A/N: This isn't the Dropzone episode, it's actually an arc from the comics that I've always loved and considered important to the characters. So, if you're not familiar with the comics this'll be new. It also has some more of civvies-Rosanna and of course, team building. It ended up being longer than I expected it, so. I added some more behind the scenes bonding for Effie and Rosanna, so there's some Gotham kid banter and Cave trio time in here, too.

Basically lots of fluff, relationship-building and origin stories before the first main mission next chapter. So, for now, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave a review!

Chapter Four
Campfire Secrets

July 19 2010, 19:25 ETD
GOTHAM

"Physics can suck–"

"You got the fifth question wrong."

Rosanna bit the inside of her cheek and glanced up from her homework at her school friend Dick Grayson as they sat on her bed in her room. From the floor, Barbara Gordon could be heard weakly trying to hide her giggling as Rosanna's eyes blazed and Dick kept an easy smirk on his face.

"Did I ask?" Rosanna said, hotly. Dick just reached a hand over and scribbled the correct answer, making sure to boldly line out Rosanna's initial answer, all upside down. "Piss off, Grayson," Rosanna bit out, though she didn't change the answer as she looked back down at her work.

"Hey, look on the bright side, you can help me with my Spanish homework," Dick offered with a small, familiar laugh. Rosanna just narrowed her eyes, hand pausing as she wrote.

"Oh, like you can't speak Spanish," Barbara scoffed. Dick gave her an annoyed look. Like most of their study sessions, the three spent more time talking than actually getting stuff down. Well, Barbara and Rosanna didn't; Dick had mastered the skill of being an annoying little shit and doing his work.

"The fact we even have homework over break is the worst part," Rosanna huffed, scribbling down an answer she didn't quite understand, moving on from Dick's familiar laughter.

"Hey, we're going to be freshmen, we gotta get used to it," Barbara told her, causing Rosanna to grimace. It was true. This year they'd be starting high school, and Rosanna could already imagine the conflict that would cause with her Rose identity. She could only hope she found more time to study with her friends like this, or that Beatriz could charm her way out of the days Rosanna would no doubt miss. Either way it was going to be an interesting year.

"I'm dropping out once I'm sixteen," Rosanna responded, instantly, only half-joking.

"Yeah, right," Barbara jeered.

"Don't try it, Babs. Rose'll do it," Dick chortled, running a hand through his dark hair. He usually wore it gelled back for school, but it was messy right now and sticking up in numerous directions. Rosanna had half a mind to try and pat it down.

"I still hate you, but thanks for the faith," the brunette girl deadpanned.

"Oh, so you'll leave me with him?" Barbara butted in, mock offence in her voice as she pointed at Dick with the tip of her pencil.

Rosanna grinned. "Absolutely."

"Rude," said Dick.

"Traitor," said Barbara.

"I'm supposed to do your Spanish homework," Rosanna pointed out, ignoring the boy's comment.

Barbara looked at her evenly, before looking down at her homework that would no doubt double in volume over the next term. "… I'm dropping out with you."

"Deal," Rosanna said, laying out a hand palm-up, which Barbara high-fived.

A few moments of silence passed as the trio worked, Barbara flipping through textbook pages and Rosanna nibbling the end of her pencil.

"And done," Dick said, slamming his homework down on the side table with finality. He leaned back against Rosanna's headrest with his hands behind his head, grinning. Barbara gave him a withering look.

"You suck, Grayson," Rosanna sneered, just as there was a knock at her bedroom door, which was only open by an inch or so. The girl turned around. "Oh, hey Bea," Rosanna said, voice softer now as she saw her parental figure, who was wearing a dark brown wig over her naturally – yet easily distinguishable – green hair.

"Hey. Am I interrupting?" Beatriz asked, opening the door wider and looking around. She was familiar enough with Dick and Barbara from over the last two years.

Rosanna side-eyed Dick, still grinning easily. "No," she said.

Beatriz looked like she knew better. "Dinner's in ten. You guys staying?" she asked, looking to Rosanna's classmates.

"I don't know, are you?" Rosanna said, teasingly, turning to her two friends.

"Yeah, I'll text my dad now," Barbara told her, slipping out her phone.

"Always," Dick said, slyly.

"You sound like Wally," Rosanna drawled. "And that's not a good thing," she added quickly at the glint in Dick's eye. They shared the redhead as a mutual friend. How, Rosanna wasn't sure, but she had her suspicions. But tonight was a strictly Gotham Academy study night.

"Alright you three," Beatriz chuckled, before leaving and closing the door fully behind her.

"So, physics," Dick said as soon as she was gone, leaning forward from where he'd been lounging moments before.

Rosanna whipped her head around to face him. "I dare you."

"Swap you," Barbara offered, holding out two pieces of paper, one empty and one with a few Spanish words on it. Rosanna only glanced at it.

"Oh, definitely." They exchanged Spanish and physics homework, and Rosanna got to writing on the empty paper for Barbara to later copy down onto her own. Rosanna looked up to see Dick watching the exchange, clearly thinking of something as irritating as ever to say. "Stay whelmed, Grayson," Rosanna snapped without thinking.

Dick's eyes widened, but his lips turned up slightly. "Stay what?"

Rosanna watched the reaction curiously, before shrugging. "Friend's saying, never mind. Go back to your basking."

"Did you guys watch the news the other day?" Barbara piped up, setting aside Rosanna's physics homework as she hugged her knees to her chest.

"Nope," Dick said.

"Never," said Rosanna.

"You two are no fun," Barbara pouted.

"That's a lie," Dick protested, sounding indignant.

"Whatever, Dick. Did you see the sidekicks in Happy Harbour?" Barbara's voice was keen. Rosanna tried to hide her face while looking like the words hadn't had any personal meaning to her at all.

