[helenahunts]

txdkxrd​:

“Very little. As has been established and made certain several times.” he teased with a little grin. So maybe he wanted a partner but this hardly seemed like the time to be trying it. God, the city constantly felt like it was a powder-keg actively looking for a lit fuse. Tinder was the furthest thing from his mind. Not that he looked down on digital dating mind you; that was how he’d met Babs after all and she’d become one of his closest friends from it. Luckily, they’d both been mature enough to know romance wasn’t meant for them and cut anything like that off at the pass. “You stay away from Melody!” He shook his head, “I never should have said a thing. The pair of you’ll be the death of me. Pfft. Good luck. I’ve got so much blackmail material on her she’d never dare turn against me.” he said with a smirk. That was what happened when you basically grew up together, ot in their case survived college together and all the craziness that entails. Plus, she’d been with him through the loss of Dan and he’d been with her through some very shitty relationships. He shrugged when she started to worry, “No! Not like… hives per se, I just get very stressed when I’m not doing stuff and start to… maybe, hyperventilate a little and over-work my heart.” Panic attacks. He had panic attacks. Probably something he should consult a psychologist about but him not getting any help of that sort was just one more source of tension between himself and Melody.     

Ted continued to look at Helena and blinked several times with a too wide grin on his face; every inch of him practically screaming ‘I’m pretending to be innocent.’ It was all part of his plan after all, the fun of these sorta of pranks was in letting Helena know she was on to something but not that she was on the right track. “So, the usual shenanigans then? Continue till the other gives up?” Some of these little jokes between them were still ongoing and it was all in the name of fun. Plus… it gave him something else to focus on and work towards so he didn’t mind them at all. “I don’t like mirrors, they creep me out. You know how many horror films involve some creepy-ass mirror doing creepy-ass things?” Plus, whenever he looked in the mirror he always saw a chubby teen going through hell in school that was worth nothing. He put himself down enough without the added visuals thank you very much. “Embrace the image, have fun with it, let it visit you in the dead of night and snuggle up on your pillow.” he laughed, “How dare you. Those codes are at least teenager level.” So maybe he’d sent one to Babs once that after three hours of decoding spelled ‘Boob’ but it’d still been funny. “Ohhh see now that’s evil.” he winked.  

She pretended to gasp and clutched at her heart. “How very dare you, Tedward.” She knew he was just joking, but this would not stand. He couldn’t make a slight against her intelligence and expect no backlash. That did it, he was definitely getting a dating profile now. Perhaps on several sites. His protestations about Melody really only egged her on. “We won’t be the death of you. Just the death of your insanely high expectations for yourself. We’ll get you to eat a cheeseburger and meet new people, oooooh, scary and devious,” she teased, wiggling her fingers at him. “Okay, but she has so much on you that you’re even. And you’re too nice, you’d never use it against her.” Wasn’t that the truth. He was way too nice for his own damn good. Her face dropped lower and lower as he explained what happened. Not hives but... definitely panic attacks. This man was trying to downplay freaking panic attacks. She was going to end him. “Oh, so not hives, just something even worse than hives!” she exclaimed. She already knew Ted needed to talk to someone about his anxiety, but this really cemented it for her. “Please don’t make me have a shrink intervention with you,” she threatened.

He was definitely trying too hard to look innocent, and that  sent her brain into overdrive beginning to plan on how to get into his place when he wasn’t home, and how to get into the Bug when he was. But she could further plot that out another day. She was definitely going to need allies for this one. She nodded her assent. “Absolutely. Although I’m particularly motivated this time, so it’s gonna be a long game.” Kind of like the one a couple years ago; the two had gotten so into the fake subterfuge, she sort of forgot along the way what it started over. She had just started playing pranks on him by the end of it, honestly. “Yes, and thank you for the reminder to cover the mirror in my bedroom tonight,” she joked. “You’re being impossible, you know that?” She rolled her eyes. “I will not be cozying up to that image, but you go right ahead,” she told her friend. She laughed at him again. “Oh, I’m sorry for the one year difference,” she held up her hands in joking defense. She made her way back to his couch and collapsed back onto it. “Yes, but I have always been the most evil in our little band of goody two shoes,” she smirked. “C’mon, get changed, let’s go do something,” she suggested. Well, half suggested, half ordered. He had been in the Bug then entire night before, after all, he probably needed some fresh air. “Just nothing that makes me feel like we’re being overly productive. You need a break.”

[andhjsndns-deactivated20201127]

[helenahunts]

amazingflyingdick​:

Dick considered himself fortunate that he’d seen Helena in her more vulnerable moments, when she could be called human, because he knew better than to take her image at face value. Plenty of people vilified her on reputation alone. That was a mistake he was sure never to make, even though he’d judged her harshly in the past. It was difficult for him to reconcile with. At the time, he couldn’t bring himself to be at peace with her aggressive tactics. There had been a lot of reasons for that. The situation had reminded him too much of something else he’d dealt with, years earlier, and he wasn’t ready to face up to it just yet. Babs had been safe. Kory less so. Tanya, of course, had been completely left field, and of course nothing compared to what he was doing now.

The progression didn’t elude him, but that didn’t mean Dick was wholly comfortable acknowledging it. “How about two for two?” He asked with a grin, holding up two fingers. “I’m pretty sure I can be good enough to earn both.”

