I hope that everyone is remaining safe and healthy during these unprecedented times, and remembering to take caution when leaving your home. I understand that things may be difficult for you all, so if you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask.
As per usual, triggering or potentially triggering scenes are marked with an asterisk (*), and they are not necessary to read in order to understand other elements in the chapter and/or story. If you would like a summary of said scenes in the future as to better know what is triggering, please let me know. With that being said, happy readings.
Unknown Location
January 1, 2018
00:04
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Noah struggled to maintain his balance as he limped forward, an obvious gait favoring his right side as he did so. His panicked eyes fluttered over to the opposite end of the room as movement drove nearer to him, and he couldn't help the almost silent whimper that escaped his raw throat as he threw himself backwards in terror. He landed on his behind painfully, before kicking out at the floor underneath him in order to scramble away.
Suddenly the dripping echo became much quieter.
He raised his free arm as quickly as he could in order to shield his already damaged body then. And the movement that once seemed so far away was now at his feet, and his trembling hand did nothing to hide away the figure from his gaze.
"No!" The necromancer hollered in an ear-piercing voice. "Not me!"
Mount Justice
September 12, 2017
18:30
Angel pretended to ignore Sam's unwavering stare as the man's icy blues practically pierced daggers into the teen's skin. However, this meant that the boy was now staring straight on at the necromancer, who fidgeted in his spot ahead of him quietly. He knew, just like how he knew Sam's stare was a mixture between anger and disappointment, that his pathetic excuse for the girls' disappearance bothered the newcomers in the room, especially Noah. The necromancer, despite his normal solemn look, appeared even more ruminative now with his downturned and hollowed expression.
And it hadn't even been Angel's fault that the girls had left, but he might as well have briefed the others on their unseen mission and showed them out with grace with how Sam and Noah had been scrutinizing him.
Angel's eyes quickly left the necromancer then. He would be lying if he said that the boy still didn't make him wildly uncomfortable, but the reasonings why were truly unknown to even himself. Perhaps, with as much speculation as Angel himself attempts on the subject matter, that the main reason why he felt so uncomfortable with him was due to the nature of his powers—they were too similar to Death's for Angel's liking. He had read the case file, sure, all the members of the so-called Batman squad had: Death, uncaptured, no known alias, no known crimes, powers unclear. Perhaps that's what bothered them all the most about Death, he simply showed up where corpses were found without any words. He was an enigma.
Noah stared back at Angel suddenly then, as if he was somehow able to hear the water-powered teen's unsettling thoughts. And, just like Angel had been with Sam just a moment earlier, the necromancer's purple eyes averted to the other side of the room awkwardly.
"Well," Sam's interjection to the silence wasn't nearly as awkward as it should have been, "Do we know where they are?" His question, despite the overall appearance of being intended for Angel, was directed towards Raja.
Almost immediately, Raja arched his eyebrows in question towards Oliver, who was the last to see and communicate with the girls. In turn, the technician stretched his lips into a comical and awkward frown, his shoulders raised up in a "I-don't-know" manner. With a sigh, Raja mimicked the motion back at Sam.
"Oh, you're joking," Sam sighed, his ungloved hand meeting his eyebrow ridge in frustration.
"Give us a break, they didn't leave us a note," Oliver began, his voice tight. He stood strong by Angel's side, and sent the smaller boy a quick, but caring, glance. He watched as Raja did the same.
With his eyes still averted from the Mexican teen, Noah spoke up once more, "Did they give you guys any indication on where they were going? Do you have any idea?"
I know Lotte was introduced to the team to find Killer Frost, but she wouldn't go out without me, would she? Noah's worried thoughts distractingly replaced his internal shiver, the ice he was feeling in his fingertips vacant. He wasn't quite sure what he was more petrified of, exactly—his girlfriend running off into potential danger without knowing who she was up against or his girlfriend running off with his friends without him.
The necromancer inhaled his air quickly, but quietly then, in an attempt to squash his panic.
"Well, their bikes are long gone and it isn't like we have trackers on them or anything," Oliver said with yet another shrug, interrupting Noah from his thoughts, before bending down slightly to sit on the couch. There was a beat of silence once more then as the majority of the boys either face palmed or murmured what should have been an obvious most notable answer, however, was Angel's interjected quick-witted scheme.
