Trigger Warnings: mentions of self-harm and rape in first scene and memory; if you wish to skip this, follow the bold until you reach Star Labs
Mount Justice
September 9, 2017
18:02
"I will be home soon mama, I promise. I'm just checking up on an injured friend of mine really quickly," Alyn pledged swiftly, her voice hushed as she talked into her cell phone. Even though the potential of one of her teammates overhearing her conversation at this hour was slim, her octave only dropped quieter as she asked about Mihrimah's health status.
"She is sleeping now, which is good, and her fever went down as well," her mother informed her tiredly, her accent thick and slurred from exhaustion. Instantly, Alyn sighed in relief at the news, her free hand reaching up to hover over her heart.
The Turkish woman spoke normally after that, her voice no longer timid, "Thank you mama for watching her. Get some rest now, okay? You deserve it."
Alyn hung up her device then, her worry replaced with ease. Her mother always managed to make her feel better, even if something horrid had occurred.
Because it did occur before, Alyn accidentally reminded herself, the horrible memories instantly cascading into her mind at incredible speeds. Despite not speaking her thoughts, the woman's hand rushed to cover her mouth like a child swearing in front of their parents. It was the uncontrollable flash of pain that steered over her body physically that broke her from her stupor, her thoughts continuing hazardly, and all I had was my mother...
Her delicate fingers, although bruised and swollen from her hand injury she obtained only hours earlier, traced the scarring she knew she had on her stomach. That had been the better of the cicatrixes, the ones she was least ashamed of.
There is a lot to be ashamed of, after all, Alyn mentally judged herself as she stared down at her body hauntedly, and I don't have anybody to blame for it besides myself. Her hatred and embarrassment only grew as she seemingly stared through her pants and at her bare thighs.
"When was the last time you felt the need to hurt yourself, Miss Sanem?" The concerned therapist asked Alyn cautiously as her gaze dropped down towards Alyn's jean-clad thighs.
Alyn chewed on her fingernail nervously as her dominate leg bounced up and down rapidly; her foot's quick bobbing creating a muffled scuffling sound. Her words were hesitant, "I haven't cut myself in weeks. The thoughts are always there though. I just- I don't know- I can't," the Muslim woman paused her retort as tears pooled upon the edges of her water line. "I feel disgusting. I can't stop feeling like- like he's still on me."
Her words were defeated, the shake in her limbs gone. Instead of the anxious tapping, Alyn resorted to rubbing her right thigh tenderly.
At the moment the slivered cuts were only fading scars, but it did not stop the phantom feeling she seemed to always be experiencing whenever her emotions fell below spectacular. Even when she wasn't acting upon her urges herself, her brain mimicked it for her—her subconscious cruel to the shaken up sixteen-year-old as well.
"I am so proud of you," the older woman said, "And I will always be remorseful about what happened to you."
Alyn sunk lower in her seat then, her hands gripping tightly against her biceps. Her eyes closed harshly as her tears began sliding down her face. Even though the woman's touch on her elbow was gentle, Alyn still flinched.
Victoria smiled lightly once more that night as McKenzie chortled loudly; the serpent's airy laugh filling the usually dim atmosphere of the medical bay with upmost contentedness. Her eyes, which for weeks had hid behind an apprehensive and petrified gloss, were clear and bright now as she joked with the Italian girl.
"-and for revenge, Yessenia bought two liters of glitter from Amazon!" The demigod revealed, her words almost incoherent because of how extreme her fit of laughter was. "And then she got mad that Amazons don't receive a special discount! Can you believe that?! She said 'I am an Amazon, I should get a discount from Amazon!'"
The archer chuckled under her breath at the younger girl's remark, her mouth hidden behind her propped up arm. Despite McKenzie's elated well-being, Victoria struggled to pay attention to her stories, her focus staying primarily on the bandage wrapped around the girl's cranium.
Victoria could not help but to survey the serpent almost nonstop for any additional signs of distress; the deity's quick recovery flabbergasting her completely. However, she was grateful that the previously thought severe head injury was barely a mild one. Finally, it seemed as if McKenzie was catching a break from the devastating turmoil she had been experiencing, and Victoria could not be happier for her friend.
"And what did Yessenia do next?" Victoria asked in attempts to further engage the younger girl in conversation. For a moment the serpent was quiet, a mixed facial expression of confusion and frustration spreading across her sharpened features. "Did she end up using the glitter?" The Italian continued, hoping to cause McKenzie to remember what had occurred next.
