Malone: Aw thank you! As I've said before, I'm trying to make their relationship as real as possible.

I apologize for such a long hiatus – I graduated high school, moved houses, found a better paying job that doesn't involve retail and I'm starting college in the fall! Thank you all for 25 favorites and 32 follows. Please don't forget to leave any kind of feedback! Criticisms, questions, anything at all is very much appreciated. I will try to push out some more chapters in the next few weeks but I am travelling with my family before I start college in the fall, so a few may be delayed.


𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐹𝑜𝓊𝓇 – Schooled
"Old friends pass away, new friends appear.
It is just like the days.
An old day passes, a new day arrives.
The important thing is to make it meaningful:
a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day."

MOUNT JUSTICE
AUGUST 3, 12:19 EDT

"Zoe, it's not like I don't want to tell you – I do, I really, really do but… I just can't." I said for what seemed like the millionth time to my best friend over the phone.

She scoffed and I could practically hear her rolling her eyes, not believing my excuse. "Calypso, you've ignored my calls and texts for almost two weeks!"

"No I didn't!" I protested, pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance. "I told you that I had something important come up."

"What's more important than hanging out with your supposed best friend?" Zoe snapped, causing me to frown. I didn't mean to make her upset or make her feel like I didn't care about her. I was just so caught up with being a part of the Team I forgot about the original first team – me and Zoe.

I ran my fingers through my hair, sighing as I did. "Zoe, I love you, you know I do. When have I ever lied to you?"

She was silent for a few moments before responding, "Only once. You missed school for almost a week and said something stupid like, 'Oh, I'm hanging out with Santa at Disneyland,' but you were actually really sick with strep throat and lied to me to keep me from coming over and getting sick…"

"See? I've only ever lied to you to keep you safe." I replied. "And now I have to do the same thing again so you'll have to trust me."

"Can you at least tell me where you are? You're not doing drugs or causing crime, right?"

I'm actually stopping people from doing that but I can't tell Zoe that. "I'm living with a couple of new friends – who are not… uh… what's the word um… people with… yagmul jungdog-"

"Druggies?"

"Is that what they're called? Well, look, I promise, I'm perfectly okay. Just please trust me and don't worry."

Zoe let out a very unhumorous laugh. "Don't worry? DON'T WORRY? It's a little too late for that now, don't'cha think?"

I felt even more guilty. I wish I could just tell her what was going on but there were rules to this whole hero gig and telling non-hero civilians like your family and friends was rule number one. If I told her the truth I would have to worry about those people Vixen was talking about and more. They could use her as leverage to get to me and I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to my best friend – well, at this point she's more like my sister than anything.

"I'm sorry," I said sheepishly. "I really am sorry but you're just going to have to trust me. Jehbal…"

She sighed and was silent for a few moments. "I trust you Caly. As long as you're safe and okay, I'll try not to worry anymore. Just promise to call and text me all the time – like ten times more than usual."

I laughed. "I promise." Suddenly, there was a knock at my door and I heard the cheerful voice of M'gann asking if she could come in. "I gotta go Zoe."

"Alright Caly… just text me later okay?"

"I swear I will. Bye Zoe." I removed the phone from my ear and pressed the red button.

After I placed it on my nightstand, I went to my bedroom door and opened it. M'gann smiled happily at me, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Hi Calypso!" she greeted. "How are you?"

I tried to return the cheery smile. "I've been better M'gann."

She tilted her head in confusion. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Ever since I joined the team I've been ignoring my best friend but I don't mean to! It's just when we get back from missions, I eat and pass out and…" I felt the tears well up in my eyes. "I just feel so bad for doing that to her…"

The Martian pulled me into a hug as I tried to push back the tears. I sniffled into her shoulder before she pulled away. She gave me a reassuring smile, squeezing my shoulders. "I have tons of siblings back on Mars so I'm used to doing this."

I chuckled. "Thanks, M'gann." I wiped away a few stray tears. "Where is Superboy and Kaldur?"

"I think Superboy is still in Metropolis and Kaldur is in the library." She answered. "I was gonna come ask you if you wanted to… um… cook with me." I saw her smile disappear, like she was embarrassed to ask me.

"Cook? Sounds awesome." Immediately, her smile reappeared. "I'm not the best at it but-"

She grabbed my hands and spun me around in a circle excitedly. She was jumping up and down happily which made me smile. "This is going to be so much fun!"

We walked happily into the kitchen and M'gann levitated a few cookbooks from the couch onto the counter. She flipped through the pages of a pastry book and turned towards me. "What do you think Superboy would like?" suddenly her face turned pink and I held back my giggle. Her crush on the clone was very obvious. "A-a-and of course Kaldur as well."

I tapped my chin in thought as I looked through a few recipes. "Um… I'm not sure what the culinary culture is like in Atlantis but maybe… cinnamon rolls." I pointed to said recipe.

"Cinnamon rolls?"

I nodded. "Yup. I've had them a few times when Mari took me to the mall…" I noticed another look of confusion go across the Martian's face. "Y'know what, how about we save baking for another day and I'll take you to your first Earth mall?"

Her eyes widened. "Really?!"

"Of course! I have some money from babysitting jobs which isn't a lot…"

"Oh, don't worry about that." M'gann pulled out a small piece of plastic from her pocket. "My uncle J'onn gave me this for when I wanted to 'blend in' with the people of Earth."

"Blend in?" I asked, raising my eyebrow in confusion.

She hummed in response before spinning around and her green skin turned… well… Caucasian. She looked like a normal teenage girl – well I mean she is normal expect for the fact that she's a Martian but she looked like she was from the Earth.

I looked at her in amazement. "You are the coolest person I've ever met."

She smiled, thanking me as she did. I motioned her to follow me into my room where I grabbed my bag and put M'gann's credit card from her uncle into my wallet. I slipped on my plain grey sweater and worn black sneakers and left for the Zeta tubes. M'gann noted that we need to get decorations for my room or make it look less plain-y.

"So where are we going?" M'gann questioned as the tubes announced our names and we were enveloped in a bright light.

