Disclaimer: Young Justice, its settings, and all other characters aside from the Sterling family belong to DC Comics.

Dark Matter, Volume #1: Heart of Darkness.

AN: I first fell in love with comics many years ago, however I only found Young Justice within the past year or so and I've absolutely fallen in love with it. I've been planning this story off-and-on for several months now, however I only recently powered through with it and I couldn't wait to share it with you.

Enjoy!

Central City

March 6, 2005

22:18 CDT

For a city so bright and bustling in the daylight, Central City had fallen almost still after dark.

For years, Nadia Sterling's parents had warned her about being out late at night. The city is dangerous, they would tell her from their seats in front of the fireplace. It's no place for little girls to be roaming about- especially at night. She supposed they expected her to be frightened like every other eight year old would be, to promise up, down and sideways that she would never go out alone until she was old enough, but Nadia didn't feel fear when she gazed out of her window long after she was supposed to be asleep. As her green eyes roamed up and down her street, mapping out every house and side street and alleyway, Nadia never felt fear of what lurked in the shadows.

She felt freedom.

When Nadia was only four, she began attending gymnastics classes which were being held in the gymnasium on the campus of Central City University. Her first friend, Rebecca Abbott, lived nearby in Brookfield Heights, while Nadia lived across down in Windsor. It was a common occurrence for Nadia to walk home to Rebecca's house after class when her parents were working late, but whenever the shadow of a streetlamp fell over her path, Nadia welcomed it rather than walking around it.

To others, this seemed odd. Rebecca wasted no time commenting on it, but that was okay. She was naturally the kind of person to ask first, think later. But to Nadia, the shadows were like a cold blanket in summer: a refreshing comfort.

But, parents were parents, and Nadia felt a twinge of something (guilt? sorrow?) as she sat atop one of the industrial buildings in the neighbouring Lawrence Hills district, staring out over a silent city. Her knees were tucked under her chin as Nadia sat at the ledge, feeling the shadows slink across her skin and settle like a coat of darkness on her back. She didn't know why she felt so guilty for doing this. It wasn't as if her parents could stop her- they were dead, after all.

Nadia had ignored the doorbell from downstairs in favour for the company of her laptop. Propped open on her bed, she watched the screen intently as the movie continued to play, the shouts and skin-on-skin contact sounds reaching her ears as the movie's action sequence hit its climax. It was only when Nadia leant over to reach for her glass of water that she realised that much of the sound hadn't been coming from her headphones- it had been coming from downstairs.

Creeping to the door, Nadia slowly made her way out of her room until she came to a stop on the staircase, crouching down to remain hidden from the men standing in the dining room. Her parents sat stiffly in their seats, and Nadia internally begged them to do something, but it wasn't until one of their assailants moved that she could see the ropes binding them to their position in their chairs. Her ears filled with a deafening static, as if she was swimming underwater as one of the attackers- the leader, if Nadia had to hazard a guess- shouted something indecipherable at her father. John Sterling remained calm, but as Nadia watched him lift his head to lock eyes with the criminal who had invaded their home, she could see the pure terror which resided within him.

As the shots rang out, and the bullet casings fell to the floor, it was as if broken television had been fixed and Nadia regained control of her senses once more, in perfect clarity. She could hear as she let out a shaky gasp for air, she could see the deep crimson blood seeping into the ivory carpet, and she could feel it when the waves rose and rose dangerously inside of her, as they morphed and changed and they were suddenly crashing upon the shore in a violent meeting with the sand and the earth beneath.

Nadia's eyes were locked on the stained carpet as the shadows of the darkened staircase seemed to magnetically become one with her, seep into her skin and her very core of being. Her eyes never moved as the waves inside her receded, pulling back against the tide before slamming into the shoreline with as much gusto as a raging tempest would bring, a scream tearing from her mouth and the shadows pulsing out of her body like they had exploded, knocking her parent's killers off of their feet and to the ground.

As they lay motionless on the floor, Nadia shakily got to her feet from where she had been crouched. As quietly as she could she made her way around her parent's bodies, astutely ignoring the pleading expressions on their faces in favour of reaching for the phone and dialling the one number that Delilah and John Sterling had made her remember in case of an emergency.

