𝙼𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚁𝚑𝚘𝚍𝚎 𝙸𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍
𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸𝚗𝚍, 𝟶𝟿:𝟷𝟺 𝙴𝚂𝚃

I smiled triumphantly as I held my phone with the recorded footage tightly in my hands. Connor's footage wasn't very long, but he said all he needed to say. And together with the others, it would be nice to have a short film. Maybe that was a justification, though, as I was just glad I managed to get anything out of my very stubborn friend. He could be a real wall when he wanted to, especially when embarrassed.

Giddy, I marched down the hallway to the lobby where Wally was coming out of the Zeta tube. This was great! If I could get both Wally and Connor on the same day, then the video could get done all the quicker. I already had Artemis's, Megans, and Failsafe's, and I had to wait another day to collect Kaldur's. And if I could somehow contact Roy... Then all I needed to do was record my part, and viola!

I waved the ginger down, calling out his name. I came to a stop beside the speedster, still in his civies. "Hey, Wally. You got some time?"

"You're still doing that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Seems a little much, you know. For a joke gift."

"Joke gift?" I mumbled sadly before pouting. The sole of my sneakers caught on the ground as I kicked my foot. "What're you talking about? I'm making art here."

"You didn't put in this much work for my gift." He said, crossing his arms and dodging my hand as I tried to slap his arm.

"You wouldn't have appreciated it as much." I justified. "Robin's a sap. So I thought instead of just getting him the best movie ever made, I would recreate it!"

I shot my hand into the air, keeping my phone tightly clutched in the other. "I'm going to call it 'Shrek Retold'!'"

Wally snorted. "Who's Shrek? Connor?"

I shook my head, appalled. "Megan, actually. Y'know, since she's already green. Connor's the dragon and... Hey, you're a redhead, want to be Fiona?"

I blinked, an even better idea popping into my head. "No, wait! I'll have you be Donkey, and Artemis will be Fiona!"

"I'm not kissing Connor for your little movie." Wally made a face that looked like it bordered on disgusted and amused.

"Aw, darn." I shot back sarcastically, wiggling my phone in the air. "But really, think you could say a few words? I only need a little more before I put it together."

Wally was about to reply when Batman's voice cut through on the PA. "Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian, Failsafe, report for mission briefing."

Instinctively, I found myself looking up at the noise. So when Wally mentioned he'd have to do it later, after our mission, I had to snap my head back to look at him.

"Yeah, go get dressed then," I told him, patting him on the shoulder as I jogged past him toward my room. I needed to drop off my phone and grab my suit.

____________________
𝙼𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚁𝚑𝚘𝚍𝚎 𝙸𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍
𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸𝚗𝚍, 𝟶𝟿:𝟺𝟸 𝙴𝚂𝚃

"Rumaan Harjavti is the democratically elected president of Qurac," Batman informed us as he walked forward. Harjavti's image was displayed on the screen next to a picture of Qurac and, if my geography is accurate, Bialya.

He was an older man with aged, dark skin, distinct brown eyes that steadily looked forward, and a receding hairline made up for by a voluminous beard. In the photo, he wore a suit, and his country's flag was behind him. "Harjavti has been praised as a fair, wise leader. A humanitarian."

GBS news came on, and I was surprised to see him shaking Bruce Wayne's hand in the footage. It was surprising; knowing Batman was Bruce Wayne wasn't the same as acknowledging that the Bat had a life outside the League.

Wally leaned over to mutter something to Robin, but it was so garbled I couldn't understand what he said. Robin rolled his eyes, and Batman continued without acknowledging Wally's antics.

"But five days ago, Harjavti allied himself with the dictator of the neighboring nation of Bialya, Queen Bee." Queen Bee's profile came onto the screen. I feel like I've seen her before, but I can't remember from where.

"Not a fan." Connor scoffed, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

"Few are." Batman corroborated. "But Harjavti suddenly backs Queen Bee's baseless claim that Qurac and Bialya were one nation in ancient times. And has announced the countries will reunify in two days at a ceremony in Qurac."

The image on the hologram suddenly shifted to have both countries become Bialya. The shape reminded me of a dog treat. GBS news came back on, showing clips of the two leaders back to back.

"After the ceremony, I will step down as president so that our rightful monarch, Queen Bee, may rule." He sounded so monotone, so lifeless. Did no one see that something wrong was going on?

"I laud President Harjavti for unifying our peoples, and I will gladly come to Qurac to be crowned sole leader of our nation." Queen Bee looked positively pleased with herself. I puffed my cheeks; something was definitely up.

I can't wait to kick her ass!

"And the Quracis are okay with this?" Wally questioned incredulously.

"Hardly," Batman replied instantly. "They're well aware of the brutality of Queen Bee's regime. But Harjavti has censored the press, silenced all legitimate protest, and invited the Bialyan military into his country to enforce martial law."

Flashes of images of the decaying political state that came on screen left a sour taste in my mouth.

"Queen Bee has to be controlling Harjavti." Robin reasoned, tilting his head as he brought up a key point. "Doesn't she have the power to enthrall most men?"

"And some women. But not long-distance." Batman pointed out. I hummed, thinking for a moment. "And we have confirmation she hasn't left Bialya."

"Then maybe it's not mind control? Maybe it's someone pretending to be Harjavti? Any way you slice it, she has to have help." I deduced, shrugging my shoulders.

Revision to the plan: Save the people of Quarac from the evil Bee and then kick her ass!

"Something is at work here. Find out what." Batman's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he ended the main discussion. "Robin, you're team leader."

"Promotion. Sweet." Wally said joyfully. He raised his hand for a high-five, but Robin ignored his buddy and stepped forward. He looked unsure of himself, and that surprised me. Not too long ago, he was ecstatic to be the leader. Desperate, even.

"Me? What about Aqualad?"

"Busy helping Aquaman. You're the next logical choice." Batman responded immediately.

Robin's head lowered, and from what I could see that wasn't covered by his cape, his hand went to his waist as he muttered, "Great."

Wally lowered his hand and frowned, "Dude, you totally left me hanging!"

Robin ignored his best friend, directing us toward the bioship. Megan and Connor walked together with no problem, conversing with each other. Wally hesitantly made his way over to the hallway; a bit peeved he was ignored, but I could see he was more concerned than anything. I couldn't help but feel worried for Dick too.

"Robin, (Y/n)," Batman called, making me turn to meet the voice. Robin did the same, a bit slower than me because, presumably, his mind was elsewhere. I cocked my head, giving the Dark Knight my full attention as he opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and then said what he wanted to say.

