A/N: How much do ya'll hate me for taking so long? .w. I couldn't get Nothing Like My Novels, this story, study for my placement exams, and watch anime all at the same time, but I got about 3.6 out of 4 of those objects done, so I guess I'll update this and update NLMN tomorrow. o.e Whoops. Oh, yeah. Lots of time skipping from now on... whoops. Sorry. I HATE TIME SKIPS, BUT IT'S NECESSARY TO FIT IT ALL.
MOUNT JUSTICE
SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
19:06 EDT
DICK GRAYSON
I held onto Verena's limp hand before putting it to my lips, kissing it softly. Her skin was so soft, yet so cold. It wasn't like the usual light warmth she had. Neither was her smell. At the thought, I inhaled, but only smelled the sterile scent of the room instead of vanilla and sunshine.
The door opened, and there was a heavy sigh. "Still nothing?"
"No," Roy responded from where he sat in the corner of the room. I could hear some light shuffling as Wally handed Kyle and Roy their trays of food before I felt the speedster appear behind me.
"Here, Dick," Wally said, placing the tray of food on the nightstand next to the bed.
"Thanks," I said, the first word in a few hours. My voice was slightly husky from disuse, and I nuzzled Verena's hand softly.
It had been three weeks since the mission, and three weeks since I left the room. The only time I got up from this chair was to use the restroom and shower in the connecting bathroom.
When I had received orders to go on a mission from Batman a week after Verena's attack, I had refused, knowing I wasn't completely needed. He had relented, and I was not sent on another mission. Batman, on the other hand, I heard Gotham's crime rate had dropped drastically in the past three weeks.
That was the difference between Batman and me.
Batman took his pain away by fighting crime.
I took it away by being wherever Verena was.
And right now, Verena was unconscious in a bed in the hospital wing of the Cave.
"V…" I said softly, looking down at her sleeping face. Most of her wounds she had retrieved were healed, and the only ones that still needed healing were her stabs. Her face was clean and rid of any dirt and grime, making her look like she was just sleeping.
I felt something stir and my eyes widened, looking down at my hands. I saw a twitch.
"V," I urged again. "Can you hear me?" At my alarm, the others had got up from their seats, appearing behind me. "Move your hand if you can." Another twitch.
Her brow furrowed and Wally said, "I'll get Canary or Bats," before rushing out of the room using his speed.
"Ren," I heard Roy urge.
"C'mon, cutie," Kyle encouraged. "You can do it."
There was a groan, and the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen fluttered open. They were glassy, but then they slowly started to focus, and she squinted from the brightness of the room.
"Oh, shit," Kyle said, before using his ring to send a glowing green hand to dim the lights.
When the lights dimmed around us, Verena's emerald eyes opened widely and she scanned the room. She opened her mouth to talk, but then began to cough, and I kept holding her hand with my left, while my right went to my food tray to grab the glass of water.
Roy helped her up and I handed her the glass of water, which she took quiet sips from. Once she was done with the glass of water, the door opened and Batman, Black Canary, and Wally came striding in.
"Hi," she greeted, her voice slightly croaky. She cleared her throat, but her eyes were focused on me.
"Hey," I replied, my hand going to her hair. I stroked her soft strands gently. "I missed you."
Wally cleared his throat rudely. "What Casanova means is we all missed you."
Verena's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "… How long was I out…?"
"You were out for three weeks, sweetheart," Kyle replied. "A long three weeks."
Verena looked around and asked, "And Ravager…?"
"Dead," Batman replied. "He killed himself as he stabbed you."
Verena frowned, leaning back against her pillows with a heavy sigh. "So I guess I can't beat the crap out of him in a rematch, huh?"
MOUNT JUSTICE
OCTOBER 22, 2011
15:29 EDT
Black Falcon was irritated, that much could be seen. She was tossed to the ground mercilessly by Wonder Woman, who had volunteered to take over for Black Canary, who was out on a mission with Captain Atom and Green Arrow.
She grunted, planting the sword she held in the ground to pull herself up.
I could feel her annoyance, riding off her in waves. She hadn't gotten a single hit in on Wonder Woman yet, and they'd been sparring for the past fourteen minutes.
