Serenity: Justice League

Chapter 51

A/N: Firstly, let me start off by saying I hope that you are all save in this weird time. I know that life has been a little strange for me, even though I am an essential employee (my days aren't as disrupted as many others).

Secondly, I am sorry that I took such a long break from this story. I had a lot of things happen in my life on my end, and honestly, I was burned out and pushed myself to keep writing until I just shut down. I didn't like this story that much but I was writing to write it and that isn't fair to you guys. So, the best course of action for me was to take a break because I wanted to make sure that I finished this story on a good note. If I finished it in the head space I was, I am sure that I would have killed everyone off. However, that is not my intentions.

Thirdly, I don't know if I am out of my funk yet when it comes to this story. I wrote this chapter to see where I was with it (also with thanks to Guest 2.0 who made me kinda come to my senses here) but I'm not going to lie and say I'll be updating this on a schedule. I am still looking for that inspirational thing to make me full heatedly get back into this story. I'm not saying I am giving up on it, I have plans to finish it because I hate it when author's don't finish fics that they start, but with a job and also grad school, I'm not making any unrealistic promises.

However, I do promise, to you my readers, that I will be back on here when I can with a story that I know you will love.

kmhappybunny240: Yes she is and they both are being mean to each other... but right now they have a lot of major stuff going on between the two of them

CJ/OddBall: And hmm... maybe it will happen, maybe it won't? Maybe their next conversation between the two may be surprising for everyone?

Love. Fiction. 2020: Ahh I missed your new update from 2019 to 2020 in your username! They did say some hurtful things to each other and right now they resent each other, both hotheaded and not being able to speak their thoughts and feelings towards each other can strain any relationship

Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967: Thank you, and here is the next update!

Sabi2: I thought it was dramatic too, showcases the reality of two hot headed souls coming together and trying to work things out. Thank you for wishing me a very happy holiday season, and even though it is late, I hope you enjoyed yours as well. And yes, i do celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas :)

Guest: None taken, she is, but that is one of the fun parts of writing a realistic character, they have faults and are hot headed and mean.

Guest 2.0: Hahah thank you! I am glad that you really want their romance to come back. Don't worry, eventually things may... or may not... go back to normal

Tigaier: Thank you! I am happy that you like it so much. I know that right now it definitely is hair pulling given that each character seems like they are in a lot of pain but I promise that I have an idea to move past this dark phase and funk everyone seems to be in.

Guest 2.0: Assuming you are the other guest 2.0, I want to comment separately on this comment than the others. Thank you for your words and honestly, your previous comment a day ago, was what forced me to start typing again. I can relate to that feeling and I am happy to know that someone is still out there interested in this story after all this time. So, even if it isn't the best chapter, thank you for reaching out to me like you did. You are the reason why I wrote this chapter and hopefully I can get out of my writing funk. But, 1000x more than what I can say, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Grace was still angry with the two male superheroes that were talking right by the door of the warehouse. Barry had stitched her up poorly, the experience more traumatic for him than it was for her, however, it did hurt significantly more from his untrained hand. When she first told Barry to come stitch her up, she saw that Bruce was going to pipe up and say that he could help but when the blonde held the older man's gaze, even he wasn't stupid or naïve enough to disregard the threatening look that she had given him. So, with four poor stitches later, the graze on her arm was, for the most part, held together. She knew that she would probably have to redo it herself tonight, but for the meantime, it was good enough. Sighing and dragging her feet like a teenager who didn't think her parents understood her, Grace shoved the last article of clothing she wanted to take into her duffel bag and stood.

She took once last look at the warehouse that Barry and she had made into a home and said goodbye to it. She knew that there was no turning back now, with the pessimistic side of her telling her that she would never return here. However, she knew it was more of a reality than it was a pessimistic thought. Many probably viewed her on the side of pessimism, however, she thought that she was able to see reality for what it really was. That, however, was probably her problem. She had lost most of her will of hope and adventure after everything that had happened. She thought she was getting better, and maybe she was, however, just like someone who was trying to work out and see physical weight loss results, mental health and recovery took time. She had to train her brain to think differently. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she turned and meet Bruce and Barry by the door. A fleeting thought passed through her mind just as she neared the conversation the two of them were having: maybe this was the way she could heal, maybe, if she went ahead and became a part of something bigger than herself, she would be able to have a sense of her former self again.