I winced, still trying to get used to the whole Zeta travel thing. "Well I was going to take you to a mall in Detroit but… since this'll be your first mall, I want this experience to be special."

This Zeta tube entrance – or exit – was the same as the one in Detroit, disguised as a telephone box. I closed it behind us before turning to the Martian, "I've never been here before so this'll be fun for both of us."

She giggled, clapping her hands excitedly. "This is going to be so much fun!"

I laughed. "Definitely. You ready?"

It took about twenty-five or so minutes to navigate through Bloomington but once I saw the giant outline of the building, I knew we were on the right track. I told M'gann to close her eyes and lead her to edge of the parking lot of some hotel that had an amazing view of the mall.

"Miss Martian of Mars, welcome to…" I uncovered her eyes, "the Mall of America!"

Her jaw immediately dropped as her eyes scanned the gigantic mall. "This is an Earth mall?! This is unbelievable!"

"This is actually the biggest mall in all of the United States – I think."

Suddenly, she grabbed my hand. "C'mon! Let's go!" without any hesitation, she started rushing to the mall with me in tow. I was so happy that she was excited and I couldn't wait to explore the mall with her. She honestly feels like the sister I've always wanted.

As soon as we entered the mall, not only was M'gann in shock but so was I. I've never seen anything like this in Korea or in Detroit. I wondered how much money was on that credit card because I might let my little kid instincts run wild.

"Where to first?"

"Everywhere."

"American Eagle? Banana Republic? What kinds of stores are those?"

"Clothing stores actually. I asked the same thing when I first came to the mall in Detroit. Did you want to go into one of them?"

"…There's no eagles or bananas in there, right?"

"Right."

As we were nearing the entrance of American Eagle, M'gann stared in, watching dreamily at a group of girls with their boyfriends. They were pointing to different clothes, probably asking if they could buy them. I poked her shoulder, trying to get her out of her trance and rolled my eyes. There was no doubt in my mind she was thinking of Superboy.

I grabbed her hand, "C'mon Megan~"

"Huh…? Oh! Was I daydreaming?" her chucks flushed a bright pink and I giggled. "Sorry…"

"It's okay, we all daydream." I pulled her into the store and explained that it was kind of expensive. I wasn't sure how much J'onn put on that card but I'm sure if he saw that there was two-hundred dollars missing just from one store, he'd be pretty angry.

"So," I started looking through their soft sweaters, "what do you think of the team?"

M'gann pulled out a pink ruffled tank top and held it up to her. "Robin and Kaldur are really nice. Kid Flash is… a little annoying."

I raised my eyebrow, a small smirk appearing on my lips. "And Superboy?"

She blushed. "Is it that obvious?"

"A little bit but don't worry, I'll keep it a secret." I whispered, causing her to smile. I looked at the tank top she picked up. "You should go try it on," I gestured to the fitting rooms in the back of the store. She agreed and picked up the pink and purple one before going into the room.

I gasped as I saw a pair of skinny jeans in my size. I was about to pick them up and try them on myself, but once I saw the price, I left them alone.

Buuuzzzz! Buuuzzzz!

Grabbing my phone from my back pocket, I pressed the green button, forgetting to see who it was. "Hello?"

"Calypso, it is me Kaldur. Where are you and M'gann?" The Atlantean questioned. I questioned myself how he got my number but I shrugged it off.

"We're in the Mall of America. I wanted to take M'gann to her first Earth mall. We were gonna bring you and Superboy back something." I explained.

He chuckled. "That is very thoughtful of you, thank you." I smiled. "However, we need you and M'gann back at the Cave."

"Alright we'll be there in fifteen minutes or so. And Kaldur?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever had a cinnamon roll before?"

There a few seconds of silence before he responded. "No, I have not. Why do you ask Calypso?"

"No reason, o' fearless leader." I grinned, knowing exactly what to get him before we left. "We'll see you soon Kal."

"Goodbye Calypso." After I hung up, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and walked towards the fitting rooms.

I gently knocked on the door. "Hey Megan?"

She opened the door, sporting the pink tank top that fit very well. "What do you think?"

"I love it, you look amazing in pink." I complimented. "You should get it."

Her eyes lit up in happiness. "Really? You think so?"

I nodded. "I know so, also…" I leaned into her ear, whispering as low as possible, "Kaldur needs us back at the Cave so we've gotta cut our mall trip short."

She frowned. "Oh… okay…"

"Don't worry," I grabbed her hands, giving her a cheerful smile, "we'll be back another day. I promise."

M'gann gave me a small hug before returning to the fitting room. After a few moments, she came out in her normal clothes with the tank top in her hand. She paid for the top and as we were walking out of the store, I linked my arm with hers.

"Before we leave and the main reason why we're here," I looked at the directory, using my finger to look through the list of stores before finding the precious bakery, "this way."

"Hey Calypso?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for this today." She said. "I know we didn't get to do much but it was really fun. You're a great teammate and an even better sister."

A huge smile appeared on my face. "Trust me, whenever we come back, we'll have even more fun sis."

I really did think of M'gann as a sister. I never knew my actual sister that well. All I remember of her was that she and my brother were geniuses and my parents were much prouder of them than me. I hope that if I met them again one day that they won't be as terrible as my parents.

"Calypso what was Korea like?" the Martian asked as we passed yet another set of escalators.

"Hmm…" I tapped my chin in thought, "I don't remember much since the last time I was there, I was a kid but what I do remember was how great the food was." Miss Martian burst into laughter from my response. "What? It's true. The street food was especially good. I also remember a lot of my parents scolding me for not being more respectful."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, here in America, there is no formal language when speaking to someone older or higher than you. In Korea, it's all about respect to your elders." I explained to her. "At the time, I was learning Korean and English since we lived in Detroit. It was very… difficult for me to understand both."

"How did you learn English?"

"Mari. She adopted me from my… uh… what's the word… I don't remember the word but my family wasn't a… working family if that makes any sense."

"They didn't have jobs?"

I shoke my head. "No no no, they did but my family wasn't really… right. Like we all didn't work right together."

Her mouth formed an 'o' in realization. "You mean dysfunctional?"

