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KATIE'S POV
"Where is she?" I ask as I walk into the manor.
"What?" Spikey questions, glaring as I shut the door. "You can't just walk in here-"
"Where is Hazel?" I clarify, my eyes scanning the room before I decide she isn't there and I have done enough detective work to move to the next room.
Damian follows me, annoyed, "I did not allow you to enter."
"I hear you, Shorty," I say as I walk into the kitchen, "I just need Hazel and then I will leave."
"Oh," Alfred looks up from whatever he is making for the boys. "Miss Katie, I did not know we were expecting you."
"We weren't," Damian hisses as he sits down in a chair.
"Now, Damian, that is no way to treat a guest," Alfred scolds before he looks back to me, "Did I hear correctly that you are looking for Miss Hazel?"
"Yes," I nod in confirmation.
He gives me a warm smile that I can't help but return, "She is upstairs in Master Jason's room."
"Thank you!" I call before I sprint out of the room. I run up the stairs, taking two at a time before I find his room and knock twice. "It's Katie, I need Hazel so you have five seconds before I walk in."
I don't hear anything, so I walk in after five seconds to find them watching a movie, Jason's arm wrapped around Hazel.
Hazel gets out of Jason's grip and sits at the edge of the bed, "Everything okay?" Her eyes scan over my face, her eyes full of worry.
"Curly fry!" Jason nods in greeting, his body sprawled out on the bed, "How's it going?"
"Bad," I answer as I sit down on the edge of the bed.
"Have a seat, I guess..." He mutters somewhat amused with the situation before going back to watching the movie.
"I'm sick, Hazel," I say, "Do doctor stuff and fix me."
"I'm not a doctor yet-"
"You basically are!" I exclaim as I take her hand and press it to my forehead, "Am I hot? Do I have a fever?"
"Katie, I'm worried about you... what's this about?" Hazel asks, but feels her forehead, checking a fever anyways.
I open my mouth to say something, but someone interrupts me.
"Katie?" Tim asks as he looks in from open door... the door I left open. Oh no. "What are you doing here?"
"Leaving!" I say as I jump up, grabbing Hazel's arm in a death grip. "I'm taking Hazel." I call over my shoulder to Jason.
"Wait-"
"No," I turn and look at him, "You get her all the time, she is my best friend. I get her now." I hug Hazel to prove a point, making Hazel and Tim look at me in concern.
"Okay..." Jason gives in, laying back down slowly as Hazel laughs.
"You feeling okay?" Tim questions, his eyes on me as he steps closer.
"Nope! I'm sick so you should stay away," I warn, faking a cough before I take Hazel and drag her out of the room, dodging Tim as I do so.
"I'm really worried now..." Hazel says, but keeps up with my quick pace.
"Bye Alfred and Spikey!" I shout as I walk through the door and shut it without looking back.
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"Okay," Hazel says, holding her hot chocolate in her hands. "What is this about?"
I take a sip of my coffee, "Are you going to ask my symptoms?"
She gives me a look before asking, "What are your symptoms?"
"Well, my stomach is feeling queasy all the time. And my face keeps getting red and hot sometimes, and my heart-"
"Katie," Hazel stops me, her eyebrows drawing together. "When in particular is this happening?"
I purse my lips and look down at my coffee. It's a very pretty mocha brown color, and-
"Katie?"
I bite the inside of my cheek before I look back up at her, "Umm... when I am around Tim."
A hint of a smile is on her face, making me cross my arms over my chest.
"I think I know what's going on," She says in a gentle tone voice.
"No," I shake my head, panic seeping in. "No, Hazel, no-"
"You like him!" She exclaims in a whisper, leaning over the table.
"No," I groan, hiding my head in my hands.
"Why aren't you excited?" She asks, and I give her a look.
"Last time I liked someone, it ended horribly," I point out before I look down at the table, picking at the chips in the wood, "And it's Tim... I don't want it to end badly, and I don't want to ruin our friendship."
It's Tim and Red. But I can't say that to Hazel. Which is another reason why I am so conflicted.
"Maybe Tim feels the same," Hazel shrugs. "Have you-"
"I just found out," I shake my head, "I need more time. I don't want to make things weird... and I don't want to change anything right now." I want to to stay the same for a little while longer before I blow it up. After everything going on, I am going to give myself that.
Hazel nods in understanding before he looks down at her hot chocolate again, taking a sip. "You know," She says after a moment, "Tim is a good guy. And he cares about you a lot."
My mind goes to him and his reassuring smile, his eyes that watch me so intently, his voice that soothes my nerves.
And then I think about Red. His sarcasm that makes me laugh, his confidence that makes me feel unsure of myself, his strong arms that protect me when I can't protect myself.
They both make me feel so different, yet the same.
"Tim is a great guy," I admit, my eyes going to her, "I just don't want to mess anything up."
"I understand," She nods, smiling lightly, "But you have never been one to shy away from speaking your mind... take all the time you need," She says, "But don't bury it or hide it."
I bite the inside of my cheek again as I fight back a smile. With how he makes me feel... "I don't think I could hide it even if I tried."
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I look out of the window of this martian ship, called the bio ship.
It's my first mission and I am practically jumping out of my seat from excitement.
The trees pass by below as Miss M says, "This is a simple mission, just recon."
"It's never just recon," Impulse grins next to me. "We have a habit of blowing things up."
"I like explosions," I grin, making him grin too.
"Perfect-"
"Umm, I would prefer no explosions," Miss M cuts in.
"Yeah, agreed," Red says as he turns to look at us.
