Chapter Nine

Well, Isn't This Hawkward

September 19

The Watchtower

Adrianne Wayne's Point of View

I slept for an hour straight without any interruptions until Tim woke me up.

"Someone sleeps like a bear in hibernation, I swear," he shook his head at me, embarrassed we were even (somewhat) related.

"Gee, thanks," I deadpanned. "Thanks for the support."

He chuckled at my reaction before continuing, "Well, it's my turn to sleep. Nightwing already took care of Zatanna and stuff, so her group is already gone. If anything gets awkward between you two . . . wake me up, and I'll join you two and your awkwardness."

I laughed, "Hahaha. Sure, but I think I can handle myself, if I do say so myself."

He raised his hands up in agreement, "Sure, sure. Again, if any of my missions require assistance . . . wake me."

With that being said, he went to take his beloved nap.

I gave a small chuckle before exiting the dim-lit room and into the brightly lit one. From the corner of my eye, I saw Nightwing computing several things on his holographic screen. Instead of popping up next to him, I decided to reside at the opposite side of the room and work on not only mine, but Tim's mission work as well. A deal was a deal after all.

Pulling up several articles about Roy's mission, I began reading furiously every little detail of the mission even further. I barely knew Atlantis as much as Aquaman did, so this was, in the least, something I could do. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Richard twitch in the slightest. He almost seemed agitated over something. I shrugged the matter off seconds later before diving into the stories and reports of the murder at Star Labs.

September 16, 20xx

Star Labs Murder

Official Police Report

On September 16, 20xx, at 2:37 A.M., the Star City Police Department received an anonymous call concerning the death of Dr. John Ashworth, a mutagen specialist at Star Labs. Office Garrick reported that he was found with no visible wounds, though a small, red rash was found at his arm, presumably from a Black Widow spider bite. However, looking at the injection points and F.S. Code 1489, the wound seemed rather that of a hornet sting than a widow bite. However, hornet stings do not kill, lest the person was allergic, and the doctor was not allergic. Therefore, this investigation remains cold until further evidence arises other speculations and facts.

I sighed. The article didn't help me at all, though the hornet part surprised me. A spider bite injected rather that of a hornet? That was interesting news.

"Hey," I heard someone say behind me. I jumped a little, slightly shocked.

I sighed a breath of relief once knowing who it was (don't let your guard down).

"Hey, Richard," I replied with ease, before turning my body to the hologram, my back facing him.

Richard placed one hand at my waist, before taking a step beside me, "So, how's it going with the research?"

I gave a small snort, "Not so well. There's almost nothing concerning this flipping case, and how on earth did the bad guys surpass security. S.T.A.R. Labs tech is practically the most secure building on the planet. Practically."

Nightwing gave a small chuckle, "Nothing, Adrianne, is impossible to break into."

I gave him a look, "You know what I mean, Richard."

We gazed into each other's eyes for several moments before Richard began leaning in, slowly closing his eyes. My eyes began to droop as well, until I realized who it was, and then snapped away.

Richard seemed shocked by my reaction before steadily regaining his composure.

He coughed, "Well, I'll just leave you to, uh, do your work."

I nodded my head curtly before returning my attention to the hologram before me. Richard didn't bother me for the next several hours.

~*~~*~~~*~~~~**~~~~*~~~*~~*~

Tim drowsily walked out of the dubbed "sleep" room, rubbing his eyes.

"You didn't wake me up," Tim sighed, fingers curved into an empty fist. "You were supposed to wake me up, Adrianne."

I simply shrugged, "You looked tired."

That was a white lie. Truth was, I indeed forgot to wake him as I was too absorbed in reading the S.T.A.R. Labs investigations and . . . Ahem . . . Well, Richard.

Tim glanced between Dick and I profusely before giving me a look.

He then came up to my ear and whispered, "Uh, did I miss out on something?"

I chuckled, before whispering, "I might have refused his . . . attacks."

Tim's mouth was agape, "You did what?" His voice was barely even a whisper as Richard's head shot up to look at us.

"Told him to stop," I sighed. "Tacitly, since I didn't exactly say it out loud, but . . . yeah, you get the point."

Tim deadpanned, "Oh, do I?"

"Yeah, you do," I laughed lightly.

"Any progress on the missions yet?" Tim asked before pulling out his own hologram screen and looking at the GPS points, signaling where the members of his team were.

