M O U N T  J U S T I C E
October 10, 16:58 EDT

Another day at the cave, another day of training under Black Canary.

Within the glowing circle in the center of the cave, everyone was sparring against each other as a way to showcase their own skills, while also simultaneously learning from each other as a way to see how they each could improve.

Well, almost everyone.

Wally, his right arm in a cast after it had been broken during the Team's altercation with the Injustice League a few weeks ago, currently sat in an armchair outside the circle, having put Captain Marvel practically into indentured servitude.

Not that the Leaguer complained about it or anything.

"Ah," Wally sighed appreciatively after taking a sip from his pineapple juice. "Just what the doctor ordered,"

"How's the arm, Wally?" Marvel asked, leaning down so he'd be able to inspect the cast.

Wally just reclined in his chair, looking completely and utterly relaxed with the whole situation, even though, since he was a speedster, and thus most likely had faster than normal healing, the cast should've come off days ago.

"Nothing wrong that nachos can't cure," the redhead said finally, and Captain Marvel blinked at him for a moment, before rocketing off across the cave again.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "I'll go get you some!"

Though she was half-focused on the rest of her friends training against each other, movement from the corner of her eye made Silverbird glance up wearily from where she was laying curled up against Wolf just as Robin stopped in front of her, gently setting a thermos down between them, steam wafting from the open top.

In his other hand, Dick carried a bowl of sliced strawberries, while Zira sat around his shoulders, the baby gorilla content, for some reason, to be carried around all the time. Reese figured Dick had been spoiling her.

"Pretty bird," Robin began softly, sitting down as Silverbird subtly turned her head away from the thermos. "It's just chicken broth. Come on, you have to eat something,"

For the last five days, after a patrol in Star City during a thunderstorm ended with Reese contracting a nasty stomach bug, the twelve-year-old had been semi-benched from active duty.

But, in response to Dick, Reese just shook her head.

"I won't be able to stomach it," she said weakly, throat sore from the bouts of coughing she'd had to deal with for the past week. It was almost a miracle Reese had been able to keep water down.

Stupid weak immune system, Silverbird thought, as Robin frowned, before screwing the cap back on the thermos and moving it out of the way so he'd be able to sit closer to her.

"You still feeling lousy?" he asked softly as Reese leaned her head against his shoulder, nodding.

"I hate being sick," she whimpered. Dick didn't say anything in response, only lightly pressing his lips to the crown of Reese's head.

Today was one of the only days where Reese wore her Silverbird suit, sans her mask, but kept her hood down around her shoulders and let her hair out of its ever-present fishtail braid, letting the dark brown waves cascade down her back.

Dick would be kidding himself if he said he hadn't also noticed the faint purple rings underneath Reese's eyes. She hadn't been sleeping either.

Zira, meanwhile, sat cross-legged on the stone floor in front of the two young birds, content to eat her strawberries while being almost entirely innocent to the outside world.

"Hey," Robin whispered after a few moments of silence. "If you want, I could try and get Wally to bribe Captain Marvel to get you something,"

"Fat chance, Rob," KF piped up suddenly from where he was sitting behind them, and Dick shot the speedster a glare over his shoulder. At his look, Wally quickly backtracked. "I--I mean, I'm sure Marvel's open to whatever you want, Reese. Positive,"

But, Reese only made a small-sounding 'hmm' sound in response, shaking her head as Black Canary walked into the main cave.

"Good work everyone," Dinah said as she neared the training circle. "In fact, it's been a very productive week,"

"Yeah," Artemis snarked as she, Superboy, Aqualad, and Miss Martian stopped sparring. "For everyone except Kid Malingerer,"

"Hey!" Wally exclaimed, sitting up in his chair and waving his arm around. "Arm broken in combat against the Injustice League here!"

In response to his antics, Dinah chuckled, shaking her head before she looked up again.

"I've really enjoyed being your, uh...den mother this week," the blonde heroine said lightly, before her blue eyes landed on where Robin and Silverbird were still sitting against Wolf, and she frowned.

Reese didn't get sick often, but when she did, she got hit hard, and as such, essentially became very un-motivated as long as she was infected. But, it wasn't like Dinah blamed the girl.

Black Canary assumed she herself would be the same way. Rather, Dinah knew she'd be the same way, if the way her mother talked about her as a teen was any indication.

Suddenly, the Zeta tube turned on, bringing everyone's attention over to the transport system.

Recognized Zatara 1-1

The magician stepped calmly out of the Zeta tube, before walking over to the small control panel and tapping a few keys.

Access Granted: Zatanna Zatara A-0-3 
Authorization: Zatara 1-1

The tube glowed again, before a young girl, maybe Robin's age, stepped out, dressed in some sort of school uniform and, judging from her name, was Zatara's teenage daughter.

"Zatanna," Zatara began softly, gesturing to the gathered heroes. "This is the Team. Team, my daughter, Zatanna,"

"Hi," M'gann was the first to come forward, hovering a few inches above the ground as she sent Zatanna a smile. "I'm M'gann, but you can call me Megan," then, M'gann gestured to the others, respectively. "That's Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, Conner, Robin, and Reese,"

"Welcome to the cave," Kaldur told her, and Zatanna glanced to the side.

"Uh, thanks," she said softly, just as Reese sneezed, giving Zatanna a small wave, to which the other girl just smiled. 

To say Reese felt like complete and utter crap would be an understatement. She'd already been sick for a week, and frankly, it didn't look like it was letting up anytime soon. Great.

"Are you joining the Team?" she asked hoarsely, wondering why exactly it was that Zatara had brought his daughter here in the first place, but, in response, the older magician hurriedly stepped forward.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Zatara said simply, taking his hat off and holding it in his hands. "This is strictly a visit. Though I am sorry we missed the training," he turned towards Black Canary. "It's something from which Zatanna could benefit,"

'Do the rest of you get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?' M'gann asked suddenly over a psychic link, and subconsciously, Reese winced, bringing her fingers to her temple and rubbing it to try and get rid of the resulting headache.

Robin noticed, because of course he did, and glanced over towards the Team's resident Martian.

