A/N: Hello and welcome to the reboot of the Black Falcon series. I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long (three years!), but life has just been a hot mess. I remember starting this series in late high school and now I'm almost graduating from college! Speaking of school, this was written and published a bit sooner that I would've liked, but I'm currently taking a class on seriality and was given the option to write a fanfiction for a serial of my choosing. My choice? The wonderful show that got me hard into writing, and now I'm writing again and it feels amazing!

METROPOLIS
JULY 4, 2010
11:55 EDT

"Why do they always run away?" I asked to no one in particular. My blonde hair flew behind my shoulders as I chased after my target. A small grunt escaped from my lips as I launched myself into the air, rolling onto the next rooftop, avoiding the slip of ice that was there.

"Focus, Falcon," Natalie's voice addressed from the com I had in my ear. "Take a sharp right. You can cut him off from there."

I gave a small nod and pivoted my foot, keeping my speed so I could maneuver around easily. The building was a bit too far, so I pulled out my grappling gun, launching it. It connected and I tugged, feeling the ground below my feet disappeared as I soared into the air.

I swung around, cutting the wire on the way as I moved down the long building. Just then, Murray popped out, just as predicted.

He stuttered in his steps upon seeing me. He launched his right hand, which was made from pure ice, towards me. I jumped out of the way, pulling out a gun from its holster and shot.

A hiss of pain informed me that I had hit my target before I took advantage of his distraction. I circled around him, shooting him one time in the back of his thigh before kicking it, my boot making contact with his injured leg.

He knocked to the ground and I took the butt of my gun, hitting him across the temple. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

My brows furrowed as I slipped my gun back into its holster. I pressed on my com, "Mission accomplished."

"Nice maneuvering, kid," Olaf complimented as the door to the rooftop slammed open.

I glanced up from my tying Murray's wrists to the Metropolis officers that stood there, guns wielded. I blinked before gesturing to the unconscious man. "You're welcome."

"Your bike should be there soon," Natalie spoke.

"Is the jet still not finished?" I asked, side-stepping for the cops to do their job. I walked down the stairs, ignoring some of the incredulous looks I received from the officers that had closed off the stairways.

I noticed the way their eyes fell to the black and yellow hawk logo that was perched on the front of my black uniform.

The yellow buttons down my right side gave color, emphasizing the yellow background the Blackhawk logo rested on my chest. Connected on the other side of my jacket was a gun I kept hidden on my body, which in turn rested on a plain black tank top that hugged my body, but gave enough breathing space for me to move comfortably and quickly.

I wore a black miniskirt over the black leggings, along with black boots that went to my knees and easily concealed the two extra guns I carried on my body.

Around my waist was a black and blue utility belt – custom designed by Batman himself – in order for me to switch bullets more easily, as well as gather evidence on scene and whatever else came with the job. I'm pretty sure I had two re-breathers in there, as well.

I had two holsters around my thighs, with guns on either sides of me. While I made it look like I had two guns on me only, I actually had a grand total of five. My mother always told me you couldn't have too many at your disposal, just like planes.

While my mother was gone, it didn't mean that I didn't have a family by any means. I knew who my father was, but I chose not to associate with him for reasons.

My family consisted of the Blackhawk Squadron, also known as the Blackhawks. They're a group of ace pilots funded by the United Nations to combat against super aerial threats. I would call them like an aerial International Justice League, but completely human.

The Blackhawks and I lived on Blackhawk Island, which is located in literally the middle of nowhere of the Pacific Ocean. I'm serious. Right in the middle of New Zealand and Chile. Thank God for Zeta-Beam teleporters.

I was trained from a young age to fight and protect myself. I was four years old when I shot my first bullet, right into a dummy. I completely missed where I was aiming, but I did scratch his arm. I was six when I flew my first simulation and seven when I actually piloted a jet for the first time – with my mother as my co-pilot.

I was nine years old when the base was attacked. All hands were on deck and I had to fight for real for the first time in my life – fight for survival. I remembered flying in the air, knocking out enemies one by one with a few Blackhawks.

The Justice League had responded to the distress call and I remembered flying in-between Batman's Batplane and Wonder Woman, taking down fighter jets while Superman, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter helped the others.

Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Robin, Batman's partner, were helping the ones on land.

The attack ended in our favor, but at a cost. My mother, Zinda Blake, Lady Blackhawk, had ended up being a casualty, protecting Natalie Reed, her best friend.

