Chapter 2: Fireworks on an Independence Day. For Some.

I own nothing seen here.

Location: Unknown

Date: November 18, 2002

Time: 21:03

A young boy jerked awake.

He became immediately aware of the stinging cold surrounding him.

Quickly, but quietly, the boy leapt to his feet, staying in a crouching position as he surveyed his surroundings. He was standing in a clearing blanketed by snow; tall pine trees surrounded him. The boy immediately recognized that it wasn't his home and thus was a test. He mentally prepared himself, concentrating on the sounds and smells surrounding him.

He tilted his head as he heard something—several somethings actually—making their way through the snow in the distance, getting closer.

Within a minute, a growling sound emitted from trees surrounding him, he heard the animals begin to circle him. A large, abnormally so, grey wolf stepped from the woods in front of him. It barred its teeth in a vicious snarl.

The boy returned the snarl and clenched his hands into fists, unleashing the claws within them.

The boy charged.

Location: Blüdhaven, NJ

Date: July 4th, 2010

Time: 09:13

Nathan jerked awake, and immediately fell out of bed.

"Ow."

He laid on the ground, taking a moment to contemplate how things in his life had led to this point. Eventually, when that pondering proved inconclusive, he stood up, and made his way to his dresser, changing into his day wear. He walked out of the apartment he lived in and went across the hall, to check in with his caretaker.

"Good morning," said Matt politely, he was already dress to head out and had placed a glass of milk on the counter as well as leaving out the eggs.

Nathan grunted unhappily, "not for me, I fell out of bed just now," he grabbed the glass but broke out into a yawn before he could drink it.

"Oh yes, I heard," said Matt with a grin, "What a glorious way to start the morning. But, hey, at least you got to sleep in," he consoled, as he pulled on his jacket, "Any plans for today that I should be concerned about?"

"Not really," replied Nate glancing over at the bread on the counter, "I don't make a lot of those. I mostly just intended to go for a walk and see the sights," he paused and amended his statement, "Possibly assault some criminals, I guess."

"Hm. Alright. But don't wear yourself out, I think I might have a lead on that 'Crusher' guy of ours," he sighed, "But first I've got to go and check on the firm. No days off after all," he walked to the door and opened it before remembering he hadn't said where or when, "Meet me at the band shell in Melville around 8:30, ok?"

"The band shell at 8:30, got it," confirmed Nate, giving him a thumbs up, and getting an unimpressed head tilt in return, before Matt walked out the door.

He turned back to assess the problem at hand, of breakfast.

Although there were plenty of options for the most important meal of the day, laziness won out and Nathan just had cereal.

It was a quiet breakfast, Nathan idly looked through the paper, not seeing much of interest other than a trident wielding 'Blue Devil' apparently being seen. Nothing extraordinary. After finishing up, Nate headed out of the apartment.

The city of Bludhaven was doing better than it ever had, ten years under an effective superhero had helped clean up the previously extensive corruption that had crippled the city. A lack of a multitude of extremely destructive or dangerous villains had also helped it avoid some of the hindrances the larger and less fortunate Gotham had experienced.

After walking directionless for a few moments, Nathan decided to head to his favorite Café, The Cup O' Joy, to kill some time until the Independence Day parade was set to start.

The Cup O' Joy was a cozy little hole-in-the-wall nestled away on a side street off Stark Avenue, it was nearby, usually decently quiet, and open until late in the night, which was primarily why Nathan and Matt had chosen it. Davis Miller, the man who owned the place, was a keen and cheerful man, dead set on making his café a landmark in town. Nothing had ever been said, but sometimes he had a look in his eye when he saw Nate and Matt coming in at night that made Nathaniel think he was envisioning just where to put the panel about Vigilantes on the wall.

Probably across from the one about "Best Pumpkin Pie" from the city fair.

Nate quietly took a seat in the corner beside the door, it provided a location from which he could observe the rest of the café with his back to the wall and without being immediately seen by anyone entering.

