Hey guys! I'm sorry that it's been so long between updates (but lets get real, I almost never update because of school and parents and pure lack of creative juices). I noticed a few days ago that the two-year anniversary of this story's publishing is today (December 23, 2016), so I decided that I needed to update to celebrate. I'll attempt to write another chapter before school starts, but my other story, Techie, also deserves a chance at another update before then as well, so please don't put any faith in that happening. I also have APUSH reading and a project that need to get done before January 3rd, so the chances of this getting another update for a while are pretty slim.

Whoops.

Anyway, without further adieu...

Chapter 6: "True Believers"

Mount Justice

August 19, 19:39 EDT

'Treble, B-07.'

The girl who walked through the zeta tube was not the same girl from the fight against Music Meister. This girl looked much less sure of herself, though her outfit and gear said otherwise. She walked slowly, with small steps, and her arms were crossed in front of her stomach.

Dinah and Oliver had worked with Bruce to upgrade Aria's uniform so she wasn't wearing just jeans and a t-shirt. While that ensemble may have worked for Superboy, Aria wasn't exactly bulletproof. Her new ensemble was very similar to her makeshift outfit in shape and silhouette, but it held in place much more efficiently. Bruce had altered her pants and given her a pair similar to his and Dick's, black and made out of Kevlar with added protection around her knees. Kevlar was also the main material used in her purple corset. Boning had been added, at Aria's request, so she had stable pockets in which to keep her knives hidden so she didn't stab herself when putting them away. If it was cold or the mission required arctic stealth, then long kevlar sleeves could be added.

Her boots had also been changed. Instead of the pleather she'd worn against her father, she was given a pair of knee-high, brown combat boots. Kevlar padding was set in-between the two layers of leather. The same fabric combination, though slightly more malleable, was used for the three belts wrapped around her waist. One was brown and used purely for keeping her pants on her waist. The other two were purple and green.

The purple belt was just like Robin's utility belt, but instead of holding 'bird-a-rangs' it held micro-amplifiers and extra earplugs for civilians. The green belt was also at her request. She wanted a gun. While Aria didn't plan on using it all that often, she needed something simple to use in emergencies when her brain wasn't moving as fast as the situation. The green belt held the single Glock 22 and multiple full magazines for it. Bruce had also given her a pair of fingerless gloves similar to Robin's, but that controlled her microphones and amplifiers instead of hacking into computers.

Her cape was the same length as the Boy Wonder's, and made out of the same materials. In sync with her musical theme, the cape attached to her corset through two hooks that formed a giant eighth note across her chest, leaving enough room for her necklace to peek through. The inside of the cape was green while the outside was black. The neck of the cape went up to about an inch before her jawline.

Because Aria hadn't yet figured out how to control her singing or why it sometimes worked and sometimes didn't, Oliver and Bruce had worked together to make her a mouthpiece that would allow her to speak or sing without hypnotizing anyone. If she took it off, or opened a screen on the inside, then anyone listening to her without earplugs was susceptible to her voice. They had also given her a pair of headphones that blocked out all excess noise. She could change the settings to be louder or softer, but her hearing was definitely limited with them on. When she took them off, the barrage of sounds would be painful, but she could also hear better and further than Superman.

Every piece of her uniform had color-changing nanodes sewn in, so she had the same camouflage tech as the rest of the team. All she had to do to change was tap the treble clef symbol at the top of her corset or the left hip of her pants.

Aria walked over to the sparring court, where Aqualad and Superboy were training. Robin placed a hand on her shoulder and walked back toward the zeta tube. Her eyes widened and she grabbed his arm.

"Wait," she said hurriedly, "where are you going?"

Robin looked at her, confused. "I have to go meet up with Batman. That whole dynamic duo thing? We still do that."

"You're just going to leave me here?"

"That was the plan," he said as he walked into the tube. "Oh, and don't tell them your name for now. Just go by Treble." Then he disappeared. 'Robin B-01.'

While Aqualad and Superboy had yet to acknowledge Treble's presence, M'gann had already started walking over to her new teammate. Artemis and Wally were watching with slight interest.

"Hi!" the martian said, a little loudly, as she reached Treble. "Welcome to the team!" M'gann was now pulling the girl towards the rest of the people in the room.

