Chapter Two: Adjustments

Happy Harbor
September 22, 10:50 EDT

'Gabe' mindlessly snacked on some fries as she watched Natalia indulge in her kids' meal happily, the pair having made the trip to a fast food joint to grab an early lunch, as Gabrielle had been all but desperate to get out of the cave. She fought her darker emotions and kept a smile as she watched the five-year-old practically devour her meal.

"Slow down, Nat. You're going to hurt your stomach if you cram it all in there." Gabrielle spoke with a chuckle.

Natalia pouted, but obeyed, eating her meal a mite slower now. Despite her current concerns for her eating habits, Gabrielle was glad to see her sister eating. While on the other side of the table, Gabrielle had barely been convinced to an order of fries if it hadn't been for her stomach giving a louder-than-needed grumble in protest.

Gabrielle gave a small sigh, glancing out the window now, slightly irate that she hadn't been able to convince herself into an actual meal. Truth be told, she just hadn't been able to find much of an appetite the past several hours, her life seemed to have been thrown completely upside down in the span of minutes, and the following couple days all seemed to be a blur as she struggled to process the loss of her parents, her mother's apparent membership within the league as well as the secrets she'd kept from her daughter, and not to mention her new position alongside a team of sidekicks, three of which she'd even been guilty of idolizing.

Her eyes dropped to the table now at the thought of the team, allowing her mind to wander to the mission they had been presented the night before;

Pittsburgh
September 21, 20:00 EDT (08:00pm EDT)

The team took up positions on opposing roofs surrounding a seemingly abandoned warehouse that was thought to be Cheshire's target. Though it was unclear why. Despite a protest amongst themselves, the team pressed on with the intel they'd gathered, splitting into teams of, mostly, two.

Miss Martian and Artemis were stationed on a roof to the south. Kid Flash and Aqualad stationed in an alley to the west. Robin and, a currently unnamed further, Gabrielle, whom was dressed similarly to before with a black jacket thrown on, were stationed on a rooftop to the east. Superboy sat alone positioned on the rooftop facing the south of the building.

Red Arrow had presented the team with intel that Cheshire had been seen boarding a flight to Pittsburg following her stint in Denver. Batman had taken the information and over the course of a few hours had managed to scrounge up what little surveillance could be found of Cheshire while in the city.

The Team managed to use the provided information to get a lead on Cheshire, although it took them longer than they would have liked, they managed to locate and follow the assassin, seemingly unnoticed.

"Is everyone in position?" Aqualad questioned.

"All set over here." Miss Martian responded.

"In position." Superboy replied.

"Gab and I are set over here." Robin answered, sharing a look with Gabrielle.

"Why did we bring her again?" Kid Flash questioned. "Shouldn't she be home babysitting her sister?"

"Shouldn't you be focusing in the mission?" Gabrielle snapped in response.

Artemis gave a snicker. "I'm starting to like her."

Kid made to respond when Aqualad spoke up. "That is enough! All of you." He called, shooting a look to Kid stood beside him. "We have a job to do. Focus."

"Something's going on inside." Superboy spoke up.

Everyone received image of Superboy's infrared vision, showing at least four heat signatures within the building.

"Their talking about something…" Superboy voiced. "I'm only getting pieces. There was something about an explosion."

Robin cast a glance to Gabrielle whom looked off absently before holding a hand to her head. "Sportsmaster's being chastised for not eliminating everyone or at the very least bringing in the survivors." She responded. Upon receiving a confused glance from Robin she clarified. "I have hearing a little less if not on par with Superboy's. I'm able to hear further through the telepathic link. It takes a lot of concentration though."

"Impressive…" Robin mulled a moment before turning back to the building sharply. "Wait, that means Cheshire didn't come here to steal anything… She came here for a meeting."

"It would appear so." Aqualad commented. "Gabrielle… Are you sure you are able to handle whatever is heard?"

A silence fell over the group as Gabrielle seemingly refused to respond. Several moments passed before she gave an audible sigh. "I am." She finally responded, closing her eyes now.

Aqualad ignored as Kid shot him a concerned look. "Very well. We will learn what we can, then return to the cave to inform Batman of our findings."

Everyone seemed to give silent agreements as Gabrielle spoke again. "Cheshire and Sportsy don't seem to like each other much…" She commented.

