( i , 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 )

WASHINGTON D.C.
JULY 4TH, 14:00 EDT

　IF CADIE HAD TO choose what was her favorite thing about being a Green Lantern, it would probably be being able to fly. The adrenaline rush and the pure euphoria she felt whenever she was surfing the skies was one of the greatest feelings ever, and she wouldn't trade it for anything.

　And there she was, flying over the Washington DC skyline with her mentor, enjoying every second of it.

　"Excited?" asked Hal, a smile on his lips as he flew right by her side.

　They were on their way to the Hall of Justice, where they were meeting the rest of the Justice League members, and the soon-to-be. A grin appeared on her face from just thinking about it.

　Cadie raised an eyebrow at her mentor, disbelief written on her face. "Are you kidding? Today is the day! This is the best day of my life!"

　Maybe not the best, but it was certainly worthy of being a highlight of her life, along with graduating, meeting her soulmate, becoming a doctor... This was the first step to becoming a member of the Justice League, and that was something not a lot of people could say.

　And sure, she was already a member of big things like the Green Lantern Corps —which was legendary of her, like her friend Kid Flash said whenever someone brought it up, but it was a whole different thing to be a part of the Justice League! It wasn't like the Green Lanterns have comic books or even a fan base on Earth.

　In reality, she could bet money on the fact that her mentor probably had at least one fan club dedicated to him. Her own foster mom had said he was just so dreamy, which was unbelievable, and had gotten Hal's ego through the roof.

　From their position in the sky, Cadie could see six figures standing before the Hall of Justice. Batman, Aquaman, and Green Arrow and each one of them next to their sidekicks, Robin, Aqualad, and Speedy. She frowned.

　"Hal?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "Weren't Kid and Flash supposed to be here too?"

　The male Green Lantern chuckled, noticing their absence too. "You'd think being speedsters, they'd actually arrive on time."

　A subtle nod from him was the signal Cadie needed to start descending towards the other heroes. When they reached the ground, she shot a smile at Robin and Speedy and a curt nod to Aqualad, with whom she wasn't as close.

　Batman's voice reached her ears. "Today's the day."

　"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," said Green Arrow then, and butterflies appeared on her stomach.

　"Headquarters of the Justice League," completed Aquaman.

　She hovered a couple of inches above the ground, unable to keep her excitement for herself. Cadie caught a glimpse of both Speedy and Robin trying to hide their amusement, given that they knew that she did that when she felt thrilled.

　"Oh, man!" a new voice cried out, catching all of them to turn around.

　A smile drew itself on her face as Kid Flash and his mentor appeared beside her.

　"I knew we'd be the last ones here," Wally West complained, crossing his arms, and Cadie giggled quietly.

　Her redheaded friend frowned at her when he realized she was laughing at him, and stuck an elbow to her ribs. She gasped, repeating the movement back at him and not noticing Hal and Barry's curious eyes on them.

　Now that they were all together, they started to walk down the area before the Hall, and the crowd went insane.

　"Is that Batman?"

　"Hey, those are the Green Lanterns!"

　"Why do they both have the same name? That's so unoriginal."

　 "I see Flash and Flash Jr."

　"His name is Speedy. Duh." 

　"No, Speedy is Green Arrow's sidekick."

　"Well, that makes no sense."

　A couple of years back, the stares did nothing but make Cadie uncomfortable, but in present times, she thrived from them. She felt in a way powerful and seen, knowing that a portion of that crowd admired her and her abilities.

　"Ready to see the inner sanctum?" asked Green Arrow, which she couldn't do anything at but nod. They have been waiting years to do this, they were ready as they would ever be.

　"Born that way," Speedy said solemnly.

　"I'm glad we're all here," said Aqualad, turning the conversation towards the rest of them.

　Aqualad in a way intrigued the Green Lantern. From what she'd heard, he was only a couple of months older than Kid Flash and herself, but he seemed so much more mature than them. Maybe it was his upbringing in a different culture, but it made him interesting. They had never worked together as close as she had with the other sidekicks.

　Robin had been the one to show her the superhero world since the beginning, and Gotham was their city, so they were fairly close. However, not as close as the Boy Wonder was with Kid Flash, with whom Cadie spent a lot of time thanks to Hal being friends with Barry Allen, the Flash. Speedy was another story: because the Green Lanterns protected every city in the world, they had encountered each other many times in Star City, and Cadie was pretty sure that the older boy knew of her past crush on him.

　And don't you dare blame her for having a crush on him, because she had a crush on everyone. But especially older vigilantes that were out of her league.