"Sidekicks?" Dick blurted out, now leaning forward to Barbara, one arm slung over his knee.

"Well, yeah." Barbara shrugged. "They're like a team. I saw a video of it!"

"Oh," Rosanna finally spoke up, turning away from Barbara's Spanish homework. "And?"

"C'mon, aren't you excited?" Barbara whined. "These are teenage superheroes! Y'know, actually relatable superheroes!"

"Yes, relatable with their world-class abilities, gadgets and superpowers," Dick said, voice thick with amusement.

"Still," Barbara insisted. "And there's all these articles about them, like, theorising their lives and relationships."

Rosanna set aside the homework and gave her full attention to her redheaded friend. "Oh?"

Barbara grinned now that the pair were interested. "Oh, yeah! Everyone's all for that Superboy and purple girl."

Rosanna couldn't help laughing. "What about Kid Flash?" she had to ask.

Barbara rolled her eyes. "Oh, they think he's an idiot."

"Really? Can you send me the article?" Rosanna asked in fake fascination.

"Sure."

"Thanks," Rosanna said briefly as she got her phone out to text Wally.

Barbara continued, eyes still on her phone as she forwarded the article to Rosanna, "Oh, and it's probably because they look like the two youngest but, Robin and Rose."

"What?" Rosanna exclaimed at the same time Dick, who had been sipping from his glass of water at the time, spat it out in a spray. "Grayson, what the hell?" Rosanna trilled, pulling her papers away from him.

"Sorry," he coughed.

"That was disgusting," Barbara said, scrunching up her nose.

Rosanna watched her male friend wearily, before looking back to Barbara. "Anyway, you were saying?"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and there was a muffled shout from downstairs. "Rose get the door!"

"Fine!" Rosanna shouted back, getting up from her bed and leaving the room, giving her friends an apologetic shrug. She jogged down the stairs, the smell of dinner filling her senses as she came downstairs. She huffed past the kitchen, quickly opening the front door. Rosanna's eyebrows raised. "Tora?" she asked in surprise, looking at the slender, white-haired woman standing on the doorstep. "Hi. I didn't know you were coming tonight," Rosanna greeted, stepping aside to let Beatriz's best friend inside.

"You didn't?" Tora asked as she automatically hugged Rosanna in greeting, chastely kissing her cheek as she always did. Rosanna let it happen, family friends did that stuff.

"Yeah, apparently it's 'dinner at Bea's tonight' night," Beatriz mused, coming out of the kitchen. "What's up Tora?" she asked, casually, with a tilt of her chin.

"The usual," Tora responded, in a voice so different from Beatriz's energetic, accented one. Tora's had always been flighty, yet cool, in a way that always made her seem motherly. She was dressed down for the night, short hair tied back and straying away from her usual white and blue theme of dressing. "How've you been, Anna? I heard about the team you formed, of course."

Rosanna blinked. Tora had always used the nickname 'Anna' that no one else ever had, claiming it worked best with her accent. But it was the question that caught her off guard.

"Oh, right," Rosanna said, unsurely, tucking hair behind her ear absentmindedly. Being reminded of the team only reminded her they were still waiting on an actual mission. The Twister fiasco hadn't garnered much attention, though it had only been one day ago, and Rosanna was already planning to go the Cave the next day and check in on things. For the mean time, though, it was time to be a good host. She gave Tora a small smile. "About that team…"

July 19 2010, 20:45 EDT
MOUNT JUSTICE

"M'Gann… we've been doing this for hours," Effie sighed, exhaustion weighing her down as the Martian girl floated in the air above her.

They had spent the better half of the day in the Cave's outdoor space trying to get Effie to do whatever it was she'd done with Twister the day before. M'Gann believed it was a form of telekinesis so had taken on the task of teaching Effie. It hadn't worked very well yet, and night was already starting to fall. To the side, Superboy was leaning against a tree and watching, though he looked far away.

"I know, it's just…" M'Gann said, quietly, landing in front of Effie.

"Look, no one is more annoyed I can't get it then me," Effie assured her, honestly.

"No! It's okay!" M'Gann said, hurriedly, holding up her hands. "I'm not annoyed! I was just… excited to help."

"Oh. Well… it's okay," Effie said, unsurely. Silence fell between the two girls, before M'Gann perked up.

"I have an idea. Just one more go?" the martian girl asked.

Effie frowned, but didn't have it in her to stand up and say no. "Fine. One more."

"Superboy!" M'Gann called. The clone looked up at them, strolling over.

"Uh, yeah?" he said.

"It's a bit of a, well, out there idea, but… you two should fight," M'Gann said the last part quickly, before chewing on her bottom lip.

"What?" the clone and purple girl asked in synch.

"My uncle J'onn had theories about your strength," M'Gann explained. Effie still looked unconvinced, but Superboy seemed to be okay with it.

"Yes, but I've never been in a fight at all," Effie insisted, yet another insecurity of hers besides her horrific appearance and not being able to nail this one ability from the day before.

"I won't hurt you," Superboy reassured. Effie scanned him over, not believing that for a second. She barely believed he knew his own strength, and he was far taller than her, and maybe even an inch taller than Kaldur, if her guesswork was correct.

"Yes, but you're trying to so we can see what I'm capable of," Effie said, irritation coating her voice to hide her anxiety.

"Well… yeah." Superboy frowned as he realised she was right. Effie looked between M'Gann and Superboy, who had both patiently stuck by her side the entire day as she practiced, and then thought of herself. Her agile, gymnastic self. Strength versus speed.

"Fine. Okay. Let's get this over with," Effie relented.

