Joan waited until everyone else had left the bioship before walking over to the edge. Beast Boy was waiting just outside for her with a gentle smile on his face, hoping to offer some encouragement to her. She smiled back, knowing that if she were to fall down to the ground, he would he just like Henry and help her stand back up.

Nightwing was also standing a short ways off and also looking at her. However, unlike Beast Boy's, his face was not as warm or encouraging. The lines on his face were as hard as before and his eyes were as weary as ever. It was as if he had seen this kind of incident everyday and was wondering which path she would take. In was almost unsettling and Joan wondered why Barbara thought that Dick cared about her. Joan admitted that we was handsome and quite attractive, but she could see of now reason that he would be interested in her.

Joan took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts and prepare herself for what she would see out there. She knew that anything she saw would shock her, but she still felt better trying to prepare herself than not.

And she was right.

When she left the bioship, she gasped. Her house, was charred wood. Only a few structural beams were still standing and they looked as if they were about to collapse at any moment. Everything else, all the family pictures of every Christmas, the dining table where they had dinner together every night, the bedroom where Joan had cried many nights when she had first been bullied when she first started high school had all been burned to ash. Joan's entire life had been in that house and now it was was dust.

Joan walked over to the edge where her kitchen dutch door used to be. In the the old kitchen Joan saw the three bodies. Only the bones were still there, their empty eye sockets staring vacantly up at the sky. She stared at them, completely caught off guard. She lost her stomach contents quite quickly, especially seeing the small child form. Joan gazed at it, wondering how that piles of bones could possibly be her little brother. Beast Boy was there at her side, as a small puppy pressing solemnly against her legs.

She almost lost herself in the anguish and loneliness she felt staring at the bones of her brother when her eyes latched on to something. She felt all of her emotions recede away like the ocean tide and leave only the smooth beach of confusion in its place. She stood up and knelt down next to the child's bones and examined the metatarsals. Several of the bones were perfect, flawless.

"Okay, what's she doing with the bones? It's kind of creepy," Wondergirl whispered to Kaldur.

Nightwing shushed her before walking over to Joan. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Joan-"

"This isn't Henry." The realization came a relief to herself, but as confusion to others.

"What do you mean?" Kaldur asked.

"See these bones? They're perfect without any strain of incidence on them. They can't be Henry's because he broke his ankle and a few bones in his foot. There would some sort of indication of remodeling if this was him." Joan stood up and looked at the adult bones. Though there was still a possibility of them being her parents, it no longer seemed as likely anymore to her since Henry wasn't among the remains. Despite the initial relief Joan felt, a deeper, more sickening dread filled her stomach. Wondergirl stated Joan's fears perfectly.

"If this isn't Henry, then who is it?"

The question hung in the air for several minutes. No one dared to speak the possibilities out loud. Joan found herself staring off into the distance, feeling something pulling her in the direction of the production plant. As everyone else stared at the innocent remains wondering who they were, Joan stood up, a distance growing in her eyes. The team watched her warily, wondering what she was up too. But Joan simply continued walking towards the clump of trees at the edge of the closest neighbor's house. The team exchanged glances, and with a nod from Nightwing, followed her.

As they neared the trees, Joan stopped suddenly, causing Beast Boy who was following a little too closely to run into her. She barely even noticed. She was staring intently up at a scarlet bird who was equally interested in Joan. Joan's face darkened with a silent fury while the bird's beak curled upwards cockily. Joan smiled, raising her hand ominously. A chill passed through everyone quickly as the branch the bird was on spontaneously caught on fire. Gasps emerged from the team, but the bird merely flapped to a higher branch.

"Really, Joan. I thought we were passed such childish games," it croaked, confusing the team even more. Nightwing walked up behind Joan.

"Who is this?"

"Why, if it isn't the famous Robin who stole the heart of my dearest host. Not very hero like, Robin."

Joan blushed bright red. "That was a long time ago, bird. What do you want?"

"I thought I would let you know that Terry has been trying to get in touch with you for the last hour." The bird flapped down to eye level of Joan who hadn't stopped scowling.

Nightwing placed a hand on Joan's shoulder. "We need to talk." He pulled her off a ways away. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the bird was still waiting in the tree. He came back to Joan and looked her into the eye. "What's going on? Who's the bird? Who's Terry? And when did you learn to control your powers?"

"I don't know," Joan lied. She couldn't tell Nightwing the truth. It would be too painful for him and her. She knew she wasn't doing any good by hiding it, but she would only be doing harm to everyone by telling. She hated herself for it, beginning to feel her old, or rather, recent depression set back in, but she quickly pushed it aside. "As for my powers, I... I just felt so angry, it just happened."

"Why were you angry if you don't know the bird?" Kaldur asked who had joined in on the conversation with the others.

"I don't know." Once the lie had started, she found the words easier and easier to find. "I just feel angry whenever I think about that bird. It's a gut feeling, I suppose." Joan hated lying to Nightwing and the rest whom she considered her friends even though she had only met them days ago.

Nightwing nodded, knowing to trust Joan's instincts, yet as he glanced at her face, something was off. He narrowed his eyes, uncertain. He knew as well as any other hero that instincts could mean the difference between life or death. And he knew that Joan had exceptional instincts dictating her entire being. But something was off. Something was wrong. Joan glanced at the bird and what Nightwing saw was merely a slight difference in Joan's face. He knew her instinct face. What was on Joan's face was not instinct. It was experience. A subtle, yet important difference. With the knowledge, Nightwing felt something inside him drop. Joan was lying to him.

The bird flew up to Joan and landed on her shoulder. She tried to knock him off, but the bird merely landed on Beast Boy's shoulder instead. It smiled once more, disturbing the team. It cackled and laughed, "You don't know about Joan working for the Reach, do you?"

Author's Note: Hey everybody! I feel like I haven't posted in forever. Hopefully though, I am finally starting to free up so guess what that means? Yep, more chapters! Anyways, I could really use a beta-reader. I want someone who in interested in the story. I am not going to search for one, I want one of you lovely persons out there to message me. I can never have too many betas. So please, if you're interested, PM me!

**Review! Follow! Favorite!**