"Wonder Woman's showing no mercy," Wally commented, chewing on a chocolate bar. He was also nursing a fracture in his left arm that the Amazon had caused, which was almost done healing.
"She can't expect to beat her," Donna said, crossing her arms. Her swollen eye she had received was gone, thanks to her accelerated healing. "Black Falcon is injured and Wonder Woman is in perfect condition. She won't lay a hand on her."
"Highly doubtful," Roy snorted, arms over his chest. "Fal's more stubborn than you think." Donna threw him an annoyed look, and he returned it with a raised eyebrow, challenging her. It made me wonder why they were even going out.
The clashing of blades caught my attention again, and Fal was on one knee, holding her sword up, blocking one of Wonder Woman's attacks. The blades slid against each other and the blonde rolled away from the attack, making the dark haired woman's sword hit the floor with a clang.
I saw Black Falcon wince. Her wounds were reaching their limit. The pain was quickly masked, however, as she got up to her feet and launched towards the Amazon.
I could see the sparks fly against the swords and Black Falcon swiped down. She attempted to trip Wonder Woman, but the older woman jumped away. An annoyed tsk came from my girlfriend's lips before she charged right back.
Wonder Woman then rushed towards Black Falcon and gripped her around her neck, throwing her to the ground. A pained cry escaped Black Falcon's lips as she was slammed, and she bit her teeth in pain.
My hands balled into a fist as Wonder Woman held the sword to the young girl's face and she asked, "Do you surrender?"
"I'm… not done yet," Black Falcon gritted out.
I saw her legs shoot up, wrap around Wonder Woman's body, and flip her over. Amidst the switch, Black Falcon had gotten hold of the sword and the situation was reversed.
Wonder Woman kicked Black Falcon, making her fly.
Of course, that wasn't enough to knock her away. The blonde landed on her hands, doing three back flips before landing on her feet smoothly and spinning around just in time to block the Amazon's attack.
Black Falcon used her height to her advantage and ducked down, sliding under the tall woman's legs before kicking the back of her knees, making her collapse to the ground. While Wonder Woman went down, Black Falcon slammed her elbow down on Wonder Woman's shoulder, and kicked her in the back before launching herself away, keeping distance.
"Time," the Computer rang out. "Sixteen minutes, fifty-three-point-two seconds."
Black Falcon exhaled deeply and I ran forward, knowing what was going to happen next. I caught her just before she fell back, and I could feel her heavy breaths.
"You did great," I said, grinning down at her.
She tossed a small smile to me, her sweat glistening against the lights of the room. "Thanks."
I scooped her up in my arms, carrying her over to the green chair Kyle had formed. M'gann flew over to us and clapped happily. "That was great, Black Falcon!"
"Yeah, girl!" Raquel grinned. "Second-best time even when you're injured."
Black Falcon gave a small smile, satisfied. She glanced over at me and said, "I would've had the best time if it weren't for my injuries." I had landed a hit on Wonder Woman within ten minutes.
"I don't doubt that," I smirked down at her. I wiped her sweaty bangs away and kissed her forehead. She was better than me when it came to anything regarding weapons. I had the upper hand in hacking and infiltration, though.
"It was perfectly executed," Wonder Woman nodded, walking over to us. "However, you were not fighting me, were you?"
Black Falcon pursed her lips and replied, "No. I was fighting Ravager."
"And that was exactly why you took so long," Wonder Woman replied. "Had you had your mind focused on just me, you could've had me under the first fifteen minutes. Instead, you focused and channeled your emotions to Ravager, who had recently inflicted wounds against you, and you replayed his actions in your head, not mine. That is why it took you so long to figure out my fighting pattern."
Black Falcon nodded mutely. Wonder Woman had hit the mark.
"Robin, your ability to stay focused and analyze my movements were perfect," Wonder Woman said, turning to me. "However, you are you still much less skilled in swordsmanship, especially when adding your acrobatics. You might've gotten the best time, but in a real fight, the enemy will not wait for you to adjust. You must account it right away."
I nodded.
"Aqualad, your swordsmanship was great. However, as you were fixated on your adjustment to using the weapon, you let it control you as opposed to you controlling it. Remember, had the sword fallen out of your hands, you had the option to fight in hand-to-hand."
