Wow! Been a while since I posted anything, huh? (I think it was two months?) Sorry about that, Christmas and all, and my family and I went on a little vacation. (I've also been working on my other stories.) But in any event, It's here! :D
So I hope you like it, it's not that interesting (I don't think) but it's something. (Also I have another announcement to make at the end of the chapter.)
Disclaimer; I own nothing except Gabrielle and Natalia
Chapter Eight: Special Training
Mount Justice
October 5, 10:56 EDT
Gabrielle flipped a civilian clothed Kaldur over her shoulder, and slammed him onto the floor, flipping him so that he would land on his back.
"That was very good Gabrielle, very good." Canary said.
Gabrielle smiled and walked over to the table that was set up in the area and grabbed her root beer bottle as the injured Wally finally opened his mouth. "How do you keep managing to flip Kaldur? You can even flip Conner. What are your powers?"
Gabrielle set the half-full bottle down and wiped her upper-lip as Kaldur walked over. "I don't know what most of my powers are, but according to my parents, I have five abilities. Super strength is not one of them." Gabrielle said. "I volunteered for an experiment my Dad was doing in his lab- that was inside of the house, he had called my two bothers into the lab and I had followed. Both of my brothers chickened out of the experiment so I offered to help Dad. His formula worked perfectly, so far no side-effects."
"And what if you do run into side-effects?" Robin asked. "Your Father is dead, and he was probably the only person alive that could have worked out a cure."
"Well that's not entirely true." Gabrielle said as she stared at her bottle of root beer.
As she stared at the bottle intensely, in her mind she recalled the events of the night her life had changed. The night her parents died.
Denver
September 20, 12:00 MDT
Anthony Anderson sat in his home lab, which sat in the basement, examining a sample of blood through a microscope. He chuckled when arms wrapped around his shoulders, hugging him. "Good morning, Gabrielle."
"Actually, it's noon, Daddy."
Anthony looked up from his microscope and glanced at the clock. "So it is." He turned to his daughter. "What brings you down here?"
"Mom sent me. She told me to tell you, and I quote, 'to get his ass up here and pack'. She said it, not me."
"That does sound very much like your Mother." Anthony chuckled.
"Yeah." Gabrielle laughed a moment before glancing at the microscope. "So what're you working on? Is that blood?"
"Yes, it is, your blood to be precise. I'm making sure there have not been any negative reactions to the new formula."
"Negative effects like what?"
"I don't quite know, but they would possibly be harmful, if not deadly."
"Yeah… I'd prefer not to die."
Anthony chuckled. "Worry not, I won't allow that to happen."
Gabrielle smiled, as a voice rang through the basement. "Gabrielle and Anthony Anderson, you both get up here right now!"
Gabrielle stared at her Father. "Oh crap. We're doomed."
Anthony chuckled. "We had better get up there, before she comes down here."
Gabrielle and Anthony quickly made their way upstairs, Anthony shutting the lights off to the lab on his way out.
23:00 MDT (11:00 PM MDT)
Gabrielle sat in the living room watching television, as her Mother cleaned up the kitchen, and her Father read a book while sitting in his favorite chair.
Gabrielle glanced at her Dad, who looked up from his book, before he turned to stare at his wife. "Anne, darling, why don't you come and sit with us?"
"I can't, love, there is still cleaning to be done."
Gabrielle spoke up. "Mom, we're going on vacation. I don't think the rats are going to care if the house is a little dirty."
Anne turned and stared at her daughter blankly, as Anthony spoke again. "Gabrielle is right. Will you please come and relax?"
Anne sighed and finished putting the dishes away before walking out into the living room, sitting on the couch next to her daughter. "Fine, I'm relaxing… Gabrielle, what on earth are you watching?"
"I don't really know. But I think that cat is being outsmarted by a mouse, and that's kind of hilarious."
Anne shook her head, as Anthony chuckled. He was ready to speak when Natalia ran into the room, tears in her eyes.
Gabrielle and Anne shot off the couch and ran over to her. Anne picked the toddler up, and held her close. "What's the matter, dear?"
"I had a bad dream."
"What was it about?" Gabrielle asked, noting the slightly worried expression on her Mother's face.
"I saw some scary men, and then the house was on fire."
"Grab the bags and get out of the house, now!" Anne ordered.