Even though they only made light conversation between sets at the gym, he’d done his best to convince Helena to put herself out there and make friends. She deserved friends. Babs and Dinah had been good friends to her, but neither of them were in the city. “You’re not boring.” He pretended to wince and rubbed his shoulder, as if that knock actually hurt. “You’re the furthest from boring, actually, so I’m pretty sure Star City’s the problem.”

Once they were in the shop, he hung back to look at the menu. “Me?” He frowned as he read the description to Hawaiian Vacay, which was a lot less Hawaiian than he expected. “Nothing, really.” That wasn’t really true. Dick tapped the menu. “Do they have bananas in Hawaii?”

His response made her laugh aloud. “Wouldn’t that be four for four?” she questioned. “You’re already getting the first two.” She wondered if Jamba Juice had lollipops. Probably not, right? That wasn’t really their thing. But that meant she could be super annoying and get personalized stickers and special lollipops. Sure, it was just a silly joke between friends, but she should probably put more effort into actually being a friend, and maybe make a few more. Dick was always pushing her to do that, after all. After all, she was severely lacking at the moment. 

His pretense at pain when she bumped him made her smile spread across her face wider. “Don’t pander to my ego,” she told him. “Though, it is working.” She shrugged. “But you’re not wrong, Star City isn’t exactly a happening place, is it?” she blew a stray lock of hair out of her face. “It’s not like we can stay out late or anything, without breaking the rules.” When he brushed the question off, she frowned. “Okay, I super don’t believe that. You always have something going on. So how about you tell me the truth.” She cocked an eyebrow at her friend. “Also, I think so, but don’t quote me, I’m not an expert on Hawaii. But also, why are you looking for perfect accuracy with a multimillion dollar corporation?” she quipped.

When they were greeted at the counter, she ordered a medium Strawberry Surf Rider. “And whatever my friend wants,” she told the cashier, trying her best to keep a friendly smile.

[helenahunts]

summersofscott​:

Once Scott had given the word that he was inside and the inhibitors were down, he counted on the rest of the team to fall in line and move quickly, just as they’d agreed. He was already in the process of moving the most easily accessible prisoners out through the wall he’d destroyed. Optic blasts were good for making new doorways. Since they had no telekinetics or speedsters on their team, they all had to work to escort out the captives the old fashioned way - a few at a time, at a run, carrying if necessary. 

“Huntress! One room over, the cells are open!” Some of them, anyway. He’d not known the control room well enough to trigger all of them to unlock, but they could find plenty of ways around a lot. “Get those people back to the Blackbird!” He wasted no time doing the same himself.

On the second trip back into the facility, they encountered more resistance. The shock of the infiltration had worn off quickly, and the agents flooded in from all the other areas of the building to try to stop them. With the inhibitors down, though, and the ones attached to their weapons having only limited range, their odds were slim of actually getting to do that. Scott was fully prepared, and he’d made sure his X-Men were too. He had to bet that the League had done the same. 

“On your six!” he called out to Helena only an instant before touching the side of his visor to unleash another bright red blast. He’d aimed at the floor just a few paces behind her and the impact threw two agents backwards and into the wall nearby. 

Once Cyclops gave the word, Helena charged in after him, moving as quickly as she could. He was certainly making it easier by blasting holes through walls, leaving a clear path to follow. On his direction, she entered the next room and began to shepherd the captives out. A few of the cell doors hadn’t opened, and she called out to the leader of the mission. “Cyclops, will you come blast a couple of these walls? There’s a couple prisoners trapped in here!” In the meantime, she was getting as many together as possible. “I’m taking a group back to the plane!” With that, she led the way back through the facility, sprinting back once she’d seen them safely to the plane.

This time was tougher, as the alarms had fully sounded by now and NOVA agents were pouring in from all sides. Thank God the inhibitors were down, though, putting their team squarely in the advantage... mostly. Luckily the League had been prepping for this for a while, and the training allowed her to act on instinct. With a sweep of her leg, she took down one agent, who hit their head on the ground and didn’t ride. She took only a few seconds to ascertain that they were breathing steadily before continuing onward, fighting and dodging in equal measure.

Without thinking, she launched herself forward when Cyclops called to her, feeling the blast light up behind her. She whirled to face him, noticing an agent coming behind him. “Duck!” she shouted as she pulled a taser gun out, aiming for the agent and firing, sending the agent falling to the ground. She quickly pulled the spent cartridge out and rejoined the fray of hand to hand. “How many more captives are there?” she called over as she fought.

[james-gordon-jr]

@helenahunts​

“Just trying to get home, sir.” JJ had said it twice already. The NOVA agent kept going through his wallet. One of them was holding an inhibitor, as if that did anything, and he knew they were giving him a hard time because of his old man. Everyone knew who Jim Gordon was. Usually that gave JJ an edge, but in Star City it wasn’t giving him anything but a hassle. He wouldn’t think it was possible for his father to have issues with authority, but these weren’t typical government agents. 

He stayed calm even when the one with the inhibitor started throwing questions at him. “Look, I’m just trying to get home. Like I said. I live around the corner. You can check my ID, address is there. You can even walk me home if you want.” The back of his neck was burning, but he just grinned.

[helenahunts]

Helena had been all over the city, dropping in places and walking around, keeping an eye on things from the ground level. She had a lot to do later, but for now, she wanted to make sure everything in the city was going to go okay. And then she heard a somewhat familiar voice, but she couldn’t place it. ‘-address is there. You can even walk me home if you want.’. Was that-? She glanced over at the three people just a few yards away. Two NOVA agents, basically harassing a citizen. Typical. Jackasses. She wasn’t even aware of her feet pulling her in their direction, but suddenly, there she was, standing next to the man the goons were trying to intimidate.

