Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or anything referenced in this story. I only own Kenna and any other character I add to this story!
Found some words of wisdom
Written in a bathroom stall
It said, "we all walk the same straight line"
But I just happened to crawl
-The Back Window's Down-
Fireworks
Traveling through a zeta tube was going to take some time getting used to. McKenna could feel herself deconstruct and rematerialize. It's not like it had hurt; she doubted the Justice League would use them if they caused the user pain, it's just that it felt strange. Kenna felt a shiver course through her body as she came in contact with the cool July air. She instinctively crossed her arms, rubbing her hands up and down the sleeves, trying to use friction to fight off the bitter air. A chuckle caused the small blonde to glance up at her companion. Black Canary had laughed at the girls reaction. Moving to place her hand on the girls shoulder, Canary spoke with a teasing tone.
"Come on kiddo, let's hurry before you freeze" The hand on Kenna's back ushered her forward. The girl compelled, moving her tired feet step by step. As she walked, Kenna looked at the sky. The stars shined bright in the cloudless black abyss, some brighter than others. Her eyes traced them, making pictures like a connect the dots she used to do when she was not older than four or five.
"What time is it?" Kenna found herself asking, shifting her eyes from the sky to the women next to her. Canary directed her gaze down towards the girl.
" It's a little passed two a.m." Came the older woman's reply. Kenna nodded, turning her gaze to the surrounding area. The two females had been walking down the sidewalk of an deserted street. Dim street lamps and the stars were the only source of light. Her eyes glanced up, catching the glare of the continuing flashing yellow traffic light. A comfortable silence fell over the females, but Kenna still had questions running through her mind. She knew that Black Canary had worked out some place for her to stay but the bigger question was with who? Who would take in a homeless girl with dimensional mind powers? Another question was how long would she be able to live there?
"Where are we going?" She found herself asking. Canary came to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk, the building behind her illuminating her back causing a shadow to cast over her front.
"Here." Came her simple reply. A puzzled look crossed the young girls face as she looked at the women before casting her gaze upwards. The building was quite tall, made out of grey bricks, giving it an old gothic feel. The sound of keys caused Kenna to shift her gaze back down. Canary's back was to her, and Kenna watched the woman pick through the keyring. In seconds, Canary picked a silver square key. She then inserted it into the lock and twisted it until she got the satisfying click, proving that the door was unlocked. Her gloved hand rose to pull the door open. Canary then held it open, gesturing for the girl to enter. Kenna said no words and followed the older woman's silent command. A warm rush of air kissed rosey cheeks causing Kenna to involuntarily shiver. Canary stepped in behind her, making sure the door latched shut before locking it.
While the girl glanced around the lobby floor, Canary had walked past her towards the elevator. Her gloved hand moved to push the call button. Once she removed her finger, light lite up the button. She then turned around to see Kenna standing in the middle of the Lobby, spinning to get all angles of room. Canary cracked a smile at the girls innocence.
"Kenna." She called. Said girl, who was in mid spin spun around once more to find the older women. When she realized that Canary had moved more than thirty feet away, a bright blush spread over her cheeks. Kenna moved swiftly towards the superhero, feeling quite embarrassed about her childish action. Both females waited for the ding of the elevator. With a soft rumble, the elevator doors opened. Entering the metal box, Canary turned towards the young girl. Kenna just stood there giving an uncomfortable and weary glance around.
"What are you waiting for?" Canary asked the girl. Kenna hesitated before stepping into the metal contraption. She slightly jumped when the doors rumbled closed behind her. Canary moved to push the elevator button. The small girl then moved towards the older blonde when the elevator began to move. After a few minutes of silence, Canary glanced at the girl. Kenna had practically glued herself to the older woman's side, eyes clamped shut. A puzzled look crossed the superhero's face before she realized what was wrong. Lifting her hand slowly, Canary moved to stroke the blondes head. She felt Kenna tense under her fingers before slowly relaxing as Canary continued to stroke her hair. It was very evident that the teenager was afraid of tight and small places. To comfort the young girl, Canary continued to run her fingers through the young girls hair until the elevator began to slow. Her blue eyes glanced up to see the light shift from the sixteenth floor to the seventeenth. In a matter of seconds the metal box stopped and the doors rumbled open.
