missfittingin - Tumblr blog

[missfittingin]

nomadcaptain​:

Steve nodded – it was hard to picture Charlie’s life before Barbara and Helena, with how well he knew them and how they took it upon themselves to care for the girl. She had pushed through hardships to be there, same as any of them, and she still had it in her heart to let it bleed for a tortured young man.

“If anyone can, it’s you.” He encouraged, smiling. “I’ll have to talk some things through with Babs, but I advise you to let her hear it from you as well. Especially if you’d like to share some things that you wouldn’t tell me anyway. She’ll understand.” They were the same when it came to trusting people even when the rest of the world could be against them. He stood, unwilling to hold the girl back from her duties any longer. “Good luck on your homework.”

She took the encouragement with a gentle smile of her own before nodding more seriously at the advice regarding Babs. "You're probably right. I do have to talk it out with her." And then a beat of silence before she forced herself to lighten up. She flashed him a grin before adding, "But please do rescue me if you hear her start to throw things at me."

Even if that was a very real possibility. As Steve stood up to leave, Charlie nodded, twirling her pen thoughtfully and waiting until he was almost out of the door. "Hey. Thank you. For letting me know what was going on and for the advice. It helped," she said sincerely, expression softening.

[missfittingin]

amzingspider​:

Peter glanced at all the pink smoke that was still somewhat dissipating. “I think it’s cool. There’s a mutant out there that leaves like a black/blue smoke behind him when he teleports.” he nodded. “You’re not a mutant though are you?” He knew enough xmen to kind of guess who was and wasn’t one of them. “Come on, I’ll show you where to go from here.” Peter gestured to follow then took the lead ahead a bit so she would feel comfortable walking a bit behind him.

Charlie's eyes widened at the news, her grin becoming all the more excited. "Oh hell yeah, that rules. I love that mine is pink but blue and black is so much scarier," she said brightly, following him eagerly as he continued to speak. "Not a mutant, no. Something else entirely," she added, thinking back to her conversation with Zatanna. Still, they could get into that after they had gotten pastries. She usually was more amenable to sharing if she had eaten.

[missfittingin]

blackcanaryrising​:

She finished her stretches and made Charlie do the same. Once her hands were wrapped and her muscles her lose she smiled a lazy smile at Charlie and then waved her in. “I’m good to go. Let’s see what you got.”

Dinah was happy to spar and she reacted to Charlie with ease as they kept the pace more like a warm up. “So I know Paris ended up sucking.” She blocked a swing and did one of her own. “Have you be getting along here? Are you bored out of your mind being stuck in this castle?”

Charlie grinned, ducking and weaving as she threw the first blow - an easy, open one that she knew Dinah would be able to block or evade. Just enough to keep the pace brisk without being too serious yet.

"It didn't suck," she said, deftly blocking the blow and pivoting into a turn to draw Dinah into close quarters. "It just was a lot and I missed people," she added. Charlie swung easily and offered a shrug. "Yeah. Doing okay. Bored sometimes but trying to keep busy with things that aren't mischief."

[missfittingin]

helenahxnts​:

The problem, often, with telling someone something they didn’t want to hear… was that there was a likely chance they’d choose to ignore it, or only hear the bits they wanted to. Helena’s eyes narrowed slightly at Charlie’s response. She rolled her lips thoughtfully, inclining her head. 

“I think that it sounds like you’ve already decided what you want to do, despite your better judgement,” she replied slowly, “and I don’t think that it was what I was getting at. But I can’t tell you what to do definitively, since you know the situation better than I do. But just…” Helena sighed, squeezing Charlie’s hands. “If you’re going to try to get past this, whatever it was, don’t forget what they’re capable of, alright? Know they can do it again. And… make sure it’ll be worth the heartache if they do.”

It wasn't approval, Charlie knew that. In fact, it was very firmly the other side of that. Helena would have her head if she knew the truth of the situation but Charlie knew she was right - she had already made the decision to try and help RJ. Even if it was against her better judgement.

She squeezed Helena's hands back. "I know. I'm trying to keep my heart out of it but...I think I have to try. If I don't, I'll always wonder and part of me will always feel guilty for not trying." She admitted. And that guilt would run a lot deeper than Helena would guess. He was deserving of help, even if he had lied. There would always be space for him to make that up to her if they could just make sure he was willing to try and be on their side.