With the thought, she pushed the sense of guilt down about last night and the conversation she had with a certain man she had pushed from her mind. Her mouth went dry. She knew what she said to him was cruel. She knew that he didn't deserve what she said, he seemed to be hurting just as much as she was, but she didn't want to be the bigger person. She wanted to yell, and scream, and be one with the hatred that flowed through her, and that is what she did. In a twisted way, she didn't feel wrong about the things she said, but more so on how she exploded on a man who she knew was just trying to help her. She knew that she had a hot temper and pairing that with Arthur's did not help matters, but that was just an excuse to try and derail the shame she felt. However, even though she had said this time and time again, she was going to get better. Even though she may have taken a large step backwards, it didn't mean she couldn't start taking small steps forward again.

When Grace found herself next to Barry she watched as he haphazardly shoved a cold pizza slice in his mouth and the three of them ventured outside. She was the one who noticed the fancy sports car and stilled momentarily, knowing full well that the car was not meant to transport three people.

"It's like this layer of dimensional reality, and it seems to manipulate the space-time continuum. I like to call if the Speed Force. It causes me to burn a tremendous amount of calories. So, I'm just a black hole of snacks. I am a snack hole."

Bruce shook his head chuckling to himself with Barry's explanation of his powers and his reasoning behind bringing an almost full pizza pie with them. Grace let their weird conversation continue as they tried to juggle getting into the car. The three of them were crammed into an uncomfortably small sports car and Grace had the added luck of being stuck in the middle of the two male superheroes. She was still angry over how Barry had completely just brushed her off and agree to Bruce's plan, or really, lack thereof and with lack of sleep and the morning sun beating into her eyes, she was less than a pleasant person right now. She knew that Barry was an adult, but she felt responsible for him in a way. It didn't help that what she said to Bruce was true, after going behind her back, the last thing she did was trust the man sitting to her left.

"So, how many people are on this special fight team?" Barry asked, jamming another piece of pizza into his mouth making his cheeks puff out.

In his gruff voice, Bruce responded, "Four, including you, myself, and Grace."

"I never said I would participate," Grace stated monotonically as she crossed her arms.

"And yet, here you are," Bruce matched Grace's tone, but yielded with a sly smile.

Tension started to build up between Bruce and Grace and Barry stopped chewing so he could redirect the feeling in the car. It was too soon for the two of them to start trying to kill each other when the mission hasn't even started yet.

"Four? Against What?" Barry's voice cracked, his nerves showing through.

Bruce looked between both young adults and sighed, turning his head back towards the road. It didn't go unnoticed by Grace that Bruce's hand tightened on the stirring wheel.

"I'll tell you on the plane."

"The plane? We get to go on a plane?" Barry exclaimed, his nervous energy turning into that of an excited child, but then quickly composed himself, "No offense, Mr. Bruce, but what are your superpowers again? I mean you're the Batman and all, but… you're really… just a man."

Grace noticed Bruce's hand softened as he smirked, looking back over at the two of them once more.

"I'm rich."

"Jesus," Grace rolled her eyes, clearly frustrated with this man.

If she could have rolled her eyes any harder, she would have found them in the back of her brain. The ending remark, however, came from Barry and it was directed towards his friend.

"We are doing the right thing here Grace, you'll see."

Grace let out a long sigh, not willing to fight Barry on the matter. She had a feeling that Barry was saying it more for himself than he was for her.

