-thanks to my job as a halloween scare actor, I've been SUPER busy, and wasn't able to put this out in time for my besties in the southern hemisphere.-

"You wouldn't believe the day I've had!" Robin exclaimed, shaking the wet, pungent leaves off the soles of his shoes. "It was FFF in gym, and then we got assigned the world's most depressing book in English."
FFF, as they all knew by the point, stood for 'fun fitness friday'; which only got one of the three correct and was typically just hyper-competitive team sports. 

"What book is it?" Kaldur asked, ever willing to engage with human culture, even though he could hardly read. 

"Here; knock yourself out." Robin removed a well-read novel, worn by the tens of dozens of freshmen classes who had read it, and chucked it lightly at his friend. "What have you guys been up to down here?" 

"Nothing special." The Atlanean admitted. "The others and I made an attempt at fixing the generator, but we haven't gotten very far." 

"Oh, us the Genny on the fritz again?" 

"Unfortunately." 

"And is that it?" Dick asked after a few seconds. "Nothing else? I mean, I only mentioned two things, but a lot of stuff happens in a day." 

"It's not for want of stimulation, I'm sure the others would agree that we do want excitement in our day-to-day lives." 

"You guys need to get out more!" Dick concluded. "Get fresh air, take wolf on a walk, jump in some leaves..." 

"I wish we could, bit you know what the league said..." 

Dick did; apparently their friends being roughly bipedal and having nice personalities wasn't enough to release them into human society. Apparently Kaldur's aquaticism, Conner's uncontrolled violence, and M'gann regularly forgetting to shift herself nostrils, fingernails, and even lips, all qualified them for house-arrest. 'We don't want to cause panic' Dad had said. 'The longer it is until the public realizes there are others among them, the better. It would be chaos if they found out the league's been sheltering aliens from the government.' Personally, Dick thought this sounded like a him problem, but he obeyed anyways. The last thing anyone wanted was their friends being taken away. 

"I wish there was some way we could get them out into town for a bit." Dick mused aloud to Wally later that afternoon, pretending to do his homework although neither boy was even holding their pencils at this point. "They only got here this past summer, and now that we're back in school they just seem so lonely..." 

Wally made a somewhat-sympathetic sound, thumbing lazily through the pages of The Catcher in the Rye, looking for something interesting. "Well, what can you do?" 

"I don't know." Dick admitted. "How can you go out into the city and not be seen?" 

"Ask dad, you two do it all the time." 

"Fair." Dick sighed. "If only there was some way to disguise them as human..." 

"Mm." Wally hummed dismissively, playing some sort of trivia game on his phone. "Or a way to disguise Humans as them." 

Silence fell for a second, and then there was a red, gold, and green explosion up off the couch. "Wally! You're a genius!" 

"Naturally, but its a bit apropos of nothing; we're talking about the aliens right now..." 

"No, about the aliens! We'll just take them out when everyone else will look like monsters!"

 Wally stared blankly at his friend and gave the obligatory slow blink. "Look, I may be a genius, but you've lost me." 

"Halloween!" Dick said. "It's perfect! Everyone looks weird on Halloween!"

"Hey, yeah, that's a great idea!" Wally hesitated like a glitching DVD. "Do they... know what halloween is?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Arty! Hop in!"

"What?" The girl pulled her hoodie back behind her ear, back hunched against the downpour.

"Hop in!" Dick called, holding the door open an inch. He held a hand over his eyes to simulate a mask.

"I know who you are, court fool, Move over!"  She shoved him across the backseat of the limo and slammed the door shut. Sheets of icy rain continued to lash against the windows as the motor hummed to life and pulled away. Artemis dropped her soaking bookbag between her feet and started ringing out her hair. "Merci."

"De rein." Richard replied, buckling up. "Tu parle de français?"

"Un tout petit peu." she smiled. "So, you said you wanted to discuss something earlier?"

"Yeah, something me and Wally thought up, but you can't tell ANYONE!"

"Should we be worried about..." Artemis gestured towards the drivers seat. "...Them...?"

