Hello! Thank you to everyone who favorited/followed/reviewed this story! I'm always super elated when I get a new notification from Fanfiction, and it helps motivate me to keep writing! For this chapter more than ever, I would really appreciate some feedback. There's a couple things I'm unsure about (which I'll address in the ending AN), so I would like to know what you guys think.

Enjoy!


Chapter 7

It had been two months since the girl's arrival, and despite her origins remaining as mysterious as ever, a sense of normalcy had returned to Mount Justice. This reprieve was mostly thanks to Wally and M'gann, who (after weeks of trial and error) finally engineered a way for the teen to control her powers. With a combination of a custom-tailored inhibitor collar designed to look like a silver choker necklace and a modified full-body spandex suit, she was able to step out of the medical bay for the first time since her arrival.

Even after all that had happened, Robin could feel himself naturally beginning to trust her. After all, she hadn't given him or anyone else any reason to doubt her motives, despite having free-run of the Cave for over a month. She followed the rules to a tee, always grateful and accepting. She only removed her collar while she slept, never forgetting to flip what was called the "Inhibitor Alarm," a small switch that activated red lights at the entrance of the medical bay and the east wing as a signal that she was collarless. At first, she hadn't ever wanted to remove it, but after suffering from some severe headaches, Manhunter had become concerned that constraining her mind 24/7 was damaging her psyche. Unable to find a better solution, she had agreed to their current system.

The spandex was also a welcome improvement, both for her and the Team. She no longer had to worry about accidentally brushing up against someone in passing, and they could finally begin to relax around her, knowing a touch wouldn't reveal their every secret. She had been given twelve of the suits, all black, which covered her entire body up to under her jaw. She was also given a mask that covered her exposed head, but the attachment was typically unnecessary and thus went largely unused (after gaining approval from Batman and Red Tornado). Wally had made sure the material was breathable and tear-resistant, while also keeping it solid enough to prevent her touch-based abilities. After she tried it on, the first thing she did was hug the boy in gratitude, which caused the redhead's ears to turn a surprisingly vibrant shade of pink.

A couple days later, upon the girl's hesitant request, Artemis and M'gann had bought some clothes for her to wear over it. The clothes –mostly jeans and a few neutral T-Shirts– were her final transformation from the scared, sick girl she arrived as. It had only been a couple months, but she had successfully regained her strength, her freedom, and to a certain degree, her confidence.

As time continued to pass and it became clearer that she wasn't some evil infiltrator sent by God-only-knows who, the Team had gradually accepted her as another member. Of course, she never joined them on missions and didn't receive any of the top-secret info delivered by Batman, but she did become an active part of their lives in the Cave.

In her typical style, she accepted her role as a type of "inactive member," a semi-permanent guest among residents. She never knew where the Team was being assigned, but she still sent them off with a wave and a call of "Good luck!" She never participated in their training secessions with Black Canary, but she still attended, albeit sometimes with a barrowed laptop or book in hand.

So, when she showed up to the current training session with one of Artemis' old history textbooks, no one questioned her presence. Other than giving the Team members observing Conner and Kaldur's sparring match a quick wave, she didn't call attention to herself, opting instead to sit down on the floor on the opposite side. She watched the match intently for a few minutes, impressed by her new friends' skills. Both boys were panting slightly, completely focused on bringing their opponent down.

The girl's heart sped up as Superboy suddenly dashed forward, feinting to the right with his fist before dropping down to deliver a leg sweep to his left. Aqualad reacted expertly, hopping to miss the leg while gripping the extended wrist. Unfortunately for the Atlantean, Superboy twisted out of the grasp before Aqualad could establish a restraining hold, forcing both boys to temporarily retreat while they each tried to strategize a way to victory. Predicting that this fight would probably last at least another ten minutes, the girl nodded to herself, popping the book open and beginning to read.

Between learning about President Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the girl absentmindedly overheard Canary's instructions. Most of them were calls to "stop leaving yourself so open!" or to "quit dancing and bring him down!" but there were also sparely distributed words of praise and even encouragement. The girl had just gotten to a section cryptically titled "A Bad Situation Gets Worse" when Canary's calls become more intense.