"Come on Kenna." She said, directing the girl out of the metal contraption. Once out of the elevator, the females came to a short hallway with a turn at the end. They walked quietly as to not disturb any sleeping person on the floor. When the came to the end of the hallway, they made the turn. The turn lead them to long hallway with four doors; two on each side. Canary guided Kenna to the second door on the left. The small girl gazed up at the numbers on the door.
Six. Nine. Five
Kenna had a feeling she would need to memorize those numbers. She watched as Canary pulled out a key and inserted it into the lock above the handle. Once unlocked, Canary turned the handle and pushed the door open. Kenna ducked under her arm to enter the room. Canary walked in after her and flicked on the light switch to the right of her. Lights immediately illuminated the area.
The apartment was nice and cozy. The walls were a warm cream color, red and black furniture to compliment the cream walls. Mahogany floor boards made up the entryway but stopped when it met the edge of the cream carpet. Four large windows looked out to a balcony. The balcony itself looked over the lights of a city. Lounging chairs were placed to comfortably gaze at the scenery. In front of the windows, to the right sat a large sectional and easy chair. A small glass coffee table sat in front of the couches, and a plasma screen T.V was mounted on the wall above a gas fireplace. A good couple of feet behind the couch was a medium sized dinning table. A square light hung over the table.
"Wow." Kenna couldn't help but say as she examined the room. She slowly moved forward to get a better view. She had taken her boots off at the door, so she let her toes curl on the soft carpet. Her eyes then turned to look at the kitchen. In the wide open room, the kitchen sat to the right of the living room. It was a full kitchen, with a white stove,oven and large black fridge. In the middle of the kitchen, a pitch black marble counter with bar stools and a sink. Three hang bulbs helped light up the room.
"Y-you actually live here?" The girl questioned, glancing at the older woman. Canary had walked into her kitchen and leaned on the marble slab.
"Yes Kenna I actually live here." Came her reply. Kenna took a couple of steps towards the bar stools. Gently, she pulled the stool out and perched herself upon it. As she sat down, Canary had moved to the cabinets behind her. She grabbed a clear glass cup and took a step towards the fridge as Kenna asked her question. Pressing a button on the fridge, she placed the cup underneath. Water streamed out, filling the glass to just below the rim. Canary then took a couple of steps and placed the glass in front of the teenager.
"So how long am I aloud to stay here?" Kenna asked putting her hands on the smooth marble. Her eyes had drifted down to study the pattern displayed before her. Her hands came up to grasp the glass. Bringing it to her lips, she let the cooling liquid slide down her parched throat.
"You will always be welcome here but i'll let you make your own decision in a week or so. In the mean time, I want to help you adjust to the world again. Tomorrow I think we should go buy you some clothing." Canary stated, leaning against the counter once again. Kenna gave her a nod.
"Is there anything else you want to do tomorrow?" The question made Kenna rack her brain. Only one thing really came to mind.
"Is it alright if we go get my hair cut?" She asked, slender fingers moving to grasp the long ends. She moved them up closer to her face to examine them. Her hair felt greasy and straw like between her fingers. Her eyes could pick out multiple split ends; to many to count. She also wanted to get her bangs cut, seeing as they made up a majority of the mass on the right side of her face.
"If that's what you want to do, I have no problem with that." The older woman answered, looking towards the young girl. Kenna dropped the strands, letting them fall back into place.
"Why don't you go take a shower and head off to bed. I'll find you some clothes and leave them in the bathroom for you." Canary said moving around the counter. Kenna hopped off the stool to follow after the woman. Kenna had yet to see this part of the apartment. Three doors, with quite a lot of space in between them came into view. Canary stopped in front of the middle door and glanced at Kenna.
"This is the bathroom, the door on the left is my room and the door on the right is your room. Kenna gave a nod of acknowledgement before grabbing the handle and entering the bathroom.
