[ EPISODE 5: SCHOOLED ]

ZONE — In competition bouldering, a hold roughly half way through a boulder which counts towards scoring.

CHAPTER TWO

ONE MONTH LATER

"READY for training everyone?"

Conversation halted as all five heads turned to Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, and the small, unfamiliar girl at her side, as they strode into the Mission Room.

They arrived by Zeta-tubes, and JJ had been mildly surprised when the automated voice announced her entrance. Before Dinah took JJ to meet the others, she'd been given a tour of Mount Justice, the League's very first headquarters which Batman had apparently relegated to the Team. So far, it all checked out. Mount Justice looked exactly like what JJ had assumed of a top-secret superhero base. Accompanied by Martian Manhunter, Dinah had given JJ the rundown of the place, shown her everything she had access to, from the hangar, to the kitchen, to the showers, to the lounge. Granted, the only thing that'd stuck out to her was when Dinah had mentioned that there was an indoor bouldering and climbing wall in the Workout room within the facility, which she was free to use whenever she pleased should she choose to stay with the Team.

"Black Canary! Uncle J'onn!" A girl with green skin perked up at the sight of the two superheroes, her sweet face alit with enthusiasm as she rushed up to greet them. JJ's eyes skimmed over her slim figure, red hair, and the light sprinkle of freckles over her cheekbones. Martian Manhunter's niece, whoever she was, didn't look like much, but JJ knew there had to be more if she was on this team. As that thought flickered through JJ's mind, the girl suddenly seemed to notice JJ, pinning her with a curious stare. The others followed suit.

"M'gann, I was in the neighbourhood so I thought I'd see how you were adjusting," Martian Manhunter said, placing a hand on his niece's shoulder.

"A few bumps, but I'm learning," M'gann assured, beaming up at her uncle.

"That's all I can ask."

Picking mindlessly at a fraying seam in the muscle tape wrapped around her index finger, JJ glanced back at the group, unsmiling, her features carefully blank. Standing before her were three of the world's most lethal teenagers. Adjusting his shades, Robin arched a brow, mouth pulling into a knowing smirk, like he knew every secret in the room. Kid Flash blinked at her, the banana in his hand paused halfway to his mouth. Aqualad regarded JJ with furrowed brows and a questioning twist of his lips. His slate grey eyes bore into JJ's, but her gaze remained steady. A brawny boy in a black shirt emblazoned with the Superman logo gave her a heated once-over. Anger was etched into every sharp line of his face, and the intensity of his glare seared against her skin. It felt like a slow incineration of everything from her head, to the backpack hanging off her shoulder, to her favourite pair of black high-tops Converse. JJ didn't know that Superman had a son. But the uncanny resemblance—almost like he was a carbon copy—was the most interesting part about him, and JJ had a feeling there wasn't much beyond that. If his foul attitude was meant to intimidate her, JJ wasn't impressed. She flicked him a cool, dispassionate look. Experiencing more climbing competitions than she could keep track of had desensitised her to scrutiny, especially under pressure.

"Um," Kid Flash said, chewing on a mouthful of the banana in his hand, narrowing his eyes at JJ, "who is that?"

"Everyone, this is Julien—"

"JJ."

"—JJ," Dinah rectified, resting her hands on JJ's shoulders. JJ's grip on the strap of her black backpack tightened fractionally. "The newest member to this team. You can introduce yourselves and get acquainted in your own time. But for now—" A movement in periphery caught her attention. Dinah's gaze snapped to the Superman look-alike (Superboy? Superkid?), as he stalked away from the group.

"Stick around," Dinah called, halting Superboy in his tracks. "Class is in session."

Superboy turned sharply. Crossing his arms over his chest, he glowered at them, an unwilling participant. Anger wicked off his shoulders like black smoke pouring form an open wound deep inside. Even from where she was standing, JJ could taste the potent waves of rage simmering inside-out. When his eyes met JJ's from across the room again, his lip pulled back in a menacing snarl. JJ remained unmoved. Part of her wanted to tell Dinah to take her off the roster, because she didn't need another team with attitude issues, let alone work with someone as volatile and prone to emotion as Superboy—whatever his name was. Especially in the environment they would be performing in, emotion was the last thing anyone needed ruling over rationale. The other part of her—the one that agreed to take a chance on this gimmick in the first place—knew to resist the urge to quit while she was ahead.

