To laurakinneys: ok, thank you! I'm glad you like it - and yes, I'm glad I was self-indulgent with this. XD

To KingPenguinJG: yes, I've heard about all the crossovers - it was actually what inspired me to write this (although this crossover is a little different). To be completely honest, I love Marvel, but I'm a bit of a fake fan - my only basis in the fandom is the MCU, I never read comics or watched the animated tv shows growing up - that was all DC for me. I completely understand that seeing characters be mis-portrayed in the movie is frustrating, but unfortunately that's the only way I know the characters personally. Sorry!

To Guest: yes, I've been thinking about other possibly ships for her. Thanks for the input! And here is the next chapter :)

To Guest: indeed, it would be crash to read minds :) I do adore Peter, so we'll see what happens. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or Marvel, but Talia is miiinee :)

also Trigger Warning just in case: mention of panic attacks in this chap.

MOUNT JUSTICE

July 18, 11:06 EDT

Talia coasted around the side of the mountain, firing her flight stabilizers so that she would turn smoothly. The flames from her thrusters left a faint contrail behind her as she lowered herself towards the ground.

Landing on the cliff face, Talia flipped her face plate up. She walked over to the entrance – the "back door" – of the Cave. The camera scanned her, and then beeped, lowering the door.

"Recognized: Artillery, B-Zero-Four."

Yes, Talia's superhero alter-ego was now "Artillery." She'd settled with it on Batman's insistence that she not go by Talia on the field. Maybe Artillery wasn't the most creative or catchy name in the world, but she'd decided that it was better than Widget (which her dad still called her) or Iron Girl.

The door leading to the Cave opened up for Talia, and she stepped down, descending into the Cave. As she stepped into Mount Justice, the armor peeled away from her body, allowing her to step out of the metal shell and onto the ground. The armor closed up behind her, hovering in midair for a moment.

Once Talia stepped onto the ground, JARVIS took control of the suit. He piloted the armor smoothly over to the storage locker that Tony had helped the League install a few days ago. While the suit was in the locker, it would charge up, while also allowing Talia the ability to call it to her when needed.

Talia walked towards the briefing room of the Cave. Gathered in the center, around the holographic computers, were Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian. They appeared to be studying one of the screens.

"What's up?" Talia asked as she joined the other three. She looked curiously at the screen the others were watching. It looked like they were tracking Red Tornado's movements: his current trajectory was to the Cave. She glanced at Aqualad, a little confused. "Why – "

"Recognized: Robin, B-Zero-One; Kid Flash, B-Zero-Three," the Zeta-Tube computer announced, cutting of Talia's question before she could ask it. She turned towards the Zetas as the two boys ran over to join the others. Both of them looked unusually excited.

"Did you ask him?" Kid Flash asked eagerly, looking at Aqualad.

"What did he say?" Robin demanded, before the Atlantean could even answer the first question. Aqualad turned to face the other boys, a small smile crossing his face.

"He is arriving now," Aqualad replied. He seemed more calm than the other two boys, but excitement gleamed in his eyes. Kid Flash and Robin exchanged a grin, and Kid Flash punched his friend on the shoulder jubilantly.

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked rhetorically, whirling around. He ran off, leaving the others to follow the redhead to yet another door that led into the Cave.

As the door opened and descended, a ramp was formed. Kid Flash led the other teenagers up the grassy walkway. Just as they reached the top and stood on level ground, Red Tornado descended from the sky. He landed, allowing the storm that had formed around his waist to dissipate.

"Red Tornado!" Kid Flash greeted, waving a hand wildly at their supervisor.

"Greetings," the robot replied. He looked around, as if watching for some sign of trouble, and then looked back towards the group. "Is there a reason you intercept me outside the Cave?" he asked.

"I'm kinda wondering that too," Talia muttered under her breath. Clearly even Superboy and Miss Martian were in the know, even if they seemed less eager than the other three. But she was clueless.

"We hoped you had a mission for us," Aqualad explained to both Talia and Red Tornado. Talia frowned to herself, a little confused. She was just as eager for a mission as the rest of the Team, but she didn't see why they were talking to Red Tornado about it.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility," Red Tornado responded, reinforcing Talia's confusion.

"But it's been over a week, and nothing –" Robin protested, stepping forward. He might have continued to complain, but Red Tornado held us his hand, silencing Robin before he'd begun.

"You will be tested soon enough," Red Tornado promised. "For the time being, simply enjoy one another's company." Talia's shoulders slumped slightly, a little disappointed by Tornado's answer. She wished they could at least train or something, but no. They just sat around and waited for a mission to come their way.

"This Team is not a social club," Aqualad replied tersely, sounding a little irritated at the suggestion. Red Tornado dipped his head in acknowledgement of the Atlantean's defensive statement.

"No," he agreed. "But I am told that social interaction is an important team-building exercise. Perhaps you can keep busy," he added, walking past the clump of teenagers to enter the Cave. "By familiarizing yourself with the Cave."

Next to Talia, Kid Flash elbowed Robin, scowling darkly at Red Tornado's words. Clearly, they'd hit home for some reason.

"Keep busy," he muttered under his breath, casting a pointed look at Robin and Aqualad. Robin scoffed, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Does he think we're falling for this?" Robin asked, clearly annoyed. He adjusted his sunglasses on his nose, scowling. Miss Martian clapped her hands, grinning broadly.

"Ooh! I'll find out!" She exclaimed eagerly. Turning around, she focused on Red Tornado's departing figure. Her eyes narrowed slightly as the robot walked into the Cave, the computer scanning and recognizing him as he walked in.

