A/N: Hello everyone! I apologize for not updating in a little while! I've been so busy that I've had to put two of my stories on "slow update" status. But luckily, this one isn't one of them. So even though it may seem like I don't update this too often, I'm actually updating a lot more quickly than some of my others. So I took the advice of one of my reviewers and made this more of a team bonding chapter instead of doing the fight training. It's more interaction with Robin and Kid Flash, but don't worry, the others will get their chance later. It's really hard to balance all of the characters! Anyway, thank you sooooo much for the reviews, follows, and favorites and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 6: Just Relax!
Stevie popped up and out of bed as she heard a sharp knock on her door. She rubbed her groggy eyes, a yawn escaping her lips. Who could be knocking on her door at this hour? Her eyes found the clock and she realized that it was actually 2:00 in the afternoon... It was probably because she had stayed up late into the night thinking about Robin and Batman and whoever her parents were. A lot had happened yesterday and it was all stuck on her mind. But right now, she was going to see who was at her door.
Slowly, she moved toward the door, yawning once again. She pressed the button on the wall and the door opened to reveal Robin and Kid Flash. Robin was actually in normal attire (jeans and a blue shirt), though he had a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. Kid Flash was also in normal clothing that consisted of a white shirt and jeans. He had a small bag of chips in his hand and he was munching on them.
"Hey Stevie. I was thinking that today maybe Kid Flash and I could show you the ropes of the video game world, since we're not out on a mission."
"I'm uh gamfing experft!" Kid Flash managed through a mouthful of chips and then proceeded to choke on his food.
"Remember the rule, KF. Chew, swallow, then speak," Robin instructed with a small smirk, hitting him on the back.
Kid Flash quickly recovered and swallowed the rest of his food.
"Uhm, yeah, sure," Stevie said awkwardly, not really wanting to disappoint Robin after what had happened yesterday. She was a little doubtful and nervous about "hanging out" with the two.
"Great! Let's go!" Kid Flash spewed out before disappearing in a white and blue blur.
"Uh yeah he does that. Don't worry, it's normal. Well for him anyway. Come on," Robin chuckled, starting down the hallway.
Stevie followed after him, eyebrows furrowed together at the sight she had just seen a moment ago. Yes, she knew all about the so called "superheroes", but she had never really seen one in action or thought that they really did have powers. So what were the others powers? Obviously, Kid Flash was a speedster. She couldn't really tell what Robin or Artemis's powers were. Superboy...maybe had something to do with strength? And Aqualad's name implied that his had something to do with water. Miss Martian was an alien, as far as she could tell, but what could she do?
The young girl was lost in her thoughts until the scenery change disturbed her chain of thinking. Now they were in a darker, smaller room with a large, flat-screen television and a dark green couch on the opposite side. On either side of the television, there were small book shelves holding movies and some gadgets, such as a DVD player.
The technology was welcoming for her and it made her feel a little bit more comfortable. She was "in her element", so to speak.
"What should we have her play first?" Robin mused aloud, moving over to one of the shelves and bending down to look at the games.
"Call of Duty?" Kid Flash suggested, but Robin shook his head.
"Too hardcore for a first game."
"Just Dance?"
"Too girly."
"Well she is a girl!" Kid Flash huffed in exasperation.
"I meant for you," Robin said, a troll-like grin spreading across his face.
"Hey! So not cool, Rob!"
Robin snickered a little bit and turned back to the shelf of games. He paused and then face-palmed. "Of course! Lego Star Wars! It's a classic!"
He pulled the game off the shelf, waving it up in the air to show her before popping it into the game system.
"It's soooo easy!" Kid Flash complained.
"You're not the one playing!"
Stevie had to admit, it was kind of funny watching the two friends bicker back and forth. In fact, something about the bickering felt so...familiar, like she had seen it happen a million times before. And that was the strange thing. She couldn't remember ever seeing a couple of people bicker like that. Her eyebrows knitted together as she probed her mind to try and remember anything.
"Stevie?" Robin questioned, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Are you ready to play now?"
"Oh, uh, yeah!"
Robin handed her a sleek, black game controller. She took it in her hands, finding it way too large for them. She took a step back and seated herself on the couch behind her. Robin had another controller in her hand and he sat to the right of her. Kid Flash plopped down on her left and continued to munch on the last of his chips.
"So basically, you use the left thumbstick to move your character around the screen. And the game explains what buttons you're supposed to push for certain actions. Just follow my character that's moving right now," Robin explained.
Stevie nodded, her thumb reaching over to push the left thumbstick. The character that was stationary began to move. This wasn't so hard... A small smile broke out onto her face as she moved the character around in circles.
"Woah! She can smile!" Kid Flash burst out, causing her to jump slightly.
The smile quickly faded off her face and she glanced over at Kid Flash as Robin reached over behind her and slapped him on the back of the head. The redhead let out a loud "ouch" and glared at the younger boy.
"What was that for?"
"Being untactful."
"I am the most tactful...," Kid Flash trailed when he recieved a skeptical look from Robin. "Okay so maybe not the most tactful..."
