AN: Sorry for this story taking as long as it is. Between long work hours and home life, its hard to just sit and write. But its still slowly getting done. Also, I cant believe today is the last three episodes of season three of YJ and the day Godzilla King of the Monsters comes out. Mind...blown.

17.

Happy Harbor

October

For the last week, Mar'i was gradually allowed to work with the group of teens. It was needless to say that all eyes were on her every time she showed up to participate in group exercises. A blood test was performed as well as using Cassie's Lasso of Truth. She passed, which was why she was allowed to be at the base with the leaders from the three teams watching her carefully while testing her powers. As for the blood test, all but a few were surprised when it was announced her genetic parent's identities.

This, of course, put a strain on various people.

Her status in school instantly changed after a few days back as she was dropped off in a stretch limo with a bodyguard opening the door for her while the driver waited patiently. Students immediately gave her their attention as the girls behaved like satellites around her and the boys attempted to show off. None registered to her as she was always seen around Carter, much to the annoyance of the self proclaimed "queen" of the school, Joslyn.

The two were almost inseparable as Mar'i coyly hung onto his arm when they met up. Even Carter's friend, Carlos noticed a change in the teen's behavior as Carter began to show up late for class every now and then. The days they were supposed to go to the movies, meet up for lunch in the cafeteria, check out the new comics, movies, video games, and such, Carter had shirked them all to the point the Hispanic boy began to think he was no longer wanted as a friend anymore.

But that was not all.

Black Ops Base:

"Again?!" Adjusting her shirt and tying it in a knot above her stomach, Irey stared daggers at Carter who flew into the training center below ground where the others were working out.

"Sorry," Carter told her as he landed and morphed his clothing to that of gym shorts, sneakers, and a tank top. "We were held up."

"It was my fault entirely," Mar'i told her. "I needed to ditch my driver and bodyguard after school and Carter was kind enough to help me."

"Three days in a row?" Zachary asked.

"My brother's really overprotective sometimes," Mar'i said, "and since he thinks Carter's my boyfriend-"

"Boyfriend?!" The group of teens said in unison as Carter blushed.

Central City:

It was another night of surprises for the teens. Launching a one person robbery spree, Billy hit over fifty jewelry stores, drawing the attention of the teens as they had a personal stake in taking him down. Trying to lead the others, Aquagirl issued orders while Kid Flash attempted to round up a dozen or so Billys on her own. Robin managed to crash into Zachary as he went for a spell to freeze the copies in place and SuperMartian misjudged an attack, the aftermath resulted in a hydrant exploding and Billy getting away, albeit without his loot.

All this while Mar'i tried to help but was ignored as the Aquagirl had yet to trust her.

Hoover Dam, Nevada:

The next familiar face they went up against was one of the twins attacking a hydro electric plant meant to replace the aging Hoover Dam. The current barrier was in desperate need of repair and its replacement was designed to generate higher amounts of energy than its predecessor, meaning it could power close to three to four states with the amount of energy it could supply.

This time, the teens had a plan as Aquagirl led the charge with a shark tailed Supermartian providing backup. Zachary made sure the dam was secured by using a spell to freeze the water, creating an additional wall while Kid Flash searched the interior of the new and old plants for bombs. As she brought them out, Robin disarmed them as well as evacuate any workers or tourists they came across. Mar'i; however, was left out of the mission, charged with "protecting" the Supercycle on loan from Titan Tower where Sphere would normally be plugged into the computer systems of the League and various teams.

With the dams cleared and safe, and after a drawn out fight with the water shifting woman, the team of vigilante teenagers made their way beck to where the Supercycle was stashed. Given two of the five could fly, it did not take long for them to make it back with Supermartian carrying Aquagirl, and Zachary levitating both Kid Flash and Robin.

"And under the cover of nightfall," Kid Flash narrated in a dramatic voice, "the team of next gen heroes kicked butt, making their parents proud of them and hopefully forgetting about how the charming and gorgeous speedster was grounded for falling asleep during her math class. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, Kid Flash and Company!"

Giving a unanimous moan, the others scoffed at the "team name" and settled down next to the Supercycle.

"We gotta hurry back home," Zachary told his friends, "I still have English homework due tomorrow."

"I still have to finish my project for Science class," Robin added.

"What subject?" Irey asked.

"Human reproduction."

Snickering, Zachary stopped himself, as did Supermartian, at what they could only guess at what the young girl's project looked like.

"(Sigh) Boys," Aquagirl muttered.

"Maybe Mar'i and Carter could, wait, where is Mar'i?" Looking around the area, Kid Flash could find no trace of the new addition.

"I told her to wait right here." Grabbing a light, Aquagirl shone it around the sentient cycle.

"Sphere, girl," Supermartian asked. "Where did Mar'i go?"

Receiving a series of beeps, Supermartian waited for the living machine's onboard translated to work. "She heard a noise? Did you pick up on anything?"

