New Year's Eve: A time for adults to lock their doors, teenagers and young adults to get drunk and party, preteens to watch pop stars on the count down, and children to stay up hours after their bed time.
But me and the team? We were switching popstars and underage drinking with watching new members of the league get officially welcomed in the Hall of Justice.
"I'm glad they didn't kick Billy out." Wally said, pleased as he chomped on an apple.
"All heroes are entitled to their own secret identity." I reminded, quoting what Red had told me this morning when I had asked about Captain Marvel's membership in the Justice League.
"Fair enough, butI'm just stoked that there's a ten year old in the league." Wally said.
"There is?" Our newest member, Rocket said. From what I knew, Rocket was the protégé of Icon (a hero I knew next to nothing about) and had a lot of spunk, and was pretty powerful.
Robin hit Wally in the ribs. "Way to keep a secret, genius."
"Hey, she's on the team now right?" Wally said.
I rolled my eyes as the newest members of the league were announced: Doctor Fate (much to Zatanna's disapproval), The Atom (a guy who could shrink down super-tiny), Plastic Man (he stretches, and apparently has a criminal record?), Icon, and Red Arrow.
"You know, I was the one that convinced Icon to be a hero in the first place? I should be out there celebrating with him, not hidden away in here!" Rocket said.
"Welcome to our world." Kaldur said with a smirk. Suddenly, Rocket's stance got a lot more confident and laid back and, looking at her face, I saw her...
Wait, is she checking Kaldur out?
"Well I suppose there's an upside too..." She muttered. Her actions caused my face to heat up and the weird knot-tying feeling in my stomach to return. I bit my lip and fiddled with my hair as I forced my eyes back to the screen.
I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, Dinah was wrong and I'm not jealous...
However, my spirits lifted when the footage switched to Roy shaking hands with GA, and I couldn't help but applaud cheerfully.
"Way to go Roy!" Wally cheered.
"He finally did it!" I celebrated.
"At last he has his wish." Kaldur said, pleased.
"First of us to make it, no one will call him a sidekick anymore." Robin said.
"Wait, since when is being a sidekick a bad thing?" Rocket asked, placing her hands on her hips. "You sidekicks were my inspiration!"
Crap she's nice too...DON'T WORRY ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW
"Well you see...six months ago-" Robin was cut off by what sounded like an alert and he pulled up his holo-computer as the ceremony outside came to a close. "Emergency alert! We need to go."
"Are you sure it's her?" Artemis asked as we flew through the snowy mountains in the bioship. "Are you absolutely positive?"
"See for yourself." Robin said as he pulled up his holographic screen onto the bioship's windshield. It was security footage that showed a petite woman from Asian decent boarding a plane. "This is the security footage from Ashville Regional Airport." The footage zoomed up onto the woman's face to reveal a mug shot of Jade Nguyen AKA Cheshire. "Facial recognition software identified it as Nguyen, but you've seen her without her mask. What do you think?"
"It's Jade...Cheshire." Artemis said, almost disappointedly.
"Agreed." Kaldur said. "But focus on what she carries, is that the case you saw in New Orleans? The one that got away?"
"Yes." Artemis clarified.
"Okay, I'm guessing from the mug shot that Cheshire's the bad guy. But what's so important about that case?" Rocket asked.
Rocket's question made Artemis tense up.
"Remember the Injustice League?" Robin asked.
"And their giant evil plants? Uh, yeah!"
"The team and the league put them in prison, but their allies still scheme." Kaldur explained. "Whatever is in that case seems important to their plans."
"We had a chance to grab it in New Orleans, but someone screwed up." Wally said, glaring at Artemis.
"Kid, that's enough." I said, trying to avoid Artemis and Wally ripping each other apart before the mission even started.
"Closing in on Cheshire's jet." Megan announced thankfully.
But the moment of relief was shot lived as the sight of plane wreckage met us, and the whole team gasped.
"Looks like there were no survivors..." Megan muttered.