"I'm M'gann, but you can call me Megan," she said. She then gestured to the two people not currently engaged in a fight, "and this is Artemis and Kid Flash."

"I was just told to go by Treble. Hi," said the newcomer as she executed a small wave of her right hand. Kid Flash and Artemis walked over. Well, Artemis walked. Kid bolted toward the new teammate and bombarded her with information and questions alike.

"Hi," he started. "I'm Kid Flash, but M'gann already told you that. Just call me Wally to keep things simple. Can I call YOU anything? Are you anything but trouble? What exactly are your powers? Why do you have your mask on in here?" He was starting to speak faster and faster as the sentences dragged on until Artemis finally pulled him away from Treble.

"I'm sorry. He get's excited. I think he was asking if we can call you by anything other than 'Treble'," she said. "Oh, and he wants to know what exactly your powers are. Batman didn't tell us much."

Treble's eyes widened, "Batman told you guys I was coming? How long ago did you find out? I hadn't even given him a definite answer until yesterday," she paused. "Though, come to think of it, that would explain why he already had the suit made."

Wally piped back up, "We've known about the possibility of a new member for about a month and a half. So it wasn't all that surprising when Robin walked in with you."

Treble sighed. "You wanted to know what my powers were, right?" The three heroes surrounding her nodded. "You might as well bring the other two over here for this. I don't talk much, so explaining is a lot easier if you're all here." Right as she finished her sentence, Superboy managed to flip Aqualad flat onto his back.

'Fail Aqualad.'

The boys walked over to where the rest of the team was standing with Treble. Each boy introduced himself, and Kaldur gave Treble permission to call him by his shortened name.

Treble cleared her throat. "Okay, so my voice gives out on me really quickly, so I need to know what you already know so I can start from there."

Kaldur was the first to speak, "We do not know much. Only that your hearing was made extremely sensitive in the last six or seven weeks through a recording of the canary cry."

Treble sighed, "Okay, so I do have to start at the beginning."

She told them of who her father was and what she had done to stop him, then proceeded to explain what happened after she woke up in the Watchtower infirmary.

"I'm pretty sure that everyone and their dog will figure out my real name whenever media finds out about me, so I guess you can call me Aika, since she's dead. I go by a different name now."

M'gann spoke, "do you know how your voice works? Have you or the league figured it out?"

Treble shook her head, "we don't know for sure. While I inherited my father's basic powers, they work differently. For his, he just has to hit a specific pitch and sing what he wants people to do. We think mine are more complicated, because I don't have to sing about what I want the person to do, I just have to sing. Sometimes I just have to speak. That's why I have the mask."

Superboy's expression turned to one of confusion, "so is it a biological difference between you and Jasper?" he asked.

Treble nodded, "that's what the League thinks. They did a scan before I left the Watchtower and found that my vocal folds don't move the same way as everyone else's," she slapped her hands softly together, much like a seal. "This is how a normal person's fold move when they're vocalizing." She started to move her left hand forward and back while the right hand stayed moving the same way it had been. "This is how my folds move. Batman thinks that the left one creates an extra frequency, and that's what causes people to fall into a trance. I don't know how to control it, but that's why I don't necessarily have to be singing. I stay pretty quiet when I don't have the mask on."

Wally's eyes lit up, "so the extra friction caused by that left vocal cord is what tires out your voice so quickly! It's like if I have to run long distance in nothing but shorts."

She nodded and held up a pill bottle, "that's what these lozenges are for. They're kinda like Underdog's blue pills. They bring my voice back pretty quickly and it lasts just as long as it usually would." She put the pill bottle back into her purple belt. As soon as she had finished speaking, a burst of wind flew through an opening in the top of the cavern. A red body floated down on top of the miniature tornado. Everyone, Aikea included, ran toward the robot in what she assumed was excitement. Wally was the first to reach him.

"Do you have a mission for us?"

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility."

"Yeah, well The Batman's with the Robin doing the Dynamic Duo thing in Gotham, but you're headed somewhere, right?" Wally started. "Hot date, or a- a missiôn?"

Kaldur interrupted the speedster, "If we can be of help…" While Red Tornado could not actually make expressions, if he could have sighed, he probably would have as he turned around and activated the holographic board behind him. Within the holoboard was a picture of a man holding a cane. His hair was silver and neatly combed, with a few wisps creating a little curl at the top of his forehead.

