"-the donut rolls up and asks the captain, 'Can I, pretty please, steer the ship?' The captain sighs, picks it up, and throws it overboard," PQ finished, grinning.

The Team, minus both Robins now, since Jason was on a mission with the Bat, just stared.

"It's an antijoke," she explained.

Artemis scoffed.

"Okay, tough room, but fine. I have another one," she informed them. "This guy realizes that he's super in love with his girlfriend, right? And so he decides that he's gonna marry her. He goes to the ring store, and finds his three favorite rings: the blue diamond, the green diamond, and the red diamond. He considers each one very carefully. 'Hm, the blue would be great because she loves the ocean… but! the green matches her eyes… But, oh my goodness, the red one. It's perfect.' So he buys it. A couple days later, they're walking down the pier together, and he decides that right here, is the perfect moment. So he bends down, and starts to pull out the ring, but he fumbles-"

"Oh no," Megan gasped.

"-and the ring falls into the ocean."

Sympathetic groans come from everyone. PQ grinned.

"He plays it off all cool, like he's tying his shoes, when the girlfriend reveals that they're going on a cruise. The guy rushes back to the ring store, but finds that the other two rings are gone. So they go on the cruise, and he's super grumpy because he can't believe he dropped the ring. What a nerd. Anyways, they're on the boat, and they're about to eat, and the waiter comes up-" she took on a super phony French accent- "'Eh, would ayou like ze shrimp, ze fish fillet, or ze loobster?' The man says, 'Whatever, I'll take the lobster.' So they bring it out, and and the waiter cuts it open, to show off the meat, of course, and guess what's inside."

"The ring," is the response she got from everyone except Connor and Zatanna, who just waited for the answer.

"The donut!"

It took everyone a second, but then annoyed groans filled the room, with the exception of Wally, who high-fived her with an exclamation of "Nice!"

"Okay, so, now that you guys have sat through my horrible connected joke, I'll get to the real reason I've come," PQ got up and went to the kitchen.

"So!" she started digging through the fridge. "I got tickets to go and see this new movie- oof- Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs two on the twenty-eighth, and I'd love for- hnnnnh! I'd love you guys to join me-crUD!"

The sound of several pans falling made it's way to the couch, followed by a quietly resigned, "I'm fine."

"Right. PQ, we'd love to join you, but me and Connor have been invited to the Kent's house for dinner that night. Sorry," Megan explained sheepishly.

"Hey," PQ popped up over the counter, elbows and all. "No problem Megs, you and Connie over there have fun. I hear Mrs. Kent's brownies are pretty great! And if you really love me, you'll definitely bring me some right?"

Megan giggled and Connor smirked, "Sure, Peek."

"Rad."

"PQ, may I ask what you're doing in there?" Kaldur inquired.

"I am trying to make a grilled cheese sandwich, but your kitchen doesn't seem to like me very much," PQ explained, returning to her task.

"I… see."

"Do you guys want one?" she asked.

Echoes of "Yes." came back and so she began the process of thirteen grilled cheeses (five for Wally).

Once everyone's was cooked, she passed them out and they all began digging in.

"Wow! PQ what did you put on this?" Zatanna asked, mouth full.

"Err, cheese? Mayo?" PQ responded.

"Mayo?" Connor asked, face scrunching in disgust, putting down his sandwich. "Mayo is nasty."

"But you did like the grilled cheese before you found out it had mayo?" Megan asked, elbowing him.

Connor thought about it and shrugged, "I guess I did."

He picked up the sandwich and continued.

Everyone sat in a comfortable silence for a while, munching along, until the computer announced the arrival of Batman and the new Robin.

When the kid walked in, Wally stood up, muttered about having to prepare for school and stalked off, an unreadable expression on his face. Artemis followed him, not even trying to be subtle. Megan looked at Connor. Even PQ could feel the anger coming off of him in waves. They both stood up and silently walked away, leaving only Kaldur, Zatanna, Raquel, and PQ.

"Sup, bitches," JT said, either super oblivious to the tension in the room, or uncaring. He hopped over the couch, plopping right between Zatanna and Raquel.

"Language, Robin," Batman growled, stalking past the teens to the meeting room.

"Hi, JT," PQ said, ignoring the tension.

"PQ, hey. You know where the TV remote is?" he asked, halfway searching from the couch.

"Yeah, I left it in the kitchen, but after all those pots and pans fell, I'm probably gonna need some assistance. Lend a guy a hand?" she made her way over to him and offered her hand to help him up.

"Sure," he accepted the hand.

