Hello readers! Welcome to the second chapter of Winter's Ballad: Growth & Love! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of the story. Or if not enjoyed, at least liked some of the writing. If neither of those, I sure hope you dropped some comments or criticism for me to work with.

It wouldn't be nice to badmouth a fic after all if you aren't going to voice your concerns for the author to understand now would it? X3

Well it is the second chapter, so like I promised it would be the fast forward to the first episode of Young Justice, that being the teens getting together, meeting one another at the Hall of justice, realizing their predicament, and their rebellion against the man! The Batman to be exact!

Oh, and I have heard the concerns over why I chose Canary as a mentor rather than an actual ice hero. I suppose I was writing this way too late at night, and when I couldn't find info on any heroes right at the get go, I kind of just went to Canary since there was more Young Justice info on her. I know it would be better to use an ice hero, but with my lack of knowledge on how Ice or other heroes act, their backstory, and no appearance in the YJ world, I thought it be best to stick to someone that did exist in the world to get some groundwork in for the hero and sidekick's relationship. I'd feel bad if I tried to use a hero like Ice when I don't know much about her and end up botching her character by making up a personality type she didn't have in any incarnation of her. I think that would make lots of people mad.

Though I will try it out. I'm going to edit the first chapter hopefully before this chapter is released. I think I'll try to work on using Ice Maiden as Winter's mentor. I don't really know any of her history or backstory save for what I can find on the internet so please don't hate me if I give her a personality that she doesn't really have. I'm gonna be a little free with her since this'll be a YJ incarnation of her, and most likely, could have a different backstory and personality because of it. X3

I don't know how long this chapter is going to be since the first was so long. I may shorten it so I don't have to work through a whole day on one chapter, so if the mission isn't magically done in one, just expect a part 2 or even part 3. We may just get more character development or little tweaks in the story with it.

Well I guess it's on to the show. The ice show that is.

….Get it? Because Winter has the power to create ice? And an ice show is a combination of the show, the cartoon, and her power...ice? :D

….I'll be quiet now.

-Gotham City

July 4th, 12:00, EDT-

The park was bustling this sunny day in Gotham. The birds were chirping, families were out together, kids were playing on the playgrounds. It couldn't be a better day to enjoy the fourth of July. Sadly, Gotham City was never without its problems, even on a nice day like this.

"Run away!"

"Somebody help!"

The screams of Gotham citizens cried out through the park roads of Gotham City park, running as fas as their feet could take them. Despite the summer heat and the hanging in a cloudless sky, the grounds of the park were littered with ice and snow, icicles forming from a familiar ice villain the city was all too familiar with.

"Enjoying family time?"

Pointing his freeze ray downwards at a family below him, Mister Freeze clad in his self made cryogenic armor gave a cold, disinterested look as he blasted a wave of ray of ice towards the scared family below him. Letting it wash over them, he stopped the ray and looked down at the newly frozen family he had created. "My family has other plans."

Sliding down to the lower parts of the park thanks to the ice bridge he had created previously, Mister Freeze scanned the park area, looking for his next targets to encase in his next frozen prison. Readying his gun to shoot off towards fleeing citizens, the villain had been preoccupied and was caught be surprise when a projectile, an all too familiar one, slammed into his gun and broke his concentration.

Catching his footing and gripping the handle of his cannon tightly, Mister Freeze turned her head over so slightly, already knowing the threat that was imminent to his plans. "Batman. I was wondering when-" Turning his body and ready to aim his weapon at the caped crusader who he thought was behind him, the ice villain frowned when he found that there was no hero to attack.

However there was an annoying laugh that echoed around the area.

"Hahahahahaa"

Turning back and forth to find the source of the laughing, it was an outline of black, red, and yellow from above that caught Mister Freeze's attention. Unfortunately by the time he realized this, he was too late to stop the stomping of his helmet, the figure jumping hard on his helmet to crack it before flipping off of him and throwing their own projectile tools to continue breaking Mister Freeze's defenses.

Falling to the ground with a thud and opening his eyes to the assailant, the villain couldn't help but give a sigh of contempt at his opponent. "Oh. Boy wonder. The bat sent you to drag me off to prison. Frankly I'm underwhelmed."

Eyes beneath his mask squinting at the villain's comment, Robin rolled his eyes and gestured his hands in an rushed fashion. "Great, but I'm kinda in a hurry here."

Getting up and carrying his cannon in hand, Mister Freeze groaned and stared down the thirteen year old as he began charging his weapon. "Kids. Always in such a rush."

Glaring at the villain who was ready to attack him, Robin simply replied, "No talking to you."

Confused by his comment, Mister Freeze turned his head back to follow the boy wonder's gaze. What transpired was the familiar form of the boy wonder's mentor, Batman. Dressed in his usual dark knight attire and appearing in his well known bat shape as he descended downwards, Mister Freeze was left only to give a look of utter shock before the dark knight drew close enough to raise a fist and punch through the glass dome helmet that was his protection.

-Star City

July 4th, 9:01 PDT-

"He's doing this for attention?" The annoyed voice of Speedy spoke out from the high points of Star City's bridge. Alongside his mentor, Green Arrow, Speedy notched yet another arrow onto his bow and aimed down towards the crazy ice villain on the streets below.

Icicle Jr., a not so notorious villain as his father, was causing havoc in Star City again, and it was up to him and his mentor to take him down. But why was he just doing this to get noticed?

