A/N: Hey guys it's an update. I'm so proud of myself that I haven't posted a single authors note about my crappy writing and how much I want to stop but cant! I AM ADDICTED TO WRITING! AHHHHHHHHHH! *Gets carted off to Arkham Asylum still screaming:*
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN YOUNG JUSTICE AHHHHHHH! Hi Joker! AHHHHHHHHH!
GOTHAM CITY
17 MARCH 2014
22:00 EDT
A DECISION.
It was another night in Gotham city. A night where a poor little kitten had been grounded. Well, Catwoman was out 'talking' with Batman and Kitten had nothing to do. So she was incredibly happy when she heard the soft padding of a careful ninja alight on the apartment floor. Running out of her bedroom, still in her pyjamas, she threw her arms around Robin shoulder and gave him one of her 'death-hugs' as Dick called them.
"What's new Kitty Cat?" he asked, smirking as she detangled her self. She laughed at his song reference before remembering she was in her pyjamas... her Batman pyjamas. She could feel the heat from her cheeks as Robin started to snigger at her.
Running into the kitchen to hide her face, she started making some peppermint hot chocolate. Something they usually had when Batman and Catwoman were 'talking' and Robin wanted to escape. The first time they did that and Batman realized his partner was no longer with him; both heroes turned Gotham upside down before they found him asleep next to Sophie with cards spread all around them. Now Batman always knew where to look.
So that was what their evening would be filled with. Peppermint hot chocolate, card games, and spooky stories until Batman came to collect Robin to take him home.
But that night Batman and Catwoman were actually talking. Talking about Kitten.
"You remember what I said on Christmas?" Batman asked as Catwoman alighted next to him on a random roof in Gotham.
When Catwoman didn't answer he pressed on.
"That girl has a future in Justice, she could go incredibly far"
"Well I would love it if she was a full fledged hero but in Gotham that is hardly possible"
"In Gotham it is hard, but in Star City it's not"
Catwoman turned to look at him in confusion. Seeing this Batman elaborated; Catwoman needed all the facts before letting Kitten join this new team.
"Black Canary has recently taken on two new protégés. They are learning but they need someone with experience, someone their own age, someone they can talk to: Someone like Kitten. She will be given full access to the zeta beam teleportation tubes, so she can live here and work there. And then later they will be able to join The Team"
Batman then took off across the rooftops. Just because Robin wasn't with him didn't stop him from going on patrol.
Catwoman looked out towards the lights and streets of Gotham, towards the area her daughter was, laughing with Robin. She knew that Batman spoke the truth. Kitten could do so much more good in the world under Black Canary's mentorship. Catwoman had met the hero before and was pleasantly surprised at how motherly she was. She knew that Black Canary would look after her Kitten. She knew it was the right choice.
When Kitten woke up the next morning Catwoman told her Batman's proposal. She immediately accepted. Robin had told her all about Star City and Black Canary. And this way she would have other friends apart from Robin! And they were girls as well!
She immediately begged her mother to take her to the Batcave to say thank you to Batman for doing this.
When she arrived however she didn't find him anywhere, just Robin sitting at the Bat-computer. He looked up to see Kitten standing right beside him.
"A bit odd to continue the party in the morning, no?" he asked as Sophie had never come straight to the Batcave the night after one of their 'slumber parties'.
"I need to talk to Batman, where is he?" she demanded, bouncing on her toes from all the energy she felt.
"Who the heck gave you energy drinks and why haven't we all been told to hide in a bulletproof bunker yet?" asked Nightwing as he came up from the vehicle level.
"Nobody gave me an energy drink, that was just one time, and I'm just super happy!"
"Why are you super happy?" Robin asked, slowly getting out of his chair and inching behind Nightwing. He knew from first hand experience that when Sophie got 'super-happy' she tended to hug anyone in sight. Nightwing too knew the consequence which is why he was now hiding behind Alfred, who was hiding behind Silena. Yeah even Alfred is scared of her hugs.
But before their sentence could fall, Batman appeared in all his dark, creepy glory.
"BATMAN" she screamed as she launched herself at his, hugging him tightly around the middle, all the while saying "thankyouthankyouthankyou!" really really fast.
Batman just looked down at the hyper twelve year old and then at the fallen heroes and one stoic butler.
"Why is she hugging me?" he asked, raising an invisible eyebrow as the heroes got up off the floor. The sight of their friend/daughter hugging The Batman was obviously a bit too much for them.
