A/n: Drawing of Hannah's mission outfit: freakxwannaxbe {dot} tumblr {dot} com /post/49615637580/hannahs-mission-outfit-it-rly-li ke-how-it-came
Also, I recently got an ask on tumblr asking for a reference on how Hannah looked before and after the hair change: freakxwannaxbe {dot} tumblr {dot} com /post/48801779309/afjasdakhf-people-actually-care- about-my-ocs

You know the drill, {dot}'s are periods, and erase all spaces.

The setting of this chapter takes place before "Downtime", and melds in to the beginning of the episode. The event is from the YJ comic books.

EDIT, MAY 4th, 2013: User Sunflower13 had pointed out a spelling mistake on my part. That spelling mistake has been fixed with this edit! Thank you very much, Sunflower13~ 3 uwu

"The Covenant"

Chapter 16: Geophagy

GOTHAM CITY

AUGUST 27, 04:45 EDT

"Everyone linked?" Megan's voice rang out inside Hannah's mind. Her voice was soon accompanied by those of Kid Flash, Superboy and Robin, all confirming that they were linked together "Hex?"

Hannah girl shook her head slightly, as if to clear her thoughts "I can hear you. I can hear all of you." she replied "It's a bit weird though, having so many voices in my head at once. I am used to only hearing Grigor's voice. This is…quite the change."

"I'm surprised you didn't bring Grigor with you." Robin's voice now filled her mind "You never leave without him."

"I have burdened my familiar with a different quest for the day." Hannah replied, pulling the piece of cloth over her face so it would fit better. "I didn't know we would get a mission so suddenly, so I sent him away to run an errand for me. But I don't have any worries, I'm sure that I can handle a simple tracking mission without him."

The day prior to this colorful turn of events had been a very normal and uneventful one. Most of it Hannah had spent trying to figure out a mission outfit with Megan. She only realized that morning that, if a mission did come up, she would have nothing to wear that would conceal her identity and be practical at the same time. Nor did she have a "superhero" name either. The alias Hex came naturally to her though; it was a no-brainer.

So, with Megan's ability to shapeshift anything organic and Hannah's magic, the two soon created something that finally pleased the Witch girl's tastes.

The most noticeable thing about her mission outfit was the hooded cape, reaching just below her knees. It was made out a black matte material that didn't reflect light, so it was perfect for blending in to the dark. The hood of it fit her loosely, bunching down below her jaw and thus forming a triangle shape. The edge of the hood was trimmed with a purple ornate design, giving it an almost exotic look. Beneath the cape, she wore a white blouse with long, puffy sleeves with the cuffs of it covering a third of her forearm. The blouse didn't have a regular collar; instead it extended in to a face mask that covered half of Hannah's face. Over it she wore a pair of black overalls that ended just beneath her chest, accompanied by thigh-high stockings and black boots that ended bellow her knees.

Hannah had found an old gem brooch in her jewelry and used it to "store" the mission outfit inside. Gems, jewels and any kind of precious stone were great for storing any kind of magic inside of them. They could hold the mystic energy in them so well, even replenish it by themselves, that a precious stone that has been enchanted with great skill could even be used by those without any affinity for magic, giving them the ability to wield the magic power the precious stones had stored inside. Therefore, Hannah just enchanted the gem on the brooch to hold the outfit inside of it, so she could summon it at any time without using her own magic.

The day had passed; Wally had come for a visit. For some reason unknown to anyone in the team, Artemis didn't come that day. And then, already past 9 pm, a call from Batman and Robin came, with Batman announcing that there was a monster loose in Gotham. The team was to track it until Batman came up with a solution on how to stop it. So, Wally, Megan, Superboy, Hannah and a very distraught Kaldur rendezvoused with Robin in the sewers of Gotham.

And speaking of Kaldur…

"Aqualad!" Megan's voice seemed more demanding "Are you linked?!"

