Important Author's Note at the bottom!
The next couple of days passed quickly and in much the same manner. They would all have breakfast together and then Dick would disappear for school, Bruce would head to work, and Alfred would busy himself cooking and cleaning. Cass usually bundled up, grabbed a thermos of coffee and wandered out to the woods to draw. Roy called and Skyped for short periods of time during these days but he was halfway across the world chasing down a lead at the moment. A lead for what, Cass had no idea. Roy refused to tell her despite her wheedling. She eventually let it go, much to his thankfulness. After everyone returned to the manor and had dinner Cass, Bruce, and Dick would head down to the cave and go on patrol. Cass had come up with a different name; Raven seemed to fit her perfectly. She was just having trouble coming up with a design. So she continued as Ghost and didn't tell Bruce about her plans for a name change. (The little bird had found out when looking through her sketchbook and seeing her designs, though he promised not to tell Bruce.) Eventually though, it was time for her to meet the team. Dick had dragged her along to Kid Flash's birthday party. She had protested violently against it, claiming that Kid Flash didn't know her and wouldn't want her at his surprise birthday party. Dick had just snorted and informed that she was a girl, Kid wouldn't mind a bit. They arrived shortly before Kid was supposed to and Robin introduced Cass to the team. Unlike Dick, Cass had managed to convince Bruce that shades to keep her identity a secret weren't needed. They moved through the cave as the Zeta announced them and headed towards the commotion in the kitchen. Several teens were moving around decorating. A green skinned girl that Cass assumed was Miss Martian was hovering around a cake and putting the finishing touches with the help of a black haired girl. A black hair boy was watching static on the TV and a teen with gills and blonde hair sat reading a book. She had just turned to survey the rest of the room when Artemis burst out of nowhere and gave her a surprise hug.
"You're okay! And here!" Her face morphed into shock and suspicion.
"What are you doing here?" Robin chuckled.
"Guys I'd like you to meet our new teammate! This is Ghost." Mis's jaw dropped and she gave Cass a curious look.
"Just call me G." Miss Martian flew over and grabbed her hand.
"It's so nice to meet you! Another girl on the team is always a great thing! I'm Miss Martian but you can call me M'gann or Megan!" Cass watched the girl as she practically vibrated with excitement. She managed to muster up a smile for the Martian.
"Nice to meet you too, M'gann." Everyone in the room watched her but no one else made any move to make introductions. Robin cleared his throat.
"Ghost that's Aqualad, Zatanna, Superboy, and you already know Artemis." Superboy gave her a grunt and Aqualad gave her a small nod with a request for her to call him Kaldur; Zatanna just gave her a weak smile and went back to the cake. Robin checked the time as Red Tornado and Flash walked in.
"Oh, Wally's going to be here any minute! Quick, hide!" The group scurried around and hid behind various objects in the kitchen. They heard the Zeta Tubes whir to life seconds later.
"Recognize: Kid Flash B03. Zeta Tube network now offline due to extreme atmospheric conditions."
"Whoa. I just made it. Be a tragedy if I missed my own…" The group flipped on the lights and yelled,
"Surprise!" Cutting off Kid's sentence. He acted overly surprised.
"Whaaat! Oh, you guys! You shouldn't have." Robin scoffed.
"Right, not like you've been hinting for days or anything." They moved towards the living room table where the cake was placed and a party hat was slapped on Kid's head.
"We made two cakes!" M'gann said.
"Awesome! What will you guys eat?"
"We'll split the cupcake. Make a wish!" She joked.
"Way ahead of you." Cass raised an eyebrow from her place in the back. She had only been there a couple of seconds before but even she could see that Superboy and M'gann were a couple. And Cass was pretty sure that Wally was flirting with the girl. He blew out the candles and they all clapped. Cass watched as Kid began flirting with M'gann again. She was not looking forwards to when he noticed her. Judging by his behavior the guy flirted with any and everything.
"You know, if I tell you my wish it won't come true. But if you guess…" He trailed off suggestively. M'gann handed him a slice of cake and Artemis turned around. Cass watched with interest as the girl's eyes seemed to narrow.
