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KATIE'S POV
I rub my hands together as the superheroes talk over what exactly to do with me.
Turns out the others don't have any trace of powers, despite what the lab coat idiots said.
"Hi, I'm Eduardo Jr." A boy says, coming to sit down next to me on the curb as we wait outside of S.T.A.R. labs. He puts his hand out to shake, and I do so as he adds, "You can call me Ed."
"Nice to meet you, Ed," I say mustering up the best smile I can despite the exhaustion wanting to pull my body under. "I'm Katie."
"Katie," He says nodding with a smile, "I like it. So, you have powers?"
I frown a little and look down at my hands, "I think so. I don't remember much after Red was hit with Catgirl."
"Red?" Ed asks.
"Red Robin," I clarify, "I remember feeling scared and," I pause before I say, "Upset. Mad, maybe, and then feeling a rush of energy, and the next thing I remember is being on the floor."
"Sounds like powers to me," Ed grins, "Don't worry. I know it can be a little overwhelming, but we can help. I actually had a similar situation happen to me." He says before he disappears, causing my eyes to widen before he taps me on the shoulder on my other side, making me turn to look at him. "But we learned how to control it, and now, it's isn't so bad."
I smile lightly, "That's pretty cool," I admit before I look back to the heroes.
From what I could tell, it was Nightwing, Catgirl, Black Canary, and Red Robin, all talking in whispers with two scientists at work here.
"Do you think they are going to keep me here?" I ask, my eyes staying on them, "I don't want to... I just want to sleep in my own bed."
He shrugs, "Not sure. Usually they would like to keep an eye on you, just to make sure nothing happens," He admits before he adds, "Not that anything would happen, it's just powers are unpredictable at first."
"I understand," I say, but it doesn't make my desire to go home any less strong.
They already gave me a checkup, and made sure I was as physically okay as I could be.
"So, how do you know Red?" He asks, making me look back to him.
"He likes visiting me on the roof of my building when he is bored," I shrug, causing his eyes to widen.
"What?" He questions, surprise in his tone. "That doesn't sound like him at all."
"What do you mean?" I ask, looking at him with my head cocked to the side.
"He is a little... up tight," He hesitates with the wording, "No, not up tight, but just follows the rules. I don't think Batman would approve of him visiting a girl."
"Probably not," I say thinking back to when I have him the drawing. "I don't think he told any of the Batclan about me."
"Batclan?" Ed chuckles, "I like your names for people."
"Thank you," I grin, "Anyways, I don't think he knew, which probably means he is now in trouble." I say looking back to him talking with Nightwing and Catgirl. "I ran into Red and Nightwing at a convenient store one night," I inform him. "They were butchering coffee," I add sourly, making him laugh.
"So you like coffee?" He observes, causing me to smile.
" Yup, I sort of have to though. I work at a café." I say before I remember that's where I was taken and I frown. "That's where I was before all of this."
His smile fades as he says, "I'm really sorry."
"It's okay. It's not your fault," I shrug, "Luck of the draw, I guess."
"So you are well acquainted with a lot of the Batclan, as you called them," He jokes as he changes the subject.
"Yeah, Nightwing and Catgirl even saved me once," I tell him, with a smile on my face, "I am pretty sure I was the one that got them together, you know."
"Oh, I'm going to need to hear this."
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RED ROBIN'S POV
"So the reason that none of the others were discovered as meta-humans is because she absorbed all of the energy before it could activate anyone else's?" Black Canary questions as she looks at us.
"That's the theory," Nightwing confirms, "No one else was activated-"
"And we heard them say they thought the machine was messed up, but I think it was because she was drawing the power to hers, making it seem like the other's were handling the pain better than she was." Catgirl finishes Nightwing's explanation, crossing her arms over her chest as she looks to me.
"Which would explain why the scientists over looked her and looked to the others; their vitals were more stable," I say, but talking like this, about her, doesn't feel right at all.
"I see," Ed's dad nods as he looks to her, "We will certainly figure out what is going on. But, for now, we will need to watch her. She hasn't demonstrated her powers over than to protect you?" He says looking at me.
"No," I answer firmly.
She isn't going to want to stay here.
"Very well, we will go make her a room," He nods to his partner as they turn and start to get things set up for her.
"She isn't going to want to stay here," I say as I look to the others. "Is there-"
"This is the best option," Black Canary says, her expression softening slightly. She probably can tell this is more personal that we are trying to let on.
"I know it's hard," Cat says, a frown on her face, "But this is the best way to keep her safe. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if we sent her home and she accidentally hurt her grandparents."
She is right. Katie wouldn't know what to do with herself if she ever hurt them.
"It's only temporary," Nightwing says, putting a hand on my shoulder, "We just need to get a sense of her powers and what we are dealing with. If she can control them, then she can go home."
