Winter's Ballad: Growth & Love

by Cinderella Girl626

All her life Samantha Freya has quietly followed the instructions of those above her. But when the world gives her the chance to be the leader of her own life, will the poise sidekick of Ice Maiden, Winter, break out of her pod of obedience and listen to her own wants? Perhaps, if she gets some help along the way. -Sort of Back-

10. Drop Zone Pt 2

I'm back again! And with a new chapter too! Hope everyone is having a good time with whatever it is they do. XD

I think it didn't take too long for this to come out, at least I hope so as I type this. If it took too long again I apologize. However, we're here now so let's look forward to some good action, some sleuthing from our young heroes, and getting some plot rolling.

Poor Winter. The girl just wants to be a leader, but she's having some hard time trying to wrap her head around the idea, even with the confidence from some of her other teammates. She's also got to deal with those weird feelings about Superboy, not to mention the sudden thoughts she had about Miss Martian too!

Somebody may be feeling jealousy for the first time. *winks*

There is still time though, so maybe our little ice user will find a way to better herself and help this mission succeed all around. You'll just have to read to find out!

Please read and review if you get a chance. :3

---

"I don't like this. We shouldn't be talking to him at all."

It was the second time she'd said it, the thought just about everyone on the team had to be thinking. It was a bad idea, wasn't it? Winter was pretty sure that it was. At least from what she could see.

That smirk on the face of Bane that was pointed in her direction, the smugness in that cocky grin. Everything just felt like a mess. A mess that seemed to lead them up to this moment.

The group had gotten to a standstill after Winter had broken up a contest of ego's between Robin and Kid Flash; thankfully it ended peacefully.

But now the group was unsure of where to get next on their mission.

Their cover had been blown.

The use of force had become necessary on the island.

She nearly got her face blown off!

Everything was just...a jumbled mess.

And then he started talking. Or rather...

"Ah, are you still mad about the little scuffle we got into earlier chica?" The masked man, Bane, asked from his seat, his body still tied neatly to a tree nearby. "I would be mad too, but all of that was in good fun."

He was still talking.

Winter gritted her teeth, her blue eyes flaring up into a glare towards the masked man. "You tried to shoot me in the head and then smash my skull into the ground. I wouldn't call that good fun. And it only adds to my point for why we shouldn't be listening to a single word you say."

"I'm with Winter on this one. I'd rather not get pulled into whatever weird scheme he's got up his sleeve. Or mask." Kid Flash pointed out, pointing a thumb at the tied up villain.

"So none of you clever Ninos want to hear about my secret entrance into the factory? I can get you there without any trouble." Bane explained, smirking at his reveal.

Turning her gaze to Bane, Miss Martian let her powers of telepathy focus in on the mind of Bane, the martian's eyes glowing green indicating her powers were at work. "He's...telling the truth."

"What? You've got to be kidding me." Robin spoke, his eyes widening behind his mask at the information.

"Is there anything Miss Martian?" Aqualad asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

Her eyes narrowing as she pressed her powers harder, Miss Martian groaned tiredly and shut her powers down, her eyes losing their glow. Sighing and giving a light glare to Bane, she shook her head. "He is, but I can't figure it out. He keeps repeating futbol scores and Espanol. This might take a while."

'Of all the people to have information to help us, it has to be him?!' Winter thought, her hand tightening into a fist at her side.

What were they supposed to do? Their mission had become more complicated with the introduction of some super cult, a turf war on an island was going on, and now their covert operation was blown to bits. If they wanted to make this mission a success and not get caught, they'd need to use every resource they could find. Nothing good would come from them just guessing and hoping it all worked out.

Not when they had guns and who knew what else threatening to be pointed at them.

'But him?! He already tried to kill all of us with his goons. What makes us so sure he won't do it again if we put our trust in him?'

Crossing her arms over her chest and letting her mind ping pong back and forth the various possibilities that could happen trying to trust Bane, Winter groaned and turned her back away from the tied up villains. Quietly motioning Aqualad to do the same, the ice user looked up to the older teen for advice. "What do you think we should do?"

Staring at the ice user for a moment, the Atlantean looked over his shoulder to the form of Bane, the older masked man grinning from ear to ear and watching the teens for an answer.

"We are at a disadvantage in our current state. We will need all the information we can to traverse the island and find the Venom source, but I can see the concern about agreeing to this...temporary partnership." Aqualad said, moving his vision back to listen to the rest of the team's opinions.

"Not to mention he's got his own crew with him," Robin added, moving in close to talk with the older heroes. "If he's here fighting for territory, he's got to be the one to own this plant before Kobra settled here."

"So if we get help from him, will he want us to help him in exchange?" Miss Martian questioned, moving over to the huddled group.

"We wouldn't do anything like that beautiful. He's the bad guy and we're the good guys after all." Kid Flash pointed out, raising his eyebrows in what appeared to be a smooth fashion.

Superboy raised an eyebrow at the comment. "Then why are we even thinking about getting his help?" Eyes shifting to Bane, Superboy moved his gaze away to stare at the island from the cliff. "We can do this ourselves. Just leave him here."

"If we do that," Winter spoke up, "we risk getting into more trouble than we already have. We've had enough trouble staying in something close to a formation and plan of attack together; leaving him here on his own with whatever knowledge he may have may just bite us in the butt later.

I don't want to trust this guy, but at this point, I'd be willing to take the chance." Winter explained, eyes moving to look at every one of her teammates. She sighed, closing her eyes and shrugging her shoulders. "He can't take us all on himself. If we all just keep an eye on him-"

"Hahahaha." Bane chuckled, cutting Winter off and making the group of teens turn their heads. "This is not as complicated as ninos think. It is simple. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Frowning at the answer, Winter turned her attention away from Bane and looked at the rest of her teammates. "Do we have any other options?"

Hearing no answer from the rest of the team at first and shrugs in her direction, the ice user huffed tiredly.

This was not going to be easy.

"Let's us use this opportunity for now," Aqualad spoke, eyes moving to every member of the group. "I will take point behind him. Superboy and Winter and can stay nearby to immobilize him if necessary, Miss Martian and Kid will hold the back line of defense in case of outside attacks. And Robin, you keep any eye out around us. Set traps if any of Bane's associates try to follow."

All the teens nodding in unison, the group turned back around to face the tied up villain grinning in their direction.

"Hahaha. Looks like we've got a deal, eh?" Bane replied, the obvious joy at their new situation evident on his face.

Winter's eyes only glared harder at Bane.

That good bubbly feeling she had a while back about everything going sort of smoothly just popped.

---

The group had followed Bane, letting the criminal lead them to whatever helpful hints he had. Each one of them had kept a good eye on him to be sure nothing fishy was going on, but in the end, they didn't have to. He actually led them somewhere useful.

Now the group, plus Bane, stood atop a large cliff out looking most of the island. Far off was the site of their mission, the Venom product warehouse lit and operating as described from Batman.

"What do you see Robin?" Winter asked, her eyes scanning out to the island's expanse.

Crouched low to the ground and peeking through his binoculars, Robin smirked. "Product, and lots of it. There is a buy going down. But if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects..."

"That means we will just have to identify the buyers." Aqualad concluded, his eyes glued to the factory far off in the distance.

"Just what I was thinking." Kid Flash added, moving his goggles to stare at the factory with his enhanced lenses.

"Yeah, you're the thinker." Robin commented, snorting at the speedsters' attempt to sound mature.

"Dude, sarcasm? Really? So not leader material."

"Ahem." Winter mustered in a closed fist, projecting her voice loud enough to catch the attention of Kid Flash and Robin. There was no way she was going to have to hear these two argue with each other again after just getting them to agree to tone down their egos. "Back to the mission guys."

Motioning for the two arguing teens to follow the others, the group of young heroes slid down a small hill and reached what appeared to be a mine shaft. Bane clutching onto a large boulder and lifting it off the ground, the villain threw the rock off to the side, the thud of the rock echoing in Winters' ears.

"Your answers are this way." Bane said, motioning with a slight turn of his head for the group to follow behind him into the newly made secret tunnel.

Her contempt for Bane still lingering inside her head, Winter took a hesitant step forward before going down the mining tunnel, standing close by Miss Martian who walked behind her as they took their positions in case Bane did anything.

Ice blue eyes shifting to look at her fellow teammate, Winter caught the attention of Miss Martian and moved a hand up to point to her own head, giving a familiar signal the two had practiced days ago.

Miss Martian noticing the motion and nodding, she closed her eyes and let her telepathic powers reach towards Winter, the two connecting into a mind link with one another.

"Winter? Can you hear me?" Miss Martian asked telepathically, her eyes opening and looking to her white-haired teammate.

Winter spoke nothing out loud but nodded her head to signal she had. "Yeah, we're good. I thought it'd be better to speak telepathically since we don't want anything to slip into masked marauder's ears over there." Winter explained, shifting her eyes to Bane.

"I can't believe we're teaming up with him. Isn't this against some sort of Justice League rule? I don't think my uncle would approve of this at all." The voice of the martian echoing through Winters' head, hesitation clear despite no words spilling from her lips.

"I know the feeling. I'm sure Ice Maiden would be flipping out if she found out, but we have no other choice right now. The most important thing is learning who the Venom buyers are, gather as much info as we can without getting caught, and speeding out of here. Since the stealth was a bust, we need all the cheats we can to get this right.'

Miss Martian nodded, her gaze looking over to the figure of Bane up ahead. Frowning, she moved her gaze downward. "And if Bane really has something up his sleeve? What then?"

Winter smiled, shaking her head at the martian. "It's pretty likely he's got something planned to betray us or mess up our plans. His goal is probably to get this place back into his control, so all we need to do is finish our mission as fast as we can and apprehend him before he does get the slip on us. Then we throw him and his goons into a jail cell and boom, the mission is a success."

Miss Martian moved her gaze away from the dirt path and looked to Winter, the ice user's smile a bit infectious and appearing on her own face. "You make it all sound so easy."

Winter could only shake her head at her team mate's comment. "Yeah, only in my head. Trust me. I'd love it to be as easy as it sounds, but the only way it'll go that way is if we all work together. Robin and Kid Flash espe-"

"Hey, what'cha guys talking about?"

Her thoughts caught off by the newest voice and clenching her teeth at the invasive sound of the teams' speedster, Winter and Miss Martian turned their gazes to spot Kid Flash walking close between them, a curious look on his face.

"Of course he shows up right when I mention him."

Ice blue eyes moved to silently communicate with her fellow female teammate.

"Think I should answer him?" Winter telepathically asked.

"Probably? It'd be rude not to." The martian answered back, shrugging as she shined a forgiving smile to Winter.

Winter sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine."

Eyebrow raised, Winter gave an irritated look to Kid Flash. "I'm pretty sure neither Miss Martian nor I spoke out loud, so I don't see how you'd be able to even ask about what we may have been talking about KF. And if we did, it isn't any of your business."