M'Gann left the area, landing a few feet away while Effie and Superboy took stances on opposite sides of the grassy area. Effie swallowed thickly, and she was sure the clone could hear her nervous heartbeat. And then he charged. Effie had moved in an instant, ducking and rolling. Superboy leapt at her and she flipped back, her hands never touching the ground. She landed upright as she was taught, just as Superboy came at her again.

The clone drove his fist forward and Effie held up her forearms in defence, prepared to be slammed to the ground. As soon as Superboy's fist made contact, a shockwave spread out from the pair, and Superboy was thrown back a few feet, and the trees around them rippled.

M'Gann had been sent into the air, where she was currently hovering above, staring down at Effie with shining eyes. "That was…"

"Holy shit," Effie breathed, uncurling and staring at her hands, and for the first time her first thought while looking at them was not their appearance. No, her first though was the power behind them, behind her. She looked up at Superboy who was just staring at her from across the clearing.

"Well done!" M'Gann exclaimed, landing and wrapping her arms around Effie's neck suddenly. Superboy chuckled at the look on Effie's face, who was again caught off guard by the martian's affection.

"Thanks, M'Gann," Effie got out, gently pushing M'Gann off her as Superboy came up behind them. "Sorry," she said to the clone.

"Don't worry about it," he said dismissively.

Effie looked back to the martian girl. "But now we can call it a day."

"Of course," M'Gann nodded, still looking proud.

"I'm hungry," Superboy said abruptly.

"It's too late to make dinner," M'Gann sighed.

"And I'm way too tired," Effie admitted, exhaustion from using her 'ability' already present as with Twister. Her face brightened as an idea struck her. "Let's get takeout. Have a movie night-in," she suddenly suggested. Superboy perked up.

"… takeout?" M'Gann said, cautiously.

"Takeaway, fast food? No?" Effie frowned at the looks of confusion from M'Gann and Superboy. "Okay, well, you phone in a place, order food, then go fetch it, bring it back, eat in. Takeout," Effie said, quickly, holding out her arms at the end as if it were some grand announcement.

"That sounds great!" M'Gann exclaimed.

"Also, no offence, but you're both behind on pretty much all movies," Effie added, putting her hands in her jeans pockets.

"True. My uncle J'onn used to send broadcasts back to Mars, but not much," M'Gann admitted.

"I've never watched a movie," Superboy said.

"And we're fixing that tonight," Effie told him. "Trust me, you're in great hands. I used to…" she trailed off, throat tightening. A second later, she cleared her throat and continued, "Never mind. Great. I can order, and then you two just need to make sure you pick it up on time."

"Us? What about you?" M'Gann asked, looking to Superboy then back to Effie.

"I'll wait here," she told them. "C'mon, guys, I can't exactly go out like this," Effie added at the pair's confused looks. She had also subconsciously gestured to herself, dressed simply in a black turtleneck sweater and dark blue skinny jeans.

"You look fine," Superboy said, scanning over her briefly.

Effie gave him a sad smile. "Maybe to you guys." She shrugged. "Just go, I'll be here when you get back. Besides, I need time to pick out all the movies." She added a smile at the end for good measure, which seemed to convince the pair.

Only once they had ordered inside the Cave, and the pair had gone, did Effie's face fall and she looked down at her hands again, which she now only saw as hideous.

July 20 2010, 21:32 EDT
MOUNT JUSTICE

"Seen it, seen it, seen it, seen it, don't want to see it," Wally drawled from the couch, changing the channel each time. Rosanna resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she was slumped in a nearby armchair, papers strewn around her in the Cave's loungeroom. While Rosanna had papers, Wally had empty chip and candy packets surrounding him. "Boring. Don't own any stocks. Already got a slap chop. Seen it, seen it, seen it," he continued.

Rosanna loudly flicked a piece of paper in her hand. "You good over there?" she asked, dryly.

"No. I can't believe we get six hundred channels on this thing and there's nothing on," Wally responded without even looking over at Rosanna.

"I saw about ten things worth watching," she replied, eyes not leaving her work either.

"Why are you even here, babe?" Wally asked.

"Why are you?" Rosanna fired back. She shrugged after a moment. "Needed some peace and quiet," she answered. "Final piece of homework and then I can– relax," she yawned, stretching her arms over her head in her seat. "But I'm not getting much of that with you, apparently."

"See, well, I'm not the quiet type," Wally said with a grin, now looking at Rosanna. Her eyes flicked up from her Spanish work, lips twisting. Wally was only focused on her for a few more moments before M'Gann entered the kitchen, nose buried in a book. Wally was gone in a blur and appeared right in front of the martian girl, leaning against the wall. "Hey there," he greeted in his tone he thought girls found attractive.

Rosanna dramatically rolled her eyes and focused back on her work. M'Gann startled and looked up from her book. "Oh, hello Wally."

"Hey!" Wally said again. "Are you busy? Uhh… I mean…" He cleared his throat and his voice went a touch deeper. "What's going on?"

"Not much. I was just going to make a sandwich. Would you like one?" M'Gann replied good-naturedly. Her brown eyes flickered behind her to see Rosanna, curled over her homework. "You, too, Rose?" The brunette briefly looked up.

She hadn't seen M'Gann since the Mister Twister fiasco, but that wasn't why she regarded the martian girl so warily. Rosanna didn't like the idea of a telepath invading her mind, taking out her secrets she'd so carefully hidden and unravelling them to the world. She'd worked hard to remake herself and she didn't want the girl to instantly undo all of it in a second. She had developed a feeling of discomfort about the martian and she realised that she didn't trust the girl. Not yet. If someone on the team could get into her head and relive the horrors, she didn't want anything to do with them.

