a/n: i have absolutely no hate towards Bruce. but let's be honest, this is something he'd probably do.

"Mornin', Zar!"

"How are you so cheerful in the mornings? It's nine." I yawned, making my way to the kitchen and sat on the counter next to the stove.

"I have a League meeting today, so I'll probably be home a bit late." Hal grinned, handing me a plate of pancakes and bacon. "You'll be at the Cave today. Spooky's deploying you all on your first official mission."

"Any clue of what it is?"

"Something about-"

"We need to talk!" Flash appeared and Hal jumped, pointing his ring at him. "Dude, I've done this before. It shouldn't be as a shock to you."

"You have to stop vibrating through my doors, Barry! That's an invasion of privacy!"

"Nah. I like seeing you spooked." He smirked and sat next to me. "And you're the one we need to talk about."

"Why?" I asked.

"The Bats don't trust you."

"That much is obvious."

"So, how come you're here when the Team has already been deployed to Santa Prisca? I got the call from Wally saying that it's odd you're not there."

"When was the briefing?" Hal called out, gripping the counter.

"Last night."

"I was at the Cave last night! I was the last one to leave with Robin." I said and set my half-empty plate aside. "I was never called for a briefing."

"You're coming to the Watchtower today, so get dressed." Hal grumbled. "Not your suit, but civvies. I don't fucking care anymore."

"Hal, I don't think that's a good idea." Barry tried to reason but he was waved away.

"It's time someone confronted Spooky, and it's gonna be me. I've had enough of his bullshit... he can hate me all he wants, but I'm drawing a line when my kid's involved."

"Technically, I'm not-"

"Just let him roll with it." Barry cut me off and I nodded. "Hal, by bringing her, you're adding more fuel to the fire."

"Good."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

"Hal, why is she-"

"Oh, since she's not gonna be involved in Team business, I'm involving her in League business because she's my partner." Hal smirked, gesturing for me to sit between him and Barry. "Y'know, considering the fact that Spooky over here briefed the Team on Santa Prisca while she was in the Cave and she wasn't involved with any of it and found out this morning that they all left."

"You didn't involve her in the briefing?" Canary asked and turned to Batman. "She was sparring with Robin when you called him... is that what you were doing!?"

"I have another mission for her." Batman simply said and I perked up.

"With the Team?" Barry questioned and crossed his arms when Batman said nothing. "Batman... it's with the Team, right?"

"No."

"Then she's not going anywhere." Hal decided. "She's not here to fit your own personal agenda, Batman. You have no idea how hard it is for her to live amongst a race that isn't her own and the adjustments she had to make because you asked for it."

"Hal, stand down." Superman called out but Hal just stood up instead.

"It's not like she's a fucking stranger, Spooky... she knows those boys. She trained with them, and fought alongside them. And yet you prefer them to take their chances with a Kryptonian with severe anger issues and doesn't take orders from anyone, and a Martian who, and I'm sorry J'onn, we know nothing about!"

"Superboy is-"

"A fucking Cadmus clone, for the love of God! A clone who we don't exactly know how brainwashed he is and if he'd hurt the Team because of whatever vendetta he might have."

"She possesses the power of the Red Ring." Batman pointed out and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"So she's a little angry, big whoop. You'd be too if you were raised as a soldier and sent to fight a war where a third of her people were slaughtered... she's still a kid!" Hal yelled and I looked down as Barry reached out and gave my hand a squeeze.

"I... I didn't ask to be chosen by the Ring." I whispered and they all turned to me. "The Ring chooses its user. And if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have put it on. I-I was eight... I didn't know better."

"You do not have to apologize for that, Zaria." Wonder Woman said and rushed to my side. "You were a child forced to fight a war that was not your own."

"But if I knew my Ring would result in a problem, I'd-"

"Nope, you're not blaming yourself for the Bat's decisions." Barry said, but I refused to look up. "Can you control your rage and keep it contained in the Ring?"

"I can."

"Then I don't see a problem with it, kid."

"Zaria has achieved things no Red Lantern has been able to, no matter how much they try." John defended and stood next to Hal. "She has managed to achieve complete control of the Ring before she turned ten with Hal's training and her own willpower. The Ring chose her in the most unfortunate circumstances, but she has never allowed it to control her even once."

"Sometimes, her willpower overcomes her rage... but it's not enough for the Ring to reject her." Hal sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "But she's good... my kid's a good person despite her anger."

"As much as we hate to admit it, Hal's right." Green Arrow said and stood up as well. "Zaria was the one who shielded them from the debris and essentially saved their lives back in Cadmus. Not to mention the times she's fought alongside our boys and protected them when needed."

"They trust her." Aquaman added. "Why shouldn't we?"

"We still don't have complete knowledge of her abilities as a Red Lantern." Batman defended and Hal groaned.