Angel wasn't sure why his mouth moved as quickly as it did then. Maybe it was an attempt to make Sam less stressed with how things were panning out recently, but almost excitedly he stepped forward, his tone low and almost suggestive. "Alright, well it's not fair that the girls get to go out and we don't. We have trackers on their bikes, we should just go out and follow them."
His words enticed Oliver first, the taller male swinging himself back onto his feet in a faux dramatic fashion as he turned to face the others, "Well, I've got nothing better to do with my life. Raja?" He tilted his head in his friend's direction, a sly smirk appearing on his face.
"Yeah, alright, I'm in," Raja said without much hesitation.
"I'm in too," Noah's voice was quiet and surprising, and brought attention back on himself that he previously shook off. His arms, which were originally crossed in front of his chest, moved to lay on his hips then as he reaffirmed his utility belt.
"Well, I'm going to pass," Sam somewhat sneered, disbelief clearly etched onto his stone-like features, "The last thing we need is to make the girls think that we don't trust them." His stance mirrored the necromancer's almost precisely, but his look out onto the others was far harsher. This time, however, Angel did not look away. He kept his eyes trained onto Sam.
The ginger, who usually stood taller than most, had a shrink in his shoulders and a shake to his lips then. The harsh look in his eyes that was there moments ago looked tired and broken now, as if one argument would bring him to his knees. He looked how Angel felt—hated. And despite the distrust that Angel had for him now, he couldn't help but feel guilty, and overall sorry for the man, especially when he had always been there for Angel.
"Um," Angel started with hesitation, his right hand wringing at the back of his neck nervously. His feet, which were planted out in front of where he was comfortably sitting, exchanged frenzied tapping, as if taking turns with one another. With another mutter, Angel pondered, "Can I ask why you called me in here?" His question was laced with an awkward brim.
Sam smiled back down at him. "You started a fight with Dani," he informed, his legs bringing him over to a table to lean up against. His arms crossed over his chest then, with his feet mimicking that position over the other. "You know she'd kill you if given the proper opportunity, right?"
Angel let out a bitter chuckle. "I think I could take her," he said proudly, his frenzied tapping coming to a halt as he sat up straighter.
"It took three Justice Leaguers to bring her down," Sam continued to inform, his tone almost a wince in and of itself. He watched as Angel's head momentarily bowed, before quickly recovering with an ever-so-famous grin. His grin, as if Sam needed to remind him, was bruised and bloodied, the imprint of Dani's knuckles swelling around where his lip crashed against his teeth. "And she definitely could have done more damage if I didn't phase her through you."
The water-powered teen rolled his eyes with a loud huff, "She's just a fucking girl—"
"You wish she was just a girl," Sam interrupted with a displayed hand, as if he could physically stop Angel from his words.
Angel almost bit his tongue in an attempt to remain silent then and not continue his verbal stew, but he couldn't help himself from lashing out again, his feet continuing their dance as a quiet sniffle began, "You just don't understand what I'm dealing with right now."
"Try me."
Angel became quiet then, his eyes trying hard to remain dry. With a small exhale of breath, he whispered, "Um, my, uh, mom has... cancer and it doesn't look like she'll make it."
Sam's stoic expression broke momentarily, a saddened and concerned mixture interrupting his professionalism. "You're right, I don't understand," Sam admitted with a curt head shake, "But that doesn't mean I can't try. The only thing I, or anyone, can really do for you right now is to try to understand, but you have to let us. You have to ask for help."
Angel nodded, too afraid to use his words in case he voice would break. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to appear weak, especially in front of someone who he looked up to. But, Angel thought, maybe the strongest thing you could do was admit you needed someone to listen to you. He looked back up at the ginger with another nod.
"Thank you," he murmured, as if too embarrassed to use his voice to its full extent. And, although the red-haired man said nothing in return, he palmed a card into the younger boy's hand that contained his contact information. It was simple, but strangely what Angel had needed in that moment.
"Let's get you some ice for that face."