"Yes! That's the word. Thank you." I replied. "Anyway, Mari put me into online school so kids wouldn't make fun of me for not knowing English. She taught me English as well by using flash cards, TV shows, she put me in a few speech classes and our trainer Luke helped me as well. Once I got into the 7th grade, Mari transferred me into the same middle school my best friend was at and I'm getting better at it every day."

She patted my shoulder. "I never knew you learned Korean before English. You should like a native speaker already."

I grinned. "Thanks, M'gann. That means a lot." I looked beside us to see that we were passing Build-A-Bear and Lush, meaning that heaven would be right around the corner. "Miss Martian of Mars, welcome to your final destination," I stood in front of the store, my arms widening for dramatic effect, "Cinnabon!"

The Martian hung her mouth open in amazement. "It smells incredible."

"It smells like heaven." I grabbed her hand again, gesturing to the large line. It was lunch time after all so it was no surprise that it would be packed. "Let's get in line."

She read off all the items on the menu above us and I was practically drooling at the sight and smell of the golden, delicious cinnamon rolls. I pulled out my wallet, seeing how much cash I had.

M'gann closed my wallet, grabbing the card her uncle gave her, "Oh no, I'm paying."

"But-" I tried to protest but she shoke her head.

"No buts Caly." She replied. "It'll be my treat." I realized that there was no point in arguing with her. I smiled, thanking her.

"Hi welcome to Cinnabon. What would you like?" the lady at the counter questioned in a monotone voice. I could tell she was already tired even though the mall had been open for less than 3 hours.

The redhead pointed to the tasty treats in the see-through container in front of us. "Six cinnamon rolls please."

The lady raised her eyebrow. "Six?"

We nodded. "Yes ma'am."

After a few moments of her pressing buttons on the cash register, she said, "Twenty-five fifty-nine."

M'gann stared at the card reader machine thingy in front of her, not sure what to do. 'Uh how do you do this?'

I took the card from her, giving a small awkward smile towards the annoyed lady. I swiped the card and it asked for a pin number. 'Did your uncle tell you the pin number for the card?'

'I think so… I can't remember… Wait! Try 1980!'

I press the pin number and the device blinks in green: TRANSACTION ACCEPTED. The cashier presses a few buttons on her register before giving us the receipt. "Your order number is three-twenty-six."

"Thank you," both M'gann and I smile towards her.

She returns it. "You're welcome." As soon as her eyes met the next customer, it fades. "Hi, how can I help you?"

I grab a few napkins and sit down in the vacant seat next to the counter. I could smell the sweet cinnamon and the delicious doughy buns. My mouth was practically watering at the sight of the freshly made cinnamon buns.

I watch as the guy who made the amazing treats put them into six separate boxes. I should've asked M'gann to get more but if I ate any more than one, it wouldn't be good for my weight.

She gave me a questioning look, glancing over at me. I guessed she had read my last thought. I waved my hands in dismissal. 'This is a conversation for another time.'

'But-'

"Order three-twenty-six!"

I walked up to the counter, taking the three bags of heavenly deliciousness. I thanked him, returning to M'gann, who was now standing, and it was clearly evident that she wanted to talk.

'M'gann, please, I really don't want to have this conversation with you. It's nothing against you, I swear – I just…' I shoke my head, taking a deep breath, 'I don't want to talk about it, okay?'

She frowned and nodded, avoiding my gaze. 'Right… sorry…'

I felt bad for snapping at M'gann like that but if I started talking about my weight it would lead to talking about my self-consciousness and insecurities and… that's not something I want to talk about with anyone, not even myself.

It was a silent walk back to the secret Zeta tube entrance, which made me feel even worse about what I said to M'gann. I tried coming up with what to say to her as we reached the abandoned telephone box.

"Hey," I turned to her as I opened the door, "I'm really sorry for… y'know… earlier…" I scratched the back of my head, "My weight is just… something I don't wanna talk about and I didn't mean to sound mean or anything like that…"

"No, I'm sorry Caly. I shouldn't have read your mind in the first place – I'm just used to how things are on Mars…" I could tell from her expression that she was thinking about what happened with Superboy. I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a bright smile. "Still friends, right?"

"Sisters," I corrected her before entering the Zeta Tube.

"Recognized, Virago, B-06, Miss Martian, B-05."

As soon as we walked in, the three boys greeted us. It was only Kaldur, Kid Flash and Robin so Superboy must still be in Metropolis.

"We've got a little present for you guys!" M'gann announced as she held up the bags of Cinnabon. A look of excitement and happiness spread across the speedster's face before he rushed to us in the fastest speed I've seen – well from at least.

His mouth was practically a waterfall, "I-is that what I think it is? A perfectly delicious cinnamon roll from my two faaavorite girls?"

Both M'gann and I shared a look, raising our eyebrows. 'Do we have to give him one?' I questioned as he started reaching for the bag.

'Unfortunately, yes. We bought one for everyone.' M'gann pulled one of the boxes and handed it to Wally. "Here ya go."

I pulled out a box and handed it to Robin, who thanked me. He stood next to Wally who had already devoured his pasty treat and was asking M'gann for the last one.

I grabbed the last two and handed one to Kaldur. "Is this what you meant earlier?" he asked and I nodded, opening my box. He did the same, smiling, "This smells amazing… what is this again?"

"A cinnamon roll."

He tried lifting it up but I noticed that the icing began sticking to his fingers, causing me to giggle. I poked his shoulder, "Here, watch me Kal." I tore a piece from the pastry and popped it into my mouth. He did the same and he hummed in delight.

"This reminds me of something my mother made." He said, taking a huge piece from the cinnamon roll.

"Really?" I licked the icing from my fingers. "I've always wondered what the food was like in Atlantis."

"It is very good. When I go to visit soon, you should come with me."

My eyes widened as a blush rose to my cheeks. Did he just invite me to come to Atlantis? But we're just friends, aren't we?

I shoke my head at the thought. It's incredibly fine to invite friends to your home town – well water capital in Kaldur's case.

"Calypso? Would that be alright?" the Atlantean's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Aish… what'd you say?"

"If you do not mind going with me to Atlantis, would you like to meet my two best friends?"

