Fic: Decompressing (Jennifer Pierce)
Title: Decompressing
Fandom: DC Universe
Characters: Jennifer Pierce (Lightning), Courtney Whitmore/Maxine Hunkel, Ted Grant
Rating: PG
Words: 645
Summary: After a particularly rough battle, Jennifer seeks a little heroic counsel.
Author's Notes: Written for vengefulacorn as part of help_haiti. Thanks for the donation! Ignores the current boondoggle in the comics for the most part.
Considering that they had just managed to take out one of the JSA's deadliest enemies and barely escaped with their lives, albeit not unscathed, the three youngest members of the team were surprisingly upbeat.
"I can't believe you swept him off the building!" Courtney laughed as she leaned heavily on Maxine's shoulder, keeping her left foot off the ground. "That was awesome."
"He was hurting you. He had to go down." Maxine blushed. "It was pretty exciting, though." She placed a hand on her ribs. Every breath sent a stab of pain shooting through her.
As Dr. Midnight ushered them into the medical lab, Jennifer collapsed on the waiting room couch. Courtney and Maxine had gotten the worst of Icicle's attack, and she had escaped with only some bruises and a major headache from expending so much of her electricity. This was far from the first battle she had been in since joining the JSA, but it was probably the most intense. Her head swam with just how fast everything had gone. One minute, the three of them had been hanging out at a cafe, the next minute they were chasing down an ice-cold psycho who had just robbed a bank. Courtney had slipped on one of his ice slicks and hurt her ankle, Maxine took a ice-blast to the chest right before sweeping him away, and it had been up to her to finish the job. It had been exciting, but also incredibly scary.
Was this how it felt like every day for Wildcat, or Green Lantern? Or her sister? She hadn't talked to Anissa in a while. Being on different teams made it tricky, and the fact that she couldn't just pick up a phone and call without blowing a fuse on the tri-state area didn't help. And while there were ways she could get in touch with her, she still felt kind of awkward calling her up to talk about this. Anissa had worked with the Outsiders, and even teamed up with the JLA during some of the biggest battles. Her little angst after dealing with a d-lister like Icicle didn't really seem like it matched up.
"Rough day?"
Jennifer turned around to see Wildcat plop down on the couch next to her, cracking open a beer.
"Kind of, yeah." Jennifer said, not wanting to let on exactly how nervous she was. Wildcat was one of the legends. "This was probably my roughest battle yet."
"You look like you made it out okay. That's a win in and of itself, am I right?"
"I guess. But I couldn't keep my teammates from getting hurt. And I blacked out an entire city block."
Wildcat laughed. "Better blacked out than iced over. And you can't blame yourself for anyone getting hurt, kid. They're all pros, just like you. This job...it never gets easy, but the more you do it, it gets easier. And the three of you are doing this team proud every day."
"Really?" Jennifer grinned. "You think so?"
"Heck yeah. I was never exactly the mentor type, but I'm pretty damn proud of the kids we're training here. Even my goofball of a son."
"Thanks. That...means a lot today."
"It's the truth." Wildcat said as he got up. "You've got a lot to be proud of. But that doesn't mean you don't have a lot to learn still. Your training's going well, so don't be too hard on yourself if you're not perfect. And speaking of which - I haven't forgotten that you haven't stepped into the ring with me yet. We'll have to fix that."
"Noted." Jennifer gulped as Wildcat walked out of the room finishing his beer. It was a rough day, but she felt a little better now. Of course, she doubted that would last once she'd gone a round or two with Wildcat in the ring.
Fandom: DC Universe
Characters: Jennifer Pierce (Lightning), Courtney Whitmore/Maxine Hunkel, Ted Grant
Rating: PG
Words: 645
Summary: After a particularly rough battle, Jennifer seeks a little heroic counsel.
Author's Notes: Written for vengefulacorn as part of help_haiti. Thanks for the donation! Ignores the current boondoggle in the comics for the most part.
Considering that they had just managed to take out one of the JSA's deadliest enemies and barely escaped with their lives, albeit not unscathed, the three youngest members of the team were surprisingly upbeat.
"I can't believe you swept him off the building!" Courtney laughed as she leaned heavily on Maxine's shoulder, keeping her left foot off the ground. "That was awesome."
"He was hurting you. He had to go down." Maxine blushed. "It was pretty exciting, though." She placed a hand on her ribs. Every breath sent a stab of pain shooting through her.
As Dr. Midnight ushered them into the medical lab, Jennifer collapsed on the waiting room couch. Courtney and Maxine had gotten the worst of Icicle's attack, and she had escaped with only some bruises and a major headache from expending so much of her electricity. This was far from the first battle she had been in since joining the JSA, but it was probably the most intense. Her head swam with just how fast everything had gone. One minute, the three of them had been hanging out at a cafe, the next minute they were chasing down an ice-cold psycho who had just robbed a bank. Courtney had slipped on one of his ice slicks and hurt her ankle, Maxine took a ice-blast to the chest right before sweeping him away, and it had been up to her to finish the job. It had been exciting, but also incredibly scary.
Was this how it felt like every day for Wildcat, or Green Lantern? Or her sister? She hadn't talked to Anissa in a while. Being on different teams made it tricky, and the fact that she couldn't just pick up a phone and call without blowing a fuse on the tri-state area didn't help. And while there were ways she could get in touch with her, she still felt kind of awkward calling her up to talk about this. Anissa had worked with the Outsiders, and even teamed up with the JLA during some of the biggest battles. Her little angst after dealing with a d-lister like Icicle didn't really seem like it matched up.
"Rough day?"
Jennifer turned around to see Wildcat plop down on the couch next to her, cracking open a beer.
"Kind of, yeah." Jennifer said, not wanting to let on exactly how nervous she was. Wildcat was one of the legends. "This was probably my roughest battle yet."
"You look like you made it out okay. That's a win in and of itself, am I right?"
"I guess. But I couldn't keep my teammates from getting hurt. And I blacked out an entire city block."
Wildcat laughed. "Better blacked out than iced over. And you can't blame yourself for anyone getting hurt, kid. They're all pros, just like you. This job...it never gets easy, but the more you do it, it gets easier. And the three of you are doing this team proud every day."
"Really?" Jennifer grinned. "You think so?"
"Heck yeah. I was never exactly the mentor type, but I'm pretty damn proud of the kids we're training here. Even my goofball of a son."
"Thanks. That...means a lot today."
"It's the truth." Wildcat said as he got up. "You've got a lot to be proud of. But that doesn't mean you don't have a lot to learn still. Your training's going well, so don't be too hard on yourself if you're not perfect. And speaking of which - I haven't forgotten that you haven't stepped into the ring with me yet. We'll have to fix that."
"Noted." Jennifer gulped as Wildcat walked out of the room finishing his beer. It was a rough day, but she felt a little better now. Of course, she doubted that would last once she'd gone a round or two with Wildcat in the ring.