"Aww cmon, don't push me out like that. I totally could see you talking with Miss M through her mind linky thing." The speedster answered, speeding over to walk alongside Winter. "You were both talking with your eyes and everything for like, five minutes. Tops."

"Yeah? So what?" Winter asked, hoping to get some understanding of the speedsters sudden interest.

Rolling his eyes, the speedster moved a little closer, leaning over to whisper to Winter. "So, I was hoping I could get in on some of that private conversation? I'd like to get a little one on one time with beautiful. I'm sure we've got a lot in common we could talk about. Her being a hero, me being a hero. Get some quality time away from the others" The speedster whispered, raising his eyebrows in a playful manner to Miss Martian.

Holding in the urge to gag at the creepish display of affection Kid Flash was trying to push onto Miss Martian, Winter shook her head in disbelief. "Wow, KF. You really know how to set your priorities. It's criminal to think you aren't team leader the way you...think of others." She said, sarcasm obvious from her tone.

"Yep," Kid Flash answered, not understanding the sarcasm in her comment. "I'm gonna be one great team leader once I seal the deal on this mission. But don't worry. I'll still be the same old Kid Flash you know and love. Just even more awesome."

Winter simply shook her head at Kid Flash's' answer, turning her head away from the speedster to look at Miss Martian.

"I'm so sorry you have to deal with his stupidity. If he gets on your nerves, tell me and I'll freeze his mouth shut." Winter telepathically said to Miss Martian, the teen nodding to affirm she meant what she said.

Miss Martian, bless the alien, simply smiled at Kid Flash's comments and gave a friendly smile to Kid Flash before turning her gaze back to her fellow female teammate. "It's okay. He's just...trying to be nice."

"More like annoying."

Watching Miss Martian simply nod and listen to Kid Flash talk, Winter let her eyes wander the tunnel the group walked through. It went far deeper than she could have expected. Most likely ten minutes in and the group hadn't reached the factory entrance Bane had spoke of yet.

For all she knew that meant it could be a trap, but with the tunnel only having one entrance and exit, that couldn't have been the case. Bane wouldn't trap himself down here just to get them out of the way.

Yeah, he seemed way more selfish than that.

'Everything will be fine. If he tries anything, we've got enough firepower to take him down before he tries anything on us. Superboy is strong enough alone to stop Bane.' Winter thought, her gaze moving to said boy walking behind Bane.

'Yeah, he's strong enough. He could take on anything that came his way. I'm sure of it. He's stubborn sometimes, but he knows how to fight.' Winter surmised, nodding her head to convince herself of her own opinion. Her eyes wandered further to roam the backside of the super clone, only to stop herself and curse herself mentally. 'Not again, you idiot! You already made it a point not to get distracted by Superboy again. You can figure out all this confusing like or love stuff you're feeling later after the mission-"

"Um...Winter?"

Holding a squeak of fear from escaping her lips, Winter felt her body freeze up, surprise taking over her body at the familiar voice of Miss Martian.

Slowly the cogs in her mind began to spin again, and bit by bit the pieces of what had just happened began to form together, making the ice user realize what she just did.

'Oh no! How could I forget about the mind link! How could I be so stupid!?' Winters' voice screamed in her own head. She berated herself, the teen feeling like her body was going to implode from the embarrassment. 'B-But that means she heard about Superboy! And the like love thing! And...and can hear me now? I mean, can she still hear me?' Winter thought, trying to piece together the confused logic jumping around in her head.

Her thoughts were private, but with a mind link, her thoughts were just as plain as anybody speaking out loud to someone. If she thought something than Miss Martian would be able to hear her, no matter how private she thought her own thoughts were.

Maybe if she was lucky she was thinking in a whisper? Was that possible?

Frowning but keeping eye contact with Miss Martian, Winter telepathically spoke. "Miss Martian? Did you...hear all of that? And everything else just now? D-Don't say anything. Just nod for yes and shake your head for no."

Winter didn't believe in any higher being, but at that moment she was praying deep inside that the martian had heard nothing.

Miss Martian, her eyes shifting back and forth from the ground, her feet, a wall, and to the other members of the team, the martian telepathy finally moved her eyes up to look to Winter, and slowly but surely nodded her head.

No holy being was going to save her from dying of embarrassment.

Realization hitting her hard, Winter pressed her hands to her face, covering herself in shame. 'Ugh, she did hear me! I mean, she can! She can still-'

"I-I didn't mean to." Miss Martian's voice interjected in her head, making Winter groan again in her hands at being caught by Miss Martian. "You were thinking a little loud that's all. I couldn't ignore it. I'm sorry."

"I," Winter started but fumbled within her mind to figure out the words she wanted to think back. To not look even more stupid. "I know. It isn't your fault M'gann. I'm just mad at myself for being dumb and forgetting our heads were still linked together. I made you listen to some pretty awkward stuff."

Nodding to show she understood, Miss Martian moved her gaze away for a moment, only to have it slowly land back onto Winter, smiling apologetically. "It's no trouble."

The two girls broke eye contact, their eyes drifting way from each other for a few moments to let the delicate situation pass. Both words and thoughts halted for a few seconds, silence shared between the two. That was until Winter heard her friend's voice rise up.

"Umm...Winter?"

Winter turned her head to face Miss Martian.

"What is it, Miss Martian?"

Miss Martian's eyes drifted away from Winter's gaze. Moments passed, but slowly her green eyes looked back.

"Do you...like Superboy?"

It was such an innocent question to ask, yet Winter felt like she'd been punched in the stomach.

So she had heard everything.

Was this one of those moments you wished you could just fall into a dark pit and hide forever?

She had to say something. She couldn't just ignore her friend after all, no matter how much she did not want to acknowledge such a question. Especially to someone she was sure might have feelings for the same guy. And...had thought some means things about her.

"Winter, I can still hear you."

Her mouth turned downwards into a frown, her ice blue eyes looking to Miss Martian, her teammate looking at her with a mix of confusion and sadness.

How many times could she make the same mistake in such a short time span?!

"I...uhh-"

"We're here."

Both girls breaking eye contact and the mental conversation they were sharing, both them and the rest of the team turning to look at the large metal door that stood in their path. Turning his head back to look at the teens with him, Bane gave them all a serious look. "You kids better be ready for whatever may come."

Hearing the seriousness in Bane's voice, Winter gritted her teeth.

There was no time to fix the newest situation she'd made with Miss Martian. Not when they were about to start the real part of their mission.

Winter turned her head to look at Miss Martian; moving her hand in a slicing motion across her neck.

"Miss Martian, I promise I'll explain all that weird stuff, but not right now. Later, when we aren't risking our lives. Just sever the mind link for now, please?" Winter asked tenderly.

Seeing the martian nod and feeling the link break away from her mind, Winter sighed with relief at the feeling of her mind in solitude. Smiling and whispering a quick "thank you" to Miss Martian, Winter grabbed the ends of her hood and placed it over her, hoping it was hiding the blush of embarrassment glazing over her cheeks.

It was time to get back to business.

"All clear." Robin relayed from his spot ahead of the group, his eyes darting around the factory room before dashing off ahead of the group.

"Robin, wait for us." Winter whispered back, following alongside the rest of the team into the factory.

Going in, she expected a wide number of soldiers around ever corner, guns ablaze the moment they walked in, or at least some heavy security blocking the doors. The usual kind of welcome they'd been used to getting for the past couple of weeks.

Yet...nothing. No bullets being shot at them or alarms blaring. It was quiet and uneventful. Secrecy thankfully was on their side for a change.

'Robin couldn't have killed the alarms that fast, could he? And where is he?'

"Did I miss Robin on the way in here?" Winter whispered while crouching behind cover, noticing the younger detective was nowhere in sight in front of her or behind with the others.

"No," Aqualad spoke, moving close to a container to hide alongside Winter. "He has decided to disappear again."

"He's supposed to stay with the rest of us. How could he go off on his own again?" Winter muttered softly, rubbing her face tiredly.

Bane huffed, his eyes scowling at the empty space the group now had. "You sure that little fool didn't already get caught?"

"He's fine," Miss Martian whispered from the back of the group. "He likes to disappear, but...Robin knows what he's doing." The martian answered, however, her voice faltered at her last comment.

Noticing Miss Martians' worry, Kid Flash smirked and adjusted his goggles over his eyes to prepare himself. "Don't worry beautiful. I'll get the intel and get Rob back here before the night ends."

Winters' ears perked up at Kid Flash's' claim. No! Not again! They couldn't split up again and get caught like last time! Robin was already gone, they couldn't lose anybody else! Especially in a place crowded with gun-toting cultists.

"Kid, you better not-"

Before Winter could finish her sentence, Kid Flash, like his namesake disappeared in a flash. A gust of wind blown in the groups face at the result of another one of their comrades leaving, Winter clenched her fist tightly in the air, only to let it fall to her side seconds later.

"...Go." She finished, her last word floating into the air.

All that hard work to try and bring up her self-esteem. All of it just left her as fast as Kid Flash had sped off.

"H-How could they just leave us behind? Again?!" Winter whispered, her voice clearly communicating the distress she was feeling.

Confusion and a feeling of helpless crept up on her, Winter leaning on the metal crate beside her for support. "I can't believe they ran off again. Even after they promised." Winter muttered sadly.

Noticing the very obvious confusion on the younger girls' face, Aqualad rested a hand on Winters' shoulder. "I am sorry, Winter. It seems old habits have not died for either of them yet."

The comfort somewhat helping Winter, her mind was still stuck in the moment, the teen sighing. "I don't understand. They promised they'd work together with the group like we did at Cadmus, as a whole. Yet, we get in here and they run off to do whatever they want without even communicating to the rest of us. We can't operate without accounting for what they're doing."

'In the heart of the target's operation no less. We could have a real tough battle on our hands, not to mention we don't know if they have any other weapons besides those guns to use against us. We can't make a solid plan or move without the whole team being together to formulate a strategy.'

One wrong move and somebody could get seriously hurt.

Winter didn't want a repeat of the last encounter she had with a gun wielding psycho. She had been able to avert a real close call, but if she'd been just a second too late-

A strong shiver pulsed through Winters' spine, the ice user unable to finish her thought from the painful chill. She shifted her gaze downward, her ice blue eyes taking in her hands on the ground, curled up into fists so tight she thought she thought she'd cut into her own palms.

Why? Why was she feeling so nervous and hesitant all of a sudden? Villains and criminals with guns had never been such a tough issue for her before, at least not since she was a rookie. She'd taken down her own amount of bad guys with bullets many times in her hero career. Why was their presence affecting her now?

Was it because she had been so close to dying this time? So close to seeing a friend die?

Another shiver came and a strong squeezing feeling around her heart, Winter sadly confirmed her own question. Of all the times to fall back into a rookie and be afraid.