Before Rosanna could answer the question since she was actually starving, Wally continued speaking, forcing M'Gann to look back to him. "Oh, no thanks," the redheaded boy said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I pretty much cleaned out everything that was in here already."

"Well, you're not wrong," Rosanna spoke up, still not looking up, which seemed to frustrate Wally more as he sent her a warning glare.

"Which reminds me," he continued, "someone needs to go shopping. You got anything planned for tonight?" Rosanna actually did look up this time, too stunned by Wally asking M'Gann to go grocery shopping as a date.

"No," M'Gann responded, holding her hands and book behind her back. "I was just planning on hanging around the cave tonight."

"Oh, really? That's cool! Hey… um… here's an idea. Do you, like, want to go to the movies?" Wally said, all very quickly and awkwardly. Rosanna couldn't help raising a single brow as she listened to Wally finally asking M'Gann out.

"Sure, I would love to!" M'Gann agreed, which surprised Rosanna even more. "But… I don't have any money," the martian added, dejectedly. Oh, there it was.

"Oh. Me neither," Wally sighed, looking at the floor in defeat.

"Smooth," Rosanna piped up.

Wally gave her an annoyed look. "Don't you have any money?"

Rosanna held out a pencil. "I've got stationary."

"Whatever," he said dismissively, turning back to M'Gann and putting on his grin again. "Hey! How about surfing? You and I can hit the waves, I could teach you how to surf, Kid Flash style!" Wally said, striking a ridiculous pose emulating surfing.

M'Gann just blinked. "Wouldn't it be better in the daytime?"

"Oh… I guess you're right. Probably too dark out," Wally relented. An awkward silence fell between them, M'Gann looking patient and Wally frowning, the only sound being Rosanna's pencil on paper. And then, "There's a full moon out tonight. Want to sit outside and look at the stars?" Rosanna paused. That was oddly romantic.

"Oh, that sounds nice," M'Gann smiled, the first real hint of enthusiasm in her voice.

Wally grinned. "Great! We can build a fire and everything."

M'Gann frowned. "Oh… a fire?"

Wally, clearly too hyped by the apparent success of asking M'Gann out, continued, "Yeah, you know, a nice roaring campfire–"

"Dude," Rosanna snapped.

Wally's smile formed a small 'o' in realisation. "Oh, shit, sorry, I forgot," he said, quickly, running a hand through his hair.

M'Gann held up her hands. "No, it's okay. As long as I don't have to sit too close," she compromised.

Wally's eyes lit up seeing he hadn't yet failed. "Great! Tonight would be perfect! We can roast marshmallows and everything!"

M'Gann's interest piqued. "Marshmallows? I've never had a marshmallow before!"

"We can make s'mores, you know, with graham crackers and chocolate and stuff," Wally told her excitedly.

"I've heard of them but never had one. Can we make those?" M'Gann asked with a childlike fascination.

"Of course!" Wally instantly agreed. "What do you think?"

"Yes!"

"Great!"

"Oh, this is going to be very exciting!" M'Gann exclaimed, grinning.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll grab some things and we can go," Wally said, speeding off down the hall, leaving silence behind him.

"Aren't you coming, Rose?" M'Gann asked as she made to leave the kitchen/lounge area. Rosanna looked up from her homework, which she was currently rereading and spellchecking.

"I– what?" Rosanna asked stunned. Did M'Gann not get that this was a date?

"Aren't you coming outside with us for s'mores and, well everything?" M'Gann questioned. At Rosanna's still-confused look, she continued, "It seems wrong to exclude you! Or, the others for that matter…"

A devious smirk curved Rosanna's features. "No, you're right," the brunette chimed, uncurling herself from the armchair and getting to her feet. "I've finished my work anyway." She shrugged and placed her final piece of completed homework down on the table. "I'll call Robin and Kaldur in, you can get Effie and Superboy?" Rosanna asked M'Gann.

"Okay! This is so exciting!" she repeated, before flying off down the hallway to presumably call in the other Cave-dwellers.

Rosanna watched her go, and was already prepared for the chaos of the night. "Oh, Wally's gonna kill me," she whispered to herself, with no hint of remorse.

And just a few minutes later, the entire team was gathered in the kitchen waiting for Wally; Robin and Rosanna exchanging wicked smirks knowing what they had just done.

"…gathered a couple of chairs, some firewood, scrounged the pantry for graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows and now we'll cosy up together outside–" Wally skidded to a stop as he sped in and saw the entire team waiting, "–just the two of us?"

"We're going to need a lot more stuff than that if we're gonna go camping!" Robin snarked, presumably eyeing the piles of stuff Wally was barely carrying in his arms through his sunglasses.

"I hope you don't mind; I invited all the others to join in the fun with the s'mores," M'Gann told Wally innocently.

"Of course," Wally managed to get out through his initial shock, sending Rosanna a deadly look.

Effie wasn't quite sure how she had ended up outside camping underneath the stars with the Team, but she wasn't complaining. Well, much. They'd set up only a few feet from the entrance to the Cave underneath the moon, with a few tents scattered about and a large fire in the centre surrounded by two large logs to sit on.

Wally, Rosanna and Robin were lazing together on one side, the young bat roasting a marshmallow and the redheaded speedster already gorging on a s'more. On the other side of Wally sat Rosanna, who lazily had her hand in his bag of chips. M'Gann and Kaldur were keeping their distance from the fire, but remained close. Conner sat alone on the other side on the second log, while Effie sat in the middle on the grass, knees pulled up to her chest and tail curling around her feet.

"This was a great idea don't you think Wally? Camping in the great outdoors!" Robin said, snidely, looking sideways at the redhead.

"I don't remember inviting you," Wally grumbled. "Besides, I didn't say anything about camping. I said a campfire. Big difference between just a campfire and the whole camping thing. I don't like camping… outside…" he trailed off, before glancing over his shoulder. "Unless of course I'm camping outside with that special someone."

