So another attempt at a Young Justice Fanfic since my other one kind of seemed a bust. A guest reviewer pointed out that my OC was on the "Mary Sue" side and it made me rethink my whole approach. I don't want my character to be the definition of perfect, I want my character to have flaws, to be different and fumble. I will keep the same OC with a slight name change from the original but it won't start out like last time, I want time for my character to develop into someone.

On another note, I am not sure about character pairings just yet. As the character develops I may ask the reviewers who they think should be paired with who, if any.

The story will be starting out just before Season 1 started giving my character time to make her appearance into their world, the world of the Young Justice characters. I don't want to piss off any serious Young Justice enthusiasts so I will keep the information as accurate as possible but with a few tweaks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice…just my OC(s).

Character: Aaliyah Valentine, 13 years old, born January 18th 1997.

Chapter One

June 14th 2010

Dark menacing clouds gathered overhead as the day went on leaving no indication that the sun would be seen until their job of drenching every living thing that was still out was completed. Aaliyah stood alongside her horse Ace, watching the clouds churn in the sky as they awaited the oncoming relief the rain would bring.

"Hmm, so what do you think Ace? Think we should head back? I'm sure my mother would kill me if we stayed out and got caught in this mess." She said with an exasperated sigh. The large animal perked his ears up at the sound of her voice and turned his head to look at her.

Aaliyah looked to him placing a hand on his neck patting him as if in understanding. "Yeah I agree. Let's get going then." She walked him over to a nearby fallen down tree stepping up on it for the leverage she would need to climb onto Ace's back. Once she was comfortable she grabbed his mane and directed him back towards the house with a slight tug and soft whistle.

They neared the fence with Ace still in a slow trot when Aaliyah bailed off of him and started sprinting towards the fence. She grabbed the wooded post and with a little help jumped the gate, not so successfully to her displeasure. Landing with a thud on her back and getting the air knocked out of her she thought to herself, okay what in the heck possessed me to do that? Ooooh, look at that it's raining now.

Once she regained the breath that was knocked out of her she readjusted herself a bit but didn't move to get up. She lay staring at the dark clouds feeling the rain hitting her face. A moment later another face appeared over hers, she giggled as she reached up to pet Ace's nose. "I'm okay but I do feel pretty stupid for trying that, again. Guess I am just too darn short."

Ace grunted as if he agreed that she was indeed stupid and lifted his head to look towards the large house that sat on the property. Aaliyah sat up on her elbows when she heard the door slam shut and her mother's voice rang out from the front porch, "Aaliyah!"

"Ma'am?" she sat up completely now and faced the small woman that stood on the porch with her arms crossed.

"What on earth are you doing on the ground?" Her voice was soft but stern, "Have you not noticed it is raining?"

Aaliyah looked back to Ace and giggled before she faced the direction her mother was in again, "Um, I fell."

Her mother uncrossed her arms, a little panic on her face now, "Off of Ace?" She started making her way over quickly towards her daughter who still sat on the ground. She bent down and placed a hand on Aaliyah's shoulders.

"Um no." Aaliyah answered her worried mother with a little embarrassment on her face.

"No? Then what happened?" She still seemed worried but that stern tone was starting to return. She knew how her daughter was sometimes and how often she did really stupid things that could have, or should have resulted in injury.

Aaliyah looked away from her mom for a split second and then back to her. She tried to smile innocently but it obviously wasn't working out when her mother raised an eyebrow, "Okay, okay. I tried to jump the gate again. I obviously didn't make it." She flung her hands in the air in defeat.

Her mother removed the hand from her shoulder and reared it back. The sound of her hand making contact with the back of Aaliyah's head came a second later. It wasn't hard but it was enough to catch the young girl's attention as she immediately placed her own hand where her mother's had hit.

"OW!" Aaliyah shrieked giving her mom a, I-can't-believe-you-did-that, look.

"Well serves you right! You had me worried that Ace here had done this and that you might have been seriously hurt." Her mother gestured towards Ace as she spoke and then reached forward and flicked Aaliyah on her forehead.

"Mom! Okay I get it!" Aaliyah shrieked again waving her arms around and then rubbing the sting from her forehead.

Her mother's light green eyes met Aaliyah's equally light green eyes, both sat in silence for a minute. Slowly her mother's stern looked turned to one of amusement and she eventually laughed. "Come on, you can help me with dinner." She stood and reached a hand out for Aaliyah.

Aaliyah smiled at her mom and grabbed her hand, "What's in it for me?"

"The dishes." Her mother simply answered as they both walked back to the house.

