The Team was assembled in front of the portal room, talking to each other about the announcement. Cameron suddenly wished he could take off the collar just so he could have his ice armor to protect him he felt so vulnerable.
"Maybe he's giving us a mission." The Green martian girl suggested, raising a blue gloved finger to her chin in thought.
"Maybe, but why wouldn't he just wait until after school? We usually end up here around the same time anyway…" Kid Flash said.
"I don't know bay watch. Maybe he called us in because he knew you wouldn't get here until you finished off your fridge first before you came to empty ours." A blonde green clad archer commented.
Wow, Arty's really come a long way. Cameron thought, glancing up and down the young archer's form. He watched as Robin the famous boy wonder turn and spot his mentor. "Hey Batman, what's with the important announcement?" He asked, looking at his mentor expectantly.
Cameron hesitated, almost afraid to follow Batman beyond the safety of the shadows, before Batman stepped forward. "I needed you all here to inform you that we've found a possible new recruit for your team." He stated. All of the team members perked, including, who he had to guess was Superboy, although, it was kinda weird to see him without the stylized bleach blonde hair, piercings and goth accessories.
"You did?" He asked, his voice a deep baritone without the southern twang in it. His blue eyes were hopeful, and Cameron felt even more uncomfortable then before. What had he gotten himself into?
Cameron took a deep breath, and stepped into the light. "Hey."
Well…it was the best thing he could think up on the spot that didn't sound vaguely threatening.
All of the heroes tensed, even the martian was startled by his appearance. Artemis was frozen to the spot, her mouth slightly agape, while Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash jumped into battle ready positions. But Superboy jumped in front of them. "Wait, woah guys! He's with Batman!"
Cameron watched as the group quickly became conflicted. "Dude! He's a criminal!" Kid Flash yelled.
"And he's a friend!" Superboy shot back, glaring darkly at the redhead, who quickly returned with his own.
And I'm right here. Cameron added mentally, watching the teens begin to squabble over his presence.
"Batman, you know he's a bad guy. Haven't you seen this guy's track record?! Major 'traught!" Robin said, turning to his mentor.
Batman narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I have seen his records Robin." He responded in a particularly dark tone that could rival Icicle Senior's. Robin's jaw clicked shut. "But Bell Reve has agreed to release him into the league's custody on the condition he be placed on parole until we decide he is ready to be placed onto the team."
"But-" Kid Flash began.
"This isn't up for discussion." Batman said, leaving positively no room for argument. Kid Flash's jaw followed Robin's example and shut. "Black Canary will be joining you shortly for your training session."
And with that (sort of) goodbye, He swept away to the portal, being swallowed up by the yellow beam.
"He shouldn't be here." Kid Flash said definitively as soon as Batman was gone.
"I'm still here." Cameron said loudly, seemingly snapping them out of whatever reverie they seemed to be in.
Superboy quickly turned to him. "Hey." He greeted. He paused to glance over the faint stains on his lip. "What happened?" He asked, completely oblivious to the row of eyes behind him that joined in the scanning of their new companion.
"Oh you know, the usual pecking order." Cameron shrugged off the concern, determined to salvage what little was left of his reputation before he was reduced to a simpering child. He looked Superboy over once more. "You look way different without all that gaudy jewelry and hair."
Superboy smiled ruefully. "Wasn't my choice believe me." He said. He turned to look at the team. "I'm sure you know most of the team." He said, gesturing towards the group.
"Yeah, but I haven't met blondie yet though." He said, smirking at Artemis' reaction. She stiffened and became flustered.
"A-Artemis." She said, struggling to maintain a clear expression.
"The name's Icicle beautiful, but you can call me Cameron." He said flirtatiously, smirking as he held out a hand to shake hers.
"Yeah, we've all seen your mug shot." Kid Flash snapped.
"Okay, no touching the girlfriend, I get it." Cameron said, raising his hands up in surrender, backing away from Artemis.
"I'm/She's not his/my girlfriend!" Kid and Artemis shouted, both of them turning a bright shade of tomato red.
Cameron couldn't help but laugh at their reactions, before stopping with a barely covered wince as the pain in his side flared at the movement.
"Okay, touchy much." He ended with a soft chuckle.
"And you know M'gann." Superboy said, turning him to the Martian girl.
"Nice to meet you properly." He said, shaking her hand.
"You too." She said nervously, and quickly retreated her hand.
"And Robin and Kaldur." Cameron nodded towards them.
"I'll show you to your room. We have it all set up for you." Superboy said, and began to pull him away down the hall
Well, it wasn't the best introduction of all time. But it's a start right?
()()()()()()()
"Are you serious?"
