Mount Justice
September 10, 2018
00:22
"I'm back from Themiscyra!" Yessenia called out into the base, a victorious smile spread across her face as the bright lights from the Zeta Tube dissolved into nothingness. "And I brought back presents!"
Her arrival went unnoticed as the rampant screaming and yelling continued in front of her, the large team all huddled close to one another in a giant fight. Sam, with his arms up to protect his face, lay under Victoria, the latter of the two being lifted off of the ground by Raja as she pointed a sharpened arrow at the red-haired man. The Muslim teen had also been cursing in a non-English dialect, his body jerking backwards and forwards as he balanced Oliver on his back.
"Why would you remind her of that!?" Victoria snapped as her arms flailed about, an angry expression seething venom towards the forensic psychologist.
Yessenia stared at the group with a confused face, before dropping her bags on the floor loudly. "Alright," the Amazonian bellowed out as she rolled the sleeves to her sweater up to her elbows, "Why am I about to fight Sam?"
Earlier that week...
Gotham Central High
September 7, 2018
07:39
Victoria anxiously twiddled her thumbs as she waited, her fingers intertwined in her hands as they sat rested on top of her lap. Her right foot, in a nervous disposition similar to her hands, bobbed up and down repeatedly in anticipation. Sweat had also began to pool at her temples' ridges, and the archer had to fight the urge to wipe at her face wildly. Her hands remained still, her knuckles white from pressure.
The room's door suddenly opened, and the recruiter exited with a sorrowful grin. Her anxiety settled; her body stilling as it filled with disappointment. The archer already knew what the older woman was going to say to her.
As the college admissions head looked down at Victoria, she began to speak to the younger girl in a thick British accent, "Thank you for applying to MIT, Miss Sage, we will be in touch. Have a nice day." After looking back at the girl once again, the older recruiter shut the door, leaving Victoria alone once more. Her grip hardened exponentially.
If silence had a sound it was what Victoria was experiencing then. She felt the blood rush to her ears and face, the sound somewhat deafening in her own head. "Damn," Victoria cursed with a deep exhale, her cranium falling to a heap in her now opened hands.
Maybe if I added my vigilante work to my resume... Victoria mentally squabbled, trying to force herself into a more humorous mood. Even if she didn't get into the esteemed university, she knew she had safety schools lined up for her as backup. But it doesn't change anything... I should have been doing more at school, to do something with my life outside of beating up criminals...
Victoria slowly stood up, her fingers reaching down to pull her navy skirt closer to her knees. I won't throw a pity party for myself. I was already accepted into Georgia Tech and Carnegie Mellon... With her head held high in mock confidence, the archer strut out of the small building, the receptionist waving her goodbye as she did so.
When she entered her vehicle—a somewhat messy car with the faint smell of fast food lingering in the air, Victoria pulled out her cell phone and opened up her messages. With her best friend in visit to a secluded area, her notifications were unnaturally bare. Biting her bottom lip in attempts to remain level-headed, Victoria typed on her phone's keyboard.
She sent a text to the Amazon anyway, figuring that when she returned to the states she would read her message: "I'm hosting a beach party for when you get back, we need to celebrate your awesomeness!"
Victoria figured that if she were to be miserable, she might as well be miserable whilst congratulating someone else. She pressed send before starting her car, her thoughts returning to the less than fantastic interaction.
Mount Justice
September 7, 2018
11:20
The dirt-stained shoulder pads and chest armor bounced off of Dani's back as she entered the living room, the action resulting in a dulled but repeated thumping sound. Despite her best efforts to draw the string in closer to her armpit to eradicate the noise, the bumping still continued with each individual step she took.
Eventually, the sound caused the living room's occupants to look up in curiosity, but Dani ignored their stares. She dropped her gear to the ground along with her colored duffel bag and squatted in place, her hands working to tie the shoelaces to her cleats.
"Where are you going?" Raja asked the younger girl, his current action of eating forgotten. He watched on in interest as she stood up straight once again, her abundant amount of accessories finding place in her hands or slung across her shoulders again.