"What…?" the distant voice of Aqualad finally echoed in Hannah's head. He seemed really out of it "…oh, yes, Miss Martian. Your psychic link functions perfectly."

"That's a relief, we couldn't hear you. Like your every thought was a million miles away." The girl drawled.

Hannah looked up to examine the Atlantian, before she felt herself frown. She had noticed it as well, Kaldur's absence. Sure, he was there, but…he wasn't. Ever since she joined the team, she had noticed his lack of focus; his thoughts always seemed to be running rampant. And Hannah felt personally offended. This was not Kaldur she had known for all this time! He was their leader! Obviously the rest of the team picked him for a good reason. Was he acting this strange because she had joined the team?

Kaldur, as far as Hannah could tell, seemed to be keeping his distance from her. Did he know of the feelings she had harbored for him ever since they met that day in Poseidonis? And even worse…

…is the thought of her harboring such feelings so repulsive that he was distancing himself in such a way?

The girl shook her head, trying to get such thoughts away from her. She could not afford to be distraught during a mission. Not only a mission, her first mission. She was not going to mess this up because of a boy! No matter how absolutely perfect the boy was…

Hannah found herself shaking her head once more, this time even hitting herself on the head, hoping that she could beat such thoughts out of her mind. "This is stupid!"

"I know covert missions aren't all that fun, but don't you think you're being a bit harsh?" Robin's voice echoed through her head

"No! Not the mission!" Hannah quickly responded "It was something else! It came out by accident! I swe-" suddenly, she went mute.

And that is when all hell broke loose.

When Robin had informed them that the monster was huge, he wasn't exaggerating. The Clay monster was giant. It barely held the shape of a man, its face dripping, eyes white, limbs flying around hazardously. It could manipulate as many limbs as it wanted; creating new ones when old were blown or severed, being able to endlessly regenerate at whim.

Needless to say, the team was stuck in its clutches in mere seconds.

Hannah let out a feral grow, her entire body itching to blow this thing to pieces. But, if the monster was able of regenerating even after an attack from her, it would just come back and she would be left without magic. So, she had to find a hole in the rules. Strictly offensive spells would enforce the seal in no time at all.

But, you didn't need offensive spells to be on the offense.

She was hoisted up in to the air, her entire body encased in clay and unable to move. It took her some effort, but she managed to wriggle her arms free out of the heavy and sticky material. Bringing her hands together to form a triangle, the air around Hannah started to shift, picking up in to strong winds and concentrating in the hollow between her hands. In a flash, she released the concentrated air, the effect it had was similar to a bullet or a blade as it cut through the clay holding her.

Offensive magic was a big no-no, but simply manipulating the elements around her in a way that may or may not be used for an attack…

Hannah grinned as she landed safely on the ground, now charging another attack.

Gotta love screwing over the rules.

The team continued with cutting the monster down to size, each in their own respective manor. Hacking it to pieces in hopes it won't regenerate. Hannah let out a sigh of relief when she realized that the monster had, indeed, stopped regenerating, pieces of it splattered all over the sewer walls and mixing in to the water like mud.

"That was unpleasant." Megan spoke up, floating down to the ground "Like tangling with a rabid ma'alefa'ak on Mars."

Hannah almost snorted when Superboy innocently voiced the thought of everyone present "…what's a malafak?"

"Well whatever that thing was, it seems like it's dead and ready to decompose now." the girl replied, nudging a pile of slimy clay with her foot.

"That was kinda easy." Wally muttered, moving towards the biggest pile of clay that was slowly sinking in to the water "That thing was a pushover. What the heck was Batman worried about?"

Before anyone could offer the speedster any kind of a reply, another attack came. As they were inspecting the sinking pile of sludge where the monster once was, behind them the clay that was splattered everywhere gathered, forming the monster once more. And the team was once again in its clutches, this time not getting out of it as easily as before. Aqualad managed to stay out of its clutches for long enough to land a blow, the tattoos on his arms glowing in an electric blue. But he soon found himself knocked out as well, landing painfully in the shallow water. The clay monster seemed to grow bored of them, its laughter echoing through the sewers as it left.

