53 Training 3/6

It was nice to take a simple stroll through the city, the constant sounds seemed to help drown out Ethan's thoughts as Teekl stayed by his side.

A few people tried to pet the unique looking cat, but he'd hiss at them while walking close to Ethan.

"I feel a lot better now. I should go back to continue training." Ethan muttered.

'Let's go by a pet shop. I think you deserve a treat.' He mentally said to the cat.

After Teekl heard 'treat' there was a bit more pep in his step as they approached a pet store.

"Hello! Welcome to..." The associate at the door was immediately captivated by Ethan's exotic looks, causing them to momentarily forget the name of their store.

"Uh..."

"Which aisle is the cat treats on?" He asked.

"T-They er...3? Next to the cat toys..." She answered as she points in a certain direction.

"Thank you." Ethan walked off towards the aisle to look for a treat that Teekl would like.

The associate was practically bending over her register to watch Ethan's back with slightly flushed cheeks. "Wow... "

"Excuse ma'am-"

"I'm closed."

"But-"

"Closed!"

>>>><<<<

The short time in the pet store was a bit exhausting as the entire time Ethan was pestered by the girl that greeted him.

She asked if he had Instagram or a Snapchat while simultaneously asking what kind of cat was Teekl. The girl was trying to make small talk to get him to open up, but Ethan just wasn't having it.

Luckily, she was seen by a manager and called back to her position.

After he grabbed the treats that Teekl picked out himself, he specifically went to another cashier to check out.

As he was leaving he saw a familiar face, it was one of the women he and Harley saved on their date night.

Seeing her made Ethan remember that he was going to visit them to help them out, but he had forgotten due to everything that happened.

The woman looked to be around her mid-30s with long brown hair and green eyes. She was the one that protected the little boy at the bar.

"Ms..." Ethan approached her which caused the woman to jump slightly as she had been thinking of something else.

"Hello-It's you!" The woman flashed a smile while grabbing his hand to shake it. "I'm glad to see that you're alright... " She sighed happily.

"I can say the same about you." Ethan smiled. He liked the woman as she reminded him of his mother and how protective she was with him. She had no reason to defend the little boy, but she did it anyway even when her future was uncertain.

"I don't see that girl with you?"

"She's back at home. How are things with you and the others?" Ethan replied.

"I'm doing fine I suppose. I keep in contact with. Sera and a few others...Oh, wait you don't know my name. It's Narissa. Sera was the one that told you about the back exit...I-You know what? Let's have a seat and talk...if that's ok with you?"

"That's fine." Ethan nodded.

Soon after, They found a coffee shop and sat outside after grabbing drinks. Narissa then started to narrate what happened after that day.

The police managed to find out the men Ethan had beaten up died in the fire. Apparently, one of the women that were freed told the police about it. However, they couldn't remember what Ethan looked like and so it was dropped.

The ones that stayed behind with Ethan lied that it was someone else as they didn't wish their benefactors to get in trouble.

After everything was settled, most of the women went back to their regular lives, but a few of them didn't have anywhere to go. Several were runaways that ran from a bad situation at home as most of them were teenagers.

Narissa and Sera were the only exceptions.

And being the type of woman that she is, Narissa temporarily housed them with hopes of helping them start over. However, doing something like that legally is practically impossible as there are several hoops one needs to jump through.

Narissa especially wanted to adopt the boy, but instead, he was sent to live with his aunt.

"But...I immediately felt something off about the woman and the boy...Alex wasn't too happy about it. It took a policeman to pry him off of me as he screamed no...I really wish I could see how's he doing.." Narissa sighed.

Looking at the woman's face, Ethan could tell that she hasn't been sleeping enough as there were dark circles under her eyes. Ethan shouldn't get involved, but he too wanted to see how the boy was doing.

"I'll find out..."

"You? You already done enough. It's just one of those things that you can't control." Narissa smiled, but obviously, it was a fake one as Ethan could see the pain behind it.

Deep down she hoped that Ethan would say, 'It will be ok and that he'll help just like he did on that night.' However, he simply got up and left without a word.

'Don't get your hopes up Narissa...' She sighed, but then at the corner of her eye, she could see that he stopped on the sidewalk several feet away before turning around.

He then flashed a brief smile and she immediately knew that he was going to find out just like he said earlier.

Although, Narissa wondered how he was going to find her again and as she was thinking of it, the strange cat that was by his side came over with a piece of paper in its mouth.

*Mrrow*

It was a number.

"You are quite the intelligent feline-It's gone?" Narissa only looked at the number for a second before the cat disappeared along with him.

>>>><<<<

Once no one was looking, Ethan shot up into the air and started to leap from building to building. Ever since he started his training, he had more control over his body and he made less noise whenever he moved.

Ethan then pulled out his phone to call Pamela to tell her what was going on, but then he stopped in his tracks in an alleyway.

"Why are you following me?" He said with no one around him.

Suddenly, a familiar person jumped down in front of him.

It was Diana.

The hero wasn't wearing her hero outfit, and only wore casual clothing while keeping the armbands on.

Honestly, she looked quite beautiful with her choice of normal clothing which was a white t-shirt with a black jacket and jeans.

What could you expect from a woman molded by the gods?

Or was she formed by the forbidden union between Zeus and Hippolyta?

Either way, Diana has fantastic genes.

Ethan could hear Tydris beginning to growl in his mind as he still disliked gods.

"I come in peace," Diana said, holding her hands up.

"Does Batman know you're doing this?" Ethan asked.

Diana shook her head," No, I know he wishes to bring you in, but I merely wish for my questions to be answered."

"And why should I answer?"

"No reason. It would just mean that I'm a terrible judge of character. It wouldn't be the first time." She answered with a wry smile.

"Even after I knocked you out?" He smirked.

"I still remember the pain." Diana chuckled lightly while rubbing her arms. "However, I do not care about the past. I just came for answers."