After a moment her shoulders slumped, and she shook her head. Miss Martian looked up at the others, looking a mixture of sheepish and dejected.

"Ah – I'm sorry, I forgot," she murmured, glancing down at the ground. "He's a machine. Inorganic – I cannot read his mind." Kid Flash grinned at Miss Martian, his green eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Nice try, though," he complimented her. "So, uh…" He cleared his throat, leaning in closer to the Martian and lowering his voice to make it purposefully huskier. "You know what I'm thinking right now?" Talia snorted.

"I think we all know what you're thinking," she replied. She crossed her arms and shivered – the breeze of the ocean was cooler than expected, and she was only wearing a tank top. Kid Flash straightened up, looking back at Talia.

"Don't be jealous, babe," he flirted. Talia raised an eyebrow, amazed at Kid Flash's ability to flirt with two girls back-to-back. That took a special kind of ego.

"Trust me," she replied coolly, looking away. "I'm not." Kid Flash looked hurt for a half second, which made Talia feel a little bit bad, but then he smirked. He shrugged off her dismissal, flinging an arm around her in a friendly manner.

"I see you're a little bit chilly," he joked, referring to the goosebumps on her arms. "In more ways than one." Talia scoffed, bumping her hip against Kid Flash's to throw him off-balance enough for her to squirm out of his grip.

"Well, he's right about one thing," she replied, rubbing her arms up and down to warm herself up. She'd have tor remember to bring a sweatshirt next time, especially since fall was right around the corner. "Let's go inside."

"Yes," Aqualad agreed, sighing slightly. "We tour the clubhouse."

"Well," Miss Martian began, ever eager to please. "Superboy and I live here: we can play tour guides?" Talia shrugged, glancing back at Superboy to see what he thought. Seeing her eyes on him, as well as the others, Superboy stiffened.

"Don't look at me," he replied, his blue eyes wide. Kid Flash shrugged, swinging back around to glance at Miss Martian once more.

"We won't," he assured the clone. "A private tour sounds much more fun." Robin scowled, elbowing his friend in the back. Talia couldn't tell if Robin was jealous because he liked Miss Martian as well, or if he just was irritated by his friend's antics.

"She never said private!" Robin hissed. Kid Flash looked up, glaring at his friend. Before the two younger boys could argue, Aqualad spoke up.

"Team building," the Atlantean said in a quiet but assertive tone. "We'll all go."

Talia turned back towards Miss Martian expectantly. In all honesty, she didn't know much about the League's old headquarters, just that for some reason they'd abandoned it and moved to the Hall of Justice in Washington, D.C. The tour would be a good place to gain some knowledge.

"So," Miss Martian began, walking down the ramp. "This would be our front door."

She continued to lead the Team through the common areas, which included the kitchen, common room, training facility, and the hanger, which had an inlet to the sea. She also showed the other teens the hallway where she and Superboy had their rooms, and where the others had been assigned rooms if they were ever too tired to go home after a late mission.

"And this would be our back door!" Miss Martian finished, leading the Team out to the cliff over-looking the sea that Talia had come through earlier that morning. The Team admired the view for a few moments, and then Miss Martian led them back inside.

"The Cave is actually the entire mountain," she explained as they walked back inside, through the hanger. Deciding to impress Miss Martian, Kid Flash spoke up.

"It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League," he added.

"Why'd they leave?" Talia asked, looking around the hanger admiringly. Even a place that should have been somewhat drab and boring was pretty, and the sea inlet sparkled invitingly. "Seems pretty nice here."

"The Cave's secret location was compromised," Aqualad explained to the younger girl. Talia nodded slowly, understanding. She wondered how it had happened, but before she could ask, Superboy was speaking.

"So, they traded it in for a tourist trap?" He asked, referring to the Hall of Justice. "Yeah," he scoffed, looking away and shaking his head. "That makes sense."

"If the villains know of the Cave, we must be on constant alert!" Miss Martian noted, looking slightly concerned. Robin grabbed her hand, smiling at the Martian girl in a very friendly manner.

"The bad guys know we know they know about the place, so they'd never think to look here." Miss Martian blinked, frowning at Robin's explanation. Seeing her confusion, Kid Flash leaned over to break hers and Robin's hands apart.

"Uh…he means we're hiding in plain sight," he translated. Robin scowled at Kid Flash, but Miss Martian nodded and smiled.

"Ah," she replied, scratching her hand and taking her hand back from Kid Flash. "That's…much clearer." Superboy sniffed the air, his face blank.

"I smell smoke," he deadpanned, very calmly. Miss Martian gasped, her eyes widening in horror at Superboy's assertion.

"My cookies!" she exclaimed in a distressed tone. She whirled around and took off down the hall, flying out of sight. The others followed her to the kitchen. When they got there, she was levitating a pan of charred cookies out of a smoking oven.

Talia leaned over the tray, wincing slightly. She herself was hardly a good cook, but she could definitely tell these cookies had been overcooked. They resembled hockey pucks closer to cookies. Miss Martian sighed, her shoulders slumped.

"I was trying out Grammy Jones's recipe from episode seventeen of – " she cut herself off, blushing. "Uh, never mind!"

"I bet they'd have tasted great!" Robin told the Martian smiling. Talia watched in part amusement and part disgust as Kid Flash pried a cookie from the pan and chomped down on the burnt pastry.

"Anyways," she replied, nodding at Kid Flash with a grimace. "He doesn't mind." Kid Flash froze, looking around at the others, all of whom were staring at him.

"I have a serious metabolism," he muttered defensively, swallowing several times. Miss Martian looked somewhat pleased at Kid Flash's appreciation, albeit a little confused as well.