"Nope, it's yours." Superboy said with a smile, gesturing to the room within.
The walls were a bright yellow, with brick lining the wall with the bookshelves. There was a fancy desk in the corner, a blue couch, and a bed (complete with a down blanket!) in the corner.
"This is so freaking nice!" He laughed, walking further into the room, and even saw a closet stocked with fresh clothes. "God, this is better than any hideout my Dad ever had!" He said, flopping down onto the couch.
"Really?" Superboy asked, walking into the room.
"Well, for one the walls don't have holes in them." He said with a smile. He looked down at the couch. "And this isn't moldy or beaten within an inch of its life."
Superboy frowned slightly. "You really live it rough?" He asked, sitting down ext to him on the couch.
"Yeah, although, we happen to live a bit rougher than most criminals. We don't exactly have the 'funds' to pay for fancy underground playhouses." Cameron explained, rolling his eyes.
"Oh." Superboy looked down, unsure how to respond to that.
Cameron leaned back and took a deep breath, simply enjoying the feeling of being somewhere comfortable for the first time in his life.
Superboy fidgeted slightly, and then sat up. "Would you….like to take a tour?" He asked, not sure if he should bother with Cameron who looked very comfortable sitting where he was.
"Maybe later. I think I'm gonna take a nap." He said, and stood, excitedly making his way over to the (in his opinion) immaculate bed in the corner.
"Sure." Superboy nodded, and turning to leave. "I'll wake you later for dinner."
"Aye aye Captain." Cameron saluted, and slipped under the sheets, falling asleep shortly after his head hit the pillow.
()()()()()()()
"Did you now about this Robin?" Kid Flash asked, looking sharply over at the younger teen from his seat on the couch, as if the Boy Wonder and Batman had been conspiring about their new team mates for the past week.
"Believe it or not, I didn't know. Granted I had my suspicions, but the most information Batman was giving me was that he was 'thinking.'" Boy Wonder responded, folding his first two fingers into quotation marks.
"Do you Kaldur?" Kid Flash asked.
"No I did not." Responded the Atlantean from his position seated on the opposite armrest. "But, needless to say I was surprised at Batman's decision to bring him to the base."
"Why's that?" M'gann asked, turning to look at Kaldur from the Kitchen.
"Icicle Junior is the son of a villain. He could very easily leak out secrets of the league to his father and expose our identities." Kaldur explained.
"Cameron wouldn't do that." Artemis piped up. They turned to her in surprise, and she blinked suddenly realizing what she said. "I mean, the league wouldn't just let him run off and do whatever he liked unsupervised…" She said, fidgeting on the stool she was sitting on.
"She's right." Robin nodded. "Batman wouldn't allow him to wander off. Besides, he's still wearing the inhibitor collar from Belle Reve. There's not much he actually can do."
"Because nothing would need to be done." They started, whipping around to see Connor standing in the doorway.
"Connor…" M'gann started, letting the bowl and spoon float away as she moved toward her boyfriend.
He held up a hand. "I know he's a criminal. But he helped me and M'gann escape Belle Reve, and I don't know about you guys, but I think that makes him a good guy." He declared, and left, his footsteps fading away. They were silent, until Artemis stood.
"I'm going to take a walk."
()()()()()()()
Artemis stepped into Cameron's room and looked over to see him fast asleep in his new bed. She smiled at the scene. Good ole Cameron.
She tiptoed over and looked town at the sleeping older teen. She felt the smile fade away. Although his face was relaxed in sleep, the faint bloodstains that marred it told another story. His arm, which was laid on top of the blanket, had faint bruises along it, as if multiple hands had been gripping the limb.
"Oh Cam…" She murmured, and sat down on what little free space there was on the mattress. He let out a faint groan and began to toss and turn.
"Dad Stop…" He mumbled as he shifted, his face pinching in discomfort. Suddenly, Artemis realized what was going on. He was beginning to have a nightmare.
"Cam, Cam wake up." She said, and shook his shoulder. He didn't stir, if anything, the jostling seemed to intensify his dream as his head tossed and turned.
"Cam. Cameron!" She said loudly, and grasped his arms. But as her hand bumped against his side roughly, he gave a sharp pained gasp, his eyes snapping open.
"Ow!" He yelped, wrenching his arm free of her to sit up and slap his cool hand to the wounded area. "God, what?" He asked, looking up to see Artemis staring at him in surprise. "Arty, what are you doing in here?" He asked in a harsh whisper, still cradling his rib.
"I came to see you smart one." She whispered back loudly. "After that little introduction of yours everyone's all suspicious and think you're a spy."
