Independence Day (Part 2)
Estelle grumbled, itching at the pink sweater that scratched her neck, that was under the cloak she had worn out, wishing she was wearing her favourite maroon jumper or at least her cardiganthat carries a certain lavender hue that reminds her of her mother's favourite flower. The pink sweater was a ghastly piece, having been a gift from an old friend of her mother's. She was prepared to throw it out, but one glance from her mother made her rethink her decision. Instead, she chucked it into the farthest corner of her closet, hiding it under a box of old belongings of hers, and wished to never lay her eyes on the garment again.
Unfortunately, Estelle's laziness came back to bite her in the arse, and her inability to do her own clothes washing meant that all her clothes were dirty and in need of a good cleaning. The only thing she had left was an old pair of jeans and this abomination to the word fashion.
Ignoring her urge to scratch her already irritated skin, Estelle made her way downtown, pausing a couple of times to scowl at no new notifications on her phone. She was so bored, and none of her friends were responding to her texts. She knew she was supposed to 'stay put' and not wander off, but there was nothing to do at home, and her mother couldn't be mad at her for wanting some fresh air.
The only downside to that decision was that she had to wear this mortifying sweater in broad daylight.
A scuffle in the back of an alley made her speed up her pace. She had no plans to see a pair of horny teenagers making out in a grimy alley way. Just as she was going to walk past, pretending she didn't hear anything, she heard pleading.
"P-please, just take my wallet. Leave me alone."
So much for pretending nothing happened.
She readjusted her hair, making sure it covered her face and placing her hood over her head, before shuffling into the small opening, where she was met with the view of a group of men, towering over a small quivering man. "Well this seems lovely."
All eyes turned to her, 4 pairs full of malice and arrogance, while the other was terrified.
“Eh?” One of the men intelligently said, looking dumbly at his other comrades.
“What the hell are you waiting for? Get her!” The only smart one in the group said, pushing at the other men.
Estelle fought her way through them, launching herself to kick one man’s gut and roundhouse kicking the other. Two down, two more to go. The next one was easy, one kick from behind left him tumbling down. The last man, however, still had some fight left in him. He grabbed a discarded pole from the ground and attempted to hit her, but it was obvious he had no idea what he was doing. Eventually, she managed to knock him out with his own pole, but not without her own share of injuries.
Turning to the victim who watched the fight with wide eyes, she nodded at him. He returned the gesture with a thankful smile before rushing off, still traumatised by the experience.
Estelle felt her nose trickle, and swiped at her nose, revealing blood. One of the men got a lucky hit. An unnoticed itch caused her nose to twitch. A pause followed. Suddenly, completely losing control, she took another deep breath before the air forced itself violently. A brief sniffle followed by the return to silence.
Looking down at her top, she saw the crimson smear, splattered along in no immediate pattern. She cheered in joy at the stain of blood on her sweater, “Now I have a reason to throw it out! Thanks a bunch!”
The only response she got was a couple of groans of pain.
Batman threw a copy of the paper from that morning, that Diana hadn’t gotten the chance to browse through, on the table, signifying the meeting had started. Diana raised an eyebrow at his behaviour, wondering why he was in such a bad mood. She knew their proteges made some mistakes, but it wasn’t like they caused much harm, they only wanted to help.
‘Just like Estelle,’ her mind supplied snidely.
Diana was shaken out of her stupor by Batman pointing at the front page. Her heart dropped, she recognised her daughter’s bright red hair anywhere, but honestly, Diana should know better. When has she ever seen Estelle shy away from danger?
“A group of four had attempted to steal from a local doctor and some tiny vigilante appeared out of nowhere and took them all down.”
“I remember hearing about that! Apparently, the last thing the victim remembered was the person thanking the men for ruining her sweater,” Shazam perked up, making Diana sit up.
“She ruined her sweater?! It was probably the one Dottie got her.” Diana didn’t like their neighbour, Dottie, that much, but she had to put up with her to not seem like a bad neighbour. And it was sweet that she got Estelle a sweater (even though it looked hideous).
“You know her?” If his cowl was off, Diana knew his eyebrows would be raised. She had the whole room’s attention on her.
“Let’s just say that the four sidekicks aren’t the only League children,” Diana sighed. Batman nodded in encouragement, asking for her to go on, wordlessly.
“The girl in that picture is my daughter.”
The League all showed similar degrees of surprise on their faces, except Batman, whose only tell of his surprise was the widening of his eyes.
“She has a daughter?” Flash whispered to Green Lantern, who nodded in agreement.
“I adopted her when she was just a year-old, and she’s grown into such a fierce warrior. But I worry about her. She wishes to fight fights that are too much for her, and I can’t stop her.”
“How old is she?” Black Canary asked.
“She’s turning 13 in about a month,” Diana answered. Black Canary nodded, leaning forward.
“At this age, teenagers begin to rebel, if they feel like you’re being too controlling. They become restless until they begin to act out.”
“Yes, but these aren’t normal teenagers. Aqualad and Kid Flash are meta-humans, and so is Superboy from what we can tell, and Robin and Estelle have a set of skills that normal teens don’t have,” Batman spoke up.
“Don’t you have a niece their age too?” Green Arrow mutters to Martian Manhunter. At his nod he whistled anxiously, “Looks like we have our hands full.”
“I might just have an idea that might benefit us all,” Black Canary grinned.