Nadia felt her chin tremble and she grit her jaw with determination as the other end of the line was picked up.

"Mr. Wayne?" She called into the receiver, her resolve almost snapping as she caught the sight of her mother's terrified gaze in the reflection of the microwave, before she straightened her back and let out a breath. "Something's happened."

Nadia felt her gaze wander from the city skyline to the dark tendrils clinging to her skin like a vine. Although she still had that feeling down low in her stomach, the feeling that she was sorry for something, she welcomed the touch of the shadows as they danced across her skin. Her eyes sparkled in the lights of the city below her as they watched their merry game, swirling and twisting around her arms and down her fingers. Even as Nadia heard a large whoosh of air behind her, which she knew to usually accompany the arrival of a certain scarlet speedster, she didn't draw her eyes away until his hand made contact with her shoulder. Nadia flinched at the contact, and the shadows scattered from her skin like sparrows from a neighbourhood tabby.

Barry Allen didn't say a word to her as he sat at her side, allowing his feet to dangle over the edge of the defunct steel factory she sat upon. It was only once he was seated properly did he open his mouth to speak. "Are you okay?"

He seemed to recognise the redundancy of his words, for in the next breath he was rattling off corrections. "I mean, obviously you aren't okay- why would you be okay? I only meant to ask whether you were feeling alright; y'know, physically, emotionally, whatever."

Nadia waited for him to finish before laughing slightly at his efforts to comfort her. It wasn't entirely working how he wanted, but he had made her laugh, which she supposed would be considered a success anyway.

"I'm okay," she breathed out into the air. She let out a puff of laughter the next moment- she was definitely not as okay as her statement made her sound. "I suppose you want to know what happened?"

Nadia watched as Barry's eyes widened. Honestly, it surprised her that no one else had figured out who was beneath the scarlet cowl all this time; it wasn't that difficult for her. She thought it might have been the eyes which gave it away, but after a second thought she settled on the voice.

Mr. Wayne had told her he was sending someone, but she hadn't expected it to be The Flash. Did this mean that Mr. Wayne, too, had a secret identity? She knew that Barry and Mr. Wayne knew each other, and that Barry knew that she knew who he was, but Mr. Wayne was like the missing piece of the puzzle, and Nadia had always had a competitive streak.

"You don't have to tell me now," Barry answered, though it was clear he wanted to know by the caution his eyes held.

Nadia took a deep breath, before plunging into her story.

"I was watching a movie, and I heard a commotion downstairs so I went to find out what was happening, and my parents were tied to chairs in the dining room. There was a big guy yelling at them about something- though he was mostly yelling at my dad-I couldn't make out what he was saying. Then my mom was shouting something and they were shot and I think I made a noise because the next thing I knew, those men were coming towards me and I don't know what happened but I just reacted and it was like I exploded and they were knocked out so I crept into the kitchen to call Mr. Wayne," after her explanation, Nadia took a moment to breathe, revelling in the silence around her while Barry sat speechless at her side. She knew that, at some point, her explanation had turned into a ramble, but she had also needed to get it all out and into the air.

"Exploded?" He managed to get out.

Nadia shrugged, glancing to her arm where the shadows were coiling around her wrist like a snake. Looking up at Barry, she froze when she saw him, too, watching her arm with thinly veiled curiosity. "Wait," she breathed, "you can see this too?"

Barry nodded, frowning slightly as he watched, as if he was thinking.

"Nadia, do you have anywhere to go?"

She started at the question, before shaking her head lightly. "No, but I'm fine-"

"Why don't you come home with me?" He offered. "Iris would love to see you, and you shouldn't be out here alone. Especially after what you've been through.

Nadia considered the offer carefully. On one side, she felt as though Barry thought he was obligated to find her somewhere to stay. She knew she was young, but she knew that she could survive out here if she wanted. The night didn't scare her.

But, on the other side, the idea of a warm shelter was very tempting. Iris West-Allen, she knew, would be more than happy to have her there for a small while. And although she didn't want to feel as if she were intruding, Nadia also recognised that he had been the one to mention the subject in the first place.

