Young Justice is not mine.


Hurricane

"Not all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear your path."

- Unknown


GOTHAM ACADEMY

"Aaaaaaand that's a wrap, ladies!"

Kayanna groaned as she fell to the ground with a flop, chest heaving and sweat trickling down her brow. She exhaled heavily and tossed an arm up over her face, covering her eyes as her heart rate settled. A dull ache had begun to settle within her extremities, particularly her legs, and Kayanna knew she'd be very sore in the morning.

"Good job today, girls!" Maria Usher, Gotham Academy's Varsity dance team instructor praised, "The choreography is really coming together."

There were various claps and cheers from the other dancers as Kayanna stirred and propped herself up, back cracking in the process. She began to stretch, leaning forward and bringing her chest to her knees, legs outstretched as she reached for her toes. Stretching after a vigorous workout- such as dancing- was important, as it helped to increase flexibility and reduce muscle tension, which was hopefully going to alleviate some of the soreness she was going to feel tomorrow.

"You're keeping up pretty well, freshie." Kayanna glanced over as Sydney, a junior on the dance team, sat beside the brunette. Her black hair was in a tight bun, brown eyes bright as she smiled at the other girl.

"I'm doing my best." Kayanna admitted softly. It wasn't very often that freshman were allowed onto the varsity dance team at Gotham Academy, but alongside one other freshman, Kayanna had earned her spot, and she was determined to keep it.

"And it shows," Sydney confirmed as she curved her body to stretch to the right, arm lifted above her head.

Kayanna stood up and stretched her arms well above her head, turning to glance down at Sydney with a soft smile, "Thanks, that means a lot." And it did. Most of the girls on the team had been on it for more than a year, and they all knew each other fairly well. It was intimidating, to say the least, to join such a close-nit team, nonetheless one that accepted freshman.

Sydney climbed to her feet as well and together the two walked towards the bleachers to retrieve their stuff. Kayanna grabbed her duffel bag and water bottle, taking a giant swig before following the rest of the team towards the locker room after being dismissed by Maria.


Kayanna stepped out of the changing stall, duffel bag tossed over her shoulder. She ran a hand through her freshly damp hair and made her way towards the exit. Most of the dance team had already left, their instructor included, which left Kayanna alone as she stepped into the darkened gymnasium.

It was eerie being in Gotham Academy after dark, but the dance team's practices often ran late- much to the janitor's annoyance- so it was something the brunette was going to have to get used to.

The silence of the gymnasium was suddenly broken by distant crashing noises. She initially brushed them off, assuming maybe the janitor was the cause of the noise, but then they began to get closer and louder, and Kayanna froze. Her body instantly went on high alert, her duffel bag slipping off her shoulders. She internally cursed at the realization that she didn't have her Nightfall garb with her, which meant doing anything too rash could put her identity at risk.

That didn't mean she couldn't try and discreetly investigate. She had to go towards the crashing noises to leave the building anyways, and Kyle wouldn't be there to pick her up for another twenty minutes.

As a hero, it's my job to investigate weird noises…right?

Kayanna told herself as she made haste to exit the gym, picking her duffel bag back up before racing across the large room. She didn't make it very far, however, before the crashing noises came to her.

An explosion rocked the gymnasium, a large gaping hole appearing on the upper wall of one side of the gym, a science lab on the other side. Kayanna whirled around, startled, as a body came flying through the hole, landing harshly on the wooden floor before skidding to a halt.

Before the brunette had a chance to see who the body belonged to, a clapping sound echoed hollowly through the air. Kayanna followed her ears to the source: a tiny man wearing a bowtie sitting on the bleachers and confusion bubbled up within her.

When did he get there? She frowned to herself, And are those monkeys sitting beside him?

Said monkeys were eerie and mechanical looking, with bright green eyes and a broad grin. They chittered alongside the tiny man, who hadn't seemed to notice Kayanna yet, as his attention was directed to the person on the floor.

"I don't usually attend these things in person," The tiny man drawled, chuckling darkly, "but this was too good to miss."

Man, this was weird.

The person on the gym floor shifted before moving into an upright position, and Kayanna's eyes widened as recognition washed over her.

It was Superboy! The clone she had helped to rescue from Cadmus a month back.

But what is he doing here?

She didn't have time to contemplate the thought as the room shook violently, a large android landing in the center of the gym. Its gaze was set on Superboy and it spoke robotically, "Access: Superman."

Kayanna watched from the sidelines as the android stood there, poised to attack but the clone made the first move. Superboy landed a solid punch on the android, but it looked to have no effect as it retaliated immediately, punches harder and stronger than the clone's own. He took beating after beating, not being able to get a hit in before the android knocked him to the ground.

The android raised his arms above his head, preparing to bring them down upon Superboy before him, and Kayanna leapt into action. She quickly pulled up the hood on her sweatshirt, tightening it just enough to distort her facial features a bit, but not tight enough to block her vision.

"Hey, robot-face!" She called out, pulling the water out of her water bottle and directing it towards the android in a sharp stream. The android turned his head towards the girl just as the stream wrapped around its upper bicep. Kayanna did her best to tug its arm down, but since she lacked super strength, all she did was provide a minor distraction.

But it proved to be enough.

The android dropped its arms, Superboy momentarily forgotten as it turned on the waterbender. Kayanna did her best to swallow the panic that welled up within her as she became to the sole focus of the android's attention, and with a yank of her hand, she tugged the water back towards herself. She waved her hand and sent the water sailing back towards the android.

"Nighttide." The android spoke, and Kayanna watched with horror as it swiped its hand to the side, deflecting the water just like her father would before speeding towards the waterbender.

A pink bubble suddenly encased the girl, the android's fist landing harmlessly on the shield. Kayanna blinked and then flinched as the android punched at the shield once more, cracks beginning to dance across the bubbles surface with each blow.