The funeral was quickly prepared and I got lots of comfort from the adults around me, but I didn't really want it. It was then Batman and Robin went up to me, and Robin shared his story – of losing his own parents.

A Zeta-Tube was built on Blackhawk Island for the convenience of Justice League members, and I grew an interest in fighting crime as I followed the Justice League on the news.

The Blackhawks were reluctant, but they allowed me, as long as they were able to coach me through it. Olaf was our radio operations leader, and Natalie, who was also my godmother, took over the role of watching over me.

I also started hanging out a lot with Robin in Gotham City, as he was the first kid I ever met that was my age and I could spend time with. I'd pretty much say he's my best friend – him, or Speedy, Green Arrow's protégé, who I met in early 2008.

Kid Flash and Aqualad were also two really good friends of mine.

And today, July 4, 2010, was the day the four of them and I were going to the Hall of Justice to see how the Justice League operated. To say I was excited would be understating it too much.

I wish I could've flown there instead of taking my bike. My jet, the Blackjet, was a slick, black jet that resembled the Lockhead XF-90 and the most precious thing to me.

… And also currently under maintenance because it got kind of banged up in a fight against Killer Shark.

My bike was already parked in front of the building when I stepped outside of it. I smiled, seeing the slick, black vehicle. Black wasn't my favorite color – it's a shade, actually. But it's a necessity because of stealth purposes. Blue and red were actually my favorite colors.

Like my uniform, there was the Blackhawk logo on the front of the bike. I ran my gloved hand over the symbol before climbing onto it, straddling the vehicle. I slipped on my helmet before starting the engine, taking off south.

It was really boring, to be honest.

Road trips weren't fun unless you had a friend around. I'd actually kill to have Kid Flash right next to me right now. He and the Flash made some of the best jokes.

I spotted a dark, slick car not too far away from me – the only car around for miles – and grinned. I sped up, before tapping across the front of my bike, looking down at the GPS. I turned on the computer, before calling the Batmobile.

I heard the click of someone picking up, but no response.

"Afternoon, gentlemen!" I greeted happily.

"Hey, Fal," Robin groaned quietly.

I furrowed my brows, picking up speed so I could drive right beside the Batmobile. "What's wrong with you?"

"Kicking Freeze's butt plus jumping plus shakes plus pizza equals pain…" was my weak response. Ah, ever the mathlete, that boy was.

I was aware of Batman and Robin's real identities. Something I considered a privilege. Kid Flash and I were the only young heroes that knew. I had a feeling Roy – Speedy – also knew, because he and his adopted father, Oliver Queen AKA Green Arrow, ran in the same social circle as Bruce Wayne AKA Batman.

"Did you chew your food properly?" I asked teasingly, picturing him slumped in the front seat of the Batmobile, looking slightly green.

"Shut up, V," was my response.

That was an interesting thing to note. Dick always called me – even from the very beginning – V. He rarely ever called me Verena. It wasn't bad or anything, but people generally called me by my full name, Ren, or kid. V was really unique, and when I pointed it out to Dick, he just shrugged.

It was then I realized something. "Wait, you guys fought Freeze?"

I could hear a thoughtful tone in Batman's voice as he spoke for the first time, "Yes. Why?"

I furrowed my brows and replied, "I just finished putting Iceberg back in jail. He's on a one-way trip to Belle Reve as we speak." There was silence on the other end. "… Batman?"

"Killer Frost, Icicle, Icicle Jr, and Captain Cold also attacked today, too," Robin supplied for me. "Six ice villains?"

"What could that be all about?" I asked out loud before leaning to the side as I turned down the road.

"We'll find out soon enough," was Batman's terse response, and signified the end of the conversation.

The rest of the drive was filled with small chatter between Robin and I. Bruce was never fun in Batman mood. I liked his teasing as Bruce Wayne more.

WASHINGTON, D.C.
JULY 4, 2010
14:00 EDT

I stood in-between Robin and Speedy as we looked at the entrance to the Hall of Justice. I swelled with pride and exhaled in satisfaction. Finally, I was here. Without even the words, I could feel my mother beaming down at me from the skies above.

A large, gloved hand placed itself on my shoulder and I turned to see it connected to Batman, who acted occasionally as my hero/vigilante-mentor. He also had a hand on Robin's shoulder and he announced, "Today's the day."

Oh, hell yeah, it was.

