dreamingflowers

Young Justice

June 7th, 2021 | 14:17p.m. | Happy Harbour, Rhode Island

---

Red Tornado had assigned Daphne and Zach to chores duty. The two of them were tasked with sweeping and mopping. Of course Zach was not interested in doing any of this. “The robot expects me to work like a plebeian? Don’t be ridiculous! Flesruoy siht peews moorb” Instantly the broom seemed to come to life and started sweeping into a nearby dustpan.

Daphne was armed and ready to battle to heaps of dust around the HQ. They started in the lounge where the Team spent most of their time. She didn’t mind cleaning back home, but her house wasn’t even half the size of the first floor of the HQ. She rolled up her sleeves and dipped her cleaning rags into the soapy bucket of water. Just as she was about to wipe down the lounge table she heard Zach use a spell. She could never quite figure out what he was saying, he was too fast.

She raised her brows at the broom sliding past her, on its own. Daphne finished wiping the table and turned to Zach. A cheeky smile was on her face and she checked to see if they were alone.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Zach raised an eyebrow. “That depends… Were you thinking of ditching the manual labor, and doing something fun?”

She nodded. Daphne loved how Zach always wanted to have fun. It was infectious. They were already in the lounge too. The perfect place to relax and have a good time. Daphne turned on the large flatscreen and switched over to Disney plus.
"I'm thinking Disney what do you think?"

“Oh perfect.” Zach snatched the remote, and put on The Little Mermaid for the umpteenth time. “What? Prince Eric is hot ok!”

Zach really was the only one who could bear watching The Little Mermaid about every couple of weeks. They were hauled up on the coach, snacks at arm’s reach, complete with mermaid blankets. The HQ could get pretty cold sometimes, considering it was built inside a mountain. They were about halfway into the movie and Daphne watched everything like she saw it for the first time. The scene started where Prince Eric became hypnotized by the sea witch Ursula using Ariel’s voice.

“Isn’t it weird what happened to Talon?”
She remarked without taking her eyes off the screen. Somewhere during their last mission Talon was brainwashed, or at least something similar to that. It took hours for him to return to normal after the mission was finished and he was behaving very weird. Not at all like the Talon they were used to. He was obsessed with something, but he refused to tell them anything about it. It was almost like he was forced to behave that way.

“He was hypnotized to forget who the supplier was”

Zach scoffed.“Girl, I know you're not in the magical community, but this kind of thing happens all the time. There are vampires, various species of demons, hell even a bunch of magic spells that can do that same thing. It is not that weird…” He stopped to sip his cup of hot chocolate, then continued. “Ooh, do you think something magical might be involved there?”

Daphne shrugged. Whatever was going in was clearly out of her area of expertise. Actually she wasn't even sure she had an area of expertise. Apart from her powers she was just ordinary.
"I don't know. I'm just glad he's back to being his usual self."

"I'm super curious what his eyes look like. He still hasn't taken off his shades. I bet they're blue"

“Ooh, and I bet they’re gorgeous too.” Zach sighed. “That’s always how it is with the mysterious types.”

"Mmmh" Daphne mused. Daphne returned her attention to the movie but she couldn't concentrate on what was going on. She shifted in her seat and put her head back, blinking a few times.

“Hey, um… are you ok?” Zach asked, looking concerned.

"Yes I'm okay. Just thinking…" she smiled a half smile at Zach. The pair could hear the distinct footsteps of Red Tornado from down the hallway. He was approaching the lounge. The cleaning tools brought to life by Zach's magic were hard to miss, especially when you were an android with incredibly advanced programming.

“Oh no… what do we do?”

“Leave it to me”

Zach pulled off his famous disappearing act, leaving behind a puff of smoke. They ran off snickering. Red Tornado blew away the smoke with a gust of wind, finding the room empty, but clean.

Young Justice

Update for the next episode. Episode 4 guys!!
There is a timeskip of two weeks between last episode and episode 4. Starting Monday I´ll give everyone a week to work on a collab to detail character development/scenes which have happened during the timeskip. After that I'll start episode 4 with a briefing and then it's go time!

Some additional story details to keep in mind going forward.
Talon's brainwashing reversed itself shortly after returning to HQ. He recovered his memories and was able to identify the supplier. Where at first it seemed like the Team failed the mission, it turned into a semi success. Batman was able to indentify a chemical responsible for Talon's strange behavior. A powerful modified pheromone harvested from a rare breed of orchid. He's tracking it to the source, in case the Team encounters it again.

