Disclaimer: We do not own YJ. Not that rich or creative. We do own the two NEW characters we're throwing in – Anna Winter/Castor and Maki O'neil/Phoenix. Enjoy~
Summary: A new villain emerges, forcing young Anna take up the role of Castor and face her inner demons. Maki O'neil is still coming to terms with her father's death. Their journey takes them to Gotham where their lives become entwined with the legendary Batman and the new team known as Young Justice.
Chapter Five: "Fitting In…Kinda."
Anna awoke to a splash of liquid in her face. She shook her head and sneezed, "Ew…he does NOT know how to make good pudding. It's so runny…"
The bedside light clicked on and Anna blinked up at Maki who was giving her a small, wry smile. "That is because it is water, Anna-chan."
The girl's eyes flitted to the small, empty glass in Maki's right hand. Oh yeah…that would make sense. She adjusted her body to sit up and her mattress and pillow made squelching noises that had Anna cringing. Man she hated squishy feeling things…If the dream pudding wasn't bad enough…now she was soaking wet. "Why the sudden bath? Was some of the hair gel from hell stinking up the room?" She lifted a lock of her purple hair and sniffed it just to be sure.
Maki frowned. She had jolted awake from her own horror scene only to find Anna thrashing in her bed. She had tossed and turned so badly that the sheets had begun to wrap themselves around her. If she had been left alone longer, she would have probably cut off her circulation somewhere. Other than that there was the fever...the moaning... Maki had learned long ago not to ask questions when someone doesn't want to answer; she never pressed Anna about her past. Likewise, she never told the girl anything about hers. However...a tiny prickling on the back of the ninja's neck told her that their dreams were probably very similar. Everyone had a breaking point. "You would not wake up. I'm sorry...this was the only thing that I could do, short of injuring you."
Anna sighed, rubbing at her face to rid it of the last traces of sleep. Who needed sleep anyways, that was totally over-rated to begin with. She sighed, slipping off the bed and frowned at her shirt that was wet. It was too big anyways...but wouldn't Canary ask questions-Probably not...but if Wally so much as made a crack about it-she'd slug him. She glanced at Maki, before picking up her shades and slipping them on. She inclined her head towards the door and an almost evil smile passed over it.
"Shall we?" She questioned, the smirk turning into a grimace of distaste as she headed for the door. She slipped it open and about had a heart attack as she came face to face with Superboy's fist. Luckily he had frozen in it mid-air, but he'd been in the middle of the action of knocking on their door. His knuckle gently tapped Anna's glasses, even as she reeled backwards and would've fallen had Maki not been there. "What?" She snapped, rudely-not a kind person in the morning time. She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at the older boy, glaring at him from behind her shades. She hadn't slept very well, and was going to be quite short tempered with the others today. Conner blinked as if unsure what to do about not knocking and slowly lowered his fist.
"...Black Canary sent me to get you two," he said, as if he hadn't even wanted to in the first place but was trying to be nice about it. Anna turned slightly to glance at Maki for direction on this one. Should they follow him...or were they going to do something else?
Maki tilted her head to the side as her stomach began to growl. It had been several days since her last real meal...She could barely eat on the boat ride over and when she got to Gotham, she only had time for a 'coney' before tracking down Anna and finding a dilapidated hotel room to stay in. Then after that it was one thing after another. The pudding was the last substance to enter her stomach. "Perhaps she would allow us to have breakfast first?"
She felt a long lock of hair fall free of her bangs and into her eyes. Using her fingers, she deftly combed her brown hair back and into some semblance of normality. Surely, Canary would understand if they were to have a few personal moments before beginning whatever training the League member had in mind for the two girls. Maki was sure that Anna was hungry as well. She looked down at their sleep rumpled clothes but felt resigned...there was not much that they could do about their appearance at that point in time.
Anna noticed the broad shoulder boy give a slight shrug, but even that looked a bit detached, as if he was trying far too hard to appear normal. Normal was over-rated, just like sleep-but breakfast? That sounded good. Anna's stomach rumbled quietly, and she mentally scolded it for betraying her. Conner led them to a door, which surprised Anna because she thought they'd be headed for the giant room with the hovering screens in mid-air that they'd first seen. No, this was the kitchen. It had all the appliances. Sure enough, she spotted the shapely female with the long blonde hair sitting in a chair sipping from a coffee mug. What it contained, she was uncertain. The woman's eyes lit up when she spotted them, but she gave no other reaction even though Anna felt like she was being picked apart. She knew that her hair would look she'd decided to stick a fork in the electrical outlets. She couldn't help it, it was uncontrollable most of the time anyways. Plus she had on such giant clothes that she probably appeared extremely mal-nourished, which she wasn't. She'd just gotten into the habit of forgetting to eat.