"You could say that they haven't checked in for a while, so everything is supposedly in place," I flashed Tim a small smile.

He quickly glanced at his watch, "When is Batman and Captain Atom coming again to take over our shift?"

I exhaled a breath, "Truth? He never said."

Tim deadpanned, "He never says anything. Typical Batman."

"He's coming in two hours," Richard said from the other side of the room. "Just so you know."

I looked down to the ground, before mentally telling myself, "Of course he'd be listening in on the conversation."

"He tell you?" Tim asked, arching an eyebrow.

Richard shrugged his shoulders, "Something of the sort."

"Do you guys want to go out to eat later? We can finish catching up in the mean time," I suggested to my brothers after some ten minutes of silence in the room.

Tim scratched the back of his head, "Sure, I guess. It'll be fun. What about you, Dick?"

He sighed, stretching his arms, before replying, "Okay, I'll go."

"Great!" I clasped my hands together. "Where should we go?"

The boys in the room took several moments to think before responding.

"How about the Endroit Élégant?" Tim suggested.

Richard deadpanned, "Can we go some place else aside from French?"

Tim shrugged, "What's wrong with French food? It's good."

Richard gave his brother a pointed look before responding, "Just no. How about some place fancier? Say . . . Mademoiselle's Steakhouse?"

"Not in the mood for steak today, Dick," Tim remarked dully. "And isn't that French? I thought you said you didn't like French food or something."

"It doesn't just sell steak there, you know," Richard raised an eyebrow at his brother. "And . . . you know what? I just don't feel like going to Endoit Élégant right now."

Tim stifled a laugh at his brother's ignorance.

I exhaled a breath before putting my input in, "Let's just go to Big Belly Burger. It's cheap and yummy. Done deal?"

Richard and Tim exchanged glances before turning to me and nodding their heads simultaneously, "Sure."

"Great," I smiled before pulling out another hologram screen. "Then let's get back to work until Batman comes around."

Richard muttered under his breath, "That's what we've been doing this entire time . . ."

~*~~*~~~*~~~~**~~~~*~~~*~~*~

4:30 P.M.

The Watchtower

"What is the status update for you and your team, Aquaman?" I asked through the voice communication line.

The blonde-haired man looked straight into the camera, "We're doing fine so far. We are currently hashing through the rubble and debris within the temple. There have been little to none difficulties thus far."

"None?" I arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Absolutely nothing?"

The League member nodded his head, "Definitely . . . Unless you count Kaldur-ahm's incident with Garth."

"And what might that be?"

"We were clearing out the rubble of an earlier section of the ruins," he sighed through the holographic screen. "And Kalder-ahm and Garth were having a contest on who could clear out their section of rubble the fastest."

The edges of my mouth curved more upward as each second passed. This story was getting somewhere, and I had a hunch on how.

"Kalder-ahm was clearing out his rubble at such a quick pace that he accidentally threw a ton-pounded boulder at Garth's head, rendering his brother unconscious for several hours."

I stifled a laugh, "That was much more hilarious than I thought it'd be, Aquaman."

"I can say the same as well," he chuckled. "Well, I'll see you around, Adrianne. Duty calls."

I nodded my head before he hung up the call.

"So how're they doing?" Richard asked me as he walked over.

"Pretty good," I replied. "Kalder had an incident with Garth, and it was rather funny."

"Boulder-throwing at its finest, eh?" he chuckled.

I deadpanned, "Eavesdropping again, are we?"

He shrugged, "I have ears, you know."

"Then turn them off sometimes," I rolled my eyes before returning my attention to the screen.

He scratched the back of his head, "As if I could, though."

"True," I muttered under my breath, barely audible, but just loud enough for Richard to hear.

There was an impeccable silence that engulfed the room before an abrupt exclamation was shouted.

"Recognized: Batman 02," the Zeta system stated before stating another name. "Recognized: Captain Atom 12."

"Finally!" Tim jumped onto his knees, praising the heavens. "They have arrived!"

"Holy shiz, yes," I muttered under my breath. "We can finally get food."

"Indeed, we can," Richard chuckled.

"Big Belly Burger, here we come!" Tim shouted out a bit too loudly.

Batman and Captin Atom stepped out to see Tim shout and reacted just about how you would expect—monotone faces and deadpans.

