I still haven't been on any missions with the team, but Dick has kept his promise to train me. One of the training rooms in the Outsider's HQ is now my designated room. The ring where I train in has pillars lined with kryptonite. Not enough to hurt me, but definitely enough that I can feel the sting. The best part is it's all controlled through a switch. When turned off, lead shields cover the kryptonite and I quickly return to full strength; the shields can even be adjusted to change the amount of kryptonite I'm exposed to. Cassie showed me the ropes and how everything works. She's the first person I sparred with in this room.

"You put up a good fight," she says to me as we head towards the room now. I'm supposed to spar with Dick. "Better than I thought you would actually. But without your powers, it's still easy enough to kick your ass."

I snort. "Try saying that with both our powers depleted. Then we'll see who comes out on top."

"Hey, you're about to go toe to toe with someone with zero powers whatsoever. By all means, impress me."

I roll my eyes, knowing this might not be easy. Dick has trained under Batman and from what I've heard about him - let's just say he's not someone you want to get on the bad side of. Plus, I'm still getting used to fighting without my powers, but I want to learn how to do it. Being skilled isn't enough, I need to be unbeatable.

"Hey, you remembered," Dick says, already sweating and gulping down water. I eye Conner leaning on the wall and I soon realize my room isn't just my room. "Thought you stood me up."

"Blame Cass, she wanted to come and was late getting here," I say, tying my hair up high. It's quite long, which never bothered me on Krypton - I liked it long, but long meant getting in my way when fighting. It was always tied back on Apokolips, but part of me just wants to cut it. Not that I even know how to do that, though. Heat vision maybe? Though that would mean trusting Kal not to mess up my hair. Maybe I can hire a barber and give them kryptonite scissors.

"I was a few minutes late," Cassie says defensively. "You were the one who insisted on finishing her pizza pocket."

I roll my eyes and smile. I've become quite accustomed to Earth food, especially when it comes frozen. I'm told it's unhealthy to just eat microwavable food, but I'm also an alien who doesn't get sick or gain weight or anything. The way I see it, I can eat pizza pockets for the rest of my life and the only long term effect will be getting sick of something so tasty.

"I see you've taken a page out of my book," I say to Conner. It takes him a moment to realize I'm talking to him, which is fair. I never initiate conversation with him.

"What?" He says, startled, then quickly realizes what I mean. "Oh - yeah. Dick suggested it'd be a good idea for me to get used to fighting with kryptonite too, and so did I. It was a great suggestion."

"Really," Dick adds. "Surprised no one's thought of this yet. Especially Batman, or your cousin."

"Yeah, I'm full of ideas," I say unbothered. "Can we get started?"

I manage to do pretty well. Turns out Furies are excellent at combat training. I even manage to pin Dick down at one point. I can tell he's not nearly as tired as I am, though. He quickly gets out of the hold I have him in and in a few quick moves, I'm on the floor."

"Damn," I say, annoyed. "Does it always hurt for you guys when you fall?"

Dick laughs. "Usually, yeah. But you get used to it."

"Maybe humans aren't so weak." I get back up and stretch my back. "Can't imagine taking hits like that all the time and keep getting back up. But then again, the hits hurt you in the first place, so…"

"Ha ha, yes we're all so fragile."

"You said it, not me."

"Okay, Kara. Your technique is pretty good. Not surprising. You know how to fight without relying on your strength, but you're still used to it. It's holding you back."

"Hence the training," I point out obviously.

"You teenagers sure have a way with words."

Conner laughs and jumps in. "You actually remind me a lot of her," he tells Dick.

"Yeah," Dick says. "I was a real smart mouth."

"You still kind of are," Cassie says.

"Okay, thanks, Cass. Now, if we can get back on track," he turns to face me. "What I was saying about your strength is if you maximize the effectiveness of your fighting without your powers, it'll increase the impact you make at full capacity."

"Great, let's go again."

I'm just about to throw a punch at Dick when an alarm goes off in the building.

"Shoot," Cassie says.

"What is that?" I ask.

"Important," Dick replies. He and Conner quickly race out of the room.

"Where are they going?" I ask Cassie.

"Emergency meeting," she tells me.

"Oh. I thought it was going to be something big like someone's trying to kill the president."

"It is," she says, her voice drained of any humour. "Come on. We better go."

I follow her, but no one's gathered on the foyer. I'm about to ask where everyone is before I realize the meeting isn't here. It's in the Watchtower.

"You coming?" Cassie asks me, stepping toward the zeta tube.

I shake my head. "Doubt the first time Bats wants me in JL HQ is when they're in crisis. Fill me in later?"

She agrees and quickly vanishes in a flash of yellow light. I'd eavesdrop, but sound doesn't exactly travel well in space. One of the reasons the location was so appealing to Batman, I'm sure.

I head up to my room and do some work for my GED, but I can't help ponder what they're meeting about.

"Is this about the USB drive Orphan found?" Cissie asks.

"No," Bruce replies. "It's heavily encrypted. Oracle is still working to decode the information on it. All we know is Orphan downloaded a file titled "O.W.L.", but we don't yet know what it means."

"Okay, so is it about Mary? Are we getting her back?" Traci pipes in.

"That's another no," Zatanna begins. "My magic can't locate between dimensions, but we know she's on Apokolips. I have however put up a watch spell for her. I'll know if she returns to Earth."

"This meeting is about the League of Shadows," Bruce explains. "The covert team Tigress led to Santa Prisca was unsuccessful in recovering any leads, save for Orphan's USB drive."

