Arsenal

H̶e̶r̶o̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶h̶i̶r̶e̶

[babyimafirework]

outlawedxrcher​:

“Hey, nice to meet you, uh… Jubilee,” Roy replied with a slight chuckle at the quip about her name. He took her extended hand to shake it. His other was holding the hand of a dark haired little girl. “I’m Roy and this here is Lian.” The little girl gave a small wave. Roy looked around the gym. “You’re the owner? Nice place you’ve got here.” Looking back at Jubilee, he continued, “Yeah, I heard your gym is kid friendly and well…” he nodded towards Lian, “that seems like a good match for us.” 

Lian eyed Jubilee suspiciously, but then she noticed Shogo and her face relaxed into a small smile. She raised up on her tiptoes to get a better look at the baby. “Yeah, do you see her baby, Lian? He’s sure cute, isn’t he?” Roy said, to which Lian nodded. “What is your baby’s name?” she asked Jubilee. 

She shook Roy’s hand and then held it out again for Lian. Gotta respect the kid. Thank the fucking lord she’d absolutely seen the little girl from across the gym and followed her entirely tried and true, definitely not brand spankin’ new rule: Do not curse until one hundo p. certain the newcomer doesn’t have a kid present. “Thanks. We run a tight ship here at Firecrackers. We’re new, and we’re already the best in the biz.” 

Jubilee knelt down to show off the baby for Lian. “This here’s Shogo. He might not look it, but he can bench two-fifty,” she joked, showing off his powerful, fat little baby arms. “Sho doesn’t reach the age requirement for the group you’d be a part of so you don’t have to worry about the competition, though.” She winked. 

Holding out Shogo’s hand to shake Lian’s, Jubilee continued, “We have a family package that includes rotating lessons for children six to ten and eleven to fourteen starting after school hours on weekdays and all day on weekends. So you could be doing Zumba, gymnastics, maybe a little yoga and dance.”

[outlawedxrcher]

Lian stared at Jubilee's extended hand for a moment, then hesitantly took it, shaking it quickly before pulling her hand away. Roy squeezed Lian's hand reassuringly. "Yeah, your online reviews are real stellar. Everyone says you're the best place in town. How long've you been open for now?"

Lian, starting to warm up to her now, took a step towards Jubilee to get a better look at her baby. She giggled at the idea of baby Shogo at the benchpress. "Hi Shogo." She gently poked his tiny bicep, then offered her finger for him to hold if he wanted to. "My name is Lian." Beaming as his tiny fingers curled around hers, she carefully shook his hand.

"Oh wow nice! That sounds great!" Roy replied. This place just kept getting better and better. Roy liked spending as much time with Lian as he could, but activities outside of school with other kids her age would probably be good for her. Could help her make some new friends. That hadn't exactly been easy for her considering his previous line of work and then having to go on the down-low for a while. Not to mention her having to adjust to suddenly reappearing in a world five years from where she left it. Roy tried not to think about that last one too much. He ruffled his daughter's hair. "What do you think, Lian. That sound fun?" Lian nodded enthusiastically. "I like this place." Roy chuckled. "Me too, princess." He turned back towards Jubilee. "Well, looks like the vote is unanimous. How do we sign up for that family package?"

[outlawedxrcher]

[gleamofstarshine]

@outlawedxrcher

It was so much colder now than when she had left on her hunt for Darkseid three and some months ago - time had passed quickly, so quickly, and yet so little had changed. Darkseid was still nowhere to be found with Kori returning to Earth empty-handed and frustrated with having no more answers than she’d left with. She would never be so self-absorbed to think that she would be the savior for humanity, that she would come back with the key to saving the planet from the looming Anti-Life Equation, but it would’ve been nice to have some clues. Breadcrumbs, even. Anything. But she returned with nothing, feeling more hopeless than she had before it left. Three months in space and nothing had changed - absolutely nothing, except for the Magistrate’s evil dictatorship continuing to spread like fog. And it was cold now. She’d never liked the cold, not really. It settled down into her bones in a way that was so hard to shake. Even harder when she was alone, which. Was something else that hadn’t really changed.  Keeping a low profile was necessary in a way it had never been before, and that was made more complicated with a spaceship entering the atmosphere and…well, being a very public, forward-facing alien member of the Titans. Being undercover was never something that Kori had excelled at considering human customs, nuances and niceties were still confusing all these years later, so going into hiding was going to be her best bet. Complicated, considering she’d been gone for three months and she wasn’t exactly sure where it would be best to lie low until her ship’s re-entry into Earth blew over with whoever was inevitably watching the satellites.

Baby steps. She’d take baby steps. One thing at a time. And first thing’s first, she had someone to check in with. She could still feel the break as though it was an actual crack within herself, but she understood why the distance was necessary. Painful, so painful when she hated to be alone, but the safety of those she loved would always take precedent. But three months away in space deserved a check in, even if it was quick and brief and informal. Best to let him know she was still alive, after all.

Did he still even work here? An excellent question, one she probably should have addressed before knocking on the office door. He’d been working as a counselor, when she left - was that still the case? Oh, she may have already gone and bungled this up. No turning back now, not when she heard rustling inside.

She could hope that if it wasn’t Roy, at least it would be someone friendly. Someone friendly that didn’t recognize her. Both would be good things. And well, she could use a friendly face.

