DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN YOUNG JUSTICE—PLEASE SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL RELEASE!


Language Index:

"This is for Regular speaking and ASL."

This is for thoughts.

"This is for Telepathic Communication between People."

"This is Cassandra's Scarab speaking."


|MEET THE TEAM

In a flash of light, Cassandra and Black Canary appeared inside Mount Justice.

"I need to contact a friend. It should only take a minute. Feel free to explore the cave." She signed and walked toward the main computer terminal pressed against a wall of the cave.

While she went to make her call—no doubt to Batman who was either in the Batcave or in space at the Watchtower—Cassandra did a slow turn to look around the cave.

Traveling by Zeta Tube had been an...experience.

She couldn't wrap her head around it. It didn't make any sense to her. A second ago she had been in a phone booth in Jump City and then in an instant she was inside Mount Justice. This kind of technology had been a pipe dream in her old world. To be able to teleport to any location at will? That kind of technology was centuries away from being discovered.

If it was possible at all.

Then again, the technology in her old world paled in comparison to the technology in this world. She had learned that within a few days of arriving in Jump City after escaping the League of Shadows. And the Justice League's technology was even more advanced than anything she used in Jump City.

Cassandra walked deeper into the carved-out mountain, checking out the kitchen area and the living quarters. It was much better than her apartment in Jump City. She was going to enjoy living here.

Before a couple of months ago, she would have been satisfied. Now that Cassandra had sixteen years' worth of League of Shadows training she couldn't stop casing the cave—literally—it made her uneasy even thinking about not checking and double checking her surroundings.

What was it Doctor Wu said in Jurassic World: You cannot have an animal with exaggerated predator features without the corresponding behavioral traits?

Cassandra had all kinds of crazy ninja skills now, but those skills came with the corresponding behavioral traits.

Like wanting to find the cave's gym and see what kind of advanced training technology the Justice League had access to.

|YOUNG—JUSTICE|

Batman glared at the four screens in front of him.

Each screen was playing a different attack that occurred on the Fourth of July. Four ice villains attacking the same day? That couldn't be a coincidence. There was something else going on in secret. Something he couldn't see...something that he would have to work on later.

Batman closed down the videos. As much as he wanted to find out why the simultaneous attacks had occurred, he had a more pressing concern. He needed to get the Team prepared.

Some of the members of the Justice League may not understand or agree with his decision to send a team of young heroes on missions without an adult present, but it was necessary. And it was the same members who couldn't see that the Justice League had gotten too big. There were too many eyes on him and his fellow members.

With criminals around the world getting more elusive and organized than ever, he needed a team that could operate outside the law. A team that would be able to follow those criminal organizations where the Justice League couldn't. He had been hoping to create a similar team with more experience heroes, but Robin and the others had made it clear that they were going to continue to fight the good fight.

With or without the Justice League's help.

This team might even work better than the original, Batman thought. They were younger but that could be a good thing. Working together longer would make them a much more cohesive unit in the future.

An incoming message interrupted Batman's thoughts. On the screen in front of him, Black Canary's face appeared "I made contact with the new hero in Jump City," she reported.

"What's his threat level?"

Batman saw Black Canary frown at the question. She had made it clear before she left the Watchtower a week ago that she didn't like being sent to do his 'dirty work'. And that he should talk to someone about the paranoia that made him think he need a plan to take down a kid trying to do good in the world.

Neither hero spoke for a moment. Then Black Canary sighed. "He's a she. I'm sending you a picture now. Her name is Cassandra and I think she's gonna be a heavy hitter. Earlier today Cinderblock went on a rampage—"

"She took down Cinderblock?" Batman asked, and Black Canary glared at him for interrupting.

"Yes, she did. Pretty quick too. I was only a few blocks away from ground zero when the attack started. I was there in five and Cinderblock was already subdued."

The picture Black Canary sent appeared on another screen. Batman's eyes narrowed under his cowl.

"Before you ask, we didn't talk about her scars," Black Canary said, solemnly. "They look old though, don't they?"

They did. And considering Cassandra only looked to be in late her teens at most, Batman didn't like the insinuation that she had gotten those scars at an even younger age. What was even more worrying was that unless she had managed to stay under his radar, she had only been working as a hero for a few months.

So where did she get the scars if not on the job? Batman wondered as he made a note in the girl's file.

"There's one more thing." Black Canary said. "I don't think she can talk. She only used ASL when I spoke to her."

Batman zoomed in on Cassandra's picture as he ran it through several legal and illegal databases. Across her throat was a jagged scar. Was it an accident? Or had someone deliberately tried to silence her? And if so, why?

He added more notes to the file.

"Even with ASL, it's going to make communication between her and the other members of the team very difficult." He said, making a personal note to push for more research into the Brain's thought-to-speech boxes at Wayne Tech.