Artemis glanced to the side, fighting her thoughts as the mission pressed on.

"Cheshire said something about… completing her mission?" Gabrielle spoke, unsure. "Superboy am I hearing right?"

"Sounds right." Superboy confirmed. "Cheshire had apparently been in Denver to take out a former associate of the League of Shadows and acquire the technology they'd been working on."

"So, she's been cleaning up for the Shadows." Robin commented.

"It appears so." Aqualad responded.

"Shouldn't we just bust in and take them down?" Kid questioned. "Four baddies for the price of one!"

"We don't know who they're meeting with." Artemis pointed out. "Not to mention all of this could just be a trap."

"We could at least find out who they're meeting with." Robin offered.

"No." Aqualad responded. "This is now a recon mission. We remain in position. Gabrielle, Superboy, continue to gather intel. The rest of us will reposition ourselves in case we are discovered."

"On it." Both Gabrielle and Superboy responded before refocusing their concentration.

Gabrielle was pulled from her thoughts as Natalia began to nudge her, the elder female slowly registering that her name was being called. She turned to her sister now, blinking away her daze.

"Sorry, Nat. What's up?" She questioned.

"I'm done. We go walk now?" Natalia questioned with a hopeful look.

Gabrielle gave a chuckle. "Of course. C'mon." Gabrielle responded, gathering their trash as she made for the door, Natalia not far behind.

Gabrielle smiled as she watched her sister skip happily as they walked down the street. They slowly made their way back to Mount Justice, Natalia periodically stopping to point out random things she found interesting.

Gabrielle was happy for her sister's innocence, giving a sigh as she slipped back into her own thoughts. She drifted briefly back to a time before her brother moved out, when they were all a happy family, and then to when Natalia arrived. She allowed a smile as she recalled the joy she had spending time with her family.

She was suddenly pulled from her thoughts as she vaguely registered a call of "kitty" from her sister, and upon sharply turning her attention back to the child, found her sister running off after a kitten. Gabrielle muttered a swear as she ran after the child, desperately calling for her to stop.

Gabrielle came to a sudden stop as she watched her sister run into a shaggy blonde-haired boy, looking to be about nineteen. Gabrielle muttered more swears, taking a deep breath before approaching the pair, scooping Natalia into her arms once she was close enough to do so.

"Hey man, thanks for finding my sister." Gabrielle spoke, dropping the pitch of her voice best she could. "Parents would kill me if I'd lost her."

"I didn't so much as find her as it was she ran into me." The teen responded annoyed.

"Sorry if she disturbed you." Gabrielle replied with a snap, careful to keep her pitch low. "You know how kids are, always running into things." She made to brush past him now. "We'll be out of your way."

The Teen paused a moment before stepping into their path, eying Gabrielle intensely now. "Wait… you look familiar." He commented, mostly to himself. "Have we met before?"

"Doubt it. I'm new to town." Gabrielle replied, giving him a quick glance.

She didn't need much of a glance, the boy's face had almost been burned into her mind. The boy from down the street who seemed to make it a personal mission to make her life a living hell. She'd finally found relief when she and her family moved away a few years back.

"I could swear we've met before." He insisted.

"Must have one of those faces." Gabrielle commented, brushing past him once again, more forcefully this time. "Thanks again for, unwittingly, catching my sister. We've got to get home. Nice meeting you."

Without another word she quickly made her way out of the area. Once she'd gone several blocks she cast a glance over her shoulder, ensuring he hadn't decided to follow them. In her haste, however, she failed to remain aware of what was in front of her and ran straight into another young male.

Gabrielle glanced to the auburn-haired teen as he stared at the two with a certain level of intensity. He seemed to make to speak when Gabrielle quickly spoke up, somehow managing to remind herself to disguise her voice. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's fine…" He responded, pausing a moment as a concerned look passed over his features now as he caught the concerning expression on Gabrielle's. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just… just late. Mom wanted us… home… thirty minutes ago." She managed to respond, quickly making her way around the new teen whom noted as she seemingly had to take rushed breaths after every few words. "We'll be on our way, sorry again."