Looking up at the Dark Knight Sophie told him the words that would change her life even more.
"I accept".
And Batman nodded, turned around and gestured for her to follow him. All of them trailed after The Dark Knight as he made his way to costume area of the cave. In this room where closets filled with every outfit the dynamic duo would ever need on an undercover mission. Cosmetic make-up and the normal kind were displayed out on two very long tables with floor length mirror to the right of them. Spare bits of material and domino masks littered the floor for when Batman and Robin needed their costumes stitched. And there at the board was a design table.
"I want you to design your new costume, label it, and then give it to Alfred for him to make"
With that he swept out of the cave to go do Batman stuff. Leaving Sophie, Robin and Nightwing together...Oh boy.
"Why would you need a new costume? What's wrong with your old one?" asked Robin a frown marring his features.
"Because I am becoming a full fledged hero" she exclaimed beaming at her friend. Though her smile quickly slid off her face when Robin didn't stop frowning.
"But I thought you already were a full fledged hero"
"Yeah but that's with Catwoman. I'll always have the reputation of an ex-thief"
"You say that like your not going to be her protégé anymore"
"That's because I'm not" she whispered turning her head away from her friend, so as to not see the hurt and surprised look on his face.
"Then how are you going to be a hero?"
"I'll be going to Star City. Black Canary will be my mentor" she said as she turned her face back to look at Robin. He looked shocked. For once he had let his composure slip; showing Tim beneath the Robin mask. He didn't want to believe that his best friend might be going to another city. With another name! He wouldn't be able to protect her anymore, or patrol with her, or eat ice-cream after school and laugh at how much his dad failed at parenting. There would be no more late night movie nights at the manor when they had a night off and Dick would fall asleep and they would draw all over him, then get chased around the manor when he woke up.
There would be no more of that if she had to be in Star City. He would have to watch the news to make sure she was ok. Or hack into the Bat-computer. He didn't want his best friend leaving him.
Sophie saw these emotions on his face and pulled him into a hug. Not her typical OH-MY-GOD-I-CAN'T-BREATH hugs, but a soft hug filled with all the emotions that they were both feeling.
Than a blinding white flash knocked them out of their sentimental moment. They had completely forgotten Nightwing (A/N: DID YOU?!) who was holding a camera with a full blown smirk on his face.
"Scrapbook moment!" he yelled as he took off down the corridor with both of them in pursuit. And as they were running Robin realised something.
Just because she would have a new name, a new city, and a new mentor, it didn't make her any less Sophie. And he was stupid to think otherwise.
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STAR CITY
1 APRIL 2014
19:00 EDT
INDUCTION
It had been roughly a month since Sophie had found out about her new team. She had spent that time designing her costume, choosing her name, learning how to use certain weapons (she favoured escrima stick, like Nightwing, and a bo staff, like Robin), and goofing around with Tim.
Batman had given her files on her new teammates: the skills they were learning and what weaknesses they had. She had learned that Ellie had a mild case of Bi-polar disorder so she had to watch what she said around her, and that Lydia tended to speak in Chinese when she was frustrated. Sophie could understand that, as she was bilingual herself and enjoyed cussing out Robin in Spanish when she was annoyed.
What was interesting was that all three girls were bi-lingual in a different language, with Ellie knowing Russian.
But today she was using the zeta tubes to go to Star City to meet her new mentor and team. They were to meet in civvies, so her costume and weapons were in a duffle bag slung over her shoulders. It was a chilly day so her mum had forced her into her black padded jacket and had literally tried to throttle her with her scarf. But besides this she was comfortable, in jeans and her Flash t-shirt. She was annoying Catwoman and Batman by wearing the emblems of every superhero apart from Batman.
After the bright light and whirring noise of the teleportation tubes, Sophie found herself in an area in Star City. The large city was a lot cleaner and shiner than Gotham's gloomy streets and dingy housing.
Black Canary stood at the end of the alley in a black coat and jeans, her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. Beside her stood two girls around Sophie's age.
One had long, light blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail. A scarf obscured half of her face but her ice-blue eyes pierced the air around her, lowering the air temperature even more.
The other girl was wearing a woolly green sweater with her long brown hair tied in a plate. Her face was freckled with warm brown eyes and rosy cheeks.
Black Canary came forward and lifted her duffle bag from her shoulders.
