New York
August 3, 8:03 EDT
Heatstroke yawned as the morning sun shined upon down her. The morning rush hour down below her but drowned out by the wind. This is why she loved rooftops.
"Hello New York!" She called boldly. Heatstroke peered down at the miniature cars, looking for any signs of danger or some sort of chaos. Where there's New York, there's something. It's become logic now.
"Well, aren't you strangely quiet?" She questioned, quirking a brow at the sudden lack of well… anything. Just then, an explosion resonated throughout the area and the screams of course- you can never forget the screaming.
"There goes quiet. I preferred quiet." she decided to herself. "And I've really got to stop talking to myself." Was what she said before dashing in the direction of the danger.
Just so you know, New York was full of weird crazy things. Sometimes you see naked women running around in the middle of the night, but not for the things you think. Sometimes, there were weird human/animal things that seemingly pop out of nowhere to ruin your day. Heatstroke has seen all that, it scared her, but it didn't shock her.
But this did.
"Superboy?!" The black haired boy glanced up uninterestedly at the red haired girl as he held two bang robbers in his arms while the rest laid-well, everywhere. People stared at the clone in shock, snapping pictures when they could, mumbling among themselves about the unfamiliar boy that stopped a jewelry store robbery. While she could only stare in confusion.
Now before you get confused, she wasn't shocked that he was here kicking butt, well sort of. But mostly because he was here, in New York, and not in Mount Justice, brooding or doing what he usually does.
"Hi," he grunted, dropping the thugs. They landed with a thud that made even Heatstroke flinch as she lifted her gaze back to the male. Before she could even attempt to question what he was doing here, sirens and alarms rang through the air causing her to jump.
"Okay, first off; what are you doing here? Second; run." Superboy didn't even have time to respond before he found himself being dragged into a back alleyway.
"Where is she? Where is Heatstroke?" A rough male voice questioned hurriedly. The person they were asking probably gave the directions because footsteps echoed loudly and inched closer to the alleyway they were hiding in.
"Search the area! That criminal and her ally can't have gotten far!" Heatstroke grabbed the boys arm and without a warning, shot them upwards with the boosters from her shoes safely landing them on a nearby rooftop. Just then, police officers came marching through the alleyway.
"Phew! That was close," she chuckled and turned to face Superboy.
"Why are they chasing you? Aren't you a good guy?" He pestered.
"Not to them I'm not… It's a long and very complicated story. But this isn't about me, what the hell are you doing in New York?" She quickly changed the subject. He furrowed his brow.
"New York? This isn't Metropolis?" Blue eyes swam with genuine confusion and she bit down her sarcasm. Sometimes, she would forget he was just made a few months ago which would never stop sounding weird every time she looked at the teenager.
"No," she said instead. "Metropolis is a bit more north of here."
"Oh, thank you," he said, leaping off before she could even get a word in or ask her question again. Heatstroke sighed and shook her head, seriously reconsidering the sleep and rest she desired and earned. She turned to jump in the opposite direction he was headed for before she froze.
"Wait a minute… Isn't Metropolis where Superman lives?"
Mount Justice
August 3, 12:57 EDT
"Hey Rem, it's your turn," Wally called to the other redhead.
"I know, I'm not blind," she deadpanned as she took her position with on the opposite side of the table.
"Recognized: Superboy-B05."
As soon as the light of the zeta tube died down, the scowling boy stomped in not even caring if he walked right into the middle of Wally and Remy's game of holographic air hockey.
"Hey!" Wally protested. But the words were deaf to his ears as he simply strolled past, ignoring poor sweet M'gann.
"You found him?" Remy decided to try her luck. To all their surprises, he actually responded.
"No." He said before sitting roughly on the couch which squeaked under his weight. The redhead sighed and shook her head in pity at the black haired boy. Now that she knows that he's trying to look for Superman, she doesn't actually know what to do now that she thought about it. She'll figure it out later.
"Ready to start training?" Came a feminine voice. The redhead craned her neck to see Black Canary along with Martian Manhunter.
"Black Canary! Uncle J'onn!" Miss Martian exclaimed happily as she floated up to hug the other Martian.
"M'gann!" Martian Manhunter just as happy if not, much happier as he embraced his niece.
"I was just in the neighborhood. So I thought I'd see how you were adjusting," the male explained gently.
"A few bumps, but I'm learning," Miss Martian answered, her amber eyes gleaming with pride.
Martian Manhunter smiled, "That's all I can ask."
Behind her, Superboy grunted and Heatstroke didn't need to be a telepath to tell that he wanted to leave and was going to. The red-haired girl learned that he hated emotional, cheesy stuff after they watched the Lion King, and pretty much every other movie the TV had to offer. Could there be one movie in the world which doesn't have touching parent-child moments? He trashed the 65 inch TV after that.
She knew Batman was filthy rich, but he was probably getting annoyed with the lack of a few zeroes now.
"Although you may have the greatest powers of all, without them, how could you defend yourself? Hand to hand combat is your best shot." Self-consciously, Heatstroke rubbed her sword. She knew that all too well since she wasn't the most athletic in her class until she got her powers. And if she lost her sword then she was in deep shit. Behind, Superboy scoffed and the sound of heavy footsteps resonated through the room.
"Stick around, class is in session," Black Canary said gently. It wasn't an order or a request, it was only a statement to inform him. Shockingly, he turned around and stood planted there.
She cleared her throat, "I consider it an honor to be your teacher. I'll throw a lot at you, everything I've learned from my own teachers," she slipped off her leather jacket to reveal bandaged arms.
"And bruises," Black Canary winced as she brushed the covered area.
"What happened?" M'gann immediately questioned in worry.
"The job," the blonde stated simply. "Now, combat is about controlling conflict, putting the battle in your terms. You should be acting, never reacting. Now, I'll need a sparring partner." That was way out of the question for Heatstroke, who whistled innocently when sky blue eyes scanned the crowd for a personal punching bag. Black Canary looked about ready to pick her when Kid flash stepped in.
"Right here!" The speedster grinned cockily as he stepped forward, "After this, swish. I'll show you my moves."
"10 bucks says he'll be down in 5," Heatstroke stated.
"10 bucks says sooner," Robin smirked.
"I wasn't aware that we could bet on our teammates," Aqualad mused. She watched with burning red eyes as they circled each other, one waiting for the other to make the first move. Black Canary was the first to strike. The blonde swung a punch which he managed to block, only to be swept off his feet. Literally.
'Kid flash-Status: Fail.'
"Oh," he groaned, "Hurts so good..." Robin put one hand on his hip with the other outstretched to the redhead who scowled and fished 10 dollars out of her pocket and slapped it into his hand.
"Good block," complimented Black Canary, "Now, can anyone tell me what he did wrong?"
"Oh oh!" Robin waved the hand with the bill enthusiastically, "He hit on the teacher and got served!"
"Dude!" Kid flash whined. The blonde woman cleared her throat interrupting their bickering.
"No. He allowed me to dictate the terms-"
"Oh please," Super boy scoffed and Heatstroke stopped snickering to turn to the clone. "With my powers, the battle is always on my terms. I'm a living weapon." He snarled.
Black Canary narrowed her eyes as her red lips quirked into a smirk.
"Prove it." Super boy didn't need to be asked twice as he rammed straight into the woman. But Black Canary was quicker. She grabbed his arm and tossed him over her shoulder.
'Superboy-Status: Fail.'
"You're angry. That's good, but don't react," explained Black Canary, "Channel that anger into-" Super boy roared as he lunged at her with a murderous intent in his blue eyes. But it only proved useless when she tossed him over her shoulder.
Robin's lips twitched upwards and Heatstroke dove in to cover his mouth so that he wouldn't burst into hysterics.
"That's it! I'm done!" Super boy yelled as he smacked the woman's hand away.
"Training is mandatory," she insisted but her words fell deaf to his ears.
"Batman to the cave." Heatstroke jolted up in shock at the sound of Batman's deep voice. Surely, she whirled around to see the masked man on the enormous holographic screen. He was even stealthy holographically.
"Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary." Heatstroke couldn't help but glance at the bandage wrapped around the blonde woman's arm and it didn't take long for her to put two and two together.
"The attacker was capable of studying, then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents." The red-haired girl most literally, choked on air.
