Despite having faced the scariest of foes, Mara's never felt more nervous in her entire life. Hungry moths swarm the deep pits of her stomach and nibble on her insides. Her palms furiously sweat and it makes her want to rip her gloves off and claw off her skin with her bare nails.

"What if she doesn't like me?" Mara anxiously bounces back and forth on her toes. "I've been told that I'm not a very likable person. At least, my brother Deimos thinks so. But I don't really trust his opinion. He's always mad because I best him in combat even though he cheats a lot because he's the God of Fear and thinks that he can intimidate me but it doesn't really work because―"

"It'll be fine," Batman interludes, finally cutting off the young girl's rambling. He can only hope that he's right. Diana Prince's morals are very predictable. He expects her to prove him wrong.

"Okay, okay, okay," Mara blurts. "How do I look?"

She didn't get any sleep last night. She couldn't. Not after learning of the Amazonian princess. The mighty Wonder Woman.

Her mother.

Completely disheveled, Mara turns to Robin. Her short hair sprouts in different directions like she got struck by lightning. Dark purple bags illuminate her under eyes, further enunciating the pale skin and piercing scarlet eyes. The clothes she borrowed from Artemis are so oversized that she looks like she's about to melt into a puddle. Not to mention she's still wearing her ragtag boots from her previous days.

Robin gives a thumbs up. "Don't worry. You look great."

Instantly, Mara's shoulders relax.

Shoes click down the hall and then stop at the last second. A tall and feminine silhouette bounces off the wall. Mara holds her breath, debating between running around the corner or hiding away forever.

She chooses neither option. Instead, she lingers in her spot like her feet have been glued to the floor.

The shadow moves.

First, Mara sees the red, white, and blue uniform. She'd seen Wonder Woman before but only briefly when her father was spying on the Earth heroes. When he caught Mara peeking, he immediately dismissed her. Mara never thought much of his rampant hatred for the specific superhero, but now it all makes such perfect sense.

"We'll leave you two alone," Batman says, already leaving.

A darkness looms over Mara and she realizes it's because Wonder Woman is standing right in front of her. She's tall and muscular opposed to Mara's scrawny and short frame. She's confident and Mara's cowering.

"Wait," Mara urges, but her voice comes out faint.

Robin shoots a reassuring smile. "It'll be fine." Then, he also leaves.

Mara's mouth dries up like she ate sandpaper for breakfast.

Although Diana takes up the majority of Mara's eyesight, she still can't face her head on. The teen's eyes fall upon Wonder Woman's shoes.

Her mother's shoes.

The words almost sound distasteful.

Wonder Woman outstretches her hand. Gently, it falls upon her daughter's cheek. "Oh, my beautiful Astara. What have they done to you?"

Mara's speechless. It's similar to the time her throat was slit in battle and she couldn't talk for the rest of the day. But this moment feels like all the air has been sucked from the room. If Mara opens her mouth, she'll lose all oxygen.

Feeling squirmish beneath the touch, Mara takes a step back, causing Diana's hand to fall back to her side. The pair stare at each other, both expressions' unreadable. Mara finally observes her mother.

Sparkly blue eyes, ivory skin, fluttering eyelashes, alongside a pair of bracelets and a lasso very similar to Mara's. Perhaps the girl still has some of her Amazon roots in her.

But what catches Mara's attention is Wonder Woman's raven hair that reaches all the way down to her waist. Mara's never been allowed to grow out her hair by her father's orders. The request wasn't enough to bother the girl so she never questioned it.

Slowly, Mara's shaggy and chopped strands of hair start to outstretch until loose curls perch over her shoulders. The color drains in Diana's face.

"Uhm, it's Mara," the demigoddess finally says, somehow gaining the courage to speak. "Technically Marazah, but―"

Something shifts in the air and Diana retracts. "I . . . I can't do this."

Mara's eyes widen. "I-I'm sorry." She repeatedly shakes her head. "Did I do something? I didn't mean to. I just―"

Still, Diana heads for the Zeta in heavy strides like she's fleeing from a horde of angry bees. The truth is much worse as Mara's ears turn red in untameable anger. She reminds herself to breathe but it's like talking to a brick wall.

"You can't just walk away!" Mara flies over and lands right in front of Diana. Something strikes in her chest and she loses her breath. She swallows hard. For the first time in her life, she feels completely vulnerable. With every breath she takes, it feels venomous. Tears of hate and anger well up in Mara's eyes but she refuses to let them fall.

Something sleeps within the young goddess. Something volatile and indomitable.

Mara's jaw clenches so tightly that it's a miracle her teeth are still in place.