"Okay," Nadia nodded slightly. "As long as you don't mind."

Barry chuckled as he stood and offered Nadia a hand to pull her to to her feet. "Why would I mind my own idea?" He asked rhetorically. "Now, you might want to hold on," he warned as he lifted her into his arms, and Nadia wound her arms around his neck before he tore off into the night.

Nadia felt faintly ill as Barry pulled to a stop in an alley close to his house. She'd visited once before, with her parents, and the thought made her stomach clench uncomfortably before she willed the feeling away. She followed Barry as he walked down the street, before eventually arriving at a nice, homey-looking house with a front garden and a bright red door.

Nadia had to work to stifle a snort at this; it was if there was a "Look! I'm The Flash!" sign painted across the door.

Well, technically there was, but that was beside the point.

As Barry opened the door and let Nadia inside, Iris appeared from the kitchen. "Oh, there you are!" She exclaimed, pulling Nadia into a warm hug. "Why don't you take a shower? You can borrow some old clothes for the night."

Although Nadia felt uncomfortable intruding on their household, she was suddenly struck by a gratefulness which clung to her like glue. "Thank you," Nadia murmured, and Iris nodded with a sad smile before giving her another quick hug and directing her to the bathroom.

As the water washed away the grit which coated her bare feet, Nadia found solace in the running water. She hated crying, particularly in front of people, but the shower meant that she could cry all she wanted and no one would know. Nadia found herself sitting in the bottom of the shower, her knees pulled under her chin as she let the water roll off of her skin. So much had happened. And the look on her mother's face- it was a look of terror so profound, Nadia never wanted to witness such a thing again, not on anyone.

By the time Nadia slipped into the spare bed inside the Allen household, she was exhausted. From crying, from running, from exploding at the people who killed her parents. As she turned out the lights, Nadia let out a deep breath. The shadows enveloped her like a much-needed hug, and she fell asleep a lot easier than she had expected to.

(The darkness welcomed a new friend.)

Central City

March 7, 2005

09:42 CDT

It wasn't the sunlight filtering in slowly through the curtains which woke Nadia Sterling- rather, it was the image of her mother's body seared into her brain which jolted her awake. After taking a moment to get her bearings, Nadia glanced around the room to examine it better than she had when she had stumbled in the previous evening. The double bed she sat in rested against the wall, a large window on the left side. At the foot of her bed, a neat white desk sat against the wall, and to her right a nightstand stood equipped with a lamp and a glass of water. The closet sat opposite the window, and next to the door- which was currently open, allowing conversation to drift upstairs.

"-visit STAR Labs," Barry was saying, "if she's willing."

Making her way downstairs and to the living room, Nadia plucked an apple from the bowl sitting on the kitchen bench. "If who's willing?"

Nadia's gut was telling her exactly who Barry wanted to take to STAR Labs, but his sigh merely confirmed it. "Well, why?" She corrected, biting into her apple. "I'm not sick."

"No," Barry conceded, "but after what you managed to do last night, I thought it owed a visit."

Nadia nodded as she chewed, rolling the idea over in her head. It was true, she had no idea what was going on with her and the shadows, and she also knew that it would be good to find out. If this was going to be a permanent thing, she'd at least like to be able to figure out her abilities and the extent of them.

But it was odd. Her parents had never mentioned anything about having the metagene, and as far as she had been aware, she didn't possess it either. But, either way, a trip to the Lab would be good to discover what was actually happening.

After sitting down to eat some proper breakfast ("An apple is not breakfast, Nadia!" "It's good enough!"), Nadia found herself staring out of the window as Barry drove towards STAR Labs. Her eyes glittered as she watched the houses turn into buildings around her. Barry sat whistling merrily to a song playing softly through the stereo, while Nadia let herself become lost in thought.

The way that the darkness had exploded out of her terrified her. It was unruly and unpredictable, which scared her more than the criminals ever did. What if she exploded again one day, and injured someone? Or worse?

The more she thought about it, the more Nadia was looking forward to getting to the labs. If they could figure out what was happening, she most likely could figure out how to get better control of it.

