A/N: Hey, so I am back! I know I said I would only work on The Return and Across the Mortal Dimensions, but I also wanted to continue writing this even though I don't know how this story will continue with the villain's side because the co-author writes that part. I had this chapter was nearly completely done before I took my leave from Fanfiction, but alas it had got deleted because I had not been on for so long. I cannot get it back. Sadly, this chapter is not as well written as the first draft I had. So forgive me if this is a bit rushed. I had to scavenge my brain for what I did write. It was really long too, which upsets me. I should have saved all my files first... Crap...
So, I am only adding two more chapters after this one to introduce our last and final OC for the team! Hope you're excited!
Anyways, on with the chapter!
The world is flashing forward just like it usually does in her visions. Blurs of colors spur past her. Kathryn took a deep breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the blur of colors to come at a stand-by. She opens her eyes again, and she is running.
A girl, who looked about 19 years, held a gun. The girl had short black hair and piercing sapphire blue eyes. A sword hung on her back, and she could see the bulge of a pistol on her side. She's willing to bet that those aren't the only weapons on her personnel. The girl pushed the trigger and released a ray that shot out at her. She saw a flash of white and black run in front of her before she heard the ear-splitting scream. Kathryn watched the body that had ran in front of her at the last second crumble to the ground.
A name was called but the vision had muffled the voice.
The girl's eyes widened. "That wasn't for you..." The girl muttered, her expression wavering for a quick moment before collecting herself once again. "Oh well," She looked like she wanted to say more but instead chose to mumble, "Be safe, baby girl." With that, she escaped into the shadows. Into the vast, dark of nothing.
Fish and saltwater. That's the first stench she notices: the heavy odor of aquatic creatures and saltwater. She opened her eyes, only to close them immediately. 'Did I leave the windows open?' she asked herself. Something told her that was not it and urged her eyes to open. Slowly, she blinked her eyes, trying to adjust to the sunlight.
This definitely wasn't her bedroom. Her bedroom didn't have concrete floors, high windows, and wooden crates scattered across the room. She especially did not have a forklift in the middle of her room. She sat up and winced at the ache of her body. Kathryn lifted up her shirt to see a huge black and blue bruise on her side. When did that happen? And where-?
The memories of last night flooded through her. Motorcycle. Girl. Being flipped...
Kathryn ran a hand through her hand, only to feel the rough material of a bandage wrapped around her head. She winced at her touch. Well, that explains the headache...
She managed to slowly jump off the crate, barely capable of catching herself, in time to hear two hushed voices arguing. Kathryn limped her way around the wooden crates before quickly hiding behind one. There, in the center of the room, were two people, a girl and a boy, who looked as if they were in the middle of a brawl.
"I should have never let you out there." The boy said in a collected tone, but his glare said otherwise.
The girl sighed. "Come on, Port. It's not my fault."
His glare didn't falter. "You could have gotten hurt. What would have happened if you were captured? Or worse-"
"But I wasn't. Look, I'm all in one piece." She told him, spinning around and jumping up and down to prove her point.
"That is not the point. You could've gotten hurt, and, not only that, you managed to injure a civilian!" He said, his voice raising slightly as he gestured to the side, probably to where Kathryn was resting previously.
The girl cringed. "That was an accident. It was dark, and I didn't see her coming-"
"What do you think is going to happen when she wakes up and starts shouting for the police to send us to prison?!"
"Relax, would you? You shouldn't be so cautious with everyone!" She says, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And you shouldn't be trusting of everyone!" the guy, Port, shoots back.
"Why are you yelling at me?! Are you trying to tell me that I should have just left her there to die?" The girl was getting frustrated. Her hands were balling up into fists and shaking at her sides.
"Of course not!" Port sighs and pinching the bridge of his nose. He was slowly losing his patience, she could tell. "But you've been too careless lately. Last night and in Denver-"
The girl raised an eyebrow at him. "Would you rather I not do anything and let those men have their way with me?"
"God, no!" Port shook his head, running a hand through his black hair. "That's not what I'm saying! We have to think of our mission-"
"The mission this. The mission that. Can we forget about the mission for just one-"
"This mission is important!" He snaps, making the girl take a small step back. "We are not children playing hero! This is real, Apparition! I don't need you running around being a nuisance!" As soon as those words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them.
The girl's, Apparition's, face fell. She could see the frustration drain away from her face and be replaced sheer dejection, her eyes glittered with unshed tears. She turned away from him, wrapping her arms around herself.