Ready to shoot his next arrow, Speedy gritted his teeth when he noticed large ice rays being flung in his and Green Arrow's direction. Following his mentor's lead and jumping out of the way of the attacks, Speedy landed onto the large bridge's cables before running down to get a better aim on his target. "I'm telling you now. This little distraction better not interfere."

Noticing the two were getting closer and seeing yet another arrow being shot at him, Icicle Jr. hastily moved his arms upward, calling upon a wall of ice to crack out of the ground and cover him like a shield. While it had worked, the arrows beeped for just a few seconds before exploding and creating a hole in his defenses. "Why can't you two just stop moving!?" Icicle Jr. yelled, slashing his hand through the air and throwing icicles towards Speedy's body.

Calling upon his years of training, Speedy continued his pace before jumping up into the air, letting the momentum of his speed flip his body over the attacks. Using his time wisely to ready his next, and hopefully last attack, Speedy pulled out an hardened projectile arrow from his quiver and readied the it before putting his sights on the ice boy and firing in the air.

Letting the arrow fly off at an alarming rate, the arrow found its mark and shot straight through the hole created by his mentor's explosives, heading right towards Icicle Jr.'s face and knocking him back with a thud.

Landing on the street below him, Speedy watched as his mentor walked over to the unconscious Icicle Jr. to check his vitals. Seeing as he was in no danger and no longer a danger to others, the mentor shrugged with a law. "Heh. Looks like the kid had a glass jaw."

"Hilarious. Can we go now? Today's the day." Speedy urged, eyes rolling at yet another attempt by his mentor to be funny.

-Pearl Harbor

July 4th, 6:02 HST-

"I suspect this will not take too much time Kaldur'ahm. There is no need to have that worried look on your face." Aquaman called out from his perch on the broken battleship in the sea. Jumping downwards to dodge a wave of ice being shot towards him, Aquaman flipped off the edge of one of the downed cannons and landed below, ready to take on the likes of Killer Frost, who had decided to freeze the harbor of the sacred battleground.

That was until a wave of ice was shot towards him. Feeling his body become incased with a freezing chill, Aquaman gritted his teeth as he watched his body, safe for his head, become encased in a block of ice.

"To be honest my king, I am more concerned with the task at hand." The voice of Aqualad spoke up, jumping out from his cover and landing next to his mentor. Giving his king a nod of understanding, the young atlantean speed off in the direction of Killer Frost, letting his mentor focus on breaking out of his ice prison.

Taking out his weapons and focusing his magic on controlling the water that was around them, Aqualad created two matching morning star weapons out of water and rushed towards Killer Frost. Seeing her ready another ice attack, the sidekick raised his arms up to take the blunt force of the icy wave, allowing his arms and weapons to freeze into solid ice.

'Perfect.' Aqualad thought as he saw his victory at hand. Still rushing towards Killer Frost with as much speed as he could, he finally stopped and dropped low to the ground before swinging his frozen arms up towards the villain, letting the frozen weapons uppercut the villainous's jaw and knock her flat on her back, and free his arms from the ice.

'That was nice work." Aquaman commented, walking over to his protege after breaking from his ice prison. Smiling, the king crossed his arms and gave his partner a knowing look. "Now will you give me an answer?"

Putting his weapons away and breathing a sigh to calm his nerves, Aqualad turned to look at his mentor , his face still giving off its usual stoicism before finally smiling.

"Yes, I'm excited. Today's the day."

-Central City

July 4th, 11:03 CDT-

A bag of diamonds in hand from a jewelry store he had just robbed and freeze ray in his other, Captain Cold gritted his teeth in anger at the predicament he was in. his plan would have been flawless if not for the speedster duo that watched over the city. And now he was literally stick in the middle as the two ran circles around him, making sure to dodge his freeze ray attacks if ever possible.

Speeding around the aggravated villain, The Flash ducked down to dodge another ray of ice from the villain he and his partner were trying to stop. "Stealing ice though? Isn't that a little cliché, even for Captain Cold? The Flash asked, his comment being directed to his protege, Kid Flash, who was speeding around the ice villain like he was to block any attempts of escape.

Jumping over another ray of ice from the cloaked ice villain, Kid Flash rolled his eyes and kept his running speed, turning his gaze to his mentor as they continued to run. "C'mon! We don't have time for this!"

Deciding it best to end this quickly, Kid Flash grabbed his iconic red goggles and placed them over his eyes, ready to keep his vision clear less Captain Cold used his ice ray again. Speeding out of the circle he and his mentor had created, Kid Flash ran towards Captain Cold and narrowly dodged an ice ray. Feeling the cold chill crawl of his right shoulder, the red head ignored the chill and sped towards the villain nonetheless and grabbed a hold of his weapon, snatching it out of his hands.

No longer feeling the trigger grip of his ice ray, Captain Cold turned to glare at the young sidekick and was ready to try and fight back, but just as he took a step the form of The Flash sped up to him, ramming a punch to his face that knocked him out.

Rubbing his knuckle and smiling at the unconscious villain on the street, The Flash turned to his protege. "Calm down kid."

"Oh please! You'll chat it up with the cops, with bystanders, with Cold even!" Kid Flash exclaimed, running over to his mentor to stand side by side with him. "No. No way! Today's the day!"

-Washington D.C.

July 4th, 13: 55 EDT-

"You've prepared everything you need for today and finished any necessary tasks correct?" The authoritative voice of Nikolai Freya asked, his question reverberating off the walls of the plush and sleek limousine both her and his daughter sat in.