Miller spotted him instantly and quickly made his way over,

"So, what can I do for you today?" inquired Miller, rubbing his hands together.

Nate thought about it for a quick second before replying, "Just hot chocolate."

Miller nodded but leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "One of these days, you ought to try the coffee," he spread his hands, "Best in town! I promise you!" he insisted earnestly.

"One of these days," replied Nate with a serious nod. Internally however, he was making no commitment. Coffee was weird to him and his metabolism, it made him super hyper then drowsy in the span of a few minutes.

"One hot chocolate coming up!"

Nathan idled in Cup O' Joy until 11:30, then began making his way to Halyard Street, as the parade was set to start at 11:45.

In complete honesty, Nathan wasn't particularly interested in the parade, but he had nothing else to do, seeing as Matt was occupied at the moment.

That said, the parade wasn't a bad place to be, by the time he arrived it had already started. People lined the road with balloons and streamers, some waving flags, others clad in patriotic clothes, they certainly were excited. Nate, not being particularly tall, made his way to the slightly elevated position offered by the "hill"—perhaps a generous description—atop which the band shell was located.

The parade itself was as he expected, very patriotic. A marching band was currently walking directly in front of a whole lot of people carrying American flags led by two Uncle Sams and followed by a firetruck.

Nathan had been standing watching the colorful procession for only a few minutes when he felt an uncomfortable feeling materialize along his spine. He abruptly realized he was clenching his jaw and had unconsciously flexed his hands into fist.

Something was wrong.

He subtly scanned the crowd, searching for faces he might recognize, unusual behavior, or anyone who was paying abnormally close attention to him.

Nothing.

After his first pass caught nobody, he dropped his secrecy and climbed onto a nearby park bench, quickly turning his head to identify whatever was causing him tension.

It was strange, his subconscious had obviously noted something was wrong but . . .

There.

Police.

A large amount of police officers had assembled on the outskirts of the parade crowd, and several more squad cars were letting out other officers onto the curb. They didn't seem to be attempting to enter the crowd or examining it with an unusual amount of focus, however.

Interesting. Were the officers not entering the crowd because they didn't know who they were looking for?

No, that couldn't be it, they would be searching with more urgency if they knew there was an unidentified threat somewhere.

Perhaps they knew who it was and had been told to act casual and not spook anyone? But then, a sudden influx of police was not casual and given the amount of police, there would be at least one officer who dropped the ball and got excited.

Or maybe, it was a precaution?

Only one way to find out.

Nate jumped down from his bench and began to exit the crowd, eventually making his way over to where nearest police officer was standing, alert but not tense.

He waved at the officer, a sandy haired, younger looking man, whose tag identified him as Colbert, "Is something wrong?" he gestured at the police around the crowd, "Why so many cops all of a sudden?"

The officer glanced at him, before gesturing vaguely to the south, "A bunch of rogues struck around the country," he put his hands in his jacket, "One of them was in Gotham, so the chief thought it might be a good idea to send out some officers. Just in case."

"Not that we could do much against a super," a nearby officer, his tag said Hayes, muttered quietly, "Although, I guess if that Captain Cold guy came to town, we could probably handle him," he amended thoughtfully before noticing Nate, "But don't worry," he quickly reassured with a smile, "I doubt anything will happen here."

Location: Blüdhaven, NJ

Date: July 4th, 2010

Time: 20:30

Officer Hayes had proven correct.

Nathan had lingered around the park until the end of the parade, but if there were powered or non-powered criminals present, they elected to not start a fight. Although one pickpocket did get caught and tackled by a much-inebriated man, which had been mildly amusing to observe.

He saw that the heroes had won their three fights in Central, Gotham, and . . . Pearl Harbor?

What, was the ice queen trying to steal a cruiser or something? Why a military naval-air base/memorial?

