#leaps drabbles

She wasn’t sure if she should bother him, but his head lifted once he realized the door had opened, which didn’t give her much choice. 

“Oh, did you need something?” He asked, doing his best to seem like his normal self. But she saw through it. She typically did. 

“No, I’m just exploring the Watchtower some. But… are you okay?” She was hesitant to ask, pretty sure that he wasn’t, but equally as sure that he’d try to brush it off. And as she expected…

“I’m fine, I appreciate it.”

She shifted her weight in the door before walking in, letting the door close behind her as she walked over to the window. It was still strange, seeing Earth from space. Mind blowing, and kind of terrifying. However, she thankfully didn’t have the time to dwell on that right now. 

“No offense, sir, but I don’t think you are.” She said hesitantly, but didn’t look at him for now. She still saw him out of the corner of her eye though, turning his gaze away from her, looking down at his hands. He didn’t say anything yet, so she continued. 

“I realize… you’re under a lot of pressure. A lot. More than I’ll ever know. When something big happens, the people turn to you for a solution. It feels like there’s nothing you can’t do. You’re our best defense… I know it can’t be easy.” 

As she spoke, she saw his shoulders hunch more, his eyebrows furrowing and fists clenching and unclenching in his lap. Still he stayed silent, but did turn his gaze to her as she finally took a seat beside him, pulling her legs up to sit cross legged for now, elbows on her knees so she had a hunch to match his. She’s a college student after all, who cares about posture anymore? 

“But… you aren’t alone. You don’t have to carry the weight of the world alone. Sure, we may not all be as capable, skilled, not everyone who wants to help has powers.” She took a moment to look at her right hand, where she wore her power ring. The small piece of jewelry that changed her life. “Without this ring… I’d be too scared to be outside for more than a few minutes at night. Let alone try to find the confidence to stand up to any threat. However. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from group projects, it’s that there really is a benefit to having everyone do one part than trying to do it all yourself. It’s a weight off your shoulders, and if you know you can trust the other people to do their jobs, then it typically leads to better results.” 

She paused for a moment, turning to look at him finally. She had his full attention as he looked down at her, even when hunched over like this. She was small compared to him, reminding him how small and fragile-looking humans were. But at the same time, she was right. He needed to work on trusting his teammates. Because that’s what they were, a team. 

As he was contemplating this, she sat up some and held a hand out to him, but didn’t touch him just yet. “May I?” she asked, her tone soft, somehow proving that she would listen to whatever his answer was. After he gave a nod, she gently put a hand on his arm, almost light enough he couldn’t feel it through his suit. 

“We’re all here for you, Superman. Even if we’re not particularly close, I think this is the most I’ve been able to convince myself to talk to you, we’re here because we want to help people. And you’re no exception. If you need to vent, someone to help you take a break or to take over in the meantime, a shoulder to cry on, anything. We are here for you. I am here for you. I’m always just a text away.” She assured, her eyes glistening both with sincerity, and the beginnings of unshed tears. She was supposed to embody Compassion, after all. 

As she spoke, reminding him of something he technically knew, but never fully grasped, he felt the tension leaving his body. She was right, yet again. He needs to open up a little more. Rely on the people who were there for him, who would understand what he’s going through to at least some degree. There weren’t a lot of people who could relate to the struggles of Superman, after all. 

Smiling softly at her and letting out a small chuckle, he nodded and gently put a hand over hers, giving it a very careful squeeze. “You are something else, Indi… thank you.” 

“I’m always happy to help. With anything, honestly. But this is apparently my area of expertise.” She said, shrugging casually as she lifted her right hand, not making a big deal of the fact that she was able to help a man with the world on his shoulders remember that he wasn’t protecting it alone.

Once he let go of her hand, she stood up and stretched out “I’m going to go back to exploring, but if I may be so bold, it looks like the great Superman could use a well deserved nap. You’re starting to look like me.” She joked, giving him a grin that proved it wasn’t malicious. It was genuine concern and care. He laughed with her, giving her a wave in return. He planned to sit there for a little longer to think over this conversation, but in a much better mood at least. 

