Cold Hearted
Disclaimer- Don't own anything, only own OC's and plot changes.
Italics- telepathic communication
Dawn's POV
"Dawn we could really use your help over here" Robin said from behind me as I placed two large presents on the long rectangular table designated for holding all the presents.
I peered over my shoulder after placing the boxes down and saw Robin and Conner holding a large red banner in their hands. They were standing in front of the two pillars close to the middle of the room where the banner was going to hang.
I chuckled to myself as I floated away from the table and took the banner from their hands.
"You couldn't have hung this yourselves?" I asked playfully as I floated the banner up to the top of the pillars and spread it out in the air so everyone could see the large "Happy Birthday!" lettering on the front.
"Of course we could have, but it would've taken us longer" Robin stated casually as he flicked his wrist hurling a large pin at the banners upper left corner. In the span of about ten seconds he threw three more pins at the wall while I held the banner in place.
Once all the pins were in place he folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head towards the banner while talking to Conner.
"You're up Supey" he said cheerfully as Conner rolled his eyes and walked up to the pillars.
He waited patiently until I raised my other hand and lifted him a few feet into the air so he could push all the pins in place. Robin threw the pins into position hard enough for them to stay stuck in the wall for a while, but not hard enough to where they wouldn't come undone eventually. With a simple push of his finger Conner was able to force the nails into the wall making sure they wouldn't slip out during the party.
Having Superboy do this was way more efficient than getting a hammer and hammering them in. Everyone knows I could've done this by myself with my powers, but it was more fun if it was a team effort.
Once the nails were pushed in and the banner was secured I lowered Conner to the floor and stepped back to admire our handy work.
"Nice job boys" I complimented before slinging an arm around both of their shoulders.
To answer the question of why we're putting up banners and setting up a party at the cave is because today is Wally's 16th birthday, and he's been hinting for weeks that he wanted a surprise birthday party. Thus the team, now including Zatanna, Flash, Sue, Sasha, and RT were at the cave setting up Wally's "surprise" birthday party.
When I woke up this morning I knew Wally would be super excited because not only is it his birthday but it's also snowing outside
I love the snow and I know Wally does too. A lot of my friends can't stand the cold, but ever since I was a kid I've loved playing in the snow.
I remember one specific Christmas a few years ago when Bruce, Alfred, Sue, Barry, Iris, Dick, Wally, and I were all at the Wayne Mansion and we had a huge snowball fight in the backyard. It started off as Dick, Wally, and I playing against each other, but when Dick accidentally hit Barry in the face the speedster retaliated and brought Iris in as his back up. Then Barry hit Sue who, after a few seconds of thinking about it, finally joined me and Rob in tag teaming against Barry, Iris, and Wally. Then by some weird silent unanimous consent everyone converged on Bruce who'd just walked out of the mansion. The minute he stepped out of the house he got pelted with snowballs.
He looked down at his snow-covered coat and pants before slowly looking up to see everyone smiling at him innocently. Suddenly, however, Bruce formed a small sly grin, which made me extremely wary.
I watched as he slowly bent down to pick up a ball of snow and I was the one who yelled "RUN" right before he chucked it.
And that was how the major 7-way snow ball fight began. Over the course of the game it somehow became adults vs. Kids.
Alfred never directly participated in the game, but one time I saw Bruce had his back turned and there was no one behind him. I was going to go for the throw, but suddenly he turned towards me and was about to chuck the ball in my direction when a snowball hit the back of his head shocking him for a total of two seconds.
He turned away from me trying to see where the ball came from, but got confused when he saw no one was around. The only other person nearby was Alfred who was standing on the porch with his hands clasped behind his back looking as stoic as ever. Bruce eyed him for a while, but Alfred just had this playful all-knowing glint in his eyes that basically stated he wasn't going to admit to throwing it.
Bruce rolled his eyes before running over to Dick and tackling him to the ground. I looked back up at Alfred to see him wink at me knowingly before I returned to the game.
That's one of my favorite snow memories, but I have hundreds more. Snow is just amazing, how could you not love it.
I pulled my arms away from the boys shoulders as I heard the computer announce Wally's arrival just before saying the zeta tubes were down due to the snow.
"Quick, hide" I whispered to everyone as someone turned off the lights plunging the room into complete darkness.
I floated over to the couch and hid behind it with Robin. We all silently waited until we heard soft footsteps and the sound of KF talking to himself. Once we were sure he was in the room Megan turned on the lights and everyone jumped out yelling "SURPRISE!"
"What? Oh you guys, you shouldn't have" Wally said trying to sound shocked.
I rolled my eyes and scoffed "Right, not like you've been hinting for days or anything" I stated sarcastically.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about" Wally denied as he walked over to the group.