Sitting across from him and dressed as her alter ego Winter, the light blue eyes of the younger Freya looked to her father and nodded. Hand clasped together neatly in her lap and sitting up straight just like she had practiced all her life, she spoke. "Yes father. I went to my doctor's appointment, finished my lessons, and made sure to bring everything I need. I'm ready for anything."

"Of course you are. You're a Freya. Never forget that." Nikolai replied back, his hands resting on the diamond top of a shining black walking can in his hands.

Feeling the limousine reach its destination, the fancy car stopped at the corner of their destination. Large and imposing in size yet designed in both an elegant and simple fashion was the great Hall of Justice. Headquarters of the Justice League, museum to citizens to worship their heroes, a place to marvel at from afar and up close.

Turning her gaze to the great building just feet away from her, the young Freya couldn't' help but smile at the sight. Soon enough she'd be there, initiated into the same roster as the greatest heroes of the world. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, even her mentor Ice Maiden! It was a miracle she didn't explode from the energy she was feeling just from staring.

Seeing his daughter's entrance gaze at the large building in the distance, Nikolai Freya cleared his throat to signal his daughter's attention. "Now I've continued to let you do this..."hero" work since your powers came about Samantha. While I am not very keen to this idea, I understand that using your powers this way is something you want to do, and that by leaving you without tutelage in using them correctly all those years ago, it could have lead to hazardous results in our future."

'Are we having...this talk again?' Samantha thought, her ecstatic gaze losing its light as she moved to look back at her father from across the seat. "I...I thought you said I could keep doing this. As long as I went to my lessons, got high grades, and listened to you, I'd be able to stay working as a hero."

"I did say that, however I did not take into account the amount of progress it would take for you to learn to control your powers and be recognized for your work. In my opinion it has taken you far too long to learn to control these ice abilities you hold. I know for a fact that there has never been a Freya in the family who has had abilities like the ones you hold, but even that should not constitute having this slow of progress in mastering your own gifted talents." Nikolai explained, never breaking eye contact with his daughter as he spoke.

'Where is he going with this?' Samantha thought, continuing to listen to her father continue speaking his thoughts aloud.

"This Justice League. While they may be overconfident in their abilities to protect the people and hold too much power in my opinion, I can see that they are not incompetent people. If it has taken three years just for them to deem you worthy to join their ranks despite our lineage talent, and our name," Nikolai spoke, stopping mid sentence to sigh and shake his head. "then perhaps you are not skilled enough for this line of work."

Feeling a real chill run down her spine as he father finished his sentence, Samantha clutched the hem of her skirt, feeling her eyes widen in shock as she stared at her father.

'W-What did he just say?' She mustered to think, her mind feeling is if it was suffocating and running hundreds of miles a minute.

"You may have been going to your lessons and getting high marks in your grades, however you've started your training and even still now after three years you're still a...sidekick." Nikolai strained to say, as if saying the title was poisonous to his very being. "Improvement is needed in all aspects of life, even this side job you decide to throw yourself into. If I don't hear of a real change in your role as a...hero by tomorrow, you're quitting this nonsense and returning back to living like a normal human being. It is a far less dangerous life to live and opportunity to grow is abundant." Nikolai ordered, his hands firmly resting on his diamond cane as he looked to his daughter.

Her voice feeling like it had been snatched from her, the young ice manipulator couldn't help but try to speak up in her defense. This wasn't fair! He didn't know what it was like having these powers! Trying her best not to accidentally reveal them in public, to hold in the stress she felt that could accidentally freeze a room, to balance the expectations he set on her each day while also having a clear enough mind to go out and protect people who needed her help!

"Y-You can't!" Samantha exclaimed, her voice rising with ever word she spoke. "Just because its taken me a while to join the Justice League, doesn't make me a bad hero. Everyone needs time to control their powers and learn the ropes before they can join the big leagues. I mean, you didn't just become a great geneticist all in one night right?"

His gaze hardened into a glare at his daughter's outburst, Nikolai shook his head. "I won't discuss this further Samantha." Gripping his cane ever so slightly, the older man reached his hand toward the door nearby them and grabbed the handle, ready to open it. However before he did so he looked to his daughter. "You're a survivor Samantha. I won't let the second chance at life I was able to help give you be wasted on frivolous dreams and life threatening situations."

Closing his eyes and opening the car door next to them, the head of the Freya family pushed the door open and motioned Samantha to leave the car. "You may leave now. Remember what I said. If there is no improvement, you'll end this."

Her gaze once on her father now looking downward at the carpet floor, the ice heroine gave a nod of understanding before making her way out of the car. Ice slowly forming beneath her feet as she landed onto the sidewalk, the white haired teen turned back to look at her father one more time before he left.

"I-I..." Samantha spoke, trying to find the words to continue.

'Say something! Don't let the conversation end like this! You have feelings! Let him know how you feel and what you want!' The voice inside Winter's mind screamed, trying to urge the snow child to speak up.

"I...I love you father." Samantha quietly spoke back, hoping her words would in some way sway his mood and decision.

Sadly it didn't go as Winter had hoped. Looking back towards his own daughter, Nikolai Freya only stared right back at his daughter before shutting the car door closed, breaking their eye contact and motioning the driver to move on.

Watching the car drive off from where she stood, Winter clenched her hands into fists and gritted her teeth, trying desperately not to cause a scene or lose control of her powers. She could already feel the crawl of frost beginning to cover the ground below her, and if she wasn't careful things could get hectic.