'Hey, Miss M,' he began. 'You mind taking Reese out? I think the mental link's messing with her head,'

'I'm fine, Boy Wonder,' Reese said, sending Dick a short glare, though he didn't seem affected. Rather, he only got more determined.

'No you're not, pretty bird,' he retorted firmly. 'You're sick, and I highly doubt having the thoughts of six different people bouncing around inside your head are going to help,'

'We'll tell you what we talk about,' M'gann said gently, and Reese huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, too proud to admit that Dick was right. She hated when he was right.

'Fine,' Reese snapped finally. 'Take me out,' M'gann's expression didn't change, but it was like a wall suddenly appeared in Reese's mind, and she wasn't able to hear what the others were "saying", so to speak, anymore.

'You really have a way with girls, don't you, Rob?' Wally asked next, grinning, and Robin glared at him.

'Shut up, Wally,' Dick hissed, and KF quickly held up his hands in surrender, as M'gann glanced between the two boys, looking vaguely overwhelmed.

'Okay,' she began slowly. 'Zatara's still looming over us, we established that much,'

'Not just Zatara,' Superboy added, all of them noticing that Reese, on the outside, was looking fairly ticked off, and had begun tapping the toe of her boot against the stone floor. She hated not being part of something that sort of involved her as well. 'I mean, why is Marvel still hanging around?'

'Because--' Wally began. 'We like having him around,'

'You like having him around,' Artemis corrected, sending KF a look. 'Because he waits on you hand and foot,'

'And your point is?' Wally asked, just as Kaldur cut in, if only to stop the two from bickering with each other again.

'It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor. At least he trusted us,'

'If you ignore the fact that RT's siblings nearly got Reese, M'gann, and all of us, killed,' Robin snapped, crossing his arms as Zatanna tilted her head to the side, before walking in between Conner and M'gann to stand in the center of their little group.

"Are you guys having a psychic conversation?" the new girl asked, making everyone, including Zatara and Dinah, to glance over. " 'cause I can't decide if that's cool, or, uh, really rude?"

"Alright, fine," Conner snapped, turning around so he'd be able to face Black Canary and Zatara head-on. "We were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack, and the League hasn't told us anything,"

"The League," Dinah began. "Is searching for Tornado, as well as the other androids that invaded the cave and their creator, T.O. Morrow. Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority,"

"But what've you found?" Reese asked, stepping forward.

"None of the above!" Robin added, and Black Canary frowned.

"Not yet," Dinah corrected firmly, walking forward. "But, Tornado is Justice League. The Team is not to pursue this,"

"Why don't you take Zatanna on a, uh, tour of the cave?" Zatara trailed off in his subject change as they all realized that the man's daughter was no longer standing with them.

But, then Reese turned around, and she found the black-haired girl sitting next to Wolf and Zira, with Zatanna giving the baby gorilla slices of strawberries.

"You're giving a tour!" Captain Marvel exclaimed, only now returning to the main cave with Wally's plate of nachos. "Cool!"

"Actually," Conner cut in, walking up next to the older hero. "I was hoping you'd take Wolf outside. He needs the exercise. We'll join you in a few,"

Reese had to admit, the genomorph was a good liar.

"Yeah," the brunette agreed as she picked up Zira, the gorilla hanging off her like a koala. "Could you take Zira out too? She hasn't been outside much since we brought her from Bwunda, and she could use the sunshine,"

"Isn't it raining outside?" Dick hissed under his breath, and Reese quickly shushed him, while also simultaneously digging her elbow into his ribs.

Robin shut up quickly.

"Sure," Captain Marvel agreed, nodding eagerly as he allowed Zira to clamber onto his head. "Sure, I can do that. Come on Zira, Wolf!"

With that, Marvel ran down the hallway, with the enhanced canine on his heels and baby gorilla sitting on his shoulders, while also still carrying the plate of Wally's nachos.

A plate that, when Wally saw it flying away, seemed to cause the destruction of the speedster's whole world.

"B-But, my nachos," the redhead whined, before Reese flung a hand out, grabbed the speedster's collar, and started dragging him behind her.

When the seven of them, plus Zatanna, walked into Mount Justice's kitchen, Reese's eyes landed on the new girl, when suddenly she realized that Zatanna wasn't in the clothes she had arrived in, but rather a lavender-colored tank top and white pants.

For a moment, Reese just blinked, wondering if she had been hallucinating the outfit from earlier but, judging from Robin's reaction, she hadn't.

"When did you--" Dick stuttered out, obviously also confused as to why Zatanna was in a different outfit than earlier, when there hadn't really been any sort of timeframe in which she could have changed. "How did you--?"

But, Zatanna didn't answer, and instead she just slowed down a bit, finally stopping at the intersection of hallways in front of the common room before she spoke.

"We're not really taking a tour, are we?" she asked, prompting Conner and Kaldur, who were walking in front of everybody else, to turn around and look at Zatanna.

"No," Superboy said firmly. "We're hunting down that robot," Then, Conner glanced towards Aqualad, who only gave a solid nod.

"Yes," Kaldur added. "We are,"

"Oh, wow," Zatanna mused. "Out loud and everything,"

"What about 'new girl'?" Artemis asked, glancing towards Silverbird and Robin, the former of which just shrugged, stifling a yawn as she did so.

"I'm sure she won't tell anyone," Reese spoke up, waving a hand, and Zatanna sent her a smile.

"I can't tell anyone," the other girl added. "Not if you kidnap me,"

For a moment, everyone was a little bit stunned at the fact that Zatanna actually wanted to come along with them, before finally, Artemis grinned and put her hands on her hips.

"Oh, she's gonna fit in great," the blonde archer said, and Zatanna smiled, before the Team began to make their way towards the Bioship again.

But, before she could fully pass the kitchen, Reese hung a sharp right, turning down a hallway towards the room she used whenever she had to stay over at Mount Justice for whatever reason.

The door slid open as she stopped in front of it, and Reese walked through to the adjoining bathroom. Sure, there were the locker room showers beside the training room, but Reese had always been one of those people who was content to have her own space, one that was open only to her.

