Mimic

Warehouse Meeting

Surprisingly, freedom gets boring after a while. What am I supposed to do for seven hours? I sighed as I walked around Gotham, kicking a rock every few steps. I went to the part of the city where the streets were empty except for the occasional thug and group of teens. I wandered around in a haze, listening to the constant sound of car horns blaring blocks away and just the buzz of Gotham. I was a little shocked when I got a call from my wrist communicator.

"Julia," the gruff voice of my uncle said.

"Yes?" I answered quickly. "Something wrong, Uncle?"

"You're in Gotham, right?"

"Correct."

"Meet me at warehouse A7. All you have to do to get there is take a right then walk forward."

"You have my location?" I asked, "The communicator is bugged?"

"Yes. You shouldn't be surprised."

"Just a little hurt, dear Uncle," I said sarcastically. "ETA is five minutes."

"Three minutes. Don't be late," Uncle said, then hung up on me. I took off in the direction of the warehouse and walked in after about four minutes.

"You're late," Uncle growled from somewhere in the darkness. The advantage to meeting in warehouses is that they have poor lighting after being abandoned for years. Makes everything a lot more dangerous. I scanned for him.

"A minute late. Apologies," I said stiffly. Uncle walked out of the shadows, wearing his usual black and orange mask. He also carried a lot of weapons. Which wasn't unusual for him, but it was weird for him to bring his extra katana to a meeting. He was dressed like he was about to kill someone. My eyes widened as he took a step towards me. He raised his hand and slapped me across the face. I tried not to gasp.

"You slap me for being late? What's your problem?" I snarled, rubbing my cheek.

"This isn't about being late," Uncle snapped, "You're getting too attached to the team. They are your enemies."

"I'm not!" I protested, "God wasn't I supposed to be getting close to them? Haven't you ever heard of acting?"

"Keep your eyes on the prize," Uncle started.

"Leave me alone! You're not my father, you're not even my real uncle!"

"Do you want me to call your father? He'll gladly deal with you. And if you think I'm bad, you've got another thing coming. You see me? How I treat you? This is me barely liking you. Imagine your father, who hates you. He likes your mom, and look how he treats her!"

"He," I started, then faltered, "Yes, Uncle."

"That's what I thought," he huffed. "To separate you more from the team, we want you to move out of their base."

"But then where will I live? And what would I tell them?" I started.

"Haven't you ever heard of making something up?" Uncle mocked me.

"Oh please!" I raised my voice, though I immediately backed down when I saw Uncle's hand twitch as if he were about to strike me again. "Is Father displeased with me?" I grumbled.

"No," Uncle said gruffly, "You haven't screwed up too horribly yet."

"Speaking of family, how's my favorite cousin Rose?"

"My daughter is fine," Uncle answered quickly. She was his weak spot. I smiled slightly.

"Am I dismissed?" I asked. Uncle nodded, and I sprinted out of the warehouse. "Thank God that's over," I mumbled. What a jerk. What lie will convince the Team that I don't need to live in Mount Justice anymore? And where would I live anyway? I sighed and continued walking down the sidewalks of Gotham, listening for the sound of car horns and the almost comforting buzz of Gotham.