"App, I-"
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty is awake." Kathryn shrieked in surprise, jumping away from her hiding spot and into the open space. Three pairs of eyes stared her down, and Kathryn couldn't help but shift embarrassedly in her spot.
So much for being stealthy...
"Oh!" Apparition wiped away the budding tears from her eyes and put on a cheerful smile. "Hello! I didn't know you were awake!"
"I- uh- just woke up actually..." Apparition gave her a strained grin. A lie. It was obvious that the girl had heard her and Portal fighting. Well, if you call what just happened fighting. Were they fighting? They've been together for so long and never had they yelled at each other as if they wanted to bite each other's heads off. Portal has never raised his voice at her. He was always so calm and reserved. Sure, he's been mad before, but he was always serene about it. For him to actually yell at her... He must have had a lot of pent up anger for her to have finally have snapped. For some reason, it broke her heart to think that he thinks of her as nothing but a nuisance.
Stop thinking about it, App. You'll start crying in front of everyone. Apparition took a deep breathe and stood up straighter, the fake cheerful grin still plastered on her face. She inspected the girl who was... Taller than she expected. At 5'8", the girl could pass off as a supermodel. She has blue black hair that is in big spiral curls(but not huge) and it comes down to just below her chest. She has a fair skin tone and has beautiful blue eyes with specks of gold in them. Apparition felt slightly insecure standing near her with her short stature, pale skin, and lack of color. Apparition shook her head. Now's not the time for that. "You shouldn't be moving around so much! You were in a motorcycle accident just last night!" Apparition stated as she helped the girl sit down on a crate.
"Thanks..." The girl paused as if waiting for something. Waiting for what- oh!
"I'm sorry! Where are my manners?" Apparition grinned at her. "I'm Apparition. This is Brawler and that's Portal." She gestured to Brawler and waved her hand over to Portal without making any eye contact him. She smiled brightly at the girl. "And you are...?"
"Am I supposed to have some sort codename?" The girl asked in confusion. "There are no way that those are your actual names."
"Ah, more like aliases." Apparition explained, rubbing her neck nervously. Would it be wise to exploit themselves to her? Maybe Portal was right, this is dangerous. They were stepping on a land mine now.
"Why would you need aliases?" Kathryn asked. Keep your guard up, Kathryn. You may be stepping into something illegal...
She watched as the girl, Apparition, struggled to come up with an answer. But it turned out to be unneeded. Kathryn did the mistake of glancing toward the door and making a run for it. Suddenly, Kathryn found herself pinned to the crate, a strong grip held the collar of her shirt.
"If you even think of calling the police, I will find you and send you into eternal darkness for the rest of your life." Portal threatened.
"Port, stop! You're not making this any better!" Apparition stood and made a move to Portal, but, being the klutz that she was, she ended up tripping and falling backwards. The grip on her shirt disappeared and she saw Portal dash behind the crates.
The last two followed in suit, running to the crates. Apparition was on the ground rubbing her head. "Ow..." Kathryn stopped in her tracks and stared at Apparition. Because of the fall, her hood had fallen back, exposing the snow white hair under it. Apparition opened her eyes, revealing gray irises. An albino? No... Something tells her that's not the case.
Portal extended a hand toward Apparition. "App, are you okay-" Apparition stood up on her own.
"Clumsy me! I'm fully capable of taking responsibility of my klutzy actions!" Apparition continued to grin, but the irritation in her eyes was obvious.
"App-"
"Wouldn't want to be a nuisance, now would I?"
"You're being childish-"
"Oh that's right! I was also childish! A childish nuisance!"
"You know, I didn't mean-"
"You can't just-"
"Is there something I missed here?!" Brawler commented, looking from Apparition to Portal. Apparition had a look of betrayal and embarrassment on her face, while Portal's face remained unaffected, but by the look in his eyes, you could tell he was deeply regretting his words from earlier.
But Kathryn had stopped listening to their quarreling and was staring at Apparition's eyes. Are they...? Is it just her imagination?
"...eyes..." The three turned to face Kathryn with questioning looks.
"What?" Brawler asked as Kathryn lifted a finger and pointed towards Apparition's eyes.
"You're eyes are glowing." Apparition quickly pulled on her hood and shut her eyes.
"I- no- I-!"
Oh my god, Kathryn's eyes widened. She's a metahuman. Wait a minute, were these the metas who destroyed that street she saw in the news? Using her remaining strength, she jumped away from the three.