"You mean- it can copy our powers?! Is that a thing?" To answer her question, Batman showed a video footage of surely, Green Arrow and Black Canary getting their butts kicked along with the rest of many powerful leaguers against one male.
"Arrow called in reinforcements, which proved nearly disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant," Batman continued to explain gravely.
"Whoa..." Kid flash gawked.
"In the end, it took 8 leaguers and 4 hours to defeat and dismantle the android," Batman reported. Robin was quick to pick up.
"An android?" He voiced aloud, "Who made it? T. O. Morrow?"
"Good guess, but no," the dark knight disagreed, "At least, Red Tornado doesn't think so."
"The technology bears the signature of Professor Ivo," Martian Manhunter informed.
"Ivo? But Ivo's dead," Aqualad said with a furrowed brow.
"So we all thought," Black Canary frowned, "Or hoped."
"To make sure this threat is permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android parts to two separate Star Labs facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation," Batman explained as the scene faded into a map displaying two large red blinking dots, "Every precaution is being taken. There will be four additional trucks to create confusion in case Ivo, or anyone attempts to recover the remains. You will be split up into two undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks."
"Yes!" Kid flash yelped happily, "Road trip!" Super boy scowled as he marched up to the holographic screen.
"So now we take out your trash?" He demanded furiously. If Batman was fazed or scared, he didn't show it.
"You have something better to do?" Super boy remained silent although Heatstroke was sure that if Batman was physically here, he'd be halfway across the room by now. Or maybe Batman had some backup plan for that? It was the Batman, after all.
"Coordinates received," Aqualad confirmed breaking her out of her thoughts, "We are on our way."
Litchfield County
August 3, 20:08 EDT
Together, they stayed hidden on the sides, behind large bushes that hopefully covered them from sight. They were each sat on their own motorcycles which Heatstroke was currently fangirling hard about.
"Do you think Bats would let me keep this?" She asked excitedly. Her motorbike was the color of her suit which was white with streaks of red and black along the sides. Her outfit was similar except it was mostly black with stripes of white and red along the sides so that she wouldn't stand out like a neon light.
"Unlikely," Robin snickered as he slipped on his helmet. Heatstroke hummed in disappointment as she slipped her hair into a low ponytail before wearing her helmet. Her blazing red eyes scanned the trucks large trucks surrounded by leaguers. Amongst them, she couldn't help but stare at Superman, standing there proud and as professional as always, fully aware of his clone before glancing at Superboy. She noticed his fist clench around the handle.
She wanted to question it but she was scared the words would come out as gibberish. And plus, she could ask later. One by one, the trucks slowly dispersed. Smoothly, she revved up the motorcycle's engine and kicked off with Robin and Superboy trailing behind her. 5 minutes hadn't even passed when Robin decided to make a new language.
"If like is the opposite of dislike, is aster is the opposite of disaster? See, instead of things going wrong, they go right," Robin mused. Heatstroke couldn't help but raise a brow at him.
"How much free time do you have?" She couldn't help but wonder.
"Too much," he smirked and peered over his shoulder to see Superboy lagging slightly behind, "And it clearly looks like someone isn't feeling the aster. What's wrong big guy?"
"Canary," Superboy grumbled, "What business does she have teaching combat to a guy with superstrength?"
"Well, what business does she have teaching combat to a girl with a fire sword? Answer; I have no idea," Heatstroke admitted.
"Yes, you do. All your skills suck, some more than others. Let's say for example; combat," Robin pointed out sarcastically.
"But I have a sword, I'd be fine," she argued.
"If that was taken away from you?"
"... Then I'd still be fine, just maybe a little more on the dead side."
"Exactly."
"You two are terrible at this thing," Superboy muttered as he sped ahead although the duo easily caught up to him.
"But as stated before, if you somehow close your superstrength then having combat on your side wouldn't be the worst thing," Heatstroke explained. "Canary knows that."
"Yeah, the hard way. Same as Batman and me. We can't all have powers you know," Robin stated. Superboy said nothing as he simply raced ahead and this time, they didn't chase after him.
They didn't have time to as a shadow flew over them. Much too big to be a bird, Heatstroke glanced up to see robotic monkeys soaring through the sky. Heatstroke blinked her bright red eyes to check if she was dreaming, but they were still there.
