Watchtower

June 30, 09:49 EST

I did a round-off to dodge Speedy's charge as we sparred.

I notice he wasn't taking blind hits only aiming at my neck and face which always allowed me to win.

He tripped me up and pinned me down which equals a win.

"For the first…time in forever," I huffed still out of breath from the exercise.

"Years of experience."

"Your three years older than me and this is the first time you beat me," I chuckled while fixing my tank top strap and my spandex pant leg.

He smiled while picking up his water bottle off the mat.

"So how's it going with your dad?" I asked fixing my ponytail again.

"Good I guess," he said taking a gulp of his water. "I think I overheard something about my mom going back into retirement since he's back."

My Aunt Artemis used to be Green Arrow's sidekick and when my Uncle Wally and Aunt Artemis got into the same college together, they gave up the hero game but when she thought he died, she went back to it making Wally her sidekick when he was old enough.

"Aw," I cooed. "They're gonna grow old together."

He chuckled at the comment as my dad's voice came over the com in our ears.

"Speedy, Mage," he said urgently. "We need you in the Meeting Room, now."

"On our way," I answered looking at Speedy who was looking at me. I shrugged at his glare as we headed out.

In the meeting room, Marie and Malcolm were already there in regular clothes with all the parents, the original members of the Team, and a dark skinned guy with tattoos like serpents.

We stood at the two edges of the horseshoe like table as the adults sat.

My father cleared his throat and put on a serious face before he began talking.

"I called you here for one important reason," he said getting right to the point. "Two nights ago, The Mage and Supergirl were on patrol when they encountered bank robbers and from what I understand when reading the police reports, they didn't get away with much money."

Malcolm, Wally, and various adults shifted heads wondering why this was so important.

"But this wasn't your common-nightly bank robbers," he continued. "This was a former hero."

Everyone stayed quiet but gained a perplexed look on their face.

"28 years ago the original Speedy was abducted almost immediately after becoming Green Arrow's sidekick," he sighed. "When we finally found him and got him back into the hero business, he became defiant so we had to suspend him from the Team which he didn't take well so, he became angry and turned to the other side."

I looked at Wally who didn't look entirely happy but he kept his mouth shut.

"This is now a League issue and if you ever see him, call in the League," he said piercing our souls with his glare. "Don't try to take him down on your own because he's armed and very dangerous."

He dismissed us so the adults could talk and Marie put us in a mind link so we could talk unnoticed.

Wally started first.

"So who knew I was carrying the name of a traitor."

It was silent in the mind link for a few seconds.

"I did," Marie thought ashamed.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't find it important," she snapped, not missing a beat.

"You didn't find it important?" he snapped back. "You didn't find it important that I was name after a traitor!?"

"Wally, calm it down," I stepped in. "Mind yelling isn't going to solve this problem."

"How long did you know?" he scoffed.

The Team was looking at me so I answered his question.

"Two days," I answered. "Now, are we going to hunt this guy down and change your name or keep it and divide the Team?"

We all smile sinister smiles as we went to the common room.

"Why are we in here?" Malcolm asked me.

"I hack best on my laptop," I answered.

"Since when can you hack?"

"Since I used an observation spell and watched my dad hack," I answered sitting down with my laptop on a counter.

To be honest, I don't actually know how to hack. Instinct just takes over because of the observation spell.

"Okay, the BPD reports only say that the assailants took out the cameras and there are no witnesses."

"The guys we caught didn't say anything?" Marie asked.

"If they did they didn't put it into any reports yet."

"Can you find any banks robbed with similar MOs?" Wally asked.

"That might take a little time."

"Why?" Wally asked quite annoyed.

I looked back at him in the same tone.

"Unless all police departments in the area compared notes, it's gonna take time."

"How about we regroup later on tonight?" Marie suggested.

"I'll have some of the reports together around 8 tonight," I accepted starting on it right away.

"Perfect," she said as the boys began to leave. "We'll be back here in uniform."

I didn't answer because I was hacking into the El Paso Police Department and found something totally interesting.

El Paso

June 30, 18:21 CST

Speedy's POV

I pulled my jeans and hoodie over my flex pants and green Speedy hood.

My parents didn't know what I was doing and I didn't intend on telling them, so, when I came out of my room and was about to go into the living room and heard them talking, I stopped and listened in.

"So I'll tell the League tomorrow," my mom told my dad. Finally could say my dad.

"Artemis, you don't have to give up the hero life for me."

"Got back into because of you."

Peeking around the corner I could see they were about to kiss.

"Hey you guys," I said intervening heading towards the door.

"Wally, where are you going?"

"Just hanging out with the Team."