"I'll…make more?" she offered, a small smile gracing her lips. Aqualad smiled at the Martian encouragingly.

"It was sweet of you to make any," he reassured her. Miss Martian smiled, shifting and rubbing her forearm as she smiled.

"Thanks, Aqualad," she said, laughing slightly. She seemed pleased by the comment. Aqualad raised his hand, shaking his head.

"We're off-duty," he said. "Call me Kaldur-ahm," he insisted. He hesitated, and then added, "Actually, my friends call me Kaldur." Kid Flash stopped his noisy chomping of the cookies long enough to speak.

"I'm Wally," Kid Flash introduced himself. He leaned his chin onto his forearm, smiling at Miss Martian flirtatiously. "See, I already trust you with my secret I.D." He nodded towards Robin. "Unlike Mr. Dark-Glasses over here." Robin scowled, putting his hands on his hips. "Batman's forbidden Boy Wonder from telling anybody his real name."

"Mine's no secret," Miss Martian offered. "It's M'gann M'orzz. But you can call me Megan," she added, smiling broadly. "It's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now!" She spoke jubilantly, sounding almost giddy. Talia laughed.

"Well, as you know, I'm Talia," she replied, leaning against the counter and doing jazz hands in a sarcastic manner. "Also an Earth name." Superboy scoffed, turning around and walking away. His shoulders were tight; for whatever reason, he was clearly irritated by the conversation.

M'gann looked after the clone, smiling in a friendly manner. Suddenly, the clone stiffened, his back straightening like an arrow as he whirled around to glare at M'gann. He grunted, grabbing his temples and shaking his head.

"Get out of my head!" he shouted, glaring at M'gann. Talia turned to look at the Martian and then winced as she felt a tugging sensation in her head. She gasped, gripping the sides of her head in shock. Panic coursed through her veins at the sensation and she closed her eyes against the onslaught.

"What – what's wrong?" M'gann asked telepathically, her voice echoing loudly inside Talia's brain and making the other girl cringe. "I don't understand. Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically."

"M'gann, stop!" Kaldur ordered brusquely. The Martian's eyes widened, and the uncomfortable probing sensation disappeared. Talia took a deep breath and lowered her hands from her head. Her hands were trembling. "Things are different on Earth," Kaldur explained more gently. "Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."

"Besides," Wally added, pointing to Superboy. "Cadmus's little, creepy, psychic G-Gnomes left a bad taste in his brain." M'gann's eyes widened in chagrin, and she looked at Superboy apologetically.

"I'm s – sorry," she apologized with a gasp, looking at Superboy sympathetically. "I didn't know."

"Just. Stay. Out," Superboy spat at the Martian. He stomped off, rounding the corner of the kitchen. Talia leaned forward, bracing herself against the kitchen counter as she tried to steady her breathing. M'gan looked downcast for a few moments, but then she squared her shoulders, smiling once more.

"Hello, Megan," M'gann exclaimed. "I know what we can do." The Martian girl flew off. Talia straightened up, about to follow, but Robin put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Hey," he said, sounding concerned. "Are you okay?" Talia looked down. Her hands were still shaking, and she clenched them into fists to hide it. Trying to ground herself back in the moment, Talia reached around to her back pocket, touching the baseball cap that's folded up and shoved into the back of her jeans. She gripped it tightly, feeling much like a child who's afraid of losing their security blanket.

"Fine," she replied, sounding a little breathless. "I just – M'gann took me by surprise." Superboy isn't the only one who has had bad experiences with telepathy, Talia thought privately. She pulls out the baseball cap, jamming it onto her head. The familiar feel of it helps calm her down. "It happens sometimes," Talia added, hoping she sounded blasé enough that Robin wouldn't press.

Talia was used to panic attacks, and as they went, that one had been a small one. She would barely even class it as a panic attack: she was guessing if she hadn't had coffee that morning she would have been fine. Caffeine always made her too jittery, but she also couldn't function without it. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, as they say.

"Robin? Talia?" M'gann called, poking her head back into the kitchen. "Are you coming?" Robin glanced at Talia, who nodded.

"Coming, M'gann," she replied, walking toward the Martian. Already color was returning to her cheeks, and by the time they'd reached Wally and Kaldur, she looked completely fine.

"Come on!" M'gann beckoned the others towards the elevators. Superboy was following her, his face sullen. M'gann got into the elevator, and took them down to the hanger. The elevator let them off onto a platform. Crouched at the end of the platform was a red and black egg-shaped object. "It's my Martian BioShip," she announced proudly.

"Cute," Wally replied, surveying the ship. He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "Not aerodynamic, but cute." M'gann laughed.

"It's at rest, silly," she admonished her friend. "I'll wake it!" She waved a hand, and the ship morphed at her command. Talia's eyes widened in awe as the egg transformed into a large ship. M'gann waved her hand again, and it spun around to open at the back.

"Holy…" Talia muttered, her eyes wide. "This is…amazing." She stepped up to the BioShip, admiring the sleek body. She glanced back at M'gann, frowning. "This – this isn't tech, right?" She asked, her voice filled with wonder. She almost hoped it was tech - that would be incredible - but M'gann shook her head.

"Nope," the Martian replied, grinning. "She's organic." She took a few steps towards it, and when no one followed, she looked back. "Well?" M'gann asked, smirking. "Are you coming?"

The Team followed M'gann into the BioShip, where she led them into the cockpit. When they first entered the cockpit, there was nothing – no chairs or controls, just an empty room.

As Talia stared, chairs formed from the ground, growing from nothing. Shaking her head in amazement, Talia sat down in one of the chairs. She jumped slightly when a seatbelt automatically materialized over her chest.

