A/N: please, remember to leave a review. (and yes, I KNOW that Jason came AFTER Dick; we're switching a few things around, however.)

Sunday the 13th of November 4:39pm

"I'm telling you, they work for him." Dick said, his hands thrown around in his talking.

"It's just some thugs that Jake must've owed something to." Roy shook his head.

"…you're wrong man,"

…

4:42pm

"What are we going to do?" Wally asked, looking nervously from Calian's unconscious form on the couch to the other's who stood with him in the kitchen.

"Well, M'gann's uncle has the ability to reconstruct her memory." Artemis said in reply. "We're not totally out of options Wally. Besides, it wasn't your fault, we couldn't have known."

They were all petrified and anxious. Batman had been away on an important mission with Superman and the Green Lantern. Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman were tasked with world-rounds—they occurred once a month to check up with the other heroes of the world. That left a chain of command that was not instructed how to deal with the young force which left the teen-heroes waiting with baited breath for Batman and Superman to return.

"Well, what's the diagnosis Roy?" Dick questioned, unable to sit still for worry.

Red Arrow shot the Boy Wonder a look. "Aside from malnutrition? Whatever happened to her these past few weeks sure did a number on her. Her injuries don't look too bad though. And I'm not sure but she's been on something, a low dose or a soft drug maybe."

Calian was beginning to come to and she heard voices; it was a fretted sort of wake up and sounds and consciousness filtered in to her mind obscurely.

Roy Harper sat down at the edge of the couch and looked her over again. It was obvious that she'd looked better; he could see a softness of her face with high but delicate cheekbones. Even under the bruises and grime there was an apparent beauty.

When full consciousness over came Calian it hit her hard. She was aware of what had happened (to her, only a few moments ago) the morning before and bolted up. Roy, startled, called out and went to steady her. Calian was still confused from sleep and frightened, she struggled.

"Hey!" Roy growled, grabbing her arms and giving her a rough shake. "Calm. Down."

She froze, breathing hard. Blinking she recognized the hero's outfit and stilled. Her eyes drifted around and she saw the other heroes coming in, concerned by the commotion they'd heard.

"Cali!" Wally called, rushing over and kneeling by her side. He no longer wore his mask; she knew who he was. "Are you okay, can I get you something?"

Calian looked from him back to Roy. The older boy slowly let go of her arms and gave a nervous cough, standing and moving away from her. All she managed was a shake of her head. Kaldur came in from the screen room where he'd been talking with Black Canary and Super Boy and M'gann wandered in from a stroll out around the mountain. The longer Calian was awake the more secure she felt and the more defiance crept into her manner.

"You know, it's pretty obvious now that…" her voice caught and she clenched her jaw shut. Her first reaction had been to move a hand to her ribs, but she refrained, twitching a little.

"What is obvious?" Kaldur asked softly, trying to get her to continue.

Arching a brow and giving a coy smirk, she continued slowly. "The six of you. I never paid attention to the news, but you lot have a lot of candid photos out there. Besides, you all stuck so close together at school even though three of you were supposedly 'new' to the area. Guess everyone's a genius in hindsight though, huh?"

The shared a look, and Wally gave a nervous laugh.

"Wally." Kaldur said, his countenance slumping in dead efforts and directed his question to Calian. "You recognize all of us then?"

Her façade vanished. "So…what's gonna happen…"

"That isn't up to them kid." Roy interrupted. "The League decides what happens to you now."

"What happened?" Dick said, coming a little closer.

"…" her jaw jumped again and she sat back into the couch. Her eyes narrowed and her 'school-queen' air came back. "You sure do look different in that mask, hon,"

Dick couldn't help the color that came to his cheeks and he coughed, ran a hand through his hair and turned helplessly to his teammates.

"Guess I know why you hate me Artemis," Cali said with a wry smile as she reviled she knew the blond's feelings, turning her seemingly calloused eyes to the masked girl. "Didn't want anything happening to your team, huh?"

"This is Megan; Calian if she has to…she can read minds." Kaldur said, his voice slightly colder than before. "We need to know—"

"You wanna know what I was doing with a crazed out druggie and why we were attacked by those freaks."