"Be careful."

I smiled, patting Robin on the back as I saw happiness penetrate the deep funk present on his face and in his being. I know he needed to hear those words from his dad, especially. And it seemed like Batman recognized this, too.

I don't know why he included me, but I felt a warmth I didn't expect. And as I walked silently with Robin to the bioship, I felt myself happy to be included in this interaction, this Team, and this life.

Really sentimental for two words, but I guess that just showed how much they meant.

___________
𝚀𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚌
𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸𝚗𝚍, 𝟸𝟹:𝟻𝟼 𝚄𝚃𝙲+𝟸

"We're right above the Quraci-Bialyan border," Robin announced as he looked at the PDA attached to his glove. He was sitting at the front of the bioship, all alone.

"A border the Bialyans are in the process of ignoring." Wally looked out the ship's window, and I followed. Below, tanks were plowing through some barbed gates and disrupting the local animals.

"No opposition. Guess Harjavti really is in bed with Bialya." Connor's voice got lower as he continued his sentence as if he had held onto hope that there would be opposition despite what we'd been told and that the current situation wasn't the case.

But it was, so all we could do now is fix it.

"Wouldn't expect opposition here. It's an animal sanctuary." The Boy Wonder corrected, PDA showing the rough layout of the ground below. 'The Logan Animal Sanctuary' was in big letters over it.

"The Logan Animal Sanctuary?" Megan asked. Her tone was almost giddy like she couldn't believe it.

It must've caught Robin's attention because he asked her in disbelief, "You've heard of it?"

Wally put on his specialized night vision goggles and looked out the window to inform us of the situation outside. "Guys, tanks have caused a stampede. With civilians in harm's way!"

I tried looking out to see what he was talking about, rushing to look over Wally's shoulder. But Connor was the one to catch sight of them and point them out to me. They looked like dots from up here. I don't think I would have spotted them on my own.

"I see them. Woman and a small boy." Connor informed. I squinted my eyes, just barely able to make out that one shape was taller than the other. I trusted Connor's eyes to be correct.

"We have to help them!" Megan exclaimed.

I turned to Robin, seeing the conflict between his facial features and body language. "We're way off mission here..."

"They'll get stampeded to death," I pointed out. And it seemed like the wrong time to say 'exactly like the Lion King!'

"Deploy. But stealth mode!" Robin ordered quickly, stressing stealth. We couldn't get caught by patrol. It'll tip off Queen Bee and her associates that the League is on their tails. "If the Bialyans know we hit them, this becomes an international incident."

Wally hit the symbol on his chest, changing his suit to its darker color scheme as Megan shifted her usual white attire into black. Connor, Robin, and I's suits were already 'stealth mode' because they were darker colors, so we were good.

The boys hooked a bioship tether to their belts, and I followed, dropping down out of sight from the Bialyan soldiers. Megan fired one of the lasers from the bioship, causing two tanks to crash into each other and stop the soldiers' advance. As she did that, under camouflage cover, she shot straight through the ensuing cloud of smoke.

Robin threw down a batarang that emitted a cloud of gas, which allowed Wally to come in and knock the soldiers off balance without being able to defend themselves or even know what was happening. Megan shot at them, scaring them into retreating.

Connor ran ahead of me as the stampede approached the two civilians. Using his super strength, Connor tried to stop the animals with force while I ran to get the woman and child out of the way entirely.

Connor managed to get one of the beasts down and use it as a way to part the sea of animals, but I couldn't manage to stop the injured beast they'd been tending to from running straight into the thick of it.

"Oryx!" The redhead boy screamed and lurched for the animal, but his mother held him tightly, and he didn't get anywhere. I flinched, turning away from what would surely be an animal killed in the chaos, but it, the oryx, floated up over the sea of wildebeests.

"Megan..." I breathed out in relief. Robin and Wally joined us, the Boy Wonder dropping off Wally's back as the redhead threw away the guns he'd collected. I feel like he should be safer with those firearms, but at the moment, I was just happy nothing too bad seemed to happen.

"Are you both all right?"

The kid's eyes enlarged, and he turned to his mother, who looked stunned. Her mouth was wide open, and her eyes were dilated. Looking at her, I couldn't help but feel she looked like Megan if she were older. Or like her mom. If she were human.

"Mom, Mom, Mom!" The kid badgered the lady, gushing to her. "We were just saved by Robin and Kid Flash."

They both turned to look at us as Connor and Megan walked closer. Wally smiled, liking the kid's amazement. "Superboy and Miss Martian helped, too."

"Wow, thanks, Kid," I said sardonically.

"Well, what did you do?" He was only teasing, but I found myself flinching when I realized he was right. I hadn't actually accomplished anything in my rescue attempt.

Megan lowered the oryx from the air to the ground, and the kid raced toward the animal, calling its name in concern.

"We diverted the Bialyans around the sanctuary. You should be safe now." Robin informed them, not breaking his professionalism.

"Yeah, coast is clear, Miss M. You can de-camo now." Wally jabbed at her as she floated down next to him and Connor. She took off her hood and de-camoed, stuttering out, "H–hi."

The kid's eyes seemed to light up in recognition, almost. It made me think I was onto something momentarily when I thought they looked related.

"You may have made things worse. Bialyan border crossings are a way of life here. Usually, they wreck a few fences and move on. Engaging them might have made us a target." The older woman furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms in a huff.

The oryx snorted, walking away from the conversation, supposedly all better now. I looked to see the direction it was headed, the barn.

Her kid advocated for us, whining. "Mom. Uncool."

But when I thought about what she said for a moment, it made sense. And suddenly I felt guilty. If we don't solve this Harjavti problem, it will only worsen for them.

"I'm sorry. I should thank you." The woman sighed. Her shoulders relaxed, and the thought came to me that maybe saying those things to us like that might've been a way to relieve the stress.

"This is my son, Garfield. I'm..." She tried to introduce herself but was interrupted by not her kid but Megan. "Marie Logan. I can't believe I'm actually meeting you in person. I've, uh... I've admired your stance on animal rights for years!"

One second, she was ecstatic; the next, she put her hands behind her back and turned her head in a blush. Connor stared down at her, puzzled. Did he say something psychically?

The oryx stopped before it could get far, too tired from the looks of it to continue. And the wildebeest Connor knocked to the ground was coming closer, slowly making progress with its new limp. It snorted to get it's keepers attention. It snorted in pain.

Marie approached, looking it over. "The oryx is sick, and I think you injured this wildebeest."