In any case, it was too late to withdraw. Dinah—or, Canary, as JJ thought would be more appropriate to start acknowledging her as in the presence of this team—strode to the centre of the ring in the Mission Room, lighting up the pressure-sensitive tiles. An electric humming filled the room. Canary turned to the team.

"I consider it an honour to be your teacher. I'll throw a lot at you, including everything I've learnt from my mentors—you can ask JJ. She's been under my tutelage for just over a month prior to her induction into this team—" as Canary pulled off her leather jacket, she let out an agonised grunt, wincing in pain, as she dislodged one sleeve from her right arm, displaying a white bandage binding her arm, covering the stitches that Olivia had been fussing about the other night when Canary had come home from a League mission battered and bruised and looking worse for wear, albeit, triumphant— "and my own bruises."

"What happened?" M'gann asked, features pinched in concern. Encasing her was an aura of a dream-like softness, a fleshy and fructifying tenderness that the others lacked. It was evident in her voice, too, the gentle way the words rolled off her tongue like tidal waves soothing the sand of the shore. One would call it innocence, but JJ recognised it as naivety.

"The job," Canary replied, shortly, unwilling to divulge more information. She tossed her jacket out of the ring. "Now, combat is about controlling conflict. Putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting." She swept them all with an expectant gaze. "I'll need a sparring partner."

Earlier, as she was steering JJ around, conducting the tour of the place, Canary explained that the Mission Room was the cave's central chamber equipped with a holographic computer to call up better visuals on mission briefings. It also served as a training area. JJ wondered why Canary insisted on turning the guest room they used as a storage room until three months ago as their training space when there was all this technology at their disposal. Surely, it would've been more beneficial to her training if she'd started off here.

"Right here!" Kid Flash's hand shot up immediately, before meeting Canary in the middle and wolfing his banana down. "After this," he said, casually tossing the peel, muttering swish under his breath. Rolling her eyes, lip curled in disdain at the lack of professionalism, JJ couldn't even find it in herself to be impressed by his pinpoint accuracy despite the trash can being situated all the way across the room. "I'll show you my moves."

Eyes narrowing, Canary smirked. JJ knew that look. Each time JJ got cocky, Canary's face formed that same exact expression, and JJ knew that Kid Flash was going to regret his hubris.

Without warning, Canary snapped forth like a viper. Kid Flash blocked the quick jab with impressive speed, but JJ spotted his mistake even before Canary's leg lashed out and knocked his feet out from under him. A dull thud resounded as Kid Flash hit the ground hard on his back. A bright circle lit up the floor around the area of impact as Kid Flash groaned in pain, and a digital text box of block letters appeared beside him.

KID FLASH
STATUS:
FAIL

If JJ cared for secondhand embarrassment, unlike the others, who gave a collective grimace, she would've felt more sympathy for him.

"He never learns," Robin mused, smirking in amusement as Canary extended a hand and helped Kid Flash back onto his feet. Despite being half a head shorter than JJ, he stood on his tip toes and propped and elbow against her shoulder like she was an armrest. "You'd think the genius whose own self-experimentation turned him into a speedster would know that he'd only get his ass handed to him by the Black Canary."

Tensing from the contact, JJ shook Robin off. When she fully registered his words, however, she back-pedalled, mind reeling, blown through like a hurricane.

"Self-experimentation?" JJ asked, her tone glittering with incredulity. She narrowed her eyes at Robin. "He turned himself into that?" And survived?

Smirking a little, Robin nodded matter-of-factly. "Yup."

JJ couldn't believe it. For someone who thought he could overpower the Black Canary at the mastery of her own dominion, Kid Flash didn't seem like someone who was supposedly intelligent enough to withhold knowledge of the chemistry to even create such a phenomenon, risking his own life to test the limits of the human body and to disfigure the boundaries of science and the supernatural. Kid Flash was what Olivia liked to call "level 100 intelligence but level 0 wisdom", a conundrum to themselves and to everyone else.

"Good block," Canary remarked, as she turned to the rest. "But did anyone see what he did wrong?"

"Oh! Oh! he hit on teacher and got served?" Robin mocked, the scathing delight in his voice drawing Kid Flash's wide-eyed look.

"Dude!"