I rolled my eyes again but decided not to comment as I stepped forward to give him a hug "Happy Birthday you big goofball."
"Happy birthday slow poke" Sasha yelled as she jumped on Wally's back and wrapped her arms around his neck once I'd released him.
Wally laughed and patted her arm "thanks Skittles, but you might want to loosen up your grip a little. You don't want to kill me on my birthday now do you."
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. You never know" Sasha pointed out with a smirk before allowing everyone else to say their greetings.
After everyone had said their happy birthday's Megan gave Wally a party hat to put on his head while Sue and I brought out the two large cakes Megan and Sue baked earlier this morning.
No one minded Sue and Sasha being at the cave since they already know everything and were basically a part of the team/ family even if they weren't superheros. I know for a fact that Sue's been up to the watchtower a few times before so her being in the cave wasn't a big deal. As for Sasha, ever since the Klarion splitting the world into two fiasco no one minded Sasha being over either.
"Sue and I made two cakes," Megan explained as Sue and I placed the large cakes on the table in front of where Wally was currently sitting.
I lifted my hand and lit the candles with fire from my fingertips as Wally said "Awesome! What will you guys eat?"
Sue laughed and ruffled Wally's hair "We'll split the cupcake" she said sarcastically.
"Now make a wish," Megan ordered with a smile while pointing towards the two cakes.
"Way ahead of you" Wally said suggestively before sucking in a deep breath and blowing out the candles while making a silent wish in his head.
Everyone clapped and hollered as Wally blew out all of his candles.
"You know if I tell you my wish it won't come true, but if you guess…" Wally trailed off suggestively as he spoke to Megan.
She handed him a slice of cake guessing that that's what he wished for.
"Nope! Guess again!" Wally said.
Neither of them noticed, but out of the corner of my eye I could see Artemis giving Wally an annoyed glance.
Megan stared at Wally for a few seconds and smiled before leaning forward to plant a soft kiss on his forehead.
"Happy Birthday Wally" she said softly not noticing the way Wally's face fell just a little at the kiss.
"Ohhhh rejected" I whispered to Robin from our corner of the room as we watched the interaction.
Robin laughed and shook his head "Wally just doesn't know when to give up does he?"
"I don't think he knows the meaning of the word," I confirmed before pausing as I saw Zatanna standing off to the side by herself.
I nudged Robin and tilted my head in Z's direction telling him we should go talk to her through our personal mind link. He nodded and grabbed three slices of cake from the table before we walked over to Zatanna.
"You settling in ok?" Robin asked her softly once we'd reached her.
He handed her a slice of cake and she gladly took it from his hands. He handed the other slice to me as Zatanna answered.
"Oh yeah. Just like home" she said trying to sound genuine, but Robin and I both heard the sad undertone in her voice.
"I know this is all very new and intimidating, but I promise you some day you'll get used to watching Wally eat" Robin said with a smile as his serious tone evaporated by the end his statement.
We all turned to look at Wally who was stuffing cake into his mouth swallowing chunks of food without chewing.
"I don't know Rob. I've known KF for a long time now and even I'm not completely used to his eating habits. I'm amazed he hasn't choked yet from the amount of food he's forcing down his throat at once without coming up for air" I said cringing slightly as KF stuffed another slice into his mouth.
Zatanna smiled knowing we were trying to cheer her up and thankfully it worked.
I turned as I heard the soft click clack of booted heels against the floor. I smiled at Artemis as she walked over to us.
"Think we should tell him?" she asked while nodding in Wally's direction.
The four of us turned back to Wally to see him shamelessly flirting with Megan.
"He is the only one who doesn't know" Robin commented, indirectly saying yes to Artemis' question.
"Then please, allow me," Artemis said with a smirk as she glided past us and walked over to Wally.
"Well this should be interesting" I said as I leaned one of my arms against Robin's shoulder.
"What should be interesting?" Sasha asked as she walked up behind us.
"Artemis is about to crush Wally's dream of hooking up with Megan," I stated as Artemis sat on the couch and placed her hand on Wally's shoulder as Megan left.
"He doesn't know Conner and Megan are a thing yet?" Sasha asked incredulously "how could he not know? I mean it's kind of obvious. I saw it the first time I met them."
"Well he knows now," Robin said as we watched Wally's face go through a volley of different emotions. Disbelief, shock, sadness, then finally realization where the emotions that passed across his face in the span of five seconds as he watched Megan feed Conner a piece of cake while giggling.
"Oh man!" he yelled dejectedly and hung his head practically banging it against the table in disappointment.
I was about to go over and console him slightly when Batman's voice rang through the cave's speakers.