"One of you better talk and tell me what you want," she spat, stepping away from them slowly. Apparition was slowly shrinking into herself, ashamed of having her powers slip like that. Maybe Portal was right... She was careless.
"Please, don't scream or call the cops-"
"To the hell with the cops, I can take you on myself if you try anything." Kathryn threatened. Apparition nearly laughed at the thought. Her? A skinny, supermodel-looking civilian up against three metas? Sure, she may overpower her in height but in skill?
"I don't think you'll last very long." Brawler stated, leaning against a crate coolly.
"Don't underestimate me," Kathryn took on a stance, engulfing her hand in fire. "I think you can say we are equally matched." Apparition gasped as Brawler and Portal's eyes widened. Another meta!
"She's a meta too!" Apparition exclaimed, relieved. "She definitely won't tell."
"And what makes you think I won't go up to the police station and report you?"
"We're the good guys." Apparition stated, holding her hands up in defense. Kathryn narrowed her eyes.
"You could just be saying that to get me to trust you."
"The bad guys would have left you last night on the street for dead." Portal said, crossing his arms over his chest casually.
"If I'm not mistaken, you two were fighting over that just a few minutes ago, were you not?" Kathryn shot back.
Apparition took a few steps toward her. "We're not going to hurt you. Just put the fire away, and we can talk, okay? Please."
Kathryn narrowed her eyes. "If you try anything-"
"We won't! I swear on my life." Apparition said, crossing over her heart and putting one hand up. She grinned before extending out her hand. "Trust me." The sincere look Apparition gave her told her instincts that she could trust her. And her instincts are usually never wrong. Slowly, she extinguished the fire in her hand and reached out for Apparition's hand. Unfortunately, a wave a nausea flowed through her, causing her legs grew weaker and felt herself tumble forward.
"Careful-!"
Kathryn closed her eyes and waited for the concrete floor hit her already aching body, but the impact never came. She opened her eyes and was met with pure white eyes with no pupils. "Are you okay?" Brawler asked, setting her down on a crate. Kathryn looked up his rugged face and lit up with recognition.
"It's you!" She pointed at him. "The rude guy from earlier- I mean, yesterday."
"Oh, the whiny civilian." Brawler stated casually. "Well, whiny meta now I guess."
"Whiny-!" Kathryn's fist clenched at her sides. "You little as-"
"You know each other?" Apparition's eyes lit up with amusement. "Ooh, Brawler, a lady's man, huh? I never pinned you as one. Gotta say, this one looks like a keeper." Apparition teased, nudging Brawler in the arm with her elbow. Brawler remained unaffected by her words.
"No, I just bumped into her while getting the pizza yesterday." Brawler said with a shrug.
"You also made me spill my coffee on my shirt!" Brawler leaned against a crate.
"And how is that my fault? You should have watched where you were going?"
"You could've at least apologized anyways!"
"What is it with women and apologies?"
"What is it with men and their pride?!"
"The least you could do is offer a friendly hand. Maybe offered to buy her another coffee." Apparition cut in, sitting on top of a crate with her legs crossed over the other. "One of the unspoken rules of being a hero: always help those in need."
"When they said 'those in need' I always thought they were referring to people who's trapped in a burning building or in a bank robbery or maybe even someone who has their cat stuck in a tree."
"It includes everyone! Even girls with coffee stains." Apparition justified as she nodded her head.
"Fine, I apologize," Brawler says bluntly.
"Oh yeah, your apology means so much to me now." Kathryn rolled her eyes. Brawler opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Portal.
"This is no time to be bickering," Portal cut in between them. "We should return to the real task at hand."
"Which is-?"
"None of your concern." Portal interrupted, glaring at her. He looked her up and down. "You seem well and fine. You should return home and pretend this rendezvous ever happened."
"I'm not leaving." Kathryn stated, defiantly. Not when she's found other metas out there. Not when they're just like her, bearing a secret like her own.
"I'm not giving you a choice-"
"Port, please?" Portal was just about to refuse when Apparition gave him the look. A look that resembled a pleading puppy that you could not leave alone. Portal inwardly winced, knowing he would not win this battle.
"... Fine." Before Apparition could jump for joy, he hurriedly added, "but if this all backfires on us, you are the one who will be taking care of it." The two shared a look, the smile disappearing from Apparition's face as her eyes casted down to the floor.
"Understood." Just as that word left Apparition's mouth, the windows exploded around them.
