chapter twenty-seven.
( a new year begins. )

     The sound of a piano plays through the large hall, a mere hum under the loud chatter of Gotham's high society.

At sixteen, Yue Harlow adored these events. Rare were the times Bruce would allow her to accompany him, he wanted to spare her from the gossip surrounding her mother's untimely passing. Back then, she detested the idea of being protected from it. She wanted to attend fancy parties, she wanted to flaunt designer clothes, and brag about the elite school she attended.

Now, at Twenty-One, she wished for nothing more than to start the New Year curled up in bed by her boyfriend's side. But she couldn't. Most of Gotham City's highest elite were gathered in this room, and she was just a few signatures away from gaining the Mayor's approval for the Martha Wayne Foundation to open an orphanage in Park Row.

Yue lets out a heavy sigh, and in one swift movement, she steals two champagne glasses from a passing waiter and waltzes through the crowd of gossiping CEOs and socialites. She sips from the glass, then sucks in a deep breath as she plasters a fake-smile across her red lips.

"There you are." Her footsteps halt when she reaches the tall red-haired figure she had left just moments prior. His relieved smile almost breaks her facade as he reaches for the extra champagne glass in her hands. Her brown eyes flick to the man across from them, "Sorry, do you mind if I steal him away? Bruce has been searching for us everywhere."

"Of course." The man smiled politely, his eyes flickering between the couple. "We'll chat later. I hope you can tell me more about the theoretical use of Chronoton radiation in time travel and its adverse effects... West, was it?"

Wally nods and she watches for a moment as his lips open and close, as if he were at a loss for words. While she grew up with the training necessary for a life in the spotlight, Wally seemed to always have his foot in his mouth at crucial moments. Years of media training by the League could never correct it.

She decides to step in for him. "We'd love to." Taking advantage of the silence, Yue hooks her arm around Wally's and bids goodbye to the man as she guides her boyfriend away from the conversation. Once they're far enough away to be out of earshot, she can't stop the giggle that falls from her lips. "I didn't know you were making friends already, babe."

"Are you kidding?" Back in his element, Wally grins down at her and jokes, "Dr. Langstrom and I are practically best friends."

"If I knew you were going to be this popular, I would've just stayed home and let you do all the work." She snickers into her glass, her eyes scanning over the busy room. She takes a second glance at the open balcony doors and nods her head toward them. "Let's get some fresh air before anyone else tries stealing you away."

"Bruce doesn't need us?" His brows furrowed as he looked at the other side of the room. Bruce stands in front of a table of guests, a charming smirk plastered over his face as he greets an older couple.

Yue shakes her head, using the hand wrapped around Wally's bicep to pull him toward the balcony. "I just wanted to get you alone," she admits with a small laugh. "I mean, seriously, they're loving you in there."

He rolls his eyes, placing his champagne glass against the stone railing before leaning his back against it as he turns to face her. "I think they're just looking for a way to get into Bruce's inner circle," he explains, his emerald eyes flicking from her face to the crowd.

"Or maybe, they're just interested in your ideas," she suggests. Taking a step to the right, she stands in front of him and blocks his view of the party. "As dorky as you are-" she taps two fingers against the side of his forehead, "-what's up here has saved the world more times than they can count."

"So, you convince any of them to donate?" When she frowns in response, he pushes himself away from the railing and takes her hand in his. "Seriously? Not a single one of those jackasses is on board?"

"No," she sighs heavily. In the hours spent at this party, she had only gotten one signature of support out of the twenty she still needed for the mayor to even consider her proposal. "They don't think Crime Alley can be reformed that easily. I don't know, I don't really blame them..."

Wally's hand tightens ever-so-slightly around hers. "It can be," he reassures her. "Come on, babe, this is all you've been talking about for months. You can do this."

Lifting her head to meet his gaze, her lips curl upward at the softened expression he wears while staring down at her. She knows Wally like the back of her hand; in these last eight years of knowing each other, she had learnt that he would never lie to her. If he believed in her idea, then so did she.