'Calm down, calm down. Remember what Ice Maiden taught you. Relax and don't let the anger and emotions you feel take over.' The conscious within Samantha's voice soothed.

Unclenching her fists and taking a few deep breaths, Winter focused to calm herself and her powers down, looking downwards to try and ignore the things around her.

"What am I going to do?" Winter quietly said to herself, feeling like she was growing smaller and smaller each time her mind went back to the conversation. This had been the most strict conversation she'd ever had with her father. Why was he bringing this up all of a sudden? Was he never okay with this in the first place? Did he just want want her to be safe? Or was it all a lie so he could have her back and control all of her life again?

Shaking her head, Winter looked up towards the Hall of justice a few feet away. 'This isn't the time to worry. You need to meet up with the others like we planned. They'll wonder if something wrong if I run too late.'

Taking one more deep breath to come herself, Winter rubbed her cheeks before doing her best to call upon all her training to put on smiles and pretend. Feeling some energy well up within her, the teen slowly walked down the sidewalk and headed towards the fountain area in front of the Hall of Justice.

It was pretty big from what she could see. A large fountain pool at the center of the neatly made courtyard, well grown trees lining the side walks, a beautiful gold art piece at the center of the large fountain pool. Everything screamed both elegance and professionalism. She never had been here in fact, all the times she wanted to usually taken up by her father's parties or her lessons. Seeing it all and standing there, it truly did feel massive than she was.

'So this is the Hall of Justice. I can't believe the league just works here without worrying about the villains who know about it.' Winter thought, her eyes gazing up at the impressive display.

"Hey Winter!"

Hearing her codename being called out, the white haired teen turned on the heel of her foot an smiled when she saw the figures of Batman, Aquaman, and Green Arrow with their fellow protege's Robin, Aqualad, and Speedy. The youngest, Robin who had called out to her, was waving his hand to have her come over.

The clenching feeling in her chest she had felt from her father's words began to slowly die down, her heart warming at the sight of her fellow sidekicks. 'Father may think being a sidekick is bad, but he doesn't know my friends like I do.'

Feeling the sour emotions she had earlier melt away at the sight of her friends, Winter ran over and gave the group an excited smile. "Hey guys. You ready for the big moment?"

Smirking and putting his right index finger in the shape of a gun, he pointed it to Winter. "You know it. But uhh...We're waiting on Kid though."

Perplexed by the answer, Winter couldn't help but chuckle and shook her head. "Of all the people to be late, it had to be Kid Flash. Honestly, you'd expect someone with super speed to get here before at least one of us."

Hearing her comment, Aqualad gave a nod of his head. "It is curious to think that he would be late. He seemed the most excited out of all of us. Perhaps something caught their attention?"

"Maybe an villain like we had to deal with. That stupid Icicle Jr. was wrecking havoc on the bridge in Star City. You remember him right Winter?" Speedy voiced, his arms crossed as he looked out at the streets of D.C., his eyes gazing around for any sign of their fellow sidekick.

Feeling a chill run down her spine at the name, the ice manipulator groaned. "Don't remind me. I took him down Christmas Eve last year and right after he tried to break out of prison to see me again. He's such a creep."

"Heh, sounds like what we had to deal with. Batman and I took down Mister Freeze on our way here. Dude was freezing people just trying to have a good time at the park. But we stomped him and took him out in record time." Robin said, raising his leg up to kick the air and imitate the move he had done to his enemy.

"Familiar to me as well. Aquaman and I were in battle at Pearl Harbor with Killer Frost. We did not learn her motivations, but it didn't seem like it was as tough as a fight as we thought." Aqualad said, turning to look at Robin.

"This doesn't sound like any coincidence to me. I may not have fought some big bad ice villain today, but three ice villains attacking heroes in different areas on the exact same day still sounds fishy to me." Winter commented, her gaze drifting to all of the sidekicks that stood alongside each other.

His gaze sharp in thought, Aqualad nodded and looked to the teens. "Winter is right. This doesn't sound like any coincidence. Unless Kid Flash somehow breaks the pattern."

"Why do I get the feeling that won't be the case?" Winter replied out loud to nobody in particular, shrugging her shoulders.

Feeling what seemed like an uncalled for gust of wind, Speedy grabbed onto his signature hat and looked out to the streets of D.C.. "We'll find out soon enough."

Colored in red, white, and yellow, two blurs side by side speed around the sidewalks and streets of D.C.. Moving closer and closer to where the elder and younger heroes stood, the blurs finally slowed down enough for the group to get their eyes on, and spotted the speeding duo The Flash and Kid Flash in front of them.

However one looked more annoyed than the other.

Taking a breath to regain his energy, Kid Flash looked up and frowned when he noticed not one, not two, not even three, but all four sidekicks had already arrived before they did! "Aw man! I knew we'd be the last one's here." The red head speedster complained, pouting and crossing his arms in protest.

Laughing at his friend's look on his face, Robin nodded to Kid Flash. "Good to see you too. Thought you might have decided to stay home today. Being so late and all."

Knowing he couldn't keep the charade up for long, Kid Flash finally gave up and gave his usual confident smirk. "You know I wouldn't miss this. Today's the day after all. And besides I've got a totally legit reason this time."

Rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, Winter gave a skeptical look. "Oh really. What happened this time? Decided to see if you could eat your weight in pizza before coming over? Again?"