Hannah lifted her head out of the water where she landed, quickly removing the mask covering her face and taking in a deep breath, followed by a few coughs "Well…" she cleared her throat, feeling as if there was clay and mucus stuck in it "…that went well." she turned to sit down in the retching water, not even caring about how dirty it was. She was already covered from head to toe with clay, sewer water and whatever else was inside it.

Her attention was soon directed elsewhere when she heard Aqualad speak in to his earpiece "Yes Batman, though our encounter was far from successful."

"If that's Batman, ask him where Artemis is!" Wally growled, trying to peel away the clay away from his hero suit "And how come she gets away with skipping this so-fun sewer party!"

Ignoring Wally's whining, the girl got to her feet and took off her hood before she gathered up her hair, wringing out any excess water "What's our next move?" she spoke up, facing her new team "Is there any protocol on what to do when we fail horribly?"

"Not really." Robin said as he got up, running his hand down his arm so to remove clay and mucus "We regroup and think of a plan on what to do next."

"And hopefully get out of these stinky clothes, ugh!" Wally let out with distaste.

"Let's get back on the bioship and clean up while we track that thing down again." Megan suggested, turning to Kaldur "Aqualad?"

The Atlantian reacted to his name, his head snapping up and his attention pulled away from the conversation with Batman that just ended "What?" he paused for a moment, recollecting what he had heard of the conversation "Oh, yes. I agree. Call the bioship, Miss Martian."

GOTHAM CITY

AUGUST 27, 04:45 EDT

"Man, I need a shower!" Wally complained "I mean, what's the point of putting on a new costume if I'm not…fresh?"

Megan giggled"Oh Wally, you're always fresh."

On the other hand, Superboy let out a grunt "At least you have a clean costume."

The team was back on the bioship, taking the moment of peace to change in to clean costumes while they tracked down the Clay monster. Hannah and Megan had it easy; the Martian girl simply shapeshifted her outfit so that all the dirt and grime was gone, while all Hannah had to do was cite a simple incantation and she was as fresh as a daisy. The boys, while they had the opportunity to change costumes, still reeked of the sewer and dirt. Poor Superboy didn't even have a change of clothes!

"It's an old back-up. No stealth mode or anything!" the speedster pressed the logo on his chest almost nostalgically, disappointed that his costume didn't turn black "This stinks."

"I think the stink is you, Sir Freshness." Robin added cockily "But what about the creature? Batman wanted us to track it."

Wally let out a snort "Why settle for that? Okay, sure, it got the drop on us. But now we know its tricks!"

"If by 'got a drop on us' you mean 'completely wiped the floor with us', then I agree." Hannah replied dryly from where she was sitting.

"C'mon Hex, this is a great idea." Robin seemed hyped as well "We split up; whoever finds old Clayface radios the team…"

"…we converge and kick some clay-butt!" Superboy joined the duo, quite excited about the idea as well.

Hannah, on the other hand, let out an exhorted growl, tilting her head back "Split up? Haven't you ever watched horror movies? That is literally the worst idea ever thought of by anyone! Ever!"

Megan, ever the peacemaker, turned to their leader "What do you think Aqualad?" she said in a soft voice.

"What?" he turned, snapping out of this thoughts "Oh, yes. It seems we have a plan."

The three boys celebrated, high-fiving each other. Hannah, on the other hand, crossed her arms and glared hotly at them, before directing her eyes on to Kaldur.

She bit down on her lip, both annoyed and worried by his behavior. "If I die today, I am haunting all of you." she said in a deadpan voice.

"I hope Grigor is doing better than I am…"

THE DAY BEFORE

MOUNT JUSTICE
AUGUST 26, 15:49 EDT

Grigor stood still as Hannah tended to the cut that stretched over his eye. Her hand let out a faint glow as she applied a healing spell, hoping to get rid of the scar that has been there ever since Teekl inflicted it on him.

