Mount Justice
October 18, 15:47 EDT

Whatever had happened in that simulation, it had affected the Team irrevocably. Cecilia had tried everything to fix their morose moods: movies, games, food (she was now banned from the kitchen), outdated - like, Roman Empire era outdated - jokes, random hugs, talking... Nothing worked! She had even resorted to risking another prank war, disobeying Black Canary's ban on practical jokes by using colorful sticky notes to completely cover the kitchen and living room with various designs like rainbows and smiley-faces and stick what Red Tornado called "googly-eyes" to all of the food in the refrigerator and litter the ground with cups partially filled with water. All three were Captain Marvel's ideas, and he helped her buy the necessary materials and set them up. But all that accomplished was making everyone annoyed and irritated, not bubbly and laughing.

So now, two days after the failed simulation, Cecilia was out of ideas on how to cheer up her friends, and she currently had no one to help her think of things to do except for an automaton. So while the rest of the Team sulked in the living room - M'gann was making dinner while the others were silently lounging around - the Roman girl slipped away and headed for the Mission Room, the only place where she had any chance of finding Red Tornado. Luckily enough, he was there, typing away at a holographic computer. He didn't seem to notice her arrival, but he also didn't react in a startled manner when she spoke up, "I need help."

"Batman typically prefers to let you work out your problems alone," Red Tornado responded, pausing in his work to send her a blank glance. "However, because the Team is currently preoccupied, I will do what I can. What do you need?"

"I want to help them," Cecilia confessed, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "The Team, I mean. But I don't know how. Everything I've tried has failed to cheer them up."

"Sometimes, human beings become emotionally or mentally damaged, and unlike physical injuries, such wounds are difficult to heal and often require copious amounts of time," the robot replied monotonously, spouting out words that Cecilia would have to look up later. Then he helpfully resigned, "But I have heard that engaging in stimulating activities or presenting gifts can improve a friend's overall emotional wellbeing."

"Um... Okay," the Roman girl nodded, beginning to zone out in thought. There was only one word in that entire speech that she really understood: gifts. She would buy them all gifts, or perhaps she would make them somehow. But she didn't have any money, Happy Harbor was a decent walk away since she wouldn't be flying, and who knew when Captain Marvel would come back, so she didn't exactly have a way to get anything...

Red Tornado, thankfully, seemed to anticipate this problem and, after typing a few more things into the holographic computer, motioned for her to take over. She did so hesitantly and scrutinized the screen, which displayed a long list of items with words beside them, followed by an "S" with a line through the center and several numbers. There was a blank rectangle at the very top with a magnifying glass beside it, as well as the words "Amazon" with a smiling arrow underneath. Cecilia glanced at the automaton quizzically as he explained, "This website will allow you to search for and buy gifts for the Team. Simply type in what you wish to find, or browse through different categories."

The Roman girl suppressed the uneasy feeling in her stomach and turned back to the computer, glancing from the screen to the keyboard and back again. Aside from different games that Dr. Jones would have her play during English lessons, she'd never used a computer before, and shopping in anything other than an actual marketplace was a foreign concept. What was she supposed to do? How did she pay? How do the goods get delivered? How did the sellers know what to sell and where to bring it? Or would she have to find the sellers and pick up her purchase? With a faint chuckle, Cecilia stepped away from the holograph, scratching her neck, "Could you show me how?"

For a moment, Red Tornado just stared at her with his emotionless eye slots, processing who knows what, before he diligently returned to the computer and inquired, "What type of gifts did you have in mind?"

A frown emerged on the twelve-year-old's face as she debated what each member of the Team would want, then her lips twitched into a smile, "Well..."

Three business days later, John Stewart stepped out of the glowing Zeta-Tubes with a neutrally displeased look on his dark face, and his brown eyes landed on the only other person in the Mission Room: Cecilia, who was entertaining herself with an online website called Math Playground that Dr. Jones introduced her to the previous day. Although she hadn't seemed to notice his presence, the Green Lantern didn't hesitate in asking, "Do you know why I suddenly have six Amazon boxes sitting on my front porch?"

"They came!" Cecilia exclaimed with a bright smile on her face, completely missing the look of annoyance that passed over the former Marine's face as she abandoned her game and questioned excitedly, "Where are they? Did you bring them here?"

"Uh... No," her mentor answered, furrowing his eyebrows. "Cecilia, what are they?"

"Presents for the Team!" the Roman girl replied cheerfully, beaming up at him. However, his stern face failed to soften, causing the twelve-year-old's smile to fade. Was he upset? It was possible, since he probably hadn't been expecting to receive anything. She averted her eyes and clasped her hands behind her back, stammering, "R-Red Tornado thought that... I mean, they could not have been delivered here, so... I meant to tell you, but I forgot."

John Stewart pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a breath of air before announcing, "It's fine. Just don't forget next time, got it? People don't like it when mysterious packages arrive on their front door."

Cecilia nodded earnestly, "I'll remember."

"Good," Green Lantern replied. Then his gaze softened, and he actually chuckled, "Now the Team will get out of school in about an hour, so we'd better get those gifts to the living room."

