I SWUNG FROM THE rooftops, wind blowing through my hair and giggles breezing over my lips. Selina was in front of me, her muscles rippling under her suit every time she made a jump onto the next building; long legs looking almost spider-like as her heels pounded onto the ground.
"Come on, Bri! We don't have all day!"
I snickered, flipping onto the roof and falling into sync with her. I retracted my grappling line and attached it to my belt as I made a particularly big jump. I crouched into a roll, letting the tension roll through my body before hopping back up to my feet and continuing.
I laughed, feeling completely free; adrenaline pumping through my veins with Selina at my sideー I was unstoppable. When we finally approached the museum, we slowed to a halt and peered in through the sky window, moonlight illuminating our silhouettes on the tile floor. I glanced up to find Selina already grinning at me, resonance device in her hand.
"Ready?"
I smirked.
"Born."
She placed the small piece on metal onto the window. A high-pitched sound rung through the night and echoed off of the alley walls below. Suddenly the glass shattered beneath our feet. As we fell in with the shards, I laughed. Then the alarms— loud and ear-shattering as ever— went off.
I shot up from my bed.
I groaned, wiping the sleep from my eyes. Alarms were blaring in my ears. I muttered incoherent words before grabbing a side of the pillow and pulling it over my ears. It didn't help; the sound still pierced through the cotton. I bolted upright, a flash of anger searing through me. I haphazardly flung my hand towards the small bedside table and felt around for my phone, hastily picking it up and squinting at the sudden brightness.
"You gotta be kiddin' me," I slurred as 4:21 flashed on the screen.
I threw my phone back down and tried to sleep again.
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
"God dammit," I growled as I ripped the covers off, throwing my mask on and marching to my door. I punched in the pass code before the door slid open with a hiss. I stepped out into the hall. It was cold, alarms still blasting like a chorus of trumpets. If this was just some stupid drill, I swear on my own life that I was going to personally hunt down Bats and rip his ears off myself.
I looked down both hallsー they were still empty. I frowned. Was I the only one who had hearing on this team?
I cautiously padded down the hall. I silently prayed that there wasn't an intruderー not because I was afraid, but because I was sneaking around the base in gray fuzzy socks, an over-sized black shirt which said "Cats Rule, Boys Drool," and my domino mask. If anyone saw me, my reputation would be over for, like, ever.
I entered the kitchen which was dimly lit by a few lights, a green hue falling over the room. Still, no one was in sight. The alarms were still ringing distantly, but I drowned them out, instead choosing to focus on the humming of the fridge. My body was on high alert; ready to pounce at any given moment as I crept around the counter.
The main doorway to leave the kitchen was completely dark.
"Well, that's not creepy at all," I muttered lowly.
I ran through the list of weapons I had hidden in this room. (What? You thought I was actually going to just trust these morons? I knew for a fact that stupid shit like this would happen on Bats' watch!)
One .9 millimeter hastily duck-taped under the counter, another under the second couch cushion to the left. A throwing knife behind the soy milk (because lets be real, who drinks soy?) and one on top of the painting by the door. Oh, and lets not forget the hand grenade tucked in the bookshelf near the TV, but I highly doubt I'll ever have to resort to that.
But now, all this talking about milk has me thirsty, which is how I found myself walking towards the fridge. I gripped the cold handle, a shiver running through my body at the contact as I pulled it open. My eyes, still slightly blurry, inspected the objects in the fridge.
Why the hell did these kids have nothing good to eat? Well, I mean, there's those freakin' burnt cookies, but I haven't stooped that low quite yet. After another minute of disappointment and shivering, I sighed, but was cut short by the sound of footsteps reaching my ears.
I froze before reminding myself that not moving would indicate that I heard whoever it was. Continuing to go about my business, I assessed the sound. Too heavy to be any of the girls, but clunky, which meant Squidkid was out, given he didn't even wear shoes. I highly doubt it was Kid Crash, because 1. he wouldn't even be awake at this time and 2. he probably would've just started openly flirting with me on the spot.
It definitely wasn't Boy Blunder, due to the fact that I wouldn't even be hearing his footsteps, which left only one culprit— Superboy. But even that surprised me, because why would he approach me? He barely even looked at me yesterday, so why start now?
Unless.. it was none of the above. Which would also explain the alarms going off! Holy crap, someone broke into the base!
.. And now they're right behind me.
Finally, pretending I had made my decision, I reached into the fridge. Grabbing the item, I stood back and closed it just as the footsteps stopped right behind me. Keeping my eyes on the object, I spun around, not even flinching as I casually looked up at the intruders face.
I smiled, holding the item out.
"Milk?"
I watched the man, taller than me with steely gray eyes, blink in confusion.
I chuckled, inspecting the milk again. "My reaction exactly. Who drinks soy, right?"
"But you know what I heard?" I continued. "It actually has a little kick to it. Weird, huh?"
I glanced back up at him. Flashing an innocent smile, I spun around and delivered a hard kick to the mans chest. He stumbled back with a shout, crashing into the counter top. Eyes narrowed, I yanked the throwing knife off of the carton, tossing it to the side before lunging at the tall figure. Gotham instincts kicking in, I spun the knife in one hand as I slammed the guys head back against the counter with the other. In one clean swoop, I swiped my hand over his exposed neck, a single line of red immediately gushing from the pale skin.
