dreamingflowers

Young Justice

Location: Happy Harbor Mall
Interactions: Talon
Ambience: Mall music

---

Daphne looked around the phone store, taking everything in. There were a whole lot of different kind of phones and accessories to choose from. It could admittedly be daunting for someone who had no idea what they were looking for. Which was kind of the case for Talon and her. Talon was browsing on his own and she was trying to figure out if they needed to ask for help from one of the store employees. Daphne shifted her weight from one foot to the other, leaning against a display table, her phone in one hand, the Justice League credit card in the other. She wanted to check how much they had to spend. It would either limit or broaden the choice of phone available to them. She didn't know if Talon had any spending money of his own and she hadn't asked.

It took a couple of minutes and multiple websites and passwords to uncover the amount. She raised her brows at the number, a soft gasp escaping her. She closed her mouth and surprise was replaced by happiness. They could definitely buy a great phone and still have some money left to spend on other things. It also meant she could splurge a little more with her gifts. She hadn't accounted for this extra money when she was thinking of what to get everyone. A smile warmed her face, she couldn't believe her luck. This Young Justice initiative wasn't all that bad.

Daphne turned her eyes to Talon. She watched him inspect the phones. He was still wearing his dark glasses and she found herself wondering what his eyes looked like. During the busride to the mall they had a very short heart to heart, where she offered him her apologies. It partially cleared the air between them. There was still an uncertain and wait and see atmosphere between them however. It was like newborn predator and prey seeing each other for the first time, both unsure of what to do, lacking natural instinct, but feeling like they should take action. The teen girl was lost in thought when the cheerful voice of the store employee reached her ears.

"Excuse me Miss, is there anything I can do for you today?" The woman looked at Daphne with a friendly expression.

Daphne returned her smile, pointing at Talon subtly. She spoke in a lightly hushed voice so he wouldn't overhear them talking.
"Do you see that guy over there? We're looking for a phone for him"
The store employee gave Talon a short once over, keeping any judgment out of her face. Daphne knew she would probably ask about a price range next, so she provided a rough estimate based on the amount on their credit cards. The woman led her to a different aisle in the store, showing her a couple of phones. Daphne tried out a few. She guessed Talon might like a practical phone, not too many complicated apps and useless features. That was based on a very limited bunch of assumptions and actual things she knew about him. The employee seemed to sense her doubtfulness.

"This one is a solid choice" She handed Daphne another phone. It didn't look like much, it was an in_between size, not extremely expensive or suspiciously cheap. It fit most of the phone cases available and matched with a multitude of ear buds and chargers. Daphne turned it over in her hands. It would probably be best to just ask Talon, since she had no idea what his requirements were.
"Thanks, I'll show it to him" Daphne smiled at the woman and walked down the aisle, spotting Talon in the aisle next to her.

While she walked she kept checking out how the phone worked, so she could explain it to Talon. Daphne rounded the corner without looking where she was going and bumped into another customer.
"Shit! Watch where you're going chick"

Daphne stumbled back two steps, recovering from her collision with a tall muscular frame. The guy looked at her and they recognized each other at the same time.
"Daph?"
"Josh?"

Josh smiled at her and apologized for his harsh reaction. Daphne smiled and assured him it was fine. They chatted a bit and while they talked Daphne noticed Josh was by himself. Usually he went everywhere with his girlfriend Eva. She didn't want to ask, it might be sensitive subject.
"So Eva and me broke up last month, you know things weren't working out and you know Eva, she can have an attitude problem sometimes"

Clearly this wasn't as sensitive a subject as she thought and she did know Eva. Eva had an attitude because Josh always treated her badly. She stuck up for herself and she knew Josh didn't appreciate that. He had that reputation at school.
"I'm sorry to hear that Josh..." Daphne was careful in showing too much sincerity. Josh read the signals wrong more than a couple of time before.

"Yeah so it's whatever. I called you a couple of times..."