Anya came in after him, a small giggle coming from her that Bruce still picked up on despite everything else, feeling some of the tension leave his muscles. “It’s not that bad. Might even do you some good, to do some recon amongst the people instead of from the shadows.” She retorted to his earlier complaint, gently resting a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him. 

At the very least, she succeeded in distracting him. She looked absolutely wonderful tonight, even if it wasn’t her typical clothing. A black crop top with a small window and silver trim, and a silver high-low skirt that had so much glitter that it caught every small shift… Bruce wasn’t oblivious to the fact she had worn black as an homage to him and his Batsuit. It was flattering. 

However, his admiration of how gorgeous she was was interrupted by Wally and Daniella following in behind them, Wally having the guts to put an arm around Bruce’s neck and giving him a dazzling grin that could rival his own when he is posing for pictures. “Relaaax, it’ll be fine! Might help you loosen up some too.” He teased, but was quick to let go in favor of spreading his arms out and upward, clearly ‘at home’ here. The music was fast paced, and seemed just his style. Speaking of his style, apparently it doesn’t include ‘subtlety’, based on the fact he’s wearing a black shirt with blue and yellow lightning streaking across it that practically glowed under the club’s lights. Pairing that with a pair of black jeans and red sneakers, anyone with a lick of sense would be able to figure out who he was. 

Daniella rolled her eyes but beamed happily as she followed Wally, seeming just as in her element as him. “Oh, be nice Wally.” She scolded playfully, even lightly slapping his arm. She didn’t really seem to understand subtlety either, however she seemed to get the memo about color coordinating to some degree. She had on a red cropped hoodie with a shimmery gold interior, an obvious homage to Wally’s Flash costume. She had on dark red shorts but with a skirt that matched Wally’s shirt, black with blue and yellow lightning. And heels that could probably kill a man with one good kick, but other than that they seemed impractical. She seemed to know what she was doing, though. 

“While it’s great that we get to check out someplace we can actually enjoy, we’re still on a mission. Keep an eye out for our thief, or any information on him we can get.” She reminded, glancing around the room but already swaying to the music. She was absolutely used to this. 

“I call checking the dance floor!” Wally shouted over the music, already rushing off towards it as quickly as he could without his superspeed. While he may not be the most mature member of the League, he was thankfully good about not using his powers when not in his suit. 

“I’m not letting you have all the fun!” Daniella called after recovering from her surprise, laughing and chasing after him with surprising ease. Batman had to admire women and their ability to maintain their balance on the tips of their toes like that…

Anya was still by his side though, clearly amused by the younger heroes’ antics. “Well Bruce, where do you want to start? Trying to sneak your way to VIP?” She suggested, mimicking him in his survey of the room while avoiding having anyone bump into them by keeping against a wall for now. 

“Honestly, I might go check the bar first. Bartenders pick up more information than you might expect with how busy they are… And I can already tell I’m going to need a drink to survive the night.” He grumbled, giving her hand a small squeeze before letting go and heading that way. Anya was free to do as she pleased, of course, as he had no intention of dragging her around with him. 

Anya took advantage of this freedom by going to do as she had suggested, trying to see if she could flirt some information out of the VIP section about their target. While she may not be happy to be somewhere so… busy, she knew that it was necessary, and thus was able to find the energy to power through. Figuratively, of course. 

After making sure she was at least decently covered, she went up to the guards of the VIP section, batting her eyelashes and trying to play the ‘innocent’ card. 

“Excuse me… I’m trying to find someone, and I was hoping you could help me…” She started, not intimidated in the slightest by the men. Without giving them time to respond, she continued to describe their target. “About yay tall, blonde, brown eyes?” She tried, giving them a hopeful look. 