Maya and Bex left the initiative. The Team didn't have much opportunity to build a relationship with either of them and they occupied themselves with life at HQ. Batman didn't inform the Team why they left but there was a heated discussion with both of their mentors. As of currently they have not been replaced.

Young Justice

Location: Haly´s circus
Interactions: The Team

---

After Zach the rest of the Team quickly followed. They were tackling the threat side by side. Daphne had pushed back her fear just enough to manage a quiet laugh at Viktor or Rainman. It was a pretty smart idea, she was surprised to see the lengths he would go to. He was much more invested in the Team than he made everyone believe. She helped to evacuate the remaining citizens. A quick sweep told her all of the ponies were now inside of the tent. Daphne got back to Team and filled them in on the situation outside. She caught on to what Viktor was trying to do. With his disguise he was the only one who could freely use his powers.

With their combined efforts and Rainman´s super strength the Team managed to knock out the entire group of animals. The main circus tent remained closed for two hours. During that time workers came in to fix the stage and replaced the piece of ripped tarp. The circus lost the bulk of their visitors. The performances were pushed back to a different time. It would cost a fortune to cancel the remaining performers. The show must go on! This was Gotham after all, the people were used to a catastrophe happening every other week.

Meanwhile the Team reunited in Zach´s room backstage and shared their findings. Daphne was sitting down, catching her bearings after the crazy fight with the ponies. The piece of wood was still lodged into her side. Because she barely felt it was there she forgot about it. It forced her to stay transformed as changing back with a injury like that wouldn´t end very well for her. She waited for them to finish their conversation so someone could help her pull this thing out.

Young Justice

---

The pyrotechnics guy Az watched the crazed ponies attack circus goers. He was horrified, not just because of what was happening but because he knew what caused this. How the hell did those dumb horses reach his stash? What if they ingested all of it? If there was nothing left...
Oh fuck…
The situation was spiraling out of control quickly and he needed to get out of here. The supplier used the ongoing chaos to escape the scene. He needed to get something from his room and make a mad dash for the spot where he stashed his supply.

Talon was observing the pyrotechnics guy from a distance, taking note of his odd behaviour. He stayed calm despite the chaos inside the tent. Evidence against the pyrotechnics guy was piling up. Earlier that night when he was making his rounds selling popcorn the Bearded Lady mentioned something about how she wasn’t the only one of them who recently stumbled upon a fair amount of money. Hers came from a recent marriage. She assured Talon the man was involved in some shady business, using his newly acquired wealth to win over the new and “somewhat beautiful” Contortionist.

The former assassin followed the supplier backstage. Talon took up a spot close to the room the man entered. He attempted to catch parts of the conversation the supplier was having inside. He ignored the people telling him to get out and run and focused on the hushed voices. The other voice definitely belonged to a woman.

“Shit shit shit…..we got to leave!”
Az burst into the Contortionist's room only to be nearly shot with a tranquilizer dart.
“For fucks sake!” He held up his hands and backed up.

“Are you trying to kill me?!”
“I’m making sure to keep myself alive” The dark haired woman said, lowering her sniper rifle. She walked up to him. The way she stared always unsettled him, like he was in the presence of some sort of predator.

“We have to get to your stash”

Fifteen minutes later

"This is bad, they’re going to kill me….."
Az was panicking after figuring out his entire stash was unusable. There was barely any left and none of it was good for sale. He kept spiraling, summing up all the scenarios running through his mind out loud.

“Shut up Az” The Contortionist hissed under her breath. They were some distance away from the circus. A bundle of half eaten hay sat at their feet and broken containers littered the ground. She picked up one of them and held it upside down. The remaining liquid trickled out.

“A dose like this is pretty much impossible to reverse”

“Don’t you think I know that?!” He yelled at her, throwing his hands up into the air. He paced back and forth nervously. The woman shot him a venomous look, glancing over her shoulder.

Talon hid behind a stack of hay bundles. This was the proof they needed. He got out the phone he got with Daphne at the mall and started to record the conversation between the supplier and the Contortionist.