But that didn't mean the people of Gotham City did. She had moved away so many years ago, maybe that meant the city wasn't her duty anymore. But if not her, then who would step up to protect the kids of Gotham who had nowhere to go?

"I need to make it work," she says, her smile faltering the more she thinks about it.

She needed to make it work for Jason; the boy who grew up in Crime Alley, just like her, with nowhere to go until Bruce found him. For Artemis and Jade, who should've never been left with their father in those years their mother spent away.

"You will." Wally rests his hand softly against her cheek, his eyes flickering back to the party with a determined blaze in his green eyes. "We just have to get back in there and convince them to get on board."

"Or get out of the way?" Yue giggles at the memory.

A quiet static hum emits from her earpiece. Technically, she was one of the Team members on duty tonight for any bad guys wanting in on the New Year's fun– hoping they would leave the world alone for one day seemed too much to ask for. "Flamebird." A deep voice calls her alias through the radio. "The United Nations Headquarters is under attack. Rendezvous with Beta Squad in New York and investigate the scene."

Sheepishly, Yue lowers her hand from her ear and glances back at her boyfriend. He's standing in front of her with a knowing look in his eyes, but it breaks her heart to walk away from him nonetheless. "Go, save the world," he says, then leans in to softly kiss her. "But come back to me, Birdy."

"Always." She grins, then presses her lips to his one last time before activating her comms and whispering, "Copy that, Mal. Let Beta Squad know I'm on my way."

When she had received a transmission from Mal asking her to meet with Beta Squad in the city that never sleeps, she hadn't quite expected this. The United Nations headquarters had been attacked more times than Yue could count, but tonight seemed... Different.

The outer wall of the building's third floor had been almost completely destroyed, exposing the attacker to a room full of now unconscious security guards. The large scale of the attack would be too noticeable for just any hitman's work. Reporters were already gathering in the streets outside; no mercenary or assassin would bring this much attention to themselves willingly.

Going rooftop to rooftop in the direction of the office, the sound of gunshots picks up in the distance as they draw closer. The sound grants only the slightest of reprieves for Flamebird as, when the trio land on a building across from the headquarters, the gunshots abruptly stop. "Wonder Girl, go!" She orders the young Amazonian. "Batgirl, scan the building. We need a way to get the Secretary-General out of there safely."

"On it!" Wonder Girl chirps. As she flies ahead, Batgirl's eyes flicker down to the screen emitting from her glove. She goes over the blueprints as quickly as she can, then glances up at Flamebird with a grin.

"There's a hidden elevator in Secretary-General Tseng's office," she informs the leader, then reaches for her grapple-gun. "We can get him out through there." Across the street, one of the windows shatters and the two girls share a look before firing their grapples in its direction.

With her arms shielding her face, Flamebird smashes through the last window. Wonder Girl stands in the centre of the room, squaring off against a large grey-skinned man, while the Secretary General cowers in the corner beside his desk. "Friend of yours?" Flamebird jokes as she brushes her cape to the side, retrieving two birderang's from her belt as she faces the large man.

"Who, big and ugly over here?" Wonder Girl laughs, "No way."

"Keep him busy, I'll get Secretary General Tseng to safety." Batgirl announces the plan, her hand wrapping around the Secretary General's forearm as she pulls him off the ground.

Wonder Girl's hands curl into fists, her blue eyes flicking back toward the alien man she had knocked to the ground a few seconds prior. "All over it, Batgirl," she calls out. "Okay big guy, let's see how much punishment you can-" The girl yelps as the man grabs her face and tosses her into the wall like she weighed nothing.

Flamebird swallows her fear, then throws the two bird-a-rangs at the man. Each one causes a small explosion that seems to have no effect on him– while he's distracted, she takes off into a sprint. Using the momentum, she drops down and slides between his legs. Before she can turn around, something wraps around her cape.

The man uses the fabric to pull her forward, his free hand wraps around her throat and he effortlessly slams her against the desk. The wood cracks and splinters beneath her as it breaks and sends her onto the hard ground with another pained gasp.

He stalks toward the elevator with a huff, "Keezy fem think they can take on the main man?" He pries the doors of the elevator open and, without another word, jumps down the shaft.