"Same shit as a Green Lantern, only that she's powered by rage and not will. And she's not the most dangerous Lantern out there."

"What is-"

"Black Lanterns are Lanterns of death. You should be thanking God on your knees every day that the Black Ring didn't choose her or you'd be done for." Hal defended. "And you weren't in Tamaran during the war, I was. I was the one that went toe to toe with the Red Corps when they wanted to take her and fought with the Oans when they refused to have her in the Corps as my partner... you have no fucking clue how much her rage is justified. Because if you did, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"Hal, that's enough." I whispered and looked up at him. "It's okay, really... maybe I'll join in the next one."

"This ain't about you joining the next one or not, Zar. This is about Mr. Vengeance over here suddenly deciding who stays and who goes and it's not fair."

"The Team needs stability. If you can guarantee me that the Corps won't-"

"Stability? Fine... then tell Robin he can't fight in Gotham anymore and to dedicate his entire life to the Team. Go and tell Aqualad to leave his life in Atlantis and live in the Cave, same with Kid Flash." Hal cut off Batman and I looked down at my feet again. "Your boy fights deranged lunatics every single night and you still give him a chance on the Team."

"Robin is-"

"A child as well." Wonder Woman defended and forced me to stand up. "A boy who's Zaria's age and you forced him to fight crime at the ripe age of nine when he should've been getting bruises on his knees from playing outside and not while fighting Joker or Scarecrow... they're not your soldiers, none of them are."

"At the end of the day, they're just kids who want to be like us and fight the good fight... only difference is that they're actually friends." Barry continued. "Not saying that we're not, but you get the point."

"Either she joins the Team, or I'm out. And let's be honest Spooky, you need both Green Lanterns here in the League for whatever contingency plan you have in that terrifying brain of yours." Hal sneered and gently pushed me behind him. "My kid deserves a chance just as much as your kid does."

"Hal, you can't just resign like that!" Superman called out.

"Watch me, Supes. I can deal with Spooky wishing I was dead every waking moment and hating every single time I open my mouth or breathe same air as him, but not when it comes to my kid who's done absolutely nothing to piss him off."

"Hal, that's enough." I begged, tugging his arm.

"Look, Kid Flash was the one that called me and asked why wasn't Zaria joining them. Then Robin started asking why wasn't she in the briefing, so did Aqualad... those kids want her on the Team, Batman." Barry crossed his arms and stood up. "And if age is a factor here, you're a hypocrite for having Robin and not her since they're the same age. And if that's the case, only Aqualad is qualified to be a Member since he's the oldest."

"We will discuss this with the Team when they get back." Was all Batman said and narrowed his eyes at me.

"Nuh-uh. Glare at me, not my kid." Hal said, fully shielding me. "Or it's round two from when we met. Remember that, Spooky?"

"Meeting adjourned."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

"There you are, Red! We missed you today."

"Maybe in the next one, Robin." I shrugged, trying to ignore Batman's glare. "How... how was it?"

"Oh, it was awesome! Would've been ten times easier if you were there, but we managed." Wally smiled, swinging an arm over my shoulders. "Why weren't you there, by the way? You weren't even at the briefing."

"I was never informed of a briefing last night... When Robin left with Batman, I just assumed they were going back to Gotham so I sparred with Canary instead."

"He what!?"

"Oh, yeah. It was a whole thing." Hal said and pushed Batman forward. "Hear that, Spooky? They needed her today."

"Batman, why didn't you include her in the briefing?" Robin asked. "So many things could've been avoided if she was with us."

"Hell, she would've taken Bane without breaking a sweat or using the Ring!" Wally added. "Sure would've saved us a lot of headaches."

"None of us would be alive if it wasn't for her shielding us in Cadmus." Aqualad continued.

"She joins us next time or we're not going anywhere." Robin decided and stood next to me. Hal nodded impressed and turned to Batman with a smirk.

"How does it feel to lose, Batman? And this time, I didn't have to lift a finger." He taunted and I fought a smile.

"Prove to me that you have complete control of your Ring and I'll consider it." Batman said and I nodded.

"I have complete control. If I didn't, you'd be dust right now." I smirked and Hal laughed.

"That's my kid alright!"

"Hey, Red! You owe me a rematch from last night." Robin grinned and I laughed.

"It's Zaria, but you all can call me Zar if you'd like." I said and they all nodded.

"Zaria... I like it! Does it have a meaning?"

"It means 'light' in Tamaranean."

"Seems fitting." Wally shrugged and dragged me to the sparring mat. "Now, come on! We wanna watch you beat Robin again."

"She didn't beat me last night!" He defended.

"You're right, she was about to."

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Hal standing next to Barry with a huge grin and gave me a thumbs up while Batman narrowed his eyes.

"Ready to lose, Robin?" I asked, taking off my glasses and he grinned.

"You wish, Zar."