Iceberg Lounge
August 27, 2017
18:56
It wasn't long before Raja realized that his choice to stay along with McKenzie was for the better, a handful of guards soon making their presence known. Without hesitation, the older boy outstretched his arm to stop them from entering the villain's preoccupied office.
"Go back to your station," one of them spat out angrily as he shoved Raja's arm out of his way, reminding the hero of his uniformed attire. He supposed that the smartest response to the situation would have been to lie to the group, perhaps claiming that he was already in charge of watching the office, but ultimately, he decided against the thought. Instead, he snatched the hand of the assailant who pushed his arm aside and snapped the joint backwards until a loud crack resonated through the small hallway.
Finally, time for some action, Raja thought to himself, a ghost of a smile spread across his determined face. Before the three other guards could successfully remove their pistols from their coat pockets, Raja took two of their skulls in opposite hands and bashed them together. With a heavy thud onto the carpeted floor beneath them, both bodies lay still.
With an almost excited look, Raja's eyes snapped back up onto the remaining criminal. The said man shared brief eye contact with the Muslim boy before he turned to escape the narrow hallway, his gun long forgotten.
"Cute," Raja breathed in a taunting manner, extending his right arm ahead of his body. Even though the delinquent was at least twenty-five feet away from the younger boy, he still collapsed to the ground. Surprised, the man eyed what had originally tripped him—a tree root.
"That's not possible," he muttered as fear filled his stare. Even though common logic was in his favor that a tree's root would not be present indoors, Raja's powers begged to differ. From off his arm, Raja's botanical tattoo had escaped from his skin and dashed across the area, resulting in the man's current position.
Raja's march towards the villain was steady, his arm raised at his side slightly in a threatening manner. With wide eyes, the criminal watched the tattoo unwind from around his leg and snake back up onto Raja's arm underneath the boy's clothing. The hero closed the distance between himself and his target before lifting the smaller male up off the ground and forcing his back against the wall.
Hopefully I can get him to confess to the robbery. His least favorite part about being on the new team was the inclination they had for gathering concrete evidence, following a strict set of rules, and the microphone they were forced to add to their costumes; however, the microphone would be more than useful if he were able to make the man talk.
"Why did Cobblepot steal the-" He was cut off as McKenzie rushed towards the duo, her hands tightly gripping Raja's shoulders as she removed him from the assailant. Without even realizing it, the young Muslim had somewhat strangled the man with his shirt's collar, restricting his breathing ability greatly.
Once more, a body toppled onto the ground with an audible thud. He followed McKenzie's gaze back at all three attackers, Raja witnessing that they were all clearly incapacitated. With a staunch edge laced in his voice, he spoke to the small girl, "They are criminals, I didn't think I needed to go gentle on them."
"You don't need to choke one out either, they are still people," McKenzie argued lightly, her arms crossing over her chest. As the sudden action unfolded, Raja could see the manila folder she had in her grip. This was the evidence they needed to officially arrest their suspect.
There's a whole other team of superheroes here... her mental statement shocked even Victoria as the younger boy ushered her over to three other teens. They, just like her own team, were clad in the Iceberg Lounge's working uniform whilst they were undercover. The boy with water powers leaned in close to his group.
"Cobblepot is defiantly our guy; princess over there managed to get confessions from his crew," he informed them as he gestured over his own shoulder. Their four stares narrowed in on Victoria as their eyebrows raised in suspicion at her presence. One of the females, who was obviously older than her lone female team mate, turned to Victoria in order to speak to the Italian.
"Would you be willing to release your recording for his case file we are working on?" The eldest girl asked, her eyes scrutinizing Victoria. While the woman spoke to the archer, she hastily put her wavy black hair up in a bun, which showcased a gold engraved bracelet adorning one of her wrists. The small detail caused Victoria's head to tilt in consideration at the engraved name as she pondered about its significance, or more importantly, how she could use it against the older woman.