"Uh... Sorry?" Connor apologized in confusion.

"I suppose it was unavoidable. But both need to go to our clinic." Marie stated, walking forward as the wildebeest made its way toward the barn too.

"The boys can do that. You and I can, uh, fix your fences!" Megan practically jumped forward, offering something that we weren't responsible for. This was off-mission. And if we really wanted to help these people, at least in the long run, we have to get back to our original plan.

"That's not exactly our..." Robin tried to say exactly what I was thinking, but Megan turned around, fast as lightning, and put her hands up in a pleading pose. A blinding smile that no one would ever be able to resist was on her face. "Robin?"

Behind her, Garfield did almost the exact same thing to his mother. "Please, Mom?"

Both Marie and Robin sighed in defeat at the exact same time, muttering out, "Fine." Almost as if this was scripted.

Garfield and Megan both cheered, exclaiming, "Yes!"

It was decided, though, that we would wait until morning to do anything else. It was the middle of the night, and the kid needed to sleep, and we needed to think of a new plan. The Bialyans may not know exactly who attacked them last night, but they do know something in this area fought back. And that it was very similar to the something from a few months ago.

Queen Bee might be tipped off about it if it makes its way up the chain of command.

When the first light hit, we exited the Bioship, and Megan went off with Marie to fix the fences. Garfield was leading us inside his house when he passed by under a tree. From up above, on the highest branch, a monkey screeched and dropped onto Connor's shoulder. It ran around the confused Kryptonian before leaping to Wally.

"Hey! Get it off!" Wally exclaimed before it reached out and stole his protein bar, leaping to Garfield next, who twirled around with it in whimsical amusement, laughing. 

The monkey took a bit of the bar as Garfield introduced it. "It's okay. Meet Monkey."

"Good name. But I hate monkeys." Connor started to say before getting hit in the face with a hardly-eaten protein bar. He growled at the monkey as it began to screech again.

"Looks like Monkey hates Superboys." Robin declared.

"Dude, be glad he only threw a protein bar." Wally teased, which caused Connor to grumble again. I pat the superpowed clone on the back as I tried not to make it obvious I was laughing at his expense to his face. I failed, he saw. And heard.

The situation was just so absurd I couldn't help myself. As Garfield led us all inside, Connor pushed me in revenge up the front steps. I swatted my hand at him in an attempt to hit but didn't manage to connect.

The main room inside their comfy quarters was a living room with the blinds down on every window. There were faded red couches and a coffee table over a nice rug, with an old TV set on the back wall.

Garfield stood in front of the TV, placing his hands on his hips as the monkey started eating his outer layer of clothes. "So pretty weird about Miss Martian and my mom, huh?"

I raised my eyebrow, "Yeah. I wasn't going to mention it, but they do look similar."

Wally and Robin took the armchairs while Connor stood cross-armed, facing Garfield. I hopped onto the couch, practically leaning over the armrest as I answered Garifeld.

"What do you mean?" Connor questioned, clearly not seeing the point me and Garifeld was trying to make.

Garfield tried to spell it out for him, "I mean, she looks exactly like Marie. You know, except greener."

"She does?" Wally asked, still not making the connection.

"Red hair, same face shape, the freckles are perfectly aligned," I counted off on my fingers before throwing my hands up in the air, "Hell, if Ms. Marie were a bit younger, they'd practically have the same skin."

"A lot of people are redheads and have freckles," Wally called me out. I puffed up my cheeks. How did they not see it? I looked to Robin to see if he knew anything about this, and to my surprise, the Boy Wonder looked befuddled.

"Did y'all notice how happy Megan was to see Ms. Marie anyway? I mean, she was acting like she was meeting her celebrity crush from middle school." I had the same reaction, too, when I met the Justice League and the Team. The only saving grace to that embarrassment was that Failsafe did all the talking back then.

"Well, duh. Mom was a TV star on Hello, Megan!" My eyes practically bulged out of my head at the phrase Garfield had uttered. Hello, Megan!? Megan says that all the time, and he's telling us it was a TV show?!

Something's up.

'Did you know about this?' I questioned Failsafe, which caused a spike of adrenaline to shoot up my spine. I don't know what's gotten her so on edge these past few days, but it was becoming less concerning and more annoying.

'Of course, I knew... What're we talking about?' Failsafe replied, and I got the feeling she was lost in her own head, thinking about something else and paying no attention to us, kinda like how Robin was earlier. What was up with everyone lately?

What I found super strange was the fact she'd been doing that more and more these days.

'Hello, Megan! the TV show?' I prodded, to which I was provided an answer.

'Oh, that. Yes, I knew about Hello, Megan! ...I didn't think it merited any mention.'

'Why not? That's an important detail about one of our friends!'

'All lifeforms base their existence off of others they admire. Martian Manhunter broadcasts media from Earth to Mars all of the time, and the Martians are shapeshifters who can easily take the mold of those they choose. It didn't seem pertinent to call out something so... obvious.' Failsafe explained.

"You and I are so going to have a talk later about the word 'obvious,'" I mumbled to myself, barely coherent to anyone but me and by the looks of it, Connor, as Garfield popped in a VHS. It seemed I missed part of the conversation while I was talking to Failsafe.

"Whoa, you still have VHS?" Wally gaped at the now ancient recording. "Where's your eight-track?"

The recording was just starting to play when Connor turned around out of nowhere and called out, "Wait!"

In an instant, Robin, Wally, and I braced ourselves for whatever Connor was going to say. Both Robin and I were already halfway to standing up by the time the super finished, "Aircraft, headed this way."

Connor and Wally rushed out of the house while Robin turned his attention to Garfield. I called to the kid, "Garfield–"

"Stay put," Robin warned, finishing my line of thought. We rushed outside and saw Megan and Marie back from fixing the fences. Megan barely had enough time to ask a question before rumbling came from the clouds, and three jets swooped down, bullets firing down like rain.

The sudden attack caught everyone off-guard, but Megan acted quickly, hopping in front of Marie and holding her tightly to her chest as they both became small on the ground. Connor dove in to save them both, using his bulletproof back as a cover against the planes.

"Where's my son?" Marie asked frantically, breaking free of Megan and gripping Connor's shoulders as the firing stopped for the planes to circle back around in their strike.

"I ordered him to stay inside," Robin told her from my side on the porch.

"He's eight! He doesn't do orders!" She stressed, and sure enough, when I peeked back inside the house, he wasn't in the spot we left him. But the backdoor was wide open and creaking.