Most villains were not often accused of intelligence, Nate reasoned, but still…

Odd robbery targets aside, the suspiciously concurrent attacks had failed.

Batman was thrilled, he was sure.

Not that it mattered greatly to Nate. A coordinated Villain attack around the country was a Justice League problem, and Matt had never joined the League. Apparently, he had been nominated once or twice, but since his powers were not flashy, and he only ever interacted with Batman, and infrequently even then, he seemingly had been passed over.

Although, a few years back, after Batman had left —or been booted—for whatever reason, Green Lantern had swung by to hand deliver Daredevil a written invitation to join, but Matt had turned it down and inquired suspiciously about the change of heart.

To the Lantern's approval, who immediately admitted he was only considered because Batman was refusing their calls, Wonder Woman wouldn't speak to him, and Superman was worried about getting stabbed with kryptonite if he 'trespassed' in Gotham.

Whatever was taken from the Justice Fridge must have been serious.

Or maybe not? Since he eventually came back?

Nathan was lying against a tree near the band shell, idly entertaining his tangent and pondering the circumstances of Batman's Possibly-Voluntary-Time-Out-of-Justice, when he heard Matt clear his throat.

"It's time. Let's go"

Nathan nodded, quickly stood up, and wordlessly ran to where Matt was standing at the entrance of the park.

Matt tossed him a briefcase and began walking south out of the park, towards The Littleneck Bridge, ironically the largest bridge in Bludhaven, where Route 9 crossed The Narrows and into the city.

"How was the parade?"

"Good. It was beneficial for practice. Didn't pay as much attention to it after twelve though."

"I heard. Strange, isn't it? I think it would be pretty hard to 'coincidentally' attack simultaneously across three time zones," Matt frowned, "I just can't figure out why they would attack like that, it's not like it spread the Justice League thin."

The man thought for a moment then sighed, "Oh well, it's the League's problem now." Matt turned serious, "I told you earlier that I found a lead on Crusher, right?"

Nate nodded, "Yeah, I'm assuming you found out where he is?"

"I did indeed," affirmed Matt, "A fight in a warehouse. Under the bridge, his match is not set to start until 10:00 but," he grinned, "I figure we can just jump him in the locker room instead of putting on a show and battling him in the cage."

"But that's not as dramatic though . . ." grumbled Nate, crossing his arms in faux anger. For his own benefit of course.

"I'm not Batman. I am completely fine with undramatically Billy-clubbing a superpowered criminal from behind if it means I don't break 3 of my ribs."

He paused and after Nate didn't immediately reply, continued somewhat incredulously, "He can turn his skin into steel remember?"

". . ."

". . . Yeah. Fine. We'll be lame and jump him in the locker room."

"Awesome. I already contacted the police."

"This is why we don't get lunchboxes."

The criminal the duo were pursuing belonged to The Penguin Gang, normally opponents of The Batman. But, like his other rogues, they would intermittently attempt to expand their territory into nearby cities such as Bludhaven. On those special occasions Daredevil would kick them out as soon as possible, although he rarely pursued them back into Gotham, instead informing Batman those rogues might be due for check-in.

Usually, the task of removing intruders from Bludhaven was accomplished quite quickly, but the recent incursion had been going on for a little over four months and was proving to be more difficult to remove. At least part of that was because of Carl "Crusher" Creel.

Likely having been picked up in Gotham, Creel had the ability to turn his flesh into any material he touched, originally using that power to fix fights for the gang. He apparently had been sent to Bludhaven to help establish a base of operations. He was not the ringleader of the operation, but lately had become a primary enforcer for it. He was known to have assisted in forcefully absorbing a local low-level gang, attacking – and killing – several people in various positions who had refused to be bought out by Penguin's men, as well as severely beating several of the officers involved in an attempted sting operation on the group.

