When he woke up, Ezio had a small smile on his face. He had no idea what was going on or why he was in a world that was nothing like his own, but at least he had found a friend in the young boy known as Conner. The boy was clearly too shy and quiet to admit it out loud, but Ezio liked him very much and enjoyed the fact that he did not need the translator girl around to be able to communicate with him.

He reminded him of the younger brother he once had, many years ago. It hurt, honestly, to think of the family he had lost, but now, after the years had passed, he was at least able to admit that he could move forward from their murders.

Conner was sleeping blissfully on the comfortable bed he called his own, the covers pulled up loosely over his body. He clutched at the comforter, though, rather tightly and his face spoke of an innocence the boy did not allow anyone to see. Ezio found it rather cute how he put up such a brave front, yet could be so quiet and cute when asleep.

After a moment or so of remembering his own brothers, Ezio got up from his bed and padded out of the room, trying to remember the way the halls twisted and turned so he could arrive at the kitchen. It took him quite a few minutes and a few wrong turns, but still Ezio made it to the kitchen all by himself without too much trouble.

Once there, he was met by the young green skinned girl and her demeanor worried him. She was standing in front of the oven dejectedly, her shoulders slumped and her lips pouting at the sight of the broken oven door.

Ezio knew that the broken door was partly his fault, so he apologized as softly as he could, "I am sorry for the damage we caused." And when she turned to him with wide eyes, he smiled kindly at her, "If you would allow, I would like to make up for the damage. Any way you'd like."

The girl's brown eyes widened for a moment, then she smiled softly at him with a shake of her head, "Don't worry about it, Ezio. It was an honest mistake. Besides, nobody was hurt." After she said this, the girl turned around and began to rummage through the cabinets above her head, "Would you like some breakfast? I was going to make myself an omelet."

Ezio's face immediately lit up at the prospect of food, and he nodded, "Yes please. If it is no bother, of course."

He saw her shoulders shrug for a moment, then she spoke up, "It's no bother at all, Ezio. I'm used to making breakfast for Conner and myself. But the rest of the Team usually wakes up later than we do, so they fend for themselves."

She began to take out odd looking jars from the cabinets then she made her way over to the refrigerator- a contraption Ezio was still marvelled by- and pulled out a container of sorts. Ezio's eyes were wide at the sight of all the different things she pulled out, but instead of curiously inquiring about what they were, he only leaned by the doorway and smiled at her.

They found themselves in a comfortable type of silence as M'gann worked, and Ezio found himself content with the moment. It was quiet, but not tense. It was peaceful. And when M'gann broken the silence to ask him a question, Ezio was pleasantly surprised by what she asked.

"Could you tell me of Italia?" The girl asked hopefully, turning around from a bowl on the counter to look at Ezio, "I see small glimpses of your life every time I connect your mind to my own so I am able to translate and... Well... Everything looks so colorful and beautiful."

Hearing her description of what she had seen made Ezio smile and nod, "Italy is quite the beautiful place, no?" He asked, then nodded once more, "I will tell you about it. Would you like me to tell you of Leonardo? I believe I should start with that crazy person."

M'gann giggled slightly at this but nodded, "Yes, please."

And so Ezio began his long and descriptive explanation of Leonardo, his workshop, and all the crazy things he created, along with his artistic and slightly eccentric side. After he had finished telling her of him, Ezio told her of his mother and sister and how they were doing so well even with the type of business they had taken up. And after this he told M'gann of the beautiful buildings to be found, even though there was poverty and sickness to be found in the less fortunate sectors of his home.

The red headed girl listened to all the stories with a fascinated smile on her face, and it never wavered, no matter how much Ezio said or how lost he became in his self. He could lose himself in a thread so deeply that even he was not sure what he had started off explaining, but M'gann always remembered and helped him correct himself when this happened.

"All in all, Megan, I am sure you would love to visit my home." Ezio finished with a large smile, at the same time M'gann walked over to him with one plate of food in each of her hands.

She smiled up at him, and nodded, "I am sure you are right, Ezio." She offered him one plate of food now, "Here's an omelet. I wasn't sure what you'd like in it and didn't want to stop you from telling me about your home, so I just-"

Ezio raised his hand to stop her and took the plate from her hand, "There is no need to apologize for that, Megan. You offered me food, I will eat it. As simple as that."

