Author's Note: Hello there! Sorry that it's taken so long to update guys, this chapter was really hard to write, and I ended up with about ten pages before just deleting it and starting over from scratch. This chapter was originally going to be centered around their trip to the mall, but I figured that you guys would be getting bored of all of this stuff leading up to the main plot, so I just decided to skip the event entirely. Maybe later (if you guys want) I'll just post a one-shot of their mall trip, because now I've got a brain full of adventures (or, for a more accurate word, incidents) occurring at the palace of shopping. Also, thanks so much to everyone who was reviewed/favorited/followed this story! Every time I see an alert on my email it just brightens my day :) I hope everyone is having a fabulous day/night and, now, on with the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these fabulous characters, or anything else for that matter

Chapter 4: The Mission Begins

"Wally, say something."

"Sure thing, beautiful."

"Hmmm…I guess it's a little better. Try going up another octave. Robin, you next."

"Wally's a little girl."

"Impressive! That's really good!"

"Why thank you, Miss M. Jealous, Walls?"

"Dude, having the voice of a lady is nothing to brag about!"

"Compared to yours, it is."

Ever since Phase 4, the Cave had been full of highly feminine, seemingly unending chatter. Batman made the two protégés speak this way all the time in order to become accustomed to it, and if he had been stuck in the Cave 24-7 (like Black Canary), he would have regretted this decision very much.

The boys were finally getting past the initial embarrassment of the Phases, and now the mission seemed more of a friendly competition than anything. This rather unusual assignment had originally been intended to be something short, simple, and brief. After all, Batman informed them, it was just covert—no interfering. "Just stay there for a few weeks and then report back," the Caped Crusader reminded constantly as the assignment grew gradually out of hand.

Now the entire team was involved—Everyone helped them with voices, and Artemis and M'gann had agreed to watch popular British TV shows (so as to be up to date with current topics). During those occasions when the speedster, Boy Wonder, martian, and archer got together with a bowl of popcorn, a hoard of pillows and blankets, and the entire boxed set of Sherlock or Doctor who, Robin and M'gann always seemed to (ever so nonchalantly) disappear, leaving the other two alone.

Hairstyle techniques were also being studied, and the guidance for that area came from a rather unusual source. Only one person on the team was equipped with knowledge of the waterfall braid, French braids, bumped ponytail, and many others. It wasn't Aqualad (which wasn't that hard to figure out, considering the Atlantian was practically bald), and it wasn't M'gann or Artemis, either; the former could just shape shift her style, and the latter's skill pretty much reached its climax with a low ponytail. No one was betting on the clone—designed to be a tool, a weapon—to have been programmed with extensive hair maneuvers. And so the team was quite surprised one day upon entering the commons to find Wally's back to Connor as the dark-haired boy (with two bobby pins—one in hand, the other clenched in teeth) pinning up the ginger's hair with one of the useful tools, eyes narrowed in concentration. He would have gotten more creative (such as in Robin's doo, who was exhibiting Superboy's fine side braid as the Boy Wonder studied Connor's technique), but Wally's hair was a little too short for that, barely going past shoulder length in loose curls.

Oh but there was more—Black Canary had even put up a notice on the fridge, like a mother would with her children's schedule for the week. Written in light red ink, the tidy loops of her handwriting stated as follows:

Phase One: Hair

Phase Two: Body Hair

Phase Three: Makeup

Phase Four: Voices

Phase Five: Things

Phase Six: Clothes

Phase Seven: Adjustments

Phase Eight: Information

"What the heck does 'Things' mean?" Wally scoffed, bending over to study the paper. No one answered the speedster's question, but M'gann giggled slightly, and Artemis couldn't hide a smirk.

Dick Grayson and Wally West, two perfectly ordinary boys, had also been mysteriously taken out of school. The famous billionaire Bruce Wayne claimed his son was sick, though not seriously, and Barry's nephew seemed to be out with the same condition, too, though they went to two different schools and therefore no suspicions occurred.