Kaldur took in the advice and nodded.
"Donna," she turned to her protégée. "You should've been able to execute everything perfectly, as you have been training with me for months before today. However, you were too focused on just besting your teammates that you failed to be able to complete the task at hand: focusing on me. You received injuries that you shouldn't have obtained. Perhaps take a page out of Black Falcon or Robin's books and try to hit instead of be hit."
"Yes, my Lady…" Donna mumbled, reprimanded.
She went through each of the others, complimenting on Artemis's and Wally's skills on the sword (Artemis trained by her father and Wally trained by Verena and me), and reprimanding Conner and M'gann being too unskilled because they were so used to using their powers. Garth and Tula were given advice and compliments, as they were somewhat skilled in weaponry. Kyle, Raquel, and Zatanna were given advice, as it was their first time using their swords.
The order of the times were me, Verena, Donna, Kaldur, Wally, Artemis, Conner, Garth, Kyle, M'gann, Tula, Raquel, and then Zatanna.
Black Falcon made a move to stand up and winced slightly. "Crap," she cursed. She rubbed her old stab wounds, which were stitched. I turned to her, concerned.
I moved her hand gently out of the way and touched one of her wounds. I could feel a small wetness, and I realized her stitches had ripped open.
"Whoa, Rob, get a room," Wally said, but then backtracked. "Wait, don't, on second thought. You guys are still too young."
I turned to him, confused, but then I felt Falcon shift under my touch, and my thumb brushed against the underside of her breast. Oh. I quickly pulled my hand back. Falcon and I exchanged looks and her cheeks pinked before looking away from me.
Well, this was awkward.
"Are your wounds alright, Black Falcon?" Wonder Woman asked, ignoring what just happened.
"Yeah," Falcon nodded. Despite the slightly awkward moment just now, she leaned into me, using my shoulder to support herself. "It's just a small tug. Give me a couple weeks or so and I'll be taking down every single one of these guys."
MOUNT JUSTICE
NOVEMBER 17, 2011
14:23 EST
VERENA BLAKE
I grabbed a hold of Starfire's wrist, effectively stopping her punch. I moved my foot forward, putting all my weight on it before hurling the alien girl up and throwing her to the side. She flew a few feet before landing with a heavy thud and I jumped out of the way just in time to dodge Troia's punch.
I brought my knee up, and she moved to dodge it, but I quickly brought my leg down, never having the intent of attacking her like that.
I pulled my fist back, curling my fingers, and shot it. My fist made direct contact with Troia's face, sending the dark-haired girl flying. She landed and hit Starfire's body, and the two girls groaned in pain.
"Status: Troia: Fail. Status: Starfire: Fail."
The center of the platform slowly faded and I stepped off of it. I grinned at Wonder Woman, who was standing at the side, observing our sparring with Black Canary. "I told you I only needed a couple more weeks."
"Your movements are still slightly slow," Black Canary pointed out. "More weight also could've been put on your foot. Otherwise, good job." She gave me a smile.
I nodded in reply, before walking over to where the others were. I sat down on the ground next to Roy, who leaning back on his arms, observing everything.
"How tired are you?" Roy inquired patiently.
"I'm exhausted," I admitted without hesitation. I used the back of my glove to wipe away the sweat build up on my forehead. Though I was physically back to perfect condition, my stamina was going to need a bit of touching up.
A water bottle appeared in my peripheral vision, and I smiled, taking it out of Robin's hand. "Thanks," I said, taking the item. I uncapped it easily, downing half of it in one breath. I pulled back to breathe before finishing up the rest.
"Looks like you'll have to run tomorrow," Robin commented, sitting down beside me.
I nodded, leaning back on my hands. "Yeah," I sighed. "Which sucks. It's so boring." I rested my head on my boyfriend's shoulder. A gloved hand went up and ran itself through my damp hair.
"Roy!" Donna exclaimed, flying over to the archer on my left. "How'd I do?" she asked, looking down at him.
"Alright, I guess," Roy shrugged. "You need to watch your footwork when fighting someone like Fal," he commented casually. "Fal has her small stature and speed. Your brute strength won't fully get you everywhere."