It was silly at first. To think she was afraid of something she'd conquered years ago under Ice Maiden's training and tutelage. It'd been scary to her years ago, a young kid going up against people with guns, things that could end you in an instant if you weren't careful. But thanks to the care and strength of her mentor, Winter never had to really fear anything, because she knew her mentor would always have her back.

But now, things were different. She was older, wiser, on her own. Ice Maiden wasn't there anymore, and now it was her turn to step up and take care of herself. She'd wanted that for so long, and thankfully the fear of fighting anyone with a weapon didn't phase her as badly as it used to. However, that was when she'd to worry about her own safety.

Now, on a team, her friends and comrades lives were at just as much risk as she was in. She couldn't think of just herself.

But, could she be that quick next time? The last encounter had felt like such a blur, adrenaline running through her system to match her state of mind. She could barely remember what happened, how it happened, or how she reacted so quickly.

'What if I can't react that fast again? I know deep down I can take on any nut that comes at me, but if another situation like what happened to Kid Flash happens again...can I recreate what I did? I don't know if I can-'

"Winter."

A hand on her shoulder, Winter felt herself jolt back to reality, the young teen turning her head hastily to find Aqualad still next to her, a look of concern on his face.

"Are you alright? You are starting to produce ice."

"Ice?" Winter shakily asked back. Turning her head downwards to see if it was true, Winter frowned at the sight of ice beneath her still clenched hands. She pulled them away after seeing them, ice chipping off her fingertips. She clasped her hands together, rubbing her thumb over her opposite hand to wipe off the frost on her skin. "I-I'm sorry. I'm just...nervous, is all."

That was both a lie an understatement. She was utterly terrified at the moment, but she couldn't say it out loud to Aqualad. To any of the others. She had been in a moment where she had faced her own mortality, and the whole thing affected her to her core.

It'd make her look so weak if she revealed her true feelings. She'd spent all her life trying to become confident and strong, to prove herself in the eyes of her father, her mentor, the League. If just one moment on her first mission on a team could shake her so badly, what did that say about her efforts? About her character?

"I believe you are more than a bit nervous, Winter. I can tell you have something very heavy on your mind. You should not keep it inside if it affects you in such a way." Aqualad spoke, his voice falling into the usual brotherly tone she knew him by.

Winter smiled sadly to herself, Aqualad's words confronting her hidden thoughts. 'Nothing could ever get past Aqualad.'

Winter stayed quiet for a few moments, but took in a shaky breath and turned her head upwards to stare off at the Kobra agents far off from them. "I'm...nervous, or rather scared. About the mission. It hasn't been going well at all since we started and we...I jumped into a pretty bad situation that almost got me killed, could have killed Kid Flash. I just want this to go perfectly, so we don't have to have another close call like that again."

Aqualad nodded his head, understanding the explanation the ice user was giving him.

"As much as I also want the mission to be a success Winter, no mission can ever be perfect. We may plan, but there will be twists and turns on any mission at any time that may call for us to react and call jump in to save a friend from danger." Aqualad noted, taking his hand from his teammates' shoulder. "Do not fear. You are not alone in this. We are all working together to ensure a safe success. Some may be having more trouble than others, unfortunately, as we've seen with Robin and Kid."

"Even after they said they would work together." Winter spoke, her eyes narrowing on a gun a Kobra member held and hide back behind cover.

"I am sure their intentions to work together were true when they agreed, but the way they have operated has been ingrained in them for a long time. Making decisions that work for their skill set has become second nature to them. We cannot expect them to suddenly change their ways in just one conversation."

Letting Aqualad's words sink in, Winter sighed softly and turned to the Atlantean next to her. She said nothing, letting Aqualad finish his speech.

A reassuring smile pointed to his friend, Aqualad spoke. "We are all still learning how this new team operates, Winter. Just give them time. They'll learn, just as we all will overcome the dangers of this mission. As a team."

Winter slowly nodded her head to the sound advice, her thoughts contemplating the words of her older comrade.

Again, Aqualad was right. Winter couldn't expect Kid Flash and Robin to just shift gears and work the way she told them to. She hoped for this mission to work out like Cadmus, where no leader was defined. Everyone would just work together, but the pieces didn't fit the puzzle. This mission was far different.

"I hope your right. It'd be nice if I wasn't ignored by those two." Winter joked lightly, a small smile forming on her face.

"Yeah, a great chain of command you've all got here." The voice of Bane commented, chuckling at their conversation.

Eyes shifting away from Aqualad, Winter felt her gaze narrow at the masked man. 'For a moment, I forgot he was here. It was nice, while it lasted.'

"Nobody asked you, Bane." She answered, a harshness in her tone.

Bane smirked at the answer. "Heh, looks like I hit a nerve in the tiny chica. Must be hard for the frío princesa to play follow the leader when nobody wants to listen, hmm?"

Winter felt her teeth tighten against each other in her mouth, but held her tongue from saying a comeback. She had to be calm. This was not the time to get into a fight, some petty squabble over her dignity. Not when two of their teammates had disappeared again and the team was now in the heart of the criminals operations. Not when having high strung emotions would make her powers go haywire.

With bad guys surrounding them. Holding seriously strong firepower.

"Nothing to say? Are the Kobras' little toys scaring you that much?"

Her nerves tightening up at the joking comments Bane was making, Winter felt her anger begin to reach its boiling point. As much as she wanted to stay dignified and calm, being called out by Bane for being scared moments ago was a low she did not want to hit.

Eyes narrowing into a glare at Bane, Winter was just about ready to stand on her feet and confront the taller criminal...

"Hey. Back off."

Until somebody else jumped in.

Pulling her gaze away from the smirking Bane, both Winters' and Banes' attention drifted to the source of the voice; Superboy. His gaze was hardened, dead set on the criminal.

Snickering at Superboys' sudden interruption, Bane turned to stare down the super clone, a smug look escaping from his masked features. "Did I hear that right? You're trying to order me around now?"

Superboy never let his gaze drop from the taller man, stepping forward to get closer. "Yeah. Back off. All your talking is getting on my nerves." Superboy spoke up, his temper rising.

A mix of surprise and comfort washed over Winter, her irritation with Bane subsiding for a moment. It was comforting to know she was not the only one who was getting irritated by the villain.

Yet, was that what it was? Superboy said he'd been annoyed with Bane since he kept talking, however, the man had barely spoken since joining up with them. Superboy did have a temper and a tendency to speak his mind, but it couldn't have just been the few words Bane spoke now that angered him.

Was it because Bane was rude to her? Picking on her?

'Now I may be thinking way too much into it.' She thought, the ice user keeping quiet while Superboy and Bane confronted one another.

"Heh heh heh," Bane chuckled, moving a step closer to Superboy, glare focused on him. "You've got guts to talk to me like that. Or maybe a death wish."

"W-Wait a second." Miss Martian spoke up, hastily walking over to the two glaring men and trying to pull Superboy back from Bane. "We're all on the same side remember? Working together against Kobra?"

However, neither of the two men answered back. Instead, their gazes were kept on one another, Bane smirking back at a glaring Superboy who growled beneath his breath. The were ready to strike at each other at any moment.

"Enough, the both of you." Aqualad whispered strongly, the Atlantean coming between the two and pushing them back. "We are all on the same side whether we like it or not. If we are to succeed against Kobra we must try to work together."

There was truth in what Aqualad said. The odds were stacked in their enemies favor. The island was crawling with crazy cult members wielding guns and who knew what else, hoards of steroids in their possession, and stuck on an island with nowhere to hide. Survival and cooperation were the most important thing right now.

Now was not the time to let her emotions control her. She needed to be the one in control.

"He's right." Winter answered, adding to Aqualad's' command. "We need to work together. No matter how much some of us don't like the other." Winter conceded, her eyes pressing a hard glare at Bane.

As much as Banes' comments had angered her to no end, the mission was the priority. She'd need to swallow her discontent and just go with what was happening. Even if she was working with a criminal.

A criminal who was pushing her buttons and making fun of her.

Amused by the glare, Bane shrugged his shoulders and walked ahead to hide behind a lot of crates nearby. "Heh. Seems like the kids can't take some light smack talk."

Superboy took a step forward after Bane, ready to retaliate, but felt himself being stopped by Aqualad's' hand.

"This is not the time Superboy. I understand your frustration, but we must work together. This mission depends on cooperation." Aqualad explained, keeping his voice calm and commanding at the same time.

"Fine. But I'm punching that guy as soon as he does something else to tick me off." Blue eyes staring back at green, Superboy let out a huff of breath and stepped back; following after Bane, Superboy hid behind another pack of crates.

'I can tell he really means that.' Winter thought, eyes wandering between Bane and Superboy.

Moving along with Aqualad and Miss Martian to their new hideaway, Winter crouched behind a larger rusted crate and sat next to Miss Martian with the others.

Keeping close to hide from any wandering Kobra members, Winter and the rest of the group let their eyes move to shipping boxes full of Venom, members of the Kobra surrounding it with care and careful watch. Guns in hand, muscled guards, and equipment all around, it seemed like they were preparing for something big.

"It's a massive shipment." Aqualad noted, the Atlantean taking note of the heavy amount of work the Kobra members were doing.

"Yeah," Superboy agreed, yet his powerful vision moved further across the way to spot a large mass of Venom product out near a helipad. "But they're only taking new product off the line. They're not touching this Venom."

"Maybe freshness counts?" Miss Martian suggested an inquisitive look on her face.

Poking her head out to look at the array of Venom containers being brought out, Winter pulled her hood to keep it on her head, slinking back down behind the crate. "The amount they have out there might just be the amount they need. No reason to give a buyer extra Venom for free. If it is money that they're after, they'll want to charge for as much as they give."

"Money?" Miss Martian asked, looking to the white-haired ice manipulator. "Do the Kobra need money that badly?"

"It is a good motivation. Money equals more means to fund projects they have for the future." Aqualad added.

"Helicopters' coming." Superboy spoke up, cutting off the groups' conversation.

The teens along with Bane moving their eyes upwards to where Superboy was looking, only the star filled sky overtook their vision. Nothing appeared at first, however, seconds later the roaring sound of a helicopter engine came to life in the sky, and the body of a ranger green helicopter came into view.

"Wonder who's in there." Winter commented, glaring at the large vehicle slowly descending onto the helipad outside.

"We need higher ground. Stay close." Aqualad commanded, motioning the group to quietly follow after him.

Taking note not to fall behind, Winter followed behind Aqualad along with Superboy, Miss Martian, and Bane to scaffolding high above the factory. Climbing up with the help of a nearby ladder and meeting up with the rest of the group, Winter crouched low next to Superboy and stared off at the helicopter as it began to turn off.

"This vantage point still isn't enough. We need a closer look." Winter muttered, trying to adjust her eyes in an attempt to see the buyer from her seat. An idea struck her, yet Winter clutched the railing of the scaffolding at the thought.

Was it a good idea with how much security there was?

