daphne martha kent

SCANNING…IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE. ENTER [DAPHNE MARTHA KENT], [CHILD] OF [CONNER KENT AND CASSIE SANDSMARK]. CODENAME: [WONDER GIRL].  A [23]  [SECOND] YEAR ENROLLED IN THE [ SUPERHUMAN] TRACK. INTEL SHOWS THEY ARE [DEPENDABLE], BUT CAN ALSO BE [RESENTFUL]. ABILITIES INCLUDE [KRYPTONIAN AND DEMIGOD ABILITIES]. FACIAL RECOGNITION MISTAKES THEM FOR [INDIA EISELY].

Wylder looked at Daphne and saw the tear running down her cheek. He knew that she was feeling a lot of pain and anger, and he wanted to help in any way he could. He gently lifted her chin with his fingers, and looked into her eyes. “It’s okay to be angry,” he said softly. “It’s okay to cry. You don’t have to hold it in. I’m here for you, and I’ll support you no matter what.” He wiped away her tear with his thumb, and held her face for a moment longer before letting go. “We’ll send them somewhere they can never hurt anyone again…..I’ll send them to the netherworld" he promised her. The Netherworld was a dark and ominous realm full og mystery and fear, where the spirits of the deceased were said to wander aimlessly or suffer eternal damnation. Wylder had accidentally sent himself there once. only for a moment or two, but it felt like weeks for him. “It’s not killing them..they deserve more than death.” 

Daphne closed her eyes at his touch but she refused to cry any more in front of him. She’d already come apart and now she was trying desperately to keep herself as together as she could. She was a hero, there would be more death and destruction in their future. “And what if I can’t control my anger?” she asked softly confiding in Wylder. She hated that this happened. It was a monstrous thing to do and maybe Wylder was right, they deserved a fate worse than Arkham, jail or even death. Daphne nodded squeezing her hands together tight. Wylder was hurting too - she knew Rocket and Wy were close friends and she was glad that he didn’t know the details, hadn’t seen what she had seen. “Promise me.” 

Valentina struggled to keep her composure as Daphne’s emotions spiraled out of control. “That’s right I don’t care. I don’t give a damn about Bruce. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you all this. We’re not friends.” she pointed to her ears as she spoke. Valor had already been in her room when he left his present. For all she knew, he could have bugged her dorm. “I’m well aware of what I have in my room. "she said firmly, hoping to get through to her friend. “But I can handle my own business. Now get out and keep your mouth shut. Go cry to Bruce if you’re so worried about him.” Go make sure he’s okay were the unspoken words.

Daphne could hear Valentina’s heart beat, her words betrayed her and when she finally looked up at the dark haired girl she watched as she pointed to her ears. Someone was listening. She nodded frozen in her spot. Don’t stay here. Daphne mouthed hoping she would understand. This was when telepathy would have come in handy but neither of them possessed that power. Daphne took a step towards Val and placed her hand on top of Valentina’s hand before turning and bolting out the door to look for Bruce and make sure he was alive, then she was going to crush whoever did this. 

“No, not the case. We’re not in costume, are we?” He said, trying to lighten the mood a little for her. He didn’t want to think too much more on it anyway. Bruce didn’t want to imagine Rocky’s corpse or what could have been done to him. The fact that he had no idea what happened just lended more to his imagination. It made it worse in his own head. He could picture scenario after scenario. Limbs being torn off. Being beaten into a bloody mist on the ground. It only made him feel sick. He didn’t want to put those kinds of thoughts into her mind. He certainly didn’t want to ask her what actually happened. Instead, he needed to take her mind off of it. He needed things to be fine right now. For her sake, mostly. But for his own as well.

“Of course I do,” He shot her a small smile. “I still watch it sometimes. When the night’s are a little too long and quiet.” Bruce confessed to her. Deciding it was better to talk about this than to talk about Rocky’s death. He reached over to take her hand gently in his own. “Even if I didn’t, how could I forget?”

