A/N: It's been awhile! Sorry for the long wait! I was a little stuck on this for a while. Hope you guys enjoy and thanks for the reviews and for being such awesome readers!

Chapter 7: Fooling Around

Stevie stood up slowly and quietly so as not to wake the others. After that dream, she had not been able to sleep properly, but she stayed in the room with the others, trying to forget and trying to just go back to sleep. But she couldn't. The rest of her night was tossing and turning on the crowded couch, unable to make th distinction between few minutes of sleep and reality. Everyone else was still out like a light, probably due to how many movies they had watched. Robin and Kid Flash were hanging off the edges of the couch on either side. Robin looked a little more peaceful than Kid Flash did.

The redhead's mouth was wide open and a few snores escaped his throat as he continued to dream on. Aqualad had slid off the autumin and was sprawled out across the floor, his chest rising and falling in deep, soothing breaths. Artemis was curled up in a little ball, eyebrows furrowed in her sleep. Superboy was against the wall; even in his sleep he looked angry! Miss Martian was a little ways from Superboy, laying peacefully on her back with her hands resting on her stomach.

But even seeing the other so peaceful didn't make her feel any better. If anything, it made her feel worse. A pang of nausea hit her and she quickly scrambled out of the room, keeping her hand clamped firmly against her mouth. The halls were a bit blurry, and only when she entered the kitchen and leaned against the counter did her vision start to clear.

Stevie took a few deep breaths, trying to force the images of her dream out of her mind and trying to swallow down the nauseous feelings lingering in her mouth. Her dry throat didn't help much, so she went in the refrigerator to get some water, hoping it wouldn't make her feel more sick.

To her delight, the cool liquid slid down her throat with ease and washed away the dryness that had been hovering there. Her stomach began to settle down a little and she sighed in relief. After sitting for a few minutes, her stomach decided that it was calm enough to be hungry. So, she made herself up the ever-so-easy cheerios and milk breakfast. Halfway through her bowl, she still hadn't heard the others awaken in the other room. They must have been really tired then. Or maybe she was just up really early.

Her green eyes searched for the clock and when she found it, she was greeted by the numbers of 4:47. It was still pretty early. She moved herself to the blue couch next to the kitchen to rest a moment. Stevie's mind wandered back to her dream. Was it even real? It could have just been a figment of her imagination, but something about it seemed real. Part of her didn't want to believe it was real, but part if her did. Maybe it would help Batman find her parents?

She would have to let him know eventually, but now, she wanted to keep it to herself until she could convince her mind that it was a real memory from her past. Maybe she was just too used to keeping things to herself. It was what she did to keep them from hurting her. Her tired eyes drooped with the troubling thoughts and she slowly slipped sideways onto the couch.

Again, Stevie jolted awake from sleep, only this time, it was because of some noise instead of a dream. Her sleepy eyes found a figure bustling through the kitchen and she sat up, rubbing her eyes so she would be able to see better. Aqualad turned to look at her as she began to awaken more fully, smiling softly at her.

"Good morning, Stevie. Did you sleep well after last night? I know some of the others were a bit...enthusiastic."

"Yeah I did," she lied, standing to her feet and stretching.

"Great. I am making breakfast. Would you like me to make you some?"

"Um...sure... Thanks, Aqualad."

"Call me Kaldur. My real name is Kaldur'ahm, but my friends call me Kaldur."

She paused, eyebrows furrowing together as he told her this piece of information. "Why are you telling me that?"

"You are my friend. I know Batman may not trust you, but he is - not to speak ill of him - a bit hard and untrusting to begin with. I have seen who you are and I know that I can trust you with my true self."

Was he joking? No it seemed not... With Aqu-Kaldur, it was easy to tell how much truthfulness was behind his words and as much as it pained her to admit it, he was telling the truth. He had really told her because he trusted her and not because he was supposed to so he could win her trust. It was different to have sincerity from someone and she wasn't quite used to it.

"Thanks, Kaldur," she said quietly after a moment, offering a small smile.

Kaldur smiled back. "So I'll assume you want some breakfast?"

"Yes, please."

As Kaldur got to work, Stevie stood up and headed to the bathroom. Her hair was a complete mess, so she quickly ran a brush through it before returning to the kitchen where Kaldur was making eggs and bacon. Artemis had woken up as well and was hovering near the fridge.

"Eggs and bacon were the first food I learned to make when I came to the Surface World. My King told me it would be wise to take a cooking class, though I'll admit I was absent on the days they cooked seafood," Kaldur said, trying to spark up a bit of conversation.

"Makes sense," Artemis commented after a second of silence, yawning. She still seemed to just be waking up.

The smell wafting through the room was nice and of course, it wouldn't go unnoticed by the food-loving redhead. A few moments later, he sped into the room, still looking slightly sleepy.

"Is that eggs and bacon I smell?"

Artemis rolled her eyes as Kaldur nodded. "Yes. Would you like some? I can make more."

"You'd better make double for Kid Mouth," Artemis muttered.

"Hey! I have ears you know!" he exclaimed.

"And a big mouth..."

Stevie tuned out the two's bickering and sat down at the table, leaning on her arm. She was surprised the bickering hadn't woken anyone else yet. But it wasn't long before Kaldur had finished the breakfast and he placed the food on the table. Artemis handed each of them a plate lazily while Wally eagerly loaded his own plate with food. She had to admit, the food was tasty and she even went back for a second helping.

"Uh thanks for breakfast," she said quietly, standing up and smiling slightly at Kaldur.

"It was no problem. I am glad that you enjoyed it." He nodded to her.

"See you," she muttered, more toward everyone than just Kaldur.