The bathroom was a beautiful as the rest of the apartment. A large mirror covered the white wall. A another marble counter sat under the mirror with two full sinks. In the right corner, a white tiled walk in shower. A little ledge was created to hold shampoo and conditioners. On the opposite side of the shower was the toilet. In the opposite left corner, a medium sized jacuzzi.
"The towels are in the closet over there," Canary pointed to the door across from the jacuzzi.
"I'll get you a toothbrush and leave you some clothes." Canary finished moving towards the sinks. Her fingers grabbed a small knob attached to a sliding drawer. The drawer slide open with ease, revealing many different tooth care products. She grabbed out a green and white toothbrush, ripping it out of the plastic confinement and tossing the trash in the waste bin on the floor next to the then counter. She then leaned forward and placed it in the toothbrush container, next to the yellow and blue toothbrushes. Canary turned around to see that Kenna had shifted towards the closet. Kenna pulled out two fluffy towels, one white and one a light shade of pink. She then moved towards Canary and placed the towels on the sink. Canary walked towards the shower, pulling the door open. She then turned the dial to the left to get hot water. Once that was complete she walked towards the young girl.
"I'm going to go get you some clothes. When you're dry and dressed I need to re-wrap your ribs before you go to bed, so when you're done just knock on my door." The comment got a nod from the teenager. Canary then walked through the door connecting her room to the bathroom. When Kenna heard the soft click of the door she began to undress. It was a little complicated with the bruises on her torso, but she managed to get undressed. She placed her mangled clothing on the counter, figuring that Canary would end up throwing them away. The last thing she need to do was remove the slacking bandages. She quickly unraveled them and threw them into the waste basket. She picked up the towels and brought them with her. She looked around trying to find a place to put them. An aha escaped her as she spotted the hooks next to shower. By this time, the room had filled with steam. Kenna hung up the towels and pulled the door open. She closed the door and stepped under the jet stream. She gave a loud yelp when the hot water touched her skin. She scrambled, turning the knob in the opposite direction, only to yelp when ice cold water shot at her. This shower was out to get her! Kenna frantically tried to get the temperature regulated. She gave a sigh when the water became a pleasant temperature. Kenna let the water wash over her, cleaning away the dirt and grim on her skin. She could faintly hear the sound of motion outside the shower.
"Problem with the shower?" A voice teased. Kenna gave a very unladylike snort.
"Your shower is trying to kill me." She called back. Canary let out a laugh.
"I'm leaving your clothes on the counter." Came Canary's reply.
"Okay."
The sound of the door closing sounded through the bathroom. Kenna turned her attention to the shampoos. Picking up the taller bottle on the left, she brought it to her face. Through watery vision she could see the words shampoo. Kenna proceed to pop the button open and squirted some into her hand. The pleasant smell of cherry blossoms filled the air. A content smile formed on Kenna's face as she massaged the mixture into her scalp. Kenna was in heaven to say the least. In the a span of five minutes, she was done washing the shampoo and conditioner from her hair and soap from her body. Now, Kenna was just sitting on the shower letting the water ghost down her skin. This was the safest she had felt in years. She didn't want to jinx anything but she felt as if her life was going to get better from this point on.
It had been about 15 minutes since she had gotten out of the shower. In the time span, she had brushed her teeth, brushed her long sopping wet hair and gotten dressed. Unfortunately, seeing as Kenna was smaller than Canary she was forced to wear and oversized t-shirt which was more like a dress. When she was done, Kenna moved towards the door giving it a firm knock. Moments later Canary opened the door and entered the bathroom with wrap in hand.
" Go sit on the counter." Kenna followed the order and went to go sit on the counter; with a little trouble. She then lifted up her shirt under her bra line, revealing white cotton underwear. Canary began wrapping her torso tightly but not tight enough to hurt.
"Canary I," Kenna began but was cut off by the women herself.
"Dinah. Call me Dinah when we're by ourselves." Dinah interrupted, looking back up to meet Kenna's lavender eyes.
"Now what were you saying?" Fingers continued to smooth and wrap the bandages around the small girl. Dinah gave a smile as she tied off the wrap. Kenna dropped the gray shirt, feeling the fabric kiss her thighs. Dinah placed the wrap down and waited for Kenna to speak.