"Red Tornado," M'gann requested, as the others exclaimed in surprise around her. "Please open the bay doors." The hanger doors above the sea inlet slid open, revealing the ocean. M'gann stretched her hands out, and two glowing orbs sprung from the ground. When she placed her hands on them, the ship responded, rising into the air.

M'gann piloted the ship effortlessly, spinning the teenagers through the air with ease. Robin grinned, peering out the window at the scenery below.

"Incredible!" the Boy Wonder exclaimed from behind Talia. Wally sighed dreamily from where he was seated close to M'gann, across the cockpit from Robin and Talia.

"She sure is," he murmured. M'gann glanced at Wally, looking mildly amused, and his eyes widened. "I – I mean the ship," he explained, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly. Talia snorted at the speedster's obvious lie, rolling her eyes. "Which, like all ships, is a she."

"Fast with his feet," Robin taunted his friend, smirking at Talia and M'gann. "Not so much with his mouth."

"Dude!" Wally complained. Talia laughed, her eyes trailing around the room. In front of the other four, Kaldur leaned over to Superboy. He was speaking quiet enough that Talia couldn't hear what the Atlantean was saying, but she could guess. Talia glanced over at M'gann sympathetically. The green-skinned girl's shoulders were slumped.

"He'll come around," Talia tried to comfort the other girl. "Just wait." M'gann smiled weakly at Talia.

"He doesn't seem to like me much," she whispered back, her eyebrows creased in concern. Wally cupped his hand around his mouth, stage whispering at his friends.

"You guys remember he has super -hearing, right?" Talia and M'gann turned forward, looking at the clone. He was staring steadfastly forward, his shoulders tense.

"Hey," Robin said, changing the subject easily. "How about showing us a little Martian shape-shifting?" he suggested, grinning at M'gann. The Martian smiled sheepishly and rose to her feet.

Talia turned to look as M'gann first shifted into a flawless version of Talia, right down to the clothes she was currently wearing, before then shifting into quite-feminine looking versions of Wally and Robin in uniform.

"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" Wally asked, staring at M'gann as she shifted back into herself. Normally, Talia would have made a quip about that, but she was too stunned by M'gann's powers.

"Cool," she admitted, raising her eyebrows and grinning at the other girl. M'gann smiled back. Robin was clapping his hands, nodding approvingly as well.

"Impressive!" he complimented M'gann. "But, you know you're not exactly going to fool anyone with those last two," he told her, chuckling slightly. M'gann smiled self-consciously, nodding her head as she sat back down.

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder," she explained.

"And…your clothes?" Kaldur asked. He'd swiveled around in his chair to watch M'gann as well. M'gann tugged at her blouse, smiling as she explained.

"They're organic, like the ship!" M'gann said with a grin. "They respond to my mental commands," she added. Superboy sniffed, facing forward once more. His arms were still locked tightly over his chest.

"As long as they're the only ones," he muttered, glaring out the window. M'gann's shoulders slumped at the clone's harsh words, and Wally turned towards her.

"Can you do that cool ghosting-through-walls things that Manhunter does?" he asked excitedly. He was probably trying to get her mind off Superboy's anger and cheer her up, but it didn't work. M'gann only looked more dejected at Wally's question.

"Density-shifting?" she asked, her eyes wide. She shook her head slowly. "No. It's a very advanced technique." Robin leaned forward, catching M'gann's eyes.

"Flash can vibrate his molecules through walls," Robin told her, smirking at Wally. Wally's eyes widened with indignation, realizing what Robin was about to say. Robin pointed at his friend, snickering. "When he tries? Bloody nose." Wally's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Dude!"

M'gann smiled slightly, seeming a little relieved that she was not the only up-to-par with her mentor. She straightened up, changing the subject.

"Here's something I can do," she announced proudly. "Camouflage mode!" Talia looked out the window. From her vantage point, she could just see the wing of the BioShip – or rather, not see it anymore. The BioShip had nearly completely disappeared from sight.

This was impressive, although Talia wasn't terribly surprised. She'd seen this before – admittedly due to technology and not alien life-forms. Still, she looked out the window, admiring the view of the quaint town of Happy Harbor from above.

"Red Tornado to Miss Martian." The robot's voice crackled over the radio in the BioShip. "An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest that you investigate – covertly. I am sending coordinates."

"Received," M'gann responded. Talia felt the ship swerve gently as M'gann programmed in the coordinates. "Adjusting course." Robin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Tornado's just keeping us busy again," Robin muttered. M'gann shrugged her shoulders, trying to be diplomatic.

"Well, a simple fire led you guys to Superboy," she pointed out as the BioShip coasted down towards a parking lot. "We should find out what caused the alert." Talia, who was still staring out the window, pointed.

"I think I see our cause," she responded, perhaps a little calmer than she should have been.

After all, a tornado was whipping towards their airborne ship.

M'gann's eyes widened when she saw the storm spiraling towards them, and she tried to turn the BioShip away. But it was too late to outmaneuver the twister.

The tornado caught up to the ship, whipping the BioShip around in a torrent of air. Talia grit her teeth, wrapping her fingers around the straps of her seatbelt to try and stay steady as she was jerked about. Still, her body slid from side of side in her chair and her stomach dropped as the BioShip was turned upside down.

After a few moments of being tossed around, M'gann managed to straighten the BioShip and fly them to safety. Talia took a deep breath, relaxing against the seat as they moved farther from the tornado and the ship steadied around them. M'gann hovered the BioShip above the ground, opening up a hatched for the Team to drop down out of.