"Strike while he's open, Superboy!" the girl heard vaguely, as if she were underwater. The fight was ramping up to a close, and she would look up just as soon as she found out about Khrushchev's response to the barricade…"Use his momentum against him, Aqualad!" Canary continued to order. "Nice execution! Now use his energy to- WATCH OUT!"

Startled by the urgency in Canary's voice, the girl looked up immediately, only to see an air-born Superboy barreling toward her. Without thinking, the girl discarded the book, propelling her legs above her and into a backward roll. Once most of her body was clear of her head, she used her arms to push off the floor, propelling herself in an arc into a standing position, which turned into a single back handspring. Dizzy and unable to stop her momentum, she stumbled back, crashing forcefully into the wall behind her. A few seconds later, Conner landed heavily into the space she had previously occupied with a grunt.

The clone picked himself up, noticing the girl in the process. "Hey, when did you get here?" he asked casually, oblivious to the situation. The girl smiled weakly, but Conner noticed her pallid complexion. She was tottering faintly from the unexpected feat, battling her stomach's wish to forcefully empty itself all over the floor. "Whoa," he added, studying her shaky condition. "What happened to you?"

Aqualad, who had seen his mistake immediately after launching Superboy, hurried over. "I am afraid that I caused this," the Atlantean admitted to the confused boy. "I had not noticed her arrival and accidentally threw you directly at her location." He turned to the pale girl, dipping in a slight bow. "Please accept my apologies. I should have been more observant."

The girl shook her head, ignoring the fresh wave of nausea it caused. "Don't worry about it," she assured, still panting slightly. "I should've been paying closer attention." She glanced at Conner's landing spot, realizing how close she had been to the sparring ring. "Next time I'll sit more than a foot away from the fight."

By this time, the rest of the Team had come over, headed by Robin. He was smiling, although it was a strange combination of enthused and concerned. "Hey," he said, touching her arm lightly. "That was incredible, but I think you forgot to breathe."

The girl smiled weakly, taking a few deep breaths. Slowly, the nausea and dizziness receded. When she looked stable, Wally decided that he couldn't hold back any longer.

"Hey, I didn't know we had another acrobat in the house!" he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around the young boy's shoulders.

She shrugged, uncomfortable with the sudden attention. "Yeah," she replied, smiling nervously. "You and me both." She scratched the back of her neck, feeling her cheeks flush with the attention. Attempting to downplay the situation, she murmured, "I just saw Conner coming at me and I…really didn't want to stay there." Realizing how poorly worded her explanation was, her cheeks flushed brighter.

Before she could clarify her phrasing, Artemis tilted her head back, howling with laughter, while Conner blushed faintly. Robin's grin suddenly took on a more devious glint, but Black Canary cut in before he could comment.

"That was impressive," she remarked as she advanced, the teens making way for her like the Red Sea for Moses. Her eyes grazed over the girl, calculating. "Where'd you learn moves like that?"

The girl shifted under Canary's intense gaze, suddenly wondering if being slammed by Conner would've been so bad. "I dunno," she answered truthfully, giving a small apologetic smile. "Honestly, I'm not even sure if I'd be able to do it again."

Straining under the Leaguer's focus, the girl glanced fleetingly at the teens around her, unsure of what else to say. Robin was still grinning a little weirdly, but Canary's next words never gave the girl a chance to wonder why.

"Let's find out."

The girl's olive eyes snapped to the Leaguer's, a slight fluttering in her chest. There was no way Canary was suggesting a fight…was there? The girl was barely back at full health, and even then her muscles were soft from her time on bed rest. Not to mention she didn't know anything about combat, except maybe a couple techniques from observing the Team and a few defensive maneuvers locked deep within her mind, which she hadn't even known about until Superboy had almost flattened her. Those skills –if she could even call them that– would be about as effective against Canary as papier-mâché armor would be in an atomic explosion. Even the Young Justice members would have little chance against a fully-fledged Leaguer –and most of them had been training for years or could lift a fourteen-wheeler easier than she could lift a dictionary! Fighting a League member would be suicide!

"Come on," Canary called encouragingly, backing up so that she was once again in the glowing sparring space. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," she promised, raising her fists into a loose fighting stance. "I just wanna see what other gems might be hiding in that brain of yours."

