YJ:ABOMINATION Mission 1/B.1.3.

~YJ~

Kaldur ducked behind the ruins of a stone structure. He had scouted the area around him, making sure the coast was clear. 
 'Let's go.' He said telepathically and they followed him forward. They rounded the corner at a fast pace. Once they hit the next one, they stopped for a moment to make sure the coast was clear before he motioned for Conner and Dick to pass him. 
Conner was caught by surprise as came around the corner, almost running into a strange girl who had appeared out of nowhere. He pulled backward as she vanished, bracing his leg back to keep him from falling on the ground.

'What was that?' Wally asked, stunned.

'I think it was a girl! I didn't sense her before.' M'gann responded.

"Whoa! That was close!" A female voice echoed from above, drawing their attention.
They looked up to see the mystery girl perched on a large column, dawning black clothing, and boots.  She stood up, easily bouncing off of the pillar to land on the ground in front of them to give them a closer look in the dimly lit area. Her red-brown hair hung in long braids past her waist. Her catlike eyes seemed to glow purple as she looked the team over.
"Be more careful. You almost knocked me over." Her eyes darted away from them as she tensed up.

Conner picked up on the slight noise closing in as well, "We have company."

"Ssh! Hide!" She hissed as they ducked behind a pile of rubble. An android walked by; its head rotating slowly from side to side, scanning the area around it before walking in the opposite direction. The strange girl jumped up from her hiding spot and booted it in the back. It fell forward, triggering a trap and boulder dropped on it from above.
"There we go. All safe." She turned back to the team, met with confused expressions. 

"That was awesome." Wally chuckled.

"Thanks." She dusted herself off. "They don't really make any attempts to avoid getting caught in the traps though."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get in here?" Kaldur said.

"Teleported." She said as she began sifting through some rocks that were piled up nearby. 
"You... teleported?" Raquel asked.
"Yeah. Well. That and I disarmed the booby traps."
"Disarmed them?" Conner questioned.
"Well, most of them. After a while, I started pushing shockbots into them."

"Shockbots?" M'gann added into the line of questioning.

"That's what he calls 'em."

"You mean Surge?"

"So that's his name." She didn't even glance at the Boy Wonder as she spoke, "He's been searching the area but it doesn't seem like he's been making much progress. Probably would be faster if he'd look himself but he doesn't seem to be in any kind of hurry. Well, I got this under control so you can go home now." She stood up, moving to a different area. 

"Not happening," Conner said bluntly.

"Don't worry, I got this handled." She said again, now standing up and facing them.

"We're not leaving." He crossed his arms defiantly as they locked glares.

"Go-!"

"No." he cut her off.

"Gah! Are all Kryptonians this hard-headed?! You're as bad as Superman!"

"Wait, you know Superman?" Dick interjected, managing to clear the tension between the two. 

"Yeah, I know him. I know a lot of people and I know a lot about people. Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Rocket, Miss Martian, Zatanna, Artemis, and Superboy." She named them as she pointed to each of them.
"Wait, a young hero we know nothing about who knows about us? Are you B.1.3.?" 
"What?" she was surprised by Dick's exclamation, as he closed the distance. "I don't..." she shook her head, retreating back. 
"Nevermind that." Kaldur set his hand on Dick's shoulder. "We have a mission,"
"If I tell you what he's looking for, will you trust me? At least for now?"
"Maybe," Wally said.

"It's called the Necklace of Orion. It's a powerful mystical object but I don't really know all that much about it. I need to find it before he does. End of story."
"Orion is Greek Mythology. What's an artifact like that doing here in Babylon?" Zatanna asked.
"From what I know, it wasn't originally from here but it was lost here. Either way, if Surge finds it I can only guess at what he wants with it."

"We were ordered by Batman to stop him, let us help you," Kaldur said.

She eyed him thoughtfully. After a long moment, she sighed. "Fine, but this is my mission, so stay out of my way."

