I know! I'm sorry! I'm a horrible human being for not updating in months! I tried to make this chapter longer than the last one, but I'm not sure I succeeded. I'm gonna skip the excuses and just go to the sorry-not-sorry part. We all know it's going to be forever before I update again. Oops. At least I didn't really leave you with a cliffhanger this time!

Anyway, without further adieu...

Chapter 5: Sax in the City

Watchtower Observation Deck

1:10 p.m.

"Dinah, You can't seriously be considering taking her in!"

"I'm only putting my name on her legal sheets. She's only staying with us long enough to get back on her feet," Canary replied to Green Arrow.

Ollie sighed. "What are we going to do after she's 'back on her feet? How are we going to get her there?"

"The music shop. There's one right by her apartment. The owners are looking for a part-time worker. They'll ever let her choose her hours. It'll be on a volunteer schedule. She comes in whenever she has time, logs hours for the time she worked, then leaves. That way if she accepts Bruce's offer, she can still be apart of the team without anyone having to adopt her."

"She's going to have to adopt a new identity. Her dad will be after her the minute he breaks out of prison. Their current apartment will be his first place to look."

"So we'll pay the first few months of rent in the one above the music shop. The owners don't live there, because it's their second one in the city. Jasper is smart, but he would not think to look next door. He would think that if she isn't in the apartment, then she'd be on the other side of the city."

"FIne, but only if she joins the team so we can keep an eye on her," Ollie said. "And don't tell her until after she's made her decision. Otherwise it's straight to Star City CPS."

Dinah glared at Oliver, "No, if she doesn't join the team we won't punish her. We'll help her out either way."

"Green Arrow, Black Canary," J'onn's steady voice sounded in their heads. "Batman and the others are ready for you in Training Room A."

The two heros glanced at each other, then at the camera in the corner of the room that the knew was currently in J'onn's line of sight.

"Thanks, J'onn!" they yelled simultaneously while giving a thumbs up to the camera.

Watchtower Observation Deck: Training Room A

2:45 p.m.

Batman handed Aika her necklace and knife. She slid the knife in her boot, like before, and clasped the necklace, flipping her hair over it so it rested on her throat. Aika nodded in thanks, smiling slightly.

The training room looked like a small stadium, complete with an observation deck with glass windows looking down on the floor. Though, unlike a stadium, there were no seats except for in the observation deck, in which there were twelve modified office chairs. Sitting in two of these chairs were Flash and Robin, waiting for Black Canary and Green Lantern to join them. The two walked in and sat down next to each other.

Also inside the observation deck was a control panel for when a hero wanted a partner making tasks more and more difficult for them.

The panel controlled different tasks such as a maneuverable obstacle course, rapid-fire machine guns attached at sixteen points on the walls, water drop-offs, and a spinning floor in the center of the room.

The training room itself was circular, the walls all white. The only real way to orient oneself was to find the glass on the observation deck, but that glass could be covered, making it impossible for one to remember the direction from which they entered, especially if the floor was currently moving.

Aika was looking around the room in fear. "What the heck is all of this here for? I thought this was just to test the prototypes and my microphone."

Batman smirked, as if he could read her thoughts, "We won't be testing any form of fighting abilities, those come with the job if you accept it," Aika let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in.

"We are, however, going to test those headphones that Robin handed you earlier, and a smaller pair of earplugs for everyday life to make sure that you won't have any computers blaring into your ears at school."

"I won't be allowed to continue homeschooling, will I?"

"No."

"Alright. Let's do this." With that, Batman left Aika alone and moved into the observation deck.

From the speakers above the deck, Aika heard Canary's voice. "Okay, so first we have the headphones, which should be a bit more heavy-duty than the earbuds. They're also harder to pull off, so they are more useful if you are going to be fighting. To test them, we are going to use a more efficient version of the test they use in most public elementary schools. A beep will play, and if you can hear it, nod. If it is too loud, just say something. We'll do the same test with the earbuds after we've finished with the headphones."

Aika nodded, "Let's do this."

While Aika was in the training room nodding her head every few seconds, letting canary know that her hearing was nearly up to par with Superman's, even with the headphones, the other four people in the room were conversing about what was to be done with the girl.

Ollie was explaining Dinah's plan, "Dinah and I will let her stay with us for a few weeks until we can get the apartment arranged. It's just a block away from where she currently lives. Upstairs from a music shop called Sax in the City. The owners spoke with Dinah on the phone and are going to let her work there in her freetime, paid at $30 an hour."

Robin spoke up, "wait a second, you said the owners already said she could work there, but isn't she going to have to change her name and everything? If she does join the team, anyone that knows anything about Jasper would be able to figure out who she is in a heartbeat."

"We will allow her to chose her new identity. As soon as she chooses a name, we can have Dinah sign the papers to be the emergency contact for school. Other than that, she should be okay on her own."

Ollie decided to change the subject, "Bruce, you said you had more of that throat lozenge for her?"

"What I gave her was just a prototype. It's harmless, but WayneTech is working on a smaller, solidified form of it that she could keep in a pill bottle on her person at all times," Bruce said.

"Um, guys. We still don't know how well those muffs work," Flash noted. "We may want to keep using aliases. Remember, the engines were causing her pain because they were too loud."

