Little Star

Somewhere deep inside the Colorado Desert, a band of superheroes known universally as the Justice League were requested to make an appearance if they wished to keep the world safe. That's all the message said that arrived at the Tower earlier today. There were seven of them, all ready to face whatever evil lurked around them. Who were they after today? The Joker? Perhaps Gorilla Grodd was up to no good again? Or god forbid it was Darkseid. Whoever it was, they prepared for the worst.

"Were we brought here for nothing?" wondered Superman who had taken to the skies and was checking around with the help of Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman.

"I definitely sense another presence here. Stay alert," J'onn, The Martian Manhunter said in his deep voice.

Flash was zipping around checking all crevices, when he spotted something, "Perhaps you're referring to the shady creature in the black cloak? Is he insane? It's hotter than Wonder Woman out here!"

The group all zeroed in on Flash's location and stood before a figure that wasn't very tall, but compared to the Justice League who had an average height of six feet it was understandable. Cloaked in black just like Wally had said, the figure stood with their face well hidden, "Seven, there are seven of you, and one of me." It said, "I'll make my request short. I would like to fight all of you."

They all took glances at one another confused, "Tell us who you are! What are your intentions?" called Clark.

"If I win… I become a member of The Justice League," the figure stated.

"How are we supposed to call someone a team member who doesn't even show their face? How are we supposed to trust someone like that? Dressed in all black, mysterious…" Hawkgirl protested.

"I'm sorry, are we talking about Black Cloak or Batman now?" wondered Flash.

"We already have seven members. We do not need another." spoke Clark.

"If Hawkgirl wants to see my face then," the cloak figure said, pulling back the hood and revealing themselves. Pulling a voice changer off of her face, a young girl who couldn't be more than in her early twenties stood before them. Tossing away her cloak, she had a thin build, hourglass figure, with long strawberry blonde hair that ran all the way down her back. Her eyes were glimmering emeralds, taking a chance to look at each one of them, "I only wore it so you would take me more seriously," her voice was normal now.

"It's a young girl," murmured Wonder Woman.

"Wow," Flash breathed.

"She's normal…" Superman crossed his arms with confusion clouding his expression, "What are you trying to pull? Who are you working for?"

"It's no trick. I really just wanted a try-out for the Justice League. I'm sorry for sounding the alarm, but I knew it would be the only way to get you all here at once." She explained.

Batman turned to Clark, "Let's take her up on her offer."

Everyone looked surprised, "Why?" asked Green Lantern.

"Because," Batman explained, "I'm curious."

"How do you suppose we do this? If we all attack her at once, we might kill the poor girl. She looks like just a ordinary human." Hawkgirl wondered.

"Looks can be deceiving," Bruce said in his sultry tone, "We will challenge you one on one," he said to the girl, "Select your opponent."

The girl already had her mind made up, "I select Batman."

"The guy without superpowers. I wonder why…" Clark said sarcastically.

Batman stepped up, "Are you ready?"

"Yes sir," she nodded.

Bruce decided to test the water with this girl. If she really was ordinary, he'd know within seconds, but something about her was different. She had a look in her eyes. A look of determination to prove herself. A look Bruce respected, despite her size, he knew better than to know it did not matter. He started her off with something simple: he threw a batarang at her. She didn't move, instead she waited for precisely the right moment, and grabbed it right out of thin air, crushing it in her grasp. Running toward him now, she threw a punch his way which he countered with ease. After several attempts she did a ground swipe with her leg, momentarily knocking Batman on his back. She took another swing at his face, but he dodged and was on his feet again. He kicked her, sending her spiraling back. Executing a flip mid-air she landed on her feet with ease.

She was breathing heavily through her nose, awaiting his next move. As he started to come toward her she revealed something in her palm. A smoke pellet? Sometime during one of her attempts to strike him she must have stolen it! She threw it down on the ground, causing a breath of smoke to envelop them. Bruce felt something grab his arm. His grappling hook? Quickly the rope coiled around his body, embolizing his arms. When the smoke cleared, he was standing there, staring back at the girl's green eyes, "You have me right where you want me, now what?" he asked.