It was too strange seeing someone she once associated as a domestic figure in her life make the sudden and jarring transition into someone who looked nothing like she would voluntarily pour her a cup of orange juice in the morning. But JJ wasn't surprised. For just over a month, she'd been at the mercy of the notorious Black Canary, studying everything from combat to differentiating between a magazine and a clip to how to actually use a gun and throw a knife. Taking down villains wasn't the only objective. Speed and conservation of whatever ammo she had on her person, as well as knowing how to escape sticky situations, thinking seven steps ahead, and knowing how to apply these skills where it mattered, where it caused the most collateral damage, was also part of the brutal regime Canary had put her through.

A month hadn't been enough for her to perfect these skills as much as she liked, but it'd been enough for Canary to make the call. JJ doubted that she was anywhere near ready. She had all these basic skills and no field experience to apply them to. Her grasp on her abilities were sub-par at best. But Canary was sending her in half-baked for a reason, and JJ knew to trust her judgement.

✷

PERHAPS JJ MIGHT BE SELF-PROJECTING A LITTLE, but the undeniable truth was that Superboy had an attitude problem, and she recognised a sure-fire fractured isolationist when she saw one. From the moment he'd uttered the words that'd slammed him back-first into the ground, the air crushing out of his lungs, JJ knew she'd never be able to work with someone like him. She felt Superboy's angst and arrogance like an abrasive friction against her skin, a resistance that he'd put up against all. Being built in Superman's image didn't make someone a god, and although his strength and senses might've been superior to everyone else's, in the last month or so, JJ had learnt that no matter how strong a person was, or how limitless their abilities were, true power came from knowledge. Knowing how to utilise the tools you were given in the most efficient way, knowing how to optimise damage without expending too much—that was how you won on the battlefield. That was how you won anything. Brains always held precedence over brawn. A combination of both was only deadly when they worked in tandem.

Another factor that fed into JJ's reluctance to work with the team was the fact that nobody else seemed to be onboard with it either. When the words SUPERBOY / STATUS: FAIL blasted across the screen on the combat floor, Robin's laugh wasn't exactly subtle and Aqualad only looked close to popping him in the back of the head. JJ didn't understand how this looked like a functional team. Perhaps they were still learning the ropes, still figuring out how they all fit into the puzzle, but none of them knew what a real team looked like. In a real team, there was no such thing as an individual. In a real team, one person's failure was everyone's failure. Conversely, one person's success attributed to the group's success. JJ hardly saw any of this collectivist mentality so far, which further exacerbated her doubts.

So much for elite task force, JJ thought, brows lifting as she watched Canary flip Superboy over her shoulder in one swift motion, watched Superboy come down so hard the ground trembled under the force of his bulky body and the blue rings indicating the centre of impact. Watched as he gritted his teeth and glowered, blue eyes gleaming like live coals, ready to incinerate. For a heart-stopping second, JJ though that he would. If Superman could shoot laser beams from his eyes, shouldn't his cloned son be able to as well? But he stood, two blow-ups away from slapping Canary's outstretched hand away when she offered him a hand-up.

"Do you really think this team is hopeless?" A voice inside her head asked.

On reflex, JJ jerked so hard she felt a twinge in her spine. It sounded familiar, but it was also on the inside of her head. The feeling was foreign, as though someone had stuck their hands into her cranium and whispered directly into her temporal lobe, the contained sound echoing around the walls of her skull. Discomfort crawled down her skin, cascading down from the crown of her head like a million bee-stings. Instantly, her gaze snapped to M'gann, who was frowning at her from across the room. Nobody else seemed to have heard her speak, but she'd also spoken directly to JJ telepathically. A wave of murderous irritability roiled over the uncomfortable feeling prickling in the back of JJ's cranium.

"Stay out of my head," JJ thought, narrowing her eyes.

Sensing JJ's hostility, M'gann lowered her head, scratching at an invisible itch on her elbow.

As Superboy dusted himself off, anger radiating off his frame in heatwaves, an alarm pulsed through the room like a tornado alert warning, and a hologram screen materialised before them, with Batman standing in the frame.