However, the guards shook their head and asked her to please leave, or present a VIP pass. Well… that was a bust, for now at least. She can try again a bit later, and keep an eye on the area. For now she wandered around some, keeping nearby. She spotted a flash of Wally’s red hair, making her snicker softly. Who knew he could dance?

Wally and Dani had worked their way towards the center of the dance floor, moving with ease amongst the sea of bodies, blending in with the crowd if you weren’t looking specifically for them. Their dancing styles were different, Wally’s focusing on foot work while Dani’s used her whole body, but they worked so well together. It made sense why they gravitated towards each other. Thankfully, they were still on task despite having the time of their lives. Wally was peeking over the top of the crowd and occasionally bent down near someone to ask if they had seen his friend, claiming to have lost track of him, using the same description that Anya had. Dani had to rely more on the asking aspect, smoothly working her way through the crowd as she searched for her ‘friend’, but the two of them were never more than a few people apart. Always within sight of each other. Good. They could keep each other out of trouble. 

So Anya took to looking for Bruce, hoping he was making better progress than they were. He was sitting at the bar already, drink in hand but just… staring at it. That’s not a good sign… Time to see why Bruce was brooding this time. 

Weaving her way through the people of various levels of intoxication, she took a seat on the empty stool next to Bruce, successfully snapping him out of his train of thought. 

“Are you alright?” She asked him softly, leaning closer to make sure he heard nonetheless. Getting a nod in response, she furrowed her eyebrows skeptically before mimicking the famous “Bruce Brood.” Or at least… that’s what she calls it in her head. The expression he makes when he’s thinking really hard about something that’s bothering him, but he doesn’t want to talk about it. Furrowed brows and a deep frown that bordered on a pout, hunched shoulders and arms crossed on the table. 

Feeling his shoulders shaking slightly before even realizing he was chuckling, Bruce shook his head in amusement with a small smirk. “I’m fine, honest. Just wondering how it seems like no one here recognizes our thief… it’s frustrating.” He admitted, his calmer expression replaced by the Bruce Brood again. 

Anya let her own expression relax to her natural thoughtful expression. “Perhaps the lighting makes it harder… or they don’t pay attention to appearances, and focus on names or actions?” She suggested, looking to him to see if he thought it was possible or not. 

“Maybe… but in this kind of place, you’d think people would pay attention to appearances. And he frequents here… Our best option might be to try and wait for him to show up tonight, since he should… but I was hoping to get more information about him like this. Gossip, background, hobbies, interests, anything…” 

“Bruce, please… relax. We’re doing everything we can, but we always manage in the end. It’ll turn out ok. I don’t want you to go stressing yourself grey tonight.” 

The teasing earned her a snort of amusement and another head shake before Bruce took a big sip of whatever drink he had, looking at the glass for a moment before turning his attention to her. “Do you want anything?” 

Anya hummed in thought before nodding. A drink sounds good right about now, and then he won’t be drinking alone. When they flagged down the bartender, she ordered her drink just barely over the volume of the music. He seemed to get it however, nodding and set to putting it together for her. 

“Any idea if Wally and Daniella are having better luck than us?” Bruce asked after a moment, quirking an eyebrow as he focused on her again, taking another sip of his drink. He plans on making it last the entire night, because he doesn’t need to go getting himself drunk while on a mission. 

“Can’t tell. They’re having fun for sure, absolutely surrounded. I’m pretty sure they’re still on task, just enjoying it a little more than we have been.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Relax, Bruce. Let them have their fun. We’re still at the stage of the mission where it’s ok for them, and you know as well as I do that they can step up when they have to. They’re in their element, we can’t expect them to be completely serious. Plus that would just draw attention to them.”

“I know, I know…”

Anya laughed softly in amusement, leaning into his side for a moment. It was a small, brief sign of affection. But it was plenty enough for them right now, since they were out in public. 

After a moment of consideration, Anya got an idea that just might make tonight a little more bearable for the two of them. 