"Out," Dani retorted lamely, not bothering to make eye contact with the Indian boy.
Raja stopped chewing his food at her reply, "You know that answer isn't good enough, right?"
Dani continued to ignore her new found team mates, but their stares proved to be more lethal than Superman's beams. Raja, with his left eyebrow raised, watched her intensely, whereas McKenzie appeared concerned.
McKenzie is always concerned though, Dani snapped bitterly with another eye roll.
Using her hip to balance her equipment, Dani struggled to not drop everything during her crusade to the garage. In the end, it was not a surprise that she dropped her helmet in the process.
"Do you need any help?" McKenzie all but chirped cheerily as the helmet clattered, standing to her feet before Dani could even answer her question. Dani struggled to suppress her annoyance.
Instead of her blue eyes remaining focused on her discarded helmet, which sat sideways on the floor, the orbs found refuge in the back of her head yet again; she groaned a sonorous, "Fuck off Mack," before kicking her helmet against the wall. The demigod stopped her objective stretch at the younger girl's sneer, her eyes blinking rapidly in stupefaction.
Fuck, Dani scolded herself before Raja could, his expression hard and defensive for McKenzie's saddened stature. In a tone similar to a forced apology, Dani muttered a monotoned, "Sorry."
Throughout the stiff interaction, Raja made a stride towards Dani, and, before she could stop him as well, he picked up her helmet and threw it under his arm, pressing it against his lower rib cage. "Thanks," she attempted to subdue her umbrage, but it still seeped through her words like venom.
Her icy eyes slide off of the Muslim boy and onto the demigod, who had sat back down on the couch to continue to read her book. Dani sighed, Leave it to me to push everyone away.
McKenzie pretended not to peek at the two as they retreated into the other room, the book her counterfeit attention holder in the process. When she was sure they were completely gone however, the serpent slammed her novel shut and stood to her feet. All the serpent wanted at the moment was to be alone—her pace towards her quarters slow and thought-filled, her hatred protruding in her appearance.
She despised the way that Dani always scrutinized her and her actions, the way that her gaze seemingly penetrated holes through her body as if they knew all of the girl's secrets; she despised how much the teenager hated her and constantly cursed at her...but she also despised how she knew she would not do anything about the mistreatment.
McKenzie accessed her bedroom in no time, her door shutting closed behind her as harshly as her book had previously been.
"So what's the emergency?" Noah asked as he calmed his sporadic sprint, a slight heave to his voice as he inhaled oxygen greedily. His phone, which was still held in the necromancer's tight fist, flashed red and white interchangeably with the word 'Escape' bold and blinking. His head spun around rapidly before anybody could reply, and he absorbed the scene of a quarter of his team mates suiting up diligently.
Sam, in the midst of shoving his arms in an ivory jacket, answered the smaller boy, "We finally have coordinates on Killer Frost. Suit up." His command had the young bat excited, a smirk growing on his face. As the boy ran towards the locker rooms to change into his winter costume, he hastily shed his outer layers and left them on the floor to sit.
Alyn placed a hand on her hip, her fingers pressing deeply into the plush white jacket she wore. "Is it really the best idea to have so many of us go?" Her question was directed at the ginger, who simply shrugged her off without a second thought.
"Killer Frost is dangerous," was his firm retort to the Turkish woman. The lawyer-to-be sighed quietly, not too ecstatic to have another younger member join the two's mission. If anything, she would have preferred Raja or Logan's company on the squad, but she was forced to settle with Noah, McKenzie, and Angel instead. She sighed at the thought, especially as her eyes rested on his discarded jacket.
Noah had been quick to change, his usually dark costume design much lighter: even his ebony locks had been covered by a slim and unpigmented hood. Upon the diviner's return, Sam redirected the group down towards the hanger, or more specifically, towards the team's jet.
Alyn had to force herself to not mother the younger members, all of which appeared too intrigued for such a potentially dangerous mission. As they all boarded the aircraft, she continued to watch the group.
