"Ughn... no..." Darcy groaned as she fell to the floor. Just... a little... further... The distance could never have been surmised as "a little", but she would tell herself anything just to keep going. The League depended on that.

It wasn't that she wanted to save the League with all her heart. That wasn't it at all. Because, really, what had they ever done for her? She was doing this because it was programmed in her DNA. No matter what, keep the home base alive, and do whatever you had to do to get it done.

So because of the scientists who created her, she crawled forward, her strength waning. She was putting everything into saving the organization, all because of some commands tapped into a big computer.

. . .

"Project Fifteen," said the scientist. "This is Agent Anderson. He is your handler, which means you will do as he tells you and not question his authority."

The black-haired girl saluted stiffly. "Yes, sir."

"Hey, Benji, why don't you let us get acquainted with each other?" said the big man, seeming to have taken an interest in the girl.

"Ac-acquainted?" the scientist stuttered. "When you bring a PC home, do you take it out for coffee first? Ha ha, fine, do whatever you want. She's yours now." he said, waving a hand as he left the room.

Anderson turned back to the girl, who had been standing at attention the entire time. "At ease, soldier." he chuckled. She widened her stance, awaiting further orders. He shook his head. "Sit." She looked confused, so he repeated the word, "Sit." When she had sat down on her bed, he sat next to her. "Project Fifteen, huh? You got a name?"

Her brow furrowed. "Project Fifteen." she stated.

"No, I mean a real name."

She looked at him. "Agent Anderson, I don't understand the question."

He chuckled. "First of all, call me Belt. Everyone else worth my time does. Second of all, unless you want to be called Project Fifteen all your life, you should pick a name."

She still looked confused. "What else would I be called?"

He shifted on the bed. "Well, there's all kinds of names. Like, Ann, or Bianca, or Natalie... You got a lot of options."

Her face took on a look of concentration as she stared at the opposite wall. He'd just begun to feel uncomfortable when she stirred. "Darcy." she said. Then she turned to him. "Is Darcy a name?"

He shrugged. "Hey, if you like it, I got no issues."

Then, something odd happened. It wasn't odd to the handler, but it was to the project. The corner of her mouth quirked up in her first smile, or something like one. "I have a real name." she said confidently.

He smiled back. "I am definitely going to be a bad influence on you."

. . .

"Puppet Master!" Darcy gasped, finding the others in the hangar. "In the training room!"

"How did he get in here?" Robin asked.

"I don't know!" she said. "But he said they have some chemical or something, and they can change into other people! Robin, he was you! And I – I... You are you, aren't you?"

The others stared at her like she was crazy. Robin didn't. "If I wasn't me, then who would I be? You just said Puppet Master's in the training room, so he can't be me."

"There are others. You saw that."

"Darcy," he said calmly, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Do you really think it's not me?"

She looked at him for a moment. His face. It was completely familiar. Caring, kind, and just a bit mischievous. It was him.

"Robin, we need to get out of here." said Kid Flash, looking around. "What do you suggest?"

"Ask Kaldur." said Robin. "I honestly don't know."

"Take the bio-ship." Aqualad said. "We'll circle the mountain, see if we can find out where and how they entered. Maybe we can find out who it is."

. . .

"Well, who is it?" Wally demanded.

"I don't know, they haven't gotten that far." said Megan, eyes tight shut. "Wait, now she's back in the present. Her present, that is. Where it's all dark."

"She still in bad shape?" Robin asked.

"Worse." she answered. "She's weakening, and not just in her dream. I can feel her energy going down."

. . .

She couldn't keep this up for long. She could barely see for the darkness, and the loss of blood wasn't helping anything. There, right up ahead. The medical ward. If she could just get there, maybe she could find some bandages and something to keep her going...

. . .

"Here," Catwoman whispered, handing Shadow a small, circular pad.

"What is this?" the girl asked, looking at it curiously. She winced as a flicker of pain passed through her.

"Your DNA is malfunctioning. This will help stabilize it." said her mentor, taking several more of the circular pads out of the drawer. "Come on. Before someone sees us."

Shadow pulled at her costume and put the pad on her exposed neck. Instantly, she felt better. Not only did she feel less scattered, but she felt energized. "Where can we get some of these?" she asked in wonder.

Catwoman laughed softly. "We can always come back for more. Now let's go. No telling what could be roaming around here at night."

. . .

Darcy yanked open drawer after drawer, spilling the contents everywhere and not caring very much. Finally, she found the bandages, and began to wrap them around her middle, taking care not to damage herself further. After doing this, she looked around for anything to help her carry on. There, on the floor by her feet. They were the little round patches designed to make her DNA work like it should. Maybe it would heal her, maybe it wouldn't. At any rate, she would feel better and less weak.

. . .

"There." said Shadow, pointing at a large hole in the mountain. "They must have used explosives."

"Should we go in?" Miss Martian asked, looking at the others for direction.

"Yes." said Aqualad. "Maybe we can see our attackers for who they really are."

She nodded grimly, then angled the ship towards the hole. They landed inside the mountain, being extra quiet as they exited the cloaked bio-ship. "It's too quiet." Wally whispered.

This was answered by the sound of firearms being unloaded dangerously close to the team. "Loud enough for you?" Shadow yelled from where she and Robin were, behind some rubble across the room.

"It was an observation, not an invitation!" he yelled back.

"Stop!" called a voice. Shadow froze, her blood turning to ice in her veins. That voice was all too familiar. "I want the pleasure of harming the little cuties."

"Joker." Robin hissed, clenching his hand. "How did he find us?"

"Kaldur said there could be a mole, right?" she whispered shakily.

"Come out, little kiddies, I know you're there!" Joker called in his horrible, creepy voice.

Go away, Shadow said with her mind.

There was silence. Then, "Ah, so she has little tricks, eh? Well, I have some, too!"

Without warning, something small exploded near where Shadow and Robin were. Before she could react, he shoved her to the ground, covering both their faces with his cape. "Laughing gas!" he shouted so the others could hear. "Get down!"

"Come out, if you don't want to laugh to death!" Joker cackled.

"Fine," Shadow snarled. "If he wants us to come out, we'll come out."

Then, she was gone. Invisible. She sneaked through the cloud of gas, holding her breath. Just as she was about to shoot light at the laughing man, Kid Flash sped in and hit Joker.

"Wally!" Shadow cried, hurriedly absorbing the light before it hit him.

He turned to see who had called him, but was caught off-guard by a henchman. "Attack! Attack them all!" Joker shouted.

Then, everyone was involved in the fight.