"Good morning," a perky voice called out. The green girl-uh...Miss. Martian? Anna couldn't remember her name. She couldn't even remember the one with the broad-shoulders. Superboy? Right? That would explain the emblem on his chest anyways. Unless he was just a really big fan of the man in a blue jumpsuit and red underwear. "Did you sleep well?" The Martian was too perky for her and Anna let her stomach growl be the answer to that question. The green one's eyes widened. "Oh my. Are you ready for breakfast? I've already eaten...but I love to cook. I can make you something?"
"...I want a poptart," Anna said and reflexively caught something that flashed through the air. A shiny, wrapped poptart. She glanced over to see who had thrown it and tensed when she noticed it was the sarcastic and mean blonde girl who usually wore the green suit...uh...her name had something to do with the moon. At least she thought she was remembering that correctly. She slowly opened it and was content to find out it was actually a cookies and cream one. The good kind. She broke a piece off, then offered the rest to Maki to see if she wanted to share.
"I have planned a simple assessment drill for this morning," Black Canary finally spoke up, having apparently finished whatever was in her cup. "For the both of you...Just to see where your skill levels are at...and what might need work..."
Maki smiled softly to Anna, accepting the breakfast pastry and folding back the foil to nibble at the frosted corner. Her brown eyes quickly scanned the room – from the cheery countertops and bright red sofas to the flat screen TV and its occupants. She tilted her head to the side, popping the joints in her neck – hair falling over her shoulder. "What do you have in mind, Canary-sensei?"
Of course they were probably curious about the two new 'team members' who had joined their ranks…especially those who had kept out of the eye of the media. Still…did they seriously believe that they would show all of their tricks? Maki dared to glance at Anna. There's no way…not even with force…that Anna would reveal all of her powers – if she even knew half of them.
Anna didn't say anything as she continued to forcefully chew on her piece of the poptart. Her hunger satiated, she dusted the crumbs off her hands lightly onto the floor without comment and studied the blonde and shapely woman from behind her shades. The Canary stood up slowly, depositing her used cup into the sink.
"For starters…I want to see where you stand physique and mental wise," she replied in a very neutral tone. "I suspect you found your sleep to be troubled…So I will not push you very hard. New changes and new surroundings can be unkind to certain individuals. When you are adequately fed, you will find me in the training room." She headed off without another word.
"Why do I get the feeling that she's going to try and 'talk' to us about our 'problems' with life?" Anna muttered under her breath.
"She only does it because she cares," Artemis replied, leaning heavily against the kitchen counter. She seemed to be studying the two girls and Anna met her eyes squarely, but from behind her shades. Anna rolled her eyes, and tilted her head to Maki.
"Well, I'm done…suppose when you're finished…we go get our heads and bodies examined by the doctor," Anna remarked with a slight twitch of her mouth as she suppressed a sudden urge to smirk.
Nodding while polishing off the last half of her poptart, Maki folded the foil wrapper and walked around the kitchen's island, looking for a trashcan. The Martian laughed and opened a cabinet under the sink that contained a dull, plastic bin. Ridding herself of the garbage, the Japanese teen thanked M'gann and walked back to Anna, stretching. "We can go now…I am ready."
As they walked, she began plaiting her hair into a braid that fell over her left shoulder. She ran her fingers through her bangs, combing out the few tangles…after fixing her hair situation, she rolled up the sleeves of her sweatshirt. The dark tunnel of the cave opened into the spacious room that they had been debriefed in the night before.
"Glad to see you join me," Black Canary said, almost as if she believed they'd have changed their minds. Anna headed over to her, making sure that Maki was in tow of her. The two girls stopped a few feet from the woman. Black Canary indicated the area that they stood on. "This system will recognize you. It will keep track of your progress and chart out a profiling on your techniques that you choose to reveal." Anna felt her eyes narrow. It was as if the woman had gotten into her head somehow and was pulling out her thoughts and making them plain onto everything else. "I've heard of your mission debrief…and I know that both of you have some hand-to-hand combat skills…I'd like to test those first." She stepped back easily into a recognizable fighting stance and raised up one gloved hand before bending the fingers back and forth in a 'come at me' motion. Anna felt her fist's tighten reflexively at the taunting.
Black Canary spotted the action, and her mouth curled up at the corners. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and attack me….If you think you can land a hand on me." Anna lunged, finding herself suddenly angry at Canary's jabs, despite not even wanting to do the stupid activity to begin with. Light hands on her arm were the only warning she got before she ended up on her back with a solid 'Thud' and her glasses went flying through the air. Her hair was a tangled mass about her head, obscuring her vision.
The dark lenses slid across the floor and stopped at Maki's foot. She knelt down, picked the glasses up and took her place in the fighting arena, handing them back to Anna. "My turn."
Now, with her hair out of her eyes and feeling comfort and free range in her clothes, Maki was beginning to feel the rush that came with physical combat. Being trained to fight for years, she knew the various motions and fell into them easily – slowing her breath, calming her heart rate, and keeping her eyes open to read her opponent. Canary was no greenhorn either…she, herself, had many more years of practice than the young ninja did. Still, Maki felt her feet shift her weight and her hands come up in an easy, defensive position.