"He spends just over twenty-four hours with you, Adrianne," Batman deadpanned. "And he ends up like this."

I stifled a laugh, "Pretty much, Batman."

"Give me the full report," he simply stated before pulling out a holographic screen to look at our progress.

"Rimbor is currently doing well. They are almost halfway to their destination, without any complications thus far. The Ruins team reached their destination several hours ago and has made it through more than three-eighths of the temple," Tim responded without missing a beat.

"The Himalayas team has been making steady progress, but Luthor has been causing major setbacks from his corporation as well as the Cold company. The Yosemite group has scanned almost half of the park and is still searching for the Lyatle piece," Richard stated.

After he finished his report, I began mine, "Atlantis is doing well. They are progressing through the rubble and debris in the temple ahead of schedule by two percent. Roy and Green Arrow have given me no status update yet, as they have turned their coms off for the most part of the mission."

Batman nodded his head, "Alright, you three are off for tonight. I'll alert you when you are needed."

The three of us nodded our heads before the boys rushed to the bathroom stalls to change out of their uniforms. Thank heavens I didn't wear Kevlar or spandex-y uniforms . . . It'd be such a hassle to change in and out of them all the time.

After the boys changed into civilian clothes, we immediately transported via zeta back to Gotham, where we then walked to the nearest Big Belly Burger.

"I have been craving a burger for the last month, I swear," I thought aloud.

"I am starved and have been since a literal forever," Tim rubbed his belly achingly.

Richard simply shrugged, saying, "I just want food."

"Never truer words spoken, Richard," I sighed as we finally reached our destination.

I opened the door for my brothers before closing it behind me. The sudden, fresh aroma of burgers and fries (and all that good stuff) filled my lungs (and my belly). I could not wait to sink my teeth into the food.

"What do you guys want?" I asked my brothers as we observed the menu.

"Probably a cheesesteak burger," Richard told me. "And a root beer."

"I'm getting their regular hamburger and fries and their fountain water," Tim told me.

"Okay, then I'll get their chicken sandwich, fries, and a root beer as well," I smiled lightly. "I'll order for you two. Go get seats."

"Dude, we can pay for ourselves," Tim stated.

"It'll be quicker, Timmy," I rolled my eyes. "Chill. And go get a booth."

I then proceeded to the line and ordered exactly what the boys and I wanted before bringing the food to the booth's table. Tim sat on one side of the booth, while Richard and I sat on the other.

"Food," Tim's eyes glittered gold. "At last."

I chuckled before opening the paper wrapper to my sandwich, "You sound like you want to marry it."

"If I could, I would," Tim sighed.

"But aren't you dating Cassie?" Richard arched an eyebrow as he chewed his burger. Funny how he can chew and talk while eating without sounding like a twerp. At least this one time anyways.

Tim automatically blushed, "Shush, bro, shush. Do not talk about my love life in public please. Thanks."

I smiled profusely, "You two are such lovebirds. It's outright adorable."

Tim snorted before muttering under his breath, "I could say the same for you two."

There was an immediate silence amongst the three of us. No one dared to chew or eat or drink or breathe.

"Forget I said that," Tim swallowed his food. "Anyways, I'm taking the SAT next month. Any tips?"

Right then, as if on cue, an emergency alert signaled our watches. It was from Batman, and he was calling us to the Watchtower. ASAP.

"Oh, come one!" Tim sighed, exasperated. "I just began eating too! And I didn't even touch the fries yet!"

I quickly gathered my belongings . . . and my food before saying, "We can eat on our way there."

"But that requires eating and running at the same time!" Tim pulled on his cheeks as he got up and exited the burger place along with Dick and I.

"Live with it," Richard muttered as we all sprinted our way to the nearest zeta tube to the Watchtower, wondering what on earth was wrong.

~*~*~*~

Sorry for updating seven months later! T.T

I was actually planning on quitting writing my stories altogether, but because of your comments, votes, and continuous reading, I decided to finish all my Wattpad stories and maybe write new ones once again.

Thanks for the support! I really appreciate it :) And I'll definitely update sooner and quicker from now on :)

~FujiwaraYuko~

P.S. Are any of you interested in making a cover of this story for me? If so, DM me the cover, and I'll showcase them in the every chapter, and whichever cover (according to the comments) is most liked, I'll make it the new cover for this story!

Again, thanks everyone!