Hence, she had her own bathroom.

Swiftly taking the small package of anti-stomach bug pills Oliver had gotten for her a few days ago after he had decided that a trip to the doctor's office was needed, Reese shut the medicine cabinet that hung above her sink.

Another thing Reese hated: hospitals. For one thing, the nurses there were way too perky to be considered welcoming, and it was also where some people went to die.

And Reese had seen too much death in her life for her to classify the hospital as an optimal place to spend her free time.

But, despite it all, the medicine had been working, slowly, mind you, but it was still working. The side-effects were a bit less-than-ideal, she always got drowsy after taking a dose, but it usually dissipated after a few hours, so that was something, Reese supposed.

Sticking the packet of pills in her pocket, the brunette turned around, opting to grab a water bottle from the kitchen before she joined the rest of the Team, only to find Robin standing just outside the bathroom door.

Dick's presence in her room startled Reese so much she jumped. 

Another side-effect of the medicine was that her senses got a bit dulled down. They were still more powerful (?) than a regular person's, but nowhere near the strength they normally were. Normally, she would've been able to hear Robin coming long before he entered her room.

Today, not so much. Which was also why, as she got startled, Reese's hand flew out, purely on reflex, and shoved Dick back a few feet, making the Boy Wonder stumble.

"Sorry," he said quietly, lightly rubbing the spot on his chest where Silverbird had shoved him. "Didn't mean to scare you, pretty bird,"

"You didn't," Reese answered simply, though that statement was up for debate. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Was wondering where you were," Dick answered, as the two of them entered the hallway outside Reese's room to head towards the Bioship again. "Got maybe ten feet down the hallway before I realized you weren't walking with us. So, I came to look for you, make sure you're okay,"

"Oh," Reese said quietly, feeling her face flush, though whether or not it was because of a fever, she wasn't entirely sure. "...Thanks,"

Dick sent her a smile as they neared the hangar, but just before they entered, Robin grabbed her hand, causing Silverbird to send him a glance.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, and despite the sweetness of it all, Reese huffed out a breath, simultaneously blowing a strand of dark-brown hair away from her face.

"I'm fine," Silverbird repeated her words from earlier, before Reese noticed that Artemis was standing on the lowered ramp up to the Bioship, looking towards her and Robin and looking a little bit ticked off. "We should go. You want to find Red Tornado, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, of course I do," Dick began, looking a bit confused at her abrupt subject change. "But, Reese--"

"When I say I'm fine," she cut in. "That means I'm fine. So, please, stop hovering,"

It wasn't often that Reese lost her temper with Dick, but when she did, it was mostly when he did something that put his life in mortal danger, or when he was hovering around her with the same mindset as a worried mother hen.

And she appreciated it, most of the time. But, other times, like right now, for instance, Reese got fed up with it, and ended up snapping at Dick for worrying about her.

If it made anyone feel better, she always felt like a complete jerk afterward.

➳➳➳

Before long, they were all in the Bioship, and M'gann was piloting the camouflaged Martian ship across the cloudy Happy Harbor sky.

If Reese knew anything about weather, and she knew her meteorology, it was bound to rain today in Rhode Island, sooner or later.

Before they got very far though, Black Canary's voice came through all of their commlinks, and for all of three seconds, Silverbird thought they were completely busted.

"M'gann," Dinah began, sounding bemused. "The Bioship was not authorized for departure,"

"We're kidnapping Zatanna!" Miss M exclaimed, only to recieve a mental elbow to the ribs. "To...show her Happy Harbor! Be back soon!"

"Roger that," Black Canary answered, and Reese let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Have fun,"

After the communication was ended, Silverbird twisted around in her seat to send M'gann a look that was equal parts amused and relieved.

"Nice save," she said, and M'gann sent her a look that Reese could only interpret as one that made her think it was some sort of Martian tease.

A few minutes later, and Wally lost his patience. Though, whether or not he had any to begin with, Reese wasn't entirely sure.

"Where are we going?" the speedster asked, and Robin glanced over his shoulder from where Dick had been inspecting his wing-dings.

"Batman is the World's Greatest Detective," Dick began. "And he's searched for Tornado and Morrow in every logical location. If we're gonna do better, we need an illogical solution,"

"What we need," Reese added, turning around again so she was able to face Wally. "Is a truly dumb idea,"

As everyone turned to look at Kid Flash expectantly, Wally blinked for a few seconds, before he grinned.

"As a matter of fact..."

B E L L E  R E V E
October 10, 18:35 CDT

Frankly, Reese didn't think she'd be back inside Belle Reve so soon. But, hey, at least this time she wasn't here as a prisoner. She counted that as a vast improvement.

"Warden Strange owed us a favor for stopping last month's prison break," M'gann began as she, Silverbird, and Superboy stood in front of a metal table, an elderly man with red hair across from them. "He's given us five minutes with you,"

"Spill, Ivo!" Conner snapped. "How do we find T.O. Morrow and his Reds?" But, Professor Ivo didn't crack. Instead, he seemed to be almost bored with the whole situation.

"Now," the inventor began. "Why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?"

"Because, and here's a dumb idea" Reese added, placing her hands on her hips and staring at Ivo. He knew where Morrow was hiding, now all they had to do was get it out of him. "You're Morrow's biggest compeititor in the game of developing evil and murderous androids. Who better to know where he's hiding than the man who created those MONQIs that targeted AMAZO?"

"Ah," Ivo said calmly, clasping his hands together over the table. "I see your point. So let me rephrase. Why in the world would I tell you how to find Morrow?"

"He knows," Aqualad said simply as he walked up to stand behind the three trying to interrogate Professor Ivo, before turning to M'gann. "Do what you must,"

Miss Martian's eyes began to glow green, but in response, Ivo only laughed, his cackle grating on Silverbird's nerves like claws scraping across a chalkboard.

"Please," Ivo continued to laugh. "As if I've never faced a telepath before,"

But, before he could say anything else, Zatanna suddenly shot forward and spoke in the same sort of backwards English her father had used when he located the Injustice League's secret headquarters.