"Dude, kinda bordering on creepy," Robin chastised.

"Well, I think all of us camping together is a wonderful idea!" M'Gann exclaimed from behind them as she dug into a s'more.

"She doesn't seem to think so," Wally said, smugly, to Robin.

"She's too high on sugar to know better," Rosanna deadpanned. Wally ripped his bag of chips away from her. "That was uncalled for," she hissed.

"Thanks to Wally I get to try s'mores for the first time!" M'Gann said around a mouthful.

Wally craned his neck to look behind to M'Gann. "What can I say? I'm a sweetie. Ha! Get it? Cause s'mores are sweet?"

"You're awful," Rosanna and Robin said in synch. Wally sent them looks, but they ignored it as Robin passed Rosanna a s'more in exchange for Wally's bag of chips. Effie smiled to herself as she watched the interactions between her teammates that she didn't feel like she could be a part of.

A few moments of silence passed as the fire crackled on, marshmallows were roasted, and passed back to Kaldur and M'Gann. Robin even offered Effie one, as she was sitting closest to him, and she had accepted with a soft 'thanks.'

"So, this is what you do when you go camping?" Superboy spoke up, breaking the silence. Effie glanced up from the grass to see Superboy gesturing to the tents around them. "Sleep in these flimsy things called 'tents' and sit around the fire?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much about it so if you feel like heading home I can sit out here with Ms M… alone," Wally remarked, crossing his arms.

Robin leaned back, smirking, the fire reflecting in his sunglasses. "You're about as subtle as a train wreck, you know that?"

"You're not going to catch any fish unless you go fishing, dude," Wally said, mouth stuffed with a s'more. He turned his head slightly to look at Kaldur who was sitting behind him next to M'Gann. "Sorry, no offence." Kaldur just looked amused.

"You usually tell stories around a campfire," Effie finally spoke up, looking to Superboy with a small smile.

"Oh! I would love to hear your story, Kaldur. Could you tell us how you became Aqualad?" M'Gann asked eagerly.

"It's usually more of a ghost story type thing but I guess… whatever," Robin said, crossing his arms as he gazed into the fire.

"Oh, I suppose I could do that if you do not think it will be too boring," Kaldur responded, sounding unsure. Effie wished she had the confidence to say how much she wanted to hear about him and Atlantis.

Luckily for her, M'Gann had no such qualms, and eagerly said, "Not at all! I would love to hear it."

Effie looked to Kaldur, attention solely on him as he began to speak, "Well, I grew up in the city of Shayeris, which is a city in Atlantis. Surface dwellers think all Atlanteans are the same, but our kingdom has many cities, many people, many cultures.

When I was twelve, I completed my education and began my mandatory service in the Atlantean military which is the standard for all at that age. After a while I was transferred to the prestigious Conservatory of Sorcery in the Atlantean capital of Poseidonis. Queen Mera is the headmistress of the Conservatory and wife of King Orin, Aquaman.

It was a very different time for me. It was difficult, as it would be for anyone at age fourteen, I suppose, but also a time in my life where I met friends that I know will be with me for a lifetime.

Then came a day… a horrible day when Poseidonis was attacked by the Ocean Master. I can remember it vividly, as if it happened only yesterday. It was the day Aquaman nearly met his end. Aquaman and Ocean Master fought for what seemed like hours. When they clashed, it seemed to shake the very foundation of the city.

Ocean Master had gained the upper hand and nearly defeated Aquaman. Correction… Aquaman was defeated. Garth, a fellow student, and I intervened on the King's behalf. It was the only thing we could think of doing. The danger did not occur to us, the only thing that mattered to us at the time was that our king was in trouble.

It may have been one of the most foolish things Garth and I had ever done, as we nearly met our own end. We had no hope of defeating him whatsoever, but the time we spent engaged in battle against Ocean Master was time enough for our king to recover. That was all he needed as Aquaman finally triumphed over Ocean Master! He was able to drive him away from the city and save us all.

Aquaman is a being of two worlds. On the surface world, he fights for justice for all beings. Under the sea, he is a leader to many. Both carry the weight of responsibilities, overwhelming responsibilities only even the best of men can carry for so long. Even Aquaman cannot do both forever.

Realising that on the surface both Batman, Green Arrow and even Fire had taken on apprentices that could one day take over their respective mantles, King Orin had been contemplating the same idea. With this in mind, he approached both Garth and myself with the possibility of becoming his protégés. I must admit the possibility intrigued me immediately. I had never been to the surface world, and I am the first to admit that I am a bit of an adventurer. Many is the day in class that I would dream of visiting distant oceans and possibly one day even the surface world.

Both Garth and I seriously considered the king's offer. Garth ultimately chose to continue his studies with Queen Mera at the Conservatory of Sorcery. For me, however, the chance to visit the surface world was a dream come true. So, at the age of fourteen, I became Aqualad.

I mis my friends Garth and Tula… but the chance to work with my mentor and king was an opportunity I could not pass up. I like to think the work I am doing makes a difference. The rest of the story you know. Aquaman brought Aqualad to the surface world… and now I am here with you."

Effie took a few moments to process Kaldur's story when he finished, all the sorcery, his dedication to actually wanting to be a superhero, his bravery, everything. She looked at him with a newfound respect, but also sadness. He had wanted this life.

"Wow! So, you wanted to be Aqualad?" M'Gann asked in fascination.

"Yes. The opportunity arose, and I could think of no other path," Kaldur replied.

"Can't say the same," Effie said without thinking. She immediately regretted it as everyone turned to look at her sitting alone on the grass. "I mean about wanting to be here, not to Kaldur– I mean… damn it." She looked away, flushed.

