“As I was saying, this is Alice. We went to school with her. You will know her as Alley Cat,” I explain to the younger members, who stand there dumbfounded. 

“Well you always had a thing for cats,” Karen pointed out.

“We all knew she had more than a thing for cats.”

The others laugh and Alice glares at me. “Hey hey! You had a Nightwing, I had a cat.” More laughs erupt around the room. Good, she’s fitting in.

I smile Nightwing, who just stands there with his arms folded. “Spent three hours teaching her,” I whisper. He just turns around and opens a screen.

Misty wakes up with a groan, rubbing her head.

Nightwing begins playing a new report by the old codger G. Gordon Godfrey. A partnership between Alexander Luthor’s company and The Reach.

“Obviously, any partnership between The Reach and Lex Luthor is bad news. So Alpha and Beta are going under cover to re-con Lex Corp farms. Alpha will concentrate on their main dome, whilst  Beta pays attention to the surrounding areas. Robin, you’ll be running Alpha.”

“Me? Run Alpha?…Uh, right! Who’s on the squad?” Tim sounds surprised. I smile.

“Blue Beetle-“

“Woah! I should not be on the field esse. What if the Scarab goes all Reach Apocalypse?”

“Your Scarab has had multiple opportunities to betray us. It hasn’t. And right now, it’s connection to the Reach may be our only shot at identifying what they’re up to,” Nightwing tells him.  

Daphne takes his hand reassuringly. The two smile at each other.

“Well if Blue’s going, I’m going,” Bart announces, speeding in front of the couple.

Nightwing smiles. “I assumed as much. And last, but not least, Arsenal. But you’ll have to travel lighter for your first mission; nothing that won’t fit under civilian clothing. Any questions?”

“Yeah,” Arsenal begins. I sigh, ready to begin a battle. “Why are we meeting in this dump?”

Before Nightwing can answer, I do.

“With the cave and the hall of justice destroyed, we don’t have many other options,” I say.

“Except the Watchtower. It’s national news now. You can’t pretend it doesn’t exist.”

“Only Justice Leaguers and senior members of the team are authorised for the tower, Arsenal. You, do not qualify. Nor will you until you have shown as much dedication to this team as the rest of your comrades.”

“Good to know where we stand,” he says, glaring at Nightwing and I.

Where’s the clone when you need him?

“What about Beta?” Daphne speaks up. 

“You’re running Beta,” I say. “You, Laurel Destiny, Swiftchick and Alley Cat will also go under cover. When it is time to break away from Alpha, you will go to the surrounding buildings. The Watchtower picked up different signals from the two orange domes. All you will need to do is find out what is happening there.”

“Great,” Alice smiles, taking out her guns. “Let’s do thi-“

A bullet shoots out and hits me in the arm. It sends an electrical charge up my arm and I pass out. I think.

~

The Watcher can see him through the darkness of the street. He climbs out of his car, as does his fiancé. She goes to the back door and helps her son out.

Together, the happy little family march off. Hanabrie Shiloh’s brother looked a lot like his sister.

~

It was needless to say, that Bart and Lily definitely feel awkward. Between Jaime and Daphne holding hands, and Tim and Misty giggling like girls and whispering things to each other, they only wish they could be like that- and everyone knows that.

The group try to look as casual as possible; Lily and Bart pretending to be the children of Alice, Jaime and Daphne being the usual cute couple, Misty, Tim and Roy being a group of Smallville friends.

Misty finds it strange, to be wearing normal clothes in the presence of these people. She, wearing a sundress and sandals.

Especially seeing Robin in normal clothes. Even though they were not dating, just friends, she’s seen him in normal clothes so few times.

So occasionally even she looks passed Robin to glare jealously at Jaime and Daphne. Jaiphne she had decided. 

It annoys her ever so slightly that they seem to match like a pair of socks. Jaime wears blue jeans, a grey plain t-shirt, sneakers and a dark half zipped hoodie. Daphne, a minnie mouse inspired top, black vest, white shorts and long socks with her canvas shoes.

Misty grits her teeth. She was jealous of hour perfect their clothes matched now. Hana would whack her for ever being so petty and ridiculous.

“You ever notice you make Jaiphne,” she blurted out when she released the couple were staring at her for staring at them. Daphne suddenly grinned.

“Hey yeah, and you make Tisty. And you two-“ she looks to Bart and Lily, “-make Bily. How cool is that?”

“What is this? Your first re-con?” Arsenal snaps. Daphne laughs.

“Out of the eight of us, I’ve been on the longest. If anything, this is your first.”

Silence goes around the tram, until the tour guide begins speaking again.

~

“Seven.”

Just when I thought you had stopped.

“Seven, then one more.”

One more?

“One more will survive.”

And you’ll kill the rest.

“Five will die.”

I won’t let you!

“Then others will die.”

What others?

“Ice.”

What others, Midnight?

“Ice. Cold as ice.”

What others!? Tell me now!

“You were warned, Sparkling One.”

I am not screaming when I wake up. Instead I find myself looking at two different black haired, blue eyed men. 

“Hey,” I mumble.

“You okay?” Nightwing asks, helping me sit.

“Yeah. Whose bed is this?”

“Mine,” Conner says, flattening my hair down.

“Nightwing, something’s up,” Mal calls. Nightwing goes downstairs.

I look at Superboy.

“Conner I have to tell you something,” I say. He frowns.

“You remember when Wally almost froze? Or when M’ganns room caught fire? Or when-“

He suddenly hugs me.

“It’s alright. Nightwing already told me.”

My jaw drops. 

“Did he? Who else?”

He sits back and sighs.

“M’gann and Daphne. Plus the League.”

For a minute, I sit there trying to wrap my head around the new found information. 

“Why would he do that?” I mumble.

“Guess he just thought they needed to know.”

“Right…hey, I’m going for a minute. Back soon.”

Before he can reply I stand and walk down the stairs.

“Hey Han. Are you-“

I don’t here the rest of Dick’s sentence as I walk through the Zeta-tube.

On the other end I am in the Watchtower. It’s empty, but I call up Doctor Fate. He arrives, moments later.

“I need more information on her,” I say firmly.

“And why is that?”

“I think you know why.”

He stares for a few seconds at me, seriously. I stand there, hoping he’d give me something. “There is a book. I can translate it, but it will take a few days. However…”

“However?”

“The book is owned and kept in the house of the son’s author.”

“And the author is?”

“The father of Klarion Bleak.”