Gabrielle stared at her mother confused before running to grab their bags which they had packed earlier that day. Anthony stood from his chair and hurriedly walked up to his wife. "Do you believe it was another..?"
"I do. We need to get out of the house."
Anne quickly left the house with Natalia, as Anthony helped his daughter with their bags. They placed the bags on the ground across the street, as Anne was attempting to comfort Natalia. "Don't worry, everything will be alright, dear."
"What's going on? Why are we out here? It was just a bad dream, wasn't it? What aren't you guys telling me?"
"Gabrielle, much like yourself, Natalia has a special ability. She can predict the future. She has done it once before."
"So you think her bad dream was actually… A what..? A vision or something?"
"I do." Anne stared at her home before quickly handing Natalia to Gabrielle. "I will be right back, I must grab something."
Anne ran back into the house, as Anthony protested. He turned to his daughter. "You two stay here; we'll be back in a moment."
"Dad wait! What about..?!" Gabrielle bit her lip as her Father ran into the house to help his wife. Gabrielle smiled at Natalia who clung to her tightly. "Don't worry, Nat, everything will be just fine."
Gabrielle glanced back at the house to see her parents rushing toward the door. "See? Here mom and dad come n-" Gabrielle was cut short as a loud 'boom' rang in her ears, and the night sky was suddenly lit with orange flames.
Gabrielle stared at her home, horror struck. Her family's belongings, her family's home, and even her parents, were gone. "No… No, this can't be happening… I must be dreaming."
"Sorry to tell you, but this isn't a dream." Gabrielle quickly turned to find a man in a hockey mask, who just stared at her. "Now I need you and the brat to come with me."
Gabrielle glared. "That's not going to happen."
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, kid. Which is it going to be?"
Gabrielle put Natalia down and stepped in front of her. "Natalia don't move."
"So I guess it's going to be the hard way."
Sportsmaster pulled out one of his javelins and threw it at Gabrielle. She quickly grabbed it and threw it back at him. Sportsmaster simply side-stepped out of the way, as it struck the ground and exploded.
Sportsmaster glared at Gabrielle before drawing his knife and charging at her. At his first swipe attempt, she back flipped, before executing a spin kick, knocking the knife from his hand. He brought out his hammer weapon, and attempted to hit her with it.
"Etativel reh!"
Gabrielle was thrown off guard when she was suddenly thrown into the air, the weapon barely missing its target. She glanced down at the ground as Superman flew down and gave Sportsmaster a powerful punch, knocking him back five feet.
Sportsmaster glared at Gabrielle, as she was set down next to Natalia. "We're not done with you just yet."
A sudden burst of smoke engulfed the villain, which Superman quickly cleared, only to reveal that Sportsmaster had escaped.
Zatara and Superman turned to the house engulfed in flames before proceeding to put it out, as Batman walked over to the two Andersons.
"That was impressive, how you held off Sportsmaster."
Gabrielle stood in front of Natalia. "I was protecting my sister, that's all."
"How would you like to be a part of a team where your talent can be put to good use?"
"Why should I?"
"We could use your abilities." Batman was silent for a moment. "And your mother was a member of the Justice League; she asked that we allow you to join this team."
Gabrielle stared at the ground for a moment, before looking back at Natalia. She then returned her attention to Batman. "Alright, I will, on one condition." She picked up her sister. "My sister comes too."
Batman stared at them a moment before agreeing. He then turned and held a hand to his ear. "Mission update."
"Gabrielle. Gabi!"
Gabrielle blinked as she looked up to find Robin's hand waving in front of her face. She looked around as everyone stared at her, concerned looks on their faces.
"Sorry, what?"
Robin spoke. "What did you mean by 'That's not entirely true'?"
"Oh. Um… We had been packing, earlier that day; we were going on a vacation. My dad packed all his research. So I have it all back at my apartment. So if I ever needed it, I would just need someone to translate all that… Science mumbo-jumbo."
Robin was ready to say something when the cave's automated voice interrupted him.
"Recognized, Red Arrow, B06."
Everyone turned to face the Zeta beams as Red Arrow walked through with Natalia. Gabrielle beamed before walking over to her sister and picking her up as they met halfway.
Natalia hugged her sister tightly, practically choking her. "Nat… can't breathe." Gabrielle managed to get out.