M'gann seemed slightly taken aback by his honesty, but she soon smiled and nodded. "Okay then."

So she led him over to the bar outside the kitchen and sat there, motioning for Ezio to sit beside her. And once they were both sat down and eating, she began to tell him of Conner, her friends, her new home, and all the hardships she had faced ever since leaving her home to join her uncle, all the while Ezio listened with complete delight. She did not tell him much about her home before arriving at Happy Harbor, but he did not ask. There must have been a reason for her omitting. He would not press.

"How many more are awake?" Kaldur asked M'gann as both he and Shay entered the kitchen to find both Ezio and M'gann laughing softly at something that the man had said.

"Oh, hello, Kaldur." M'gann smiled at her leader when she noticed him, but that smile became larger upon seeing Shay. "Shay! How did you sleep? Would you like some breakfast? I made Ezio and I some omelets and he said he liked them!"

Shay smiled softly at the girl's enthusiasm as she turned to Ezio.

"They were good, right?"

"Delicious!" Ezio agreed, looking at Shay with mirth in his eyes, "This girl can really cook. You should let her make yours."

Shay chuckled at the two's enthusiasm but still nodded. "I now have to try them."

The smile M'gann gave him was enough for him to not be bothered too much by her apparent closeness to Ezio. Instead of asking anything, Shay just sat down in the same chair he had sat the day before and watched as M'gann began to flit across the kitchen, beginning to prepare the food. She offered to make one for Kaldur as well, but the teenager politely declined and served himself some simple cereal.

After he had finished serving his breakfast, Kaldur bid his goodbye and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Shay, Ezio, and M'gann in companionable silence. Shay looked at Ezio from the corner of his eyes and decided, after a few minutes, that the man was no threat. He may have been known as Il Mentore in Shay's time but the man that stood before him now was much too young and carefree to be that.

He may have worn the Assassins robes but this man had not yet reached his most dangerous phase. And he seemed to have grown a soft spot for the kids, so he would have no reason to try and harm them.

As long as no harm came to M'gann or the rest, Shay could at least tolerate the Assassins. That didn't mean he wanted to talk to them privately, though. He still did not want them to find out he was not an Assassin anymore.

"Shay, did you know about this oven?" Ezio asked, grabbing the man's attention with the question. "It concentrates a fire onto a small type of pan! It is like having an oven, but not really!"

M'gann chuckled at the explanation as she cracked open three eggs, then began to whisk them.

"Really?" Shay asked, actually intrigued by it. "Is that not witchcraft?"

Ezio shook his head with a smile and explained, "It is technology! You see, apparently they have this thing called electricity!"

Shay listened with rapt attention as Ezio went on this lengthy explanation about just what electricity was and how it served to make life now so much easier, then how it helped make the rest of technology work. Apparently M'gann had explained all of this to him some minutes ago and he had been excited to relate what he had learned to someone else. And Shay just listened, actually fascinated with what he was hearing. For he may have seen what oddity Benjamin Franklin had come up with, but seeing and hearing its many uses was quite fascinating.

When Batman arrived at the Mountain, Kaldur had been waiting for him for about five minutes. Shay, M'gann, and Ezio were all in the kitchen, much too far away to hear the Zeta Machine's announcement of Batman's arrival, and the rest of his teammates were sleeping. Desmond and Connor were both still sleeping in their respective rooms.

"Batman." Kaldur nodded stiffly, face devoid of any emotions.

The stoic man looked down at the teen with his own stony face, nodded in acknowledgment, then began to walk towards the communications hub. Kaldur followed without uttering a single word, already accustomed to the man's silence.

"Where is the rest of the Team?" Batman asked in his gravelly tone, voice low.

"M'gann is in the kitchen preparing breakfast for one of our visitors and the rest of the Team is asleep." Kaldur informed, omitting anything pertaining to the men that were in the Mountain with them.

Normally, he would give Batman every single little detail. But now he didn't dare say anything that the Bat didn't ask about. The memory of his small discussion with M'gann and Artemis the past night was still rather fresh. He would like to avoid another like that with the rest of his Team.

"And your new guests?"

The doors to the communications hub swooshed open at that point and both heroes stepped inside. Kaldur chanced a glance at the Bat, noticed his ever steely demeanor, and answered in a cold voice, "Two are in the kitchen with M'gann. The rest are still sleeping."

Batman made his way over to the computers and began to type away at one, even though Kaldur stayed standing in the middle of the room.