"I've left you unable to fight, I consider that a win." She said, turning to the others, "Next?"

They were all staring at the girl blankly, unsure of what to do or which action to take.

"Your choice," replied Clark.

"Alright," she pointed her finger, "C'mon Scarlet Speedster!" she was pointing at The Flash.

"I'm not really into hitting girls," Wally said with doubt.

"Hitting on them however," John Stewart mumbled.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" asked Flash in a huff. He was in front of the girl in an instant.

She knew he was fast, but there was something else about Flash she also knew, "You ready?" she asked.

He nodded, balancing his weight so he could dodge a foreign batarang if she had managed to pocket that too.

With a grin, she lunged forward, placed both hands on his cheeks, and laid a kiss on his mouth that he wouldn't soon forget. Everyone looked at the two with shock. After a moment, she pushed back on his chest, and he was still completely lost in the moment, "Heh, wow…" Flash mumbled, still dazed.

The girl turned back to the rest, "That's two."

Superman sighed, "Who-?" he started to ask.

"Me," Hawkgirl decided, as she took to the air and reared back her mace, "I'm finishing this now!" as she went to lay a hit on the girl, she jumped back and dodged at the last second, "What are you going to do?" asked Hawkgirl, "If you can't reach me!"

That's when they saw it. Suddenly an impressive white light glowed in the girl's eyes. Putting her hands together, bawled up into fists, she shot a ray of white light at Hawkgirl, knocking her sideways, and losing the grip she had on her mace, "How did she?" she started to ask, when she was fired by another bolt of light that spiraled her into the ground.

"That's enough!" yelled Superman, coming forward, "It's unnecessary for you to face the others. I will be your final test and if you can bring me to my knees you will be an honorary member of the Justice League. Deal?"

The girl stared at Superman, "I told you I would face you all. If you wish to cut this short, I'll comply."

"You're a little bit too confident," Clark replied.

"If someone compensates with confidence here," she said, rising off of the ground, now staying afloat mid-air, "I think it's you."

They all stared at her dumbfounded. Where had this girl come from?

"She had this planned for a long time…" murmured Batman, now freed from his own gadget.

"What do you mean?" asked Green Lantern.

"She knew what order she wanted to encounter us in. She played this like a game of Poker. She didn't reveal her flush until we were all in, the chips were down, and she was ready to make her move." Batman explained, "She's intelligent. She made sure not to show us her entire hand in the first three battles. Now that she is in the air, and revealing such a trick, I can only assume she's going to put in all she's got against Superman."

"Won't she fail?" asked Wonder Woman.

"Unless she can produce Kryptonite… yes." Batman replied.

"I think more surprises await us from this little one." Martain Manhunter replied.

"What makes you so sure, J'onn?" asked Flash, focused once more.

"I can see inside her soul. It's beaming brightly. Batman is correct. She has been anticipating this for some time. If she fails today, I fear her fire will burn out. That's how much this means…" J'onn explained.

Superman grabbed a giant boulder to his right and threw it at her. She blasted through the rock with ease, but Superman was quickly following behind the boulder, and slammed into the girl, knocking her into the ground, which left an impression. She then rolled a couple times, and laid there for a minute. As she started to pick herself up, obviously shaken, Superman took his hand and pressed it on her back, forcing her back to the ground, "Please stay down. You are no match for me, and I do not wish to hurt you."

"There's that confidence again," she growled, still trying to fight against the force of Clark's hand.

Clark was here to prove a point. Holding up everything except his pinky he still managed to keep her down, "With good reason." He replied.

"No," she said, "It will be your downfall." She reached above her head and grabbed his arm. After some effort, she gained the strength to throw him! He tried to catch himself but was so dumbfounded by her strength he landed sort of oddly, and caught himself with one hand and one foot. His leg came down on his knee, "That's one knee…" she said, already coming after him with another attack. Her hand was glowing that mysterious radiant light again as she punched him as hard as she could in the face. His feet left a trail as he was forced back.