"Oops." Natalia said as she loosened her grip. "Sorry about that. I missed you."
"I was only gone for a few days!" Gabrielle said laughing.
"What's so funny about it?!" Natalia asked, as Gabrielle continued to laugh.
"Don't worry about it Nat." Gabrielle said. "Are you hungry? You can steal some of Wally's food."
"No she can't!" Wally exclaimed.
"You wanna argue?" Gabrielle asked.
"Okay… she can have a cookie. One cookie, that's it." Wally said.
Gabrielle put Natalia down, and she ran over to Wally to get the cookie.
"You still have training to do Gabrielle." Canary said.
Gabrielle sighed. "Alright, what am I doing now?" She asked.
"I want a whole team fight, minus Kid Flash." Canary said.
"Why exclude me? I can handle myself, even with a messed up arm!" Wally protested.
"I'd rather not have Flash hold it over my head that my protégé broke your arm further than you already have." Canary said staring at Wally, before tossing a strip of fabric at Gabrielle.
Gabrielle caught it, and stared at it. "What's this?"
"A blindfold, I want you to put it on." Canary said.
"You do not like playing fair with me, do you?" Gabrielle asked.
"We need to find out what you can do since, you yourself, don't know." Canary said.
"So you're willing to risk the team?" Arrow asked.
"Gabrielle can control herself. You will be taking Kid Flash's place; I myself will also be joining in." Canary said.
"I'm not going to just sit on the side lines here!" Wally exclaimed.
"Fine, but if you get hurt, you can tell Flash that it was your fault."
"Oh great, so now the entire league can - excuse the language here - have my ass when I hurt their protégé's and a fellow member of the league? Brilliant plan Canary, I love it." Gabrielle said. "What's next? Gonna have Bats walk in during all of this?"
"Just take your place in the middle of the training mat and put the blindfold on." Canary said.
"First, what's the catch?" Gabrielle asked. "There's got to be a catch, other than finding out what all I can do."
"No catch, just go stand in the middle of the mat and put the blindfold on." Canary said.
Gabrielle stared at her mentor curiously, before doing as she was told and walking over to the middle of the electronic training area, she stood in the middle as she put the blindfold on.
"I also want you to try to identify who your attacker is, and in turn figuring out the way to counter." Canary said.
"I knew there was a catch!" Gabrielle exclaimed.
"It's not a catch, it's a challenge." Canary said. "Now everyone take your positions."
Everyone quietly formed a circle around Gabrielle. M'gann established a mental link between all of them, so they could communicate without talking. Aqualad stared at everyone before nodding. Robin and Wally were first, and they tried a team effort to defeat Gabrielle.
Gabrielle somehow managed to dodge the speedster, causing him to run towards the bird as he was ready to throw a couple of his birdarangs. The bird, however, managed to dodge the speedster, causing him to crash into the wall, thankfully not hitting his injured arm.
"KF you okay?" Gabrielle called.
"I'm fine! I didn't hit the arm!" Wally called.
Robin didn't stop from his attempt to attack Gabrielle, he instead took Gabrielle's focusing on Wally as a chance to try and kick her. He, accidentally, kicked her in the cheek, suddenly hoping he hadn't dislocated her jaw.
"Gabrielle." Canary said, taking a step towards her protégé.
Gabrielle held her hand up. "I'm fine…" She said. "Not even a scratch."
Canary took a step back, and continued to watch Robin and Gabrielle, now in a martial arts fight, both seeming to be equal to the other. Aqualad nodded to Conner, causing him to attempt to punch Gabrielle, the latter moving out of the way at the last second, causing Conner to punch the floor, almost hitting Robin.
"Hey! Watch it!" Robin mentally exclaimed.
"It's not my fault she moved." Conner replied.
"Focus boys." Canary said.
Conner tried to attack Gabrielle again, and she dodged almost everything he threw at her. The only thing she couldn't dodge was when he tried to slam his fist into her shoulder. Gabrielle landed on her back, with her shoulder now feeling like it had been dislocated.
"Gabrielle, are you alright?" Canary asked, walking over to her protégé.
Gabrielle grabbed her shoulder and popped it back into place, biting her tongue so she wouldn't scream in pain. "I'm fine." Gabrielle said, standing up.