"Of course, this is all her decision," Black Canary interjects, "All of this has to be voluntary. She needs to know she can trust us."
"We've got that covered," Nightwing smiles slightly, "She is from Gotham. She trusts us."
"Good," Black Canary says before crossing her arms, "Then don't screw it up."
We all nod, causing her to look at Katie for a few moments then back to us, "I am going to go, but I will introduce myself before. I will be giving her therapy sessions if she agrees."
We all nod again, and she walks towards Ed and Katie.
I turn back before Katie can look up at me, because I can't face her right now.
I know there wasn't anyway I could have known, but I still feel like I should have been there, or known. That I should have been able to protect her.
"She won't want to stay here," I say again, hanging my head a little. "Gosh, I made this week the worst week of her life, didn't I?"
"Only she can judge that," Nightwing responds, making me look up at him.
"Thanks," I say flatly before I shake my head. "I made her hate me and then managed to let her get kidnapped and tested on."
"You didn't let anything happen," Cat reasons with me, "Don't blame yourself. We are working to stop this stuff from happening, but this was just a... a coincidence that is really horrible." She says before she adds, "I'm really sorry that this happened, but she has us. We will make sure she is okay, Tim." She lowers her voice for the last part.
Nightwing steps closer, a small, reassuring smile on his face, "We promise."
I nod after a few moments, still feeling pretty shitty about all of it.
"You should go say goodbye," Cat says, looking over my shoulder. "She has been glancing at you." Cat says her eyes falling back to me. "Considering you and her are close, she is going to need to hear that she will be taken good care of from you," She adds softly.
I nod, understanding what I have to do before I force myself to turn and face her.
She stops paying attention to whatever Ed is saying as I get closer, her green eyes studying me, making me feel self-conscious.
I am used to feeling that way as Tim, but she somehow makes me feel the exact same way as Red Robin. It's something I have never quite understood about her.
"So," She says, letting Ed know she isn't paying attention as she looks up at me, then both sitting on a curb. "They are making me stay," She states. It's not a question. She already knows. Probably because of Ed or Dinah.
Still, something about it makes my heart hurt a little. Maybe it's the deflated tone, or the way I can see a little sadness in her eyes when she looks at me.
"Yes," I nod, confirming it before I add, "It's the only way we can make sure you and everyone you care about is safe. We just need to monitor you to figure out the best way to help you." I say, painfully aware of how rehearsed it sounds. Probably because it is. And if it were anyone else, I wouldn't be thinking this hard about it. But it's not just anyone. It's her.
"I understand," She nods, her eyes falling to her hands in her lap, them clenching slightly, "I wouldn't want to hurt anyone. Accident or not." She says before she murmurs, "Unless it's my ex, that's okay."
The corner of my mouth goes up at that. I can't help it; I am just picturing how she punched the guy now.
I shake my head to clear my mind, aware that Ed is looking back and forth between us at the moment.
"They went to make you a room here, but they wanted me to let you know that you do have a choice," I stress, trying to make sure she knows. "This is up to you. We strongly advise you say, but-"
"I trust you," She cuts me off, her eyes meeting my masked ones as she smiles softly, "I know you wouldn't just stick me somewhere for no reason. I am okay with this."
I don't know what to say, so I don't say anything. The wind picks up a little and my cape whips a little behind me as her curly golden hair is blown into her face.
She pushes it back as Ed says, "We will take good care of you," She smiles warmly at her, earning a smile from her before he adds, "Oh, and I will be here to keep you company."
"Good," She nods firmly before looking at me. "You too?"
The question catches me off guard. I nod despite not actually knowing as I say, "I will try." She smiles again, a little one she reserves for moments like this. When she is trying to express how much she appreciates someone helping her."We will let your family know and get anything you may need to we can provide."
She nods again, and mutters, "Thank you."
I nod in answer before I say, "I should probably go back. Good night." I turn before she can say anything else, only to be stopped a fe seconds later, her hand suddenly gripping my bicep tightly.
"I almost forgot!" She exclaims, panic in her tone, causing my heart to start racing a little too.
"What?" I question, looking down at her, not realizing we are closer than expected until I do.
"Can you-" She cuts off, suddenly embarrassed, and I first I think it's what she is going to say before she steps back and takes her hand off of me, her cheeks pink as she say, "Can you feed my cat?"
"What?" I blink at her, trying to make sense of what just happened. Did she just-
"Can you feed my cat?" She asks again, all of the embarrassment gone now as she smiles, "Her name is Bunny."
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A/N:
pretend it is thursday. anyways, i loved this chapter, i think it's cute despite the heavy tone. katie has an ability to get pushing through things that i love.
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how are y'all feeling?
what do you think will happen now?
do you think katie will realize they are the same person soon?
and how do you think tim will apologize now that he can't see katie?
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thanks for reading, don't forget to vote & comment !!
xoxo, author