A/N: Hello! So I know this isn't exactly what some of you where expecting. Some of you are waiting for my other story, Magik to be updated. Don't worry, I'm working on it. I just had Vera pop into my head a few days ago and I've been working out her kinks. Plus, I've been dying for a really good Conner/OC story so I figured I'd try my hand at it. I usually stick with Wally/OC for writing but I'll try Conner out and see how it goes. Plus I think having Dinah as an older sister would be awesome! So, hope you guys enjoy it and I'll try to get her profile up on deviantart as soon as I can.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Young Justice or any other DC Universe character.

July 3, 2010

Lance Residence, Star City

10:49 PM

I flip backwards out of the way and land skidding. My breath is heavy and I can feel my chest rising up and down. I stand up right and glare at my opponent. He grins cockily and rushes me. I hide a smirk and when he gets close enough I use his momentum and strength to flip him over my and land heavily on his back. I move quickly and straddle him while he's recovering from the wind being knocked out of him. I take this chance to catch my own breathe.

Once his breathing has returned to normal I return his cocky grin. "So, you said something about beating me at sparring. I'm pretty sure that this is ME beating YOU."

He laughs and shakes his head. In one swift movement, he's rolled us over and is now straddling me. "I'm sorry, but you were saying?" he asks.

I pout and try to shove him off of me but he's twice my weight, perhaps even three times. "Roy! No fair! I already had you pinned. I won fair and square!" I protest, still attempting to get my boyfriend off of me.

Roy rolls his eyes and bends down to place a peck on my lips. "I guess so," he mumbles against my lips. He keeps his face centimeters from my own. "But you'll have to help me recover my ego. I mean, being beaten by a girl. It's just unthinkable, even by the likes of you doll."

I roll my eyes and push his face away from me. "Get off of me you flirt! I'm sure Ollie and Dinah will be back from patrol soon. Do you want them to catch us?"

It's Roy's turn to roll his eyes. "I hardly think they'd say anything. How many times have we caught them moments from going at it?"

"That's different," I retort. "They are our guardians. They can ground us, or at least tack on extra training hours. Do you really want an extra hour to your morning training tomorrow? I mean, it's THE Day."

Roy relents and finally rolls off of me. Deciding to instead lay next to me. "I guess you're right. I mean, tomorrow we get a tour of HQ. The Watchtower, Vera. Can you believe that after all these years we are finally taking the first step to become full fledged members of the Justice League?"

I shake my head. "No. It seems like only yesterday I was getting tossed around like a rag doll by Dinah."

"You still get thrown around by Dinah," Roy responds with a chuckle.

I chuckle as well before answering him. "It's less like a rag doll now, though. It's more like I'm gracefully falling. Now, I can at least last five minutes before she downs me."

Roy props up on his elbow and wraps his other arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "That's if she's going easy on you," he teases.

I turn to face him with a highly amused look. "If she's going easy on me, then what does she do when she's training you? Because, if you hadn't noticed sweets, she's far tougher on me than you." I lean forward and give him a chaste kiss before pulling away and standing up.

He grabs hold of my arm and tries to pull me back on the mat next to him. "Come on, doll. Don't go."

I shake out of his grasp and stand to my full height. "I'm not leaving. Come on, sweets. Where would I go? I live here. Unlike you," I point out.

I move across the basement gym and grab on of the two water bottles that sits on the bench. I take a swallow before turning and tossing the other one to Roy. I move past him to the stairs, which lead up to the first floor of the two floor family home that I live in with Dinah.

I turn around and raise an eyebrow at Roy, who is now sitting up in the middle of the mat. "Are you going to stay down here all night or are you going to come watch that movie like you promised?"

Roy groans at the mention of the movie, but he gets to moving at the same time. He follows me upstairs to the living room and I gesture towards the guest bedroom that has it's private bath.

"Grab a shower, stinky. I'm gonna grab my own up in my room. We'll meet back here to grab our movie snacks in fifteen," I instruct him.

"You sure you wouldn't rather me join you?" he asks with a twinkle in his eye.

I raise an eyebrow in an amused fashion. "Oh, I would enjoy that very much. However, I enjoy your company far more. Dinah would drop kick you into the next decade if she came home to that." Roy opens his mouth to protest but I shut him down quickly. "Ollie or no Ollie, sweets. Now, the faster we shower, the faster we can cuddle on the couch."

Roy gives me his cocky grin before turning and heading towards the guest room. I chuckle halfheartedly. Cuddling to Roy is his Pester-Vera-Into-Making-Out. Pester isn't exactly the right word, however, it's more of a seduce. I roll my eyes at my boyfriend's antics before finally heading up to my room and getting cleaned up from sparring.