Daphne felt heat rise to her cheeks and nervous butterflies flying in her stomach. She'd ignored his calls, but she couldn't say that now. Her mind raced to think of a convincing excuse. She laughed, trying not to look at his face.
"Ah you know I can be such an airhead sometimes, I left my phone at a Starbucks somewhere and lost all my contacts"
Josh raised his brows, unconvinced, but he let it slide. Daphne in her nervousness kept rambling on.
"So I've been borrowing my friend's phone, and now I'm getting a new one"

She was digging a deeper and deeper hole for herself. If her phone was going to ring now she was going to make a run for it, that was too much embarrassment to handle. Josh wasn't really bothered, he was used to her playing hard to get. Daphne had that reputation at school, it made things interesting though. He took a piece of paper and scribbled his number on it, handing it to her confidently.
"So when you get a new phone give me a call" His smile gave her the creeps, but she smiled back pretending to be unbothered.

Feeling like she'd survived another round of combat training she finally made it to Talon, walking a little faster than was necessary. She handed the phone to him, still a little frazzled.
"The store employee said this is a good one, maybe you can take a look?"

Young Justice

Hi guys!
Once everyone is decided on how they'll travel to the mall we'll skip right to the shopping. If you do want to write out the trip there, you can write a flashback and insert it wherever you feel appropriate later.
I think everyone has decided so far, only Gold Rush has to post, but he confirmed in the Discord he'll also go by jeep.

Young Justice

Location: The Sanctuary, Base level, Teleporter room
Interactions: The Team

---

Daphne was relieved to hear Viktor volunteer to drive. The nerves died down a bit and were replaced with the initial excitement she felt knowing they were going shopping. She glanced over at Alisa and smiled at her. They could go by Zetatube together and walk the rest of the way to the mall. Daphne checked the route ahead of time, being horrible with directions. It was a cake walk, just 10 minutes from the location of the closest Zetatube. Perfect!
"I'll go with Cybergirl" She said cheerfully, starting to make her way over to the other girl. Her enthusiasm was rewarded with a slightly suggestive recommendation from Red Tornado.

"Nymph, my data shows you've had your license for two months. It would be beneficial for your driving skills to accompany an experienced driver. Viktor has had his license for two years"

Daphne stopped dead in her tracks, turning back around to Red Tornado and the Team with a surprised look on her face. She quickly smiled, trying not to show her disappointment and hiding her embarrassment by pretending to be as surprised as they were.
"Oh...right, you're totally right. How could I forget that?" She laughed nervously. With a sad pout to Alisa she turned back to walk closer to the jeep. She watched Viktor receive the keys from Red Tornado.

Great.....
She was going to get private driving lessons. Daphne stared on ahead of her, thinking about all the ways this could go wrong and every scenario included cold stares and brutal honesty. Maybe she should buy him a sugar jacket. The teen girl crossed her arms and felt the flower embroidery on her t-shirt prick her skin. She was determined to still have fun though. Her phone buzzed and she got it out to check her message. She skimmed over the contents and swiped it away and came to a sudden realization. They needed a group chat!
It would be really useful in getting in touch if they lost each other while shopping, or wanted to meet up for lunch, that kind of stuff. She opened a new contact and turned to the group.

"Guys maybe we can make a group chat, if we want to meet up somewhere in the mall. We can keep track of each other that way"

Daphne walked over to Zach first and handed him her phone, waiting patiently for the magician to enter his number. While she was busy with gathering everyone's contact info Red Tornado made another announcement.

"This almost slipped my mind, but seeing as this is a Justice League activity you all will receive a league credit card with spending money" The android hadn't actually forgotten he had to hand these out, but he was trying to be less robotic in his way of acting, so hopefully the teens would see him as a fitting care taker. He handed out a card to each team member.

Daphne got to Talon last, maybe not completely by accident. They both soon realized he didn't actually own a phone. She bit her lip for a second trying to think of a solution. There was one thing she could do and that was would work out great! Not only would she get out of driving with Viktor, but it would also let her indirectly show Talon she was incredibly sorry. She quickly typed up a message and showed it to him.

"Can you please please please not go in the jeep? I'll help you buy a phone when we get to the mall. I really don't want to drive :("

"Uhmm Red Tornado, Talon doesn't have a phone yet. I think it's better if we stick together until we get to the mall and he can buy one"
Saying it out loud she realized her excuse wasn't as solid as she'd thought. It sounded more like she was getting out from driving, which was exactly what she was doing. Though she also had this gut feeling if she left Talon on his own it wouldn't work out very well. His behavior was erratic sometimes, unpredictable and he didn't seem to care much for social rules. While waiting for Red Tornado and Talon to give their thoughts on her suggestion she noticed Casper had silently stalked up next to her, looking very fashionable. It almost made her regret the outfit she'd picked for herself.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and Coal, winking.
"You look cute" She mouthed quietly.