The girl looked wildly across the teens' faces, praying they also saw the insanity of her situation. Much to her relief, Wally and M'gann looked about as uneasy as she felt, while the rest just seemed surprised. Robin's lips were pursed in thought, and the girl couldn't help but think that he was imagining just how bad her ass was about to get whooped. After accepting that no one was going to protest Canary's instructions, she hesitantly entered the space. Distantly, she heard Wally quietly ask Robin, "Uh, is this a good idea?"

The girl stood in the sharp white light, feeling foolish and out of place. She thought M'gann might've called some words of encouragement, but she couldn't be sure over the roaring in her ears. Canary pointedly tapped her face, signaling the girl to don her mask. Her throat suddenly tight, the girl tried to reason her way out of the situation. "I really don't think there's anything more to find," she said in an embarrassingly small voice, reluctantly fishing the hood out of her pocket and pulling it on. "I'm pretty sure that that was just a one time –AH!"

Canary's fist came at her face with incredible speed, forcing the girl to dance awkwardly to the side, the blow missing by millimeters. She opened her mouth to try to reason with the instructor again, but only yelped as she dodged another fist flying in her direction.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Team was getting anxious. The girl was reacting like an untrained civilian, and although Canary was obviously pulling her punches, they knew how painful sparring with the Leaguer could be. As the girl narrowly missed more and more strikes, they became more confident that the girl was right about not having "anything more to find."

"This isn't working," Conner announced loudly, just in time for the girl to gracelessly dodge a kick to the gut. The following punch, aimed at her solar plexus, glanced off her hip as she lunged to the side, panting heavily. The girl winced, absentmindedly holding the aching joint, before scrambling back to avoid a kick aimed at her nose.

"Yeah," the frantic girl wheezed, "No kidding!"

Ignoring the conversation, Canary rushed her opponent, gracefully sliding behind her. Before the girl had a chance to react, her legs were swept out from under her, strong hands gripping her waist.

Aqualad took a step forward, raising an arm as if to halt the attacking woman. "Perhaps if we-"

As if totally oblivious to Kaldur's presence, Canary effortless lifted the petrified girl into the air, releasing her upside down into a high throw over her back. M'gann shrieked, gripping Artemis' bicep in terror. Wally clamped his eyes shut, waiting for the painful thud of an inexperienced landing…

Which never came.

Without missing a beat, the girl used her height and advantageous position to push off of Canary's back like a pommel horse, turning her body as if in a cartwheel. Controlling her momentum perfectly, she tucked herself into a tight backflip, landing lightly on her feet.

Black Canary stumbled forward, an approving grin splitting her face. She turned to the girl, her eyes gleaming. "Nothing to find, huh?" she questioned knowingly, an edgy hand placed on her popped hip.

The teen stared at the Leaguer, dumbfounded at her own actions while she struggled to catch her breath. "I…" she began numbly before catching her mask underneath her chin and removing it. Her face was bright red with exertion, her eye wide from the lingering adrenaline. "I'm not…"

"That was incredible!" Robin interjected, racing forward and giving the girl's shoulder an enthusiastic thwack. "You just did a Tsukhara vault –off of Black Canary's friggin' back! Totally cool!"

The girl smiled, leaning her palms on her knees as she tried to slow her thready heartbeat. "Too-ka…what-a?" she asked between puffs.

"Tsukhara," Robin corrected. "It's named after a Japanese gymnast from the 70s, and not the easiest move either."

"Who cares what it's called!" Artemis exclaimed, elbowing the boy good-naturedly in the side. "That was too cool."

The girl straightened, observing the congratulatory smiled around her. To be here, surrounded by other "different" teens, not having to cower in fear at every touch or share her mind with everyone around her…it was like a dream. For the first time she could remember, she was actually happy instead of just making the best of a bad situation. For the first time she could remember, her future looked bright enough to strive for. Her life was finally worth living.

Her throat suddenly tight, she said all she could manage:

"Thanks."

l-l-l

Even to Conner's enhanced hearing, the Cave was eerily quiet as he wondered throughout the darkened halls. The mountain's typical residential count was down by half that night: Red Tornado had left less than an hour ago to take care of some mysterious "League business" and M'gann's mental training session with her Uncle J'onn was running late.