Noticing the beautiful form of Winter looking to him, Kid Flash quickly sped over to the ice user's side and leaned on her shoulder, making the girl groan at his antics. "Hey snow angel. Don't be so cold. I know deep down inside you were totally lost without the great Kid Flash to talk and be with. But don't worry babe. I'm here now."

Suppressing the urge groan once more Winter simply turned to give the speedster a glaring look he was all too familiar with. "Kid Flash, you do remember what I said I'd do the next time you called me snow angel, right?"

Getting a dreamy look in his eyes a goofy smile, the speedster moved closer to Winter. "I'm sure it was something along the lines of giving my a kiss."

Crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at his friend's flirting attempts, Robin replied "I'm...pretty sure she said that she would freeze your feet to the ground if he said snow angel again."

Smiling at the younger boy's answer, Winter nodded. "Correct."

"Dude!? Who's side are your on?" Kid Flash exclaimed, shifting his gaze to his long time friend.

"The side that isn't gonna get me frozen to the ground. Similarly to how you are right now." Robin replied back, moving his finger to point downwards.

Confused, Kid Flash followed the direction of where Robin was pointing, and to his dismay and to the humor of Winter and Robin, the younger speedster's feet truly were stuck to the ground. Encased in blocks of ice and melded to the ground, the speedster frantically pulled at his feet, trying to lift them up from the ground.

Watching the speedster try his best to remove himself from his new punishment, Winter could only smile in satisfaction as she moved one step backwards, allowing the frozen teen to lose his balance and fall right on his face.

"There's more where that came from." Winter lightly threatened, though she gave a joking smile as she did so.

"Yeugh. Grot it." Kid Flash replied, his face muffled from the ground being smashed against his face.

Unable to contain his joy at seeing his friend suffer, Robin laughed and looked to Winter. "Looks like you froze him in his place."

Easily able to spot the ice pun Robin had set up, Winter rolled her eyes to the boy wonder. "Don't you start with that."

-A Few Minutes Later-

After a few more moments of bonding and catching up with one another, the sidekicks walked in tow with many of their mentors towards the Hall of Justice, smiling as fans of the various heroes circled around them to take pictures and try to get news stories.

"I think you gave my foot frostbite." Kid Flash complained, jumping on one of his feet to try and get the feeling back into it.

Smiling at the teens playfully bickering with one another, Green Arrow focused his attention to his protege and spoke." You ready to see the inner sanctum?"

Giving a confident smile, Speedy turned back to look at his mentor. "Born that way."

"I'm glad we're all here." Aqualad spoke, jumping into the upbeat attitude the teens were showing.

Smiling herself, Winter's mind wandered off to the threat her father gave her. Remembering what he said, the young ice user smirked at the situation soon at hand. "We'll be members of the Justice League soon. The wait is killing me."

"I know. Have all five sidekick's ever been in the same place at the same time?" Kid Flash asked, his voice filled with excitement.

However it was Speedy that retorted back, giving a determined gaze to the building the group was close to arriving to. "Don't call us sidekicks. Not after today."

Seeing the serious look in the archer's eyes, Kid Flash gave a nervous laugh. "Heh. Sorry. First time at the hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."

"Your overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed. Why can't anybody just be whelmed?" Robin asked in a curious tone.

Filing into the entrance way of the Hall of Justice, the group slowly stopped to stand in front of a security door, the sign mentioning that it was only authorized for official leaguers. Around the area were citizens taking pictures of the group, various memorabilia from the League's various conquests against villains, and large statues standing high above them all of the founding members of the Justice League. Each imposing in size, they all seemed to have give off integrity, honesty, and strength.

A bit shocked by the severity of the Hall of Justice's decorum, Winter couldn't help but gasp at it all. "Maybe that's why." She whispered to Robin, the boy wonder having the same look of shock as she did.

However their time for gawking came to an end when the doors of the inner sanctum opened. Walking out into the outer sanctum,, Martin Manhunter, Red Tornado, and Ice Maiden all gave warm welcomes to greet the young heroes.

"Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Winter. Welcome." Martin Manhunter spoke, his voice while not as enthusiastic as some, gave a professional feel to the ceremony.

Grinning widely and walking to her protege, Ice Maiden laughed and patted Winter heartily on the shoulder. "I'm happy to see my little snowflake here. I'm sure you are excited for your big day."

Her cheeks beginning to heat up at the playful banter her mentor was trying to start up, Winter hastily looked off to the side, doing her best to try and ignore the playful affection of her mentor. "N-Not here Ice. You're going to embarrass me."

Stifling a laugh behind his mouth, Kid Flash smiled. "Too late for that."

"Do you want to get your feet frozen to the floor again?" Robin asked, looking to Kid Flash with a raised eyebrow.

Deciding it be best to move things along, Martin Manhunter motioned to for the teens to follow suit, walking into the authorized area and explaining their new access. "You know have unlimited access to the gym, our fully stocked galley, and of course our library."

Walking further into the inner sanctum, the group finally stepped into the light as their newly realized headquarters was finally revealed. While small in size and not fully equipped with the best technology some of them thought it would have, it was proper accommodations for what they thought was a proper meeting room. At the center a table equipped with a holographic projector sat along with an array of chairs for members to take seat in, most likely during mission briefings. A large computer monitor sat to the side that could map out various locations and take calls from leaguers if necessary, different sound systems to help play back messages and listen to the news if needed. And lastly from wall to wall were bookshelves filled with texts on various places in the world, old literature, and the most up to date maps.