Black Canary walked over to the group of boys. "Well, if we ever need someone to eavesdrop, we know who to call. Her hearing is exceptional. With the headphones it's close, if not slightly better than Superman's, and without? She can hear every frequency. High and low. That's why the engines were causing her so much pain. It wasn't just the volume, but also the droning. The beeping of the heart monitor couldn't have helped, either."

Robin laughed dryly, "No wonder she was freaking out when she woke up."

"When she takes those headphones off it is like me screaming directly into your ear the entire time. There is nothing she cannot hear. She can even hear radio waves just in the air. I don't know if she can decipher them, though. I can't do a distance test, but I'm assuming she can pick up conversations from miles away. On the bright side, she can control it enough to single out specific voices if she isn't too tired. So, eventually she'll be able to work for short periods of time without any cancelling."

Flash spoke up, "So what else do we need to do with her today?"

Canary went back over to the control panel. Speaking into a microphone, she told Aika, "You can come up here. We need to tell you what is going to happen." Moments later, Aika walked through the door into the observation deck and over to the group.

Batman was tasked with the creation of Aika's new identity and had created a backstory easy enough for Aika to remember on the spot, yet boring enough that no one would ever really fact-check it.

Two days after Aika Dewhurst left the Watchtower, Aria Destler was introduced to Gotham.

Canary and Arrow bought the apartment above Sax in the City and completed arrangements with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, the owners. Within the week, there was a new worker at the small music shop below the apartment. The Wilsons, a middle-aged couple with no children, were thrilled to learn that someone with actual experience would be working with the instruments in their new shop. They spent most of their time in their first shop, the widely popular Gone with the Woodwinds, and had given free range of the new store to the only full-time employee, a 21 year old named Ryan.

Ryan was a bit of a twig. He had almost no muscle anywhere. He had a mop of stringy blond hair that always managed to fall into his eyes no matter how much gel he tried to use, and his forehead was forever covered in pimples of various sizes. His ears stuck out in an odd fashion, as if someone was constantly pulling them forward, and his nose was permanently crooked because of a fall he'd suffered in fourth grade down the stairs at school on his way back from the cafeteria. The black polo shirt that Ryan insisted must be tucked in everyday never quite fit him right. It was too loose in the arms, neck, and chest while still managing to be almost too tight in the stomach. Though, you really couldn't see that it was too tight in the stomach because of the horrendous, high-waisted jeans that Ryan always hiked up as far as they could go. Because of the ludicrous height of the jeans, any customer that saw him from the waist down had a wonderful view of the neon orange tennis shoes he wore with navy blue socks every day. No one really knew why he wore this particular color combination, but no one ever asked and he never offered to tell.

He also had no training whatsoever in the way of music. He had only been hired in the new store so that he could work the register. In that regard, he was extremely successful as he had manned the register in at least fourteen different fast-food restaurants in the last two years. Although, if a customer ever had a question about sizing a cello or finding a new reed

for their clarinet, he had to call one of the Wilson's at Gone with the Woodwinds.

Sax in the City was a little bit smaller than Gone with the Woodwinds, but it was also in much better shape than the older store. The foundation of the building was better, so there were fewer cracks in the walls. Because it was a newer shop, it didn't receive as many customers, which is why the Wilsons tended to spend more of their time at their first store. But, they hadn't skipped out on any expenses when decorating Sax in the City or stocking it with excellent-quality instruments. The front of the store was set up with two identical bullet-proof windows on either side of a double door. The windows had black curtains that closed to cover a full drumset or a row of string instruments when the store was closed. When you walked inside, you could see a long glass case that served as the register stand. Inside the case was a number of small instruments like trumpets, flutes, piccolos, and violins. On the left side of the store sat most of the items needed for electronic music such as keyboards, amps, and pickups. Guitars, both electric and acoustic, lined the walls. On the right side of the store were the more classical instruments like the strings, woodwinds, and brass. Scattered around the store were shoulder-high wire shelves that held thousands of music books fit for every age and ability, from the very first lesson to pieces worthy of Carnegie Hall.

Because she lived above Sax in the City, Aria was able to come down and work any time he was free. She had a time card that she would scan as soon as she walked in the back door, and scanned again when she walked back out. She could work anywhere between five minutes and five hours. Any time the shop was open, she was able to work. And then, at the end of the month, her time was added up and she was paid accordingly.

A few days after she was settled, which she decided was on July 20, she got a call.

"Aria Destler?"

"Who is this?"

"It is Dr. C, from your evaluation two weeks ago," said the female voice on the other line. "We wanted to know if you felt ready to come in? We have a team of… students with whom we believe you would fit right in."

"I may need a ride my first day, I don't exactly know where your Gotham office is."

"I'll send one of our students. He works very closely with another one of the Gotham-based doctors. He'll be at your apartment tomorrow at 5:00. Be in you work attire."

"Thank you so much for this opportunity, Dr. C," and Aria meant every word.

Mount Justice

July 27, 17:15

"Robin B-01," beeped the computer as the swirling green zeta beam burst open and Robin stepped through. He waited at the entrance for the girl who was supposed to follow him through.

"Treble B-07."