Eyes, watching for any slight movement, the brunette fell forward into a swift lunge, sidestepping around her instructor and moving to take a position at the blonde's back. Canary was quick to shift her position as well and fell into a crouch to knock Maki's feet out from under her. Maki hit the ground in a roll and came back up for a blow with her right arm that was blocked by Canary's forearm. The dance of strikes and evasions carried on for a few seconds before Maki slid back a few feet after taking a blow to the stomach. She stood beside Anna and reevaluated her opponent.
Anna slowly stood up, repositioning herself and her sunglasses. She kept an eye on Canary, while simultaneously keeping another eye on Maki's movements. There had to be an opening somewhere. The two were both skilled combatants and Anna saw no opening-but then again, Maki wasn't trying to leave her any openings. So Anna waited. The blow came and Anna found Maki at her side. A comforting place. She smiled slightly, despite their situation before giving a quick jerk of her hand towards Maki. The motion to outsiders would seem like nothing, but it was Anna's usually method of meaning 'together' like a rock. As her hand was folded into a fist. One word. 'Rock'. But it had it's own meanings, and knowing Maki-that's all it would take.
Anna dashed forward and watched as Canary shifted into a stance to counter her. That suited her just fine. She was a decoy. The real foot work would go to Maki. Anna swung up her hand, catching Canary's and pushed even though she got no leverage. The blonde's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, until Maki slid in between them-getting a grasp on Canary's arm due to the position Anna had drawn her into. Another hand firmly tapped her upper chest and with a twist, Canary found herself tumbling forward and over the ninja girl in a display of uncanny acrobatics that landed her flat on her back with the wind knocked out of her. That, she hadn't been expecting. Anna was grinning like a Cheshire cat, as if smug about their outcome. Maki appeared more reserved about it, as if this was merely the test it had been. There was sudden applause and a wolf-whistle. They had an audience.
Anna offered Canary a hand, and pulled the older woman up to her feet. Wally had decided to join them. His mouth was full and he was spraying crumbs as he talked.
"oh wow, that was awesome. How'd you do that?" he demanded, speaking to Maki of course. Of course. It would be Maki who got the credit for it. Anna found herself slightly irked by that. She'd been the one who distracted Canary long enough for Maki to even catch an opening. Just as quickly, she let the anger slip away. It wasn't worth it. Some stupid activity anyways. She realized Canary was watching her, and she unclenched her fists slower. She was going to have to work on that.
Maki shook her head with a small smile. She was very surprised that the instructor had allowed them such an easy fight…she could have moved from Maki's grasp had she wanted to. There were multiple possibilities to how the fight could have ended. "The credit should not go to me. Anna-chan came up with the plan…I merely followed her instructions."
"What?" The red-head's eyes were skeptical, "You didn't say anything. She just said 'Rock'. How could you get an entire plan from the word rock?"
"They are teammates, Wally," Aqualad's voice was even but friendly as he considered the two girls. "They know each other well…I am sure that Robin and yourself have your own ways of working together. In any case, good job both of you."
The Atlantean rested a hand on Maki's shoulder and she smiled again, cheeks turning slightly pink as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She glanced at Anna and her eyes seemed to be saying "I'm a bit confused". Anna felt the corners of her mouth twitch, but she offered her friend no help.
"Sooooo, you wanna pick at my brain first or hers?" Anna asked in turn, turning to the Canary. The blonde tilted her head slightly to the side as if considering.
"You tell me," she replied and Anna rolled her eyes.
"Fiiiiiiiiiiiine, I'll go first. But only because you asked oh so nicely," Anna muttered darkly, and the Canary smiled. The blonde placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before leading Anna off and out of the room. Anna didn't want to leave Maki, but she figured they'd have to go through this eventually. The room she was led to was like any of the other rooms. Dull…well…they all had a bunch of junk in them, but nothing that interested her. Canary sat down in a chair that was directly across from another one. "You want me to sit?"
"If that's what you want to do," Canary replied. Anna's eyes narrowed and she perched on the arm of the chair, just to be different.
"So, where do we begin?" Anna muttered, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. The outfit was too big, and not at all comfortable. Canary seemed to consider it, leaning back into her chair.
"Wherever you feel best," she replied.
"And what's that suppose to mean? What am I even suppose to talk about?" Anna demanded.
"…whatever you want to."
"…you're messing with me."
"Maybe"
"….Fine…wanna start at the beginning?"
"That's usually a good place."
"In the beginning…God created the heavens and the earth…or so they say," Anna muttered, seeing if she could get a rise out of the other woman. No response. Not even a muscle twitch to say she'd found it funny. This would be tough. "No seriously…What am I suppose to talk about?"
"…why don't you start with…why are you here?" Canary asked. A simple question, that could have a very complex answer. She waited.
"…Well….you see…when a man loves a woman very much-," Anna started and was cut off by a slight chuckle.
"You don't like me, do you?" Canary asked, and one of Anna's eyebrows shot up.