"Nope, guess again." M'gann leaned forwards and gave him a peck on the forehead. Cass had to hold back a chuckle; it was so obvious that wasn't what the kid wanted.
"Happy Birthday." M'gann said. Artemis smirked and seemed slightly relieved. Cass decided that this was as good a time as any to jump in and introduce herself.
"I'm Ghost, nice to meet you Wally." The teen started as she came up behind him. He gave her what was probably supposed to be a flirty smile.
"That'd be me. Nice to meet you babe." Cass gave a tight smile in return.
"I'm also in a relationship, so if you don't want to be turned into a pincushion I suggest you lay back on the flirting." Wally rubbed the back of his neck.
"Eh, sorry."
"It's no problem." Cass moved forwards and sat next to Wally while grabbing a slice of cake. She watched as he practically shoveled food down his throat and raised an eyebrow. Alfred would kill him if he ever saw that. She noticed that Robin had made his way over to Zatanna and seemed to make a joke. She felt herself smile at the sight. They did make a cute couple. Artemis joined their little group with a mischievous look in her eyes. Cass narrowed her eyes. What was Artemis planning now? Her attention was brought back to Wally when M'gann came by to pick up the clean plate.
"You're getting warmer babe, but I can make you warmer still." Cass couldn't help the eye roll when she heard this statement. The blonde made her way over while M'gann turned and headed for Superboy. Cass watched in interest as Artemis leaned closer to Wally and whispered something in his ear. Cass almost felt bad as Wally's eyes widened and he turned to look at M'gann and Superboy. Seeing the girl feeding him cake Wally's shoulders slumped and his mouth gapped.
"Ah man!" There was a small beep and suddenly Batman's voice rang through the cave.
"Attention team. Suit up. Polar stealth mission briefing in five." The team scattered towards their rooms. Cass stood and watched for a moment before Robin ran back and grabbed her elbow to pull her along with him.
"You've got a room and a spare suit in it." He led her to a metal door and typed in a simple code. The door slid open with a quite whoosh.
"I'm right next door, and your room is soundproof." The little bird disappeared before she could say anything else. She stepped inside and made her way to the closet. There were several different suits hung up, but they all had the same style as her original costume. Lined up there was one original, one polar stealth suit, and one that looked more suited to underwater. She quickly changed into the white polar stealth suit. It was just like her normal costume with the exception of a fur lined hood and fur lined boots. Ghost suspected that the material of the suit was fit for colder weather despite its light weight and appearance. Inspecting herself in the mirror G wasn't sure what to think about the fact that her hair blended in perfectly with her suit. It was both unnerving and beautiful. She shook those thoughts out of her head and decided that she had stalled long enough. Ghost moved silently through the hallways and arrived in the main training/mission room quickly. Batman's face was present on a holographic screen. Seeing her arrival, they decided to get started.
"Where's Flash?" Kid asked.
"Flash and Red Tornado already have their assignments." The answer was stoic and not really an answer at all. Batman continued.
"A massive ice storm has paralyzed North America from coast to coast. Satellite imagery has detected five flying ice fortresses – source unknown – which seem to be responsible and must be stopped.
"But can't the watchtower blow them out of the sky or something?" Kid asked. Ghost was just about to ask what the watchtower was when Zatanna took the words right out of her mouth.
"What's a watchtower?"
"I'd like to know that too." G raised a finger. Batman gave a sigh in exasperation.
"The League's orbiting headquarters is not weaponized and with both Green Lanterns off world I need all hands on deck." Batman's face returned to a scowl that was even more displeased than usual. Ghost shook of the mentioning of a League base in headquarters, deciding that it wasn't important.
"Does that mean what I think it means? The League and the team fighting side by side?" Robin seemed very excited at this prospect.
"Whoa, really?!" Kid grinned and pumped his fists.
"Superboy, use the Supercycle to rendezvous with the Batplane at ice fortress one. You'll drop off You'll drop off Robin, Ghost, and Aqualad then continue on with Wolf to meet up with Black Canary and Red Tornado at ice fortress two. Miss Martian, Artemis, and Zatanna; take the Bioship and rendezvous with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter at ice fortress three. Other Leaguers will deal with fortresses four and five. Sending all coordinates now." Kid stepped forwards with a raised hand.