Flying, robot monkeys. This was definitely going to be her thing of the year.
'Heatstroke, Robin, Superboy. Our truck is under attack!' Aqualad blasted through the comms.
"We noticed!" Robin yelled back.
'I hate monkeys,' she didn't need to look to see Super boy scowling. Heatstroke shook her head and focused on the truck which the monkeys were currently hacking at, ripping at the metal with inhuman strength.
"Heatstroke! Superboy! Put your motorcycles in battle mode!" Robin ordered. But Superboy didn't even bother, simply leaping off his motorcycle. The red-haired girl couldn't help but wince as she watched it crash and explode not far behind.
"Or not," Robin said lamely.
The black haired boy easily flew to the truck and rip a robotic monkey off, hurling one of it in Heatstroke and Robin's direction. Both swerved out of the way to avoid getting knocked over.
Heatstroke pressed the autopilot button instead. The bike rode smoother than her when it was on autopilot. The redhead made sure she was close enough before attempting to stand on her seat, ignoring Robin's cries of 'idiot' and 'stupid' and probably 'no one ever listens to me'. Without a moment's hesitation, Heatstroke jumped onto the truck.
Remember, unless you have magic, don't try this at home.
The fire beneath her feet boosted her jumped so that she managed to land on top of the truck. She quickly unsheathed her sword and sliced the closest one in her reach only for more to squeak at her. It was uncanny that they sounded like the actual monkeys you find at the zoo, eating a banana from its foot. Except that these ones wanted to kill her.
Heatstroke summoned a wave of flames of knocking them away, melting them in the process. To her, this was easy. Since they were only robots, she didn't have to worry about killing anyone in cold blood. Despite all the powers the sword gave her, it sucked sometimes that she had to be careful about not killing anyone. She didn't want to become a serial killer anytime soon, or ever.
Robin hopped in beside her to kick away a few. He pulled out his Escrima sticks and twirled them expertly in his hands as he started to beat them away only for them to make a perfect U-turn and squawk angrily at him. And then they shot green lasers from their eyes.
Reacting quickly, Wonder boy flew in front of the smaller boy to deflect the rays, effectively destroying a line of them. It was endless as more simply flew at them at a disastrous rate. Why couldn't it be an aster? Did she use that right?
The black haired boy roared as he charged at them only to be slammed into the ground by a heard of angry robotic monkeys. Heatstroke continued to fight them off with her sword, easily destroying them but it was endless. It was like there was a cloning machine on autopilot. She hoped there wasn't. She didn't even notice one sneaking up on her until it jumped her back and blast her up.
The red-haired girl yelled at the sudden action but it fell deaf to her ears as the wind howled past her and the touch of cold metal wrapping around her neck and cutting off her oxygen supply. Heatstroke didn't even think as she coughed and choked as she tugged on the inhumanly strong hands while dropping her sword in the process. She could barely think straight as she thrashed and flailed.
'C-can't breathe... Need air...' She thought. Like a switch, something buried deep within her lit up. Something hot and powerful, just waiting to be released.
'Release... Release...' A voice in her head chanted. It was so tempting, like giving a child candy. And so she burned. Fire burst from her body and soon, she could breathe again and think. So the first thing she saw, was that she was on fire. Flames flickered and danced on her arms, her legs. Everywhere. But it felt good.
Until a pang of pain hit her head, and everything disappeared. And then, she was falling. The world flew past her as she quickly descended and crashed into the cornfields below. She let out a groan as every limb in her body went numb and before she knew it, she slipt into unconsciousness.
"Hey. Heat, wake up. Wake up. Remy!" The red-haired girl sat straight up at the sound of her name. She glanced to her side to see Robin, fully clothed in his costume with a grim expression on his face.
"What happened?" And then she noticed something bigger in the picture. "And what the hell happened to my clothes?!" She was completely naked, save for Robin's small jacket covering her 'parts'.
"I found you like that, after going supernova up there." He pointed towards the slowly dimming sky which shone and twinkled brightly despite it only being sunset. Then it hit her. How she burst into flames when the robot monkey tried to kill her.
"Okay," she drawled as they made their way out of the cornfield after she changed of course but the humiliation still burned within her. Thankfully, Robin was nonchalant about it.
