Sylvia Wayne "Wildcat"
The Cave
March 5, 2011
At the last second, I dove out of the way of Superboy trying to grab me, rolling to the edge of the training simulation. He stopped immediately in his tracks and changed course, tracking me to my position. His stance had his legs wide, so I faked a jump and as he grabbed at the air, I rolled under his legs, like a burpee, but a summersault instead of a pushup. As he turned around, my leg swung high, aiming for his head. Superboy grabbed my leg out of the air and I jumped, twisting harshly enough to pull his arm and knock him off balance, but he was back up by the time I regained balance. I blocked six of his quick jabs before leaping over him. My hands grabbed his shoulders as I did a double full, spinning him around and shoving him into the ground.
"I think she's got it." My super hearing caught Artemis quietly commenting to Kaldur across the room. I pinned Superboy and the floor started counting down till he had to get up. He was cutting it pretty close.
"I'm not so sure." Kaldur replied as Superboy flipped the pin, holding me down. I had a moment of everything slowing down. The details filled my head, the rippling of his biceps, his breathing, his blue eyes looking into my green, and how he forgot to pin my legs. I waiting as long as I could to get the timing right, kneeing him in the diaphragm as he exhaled, knocking the wind out of him and allowing myself to throw him off of me. As we squared up again, I finally realized how sweaty we were, a bead of perspiration dripping off my nose and hitting the ground with a miniscule sploosh.
"How long have they been at it?" I heard Wally say as he walked in from the Zeta-tube. I didn't even hear the computer announce his arrival, I was so preoccupied. I bolted and threw punch after punch, using my weight and inertia, but being careful so as not to lose my footing.
"We're going on one hour and seventeen minutes." Artemis told him as Superboy attempted to kick my legs out from under me, but I jumped and did a front tuck over him.
"Shouldn't it be a draw or something? Aren't they tired?" M'gann said and I immediately say Superboy get distracted by her voice. I finally landed a right hook to the jaw, knocking him back before I pounced.
"They have too much dignity for that." Robin laughed as I kicked Superboy in the chest. He bounced right back and punched me in the stomach, I cracked my knuckle as he did it and keeled over, feigning that he cracked one of my ribs.
"Are you okay?" He immediately stopped to check on me, losing the competitive edge. The second he put his hand on my back, I grabbed it and flipped him so hard and he hit the ground with a loud thud. He head whipped back on the floor, like dropping a bowling ball, but he wasn't giving up. "So that's how you wanna play it?" His voice was angry.
"Is it weird, that Superboy could take her down without training and now that he is training they're equally matched?" Robin asked, and I heard a sigh come from Wally. Superboy leaped at me with his super strength and slammed me into the floor. I rolled out from under him again and managed to get on his back.
"This is exactly how I wanna play it." I whispered as I cupped both hands and slammed them around both his ears, discombobulating him. Upon instinct, he jumped up and back, so I let go as he hit the ground on his own.
"It is a little weird. What do you think they did to her…?" M'gann asked and I became furious, my mind flashing everywhere. I couldn't take it anymore. I was finally working out my pent up issues on someone who could take it. A battle cry ripped from my lungs as I raked my claws across his chest. There was no blood, but there were five red lines coming to fruition as he yelled.
"They probably got back into what made her a meta." Zatanna said and in that moment, I lost all control, and it didn't go unnoticed.
"Guys!" Wally snapped. "She can hear you!" He hissed at them and they all fell silent as I fell into a violent rampage, chasing Superboy out of the training simulator. The next thing I knew, I was being pulled off a feeble Superboy, his panting body lying in what used to be the glass dining table. It was now shattered and the frame bent like he had been thrown into it, hard. I didn't know who was restraining me, but they were far stronger than Superboy. My father was trying to speak to my, his cowl distorting itself in my mind. He glitched, everything shifting to the left for a split second as I saw my father as a monster. His face was black a his eyes glowed red and black goo oozed out of his mouth and nose, like fresh, hot blood. I screamed and thrashed but I heard no noise. He yelled something behind him, and Hal Jordan removed Superboy from the room. My eyes flitted around the room as I saw Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, and Martian Manhunter guarding all possible exits. My father pulled off his cowl and help my face in his hands as I thrashed. I kicked upward and he deflected my leg with one slight movement of his hand. I snarled and growled as I felt my eyes shift feline and my canines elongating and sharpening. I kept fighting and fighting as he let go of my face and hugged me as my arms were still restrained behind my torso. He held me as I squirmed. Soon, my hands were released and I tried to claw him, but his suit withstood the attacks. He held me tighter and I slowed, panting. The second I fell limp, I realized there was a needle in my back. The sedation pulled my consciousness away from me as my father let go, holding me up, out in front of his person.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I heard him say over and over as I closed my eyes.
