"Still surprised of just how much accommodating efforts were made for Poppy.", Martha admitted as they were watching. "I would've thought that due to her condition they'd rather keep her from competing for the rest of the year and then she could compete once the new school year would start. Make sure she wasn't getting any sort of advantage.".
"It's still gymnastics for teenagers.", Alfred chuckled. "Not like she could've gained much of an advantage compared to the other girls; just height and weight really being the only real differences.".
Thomas replied, "You have to admit that Poppy is stubborn...Like father, like daughter. Besides, her old coach saw that it was only November, and as Poppy had trained for the last two years, it makes sense that her old coach would transfer her to a coach friend, a coach of the high school, since she has been doing rather well in the accelerated learning program, now in the 10th grade.".
"And Poppy has been learning fast to adjust herself, since she knew her early mistakes when she first started. She's going to ace this one, just like the other times at the minor gymnastics meets when she was younger.", Waylon replied, firm in his devotion to his mate and girlfriend.
"Perhaps... but the competition does get stiffer at higher levels.", Martha said. "Plenty of girls between her age before and her age now tend to simply move on; narrowing the field and it's usually the good ones that continue going.". She then muttered under her breath, "And then of course, there's her genes that no one would have; especially as of late, she probably could keep things up much longer than almost any other girl...".
Bruce replied softly, "They think it's the good Wayne genes...I mean, look at us...even your folks and Dad's folks were good-looking and active for themselves too.", and Caroline chuckled, "Can't argue there...", juggling Jane on her knee as she gurgled and giggled, "Oh, the judges are ready to call her to start!".
They became silent, watching with anticipation as the first judge called out, "Penelope Wayne, ready on your mark! And begin!", and Poppy took a deep breath, and started on her flips, landing on the balance beam, doing a somersault and handstand walk and then a flip off the balance beam, bouncing off the trampoline, grabbing the hoops, twirling and spinning with her hands and feet, and after a major spin, grabbing into the lower vault bar, doing a couple of versioned flips, tucking herself as she spun twice, and then let go, stretching herself out to the higher vault bar to grab into when she felt abdominal pain sharply, and as her fingers barely grazed the vault, she fell, yelling in surprise and fear, fighting her instinct to turn hulk, but tried to make her skin impregnatable in the few seconds she landed hard on the mat below, feeling her shoulder pop out of place, and a manageable sprain close to a hair's length of being broken in her ankle.
The family, Waylon especially, all quickly got up out of their seats in fear and shock the moment Poppy hit the ground. The floor medics ran over to her as she almost quickly was trying to sit herself up.
'I'm alright, I'm alright', Poppy mouthed with her lips that Bruce himself could read, before quickly passing on the information to the rest of the family. Obviously, to Bruce's eye though, she was being loose with the truth.
But obviously, Poppy was tougher than she looked to everyone else. She didn't appear to be bleeding or in any excruciating pain; so, if she said she was alright, then she was. Still, the floor medics weren't going to simply dismiss things and were helping her up while she favored staying off her injured ankle.
One field medic replied, "Let's wrap that ankle before it gets any more swollen. How are you feeling?", and Poppy replied, "I can still move my toes and foot slightly, and I think I popped my right shoulder.", feigning a bit of shock and worry.
"Must be a sprain but can't rule out broken either. As for that shoulder, better get a doctor to pop it back into place.", the second field medic. Thomas replied, "I'm a doctor, and I'm her father, and no, don't argue against me, that's my daughter!", with a sharp and fatherly tone.
The second field medic nodded, "Okay, okay, sir.", as Thomas replied, "Come on, let's get you into the family limo.", lifting and taking his daughter into his arms, grateful that he has been using physical fitness to keep up with Martha and Bruce even if he faintly remembered that he had been self-taught by watching over his family.
Poppy used her good arm to hold into her daddy's neck, "It was a slip of the hands, Daddy...", slight tears in her eyes for her acting, and Thomas shushed her, "It's okay, sweetheart. We all got you.", as Martha kissed and touched Poppy in relief, walking off the performance mats and such, with one of the judges calling out, "Penelope Wayne's minorly injured, but nothing too serious, folks! She indeed tried to do a fine run!", as the crowd clapped and politely encouraged with faint words, "You did great! You're going to be okay!".
Poppy waved, feigning in Thomas's arms as she smiled thankfully, nodding, and as soon as they went into the camera-blind hallway to the outside doors, Poppy grimaced as she pushed and popped her shoulder back into place as everybody winced at the sound, and she sighed as she rolled and stretched her shoulder, feeling some of her hulk genes tenderly using some warmth to ease the faint pain of the pop.
"Before you argue, Dad, better to quickly put it back instead of waiting...", Poppy replied, and Thomas nodded, "I know...Note of warning next time...", as they exited the doors, with Alfred walking forward to start up the family limo, with Caroline and Jane taking the passenger seat in front.