"I'm going to the cockpit, stay out here with them," Sam's voice interrupted her thoughts as he walked past her; she nodded at his instruction despite wanting to join his side. Out of all of the team members, he had been the one she felt safest around.
Most vulnerable, but most safe, she corrected herself internally as she chose her seat near the exit.
Alyn flinched as she felt the barrel of a handgun press into the back of her cranium, her eyes slowly closing in intimate panic. Shit, she mentally disciplined herself.
Her hands stopped fumbling in the criminal's work desk, and instead found a position by her ears in a surrendering stance. She stood up fully.
"It's not polite to snoop," the taunting timbre of a man sneered into her ear. His left hand found refuge on her shoulder after his remark, before caressing the nape of her neck lightly and leading her away from his property. His fingers tugged on the strap of her dress, pulling one of them down below her shoulder.
Alyn's breath hitched in her throat once again. His tone was suggestive, and his roaming hands did nothing to ease her tension. Her eyes closed again tightly.
The sound of the door opening again startled her, her eyes flashing open to survey the area. Sam stood at the entrance of the office in his party attire, his expression looking relieved as his eyes met hers. "There you are!" He cooed in a feign manner.
The man released Alyn from his touch and stepped back away from the two, his pistol now lowered to his hip. In a pace quick enough to make the Flash proud, Alyn joined Sam's side; and, as she scurried, the woman slid her dress back on her clavicle properly.
When she was within arm's distance of the ginger, Sam grabbed a rough hold of Alyn, his fingers wrapping around her waist tightly as he brought her closer to him. Her face contorted into one of confusion and fear, her breath caught in her throat once more. This time however, her body trembled from harsh memories.
The man looked down at her. "You'll have to trust me," he whispered, his breath cool on her face as he spoke. Alyn could only nod, her voice not listening to her brain's commands to speak back. "Okay, good," Sam muttered back, before tossing the woman behind him harshly.
Alyn gasped as her body crashed into a thin and flimsy window, the glass collapsing in on itself from her added weight. The shattered remnants fell with her from the top of the twelve story building to the concrete sidewalk below; however, the broken pieces were the only objects which made contact with the ground.
With hesitation Alyn opened her eyes, her brown orbs finding focus on her savior: Sam stood there, his arms wrapped tightly around her frame in a cradle. "You good?" He asked her, his eyes checking her for any injury. She nodded slowly as she pushed herself away from his imposing stature, her hand lingering on his chest for a moment.
Alyn was incredibly lucky for the older man's fast brain, and even luckier for his faster moving powers.
Valdez, Alaska
September 7, 2018
12:26
Angel's pointer finger traced circles in the lake's water, the appendage causing breaks and dips to fabricate in intricate details in the liquid. He was incredibly bored, to say at the least, with nothing better to do than disturb the nature. "I thought you said we found her," he complained, his eyes still focusing on his playful distraction, his face scrunched in concentration.
McKenzie's eyes lingered on his hand movements as well, her face expressionless as she replied flatly, "It could have been a mistake in the reading." The serpent glanced up to look at Sam and Alyn, both of which were scrutinizing the plain with hard eyes; Sam's hand up at his eyebrow ridge to shield his view from the invasive sun's gleams.
"It wasn't a mistake," Sam informed the two younger teenagers, ignoring the eye roll coming from Angel as he did so. Instead, he stared down at the infrared scanner in his palms and searched for any abnormal cold spots.
Sam couldn't deny the monotony though, especially as he watched his younger comrades sit and play with their surroundings, a miniature snowman perched next to the serpent girl in almost a taunt. He glared down at the child-like build, his eyebrows furrowed.
Alyn pulled her coat deeper into her chest as the wind bellowed past her, the winter air sending a cascade of shivers down her spine. "Should we really be waiting outside? One of us could get sick," the Muslim girl reasoned with the ginger as she shuffled closer to him, her body practically resting on his front.