I nodded – a bit too enthusiastically – and licked the frosting from my lips. "I would love to." I didn't realize that my heartbeat was thumping faster than normal and the room felt a lot warmer.

"Yoohoo? Earth to Calypso?" Kid Flash was waving his hand in front of my face before reaching to poke my cheek.

I gently slapped it away, rolling my eyes. "Yes Wally?"

"I'm challenging you to a game of air hockey." He said, gesturing to the holographic hockey table in the middle of the room.

"Why me?" I question, raising my eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Eh, I wanna get beating you and Megalicious out of the way first, since it'll be sooo easy."

"Pfft. Easy?" I cracked my knuckles, approaching the table. "Bring it on, ginger."

Wally placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt before placing his hand on the holographic pusher. I did the same. It felt a little weird knowing that this was all holographic, not of it was real – well, it was but not physically.

Robin pressed a few buttons and a screen with a score counter appeared along with a start and end button. "Ready?" he looked between the speedster and I and we both nodded. "Go!" he pressed the start button and the puck appeared in the middle of the table.

Before I could even realize what was going on, Kid Flash used his super speed to push the puck into the goal and gained a point. He began to dance around as the table dinged and his score changed to 1.

"If that's how you're gonna do it…" I touched my Devatma totem, thinking of the fastest animal I could – a cheetah.

His eyes widened, "Hey, hey, hey, that's cheat-"

He was cut off by a ding and the score changed to 1:1 and I smirked. His eyes narrowed at me as his hands curled around the pusher.

And just like that, I realized how competitive I became over a game of air hockey. Robin bet money that KF was going to win while M'gann was cheering me on.

"Aw babe, c'mon, why aren't you cheering for me?" Kid Flash pouted, giving the Martian the puppy dog eyes.

"Because I know Caly will win." She said triumphally.

I grinned. "Gomawa."

Suddenly, it became 9:9. Whoever scores the next point wins. I was watching KF's every move, making sure that he wouldn't cheat on me again. The puck reappeared in the middle and I waited for him to make his move.

"What'cha waiting for Calypso?" he taunted. "Go for it."

I raised my eyebrow. What is he planning? "Aniyo, age before beauty."

"Age? I'm younger than you-"

The table began making victory beeps and whirs, signifying that I, Calypso Lea Callaghan, won the game. I placed the pusher down and made finger gun gestures towards the speedster. "Soooo easy, right Wally?"

He crossed his arms, grumbling, "whatever… I could've beaten you. I was just going easy on you 'cause you're a girl."

I rolled my eyes before the computer announced Superboy's arrival. I completely forgot that he was in Metropolis today.

"Hi, Superboy." Miss Martian greeted happily, smiling at the clone. "How was Metropolis?"

He said nothing in response as he walked through the holographic hockey table and it disappeared. I exchanged looks with her and the rest of my team, "I'm guessing it didn't go well…"

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, "Ready for training everyone?" the five of us turned to see Black Canary and Martian Manhunter walking towards us.

"Black Canary and Uncle J'onn!" M'gann exclaimed before rushing towards her uncle, throwing her arms around him.

"M'gann," he placed his hand on her shoulder, "I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd see how you are adjusting."

"A few bumps," she admitted, "but I'm learning."

He smiled. "That's all I can ask."

"Stick around." Canary called out to Superboy, who was walking away. He turned around, an angry look on his face, and crossed his arms. I was expecting him to leave the room, but he stayed, waiting for what Black Canary was going to say.

She walked on the platform, it glowing when she reached the middle, and turned towards us. "I consider it an honor to be your teacher. I'll throw a lot at you - everything I've learned from my own mentors-" she tugged off her jacket with a wince, revealing the bandages that were wrapped around the upper part of her arm, "and my own bruises."

M'gann gasped, "what happened?"

"The job." She answered, tossing her jacket to the side. "Now, combat is about controlling conflict, putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting. I'll need a sparring partner."

Kid Flash raised his hand a little too eagerly. "Right here." I rolled my eyes, face palming. "After this – swish," he finished his banana and threw it into the garbage bin, "I'll show you my moves."

I looked up at Kaldur. "He can't be serious right?" I whispered to him. "She's twice his age!"

He nodded. "Unfortunately, yes but this is Wally we are talking about."

"True."

Black Canary isn't weirded out by Wally's flirting – almost everyone is – and smirks, narrowing her eyes. She throws a punch the ginger's way, which he dodges. She quickly ducks down and kicks his feet out from under him, who lands on the floor with a thud.

'KID FLASH STATUS: FAIL' appeared next to Wally's head, who groaned in pain, "Hurts… so good…"

"Good block," Canary commented, holding out her hand for the speedster, helping him off the ground, "but did anyone see what he did wrong?"

"Oh!" Robin perked up, raising his hand. "He hit on teacher and got served?" I snickered, he did have a point.

"Dude!"

She ignored what the Boy Wonder said, "He allowed me to dictate the terms of-"

"Oh, please." Superboy interrupted, not happy with Canary's statement. "With my powers, the battle is always on my terms. And this is a waste of my time."

"Prove it." She smirked, not fazed by his words, she turned towards the clone as he stepped towards her.

I was instantly reminded of Mari, how she would challenge people who underestimated her – and won, almost every time. I didn't see it as cockiness or even arrogance, I always saw it as power and confidence, something I would love for her to have passed down to me. I reminded myself that after today, I would go visit her. She had finally cooled down after our huge argument, but I didn't want to move back in with her in Detroit. I loved living at the Cave – it gave me my first taste of freedom and I was with my new friends. Every time I tried bringing up why she didn't want me joining the team, she got quiet and told me not to bring up an already ended conversation.

Kid Flash stepped away from the two before Superboy lunged his fist towards Canary. She grabbed it with ease and swung him onto the ground.

I looked at the hero in shock. She just tossed him like it was nothing. It looked like she didn't even break a sweat either or injure her arm. How she did that, I have no idea… but I really want to know. Her strength is incredible – I can't even do that by myself, I'd have to use the powers of the Devatma totem.

Robin burst out into laughter, pointing at the clone, who had 'SUPERBOY STATUS: FAIL' next to his head. Kaldur elbowed the younger Bat, who covered his mouth, stifling his laugh.