"Make yourselves at home." The Flash spoke warmly, raising his arms up to gesture for the teens to relax.

Taking up on their offer, Kid Flash, Robin, Winter, and Aqualad all began taking the seats nearby one another. Speedy however opted to stay standing, his gaze focused on the adult heroes who began to gather around nearby the second doorway within the room. That which was only allowed by league members.

"Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day." Batman spoke to the older leaguers.

Her ears catching wind of the dark knight's words, Winter could only smile at the comment. "I knew it seemed fishy."

Turning his gaze to the ice user, Batman nodded in agreement and turned his gaze back to the rest of the group. "We shouldn't be long." Turning his back to the younger heroes, Batman and the rest of the leaguers walked towards the authorized entryway, standing nearby a camera sensor as a small light peaked out from it and began to scan each member for identification.

"Recognized: Batman, 0-2

Aquaman, 0-6

Flash, 0-4

Green Arrow, 0-8

Martin Manhunter, 0-7

Red Tornado, 1-6

Ice Maiden, 1-9."

"THAT'S IT!?"

Ready to walk off into the next room, the group of older heroes stop mid step to turn around and look to Speedy, his outburst apparent in the small room.

Clenching his fist in anger the protege archer looked to the various veteran heroes. "You promised a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass." Speedy said, crossing his arms in anger.

"It's a first step. You've been granted access few others get." Aquaman spoke calmly, hoping to diffuse the situation.

Gritting his teeth at the lackluster answer, Speedy raised his hand up to point to a sky view box, various citizens watching from above and taking pictures. "Oh really? Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

Seeing his partner's anger only growing, Green Arrow stepped in. Trying to be as civil as he could he spoke, "Roy. You just need to be patient."

Glaring, Speedy continued. "What I need is respect." Turning to the other sidekicks who sat with him, he looked to Kid Flash, Aqualad, Robin, and Winter with an angered look. "They're treating us like kids. Worse, like sidekicks! We deserve better than this."

A bit confused by his anger, the rest of the young heroes couldn't help but look to one another, trying to figure out what it was their ally was angry about.

"What are you talking about?" Winter asked, breaking the silence the group had been in since Speedy's rant and turning to look at the older sidekick.

"You're kidding, right? You're playing their game? Why? Today was supposed to be the day, step one to becoming full fledged members of the Justice League." Speedy asked surprised, unsure of how to register the answer he was getting.

Raising his hand up in a confused gesture, Kid Flash looked to the teens in the room. "Well sure, but I thought step one was a tour of HQ."

"Except the hall isn't the league's real HQ." Speedy retorted confidently.

Eyes widening at the bombshell Speedy revealed, Winter looked to her friends for any sort of answer. However no matter who she stared at, whether it was the jokester Kid Flash, the wise Aqualad, or experienced Robin, none of them had any look to say they knew what was happening.

"Y-You're kidding. Right?" Winter spoke, her voice laced with confusion.

Shaking his head to signal he wasn't, Speedy continued. "I bet they never told you it's just a false front for tourists and a pit stop for catching zeta beam teleporter tubes to the real thing. An orbiting satellite called the Watchtower."

Listening to everything his protege was saying, Green Arrow couldn't help but feel a familiar pair of eyes was on him. Turning around to find the source, it was the dark knight himself giving the archer a hardened glare.

"Uhh...I know, I know. But I thought maybe we could make an exception?" Green Arrow suggested lightly, shrugging his shoulders to try and deflate the situation. Unfortunately the bat's gaze only increased in severity, and seeing there was no way he was going to convince the man, Green Arrow frowned. "Or not."

"You are not helping your cause here, son. Stand down or-" Aquaman spoke, putting his hand on Speedy's shoulder to try and calm him down.

Feeling the leaguer's hand on his shoulder, Speedy swatted it away. "Or what?! You'll send me to my room?! And I'm not your son!" The archer exclaimed in anger, glaring at the sea king before shifting his gaze to Green Arrow. "I'm not even his. I thought I was his partner, but not anymore." Taking the hat of his costume off his head, the older teen flung the object to the ground in anger, gritting his teeth.

Winter, along with the other sidekicks couldn't help but stay silent and watch the scene from where they sat. What could they say? Wha would they even say? All of this information was all too much to handle. Their dreams and wishes had all been wrapped up in this moment, but to find out it was all a lie, or rather just another "step" for them to take. Hadn't they proved themselves enough yet?

Turning his back on the league heroes, Speedy began walking out to the exit of the inner sanctum, his hands clenched into fists and anger radiating off his form.

'No. This can't end like this. This isn't what was supposed to happen.' Winter thought, her mind racing at the events that had just played out. She was still trying to process what had just been revealed, what was said, what was going on. It wasn't until she noticed the form of Speedy walking past her chair that she snapped out of her thoughts and turned to watch the archer.

Feeling like this situation couldn't end like this, Winter hastily got up from her seat and ran over to the retreating archer and grabbed his arm. "Speedy wait. Please, don't go. You can't just leave everything like this." The white haired heroine spoke, her voice cracking as she tried to keep herself calm.

Seeing his once fellow sidekick trying to stop him, Speedy turned to look at Winter. Living in the same city, the two had hung out many times wile on patrol since they became sidekicks and had many great times together learning the ropes and working side by side. They had even been close enough to share their personal lives with one another. So why was she defending all of it?!

