Chapter 22: The New Team

"I didn't think fighting Clay face would be this messy," Barbra commented as she and Alfred walked towards the three boys dripping with clay.

"Yeah, just my luck; this had to happen before the big day tomorrow," Joe grumbled as he stripped of his uniform along with a layer of clay that Alfred grimaced at, especially when the boy threw the costume into his arms.

"Do you think you can fix it, Alfie?" Joe questioned as the others also handed Alfred their suits. With a glance at the clay staining his newly pressed suit, he sighed and nodded before leaving.

"Anyways, why so excited for Donna's birthday? Do you have a crush on her or something?" Dick teased his son as he gave his wife a kiss on the forehead.

"As if. That would be gross- she's practically related to us. The only reason I'm going is because Superman's forming the New Team tomorrow," Joe stated as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Speaking of which, will Abby be done her training so she can be here for tomorrow?" Barbara questioned Damien since he seemed to be the only one who knew where she was or even how to contact her.

"Now that I think about it, it's hard to imagine that your sister complex would allow Abby to be out of your sight for this long," Dick teased Damien as he raffled his hair, which only earned him an intense bat glare from the new Nightwing.

"That's up to her entirely. After all, it was her decision to go somewhere where she could get stronger."

"Yeah, yeah; I get enough of that whenever you let me talk to her on the phone...can you at least tell her about the big day?"

"Fine, I'll pass on that message," Damien grumbled as he slumped down in front of the bat computer, while Dick and Barbara went upstairs with their son.

As Damien got his phone out, he couldn't help but think about the day he sent his little eight year old sister away six years ago. Her leaving a few weeks after Bruce's funeral was very hard on everyone, especially him. But, they soon found peace with the monthly phone calls and the weekly emails. Although it was never enough to make them stop worrying about her, they knew they had to support her no matter what.

I wonder how much you have changed Abby? Damien thought as he listened to the dialing noise on his phone for a few seconds before the line picked up.

"How's Abby's training going?"

"Oh, Damien, you really are always right to the point, just like your father. Rest your pretty little head, she's doing fine. But that's not why you're calling, is it?"

"You're right; I'm calling to see whether Abby can come back home. They are starting up the Team again and her friends could use her assistance more than ever, especially if your intel on the Light is correct."

"Oh, but she would be such a delightful addition to the League of Assassins. She has even been deemed worthy of becoming my successor."

His mother's words made him clench his fists tightly before he took a step back and sighed deeply to calm himself. "We had a deal, mother. You train her so that she can fulfill her missions here in the name of her father and your beloved."

"Just wishful thinking, my dear Damien. I'll only remember your promise if you keep yours to bring down the Light in the name of your grandfather and father's deaths."

"There has never been a target I could not deal with, so consider them already dead mother. Her first mission is Operation: Invasion Test."

"Well then, expect your precious sister back by noon tomorrow."

Those very words left a soft smile on Damien's face as he hung up the phone. His sister would back in Gotham, at his side again.

August 30th 2026 – Nanda Parbat, 10:45pm.

"Was that my brother you were talking to?" a girl with long flowing black hair asked as she began to clean up around the unconscious assassin masters that littered the ground of the dojo along with a great deal of their blood.

After a moment of admiring her young protégé's handy work from the shadows of the dojo, Talia stepped out to reveal herself to the fourteen-year-old.

"He wants you back in Gotham, to complete operation: Invasion Training."

"So they're forming the team tomorrow, huh? It must be Donna's birthday," Abby commented absentmindedly as she squeezed excess water out of the cloth she was using to clean the floor.

"You know your brother couldn't do anything if you said you wanted to stay here, my child," Talia pointed out as she took the cloth away from Abby and flung it at another one of the members of her organization. "You have surpassed the level where you have to do chores. If you stay I will train you further to become my successor."

"Talia, you're the closest person I have ever known as a mother figure in my life, and I understand being your successor is a very high honor-"

"But?"

"But, I'm needed in Gotham and I will stay until my father's crusade is completed," Abby answered with a respectful bow to her strictest teacher and loving mother figure.

"You're as honorable as your father, my child, so go make him proud," Talia encouraged, but was taken off guard when she felt the strong tone arms of her protégé wrap around her waist.

"Thank you for all you've done, and I'll miss you."

"And I will miss you just as dearly," Talia answered back as she hugged the medium-sized teenage girl back.