"Attention team. Suit up, polar stealth. Mission debriefing in five."
For a split second everyone was silent, but after that second was over everyone started putting down their cake and drinks before going off to suit up.
Sue walked over to Sasha and placed a hand on her shoulder, since I hadn't moved to change yet.
"Go Dawn, Sasha and I will meet you in the debriefing room" Sue ordered before gently ushering me away.
I nodded before zipping over to my room to change into my polar stealth uniform. Instead of my normal Shade uniform I now had on a pair of form-fitting pants, a tight, long-sleeved Kevlar shirt with sturdy gloves wrapped around my hands. A half zipped, light, fluffy hooded jacket was covering my long-sleeved shirt for extra warmth. My boots and mask were the same, but like everything else I was wearing they were white instead of their usual black.
With two minutes to spare I left my room and headed towards the main hangar for the debriefing. I arrived just as everyone else did.
Flash and RT were nowhere to be found, but Sasha and Sue were standing directly to my right when I stepped into line like the rest of the team. I nodded to them, but remained silent since Batman was watching everyone from the large holographic video chat screen. By taking a close look at the screen I could tell he was talking from the batplane. I've ridden in the batplane so many times that I'd recognize it anywhere.
"Where's Flash?" Wally asked once everyone was in the room and he noticed his uncle's absence.
"Flash and Red Tornado already have their assignments. A massive ice storm has paralyzed North America from coast to coast. Satellite imagery has detected five flying ice fortresses, source unknown, which seem to be responsible and must be stopped" Batman responded seriously.
The screen suddenly changed from focusing on Batman to showing a video of a large ice fortress in the sky spewing out snow from its multiple different holes in the side.
"Well, can't the Watchtower blow them out of the sky or something?" Wally asked, totally forgetting that certain people in the group didn't know about the Justice League's secret base in space.
I discretely moved my hand by my side without anyone noticing and caused a small gust of wind to slap Wally against the back of his head since I was too far to slap him myself.
Wally winced at the blow, but didn't say anything since he knew who did it and why. He leaned forward slightly and gave me a small glare, but I just gave him the "are you kidding me" look.
I could see Robin narrow his eyes at the ground as he internally scolded his friend for his carelessness and stupidity.
"What's a Watchtower?" Zatanna and Sasha asked Robin at the same time, but he just continued to glare at the floor and didn't answer them.
When they didn't get an answer from him they looked up at me and I just shook my head at them telling them without words that they didn't need to know.
I could tell Zatanna was still curious but she gave up on trying to get the answer out of us and turned back to Batman whose eyes were narrowed at Wally.
He sighed with exasperation and I could tell he didn't have the energy to reprimand KF for his screw up right now, he'd do that later.
"The League's orbiting Headquarters is not weaponized" Batman said after a short pause indirectly answering the question for anyone who didn't know about the watchtower.
"And with both Green Lanterns off world I need all hands on deck" Batman continued, causing my head to instantly perk up.
"Does that mean what I think it means?" Robin asked Batman while trying to hold back his large grin.
"The League and the Team fighting side by side?" I said finishing off his question, since I already knew what he was thinking.
"Wow really?!" Wally squealed before fist pumping with excitement.
I rolled my eyes at him good naturally, but internally I knew this was the greatest day of his life. Not only was it his birthday, but he was finally going to team up with the League for the first time ever. How much more of a perfect day could you ask for.
Bruce didn't answer us directly, but he indirectly answered the question with a yes when he started issuing out orders.
"Superboy, use the Super-Cycle to rendezvous with the Batplane at Ice Fortress 1. You'll drop off Robin and Aqualad then continue on with Wolf to meet up with Black Canary and Red Tornado at Ice Fortress 2. Shade you'll follow them from the air and go to Ice Fortress 1 with Robin and Aqualad. Miss Martian, Artemis, and Zatanna take the Bioship and rendezvous with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter at Ice Fortress 3. Other Leaguers will deal with Fortresses 4 and 5. Sending all coordinates now."
"Uh Batman?" Wally said as he stepped forward with his hand raised "I think you skipped-"
Wally never got to finish his statement since Batman cut him off and Wally clapped his hand with anticipation waiting for his assignment.
"Kid Flash, a young girl in Seattle is in desperate need of a heart transplant. With all conventional air traffic grounded by the storm, you'll need to pick up the donor heart in Boston and run the 3,000 miles across country" Batman said sternly as Wally's shoulders slumped.
I watched as his face fell when he realized he was going to miss out on the League team mission.
"Who is this girl?!" Wally asked Batman in an almost annoyed yell.
Batman immediately squinted at Wally and answered in a gruff intimidating voice "Does it matter?"