With a groan, Flamebird rolls onto her side and hastily pushes herself up into a sitting position. Pain shoots through her back, and she can only hope there won't be bruises by morning. "Wonder Girl, you okay?" She glances across the room, her shoulders sagging in relief as she watches her younger teammate rise to her feet.

"Better than ever," the girl answers. She makes her toward Flamebird, a smile tugging at her lips as she pulls her up from the rubble of what had once been a desk. "Not sure Batgirl can say the same, though..."

"Go." Flamebird nods her head toward the elevator. "I'll catch up."

There's hesitance in Wonder Girl's eyes, the same hesitance Yue had always shared when she was younger and ordered to split up from an injured teammate. But she doesn't say anything, simply presses her lips together and flies down the elevator shaft to catch up with Batgirl and Secretary General Tseng.

Flamebird rolls her shoulders back, then shoots her grapple-hook at the top of the elevator-shaft. With luck, she'll catch up to the rest of Beta Squad before anything serious happens. "I should've just stayed at the party," she complains to herself as she stares down the dark elevator shaft. She jumps into the open air, allowing the grapple line to carry her weight to the bottom.

She lands on top of the broken elevator, ignoring any thoughts of panic as she climbs inside and takes off running through the corridor. She follows the sound of fighting to the General Assembly Building, where Wonder Girl hovers in the air with her lasso curled tightly around the large man's torso.

His chuckle sends a shiver down Flamebird's spine, even as she vaults over the nearby tables to join Batgirl and the Secretary General further down the assembly line. "Wonder Girl can hold him off, we need to get him out of here," she says.

The two girls' glance behind them as Wonder Girl is launched into the ceiling. Flamebird sucks in a deep breath as she reminds herself the girl is half-god. She'll be fine.

"You get the Secretary General to safety." Batgirl points at the double door on the right side of the room, where she had been heading before the attacker caught up. "I'll keep him distracted for as long as I can." She then glances at Tseng, "When I move, run."

Batgirl vaults over the table, her hands pressing against the attacker's shoulders as she flips over him. Flamebird doesn't let herself watch, instead she pushes the Secretary General forward as they take off running for the exit. It's almost within reach.

They make it just five feet from the door when everything begins to slow down. The attacker lands in front of Secretary General Tseng and Flamebird, backhanding the hero with enough strength to knock her to the ground as he glances down at the Secretary General. "Time to die, Krolo." He lifts the smaller man up by his arms, pulling at them with enough strength to rip the man in half.

Just a few feet away, Yue watches from the ground as instead of blood and bone, the Secretary General's insides were made of wires and metal.

Wonder Girl grimaces, "Ew."

The attacker plucks a small, green alien from inside the robotic human suit. It writhes in his hands but he doesn't let go, only tightening his grip as he glances at the trio of heroines. "The Main Man's contract's complete," he announces. "Keezy fem, your world's your world." The exit blows up behind him, and he jumps into the spacecraft outside without so much as another word.

Flamebird fights through the aches and pains, rising to her feet with a frown, as she steps toward the torn apart robotic body of what had once been Secretary General Tseng. Batgirl joins her, while Wonder Girl steps through the hole in the wall to stare up at the night sky with furrowed brows.

"I think-" Wonder Girl starts, "I think Clownface was some sort of alien."

"And that's not even the scary part," Batgirl murmurs, then glances back at the remains. Fireworks go off in the distance, the clock striking midnight on the New Year as Flamebird and Batgirl crouch beside the remains of the robotic suit that had once been the Secretary-General.

If there is one thing Wally West knows, it's that there are consequences for every mission. At nineteen, he decided he was done letting the mask dictate the rest of his life. He buried it away, and in the last three years, hadn't looked back once.

He rolls onto his side in bed, his emerald eyes scanning over her face. Three years ago, Yue would've agreed with him. Her heavy workload for her social work courses, and the hours of fieldwork she needed to complete it, had kept her busy. Now she's lying beside him, her left cheek squishing up against the bare skin of his bicep as she instinctively shuffles closer to chase his warmth. A darkening bruise is painted across her jaw, and his heart sinks to his stomach as he thinks of the worst possibilities.