…

4:56pm

"Way I see it I'm already screwed. What's the point in digging the grave deeper." She said, her voice hallow. "I'm surprised I'm not in a cell or something" she added in dry sarcasm, looking around.

"Look here princess," Artemis growled, hands on hips and leaning over Calian. "you're the only lead we have to a massive influx of drugs, the use of which has lead to countless kids in the hospital. Not to mention the kidnapping of that little girl, Natalia Jeffries. If you don't cooperate—"

Calian turned vacant eyes to the girl and gave a small laugh. "Babe, there isn't anything you can do that would scare me."

A chill ran down Wally's spine when he heard Calian talk like that. Her personality was so different than it'd been just a few months ago.

Artemis ground her teeth in frustration. "I'd bet I could think of some things."

"You really do hate me" Calian was musing now.

"You are very quick to turn attention from yourself." Kaldur said, a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You did this in school as well,"

"Pretty smart Kal,"

"…my name is Kaldur'Ahm…Aqu—"

"Aqualad." She turned her bright, spring eyes up to him. "fine. What do you wanna know?"

…

"You can start with kidnapping." Roy shrugged, leaning against the wall in a very handsome manner, arms crossed over his chest.

"I didn't kidnap my cousin." Cali said flatly, her sparkling eyes flicking from Kaldur to Roy. "I ran away from those miserable people…Natalia…just kind of happened."

"Miserable people? They took you in after—" Megan began coming forward in her human outfit.

"After my parents died? Did they tell you the enormous pile of cash that came with me?" there was a heavy silence that floated around after her words. "I didn't think so. Yeah, they were great people who took in an orphan to raise as their own. And sure, maybe life wasn't so bad with them."

She said it as if trying to convince herself.

"They didn't mention money," Wally said, moving forward and sitting on the couch next to her. "Is that all they wanted?"

"Wally…" she laughed a scornful laugh and looked to him. "You're too nice, you know that? Yeah. It's pretty much what they wanted. They had all the family they needed; an older son they couldn't keep a handle on and a beautiful little girl who deserved everything. To top it off, they skated the line and fostered countless kids to get the government money that came with them. On top of the government money that came with 'being my guardian', they got a wonderful sum off my parents' death.

"They were rich and, even though they didn't have a will, they had a trust fund set up for me in case something happened. Only my guardian's could tap into it, and then what was left would be mine when I was eighteen."

"So what, you knew all this at eight years old?" Roy snorted; Artemis liked him more and more.

"Don't be stupid," Calian rolled her eyes away from Wally. "I was just a kid…I wanted a family who cared about me. Yeah, they gave me a roof and a bed, clothes and food and put me in a decent school but that man and woman weren't a family in any sense of the word. And I don't give a damn if you think I'm a spoiled little brat Red Arrow; there may not have been obvious abuse, but there was neglect in that house.

"I couldn't stand it so I'd find friends and spend the night at their house. They had to switch my schools dozens of times 'cause I 'acted out' and 'had such a wild imagination'. That made them angry, which made life less like a family, so I'd act out more. By ten I could get into and out of any house, through any door or window I wanted to" she straightened painfully, as if proud of this. "I can't remember how old I was when I ran away. Natalia woke up and she wouldn't keep quite. Dumb kid…I couldn't get her to go back to sleep, and if I left her she'd cry and wake everyone up."

"So you took a two year old kid out into the streets with you?" Artemis demanded, outraged.

"No one accused me of being smart." Calian said simply.

"How'd you—"

"Survive on the streets? There's a whole community out there you guys don't know about. The Narrows is the most dangerous place in Gothem city…and ironically enough that's pretty much where the most life is too. I bet you don't know of a fraction of how many homeless people and gangs of street kids are out there, do you? It wasn't hard to find a group to fit in with. Then when I was fourteen…out there, you hit fourteen and you're not a child anymore.