The girl let out a sigh and moved her hand away "The scar is there to stay. I can't heal it." she told him, annoyance evident in her voice "But the thing that worries me more than the scar is your eye." she told him and gently turned his head to examine the eye in question. Unlike the crows other eye, which was coal black, this one had turned red. Completely red. Not like it was a scar or an injury, it just…changed color. "Can you see with it?" she asked, Grigor responding immediately by nodding his head. Hannah let out a deep breath through her nose, placing her index and middle finger over his eye gently, concentrating on the next spell. Her magic coursed through her fingers, sifting in to the ruby eye as Hannah tried to identify if the cause of the color change was of mystical nature. She felt her mystic energy sift through, the recognizable presence of her familiar greeting her, but as it reached in to the eye she was met with something…not quite Grigor.

It was more…feline.

"Teekl left something like…" she clacked her tongue "…well, it's not an imprint, per say, but more of a residue of her essence." she moved her hand away "During your fight she must have gotten more excited than you thought, she must have unconsciously imprinted her magic on you when she hit you."

The crow puffed up his feathers, cawing to show off his annoyance.

"I'm pretty sure it's her essence, there is no mistaking it. Her energy is very unique." she explained "Just like…Klarion's." Hannah trailed off as a realization came to her. "Klarion! Just like Klarion! Yes! This is great!"

Grigor looked at her as if she went crazy.

Pointing her finger at the confused crow, Hannah acted like she had just come up with the greatest idea in the world "You! You have been gifted with exactly what I need!" when Grigor continued giving her the look, Hannah continued "How can you not get it!? You can find him!"

The crow did not share her enthusiasm.

"What do you mean 'why should you even look for him'?" Hannah seemed annoyed that he wasn't getting it "Grigor, that brat was here! I know he was; it wasn't just me losing my mind! And he needs to face the consequence of his actions!" she explained "I want you to find Teekl; having her energy signature imprinted in to you, that will be a piece of cake. And when you find Teekl, you will definitely find Klarion." Grigor protested but Hannah put a finger to his beak shushing him "No, this is important. You will find that wretched boy and you will tell him to meet me. I will not have my mental health deteriorate because of pranks that Klarion plays on me."

Grigor cawed, unamused. Whatever he said made Hannah flush.

"Don't you start with me!" she barked "This is not a date – You are not setting up a date!" the girl said in a stern voice, picking the crow up "And you are going to do what I said!" as her familiar protested, Hannah let out a tut "This is not open for debate!" she opened up a portal "I want you to find Klarion and tell him to find a place for us to meet where we won't be found. Not ask, tell." she instructed "Then relay the place and time he picked back to me."

Letting out something similar to a growl, Grigor half-heartedly agreed. Hannah smiled, pleased with his decision and brought him to the portal "Remember: incognito. I can't be seen with him." Grigor nodded, still grumbling to himself, before Hannah released her grip on him, the bird instantly taking in to the air and flying in to the portal that led outside.

As the portal closed behind her familiar, Hannah let out a satisfied huff and placed her hands on her hips. She was going to teach that boy a lesson when they meet!

PRESENT TIME

GOTHAM CITY
AUGUST 27, 05:59 EDT

"'Split up', they said." Hannah muttered under her breath "'It's a great plan', they said."

The girl was roaming around the abandoned warehouse where they suspected the clay creature was at. Imagine that! An abandoned warehouse, of all places! Hannah had trouble not to laugh cynically when it came in to their sight. It was literally like they were living out a very cheesy horror movie. The area she was exploring was pretty barren and unnaturally silent, though she had to agree, it wasn't as dark as she thought it would be. Then again, the sun was already slowly making its way on the horizon, making the girl realize she had spent all night chasing after this thing.

"We're all going to die, one by one." she huffed grudgingly "I wonder who's going down first."

"Guys! I found the creature! Rendezvous at my coordinates!"