"What do you mean… not wanting to be here?" Robin asked, cautiously.

Effie gnawed the inside of her cheek. "Guess it's my turn, huh?" she asked. "Exchanging life stories?" She did not want to do this.

Kaldur seemed to pick up on this. "If you do not feel comfortable–"

"It's fine," she cut him off. She refused to break face in front of these people. Kaldur had shared, and now apparently it was her turn. And… she hadn't talked about anything really since the crash.

"I was actually born in London, but moved to Star City when I was just a toddler," Effie started, trying to start off easy and draw out the time until the most recent part. "Only child, nice school, and mum had me in gymnastics and dance classes for as long as I can remember. I was good at it, and by the time I was fourteen I was already in classes more often than actual school hours a week. But whatever, I enjoyed it."

Effie frowned, realising her life wasn't really that interesting up until recently. She let out a sigh and delivered the blow. "I didn't always look like this." The reactions were instant but she continued on, her chest tightening as she went. "On the fourth of July… my best friend was driving me home from a party when we had a head-on collision. Mel– I– I mean my friend… was dead at the scene, but I was rushed to hospital. I… I don't remember much, but when I woke up… I looked like this a-and had these powers and…"

She swallowed, thickly. "My mum could hardly look at me, and d–… my father refused to see me when I woke up. Doctors and nurses couldn't explain what happened… they said the physical trauma triggered something. But who knows?" Effie quickly wiped at her eyes. "All I know is I should be dead, but I'm not," she finished.

M'Gann's eyes were wide. "Effie–"

"Sorry, I'm the buzzkill," she cut the other girl off. "Let's… move on."

"No. You should not be dead. You should be here, among friends who accept you," Kaldur told her firmly. "And we do." Effie looked up from the grass.

"Kaldur's right! Appearances don't mean anything here or, well, at least to me," M'Gann chimed in. "On Mars, we're all shapeshifters so of course what's on the outside doesn't matter," she explained.

Effie felt lighter than she had in weeks, and it felt as if a weight had been partially lifted from her chest. "Thanks," she managed, smiling softly.

"Besides, like I said the other day, we're all turbed you're on the team," Robin added on, giving her a close-lipped smile.

"Also, the whole parents' thing, take it from me that you can choose your real family," Rosanna told her with a shrug, before taking a bite of a s'more.

"Also, you're hot," Wally said ungracefully. Effie couldn't help the smile that graced her features at someone actually still flirting with her – however serious – in her current state.

"Wally!" Rosanna elbowed the speedster in the ribs.

He looked exasperated. "What? It's true!"

Effie smiled, genuinely, before shaking her head. "Well, anyway, I'm here by circumstance, not necessarily choice like Kaldur."

"Yeah?" Wally finally asked. "If you think he wanted to be Aqualad so bad, let me tell you about how I got started." He gestured to himself with his thumb.

"And now you've hit on every girl on the team," Rosanna chortled. Wally ignored her.

"It literally goes back a couple of generations… Each generation of Flash started with a bang! Literally! Jay Garrick was in a freak lab accident. Boom, there it is! During the 40s and 50s he was everywhere! The fastest man alive! Jay Garrick was the world's first Flash! Then one day this guy comes along, huge fan of the Flash, wanting to know all about this Jay Garrick – back in those days Jay didn't really hide his identity. He contacts Jay and the two spend hours and hours talking about his adventures and about the accident that turned him into the Flash. This guy even goes so far as to recreate the accident that created the original. But where Jay Garrick's accident was a total freak thing, this guy recreated the accident under laboratory conditions.

He set the whole thing up in a lab and tried to make it happen! Result? Still a big explosion, but, lo and behold he becomes Speedy-McSpeed-Speed himself! Now he's the Flash! Well, not the original Flash, but the new Flash… the Flash we all know! I mean, there's the Jay Garrick Flash and now there's the new Flash. You know, it just occurred to me they could probably use names. Anyway…

This time he's even faster than Flash. Well, the old Flash… it gave him even more speed! Okay, so check this! The second Flash is a fan of the first Flash – Jay Garrick. It turns out great minds think alike, cause I was a fan of the Flash – the second one, not the first one. Well, I was a fan of Jay Garrick, the first one after I got to know him, he was a little before my time."

"Any day now, West," Rosanna remarked. Wally ignored her jab again.

"Long story short, one day I was in my uncle's house, stumbled across his notebook and got the shock of a lifetime! That was the day I found out my uncle was the Flash! Once the shock passed a bit, I kept reading. He was keeping a journal of all his experience and experiments! Especially the one that made him the Flash, the second one, not the first–"

"We get it already!" Robin cut in.

"When I found that out, I would kind of keep hinting to my uncle that the Flash could maybe use a partner. I tried to convince him that Flash could use and probably needed a partner. I mean come on, by this time Bats already had Robbie over here, Green Arrow had Speedy and Fire even had Rose for some reason! This was a no-brainer! I've got to admit, Flash was a bit hesitant at first."

Superboy crossed his arms and sighed, "Does this sound confusing to anyone else?"

"Yes," Effie said, immediately.

"Just let me finish and you will be confused no more, Supey. And Nighty." Effie narrowed her eyes. "So, having seen his journal just like he saw the previous Flash's, I try to recreate the experiment with my own chemistry set. And what do you know? I was able to do it!"

"The experiment actually worked?" Kaldur asked, sounding mildly impressed.

Wally winced. "Well… not at first, actually. It didn't happen right away, but a couple of weeks later I was off and running. I couldn't wait to show Flash! When he saw that I had powers, how could he not want me as a partner?