"They decided to go clubbing?" Noah questioned in disbelief, his eyebrows shooting up towards his hairline in shock. His eyes, which were previously hardened on the blinking yellow dots stationed in front of him, flew over to stare at Oliver, Angel, and Raja. His gaze, much like before, seemingly blamed the others for their disappearance. "They're underaged!"
"Does it look like they came to me with a permission slip or something?" Raja rebuffed in defense, as if offended that Noah shouted his remark in the first place.
Noah shook his head then, as if he didn't quite hear what the Muslim man had said to him, "Why would they leave the base to go clubbing in a city halfway across the nation?" His question brought forth a small pace to his legs, one hand's thumb under his chin in thought. His internal words raced by him quickly as he seemingly went through all possible causes, each more confusing than the last. To him, all he could think about before were the girls going after Killer Frost without the remainder of the team, but now? It was perfectly within his girlfriend's character to go to a party.
"Well standing here isn't going to do us any good," Angel said from his spot next to Oliver, his eyes watching as Noah crossed back and forth rapidly, "And if we want answers, we should go out and get them." He then spun on his heel in the direction of the garage, his hand reaching towards his back pocket for his masked bandana.
Before Noah could follow him fully, Oliver stopped them with an outstretched hand, his own version of disbelief surfacing. "We are going to the club, and you two are dressed like the lamest Power Rangers in existence," he paused to turn towards Logan then, who had been standing quietly near the door by himself, "and you have on an army uniform from a country we do not live in. If any of us are going out, we need to change."
"Alright, we will regroup here in five minutes, got it?" Angel ordered, the word 'here' resulting in him pointing his finger down towards the ground. "And if you aren't back by then, we are leaving you behind."
The technician chuckled briefly, as if attempting to clear the air. "Jeez, who died and made you king?" Oliver joked with a sly grin as he walked around Angel, this time not bumping into him. He was cautious, as if afraid to overstep his boundaries, and Angel watched with distrust as Oliver exited.
For a moment, Angel almost wished that Sam were in the room with them as well, if only to give him the peace of mind that his distrust was warranted. He knew that the elder would provide it as well, especially given their offhand assignment that Batman had given them regarding the core members of the team. He knew that Oliver wasn't the intended focus of the study, but Angel couldn't help but observe him as well.
Someone that cheerful is always hiding something, the water-powered boy thought as he followed the technician out, his gut still wrenching in suspicion.
Midway City — Destinee's Underground Night Club
September 12, 2017
19:20
"So Lake Michigan?" Dani repeated Alyn absentmindedly, her hardened gaze focused entirely on the back exit to the club.
After the signal had been spread to the entirety of the squad, they left in small hoards to the back alley of the sketchy nightclub, where all that was there to greet them was a sleeping homeless man and the pungent smell of rotten food mixed with cheap alcohol. Dani was even sure that if she thought more about it, she would be able to determine what brand of tequila was now fuming off of her weathered leather jacket.
Alyn released her hair from its hold as she spoke, "That's what I was told, yes."
"Great, so let's go," Yessenia chimed in towards the back of the group, taking a step forward as to assimilate herself into the formed mass. Her step brought her in between Charlotte and Victoria, the former standing a bit too close to Yessenia's best friend for her liking.
"I think it's time to call in the others," Alyn murmured quietly then, her hand already traveling to her pocket in order to retrieve her cell phone. For a moment her fingers fumbled, the manila wrappings from her injured hand getting caught in the fabric of her sweatshirt.
Yessenia shook her head almost violently then as she protested. "No way! We got this far by ourselves! Besides, the boys are busy dealing with Death without us," she started, before looking over at Victoria for back up. The archer remained quiet though, as if ignoring Yessenia in her entirety, her gaze fixated on Alyn's injury.
A knot pulled in the center of Yessenia's stomach then. She wasn't used to the archer not immediately backing up her and her claims, nevertheless ignoring to meet her eyes. Quickly, it brought a nervous fidget in the Amazonian's fingers.
Before Yessenia could stammer out a lame response, or probably even a prespun apology for an offense she was unsure she committed against Victoria, Dani hummed out loud interrupting her. "The boys are better off back at base in case we need medical attention. Right now they would just be a hazard to the mission."