The android raised its arms up once more, and abruptly the bubble dissipated.

"Yoink!" A familiar voice called out, and Kayanna suddenly found herself in a pair of arms as she was swept across the room, the android's arms coming down on nothingness.

Kayanna was placed on the ground and she turned, looking up into the confused eyes of Kid Flash. Beside him was Robin and Nightlight, as well as slightly damaged Superboy, and the girl found herself wondering why all four of them were suddenly here.

And why they seemed to be working with each other?

Robin threw a birdarang as the android encroached on the small group, but with the utterance of Martian Manhunter's name, the projectile sailed harmlessly through him before erupting in the distance.

Nightlight created another shield just as a high beam of energy sailed their way- no doubt a result of Captain Atom's powers. It collided with the shield, protecting the heroes for a moment as they braced for further battle.

"Is that the android the League was fighting?" Kayanna frowned as she addressed the four heroes. She remembered her dad being called in by Green Arrow alongside some other members of the League to fight a powerful android that apparently had all the powers of the League.

And this guy sure fit the bill…

The shield began to crack and splinter.

"How do you-" Kid Flash started, but he was cut off as the shield ruptured, and a red tornado swept up the five teenagers, swiftly spinning them around before launching them across the gym.

Kid Flash slammed against a brick wall, Kayanna crashing into his chest, her head ramming into his nose. They slid to the ground with groans of pain, blood trickling down the speedster's face from a potentially broken nose.

The two weren't given much time to recuperate as the android stepped ominously towards them. A bright glow of energy appeared in its palm as the android accessed Captain Atom's powers again, and once more Kid Flash picked up Kayanna before racing them towards safety. The beam of energy collided roughly with the gym's wall.

Kid Flash ran the two under some bleachers, and once they reached the other side he set Kayanna down, making sure she was still behind cover, "Stay here!" He ordered before he raced around the corner, making a direct beeline towards the android.

"Access: Black Canary."

A sonic scream filled the gym, and Kid Flash was knocked backwards, clutching his ears as he skidded across the hard flooring. Superboy made a pass at the android, but it activated Superman's powers and knocked the clone away with a strong punch.

Nightlight swooped in to provide her own assault, launching a barrage of pink disks at the android. It held up an arm, trying to deflect each blast of energy before it managed to snag the girl's cape as she flew around it. The android spun around and roughly hurled Nightlight into the bleachers. She landed with a harsh thud, a sharp piece up metal slicing her leg and she hissed in pain as it stung.

Kayanna darted across the gym floor to Kid Flash's side, helping the speedster to his feet. Superboy and the android continued to battle it out in the background, Nightlight recuperating in the stands, and Kid Flash glanced at the girl, "I thought I told you to stay put."

"You're not the boss of me."

Kid Flash rolled his eyes, "This isn't safe for a civilian."

"And who says I'm just a civilian?" Kayanna quipped back.

Kid Flash opened his mouth to retort, but Robin beat him to it as the boy wonder appeared alongside the duo, "Dude, that's Nightfall." The speedster shook his head as he glanced between his best friend and the girl. Though he had met Nightfall in costume, the two hadn't met in civvies so he didn't recognize her.

Not to mention her hood hid most of her hair and face.

At the speedster's confused look, Kayanna cracked a shy grin and shrugged, "We decimate a rogue genetics lab together and yet you don't recognize me, Kid? And here I thought we were friends…" She joked lightly. The waterbender had to remind herself he didn't purposefully forget her or anything, she was just Kayanna right now, and not Nightfall.

A slow grin stretched across Kid Flash's face, "Nighty!" He quirked a brow, "What are you doing here?"

"Dance-"

Superboy went sailing through the air and crashed into the basketball hoop above, taking the whole contraption down with him. Kid Flash and Robin immediately ran to their friend's aide, helping pull the clone out of the rubble.

"I could use some help out there." Superboy grumbled and wiped a bit of dust off his shoulder.

"Weren't you the one who said you didn't want help?" Kid Flash shrank back as Superboy flashed him a harsh glare, and the speedster held his hands up, "Sorry, bad time to joke…"

The clone scowled and shook his head before leaping back into action. He aimed to tackle the android, but it just stuck its foot out before slamming Superboy into the ground and pressing down onto the clone's chest. Superboy grabbed ahold of the android's foot, using all the strength he could muster to move the android, but it was still using Superman's powers.

Robin pulled out some more birdarangs and launched them towards the android. It accessed Martian Manhunter's powers once more, but this time used a different subset. Its arms extended greatly, thrashing about and swiping the projectiles from the air. The change in powers coupled with the android being distracted allowed Superboy to push the android off of himself, causing it to stumble back a few feet.

With its arms still long and extended, it whipped them towards Superboy, and the clone leapt to the side to avoid being hit. Kayanna found herself in front of a water fountain, and taking in a deep breath, she attempted the same move she had used on Desmond back at Cadmus.

Kayanna sucked in a deep breath before jutting her arms forward. The fountain creaked and moaned as the water pressure built up behind it before it erupted, and Kayanna moved her arms around herself to keep control of the water.

With a quick jump forward and a jerk of her hands, she sent the water flying forwards and towards the android. She twisted her hands and the water transformed into icicles, the sharp projectiles hurtling towards the androids chest. It turned to her, once more muttering her father's name before holding a hand up and stopping the icicles in place.

It flicked its hand towards Kayanna, aiming to send her own icicles back at her, but luckily for the waterbender, it took practice and skill to accurately control water. Instead of the icicles being returned to sender, Kayanna was able to wrestle control of the icicles from the android. With a wave of her hand she tried to turn them back on the android, but realizing it lacked the control she had, the android accessed Martian Manhunter's powers, and the icicles went sailing through its intangible form.

