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[color=DarkGray]May 22nd, 2021 | Mount Justice[/color][/center]
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Daphne was on her second midnight patrol of the HQ. It was their first night back at base since La Hoya. Thoughts of the mission kept her awake, thinking back on the mistakes she made. She tossed and turned, stared at the ceiling, listened to relaxing music, sprayed lavender spray on her pillow, nothing helped her sleep. After a while the walls were closing in on her and she just had to leave her dorm. 

So she ended walking aimlessly through the halls of the Sanctuary. The robe she was wearing kept opening up at the front while she walked. A chill ran up her legs and she shivered. She never really did learn, falling into the trap of buying something pretty but uncomfortable each and every time. 

What was she going to do all night? 
It was looking pretty likely that sleep wasn’t an option anytime soon. Maybe some tea.
She rounded the corner of the lounge quietly, half afraid she was going to run into someone. Obviously no one was awake right now. Daphne adjusted her loose braid and fixed herself some tea. While she waited for the water to come to a boil she suddenly thought of something.

Alisa never slept, so did that mean she could be awake now? 
It wouldn’t hurt to try. She got out a second mug and strawberry flavored tea bag and made her way to her teammates room. Daphne walked very carefully holding the two mugs of hot tea in her hands. She spilled some tea on her way to Alisa’s room, but kept going. 

Daphne hesitated in front of Alisa’s door. 3 am wasn’t exactly the time for casual chit chat. She slipped her foot out of her slipper and tapped the door lightly. 
[color=Lightgreen]“Hi it’s Daphne…”[/color] She whispered quietly, feeling slightly nervous. 

Only a few seconds after Daphne’s knock, the door opened and revealed a bewildered but smiling Alisa. Apart from her hair, which was up in a messy bun, she looked just as peppy and energetic as she did during the day. [color=CornflowerBlue]“Oh, hey!”[/color] she whispered. What was Daphne doing awake at 3 AM? [color=CornflowerBlue]“What’s up? Is everything alright?”[/color] Alisa knit her brows, slightly concerned. She hadn’t seen the other girl around much since they had got off the plane. Mostly because Alisa had been stuck in debrief drawing for the better part of the last 24 hours, but still. To her knowledge, everyone was worried about Daphne. Seeing her appear in the middle of the night was certainly strange.

[color=Lightgreen]“I’m alright, just couldn’t sleep.”[/color] Daphne appreciated Alisa’s concern. She smiled softly and held up the cups of tea. 
[color=Lightgreen]“I have tea if you like….”[/color] She didn’t want to be a bother but she also needed someone to talk to, or at least to distract her from her thoughts. Daphne stepped into Alisa’s room and took a good look around. It looked nice, she liked the decorations she put up. They definitely had similar taste. She placed the cups of tea on Alisa’s desk carefully, using a piece of spare paper as a coaster, so the mugs wouldn’t leave markings on the surface.

Daphne took a sip of her tea and blinked at Alisa, realizing she had to say something. She decided a compliment on her room would be a good way to start. 
[color=Lightgreen]“Your room looks nice...”[/color] She touched one of her paintings absentmindedly. Daphne felt a little paranoid. After Viktor’s clear disapproval of her place on the team she wondered who else felt the same way.  

[color=CornflowerBlue] “Thanks,”[/color] Alisa replied and took the tea in her hands, sipping it carefully to be polite. Then, she put it down again- while the flavor was nice, hot drinks weren’t appealing to her. 