"Trulb tou S'worrom eurt noitacol!" with the young magician's words, Ivo's face turned blank, and he stared straight ahead, speaking in a sort of monotone Reese usually associated with robots.

"Morrow's in a secret underground base underneath Yellowstone National Park, one hundred meters south of Old Faithful," As soon as Ivo's admission left his mouth, the old inventor's eyes cleared again, and he looked shocked, surprised that he had been coerced into speaking what he knew the way he did.

Frankly, Reese was surprised as well, and she wasn't the only one. None of them, the Team, that is, had seen Zatanna in action so far, but Silverbird was immensely glad that Zatara's daughter had decided to be "kidnapped" today.

"Wait!" Ivo exclaimed, clapping his hands over his mouth, just in case he admitted something else he didn't want being known. "What just happened?"

Their five minutes of interrogating Ivo spent, Warden Strange, the same Hugo Strange who had acted as the prison psychiatrist in September, came to fetch Ivo and bring him back to his cell.

Then, with their first solid lead to the whereabouts of T.O. Morrow, and in turn Red Tornado, the Team started to make their way back out of the prison.

As they crossed an upper walkway, Silverbird slowed so she was walking beside Zatanna, giving the new girl a small smile, though she was able to feel the medicine from earlier finally taking effect, and Reese began to feel a bit drowsy. 

But, hey, at least she wasn't feeling so nauseous anymore.

"That was pretty cool," she said, swallowing down a yawn at the last moment. "Have you ever done anything like that with someone before?"

"The spell?" Zatanna asked, and Reese nodded, prompting the black-haired girl to shake her head. "Not particularly," she answered. "I'm just glad it worked,"

"I believe we all are," Kaldur added from he stood just in front of Reese and Zatanna, Aqualad also sending a smile to their newest friend.

Suddenly, Reese noticed what section of the prison they were in, and she turned to Kaldur, wondering whether or not he would grant her request. They were on a time limit, after all, needing to leave before the Justice League was alerted to their impromptu "mission".

"Hey, Aqualad?" she asked quickly, causing Kaldur to glance at her. "Think you could give me a few minutes? I promise I'll be quick, I just need to check on someone,"

Though he looked a bit confused at her question, Aqualad nodded after a moment, and Reese smiled, before she turned around and darted back the way they had come.

But, instead of re-entering the interrogation room where the Team had been with Professor Ivo a few minutes before, Silverbird turned left, walking along a corridor that had inmate cells on one side, with the open courtyard on the other.

Reese avoided looking over the edge.

Finally, she stopped in front of a particular cell door, and was in turn a bit perturbed to find out that she wasn't even tall enough to see through the barred window.

"Dang it," Silverbird muttered out loud, before throwing her foot out and kicking the solid metal door, which in turn made her entire foot ache. Ow.

But, it did catch the attention of the occupant inside the cell, and when Clara Robinson's pale face appeared within the barred window, which Reese was able to see through when she leaned against the guardrail, the brunette found herself smiling.

"Hi," Reese said quietly, and Clara smiled herself, the expression making her face that little more animated, a reprieve that Reese supposed was welcomed when spending all of your days in a six-by-eight cell, with your only contact to the outside world written letters.

"It's been a while since I've seen you," Clara began. "Though, I don't think Tamara Terror would share the same sentiment when I say it's a pleasure to see you Silverbird,"

"Yeah," Reese said quietly, giving a small laugh as she recalled the look on the youngest Terror Triplet's face when she had been arrested in New Orleans, along with her siblings, which in turn provided Reese, M'gann, and Conner with the cover they needed in order to infiltrate Belle Reve. "I don't think so either,"

"Sweetheart, you look exhausted. Have you been getting any sleep?" Clara's voice made Reese glance upward again, to see the red-haired former hero staring at her with a soft expression on her face, an expression Reese had only seen before on Dinah, or her own mother.

Before she died, that is.

"I, uh, I guess I haven't been sleeping well," Silverbird admitted, stifling a yawn and wrapping her arms around herself. 

Insomnia was something she was privy to, unfortunately, and as such, not getting any sleep always affected her ability to think fast while in the field, thus endangering herself and her teammates.

But, it wasn't as if Reese was able to control when she'd get nightmares. 

Every couple of months, she'd get memories of the night her biological parents and baby sister had died, the split-second before Green Arrow had first saved her, when she was falling through the air, and the shock would always jolt her awake mere moments before she would hit the ground.

It didn't help matters that, now that she finally knew who had killed her family, Mark Desmond had mutated into that hideous Blockbuster creature, whom Reese knew was locked in Belle Reve as well, but that didn't make it any better.

It was just...she didn't know what it was, but between the nightmares, and getting sick a week ago, it was like Reese's body was trying to shut everything out, and then shut down.

"Have you talked to anybody about this?" Clara asked, pursing her lips when Silverbird shook her head. The former hero Candlewick was a mother, she knew the signs when a child wasn't sleeping, when they weren't able to sleep.

But, if the young brunette in front of Clara wasn't willing to open up to the people who cared about her, the situation would only get worse, and she might even end up getting hurt.

The red-haired woman opened her mouth to say exactly that, but before she could speak, someone rounded the corner onto the walkway where Silverbird was leaning against the guardrail, and this newcomer was someone else that Clara recognized in passing.

The Batman's young protege. The Boy Wonder, also known as Robin.

Briefly, Clara wondered what both young heroes were doing in the prison, knowing it had to be for a reason, but simultaneously decided it wasn't her business to pry, and retreated back into her cell as Robin skidded to a stop in front of Silverbird, looking a bit winded.

"I'm not hovering," was the first thing out of Dick's mouth as he caught his breath, not noticing the way Reese suddenly looked like a skittish deer trapped in headlights. "But, Aqualad said I needed to come and find you, since it was time to go and find Morrow,"

"T.O. Morrow?" Reese's head snapped towards the cell door both birds were standing in front of as an unfamiliar woman (to Dick anyway) stepped up to the small barred window, her pale face now holding an expression that almost seemed full of fear. "That's who you're going after?"