"Uh, Batman? I think you skipped…"
"Kid Flash, a young girl in Seattle is in desperate need of a heart transplant. With all conventional air traffic grounded by the storm, you'll need to pick up the donor heart in Boston and run it three thousand miles across country." Ghost watched as Kid's face dropped. She didn't feel very sorry for him. Personally she would rather do that then work with the Team and the League at the same time.
"Who is this girl?" He demanded.
"Does it matter?" Batman challenged.
"No, of course not. But can't we Zeta…" Robin cut Kid off with a sad tone.
"Zeta tubes are offline, sorry."
"Right. Then how could I say no?" Kid's shoulders seemed to slump even more as he said this.
"Guess I won't be needing stealth." He tapped the emblem across his chest and Ghost watched the uniform turn to its usual yellow and red.
"Speedy delivery boy at your service." Batman signed off. Everyone went towards their methods of transportation for the new mission. G stalled for a moment before walking up to Kid.
"Look I know we just met and that you probably don't want to hear this, but – just remember, 'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do…' If you don't deliver this heart to this girl, you'll be more disappointed in yourself then you will later; even though you didn't get to go on this one particular mission. Also," G lowered her voice. "I would much rather be in your shoes and feeling like I'm doing some good then fighting some ice machines." Kid looked up at her.
"Thanks, but that doesn't really help right now." Ghost nodded as if she expected that.
"It will later." She gave him a tight smile and moved to follow Robin to the Supercycle. It was close to four hours later when the battle on the various ice fortresses was finally over. Ghost heaved a big sigh of relief as she stood on the last one that had been disabled moments ago. She moved towards the edge and looked out over the sea of sky. Aqualad came up beside her.
"A few of us have been mentally conversing about you." Ghost gave him a curious look.
"That's not the best way to start a conversation." He chuckled.
"The point is you are now considered a member of this team."
"What exactly did Robin tell you all?" Aqualad raised an eyebrow.
"That this is your form of community service for previous work as an assassin for hire, that you are a dangerous Meta with technopathic abilities, and that you are trying to right previous wrongs."
"So basically everything."
"Yes." Ghost snorted.
"How do you think Kid Flash is doing?" Aqualad turned to look out across the clouds.
"Batman just updated me. He's faking the death of the Queen in order to legally arrest the person trying to kill her." Aqualad said this all in such a casual manner that Ghost had to wonder if it was a usual thing for them to save entire countries. Suddenly Aqualad smiled.
"I heard you inform Kid earlier today that you are in a relationship in order to get him to stop flirting with you. Was that true?" G glanced at Aqualad from the corner of her eye.
"Yes. As a matter of fact, I believe you know Red Arrow." He looked at her with clear confusion.
"You do not mean that you and Red Arrow are…" G smirked and turned to head back to the Supercycle which was going to give them a lift back to the cave.
"I did." She heard Aqualad laugh from behind her and move to follow. As exhausted as the teens were; the ride back to the cave was quiet. They trudged back towards their rooms to change when the Zeta Tubes suddenly spit Kid out into the cave. He was clutching to his chest what looked like a cooler. Cass pointed at it.
"What is that?"
"Souvenir." And with that Kid zipped off. Cass threw her hand in the air and shook her head.
"That wasn't an answer." Surprisingly it was Superboy who chuckled.
"Come on, I'll explain it. You can call me Conner by the way." The gang continued to move towards their rooms and listened in as Conner explained Wally's souvenir habit. After they were all changed, Cass hung out around the cave a little bit to talk to her new teammates and reconnect with Mis. She couldn't help but chuckle as she learned some of the little quirks and habits of the team. Cass was more than happy about the fact that her little quirks would be accepted just as easily as everyone else's.
