( Chapter One )
Two Peas in a Pod

Villainy was in her blood. She was the black ink blot that stood out amongst the heads of rich blonde hair. The sinister smiles received at every corner, the hollow laughter resigning through the halls of her childhood home — the darkness that clung to the wall, the blotches of dried blood along the white tile floors, the rotting smell of a corpse penetrating her nose, even the cinnamon scented candles unable to mask the rot.

  Cerise Hughes was made to be a villain. It was an evil nurtured not born. From the time she could walk, Cerise was taught to lead with two stable feet in front of her, to always be precise with her transgressions. She was the one to drain men and women of their souls — the essence of life. She was their reaper. It was a title bestowed upon her as a child, a badge of death. She is death.

  While others fear it, she sought it out. She was the maker of the lost souls, the one to come knocking on the doors of life, stealing it away piece by piece.

  The Hughes trained her to be a cold blooded killer. They fed into the darkness inside their little girl. Bringing body after body, watching as she ate their hearts from the palm of her hand. The blood coating her hands would forever haunt her.

  She was not that girl anymore. Gone were the chains of death and welcomed the wings of life.

Monster by Skillet played through the speakers of the radio situated on the dresser. The beat vibrated the thin walls separating her from the next room over, where some punk band was blasting louder than her own music. With her lips twisted into an irritated scowl she stomped over to the radio and turned the knob to increase the volume.

It didn't take long for a fist to bang against the wall dividing the rooms. The voice of her brother yelling at her to turn it down was barely audible but Cerise ignored him in favor of sticking a cigarette between her gloss-covered lips. With the lung-killer hanging, she opened her bedroom window overlooking the courtyard and sat on the sill, fisting the purple lighter from her hoodie pocket, she lit the cigarette and took a long drag.

She had just released the smoke when her door, decorated in skulls and crossbones, was busted open by an annoyed looking redhead. His thick brows were drawn together as he glowered down at the younger teen. "I said turn it down," he stomped over to the radio and turned it down to six, knowing she needed to follow patterns of threes. His sharp green eyes fell on the cigarette between his sister's fingers. He shook his head in disapproval and snatched the pack from her dresser, stuffing them in his pocket to dispose of later. "Oliver and Dinah are going to kill you," he pointed to the stick, "assuming that doesn't do the job first."

"Teenage rebellion," Cerise shrugged. Taking another hit, she leaned her head against the wall, she held it in the back of her throat for a minute before slowly releasing. Tendrils of smoke surrounded the fourteen year old as she coughed into the crease of her elbow. "You have your drug and I have mine."

Roy froze in place, subconsciously rubbing at the dark spots invisible thanks to his flannel. He watched her with the need to scold her for her 'rebellion' but he would only be a hypocrite. And he did worse, at least with a cigarette the damage wouldn't be instant. He knew she did this to relieve herself of stress, similarly to how he used heroin as a way to cope with the memories of his father. They were nasty habits neither could shake no matter how hard they tried.

The eighteen year old snatched the cigarette. He looked down at it in disgust and tossed it out the window while she slapped at his arm, yelling a string of profanity. "You'll thank me later," he muttered while fidgeting with the small box in his pocket, thinking of how he can get rid of them without Oliver or Dinah seeing.

"What else am I supposed to do?" She quirked a brow at him, "today is the day. I'm nervous."

"So smoking is the answer?"

"I don't go bitching at you when you're shooting up."

Roy huffed, "actually you do, and you told on me. They've been breathing down my neck because of you."

While he was annoyed, he was not mad. He knew it came from a place of love. Roy would never admit it but he wanted help. He didn't want to be on drugs or feel like he needed it to surrender his worries.

"Maybe don't go being an idiot, then." Cerise did not feel sorry. Someone needed to know of his forming addiction. She was concerned for his health and mental state. Most nights, she would sneak into his room and check his pulse, assuring herself he was alive. She was terrified of losing him. Cerise didn't want to live in fear of losing her brother, and yet she was forced to. Either because of the mask or the drugs.

