A/N: I'm back from the dead with, that's right, another YJ fic! This is a slow burn Zatanna/F!OC fic starting in season 1 and, hopefully, through season 4. Background about my OC, Cassidy Gaines, will be provided in the end notes. Enjoy!
New Beginnings Part 1
Miami, Florida
July 4, 13:00 EDT
"Ha ha! Taste my frozen fury!" The whiny voice of Minister Blizzard cried as he sent a flurry of snow and ice across downtown Miami. I rolled my eyes as I hovered several feet above him, the pale green aura around me growing brighter as I channeled my emotions into my ring.
"Seriously, Blizzard? This is a bit ridiculous, even for you." I called out as I began to lower myself to a few feet of the ground.
"Green Lantern! I was expecting a visit from my old friend Wonder Woman, though I suppose you'll freeze just as easily!" The Minister sneered, aiming his cold gun at me. With a flick of my wrist, Blizzard was trapped in a bright green box, the beam from his gun bouncing off the wall and hitting him square in the chest. With a disgruntled cry, he froze in place, trapped in a block of ice.
I smirked at the irony, before forming a watch and checking the time. One o'clock eastern.
"Crap, I'm gonna be late!" I exclaimed. Giving a small wave of acknowledgement to the cops on the street who were taking the Minister into custody, I turned tail and headed north, hoping I would make it to D.C. in time.
Washington D.C.
July 4, 14:01 EDT
"You're late." Batman said as I touched ground in front of the Hall of Justice.
"Cut me some slack, Batman." I replied, waving him off casually, "I just flew all the way across the galaxy, stopped a baddie in Miami and was only a minute late. If anything, you should be impressed. Where's Hal?"
The Dark Knight nodded toward the water feature ahead of us, where I saw Hal Jordan waiting for me in his Green Lantern uniform. I waved silently to Robin, Aqualad, Speedy and Kid Flash as I made my way to my mentor, who was looking at me with a disapproving stare.
"Why didn't you report in?" He asked me as soon as I got close.
"I had my hands full. Minister Blizzard was tearing up Miami, so I took care of it and headed here."
"You took him on alone?" He growled.
"He's not much of a challenge, Hal. You and I both know that." I grumbled as I crossed my arms over my chest.
Hal's disapproving look turned into an upset scowl, "That doesn't matter, Cass! You're 16, and your old man made me swear to look after you when you wear that ring. Next time you come back from Oa you report in first. No more distractions, do I make myself clear?"
I scowled back at him, the anger in my eyes hidden by my green domino mask, but nodded anyway, "Yes, sir."
"Good," He grunted, setting a gloved hand on my shoulder, "How was it?"
"Typical Green Lantern boot camp. Kilowog says hi, by the way."
"Ahem. Everyone is ready." Behind us, a deep voice cleared its throat to gain our attention. I turned to see Aquaman beckoning us to join the group with a soft smile. Hal nudged me forward to join the other proteges at the front of the pack while he fell back to speak with the other Justice Leaguers. As we began to make our way toward the Hall, I found myself bombarded with questions from Kid Flash.
"So... new Lantern, huh? Where're you from, gorgeous?"
"Bedford, Massachusetts. My dad is stationed at Hanscom. " I replied, "Worked out well enough, since the other Lanterns operate on the West Coast."
"How long have you been on the scene?"
"Just over a year. I actually just got back from a training session back on Oa."
"Wicked." KF's eyes lit up at the mention of the Green Lantern Corps' headquarters.
"Good thing too. The Lanterns needed to add more variety to their roster." Robin chuckled. The kelly green, gray and white were definitely a nice contrast to the classic emerald green and black on Hal and John's uniforms.
I laughed at the Boy Wonder's remark, making him smile proudly. Behind us, Speedy and Aqualad were quiet, their eyes fixed on the Hall as we became surrounded by tourists. Flashing cameras and hushed whispers filled my eyes and ears as we got to the front steps, until Green Arrow's voice cut through it all.
"Ready to see the inner sanctum?"
"Born that way." His protege answered determinedly. Aqualad smiled and finally directed his pale gaze toward us.