"And where did they sleep last night? I had been under the impression that the rooms not used by the Team were still filled with items that belonged to the Justice League."

Kaldur's eyes followed everything that happened on the screen of the computer, but still answered, "They still are. Robin decided that the best course of action would be to have the men under supervision and separated while the slept. Each one of the male members slept with one of those men in our rooms. Shay Cormac was in my room."

Batman's typing froze for a moment, the words having apparently sunk into him. Then the man turned around and faced Kaldur fully. He seemed to have become worried with what Kaldur had said, because he seemed even tenser than before.

"Did one of them sleep in the same room as Robin?"

Kaldur nodded silently, facing forward and never flinching. Like the good soldier he was.

Batman immediately walked up to the teenager and asked, "Who?"

Deep inside himself, Kaldur wanted to run away from the bad Bat and not have to face him. But he was the leader of his team and so, all their choices fell on his shoulders. It may not have been his fault nor may he have had control when Robin made the decision to sleep in the same room as the- assumed- smartest Assassin of the bunch, but in the Bat's eyes it was all on him.

"Desmond Miles. The Assassin from the present."

Behind the Bat's mask, Kaldur imagined all sorts of different emotions. Maybe anger. Annoyance could have been one. Maybe even worry. But the Bat's face was cold, unfeeling, and he soon turned back to the computer and strolled back to the screens without saying anything else.

A few minutes of him typing away at the keyboard, Kaldur saw what seemed like footage from inside the Mountain itself appear on the screen. And his eyes widened when he made out the figures of his teammates and Shay Cormac standing around a confused looking Desmond Miles.

"There are cameras inside the cave?" He asked, allowing his confusion to slip into his before neutral voice.

"Of course." Batman grunted, stating it as if it were nothing new. "The League needs to make sure you are not up to anything dangerous while in here. We installed them after the fiasco with the Light."

A burst of unfounded anger made its way into Kaldur. Did the Justice League really think them children? Had they not proved their worth long ago?

"They are barely used. There is no reason to ever look at the footage." Batman told him in a voice filled with indifference, "But seeing how this situation is much too serious to allow anything to be beyond our control, I believe it a good thing we had them installed. Wouldn't you agree?"

Kaldur's fists clenched and un-clenched as he breathed in deeply, then he answered, "Of course." With sharp anger barely concealed.

They both fell into a tense silence then as Batman began to watch the security footage from the night before.

By the time the rest of the Team had awoken, Shay had decided that Ezio was too happy and ignorant to be a real danger. Of course, he still did not know just how efficient he was, but that would have to wait for later. Clearly, M'gann enjoyed seeing Shay interacting with the Assassin so he would not be too hostile towards the Italian man.

Still, there was something at the back of his head that itched whenever he thought of Connor. Had he really heard Kenway?

Shay looked up from the bar he sat at to look over at the inside of the kitchen, where he could see Zatanna, Artemis, Wally, and Robin all arguing about what they wanted to eat. Ezio sat to Shay's left and M'gann to his right, all the while Connor leaned against the column beside them and Desmond stood with his arms crossed a bit to the Mohawk's left. Con stared at his friends without any real emotions, apparently still too tired to get into the argument.

"I say we should make pancakes! I'm sure Connor over there would love them!" Wally argued, then stuck his tongue out at Artemis as she began to speak.

"That is too complicated for this God forsaken hour, Kid Idiot! Scrambled eggs for everyone!"

Zatanna rolled her eyes at this as she stood beside her red headed teammate, "Come on, Artemis, Wally and I already offered to make pancakes. All you have to do is just sit around like you always do and eat whatever we make."

Robin smiled at the two as he wrapped an arm around Artemis, "Scrambled eggs are much better, Zee. Besides, it's not like we know if these guys can stomach modern day foods. Wouldn't you feel bad if they got sick because they ate something they weren't supposed to."

Zatanna's smile dropped at the thought, but M'gann chose to speak up at that moment, "I made omelets with all kinds of ingredients for both Ezio and Shay, and they both seem like they're fine."

The four teenagers now turned to face Shay and Ezio, who nodded in their own way. Ezio smiled broadly while Shay only nodded with a small smile.

"You see? We can make Connor and Desmond pancakes then. Because I don't think Ezio and Shay would want to eat already." Wally decided then began to scavenge for all of the ingredients they would be using.