"What?!" Aaliyah looked to her mom in disbelief as they stepped onto the porch.

Her mom reached for the door and opened it as she spoke, "For your little stunt that had me worried you get the dishes tonight after dinner. And no, you can't use the dishwasher." She smiled to her daughter and walked into the house.

Aaliyah followed her inside grumbling the whole way about how it was just out of fun and how much she would rather stand in the storm than do the dishes. Also, how it should technically be her mom's fault since she got her height from the small woman and if she were taller she would have made it. She knew however, no amount of complaining was going to help her, if anything it would more than likely land her another smack to the back of the head. The thought made her hand subconsciously go back to the spot her mom had hit early, "I think once today is enough." She mumbled to herself as she walked into the large kitchen.

Aaliyah was busy setting the table when her father walked in, he had been locked up in his study all day and looked absolutely exhausted. He walked passed her ruffling her dark auburn hair on the way. She tried to bat his hand away but it only caused him to chuckle and pinch her nose between his thumb and pointer finger.

"Seriously dad? I'm not five years old anymore." She protested as she grabbed his hand pulling her face away.

"Oh that's right, you're a teenager." he scrunched up his face sticking his tongue out at her.

Aaliyah crossed her arms as she studied her father's face that was still scrunched up, "That's quite a face for an 'adult'." She uncrossed her arms to throw the air quotes in there with the word 'adult'.

"Well who says I want to be an adult right now? Haven't you ever heard that age isn't what makes you, it's your actions…or something like that?" He continued to make the face but now a smile played into his features.

Aaliyah giggled as he seemed so childlike right then for someone that was supposed to be so serious all the time. "Well in that case I'd say you are ranging around six years old minus a good temper tantrum."

His features softened as he placed a hand on his daughter's head ruffling her hair again, "Eh, I'm ok with that. Becoming an adult is something no one can avoid but it doesn't necessarily mean you have to leave all the fun behind along with your childhood." He took his seat at the head of the table and placed his elbows on the table interlocking his fingers. He rested his chin on his fingers as he spoke again, "You might be growing up Aaliyah, but don't forget how to have a little fun in life. It doesn't always have to be so serious. If your life has come to that then you are no longer living in my books, you are just coasting until the end."

Aaliyah smiled brightly at her father, he was right, he knew when to be serious and when to have fun. Growing up was indeed boring and an unfortunate part of life but it definitely doesn't mean that with age came less fun. "I'll keep that in mind, but you know me dad." She pointed to herself with both thumbs, "This girl can't do boring for long periods of time. The results could be catastrophic."

His light chuckle lightened up the room as it always did and in turn made her smile. He nodded his head in understanding, also probably thinking about all the messes she had caused from probable boredom.

Her mom walked in a few minutes later, just as Aaliyah was laying the last fork down, with the casserole in hand. She looked to her husband as she placed the food in the center of the table and smiled, "So nice of you to join the world that exists outside of your study."

He smirked at her as she kissed his forehead before taking her seat to his left. Aaliyah took her seat to his right as they proceeded to pass around the different dishes. They had barely began eating when her father cleared his throat causing her to halt in her actions of scooping up a large amount of the casserole onto her spoon.

"I…have some important news." He paused for a moment to see if his wife and daughter were listening. When he was satisfied that he had their attention he spoke again, "I spoke with my partner today about the company's progress over the past few years. So far, everything is in check and we continue to move up on the charts which is great. We want to extend our reach even further so…" another short pause, "We will be moving…and by that I don't mean just the company."

Aaliyah was now grateful that the food on her spoon hadn't made it to her mouth. With this sudden news she was sure that it would have flew out, or she would have choked on it.

She stared at her father with wide eyes, "Moving? Moving where? When?" she started to fidget in her seat more and more as the seconds passed, "What about Ace?"

Her father put his hands up to halt her, "Calm down." He said with a smile, "Your mom and I-"

"Wait, mom you knew about this?" she interrupted her dad focusing on her mom.

Her mom nodded her head with a small smile, "Yes. Your father and I spoke about this a few weeks ago."

Aaliyah looked back to her father with slightly less widened eyes, "So, why am I just now hearing about it?"

"Well," he spoke slowly, "we wanted to make sure that everything was organized. All the arrangements have been made to make this move as painless as possible."

Aaliyah nodded her head, "Okay, so what about Ace? Is there a place set up for him at this new place? And where exactly is this new place?"

"Everything is already set up for Ace. We will be moving close to a place called Happy Harbor." He gave her a minute to process the information.

