I could hear them talking. Canary, when she's worried, has a loud voice. I leaned against the wall next to the door, breathing deeply.

"You okay down there?"

My head flew up as I looked into the vent above me.

"Robin?"

"Guilty. I was worried about you and wanted to check on you. May I come in?" he asked.

"Sure," I replied.

I studied him as he dropped into the room. He seemed flexible enough. Somewhere in my sulking hours in my room, I'd researched Dick Grayson. And what I found made me all the more sure that he and Robin were one and the same. I'm ashamed to admit it but there was a time that heroes were heroes to me and I followed their moves. Canary helped a lot in that department too. So I knew when Robin started being Batman's sidekick. I also knew he was the same age as Robin from what I could get from the cave's computer with my pathetic hacking skills.

"Robin?"

He turned. He was wearing his civilian clothes and I noted that there was only one pair of shades separating me and his secret identity. He stared at me as if he knew what I was thinking. It felt like a test.

"Why do you wear a mask?"

His shoulders relaxed.

"Secret identity , you know?"

I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. Robin wasn't a mind reader but M'gann was. And so was her cursed uncle. The mere thought made my blood boil.

"Robin-"

"Team! Mission!" came Red Tornado's voice.

Robin and I shared a frustrated sigh but hurried to join the team.

"What now?" I asked.

"Massive tornados in Brazil. We don't want to send Red Tornado alone," Batman replied.

I turned to Artemis.

"You got an extra hair tie? My hair is destined to be a mess," I said.

"I've got you covered," Canary declared, stepping to me.

She held out a box.

"Go change," she ordered, pushing me toward her room.

"Alright already, why?" I asked.

"It's a surprise," Batman said.

I glanced back at him, still pushed by Canary. He still looked expressionless.

"You'll like it," Robin promised.

Minutes later, I emerged, clad in what I could only guess was the outfit Canary had made as my mission suit. The boots were knee high and were secured with a zipper and buckles. Then came the black pants and the red lace up corset WITH matching gloves. Score.

"God, I love it," I said.

"I could have sworn there was a mask," Canary mumbled.

Robin smirked and I noticed he and the others were missioned out too. He closed the space between us, sliding the sunglasses he'd given me earlier on my face. Earlier. My heart clenched as I recalled Aisha.

Was she really sick? My face dropped.

"Ariel?"

Robin drew me from my thoughts and I flashed him a smile.

"I'm fine," I lied. "Now tornados?"

I was right to ask Artemis for a hair tie. As it turned out, the last thing I had to worry about was my hair. Brazil was a mess. Tornadoes were everywhere and people were being ripped from the ground and thrown into them.

"What do we do!" I yelled to Kaldur over the wind.

He seemed shocked but managed to answer.

"We need to find the source."

He turned to Red Tornado.

"Can you stop them?" he asked, referring to the wind vacuums.

Red Tornado nodded and took of into the air. I watched him go.

"Ariel, we need to move!" Artemis yelled, catching my arm.

"Sorry," I called back, letting her pull me along.

She was scared. The death grip on my arm told me so. I rested my hand on hers and she turned.

"We'll be okay," I promised. "We're superheroes."

She smiled and for a second we shared a sort of moment.

"Uh guys," Wally called back.

And with that, the moment was over.

"What?" Conner asked.

Wally pointed.

"Is it just me or is she pretty source looking?"

I followed his finger and gasped. Aisha floated feet from us, body concealed in a tornado.

"AISHA!" I screamed.

Aisha turned to me. Her eyes were glowing green, eclipsing the black of her eyes.

"You know her?" Wally asked.

I stood, still in shock.

"Aisha, what's going on?" I asked.

Aisha's eyes stopped and she slowly landed, facing me.

"I'm going out with one final bang," she replied. "I'm going to destroy Brazil."

I shook my head.

"I can't let you do that." I said.

Aisha tilted her head, bemused.

"Try and stop me."

I had seconds to react before a tornado drilled into my stomach. Aisha laughed as I was thrown back.

"Ariel!" Robin yelled.

He went after Aisha with Wally and Artemis. She took them out with as much ease as she had me. Her challenge came with Conner who leapt through the winds, giving her seconds to dodge as he punched the ground where she'd been. I stood, ignoring the pain in my gut and followed his lead, bring out Sanchez.

"Kaldur!" I yelled.

He glanced at me and saw my plan.

"Go!" he called. "I'll back you."

I nodded and slammed Sanchez down, propelling myself into the air. A wave of water hit me, propelling me further. As I descended, I pointed myself downwards at Aisha. She looked up at me, lifting her hands. Things went in slow motion then. I only knew that I had to move faster. With speed I didn't know I had, I brought my hands forward, throwing as much fire power as I could at Aisha. By this time, she'd managed to summon a hurricane. It was wind versus fire and I was losing.

"Damn it all," I growled.

"Back down, Ariel!" Aisha called. "You don't have what it takes."

"I'm stronger than you think!" I yelled.

"Are you?"

She withdrew her wind and leapt into the air, dodging my flame and heading straight for me. In seconds, she was behind me. I turned fast and just stared at her. She stared back.

"I was born this way. Damaged. Broken. When my powers came in, I was ecstatic. Contrary to popular belief, power doesn't fix everything."

"Why, Aisha? Why are you doing this?" I asked. "What could hurting innocent people accomplish!"

"Do you think any of them are innocent?" she retorted. "Do you think they've never done something wrong?"

Her gaze went to me.

"Or are they as perfect as you."

She grabbed the sunglasses off my face.

"Take off the shades and really look. In this world, freaks like us aren't wanted! Not unless we're saving somebody!"

I reached out, pushing her out of my face. I didn't think to be cautious, considering her wind was the only thing keeping me on my feet and from falling to the ground.

"Don't use the f word around me," I snarled.

I attacked, my fire engulfing her. The last thing I saw was my sunglasses gleaming against the fire before I fell. As I did, I braced for impact, only to be caught by Conner. I smirked at him.

"Thanks Superboy," I said. "You're far more reliable than Superman."

I think I made his day.