“How about a little deal?”

“A deal…?”

“Once we get done with this mission, we both go back to your place, and have our version of this. Our music, our pace.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow, but just the thought of it released some tension from his muscles. Giving her an affectionate smile reserved just for her and finishing his drink much sooner than anticipated, he gave a definitive nod. 

Superman was clearly unsure about this, but Batman had convinced him that it would be good to help her train and to figure out what she was capable of. For the time being, they had agreed on basic hand to hand combat, no super powers if it could be helped. It was the closest to a level playing field they could get it without her fighting someone else like Batman, but she specifically wanted to try it against Superman. As she had told him when approaching him with the idea with no small amount of nerves making her hesitate, “Right now you are the League member I am least scared of who is also available, and I really want to see how much I can handle outside of Gotham.”

Which is how she ended up just across a training mat from Superman, already in some semblance of a fighting stance while he still seemed unsure, glancing towards Batman, who was up against a wall with his arms crossed to watch.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Superman asked them both, Oleda nodding stubbornly while Batman answered verbally. “She’ll be fine, Superman.”

With that, the Kyrptonian gave in with a sigh and slowly got into his own fighting position. 

Once Batman called for them to start, they both charged each other. Oleda managed to dodge the first punch from Superman, landing a single blow to his gut but it did more damage to her fist than it did to him. The moment she took to flinch and shake her already aching hand gave Superman the chance to punch her, accidentally getting her in the face. Despite having tried to keep his super strength under control, she still wound up on the other side of the training room, face down and staying put or now. 

Superman did not take that well, flying over to her quickly and kneeling beside her. “I’m so sorry, are you alright?” He asked, hesitant to touch her right now for fear of hurting her worse. Sometimes he forgets not everyone can handle his strength. 

Batman rolled his eyes from his place against the wall, not having moved at all. “She’s fine, Superman. Just give her a minute.” He assured, ignoring his friend’s protest and insistence that maybe they should take her to the infirmary. 

Once Oleda managed to collect herself a little though, she started to pick herself up from the floor. Her nose was bleeding already, but she was grinning when she finally stood up, a little shaky but looking more excited now. “Now that’s a punch!” She cheered, much to Superman’s confusion. 

“Are...are you alright?” He asked hesitantly, eyebrows furrowed in concern and arms still out slightly to catch or steady her if she stumbled. 

“I’m more awake now, that’s for sure.” She said with a small laugh, but toned it down to give him a genuine grin, wiping the blood away with the back of her sleeve. “Really, I’m ok. A little blood never hurt anyone, and the bad guys won’t be as forgiving as you. I need to get used to it. If it helps at all, once we call it quits I’ll head to the med bay no matter if I get hurt again or not.” She tried to bargain.

Superman was still skeptical, but nodded slowly and put some more distance between the two of them. “I’ll still go a little easier on you. I don’t want to give you a concussion or anything…”

She was almost late to work because she wasn’t able to sleep more than an hour or two, and would likely have broken a heel if not for her newfound focus on durability with all of her clothing. It had been a cold but dry day today, meaning not a lot of moisture in the air, causing her to feel all sorts of icky. Toss in some villains deciding they were feeling up to causing mischief that included fires she had to help control, and  well... She would be very ready to nap once the fight was over. 

She was currently trying to focus on putting out the fires, since it seemed like the others had the villains under control. Flash was working on clearing out any civilians in the building, and she had a small ramp for him to make getting to each floor easier. She was also helping the fire department by distributing the water a little more, helping it reach a little higher by increasing the pressure. That much she could manage, so long as she was given the chance to focus. 

But when hearing someone shout out a warning to her, she turned her head to see what she had to deal with. Seeing a car flying towards her, she had to take a small chunk of the ramp for Flash to shove the car away from her and back towards where it came, slamming it right into Solomon Grundy who did not like having his attack sent back at him. Even worse that it was weaker. It was disappointing. However, now she had his attention, so he was charging at her. To avoid having him get too close to the civilians, she was forced to meet him halfway with very little water to work with because most of it was being used for the fire or the ramp. 

