dreamingflowers

Young Justice

Location: Star City Bank, 6th floor
Interactions: Quiver, Stormcaller, Metamorph

---

The gauntlet was unaffected by Cora's lightning bolt. The same could not be said for the robber. If the blast wasn't enough to stun him the slugger arrow fired by Quiver pushed him back to the floor. He rolled backwards, screaming and cursing. The sound of the gauntlet and the crackle of electricity drew the attention of the second robber. He was positioned on the other side with the hostages.

"Nobody move..." He kept his weapon trained on the frightened group of civilians. He slowly retreated from the office area into the hallway. The robber was apprehensive and his body language betrayed what he was feeling. Weapon at the ready, a sound gun he investigated another set of cubicles. The sounds were coming from farther ahead, near the stairwell.

His eyes went wide when he saw his associate downed on the ground, groaning and unable to move. He stood face to face with both Quiver and Stormcaller.
"Nobody fucking move!!"

His voice was shaking slightly and he aimed his weapon at Quiver, pressing down on the trigger, only nothing seemed to happen. The pitch was too low to be picked up on by human ears. It would cause a steadily increasing feeling of nausea and dizziness wherever it was aimed. With his free hand he reached for his cellphone, calling up the other hostage takers to warn them.

"Guys, this is Theo, I'm on the sixth floor an..."

An intense fluttering sound came from the stairwell. A cloud of petals rushed into the hallway and enveloped Theo. He tried to swat it away, but they kept reforming. Eventually his movements slowed and he became calm.

He stopped talking, overcome by a feeling of serenity. Daphne changed from a cloud into a humanoid shape and turned to Cora and Quiver, putting a finger to her pink lips.

"What the hell is going on Theo? THEO?!"

The voice on the other end of the phone yelled angrily. Theo responded with a goofy smile, feeling dazed.
"Relax man..."

"What was that explosion??"

"No idea but everything's good here, everything's really good..." He hung up and just kept staring dreamily at Daphne floating in front of him. She transformed back and grabbed the phone from Theo's hands. Daphne tossed it back at Cora.

"Can you destroy this?"

She got on comms with squad C.

"Metamorph we might have been compromised on the sixth floor. I tried to diffuse the situation but I'm not sure it worked. The hostage takers called their associates on a different floor, but I.... had him say there was nothing going on here."

Just then she heard Vincent on comms asking on the status of things. The possibility of having to drop stealth was getting real. Daphne could feel her confidence wavering.

Young Justice

Location: Star City Bank, 6th floor
Interactions: Quiver, Stormcaller

---

The robber didn't seem too impressed by Quiver's threats. He snorted and looked at the three teen heroes surrounding him.
"If you haven't figured that out by now you three are even dumber than your costumes make you look.."

There was a smirk on his face while he continued to insult each of them. Quiver was accused of not being able to back up on his intimidation. Daphne's choice of pink deserved some ridicule. Only Cora seemed to get the least amount of criticism.
"At least you look decently intimidating, whatever that getup is supposed to be."

Aside from talking he didn't appear to be making any effort to escape. At least that's what it looked like. The gauntlet was pushed tightly against him. Daphne kept her eyes trained on the weapon and noticed a steadily building glow. She place her hand on Quiver's shoulder.
"Uh..Quiver? I thin.."

BOOM!

There was a shockwave of blue green tinted energy blasting through the entire stairwell. The kinetic force pushed the teen heroes in different directions. Daphne who was standing close to the stairs, got blasted down. She dispersed in an effort to break her fall. The force of the blast scattered her through the stairwell. Daphne could feel she was overextending and had to revert back, making a rough landing on her side.

Having freed himself the robber pushed his body up from the floor, the remains of the bolo falling away. He inspected the gauntlet and smirked again. This was the first time he used it and it definitely didn't disappoint. He began to load up another charge, just to make sure to knock these teens out for good.