From the distance, I could hear a young kid's voice calling out for his mother. I snapped my head in the direction—a red barn on the other side of the enclosure. Garfield must've run there to get to the barn that fast.

Even if the planes hadn't seen him, it was one of two places they could target that would majorly damage the property and set back whatever perceived resistance the Bialyans would be trying to cull. And with most of the equipment being stored there, along with any other important resource, it was prime to attack.

What's worse is I'm pretty sure I saw a fuel tank near there last night. If that gets hit... I found my legs moving, rushing toward the barn as everyone had stilled beside me. Robin called out my name, not Failsafe's, but mine, telling me to stop. I pushed my legs further, ignoring him.

The door was open, and the oryx and wildebeest were flooding out from it as he continued to make noise. "It's okay. I got the animals out!"

I was almost there. I was almost there! So close that in just a few more steps, I would be able to tug on his hand if I lurched far enough. But the planes came back around, and their bullets hit the fuel tank on the side of the barn.

There was half a second before the hissing of the full tanks hit my ears, and not much longer until the blast expelled from them, blowing everything in its vicinity up, including the barn, Garfield, and me.

The blowback sent me flying, and I just barely made out Garifeld from my blurry vision in the air. I was able to just barely grab his hand and yank him forward, spinning in the air with him when a large piece of wood knocked into us as it sent us crashing twice as hard into the ground. I cried out at the impact, feeling scrapping against and in my skin that didn't feel natural. I brought him close, putting my back to the explosion in an attempt to shield him with my body the best I could as the debris continued to rain down on us.

Failsafe created a shield around my body, healing my injuries as I continued to hold on for Garifeld's life. The worst of the debris was blocked by it, and I only sustained a few bruises and scratches from the landing. I winced at the ringing in my ears, and the inability to focus my eyes made me sick.

I messed up. I don't regret trying to save the kid, of course, but as I examined him, I realized I was too late in grabbing him to keep him from the wood that hit us in midair. The gash on his back was pretty large and bleeding heavily. His blood soaked into my clothes, and all I could see was it and him.

I managed to save him from everything except that. I exhaled shakily, blinking away my distressed tears from the failure. It could've been worse, right? Right?

"I got you, buddy." I held him close, realizing he'd slipped into unconsciousness upon the initial force. Maybe if I held him tighter, it would ground us. Maybe the pressure would help his wounds. That's what you're supposed to do when someone's injured, right? Apply pressure?

I realized as my knuckles turned white that I was trembling. It was getting hard to breathe, and I could hear my heart beating in my ears.

Some force tried to pry me off of him, but I swatted at it. I couldn't let go of this kid. He was lying here in my arms, about to die. There was no way I was handing him over to finish the job!

Muffled voices like those underwater tried to reach me, and I screamed out, hoping they'd be scared enough of my bark to retreat. The hands retreated, but the threat stayed, except the threat formed to be something else.

Robin crouched down next to me, placing a gloved hand on mine. He dropped the secret identity, calling me by my name. "(Y/n), you need to let go. Gar is critically injured, and if you keep holding onto him like this..."

He didn't have to say it for me to know. But I couldn't remove my grip, even if I wanted to. I tried voicing that to him, that I would if I could try, but my body was frozen. It wouldn't listen to me. Nothing came out except weak noises that sounded as if I hadn't used my voice my whole life.

'(Y/n), you have to let go.' Failsafe advised me, the same as Robin. But still, my body wouldn't move. It neither became more tense nor relaxed. I felt like I wasn't in control anymore.

I just wanted to save the kid.

Wally's yellow getup and half-covered face invaded my senses, and he started talking to me. It was random nonsense, obscene things that had nothing to do with what was happening. His hair jostled with the wind, and his green eyes were focused on something below. I don't know why, but I focused on what he was saying.

And when I looked down again, I found he'd carefully peeled my fingers from Garfield, and Robin had taken the kid in his arms. His worried mother was intent as they talked, but I couldn't seem to care about what they said.

Garfield... Garfield was right in my arms. He wasn't there anymore. I didn't save him. I failed to save him. I was so close. Almost there. Right there.

I was right there?

My legs wobbled as I lurched forward to stand up when someone caught me, and I fell against a firm torso. They picked me up, and even though I could see us leaving the fields to head inside, my brain couldn't register it.

'(Y/n), listen to me.' Failsafe spoke inside of my head. I tried listening, like she said, but I couldn't get my scattered thoughts together. What was she saying?

'This isn't a healthy way of doing this... But...' Failsafe mentioned, and I straightened up in alertness. I don't know what she was doing, but it had to be bad from what she was implying.

I found my body relaxing despite my newfound alert. And my muddled brain began to clear. Something went through my system fast, and by the time I was placed back down on the couch, the world came back into being. And I realized it had been Connor carrying me here.

I took a deep breath and realized that whatever Failsafe had done to me, she brought me back—maybe not all the way, but enough. Even still, with this feeling, I could tell it wasn't permanent. She only suppressed it. This was something I was going to have to work through naturally, after the mission was over.

I closed my eyes, focusing on my breathing. It would be okay; I don't have to worry about that right now. And when I do, I'll have people beside me to help. I know I will. I will. So...

My senses spiked again, and it was only when Failsafe started to talk again that they calmed down. She was talking me through it, so I didn't start to panic again.

'Ms. Logan needs O-negative blood. You're the only one here with that blood type. If you really want to save Garfield– You need to get up.'

That information was a shock to my system; my body jumped off the couch, and I made my way down the hallway to the room where they were keeping him with singlemindedness.

An EKG was beeping in the room, and I found my eyes zeroing in on Garfield, whose head was wrapped in bandages and was lying motionless on the bed. The cover was pulled up over his chest, but I just knew his back had to be heavily bandaged, too. His mother had a stethoscope and was tending to him, but the heavy sigh that came from her wasn't an indication of good news.

"I can run him to the nearest hospital," Wally said, eyeing me suspiciously. He looked ready to leave at any moment, but he was blocking me from entering the room.

"The nearest hospital with a blood supply is half an hour away at your top speed. Longer by Bio-Ship." Robin narrowed his eyes upon seeing me. "(Y/n), you shouldn't be up."

"I'm fine," I told him, trying to appear that way. "Failsafe said I'm O negative. I can do the blood transfusion."

"No can do," Robin said, "You're clearly in shock as well."

"Failsafe knocked it out of my system." I tried to offer that as an explanation. I wasn't sure it worked, and I don't care. I felt fine. Fine enough to at least do this. "Please, just let me help in any way I can."