"So mature…" I commented, glaring at the Boy Wonder.

Superboy was pissed. Although, if I was getting laughed at by my teammates after being thrown down by a lady who I thought was weaker than me, I'd be pissed too.

"You're angry, good, but don't react." Black Canary said. "Channel that anger into-"

The clone let out a thundering cry of anger before charging as fast as he could towards Canary. She flipped over him, which he was not expecting and kicked his feet off the ground, like she did to KF earlier.

Robin laughed again, this time covering his mouth as the rest of us winced. Poor Superboy, today was not his day.

Canary held out her hand for the clone, who pushed her hand away harshly, standing on his own. "I'm done!"

"Training is mandatory," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. He shrugged off her hand again before facing her. Just from looking at his intense gaze, I could tell Supes had some very not pleasant things to say to Canary.

Thankfully, a holographic screen interrupted before anything could happen. It was the Dark Knight, hopefully here to give us a mission. "Batman to the cave," all of us approached the screen, "five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary." Another smaller screen appeared next to Batman showing what I think is a robot, with red eyes and strange pointy ears. "The attacker was capable of studying, then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents." The screen showed the robot swinging around Superman like he was nothing before the video paused. "Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."

I exchanged looks with Wally, who had the same expression I did. "Woah," he murmured, "one guy with the powers of the entire League?"

"That's really not good." I said and Kaldur nodded in agreement.

Batman continued, "In the end, it took nine leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android."

"An android?" Robin repeated. "Who made it, T.O. Morrow?"

"Good guess Robin." His mentor said. "But Red Tornado doesn't think so."

"The technology bears the signature of Professor Ivo." Martian Manhunter mentioned. I rubbed my head, trying to remember who Morrow or Ivo were. Thanks to being so late to the hero game, I didn't have much of a class on recognizing villains. The ones I remember most are the ones Mari fought – without me of course – and on TV like the Joker or Bane. I was just going to smile and nod, like I knew exactly who everyone was talking about.

"Ivo was er- is a mad scientist, obsessed with immortality and incredible robot technician." Miss Martian explained to me and I sent her a smile.

"Thanks M'gann."

I noticed Kaldur's eyes widened at what the Martian said. "Ivo? But Ivo's dead."

Black Canary looked over her shoulder to meet his gaze, "So we all thought… or hoped."

"To make certain this threat is permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate S.T.A.R. lab facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation." Batman said as a map appeared on the screen. "Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo or anyone tries to recover the remains. You will split into undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks."

"Yes!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "Road trip!" I smiled, happy as well that we were finally given another mission.

However, Superboy was not as happy as Kid Flash and I were. "So now we take out your trash." He growled in annoyance.

Batman raised his eyebrow at the clone. "You had something better to do?" He didn't respond and looked away from the screen.

Suddenly a beeping sound came from a device in Kaldur's hand. "Coordinates received." He announced. "On our way."


LITCHFIELD COUNTY
AUGUST 3, 20:08 EDT

Thanks to Batman, each of us had cliché leather biking outfits with our new motorcycles. I've never ridden a motorcycle before but according to Robin, it was just like riding a bike. He instructed how everything worked, saying numerous times which one was the brake and I nodded.

"Just make sure not to crash alright?" the Boy Wonder joked, and I glared at him.

"Thanks. I'll totally do that."

I noticed that Batman gave the signal for the trucks and the team. I placed my helmet over my head, making sure everything was secure just in case if I do crash… hopefully Robin didn't jinx it.

Swallowing the fear I had, I placed both of my hands on the handles and followed after Robin and Superboy, while Kaldur, M'gann, and Wally followed after the other set of trucks.

After the first couple miles, I was getting used to bike slowly. Sometimes I would turn too sharply and almost fall off my bike, but I learned not to lean all of my body weight to the side I was turning.

After a while it became easy and surprisingly calm. To me, this was much easier than driving a car. Even though I already had my permit for driving a car, I was considering of getting one for a motorcycle as well. Mari would probably kill me though, saying that it'd be 'too dangerous.'

The Boy Wonder broke the silence as he drove up beside Superboy, "If dislike is the opposite of like, Is disaster the opposite of aster? See, instead of things going wrong, they go right." I shoke my head with a chuckle, yet again he has made up another word. "Uh, clearly you're not feeling the aster." He looked over at Superboy, who was focused on the road. "What's wrong?"

"Canary." Superboy glowered. "And what business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?"

"Well… super strength doesn't mean you can down everything and everyone." I said. "You have to know how to use it."

Robin nodded. "Besides taking down stronger guys is part of the gig. Canary learned that the hard way. Same with Batman and, well, me."

The clone glared at the two of us. "Says the two who don't actually have super powers." He speed off closer to the truck, leaving Robin and I behind him.

"I guess a magical totem doesn't count." I said, holding back some very rude insults.

"Apparently not." The Boy Wonder replied.

I turned my gaze back towards the road when I noticed a couple of strange shadows fly over us. I looked up to see… what the hell?

"Are those… monkeys?!"

Several disturbingly sounding robot monkeys attached themselves to the truck in front of us. They looked back and began laughing, like they were mocking us.

"Virago, Robin, Superboy!" Aqualad exclaimed through the comms. "Our truck is under attack!"

"Kinda figured," Robin retorts as we speed up next to Superboy, who looks even angrier than he did earlier – if that was even possible.

"I hate monkeys."

Suddenly, the truck began swerving between the lanes, leaving skid marks on the road.

"Robot monkeys!" the younger Bat laughed for some reason, not sure why he thought the situation was funny. "Totally Ivo's tweaked style. Hey, guys switch your ride to battle mode."

I followed his actions, tapping the middle screen on my bike. A part of my bike shot out and transformed into a drone, flying up besides Robin's.

"No point." Instead of listening to Robin, Superboy launched himself off his bike and landed on the truck.

Quickly I touched my Devatma totem, thinking of any animal that could fly, and grabbed Robin just before the clone's bike crashed into ours. I flew up the truck and let go of Robin as he latched to the vehicle.