Sam sighed as he brought his hand up to his face, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in aggravation. "Alright, fine. We can put the jet into stealth mode and wait inside," Sam said. At his agreement Alyn feigned a small grin and, with a tentative and supporting hand, touched his coated bicep.
"Come on guys," Alyn called out to McKenzie and Angel, her free hand waving them over and away from the semi-frozen lake.
With one last touch towards the water, Angel stood to his feet shakily. As he did so though, the Hispanic boy offered out a hand for McKenzie's aid. She took it gingerly, a soft spoken 'thank you' following suit along with a shy smile.
As the two clumsily shuffled to Alyn, they heard her calling out to Noah, who had wandered off by himself.
Mount Justice
September 7, 2018
12:54
Oliver entered the confines of the kitchen wearily as the sounds of hushed humming and quiet noises escaped the room and traveled throughout the already extremely quiet base. The technician did not know exactly what he had been expecting to see when he entered, but it wasn't this. He smiled.
The mixed teen walked closer to the counter top, and evidently Logan, with an extremely happy expression. "What are you making?" Oliver questioned the smaller boy, his hand travelling to touch the medic's shoulder lightly.
"Pirozhki," Logan informed quietly, not bothering to look up at Oliver as he spoke.
Without missing a beat, Oliver replied to the teen's words with a flat toned 'bless you', his hands moving to playfully touch the powdery substance ahead of him.
Logan stopped balling up the dough at Oliver's exclamation. "Did you-? Do you think I just sneezed?" He asked in a bewildered tone, his eyes hard on the other male. "I'm making Pirozhki, Oliver. It's a Russian pastry," Logan explained with a small and crooked smile.
"Piro-," Oliver started to mimic Logan's pronounciation, "Pyro-...no peero... Can you say it again?"
Logan chuckled as he finally resumed his earlier activity, shaking his head side to side curtly as he said, "You're too cute. It's 'perohzshekey'."
"Sneeze food," Oliver dead-panned in a teasing juxtaposition, his arms crossing over his chest in truimpth. In truth, Oliver had stopped listening to the Russian after he had called Oliver cute, a 'larger-than-life' grin spreading across the technician's face.
Logan simply smiled at Oliver's joke, his hands already going back to work with his dessert. "Can you pass me an egg?" He asked.
Oh sure, I can pass you an egg, Oliver internalized his childish thought as he took a hold of said ingredient in his left hand, before throwing it at the back of the teen's head. If Oliver had thought the boy looked bewildered earlier, it meant nothing in comparison to his new expression as Logan quickly spun around to gape at the larger man. Before he could even ask why, Oliver had pelted him with three more eggs, all the while laughing maniacally.
"Damn it Oliver!" Logan cursed as he attempted to shield himself from the attack. "Knock it off!"
"Make me!" The mixed teen challenged in between fits of laughter, moving to throw flour at the medic instead.
By the time Oliver had finished his attack, Logan stood with his body and clothing either dripping with yolk or covered with flour, the walls, ceiling and floor looking like a kitchen crime scene. With another smirk, Oliver said, "You got a little something right there," before bringing his thumb towards Logan's face and wiping his cheek.
"Oliver?" Logan questioned, which caused the technician to lower his hand with a quiet 'hmmph?' "You got a little something right there," he said, cracking an egg on the boy's forehead.
Themiscyra Island
September 7, 2018
13:00
Yessenia stared at her reflection with hard eyes, surveying every miniscule detail of what she considered her painted face. Her naturally tan complexion burned a slight pink on her cheeks, a highlighter making her sharp face even sharper and her cheekbones even higher.
The Amazonian Royalty brought her lipstick tube towards her mouth, coloring the area a darker shade; however her eyes never left her own eyes, her eyelids glittered with the Amazonian gold.
"You look beautiful," her mother's accented voice complimented from behind her.
Yessenia's eyes slid off of her own and greeted her mother's own brown. "Much better than my fighting garments, huh?" Yessenia lightly joked with a small grin.
