To anyone who wonders why Spirit didn't get a huge lecture about overshadowing from the team... This chapter explains it, because it takes place after the mission, but before Batman's lecture.
I only own the Danielsons, and other OCs that'll be introduced later on.
"Hey, guys," Mikael said with a small smile as his teammates-Emma excluded- entered the rec room. He paused his game and frowned when he noticed the serious looks on their faces, guessing what was wrong. "Team meeting? What's this about?"
"We need your advice on how to bring up the subject of boundaries to your sister," Aqualad said simply. "She overstepped them in our latest mission."
"Oh... Oh, uh, this is... This is totally about the whole 'overshadowing Robin' thing, isn't it?" the brunette guessed, running a hand through his hair.
"She completely disregarded my privacy on our mission!" Robin exclaimed, not too happy about being used as a meat puppet.
"It wasn't right; I know that," Mick reassured. "But, believe me, it wasn't entirely Emma. When she shifts into Spirit, her personality does a complete flip-flop. Emma cares a little too much about other people, but Spirit... Spirit doesn't give a rat's fat, hairy butt about people's privacy. Look, I promise I'll talk to her, but please don't bring this up to Emma. She feels awful about it, and I just want to make sure she knows it wasn't her; not really. I know the whole 'personality switch' thing is no excuse, but she'll learn; I promise."
"... You swear that you'll talk to her about this behavior?" Aqualad checked, arms crossed.
"To be honest, I should've added 'no overshadowing team members' to her list of 'Do Not' from the start, so it's partially my fault," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck in shame. "It's my job to keep her in line, and I failed. I apologize for that."
"You're not responsible for what your sister does," Wally remarked, offering a small smile and crossing his arms. "And if she's struggling with control, then it's not really her fault either."
"Actually, it is," when everyone turned, they saw Emma standing in the doorway, hugging herself tightly. "I-I'm really sorry about what happened; I lose all my inhibitions when my powers are active... Believe me when I say it wasn't any more comfortable for me."
Robin frowned at her. "... I get that, but it'll take a little bit of time for me to move past this."
"I-I know, and I accept that," she reassured, bowing her head slightly before turning to head out. "I'm gonna head home, Mick; I'll see you later."
Mikael simply nodded, seeing her to the zeta before returning to the rec room to continue his game. He knew, logically, that his sister had the tendency to break down into a nervous wreck after scenarios like this, but their parents were just as equipped to deal with this as he was, and he figured she could use some time to calm down. Besides; she'd just end up feeling worse if she thought her brother had to stop partway through his game to come after her. So, as such, he returned to the currently unbeaten Twilight Princess, and the anger-inducing dungeon known as City in the Sky.
His main problem was that he kept backtracking by accident, ending up in the same corridors multiple times. This resulted in several ragequits, and eventually ended with him deciding to just go home, grinning when he saw Emma catching up on Cowboy Bebop.
The twins usually watched it together, but Emma had been behind due to practicing her powers with John at every chance she had. However, Mick had decided to wait once he knew he was getting close to the season finale, and judging by the episode his sister was currently on, they'd be able to watch it together.
The moment the season finale was on, Mick sighed. He didn't want to have this conversation with her, especially after what had happened at the cave earlier, but he'd promised Aqualad and the others that he'd talk to her, and promises were meant to be kept. "Hey, Ems? Before we start, can we talk?"
"... It's about the whole 'overshadowing Robin while in ghost mode' thing, isn't it?" she guessed, pulling her knees to her chest as her expression turned sad and downtrodden. "I swear, I didn't mean to; it just happened! I know that it's no excuse, but... I'm really working hard to get control..."
Mikael simply wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "I know you are, sis. You're doing your best. I mean, I'm still not that great at magic," he pointed out. "It's taking time."
"You only started learning magic a couple weeks ago, Mick," She pointed out, hiding her face in her knees, the blanket over her legs muffling her voice. "I've had my powers for three years now, and I barely have more control now than I did then."
"Hm... Hey, Em? I'm going to tell you something John said to me when I was having trouble with one of my spells, but you need to be watching, okay?" the older of the twins said simply, brushing a bit of tear-soaked hair away from her face.
Emma pouted, but complied with her brother's request, watching his hands as he seemed to sketch in the air with light, creating lovely patterns from the sparks. "Think about how some people make hard-boiled eggs in the microwave. If you use too much time and heat, it'll explode, but if you use too little, then it won't cool at all. Imagine that the egg is a bad guy; someone that you're supposed to stop. These are real people that can take actual damage, whereas a spirit would be able to handle a little excessive punching. You know that, and you're so scared of making the egg explode that you're not using enough power, and it's subconsciously weakening the control you have in that form."
"... I'm going to pretend that you actually did get that from John and not from a manga."
"Either way, you know it's true. Just keep practicing: cook the egg, but don't make it explode."
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"Ugh, that was exhausting!" a pale-skinned young man whined, arching his back to stretch and then sighing in relief. "Man, I seriously wish that the dogs couldn't see me."
After a moment, the same young man continued to walk down the streets of a big city, strands of dark blue hair stuck to his sweaty forehead.
"Either way, you'd think that running from a dog would be easier when you're a ghost."
And so enters a brand new character that I'd never even thought to add until I realized that I don't trust myself to ship Emma with a canon character... Yet; this character may end up as just a friend, but we'll see.
To answer any reviews... you asked, and I have delivered.
The updates are coming slowly because I'm in my first year of college and things have been a little rocky. Plus, I kinda haven't been watching much of the old series, what with the new season being out and all. But I'm doing my best.
Now, to address any complaints about Mikael being the one to talk down his sister or the team being too soft on her... I didn't know how to write them being completely furious without turning Emma into a sobbing mess and making her into the victim. I mean, I kinda did that here anyway, but I felt that having Mikael talk to her was the best way to have her actually learn something instead of just having me make the team into the bad guys for maknig my OC cry. I don't want her to be a mary sue or anything; I want her to be realistic... Well, as realistic as girl with superpowers can be.
Signing off,
MKT-H12