[outlawedxrcher]

The soft tapping of a keyboard filled the otherwise quiet space of the small office. Roy was just finishing up some notes from his last appointment when there was a knock at the office door. He glanced at his watch and then his schedule. He hadn't forgotten an appointment had he? Wouldn't be the first time. (To be fair, the first time was, so far, the only time, but he didn't want to add to that count.) But the schedule was empty, so looked like he was in the clear on that account at least. Maybe a drop-in then? He stood and went to open the door, putting a relaxed smile on his face as the door swung open.

The expression froze on his face. Whoever he had expected to see standing there, it certainly wasn't her. "Oh my god. Kori??" It had been at least three months since he had last seen her. Seen the green aurora of her eyes, the sunshine of her smile. Three months that had felt like an eternity. His face broke into a huge grin and he stepped the rest of the way through the door and swept her into a hug. "It's so good to see you! How was Space? When did you get back?"

[stargazingmartian]

@outlawedxrcher

“The daring young archer leapt over the Ice Queen’s icy beam to shove the magical princess out of harm’s way.” M’gann’s illusion was cast all around Lian’s bedroom. Stuffed toys wore folksy peasant dress. The walls were a forest of green save for that Ice Queen’s blasts, but even those had a lightness to them. More soft snow than sharp ice. She’d been telling the story in her gentle, library voice for about half an hour. About the usual amount of time it took to get the little girl all tuckered out. M’gann looked to Roy, it was his turn to speak.

The never ending story’s twists and turns were all just Roy and M’gann quietly riffing on the adventures they shared a lifetime ago. They had quite the bedtime routine down for Lian. Once every week or two, M’gann paid a friendly visit to the Harper household. She’d help cook dinner, play with Lian, and then she and Jason would tell the Story of Stories. Then, if they survived, they’d get to tiptoe out of the room and talk like adults. But that was a big if. 

“The magical princess rolled onto her side and called out to the daring young archer. ‘Oh, my lord, you must freeze the Ice Queen in her tracks.’” M’gann snickered and created a light dusting of snow.

[outlawedxrcher]

"'Your Highness, are you alright?" the archer called out to the princess after pushing her to safety." Roy picked up where M'gann had left off, making sure to keep his voice quiet despite the action of the story. The point, after all, was to lull Lian to sleep, not rile her up. "Dodging another of the Ice Queen's beams, the archer reached into his quiver and pulled out a magic arrow", he said, then paused momentarily to allow M'gann to create the visuals before continuing to the climax. "He drew back the arrow and sent it whizzing towards the Ice Queen!" He whizzed his hand in an arc to emphasize the movement of the arrow, making a little whoosh sound. Lian giggled sleepily.

"The Ice Queen sent a beam of ice towards the arrow, stopping it just inches away. 'Hahaha', she cackled, 'You really think a silly arrow will stop me?' But then the arrow burst open, releasing the magic inside!" Roy paused dramatically. "What happened next?" Lian asked. "You'll find out next time," he replied, tucking the covers around her. "Aww but I'm not even tired," she said, yawning. Roy chuckled. "I think that big yawn would say otherwise." He leaned down to give her forehead a kiss. "Goodnight, princess." Lian yawned again, and burrowed down into the blanket. "Goodnight, M'gann. Goodnight, dad."

Lian's breathing became slow and even, and Roy gingerly stood up and made his way silently to the bedroom door. He allowed M'gann to go through first, then closed it with a quiet click. Turning towards M'gann with a grin he whispered, "Mission success, the princess has fallen asleep."

They made their way down the hall and out into the living room. "Gotta say M'gann, those snow visuals tonight were something else. Looked almost like the real deal. Well, you know, in a cuter, more magical, less threatening kind of way." He rounded the corner into the kitchen. "You want anything to drink? Mia brought by some really good ponche crema the other day. Or of course we have any of the usual stuff." A clinking of glasses and a few moments later he returned with the drinks and after handing M'gann her's, settled onto the couch. "Man," he started, taking a sip of his drink, "you remember when we fought the real 'Ice Queen'? Seems like such a long time ago now.."

[babyimafirework]

@outlawedxrcher

If there was one thing that Jubilee was exceedingly good at, and let her be the first to remind that she is exceedingly good at many things, it was feeling out a potential customer. Firecrackers was positively buzzing with activity when he stepped in through the sliding doors. That didn’t make one lick of difference. It was like a sixth sense. For money. 

Jubilee’s head swung around.

She gave Shogo a little bounce, waved up high at the young man, and shouted, “Over here!” before traipsing across the gym. Past the ring and the kickboxers, along the side of the balance beams, and straight through the tai chi class.

“Hey!” When she and Shogo reached the newcomer, in record time, she held out a hand. “Welcome to Firecrackers. I’m Jubilee, but you can call me Jubilee.” She grinned. “I own this joint.” Laura just loved when she said that. “You lookin’ for a new gym? You’ve come to the right place.”

[outlawedxrcher]

“Hey, nice to meet you, uh... Jubilee,” Roy replied with a slight chuckle at the quip about her name. He took her extended hand to shake it. His other was holding the hand of a dark haired little girl. “I’m Roy and this here is Lian.” The little girl gave a small wave. Roy looked around the gym. “You’re the owner? Nice place you’ve got here.” Looking back at Jubilee, he continued, “Yeah, I heard your gym is kid friendly and well...” he nodded towards Lian, “that seems like a good match for us.” 

Lian eyed Jubilee suspiciously, but then she noticed Shogo and her face relaxed into a small smile. She raised up on her tiptoes to get a better look at the baby. “Yeah, do you see her baby, Lian? He’s sure cute, isn’t he?” Roy said, to which Lian nodded. “What is your baby’s name?” she asked Jubilee.