That thought in mind, Nadia settled back into her seat and let her mind wander, focusing solely on the shadows within the car which had been created by the sunlight filtering through the windows. Eyeing it carefully, she reached out to touch it, only to lean back with a gasp as her hand became translucent with it. Again, she reached her hand into the shadows, only to find it appearing as though her hand had vanished.

Nadia leant back in her seat, watching Barry carefully out of the corner of her eye to make sure he hadn't noticed, while her mind reeled.

Shortly thereafter, they pulled into a carpark out the front of the building. It took some convincing, but eventually a doctor was sent for, who brought Nadia into a small room to draw her blood.

Nadia had never been uncomfortable around needles; she, in fact, found blood fascinating. The idea that such a fluid thing held so much importance was mind-boggling, but even as she sat waiting for the results in an uncomfortable plastic chair, she found herself worrying. What if there was something wrong with her, and that was why she had exploded? What if the doctor walked back into the room with a snarl on her face, shouting that she was a freak to be exterminated?

She didn't know if she could live with herself if that were the case, and she didn't even want to imagine how her parents would have reacted, had they still been around.

After some time, however, the doctor came back in not with a snarl, but with a smile and a cover of understanding across her eyes.

"Nadia," she began in a calm tone, "what do you know about the meta-gene?"

Central City

13:37 CDT

After leaving STAR Labs, Nadia had broken off with Barry ("I'll swing by later") and taken to walking a familiar path towards home, all of this new information swirling through her head.

Umbrakinesis was a wide umbrella to refer to her abilities by, but until she had experimented with them more, the scientists couldn't be more specific than that. Nadia decided she would put those thoughts on hold, however, as her mind began to flood with memories of her house, of her room. After the police had gone through everything, what would be left? Would her carpet be trampled on? Her clothes tossed throughout the room?

Nadia was walking in the shadow of a tall apartment block when she was suddenly pulled from her thoughts, her stomach twisting painfully and she let out a gasp for air as she suddenly felt as if she was pulled tightly through a too-small children's slide. Her vision blurred, images and bright colours swirling around her face and she felt as if she was moving so quickly her face was peeling off, before she suddenly came to a stop in an oddly familiar place.

How in the world was she now suddenly in her bedroom?

Taking a moment, Nadia leaned heavily on her bookcase in order to catch her breath. She felt as if someone had sucker punched her in the gut, and took a few minutes to get her bearings before she stood upright once more, her actions catching up with her. Turning, stunned, Nadia glanced from her wall and to herself, and back again. She felt as if she had run a mile, and yet all she could see on her wall was shadow, no entrance to her room whatsoever.

Had she shadow travelled? That was a thing? That was so cool!

Curiosity aside, Nadia moved to her closet and collected a bag, stuffing several changes of clothes and other valuable items inside, including her cell phone and laptop. Once she was satisfied that she had what she would need at the Allens, Nadia was almost prepared to take her chances with her newfound method of transportation, before she remembered the scene from the night before.

Steeling herself for the sight, Nadia took a deep breath before pushing open her bedroom door and peering down the staircase. Each step felt as if her feet were encased in concrete, but she needed to see what had been left behind.

Obviously, the bodies had been moved. Small yellow numbers stood on the floor in places, but the only real sign that anything had happened was the rusted stain still sitting on the carpet. Running her hand through her ink black hair, Nadia took one more look around before she stood in the shadows of the walls once more, this time concentrating on envisioning the living room of the Allen household. If she was going to learn mastery over her abilities, she had to start somewhere, right?

Not a moment later, Nadia felt that familiar pull in her stomach, and suddenly she was sent hurtling away. The next thing she knew, Nadia could hear Iris dropping a plate in the kitchen and Barry stand up sharply from his seat on the sofa as she stumbled out from the shadows on the wall.

"Wha-Nadia!"

She grinned sheepishly as she dropped her bag on the floor, lifting a hand to her head when she became aware of a dull throbbing at the base of her skill. Barry looked torn between being impressed and concerned and she moved to sit on the arm of the sofa, blinking away the dark spots dancing in front of her eyes.

"Are you alright?"