"…things…happen to young girls. Catch my drift?" they all nodded but only Kaldur, Roy and Artemis had at least an idea of what she was getting at. "So I moved on to safer places. There was a little old lady who had come into an apartment complex when her husband died. She couldn't afford too much maintenance to be done on the place, and it could have ruined her and she'd have had to sell. It was a great deal. She told the tenants we were her grandchildren and our mom was hospitalized; I took care of the odd little things around the place and she had almost enough money to get by on the repairs needed to keep the place going. She let us stay for free in our own room in the top of the building; I'd just clean her apartment and get her groceries. Natalia kept her company. "

"And she took care of your school information?" Dick questioned, curious as to how an old woman could have confounded his efforts in finding Calian.

"No. I made up an address and gave a p.o box from the narrows for the information. I think the address I gave was right smack dab in the middle of Gothem Bay, actually. It was pretty easy to make up parents and their information. A fake email, a number routed down to the main hall of the apartment complex. It was easy enough to find on the internet."

"How'd you learn to dance?" Megan blurted out naively.

A distant look came to Calian's face and a gentle smile was seen for a fraction of a second. "My mom taught me ballet since I could walk. When I was old enough they enrolled me in classes at a professional's studio in the city. When they died," her voice caught and she coughed and paused.

"there was money for me to continue, but the Jeffries' didn't use it on my lessons."

"That still doesn't explain how you became so good,"

"I learned a lot of things from kids on the street. And watching movies on tv. I didn't enroll in school till I was fourteen; that left plenty of time to learn a trick or two. But…ballet was harder. There's a woman with a studio…she saw me watching through the window every day…and she noticed when I started coming in the evenings after school. I couldn't afford lessons, but she gave me a job cleaning up the studio afterwards. I got to go and watch, so that was good enough for me."

Kaldur thought back to how graceful she'd been in the gymnasium. He couldn't imagine how she could be that good off of the lessons she'd had as a child. "But you are much better than you are giving yourself credit for."

She shrugged. "I'm just good at copying what I see. That's all."

"How did you get involved with Jake?" Wally asked, not meeting Calian's eyes.

She sighed. "Blackmail. He thought I was hot; I turned him down once, but he's got a reputation and didn't give up. He snuck my address from the school and, after going to the bay and realizing I'd lied about that, I guess he followed me home. Not too hard for him to put two and two together. Besides, I didn't want anyone else" she glanced to Wally "to get to close. Disguises are hard to wear and secrets hard to keep, especially if everyone knows, right?"

She directed her coy question back at the young league.

"As interesting as this is, we're not getting anywhere," Conner said sardonically, looking restlessly from Red Arrow to Aqualad.

"You're the ones who asked," Calian shrugged; she sounded tired and her eyes expressed a dryness that confused Wally.

Kaldur looked back to the girl. For all her fronts and all her coyness, there was something off about her. She seemed…defeated, somehow.

"Tell us what happened these past few weeks," Roy directed, his voice not as harsh as before.

"There's not much to tell. He went missing…things started falling apart at school. My grades sucked, I was going to get bumped from the teams. Then the school started getting on my case and taking a closer look at things. They couldn't get a hold of either of my parents…there were problems with the address…so it was time to quite. I left Natalia close to her home one night knowing that at least she'd be taken care of by those creeps and disappeared. I knew a place in the Narrows…and I ran into Jake.

"He's always been a small-time dealer…I guess he just kind of lost it. He's on something…and drinking like mad. But he had a place so I crashed there while he was strung out on some new drug and dealing and god knows what else."

"I have a hard time believing, from your appearance, that it is as simple as that Calian," Kaldur said gently.

"It's not. He was so strung out he didn't even trust his shadow. He kept talking about these people who were after him…he was a mess. I don't think there was a day the entire time we were together in the narrows that he was sober."

"That's not what Kaldur meant," Artemis said.

"Look, he got involved with the wrong people and I guess he owed them money. There was a new drug; the samples he gave he gave for free, but he still had to pay his supplier for the free bits he gave out and he was always owing money. But he started taking more himself than what he sold. I guess they chose him because he was charismatic, even when high he was persuasive."

"What drug was he selling?" Dick asked, his attention caught.

"I don't know. I never actually saw any drugs. He always had candy on him, though."

Kaldur wanted to press her for her injuries and appearance, but he didn't want to let this new development of the case slip from their fingers.

"This candy…do you know what it was?" He asked, tilting his head.