Robin hooked his thumb towards the woman and glanced towards Silverbird, mentally asking Reese who the heck this was, but the brunette only waved her hand and shook her head, signalling that she would tell him later as she turned towards the woman in the jail cell.

"We'll be fine," she said, and Dick decided he officially hated that word. 

Fine. Whenever someone said it, 99% of the time they didn't mean it. If anything, the word always meant the opposite of its definition.

The woman in the cell still looked a bit apprehensive, but Robin didn't really have time to worry about it, because Aqualad really was waiting for him to come back to the Bioship with Silverbird, and they really did need to get going to find Red Tornado before the League found out.

Batman was going to have his head because they left Mount Justice without warning either way, and Dick really didn't want to make it worse.

"You're right, Robin," Reese's voice made Dick glance up in time to see the brunette staring at him with an expression on her face of pure determination, an expression that also made Robin quirk an eyebrow. "We should get going,"

"Be careful," the woman in the jail cell said, and Robin still didn't know who she was, but before he could ask, Silverbird had already turned around, and was walking back to the entrance of Belle Reve, where the Bioship, and the others, were waiting.

After a few seconds, Dick followed. 

He knew Reese had been acting odd for the past couple of days, and he knew part of it was because she was sick, but the other part, the part that was keeping her from getting a good night's sleep, he didn't know what that was.

And he didn't know how to help.

➳➳➳

Several minutes passed in silence within the Bioship before Aqualad spoke up.

"Lockout all external communications," Kaldur said firmly, turning his chair around so he'd be able to face everybody. "Soon, Canary and Zatara, Batman too, I imagine, will know of our...visit with Professor Ivo. We haven't much time,"

Everyone complied, before Wally shifted in his chair so he was more able to look at Zatanna.

"Look," the speedster began. "I've been remarkably patient and nonchalant here. You know, for me. But--"

"Why?" Zatanna cut Wally off, but her voice wasn't unkind. "I think everyone should be as chalant as they like,"

For a moment, all KF did was blink, before his mouth dropped open. "Oh my God," he whispered, before leaning forward. "Rob, she's just like you!"

But after several seconds had passed without the Boy Wonder saying anything, Wally tilted his head, before poking his head around the back of Robin's chair, only to be met with a  sight he really hadn't expected.

Both of them, Dick and Reese, that is, looked to be asleep, curled up against each other like a pair of kittens, though Wally didn't think he would've ever compared Robin to a cat.

Reese wasn't wearing her mask, she'd hardly been wearing it all day, and her face was the epitome of peacefulness at the moment, so Wally knew she was asleep. Dick, as usual, did have his mask on, but his eyes were closed, and his breathing was deep, so the red-haired speedster was willing to bet he was sleeping as well.

He was never going to let Robin live this down. Ever.

KF opened his mouth to say something, but was abruptly cut off by Aqualad.

"Do not wake them," Kaldur said firmly, sending Wally a look that made the speedster clamp his mouth shut. "I believe both Reese and Robin can use the sleep. We'll brief them when we get to Yellowstone,"

As much as he was disenheartened at the thought of a lost teasing opportunity, Wally couldn't find it in himself to argue with Kal's logic, so he gave a small nod, settling back in his chair as Artemis turned to Zatanna.

"What Kid Idiot meant earlier," the blonde began, ignoring the sharp glare that Wally sent her way and lowering her voice so it was quiet enough not to wake Robin and Silverbird. "Is that we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers. Could you teleport us to Tornado? Or Morrow to a cell? Or force his bots to surrender?"

"Or create peace on Earth for all time?" Zatanna added, tilting her head to the side. "Zatara couldn't even do that, and I am nowhere near on my Dad's level. I need to know a spell cold," she continued. "Or else have time to prep it. Plus, all magic requires energy, and that usually has to come from within. I just can't make the impossible happen at will,"

"What's our ETA to Yellowstone?" Superboy suddenly snapped, making all of the awake heroes look over at him. From her spot across the Bioship, Reese shifted, but she settled again a moment later. "I'm way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor,"

"Are you so certain he betrayed us?" Aqualad asked calmly, and Conner twisted around.

"Aren't you?" he retorted, but Kaldur only glanced away.

"I am not convinced," the Atlanean admitted, before turning to look at Superboy again. "And even so, that makes him but the victim of his creator's programming. Certainly he deserves a chance to prove he is more than the weapon others designed him to be,"

To that, it seemed, Superboy didn't have an argument.

Y E L L O W S T O N E  N A T I O N A L  P A R K
October 10, 20:22 MDT

Reese couldn't believe she had slept all the way from Belle Reve. And on Dick, no less. God, that was so embarasssing.

But, it was the best two hours of sleep she had gotten in the past week, so she supposed that was an improvement. And she hadn't had any nightmares. And she actually felt more refreshed than she had in a while.

Refreshed enough that Silverbird convinced both Robin and Aqualad not to make her stay behind on the Bioship while the rest of them went to find Red Tornado.

Reese counted that as a win.

"Stealth mode," Kaldur spoke up, before pressing the stylized 'A' symbol on his waist, letting the stealth tech embedded in his suit to take over, turning Aqualad's once red-and-blue suit to dark gray.

Though her suit didn't have any stealth tech on its own, and thus meant she didn't have to go "stealth mode", Reese's hair was still hanging down her back, and not wanting it to get in her face during the mission, the twelve-year-old deftly started to weave the brown and silver strands together, braiding it into a simple plait that hung over her right shoulder.

As soon as they were all ready, more or less, Silverbird walked to the entrance of the Bioship just as Zatanna opened the ramp, as if she were leaving too, which was odd, because Reese hadn't known that the young magician was coming with them to confront T.O. Morrow.

Not that she was complaining, it'd be great to have the girl on their side, she just...hadn't expected it (?).

Kaldur, it seemed, shared the same thoughts, though he voiced them differently. By telling Zatanna to stay on the Bioship.

"I recommend you stay behind," Aqualad began, and Zatanna gave a small smirk.

"Is that an order?" she retorted, and Kaldur shook his head as Reese laughed behind her hand.