"Miss Martian?" Winter called to her comrade crouched nearby.

"You called?" The martian asked, poking her head up to look over to Winter.

"If you're up for it, turn invisible and fly over there. See if you can spot the buyers face for us." Winter asked, turning her gaze to the martian.

"On it. I'll send a telepathic image to both you and Aqualad once I see them." Miss Martian answered, pulling her blue hood over her face and focused her powers.

Winter nodded, turning her head back to look towards the operation outside. "Be careful, Miss Martian."

"I will." With that said and a smile to the ice user, Miss Martians' form slowly melted away into nothingness, her body and clothes disappearing like magic.

Knowing the telepath had already begun her part of the mission, Winter frowned and felt her grip on the railing get a little tighter, frost beginning to coat the railing.

Despite the great advice Aqualad gave her, Winter felt the chill of fear roll down her spine yet again.

---

Superboy watched Miss Martian fly off, the super clone letting his eyes wander from the venom buy to the rest of the group.

Aqualad kept his eyes out for any problems, Bane was watching the buy beginning, and Winter...

Winter was looking towards the buy too, but she looked rattled more than anything. Was Miss Martian going out there making her that nervous?

"She'll be fine." Superboy muttered next to Winter, the boys gaze staring right on Winter. That comment would help calm her down, right?

Sighing at being caught again in her bout of nervousness, Winter tried to make her grip loosen off the railing, but failed. "I-I know. I'm just nervous. You know, what if's and all."

His gaze not leaving her form, Superboy noticed the look on Winters' face, the way she was gripping the railing so tightly, her powers activating again like before.

She was nervous, scared even. It had to have been because of that jerk, Bane. The things he said had to have gotten to her, making her act differently than he'd seen her before.

It only made him want to punch the guy more.

Superboy was used to seeing Winter look so confident, prepared, ready for anything. He had seen her at times getting nervous, such as when he first met her father. Yet, even then it wasn't to this degree.

Something about it, the way she looked and the tenseness her whole body was showing. It made Superboy feel...something. He couldn't explain what it was with the information Cadmus had given him. It was like before, back at Winters' home. When she hugged him and he felt his heartbeat rush faster than usual.

It almost felt like that, but instead of his heartbeat rushing, he felt his heart squeeze tight; like being crushed in the palm of someones' hand. It felt like his body was punishing him, rather than be out of his control.

'My chest hurts. Why? Because she looks scared?' Superboy wondered, his gaze moving down to the metal floor. How could seeing someone look sad effect his body so much?

There was something else too. Superboy couldn't pinpoint the origin of it all, but far in the back of his head, something called out to him. It was quiet, weak and hard to make out, but slowly a voice grew in volume, trying to get his attention.

'Don't let her feel like this.'

For a moment Superboy thought it was Miss Martian again, the girl getting into his head when he didn't want her to. But, he heard the voice and it wasn't Miss Martians'. It sounded...like his own?

'Say something to her. Are you okay with letting her feel scared?'

No, he argued mentally. Why would he want Winter to be scared? But, what was he supposed to do? He didn't know how to encourage people. Make them feel better like Miss Martian or Aqualad knew how to do.

'Help her. Aren't you her friend?'

That comment the voice in the back of his head had gotten his attention. As much as this voice talked nonstop like Kid Flash, it wasn't annoying. It was making some sense to him. Whoever...whatever the voice was had been right. Winter had spent a lot of time helping him adjust to his new life, teach him things he wasn't clear on. And like the voice had said, they were friends now.

'Friends...don't leave each other behind.' Superboy concluded, the super clone feeling his eyes drift to the still tense form of Winter. If the situation was reversed, he was sure Winter would have already talked to him by now.

It was only fair he did the same for her.

'What did Aqualad do to help Winter calm down?' Superboy thought, trying to remember the two heroes previous conversation. The Atlantean had placed a hand on her shoulder, spoken to her. Would that work if he did the same?

Reaching a hand out towards the tense form of Winter, Superboy slowly placed a large hand on the petite girls' shoulder. He felt her jump at the contact, ice blue eyes wide with shock from his sudden touch.

Okay, so that worked.

'What do I say now?' Superboy wondered. He'd gotten Winters' attention, her ice blue eyes now focused directly on him. Most of his teammates always noted he was a blunt and honest person. If there was ever a time for that skill of his to come in handy, this was it.

So what was it his mind had come up with for him to say?

"She's gonna be okay." Superboy felt himself say, the words pouring out of his mouth without fully realizing what he said.

Winters' eyes widened a minuscule amount, her grip on the railing loosening at Superboys' words. Had what he said made that much of a difference to her?

"I," Winter spoke up, trying to find her voice. "I know. I believe in Miss Martian. I'm just worried. Kid and I almost got int a really bad situation earlier. She's going in alone, so I'm worried about her safety. "

'Keep going. Keep talking with her.' The voice returned, calling out to Superboy to continue talking.

"She'll be fine. The rest of us have got her back if anything happens." Noticing her hands were still glued to the railing, Superboy took his hand away from Winters' shoulder and grabbed onto her right, gently pulling it off the railing with his own.

The first thing he noticed from the contact was the size difference of their hands. Hers were so small compared to his and her skin felt smooth against his rough palms, the chill of her powers long active contrasting with the warmth of his own. His body acted unconsciously, his hand clasping around Winters' a bit more as if it was trying to snuff out the cold encasing her hand.

Superboy had never held another persons' hand before. There was never any reason to do something so trivial and boring. Yet, as unnecessary as the action seemed to be...

It was actually kind of nice. It wasn't terrible or made him want to let go of her hand in disgust. If anything, for some strange reason, Superboy wanted to keep holding her hand.

The reason for it all never came, but Superboy felt something from the contact. He felt relaxed, comforted by the action. Like something sparked through him. Was that supposed to happen when you held someone's hand?

"Uhh...Superboy?" Winter whispered, making the dark-haired boy look up at the source.

Realizing he'd been silent and just staring at Winters' hand for who knew how long, Superboy willed his mouth to open and speak again; to say something to get back on track with what he was trying to convey.

"You do too, right?" Words flowed out, making Winter stare back, confused. "You've got her back if something goes wrong?"

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, the two teens just staring at one another, the two holding hands.

"Y-Yeah, of course." Winter finally answered, her nervous tone vanishing and being replaced with a small bout of confidence. "She's my friend. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to her."

A squeeze of Winters' own hand followed her answer, Superboy feeling the movement around his own fingers. Her hand that had once been shaking had ceased, now clinging to his.

She was getting her energy, her confidence back.

"Then there's nothing to worry about." Superboy concluded, placing Winters' hand on her lap and letting go, as much as his body was willing not to. Again, he did the same action, taking Winters' other hand and placing it in her lap and releasing her. "We've got each other covered."

Superboy couldn't tell if his words had made any sense. Half the time it seemed like his body and his mouth was moving on its own, out of his control.

However, the small smile that formed on Winters' face, the gleam in her eye when she was looking at him after those seconds of silence.

It had to mean he did something right.

"You're right," Winter spoke, a small smile pointed in his direction. "I'm probably just overthinking things." She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing. Opening her eyes again, Winter eyes stared down to the ground for a moment, until they shifted back up to look at Superboy, smiling. "Thank you, Superboy. For the pep talk."

Another one of those smiles.

He didn't know why, but something about that smile made Superboy feel better. Like just moments ago when he felt like his heart was being crushed. Just seeing Winter smile now made the feeling go away, drifting off to whatever dark hole it came from. Like magic, or something close to it.

Strength began to rush through him. Again, he wondered if such a thing was possible? If seeing someone sad could make your heart feel like it was being crushed, could seeing someone smile make you feel stronger?

The dark-haired teen turned his gaze away from Winter, looking down to his hand. Why were emotions so complicated?

"It was nothing." Superboy answered, shrugging his shoulders and keeping his gaze downward.

"It...was not nothing."

Superboy stayed silent, keeping his gaze on his hand as the quiet words of Winter next to him drifted into his ear.

Of all the things that could have been stuck in his mind from the mission, Bane, his confusion on emotions, the pain he felt in his chest, or the weird voice in his head, the only thing Superboy could focus on was his hand.

The tingle of warmth and the feeling of Winters' hand in his own didn't fade away.

---

Was her mood really that noticeable?

She got a pep talk from Superboy of all people. Not that she was complaining about it. The talk was interesting, to say the least. Superboy was not the most emotional of people in the group, but the way he had tried to talk to her, make her feel better, and relax her was admirable.

He tried to follow the example of Aqualad, so it meant he was learning. His way of speaking was still blunt and a bit unrefined as ever, but that did not mean the message behind his words didn't get across to her. His words got through to her and she knew that there was nothing to worry about. If she was confident and knew she would not let any of her friends get hurt on her watch than she'd do just that. There was no reason to be afraid.

That other part though? The way he held her hand, that was far different from what Aqualad did. She was sure she could feel his hand squeeze around hers a little tighter too, if just for a moment. What was the meaning behind that?

She could have just been thinking way too much though. Superboy was probably just trying to get her to stop gripping the railing for dear life and freezing it.

Obviously, that had to be it.

The obviousness of the situation though wasn't going to stop her from forgetting what she had felt. The contact the two shared for those split few seconds felt like it had gone on for hours. His hands had dwarfed her petite sized ones in comparison, holding them carefully despite the way she knew Superboy fought with such strength and power. They were rough and calloused from the times he'd punched through debris and fought his foes compared to her smoother more elegant hands she used to hold her weapons in combat.

But it didn't make it any harder for her to feel his skin touching hers. Nor the warmth she felt from them.

She'd never held another boys' hand before, at least not without doing so to dance at a party or a handshake when meeting people. It was something so simple, yet just from her and Superboy connecting it felt like she'd done something so exciting, energizing her body.

One thing was certain. He'd succeeded in making her feel better and forget her nervousness. No longer was she thinking about the fears of "what if" disasters of the mission or worrying about her friend's safety and her own ability.

No, Superboy and Aqualad had both helped her with that. She felt more confident and her self-esteem was coming. Now the only thing on her mind, once again, was the super strong teen next to her and the newest moment they just had. If she could call it that.

'I wonder if I can ask Ice about this later.'

"Aqualad, Winter, sending a telepathic image of the buyer now."

The voice of Miss Martian ringing in her head, Winter turned to Aqualad, the Atlantean doing the same as the two shared eye contact. Nodding to affirm they got the message, Winter closed her eyes and awaited the mental image.

Her mind was clear, yet slowly colors began to swirl in her mind without her control. Gray, dark blue, the color of skin, blonde hair. Bit by bit the pieces were coming together and forming into something. As the fog began to clear and the image becoming whole, Winter felt her eyes squeeze tighter with concentration.

Where had she seen that face before? It was familiar, but a name couldn't be placed. She remembered fighting him once alongside Ice Maiden once. What was his name?