"So by close to you don't actually mean that we will be there?" she narrowed her eyes a bit with an eyebrow raised.

"Precisely, we will be just outside of the city limits but close enough. The school systems there have great marks so you should be able to transfer over without any problems. You get decent enough grades so adjusting shouldn't be too difficult and you will be starting at the beginning of the year with the rest of the current students." His smile was there but did not seem to fit with the light mood he was trying to set. "There should be plenty to do around there to fend off the boredom and the possible 'catastrophic' events that ensue when you have an episode." He air quoted her word from earlier.

Now there was the amused tone she was used to. Aaliyah seemed to think about it for a minute, looking to the ceiling tapping her thin finger on her chin. She looked back to her parents with a smile, "Sweet!"

Both of her parents seemed shocked, "What? You're okay with moving?" her mother spoke looking between her daughter and husband.

"Yep!" Aaliyah nodded her head quickly, the smile growing wider. "100 percent A-Okay!"

Her father shook his head in disbelief, "You have got to be the strangest teenager I have ever met…and you just so happen to be my own flesh and blood."

She knitted her eyebrows together in slight confusion, "What do you mean?"

He reached his hand to the back of his neck scratching it as he spoke, "Well, the typical teenager would throw a fit and would have to be dragged out kicking and screaming. I've seen it on occasion and it isn't pretty. Of course not all are that bad but they usually have some sort of protest; friends, school, social status, or something along those lines."

"Well, just because my exterior is calm doesn't mean I'm not freaking out inside. Believe me I am, but I guess it just hasn't hit yet because nothing has been packed up at all. Everything is still in its place. Which brings me to another question, when is this move supposed to happen?" She started flailing her arms around as she spoke.

"Well I am going to be heading out to check out the property this week, I am going to drive so that I can move Ace there and get him settled. I was going to ask if you would like to accompany me and get a chance to check out the place and the surrounding area." He placed his elbows on the table like he had earlier interlacing his fingers and placing his chin on them.

Her expression read of shock with her eyes slightly widening, "Um, sure?"

"You don't sound so, sure." Her mother spoke this time.

"Well, it's not that I don't want to go but isn't that place like in Rhode Island or something?" She sat back roughly in her chair, "I mean I understand that Ace is going to have to get there one way or another. That is just a long ways away from Texas."

"Well, consider it like a road trip. We don't have to rush and we can stop along the way to check stuff out but we would have to be brief since we will have Ace too. That long ride is going to make him antsy." His words made the trip sound less intimidating plus she also had to think about the fact that Ace would have to endure that long trip too.

Once again Aaliyah found herself thinking about it, she looked between her mother and father before speaking again with a nod. "Okay I'll go with you. When are we leaving?"

"Great!" Her mother clapped her hands together, "Well, tomorrow you and I will get everything set up for the trip so that you two can head out the day after." She gestured towards Aaliyah as the other person that would be helping with the trip preparations.

Aaliyah groaned and let her head fall over the back of her chair, as she stared at the ceiling she heard her father clear his throat. She lifted her head back up and looked at her parents, "Fine, can we get back to eating now, or are there more surprises you would like to bless us with?"

Her father reached over and smacked her on the back of the head lightly causing Aaliyah to wince and place her hand on the sore spot. Dang are these two in sync with one another or something? Same freaking spot!

Her father chuckled, "No that will be all…for now." Aaliyah shot him a quick glare before a smile formed on her face.

They ate their dinner in comfortable silence with the occasional small talk between her parents. Something she didn't care to listen to unless they would say something that would catch her attention. Most of the time, nothing, zip, nada, boring adult conversation that eventually ended with dinner. Aaliyah stood from her seat and helped her mom clear the table. She finished the dishes, completely zoned out and didn't actually realize she was done until she reached for another plate that wasn't there. Her attention momentarily brought back as she looked at the pile of clean dishes then nodded as if to approve of her own work.

She made her way to the staircase that led up to the second floor hallway, "Hey mom?!" she called out as she placed her hand on the railing.

"Yes?!" she heard her mom call out from the living room.

"I'm going to my room, I'll see you in the morning." She said loud enough for her mom to hear.

"Okay sweetie, good night!" she smiled in the direction of her mother's voice.

Once in her room she closed the door and locked it, seemed to be a habit of hers that she kept from when her parents would go into town and she would stay at the house alone. It wasn't like she was scared or anything, okay maybe a little or maybe a lot, she just did it because it made her feel safe. Well, unless there was a house fire, then locking that door was a very stupid idea.