You guys should've seen his face when I showed him! This time he jumped at the chance to have a partner! Flash couldn't wait to show the world! The Flash was beyond ecstatic! He couldn't contain his excitement! It was the greatest day in the history of the world! Why, you ask?"

"Just for the record, we didn't," Robin smirked, in a way that said he'd heard this story before. Beside him, Rosanna only looked mildly interested.

"That's the day the world got Kid Flash!" Wally raised his head and crossed his arms confidently as he finished his story. "You. Are. Welcome."

Despite herself, Effie found herself smiling at the Team, a team she was apart of who had verbalised their acceptance for her. Rosanna's words of choosing her family rung in her ears as she uncurled her body, stretching out legs and leaning back on her hands on the grass. A first step, she reminded herself.

July 20 2010, 23:00 EDT
MOUNT JUSTICE

Rosanna rolled her eyes as Wally finally finished his dramatically told origin story, one which she had already heard before on multiple occasions.

"Joy," Rosanna said, sarcastically when the redhead had finished.

"Yeah, we're all thrilled you're so speed capable," Robin added, leaning his arm on his knee.

"What's the matter? Jealous?" Wally grinned, leaning down from his log-seat to look at Robin.

The raven-haired boy laughed, "Sheeyeah, right! Jealous of you?"

"Can you tell us about how you got started, Robin?" M'Gann asked innocently.

Wally burst into laughter now. "Are you kidding me? Bats won't even let him tell you his real name!" Wally held his fingers against the top of his head in a mocking impression of Batman. "I mean…" the redhead trailed off as he looked at Robin, whose face had uncharacteristically fallen. Rosanna furrowed her brows. "You'll probably get a better origin story out of Supey over here," Wally finished, gesturing to the clone.

"But you already told me his story, didn't you? You said that the four of you rescued him from Cadmus," M'Gann said.

"Yeah, we did," Wally said, sounding proud.

"Yes," Kaldur nodded. "Chronologically, Superboy is only eighteen weeks old."

"And you have no memory of things before being rescued?" M'Gann said, curiously, leaning forward in her seat.

Superboy didn't look at anyone, just stared into the fire. "I have some memories… from the G-Gnome. It would teach me about the outside while I was in the containment pod."

"So, you can remember things? When you were in the containment pod, they would feed you information and you could remember it, right?" M'Gann questioned.

"I guess so," the clone said, simply.

"Well, if you can remember what they taught you, you must've been thinking about things as they fed you information. What did you think about?" Rosanna had half a mind to tell M'Gann to lay off the intense questions, but she was also curious.

"When I was in the containment pod, I was fed… information. I really didn't start thinking for myself until after I got out."

M'Gann's voice was softer now, "Well… what kind of things do you think about now?"

Superboy was silent for a moment, in which everyone subconsciously shifted, as if that would let them hear better, as they all looked at the clone so isolated from them it looked like some kind of talk show.

"The one thing…" Superboy said, slowly, "that's always on my mind… is destroying Superman." Everyone's reactions were of surprise, and Rosanna choked on the water she was drinking from her bottle.

"Robin, did you hear what he said?" Wally said, quietly.

"Huh? What?" Robin asked, sounding distant. Still trying to clear her windpipe of water, Rosanna glanced warily at the young bat.

"Did you hear what Superboy said?" Wally repeated, as Superboy stood up and turned his back to the team, clenching his fists. "He just said he wants to take down Superman!" Wally exclaimed, throwing out a hand towards the clone.

Rosanna slapped the hand, causing Wally to immediately lower it. "Okay, calm down, Speedy Gonzalez," she chastised, blue-green eyes briefly flicking to Robin who still looked far away.

"Are you serious?" M'Gann asked. "Superboy?"

"What if that's why I was created? What if that was the only reason I was created?" Superboy said, softly, still turned away from the team.

M'Gann shook her head. "That's not possible!"

"But also, so what?" Rosanna said, voice strong. "It doesn't matter why you exist or what your initial purpose was. You're alive, and that gives you all the right in the world to make your own choice," she concluded, the words so close to her own life. She felt eyes on her and briefly looked to her side around Wally to see Robin gazing at her as she spoke. Feeling unsettled, Rosanna looked back to Superboy.

"Yeah! And look at all the good stuff you've done so far!" Wally chimed in with a grin.

"What would be the possible reasoning behind this thinking?" Kaldur asked, calmly.

"I just feel… I don't know what I feel. Sometimes thoughts… happen," Superboy told them, sounding guilty.

"Those would be silly thoughts! You should put them out of your head," M'Gann said in a way only someone who had never experienced such thoughts could.

"He does have a valid point. We really don't know anything about what they did to him yet," Robin reasoned, still sounding far away.

"We know he's one of the good guys and we know he's part of this team!" Wally said, getting to his feet with a s'more in his hand.

"You ever hear the saying 'actions speak louder than words'?" Effie spoke up. Rosanna turned to her. The white-haired girl had been quiet for most of the night since her own origin story, which had earned her Rosanna's sympathy. "That applies here," Effie said, softly.

"Yeah! You put those thoughts outta your head Supey!" Wally cheered, speeding so he was beside the clone, a hand on his shoulder. "Here, have another s'more."

Superboy accepted the s'more, but still didn't turn back to the others. "Thanks everyone."

Wally came back over to his seat where Rosanna had slid off the log and to the ground like Robin, warming her feet in front of the fire. "Hey, what's with you? Not like you to zone out like that," the redheaded boy asked as he reclaimed his seat between the two younger teenagers.

"I guess Superboy isn't the only one lost in thought tonight," Robin responded, Rosanna looking at him carefully, even though he'd stayed staring into the fire. "Hey, so Rose," he said, suddenly, turning to her, "what's your story?"