The inability of the police to deal with the superhuman criminal had resulted in them adopting a more cautious approach in dealing with the gang, as opposed to more aggressive tactics that had expelled previous incursions. Removing Creel from the equation was key to helping the police regain their effectiveness, which in turn was critical to ousting The Penguin's men.

Unfortunately, Creel had avoided a confrontation with Daredevil up to this point, likely due to the orders of his superiors, and he had proven difficult to track. However, Matt had overheard a conversation that indicated Creel was going to be making a reappearance in the fighting ring during a match that would be held at a warehouse near the river.

Following their quick tactical discussion regarding the dramatics of Superhero-ing, the two continued to head towards the area supposed to hold the warehouse. Eventually ducking into an alley to change into their costumes. From there Daredevil and his currently unnamed partner proceeded on the rooftops.

Daredevil verbally recited the address and Nate identified the warehouse it belonged to. The two then quietly climbed on top of its roof and Matt waited while Nate looked through the skylight and observed the interior.

The setup was as expected for a fight club. The repurposed warehouse was quite large and multiple bleachers had been set up surrounding the central boxing ring while temporary walls had been put up to direct and contain people, as well as likely delay police should they arrive. The building also had several added doorways that could serve as escape routes. A few trailer-like structures lined the width of the warehouse wall to their left.

Currently, the building was relatively empty, a group of men milled about continuing to set up, but no large crowds were present.

"Well, I don't think he's in the locker room," muttered Matt, "Sounds like they gave him his own little makeshift office," he tilted his head, concentrating intently, "To the left of us. You got him?"

"Yes. And since your apparently above such antics, shall I do the honors?" inquired Nate.

The senior vigilante quickly pressed a button on his belt before nodding, "Go ahead, kid."

The younger jumped through the skylight and fell, with style, to the floor below.

It took a second for the men in the room to react after Nate hit the ground, but when Daredevil also dropped in, they shook themselves out of their shock and charged the vigilantes.

Daredevil immediately threw his Billy club into the face of one man and readied to face the others while Nathan sprinted for the room that Creel was in. An unfortunate person startled him by ripping open the door right as he reached it and was immediately punched in the face, collapsing unconscious on the ground.

It was not Creel.

Creel was calmly curling weights on a bench and looked up as Nate entered the room. He was not a overwhelmingly intimidating man, tall, about 6'0, but with a surprisingly slender frame, unlike the muscle bound roided-out figure that Nate had pictured in his mind.

Well. In fairness, I should probably be the last to judge someone's power by their looks. And I guess when you can turn your skin to metal, you don't need as much muscle.

Nathan fell into a boxing stance – part of him wanted to see how skilled Creel was – and edged closer. Creel tightened his grip on the weight in his hand and stood up, his skin shimmering and turning to a shiny gray sheet. He smirked as Nathan squared up against him. He didn't even attempt to avoid the first punch aimed at his jaw.

That proved to be a mistake, as Creel was immediately staggered and walked back on his heels with a grunt, his eyes widening. Evidently, he had not expected the blow to impact as hard as it did. He glared at his opponent, "You got superstrength or something?"

Nathan responded by closing the distance made and faking a jab with his right hand before landing a blow against his opponent's chin with his left. No wonder Creel had to cheat. Two hits in a row directly on the chin was absurd for a boxer of his supposed caliber. He would have been out like a light, if not for his metal skin.

However, the skill assessment may have been premature, as while The Crusher was evidently dazed, he seemed to have realized he made a critical mistake allowing two early hits to the head. He finally fell into a defensive stance, raising his hands up and moving back to keep the distance between the two fighters sizable while shifting to Nate's right, attempting to move him out of the way of the door.

This wasn't a match. With police sirens getting closer and Creel aware he had put himself in danger of losing, he just wanted out.

The man feigned what appeared to be a head-trauma-slowed attack to Nathan's left, before shattering the façade by dodging to the opposite side and swinging his hand quickly into Nate's head. The vigilante was able to throw his arm up to intercept the blow but was still knocked to the side. Creel ignored his advantage and ran past him and out the door.