I exchanged a smile with Robin before turning to Speedy, who was stiff as usual. I turned as Batman dropped his arm and poked Speedy's side. The redhead narrowed his eyes and looked down at me. I wasn't deterred as I beamed up at him. "Smile, Speedy. Today's the day."

He rolled his eyes but I did see a flitter of a smirk on his face. He was excited, too. Yup.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," Green Arrow spoke, and I turned my attention to the older archer.

"Headquarters to the Justice League," Aquaman added with a nod of pride.

"Aw, man!" an all-too familiar voice exclaimed from not so far away. The seven of us turned around and the blurs of yellow and red skidded to a stop in front of us. "I knew we'd be the last ones here!" Kid Flash complained, crossing his arms before turning his head to glare up at his mentor.

"Now that we're all here," Batman began, looking at all of us. "Let's go."

"Yes!" Kid Flash and Robin jumped up at the same time. They gave each other high fives before walking on ahead of us. I glanced at Speedy and he walked on ahead. I huffed and walked quickly to catch up with him, since his legs were much longer than mine.

As we walked to the entrance to the Hall of Justice, the spectators that were outside snapped pictures brightly, oohing and ahhing at the sight of us, some even talking excitedly as flash after flash attempted to blind me.

"Is that Batman?!"

"Oh, I see Flash and Flash Jr.!"

"His name's Speedy, duh."

"No. Speedy's Green Arrow's sidekick."

"Well, that makes no sense."

I skipped merrily, my locks hitting the tips of my shoulders as I was in-between Speedy and Robin. I vaguely heard Green Arrow ask Speedy something, but tuned it out.

"Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" Kid Flash asked eagerly, looking at all of us.

"I technically was never a sidekick," I pointed out.

"You're, like, part-sidekick," Kid Flash rolled his eyes.

He was cut off by Speedy's sharp correction, "Don't call us sidekicks. Not after today."

"Sorry," Kid Flash apologized, looking up at the young archer. "It's my first time at the Hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."

Robin let out an exasperated sigh from my left. "You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"

The doors to the Hall of Justice slid open in front of us and my jaw dropped at the sight of the large, seven bronze statues of the founding members of the Justice League. They stood up straight and proud, greeting all visitors with an imposing force.

All of us stopped and I think my jaw dropped at the sight. "Oh, that's probably why…" Robin muttered from beside me.

Speedy elbowed me. "You're drooling."

I quickly moved my glove hand to wipe, but then I realized that he was just messing with me. I narrowed my eyes at the young archer and he smirked at me as we walked towards a door that was beneath Superman's feet. The door read in large capitals: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

The large, heavy, metal door slid open, revealing Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter.

"Robin, Black Falcon, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash," Martian Manhunter listed, looking at each of us. "Welcome." Robin and Kid Flash exchanged fist bumps and we followed the Martian inside the closed off room. He proceeded to give us a tour of the inside, featuring a gym, a gallery, and of course…

"… Our library," the green hero finished as we walked into a large room.

"Make yourselves at home," Flash advised, gesturing around the room. Aqualad, Robin, and Kid Flash sat down in the seats that were there. I decided to take a seat on Robin's left armrest, while Speedy stood in the center of all of us.

Batman turned to his fellow heroes and addressed, "Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day." To us, he said, "We shouldn't be long." All of the older heroes stood in front of a pair of steel doors, and a scanned popped out.

"Recognize: Batman: Zero-Two. Aquaman: Zero-Six. Flash: Zero-Four. Green Arrow: Zero-Eight. Martian Manhunter: Zero-Seven. Red Tornado: One-Size."

"That's it?!" Speedy exclaimed. He approached the heroes angrily, glaring up at them. "You promised us a real tour. Not a glorified backstage pass."

Aquaman tried to reason with the angry teenager, "It's a first step. You've been given access on what few others get."

"Oh, really?" Speedy asked steely. He gestured to the ceiling, where there was a window. I could see tourists eagerly snapping photos of us. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?!"

"Oh, dear…" I muttered quietly under my breath. Speedy had one hell of a temper, from what I've seen. While I was never on the receiving end of it, I have witnessed it quite a few times.

"Roy, you just need to be patient," Green Arrow attempted to soothe his partner.

"What I need, is respect," Speedy spat harshly. He turned to look at us. "They're treating us like kids. Worse: like sidekicks. We deserve better than this.

The four of us exchanged looks, like we didn't feel like that. I, personally, had no problem.