Before there was any chance of a further conversation, she was gone, quickly making her way several more blocks down the street before finally having to duck into an alley. She quickly set Natalia down now, giving her best effort not to just unceremoniously dump the child onto the ground, before finding support against the nearest wall. She pulled her cap off in one swift motion, grasping at her chest as she suddenly struggled to breathe.

It took her several moments, but she finally managed to calm herself enough to regulate her breathing, leaning against the wall fully now as she dropped to a sitting position, giving a relieved sigh between her still ragged breathing.

Natalia approached now, eying her sister with concern. "Elle…?" She questioned softly.

Gabrielle gave a nod, doing her best not to kick herself for having momentarily forgotten about her sister. She motioned for her to come closer, which resulted in the younger girl curling up into her sister's lap. "I'm fine Nat. I'm fine." She breathed, giving the best reassuring smile she could currently muster. "You, however, scared me!" She gave her sister a brief tickle, earning a laugh. "Don't you ever run off like that again, okay? Something could have happened to you."

"Okay." Natalia responded, pushing herself closer to her sister whom wrapped her arms around the child.

Gabrielle gave a relieved sigh, leaning her head back against the wall now. She allowed a few more minutes to calm herself before even thinking about attempting the trip back to Mount Justice.

She wasn't sure how long her eyes had been closed, but she was acutely aware of Natalia nudging her urgently. She gave a small sigh but opened her eyes to find herself staring into the blue eyes of the auburn-haired teen from before.

The two stared at one another, neither seemed willing enough to speak first. Though, just as Gabrielle worked up the courage, the teen spoke first, a curious glance on his face. "Weren't you a guy a few minutes ago?"

Gabrielle gave a small chuckle, picking Natalia up from her lap and standing now. "It's a… Sort of disguise I guess you could say." Gabrielle responded, eying the man curiously. "Might I ask why you followed me?"

"Curiosity." He responded simply, once he earned a stare from Gabrielle he gave a shrug. "And you seemed like you were in a panic. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well the gesture is appreciated." Gabrielle responded with a weak smile. "I'm okay… Now."

He nodded now for a moment before giving a more directed nod in her direction. "Can I ask why you're posing as a guy?"

Gabrielle took a glance to her outfit a moment before giving a shrug. "Habit I would guess. It was to keep me and my family safe… I think." She responded, giving another shrug. "I'm not sure why I do it anymore. I guess it's become a form of comfort."

"Safe?" The teen echoed. "Who would want to hurt you?"

"It's… a long list." She responded, giving a nod to him now. "Since we're playing twenty questions; mind if I ask your name?"

"Roy." He responded. "And you?"

"I'm Gabrielle," She responded, nodding to Natalia now, "This is my sister, Natalia."

Roy glanced to the toddler and fought a reaction as he discovered the child to be staring at him with what seemed to be a glare. "Nice to meet you." He managed to say, trying to avoid the child's gaze now.

"Yeah." Gabrielle responded. "Nice to meet you too." The two shared a look for a moment before Gabrielle cleared her throat. "Well we'd better get going. But hey, maybe we'll see you around."

"Well, which way are you headed?" Roy questioned suddenly, earning a suspicious look from Gabrielle. "If we're headed the same way I could walk with you. In case you go into another panic."

Gabrielle eyed him suspiciously a moment longer before finally responding. "We're headed to the beach before we go home." She replied, upon seeing a conflicted look on Roy's face she smiled. "I'll be fine, thank you though. Like I said, maybe we'll see each other around."

Roy gave an absent nod as the pair began to leave the Alley, Natalia holding tightly to her sister as they neared the path back to the main street. Gabrielle paused just short of the exit as Roy called out her name, turning to find he was holding her cap. Gabrielle seemed unable to do more than just stare as Roy walked over to hand it to her.

"You almost forgot this." He explained, handing the cap over.

"Oh, uh… thank you." Gabrielle responded, setting Natalia down in order to put the cap on, tucking most of her hair underneath. Once satisfied she took hold of Natalia's hand, waving to Roy with the other. "Well, see you around."

Without chance for anymore conversation, Gabrielle and Natalia returned to the street, making their way to the cave. Gabrielle cast a glance down to Natalia confused as the latter tugged on her hand. Before she could question her sister, Natalia spoke up, her eyes not leaving the road ahead of them.

"I don't wike him."