Young Justice

Location: Star City Bank, 6th floor
Interactions: Quiver, Stormcaller, Mirage (mention)

---

Daphne stood by the window with her arms crossed in front of her chest, standing very still. She occasionally glanced over her shoulder to see what Quiver was doing before returning her worried gaze downwards. From this high up she could barely make out the police cars stationed below. The calm but sudden voice of Kila on comms startled her. A tingling sensation spread through her hands and fingers.

The hostages were being held on the lower floors. Vincent's observations were confirmed by Kila to be accurate.
"A..Alright, understood"

She turned to Quiver to relay the information she just received on comms.
"So...uhm..the robbers are on the sixth floor...."
Wait that wasn't what Kila said. She quickly shook her head and corrected herself.
"I mean there are eight of them, not just on the sixth floor..."
"They are spread out between floor two to six and we need to be on the sixth floor."

While she talked the tingling sensation returned. She wrung her hands together to try and make it go away.
"I don't think we can use the elevator...." She trailed off, without giving a proper explanation. Not only was the entrance to the elevator close to the room where the hostages were being held, Cora's powers could possibly make it malfunction. The sheer amount of stairs was steep but it was the safest option.

They reunited with Cora and learned that Kassy was stalking the robbers patrolling the upper floors. Alisa allowed Kassy to stay one step ahead of them by tracking their movements from inside the control room. Squad B was hiding out in the stairwell of the sixth floor catching their breaths. They crouched down just around the corner of the second set of stairs, staying out of sight.

One of the two robbers was patrolling the hallways, circling the room where his accomplice was holding the hostages. He was equipped with a weapon that was different to the ones used by the robbers who fought the A squad. It seemed to be some kind of gauntlet.

New Frontiers: A High Fantasy RTD

I'm going to have to drop out of this sorry guys. The rp is moving too slow to keep me invested/interested.

Young Justice

AND

Location: Star City Bank, 34th floor
Interactions: Zatara, Stormcaller

---

Will turned his eyes from the lit phone screen. A quick lump in the throat was quickly swallowed. He held out his gloved hand to her and she dropped the phone into his palm.

"Friend."

He showed her the screen before writing another message.

A bow and arrow emoji, a blonde beard emoji.

"We go down. More than money here." Will started to hand her the phone back but then he got a good glimpse at her eyes, framed by her domino mask.

He pulled the phone back and typed out:

"But help people first."

Quickly he handed the phone back to her and started crawling through the shafts. He was keenly aware of how close behind him she was. He wasn't exactly expecting to run into someone here while he was working, let alone -

Her friend...?

Ohh... a friend of Green Arrow. Daphne felt stupid and noticed the emojis, quickly putting the two together. Daphne found it hard to believe Green Arrow would send his protege on a mission like this by himself. But unless he was also crawling through a ventilation vent somewhere that was exactly what it looked like. It puzzled her, it didn't make sense.

"I'm here, looks safe to go in. Nymph, you okay in there?"

Daphne stopped shuffling and pressed on her earpiece with one hand to respond.
"Yes I'm alright...I.." She debated how to explain the situation. She was aware that the way she cut off on comms earlier might have issued for some unwarranted panic.
"I encountered two hostage takers on the 36th floor, they were issued orders to search the top floors by their superior. They searched the cubicles but I was there just minutes before. There were no civilians."

She looked up ahead at Green Arrow's protege.

"They didn't spot me and took the elevator down, but I don't know where they got off."

Will stopped trudging along the shaft when he heard the pink suited hero behind him start to speak. It was clear she wasn't speaking to him, but the rest of Oliver's junior league team. Will didn't know who was on the roster, who she would be speaking to now. But he did know that the entire team was likely on the same comms channel.

He waited to see if she would tell the rest of the team that she was currently in a vent with a stranger. He hoped she wouldn't. He wasn't on this team, and wasn't sure he was really interested - despite Ollie's suggestions. He was settled in his role in Star City. Why ruin a good thing?

He cleared his throat - should he put on a hero voice?

"Uh...miss? Thanks, I'm not up for broadcasting that I'm here with you and your friends. I've t-tussled with these guys before and the hardware they've got is no joke. D-do you have a hero name? What do I call you?"