Wally lowered his voice and reeled back some of his brash tone from earlier before responding "no of course not. But can't we zeta-"
"Zeta tubes are offline. Sorry" Robin cut in stopping his friend from continuing a pointless statement.
"Right" Wally sighed dejectedly.
"Then how could I say no. Guess I won't be needing the stealth" he said softly as he gently tapped his chest changing his suit from polar stealth to its normal yellow and red color.
"Speedy delivery boy at your service" Wally said trying to be humorous, but the look on his face ruined the attempt. His expression made it seem like the world was coming to a painful end.
Now I genuinely felt bad for KF, especially when his usually energetic and enthusiastic personality slipped away. I know it's Wally's ultimate dream to team up with the League, and for him to be told that he can't participate was a hard blow to his heart.
I would've volunteered to transport the heart in his stead since I don't mind missing out on the League team, team up. Sure, I was excited to go and it's going to be the chance of a lifetime, but I know Wally cares about the experience much more than I do. I've teamed up with multiple different members of the League individually before so it wasn't as big of a deal for me as it was for him.
However, Wally was way faster than me speed wise. I can keep up with him somewhat when I'm flying at full speed, but even then he's still faster than me so he's really the only option for the job.
Batman nodded to everyone before cutting off the video chat and telling the team to leave immediately.
When the feed went down I turned to Sue and Sasha, but Sue held up her hand before I could say a word.
"We'll just hang out here until everyone gets back since the zeta tubes are down. We know where everything is so we'll be fine."
Sasha stepped over and pulled me into a hug "go safe the world and kick some major ice fortress butt girl."
I laughed and hugged her back "You know I will. We'll hang out when I get back I promise."
I pulled away and the two left to head back towards the kitchen/ lounge room as the team went in the opposite direction.
When they left the room I floated over to Wally who was slowly making his way towards the garage. I slung an arm around his shoulder and gave his shoulder a firm squeeze.
"Sorry you're going to miss the action KF, I'd take your place if I could 'cause I know how much this means to you" I told him.
He gave me a weak smile and lifted his hand to ruffle my hair and for one time only I let him "its all good Dawn. We're superhero's, we save lives no matter what. If that means I have to stay out of the big team up then I'll do it 'cause it's the right thing to do" he said and I could tell he meant it even though he wasn't happy about it.
"Just be careful out there and don't slip on some ice while running around and bust your head open. I know how clumsy you can be and I don't need to come back from my mission to hear that you killed yourself by face planting on the frozen ground" I joked, lightening the mood a little.
Wally gave a genuine laugh before trying to swat at me, but I moved out-of-the-way.
"Too slow" I teased before flying over to Robin, Aqualad, and Superboy who were piling into the super cycle.
"Oh Conner, I never got to say this before, but I told you Sphere was a girl!" I taunted loudly, poking his arm while flying around him.
Conner swatted at me irritably and yelled when he couldn't get me to stop "Ok Dawn we get it, you were right I was wrong, now will you please STOP THAT!"
I chuckled and gave him one last poke before going over to Robin who was watching us with amusement.
"Dawn stop annoying people before we start a mission" Aqualad reprimanded lightly as he jumped into the super cycle.
I held up my hands in an act of innocence " I have no idea what you're talking about Aqualad. I'm not annoying anyone," I said while fluttering my eyelashes rapidly.
Kaldur shook his head with a grin while Conner rolled his eyes as he climbed into the front seat of the super cycle.
Wolf jumped in after him and yipped with excitement as the super cycle lifted off the ground.
Zaphira was at the mansion with Alfred when the zeta tubes went down so she won't be joining us on the mission.
Once everyone was ready to go Megan opened the bay doors and we took off to our separate locations. Superboy steered the super cycle out of the cave and into the air while Megan launched the bioship in the other direction. I lifted off the ground and followed behind the super cycle after offering Wally one final wave as he raced out into the snow.
It took us about ten minutes to reach fortress 1. Superboy steered the super cycle to the edge of the fortress and hovered near it so Aqualad and Robin could jump out. I flew in front of them and created a large wind shield in front of the group, successfully providing cover from the large bullets coming from the guns lining the fortresses' surface so Robin and Aqualad would have enough time to get out and reach cover.
Superboy and Wolf let for fortress 2 the minute Robin and Aqualad were out of the super cycle.
I kept the wind shield up until Aqualad and Robin gained their footing then the three of us simultaneously made our way towards the two guns to destroy them. I flew towards the closest one shooting from our left, while Robin and Aqualad worked together to disable to one shooting from the right.
I used my wind powers to slash at the gun with large wind disks until it was completely dismantled. While I focused on dismembering my gun Aqualad and Robin ran towards the other.