She raised her eyebrows, looking around to see the others paying attention, even Superboy. "I mean… sure." She shrugged easily, but a bitter taste had already filled her mouth.

"I grew up in Brazil, obviously, uh, with my mum. I never knew my dad, he was in an accident before I was even born, so it's okay," she added hastily at the sympathetic looks she received, hoping her hasty lie didn't bleed through. "We moved around a lot, and I spent a lot of time climbing in the trees and playing in the river with other kids," she continued, fondness evident in her voice now. This part wasn't a lie at least. "My mum taught me everything I know, from fighting and capoeira, to how to cook and pay bills."

"Capoeira?" M'Gann cut in curiously.

"Yeah. It's a Brazilian dance slash martial art," Rosanna replied, pulling her legs closer to her body and crossing them under her. "She was the best, at it and in general. She taught me everything she knew. And… she always loved helping people regardless of what happened to her… and I like to think I've done her justice."

"I've always been able to heal the way I have, born with it, and I never got sick as a child or worried about falling from trees since, hey, healing factor," Rosanna said, lightly, with a small smile. But then she frowned, knowing what part of the story came next. "I was eleven when there was a fire and… and my mum didn't make it. Beat– Fire found me, of course, and it was weird at first since our abilities were so different but… we clicked and she mentored me despite it. The rest is history."

"Why didn't you stay in Brazil? I've heard it's beautiful!" M'Gann said, shyly.

"It is, trust me," Rosanna sighed. "It just… reminded me of everything, y'know?"

"And your scar?" Effie asked. Oh, that was reckless. Rosanna turned her eyes to the purple girl, warily.

"An accident. Some bitch tried to mug me and missed," Rosanna lied as casually as possible. Not like she hadn't been lying for most of her origin story. Or, at least omitting some truths… Nope, she was lying. She knew that. Right through her teeth.

"But… your healing?" Kaldur wondered aloud.

"I don't know. I always guessed there must be some metals, or minerals, out there I'm not immune to," she admitted, which was true enough. But she knew something beyond a common mugging knife had cut up her face. "But, yeah, that's me," Rosanna concluded, looking at Robin, whose gaze had not shifted from her throughout the entire story.

She looked away after a few moments and began playing with the laces of her shoes absentmindedly as she thought about her scar, and how much of a lie she'd just told her teammates.

When she'd first met Beatriz and her original face wound was fresher, still pink, she'd asked countless times how it'd happened. Rosanna repeated the mugging story before coming clean about what had actually happened, who she was, everything. And then she'd been taken in. In the first month, all Beatriz looked at while having a face-to-face conversation with Rosanna was the scar below her eye.

Whenever Rosanna met new people, most would rudely stare at the scar. But no one ever dared ask. Rosanna had originally tried to cover it up with makeup for school, but she'd quickly given up. She'd survived, she didn't need to hide that. Though she still received suspicious looks from most of the kids at school, Rosanna had gotten used to it. Some of the kids were scared of Rosanna, believing her to be some kind of undercover agent with bad intentions. They weren't that far off.

Rosanna's closest friends at school, Barbara and Dick never bothered her about her scar. Barbara said it made her look badass, and never looked anywhere but her eyes. The same went for Dick, who actually seemed to avoid speaking about it.

When Rosanna had first been introduced to the other protégés, Kaldur had acted polite, shaking her hand and introducing himself. But Rosanna hadn't missed the tell-tale glance looking just below her eye level. He'd never really been bothered by it again and after she'd gotten to know him better, Rosanna understood it was because he focused on everyone's strengths, not their flaws.

Wally seemed to think it was cool, like some sort of hero trademark from a film or something. Rosanna would've thought that, if it was smooth, thin and went over her eye, not a jagged, thick line down to her chin. Rosanna admired Wally for trying to make her feel more comfortable about the mark, but the thought of whose blade had inflicted it was always in the back of Rosanna's mind. She also knew Wally wasn't as accepting as he made himself seem. There were a few times that Rosanna had caught Wally staring at her scar, but he'd hurriedly meet her eyes or look away when he realised he'd been caught.

It was with Robin that Rosanna had never managed to tell. He was always wearing a mask or sunglasses, so Rosanna couldn't have judged what he first thought of her when she met him. They had been civvies, her scar wide in the open, and he'd hardly flinched. Sometimes Rosanna found herself uncomfortable around Robin, because wherever he was, she could never read him. He was good at hiding his body language, and if he'd looked at her scar, she'd never know. Rosanna considered herself a friend – a teammate – to Robin. But, really, she didn't know who he even was. She knew nothing about him.

And, from the looks of it, she never would, as he remained quiet around the fire as everyone recounted their origin stories.

But, most of all it seemed, the scar was a reminder of what Rosanna could've been. She looked briefly to Superboy, who'd sat back down as M'Gann recited her origins story, that Rosanna was hardly present for. She hated that she saw herself in the clone, and that she couldn't say anything about it. Not unless she wanted her friends to lose all their trust in her, or see her in a completely different light. She'd tell them one day, what the scar was really a symbol of, but now was not the right time.

And she had no idea when it ever would be.

A/N: I initially didn't plan to write out the dialogue for everyone's origin stories since it's a massive exposition dump but ended up going for it anyway. The only one I cut out was M'Gann's since it's not even fully true anyway, and the cut-off felt right where it was. I also initially had a heart-to-heart between Robin and Rosanna, plus the ending of the comic where everyone goes to bed but honestly? I felt this ending was better.

I also tried my best to integrate the two first scenes, since they count as filler but also count as more insight into the characters and development/foundations for future arcs, but I'm still bothered by how they flow with the rest of the chapter. Anyway, that's all, Dropzone is the next chapter, and I hope you enjoyed!