Kid Flash raced towards the android, only to suddenly find himself dodging icicles as he cried out, "Babe!"

Kayanna flinched, "Sorry!"

The android whirled around and grabbed Kid Flash before crushing the speedster to his chest, utilizing Superman's powers to add extra strength to the bone-crushing hug. Kid Flash cried out as Kayanna and Robin made an attempt to help him, but there was a twang as an arrow sailed towards the android.

It went intangible once more, and Kid Flash slipped through his grasp as the arrow landed between Kayanna and Robin. The girl glanced down at it before looking at Robin, who had a scowl on his face, "Is Speedy out there or something?"

"No," was the boy wonder's simple response.

Kid Flash, now free of the android's grasp, slipped away as Superboy came flying towards the android.

"Access: Black Canary." Kayanna braced herself for another sonic scream, but the android instead swiftly grabbed the clone before launching him across the gym, where he crash landed in the bleachers.

A barrage of pink energy bursts assaulted the android as Nightlight flew up from the stands, her eyes glowing brighter as she rejoined the fight. The fabric of her pants was torn slightly, blood trickling from the wound, but the girl ignored the pain. She continued with her attack on the android, who was doing its best to avoid the blasts.

Kid Flash raced up from behind, attempting a sneak attack in hopes of landing a punch on the android. Just like his past few attempts, this one didn't work out and the speedster suddenly felt himself flying through the air. He collided with Nightlight, who had attempted to catch Kid Flash, and together the two crashed roughly into the ground.

Robin threw some more birdarangs and Kayanna doled out more icicles. The android turned towards the two as their projectiles bounced harmlessly off his metallic body, and then it accessed Superman's powers. Its eyes began to glow red before lasers shot out. Kayanna managed to pull up a quick water barrier with the water at her feet, freezing it into an ice shield for protection.

The android's laser vision collided full force with the ice shield, erupting it into pieces and sending the two heroes flying back. Robin struck the ground first, Kayanna rolling and landing on top of him.

The smoke began to clear and Kayanna groaned, shifting slightly before she realized she was on top of someone. Her eyes snapped open and she found herself staring directly into Robin's masked covered eyes, the two being nearly nose to nose. A heavy blush dusted Kayanna's cheeks and Robin sucked in a breath as he removed his hands from her waist, holding them as far from her body as possible.

Kayanna coughed awkwardly before struggling to clamber off the flustered boy wonder. In her haste to stand up, her foot got caught on his cape, and she found herself greeting the floor face first. Robin was immediately at her side, helping her to stand up and the waterbender internally cursed.

She was a dancer- she was supposed to be graceful and fluid.

And falling onto her face in front of Robin did not fall into that category.

Kid Flash skidded to a halt beside the two recuperating teens with Nightlight on his heels, the two evidently oblivious to the blunder that had just occurred between the two younger heroes. They watched as Superboy was knocked into the bleachers, and the android returned its attention to the four.

"Gotta move!" Kid Flash cried out, grabbing Kayanna by the hand as Nightlight snagged Robin. Two bright red bursts of energy landed where the four were once standing, creating sizzling holes in the floor, "Too close," the speedster breathed out, and Kayanna nodded her head in agreeance as the four ducked behind the bleachers.

The android stood in the center of the gym, not moving, and Kayanna found herself unnerved. She fiddled with her hoodie strings as Robin and Kid Flash poked their heads out. A laser pierced the air and collided with the wall near the four, kicking up more dust and debris as Robin and Kid Flash quickly slipped back into cover. Nightlight attempted the shield the group, but found her energy levels to be too low to allow her to do so. She frowned.

"At this rate, we're going to be here all night," Kid Flash grumbled.

"We really need a plan."

Kayanna quirked a brow and glanced between the two, "Shouldn't your mentors be here helping?" It hadn't really dawned on her before that there weren't any Leaguers in sight, but now that they had a mini reprieve, she was curious to say the least.

Plus, why were Superboy, Nightlight and Kid Flash in Gotham? They belonged in Metropolis, San Francisco, and Central City respectively.

Kid Flash shared a look with Nightlight before addressing the waterbender, "Please, the team doesn't need their help! We can handle this on our own."

"Team?" Kayanna scrunched her nose as confusion flashed across her face.

Their conversation as cut short, however, when an enraged voice suddenly resonated around the gym, "It makes me ANGRY!"

The bleachers Kayanna and the others were hiding behind suddenly shook. Kid Flash peaked out from around the corner, the other three following suit. Superboy was perched on the bleachers, and the tiny man was quickly scampering away.

"WANNA SEE ME CHANNEL THAT ANGER?!"

"Great!" Kid Flash groaned and Kayanna flinched at the clone's tone, "He's gone ballistic again!"

"Again?" The waterbender questioned, but she went ignored as Robin shook his head, a small grin on his face.

"Maybe not…"

Nightlight nodded, "I think Superboy has a plan."

"Amazo!" The tiny man shrieked- in a very manly way Kayanna might add- and stumbled down the bleachers, tripping over his own two feet as the robotic monkeys flew beside him, "Protect your master, priority alpha!"

Superboy leapt towards the scared man once more, causing him to dive off the bleachers. He landed in a heap on the ground, bow tie askew and his robotic monkey things latched onto his sweater vest, helping him up. The tiny man was quickly knocked back to the ground, however, as Robin flipped in.

"Anyone wanna play keep away?" The boy wonder cackled.

Kayanna giggled at the absurdity of the situation as she joined in on the 'fun', picking up some left over water nearby the water fountain she may have destroyed, "I wanna join in!" She shot her hand out, the water forming into a whip before it curled around the struggling man's leg. The waterbender curled her fist and swept her arm to the side, sending the tiny man sliding towards a speeding Kid Flash.