Speedy, however, did have a problem. "You're kidding right?" he asked in a deadpan. He glanced at all of us before stopping at me. Speedy and I were just as tight as Robin and Kid Flash, so I understood why he was a bit shocked that I wasn't sticking with him. "You're playing their game? Why?! Today was supposed to be the day! Step one to becoming full-fledged members of the League!"

"Well, sure," Kid Flash shrugged. "But I thought step one was a tour of the HQ."

"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ!" Speedy exclaimed, and my jaw dropped in shock. "I bet they never told you that it's just a false front for tourists and a pit stop to catching Zeta-beam teleporter tubes to the real thing: an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower!"

Green Arrow turned to look at his fellow heroes. Batman crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes, showing his amusement. Which was none. "I know, I know," the archer spoke, "but I thought maybe we could make an exception?" Batman's eyes narrowed even more.

Well, duh. Robin and I had no idea about this, and we practically knew everything! Okay, well, Robin almost knew everything. He was the skilled hacker here, but since I spent a lot of time with him, whatever he knew, I knew. We even knew all of the secret identities of each member of the Justice League!

… Don't tell anyone we know that. We aren't supposed to. It's supposed to be a secret, but Robin's one of the best hackers I know – right behind Batman, of course.

"Or not," Green Arrowed said, dejected.

"You are not helping your cause here, son," Aquaman said, stepping forward to confront Speedy. "Stand down. Or–"

"Or what?!" Speedy interrupted. "You'll send me to my room?! And I'm not your son! I'm not even his." He glared at Green Arrow. "I thought I was his partner. But not anymore." His arm reached up, grabbing the yellow cap before clenching it tightly in a fist and throwing it to the floor.

He stormed past me, "Guess I was right about you four." I felt the breeze between my locks as he moved powerfully to the exit. "You're not ready." The doors slid shut behind him, and silence filled the room.

It wasn't very long, though, because there was a beeping sound that filled the room just a couple seconds after Speedy left. I turned to the source to see the largest screen in the center of the room display an image of Superman.

"Superman to Justice League," he called. "There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

"I've had my suspicions on Cadmus," Batman said, looking up at the screen of Superman's face. "This may present the perfect opportunity to–"

He was sharply interrupted by another incoming transmission, and a smaller video image of Zatara popped up in the corner. "Zatara to Justice League. The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

"Superman?"

"It's a small fire," the Kryptonian answered. "The local authorities have it under control."

"The Cadmus can wait," Batman concluded. He pressed a button on the large keyboard before him. "All Leaguers rendezvous to Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."

The screens went black as the four of us approached out mentors quietly. Batman turned back to look at us and ordered, "Stay put."

"What?" Robin exclaimed as Flash and Aquaman stood beside Batman, looking at us. "Why?"

"This is a League mission," Aquaman went on to explain.

"You're not trained–" Flash started, but was cut off by his protégé.

"Since when?!"

Flash looked at his nephew and edited, "I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team."

"There will be other missions… when you are ready," Aquaman assured us, though I didn't feel to assured. To be honest, it was quite irritating.

"But for now," Batman said, looking at the four of us. "Stay put," he told us sternly. The Leaguers left the room, heading to the double black steel doors that read: JUSTICE LEAGUE MEMBERS ONLY.

They entered, and just after they did, the doors slammed shut.

"When we're ready?!" Kid Flash echoed, outraged into the empty room. "How are we supposed to ever be ready if they treat us like – like – like –"

"Sidekicks?" I supplied, arching a brow at the young speedster.

He nodded. "Yeah!"

Aqualad's face fell as he said, "My mentor… my King… I thought he trust me."

"Trust?" Kid Flash asked. "They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got an orbiting secret HQ in space!" The redhead threw his arms in the air, looking up at the Atlantean in disbelief.

"What else aren't they telling us?" Aqualad looked at us with a raised eyebrow.

Robin glanced at me and I felt the back of his glove brush against mine softly before he asked, "I have a better question: Why didn't we leave with Speedy?"

All of us fell silent as we came to a mutual agreement. Why didn't we?

It was when Aqualad spoke up again did we have our attention averted. "What is… Project Cadmus?"

I cocked my head to the side before glancing at Robin, who shrugged in response. "Dunno," he replied, before a wicked grin spread onto his face. "But I can find out."

He walked over to the large computer and I took my place on his right. The other two heroes stood behind us, peering over our shoulders/heads. Yeah... we were that short. But in my defense, I'm only eleven years old. Aqualad and Kid Flash are sixteen and fifteen respectively.

"Access denied."

"Heh," Robin scoffed. "Wanna bet?" He typed in a few more keys, and soon, codes started scrolling down the screen as he hacked into the system effortlessly.

"Whoa," Kid Flash gaped. "How are you doing that?"

"Same system as the Batcave," Robin smirked, hunched over the screen. I tapped his shoulders lightly and he sighed heavily, fixing his posture so his back was straighter. He was already short enough – no need to crouch even more.

"Access granted."

The file opened, displaying a document on the screen. I read in my head as Robin informed, "Project Cadmus: genetics lab… here in D.C…. That's all there is. But if Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate," Robin suggested, looking at us with a mischievous tone.

Aqualad quickly caught onto Robin's suggestion. "Solve their case before they do… It would be poetic justice."

"And they're all about justice," Robin agreed, nodding his head. I took the opportunity to go over the coordinates in my head.

Aqualad sighed from behind me. He looked at all of us pointedly. "But they said to stay put."

"For the blotting out the sun mission," Robin refuted, grinning up at the older boy. "Not this." It was true, technically speaking.

"Got it," I announced, once I had the way to the lab memorized. Robin gave me a small nod. We were going to do this, with or without Aqualad and Kid Flash – preferably with.

"Wait, are you two going to Cadmus?" Kid Flash asked, looking at us eagerly. "'Cause if you guys are, I'm goin' too," he declared. Robin and Kid Flash gave innocent-looking grins to Aqualad. I shook my head softly, my lips curling into a soft smile of my own.

The boys' faces were filled with so much mischief, but it was still hard to say no to those faces.

I could see the thoughtful look on the Atlantean's face before he sighed heavily. "So just like that? We're a team on a mission?"

"We didn't exactly come here for a play date," Robin responded, looking at the older boy pointedly.

"So where we headed?" Kid Flash asked, looming over me. I pointed to the red dot on the screen of the large computer and when a breeze flew by me, I knew the speedster was gone.

Thankfully, Project Cadmus was only a few blocks away, so it took us less than ten minutes to get there.

As we got closer and closer to the burning building, I could see the firefighters working on the flames before there was a blast as chemicals exploded.

There was a flash of yellow, and Kid Flash caught the two scientists who were stuck up there from falling out of the building just in time. He threw them on the roof, before gracelessly letting gravity take over him. He scrambled on the side of the building, before holding himself up from an open windowsill.

"It's what's-his-name! Flash Boy!" I placed my gloved hand over my lips, stifling a laugh behind it.

Robin grinned from beside me and he drawled out, "So smooth." With a curt nod to me, I immediately saw what he wanted for me to do. I pulled out my grappling gun while Robin extracted his Batrope at the same time.

We both launched them at the same time, and swung ourselves upwards. Robin cackled, the sound echoing off the walls, just before we landed on the open window Kid Flash hung from. The Boy Wonder assisted his best friend up, and I went over to a cabinet file.

I tugged on it, but found out it was locked. I looked at the cabinet, glaring softly before I took out my gun. I shot at the lock, and it dented, but then slid open.

"Subtle," Kid Flash commented casually. "I'll check the other cabinets."

"I appreciated the help," Aqualad commented bluntly, appearing in the room. I assumed with his Atlantean powers, he was able to propel himself up to the window quite easily.

"You handled it," Robin replied easily, shrugging his shoulders. "'Sides, we're here to investigate. Poetic justice, remember?" He continued hacking into the computer in front of him.

There was a noise and I heard Aqualad dash out, followed closely by my two other companions. I was left in the room alone, waiting for the files to finish downloading. Once they were finished, I unplugged the USB cable and walked out of the room, seeing the boys standing in front of the elevator.

I looked at the hologram that was perched on Robin's glove and frowned. "A 182 Story Capacity elevator?" I cocked my head to the side. Why the hell would they need that?

Aqualad went over to the elevator shaft, and threw open the doors with his Atlantean strength. He looked down and I walked over, trying to see what he was looking at. My balance was thrown slightly when I saw what looked like a dark, endless pit of doom.

"And that's why they need an express elevator," Robin drawled from where I stood, releasing a low whistle. "Fal."

"I know, I know," I replied, already a step ahead of him. I had my grappling gun out before he even addressed me, and he and I launched our guns at the inside of the roof of the elevator shaft. I tugged on the line to make sure it was secure before leaping off the edge, going down.