The two girls sat in eerie silence once more, the former waiting in suspense for her injured friend's retort. When it did not come though, Victoria simply shrugged it off; she did not want to overwhelm McKenzie with the seemingly never-ending events that had happened since the formation of the team. Even though the four (that being McKenzie, Yessenia, Logan, and herself) had only been together for a short amount of time, plenty of superfluous proceedings had happened since their start, and she did not expect McKenzie to remember them all in her current state of mind.
Victoria chewed on her lower lip as she waited, her leg bouncing up and down with anxiety the longer it took McKenzie to speak to her.
She was the one who broke the air's stillness.
"Why did you say your name was Daniel, McKenzie?"
Her question was rushed and sloppy, her eyes not quite meeting McKenzie's in fear that the serpent wasn't prepared for the serious inclination. It was an incredible surprise to her however when McKenzie exclaimed a chatty 'oh!', followed behind by a nonchalant, "That was my name before I came out as transgender. You didn't know?"
Victoria shook her head in response, a quiet "No," following suit respectively. Despite the fact that Victoria had reassuringly taken McKenzie's hand inside of her own bruised one just moments after the claim, McKenzie's cheerful attitude still turned grim as a look of horror crossed over her.
"Oh my god," the serpent stuttered in fear, "You didn't know I was trans, you must hate me," McKenzie assumed in a fit of panic. She slipped her hand out from Victoria's grip, before bringing it up to the roots of her frizzy locks. She burrowed her fingers deep into her hair as she rapidly shook her head from side to side. "You must think I'm a total freak now, I am-"
"Mac," Victoria interrupted the emotionally distraught girl. Before McKenzie could spiral herself further into a panic attack, Victoria chuckled out, "You turn into a fucking snake and your father is a Greek God. Trust me when I say that you being a girl is the least freakish aspect of your life."
McKenzie looked up from her feet. "Really?" She stuttered out in shock. "You don't hate me?"
"Of course I don't hate you, you're one of my best friends McKenzie. I love you regardless of what you identify as or who you love," Victoria comforted, a sincere smile plastered across her cheeks as she brought the demigod in for a tight hug. "Don't ever feel like you have to hide who you are away from me, or even the team. We care about you so much."
Star Labs
September 8, 2017
19:00
Dani, with a seemingly stultified countenance, encircled her arm around the front of the oncoming man's neck, her armored bicep grazing past his semi-parted lips and laying it flat across his facial area. Her hand soon found comfort on the rear of his cranium and, with the strength that she thought would make even Superman himself proud, she dropped him down towards the tiled ground.
"I think we got them all," Angel panted out lightly as he looked around at his teammates, a sheen of sweat pooled around his temples from his own previous fight. He surveyed the stark bright room momentarily for any signs of continued attack then but found nothing of worth.
"Well, even if Killer Frost doesn't show up, we still got to bust some heads open," Oliver joked wickedly; his smile wide.
Dani's eyebrows met in anger, evidence of mild annoyance seeping into her from her pores. "That's not the fucking point. We came for Frost, and we are leaving here with her," the ex-assassin promised coldly. It was not even a slight surprise to the ill-formed group that Dani's words were quite often venomous, especially when it came to the aspect of the criminal underworld.
Or rather crime in Star Labs specifically, the ebony haired girl thought bitterly, the threat of a memory surging throughout her head.
"Where did you even find a girl like that?"
From the outskirts of the interrogation room, the few but primary members of the Justice League had gathered; the heroes' focus planted on the intimidating stature of the assassin, or rather thief, who sat quietly on the other side of the glass. Her right elbow rested lazily on the cheap table ahead of her, her head resting in her propped open hand, almost as if she were bored.
She began to tap her fingers in a rhythmic fashion.
"We picked her up at Star Labs. She had set off a silent alarm when she was trying to steal Batrachotoxin," the Dark Knight answered gravely as he stared on ahead. For a moment it was as if she were looking directly at the hero himself, her fingers still tapping. "We matched her prints to a Dani Mayes."
"You don't mean-?"
The Blue Scout's surprised gaze met Batman's cool one, his question already answered without actual confirming words. To think that majority of the sinister criminal gangland bent to the will of a sixteen-year-old baffled even the League; however, they were no fools to Vandal Savage's feared killer.
Wonder Woman's glare deepened in thought, her words curious, "And what shall we do with her? She is only but a child."
"A child with a high body count," Superman reminded her earnestly. In truth though, he was also at a loss for what to do with the minor. Both turned to Batman expectantly.