Donna's eyes flashed towards me, before looking back at Roy. She pouted and asked, "Nothing else?"
"… Not really," Roy replied. The Amazoness huffed, before stomping away over to Koriand'r, who was drinking her own water bottle.
"Shouldn't you be a bit nicer to her?" Robin inquired. "She is your girlfriend."
"Do you keep the truth from Fal and feed her what she wants to hear?"
I looked at Robin, waiting for his answer. I was 99.99999% sure of what his answer was, but a little confirmation would never hurt anyone.
"No," Robin replied. "If she sucks, I tell her she sucks." Despite I knew that he was going to say that, I shoved him lightly, making him laugh. He looked down at me and grinned, "You'd kick my ass if I did anything otherwise."
"Yeah, but you didn't have to say it so bluntly!" I exclaimed.
"Oh, God, I'm getting a toothache just looking at you two~" came Raquel's teasing voice. She walked over to us and handed me a towel, which I was thankful for. "Girl, you're creating a small pool where you're standing."
I looked down at Robin's shoulder, and indeed, it was a lot darker than the rest of his uniform, no doubt from my sweat. Whoops. I wiped most of the sweat away, and by now, I was able to feel my clothes clinging to me uncomfortably.
I stood up, and grimaced at the damp spot I left on the floor. "Dammit," I cursed. "Why didn't you guys tell me?"
Roy and Robin looked up at me and then each other, before replying, "Didn't notice." Ugh. Boys.
Raquel and I exchanged looks before we rolled our eyes. The older girl looked at me, before asking, "Wanna hit the showers?"
"Sure," I nodded, pulling at my top. I could feel it stick to me before peeling off. Ew. I had a feeling she wanted to talk to me privately, too. I bent down, giving Robin a swift peck before following Raquel to the showers.
"So what'd you want to talk about?" I asked, stripping off in the locker room. I took off everything except for my mask, and wrapped myself around a towel, stepping into the connecting shower room.
"How'd you know?" Raquel inquired, turning on one of the showers.
"I'm me," I replied simply, stepping under the warm steam of the shower. I could feel the tensions in my muscles begin to smooth out and groaned when I rolled my shoulders back.
"Right," Raquel muttered. "You might as well be the psychic one."
I laughed and replied, "Years of working with Batman. You learn to read people. So what's up?"
"How long have you and Robin been going out?" Raquel asked, not bothering to beat around the bush. "I mean, you two were together before I joined, right?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Um…" I did the mental math in my head before replying, "Almost a full year and a month. Six more days, to be exact. Why?"
"Okay, so you're pretty steady, then," Raquel nodded. "Gosh… this is so weird asking someone younger than me…"
"If it helps, I'm wise beyond my years," I said. Raquel laughed, which didn't make sense to me. I was being dead serious. "I'm serious."
Raquel shampooed her hair and nodded, "Right, right. So… there's this guy. And well, I'm…"
"Interested in him?" I supplied. At Raquel's nod, I elaborated, "And… you want to know how Robin and I got together…?"
"I'd ask Artemis or M'gann, but… Artemis is a bit… fierce and M'gann's a bit… soft," Raquel tried to describe our teammates.
I stifled a laugh. "Have you seen Artemis with Wally when they're alone, though?" I inquired. "She turns into a marshmallow. M'gann, well, she's always cute."
"Okay, then out of the rest of the girls, you seem the most assertive," Raquel elaborated. "So, tell me. How'd you charm the pants of Boy Wonder?"
"Um…" I racked through my brains. "… I don't know…?"
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Well, actually, we were pretty mad at each other," I tried to explain. "Looking back on it, it was pretty dumb, but yeah. We were mad at each other for a good two, three weeks. Robin hung out with Zatanna during the entire time, and I hung out with Roy."
"Whoa, wait. You and Robin were mad at each other?" Raquel looked at me with wide, shocked eyes. Then she winced. "Ow. Shampoo in my eyes!"
"Erm, yeah," I nodded. "And… I don't think Robin was enjoying how I was spending so much time with Roy, and I didn't like Robin spending a lot of time with Zatanna. Not that I have anything against her," I quickly added. "But… yeah."
