The reason this chapter took, like, two weeks is because I had terrible writer's block. Please forgive me and don't forget to enjoy!

OoOoOo

Theodora noticed her blaring phone, just as it had been doing for the past hour. She sighed, glancing at the caller ID out of the corner of her eye. Cassie again. Why was she not surprised? She had gotten about six calls from the blond, four calls from Tim, and three from Barbara. She left it alone once again, letting the call go to voicemail. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She just wanted to be alone, if only for a little while. Was that too much to ask?

Currently, she was sprawled across her bed in the room in her mother's penthouse in Gateway City. Theodora didn't know why, but she just couldn't be in Gotham right now. She just had to get away for a minute.

More than anything in the world, she wished her mother was with her. She just felt so... lost. So confused. So afraid. She didn't know what to do and she could use a bit of guidance from the Princess of the Amazons. More importantly, however, she needed a hug from her mother.

Theodora's bottom lip trembled and she willed herself not to cry. Why was she even going to cry? She wasn't hurt and nothing terribly awful had happened to her, so what was the issue? She just felt... bad for some reason and she didn't understand why.

Much to her dismay, a single tear managed to roll down her cheek. She didn't bother to wipe it, just continued to stare at the wall. The light lavender color that she had picked a few years ago continued to stare right back at her. She grimaced; her room in her mother's home was a bit childish, from the Hogwarts poster with all four houses on it to the butterfly decorations stuck onto the walls to the cream-colored furniture.

Perhaps it was time for a change.

The ring of the doorbell startled her. Theodora sighed; of course someone would figure out where she was sooner or later. It wouldn't be hard to guess where she had gone either. Reluctantly, she went to answer the door. She was expecting Tim or Cassie to be there, maybe even her father.

But when she opened the door, it was Dick Grayson who stood on the other side.

Theodora started a bit in slight surprise and stared at him silently for a good ten seconds. "Dick," she stated, finally finding her voice.

Her relationship with her oldest brother was... fine. At least, it seemed like it was. The two of them got along well enough. Of course, they had been closer when they were younger. She had been two when Dick had gotten adopted by her father. At that time, he had loved being an older brother and doted on her constantly. She, being the- admittedly- spoiled brat she was, had thoroughly enjoyed being doted on. He would play with her on the large grounds and he was the one who had taught her the basics of acrobatics (though, she'd never be as good as he was).

But things changed as they got older. The age difference between them became more and more noticeable. Theodora had spent less and less time at Wayne Manor. Dick had spent more and more time with the Team. There was never a fight or anything like that that had torn them apart, they had just drifted.

So she was very confused as to why he was currently standing at her doorstep.

Theodora fidgeted slightly. "What are you doing here?" she asked slowly.

Dick raised an eyebrow at her. "I could ask you the same question," he retorted.

She crossed her arms defensively. "I live here," she shot back.

"Not right now, you don't," he responded. "Care to explain why you are?"

Theodora sighed. She glanced around to see if anyone else was in the hallway before stepping to the side. "Come in," she beckoned. "I'll make some tea or something."

OoOoOo

Theodora sat across from Dick, her mug of green tea untouched. She simply looked at him, trying to figure out why he was here. Of everyone who she thought would come looking for her, he was far from the first. She had assumed he was busy with training his new team- she had started calling them Outsiders due to how absolutely, wonderfully rare they were. She had never met them, but she really wanted to.

"You should have told someone you were leaving," Dick finally spoke up.

She shrugged at him. "Slipped my mind," she said lamely. Hera, it sounded stupid even to her.

"Running off like that doesn't just 'slip your mind,'" he told her firmly. "Tim called me in a panic when he couldn't find you. He only calmed down when I was able to track your Zeta-Beam use to Gateway."

Theodora inhaled deeply. "I'm sorry, okay?" she almost snapped. Her words, however, lacked the bite they usually had when she was upset. She wasn't angry, she was just sad. "I just needed to be here for a minute." And away from Gotham, she almost added.

Dick's face melted from firm to sympathetic. "You miss your mom, huh?" he guessed.

She nodded (it was that and other things) and suddenly it was as if she was two years old again, being comforted by her older brother over something as trivial as a broken doll. "She's been gone before," she told him. She had no idea why she was telling this to Dick of all people. He had it far worse than she did. She knew her mother was safe and would, eventually, come back. He had watched both of his fall to their deaths.