"I just wanted to say.." She paused contemplating her next words. Dinah waited patiently but was caught off guard when small arms wrapped around her torso. Kenna's head rested against the older woman's chest, hugging her close.
"Thank you." Kenna whispered. Dinah blinked for a couple seconds before giving the girl a motherly hug. Kenna missed this, the feeling of someone holding onto her, caring for her. She could vaguely remember when her mother used to hug her like this.
"Good night McKenna." Dinah spoke in a soft tone. Kenna buried her face further into hug.
"Good night Dinah." Came Kenna's slightly muffled voice. The two released each other with smiles on their face. Dinah moved to tuck some of Kenna's bangs behind her ear.
"Go to bed." She told the girl before walking towards her own bedroom. Kenna hopped of the counter and moved towards her own room. Opening the door, Kenna swiftly moved through it and collapsed onto the bed in the dark. Tiredly she pulled back the covers and climbed into the bed. The smile had yet to leave her face and it stayed that way until her head hit the pillow and she was out.
Most teenage girls would love when they got to go on a shopping spree; Kenna not so much. The giant mass of people made her uneasy at first but after hours spent in mall, she got used to it. So far, Dinah and her had made quite the hall. Four pairs of jeans,two capris, three jean shorts, ten pairs of underwear, four bras, two packs of mismatching ankle socks, a pair of black converse and a pair of white and gold sandals, seven t-shirts, five tank tops, two dresses and five pairs of pajamas; they had an arsenal. It was also painfully awkward shopping for underwear and bras. That was probably the most uncomfortable part of the day. Right now at the moment, Kenna was moving to the bathroom to change into one of her new outfits. Locking one of the stalls, Kenna removed the shirt that Dinah had turned into a dress for her and put it into one of the bags she had carried into the bathroom. She then pulled out a pair of underwear and a black bra. Proceeding to put those on, Kenna then fished through the bag looking for pants and a shirt. She came up with the pair of white capris, white tank top and a baggier black tank top. Deeming herself dressed, she exited the stall and moved over to the mirror. Her eyes drifted to the tank top she wore. It was black, not as form fitting as the one below it. While shopping at one store; she hadn't payed attention to the name and had bought some clothes there. Her favorite shirt was a tank top with the four original starter Pokemon walking across crosswalk. When she had picked it up, memories of playing the game for hours on end flashed before her eyes. She had practically squealed in excitement when Dinah had let her purchase it.
Deciding to leave the bathroom, Kenna went looking for Dinah. She avoid bumping into people as much as she could. Dinah's eyes widened in surprise when she caught a glimpse of the fourteen year-old. Kenna actually looked like a girl her age.
"Who knew there was a girl in you?" She teased causing Kenna to blush. Dinah just laughed and led the girl down the escalator.
"So where to next?" Kenna asked, shifting the bags in her hands to get a better grip. Dinah looked at the watch on her wrist.
"We should have enough time to get your hair cut, then head home with some food and watch a couple of movies if you'd like?" Kenna nodded at the idea. She was tired of being on her feet and she was ready to end this excursion to the mall. There feet padded off the escalator. Dinah directed them to the hair salon a few feet away. She walked to the door and pulled it open with a ding. A overly excited woman greeted them, her black hair tied into a high fashioned ponytail.
"Hi, welcome to the Beauty, Hair and Nail salon. How can I help you?" She asked with a wide smile. Kenna gave a small sweat drop, this girl seemed to happy with life.
Dinah just smiled and responded.
"Hi, she needs to get her hair cut." She said referring to the teen next to her. The girl behind the counter shifted her eyes to the slightly uncomfortable blonde.
"And what name should I put that under?" She asked, directing her overly high pitched voice towards the blonde.
"Um McKenna's fine." She said. The girl nodded vigorously, typing quickly against the keyboard with her manicured nails.
"Okay, you can wait over there," She directed towards Dinah.
"And McKenna, if you would follow me this way." She said, gesturing with her hand. Kenna looked once more at the seated superhero before following after the black hair girl. She was placed in a seat that spun around. Oce she was seated the girl collected her long locks and placed the curtain around her neck.