[missfittingin]

@buffkermitrising

Seeing more people her age around the Mousehole was absolutely cause for excitement if you asked Charlie. The new arrivals had been processed in the standard way and now, Charlie was eagerly bouncing from foot to foot as she waited for them to appear in a communal area. She had brought some of her favourite snacks out of her prized mini fridge and was eager to catch sight of any of them.

First up was the one they had called Hulkling - something she absolutely wanted to ask - and, grinning, she waved at him brightly. "Hi! Oh, that was way too loud - sorry," she said, raking her hair back. "Hello, sorry! I just wanted to say hi since you seem to be one of our newest arrivals!"

[missfittingin]

blackcanaryrising​:

“There she is!” Dinah exclaimed. She caught the end of Charlie’s swinging ponytail and then gave it a playful pull. She led the way to the gym and found the remote. Music filled the room. Dinah didn’t work out without music. She didn’t really do anything without music. It was like blood to her. 

Dinah took off her coat and then pulled out the wraps for her hands. “You want to keep it standard? You can try to jump me and I promise not to hit you too hard? We can see where the combat muscles need shaking off.”

Charlie laughed, swatting at Dinah's pull to her ponytail, and began to bounce idly on the balls of her feet to the rhythm of the music. She loved that Dinah was always so eager to have music playing, it quelled much of the restlessness in Charlie. Allowing the movement kept her loose and free and ready for anything.

"Sounds perfect," Charlie said, obediently wrapping her hands as she had been taught, pulling the wraps taut and clean. "Tell me when you're good to go. We can fight fair first," she teased.

[missfittingin]

annatazarctaz​:

Zatanna paused for a moment and examined the girl’s face for a moment, frowning at the confusion clouding the pale blue in her eyes. She hadn’t found out about her own heritage until she was in her early teens, but still. This girl had to be at least eighteen. “Yes,” she pursed her lips, “I’m saying you’re magic––what on earth have they been teaching you here.” A lack of education in the ways of the Magi could really only be excused by death in Zatanna’s humble opinion. Surely, Charlie must be an orphan; there certainly wasn’t a shortage of them on the castle grounds. “Haven’t you ever wondered why you can do things other people can’t?”

Charlie blinked back her, equally as confused as the other seemed to be. "What the shit?" She asked aloud, head canted. There was a beat of silence before Charlie felt the need to defend her bird moms. "I mean...my mom died when I was a kid and she didn't ever know where my abilities came from. Neither did anyone else." A beat of silence as she shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I just sort of assumed it was something I could just do. Like all those mutants or metas that are just born with abilities. Those aren't all magic."

[missfittingin]

blackcanaryrising​:

Dinah was happy to lead the way toward the work out rooms with a little spring in her step. “Do you need to change or are you good to get a little down and dirty? I know I sprung it on you.” She was wearing the right gear and her hair was up in the curly poof on her head. Charlie might be comfortable in what she was in but if she wasn’t Dinah wasn’t a task master. She’d be patient and she could warm up while she waited if Charlie needed to bounce to her room.

She’d probably just start with a straight spar and see where Charlie was at after so long being out of the game. They could work up to more the more they practiced but Dinah would keep it light enough that they could talk some. She needed to catch up more with the littlest bird.

"Oh good call," Charlie hummed, picking at her skinny jeans before disappearing in a burst of hot pink smoke. It had barely disappeared before she was back, clad now in her usual workout set and with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail, the ends swinging rapidly from the force of her movement. "Okay, definitely all set now." With that, she flashed a sharp grin at Dinah and picked up the pace towards the gym.

She was mostly just excited to get moving again, in hopes of proving to Babs and Helena that she could be trusted even with minor field missions here and there. There were plenty of young heroes trickling in now, she didn't see why she couldn't join their ranks.

[missfittingin]

nomadcaptain​:

Was it shyness that made her avoid looking him in the eye? Was she trying to keep her real motives to herself? Steve could be oblivious, but he’d been young too – still was, in spite of some people treating him like an old man. Yet she wasn’t wrong in making her stance, and he wanted her to keep building that confidence in guiding those who were lost.

“You attend university in Paris, Charlie. He grew up in a Nazi cult… that’s hardly some shared life experience,” he pointed out, not unkindly. “But I do hope he’ll be able to relate to a different point of view. We’d have to talk it through with our security experts.” Which obviously included one Barbara Gordon. This was something he wouldn’t want to do behind her back.

The points he rose were true enough and Charlie let her lips twist a little in a grimace before she reluctantly dragged her gaze up to Steve's, eyes glassy with unshed tears but shining with determination. "It's not. But he's around my age and I spent enough time living on the streets to know what it's like to miss out on important things. And I want to help him do all those things."