"Just wondering if I'm the only one thinking this but… who are you?" Artemis asked.

"The Black Cat." 

"The Black Cat?"

"That's what everyone calls me." she watched as Dick exchanged a confused shrug with Wally.
"I've never heard of you." Zatanna raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not surprised. I don't get out much." 
'Are we even sure she's really a good guy? Her story has a lot of holes in it.' Zatanna thought. 

"Why are you really-?" Wally began.

"Ssh! There he is." she hushed him as she pressed herself up against a wall and the others followed suit.

"Why do you want the artifact?" Dick whispered.

"Because it's mine." She said, her eyes stayed focused on the figure in the distance as she peeked around the corner.

"Wait, isn't it an ancient artifact? How is it yours?" Wally asked.

"It's mine. I'm not sure how to explain it or why it ended up here but I can sense it. It's almost like its a part of me."

"How'd you lose it in the first place?" Conner asked.

"Good question. I wish I knew."

The group's attention followed hers.
"Master, I have located the artifact." A metallic voice cut through the silence.
An android approached the strikingly blond young man who matched the footage they had seen of Surge and handed him a gold necklace adorned with shimmering, prismatic crystals.
'That doesn't look like a Greek artifact.' Zatanna thought.

"Excellent job, Alpha." He turned, eyeing the necklace greedily behind his goggles. "With this, I'll be more powerful than ever!"

'That doesn't sound good.' Dick turned, noticing their newest addition had vanished. 'Hey, where'd she go?'
"Hand it over!" Cat appeared in the center of the room.

'Announce your presence to everyone, why don't you.' Wally thought.

"Hand over the necklace. It belongs to me."

"Oh? My bots had informed me that the shadow registered as a large cat had been wandering around but I suppose it was just you." She could tell his eyes behind his goggles were looking her up and down before a seductive smirk spread across his face. "You're a very pretty kitty. Introductions are in order: The name's Surge; super genius, entrepreneur, future ruler of the world. I'm also devilishly handsome so that's always a bonus." He winked at her.

"The necklace." She demanded again, holding her hand out.

"You know, I'm going to use this to destroy the Justice League and take over the world; I could use a queen."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." the androids started blasting at her as she went to step forward but Dick tackled her out of the way as Conner smashed the ones that had fired into the ground.

"Oh, you brought friends! Them, I could do without." He noticed the "S" shield on Conner's shirt, a giddy cackle escaping from him. "No way! You're friends with Superman's son!"

"I'm not his son," he growled.

"That's cool. You have daddy issues, no sweat. Either way, you should be my buddy. You've got this rebel thing going on that would fit my crew perfectly. Come on, what do you say?"

"No deal."

"Ah, well that sucks. Alpha, elimination protocol." he was already walking away, losing interest in the situation. "All but the cute little kitty cat. I want her alive."

"Yes, sir," As soon as the Alpha acknowledged his orders, the androids attacked. The two closest to Cat fell to pieces, her sharp black claws glinted in the light of the torches.

"I want my necklace back." She hissed. "And I don't like being ignored."

"Oh ho! Are those claws made of obsidian? That's some heavy-duty dark magic you got there. That's pretty nice but my bots aren't going down that easy." he smiled playfully, "I spent the last two weeks building these; they might still be in the alpha phase but even tech from Wayne Industries can't compete. I've checked."

Cat dodged an androids attack before slicing its arm off. The androids dodged pretty well and struck efficiently, seemingly able to adapt to her steps. She dodged them just as well, tearing apart any that came close. 
"Shockbots have some moves." Raquel dodged before blasting some of them. 

"Did I mention I input some martial arts when I wrote the movement program?"

"You somehow failed to mention that." Artemis started shooting arrows.

"Alrighty then, since stealth is no longer an option," Wally pulled his goggles over his eyes and took off from where he was hidden. He easily rammed into them, knocking several of them down, one after another in the same moment. The rest of the team joined in as Kaldur wet the floor and sent an electric shock ricocheting through the androids. Zatanna's eyes glowed as a chant left her lips and the earth under some of the androids crumbled.