“’Scuse me, just, uh, making sure everything’s okay over here?” she butted in. She tried to walk the knife’s edge of being polite but firm, but she was aware that just by interrupting, she’d placed herself way outside those realms, and wouldn’t be making friends with these agents. She glanced over- well, up, really, jeez, this guy was tall- at the man the agents had stopped, realizing with a jolt it was Gordon’s son. JJ, she was pretty sure. She turned back to the agents. “I mean, I guess it’s not really my business, but It’s getting late and I can’t really get into this one’s place without him,” she lied easily, tilting her head towards JJ. “I am grateful you were so close, though; I thought for a second he stood me up, but turns out he was just around the corner, safe and sound with you two. I could practically hear you from his front door!” She plastered a wide, fake smile on her face and batted her eyelashes at the agents.

[justicealwaysprevails]

@helenahunts​

It had taken shockingly little convincing for Bruce to agree to allow Helena on the league. There was no doubt he’d even gone out of his way to ask people who were… a little unorthodox, especially when it came to Jason. However, he recognized that the league was not a reflection of him. That wasn’t what Star City needed. Batman was not enough. The league represented something far beyond one person. While the official order was still no killing, Bruce had no qualms about working with people who had killed in the past. He would again, even if he knew it was only a matter of time before they landed on opposite sides. 

Helena was more of a wild card. She’d gone through impressive changes in the years Bruce knew her - or knew of her, because it was Barbara and Dick who’d actually worked with her. That was enough for him to trust her capabilities. 

The evening saw the energy in the crowd picking up; the grim disquiet that settled over the city created desperation that put him on edge. The roof he’d landed on for a better view of the crowd happened to have Helena on it. He nodded in greeting, his expression somber. “It isn’t over yet.”

[helenahunts]

There was a strange sense of unease permeating the city that evening. Well, strange was perhaps the wrong word. There was always a general sense of unease, but this was different. Instead of people going inside, sequestering themselves in their homes the way NOVA liked them too, it was as if the whole city was ramping up for something. She didn’t know exactly how this was going to go, but it was going to be something, that was for sure.

She tried not to jump out of her skin when Bruce landed on the rooftop. She’d been trying to project a cool demeanor in front of him, wanting to make sure he didn’t regret letting her join the League. It was just about the only thing that made her feel useful anymore, she didn’t want to lose it. But she seriously hadn’t expected him to just swoop down next to her.

She inclined her head in return, trying to keep her face as impassive as his. Damn, how did he radiate that level of calmness all the time? She needed to practice a good “brooding hero” face. “No, I think it’s just starting,” she told him honestly. She scanned the crowd once more, biting the inside of her lip unconsciously as she focused. “You think it’s gonna get violent down there?” she glanced over at him. “’Cause I gotta be honest, I think a lot more people are way more pissed at NOVA than we think.”

[helenahunts]

summersofscott​:

“No rule against stabbing,” he said without missing a beat. “I never said don’t hurt them, just don’t leave them dead.” He had years of experience of dealing with Wolverine under his belt, and nobody could do that without becoming well versed in answering conflict with sharp objects. It wasn’t as if Scott was a pacifist. He’d seen too much and lived through too much for there not to be a part of him that wanted to see them hurt. He just wasn’t going to turn into an executioner at the end of it or let anyone else do it either.

“Be ready to move. Once I’ve got the inhibitors down, we work as fast as possible to get the prisoners free and to the Blackbird. That’s our first priority, without contest. Engage the agents only when necessary until the last captive is evacuated.” He didn’t know Huntress at all, really, only what Batman had assured him she was capable of. They were all putting a little extra faith in each other to live up to the recommendations they got from others. “Stay focused.”

His quick response made her smirk a bit, and raise her eyebrows. Nice to get some immediate allowance to stab someone. Not every day that happened. She wondered how he was so prepared for that sort of question; she’d have to ask later if she remembered. “You got it, boss. I will leave them living,” she agreed easily. It wasn’t as if she’d go out of her way to use knives, but she certainly liked that she had permission to use them if necessary.

“Aye, aye, captain,” she saluted him. She knew she might be coming across as flippant, but she was serious. He had a lot more experience than her, especially in leading, and she respected him for that. Anyone who was trusted enough by the League to be brought in and lead, she’d show deference to... at least until they proved themselves incapable. It didn’t seem as though he’d do that, however. “Do we have any kind of guess as to how many we’ll be evacuating? I’d love to know we’re not leaving anyone behind,” she told him. She didn’t like the idea of forgetting anyone- she wasn’t open about her bleeding heart, but it did exist.

[summersofscott]

This starter is open to all members of TEAM C!!

The detention facilities were spread across different locations outside Star City. For their part, Scott’s team had taken the Blackbird to reach theirs and left the plane cloaked nearly a mile out of the way. Though he had faith enough that his other teammates were capable and willing, he’d taken on the job of infiltrating the facility upon himself. It eliminated some of his own ever present anxiety and considerably cut back the number of contingency plans he needed to make. Captain America running Team B was no wild card, either, and Jean, Anna, and Bobby were among his backup. Kurt was within the ranks of Team A. He had his people in each of them, X-Men he knew that he could trust to uphold what they were there to do, no matter what.