"And do what? Just sit back and listen to everything they tell me to do like it's the word of law?! You should be just as mad as me Winter. You told me how important this day was, how much you needed to prove yourself to your father. Well look where listening to them has gotten us." Speedy declared, motioning to the leaguers who watched the scene from the back of the room. "I know you enjoy all of this, but continuing to listen to these guys will only leave you stuck in place. And if you even controlled half of that brain of yours you'd realize that's only going to leave you stuck under the thumb of your fa-"

"Enough!" The thick accent of Ice Maiden boomed, her voce echoing through the room. Her icy blue eyes giving a glare that could perhaps even rival Batman's, the ice user stared Speedy down, her anger boiling at the words he had used against her protege and his own friend. "You've said your piece, so please hold tongue before I rip I out. You're anger is with us, not her. Don't throw your rage at her."

Glaring at the heroine but understanding the mistake he had made, Speedy looked to the shocked face of Winter before pulling his arm out of her grip. "Guess they're right about your four." Turning his back once more to the heroes, Speedy walked off to the exit. "You're not ready."

Exiting through the door and Speedy now gone from the room, the sidekicks and heroes were left in stunned silence. Nobody seemed to have the energy to speak or any idea of what to say. Confused and unsure of what just happened, all the sidekicks could do was sit in utter shock at the event they had just witnessed.

'This...This can't be true. It just can't be.' Winter thought, her mind reeling at the information Speedy had yelled out during his rant. Had this been the plan all along? Was this really just some made up next step to make the children feel important and not ask questions to their mentors? Had all their work and effort really meant nothing after all the time they dedicated to training and helping people?

No! She couldn't believe this. This was the exact opposite of what she wanted to happen! Today was supposed to be perfect. She was going to join the league alongside Ice Maiden, her friends and her would be heroes who would help on a bigger scale, they were going to be recognized for the time and effort!

She was going to...

She was supposed to...

She wanted to..

'Today was supposed to be the day.' Samantha thought, the emotions reeling within her beginning to crack and weigh her body down. Feeling her powers begin to build up from the emotional train wreck she was feeling, ice began to form on the ground beneath her.

What was she supposed to ask Ice Maiden? Had she known all about this?

What were the others feeling? Angered? Betrayed like Speedy?

'How could he? How could he say all of those things to me? I thought we were friends.' The ice user thought, her eyes feeling hot with the threat of tears ready to burst.

The mentor's now gone from the room, Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Winter were the only ones left in the room. While everything was still tough to process, the boy wonder knew the first thing to do was to check on his fellow sidekick. Slowly walking toward her to not surprise her in the condition she was in, Robin frowned a bit before reaching to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Winter? You okay?"

Feeling the comforting hand of a friend, Winter still could not turn to look at her friends. Shaking her head in protest to his question, Winter sniffled a little, trying her best to try and control the dam of emotions that was flooding. "H-He was right you know."

Discerning who it was she was talking about, Robin removed his hand and nodded. "Speedy?"

Nodding herself in approval, Winter continued. "I needed today to go like we thought it would. More than ever this morning. I just needed this to be real. I needed to be recognized for my effort, the training I put in. I just needed to be initiated into the Justice League and everything would have been okay."

Clenching her fists tightly as her mind set back onto the realization that nothing she thought was going to happen was happening, she felt a slow stream of tears begin to run down her face. However she kept her back turned. She didn't want the guys of all people to see her like this. "This was my only chance, and it wasn't even real. I'll never get another one."

"I know this is all a shock and we don't really know what's gong on right now, but this isn't the end Winter. We'll find another chance to get into the league. All of us." Robin said, trying to help ease the older girl's worries.

Winter however shook her head frantically, trying to deny the boy wonder's words. "No, you don't get it! I'm...I'm finished after today."

"What?! Don't tell me you're quitting like Speedy too?" Kid Flash exclaimed in surprise.

Clenching her teeth to try and hold in the sobs she felt were only growing with each word they added to the conversation, Winter finally turned to look at the three boys. Tears running down her face, eyes red, and ice slowly forming more and more beneath her feet she shook her head. "I don't want to! Believe me I want to keep helping people! I love being a hero and using my powers to help others. But my father...he said if I didn't stop being a sidekick and get recognized by tomorrow, I had to quit." Winter cried, feeling more tears fall down her face.

"That's not fair! You work harder than any of us! He can't do that!" Kid Flash yelled, speeding over to where Robin stood nearby the crying Winter.

Frowning at the display of emotions he was seeing, Aqualad shook his head. "Yes he can. He's her father and she's only sixteen. She has to follow his wishes. Would you really go and defy your own father just because he was being unreasonable Kid?"

Being put on the spot, Kid Flash froze a bit as he tried to think of an answer. "Uhh...I don't know! All I know right now is that this shouldn't be happening. None of this should be happening. We've worked our butts off to be the best sidekicks we can be and helped take down our share of bad guys, but they don't even trust us with the basic information. They've got a secret satellite H.Q. In space!" Kid Flash yelled, pointing his hand upward to explain his point as he growled and covered his face with his hands.

Knowing the younger speedster was right, Aqualad looked down to the ground in thought before looking up to the rest of the group. "What else aren't they telling us?" He asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.

"I don't know, but I for one am not letting it all end here." Robin said, grabbing a box of tissues nearby and handing it to the teary eye'd Winter. "We all know this wasn't the way things were supposed to go. Not by a long shot. And there is no way I'm gonna end this night with us being tricked and Speedy leaving."