No one challenged Dani's statement, and Yessenia wondered if that was out of respect or fear of the ex-assassin.
"Dani's right. In case anything happens to one of us again, we can't afford to have them not be set up back at base," Victoria's sudden agreement caused Yessenia's eyes to snap back over to her. How could she back up Dani and not her? Especially given that they both had the same stance?
With a tremored but quiet sigh, Yessenia's head bowed down towards the ground, her arms wrapping around herself tightly. She continued to remain solemn and quiet as the group made their final arrangements, and continued to stand small in the alley for an extra moment as they dispersed. For a moment, Yessenia waited to see if Victoria would stop and wait up for her to follow, but the moment never came. Instead, without much additional thought, the archer led the way to the Zeta-Tube located two blocks away.
Charlotte attempted to ignore the sudden onslaught of disorientation as she stepped out of the Zeta-Tube, her vision flooded with the blinding, but cascading white light. Immediately, her right hand reached out to balance herself in preparation to stumble; however, her vision returned before that became necessary. With a soft groan, she mumbled, "Don't like that."
"It gets better every time you go through," Alyn said sweetly, bringing out her uninjured hand to help guide the witch if she wanted the aid.
"No, it doesn't," Dani corrected. Then, with a somewhat bored expression, the ex-assassin kicked herself off the brick wall she previously was leaning against, twin swords materializing in her hands from the hilt up.
Yessenia, from her shadowed spot beside the ex-assassin, watched as the others mimicked Dani's actions, each producing their own signature weapons from hidden compartments in their clothing. Even Victoria retrieved a miniature, collapsible crossbow from inside her jacket's lining, as well as its shortened arrows from her combat boots—much to Yessenia's surprise. She then felt even lamer than before, especially as it seemed that even the new girl had something to show that she had prepared for this night.
With a soft exhale, the superpowered teen observed the white mist that escaped from her lips, a tale-tell sign that it was below freezing out. She was unsure though if she could attribute that fact to their destination, which is known for its wintry environment, or for the possibility that Killer Frost was watching them from a distance. In a voice that somehow matched Dani's attitude, Yessenia spoke, "How can we even be sure that this tip was good?" Her gaze, which normally would fall on her best friend, instead landed on Alyn.
"That's why you have me," Charlotte spoke, the wave of instability vanishing from her appearance then, "I was unable to track her lifeforce before, but I can feel her now. She's somewhere near." Her confident nod attempted to mask her curious gaze then, her eyes almost half-lidded as she observed the others with care. The empath couldn't help but feel the overwhelming emotions protruding from the others, none moreso than the princess ahead of her, her practically appearing to be drub.
"Good enough for me," Yessenia granted, before kicking off the wall similarly to how Dani had done it moments prior. Ignoring the others, specifically Charlotte's newfound gaze, she bounded off then in a direction that she hoped was accurate, her stance stronger than it was earlier. If there was one thing Yessenia prided herself in doing, it was fighting.
And I'm not going to let anyone get in the way of that, Yessenia mentally concluded, even if it's my team.
* Mount Justice
September 12, 2017
19:30
"Hello!" McKenzie yelled out slowly from the hallway, one hand cupped around her mouth to elevate her voice. "Hello! Guys!" She continued to holler as she made her way into the living room. The silence that bit her back when she entered the large area stung, and so did the sight of the empty couch, which had Dani's lacrosse stick leaning against the back of it haphazardly.
With a small sigh, she took a seat, her body barely taking up one fifth of the couch's length. Her legs were pressed together tightly, and her arms held onto the other like a new jacket. She wondered, if only for a second, if this was to be the new dynamic of the team: them leaving her behind constantly without even a word as to where they were going, and if everything and everyone were okay. And for another brief second, she thought that she deserved that.
"This is what I get for being a bitch," she said hollowly, continuing her thoughts out loud. If only she hadn't been mean to the others, especially when they were only trying to help her, would things maybe be different. She shook her head to stop the potential of new tears forming. "No," she muttered, "They left because I have a head injury. They couldn't bring me along for my own safety."
The words calmed her, but didn't make her feel any less guilty for her actions. When Raja had spoken to her earlier that day, she had nothing but a cloud of anger hanging over her, the lightning deadly, but now, with only herself to keep her company, the cloud had whitened.