August 31st 2026 – Civic City, Pennsylvania: Former Head Quarters of the Justice Society of America, Presently named: The Tree-house, 12:31 pm.

"Are you in position, Red X?" Abby heard buzz through her ear as she quietly and gracefully moved in the ventilation system, of the team's new hideout that was constructed out of the old Head Quarters of the Justice Society of America.

"I'm nearing the first target," Abby answered back as she looked at her wrist com that had information from the motion sensors on where all her friends were in the new Team Head Quarters. "You know there are easier ways to test how the others would fend in case of an invasion or betrayal of a member."

"Oh, and that would be?"

"Well, not wearing one of Uncle Dick's old masks, which reeks. Plus, what is gained by giving me the job when you could have easily asked another person so all of us can be tested under this condition?"

"I want to test Talia's training," Damien simply replied, but Abby could tell that there was more in it than testing the skills she required from her brother's mother. However, she didn't press for more information after all she had heard a few conversations between Talia and her brother, and from what she could gather they had big plans and expectations of her that would be used to bring down her father's killers. Knowing that, there wasn't any more she needed to know or do other than follow orders and meet all those expectations.

Before Abby could reply to her brother, she had reached her target, which was an unsuspecting speedster heading for the bathroom. However, he never reached the bathroom as he saw a figure whip out of the ventilation system. All that could be heard was a yell of pain before everything went silent and Abby was back up in the vents as if nothing ever happened.

"Reporting: First target is neutralized in under 2.967 minutes. An intense regiment is advised."

"I'll take that into consideration, so carry on."

"Yaaaahooo!" Iris screamed as she jumped off of a fifteen-foot diving board. The aftermath of her impact splashed everyone, including those chilling out on the side of the pool as the lights radiating artificial sunlight tanned them.

"You're so dead," Tony snared as he stomped over to where Iris came up right beside her cousin.

"Oh look, Lian, he's pissed off because I ruined his perfectly manicured hairdo," Iris teased, which only added fuel to the cold glare he was shooting at her.

"Stop being such a fucking pussy, Queen," Lian said, joining in on Iris' teasing.

"You two better watch yourselves-"

"Or else what?" Lian demanded with a raised eyebrow that dared him to finish that sentence. To her delight, he didn't.

"That's what I thought," Lian said with a smirk as she watched the younger teen storm out into the male changing room as she high-fived her cousin.

"Sorry to break up the fun, kids, but the cake as well as the initiation will be happening soon," Wonder Woman announced as she walked into the pool area in her costume.

"Did you get the cheesecake that I love?" Donna asked with excitement as she stopped squeezing the water out of her hair, which she would get Iris back for later.

"That's a surprise, my dear, a surprise you will find out once everyone is in the main area," the Amazonian Queen cooed as she patted her daughter on her head while she led the rest of the children out.

"Hey, Lori, it's time to get ready," Joe called out as he watched her dive back into the water, showing no sign of wanting to leave.

"I'll be right out after one more lap," she yelled back at him. With a sigh he could only imagine the time it will take to get her out of the pool which her father custom made for an Atlantian like herself.

Just as her father had said, the water was the prefect mix of warmth and cold with the right amount of saline, and was filled the brim with oxygen. Now if only her fish friends could play in the pool with her that would have made today complete, the girl thought as she glided through the water, but she felt her self-speed to a halt, when she felt an unexpected disturbance in the water.

"Hello, is anyone here?" Lori called out as she looked around only to see nothing in the water, so she turned around to continue swimming when felt a fist hit her in the face. The punch knocked her back a few centimeters. Who in Neptune is this person, she wondered as came face to face with a person dressed in all black that had a white skull mask with a red X on the forehead. I guess it's time to try out my magic the Queen thought me, Lori thought with a smile as she started to chant a spell that made a giant sea creature appear.

To her surprise her magic didn't faze her masked opponent as the figure put two fingers on their forehead before chanting a few words that neutralized the beast that was speeding towards them. Lori stared at them in shock. That was one of the strongest spells the Queen deemed her ready to master, and just like that it was countered.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Lori demanded while trying hard not to betray any sign that she was scared to her opponent. The intruder didn't answer- all Lori got was a beckoning hand signal to do her worst. And her worst was what she gave her masked opponent. However, it wasn't enough. Lori soon realized her opponent was even more skilled at fighting under water than most of the Atlantian guards. And if that wasn't shocking enough, what lead to Lori's downfall wasn't only her opponent's fighting skills but also their ability to hit all her weak points with pin-point accuracy.