The hooded hero was glad she didn't share their encounter with the Team, but she wasn't sure she felt the same. Her doubtful expression was mostly hidden by her mask.

She nodded in response to his question about her name.

"I do, it's Nymph."

He seemed to know more about the robbers than the Team did. She wanted to find out what else he knew, before sharing it with her friends. If the weapons they used were really as dangerous as he said, the Team had to know.

There was a nervous undertone to the way he spoke. Daphne attributed it to the situation they were in.
"And what is your name? What else do you know about these guys?"

"Quiver. Red Arrow was taken." Quiver - whose real name was Will - kept his voice to a hush as he readjusted in the vent.
"Green Arrow and I wrangled up a few of them a little while back, but clearly not all of them. The tech they're using? It's advanced. A threat even to enhanced metas."

Quiver turned to look back at Nymph if only for a second. "If it's your team that's engaging with them outside now, let them know."

Now that there was a whole squad of heroes, it was certain that they'd be able to get the hostages out unharmed. Especially if -

"Nymph - GA and I gathered a few of these weapons, a handful of them ran almost entirely on an internal powersource, not gunpowder. There's no telling which ones, so my emp arrows may go to waste. Anyone on your team that can emit an emp burst? That could disarm at least a few baddies down there.

A chill ran down her spine when he told her about the capabilities of the weapons at play. Viktor and Zach were most likely fighting them now. If what Quiver was saying was true they would never run out of ammunition. They could just keep going at it until their opponent was exhausted. She almost regretted asking the question, feeling worried for her team members on the outside.

There might be...

Daphne suspected Cora might be able to do something like that. An electromagnetic pulse. They could discuss that later, first she had to warn the outside squad.
"Possibly, we'll have to come up with a plan when we reunite with my squad."

"Nymph to Zatara. The robbers are using weapons that are weak to electromagnetic influence. Try using lightning to disable them."

They reached another shaft exit. Quiver moved the roster out of the way and jumped out to help her down.

Quiver landed first out of the vent exit and scanned to make sure it was empty. Everything looked clear. He looked back up at her in the shaft in order to signal her to come down, but she was already jumping, and he was very much in her way.

"Oh god." He thought, lifting his arms up.

He caught her, albeit awkwardly. Awkward enough for two teenage new acquaintances. She was light in his arms, but her positioning - he couldn't quite tell where is hands were. He almost immediately put her back down onto the floor and quickly hurried over to the window, pretending to be scanning for any of the enemies. In reality he was simply bright red and didn't want her to see.

Daphne brushed off some dust from her costume. She felt a flush creep onto her face and her cheeks were warm. She tried to shrug it off and focus on establishing their location.

Everything looked exactly like the 36th floor. They got out on the North side with a long reaching view of Star City. Daphne spotted a gold lined plague on one of the marble pillars. It read 34, the 34th floor.

"We should lay low for a while. Wait for Metamorph and my squad..."

"Alright. I'll do as you say for now. But I can't stick around and play justice league."

Young Justice

Location: Star City Bank, 36th floor
Interactions: Claire and ???

---

It took some convincing to have Kassy agree to let her scout on ahead. The Atlantean girl stayed with Cora given her lack of experience and they would cover more ground this way. They were less likely to get caught with Cora interfering with the security camera's and Kassy being able to render herself almost completely undetectable.

Daphne slowly descended the velvet covered steps of the stairs leading to the 36th floor. She kept her eyes and ears peeled for anything that might indicate the presence of hostages and hostage takers. It was eery to be inside a building that would usually have been buzzing with people. She exited the stairway and entered into a hall. To her left were glass cubicles, arranged in cross patterns. Everything looked like it was left behind in a rush. Computer screens were flickering, phones abandoned, somewhere a printer was still putting out paper. The contents of a half empty coffee cup were steadily dripping onto a very expensive looking leather chair.

