Once I finished unpacking, I walked outside to see most of the team having a conversation. The only person missing was Wally. Right as I walked up, wally zoomed over with some sort of sandwich. I walked up to the group and started:
"Hi" I said trying to start conversation.
"Hi" "What's up" "Hey" "hi." "Hi" they each greeted back. But that was all they said. Then they were kind of looking at each other like they were having a conversation, but no sound was coming out. A few times they'd all look at me, or one of them would gesture towards me and they'd continue making conversation faces, and I felt really weird.
"Um, can you guys read each other's minds, or do you know each other so well you can just look at each other to have a conversation?" I asked confused.
"Ohh, sorry, I forgot, I can establish a solid mink link between us, so we don't have to carry walkie talkies, or talk during missions, I can just link us and no one else's can hear us." M'gann said.
"Ohh..." I said as they went back to their 'mind link' conversation for a few seconds, before I added:
"Ok, well I'm gonna go..." I said softly backing up slowly, hoping to get away unnoticed. This was getting awkward and I was getting bored
Wait, sorry we're in the middle of something" I heard from no one in particularbut I just waved them off and said:
"No, no it's fine, I'm just, gonna, leave." I Didn't really mind, but I felt awkward just standing there so I just wanted to leave. I walked back towards my room. I turned around a couple times and Artemis, M'gann, and Wally were giving the others looks. I just went into my room and changed into workout/training clothes; black leggings with a thin sweatshirt/overshirt over a sports shirt, and my workout Tempest mask. I always had to wear a mask, or big sunglasses. My identity was still a secret, at least for the time being. It wasn't like bad or anything for the team to not know, I mean they still didn't know what Nightwing's secret identity is so its not like I'm the first or anything. My workout mask had this special fabric on the inside layer that did something with sweat, and pores so the top half of my face that the mask usually covered could 'breathe' when I sweat, so the mask was always dry, even if I sweat a lot. It actually came in handy very often, and because of the special fabric, my mask wouldn't slide around on my face when my face was really sweaty. Even though in the gym at Bertinelli Manor, I didn't have to wear a mask, sometimes Huntress would tell me to bring it when we went to follow a lead in hotter climates, so it wouldn't be a distraction. I looked at myself in the mirror before leaving the room. I Had a thin frame, and was tall. Up until seventh grade I was taller than most of the boys in the grade and I hated it. I noticed my hair was a rich shade of brown, with blonde and golden highlights from the sun in some places, which was down, rolling in waves around my upper body. I put my hair up in a ponytail realizing I had forgotten about it, and grabbed my things. I poked my head outside, and they weren't there, so I slung my little sports duffle bag over my shoulder, and went the most discrete and unnoticeable way I remembered to get to the workout/training by yourself room. There was another training room, that was used when two or more of us were training against each other, but I was going to train solo right now, so I went to the solo workout room. To my relief, when I got there there was no one else there. There was other more advanced combed training, but I stuck with the old fashioned dummy, and my limbs as my only weapon. I was looking at it, when I realized it had a switch on the back of its head, where the neck met the head. It looked pretty durable, it didn't look like I could break it too easily, so I switched it on and waited for something to happen. I was an acrobat, a martial artist, I danced, and was skilled in hand to hand combat, and a few other things, like Huntress. Since Helena told me she was Huntress and asked me to 'join her' I've wanted to be just like her. She was my role model, but we were also very, very different. For one I was a lot more bubbly, and fun. And more friendly and more outgoing. I was really nice, and had a humorous personality.
It didn't move for a solid thirty seconds so I stepped towards it, and it suddenly charged at me. I dogged by flipping over it, and kicking it where a humans kidneys would have been on there back. Once I backed up it walked back to where it had been before I turned it on and waited for me to strike again. Then I realized there was a circle that he could barely walk two steps in any direction without stepping out, that he was standing in the middle of. It must be programmed to stay in the circle unless an outside force acts upon it. As I was trying to figure out the thing, and how it worked, I was jumping in circles around it. It swung, and kicked and lunged but the attempts never even hit me. I was quick, granted it was a machine, but it got a hit in, and had kicked my legs out of balabce while I was jumping and I fell a little, stumbled, but eventually regained my balance. I was a whirlwind jumping, around, leaping over, and basically thinking out side the box and practicing my fighting style, which was fighting using creativity and unpredictability, strategizing my next move, so the 'enemy was unable to predict what I was going to do next. I was having fun and trying to figure out what this thing was programmed to do, when I felt something. It was kinda a tug in my stomach that made me feel a little suspicious. I continued fighting the dummy, gosh this thing was fast and agile for whatever machine or thing it was. I've never seen such good combat training equipment.
"You know, it'd be easier if you fought with some sort of weapon." Someone said.
Not wanting to take my eye of of the dummy, I said
"Where's the fun in that." I replied in the general direction of the person with a smirk.
I leapt backwards dodging an attempt from the dummy, and was far enough away that I could get a head start. I ran towards it, and jumped into the air. I flipped around so it looked for a second I was doing a handstand on the dummy's head, I then quickly reached over to the switch and shut it off, while pushing off of its head and propelling myself into the air, turning as I went, so I landed on my feet behind the dummy.
I turned and looked at Artemis. No one had really seen me fight on the team yet, and she looked like she was observing me, and it made me feel a little unsettled. I hated attention, and really disliked I walked over to where Artemis was standing, and noticed she wasn't dressed in his super suit, he was in workout clothes, like me. She also was still wearing a mask, I think it was different than the one he had on earlier, but I wasn't sure. He probably came here wanting to practice tonight thinking no one else would be here, but bam, here I am, new girl and all.
"Not many people have lasted that long against bob." Artemis said A little bluntly and monotone like she was still seek g what I would do, but I think she was being humorous. I think.
I laughed a little uneasily then replied.
"Thanks!" I replied not sure how to take her observation.
"Bob?" I then added. THat is what she said right? That's what they came up with. They could have come up with something totally badass and they chose bob? What did I get myself into?
"He has no name, so to us he's just bob the training dummy." She said.
"Oh, yeah we talked about the schedule for tonight a little after you left, and we agreed the first to see you would give you the brief explanation." She started and I nodded. When I'd first met her a few hours ago she looked at me like I was a piece of meat. Her expression was changing more to me being a human, and not something dead, she was funny, and I hope we become friends. She seems sarcastic, and I like people like that.
"So dinner is in about an hour, then after dinner were going to go out and play some kind of sport for a while, and then come in and watch a few movies or something. Not sure what we'll do after that, we didn't get that far." She ended. Then she added. "So just meet us in the kitchen at like 4:15 and we'll all talk and whatever then." She finished.
"Ok thanks." I said back.
"Do you know what kind of sport were going to play?" I asked.
"No, we'll probably decide that over dinner, but we have equipment for just about any modern sport used by humans. We also have some Martian sports too, they're always fun." He answered.
"Cool" I said.
"See you then" I added,
i walked over, got to my little sports duffle, and pulled out my water before putting the strap over my shoulder, and walking out of the room. I remembered how to get back to my room, and walked, again through the halls as unnoticeable as possible. I was still in workout clothes and didn't really want to talk to anyone before dinner, so I could at least I could freshen up before someone else struck up a conversation with me.
If any of you have questions, recommendations, or whatever, feel free to ask, I'm going to be starting posting answers to reviews on my next chapters. Thanks for reading!