"No," Aqualad answered after a moment, sending Zatanna a smile. "You must do as you see fit,"

"Good," Zatanna answered, before waving her arms around and speaking another spell. "Emit ot yrt tuo eht wen kool!"

With a flash of light and smoke, the purple and white ensemble Zatanna had been wearing earlier was gone, replaced with a more feminine version of Zatara's own attire.

"I wish I could do that," Silverbird murmured as the rest of the Team joined her, Zatanna, and Aqualad at the ramp, before the eight of them started to make their way through the trees, using Robin's wrist holo-computer as a GPS to find the coordinates where Ivo had said T.O. Morrow's secret base would be.

Finally, Dick stopped, ducking behind a tree on the edge of an expanse of open rocky hills, Reese and Kaldur both crouching behind his shoulder.

"Ivo was right," Robin spoke up after studying his holo-computer for a moment. "Something's down there,"

Aqualad was the first to run forward onto the expanse of rock, the others following soon after. But, none of them got very far before, on all sides, a strong wind began to blow, and Silverbird was suddenly really glad she had tied her hair up before leaving the Bioship.

As it were, the wind was so strong, it quite literally blew all of them backward, and when Reese hit the ground, her head snapped back, slamming into the rock and making her see stars.

When her vision cleared a few seconds later, Silverbird glanced up, and her eyes widened as she saw Red Tornado hovering in front of them, his legs obscured by a whirling red cyclone.

The android waved his arms, and more than half a dozen more red whirlwinds surrounded the Team on all sides, effectively herding them so they were cornered, with absolutely no means of escape.

"Tornado!" Reese shouted, letting her voice carry over the wind so it would be able to reach the android's ears. "Why are you doing this?"

But, Red Tornado didn't answer, only allowing more of his tornadoes to make even bigger explosions of stone and sand erupt from the ground.

When Silverbird saw though, what the real purpose of those cyclones were, she glanced towards M'gann, hoping a mental link was already in place.

'Message received?' she asked, and Miss Martian gave a solid nod before relaying the same thing to Aqualad and Superboy, Conner giving an almost imperceptible nod himself before he turned back to Red Tornado.

"Who cares why?" the genomorph shouted out loud. "Nail him!"

With that, both Conner and Kaldur ran forward, Aqualad sprinting across the ground and giving a shout of his own.

"Superboy!" Kaldur called. "Maneuver seven!" Conner spun around smoothly and made a cup with his hands, Aqualad using it as a vault to leap up into the air. 

Kaldur prepared to punch Red Tornado, but before he could, Tornado retaliated himself, socking the Atlantean squarely in the face and throwing Aqualad back to the ground, where he slammed into Superboy, both of them flying back.

Then, Silverbird ran forward with Robin, with Reese shooting two explosive arrows towards Tornado. But, instead of deterring him, the android only sucked the arrows into the cyclone surrounding the bottom half of his body, before spitting them back out a second later, and sending them flying back towards Reese and Dick.

"Get down!" Robin shouted, tackling Silverbird to the ground just as her arrows exploded. As it were, the resulting shockwave threw both of them back, and seemingly unconscious.

The keyword in that statement being seemingly, because the whole point to this game was playing possum.

So, Silverbird lay as still as she could, controlling her breathing as if she were asleep, and trying to not make it seem too obvious that she wasn't actually dead.

But, even when Zatanna was thrown down on Reese's other side, and when it actually looked like they might get out of this whole thing alive, there was a rumbling sound, and a new voice joined the conversation, one deeper than Red Tornado's had been.

"Quite a performance, brother," the new voice said, and Silverbird cracked one eye open to see another android, one similar in build to Tornado, but slightly different, rising up behind the Leaguer on a square-shaped column of solid rock.

This android was bulkier than Red Tornado, and was colored a darker red, with scarlet-colored cracks criss-crossing his frame, an extra detail that reminded Reese of molten rock.

"But we both know that's all it was," the new android uttered, and Reese felt her heart drop to her stomach as Dick twitched beside her. This was not turning out how they'd meant. "I have all your memories, Tornado," the other android added. "Plus, a next-gen processor. I know your next move before you do,"

With another rumble from the area around them, the new android tore up the section of rock where Red Tornado had written his message, the words PLAY DEAD in massive block letters splayed across it.

"Blowing a message into the sand?" the other android asked, sounding almost disappointed in his 'brother's' actions. "Pathetic,"

Then, after thin red rings appeared around each of the android's hands, the massive piece of rock exploded, sending massive boulders flying towards the members of the Team, the intent on squishing them perfectly clear.

Superboy, Aqualad, Miss Martian, and Silverbird leapt into action immediately, the former three using their various abilities to punch, slice, and telekinetically throw away the boulders as Reese used a Canary Cry to blow even more of the boulders into dust.

But, her sonic scream was abruptly cut off as a boulder that she'd missed crashed to the ground between her and Robin, separating them and throwing Silverbird to the ground on her hands and knees, where she crouched there for a moment, dazed.

'Reese?' the brunette heard Dick's voice through the mental link, and it managed to clear her head enough that she was able to wearily climb to her feet. 'You okay?'

The dust from the boulder began to fade, enough for Silverbird to see through it to where Robin stood, a few yards away, looking a little bit freaked.

'I'm good,' she answered, sending Dick a smile, one that he thankfully returned, just as Silverbird turned to where Red Tornado was flying away. 'But, Tornado's getting away!'

'Is he abandoning us?' Artemis shouted as she ran across the ground, but this time, M'gann was the one who answered, from where she was flying above their heads.

'I don't believe that,' the Martian said, but Reese had bigger things to worry about at the moment, as Kid Flash sped across the ground to run vertically up the column towards the terrakinetic android.

But, it didn't got the way Wally expected. As the speedster reached the top of the column, the android almost seemed to stare down at him derisively.

"You have no chance against me, humans," the android said simply, before flinging an arm out and knocking Wally back off the column.

But, what it did do was provide a useful distraction for Superboy and Miss Martian to come in, trying to catch the android off-guard.

"We're not human!" the two shouted in unison, but the android wasn't deterred.