The archer met her eyes once more before speaking to her. "I don't think you all are qualified-"
The same boy from before suddenly spoke, interrupting Victoria before she could finish her sentence. "Batman gave this mission to us, is that good enough for you?" His tone was overly confident, his pride showing through each syllable he enunciated. His hands were placed openly on his hips, a smug expression gracing his features.
At the Dark Knight's mention Victoria's eyebrows furrowed together tightly. But Batman was the one who sent the case file to McKenzie... Why would he share this information with other teenaged superheroes, especially ones the team doesn't know about? It seemed as though her mind moved ten miles a minute as she attempted to construct a reasoning as to why the other group was here.
"But," another boy started, successfully taking Victoria out of her thoughts, "-who exactly are you and the others?" The archer wasn't used to being interrogated by others, and it made her feel uneasy. The smaller individual wasn't cruel with his questioning though, and he seemed far more polite than the other boy; however, his question did spark something within the huntress trainee. Who exactly are we if they are Batman's 'team'?
Yessenia used the back of her Wonder Woman shield to knock down the final assailant, a soft grunt escaping her lips in the process as fatigue started to set in. As she panted, she turned to look at both Noah and Oliver, both boys busying themselves in disarming the unconscious individuals in the theatre space.
As he kicked away the last gun in the criminals' reach, Oliver reloaded his own weapon before placing it back in his hip holster. The mixed teen smirked joyously as Noah joined his side near the Amazonian princess, "That went better than I expected," he commented aloud.
Yessenia couldn't help but agree with the technician. After Raja and Oliver joined the team, their missions' success became untouched as they won every battle they were in. It gave the young Amazonian hope in the upcoming, and horribly unavoidable, mission against Death she was sure they would face.
"Good job Beta squad," her words were slow and carefully chosen as she looked around the room, realizing that Logan had not returned from his chase. As she returned her shield to her tactical back strap, she directed the two boys, "Let's go and see if Logan detained the Penguin yet."
Hopefully he is okay, we don't want a repeat of the Captain Boomerang incident. Even the memory of the old mission sent shivers down her back, further convincing herself to find the eldest.
Victoria couldn't help but yell at the eldest team mate as she forced him on a medical cot, "Stupid! Thoughtless and fucking stupid!" Her words were angry, not thinking much before she stammered them aloud.
No matter how many times she had asked him if he had been alright, he had consistently lied to her with a measly 'nothing I can't stitch up myself'. After two days of constant vomiting and bleeding through various sweaters did Victoria catch up on the lie.
"I'm sorry-" she cut him off with a sharp look before he could apologize to her once more. She was more than angry with him and his disregard for his own health, especially since he had fussed about a sprained wrist Yessenia had received and a darkened bruise lengthened up McKenzie's right arm.
Her expression soon turned soft as his eyes went downcast to glance at his own wound. Throughout his minor apology, Victoria had taken it upon herself to lift the hem of his hooded sweatshirt to treat the abdominal wound, which revealed the deep laceration.
Victoria could tell that he attempted to stitch the injury to the best of his ability through shaking hands and twitching fingers, resulting in rough and abrasive stitch work. By now, the laceration had become infected.
"Why didn't you tell anybody?" Her question still contained anger laced in her voice.
"Why would I?" Victoria's eyes snapped up quickly to meet Logan's. They were silent for a minute as she tried to conceal her upset reaction.
Victoria released his shirt slowly before she continued their conversation. "Why shouldn't you?" She argued back in a low voice.
He sighed through his nose before retrieving a first aid kit near the cot. As he took out a bottle of disinfectant and new gauze strips, he replied to the younger girl's inquiry. "Because I'm supposed to be looking out for you and the others, not the other way around," his confession brought a frown to Victoria's face as she took in the admittance.
The EMT reapplied the gauze after cleaning the wound carefully. At the notice of her frown, he added a question to his explanation,"If you found out your doctor couldn't treat a cold, would you trust him enough to operate on your failing heart?"