　"Have all five sidekicks ever been at the same place at the same time?" Kid Flash asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

　"Don't call us sidekicks," Speedy commanded, practically growling the first words. "Not after today."

　Cadie looked briefly at him. In the weeks leading up to that day, he had been behaving rather strangely. Sure, he'd always been quick to anger and she didn't know him enough to make assumptions —just to have a crush on him, but still. It was like he was ready to combust at any moment.

　Beside her, Kid Flash smiled. "Sorry," he apologized. "First time at the hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."

　The Hall of Justice stood right before them as they walked (or flew) towards the entrance.

　 "You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed. why isn't anybody ever just whelmed?" Robin asked as they walked through the doors, and Cadie couldn't help but wonder if his English teacher hated him.

　 She barely heard Robin agree with his friend as she stared up in awe of the statues of the founding members of the league in all their majesty.

　They arrived at a large door with AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY written on it, and as it slid open, she was in awe at the fact that she was now authorized personnel. Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado were there to welcome them, stepping out of the hallways.

　"Robin, Speedy, Green Lantern, Aqualad, Flash," he listed them off in order of seniority, his voice calm. "Welcome," he said, leading them inside.

　Cadie watched as Robin and Kid Flash fist-bumped each other and immediately followed Red Tornado, opposite to her, who was walking slowly beside Aqualad, a boy who came across to be calmer than any of the other sidekicks.

　She was already practically jumping with excitement in her spot, she didn't need to start running to mess even more with her image.

　"You now have unlimited access to the gym, our fully stocked gallery, and of course, our library."

　Cadie stood with her mouth wide open, staring at the massive library in front of them, amazed at the amount of knowledge there must be in that single room. And they had free access to all of that.

　Flash turned back to them with a smile. "Make yourselves at home."

　Robin and KF didn't hesitate to jump into the chairs, while Aqualad calmly took the one across from them. Speedy seemed to want to remain standing, and Cadie realized that she had nowhere to sit.

　Kid, seeming to also notice that, patted his lap. "C'mon, Green. Sit with me"

　She fought back a smile as she walked towards his chair, watching the smile disappear from KF's face when she chose to sit in the armrest of his chair.

　 "Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day," said Batman, then turned to them once again. "We shouldn't be long."

　Cadie frowned, she had thought they would be a part of the briefing. Batman then turned to the door that was across the room, and a fisheye camera popped out of it.

RECOGNIZE:  Batman; 0-2,  Aquaman; 0-6,  Flash; 0-4,  Green Arrow; 0-8,  Martian Manhunter; 0-7,  Red Tornado; 1-6, Green Lantern; 0-5.

　The door behind the camera illuminated before opening, and it read out JUSTICE LEAGUE MEMBERS ONLY.

　Soon, she thought, with a smile on her face.

　"That's it?" angrily asked Speedy, startling her as well as KF, causing her to almost fall on top of her friend. Cadie was surprised once again by the anger in his voice. "You promised a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass," he said, crossing his arms, upset.

　If she were to be completely honest, she also had been expecting a bit more of the day, but to make big changes, one was supposed to take small steps first, so she wasn't too worried.

　"It's a first step," said the King of Atlantis, voicing her thoughts. "You've been granted access few others get."

　"Oh, really?" taunted Speedy, gesturing up to the group of tourists taking pictures on the other side of the soundproof glass, which she hadn't even noticed. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

　Cadie did think it made a difference, but the older superhero did also have a great point. However, unlike the tourists, in a couple of hours, they would have full access to everything in the hall, as they were promised.

　"Roy, you just need to be patient," advised Green Arrow, and Cadie's eyebrows shot up to her forehead.

　She couldn't believe her ears, Roy was Speedy's civilian name? Damn, it suited him. Cute name for a cute guy, who apparently had anger issues, but still cute in Cadie's eyes.

　"What I need is respect," Roy growled, before turning around to take a look at the other four protéges.

　"They're treating us like kids," he told them, looking in the eyes (and domino masks) of each one of them. "Worse- like sidekicks!" he emphasized the last word, each sounding angrier than the latter. "We deserve better than this."

　Cadie looked at Wally for a couple of seconds, before glancing at Aqualad and Robin, the four of them exchanging looks. Had she missed something? They would have a briefing and then they would come back to keep the tour going.

　Roy's voice dropped. "You're kidding, right?"

　 "You're playing their game?" his anger escalated. "Why?! Today was supposed to be the day, step one in becoming full-fledged members of the League."

