Knowing Normal Ch. 8

A couple of weeks later in the Cave, Kaldur was showing La’gaan around and giving him the nickel tour; which was just a formality really because the younger Atlantean had visited the Team quite often with Aquaman. However, now that La’gaan was actually an official member of the Team tradition dictated that he get a tour of the Cave. Unfortunately for Kaldur very nearly everyone else was off on a mission or unavailable so that left him with the awkward task of conducting a completely unnecessary tour through the very empty Cave.  Now that the tour had reached its end the two boys stood there uncertainly, neither boy had known the other very well when they lived in Poseidonis, and now they found that they had very little to talk about.



Kaldur sighed mentally before deciding to speak, “So, did you need any help moving in your things?”



La’gaan startled slightly, he’d been lost in imaginings of his great future with the team, “Um...Yeah sure. That’d be nice.”



Just then a mechanical voice echoed throughout the Cave: Beast Boy B19, Robin B20 . The loud sounds of Gar and Tim’s cheerful conversation preceded the two boys as they headed into the Cave. As soon as Tim and Gar caught sight of the two Atlanteans there was a round of congratulations, and the beginnings of yet another argument as the two younger boys tried to talk Kaldur into letting them go on missions.



After several minutes of this Kaldur let La’gaan go so he could begin unpacking his things before turning back to Tim and Gar. Before Kaldur could even begin speaking though the two boys started up their arguments anew each of them trying to talk over the other so the whole conversation ended up a jumbled mess. Shaking his head Kaldur merely stood there and waited for the boys to run out of steam, and when they had finally stopped he began to speak. “I understand that you two feel you are ready to begin going on missions, especially considering the age some of our other members were when they joined the Team. However, Batman wanted to be sure that you were ready for the responsibilities of joining the Team full time. However, he recently asked me if I believed you two were ready to begin going on missions and I told him yes. So long as you are escorted by some of the more experienced members of the Team, I don’t see why you two cannot begin going on a mission or two…”



The rest of his speech was drowned out by the ecstatic cheers of Tim and Gar who began jumping up and down and laughing in a most undignified manner. Kaldur watched them with a small smile on his face; while it was true that they weren’t the most mature or dedicated members of the Team they had heart, which sometimes was all a hero needed.



Just then the computerized voice rang out across the Cave: Miss Martian B05 . As the green skinned girl entered the Cave she crossed over to where Tim and Gar were still in the midst of their celebration.



“Hey there Kaldur, Gar, Tim, what’s with all the cheering?” M’gann asked curiously.Gar very nearly tackled his adopted sister as he gave her a huge hug. “Kaldur says that Tim and I can start going on missions now!! We’re actually members of the Team now, this is so cool!!”



M’gann chuckled at Gar’s enthusiasm, “Congrats little bro. You know you’ll actually have to start training with the rest of us now right? That way we don’t have anything go wrong during a mission.”



Gar nodded his head eagerly while Tim rolled his eyes, “Oh come on, I don’t need any extra training. I’ve been working with Batman and Batgirl for years now.”



“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Called an amused sounding male voice from behind the group. Dick chuckled at the surprised looks Tim and Gar gave him, then greeted Kaldur and La’gaan before addressing the younger boys once more. “I understand what you’re saying Tim, but M’gann is right. In fact when I first joined the Team I thought the exact same thing. However, when we actually began going on missions together I ended up screwing up big time because I would rush off to do my own thing and so I wasn’t able to help my teammates when they needed it. I understand that you’re used to working with Batgirl and Batman, but you also need to learn how to work with your teammates here so that way you can do your best on missions.”      



Tim nodded sheepishly, “I hadn’t even thought about that.” the dark-haired boy admitted.



“So can we start now? I mean we’ve gotta be pretty behind right?” Gar asked jumping up and down in his excitement.



M’gann chuckled at her younger brother’s enthusiasm, “Take it easy there little bro, why don’t we celebrate first and then I’ll start your training first thing tomorrow.”



“Is there room for one more in your training session?” Tim asked hesitantly, not wanting to intrude on the brother-sister moment that was happening.


“Sure! You can join us too if you’d like La’gaan.” M’gann said giving the new atlantean a friendly smile.



“Thanks, I could use the extra practice if I’m going to get caught up with the rest of the Team.” La’gaan admitted.



M’gann nodded, “Well, let’s get this party started!” she called with a grin heading into the kitchen to begin bringing out snacks and other party supplies.