"…no, actually. I mean…it looked like the usual pure-sugar concoctions wrapped in brightly colored plastic with bubble-letters on the wrappers. There wasn't anything special about it. Except…"

"What?" Dick said, leaning forward eagerly, desperate to prove his theory to Roy.

"…it didn't taste like candy. Not like anything normal, anyways."

"You tried it?" Artemis glared at her.

Calian shrugged. "Yeah. Jake ate them like eating was going out of style; I was curious."

"…is there any chance you have one on you?" Kaldur asked, taking an eager step forward.

She shook her head. "It wasn't candy…was it? I didn't take any; if Jake had caught me— it was pretty gross. I didn't see a point."

There was a laden silence; they'd all caught her abrupt switch in the conversation and Kaldur felt heat rushing inside of him.

"You think that the candies are the new drugs?" she asked, looking from Red Arrow to Aqualad to Robin. "And that's why it's mostly been kids in the hospital?"

"If Jake was a dealer, and all you saw were the candies…" Kaldur began.

"Then there's little doubt that these candies are how the drugs are getting sold." Roy finished.

"…then you're in trouble." She looked up from the ground and they saw a weary and disbelieving smile on her face. "Those candies are marked with Wayne Enterprises' logo."

…

5:06pm

Kaldur had Megan begin making food; she and Conner went into the kitchen. The blue-eyed, black-haired, silent teen had stayed close to her. She understood him the best of his friends, and she had an easy-going, neutral way of living in the Mountain.

"Artemis," Kaldur said, walking up to her as she headed for her quarters.

Wally was keeping Calian occupied, harassing her about her injuries and if she were alright and if he could get her anything. Dick was mocking him and the two of them together made her laugh in a genuine but unnatural fashion.

"Megan alters her clothing with her mind, having none of her own. You are close to Calian's build…would it be possible—"

"To loan the queen-bee my clothes?" The blond arched a brow at him and answered with a smirk. "Sure, I'll just burn them afterword."

Keeping his laughter to himself he turned back to the den. "Calian?"

"…" she turned with raised brows to him in response; he saw she had paled a little, that her face of confidence was a mask she wore as she faced an unknown future.

"Would you like to bathe, Artemis will show you where the showers are."

"Geez, didn't know I was that bad," she quipped, almost uncharacteristically as she stood and followed the other girl from the room.

…

6:00pm

"She's been in there for, like, an hour!" Wally said, gesturing wildly towards the bathroom at the girls' end of the hallway.

"Stop trying to sneak a peak," Roy laughed as he playfully shoved Wally towards the kitchen.

Wally blushed furiously and darted behind Roy to push him out of the way. "That's not what I'm doing! What if she fell or something, or has a concussion? What about that?" he demanded.

"She's fine." Conner asserted, setting the food Megan held up telepathically onto the table.

"How do you—"

"I can hear her." He didn't mention all that he heard coming from the bathroom.

"…oh…" Wally said, shoulders falling, relaxed. "Dibs on the potatoes!"

Kaldur sent a look towards the bathroom as well, and his gaze, as it returned, met with Roy's. The elder boy had a pitying look in his eyes as he shrugged and turned to the food his friends offered to him. A shiver ran up Kaldur's spine.

…

Calian looked down at herself. The parts of her that weren't black, blue or yellowed from bruising were bright pink from the heat of the water. It felt scalding, but it felt so good to be warm after the crappy room she'd frozen her butt off in, hardly sleeping because she was fighting off Jake. She felt much better after just a few moments under the water.

Sometime later when the grime and dirt had washed away, it wasn't surprising that she felt not 'much better,' but wonderful. Her hair sifted like silk through her fingers and her body was no longer oily but soft. Her aching muscles eased and relaxed. The steam cleared her senses and brought life-color back to her pallid face.

But she was tired. She'd spent weeks scrounging for her food, fighting for scraps and thieving. Sleep had been rare and guarded, and uncomfortable. But mostly she was fatigued from the mental strain. She felt aged; it was simply the shock wearing off. She couldn't help the tears that slid down her face.