"My name is Tami and i'll be cutting your hair. Now, how much are you wanting to cut off?" Tami asked. Kenna stared at her hair, wondering herself.
"Um I-I don't know. What do you think?" She found herself asking. Tami ran her fingers through the blonde strands, looking for split ends and other things.
"Well, to get your hair back to a healthier look i'm going to have to cut a lot of the ends. Your bangs, I can trim them up to where you can see more of your face and I can probably thin some of it out. " She spoke after critiquing the hair on Kenna's head. Kenna gave a analyzing glance. She didn't want to cut it short because she had become fond of long hair.
"Is there any way we can still keep it long?" She asked, looking up at the girl. Tami gave smile and a nod. This girl never stops smiling.
"If I were to cut off a majority of the split ends it would come to about the bottom of your rib cage." At the girls comment, Kenna nodded. Having the go ahead, Tami began spraying Kenna's hair with water. A shiver ran through the girls body, not expecting the water to be so cold. She then watched with somewhat sad eyes as Tami began to clip off masses of her hair. The whole procedure took about thirty minutes, considering the extensive amount hair the blonde girl had, but when it was done Kenna barely recognized herself. The ends of her blonde hair came to edge of her ribs. Her bangs were cut to where they swept across the right side of her face. She was shocked that she could actually see her face. All together her hair felt lighter, as if she had lost about two pounds from her head. She ran her fingers through the wavy locks, amazed that it didn't feel like straw;the normal feel. Tami removed the curtain from around her neck and Kenna stood up. She walked over to a seated Dinah. Dinah looked up from the magazine she was reading then look back down. Her eyes then snapped back up when she caught a glimpse of Kenna's appearance.
"Wow Kenna, I can actually see your face." She stated with slight awe. Kenna just blushed and moved her fingers to play with the ends of her newly cut hair. Dinah stood up and went to pay the girl. Once they were done They stepped out of the salon. Dinah glanced at her wrist watch.
" Ready to go get some food Ken…" Dinah paused looking for said girl. Her eyes then caught Kenna across the walkway looking into a store. Dinah gave a puzzled look then decided to walk to the girl. Kenna hadn't meant to get distracted but when she had seen the cream colored object. Dinah peered at Kenna then at the object that had caught her companions attention. Kenna had been staring at a stuffed animal; a bunny to be exact. Dinah raised and eyebrow before grabbing the teenagers hand and dragging her into the store. Kenna stumbled but caught herself as she entered the store. Dinah weaved through aisles like a pro before they came up to the stuffed animal. Dinah picked up the bunny and handed it to the teenager. Kenna's eyes scanned over the bunny's cream fur, finding it soft as can be. It had long floppy ears and a big brown bow under its chin.
"Here Ken-Ken, this is Dave. He'll be here for you whenever you need him. He'll be there to protect you whenever you're scared and i'm not here to protect you. Take good care of him for me." A pubescent voice spoke in Kenna's head. Kenna hugged the bunny to her chest feeling her eyes begin to water. Not expecting tears from the teenager, Dinah gave a worried look. Kenna's watery eyes peered over the bunny to look at the older women. Dinah then began to understand. McKenna must have had a stuffed animal that looked like this one in her childhood. It had obviously brought back memories for the young girl. Dinah gently pried the bunny from her arms and used her fingers to wipe away the few tears that fallen from her eyes.
"Come on, let's buy it and get out of here." She spoke softly. Kenna nodded and followed Dinah to the counter. Once paid for, Dinah handed the stuffed animal to the girl. Kenna took it into her arms and hugged it once again. She never let it go, not even when they got home.
Author's Note: The first thing I want to say is thank you to all of those who review, favorited and followed this story. I love you all and it make me happy to know you guy actually like it! I'm sorry that there wasn't any of the team in this chapter, I promise you will see them next chapter. I know this chapter doesn't have a lot of dialogue but I felt that I need to show the growing bond between Dinah and Kenna. I also wanted to show that Kenna isn't much of a talker at this point in the story. She is an observant person and so you will see a lot of descriptions on her senses. So thank you once again and I hope I didn't bore you to much. Anyway i'm going to start writing the next chapter later today, I promise!:)