"Come on Sophie, it's time you came to our hideout. Black Canary was using Green Arrows place as a base. It had plenty of room, a gym and a study (not that Ollie used it very much), perfect for training adolescent teenagers. Unfortunately she had much training in that area.
When they got there she left the three girls to themselves. Hopefully they would be able to break the ice; maybe Sophie could help them out with their costumes and names.
When she had left Sophie was immediately hounded by questions.
"Who are you?"
"Why are you here?"
"How do you know our mentor?"
"Are you are new teammate?"
"Do you like Ice-cream?"
Sophie turned to the blonde girl.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Just answer the questions!" she growled. Sophie sighed as she ran through the list in her head.
"Alright, my name is Sophie Kyle also known as Kitten. I am here because Batman gave me an opportunity to get out of Catwoman's shadow and learn more about being a hero. I barely know BC, so don't worry about that. Yes I am your new teammate, and I love ice-cream. Happy now?"
They mulled over her answers for a while then turned to her with blinding smiles.
"Nice to meet you" they chorused together.
"What are you two, twins?" Sophie asked, incredibly creeped out by the change in attitude. When she had read their files there had been no mention of speaking in unison or some freaky type of telepathy. Then again, Nightwing and Robin often do just that and she had gotten used to it by now.
"So have you two decided on your costumes yet? Or are you still being trained?" she asked as she went and sat in a plush green armchair by the polished oak table. While Oliver Queen's home wasn't as big or old as Bruce's it had an airier feel to it.
"We're still training" explained Lydia as she sat down opposite her.
"Black Canary wants us to come up with a name and a costume, but we're kind of stumped" shrugged Ellie as she smiled sheepishly from her chair next to Lydia.
"Well I had to come up with a new name and a new costume, so maybe I could help you" Sophie suggested as she started to look for her duffle bag. Black Canary must have put it down somewhere in here...
"Okay shoot" Lydia suggested, watching her new teammate search around the room.
"Well" Sophie called from behind a bookcase. "My new name is Swift, like the bird. My new mentor is named after a bird, my best friend is a bird, and most kittens eat birds so the bad guys wouldn't make a connection between us".
Sophie emerged from the bookcase clasping a 'beginner's guide to spotting birds' in her hand. From there she proceeded to show the two girls a picture of the bird she had based her costume on.
"Seeing as there are already two birds on this team, why don't you two become birds too?" she suggested. You could see the idea going over in there heads as both Lydia and Ellie stared at the pictures of swifts.
"There must have been a reason for choosing this particular bird, wasn't there?" Lydia asked, turning her eyes away from the book and to the girl who had resumed her 'hunting'.
For a moment her shoulders seemed to slump as she leaned onto the desk. Sophie had turned her head away so that her new friends wouldn't see the sadness that question had brought up. She could still hear her voice, her last order to Sophie: 'be silent, be swift, and don't you dare give up'. Mary had told her to be swift, and so she would be.
Masking her melancholy mood, she turned back to Lydia.
"Inspiration from what a friend once told me, that's all" and so she continued her search of the room.
Ellie had come across a familiar bird in her pursuit of the book. The Swallow. She and her mother had found a nest of swallows once. She used to always beg her mother to take her to see the baby chicks and the mother bird. She could still remember how sad she had been to find they were no longer at their nest. They had flown away: Similar to Ellie. Without her mother, she too would have to learn how to fly on her own. This would be her name.
"I've decided on Swallow" she declared as she pushed the book over to Lydia. But Lydia just shook her head.
"My name's going to be Starling!" she said smugly, like she had known it all along. Ellie narrowed her eyes at her friend and swept the chair out from under her.
With a load cry, Lydia fell flat on her butt, leaving a shocked Sophie and a laughing Ellie.
"You are going to pay for that Blondie!"
"Bring it Daddy's girl!"
But as they prepared to fight each other, Sophie got in the way.
"Dudes! You two need to get traught already"
"-...-?"
"-...-?"
Two very confused girls turned to look at her like she had sprouted another pair of arms.
"WHAT?!" they exclaimed simultaneously.
"You know: traught opposite of distraught, no? Oh well I guess Nightwing's Dicktionary is rubbing off on me again"
If anything their faces just looked more confused. Then a light bulb seemed to appear above Ellie's head.
"Wait did you say Nightwing?" she asked with sparkly eyes.