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Meanwhile in Gotham City, Emma had been having a an eventful if not always productive couple of weeks. She was enjoying most of her classes, but unfortunately found herself falling behind in her Geometry class due to both her intense dislike of math and a lack of understanding of the subject material. Babs had taken to working with her on homework during lunch and whenever they had some free time, but Emma was still barely scraping by. Babs had tried to invite Emma over to her house to study on a number of different occasions, but her parents remained steadfastly against her doing so. Emma had even tried to get them to let her have Babs come over for a study session or two, but her parents still said no. In spite of her parent’s stubbornness on the issue Emma was still determined to get to hang out with her new friends. So, when Bette invited her to what she described as a small get together Emma decided that she was going to bother her parents about it until they let her go. Which is exactly where she was on the saturday afternoon a couple of hours before she was supposed to meet her friends at some building downtown.



“But M-oom, I really want to go. It’s just a small gathering with some friends. We’ll hang out for a while and then I’ll come straight back home. Please can I go? Just this once? I’ve never even been invited to anything like this before! Please!” Emma begged and pleaded using every trick and line she could think of to convince her mother. She had to be careful though if her mother saw even a small glimmer of her powers escaping her control Emma knew that she’d have no chance of getting to hang out with her friends.



Silence stretched between the two as her mother seemed to think about Emma’s request. Emma watched the emotions flicker across her mother’s face, she could practically hear the argument that was taking place behind her mother’s familiar, brown eyes. As more time passed Emma began to panic slightly thinking that her mother was going to say no and that her newfound friends would think her odd for not showing up; when a small nostalgic smile appeared on her mother’s face.



“Okay sweetheart, you’ve been very well behaved these last couple of weeks so you should go and have fun with your friends. Did you need a ride? Or was Babs’ mom going to take you two?” she asked, doing her best to hide her worry.



Emma could barely contain her excitement at her mother’s decision she had to concentrate on keeping herself calm so as not to accidentally start any fires. Her mother’s questions broke through her happiness induced haze and she froze, having in her excitement completely forgotten how she was getting to the hangout. Just then as she was about to try and mumble some nonspecific answer hoping her mother bought it, and knowing she wouldn’t; the doorbell rang. The sound was loud and almost jarring in the near-absolute quiet of the house, but Emma remembering now that Babs had in fact offered her a ride wasted no time, bolting to the front door before her mother could decide that she wasn’t able to go after all. Pulling open the front door revealed Babs standing there and the two girls exchanged grins, “So she said you could go?” the redhead asked.



“Yup.” Emma said nodding, and barely able to conceal her own smile. Turning back into the house Emma saw her mother standing in the entryway a look of barely concealed worry on her face. Feeling a surge of fondness Emma darted back across the entryway and gave her mother a swift kiss and hug. “I love you mom.” she murmured softly before crossing back to the front door. “Bye!” she called, just before the door slammed shut. Her mother stood there for a moment or two longer, reminiscing, before Fern walked up and began to rub against her ankles purring loudly. With a sigh the older brunette picked up the cat and headed back into the quiet house.



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Loud music rang throughout the empty space of the warehouse as a haze of smoke filled the air from a myriad of cigarettes. Emma followed Babs hesitantly her eyes flicking nervously over the various groups of teens standing around holding cigarettes or cups of what she assumed were various kinds of alcohol. Just as Emma was about to ask Babs what exactly this place was and what they were doing here a drunken teen stumbled into her spilling his drink. “Sorry about that.” he mumbled hastily before walking off. Wiping up the spilled drink as best as she could Emma looked up to ask Babs a question, and saw that her friend was nowhere to be found. Where the hell did Babs go? Great, now what am I supposed to do... The auburn haired girl thought in frustration, as she scanned the teens scattered around the empty space of the warehouse. I suppose I should just, what was it Babs had said on the ride over, ‘mingle’...Whatever that means... she thought in annoyance before shaking her head and placing what she hoped was a friendly smile on her face. Emma then began making her way through the crowds smiling and greeting people she recognized from school.



After what seemed like an eternity Emma managed to break away from the small group she was talking to, who were insistent upon her trying some form of alcohol, and get a small breath of air in a dark corner hidden from the main body of teens. Standing there with her eyes closed Emma took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. Even though she had become accustomed  to spending time around large groups of people while at school; Emma still found it difficult to remain around sizeable groups of people for any length of time. It had never occurred to Emma that there would be so many people here, ’Heck I know Babs wants me to get out and socialize more, but this is kind of ridiculous. I can’t even imagine what my parents would say if they knew what I was doing right now.’ This last thought made Emma shudder slightly as she imagined her parent’s fury. I should probably go find Babs now, it’s getting pretty late. Emma thought with a flicker of irritation at the idea of having to wade through the crowds again.



