Clara's POV

I gaped at the open window, not believing my eyes. The hairs on my arms raised, either from the uncanny silence or the cool breeze that wafted through the room. The red curtain used as a window shade fluttered peacefully, the golden tassels that lined the edges dancing around. I always thought that those curtains were too fancy for the Cave. That was beside the point. Batman was going to kill us.

I groaned and rested my head in a hand. It was a terrible coincidence. She'd probably had enough, of us keeping her locked up in here, like a prisoner. Even though she had all these powers that she didn't know what to do with. She needed a mentor, a trainer... I shuddered, remembering what happened with my mentor.

Where would she go? From what I knew, her father was her only family. She must be at S.T.A.R. Labs. We'd have to search there first. I must have been standing there for a long time because Dick came racing into the room. "Oh, good, you're okay," he panted. I silently took his hand and he lead me back to the rest of the Team.

Jessie's POV

Which boat? Why were there so many to choose from, here in the docking bay? I needed one that was quiet and fast. How was I supposed to know which one is the one that I want? And shouldn't all of them be quiet and fast?

At least I knew was where I was going. Not back to S.T.A.R. Labs; that would be the first place they would check. No, I was going to visit my cousin. No one knew about her except my father and me. We needed to keep it that way, as to not ruin the Wells reputation. She was an ex-addict, but my father doesn't believe that she truly quit. "She's dangerous," he would say, but that wasn't true. She was one of the nicest people I know. She's not overprotective and distracted, like Dad. She was kind and sweet. She paid attention to what you had to say, to what you were trying to say. She didn't look down on your studies or your best work. She didn't care when you failed some of your classes.

Back to the boat issue. I glanced over my shoulder, keeping my ears alert. The ruse wouldn't hold them for long. I just decided to go with a small one. I hopped in the boat, desperately trying to remember the boating classes that my father forced me to take. Just in case I ever needed to make a quick getaway. I drew a blank. All of those classes, all of those hours, for nothing. I was hoping that it worked like a car when I heard voices coming from the hall behind me. The Team. With no time to reminisce in the past, I turned on the boat and drove away.

Night Wing's POV

"Unless..." I trailed off, waiting for her to finish my sentence.

"Unless what?" Clara sighed. "Just tell me what you mean."

She really didn't know. That was why it was hard to be a former Batman sidekick. Things that were obvious to you were mysteries to others. Since she was likely the cleverest here, I figured that not many of the others would understand, either.

"Unless that's what she wants us to think," I said finally. "I mean, it's pretty obvious. Why would she go back to her father, the one who got her in this mess? She knows that would be the first place we would check."

"But she doesn't have any other family." Clara pointed out. "Besides, she kind of strikes me as the dumb blonde type." She was right on that account, but there might be something Wells wasn't telling us. "Fine," I caved. "We'll go there, ask a couple questions about where she might be, and leave. Right?" Clara opened her mouth to speak, but Aqualad interrupted her. "Agreed," he declared. I saw her shoot him a glare and laughed under my breath.

The docking bay was just down the hall. We would need a boat that was fast. Who knows where she could end up if we took our sweet time. When we arrived at the docking bay, an unwelcome surprise met us. Our best boat was gone. The quietest, fastest one was just... gone.

Was it Jessie? Who else could it be? She was the only other person in Mount Justice. I did a quick headcount just to make sure. Everyone's here. Which meant that the only person who could've stolen it was Jessie. Did she even know how to drive a boat? I prayed to whatever god that was out there that she wouldn't crash our most prized boat. Batman was going to kill us.

Jessie's POV

"Kid, what are you doing here?" demanded Patty. I hoped that she wasn't mad. I made it this far, but if she turns me away, I'll have nowhere else to go. I also accidentally crashed the boat into a concrete wall. But it took me where I wanted to go, and that's all that mattered.

"I just need a place to regroup... to think."

"Well, what about Stacey? Or Jessica? Or Amber?"

I mentally rolled my eyes. Not them again. The hoes didn't have a drop empathy between them.

"It's too complicated," I pleaded. "Nobody else would understand." For a moment, it looked as if she was pitying me, but her face flashed into a different expression. Her mouth was a grim line, but her eyes were soft. She caved.

"Fine. Come in, you must be cold." I stepped over the threshold and crossed into her messy house. I liked untidy things. It gave me a break from everything that was meticulously organized back at the house. I sat down on her couch, brushing away some empty paint bottles to make room. "Are you hungry?" she called from the kitchen. When she mentioned it, I could already hear my stomach rumbling. The smell of toast filled her apartment. "Yes please," I said, and she came over with a plate piled high with peanut butter and banana toast, my favourite.

She set the plate on my lap and I grabbed a piece ravenously, eager to start eating. But the toast was too hot. It burned my fingers, even just a little bit, and that was enough to bring the flashback. Being strapped to that awful chair, powerless. Having someone abuse me, torture me, over and over, not knowing what they wanted. I was sitting in that chair again, the awful man's face looming above me. He screamed at me over and over as he stabbed me with the knife, zapped me with the laser. I didn't know what he wanted.

I came back, if only for a second, to Patty's dirty living room. I was collapsed on the floor, my breaths ragged and shallow. What was wrong with me?