into his room, his alarm started going off. I stood next to his night stand and waited as he mindlessly reached out to the alarm clock and pressed the off button. I watched as he rolled onto his back and stretched as a yawn escaped his lips. I sat on his bed with a flop and he just smiled, opening his eyes to the sight of his present in my hands.
"Is that all you're going to give me?" He asked and I rolled my eyes, leaning in and kissing him. Now that his arm was free of the cast, he ran his hand through my hair as the other pulled me on top of him. It was a few minutes before I stopped him.
"I actually used the front door so I suggest you open your present now." I laughed as I got off his bed, letting him unwrap the box. I went to his closet and started rummaging through his clothes to find him something to wear.
"Sylvia, you didn't have to do this." He stopped as he looked into the box. I grinned, knowing I got him the perfect present. He pulled the black camera out of the box and pressed the on button. I reached out and put the strap over his head so he couldn't drop it. He pressed the shutter release and snapped a picture of me, sitting on his bed in all my excitement.
"I thought since you like souvenirs so much, you could take little souvenirs of things other than missions." I smiled as he took another picture of me.
"Here," he handed me the camera. "Take one of me." He laughed as I took hold of the camera and he put the bow from the box on his head. I snapped the picture of his gleeful smile and got up from the bed, giving him his present back. As he pulled out the case and noticed the other two lenses, memory cards, and filters, I went to his closet and started pulling out some clothes for him to put on. He couldn't go to his surprise party in his pajamas. It wasn't long before he was dressed in a fitted red long sleeve and black jeans. The two of us quickly headed down stairs after he brushed his teeth. We sat down at the dining room table as his mother set down one last plate of food. He slid the camera to me as he picked up his fork and knife.
"Happy Birthday, Wally." Mary said with a smile, seeing her son marvel in the amount of food.
"Oh, my favorite breakfast! Heaping piles of everything! Thanks, Mom." Wally said as he began to fill his plate with food. I took a picture of him as he dug into his food before loading a small plate of my own. Wally's father, Rudy, sat down at the other end of the table as he read a newspaper. There was a sort of weird feeling in the air between the three of them.
"You know, if you ever come up for air, I can take you to the DMV to get your driver's license after school." Rudy put down his newspaper. "This weather would be a good proving ground." His tone seemed to send chills through Mary. I could smell the faint smell of perspiration and hear her heart beat picking up. Wally seemed engrossed in his food, but Rudy seemed to be making Mary uncomfortable. I honed my sense of smell, and amongst the food, I found the scent of alcohol feebly masked by toothpaste. I looked to Wally and he seemed fine so I stayed quiet.
"Not really in a big rush to drive, Dad. 'Cause you know, I'm me." Wally spoke with food in his mouth.
"You certainly are." Rudy replied, looking back down at his food. Mary seemed to relax again as her husband began to eat.
"Plus, the team's throwing me a big surprise-party this afternoon, at the Cave." The second Wally finished his sentence, I dropped my fork in shock.
"Who told you?" I laughed, realizing that he had not only dropped hints about the party he wanted, but he was eavesdropping on the planning.
"M'gann is shockingly not good at hiding birthday decorations." Wally explained.
"In school today, ask your teacher the definition of surprise." Rudolph smiled, continuing to read the paper. Wally just laughed, the tone a little off from the laugh I was used to. "Speaking of school, why aren't you at yours?" Rudy asked me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wally freeze, his knuckles going white as he held the fork of food.
"Snow day." I said briefly, eyeing the man. "All of the schools in Gotham are closed." I told him, getting back to my breakfast as everyone else was silent. Rudy picked up his paper again and returned to his reading. Wally followed suit and returned to his eating. This was the first time I had really picked up on the tension like this.
"Well, I have a surprise for you." Mary spoke up. "Or, at least, your aunt Iris does." She clicked on the tv adjacent to the table.
"-And a special shout out to my nephew Wally, wishing him a very happy sixteenth birthday." Iris smiled as she was featured on the GBS morning broadcast.
"So cool!" Wally was impressed.
"Now, for school closures. The following schools have declared today a snow day: Dubuc Elementary, Spisak Junior High, Central City High, Keystone High-" I couldn't hear the rest of what Iris said as Wally celebrated.
"Oh, yes!" He celebrated, standing up with his fork in hand. It wasn't long before the only sound in the room was the news as everyone finished their breakfasts. Wally took a cup of orange juice with him to the living room as the two of us lounged, knowing we didn't have anything else to do today until the party.