"Okay… Continue…"
"And then we had this virtual simulation training thingy, and it went completely bonkers," I explained. "All of us pretty much died in the training, and… it was… so real. I mean, I know we're not indestructible, but, everyone was gone and there wasn't a single spark of hope."
I looked down at my hands, remembering Robin's firm grip around my wrist.
"Even after that, though, Robin and I still didn't talk, until after our counseling session with Black Canary. One thing led to another when we were talking – arguing, to be exact – and… that's it."
"That seems kind of anti-climactic, if you ask me," Raquel deadpanned.
"How about if I said Robin pinned me before kissing me?" I grinned, looking up at her.
Raquel's jaw dropped and a wicked grin appeared on her face. "Girl, who knew you two had it in you!" she laughed. Then she sobered up and said, "Well, I can't really go through a simulation training with the guy, so… how do you suggest I go on with it?"
I blinked and replied, "Um… I honestly don't know, but I'd recommend just spending more time with him? I mean, let things take their natural course, and eventually, things will come out right if they're meant to happen."
Raquel looked at me blankly, before saying, "… That's… not bad, I guess."
I shrugged. "Just say that after the fifth date in a row gets cancelled because of our job."
"That happen to you and Robin?"
"Like, every time," I rolled my eyes. "We don't even make reservations anymore. If there's free time, we just go. It's a good thing Robin's in the same business as me. If you want, ask Kyle a thing or two about dating a non-superhero."
"Kyle's got a girlfriend?"
I nodded. "Alex," I answered. "She doesn't like me very much…"
"Well, that sucks," Raquel commented, but I just shrugged. Not everyone liked me. Just ask the people in Belle Reve and Arkham Asylum. They're after my head. Wanna talk about civilian people? I bet you there were people in my school that didn't like me. It was a fact of life that you couldn't please everyone.
"Maybe have Icon pitch in and mention that you're working under him for… something, and the job is high maintenance, so you have to be on call 24/7."
"Alright," Raquel nodded. "And… when should I… talk about… y'know…"
I looked at Raquel and replied, "Whenever you feel most comfortable. It doesn't have to be now and it doesn't have to be a year from now. Hell, you never have to tell him if you don't want to. You should never be forced to do something you don't want to do."
"Damn, you're great at giving advice," Raquel laughed. "Why aren't you the Team's leader? I mean, Kaldur's great, but I feel like you and Robin were born to lead."
I gave a faint smile and replied, "When the time comes."
BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHEN I'LL UPDATE, I'LL KEEP YOU GUYS HYPED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER:
In the next chapter, New Years' has arrived and Dick and Verena have a serious discussion on what they're going to do with their future. After all, they can't stay under the shadow of the Bat forever.
Also, Kyle breaks up with his girlfriend, and she suddenly goes after Verena...? How's our favorite little blonde, quirky, superhero going to handle this?
And Robin and Verena finally break the news they plan on telling the Team.
Q&A
Guest asks: Is there going to be any drama between Starfire and Verena?
I've actually addressed the issue with Verena/Dick's relationship quite a few times already, but... well, it's complicated. I will just flat out and say, yes. Starfire is interested in Robin. Will she put a drive between Dick/Verena's relationship? You'll see. ;)
7upvodka asks: I know Roy likes V, but isn't he with Jade?
No, Roy isn't with Jade. As I've mentioned in this chapter (and I think the previous or the one before that), he is currently with Donna. :) Don't worry, Roy/Jade will happen... but it's more... unconventional, in my story than how it is in the series. :P Sorry Roy/Jade shippers, but... I don't really ship them together (mainly because I enjoy their relationship in the comics more and how Jade is in the comics).