But, Victoria mentally bickered with him, the doctor was stabbed with a razor bladed boomerang, not suffering from the flu. She didn't argue with him though, and just watched as he retreated out of the medical area back to the cave. She hoped that his infection would get better.
Logan quickly skid to a stop as he closed the distance between him and the malefactor in a closed off VIP room. The British man turned to the taller medic, disdain in his eyes as he sized the hero up and down briefly.
"There's no where left to run, Mr. Cobblepot," Logan informed in a polite manner, his right hand inching towards his utility belt pocket to retrieve a pair of handcuffs. As Logan neared the assailant with the restraints, the EMT read the man his Miranda Rights, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the rig-"
"Shove it, you bloody moron," the interruption was quickly followed by an upwards jab with the Penguin's umbrella end, the accessory striking Logan on his cheek. The medic had little time to recover before the Gotham villain took a batting stance, a harsh swing colliding with the man's temple and eye area.
Logan stumbled back for a moment with an annoyed look on his face. Do I have a face that reads 'hit me' or something? I wasn't even going to attack him, the thought was bitter and filled with agitation.
Piqued at the feeling of blood cascading out of his wound, the usually passive man didn't hesitate before attacking the shorter law breaker. With an irritated and flustered expression spread across his rugged features, he snatched the arm accessory out of the Penguin's grip before turning the weapon against its wielder with a directed blow in the center of his chest.
The Penguin's grunt was loud, pain evident through a strangled cry. "Little shit," the criminal croaked as his arms held his body in attempt to lessen his anguish. As if to get revenge for his own lack of reaction time between assaults, the hero was quick in his next strafe. Logan held the villain's cranium lightly with his left hand before pulling the skull closer to his knee, clashing the two together abrasively.
Just as the malefactor hit the rugged floor, the VIP doors opened to reveal Yessenia, Noah, and Oliver, the leading lady looking concerned. However, Yessenia's concern was soon replaced with relief as she spotted her victorious team mate cuffing their suspect to a rooted bar, seemingly all in one piece. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding, her grasp on her sword's handle dropping.
With her weapon forgotten, she marched closer to the medic to inspect his raw and mangled face. "That'll be a nice bruise in the morning," her comment was humor packed and directed towards his, now swollen, cheek bone and socket ridge. At the sound of a soft chuckle at the end of her statement, her anxiety decreased once again.
"Is everyone okay?" Logan asked the smaller group, mentally inspecting each of their bodies for any lacerations or deceitfully hidden injuries. Unknowingly, he spent the longest time surveying the youngest team member, who only recently recovered from an injury.
Under the older man's gaze, Noah provided the medic with a tamed 'yes' response, whereas the lone female member smirked wickedly. "Yeah, we aren't little bitches like you," Yessenia taunted in a joking matter, a smile wide across her face as she exposed her joy. With a shake of the head, Logan only smiled in riposte.
Mount Justice
August 27, 2017
22:34
"Stealth branch?!" Victoria nearly shouted in an upset tone, one of her hands resting comfortably on her hip while the other was pointed upwards in Batman's direction. Normally, the young archer would hold a more respective vocal expression when in sights of the esteemed Justice League founder; however, she was unable to bite back the remark in retaliation of his confession.
In a cool and monotone voice, the older man responded to the girl, "The stealth branch-" he paused, looking over at those indicated teens standing uncomfortably behind him, "-will be joining the official team until further notice." He didn't wait for any reaction before turning away from the teens in pursuit of the Zeta-Tubes.
After receiving a sharp glance from Yessenia, Noah rushed to catch up to his grandfather figure. As the team watched his retreating figure flee the room, their focus quickly shifted towards the newcomers.
Stealth branch? Victoria's thoughts were just as bitter as her physical words were. Why did Batman form two teams? Why did he join us together? To her, there seemed to be no logic in the Dark Knight's actions.
Her thoughts were interrupted as McKenzie spoke aloud, "What do we do now?" Her eyes glossed over to look at the unofficial leader, uncertainty swimming through her orbs.