Opening her eyes, Winer looked over to Aqualad who was still checking the image. "I've seen him before, but I can't place the name."

"His name is Sportsmaster." Aqualad answered, opening his eyes and turning to Winter and Superboy. "He is the buyer."

Now she remembered the guy. He was a weird man, a guy running around in a hockey mask doing strange criminal operations like smuggling in the gear he wore. He tended to use some forms of sports equipment to fight such as javelins or discus to fight.

It sounded weird out loud, but he was "somebody to watch out for", in the words of Ice Maiden.

"I'll contact Red Tornado." Reaching her hand up close to her ear to activate their comm links, Winter frowned at the sound of static coming out in response. "Red Tornado, do you copy? Tornado?"

"It's not going through?" Superboy asked, pushing his own comm link to try and see what was going on.

"Something has to be jamming it. I can't contact Tornado. Robin and Kid Flash are probably offline too." Winter answered, gritting her teeth at their newest situation.

"We need a plan. Now." Aqualad added, aggravation growing in his voice.

Eyebrow raised at the statement, Bane looked to the three. "I have a suggestion." Without missing a beat and to the surprise of the team, Bane rushed off the platform and jumped over the railing, the larger man yelling at the top of his lungs and landing atop two armed Kobra guards. His landing creating a large impactful thud, Bane reached toward an oncoming Kobra agent trying to shoot at him and grabbed them, throwing them over his head into a shipping crate.

Winter, standing up alongside Superboy and Aqualad, raised her hands to clutch her hooded head and watched their partner in crime begin his barrage of attacks. "W-What is he doing?"

"Making his own plan." Aqualad answered, his tone frustrated.

"RAAAUGH!"

The loudest roar Winter had to have ever heard ringing through the air, the young girl turned around to try and find the source of the noise, only to feel her eyes widen at the outline of a shadowed form heading towards the large window just above them.

They needed to get out of there!

"Jump!" Winter yelled, moving her leg on top of the railing and vaulting herself off. Superboy and Aqualad following her lead, the three heroes heard the loud crash of glass in the air, shards falling nearby them as they landed on the floor of the warehouse.

Shaking shards of glass out of her hair and standing beside Superboy and Aqualad, Winter glared at the sight of masked Kobra soldiers standing a few feet from them, along with a monstrous looking being with them.

His skin was bumpy and tan and ripped from the excess amount of enlarged muscles beneath the skin. His body was large, standing at least seven or eight feet tall and had sharp knife-like teeth. Claws replaced their fingers and their feet could crush a car. The being looked like a stronger more animalistic version of what Dr. Desmond had become.

It couldn't have been some coincidence.

'What's going on? That guy looks like the thing Dr. Desmond turned into. But how could Kobra get their hands on the Blockbuster formula?'

"RAAAUGH!" The monster of a man roaring at the teens in warning, the monster began running towards them, claws retracted and ready to kill.

There was no time to think about that.

Running ahead to take on the brute, Superboy headed into the fray first and collided with the monster, wrapping his arms around him to try and hold him back. Sadly the monstrous man was too large for him, taking Superboy by the collar of his shirt and throwing him over his shoulder.

"Superboy!" Taking a step forward to go after her teammate, Winter stopped at the sight of Kobra agents cocking their guns and pointing toward her and Aqualad. Gritting her teeth and taking a step back, Winter activated her powers and swung her arm outwards onto the ground, ice coating the floor and rising upwards into a wall between her, Aqualad, and the Kobra agents.

'At least these gunmen had been slower reacting than Bane.'

"Nice work on the cover." Aqualad complimented, taking out his water bearers and creating a shield of water with one of his weapons. "I will stay back here and try to keep them distracted. Arc around them while their attention is on me and take down their guns."

"Are you sure? Will you be okay on your own?" Winter asked.

"I will be fine. It will be harder for us to take them down with their weapons. If you can freeze them, incapacitate their weapons, they'll be open to combat. We can take them down more swiftly that way." Aqualad answered, moving his head out from the cover to shoot a water projectile across the room.

She made no effort to move, the ice user biting her lower lip in hesitation. "B-But..."

Moving back behind cover, the Atlantean looked to Winter and saw the hesitant look on her face. "You will be fine, Winter. Do not be hesitant with your actions and you will not falter. I will cover you."

Eyes widening at the confident answer to her, Winter nodded her head at Aqualad's advice. Breathing in deep to prepare herself, the soft glow of her powers enveloped her hands, the fog of ice hissing off her fingertips and skin.

'If I can use Frost Step fast enough and not waste any time, maybe I could try jumping and vaulting off each one of them. As long as I touch them during it, I'll freeze them.'

Could that work? She'd never tried using Frost Step off the ground before. On the ground, it would freeze anything her feet touched in the direction she ran in. If she jumped onto something using it, in theory, it should do the same. But, she could barely control her speed and direction as it was on the ground. If she made a wrong move, she'd get herself into big trouble.

'I have to at least try. If it doesn't work I'll make an ice wall to protect myself, make a new plan. I can't waste any more time.' Crouching low to the ground and letting her powers build up inside her body, Winter pulled her red hood to secure it, gritting her teeth and activating her Frost Step. Taking just one step onto the ground, the young teen disappeared in a flash, snowflakes following behind her invisible form.

Her body going faster than what she was used to, Winter willed her body to turn itself, moving her leg in the direction towards her targets. Her leg following the way her mind willed it, the ice user sped off to the left towards the Kobra members, the soldiers not noticing the ice cold blur heading their way. Dodging a few stray bullets and getting closer, Winter jumped upwards towards a Kobra member, her feet landing on top of their chest.

For split second Winter looked down, praying that her plan was going to work. Her feet connecting with the criminal, Winters' eyes widened at the sight of ice grasping onto the Kobra members' body, spreading out to take over their robed form.

It worked!

'Yes! Now the rest!' Winter thought excitedly. Kicking herself off the stepping stone of a Kobra member she landed on, Winter moved her body to crash into another member, knocking his gun out of his hand in the process. One after another she rammed into the gunmen, ricocheting back and forth like a pinball and freezing them in their place, guns included.

The familiar ache and sluggish feeling of her muscles tiring out from her power, Winter landed on the last Kobra member and back onto the ground, slipping a bit in the process as she headed towards a nearby wall. Her power deactivating and the teen tripping over her own feet, Winter turned her body and felt her cape wrap around her, her back crashing into the metal wall to save herself from colliding face first.

Hastily untangling herself form her cape and looking ahead of her at the situation, Winter mentally cheered at the sight of various Kobra members frozen in place, their guns chilled and broken on the ground. At least the battle was sort of going in her favor.

"Freeze!"

'Or not.' Winter thought sadly, turning her head to the sight of two armed Kobra men with guns pointed at her.

It was naïve to think that one stunt had destroyed all their supply of weapons on the entire island.

She could dream though, couldn't she?

Without much chance for them to react, Winter shot her hand outwards towards them, creating a large gust of snowy wind towards the gunmen.

The harsh cold wind and ice covering their vision, the Kobra member dropped their weapons in response, raising their hands up to cover their eyes.

Eyes narrowing at the sight of her opponents covering their vision from her attack, Winter raised her free hand up to prepare another attack.

'Now to-'

"Got em'!" Rushing towards the blinded Kobra agents, the form of Kid Flash jumped and side kicked the two agents off their feet, landing in pile on the ground. Smirking at his work and looking to Winter, Kid Flash gave a thumbs up to the ice user. "Nice save, huh?"

Or...she would have.

Glaring at the speedster and ready to reply back with all the confusion and anger she had, she held it in at the sight of a Kobra member off to the side reaching for his gun near Kid Flash. Shooting a ray of ice to freeze him in place, Winter rolled her eyes at the speedster. "You're welcome. Again." Pointing her finger to the ice wall Aqualad was hidden behind, Winter stared back at Kid Flash. "Just go over there and help Aqualad. Not the time to chat, Kid."

"Uhh...You got it." The speedster taking note of the annoyance on his team mate's face, Kid Flash rushed off through the battlefield, knocking down any Kobra members on the way.

"Now I need to help out." Eyes scanning over their newest situation, Winter spotted the sight of Superboy taking on the weird Kobra bodyguard that tried to attack them before. Deciding the super clone was going to need a hand, Winter crouched to the ground and coated the floor with ice. Taking off in a running start and jumping onto the frosted floor, Winter skated towards the two fighters and reached a hand outwards, a ray of ice shooting from her palm and coating the floor behind the monsters' feet.

Watching the monster take a step back, the large creature was unable to save themselves from the slippery floor, their footing twisting in response to the icy floor.

"Dodge this!" Superboy cried out, throwing a strong punch towards the slipped up creature. His fist connecting with the face of the bodyguard, the force of the impact pushed the being off the ground, flying off a few feet away from Superboy and Winter. Smiling at the punch he got in, Superboy looked over at Winter who skated over to him. "Thanks for the assist."

Smiling back, Winter stopped nearby Superboy and nodded. "No problem. You need another hand?"

"I've got this guy. You go on ahead." Superboy spoke back, cracking his knuckles at the sight of his opponent getting back up.

"Be careful Superboy." Winter spoke back, nodding to her teammate before skating back off into the battle.

Ducking beneath a thrown Kobra member and shooting a few rays of ice towards enemies trying to take her down, Winter jump kicked a Kobra member coming at her from the corner of her eye, landing on the ground and turning her head back at the battlefield the warehouse was becoming.

It was a mess and a loud one at that. There was no way their covert operation was anything close to what it was originally supposed to be. All because of...

'Where is Bane anyways?' Winter thought, jumping out of the way of a Kobra members' punch and summoning a bo staff of ice in her hands. Retaliating with a large swing of the pole and knocking the enemy back, Winter gritted her teeth as her eyes darted back and forth for their temporary ally.

No sign of him.

'This had to be some plan of his. I knew it was a bad idea to trust that guy!' Winter thought loudly, her grip on the staff tightening.

*BOOM*

Unable to find the time to be angry, the sound of a small explosive rang in her ears; Winter looking upward to the source and gasping at the sight of Miss Martian flying off towards a pipeline. Throwing a ray of ice towards cultists trying to shoot at her, Winter headed towards the large pipes and created an icicle beneath her feet, the creation sprouting out of the ground and vaulting her high up into the air.

The martian heading towards her, Winter hastily caught Miss Martian in her arms, the force of her colliding into her pushing them back onto the top of a large metal container. Laying on her back from the collision, Winter slowly got up and coughed a bit to regain her breath, only to scan over her friend resting in her arms for any injuries. "Miss Martian? Are you okay?"

Groaning at her name being called, Miss Martian slowly opened her eyes and pressed a hand on her banging head. "I think so. Sportsmaster threw some kind of pole at me. I tried to dodge it, but it started beeping and then I got thrown over here." With the help of Winter, she sat up, the martian focusing her thoughts back in order.

