DISCLAIMER: I do not own Young Justice, and I never will.
Screaming….
Echoes….
Silence.
She couldn't feel anything. She couldn't breathe. She hid behind a mask of calmness as she watched…hidden away from the world. She curled deeper into the hidey hole. They dragged the body away, leaving a trail of blood behind. She couldn't weep…or she'd be found. Her dark eyes searched for something…someone to save her. They disappeared and she emerged quietly. She walked over to the pool of blood and whispered, "I'm sorry Alexa."
"What's wrong Jo?" a voice broke the train of thought.
A brunette girl's eyes snapped up to the speaker. Her eyes narrows as she hissed, "I told you not to call me Jo in public! It's Marie."
"Sorry Jocelyn, but—"
"BASIL!" the brunette growled.
"SORRY MARIE!" she yelped.
The speaker was a young red-haired girl with big blue eyes. Her eyes were swimming with tears. The brunette sighed and said, "I'm sorry Basil. I was thinking about Alexa. It's been weeks since we've last seen her…or Allora for that matter."
The brunette's eyes were a dark brown, her eyes ringed with red. Sleep deprivation made her cranky. Allora and Alexa were twin sisters and neither of them had been seen in weeks. Jocelyn, or Marie as she was called, got up from her seat and walked out of the library. Little Basil followed her closely out of the library. She feared the worst when she heard a loud voice.
"NEW MEAT!"
Basil ran and hid. Marie's eyes narrowed as she walked towards the voices. She spotted them. A group of six kids, all new to the area. A small black haired boy was standing at the front of the group.
"Yeah we're new. What's it to you?" he demanded.
One of the larger boys shoved the smaller boy to the ground and said, "Just because you're Wayne's brat doesn't mean you can talk to us like that!"
He went to strike the one boy when the red head grabbed his arm.
"If you wanna hit him, you gotta get through us!" he growled.
The boy grabbed the red-head by the shirt and lifted him off the ground. He threw him to the ground next to his friend and went to hit them. The dark skinned boy and the two other girls were holding a black haired boy back. He looked older and was taller than the first. Marie stepped out and yelled, "MARC! Why are you picking on boys half your size?"
The boy turned to look at her. She crossed her arms and walked over to them. She held out a hand to the two boys. The red head smiled and said, "Hey cutie."
The black haired boy simply said, "Thank you."
Marie ignored them, turning her attention to Marc. The older boy snickered and said, "Lookie here! Little M's got a crush on the new meat!"
"Just get lost," the brunette growled her dark eyes sharp and accusing.
Marc shoved Marie to the ground. He smacked her across the face. She shot up and drew her fist back.
WHACK!
"Dang! She can hit!" the red head hissed to the smaller black haired kid.
"Remind me not to piss that one off," the boy responded.
Marc stumbled backward grabbing his jaw. Her dark hair hung in her face as she stood over him.
"I've had ENOUGH! I AM NOT YOU'RE PUNCHING BAG! NIETHER ARE THE NEW KIDS! YOU NEED TO BACK OFF PAL OR I SWEAR I'LL KICK YOU SKINNY BUTT INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK!" she screeched like a banshee.
She than held her jaw, which was starting to bruise. She turned to the two boys. The red head's face was lit up with a smile. His hand shot out and he said, "HI! I'm Wallace West, but you can call me Wally!"
"Marie Upton," she said taking his extended hand. "Nice to meet you Wally."
"I'm…" the other boy paused.
Richard Grayson pondered whether or not to give a fake name or to just tell her his real name. He finally swallowed hard and said, "My name's Richard Wayne."
He slapped on his adopted father's last name in place of his original last name. Marc had already established he was "Wayne's brat", and if he said Grayson, there'd be a lot of explaining to do. Marie shook his hand as well and looked to their friends. The dark skinned teen stepped out and held out a hand. The first thing Marie noticed was that it was webbed…but most of the other snotty brats wouldn't notice.
"You have webbed hands," Marie said quietly making her observation known to him. "You might want to be careful. There are a few people here who'll notice, and some of them won't keep quiet."
