New York City
July 4, 12:27 EDT
"Bank robbery in 1540 Broadway, Forever 21. 128 hostages. Captured by Killer Frost." Sirens blared through the air as cars shifted to the side to make room for them to speed through. From above on a nearby building, a red-haired girl with a large sword stood, scanning the city with blazing red eyes that matched the color of her hair. Her mouth quirked up and like a rocket, she was off in the same direction.
Forever 21 was a 2 story building filled to the brim with people and ice, cooties to the one and only Killer Frost. Up against the wall, there were hundreds of scared people huddling together like sheep, trapped in a fence of ice. Outside the store, there were police cars coordinating and planning their next move but not doing anything nonetheless.
"What should we do?" Questioned an officer. His superior frowned and watched the live security footage on the table. Her frown only deepened when Killer Frost noticed the camera and shot it down leaving them blank.
Inside, one of her hired men were walking along the corridor. Behind him, the redhead landed as quietly and as gracefully as a cat on the marble floors and knocked him out, swiftly catching him when he was about to hit the floor. With a grunt, she dragged him into the women's room and locked him in a stall. And then she repeated the process until all 7 stalls were filled. With that, she tiptoed out into the men's section.
"How adorable~" She heard Killer Frost coo.
"You know, I hate children. You know why?" There was the familiar hissing of ice and the cold-hearted woman glared at the scared 12-year-old girl who tried to huddle up together as if it would somehow protect them.
"Because they're loud, annoying, insufferable brats." The red-haired girl jumped out of her hiding spot and charged at the ice woman, her sword in hand and lighted, she knocked the blue-skinned woman away.
"Run! Hurry! Get out!" She ordered. Like sheep, they quickly shuffled out of the store into the safety of police arms.
"Damn it! I have to do everything myself!" The ice haired woman screamed, her hands ignited with frost. She shot a beam of icicles at the red-haired girl.
"Well, if you're gonna hire someone to do your dirty work, make sure they have a good resume, it was pretty easy to take them out." She commented and jumped out the way of becoming an icicle.
"Stay still," Killer frost muttered through gritted teeth as the red haired girl bounced around.
"No thanks, I like being warm and alive," she quipped back, ducking, and jumping behind the woman.
"And I like, for once, not missing the day. Today's the day you know."
"I don't give a crap!" Killer frost screamed. The red-haired girl nodded.
"You probably don't." And with that, she knocked her out.
Washington D.C
July 4, 14:14 EDT
Heatstroke ignored the weird stare from the driver as she paid him and got out of the taxi. Like a celebrity, she was greeted by reporters and cameras. She waved and awkwardly smiled at them before going on her way. The redhead brightened when she caught sight of a tall figure dressed only in black but frowned when she realized she was the last one there. Even the Flash's got there before her.
"Am I late?" She questioned instantly.
"No," Batman answered. She couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Robin chuckled and slung an arm over her shoulders.
"That's Bat-speak for 'You should be dead'." Heatstroke rolled her eyes at her short friend. Kid flash chuckled and slung his arm around her other shoulder.
"Relax, today's the day. Lighten up, being late is the least worst thing that could happen." She glanced at the blond wearing male with a deadpan expression.
"Well, what's the worst worst that could happen?" He shrugged.
"You don't want to know." She couldn't agree more.
"Now that we're all here, let's go." Said the dark knight.
"Yes." Kid Flash and Robin cheered and high-fived and sped along after the taller man, the rest following suit.
"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," Green Arrow greeted.
"Headquarters of the Justice League," added Aquaman. It took all of it in her not to comment about how rehearsed it sounded after considering it wouldn't end well for her.
Cameras flashed left and right as they came into their view.
"Is that Batman?"
"I see Flash and Flash. Jr!"
Heatstroke grinned at her friend as he scowled in annoyance.
"I thought his name was Speedy?"
"No! Speedy is Green Arrow's sidekick!"
"Well, that makes no sense..."
She glanced at the other redhead who was scowling even deeply. She never got along with Speedy since he always snapped about his name whenever she made a joke or asked.
"Isn't that Heatstroke? That new vigilante in New York?" A swell of pride welled in her chest at the sound of her name.
"Oh yeah, I think she burnt down an apartment building." And there it goes. Robin patted her back not so helpfully.
"You saved all those people." He reassured. And in an instant, she felt slightly better.
"Ready to see the inner sanctum?" Green Arrow questioned Speedy. For the first time since she's met him, he cocked a grin.
"Always."
"I'm glad we're all here," commented Aqualad, "Even you Heatstroke."
Warmth swelled in her chest. Even though she wasn't a sidekick, she was glad they thought of her as a friend and was included.