NOVA’s updated inhibitors still had one weakness - something they only had one shot at exploiting before they raced to compensate for that too. Charmed items remained unaffected by the technology. Given the number of magic users they counted as allies, it was a “simple” matter of creating three of them, one for Scott, one for Steve, and the third for Kara. It gave them a way to disguise themselves and get inside. The blueprints they had of all the facilities were nearly identical, and from what they knew of the experimentation and “research” taking place in the labs they had surmised that the inhibitors could be shut down from that area. They had their plan.

Scott turned toward the remaining members of his team and motioned them forward. The facility was in sight, but they were at a safe distance for the time being. “In just a couple of minutes, I’ll be heading inside. Until you have word from me or from Oracle that it’s safe to move, all five of you stay right here. As long as their inhibitors are still active, we’re all but dead in the water. As soon as you’re given the go ahead, our first and most important priority is evacuating the prisoners from this facility and getting them back to the Blackbird. The auto pilot on the plane will bring it closer when we’re ready. Evacuate first, then return. Are we clear on that?”

He glanced among the five, three of whom were there from the League. “Honey Badger, you’re to stick as close to Ms. Frost or myself as you can once you’re inside. Do not separate yourself from the group while in the facility. Once all the prisoners are on the plane, you’ll stay there with them and engage the auto pilot to return to the school if there’s any threat before the rest of us return. Black Widow, Sergeant Barnes...I want the two of you heading through the facility and destroying equipment, pulling files, taking whatever we can from this place and leaving the rest of it useless. Huntress, Emma, and I will focus on subduing the NOVA resistance we encounter. I’ll remind everyone again that this mission is non-lethal.”

He straightened and reached up to adjust his visor. He’d swapped out the red and black suit for something updated, and the X-Men all sported new uniforms in kind. It made it feel real, in a way. He could feel the swell of anticipation that came with any mission that had stakes like this one. “You’ve got about two minutes for questions. Last chance.”

[helenahunts]

As the plane approached the detention facility, Helena could feel her heart rate kick up. She wasn’t worried, more impatient and itching to get a move on. It was how she always felt when faced with a large task. She wasn’t very good at waiting, or sitting still, and even now was fidgeting, bouncing her leg without noticing. She had the plan memorized cold, not that it was too hard- get in, evacuate the prisoners, get out. Sure, there was more than that in the details, but that was the gist of it. When the plane came to a stop about a mile away from the facility, Cyclops beckoned the team forward.

He didn’t beat around the bush, which she appreciated. No drawn out speeches or pep talks needed here. She nodded her assent to the plan as he gave it. Upon his more detailed instructions, she nodded once more. His reminder of this being a non-lethal mission almost made her roll her eyes. She knew why it was non-lethal and wasn’t going to go against an order, but holding people captive and experimenting on them didn’t exactly leave her with a warm and fuzzy feeling to protect the perpetrators in any way.

As the team prepared themselves, Helena took a minute to stretch her legs behind her, getting ready to run if necessary. She was decked out in full Huntress gear- all black, covered essentially from the neck down. She was well aware that her tattoos were too distinctive to wear anything that exposed her arms, lest she wanted to blow her cover entirely. Luckily, it had specially designed to give her a full range of motion. She’d left her crossbow behind, since it would be sort of counterintuitive to bring arrows to a non-lethal mission, but she had a few knives ready. At Cyclops’ question, she raised a finger. “Now, I know this is non-lethal. But, y’know, if they come at me with a weapon, what are the rules on light stabbing?” She asked, before almost immediately holding up her hands to her chest in a surrender position. “Just kidding. Last resort. I swear. I make bad jokes when I’m anxious.”

[helenahunts]

txdkxrd​:

“I’m not!” he said, voice kicking up a few octaves to infer that was a big a line of baloney as what he’d said before. And then she had to go on and start talking seriously and he could practically feel his shoulders hunching up, arms in, feet slumped, as though he was trying to make himself appear as small as possible. He didn’t like compliments, not genuine ones, they never sat well with him because he couldn’t help but feel he didn’t deserve such things. He was a screw up who’d only managed to survive this far thanks to good friends, luck and maybe one or two nifty inventions, beyond that he was just taking up space. “Hey!” he batted slightly at her hands when they ruffled his hair, just wanting this part of the conversation to be over so they could get back to their regularly scheduled programming. “Bluebeard’s the best I’m gonna get so we’ll run with that and don’t need anything else.” And that was a bit much since he doubted any woman would wanna spend their life with him outside of Melody, speaking of, “We are not. I keep trying to give her a raise but she won’t take it and instead keeps trying to sneak a little junk food into my diet.” That and they regularly argued about him exercising too much and straining his heart but he didn’t like to talk about that either. “I mean… you’re not wrong.” he hated being unproductive. “Oh sure sure, you go outta your way to be screamed at and I’ll steal all the Di hugs for myself.” he smirked. “Never! It shall never happen Madame!”   