As soon as Talia landed in the parking lot, she could hear the screams of the people inside the building. Another twister circled the facility, and people were leaving the building in streams, running towards their cars or for cover in the woods. Kaldur's eyes were wide as he surveyed the chaotic scene.

"Robin?" he asked, sounding alarmed. "Are tornados common to New England?" He looked to Robin for the answer, jumping when he saw that Robin was nowhere to be seen. "Robin!" Kaldur shouted, looking around wildly.

A creepy giggle echoed through the parking lot – one that sounded undoubtedly like Robin. Talia raised her eyebrows, impressed. She'd heard rumors about Batman and Robin's ninja-like skills, but she'd never seen them in action.

"But he was just here?" M'gann said, confused. Talia shrugged, her eyes roaming to the building. As she watched, several of the windows at the top got blown out.

"Let's go," she decided, taking off in a run. Kaldur called after in an exasperated tone, probably wishing that they'd taken a minute to plan an attack. But Talia could be very headstrong at times: it wasn't one of her good qualities.

Talia reached the building, the others following close behind, just in time to see Robin get thrown up against the wall. There was a robot on the other end, who seemed to be able to produce air from his palms. It was pretty clear that this robot was the source of the tornados.

"Who's your new friend?" Superboy asked gruffly, landing next to Robin before springing at the robot. Robin shoved himself up, scowling at his adversary.

"Didn't catch his name, but he plays kinda rough!" Robin shouted after the clone. Talia tapped her wrist-watch gauntlet, activating it. She was only wearing one – she always wore one, and it was only because she'd been apprehensive about Cadmus that she'd put on two. Now she was wishing she had her other one as well.

"My apologies," the robot droned sarcastically. He turned towards the Team, allowing for Talia to get a good look at him. The robot was rather bulky, with glowing blue tubes that connected his body, and, Talia was guessing, controlled his powers. He was wearing a scarf that covered the bottom half of his head.

"You may address me as Mister Twister," the robot finished, sending a torrent of air racing towards Superboy as the clone started towards his foe.

Superboy fought against the air currents, gritting his teeth as he pressed forwards. The clone's feet slid against the ground as he struggled to keep traction. Twister clapped his hands together, creating another airwave that sent Superboy flying backwards into the wall. Robin got to his feet, and Talia stepped forward, clenching her right hand into a fist and raising her left hand in defense.

On an unspoken command, the Team flew into action. Robin and Talia stayed where they were, both humans knowing they couldn't get close whilst being effective. Wally sped forwards in a blur. He flipped in mid-air, aiming a kick at Mister Twister's chest. The robot swiped his hand to the side, and Wally flew out towards the parkling lot.

Kaldur and M'gann's attack was similarly futile, as Twister tossed them aside before they even made contact. Talia took a step forward, her gauntlet powering up as she aimed two sonic blasts at Twister. These the robot couldn't blow away, but they still barely made him stagger.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero," Twister hummed. "I was not, however, expecting children." Talia scowled, stepping backwards and out of range of his attacks.

"We're not children!" Robin cried, tossing two explosives towards Twister. One explosive detonated in midair as Mister Twister sent wind to repel it. The other actually embedded itself in his chest, but the robot easily flicked it away before it could harm him.

"Objectively, you are," he responded as the explosive detonated a safe distance from Twister. "Have you not adult supervision?" he continued. "I find you presence quite…disturbing."

"Well," Talia muttered, rolling her eyes. "We do hate to see you disturbed."

"Yeah," Robin agreed, as their teammates rose to their feet around him and Talia. "Let's see if you're more turbed once we kick your can!"

M'gann pointed upwards, making a pulling motion as she used telekinesis to pull off a vent above Twister's head. It exploded, sending out steam and pieces of metal flying towards the robot.

The steam provided the Team decent coverage, but Mister Twister still managed to easily defeat all of them. He blew Superboy away, making the clone fly into M'gann. When Talia, Robin, and Kaldur all ran at the robot, Twister simply created another wind current to knock them down.

"Indeed," Twister said. "That was quite turbing. Thank you." Talia sat up, rubbing her head as she watched Twister fly out of the building. Groaning, she got to her feet, her friends doing the same around her.

As they walked outside, Talia saw Twister throw Wally backwards, a cloud of dust engulfing the speedster. M'gann threw her hand out, catching Wally in midair with her telekinesis. He didn't seem to notice at first, curling up as if anticipating impact.

"I've got you, Wally," M'gann called, alerting the teenage boy that he was safe. Wally blinked, opening his eyes and looking around. He seemed surprised.

"Woah," he said, startled. He flashed M'gann a grin, uncurling. "Thanks." M'gann lowered him to the ground, and the six members turned to look at their enemy. Twister floated a dozen yards away, looking down at the Team in a condescending manner.

"I would have thought you had all learned your limitations by now," he mused from his position above them.

"What do you want?" Kaldur shouted, stepping forward. Twister floated even higher, spreading his hands as he ascended.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "I'm waiting for a real hero." Talia scowled at the slight. A thought occurred to the brunette, and she nudged M'gann.

"Hey," Talia hissed to the Martian. M'gann turned towards her, and Talia nodded towards their adversary. "Can't you read his mind? See what his angle is or – or find a weakness or something?" M'gann stared at Talia, her eyes wide with uncertainty.

"Uh, I thought I wasn't supposed to do that?" she asked.

"It's okay with the bad guys!" Robin snapped. M'gann nodded her head and closed her eyes. She frowned slightly, placing her fingers on her forehead as she concentrated. After another moment, she shook her head, looking surprised.

