( Chapter Three )
Team Bonding / Social Club

A week had passed since the incident. One whole week of Jude feeling like a failure. She had been transparent with Dante and Jennifer with what happened, how she had allowed herself to get caught up in the fight and thought of nothing else. It was hard to admit when she made a mistake when she was supposed to be perfect. The perfect daughter, perfect hero. If telling her parents wasn't hard enough she had to relay the events to her mentors who she was supposed to make proud. Carol thought working with a team would benefit her, that she wouldn't have to shoulder everything alone. She was wrong. Her first time working with a team and she cost a woman her life. It was a mistake. An accident that could never be corrected.

She had been worried about Hal's reaction most of all. Fearful that he would drop her for her lack of success. She needed to exceed his expectations and not fall behind. Jude was not built to shoulder disappointment. It just was not in her nature. She needed to make others proud even if it broke her in the process. Jude had to be better than she was with Selena Gonzalez. She will not fail again.

The dining room was filled with the clatter of forks scraping against the glass plates Jennifer had recently bought to replace her broken china — courtesy of her husband in a moment of shock. Silent looks were passed between the two adults as they ate their breakfast. A plate of pancakes sat in the middle of the table with a bowl of fruit beside it and bottles of syrup. Dante reached for another pancake while shaking his head at his wife who narrowed her eyes on him, her head tilting in Jude's direction.

Dante shoved the pancake in his mouth, Jennifer watching completely appalled. "That is disgusting!" Her shout finally made Jude lift her head to look at her parents. The man with dark hair raised a brow at the woman, feeling completely triumphant with himself for breaking the silence — even if technically it was to get a reaction from Jennifer who would definitely make him choke on his next pancake for that behavior. And he'd let her. "You should be setting an example for our daughter."

He tried talking around the lump of food but Jennifer held up her hand to silence him. "Childish, you are completely childish."

Jude bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing, not wanting to be the one under Jennifer's scrutiny. She listened to her parents go back and forth a few more times. The blonde woman yelling about him chewing with his mouth open while Dante wheezed out his laughter and finally was able to swallow. Bickering had been the norm for the Lucero family, Jude had grown used to it over the past two years — almost three. If there wasn't some kind of squabble between her parents then something was definitely wrong.

"I smell bacon!" A voice shouted from behind them. Not a minute later a gust of wind had napkins floating to the floor and Jude aggressively brushed her hair out of her face with a frown that soon turned into a lopsided grin when she saw Wally sitting in the seat beside her. "Looks great Jen," he began loading a bit of everything onto a plate knowing the woman wouldn't appreciate a mess or him eating from the stack.

Dante stood from the table to retrieve the pitcher of orange juice from the fridge and poured the boy a glass while Jennifer placed down new napkins for everyone. Neither being at all surprised Wally had shown up so early in the morning. He was over almost all of June the second he was out of school — of course it was no problem to the married couple. They adored the boy and thought it was good for Jude to have someone to spend time with, otherwise she would have stuck herself in her uniform the whole time and focused on nothing but saving the city. That's exactly how last summer went and only because Wally was sent to a summer camp as punishment for his last report card.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?" Jennifer asked before the speedster could take a bite. She lifted her coffee mug to her mouth, staring at him over the rim.

With his fork hanging from between his fingers, cut up pieces of pancake sitting on it, he remained silent for a moment. Wally wasn't sure how much of the truth the two adults knew of the world he and Jude live. The basics were common knowledge among their parents but he didn't want to accidentally out his friend. "Uh just grabbing Jude to meet up with Dick." He shoved a larger bite into his mouth while looking around the dining room, syrup dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Jude's lips twisted into a look of disgust and grabbed a napkin, she wiped the syrup from his mouth while rolling her eyes. He patted her hand in thanks while her parents watched the two with looks of adoration. They reminded Jennifer a lot of her and Dante in many ways. "I didn't know plans were made." Jennifer's eyes narrowed on the girl who was giving her friend a sideways glance.

Wally shook his head and reached for his juice, taking a large gulp of it with a sigh of contempt. "Oh they weren't but Dicky Boy and I just wanted to see her gorgeous face, y'know how it is." He directed toward Dante who shrugged in response and turned to his wife with a dopey grin, "don't I."