The rest of the ride to Bruce's undisclosed lake house was done in silence. Grace didn't realize it, but even though she was uncomfortable, in a multitude of ways, she had fallen asleep halfway through the ride and didn't pry her eyelids open until she felt the car pull onto a gravel road. She refused to lift her head off Barry's shoulder, she was uncomfortable in a comfortable sort of way and didn't want to ruin the sleepy haze that she was in. However, through the slit in her eyes, she was able to make out the passing trees that rushed by the car in a blurry haze. She knew that Bruce was probably breaking all sorts of speed limits and road laws, but right now, she just wanted to enjoy the peace between the three of them. The lake house was far off from the busy side streets of Gotham, but when it finally pulled into view, she could see that it was just as grand as the Wayne manner in Gotham. This took her breath away even more than the other mansion.

As Bruce turned off the engine, Grace lifted her head. She still had a groggy feeling in her head, but with little to no complaint, she followed Barry out of the car. The events of the past couple of hours were catching up to her and the cat nap that she had wasn't doing her body justice. She needed a deep sleep in a nice, warm, comfortable bed. She knew that she was probably grumpy on the exterior, even if she was mellow on the interior. In soft mutters she retrieved her duffle bag from the back of the car and slung it onto her body. She was silent on the way up to the mansion as Bruce and Barry continued to walk between themselves, Barry complimenting the house and exclaiming how being rich may be a real superpower if it could buy everything that Bruce had. Bruce pushed open the grand front doors and led them into the foyer of the house. Barry stood there in awe, not willing to move.

"Please make yourselves at home. The guest rooms are upstairs and to the left. I am sure that you both will be able to find one that you like for the night. Alfred will be here in about an hour."

After the dismissal, Barry doesn't hesitate to jet around the room taking in everything, pausing briefly to study another part of the mansion. Grace let him do his thing as there was only one thing on her mind: sleep. However, just as she took a step forward, she felt an hand around her bad forearm and hold her in place.

"Don't touch me," Grace threatened as she ripped her arm out of Bruce's hold. She knew that the peaceful, sleep-like haze that she was in wouldn't last long.

"I need to talk to you."

"And I have nothing to say to you."

"Grace, just hear me out. I need a team, I need people—"

"You know, it's funny… not once have I heard you say that you need help, or that you are politely asking for help."

"I asked… just now… with Barry."

Grace jammed her pointer finger and thumb to the bridge of her nose, just were her scrunched eyes met, showing her disdain for the conversation the two of them were having. Breathe, she reminded herself. She just needed to breathe.

"Yes, to Barry, Bruce. Not to me, or probably anyone else."

"Well fine then. If that is all you need," Bruce said sarcastically, "Grace, I need your help. You are the best mechanic I know. Plus, it doesn't help that, like it or not, you do have some metahuman abilities."

Grace cracked a smile at this.

"You say some, I say none. As you can see…" Grace drew in a breath holding up her injured arm. "Yes, yes, I am as surprised as you are to realize that invincibility isn't one of my powers either. Bruce, I am as close to a human as you are, and trust me, I think you are one of the furthest away from being a human that there is."

"I think you just contradicted yourself there—"

"Do you really want to start shit with me right now? I am tired and exhausted, and honestly, the only thing I want to do right now is go to bed. I have had a long day and instead of letting me get some peace and quiet you start attacking me with this crap. However, if in order to be excused, I need to kick your ass, I will do that. Just please, for the love of everything holy, let me go to bed."

Grace took a few steps forward, thinking that she at last had the upper hand on the playboy in front of her, but he couldn't let an argument rest. It wasn't in his nature.

"You may be good at street fighting, but I have had countless nights upon years of training fighting real criminals on the street to lose to your weak-minded attempts and petty punches and kicks."

Dropping her duffel bag, the blonde looked up onto the ceiling. She should just walk away. This was the exact same thing that had happened with Arthur. She wanted to walk away, but more than anything she wanted to put Bruce in his place.

"See, that is your first mistake right there…" Grace mumbled.

"Which is?"

"Underestimating your opponent."

Grace turned around and launched herself at Bruce, mustering every ounce of strength she had left. Grace's first punch missed her mark as Bruce ducked. She knew that he was agile, even for his age and she was fighting at a disadvantage with being tired, sore, and her arm already using with pain. Granted, she wasn't going to yield and give Bruce the satisfaction of being the better fighter. He may have money; he may have had plenty of hours devoted into training and had the best money could buy. However, she had something he didn't have. She had street smarts, and she wasn't afraid to play dirty. If there was one thing that she learned from the streets, anything went if it helped one achieve their goal.