"Umm, yeah?" she asked, a bit creeped out at her sudden mood change. 'I guess they were right when they said she was bi-polar' she thought as she watched Ellie whooping and jumping with apparent joy. Lydia was staring at her friend in an exasperated way, Black Canary (when did she get there?) was laughing at Ellie's enthusiasm, and that left Sophie with the impression of 'What-did-I-just-sign-up-for?!'
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One Year Later...
MOUNT JUSTICE
21 FEBRUARY 2015
19:00 EDT
3 BIRDS, 1 KITTEN AND THE TEAM
The Team were in the middle of combat training when Nightwing went up to Black Canary to ask her something that had been on his mind for the past few months.
"When are you going to tell 'the triplets' about The Team?". 'The Triplets' was how Nightwing always referred to Canary's protégés around his Team. He had seen Sophie in action as Kitten, using her developing skills from Swift, on patrol in Gotham. He was impressed at how much she had improved. Robin was happy too because she had many story's to tell him at their 'slumber parties'.
But Nightwing had to wonder about the other two. Not many people apart from Canary, Green Arrow and Red Arrow (he was not pleased when he heard that Canary had 'sidekicks') knew much about how they fought. Even Sophie had been less than forth coming on information about her teammates.
"Soon" was all she said as she turned to watch Wondergirl and Superboy try and battle each other out of the ring.
And so Nightwing was forced to instruct over his little brother after being given this unsatisfactory answer. But satisfaction was on the way.
"RECOGNAISED: SWIFT B25, SWALLOW B26, STARLING B27"
Shock filled Canary's face as she spun around to face the three smirking girls.
Swift, with her black hair flying free and a brown feathered domino mask on her face. She had also kept her black lipstick from her identity as Kitten. Her mainly dark brown body suit clung to her frame as she crossed her arms over the light brown bird insignia on her chest, with its wings forming over her shoulders. The black, electrolyzed escrima sticks that she fought with hung at her waist as her suit ended in an open skirt, with grey, Kevlar enforced leggings underneath. She had flung her bo staff (a gift from Robin) across her back in its collapsed state.
Swallow, with her blonde hair styled in a similar manner to her mentors, a red domino mask obscuring her eyes and blood red lipstick on her lips. She wore her stylised black tail coat with flowing sleeves over a black long sleeved top. Over her top she wore a bright yellow corset that ended at her hips. Then she wore gray shorts and black leggings.
Starling, her curly brown hair tied back in a messy ponytail, a dark purple cowl exposing her eyes and hiding her freckles. She had gone for dark purple lipstick. She had her arms crossed too, over a dark purple tunic and dark brown star in the middle. One of her black sleeves was longer than the other, reaching her left mid-bicep while the shorter one just covered her right shoulder. She was the only one to just wear leggings and hers were a dark brown. A purple quiver was slung over her shoulder with a collapsible purple bow rested on her hip.
All three girls looked incredibly pleased with themselves at making such an entrance.
"Hi, what's up BC?" called Swallow from the middle. But Black Canary could only gawk at her three charges and only managed to shake her head in bewilderment.
That's when Swift saw who was behind Black Canary.
"NIGHTWING! ROBIN!" she screamed as she ran up and hugged both boys around their chests, squeezing them so tightly they were gasping for breath at the end.
"Yeesh Swift, maybe extra fitness train was a bad idea" gasped Robin who was clutching his ribs in apparent pain. The Team just looked on shocked. Three unknown girls where standing in the middle of the cave, acting like it was perfectly normal, and Robin was being all chummy with the black haired one! After watching Robin, Nightwing and Swift chat for a while Beast Boy finally grew impatient at the lack of explanation. So gathering up all the air in his lungs, he bellowed at the top of his voice:
"WHO ARE YOU?!" leaving poor Superboy's ears in terrible pain.
All three girls turned to The Team as one; and as one they said:
"We are the three birds that fly around Star City's sky. We are Swift, Starling and Swallow. And BC..." here they turned to Black Canary "We Are Joining This Team"
A/N: *sneaks back into the curiously empty room* Psst, I have escaped HAHAHAHAA! ^-^ That was so much fun! By the way folks I am going to put up a poll on my profile as to whether this starts to follow the actual series or whether it becomes an AU after this point. Please vote and REVIEW... ACK THE COPS ARE COMING, THE COPS ARE COMING! YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! *Runs off with Commissioner Gordon chasing after her*