Mount Justice
October 23, 17:16 EDT

Two days have passed since Cecilia's gift-giving attempt, and the Team was still downcast and distraught. Not that she could entirely blame them, but she was beginning to grow tired of their constant moping. Even Wolf had lost whatever happiness he usually possessed. It was starting to affect her own mood negatively, and as a result she snapped at Dr. Jones more than once during her English lessons and was too unfocused to properly train with Green Lantern. It was getting ridiculous, and Cecilia was constantly stuck between bored out of her mind and contemplating deep, irrelevant thoughts, such as the meaning of life or why the past tense of "read" was still "read".

At the moment, she was determinedly in the former category. The Team were all sulking around, waiting for their turn with Black Canary for counseling. She desperately hoped that talking to the heroine would help them, like the few sessions she had did. However, for the time being, she was left to wander the too-familiar hallways aimlessly, occasionally playing with her rag doll, the only companion of hers that wasn't adamantly depressed because of a simulation error. Well, aside from Sphere, whom she had given up trying to find earlier.

'Joy...'

She wasn't sure how long she had been strolling around the Cave, but by the time she had reached the hangar for the fourth time, Connor was marching towards where he kept his motorcycle. Despite the distance between them, Cecilia noticed his apparent anger, and she could almost see how his muscles were stiff and his movements jerky. Her eyebrows creased as she tried to figure out why talking to Black Canary hadn't helped him but seemed to make it worse. Not finding an answer, she shook her head and ran after him, determined that he shouldn't suffer alone. Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to help him.

"Connor!" Cecilia called out as she neared the teen. He was about to mount his bike, but at her voice he turned and snapped, "What do you want?"

Startled by his hostility, Cecilia came to a halt a few feet away, unsure of what to do. After a moment of stuttering, she managed to ask, "Where are you going?"

"Out," Connor replied shortly as Wolf approached, standing alongside the teen. Without thinking, Cecilia requested, "Can I come?"

After the words escaped her mouth, Cecilia tightly pressed her lips together to prevent any other careless comments from coming out. Her mind had heard the word "out", and she was growing weary of staying in the Cave day-in and day-out, especially with the gloomy atmosphere. But Connor's next words, if not entirely unexpected, sunk her heart, "No."

"Oh," she muttered, lowering her head and fiddling with her doll, embarrassed that she'd even asked. After all, what had she been expecting? He was obviously hurting, and she needed to respect that. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him look back at her and heard him sigh, then he said in a slightly softer voice, "There isn't enough room on the bike."

"That's not true," Cecilia pointed out, furrowing her eyebrows and looking up at him again. "You and M'gann both ride it to school."

Connor either didn't hear her or decided to ignore her as he prepared to leave, driving his bike closer to the door. Wolf and Cecilia both followed him, arriving just in time to hear him call out tersely, "Red Tornado, hangar door."

The ramp that led to the outside world slowly slid down at his request, but Sphere came out of seemingly nowhere and stood in his way. Connor forcefully waved his hand and pointed to the side, practically shouting, "Sphere, out of the way!"

But Sphere only began to shudder and beep in response, and for a second Cecilia was worried that something was wrong with it. Then the automaton opened up, unfolding into a red vehicle with two distinct seats and three tires, each with glowing blue lines weaving through them. All three beings looked at Sphere in shock before Wolf happily hopped into the first of the seats and Connor, after taking a moment to weigh his options, growled, "Fine, you can come."

'Really?' Cecilia thought, but she decided not to question it. Perhaps Sphere wanted her to come along, and that was why it transformed. Or maybe it was some other reason that changed his mind. Regardless, she was happy to be getting out of the Cave. She only hoped that Connor's mood would improve...

Quickly, she set her doll down near the wall of the tunnel and climbed onto Sphere, sitting down behind Connor (where she was least likely to disturb him) and wrapping her arms around him for stability. It crossed her mind that this would be her first time riding a motorbike, filling her mind with excitement and awe at what was to come. Although she couldn't see around Connor very well, she could feel inertia wanting to tug her back as Sphere suddenly shot forwards, over the ramp and then off the ground. Connor's voice, carried by the wind, cried in pleasant surprise, "Woah!"