Bruce came up and tried to punch the blonde in the stomach, but she was faster than Bruce. Instead, she caught his wrist and twisted it painfully the other way. She heard him grunt, but that was when her view of the world shifted. Through everything, her brain forgot about their legs. Grace's was kicked out from under her and she fell sharply on her side. With the collision on the wood floor, she felt warm liquid pulse against her arm, knowing that her stitches had come undone. However, this didn't deter her from her main objective, and with Bruce's figure looming on top of her, she didn't hesitate to remember the use of her own legs after his nice reminder.

Bruce grabbed ahold of Grace's figure, but instead, she had expected this. She broke Bruce's posture on top of her, making his arms splay out by her head. In one swift movement, she shifted underneath him, holding on to his left wrist with one hand, she used her other arm, to come in and wrap over his left shoulder. She knew that Bruce wasn't dumb enough to let her have a shoulder lock, plus she knew that with her injuries already bleeding, she wasn't strong enough to pin him that way. With body mass taken into consideration, Grace instead, felt Bruce try to pull away, and with that same momentum, she bucked her hips, effectively rolling the two of them, so Grace was now on top of Bruce.

Bruce flailed on the ground and wrapped his arms instinctively around Grace's torso preventing her from moving. However, with the last bit of strength she had, the blonde shuffled one of her feet under her and pressed up, creating a way for her to land some strikes onto Bruce's face. She had effectively isolated one of Bruce's arms and softened his hold on her. She pushed her knee as close as she could to Bruce's head, creating pressure on his shoulder and he let go of her torso. Without even thinking about it, she rammed her elbow onto Bruce's nose, causing blood to spurt out everywhere. Bruce was beyond pissed and before Grace could throw her elbow down on top of him again, the two of them heard a loud, beautiful, feminine voice yell at them.

"Enough!"

Instantly, Bruce and Grace pulled away from each other. The voice commanding their respect, even though Grace didn't know who was there yelling at them. She laid on the floor panting next to Bruce as he held his nose. The two of them got up, a sight for sore eyes. Grace's sleeve was dark with her own blood and Bruce's nose wouldn't stop bleeding. She knew that she didn't strike hard enough to break his nose, but if she placed a bruise on his pretty face, she would have no objections. However, instead of worrying about Bruce, Grace turned her attention to the elegant woman in front of her. She had brown eyes and deep colored chestnut hair. Grace, from the time that she was little, she knew that she was straight, that she liked men. However, hell be damned, if the woman in front of the blonde wanted it, Grace wouldn't hesitate to have her babies. That woman was beyond hot, beyond gorgeous. Grace didn't think that enough of the English language could convey how attractive this woman was.

"Bruce, how did I know that you would be here, trying to upset someone new?" The woman asked, with humor in her voice even though everything else in her body language conveyed that this was not a humorous matter.

"Ah, Diana, perfect timing."

Instead of acknowledging Bruce, Diana held out her hand for Grace. Grace placed her own hand against Diana's and greeted her.

"Diana Prince."

"Grace Sanibel."

"So, Diana here, is the fourth member of the team I was talking about," Bruce said, tilting his head backwards to try and slow down the blood flow.

It was obvious to the two women that he couldn't stand being left out of the conversation. Grace was happy that someone else seemed to understand how Bruce seemed to crave attention like a little kid.

"I was hope he asked you to help in a nicer way than he did with me," Grace joked with Diana.

"You know Bruce," Diana sighed, Grace picking up on a slight accent this time, "men in general, they aren't used to playing nice, but I guess that just means that we have to teach them certain lessons then."

Grace not only found this woman attractive, but she liked her a lot. Diana reminded her of Mera in way. Doesn't take any crap from anyone, male, female, alien, or not.

"Grace," Bruce interrupted, "Diana is one of the Amazons… or as I am sure that the news media likes to call her… Wonder Woman."

Grace's eyes widened and without thinking, she spoke, "I love you."