So here he was, eleven at night on a Tuesday with only the cold mountain walls and the faint glow of the Inhibitor Alarm to keep him company.

It was just so boring. Maybe he would have appreciated this alone time at the beginning of his career with the Team, but now he was used to the constant activity and missed its absence…her absence. M'gann usually back from training by 10:20, 10:40 at the latest. Where could she possibly be?

Annoyed, Conner glanced up at the east wing entrance, his face bathed in the hazy red light. It had been a little more than two months now since the girl had arrived, yet Conner still couldn't help but feel uneasy around her. He knew that his doubt was largely unfounded –she had been nothing except totally friendly toward him and everyone else– but he couldn't quite shake his agitation. It was something about how she had just shown up out of nowhere, just happened to appear in Gotham, just happened to come across Robin, just happened to fit in so well with the Team…

Conner shook his head, trying to clear it. Why was he worrying himself so much? If anything about the girl were worthy of suspicion, someone else on the Team would've already pointed it out. Someone who had some brains with their brawn, like Kaldur or Robin –hell, even Batman himself! But they all seemed to trust her –except possibly Batman, but who knew what that man was ever thinking –and that should've been enough for Conner. He should've been able to naturally follow their lead and trust her too.

So why couldn't he?

The boy turned to enter the kitchen, thinking maybe he could waste some time fixing himself a snack, but stopped cold when a horrific scream cut the silence. Conner's breath hitched, the hair on his neck and arms standing on end like needles. Turning back around, he paused in front of the glowing entrance. Without the collar on, she would be able to get into his head, into his thoughts. If he entered the east wing, his mind would be about as safe as a nine-year-old's diary left open on her parent's bed.

And God, did he hate it when people poked around in his brain.

Another wail crashed though the halls, interrupting his internal debate, followed by desperate calls of "Let me go!" and "Someone help me!" Conner eyes widened with shock.

Someone was in the Cave.

Someone was in the Cave!

Superboy plunged down the hallway, running as fast as he could toward the girl's pleading voice. Thankful Red Tornado had ordered he wear his communicator while he was alone in the Cave, Conner tapped the small device in his ear.

"Superboy to Team, Superboy to Team," he announced, trying to keep his voice low enough so that he wouldn't alert the intruder. Adrenaline pumped through his limbs, making his heart roar in his ears. "Come on, guys, pick up will ya?" he broadcasted, letting his fear-driven frustration wind through his voice.

"This is Miss Martian," the missing girl replied, concern evident in her voice. "What's wrong, Superboy?"

He turned down the last hall, finally spotting the doors. "There's an intruder in the Cave's medical bay, possibly more than one, identity unknown," he listed, hoping he could be heard over the girl's cries. "Requesting immediate backup!"

Bursting through the door, he was immediately tackled to the ground by the girl's lithe form.


Sorry (kinda) for the cliffhanger!

So, like I said in the previous AN, I'd like to get your feedback on a few elements of this chapter.

The first is the pacing. I was not going to have such a large time jump and instead spend some time detailing the research and collar/suit creation, but after reading some of the past reviews I was getting scared that my story was too slow. I could still go back and write an inbetween chapter, but I'd like to know if anyone thinks that would be beneficial first.

The second is Black Canary's representation. I think I might've based her a little too much off of the Justice League's version, making her too brisk and fighty. In YJ she's much more thoughtful and understanding, and I'm not sure I captured that. Any thoughts?

The third is the girl's acceptance. I'm scared that the group took to her a little too quickly, and that it seems unnatural. I tried to build up to this the best I could (mostly via the team pitying her during the observation), and it's not like they totally trust her or anything, but still. If it does seem unnatural, the inbetween chapter could help to fix that, but I want to see if anyone else thinks it's a problem first.

The fourth and last element is the fighting. Full disclosure: I have absolutely zero experience in any form of fighting or gymnastics, so this type of fighting is always really hard for me to write. I did base the girl's move on Black Canary off a real thing (just search Youtube for Tsukhara vault), but it still might be a little too clunky. I'm just not sure.

Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to your thoughts!