I don't know how long we took, but we just kept going and going. There was silence except for the wiring of our guns and the fluttering sound of Robin's cape. At sublevel twenty-six, we came to an abrupt stop.

"We're at the end of our ropes," Robin commented, glancing up. I saw Kid Flash and Aqualad sliding down towards us, going slowly as to not crash into us. That would be messy. "Looks like this is our stop."

He gave Kid Flash a warning before swinging, landing on the small ledge that protruded from the wall. I gave Aqualad my own warning before swinging off the rope, disconnecting my gun from the rope. Robin grabbed my hand, helping me steady. We were joined by our companions in a few seconds.

Robin bypassed the security system for Aqualad to pry open the doors. I welcomed the steady ground of the floor, taking a look at the large, marble hallway.

"Welcome to Project Cadmus," Robin announced, looking around, trying to find any clues.

Kid Flash sped on ahead, running down the semi-long hallway. My jaw dropped as he abruptly skidded to a stop, falling onto his butt and hands in shock. There were these weird – and I mean weird – alien-looking things the size of mammoths that kind of reminded me of the Rancor from Star Wars.

"No," Aqualad breathed out. "Nothing weird going on around here."

I nodded in agreement sarcastically. "Batman was ridiculous for suspecting Project Cadmus." Leave it to him to know something was wrong. Batman had a good radar for that.

"Let's take a look around," Robin suggested. The four of us exchanged looks before giving subtle nods. We proceeded down the hallway, now empty of those strange creatures.

"Well, looks like this is the end," I said, placing my hands onto my hips once we came to a stop in front of large, metal doors. I turned to look at my best friend, "Wanna bypass security?" … Only to realize he was already on it. I rolled my eyes at his nonchalant face and waited for the doors to hiss and unlock.

Robin let out a low whistle as we observed the room. "I am officially whelmed."

I stepped inside cautiously inside, taking in the many tubes of weird alien-things that were generating blue electricity. "What are these things?"

Robin walked over to the set of computers that were against the wall, all plugged in. "Let's find out," he said, hooking up his USB cord to the slot. "Hey, Fal, you mind downloading their files while I find out why they're doing all this?"

"No prob," I said, walking to the computer that was beside his. He handed me a small chip, which I slipped into the computer. Robin's virus immediately attacked the system and the files started transferring. "Holy crap," I breathed out, seeing the seven hundred gigabytes of data. "There's a lot of data in this." Even with the fast speed, the bar was only at eighteen percent.

"They're called genomorphs," Robin informed me. "Holy crap! Take a look at the stats on these things: super strength, telepathy, razor claws? They're breeding weapons!"

"They're generating an army, but for who?" Kid Flashed asked from behind us.

"There's something else," Robin pointed out, showing us his screen. "Project Kr. The file's triple encrypted. I can't–"

"Don't move!" a loud, commanding voice ordered, cutting Robin off. I turned to the owner of a voice to see Guardian, a fellow hero. He looked absolutely taken aback at our presences. "Robin? Black Falcon? Aqualad? Kid Flash?"

"At least he got your name right," Robin teased the speedster. He turned to me and asked, "How's it goin', Fal?"

"Ugh," I groaned, looking at the status bar. "It's so slow. Seventy-eight percent." We need to do something about this speed. In the background, I heard Aqualad ask why Guardian was here, who responded that he was the chief of security.

Uh-oh. That's not good.

"I'll cover you!" Robin exclaimed, just as Guardian ordered the genomorphs to attack us. I kept my eyes focused on the screen, trusting Robin completely.

True to his word, I vaguely saw him release a smoke bomb from the corner of my eye and knocked out any genomorphs that got too close to me.

100%. Data copied successfully, the progress bar stated.

I removed the chip and it popped out. I grabbed it quickly before unhooking my gun from my right hip just as Robin ducked down to kick a genomorphs out of his way. I shot at the one that was jumping towards us and an arm snaked around my waist.

Robin pulled out his Batrope and shot it, pulling me with him as he swung above the chaotic mess. I landed on my feet easily and Robin hacked the door that blocked our way out.

Kid Flash joined us within the next thirty seconds, but he wasn't that happy. "Way to be a team player, Rob, Fal!" the accusation in Kid Flash's voice wasn't lost on us.