"We're fuck ups." She rolled her lips together, frowning down at her hands that felt so dirty despite the number of times she's washed them just that morning. "What are we doing, Roy?" She slid off the window sill to stand in front of her brother, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug in search of comfort.

"Definitely disappointing Dinah and Oliver," he said while pulling away, not being much of a hugger. Though Cerise wasn't either but she needed her brother in that moment, needing to know they'd be okay.

A knock came from the doorway, causing the two teens to turn and see Dinah, their adoptive mother of sorts. Her nose scrunched as she smelt the tobacco. Blue eyes narrowed on Cerise who wouldn't look her in the eye. "Were you smoking again?" She asked, though she already knew the answer. "Damn it, Cerise, we talked about this."

The girl looked down at her slipper covered feet. "Y'know what, tonight we're going to have a long conversation." Dinah pinched the bridge of her nose, "There's an attack in the city with Junior. You're going with Ollie before the Hall, suit up." She told them and not a minute later Oliver's voice could be heard, yelling at them to hurry up.

"We're gonna be so late." Cerise grumbled while Roy gave a hum of agreement on his way out of the room.

Closing the door, she walked over to her closet where she pulled out her purple leather pants and matching top with crossbones in the middle of the chest. Maybe she should have steered away from bones and blood but it reminded her what she was fighting for, who she was rebuilding. Cerise changed in record time and sprayed herself with her cinnamon scented perfume to mask the smell of cigarette smoke. She just hoped Dinah hadn't told Oliver yet or she was in for an earful.

Standing atop the city bridge, Green Arrow and his two sidekicks watched on as Icicle Jr created sharp shards of ice, flipping over cars and nearly piercing bystanders as they tried running from their vehicles. He laughed in the maniacal way that had Bullseye gritting her teeth together, her molars grinding against one another as her jaw clenched. Arrows flew through the air and lodged themselves in the ice behind Junior, beeping before going up in smoke and fragments of frozen water.

"Finally, I was wondering what a guy had to do to get a little attention around here!" Junior yelled as he shot spheres of frozen water up at the three standing above him.

Bullseye, Speedy, and Green Arrow knocked an arrow in each of their quivers and aimed for the ice coming their way, dodging as they did so. The girl in purple kept her balance as she side-stepped away, her brother cartwheeling to the other end of the hold for the dramatics and flare that he definitely got from Green Arrow.

"Junior's doing this for attention?" Speedy asked with a tense tone and eyes narrowed. "I'm telling you now," the three jumped down and onto the support pillars of the bridge that laid parallelly and ran across while still dodging the ice thrown by the teenager, "this little distraction better not interfere." He pushed Bullseye back as a shard barely missed the side of her face.

She thanked him with a nod that was reciprocated. Bullseye shot at more of the ice while avoiding any injuries, all the while Speedy took centerstage and jumped into the air, flipping while aiming an arrow directly at Icicle Junior, hitting him square in the jaw. She watched as the boy went down, unmoving on the ground as he groaned.

Following Green Arrow, Bullseye jumped down from the railing of the bridge to stand beside her mentor as he analyzed Icicle Jr. who was muttering profanities to himself. "Kid had a glass jaw," he laughed.

Speedy rolled his eyes as he quipped, "Hilarious."

"Can we wrap this up," Bullseye waved her hands around while swinging her compound bow over her shoulder. "I'm not showing up last."

"Today is the day." Speedy sighed with anticipation in his bones.

It didn't take the trio long to get to Washington given they used Oliver's private jet. At exactly two in the afternoon they stood in front of the Hall of Justice, despite it not being the real headquarters for the Justice League, Bullseye was still in awe at the architecture. It was beautiful with how tall it stood and the lines of arch windows, the double doors, the statues of each Justice League member. It left the girl speechless.

The others — aside from the two speedsters — were around her, each lined up and waiting to see the inside. Civilians crowded the group of heroes but the female archer didn't mind as much. If anything she liked the attention, good attention. The praise she knew they were whispering amongst each other.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," Green Arrow said as he nudged his sidekicks with each arm as they stood on either side of him. Neither responded but he didn't mind. He was used to their silence in front of other heroes, how serious they became.