"Oops, who knew this little sucker would have such a powerful punch?" A girl wearing a black masquerade mask stood atop of one of the broken windows. She wore a blue and black halter top, black spandex leggings, blue knee-high boots, and black fingerless gloves that went up to her elbows. She also had black hair that was short in the back and long in the front, and the eye holes of the mask revealed sapphire blue eyes. Strapped to her back was a long, samurai sword, and at her sides were two pistols. But Portal and Apparition knew better to know that there were more weapons on her.
Kathryn's eyes widened at the sight of her. That's the girl from my vision!
"Striker!" Apparition spun around to face her, the cape fluttering around her.
"Aw, baby girl, you remembered my name? I'm touched." The girl, Striker, retorted, feigning gratitude. Striker jumped of the window and onto the ground, landing gracefully on her feet in front of them. Apparition scowled.
"Why do you insistently call me that?" Apparition barked, irritatedly.
"I always get amusement out of a cheery girl's irritation." Striker snickers before turning to Portal. "How about you, tall, dark, and gloomy?" Her eyes flickers to his stomach. "Did your cut heal?"
"You call that a cut? I nearly died from blood loss!" Portal spat back with a glare.
"You shouldn't have gotten in the way. And what do we have here? New playmates?" Striker tilted her head in interest.
"None of your business!" Apparition yells, standing in front of Kathryn and Brawler protectively.
A grin spread across her face. "But, alas, children. I have not come to play today. I, however, come with purpose." She unhooked a gun that was strapped onto her utility belt. Kathryn narrowed her eyes. That looks like... A tase gun?
"You think a tase gun will work on a meta?" Kathryn asked, unconvinced. She couldn't possibly be dumb enough.
Striker just laughed. "Rest assured, this is no ordinary tase gun. Now, who shall we test this on first? Eenie, meanie, minie, you." Striker's grin grew as she pulled the trigger at Kathryn. Kathryn had no time to react. She watched as the gun released a bright blue ray.
She watched as her vision came to life before her eyes. Apparition rushed out in front of Kathryn at the last second and took the hit from the gun's ray. She saw Apparition's body crumble to the ground, inert and unconscious.
The name that was muffled in the vision was Apparition's and was yelled out by Portal, who immediately ran to her side.
"That wasn't for you..." She heard Striker muttered, she saw Striker's expression wavering for a quick moment before collecting herself once again. "Oh well," She then shifted her aim to Kathryn again.
Without another thought, Kathryn urged the gun to catch on fire using her elemental abilities. Striker quickly dropped it, and the flames immediately extinguished. Striker bent down to pick it up, but Brawler quickly crushed the gun with his foot before she could reach it. Striker grunted in distaste before jumping back onto the broken window sill. She looked like she wanted to say more but instead chose to mumble, "Be safe, baby girl." Kathryn clearly noticed the twinge of regret in the girl's eyes before she jumped out the window.
And just like her vision, Striker was gone.
"No, no, no." Portal said as he grabbed onto Apparition's unmoving body. He placed two fingers on her wrist and felt for a pulse. Steady but faint. He sighed with relief. "You're alright, you'll be okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." He repeated as caressed her face.
Flashing red and blue lights were seen outside of the warehouse. Portal cursed under his breath. Someone must have heard the windows breaking and called the cops. He slid his arms under Apparition's body and picked her up bridal-style. "Get your stuff. Now." Brawler and Kathryn quickly packed everything up, while Portal summoned up a black hole. Kathryn made a move toward her bike, but was stopped by Brawler.
"No time, we'll come back." With that said, Brawler pulled her into the black hole.
And then they were free-falling in the infinite darkness. Kathryn felt her stomach tighten as she fell through the dark hole. She suppressed the scream that was threatening to escape her lips and closed her eyes. A light caused her eyes to open, and she saw another hole appear in front of her. She braced herself for the incoming impact.
"Oof!" Kathryn grunted as she tumbled onto the soft grass. Kathryn looked around to see that they had landed in the local park. Luckily, their landing was covered by trees, and the park was deserted. She sat up and saw Portal rested Apparition on a nearby bench. Portal gently brushed away stray pieces of hair that was in the way of her face. He made sure that her hood was up, so if anyone passed by, they would not immediately notice Apparition's abnormal hair color, or lack thereof.
"We need a place to stay." Portal turned to Kathryn, his voice pleading, "Please, we can't go to a hospital."
Kathryn was taken aback by the pure desperation shown on Portal's face. She glanced by at Apparition's unconscious body and couldn't help the guilt building up inside her. Coming to a decision, she face Portal and said, "We can go to my place."