"Hey, are you ready yet?" Joe called out as he swung a bag filled with his wet swim trunks.

"Does it look like I'm done, bird brain?" Tony replied with a snarky hint to his voice, one that lit a spark between them by the way Joe shot Tony his best bat glare from behind his Robin cowl.

"I'd rather not miss the ceremony because of a vain, self-absorbed princess," Joe countered with a smirk as he closed the gap between his former classmate.

"And you think that messy mob of hair is scoring you any points?"

"Well, you're probably too blond to be able to read the news, but I get around. You know, got to live up to the billionaire playboy rep and all."

"Hahaha, that's your only proof? The harlots are probably just dating you for your money," Tony sneered back as he stopped primping his hair to glare Joe down, which was much easier when they were kids and he had a good foot on him rather than the measly couple of inches he had over him now.

"Like you could provide any better evidence, what with the Queen family being slightly poorer than the Wayne family," Joe pointed out with a cheeky smile as he ready himself for the aftermath of his next comment. "Plus, I haven't heard any publicity on your love life... actually, I bet you haven't even had a girlfriend yet. What're you waiting for, the balls to ask Iris out?"

That was the final blow that sent Tony charging at Joe, which left them rolling around on the floor exchanging punches. This continued on until Donna and Lian ripped them apart.

"Really? And these two are the potential candidates for our leader? I should've taken the youth correction facility offer," Lian said, wearing her Artemis costume, as she rolled her eyes at the boys' immaturity with disdain.

"Like I care; all that really matters is that we aren't late and you two don't mess up my party," Donna growled at the boys as she dragged them towards the main area.

"By the way, where's Iris?" Tony asked while ignoring Joe's quiet snickering.

"She can't decide whether to enter the team as Speedy or take on her mentor's old mantle as Arrowette, but she'll probably go with Speedy," Lian answered sternly before Donna could open her mouth to complain about her cousin's indecisiveness.

"Nightwing there might be a problem," Abby reported to her brother once she finished locking up Iris with the rest of her teammates that have fallen at her hand.

"There are no flaws in my planning." He simply said, which left Abby slightly confused as she saw that the motion detectors showing that the rest of her soon to be teammates were already waiting in the main area.

"The instructions that were sent stated that they wouldn't relocate to the main area for another hour."

"Red X, your mission is still to take down all the new recruits, whether it's an individual attack or taking them all down at once, understood?"

"Understood," Abby replied without hesitation as she hoisted herself into the ventilation system.

"Man, what's taking everyone so long?" Donna grumbled as she fixed her new Wonder Girl suit that was given to her by her mother in honor of her late sister, Cassidy.

"Well, Bart's probably somewhere lost in the Treehouse, Lori is still in the pool, and Iris probably hasn't decided on her superhero identity," Joe listed off as he sat on one of the couches, staring out the window. He couldn't help but wonder if Abby was even going to show up today.

"I'm going to kill them," Donna raged as she got up to go looking for her missing teammates, but a black figure leaning coolly on the doorframe stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Too late for that, princess," the intruder giggled, which caught the attention of the rest of the teenagers in the room.

"Who the hell are you?" Lian snarled with anger at the very thought that this villain, assassin, or whatever this chick was, might have harmed Iris.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Doesn't that sound familiar?" Tony said, hinting on when they faced Lian years ago when she was working for the Light.

"Can it, Bull's Eye, or you'll get an arrow through the leg too," Lian growled out as she aimed her bow and arrow at the intruder. The arrows went flying, but they fell on empty targets as the intruder dodged each and every arrow with extraordinary grace and accuracy as if she could read their movements.

"This is ridiculous; you guys are useless!" Donna exclaimed as she charged into battle against the intruder with a flurry of kicks and punches. Their intruder merely smirked as she dodged each and every attack as if it was child's play.

"Why won't you just go down?"

"That's not my job; it's yours." The intruder smirked as she shot herself into the air and whipped several darts at the young heroes. All who were hit with a needle instantly fell to the ground paralyzed, which was everyone except Robin.

"Looks like I'm your last target, so I'll try to make this interesting," Joe bantered cheekily as he moved into a fighting stance.

"Cockiness will get you nowhere but killed," the intruder stated wisely while she prepared herself for the intense battle a head of her. And a heated battle is what they received as they matched blow for blow. With the level the intruder was fighting at they were both evenly matched.