I grabbed two of the bots and threw them to ground, watching them break as they hit the pavement. Suddenly, one of them grabbed my leg and I tried shaking it off.

"Kkeojyeo!" I threw off the monkey and the drone from my bike used its laser to disintegrate it. I noticed more robots flying towards us, a couple of them taking down Robin's drone.

I pulled myself onto the roof of the truck and realized Superboy really needed our help. I touched my totem again, the heightened senses and speed of the panther surged through me. I grabbed the tail of one of the bots and slammed it down into another, both exploding.

"ARGH!" I whipped my head around at the sound of Superboy's cry, who was being lifted in the air by the monkeys, then dropped onto the road.

"Super- ah!" I was shoved to the ground by more of the creepy bots, who kept laughing. I was beginning to see why Supes hated monkeys. This was getting annoying.

Grabbing the two that were holding down my arms, I threw them off the truck and they crashed into the cornfield. Quickly, I stood up, taking out my bō staff swung it into a herd of bots trying to laser their way into the roof off the truck.

Then out of nowhere, more monkeys flew onto the truck, continuing to break in. Robin flipped onto the vehicle and pulled out his escrima sticks, taking out several more monkeys. I kicked a few more off, but no matter how many the two of us took out, more bots came.

"There's too many!" I exclaimed looking at the Boy Wonder.

Thankfully, Superboy joined us, jumping onto the truck, sending more off the truck but more came back, attaching themselves to the clone.

"What do we-" I was cut off by a sudden explosion below the truck, causing the truck to swerve. The monkeys must've taken out the tires. Robin and I exchanged looks before rushing to front of the truck.

"GET OUT!" Robin yelled to the driver as I opened the passenger door, grabbing two of the guards, while my teammate grabbed the driver. I hopped off the truck, tumbling into the cornfield.

I groaned, rubbing the side of my head. I looked to the guard I rescued who was unconscious. I brought him to the road, gently setting him down and looked for any injuries.

Looking across the road, I saw the younger Bat doing the same. I glanced over at the truck, noticing the giant hole – the monkeys stole everything. It suddenly flipped over, revealing a not-so crushed Superboy, who roared in anger and began to follow the monkeys.

"Superboy!" Robin called out to him. I went to touch my Devatma totem, ready to fly after them but he shoke his head.

"Aqualad to Virago, we've lost our cargo. Did you-"

I sighed. "Yeah, we did too."

Robin added, "And we lost our teammate."

"Aqualad to Superboy, radio your position." Kaldur instructed. I hope his calm voice would get to the clone. "We'll help you."

"I don't need help!" Superboy fumed, causing me to wince at how loud he was. "Don't want any!"

Aqualad tried calling his name again through the comm but there was no response.

"I think he ditched his comm." Robin pointed out.

"Super~" the speedster said sarcastically. "Now we can't even track him."

"He's out of my telepathic range." M'gann added. "This professor Ivo, if he is alive, seems to be two steps ahead of us. Maybe we should contact Red Tornado?"

"Tornado always tells us to handle things ourselves. And the mission can still succeed if we recover the parts before they're reassembled." Kaldur responded.

I nodded, agreeing with the Atlantean, even though he couldn't see me. "Exactly, I know we can do it. We don't need Red Tornado's help."

"Oh yeah, great enthusiasm V," commented Kid Flash, with more sarcasm than before, "and that's a great plan Kal, except for the part about us not knowing where to look!"

Robin looked down the deactivated, broken monkeys in front of us and I picked one up. "Maybe we do," he pulled out a cord from his gloves and hooked into the back of the bot. "We'd have heard by now if the decoy trucks had been attacked. So how did these monkeys know exactly which trucks to target?" a holographic screen appeared from his glove, revealing a map. "Ha! The parts have GPS. The monkeys can track the signal, which means I can track them with the one we captured. It looks both sets of parts are converging on… Gotham city."

"That far south? M'gann and I won't get there anytime soon." Aqualad said. "I'm sending Kid on ahead to meet you two. Aqualad out."

"Definitely a disaster," the Boy Wonder breathed out, "heavy on the dis." For once, I agreed with the younger Bat. This was a major disaster.


Robin and I were reaching Gotham City limits when Kid Flash finally caught up with us.

"So you changed, too?" the Bat observed, referring to the speedster's uniform. Before Robin and I left, we had taken off the hot and sweaty leather outfits, changing into our uniforms, using the cornfield as cover.

"You kidding?" the ginger shuddered. "I feel naked in civvies. How ya holding up V?"

"Eh," I shrugged. "I've been better. You?"

He flashed me a flirtatious smile and winked. "Better now that I'm here with yo- ow!" I reached over from my bike and smacked his head. "Y'know you're supposed to keep both hands on the handles…"

I rolled my eyes. "I'll just use by bō next time."

Kid Flash seemed to ignore my threat and move closer to Robin. "You still tracking the parts?"

"They were heading through Gotham, but they veered." He looked down at the map on his bike. "Wait… dude, they're at my sch- I mean, they're at Gotham Academy!"

I raised my eyebrow at the Boy Wonder. Kid Flash gave a sheepish smile. He knew who Robin was without the mask, but I wonder why he was the only one.

When we reached Gotham Academy, the three of us looked around for where Superboy and the monkeys might be.

"Maybe we could check the-" a loud crash near the auditorium of the school answered our question. Kid Flash speed off into the doors of the gym, while Robin and I followed close behind.

As soon as we entered, I noticed Superboy getting his butt kicked by a tall android with pointy ears – Amazo.

The speedster slipped past the bot, grabbing Superboy with a, "Yoink!" Robin threw a few Birdarangs at the android but since it had the powers of Martian Manhunter, it went straight through him, and exploded on the wall behind him.

"Access: Red Tornado," not so shockingly, a red tornado swirled around Amazo and headed towards us. I touched my totem, quickly thought of the flight and strength of the Griffin and wrapped one arm around Superboy's waist, the other around Robin's.

"This probably isn't a good idea…" before the android could get any closer I jumped up as far as I could, hauling the boys away from the tornados.

"Calypso!" I heard the speedster warn from below us. I felt the wind from the tornado pulling me back into the bot.