Young Justice

_{E P I S O D E O N E : M E E T I N G T H E T E A M}

SHOPPING SPREE

S E C R E T S A N C T U A R Y

---

^{May 4rd, 2021 | 12:00p.m. | Happy Harbor, Rhode Island}

In the teleporter room, Red Tornado waited next to a large black and red jeep. He'd acquired the vehicle after deciding a social outing would be a great new objective for the team. He took his role as caretaker seriously, studying up on the best methods to guide a group of teens. The android actually felt quite proud of his accomplishment and was sure this would be to the teams liking. A little ways away from him Daphne was waiting with him, almost exactly like the day prior, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. The teen girl was fidgeting nervously, smoothing out the wrinkles of her outfit. She had gone through at least five different sets of clothes before finally settling on what she was wearing now. To spare herself further embarrassment she arrived in the teleporter room ridiculously early. Waking up underneath a solar lamp, surrounded by the rest of the team who were just casually going about their day eating peanut butter sandwiches was not fun.

She checked her reflection adjusting the hair framing her face and checked if the white ribbon in her ponytail was still secure. Daphne sighed, feeling nervous. Facing the team after the disaster training this morning was something she'd been putting off. There wasn't any way around it now though. Rummaging through her small white purse she got out her perfume and sprayed some behind her ears and on the inside of her wrists. The scent cheered her up a bit. This shopping trip could still be fun. Her plan was solid and even though she didn't know everyone that well she was a great shopper and gift giver. It was almost like a superpower on it's own.

As more of the team arrived Daphne glanced around, at the jeep, the zeta tubes, really anything but the people in front of her. Red Tornado was silent as per usual, until everyone was present.
"Hello team, your timely arrival is appreciated" It was great to see the teens arrive on time, he understood that was often a problem with this age group. The android began to explain the purpose of their meeting. He wanted to come up with a "pleasant" surprise for the team and had decided to keep them in suspense.
"Your next objective is a social outing, as I understand this is what teens partake in to relax, I've been recommended a trip to the mall is particularly "fun""
Seeing as the training of this morning had resulted in multiple unpleasant and arguably traumatizing events this would be the most effective solution. He gestured towards the jeep.

"I arranged a vehicle, but it is limited to five team members, you may also make use of Zeta Beams and the Public modes of transportation."
Red Tornado looked at the team in front of him, retrieving data about their license registration.
"Rain, Zatara, Gold Rush and Nymph are qualified to drive"

Daphne almost dropped her purse hearing her name and driving mentioned in the same sentence. With a heavy heart she glanced over her shoulder at the large jeep. It would be nice to get through one afternoon without trying to kill anyone. On the other hand she didn't want to give into her fear. Giving in was the easy way out but in the end that would only make things more difficult for her. It was exactly why she joined the team, knowing full well there would be violence and fighting. Best thing to do was face her fears head on. She didn't have to like it though.

Young Justice

Location: Secret Sanctuary, third level, lounge
Interactions: Everyone in the lounge

---

The team's robotic caretaker was making his way through the winding hallways, carrying a large lamp. He was receiving communications through his built in earpiece. The teachers of the training earlier that morning had instructed him to find one of the members of the team, he'd already searched the other levels. The most plausible location would be the lounge.

"Good morning Team, I was requested to bring this equipment to your team member Nymph" Red Tornado addressed the Team in his very matter of fact type of a way, though his actions definitely showed he did care. He turned his gaze to each of them, analyzing their faces, only to find the hero he was looking for was missing. His quick survey of the room caused him to miss Nymph, who was sleeping on the sofa. The back of the sofa was facing Red Tornado, obscuring her from his view.
"I cannot seem to locate her, I may require your assistance for this task" He said setting down the lamp on the kitchen isle. The android turned around, his cape flowing behind him and if surprise could be caught on his metal features it would have drawn up his non existent brows. He saw Nymph sleeping peacefully on the sofa.