"You're not going to send another team there?" Cissie exclaims. "We've already lost Robin. It's not worth it-"

"No," Bruce cuts her off. "Though there is a rescue mission in place to recover Robin, this is about the Shadow's plans to attack Gotham. It's believed that Ra's Al Ghul is leading the Shadows once again, meaning we can also assume he's working with the rest of the Light again. If the Shadows are set to come to Gotham, it's most likely a set up for a bigger target."

"What target?" Cassie asks. She's squished in a crowd of everyone. She always forgets how many people are part of the Outsiders and the Covert Team. Thank God the entire Justice League isn't here right now - they probably met beforehand.

Bruce narrows his eyes. "The covert Team. They've known about it for years, but since it's not a public team, proving it exists is challenging. Because it's not public however, it's caused more problems for them than the Justice League has. Take Aquaman's double agent act for example."

"So they're going to attack Gotham and once they see Nightwing there to stop them, they'll just use him to get to the rest of the Team?" Jaime asks sarcastically.

"That's exactly what they'll do," Dick announces. "Gotham city has more vigilantes than anywhere else, most of us working with Batman, and most of us on the Team. They know by drawing attention to themselves, they'll attract members of the Team which we think they'll use to create a mole."

"And how are they going to do that?" Garfield asks. "Just ask one of you to pretty please be a spy for them?"
"We're not entirely sure yet," Dick says. "Could be Queen Bee's influence over men, could be a new toxin they've developed. Wouldn't be the first time. Either way we need to stay on guard, which is why when they come to Gotham we'll be ready. Batwoman, Spoiler, Orphan, and Tigress are the only ones who are cleared to respond when the Shadows arrive. If you need backup, don't hesitate to call, but assess the situation first. We don't want them to know we're on to them."
"I'm sure they already know that," Cissie says. "What with them catching us on Santa Prisca and all."

Stephanie interrupts, "I thought we were part of Tim's rescue op. What if they invade Gotham while we're on Infinity Island?"

"Which brings me to my next point," Dick continues. "The rescue op is leaving in two days. We don't think the Shadows will attack that soon, but in case they do, Orphan, Tigress, and Spoiler are no longer going. Windfall, you're now part of Gamma, and Arrowette, you're joining Alpha. Wonder Girl is also staying behind. We need more muscle ready here."

Stephanie and Cassie immediately start protesting. "What do you mean?" Stephanie cries. "We're needed on that mission-"

"You're needed here more. Windfall and Arrowette are more than capable of taking over for you guys."

"It's not that we don't think they can do it," Cassie says. "But we've been preparing for this. We've-"

"Frankly," Bruce cuts in, "there's a chance the two of you could let your emotions get the better of you. We also can't risk that on the team."

"Okay, but you need more muscle on Beta," Cassie defends. "At least replace me with someone."

"And who did you have in mind?" Dick asks. "We already have Superboy-"
"Supergirl," Cassie says a little too quickly. Bruce and Dick both stare at her for several moments, but Cassie starts talking before they can object. "She's skilled. She's trained for missions like this, plus she's stronger than Conner - no offense - and could easily take down assassins if they try to overwhelm them. She's a guaranteed win."

"That kind of thinking is what makes her dangerous," Bruce counters. "The first time Supergirl is deployed on a mission will not be when one of our own is on the line."

"You still don't trust her?" Cassie says. "You really think I'd suggest she go if I thought she wouldn't give us an advantage?" Everyone's silent for a moment before Cassie says, "Dick? Conner? You agree with me, right? You know her-"

"Cassie," Dick cuts in. "We can't risk it. The team has gone on missions without her before. They'll be fine."

"But-"

"The League of Shadows has had kryptonite in the past," Conner says. "They've used it on Superman, and Supergirl has only just started training with it. They could be expecting a kryptonian."

"And yet you're still going," Cassie pleads.

Stephanie puts a hand on Cassie's shoulder. "It's for the best. They know what they're doing."

It's odd, being comforted by Steph. She and Cassie have never been particularly close, but I guess in a way, it made a bit of sense. Stephanie, just as taken aback as Cassie by this news, is trying to find a way to be okay with it, and maybe trying to help Cassie be okay with it is how she can.

"Fine," Cassie says. The meeting soon adjourns and before she knows it, she's back in Hollywood.

I get up to answer a knock on my door. "Oh hey, Cass," I say. "How'd the meeting go? What'd they talk about?"

Cassie steps into my room and I can hear her heart beating so fast I think it might burst from her chest. "I need a favour," she says.

We sit down and she explains everything that went on in the Watchtower, then she says, "Please go to Infinity Island with them. They leave in two days. You can follow the bioship - you'll be able to see it camouflaged with your X-ray vision. And I know you've been trained in stealth."

"Yeah, but, Cassie, they'll definitely notice me if I start taking out assassins left and right."

"Please, Kara. I know you'll give them an advantage, and normally I wouldn't worry, but he's been gone for weeks and they've already failed."

"I don't know…I haven't been put on any missions yet for a reason, and I wouldn't exactly be helping Batman's case against me-"

"Yes you would," she quickly adds. "Come on, if he sees you risking yourself for one of his kids, he'll know you're trustworthy."

I can tell Cassie is lying. She's just saying what she thinks she needs to in order for me to agree. And by risks, she explains that the Shadows could possibly have kryptonite. Lovely. I can tell she's desperate, though, and I'm not sure I can afford to lose the only real friend I have on this planet. After all, didn't friends do this kind of thing for each other on Earth? Or maybe that's just in movies. Oh well. What have I got to lose?

"Okay," I say. "I'll go."