"Have all sidekicks been here at once?" Kid Flash wondered aloud innocently.
"Don't call us sidekicks, not after today!" Snapped Speedy with malice in his voice.
"And I'm not a sidekick," she whispered quietly into Kid Flash's ear.
"S-sorry. First time at the hall. Overwhelmed." Kid flash apologized. Robin took that as his queue.
"You're overwhelmed. Freeze is overwhelmed. Why isn't anyone just whelmed?" Heatstroke stared at her friend.
"Well I know I'm trying not to piss my pants, Kid is on a sugar rush, and you do whatever you do with your English. The rest are as cool as cucumbers." She pointed to Aqualad and Speedy. Kid Flash and Robin nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, they never not lose their cool... Speedy once in a while actually," the redhead admitted sheepishly. Speedy opened his mouth to no doubt argue, but was quickly cut off when they entered the Hall of Justice. Towering above them were humongous, golden statues, of the founding members of the Justice League.
"Maybe that's why." She heard Robin mumble and she couldn't help but nod along.
"Is it just me or is the Batman statue staring at me?" She whispered to Kid Flash who was also gawking at the statues.
"He is." The redhead nodded. Then, they realized that they were left behind so they sped along after the others into the metal doors to be greeted by the smiling face of Martian Manhunter and the stoic face of Red Tornado.
"Robin, Aqualad, Speedy, Kid Flash, Heatstroke. Welcome." The red-haired girl grinned broadly at the mention of her name.
"You now have unlimited access to our fully stock galley and of course, our library." The martian gestured. For someone who wasn't a really big fan of reading, seeing all these books gave her a headache. In the very center of the large room, there were a few lounge chairs. Her knees wobbled beneath her, reminding her that she woke up at 3 am in the morning and hasn't had a break since then.
"Make yourselves at home," Flash grinned broadly. Heatstroke didn't hesitate to do so and was about to claim one of the chairs until Kid Flash sped over and took it for himself.
"Too slow," he smirked. She glared at him and was going to claim the other chair to see Robin there.
"You people just hate me don't you?"
"Yep." They chorused. She deadpanned at them and sat on the floor. The red-haired girl whistled innocently and played with her fingers.
"Would you stop that!" Speedy snapped. Like the good (cowardly) girl she was, she stopped and tried to entertain herself by looking at the leaguers who were mumbling amongst themselves. She could catch a few words but not enough to make an actual sentence. Finally, after a few more minutes of whispering, Batman turned to them.
"Quick debrief to discuss the coincidences of five ice villains attacking on the same day." He announced, "We shouldn't be long." With curious eyes, she watched as a small scanner appeared and scanned the members. Once it was done, the heavy metal doors opened with effort.
"That's it?!" Heatstroke almost wanted to groan at the voice. She turned to see the angry archer up and murderous.
"What's got his quiver in a bunch?" She whispered to Robin. He shrugged.
"You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage!" They all glanced at each other. If this was a comic book, they'd have question marks above their heads.
"It's a first step," said Aquaman calmly, "You've been granted access few others have."
"Oh really?" Speedy pointed to the window where there were reporters and cameras flashing wildly. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"
"Roy, you just need to be patient." Came his mentor. Despite his calm yet strained voice, she could see him sweating. Speedy scowled deeply.
"What I need is respect!" He turned to face the rest of his friends, and Heatstroke, "They're treating us like kids- worse, sidekicks. We deserve better than this." Heatstroke was about to open her mouth to correct him, but Kid Flash and Robin covered her mouth while watching their friend intently.
But then again, it was probably best she didn't say anything. She wasn't a sidekick. She was a lone hero. Something that they all wanted. Speedy especially. But she couldn't think of anything to say that could make this any better.
He stared at them as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
"You're kidding, right? You're playing their game? Why? Today was supposed to be the day; step one to becoming full-fledged members of the League!" Kid Flash glanced at Robin and Heatstroke but both shrugged back at him.
"Well, sure, but I thought step one was a tour of HQ?" He pointed out what they were all thinking. But that rational thinking furthered Speedy's anger.
"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ!" She noticed the Leaguers fidgeting behind the angered archer. "I bet they never told you it's a false front for tourists and a pit stop for zeta beam teleporters tubs to the real thing; an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower!"
"You're not helping your cause here, son," Aquaman tried to reason, but Speedy wasn't having any of it. "Or-"
"Or what?" The redhead spat, leveling himself with the blond, "You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son," behind his mask, his eyes darted to Green Arrow.
"I'm not even his, I thought I was his partner." Heatstroke could see that stabbed a knife through the older archer's heart. Speedy swiped his hat and despite it not making a sound, Green Arrow flinched back.