At least if he said it all pompous-like it wouldn’t come across as genuinely as he meant it… More to the point he not had a  new game and prank all in one to get started with. He’d have to rope Babs and Dinah in ASAP and see who else he could cajole into the mix; maybe Barry? He was usually good for a laugh, or his new lil’protege Jeb? Either way he needed all of them to infer to poor Helena that he had plenty of weird fetishes that they couldn’t and didn’t dare speak of. This was gonna be great. “I don’t think you will,” he sing-songed back at her, “But by all means Ms Bertinelli, try.” He huffed and crossed his arms at the even the notion of someone breaking into his baby, it felt like a violation, she was too precious to be treated that way, “It’s true and that’s the end of it.” And then they were back on her trying to tell him something positive about himself and the shoulder’s were back at chin height. “They are not. Superman and Batman had head sized muscles, mine are just about getting there.” He needed to work harder, even if his heart wouldn’t let him he was in better shape now than he’d been in while working with the JLI so maybe if he just spent more time on it he could get even better… Or so he kept telling himself. “That’s a good Helena, the guy’s probably got enough crap on his plate right now… but then don’t we all. This city’s like a crap buffet and we’re all the lil’flies running to it.” he wrinkled his nose, “I just grossed myself out with my own metaphor. And hey! Our secret codes are fun! And I would never give a child coffee at 3am… Dinah had one though.” he added with a grin.    

She raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. “Fine, fine, what do I know?” she grumbled, though her true feelings were plain. She definitely knew he wanted a partner, and he deserved one. She wasn’t exactly going to tell him she was making a dating profile for him.... but she totally was going to. She wondered if Babs would help. She let the subject drop (for now) and laughed as she danced out of his reach when he tried to bat at her. “You gotta go as a pirate now for Halloween. Don’t explain it to anyone, though. But I’ll know,” she said, tweaking the end of her nose like a fake spy. “Wow, she won’t take your money and she’s also trying to get you to eat something that isn’t perfectly healthy sometimes? I should really coordinate with her,” she mused. “Maybe she’ll take my money when I hire her part time in my ‘corrupt Ted’ scheme.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. When he said his next words, her jaw dropped. He did get hives! Oh, god, she was gonna send her best friend into hives, she was the worst person in the world! “Oh, god, I was kidding!” she moaned. “I’m gonna buy you so much, like, anti-hive ointment because I’m sure I cause your hives sometimes.” She was only partially kidding, to be honest. She didn’t mean to add stress to Ted’s life, but she seemed particularly good at it. His next words made her fake scowl. “Fine, but then I get all the Sin hugs,” she told him, sticking her tongue out at him like a child. “It shall! Submit to my kindness, sir!”

He looked like he was plotting something, and that made her only more interested in taking him down. She loved a challenge, she always had. And this seemed like the greatest caper of all. She wondered who she could rope into helping her look. The Birds were out, if only because she figured he’d ask for their help too, and she couldn’t be sure who would choose who. She loved competition, no matter how petty it was. “Bring it, Mr. Kord.” She couldn’t help but smile at his refusal to accept that she could break into the Bug. She rolled her eyes at him. “Fine, I’ll stop with the compliments for now, but seriously, buy a mirror. I love you like a brother and all, but objectively, you’re hot.” She shrugged. “But I’ll stop telling you now, so relax your shoulders before you get a knot in them.” She wrinkled her nose at him. “Yeah, gross. I did not need that mental image. Like, you’re not wrong, but ew.” She smiled indulgently. “Yes, I’m well aware you two have plenty of fun with your codes. Big twelve year olds, both of ya.” Not that she was much better. “You’re a better person than me. I wouldn’t give Sin coffee at three... but I’d probably give her some pixy stix,” she laughed.

[fuegoxinfierno-deactivated20201]

Adjustments || Robbie & Helena

@helenahunts

With summer reaching its peak, the sun would become more sweltering in recent months. It was normal business hours at Reyes Family Auto and Body, the garage doors were open, which made for the exhausting conditions Robbie had been working in. The dry California air and the heat of the exhaust underneath the automobile left the mechanic reaching for his cooling towel for the umpteenth time. With Gabriel being off school for the rest of the day, he told his brother to stay inside the office to keep himself cool. 

Once he finished underneath the vehicle, he slid out in haste, picking himself up and making his way towards the water cooler. He poured himself a cup and downed the cool liquid in one gulp, exasperating an exhale from the brush of the hot wind against his face. Not even the deepest depths of Hell could compare, despite not being able to feel heat in his Ghost Rider form. As such, the assumption was subjective. 

He reached for the nozzle of the water cooler when he heard the roar of a motorcycle in the distance. He turned his gaze towards the streets, raising a partially cupped hand over his forehead, eyelids squinting to make out where they were coming from. 

[helenahunts]

Good god, it was hot out today. Helena liked being warm; summer was by far her favorite season. But this heat sucked. She had been in California for years and still hadn’t adjusted to the change. She was used to the humidity, and here it was dry as a bone. She didn’t care what anyone said- dry heat was so much worse than a humid heat. A least with a humid heat, it made sense. She had always joked that she liked the humidity- it was like the sun was giving her a hug. But this just felt like baking.

She decided to try to beat a little bit of the heat and go for a ride. The wind in her hair, no matter how hot it was, always made her feel better. Not that she got a lot of wind in her hair, what with the helmet. But c’mon. It was just an expression. She headed down to her building’s garage and a few minutes later, was zipping along the streets, skirting cars as she went. But something felt off with her bike. She wasn’t the type of person who shrugged it off when a ride didn’t feel perfect, so she decided on the spot that this little adventure would take her to a mechanic, just to be sure. The thing was her baby, after all.