She sank against the tiles of the shower and curled up in the hot water-spray. She'd never missed her parents or her childhood-life so much before. Calian couldn't remember when she'd felt more alone. Not when she and Natalia were squatting in boxes in alleyways, or when she was being provided for by other kids on the street; nor had she felt alone as she lied her way through school, not even telling her full story to Ms. Ginsberg when she'd begged for a home. She found herself more wearied and desolate than when she'd collapsed in the gymnasium. No amount of dancing would free her heart from the grave she'd placed it in.

She'd almost been raped by Jake, and then by that freak Baal; all just weeks short of an utter shift in her life, going from most popular girl with a place to live to a street-rat scrounging a living off garbage. It'd been her own fault but she didn't care about why it'd happened or different paths she could have taken. She just needed to cry.

There was a heaviness of soul that dragged her body down, a fatigue that made her close her eyes and the helpless knowledge that her life had been spinning out of control since the car crash nine years ago.

…

6:03pm

Cali walked towards the kitchen in Artemis' clothes. Leaning against the door frame she looked in at kids she'd hardly given a second thought to. There was Wally, the jokester who stuffed his face and continued talking, making everyone laugh with his silly antics. There was Dick, the genius but baby of the 'family', sitting next to Wally and ushering a few laughs from his friends with his own witty quips. Conner was the serious older brother who tried to ignore them, or got caught up in being the victim of one of their pranks that he couldn't help but react and end with his own deep rumbling laugher. Megan was the sweet natured cousin; she laughed at the two younger boys and her eyes lingered admiringly over Conner, eager to make him smile on her own and trying to understand the rules of this new house. Artemis was the serious older sister, the protective tiger who pretended not to be amused, but hid her smile in her glass of milk and her laughter under that of the boys'. There was the boy she didn't know, Red Arrow; he acted much like a father, or eldest brother. He seemed to admonish the behavior of the younger, and yet he laughed at them and encouraged them all the same. He offered advice and joked in a more grown up manner with them.

Then there was Kaldur. Red Arrow had to be bumped to eldest brother when Kaldur was taken into account. He looked over his friends with a keen eye, paying gentle yet precise attention to what they said and what meanings such utterances could hold beyond face value. His gaze seemed to bury deep into that of his peers and he seemed to know their weakness of moment, what they were looking for or needed. It was he who was gaining the knowledge of how best to uplift their spirits and comfort their injuries. He was their guiding hand when the trail became unknown or lost altogether. And as his eyes looked over his protectorates, she saw the beautifully jealous way he held them close, each a part of him: brothers, sisters; they were his dearest friends, but they'd solidified themselves as his family. And Calian saw the burning desire and passion in him for their protection.

"Cali!" Wally burst out, half way standing from the table.

The clamor and busy dinner-time antics slowly died away and quieted down as all eyes turned to her. She tried to remember the feeling and not let herself blush, well aware of the fit of a younger girl's clothes.

…

Artemis' eyes narrowed. Calian wore the simple sweats she'd decided she didn't care about, and yet there was still…the queen bee image on her.

Nearly two years older, Calian's body was almost filled out to full potential; despite that she was in sweats, the size was for a fifteen-year old. While athletic, Artemis still had not developed the body she would later. Calian's thighs took a womanly form in the borrowed sweats, supplely curving into strong and shapely calves. Her waist-line was well-defined by the draw-string though it was not drawn. The shirt she'd borrowed was only a t, but it fit tight around Calian's bust and lifted from her stomach.

It gave her a rather odd and mis-proportioned look; she had long legs and a long torso, but while the pants fit her length, the shirt didn't. However, she wore it with a feigned confidence that gave the impression she'd either planned things this way, didn't notice the ill-fit, or didn't care.

"Please, sit. What would you like?" Kaldur said, standing and offering her a seat.

She turned to look at him, as if dazed. Blinking she must have realized what he had said and slowly shook her head. "Is it okay…can I go back to sleep?"

…

9:48pm

"Are you sure?" Wally asked, craning his neck to catch a look at Cali as she slept on the couch.

"We will be fine," Kaldur assured. "What could she do Wally?"

"I don't think she's the one he's worried about." Artemis interjected.

"They're heroes too you know," Red Arrow said, crossing his arms and staring her down.