Addressing Batman's sensitivity towards guns:
I've addressed this a couple of times, but since I didn't really write a chapter on it and not many people read the A/Ns, I can always address it again, it's fine. Batman's sensitivity towards guns is a problem, yes, but the thing is, if you read the flashback chapters with Verena as a child, you'll see that the Blackhawks (those that trained her) are skilled marksmen and fliers, which is exactly what Verena is. Since she moved to Gotham, she was essentially alone, because her mother died, and the Blackhawks obviously can't really take care of her, so Bruce took her in. Now, the thing is, Verena doesn't use bullets. She shoots, but they're highly compressed air-bullets that don't kill and the only time she has bullets, they're similar to Batman/Robin's ice/foam pellets they use in battle. Also, in the comics, Jason Todd uses guns, and though Batman disapproves of what he does, he still stands by Jason's side. See, if Batman took away Verena's shooting abilities, what else is she? Her marksmanship is the foundation of who she is, along with where she came from: the Blackhawks. For Batman to take that away from her... it'd be just as rough as telling her to let go of her past.
Any further questions can be left in a review. Unless you want an immediate answer. If you want an immediate answer, feel free to ask on my page or my Twitter. :) Links are on my profile.
piggythelaw: Well, I mentioned it wasn't serious, so... yeah. :)
Ayase Yuuki: LOL. I don't have much planned for Starfire, just one scene, so that's all I have for her. xD Whoops. But, yeah. I don't think you'll like her much for that one scene... oh wait, there's another, too... hm...
KirikaAndo: I WISH I COULD. This story is just getting SO hard to write! Especially with the whole Young Justice hype all but dead, now. :(
That dorky blonde: Thank you! :)
Panda-Chan8: OH NO. I MENTIONED THAT SHE WAS ALRIGHT. OML. GUYS.
creamtherabbit77: Thank you! :)
Xmidniteangel15X: Oh! Thank you! :D Ahah, yeah. Starfire was always someone I wanted to introduce, just 'cause. She ain't gonna be that bitch everyone hates though. Well... maybe. :P
Guest: Thank you!
najamuzen: Thank you! LOL! She's one of my favorites, too! :) She'll always be my first baby, but I love her and Sindy (from my Teen Wolf fanfic) and Penny (from HP/PJ) just as much!
Goofy Smart and Blonde -P: First off, awesome name. Hah. Thank you! Your question was asked by another person first, so I answered it above! ^^
Erik-Silver: Thank you! You don't know how happy that makes me!
7upvodka: Thank you! :)
Esta2000: It's not going to die! It'll slow down, yes, but never die!
ywons54: Starfire will forever and always want Robin. If a writer has introduced Starfire, chances are, she's going to create some (or not at all) complication with Dick. But... well, you'll see.
Touchmyotaku: THANK YOU I LOVE YOU.
StardustForDreamers: You guys are so worried about Starfire. LOL. You guys will later on realize why I'm enjoying this reaction so much. xD But, yeah... Anyways, yeah, Dick will always feel responsible for whatever happens to Verena on missions (even though it's not his fault), but in this case, she's still up and kicking (ass) :)
Elizabeth: Thank you for your very thoughtful review! :)
bluepenquin1998: Thank you! And it's fine! I'm sorry this chapter is so late!
roserain1998: Thank you! :)
CrystalXShine: Thank you! You have no idea how relieved that made me! I'm always constantly worrying if my OCs are Mary-Sues. :c Oh yeah. I can't watch Young Justice without imagining Verena in it, either. xD I've addressed Bruce's sensitivity towards guns in the first season, I believe. I've mentioned it again above. It's okay. I'm an invisible reader, too (I'm such a hypocrite).
YJLover: Time travelling makes everything more complicated, thought. - And plus, I already have a good jist of what I have for this season, so... yeah. :)
Guest #2: Actually, yes. I will, it's just it's a lot harder for me to write this story than NLMN or any other of my other fics, since I have little to no foundation for plot development/canon now, and I want to keep it as canon as possible.
Kate the Saint: Um... Because it's hard for me...? :/
WolfEffecf: Thank you! :)
A/N: I'm so sorry for the slow updates :( If you guys don't hate me, drop a review? Follow me on Twitter? Idk. :c LOVE ME, PLEASE. I TRY TO WRITE, BUT NOTHING COMES OUT. And also, if I force something to come out, it's rather strained and I feel dissatisfied with it, and I feel horrible when I publish something I wrote half-assed. So... yeah. I want to give you guys 1000% quality, not just 10% or even 100%. It's gotta be great. Oh man, I just sounded so pigheaded just now. _ I MEAN TO GIVE YOU GUYS THE BEST, OKAY.