She pulled over and looked up mechanic shops in town. The last place she’d gone had seriously fucked her over, so she definitely needed somewhere new. Preferably where the employees didn’t act like she was an idiot who didn’t know anything, just because she happened to be female. She found somewhere that looked promising and headed off. As she pulled up to the shop, she noticed a guy watching her approach, eyes shaded against the sun. She parked and swung herself off, pulling her helmet off and shaking out her hair. “Hey,” she offered, holding out a hand to shake his. “I was hoping someone here could take a look at my bike. Your place has good reviews,” she told him, squinting against the sunlight. “Do you have time to look at it today? I know I’m a walk in, so I won’t be offended if you can’t.”

[cassandraxxwayne]

@helenahunts​

Cass hadn’t had the opportunity yet to have a real conversation with Barbara, and she had not been the best at keeping track of everything that everyone was up to while they’d been in Star City and she had stayed in Gotham. She suspected that the Birds of Prey were together again, given that Oracle, Black Canary, and Huntress were all in the city, but she’d let Barbara tell her or not tell her if that was true. No matter the answer, they were on the League, and Bruce had…well, he’d asked Cass to be, too. The sheer size of the team was overwhelming, but she hadn’t been there with everyone yet. It was only overwhelming in theory.

What she did do was utilize their training facilities practically the day she got into the city. Leaving Gotham City behind, likely for a long time, had not left her with great feelings. Even though most of the others had been in Star City for awhile, she’d stayed behind and sort of considered the city hers to protect in the absence of everyone else. Relocating had been the right thing to do, but it still left her chest feeling a little tight. Training was the easiest, fastest way to get her mind elsewhere.

Her foot had just connected hard with one of the leather targets when she realized someone else had walked into the room. She got her balance quickly and dropped her shoulders. “Huntress. Do you want to…join?” 

[helenahunts]

As with many of her days, Helena woke up feeling restless. It was probably a sign that she should get a job, but the thought of working on someone else’s schedule made her skin crawl. Maybe she should take up a hobby. Or go to school? Anything, anything at all to make her not feel like the walls of her apartment were closing in, and maybe make her brain calm down a little bit. But in the meantime, what she had was working out. And training. And occasionally practicing her shooting skills, but shooting pigeons with a crossbow in the middle of the day didn’t really make you popular with your neighbors, as she’d found out years ago in Gotham.

She decided to forego her usual gym and use the facilities for the League. Maybe she’d even be able to practice with a regular bow. In any case, it would feel nice to hit something heavy, and release some of the tension that had been building in her for a while. She packed up a bag and headed out of her apartment to the training facilities. She was barely paying attention to the fact that there was noise coming from the room before she entered- anyone who was there was a member of the league, it wasn’t like she needed to be worried about being attacked.

But when she entered and caught sight of the other woman, she stopped dead. She hadn’t really seen Black Bat since she’d returned to the city, except for League-related things. Certainly not one-on-one since they’d both been in Gotham. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the other woman, she just didn’t know her very well. And being alone with people she didn’t know well could sometimes turn her into the most awkward person alive. Like right now. “Oh. Black Bat. Hi.” She shook her head and recovered her immediate shock. “Yeah, that would be great,” she responded, walking over to join her at the target.

[helenahunts]

Patrol had been so boring lately, which was really starting to grind on Helena’s nerves. She wanted to be able to do something, not just skulk around. Her patrol partner wasn’t bad though. She knew Stephanie mostly through Dick, but from what she knew, she was pretty cool. It also wouldn’t hurt to have a girlfriend around her own age. Dinah and Barbie were amazing, but they were like, fully adults. It was different. Plus, now that they were together (kind of? Were they? She didn’t know, but there was definitely something going on there), it could feel a little like third-wheeling. She’d never been great at making friends, though. Her idea of a good time was what most people would refer to as “batshit crazy”. She’d have to think of something.

In the meantime, though... since all seemed quiet, she pulled out her phone. She’d managed to get it encrypted so that her location was hidden specifically so she could use it when she was bored on patrol. Sure, it was probably frowned upon to check her social media when she was on duty, but c’mon. There was only so much going on right now. She scrolled through her Twitter feed for a while, and then decided to play the swipe game on Tinder. Yes, she had one, no she didn’t need judgement about it. She didn’t really want to date, but a woman had needs, okay? Actually, that gave her a idea. She turned to face Stephanie. “Hey. I’m gonna be straight up. There is nothing happening right now, and I’m bored. Wanna help judge douchey guys on Tinder with me?”

@clickforspoilers

[helenahunts]

killervcice​:

really it came with the territory, the birds of prey were rather chaotic at the best of times and dinah would have gotten up for helena a thousand times, that was simply how the two of them worked. babs aside, helena was dinah’s *best friend* and dinah loved her as such. she was frankly unsurprised but rather amused by the way that helena sat on the floor as she took a perch on a chair nearby “i think she’d get mad at me for staying no,” dinah can’t help but laugh not wanting to get in between the special dynamic between them. “but i’m still not sure the two of you should be left alone after what happened last time,” it was amusing to think about now but it certainly hadn’t been at the time. an especially mischievous  grin fills her features. “well with everything that’s been happening i’d hate for you to get out of practice, you need to come at least close to knocking me on my ass,” what were they if not competitive? “we’ve got time before sin is home that’s all i’m saying,”

Helena pumped her fist in a celebratory fashion. “Fuck yeah. Wait, am I allowed to go home and pick her up on the motorcycle? I want to make her instantly the coolest kid in school.” Not that she wasn’t already, in Helena’s opinion, but to be fair, Sin was basically the only kids she spent any time with. She was already planning things for them to do once the girl got out of school for the day. She loved spoiling her de facto niece- and when she was able to, she definitely did. “Oh, c’mon, it wasn’t that bad.” Yes. Yes it was. But Helena would never give Dinah the satisfaction of admitting it.