Nathan swore and jumped to his feet, sprinting after the fighter. He saw Creel shoulder charge through a side door and followed him, he emerged into the alleyway in time to see Daredevil leap-kick the criminal in the side, launching him into the side of the alley.

"Got somewhere to be Creel?" goaded the senior vigilante, leaping back to avoid the wild swing Creel sent as he whirled around.

"Sure do," sneered Creel. The fighter grinned viciously, "But I guess I'll make time to smash your skull, Devil," he roared, charging the hero.

Crusher sent a fist at Daredevil who ducked the blow, supported some of his weight on his right hand and kick Creel squarely in the groin with his left leg.

The fighter grunted and stepped back as he doubled over, Daredevil flowed into supporting himself on his hands in a crab position before extending his legs to strike the doubled-over Creel in the face, pushing off and backwards-rolling to his feet, having to quick catch himself from slamming into the wall of the narrow alley.

Nathan picked up the torch from his partner and rushed forward; Creel immediately threw a right hook at the vigilante's head as he turned to face him. Nathan raised his left arm and blocked the punch. A normal human likely would have had their forearm broken by the impact, but while it hurt, Nate didn't have to worry.

Instead, he ducked down and threw a right-handed jab into Crusher's stomach again making him double over at the waist, immediately following up with a left-handed jab to his opponent's head, turning the folded man just enough to the side for the simple front kick with his right leg to impact Creel's chin a third time.

The two additional blows to the head—coupled with the prior ones—were enough to disorientate Creel, and at that point it was all over. The criminal stumbled aimlessly away from Nathan, but had his feet tripped by Daredevil and tumbled to the ground. The vigilante immediately brought his weapon down onto the metal skull of Creel as he tried to stand.

The Crusher went limp and collapsed on the ground. The metal covering the criminal's body immediately began to recede.

"Well. That's that then," observed Daredevil conversationally, if breathing a little heavily.

Nathan opened his mouth to comment but instead, hearing footsteps, whipped around to look at the front of the alley before immediately diving behind a dumpster as a group of gunmen formed up into a line and began to fire automatic weapons.

Daredevil took cover in an indented door in the alley wall, while Nathan hissed in displeasure, a sharp pain and heavy pressure emitting from his side.

Nathan looked over as Daredevil muttered, his super hearing allowing him to pick it up, ". . . Penguin's men. I'll toss a smoke grenade, go vertical and we'll drop down on them . . ."

"Got it," confirmed Nathan and readied himself to climb, only to pause as he heard further bursts of gunfire, cries of alarm, the crackle of electricity, and then silence. Much heavier footsteps approached the alleyway.

Daredevil tensed slightly and minutely tilted his head, although his helmet hid his expression, "That doesn't sound like normal police," he muttered suspiciously. Nathan nodded silently in agreement and peeked out from behind his cover.

Matt was right, it wasn't police, the group of men assembling around the fallen goons were clad in advanced looking armor.

"Your right. Tactical Gear. Not SWAT . . ." He frowned for a moment as he searched his memory, before remembering the super on the ground behind them. "Ah. Its Creel, they're here for him." He could hear Creel breathing, so he assumed Penguin's men hadn't accidentally hit him.

Daredevil nodded, "Right. Federals from Belle Reve then?"

"No, not agents . . . looks more like an ARGUS unit. Turpin is with them."

Dan Turpin, the BPD detective who had just joined the armored men, was someone they worked with regularly and their favored contact within the department. The duo stepped out from behind their cover and walked over to meet the group.

The apparent leader of the tactical team looked up immediately as they stood up and tensed before relaxing. He strode forward quickly, holding out his hand as he reached them, "Ben Lockwood," he informed them as they shook hands, "I work in tactical retrieval for ARGUS, I heard you have the superhuman Carl Creel on site."