Diana smiled back at her daughter, "Yes, much better. The royal blue is fair with you," the older princess continued to compliment.
"Thank you mother," Yessenia replied. Normally the Hispanic teen would not be considered so uptight and formal, but the day's future events resulted in the girl's proper manner; she even stood up straight, even if she was her only company.
The Wonder Woman placed a tentative hand on her daughter's head, her fingers wrapping around Yessenia's dark ringlets. "I have a gift for you," Diana cooed happily, unable to contain her own excitement as she removed her other hand from behind her back.
Yessenia instantly gasped, her hand covering her mouth in shock. "Your tiara!"
"No Yessenia, it's your tiara," Wonder Woman corrected, as she placed her own head piece upon Yessenia and her forehead. "There, now you are ready for your feast," Diana said.
The younger Amazonian nearly teared up as her eyes dashed back towards her mirror to gaze upon her perfected reflection.
So this is what confidence and true beauty feels like, Yessenia thought to herself, inspecting the bronze piece with admiration. For years she had only known for it to grace her mother, but now, now it was hers to behold.
Yessenia stood to her feet, "I am ready!"
Valdez, Alaska
September 7, 2018
14:06
The necromancer shifted his sitting stance ever so slightly, his left leg going numb from the inactivity. "Oh hockey sticks," he cursed through a hushed whisper, a wince hidden in his exclaim as he did so. In an attempt to recuperate his limb's feeling, the boy exchanged his seated stance to one of standing. The branch creaked under his shifted weight, but otherwise allowed him to continue looming over the area.
If it weren't for the stakeout's reasoning, or for the horribly gelid weather, Noah might have relished the amazing Alaskan view. From his locality in the mountain's pine, Noah could see down the rolling hill and across the whitened glittering lake, the ice reflecting the sky's pale blue color and the emigrating clouds. Even in point blank distance the area appeared beautiful, the forestry hiding the chirping birds from the foxes and deer below.
Noah smiled. He normally was unable to enjoy the wilderness, the frigid temperatures always causing issues for him, but the necromancer attempted to remain positive. After everything that's been happening with the team and with himself personally, the boy needed positivity in his life.
It didn't last.
"What the-" the bat whispered to himself slowly, leaning forward in the slightest to obtain a better angled view. In an instant Noah's hand flew to his earpiece, his pointer finger pressing against the technology in urgency. "Come on, come on," he stammered as the piece only cackled... he was too high up to reach a signal to the others.
He slid down the tree quickly, broken pieces of bark flinging towards the snowy banks below; his hand never wavered from his head. "Come on," he continuously begged, elongating his 'on' as he did so. "Ghost King to team, can you hear me?"
In a fit of frustration, Noah cursed in a hushed manner: "Shit!"
Guess I have to go after Killer Frost myself, Noah accounted as he attempted to follow a suspicious figure deeper into the terrain.
Mount Justice
September 7, 2018
16:11
Victoria slowly entered the base from the Zeta Tubes, her black heels resting in her left hand somewhat pathetically as she moved about. Her hands had stopped trembling by now, and her tears had dried hours before she decided to go to what she considered her second home. Once she ascended into the living room, she dropped her shoes onto the cool and hardened stone floor, before going to sit on the weathered green couch alongside Dani.
The ex-assassin paid her no mind, but turned up the television's sound to signal that she did not want to talk to the Italian. If it weren't for the fact that Victoria was beyond exhausted from her earlier activities, she might have had the energy to be offended by Dani's introverted ways. With a slight yawn she stood up again, her hands stretching way above her head as she walked towards the kitchen.
"She dies in the end," Victoria offhandedly commented in Dani's direction, "And the red-headed guy is the killer," she continued, successfully ruining the ending for the show's episode.
"Damn it!" Dani cursed angrily, a sharp glare following Victoria into the kitchen. The younger girl continued to mumble angry statements as she hastily changed the channel in order to watch somwhing else.