"Its okay if she doesn't show up tonight guys," Noah said as he feigned his own positivity, his smile forced and shallow. He ignored the twitching and shivering of his hands as he continued his speech, his only true concern being to keep the peace between the young teenagers, "We still managed to arrest some thieves."
His words did little, if not nothing, to assuage the retired benefactor's fury. Her glare, which Oliver had previously been the receiver of, glided over to meet the necromancer's violet look. Her hand curled into a tight fist.
Angel, who had sensed his friend's irritation almost instantly, stepped in between the two, his arms spread out to keep them apart. With a maturity that was new to the Mexican boy, he set up a compromise for his opposing teammates. "Amigos," he started, his accent evident with only the short word, "Let's not get into a fight. We'll stay for another hour, but after that, we can head back to the base. Okay?" His focus constantly shifted from Dani to Noah in expectation.
The question was directed more towards the disgruntled teen than anybody else, but Dani turned away from the others angrily, her only response being the silence that followed suit. Much to the displeasure of both the water-powered teen and the technician, Noah offered nothing additional to what Dani had provided either.
Unknown Location
September 9, 2017
00:02
Raja was a quick learner and a heedful one at that. It had not taken him long to memorize the actions of each and every one of his teammates during flights to and from the secret base they all had shared.
Dani was a sleeper. She would often disrobe in front of the others, her only sense of modesty being the undergarments that she quite often would wear, before choosing a comfortable and desolate area upon the jet to nap upon. Her cycles of sleep were typically short-lived, but that did not seem to bother her in the slightest. To her, even a five-minute cat-nap proved helpful, and no one ever seemed to stop her from her attempts.
And Angel, without fail or exception of any kind, would always listen to music during the trips. For the short spurts of time, he was uncommonly quiet, not bothering anybody else as he would join his favorite artists in lip synced duos. His headphones were perhaps the most essential part of his costume.
Of course, I didn't need extra time to learn about Oliver's behavior, Raja thought cheekily as he glanced towards his left side. For the most part, the bomb technician would keep the Muslim boy company in whatever it is that he would be doing, whether that be piloting the ship or quietly praying. If he were to get bored, as he usually would, Oliver would attempt to start playful conversations with someone else. Oliver's positivity and kindness motivated his actions during trips.
Even Noah had become predictable: he was exclusively a texter. Instead of engaging with others like Oliver might or catching up on much-needed sleep, Noah preferred to text his girlfriend, sheepish blushes and small smiles setting the mood for whatever mission the team would embark upon. It was incredibly sweet, and Raja found it hard to remain stoic as the necromancer would grin dorkily.
This time around, however, Noah's phone was absent from his trembling hands, which sat inside of his trench coat's long pockets along with the hand warmers that Raja had gifted him with from the first aid kit.
That was something else Raja had learned about the younger male. He absolutely loathed admitting he was anything less than perfect, even if it was obvious. In this case, it was as apparent, if not more, as the sky was blue.
"There are blankets above your seat," Raja informed the dark-haired boy suddenly. "Give one to Dani, she looks cold," he had added the second part not because he had believed it to be true, but because he knew that Noah would only accept one if he thought it wasn't for his lone benefit. He was stupidly unselfish in that sense.
Many of them are stupidly unselfish, Raja internalized as he watched the short boy struggle to reach overhead.
Mount Justice
September 9, 2017
00:14
"Alyn! You're here!" McKenzie chirped excitedly as she spotted the older teen. "And you brought Sam with you!"
Victoria's shoulders tensed at the serpent's words, worry filling her at the sound of the red-haired man's name. For a moment she was fearful that Logan had not trusted her to watch over the girl by her lonesome, but the thought quickly subsided: if anything, he would have sent Raja instead to check up on the girls. The thought of Raja though made the girl uneasy however, the memories of the cigarette debacle still vivid in her mind.
Alyn smiled down at McKenzie. "You're doing much better, I see," she noted, "I'm really glad you remembered me, Macky."
"Of course I remember you," the snake said sheepishly, "after all, you were the one that saved me. You're kind of my hero."
Victoria zoned out of the two's conversation as her focus shifted onto Sam suspiciously. Since the two's arrival, he had been incredibly quiet, not so much as even greeting her or McKenzie. To the archer, it was almost as if he were here to study and observe the injured girl's actions, instead of caring for her as he should have.