While the stalemate between them continued, Joe couldn't help but wonder who this person really was. He had never faced a bad guy he couldn't figure out how to take down. Aside from the Joker, all the other villains in Gotham were somewhat transparent. But with this villain, it felt like no matter how much he tried to attack her, she would counter without hesitation. However, that was not the only thing bothering him about the intruder's fighting style; what bothered him the most was how familiar her fighting style was. Who could have the skill and inside knowledge to sneak into a new facility that the League just made using advanced cyber-robotic technology made and installed by Cyborg? She was also slightly stronger than an average female, judging by the deep bruise he could see forming all over his body. The last clue that he saw made his eyes widen slightly as he analyzed her movements that were as fluid and graceful as a ballerina. It couldn't be, could it? But, how and, why?

As he started to realize the identity of the intruder, she kicked him across the room into the dining table. Before Robin could get up, the intruder who had her arm positioned with a needle to stab him pinned him down.

"Abby?" He questioned before she stabbed him with the needle. Hearing her name caused the intruder to drop the needle in her hand in shock as she looked down at her cousin's face that was a mixture of confusion and warmth.

"Well, I guess the simulation was almost a complete success," they both heard Dick say from behind them. When they turned around they noticed that Superman, Wonder Woman, Nightwing, and the rest of their parents and mentors were with him carrying the rest of the team that were attacked, as they came walking towards them.

"What a shame- I really wanted see who would win," Flash added with a smile on his face as he begun to remove the needles that Abby had hit the rest of the team with.

"Sorry, Nightwing, I have failed the mission," Abby apologized as she took off the Red X mask to put on the domino mask she wore for her Black Swan suit, which she had on underneath her Red X suit.

"Who said you failed the mission? You successfully showed off all the skills you acquired from your training and provided information for the team's training regiment," Nightwing replied warmly as he affectionately ruffled her black hair.

"Will someone please explain what she's doing here?! And why no one seems to care that she attacked us and ruined my birthday party?" Donna demanded after she woke up to the sight of her half-sister taking off her mask and being welcomed warmly by her cousin along with the adult Superheroes.

"What are you screaming about- Abby, is that you?" Iris squealed as she woke up to see her best friend. But, before she could make a move to welcome her, Bart pounced on Abby and wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you so much Abby!"

"Thanks, but your squeezing the air out of..." Abby was interrupted, as Joe and Iris ripped Bart off of Abby only to take his place.

"It's good to see you again," Lori greeted shyly only to squeak in surprise as she felt herself being pulled into the massive bear hug Iris was sharing with Abby.

"This isn't the time for formalities," Iris scolded with a giggle as she manhandled both girls.

"Great, not another Bat twerp," Tony groaned as he came towards the group with a ghost of a smile playing at his mouth.

"Really?! She tries to kill us and everyone's okay with this?" Donna exclaimed more loudly.

"Dear, calm down... perhaps we should hold the ceremony that might clear up the misunderstanding," Wonder Woman suggested, which caused Superman to nod in agreement before walking to the middle of the room, while the parents and mentors organized themselves next to their protégés.

"We gather here today to witness the formation of a new team of young heroes who have proved to us time and time again that they are ready to dawn their colors to uphold justice. But in order to do so we realize that we must train you to be the best you can be as a unit, which is why all ten of you will live, train, and go to school togeth-"

"Wait, what do you mean 'all ten of us?' There are only eight of us here," Iris interrupted, which caused most the other teens to count themselves, reaching the same conclusion.

"You're still as sharp and outspoken as ever, I see," Martian Manhunter stated as he came in with three other teens, Zatanna, Superboy and M'gann.

"These are your new teammates: A'ron Kent, son of Superboy and Miss Martian and Zachary, the re-incarnation of Zatara," Superman announced as the rest joined them.

"In the past, Batman organized the Team to be a semi-independent unit, but, due to past causalities, the League will have a bigger role to play in the management of this team. We have decided that the team will be comprised of Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Bull's Eye, Speedy, Artemis, Aqua girl, Zachary, Martian Boy, with Robin and Black Swan as co-leaders of the team that I will be directing," Nightwing finished with a commanding voice that ended the makeshift ceremony of the children's initiation into the big leagues. Although the addition of new members was unexpected, the teens seemed to get along as they celebrated this monumental day with their parents.

*Sorry this took so long, I hope you enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas. Don't forget to review!XD

*PS: For those that have already read the original I took out Supergirl, she will make an appearance just not yet.