"We do," confirmed Daredevil gesturing behind him to the body down the alleyway. Lockwood motioned to his men who quickly ran towards the criminal. "How'd you know?"

"I told 'em you might have him," replied Turpin, raising his hand, "I heard it from an informant that Creel might be here, but I also heard he was at the docks and stadium, so I didn't think much of it." he sighed and shook his head, "Lockwood and his men had just arrived, and they were asking where to set up when we got your signal. Figured they should tag along when I saw the address."

The ARGUS team returned, Crusher firmly secured and with some sort of collar around his neck. "He can absorb materials," warned Daredevil, "Should you be using metal restraints?"

Lockwood shook his head, "That collar around his neck was preprogramed to prevent him from using his power."

"Really?" Nate raised his eyebrows, mildly impressed, and looked at the collar curiously, "How does that work?"

Lockwood hesitated, "I haven't had that explained to me. Probably couldn't tell you if someone did."

Nate shrugged, "Fair enough."

"Do you have this handled now?" inquired Daredevil, rolling his arm in slight discomfort.

Lockwood nodded, "Just about, I suspect." He jerked his head back at Creel, who was being secured in an armored van, "We'll be taking him out of the city immediately. Probably wind up in a cell at Washington and from there maybe he'll go to an ARGUS facility or maybe the feds might want him in a national prison," he shrugged, "depends. But unless the detective has something for you, I think we got it covered."

Daredevil looked toward Turpin, who thought for a moment and then shook his head, "Nothing that can or needs to be done tonight, but we ought to have a discussion about how to hit those damn flightless birds. Thanks for your help, though."

"Of course," replied Daredevil seriously, and with that, the two made their way out of the crime scene, disappearing into the night.

Location: Blüdhaven, NJ

Date: July 5th, 2010

Time: 01:13

"That . . . is unfair," remarked Daredevil, glancing over as Nathan examined the bullet that had fallen from his side with morbid fascination, the two having paused for a brief rest in an alleyway beside a different warehouse. The senior vigilante grunted his discomfort as he rolled his arm again.

Nathan looked over at him, "You need to get looked at?"

Daredevil shook his head, "Got a little flashy and was hit with a pipe as a reward. Hurts but it should be fine."

The two started and whirled around as a cape rushed in the wind and a dark, looming, figure landed behind them in a crouch. Pure white lens stared them down from the abnormally shadowed shape.

The Dark Knight stood up and walked forward.

"You captured Creel," he noted grimly, "That will help. I'm setting up Cobblepot for a rough time that should force him out of your city."

Daredevil tilted his head, "And you came here to tell us that?"

"No," replied Batman shortly, he walked towards the warehouse door, "I'll explain in a minute."

Daredevil shrugged and the duo followed their fellow vigilante inside the building. The lights flickered on in the warehouse and Batman walked into the center and stop, he quickly threw two batarangs, which stuck themselves into the walls. The lights flickered for a minute then stabilized, he turned back to face them.

"That will prevent anyone listening in," he informed them seriously.

"What's this about?" asked Nathan curiously, Batman narrowed his eyes as he looked at him.

He fidgeted slightly. Nathan was usually fairly confident when talking to people.

Nathan was not so confident when talking to muscular 6'2 people who had the sanity required to decide that their contribution to society would be dressing up as a bat and beating up other humans on a nightly basis, while maintaining startling dedication to their theme.

"I am aware that you are unwilling to provide a certain level of information regarding your past," Batman informed him, surprising him slightly with the unexpected approach, "But an hour ago, a group of League proteges stumbled upon a secret facility beneath Cadmus labs in Washington D.C., they successfully ended operations and we discovered multiple . . . projects, including a clone."