"Weren't you right behind us?" Robin asked, not taking his eyes off of his holographic keyboard. I watched his little viruses do their work, along with that little cartoon face he designed just to piss me off when he messed with my computers.

The elevator door opened, which allowed the three of us darted inside. We waited for Aqualad to join us and once he was in, I pressed the button to go down. The doors shut just in time, keeping the genetically-modified beings out.

"We're going down?!" Aqualad's brows arched in disbelief as he looked at me incredulously.

"Dude, out is up!" In emphasis, Kid Flash pointed upwards to the ceiling whilst looking down at me.

"Hey, don't yell at her!" Robin came to my defense, half-standing in front of me. Before I could protest that I could defend myself, he continued, "Project Kr is down on sublevel fifty-two."

"This is getting out of control," Aqualad sighed, exasperated. I could understand his frustration, but we had to figure out what was going on. We couldn't forever live in the shadows of our mentors. To be honest, Robin and I have talked about expanding our horizons after we graduated from high school.

The Atlantean turned to us and said, "Perhaps… perhaps we should contact the League." We stood in silence for a while, until the elevator dinged, signaling we had arrived at our stop.

The doors slid open and I scrunched my nose, taking in the sight before me. The walls and ground looked like this squishy pink, like we were inside someone's intestines. Robin was the first to climb out of the elevator, and I followed him, with Kid Flash and Aqualad right behind me.

Aqualad sighed and asked, "Which way?"

"Yeah, take your pick, Fal," Robin grandly gestured, holding his arms out. "Bizarre-looking hallway one or bizarre-looking hallway two?"

"Halt!" a voice called. We all turned to see another genomorphs standing a few ways from us. Without another word, he psychically levitated some nearby barrels towards us, but we jumped out of the way.

They exploded where we once stood. In retaliation, Robin launched a batarang, but the genomorphs dodged it.

We whirled around, speeding down the hallway, with Kid Flash leading us. He waddled, carrying a stopper and ordered for us to run faster. I jumped through the almost-closing door, with Robin right behind me. I landed on my feet and whirled around just in time to see Aqualad kick the stopper away, making the steel door slam shut behind us.

"I disabled the door," Robin announced, turning off his holo-computer. "We're safe."

Aqualad looked around the strange room. "We're trapped," he articulated.

Kid Flash and I wandered deeper into the room, trying to find any clues. I stopped in front of a large glass tube, completely dark. There weren't any lights in there, and I was curious to see what it rested inside it.

"Hey, Fal," Kid Flash gaped from beside me. "You seein' what I'm seein'?" I nodded mutely, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Uh, guys?!" he called to get the others' attention. "You're gonna wanna see this." I walked over to the side of the tube and pressed a button.

The lights turned on, and I was temporarily blinded by the white light. I blinked furiously, trying to get my orbs to adjust to the change. When I was able to focus, I looked up at the large tube, only to have my eyes as wide as saucers and I made a conscious thought to clamp my jaw shut.

I looked at the figure in all white, giving him a glance-over. From his dark black hair to his broad shoulders, to his strong legs, I found myself seeing a younger version of Superman. But… it wasn't possible. His entire planet was destroyed, wasn't it?

"Big K, little R," Kid Flash realized, walking up to the pod-like thing to stand beside me. "The atomic symbol for Krypton."

I took a cautious step towards it. "Is cloning possible?" I asked. We all knew Krypton was destroyed, which was why Superman came to Earth in the first place.

"Robin, hack," Aqualad ordered, turning to the boy.

"Uh, right, right," Robin nodded furiously, clacking away.

I took a step back, taking in the severity of the situation. Here we were, deep, deep underground in some strange hideout. In Washington, D.C. This was going on right under the Justice League's noses. I coughed, wondering what the hell we had gotten ourselves into.

I turned to Kid Flash, who was a bit shocked. I decided to break the ice. "I'm surprised you remember your atomic symbols, Kid," I plastered a smile onto my face.

Kid Flash looked down at me, his eyes narrowing. He knew that I knew that he was a chemistry whiz. "You're lucky you're cute," he declared.

I turned to my Robin, who was still working at the computer. "See, Robin?" I called, remembering an old conversation with him. "He thinks I'm cute."

"Like I said, you're as cute as Joker's hyenas," Robin retorted, not glancing up from his work. Lies. Those hyenas were fugly as hell.

"Jerk," I muttered under my breath, approaching him with Kid Flash. I dropped the subject, seeing that Robin was close to finishing. "What do we have?"