"What gave away that impression? I'm so in love with you, its hard for me to just sit here," Anna muttered, before leaning back and dropping into the chair. She pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees.
"Fine…You want to know what I see when I look at you?" Canary asked, leaning forward and resting her hands on her knees.
"Suuuuuuurrrreeeee, you going to tell me what a pretty young lady I am and that I need to give up this life and do something more successful with it?" Anna retorted sharply.
"…no…I see a very young…and little girl…pretending to be more mature and grown-up then she really is," Canary replied, "Anna, I'm only here to help you. You're a thirteen year old—" Anna jumped up.
"How do you people do it?" She demanded, planting her hands on her hips," One day? ONE DAY, and suddenly you think you know everything about me. But you're very wrong—"
"Then correct me, please," Canary said, and indicated the chair. Anna sullenly sank back down into it.
-x-
Maki watched as Anna was led off by Canary and she suddenly felt very lonely. The girl was the only family that had…or at least, the closest she had at the moment. And of course she saw how Anna ignored her silent cry from help when she had received attention from the dark skinned boy who still stood next to her. Maki mumbled under her breath in Japanese. Mean. You know that I do not understand boys.
Again, her thoughts were interrupted by the young speedster. "-I mean, did you see that? Well…you were there, obviously, but MAN! Instant replay, please! I've NEVER seen Canary brought down so easily before."
"Well she did allow us a victory," Maki shook her head, wishing she could stop the ongoing commentary from the boy, "One that could have easily been taken away from us. It is not good to go into, or leave, a battle with arrogance. It can lead to a dishonorable ending."
"Aka, shut up Kid-mouth," Artemis rolled her eyes and ripped a bag of potato chips out of Wally's hands. She cut him a glare, "We were all there, we all saw it, so stop talking. And STOP stealing MY snacks, you pig!"
They began bickering and Maki resisted the urge to place a hand against her head. She was so unaccustomed to the loud antics of others her age. Normally it was either her and Anna on their own, or just herself within her quiet dwellings. Was this how normal teenagers acted? A mellow voice spoke in her ear, "I am sorry about them. Have you found yourself comfortable here yet?"
Maki turned to Kaldur with a smile. She honestly tried not to fall for others romantically – it had a tendency to go awry. But this young man was so mature for his age…so different from any others their age. She was fluent in English but she felt like she was tongue tied for the moment. It was so different the night before when they were on a mission. Even paired together…even in the "Tunnel of Love"…they had a job to do that took precedence. This was downtime. This was WAY different.
His blue eyes looked at her questioningly, and she realized that she hadn't said anything. "Ah, well…I have not been here long enough know. And last night was rather…restless."
"I see…would you like a tour?" Kaldur's eyes softened and she felt her cheeks heat up again. Before she could reply, Wally's arm was around the Atlantean's shoulder and he was leering at his friend.
"Ahhh…I see what you're doing." He wiggled his eyebrows and Kaldur sighed, mentally counting to ten before moving away from Wally. He murmured something to the boy and the red-head's expression changed from entertained to one of defeat. Maki watched him and considered his actions. She knew already, from the mission the night before, that he was the team leader. But even off of missions, he still acted mature and took his decisions seriously. He finally turned back to her, holding his arm out in front of them. "If you don't mind, we can start over here."
-x-
"So…anything I say…doesn't leave this room right?" Anna asked. Canary gave a slight nod, and Anna leaned back, pulling her shades off and propping them on top of her head. "Right. So you want to know how I got to being like all Castor-like right?" Canary gave no response and Anna sighed, closing her eyes and resting her head against the back of the chair. "I hate head-shrinks….and I've seen my fair share of them, so don't bother with an excuse…You're all the same."
"I wasn't going to give any excuses," Canary told her quietly," I'm here to listen…and to offer any advice that I can…" Anna gave a slight nod of her head.
"Yes. I'm only thirteen…but…I lost my family when I was about five. I don't really remember much of it…only that there was some kind of fire started, and…my brother went in to try and rescue them…He never made it out, and neither did they," she started her story," I moved around a lot to different foster homes and stuff. Bounced back and forth between people…I'd always kind of just knew I was different to begin with…The way I could find things…and locate people. You know, small stuff at first…but then Ak'virta found me…along with his minions."
"Minions?" Canary questioned, eyebrows raising slightly.
"uh…these strange gargoyle things looking for their Queen," Anna said with a slight shrug of her shoulders," I'm pretty sure I'm not there Queen because they have undying loyalty to their master, and they don't listen to me…I just emit the same energy signature…I call myself Castor…because it sounded like a pretty cool name…" She tilted her head slightly to the side," I met up with Maki…when I was trying to track down this cat burglar for stealing this Persian cat…and Maki had been hired to retrieve the diamond encrusted collar the cat wore—seriously, who puts diamonds on a cat anyways…but yeah."
"…your first job was to track down a stolen cat?" Canary asked, not seeming to believe her.