Dinah’s comment made Helena scoff. “Excuse you, if you’ll recall, I flattened you last time,” she countered. It was true, though, that Dinah tended to best Helena more often than not. It was extremely frustrating, though it only gave her incentive to work harder. “But yes, practice is always good.” She was gonna win this time. Their competitiveness was fierce, but luckily, never caused any issues or animosity- just lighthearted teasing afterwards. “You’re on. I’m gonna win, and then I’m gonna celebrate with your kid,” she declared.

[helenahunts]

txdkxrd​:

“Maybe I don’t want a Grammy.” he lied. Ted wanted a partner in his life, hell he’d been engaged at one point before that fell through. These days he just didn’t see it for him. Who’d wanna spend their life with him? A workaholic with a bad heart who spent more time in a his Bug-shaped laboratory then he did under direct sunlight and stuck his nose into the business of real heroes? Sure, what a catch. “Ahhh so trap’em?” he laughed, not voicing all of his internal self-bashing, “I like it. I pretend I’m the perfect guy till we say I do then I reveal all the dead bodies of my previous lovers in the basement and tell her she’s next! I mean it worked for bluebeard right?” he chuckled. “Pfft. I have a Melody for that.” God bless Melody Case for putting up with his shenanigans on a daily basis and having suits ready to throw him into when he needed to look good for a public appearance or meeting. He didn’t know how Oliver, Bruce and Tony Stark managed it. Those guys could turn up wearing trash bags and still look amazing. “Maybe I’m secretly very lazy, you don’t know.” he joked, though as usual, he was quick to shoot down any kind of compliment sent his way, “I think you’ve been screamed at one too many times by Dinah if that’s the opinion you’ve got of me.”

Ted smirked, “Well by all means. You may find embarrassing childhood photos and a lot of half-built tech but you’ll never find my weird porn.” Mostly because it didn’t exist but now he was just cackling at the idea of sending poor Helena on a wild goose chase. He’d have to tell Babs and Dinah to play along. Say that they’d seen it and that it was unspeakable. Now that would be funny. “The Bug let you in and that’s final.” he sniffed. Okay maybe it was a combination of the two but if someone was gonna break into his baby at least it was a friend. If a bad guy broke in he’d consider himself a failure as an inventor. He scoffed, “yea buff sure.” Despite his biceps straining against the t-shirt he wore and his BMI being in the green Ted still wasn’t satisfied. It was a very slippery slope and he didn’t want to go back to being the fat kid others poked fun at in school ever again. To his mind, all it took was one bad meal too many. “I’ll have a smoothie, those can be tasty and healthy.” he told her lightly, “Full of the good sugar.” God he missed milkshakes. He used to love the chocolate ones that were so damn thick you’d hollow out your cheeks trying to suck’em up through the straw. “It would be very tempting to try and put the poor guy on the spot like that but I think he’s probably had enough ever since those protests a while back.” he’d not been here for them but he’d read about’em on the news. “Seen’em both. Sent Babs an encrypted puzzle to unravel and meet me for lunch then broke into Di’s place at 3am with coffee and got to say hello to Sin.” he grinned, “The little bug’s as cute as ever and still obsessed with Pokémon.”    

She raised an eyebrow at him in obvious disbelief. “Don’t you lie to me,” she told him, perhaps a little more forcefully than she needed to, then softened. “Seriously, Teddy, it’s okay to want to be with someone,” she said. “You deserve it. You’re like, the best guy I know. As much as I’m teasing you about making sure you don’t wear what is the single most embarrassing outfit I’ve ever imagined you in, you deserve someone who wants to see you in it.” She wasn’t used to being so sappy- it was definitely not her natural state of being- but she was afraid Ted was being harder on himself than he was even vocalizing. But the moment didn’t last too long. She still couldn’t find it within her dead, sarcastic heart to give much more wide-eyed, vulnerable sincerity at the present. She grinned and ruffled his hair. “But yes, trap ‘em and pull a Bluebeard,” she agreed. She rolled her eyes at the mention of Melody. “Yes, I know, she is fabulous, we are not worthy.” To be honest, Melody was pretty fucking excellent, but still. He had to put some effort in. “Please, the thought of being lazy sends you into hives,” she joked. Sort of. He did worry a lot. Oh god, did he get hives? Was she going to give him hives by teasing him about his hives? She shook off the thought before she could go any farther into that spiral.  “Listen, I may have been screamed at by Di a lot, but it was the normal kind of screaming, and I earned it, thank you very much,” she said, sticking her tongue out at his petulantly. “Let me be nice to you, Tedward!”