"Nothing. I'm getting nothing!" Her eyes flew open, and she slapped her forehead. "Hello, Megan!" she exclaimed. She turned towards her friends, smiling broadly. "Mister Twister is Red Tornado in disguise!" Talia's eyes widened at the assertion, and she glanced back towards the villain in the air. "He's inorganic – an android. And how many androids do you know that can generate tornados?"

Talia nodded her head slowly, pondering M'gann's point. It made sense, actually.

"Red Tornado sent us here," she murmured, looking at the others. Kaldur looked unusually angry, his jaw tight with fury, and Robin and Wally looked irritated as well.

"After saying we'd be tested 'soon enough,'" Robin quoted, scoffing. "This is our test! Something to keep us busy."

Talia shook her head in disappointment, a little frustrated that their first mission had been nothing more than a test. Why couldn't they just be trusted? Had they not already proved themselves?

"Speedy called it," Wally grumbled, shoving his hands in his pocket as his shoulders slumped. "We're a joke." Kaldur slammed his hand into his fist, his normally placid expression replaced by one of anger. He took a deep breath, straightening his shoulders and turning around. "This game?" Wally said, crossing his arms. "So over."

The three boys walked forward, and Talia trailed behind them. Superboy and M'gann followed as well, coming to pause when Kaldur did. Robin halted, pointing up at Twister in the air.

"We know you are, and what you want!" He shouted.

"So, let us end this," Aqualad finished, spreading his arms. Twister chuckled darkly, looking down at the young heroes.

"Consider it ended," he replied, sounding nearly amused. Twister turned his hands towards the sky, sending currents of wind into the air. Around him, the clouds darkened dramatically, spinning around the android in a worrisome manner.

"An impressive show," Kaldur called upwards. "But we will not indulge you. We will not engage!" Lightning crackled around the android, and Talia's eyes widened nervously. She did not remember Red Tornado ever doing that.

"Guys…" she ventured, glancing nervously around at her teammates. "Since when can Tornado create storms?"

"You think I'm Tornado?" Mister Twister asked. He laughed again, louder this time. "Ironic." He directed a lightning blast towards the ground. Talia watched as the grass and dirt exploded underneath her feet, and she felt herself get knocked backwards.

That was all she remembered before passing out.

Talia opened her eyes slowly, staring at the sky above her head. At first, everything looked too bright, like she was seeing in Technicolor. Her baseball cap is lying on the ground in front of her, and Talia picks it up, glad that she didn't lose it.

She sat up carefully, wincing. Her entire body felt like one big bruise, and her teeth ached from her electric shock. And something smelled burnt…Talia ran her fingers through her wavy hair. Sure enough, the ends were singed.

To be completely honest, burnt hair and explosions were actually pretty run-of-the-mill for her, as she spent a lot of her time in a laboratory. But that didn't make them anymore pleasant.

"What happened?" Wally asked, rubbing the back of his head. Talia looked around. Her teammates were slowly getting up around her.

"I placed the BioShip between us," M'gann responded. Superboy shouted in rage, slamming his fist against the rock next to him. It shattered into a million pieces, and some of the pebbles he'd created rained down on the Team.

"And that's supposed to make it right?" he seethed, glaring at the girl. He stalked towards her threateningly. "You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado!"

"She didn't do it on purpose!" Talia snapped, glaring at the clone and squaring up to him. She was a little sensitive when it came to people blaming others for mistakes; mostly because her father was often held at fault for things he couldn't control.

"It was a rookie mistake," Robin added. "We shouldn't have listened." Talia glanced at M'gann, who was still curled up on the ground. She was listening to the others argue, her eyes downcast.

"You are pretty inexperienced," Wally added. He shoved his hands into his pockets, shifting awkwardly. "Hit the showers. We'll take it from here." Superboy took another step forward. He brushed Talia aside so that he was looming over the Martian.

"Stay out of our way," the clone growled. He didn't give M'gann a chance to respond, whipping around and running off after Twister. Talia watched as he leaped away, covering ground easily. Wally followed him in a blur of motion, and Robin disappeared after the other two as well.

"I – I was just trying to be part of the team," M'gann whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Kaldur sighed. He was the only one aside from Talia who hadn't taken part in blaming M'gann.

"To be honest," the Atlantean admitted, rubbing his head in resignation. "I'm not sure we really have a team."

Kaldur glanced at Talia. The boy hesitated, glancing at Talia like he was expecting her to abandon M'gann as well. Talia didn't budge. She may not have had the best skillset when it came to social situations, but she knew when something was wrong. And she wasn't going to leave M'gann behind because she'd made a mistake.

"I'll stay with her," Talia told Kaldur. "I'll catch up." Kaldur hesitated for a moment longer and then nodded, taking off after the others. Talia knelt down next to M'gann, holding out her hand.

"Come on," she said to the other girl. M'gann looked up, her eyes large and damp. Talia smiled encouragingly at the Martian. "Let's go."

After some coaxing from Talia, the two girls boarded the BioShip. By the time M'gann had taken off and set a course back towards Mount Justice, the sun was setting. The seaside town of Happy Harbor looked idyllic in the sunset, but Talia knew the people were being terrorized by Twister.

Talia planned to collect the suit from Mount Justice, and then return to help the boys. M'gann was unconvinced that even with Talia's help the Team would be victorious, and she called Red Tornado, hoping for interference by the Leaguer.

"The Team really needs your help," M'gann said fretfully, looking at Red Tornado imploringly.

"If I intervened, it would not be to help," Red Tornado replied. "Still," he continued, looking downwards. "It is an odd coincidence that this Twister shares my elemental abilities and my immunity to telepathy." At Tornado's words, M'gann's eyes widened.