"I won't let you abuse my necklace!" She ducked under an android's fist only to run nearly face-first into another when she suddenly vanished.

"Whoa, she's really gone. So it's not just a trick, after all." Surge watched the team fight; he truly found it entertaining. He noticed Cat had reappeared behind the androids and slashed them to pieces. "Hmmm?" He looked around to see his numbers had dwindled. 

"No more!" Conner ripped the arms off the last one as he turned to Surge. "You're next."

"Master, allow me to buy you time-!" Alpha suggested only to be silenced.

"Nah. They'd take you apart." Surge finally pulled himself to his feet. "I kind of knew you'd find the necklace though, your AI seemed more buggy than the rest of the bots. That's why I made you the Alpha prototype." He stretched, popping coming from his shoulders. "Well, it looks like it's my turn. Maybe I'll use my new-!" He held up what was now his empty palm, a startling realization hitting him.

"Looking for this?" Wally held up the necklace. "You need to clean out your ears, this doesn't belong to you."

"Thanks, Kid." Cat sighed, relieved. Her claws disappeared as she took a fighting stance, "I'll have to deal with you the old fashioned way."

"And why would that be?" he smirked.

She teleported in front of him and slammed her foot into the side of his head. He slid back but remained on his feet, releasing a beam of solid electricity towards the rest of the team. They all dodged, barreling out of the way. 

He popped his neck back into place, rubbing it as he snickered. "If I were anyone else, you would have broken my neck with that kick."

"Too bad she didn't," Artemis said.

"Cat, we are here to help you." Kaldur reminded her as he helped her to her feet. 

"I know... but I can handle this myself." She vanished and this time, reappeared above Surge; bringing her foot down. He shielded his head with his arms. His heavy, metal gauntlets didn't even dent. He twisted his arm around and grabbed her foot. She was instantly shocked before he threw her into a wall.

"What? You think I wear these just because they make me look cool?" He clenched his fists, electricity dancing around them. "Sorry, that's not the case."

"Cat, are you alright?" M'gann asked her as she floated down next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She shook her head.

"This guy is just playing with us." Raquel frowned. "The longer we draw this out, the worse it gets."

"I know," she replied.

"Surprised, are you? Humans have the same electricity making electrolytes as eels but our brains don't have the neuro-electrical power to trigger the electrolytes. That's where I'm different than normal humans."

"And I just thought you were more annoying. Glad to know you're one whole crazy package." Zatanna stated sarcastically.

"At first I could only do minute electrical charges, about 1,000 volts or so at most-"

"You call that minute?" Dick said.

"-but now, these gauntlets help me channel and enhance this power."

"You really like to hear yourself talk, don't you?" Wally nailed him with a few hit and runs, causing Surge's stance to shake but not falter. 

"How rude. And I was kind enough to explain how my powers work. You could at least listen, not like you'll defeat me anyways-" Both Conner and Cat sucker punched him in the face at the same moment.

"Do you ever shut up?!" they said in unison before looking at each other, surprised.

"Whoa, they synced up." Wally chuckled.

"Let us help you," Conner said. "It's okay to need help."

She breathed out a long sigh. "Okay."

"Ha…Hahahahahahaha!" he laughed and then sat up. "You know, I can afford to be long-winded." he stood up, static danced around his gauntlets. "Time to get serious, I guess. Bring it."
Conner and Cat nodded at each other. She shifted her attention to M'gann and Kaldur. "If Aqualad is okay with it; Miss Martian, can you add me into your telepathic link?"

Kaldur nodded at M'gann, giving her the okay. 'Cat, am I coming in clear enough? This feels a little strange.'