I make a face at him, scrunching up my nose without realizing, making Wonder Girl laugh. "I think explosions are cool too," She supports.
It's Impulse, Miss M, Red, Wonder Girl and I on this mission. Miss M said she will be look out to give me a testing round. Not nerve racking at all.
"Red Robin will be leader in the field..." Miss M mutters under her breath after a moment, making me smile a little.
He smirks, making me roll my eyes before I look out of the window again.
"So, what should we call you?" Wonder girl asks, turning to look at me from across the ship.
"Stella," I answer, fighting back a grin.
Impulse, Miss M and Wonder girl all repeat it, telling me they love it. I turn to Red to see what he thinks, his back to me.
"Celestial star," Red Robin says after a moment, turning to look at me, "Very fitting," He mutters before turning back.
I smile again, trying to ignore the way his words make me feel, and trying not to read too much into it.
"We are here," Miss M says after a moment. We all stand up and she looks to me, "I am going to establish a psychic link of that is okay? It will give us access to your thoughts, so it is a little of a violation of your privacy, but-"
"That's fine," I say, not really seeing any other choice. I will eventually need to do this, might as well be now. Still I am a little worried I'm going to think something embarrassing.
"You can sort of control what you say with time," Impulse says, throwing an arm around my shoulder.
"Sounds good to me," I grin at him.
"Okay," Miss M says with a smile before her eyes glow green. Suddenly a sharp pain is in my mind before it easies and I hear her say, "Psychic link established."
"This is so cool," I can't help but think, making Wonder girl laugh in my head.
"Okay," Red gets our attention, "Stella, you and Impulse go around the back. We just need to observe to collect data on the lab and make sure it isn't doing anything out of the ordinary. Wonder girl and I will go through the roof."
I nod, and Impulse doesn't give me a warning before he picks me up bridal style and zooms out of the bio-ship. I press my head to his chest to keep from getting whiplash as I let out a noise in surprise in my head.
Wonder girl laughs again as Red sighs, and I can nearly feel him double guessing sending me with Impulse.
If Impulse feels it, he doesn't say anything as he laughs before coming to a halt behind some trees.
He lets me down and I nod in thanks before we turn our attention to the building.
I see a window, and notice the lack of guards, pointing at it to him. He nods and speeds up to it, making sure it's clear before I use my powers to fly to him.
"Woah, I didn't know you can fly!" He grins, "Crash, so crash."
"Thanks," I reply, not stopping to ask what that means, smiling before we turn our attention back to the mission.
We look in, seeing lab stations and other things, reminding me of when I was kidnapped. I frown, but keep thoughts to a minimum as we look through.
"No sign of it-" Impulse starts.
"Not on the first floor," Red cuts him off, "But there are crates of kids in here on the top level. And-"
He stops talking as we here a roar rip through the air.
My eyes widen as Wonder girl is thrown through a wall, landing not far from us.
Impulse runs to her as I fly up, trying to see what did it and if Red is okay.
A beast lungs out at me, making my eyes widen as I am hit to the ground, rolling several times before I stop on me stomach.
I groan, but force myself up, rubbing my shoulder that I landed on. That's going to be bruised in the morning.
Red jumps out of the building as the beast turns on him. He narrows his eyes before throwing to bombs at it.
It shrieks in pain, but still runs at him. My eyes glow as I get up and blast at the beast.
My energy hits him, sending him flying into a tree truck, the truck breaking at the impact.
Red looks to me, nodding before Wonder girl is up again and punches the beast.
It doesn't take it down though, it snarling as it bares it's teeth at her.
She holds it down as Impulse rushes to it, putting on an inhibitor collar.
Slowly it shrinks down, the fur disappearing to reveal teenage boy... a very naked teenage boy.
Wonder girl and I both look away, blushing slightly as Red clears his throat and Impulse gets the message, running to get a cloth. He throws it over the guy, who is now holding his head, looking around in confusion.
"What... what happened?" He asks, making me frown before I look to Red.
He doesn't say anything as he leaves, running back in. I follow, our eyes meeting the panicked eyes of scientists trying to get away.
Not on my watch. My eyes glow white as I fly over them, drawing a line with my powers by the door, the energy making them back up.
I put my hands on my hips as I land, daring them to try to leave after what they did to those kids.
"Surrender and we don't have to fight," Red orders, his voice hard and full of challenge. The scientists look at each other before the door their bags, holding their hands up. He smirks, "Good call."
With that, we tie them up and call for people to take them in.
Wonder girl and Impulse meet us, Impulse speeding ahead to unlock all of the kids. When that is done and the authorities come to take the scientists away, and after we help the meta human, we start walking back to the ship.
"Not bad for a first mission," Impulse grins.
"Explosion and all," I shrug, smiling back.
"Are you kidding?" Wonder girl ask, "She did great!"
"What do you think, Red?" Impulse looks at him, raising an eyebrow.
He looks at me, a small smile on his face, "You did great."
I nod, a smile on my face before we all turn back to the ship to leave.
I think I am going to like this team.
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A/N:
just want to clarify, bart is not flirting with her, they are strictly platonic. tim is the only guy she is looking at... other than red of course.
and katie finally admits it!!! i thought her reaction was pretty relatable. i know that's how i react when i think i like someone. i just think it's cute that they both want to keep everything the same for a while like they but want to pause time for awhile.
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how are y'all feeling?
favorite part?
how do you think katie will act around tim and red now?
what are you excited to see now that she is on the team?
do you want to see more of team life or more school life?
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thanks for reading, don't forget to vote & comment !!
xoxo, author