"Yeah…People love their animals…and we start out pretty small. I didn't start getting serious until a few years ago when Mi—uh…my powers went on fritz," Anna covered quickly, making an impromptu decision not to mention Mindfreak to her.
"…," Canary's look told her that she didn't follow that line of thought. "And what brought you to Gotham?"
"Business."
"What type?"
"Businessly business."
"Right."
Anna smirked slightly, as if pleased with herself but Canary only seemed more concerned about her.
"So, do you stay with someone?" Canary questioned and Anna shook her head. Canary's eyes narrowed slightly. "You don't have a foster-family?'
"No currently…I left the last one, and after a couple of years…They give up on searching for you," Anna replied with a shrug," I left a note telling her that I was leaving, and not to worry about me—"
"How old were you?" Canary questioned, it seemed guarded though.
"um…I don't know…like eight?" she replied with a shrug.
"You've been on your own for five years?" Canary questioned," and no ones tried to help you or bring you in to proper custody?" Anna shook her head quietly, leaving out the part about having to evade such helpful company in her life. "Very well…I think we've covered enough for this one session…it won't be our last."
"Joy," She muttered sarcastically," Can I go now?"
"Not yet," Canary replied and leaned forward," Anna…Do you trust anyone here?"
"Yeah," Anna replied quickly and one of Canary's slender eyebrows rose," ….no."
"Why not?"
"…because I don't trust myself."
-x-
"And this, obviously, is the beach," Maki stared at the wide blue ocean and felt incredibly…seasick. She wasn't terrified of boats or the ocean…quite the opposite. She opposed flying with every fiber of her being. So she traveled wherever she needed to go via ships. However…spending so much time on top of the rolling water…
"Are you alright? You look ill," Aqualad gave her a concerned glance and she shook her head, feeling her stomach roil. She looked between him and the water and took a deep breath of the salty air. Sometimes it helped and sometimes it didn't.
"I will be fine…I've just spent too much time on boats, it seems."
The boy seemed to relax and smiled. "Trust me, it is much easier underwater. More smooth and free."
"I will have to take your word for it," Maki felt a small laugh escape. She liked it out there in the quite. Away from…well, in all honesty, she preferred anywhere AWAY from Kid Flash. "I have not swam in a long time. I do not have the leisure to."
"We will have to remedy that."
As they grinned at each other, someone cleared their throat. The older teens turned to see Robin leaning against the wall of the cave, grin on his face. "You're turn for the shrink-wrap session, Maki."
The feeling of relaxation began to fade and was replaced by her usual stoic calm. She gave Aqualad one last smile before following the Boy Wonder through the cave to where Black Canary, and a rather annoyed looking Anna, stood waiting. As they passed each other, Maki gave Anna's hand a quick squeeze. Hopefully, she was alright.
Canary's blue eyes held a friendly glow as she ushered the Japanese girl into her office. The setting was what Maki would call 'tranquil'. She chuckled to herself. Anna would probably call it boring. The woman gestured to one of the two chairs in the room; Maki gingerly sat on the edge of the cushion back straight and hands resting in her lap as she watched her confidant.
"What is it you would like to know?" Her hazel eyes calmly gazed at the blonde. Canary sat in the chair opposite of her, relaxing into it as if it were a part of her everyday routine. She tilted her head to the side.
"Anything you would like to tell me."
Maki was confused. She was not raised to discuss things like this. "I have never…done…this –" she gestured to the chairs with her left hand, "…before. I will, however, answer anything you ask me as truthfully as I can…If I am even able to provide answers."
Canary watched the young girl. Where her previous client seemed to find importance in seeming grown up…this girl seemed to be older than she should be. She had been forced to grow up to fast. "Alright then…you seem very close to Anna…do you see yourself as her provider?"
Maki's eyes narrowed questioningly. "What do you mean?"
"She has no family of her own…do you provide her support?"
"Ah," Maki realized the real question that Canary was asking, "It is more like…we provide for each other. Neither of us are more important than the other. We are just simply together."
"And you've known each other for long?"
"Two years. We met in France…on a similar mission. We did not become partners till three months later. Soon, it became second nature for us to work together. She is like a sister to me."
"And you…do you live here in America?" When Maki shook her head, Canary continued. "What about your family? You say that Anna is like a sister to you…do you have any blood siblings?"
"My father died six years ago. My mother lives in New York with my ototou. My brother. When I am at home, I run our family dojo…we teach kendo as a main form of defense training. I learned martial arts from my father as well…I use his teachings to instruct others."
"You sound like you were close to your father. When did you start your current…occupation? Was he a part of it?" Her calm voice seemed to be sending memories upon memories crashing onto Maki. She had, indeed, been close to her father. So close that a single mistake that she made removed him from her life forever.
"He was a protector. I am both a protector and enforcer…In the beginning, I wanted to be neither…it was only till after he was gone that I understood what he wished of me. I miss his wise teachings every day."
Maki's eyes were misty and Canary knew that the girl had been keeping this weight on her chest for a long time. She leaned forward and placed a hand on Maki's knee. "He sounds like he was a good man."