"Wait, what?" Cameron asked, momentarily forgetting the sharp pain in his side. "That's ridiculous. I don't have the nerves to do something like that."
"I know that. But the Team doesn't." Artemis said, and leaned back with a huff. "But you sure didn't help with the whole flirty act before."
"Hey, I can't help but be flirty. I mean you've really-…." Cameron trailed off abruptly, suddenly not quite knowing how to announce your childhood best friend that she has a very nice body without sounding creepy. "Uh…."
"Don't be gross Cam." She chuckled, playfully smacking him on the shoulder. He laughed, and tried to hide a wince at the mild bruising under the shoulder she had just pushed.
"So, you're a hero huh?" He asked, once their laughter had died down.
"Uh-huh. I'm Green Arrow's protege. Artemis just happened to work for being my codename as an archer."
"Yeah, while I'm stuck with Icicle Junior." Cameron said with a pout.
Artemis laughed. "Well, we can always come up with a new one."
"Can heroes do that?" Cameron asked.
"I think so. I don't think Robin's too keen on keeping "Robin the Boy Wonder" when he's 30." Artemis said, and Cameron laughed.
"Oh yeah, not the best pick up line at that age." Cameron chuckled, and leaned back against the matte grey headboard of his bed.
"So, what do you think of the place so far?" Artemis asked leaning forward.
"It's freaking fantastic. Do all heroes live like this?" Cameron asked, looking over at the empty bookcase. Note to self: Get some stuff to fill the shelves.
"As far as I know, yeah. But most of us go home to our real homes at the end of the day, and most of us still have school to go to. Superboy and M'gann stay here though with Red Tornado, he's in charge of our team." Artemis said.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door's entrance. They turned to see Superboy standing there, looking somewhat confused at the scene but other wise relaxed.
"Hey Superboy." Artemis greeted. "I was just telling him about the cave."
"Oh, good." Superboy said, blinking. He walked over to the bed. "We can give a mini tour while we head to dinner."
"Alright." Cameron said, kicking the blankets off. "I'm ready to grab some grub."
"I'll come with." Artemis said, and followed them out of the room, letting the door hiss shut behind them.
()()()()()()()
Wow. Cameron thought, staring out across the kitchen counter. This was a lot more awkward than I thought it was going to be.
Because whenever the Team thought he wasn't looking, they would be watching him like he was about to snap and go Joker on them. But as soon as he looked up from his meal to look at them, their eyes shot down to their own plates, innocently poking at their food.
Artemis tried to give him a comforting smile, but it didn't help with the awkwardness. Especially since Cameron knew when, and when not to speak. And he had the feeling that if he spoke a syllable, the redhead would be the first to leap on it.
Though, he mused as he watched them out of the corner of his eye. It looks like someone has to break the tension.
"So…." He began.
Everyone's attention darted to him, and he paused, before continuing past the sudden lump in his throat. Damn, it was much easier to do this around Dad.
"How was your day?" He asked, his voice slightly stilted from his nerves.
"Other than having a criminal and possible spy forced onto the team, today was peachy." Kid Flash said irritably as he bit into the slice of pie M'gann had prepared for dinner.
Yep, Called it. He said, unfazed by the personal attack. His father often pulled the same stuff when he was in a particularly bad mood.
"Wally, that's enough." Artemis said, staring down the red head from her seat next to Cameron.
"No, actually it's not." Wally shot back, standing up from his seat. "Not only is the cave not safe anymore, I can't even take my costume off to eat in front of this guy!" He snapped, pointing an accusing finger at the young juvie. "He shouldn't be here and he knows it!"
"I have a name." Cameron said, narrowing his eyes at the speedster. Wally froze, startled by his subject's words, and turned away.
"I'm going home." And without another word, he zipped off down the hall, leaving a small breeze in his wake.
Cameron sighed, and glanced at the other members of the team. "Sorry M'gann." He apologized, half stumbling across the odd pronunciation of the Martian's name. "The pie was really good. But I guess I'm really not hungry tonight."
She nodded dumbly, and watched as he emptied the plate into the trash and began to wash the dishes. The faint clicking of a fork against the plate told him one of them was resuming eating, but he couldn't be bothered about who.
Suddenly, a chair scraped, and a faintly tanned hand took a plate out of his hand. "Go to bed Cam. I can handle this." Artemis said, and jerked her head to the hallway where their bedrooms were located.
Glancing over the rest of them (It was Robin who had resumed eating casually), and avoiding Superboy's gaze, he nodded, and quickly made his way out of the kitchen, struggling not to run down the hall, and away from them.
I was right. He decided, as he flopped onto his bed, having changed into a loose tank and sweatpants. It was much easier around Dad.