"Headquarters of the Justice League," Aquaman added.

"Oh, man." The group heard the speedsters as they approached. Kid Flash appeared deflated as he realized they had been the last to arrive. He pouted with her shoulders slouched. "I knew we'd be the last ones here."

Cameras flashed and the whispers became louder as the heroes walked past, keeping their heads forward as they did so. Bullseye did manage to throw up a couple peace signs before Speedy hit her upside the head. She hoped they didn't get that on camera.

"Ready to see the inner sanctum?" Green Arrow leaned forward to whisper to the teens who gave him a sideways smile.

"Born that way," Speedy said proudly.

"I just wanna see the gym," Bullseye muttered to herself.

Aqualad matched his pace with the other sidekicks as he said, "I'm glad we're all here."

"Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" Kid Flash asked before getting chastised by Speedy to never call them that, not now that they were becoming full fledged heroes alongside the League. "Sorry, first time at the Hall. I'm a little overwhelmed," he frowned.

Robin clicked his tongue as his hand brushed Bullseye's who stood a little too close to him, he could smell her perfume. The same kind she always wore. Cherries. "You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?" He asked.

"You're so weird," Bullseye elbowed his side before he shoved her into Speedy.

"Oh, maybe that's why." Robin gulped as he looked at the bronze statues now that they were closer. His eyes trailing over to the one of his mentor.

The door opened to reveal Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado, both standing with their backs straight and hands at their sides. Looking powerful in their capes. "Robin, Bullseye, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash. Welcome," Martian Manhunter greeted in her gruff voice that dripped in authority despite only saying their names. "You now have unlimited access to the gym," he said as he led them into the hallway and through another set of doors. "Our fully stocked gallery, and of course, our library."

The teens looked around the giant room surrounded in books of all titles, well, mainly the classics from what Bullseye gathered as she looked at the titles.

"Make yourselves at home," Flash smiled brightly.

Making herself comfortable in one of the chairs in the library, Bullseye stared up at the glass above them, watching as cameras flashed and hands pressed against the only thing separating them. She knew this was just for show, to make the public believe the League was closer than they really were, but she doubted the others knew that.

Green Arrow was more open with the children than other Leaguers, and for that Speedy and Bullseye were grateful. But this still felt like a lie as the adults grouped together to talk about the recent attacks, excluding the former sidekicks.

"Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day," Batman said.

It was suspicious, especially since it sounded like they were only wanting attention. Which wasn't surprising for most villains but it was odd, worthy enough for the Dark Knight's attention. He was a detective so whatever was going on, Bullseye knew he would figure it out. And if he didn't then there were the others to fall back on, like a team.

"We shouldn't be long." He addressed the teens who sat around confused.

They went to transport via zeta-tube but were stopped by an angry and impatient Speedy. He stalked closer to them with his fists clenched at his sides and lips twisted into a sneer of offense. "That's it?" He asked. "You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass."

"It's a first step," Aquaman said. "You've been granted access few others get."

Bullseye narrowed her eyes on the older man in disbelief. He couldn't be serious. They were still being treated as lesser despite the promise of joining forces with the League, and for what? They have proven themselves time and time again that they can keep up, that they are good at their job. But it's not enough.

"Oh, really?" Speedy gestured to the windows, his agitation getting clearer and clearer with each passing second.

Bullseye stood from her chair to stand beside her brother, her hand coming up to rest on his arm to try and calm him but he shook her off with his stance frigid. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

Green Arrow stepped forward and warned in a soft yet stern tone, "Roy, you need to be patient."

"What I need is respect."

Bullseye got a sick feeling in her stomach but she couldn't turn away from the brewing argument. Her hazel eyes danced between her brother and father figure with her hands twitching behind her. She knew any second now words that both will regret, were coming. This is how it often was between Roy and Oliver, arguing day in and day out. They had good moments but the majority were spent in terse and awkward squabbles that neither Dinah nor Cerise could put an end to.