"I'm glad we're all here. Especially you, Green Lantern. It's nice to see that the League is recognizing new talent."
"Thanks." I said with a grin, its extent hidden by my domino mask, "I'm just glad I was able to make it on time."
"Have all the sidekicks ever been together at the same ti-"
"Don't call us sidekicks," Speedy snapped, cutting Kid Flash off, "Not after today."
"Uh, sorry." The speedster said sheepishly, glancing over at me, "It's my first time at the Hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."
Robin rolled his eyes, "You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed, why isn't anyone just whelmed?"
I arched a brow. Whelmed? That was a question for later.
I had gone on a tour of the Hall of Justice back on my 8th grade trip to Washington D.C.; it was impressive, sure, but it was nothing compared to the orbiting satellite that the League had just outside of the atmosphere. So, I wasn't shocked by the massive statues of the League's original seven members that stood before us, unlike the speedster next to me. Wally gaped at the statues as I guided him forward. We had passed through the main entrance and came to a halt in front of a door that read 'Authorized Personnel Only'. The door slid open with a hydraulic hiss and from behind it came Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado. The Martian stepped forward and acknowledged all of us.
"Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Green Lantern, Kid Flash, welcome."
Manhunter motioned for us to follow him through the door and into a bright, open space lined with bookshelves and a supercomputer on the opposite wall. Large couches and comfy armchairs dotted the room.
"You now have access to our gym, our fully stocked galley, and of course, our library." Manhunter explained. With that, Flash turned to face and spread his arms wide.
With a pristine, white smile, he said, "Make yourselves at home."
Robin and Kid Flash wasted no time in setting themselves down in a pair of armchairs while Aqualad, Speedy, and I remained standing, watching as our mentors gathered in front of a zeta tube labelled 'Justice League Members Only'.
Batman glanced over at us, his stern expression never wavering, "Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of five ice villains attacking on the same day. We shouldn't be long."
Turning to face the zeta tube, the mentors moved close enough for the computer to scan each of them.
"Recognized: Batman, zero-two, Aquaman, zero-six, Green Lantern, zero-five, Flash, zero-four, Green Arrow, zero-eight, Martian Manhunter, zero-seven, Red Tornado, one-six."
The zeta tube roared to life as its doors hissed open, but as Batman stepped forward, Speedy called out, "That's it?"
The Leaguers turned to him, confused. Speedy scowled, "You promised a real look inside; not some glorified backstage pass!"
"It's a first step," Aquaman explained calmly, "You've been granted access few others get."
"Oh really?" Speedy pointed upward toward a wall of bulletproof glass. On the other side, tourists were watching us and taking pictures, despite the no flash photography sign pinned to the glass.
"Who cares what side of the glass we're on?"
Green Arrow stepped toward his protege, setting a fatherly hand on his shoulder, "Roy, you need to be patient."
Speedy, er, Roy, shoved his mentor's hand away and sneered as he turned to face us, "What I need, is respect! They're treating us like kids, worse... like... sidekicks! We deserve better than this!"
My eyes suddenly dropped to the floor as the room became eerily quiet for a moment. Sure, someone like Speedy who had been at this for a while probably deserved a bit more than a backstage pass, but quite frankly, I was just grateful that I was asked to come along.
"You're kidding, right?" Roy asked, astonished at his companions' silence, "You're playing their game? Why?! Today was supposed to be the day! Step one in becoming full-fledged members of the League!"
"Sure, but isn't step one usually a tour of the HQ?" Kid Flash asked. He, Robin, and Aqualad all seemed perfectly content with the access they had been given, and there was no reason to question why they hadn't been given more. Until Roy ruined it all.
"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ!"
Everyone, mentors and proteges fell silent at Roy's declaration. Roy didn't hesitate to continue sharing as he gauged his friends' reactions.
"I'll bet they never told you it's just a front for tourists and a pit stop for catching zeta beams to the real thing: an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower."
Batman sent a disapproving look Green Arrow's way as he tried to come up with a good reason as to why he told his protege about the Watchtower.
"I thought maybe... we could make an exception?"
The Dark Knight's eyes narrowed from behind his cowl and GA's hopeful smile turned into a frown, "Or... maybe not."