Superman's eyes glowed as he readied his heat vision, but it was stopped abruptly, by the dome of light she had enveloped herself in. Suddenly, Superman was blinded by the brightness, unaware that she had now enclosed him inside an orb of light and was rising him high in the air. Forcing the ball down, it hit the ground and burst like a miniature atom bomb. When the dust cleared, Superman stood there quietly. The blonde landed a couple feet in front of him and walked right passed him, staring at the others as Clark had no choice but to kneel down on his knees. The wind was knocked out of him and he was still seeing blotches of light from the containment he was trapped in before.

Everyone stared at her completely at a loss for words. She turned back to Clark, and walked over to him. Pulling his arm up over her shoulders she helped him to his feet, "Your vision will return soon…" she told him, then turned to the others, "Perhaps it's best you take him back to your headquarters. The effects shouldn't last longer than a day."

"So… did we just lose?" asked Flash.

"I believe we did," Batman replied.

"A deal is a deal," murmured Clark, "Welcome to the team…"

"No," She shook her head, "I do not wish to join the team this way after all. After bringing down their leader, you think they'll ever really accept me or trust me? I think I've done more damage here than good."

"No," Clark said, "You taught me, as well as the others a very valuable lesson today," He stood up straight, blinking his eyes, his sight returning to normal rather rapidly, "Never underestimate an opponent… or partner. You're just what we need on this team."

"We still don't know her name…" Hawkgirl chimed in.

"Chelsea," the girl corrected, "My name is Chelsea."

"She's even got a beautiful name," said Flash.

"Title?" asked Superman.

"Title?" Chelsea echoed.

"Superman," Clark pointed to himself, "Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Hawkgirl… and?"

Chelsea stared blankly, "I never came up with a title."

"You planned how to make us all look like a bunch of rookies and never once thought of a name for yourself?" asked Wally.

"Not really." She looked embarrassed.

"Little Star," J'onn commented, "That's what I see."

"Little Star, I like that." said Superman.

Chelsea looked at each one of them, "If you guys say so," she shrugged.

As they all headed back to The Tower in space, they started asking her questions to better get to know her, "So where are you from?" asked Flash.

The girl was reluctant to respond, "I'm from Gotham City." Everyone's eyes blinked toward Batman, then back to her, "I know, I'm from the same city as Batman." She said.

"So you choosing to fight Batman first was no coincidence," replied Wonder Woman.

"He's a hometown hero in my eyes. A lot of people look up to him." She said with a shy expression.

"Where do you live in Gotham?" wondered Bruce.

"I have my own apartment just outside of Gotham University. I got a scholarship there and am working toward a degree in art." she told them.

"That's really neat," commented Clark, "What kind of scholarship did you receive?"

"Well," she replied, "I actually received it from this program they had going on at my high school. It was called the WayneTech Scholarship. There's a pretty well-known man by the name of Bruce Wayne who's a billionaire big wig in Gotham. He's smart and a really cool guy, not to mention probably the most handsome man I've ever laid eyes on. He actually made an appearance at my high school to deliver the scholarship money personally. I shook his hand and everything."

"Sounds like a swell guy," said Clark with an underlining tone of sarcasm as his eyes darted to Batman.

Batman didn't say a word, but now he was staring at Chelsea. To the point where it took him awhile to take his eyes off of her. An art major? He remembered her suddenly. He happened to see her art displayed at some exhibit for young artists. It was rather breath-taking. They gave the scholarship a name, but really Bruce had requested Chelsea specifically to receive this sum of money. It had been nearly five years ago since that happened.

John Stewart stared down at his green ring, "How did you obtain your powers?" he didn't want to be the one to ask, but he knew the question was on everyone's mind.