-x-
Anna watched the two head off. She knew it was coming and now she was alone. She supposed she could just go back to the shared quarters, but she realized she didn't know her way around the base that well. She heard quiet chuckling and became aware of the fact that Robin was also around. She stormed off hotly, not caring where her room was now if she got away from him.
"So, you talk about anything enlightening?" Robin asked her, not letting her disappear that easily.
"What?" she asked, sounding confused.
"Black Canary?" Robin questioned, with a thumb jerk over his shoulder at where they'd just left Canary with Maki.
"Yeah…completely," she muttered under her breath, having found the kitchen again. Conner was there with M'gann still. "Hey, do either of you know the direction to the room I'm staying in?"
"Conner can take you there," M'gann said sweetly as she mixed stuff together in a bowl. Conner stood up swiftly, and headed down a hallway without another word to them.
"uh…." Anna said.
"Yeah. He gets like that," Robin said before following down the hallway after Conner. Anna crossed her arms over her chest. Of course everyone but her would know where her room was. Conner was waiting outside a door, arms crossed over his chest. He had a serious expression his face and he indicated the door.
"Here," he said gruffly before heading back the direction they'd came. Anna rubbed at her face as she opened the door and went in. She didn't bother shutting the door and Robin took that as an open invitation. "It's really not all that bad here. You'll see." She flopped down on her bed, rolling over so her back was to him.
"If you're done, please shut my door on the way out," she muttered. She felt like guilt was eating at her now. She hadn't told many people about her parents death—or EVER told that she had a brother. She didn't know what had happened to make her tell the Canary all of that information. It was eating at her now, wondering how that information was going to be used against her. Her right arm was pulled up under her head, since she wasn't going to be using the pillow anytime soon.
"…I'll bring you some lunch back," Robin said quietly and she heard the soft click of the door close. She felt tears pool up before spilling over and dripping down onto her arm. She didn't make any move to wipe them off though. She'd let Canary in, despite all her years of avoidance and untrustliness. After all this time, someone had gotten into her head for a change. She blinked away the remaining tears and let the ones on her cheek dry. There was a quiet tapping on the door, like someone's knuckles thumping it. She rolled over quickly, sitting up and was to the door in a matter of seconds to open it. Robin was balancing some plates and cups in an almost comedic manner. She took a cup and a plate, and sidestepped, making a gesture for him to come in. He did and sat down crosslegged on her bed without further invitation. She moved to join him, wondering what he'd gotten her. There were some cookies on the plate, chocolate chip, and some type of potato chips? Plain and salty. But the sandwich? It was a peanut butter and jelly. She felt the corners of her mouth twitch.
"What if I was allergic to peanut butter?" she questioned, popping a chip into her mouth.
"You aren't, and you dislike other sandwiches," Robin said, taking a bite out of his," Ham and mayo? Nope. But peanut butter and jelly? That's a classic. Besides, who could dislike a classic?" There was something in his question that Anna felt had nothing to do with the actual sandwich, but she didn't press it. She took a sip of her water and remained quiet as she ate. "So…you in the mood to talk?" She took another bite of her sandwich and said nothing. "I take that as a no, but can I ask you a question?"
"Didn't you just?" She replied and shook her head," No, you can't…but you will anyways."
"….Fine," he said, startling her as he continued to eat," I won't pry." And that only served to fuel her curiosity as the raven-headed boy continued his meal.
The silence only lasted a minute before a figure stepped into the doorway, "Anna-chan…daijoubu?"
Maki's words fell short as she saw Robin and Anna sitting on her bed in a very familiar manner, sharing lunch. What all had happened while she was talking to Canary. She dipped her head quickly in greeting."Oh, hello."
In the Japanese girl's arms were a couple of pairs of jeans and some shirts. She laid them on the beds and looked over to Anna as she relayed the scene that had just happened.
"I enjoyed talking with you," Canary and Maki shared a smile…it was true, Maki found the older woman to be a very good listener. Although they had not delved into any deep subjects, just talking in general was a nice feeling.
"Practice starts tomorrow at eight," The woman gave a slight wave and walked away just as Artemis cleared her throat.
"Yeah…I know I'm not Miss Hospitality or anything…but I figured that you and Castor could use a change of clothes." She held a brown bag out to Maki and looked slightly embarrassed. "I had to guess but my stuff will probably fit you. As for Castor…I hit a growth spurt about a year ago…shot of six inches. Mom kept some of my things for whatever reason. I don't really need them."
Maki pulled the shirts and pants out of the bag, feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude. She gave Artemis a wide grin. "I know we both must look terrible right now. Arigato. I will make it up to you."
Artemis waved her words off, "Eh…we'll just hang sometime. There's a Halloween party tonight. Its not anything we're throwing…its Megan and Conner's school. But the whole team's invited."
Maki felt a small glow at being included in the 'Team'. "I will talk to Anna."