Victoria entered the kitchen then, a small and weak smile greeting the other room's occupants, before her face contorted into one of confusion. "What are you guys doing in here?" She nearly giggled, absorbing the disastrous and messy scene before her. "And why is there flour on the ceiling?"
Logan sighed, his face falling into his hands briefly as he mumbled a quiet expletive.
Victoria then glanced over at Oliver for an explanation, a humored smile stretched across her face as the boy practically beamed back at her. "I was helping him bake his sneeze food!" The technician quipped back, earning an extremely confused look from the archer and an even louder sigh from the Russian.
"Please don't ask," Logan pleaded from his embarrassed position, his head shaking back and forth curtly. When his gaze leveled back onto the archer, he continued speaking, "Oh, by the way, how was your interview?"
Victoria turned away from the two adult men then, her tone passive but teasing with her next phrase. "Please don't ask," she mimicked with a small frown.
Oliver wiped raw egg yolk from his face as he asked, "That bad, huh?"
The archer chewed on the inside of her lip subconsciously, not knowing that the fragile area was already bitten raw from earlier. She shrugged her shoulders once, before making a move towards the fridge in pursuit of a water bottle.
I just need to do something so they can't see my face, Victoria thought. She knew that if either boy could truly inspect her face, they would know that she was down playing her disappointment, or rather yet, trying to hide her vulnerability.
She plucked an apple from the refrigerator when she didn't immediately spot her original want, her back still facing the two. "I'll be in the gym if you need me," Victoria informed them in a low voice as she quickly left the area.
When Oliver could no longer see Victoria's retreating figure, he smirked. "Want to get back to baking?"
Logan quickly replaced his look of concern for one of contempt, but his eyes still lingered on the spot Victoria had previously been standing. After a moment, he turned to look at the technician, "Don't you mean get back to us throwing food at one another?"
Valdez, Alaska
September 7, 2018
14:53
Noah's foot sunk deep into the snow, the length between his knee and his heel covered completely by the powdery substance. To him, it was damn near impossible to keep in pace with the villain up ahead because of the billows, and even more impossible to remain completely quiet throughout his pursuit. With each step into the slush his teeth chattered loudly and painfully, his hands rubbing against his arms to create frictionalized heat.
When he was sure that he had descended far enough down the mountain, he brought his hand back up to his ear, this time more tremulous than his previous attempt. "Ghost K-K-King to team, I have eyes on K-K-Killer F-F-Frost," Noah stuttered painstakingly, his voice hoarse and tight.
The diviner blew out oxygen from his lungs and watched as they turned blue upon impact with the air, desperation for his team filling him upon the discovery.
"Coordinates locked, we are on our way," Sam's matter-of-fact voice replied. Relief replaced desperation, confidence pushing Noah to continue his stride forward.
It wasn't long before the boy could see McKenzie's wild hair sitting atop a tree, her frizzy locks poking out between the branches and brittle leaves in an obvious way; her all white suit doing nothing to camouflage her braided coiffure. Because of this, his eyes instantly flashed about to find the others in the forestry and shrubs.
Killer Frost stopped her walk then, and Noah's labored breaths paused in his throat, his heavy heart beat crashing against his rib cage. "I can feel your body heat, it's practically sickening," she sneered annoyingly, her hands rising up to her sides.
"Go," Sam ordered as he leapt off of his branch and onto the snow banks, his action quickly being followed by both McKenzie and Angel. At the sound of his command, Killer Frost's hands started to release hues of white and crystal blue, her blasts attempting to strike the younger teens.
Angel, with an ever growing and devilish smirk on his facs, broke cover first. His hands quickly maneuvered to his hip's pack, releasing a cascade of water before whipping it towards the villain expertly. His grin only increased in size as she froze the liquid mid-air.
"Oo, big mistake," Angel taunted fearlessly.
Before the villain had any time to retort, she was struck by the projectiles, similar to a batter striking a baseball: Alyn, with her entire body in an invisible form, had taken the icicle into her hands inches away from Killer Frost, before breaking it against the side of the benefactor's face. With only seconds to spare, Alyn managed to push the villain into Sam's line of fire, before dropping to the ground quickly.