Those two always went at it, didn't they? And though they did bicker a lot, it wasn't really mean bickering. It was light and playful and didn't have any hint of malice whatsoever. She wasn't so used to the light humor and relaxed setting that she was in now. As the boys continued to bicker in the background, she turned her attention back to the game and bit her lip, unsure of what to do next. Slowly, her eyes fluttered shut and she delved her mind into the technology that was running the game.
A lot of the bits and pieces she didn't recognize, but some of them were familiar to her and greeted her like an old friend. She let her mind wander to the more foreign pieces of technology, but they weren't as welcoming and she cringed at the slight shock that ran through her body when she began to explore them. It was actually quite painful and she quickly removed her mind from the situation and back into the real world.
Stevie was startled to see Robin and Kid Flash right in her face and she shoved herself away from them for some space.
"What are you doing?" she blurted, a little freaked out because they had been so close before.
"Us? What about you?" Kid Flash moved backwards, standing and crossing his arms.
"What do you mean?" Her eyebrows furrowed together.
"You totally just blanked out for a few minutes...," Robin said.
She blinked slowly, realizing that she must have immersed herself in the technology for so long that she completely zoned out.
"Oh, um sorry. I just...when I use my powers, that happens." She shrugged to try and play it off as no big deal.
"What is it like when you use them?" Robin piped, seeming very curious.
"Umm...," she started, glancing between the two, not really wanting to say.
"Personal, gotcha," Robin said quickly, recovering from his momentary lapse of intense curiousity.
"So...now that Rob decided to make things awkward - ouch!"
Robin elbowed him in the ribs, glancing to the entrance as Miss Martian and Superboy walked into the room. Stevie nearly groaned as Miss Martian beamed.
"Hi Stevie! Superboy and I were planning on watching an Earth movie! Maybe you, Robin, and Kid Flash could join us?" she asked quickly, smiling broadly. "I already asked Aqualad and Artemis and they're going to join in too. They're actually making the snacks right now!"
"Snacks? You can count me in, babe!" The speedster turned to look at the Martian, winking and giving a flirty grin.
"Sounds whelming. As long as it isn't a chickflick, I'm in!" Robin smiled.
Everyone turned to look at Stevie expectantly and she bit her lip, a blank expression forming on her face. "Um, I don't know..."
"C'mon Stevie! It'll be fun!" Miss Martian pleaded.
"I...I guess so," Stevie agreed, biting the inside of her cheek.
"Awesome! What movie should we watch?" Miss Martian squealed, causing Superboy to wince a little beside her and break his stoic expression.
"How about some high speed action?" Kid Flash suggested.
"What about something romantic?" Miss Martian asked, but Robin shook his head quickly.
"No chickflicks, remember? How about a ninja movie?"
"Or why don't we just watch the Matrix?" A different voice suggested.
Artemis walked in the room with some bowls of candy and popcorn in her arms, followed by Aqualad. "It's a good action movie."
"I'm down with that." Robin leaned back on the couch.
"I love the Matrix!" Kid Flash exclaimed, snatching a bowl of popcorn from Artemis and causing her to scowl.
"Don't eat the bowl, Kid Doofus."
"Shupft upf!" he muttered with cheeks full of popcorn as he moved to put the movie on.
Superboy moved to sit on the floor and Miss Martian sat right next to him. Aqualad seated himself on the small autumin and pushed it back against the wall. Artemis settled down against the wall away from everyone else and opened up a Snickers candy bar. Kid Flash flicked off the lights and returned to the couch, still munching on popcorn. Before the movie started, the candy was passed around and she somehow ended up with a chocolate bar, which wasn't exactly the best thing because she hated chocolate.
The whole thing could have been considered a big disaster. Kid Flash and Artemis wouldn't stop bickering, Aqualad and Miss Martian kept asking questions, Robin continually answered their questions in a long fashion that wasn't completely necessary, and Stevie was so lost half the time that she resorted to watching Kid Flash and Artermis argue for entertainment. Superboy actually got up and left halfway through, but nobody even noticed because they were to busy talking or fighting.
It was the best afternoon she had had in a long time.
All the things that could have made it a terrible experience actually made it better. It was lively and exciting and the tone of the movie carried over into the actual setting. The team was dysfunctional, to put it in the nicest way, but that's what made them work. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, even with Kid Flash's comments on how she didn't like chocolate. She could get used to this...
Stevie's eyes slowly closed as the credits began to roll down the screen and the last thing she saw before she fell asleep completely was the room in complete disarray and a few of the members of the team passed out.
"You're silly!"
"No I normal! You silly!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
Stevie turned her head to see where the voices were coming from, but it was hard to see because her vision was so blurred over. However, she was able to see the figures of two young boys pushing each other playfully as they continued to bicker back and forth. From what she could tell, they both had very messy brown hair and they were on the younger side. For a brief moment, the two figures changed to those of Robin and Kid Flash, but were back to the other two boys in a quick second.
"Hey sissy, tell brother I not silly, he silly!"
Stevie bolted straight awake, eyes wide, fingers tingling, and heart pounding. She had brothers?
A/N: Dun, dun, dun! So now we find out that Stevie has some brothers. Or does she? Could this just be some fake memory that the Shadows implanted into her brain? Or could it be even more complicated than that? Who knows? Oh, I do... XD Well you'll have to wait to find out! I might make the next chapter some fight training, but I might not. Still not sure. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully I'll see you guys soon! :D