Black Canary rolled her eyes. "Way to be sensitive, Bruce."

Batman ignored the sarcasm. "How is she adjusting to her new surroundings?"

"In the same manner that you would," Black Canary smirked. "Are you sure you don't have a daughter?"

Batman didn't find humor in that statement. He had gone through rigorous training to mold his mind and body into the weapons they were now. If Cassandra was reacting like him, then she must have been through similar training. And that worried him a great deal.

Still, it was better to have her working under the command of the Justice League. Until he knew more, he wanted the girl where he could keep a close eye on her.

"What about the armor?"

"We didn't talk about that either."

Batman frowned. "Why not?" he demanded. It had been the main reason he sent Black Canary to make contact.

"Cassandra is a kid," Black Canary folded her arms across her chest. "And it's obvious she hasn't had an easy life. You told me you were worried that her being on her own would make her an easier target for people like Lex Luthor, and I know that wasn't the entire truth, but treating her like a criminal might make her turn away from using her powers for good. The best thing we can do is earn her trust and let her come to us."

Batman glared at his fellow league member. She stared back, refusing to back down on this matter.

|YOUNG—JUSTICE|

Miss Martian hummed a tune as she walked around her new home. She was hoping to run into Superboy and maybe get him to say more than two words to her. It had been a week since she'd moved into her room at Mount Justice. During that time she had gotten to interact with Superboy for barely a few minutes despite both of them living permanently in the cave. He usually showed up to get breakfast but he always took his plate and left the dining area before she could invite him to eat with her.

She really wanted to get to know him better, but he didn't seem to have any interest in her at all. Today is the day that I change that, she thought. Or at least I hope.

To be honest, she wasn't sure how to get him to talk to her. Or anyone for that matter. Since the team had been formed she'd barely seen any of her teammates. How were they a team if they were never together?

Miss Maritan sighed as she floated down the hall. When she came to Earth she hadn't expected making friends would be this hard. Her uncle, J'onn had offered her the chance to join this new team with others her age and she jumped at the opportunity.

It was her chance to finally fit in.

The problem is that none of her friends were around. All she'd been doing the past week was trying new recipes and hoping Superboy would talk to her.

How was she going to fit in if she was all alone?

Miss Martian entered the training room hoping of finding Superboy there. She didn't find Superboy, instead, she found a stranger.

In the middle of the training room doing one-handed push-ups was a girl she'd never met before. She looked around, trying to find another one of her teammates. Maybe they had brought a friend?

No one else was in the room.

She doesn't look any older than me, Miss Martian bit her lip and watched the girl working out. Surely this girl didn't break into the cave just to do push-ups? So if the girl wasn't a friend of someone on the teams...then maybe she was a sidekick!

Miss Martian gently smacked her palm against her head. "Hello, Megan!" she giggled.

How did she not think of that first? It made complete sense. There were a lot of members of the Justice League and a lot of them had students like Robin, Aqualad, and Wally.

Miss Martian gasped as a thought struck her. Maybe this girl is going to join the team!

This was the perfect chance to make a new friend!

|YOUNG—JUSTICE|

Cassandra heard a noise and looked up from the ground.

Floating in the doorway was a green-skinned girl with red hair. Cassandra recognized her immediately as Miss Martian. Kind of hard not to recognize her, she thought pushing herself up to her feet.

Her sudden movement caught Miss Martian's attention and when their eyes met Miss Martian blushed at being caught staring.

"Hi, I'm M'gann," Miss Martian smiled. "You can call me Megan. That's my Earth name!"

Cassandra didn't respond right away. Being from Mars, she doubted Miss Martian knew what ASL even was, let alone be able to speak it. That was okay though, with her telepathic powers they could communicate like that.

"Umm..." Miss Martian glanced around nervously. "What's your name?"

Cassandra pointed at the scar on her throat and shook her head.

Miss Martian's eyes started to water. "You don't want to tell me your name?"

What the heck? Cassandra cursed Lady Shiva for the thousandth time. And then herself for leaving her bag with her notepads with Black Canary at the front of the cave. She could just go get them, but Miss Martian looked like she was going to start crying if she just walked away.

Cassandra reached out and shocked Miss Martian by setting her hand on the other girl's head. Miss Martian stared at her like she had grown a second head. With her free hand, she pointed at her head. She hoped Miss Martian understood what she was trying to say.

"Oh!" Miss Martian snapped her fingers. "Do you want to speak using telepathy!"

Cassandra nodded eagerly, glad that their little game of charades was over. A second later she heard Miss Martian's voice even though her lips weren't moving.