He was on their side, she reiterated with another choke of a sigh, he said they were good people and they cared for me. She thought harder, but the only recollection she was making was that of Yessenia's limp body pooling out of her very own grip, and her anger once again returned. She remembered the heat in her cheeks and ear tips, and the tears dripping from off her angled face.
She remembered. She remembered. She remembered.
Yessenia's eyes had looked at her with such fear, although they were empty and cold. McKenzie's own hands had been cradling her friend's cooling corpse as her tears and screams echoed out, the blaze of a fight happening in the background. No one had stopped for what had happened; no one but her seemed to care.
A flash of pain licked at her temples then, causing her to gasp and flinch out. Her hands immediately went to the sides of her head, and her fingers entangled with her hair in attempts to remedy the agony. She remembered.
Yessenia was crying out and begging, the fear that McKenzie remembered being worn on her face, but it wasn't for her own life. Her gaze followed Yessenia's towards the floor as Victoria's body lay on a dirt-clad floor, her muscles spasming before abruptly coming to a stop. Her skin was that of an angered red, with patches of burnt rind matching the sickening smell wafting off of her. With a shriek, McKenzie forced her hands up to her nose in an attempt to mask the aroma.
Without thinking, Logan dropped to his knees and began chest compressions, blantaily ignoring the dangers surrounding him in the hopes that he would be able to save her life. Despite his efforts and McKenzie's hopes, Victoria did not reanimate, and the look of hysteria was truly captured in Logan's appearance as unshed tears washed over his eyes and his jaw trembled. It was only then that she recalled being able to hear the medic sob.
Noah's desperate gasp for air broke McKenzie's attention suddenly then, her eyes flashing over to him without glittered sword that pierced his chest reflected McKenzie's stunned semblance, his spattered blood interrupting the glow of her face.
She watched as Noah's bloodied body not even collapse fully on the floor before the life completely left his eyes, his smirk still present despite itself. And the sword that had protruded out of his chest just moments ago was gone in a flash, only leaving a gaping wound behind as blood flooded the floor and spread behind them with no remorse. Horrified, McKenzie's eyes desperately attempted to find a spot around her that wasn't painted in ashed skin or Noah's blood, but her luck was interrupted.
No, no, no, McKenzie panicked as her eyes hardened on Noah's body in shock. He was so small and so young, and oh my God, I can't breathe. Her focus kept shifting at the speed of her hammering heart, her movements almost manic as she took in the smell of Victoria's burning skin mixed in with Noah's non-stop bleeding. No! She continued, this time tears leaking as she watched Logan's stubborn hands breaking Victoria's ribcage in order to revive her, the sound startling her each time one snapped. She didn't even have time to fully absorb the silence before Logan fell to his side, just as dead as the others. A sword clattering to the ground near his corpse.
It happened so fast, and McKenzie barely had time to register that all three of their bodies were displayed out in front of her, just this time it being far more present than the last. The dirt-clad floor was replaced with a gray rug, and the distance she once had to the bodies in her memory were gone as she stood practically on top of Victoria's damaged and sizzled cape.
"No!" She recognized the voice as her own as she faltered back, almost tripping over the couch's cushions. Her exclaim only got louder and more terrified as Dani's lacrosse stick fell to the ground then, much like Ares's sword had. The thud, mixed in with the sudden pressure of something encircling her waist, caused her to scream out once more, her eyes closed tightly, as she fought, "Please stop! Stop!"
"McKenzie!" The sound of her name almost instantly brought her out of her panic, the familiar voice calming her down. The hands that were previously restraining her now seemed to be steadying her trembling body, her shivers intense even now. "I got you," the voice repeated. Slowly, McKenzie began to open her eyes, and they fluttered over to Sam's downturned face.
"I-" She started, her voice cracking. She kept her gaze on Sam, as if she were scared that if her eyes faltered, even for a moment, that the nightmare would once again begin for her. Her eyes shut once again as she wrapped her arms around Sam's body, her face tight against his chest as she screamed out a muffled sob. "Make it stop!"
"Make what stop?" He was curious and outstretched his arms to bring her away from him. He studied her face then, watching for any sort of reactions she might be able to provide him.