Daphne couldn’t stop thinking about the box, how someone could be so unhinged and cruel. Sure she’d had plenty of experience fighting the criminally insane and bad things happened all the time, but this hit way too close to home. She felt the anxiety build up in her chest her stomach twisting in knots and if she had remembered to eat dinner it would have come right back up. Bruce’s company helped. It gave her a sense of nostalgia of when they were together, when things felt right, like everything would be okay. 

Daphne couldn’t help but mirror his smile. Felt comforting to know that even though he had left and things were different now he hadn’t forgotten their time together. The small moments that Daphne held close to her heart. Daphne watched him take her hand in his and she scouted closer to him so her cheek was resting on his shoulder. “I don’t know, thought you might have thought it was trivial...I always liked those moments - felt like we were real kids.”  

The mention of Bruce snapped her out of it. How many more people would Valor go for? Who else did he know she was attached to. Valentina’s eyes narrowed as Daphne asked about Bruce. She could feel her anger rising at the thought of him being brought up in this situation. Place all the emotion in a box. Comparmentalize. Then shove it down. Deep, deep down. “I don’t know where Bruce is. And frankly, I don’t care. You need to leave now. Tell him to stay away from me. And while you’re at it do the same.” she spoke, voice cracking as she forced her self to pull it all together. Her tears stopped as she made herself calm. She needed logic. Not emotion.

“You don’t care?” Daphne repeated Valentinas words. “You don’t care?” her voice raised. Someone had just killed Rocky, didn’t this cause the slightest bit of alarm. They were both going through shock. “Leave?!” Daphne really needed to stop repeating Valentina’s words. “You have a fucking heart in your room - Rocky’s - “ Daphne’s voice broke her eyes glossing over with tears. She placed her hand over her heart trying to calm her breathing. 

Valor sneered as Daphne spoke, not bothering to hide his lack of interest. He knew Rocket was just a means to an end, a tool to be used and discarded. But as Daphne’s grip tightened, he winced slightly. He wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of violence, and her threat hit a little close to home. Still, he remained unapologetic. “You think you scare me?” he spat, pushing himself up from the ground. “You have no idea what I’m capable of but don’t worry you will..”

“No.” Daphne said watching him pull himself up from the ground. “You, have no idea what i’m capable of.” Daphne was supposedly trying to work on her anger issues but lately all that work had gone to shit. “I could squish you like an ant, which is what you are, nothing but a pest, gum on my shoe.” she turned her back on him beginning to walk out. “Stay away Valor from both of them.” she didn’t need to explain herself, she knew he’d likely been watching them. 

Valor stood there, unapologetic, as Daphne unleashed her anger upon him. He ignored the pain as she slammed him against the wall again, tightening her grip on him. With a smirk, he asked, “Are you going to say something I don’t know at some point?” he choked out, showing her he wasn’t afraid. His eyes dulled over the same way his sister’s would. That look that told everyone they’d been through worse. Could survive more.  He didn’t seem to care about the consequences of his actions, nor did he was he remorseful for what he had done. “My sister has gotten soft. It wasn’t personal to him. He was just a prop. A message to be sent. Took me less than a mintue.”

Daphne scoffed he wasn’t even paying attention to her she couldn’t even believe it. His eyes glazed over and he kept taunting her. He didn’t care. “Rocket was a person, with friends and family and - you don’t even care, you don’t deserve to walk free and the second I have the proof - “ she took in a shaky breath trying to control her anger. She wasn’t like him. She thought of Wylder and what he would think of her. “Here’s your own message. If you don’t stay away, if you hurt someone else I don’t care if you don’t fear me or death but I will end you.” She squeezed just a bit tighter before tossing him to the ground effortlessly. “You touch anyone else I love and I won’t even think twice.” 

He hadn’t seen her so torn up before. Her lip trembled and her eyes watered with unhappiness. He wanted nothing more than to take that pain away from her and keep it all for himself. Sucking up her misery like a giant sponge. She never deserved any of this pain. She was good and kind. She did things for the right reasons and never wavered on her morality despite the anger that flared up inside her sometimes. Unfortunately tragedy came with the work. He’d grown up with it and knew it like an old friend but he never thought something like this would happen to Rocky. He didn’t like the man at first but the two of them were growing closer since the Halloween Massacre. He understood his love for both Daphne and Valentina. They were becoming good friends through sparring with each other and now he was dead. He could barely wrap his head around it- and maybe that’s why he didn’t really even feel like the grief had hit him yet. 