The speedster beamed as the raced across the gym, calling out excitedly, "Me, me!"

"Superman." The android- Amazo as Kayanna now learned it was called- stomped the floor, the wooden boards separating as a violent shockwave rippled through them. Kid Flash got caught up in the ripple before he could near the downed man, and he was sent flying into the bleachers.

Kayanna and Robin jumped onto the bleachers, avoiding the tremor and racing towards Kid Flash, who had landed upside down a few rows up. Nightlight flew ahead of the two, landing beside Kid Flash and helping to right him as Robin stopped. The boy wonder whipped out some more birdarangs, aiming them once more at the Amazo.

Robin's projectiles sailed through the air, careening towards their target. Martian Manhunter's name was called once more, and the android's body went intangible, the birdarangs passing right through his body just as Superboy landed in front of Amazo.

Amazo, still intangible, prepared another attack, but the clone put his fist through its face just as the android's body solidified once more. A fist in the head is not conducive to a functioning android, and sparks began to fly before Amazo- quite literally- lost its head.

Superboy pulled his fist back, the place where Amazo's head used to be still sparking. The android's body stood for a few seconds before it fell to its knees and then to the ground, a dull metallic thud echoing in the gym. Robin darted towards the android, sliding to his knees and skidding to a halt beside it.

"Help me disassemble it, now!"

"Dude, the guy has no head." Kid Flash shook his head, arm tossed around Nightlight's shoulder as she helped his down the bleachers.

"Do not take any chances!" A new voice called, and Kayanna turned towards the gym entrance just as Aqualad, followed closely by a… green girl, entered. The waterbender went mostly ignored as Aqualad came to Robin's aide, while the green girl- Kayanna deduced she was a Martian - immediately settled herself at Superboy's side.

"Superboy, are you alright?" Her brows were crinkled together, a look of worry on her face as she placed her hands on his upper arm, the touch almost intimate.

Did Superboy have a girlfriend already? Kayanna couldn't help but think to herself.

"Fine," Superboy breathed out, barely sparing the Martian girl a glance as he looked to Robin, and Kayanna removed the thought of the two being a couple from her mind. The clone had a soft smile on his face as he said, "Feeling the aster."

Robin glanced up from his work, a bright smile on his face. A silence fell over the group of gathered heroes, the only sounds being the clanking of metal as the boy wonder and Aqualad worked to dismember Amazo. Sirens wailed in the distance, no doubt en-route to figure out just what the heck was going on at Gotham Academy, but no one paid them any mind for the time being.

Kayanna glanced around the gym as she hovered behind the heroes. Her mind couldn't seem to settle on a specific thought as it rotated between assessing the damage done to her school and the fact there was apparently a team of sidekicks running around now.

One her father had conveniently forgotten to tell her about.

"Hey!" Kid Flash suddenly cried out, breaking Kayanna out of her thoughts and she blinked, "Where's Ivo?"

"Tiny man?" Kayanna asked, drawing attention to herself as she looked around the room. Sure enough, this Ivo was gone, and so were those robotic monkeys of his.

"And this is why we don't play keep away with the villains." Nightlight shook her head. Kid Flash and Robin flashed her sheepish smiles, and Aqualad faced Kayanna from his place on the floor.

"Who are you?" He questioned the girl.

Kayanna dropped her hood, messy brown hair spilling out from within. Sometime during the battle her hair-tie had snapped, her hood being the only reason her hair hadn't been going everywhere.

"Does the mask really make me look that different?" She jabbed lightly.

Robin snorted, "It's better than a pair of glasses." Kayanna gave the boy wonder a confused look, not quite understanding the comparison, but Robin just laughed knowingly, doing his best to stifle his laughter when Nightlight elbowed him.

Aqualad frowned for a second, her voice being familiar, but it took him a moment to place it. When he did, a soft smile settled on his lips, "Nightfall." He nodded, and said girl smiled, "I did not expect you to be here to aid us." The Atlantean quirked a brow as he took in what Kayanna was wearing. A lightly scuffed red and pink sweatshirt with a pair of shorts, "but where is your hero attire?"

Kayanna shrugged, blue eyes shifting to look around at the damage to the gym once more, "I, uh, this is my school." She gestured to the back wall and towards some blue mats, which had been knocked over and damaged in the fray, "I was here for dance practice."

"A dancer, huh?" Kid Flash waggled his eyebrows, "Babe, you can dance f- ow!" The speedster cried out and rubbed his ribs, glaring at his best friend who faced forward nonchalantly, "Dude!"

Robin didn't say anything and Nightlight rolled her eyes, a small scowl on her face, "None of us needed to hear you finish that sentence, Kid."

Kayanna blinked as she digested what Kid Flash had started to say. Her heart fluttered and a blush began to spread across her face before she turned her gaze to her feet, kicking softly at the floor. The brunette didn't further respond to the boy- not that she actually knew what to say to him- so she settled for going silent.

The green girl was the one to break the silence, floating towards the blushing waterbender with her hands clasped together and a smile on her face, "I'm Miss Martian!" She chirped, hazel eyes twinkling, "You must be the Nightfall the others were talking about."

Kayanna glanced up.

The others had been talking about me?

Her eyes scanned over the other heroes before settling again on Miss Martian, "Uh, yeah. That's me!"

Miss Martian beamed, "It's so nice to meet you! Will you be joining the team?"

"Oh, uhm… I kind of just learned about the team like five minutes ago, so no?"

The Martian's smile fell, "Oh."

An awkward silence on the group and Kid Flash detangled himself from Nightlight, the shorter girl frowning as the speedster walked over to Kayanna and tossed an arm over her shoulder. He gave it a quick squeeze, "Our girl here has a very overprotective father."