It was a quick leap from her eyes to the floor, and Sam followed the lead. Confused, McKenzie seemingly tried to conjure up the bloodstains with her glare, as if she needed for it to reappear in order for her panic to be valid or her screams to not have gone to waste. Instead, her world went quiet and still, similar to Sam's world.
She wiped her swollen nose with her right hand then, and shook her head. Surprising even herself, she no longer preferred Sam's company—it was detached and far colder than she imagined it would be. He was almost exactly how she pictured Batman's care to be, and although it was what she asked for just hours ago, she now craved the embrace of any of her friends. She almost needed them out in front of her physically to prove to her fractured mind that they were well.
"Where is-" she paused to fix the break in her voice and to clean up under her eyes, "Where is everyone?"
"I don't know," Sam replied. The words felt almost illegal leaving the man's throat then, as if they didn't belong in the psychologist's vocabulary. It was stunning, to say at the least, "The girls left some time ago, and the others just left to go and retrieve them."
Then, with an almost awkward pat, he touched her shoulder. And if she hadn't been serious before in wanting to be surrounded by Victoria, Yessenia, Logan, and Noah only, she was serious now. She watched him depart, her body still wracking in panicked tremors, before shutting her eyes once more. She deduced that she would rather die than ever have to deal with that occurrence once more.
Midway City — Destinee's Underground Night Club
September 12, 2017
19:30
With a stunned expression, Angel watched as the bouncer before him snapped his fake ID in two, the differing pieces being held in the man's calloused hands. The sudden and too-audible cracking of plastic rang out in Angel's ears, even despite the loud techno music coming from inside the club and Oliver's subtle cackling from behind.
"Beat it," the man sneered, his hand outstretched to drop the scraps of what once was the ID to a fictional Alejandro Ramos into Angel's awaiting hands. "And take your friend with you," the bouncer added with a stiff head jerk, the direction pointing at Noah, or rather Nico Roberts.
The two shared a brief glance at one another then, as if mentally conversing with one another what their next actions would be. Before Angel had time to commit a violent act however, Oliver spoke out, "Move out of the way man, the rest of us are trying to have a good night," acting as if he never met the younger boy before. Angel was humiliated, and he was sure that the necromancer felt the same way.
The technician then sidestepped the two younger boys and met the eyes of the bouncer, who had to look up to properly meet Oliver's gaze. Without a word of distrust, or even a brief glance down at an ID, Oliver was able to enter the bar, just like Raja and Logan were able to not even a minute earlier.
Angel huffed out the air he didn't even know he had been holding, before stomping off in frustration, his legs automatically moving towards the back alley. Stunned, Noah followed suit, a sheepish look inaudibly apologizing to the bouncer behind him as he bound to catch up with his teammate.
"Great," Angel groaned, "I finally try to take the lead on a mission and I'm babied out of it almost instantly." Then, as if he needed to emphasize his point, he kicked at the litter in front of him, the nearly empty bottle of beer spraying left-over liquid over the hems of the boys' pants and dampening their shoes. "Fuck!"
Noah attempted to hide his wince, but his eyes still shut almost painfully. He decided, without a further glance back at Angel, to bring his back towards a wall, before sliding down into a sitting position. He was annoyed, sure, but mostly tired, and he figured he could be patient for ten minutes so that the trio of adults could retrieve his girlfriend and the others. He watched as Angel followed suit, but not before kicking another pile of rubbish first.
They both stared at the parked bikes that they knew belonged to the girls together then, pretending that they weren't being taunted. With a small exhale, Noah reiterated internally, they will be back in no time with the girls and then we can leave.
Raja barely had time to spare a firm glance back at Angel and Noah before Oliver bounded forward in the club excitedly, his head bobbing along to the beat of the music. His aim, or at least what Raja could assume of him, was headed towards the bar, where a pretty girl had waved Oliver over to with a flirty smirk.