"Nice place you got here," Brawler commented as he looked around Kathryn's penthouse. And it was huge. From the wooden floors to the big open windows, Brawler wondered how one teenage girl can afford this. The penthouse felt soulless, empty. Too big for just one person... "You live here by yourself?"
Kathryn paused, reluctant to answer. "...Yes."
"Parents?" Brawler pressed on.
"What is this twenty questions?" Kathryn retorted, defensively. Brawler gave her a blank stare, carefully analyzing her reaction. The answer was bright as day in her saddened eyes.
"Yeah, my parents are gone too." He admits with a shrug. Kathryn stares at him, shocked at his nonchalance. How can he say something like that so carelessly?
Noticing her stare, he answers her unasked question, "It happened, I can't change the past. That, however, doesn't mean I don't care. I've learned to move on." Though he says that he fidgets uncomfortably, seeming to regret bringing up the topic of parents. Kathryn walks to the kitchen, pulling out ingredients to start on breakfast.
"Do you think he likes omelets?" Kathryn changes the topic, watching as relief floods over Brawler's features. She glanced up at the ceiling, which Brawler resolved was her gesture to Portal.
"Portal? Maybe," She gives him a pointed look, to which he just raises his arms in defense. "Hey, I've only known the guy for two days." Kathryn takes out a bowl and a whisk and begins cracking eggs into the bowl, while Brawler watched her from couch. Brawler looked up at the ceiling, listening to Portal's restless shuffling. He was frantic and anxious to find a bed, and immediately zoomed up the stairs to a spare bedroom where he has been since they arrived. "Doesn't mean he'll eat it though."
"That guy... He's suspicious over every thing that lives and breathes, isn't he?" Brawler shrugged.
"From what I can tell, yes. Apparition seems to balance him out though. He trusts her the most and is very overprotective of her." Brawler rubbed the back of his neck, thinking back to Apparition's story of them.
"Lover boy, better realize what he has before it's lost." Kathryn mumbled, beginning to chop the tomatoes.
She was so pale. Well, paler than usual. He's been sitting beside her for the past hour since they've arrived, waiting for her to open her eyes and give him one of her bright smiles like usual. But her eyes did not open, her lips did not for a smile. She lay motionless on the bed, breathing in and out slowly. If he hadn't checked her pulse every two minutes, Portal would have thought she had died peacefully in her sleep. It wasn't helping that her powers made her look like a ghost. Slowly, he gently stroked her head, holding one of her hands in his. Her ran his thumb over the back of her hand.
"Portal," His head snapped toward the door at the sound of his name. He saw Kathryn leaning against the doorway. "I made breakfast."
The sound of breakfast was tempting, but when he looks back at Apparition, his appetite goes down the drain. "I think I'll-"
"Eat," Kathryn put a hand on his shoulder. He looks up at her from his seat on the floor. "She wouldn't want you to starve yourself up here." Portal continued to stare at her, making Kathryn role her eyes. "Go, I'll watch over her." He looks at her, at the door, and back at Apparition, struggling to think of what to do. At last, Portal gave Apparition's hand a soft squeeze before he let go. He headed towards the door, but turned around before leaving.
"I'm sorry," Kathryn glanced up at him, who began shifting on his feet uncomfortably. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I only wanted to protect her. I didn't mean to be so rude earlier."
Kathryn gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. I would've done the same." The corner of Portal's lips tilted upward before his calm mask returned. Portal turned around and headed downstairs. Kathryn turned back to the inert girl and removed the cooling towel on her forehead. "Let me change this." She stood up and walked toward the bathroom in the room.
Unbeknownst to her, the inert girl's hand began to twitch as her appearance began to change...
Portal put the plate on the table as he continued to skim through Richard Grayson's file. As he shuffled through the papers, one page slipped out. He picked up the page and read it. But what he read caused him to drop his fork, the sound echoing across the room.
Brawler looked up at Portal worriedly. "What's wrong?"
Portal said nothing, but extended his arm with the paper in his hand. Brawler took it, letting her eyes travel across the words displayed on it. "No way..." Brawler whispered, staring at the file. For on the page was an article of an obituary with Richard Grayson's name highlighted and eight letters stamped in red bold letters below it.
DECEASED.