"Oo, very big mistake," Angel continued cheekily when the woman practically flew backwards into a tree.
Sam lowered his hand to his side, his body evaporating from view before reappearing directly in front of Killer Frost. With his heel, the man kicked the woman in her stomach, sending her back into the tree's awaiting frame, or rather McKenzie's.
The serpent wrapped her lengthy tail around the base of the topiary and Killer Frost, successfully pinning the woman to the forestry.
The white-haired woman cackled then, despite what the team would call her evident arrest. "You know," she said confidently, "One of you isn't feeling so warm anymore."
Not long after her claim did Noah's body drop to the snow, his eyes rolling back into his head as he fell unconscious.
"What did you do to him?!" McKenzie shrieked, her grip on the villain loosening as her concentration broke. Killer Frost took the unguarded moment to break away from the serpent, before sending a powerful blast in her direction. Despite only meaning to incapacitate one hero though, Killer Frost's attack had also struck Alyn's invisible form, sending both of the girl's deeper into the icy terrain.
Alyn grabbed for McKenzie's injured form whilst mid-air, bringing the younger girl into her body in means to break her fall. When their bodies began obeying the rules of gravity once more though, the Turkish woman grew horrified as McKenzie's head snapped back and hit the mountainous rock, crushing Alyn's hand between the two.
Sam ignored her loud scream as his hand barreled into the villain's shoulder, before he connected his elbow with her temple.
"He doesn't look so good," Angel called out towards Sam with a nearly panicked tone. Noah's semi-frozen body was eerily still, his chest not doing so much as to even rise and fall. His skin was tinted blue, and that's when Angel realized that sometime during the battle, the villain had sent a deathly blast towards the necromancer. Angel, with desperation and concern filling him, screamed out, "Are you two okay?"
Alyn had already began walking back towards the group by the time the Hispanic teen had asked, McKenzie laying in her arms. "I don't know," the Muslim woman grunted through grit teeth, her face contorted into a permanent wince.
Mount Justice
September 7, 2018
18:19
Raja rubbed at his face in exhaustion, his eyes closed lightly as he absorbed the sunlight's rays on his face. From the mountain's rooftop he was able to look down onto the beach, the waves flowing onto the sand in soft wisps. It was peaceful to him, but more importantly it was peaceful to him alone.
He brought his cigarette back up to his parted lips before taking in another drag; his exhale allowing smoke to escape from his mouth in transparent gray clouds. Almost in unison the smoke danced out along with a his uneasy suspise.
"Hey Raja." Victoria's sudden presence might have startled the boy if he hadn't originally heard her footsteps ascending to the rooftop balcony. In a retort he threw up his left hand in greeting, not so much as turning around to look at her.
She walked closer to the area's edge, her hands gripping onto the protective bars ahead of her tightly upon arrival. "I didn't know you smoked," she commented lamely.
The two stared off ahead onto the beach and the setting sun, the orange sky illuminating them both in colorful patterns. "I didn't know you'd care," Raja said back in a mimic as he took another drag.
Victoria bowed her head down for a second, her forehead meeting her balled fists on the bar. "Have any more cigarettes?" Her question was sudden but lacked confidence, her somewhat broken tone shocking Raja.
"These things will kill you," Raja attempted to persuade her not to. Despite his uncaring tone and the relaxed facial expression, the Indian boy doubted he could be any more perplexed, or rather concerned, over the archer's well-being. To him, her behavior was way out of the ordinary.
She stuck out her hand expectantly. "That's okay," Victoria confirmed.
Raja turned the upper half of his body towards her, his eyes making contact with her's as he flicked the cigarette ash off the landing. "You're a kid Victoria. I'm not giving you cigarettes," he said.
"Listen Raja, I don't need you to be my parent," Victoria murmured as she fixated her eyes back where they were originally, "And if memory serves me right, it's illegal for a seventeen-year-old to be in possession of cigarettes anyways."