Feeling determination build up inside him, Kid Flash nodded to the boy wonder. "I'm with Robin. There's got to be something we can do about this."

Listening to the two teens converse over some sort of idea to plan, Aqualad's focus moved from the and towards the large monitor nearby the league had been working on. Remembering the transmission that had been sent over, Aqualad focused his gaze on the screen and turned to look at the three teens. "What is Project Cadmus?"

Thankful for the tissues Robin had given her and wiping her eyes to clear her vision, Winter caught Aqualad's question and looked to the group as well. "Project Cadmus?"

"Before they left the league got a transmission about a fire at some research lab. Project Cadmus it was called." Kid Flash said, helping to fill in the blank Winter was having.

His gaze intense as his mind whirled through for some sort of answer, Robin smirked and looked up to the group. "Don't know. But I can find out." Walking towards the transmission computer the league had been using, Robin began to type a few of the keys in.

"Access Denied." The computerized voice of the security system voiced.

"Heh, wanna bet?" Robin asked jokingly, continuing his work on the large keyboard in front of him.

Watching the boy wonder work his technological magic, Winter, Aqualad, and Kid Flash walked over to stand next to the boy, their eyes watching the screen began showing the hacking of encrypted files.

"Wow. How are you doing that?" Kid Flash asked, his eyes wide at the hacking procedure that was taking place.

Prideful in his work, Robin continued pressing keys. "Same system as the batcave." Raising his finger to press one final key, the boy wonder pressed the enter button with a satisfied smile, watching as a security enhanced file on their target was unlocked.

Watching the file open up, a large window depicting the live video feed of the fire at Cadmus played, a white building burning with flames and surrounded by fire trucks.

Looking at the file on the screen, Winter wiped her eyes and read over the information given. "It says its a genetics lab in D.C.. Where's the rest of the information?"

"That's all there is, but if Batman is suspicious about this place, maybe we should investigate?" Robin suggested with a grin, turning around to look at the three sidekicks with him.

"Solve their case before they do." Aqualad said, letting the idea roll off the tongue. Smiling, he looked to the others. "It would be poetic justice."

Laughing, Robin placed a hand on his hip. "Hey, they are all about justice."

"True." Aqualad said, but frowned as he realized the predicament they would be in. "But they said to stay put."

Hearing his protest, Robin shook his head. "For that blotting out the sun mission, not this. But if you want a more conscience choice, why don't we let Winter decide?" The boy wonder asked, turning his gaze to the ice heroine.

Noticing the three sidekick's gazes all on her, Winter jumped in surprise. "Me? But why?"

Giving a serious look to the older teen, Robin spoke. "Winter, we don't have to do this. We could just sit here and wait for the league to come pick us up like kids, but this mission is important to all of us. You most of all. If we take this on and finish it before the league, they'd have to appreciate the effort we do and you'll be able to prove to your dad you've got what it takes. But it's up to you."

Listening to the sincere words of the boy wonder, Winter frowned at the last part. "You'd...be willing to skip this mission for me?"

Jumping into the conversation, Kid Flash sped over and lightly tapped the girl with his elbow. "Wouldn't be the same without you snow angel."

"I agree. We'd have our chance to prove ourselves, but we wouldn't be real sidekicks if we left one of our own by themselves. Nor would we be good friends." Aqualad added, a smile on his face as he moved to stand next to Robin.

"And look at it this way. If this all ends up blowing up in our faces, at least we tried. We can have your sidekick career end with a bang." Kid Flash joked, though his face gave a serious expression.

Feeling the love and warmth from the various words of her fellow sidekicks, Winter couldn't help feel her eyes tear up once more. However unlike the tears she was crying earlier, these ones were happy ones that she wasn't afraid to hide form her friends.

Walking over to Aqualad and Robin's side, she grabbed the two and hooked her arms around their necks to pull them close to her, a genuine smile of gratitude on her face. "You guys are the best friends a sidekick could ever have. Let's come out as heroes or go out with a bang."

"Yeah! Team sidekick is ready to go!" Robin exclaimed, raising his fist in the air to signify their formation.

"Let's us all do our best. This will be a tough task." Aqualad said, voicing his concern despite the smile on his face.

"Woohoo! Group huuaaah!" Wanting to join in on the love fest that was going around (and perhaps get a little bit closer to his snow angel), Kid Flash was ready to speed over to the group but felt his feet caught in the familiar prison of ice made by Winter.

Unable to stop his descent once again, the red headed speedster flung himself accidentally to the ground, landing on his face for the second time that day.

'Probably shouldn't have said snow angel.'

And here we are at the end of the second chapter. Geez I told myself I was going to write less, and here we are. I think I wrote more than the last chapter. Ah well, I did end it at a good place.

With the group now realizing their predicament, whether it be the trust in their mentors broken, unsure of what to believe, and even the threat of leaving the hero world, the teens have now found a chance to prove themselves, go on a real serious mission, and help their fellow sidekick stay by their side as a hero. That or go out in a banging blaze of glory. That's always cool too. XD

So with that the next chapter will be the Cadmus mission, though like before I don't know how long it will be. I'd say perhaps to the point they begin their escape, but it all depends on where I want to stop it and how much I can write. Though you'll find out soon enough. At least as long as nothing goes wrong.

Please remember to comment on the story and tell me how I'm doing. Criticism is great to help the writing process, and giving your opinions of how the characters are acting, their motivations, and backstories is always good to hear too. Once again, have a great holiday. :3