"Apologies," he said, sounding vaguely sarcastic, rasing his hands into the air again, and Silverbird's eyes widened again as two massive hands made completely of rock appeared out of the ground, rising higher into the air. "I believe the properly inclusive term is meatbags,"

The android slammed his hands together, and the two stone hands slammed Conner and M'gann between them. The terrakinetic then waved his hand through the air again, and a massive crevasse appeared in the ground as Aqualad and Artemis crossed over it, making Kaldur and the blonde archer fall through, though luckily they were able to pull themselves out before the walls of the ravine slammed together, causing the rock to rise up in sharp spikes above the surface of the ground.

Robin used the spikes as a sort of gymnastics vault, leaping off the edge of one spike and throwing a birdarang straight at the android.

But, the android didn't even look away as his hand shot and grabbed the birdarang just as it exploded, thus keeping it from doing any permanent damage.

"Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move!" the android said as he turned towards where Dick had thrown the birdarang, as the Boy Wonder landed beside Silverbird again.

But, the Team did, in fact, have a secret weapon on their side.

"Ekoms emoceb a dlofdnilb!" 

As soon as Zatanna finished shouting the spell, the residual smoke from Robin's exploded birdarang compacted into a makeshift blindfold around the android eyes, thus stopping him from seeing what moves the young heroes were about to make.

"Tornado never knew my moves!" the magician exclaimed, just as Wally ran past her.

"I bet you've got some good ones!" the speedster exclaimed, and Reese shot him a glare as she shot another arrow towards the android, though it was swept aside without a second thought.

"Wally!" she shouted. "Stop flirting with the new girl!" From where she stood a few feet away, Zatanna glanced at Silverbird, looking equal parts confused and intrigued.

"Is he always like this?" she asked, and this time, Robin was the one who shook his head.

"No," Dick answered honestly. "Sometimes he's worse,"

Suddenly, the android's eyes glowed a bright fire-red, before twin lasers appeared out of them, destroying Zatanna's blindfold and rocketing up into the sky, just as the mountain behind him exploded, sending a geyser of lava and solid rock up into the air.

'Uh oh,' Reese muttered through the psychic link, as lava began to flow down the side of the mountain towards them, seemingly making the android stronger. 'That can't be good,'

'It's not,' Wally added as he skidded to a stop on the ground. 'He's activated a Stage Two eruption. It gets to Stage Three, we can kiss the hemisphere goodbye,'

'So I was right,' Silverbird said, lips turning down into a frown. 'Definitely not good,'

'Hit him from all sides,' Aqualad spoke up, shifting his water-bearers into swords as he leapt into the air.

But, and Reese was almost expecting it at this point, Kaldur was slammed to the side with a boulder, and when Superboy tried to intervene, his punch was stopped simply with the android's hand, elicitng a shockwave that erupted through the air.

After M'gann was discovered, camouflaged and then made to reappear after the android made a another crevasse, this one acting as a superheated vent, Silverbird sent a nod to Zatanna and Kid Flash.

Wally crouched in front of Zatanna, goggles over his eyes, as the young magician began to say another spell.

"Ekoms dna srorrim...Etaerc Dik Hsalf snoisulli!" with that, multiple columns of smoke turned into doppelgangers of Kid Flash, all of the doubles running forward to confront the android currently holding M'gann hostage, following the lead of the real Kid Flash.

"How'd you do that?" Silverbird asked, and Zatanna glanced over at her with a smile.

"I use a scaled-down version when I want to sneak out of the house!" the magician explained, and that was the moment when Reese decided that Zatanna's powers were the absolute coolest thing she had ever seen.

And she had been to the Watchtower. Which, coincidentally, also looked like an iron.

But, Reese was getting off-track.

While the android levitated multiple boulders and threw them towards the pack of Wally(s) heading his way, he manged to hit the real KF exactly zero times, because Kid Flash's strategy in this situation was to go the long way around the android, coming at him from the side and swiping M'gann, quite literally, from right under the android's nose.

It was a strategy that, luckily, worked.

Miss Martian was still a little bit woozy from the heat, but she'd be okay, and Silverbird prepared herself to rush at the android again, to do what, Reese hadn't gotten that far, when suddenly the ground beneath her feet rumbled, and the brunette would've fallen, had Robin not shot forward at the last moment and caught her.

Then, a wave of water erupted from the ground behind Aqualad, surging forward and pushing the terrakinetic android back with the force of a literal tidal wave, knocking him back into the gathered lava, a hissing noise echoing through the air.

"Nice hit," Dick called over his shoulder to Kaldur, but Aqualad just shook his head.

"The hit was not mine," the Atlantean answered. "Look!" 

Silverbird glanced up to see that one of the androids who had attacked the cave back in September, the one who could control water, had been the one to send the wave towards his "brother", and not Kaldur.

The android then used the water as a sort of cape, carrying himself into the air and sending more thick ropes of water towards the other android, slamming into him and sending him back into the lava.

Then, Red Tornado flew in, slamming into the column the android was laying on and smashing it to bits, dropping him into the lava again.

Silverbird was now 99% sure that everyone's mouths were hanging open in shock, just a little bit, as fireballs began to rain down from the sky, a sign that the third and final android, the female one and the same android who had burned Reese's legs, had arrived as well.

And sure enough, there she was, fire streaming out of her head as if it were hair, and she dove down, blocking one of the terrakinetic's strikes with the clanking sound of metal hitting metal.

"Sister!" the terrakinetic shouted, sounding almost surprised at this new development. "Brothers, stop!"

But, the hydrokinetic stomping him down deeper in the lava stopped the android from continuing.

Finally, Red Tornado dove down feet-first into the molten rock, helping his siblings in one final sacrifice, one that would hopefully help save all of humanity.

But, before Tornado burnt up completely, Conner surged forward, yanking the Leaguer out of the lava and depositing him back where the rest of the Team was standing, and Silverbird winced as she noticed that the bottom halves of Red Tornado's legs were completely gone, melted within the super-heated rock.