Hal began to walk forward in an attempt to ease the tension between Speedy and his mentor, "You're not helping your cause here, son. Stand down, or-"
"Or what? You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son!" Roy spat, "I'm not even his. I thought I was his partner but... not anymore."
He took a hold of his yellow cap and threw it into a crumpled heap on the floor. I was stunned. He was actually going to walk away.
"Guess they were right about you four," He growled as he turned and strode away, "You're not ready."
The heavy silence that followed was cut short by an alert on the League's supercomputer. After a moment, Superman appeared on screen.
"Superman to Justice League. There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."
Batman stepped toward the computer, acting as if Roy's departure never happened, "I've had my suspicions about Cadmus. This may present the perfect opportunity to-"
"Zatara to Justice League!" The League's resident sorcerer appeared in a smaller window on the screen, "The sorcerer Wotan is attempting to use the Amulet of Atan to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response!"
The Dark Knight looked back over at the Man of Steel, "Superman?"
"It's a small fire. Local authorities have it under control."
"Then Cadmus can wait." Batman pressed a call button on the keyboard in front of him, "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."
He turned to face us and simply said, "Stay put."
"What? Why?" Robin asked incredulously.
"You're not trained-" Flash started before his protege cut him off.
"Since when?"
"I think what Flash was trying to say was, you're not trained to work as a part of this team." Hal explained, eyeing me carefully. I wasn't complaining or upset, so I gave him a small nod of understanding.
"There will be other missions when you're ready." Aquaman reassured us.
"But for now," Batman glared down at his protege, "Stay. Put."
With that, our mentors vanished into the zeta tube, leaving us in the uncomfortable quiet. I sighed and finally decided to break the silence with a question.
"So are we gonna stick around here or are we bailing like Speedy?"
"At this point, I'm starting to think Speedy had the right idea." Kid Flash growled, "I mean, how are we ever gonna be ready for the big leagues if they keep treating us like... like sidekicks?"
"My mentor, my King... I thought he trusted me." Aqualad whispered.
"Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ in space!"
"Y'know, it's really hard to miss when you're flying in and out of the atmosphere." I said nonchalantly.
"You knew?" Robin asked me. I shrugged.
"Yes and no. I knew the League had a satellite station. Didn't know it was their HQ though."
The boys all sighed and fell silent again. It was obvious to me that they were all debating whether or not Speedy had the right idea. I was tempted to walk away myself due to the sheer fact that I was in serious need of some lunch. But then Aqualad asked the question that changed everything.
"What is Project Cadmus?"
"Don't know. But I can find out." Robin replied with a smirk. Stepping up to the computer, the Boy Wonder went to work on hacking into the League's systems. After a while, the computer made a sad buzzing sound and said 'Access denied'.
"Wanna bet?"
After a few more moments, 'Access denied' became 'Access granted', and Robin went to work digging through League files.
"How are you doing that?" Kid asked him. The Boy Wonder chuckled under his breath, his smirk growing wider.
"Same system as the Batcave." He answered as he pulled up the Cadmus file, "Okay. Project Cadmus. Genetics lab here in D.C."
"That's all there is?" I asked, my curiosity piqued, "Seems shady."
"GL here is right," Robin agreed, "If Batman's suspicious, maybe it's worth investigating."
"Solve their case before they do. It would be poetic justice." Aqualad said with a slight nod.
"I mean, justice is kinda their thing." I pointed out jokingly.
"But they said stay put."
"For the blotting out the sun mission. Not this."
"Wait, are you guys going on a mission?" KF asked Robin and I as he sped over to us, "Cuz if you're going, then I'm going!"
We all looked over at Aqualad, who gave us a determined half-smile, "Just like that, we're a team on a mission."
Robin's smirk grew wider, "We didn't come for a playdate."
One of the perks of having a Power Ring? Being able to carry your teammates downtown without breaking a sweat. Within a few minutes, we were standing outside of Cadmus with the local fire department. In a second story window, a pair of scientists were crying for help but the firefighters below were struggling to get past the roaring flames. Suddenly, a small explosion shook the building, sending the scientists reeling forward out of the window.