　"Well, sure," Kid Flash spoke up, glancing at Cadie before looking at Aqualad and Robin, "But I thought step one was the tour of the HQ.," he said, sitting up straighter and looking at the older teen.

　Cadie, Aqualad and Robin nodded in agreement with him, looking up at Roy again to hear what he had to say.

　"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ."

　She had to admit, that was a good joke.

　The silence that followed the statement was worth more than words. Cadie looked at Kid for a brief second, checking to see if he looked as shocked as she felt. It appeared even Robin was surprised.

　Cadie stared at Hal, searching for something that could tell her what he was thinking, but her mentor was looking everywhere except for where she was.

　There was no way... right? Hal never lied to her, that was one of the few things he had promised when she was twelve.

　Right?

　But Hal still wouldn't look at her, and the smile dropped from her face.

　 "I bet they never told you it's just a false front for tourists." Cadie felt sick to her stomach. They had been hiding the truth from them for years and even now that hadn't even considered telling them? "And a pit stop for catching Zeta-beam teleporter-tubes to the real thing," Speedy gestured up with his right hand in indication for his next words. "An orbiting satellite called the Watchtower."

　A fucking satellite?

　How was that even possible? How hadn't she seen it on the numerous occasions she was off-world? Cadie may not be the smartest person in the universe, but she was observant, and how does one miss a freaking satellite?

　Green Arrow turned as the Dark Knight of Gotham City glared at him, visibly not happy with the actions of the Star City's vigilante.

　 "I know, I know, but I thought we could make an exception." Batman continued to glare. "Or not."

　An exception?! In what world was that fair to the rest of them?

　Aquaman stepped up slightly, talking to Speedy. "You're not helping your cause here, son. Stand down or..."

　 "Or what?" he asked, raising his chin up. "You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son!" he snapped, and then turned to Green Arrow. "I'm not even his. I thought I was his partner, but not anymore."

　He took off his hat and threw it to the ground with fury, and Cadie stared at the canary-yellow item with wide-eyed shock.

　 "Guess they were right about you four, " Roy said then, as he walked between them. Cadie stood up almost at the same time as Robin, not knowing whether to say something or get in his way. "You're not ready."

　They watched with a frown as he left the library, and a weird feeling made its way into Cadie's chest. It was the day where a new chapter of their lives began, but she didn't like how it was starting. They were supposed to be all together, to become Leaguers; but they only had been lied to.

　An alarm began blaring from the computer, and Superman's face appeared on the screen, distracting Cadie momentarily.

　 "Superman to Justice League." the Kryptonian announced. "There has been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

　Cadmus? Cadie had heard that name before, wasn't it a part of a Greek myth? For the first time in her life, she cursed herself for reading too much —she had read so many myths that her mind occasionally blurred them together.

　The Justice League members present in the room stepped up to the computer.

　"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus. This may present the perfect opportunity to in-" Batman began, but was soon cut out by the shrieking noise of another alarm coming through.

　"Zatara to Justice League." This time, the magician Zatara showed up on a small screen in a corner of the computer, instead of the big one. "The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Attan to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

　"Superman?" Batman questioned, and Cadie furrowed her brows. The sun exploding was clearly more important than a building on fire, no offense to the building.

　  "It's a small fire," Superman assured. "Local authorities have it under control."

　She raised an eyebrow. That was sketchy behavior if she had ever seen it. If local authorities could handle it, why did he feel the need to warn the League about it?

　 "Then Cadmus can wait, " the dark knight stated, then pushed a key on the massive keyboard below. "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."

　Having the same idea at the same time, all four protegés stepped closer to the leaguers.

　 "Stay put, " ordered Batman, barely even looking at them while giving them the order.

　"I'm sorry?" spluttered the Green Lantern, surprised at the vigilante's order.

　"What?" asked Robin right after Cadie, shocked. "Why?"

　"This is a league mission, " Aquaman said, as if that cleared the situation.

　"You're not trained," Flash continued, and as much as she liked Barry, she couldn't believe the guy.

　All four of them had trained a lot more time than they had when they first started being heroes! For fuck's sake, Cadie had just become full-fledged member of the Green Lantern Corps. Sure, she wasn't at the level of control and concentration she would be if she were an adult, but they were all teenagers, and they sure as hell were prepared.

　 "Since when?" Kid Flash demanded mere moments after the last syllable left his mentor's mouth.

　"I meant you're not trained to work as a part of this team, " said Flash quickly, gesturing to the other three mentors beside him and in extension, the computer with Zatara still showing.