Well then. If that’s how he wanted to play it. She was more than happy to just come across childhood photos and half-finished tech- well, mostly the photos so she could post the best throwback Thursday Instagram posts ever and embarrass him with her captions. But honestly, if she did find any weird porn, then she won the challenge. And if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be mentally scarred for life! Sounded like a win-win scenario to her. “You’re on, buddy,” she warned. “I’m gonna find ev-er-y-thing you want to hide from me,” she said, drawing out the word ‘everything’. His indignation of the Bug letting her in, and not her breaking in, made her smile. “Whatever you need to tell yourself,” she retorted. His insistence that he wasn’t buff made her frown. “Ted. You could bench press a Mack tuck. Your arm is as big as my head. When will you accept you are in incredible shape, huh?” She rolled her eyes behind his back when he suggested a smoothie instead of a milkshake. She wasn’t letting that happen, that was for damn sure. She heaved an overdramatic sigh. “Fine, I’ll leave Spideydude alone,” she grumbled. “You never let me have any fun anymore,” she muttered. She laughed when he told her about meeting up with the other Birds. “You and Barbie have way too much fun with your secret codes, you know that? Also, you and I are basically gonna guarantee Di’s never gonna get any sleep.” She smirked. “Just tell me you didn’t give Sin any coffee.”

[helenahunts]

amazingflyingdick​:

Dick’s family had voiced some disapproval when he’d gotten involved with Helena, but that seemed like a long time ago now. They were both different people - more mature, maybe - and he was glad they had remained friends, especially because he knew Helena was close with Dinah and Babs. Cutting ties with the people he cared about was a last resort option, and it was something he would avoid whenever possible.

Following her out of the gym, he laughed at the observation and shook his head. “I get some real conversation and a smoothie?” He grinned, but hung back to let Helena lead the way even though he thought he knew which place she was talking about. It was only a couple blocks away. “So what have you been up to? Other than what set you’re on, I don’t get the chance to ask you a lot of questions.” Working out together didn’t lend to a conversational environment, although there were instances he’d hung out a few minutes after they were done. “What do you think of the city so far?” He was almost afraid to ask.

She tried not to let her embarrassment show in the grin she shot at him when he teased her. She hated showing any kind of weakness, and embarrassment was definitely something she considered a weakness. Sure, Dick wouldn’t look at her in a disparaging light for showing normal human emotion, but imagine if it were someone who wasn’t her friend. What would happen if she let her emotions get the better of her in a Huntress situation? She’d be toast, that’s what would happen. But this wasn’t one of those times, she reminded herself. Dick was just particularly good at making her feel a little more normal. It was part of why she had been attracted to him in the first place, quite frankly. “Yes, a real conversation and a smoothie,” she said. ‘Maybe if you behave yourself, I’ll even get you a lollipop or a sticker,” she joked.

She shrugged. “I mean, nothing, really. I’ve been making an effort to stop hiding in my apartment and go see people, but other than that, I’ve been really boring.” This was true, and not something she liked. She missed being up and in action. The most exciting thing she’d done recently was a tie between the League meeting and... no, actually there was no tie. It was just that. Well, there was that date she went on, after downloading Tinder, but exciting wasn’t the word for that. “Yeah, working out’s not really conducive to a real conversation. Hence, smoothies.” She cracked a real smile now, glancing at him. “Dick, I’ve been in the city for like, five years. Just because I’ve been boring doesn’t mean I left.” She knocked against his shoulder lightly with her own. “How ‘bout you? What’ve you been up to?” They’d arrived at the storefront, and she opened the door to let him go in first. 

[helenahunts]

killervcice​:

it’s embarrassing really but quite often lately dinah had been using her time alone in the apartment for an afternoon nap. sin was at school and with no hero requirements there was no other pressure on time. this was one of those moments when, only intending to sit down for a few moments, she had closed her eyes and fallen asleep on the couch. she is roused by the sound of her phone immediately panicking that there might be something wrong, though she relaxes infinitely when she sees it’s just helena. she was after all quite used to the two of them being spontaneous. she answers the phone with a hum, rubbing her eyes with her free hand she smirks however when at the sound of the other’s voice. mumbling out a reply of “coming,” before moving to get the door. “if you’re looking for your niece she’s at school right now you know,” she speaks gently opening her arms to embrace the other.

Helena could tell that she’d woken Dinah up with her call, but all it did was amuse her. She knew Di would forgive her anyway, so it didn’t matter much- so long as she didn’t make it a habit. When she walked in, she hugged her friend tight before sitting down on the floor, back resting against the couch. She laughed before replying, “Hey, I can come see you too, y’know. But I was looking forward to seeing her.... whaddaya say I pick her up from school today?” she proposed, a slightly wicked gleam in her eye. She loved to hang out with Sin, but she was definitely more of the ‘fun aunt’ than the ‘role model’ in the girl’s life. “I wanted to come say hi, see what you’re doing, maybe go do something fun,” she said. “No secret alter egos necessary. Unless...?” she raised an eyebrow conspiratorially. “Unless you wanted to do something that requires them? Because you know I’m down for that,” she offered, a grin that would be best described as evil (if the term wasn’t taken so literally here). “It has been a while, after all.”

[helenahunts]

@killervcice

Today felt like a day where anything could happen. Helena was in a very reckless sort of mood, which meant that more than likely, she should just stay at home and do nothing. All her worst decisions came when she left the house when she was in this type of mood. But alas, she was never one to control herself well. And thus, she found herself walking down the street, trying to figure out the best way to release her pent-up energy. Without her really even paying attention, her feet led to her to Dinah’s place. She hadn’t seen her friend in a few weeks, and it was past time she paid a visit. She pulled out her phone and scrolled down to Dinah’s name, tapping the call button and biting her lip while it rang. “Hey, Di, it’s me, the headache you sometimes love. Lemme in, I’m outside,” she smirked into the phone once the call was picked up.