Wally spluttered a "bye" and Artemis just watched her boredly leave the room. Stevie passed through the room where the others were still passed out on the floor and couch. However, Superboy was starting to stir. Not wanting to be victim of his anger, she quickly moved out of the room and down the hallway toward her room. She locked her door behind her and changed into some more comfortable clothes for the day: a white, baggy t-shirt and some black shorts.

Yawning, she flopped down on her bed and leaned against the wall. To cure her boredom, she turned on the television, trying to find anything that was interesting. Nothing seemed to amuse her. After about forty-five minutes of trying to find something interesting on, she gave up. She moved from her position on her bed and back into the hallway. Maybe some of the others were awake?

As she made her way through some of the other rooms, she didn't see any of the other members of the team. They could have gone to their rooms or on a mission. Well there went her chances of abolishing her boredom... Maybe she could explore the rest of the cave. She hadn't seen all of it yet.

Stevie began to go through the rooms that she had never been before. One of the hallways led to a huge bathroom with rows of showers, sinks, and toilets. Another room was something like a hospital room. She shuddered with bad memories and made a quick retreat out of that particular room. Approaching the next room, she paused for a second when she heard something. She curiously peered inside, spotting Robin. He was in more casual attire than normal, but he still had his domino mask on. He seemed to be very uptight when it came to his identity.

He was wearing red gym shorts and a loose black shirt. Sweat was glistening on his face as he performed a mess of nearly impossible fighting moves in a row. She watched in amazement at the tricks he was able to pull off, leaning against the doorframe. He mixed it all up with some perfect cartwheels and flips that showed years of training. It was a wonder that a kid his age - her age - would be so well trained in fighting.

"Having fun there?" he suddenly asked, turning to face her with a smirk on his face.

Her immediate reaction was to panic, but she quickly realized it would do no good. "Uh I guess. Just exploring..."

"I see... Do you know how to fight at all?"

"Well...no," she admitted, turning slightly red. Was she supposed to know?

"You don't know anything?"

"Well... I know where to hit guys." She shrugged. "But otherwise, no."

Robin grimaced. "Understandable."

"Uh sorry?"

"No need. So uh, did you want to learn a bit of fighting? It'd probably be a good idea if the cave gets infiltrated."

"You want to teach me?" Stevie raised an eyebrow, a little unsure.

"Well does it look like anyone else is here?" He grinned.

"Um...no?"

"Well come on then!"

He moved into the center of the gym, where there were mats lined up to form a square. She trailed after him, unsure of how this was going to play out. Robin stood across from her, taking a deep breath.

"Okay. The first thing to know when fighting is how to block. If you can't fight, at least you can block your opponent's hits and you can last longer until help arrives. Try and hit me."

Stevie stared at him. "What?"

"Hit me! Don't worry, I'll block it. Hey, I'm a professional!" he added when she gave him a disbelieving look.

"Alright...fine..."

She balled her hand into a fist, hesitating for a moment, before throwing a punch at him. He quickly caught her fist in his hand, forcing it down.

"See? All it is, is hand-eye coordination. You focus on what your opponent is doing and be quick. You don't necessarily have to catch their fist. As long as you can block it, you're in the clear. Now you try."

"What?" But before she could properly be prepared, he aimed a light punch at her. She threw up her hand to try and block, but she was so unprepared that she was way off. "Oh... That was bad," she muttered, his fist hovering slightly by her shoulder.

"Try again."

He threw another punch, but this time, she was paying more attention and she moved to catch his fist. His whole hand fit right into hers and she grinned a little.

"Ha!"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Good job. Now we try more than one in a row."

The first couple of times, she had trouble catching his fist multiple times in a row, but after a few times, she was able to do it twice, and then three times, and then even four. Robin smirked at her, straightening out.

"You're a quick learner. Are you tired yet?"

"No way." Stevie was just beginning to get the thrill of fighting. It was a complete rush. She wasn't doing any proper offensive moves, but she wanted to get there. "Can we start offensive?"

Robin chuckled. "Not yet. There are other defensive moves you need to learn before you do anything offensive. You need to practice a lot more before you'll get any good. I've been training for years. You'll at least need a few months of training before you can do anything with that training."

"Well then we'll need to train every day."

"Well, I dunno. I won't be around every day."

"Then you can just teach me the basics and I can practice myself."

He looked at her apprehensively. "You're really going to do that?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt."

Stevie smiled a little at him and he returned it, only they were interrupted.

"What are you doing?"

She turned around to see the snarky redhead standing in the doorway with his bow in his hand.

"Way to kill the fun, Roy. We're jut fooling around." Robin rolled his eyes, a small grin on his lips.

"You're not even supposed to be talking to her and now you're training her? What are you thinking?" Roy snapped.

"Hey, Stevie isn't a threat, okay? You haven't been around her for as long as we have."

"What would Batman think?"

Robin hesitated for a moment, silence falling uncomfortably between the three. "He's fine with it."

"So you wouldn't mind if I mentioned it in conversation?" Roy raised an eyebrow.

Robin squirmed slightly, frowning at Roy. "Look you brought her here. If you don't trust her, then why did you even do that?"

Roy turned to look directly at her. "She might not be a threat consciously. But how do we know the Shadows didn't implant some sort of control system into her? For all we know, she could be leading them here without even knowing it."


A/N: I hope the fighting was alright. I didn't want to delve too far into it because fighting takes lots of time and she isn't going to be able to throw a bunch of moves in a fight after her first time. It's going to take a little while. I felt like Robin was a touch ooc, so please let me know if he seemed that way to you. I want to try and do the best I can with this story. Also, is there anything in particular you guys would like to see next? I'm thinking about some of the other sub-plots with other characters. I want to include Miss Martian, Superboy, etc in a little more. So anyway, I want to thank you guys for reading and reviewing. You guys seriously rock and I hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter!