"Damn it," I hissed, clenching my arm close to my side. Mist swirled around me, centralized around the stump where my forearm should've been. Pain burned through my system, making it all the harder to focus. But I had to. I had to. Slowly, all so slowly, the mist swirled faster, coming together to reform the rest of my body. I sighed and flexed my fingers. The weird thing is, my arm wasn't even the thing that got hurt. 

Stripping my blood-soaked top off of my skin, the fabric caught in my wound pulled, yet it was nowhere near enough pain for me to cry out. Nowhere near enough pain for me to risk the sound passing through the thin sky blue walls into Dick's room. Even with me knowing he wasn't here, it wasn't a habit I wanted to get into anytime soon. My fingers probed the wound, blood gushing around my fingers. Fucking plants. Most of my body ached in anticipation of the beatdown Katie would deliver if she ever hears me say that out loud. It didn't change what I was thinking, just served as a reminder to never diss plants in front of a Demeter kid. 

I snagged the bottle off of my dresser, snapping the seal with a quick turn of the wrist–– the water was cool as it coursed over my bare stomach. I couldn't help the sigh of relief as the long jagged gash across my stomach stitched together leaving no trace of itself. 

If one good thing has ever come out of me being a demigod, it's this. Being a vigilante is all the easier when you don't have to worry about how to get your injuries treated. No need to hide something that isn't there, and no need to raise concern by swiping bandages or med kits.

My glove beeped, the holoscreen activated by itself. A single line of text scrawled across the glowing blue screen. Happy Harbor High School, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island.

Well, so much for a nice relaxing night. Who was I kidding? That chance went out the window the moment I was born. Still, I sighed, not looking forward to putting a bloody shirt back on. It wasn't like I had a lot of options though, so on the shirt went. As each clasp closed with a sharp click, I couldn't help but wonder: Why? Why now? I'd been running into the kids each night for the last few days, including tonight, but they never said anything to me. I didn't mind it, not at all. It made it all the easier to avoid Kaldur. 

I flexed my fingers and took one good look around my room. If things went well, I'd be back here before morning. If things didn't? Well, I'd be meeting Uncle Hades, and I could only hope he wasn't in the middle of working out. Oh, and a few people would be winning the bet on how I die. Apparently, from my own stupidity is a pretty popular bet.

My body burned as I traveled, yet I made it. My body, thankfully whole, appeared just north of the school, leaving me to carefully sneak along rooftops and alleyways. The large brick building soon loomed in front of me, with not a person in sight. Or a monster for that matter, but it's not like I was going to be complaining about that. 

The longer I stood there, in the cool night air, the longer I had to worry. Was this a set up? Were they planning on ambushing me once I let my guard down? Is Bruce going to check my room?

A gruff voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Bluejay," Bruce said, stepping out from the shadows in all of his Batmany glory. 

"Batman. Where's the bird?"

"Hi." Dick landed in a crouch, straightening and fixing me with a blank faced stare. "You really need to work on your situational awareness, we were watching you for like, ten minutes."

"It's hard to find a goth in the dark, kinda their natural habitat. But"––I shrugged–– "Whatcha gonna do about it?"

To his credit, Bruce didn't pull a Nico and start denying it. He narrowed his eyes, part of me wanted to ask how the cowl was doing that, but otherwise ignored my comment. "You're acquainted with the Team?"

"If by Team, you mean the smol children who fight criminals in the middle of the night, then yes."

That made him sigh. "I have brought up the possibility of adding you to the Team on a trial basis. The majority of the Justice League have agreed to this."

"And?"

"You don't have a choice. If you don't join, we have ways to make sure you never fight crime as a vigilante again."

I snorted. "Cute, you think you could actually stop me." Bruce fixed me with a glare, and I rolled my eyes. "Okay, let's say I did join? What's the catch?" Really, I should've been asking what was in it for me, but considering the whole host of negatives someone could hide, I was more concerned about those.

"No catch. Just you joining the Team and having a League member as a mentor."

"That's literally a catch."

But as catches went, it wasn't a particularly bad one. The only things I could see happening with that were, well, people finding out my identity. And it's not like that would stop me from doing anything.

The second one was much more troubling though, but it shouldn't be an issue. 

I sighed and shook my hand, hands curling into fists before relaxing. "I'll join, but with two conditions. No one tries to find out my identity, and no one puts trackers on me."

"That's fine. Robin?"