It takes no time whatsoever to get a shower and dressed. Being that it's summer, I merely throw a pair of shorts and tank top on as my pajamas for the night. I get downstairs to find Roy making our popcorn and making small talk with Ollie.

"Hey, Ollie. Where's Dinah?" I ask as I climb onto the counter next to Roy.

"I'm right here, sis. Just stowing my gear downstairs." Dinah appears around the corner and makes her way to Ollie. "How was sparring?"

Ollie chuckles. "If there was any sparring going on," he points out.

I stick my tongue out at the older man. "We sparred and I pinned Roy."

Dinah raises an eyebrow, "Only the once? We were gone for almost three hours."

I turn beat red and turn to Roy. He's a little red around the ears which means I'm not getting any help from him.

"Uh, well. Our match lasted at least an hour and then we talked about tomorrow," I inform my sister before changing subjects quickly. "Speaking of which, what time are we meeting the others at the Hall? Roy said noon but I swore you told me one."

Roy and I never mentioned this, but if it got my sister off my back about my...er...activities with my boyfriend then who cares.

"One-thirty," Oliver answers.

"Two," Dinah says at the same time as Ollie.

The two look at each other before Ollie nods towards my sister. "What she said," he rectifies quickly.

Roy rolls his eyes. "Please, you always agree with her. No matter the subject, whatever Dinah says goes."

I elbow him and he sends me a quick glare. I just nod my head towards my sister before he clears his throat and hands me my bowl of popcorn.

"What I mean to say is, when did you get your man card revoked?" Roy clarifies.

I nod my head in approval. I love Roy to death, but at times he says things a little meaner then he should and they come across wrong. He's gotten better now that I point it out to him every time he does it, but he still has a long way to go.

Dinah and Ollie don't say anything about his clarification. Ollie just goes on like the clarification was the only thing he said.

"Watch what you're saying, sweets." Ollie uses my pet name for Roy to prove that he's just as influenced by me as Ollie is by Dinah.

Before Roy and Ollie can start arguing over who's got a better hold on their man card, I intervene.

"Roy and I are watching the sixth Harry Potter movie. He's yet to see it and I refuse to deprive him of the experience. You two can join us if you like," I offer to the elder couple.

Dinah glances up at Ollie and then back to me. "We'll pass. We're just going to watch TV in my room until we fall asleep. You two have fun." Dinah gives Roy a hard stare. "You sleep on the couch or guest bedroom, understood?"

Roy nods his head in understanding. With Dinah satisfied, she drags Ollie upstairs to her room. I grab a couple chocolate bars and a soda from the fridge before making my way to the living room. Roy merely grabs a water before following.

"You know what they are going to be doing half the night," Roy points out.

I let out a groan. "Roy, please. I don't need images of Ollie and my sister going at it in my head during Harry Potter. Now, if you will, just press play. It should already be in the DVD player."

I flop down on the couch with my supplies and tuck my feet up under me. I open the chocolate bars and break them into small pieces before dropping them into the bowl of the still hot popcorn. Roy gets the movie going and settles next to me. He wrinkles his nose at my bowl and shakes his head.

"I don't understand how you can eat that stuff. It'll be the death of you," he warns me.

I roll my eyes and stuff a handful of chocolate covered popcorn in my mouth. "I think I'm more likely to die from a gunshot wound than chocolate covered popcorn," I point out.

Roy shoots me a dirty look before stuffing some of his own popcorn in his mouth. I smirk and nestle closer to him. He welcomes me and wraps his free arm around my shoulder.

About halfway through, I've finished my bowl of chocolate popcorn, Roy's popcorn, and chugged two sodas. After that healthy dose of junk food, I'm far sleepier than I would like. Roy's actually into the movie and has yet to pester me about doing something else. Between Roy's warmth and my full stomach, I drift off to sleep somewhere around the time Ron gets poisoned.

July 4, 2010

Lance Residence, Star City

7:38 AM

I nestle in closer to my bed and am meet with a half full water bottle. I peek out of one eye and find that I've fallen asleep on the couch again. I release a large yawn and push myself into a sitting position. I stretch for a moment before finally getting up and going in search of other signs of life.

I find Dinah in the kitchen cooking french toast. I settle myself of a stool and chug the glass of milk she hands me.

"Eventful night?" my sister teases lightly.

I smirk slightly and respond easily with, "I could as you the same. So, what's all for breakfast?"

"French toast, eggs, and bacon. As well as your usual dose of coffee," she answers.