Robin jumped into the air and Aqualad moved so he was under Robin when he started to come back down to the ground. Robin flipped in the air before landing his right foot in Aqualad's interlaced hands, which acted as a platform for Robin to use. Aqualad then tossed Robin towards the gun with incredible speed and power resulting in Robin launching towards the gun like a rocket.
As he sliced through the air Robin pulled out some batarangs from his belt and tossed them at the gun swiftly cutting through some of its wires before finally placing two small bombs on the surface as he passed over it.
He then arched towards the ground and rolled on the floor until he sprung back on his feet just as the bombs went off destroying the gun in a large explosion.
After we'd destroyed the two guns we searched around for our mentors. Aqualad ran off towards Aquaman when he saw him getting shot at by a large gun on our right. I flew over to Robin and he lifted his hand instinctually already knowing what I was planning to do.
I grabbed his hand and lifted him off the ground before shooting off into the air. I circled around the fortress looking for Batman while Robin threw batarangs at the various guns he could reach trying to disable them.
"Found him," I yelled as I spotted a flash of black running behind a large piece of metal.
I flew over to Bruce and immediately evaluated the situation. I looked down at Robin when I saw Bruce was pinned behind a large piece of metal to avoid the onslaught of bullets he was receiving from two guns on both sides.
Robin gave me a curt nod and I flew closer to the fortress' surface before releasing him. We were still in the air when I released him so he pulled out his grappling hook and swung towards the gun on the right while I took care of the gun on the left.
As I flew closer I created a large water whip and crushed the gun beneath the force of my whip. Robin threw some batarangs at the gun hitting certain key points causing it to shut down as it lost connect to its power source.
When both guns were completely destroyed I turned around and landed as Robin swung in next to me. Bruce stepped out from behind his metal shield when he realized he wasn't being shot at anymore.
He glanced at the two newly destroyed guns and nodded in approval.
"It's about time you two showed up," he declared as he took another step so he was standing in front of us.
"Sorry the traffic was terrible. Who would've known there would be so many birds in the air trying to get home this early in the afternoon" I joked with a small shrug causing Bruce to roll his eyes behind his cowl.
"So what's the plan" Rob asked getting serious once again.
"From what I've been able to tell the fortress has two levels of defenses. The first level is the ground floor, which is what we are on currently. There are more guns lining the ground level then the second level, but we have more than enough people to handle the guns down here.
Shade, I need you to fly up and destroy the guns on the second level. They're on the top of the fortress and are firing from up high so we can't reach them. Since you're the only one here who can fly I need you to take them out for us. So far they've only shown gun defenses, but that doesn't mean they don't have others waiting to be used so be careful" Bruce ordered before we all ducked as a gun from up high finally noticed we were in its range and started shooting.
"I'm on it" I said before jumping over the side of the fortress. I allowed myself to fall for a second or two before flying under the fortress so I came up on the other side.
I flew up to the top and noticed that there were about 25 guns in a circle lining the edge of the second level.
After I counted the guns I started to fly around the fortress and attack from afar. I didn't want to get too close because then I'd be too easy to hit. Thus I stayed at eye level with the second level, but circled around where the edge of the first level jutted out to leaving about a quarter of a football fields length between me and the guns on the second level. This allowed me to have enough time to dodge their large bullets whenever they fired.
I used my water whip and wind disks to slash or smash the guns to pieces. As I circled around I'd periodically come down to help someone on the first level if they needed it, but I mostly stayed at the top and focused on destroying those guns so my friends wouldn't get shot at from above.
At one point I moved closer to the second level so I could destroy more guns at once. I created another water whip and twirled in the air lashing them out at lightning speed. The solid like water smashed through the guns metal and easily destroyed the guns I aimed for. However, while I was distracted with destroying the last gun on the roof the levels second line of defense kicked in. I'd just destroyed the last gun when these two cannon like things popped out of the roof.
Before I could react they each shot out 2 large nets with metal balls attached to each corner. The 4 nets wrapped around me before I could blow them away and the balls made the nets extremely heavy so I couldn't just toss them off with my hands.
The weight of the nets caught me off guard and the force of the nets impact caused me to fall back and ultimately shoot over the fortress' edge.
Just as I was about to use my telekinesis to blast the nets off they started buzzing and suddenly crackled with electricity.
I screamed as the electricity shocked me from head to toe. My screams caused Batman and Robin to look up as I disappeared into the clouds with the electric nets wrapped around me.
I could hear them yelling my name, but I was more focused on the pain the nets were causing. I struggled to get the nets off, but it seemed they had some type of magic like quality to them. The more I struggled to break free the more intense the electric shocks got and the tighter the nets wrapped around me.