Kayanna scowled as her face flushed in embarrassment, and she ducked underneath Kid Flash's arm, "You didn't have to tell her that!" She knew her dad meant well and was just looking out for her, but when you put things into words the way Kid Flash had, it made her seem like she was nothing more than a child.

It made her feel inferior and weak.

"It's sweet of him to be looking out for you," Miss Martian smiled softly and clasped her hands together.

It's embarrassing.

Is what Kayanna really wanted to say, but Miss Martian looked so sincere in her words, so she just kept her mouth shut, only offering a simple nod in response.

Nightlight could sense the girl's unease and turned to Aqualad, changing the direction of the conversation, "Now what?"


SANDERS HOUSEHOLD

The fiasco at Gotham Academy had occurred two days ago, and miraculously, Kayanna didn't get into a lick of trouble.

She also didn't get to join the team, but that's a story for a different day.

Kayanna sat at the kitchen counter, a bowl of soggy cereal sitting beside her. The letter Gotham Academy had sent out to students- and staff- sat beside her forgotten breakfast.

The school had taken significant damage, and it apparently extended way further out than just the gym. Multiple hallways and lockers had been decimated, as well as a few of the science labs. The letter didn't define exactly what had happened to the school, but of course Kayanna already knew.

Bruce Wayne had offered to cover the damage to the school. If it weren't for the fact Bruce Wayne funded a scholarship for Gotham Academy and his ward- one of Kayanna's best friends- attended the school, she might've found it a bit odd he was covering their repairs. The school was expensive enough as is, so they definitely had enough money to repair it on their own, but of course they graciously accepted Bruce's charitable offer. At least it saved tuition from increasing.

Kyle was able to attend Gotham Academy on a basketball scholarship he had earned, and though Kayanna didn't have a scholarship to the school, Koda was a professor at the school, which gave them half-off tuition for the school. If it weren't for that half-off, there was no way Kayanna would be attending Gotham Academy.

And thus there would've been no way Barbara Gordon would've ever been her best friend.

That would be a sad life to live…

The letter also stated that the start of the school year was being pushed back a few weeks- though they weren't sure when exactly the school year would start. Kayanna didn't mind that part, but it also meant that for the time being- while the school was being repaired- that any and all school activities, such as the dance team, was put on hold.

And that part she did mind.

A door opened and closed and Kayanna glanced over her shoulder, watching as her father entered the kitchen. He dropped his briefcase on the barstool beside the girl and ran a hand through his slicked back hair. With a heavy sigh he grabbed a glass from the cabinet before filling it with water.

Kayanna quirked a brow, "Rough meeting?"

"First Cadmus and then Gotham Academy." Koda shook his head, ignoring his daughter's question, "What's with you and destroying places?"

"Excuse me?" Kayanna scoffed, a smile spreading across her face when her father gave her a smirk, "I was minding my own business when trouble came to me."

Kayanna had thought Koda would be mad when he found out she had played a role in some of the destruction Gotham Academy had taken, but he had actually taken the whole thing pretty well, understanding that the whole thing was kind of a 'wrong place, wrong time' situation. She hadn't gone behind his back to pursue heroics, and her father even admitted in her place he would've done the same thing.

Though their conversation did get slightly heated when she brought up the team.

Koda had known about the team being formed after the events of Cadmus, and he did purposefully withhold the information from her.

She had wanted to be pissed at him- and she was in all honesty- but she knew from prior experience that it wasn't going to solve anything.

"You must have a trouble magnet then or something because it finds you a lot." Koda set his glass on the counter and shook his head as his daughter rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. How'd the meeting go?"

"They're hoping to have the repairs done by the end of August, but it's looking like they may have to completely redo the piping system throughout the building, so it may take them a bit longer. Projected start date for the school year is September 7th."

"Two extra weeks of summer?" Kayanna grinned, "Nice."

Koda shook his head, "The board is still deciding on whether or not you guys will have to make up those two weeks at the end of the school year."

"What?" The girl groaned, "That's not fair!"

"Then you shouldn't have destroyed your school." Koda replied matter-of-factly before kissing his daughter on her head and exiting the kitchen. Kayanna rolled her eyes and propped her chin up on her hand, blowing out a puff of air.

Hopefully they didn't tack on two extra weeks of school at the end of the year…


FOUR DAYS LATER…

"It's a beautiful day in Gotham today, folks. The forecast predicts sunny with a high of 82, perfect weather for an outdoor barbeque and…"

Kayanna scoffed as she glanced out the window. Kyle stood beside her, holding back the curtain as the two watched the gloomy weather together. Despite the forecast promising nothing but beautiful weather, it was the exact opposite. A streak of lightning licked the sky, thunder rumbling ominously in the distance as rain pelted the earth below.

"Something tells me the weatherman's forecast is incorrect." Kyle frowned.

He dropped the curtain and Kayanna scowled as she walked away, "So much for going to the beach today…" She dropped onto the couch, quickly clicking off the TV as the meteorologist promised more happy weather.

They obviously hadn't taken a look outside in a while.

Kyle ruffled her hair as he passed by the couch, laughing as she smacked his hand away, "I'm sure the weather will clear up soon."

As if hearing his words, a particularly loud clap of thunder tore through the air. The force of the booming noise caused the windows and walls of the house to quake and rattle and rain pelted the window harder. Kayanna flashed her brother an unamused look.

"You just had to open your mouth."

A sharp knock sounded from the front door before Kyle could respond to his sister. Kayanna immediately leapt up from the couch, racing towards the door before Kyle placed himself in her path. Every time she tried to spin around him, he'd shift his position and block her path once more.

She cursed his basketball skills.

The knocking on the door started up again, this time more fervent than the first, and Kayanna groaned, "Kyle!"