"It must have had some sort of bomb on it. As if we didn't have enough to worry guy could see you when you were invisible too." Winter muttered, helping Miss Martian up to her feet. "Do you have any cuts?"

"No, I think I'm okay. Just a bit rattled." Shaking her head a bit more, Miss Martian looked out towards the battle down below, frowning at the increasing Kobra members starting to come in. "I don't think we're going to win this fight."

She didn't want to admit it, but Miss Martian was right. The way things were going thanks to Bane, one of the sides was going to knock the other one down. Winter was sure that had been the criminals' plan all along. Pit the two against each other until they wiped each other out, leaving Bane with the spoils and his enemies dead.

'There's no way I'm letting that guy get away with this! But there's no way we can take the rest of Kobra and Sportsmaster on our own. At least not in the condition we're in now.'

"You're right. We need to get out of here. Mind link us all, the comms are jammed." Winter asked, helping Miss Martian keep herself steady.

Nodding to show she understood, the martian girl closed her eyes and placed her fingertips to the side of her head, breathing in slowly to concentrate her powers out into the minds of her team mates. Slowly feeling her influence tap into each member of the team, Miss Martian opened her eyes and looked outwards to the battle below.

"Mind link established. Is everyone online?"

"I'm connected." The voice of Aqualad answered.

"Yeah." An unenthusiastic voice of Superboy replied.

"You know it beautiful." Kid Flash answered.

"I am too. We need to...Wait, Robin? Are you online?" Winter asked telepathically, realizing they were a member short in the head count.

"Busy now." Robin answered back.

Winter frowned at the answer, her hands frosting with ice in frustration. "Robin, I don't know what you're doing or where you are, but we don't have time for it. You need to meet up with the rest of us so we can make a plan."

"I've got the time and the plan. Just keep distracting the Kobra guards."

"We can't. They're outnumbering us. You need to come back with us Robin."

"But I'm close to taking down Kobra right now. You can't expect me to-"

"Robin, NOW!" The voice of Aqualad cutting off Robin, his voice loud and clear for all of the team to hear.

Winter jumped a bit alongside Miss Martian, the two girls a bit surprised by the tone Aqualad had used with their fellow hero. They'd never heard him yell like that before.

"I didn't think Aqualad could yell." Miss Martian commented, the green-skinned alien shifting her gaze to Winter.

"Strategic retreat into the mines. Kid, clear us a path." Aqualad finished, his voice traveling into the minds of Winter and Miss Martian.

"Me either, but the situation is dire. We need all the cooperation of the team." Winter replied, motioning Miss Martian to follow with her towards the back of the factory. Jumping down and landing on large metal structures to help herself get down, Winter landed onto the concrete floor of the factory, shooting a ray of ice at a nearby Kobra trying to block their path.

"Miss M, watch my back. I'll cover you from the front." Winter added, rushing off down a small space alongside the martian to try and catch up with their team mates.

"Nobody will get passed us." Miss Martian replied, flying alongside the ice user and pushing a wave of psychic energy at some armed Kobra members. Watching them fly off, Miss Martian turned her head back and smiled at the sight of Kid Flash and Aqualad coming out from their cover. "You're okay."

"There's no time to chat. We need to move." Aqualad spoke, motioning the group to follow after him.

Kid Flash rushing ahead to knock down any straggler Kobra members in their way, the speedster was the first to head into the mine, Winter getting closer but slowing down to let Aqualad and Miss Martian go in before her.

"We're still missing two. Robin, Superboy, where are you?" Winter communicated telepathically, skidding to a halt nearby the entrance and turning her head back to try and spot the two missing team mates.

"I'm here!" Robins' voice rang out, the boy wonder swinging down towards the entrance with the help of his grappling hook. Landing on his feet and pulling the contraption to retract back to him, the younger detective placed the item back in his utility belt and headed off into the mines, the masked boy keeping his gaze on Winter before rushing in.

Sighing in relief that one of her team mates made it back, Winter frowned at the sight, or rather no sight of Superboy.

"Superboy? Where are you?"

A loud crash was Winters' answer, the ice user turning her head to see Superboy be flung into the air and crash nearby her feet. Gritting his teeth and getting up from the ground, Superboy reached his hands out and blocked an oncoming attack from the bodyguard he'd still been taking on, the larger monster roaring in anger, still ready to fight.

"Been kind of busy." Superboy grunted out mentally, keeping the larger opponent in place, his arms shaking at the struggle of power.

"How about a little help than?" Winter suggested, reaching out her frosted hands and pointing them towards the bodyguards face. Her hands aglow in bright white light, ice sprung forth from the palms of her hands, the ray shooting out to hit the bodyguards face dead center.

The larger creature roaring in pain and feeling his eyes and face freeze, the monster loosened his grip against Superboy, taking a hand away by mistake to clean his ice frosted eyes.

"Big mistake." Seizing his opportunity to take his opponent down, Superboy quickly pulled his hands out of his enemies grip and reached out to grab his free wrist. Gripping it tightly and calling upon his super human strength, Superboy pulled the bodyguard off his feet and around his body, the force making Superboy throw his enemy over his shoulder and letting go, the crashing of the monster into a group of Kobra members echoing in the warehouse.

"Let's make sure they don't get up too soon." Shooting another ray of ice towards the group of fallen enemies, Winter motioned for her ice to wash over the floor around the group of fallen Kobra members. Covering the floor to make it slippery for their enemies, Winter turned and headed towards the doorway behind Superboy.

Superboy checking to be sure everyone had gotten into the mine, the stronger boy rushed the doors shut, the electronic lock glowing orange to indicate it had locked. "This better hold."

"We can only hope." Winter added, running off with Superboy to catch up with the rest of the team. Spotting the backs of the others, Winter wanted to sigh in relief that they hadn't been separated but kept her pace to outrun the cultists.

It was only getting tough with her throat feeling like it was one fire, sadly.

'This mission can't get any worse.'

The sounds of gunshots sadly confirmed Winters' fears, the ice user nearly tripping over her own feet at the echoing sounds.

"They don't give up do they?" Kid Flash yelled to the others, turning his goggle-covered eyes to spot the cultists on their trail.

"I'll try to slow them down!" Winter called back.

Summoning a needle of ice into her right palm, Winter slowed down and twisted her body, thrusting her arm outwards to release the needle towards the mob behind them.

Landing on the ground far ahead, the projectile exploded in a flurry of ice crystals, only to freeze back together with the help of the cave walls and become its own wall of ice.

A bead of sweat rolling down her head from her body exerted from her activities, Winter sighed. "That aught to hold them back."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Superboy commented.

Winter turned her gaze to Superboy, eyebrow raised. "What makes you say that?"

"Raaagh!" The loud roar of Kobra's muscled bodyguard resonating through the cave, the large arm of the creature punched straight through the wall of ice, claws clutching onto the other side of the wall to pull it down.

"Oh, c'mon! What is this guy on? Steroids?" Winter complained, only to feel her cheeks flush at the rather obvious answer. Making no effort to stand around and wait for Kobra to come after them, Winter once again commenced her running pace with Superboy despite her tired muscles crying for a break. "Anybody got any other ideas?"

"Superboy!" Aqualad called over the fresh sounds of gunshots ringing in the tunnel again. "Aim for the support beams!"

Nodding at Aqualad's order, the clone rushed over to the closest wooden beam, punching it square with his closed fist. The beam crumbling like wet paper from her strength, Superboy rushed to the opposite beam and broke it as well.

Rumbling noises following the beams destruction, Winter felt specks of rocks and dirt above her fall on her head from the lack of support in the cave. Knowing a cave in was close to appearing nearby, the ice user rushed to Superboys' side and clutched her arms around his waist as best as her smaller form could.

"Hold on tight!" Winter cautioned the clone. Activating her Frost Step once again that night, the ice user felt the cold run through her veins and energy build up inside her chest. Finally letting the bubbled energy explode and release itself from her body, Winter along with Superboy zipped out of existence, becoming a swirling gust of cold wind and snowflakes that outpaced the cave-in.

The dirt of the cave collapsing behind them, the team slowed their speeds before finally resting to a halt within the mine. The sounds of gunshots had ceased, their enemies no longer pursuing them.

"Is everyone alright?" Aqualad breathed out, inhaling and exhaling the oxygen he had lost during their escape.

"I'm good. Not sure about those guys back there." Robin commented, pointing a thumb back to the rock pile behind them.

"Me...Wait, where's Winter and Superboy?" Miss Martian asked, realizing two of their team mates we're missing.

Just as Miss Martian asked, a gust of cold wind rushed past the team carrying snowflakes on its coattails. The two bodies of Winter and Superboy popping back into existence in the center of the teams' semicircle, the two crashed hard to the ground, bits of snowflakes specks on their outfits and in their hair.

-We're here." Superboy spoke out shivering, the super clone getting up from the ground and dusting snowflakes out of his hair.

Raising her head up from the ground, Winter groaned and raised a tired hand up to show off an unenthusiastic thumbs up. "And we're alive."

Helped to her feet thanks to Aqualad, Winter cracked her neck and dusted the various spots of dirt covering her battle skirt and cape. "Sorry about the fall, Superboy. I'm still having trouble controlling the speed of Frost Step, and I've never traveled with it while with someone else."

"It's fine." Superboy gruffly answered, shaking out the last bits of dirt and snow from his hair and rubbing his arms to warm himself back up. "Whatever it takes to get away from those guys."

"I'm just glad we're all safe. That could have gotten really bad." Miss Martian spoke, resting a hand on her chest to signal her relief at the situation.

"Yeah, like we're in such a good place now." Robin muttered while pulling out glow sticks from his utility belt.

"Hey dude, no need to give attitude to Miss M. She's just trying to find the bright side to all of this." Kid Flash retorted, eyebrow raised at the younger hero.

Robin didn't answer back, only turning away from the rest of the team to look at the pile of rocks and dirt blocking their path to their objective.

A glow stick was given to her by Aqualad, Winter cracked the item in her hands and placed the stick in a crack in the wall, the light source illuminating the cave with dark red light. Pulling her hood down and scratching her head, Winter tiredly sat down on a nearby rock, following the rest of the team's example of taking a breather.

They had all been through a lot in just a short amount of time. If there was ever a time to take a break, this was it.

---

Nobody said anything for a bit, silence overtaking the cold air still chilled from Winters' Frost Step. While it wasn't any way productive in their current situation, the silence was comforting, a pleasant distraction from the ringing sounds of gunshots and yells of cultists wanting to take their lives.

Not to mention nearly getting shot, the fear of her friend's safety crippling her ability to make decisions and act, watching their mission go up in flames.

Again.

Winter was just happy for the peace and quiet, even if it wouldn't be there forever. Temporary relief was okay with her. She just needed time to relax her tired body and get her thoughts together. She'd need a clear and refreshed mind for whatever was going to come next.