"Batman to the cave," the Dark Knight said, and as everyone gathered closer to the screen, JJ chose to hang back. "Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary—" so that's what Olivia was nagging Dinah about earlier this morning, JJ thought— "The attacker was capable of studying, then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents—" Onscreen, the playback of aforementioned 'attacker' began rolling, and JJ watched, lifting a brow in mild surprise, as the muscular machine, an obvious mock-up of a man, managed to overpower and land powerful strikes against the likes of Superman, Red Tornado, and even Black Canary— "Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."

"Woah..." Kid Flash said, blinking in both horror and awe. "One guy with the powers of the entire League?"

"What if they just attacked him all at once?" JJ asked. "Like, if everyone rushed him with everything they've got, surely he couldn't adapt and counter everyone simultaneously?"

"Theoretically, that would definitely cause some kind of machine overload," Robin said, considering JJ's suggestion. "But strategically, and in actual practice, that's a disaster waiting to happen. There'd be more casualties suffered in the crossfire. Y'know what I'm sayin'?"

JJ hummed, seeing his point. Maybe she'd hang back on the tactical calls for now.

"In the end, it took eight leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android."

"An android?" Robin exclaimed, brow furrowing. "Who made it? T.O. Morrow?"

"Good guess, Robin. But Red Tornado doesn't think so," Batman responded.

"The technology bears the signature of Professor Ivo," Martian Manhunter said, solemnly.

"Ivo?" Aqualad questioned, features contorting in disbelief. "But Ivo's dead."

"So we all thought or hoped," Canary said, lips twisting in malcontent.

Professor who-now? JJ thought, feeling kept out of the loop.

"To make certain this threat is permanently neutralised," Batman continued. "we're sending two trucks carrying the Android's parts to two separate STAR Lab facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation. Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo or anyone tries to recover the remains. You will split into two undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks."

But if two trucks were very obviously being accompanied by a convoy, wouldn't that draw more attention to them? JJ wanted to ask. Tailing the actual cargo was practically a beacon calling to everyone who wanted to rob them. The psychology of it was simple. Shouldn't they be following the decoys to throw their adversaries off? Or at least sending out more teams to guard the empty trucks? But JJ kept her mouth shut. She wasn't the one with experience in this field. This wasn't rock climbing. This was practically espionage. And though she had her powers somewhat under shaky control, JJ was in no way qualified for this.

"Yes!" Kid Flash's expression lit up. "Road trip!"

He extended a fist for JJ to bump hers against, but miscalculated the fact that she didn't reciprocate the same enthusiasm and didn't share the need to be all buddy-buddy with her prospective teammates. Still, he remained undaunted by JJ's cool stare.

"So now we take out your trash?" Superboy grumbled, his tone less passive and more aggressive, blue eyed stare searing.

"You had something better to do?" Batman condescended, looking less than impressed with Superboy's defiance.

A device in Aqualad's hand beeped with notifications, and he confirmed, "Coordinates received. On our way."

Immediately, the Team dispersed, heading towards the exit. Caught between not knowing where she was meant to go and assuming she was meant to follow the others, JJ glanced at Canary with a hesitant look. Canary had her hand on Superboy's arm as she said something to him that only he could hear, to which Superboy said nothing, only glowered solemnly ahead as he stalked off, towards the tunnel that the rest of the team had vanished down.

"Di— Canary?" JJ asked, pursing her lips, clutching the strap of her backpack with a vice grip out of nervous habit. "Do I—"

"It's your first mission," Canary said, her smile soft and her gaze positive. "If you choose to go, obviously. Remember your training. I believe in you, JJ, you're going to fit in just fine. I'll be watching over you. And the rest of the team... well, they're still figuring things out, but they'll take care of you. You can trust them. They're good with it as long as you are. Are you, JJ? Are you ready?"

JJ set her jaw, lifted her chin. "I am."

As much as she wanted to believe Canary, or even herself, JJ wasn't entirely convinced. Still, she had to see this through. She'd spent a month tirelessly training, bleeding, bruising, and refining her newfound abilities. It'd be a waste if she didn't at least see where this got her. Or how far it could go. The one thing that weighed down on her was the general concern that she was their weakest link, that she was going to let the others down somehow.

"Good. Now, go. Don't keep them waiting."