Batman had also postponed the date of the boy's departure, giving them four days extra notice of their mission than just one, and the hero pushed back the dates of the other former sidekick's teens' missions, too.

The team, taking full advantage of this (by Batman's standards) very, very generous action, decided not to let the opportunity go to waste.

"Hey, Baywatch!"

"What? Kinda busy here—" the speedster growled, thumbs flying over his controller. "Dude, cover me!"

"Already on it, KF," Robin smirked, his character wielding an impressive sword as the figure battled his way through swarm of enemies, paving the way for his best friend.

"You guys are such kids," the archer mumbled, and M'gann agreed with a "Yes, they really are!" only, the martian's tone bubbled with a sisterly fondness, while Green Arrow's protégé had more of an insult in mind.

The boys sad side by side, criss-cross applesauce on the carpeted floor in front of the TV, bodies moving constantly as if they were actually in the game.

"Hey, um, we were wondering if you guys wanted to go shopping with us!" Miss Martian beamed, the sentence starting off nervous, but hidden excitement got its way in the end.

"Pass," Robin and Kid snorted together, noses wrinkling at the idea.

"But Batman said you need clothes! You can't just borrow me and Artemis's."

"We'll have a uniform," Robin dismissed, eyes (though not visible through his sunglasses) glued hungrily on the screen. "You know, for the school. We don't need regular clothes."

"Yes you do! What do you think's gonna be going on during the weekends? Or are you two just going to be antisocial bums while your classmates are partying?"

Right as Wally was sucking in a heavy breath to retort, the TV and game consol both went dark with a low brrrrmmmm.

"WOAH!" the speedstar almost shouted, jumping up from his spot on the floor as if the area had suddenly caught fire. "What happened?"

"The next Phase," Black Canary answered, emerging from behind the teenagers, fingers twirling the dark, shiny remote.

Robin and his best friend stole an apprehensive glance, eyes widening as they both mumbled quietly, "Phase Five: things."

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is," Robin grimaced at the Canary, while Kid still looked dumbfounded.

"Oh, don't worry, you guys'll get used to them after time," the woman grinned maliciously, heading for the now familiar black bag. The Boy Wonder's hand slowly crept towards his utility belt, fingers itching to grab an explosive device in the hopes of the tool reaching the bag before Canary, but the action was negated by a stern glare from Artemis.

With a zrrrripp the duffle bag slid open, and a sudden inferno of heat rose up the neck of Batman's protégé as the woman withdrew ribbon of yellow measuring tape.

Kid suddenly looked horrified, too, as if suddenly realizing their position at the moment. "You—what—that thing—she's not going to—" the speedster stuttered, eyes drifting downward over the suspected measuring area…in fact a little too downward…"

"Not there, idiot," his best friend scoffed with a chuckle, then became serious as he clarified, "It's our chests."

"You don't mean—?!"

"Shirts off, boys," Canary demanded, stretching out the thin tool that currently resembled a whip to the former sidekicks.

Robin and Kid were forced to comply, and, faces beet red, stood still while Canary measured around their torsos.

"Okay, you're done." The woman dismissed, twisting up the tape before replacing it in its compartment. "We'll get back to you on that shortly."

And when Canary said shortly, she meant it, because in just twenty minutes the League member was striding towards where the teenagers had resumed their game, Artemis and M'gann positioned on the other couch in a conversation of their own.

"Here, catch," Dinah called, "I think you boys are quite capable of putting these on without my assistance."

Reflexes tuned by Batman to the best of their ability, his protégé barely had to look in order to catch the item Canary tossed. Kid Flash had similar skills, but his problem came with actually having the will to even touch what she wanted him to wear.

"This is humiliating," Robin grumbled, holding up the squishy bra-type thing for closer examination, while his best friend shrieked away from his own object as if it were a bullet, letting the material fall with a little ploop to the floor.

"Here's some civilian clothes," Artemis informed, dropping a pile of her own onto the couch.

The bras were obviously made for men, or at least someone with about no boobs, because the entire breast area was stable-yet-squishy mush, allowing no space for any real feminine…er…things, due to the lack of space.