She resisted the urge to call out while she maneuvered through the cubicles. Suddenly a phone started buzzing. Her heart jumped in her chest and she immediately ducked behind one of the desks, as if shots were being fired. The phone kept vibrating until it fell onto the floor. The call ended, only to immediately start again. At first she just stayed crawled up under the desk, determined to hide, but the buzzing wouldn't stop. Ultimately she reached out and grabbed the phone, checking the caller id. It was a woman. Daphne ignored the call and immediately started to text her back.

"Hi Claire. My name is Daphne. The person you're trying to call left their phone behind. I'm in the central bank right now and it's being robbed."
Claire was quick to respond with a string of worried questions.
"Omg are you okay? What's the situation in there? Have you seen my fiancee???"
"No I'm sorry I haven't seen him, but I think I'm at his desk right now.."
Daphne scrolled through the phone's gallery and sent Claire a picture of a couple that could be them.
"Is this your fiancee?"
"Yes that's us. His name is Murad. Please if you see him can you let me know he's okay??"
"I've been losing my mind ever since I saw the news and thank God you picked up. Are the police handeling the situation? Are they coming to get you out?"

Somewhere not too far off from the cubicles Daphne heard footsteps. She couldn't tell if they were approaching or leaving.
"I have to go now. I'll keep you updated..."
Daphne put the phone on mute and carefully peeked over the top of the desk. There was no one there..... and the footsteps had stopped.

Her heart was pounding in her chest and she swallowed back a lump before turning on the comms.
"Guys...are any of you on the 36th floor right now?"

The Team replied with a unified no, which made her feel worse. She struggled momentarily with anxiety before forcing herself to get out from under the desk. There were people that needed to be saved and now that one of them had a face she was more determined than ever. Daphne completed her search of the 36th floor, reaching the hallway leading to the elevators.
"Nymph on comms. The 36th floor is clear. There are no.."

The elevator bell tinging cut her off. The doors were starting to open and Daphne stared at them wide eyed. She was frozen in place before a voice snapped her out of it. It was coming from higher up. A hand was reaching out from the air vent right above her.
"In here!"

It was too high to jump and she didn't have time to grab a chair from the cubicle. She quickly transformed and fluttered up into the air vent, regaining her form once she was safe.

Young Justice

The robbers

---

With their quick getaway easily thwarted by a not so famous YouTuber the robbers were more than pissed off. One of them taken down by a metal ball of all things. The driver used the door as protection, not wanting to eat metal like the guy next to him. He used the same chrome long gun and started firing off dangerous electrical rounds that were used earlier on the officers. The shock was twice the strength of a military grade taser, enough to cause disorientation and muscle spasms at the least.

The rounds made a plopping sound as they excited the long gun. They were larger than usual and would burst upon contact releasing wires and hooks. The spheres would attach themselves and continue giving off shocks. Three of them were going into Zach's direction.

The remaining two thugs turned their sights towards Viktor.
"So you wanna play catch huh?"

They grabbed two rifles from the back of the van. The ammunition compartment held glowing light blue rounds. When they thugs started to fire it became clear what their weapon was designed for. The rifle released a rapidly expanding light blue foam. The substance immediately hardening when it finished expanding.

Young Justice

_{E P I S O D E SIX : R E F L E C T I O N S}

HOSTAGE

SOUNDTRACK

S T A R C I T Y

---

^{August 30th, 2021 | 12:21pm. | Star City Bank, California}

The Team was sent to Star City at the request of Green Arrow. Their briefing was minimal and they were already well on their way to their destination. A group of criminals using stolen hi-tech weaponry had targeted the largest bank in the city. What was meant to be a quick heist turned into a dangerous hostage situation. Metamorph was selected to be the Team leader this time around by way of vote from his fellow teammates.

The jet was pushed to the limits of its speed, cutting through the clouds like a knife. Upon approaching the bank the jet became cloaked and silently dropped the Team onto the roof where they could gain access into the building through a roof hatch.

A police report was intercepted through the Team’s comms system. There were approximately 50 hostages spread throughout the building. The amount of hostage takers was unknown as was the location of the hostages inside of the bank.