The Cave
A Couple Hours Later…
Recognized:
Kid Flash B03, Wildcat B04
Zeta tube network now offline, due to extreme atmospheric conditions.
"Wow, we just made it." Wally remarked as we walked through the mission room. The Cave seemed positively empty. I pulled out my sunglasses as I'm usually instructed to as we made our way to the kitchen. I grabbed the camera and walked in front of him. "It'd be a tragedy if I miss my own-" The lights flicked on, blinding him a bit for a moment.
"Surprise!" Shouted the whole Team plus the Flash and Red Tornado as I snapped a photo of them. I turned around and took a picture of Wally as he faked a shocked expression.
"What? Oh, you guys, you shouldn't have." His acting was horrible but pleasing for him to be so happy about it.
"Right, not like you've been hinting for days, or anything." Robin joked, crossing his arms at Wally. He was once again in his usual green sweatshirt, leather jacket and sunglasses. I thought it was weird that we had to wear sunglasses even in close quarters with the rest of our team. I got behind Wally and took his coat, setting it on a chair over top of mine before I sat on the couch behind him as he sat on the floor in front of the coffee table.
"I made two cakes." M'gann smiled as she put a yellow and blue party hat on his head.
"Awesome! What will you, guys, eat?" He asked so innocently as he admired the two thickly frosted cakes.
"We'll split the cupcake. Make a wish!" M'gann smiled.
"Way ahead of you." He grinned like a child, managing to blow out all of the candles in one go as I took a photo behind him in the low lighting. The team started clapping as the birthday boy was handed a knife to cut into his own cake. I leaned forward and whispered into his ear.
"Happy Birthday, Wallace." I spoke in a low tone before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. I got up from behind him and sat next to him on the floor, taking his slice of birthday cake from him. I stole a bite of his slice as I wiped a bit of frosting from his face. He laughed a bit as I felt the back of my mind fogging. Klarion's voice started echoing in the back of my mind as I tried to shut it out. Wally didn't notice as he kept eating. I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder.
It's okay, I got it. I heard M'gann say in my mind as I turned around to see the martian kneeling next to me. Suddenly the voice disappeared and I felt fine. I gave her a quick smile before turning back to Wally, Artemis smirking and rolling her eyes just as Wally leaned over to kiss me. It was warm and tasted like his birthday cake.
"Best birthday ever." Wally whispered against my lips before pulling away. I giggled slightly as there was a flash of a camera. We both looked up to see Robin taking a picture of us with Wally's birthday present.
"Souvenir." My brother joked before setting the camera back down and taking a slice of cake to Zatanna, who was standing alone. I quickly felt keen on eavesdropping to see if my dorky little brother was going to be smoother than his usual fumbling self.
"You settling in okay?" He asked, holding the slice of cake up to her. She seemed like she was caught off guard during a deep train of thought. She didn't smile.
"Oh, yeah. Just like home." She commented sadly as she took the plate of cake, looking around at the walls of the cave like she just couldn't get used to it.
"I know this is all very new and intimidating. But I promise you, some day," He paused for a moment. "You'll get used to watching Wally eat." He joked as my boyfriend ate and entire piece of cake in one bite. I couldn't stop laughing as he chewed. I notice Flash watching us, stifling a laugh of his own. I looked over to Artemis and saw her and Kaldur standing pretty closely.
"First birthday party on the surface?" She asked him, and he nodded.
"The ones in Atlantis are a lot more formal. Especially the ones for my king and queen." Kaldur seemed happy that Artemis was actually interested in Atlantis. He rarely gets the opportunity to talk about it.
"I wish I could see Atlantis. Seems like a pretty amazing place." Artemis smiled as Kaldur looked at the floor, trying to hide a small smirk. I decided to focus on my own boyfriend as stole another kiss from him, managing to get some of the icing smeared on his mouth. But we were interrupted as the Cave intercom beeped.
"Attention, Team! Suit up. Polar stealth. Mission briefing in five." My father's voice echoed through the Cave's intercom. Everyone dropped what they were doing and went to suit up.
"Where's Flash?" Kid asked as we all stood before the holocomputer. My father's face was expanded, it was like the intimidation seemed to increase fer square foot of the screen.
"Flash and Red Tornado already have their assignments. A massive ice storm has paralyzed North America from coast to coast. Satellite imagery has detected five flying Ice Fortresses, source unknown, which seem to be responsible and must be stopped." My father paused as we all took a moment to examine the hologram of the fortresses. They were like massive hunks of metal spewing hundreds of pounds of snow from six different openings.
"Well, can't the Watchtower blow them out of the sky, or something?" Kid questioned, earning a quick elbow to the side from me.