After some back and forth the pair suddenly stopped arguing. The woman narrowed her eyes at one of the stacks of hay inside the barn. She pointed at the haystack and gestured for Az to stay put. The Contortionist rounded the corner and discovered Talon, she aimed her rifle at him.

“Who are you..?” She asked cooly.

Talon held up his hands. He had to convince them he was the mute and harmless popcorn guy. He slowly got out his phone, saving the recording while also typing up a message for the woman to read.
“I saw you guys running here, I was following you to a safe place”

The woman raised her brows and lowered her weapon, stepping closer so she could read his text. The supplier joined them and spotted Talon.
“Hey I know that guy, he’s the popcorn seller, he uhh…..he can’t talk”

The Contortionist was not convinced. She closed the distance between them and pulled Talon down by his shirt. Their faces were only inches apart.
“I think you’re lying” Her voice became much more seductive. Her arms snaked around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Talon’s shades fell to the floor and he succumbed to an incredibly powerful sensation, it rippled through his entire body.

The woman’s slit pupils dilated drastically. The kiss changed from something moderately romantic into something uncanny. The Contortionist broke away from Talon, both were breathing heavily. A drop of blood trickled down her lips and she caught it with her finger. She looked at it and smiled, showing a set of small fangs.

“Now I’ll ask again who are you?”

Talon started to talk, telling the pair everything about the Team’s mission.

“I told you I could make him talk”

After she learned everything she needed to know she decided Talon wasn't much of a threat. She could make him forget everything he’d seen and give them enough time to get away.

Young Justice

Location: Haly´s circus
Interactions: The Team
Ambience: Flora vs Fauna

---

Daphne sat in the audience and watched the act of the Bearded Lady and the Tiny Man. A couple of jokes went over her head but she found herself laughing quietly during most of the show. She got herself a new small sweet popcorn and iced tea. Her thoughts went back to her own act. They really did a great job, the audience loved it. They rehearsed only once and despite improvising some of her lines she didn't miss a beat. It was really similar to playing pretend, just with grown ups. Daphne had a baby sitting job before joining the initiative, looking after two six year old siblings. Their favorite games were playing dress up and fighting imaginary monsters. They would probably love her new job. If they knew she was a superhero now they would freak out!

She felt her phone buzzing and checked to see the message. It was Zach. She texted back what she discovered.
"It's not the firebreather guys, I searched his room backstage and overheard he's leaving the circus after this run is over"
"I couldn't find anything linking him to being an operative for Kobra"
Daphne conveniently left out the part where she needed to be rescued by Talon after the firebreather had unknowingly locked her into the room while she hid in his closet. Hopefully that would stay between Talon and her, she couldn't afford any more failures. He promised he'd keep it a secret and she trusted him.

Daphne eyes shot up from her phone when she heard screaming, it wasn't easy to distinguish at first between the laughing, but people were definitely screaming outside. It was getting louder too. Small horses burst through a tear inside the tent and galloped into the ring. Daphne's body tensed up and she got up from her seat, ready to run, but she suppressed the urge. She was a hero now. Daphne tried to stay calm and figure out what they were up against. There was something seriously wrong with the ponies, they looked unnatural. Their behavior made no sense either.

The crowd started to panic once they realized what was happening. People were scrambling to get out of the tent, running and pushing against each other. Everyone needed to get to safety first. Daphne rushed down the rows of seats to the front. Parents were already grabbing their children, yelling their names. One of them was crying, seeing the others around him being swept up by their moms and dads. Daphne couldn't see his parents anywhere and the ponies were galloping dangerously close.
"Come with me!" She called out. The boy held up his arms so she could pick him up.

Daphne ran to the nearest safe exit carrying to boy. A high pitched scream caught her attention and she stopped and turned to find the source. One of the kids was being pulled by her ankle into the center of the ring. Immediately Daphne's heart got stuck in her throat and panic set in.
She was going to get trampled!
Daphne handed over the boy to a teenage girl making her way outside, instructing her to help him find his parents once they were safe. There was no time to come up with a plan or hide out somewhere safe so Daphne quickly transformed throwing off the costume she was still wearing. She jumped into the ring, evading one of the ponies. Grabbing one of the toy weapons which were left behind after her act she threw it at the pony dragging the girl. The animal didn't even flinch.
Oh crap...