Not only could I not break through the nets, but the balls on the end were making it virtually impossible for me to keep myself in the air. This resulted in me plummeting down towards the ground despite my ability to fly.
Finally I forced myself to stop struggling despite the pain and took in a deep breath. I clenched my hands together into tight fists as I felt myself warming up. I forced myself to heat up resulting in my body bursting into large hot flames. I increased my temperature until I was hotter than molten lava. Once I'd done that I released a large blast of fire from my body resulting in the nets snapping and burning away into ash.
The minute I was free of my restraints I shot up into the air and back towards the fortress with anger blazing in my eyes. I flew up to the top the fortress ignoring the enthusiastic faces of my friends when they saw me reemerge and focused entirely on the two net launching guns. The cannons shot more nets as I got closer, but I either dodged them or burned the ones I couldn't.
Once I was close enough I tossed my hand out over the entire second level surface completely scorching anything in the path of my massive fire wave. I then flew high up into the air and threw large fireballs at the few remaining guns on the first floor that the rest of my team hadn't managed to destroy yet.
After that I floated in the air for a minute while still enveloped in fire. I could tell my flames were glowing brightly due to the fact that my friends had to squint whenever they tried to look at me.
"Shade, we need to take out the main energy core in the center of the fortress," Bruce yelled over the howling wind so I could hear him.
Without having to be told what to do I zipped over to the top of the fortress and flew up into the air before flipping around and racing downwards towards the center of the fortress.
As I flew towards the fortress I saw Batman and Robin jumping into the batplane to get off the fortress' surface. Flash, Aqualad, and Aquaman ran towards the other side of the fortress knowing what I was about to do and didn't want to get caught in the aftermath.
As I raced downward I started spinning in the air while my hands were out in front of me shooting out streams of fire. The spinning caused my fire to create a sharp drill as I raced for the fortress.
The tip of my drill hit directly in the center of the fortress and as I went deeper I kept the fire around me causing every piece of metal I touched to melt on contact. I drilled through the entire fortress until I went through the main power source and came out of the bottom.
I extinguished my fire when I came out on the other side and flew back up to the fortresses edge where the two Leaguers and Aqualad were waiting. The fortress trembled as a large explosion from the center rocked the surface. As the fortress lost power it started to tip and fall towards the ground since it couldn't keep itself afloat anymore.
I flew over to Flash, Aqualad, and Aquaman before they could fall off. I used my telekinesis to lift them into the air as the fortress fully tipped and started falling out of the sky.
"Thanks Shade" Flash said as he floated in the air next to me.
I looked down at him and gave him a big smile "no problem" I answered before seeing him look down uncertainly and chuckled upon seeing his expression.
"Afraid of heights Flash?" I asked teasingly.
Barry scoffed and shook his head "Afraid of heights, no. What I'm not a big fan of is hovering in the air with nothing beneath me and solely relying on one person's powers to keep me from falling to my death" he answered truthfully.
I lifted one of my hands to my chest and pretended to be offended "do you not trust me uncle Flash?"
"Never said I didn't" Barry quipped in his defense.
"You implied it" I retorted continuing our playful banter.
"Did not," Barry argued.
"Did too," I argued back.
"Did not"
"Did too"
"Not"
"Yes"
"No"
"Yes"
"No"
"No"
"Yes!"
"Ha! I win!" I yelled and pointed at him with the hand that wasn't focused on keeping my friends in the air.
"Dang it! I hate it when you do that!" Barry whined as Bruce and Robin pulled up in the Batplane.
"Do you two banter like this all the time," Aquaman asked lightheartedly as Barry and I burst into laughter.
"All the time" was my immediate answer.
"She's even worse with Wally, though" Barry added as the covering over the Batplane opened up and everyone went silent as Batman's stern, but urgent voice reached out ears. Upon hearing it we all immediately knew something was wrong.
"Shade!" Bruce yelled and I flew closer to the plane with the other three heroes' so we could hear him better.
"What's wrong Batman?" Flash asked as we got closer to the plane.
"The Fortress has changed its trajectory. Originally when we calculated destroying it, it was supposed to land in an empty field close by, but for some reason it's not falling like we wanted it too. If it continues in the direction it's going, it'll land over a city close to the field. Shade I need you to get under it and force the fortress to change direction so it lands in the field instead of the city" Bruce quickly explained.
"That's going to take a lot of energy Batman" Aquaman stated to my mentor who was giving him an almost death glare at hearing his comment.
"You don't think I know that? I'm her mentor, I know the limitations of her powers better than anyone, but we don't have a choice. If we don't do something soon a lot of people are going to die, and I for one am not going to let that happen. Shade's the only one here who can change its course and theres not enough time to call someone else, which is why I'm asking her to do it. We'll be close by to help you after you've changed its direction," Bruce affirmed before I nodded.