"What happened after that?" Robin shrugged.
"Super took off." She choked on air.
"What?! Why?!"
"Monkey hunting, don't worry, we'll be joining the party soon." He reassured as they cleared into the road. In the near distance, the redhead could clearly make out the wreckage of the truck along with many dead android monkeys. There was the rev of an engine, slowly getting closer and Heatstroke squinted to see half of Robin's torn down motorcycle coming their way. It was shaky as it came, but usable none the less.
It was awkward really, riding on half a motorcycle. Considering there was nothing to hang on too behind, and his shoulders weren't exactly a great option, she practically had to hug him to keep herself from falling off. Least to say, it was awkward. She tried to distract herself by looking at the scenery around, but it was really hard to think about anything else when you're in whole body contact with someone else.
"So, how'd you do it?" Robin suddenly asked. She snapped out of her thoughts.
"Huh?" Despite only seeing the back of his head, she was fairly certain he was rolling his eyes.
"Burst into flames, I don't think I've ever seen you do that before," he said.
"Well, it was a first for me too," she admitted. As if trying to say it was still here, the flat of her sword clacked against the back of the motorcycle. The sword was unusual, to say the least. Along with unknown. How could she possibly forget unknown?
She spent many hours in libraries, computers, heck even Batman went to Zatara and Wonder woman to see if they knew anything. But despite their vast knowledge in magic, both seemed clueless when she showed them the sword and her new appearance. Yeah, she wasn't always stuck with bright red hair and blazing red eyes.
"Maybe it was just a reaction to when it was trying to choke you?" Robin suggested. She recalled back to the tempting voice, and the power that she felt when she was struggling and she said nothing.
"Oh yeah, remember the time when you saw me nude?"
"Hard to forget."
"Well, you better start, otherwise, I'm going to slice you to bits... And feed them to the Joker."
"... Noted."
The engine hummed and Heatstroke just caught the large sign of 'Gotham' as they whizzed past. Somewhere along the way, Kid Flash managed to catch up with them.
"You changed to, huh?" Heatstroke noted.
"Are you kidding? I feel naked in civvies." He shuddered. "You still tracking the parts?"
"They were headed through Gotham, but they veered. Wait, they're at my school!" Robin yelped.
"No way! Really?" Heatstroke peered over his shoulder to see his holographic computer and sure enough, there was a red blinking dot underneath the label, 'Gotham Academy'.
"I've always wanted to see what your school is like," she mused.
"I knew it was a terrible idea to tell you," Robin grumbled.
"Oh come on, don't be such a dick." For the whole journey, Kid flash wouldn't stop laughing, until he tripped of course.
The trio dashed into the large, highly famed school for extremely smart kids. Heatstroke never thought she would live to see the day that it happened, especially at Gotham Academy. And if she thought the outside was cool, the inside was way better.
The floors were squeaky clean, the ceiling was about 50 feet above her head, the stairs were lined with a well-flourished carpet, and least to say, it looked like a modern version of Hogwarts. While admiring, it couldn't be helped that she noticed the large display case of awards. But what caught her eye the most was the large picture of a smiling, black-haired boy holding a large trophy. And when she read the gold plated name beneath, she almost laughed.
"Heatstroke, come on!" Hissed Robin. She quickly scurried after them, but not before snapping a picture first. Heatstroke was glad Robin attended this school otherwise it would've taken her years to find the sports hall. Literally.
Heatstroke arrived just in time to see her teammates in a struggling war against the android. Even with their powers combined, it was hard to fight something who could use the powers of the world's strongest power users. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a short, old, ginger-haired man with graying streaks on either side of his hair, and he donned a gleeful expression on his face as if he was watching the circus perform for the first time. By his side, there were the robotic monkeys heeling loyally by his side.
An explosion wrecked the area and the red-haired girl glanced just in time to see a Superboy sized hole in the wall. She gritted her teeth and unsheathed her sword. It blazed to life as she leaped at it from behind.
"Access: Martian Manhunter." It said. And instead of coming into contact with hard steel, she simply went through it.