Dante always did go along with Wally's bit of flirtatious behavior, following along knowing how it always made Jennifer have one of two reactions; rolling her eyes with a huff of air at the immaturity or laughing. He seemed to be getting the former this morning similarly to Wally who was getting a glare from Jude. She clearly was not in the mood, neither of the two blondes were. He would have made a joke about waking up on the wrong side of the bed but he was worried Jennifer would strangle him with his shoelaces.

Jude hadn't been assigned a mission, neither of the teens had, though she knew the boys were just itching for an official job from Batman. She, personally, could wait. She was not feeling all that confident after losing Selena to those assassins. No matter how many times she was told it wasn't her fault, all she could think about was how her efforts were in vain.

Wally nudged her side with his elbow, his lips in a carefree smile, as if he wasn't plagued by the horrors of what their jobs intel. She didn't know how he did it, how nothing seemed to bother him. Everything was some big joke to him. Sure he took being a hero seriously but the way he carried himself was what shocked Jude the most. Nothing could touch him. Wally West was invincible.

"Have fun then." Jennifer looked pained, as if she knew exactly what she was sending her daughter out to do. Because she did. Even if she pretended to not know the true dangers of the vigilante life, she most definitely did. And it scared her. But Jennifer knew no matter what she did Jude would still break free and throw herself into trouble, too empathetic toward the cruel world. Her eyes softened as she truly looked at the sixteen year old in front of her with the kind heart she wanted to protect more than anything. "But be careful, and stick close together."

"We will, Jenny." Wally stood from the table while offering a hand of assistance to his blonde friend. "Promise." And he meant it. Wherever Jude goes, he goes. They were more than teammates, something stronger than friends. An untitled third thing. A bond nothing could sever. They were thoroughly embedded in each other's lives. They simply wouldn't exist without the other. Or so Jude liked to pretend.

The two teens left the house after getting a set of rules from Jennifer, which they would be ignoring, mostly. They stopped at a telephone booth wedged between a coffee shop and deli, taking a zeta-tube to Mount Justice. It felt weird, using it for the third time. The bright golden light had Jude seeing blurs of color and fully convinced she was hearing colors as she and Wally materialized into the tube located in the control room of the secret base. A hand covered her stomach as she grimaced with a frown. "Never going to get used to that."

"You literally fly everywhere!" Wally shouted exasperatedly.

  Jude leveled his green eyes with a roll of her own blue ones. "That's different." She huffed. The blonde Star Sapphire went to say more but stopped when she noticed the team already standing at the giant computer. Hovering above ground she flew over to Miss Martian, landing beside her while Wally ran to Robin's side. She knew the redhead was hoping for a mission but more than likely they'd be stuck entertaining themselves since Batman didn't seem keen on giving them another one after the Selena Gonzalez fiasco, at least not so soon.

  "Did you ask him?" Robin asked as he and the others looked at the enlarged screen showing the movements of Red Tornado as he neared Mount Justice. "What did he say?" Wally threw in, his excitement and impatiens showing.

  "He's arriving now." Aqualad grinned down at them.

  Kid Flash knocked his fist against Robin's shoulder with his lips tugged into a bright smile that could light up any room — in Jude's opinion. "Then what are we waiting for?" He ran to the back entrance of the cave that acted as a ramp, disguised as a piece of the mountain. Robin and Aqualad followed close behind while Jude and Miss Martian fell behind with Superboy, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest and brows set in a deep V.

  "Cheer up, Supey." Jude patted his arm before dragging him with her where the others stood waiting for Red Tornado. Miss Martian watched them with a small smile of her own as she levitated herself, her auburn hair flowing behind her when she flew after them.

  The six teens stood on the grassy ramp while the android touched down on the ground. Wally waved his arms around to get his attention while the others stood on either side of him, acting as a wall. Not a very good one since Jude was checking her nails decorated with sparkly pink polish and leaning into his side. She wasn't all that interested in going on another mission. The very first one ended with an innocent woman dying. Maybe it would have been better if she fought harder to get out of a team-up. She already had Carol and Hal as backup and at least working with them nobody died.

  "Red Tornado!" Wally greeted the android with a shout.

  "Greetings." His robotic voice had Jude looking up from her nails to give him a onceover. She wondered if he could feel, like an android with a conscience — something that has evolved past what it was created for. "Is there a reason you intercept me outside the cave?"

  Aqualad stepped forward. "We hoped you had a mission for us," he spoke up before any of the others could. Taking the lead of the discussion.

  Red Tornado stood there completely still, as if he were a statue. "Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility." He declared as though it were part of his programming to say so.

  Robin was agitated as he said, "but it's been over a week and —"

  "You'll be tested soon enough."

  Aqualad's eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched and hands balled into fists at his sides which slowly released as he took a deep breath in and out. Regulating his emotions. "This team is not a social club."

  Jude could have argued that it was — they were teenagers who lived double lives and needed to tell someone about their stories. It was most definitely a social club if Jude had a say. One that saved the world — or at least she had a couple times alongside the other Lanterns. But Aqualad had saved the King of Atlantis so he deserved a reward or something too. She needed to start carrying around her gold star stickers again. "It kinda felt like one when we went to the cafe." Jude shrugged, frowning after Wally nudged her with his shoulder.

  "I am told social interaction is an important team-building exercise." Red Tornado said. "Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourself with the cave." He walked past them without another word, disappearing into the safety of Mount Justice.

  "Keep busy." Wally mimicked while punching Robin's shoulder, glaring at the back of the android's head.

  Robin narrowed his eyes on the ground, the blue of his irises hidden behind the sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose. "Does he think we're falling for this?"

  "Oh!" Miss Martian grinned in excitement. "I'll find out." Her eyes went completely white as she focused on Red Tornado, trying to worm her way into his mind but he did not have one. And soon she would be disappointed by that fact. "I — I'm sorry. I forgot he's a machine, inorganic." She frowned, "I cannot read his mind."

  Wally gave her a sympathetic smile. "Nice try, though." He leaned into her space while Jude dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand while glaring at the side of his face, not at all liking the way he was so comfortable being that close to another girl. "So, you know what I'm thinkin' right now?"

  The blonde girl wrapped a hand around his wrist and tugged him back to her side with a sickly sweet smile. "Not the time, Wal."

  Robin rested his hands on his hips with an annoyed scowl, clearly over his best friend's attempts at flirting — but he was also riding the Jully train and had been since Jude was first introduced by Wally three years ago. "We all know what you're thinking."

  Aqualad sighed, "and now we tour the clubhouse."

  Jude had a decent idea of everything involving Mount Justice but she had only been there once, and that was because she practically demanded Hal show her the best hiding spots on Earth, just in case she decided she wanted to get a wider spread for a game of hide-and-seek with the other Lanterns like Arisia — if her friend ever decided to visit Earth again. Jude knew the main living room was going to be her favorite place from the giant television and the fact it was the perfect room to read her magazines which she would obviously share with Miss Martian.

  "Well, Superboy and I live here." Miss Martian said in her cheerful voice that would have been annoying on anyone else — in Jude's opinion at least. "We can play tour guides."

  The group turned to Superboy who wore a look of boredom and body language, a dead warning not to get close. "Don't look at me." He said while Jude released Wally and hooked her arm through the Kryptonian's. He didn't brush her off so she assumed she hadn't been bothering him.

  Wally's jaw clenched as he watched them, his hands balling into fists at his sides before he took a breath and released the tension. "We won't." He grounded out with his voice sounding unusual on him, dark and foreboding. Not the bright and sunny Wally West his friends were accustomed to. Once he turned to face Miss Martian, his radiant upbeat charm as he winked at her. Jude felt her heart sink just as it always did.

  Being in love with a flirtatious boy who fell for anything with a pulse was not for the faint of heart.

  "A private tour sounds much more fun." Jude wanted to throw something at him, and maybe she would.

  Robin narrowed his eyes on his best friend while nudging him with his elbow. "She never said private!"

  Aqualad stood with his back straight and an authoritative atmosphere around him. He was one of the eldest so in a way it made sense as he shook his head at them. "Team building, we'll all go."

The tour felt like one of those museum field trips she used to take in middle school — y'know the ones where you had a worksheet to fill out at the end based on the descriptions of paintings or crafts people well before their time. Jude remembered those, she always begged Isabel Hart to be a chaperone on more than one account. Her favorite were the visits to the Hall of Justice — especially when she was able to convince her mom to let her take a peek at the Green Lantern exhibit as it didn't get the most attention but still her favorite.

  There wasn't going to be a questionnaire after this one, not unless Miss Martian was feeling up for giving her new teammates a headache. "The cave is actually the whole mountain." The alien girl with auburn hair said as she led them through their headquarters and stopped in the meeting chamber.

  "It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League." Wally added, remembering the story Hal had told him over and over again, reliving his glory days.

  Superboy furrowed his brows in confusion. "Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" He asked.

  Jude knew that wasn't their real base of operations, just a tourist trap that too many people fell for. She'd been to the Watchtower once or twice on official business. Well, really it was Hal going through with a promise he made to her and Arisia. But she had a feeling she was supposed to keep that to herself so she remained quiet, for now.

  "The cave's secret location was compromised." Aqualad replied vaguely.

  "So they traded it in for a tourist trap?" Superboy couldn't see the logic behind that. If anything he was beginning to think the Justice League was bordering on stupid at times. "Yeah, makes sense." He scoffed.

  Jude leaned into Wally's side while absentmindedly twirling her hair around her pointer finger. "The Hall isn't too bad, I used to go there a lot with my parents." Wally peered down at her with a sympathetic smile, knowing which set of guardians she was talking about, the ones she had lost in a car accident. The two didn't talk about them often but he knew Jude missed them — of course she did, they were her family, the two kindest souls she had ever met.

  "If villains know of the cave we must be on constant alert." Miss Martian thought aloud.

  Robin grabbed her hand with a knowing grin on his face. "The bad guys know we know they know about the place so they'd never think to look here." Jude furrowed her brows in confusion, not at all grasping what he had said. Sometimes her friend worded things oddly but eventually she was able to dissect it, she wondered if the alien girl felt the same way.

  Wally wrapped an arm around Jude's waist while leaning towards his best friend and Miss Martian, moving the younger boy's hand away from hers while Jude bit the inside of her cheek and sighing through her nose. "Uh, he means we're hiding in plain sight." The redheaded boy clarified with one corner if his mouth tugged upward while his green eyes stared into her brown ones for a second longer than Jude would have liked.

  "Ah," Miss Martian frowned. "That's much clearer."

  Superboy sniffed at the air. "I smell smoke."

  Miss Martian gasped with her eyes wide and feet levitating off the ground as she dashed through the hall and into the kitchen connected to the lounge, yelling out, "my cookies!"

  Jude wasn't much of a cookie fan but she did enjoy one every once in a while. It was a sweet treat she allowed herself after sticking to a strict diet of matcha teas and proteins, needing to keep up her build. Not that she really needed to diet herself — but she enjoyed eating healthy. It made her feel good about herself and sometimes that's all that matters. To her at least. Jennifer would argue that there needs to be a balance.

  The teens followed after the Martian into the kitchen where she was placing the burnt cookies on the kitchen island with a look of disappointment. "I was trying out Grammy Jones recipe from episode seventeen of...never mind."

  "I bet they would have tasted great." Robin gave her a halfhearted grin while pointing over at Wally who was shoving the cookies into his mouth while Jude watched in disgust. "He doesn't seem to mind."

  Feeling all eyes on him, Wally gave them a sheepish shrug of his shoulders with a small pout. "I have a serious metabolism."

  "I'll make more?" Miss Martian's lips twitched into a smile.

  Jude watched them with a sneer on her face and arms crossed over her chest. Not at all liking the way her best friend was staring at the other girl. She wanted to pinch him, maybe even throw him across the room but that wasn't lady like. At least not in front of witnesses. "I hope you choke." She whispered to the ginger boy who looked at her in offense and used his free hand to push her away from him.