"How?" Robins' voice muttered quietly, drifting through the air to Winters' ears.

She turned her head to the Boy Wonder, a frown overtaking her face as the youngest of the team still kept his back turned from them.

"Robin? What's wrong?" Winter asked, making the rest of the team look over to the young detective. She hadn't meant to put the younger hero in the spotlight, but hearing him quietly talk to himself made her feel a bit upset. Even with the situation they were in, Robin was still trying to figure out things on his own. "Talk with us. We're a team."

Robin turned his head back slightly, his masked eyes looking behind his shoulder for a second. Arms crossed over his chest, the Boy Wonder turned his head back to look at their blocked path. "I...was wondering why this mission is going so wrong so fast."

Eyes widening a little at the honesty of the younger hero, Winter rested her hands in her lap. "Nobody said this was going to be easy."

"But we shouldn't be in this much of a mess." Robin responded back, rustling his hair in an agitated state. "Even after I agreed to hold off on being this teams' leader and just work as one unit, we got caught.

"The only reason we got caught was because el luchador got the jump on us." Kid Flash added, his voice sounding a bit dejected at the comment.

Robin kicked a small rock near his boot at Kid Flash's' comment, his face downcast. "Which wouldn't have happened if everyone had just followed my lead."

Winter felt her eyes drift away from the Boy Wonder, blue irises looking to the dirt beneath her stealth black boots.

There it was again. The topic of team leader had crept up on the group once more, the title now too important to ignore in their current situation. Winter had tried her best to try and avoid it, the idea of team leader becoming more of a nuisance than something that would help the team when the mission first started.

Kid Flash nearly got himself and her killed trying to be the team leader and Robin had done his Batman disappearing act thinking everyone would follow him. She could tell trying to pick a leader was a bad idea right after those two mistakes.

Yet her own idea that she suggested countering the lack of a leader hadn't been any better, as much as it had helped to quell the squabbles of Robin and Kid Flash. She thought working together as one unit like at Cadmus would be what they needed. After all that had resulted in success.

Unfortunately, like Aqualad had explained to her, this mission was much different from Cadmus. There was no way the team could replicate the success of an escape mission to a recon mission in a completely different environment and against different enemies.

Now more than ever Winter realized the team needed a leader. They couldn't hold off on the decision any longer if they wanted it to be a success.

But, was Robin was the leader the team needed?

"You do have the most experience out of all of us," Aqualad spoke, jumping into the conversation. "but perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman your roles are defined, you two do not need to talk, but this team is new; and the leader must be clear, explicit." Finishing his piece, Aqualad shifted his gaze to Winter.

Winter felt her mouth form into a tight thin line, noticing the eyes of Aqualad fall to her. He did not have to say it out loud, but she knew the gaze he was giving her. The two had spoken about Robin and Kid Flash's' actions during the mission. She'd been the one to call them out when they fell back into their patterns all over again.

If anyone was going to explain the mistakes Robin was making as a team leader, or as a team member in general, it should be the one who noticed the failure in the first place, the one who was promised cooperation from those team members.

Winter knew better too. Aqualad couldn't be the only one to speak out. No person would learn from their mistakes if only one person made note of them. The more who point them out, the more the person realizes that their mistakes affected others.

'I don't want to hurt Robins' feelings, but he needs to know.'

Her body filling with an energy of confidence, Winter nodded slowly to Aqualad, turning her gaze to Robins' back and stood up from her seat. "Aqualad is right, Robin. I know you really want to be the team leader, but a leader doesn't disappear on his team or forget to communicate."

"Oh, so I'm just supposed to hold everyone's hand?!" Robin exclaimed, throwing his arm out in frustration and turning to face the rest of the group, his masked gaze set on Winter.

Winter felt herself freeze a bit at Robins' tone. She always had trouble in conversations when people were yelling. The sound of anger, elevated voices, confusion, and disappointment. All of those mixed plus the raised voices always made her feel nervous, lose her edge and confidence. Even in the company of friends.

Probably a side effect of her father's yelling.

Her fingers curled into fists at her side, the ice user feeling frost cover the palms of her closed hands.

'No, not this time. I'm not going to hesitate just because a friend is looking at me with anger. I need to stand my ground. Just like how I did with Speedy. Bring out that confident girl.'

Winter breathed in, letting her nerves relax and get a grip on her powers. Taking a step forward towards the Boy Wonder, Winter stood in front of the angered teen.

"That's not it, Robin." Winter spoke, resting her hands on her hips, trying to organize her thoughts. "Leaders..." Winters' eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to find the right words. "They don't pull their team mates along and do all the work. A leader directs us, gives us guidance if we need it, and helps make a mission a success. A leader looks out for their team rather than the team trying to look for their leader. And," Winter lightly tapped the tip of her right boot on the dirt ground, hoping her next words didn't sound rude. "they don't break promises about working together with their team."

Robins' body stiffened for a moment at Winters' last words, his arm slowly falling to his side. Stepping back into place and gaze falling to the ground to avoid the white-haired heroine, the younger realized what she was talking about.

She was right. Leaders didn't break their promises. At least not those who wanted their teams' respect and loyalty. He'd promised to work with the team side by side, not to disappear again and leave them without a second thought.

Yet what had he done as soon as they arrived at the factory? How could he have forgotten it so quickly?

It made him look so childish. As if he didn't care about his own team mates feelings.

"I...didn't mean to. I-I just wanted-"

Noticing the regret on Robins' face, Winter placed a hand on his shoulder and cut him off. "Hey, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to. I was mad at first," Winter then looked over her shoulder to Aqualad. "but somebody helped me to understand that this is all still new. To all of us. I can't expect people and things to just happen because I ask. We all still need time to learn and adjust to our new team."

Aqualad nodded and smiled at the words of wisdom. "I couldn't have said it any better."

"I have my moments." Winter replied, giving a sheepish smile and shrugging her shoulders.

Sighing, Robin scratched his head and raised it up to reveal his usual cheeky smile. "You sure do, but I am sorry about that Winter. I know you tried really hard to get it through KF and I's thick skulls to work together as a team, and we didn't listen. I'll make up for it any way I can."

"Hey, I didn't mess up that bad." Kid Flash spoke up, raising his hands up in confusion.

"Kid?" Aqualad spoke up, eyes narrowed at the speedster like a parent staring at a child.

Eyes shirking a bit at the Atlanteans' own gaze, Kid Flash looked to see the rest of the team staring back at him with their own looks. Even Miss Martian was looking at him with concern. Realizing just how bad the situation was for him if he kept denying his mistake, Kid Flash sighed. "Okay, fine. I messed up too. I'll make sure not to do it again, and I'll do something to fix it."

"That's all I ask." Winter responded, smiling at her two team mate's moments of realization.

Smirking, Robin looked from the blubbering Kid Flash to Winter. "Don't worry. I'll make sure he keeps that promise. So, now that we've got all of that settled Winter, we should probably get back on the whelming subject of who'll be the team leader."

Oh yeah. She'd been so busy trying to sound mature and get her message across that she'd forgotten about that important detail.

How was that going to go?

"Well, if we all get a say, I'd think Winter would do a great job." Miss Martian spoke up from her spot nearby the cave wall, raising her hand up with a smile.

Winter felt her face falter at the nomination. "R-Really?"

Robin smirked at the question. "Hey, why not? A leader looks out for their team like you said. You're looking out for us, even if we are pains in the butt and you're not afraid to tell us if we're screwing up."

"And you're willing to do a lot for us. I'm not just gonna forget how you saved me from biting the dust with that bullet." Kid Flash added, smiling and giving a thumbs-up to Winter. "Still, I'll take the leadership spot if you don't want it."

Blushing at the words of praise from her team mates, Winter looked back to stare at Aqualad, the older teen smiling at her. "Aqualad, what do you think?"

"I see the potential for great things with you as a leader, Winter. I know you would do this team proud in your care." The Atlantean spoke, nodding to affirm his words to her.

Smiling at the kind words, Winters' eyes shifted the last of the team, that being the quiet form of Superboy leaning on the wall of the cave next to Kid Flash.

Superboy listening to the others talk and letting his eyes connect with those of Winter, the super clone did nothing at first, his arms crossed and resting on his chest. Nothing but silence communicated through their locked eyes, Superboy finally responded with a shrug of his shoulders."It's your choice."

'My choice.' Winter thought, smiling at the familiar words Superboy spoke to her. She'd said the same thing to him so many times since they met.

Smiling at the various amounts of encouragement from her team mates, Winter twirled one of her pigtails around her finger, balancing on the balls of her heels.

"Thank you for all the compliments guys. It's very nice of you. So with all of that, I happily decline the nomination." Winter answered, resting on her feet at the end of her sentence.

Nothing was said after she spoke. Silence once again filled the tunnel of the mine shaft, however this time it wasn't as comforting as Winter had remembered. Instead, this silence was more...awkward?

"Winter, I think you mean you accept the nomination." Kid Flash spoke up, breaking the silence.

Smiling, Winter shook her head. "No, I meant what I said."

"Wait, what? Why?" Robin asked.

"Umm...I'm a little lost too." Miss Martian added, her face muddled with confusion.

Understanding the confused looks of her team mates, Winter scratched her cheek nonchalantly. "Look, I really do appreciate the compliments and encouragement from all of you. It makes me really happy to hear you say those things about me. It's just...I don't think I'm leader material."

Winter stopped speaking, her hand moving away from her cheek and pulling her red hood back over her face. Her smile disappearing and being replaced with a frown, Winter moved her gaze down to the ground, her mind thinking over what had happened since arriving on Santa Prisca.

Winter...no, Samantha knew the answer to this question for a while now. As much as the idea of being leader would boost herself in the eyes of the Justice League and truly make her father proud, she knew she wasn't the right person for the job.

Not the way she was now,

"I'd really love to be this team's leader. I've never had the chance to make a lot of choices in my life without someones' input. Being leader would mean I'd get to make my own choices, rather than them being made for me...but, just because I want to be leader doesn't mean that I'm the right choice. I've made too many mistakes today, from losing my nerve to act to getting frustrated from being ignored. A leader needs to keep their cool, stay clam so their emotions don't cloud their judgment. I let that happen today, so I already know I'm not the girl for the job."

Smiling, Winter raised her hooded face to look at her team. "Once I've gotten a bit more confidence in myself and learn how to lead, maybe one day I'll become a leader. Right now though, I think there's someone else far better than me for the position." Winter finished, moving her gaze over to Aqualad and smiling a knowing smile.

Listening to Winters' words, Robin smiled and followed the ice users' gaze to the Atlantean. "Yeah, she's right. Our leader has got to be Kaldur."

Kid Flash scoffed, frowning at the suggest. "What?! What about me? I can-"

"Wally, c'mon," Robin cut the speedster off. "You know he's the one. He's the only other contender for the position besides Winter and me. You know it."