There was a big difference.

He sighed and laid a hand on her forearm. "I get it, kiddo," he said gently. "I really do. But you can't just run off like that. You scared us."

And suddenly, Theodora felt extremely guilty. If Tim or Cassie ever ran off or disappeared and she was unable to find them, she would be out of her mind with worry. But she had done that to them. That wasn't alright. "I'm sorry," she repeated and try as she might, she couldn't stop her eyes from welling with tears. One even escaped, making its way down her face.

Dick wiped it away with his thumb. "I know you are." He stood up. "Why don't you come with me? There are some people who would be glad to meet you. And it might cheer you up a little."

Theodora debated this in her head. She had come to her home seeking solace, but had only received a bitter reminder from the empty house that her mother wasn't here. And she did want to meet the Outsiders (desperately). Maybe this would make her feel better.

"Alright," she agreed with a nod. "Let's go."

OoOoOo

Recognized: Nightwing-B01, Fury-B30

They ended up in what looked like a simple garage. However, one look at Sphere in the front yard and Theodora knew exactly where they were. "Are we at Conner and M'gann's house?" she asked. She had heard that they had gotten engaged and she couldn't have been happier for the two. With M'gann being the leader and Conner being the only other senior member, they were like the parents of the Team. It only seemed right.

Dick nodded. "That we are," he answered.

She looked around. "It's nice," she commented.

He chuckled at her. "Come on, Squirt," he beckoned. "Let's go see the others." She followed him out of the garage and towards the Bio-Ship. Standing next to it were two teens a bit older than her, talking softly to one another. One was a handsome boy with red hair with light skin and the other was a pretty girl with dark skin who wore a hijab. "Hey, Violet, Brion."

The sound of his voice grabbed their attention. The girl smiled at him. "Hello, Night-" She stopped. "Sorry, that's your mission name. Hello, Dick."

The boy nodded at him. "Richard," he greeted. "What brings you here?"

Dick gestured to her. "I want the two of you to meet Theodora, my sister," he introduced.

Theodora waved shyly and stuck her hand out. "Hi."

Somehow, the girl's smile became wider. "Hello, Theodora!" she greeted enthusiastically, shaking her extended hand vigorously. "My name is Halo, but not at home. At home, I'm Violet Harper. I'm Violet here and Harper on missions."

Theodora couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "It's very nice to meet you, Violet." The girl's happiness was contagious. Being in Gotham, she was around a lot of broodiness. Meeting Violet was a nice change of pace.

The boy's handshake was much more firm. "And I am Brion Markov," he told her.

"He's Geo-Force on missions," added Violet.

Theodora chuckled. "It's nice to meet you too, Brion," she said.

"Likewise."

"Is Forager around?" asked Dick.

"He's in the Bio-Ship," answered Brion. "You know how much he loves spending time with it."

He nodded. "Thanks. Come on, Theo." She waved goodbye to Brion and Violet before following her brother inside. "Forager?"

A red, bug-like alien with four arms made himself known with a wave. "I am here, Dick Grayson," he announced. He examined Theodora with a tilt of his head. "Who is Dick Grayson's friend?"

"This is my sister, Theodora," Dick told him.

Forager stuck out a hand. "It is nice to meet the sister of Dick Grayson," he said. "I am Forager as Forager, but as a human I am Fred Bugg with two g's."

Theodora chortled at him. "It's very nice to meet you too, Forager."

"Forager, do you know where Vic is?" Dick asked.

Forager's face twisted into something reminiscent of a grimace. "Victor Stone is... around," he answered. "Victor Stone and Brion Markov had something of a disagreement a few hours ago. Victor Stone has not returned since then."

Dick sighed. "Of course they did," he muttered. "Thanks, Forager. Come on, Theo, let's go get Vic."

"He's the one who's part robot, right?" asked Theodora.

"Uh-huh."

"The one with the temper?"

"Yup."

She laughed. "This should be interesting, then."

OoOoOo

Theodora raised an eyebrow as the half-robotic teen hurled a punch at a large oak tree, causing it to shake violently. "Well, that's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" she finally spoke up. She had been watching him for a few minutes after she and Dick had split up to look for him. In all honesty, she was glad that she had been the one to find him first.