Alisa’s room was small and chaotic. Her bed, a twin with a metal frame and a [url=https://media.kohlsimg.com/is/image/kohls/4639051_Purple?wid=1200&hei=1200&op_sharpen=1]quilted purple comforter[/url] was piled high with papers, books, and drying projects. It was in the left corner, the end facing the door. Evidently, the bed didn’t see any use as an actual bed. An easel sat in the corner to the right of the bed with a half-finished painting of two otters hugging laying on it. There was a small table next to it with paint bottles, a palette of paint, a cup of paint-filled water, and a pencil on it. Her desk was directly in front of the bed, the closest thing to the door. It was a tan color and she had a laptop, some blueprints and sketches, and a pile of candy on it. There was a white office chair in front of it. On the right wall, Alisa had her charging station closest to the door, another pile of paintings, a large wardrobe, and then her easel. There was a white shag rug on the dark wooden floor, covering most of the center of the room. There were no windows, and the walls were their original cream color, although she had plenty of pretty posters, paintings, and even a bulletin board hanging.

[color=CornflowerBlue]“Sorry about the state of my room,”[/color] Alisa said, taking the opportunity to close the door. She leaned against the wall [color=CornflowerBlue] “I’ve never been very good at cleaning up. I mean, I will eventually, but…”[/color] She shrugged. [color=CornflowerBlue]“I’m usually too busy with making something to clean.”[/color] Her too-large blue eyes flicked over to where Daphne was touching the painting. It was a landscape, partially inspired by her first sight of Mount Justice. [color=CornflowerBlue]“If you like it, you can have it! I’m running out of room to put everything.”[/color] It was true. Her room was pretty cramped. 

[color=CornflowerBlue]“I’d try and help you sleep, but…”[/color] Alisa gestured to her bed as if to express her inexperience. [color=CornflowerBlue]“Why can’t you sleep? I’ve heard that worrying can make you not sleep. Did you have caffeine too late?”[/color]

Daphne shook her head and smiled. Alisa didn’t need to apologize, they were just two teen girls drinking tea at 3 AM, she wasn’t the cleaning police. 
[color=Lightgreen]“I don’t mind, I grew up with my dad and brother, this is neat compared to what I’m used to”[/color]

Her face lit up with a smile at Alisa’s comment about the painting. It was a beautiful watercolor painting, Alisa was really talented. Daphne admired people who were really skilled at some kind of creative hobby, she was trying to do the same with sewing and some simple embroidery. Maybe she could make something for Alisa, as a trade off. 

[color=Lightgreen]“That’s so nice of you, I’d love that”[/color]
She had the perfect place for it too. 

A lot of the time Daphne forgot Alisa was an android. It was endearing, the way she knew about things but hadn’t seen them in real life before. Like she studied about life before living it. 
[color=Lightgreen]“And I don’t drink coffee, I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about La Hoya…..”[/color]
Daphne put down her tea and climbed on Alisa’s bed. She quickly changed subjects to avoid  talking about the mission.

[color=Lightgreen]“I know something fun we can do though, we can braid each other’s hair”[/color]
Daphne untied her braid and moved her hair to her back.
[color=Lightgreen]“You can do mine first if you like”[/color]

[color=CornflowerBlue] “Sure!”[/color] Alisa began to braid Daphne’s hair. Her hands moved firmly and steadily across the other girl’s scalp as she tried to get every strand.

Unfortunately for Daphne, Alisa had never been one to forget about a subject of conversation. [color=CornflowerBlue]“I wouldn’t blame you for thinking about La Hoya. A lot happened. Casper and Felix are… gone, you froze, Viktor yelled at you…”[/color] She trailed off, a blush coming to her cheeks. She didn’t want to remind her about her failings! [color=CornflowerBlue]“I’ve been thinking about it a lot too,”[/color] she admitted. [color=CornflowerBlue]“It was my first mission and all, and it doesn’t help that I have all that data stuck in my head.”[/color]

Daphne relaxed while Alisa twisted her brunette hair into a super neat braid. She frowned at Alisa’s last sentence. That sounded much worse, having everything literally stuck in your head. After Alisa finished braiding her hair she switched places with Daphne. 
[color=Lightgreen]“So it was also your first mission?”[/color] She sounded surprised. Without Alisa they wouldn’t have all this information. 
Daphne untied the messy bun on top of Alisa’s head. She gently finger combed her hair and smoothed it out before starting to braid. She was done a lot quicker with Alisa’s hair only being about shoulder length. 

