Making Waves

Chapter 12

Percy slipped on her suit, running her hands down her abdomen to ensure the fabric clung tightly to her skin. She donned her gloves, pulling them up her forearms, and strapped her sword firmly against her back. After quickly glancing in the mirror to make sure everything was in place, Percy took a deep breath and opened the door, emerging on the other side.

She flicked her right wrist, flipping the knife in the air expertly before letting it disappear back into her glove. She grinned down at her little sister, who stared back at her, small jaw opened wide in awe.

Estelle rushed forward without hesitation, pulling Percy down to a crouch.

"Woah," she breathed, reaching out and tracing the outline of Percy's mask with her fingers.

Percy let her sister explore the intricacies of her suit, pointing out all its secrets and hidden compartments.

It had been four days since Percy rescued Nightwing from Island and the hero had yet to be seen in Bludhaven. A part of her was glad he was taking the time off to recover, wherever he was, but another part of her couldn't help but worry about his condition.

Not to mention, between everything that had happened, Nightwing hadn't had the time to update her on how Kai, the boy they rescued from Blockbuster, was doing. During the last few days, her thoughts swirled around them both, but right now, she tried to push the concern out of her mind and focus on spending time with her sister.

Her mom and Paul had asked her to watch Estelle for a day so they could go on a weekend trip, and Percy had been more than willing. Babysitting always felt like less of a chore, and more of an honor, and this time, it came with the added bonus of her sister gushing over her superhero suit.

"Have you met Kid Flash yet?" Estelle demanded.

"Uh, no," Percy laughed at her sister's one-track mind, "But I'm pretty good friends with Nightwing."

Estelle pulled her hands back from Percy's suit, crossing them over her chest.

"That's boring," she huffed, blowing strands of hair away from her face, "He doesn't even have superpowers."

Percy leaned back in her crouch, settling on the ground. She extended her legs, pulling Estelle towards her, and trapping her between her calves.

"You don't need to have powers to be a badass," Percy reminded her, hands coming up to squeeze her cheeks.

The statement was generally true and a good thing for Estelle to keep in mind, but it wasn't the only reason Percy felt the need to defend the other hero.

"Also, don't tell mom I said that," Percy added, as an afterthought.

It was a fairly tame curse, but still.

"Said what?" Estelle blinked, innocently.

Percy laughed and encircled her arms around her sister. Estelle hugged her back for a few seconds before her child-like attention spanned kicked in and she wiggled impatiently in Percy's grip.

"Can we go to the park?" she pleaded.

Percy glanced out the window, to where the sun was shining. Deciding that they had been cooped up inside for too long, wasting a perfectly good day, she stood up.

"Good idea, seastar," she said, and Estelle grinned brightly, "Let me just change first."

LINEBREAK

"Come on, Bruce," Dick groaned.

The older man barely looked up from his desk, rifling through the documents before him.