Disclaimer: In the hours between the posting of chapter one and this chapter, I have yet to wrest ownership over any of these characters from DC Comics. Curses!

A week after he'd last seen them, Dick finally worked up the courage to call Roy. He'd just come home from a shift at his day job and was having his evening 'dinner' (a bowl of Choco Crispies) before suiting up as Nightwing. What he'd said still made him wince. He was kidding, but obviously his friend hadn't taken it that way. Dick had to apologize, but what made him put off the call was the possibility that Roy would try to take advantage of his guilt to press him to join this team of his.

"Talk to me," Roy answered.

"Roy, it's me," Dick began. "Look I just called-"

"Hey Dick!" Roy interrupted cheerfully. "I'm glad you called. I wanna apologize for getting pissed at you the other day. I know you were just kidding around."

Dick blinked in surprise. This was going well. "Yeah," he started, but was again interrupted.

"I think I was more pissed that I realized I was gonna have to run this team top to bottom. No excuse for taking it out on you though," Roy said. "Sorry man."

"It's, uh, it's okay," Dick said. "I was kidding, but it was still a lousy thing to say to you."

"You're right!" Roy said, "But you can make it up to me. See there's this team I'm putting together..."

'Ah hell,' Dick thought, 'there it is...' "Look, Roy..."

"Gotcha!" Roy interrupted, laughing.

"Roy!" Dick said, exasperated.

"You know you used to be funnier when we were kids," Roy said. "Anyway don't worry, the team's working out fine. We've got all seven ready and rarin', and heck, we were just taking out plane out for a ride when we repelled an invasion of gorillas and saved the President."

"That was you?" Dick said, "I heard them calling you an 'unknown cadre of heroes' on the news. Be sure to update the JLA, 'cause I want to see the pictures you know Batman'll take of Superman's face when he has to tell you good job for saving Lex Luthor." He grinned and said, "That's a good name you know, the Unknown Cadre?"

"Thanks but no thanks, Dick," Roy said, emphasizing the name.

"So lemme see if I saw who you picked up for your Unknown Cadre," Dick said. He was going to keep using that name until Roy cracked and picked a name himself. Dick figured that the name Roy picked would almost certainly be worse. "I saw Jade, of course. Good choice, by the way."

"Thanks," Roy said dryly, "and if you call us the Unknown Cadre again I promise I'm going to tattoo you in your sleep."

"Not a chance," Dick replied lightly, "You lumber around like a bear with a burr in its butt."

"I do not!" Roy said indignantly.

"So I saw Metamorpho as well. I saw two women I thought I recognized. Was that Jefferson Pierce's daughter in that blond wig?"

"You got good eyes Grayson. And the big one used to bounce at that club I told you about, the one in Metropolis." Roy paused, not exactly sure how to bring up either of the other two members. He waited for Dick to speak, but there was only silence, "Dick?"

Dick had gone silent because he had walked over to his computer and pulled up a picture of six of Roy's team. The five he'd mentioned, and one other. "Roy," he said in a low, dangerous tone, "what the hell is that?"

"What the hell is what?" Roy asked. Mostly to find out exactly which 'what' Dick was referring to.

Dick erupted, "What the hell is that thing doing there?"

Roy decided that made it pretty clear what Dick was referring to and said, "Her name is Indigo. We've reprogrammed-"

Now it was Dick's turn to interrupt, "You've reprogrammed it. Great. So now it's a reprogrammed murderous robot that should be turned into scrap. Only it's on your team."

Roy grimaced. Dick wasn't taking this well, "Look, S.T.A.R. Labs and Vic were both-" he stopped when he heard a click, followed shortly thereafter by a dial tone. "Jeez," Roy said, flipping his cellphone closed and putting it back in his pocket. At least he hadn't had to explain about Batgirl.

TBC...