"I no longer require your help, I seem to have located her"
Without any sort of explanation of why he needed to find her he made his way over to the sleeping heroine. He installed the lamp on a small table next to the sofa adjusting the head, so the light would cover optimal body surface.
"As I understand your team member requires solar therapy to restore her body, Black Canary has instructed for her to remain this way for at 60 to 120 minutes"

The soft blue light started to shine from the lampshade. Red Tornado adjusted the strength of it, so it would be bearable for the other Team members in the lounge.

Young Justice

A little bit of a preview of the next GM post, so you guys can plan out what your character might do.
After the sparring session between Brightheart and Gold Rush has finished, and the group at the HQ isn't mid interaction we will skip to lunchtime. That leaves a window of time between roughly 9:30 am till 12:00. Your characters could be getting a first or second breakfast, shower, dress up for the shopping trip. Just some ideas.

Red Tornado has arranged a jeep for the Team to use (it fits five people), which is kept in the hangar. You can choose to take the jeep to the mall, the Zeta tube, or even public transport.

Young Justice

_{E P I S O D E O N E : M E E T I N G T H E T E A M}

ROUND TWO

S E C R E T S A N C T U A R Y

---

^{May 4rd, 2021 | 9:00a.m. | Happy Harbor, Rhode Island}

Black Canary was waiting for the second group of teen heroes back at the clearing. They were arriving one by one. She gauged their moods, studying their faces and body language. Mirage didn't seem too enthusiastic about sparring and neither did Zatara. Aleen'a would probably fly in any minute, in the same way she arrived earlier. Gold Rush was his usual upbeat self and Ja wasn't acting like Ja.....meaning it wasn't him. Dinah raised a brow, wondering if the switch happened randomly, or something had caused it.

She wanted to talk to him and piece together what was going on. First she needed to pair up this team. With the first sparring sessions she'd let the teens figure out who they were going to fight themselves. This time though she had a game plan. There were specific pairings she wanted to see square of against each other. With her hand on her hip she turned to everyone who was already present.
They were probably not going to expect being paired up. Combat was full of surprises.

"Alright guys, I'm going to pair you up for this round. Zatara you're with Mirage, Gold Rush with Brightheart when she joins us and..."
The blonde leaguer turned to Kila, motioning for him to come over.
"Metamorph with me"

Young Justice

Location: Happy Harbour, obstacle course
Interactions: Cybergirl

---

Daphne was still shaking even though Cybergirl was holding her steadily. She couldn't believe what had just happened, it was all a blur.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt? I think... I think everything's going to be alright. It's okay."

She was too shocked to say anything, too upset to continue crying. Daphne didn't want to draw any more attention to herself, they should worry about the people who needed it more. She swallowed hard and tried to compose herself, sniffing quietly. Black Canary had joined them and was explaining the next course of action. Daphne glanced at Talon, feeling terrible about what she'd done. Though she looked away quickly, scared they would make eye contact.

Relief washed over her knowing they would no longer continue training. It would best if she would just leave now, go back to her room and hide out there. She felt like something was stuck in her chest, like she hadn't let out every emotion. Her tears and sadness were stuck. Stuck because this was not the time and place to work through them. It made it difficult for her to talk. Daphne squeezed Cybergirls cold hard hand, but could not manage a smile when she looked at her face.
"Thanks Cybergirl, I'm...I.." She didn't finish her sentence and quickly turned around.

Daphne took the trail back to the clearing. Her feet kept moving faster and faster until she was almost running. She reached the grass field at the entrance to the HQ, completely out of breath. The sun was moving further up into the center of the sky. Daphne could feel her body react to the light and at the same time exhaustion started to settle in. With a sigh she lowered herself to the ground laying down. She rolled onto her side and drew up her legs, holding her hands to her chest. Daphne closed her eyes and tried to forget about what had happened, falling asleep while her body regenerated itself.