At the mention of coffee, I turn towards the coffee pot and grin at the hot liquid awaiting me. "You know me, oh so well, dear sister of mine."

Dinah rolls her eyes as she finishes up the French toast. She starts on the bacon as I settle back on my stool.

"I assume Roy and Ollie went home either early this morning or late last night," I mention.

My sister shakes her head. "You actually just missed them. Oliver decided to talk to Roy privately before taking him to the Hall." She looks me directly in the eye and smiles. "Are you ready? Today you get to see HQ."

I take a deep breath before nodding excitedly. "It's been three years in the making. I mean, who would have imagined me, a short and wimpy looking twelve year old to end up at this point."

"I did and you're not twelve and wimpy looking anymore. You are a strong, independent, sixteen year old now," Dinah gives me a soft smile. "Mom would be proud of you. You know that right?"

I bow my head and shrug my shoulders. "I guess. She never really expressed that emotion around me much. So, how much longer until breakfast is done?" I ask, quickly changing the subject.

Our mother was never very expressive around me. My entire childhood was spent training and being compared to my sister. She passed away three years ago shortly after passing the Black Canary mantel over to Dinah. Against our mom's wishes for me to start crime fighting before I was an adult, Dinah let me become her partner Red Canary. Since then, I've worked hard to be distinguished as other than a mini Black Canary.

"Go get dressed for the day. It'll be finished when you get back downstairs," Dinah responds, deciding to let the subject of our mom slide.

I give a short nod before hurrying upstairs to change. I slip into a nice blouse, jeans, and my favorite pair of ankle boots. It only takes me a moment to yank a brush through my hair and pull it into a ponytail. I don't wear makeup so that's not an issue. I give myself one last glance in the mirror before heading back downstairs.

Dinah's placing the bowl of eggs on the island as I enter the kitchen. She refills my coffee mug before sitting on her usual stool. I just linger in the doorway as I watch her. I can't help but think about how motherly she is. It has to partly be because our actual mom was never motherly, more of a drill sergeant that happened to birth us. Dinah's the only mother I ever really had.

"Are you going to eat or just linger there?" Dinah quips.

I snap out of my thoughts and give her a smile. "I guess I'll eat, even though you did actually cook it."

She gives me a playful glare before filling her plate up.

July 4, 2010

Hall of Justice, Washington DC

2:00 PM

"Today's the day," Batman states placing a hand on Robin's shoulder.

"The Hall of Justice," Green Arrow says. He turns and smiles at Speedy.

Aquaman glances at Aqualad with pride. "The headquarters of the Justice League."

"You all have earned the right to be here," my sister praises us. She slings an arm around my shoulder and I turn to smile up at her.

"Aw man!" a disgruntled voice exclaims from behind us.

Everyone turns to see Kid Flash and Flash speeding to a stop a few feet from us. He crosses his arms and his face settles into that of frustration.

"I knew we would be the last ones here!" He exclaims before glancing at me. "Of course, your company might just make up for it."

I roll my eyes and look up at Speedy. Roy was the one that insisted that our relationship remain between our civilian identities. Red Canary and Speedy are strictly friends. Roy thought that seeing as our hero identities weren't dating, then no need to tell our hero friends of the relationship. He deemed that it would complicate things.

At KF's words, Speedy tenses for a moment before smirking at his friend. "Careful, KF. RC is still sore about the last time you flirted."

I blush at the memory. KF and Flash had teamed up with my sister and I to take down a villain of ours that had wandered into Star City. Roy and I were only a few weeks into our relationship and after telling KF numerous times to stop flirting with me because I had a boyfriend, I may have let out a Canary Cry that was a bit to close for comfort. His ears rang the rest of the month according to Roy.

KF lets out a strained chuckle and Flash places a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Let's just get going, shall we?"

The five Leaguers and us partners head towards the crowd swarming the Hall of Justice. As we make our way up the steps the crowd of tourists and locals start drawing their cameras and snapping as many pictures as they can. They shout our names and we can hear their loud conversations. On group is debating the names of Speedy and Kid Flash.

That's when I hear the debate over my name.

"It's Black Canary and Canary y Jr!" I roll my eyes at this.

"No, her names just Canary."

"I thought that it was Little Canary."

I let out a huff of air. "Do they not see my uniform has red whereas yours has black? Is it that hard?"

My sister places a hand on my shoulder and says softly, "Don't let it get to you. They are still debating if I'm mom and just haven't aged a bit."

"Kind of like Wonder Woman?" I question with a smirk.

Dinah smiles and nods her head.

"Ready to see the Inner Sanctum?" Green Arrow asks.