The group shared looks with one another, each waiting for someone else to speak. Ultimately, Oliver was the one who spoke up first, a tentative hand placed gently on the small of Logan's back. "I'm going to help Pretty Boy over here treat his face," the taller man informed the others. During normal circumstances, the medic might have argued, but the stiff atmosphere in the room convinced him to allow Oliver to guide him away.
"Oh, are they a couple?" The girl with the golden bracelet from before asked when the two boys had successfully exited the room. Now that the team was safe from any danger, they were able to take in the woman's features. She was of Turkish decent, her long and wavy black hair glistening in the well-lit room as her dark brown eyes awaited a reply.
"Who cares if they are?" The other unknown girl retorted towards her friend. The obviously younger girl crossed her arms over her chest, a stoic expression spread across her features. She looked similar to the Turkish woman with only a handful of minor differences. Their hair was the same in appearance; however, the younger girl's hair was longer by many inches. The younger girl also had blue eyes instead of brown, and held sharper features in comparison to the woman.
Before Victoria could intervene with the miniture angered teen, an older man stepped in between the two females. "Knock it off Dani, you don't need to always be starting fights with Alyn," his voice was uneven in tone as he tried disciplining the two.
Dani, the younger of the three, simply snorted in response.
Noah paused in front of his adopted grandfather, his head pressed upwards to meet the billionaire's masked eyes. Batman stared down at him with a skeptical eyebrow raised, his fingers flying across the Zeta-Tube's keyboard.
"B," Noah greeted, his hands instantly wringing together in nervousness. He wasn't typically anxious around the vigilante, but he couldn't help this feeling as the Dark Knight's gaze peered into the necromancer. "Did you really not trust us to get the information on Cobblepot's case?"
The diviner knew that he was the only one who would be able to get an honest answer from the Justice League founder. With a low and begruntled voice, Batman answered his newest family member, "They were there for your protection."
Almost instantly, Noah knew what the man was referring to. It was no secret to the league that Death himself had made a horrifying introduction to the teenaged team, a threat in place for the team's members.
The necromancer watched as Batman stepped on the Zeta-Tube platform. The distant man's eyes faltered for a brief second as he stared down at the younger bat, his mind shifting through the constant deaths he endured throughout his existence. Even though the billionaire knew that Noah was hurt from the deceivement, he didn't change his judgement. It was for his own protection.
"See you later B," Noah murmured as the white light surrounded his grandfather. It wasn't long before the number of bats located in the base decreased to one lone member.
Oliver's fingers traced the socket ridge of Logan's face, his eyes scrutinizing the older man in attempt to find evidence of a break. His touch was incredibly light as he pressed against the medic.
"I'm fine Oliver, it's just a black eye," Logan reasoned, his gaze focused on the ceiling. Usually the technician would reply back smartly, but he only hummed in response to the EMT's claim. His fingers then hovered over to the lacerated cheek bone.
Logan flinched for a hesitant moment at the painful tap, his face contorting briefly. The flicker of pain caused Oliver to look down at the medic in concern, their eyes meeting.
Despite the fact that Oliver stood above a seated Logan, their positions seemed close, their face only inches apart. "Are you sure your cheekbone isn't fractured?" Oliver asked in low voice, his face getting closer to further inspect the injured area.
Heat rose to the EMT's face as it flushed a nervous red, his gaze quickly leaving Oliver and returning back towards the medical Bay's ceiling. Only one word resounded in the slavic's mind–fuck.
However, it seemed as though the technician didn't notice Logan's jittery behavior and instead chose to continue inspecting the man. Oliver's hand traveled towards the back of Logan's neck as he slowly craned the other's head to get a better angle of the injury. Their eyes locked once more.
Fuck. Logan pushed away from the mixed teen before standing up abruptly. His face was still red and his eyes refused to meet Oliver's. "I better go check on Yessenia," Logan spoke too quickly, leaving the room in a hurry to escape the technician's stare.