They went into the kitchen and PQ lowered her voice, "Okay, so. You're partners with 'The World's Greatest Detective,' right?"

"Yup."

"So you can probably tell how wound up the team is about you being here instead of the other guy right?" she asked, picking up a couple pots and putting them in the cupboard.

"Yup."

"So do you think you could… tone it down a little? I don't want you to get mauled or whatever," she explained at the scandalized look on his face.

"Yeah, okay," he replied, beginning to finally help her instead of just leaning against the wall.

"Good."

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"You just did," PQ smirked.

"Ha, ha, very funny. But seriously, why aren't you upset?" he asked.

"Oh, well, I'm not exactly from this universe, and in my universe, you're all just comic book characters, right? You just happen to be one of my favorites," she offered him a cheeky smile.

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah. Look, they'll get over it soon, and then some more stuff will happen and life will pretty much be back to normal, you know? But, until then, you've just gotta simmer down some," PQ explained, putting up the last of the pots.

"I don't see the remote," JT pointed out, normal volume.

"Yeah, it's in the fridge, I just really needed some help cleaning up the pots and pans," she grinned.

"PQ! That's bullcrap!" JT responded, heading over to the fridge.

"Eh. Could've been worse. Could've been in the living room," she shrugged, grabbing a juice box and heading back over to the couch.

She heard JT groan behind her and giggled as she plopped down, immediately inserting herself into the conversation with Kaldur and Zatanna.

"Bro," she looked to Wally. "We're seniors!"

"Heck yeah we are! Up top!" Wally grinned.

"Do we have any classes together?" PQ asked.

"Dude, you've asked like three times. We only have Anatomy," he rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I'm just so psyched! The hype is real!" she started bouncing.

"Okay, PQ, calm down just a little. I'm gonna go chill with Harley and James. Wanna come?" he offered.

"Erm… Okay, sure!"

"Cool," he started walking over there.

"Hey, James, Harley. Whatcha workin on?" PQ asked, plopping down at their table.

"Just refreshing what we learned last year. It'll probably apply to this year's studies too," Harley replied.

"PQ, why do you always carry so much stuff in your bag? It looks like it weighs a good fifty to sixty pounds!" James commented, glaring at the bag.

"Meh, I have a lot of stuff," PQ shrugged.

"No kidding," Wally laughed.

"So, seniors, now. Huh. Never thought I'd see the day," James said.

"Me neither. It seemed really far away, but now, here we are," Wally agreed.

"PQ, what're you gonna do after this year?" Harley asked.

"I'm probably gonna chill out for a year, then maybe start looking into colleges? I need a school break, just a short one," she told him.

It wasn't exactly a lie, seeing as she was taking a year off, but it wasn't because she needed a school break. PQ didn't think her mind was ready to handle not only the social situations in college, but also the work. She figured fifteen would at be a better time to jump into college than fourteen. Wally probably knew too, from the look he was giving her.

"So, bell's about to ring," she said, grabbing her stuff. "I'll see y'all around!"

She started to take a step, and promptly fell on her face.

James guffawed, Harley barely noticed. Wally tsked.

"See, PQ, this is what happens when you don't tie your shoes," he shrugged.

PQ struggled up, her backpack a heavy weight, and eventually made it, turned towards the table, and stuck out her tongue. She then took off to first period, ready to start her day.

Nothing quite like tripping to wake you up, huh?

"Shut up, Maddie."

"Wally," she tapped him in anatomy.

"Yes, PQ?" he turned to face her.

"Why does our school start so early?"

"Hm. Good question."

"The Team said they'd wait right?"

"Yes, PQ."

"So that means the party won't start til we get there?"

"Yep."

"So like, we would have time to stop and get popsicles?"

"Sure, if you want."

"Cool."

"Cool. Are you finished."

"...Yes."

"Good, because I think we're probably gonna need these notes."

"The syllabus notes?"

"No, Peek, the lab safety precautions and rules."

"Oh, you mean the same lab safety precautions and rules they've been using since seventh grade?"

"...Right."

"The cool kids have finally arrived!" PQ shouted as she and Wally poofed onto the beach.

Only to find that none of the team were there.

"They must be inside, I made quite the entrance last time," Wally explained.

They poofed inside, "The cool kids are finall- aaaand they aren't here," PQ sighed, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "why do I even try?"

"That's what I did say. No suspicion. It's confirmed."

Writing technique PQ.

"Oh."

Wally sighed, wondering how he ever got used to this.

"Where could everyone be?" PQ asked.