She leaned into him as he placed a gentle kiss on her temple before she took his hand and led him towards her bed. He let her crawl into it first before he moved to lay on the covers beside her. Keeping his eyes on her as she explained to him that she’d seen death before but not like this. His brows furrowed thoughtfully. Wondering how bad it had been. How brutal? Part of him wanted to ask but he knew better to put her through describing it to him.  “Then don’t. Stay up and talk to me for a while.” Bruce told her softly. “We can watch something? Maybe get our minds off it for a little bit.” It was healthier to get her mind off of it so she could sleep a little. “Remember that show we’d binge together back when we were on the team? I know we’ve seen it 6 times over now, but we can throw that on?” He suggested.

It was so difficult to believe that Rocket was dead. That was she saw was actually real. It was the harsh reality though of the world they lived in, of being a superhero. You had to be the light because the dark would swallow you whole. It felt selfish to worry about Bruce when Rocket was dead. But if someone was capable of that kind of brutality then her immediate worry was for those she loved. At least tonight she could rest easy knowing he was by her side, though her thoughts kept drifting towards Valentina, wondering if she was alright. Daphne rolled over stress evident on the features of her face. “Talk about the case? Talk about -” Daphne sighed putting her arm under her head to prop herself up. 

She tried not to fall into old habits, tried not to go down memory lane with Bruce because it was a slippery slope. She was a little surprised that he remembered, the amount of times they watched that show...and the amount of times it played in the background while they busied themselves with burning off the post case adrenaline rush. “You remember it?” she asked before she could stop the words tumbling out of her mouth. 

Wylder listened to Daphne’s words, feeling a mix of emotions inside. It was clear that she was in pain, and he couldn’t help but ache for her. He put  his hand on hers, trying to offer some comfort. “I know, Daph,” he said softly. “I want justice too. We’ll find a way to make sure they pay for what they did.” Even as he spoke, Wylder knew it wouldn’t be easy. But he couldn’t let Daphne down. Not now, not ever.

Daphne closed her eyes at the feel of his hand on top of hers in comfort. She let a tear run down her cheek and she wiped it away angrily. “Will it even be enough? They just go to Arkham or some other maximum prison and get out in a few years and go back to doing this shit and i’m so tired of it.” 

Valor watched her unfold with amusement, his lips curling into a smirk. Daphne was certainly a force to be reckoned with, her anger palpable in the dimly lit room. Despite her aggression, Valor remained calm, his eyes glinting with amusement even as her hands tightened around his throat. “My dear Daphne, violence is never the answer,” he drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “But if you must know, I spared Rocky’s life. Trust me, his obsession with my sister was going to drive him mad. I saved him” He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t have one. So do it. I dare you.” he smiled.

“Shut up.” Daphne snapped clenching her jaw tight trying to regain some semblance of control. “I could snap you in half if I wanted to, I could break every bone in your body, so you’re going to shut up and listen to me.” she threatened. This was the side of her she didn’t like, the side that gave into anger, the side her mother warned her about with Ares. “You killed him, you didn’t spare him - he didn’t deserve that.” she desperately tried to keep the crack in her voice from slipping out. Daphne slammed him back into the wall again her hand tightening tears threatening to spill out. “There are consequences to your actions.” 

“No….they just released that they found the rest of his body….I assumed I didn’t want to know. So I didn’t pry.” he frowned. Rocky had been his friend too. Wylder looked at Daphne with a sense of sadness and understanding. He knew that the recent events had taken a toll on her, and he could see that she was struggling to keep her emotions in check. “I know,” he said softly, “But our hands are tied….for now. But we will figure out who did this.”

Daphne covered her face with her hands for a moment. She knew Wylder was hurting too, but every time she closed her eyes all she could see was what was in the box. “I saw - “ Daphne couldn’t finish that sentence let out a soft sob. “No one deserves that. I don’t want my hands to be tied - I want - I want justice Wy.” 