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Back at the manor she a Dick chose to have a snowball fight in an effort to declare the winner of yesterday's pillow war. When Bruce got home after a debrief with the League he managed to sneak out and join them. Bruce somehow managed to win even when Dick and Cass teamed up against him. They trudged back inside the kitchen sopping wet and freezing. Alfred calmly placed a cup of hot chocolate and a cookie in front of each of them. He moved away for several seconds to grab a mop, towels, and blankets for the trio. As he mopped up the water and Bruce and Dick bickered over who really won the battle Cass pondered how these people could act so kindly to her, and how she could be so lucky to end up with people that made her laugh more than Travis and Artemis did. She also wondered how these people had managed to get her to open up so quickly. It was like she had no inhibitions around these people. When they moved to the living room for a movie Cass managed to snag her sketchbook. All throughout the movie she worked diligently on several different costume designs. It was just as the movie ended did one click with her. The new design included a black, hooded jacket that clung tightly to her (but not tight enough that you could see every muscle like some outfits she knew). The pants were the same black cargo pants she had now but with more pockets. In place of her old utility belt was a standard Batdesign one with the exception that the belt was silver rather than yellow. A silver domino mask that pointed sharply at the end would adorn her face. The new boots were silver as well, but had latches instead of laces. On her back rested a holster for a bo staff. Added onto the hands were silver gloves that only covered her fingers and knuckles. The part she was most proud of though was the curly, silver R that sprawled across her right shoulder. Cass nodded to herself. This was the new her. This was Raven.
She showed Bruce her ideas and designs the next morning at breakfast. He seemed slightly surprised that Cass wanted to put Ghost away, but he was more than willing to lend a hand. Bruce placed some calls (to whom they were placed was beyond her) and said that her new suit would be ready in a couple of days. Their breakfast finished up and Dick raced around to gather his school bags and books.
"Come with me." Bruce practically ordered her as Dick disappeared out the door with Alfred. She raised an eyebrow but followed him through the manor none the less. They ended up in a garage and Cass felt her jaw drop. Bruce had a lot of cars, and several of them were clearly for showing off. She gingerly ran a hand over one as they moved further into the garage. Finally Bruce picked a non-descript black car with tinted windows. It looked expensive, but wasn't nearly as flashy as some of the others.
"Wow, secretive much?" Bruce opened the door for her.
"Get in." Once Cass was securely tucked inside the car, Bruce shut the door and moved towards the driver seat. He climbed in and took off down the driveway. Cass idly tapped on the dashboard. She explored the car workings with little interest. It was just like any other car, and her main love was for the classics. Cass turned to Bruce.
"Okay, you people really don't seem to get just how much I hate surprises." There was no answer. She groaned.
"Where are you taking me? If it's to kill me and dump my body in the woods I wouldn't have used this car. The blood will stain these seats." She got a small smirk for her efforts this time.
"I'm not going to kill you and dump your body in the woods."
"Then where are we going?"
"I took the liberty of enrolling you in Gotham University." Cass gapped at him.
"I would rather you kill me!"
"You schooling is necessary."
"I went to school! I graduated high school! I don't need more schooling!"
"You need to get a job, and I'm not just going to hand you one."
"Why do I need a job? What does college have to do with that anyways? I don't need a degree to get a job!" Bruce gave a sigh.
"You need a job to help secure your identity. You may not need a degree to get a job, but you need a degree to get a decent job."
"Okay, but what identity do I need to secure?" By now they had pulled onto the college grounds. Bruce reached behind the car seat and pulled out a bag and several files. He pulled something out of his pocket as well.
"Here, put this on." Cass glanced down at the simple, silver ring that looked like an olive branch. There were little gems in each of the leaves and it wrapped around her finger twice. She wondered what in the world this had to do with her identity but slipped it onto her middle finger anyways. A shiver traveled down her spine and she closed her eyes. Cass glanced down and was surprised to see her normally pale skin had become tan. She grabbed a strand of her hair only to find it black. A quick peak in the review mirror showed forest green eyes. Nothing else about her face had changed, only those colors. Bruce answered her unasked questions.
"I had Zatara create this before he became Dr. Fate. It's called a disillusionment charm. As long as you wear that ring you'll look like you do now. That's your new identity for while you're living with me." Bruce handed her one of the files and Cass flicked it open. Inside were papers declaring Bruce Wayne as her legal guardian.