"Training's over." Canary said. "Conner that was obviously too much force, you need to learn to control yourself more."
"I'm fine, don't beat Conner up." Gabrielle said. "I just wasn't expecting it, that's all; my shoulder's been messed up since I was five anyway. So who's next?"
"No, no more. Training is over, and that's that." Canary said.
"You said you wanted to know what all I can do. I'm fine, let's keep going." Gabrielle said.
"Alright…" Canary said, not the slightest bit happy as the words that left her mouth. "Let's continue, then."
11:48 EDT
Over half an hour later, the training was still commenced. Only M'gann, Artemis, and Red Arrow had been put out of the fight like Wally had been, and sat on the sidelines. They watched as Gabrielle tried to out maneuver Canary and Robin, as Kaldur and Conner were trying to pin her down.
Unknown to everyone, Batman, Superman, and Green Arrow entered the base, and watched in shock as Robin and Conner tried to switch up the tactics and attacked at the same time causing Gabrielle to do a last minute back-flip and land on her feet.
"What is going on here?" Batman asked, glaring at everyone.
Everyone stared at him, including Gabrielle - who had taken her blindfold off to see what was going on. "We're training." Gabrielle said.
"While wearing a blindfold?" Batman asked. "Whose idea was that?"
"It was mine; I thought it would be a good challenge for Gabrielle. And also a good way to try and figure out what she can do." Canary said.
"And everyone just so willingly went along with it?" Batman asked.
"Just cool down bat guy, no one got hurt." Gabrielle said. "That has to count for something."
Batman just glared at her, causing her to turn and stare at Robin. "How did you put up with this guy?" She asked. "I would've gone mad in a week."
Robin was ready to reply when Superman interrupted him.
"Gabrielle…" Superman said staring at Gabrielle a little disappointed.
"Come on, it's not like no one is thinking it." Gabrielle said, shrugging as she walked over to pick up her root beer. "So is there any news on the babysitter guy?"
Superman sighed, as Batman answered the question. "No, and even if there was, it is the league's responsibility, and it will stay our responsibility, am I understood?" He asked.
"Don't ask me. I never take your threats seriously." Gabrielle said, taking a sip of her root beer.
Batman ignored her and had the computer bring up the holographic map, closing in on Denver, Colorado. "There have been incidents recently that have left several people severely injured and in the hospital, I want this team to go and find out what's going on, and – if possible – put a stop to it." Batman said.
"Oh joy, Denver… The place of happiness and hope…" Gabrielle said sarcastically.
"You, however, will not be going." Batman said glaring at Gabrielle.
Gabrielle saluted. "Good man." She said. "I didn't want to go anyway."
Batman stared at her as she took another sip of her root beer, before she turned to face the team. "Although if you all find anyone that knows me, give them my regards." She said.
"If you still have friends in Denver, why wouldn't you want to go for a visit?" M'gann asked.
"Oh they're not friends; they're people I've occasionally found joy in ticking off." Gabrielle said. "And by 'regards' I meant tell them I still wish they'd go to hell."
"Glad I'm not your enemy." Artemis said.
Gabrielle tried to hide a smile, and failed as she got another glare from Batman, whom she just shrugged at with a huge grin on her face.
12:02 EDT
Once the team had prepared and left in the bio-ship, the four league members found themselves in a staring match with Gabrielle and Roy-whom was still clothed in his Red Arrow ensemble.
After a few more minutes, Gabrielle broke the silence. "Well, this has been very fun, really it hasn't." She said standing up from her seat. "But I think I'm going to head home and relax, maybe watch a couple movies. Come on Natalia."
Natalia ran over to Gabrielle who picked her up, before heading towards the exit. "Are you coming Roy?" She asked. "I'm sure you don't want to hang around this dump all day."
Gabrielle stared at Roy as he stared at the four league members that stared at him. "Sure, why not?" He asked. "It gets me away from these guys." He stood up, before walking over to Gabrielle.
The four league members watched as the two teens left, before Batman proceeded to interrogate Canary about her motive behind the risky training exercise.
So hopefully that wasn't too awefully boring... But to that announcement I mentioned earlier.
It's likely going to be a while until you hear from me again. I'm going to be working on a project that may take most of my time. I will, however, do my best to try and work on The Past's Flames.
Thanks for reading!
~RadiantWolf