The close voice caused Nadia to let out a gasp as she flinched, opening her eyes to see Iris kneeling before her. Nadia shot her a grimace in response, before shaking her head slightly. "I'm tougher than I look."

Nadia glanced over to Barry as he let out a hearty chuckle. "Nadia, you're eight years old. You don't need to be tough all of the time. You only need to be yourself, and you shouldn't be afraid to show who you are in front of others."

At this, Nadia let out a laugh of her own. "Coming from a man in a mask, I can't say that that's overly comforting," she teased, before sighing slightly. "I am alright though- shadow travel might just take a while to get used to."

Iris nodded, giving her a once over before nodding again and stepping away. After Iris had disappeared back into the kitchen to clean up the broken plate, Barry shot Nadia a look. "You shouldn't overdo things, Nadia."

"You say that as if I was trying to!" Nadia exclaimed. "I didn't even shadow travel on purpose the first time!"

The scarlet speedster watched her for a few moments, as if he didn't know quite what to make of her. After a brief period of silence, Barry laughed before leaning over to ruffle her hair, something which made Nadia squawk in indignation. "Just try not to overexert yourself too much, yeah? I know you want to experiment, but it could be dangerous."

Nodding, Nadia excused herself before collecting her bag and walking upstairs to the room which Iris had designated as hers for as long as she wanted it. Sitting back down on her bed after rearranging her things, Nadia groaned as she remembered that she'd left her laptop in the bottom of her bag; the same bag which currently sat on the other side of the room.

"Your abilities are a wildcard," Dr. Felicity Thomas admitted, leaning forward to brace her elbows on her knees as she locked eyes with Nadia. "With time, you could utilise them to do essentially anything, from lifting things to forming solid objects. However, keep in mind that this will take time, and you will only be able to achieve as much as you think you can achieve."

The doctor's words resonated sharply within Nadia's head, as she mulled them over carefully. Essentially, Dr. Thomas had been telling her that she could potentially do anything, as long as she put her mind to it.

Concentrating carefully, Nadia focused her attention on the shadows created by her nightstand. She imagined she had a lasso in her hands, and she was pulling it towards herself with a heavy weight attached to the end. When she glanced down, she was ecstatic to see small clusters of shadow swirling above her palms, before she narrowed her eyes and looked towards her bag.

"-you could utilise them to do essentially anything, from lifting things to forming solid objects-"

As if she was trying not to startle a kitten, Nadia slowly released the shadows in her grip until they formed a single, solid tendril of roiling darkness. She willed the vine to grow and stretch and it obeyed, slowly growing to the size of her palm in diameter as the ends wafted cautiously over her laptop. Focusing on her task, and praying that she wouldn't drop it, she curled the shadow around her laptop and levitated it in the air before slowly reeling her self-made lasso back to her, dropping her laptop onto her bed before abruptly releasing her hold on the tendril as it dissipated.

With a start, Nadia realised that her actions hadn't removed the nightstand shadow from the wall, but rather seemed to have pulled shadow from within it. It was odd to think about, Nadia considered as she turned on her laptop and welcomed the soft thrum as it hummed to life. When taking something such as a shadow, you would expect it to be removed, not to last.

Then again, she thought, you can't get rid of a shadow when the light is still there creating it.

Rather then dwell on the science behind her abilities, Nadia focused her attention on the screen in front of her and on the homework she had left to complete. As highly academic student, Nadia's parents had decided that they could better monitor her learning if she attended school online. Although it seemed like a fantastic idea at first, all it really did in terms of an advantage was help Nadia contract headaches more often.

As she focused on finishing her work, Nadia didn't notice the two figures standing at her doorway, nor the hushed conversation between them.

Central City

May 19, 2005

22:18 CDT

Over the past two months, Nadia had worked out a comfortable routine with the Allens. While Barry and Iris were at work, if Nadia didn't have any schoolwork to do, she was free to travel about as she wished, as long as she was home for dinner. In fact, even when she did have schoolwork, Nadia would frequently shadow travel to a space nearby the Central City Library, her laptop in tow, and simply work from one of the puffy red egg chairs seated in the Historical Fiction section.