"Oh don't worry about Alfred, he's more arsenic than he is old lace." Dick said, shaking off his shoes and tucking his socked feet underneath him for warmth.

"I'm going to act negligently and pretend I don't hear you." Alfred's voice called as he raised the glass partition, cutting them off.

"We're taking the aliens out into society."

She blinked. "That's insane. The league would kill us."

"Well, you see, that's the thing..."

"Shut up, I'm in." Artemis grinned. "So, How are we planning to pull this off? Don't tell me you're just putting a domino mask on 'em and sending 'em out at night?"

"Hey!" He jabbed her in the stomach. "You know me too well! But no; it's better!"

"I like the sound of this..." Artemis grinned.

"You see, Wally had this idea--"

"Never mind."

"Hey! At least hear it out!"

"It's Wally's idea! He may be a scientific wiz kid or whatever, but he's not exactly known for his foresight."

"But this one IS genius; if we take them out on halloween, the people won't notice them because EVERYONE will be dressed up as some kind of monster!"

there was a distinguished cough from the front of the limo. "Would master robin and Mistress Artemis like to be dropped off by their transit to the clubhouse?"

"Sure, Alfred."

"You bonehead!" He chucked a popcorn kernel at the forteen-year-old. "You almost made me choke on my favorite snack!"

"I'm sorry Wally, but if it helps I can promise you that you'll never choke on a snack ever again."

Wally was about to offer an offended retort, when he spotted the Gotham kids and began waving enthusiastically. "Hey, Arty! You in?"

"I Dunno." She dumped her backpack on his chest and tentatively hugged Zatanna from behind. "Hey."

The witch giggled. "Hello."

"What're you up to?"

"You'll see."

"I'll see?"

"It's a secret." She closed the book so her girlfriend couldn't read anything, not that Artemis could read cuneiform anyways. "So, you heard about us sneaking the non-humans out? I'm so excited!"

"Yeah, yeah! It's a great idea!" She pointedly ignored Robin's smug look. "I can't wait!"

"What?!"

"Look, We're sorry kids, but Halloween's a busy night! We can't slow down while working just so you can keep up, or worry about you getting hurt if you go out alone."

Wally gaped in horror. "But it's HALLOWEEN! We can't stay home!" 

"You can still have fun," Artemis' paternal unit said. "Eat some chips, watch an age-appropriate movie..."

"OLIVER! Come on!" She exclaimed. "We can take care of ourselves!"

"We know." Dinah hushed. "You're strong, but when we're so busy working we worry about you, and it can be distracting. Especially since we won't have anyone free on the off chance you need help."

"Just, please do this for us?" Barry asked. "Since we'll be so busy?"

Artemis went to argue, but she felt a hand on her arm. Turning around, She saw Kaldur. "...Okay." She sighed.

"Thank you." Dinah squeezed the teenager's shoulders affectionately and began fixing her hair. "We'll text you when we're free. I hope you have fun."

They nodded solemnly, and the League departed. "Well, I guess we should break the news..." Wally sighed.

"No." Artemis replied. "Wally, this was YOUR idea! stand by it!"

"But--"

"My costume's ready! Look!" M'gann shot into the room, shiny chrome fabric dripping off their body. "Robin helped me into it!" 

"Cute, aren't they?" Dick sighed as he entered, the forced corners of his smile betrayed the fact that he too had been told the holiday was cancelled.

"I'm so excited! I look just like the space men from the shows I like!" She swung a silver toy gun around the room, muttering pew, pew, pew. "Zatanna's helping Conner get into costume now! Kaldur, you better get ready!"

"Yeah Kaldur, you gotta get ready to head out." Artemis replied. 

"Are you sure?" The team leader asked, staring right into her eyes.

"Course! You've got four human  tour guides, you'll be fine!"

"Why?"

"Because dressing up is part of the tradition!"

"Why?"

"Because Halloween is based on Allhallows eve, the one night when they said the dead could move among the living."

"Why?"

Zatanna sighed impatiently. "Do you want a theology exam?"