I was so confused, everything was gone. I wasn't in the Cave, I wasn't in Gotham, it wasn't even the Hall of Justice. There was no one around, just me and the landscape. It was a hill of tall grass up to my waist. I could smell salt and feel wind coming from over the rise. I ran up, trying to get to the top and when I did, I found a thin strip of beach, the ocean beckoning for me. I walked forward and stepped my bare feet into the sand. I looked down and found that I was in my school uniform without shoes. Mindlessly, I pulled off each article of individual clothing as I walked to the water. By the time I felt the water lapping at my toes, I was down to my bra and underwear. When I tried to step into the water, a water lily appeared allowing me to float. The beach disappeared as I looked at my reflection, seeing Wally resting his hand on the girl's shoulder who was looking back at me. As he ran his hands through my hair, he became a blonde girl, taller than me with wild, blonde, curly hair and crazy blue eyes. I could feel her, playing with my hair. I turned around and there she was. I watched her hands move, palms up, and the water around us rose like the tentacles of an octopus. They pulled me into the water and under the surface as I stared back up at her. The sky turned dark and stormy. The lightning flashed and her skin disappeared for a moment, like an x-ray showing me her skeleton.
"Save me." She said, her voice clear as day as I sank. The water turned thick and red. I was drowning in blood. I tried to swim in the surface and I found myself splashing out of my bathtub. The blood spattered all over the bathroom, handprints everywhere. I was drenched in blood, faces rising to the surface of the tub. I screamed and scrambled to get out as I saw the slashed and bruised faces. The room filled with them as the lights went dark and I was in a nightclub.
"It's okay, it's not your fault. None of this is your fault." Wally assured me, stroking my bloody, wet hair. I pulled away, wanting nothing more than to kiss him and go home. But before I could, I sucked in a pained breath, jerking upright.
"You did well, kitten. But not well enough!" I heard Klarion shouting as Teekl, his familiar, hissed at me. I let out a cry of pain as I involuntarily scrambled off of the speedster. It was a few moments before my tears were no more, and I was losing everything again.
"Sylvia! You can fight this." The speedster pleaded as I stood there. "Stay with me." He begged. But his name was slipping from my mind. If only it could slip from my mouth so I could hear it once more.
"Come to me, princess. It's time to go home." I heard Savage order, and I obeyed despite the feeling I had whenever I was around him. The large brute of a man put an arm around my shoulder.
"No!" I heard the boy yell as he ran after me. I looked back and saw a blur of both red and yellow coming towards us.
"No no no. Not this time." Klarion smiled, putting a force field around us. The moment the red energy dissipated, I was pulled through the witch boy's portal, and the two speedsters were gone. The number sat, burned in the forefront of my mind. 568.
Bruce Wayne "Batman"
The Cave
We had her restrained and sedated in the Med-Bay as Superboy recovered in his room. The rest of the team was sent home as the Leaguers that could assessed the damage to the Cave. She destroyed three walls and cracked the floor in multiple locations as she was throwing Superboy around like a rag doll. After reviewing the security footage, we found that she had completely unhinged. The worst part was when J'onn went inside her mind, his reaction was worrisome.
"What she remembers, is not the whole story." Manhunter informed Wonder Woman, Superman and I. "She only remembers hearing her teammates, knocking Superboy out of the boundaries of the holopad, nothing, and then she remembers Superboy in the glass shards of the table and on. But her memories are altered, she shared a visual experience that her mind remembers as Fear Toxin. I went further and found traces of memories while she was with Savage. One of the major components used to condition her, was a very potent form of the Fear Toxin." He explained, and I felt my heart fall in my chest, but I did my best to hide my emotions, as I always did. "Batman, it's in her spinal fluid and has manifested a major role in her hypothalamus."
"I'll talk to Palmer about a treatment plan. She's too unstable to be allowed to maintain her position on the Team at this time." I had to pause, noticeable taking a breath of disappointment. "Her current presence places a threat to the members of the team. We were lucky that it was Superboy and not one of the others. If he didn't have his invulnerability, the situation would have resulted in a much worse outcome." I informed them of my thoughts before standing closer to the end of the bed, my hand grazing her boot.
"Shouldn't we move her? Keep her away from the Team for the time being?" Wonder Woman suggested, stepping forward and putting a hand on my shoulder. I shook it off.
"Why? Because she's a potential threat to them?" I asked her and she shook her head.
"Because they may impose upon her treatment." With that, I nodded and made the decision.
"We'll retrofit a cell in the Watchtower for medical purposes and keep her there. Protect her, and everyone else." I sighed, staring as my unconscious daughter. She looked just so peaceful.
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