After ending up back in her room on Thursday evening after her gymnastics class, Nadia was startled when Barry and Iris called her down to the living room. It wasn't that she was some sort of silent boarder, more that she was nervous as to what they had to discuss. She wasn't aware of any mistake she had made- forgetting to put her bowl in the sink after breakfast was a one time thing, honest! -but nevertheless, Nadia cautiously slunk into the shadows and reappeared in the downstairs hallway, turning into the living room as butterflies filled her stomach.

"You called?"

Barry and Iris turned, too engrossed in their murmured discussion to initially notice her arrival, before Iris shot her a comforting smile and gestured to one of the arm chairs. "Please, take a seat."

Crossing the room and lowering herself into the mint coloured seat, Nadia wrung her hands in front of her restlessly, her mind generating dozens of negative scenarios. "If this is about the bowl this morning-"

Barry let out a laugh. "This isn't anything to do with a bowl, Nadia."

Nodding once, Nadia glued her eyes to her tightly-clasped hands before she caught sight of the shadows migrating towards her out of the corner of her eye. She'd gained good control over her abilities in the past two months- impressive progress, according to Dr. Thomas, but it seemed as if the shadows reacted strongly towards her emotions: it was as if they could tell that Nadia was nervous. She willed them to recede back to their correct places before she raised her head when Iris called her name.

"We know it's only been a couple of months since everything happened," Iris began, "but we first wanted to say how much we appreciate you being around. Not only are you great company, but it's almost as if you're the daughter we've never had, and we wanted to thank you."

By the end of Iris's sentence, Nadia felt as if she was practically glowing. While she'd loved her mom and dad to the stars and back, they hadn't been the kind of parents to show affection often, if ever, and living with the Allens had really given Nadia insight into what she had been missing.

"We also wanted to broach a subject with you," Barry continued. "Again, we know it's only been a couple of months, but we were wondering whether you wanted to make your situation more comfortable here- we were wondering how you'd feel about being officially adopted."

Whatever thoughts or feelings had been running through her head as Barry spoke came to an absolute standstill as Nadia's eyes widened.

She knew that Barry and Iris cared for her, and that they had willingly opened their arms (and their house) to her presence, but Nadia had never once considered the possibility that they enjoyed having her around to such an extent. The idea thoroughly shocked her, and it took her several moments to process what Barry had said. "Wh-really?"

"It wouldn't change much," Iris assured her, "you'd still be free to come and go as you wished and of course we don't need to go down this path if you don't want to-"

Nadia cut her off by moving from her seat faster than either of the Allens had anticipated, squeezing into the space between them on the sofa to fling her arms around their neck and hug them tightly. She had no words to describe how she was feeling, or what her response was, but she hoped that her actions were enough.

And when their arms came around her waist, Nadia knew that things were changing- for the better.

After her parent's deaths, Nadia had felt like she was destined to be a lone wolf, wandering the streets without a proper home or a proper family. She had resigned herself to the fact that she would never experience what it was like to truly have a family, and yet here Barry and Iris were, offering her one. No strings, no fuss, pure and simple caring had driven them down this path, and Nadia wasn't the kind of person to waste such an opportunity.

Keystone City

June 28, 2005

11:24 CDT

As the car pulled down an unfamiliar street, Nadia Allen grew more and more nervous with each passing moment. She'd come close to shadow travelling back home twice already, and the drive from Central City to Keystone City wasn't even that long.

After her adoption had been finalised not two weeks prior, her new foster parents (Iris, in particular) had been insistent that she meet the rest of the family: Iris's brother and his wife and son, as well as Barry's pseudo-uncle Jay Garrick and his wife. It wasn't that Nadia didn't want to meet them- she did, more than anything, it was more the constant plaguing thought that they might not like her which brought Nadia such intense feelings of trepidation.

She knew that Rudy and Mary (her new aunt and uncle) had a son, Wally. Nadia had heard all sorts of tales about him, from his incredible metabolism (almost matching that of her adoptive father's) to his mouth's ability to run at a mile a minute. She supposed that this wasn't that surprising: after all, he was from a family of speedsters.