My boyfriend grins widely. "Born that way," he responds.

"I am glad we are all here," Aqualad states.

"Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" KF questions.

Speedy grits his teeth before snapping, "Don't call us sidekicks. Not after today."

I let out a small sigh and send a glare his way. "Calm down, Speedy. KF didn't mean it that way."

"Yeah, sorry. First time at the Hall. Just a little overwhelmed," KF mumbles sheepishly.

Robin rolls his eyes. "You're overwhelmed. Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone just whelmed?"

I raise an eyebrow at the youngest in our group. "Whelmed? Why are you butchering the English language?"

Robin shrugs. "It's a new hobby of mine."

Our group enters through the open doors of the Hall and come face to face with seven gigantic statues of the founding members of the League. My breath catches at the sight. It's both frightening and inspiring.

Robin lets out a small breath. "Okay, maybe that's why no one's whelmed."

We stop in front of two large doors with a large sign that reads "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY". The doors slide open to reveal Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado.

Martian Manhunter gives us a faint smile before welcoming us. "Robin. Aqualad. Kid Flash. Speedy. Red Canary. Welcome, to the Hall of Justice." He nods at his fellow Leaguers before turning and leading the way with Red Tornado at his side. "You now have unlimited access to our gym, fully stocked cafeteria, and of course our library."

We go through another set of doors that enters into the library. A large computer sets against one wall with bookshelves lining the rest of the room. A large table with enough chairs for the entire League sits in the center of the room while more comfortable armchairs are off to the side. I look up and see huge glass windows that serve as an observation deck for tourists to see whats going on in here. I give a small wave at a group of young girls that are staring at me and they immediately start jumping up and down. I smile before turning back to pay attention.

Flash gestures to the large room. "Make yourselves at home."

Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad immediately fall into the armchairs and start grinning at one another. Speedy stays stand and eyes the group of Leaguers talking off to the side about a debrief on the Ice Villains that attacked today.

I elbow Speedy and he casts a look down at me. "This is amazing isn't it?"

He just gives me a calculating look before glancing back up at the Leaguers. Batman tells us that they shouldn't be long before turning and they get recognized by the computer. The door before them slides open and they start stepping forward.

"That's it?" Speedy exclaims from beside me. I whip my head around to look at him. "You promised us a real look inside. Not a glorified backstage pass!" He stalks up to the Leaguers and crosses his arms.

Aquaman responds calmly, "It's the first step. You've been granted access few others get."

Speedy points to the observation deck. "Oh really? Who cares what side of the glass we are on?"

I step forward and grab hold of his arm. "Chill, Roy," I whisper softly. "We have to trust their judgement."

GA steps forward as well. "Roy, you just need to be patient."

"What I need is respect!" he snaps. He turns to me. "How can you trust their judgement? Or you three?" Speedy turns to the other three partners. "They're treating us like kids. Worse, like sidekicks! We deserve better than this." Robin, KF, and Aqualad just look at each other then back at Speedy. "You're kidding right? You're playing their game? Why? Today was supposed to be THE Day." He waves his arm for emphasis. "First step to becoming full fledged members of the League."

Kid Flash looks at Robin and Aqualad before shrug. "Well, yeah. But I thought step one was getting a tour of the HQ."

"Sure, except the Hall isn't even the League's real HQ," Speedy spits out.

I reach out and grab his elbow again. "Roy, stop," I hiss at him.

Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash look surprised at the information in general while the Leaguers look surprised that he knows this, apart from Canary adn GA.

"I bet they never told you that it's just a false front for tourists. A pit stop to catch the zeta tubes to the real thing," Roy spills.

I turn to look at my sister and her boyfriend. Ollie is looking sheepish and Dinah has a neutral look on her face. I turn back to Roy.

"Roy, stop it. You'll get Ollie and Dinah into trouble," I whisper/hiss at him.

Roy pushes me away. "The real HQ is an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower," he finally finishes.

I punch Roy in the arm for ignoring my pleas but he continues to ignore me. I huff in annoyance and bite my lip to keep from crying out in frustration. And not the good kind of crying out either.

I watch Ollie turn to Batman and gives a shrug. "I know, but I thought we could make an exception." Batman and Flash keep an even look and Ollie gives a sharp nod. "Or not."

"You are not helping your case, son. Stand down," Aquaman booms from the back of the Leaguers. "Or-"

"Or what?" Roy cuts off. "You'll send me to my room and I'm not your son." He turns to Ollie. "I'm not even his!"

I flinch at the acid in Roy's tone. I watch Ollie's face fall and Dinah places a hand on his shoulder before turning angrily to Roy.

