PURE HEROINE ─ young justice

[ 004 ] gaston

[ EPISODE 6: INFILTRATOR ]

GASTON — A climbing technique where the fingers face inward, like you're trying to pry open elevator doors from the middle, a move that requires complete engagement of the chest and shoulder power.

CHAPTER FOUR

AFTER HER FIRST MISSION, JJ woke up the next day sore all over. She couldn't be certain if it was because she'd exerted herself far too much or the shocking strain on her body from using her abilities to that extent that her muscles hadn't been accustomed to, but it didn't feel like the familiar ache post-climbing session, or the hellfire eating at her after a day's worth of combat training with Dinah. When she got out of bed that morning, her calf muscles seized up and JJ knew she should've stretched more before going to sleep. Irritation kept her trapped in a foul mood, and the mental admonishment felt harsher than the excruciating cramps she'd experienced and the fatigue that filled her bones with cement and made every action feel thousandfold heavier than they should have.

For fuck's sake, she was an athlete, and she should've been at the top of her game. If she hadn't been so lazy when she'd gotten home, hadn't been too exhausted to fight Olivia forcing her to have a slice of sugar-infected cake that made her feel slightly sick afterwards, she would've taken more care to roll out the tension in her muscles.

That day, she was supposed to attend a climbing session in the afternoon to make up for the one she'd missed for the mission, but Olivia had demanded JJ stay home to rest, preventing potential injury. If JJ hadn't seen reason, she might've actually fought Olivia off. And so she'd stayed home, miserable and bored and in a foul mood that engulfed her like a storm cloud festering broken glass, cutting anyone who tried to get too close. She spent the entire afternoon putting herself through torturous stretching exercises she'd found on the internet to recover quicker.

Pain was temporary, and when she pushed herself a little too hard, JJ refused to relent and go back to bed. If she stayed catatonic, it'd only get worse. So she broke it down to the basic mechanisms: pain was caused by microscopic damage to the muscle fibres. Delayed onset muscle soreness could occur after starting a new exercise programme or an increase in intensity or duration of a regular work out. The soreness was only part of an adaptation process leading to greater stamina and strength once the muscles recovered and rebuilt. Tissue damage was all part of the necessary process.

An hour later, Olivia kicked her back into bed and buried her in ice packs and pain killers. When she offered a massage, JJ only glowered at her under the pile of ice packs and blankets until Olivia threw her hands up in mock surrender and left.

Three days of resting, smothered by Olivia's maternal fussing, and JJ finally grew sick of wallowing. She was fine. She'd stopped aching after two days, and by the afternoon of the third, she'd already changed into her sportswear, hitched her backpack of climbing gear to her shoulder. Plugging in her earbuds and cranking her music to a volume that drowned everything out, JJ squared her shoulders and darted for the front door, determined to get there before Olivia could stop her. As she laced her shoes up at the door as soundlessly as she could, JJ was beginning to think that she would make a decent stealth agent after all. Unfortunately, one of Olivia's arms caught JJ on the way out, one foot out the door. JJ only shook her off, cut her a hard glare, and said, "I'm fine."

"The hell you are," Olivia said with narrowed eyes and a reproachful curl of her lips. She crossed all four pairs of arms, and JJ noted the icing stains on her bedazzled Kiss The Baker apron Dinah had gifted her last Christmas (which was gaudy and an eyesore, but Olivia still wore with unabashed pride). The smell of sugar perfumed the house, practically glistering in the summer air now that the heatwaves were starting to seep in through the open windows. Having planted herself between JJ and the front door, now thrown shut like dungeon gates, JJ half-expected Olivia to use brute force and all eight arms to wrestle her back into her room for another day's worth of rest.