　"There will be other missions when you're ready," Aquaman stated calmly.

　"But for now, stay put," ordered Batman, adding his signature glare to emphasize.

　The screen turned fully black behind them as they walked away, Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter maintaining a quiet conversation.

　Just for a second, she caught Hal looking at her. At that moment, she wished neither of them wore a domino mask, that way at least she could understand what exactly he was trying to say to try and make her feel somewhat better.

　Behind their mentors, the door closed, and Cadie turned around angrily, clenching her hands into fists.

　"Our own partners," she said, and heard Kid Flash scoff.

　 "When we're ready?" he repeated, looking between the three of them. "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like," he stepped forward and threw his hands up, expressing with his body language the anger she felt, "like sidekicks."

　Cadie had hated that term since she had joined the superhero business. As a kid, she had found it funny and even endearing when people referred to young heroes like that, but it was enervating. How could people reduce them to that?

　"My mentor, my king, I thought he trusted me, " Aqualad said, sadness staining his voice.

　"Trust?" Kid Flash asked sarcastically. "They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ in space!"

　If they hadn't trusted them with that information, Cadie wondered just how many more things they were hiding from them, and how exactly were they expecting to win their trust back.

　"What else aren't they telling us?" asked Aqualad, voicing what Cadie was thinking.

　Robin sighed. "I have a better question: why didn't we leave with Speedy?"

　Cadie crossed her arms in front of her chest, wondering that herself. She thought that Roy was exaggerating, but that was rooted in the fact that she didn't know that the whole tour was just a pretense, a false act.

　"What is Project Cadmus?" Aqualad asked slowly, sharing a look with Cadie that let her know that he too found the name familiar.

　"Don't know," the Boy Wonder admitted, glancing at the screen with a grin. "But I can find out."

　He walked over to the computer and Cadie's eyes followed his fingers as they danced across it, typing in codes to what she guessed was overriding the security of the hall.

　"If Batman was suspicious it's probably something juicy, " Cadie offered, looking at the big screen that lit up in red at Robin's antics.

　ACCESS DENIED, stated the automated voice, gaining a snicker from Robin.

　 "Wanna bet?" he said, hitting a few more buttons.

　 "Whoa," she heard Kid Flash say, voice tinted with amazement as if he had never seen his best friend do that. Cadie certainly had, but it was fascinating nonetheless. "How are you doing that?"

　Robin gave them a grin as he hit two more keys, as he sang: "Same system as the Batcave."

　ACCESS GRANTED, the voice stated. Cadie looked up at the screen once again, which was now showing a two-story building along with data on the side.

　"Alright– Project Cadmus," said Rob, as Cadie and the others read silently the words on the screen. "Genetics lab here in DC. That's all there is, but if Batman's suspicious..." he glanced at them, "Maybe we should investigate."

　Cadie levitated a couple of inches off the floor, suddenly liking where that was going, and not missing Kid's amused side-glance at her.

　"Solve their case before they do," said Aqualad, a small smile on his face. "It would be poetic justice."

　Damn right it would! Cadie just couldn't wait to see the Leaguers' shocked face when they solved the case before they managed to even get around it. Especially, she wanted to see the proud smile that Hal would surely offer her.

　 "Hey," Robin managed to say through a chuckle. "They're all about justice."

　"And I do like poetic stuff," mumbled Cadie, tilting her head as she thought through their options quietly, her thoughts interrupted when KF once again plunged his elbow into her ribs, this time softly, shaking his head with amusement at her comment.

　Aqualad sighed, completely unaware of the interaction. "But they said to stay put."

　"For the blotting out the sun mission, not this," Robin smartly said, always the schemer, smiling and putting his hands on his hips.

　"Wait," Kf said, and she turned to the redhead, who was grabbing his best friend's shoulder and turning him towards him. "Are- are you going to Cadmus? Because if you're going, I'm going!"

　Cadie tried to hide her smile at his antics, and when both boys turned around to look at Aqualad and her, she gave a nod.

　"I'm in, boys. "

　The three of them look at Aqualad expectantly, waiting for the verdict of the older teenager, who seemed to be the one with the greatest capacity to maintain a cold head in a crisis.

　"Just like that?" Aqualad asked then. "We're a team on a mission?"

　Robin smirked and Cadie hovered once again over the ground. They were so going to make an awesome team.

　"We didn't come for a play-date."

author's note: it's edited! There are only slight changes,
you probably won't even notice them. Just a few mentions of things that
will be important in the future, and well, things that I didn't
like how they were written.
hope you enjoyed it!
ren <3