The small amount she was using though took the form of a sheet of ice, a makeshift shield that shattered on impact, but still bought her time as she ran further into the fray, sharpening the shards and trying to stab Grundy with them, occasionally glancing around to check on the ramp. She was having a hard time maintaining it as is thanks to the fire trying to melt it, adding in her split attention was making it near impossible for her to focus. She already knew the stairs in the building were too dangerous for Flash to use, so he had to have the ramp, which she was steadily stretching to reach the next floor. Though, she was starting to get desperate as she stumbled and scrambled in her attempts to avoid Grundy while protecting the fire fighters. Maybe… just maybe she could take down the ramp just long enough to freeze Grundy, and then she can put it back up. 

Flash seemed to be coming out with less people now, so either he was tiring too, or he had almost all of them out. Hopefully it was the later, so she can have that much more water to work with and maybe even some help with this. Speaking of ‘this’, Grundy took the opening her thinking offered and slammed her right into the burning building, causing her to cry out in pain at the double impacts as well as the draining heat. 

The sound of cracking ice got her attention, giving her the motivation to get up and back into the fight after sparing a moment to reinforce the ramp that had started to crack while she wasn’t paying attention. Flash came out with the last person, giving her a thumbs up as he took off to the safe place he’d been taking everyone. Good, now she can focus on Grundy more. 

Finally melting the ramp, she slammed the pillar of water into Grundy’s chest, making him stumble back a few steps. However, she was struggling to keep focused, and was starting to feel light headed. Looks like it’s time to go big or go home. Taking a moment to glance around and track down the other heroes, she started to gather the water she had around herself in a bubble, squeezing her eyes shut despite hearing Grundy storming towards her. Throwing her arms out, and she felt the water rush away from her, shooting towards the others on the battlefield. With the remainder of her concentration, she made sure it only hit the villains, and that it froze on contact, turning them all into living popsicles. 

Slowly opening her eyes to check her work, she felt her legs give out from under her, her entire body trembling. She couldn’t tell if it was from over-exertion or the cold. Probably both. Before she hit the ground, she felt arms around her. Warm, familiar arms. Flash must have just gotten back. 

“Nice work. Get some rest, we’ll clean up from here.” 

Homework. Homework. Homework. So much homework. She can’t remember anything but homework, bits and pieces of her job, and her work here at the Justice League. She hasn’t slept in who knows how long, and the only thing keeping her functioning was the absurd amount of caffeine she had flowing through her blood right now and the snacks that her friends had been wonderful enough to make sure she had at hand. They were getting near exam season so the professors were trying to cram in as much homework as they could. 

However for right now, she was taking a much needed mental break. Her books set aside and laptop pulled closer, she was watching animal videos online, rubbing at her eyes furiously to get some semblance of focus back. 

Because she had her headphone’s volume up to block out any noise that might distract her, she didn’t hear Batman coming up behind her to check on her. He’s one of the few people who can function at this hour, and as such tended to take the night watch when he’d be up here instead of in Gotham. So when he tapped on her shoulder to get her attention, she jumped so strongly that she slammed her knee on the bottom of the table and whipped around, not even managing to manifest anything with her ring. Its glow just flickered before dying. 

Taking a moment to just stare at each other, Gloria blinked before snorting, putting her head in one hand as she carefully turned to face Batman better, pausing the video and taking her headphones off. The other hand was rubbing her damaged knee. That’s definitely going to bruise… 

“I came to see how you’re doing…” Batman finally explained, taking a seat beside her so they were a little closer to the same level. She sat up straighter and stretched out, groaning as a series of pops went down her spine. 

“I’m making progress, but still not fully caught up, let alone ahead like I wanted to be.” She grumbled, turning back to her laptop and checking the list she had made for herself to track how much work she had left to go. While a good portion had been checked off, there was still a lot left. It was easy to see how defeated she felt, with how her shoulders sagged with a sigh.