With the two men hanging onto the ledge, I instinctively stretched out my hand and created a blue platform under their feet and lowered them down gently. At the same time, Kid Flash sped forward, running up the wall and losing momentum halfway, causing him to grapple for the ledge of the window like the scientists had just a few seconds before.
As KF gracelessly hoisted himself inside the building, Robin lifted his smaller frame up with the use of a grappling gun while Aqualad and I moved to follow the younger boys inside. The Boy Wonder went straight for the filing cabinets, trying to find anything to prove that Cadmus was up to no good.
"Thanks for the help out there, boys." I murmured, just loud enough for Robin and KF to hear.
Robin shrugged as he turned away from the files and began typing away on his wrist computer, "You handled it fine. Besides, we're here to investigate. 'Poetic justice', remember?"
I leaned in over Robin's shoulder to watch his holo-screen as Aqualad dipped out into the hallway and Kid Flash tried to break into the mahogany desk on the other side of the room. I had no idea how the Boy Wonder could go through all of the files that he was looking at as quickly as he was. Even though I could break the sound barrier, I still had no comprehension of what sort of files he was combing over.
"Anything interesting?" I asked him softly as Aqualad let out a small gasp in the hall. Robin shook his head and straightened up, walking toward the hall as Kid Flash sped out to Aqualad's location. The Atlantean stood mouth agape in front of a closed elevator, looking as though he had just seen a ghost.
"There was something in the-"
"Elevators should be locked down." Kid interrupted, walking cautiously up to the silver doors. Robin used his wrist computer to scan the doors and pulled up the schemeatics in seconds.
"Thought so," he muttered, "this is a high-speed express elevator. It doesn't belong in a two-story building."
"Neither does what I saw." Aqualad said. I arched a brow at him.
"Did it look alien at all? My ring is also a database. It might recognize a description."
Aqualad shook his head, "I only caught a brief glimpse of the creature. Whatever it was, it was humanoid in nature."
I nodded in understanding and motioned for both him and Kid Flash to step back from the elevator doors. Raising my hand, an image formed in my mind and formed through my ring, creating the jaws of life. With no resistance from the doors, I was able to pry them open wide enough for each of us to slide through, revealing a tunnel that extended well past the two-story building that Cadmus was housed in.
"Guess that's why they need an express elevator." I joked dryly as Robin pulled out his grappling gun and fired it at the top of the elevator shaft. Swinging down with ease, he was followed by Kid Flash and Aqualad moving at a slower pace while I slowly drifted down, the faint glow around me lighting up the shaft as we descended. After a while, Robin's line ran out bringing us to a stop at sub-level 26.
The Boy Wonder swung toward the elevator doors and landed acrobatically on the ledge, wasting no time starting to hack into Cadmus' security system. As the other boys reached the end of the rope, I formed a larger platform for them to jump onto, allowing Robin to have a bit more wiggle room as he worked.
"Bypassing security... there! Go!"
In an impressive feat of strength, Aqualad pried the doors open with his bare hands, giving way to an eerie dimly lit hallway. Stepping out into the hall, a sense of unease drifted into my chest and travelled down my spine. Whatever was going on in this place... it wasn't good.
"Welcome to Project Cadmus." Robin cracked dryly. I began to turn to the boys in the hope of deciding on a course of action, but before I could even fully face them, KF surged forward, intent on scouting ahead with his super speed.
Robin, Aqualad, and I took off at a run down the hall in an attempt to catch up with him, which was actually easier than one would think. As the speedster approached an intersection, he tripped over his own feet and landed flat on his ass. It would have been nothing if there hadn't been a mass of creatures large and small, both animalistic and humanoid, marching down the intersecting hall, paying no mind to the intruders in their facility. KF managed to roll out of the way just before he could be crushed by a gargantuan foot, practically crawling on all fours to reach us as we stared in shock at the sight before us.
"No... nothing odd going on here." Aqualad drawled, his tone almost comical. Almost.
Once the wave of creatures had passed by, we continued to walk forward toward a set of heavy doors at the end of the hall. With a bit of muscling, we were able to open the doors and found ourselves again in shock. More creatures were situated throughout a massive room, seated in glass containers as small bolts of electricity erupted from their backs.