Brawler let the paper fall between them on the table. Their only hope... Gone. He was the link. If they got to him, and he agreed to help them, they would've had all the Titans on their side. Even if they found all the Titans, who would lead them? Surely, they wouldn't trust a bunch of kids new to the superhero business. At least with the Boy Wonder, they would've had a fighting chance. But now... "What do we do now?"
Portal glared down at the piece of paper and opened his mouth to say something when Kathryn called out to them. "Um, Brawler? Portal? I think you might want to come upstairs..." Portal's eyes widened and without a second thought, he dashed toward the stairs and run to the the room.
"What's wrong? Is she okay-" He paused at the doorway, frozen and staring at the girl who was staring at the bed. Portal paled. "A-Apparition?"
Gone was the snow white hair replaced by dark brown hair with one stripe of white framing the left side of her face. Her skin was a light shade of peach, and no longer deathly pale. Pale blue eyes stared at him with confusion and fear.
"W-who?"
Kathryn dug around her closet, looking for the box. Finally finding it under a pair of winter clothes, she picked it up and placed it on her bed. This box full of memories that should be locked away and never to be opened ever again. But here she was, letting the box see the light of day once again. Carefully, she removed each item in it.
"We have to find someone, anyone who can get her memory back." Portal stated, already packing his stuff frantically.
"What if it can't be fixed? Did she show signs of her having powers?" Kathryn asked as Portal stopped his shuffling and looked up at her.
"No," Portal looked back down at his bag. "She's as normal as a human."
"Maybe it-" Kathryn paused, letting her vision engulf her. She was on a street, Noche Glen as said on one sign, walking toward a house, the name 'O'Malley' imprinted on the side of the mailbox. She could already hear the sound of chattering children coming from the house. One girl's voice stood out the most. Kathryn found herself knocking on the door. As she waiting, a butterfly passes by and lands base of the girl's neck, the one who opens the door. Her skin looks a bit too sun-kissed. Her wavy, waist length, black hair is pulled into a ponytail that hits the front of her waist. Her hazel cat-like eyes sparkled with curiosity. The girl gives her a warm smile before the vision fades away.
Kathryn was met with two curious pairs of eyes.
"What-?"
"As well as being a elemental, I also can see the future at times. The details are sometimes not always clear." Kathryn interjected, running a hand through her hair.
Portal immediately stood up. "What did you see?" Portal asked, a hopeful look on his face.
"It may not have anything to do with-"
"Anything is better than nothing at this point." Portal cut her off with a pleading look. "Please, for Apparition."
Kathryn gave him a pitiful look. "A street, Noche Glen. Have you heard of it?"
"That's a street in Jump City." Portal nodded his head in confirmation.
"Apparently in the vision, we go there to a house where the 'O'Malley's' live. Does that name ring any bells?" Kathryn asked, tilting her head. Portal furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.
"No, I don't know any O'Malley." Portal said.
"But they must be special if you're seeing them in a vision." Brawler stated, looking up from his packing.
"Maybe," Kathryn shrugged.
"Well then," Portal turned away and began packing again. He glanced back at Kathryn with a puzzled look. "...Start packing."
"Excuse me?" Portal rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm not good at this. Apparition is usually the one to handle the welcoming parties." Portal let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm asking if you want to come with us. We could use someone like you on our team..."
Kathryn knew Portal was having a difficult time being genuine about it, but she saw the sincerity in his eyes. "You're right, you are bad at this." Kathryn laughed. "But count me in anyways."
Inside the box was an outfit that she has not worn since that incident long ago in Italy. Black skin tight pants, black high-low jacket that is made out of bullet proof material that buttons twice in the front one right under her chest and the other just above her belly button, then it drops down to just behind her knees in the back, and on the back of the jacket there is a sliver hawk with its wings opened, a black bandeau top that comes down to the bottom of her rib cage, and a utility belt. On top of it was an elegant black mask, she lifted it up slowly, tracing the designs with her finger.
She began changing out of her current outfit to the clothes in the box, inwardly thanking that she had not grown out of them. She then walked back into the closet and started loading up her utility belt with throwing knives, which vary in size. She grabbed a duffel bag and threw in a sheath of arrows and a bow before packing anything else that needed to be brought. She looked herself up and down in the mirror when she was done, adjusting her utility belt.
"Ready?" Brawler asked, leaning in the doorway.
"Almost," she said, not looking away from her reflection.
"By the way," Brawler starts as she glances at his direction, "you still haven't told us your name." Brawler tilted his head to the side in curiosity.
Placing the mask on her face, she took a deep breath and grabbed her bag before turning around.
"You can call me Hawk."