"Maybe there was a mission," Wally pondered.

"Wouldn't your com buzz or something?" PQ pointed out.

"Good point."

"Right?"

"Why don't you text them?" Wally suggested.

"Good idea, glad I thought of it," PQ muttered, pulling out her cell.

"Who should I call?" she asked.

"Someone who's tech savvy, and probably on their phone the majority of the time…" Wally paused.

"Artemis," they said in unison.

They sat on the couch as the phone dialed, eventually leading up to-

"Hello?"

"Artemis! Hey! Where-?"

"Ha! Got you! Sorry, I can't get to the phone right now, so if you haven't hung up in rage, go ahead and leave a message."

PQ slammed the end call button.

"Voicemail?" Wally asked.

"Voicemail."

"Try Rocky," Wally shrugged.

"Okay. Sure."

She dialed the number.

"I can't get to the phone right now. Some are home, some are not. Leave a message tho-"

PQ ended the call with a loud, "Nope!"

"Zee?"

"Wally why aren't you calling anyone? You have a phone too, right?" she asked.

"Oh. Okay."

He phoned Zatanna and Megan, to no avail.

"Well, shoot. This sucks," PQ sighed as she sunk deeper into the couch. "You think they're in trouble?"

"Possibly. Where's Red Tornado?" Wally asked.

PQ pointed upwards, "In there, I'd assume."

She stood up and walked towards the bedrooms.

"Peek, where are you going?" Wally asked, staring up at the ceiling to figure out the best route into Red Tornado's room.

"Knocking."

"Oh."

She walked down the halls, knocking on each door she came past.

At the end of the hallway, she was shocked to find Red Tornado's dismantled body.

She stumbled back, breathing, "Wally."

Realizing it was only a mutter (and how that probably was a good thing, considering they could have an intruder on their hands) she took off running to the lounge. Wally was trying to jump on a ladder to make himself taller.

"Wally!" PQ exclaimed, panting.

"Hey, Peek? You find anybody?" Wally asked as he jumped again.

"Wally."

The teen looked at her for the first time since she came into the room, noticing how pale she looked.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

PQ glanced down the hallway, "Um…"

Wally climbed down the ladder, "Wow, this must've been something pretty interesting. It's got our resident blabbermouth speechless."

He didn't even get a defensive glare in response as she continued to stare down the hallway.

"Okay… Down the hall," Wally grabbed her arm.

PQ let herself be pulled as Wally stumbled upon Red Tornado's body.

"Oh. I see what you were all... broken up about," Wally joked, shooting her a grin.

She gave him an incredulous look.

"Oh, come on, Peek, lighten up. He's a robot. We just have to put him back together," he said, softer this time.

"Um. Okay. Yeah. But, think about this: possible intruders," she told him.

"Oh. Well, yeah, those can be downers. And we should probably fix Red back up so he can tell us what happened," he said.

"Oh, yeah. I can do that," PQ realized.

"You can?" Wally asked.

"Yeah? Narrator power?" she gave him an 'uh-duh' look.

When he turned back to the pile of parts that was Red Tornado, the robot had already been fixed.

"Hey, RT. You with us?" PQ asked.

The bot stood still.

PQ walked around to the back, opening the panel that led to the bots wires.

"Hm."

The wires were frayed and sparking.

"Walls, I think he's broken," PQ told him.

"Wow, I didn't notice," Wally replied.

"Well, crud. See now we got to find the Team, and work on your common sense," she tsked.

Wally gave a sarcastic huff. PQ thought for a moment.

"What about security footage?"

"Hey! Not a bad idea!" Wally responded.

They went to the training room and accessed the footage. The screen showed the rest of the team hanging out in the lounge.

"I can't believe Wally is making us wait for him," Artemis complained.

"Oh, you're just sour because you miss your boyfriend," Raquel replied, bringing several 'oooh's out of everyone, except Kaldur, who was much more interested in his book.

"It was just a kiss, guys. Come on," Artemis scoffed.

"Yeah, a kiss with tongue," Connor replied.

Artemis stood up as if to do something, when the screen fidgeted for a couple seconds. When it finally came back on, the team was gone.

PQ shut the screen off.

"So. Magic?" she asked.

Wally sighed, "Sure, 'magic.' And that probably means-"

"Klarion," PQ finished. "Man, where's the Justice League? You'd think they'd be all over this!"

"Oh, yeah, they're offworld at the moment," Wally responded.

"Right. How convenient. Okay," PQ sighed. "There's only one thing for us to do."

"Which is?"