"They're treating us like kids. Worse, like sidekicks." He turned to his friends who were looking at him unaffected and a little lost as to what was going on. "We deserve better than this."

Robin glanced over at Bullseye who was shifting her weight between each foot, feeling uncomfortable by the tension. None of the teens said anything, though they did share similar frowns.

"You're kidding, right?" Speedy was facing his sister now as she remained silent and unable to meet his gaze. "You're playing into their game? Today was supposed to be the day. Step one in becoming full-fledged members of the League."

"Well sure," Kid tipped his head to the side and leaned back against the chair, "but I thought step one was a tour of the HQ."

Bullseye shook her head with a small sigh leaving her lips, though her eyes remained on the floor as she said, "the real HQ is in space, it's called the Watchtower. This place is just for publicity."

Green Arrow let out a nervous laugh while Batman glared at him then at the girl. "I know, I know, but I thought maybe we could make an exception." He said hopefully while resting a hand on Bullseye's shoulder, causing her to finally look up and give him an apologetic frown. She hadn't meant to spill the secret but she always did have a hard time keeping things from Robin.

Aquaman stepped toward Speedy with his chest puffed out, trying to assert dominance to a teenage boy who often stepped toe-to-toe with Oliver and Dinah on a daily basis. "You are not helping your cause here, son. Stand down or —"

"Or what?" He quirked a brow at the King of the ocean. "You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son." He glared. "I'm not even his," Bullseye flinched as if she had been slapped. She stepped back from the three and moved over to Robin who made quick work of holding her gloved hand in his. "I thought I was his partner. But not anymore." He threw down his yellow hat and the room fell silent.

The girl felt as if her heart had shattered at her feet. Her brother, the one person she knew she could always count on just quit, he literally threw down the hat and disowned the man dressed in green. What did that mean for them? She was watching her family crumble before her eyes.

Speedy began walking past them, avoiding the eyes of the female archer, a heavy pang in his chest. "Guess they were right about you three. "You're not ready." And he was gone.

She wanted to follow after him, beg him not to leave but she was rooted in place. The sting of abandonment coursing through her veins. It enraged her more than it saddened. He left her after so many years of promising he would be there to keep her grounded, to protect her, to show her what it meant to have a family. He lied.

An alarm going off captured the attention of the remaining teens. Superman's face appeared on the giant screen as he announced, "Superman to Justice League, there's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

Batman's deep and scratchy voice followed, "I've had my suspicions about Cadmus. This may present the perfect opportunity to —"

"Zatara to Justice League," another alarm interrupted him, "the sorcerer Wotan is using the amulet of Attan to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

"Superman?" Batman looked at him once more.

"It's a small fire, local authorities have it under control."

"Then Cadmus can wait." He pressed a button on the control panel to notify each member of the Justice League of the attack. "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."

The teens approached the Leaguers slowly, Robin tugging a fuming Bullseye who was going to chip a tooth if she kept grinding her teeth together.

"Stay put." Batman ordered them.

Robin crossed his arms over her chest while asking, "what, why?"

"This is a League mission," Aquaman stared down at them in a way that had Bullseye itching to slap him.

"You're not trained," Flash added.

"Since when?"

"I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team," he gestured to the lineup of Leaguers.

Aquaman said, "there will be other missions, when you're ready."

Bullseye glared at the man behind her sunglasses, taking a step forward till Aqualad wrapped a hand around her arm to prevent her from getting any closer. "We are ready, we train our asses off and you're ignoring the fact we are valuable assets. We're worthy of being Leaguers just as much as you are kelp-head!"

Green Arrow covered his laugh with a cough when he felt the eyes of his teammates on him. Waiting for him to step in but he just shook his head and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"For now, stay put." Batman's eyes were focused on her now and it had her spine straightening. Why was the guy dressed as a bat more intimidating than being scolded by Dinah?