Valentina’s face crumpled as Daphne opened the box, revealing the grisly contents. “It is…..It was Rocky’s heart,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face. “My brother killed him, and then he….he brought me his heart.” Valentina sank to the ground, her body wracked with sobs. “ I didn’t know what to do with it…” she choked out.

Daphne could only hear her own breathing, loud in her ears, her heart thumping against her chest. Her breaths came in deep shallow gulps her hands trembling as she stepped away from the box, a panic attack coming on just as quick as Valentina had said his name. Daphne fought to keep her vision from fading, her head spinning. She let out a gasp stumbling back even further. Daphne didn’t say anything, she’d barely registered Valentina’s words. “Bruce - where’s Bruce?” She felt her body go numb for only a second, the rational part of her brain knew Bruce could take care of himself, but the part of her brain that was still stuck on the box in front of her quickly took over. “You’re brother?” she breathed out finally looking over at Valentina. 

Valentina stood quietly, hoping that if she just refused, Daphne would eventually get the hint. Despite the tension in the air, she tried to remain calm and composed. She started to relax when it seemed like Daphne was leaving. However, Daphne turned around and headed towards the box. Valentina’s heart began to race as she realized that Daphne was not going to give up so easily.

Without a second thought, Valentina vaulted from the bed and positioned herself between Daphne and the box. She knew that she had to act fast to prevent Daphne from making a grave mistake. She could see the determination in Daphne’s eyes, and she knew that she had to be firm with her. “There are fates far worse than that,” she said, holding one of her blades up. Her voice was firm but not unkind. “Daphne… I’m doing this for you. Please trust me and leave.” Valentina’s eyes never left Daphne’s as she spoke, the pain flickering in them. “Leave.”

Daphne grabbed at Valentina’s wrists, not meaning to use as much force as she did. “This is blood.” she accused. “What’s in the fucking box Val.” Daphne’s voice was low and steady. Had Valentina hurt someone else after she promised her? Was this a trophy from the last guy? Just when she was starting to actually like this girl. Daphne pushed her aside easily opening the box tipping the lid up before dropping it and backing away. “Who’s heart is that?” Daphne ground out teeth clamped down and grinding together as she turned to look at the other brunette. 

It was then that her eyes focused on the emotion playing out on Valentina’s face. “Val...” she didn’t understand what was happening, why she had this. “Who...” 

Wylder could sense the anger and frustration building up inside Daphne, and he knew it was important to address it.“It’s okay to be angry,” he said, his voice soothing. “But revenge is not the same as justice. We’ll make sure the person responsible for this pays for their actions.” He gave her hand another squeeze. "I know it’s hard, but we have to keep our heads clear and think rationally. We’ll get through this together.”

“Do you know what they did to him?” Her voice raised. She wasn’t angry at Wylder, more at the situation but, the emotion bubbled up inside her ready to burst out and take down anything in it’s path. Daphne took in a shaky breathe. “I am angry and I am done trying to defend this school - too much death has happened here.” 

Wylder listened thoughtfully to Daphne’s words, his mind wandering to thoughts of Rocky. He remembered the way Rocky’s eyes would light up whenever Daphne entered the room. “You know, Daphne,” he said slowly, “Rocky loved you. I don’t think he ever told you, but it was clear to anyone who was paying attention.” Wylder sighed, regretting that he had never told Rocky to confess his feelings to her. “I just hope he had no regrets in the end.”

“Don’t-” Daphne said trying to cut him off but he had already said the words. She had tried to pack up all those feelings and bury them so she could get to work on putting away whoever was responsible. “I was angry with him, I kept my distance and - “ Her voice broke. “and we never got back to that place we had been in and now he’s gone.” Love, relationships in this line of work in this life was irresponsible. People died, people traded teams, nothing lasted forever. “You know he did.” she shook her head. “He wasn’t supposed to go - he wanted to find his dad and make something of himself and it was snuffed out by some low level piece of shit i’m going to find and - “ she couldn’t finish that sentence. It would go against everything she was supposed to stand for.