As we flew down to the wreckage, we started looking for bodies or anything that might explain what happened.
"How come Homeland Security and ESP aren't all over this?" Wally asked.
"Cheshire's ID was a League alert." Robin explained. "Authorities didn't pick it up and the jet didn't follow the flight plan, it was literally flying under the radar. But the Watchtower tracked the jet and recorded the crash."
"Then why isn't the League here?" Rocket asked.
"Because our Boy Wonder has some mighty hacking skills and 'arranged'to get the alert first." Zatanna explained, the two raven-haired children sharing flirtatious looks.
"And because Cheshire and that case resemble our unfinished business." Kaldur said venomously.
"And yet...that's not what's bothering me." I said, using my winds to lift up a few pieces of rubble and look under them, Superboydid the same with his bare hands. "Where are the...bodies?"
God I hate having to use that word...
"Here's one." The familiar sultry tone said and we all looked up to see Cheshire: very much alive and well. "And it is stunning."
You gotta admit, she has style and a sense of humor.
"I am flora, not fauna. I am foliage, not trees. What am I?"
We all looked up high to the top of the cliff to see Riddler, Mammoth, and a fewarmouredgunmen on the Cliff side. Suddenly, the criminal mastermind snapped his fingers and the pylons we had seen in the India mission popped out of the ground. A moment later, a giant green bubble of energy was formed around us all.
"Come on, you can get this!" Riddler said. "I am shrubbery, not grass. What am I? I..."
"Ambush." Robin growled.
"Didn't you think we'd be tipped that you were on Cheshire's trail?" Riddler asked. "We're tired of your interference kiddies, this is the endgame. Planned from above and executed by their master strategist:moi."
"Miss Martian, is everyone linked?" Kaldur said telepathically.
"Yes." Megan replied.
"GO." Kaldur ordered, and with that: we all dispersed.
"Zephyr, little help?" Zatanna asked and I looked over and nodded.
"Ebolgwons siht ekahs!"Zatanna cast and suddenly, snow began to fall quickly. Getting the idea, I spun around a bit before summoning all my winds to increase windspeed tenfold and essentially create a blizzard inside the dome. Using the power I was already using; I formed a hurricane around body, similar to the ones Red forms before going to the top of the cliff and facing Riddler.
Immediately, I went for an attack: knowing that Riddler is more of a thinker than a fighter and that even I had more body muscle than he did. I aimed apunch at his head, to which he screamed at and ducked. But of course, his move was extremely predictable and as the man the man ducked, I kicked him in the head and sent him flying.
Before I could do anything,I felt someonekick me roughly in the back: causing me to stumble forward. Iturned around to see Shimmer standing there in a fighting stance.
"SB!You're flying!" I heard Robin's voice say and I lookedover slightly to indeedsee Conner flying,Mammoth in tow before the boy threwhim into the field and knocked him to the ground, where Conner proceeded to punch him at super speed into the cliff's wall. Before my eyes, Conner began to form an avalanche.
"What are youstarring at?" Shimmer exclaimed, redirecting my attention to the teenage girl. Deciding to end the fightquickly, Iused my ability the throw her against theside of the cliff, rendering herunconscious.As I saw her body fell, I flew down to where the cliff was becoming unstable. I tried to force the rubble back but it was to much and as the winds momentarily broke, they propelled me back. Groaning, I zipped down to Conner, seeing him beat an unconscious Mammoth into a bloody pulp.
"Superboy! Stop!" I cried, going to grab Conner's arm which, obviously, proved to be a bad idea as Conner proceeded to fling me into the cliff wall with the speed and force of, well, Superman.
Oww...
I saw the rubble begin to fall and I looked down to see Artemis fighting Cheshire, or what I think was Artemis fighting Cheshire: everything was kind of blurry.
"Artemis! Look out!" I scream, and use what remaining strength I had to force Artemis and Cheshire out of the way.
A moment later, I blacked out.