The group of teens watched as the adults left, leaving them behind as they always do on League missions. Absolutely nothing changed for them — except for Cerise losing a brother. It was frustrating, being treated like children who would only get in the way. Roy was right, they'd forever be sidekicks in the eyes of the adults. Maybe they should have left with him. The universe knows Cerise wanted to but she couldn't leave Oliver, not after everything he had done for her, not when he was the father she so desperately needed.

"When we're ready?" Kid scoffed. "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like, like sidekicks?" His voice raised as his foot stomped on the ground.

Bullseye bit at the inside of her cheek, unable to find her voice amongst the raging war inside her head. Roy was right, he almost always was, and yet she refused to believe leaving Oliver — leaving her, was the right choice in his moment of anger. Crossing her arms over her chest she looked to Aqualad as he spoke.

"My mentor, my king." He frowned. "I thought he trusted me."

Kid Flash glared at the air, waving his arms around in a frantic and fluid motion that had Bullseye dodging his hand that came flying at her face. "Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics. They've got a secret HQ in space!" He turned to Bullseye with a soft pout forming. "And you didn't tell us."

"I just did," she deadpanned.

Aqualad shook his head with a sigh of resignation, "what else aren't they telling us?"

"I have a better question, why didn't we leave with Speedy?" Robin asked bitterly.

Anger coursed through the veins of the young girl. Resentment towards the older vigilante causing the internal voices to scream. "Because we aren't quitters. Speedy is a coward who runs from his problems and insecurities." She glowered with spite dripping from each word.

Robin assessed her carefully. Her anger was palpable and recognized but he knew those words were masking her pain. She had been abandoned yet again, this time by someone who swore to never stray from her side.

After a minute of silence, Aqualad asked, "what is Project Cadmus?"

"I don't know." Robin smirked, "but I can find out."

The boy stepped up to the computer and pressed down on a few keys as his friends crowded around him to watch with furrowed brows. Bullseye rested an arm on Robin's shoulder, leaning forward to read the screen as it locked him out, but that did little to deter him. He tried again till he was finally let in with a small laugh at his succession.

"Whoa! How are you doing that?" Kid asked in amazement.

"He's a miniature genius who spends his free time browsing the dark web in his little cave."

Robin shoved the girl off him with a huff and pinched her side as she slapped at his hand. "Same system as the Batcave — and I'm average size," he grumbled as he clicked on the file he needed, ignoring his friend who was sharing a look with Kid Flash. "Alright, Project Cadmus." He said. "Genetics lab here in DC. That's all there is, but if Batman's suspicious maybe we should investigate."

"Solve their case before they do," Aqualad voiced the younger boy's train of thought. "It would be poetic justice." He smiled.

"Hey, they're all about justice." Robin joked while beaming up at him with the brightest smile Bullseye had ever seen on the boy wonder.

"But they said stay put." Aqualad's smile dropped into a frown of disappointment.

Bullseye grinned at the prospect of doing the job before the League, a bubbly feeling tickling her stomach at the thought of making her mentor proud and pissing off Batman. "Yeah with the sorcerer, not Cadmus."

"This would be the perfect chance to prove ourselves and ruffle some feathers," Robin added.

Kid Flash placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder to gain his attention, a look of glee glimmering in his eyes as he said, "are you going to Cadmus? Cause if you're going, I'm going."

Three smiling and hopeful faces stared up at Aqualad, awaiting what he had to say about the mission. It would be in and out. A simple investigation that would surely gain them a couple points with the Justice League, and if it didn't then Cerise was okay with watching the veins in the neck of Batman and Aqualad protrude at the stress and anger. It was always something she found herself finding amusement in, the frustration of others. She liked watching people make fools of themselves.

Aqualad nodded, "just like that we're a team on a mission?"

"We didn't come for a playdate."


    

    






NOTE!

So I rewrote this chapter last night or well, early morning since I started at 3am🧍‍♀️but anyway I like this version a little better. Not much changed, just the first part.

  The episode was cut in half for chapters 1 and 2, I'm not liking that but I'm not changing it because I need to space myself out. But anyway, the chapter is going back up while I'm working on my other fics.