Let loose, she hears her father's words in her head. Show them who you really are.

Diana looks at her daughter with disgust as if seeing something that wasn't there before. Brighter eyes, and black veins inching up her neck.

Mara shoves her mother back. The woman's feet slide against the floor as she quickly catches herself. "Daughter of Ares. Your temper does not surprise me."

"My anger has nothing to do with my father!"

"Look at you!" Diana exclaims. "You reek of him!"

The Amazon princess turns around. Wrong move. The second that Mara sees Diana's backside facing her again, her shoulders tremble with rage.

Before she can do something she'll regret, a tall figure appears in front of her. Batman. He looks down at her with a furious expression. Or maybe it's just Mara's current nature as she sees everything in bleak shades of black and white.

The world has turned its back on her and there's no inbetween. She's completely alone. Everyone has gone against her.

She needs her father.

"Mara," Batman's tone is strict but gentle. Understanding. "Control it or let it control you."

The Dark Knight holds a batarang, the shiny glint reflecting Mara's appearance. She sees a completely different person. A monstrosity who didn't deserve a second chance.

With the last bit of self control Mara has, she storms out of the Cave.

.

.

.

Water washes over the sand and nips at Mara's boots. She angrily kicks it before immediately feeling stupid at the one-sided battle with liquid molecules.

She's calmed down now, only ticks of anger here and there, but not the type of rage that could cause her to accidentally stop someone else's heart.

Thankfully, too. She's horrified at the thought of what would've happened if Batman hadn't stepped in. Can she even be a hero if she only ever sees red when she closes her eyes?

Footsteps crunch in the sand, sounding rushed. Ella crouches down, a cautious look on her face.

"Go away," Mara grumbles.

Of course, Ella doesn't listen. She shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I told Batman that I needed to be there for that."

"It's not your―"

Mara stops. Words and scenarios replay and a thought hits her.

"You knew . . ." she murmurs, slowly coming to a stand with a look of disbelief.

The Al Ghul's face pales. "Knew what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Ella!" Mara shouts, suddenly getting the urge to fly away and disappear forever. Maybe her anger is misplaced, but today hasn't been a very productive day. "You knew that my mother was Wonder Woman. That she's been here the whole time! That I could've found her and she could've saved me!"

"Mara," Ella says softly. "There's more to it than that. The whole thing . . . It was complicated."

"Complicated?!" Mara fists clench at her side. She looks at Ella. Paler complexion than usual and guilt reflecting in her eyes. But Mara doesn't care to know the whole story. Her father always said that her emotions―especially her anger―would be her downfall.

Perhaps he was right.

Mara shoves against Ella's chest, careful not to use her full strength but strong enough that the brunette gets the hint. "Just leave me alone!"

"I . . ." Ella's voice cracks. "Mara. I'm sorry."

Plopping back down in the sand, Mara doesn't watch Ella go. She blankly stares over the horizon as the sun sets. Dim orange and yellow lights dance across her face before disappearing. All that washes over her is the cold embrace of the night.

"Hey, stranger."

"Here to get yelled at, too?" Mara doesn't look as the Boy Wonder approaches. "Leave while you still can."

He sits beside her. "I like the new look."

Mara side glances at him, suddenly remembering how her hair hangs over her shoulders. "I'll have to cut it. My mother doesn't like it."

"But do you like it?"

"Hm?"

Robin smiles. "If you like it, then you should keep it."

Mara stares at him, probably looking like she's trying to melt him with her gaze. Truthfully, she's overwhelmed with everything.

"Ugh, having freewill is too hard!" Mara groans, throwing her head back for added emphasis.

"You'll get used to it," Robin cackles.

Mara shakes her head. "I don't wanna be a Prince." She looks at Robin. "What's your last name? I'll just use that, instead."

The tips of Robin's ears turn a shade of red. "Uhm, well, that's not exactly how that works."

Mara huffs. "Okay. Then how do I fix it?"

"Sorry, no can do," Robin says with a lopsided grin. "Batman already got your ID all made."

"My fake ID. This is not where I belong." Frustrated, Mara's eyes turn to slits. "Deimos was right, wasn't he? I'm not a very likeable person, am I?"

"I don't know," Robin hums. "I'd say you're doing a pretty good job."

Mara displays her palms in an animated motion. "Yeah, but you have to say that because we're gonna be on the same team." The goddess waves her hands around in random gestures, trying and failing to get her point across.

Robin puts his hand over hers. "Trust me. You're doing just fine."

A sudden whirlwind of sand flies in Mara's face. She spits some out and angrily stares at the culprit. Messily munching on a bag of chips, Wally raises an eyebrow. "You two went on a beach date and didn't invite me? Not cool, Rob."