"What?" He cracked a sly grin, ignoring the knocking on the door, "Eager to see your boyfriend are we?"

Kayanna crinkled her nose, "Ew, Dick? He's like that annoying brother I never wanted."

"And what does that make me?"

"The annoying brother that I got." She shoved him harder, this time catching him off guard, "Now move!" She slipped past him.

The knocking on the door had increased in speed and when Kayanna yanked the door open, Dick blinked, fist still raised. He cracked a wide grin at the brunette's annoyed look - no doubt the result of some sibling related issue if the smirk on Kyle's face was anything to go by – and chirped, "Lovely weather we're having today, huh 'Anna?"

"Don't get me started." She shook her head.

Barbara glanced between her two friends, umbrella clasped tightly in her hand. Even under the awning of Kayanna's house and the umbrella she was sharing with Dick, she was still getting pelted by droplets of rain, and she was not having it, "Complain about the weather later. Let me in."

The ginger didn't even give her friend a chance to respond before she was pushing past Kayanna and entering the house. Barbara shook out her umbrella and Dick entered behind her. He took off his slightly damp jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack before kicking off his shoes.

They landed in the middle of the walkway, and Kayanna kicked them towards the shoe rack, flashing her friend a frown, "You may have a butler, Dick, but we don't have one here."

A coy smirk settled on the raven's face, and Kayanna blinked as a flash of recognition washed over her. Due to the rain, Dick's normally slicked back hair was slightly disheveled, strands hanging limply in his face. There was something familiar about it, but she couldn't place it.

And it was kind of bothering her.

"…earth to Kayanna… are you there?"

The girl jerked, tearing her eyes from Dick and settling her gaze on Barbara, who was trying to get her attention, "I'm sorry, what?"

Her ginger friend rolled her eyes and repeated herself, "As I was saying, seeing as the beach is obviously out of the question-"

"What? You don't like swimming dangerously Babs?" Dick quipped.

Kayanna laughed and Barbara scowled, "No, I like living, Dick."

"It was just a suggestion." The raven held his hands up.

"If you don't have anything helpful to say," She gave Dick a pointed look, "then zip your pie-hole."

"Pie-hole?" Kyle quirked an amused brow, jumping into the conversation.

"My dad doesn't like swearing," Barbara breezily replied and before anyone could respond, she resumed her original thought, "Okay but seriously, what's on the agenda for today then?"

Kayanna pursed her lips in thought and Dick shrugged. Barbara eyed her two friends before her eyes shifted to Kyle, who just held his hands up in response. None of them had a clue what else to do.

"You guys are hopeless."


BROOKLYN

ONE WEEK LATER...

Nightfall ducked to the left, a fist sailing past her head and she counteracted the attack by jutting out her foot. The assailant fell to the ground, and she swiftly knocked him out. She swiped her hand out, water confining itself to a steady stream and wrapping around another assailants hand. Nightfall twisted her arm and sent the guy careening towards the alley wall. He conked his head against the stone and slumped to the ground.

With the perps now knocked out, the waterbender moved the two assailants together before quickly tying them up and sending an alert to the police. Nightfall grabbed the bag of miscellaneous goods they had stolen- it was mostly full of money- and headed towards the store from which the goods had come from.

The owner was grateful, shaking Nightfall's hand fervently and offering her a reward. The girl refuted the need for a reward, stating that she was just happy she could help, but the owner was adamant.

Nightfall ended up leaving with a free chocolate bar, the only type of reward she would accept before heading back to patrol.

"Nighttide to Nightfall." Her father's voice rang in her ear, "Meet me at the rendezvous point in five."

"Roger that."

This night was sort of a trial and error run for Nightfall. It was the first time her father was allowing her to run her own patrol. Granted, he was no more than five miles away from her, but it was still a huge step for herself as a hero.

Nighttide was finally giving her more responsibilities in the field.

Nightfall jumped up and grabbed the ladder, pulling it down before hoisting herself up. She climbed up the rest of the fire escape before landing on the roof of their chosen rendezvous point. It was empty, as her father hadn't arrived yet, so she just paced around the rooftop.

A few minutes had passed, and still no sight or word from her father. Just as Nightfall went to contact him, an explosion erupted in the distance. She whirled around, watching as a plume of smoke blossomed from a building down by the docks. Fire quickly began to consume it, and Nightfall ran to jump off the building.

"Nightfall!"

The waterbender whirled around just as Nighttide made his way onto the roof.

She made her way towards him, "T-the docks just erupted."

"I see that."

Sirens began to wail in the distance as various fire departments in the area began to roll out. Nightfall was itching to get down there and help put out the flames- and potentially find the source of the trouble- but she had to wait for Nighttide's go ahead.

"Think it's the Pyro's?"

Nighttide glanced over at his daughter before returning his attention to the burning docks, analyzing the scene from afar, "No, too disruptive." The flames continued to consume the building, smoke filling the night sky. The older waterbender watched the scene before him with critical eyes, an unnerved feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.

The Pyro's were always more subtle about the things they burned down, as explosions and eruptions weren't really their M.O. They preferred the fire to be slow and drawn out, so when it was finally caught, it was almost too late to do anything about it.

"Stay here," Nighttide commanded, "I'm going to investigate."

"Wait, why can't I help?" Nightfall protested with a frown, turning her head.

"Just stay put," Her father faced her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She opened her mouth to argue, but Nighttide beat her to the punch, "Please, Nightfall, I'm not going to argue with you."

Something about the explosion and subsequent fire wasn't sitting well with Nighttide, and he wanted to keep his daughter as far from it until he knew everything was all good.

Nightfall's eyes widened at the tone of her father's voice. He was actually pleading with her instead of commanding her. She nodded her head, "Oh, uh, yeah, can do."