"Hello, Megan!" she shouted. "Red Tornado, I have a plan. We'll see you back at the Cave shortly." The android dipped his head in acknowledgement, and M'gann cut the transmission short. She turned towards Talia, her eyes glimmering with excitement.

"What's your idea?" Talia asked curiously, as M'gann turned the BioShip around. M'gann grinned mischievously, spilling her plan to Talia. The half-Asian girl sat back in her seat, mulling it over. After a few seconds, she smiled.

"I like it," she told M'gann, her dark eyes sparkling. "Let's do it." Talia paused. "Um, how do you think we should clue the boys in?" M'gann shifted uncomfortably for a moment, chewing her lip.

"Well," she said. "I was gonna use my telepathy…" Talia nodded slowly. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the odd feeling. She smiled at M'gann with more confidence than she felt.

"Go for it," she replied. M'gann nodded, closing her eyes as she focused. The BioShip continued to fly back towards the town, seemingly of its own accord. Suddenly, the odd tugging sensation was back, and M'gann's voice rang through Talia's head, making her jump.

"Listen to me, all of you!" M'gann commanded.

"What did we tell you?!" Superboy responded. The clone sounded angry – what else was new? Talia glanced over at M'gann. The Martian's eyes were open now, and Talia could see the determination that hardened them.

"I know," M'gann replied, her voice strong despite Superboy's anger. "And I know I messed up. But now I am very clear on what we need to do. Please, trust me." The resolve in her voice must have convinced the others to let her share her plan. As soon as M'gann shared it, the others agreed, and they put the plan into action.

M'gann put the BioShip back in camouflage mode, landing it on a grassy field a little way from the town. Once she'd landed, the Martian stood up, focusing. After a moment, she morphed into Red Tornado.

"How do I look?" she asked Talia nervously, her voice still sounding like M'gann's. Talia nodded, giving her a thumbs-up.

"You look exactly like Tornado," she reassured the other girl. "But…the voice?" M'gann slapped herself on the forehead.

"Hello, Megan!" she exclaimed. She cleared her throat, and then spoke again. "How's this?" she asked, perfectly mimicking Tornado's robotic drone. Talia laughed, clapping her hands.

"Perfect," she replied, high-fiving M'gann. "Let's do this."

Talia jogged out into the town, joining the fray. The town was a mess – car alarms were blaring, and houses had been destroyed. People were running everywhere, trying to reach a safe distance.

When Kaldur saw Talia walking towards them, he waved the others forward. It was their time to put their plan into action. The five teenagers walked forwards, meeting Twister at a destroyed fountain in the center of town. Before any of them made a move, M'gann flew in, wearing her disguise.

"Hit the showers, you five," Red Tornado's voice said. The robot landed in front of them, and for a moment Talia thought that Red Tornado himself had come to intervene: M'gann was very convincing. "I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot."

"But we've got a plan now!" Robin protested, playing along.

"The subject is not up for debate," Red Tornado responded. Without another word, the five members of the Team walked off. As soon as she was out of Twister's line of sight, Talia ducked behind a car, re-activating her gauntlet.

"I was beginning to believe you would never show up!" Talia heard Twister say to "Tornado."

"I'm here now," Tornado responded. He reached his hand out to the side, and M'gann used her telekinesis to make it look as though Red Tornado was summoning power.

Wally sped out in a blur too fast for Twister to see. The speedster spun himself around, creating a tornado out of the dust and sand around him. It lacked the bright crimson color of Tornado's powers, but the dupe was good enough. Twister summoned his own tornado, and Wally and the windstorm spun around each other until each dissipated, and Wally sped away.

"We are evenly matched, Twister!" Red Tornado shouted as Wally spun himself into another tornado just behind the disguised Martian.

"No, Tornado," Twister responded. "We are not!" He slammed his hand into the ground, and electricity crackled from his fist. Red Tornado evaded the first few blasts of lightning but eventually was struck.

Red Tornado fell to the ground, and Twister stalked up to the robot. He landed over the disguised Martian.

"Remain still, android," Twister warned. He raised his hand, and the fingers broke off. The tips turned into plugs, and small wires sprouted from his fingers to reach down to Red Tornado. The plugs attached themselves to Tornado's head and neck, and Twister spoke again. "Reprogramming won't take long."

M'gann chose that moment to reveal herself. She turned her head, grabbing onto the wires with one hand, and allowed her face to morph back into the green-skinned teenage girl.

"Longer than you might think," she replied sweetly. Talia took her cue, leaping up from behind the car she had been crouched behind. She hit Twister with two successive sonic blasts. At the same time, M'gann yanked hard on the wires, snapping them easily. The combination knocked the android backwards and off-balance.

Wally sped forward, still twisting around in a tornado, and blew Twister away. The speedster stumbled out of the windstorm, regaining his balance. Superboy leapt out as Mister Twister landed in front of him, and the clone hit the android several times, yelling out as he whaled on the villain. Judging from the sparks and dark smoke spewing from the robot, Superboy had done some decent damage.

The Kryptonian shoved Twister backwards, and the robot fell into the water. He was only submerged for a few seconds, and then Kaldur did his part, blasting the android back onto land in a mixture of water and electricity.

M'gann flew up into the air, grabbing Twister with her telekinesis and holding him steady. With a flick of her wrist, both of Twister's arms flew off and crashed to the ground. Robin came running up, his utility belt strapped around his chest. He flicked two explosives at Twister, and M'gann let the robot fall back to Earth as they detonated.

As the Team gathered in front of Twister, the robot sat up on what was remaining of its legs. Its chest cracked open with a hiss, revealing an exhausted-looking man wearing a white and green jumpsuit.

"Foul," he stammered, falling to the ground and crawling forwards. He shoved himself up, his eyes wild and his expression desperate. "I call foul."