Cecilia could not share his joy and gripped his torso tighter, remembering her ride in the Bioship. The only difference was that now, there was nothing to keep her from falling... She squeezed her eyes closed and pretended that they were on the ground, trying to find contentment in the breeze pulling at her hair and caressing her face. While Connor and Wolf seemed to be having the time of their lives, Cecilia was too busy praying that they wouldn't all plummet to their deaths.

And yet, after a few minutes of terror, she began to relax. Sphere and Connor had everything under control, and she trusted them. As time ticked by and nothing bad happened, she gradually opened her eyes, cautiously looking around and down. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky beautiful shades of pink and orange, highlighting the clouds above and illuminating the rocky shore below. Cecilia gasped, amazed, "Wow..."

"You good?" Connor asked briefly, glancing over his shoulder at her. She smiled and nodded, adrenaline coursing through her veins and the beautiful scenery calming her mind. It was blissful in a way, and she couldn't remember ever experiencing anything like it before.

"Let's see what our boy can do!" Connor suddenly exclaimed, to which Wolf barked excitedly. Cecilia wondered what he meant before Sphere suddenly pitched upwards, making her heart stop momentarily and her eyes snap shut. In less than a second, Sphere had completed the loop, much to Wolf and Connor's exhilaration. For Connor's sake, Cecilia tried to keep her newfound terror concealed, smiling as the teen enthusiastically exclaimed, "Oh yeah!"

"Woah!" Connor cried as Sphere came to a sudden stop. Cecilia opened her eyes, startled, and peeked around the hulking teen to see another flying vehicle, this one resembling what she remember was called a car. Five people sat in it, four men and one woman. The largest man, in front, seemed at least twice Connor's size, with tanned skin and a lo of reddish hair. Behind him was the woman and a dark-skinned man with armor that had glowing green designs. The woman had pale-skin and black hair and was wearing a fancy, pink outfit. And behind them were seated the last two men, both with light skin. The one closest to Sphere had black hair and was wearing mainly black clothes with purple trimming, and the blonde boy beside him looked like something Dr. Jones once described was a cowboy.

"Return the New Genesphere and the rest of the technology you have stolen from New Genesis, human," the dark-skinned man ordered, his deep tone containing the beginnings of a threat. Cecilia shrunk back behind Connor, unsure of what to do. Connor, amazingly, didn't leap into battle, much to Cecilia's relief. Instead, he shouted, "Who are you? What are you-"

"Let's keep this simple. That," the behemoth of a man shouted back, pointing to Sphere, "belongs to us. Give. It. Back."

Cecilia felt Connor tense and hear Wolf begin to growl as Sphere beeped and whirled beneath them. Suddenly regretting coming along, Cecilia braced herself for her first real battle, feeling the tension mount. But just as the strangers stood up to fight, the dark-skinned man stopped them, holding up a small box that looked oddly similar to a remote, "Forever People, stand down! This one did not steal the New Genesphere! He saved it from the real thieves!"

"Apologies!" Behemoth-Man shouted, his scowl turning into a friendly grin. "The Forever People embrace you as a friend, ally, and worthy warrior."

"You're kidding, right?" Connor inquired skeptically. Wolf whined in agreement, and Cecilia risked another glance around her friend. The strangers had relaxed, and the dark-skinned man called back invitingly, "Come, there is much to discuss."

"So, they're not going to try to kill us?" Cecilia questioned quietly as the strangers began to ride away. Sphere followed them obediently, and Connor could only shrug in response, curious, "I guess not."

'Thank goodness!'

A/N - So due to the mixed reviews I've been getting about who Cecilia should be paired with, I want to know your opinion. I have a poll on Quotev, but doesn't seem to like links to other sites, and I don't want to make one on here. So I'd like to know what you think in the comments. Thanks!

My thanks goes to Nightcat, ZabuzasGirl, and ReginaRose for reviewing!

To Nightcat: Believe it or not, most of those are planned in some way or fashion. :) And here is the latest chapter! Now we're all caught up on what I have. Hope you enjoy!