Nighttide squeezed his daughter's shoulder once more before taking off, leaping to the next rooftop with ease and making his way towards the inferno burning down at the docks. Another building suddenly blew up, adding to the already raging blaze and Nightfall watched as her father disappeared from sight amongst the smoke and flames. She chewed her lower lip and hoped for the best.


Nightfall continued to pace along the rooftop's edge, watching the fire in the distance. No more building's had erupted- which she took as a good sign- but word from Nighttide had been sparce so far. He had contacted her to tell her he found something, but that was a few minutes ago so now she was just left waiting.

Alone.

On a rooftop.

Again.

"Nighty!"

A sudden voice sounded and the girl whirled around with a screech. She snapped her wrist and the water from her pouch immediately shot forward towards the source of the voice.

"Oof." The torrent of water collided with a solid body, sending them crashing into the rocky surface of the rooftop, "Babe!"

Nightfall's hands flew up to cover her mouth as a wave of recognition washed over her, "Kid!" She cried out and darted forward, coming to a halt besides the downed speedster.

Robin suddenly appeared on the rooftop, his notorious cackle echoing in the air as he helped his friend up, "Dude, she got you good."

Kid Flash grumbled and rubbed his wet chest, "What was that for, Nighty?" He asked the waterbender with a pout, ignoring the cackling boy wonder.

She waved her hand and the water removed itself from the front of Kid Flash's uniform, coiling itself up before returning back to Nightfall's water pouch. She opened her mouth to say something, but another feminine voice interrupted her.

"To be fair, you did sneak up on her." Nightlight floated into view, pink glow extra bright in the darkness.

Nightfall glanced between the three heroes, eyebrows furrowed and lips quirked downwards in a frown, "What, uh… what are you guys doing here?"

"Came to recruit you to the team!" Kid Flash stated matter-of-factly, hands propped on his hips and Nightfall shook her head.

"Well, you've shown up at a rather inopportune time." The waterbender gestured behind herself, towards the fire by the docks that was slowly diminishing, "Nighttide's a bit preoccupied by that."

"Any idea what happened?" Robin questioned.

Nightfall shrugged, "It's currently being investigated."

"By you standing here?" Kid Flash looked skeptical before he suddenly flinched and cried out, Nightlight having smacked his chest.

"She said Nighttide is investigating it."

A frown had made its way onto Nightfall's face as she kicked at a rock on the surface of the rooftop. It skidded away a few feet, bouncing before coming to a halt. The waterbender had the sudden urge to disappear, and she wished she had Nightlight's powers of invisibility.

But she didn't.

So she stood awkwardly on the roof and avoided eye contact with the others.

Kid Flash rubbed the back of his neck, an apologetic look on his face, "Sorry, Nighty." He shrugged, "If it makes you feel better, Flash did the same thing to me when I first became his protégé."

Nightfall's ears perked up and she glanced over at the speedster, "Really?"

"Yeah, and you know how much begging I had to do to even become Kid Flash in the first place?"

"Batman trained me for months before letting me into the field."

"And I had to persuade Shadow Hunter to let me become a hero as well." Nightlight tacked on.

Nightfall crossed her arms and shrugged, turning around and re-focusing her gaze on the docks. The fire had diminished significantly, and the sirens and lights in the distance indicated the fire department were there to help eradicate the fire completely. She assumed her father played a role in the fire's receding, and the waterbender just wanted to be at his side helping him.

The confessions from her new friends made her feel slightly better about where she was at in her heroics, but it still kind of sucked being the newbie amongst them all.

"At least you guys are your own heroes.

"We all started somewhere, Nightfall," Nightlight didn't skip a beat as she offered the other girl a soft smile, "You've got nothing to feel bad about."

'Nighttide to Nightfall.' The girl's comm crackled to life, preventing her from responding back to Nightlight.

She pressed her finger to her ear, "Nightfall here."

The other's stood beside her silently as Nightfall's conversation with Nighttide carried on.

'The source of the explosion seems to weapons trade gone wrong. I've managed to apprehend some of the suspects, but whoever actually caused the explosion got away'

"Do you need help?" Nightfall tried to sound rather nonchalant and cool about the situation, but her voice cracked at the end, giving in to her nerves.

I just need them to think I'm not pathetic…

'Negative.' Her father voiced back, and the younger waterbender found herself scowling, 'The fire's almost out and the suspects are being loaded up, I should be back in fifteen.'

Oh boy, more waiting.

Nightfall sighed, "Okay. Just call me if you need me I guess…" She trailed off, trying not to sound too dejected.

'Will do. Nighttide out.'

Robin shared a look with Kid Flash before the former began to speak, "Is everything alright?"

The waterbender turned, "The explosion was a weapons trade gone wrong apparently. Nighttide's got it under control." She shrugged her shoulders before flopping her hands at her side, "As per usual…" Nightfall muttered the last bit under her breath.

"Any idea who caused the explosion?" Kid Flash asked.

"My dad didn't say, and my only guess was The Pyro's…"

"Pyro's?" Nightlight questioned, sharing a confused glance with Kid Flash.

"It's a gang that's recently popped up in Brooklyn," Robin spoke up before Nightfall could answer the girl, "They specialize in robbing places and setting them on fire."

The waterbender flashed him a quizzical look, "How did you-?"

"It's my job to know things." Robin answered with a smirk.

"You mean it's your job to stalk people." The speedster retaliated with an eye roll.

"Same thing."

Nightfall glanced between the two friends for a second before shaking her head, "Okayy… well, my dad won't be back for another fifteen minutes… soooo yeah."

Before any of the three protégés could say something in response, an alarm began to blare from Robin's gauntlet. The boy wonder was quick to open his holo-computer, typing away on the holographic keyboard that appeared as he studied the screen.