"You're name will still be Cassandra Blake, but I thought that since your features are distinguishable this would provide not only a nice way to both protect your identity as Gho – Raven but also provide a way to still retain anonymity in the civilian world. This hopefully explains why you need to get a degree and work towards a career." Cass, to her horror, felt tears welling up. She pushed them down. Cass looked back up from the file to see Bruce looking rather uncomfortable and – dare she say it – anxious. Seeing that expression on his face Cass lunged forwards and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Thank you." She whispered. Bruce hugged her back.
"You're welcome." When Cass finally released him, Bruce cleared his throat a little awkwardly and handed her the other file and the bag.
"This is your class schedule. You're currently an art major with a minor in business, but you can change before the end of the week if you want to. Since you're starting just before this semester ends you're probably going to be kind of lost for the next couple of months." Cass gave the man a grin.
"Thank you, I think I'll be fine." She wrapped a hand around the bag sitting in her lap and peaked outside.
"Good luck Cass. I think Harper is planning on picking you up afterwards." She laughed at the fact that Bruce referred to him by his last name.
"Don't worry, Dad. I've got this!" She slammed the door shut behind her and left Bruce blinking in shock after her. It took a full minute before the car started and drove away, much to Cass's amusement. She turned to face the school suddenly very glad of the fact that she had gotten dressed before breakfast. Cass took a deep breath, straightened up, and moved towards the front hall.
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True to Bruce's prediction, Roy was waiting in the college parking lot for her. She smiled and moved towards him with her bag over her shoulder. Cass changed direction though when her eyes caught the car that Roy was leaning on. She quickly pulled her gloves off and ran a hand over the black Cobra Jet Mustang. Roy looked offended.
"What I come to pick you up from your first day of college and you ignore me for the car."
"Mmmhmm… You seriously can't expect me to place you above this beauty." He chuckled and moved to grab her bag and open the door for her.
"Okay, you two can talk later. Right now though I'm pretty sure we have a date." Cass glanced at the open door. She did a double take when she saw that it was the driver's side.
"Are you seriously gonna let me drive her?" Roy smirked.
"Do you really think I would show you this car if I didn't want to let you drive her? I figured you would drive her anyways I just want you using the steering wheel rather than your Meta abilities." Cass grinned and hopped inside.
"Buckle up buttercup." Roy winced.
"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"
"You might not?" She tore out of the parking lot with a giggle.
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It was a little before New Year's (and several missions later) when Raven was out patrolling with Batman. They had parked the Batmobile in a back alley as usual to chase down a lead on Two-Face's new plot. To say they were surprised to see the wheels off the Batmobile was an understatement. Raven full out laughed at the sight. Her mentor just gave a muttered,
"You have got to be kidding me." Their attention snapped towards the car when a sudden clang rang out. There, covered in grease, was a boy. He had dropped the tire iron and was staring at them wide eyed. He backed up a few steps and started running. Batman tased the poor kid before he could run very far. The kid hit the ground and Batman made quick work of handcuffing the kid and dropping him in the back seat of the Batmobile while Raven went around and replaced all the tires on the car. She glanced back at the unconscious kid as they drove towards home. Feeling the sudden urge to push B's buttons Raven gave another chuckle.
"We're keeping him, right?"
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AN: Okay, originally I had planned to end this story here and start working on either a prequel or sequal. However, NerdySkittlez made a very good point. Nothing has really happened in this story. I've been thinking about it, and leaving it just bugs me. So I'm going to be continuing! The only downside is that I wrote this last year completely before deciding to upload it. So any updates are probably going to be even more sporadic and further apart. Feel free to send me a message to kick my butt back in gear!
This is also a good time to request plot points or more of a character! I'd prefer if you sent any requests through a message, but they'd be welcome in a review too!
HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS FOLLOWED, FAVORITED, OR REVIEWED!
NerdySkittlez: Thank you so much! I'm very happy that you enjoy this! I always love your reviews for their feedback! I keep them in mind when editing this and try to work them in!