Daphne searched around frantically for something else while trying not to get attacked by the other ponies. In between the trash she spotted a bent half pipe. She grabbed it and flung it as hard as she could at the pony, careful not to hit the girl. It collided with its head, drawing its attention to Daphne.
"RUN!" She yelled. The girl got up from the floor but her ankle injury prevented her from running.

The animal was galloping towards her. Daphne jumped out of the way. A second pony came out of nowhere and ran straight into her. The sheer force of the muscled animal sent her crashing into one of the stage obstacles. During the impact something sharp cut into her side, she felt a numbed sting. She got up from the floor, holding onto her head. Everything was spinning. A piece of wood stuck out of her left side, green sap leaking from around it. Her vision sharpened and she gasped.
Omg...omg...
If she hadn't transformed this would for sure have killed her. The bruises on her plant body started to form into bark until she was completely covered, aside from her head and the small spot on her side. Maybe she should have done that earlier.

She had to get to the Team. The pony had actually kicked her much further than she realized, nearly all the way across the ring. Daphne drew in a sharp breath and stumbled through the curtains, holding onto her side. She wasn't experiencing any heavy pain, but she definitely felt light headed. Backstage there was also chaos. She walked as fast as she could. Zach's room was closest. Daphne pushed through the door entering her teammates room.

"Zach, something crazy just happened. We got attacked by a bunch of wild ponies. I don't know where they came from, I think I saw about six of them. We have to do something, but I couldn't stop them. They are freakishly strong."

Young Justice

_{E P I S O D E T H R E E : S T A G E F R I G H T}

EQUESTRIAN NIGHTMARE

H A L Y'S C I R C U S T E N T

---

^{May 29rd, 2021 | 20:38p.m | Gotham City, Conneticut}

After such a splendid performance by Nymph that had children and adults alike in a joyous mood, the show seemed like it'd only get better.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! We will be taking a brief intermission to allow you to stock up on snacks and use the restroom before the next main acts! In the meantime, give it up for the power couple of our grand circus. The Bearded Woman and the Tiny Maaaaan!” The two walked onto the stage with the hefty Bearded Woman bridal carrying her almost child-sized partner to the stage. The Tiny man waved at the audience while the Bearded Woman kept her chin held high to show off her full black beard that nearly reached her navel. Besides her beard, she was adorned with several pieces of jewelry.

As the couple approached the microphone, the Tiny man grabbed it, tested it and then held it up to the Bearded Woman's face.

“Ladies, take notes.” She set the Tiny Man down who now held up the microphone overhead with both hands as if he was the Bearded Woman's mic stand. She stroked her beard with a pleased grin as if to silently say "See what I mean" to the audience.

Her performance was simply a stand-up comedy act with bits centered around the couple's odd relationship. She was meant to keep things PG but pushed the line several times. All in all, things were going quite smoothly until screams were heard from outside the circus tent in between the audience's laughter.

Some in the crowd looked around to find the source, while others ignored it as they wanted to enjoy the show. Unfortunately, what was happening outside couldn't be ignored as two ponies burst through the tents. These ponies had an abnormal appearance. They were salivating and appeared to have gained more muscle mass than normal. One ran straight for the audience while the other towards the stage. The Bearded Woman pushed down the Tiny Man who curled up in a ball before being struck by the pony's hooves. Six more ponies entered through the tear in the tent, one using its mouth to drag a young girl by her ankle. The crazed roided up ponies only sought to harm and destroy.

Despite how unsettling these creatures looked, Cybergirl would find them awfully familiar…

Young Justice

Location: Haly's circus fair, on the stage
Interactions: The audience

---

As soon as her last trick was done The Contortionist left the stage in a rush, not bothering to stick around for applause. She was stopped by one of the other performers, the pyrotechnics guy. They were talking in hushed voices. He seemed to tell her something which upset her. His reaction to her displeasure was very strange, nearly falling to his knees to show how sorry he was. He attempted to cling at her legs which was swiftly dismissed by a rough kick to his side. The man tumbled to the floor, landing on his back. For a girl her size the strength in her kick was uncanny. She stepped over the moaning pyrotechnic and continued on her way.