Chelsea's expression fell a little, "Well, I ended up in the hospital my first year of college. After the week in there, I felt strange. When I was out one night some guy tried to mug me in an alley of Gotham…" she swallowed, "I was fighting for my life, and laid a hit on him that appeared to crush every bone in his face. He hit the ground, and when I looked at my hand, ready to find some broken fingers or blood, it was glowing."

"When did you learn you could fly?" asked Wonder Woman.

"I think I willed it one day." She tried to think back, "There was this awful fire in a building about a block down from my apartment building. This little boy had been blown out of his room and was hanging by a thread on the 10th floor. I panicked. I wanted so badly to help him, and as he started to fall, I heard a woman scream and when I opened my eyes I was there, cradling him in my arms, suspended in air." She was twisting her hair nervously, "Once I realized something was up I found this abandoned lot and started learning how to control my abilities so I wouldn't accidently hurt anyone. They started appearing when my emotions were escalated, but now I can will them basically whenever I want."

Batman sat up straight, "Let's back up a bit," his eyes pierced through hers like daggers, "This occurred after a hospital visit? Do you think someone did something to you?"

"What were you in the hospital for?" asked Flash, concerned.

The girl stared blankly in front of her, "Pulmonary embolism."

Only Batman really knew what that meant, "How many?"

"Two clots… one in each lung… one bigger than the other," She explained.

"Woah!" Flash was shocked.

"But you're so young," John Stewart murmured.

Batman sat back and analyzed the situation the same as he always did, quietly and with focus. Who targeted her? Was it someone still running around Gotham trying to create superheroes? Something wasn't right here, and this girl just happened to be victim to the circumstances.

When they arrived at headquarters, the each took turns getting out of aircraft, "Well Chelsea, this is home sweet home… or I guess your home away from home." grinned Clark.

"I could show you around?" offered Wally.

Chelsea smiled at him, "I'd like that."

The two walked side by side as they left the landing bay and went into the main room which had many monitors in it and a station to sit at.

The other's stood around in semi-circle, still in the landing bay, "What're you thinking Bats?" asked Clark.

"I'm not sure," Batman replied, "I believe her, but I worry some rogue doctor might be loose in Gotham experimenting on subjects that are set to expire anyway."

Green Lantern bit his cheek, "Don't you think if something was going on we'd know about it by now? Consider the time line. This happen to this girl, what? About four years ago almost right? Don't you think we'd have heard about other cases?"

"Not necessarily," Batman said, crossing his arms.

"Why so confident?" asked Clark.

"Because," Batman said, turning to walk away, "we're just now hearing about her."

Everyone really hated when Batman was right. Perhaps something was going on in Gotham.

"And this is the kitchen," Flash opened the swinging door, "that not many use because none of us really know how to cook and we don't want to start a fire." He zipped to the room across the hall, "this is our rec room. There's exercise equipment in there as well as some hoops for basketball and such…"

Chelsea was smiling to herself.

"Do you have any questions or concerns yet so far?" he said in a joking tone.

"No, but…" she tilted her head, "I really wanted to thank you for being so kind to me. The others seem… put off by me being here. You're the first person to really welcome me, and I'm just really appreciative."

He waved his hand, "Hey, no prob. The others will get better. They can be a tough bunch, but it's their job." He shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

Chelsea looked down at the floor, hoping Flash was right, "Well, at the very least I can apologize for our first encounter and correct it," she held out her hand, "My name is Chelsea."

He smirked, "The Flash, fastest man alive and all that," He jokingly showed off, then took her hand in his, "But please, call me Wally." He gave her a grin, "but just so you know, you have nothing to correct. You're a great kisser."

"Oh yeah?" she joked, "You should probably add great kisser to your resume as well," she winked, and started walking again, "Shall we continue?"

"I'm confused now. Are we talking about the kiss?" he asked.

She laughed at him, and grabbed for his hand to motion him forward, "Come on."

He felt himself smiling to the point where it was just a reflex, "So if you come down this hall…"