✷

IF YOU TOLD JJ THAT SHE'D BE STANDING IN LITCHFIELD COUNTY in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the week, supposedly the evening she was meant to have rock climbing training, she might've called you crazy for thinking her head would be anywhere but in the climbing gym, tearing her skin open on rough handholds and vicious crimps. But here she was. Not only was she in Litchfield County, in the middle of nowhere, but sitting astride a motorcycle that was supposedly safe to drive for beginners—even though JJ had no experience on any vehicle—and getting ready to deploy on her first covert mission with a team of sidekicks and inexperienced wannabe superheroes like herself. JJ didn't know what she was getting herself into, but it was too late to pull out now.

A burst of soft static in her ear reminded JJ of her new in-ear comms, which everyone apparently had been fitted with as well. Now, JJ felt like a real spy. It was sort of thrilling, but JJ knew that this wasn't a game, or play-pretend. She was the rookie on a real mission and if she wasn't careful, she could really mess this up for everyone. And then her failure would be everyone's failure.

Their headlights beamed through the clearing they'd been told to wait in. Maybe this was all there was to it: waiting for the signal from the grown-ups. The Justice League were standing watch by the cargo, and the Team was ready to go at the drop of a hand. While they waited, the Team had been divided into two groups, and JJ was meant to follow Superboy and Robin. As long as she didn't have to sustain conversation with either of them, she was going to be fine. Already, Superboy, who hadn't even glanced at her once thus far, was insurance that her ride was going to be smooth and perfectly silent.

"Julien, right?" M'gann asked, a cheerful smile on her friendly face. Not an inch of her expression read any hostility, and JJ wondered if the city hadn't tainted her genuine personality or if she was really that resistant to the angst of teenage life. "It's so nice to have another girl on the team. I'm kind of a beginner myself, too."

"It's JJ," JJ grunted, tugging up the zipper of her motorcycle jacket that she'd been outfitted with, just like everybody else, which mysteriously fit her frame perfectly, "and my presence is only provisional. Today's just the tryouts, see if I really belong in this... industry."

"I'm sure you'll find your footing quickly, JJ," Aqualad said, a reassuring smile painted on his lips. His voice was a soothing velvet, like thunder, and it reminded JJ of the way her father used to speak, and her stomach seemed to seize with unease. "We're more than happy to welcome you to the Team."

"Sure," JJ said, slightly uncomfortable with all the positive attention she was getting. If everyone hated her the way her climbing team did, she'd be able to withstand it, but now... had she earned this, their untested hopes for her? JJ didn't think so. It was all so new. So when would she lose their support? It was only a matter of time. To dispel some of the awkward tension, JJ slipped her blue motorcycle helmet on, creating a barrier between herself and the others to swiftly conclude any other attempts at conversation, grateful that she'd had the foresight to braid her dark hair back rather than keep it in the ponytail she usually did just minutes before she'd been assigned her vehicle.

In that moment, JJ heard the trucks rumbling as the cargo doors slid shut with a metallic clang, and then, in her ear, two commands: "STAR Boston is a go." And, "STAR Manhattan is a go."

As the six trucks pulled onto the road and diverged in two opposite directions of the same stretch of road, the Team split into their respective groups at the junction, engines revved and ready for action. They followed at a fair distance—not too far so they'd lose sight of the trucks, but not too close so they couldn't see any incoming attacks either—and when the road forked, JJ kept going straight with Robin and Superboy on either side of her while the decoy trucks split from the real cargo. Again, JJ felt strongly about following the decoys. The presence of a convoy only confirmed the cargo's value, and their presence would nullify its security.

Up until then, the ride had been silent, but the thought weighed on JJ.

"Shouldn't there be another convoy tailing the decoys?" JJ asked, unable to help herself. "I mean, aren't we kind of... telling everyone within the vicinity that this truck has the goods? It kind of negates the need for decoys."

"Oh, you're right," Robin said, pensively. "But I could argue that Batman's idea was to reverse-psychology anyone who's going after the android's parts. If they thought like you, they'd be following the decoys."

"But what if they're simpler?" JJ asked.

Robin didn't have an answer.

And for a good stretch of road, they rode in silence again, with nothing but the wind tugging at their clothes and the roar of the engines to fill the rift between them.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.
idk if this is too long???? bc i tried getting the entire episode into this chapter but i broke it down into two chapters for better readability???? anyway.

JJ's first interaction with the Team!!!! what do yall think???

next part of the episode is in the next chapter