PQ sighed again, grabbed Wally's hand and closed her eyes.

"Mads. Blüdhaven, please," PQ said.

"Blüdhaven? What're we gonna find in Blüdhaven?" Wally asked.

They arrived. Standing right behind-

"Dick?" Wally asked.

Dick startled, nearly falling off the roof. PQ quickly grabbed him.

"Hey."

"PQ? Wally? What are you guys doing here?" Dick, who was in his new Nightwing costume, asked.

Wally rounded on PQ and pointed an accusing finger, "You knew!"

PQ gave him an unimpressed look, "Comic. Book. Characters."

While Wally thought about that, PQ turned to Nightwing, who was patiently awaiting an answer, "So. Team's missing."

"Dude, I was barely gone three months; are you for real?" he asked incredulously.

"Heh, yeah. Today was mine and Wally's first day of school, so we missed it. Also, we suspect it might be Klarion? So we would like the help of the protege of the 'World's Greatest Detective' to figure out what he did with them."

Dick thought about this for a minute.

"Batman's offworld," PQ offered.

"I'm in, but we erase the security footage," he compromised.

"Deal."

She grabbed Wally, who was giving her a strange look, and Nightwing, and she took them to the Cave. Nightwing immediately got to work, as he was the best with magic after Zatanna, while Wally changed his look from a strange glance to a glare.

"Okay, what?" she turned to him.

"You knew! You knew where he was! You faked being sad about not being able to find him, but you knew! Why? What was the point?" Wally angrily exclaimed.

"Because things have to happen, Wally! What, you don't think knowing about what's going to happen and what won't is easy? It's not! It's stressful, watching you go into missions and wondering 'Is this the one where the next important thing happens?' Not being able to warn you guys because I'll screw up the timeline! You think that I wasn't upset about knowing where Dick was and not ever being able to tell you because he needed it? Not being able to see him so he could adjust better? It sucked! And you know what else sucks? Realizing that you left your first and only friend on another Earth and that she thinks you're dead, but here you are, living the dream! Everything you always wanted! It's not- it's… It's not great. This is stupid. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it wasn't my place yet. Alright? Alright," PQ sighed, slumping into a chair.

She ignored the stares she was earning from not one, but both of the boys in the room, instead focusing on the bottle of apple juice I'd so graciously given her.

"Peek…" Wally trailed off.

"It's done. You should drop it."

Dick slowly turned back to the computer and continued, sneaking glances at her over his shoulder every couple of minutes.

They sat in silence for a while, when the computer beeped.

"I managed to activate Rocket's tracker," Dick said.

PQ jumped up, excited and over her outburst, "Alright, where are they? Let's go get her!"

Dick and Wally exchanged glances, "Uh, PQ, I know you really want to come on this one, but… You're not ready yet. You are getting better, but you can't be in a combat situation yet," Wally explained sheepishly.

PQ's expression went blank for a second as she processed this. She realized they were right, and she'd probably do more harm than good.

"Um… Okay. Yeah. That's fine. Just, uh, text me when you get them okay?" PQ responded.

"Of course," Wally replied, quickly changing. "See you soon."

"Bye," PQ put up peace signs and poofed, choosing to go to Blake's house.

She quickly knocked on the door.

Blake pulled it open, "Finally! It's been- oh. Hey Peek! You're not the pizza man!"

PQ giggled, "Nah. Do you want to hang?"

"I can't right now, I'm on a date," she replied sympathetically.

"Oh! Hey look at you go!" PQ responded enthusiastically, despite the pit that had suddenly and unwelcomely opened in her stomach.

"Yeah, maybe tomorrow, okay?" Blake asked.

"I'm down with whatever! You text me, and… uh… yeah! I'll see you!" PQ gave her a thumbs up and started trekking home, stopping outside Blake's apartment complex to sit down and cry. She wasn't exactly sure why she was crying, but she was.

When she got there, her dog was excitedly shaking her stub-tail.

"Hey, fatty. First day of senior year and I've already got homework. It's stupid. Gotta make a parent siggie for the contracts and stuff. Also stupid."

Max hopped up on the couch and rested her head on PQ's knee.

"Aw, you're so sweet," PQ scratched behind her ears. "Know what's confusing? Feelings. I just found out Blake's got a new boyfriend. I don't know why, but I'm a little sad about it. Maybe I'm jealous. I should get me a boyfriend too, that'll probably make me feel better."

All the boys in your grade level are seventeen and eighteen. Near adults.

"Oh. Right. Well, there's always online dating."

NO.

"Alright! Geez, no need to yell."