Nadia took a deep breath as the car pulled to a halt. Registering Iris's supportive glance, Nadia smiled in return before pushing open the door and actually getting out of the car, the sun beating down at an incredible temperature. Making sure no one was around, Nadia erected a slab of shadow over her head to try and combat the heat and the sudden, refreshing cool which accompanied it caused her to sigh quietly in relief as they made it to the front doorstep, when she reluctantly vanished her cover just at the door was pulled open.

On the other side stood a boy beaming from ear to ear, practically brimming with excitement. His green eyes were of a similar shade to her own, while his fiery red hair- which stuck up in all directions, currently- was a stark contrast to her sleek black ponytail. He had a good few inches of height more than she did, but it made sense- while Nadia was only eight, Wally was getting closer to his eleventh birthday with each passing day.

"Hi!" He greeted enthusiastically. "I'm Wally, your new cousin!"

The girl in question turned slightly to shoot her mother a bewildered look, while Iris simply chuckled. "It's good to see you too, Wally."

"Oh!" Wally exclaimed, his face falling briefly, before his smile was plastered on his face once more. "Hey there Aunt I, Uncle B."

Iris nodded in amusement as the hyperactive boy in front of her turned his attention back to his adoptive cousin. "Um, hi?" Nadia greeted, feeling unsure of herself. While Wally seemed nice enough, she wasn't really sure how to act around him and his cheerful demeanour had startled her. "I'm Nadia."

Wally nodded excitedly, before grabbing her arm none-too-gently and speeding her into the living room, where the rest of her family sat amused, having watched their greeting through the doorway. Although Nadia assumed that moving that quickly was a novelty to anyone else, and that they would have appeared far greener on their first experience, it wasn't all to different to how she felt when she shadow travelled and so although she needed a moment to regain her footing, overall she didn't find it too hard to deal with. Nadia shook herself from her thoughts as Wally began introducing people; this was important.

First, Wally gestured to a couple sitting side-by-side in a set of arm chairs. The man on the left, sporting a thick moustache Nadia jokingly knew her father would have been jealous of, was introduced as her Uncle Rudy, while the woman to his left was one Wally mentioned in a whisper: "That's your Aunt Mary, but she isn't very fun."

Nadia stifled her giggles, instead opting to exchange a "knowing" gaze with Wally which left her struggling not to double over in laughter as he continued his dramatic duties. "And over there," Wally pointed to the older couple seated on the sofa, "are Jay and Joan!"

One thing that Nadia had soon learned as part of the Allen family was that the family didn't only consist of the West-Allens. While, once upon a time, her family had only consisted of her and her parents, Nadia had been hearing stories about Jay Garrick- the original Flash- almost since the morning after Barry and Iris had revealed their wishes to adopt her.

As Nadia stood there, surrounded by these people who so clearly considered themselves to be a group, she felt incredibly out-of-place. The thought of her family expanding from two to seven was startling to say the least, and overwhelming at most, but Nadia steeled her nerves by clenching her fist behind her back with a small ball of shadow tucked neatly inside, its cool temperature soothing to the touch.

"I'm Nadia," she tacked onto the introduction train, releasing her shadow ball slowly as the many pairs of eyes watching her seemed to invite her into their lives with open arms.

Clearly, her previous concerns had been for nothing.

"Welcome," Mary spoke up, shooting her a smile which rid Nadia of her nerves completely.

And as she joined Wally in taking a seat on the carpet, laughing as he spit pastry crumbs all over the room, Nadia had never felt so at home.

If you were to look at the past several months of Nadia's life, the changes were so drastic they were startling. She went from being a timid, quiet girl with little to consider family, to being a timid, more open girl with a truly kind and loving family with incredible experiences awaiting her in the future.

What more could a girl dream for?

AN: So now we've met Nadia! Let me know what you think of her - I'm really looking forward to her character development the further into the story we get :D I also have a feeling that her and Wally are going to be super close, and I can't wait to write some of their proper scenes together.

I know that adoption probably takes longer than a couple of months, but there are reasons why Nadia's occured so quickly, but we'll get more into that the further we get into the story.

What do you think? Let me know!

PLEASE REVIEW!