Diana laughed at Grace's confession and the blonde blushed slightly, not used to being in a room with someone she respected so fully. She had the feeling that the two would become fast friends, especially with having to deal with Bruce and his antics.

"Thank you for the compliment, I know it is genuine coming from you," Diana responded.

"Am I missing something here?" Bruce asked exasperatedly, looking between both women.

Diana and Grace shared a look and the two lightly laughed.

"Anyway, I'll leave you two, I need to go get some sleep… and deal with putting in new stitches," Grace said, trying to stifle a yawn as she bent over to pick up her duffel bag, mock saluting the two of them before trying to find an unoccupied room.

Grace started up the stairs, but she could hear a muffled conversation transpire between Diana and Bruce. Per usual, the blonde's nosier nature kicked in and she stilled on the staircase, hearing the rest of their conversation.

"You know, I paid millions of dollars for security around this place?"

"Yeah, it looked expensive," Diana joked with Bruce and if Grace was there next to him, she was sure that Bruce had just given Diana a smile his tone finally starting to become calmer.

"Hi, by the way."

"Hi, Bruce. I couldn't help but see that you had a new toy in there."

"Yeah, I figured Grace could make some updates while she is here… after she gets some sleep. It's a new prototype troop carrier."

"Updates?" Diana asked quizzically.

"She is a great mechanic."

"Hmm…"

"What? I don't like that look you have on your face."

"I never thought I would live to see the day that Bruce Wayne would complement someone so soon after losing in a fight."

Bruce sarcastically laughed, "I give credit where credit is due. Plus, I deserved how she treated me. I roped in her friend Barry into coming with is, even though I may have, kind of promised that I wouldn't talk to him."

"What made you break your promise?"

"That other lead… the one where we thought was connected to her, well he down right told me no. He refused to help."

"I can see why she is mad now…"

"I mean, at one point everyone sees their ex and has to deal with them."

"That isn't what I mean Bruce. You went behind her and spoke to her friend."

"Yeah…" Bruce sighed in defeat, realizing, finally, that he was in the wrong on both accounts.

There was a pregnant pause between the two of them and Grace moved to the next step thinking that their conversation was over and she didn't want to be stuck there having them think that she was eavesdropping on them, even though that was exactly what she was doing.

"Is she human, like you?"

"More or less. Yes and no… She is mostly human, I think, but I know that there is a touch of Atlantean spirit in her."

"I am glad that she is on our side then."

"Me too."

"Pst… pssstttt!" Barry was becoming more and more obnoxious in her room as Grace laid out on her stomach sprawled out on top of the bed.

She never even made it under the covers before she passed out. She didn't change out of her clothes or patch herself up, which was probably a mistake. These covers probably cost more than all her organs on the black market. She didn't know how he was able to have so much energy all the time. After he had zoomed around the house and found his room, Barry made it a point to come in and check up on his friend. However, with her dead to the world, he had been waiting in impatient intervals for her to wake up, until finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Would you can it?" Grace mumbled, shoving a pillow over her head.

"I mean only if the phantom rider can catch me—"

Without hesitation, Grace pulled the pillow that was over her head and threw it at Barry, smacking him right in the middle of his face. The two of them stilled not realizing that Grace hit them and then they both broke out in a fit of giggles.

"Not so fast now, huh?" Grace said between bouts of laughter.

Barry zoomed over to her and smushed Grace into the bed, the two of them laughing even harder, if that was possible. Grace kneed Barry in the side and she rolled over to the other side of the bed, the two of them both clutching their stomachs for air. It was something so simple, so stupid, that only best friends could laugh about. However, as the two settled in next to each other, the blonde rolled over to her side and Barry did the same, the two of them looking at each other.

"You know, you could have let me sleep a bit longer…"

"I mean I could, but what would be the fun in that?"

Grace playfully rolled her eyes at her friend but knew what he was about to say next.

"You said that you would tell me about everything later… and well… It's later…"

Grace groaned, "Do I have to?"

