A/N: Yay! Introducing a new character! :) He'll show up a wee bit more. :3

MANHATTAN
AUGUST 14, 2010
13:12 EDT

I groaned loudly while stretching with my arms in the air as I walked through Central Park. I then exhaled just as loudly, and some birds chirped, making my smile to myself.

Apparently, I also caught someone else's amusement and I turned my head. I spotted a tall, young man sitting by himself underneath a large sugar maple, which provided him with a large amount of shade.

An artist bag was placed at his side, and I noticed he had some sort of sketchbook resting on his legs. His green eyes were complimented by the trees' greenery, as they sparkled in amusement.

"Sorry," he chuckled, waving it off. "I've just never seen a kid your age be so content with nature."

I gave him a cheeky grin and said, "It's nice to be around nature sometimes. That's why I came here."

The male nodded his head in agreement, some of his dark locks falling over his forehead. He brushed them away easily and then scooted over before patting the seat next to him. "Have a seat, kid."

Quickly deciding that he didn't look like he was going to ambush me, I walked over to him and sat down next to him, immediately relishing in the cool shade the tree provided me.

I looked at the sketchbook placed on his legs and saw that it was of the trees that were directly in front of us. It even included the small group of squirrels that were scrambling around the tree branches.

"Wow," I gasped, looking at the piece of work. "It's incredible."

It was simply drawn by just pure pencil, but it was undoubtedly worthy of being called a masterpiece. I didn't know much about art, but I did feel a wave of tranquility and peace sweep over me as I looked at it.

I then heard a loud screeching and glanced up just in time.

"Ooh!" the male and I exclaimed at the same time, seeing the bird grab one of the squirrels before taking off. I cringed and made a face of sympathy.

"Poor squirrel," the male beside me commented. I nodded in agreement. I noticed someone's eyes on me and turned, to see him looking at me. He gave me a smile and said, "I'm Kyle."

I returned the gesture and introduced myself, "I'm Verena."

"So what brings you to the lovely Central Park, Verena?" Kyle asked me, leaning back. He crossed his arms and drummed his fingers over his sketchbook.

"Oh, I just felt like coming here," I responded. "You?" I turned to the older male.

Kyle gestured to his sketchbook. "I have to do a nature assignment for my class, but I also come here to relax too. The nice atmosphere, y'know?"

I nodded in agreement. "What class is it for?"

"I'm a freshman at Pratt Institute, have you heard of it?" Kyle asked curiously.

The name immediately latched itself on my brain. Of course I knew it. Bruce had recently donated a check to the college. "Yeah. That art school, right?"

Kyle smiled. "The one and only."

I looked at his sketchbook on his lap and then decided to ask, "Do you think I could see it?" I gestured to the item.

"Huh?" Kyle inquired. "Oh, yeah, sure. Most are just doodles, but… yeah…" He slowly handed the sketchbook to me and I flipped it carefully to the front.

To my surprise, it was a sketch of me… or well, Black Falcon.

"Black Falcon?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah," Kyle coughed, almost embarrassed. "I know it probably sounds weird, but I really like her. She's actually my favorite superhero. I mean, I know she's probably a kid, but she's really awesome at what she does. I got to see her in action when I was in Metropolis a few months back. She, Batman, Robin, and Superman were working together."

I remembered that mission. The Joker had escaped to Metropolis, and was wreaking havoc over all the citizens. Superman had called in Batman for help, and naturally, Robin and I went along.

"I see," I mused, smiling softly to myself. Yay. I have a fan.

"Is that weird?" Kyle asked wearily. "My girlfriend thinks it is."

I shook my head, appalled. "No! I get the that you like Black Falcon. It's like how I like Batman and Robin." I grinned up at him.

"My girlfriend likes Speedy. Or… did. Haven't heard much about him lately."

"He goes by Red Arrow now," I found myself saying before I could stop myself. "I uh… saw on the news the other day about him stopping a robbery in Star City, and he told the reporters there that he wasn't Speedy anymore."

Kyle nodded his head, understanding. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but then it was cut off by my phone ringing. I gave him an apologetic look and dug into my bag, pulling out my phone.

It was Roy. I had a feeling I knew why he was calling.

"I swear I didn't get hurt last night," I answered.

"That's always nice to know, but that wasn't really the reason why I was calling," Roy replied without missing a beat. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go grab a smoothie or something next week."

I racked through my brain to see if I had any important things. "Yeah. Sure. Just text me later about the actual day?"

"No prob. Bye, Ren."

"Bye, Roy," I got in before I heard the dial-tone.

"You gonna leave me now?" Kyle joked, looking at me with amusement.

I shook my head. "Nah, you're still stuck with me for a while."

"Kid, we're gonna be great friends."

A/N: rongaumrwg. Sorry. I was reading Blue Beetle and Kyle appeared and I was just like "I LOVE KYLE. WHY IS HE NOT IN YJ?!" So yeah. :3 Review/request! I'm still taking them! :3 Remember that they don't have to be members of the Team! :o Hell, they can be like, Hal/Verena, Ollie/Verena, Dinah/Verena, Clark/Verena, or something. xD