She could've ended that fight with more than a couple of bruises and a fractured rib. She might've never made it out of New York a few nights ago.

Part of him wants to be angry about it all; to blame her for the way his heart sinks every time his phone rings while she's out there. But he isn't. He doesn't.

When her brown eyes blink open, and she tiredly smiles before wrapping an arm around his back and hiding her face against his chest, he's suddenly reminded of that fact. He could never be angry, could never blame her. Her goodness, the reason she couldn't keep her mask buried in the back of their closet, is just one of the reasons he loves her so deeply.

"What time is it?" She asks groggily, her voice hoarse with sleep as she's yet to remove her face from where she rests it against his skin.

With an arm around her, he rolls onto his back and pulls her with him, careful not to disturb any of her injuries. His lips curl into a smile at the light-hearted groan she lets out while pressing herself up against his side. He reaches his free hand out to the bedside table, his eyes squinting at the alarm clock as he turns it around. "Ten," he answers, his fingers dancing up and down her spine.

"Fuck," she whines out grumpily, unwinding her arm from around her boyfriend to instead wipe the back of her hand against her eyes. "I'm supposed to meet the team at the Watchtower before training."

Yue had taken up Dinah's job of training the team shortly after her return to it a few years ago, teaching the next generation of young heroes who chose to follow in their footsteps. Her hand drops back onto the mattress, and Wally can't stop himself from surging forward to press his lips against hers. Once, then twice. "You can be late," he says against her lips.

"I can," she agrees, now wide-awake. "For a good reason, I can." She smiles coquettishly, cupping his cheek in her hand as she leans in– her lips stop just an inch from his, and he fights the urge to close the gap. She glances over his face amusedly, then pulls away to remove herself from bed. "I'm thinking... pancakes."

"You're killing me here, babe!" He groans half-heartedly, throwing a hand dramatically over his heart as he watches her walk for the door. She glances over her shoulder, shrugging with a soft laugh.

"Flamebird, B-Zero-Two."

Five years ago, the original members of the team earned permanent access to the Justice League's secret headquarters as a reward – and acknowledgement of their hard-work – for saving them from Vandal Savage's brainwashing.

Through the years, the team had been here countless times for meetings and mission debriefs with the Justice League. Yue had thought that after her second visit, no longer mission focused and worried about her dad, that the view from this high up would grow old. It hadn't.

As she walks through the zeta-teleporter, she sneaks a quick glance to the left; a large window covers the majority of the left wall, perfectly showcasing the green and blue sphere making up the Earth. She grins at the sight, then lets her gaze flick toward the group waiting in the War Room. Captain Atom and Green Lantern stand in front of the screen, while Nightwing, Superboy, Miss Martian, Batman, Martian Manhunter and a human she didn't recognise, sit at the large table.

"Flamebird," Captain Atom greets the heroine with a nod of his head.

Nightwing – Dick Grayson's new alias – turns around at the sound of his sister's name, a knowing grin on his face. "Took you long enough," he jokes, his arms crossed over his new blue and black suit. "We were just about to start without you."

"Ignore him," Miss Martian playfully rolls her eyes, then glances at Flamebird as the girl sinks into the seat beside her. "We wouldn't have."

She nudges the Martian's arm with her own, a soft smile tugging at her lips. "Thanks, Miss M," she says. "But I'm here now, so let's get started." She turns to face Captain Atom and Green Lantern, the smile falling from her face. "You said you knew something about the man in New York?"

Green Lantern, John, nods toward the screen behind him. The holographic screen emits the security footage from the attack on the fake Secretary General Tseng a few nights ago. "Big guy's Lobo. He's an intergalactic bounty hunter. Extremely dangerous, but not likely to return," he informs them. "The little guy's another story. That's a Krolotean. Krolotean's always travel in packs."

"Recognised: Zatanna, Two-Five. Rocket, Two-Six." The zeta-teleporter lights up the hallway outside, and the two girls enter the war room to join the meeting just a few seconds later.