"But not anymore." A grave feeling formed in her stomach when the angry archer turned to them and glared.
"Guess they were right about you guys. You're not ready." With that, he spun on his heel and stormed out leaving a grave atmosphere. A lump formed in her throat, one that she tried to push down but failed. She saw her friends staring at where the archer disappeared as if hoping that he'd magically come back with a smile and say everything was a joke or apologize. But for what seemed like years, nothing happened.
She noticed her friends trembling shoulders and wanted to reach out, but she had never been the best at comforting, only screwing things up.
Suddenly, a loud alarm filled the large room. The large computer flashed to life and Superman's face popped up on the screen.
"Superman to Justice League. There's been an explosion at Cadmus. It's on fire."
"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus," Batman admitted, "This may present the perfect opportunity to in-"
"Zatara to Justice League. The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Attan to blot out the sun. Requesting full league response."
"Superman?" Batman questioned. Robin inched forward, the rest following behind him. She saw their faces brighten up, probably at the thought of going out into the field. She couldn't blame them, she didn't really want to sit here either.
"It's a small fire, local authorities have it under control," Superman reported.
"Then Cadmus can wait," the dark knight declared, "All leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out." The screen went blank. The leaguers then set out to the opened doors while the proteges all wore grins on their faces until Batman broke out the news to stay put.
"What? Why?" Robin demanded in disbelief.
"This is a league mission," Aquaman explained like it explained everything.
"You're not trained-"
"Since when?!" Kid Flash cried cutting off his mentor.
"He means that you're not ready to be apart of this team," Green Arrow interfered. Heatstroke stared at them with her own disbelief.
"So when then? Next year when you feel like taking us to outer space?" She cut in sarcastically but stopped when they turned to her with glares.
"There will be other missions when you're ready," Aquaman added.
"For now, stay put." Heatstroke shivered under the infamous 'Bat glare'. And then they left, leaving them dumbfounded, and betrayed.
"When we're ready?" Kid flash repeated, "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like... Like..."
"Sidekicks?" Heatstroke offered.
"Yeah! Sidekicks!" He exclaimed.
"My mentor... My king. I thought he trusted me." Heatstroke turned to look at the ever so calm Atlantean who looked so beat and betrayed.
"Trust?" Kid Flash scoffed, "They don't even trust us with the basics! They've even got a secret HQ! In outer space!"
"Tell me about it, I've always wanted to visit outer space," the girl sighed. "What else is there that they're not telling us?" Robin glanced at the redhead before speaking up.
"I've got a better question; Why didn't we leave with Speedy?" A heavy silence fell among them as they tried to organize their thoughts. But to Heatstroke, the answer was obvious for her. He was a douche. And she was a free spirit here. She could leave anytime she wanted but didn't want to. Because she wanted to be apart of something bigger. But that seemed like a low blow at the moment.
"Screw that guy. What's Cadmus?" She was itching for something to do instead of brooding.
"Don't know." Her eyes shifted to her elfish friend who wore a large grin, "But I can find out." Like a boss, he sauntered to the main computer and began typing at Mach speed, fast enough to give her a headache.
"Access denied." The computer practically sang.
"Wanna bet?" Robin smirked and with a few more keys, they were seeing green and a bunch of files.
"Dude! How'd you do that?" Kid Flash questioned with childish amazement.
"Same system as the Batcave," he answered smugly.
"Access granted."
"We get it, you're a kickass hacker. So what is this?" She pointed to everything.
"Alright, Project Cadmus." Robin began to scroll down through one of the many files, "A genetic lab here in D.C... That's all there is. But if Batman's suspicious..." He stepped back from the computer with a grin.
"Maybe we should investigate?" Aqualad quickly followed.
"Solve their case before they do. It would be poetic justice."
"Well, their name is the Justice League. They can't scold us for doing justice." Heatstroke added. Then, the dark-skinned male sighed.
"But they said to stay put." Robin stepped forward with a mischievous grin.
"For the blotting out the sun mission. Not this." Heatstroke applauded him for finding the loophole. Kid Flash glanced at Heatstroke and Robin.
"Wait, are we going to Cadmus? He broke out into a grin. "Cause if we are, I'm going too." The trio sharing a grin, they glanced at Aqualad with their best puppy dog eyes. He sighed.
"Just like that, we're a team on a mission?" Aqualad mused.
"We didn't come for a playdate," Robin pointed out. Heatstroke nodded.
"Yeah, what's the worst that could happen?" They all stared at her.
"Nevermind. If this doesn't kill us the league will. Let's do this."