An hour later, each smiling Amazon box was sitting in front of the television, and Cecilia was sitting on the couch, uncrossing and recrossing her legs, intermittently standing up to pace only to sit down again, and generally just trying to make herself comfortable until the Team began to arrive. Time moved agonizingly slowly, making the twenty minutes that she waited seem like five eternities, but her diligence was rewarded when the computer announced throughout the Cave, "Recognized: Aqualad. B, zero, two."

Cecilia practically jumped up in anticipation, but she forced herself to remain sitting. Red Tornado was supposed to direct each teenager to the living room, and even if he didn't, the Team usually ended up there anyways. Sure enough, just as the computer was announcing Connor and M'gann's arrival, Kaldur entered the kitchen and glanced at the presents, tilting his head to the side and raising his eyebrow, "What is this?"

"I bought gifts to cheer you up," the Roman girl answered, monitoring his face for his reaction. Kaldur slowly blinked once, twice, and then he smiled appreciatively, "Thank you, Cecilia. May I open mine now?"

The twelve-year-old quietly exhaled, relieved that he hadn't completely rejected her gift from the start, and replied, "Sure. Yours is the small one on the table."

Kaldur approached the coffee table and carefully picked up the small, almost perfectly cubical cardboard box and, after gently shaking it, pried the package open. A smile lit up his face as he pulled out what looked like a small, white spotlight and read, "'Remote-control ocean wave night light projector and music player.' Thank you, Cecilia. It was thoughtful of you to get this."

"What was thoughtful?" M'gann asked as she and Connor joined them. Kaldur brandished his present and informed, "Cecilia has bought each of us gifts."

A redheaded blur zipped around the room, as if summoned by that word, and skidded to a stop in front of the packages, "Sweet! Which one is mine?"

Cecilia laughed and pointed out which packages went to who. Wally was swift in opening his: a green "beret", similar to the one he had been so excited about after one of their previous missions, which he immediately thanked her for. M'gann revealed hers next: a recipe book, which she also graciously thanked her for. Connor was a bit slower with his gift, and he almost seemed unsure of what to do with the rather tall cardboard box he had been given, but he refused help regardlessly. His gift, when he finally opened it, was a large, blue punching bag. Connor seemed doubtful of its sturdiness, but nonetheless grunted a brief, "Thanks."

Well, that was probably the best she was going to get out of him, but as long as it cheered him up, it was worth it.

Artemis and Robin walked in about five minutes apart while the others were revealing their gifts. Artemis was pleasantly surprised, and she opened her package to reveal a dartboard, which seemed to bemuse her. Robin also perked up when he discovered the gift-opening, but his face fell when he realized one important detail, "Where's my present?"

Cecilia gulped and silently pointed towards the kitchen. He and Artemis had been the hardest to find presents for, mainly because she didn't know what they were interested in. Unfortunately, this meant that she had to do some searching and guesswork. While she was satisfied with the dartboard for Artemis, she wasn't sure if Robin would like his gift, and she anxiously scrutinized his expression for signs of rejection as he spotted the small bouquet of blue aster flowers in a vase. His mouth parted into a half-smirk, like he wasn't sure whether or not to laugh, so she quickly explained, "You always talk about 'feeling the aster', so I thought that you might like them. But, uh, Captain Marvel found some interesting sunglasses with mirrors in the lenses, if you'd rather have that..."

"Are you kidding?" Robin laughed, picking up the flowers. "These are great, Cecilia. I'm going to take them back to Gotham before they wilt."

"And I'm going to move this punching bag to my room," Connor added, easily lifting the object that Cecilia couldn't even budge with the help of her powers. One by one, the other teenagers excused themselves, either to show off their gifts or find a place to put them. But as M'gann left, Cecilia couldn't help noticing that the sadness had returned to the green-skinned girl's face. The twelve-year-old's chest seemed to tighten at the sight. What did that mean? She had been so happy a few minutes ago... What went wrong? Were the others still sad as well?

"Wally," Cecilia caught the attention of the only other person left in the living room, who had been staring at his green beret in deep thought. He glanced at her attentively, allowing her to begin with an uncertain voice, "Uh, did the presents make everyone happy?"

"Yeah, everyone loved them," the redheaded speedster replied with a bright smile. "Why?"

"Because M'gann still looks sad," the twelve-year-old answered, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I mean, I know that gifts won't make you happy forever, but I thought that it would cheer you up for a while longer."

Wally put a hand on her shoulder, locking somber eyes with her, "I know, and we appreciate the effort - we really do - but you just don't know what went on in there. Cecilia... We were trapped in a no-win scenario, with aliens invading the earth and disintegrating everyone. Everyone died: you, Captain Marvel, Flash, Artemis...," his grip on his beret tightened subconsciously at the blonde archer's name, but he continued, "One by one, we each sacrificed our lives, believing that it was real, only to wake up and - Surprise! - it was all a dream. People don't just heal from these things, and I know that you understand that."

Cecilia nodded dumbly, amazed at his recount of events. She had no idea... Obviously, she had deduced that whatever happened had been horrific, but to watch everyone die... The Roman girl let out a long, deep sigh. 'I guess all I can really do is be there for them.'