Waylon looked over Poppy anxiously, "You sure you're alright?", and Poppy sighed softly, "I'm positively sure that I got a sprain in the ankle, otherwise I'm alright, but I don't know...".
"Poppy, you-", Waylon started "Wally, don't say another word, alright.", Poppy quickly cut him off. "I know you're probably losing your mind seeing me even so much as having a scratch, but I'm not fragile, a China figurine that needs to be protected at all times. I can handle pulled tendons or a broken bone. Just put your mind at ease that I'm stronger than I look, even in his form...".
Poppy then smirked, "Probably stronger than you in our other forms too.". Waylon blushed by hearing that, "Yeah... I... I'll take your word at that.". Obviously, his ego was somewhat bruised, and last thing he wanted was for her to prove that she could easily outlift anything they could lift in their altered forms.
"Sorry, just... it scares me sometimes.", Waylon admitted as she nodded, "I know; just trust me when I say this sort of thing isn't something for you to really fret over. Yeah, it sucks and is a pain, but trust me, this is pretty much nothing. Especially since you and Mom went through way worse before.".
"Alright.", Waylon sighed. Poppy turned to Thomas pleadingly, "Oh, Dad, don't let us leave yet, I want to at least get word from Coach Stevens about what the results are. I think I scored alright even with that mistake.".
Bruce replied, "I'll do that. Be right back.", as Thomas came into the backseat of the limo, gently putting Poppy on her seat, and Martha scolded gently, "I know you are able to take care of yourself, but you gave me close to a heart attack! I know you; you were so focused all the way through, and you practiced in different ways back in the practice meets before the real thing.".
"Sorry, Mom, that I scared you...I think my body didn't expect the full run as it was the real thing since back in practice meets, I took breaks between different spots on the run...", Poppy explained.
Martha looked at her before exhaling deeply, "You would have made that high vault bar for sure...Your stamina, you swam in the indoor pool and you sometimes jogged with me or Waylon...", and Poppy nodded, "I know...Just a pulled muscle I didn't expect, I promise.", not wanting to worry her mother as that sharp abdominal pain would as well be a pulled muscle next to having a stomachache from a small yet hearty breakfast this morning.
"Alright; just... try not to give us another scare like that...", Martha gently brushed her hair. "Can't make any true promises.", Poppy admitted. "Human error and all, I might make a mistake once or twice, but I don't think I'll hurt myself like that again. Will be hard to forget and you know with my brain...", she grinned.
Thomas replied, "She has a point there, Martha.", kissing his wife on the cheek with a little smile, and Martha sighed, nodding. Bruce returned to the limo, and looked at Poppy with a proud smile, "You didn't do too bad prior to the fall, sis. You got a score of 7.532, close to 8 points. If you had made the full run, you would probably have scored better, maybe in the top 5 places of winners.".
Poppy smiled, "Well, that's something than nothing at least. What did Coach Stevens say?", and Bruce replied, "Lots of rest and good ice and wrapping. Good thing that Spring Break's starting this weekend. If it's a sprain, you would be practically all good to go back to school after Spring Break and probably go easy on the gymnastics practices to settle her nerves and worries down.".
"Yeah, you're right.", Poppy nodded, "Thanks, bro. I appreciate it.", and Thomas called to Alfred, "Bring us home. Just for appearance even with your genes, better get that sprain into a cast at least and some light medicine.".
Poppy hummed, not arguing with her father as she knew she can't afford to risk being quicker back on her feet than normally in sight of the staff during the days they're on shift, and so, they headed home, with Thomas expertly checking with x-ray, and mold and strength of the cast, and with a crutch or a roller padded scooter, Poppy got around the manor just fine.
That night, when the staff is gone as usual to their homes and such, Poppy relaxed, giving way for the Hulk instincts to take over, sending her into a sleepwalking trance, leaving noiselessly of her bed with Waylon sleeping, she somehow ignored the pain in her sprained ankle as the trance was growing stronger, with the abdominal pain that has been slightly increasing over the day, now triggering with mild squeezes of contractions, heading by habit to the Batcave from the secret entrance, and through the caverns, turning into her Hulk form, destroying her pajamas, and to her and Waylon's favorite spot of lovemaking at the underground pond.
She then dropped to all fours, now Crocodilian instincts taking over as she, still in her trance, searched and sniffed for a spot in the sand not too far, yet not too near by the pond, and then dug with her hands and feet a deep, fairly moist and warm hole, and as soon as she was satisfied with it, she covered it, and keeping her eyes, even in the trance, on the pond and the cavern entrance on both sides, and began to lay, hisses and moans of pain as she labored slowly with eggs popping out, with undeveloped ones as small as golf balls which was easy to push out, with half developed ones that failed to grow, as small as oranges which was a bit harder to push out, and with damaged/crushed developing ones as big as papayas from today which was much harder to push out, and then finally, an egg as big as a coconut that snapped her out of the trance, the pain unable to be ignored anymore.