"Alright I got it, but you're going to have to hold them because I can't keep them afloat while moving the fortress. I'll need both hands and all of my concentration for that" I stated rapidly and Bruce nodded.
"I'm releasing the lines now" Bruce said as a hatch at the bottom of the plane opened up releasing four long, strong, lines with two feet holes at the end of each one. I floated the three heroes over to the lines and they grabbed them while slipping both feet into the holes. I made sure they were all secure and holding on before taking off for the fortress.
The others followed behind me in the plane, but I was able to go slightly faster because of my added wind powers. I managed to pass the fortress as it fell and get in front of it.
I closed my eyes and pressed my hands together in front of my chest kind of like a prayer stance. I felt the wind around me gurgle and churn as I built up enough wind energy to deflect the fortress. My hair started to flap around as the wind became like a tornado. Bruce and the others stayed close by, but remained off to the side so they didn't get caught in the wind.
I could feel the transformation of using an advanced elemental move on my body as my eyes started to glow. It wasn't like a crystal transformation or anywhere near as powerful; this was just me doing an advanced technique with my normal elemental powers that caused my eyes to glow, like back at Cadmus labs when I did the advanced water move.
When the wind around me was practically begging to be released I split my arms apart causing my arms to be parallel with my shoulders. The second I split my hands a large funnel of wind released from my body and flew towards the large fortress. The funnel spun around the fortress slowing its descent slightly, but not enough to fully change its course. I gritted my teeth and forced the wind to push harder, faster, and with more force.
The funnel grew bigger until I was surrounded by a powerful tornado with me in the center and the fortress taking the brunt of the force.
The sound of the wind became deafening as I commanded it to force the fortress to stop falling and push it towards the empty field rather than the populated city down below. The sound of my yell was lost in the howl of the wind as I summoned a large burst of energy and released another large gust of wind to add to the force, which caused the fortress to start moving towards the field.
I kept the funnel on the fortress making sure it went where I wanted it to go. As the fortress started to move towards the field I floated with it. This way the tornado was moving with me forcing the fortress to move towards the field faster. With one final added massive blast of wind the fortress was finally far enough that it wouldn't hit anyone. After I was sure it was in the field I released the fortress and allowed it to fall to the ground. It landed with a deafening thud and created a large crater in the earth.
The tornado I created swirled around one last time before disappearing and the air returned to normal as I lowered my hands. My eyes stopped glowing and my hair stopped lashing around like violent whips.
Once the tornado was gone and the adrenaline went away I felt the full force of my exhaustion. I was able to keep myself in the air for about ten second before falling towards the ground. I only fell for a second before catching my balance and re-stabilizing in the air. I tried to slowly lower myself to the ground, but instead it turned out to be a series of falls and catches before I went too far. After a few of these series I finally felt my knees hit the ground.
The batplane landed close by, but I was more focused on regaining my breath from using up almost every ounce of my strength to see or more importantly care where it landed. I hunched over on all fours and gulped up large breaths of air while allowing the sweat that had built up on my forehead to slide down my face without trying to wipe it away.
I jumped slightly as I felt soft hands on my arms and looked up to see Robin on his knees kneeling next to me. I shifted slightly so I was leaning against him as Bruce ran over with the rest of the fortress 1 team close behind him. Bruce went to his knees and slid on the ground for a while before skidding to a stop next to me. He lifted a hand to my chin and gently tilted it up.
"You ok?" he asked so low that it could barely count as a whisper.
I gave him a small smile and lifted my shaking arm to give him a brief thumbs up before allowing my arm to fall back in my lap.
"Just need to catch my breath," I answered as I closed my eyes and fully leaned on Robin's chest.
"You did good today Shade, I'm proud of you" Bruce whispered while giving me a satisfied pat on the shoulder before Flash, Aquaman, and Aqualad arrived.
"Shade, that was amazing!" Barry yelled as he sped over and stood over me.
"It was a spectacular performance, but how are you feeling" Kaldur asked as he kneeled down next to Robin so we were at eye level.
"Like I need to take a day long nap" I answered truthfully causing him to smile.
"Well that I think we can manage to give you" he stated with a laugh.
I moved to stand and Robin retained his grip on my arms as he helped me off the floor. He wrapped an arm around my waist and helped keep me steady while Aqualad hovered close by ready to help if needed. The three of us walked over to the batplane while the adults talked about the day's events among themselves, though I could tell Bruce was still keeping a vigilant eye on me making sure I was ok while he talked. Flash and Aquaman noticed how Bruce wasn't into the conversation as much as he usually is, but they understood why and told him they'd debrief later at the watchtower.