"…yeah. G'night guys,"

"Catch ya on the flip side!" Wally called over his shoulder.

Dick lingered back with Kaldur and Red Arrow; with Bruce out, he had no technical curfew. He stretched, having changed from his tights and cape into a t and jeans. Megan sat on the couch opposite Calian, reading a magazine. Conner watched tv on the big screen in the other room.

"So…" the boy-wonder started, looking at Roy.

"You guys really messed up tonight." Roy said, shaking his head and looking back to the girl asleep on the couch.

"Hey!" Dick started.

"No. You don't seem to get it Dick. Batman lost Jason. Do you know what that did to him? What kind of a paranoia it instilled in the other league members? This girl knows who you are. She knows your names, faces, and the persona you become when you put on that mask, Dick. If she were to go to someone, put that information out there, even let it slip by accident at school, do you know what could happen? You could die, your families could die, your friends; your school could be decimated. If that knowledge gets into the wrong hands, you're screwed.

"Not to mention the unnecessary danger you put her in. If someone does realize she knows, they'll go after her. And believe me, it isn't going to be a simple game of twenty questions. Even if she does tell them right away who you are, she'll be tortured by association. You messed up big tonight."

"…but…J'onn can erase her memory…Artemis said—"

"That may not matter, Dick," Kaldur said, sighing heavily. "If someone found out that she knew, even if she had her memory altered, it would not stop that person from trying to obtain that evidence. We do not fully understand the mind…it may be possible for someone to find out, even with her memory wiped."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Conner growled, marching in. "Keep her locked up here?"

The idea twisted him up inside; he knew what it was like to be a prisoner. "Or are we supposed to kill her?"

The other three stiffened, but remained silent. Sharing looks and a shiver; they'd never known the league to do something like intentionally kill anyone, let alone a kid. But then, they didn't know of anyone ever finding out a secret identity, let alone six, either.

"It's up to the league."

…

Monday, the 14th of November

10:00pm

"What did you say!" Bataman exploded, turning around with such vehemence that his cape positively billowed out behind him in the superheroes' tower in space.

The six cringed; Kaldur's head was bowed low.

"Batman—" Diana started, her hand reached out to him.

"She saw you? She knows who you are?" He continued his voice a roar in the suddenly silent tower. "I put their lives in your hands Kaldur, and this is how you handle that responsibility? How could you let this happen!"

"Wait it isn't his fa—"

"Robin be quiet." Batman's voice was still raised and loud but the order was barked in such a familiar way that Robin, quite chastised, hushed and stepped back again.

"It is not Kaldur'Ahm's fault that Kid Flash was unable to maintain his identity, and his consciousness." Aquaman said, crossing his arms and quickly placing blame on Flash and his protégé.

"Hey! Now wait a minute!" Flash yelled, standing up and coming at Aquaman. "If his teammates had had his back that would never have happened."

At that point the heroes erupted in argument, each hero shouting to protect his own protégé, except for J'onn and Superman; one silent for his great composure, one because he wanted nothing to do with his miniature.

"Dinah," Diana said, covering her ears and turning to the blond babe.

Black Canary smirked and inhaled a deep breath. She let out a wail, halting the argument in its place and reducing all the heroes to their knees.

"We are adults, are we not?" Diana questioned into the now silent tower, looking at the heroes. "And, we are supposed to be the world's protectors. We will deal with this as we deal with everything else. Calmly and after we examine all of the facts."

J'onn took his lead from her and stepped forward. "M'gann. Where is the girl now?"

"She's with Red Arrow, uncle. He's watching her at the Mountain base,"

Green Arrow heard his former-apprentice's name and straightened, his attention caught in full.

"And she is secure? There is no threat to Red Arrow, or the base?" Diana questioned, hands on hips.

"We searched her things for communications equipment and bugs and found nothing. Megan checked for any psychic links and found none. Unless she has obtained exquisite fighting skills in the past few weeks, and has recovered the strength she lost in that time in one night, she is no threat to him or to any of us, in custody." Kaldur'Ahm stated, lifting his head like a soldier and looking directly ahead.

"Alright. Please, proceed to tell us what happened two nights ago,"