"Access: Red Tornado." In a flurry of red tornadoes, she was sent flying into Miss Martian who was still recovering from an earlier attack. Kid Flash and Aqualad charged at it, but it proved useless when he simply used Black Canary's sonic scream to send into the stands and shatter the windows. From across the hall, Robin flung Batarangs at the android only for it to phase through and to miss its mark entirely. Using this chance, Kid flash zoomed in hoping to get a shot, but that was quickly dispersed as he was simply knocked back with the strength of Superman. It kept going back and forth, yet they were getting nowhere, the android truly was unstoppable.
Heatstroke gritted her teeth as she charged at the android once again, flaming sword in hand. But everything had a weakness. Even the android with the powers of the world's heavy hitters. Even if it was a tiny one, it was still a weakness. She just had to find it.
She took a swing at the robot but it simply phased through its torso.
"Access: Black Canary." It was about to open its mouth, but before it could it stopped.
"Access: Martian Manhunter." It quickly changed to her confusion and a few seconds later, Heatstroke could see why when an arrow whizzed through it. And like that, she found a weakness.
"Guys! It can't use two powers at once!" Heatstroke yelled gleefully. A slow clap filled the air and she turned to see the old man with his hands together, before resting them on his knee.
"Great, now what are you going to do about it? I do love surprises very much," he sighed blissfully.
"Access: Flash." Heatstroke couldn't do anything as she was sent flying.
"Access: Black Canary," she heard a familiar mutter. Heatstroke craned her neck to see Super boy with a newfound sense of determination in his sky blue eyes. The ginger-haired man yawned.
"Oh please, normally Amazo would study and mimic you abilities during battle, but what's the point? You're all just cheap copies of the originals, well, except for Heatstroke. She actually has some originality," he admitted.
"Nice to know I have a fan," the girl replied.
Super boy growled deeply, "That's what everyone keeps saying! It makes me angry!" With a mighty leap that destroyed the ground beneath him, he lunged at the old man. Quickly, he and his robots scampered out of the way for Super boy to make a large crate in the stands.
"Want to see me channel that anger?!"
"Oh god, he's gone bonkers," groaned Kid flash.
"Maybe not." Kaldur smiled.
"Amazo! Protect your master! Priority alpha!" The man cried hysterically as he slipped and fell down the stands. Robin smiled broadly as he flipped over to the fallen man.
"Anyone want to play keep away?" Robin called as he kicked the man away.
"Over here!" Heatstroke waved as she punched the man for him to go spinning into Kid Flash's direction.
"Oh! Me! Me!" Kid flash raised his hand excitedly as he sped over.
"Access: Superman." Suddenly came the android. The ground cracked as it stomped, causing the speedster to whirl out of control. Heatstroke jumped back to avoid getting caught in the tremors as did Robin.
She aimed her sword at the robot, firing fireballs while the Boy wonder hurled Batarangs which easily passed through the android with the help of Martian Manhunters powers.
"Access: Superman." Just as the words left its mouth, Super boy jumped in front of it and punched through its head. This time, no density shifting.
Circuits fried and sparked before promptly exploding. Only the body left, it collapsed to the ground uselessly.
"Quick! Help me disassemble him! Now!" Robin ordered hastily as he begun working on the body.
"But it doesn't have a head," Heatstroke pointed out, but she helped him anyway, slicing the body with her sword like a butcher.
"Do not take any chances," Aqualad said as he dashed in with Miss Martian close behind. The green skinned girl immediately made a beeline for Superboy who was on the floor.
"Superboy, are you okay?" She asked worriedly. Surprisingly, the boy smiled.
"Fine. Just fine. Feeling the aster." Robin smiled at his words.
"Hey," Kid flash suddenly voiced, "Where'd Ivo go?"
Heatstroke glanced around to see that the old fart had indeed disappeared during the battle.
"Great," she deadpanned, "Just great."
Mount Justice
August 4, 01:06 EDT
"The Amazo android is in pieces again, safely being analyzed at the two separate S.T.A.R labs. But Ivo escaped and since he originated the tech, he is arguably more dangerous than the android," reported Aqualad.
"Bruises beg to differ," mumbled Heatstroke as she rubbed her sore back.
"Capturing Ivo will be a league priority," announced Black Canary.
"But we understand your mission, encountered other complications," Martian Manhunter raised a brow as all eyes went to Super boy.
"Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the league," said Batman as he stood in front the boy.
"The whole league?" Super boy inquired, hope evident in his tone. The corners of Batman's mouth twitched up slightly.
"Given time, yes. As you know, Kryptonians have very hard heads." At his words, Superboy smiled before Batman turned back to the team.
"Of course, there is no shame in asking for help, that's why the league exists. Because there are problems that we can't handle individually," the dark knight explained.
"Please," Robin scoffed, "If we needed help, we'd never get the chance to ask!" He whipped out an arrow.
"Look familiar? You were spying on us, babying us, you still don't trust us!" The black haired boy practically shoved the arrow in Batman's face, but the older man remained stoic as he took the arrow.
"We didn't follow you," Batman stated calmly as he passed the arrow to Green Arrow. Casually, he took out his own arrow and compared the two. The difference was very obvious.
"But, if that isn't yours..." Robin drawled off as realization sunk in.
"Speedy!" Kid flash grinned broadly.
"He had our backs!" Aqualad continued.
"Souvenir!" The red-haired boy whooped as he took the arrow.
"Great," Heatstroke rubbed her temples.
"I'm ready," Super boy suddenly declared to Black Canary.
"Good, because I'm here," the blonde smiled gently as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Well, I'm beat," yawned Heatstroke as she stretched, hearing a pop in her arms.
"Don't you have a city to patrol?" Mused Robin. She groaned and scratched the back of her head.
"I think New York can survive without me for one night. Now it's 'Chase time'."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Honestly, you shouldn't."
New York
August 4, 01:58 EDT
Silently, Remy pried open her window, careful not to make a sound as she climbed into her dark room. Just as quietly, she closed the window and the lights suddenly flicked on. Remy screamed as she whirled around, hand on her necklace and ready to attack when she saw the blonde woman standing there in nothing but a towel, and a disapproving expression.
"Oh my god! Mum?! Jesus! Aren't you supposed to be in Hong Kong?! Where are your clothes?!" Remy quickly turned away from the monstrosity of humanity. Not to say her mum had a bad figure- it was nice actually, but for god's sake. No child wants to see their mum naked.
"Well, my tour ended early so I thought I'd come back to see my favorite daughter," She smiled happily.
"How nice of you," Remy muttered bitterly, her back still turned. "And your birthday suit?"
"I sleep naked, I didn't think you'd want to see me naked."
"I don't! This is what clothes are for!"
"Well excuse me, Miss, clothes are uncomfortable to sleep in. And what are you doing home this late in the morning?" The blonde woman narrowed her eyes and Remy tried to come up with a suitable explanation to why she was back at 2 in the morning that didn't include maniacs or robots.
"Uhh, I was partying," she said stupidly.
'Great you idiot! Now she's never gonna leave you!' Since her back was still turned (she refused to look at her mum like that), Remy couldn't see her mum's expression but she expected it to be among the lines of shock, anger, and life-long lectures. Which was why she was surprised when arms wrapped around her.
"Yes! My little girl is finally growing up!" She cheered while Remy could only stare around in a daze.
"What's this now? And hands off you crazy woman!" The redhead flailed to get the nearly naked woman off her.
"I knew the hair was the start of something new," the woman giggled like a teenager and ruffled Remy's already messy hair.
"What's wrong with my hair? Quit touching my hair!" Remy wasn't sure you could call it one of those 'blessings in disguise' but at least there was no lecture.
"Oh! Did you meet a boy?"
"No!" For some reason, her voice went up higher a few notches.
"So you did," the woman accused.
"No!" Her voice did that thing again and this time, pictures of Robin seeing her naked flooded her mind and her face went redder than her hair. Stupid human-mind thing...
"Was he hot? Did you guys do it? Did you have protection?" Remy has seen many mothers ground their children, ban them from TV for life, but never encourage it. She wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not.
"No, to all!"
"Wait!" The woman ignored the responses of the girl and rushed away, her towel flapping in the wind. It was moments later that the woman reappeared with a small, colorful packet in her hands and Remy feared for the worst.
"I know I haven't been around lately. But now that I'm, there is a very important discussion that we need to have-"
"For the last time, I didn't do it!"