'I can hear you just fine.' Cat answered. 'Let's see what else he has up his sleeve, Superboy.' They both lunged at him. Fists flying at him wildly but he easily evaded. They seemed to be in sync when they attacked him. Cat backed up when Conner went to strike, and she came flying over his shoulder when he'd feint; bringing down a powerful kick. Suddenly they both jumped back.
'Artemis, Robin!' Kaldur ordered.

'Got it!' Artemis shot several arrows and Dick threw explosive discs.

"Wha-?" they hit Surge and instantly exploded. The smoke cleared and he was still standing, his arms were seared a little bit but no other lasting damage. "Now I'm angry-!" Dick kicked him in the face, dropping two explosive disks as he flipped out of the way.
He stumbled back and Conner punched him, sending him flying. Cat appeared behind him and kicked him, sending him crashing to the ground. M'gann's eyes glowed and the wall next to him crumbled down on top of him though it was a temporary solution. The rubble moved as Surge stood up, wearing an infuriated expression. Wally flashed past him, knocking him over again. This time when he stood up, he shot a beam of lightning at them. They all jumped out of the way, hiding behind pillars. Zatanna's chant echoed as rocks were drawn to him like he was a magnet. He glowed as he sent a blinding pulse of energy blasted away from him. Raquel blasted him in the face but he quickly responded by throwing a large chunk of stone at her.
'I could trap him in a bubble but it wouldn't help us for long. We'd still have a super powerful villain charged up waiting for me to let him out.' Raquel stated.

'I doubt he'd stay still long enough for you to bubble him. All we did was make him more angry!' Wally added. 

'That's exactly what I wanted.' Cat charged at him; when she reached the point where she was three feet in front of him she jumped, dodging his next blast. 'Now, Aqualad!' Kaldur wrapped the water around Surge's gauntlets, sending a jolt of electricity at him. It reflected Surge's blast back at him, shocking him. Suddenly it exploded.

"Yes!" Wally cheered. Cat reappeared next to him.

"Good plan." Conner smiled at her.

"Thanks." She looked away shyly. "I couldn't have done it without you guys."

"Don't mean to interrupt the celebrating but," Dick got their attention as the smoke cleared. "He's gone!"

"And I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of him," Kaldur said.

"Well, time for me to go. Kid, my necklace please." Cat held out her hand expectantly.

Wally lifted it away from her. "Not unless you tell me what you want with it. He said he could take down the whole League with this; why would we hand it over to some stranger? That would be dumb."

"He's got a point," M'gann added.

"Its mine. If you take it, that's called stealing." she fumed.

"Well, we're not sure we should give something so mysteriously powerful to someone we just met," Wally smirked. "And where's the proof it's even yours?"

"Aargh! Wally, you're so irritating!" She snatched the chain, yanking it out of his hand as she vanished.

"Whoa. How does she do that?" Artemis asked.

"Better question," Zatanna asked.

"How did she know my name?" Wally cut her off.

~YJ~

"It was something we expected might happen. All of Surge's appearances usually end with him vanishing from the scene right after confrontation. The League is impressed with your ability to adapt to your situation even if it means working with a total stranger." He said, stoic as usual. "We often run into new heroes and have to adapt or even team up with them to handle the task in front of us."

"But we lost the Necklace of Orion," Dick said. "Which we still know next to nothing about!"

"The artifact is nothing to be concerned about." Batman looked at them, observing their stunned expressions.

"Are you serious?" Artemis said, shocked as can be. "Someone takes off with a powerful artifact and you're saying its not a problem?"

"True, wasn't it supposed to have some terrifying power or something?" Wally asked, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"The situation has been... handled," Canary told them before using that moment to segway, "Speaking of which; Batman, tell them the news."

"News?" Kaldur inquired.

"After our last discussion, it's been decided that it's time to let you meet your newest member," Batman announced.

"Sweet. Where is he?" Wally asked. "Or is it a she? Them?"

Batman went silent for a moment, the team eyeing him curiously. "You should stop hiding now."

"I can't help it, I'm nervous." A familiar, feminine voice revealed a presence behind Batman. He stepped aside to reveal a skittish Black Cat. "Hehe, hi guys."