"I can't take much from you," Marie pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, "but I may be able to get what I need from you."

"The problem is if we encounter any fighting on our mission, (Y/n) will be out of commission." Wally pointed out. I took the chance to slip past him into the room, nearing Garfield's bed.

I shook my head, "I'm willing to do that. It's fine, anyway. You probably won't encounter anything you can't handle without me, and Failsafe's not going to be much help today, regardless."

"I don't want to risk it." Robin said, looking at Marie, "Can he handle half a transfusion? At least, for now?"

"No." She replied, her gaze that was already stone-cold hardened. "I need her. She stays here. If anything goes wrong, we will need more than just one."

I was ready to offer anything she requested of me right now. I failed to save him; I didn't want to fail again.

"I might be able to help." Megan stepped forward into the room nervously. "My shape-shifting occurs at the cellular level. I think I can morph my blood to match his. Then, I can handle the other half of the transfusion, and we can still complete the mission together."

She looked like she was beating herself up for this. I placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping it would comfort her. Maybe it worked, maybe it didn't. The way she shrunk into herself more made me think it was the latter.

I suppose we were both feeling the same crappiness right now.

"I'll need total concentration for my part, though, no distractions." She warned. It would've been nice if we could both give simultaneously. Unfortunately, that's not how transfusions work. It'd have to be one at a time. And because I was originally O negative, Marie hooked me up first.

The older woman stayed, waiting by her child's side as I watched my blood leave my arm through the plastic tube. I couldn't help but ask Failsafe the pressing question on my mind, 'How'd you know my blood type?'

An illusion of myself, cool, calm, and collected, appeared on the opposite side of the bed. A mirror image of myself, sitting on the same stool as me. She wasn't hooked up to Garfield, feeding him blood, however. Which told me I was still in control of my body.

The image, Failsafe, answered. 'Batman told me once.'

Her lips were moving, and I thought it was coming from her. But the words and her voice, my voice, were still coming from inside my head.

'And how does Batman know my blood type?' I pressed.

She shrugged her shoulders, an uninterested look on her face. 'Uhdunnuh.'

'What do you mean 'Uhdunnuh'?!' I asked, even more confused than I was before. I sighed, moving on. The answer didn't even matter. But it seemed more apparent Failsafe was picking up on some of my habits. Guess I'm not the only one after almost three years of partnership.

The clone of me shifted nervously, and when I looked up at her, her eyebrows were knitted together, and she was refusing to look at me, finding the wall much more interesting. '(Y/n), there are some things I've been–' She shook her head, 'Something I need to discuss with you.'

My eyebrows raised halfway up my forehead, noting the change in wording but deciding not to comment. 'Yeah?'

She took a deep breath, 'Chaos and Order, Evil and Good; they are not mutually exclusive. They have nothing to do with each other.'

She made eye contact with me, 'You perceive Chaos as bad and Order as good. Such Klarion is bad, and Doctor Fate is good. And it is because of this that I have clashed with not only other humans but you, ideologically, many times.'

'Uhuh,' I said, elongating it. 'And?'

I still didn't see where this was going. Failsafe looked down, and (h/c) hair swept over her face. Through it, I could see her eyes trailing across her fingerless gloves, sitting on her legs.

'For the first time in my life, I want to put a good action into the world. One that isn't to maintain the balance of Order and Chaos. But something just, inherently, good.' She admitted, raising her head.

'So I've been gathering my energy for the day in question when I will need it the most. But with the way events are progressing, I don't believe I can handle it myself anymore. I don't want to handle it myself anymore.' She stretched out her hand, leaning over Garfield. Marie didn't notice, and I saw Failsafe's hand leaning on the bed, not making a dent.

'I need your help.'

I stared at the hand for a moment, and it only took a moment before I reached out, grabbing her hand. Making my movements careful to not disturb the worried mother. 'Do you even need to ask?'

She smiled, parting our fingers and sitting down. I lowered my arm as well. Marie didn't react to my movement, and I already figured by now that this Failsafe was an illusion. Something only I could see.

I think I like it better when we're both visible and heard. Partners with each other's backs. Not this phantoms joke.

Suddenly, a lot more serious than I've ever been, I straightened out my back. Any thought of being funny or downplaying it was thrown out the window. If Failsafe was asking for help, then this was important. More than important. This might be the single most significant thing Failsafe has ever asked of me, of anyone.

'In a month,' she started, 'something is coming. I've been gathering power for it, but I'm not sure it'll be enough for the task presented.'

She jolted, finding eye contact with me. 'I know we can do it together. But... I may not be able to protect you the way I promised that day.'

'We're partners, Failsafe.' I told her confidently. 'I'd follow you, regardless of whatever promise we made or not. Nothing in this universe could stop me from following you.'

I smiled at her. 'Partners forever, right?'

A sharp inhale came from her, but there was no noise because she wasn't really there taking the air. It just looked like it. There was a sadness in her eyes, too. Perhaps a nostalgia from when this was just a memory. It must've meant a lot to her.

This memory meant a lot to me, too.

'So then, I suppose we should go over the details...' She started to address the real meat of what we were talking about but was interrupted by Marie looking over and tapping on my arm. I jolted, looking at her.

"I've taken the half a pint of blood I need. You can call in Megan now." She said as she carefully removed the needle from my arm and placed a bandaid over it. She turned away without anything more to say, getting ready to change the needle and tubing.

I stood up, feeling like half a pint of blood was taken from me. I shook it off, leaving the room and peeling off the bandaid from my arm. Failsafe had already healed the puncture by the time I reached the door. I winced, clutching the spot from the bandaid in pain. Ow.

"Hey, Megan, Ms. Marie wants you to try the molecular blood-shifting thing for the last half now," I told her, smoothing out my aching arm. Why did I have to peel it?! I'm an idiot. Every time! Every time I say I'm going to just rip it off, and I never do!

I was regretting almost every life decision I had made today when I made it to the living room. Wally, Robin, Connor, and Megan were waiting, talking amongst themselves, in the living room. Megan shot up and rushed down the hall at my words. Wally held up a VHS tape to Robin and Connor before popping it in. Must've been the one Garfield gave us.

I stayed silent as the tape started rolling. My eyes practically bulged out of my skull once the theme song started rolling. It was enough to knock me off my feet, metaphorically. Connor tried to deny it as a coincidence, but how could you?