She grabbed her cell phone scrolling through the contacts until she came across the name she was looking for, Aaron. She hit the call button and put the phone to her ear waiting for him to answer.

"Hey Ali, what's up?" His voice sounded tired.

"Um, hey Aaron, are you okay?" The concern in her voice seemed to catch the boy's attention.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine, just tired. Spent all day helping my dad out at the store today." He chuckled lightly followed by a very audible yawn.

She laughed, "I'll say, I think I could have heard that yawn clear over here without the phone's help." He chuckled again, "So, I have some news for you, do you have a minute?"

"Sure what's going on in your world now?" He yawned again.

"Okay, I promise to make this quick so there is no risk of you falling asleep while on the phone." She heard him chuckled again at her words, "We are moving, as in my family and I, out of Texas."

This seemed to wake him up rather quickly, "You're what?! When?!"

The smile she had, had started to fall, "Well before the end of summer I suppose. My dad and I are driving up there two days from now and taking Ace with us."

There was silence on the other end of the line, "Aaron?" She asked nervously.

"I'm still here. Where are you moving to?" His tired voiced seemed to sadden as he spoke.

"Happy Harbor." At this point her smile was completely gone. He was the one person she would miss the most out of all of her friends.

"Seriously?! That's a long ways away from here, in like Rhode Island or something." His surprised tone made her jump.

"That's what I said." She threw her free hand in the air in exasperation. She took a seat on her bed to continue the conversation more comfortably and to cease the pacing back and forth in her room. "My dad said that we won't be living in town. They found a house just outside the city with plenty of room for Ace to roam around. He also said that the place and surrounding area are pretty nice."

There was another pause, shorter this time, before he spoke, "I don't want you to go."

The tone of his voice made her eyes tear up, she breathed deep to control herself from losing it though. "I don't really want to go either…even though I told my parents I didn't mind the move." She looked down at her lap pulling at a loose string on her pants and remembering how she needed to change since she fell on the ground earlier. "It's not like I have a choice though, ya know?"

A long sigh came from his end of the line, "I know, this just sucks. My timing sucks." He chuckled at that last part. "Actually timing has nothing to do with it. I just suck."

Now she was really confused, "What does this have to do with your timing Aaron?" She stopped playing with the string on her pants. Her attention was now completely focused on her friend, her guy friend, her best guy friend, and her best guy friend that she just so happened to find extremely cute. With those gorgeous blue eyes, dark hair, his smile and-okay snap out of it Aaliyah! She shook her head for good measure as she refocused on the conversation.

She heard him let out a long breath, "I just had something I wanted to tell you but…" he sounded nervous and Aaliyah was getting nervous as well. She wasn't dense, well not all the time, but she had a feeling she knew where this was going.

When he didn't answer again she decided to speak before the silence became awkward, "Hey, um, do you want to come over tomorrow? I have to help my mom get everything ready for my trip with my dad. We could hang out after."

"Yeah, I could do that. I was going to take a break from my dad's store tomorrow anyways. I can help if you would like, get it done faster?" He seemed calmer now as he spoke.

"Sure! You know my mom, she won't turn down help if it's offered." She laughed, "Plus it will give me someone to talk to so I don't die of boredom."

He laughed, "Okay, sounds good. I'll…see you tomorrow."

Aaliyah smiled, "See you tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night Aaliyah. Sleep well." The click on the other end indicating that he was no longer there.

She let out a breath that she felt she had been holding since he sounded like he was about to confess, what she could guess, was something that she had wanted him to confess for a long time. Hopefully it was something else, she thought as she threw herself back sprawling out on her bed. She stared at the ceiling for probably about the third or fourth time that evening thinking about everything that had been thrown at her. Her right arm was now draped across her forehead and her eyes were closed as she thought, this might be harder than I thought.

"Guess I should call and tell the others." She said to herself as she continued to lay in her bed. She moved the hand holding the phone so that it was now in front of her face but let it drop back onto the bed just as quickly. "Later."

The thought of a shower got her moving again leaving the phone laying abandoned on the bed. I kind of already told the one person that I wanted to, the others can wait. She grabbed clothes as she continued to think about the upcoming events which just seemed to make her slump from mental exhaustion.

"A shower and a good night's rest should help." She said to herself as she walked into her bathroom shutting the door behind her.

So here is the beginning of the story, it might be a little slow but it's a way to develop without going straight into something crazy. That will come later. Anyways let me know what you think. Reviews would be nice so I can see if the readers like it so far or not. Without them I am just in the dark playing a guessing game.