Meanwhile Daphne was pacing back and forth behind the thick velvet curtains separating the stage from the back. She fidgeted with her costume and fixed her mask, making sure it was secure. There were so many lines in the script of her performance, she worried she wouldn't remember them. Not only that her performance partner was nowhere to be seen. Five more minutes to go before they had to go on stage. Hopefully he'd show. She looked at her phone, trying to memorize her lines. Her performance was a re-enactment of the Greek myth of Apollo and Daphne. She heard the ringmaster start of the myth.
"Long long ago in ancient Greece the god of Love was insulted by Apollo who said he was the better archer between them"
After a minute, Apollo was nowhere to be seen. The ringmaster cleared his throat loudly.

Backstage the performer who would play Apollo rushed up to Daphne. He was laughing and carried with him half of a cotton candy which he stole from the food stall. The vendor was yelling behind him. "Apollo" offered the cotton candy to Daphne.
"Got you this, I ate half of it though" Daphne took the cotton candy. She shook her head and smiled.
"Come on, come on, we're late" Daphne giggled and pulled him with her onto the stage. The stage was set up like small obstacle course. In their version of the story Apollo was supposed to chase after Daphne for a kiss. The nymph would employ the help of children in the audience to help her win the race and fight off the Sun god.

Apollo fixed his quiver of arrows and immediately got into character. He ran up to the center of the ring and flexed his muscles dramatically. He posed, smiling at the front row of children.
"I am the best archer in all of Greece! Way better than that dumb Eros, diaper wearing baby!"

Daphne entered the stage waving excitedly at the audience. She took a seat near the first obstacle, idly playing with her hair. She really had no idea how nymphs were supposed to act.

Apollo's insult angered Eros and he stomped forward into the ring, climbing up one of the obstacles. His movements were overexaggerated to make the children laugh. Eros took two arrows from his quiver, taking aim at the pair. He laughed evilly and released the toy arrows.
"I will teach you not to make fun of ME!"

The ringmaster explained to the audience what Eros had done.
"The god of Love was not happy so he shot Apollo and the beautiful nymph Daphne"
"One arrow made Apollo fall in love with Daphne, but the other arrow made Daphne hate Apollo, and they started to chase each other, through fields and mountains"

Apollo walked up to Daphne who put down her imaginary comb, looking up at him. He took her hand and stared straight into her brown eyes.
"Daphne I think I'm in love with you, you are so beautiful, I just want to kiss you!"
Apollo's blue eyed stare and declaration of fake love made butterflies flutter in her stomach. Wait a second, she was not supposed to like this! Apollo squeezed her hand and laughed sheepishly, bringing her back to earth.
She pulled back her hand and held it to her chest. Daphne stepped away from him a disgusted look on her face.
"No I don't like kisses, stay away from me!"

The two performers started to chase each other across the obstacle course. Daphne took the easy way around each time while Apollo had to navigate every obstacle fairly. Despite that he was starting to catch up to her. The children were cheering on their hero of choice. After a couple of obstacles Apollo took a breather, pretending to be tired. This was Daphne's cue to involve a couple of volunteers in the act. On a plastic tree stump next to her a bunch of toy weapons were set up. She turned to the audience.
"Oh please are there any brave heroes willing to help me? I only want to stay in the forest, far away from Apollo..." She waited expectantly. Most of the children were hesitant and whispered to each other in excited voices. Daphne spotted a girl standing next to her brother.
"You daughter of Athena, will you help me fight off Apollo? I will bestow upon you a great battle sword"

After some encouragement from her parents the girl nodded and armed herself with the toy weapons.
"Wait a minute that's not fair!"
Apollo also turned to the audience, flashing a bright smile.
"Who wants to help the best archer in Greece?, the winner gets a kiss from the beautiful Nymph"

The boys in the audience were not convinced, some of them making a face. Yuck!
Apollo cleared his throat and tried again.
"I mean the winner gets to try out shooting with my bow!"
That got him a whole ton of volunteers and he selected a valiant warrior in his quest for Daphne's heart. Eventually the chase led to the center of the ring. There was no place left to go for Daphne and her warrior friend. The last obstacle was a small pond.

The ringmaster continued narrating the events.
"With nowhere left to run Daphne and her loyal follower asked the river god Peneus for help to escape the god of the Sun"

Daphne gestured for the girl to follow her to the makeshift pond at the center of the ring. She kneeled down in front of it.
"Oh father help me. Change my form which has brought me to this danger. Set me free!"