"What's a Watchtower?" Zatanna asked Robin, bringing us all to realize that she didn't know. Batman sighed as he looked at Kid.
"The League's orbiting Headquarters is not weaponized. And with both Green Lanterns off-world, I need all hands on deck." The moment he finished, what was happening finally crossed my mind.
"Does this mean…?" I started, leaning forward to look over to my brother.
"The League and the Team, fighting side by side?" He picked up, the two of us getting a little giddy about it. I couldn't stand still.
"Woah, really?" Wally was surprised as well, probably because this is something he's wanted for a while and now it's happening on his birthday.
"Superboy, use the Super-Cycle to rendezvous with the Batplane at Ice Fortress one. You'll drop off Robin, Wildcat and Aqualad, then continue on with Wolf to meet up with Black Canary and Red Tornado at Ice Fortress two. Miss Martian, Artemis and Zatanna, take the Bio-Ship and rendezvous with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter at Ice Fortress three. Other Leaguers will deal with Fortresses four and five. Sending all coordinates now." We all took in the instructions and mentally prepared for what we were about to do. But Kid walked forwards.
"Uh Batman? I think you skipped Kid Flash." He seemed a little disappointed.
"A young girl in Seattle is in desperate need of a heart transplant. With all conventional air traffic grounded by the storm, you'll need to pick up the donor heart in Boston and run the three thousand miles across country." My father instructed him for the very sensitive task.
"Who is this girl?" He asked, his tone noticeably bothered.
"Does it matter?" Bats was picking up on Kid's need to be apart of the Team up, but there were never exceptions with Batman.
"No of course not But can't we zeta-" He tried to reason, but Robin butted in.
"Zeta-Tubes are offline. Sorry." Robin tried to make it seem more reasonably to Kid, but the speedster just forced a smile.
"Right. Then how could I say no?" He kept up the smile for just a moment before looking down. "Guess I won't be needing the stealth. Speedy delivery boy, at your service." He stood before Batman's hologram with an unsure demeanor.
The Ice Fortress was falling out of the sky after we had exploded the engines that were keeping it aloft. We were all waiting for the right time to bail out. We were falling closer and closer to the ground. I felt bad that Kid Flash was missing this, as he would have been assigned to this Fortress, just as his mentor was. We were one hundred feet above the ground when I took a leap of faith, my feet leaving the plummeting metal death trap.
"Geronimo!" I screamed as I sailed through the air, aiming for a deep bank of snow. I looked back for a split second and saw Robin laughing as he sailed. Ahead of us were Aqualad, Aquaman, and the Flash. I leveled out quickly, adding as much air resistance as I could before Aquaman leaped into the air and caught me, slowing my fall at twenty feet before letting me drop to catch my brother. I landed on my feet, but the snow up to my mid thigh. Robin landed a few feet from me as he kept laughing.
"You just had to yell that didn't you?" He laughed, catching his breath with me from the tolling mission.
"Of course I did." I smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What kind of free fall would it be if I didn't?" We both broke out into hysteria as the Batplane landed a hundred yards away.
"Last one there has to clean up the Cave after Kid's party." Robin tagged my arm before sprinting for the plane.
"You little…" I sprinted after him, trudging through the fluffy snow the best I could. Aqualad, Aquaman, and Flash were following us. I tackled Robin into the snow and kept running.
"So you're going to play dirty, huh?" Robin called after me as we pushed on through the deep snow. As the landscape changed, so did the depth, making it easier to run. I let Rob catch up to me and made sure we made it to the plane at the same time.
"Too bad, I guess we both have to clean." I smiled, taking a breather with him as we waited for the others to regroup.
The Cave
I found Wally standing in the souvenir room, staring at an empty organ transport container. I just stood there in the hallway, admiring him for what he did. They faked the young Queen of Vlativa's death in order to get Count Vertigo to confess, thinking he was safe as the King. Now the Count is in Belle Reve and the Queen is safe. Robin passed me and went in.
"Dude, I've just heard. You saved an entire country! Major kudos!" Robin congratulated him as I leaned in the door frame. Wally looked past Rob and looked at me.
"What can I say? I'm the man." He smirked, putting his hands on his hips. But there was so much more behind those green eyes. They were softer than earlier, happier. I lifted up his camera and took a picture. He smiled and walked over to me.
"I'll give the birthday boy some privacy." Robin laughed, leaving Wally and I alone. He gently took the camera from my hands and lightly set in on the floor. His hands rested on my lower back, pulling me into him.
"Happy Birthday, Wally."