"Oh! Hello, Megan!" The redhead girl on the TV slapped her forehead in the same way Megan does, even down to the same spot. She was wearing the same clothes. Had the same caucasian skin tone Megan used as a disguise. Their hair was parted practically the same way! The only thing different was hers and Megan's eyes.

The girl ran to the door, opening it and exclaiming a name that, if I were drinking water, would have made me do the dramatic water spit. I shouted, copying the name. "Connor?!"

The episode kept going despite the dizziness that washed over me. Connor seemed to have a problem with it, too, because he shifted away from it and refused to look. I covered my eyes, the secondhand embarrassment getting to me.

I don't think we were ever meant to see that.

"Oh, yeah, pure coincidence," Wally muttered. I didn't even notice Megan walk into the room until Wally was scrambling to get the remote to turn it off. Had it already been that long since Megan walked in? I hadn't noticed the time go by.

"It's done. All we can do now is wait." Megan said, rubbing her arm sadly. And it occurred to me if that show was so important she'd base so much of her identity off of it, that those people in the other room might be more important to her than it seems.

Wally managed to change the channel with his fumbling. A news outlet was covering the Harjavti situation. I blinked, marveling at what a nice save that was.

"My fellow Quracis," The bearded man started. I focused my attention on the TV, making room for Megan as she walked past me.

"Is that Harjavti?" She questioned, trying to get up to speed on what she thought we were watching out here while we waited.

"Queen Bee's rule is a gift to Qurac." The president went on. I narrowed my eyes, picking up something odd in the frame. There was a guy with his hands in his pockets, hood up, to the back of Harjavti but in front of all his bodyguards.

"Is it just me, or does that guy in the back look a little too... Gotham covered to be a politician?" I pointed out, receiving a shot glare from Robin.

"Hey, your right. That guy in back, I know him." Connor declared, inching closer to the screen like it would help him see a little better.

Megan provided more clarity. "It's Psimon. The psychic we fought last time we were in Bialya."

I groaned, trying to mold myself into the couch to avoid the inevitably we'd have to run into him. "You mean the one that wiped six months from our minds and left us to die out in the desert? Fuck me."

He was the guy helping Queen Bee, I'm sure of it. Which meant my plan from earlier about kicking ass wasn't going to be hers, but his. And I didn't feel like ever interacting with him again. If we ever had to kick his ass again, it'd be too soon after what he did to us.

Sometimes, I still feel like I'm working off the headache he gave me.

Megan made her deduction, ignoring my whining. "He was working for Queen Bee then. He must be controlling Harjavti for her now."

Wally winced, rubbing his head. "I remember the headache from when he brain-blasted us."

I lifted myself up, patting the speedster's shoulder, sending my silent message. I understand, my friend. You are not alone in this fight!

'(Y/n), focus.'

'Never!'

"We have to get Harjavti away from him." Robin had started scouring his archive of data on Psimon from his PDA.

While he was doing that, Marie appeared from the backroom. Her shoulders were still tense, but her facial expression conveyed her relief. "I think it worked. Garfield's stable."

I felt myself breathe a sigh of relief at her news. The first real breath I've had since Garfield got hurt.

Robin turned to her, simultaneously telling us it was time to execute what we came here for and saying goodbye to her for now. "Good. Because we have our mission."

_______________
𝙳𝚑𝚊𝚋𝚊𝚛, 𝚀𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚌
𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟹𝚛𝚍, 𝟸𝟸:𝟷𝟷 𝚄𝚃𝙲+𝟸

The mansion Harjavti stayed at was infested with Bialyan soldiers, lights that could search the entirety of the premises and sturdy walls. Getting in was a matter of skill: physical, mental, and attention span– and listening to Robin. But we did it.

Robin stuck a looking device down the vents, letting everyone know what he saw through the mind-link. 'Harjavti's alone.'

Harvajti was completely unguarded, alone, in a dark room? I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. This had to be a trap. Still, Robin deemed it okay, so after Wally jumped down, I did the same. Connor followed, and Megan floated down in camouflage.

Robin went up to the president, but the man was confused and out of it. He moaned, "Where's my daughter? Unh. Where's Psimon?"

"Forget him. Let's get you out of here." Robin motioned toward outside, but he wasn't able to make a move before Bialyan soldiers came bursting in through the door, equipped with weapons I'd never seen before.

They aimed their weapons at us, something that looked like a glowing machine gun but different, otherworldly, but didn't shoot. Their commanding officer must not have given them the command yet. Said officer strut in, hands behind his back, scanning the room to look at us with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Well, well, American heroes," He had a distinct accent, and from the looks of it, his office had to be of high enough rank to take care of a president. But not high enough that he wouldn't be a risk leaving his home country, Bialya. Megan floated behind him, camouflaging into the door. "Here to assassinate the president. Such a shame we arrived too late to stop them."

My breath almost hitched, but I held it in. I can't show any weakness here, can't give them an inch, or they'll think they have the whole mile.

Connor told us what we were dealing with through the link, 'Those are Apokaliptan weapons.'

'Which they'll use to kill Harjavti. We get blamed, and Queen Bee gets to rule Qurac. Form up around the president.' Robin ordered.

'Yeah, but how're we supposed to do that when they're trained to kill us at the slightest movement?' I asked, shifting my foot back. I saw at least three people's eyes snap toward the movement. Great.

I'm sure I could shift in time, but the only person that is going to help is me. And on the off chance I'm too slow... No, I wouldn't be. I just know.

'I've found Psimon.' Megan said through the link, and I could see her camouflaged form fly off. Knowing that she was there really helped me find her after I lost track. If I hadn't been her teammate all these months, I would've never seen her.

'Wait.' Robin tried to stop her but failed to follow through because of the current situation.

'I'll get her.' Connor said, and I found myself unable to look behind me. I couldn't even take a step back without drawing the ire of half the armed men. I wasn't going to make any unnecessary or sudden movements.

'No. The mission is Harjavti.' Robin stated, laying down the law.

'So how do you suppose we get out of this pickle, then?' I said, knowing that if I tried inching my hand toward my utility belt now, then I would have to voidstep right away.

'On three, (Y/n) shift, Wally run, Superboy, cover me.' Robin's orders were concise, but I understood. If I voidsteped, I could access my utility belt and get behind them. Wally was fast enough to damage their weapons before they blinked, and Superboy was bulletproof. Unfortunately, Robin was not and did not have access to any of those other options.

'Three!' Robin said, skipping the numbers. I voidstepped immediately, grabbing the explosive batarangs from my belt. I chucked them toward the far wall, directly behind where our opponents are. I let the batarangs shift back midair as they left my hand.