"Mianhae!" using all the strength I could muster, I threw the boys away from Amazo, hopefully not hurting them, and dropped to the ground. I looked over to see the boys hiding behind the other set of bleachers.

Amazo turned his attention on the speedster. "Access: Captain Atom."

My eyes widened. "KF move!"

A bright yellow beam shot from the bot's hand, almost hitting the ginger. Luckily, he moved away in time and speed down to the other side of the bleachers. He ran to the bot to attack it, but it used a powerful Canary cry to send him flying across the gym.

"Superman." Amazo called out right before Superboy threw a punch his way. The droid caught it with ease and slammed its fist into the clone's face, throwing him right into the bleachers. I winced at the impact.

"Martian Manhunter." It used another Leaguer's power just as Robin threw Birdarangs his direction.

We can't even get a hit on this guy… he has all the powers of almost the entire League! If Vixen fought him, he wouldn't be able to mimic her powers – it comes from her totem just as mine does.

I heard the cry of pain from Kid Flash as he was being crushed by the android, bringing me out of my thoughts. I didn't have time to form a good plan or even think of the possibilities of what would happen if it didn't work or think of a plan B or C.

Suddenly, it called out the powers of Martian Manhunter just before something shot through him, making him release KF. Was that an arrow? Last time I checked, none of us were archers.

"Access: Black Canary." And there went Superboy again. "Superman." And KF and Robin. I was really getting tired of our team losing today.

I stood up and began running towards Amazo. He tried using the laser beams of Superman to take out my legs. I flew up into the air and dove to the bot, aiming to rip off his head. "Access: Martian Manhunter." I crashed face first into the ground. My face was going to feel this tomorrow.

"Captain Atom." I grabbed its arm, bending it upwards, causing the beam to cut out large pieces of the roof. "Superman." It used its other arm to toss me into the bleachers and snapped its other arm back into place. I groaned in pain, trying to turn over. I felt a couple bones pop and crack, making me hiss.

"Martian Manhunter." The rubble from the roof crashed down onto the floor, probably going right through the android.

"It makes me angry!" Struggling to sit up, I watched Superboy launch himself over to who I assumed to be Professor Ivo. "Wanna see me channel that anger?!"

He jumped out of the way, his robotic monkeys following, and exclaimed, "Amazo, protect your master! Priority alpha!" I chuckled at the so-called robotics genius – he seemed puny to me.

"Captain Atom." Another bright yellow beam shot from its arm, hitting Superboy. I stood up from the bleachers and jumped down.

"Anyone want to play keep-away?" Robin kicked the professor across the floor. KF excitedly raised his hand, rushing over to the technician. "Me! Me!"

"Access: Superman." It stomped on the floor and a shockwave rippled through across the ground, causing the speedster to fly into the bleachers.

I flew over Amazo, trying to reach the professor but it caught my foot. I tried wriggling out of its grasp but it kept squeezing my ankle.

"Martian Manhunter." I looked over my shoulder and Robin threw Birdarangs into the android, which went right through him. I flew out of his grasp before Superboy stood in front of Amazo and put his fist right through its head. "Superman-"

Suddenly sparks came from the android and it froze. I grabbed the clone's hand, pulling him away right as it exploded, its metal body crashing into the floor.

"Good job Supes." I patted his back, sending him a grin. I sat up, crossing my legs and stretching out my arms.

"Quick," Robin exclaimed, rushing to the deactivated bot, "help me disassemble him now!"

"Dude, the guy has no head." The ginger pointed out, rubbing his shoulder.

"Don't take any chances!" Instantly, a smile appeared across my face hearing the voice of Kaldur. Both him, with M'gann flying right on his heels, rushed into the auditorium.

M'gann hurried to Superboy's side, helping him stand. "Superboy are you alright?"

"Fine." My eyes widened when I noticed him smile – that was strange for him. "Feeling the aster." Robin sent him a toothy grin and I chuckled.

"Calypso," Kaldur said, outstretching his hand. What was this, number four? I gladly took his hand, using his arm to steady myself. His other hand brushed my check, probably examining the bruises.

I gently swatted his hand away. "I'm okay, really." His eyebrow arched, as if he wasn't convinced.

"Hey, where's Ivo?" the speedster questioned. We all looked around the gym, looking for the professor or even his stupid robot monkeys, but he disappeared. At least we took down Amazo – he wasn't getting this back anytime soon.


MOUNT JUSTICE
AUGUST 4, 01:16 EDT

"The Amazo android is in pieces again, safely being analyzed at the two separate S.T.A.R. labs, but Ivo escaped." Aqualad reported to the four Leaguers in front of us. "And since he originated the tech, he's arguably more dangerous than the android."

I gave the Atlantean props for being so calm and collected at this time of night. I could barely keep my eyes open but I didn't want to seem like I was tired, so I stood tall and alert as possible.

"Capturing the professor will be a League priority." Black Canary promised with an affirmative nod.

Martian Manhunter crossed his arms, eyes focusing on Superboy. "But we understand your mission encountered other complications."

I patted the clone's back. "It was no big." I gave him an encouraging smile.

"Nice KP reference." Kid Flash whispered as Batman approached us.

"Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the League." The older Bat stated.

Superboy's eyebrow raised, "The whole League?"

"Given time, yes." Batman said. "Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads." Another small smile appeared across the clone's face – that's two in one day, I'm shocked. "Of course, there's no shame in asking for help. That's why the League exists – because there are some problems even we can't handle individually."

"Please." Robin snapped, glaring at his mentor. "If we needed help, we'd never get the chance to ask!" he pulled out the arrow from earlier that saved Kid Flash. "Look familiar? You were following us! Babysitting! You still don't trust us!"

"We didn't follow you." Batman observed the arrow before giving it to Green Arrow who took out his own arrow showing that both were not the same.

Robin's eyes went wide. "Oh… that's not your arrow… but that means-!"

"Speedy!" Kid Flash exclaimed, grinning.

"He has our backs." Aqualad added. I looked at M'gann with a confused look and she had the same expression. Both of us shrugged – if he's important we'll find out eventually who is he.