The jet turned to auto pilot and was set to land in the closest suitable location. The sound of a heavy engine and multiple sets of footsteps could be heard by the members with enhanced hearing capabilities. It was coming from the back of the building. The source quickly revealed itself to be a large van surrounded by downed police officers. It didn’t look like any ordinary van. It was sleek, black and heavily protected by plated panels. It sported advanced technical modifications to bolster its defenses.

The robbers that managed to escape, leaving some of their group behind with the hostages swiftly retreated into the back of the van, wearing heavily padded vests. It would be a matter of minutes before they escaped onto the highway. If the Team wanted to catch them and recover the stolen money, quick decision making was vital.

Young Justice

Location: Mt Justice, Greenhouse
Interactions: Dr Hall

---

“I’m…I’m so happy you’re okay Daph…”
The scientist and his teenage daughter were standing in the small greenhouse inside the HQ. There was a good amount of distance between them. He tried to make eye contact with her but she avoided looking at him. He cleared his throat and loosened up his tie some more. He took a step forward and noticed Daphne tensing up.

“I came as soon as I heard, it’s really unbelievable, you have no idea how relieved I was” He kept looking at her face.

“I’m done….” Daphne said in an even voice. It felt like the calm before the storm. Her face was set in an angry scowl, barely moving her lips when she talked. Either her dad ignored what she said or he didn’t hear her, but as per usual he started to talk over her.

“It’s amazing how your powers got you out of this” His behavior gradually changed from regretful into excited. This was never going to end.

Daphne finally snapped.

“Why are you happy Dad? Why??"
“Are you relieved that I'm alive?! Or are you happy your research can continue?” Daphne’s voice wavered with emotion, but her words cut sharply, demanding the truth. All the anger and resentment she felt was coming to the surface, clawing to get out.

His silence confirmed the truth she’d always suspected.

“Do you have any idea? ANY idea what this was like for me!!” She gestured to the husk of the tree that remained, the prison she’d spent the last months in. Daphne was trembling with anger. This was going to be the last time he would betray her trust like this.

“I’m DONE!”

His daughter's sudden outburst left him stunned for a couple of seconds. He stood there quietly, processing what had just happened. This wasn’t making any sense to him.
“What do you mean, done? done with the initiative….?” He genuinely didn’t understand.

Daphne started to turn and walk away when she heard her dad’s question. It stopped her dead in her tracks. She looked at him and it was like she was seeing him for the first time. Maybe this was his real face? Where was the dad who took her to the circus in Gotham every year? Was he being for real? How could he not understand this?

She felt tears welling up in her eyes and turned her face towards the door. He was not going to see her cry, she wasn’t weak. Daphne didn’t answer and started to walk away. This conversation was over.

Her dad refused to let it go and walked after her. He grabbed her arm.
“Don’t walk away from me, you’re sixteen and still living under my roof.”

“I’m seventeen…”

Seventeen, When did she turn seventeen? He forgot her birthday…..

For a minute his grip loosened and Daphne tried to pull back her arm.

“Let me go dad”

He held on, less tightly but he didn’t let her go.

“I still have to take care of you”

“We’ll see about that”

Nymph

The tension in his grip suddenly relaxed. He looked down to find he was holding a handful of flower petals. His eyes went wide with disbelief, faced with Daphne’s new power for the first and probably the last time. It baffled him, seeing her entire form disperse into a cluster of blossoms, vaguely shaped like her. Daphne floated in front of him, her pink face serene. His anger disappeared and he was left staring at her retreating form.

Young Justice

Blossoming

Location: HQ, Greenhouse
Interactions: Viktor and Daphne

---

It was a quiet early morning inside the greenhouse. The only sounds were the rustling of leaves and the soft humming of the grow lights. Despite it being the midst of summer, the interior resembled something closer to autumn. Around the perimeter of Daphne was a blanket of leaves. The foliage utterly discarded.

The heart of the Team was no longer recognisable, her form overtaken by the Green. In place of leaves the branches were heavy with buds. There was something different in the air, something only one attuned to the natural world might pick up, or someone who spent a lot of time in this place. Someone who knew it like the back of his hand.