"Hello! I'm—"

"Megan, I heard," Cassandra cut her off with a smile. And now that she could explain, she pointed at the scar on her throat again. "Sorry for not answering. I can hear people fine, but I can't speak."

A smile lit up Miss Martian's face. "That's great!" she said, before realizing how that sounded and blushed. "I mean—I didn't—I thought you weren't telling me your name because you didn't like me!"

Cassandra laughed as Megan sputtered. "I'm Cassandra, and I like you just fine, Megan."

Megan shifted nervously in the air. "I hope I'm not interrupting. I was looking for Superboy. I didn't mean to bother you." she apologized.

"You're not bothering me. I'm waiting for Black Canary to finish a call and got a little restless so I decided to work out." Cassandra assured her. Megan seemed really nervous. Had she been like that at the start of the show?

"Black Canary? Is she your mentor?" Miss Martian asked.

"No, nothing like that. She just recruited me for the team—"

"You're joining the team!" Miss Martian cheered. "That's wonderful!"

Cassandra watched as she did a little dance in the air and decided not to mention that it wasn't a done deal that she was on the team. Black Canary probably couldn't unilaterally decide that she was on the team so she wouldn't know for sure until the hero finished her call.

"Cassandra!"

Speak of the devil, Cassandra thought and peered around Miss Martian's floating body. Black Canary was watching them from the hall with a smile on her face.

Standing at her side was Batman...the man...the myth...the legend.

"Batman would like to talk to you a little. Get a sense of your abilities to see how you'll fit with the team. Is that okay?" Black Canary asked.

Cassandra pursed her lips. That was a nice way of saying Batman wanted to know what she was capable of so he could take her down if he needed. Which she didn't mind, not really. With all the mind-controlling devices and telepaths in DC, it was a good thing for the Justice League members to know how to restrain each other.

The only thing she was worried about was how was she going to explain the Scarab?

Alien technology that she had to fight for control wasn't exactly a gold star on her resume...

Batman noticed her hesitance. He lifted his hands—because of course the Batman knew ASL—but before he could start signing, Cassandra glanced at Miss Martian.

"Megan, can you still hear me?" Cassandra asked, and the red-haired alien nodded. "Can you ask Batman and Black Canary if it's okay with them if you link us up with your telepathy?"

"Of course!" Megan smiled at her, then looked at the two Justice League members.

Suddenly, Cassandra remembered the other members of the team giving Miss Martain a hard time about her telepathy when the team first formed in the show. Especially Superboy.

Cassandra grabbed her wrist, hoping she hadn't already tried to mentally link with the adults. "Telepathy isn't as common on Earth as it might be on Mars," Cassandra told her. "It might make one of them uncomfortable having someone else in their head. Make sure you get verbal confirmation before you use your powers."

Megan blinked. That thought had obviously never even occurred to her. "Hello, Megan! Of course, humans wouldn't be used to telepathy!" she said, smacking her head. "Cassandra wants me to ask if it's okay for me to link the three of you telepathically."

Black Canary looked pleasantly surprised, but Batman frowned and shot the idea down instantly.

"No," the dark knight said. "We'd like to speak with you alone. Miss Martian, give us the room.

Cassandra sighed as Batman spoke the words and signed them. She glanced at Megan who seemed dejected as she floated toward the door. "Would you mind translating for me?" she asked.

"Okay!" Megan agreed immediately, smiling. "What do you need me to say?"

"Tell Batman that if he is interested in my armor he should talk to the Blue Beetle."

Megan nodded and looked back toward Black Canary and Batman. "Cassandra wants me to tell Batman that he should talk to the Blue Beetle if he is interested in her armor."

"The Blue Beetle?" Batman's eyes narrowed. "Is your suit—"

Before the dark knight could finish his question, he was cut off by an alarm suddenly filling the cave. A holographic image of Green Arrow filled the space between Cassandra and the two heroes.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Solomon Grundy is on a rampage in Star City." the archer explained quickly. "We're going to need backup."

"We'll be right there," Black Canary answered. Batman was already on the move to the Zeta-tube. She sighed and glanced at Cassandra. "Sorry to cut this short, but we'll talk more soon, okay? For now, why don't you choose a room."

"She's on the team?" Megan asked, clapping her hands.

Black Canary smiled, glad that she could help Cassandra and give Megan another girl to talk to...even if the Martian wasn't actually a human girl. "Yes, Megan, she's on the team," she said. "Please, show her around the cave."

Megan turned to Cassandra as Black Canary left the room, running to catch up to Batman. "Do you like cookies?" she asked. "I just put a fresh batch in the oven!"

"Chocolate chip is my favorite," Cassandra answered and Megan squealed. The Martian grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the kitchen.

"The new recipe I'm trying is chocolate chip!"


Sorry for the long wait!

Thanks for reading!