However that didn’t last long, as she pulled herself back together quickly and turned her focus back to Batman, giving him a tired smile. “But yeah. It’s going ok, I’m taking a bit of a mental break because I was reading the same sentence five times and not processing it. These cat videos are all I’ve got going for me right now. That and the caffeine.” 

Another quirked eyebrow from Batman “Are you alright?” Clearly she wasn’t, he wasn’t stupid. He could see the bags forming under her eyes that her mask barely hid. He could see how much she hunched over, how she seemed to struggle with focusing. As further evidence to that, she could hardly use her ring. She was typically very cautious about hiding her identity while up here, but she literally couldn’t right now. 

“Yeah, I’m doing ok. A little tired, but nothing I can’t handle.”

He didn’t believe it for a second. Normally she’s a pretty good liar, but her appearance gave her away. So he just stared down at her, as he typically did when he knew people were lying to him. They always cracked eventually. 

Thankfully it didn’t take her too long, turning her gaze away from him and sighing, running her fingers through her hair for the millionth time that morning, dislodging more hair that was pulled from her ponytail. “Ok, in all honesty? I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’ve slept in like, two days, and if I did it wasn’t on purpose. I’ve only remembered to eat because of you guys up here and a few of my friends at school making sure I have snacks. I know Flash has been sneaking granola bars in my bag and I’ve been trying to figure out how best to thank him for looking out for me. And I’ve got two practice exams today that I’m still studying for on top of getting my other homework done. I’m just so… tired. But I can’t stop yet because I can’t afford a bad grade in any of these classes.” 

She rambled more than she meant to, her eyes even starting to water from the stress, gesticulating despite her attempts to keep quiet and small for the time being. Once she was done, she didn’t realize she was shaking until Batman awkwardly tried to offer her some semblance of comfort by placing a hand on his shoulder. He’s not used to this and despite Dick and Alfred’s best attempts, he still wasn’t used to dealing with emotional vulnerability or having to comfort people. 

It was still something though, and it was enough to cause her to curl up in her seat, leaning into his touch. She pulled her hood up, essentially trying to close in on herself, which he understood all too well. She must really need this though, to start crying. Especially in front of him, of all people. Clark or J’onn would be better for comfort than him… but he stayed there as she cried. It’s the least he could do. Plus, he didn’t want her to think he was abandoning her if he went in search of someone better qualified to help. 

So he sat there beside her, rubbing her back after a minute as she got the emotions out through tears. She didn’t cry for too long, down to hiccups and shallow, unsteady breaths within a few minutes. But those few minutes sapped what remained of her energy, making her lean into Batman with her eyes barely open, letting out a big yawn. “I’m so tired…” she mumbled, eyes drooping shut. She seemed to realize what she was doing though, and in a moment of near panic she sat back up on her own quickly, shaking her head and even patting her own cheeks as if it would help. “But I still can’t stop. I’ve got to finish my notes…” 

Even as she said that, she was starting to doze off before she could even close the tab with the animal videos. Batman decided that that was enough, and stood up, picking her up bridal style. She let out an undignified squeak that was honestly amusing, but he started to carry her out of the room despite her protests.

“Batman? What are you-? I need-”

“You need to get some rest. You’re too tired to retain anything you’re studying right now. So for right now, you are going to get some rest. I’ll see what I can do about your notes, and we’ll put your training on pause until after exams are over. As far as missions, you’ll only be called if absolutely necessary for a while, to give you a chance to recover from this. Understand?”

“But…”

Batman looked down at her as he carried her to the room she stayed in when she was up in the Watchtower for any length of time. She gave up her protests and nodded slowly, eyes already drooping again as she yawned. She knew there was no point in arguing against Batman, of all people. He’s as stubborn as they come. 

“Yezzir, Batman…”