A booming voice sounded through the circus tent. The river god spoke through the sound system, coming from every angle.
"My daughter I shall answer your plea, step into the pond"

Apollo and his helper were closing in during the final act of the performance. Right on time to witness Daphne's incredible transformation. The show stopping ending of the entire act. She stood in the shallow pond and her skin turned to bark, hair into leaves. Daphne made sure to be completely still, mimicking the stiffness of a real tree. Apollo fell to his knees, defeated.
"With the help of the daughter of Athena and her father the River God, Daphne escaped Apollo and lived happily in the forest evergreen"

The audience got up for a standing ovation, clapping at Daphne and her entourage. She bent down to high five the girl.
"We won!"
The girl looked at her in awe. Like a myth come to life.

Young Justice

---

"You know...."
"I still don't get why I'm here. I'm supposed to protect your identity, make the baby heroes think someone else is doing what you're doing here..."
"And what were you doing again..?"

A pair of emerald eyes were staring at a man who was tied to a chair, mouth stuffed with a lacy piece of lingerie. The girl raised her already sharply arched left brow, expecting an answer. He made some angry muffled noises and pulled at the satin ropes holding his limbs. She barely flinched and continued to answer her own questions.

"Oh right you are supplying Kobra with some kind of mystery substance to mix up in their venom, to make it more juicy. They want to rise in the ranks, get into the big leagues. I get it, but that's not the way to do it. I've worked for the big leagues, they could care less about stuff like that."

"Now my question to you is this, how does this benefit me? I mean what do I gain?"

There were a couple of masks and other props laid out on her vanity. She picked up a mask decorated with silver and green scales, holding it over her eyes.
"Too on the nose...and it's scratchy"
She tossed it aside carelessly and tried on a second option, a face veil. She smiled, pleased with what she saw in the mirror. It added just the right touch of mystery.

She got up from her seat and sauntered over to a clothing rack. There was a silvery skintight catsuit prepared for her performance. It shimmered in the warm lamp lights of the dressing room. She touched the smooth cool fabric.
"This is definitely going to do nicely, for once those idiots got me something worth my while" She muttered under her breath.

She was about to switch outfits when she thought of something.
Actually....
Without saying anything she walked back up to the vanity and Kobra's supplier. She made sure to stand in eyeshot before slowly taking of her robe and slipping into the suit.
"Nah ah, no peeking" The girl glanced over her shoulder at the supplier, a mischievous smirk on her face.

In a matter of minutes she'd changed into the silver suit, ready for her performance as the contortionist.

Young Justice

Location: Backstage, firebreather room
Interactions: Talon

---

“Just don’t screw things up”

Daphne stared at the text, coming to a halt. Even through text she could feel the animosity. It made her stomach turn uncomfortably.
Her fingers hovered over the screen for a while, even typing up half a reply, before deleting it.

I’m not….I’m not going to screw up. Daphne thought. She looked up from her phone an…

“Hey girl, you’re blocking the line” A irritated voice came from behind her. A woman holding a two year old boy by the hand stared at her. Daphne quickly put away her phone and apologized, letting them pass her.

Okay come on Daphne, get your head together. She really needed to not let Viktor get to her this much. She was going to stick to her plan, at least the part of the plan she’d actually thought out.

A couple of minutes later

Daphne walked past several rooms backstage. She’d changed into her costume making her more inconspicuous, blending in with the other performers. Some of the doors were conveniently marked with name tags of acts. It made finding the room of the fire breather much easier.

Found it!
Now all she needed was to find a way ins…

“Drinks and snacks on the house! I’ve got soda’s, popcorn, hot dogs, corn dogs, any dogs”
The vendor laughed at his own joke, slowly passing by each of the rooms. Her mind raced to think of a way she could use this to her advantage.

Daphne walked up to the man not knowing what she was going to say until she opened her mouth. The vendor beat her to it.
“Hi there, what is up, what's cooking good looking? Plant girl right?”

“Yeah…”
“ I uhm… the big boss sent me to help you out, he said you needed a pair of extra hands”

“Needed help?” The vendor looked perplexed for a moment before appearing as if a lightbulb clicked on in his head. “Ohh yeah. You're the relief. Wow, the big boss sure is one hell of a guy!” The vendor smiled as he removed his apron and set it on the concession cart. “The prices are on the side of the cart and no, you cannot snag a bite for free. Anyway, thanks for the relief and seeya later missy!”
Daphne stood next to the cart stunned, she was totally surprised her impromptu plan worked. She put on the apron over her costume and looked at the cart. It was stacked on each side with something sticking out of every nook and cranny. There was no use in trying to organize things, it would be a waste of time. When she approached the room of the firebreather, pushing the cart to the door she started to feel nervous.