With a brief shake of his head, Raja reverted his attention back towards the crowd, his eyes attempting to find any one of the girls. Overall, he had figured that Dani would be the easiest to find, given that the sixteen-year-old was almost as heavily tattooed as him, with blue-tipped hair as an added bonus; however, it seemed as though that the majority of the occupants present sported something of the sort, especially given the dark lighting. They all, for a lack of a better term, resembled Dani in some fashion. With a soft huff of frustration, he turned his back to the crowd and redirected his attention back on Oliver.
Even from a distance, Raja could tell that the technician was heavily flirting with the woman, his laugh loud as he touched her knee. Once again, Raja shook his head at his friend's antics.
"So, are you going to remind Oliver he is here for a mission, or shall I?" Raja attempted to joke aloud with an endearing grin, his voice loud enough to overthrow the blaring music around him and Logan. His eyes filtered off of the technician momentarily then towards Logan, who stood slightly behind him, his eyes still present on the crowd ahead.
"They aren't here," the Russian said almost too seriously, looking up towards Raja as he did so.
"Yeah, I noticed," Raja retorted with a small frown, his gaze also dropping down towards the other then. "Hey, are you-?" Raja paused in his question to gather his words, his voice hesitant but careful, "-are you okay? You've been quiet, moreso now than usual. Did something happen with Sam and Noah earlier?"
"I'm fine."
"Sure you are."
He wasn't exactly sure what he anticipated Logan's response to be, but he assumed that the silence he received back wasn't that off character for him.
When Logan's silence didn't quite let up despite the growing awkwardness between them though, Raja continued, "I'm not dropping it, I hope you know that. We can talk about it after finding the others though. "
It was only then that Raja had noticed how close the duo were to one another, and how slightly Logan's neck was craned up in order to meet Raja's eyes. And for a moment, no words were shared between them.
Finally, with a stuttered breath, Raja took a step backward, a clammy hand wringing at the back of his neck almost awkwardly. "Uh, I'm going to reel in Oliver," Raja stammered, before forcing himself through a small horde of people towards the bar.
Raja barely had time to make his destination before a snively, mousy-haired man fell out onto the main area's flooring, his voice booming over the music in a desperate attempt to be heard, "Where the fuck is she?!"
Crud, Raja internalized, that 'she' is probably one of mine. Then, as if needing to prove Raja right of his hypothesis, the galling man continued to bellow out, "That little cop-bitch was up my ass about Killer Frost and where the fuck she was."
At the foremention of potential law enforcement being involved, multiple clubbers turned hostile, each looking accusingly at their dance partners. None so, probably, more than the woman that Oliver had been talking to earlier about the same topic, who then angrily pitched a formerly concealed pocket-knife at the boy's jugular.
Instantly, and without much additional thought, Raja closed the foot or so gap between them, before abruptly slamming the malefactor's head into the counter in front of her. Seemingly unfazed by the altercation, Oliver quickly matched his friend's change in behavior.
"Well, this is awkward," the technician quipped, before ducking out of the way of a thrown glass bottle. Instantly, it shattered against the wall behind him, the fragments of the darkened green shards dispersing across the counter and flooring as it did so.
With a crunch in his step, Oliver was quick in his movements in order to not only defend himself, but Raja, who defended the other just moments ago. With a lunge, his fist effortlessly made contact with a man who had charged at them both, his knuckles connecting with the grisly man's mandible before he collapsed to the ground. Similarly, Raja also lunged in the opposite direction, his right hand pushing against the next attacker's neck, his hand cupping the base of it to throw him down to the floor head-first.
It was the sound of a pistol cocking that brought Raja to the attention of Oliver, who now stood with the weapon positioned for his head. "Your excuse for barging in on our territory better be fuckin' good," the wielder snapped, his finger teasing the trigger mercilessly.
Before either boy could properly react however, Logan had appeared by the thug and rescinded the slide of the gun, ejecting not only the bullet from the chamber, but the overall magazine. Then, with as much force as the smaller soldier could muster, he cupped the underneath of the gun and forced it into the malefactor's face with an audible cracking of bone.
"Well, I guess you know we are here for a mission now," Raja lamely joked with Oliver, who scoffed with a grin, before turning to defend himself from another gunman.
Lake Michigan; Warehouse District
September 12, 2017
19:36
Yessenia suddenly paused mid-step, her right arm extracting itself from her jacket's pocket to bar the others from continuing their stalks. With her head slightly craned downwards, the young princess struggled to focus her hearing on the one-sided conversation occurring from across the lot. Her eyes shut.