Yessenia watched as the 'stealth' branch argued loudly amongst one another. Despite changing settings from the debriefing area to the lounge, Dani's grumbles still continued as the water-powered boy challenged her.
"Come on Barbie, it was only a matter of time before we joined the official team," he commented, his eyes resting on Dani as he dubbed her 'Barbie'. Yessenia had quickly picked up on the slightly sexist attitude of the newest boy and the uncomfortable manner in which both Dani and Alyn reacted to him.
With her hands balled up at their sides, Yessenia grit her teeth in order not to snap at the Hispanic boy. His attitude reminded the Amazonian princess why men were not allowed on Themiscyra.
Before she could retort in favor of the mild-mannered Dani, the other boy spoke up first. "Angel, we talked about this..." His voice wasn't the only soft feature on the man. Even though most gingers appeared vibrant, the man's hair was light and tamed, his appearance looking overly basic. In addition, the man's eyes, which were a shade of subtle blue, looked kind.
Yessenia's hands unclenched as the ginger handled Angel; however, she still forced herself to bite back her tongue. Her eyes tried to meet Victoria's, who sat in her usual spot on the couch, but the archer's gaze was fixated on her video game. Despite that, Yessenia could see her friend's jaw lock periodically each time Angel had spoke.
"Hey, Mack?" Yessenia called attention to the reserved demigod, who had been previously reading a book. The serpent nodded upwards without looking at Yessenia, still showing that she was listening to the powered teen.
"Yes?" McKenzie replied as she still flipped through the pages of her documented text.
It was at this point that Yessenia noticed that the newcomers had filtered out the two's minor conversation to better partake in their own. She gestured over towards her room, before doing the same motion for Noah, Raja, and Victoria to spot.
Once they all stumbled inside of Yessenia's room, the Amazonian closed the door quietly. In a whisper, she spoke to the core team members, "Does anybody else find their presence...weird?"
"Batman said it was for our protection," Noah relayed the information he pried out from his grandfather in an equally low whisper. His purple eyes shifted onto each team members' face to witness their reactions to the news.
Raja shook his head in disbelief as he ventured deeper in the Amazonian's room. "There is something he isn't telling us," the Muslim pointed out in a strained tone. Raja couldn't help but to feel angered by the situation, the immense hours spent training coming back to life in his mind.
If the aspect of two teams had been so important to Batman, why did he combine them at the first opportunity he had? Noah ran a hand through his gelled hair in thought. Never before had he struggled to trust the Dark Knight and his actions, but the new additions to the team confused the detective.
What type of detective am I if I can't even figure out why Bruce didn't tell me about his stealth team... Or why I wasn't apart of it? Noah was a bat, after all, and every aspect of the bat family's life revolved around grunt detective work as well as stealthily completing missions.
The necromancer wasn't the only one confused about the new additions. Everybody stuffed in Yessenia's room paced around in thought, each nervous tick becoming evident to the more observant members.
Yessenia stood up straight, her hand faltering to her hip where her golden lasso usually sat, "Can we trust them?"
Each member exchanged glances, nonverbal conversations striking between them at the thought. It wasn't until now that the girls pondered over the trust they had with the boys, as both of them were technically new to the team as well.
How can we trust Noah, Raja, or Oliver when they were all recently added to the team as well? Victoria's non-trusting nature poked through her facade as she inspected each male. Her gaze met McKenzie's and Yessenia's and instantly she could tell they were thinking the same thing she was.
"Can we?" McKenzie repeated, her stare directed at Victoria.
I am really sorry for the late (and short) update, but hopefully you guys liked it nonetheless. As per usual, I have some questions I would like for you all to answer:
1. What is one insecurity that your character has, either physical, emotional, or mental wise?
2. Anything angst-related you want me to add for your character/other characters?
3. What is your character's medical history like? Let me know of any severe occurences/medications taken and why they are taking it/emergency contacts/etc. You may private message this part to me if you wish to keep it secret.
If you have any additional ideas or thoughts, please let me know, as they are always helpful when writing new chapters.