"These creatures are like living generators." I said, looking around as I walked up to one of the containers, "It's probably how this whole underground lab has been kept on the DL. They must have been bred for this."
Aqualad nodded, "Even the name is a clue. The Cadmus of myth created new life by sowing dragon's teeth into the earth."
"And this Cadmus creates new life too." Robin agreed as he pulled a USB cable from his gauntlet and plugged it into a computer station at the center of the room, "Let's find out why."
A few moments passed before a directory of creatures popped up on the Boy Wonder's computer, detailing statistics and abilities of each individual breed that Cadmus had created.
"They call them... genomorphs. Wow, look at the stats on these things! Super strength, telepathy, razor claws, these are living weapons!"
Kid Flash leaned in a bit closer, "They're engineering an army, but for who?"
"Wait... there's something else here. Project Kr," Robin attempted to hack into the file but an angry beeping sound told me that he wasn't successful, "Ugh! The file's triple encrypted, I can't-"
"Don't move!"
We all turned to see an unfamiliar yet somehow recognizable man running up to us, a handful of genomorphs at his side and a smaller one perched upon his shoulder. His face was generally hidden by a golden helmet, but his eyes were bright blue and his voice... it sounded familiar to me. When he was able to get a good look at us, he came to a screeching halt and so did his genomorph companions.
"Wait... Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and a Green Lantern?"
I leaned over and nudged KF in the ribs muttering, "At least he got your name right."
Meanwhile, Aqualad took a hesitant step in front of us, his pale eyes starting to fill with recognition, "I know you. Guardian... a hero."
Guardian put his hands on his hips in a semi-heroic stance, making me roll my eyes, "I do my best."
"Then what are you doing here?" Kid asked him.
"I think that's my question to ask, kids. I'm chief of security here and you're trespassing. But we can call the Justice League, figure this out."
I scoffed, "You think the League is gonna approve of you guys creating weapons?"
Genuine confusion crossed Guardian's face. He really didn't know what Cadmus was up to.
"Weapons? Wha-"
Guardian's hand flew up to his temple as the small genomorph on his shoulder turned toward him, his eyes and horns glowing red, "Ugh... my... head..."
I tensed up, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see the boys do the same. When Guardian dropped his hand, his head snapped up, his eyes ablaze with anger.
"Take 'em down hard! No mercy!"
The genomorphs flanking him leapt forward raising their razor-sharp claws as they charged. On instinct, I lifted off the ground and aimed my ring at the floor in front of us, forming a bulldozer in my imagination. As the construct took form in front of me, I steered it toward the charging genomorphs and Guardian, driving them back into the nearest wall with enough force to slump them to the ground.
"Move!" I barked, taking off toward the door we had came through, hellbent on reaching the elevator. The boys weren't far behind me, given that they followed me into the elevator as soon as the doors hissed open. I immediately propped myself up against the back of the car and slid to the floor with a groan. It was finally over, and maybe we would still be able to get back to the Hall before the League even knew we were gone. Except...
"We're going down?!" Aqualad exclaimed.
"Dude, out is up." KF said, jamming a finger skyward.
Robin turned toward us, his expression serious, "Excuse me? Project Kr is down on sub-level 52."
I leapt to my feet, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is getting way out of control. We need to call in the League. Now."
As soon as I finished speaking, the elevator came to a sudden stop. As the doors slid open, we caught sight of a earthen tunnel, its walls lined with cables and gelatinous pods, no doubt housing more genomorphs inside. Robin stepped out right away, while Aqualad, Kid Flash, and I hung back for a moment.
"We are already here." The speedster sighed, as he led us into the tunnel. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed.
"We're probably to far down for comms to reach anyway." I growled to myself as we approached a fork in the road.
"Which way?" Aqualad asked no one in particular.
Robin set his hands on his hips and began to ponder, "Yeah, bizarre-looking hallway 1, or bizarre-looking hallway 2?"
An unfamiliar humanoid creature with large horns on its head stepped out of bizarre hallway 1 wearing surgical scrubs. In a semi-authoritative tone, it called out, "Hold!"