I slid over Harjavti's desk, voidstepping back just in time for the explosion to go off and pushing Harjavti under the desk. It knocked three of the soldiers, plus the officer, off balance, which allowed Connor to break two of their weapons. Wally handled the destruction of the fourth while Robin threw a cable at the officer, restraining him.

The detonation caused damage to the room, and the remaining two with working Apocolyptan weapons fired on reflex, smashing the windows. I threw another, non-explosive batarang into the core of one soldier's weapon. Located directly on his chest. The war weapon's core exploded in the soldier's face, knocking him back and rendering him unconscious.

I turned around, watching Robin shoot out wire cables from his gloves and electrocute the last guy. Cool. I swiped my hands against each other, happy with the work I managed to do.

Robin hogtied them all together; the defeated men groaned even as they were out cold. A woman rushed out from another room, hurtling toward the desk. I remember her from the TV, Harjavti's daughter.

She crouched down, helping the president up from the fetal position I'd forced him into and onto the chair. He was still confused and bordering catatonic, the continued influence of Psimon messing with his mind.

The young woman hugged her father tightly, happy he was safe, before turning to us. "Thank you for saving my father. We will take care of him now."

I nodded, turning to the boys, who all had the same idea. We had to catch up to Megan.

Connor was the first out of the door, bolting down the hallway like a man on a mission. Which, I guess, he was. I followed closely behind Robin as we sprinted after him. Wally sped ahead, guiding us down the halls in search of Megan.

'M'gann, we're coming.' Connor informed her, turning as Wally announced an audience room up ahead where there seemed to be something of note.

I had barely made it through the door when a blast of force came hurdling into me. I let out a cry at the stimulation but found my brain failing me. My eyes shut, and I felt something like a migraine as I fell unconscious.

__________________

A chorus of groaning, including my own, was my wake-up call. I clutched my head; the sensation of it splitting open filled my exhausted brain.

"And there's the headache." Wally voiced my exact thoughts. I called on Failsafe to deal with it, but I got no response. Peachy. Now really wasn't a great time for a nap, 'Safe.

"Psimon?" Robin croaked out. I trailed my gaze over to him slowly, finding that moving my eyes or looking at the light in the room made my headache worse. He looked fine, bothered by the blast, but fine.

"He brain-blasted you. I stopped him." Megan explained, frowning.

Not that I remember it that well, but that didn't feel the same as it did in Bialya. Had he improved since then? God, I hope for the sake of my scrambled brains he didn't.

Megan helped Connor up before tending to Wally. Robin forced himself up, offering me a hand. I took it, pulling myself up too quickly, and my equilibrium suffered just enough to make me sick.

"Hey, if he brain-blasted us, shouldn't it have affected you too? That's how it worked last time, with the mindlink and all." I babbled out into the open air as I started rubbing my head, hoping the pressure would relieve some of the pain. It didn't.

I didn't quite register how Megan seemed stiffened at the random thought.

"It doesn't matter." Robin brushed it off, probably too nauseous to care, like I know I am. He pulled up his holographic PDA and blinked through the sharp pains I was sure the screen was causing him. "Psimon was only part of the mission. Now, we have to make sure Queen Bee doesn't get her hands on Qurac. Ever."

"You got a plan? I think I'm too braindead to help." I said, wincing and turning away from his screen.

"So nothing's changed?" Wally jabbed teasingly. I snickered, not even pretending to be mad. That one may have been a low-hanging fruit, but it was one within reach.

"I do have a plan. Miss Martian, I'm going to need you for this..."

_____________

I watched from Harjavti's ruined office as the media recorded everything outside in the form of pictures, videos, and livestreams. 'Queen Bee' was being blocked by the Quarac militia from entering the building.

"What do you mean the president won't see me?" I could hear her voice through the blown-out windows. She was doing a great job at being furious but regal enough that her character doesn't look out of place. "He invited me!"

"Not of my free will, no!" Harjavti and his daughter were out on the balcony. The president yelled back in mock anger, though some of that had to be real. He must've resented Queen Bee quite a bit for what she and Psimon did to him. It made him a great actor. "But now that I am free of your minion's thrall, the Quraci people will never suffer your tyrannical rule!"

The crowd outside that had gathered at the commotion cheered, almost drowning out the rest of their conversation.

"Mark me, Harjavti, you will suffer for this!" 'Queen Bee' raised her arm, pointing a threatening finger at him as she was pushed away by the military. "Qurac will be mine!"

She exited the premises, and I breathed a sigh of relief that nothing else complicated what had been a really complicated and exhausting mission.

A few moments later, Harjavti and his daughter came through the doors. And after that, 'Queen Bee' walked through, too, transforming back into Megan.

Robin stepped closer to her, and I couldn't help but think he sounded a bit defeated. I frowned. I guess the past two days trying to wrangle us must've been draining. "Sorry, you had to lie to everyone. I couldn't think of any other way to convince the public Queen Bee was behind this."

Wally looked past that to lightly smack his shoulder, congratulating him and subtly telling him, 'The job's done, you can relax' without actually saying it. "Dude, saving a country. Pretty big win for your first turn as leader."

"Yeah, thanks." Robin rubbed his shoulder. And it looked to me like Wally's attempt to cheer his best buddy up backfired. I bit my lip, wishing I could do something to help.

__________________

GBS News and Bruce Wayne were quick to get a press conference up with Harjavti after the incident this morning. The Wayne billionaire held out his hand for Harjavti to take. "And I assure you, the Wayne Foundation is here to do whatever it can to help you and your people rebuild Qurac."

"Gee, Bruce Wayne sure got here fast. Almost like he knew—" Wally tried to poke fun at Robin's and Batman's secret identity but ended up getting poked, hard, by Robin's elbow in his side.

"Don't you have a souvenir to collect or something?" Robin hissed, trying to put the comment behind them before the Team started asking questions.

I let my head drop down on the back of Marie's couch, taking a breather. I asked her about Garfield, and she said he didn't need more blood. He was going to be fine.

Wally slapped the top of his head, exaggerating his movements. "Hello, Megan."

He zipped across the room, picked up the VHS tape from earlier, and put it right in front of Megan's face. Placing her under his scrutinizing gaze, "Something you'd like to tell us?"

Megan didn't look surprised at the question. She must've known it was coming. She sighed, looking down, playing with her hands as she began to explain. "Growing up on Mars was not a happy time for me."