Barry just nodded his head and Grace stuck her tongue out at him. She wished that she could be this carefree person all the time, or at least how she once was. However, maybe this was truly the first way to start fresh. She had tried the drugs and alcohol, that unsurprisingly didn't help, then she tried to push it down, only talking about things in small bursts, but now, she realized that Barry may have been right all along. It wasn't professional help, but if she could start with one person, her small steps forward wouldn't be futile. So, taking a deep breath, grace tells Barry about everything, not leaving out a single detail. It was messy and raw and both shed tears together, but Grace told him everything.

She spoke about her adventure in Alaska with her uncle and how her father left her a boat, meeting a strange guy, falling in love with him, and evidently him breaking her heart by leaving her. She spoke about her time about being a Superhero if that was what she wanted to call herself, being stabbed by Triton and how the injury caused her to never have children, all because she chose to do the right thing. She told Barry about how Arthur broke things off with her via a handwritten note, how she went through physical therapy for months, trying to gain her muscles back for normal everyday life, how cruel she was to Benny, her uncle during this time. She felt like he was babying her even though deep down he was just trying to help, but it just made things worse, so she parted with the only family she had left and moved back to Gotham to complete her degree against Benny's wishes.

She spoke of her random jobs in Gotham, street racing, learning to fight and training herself to use her powers with help from her friend Mera in the beginning, she spoke about the abuse of alcohol and drugs, trying to forget her pain. She told Barry about Mateo, how he was there for her, but she didn't truly feel for him like he did for her, she told him how she loved being a mechanic and being on the open ocean more than anything, and finally, she told him about meeting him and where they were now, how she didn't trust Bruce and that she was scared that they may have taken hold of something more than they could chew.

Barry stayed silent the whole time, letting Grace tell her story, and when he knew that she was finished, the only thing that Barry could say was: "Your ex is a dick."

"Yeah, he was."

"Was? You don't think that still?"

Grace stayed silent, "I actually saw him last night, he was the one who pulled me out of the lake."

"Yeah, you said that, and you feel guilty about speaking to him, but he is still an ass for leaving you like he did."

The blonde rubbed her eyes and smiled at her friend.

"I also now know how you got so good at driving that motorcycle and enough though I don't like the crap that you sought out and put yourself through, I can respect your skills. I still don't think Mateo should have enabled you, especially since it seemed like he knew the most of what was bothering you, but I still can't find any real bad beef from him since he cares for his daughter."

"Well, even though I never asked for it, I am happy that you approve Barry."

"I do have a question though…"

"Okay, shoot."

"Did you even want to have kids?"

Grace sucked in a breath and let it out, she promised the truth and that was what she was going to give Barry.

"I never really thought about it, to be honest with you. I mean, maybe if the time was right, and with the right guy, maybe, yeah sure. However, when my ability of essentially being a woman was stripped away from me… it was a hard blow to get over. I know that everyone wanted me to get over it, that it wasn't a true reason to grieve, like I didn't lose a child or anything to that nature, but still, I lost a part of myself. So, as everyone else started to move on around me, I think that people were just upset that I wasn't moving on from my misfortune too."

"Well, first of all, your ability to have kids or not have kids, does not make you any less of a woman."

"I know that but—"

Barry held up his hand, an unusual look of seriousness crossed his face.

"Also, it doesn't matter how everyone else feels around you, everyone grieves differently. They should have been there to help and support you, not get mad at you because you haven't 'gotten over it' like you said yourself. Something that isn't big to one person doesn't mean that it isn't for another. It is something traumatic that you went through and everyone deals with trauma differently."

Grace smiled at Barry, who knew that her friend was so good at knowing what she needed to hear.

"I know that I need to move forward, but I feel like I'm stuck in place… that I have to keep moving but I just see all the setbacks around me."

"It is hard to get through something like this, and I know you don't want to hear this, but it takes time to get through something as big as this. You don't realize what is happening or that you are moving forward until one morning you just realize that it starts to hurt a little less than the previous days. Hold onto that feeling and keep it with you. I'm not saying that there are days that won't be hard, but you are the strongest person I know Grace. If anyone can get through this and become stronger from it, it is you."