"You!" Wally exclaimed.

"That's why Batman told us not to worry," Dick said. "So you really were B.1.3."

"Hello, M'gann! That's how she knew who we were!"

"And how she knew Wally's name." Artemis pointed out.

"Hold on, you acted like you had no idea what Robin was talking about." Wally pointed out what everyone else had been thinking.
"I didn't though. I actually rarely use the zeta tubes because of my powers so I didn't even know what my designation was."
"And you couldn't have said you were going to be our new teammate?"

"Well... I would've been in trouble if Batman found out I left the Watchtower-!"

"Which I did." Batman interrupted.

"-so I was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible until you guys showed up. Since you wouldn't leave, I had to let you help me without giving away any details. I'm so sorry." She bowed her head and stood back up quickly.

"Wait, did you say the Watchtower? You've been to the Watchtower?" Dick asked.

"Yeah, I kinda sorta live there." She mumbled.

"You'll be living here from now on," Batman said.

"Oh! So Mystery Girl can go to the Watchtower any time she wants, but you couldn't let us, the ones who have been working under you for the years, even know about it?" Wally practically shouted before Kaldur set a calming hand on his shoulder.

"There were special circumstances at the time but considering how she handled your team up tonight, we've agreed that she'll be staying here from now on," Canary explained.

"Sorry." Cat frowned, looking down at her feet. It was obvious she had been hurt by his comment a little as she mumbled again, "Sorry."

"Wally, you shouldn't have said that." M'gann caught Cat's expression.
"Yeah, that was a little harsh even for me." he sighed. "Sorry about that. It's not about you." 

"No, it's okay," Cat said. "You have a right to be upset."

"I do?" he seemed shocked by her comment.

"Of course. I think... I would be too if I were you."

"You think?" Dick asked as he noticed her strange way of phrasing.

"Yeah…" she trailed off as if she were retreating further away from speaking.

"It's okay. You don't have to push yourself." Conner said with a smile.

"Thanks." She nodded, still stepping further away from the group. "I think I'll take a look around. Learn where everything is."

"We'll give you a tour," M'gann started.

"Actually we need to speak with you guys about something. Cat, if you'd go on ahead, they'll catch up." Canary said, eyeing Cat in a way that meant she knew the reason.
Cat nodded again before wandering off.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Artemis asked. 

"Her. Cat is more than just different. We're certain she's not human and yet neither of the Green Lanterns can seem to identify what she is." Batman started.
"Her mind doesn't work like yours or even M'gann's. She has difficulties understanding even the most basic things and what's worse is she knows it. Some human concepts just seem too alien for her to understand."
"It is almost similar to handling a fledgling A.I. with no protocols." Red Tornado added. "Upon first interaction with her, she didn't understand what is considered common sense or even standard emotional responses."
"We're still attempting to identify her origin with little success," Batman added again.
"Maybe not extraterrestrial but... are you thinking extradimensional?" Raquel asked. 
He nodded. "When the League found her, she was in a near-catatonic state outside what appeared to be some kind of breach. It collapsed shortly after but we believe it was an opening to another dimension."
"Catatonia is a nearly impossible state to recover from."
"And she has been making progress on her own with very little assistance from Martian Manhunter," Canary answered M'gann's upcoming question. 
"What we're saying is be careful what you say to her. We're still not fully aware of what she's capable of." Batman gave what could only be taken as a closing statement. 

"Then why did you let her come here if you still don't trust her?" Dick asked.
"It's not that we don't trust her. She has made excellent strides towards recovery and has done many things to more than earn our trust," Canary began. "But she's always retained some level of anxiety when it came to interacting with the outside world."
"Then why?" Dick asked again.
"She asked us. And didn't someone say we should let her decide what she wants?" Sarcasm coming from Red Tornado.