"Meaning more of them are on Earth," Batman surmises grimly.

"I believe my friend may have vital information on that point." Martian Manhunter motions to the man beside him. "Some of you have not met Adam Strange of S.T.A.R. Labs' Erdel Initiative." The human stands and raises his hand in a small wave. "He is the man responsible for maintaining the zeta-beam technology we use for teleportation."

Superboy's gaze drifts between the members of the original Team, who had been linked up via Miss Martian's mind-link since entering the Watchtower. "I was wondering why a stranger was allowed on the top-secret Watchtower," he says.

"As long as he has something that can help us root out an alien infestation, I'm all for it," Flamebird comments.

Martian Manhunter turns to the scientist, "And he has a story to tell."

"Uh, it's a little involved." Adam Strange awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, "I wish I had visual aids or something."

"I can assist you." As Martian Manhunter speaks, Flamebird's mind splinters for the second time since entering the Watchtower. This presence wasn't as familiar or comfortable as M'gann's, rather it felt larger and heavier, as everyone in the room linked together with a man who had never felt the touch of a Martian in his mind.

"We are all linked, Adam." Martian Manhunter is the first to speak. "What you remember, we will see."

"Uh... Great?" Adam says aloud, then closes his eyes. Rather suddenly, Flamebird no longer found herself or the others in the war room of the Watchtower. Instead, she was a witness to Adam Strange's memory; a past version of himself stands in the zeta-tube tunnel at the S.T.A.R. Labs building where he works. "I was performing a routine zeta-tube update when something went wrong."

A bright light fills her vision, and in a matter of seconds, they were moved from the inside of S.T.A.R. Labs to a large platform. Wherever he was, it was a long way from Earth. "I found myself transported halfway across the galaxy and to a planet called Rann," he explains. "There was a scientist there, Sardath. He was conducting his own experiments in enhanced... very enhanced zeta-beam technology."

The outside platform shifts to the inside of Sardath's lab. "It took weeks to establish even basic communication," Adam continues. "But Sardath eventually made me understand that some of his zeta tech had been stolen."

Flamebird blinks her eyes open as the dark image of Sardath's laboratory on Rann fades back to the Watchtower's War Room, where the others sit around her.

"Fits the Krolotean MO," Green Lantern notes. "Their entire culture revolves around stolen tech."

"Sardath detected transmissions between a single location on Rann and multiple locations on Earth. He was attempting to trace those when he accidentally transported me to Rann. He gave me this." Adam Strange reaches into the pocket of his lab-coat, then holds up a device for the room of heroes to see. "It detects trace zeta radiation and can pinpoint all the locations where Kroloteans have beamed to Earth."

Captain Atom straightens up. "Then I'm ordering a two-pronged attack," he says. "We'll stage simultaneous raids on every Krolotean target on Earth while a contingent of Leaguers travel to Rann with Strange here to cut the Kroloteans off at the source."

Adam Strange clears his throat, gaining the attention of every hero in the room. "We might have a problem with that second prong," he informs. "So I'm totally unclear on the why but Earthlings are persona non grata in Rann's corner of the galaxy." The device in his hand lights up, revealing the images of the six Justice League members that had gone missing while under Vandal Savage's control. "These six Leaguers are wanted criminals."

Green Lantern blinks as he stares at his own image. "What?"

Flamebird's eyes widen, the events of five years ago washing over her like it was just yesterday. Beside her, Nightwing seems to get the same idea. "Batman," he turns to face their mentor. "It's the missing sixteen hours."

"Agreed," Batman nods. He glances over at Adam Strange, who stares back at them with furrowed brows. "Five years ago, Vandal Savage took complete mental control of the Justice League. These exact six Leaguers went missing for sixteen hours."

"It never even occurred to us that Savage might have sent us into space." Green Lantern sighs, "I'll alert Hal. He and Guy are on Oa with the Green Lantern Corps."

"Meanwhile, we have fifteen other active Leaguers to send to Rann to investigate," Captain Atom reminds them.