Victor tensed, his robotic arm turning into a cannon as he pointed it at her. "Who are you?" he demanded.

She pursed her lips, gazing at the cannon with interest. "I hardly think that that cannon is necessary to take on a fourteen year old girl," she commented wryly. "Why don't you put that away and we can talk like civilized people?"

He hesitantly lowered it, his expression still one of caution. "Who are you?" he repeated, a lot calmer this time.

Theodora smiled at him. "I'm Theodora," she told him. "No need to tell me your name, Victor Stone. I know a lot about you."

It was Victor's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Are you... another sidekick?" he asked. He didn't seem annoyed or angry about her presence. It looked like he was confused and somewhat intrigued.

"You can't tell?" she asked. She glanced down at herself and noticed that she wasn't in uniform. "Oh right! The charm. Of course you don't know who I am. I'll give you a hint." She brought her wrists together in a cross in front of her chest and gave him a wink.

Recognition crossed Victor's face. "You're Fury," he realized. "Wonder Woman's sidekick."

"We prefer to be called proteges," Theodora told him. The dreaded word of 'sidekick' did not go over well in the Team. When it was used, it was used with disdain. "but yes. I'm also her daughter."

He sighed, turning away from her. "What do you want?" he snapped.

She gave a hum of intrigue. This Victor Stone was so much different than the others. He was definitely someone worth finding out more about. "Well, my brother Dick brought me here to meet you all," she told him. "We heard you had a little argument with Brion, so we went to look for you. I just happened to find you first."

Victor scoffed, crossing his arms. "I don't need a babysitter," he huffed.

Theodora chuckled. "Then it's a good thing I'm not one," she said, sitting herself down on a rock. "I am younger than you, after all. That would just be weird. But whatever is troubling you, I'm here to listen if you'd like. People wanting to talk to you all the time can be annoying, so you don't have to if you don't want to. Up to you."

He turned to look at her. "Why are you so interested in me?" he asked.

"That's a good question," she responded. In all honesty, a part of her was using him as a distraction from her own problems. "The real question is, do you need someone to listen right now?"

Victor stared at her for some time before sighing heavily. "Fine," he relented. "but I'm not doing this because I like you. I'm doing this because I have all this shit on my chest that I need to get off before I fucking explode."

"...Fair enough. Continue."

OoOoOo

Victor had just finished by the time Dick found them. "Oh, there you two are," he said, approaching them. There was a small grin on his face, so she assumed that he knew exactly what he was doing. Though, that didn't surprise her in the slightest. It was Dick Grayson, after all. He always had a plan. "Vic, I see you've met my sister."

Theodora stood up. "Oh, there you are," she said. "I was beginning to think you forgot about me."

"Impossible."

Victor glanced at him. "Am I getting another lecture?" he asked.

Dick shook his head. "No lecture," he promised. "I think my sister here did all the talking for me." He looked at her. "I do need to get you back home, though. The old man's probably worried about you."

She raised an eyebrow. "He worries?" she asked incredulously.

He sighed. "Let's go, Theodora."

Theodora laughed at him before looking at Victor. "I'll see you around, Vic," she said. "And remember what we talked about."

He gave her a little wave. "Bye..." he said uncertainly. Theodora and Dick walked away, leaving the teenager alone to his thoughts.

OoOoOo

"So, this was all part of your master plan, was it?" asked Theodora as they made the hike back to Conner and M'gann's house. He had used her to talk to Victor, yes, but that wasn't it. He had also used Victor to get her to talk. And she was frustrated to say that it had worked. She and Victor were a lot alike, really. They were both hot-headed, stubborn, and they refused to talk about their feelings.

The thing was, she would have never admitted that or even acknowledged it. It was through talking with Victor that she was able to learn that about herself. And now, more than ever, she knew it needed to be addressed.

"You could say that," Dick responded. "Did it work?"

"Somewhat," Theodora answered. Without warning, she brought him into a hug, burying her face in his chest. "I think I'm ready to talk about some things."

His arms wrapped around her gently. "Oh yeah?"

She gave a small sigh. "Yeah."

OoOoOo

I don't even know what this is. Send help.