Because he probably doesn't care, Victoria told herself. It was not often that she grew weary of individuals, but Sam had been the exception for her increasingly persistent paranoia. He is only here to diagnose us after the simulation and Batman doesn't think we will notice it. He can't seriously think we are all this dumb, can he? The thought of questioning the resident necromancer over Sam's presence crossed her mind then. If anyone would know what goes on in the Dark Knight's brain it would be Noah.
Victoria's glare continued to develop with each passing second and thought. It wasn't until Sam turned to her sharply that she brought contact.
"What does she remember?" Sam asked the archer privately, his tone suggestive towards a particular event.
The archer craned her neck up slightly to meet his dull blue eyes. She wasn't sure what she was searching for in his expression, but whatever it was, she was struggling to find it. "If you're asking me if she remembers what happened in the training exercise, the answer is no. Her memories are still forming, so they aren't that cohesive yet," Victoria said, her arms crossed over her chest.
Sam hummed in response, his eyes slowly moving to scrutinize McKenzie's shape once more.
I wish I knew what he was thinking, Victoria seethed angrily, almost offended by his nonchalant reply. That way I could tell if he deserves me beating the ever living shit out of him.
Her violent thoughts were interrupted by Alyn's soft speech, "You're doing a great job with McKenzie. Logan couldn't have left her in more capable hands," the Turkish woman complimented her earnestly. Despite the fact that her words were directed at the archer however, Alyn's gaze remained upon McKenzie.
"It appears that way," Sam agreed lowly. For the first time that night, Sam's attention slid onto the archer.
Loading Dock
September 9, 2017
00:15
"You can wake her up, you know. You don't need to carry her," Angel advised the Indian boy hypercautiously, his expression a concoction of astonishment and confusion as he watched Raja exit the jet with a resting Dani slumped into his arms. The cause of his astonishment though was even unknown to the Hispanic teen himself, as he wasn't quite sure which was more jarring: Raja's paternal side or Dani allowing herself to be carried away without obvious bloodshed.
With a large grin Oliver followed after his best friend, an amused mien growing with every protest Angel uttered. "Aw, leave the scary people alone. And hey, at least you didn't have to wake her up," the technician forewarned Angel jokingly, his elbow pestering into his teammate's ribs.
Angel opened his mouth to retort but stopped himself short. With a relieved tone, Angel muttered, "Yeah, you're right. When she gets that tired...well, let's just say Raja saved me from certain death."
"I can believe that," Oliver murmured back as he stared at the girl. "I'm surprised that Noah isn't also asleep in Raja's arms right now though, he looks beyond exhausted," at the mention of the necromancer's name, the two boys turned their heads slowly to look behind them. Walking at a distance, and with his phone rooted deep into his hands, the diviner yawned.
Suddenly, and without much warning, Noah's sleepiness retired. "Oh, she's here!" He exclaimed as he finally looked up from the small device.
"Who's here?" Angel interrogated the necromancer; however, Noah completely ignored him as he dashed out in front of the group of heroes. Sarcasm found itself implanted in Angel's voice as he spoke after Noah's fleeing figure, "Yeah, okay, cool. Thanks for answering buddy! We appreciate it!"
Despite Angel's claim though, he continued his stride, this time with more determination to reach whatever destination Noah was currently at without them. With Oliver in tow, and Raja and his cargo at the end, Angel led the way into the living quarters of the base; however, it was only when the quartet entered the official entryway that they spotted the anomaly in the room.
She was of a darker complexion, a warm-toned hue giving her a brighter appearance to that of an Indian tan, and her ebony hair also contained elements of the same scorching heat. Her face, although kind and good-willed, contained a thick scar which separated one of her eyebrows, which lay atop her midnight blue eyes. Everything about the tall teen stood out in comparison to Noah's deathly appearance.
Upon spotting his teammates, Noah called them over to introduce them to the newer girl. With all of them surrounding the couple, including a now awake Dani, Noah presented the girl to them, "This is my girlfriend Charlotte Rein. She's going to help us track down Killer Frost."
Charlotte extended her hand towards Oliver first, a bright smile matching the technician's own, "It's nice to finally meet-"
She was interrupted by a loud yelling coming from the living room, which sent the small group sprinting into its direction. Their arrival went mostly unnoticed, the others too preoccupied with their screaming and bickering to take the newcomers into account. It did not take long before they pieced together the story.
"Samuel Jackson Foster, you are unbelievable!" Alyn's stern and disappointed tone reverberated around the small space.