"Weapon designation: Superboy," Robin read out loud. "A clone force-grown in… sixteen week?!" His eyes widened before he continued, "From DNA acquired from Superman."

"Stolen from Superman," Aqualad corrected the Boy Wonder. I knew cloning was possible! I called it!

"No way the big guy knows about this," Kid Flash agreed, nodding his head. He turned to me and said, "Looks like you were right about the cloning-thing."

I really shouldn't have been too surprised, though. I mean, I was in a room with an Atlantean and a boy who got super speed using his chemistry set. I also worked for a man who dressed up as a giant bat on a daily basis.

"They're like, making a slave out of Superman's son," Kid Flash commented, looking at the genomorphs inside Superboy's pod.

"I think we should contact the League," I voiced. This was getting a bit out of hand. "Before we can get any deeper into this." The others nodded in agreement and we moved to contact our mentors. I pressed on the com-link in my ear, but all that I heard was a sharp static.

"No signal," Robin reported negatively.

Kid Flash looked at us and sighed, "We're in too deep."

"Literally," Robin and I chorused at the same time. We glanced at Superboy and we exchanged looks.

"This is wrong," Kid Flash voiced, looking at Superboy's figure.

"We can't leave him like this…" Robin agreed, sparing a glance at the clone. There was a beat of silence as we contemplated what to do. I bit my bottom lip, looking at my friends.

"Set him free," Aqualad was the first to speak up, shattering the silence. "Do it."

Robin pulled up his holo-computer again and pressed a few buttons. The next thing I saw, there was a hiss and the pod slid open. I really hope this wasn't going to backfire on us. What if he suddenly attacked us?

Wait, I thought to myself, pausing my thoughts. Can't think like that. Maybe he'll help us get out of here.

Superboy's eyes – a bright blue like Superman's – flew open, and those weren't the only things that flew. He flew right towards us, catching a shocked Aqualad and pushing him towards the ground.

"Me and my stupid thoughts," I reprimanded myself. I just had to go and jinx it, didn't I?

Kid Flash, Robin, and I reacted quickly, running over to the two figures. The boys quickly grabbed onto Superboy's arms to prevent him from beating up Aqualad. I wrapped my arms around his neck, doing my best to restrain him, but not harm him.

"Whoa, hang on, Supey!" Kid Flash exclaimed.

"We're," Robin grunted against the Kryptonian. "On. Your. Side!"

Superboy's strength proved to be too much and he pulled out of Kid Flash's grip. He launched his fist forward, sending the boy clad in yellow and red flying right through a glass tube.

"Fal, smoke bombs!" Robin ordered. "We didn't want to do this, but…" I pulled out my own smoke bullets and smashed them into Superboy's face, the same time as Robin. Aqualad took advantage of the distraction and kicked the clone away from us, sending him flying across the room.

Robin pulled out his taser, the electric wires shooting out towards Superboy, but the latter just simply grabbed onto it and pulled Robin forward towards him, smashing his foot down onto the boy.

I unhooked both of my guns and shot multiple times at Superboy, and couldn't help but curse at the Kryptonian invulnerability. Why did they have to be bullet-proof again?

Using the distraction of me shooting, Aqualad summoned a water hammer, attacking Superboy.

I darted over to where Robin was lying and asked, "Robin? You okay?" I just simply got a groan and Robin fell limp in my arms. "Robin?" I asked, slightly panicked. "Robin!" I shook him.

Nothing.

"Black Falcon! Look out!"

A choked gasp escaped from my lips and my head throbbed in pain as I found myself roughly pinned to a wall. My left hand tried in vain to remove his grip from my neck, but I couldn't do it. He was too strong.

I willed all of the strength I had into my right hand, which was thankfully still holding my weapon of choice. I placed it at his stomach, and pulled the trigger. A bang shot out and the boy jumped back in shock.

I fell to the ground on all fours, gasping for air, head throbbing from lack of oxygen and the bruise that I probably got from when he pinned me. I heard a roar of anger and Superboy grabbed me.

My eyes shut on instinct as I found myself being hurled across the room, and a sharp pain hit me as the computer I was thrown into dug into my side.

I slid to the ground, and everything went black.

A/N: Please remember to leave a review! I will be working on the second chapter sometime in the next week or so. I can't promise weekly updates like before, but I can definitely shoot for monthly chapters as long as this! ^^