Immediately, the Boy Wonder's cheeks brighten. "It's not―this isn't a date!" he sputters out.

"Mhmmm, suuuure," Wally murmurs, crunching loudly on another chip. "Hey―!" The bag is suddenly ripped from his hands as Artemis shoots him an annoyed look. Her fierce expression softens when she spots Mara. The girl sits silently in the sand, knees tucked all the way up to her chin and long hair swaying in the wind.

"Hey, new girl," Artemis greets. "You feeling okay?"

Mara's look saddens.

M'gann floats over. Superboy follows with a sullen expression like he'd rather be anywhere else. Still, he stays with the others as they gather around the demigoddess. She tries to smile at them but can't muster anything past a small lip crease.

M'gann wraps an arm around Mara's shoulders. "We heard what happened."

No response.

Artemis joins Mara's other side. "Trust me, I get the whole bad blood thing."

Mara's eyebrows wrinkle. "How so?"

"It's a little . . . complicated, but my parents―especially my dad―aren't the best people. So you're not alone in the horrible father's club," Artemis reassures. "You actually might be the founder."

Finally, they get a reaction from Mara. A small laugh bubbles past her lips. Although it's only half-hearted, it's still better than before.

"Thanks guys, but it's okay. I'm okay," Mara says. She winces. "She doesn't have to like me. I'm more my father than I am her."

The Kryptonian scoffs.

Mara's head darts to him. "What?"

"Nothing."

The demigoddess's lips downturn into a heavy frown. Superboy briefly brings his attention to her before looking away. Right when it seems like he's going to walk away, he crosses his arms. "She made you so yeah, she does have to like you."

Unsure, a smile twitches upon Mara's lips.

Superboy rolls his eyes. "But that doesn't mean that I have to."

M'gann flies in front of the clone. "Ooh! You know what always makes me feel better? Shopping!" Her light dies down when she realizes that it's night and all of the shops are closed. "Oh, well, I guess we can go inside and bake a cake. Have you ever had cake before?"

Wally's eyes widen. "Never had cake? Why deprive yourself of such sweet, sweet beauty?"

Robin angrily elbows the speedster.

"Right," Wally says, smiling sheepishly. "Forgot about the whole, uhm, trapped in your evil dad's evil dimension."

Another elbow strike. This time from Artemis. "That was her home," the archer hisses.

Nervously, Wally chuckles. "N-Not that Areopagus is bad. I'm sure there's a lot of great things to do there like, uhm . . . plot against mankind."

"Wally!" a chorus of voices shout and the speedster gains an assortment of fresh bruises.

"Ow! Ow! Stop! Ow!"

When the Team's attention returns to Mara, they expect many things―anger, for one―but they didn't expect confusion. She stares at them oddly, eyes lingering on each person individually. Her teeth grit together. "Why are all of you out here?"

They blink at her like the answer is obvious.

Robin gives a lopsided grin. "To check on you."

Suspicious, Mara's eyes turn to slits. "Check on me? Why?"

"Because you're one of us now, silly!" M'gann giggles. "I can never have too many sisters!" She captures Mara in a hug.

The demigod's arms loosely dangle in the air as her eyes widen in surprise. It feels weird to have people genuinely care and show up, especially when they don't have to.

"Fireball!" A whizz of green collapses on the beach. Bennie appears in her Lantern suit. Civilian clothes―a tank top and jeans―quickly fold over her figure as she rushes over, joining the hug. "Who called a group meeting without me and when did your hair get so long and why does Wally have my chips?!"

The Junior Lantern creates a giant fan and blows it in Kid Flash's direction. He races away and lands beside her with a smug smirk. She glares at him and rips the chips from his grasp, thus resulting in a trivial argument.

"You know I have a fast metabolism!"

"Don't care, speedy, I claimed them first and I already spit in them!"

"Uggghhh!"

The water's surface cracks and a figure emerges. Aqualad. "I apologize for missing the team bonding. I was needed on Atlantis but I am here now." He smiles at Mara. He has a warm aura about him that relaxes the demigod's nerves. "I understand that this will take some getting used to, but we will be here every step of the way. I hope you can come to embrace us as more than your teammates and hopefully a family."

"Ow! Cut that out!" Bennie swats away Wally's hand and shoves her spit soaked finger down his ear, causing him to break the sound barrier with a shriek.

All of the bickering puts a smile on Mara's face. It's not like when Phobos argues with her father and half of the town hall gets destroyed. It's different. Heartwarming, almost.

Although something still tugs at Mara's heart strings, she tries to ignore it and take tonight as a win.