"Roy, let's deal with this later. When we are away from prying eyes," Dinah says with a firm tone. I know she means the eyes of the league. Ollie and Roy have been having a rough time with the labels of their relationship since the beginning.

Roy ignores Dinah and continues ranting.

"You know, I thought I was your sidekick! But I guess not!" Roy reaches up and snatches his hat off his head. He throws it to the ground and stomps on it. "I'm through with you."

Roy turns and looks at Robin, KF, and Aqualad. The room is quiet and full of stunned silence.

"I guess they're right about you three. You're not ready," Roy says evenly before stalking out of the room.

I stand frozen as I watch him leave. I glance at Dinah and Ollie before reaching down and picking up Roy's hat. I rush after him.

"Speedy! Speedy, wait! You haven't thought this through!" I shout after him.

I chase him out both sets of doors and mange to pull him to a stop in the entrance way. Tourists start crowding around us.

"You didn't actually mean that, did you? Speedy, GA really cares about you and you know that. If they say we aren't ready for the next step, then we aren't. We have to trust their judgement." I choose my words carefully, being mindful of the crowd of civilians around us.

Roy narrows his eyes at me and shakes his head. "Out of everyone, I thought you'd understand. You're so tired of being compared to your sister! Well, this is your chance. Come with me. We'll prove to them that we don't need their guidance or approval to make it to the Justice League!"

I take a deep breath before speaking. "What do you mean out of everyone? And yes, I am tired of being compared to my sister but this has nothing to do with that! Why would going with you and rebelling against the League make them think that we are ready to join them? Have you fully thought this through? I know you lose your cool sometimes and do things you don't mean. But Speedy, if you do this, you can't just walk back into it with no consequences. This isn't something that just fixes itself over night."

Roy grabs my shoulders and leans in towards me. His face is barely an inch from my own. "I can't be weighted down by them any longer. I'm not a kid anymore. I need...no I deserve respect. Why aren't you understanding this?"

I push him away from me and look up at his domino mask, getting as close to staring into his eyes that I can. "I don't think you understand. They aren't doing this to spit us. They know that we can handle ourselves. They just worry about us. You know that," I try pleading with him. I offer him his hat. "Just come back in there and apologize. I'll be right beside you the entire time."

Roy's gaze softens but only for a second. "No. I'm not going back in there and I'm not apologizing." He takes a step away from me. "If you can't understand this, then we are through."

I feel my chest tighten at his words. I barely manage to get my next sentence out. "Are you...are you breaking up with me?"

Roy doesn't say anything to me. He merely fixes me with a cold glare before storming from the building.

The tourists swarm me and start asking questions. Was Speedy and I dating? How long have we dated? Are we really over? What was the argument about in the library? Why is Speedy leaving Green Arrow? Are any of the other sidekicks striking out on their own?

I shake my head and tighten my hold on the yellow hat in my hand. I ignore the questions that the tourists are throwing at me. I ignore the group of girls I waved at earlier. I want nothing more than to break down and cry. Last night we were fine. We were laughing, making out, and just goofing around. But now? No more late night sparring matches while Dinah and Ollie do patrol. No more confidant when I need to vent about Dinah turning into my mother. No more best friend. I feel my heart breaking more and more as I slowly make my way back into the library.

A/N: So I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. I apologize for any grammar mistakes you find. I'm not the best and really need a beta but can never find one. Anyway, let me know what you think. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible but as mentioned, I have another story that I'm currently working on. This isn't a side project that will get less attention than Magik. I'll try to alternate updates between the two. So if you haven't read my story Magik, check it out. Also, since this is a Conner/OC story I just wanted to know who you wanted me to pair Megan with. I'm not entirely sure myself.

I will say this once. I love Supermartian and was peeved of by break up and La'gaan during Invasion. However, I do enjoy reading main Conner/OC stories and I'm sure I'd enjoy a Megan/OC story if I could find one. This being said, since there will be no Supermartian in this story I am not going to automatically make Megan completely OOC and a bitch. Megan will still be her sweet self and I plan to make Vera and Megan BFFs. So, if you have a problem with any of what I'm planning to do with the story concerning my OC, Conner, and Megan I ask that you don't read my story. I'm not being mean, I just don't get why people continue to read a story that they clearly don't like. I take criticism fairly easily and I know that I can't please everyone. But, if you dislike my story so much that you can't find one good thing to say about it, then get out. For those of you that do enjoy it and find a few things wrong with it, I will gladly hear your opinions.

I appreciate every review, favorite and follow.

Signing off for now,

dorkmaster42