Just as she was about to make her way back across the warehouse a series of loud crackling sounds echoed from somewhere to her left accompanied by several bright flashes of light. Terror flew through her at the sudden sound and bright flashes of light, bringing with it dark memories of sterile, white rooms and strange medical equipment. Almost unbidden long forgotten memories flew through her mind in a stream so quick she couldn't register them all; different faces came and went along with the ever present white rooms and strange machinery. Crying out Emma stumbled backwards as if trying to escape her memories and was knocked off her feet by an assortment of boxes, presumably  left there when the warehouse had been abandoned. As she collapsed into the pile of old, mouldering tarps and rusting paint cans a cloud of dust and fumes rose into the air around her. Emma coughed, and wheezed as she struggled to quiet the storm of memories besieging her. She realized that her body temperature was still rising steadily, and as she struggled to calm herself the tarps around her began to smoulder.  Fumbling her way out of the pile of tarps Emma stumbled out of the cloud of fumes, and took deep breaths trying to calm herself down. "What...the...hell...was that." she managed to gasp out between breaths. In her irritation at the pranksters Emma failed to realize that she'd lit some of the tarps on fire. So, as she began looking around hoping to find the jerks who’d set off what she assumed were firecrackers she failed to notice that smoke was starting to rise from where she'd fallen. Unfortunately, Emma could find no sign on the faces of any of the nearby teens that they were the ones responsible for scaring her so badly. Sighing in frustration Emma shook her head, ‘Well that figures, try and get some fresh air and some idiota decides to play a trick on me. Complaining about it won’t help me now though. I need to go find Babs so we can get the hell out of here.’



Making her way back through crowds Emma scanned the faces of the teens around her as she searched for Babs. It didn’t take her long to find the cheerful redhead, who was  surrounded by a group of people Emma vaguely recognized from some of her classes at Gotham Academy. Just as she was about to open her mouth and ask Babs if they could head home when a strange, acrid smell began to fill the air; very nearly hidden by the stench of cigarette smoke. “Hey Babs, can you smell that?” she asked instead.
Emma’s forest green eyes met Babs’ cobalt blue ones and the two girls shared a worried look. Babs ignored the chuckles of her group of friends, and closed her eyes as she tries to identify the odd smell in the air; her eyes flutter open as she realizes what she’s smelling and she and Emma exchange another worried look. “Bette, you need to start getting everyone out of here okay? Just keep them calm, okay-” Just as Bette is about to ask Babs exactly what she’s talking about a loud whistling sound echoes through the warehouse followed by a shrieking clang as one of the metal paint cans bursts open, the fetid liquid spraying across the back of the warehouse before igniting almost immediately with a hiss. Pandemonium then broke out among the present teens as they all started shrieking and panicking at once. Then, everyone seemed to bolt for the exit to the warehouse in one large mass. Bodies press up tightly against one another, and the teens who trip or fall are quickly lost from sight as the crowd moves towards the warehouse's exit. Once they get out of the building most of the teens flee the area heading towards their homes and safety; still more stumble about with stunned looks on their faces as they call out for a missing friend. Slowly, the seething mass of teenagers gets smaller and smaller until it's merely a trickle. The teens who come out last are coughing heavily and can barely see well enough to walk straight. It is at this point that sirens start to fill the air coming steadily closer to the now heavily smoking warehouse.


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Inside, the sounds of screams and running feet are getting harder and harder to hear over the roaring of the fire. The stream of people brushing, bumping and moving against Emma has instilled in her a sense of panic she hasn’t felt in years. However, as Emma struggles to control herself her rapid increase in body temperature manages to keep her out of harms way as the majority of the panicking crowd avoid her, now very hot, form.


“Emma! Emma what’s wrong with you we need to get out of here!” Babs cried desperately trying to get the other girl’s attention. She reaches out a hand to shake Emma’s shoulder, and pulls her hand away just as quickly with a cry of pain. This noise seems to shock Emma from her stupor, and the two girls share a quick, uncertain glance before the loud crackle of burning wood startles them both to awareness again.



“We need to get out of here! The whole buildings going to collapse at this rate!” Babs called over the roar of the fire.By this time most of the teens had made it out, however the floor of the warehouse was littered with the bodies of those unlucky enough to get trampled by the crowd. Looking over the prone bodies Emma shook her head, “We need to get them out of here! None of them are in any condition to make it on their own!” she called back. Babs, seeing the determination in her friend’s green eyes sighed and nodded her assent, “Okay, but the minute the fire department gets here we’re getting out if I have to haul your butt out of here myself!” the red haired girl called back stubbornly. Emma made her way over to the nearest fallen teen and the two girls picked up the unconscious girl as best they could and carried her over to the exit. They worked this way for a long time as the heat seemed to rise around them making it more and more difficult to breathe. Both girls were coughing quite heavily by now and were finding it increasingly hard to focus on their task of carrying the last teen they could find in the warehouse, back outside. The girls could hear vague shouts in the distance, and a light seemed to appear before their eyes just as everything went black.