“What happened to you?” Viktor furrowed his eyebrows in concern but a mildly sweet scent caused any wariness he had to dissipate. Careful on his approach, he walked slowly as his eyes flickered from branch to branch before looking upon the blanket of leaves. “Daphne?” He asked as if she would answer, as he had done for weeks upon each day he visited her.

This time something finally moved. It could be coincidence or a conscious effort of the girl inside pushing to the surface. Viktor watched in place as the sepal leaves of one of the many buds folded back to allow the petals inside to unfold. There was a flush of pink in between the bark and branches. The tree almost appeared to be breathing, subtly inhaling and exhaling. The young man proceeded, warily stepping toward it.

“Daphne.” His voice was more stern, commanding almost. This occurrence was a far cry from what he'd experienced the past two months. The most there ever was might have been a repositioning of the shape of her body that was no longer present. The team had been under the impression that girl's day's were numbered as the tree had slowly begun to wilt after Daphne's face fully assimilated into the bark

There was more movement and in a matter of minutes the entire tree was blossoming. The Nymph was more alive than ever and the air was filled with a fresh and mildly sweet scent. It looked like the seasons were passing by rapidly. As already the flowers started to detach themselves from the branches. They did not fall down like regular petals. The pink leaves weaved through the air in unnatural ribbon patterns. It was like they were pulled by some invisible force. All to come together in a single spot on the ground, forming the silhouette of a girl’s body.

A head of brown hair emerged from within the pile of petals. Daphne was returned to her human self once more. She was laying on her side, sleeping under a blanket of leaves. Slowly she started to stir and open her eyes. She could hear Viktor's approach before she could clearly see him as he freely allowed his shoes to crunch down upon dry leaves.

Silently he stared down at her, his voice taken by disbelief and awe. He remained only a step or two away so as to not disturb her. Viktor did not believe himself fit for this moment as he was innately aware the handling of flowers required a delicate touch.

Daphne’s eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times, getting used to the brightness of the growing lights. When her eyes were done adjusting, she noticed Viktor looking down at her. Daphne pushed herself into a sitting position, the petals following her movements and covering her body. Their eyes met and they kept looking at each other in disbelief of what they were seeing. The sensation of the petals brushing against her skin drew her attention downwards, finding they were the only thing covering her.

They had both realized the predicament. Immediately Daphne's cheeks flushed, while Viktor averted his eyes. Interestingly enough, her cheeks blushed pink instead of the green she had grown used to.

A familiar sigh suddenly filled the air, unpleasantly breaking the serene silence.

“Here.” Viktor took the t-shirt right off his back and tossed it. “Minimal, but it'll do for now…” He raised an eyebrow but not as intense as Daphne remembered it. She picked up the shirt and turned her back to Viktor, slipping into it. It was long, reaching to her knees. The fabric felt strange on her skin and the shirt smelled like him. The sensations she was experiencing felt foreign. It was uncanny, as if she hadn’t been aware of her body for a long time.
“Aren't you going to say something? Anything? If you can? Can you?”

She turned and stepped closer towards him, her walk was unsteady, but she continued.

“Hi…” Even the sound of her own voice was odd to her ears. Viktor on the other hand found slight relief at her ability to form words.

Careful… Careful… Careful… or the team kills you…. or the team attempts to kill you… Careful…

Somehow Daphne felt like she’d been here before. She had to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, or this would be a very cruel dream.

”Is this real…”
”Are you….real?”

“Almost unbelievable, but I assure you this is as real as it gets. Pinching yourself won't be necessary.” He folded his arms across his chest. “How does it feel? To be back.” He noticed a few aesthetic differences but refrained from mentioning them. He wanted her return to go as smoothly as he could manage.

”It feels like I’ve been asleep for a long time.” Daphne glanced over her shoulder at the barren tree, its soul departed. She was finally back.

“How long has it been?, I remember some things, but everything is mixed up.”

“Approximately… close to two months……………….. What do you remember?”