"She'll have to check in with the Watchtower on Thursday to continue monitoring the range of her powers," Batman informed them. "We won't actively be monitoring how she interacts with the team but we are expecting a full report from you, Aqualad."

"Is there anything else we can do to assist her?" Kaldur asked. "I fear so many precautions might make it hard for her to comfortably adapt to the team."
"Your reports can be made subtly and she is not confined to Mount Justice-"

"Aaaaaaaah!" A scream echoed through the cave.

"That came from the kitchen," Conner said as he bolted down the hallway, the rest following suit.
They all rushed into the kitchen. The first thing they saw was Cat perched on the counter with a frightened look on her face.
"What happened?"

"Sp-sp-spider!" She pointed to the small speck of black spider on the floor.

"Haha! You're afraid of spiders?" Wally laughed.

"Shut up! I can handle androids, super villains and giant monsters but I can't stand spiders!" She sputtered.

"Haha." Conner laughed for a moment. He stepped forward, his foot hovered above the unsuspecting spider.

"No! Don't!" she shouted. It stopped him dead in his tracks.

"You just said you were scared!" Wally said.

"I know but just throw it outside or something! Just don't kill it!"

"Why?" M'gann asked.

"It's a rule! I'm not gonna let some innocent creature die when it doesn't deserve it!"
"It's just a spider!" Wally started to argue but was surprised by her new, almost hollow expression.
"I can't..." It was almost like she was looking for an answer or waiting for it to register in her brain.

"Okay! How 'bout we put it outside?" M'gann swiftly jumped in to sort it out. "Wouldn't want you to break a rule."

"Thank you!" Cat smiled; an innocent, sweet smile.

"There it is," Conner's statement and new smirk seemed to baffle her. "I think that's the first real smile we've seen on your face."

"Hey! Yeah, it is." Dick laughed.

"It's pretty cute." Raquel laughed.
"You should smile more often," M'gann said as she scooped up the spider. "How about we set him free out back?"

"O-okay." she smiled as she slowly got off the counter.

"There it is again." Artemis grinned.

"I-I can't help it. You guys are making me smile. Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Kaldur said, smiling slightly. "You should feel at home here. Welcome to the team."

They all migrated to the back opening of Mount Justice. M'gann squatted near the edge of the cliff.
"Here you go, little guy."
She let the spider crawl off her hands and away from sight.

"Is it gone?" Cat peeked out from behind Red Tornado.

"Yeah, the little fuzzy monster is gone," Wally said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Cat mumbled. "Even superheroes have something they're afraid of."

"Where'd you hear that?" Wally asked.

"Wonder Woman." she smiled before a flash of realization hit her. "Oh yeah!" They watched as she rifled through her shoulder bag before pulling out a camera. "Since we're all here, let's all take a picture!"

"Are you serious?" Dick chuckled.

"Of course! Wouldn't want to forget, now would we?"

"You don't need a picture for-!"
Red Tornado set his hand on Wally's shoulder. It was a sure sign to stop what he was saying. Wally looked at him and then looked back at Cat who was turning on the camera, unaware of where the statement was headed.
'Wally, she's recovering from a catatonic state. It may be difficult for her to retain memories.' M'gann explained telepathically. 
"Okay, a picture it is." Wally cleared his throat. "I'm incredibly photogenic."

"Okay!" That seemed to catch her attention. "Now, Superboy, stand there. Red Tornado, stand behind them. Miss Martian, can you levitate the camera?"

"Sure."
The group managed to follow her instructions with little objections, settling together in a way that would leave no one out of frame.

"Alright. Set the timer and…" she let the camera go as she felt a pull; it floated in the air. Once she was sure it was right, she ran and stood between Conner and Kaldur.
"Smile and say "aster.""

"Aster!" 

~YJ~

"Sorry about that." Surge chuckled a bit as he plopped down in an armchair, eyeing the holoscreens hovering around him. "Didn't know if you wanted me to kill them or not."

"How did it go? What did you think of them?" Queen Bee asked.