"I had to do what needed to be done!" Sam snapped wildly, his tone uncharacteristically livid as he slammed his hands down on the wooden surface ahead of him. His hands rested there momentarily, before finally rising towards his face in means of cover. In a much quieter voice, he added, "Can you imagine how traumatizing the repercussions would have been if we had lied to her about the simulation?"
Despite not being fully aware of the circumstances, Noah added into the conversation his own beliefs. "She was still recovering Sam," Noah reasoned, "She couldn't even remember her name the last time you saw her."
Victoria's teeth grit together painfully at the mention, her jaw clenched in fury. Her friend, her sister, had been happy for the first time in weeks, the burden of her feared failures not plaguing her mind, but Sam had ruined it. He ruined it, and he didn't even care that he did.
Her statement was sudden and sharp, "You didn't have the right. You weren't there."
"Who was going to tell her then?" Sam interrogated the girl harshly, his eyes downcast upon her in near accusation. "Because we both know you wouldn't have done it."
"Damn right I wouldn't have done it!" Victoria yelled out as she leaped from her seat on the couch. In order to construct her own emphasis, she marched towards the taller man, one hand clenched together tightly in a fist by her side as the other outstretched to prod Sam on his chest. "McKenzie was so ashamed of herself that she couldn't fucking look at us, Sam! I was so scared that she was going to end up getting herself killed just to prove a god damned point that she wouldn't allow her simulation to become her reality! And you, a fucking nomad to the team, decided that you were best fit to remind her she was the reason one of her best friends died!"
It was at this point that the archer had realized that she had shoved the psychologist into the opposing wall, his back pressed against the boundary dolorously. Hesitantly, she took a moment to gather herself and her thoughts, her hand releasing its grasp on the man. The others watched on, not wanting to stand between a furious Victoria.
"If you were there, you wouldn't have told her either," she finished solemnly in a hiss. She then pushed him away from her lightly, before spinning on her heels to walk back towards the couch. She was stopped mid-stride however by Sam's next statement:
"I don't have to explain myself to a teenager, Victoria. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings, but I don't care-"
He barely had time to finish his sentence before Victoria had struck him, her fist making clean contact with his jawline. He sputtered out in shock as Victoria quipped her vicious retort, "Wrong response, asshole."
Almost instantly everyone else stood to their feet, loud shouts of concern filling the previously eerie space in between the fits of punches.
"I'm back from Themiscyra!" Yessenia called out into the base loudly, 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 though 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 backward and forwards as he balanced Oliver on his back, who also attempted to snatch Victoria's weapon.
"Why would you remind her of that!?" Victoria snapped once again 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 onto 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?"
Raja grunted, "You aren't fighting Sam. No one is fighting Sam anymore!" His statement was sharp, and his glare was chilling as it landed upon Victoria's still-angered form. "So no more hitting him, even if he deserves it," Raja's disciplined.
His parent-like mentality confused the archer slightly, but she eventually succumbed to his words and handed him her crossbow's arrow. Even Oliver, who had grown notorious for his childish antics, slowly descended off from the Muslim boy's back.
With one last final glare towards the small group, Raja turned back towards the Amazonian princess. "Welcome back, how was your trip?" He asked her, almost as if she hadn't walked in on a potential murder.
The Amazon responded slowly, her expression still resembling one of confusion as she looked around the group once more. "It was glorious, thank you," Yessenia retorted with poise, her head held high to broadcast her new headpiece to the others. "What happened here though? And who is this?"
All eyes fell onto Charlotte then, and she waved her hand awkwardly in greeting, "Hey, I'm Charlotte, Noah's future wife."
The chilling feeling in the atmosphere lingered for a second longer before Yessenia chuckled. This break, although a bit inappropriate due to the circumstances, lifted the intensity. "Oh Tiny, that's adorable," The Amazon quipped with another giggle, delighted by the embarrassed heat that flushed across the diviner's face.
As always if anybody ever needs to talk (whether that be because of the trigger warnings or just in general) my inbox is always open. If you'd prefer a more anonymous exchange, I would recommend 7cupsoftea (although you would not be talking to me).
I am also sorry if your character was not in this chapter as much as others, as they will predominantly be the focus in upcoming chapters.
I also have questions, although these aren't as important as last chapter's (if you have not answered them already, now would be a great time to):
1. Does your OC like watching horror movies? If so, what movie scares them? If not, what do they like to watch?
2. Does your OC have social media? If so, what is it, what do they post, and are they popular?
3. Does your OC prefer hot weather or cold weather?