"How am I supposed to get this thing on?" Wally (shirtless once again) complained, trying to clip the hook, arms awkwardly positioned behind his back.

"Pull it down to your stomach, twist so that the buckle is facing your front, clip it, turn it back around, and then pull up," Artemis advised, suddenly feeling the heat rise to her face unexpectedly—she would have never seen herself aiding that annoying brat in the-best-way-to-get-your-bra-on techniques.

Twenty minutes later, four teenage girls (makeup applied, hair done, clad in normal feminine clothes) strode into the zeta beam as Canary called from behind "That money better only be spent on Phase Six!"

The mall trip was uneventful, but quite unusual. Kid and Robin couldn't help but feel very odd, especially when they received a few cat calls from a passing group of unsuspecting fellow males.

Now, the next day, with all of the Phases except the last one complete (Phase Eight, information, was being saved for the trip to England), it was finally time for the teens to depart for their missions. With brief good-byes, Superboy and Aqualad left through the zeta beam for their mission in California.

Batman, Canary, Robin, Kid Flash, Artemis, and M'gann stood in the commons as the Dark Knight gave the group final details on their mission. The Flash was there (why, exactly, they couldn't be sure—must likely because word had gotten out about Wally's mission and he wanted to witness the unnatural girl-boy creature himself), too, and had to cover his mouth at the sight of his nephew, shoulders shaking with laughter as the Bat spoke.

"Remember," he stressed, "this mission if only—"

"Covert, we know, you've said that a hundred times," the Caped Crusader's protégé groaned, looking somewhat childish with his female civilian clothes and a hand on the handle of his little wheelie suitcase.

"Artemis, M'gann, I expect you will brief them on…what they need to know."

"Of course," the girls answered, suitcases sitting faithfully at their sides—the martian and archer were setting off for their mission in Russia, too, and were just dropping off the boys on their way there.

"Good. Robin, a word."

Wally grimaced as his uncle approached, the older speedster's fingers pointing from the former sidekick's hair, to his outfit, to his fake boobs in such a fashion that suggested he had never seen a more hilarious scene in his life.

"Okay, okay, I'm done now, I promise," Flash choked out from between wheezes of mirth, wiping tears from his eyes as the younger grimaced sourly at this unwanted attention. "Actually…just kidding, I lied—come on just one picture before you set off on your journey, kiddo."

And with that, the uncle nearly leaped upon his nephew, drawing out a camera from who knows where to take a picture together. Wally's indignant yet horrified expression was captured beautifully as the two admired the photograph seconds later, one frowning and the other bursting into fits of laughter all over again.

Kid caught pieces of Batman and Robin's conversation, too, hearing "be safe", and "remember to—", and "sunglasses on at all times" amongst the low murmur of their speech, which altogether was quite unusual. The two spoke in such a fashion that to some it could appear as if they weren't at all; just a glance could convey emotions just as sufficiently as words. Well, that's the Bats for you, Wally thought.

"Ready?" Robin asked with a sly smirk, wheeling his steed—that is, the suitcase—over to where his best friend had parked his own, and suddenly the entrance to the area outside opened with a groan, a fresh spring breeze blessing the teenagers, accompanied by the sight of the bio-ship.

Once the group was settled into the martian device—M'gann in the leading seat, controlling the ship, and the rest strapped down up front—Batman made sure to give them the coordinates and nodded. With that signal, the trusty bio-ship blasted off with a burst of air.

"Sweet! Road trip, dude! Well, I guess it's not technically a road trip—you know, cuz we're flying—but it still, it serves the same purpose," KF grinned, leaning back in his seat so that his feet could rest comfortably against the console.

"Oh yeah? And what is that?"

"Why, some good old-fashioned troubled teenager bonding, of course!"

Robin and Artemis raised an eyebrow at this statement, but were saved the trouble of replying by the grinning M'gann.