Daphne was curious about Alisa’s motivation in joining the initiative and how she ended up on the team.  She didn’t know anything about her past.
[color=Lightgreen]“How did you end up on the Team?”[/color] She asked while grabbing her tea from the desk.

Alisa winced. [color=CornflowerBlue]“Long story. Long, [i]complicated[/i] story.”[/color] She snatched a piece of candy from her desk and chewed on it. `Then, she sighed, and started talking. [color=CornflowerBlue]“For context: I was created and mostly raised by a group of anarchists. They were paranoid and never let me leave the house. No friends, few outings, no school, no… nothing. They mostly loved me, but I was bored and lonely and wanted a life. So I… erm. Last November, I jumped out my bedroom window and ran away.[/color]

This was the awkward part. Alisa laid down on her bed, a blush coloring her cheeks. [color=CornflowerBlue]“I headed to the bus station and tried to buy a ticket to San Diego. But, um… turns out, you need an ID and to either have your parent’s permission or be over 18 to buy a bus ticket. I had neither of those things! So the teller calls the cops, the cops pick me up, book me as a runaway, take me to the police station and… there’s a metal detector. And I am [i]made of metal[/i]. After about an hour and a half, they figured out I was a robot, interrogated me, figured out how to turn me off, and…”[/color] She shrugged. It was a painful, recent memory, but she didn’t want to lie. [color=CornflowerBlue]“I wake up in a closet in a secure government building with a sheet over my head 7 months later, in [i]May[/i], with a superhero standing over me. He explains my circumstances to me- if the Justice League hadn’t taken an interest, the US government would’ve shoved me in an industrial metal shredder and made me into scrap metal- and asks me if I want to join the team or… well, something else. I say yes and end up here a day later.”[/color] 

Alisa finally met Daphne’s eyes again, still blushing. [color=CornflowerBlue]“That’s pretty much my story. It was by accident, but… I think I’m happy I ended up here. I told you it was long, though!”[/color]

Daphne was staring back at Alisa, her brown eyes widened at every twist and turn in her story. She put down her mug, completely stunned for a couple of seconds. Daphne imagined what it must have been like for Alisa. Things could have turned out so differently if the League hadn’t intervened. Without the League Alisa could have still been locked away somewhere, like a piece of obsolete technology, unwanted and unused. 

Daphne reached out and squeezed Alisa’s hand.
[color=Lightgreen]“I’m glad you’re here too, after all the bad things that happened to you.” “The League is really watching out for us, I know this is one of the better places to be for someone like you and me”[/color]

She broke eye contact with Alisa. The way she never blinked was really intense at times. They were discussing sensitive topics and it made Daphne uncomfortable. She played with the tail of her braid, debating whether or not she should share some of her own background. 

Alisa gave Daphne’s hand a strong squeeze back too, smiling. [color=CornflowerBlue]“Thanks,”[/color] she said. [color=CornflowerBlue] “I’m glad I’m here too. I didn’t set out wanting to [i]be[/i] a superhero or anything… but it’s what happened, and I actually kind of like it.”[/color]

[color=CornflowerBlue] “So, since you had me bare my soul, it’s your turn! How did you get here? Lemme guess: you were Martian Manhunter’s sidekick or something, and he sent you away because you accidentally strangled someone to death on a mission, and you had to evade prison [i]somehow[/i]…”[/color] Alisa trailed off, smirking mischievously. 

Daphne shifted in her seat nervously, she immediately let go of her braid when Alisa mentioned strangling someone. She realized she really had to do something to improve her reputation. The last thing she wanted was to be known as an accidental killer. She didn’t return Alisa’s smirk, looking serious.