"Hello, Megan!" Miss Martian exclaimed with a gleeful smile. "It's so obvious."

Superboy shrugged, eyes looking over to Winter and Aqualad. "Could've told you."

Everyone jumping in to give their own input on the newest nomination, Kid Flash slumped his shoulders in defeat, only to smile and place his hands on his hips. "Okay."

Smiling, Winter gave a thumbs up to Aqualad. "Looks like you're team leader Kaldur. It's unanimous. We've got out team leader."

Eyes shining with sincerity, Aqualad smiled to his fellow heroes and gave a thankful nod of his head. "I thank you all for your kind words, my friends." Stepping over to Robin, the team's official leader placed a hand on the younger boys' shoulder. "I will accept the burden until you are ready to take it. You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon."

Robin smirked at the mature tone of his newfound leader, the boy scratching his nose with his gloved finger. "Better watch out then. I'm gonna get that team leader spot as soon as I can."

"I am sure you will." Aqualad replied, taking his hand away from Robin, this time turning his attention to Winter. "I still stay true to my word, Winter. While you may not feel you are ready to lead, I could see the drive to want to help the team. You may think your closeness to your emotions were a mistake, but it is that sincerity that helps to strengthen the bonds of teamwork. You look out for everyone's wellbeing, gain their trust, and speak the truth to them when they themselves may not want to hear it. That is not an easy feat for most."

"Thank you, Kaldur." Winter answered, her face warming up at the endearing compliment. "I appreciate it. At least I know I have one thing crossed off the leadership skills list."

"You have enough time to learn the ropes, Winter. Do not think slow progress means you are not developing. You can take your time and learn to grow at your own pace. If you are interested, I could even help you train. Learn to become a better leader in the areas you feel you may be lacking in." Aqualad suggested.

"R-Really?" Winter asked, eyes widening at Aqualad's words. "You'd...really be willing to teach me?"

"Just like Robin, I also believe you to have the potential to make this team something great. There will be moments in this team's future where we might not all be here, together to fight our foes. When those days come, we must have someone to take the role as leader. If you are willing, I hope it is you who takes up the mantle in my absence." Aqualad explained, a sense of pride and conviction in his words.

Winter just blinked at the words Aqualad had spoken, his explanation far too crazy for her to comprehend for a few seconds. Slowly, however, his words registered in her mind, and Winter stared at Aqualad, words lost to her.

Well, almost.

"A-Are you sure?" Winter asked incredulously. "You want me to lead when you aren't here?"

Aqualad nodded, affirming Winters' question. "Yes. You need work on being confident within yourself and preparing yourself for encounters, as well as your leadership skills; but your commitment to wanting to keep the team safe is what helps me make this decision. You care for everyone's wellbeing on this team, think of their safety before making a decision. That is the kind of leadership that builds trust in a team. The kind of thinking you already possess."

"Aqualad's right." Miss Martian spoke up, smiling to the two heroes. "You may not believe in yourself Winter, but we've seen the way you look out for all of us. Leaders do more than just lead. They look after everyone, just like you have this entire mission."

"Miss M does have a point." Robin added, a knowing smirk on the young detective's face. "Not to mention you aren't afraid to call us out on our...slip ups."

"Sort of like a bossy big sister." Kid Flash muttered, the comment making Winter eye the boy with a small glare. Nervous from the stare, Kid Flash raised his hands up to defend himself. "Kidding, kidding. It was a...compliment?"

"Really?" Winter asked with eyebrow raised to the speedster.

"If you can help to keep a group of dysfunctional teens together on a hostile mission and scare em with a look, I'd take that as a compliment." Robin joked with a snort.

"Exactly!" Kid Flash exclaimed, pointing a finger gun at Robin.

Shaking her head at the two younger heroes back and forth conversation, Winter shifted her gaze back and forth between the two. "You guys would seriously be okay with me if I was leading? You'll really listen to me if I give an order? Not go off on your own?"

Eyebrow raised, Kid Flash rested a hand on his chin and pondered the question. "Well..."

"KF?" Robin called his friend in a joking manner.

A grin widening on his face, Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "I'm joking, don't worry. I'll follow whatever plan a leader has got. Whether its Aqualad or Winter. Just as long as I can show off some moves every now and then."

Rolling her eyes at the last comment, Winter shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I can make that happen somehow." She chuckled, her ice blue eyes landing on Robin. "What about you, Robin? Are you okay with this? I'm sort of taking your second chance at being the leader if I do this." Her face fell at her own comment, the ice user frowning. "I know you want to be leader of this team just as much as I do. Maybe even more."

Seeing the falter of Winters' confidence, Robin shook his head and rested his hands on his hips. "Yeah. I do want to lead this team, but I know when I've screwed up. I mean, not without a little outside help reminding me." Robin explained, smiling to Winter before continuing.

"I'll follow you, Winter. I may want to be the leader now, but I need to fix a few things. I know the team is in good hands with Kal'dur. With you working as his second in command, this team has got an even better chance at stepping up to show our stuff to the League." The Boy Wonder suggested with his usual trickster tone. "And with the both of us needing to learn a thing or two about leadership, we might even become some pretty big rivals." Robin joked, raising his closed fist up to Winter.

"Ha, you a rival?" Winter comically spoke with a smile. Her body feeling far better than it had for a while, Winter raised her own closed fist to Robin. "You won't be able to keep up."

Robin just smirked. "I always liked a challenge."

The teens giving knowing smiles to one another, the two lightly bumped fists within the illuminated cave, signifying the heroes' mutual agreement.

The answers from her team mates helping to fuel her confidence against her own insecurities, Winter looked to her whole team who had spoken to her. Her eyes settling on the last member of the team who'd been quiet, Winter smiled at Superboy. "I think I already know what you're going to say."

Smirking a little at Winters' words, Superboy looked over to the ice user. "Then you've got my answer."

Nodding at Superboys' answer, Winter took in a deep breath and exhaled, letting her body relax her muscles and contemplate the situation in front of her.

This was from what she expected the mission to be, what it was supposed to play out.

Every twist and turn had skyrocketed them all into situations so crazy and out of their control, that danger had nearly caught two of them in its clutches.

Their cover was blown and their targets knew they were there, but that didn't mean the mission was over.

The group was learning from their mistakes, slowly making their way to becoming a team that could work together. They just needed the leader to keep them together and steer them in the right direction.

It wasn't her in the end. But...that didn't mean she couldn't change that.

A bubbling sensation building deep inside her, Winter smiled and felt confidence burn inside her. No longer was she feeling the sense of insecurity and hesitation that gripped her for most of the mission.

The team looking to one another with knowing looks, Winter gained a confident smile and headed over to Aqualad. Standing in front of the older teen, Winter reached a hand out to her fellow hero.

"Okay. I'll take your offer Kal'dur. I'll become the leader that you see in me. If you're still up to teaching me some stuff that is." Winter spoke, her tone a bit nervous as she tried to find her words.

Smiling at the confirmation, Aqualad nodded and took Winters' hand in his own. "You just need to ask."

Winter nodded, the two heroes keeping eye contact as they shook hands.

"Congratulations you two!" Miss Martian exclaimed with excitement, clapping at the two fellow team mates new positions.

"Yeah. Congrats." Superboy spoke up with not much enthusiasm as Miss Martian but smirked nonetheless.

"Can't wait to see how you two get us out of this mess." Kid Flash joked, raising his eyebrows at the ice user and Atlantean.

Winter smirked at Kid Flash's' comment, taking her hand away from Aqualad and stood beside him.. "Don't worry, Kid. We three have got this." Winter clarified, turning to share a knowing look with Aqualad.

Robins's eyebrows rose at Winters' clarification. "Three?"

"Of course. As they say, three heads are better than one after all. You have the most experience out of all of us. You can help us formulate a strategy for all precautions." Aqualad said.

"And," Winter added with a smile. "it wouldn't be very heroic of me if I got a head start on my supposed rival." Winter motioned for Robin to come over to her and Aqualad's side. "We all participate in this one. All leaders on deck."

The younger hero feeling his face widen with a smile at the older heroines' words, Robin nodded and walked over to Aqualad and Winters' side. "This is going to be one interesting mission."

"You can say that again." Kid Flash added, he and the rest of the others gathering around the three defacto leaders of their team.

Winter just smiled at the younger detective's words before relaxing and slowly steeling herself for her next choice of words. Resting her hands on her hips, Winter moved a hand up to pull her hood off her head, showing the determined face of the heroine to her fellow team mates.

"Okay. Our priority then should be to make sure that shipment doesn't leave the island. If we can ground the plane, the buyer won't have anywhere to go."

Robin nudged Winter lightly in a playful manner with his elbow, making the ice user look to her fellow leader. "Funny. I had the same thought."

"Great minds have a tendency to think alike." Aqualad commented, a knowing smile of approval on his face.

The two heroes turning back to look at Aqualad, Winter and Robin gave Aqualad a matching smile before sharing the same confident look with each other.

"You ready to make this mission a success, leader?" Robin asked Winter.

Winter at first said nothing, her gaze moving to everyone gathered around to formulate their next move. She turned her gaze back to Robin, her eyes lighting up with a mix of resolve and confidence.

"Without a doubt, leader."

This mission really was going to be something different.

---

Ahhh! I'm so sorry this took so long to come out, and even more so that Drop Zone isn't even finished! My finals are coming up in two weeks I have to focus on them or I won't pass my classes, so those are taking my priority.

However, I felt bad not posting for so long since I've been busy, so instead of making this chapter any longer and sort of dragging it out, I instead decided to post the substantial amount I have now and finish the last of it in another chapter once finals are over.

I feel bad I can't finish it all in one chapter, but that's been my sort of formula lately and writing super long chapters can get boring after a while. Nice to change it up. ;3

Please if you can, review! My creativity is gonna get sucked dry during finals, so some encouragement on how my writing is, any plot deviations, or criticisms on character development or romantic development is appreciated.

Some side notes! Just...because:

-My poll on my profile is still up. So if you haven't voted, you can go by and vote on what you want. It's been open for a while now, so I may end up closing it by the end of Drop Zone and see where it tallies.

-If waiting for Winters' Ballad is taking too long for you, I've got side stories that involve Samantha/Winter with Conner in other situations. I recommend Date if you want to see some SamanthaXConner romancy stuff, though it's a little hot, or Changing Seasons since I get to play around with their backgrounds. If you have suggestions for AU! Ideas, place one in a review and I may just use it. ;3

I'm also writing a Beauty and the Beast-inspired story on Samantha/Winter and Conner/Superboy too. Please don't hate me. I saw Beauty and the Beast (live action one) finally and it just rekindled my love for the old fairytale classic. I hope to try and get the first chapter done as soon as finals are over with.

Okay, I think that's it! I hope everyone else is doing okay with classes or finals too. Don't worry, we're all almost there! TAT

Next Chapter: Drop Zone Pt. 3