"This is Kent Nelson, a friend," Tornado started. "He is 106 years old-"

"Guy doesn't look a day over 90," Wally whispered to Artemis and Treble, who snickered.

"-And he has been missing for 23 days," continued Tornado as if he'd never been interrupted in the first place. "Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentors' Justice League."

Kaldur understood before everyone else, "Of course, Nelson was Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, he was Dr. Fate!"

Wally again leaned over towards Artemis and whispered in her ear, "pshh, more like Dr. Fake. Guy knows a little advanced science and Dumbledores it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes."

Tornado continued, "Kent may simply be on one of his walkabouts, but he is caretaker to the Helmet of Fate, the source of the Doctor's mystic might, and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."

M'gann had been listening in awe for most of this conversation, "He's like the great Sorcerer Priests and Priestesses of Mars, I would be honored to help find him."

This got Wally's attention, and changed his tune as he suddenly walked over towards M'gann and said, "ME TOO! So honored I can barely stand it. Magic...rocks." Artemis and Treble both looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Tornado held up a gold key. "Take this," he said as he handed it to Kaldur. "It is the key to the Tower of Fate."

Wally, still next to and trying to impress M'gann asked her, "What are the chances we both so admire the mystic arts?" To which he received no response as M'gann walked over toward Artemis and Treble.

"Do you want to come with?" she asked Treble. "This should be a good introductory mission."

Artemis chimed in, playfully punching Treble in the shoulder, "yeah, we're just trying to find some old guy! What could go wrong?"

Salem

August 19, 20:22 EDT

"So Wally, when did you realize your honest affinity for sorcery?" Artemis asked. She'd been trying to call Wally out on his phony story for the entire ride, and he'd managed to weasel his way out of her grasp every time.

He smirked, "Well, I don't like to brag but, before I became Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."

Everyone paying any attention to him (Read: everyone but M'gann) rolled their eyes and looked forward.

M'gann looked confused, "We've reached Tornado's coordinates but-" Superboy finished her sentence, "-Nothing's there."

Kaldur narrowed his eyes, "Take us down."

As they exited the Bioship, Treble's head cocked to one side. She had heard something that sounded like it was coming out of the broken down theatre across the street, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. She watched as an orange cat with black...stripes?... entered the building, but thought nothing of it. She continued walking with the rest of the team, slightly behind Aqualad. The empty park in front of them didn't look very promising.

Wally sped around the park, just to make sure they weren't missing anything. "Nothing. This isn't simple camouflage," he said as he finished running.

"So what do you think," Artemis aimed the question at Wally, hoping once again to call him on his magic act. "Adaptive micro-opto-electronics combined with phase shifting?"

She was so close, "Absolutely," Wally started, then caught himself as M'gann walked over to him. "-...not. Clearly… mystic powers are at work here." Everyone rolled their eyes at him. Again.

Treble heard something coming from the theater again. She listened closer.

"Aren't YOU using adaptive micro-opto-electronics and phase shifting?"

"Yes."

Treble's head turned toward the sound. The whispers stopped, then started again.

"Can that kid here us?"

"I think so."

"Then SHUSH."

"Treble," she turned her head to see the rest of the team entering a tower that hadn't been there before. Superboy was waiting outside for her. "You coming?"

"Y-yeah, I'm coming," she said as she walked into the tower. "I thought I'd heard something."

Treble closed the door behind herself, hoping that whatever it was she heard wouldn't follow them inside. It disappeared behind her.

"Uh, where'd the door go?" Asked Superboy. As soon as he finished his sentence, what Treble assumed was a hologram appeared before them. The man in the hologram was identical to the Kent Nelson she'd seen back at the cave during the briefing.

"Greetings," it- he- said. "You have entered with a key, but The Tower doesn't recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent."

Wally looked at M'gann before dramatically stepping forward. "We are true believers, here to find Dr. Fate!" At the conclusion of his drama, the hologram rolled his eyes and disappeared.

Then the floor dropped out from under the team.

And there you go, chapter 6! I hope you liked it and, like I said I will try to resolve the cliffhanger before school starts back up, but it is highly unlikely.

Love you guys, and Happy New Year!

-LLS