M'gann surveyed the man calmly. She put her hand to the side, and Talia followed her movement. The Martian used her telekinesis to levitate a large rock towards her. It didn't take long for Talia to realize what M'gann was going to do, and her mouth fell open in shock. She reached a hand out helplessly, trying to stop the Martian from doing what she was about to do.

"M'gann, no!" Kaldur shouted, rushing forwards to try and stop the Martian. His cry came too late. M'gann's hand dropped to her side and the rock fell, crushing the man into the ground.

Talia's mouth fell open in shock. She had not been expecting that. She exchanged a look with Robin and Wally. Both boys looked stunned as well, but Robin was the first to snap out of it.

"Don't know how things are done on Mars," Robin snapped as he confronted M'gann. "But on Earth we don't execute our captives."

"Actually, sometimes we do," Talia muttered under her breath, unable to help herself. M'gann just smirked at Robin, looking the teensiest bit smug.

"You said you would trust me," she reminded him. She waved her hand, and the rock lifted up and lowered itself to the side. M'gann led the others forward, pointing down at the crater the boulder had made. Inside the hollow, instead of blood and bones, was a bunch of bolts and scraps of metal.

Talia's brain caught up with what was happening, and she nodded slowly.

"That's why you couldn't read his mind," Talia realized, recalling M'gann's earlier words. Her powers only worked on organic beings – when she'd seen this android, she'd automatically known it wasn't human.

Wally walked forwards, bending down to look at the scraps of metal. He picked up an eyeball. The wires connected to the end of the orb sparked when he touched it, but Wally simply grinned, tossing it up in the air and catching it again.

"Cool," he chirped, pocketing the fake eyeball. "Souvenir." Kaldur smiled at M'gann, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"We should have had more faith in you," he said in a way of apology. He sounded slightly ashamed by his behavior, but M'gann smiled at Kaldur's admittance. She wasn't one to hold a grudge.

"Yeah," Wally agreed, turning towards M'gann with a wide grin. "You rocked this mission." He smirked, looking at the boulder next to them pointedly. "Get it? Rocked!"

"Ignore him," Robin said, smirking at his friend. He turned to M'gann, his voice soft and sincere. "We're all just turbed you're on the Team." M'gann laughed, her shoulders relaxing as she took a deep breath. Talia glanced at Superboy, wondering if he was going to apologize. He didn't, just looked down at the ground. But M'gann still smiled.

"Thanks, guys," the Martian replied, looking around at the others. "Me too."

By the time the Team had lugged all of the android pieces – both androids – back to the BioShip, flown back to the Cave, and moved the pieces to the briefing room, night had long since fallen outside.

Red Tornado joined the Team in the room, surrounding the smashed pieces of the robots. Kaldur briefed the Leaguer on the mission, ending with his concern about the similarities between the robot they'd fought and their supervisor.

"It was clearly created to sabotage or destroy you," Kaldur said to Red Tornado, his eyes narrowed in concern. Red Tornado hummed, looking at the pieces more closely.

"Agreed," he said simply, taking a step back. As the others discussed, Robin and Talia had started analyzing the pieces, hacking into their code for information. Superboy and Wally were looking over their shoulders.

M'gann looked up at the Leaguer, frowning. "Is that why you wouldn't help us?" she asked curiously.

"No," Red Tornado responded without hesitation. "It was your battle. I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me." His implication was clear, and Talia's hands paused over the holographic keyboard as she looked up at the Leaguer.

"But…if you're in danger –" she began, about to argue with the robot.

"Consider this matter closed," Red Tornado cut her off. Without waiting for an argument, he turned around and headed back down the hallway. Talia glanced at Robin, who shrugged. Both of them closed down the pages they'd been working on and stood up. An order was an order.

"Batman, Aquaman and Flash," Wally said, shaking his head in amazement. "They'd have jumped right in to fix things." Robin nodded his head in agreement.

"Guess if we're going to have a babysitter," Robin added. "A heartless machine is exactly what we need." Wally's eyes widened at the younger boy's statement, and he shook his head.

"Dude!" Wally admonished, for once being more mature than his friend. "Harsh."

"And inaccurate," Red Tornado replied from across the room. The android didn't turn around but kept speaking as he plodded away. "I have a heart. Carbon-steel alloy." He turned back around, focusing on Robin as he spoke pointedly, "I also have excellent hearing." Robin looked down at the ground, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

"Uh, right," he murmured, his cheeks flushing. "Sorry. I'll strive to be…more accurate."

"And more respectful," Kaldur insisted, placing a hand on the younger boy's shoulders. He looked at Robin sternly, raising his eyebrows. Robin nodded, chagrined, and Talia laughed.

"Speedy was so wrong," Wally said as the Team walked back towards the common area. As Talia followed behind, she could hear the boys agreeing that the Team was going to work out after all.

Talia smiled to herself as she silently agreed with them. Sighing, she walked back towards where the suit was waiting to take her home.

She couldn't wait until their first official mission.

so yeah...

i rly struggled with talia's superhero name. i kept on going back and forth between artillery, widget, and opifex, and i wasn't like IN LOVE with any of them, so i finally settled on artillery. if you have a better one, please let me know! maybe she'll do a name change in the second season (or now if there's one i really, really like)

also about talia's panic attack(s): i'm saying this now, so please no hate. they are based off my PERSONAL experiences. i did some research, yes, because obviously my panic attack is not the same as everybody's panic attack but her's are realistic.

please please please leave a review! they make me soo happy :) i'd love to hear what you think about this chapter, talia, taila's pairing, or the story in general. please let me know!

thanks!