Hannah placed a finger on to the little device in her ear, listening intently to the message. "So Superboy goes down first. Didn't see that one coming." she almost chuckled at her own sense of humor before making her way down the hall she was going with a spring in her step, intent on getting to the area Superboy was checking out. It wasn't long before she came across a path of clay on the floor and the familiar stench of magic. Frowning, she quickened her pace.

The girl couldn't help but squint her eyes when she soon came across a very familiar figure not so far away.

"Aqualad!" she called out, but the boy did not turn to face her "Did you find Superboy?"

"No." he spoke up softly "Though I did find what I was looking for."

As Hannah made her way towards him, she spoke once more "The creature?"

Kaldur smiled "No. You."

As those two words left his lips, Hannah felt herself freeze up. Her throat suddenly felt dry, her palms sweaty "E…excuse me?"

"You are constantly on my mind." Kaldur placed his hands on her shoulders "It has always been you, no one else."

Hannah blushed, butterflies going wild inside her stomach. Holly crackers, was this really happening? Could this really be happening? Was Kaldur'ahm actually confessing his feelings to her?! And to think, she thought this mission was going to be a complete failure!

...A mission. And Kaldur confessing to her.

In the middle of a mission.

The girl could feel the butterflies in her stomach turn from pleasant to gut wrenching.

She could not punch Kaldur in the face fast enough. Her fist connected with the boys' cheek and she hoped it would at least make him go off-balance, but instead, her hand was absorbed in to his face as it turned in to clay. Her eyes widened and she used all her strength to pull out her fist and jump away as far as she could from the creature that took Aqualad's form. It was actually horrifying to watch as the form of Aqualad twisted and dripped, becoming more and more grotesque by the second.

"How did you guess I wasn't your teammate?" it still sounded like Kaldur's voice, Hannah noted with a cringe.

"I didn't." the girl said honestly "I just wanted to punch Aqualad for not keeping his head in the game and losing track of the mission." she moved her hand to her earpiece as to radio the rest of the team, her eyes never leaving the creature as she held one hand in front of her, ready to launch an attack.

Before she could, though, she was knocked on to the floor from behind. A scream left her lips before it was muffled as her entire body got covered in clay, leaving her blind and deaf to the world. The only sound that reached her ears before everything turned silent and black was the laugh of the monster. She felt the clay lift her up in to the air. On instinct, and against her better judgment, she tried to breathe, only to have clay fill her mouth and nose. She hacked and gagged, trying to spit it out, which only left her with even less air inside her lungs. Soon enough, a wave of dizziness washed over her from the lack of oxygen.

"Oh god, oh god…" panic filled her as she fought the darkness that loomed behind her eyelids "…this cannot be happening!"

Hannah felt her consciousness almost completely leave her, even as she struggled not to faint.

Suddenly, Hannah felt herself drop down on to the floor, the clay slowly slipping away from her body. She didn't have enough strength to get out of it completely, but it slithered away enough for her to breathe again. She coughed and wheezed, her lungs feeling like they were on fire. In the distance, she heard the monster retreat, leaving her as if she were a prey not worth the trouble.

"It seems saving your life has become a habit of mine." a familiar voice chuckled, mocking her. Hannah tried to get up, but her entire body felt like lead, her head still swimming on the edge of consciousness. She knew that familiar feeling of her throat and tongue turning strangely numb and her eyesight exploding white: she was moments away from fainting.

She felt her body being lifted out of the heavy goo before she was gently placed on a cleaner part of the floor. She managed to turn her head just in time to see the newcomer walk towards her, lowering his arms as he used his magic to carry her. Hannah tried to speak his name, but could not find the voice.

"Ah-ah-ah~" Klarion tutted as he crouched down "I really doubt you should be speaking now. Or moving. Or doing anything really, except for fainting." he spoke in a teasing tone, the smirk never leaving his face "I got your invitation. That feathered pest of yours will tell you where and when we'll meet."