She looked around in confusion and pain, realizing that she somehow had sleepwalked before a contraction grabbed her as she shouted in pain, and she looked down, and her heart raced as horror and guilt and fear hit her, seeing 15 eggs, with five eggs that was undeveloped since they weren't successfully fertilized, 5 eggs that was half fertilized, failed with bone shadows in them, and 5 successfully fertilized, mostly developed eggs that was damaged/crushed, which to her realization, was her fault she didn't know that she killed them in the hard landing, and in pain, with the last egg in her which is painful as hell. She grieved and screamed in her loudest voice, "WALLY!", wanting her mate.
By all rights, no one should've been able to hear her from all that way deep in the caves, but somehow, someway, Waylon just knew. He slowly woke up and when he didn't see Poppy sleeping in the bed with him, a pit formed in his stomach as he quickly moved to try to find her. He rushed, knowing that something was off, calling out her name as he checked the family wing, slamming and closing bathroom doors and such.
"Oi, we're trying to sleep, Waylon!", Bruce's annoyed voice called out, peeking out of his room, and Waylon replied, "I need your help, Bruce! Get Thomas and Martha to check the rest of the manor! I can't find Poppy around here!", as he knew that his parents and little sister was feeling like sleeping at the Pennyworth shack tonight.
Bruce became wide awake, "Wait, what, you can't find Poppy? You have a nose, Waylon!", and Waylon replied, "That's the problem! It's like her scent is temporarily erased, and I don't know if she went down to the kitchen for a snack or anywhere else that she would potentially be!".
"She didn't make any noise when she walked out of the bed, nothing?", Bruce asked, and Waylon nodded, "Nothing! I would have woken up if her cast made any scuffling sounds or something if she forgot the crutch or the scooter. I just woke up, feeling like something's wrong!".
"Okay, okay...", Bruce took a few deep breaths. "She's probably around here somewhere at least... I mean, she's not the type to sneak out for... other reasons.". Waylon could guess that he was insinuating like her sneaking off to a party or something. But honestly, if that was the case, she probably would've insisted on dragging him with her in that scenario.
Thomas's voice replied behind them, "We'll search all the best spots she is usually at, alright, Waylon? It's going to be alright...", and they look back to see Thomas and Martha looking determined yet concerned.
Waylon exhaled, "Thank you.. We'll meet at the base of the main stairs.", and Bruce replied, "I'll call in Chess and Bandit if they're using the dog door to do their business and such. Perhaps they can find her better, no offense, Waylon.".
"No offense taken, but we better hurry, the feeling's getting worse. We'd need every possible person to help. I'll take the kitchen and the indoor pool surroundings!", Waylon nodded, and left them, with Martha replying, "I'll take the library and the computer room!", with Thomas replying, "I'll check on the game room and the theater room!".
Bruce nodded, "Right, I'll check up on the manor gym and get the dogs from the backyard!", and so, they split up, running and jogging, calling out her name, and after 15 minutes, they met at the base of the main stairs, panting, shaking their heads, "Nothing of her in the kitchen or the indoor pool. Zip for me, library's empty and the computer room's untouched. Game room is dark, and the theater room is empty too. Manor gym's not even touched, and the boys somehow didn't pick up any damn scent of her!".
Waylon frowned, "It's freaking cold out there even with the snow getting low, thanks to spring coming around the corner, but Dad or Mama would have let us known already if she was there at the shack for some needed talk about me or something if she is bugged about something today, and that leaves the Batcave, her personal gym and exercise room, and the rest of the caverns including Kel's memorial.".
"She knew that we're off for patrol tonight because we just wanted to be sure that she's fine after today, and she knew that she's forbidden to touch even her personal gym otherwise she'd sprain that ankle even more.", Bruce frowned.
"So, Kel's memorial is one option...What else is there she'd be down there?", Martha asked, and Waylon blushed yet frowned, "Actually, there's one place...The place you told me about...The underground pond cavern, and my bad feeling just told me that's the place...".
Thomas widened his eyes, "Let's go, then!", and the family rushed, running and using the grandfather clock's secret entrance into the Batcave, and through the caverns, with Waylon leading the way, calling out for Poppy.
Poppy felt her mama's presence as she sobbed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't know! It's my fault!", as she gazed upon the 15 eggs in her hole nest, a mix of relief, grief, fear, and shock, realizing that of all her genes and Waylon's genes, most of them didn't work out, but some of them worked out before...before she killed them, and now she's most afraid for the last egg inside her.