The five people that had run down the feline now stood, mouths gaping, staring at the girl that now stood before them. Her brown hair was tugged by the silent breeze that crossed her face, the natural caramel highlights catching the sun.
"Well?" The girl asked unfolding one of her arms and holding her hand up.
"Robin did you see what I see?" The boy with the lightning bolt asked.
"It…it was quite a surprise." The guy with tattoos stood straight, wide eyed.
"Oh come on!" The girl though her arms in the air. "You chase me down like you know who I am then you stand there like a deer in caught in headlights, and trust me that's an ugly site."
Thunder sounded over head and the girl looked up to see the first drops of rain fall.
"Come on." She pushed though the two girls that still stood around her. "Do you want to get wet or would you rather stay dry?" Moving though the forest knowing that even without an answer the five people would follow her.
After walking though the forest for ten minutes the rain was coming down in sheets.
"How much further?" The girl with blonde hair asked from the back her arms crossed trying to keep herself warm.
"Well, if I were traveling at my top speed," the girl called back lifting up a large leaf. "I'd say about three seconds." Pushing back a frond leaf the brown haired girl revealed a large opening to a cave.
"That's your home?" The green skinned girl asked.
"What do you expect; I live in the rain forest." Racing across the open ground the girl dove into the safety of the cave and squeezed out her wet hair. Within seconds the group following her was doing the same, most of them anyway.
"So, why are you here?" The girl moved deeper into the darkness and grabbed two stones. With a quick movement she flicked one rock over another and a fire soon rippled its warmth though the cave. She moved a little ways further and lit another; this on a bit bigger than the first.
"We were sent here." The blonde haired boy spoke calmly.
"Well I know that much." The girl said setting the stones back on the ground next to the first fire.
"I'm Kid Flash," the guy dressed in all back with the bolt of lightning was next to the girl in less than a heartbeat.
"I'm Alice." The girl said craning her head away from the boy. "How'd he get so close? I thought he was by the cave entrance."
"Well, Alice," the blonde haired girl shouldered her bow. "How long have you lived in..lived in a cave in the middle of the rain forest?"
"For as long as I can remember. I raised myself by watching the animals. Deer have great hearing, Fishing Cats…well fish, Jaguars are excellent stalkers and snakes move swiftly without making a sound." Alice answered ducking into a small crevice in the cave wall her voice echoed from inside. "Everything I know from hunting to making fires to protecting myself from dangers, I learned from watching," she ducked back out carrying a large leaf bundle in her arms. "Out here you either learn or die."
Dropping the bundle by the fire she bent down and started to rifle though it. The contents were fruits and berries Alice had collected over the long days and some dried meat.
"Sorry I can't offer you anything more then what I have left, my hunt was interrupted." Casually she glanced over at the group.
"We are sorry for disturbing you." The tattooed guy said placing a hand over his heart. "I am Kaldur'ahm…"
"You can call him Aqualad." Kid Flash answered suddenly next to Alice once more.
"This is my team, Robin, Artemis, M'gann and Superboy.
The masked boy, the blonde, the green skinned girl and the strong guy with bright blue eyes, Alice looked over each of them memorizing their names.
"Alice, do you know how you got here, to the jungle?" Robin asked.
Shaking her head Alice brought over the food and set it in the middle, the group sat in a circle next to the fire and dug in.
"As far as I know I've always been here, at least I never remember being anywhere else."
"How to you shift from one form to another?" M'gann asked, obviously curious.
"I just do, I can't really explain it but I'm not normally in my human form." Alice picked up a meat stick and examined it.
"Why not?" Superboy asked.
"It's painful." Alice took a bite and looked at the stunned faces around her. "What you though changing from a jaguar to a human and back again was easy?"
"I just thought it would be natural." Robin said rubbing the back of his head.
'Batman to Team.' The electronic voice sounded again. Robin rushed off to the cave mouth and took the call.
"So, what all can you do, since you are all interested in my abilities?"
"I can run at super speeds." Kid Flash answered a smirk on his face.
"That would explain why you were always next to me when you talked to me." Alice said.
"I'm able to manipulate water and generate electricity." Aqualad touched his tattoos.
"I'm from Mars." M'gann spoke cheerfully.
"What's Mars?" Alice asked.
"It's a whole planet like Earth where Martians live. I can change my form to anything I want."
"I'm just an archer." Artemis said eating a berry.
Robin returned with a grim look on his face.
"And what do you do?" Alice asked.
"I'm a detective that specializes in martial arts." Robin said.
"Sit and eat, it'll be raining for a few hours at least." Alice told him gesturing to the empty stop across from her.
"No time, Batman needs us back at the Cave."
"What's going on?" Aqualad asked.
"Not sure." Robin shook his head. "He wouldn't say."
"What's a Batman?" Alice asked confused.
"He's my mentor and helps lead the Justice League. He says we need to bring you back to the Cave."
Alice froze, "Leave the forest? This is my home!"
"Come on, it'll be fun!" Kid Flash said with a smile.
"Why?" Alice stood crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Why does this Batman person want me to leave?"
Robin sighed, "He believes he knows your mother."
The feline shifter slowly laid her arms at her sides. "My…my mother?"
"You just have to come with us." Robin said.
"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Kid Flash asked putting an arm over Alice's shoulders.
Looking down Alice was unsure of everything. The people she had just met, this Batman character and him possibly knowing who her mother was. But her feline nature got the better of her. Raising her head she looked directly into the Robin's eyes.
"Take me to him."