"I'm almost 18, Mom, I could handle living alone", I remembered saying to my mother before she left for her second honeymoon.
"Riiight. Remember when you almost burned the house down?"
"Ohhhh yeah..."
Which was why I was compelled to live in Mount Justice until she got back.
Which would be in a year.
I took a deep breath. How bad could it be? I see Megan and Superboy almost everyday, it's not like they're going to bite me or anything.
I stepped into the lounge for dinner, with my bag of belongings slung over my shoulder.
"Megan? Superboy?"
"In here!" Megan answered from the kitchen.
I walked inside hesitantly, still grumpy about living here.
Megan was fixing dinner, with Superboy standing behind her, completely covered in milk.
When she saw me, she smiled. "Erica! I'm so GLAD you're gonna live here with us!"
I faked a smile. "Yeah, so am I," I said, my sarcasm obvious.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Superboy chuckle.
Great, the paranoia was getting to me already.
I set my bag down. "Do you need help with dinner?"
She snuck a glance at Superboy. "No, thank you, I think I could do it alone."
"Okay," I said, relieved. I had no idea how to cook.
Maybe Mom was right--how was I gonna feed myself for a year?

A howling monkey woke me up from my troubled sleep. It felt like it was yelling in my ear, but instead it was a few miles away from the mountain.
"Ugh. Stupid jungle." I tried going back to sleep, but the sounds of nature kept me awake.
I groaned and sat up. I might as well get up now.
I took a quick shower and walked to the empty lounge. It was different, almost scary, seeing no one here. I took a look at the clock. It was nearly seven.
My stomach growled loudly. It was as if it was screaming "FEED ME!"
"Fine!" I answered the imaginary voice.
I opened the refrigerator and looked inside. I found a carton of milk, and made myself cereal.
When I was nearly done, out of nowhere, a voice thundered through the speakers.
"Erica, to the Training Room," said a bored female voice. "Aquaman is waiting for you."
I picked the bowl up and drank what was left of my meal. "In a minute!"
"He wants you NOW." The voice ordered. I was pretty sure it was Black Canary.
Jeez, be patient, would you? I threw the bowl in the sink and ran for the training room.
Aquaman was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the wall clock.
"I'm here!" I stumbled into the room, landing before his feet.
"Erica, you're late. You were supposed to be here an hour ago."
I brushed off my shoulders. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I overslept." Leave it to Batman to leave out the one piece of information I needed.
"Alright, now show me your water element..."
And it went on like that: Me completing the same move over and over again, and Aquaman telling me to do it again.
By four in the afternoon, he finally said, "That completes our training for today. I'll see you again next week."
"Are you sure?" I rasped. "Not another move?"
He nodded, not getting my sarcasm.
When I got to the lounge, I heaved myself on the couch, exhausted.
Okay, Erica, you've done enough for today. You deserve a few hours of sleep...
I closed my eyes, ready to sleep, when that godforsaken alarm blared through the speakers.
"Are you flippin' serious?!!!" I reluctantly got up and ran for the Mission Room.