We, obviously, didn't listen, bolting down bizarre hallway 2 as the genomorph's horns began to glow the same red as the one on Guardian's shoulder. As we ran down the tunnel, the guttural growls and screeches of more genomorphs echoed off the walls behind us. We needed to find a way out and fast or we were done for. Fortunately, a massive steel door sat at the end of the hallway, and our timing had aligned with the exit of an unsuspecting Cadmus scientist.
As we bolted past her, knocking her to the ground in the process, Aqualad, KF, and I went to work closing the heavy door while Robin went to work on the security system. A horde of genomorphs came into view, scrambling toward us at full speed as we slid the door one final inch, shutting it with a deep thud.
"I've disabled the door," Robin assured us, "We're safe."
"We're trapped." Aqualad corrected him.
A red-gloved hand slapped my shoulder quickly, prompting me to turn toward Kid Flash as he stared at something behind us.
"Uh, guys. You'll wanna see this."
We all turned around, and the air was stripped from our lungs. Laying on a platform in a giant test tube, wearing a white body suit was a younger, near exact replica of Superman, surrounded by the small type of genomorph that was controlling Guardian.
The boy was asleep, but every aspect about him screamed Man of Steel 2.0. Aqualad shook off his surprise quickly and turned to the Boy Wonder.
"Robin. Hack."
The youngest of the group snapped out of his stupor as he muttered, "Uh, right. Right."
Stepping up to a console in front of the tube, he pulled out his USB and started pulling up files on Project Kr. Even the name made sense now.
"Big K, little r, the atomic symbol for Krypton," Kid said aloud, before glancing over at Robin, "Clone?"
"Hang on... got it. Weapon designation: Superboy, a clone force-grown in... 16 weeks?! From DNA acquired from Superman!"
"Stolen from Superman," I sneered, "There's no way Big Blue knows about this."
Robin nodded and continued, "Solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation 24/7."
Kid pointed to the smaller genomorphs, "And these things?"
"Genomorph gnomes, telepathic, force-feeding him an education."
"And who knows what else," I cut in, "Let's face it. They're making a slave out of... well, Superman's son."
"Now, we contact the League." The Atlantean instructed, tapping the comm in his ear. I shook my head.
"We're too far underground for a signal. We're on our own." I said grimly. Looking back up at Superboy, I noticed that the gnomes inside the tube were starting to glow red.
My muscles tensed again as KF stepped toward the tube, "This is wrong. We can't leave him like this."
Aqualad thought to himself for a moment, then looked over at Robin, "Set him free. Do it."
With a nod, Robin typed away at his computer until the door to the tube popped open with a hiss and a puff of steam. We watched hesitantly as the clone's blue eyes opened wide and looked down at us. No one moved or spoke as we waited to see what Superboy would do. When his eyes landed on Aqualad, they narrowed and he lunged with a roar, sending the Atlantean to the ground with an earth-shaking thud.
Channeling as much strength as possible from my ring, I pushed off the ground and grabbed Superboy by the waist, burying him into the bedrock wall behind us. Before he could collect himself, I landed a few solid punches in his jaw, but my surprise attack had seemingly no effect on Superboy's condition. Once he had regained his composure, he was able to grab hold of my fists and swing me up into the ceiling before slamming me into the ground with enough force to make my vision blur.
I reached up slowly toward him in an attempt to haul myself back to my feet, but with one solid kick, my vision turned black as I slumped into the dirt.
A/N: As promised, here is some background information on Cassidy.
Full Name: Cassidy Willow Gaines (she/her/hers)
Height: 5'7"
Hair Color: Light brown, short and swept to one side with an undercut
Eye Color: Hazel
Uniform: A kelly green body suit and accented by a charcoal gray stripe on the outside of the arms and legs, dark gray boots, and a charcoal gray section spanning the shoulders and neck. White gloves bearing the symbol of the Green Lantern Corps match a white belt with a silver buckle bearing the same symbol. The uniform is completed with a matching green domino mask.
History: You'll learn about it throughout the fic. The big thing to know right now is that Hal Jordan is a close family friend.
I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 1! Updates may be slow, but I promise I'll do to update as often as I can. As always, please fav, follow and review if you've enjoyed the fic so far!