I smirked, carelessly tossing his body aside as bullets were suddenly whizzing past my head. I ducked down behind the counter, reaching under the ledge and feeling around for the gun. I pulled it free, waiting a moment before rolling out from my hiding spot.
I jumped up, finger on the trigger as I fired at the many men filling the room. Bodies dropped as I dodged bullets. I counted roughly twelve guys, and five were already down.
"I swear to—! Ugh. Am I the only one on this damn team?" I shouted as I dove for cover again, holes appearing on the cabinets in front of me. I stood up again after the barrage briefly stopped, only three more bullets in my gun and seven guys still standing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four to go.
Suddenly there was a sound of metal rolling on the floor. I glanced to my left, back still pressed up against the counter. A small ball suddenly appeared next to me, red light blinking rapidly. My blood ran cold, and I barely took another breath before I found myself pushing off of the ground. I nearly tripped over my own legs from running so fast, bullets flying past me as I rounded the corner down the hall.
Pain suddenly burst in my shoulder.
"Fuck!" I yelled, grabbing it, but not having much time to assess the damage before the power from the explosion threw me off my feet and down the hall.
I slammed into the opposite wall, sliding down it and sprawling across the tile floor. Pain roared in my shoulder. Ringing clouded my hearing. I groaned, blinking open my eyes blearily and taking in the scene in front of me.
A man was running towards me, fire from the blast swirling behind him. Damn, now how the hell am I going to get food? There's no way that Bats is going to— wait.
A man was running towards me.
My eyes widened as he suddenly drove a punch into the floor. I rolled out of the way just in time, my shoulder flaring again. I snarled before jumping up to my feet, suddenly feeling the urge to throw up.
Okay, not my best idea.
He started running towards me again. I ducked under another punch, twirling around and driving my elbow into a place where an elbow should definitely not go. With a grunt, the man doubled over. I smirked, smashing my knee into his face before landing a hard punch on his temple. He crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
I took a deep breath, giving myself a silent pat on the back. After a couple moments of panting and my adrenaline levels decreasing, my shoulder gave me a painful reminder that there was still a bullet in it. With a hiss I traveled down the hall towards my room, stumbling to the door and hastily pressing in the pass code.
When the door slid open, I trudged towards the small bathroom. The sound of my ragged breath flooded the room as I flicked the lights on. I bent down, sifting through the contents beneath the counter.
"C'mon, I know I put gauze in here somewhere..."
"Oh please, you always forget your gauze."
I gasped, shooting up and hitting my head on the edge of the counter. With a cry I grabbed my head, standing up much slower this time. I glanced in the mirror, only to find an extremely familiar figure leaning in my doorway.
"Sel," I breathed as I turned towards the woman, relief flooding my body.
She grinned. "In the flesh."
"Wait," my eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, "how did you even get in here? And who the hell were those guys back there?"
"I broke in, silly. And those morons? Just some distractions I found along the way. Although I didn't think you'd be the first one there. How unfortunate for them."
A smirk began to tug at the corners of my lips before a flare of pain interrupted it. I hissed, Selina immediately grabbing one of the towels hanging on the racks behind us and pressing it to my shoulder. As I watched her, curiosity got the better of me.
"Hey, I'm glad you're here and all, but I thought you still weren't talking to me?"
There was a pause before she shrugged slightly.
"I realized I was being selfish. But I still wanted to try and get you back anyways."
"Get me back?" I repeated.
"Yeah," she nodded. "C'mon, think about it! You and me together again, kicking ass and fighting against all of those idiots who didn't even come to help you."
I stopped. How did she know they didn't come to help me?
Silence shrouded the room once again as I studied her face. She was wearing her catsuit, blue eyes intently focused on my shoulder and red lips pressed into a thin line. I frowned. That was not her typical lip shade.
"You know," I began, "this reminds me of the time Joker's bots went haywire and we had to take them down. I got shot in the shoulder, and as usual, you had to patch me up. Remember?"
She let out a light chuckle. "Yeah. See? Those are the times I'm talking about! If you came back, we could do more crazy stuff like that."
I grinned, pushing past her and holding the towel as I walked back into my room. I could feel her eyes on me as I neared my bed and bent down to open the duffel bag next to it. With my free hand, I began to look through it.
"Yeah, it would be really nice," I mused.
I could practically hear her grin as she spoke. "I knew you'd agree with me."
"Except there's one issue," my voice dropped an octave lower as my hand brushed against what I was looking for.
"Which would be?"
"That thing about Joker's bots? You left out one very crucial part of the story."
I whirled around, gun cocked and aimed straight as her.
I narrowed my eyes.
"I wasn't there."
Bang!
And suddenly there was a new voice.
"Simulation over."
* * *
I know, I know. Everyone hates filler chapters. It's not like I enjoy writing them either, but plot exposition has to happen somehow. I promise the next couple will be a lot more interesting though! Anyways, sorry for the long wait (as usual) but I'm on break now, so expect a lot more updates over the next two weeks! Thanks for 39k+!
xo Alexa