  "It was sweet of you to make any." The Atlantean  told Miss Martian.

  "Thanks, Aqualad."

  "We're off duty. Call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."

  Jude knew all of their names, well aside from Miss Martian but that's all because of Hal believing she needed friends after getting her ring. He was right, of course. Jude needed people she could rely on but she still wasn't too sure about being on a team of kids. She likes being around her friends but if the Selena Gonzalez mission isn't proof enough that they should not be working without an adult supervising them at all times — then she doesn't know what will.

  "I'm Wally." The speedster said dreamily, eyes on the girl with auburn hair. "See? I already trust you with my secret identity." He leaned his elbow against the counter with his cheek in his hand. Jude wanted to pull his arm out from under him. "Unlike Mister-Dark-Glasses over here. Batman's forbidden boy wonder from telling anyone his real name." And yet he and Jude both knew it.

  Wally gestured to the girl beside him who looked like she was contemplating his murder — a look he had grown used to over the years and oddly enough thought was cute. The way her eyes narrowed causing little wrinkles in the corners, her nose scrunched and lips curled into a scowl. Then again, Wally just liked any expression she made. He knew his best friend was attractive — especially to him, but he knew he couldn't go there. Joking was one thing but actually going out with Jude was another.

  "Her name is Jude or Judy."

  Jude crossed her arms while giving Miss Martian a onceover, not at all trying to be rude but she didn't understand how she had captured Wally's attention. Actually, she did know. The alien girl was beautiful and kind. It also doesn't help that she's a new face. Of course Wally was interested. "Please don't call me Judy." She was going to slap him. "Wally only calls me that because he's a pain."

  Wally huffed a scoff. "A pain you're obsessed with." He grinned down at her while her cheeks burned pink. He liked that color on her.

  "Shut up." She grumbled.

  Miss Martian held her hands out in front of her with a cheery look on her face. "My name is no secret. It's M'gann M'orzz. But you can call me Megan." She was staring at Jude — or more accurately, the ring on her hand, the same one gripping Wally's forearm. "It's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now."

  Jude's resolve melted at that. The jealousy bubbling down into a weak simmer beneath her skin. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Megan."

  Miss Martian — M'gann smiled wider.

  Superboy who looked uninterested in the whole exchanging of names went to walk away but stopped and held his hand in his hands while groaning. His legs went stiff and from the angry stance, Jude walked over. She rested a hand on his shoulder with a look of concern. "Supey?"

  "Get out of my head!" He yelled at M'gann.

  "What's wrong? I don't understand." Jude heard in her head. It was echoing as she copied the Kryptonian's previous action of holding his head. "Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically."

  "M'gann, stop." Kaldur ordered in a stern voice that had the Martian taking a step back. The presence in their heads disappearing. "Things are different on Earth. Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."

  "Besides," Wally cut in while hooking his finger around the hem of Jude's pastel green shirt to pull her back over to him. "Cadmus' creepy little psychic genomes left a bad taste in his brain."

  M'gann frowned and stuttered over her words. "I — I didn't mean to —"

  "Just stay out." Superboy barked.

  Jude sympathised with Superboy, he had his issues and that was obvious. He had spent weeks being controlled by the genomes and he was probably getting a familiar feeling in his brain with M'gann using her powers on them. But he didn't need to be aggressive with her, it was an honest mistake. However, Superboy was not in the wrong for reacting the way he did and should not be shamed for it. Instead, the short blonde offered a gentle pat to his arm before he stalked off to sit on the couch in the lounge area of the room.

  Silence took over the room for a minute. Wally kept a hold on Jude who had moved closer to him till her head was resting just below his shoulder. His fingers messed with the fabric of her shirt between his pointer finger and thumb. She was watching the alien carefully. Assessing her and coming to the conclusion she was just another clueless teenager like the rest of them. She didn't mean to hurt or upset anyone and clearly felt bad about it.

  After another minute of nothing she blurted, "hello, Megan!" Making Jude push off Wally in surprise. "I know what we can do!"



















NOTE!

It took awhile for this to be updated but here we are! Jude and Wally are so cute, very excited for their arc in season 2!