"Hey big guy! You look err--"

"You look great!" Dick finished, leading the others back into the girl's bathroom. Admittedly, Conner didn't look much more palatable than usual, though his bones still jutted out sharply, and it would be an exaggeration to say that his twisted and unnatural muscle mass and tight, sallow skin in any way that looked 'natural' or 'comfortable'. Zatanna's hodgepodge makeup tried hard to dim down his more superman-eque features, and a maze of little eyeliner stitch marks graced his skin, making the inhuman, patched-together look seem almost intentional.

"I tried to get him in coloured contacts, but he wasn't having it." Zatanna hummed, pointing to his flat, neon blue irises. 

"We can just say those are contacts." Wally replied. "Who's gonna doubt? You can find anything online!"

"I think this is the coolest human holiday ever."  M'gann exclaimed, spinning several feet off the ground. Their 'alien-spacegirl' ensemble was simple, the green skin was easy enough for them, and then they just added a chrome, 1960s mod ensemble. 

"Just remember to keep this down when we're out there." Robin grabbed the little-green-man mask he'd bought last minute, when it became clear that no matter how she shifted, she was not going to look human. He slid it down over her face. "Sorry Ziggy Stardust, but you gotta pretend your human."

"Okay!" She twirled excitedly. 

"And please try to keep your feet on the floor." Wally  added. "Costumes don't usually make you fly."

"Are you sure we'll blend it with the humans?" Kaldur asked as his friends busied themselves about his makeup and costume.

"Are you kidding, no one will look twice at you!" Wally said. Kaldur's wide, glasslike eyes were surrounded with a disgustingly cutesy amount of glitter, and his aquatic skin was speckled with stenciled-on scales, it was the best they could do to excuse his webbing, and aquatic snapper's jaw. 

"Look at you!" Dick chirped. "You silly little Shadow over Innsmouth!"

"That's a deep cut." Zatanna joked, affixing what resembled a stack of metalic neck rings around his neck. "Heritage of the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe, and it hides your gills!" They knew Kaldur had heritage on land, but since they couldn't exactly send off a DNA test, they tried to expose him to as many African cultures as possible.

"Okay guys, You look great!" Wally exclaimed. "We'll get our garb on, and go get that candy!"

"Everyone stick together." Kaldur said, holding the aliens close to his sides as the huddled across the horizon. The sun was setting, splashing shadows over the path they followed down the mountain.

"It's fine! No one's gonna notice!" Wally reassured, leading the group down

"He's right, don't stress yourself, Kal." Robin said. "You'll draw more attention if you worry! Just play it cool and follow our lead."

Artemis, Who was following behind the group, sharing in Zatanna's flashlight beam, blew into her cup and took a sip of tea. "I can't believe you, Robin."

"Why?"

"We're both Gotham kids, you know damn why."
"Look, I grew up around clowns--REAL clowns, those creeps-- who shall not be named-- don't follow a word of The Clowning Code!" He began rattling off again. "Real clowns want to make people happy, I bet that criminal hasn't even copyrighted his makeup..."
"There he goes again..." Zatanna muttered, adjusting her pointed hat.
"If it's any consolation, you look adorable." Artemis grinned. "It's ironic, and I think the hat's cute, but... how aren't you cold in fishnets?"
"Magic." Zatanna smirked. "Just kidding, I'm very cold." She huddled up under the other girl's vampire cloak.
"Here we are: Happy Harbour!" Wally announced, swishing an arm across the entering shaped by a gap in the trees.

"YES!" M'gann shot forwards, tugging the entire chain of aliens with them.

"WHOA THERE," Robin bloched her way out. "Mask on!" Reluctantly, she slid on the mask. 

"C'mon, let's stick together."

"Hey." Artemis whispered.
"What?"
"You still cold?"
"Why do you ask?" Zatanna said slyly.
"Because we just passed a diner pub with a party inside." The psudo-vampire jerked her head back. "Hot drinks are two-for-one..."
"You sly dog."

"Okay, This place has got candy for days, all on sale!" Wally said, face pushed against the glass. "It's kind of crowded, though, how about you guys stay put outside while we go in and get it-- where are the girls?"
"Artemis took Zatanna to go get a drink." Conner replied straight facedly.