A light knock.
“Hi there, snacks on the house!” She said in her most cheerful voice. There was no reply, so Daphne began to list some of the tastiest snacks on the menu. Still nothing. She glanced around. There were still a couple of people in the hallway. Just barging into the room would be suspicious, anyone here could be working for Kobra. Daphne remembered Batman’s briefing.

She pushed at the door, it wasn’t locked. Daphne had an idea.
“Two hot dogs with extra ketchup?” “Coming right up Sir!” She made sure she was loud enough for the other performers to hear her. Daphne prepped the two hotdogs and made her way inside the room. There was no one inside. She set the hotdogs on a side table and looked around.

The room was just a regular room. One corner was used to prepare props the firebreather used for his acts. What was she even looking for? The supplier probably wouldn’t leave evidence just laying around. The room smelled vaguely like sulfur. Daphne made sure not to move things around unless she absolutely had to.

The sound of footsteps approaching the door drew her attention and she glanced over her shoulder. Oh no….
Her heartbeat jumped up and her first thought was to hide. She quickly inched closer to the walls of the room getting out of the immediate line of sight.

Alright, just stay calm. Daphne was considering her options. She briefly considered lying to his face, making up some kind of reason on why she was in the room. Who was she kidding? She couldn’t pull that off, hiding was the next best thing. There was a standing closet a few steps away from her. This needed to be quick. She ran to the closet, pulled open the doors and pushed herself in, squeezing her body between a row of costumes hanging from a rack. Daphne carefully pulled the doors shut and put her hand over her mouth.

“Who the heck left this cart at my door?! And where's Tommy? Sheesh, that dude is gonna get fired quicker than the last guy.” Daphne could easily hear the Firebreather's voice behind the door. In the next instance, the man entered his room as if he expected someone to be waiting there. More specifically, Tommy who manned the cart.

“Huh? What's this?” He sounded like he noticed something off.

Daphne stayed quiet. She looked down at her phone, quickly muting it. That would be the worst way to blow her cover.
I hope the Team is doing a better job than I am.
So far she had nothing on the firebreather and she was stuck in place.

“Hotdogs! My fave! I… you gotta be kidding me! Ketchup?! I fucking hate ketchup!” The Firebreather grunted muttered a few more curses before speaking again. “Now I gotta wipe it all off… Wait a hot minute. Wait a hot minute! This… this stuff was staged! Those losers are trying to butter up to me now that they know I got a new gig in Metropolis! And even then, they screw it up. After this show, I'm leaving this shit show and I'm eating these hotdogs too! Ha!”

Despite being scared Daphne had to muffle a laugh. Who talked to themselves like that? She listened to what he was saying. Did this mean he wasn’t their guy? It seemed pretty difficult to be a secret supplier hiding at a circus if you were no longer part of said circus.

The firebreather finished the hotdogs and left the room, locking the door behind him. She could hear the lock clicking shut and flinched inwardly. Daphne pushed open the closet doors and stretched after being stuck there for a while. She approached the door and checked the handle, yes it was definitely sealed shut. The teen heroine browsed through the room, looking for something to help her pry open the lock. First she tried a letter opener, next a clothes hanger. It wasn’t budging. Probably because of her poor lock picking skills.

That left her with only one solution, something she’d been dreading, but held out as a contingency plan. Ask for help. It would defeat the purpose of her trying to prove herself a worthy member of the Team, hopefully the information she gathered would make up for it. There was one member on the Team she was sure wouldn’t say a word to anyone. She started to type up a text message.

Young Justice

Hi guys!

There is a second update on the posting turns. Since we've been slowing down a little recently I adjusted the rules some. It might seem harsh, but it's necessary to make sure we can keep the story going. I won't start with keeping tabs until this weekend, so everyone can start of with a blank slate.

Courtaud / Talon is currently inactive. His character will be controlled by the gm's, and will either remain as an NPC or exit the story at an appropriate time.