The blonde departed as Maki shifted through the articles of clothing…blue jeans and a maroon turtleneck for herself and black skinny jeans and an Alice in Wonderland t-shirt. She chuckled and began walking to her room.
Anna looked up startled, and with a guilty look as soon as Maki set foot into the room. Here she was, eating food and hadn't even gotten Maki any of it. She held out her plate in an attempt to make up for it.
"Uh…hi…food?" She asked and noticed the slight tilt of Robin's head. The kind people get when they've been wondering about something for awhile and they've found the missing piece of knowledge. Maybe it was his unasked question? "It's peanut butter and jelly." And Anna suddenly realized she had no idea what Maki liked to eat…they didn't really have time for comfort food when the two were together so she'd never really figured out if Maki had any dislikes towards food. Food was food. It provided nourishment and energy. Anna was balancing her cup of water on her knee and grabbed a cookie, taking a small bite of it. She didn't know what to say in response to the green archery girl's sudden act of kindness….Should she even accept it? Yeah. No reason to tramp around in these ridiculous clothes when there were some perfectly good ones right there.
"That was nice of her," Robin said quietly, eating a potato chip. He offered no other real comment and Anna couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking—the whole 'bring her lunch' thing had really thrown her off as well. But she supposed being the sidekick to the 'great detective' Batsy, could do that to a guy. Maybe he was just trying to pull a Black Canary and get inside her head too. Instant distrust.
Maki shook her head with a smile, "No thank you," was the response she gave to the offering of the sandwich, but she took a potato chip from the plate. When she munched down on it, she briefly enjoyed the instantly salty taste that exploded in her mouth. She enjoyed it for a second and then smiled at Robin. "I do not wish to be rude…but I would like to get changed."
She tilted her head to the side though. "Thank you for your kindness to us. It has been most helpful."
Her hand brushed the fabric of the turtleneck absentmindedly. True she was enjoying the feeling of being part of something larger…but why was everyone so trusting? That idea alone was the only thing that sat in the back of her mind. Nothing was perfect…there should be at least one person who wasn't as happy to have them there. Robin smiled and stood up, catching Anna's glass as he did.
"You done?" he asked and she nodded, offering him her plate. He grabbed it, his fingers sliding over hers to get a better grip of the plate and she almost dropped it at the sudden contact. One of his eyebrows shot up but he didn't comment.
"See you later, now shoo," She said, gesturing at the door.
"I'm shooing, I'm shooing," He said with a slight chuckle, making sure to close the door on his way out. Anna flopped back on her bed.
"Yay, clothes," she said, but didn't get back up to get them. "So…A party? Seriously? We've been here for like…two days…and they want us to attend a party?" She shook her head, sitting back up. "I don't know about you…but I don't think I could handle a party." She bit her bottom lip nervously. "We don't…have to go?" She pulled her shades off, laying them on the nightstand and getting up to grab the outfit she knew must've been for her. The maroon was pretty, and would look exceptionally well on Maki. Dark colors were Anna's forte though, and she was glad she hadn't been given something pink and frilly.
Maki began changing, mind running through various scenarios of what might be happening in the future. True…they had just gotten the job yesterday. "I believe she asked out of courtesy. If we explain that we do not wish to go, I do not think that they will pressure us. They seem to be walking on eggshells around us…And now we wait."
When the turtle neck was pulled over her head and was wrapped snuggly around her torso, she turned back to her roommate. "You and Robin seemed…close."
She felt the awkwardness of the unasked question fill the air. In their years working together, boys were the LAST thing they ever considered talking about. Their conversations were usually battle plans, strategy, and mission prospects. They never had the need to consider anything else.
Anna, with her back to Maki stared down at the Alice in Wonderland t-shirt, as if she were trying to make it burst into flame. She evaded the question. "You and fish-boy seemed…close."
It felt like a low-blow, but if Anna was going to be forced to discover things then she was taking Maki with her on the path of self-discovery. She swiftly changed clothes, feeling better with the tighter pants on now. The shirt was snug as well, but not so snug that it made her uncomfortable. She twisted from side to side, then did some stretching towards her legs to test the fabric of her pants. They were hand-me downs and were well worn for her enough so she could move with ease. She didn't want to think about Robin, not in that way anyways. She'd never actually considered the potential of a boy before as something she really even needed. She'd seen other couples before and understood it, but doubted that she was going to need or desire anything like that until she was a few years older. She fished through the nightstand and came up with a hair-band which she used to try and pull her hair back into something manageable. She was having no such luck.
Maki silently turned and picked up the hairbrush that sat on the dresser. She stood behind Anna and began brushing her long, wild tresses, the movements being calming. She considered the conundrum. Most girls would jump at the chance to discuss boys…but of course Maki and Anna weren't most girls. "Kaldur is a very nice boy. He is mature for his age."
"Heh. Just your type?" Anna's comment was one that should probably have been taken as humor but Maki considered it for a moment.