They remained in silence after that; Victoria's eyes hard on the scenery before her, and Raja focused primarily on her words, reminding him that she was, in fact, older than him. After another drag Raja spoke, breaking the quiet, "Why do you even want one? You don't smoke."
His comment forced a frown onto her face. "I heard they help with anxiety and stuff," she rattled back.
Raja wished he could tell her that it wasn't true, that it was only a myth, but he couldn't. After all, the only reason why he was currently smoking was to ease his anxiety over Noor's worsening condition. He mused.
Finally, Raja said, "If you have anxiety, talk to somebody about it. Don't ruin your chances of out living your mental illness because you killed yourself in the process of killing it." When his statement was over he crushed the end of his stick and then threw it into the garbage can near them.
Silence returned to Victoria as he retreated back into the base without her, his words filling his presence. The archer continued to stare off at the water below, this time with her frown a little less pronounced.
"How long has she been like this?" Oliver asked the small group, his eyes fixated on McKenzie's dazed and dissaciated ones in a surprisingly calm disposition. His question was aimed at either Sam or Angel, but it was Alyn who responded.
Raja, who had been wrapping the older woman's confirmed broken hand, stopped as she moved closer to the serpent. "About forty minutes," she estimated. She brought down her uninjured hand to rest upon McKenzie's as she spoke, "She hit her head really hard."
The woman couldn't help but feel guilty, knowing that if she had only protected the smaller and younger girl just a bit better that neither of them would be in this current predicament.
Victoria took a hold of McKenzie's other hand and began tracing soothing circles on her skin, all the while scrutinizing the demigod for any source of recognization. Ever since the group had returned back to the base from their mission, the girl had shown extensive evidence of being confused.
"Does she even remember what happened?" Victoria asked aloud. She had hoped that the serpent would turn to her then and rattle off every detail of her fight, but she only remained quiet.
"Can you tell me your name and today's date?" Logan asked the young serpent, a concerned expression etched deep into his face.
The girl blinked rapidly at his interrogation, her eyebrows lowering to meet each other on the very top of her nose. With clear hesitation and uncertainty, she responded to the medic's questioning, "My name is Daniel Adder..."
Before any of the others could question the demigod's contradicting answer, Logan stood abruptly to his feet, barking out a sharp, "Everybody out," as he did so.
The ebony-haired boy shivered as he attempted to remove his uniform, his trembling hands and reddened fingers struggling to remain steady enough to remove his frozen garments. The jacket that he had worn, which had originally been thick and puffy, clung to the necromancer's torso wet and hardened, as well as his bullet proof vest and under armor.
Noah hiccuped in frustration when his attempts proved futile. With despair hidden in his purple eyes he sunk to the bathroom floor, his back leaning against the sink's under cabinet as it wracked with shivers. He could no longer contain his body's twitching.
If I had just been a little faster, Noah chastised himself, then none of this would have happened... Mack losing her memory... Alyn's broken wrist... All my fault!
Noah clutched at his head desperately, his fingers intertwined with his hair as his arms shielded his face from an outside view. All my fault... he reiterated, his head connecting to the counter behind him. All my fault... His cranium made contact with the cabinet again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Noah's eyes, despite being wrinkled with closure, allowed tears to escape in inconceivable amounts and drip off of his jawline and onto his chest and lap.
Again.
By the time Logan was able to inspect the necromancer's condition, a concussion had been added to a list of diagnosed injuries.
Next chapter will explore even more angst-riddled topics, so readers beware for the next update. I will add another warning at the top of the next addition with more specifics when it occurs, but until then this is your warning.
I have questions! I know I keep forgetting to ask, but:
1. What is your character's hand writing like? Is it cursive/is it messy? What hand do they write with?
2. Does your character still attend school? If so, what is their school life like/what extra curriculars are they involved with? If not, what do they do instead? (This includes college)
3. How many languages does your character know? What's their first/preferred tongue?
Let me know ASAP!