"Go on Bats, we know you don't really want to be here right now. We'll handle this and meet you back at HQ after you get Shade home" Flash told Bruce while giving him a pat on the shoulder.
Bruce nodded a quick thanks to his teammates before quickly making his way to the batplane thankful for their understanding without him having to say anything. I guess having a prodigy themselves makes them understand his worry more than others.
As Bruce made his way over to the plane I managed to climb into the backseat of the batplane with the assistance of Aqualad and Robin.
"Thanks guys" I said, as I got comfortable in my seat.
"Anytime Dawn, now get some rest. I'll see you two back at the cave, and don't worry I'll make sure Sasha and Aunt Sue get home safely so you can rest" Aqualad whispered before patting me on the shoulder.
I nodded in thanks and he gave me one last glance before walking towards his mentor. Robin climbed into the front passenger seat after Aqualad left and that was the last thing I saw before my eyes closed and I fell into a much-needed sleep.
When I awoke the first thing I noticed was that I was in my bed at the cave. I'm guessing either Dick or Bruce carried me out of the plane when we got here since they didn't want to wake me up. I yawned and stretched before swinging my legs out of the bed.
I was still in my polar stealth uniform so I tore it off and took a hot shower before changing into some comfy clothes. I put on a purple tank top and some black shorts before pulling my hair into a messy bun.
I walked out of my room and down the hallway until I saw Dick coming from the opposite direction.
He immediately smiled when he saw me walking "well look who's awake. Sleeping beauty finally came out of her deep deep sleep" he teased as we walked down the hall.
"Well considering the fact that I probably created one of the biggest and most powerful tornados in history I think I'm entitled to a little rest" I insisted as we walked into Wally's trophy room when we saw our friend adding a new souvenir to his shelf.
I saw him place a white medical backpack on the souvenir wall as we walked up to him.
"Dude, I just heard. You saved an entire country! Major Kudos!" Dick praised as he clamped KF on the shoulder.
"What can I say? I'm the man" Wally said faking arrogance.
"Wait you saved a country? WHAT COUNTRY AND WHEN? I wasn't out that long was I?" I asked completely confused on what they were talking about.
"Dawn you were out for 12 hours 33 minutes and 12 seconds" Robin answered matter of factly causing Wally and I to glance at him blankly with wide eyes.
Robin blushed upon seeing our faces and rubbed the back his neck sheepishly "What? I was worried" he muttered under his breath.
"So worried that you counted the seconds she was KO'd" Wally said with a slight tease to his voice.
Robin punched Wally in the arm hard as he muttered "shut up KF."
I giggled and leaned an arm on his shoulder "I think its sweet" I said and Robin gave me a small smile.
Neither of us caught the knowing glance Wally was sending our way as he watched us.
"Anyways getting back on topic, KF saved the country of Vlatava by saving the young queen so Vertigo couldn't take the throne. Vertigo tried to devise a plan to kill the queen so he could take the throne, but Wally stopped him. And as an added bonus he made it so the Count's diplomatic immunity was revoked. So now his royal jerk face is sulking in his cell at Bell Reve Prison" Robin quickly summarized Wally's mission for me.
"All right KF!" I yelled as I lifted my hand for a high-five, which he happily accepted.
"Seems like you had more fun then we did" I declared and Wally raised an eyebrow.
"From what I've been told you had your fair share of action Dawn. I heard you created a full-blown super tornado and saved an entire city" Wally said and I just shrugged.
"Eh I guess so, but saving a city isn't as big as saving a country" I countered as we walked towards the main hanger to meet up with the rest of the team.
Before Wally could respond Robin interrupted "Alright you two lets just agree your both amazing and be done with this conversation before it turns into a 30 minute banter match."
I rolled my eyes before slapping his arm.
Robin stuck his tongue out at me and I just smiled back at him.
"So Wally, all in all how did your birthday turn out?" I asked as we reached the kitchen to see everyone chilling in the lounge room playing video games.
"It was the best birthday ever!" he said as we reached the team and fully immersed ourselves in trying to beat one another at Mario cart.
Alright so originally I was thinking about completely skipping this episode since it's mostly based on Wally's adventure, but I decided to keep it.
I just finished with midterms yesterday so I'm officially on Christmas break. The minute I got home after my test last night I pulled out my laptop and started writing this chapter.
It's been forever since I've been able to write and I felt like I was going through writer's withdrawal. Hopefully I'll have another chapter posted soon as well since I'm on break, but I also have to update my other story so hopefully expect an update in the next one or two weeks.
Next chapter will be more of a plot developing chapter and more focused on David, his father, and Jake.
Hope you all liked it and please review!