"What do you hear?" Victoria whispered from behind, her heartbeat increasing in tempo. The archer then attempted to step forward silently, but the snow crunched underneath her boot. "Is it her?"
"It is, it's-" Yessenia paused briefly, her face continuing to scrunch together in an effort to channel her hearing more. "-it sounds like she's on the phone with someone."
The others remained silent from their positions, their breathing low and even so as to not bother the super-powered teen in her endeavor. Even the awkward stance that Victoria had placed herself in, one foot stretched out in front of the other, remained still out of fear of distracting her teammate with the menial movement.
Gradually, Yessenia's barred arm started to lower back down to her hip. With a quiet timbre, she then began repeating Killer Frost's words back to the others, "Your condition is continuing to progress into Stage Four. Without adequate treatment, you aren't expected to live much longer."
She pivoted then towards Victoria, confusion evident on her face. "MacGregor's Syndrome?"
It was then Charlotte's turn to look confused, her eyebrows furrowing in thought. "That's the condition that Mr. Freeze's wife, Nora, has. But Fries placed her into a cryogenic stasis a couple of years back because there was no treatment available for her." Against her better judgment, Charlotte took a daring step forwards towards the others.
Yessenia didn't react to the movement whatsoever though, and instead, she continued to relay the information that she was privately gathering. "I don't give you much into the new year before you succumb to the illness. I'd recommend either advancing your efforts with the necromancer or following Mr. Freeze's philosophy.
At the mention of Noah, all eyes seemingly looked towards Charlotte, some more discreet than others. With various expressions present and various emotions currently being felt between the group, the empath struggled in determining what her own feelings on the matter were. She assumed it was a mixture of confusion and horror.
"What could they want with Noah?" Yessenia asked the witch, perhaps far harsher than she had been intending.
"I don't know. He still won't talk about the Killer Frost mission with me," Charlotte said. Her tone was kinder than the other girl's but included the same level of intensity and concern.
"Okay," Alyn finally spoke, before taking in a deep breath, "I really think we should call in the boys now. We are in way over our heads." Her hand began inching towards her cell phone once more, this time hoping to not be stopped from her anxious actions.
Charlotte shook her head almost violently then, her lips firmly pressed together as she did so. "I don't want Noah here until we know more of what's going on," her words were tight. And although she had all the training in the world to prepare her for a situation like this, the girl couldn't help but feel slightly perturbed.
"We could request everyone but him, we just-"
It was surprisingly Dani that interrupted the older girl, stopping both Alyn and Charlotte from speaking. "Noah could be the one with Stage Four MacGregor's Syndrome and he would still find a way on this mission," Dani was exact in her words. And although her primary reason for categorizing the boy's personality and behaviors weren't for the sole purpose of preserving his well-being, she felt the need to release this information prematurely.
"Shit," Alyn mumbled uncharacteristically. "Okay, then we need to just return to base. We can't jeopardize ourselves for the sake of this mission. It's too dangerous with just the five of us."
"Four," Dani mumbled.
At the correction of her words for the second time that night, Alyn, almost manically, spun on her heels as to properly assess who the missing individual was. When her eyes did not immediately find Yessenia, she started down the hill towards the warehouses the princess had pointed to earlier. She could not allow another McKenzie situation to happen on her lead.
The next update will focus on more triggering topics, such as family-related death, trauma, suicidal thoughts/actions (specifically in regards to self-harm), and mental illness, hence the breakpoint being here. If your OC was not written in detail in this chapter, it can be expected that they will be the ones involved in such topics. Given that, I figured it would be in poor taste to post a chapter that extreme without prior warning, especially during the holiday season.
That being said, this chapter's questions are:
1. What is the general mood towards the holidays like for your OC? Why?
2. What holidays do they celebrate, if anything? Does this change if other team members celebrate differently? (Ex: Your OC does not normally celebrate Christmas, but would participate in Christmas activities because others do).
3. What is the most prominent memory regarding the holidays for your OC? This can be either positive or negative.
Anyways, thank you all for reading.