Daredevil grimaced but Nathan kept his face impassive as he listened to Batman, the Dark Knight waited a moment to allow either of them to jump in, but when they didn't, the man pushed forward, "If you have any information that could be useful, I request you share it. The head of the labs was identified as Mark Desmond—"

"—and that's why you're here," concluded Nathan sighing, "You've already connected him to The Program, and you're right," He shrugged and waved his hand, "but a lot of people survived and scattered when it ended. Litmus test: are your sidekicks still alive? Yes? Then I can promise you, this isn't them," he hesitated, "No offense to anyone but . . . well, more than a few highly experienced people died the first time around. If it is them, and your sidekicks got them . . . they've fallen pretty far."

Batman narrowed his eyes at him, but after a moment nodded.

"It is possible, and perhaps more likely, that Desmond was simply recruited by a different group," acknowledged the vigilante, "Still, I believed it worth an inquiry," he paused, "I also have a second question for you. I am considering the formation of a team, a new team. Comprised of younger heroes. An additional reason to be here was to gauge your interest."

"Oh."

"An interesting proposal," noted Daredevil.

Nate nodded slowly as he took a minute to think on that. Younger heroes. He better not be getting asked to babysit the Justice League's kids.

He wouldn't deploy anti-bugarangs just so he could ask me to babysit the League's kids.

No, actually, he would.

Wait, does the League have kids?

He briefly contemplated what a superhero babysitter would be like before remembering he was expected to respond.

"And . . . they will be my age?" he asked, although he didn't actually know his precise age.

"Currently there are 6 other planned participants," Batman replied, "They are at or near your age and will be based out of the former League headquarters at Mount Justice in Happy Harbor."

Nathan hesitated, "I wasn't trained to operate on a team by anyone, hero or other."

Batman filed that away, "Then perhaps this could provide you with valuable experience?"

"I think this is definitely something to consider," agreed Matt.

Nathan shrugged, "Alright. If you make the team, maybe I'll go."

Batman nodded, "I have one more stop I need to make," he turned and walked towards the door, speaking to them without turning around. "If I decided to follow through, our mutual acquaintance will provide the two of you access to the Justice League Zeta-tube network and pass along the necessary time and locations." He opened the door and wordlessly left in a swirl of his cape.

Weird. Batman used a door.

"I guess he didn't feel the need to jump and smash a window," Matt noted dryly.

Oh. I . . . said that out loud.

Matt turned serious and knit his eyebrows, "I definitely think you should see about this team. You've met Robin—"

"Uh, I saw him. At a distance. Once."

He didn't even speak to him; the other boy just did a flip and ran off.

Matt shrugged and continued, "Well, I think you should see what you think about people your age."

"Am I getting a modified version of 'go outside and make friends?'" asked Nate incredulously.

Matt grinned, "Not quite. If you say no . . . I guess I could kick you out, but that's pretty extreme," he thought for a moment, "plus, the Sentinel of Liberty would be on me about it immediately. And I think Batman would probably have Wayne mail you a check and intern offer–"

"No need to convince me. I'll go."

Daredevil nodded, "Well in that case, lets head back. Afterall, only one person here heals incredibly quickly."

Location: Happy Harbor

Date: July 8, 2010

Time: 08:05

Zeta tubing was not uncomfortable, but it was disconcerting. When all of your molecules are going to be disassembled and reassembled, involuntarily thinking about potential complications was not fun.

One little mistake and I'm missing my head. They could claim it was an accident.

Despite his concern – or due to it being logically unfounded – Nathan had willingly stepped into the potential assassination-tube and been transported to Mount Justice. And although Matt had been granted access to the tubes as well, he had chosen not to accompany him to the assembly of the group.

Recognize: Nathaniel, B0-8.

He exited the structure of the Zeta-tube and saw Batman, a good number of the League, as well as what he guessed were the sidekicks, assembled and in the middle of a conversation.

To his right, turning to look at him was a . . . female Martian? Martian Manhunter was standing next to her so presumably she was one of the other protégés Batman had mentioned, although they were still missing one by his count.