The mountain started to rumble again, only this time the shakes seemed worse than before, and Reese had a feeling that the terrakinetic android had done...something to speed forward the eruption he had set in motion earlier.

"Tornado, listen!" Wally suddenly shouted, spinning around to face the android. "We're on the verge of a Stage Three supervolcano eruption! There's no turning back from that! We need to vent pressure, fast. But, the ash cloud will bring on a worldwide nuclear winter unless you divert it!"

Tornado gave a solid nod in agreement, before KF turned to Robin, Dick pulling up his holo-computer without a word.

"Triangulate around the pressure locus!" he exclaimed, and Robin pulled up a diagram of the mountain, three red dots appearing in various places on it.

"There, there, and there!" Dick exclaimed, and after he showed the diagram to her, Reese shot a single arrow, the arrowhead splitting into three separate explosive charges that landed on the spots indicated by Robin's diagram, and as smoke began to billow out from the new holes in the mountain, the wires where Red Torando's legs used to be sparked, and the android flew up into the air.

He went higher, and higher, until finally even Silverbird wasn't able to see him anymore. But, what she was able to see was a massive red cyclone appear above the growing ash cloud, high up in the Earth's stratoshpere.

The cyclone started to suck up all of the toxic ash, before finally, the massive gray cloud completely dissipated, and the lava that was on the outside of the volcano finally cooled, prompting Wally to pump a fist in the air.

"Yes!" the speedster exclaimed, but his face turned morose again as Red Tornado landed heavily again on the ground, his legs still completely destroyed.

➳➳➳

Once Tornado showed the young heroes where exactly to find T.O. Morrow's secret base beneath the park, Robin set the android up on the old inventor's exam table, which reminded Reese distinctly of the same exam table Doctor Frankenstein used in Mary Shelley's novel, while creating his "creature".

"There. That should do it," Silverbird glanced over as Robin and Kid Flash finished working on Red Tornado's head, the android's faceplate open, exposing the metallic parts within.

"Yes," the Leaguer said firmly. "I can speak again,"

"You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet," Aqualad spoke up, walking forward until he stood next to Red Tornado, though the android didn't seem to think he had done much worth thanking for.

"The planet would've survived," he said firmly. "It is humanity that was saved. Though, not by me," Tornado added. "My sister and brother were the true heroes this day,"

"My point is this," Kaldur continued. "You were never the mole. Never a traitor,"

"No," Red Tornado admitted. "I left to protect you from further attack and to find my creator, Morrow,"

But, Reese realized, that also begged the question: If Red Tornado hadn't been the mole, then who was?

Suddenly, from where she was standing over by a worktable with Dick and Wally, pawing through old android parts, Reese gave a loud sneeze, startling both boys enough that KF dropped the mechanical hand he had grabbed as his souvenir.

"Dang it," the brunette muttered. "And here I was thinking I had finally gotten over that stomach bug,"

"I think GA may need to take you back to the doctor, pretty bird," Robin spoke up, grinning, but Silverbird just sent him a dry glare.

"Tell me you didn't just say that," she deadpanned, but Dick just shrugged, before taking a massive robotic foot out of the multitude of android parts, turning to Red Tornado.

"Hey, Reddie!" Robin exclaimed, holding the android leg up in the air. "We can rebuild you! Better than you were before!"

But, though his metallic face showed no expression, given that he had no facial features except for eyes and a slotted mouth, Red Tornado seemed almost...reluctant.

"I do not believe I should be repaired," he said, and for a few moments, everyone was struck silent, before finally, Superboy turned around.

"Why'd you volunteer to become our den mother in the first place?" Conner asked sharply, and after a moment, Tornado answered.

"I was the pragmatic choice," the android began calmly. "I do not require sleep, I have no secret identity or 'second life' to live..."

"But," Wally added, holding up the mechanical hand he had grabbed and straightening the fingers. "You do have advanced AI programming. Designed to learn, adapt, evolve,"

"Hello, Megan!" M'gann exclaimed, knocking her palm against her forehead. "You wanted to become more human,"

"And there was no way you were going to do that among the Justice League," Reese added, hands on her hips as Artemis sent her a glance.

"Yeah," the blonde agreed. "They're a bunch of stiffs,"

"You're sure not gonna learn emotion from Batman," Robin spoke up, still holding the android foot in his arms. "Trust me,"

"Then the Cave was not a proving ground only for us," Kaldur added. "But for you as well,"

"I do not know if these statements are accurate," Red Tornado admitted after thinking it over for a moment. "But, perhaps they are true. And if I understand the term correctly, I believe I have come to...care about you all,"

"See?" Superboy asked. "Practically a meatbag already," This made Red Tornado turn away, looking back to stare up at the ceiling again.

"Which reminds me..."

➳➳➳

After repairing Red Tornado and allowing him to look after the real T.O. Morrow, since apparently the other one was another android, the Team finally got back on the Bioship and began the trip home.

Once they had been in the air for a while, Artemis turned to Zatanna.

"So," the blonde began. "Zatanna, how'd you like your kidnapping?"

"It was good," the black-haired girl answered. "First of many, I hope. That is, if my dad doesn't ground me for life,"

Suddenly, Silverbird groaned and leaned down to hit her head against the console in front of her seat, making everybody turn to look at her.

"Forget your dad," she began. "Green Arrow's never going to let me out of the house again, after the last time I went on a mission while I was supposed to be benched we all ended up getting attacked by a sentient organ and his menagerie of mutated animals,"

"At least we got Wolf out of that situation," Conner spoke up, and Robin nodded from where he was sitting behind Reese.

"Yeah," Dick agreed. "And Zira,"

"The positives in this moment do not outweigh the negatives, Mr. Acrobat," Reese retorted, head still bowed against the console. "I am so freaking dead,"

-----

I spent a solid 7 1/2  hours writing this, but I managed to finish it, and I'm pretty proud of the end result. :)

I overhauled basically everything to do with Chalant in this episode as well, because while they are one of my favorite Young Justice ships (aside from Spitfire), I was just like...nah. But, Zatanna and Reese are definitely Brotp.

Next Up: Failsafe (Are y'all ready to DIE?!)

~Matia