Like milkshake dates. Like reading a good book and forcing it on your friends. Like laughing over something ridiculous until it hurts so badly you can barely breathe. "I want to be able to help him do that at least. I think it'll help." It was a firm choice. Even when faced with the prospect of Babs knowing. "Okay," she said, voice steady despite everything.

[missfittingin]

amzingspider​:

“Okay.” With that, Peter turned to leave but turned back when she sighed. “Yeah I hear that teleporting when you haven’t been to a certain place before does that to a person.” He pushed his hands into his pockets, lifting his chin slightly at the statement complete with a single shrug of his left shoulder. “I don’t get surprised about many things these days because when you’ve been in the hero business for as long as I have, you learn not to bat an eye.” With a smile, he stood up a bit taller. “So, do you need help finding this place? You’ve kinda ended up in the shady part of town.”

Charlie grinned at him, relieved that she had happened to run into another hero rather than some sort of ISA agent that she would have to beat the living hell out of. "That's pretty sick. I've not been in it that long. Since I was like 14, I guess," she hummed thoughtfully before shrugging again. "I've been around before - it's not far away. I just get distracted sometimes and it doesn't exactly do me any favours with all of this," she said, gesturing at the dissipating smoke sheepishly. She did still really want those damn pastries though.

[missfittingin]

nomadcaptain​:

It wasn’t always the easiest to be objective when personal matters were involved. Steve tried to keep himself in check in spite of his idealism, and so far he considered that they were raising valid points without forgetting about assessing the risks. He nodded at the question about how RJ must have been raised under Hydra, noticing how affected Charlie seemed to be at the thought. Steve wouldn’t be surprised if she felt deeply for anyone’s suffering – that was expected of a girl dedicating herself to the good fight – but there was also something unique threading through her reactions.

“There’s a chance, yes,” he confirmed. Not a certainty, but a possibility – and he had always operated within possibilities. “It has to be his choice. We can show him different paths and he’ll decide for himself. In the meantime, we can consider showing him other parts of the castle, with measured precautions.”  

"A chance is all we need." Charlie's voice was resolute now, the steel-flash of determination that spoke to exactly who had taught her how to be a hero in the first place. For all they would have her head for this, Babs and Helena had taught her resolve and steel like no one else could have. There would be space for him to change, to unlearn, to start anew. She wanted him to have that opportunity, just as she had been given once upon a time. The situation was different but the Birds had taken a chance on her - she couldn't let them all turn their backs on RJ now.

"I would like to come along, if that's okay. I think...we get along and it would help for him to have someone he can relate to," she said carefully, deliberately keeping her gaze lowered and away from Steve's.

[missfittingin]

annatazarctaz​:

“Someone fabulous, I’m sure,” Zatanna quipped with a bright grin and a flick of her curls over her shoulder. She knew, of course, that not everyone was blessed with the confidence instilled in her after years of putting on a show for a crowd of strangers from the time she was twelve years old, but Charlie’s confusion was surprising. “People of magic should never doubt their abilities, Miss Radcliffe, especially Homo Magi. There are so few of us left, after all.” 

.

"Oh absolutely," Charlie replied, returning the grin without a second thought. She instinctively mirrored the other woman, pushing her hair back from her face in a manner more accurately described as rakish rather than elegant like the other. She liked this woman and the easy confidence to her words, but it didn't stop them from ringing false in her ears. Charlie tipped her head. "Us? Are you saying that I'm magic?" That did seem to be the implication here. Her abilities came from magic?

[missfittingin]

blackcanaryrising​:

“The only way to get them ‘keen’ again is to prove you can handle it. Train with me and I’ll fill their ears about it. You only need one bird on your side if she’s the loudest bird of the bunch.” Even without her Cry, Dinah was that without even trying. She’d call it her natural exuberance. Maybe it was actually that she was an only child raised by a cop and a superhero and then by a boxer who surrounded her with athletes with loud mouths. You had to speak up to be heard around people like that. 

“Come on moppet. A life as a hero is way more interesting than what’s going on in those games isn’t it? Let’s get you back to that daaaaaark vengeance.” 

"Hey now, those games are a lot of fun, I'll have you know," she teased, even as she shut down the system and scrambled over the back of the sofa. "Lead the way," she chirped, hands sliding into the pockets of her jeans as she canted her head towards the door. She hadn't been training in a hot second and she was very excited to get back into it, even if it was nothing more than a light spar.