"She WHAT?!" Wally and Robin groaned. 

"We were supposed to stick together!" The bird exclaimed.

"We'll get the candy, collect you three, and then go find the girls."

"Can I come in?" M'gann asked eagerly, voice muffled slightly by the mask."

The boys exchanged a look. "No, sorry..."

"It's busy in there, we think we should keep your first trip into society pretty low-key."

"We just don't want to have to worry about you while we're in there." Wally explained. "Just stay put and we'll be right back."

Kaldur pulled his friends out of the way, hiding them further from human eyes. Conner wriggled and squirmed uncomfortably, he didn't like being confined or held put. Not only was Conner trying to three himself, but something across the street had caught M'gann's eye.

"Look! Martians!"

"They're just humans." Kaldur reminded. 

"But they're dressed as martians!" M'gann said. "They're allies!"

"We don't know--"

"They're having a party!" And with that, the martian shot out of her friends reach, flying across the road in a split second. 

"M'gann!" Gripping Conner's wrist, Kaldur stuck to the shadows, creeping across the zebra crossing. The building M'gann entered towered over them, letters mounted over one of the closed doors labeled it as 'Happy Harbour Secondary School'.  Avoiding the lingering crowd outside,  Kaldur glanced into a large, polished wood atrium of sorts, darkly lit and filled with as much music as it was teenagers.

"Hello! My name is Megan! Hello! I'm Megan! Hi!" M'gann wove through the crowd, greeting anyone she got within yelling's distance of. "Hi what's your name? I think Halloween is my favorite earth holiday! Hi, I'm M'gann!"
"M'gann--" Kaldur watched with distraught, willing for her to return, but the understimulated extravert in his friend had been unleashed. This put his in a tough position, did he a) make the same mistake as his friends had and leave Conner unattended outside, or b) take him into a loud, crowded room of potential victims and risk a violent meltdown-enduced masacre. "Conner, guard the door."
The clone nodded seriously, and struck up post near the enterence. Taking one last breath of frigid night air, Kaldur entered.

As soon as he entered, he realized that he would suffocate if he stayed in this room, the mingling odors of food, breath, perfume, and other assorted cosmetics was choking him. Just as he suspected he ought to leave the darkly lit atrium, a compact machine in the corner began billowing a thick fog.

Kaldur ran, half-blind, through the crowd, bursting out into a well lit hallway. He gasped for breath, raising his eyes to see he was not alone; in front of rows and rows of metal lockers, several teenagers milled about. Kaldur had spoken to civilians before, but only as a part of his job.

"Hey... You're cute..." Kaldur's coughing let up somewhat, and he turned to the voice. "You're a mermaid, right?"

"Pardon?" Kaldur wiped his eyes, looking up at the voice. 

"Well, Merman, whatever. I like the glitter."

"Th-- Thank you." He replied quietly.

"No sweat." The girl sat down in front of a locker next to him. "Hey, have I seen you around here? You aren't someone's partner, are you?"

"No." Kaldur pulled away, back towards the hellish room of smoke. "...no thank you."

"Hello?"

Conner turned, eyes drifting across a group of teens. Several of them were also in dress up.

"We really like your costume..." said a blonde girl, about fifteen or sixteen, hovering next to him. "Who did your sfx? It's really good!"

"Ess Eff Ecks?"

"Your make up! Your prosthetics! It all blends really seamlessly..." She reached up to run her fingers along where Conner's muscles and veins twisted unnaturally beneath his tight skin. The clone flinched, stepping back.

"No!" He said quickly, still unsure of the other teen's intentions. He kept eyes on them, glancing around for his friends. 

"What's wrong?" One of the other teens asked. 

Conners breathing got hard; he didn't know how to speak to people! He only spoke to his friends! 

Still, Kaldur needed him to guard the door.

"AWAY!" Conner stamped his foot, snapping the concrete under his weight. Opening an apprehensive eye,  he felt a wave of relief to see the teens sprinting off around the school.