Up in the watchtower, Aquila prepares herself mentally. She suddenly remembered how severe her stage fright was, feeling the adrenaline rush through her body and cause her fingers to shake severely.

"You must be Aqualad." Victor approaches the newcomer who was watching the student from across the room. "I'm Cyborg. Welcome to…the surface."

"Thank you, I am pleased to have this experience." He shakes the hero's hand. "Have you ever heard her perform before?"

"Oh, you mean Aquila?" Cyborg glances at her for a moment. "Not lately. Every once in a while I'd get an invitation to one of her public performances, but I'm not very good with classical concerts. Hell, when we were younger I used to get so bored." He laughs. "See, back then, she wasn't very good, so it was hard to fall asleep, if you catch my drift."

Kaldur'ahm stares at him, confused. "Your drift?"

Batman walks past them, heading for the control room. "She's gotten considerably better, wouldn't you say?"

"Wait a minute, Bruce." Superman entered the observation room. "Aren't you going to stay and listen?"

Aquila took several deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.

"Are you ready?" Batman asked, a bit impatiently. She nodded reluctantly.

"As I'll ever be." She cradled her violin between her cheek and neck. She wasn't going to let hr nervousness ruin her performance, not this time. With one more deep breath, she placed the bow upon the strings, and brought out a passionate Habanera by Bizet.

Kaldur'ahm watches in awe as the young musician produced a beautiful melody, feeling captivated by the sight of her in performance.

For the first time, Victor noticed the difference between the little girl from his neighborhood and the young woman that stood before him. Her music itself was mature and emotional, much more developed and entrancing than the elementary school concerts she used to participate in.

"Good choice." Batman says. Victor looks at him questioningly. "She's nervous, her hands were shaking. Adrenaline like that doesn't go away quickly, meaning it will show up in the piece. Luckily, this song requires vibrato, so her stage fright is masked." He explains.

When had she become so alert about her own weaknesses that she was able to adjust herself accordingly? Victor had never known her to think so far ahead…

"That was remarkable." Kaldur'ahm applauds Aquila when she concluded the movement. "I have heard recordings of the surface world's music, but that was an incomparable experience for me."

She couldn't help smiling. "I'm relieved that you enjoyed it."

"Well, you look like you've just crawled out from under a rock for the first time." Hal nudged Cyborg, who was standing in the background in shock.

"She's…changed." Victor breaks away from the trance he was in, watching Aquila and Kaldur'ahm interact.

"I think the more accurate term is: she's grown." Green Lantern smirks. "Take that any way you want to. Now that you see her in a new light, I hope you'll act quickly."

Holding a large cardboard box and her cello case, Aquila makes her way home in the evening, cradling her cell phone with her shoulder and cheek as she continued a conversation. She had lost track of time while in a practice room at the college.

"Yes, everything's fine, Ted." She said. "I got the check this morning, thanks again." She holds the box between her the wall as she entered the pass code to an apartment building. "No, I want to focus on music right now. I'll stick with the temporary membership." She laughs, about to open the door when a resident spots her and offers help. Aquila smiles, mouthing the word careful when handing the box over while she pulls the door open. The man who was assisting her nearly drops the package, not realizing how heavy it was because of how easily she was handling it.

She takes back the box and heads up the stairs, nods her thanks. "Yeah, I figured you'd feel that way about it. Oh, guess who I ran into the other day? You guessed it."

Cyborg waited for her outside her apartment door. Surprised, she fishes out her keys and opens the door.

"Hey, I'll talk to you later. Okay, bye." She hangs up. "Vic, how can I help you?" She puts down her luggage, opening up the box to reveal several sets of dishes and silverware.

"I just came to check in on you, see how well you were adjusting out here on your own." He lies. He suddenly gets nervous, not knowing what to say. "I guess I should go…" He makes his way for the door.

"Wait!" Aquila blurts. She tries to regain her cool. "Would…would you like to stay for dinner?"

She cooked them spaghetti, excited that she had finally scored a "date" with the guy she'd had a crush on for years.

"Wow," Victor broke the silence in middle of the meal. "When did you learn how to cook like this?"

"I was home alone a lot, so I suppose if you do something enough times you get pretty decent at it." She smiles, taking a sip of water.

"This is more than decent; it's delicious." He continues. "Is there anything you're not good at?"

"Sure there are…a lot of things, actually." She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "It's…really nice to have someone else to cook for, though."

He watches her with curiosity as as to why he's never seen this side of her before. It was only recently that he was truly noticing Aquila in a new light; see how mature she's become, and it was only now that he noticed how mature her body has become when she got up to clear the table. "You're really not the same girl from across the street."

She places the dishes in the sink, rinsing them. "What does that mean?" She laughs.

"I mean, you're all mature; living by yourself, cooking, playing music…what happened to the little kid that used to follow me around everywhere?"

Aquila rejoins him at the small table. "Age tends to do that." She feels something forming in her mind—a thought or a realization.

"Yeah…I guess you're right." He looks off to the side, deep in thought. The sudden comprehension of the young woman Aquila was budding into had shattered the world he was living in, leaving him feeling a bit sick. For so long he had ignored any feelings toward her, refusing to believe that they could be anything more than what they were, or that he even wanted to. Now, he was more confused than ever. He came to her apartment, hoping that maybe seeing her in private would help him figure things out.

"Uh…Vic? Are you okay?" Aquila broke into his thoughts.

He nods, getting up to leave. "I should get going. Thanks for the meal."

She jumps up. She had waited too long for anything remotely like a date with him; she no longer wanted to hide her feelings, since hints clearly weren't working. "Look, Vic, I've wanted to tell you this…for a long time." Her heart was beating hard against her chest. "Ever since the days when we lived in the same neighborhood, I've had feelings for…"

Victor cuts her off, panicked. "I'm sorry; I can't do this right now."

"What?" She squeaked, barely managing to speak anymore. He realizes what he had done, apologized. But his apology fell on deaf ears. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Victor. Why can't you see that?"

"I do see that…I'm just not sure if I'm ready for it." He tried to come up with excuses.

She stared at him for a few seconds in silence, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What am I to you?"

He couldn't answer, leaving her without a word. Aquila took a seat on her couch, focusing on the wall. It was clear to her now: Victor Stone didn't see her as a woman. And he may never be able to.

She wondered if she was willing to keep waiting, would she be strong enough to move on from him.