As Zatanna waited for Wally and the other two teenagers walked out of the kitchen, both Kaldur and Batman walked out of the communications hub.

Robin perked up upon noticing his mentor, but his momentary happiness was replaced with curiosity and worry when he saw the scowl Kaldur wore. Whatever had been said, Kaldur had most probably gotten thoroughly scolded by the Bat.

~/~

"Team."

All movement inside the kitchen halted the very moment Batman spoke up and they all turned to look outside and see the Bat with their leader. And all of them felt a sense of dread grow inside of them when they noticed Kaldur's face. His lips were down turned in a frown and his eyebrows were knitted together, a perfect scowl. And his normally serene gray eyes spoke of volumes of anger and discontent.

What had happened?

"Come here." Batman commanded and Kaldur made his way so he stood right in front of the Bat.

Wally glanced over at Robin, both sharing confused looks, but they still walked over to where the Bat had pointed. The rest of the Team soon followed and in no time they all stood in a line in front of Batman.

"Kaldur has informed me of your recent guests," He began, voice as stoic as ever, "Wally, what is the first thing you are supposed to do if you ever come in contact with a being from another world?"

Wally's green eyes widened at the sudden question, but he soon answered with, "Uh, tell the nearest Leaguer?"

Batman nodded, "Exactly. Why did it take you more than two hours to inform me of who had arrived?"

All the teens fell into silence now, knowing they were about to be scolded for negligence.

Robin, though, tried to stop the coming scolding, "Come on, Batman! We've all had experience before with people from other worlds! It's always the same routine: Get to know them, promise them to help them get back home, then follow through on said promise." He tried to smile at his mentor, "It's always the same."

Batman's glare let the teen know he was not amused.

"This is not like all the other times Robin. These men are assassins." Batman growled, then glared up at the four men he could see over at the kitchen. "They are too dangerous to leave around Team."

Shay, upon noticing the oddly dressed man's stare on them, stood up with his own eyes narrowed, already feeling the hostility that was turned his way.

"The Justice League has allowed you to keep the Mountain to yourselves after what happened with the Light because we thought you were judicious enough to know when to call us." Batman informed them, only to finish with, "That is why Red Tornado left after having attended Shay. He told us immediately of what had happened and asked us to wait for you to call. Two hours you waited."

"But it's not like we did anything bad, Batman!" Wally tried, only to clamp his mouth with his hands when Batman's glare turned his way.

Artemis, though, didn't care for the Bat glare. "These guys aren't dangerous, Batman." She growled, rolling her eyes. "If they had been, we would have died long ago. Or, better yet, we would have thrown them in jail long ago. Now, I'm hungry and it's too early for this. Come on, Zee."

The blonde dragged the younger girl away from her teammates and towards the kitchen, ignoring the surprised look sent her way by Zatanna.

Batman glared after the two for a moment, then shook his head and looked down at Robin. "Robin, follow me."

He turned around and walked away and Robin hesitated for a moment before following. Still, he knew how serious Batman was at the moment, so he didn't risk angering the man any further. He followed without a single word to his friends.

~/~

After a second of silence, Wally breathed out.

"That was something..."

Kaldur growled in frustration with a shake of his head, "Who does he think he is?"

The rest of the Team looked at him with confusion, and Wally answered with, "The God damned Batman?"

This seemed to make their leader's anger grow, for he groaned in indignation, but instead of saying anything only walked away and towards the kitchen. There he spoke to the four men.

"I am going to need you all to come with me. Please do not ask any questions nor hesitate." He spoke as calmly as he could, even though it was through clenched teeth.

"But they haven't eaten breakfast yet, Kal!" Artemis fought, but Kaldur shook his head.

"Well then, Shay and Ezio, if you would."

The boy's anger was uncharacteristic. Even though neither of the men had known him for too long, they knew well enough that he was a calm soul. Whatever that man had told him must have really angered him.

So Shay stood up with a sigh, "Might as well. Come on, Ezio. Best not let that man continue bothering the kids."

Ezio's face was lacking his own characteristic smile. He frowned, actually, as he followed Kaldur and Shay, because he had found himself growing to not like this 'Batman' because of how he had spoken to the teenagers. And while those two mused about what could have made Kaldur so angry, the boy himself was seething in anger at being treated like a child by Batman.

Hope y'all liked it! Please review.