"Well, sorry but I lost the artifact but I did manage to keep them busy long enough to get full scans of the ruins. I should be able to recreate a holographic model with no trouble. As for what I think…" he crossed his arms and looked up. "….I think they're pretty fun if we can manage them otherwise, they'll be a bit of a problem. I didn't think they'd use Aqualad's water sorcery to reroute the current of my electricity. They're good and they're going to get in the way. Big time."

"Is that all?"

"One more thing, a little kitty cat wandered by and took off with the necklace. She was helping them... or were they helping her? Oh, well. She was going on about how the necklace belonged to her. Hard to imagine considering it was an ancient artifact but until I gave them the order, my bots couldn't seem to register a presence so I don't think she's human. It's something to look into."
"Oh~! Cats are my favorite. I'll poke around," Klarion smiled as he scratched behind Teikl's ear.

"If she becomes a bigger problem then she must be eliminated. All enemies of the Light will be eliminated." Vandal commanded.

"Gotcha, but when?" 
"Soon enough. Be patient, Surge. You are the youngest member of the Light."

"Okay, but you know I don't like to wait." he sighed. "I guess I'll go tinker with my toys. I want them at least out of beta for the next phase."

"Don't draw too much attention to yourself," Luthor suggested.

"Wasn't the point of having me give the big villain speech was to get their attention?"
"Let them stew over it. It'll undoubtedly drive the young ones crazy trying to figure you out." 
"Goes against my nature to lay low but I'll try to keep the noise down."

~YJ~

"If I have the time," he said as he walked away.

She giggled as she watched him trail down the hall away from her. "I know that means yes."
She took a deep breath before opening the door in front of her, analyzing the room as she entered. The room was somewhat bare other than a cherrywood bookshelf with a matching bed and nightstand. She seemed to circle the room to look at each, humming inquisitively to herself.

"You can decorate it however you want." A newly familiar voice caught her attention as she turned to see Conner standing in the doorway. "M'gann's is covered in posters from old TV shows and I'm not even certain what half the stuff in Zatanna's room is. Most of the team has gone home already so you can relax for a bit."

"Oh, did they?" She avoided his gaze, frowning slightly.

"Is something wrong?"

"Not really. I just... I don't think they like me very much."

"Wally was a bit mad about the Watchtower thing but I'm sure he doesn't hate you."

"Really? I'm surprised any of you are okay with me being here. With the Watchtower thing, I'd totally understand and hearing about my lack of backstory and the mole thing you guys just dealt with...? You basically have every reason not to like me."

"I don't hate you, I know Kaldur doesn't and I think M'gann is just happy to have another girl on the team. Artemis seems a bit skeptical but that's normal for her and Robin seems to be 'turbed about it though I'm sure he's going to do his own research. No one can blame you for not knowing your past and if something happens, we'll deal with it as a team." 

"Thanks." she smiled. "That means a lot."

"You'll get used to being on a team; just take your time and don't stress it. I know I'm still getting used to some things."

"Yeah, you're right." She chuckled but stopped suddenly, her next expression suddenly unreadable. "It's weird, I don't normally smile this much."

"Knock knock!" M'gann floated in the doorway behind him. "Who wants to help with dinner?"

"You know I'm no good in the kitchen." Conner joked.
"Never too late to learn,"

"I-" Cat paused, taking a deep breath as if to steel herself. "I will... if you want."

M'gann smiled. "Of course!"

"Uh, can you give me a moment though?" She asked. "I'm still taking this all in."

"Sure, meet us in the kitchen." M'gann floated off.

"See? Told you." Conner flashed a smile as he walked away.

She sat on the bed, breathing freely before she set her bag down next to her. She pulled out a book, eyeing it for a moment before standing up again to walk to the bookcase. She slid it onto one of the shelves, making sure it didn't fall as she leaned it against the side. 
"This is the next step. You can do it."

"Cat!" Conner's voice echoed down the hallway. 

"I'll be right there!"