She lifted her head, looking around the room at each of us. I listened intently to what she wanted to say. Her face conveyed a lot of untouched pain. "I started watching the broadcasts my uncle sent from Earth to teach us about our sister planet. And when I saw Hello, Megan! Something just clicked. Maybe it was the similarities in our names. Maybe it was the way all Megan's problems could be solved in 22 minutes. All I know for sure is that Megan helped me smile through a lonely childhood."

Loneliness. Yeah, I get that. I tried not to laugh at the thought that lonely kids apparently make the best heroes.

"So when I came to Earth and had to adopt a human form, I chose you. Well, Megan." Megan admitted, turning her attention to Marie and offering an apologetic smile.

Robin hunched in his chair, "Which begs the question, what do you really look like?"

That was actually a good question. I was curious now that he pointed it out. I'd never imagined Megan looking any other way. She stood up, her face morphing. Her hair disappeared, and her forehead was mostly taken up by muscles that would've been behind the eyebrows if she were human. But she was still recognizable as Megan.

I giggled, poking light into what was a heavy atmosphere. "You look exactly like your Uncle."

"Bald M'gann." Wally said before turning his voice to a whisper, "still hot."

As he did so, Connor rose from his seat and took Megan's hand in his own, reassuring his girlfriend. "You know you don't have to put on a mask for me."

She shifted back to her normal form, stepping back and bringing her arms up to hold herself.  Her body language suggested it was a more sensitive topic than she let on. "I do it for me. This is who I am, inside."

She looked to Marie, who hadn't said anything since her confession. "Please don't be mad."

"Mad? I'm honored." The older woman smiled, stepping closer and touching her heart. "M'gann, you saved my son. He says he's your blood brother now, and I agree. You're family."

Megan closed the gap between them, tightly hugging Marie. "Thank you. You can't know what that means to me."

_______________
𝚀𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚌
𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟺𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟿:𝟸𝟷 𝚄𝚃𝙲+𝟸

It was almost time to go back to the cave now, tell Batman our report, and carry on with our lives until the next mission. Megan had gone off to check on Garfield before we left, and Connor and Wally had either decided to go back toward the ship or accept snacks for the flight back.

I found our leader on the Logans' porch, leaning heavily on the old wooden railing. I strolled out the door, leaning on the bar with him. We were silent together for a few moments, just soaking in the sun as it began to set. The wind passed by, blowing my hair and the grass across the lawn. It was peaceful—a thoughtful end to the day. And a sight I'd never have seen had I stayed in Florida.

Robin was the first one to speak. He turned his head slightly to look over at me. "What you did today was reckless."

I snorted. Not expecting the reprimand. He sounded kinda like Batman when he said that, only nicer. I understood he was trying to play leader, but it was ironic from his mouth. "Everything this team does is reckless. Hell, half the reckless things we do is because of either you or Wally."

My comment dampened his mood further, as his head sagged down and he looked away from me. "Yeah, I guess your right..."

I inhaled, realizing I messed up and not knowing what to say to make the situation better. I decided to flop most of my weight onto him, leaning into his side. He didn't lose balance. He barely looked bothered aside from a tiny, just-for-show glare. "What were you going to say though? I'm sure you had a point."

He shook his head in dismissal, causing me to nudge him so he could get the words out. He huffed but acquiesced, "I was worried about you."

"Aw," I gushed over dramatically. "Look at you, leader."

Robin blew me off, "Leader, sure."

Something was obviously up. I frowned. I had no idea how to comfort or confront my friend about this. And if I couldn't fix it, what could I do?

"Hey..." I started, standing up and pulling myself off him. I placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to give him some grounding. "I don't know what's going on or why this whole being in charge thing is bothering you so much. But I just want you to know– you did it. Everything turned out fine. Have a bit more confidence in yourself, Dick."

He refused to look at me while he talked. He mumbled to himself, "I don't think I can do that anymore..."

I was about to say something, anything I could think of to make him feel otherwise, but he changed the subject before I could get a word in. "I just think you should be careful. You've been doing this the least time out of all of us. And– And I don't mean Failsafe, I mean you."

I sighed, knowing he was right. I looked out on the field, observing how the golden waves of sunlight highlighted the healthy grass. In my peripheral vision, I could see him fumbling with his hands. Still covered in those long, bulky gloves. I took in a deep breath.

Maybe I couldn't fix his problems and hang-ups in one day, but I could at least offer him something comforting. Maybe a confidence boost in the form of the truth. My truth.

"Before I met Failsafe, I looked up to you, Robin. And Batman too– And I still do, it's just, well– I know you now—" I chuckled to myself at my explanation and cover-up, noticing how intently he was focused on me.

"I would hear how you took down the villains and saved the day, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, so much so that I wanted to see it up close. I looked forward to the action, looked forward to you saving the day." I told him, shrugging my shoulders at the old, embarrassing memory. I had been thinking about it a lot, since our last mission.

"It hadn't gotten through my thick skull yet; what exactly that meant." I scratched the back of my neck as I leaned back on the railing with him. "But after the ice fortress, I gave it a little thought. The kind of hero I want to be."

Robin turned to look at me, his lips parted like he wanted to say something. But he didn't, and I continued. "I've been doing the hero thing for a while with Failsafe, and that mission wasn't my first experience in the field alone, without her. But... I felt more like a hero than I ever had before. When I was saving the people in Central City."

"I was moving to save them, and it was the only thing on my mind. I had a single-minded purpose, one I shared that day with you and the Reds and with Garfield today." I couldn't meet his eyes as I admitted that. "And I realized I want to be a hero that can save someone no matter what. It may be naive, but if I could at least save the people I care about. That would be good enough for me."

Robin chuckled, "Didn't take you for the type."

I shrugged. "Well, I don't think I would be the person to call if it was a City with people I don't know. But if it was the Earth or the universe– why wouldn't I try to save the place the people I love are in?"

"You saved Central just fine."

I huffed, brushing it off. "I was already there. Which, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. I won't ignore what's in front of me. But if it's not for someone I care about, I'm not going to go out of my way to look."

Robin shook his head. It wasn't in dismissal, but something else. He almost seemed baffled. "Every day you surprise me, (Y/n)."

I laughed, glad the atmosphere was better. And secretly, I was glad he approved of my new declaration. After all, I looked up to him and the other 'sidekicks' the most. "Glad I don't disappoint."

A beat passed before I started humming, having something else to say. Robin brushed his black hair out of his face, turning to me. I could see his eyebrow go up under his mask. "And?"

"Any chance I could get those wire cables installed in my suit too?"