"You're not getting it." Adam Strange leans forward, almost shoving the device in the Justice League leader's face. Images of every Justice League hero flickers on the small screen. "There's a planetary watch alert out on Rann for every Leaguer."

Nightwing spares the rest of his team a glance, then steps forward. "Not all of us are Leaguers," he says. "I can send a squad to handle the Rann end of things and to find out more about those missing sixteen hours without causing an intergalactic accident."

Captain Atom nods, "Do it."

Rocket and Zatanna follow the Team out of the room, insisting on accompanying them during the short walk toward the zeta-tubes. "You know that thing about you not being Leaguers," Zatanna speaks up, a soft smile on her face. "You four know you still have an open invitation."

"We know, Zee," Nightwing assures her.

Miss Martian returns the smile. "But we're all happy where we are."

At sixteen, joining the Justice League had been Yue's dream. Every moment with the mask was spent striving toward her eventual induction into the ranks of the League. But she found her place among the Team. They were family and she wouldn't trade that for the world.

"Alright, alright." Zatanna holds her hands up. "You know I had to try again, though." She watches with a fond smile as the Team walks past and into the zeta-tube.

A white light fills their vision and in a matter of seconds, they find themselves back in the Cave. Stepping out of the zeta-tube, Nightwing turns back to face the three heroes behind him. "Superboy, Miss M, I want you on the Rannian mission," he orders. "Take Beast Boy, his shapeshifting abilities should come in handy."

"I'll go find him," M'gann offers, then takes off flying down the hallway without another word.

Conner silently trails behind Yue and Dick toward the Cave's mission room, his shoulders tensing and his eyes slightly narrowed. With a frown, Yue slows down to walk beside him. "Hey, are you sure you're up for this?" She questions in a whisper. "If you're not ready to be on a mission with Megs, Dick will understand."

Their bitter breakup had come as a shock to every member of the original Team. When they were younger, they were as sickly in love as they claimed Yue and Wally are. Conner broke it off and offered no explanation to the rest of the team, not that he needed to. But whatever went down between the two of them left Conner wanting to be as far from the Martian as possible, especially when her relationship with La'gann began.

"I'm fine," he huffs out. It almost reminds Yue of his old behaviour. "It's just one mission."

"A mission off-planet," she reminds him. There was no way she could see this going down fine. Missions with the rest of the fairly large team were fine because he wasn't alone with her, but the mission to Rann was a four person squad with M'gann in charge. Hastily, she steps in front of the boy to block his path, one of her hands shooting out to rest on his shoulder. "Conner–"

Standing in front of him, she gets a good look at his face. To anyone who didn't know him, he might've looked angry– but Yue has known him for five years. She rescued him from Cadmus back when he didn't even know who he was, and she had watched from his side as he turned into the kind person he was today. She could see the pain in his blue eyes that hadn't gone away since the breakup.

And she could see that even now, he doesn't want to talk about it.

"Okay," she settles with a sigh, but doesn't move to take her hand off his shoulder. "It's not that I don't think you can handle it, you know that, right? I just worry about the both of you."

With a nod of his head, he rests his hand over hers for a second, and then softly moves it back to her side. "I know..." He hesitates, then says, "Thank you, Yue."

She smiles softly, then glances down at her watch with a sigh. "I'm so late for training," she complains as she looks back up at Conner. "I'll be there when you guys get back, though. I promise."

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

   ✶     Guess who's back!

   ✶     Honestly, the updated version of this chapter has been posted on ao3 for quite awhile but Wattpad is a whole mess and I couldn't be bothered fixing up the layout to post it here as well, but here we are! We can all thank Rey ( gryzons ) for telling me she was going to catch up on Pink in The Night today, which reminded me to finally fix the layout and post this for everyone.

   ✶     If anyone read the previous version of act two before I took it down a month or two ago, you can probably tell there is a character missing. I removed Wren from the story as she was unfortunately causing major writers block for me, and now that she's gone I've been able to pre-write so much of this act. Maybe one day I will reuse her and her story in another fanfic, but this decision sadly had to happen in order to continue PITN.