"Kay, be back by midnight though. We have things to do in the morning."

I smiled a toothless smile to say 'okay' and left the house and headed to the nearest Zeta Tube Transporter.

"RECOGNIZED, SPEEDY, B, ZERO, TWO," said the female computer voice announcing my presence in the Watchtower.

Watchtower

June 30, 19:41 EST

The Mage's POV

I was still in the common room when I looked at the time.

I'd been looking at police reports for US cities for at least 10 hours and no one had seem to notice, which I totally didn't mind. I looked at the time and gave it a break.

I took a shower on the Watchtower and came out and put my uniform on. Forgetting I had the tear in my blazer, I used a spell to sew it up.

By time I did that, it was 8pm.

I met the Team back in the Meeting Room where we conversed on what I had found. We sat at the edges of the table and holographic screens appeared on the table in front of us as we did.

I brought up the police reports that were relevant.

"Computer, secure room," I commanded.

"ROOM SECURED," the female computer voice confirmed.

"So we know the history of Roy, right?" They shook their head and I continued. "So I've found multiple police reports from various places in the US that fits the MO of Roy's group but there isn't exactly a pattern," I said as a hologram of the US popped up in the middle of the horseshoe and showed the US cities that were targeted.

"Wait," Marie said looking at the map. "Central City, Gotham, Star City, El Paso, Metropolis, Blüdhaven, Happy Harbor and Chicago are where members of the original Team and some members of the Justice League live or lived."

"He's taking revenge on the people who gave up on him," Wally reasoned.

"Not so much as taking revenge on them but their city," I corrected.

"But doesn't he know that robbing banks aren't a huge thing in these cities, I mean, it's common in most of them."

"Unless he needs the funds for a bigger plan," Malcolm spoke up.

"It would explain why he ran instead of fought that night," Marie agreed. "He could have taken on Mage, me and the police but he chose to leave to plan his next move and make sure he was successful in his escape."

"But the question is, what's our next move?"

I look at Wally who put the question out on the table.

"We have to wait till we get a lead," I said clearing it off.

They dismissed themselves since we had nothing left to talk about. I stayed and tried to find the next bank now that I knew he was targeting those eight cities.

When I couldn't find any more banks that he hadn't already robbed, I decided to give it a break and try again tomorrow.

When the door to the Meeting Room slid open for me to exit I bumped into something.

Looking up, I bumped into my dad.

"Back inside," he ordered and I complied.

Behind him followed him and the parents again along with their caught children.

Getting straight to the point he put his angry face but he wasn't the one to talk. Mother Zee was.

"How stupid do you think we are?" she questioned slamming her hands on the table. "We can't trust you with one simple task!"

When Momma Zee gets mad, no one goes home happy.

"Listen, Mom-,"

"Don't 'listen, Mom' me!" she scolded. "As kids I thought you'd be happy to have one less thing to do!"

"Listen, Aunt Zee-," Wally tried to speak up but got cut off like me.

"I swear, if you cut me off one more time before I'm done!"

But she stopped anyway from a touch of her arm from my father.

"Okay so you got that side," he started by trying to make us more comfortable. "But how stupid do you think we are?"

We all cocked an eyebrow at the repeated line.

"For safety measures, even when this room is secure, the cameras are still active and the Zeta Tubes alert whoever's on duty to tell them who goes in and out."

"Kind of figured," I spoke up.

"What are you doing?" Malcolm asked through the mind link.

"Reverse psychology, it works every time," I told him. "All you're gonna do is take what we came up with and won't let us in on the action," I told the adults. "It's not fair if you do so to a couple of teenagers."

"If you're trying reverse psychology on me, it's not working, Magie," he said with a smirk.

"99.9% of the time," I said in the link again.

"I'm gonna say it again and you better listen well and comply with this one simple instruction," he said through gritted teeth as the corners of his lips turning back down to a frown. "Don't look for Roy Harper."

After that the parents took their kids home but me and my dad stayed in the Meeting Room.

"Alright, Magie," Dad started first. "Why'd you do it?"

I cocked an eyebrow and answered, "Why do you assume I'm the ring master?"

He smirked and I only wondered what was going through his head.

"What?"

"Did you choose a leader, yet?"

"We have yet to choose a leader, Dad."

He cocked an eyebrow and I already knew what he was thinking.

"Dad, I don't think I'm ready to be a leader."

"Can you at least keep the peace between the Team members?"

"Of course."

"First step is trust."

"And the next step is…?

He smiled before he answered, "That's for you to find out."

I sighed as I rolled my eyes.

"Can I go home now?"

"Just know you're grounded," he said as we left the Meeting Room to go home.