"Oh, yes! On Mars I watched some TV shows from Earth and there was this program that featured these young people going into a room and talking and…oh, what was it called…I think it was something like—"

"Therapy?" Robin suggested, suddenly mulling over the idea what Batman might have sent them on this trip on the bio-ship not for a chance for the girls to brief them on, er, girl things, but as some sort of counseling session that the Dark Knight didn't want to deal with himself.

"Hell no, I am not doing therapy with Wally," Artemis growled, causing the insulted to snort with indignation.

"Or we could play a game!" the martian reminded before a squabble could break out. "How about…oh, I've got it! Here's how it works: one of us names a thing for us to find—you know, like we'll look out of the windows and stuff—and whoever is the first to see it wins! Who wants to go first? How about…Robin!"

"Um…try and find a…er…cow."

"Found one," Artemis smirked, eyes directed on the speedster sitting opposite her.

"Hey!"

"So, guys—or, well, girls—what did Batman want you to tell us about?" Robin questioned, deciding it was his turn to ensue the peace.

"Oh, he wanted us to inform you about girl things!" M'gann answered, as if this statement would not at all bring an awkward conversation.

"Yeah? And what does that include?" Wally scoffed turning to his best friend and rolling his eyes.

"You see, ladies," Artemis began, "once a month—"

"NO way! Nope! Not happening!" Kid screeched, waving his arms wildly.

"Dude, it's Batman's orders, though I can't believe he thinks I don't already know this," Robin smirked at his buddy's reaction (everyone in the ship raised an eyebrow at this), turning to the archer and sighing, "Just get on with it."

Wally remained with his hands covering his ears for the duration of the flight, only removing them upon hearing the muffled sound of laughter, then catching a few very interesting words before clamping back into his rigid position. Before the speedster knew it, he was blinking open his eyes to meet a pair of shaded ones, the dark haired teen chuckling, "KF, wake up, we're here."

M'gann hugged the two boys goodbye, muttering, "the school is two blocks to the left of this alley—sorry we couldn't get closer, it's crowded over there and you guys couldn't just appear out of nowhere."

Artemis and Robin exchanged a few words and a quick embrace, too, and Wally was left to just awkwardly glare at her, but instead of getting one back, the speedster received more of a smirk—one that was sly but almost absent of brooding hostility. Before he could react or smile or whatever, Robin was ushering him out of the bio-ship with their suitcases, waving at the girls before they disappeared with a blast of warm air.

"Dude, Batman booked us together as roommates, right? You know since it's a boarding school?" Wally wondered aloud as the two set off with their luggage down the little cobblestone pathway.

"He better have—We can't room with real girls," the other boy replied as if the occurrence of even being in the same bedroom with someone of the opposite gender would instantly destroy their mission—which it altogether could. "You realize that we're going to have to pay really close attention to ourselves here. Walk and talk like Canary told us…and no taking off your shirt, or anything else for that matter.

"Dick, you seriously think I'm gonna start stripping?"

"I don't know, it might be easy to forget."

"Maybe for you, but I generally don't need reminding to keep my clothes on."

"Sure you do. Woah, stay traught dude, females approaching."

"Geez, there's like a whole pack. Okay, steering right, steering right…"

"Wait there are some more…okay just keep walking. We fit in, remember? Just act normal…"

"That's kinda hard with my fake boobs jiggling with every step I take, bro."

"Hey, I know it feels weird, but what looks even weirder is you staring at your nips. Eyes up, man."

"Okay, sorry, getting distracted. Ow, are your feet, like, driving you crazy? I hate high heels…"

"Yeah, this uniform literally sucks. This costume makes everyone look like a freaking sailor girl. I mean, why do they even have ties? They literally serve no purpose on this outfit, and keep flapping in the wind."

"Hah, not as much as my—"

The conversation was ceased suddenly, however, when Lady Isabella's Academy for Young Women came into view as the boys rounded the corner. It didn't take long for them to reach the front desk, where a beady-eyed, pointy-nosed, very stern-looking woman addressed Robin and Kid with a very nasally voice.

"And you two would be?"

"We—er—" Wally started, not really knowing what to say as they hadn't yet come up with girl names, and was saved by his friend who replied:

"We're the new girls."