God knows her powers didn't need too much work - she took too much delight in them to let them go unused and wasted. One day, her bouncing would be so precise that she would make a hell of a thief if need be.

[missfittingin]

oracleisonline​:

There it was. Barbara did her best to swallow a sigh, the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose growing with each second ticking by. Barbara wanted Charlie as far away from hero-work as she could be, and she knew that Helena felt the same. However, Charlie had made it clear just how miserable she’d been in Paris and allowing her to relocate to the Mousehole had become more of a necessity rather than an option. Not to mention, Barbara had missed her desperately and she knew that Helena had as well. Having Charlie close was a comfort, and it was nice to be able to keep an eye on her as well. Misfit, however, had Barbara a little on edge. The ISA was a real risk, even moreso for metahumans and heroes with superhuman abilities. Charlie checked every box, and Barbara would set the world on fire if anything were to happen to her. “It’s a possibility.” There. Simple, inconclusive, not committing one way or the other. “There are plenty of base-related operations that I’m sure could use your help. I can ask around.”

The answer was purposefully vague, Charlie knew that. She was, despite all her posturing and affectations, very aware of the fact that it was a dangerous business and that both Babs and Helena worried. She also knew that she was an adult who had survived hardships most people her age hadn't. There would always be danger around the corner for her. She might as well lean in and use it to help others where she could.

"Okay," she agreed amiably, shrugging one shoulder as she turned the chair from side to side restlessly, energy thrumming under her skin insistently at the thought of being able to do things again.

"I am happy to help wherever you think I'll be most useful," she said, attempting not to give away just how excited she was.

[missfittingin]

amzingspider​:

Peter had been throwing the trash out from his apartment when she appeared in a cloud of pink smoke. Honestly? He didn’t even blink when it happened because this wasn’t the worst teleport he had seen over the years. “Hey.” He nodded a little in greeting then tossed the bag in the dumpster. “Are you lost? You seem a little lost.” Peter raised an eyebrow at her then moved to lean against the dumpster, arms crossed. “Were you aiming for this alley or? Because it sure doesn’t seem like it.”

"I absolutely meant to be in this alley," Charlie said stubbornly, folding her arms to match his posture as she huffed out a breath, blowing away the last of the pink smoke around her. She held the facade for a moment before sighing and shrugging. "Okay maybe not. I was thinking about pastries through and apparently that is very dangerous when you're also travelling." She said carefully, sizing up the man in front of her. "You don't seem surprised though."

[missfittingin]

@amzingspider

The thing about bouncing was that, when her mind wandered, it was all too easy to end up somewhere she hadn’t intended to. She had been intending just to bounce from her room in the Mousehole over to the rec room so she could pick up on her game for a bit. 

Except then she had realised how hungry she was and made the mistake of thinking about those excellent pastries from Matchak. 

All of this to say, she appeared in a cloud of pink smoke in an alleyway nearby said cafe and staring right at a man who she vaguely recognised. 

“Uh. Hey.” 

[missfittingin]

oracleisonline​:

“That goes both ways, y’know.” The stare that Barbara gave Charlie was a little pointed, eyes squinting just slightly as she waved her own fork right back. “But I think the worrying on my end leans the scales to the never ending side regardless of what you do. Think I signed up for that right along with the bouncing.” To be honest, Barbara probably wouldn’t ever get fully used to either. The worrying was never ending, which always made her father chuckle when Barbara spoke of it. The bouncing would always catch her off guard, leaving Barbara startled in a puff of pink smoke; she never did like surprises. “Hm.” Barbara tried to keep her expression neutral, though she wasn’t exactly sure that she’d succeeded. This was a complicated conversation, one that Barbara wasn’t sure she trusted herself to navigate on her own. “Misfit has other uses that are out of the field, though I’m always one to encourage education. I think we both know I’m a little biased towards the latter.”

Charlie held the gaze with an innocent one of her own, eyes wide and imploring in a way that they both knew was only partially honest. She eventually let it crack into a relaxed smile and an easy shrug, entirely unapologetic for the most part. "Well, I do my best to make it as exciting as possible for you all."

She made a thoughtful sound at the platitudes Barbara offered up and raised one eyebrow as she thought through what she was about to propose. "So...say if I did one summer class, just to keep things ticking over there, you'd maybe let me do non-field work things as Misfit?" She asked carefully, attempting to match that neutral expression.