The ginger raced towards the archer, grabbing Speedy's arrow from him. "Souvenir~"


DETROIT
AUGUST 4, 08:31 EDT

I used my key to unlock the door to our – well, now Mari's apartment. I locked the door behind me, taking off my shoes. "Hey, you awake?" I called out to her, noticing that she wasn't up yet. I walked over to her bedroom, gently knocking on the door. "Hellooo?"

My mom was lying face down on her bed, tissues everywhere, and the fan blowing on high blast. I frowned. She must've gotten sick. I felt her forehead with back of my hand – she was burning up.

I rushed to the freezer, grabbing one of the many ice packs we had and slowly placed it on her forehead. She stirred and turned over to the fan.

Looking over to her nightstand, I saw the dozens of empty flu medicine bottles and boxes of Advil. I grabbed the only full bottle of Alka-Seltzer and filled up a tiny cup for her. "Take your medicine please. I'll make you something to eat."

She made a noise, that I guess was her agreeing with me. I went into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets to see what I could make for her. I'll use the meal that I make as a truce and hopefully it'll help her feel better.

I grabbed a box of pancake mix, checked the expiration date and placed it on the counter. Scanning the side of the mix, I looked through the fridge, putting the ingredients I needed on the counter. "Milk… eggs…" I read off, "what'll make them taste good?"

I looked through our cabinets again and picked out a tiny bottle of vanilla extract and cinnamon. "This should be good." I placed all the ingredients in a blue plastic bowl, sprinkling in the flavors I found. I dipped my finger into the mixture and tasted it. "Hmm… not too bad. M'gann would be proud."

After I placed the bowl on the counter, I grabbed one of the clean skillets from the dishwasher and placed it on the stove with some butter. I turned on Mari's sacred coffee maker, changing out the filter.

I walked into the living room, unplugging the CD player from the wall and brought it into the kitchen. Scanning through my mentor's vast collection of music, I picked up an album titled "From Me to You – 2009." There was a handwritten paper in the cover listing all the songs with a name at the bottom.

Enjoy Mari.
- Luke

I gasped. No way. Luke had a thing for Mari – Mari had a thing for Luke? I shuddered thinking about it. Maybe this was just a friend thing. Yeah. Friends do that for each other.

I shoke my head, trying to push away the thoughts of my mom and trainer being together. I placed the disk in the CD player and pressed play.

Rhianna's Disturbia came through the speakers and I burst into laughter. This was one of Luke's and Mari's songs? I had no idea why, but it was a good song nonetheless.

I flicked water on the pan and it sizzled, signaling it was ready to make golden, delicious pancakes. I scooped a small amount onto the skillet, making it my test pancake. I wanted to make sure the temperature was right before making anymore.

I flipped the pancake after a few minutes and it was a perfect golden brown. "M'gann would definitely be proud of me. Good job, Caly." I patted myself on the back. "Now do twelve more perfect ones and-"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"WAH!" I jumped, almost dropping the spatula. I held it close to me, noting it wasn't a good weapon but it was metal. I could do some damage with this thing. I inched towards the door and looked into the peephole.

"Calypso?" it was Kaldur, dressed in his casual attire, covering his tattoos. "It's me-"

I swung open the door, pointing my weapon at the Atlantean. "You scared me half to death. What're you doing here?"

"I called you to ask if you wanted to train with us this morning." He answered. "M'gann said you we be home in Detroit."

"Oh," I pulled my phone out my pocket, confirming that he did call – a few times in fact. I blushed, feeling bad that I didn't answer. "Mianhae… I just wanted to see how my mom was. Turns out she's sick."

"Is she alright?"

"Pfft, oh yeah. A little cold isn't going to get Mari. I'm making some food for her." I opened the door wider. "Would you… like to come in?"

Kaldur nodded. "I would love to." He stepped into the house and I stopped him before he began walking on the carpet. I gestured to the shoes near the door. "Apologies."

He followed me into the kitchen after he took off his shoes. "Are you cooking cinnamon rolls?"

"No, why?"

"They were very good yesterday." The Atlantean admitted. "I was hoping you would have more."

I giggled. "Nope, sorry Kal. Besides, no one makes cinnamon rolls like Cinnabon does. Even if I tried, it wouldn't compare to theirs."

"I make them good girls go bad. I make them good girls go bad."

Kaldur pointed at the CD player, "What kind of music is this?"

"Songs from two-thousand and nine." I said, placing another golden pancake on a plate and popped it into the microwave to stay warm.

"It does not sound like anything from Atlantis." He chuckled. "How does this compare to the music in Korea?"

I tapped my chin in thought. "Hmm… I don't really remember any music from Korea when I was kid and I don't really keep up with it today… I know that there was a lot of boy groups – girls would swoon over them."

"Boy groups?"

"Yup. They would sing, dance, have dazzling smiles. I think I remember my sister having a paper thingy… um… picture? No that's not it…"

Kaldur began suggesting words, "Portrait? Sign? Painting?"

I shoke my head. "No. It was like a big picture on a wall. Billboard? No that's way too big." I noticed that one of my pancakes was in desperate need to be flipped over and thankfully it didn't burn.

"Poster." I jumped at the sound of my mom's voice – it was nasally, and I could tell she was congested. She grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured her steaming hot coffee into the cup. "Aqualad, right?"

The Atlantean nodded, holding out his hand politely. "Yes. It is an honor to meet you Vixen. I have heard stories about you from Aquaman."

"All good I hope." She teased with a wink. She opened up the microwave, noticing the stack of pancakes. "Did you make these?"

I nodded with a bright smile. "Neh." I scooped the last remaining pancake mix onto the pan, making a giant one.

Mari placed both plates onto the counter. "Kaldur, you're welcome to have some of these." He was going to object but she shoke her head. "I insist. Calypso always makes too much."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Pfft. You love the leftovers."

"I have never had these before – what are they called?"

"Pancakes. I put cinnamon and vanilla in there too."

"Will they taste like cinnamon rolls?"

I laughed, passing Mari the maple syrup from the fridge. "You'll just have to eat to find out. Everyone, masikke deuseyo~"