The Martian girl gave him a small wave, and they walked to where the group was standing in the center of the room. The group turned to look at them, surprise evident on their faces.

". . . this is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian" Batman stated.

'Miss Martian' smiled shyly and nervously greeted them, "Hi."

"I'm liking this gig more every minute," He heard the red head mutter to the dark-haired kid.

"And Nathaniel." He nodded at them and observed the group.

While the others were looking at the Martian with more in interest, the dark-haired boy was examining him. Although his sunglasses hid his eyes, and any sign of recognition, he inadvertently tilted his head just enough to tell that he was looking at Nathan's hands. Evidently, he had a decent idea of who Nathan was, which probably made him Robin.

Superman's sidekick was also easy to pick out, since he was less subtle with his affiliation than he had been with his existence, since Nathan didn't even know Superman had a sidekick. The teen also had very good genes apparently.

Kid Flash immediately preempted his identification when he stepped up and introduced himself, "Well, welcome aboard. I'm Kid Flash," he pointed his thumb to himself. "That's Robin," the dark-haired boy in question smirked and flashed a Rock 'n Roll sign. "Aqualad," Nate looked curiously at the Atlantean, a people he had never seen before, who simply gave a welcoming nod. Kid Flash ginned, focusing his attention on the Martian, "It's cool if you forget their names."

"I'm honored to be included," replied Miss Martian earnestly.

Three of the sidekicks stepped forward to meet their newest teammates, with Superboy hanging back, when the Zeta-tube announced another arrival.

Recognize: Power Ring, B0-7

Nate and the other turned to look at the Zeta-tube as a dark-haired Hispanic girl wearing a forest green sweatshirt and jeans emerged from the light.

Robin evidently recognized her, as he started and looked to Batman in barely concealed surprise, his hand going into the pocket of his jacket. Nathan tensed as well, although only because Robin did. He, and evidently the others, had no idea who the newcomer was, although she looked familiar. The Dark Knight didn't acknowledge their alarm, instead stepping forward to stand next to the girl, before addressing the team.

"This is Power Ring," Batman stated, the girl shifted from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable, "She will be the seventh member of your Team."

"Sw-eet," muttered Kid Flash enthusiastically, oblivious to his friend's wariness, he immediately walked forward, "Kid Flash. Nice to meet yah Power Ring" he asserted, grinning at her, Miss Martian also gasped and ran up, "I didn't know there would be another girl! It's so great to meet you," she beamed.

Power Ring blinked at the two of them and awkwardly responded, "Um . . . hi? Yeah. Same-Same to you."

Nathan felt some empathy for the girl, who evidently did not enjoy being the center of attention and he decided to relieve her, "Come on," he waved her over, "we haven't really gotten to introductions yet."

She hesitated then walked over to stand next to him.

"I think that completes the count then?" asked Robin, looking over at Batman, a slightly accusatory tone in his words.

The Dark Knight nodded.

Robin called Superboy over to join in as the group formed a semi-circle. Aqualad looked at each of the members, his original partners had looks of accomplishment, the newcomers were a mix of excitement, uncertainty, and interest, "Today's the day," he noted with a hint of pride, "And I think this team is well prepared for its tasks, whatever they may be."

/

/

Independence Day/Fireworks is the tedious part of the fic.

You know it. I know it. The American people know it.

See, I wanted Nate & Matt to be based in Bludhaven and with the backstory I decided on, there was really no non-shoehorn reason for him to be in Washington D.C. or involved with the trio at all.
Thus, I decided not to shove him into the elevator shaft. Scandalous, I know, but he still gets founder cred for showing up later, so why bother? Let the original four keep their bonding moment and just hang with Matt and beat up a Marvel villain.

Anyway, first actual chapter. Hurray!

That said, looking back from a couple chapters in, I don't love the pacing of this one. If you thought it was a bit bland and awkward . . . I'm sorry, these next few were my early efforts.