" I do not know yet." She pulled the girl's dark hair through the hair tie and fluffed it in a sisterly manner. "I have never had experience with boys. I was always too busy." Anna shook her head, pretending to fuss over her hair that Maki had just fixed for her. She grabbed her friend's hand, pulling her along after her.
"Come on, might as well let them know we're not going," Anna said, heading out the door at her usually break-neck speed, letting go of Maki's hand. Three steps. That's all she got before she slammed into something very solid and tumbled onto her butt. She looked at the boots she saw first, then slowly let her eyes wander upwards to reach the face of an actually decent looking guy. In total red and black. He had some kind of bow and arrow thing on his back much like Green Arrow or Artemis. Who was he? And why did he have to be there?
"…," he didn't say anything at first, only scowled at her. He seemed to be in a bad mood, but Anna didn't think it had to do with her running into him. He probably hadn't even felt that impact. She remained on the ground, feeling slightly frozen by his intimidating look.
Maki knelt beside Anna and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Her eyes turned to the man who seemed to be similar to her in age. She gave him a once over, taking in the sight of the newcomer. She tensed, sensing his displeasure.
Crossing his arms, the irritated red head cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at the two. "Who are you?"
His voice was a deep timbre and Maki felt a sizzle flow down her spine. This was not a man to mess with. She helped Anna to her feet and slightly bowed her head. "I am Maki…Phoenix. And this is Castor."
She waited for him to introduce himself, but instead he just glared – sizing them up – before brushing past them. Maki was stunned. Never before had she ever met someone so angry and wound up. She felt her inner sense of trouble and considered it to be the moment she had been waiting for. Of course, not everyone would be happy with the new addition to the team. Deciding to ignore him for the time being, she placed a hand on Anna's shoulder and smiled. "Shall we go?"Anna turned slightly to watch the red-headed man on his walk. Something about him…she couldn't place her finger-tip on it though. It was elusive.
"He's trouble," she murmured, shaking her head," I don't know…but…something seems off about him. That and his total lack for manners…Sheesh. I could've hurt myself on him." There was a few seconds of silence before the corner of her mouth twitched. "And here I thought we were worried about two others…" She shook her head, before reverting to a more immature self. "Come on…I want to go get some candy…and it IS Halloween…when's the last time we went trick-or-treating? I bet I can STILL get a bigger stash than you could. People like crazy kids like me." She grabbed Maki's hand and dashed off. They entered the large room where a few others were located, getting ready for Halloween. She spotted the quiet interaction between M'gann and Conner. Something about the way the two looked at each other. They had to be a couple. There was a flash of light and someone stepped through. She spotted Artemis coming in with another girl, this one with longer black hair. The two seemed pretty close to each other and were glancing at the couple. Artemis gave a slight wave to them, and Wally zipped over.
"Hello my lovely ladies," he said, placing an arm around their shoulders," You two going to keep the Wall-ster company or do I need to hold your hands?" He winked at them and Anna unhooked his arm before heading off. Maki rolled her eyes at Wally but smiled, moving away from him. He was dressed in a high school letterman jacket and was covered from head to toe with brown fur. "Teenage Wolf?" she guessed with a smile.
"Babe…" He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at her, "You really get me."
She rolled her eyes with a smile and turned her attention to the giant man in the red suit that stood in the room. She recognized Captain Marvel from the news reports…and he looked exactly the same. Except for the thin layer of white and black face paint. The black haired girl who entered with Artemis tilted her head to the side. "Zombie Captain Marvel…very…creative. Is the League having a party? Because my dad didn't mention it."
He looked shocked, "What? No-no-no…see…FINE."
He crossed his arms over his chest in an immature manner. Narrowing his eyes at the teens, it looked like he was forcing himself not to stick his tongue out at them. "I'M going trick-or-treating. And I'm NOT sharing any of my candy!"
Maki stepped towards him and gestured between herself and Anna. "Is it alright if we join you? We were going to go get candy anyway."
Anna glanced up at the sudden mention of candy, "Candy?" The innocent tone of her voice and the slight tilt of her head meant nothing.
"Oh," Captain Marvel said, seeming taken aback. He looked slightly suspicious though, as if he didn't believe they wanted to go with him. "Sure."
"CAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDYYY!" Anna shrieked, startling everyone as she dashed into the Zeta-tube with an almost insane sounding laugh. Maki felt a small smile pull at her lips at her younger comrades antics.
"Come. The night is young. It would be an honor to have a guide around the town. If you would not mind," Maki said, not forcing him into anything and giving him the chance to take back anything he said in his brief spite of anger. The man's face broke out into a smile.
"Yeah. I know the best houses for the best candy," he said, heading for the zeta-tube with Maki in tow.
End Notes
Anna: CANDY! WHOO!
Maki: You are going to end up with cavities.
Anna: WHOO-HOO. I'll brush my teeth really good I PROMISE. Oh, I wonder what costumes we'll see?
Captain Marvel: OH FUN!
Anna: GET OUT OF THE NOTES!
Maki: Be nice. He is a guest.