The dark skinned boy retracted his hand and said, "I'm Kaldur' Ahm. Thanks for the advice, but how'd you notice? Those boys didn't."
"I'm an analytical person. I notice certain things," Marie shrugged. "Hope you don't mind that Basil knows."
"Basil?" Kaldur asked.
"Yeah," Marie said. "She's got the senses of a canine, great sense of smell and hearing. No offense, but you kinda smell like fish."
Kaldur laughed and the blonde stuck out her hand.
"Just call me Artemis," the blonde said.
"Nice, you into mythology?" Marie asked.
"No, not really," Artemis admitted. "But my friends call me that 'cause I'm good with a bow and arrow."
The red-haired girl held out her hand and said, "I'm Megan Morse."
Marie used both hands to make sure she shook both hands. The last boy stood there awkwardly and said, "I'm Conner Kent."
Marie noticed his level of discomfort and said, "It's nice to meet you Conner. You guys been to class yet?"
"No…" Richard said. "I have no classes with any of them and I have no clue where I'm going."
That's when red haired Basil stepped forward. Marie smiled and said, "How old are you? I bet Basil's in your class."
"Thirteen…"
"Yep Basil just turned thirteen last week," Marie grinned. "She'll help you out, won't you Basil? Richard will make sure Jack doesn't bother you."
"Jack?" Richard asked.
"Some jerk who likes to pick on Basil," the brunette growled. "He's always pushing her around when I can't be there to protect her. I'm sure Richard can handle Jack."
Richard smiled and put a hand on Basil's shoulder.
"It'll be okay Basil," Richard said. "I'll be glad to help buttercup."
Basil giggled and said, "Thanks Rich."
Marie smiled and looked to the other kids. She flashed a smile and said, "Ages?"
"Fifteen," Wally said. "The rest of 'em are sixteen I think."
"Well…Lex could probably help you guys," Marie said.
"Whoa, wait!" Wally said. "How old are you?"
"Fourteen…my fifteenth birthday's tomorrow," Marie smiled.
Wally's face broke into a smile and he asked, "So which class do you have next?"
"Language Arts with Mrs. Carmello, room 345," Marie said.
"Think you could show me where that is?" Wally asked. "And how hard is it?"
"Not very hard," Marie said. "There's a lot of writing though."
"Darn it!" Wally groaned. "I HATE writing."
Marie laughed as a boy walked up behind her. He covered her eyes with his hands and said, "Helloooooooooooooooo."
"Alexander!" Basil chirped.
"Hey little god-sister," the boy laughed. "How are you doing Bassy?"
Artemis nearly dropped her books on Kaldur's foot. A dark haired boy was behind Marie. His hair was a dark auburn color and his eyes were a friendly emerald green. Marie shoved him playfully and said, "This is Alexander Karlson, he's Basil's god brother."
"He's really cute…" Artemis breathed to Megan.
Megan smiled and waved.
"Nice to meet you Alexander," she said. "I'm Megan. This is my friend Artemis."
"Goddess of the Hunt," Alexander said. "Nice, call me Lex."
"You realize that makes you sound like Lex Luther right?" Wally asked.
Lex laughed and said, "I know, that's what my pop said. If I remember correctly 'You're an insult to superheroes everywhere! I can't believe you'd pick a nickname similar to Superman's arch rival!'"
Artemis laughed and said, "Who's your pop?"
"Major George Karlson," Lex said nonchalantly. "He was in the military."
So cool…" Artemis said her face growing warm. "So Basil's your sister?"
"God sister. Actually she's the daughter of a very good friend of my pop. Her da died in war when she was little," Lex said. "But she's like my little sister."
"Lex! Lex I gotta get to class! Come on Richard! We don't wanna be late!" Basil squeaked realizing the time.
Marie looked down at her watch and swore. She grabbed Wally's hand and said, "BYE GUYS! GOOD LUCK! LEX HELP THEM OUT!"
Lex smiled and said, "We may want to go before we get a demerit."
Kaldur, Conner, Megan, and Artemis followed Lex, Artemis practically holding his hand.