The boy chuckled and placed his palm against her forehead "Sleep~" he cooed. Hannah felt her eyes close, everything turning white.

Nu-na-ni-na-ne-na

Nu-na-ni-na-ne-na

"Hex..."

Zaspi mi, zaspi, detence,

zaspi mi, čedo mamino.

"Hex, please…"

Nek' raste ruža rumena,

nek' raste nani odmena.

"Wake up."

"Hannah."

"WAKE UP."

Hannah awoke with a start, her eyes snapping open. She gasped for breath as her entire body arched up in panic, only to be held down.

"Don't move, you have been deprived of oxygen for what seems to be some time." she turned, trying to adjust her eyes to see who was the one talking to her.

"Batman?" her own voice sounded foreign to her, strained. Her throat burned and itched as she talked. Indeed, she was still on the floor where she had passed out. The only difference was that all her teammates were present. And not only them, but the big man himself: Batman.

"I would advise against talking too much as well." Batman spoke "Though swallowing clay is not toxic by itself, it did some harm going down. And inhaling it definitely did you no good."

Hannah shook her head "What happened?" she persisted, ignoring her aching throat.

Batman gave her a look, not amused how she still continued talking against his strict instructions "Clayface took all of you by surprise. I came at just the right time to disengage the creature…" he cast a glance at Kaldur, who looked away in shame "…and save the team." Coughing, Hannah managed to set herself up straight, moving her weight on to her arms so she could sit up. Batman helped her, supporting her back "Out of all the team, it seems you had taken the worst blow. You were also the only one Clayface left behind, separated from the rest."

The girl put a weary hand on her forehead, looking around "That's…curious." she muttered before she tried to get to her feet, only to fail horribly, collapsing in to Batman's arms.

"I'll take her." Kaldur suddenly offered, walking up to Batman's side. Hannah flushed as Batman held her up bridal style and passed her over to Kaldur.

Batman turned to the rest of the team "The mission is over. Head back to base."

MOUNT JUSTICE

AUGUST 27, 07:59 EDT

They were back home in what seemed like minutes to Hannah. Kaldur had carried her all the way back, which she had to admit, felt like a surreal dream. Though, even in her half-asleep, half-giddy state, she noticed the unnatural, tense silence between her teammates. She guessed the mission must have been a complete bust. And to have Batman come and rescue them. She could only imagine the number that did on their egos. She was not the type to get shaken up over such a thing, and yet even she felt horrid.

"I need to talk to Aquaman." Batman announced when they arrived out of the Zeta-tubes "The rest of you, hit the showers and head home."

"Head home?" Superboy let out in a growl "I am home."

Robin remained next to Kaldur, who still held Hannah in his hands "Just Aqualad." Batman said in a stern tone.

The two boys looked at each other, before moving their gaze to Hannah "Do you think you can walk?"

Hannah let out a snort "I'm pretty sure I'm not in that horrid of a condition." she huffed. Kaldur nodded and let her down on to her feet. The girl felt her knees wobble a bit, but Robin offered a helping hand, supporting her. The two of them left together, leaving Batman and Kaldur behind to converse in privacy. Hannah noticed the envious look Robin cast over his shoulder at the two, but choose not to comment on it.

One very meticulous scrub down and healing spell later, Hannah felt much, much better.

"So?" the girl questioned her familiar as she sat down on her bed, dressed in her night clothes despite the fact that it was already early morning. She had every intention of sleeping until noon after a night like that. Grigor hopped in to her embrace, settling down on her lap as she petted him.

"What did the Witch Boy say?"

A/n: The song Hannah dreams off is a very old lullaby from the Slavic countries in the Balkan. If you would like to listen to it, just paste the following after the initial youtube url: /watch?v=PSNcwPUXP1A

The translation is as follows:

Sleep, sleep, my baby

Sleep, mothers sweet child.

Let the red rose grow,

Let mothers replacement grow.