"Yeah?" Dick looked at him.

"Take her to the Cave. The others should still be there." 

"Got it." He nodded. Looking at me, he smiled before wrapping his hand around my arm and pulling me through the streets. The pristine sidewalks crumbled as we went further and further, destroyed by the trees growing alongside them. Dick let go of me long enough to vault a fence, but the moment I was on the same side of him he was pulling me along again. A dilapidated phone booth sat tucked into an alleyway, a relic of an age not too long ago.  He slid the door open. After pressing a few buttons, he looked at me. "As soon as I go through, sit in here and close the door. It should automatically recognize you."

"Wait, what if-" Before I could finish, Dick closed the door-- a bright light shone through the cracks of the heavily vandalized door. When it stopped, I hesitantly opened it. Dick was gone. Okay, so here's to hoping this isn't just a really over top way to murder me. I swallowed; I stepped in and sat.

Near immediately a voice called out: Authorized Entry. Robin B0-1 Guest

That same glow which I'd seen from outside surrounded me, next thing I knew, I was standing in a cave. Huh. Well, at least the name is literal. And at least I'll die a quick death if Uncle H decides to collapse this on me. 

"Welcome to the Cave." Dick spread his arms. Even looking at him like this, it wasn't hard to see that he had been raised in showmanship. Every spin, every flourish, all things I'd expect in the Big Top. "I'll get a designation set up for you later, but that's a later issue. Come meet the others!" He pulled me down the hall. 

The stone walls carried echoed voices to us, must noticeably Artemis's as she yelled, "Just admit it, Kaldur! If you do, then maybe Wally will actually shut up for once." 

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hide my grimace. Great. Just great.  I didn't let my steps slow, managing to show indifference as we continued towards the rapidly nearing voices. 

"There is nothing for me to admit," Kaldur said. "I am simply easy to fluster is all." 

"Mhm, sure, Mr I won't lose my temper for anything," Wally said.

"She has been avoiding me since we had the sleepover, Wally. Even if I do hold any regard of that manner for her, it is quite obvious she holds none for me." 

I bit my tongue, relishing how the sharp pain kept the thoughts from my mind, kept the part of me that wants to get close to everyone here away. These people are important to Dick. I can't let them get hurt. He doesn't deserve to have to go through losing people again. 

Dick cackled and leapt up onto Wally's shoulders. Wally, to his credit, didn't stumble. "Hey, guys."

Megan looked over from the kitchen. "Hi, Robin. Do you want some cookies?"

"No thanks, I'm actually here on some official business-"

Connor narrowed his eyes. "Why is Bluejay here?"

"That's the business!" Dick smiled, leaving me to wonder how much his face hurts after a day here. "She's going to join the Team."

"Hi." I waved.

Megan flew over, a baking sheet floating behind her. "Would you like a cookie?" Wally sped over, only to be whacked with a flying pillow before he could scarf the cookies down. I laughed and nodded, taking one of the suspiciously dark cookies. A single bite into it confirmed what I had feared. Burnt. "Oh, I'm M'gann, or Megan if you want to call me that."

Connor shifted and offered an awkward wave. "Connor."

"I'm Wally. Wally West, but you can call me whatever you want." His arm rested over my shoulder. I shrugged it off, looking at Artemis.

"I'm Artemis, both in costume and out."

"My name is Kaldur'ahm, but please feel free to call me Kaldur. It is is a pleasure to hav you join us, and I look forward to working with you."

"Uh, kay. You guys can call me Blue or Jay or Bluejay. I really don't care." I yawned and let my gaze wander to the clock. Quarter 'til one. Shit. Bruce will get home from patrol soon, if he's not already home already. "I gotta run. If my dad gets home and I'm not there, he's gonna flip. I'll see you sometime, I guess." I walked towards the hallway I came from, sticking the rest of the cookie in a potted plant.

"If you can, perhaps you could come here on Saturday? We have plans on doing something as a group that day."

"Cool, see you then." I smiled over my shoulder, before walking towards the Zeta Tubes. My fingers danced over the buttons, typing in random coordinates. I hit search and picked one of the two options it gave me. Which one? It didn't matter, aside from the fact I was going to regret vapor traveling home. Each time I do it, it gets that much harder to reform. When I reappeared in the old dilapidated phone booth, I prayed, and I vanished into mist.

Well, this ended up kinda long

Enjoy as I die preparing for a small thanksgiving and then finals.

See yah