His brows furrowed and he glanced up, "There's a bank a few blocks down that's being robbed."

"And you know this how?" Nightfall quirked a brow.

Nightlight crossed her arms, "He hacked into the security systems in the area when we got here."

"Its way easier to fight crime when you know exactly where it is," Robin explained and shrugged. Nightfall nodded and he grinned at her, "What do you say, Nightfall? Care to stop a robbery?"

Nightlight and Kid Flash settled their gazes on the girl, and Nightfall found herself chewing her lip once more as she glanced at her feet. She dug her foot into the rocky surface of the roof, the options presented to her dancing about in her mind.

On one hand she was itching for some action, not to mention she would get to work alongside Robin, Kid Flash, and Nightlight again- something of which she thoroughly enjoyed doing back at Cadmus.

But on the other hand, it seemed as if her father was starting to trust her more and give her more leeway in the field, and she didn't want to jeopardize that and ruin all the progress they had made since Cadmus.

In the end, Nightfall knew which option she had to pick.

"I'm sorry," She started and ran a hand through her brown hair, "as much as I would love to help, it's probably better if I wait for Nighttide here."

Nightlight nodded her head, "Understandable. Orders are orders." She lifted slightly off the ground and Kid Flash offered Nightfall a soft grin.

"It was nice seeing you again, Nighty."

"Likewise," She nodded back with a hesitant grin.

Kid Flash and Nightlight shared a look, the former speaking, "And, uh, if you change your mind, you know where to find us." And with that, the two took off, leaving Robin and Nightfall alone on the rooftop.

The waterbender turned towards Robin as he dug through his utility belt, "Aren't you going with them?"

"In a sec," The boy wonder responded before looking up and extending his hand towards the girl, "Here."

Nightfall quirked a brow and grabbed the small object in his hand. She held it up and examined it. It was a comm link, "What is…?" The waterbender looked at the small object in confusion before glancing up at Robin, "I already have a comm link though?"

"I know," Robin nodded, "but this one is linked to my comm," There was a pause before he hastily added, "as well as Nightlight and Kid Flash's."

Nightfall shook her head and slipped the comm into her ear, "Oh, okay. Uh, thanks."

"No problem," The boy wonder grinned. He gestured in the direction Kid Flash and Nightlight had disappeared to, "I should probably go join them."

"Yeah, probably."

Robin waved at the girl and Nightfall watched as he darted towards the edge of the rooftop. Just as he prepared to flip off the edge, he paused. The boy wonder turned to face the girl once more, and Nightfall cocked her head to the side in mild confusion, "And for the record, Nightfall, you should be more confident in yourself. I think you're doing great as a hero so far."

Butterflies erupted in Nightfall's stomach at the boy wonder's words, a giddy feeling washing over her body and she shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "T-thanks, Robin." A soft blush dusted her cheeks as she gazed over at the boy, eyes twinkling in the night and Robin felt his face redden at the lovely smile on her face.

Yeah, Robin loved to see her smile.

"That really means a lot to hear." Nightfall finished softly.

The boy wonder's lips quirked upwards, "No problem."

And then he disappeared into the night, leaving Nightfall alone on a rooftop once more.


Minutes ticked by slowly as Nightfall stood upon the rooftop, eyes watching the city intently. A soft breeze ruffled the girl's hair and elicited a shiver to run down her spine, goosebumps rippling up her arms.

Though it was still August, the nights were slowly becoming cooler and cooler as fall began to set in.

Nighttide had contacted the younger waterbender a few minutes after the other protégés had left, alerting the girl to the fact that he was going to be arriving back at their rendezvous point later than he had anticipated. He didn't tell her why he was going to be late, and that fact didn't sit well with Nightfall, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

She could always wheedle it out of him later.

With a groan, Nightfall turned around and faced the direction Robin had recently disappeared to. Based on the directions she had been given, Nightfall knew which bank the three heroes were headed to- or were already at, and she debated with herself as to whether or not she should join them.

Nighttide was going to be later than anticipated, and if she had to spend five more minutes on this rooftop, she was literally going to scream.

Besides, she could probably make it back to the rendezvous point before her father ever showed up, right?

That didn't sound super realistic.

Deciding she had had enough of standing around doing nothing, and before Nightfall could talk herself out of it, the girl pressed a finger to her ear.

"Uh, hello?"

"Nighty!" The familiar voice of Kid Flash chirped in her ear, quickly followed by a grunt and was that the sound of glass breaking? "Did you change your mind?"

The waterbender swallowed thickly.

There was no turning back now.

"Yeah, you better have saved some action for me!"

"Oh but of course!"

And then she was off.


Word Count: 9,099

Pages: 24

A/N: Hey guys! It's me- your friendly, neighborhood, "I suck at maintaining a good updating schedule" author :' )

Not particularly happy with this chapter... more specifically with the ending of the chapter compared to the res... but I've been sitting on it for weeks and I just want to move on so I can get Nightfall onto the team and get you guys a chapter lol

I promise the next chapters will be better... xP

Hopefully this long chapter can appease you guys... it kind of got away from me in length lol

I know I apologize for being a shitty updater in like every update I do, but I really am sorry. I love writing for you guys and I love reading your responses to what I've written, but as a full time college student, it's hard to balance 16 credits AND two stories AND job shadowing AND research projects AND volunteering AND planning a wedding AND life lol

You guys are all AMAZING though and I appreciate each and every one of my readers. It's you guys that help keep my passion for writing alive and I can't thank you all enough for the support!

Hopefully I'll have the next chapter of Falcon out soon-ish, and then another chapter of this story after! I have hopes to get to at least Homefront (for this fic) by the end of the year... we'll see if that happens lol

With love,

SnowWolf22