Silent tears streamed down the blonde's face and she pulled her friend into a hug. The two of them held each other for a while, until a knock on the door brought the two of them back to reality and they broke apart. Alfred poked his head in the door and looked between Barry and Grace, his eyes landing on Grace's matted shoulder that was caked with dried blood.

"We have multiple rooms you know. Also, please don't bleed all over the bed, Miss Sanibel…"

"Well, Alfred, if people left me alone so I could sleep, then I guess I wouldn't be moving as much to get blood everywhere… also… if it isn't too much to ask… can you help me clean and stitch my arm back up?"

"Hey! What was wrong with what I did?" Barry exclaimed.

"Other than the fact that they were poorly done, stretched at my already sore skin, and you put them in haphazardly as if they were going to jump out at you and eat you, then you did a perfect job."

Barry rolled his eyes at Grace, but she got off the bed and made her way towards Alfred. The two left Barry in the other room, but he scrambled to his feet and met them outside. Before Alfred took them towards a washroom, he spoke up, directing his words towards Grace.

"Miss Sanibel, I have something to show you before we clean you up."

Noting his serious tone, Grace complied, "Okay, lead the way, Alfred."

Alfred didn't say anything until they made their way to the basement. Grace made it a mental note to ask Bruce what his fixation was with basements as she looked around the large room, gasping when she saw what obviously Alfred was tasked to show her. New clothes were lined up on a paneled wall next to her bike, that looked almost new. There didn't seem to be any prolonged damage to it, even though it was completely submerged in water before.

"You'll probably have to look at the bike later, I just dried it off and have someone fix it up so it could start. However, your clothes on the other hand, I hope you don't mind my forwardness here, but your uniform needed an upgrade. We made your usual outfit into something more lasting. We used light, synthetic, bullet proof fabric, with your signature matte black color and your helmet was also formatted to include a new tech interface within the tinted visor. Not only will you be able to see better at night, given that it is more of a one-way glass situation, but this tech interface will provide you with real time data on your enemies and the surroundings around you."

Grace strolled over and lifted the helmet off the peg and grazed her fingertips across the helmet, looking at the new sleek design.

"Holy shit," was the only thing audible that came out of Grace's mouth.

"It's not much, but it's a start."

"Alfred… you didn't have to do this…"

"Miss Sanibel, as much as I would appreciate the praise, I am afraid to say that this was all Master Wayne's idea."

Grace looked down at the helmet in her hands. Bruce didn't have to do any of this especially with how callous she acted towards the man.

"As I quote Master Wayne, if you are going to fight with us, you are going to have to be able to protect yourself… and fight back."

Grace furrowed her eyebrows, but before she could ask the question on her mind, Alfred clicked a button and a drawer pulled out underneath her outfit. Grace walked over and if she thought seeing her bike and her new outfit were nice, she couldn't even put her excitement into words as she looked at the gleaming black metal of dual pistols.

"I know you don't shoot anyone, and you may be worried about someone else using these guns, but I can assure you, that no one but you, Miss Sanibel, can use these weapons."

"What do you mean?"

"Pick it up," was the only direction she received from the butler.

Grace followed Alfred's instructions and the gun felt smooth in her hands, almost as if it was made for her grip. However, the unnatural thing, was that the side panels of the barrel of the gun started to glow a hazy blue, almost the same shade as the under-body lights of her bike.

"When your guns glow like that, it means they are fully charged and ready for you to use them. These guns… they don't need standard ammo, they need—"

"They needed water… how did you… where did you…"

"Nevertheless, only those with the power to manipulate water and have your hand print can use these guns. The guns also can speak to your tech interface in your helmet."

Without warning, Grace pulled the trigger and gasped seeing the hole on the opposite wall.

"High pressurized water bullets?"

"Master Bruce had a team of scientist study your movements from news footage and with what we knew about the Atlantean's lore we guessed about the rest. However, with your powers, I am sure that these will be able to help you."

Grace couldn't help but smile at her new toys. Alfred was right, she could use these and use them well. Maybe joining this team wasn't such a bad idea after all.