[color=Lightgreen]“No that’s not what happened”[/color] She shook her head and looked at Alisa again. 
[color=Lightgreen]“Up until about six months ago I didn’t even have any powers. I was walking home from class, it was late and my family didn’t want me to walk by myself, but I was being stubborn.”[/color]

Daphne paused and looked away, so she could continue the second part of her story. She couldn’t look Alisa in the eye while telling what happened in the park. 
[color=Lightgreen]“Some robbers followed me and attacked me, which activated my powers. It scared them off. Batman found me but he couldn’t transform me back. That’s how I ended up with the Martian Manhunter as my mentor, he used his mental powers to help me”[/color]

[color=Lightgreen]“Shortly after my dad and I started to study my powers for his research paper. He’s a biologist in Gotham”[/color]

She drew her legs up to her chest. Somehow telling her story to someone else made her realize how messed up it was. 
[color=Lightgreen]“The more we studied the more my dad kept pushing the boundaries to see what would happen. After a while I couldn’t do it anymore, but I couldn’t tell my dad. This is the paper of his career”[/color]

[color=Lightgreen]“So the Martian Manhunter proposed to bring me here. I would be away from home for a while and learn to use my powers for the benefit of everyone”[/color]
 
Alisa understood. She understood perfectly, in fact. She reached out to give Daphne’s shoulder a firm squeeze. [color=CornflowerBlue]“I get it. You felt more like a project than a daughter, huh?”[/color] It was the same way she had felt in what felt like only a month ago. 

Her jokes weren’t seeming to land, though- Daphne had not taken that well. [color=CornflowerBlue] “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here too. You’re nice, and while you may not be in the most control… you’re working on it, and that’s what really matters. I mean, hell, you’re so nice that you’ve made friends with [i]Talon[/i]. How?! I mean, I made friends with our other resident grump, but he’s on another level.”[/color]

Daphne moved over to where Alisa was laying and layed down next to her, looking up at the ceiling. Even though this was what she’d been doing every night, being next to someone kept her from spiraling into negative thoughts. Alisa mentioned Talon which made her smile. She really didn’t know the reason why he seemed to dislike her less than everyone else. Daphne treated him the same as she tried to treat everyone else, with kindness and respect.

[color=Lightgreen]“Honestly Alisa, I have no idea. Maybe he has a soft spot for brunettes?”[/color]

Alisa’s feet dangled off the bed as she laid sideways on it, staring at the ceiling. Should she get ceiling stars? Maybe she should get ceiling stars…

She laughed at Daphne’s guess. [color=CornflowerBlue] “If that was true, he’d talk to me too. Maybe it’s only for natural brunettes? Wigs don’t count.”[/color] That was followed by another laugh. Her hair was really a wig sewn into her scalp. [color=CornflowerBlue] “We’ve never spoken much, I don’t think. He’s silent and broody and I always catch him staring at me. Weird guy. I guess you see something in him, though?”[/color] Alisa then paused, and turned to look Daphne in the eyes. [color=CornflowerBlue]“Don’t tell him I called him weird, though. I have a feeling he’ll be mad.”[/color]

Daphne laughed at Alisa talking about her wig. She stared into Alisa´s large blue eyes and promised her she wouldn't tell on her. She pushed herself upright and let her gaze wander about the room.
[color=Lightgreen]“Boys can be so weird sometimes…”[/color] She sounded absentminded, like she was remembering something which fueled her statement. 

[color=CornflowerBlue]“Really? It’s not just unique to ours?”[/color] It was only a half-joke. Alisa had met very few teenage boys in her life.

Daphne hopped off of the bed and tossed a pillow at Alisa, smirking.
[color=Lightgreen]“We’re supposed to be strange, it’s a girls thing.”[/color]

She checked the time. Wow, it was already 4:15am.
[color=Lightgreen]“Thanks for staying up with me Alisa. It was nice to get to know you a bit better”[/color]

Alisa caught the pillow and hugged it to her chest. It was so late already? [color=CornflowerBlue] “Alright, Daphne, go get some sleep. I’ll see you in eight hours. Night!”[/color]

Daphne left soon after, taking the tea with her to her room, and Alisa sat back up again and sighed. Time to get back to work on that painting...