Young Justice

_{E P I S O D E O N E : M E E T I N G T H E T E A M}

FIGHT-FLIGHT-FREEZE

S E C R E T S A N C T U A R Y

---

^{May 4rd, 2021 | 8:45a.m. | Happy Harbor, Rhode Island}

Green Arrow was swiping through his private album of Black Canary pics when he heard a chilling scream, making him nearly drop his phone. He stuck his head through the thick foliage of the branch he was lounging on to see team Canary in a dire situation. He was about to string up a rope arrow and zipline his way down there when his team sprung into action. He leaned against the tree trunk with one arm and observed the way they handled the situation. Ollie had to admit, it was actually pretty impressive. The crisis seemed to be averted, but he still wanted to make sure no one was seriously injured. From the looks of it they were just shaken up. He contacted Black Canary while steadying his aim.
"Dinah, I'm going down there to check on the team, there's been a situation"
"On my way, I got the first aid kit"
Black Canary was quick to respond and was already rushing towards the other side of the pit

"I'll string up a way across for you" Green Arrow answered in a more serious tone. He shot another rope arrow horizontally across the gap which Black Canary could use similarly to a pole and somersault her way across.
"No there's no...." Communications were cut off as Green Arrow made his way down from the tree, sliding across the rope using his bow. He landed expertly between the group of startled teenage heroes.

"Everyone okay here?"
Obviously they weren't. Dumb question Ollie, way to go. He scratched the back of his head, feeling he should have intervened earlier. He really couldn't take his eyes of these kids for five minutes.
"Holy hell that was rough right guys?" He patted Mirage on the back, commending her on her quick thinking.
"Killer moves everyone...." He sucked in a breath when he realized his choice of words was pretty disastrous. Ollie wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. Teaching was tough....

Dinah arrived at the pit and looked at the "way across" Ollie made for her. Seriously....
She passed by Zatara and Brightheart who were the only ones who seemed to have made it across. The teacher nodded to them and continued on her way.
"Ollie what the hell is this?" She sighed and rolled up her sleeves running fearlessly towards the edge of the gap, augmenting her jump with her canary cry to reach the rope. She grunted and did a set of somersaults to gain momentum, but still had to use her canary cry to reach the edge. In what universe was this a way across.....

Black Canary quickly assessed the scene, trying to figure out what happened. Both teams were mixed up and looked pretty shaken. Green Arrow started to explain what happened, he'd used the time it took for Canary to arrive at the scene to ask the team some serious questions. Ollie knew Dinah was not going to like this, not in the least because he failed to intervene earlier.
"Talon tried to swing his way across with his grappling hook, but he misjudged the strength of the branch he attached it to"
Green Arrow looked back at the both Talon and Hex sitting underneath a tree together. He sighed and continued retelling the events.
"So he nearly dropped into the pit, Hex and Nymph were trying to pull him up when....., well" He was hesitant to explain what had happened exactly. He knew it was an accident, but it was still pretty bad. Dinah wasn't going to let this slide.
"Nymph's powers went kind of haywire and made things worse, she.....nearly strangled Talon"

Dinah's eyes narrowed. This was unexpected. She hadn't realized Nymph's powers to be this volatile, dangerous even. Judging from the girls reaction she hadn't either. That was a problem for later though. Without saying anything Black Canary walked up to Talon and kneeled down next to him. Not waiting for his permission she started to inspect him for any injuries. His neck looked pretty bruised, and there were a few shallow cuts from the edge of the sharp leaves. She knew he wouldn't likely appreciate her patching him up in front of the team, so she opted for giving him the medical kit.
"Go patch yourself up Talon and rest at the HQ, if you feel any worse or have problems with your breathing report to me immediately"
She gave him a stern look to make it clear this wasn't the time to act tough.

Black Canary got up from the ground and turned to the rest of the team.
"The obstacle course is over."
She thought on the best plan of action, surveying the condition of the rest of the team. Team Canary was definitely out of the game, but she wanted to give the others the opportunity to engage in a sparring session. It was important she got a good reading on their combat prowess, it was going to shape future training sessions.
"Team Canary is dismissed, Team Arrow you can take a short break and join back up with me in the clearing for your sparring session."

Young Justice

@Prints Avoid
You´re reaching or actually have reached the 7 day limit. I know you are working on a post though. Just wanted to give you a heads up. My GM post will involve the teachers and I'll mention Felix in case you won't make it before I post.

@Everyone
Tomorrow I'll move us forward with another gm-post!