Sphere answered with a few more beeps.

"What she say?" Kid Flash asked.

"Said there was a heat signature fifty yards west but she can only detect Mar'i's right now." Taking to the air, Supermartian flew in the new girl's direction.

"Carter," Aquagirl said sternly. "Carter!"

No sooner had Supermartian took off when the others heard Mar'i's footsteps among the grass. Landing some twenty feet from the group, Supermartian found himself face to face with the aforementioned girl. She let out a surprised shriek as she stepped out from a large bush.

"Geez, handing out heart attacks?" Mar'i asked.

"Sor-" Supermartian began.

"Where were you?" Aquagirl demanded.

"Um, classified?" Mar'i answered.

"I told you to stay with Sphere," Aquagirl reminded her. "Now where did you go?"

"It's private," Mar'i told her with a little more emphasis.

"Listen new girl," Aquagirl said, "as leader of this team, when I give an order, I expect it to be followed. You were ordered to stay here and decided to leave, why?"

"Lorena," Supermartian interrupted then was cut off himself.

"I had to pee, alright?" Mar'i shouted. "Nature called and I had to answer. But before I could say anything to Sphere, I thought I heard a noise that sounded like footsteps so I checked it out then took care of business. Happy?"

Standing with her arms crossed, Lorena had a slight sneer as she looked the cloned girl over. "No, not one bit. Going by what Sphere said on her translator, you had been gone longer than necessary. You also could have gone nearby for your business."

"Look, gill girl," Mar'i said defensively, "you may think we can use the restroom anywhere we want to on dry land, but we can't. We like privacy and to go discreetly if there is no restroom nearby. We can't just let 'er rip like we would if we were underwater."

"We don't even do that," Lorena argued. "And this is now off the subject of where you were. I don't trust you, it's obvious, but I will work with you because it is my father's wish to respect his friendship with the others. So the next time I say stay, you stay!"

Getting in Lorena's face, Mar'i flashed her eyes a bright green. "You don't trust me? Fine. I don't want to be around you if that's how you feel. Consider this my resignation."

"Mar'i!" Reaching out, Supermartian tried to stop Mar'i as she took off. Watching as she faded from view, he turned to his Atlantian friend. "Nice."

Taking off himself, Supermartian left his friends behind with Lorena shouting after him. He too disappeared into the night as he went after Mar'i, much to Lorena's protests.

"So," Zachary said as Lorena fumed, "what now?"

To this, his answer was simple, Lorena just stared into the night sky without a word.

(-)

"Mar'i!" Streaking across the sky, Supermartian finally caught up to the fleeing girl. During the day, it was impossible to see what occurred when the teenage girl flew, but since it was night, he could see a faint purple streak behind her as well as a matching aura around her. "Mar'i, stop!"

"For what, Carter?" she responded the moment he caught up. "You want your tuna trollop to tell me off some more?"

"It's not like that. She never trusts no one unless she's known them-" He had to dodge a surprised hawk Mar'i flew around. "Could you stop, please?!"

The phrase 'stopping on a dime' was the only way to describe how fast Mar'i stopped, causing her follower to overshoot the girl.

"Look," Supermartian began, "Lorena-"

"Carter, she made it perfectly clear she doesn't want me around. They all have."

"She just needs to warm up to you."

"It's been weeks," Mar'i pointed out. "If she needed time to trust me, she's had it. I've had her back in training, on missions, I even offered to help constantly by going out first to recon. She doesn't like me, she doesn't trust me, and she doesn't want me around. And the others would have said something if they felt differently."

"I'll talk to her."

"She won't listen! You won't listen!" Placing a hand on her forehead, Mar'i gave a sigh. "Being a Luthor, it's a never ending nightmare. The public knows him as a great man, a President assassinated before them. I have to live up to the standards he set and am expected to raise the bar higher. Your friends know him as a wannabe world conquer who needed to be brought down for the things he did behind closed doors. And where does that leave me? Right in the middle where no one knows what to do around me except what truth they think they know. As a father, he was there for me. He treated me like any good father would treat their daughter, but without friends willing to see that, that I'm not a threat, what can I do?"

Floating before her, Carter had no answer. He just let his head sink and tried to come up with an answer but failed to do so.

"Carter, I like you. Since the first day I saw you, I liked you and thought maybe you would know where I'm coming from with who your dad is. I told you everything about me and was surprised when I learned who, what I was. You told me you even thought you weren't supposed to exist. Maybe I'm not supposed to also."

She sniffled then wiped her eyes. "I'm, I'm going to leave. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble for you and your friends. I didn't want to come between you all. I just wanted to have some friends of my own. Maybe something more."

"Something more? Carter asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "But I guess it was too much to ask fo-"

Cutting her off, Carter quickly shot forward and kissed her. His hands framed her face and eyes closed tight, hoping she would not do something like blast him into the next state. Instead, she responded by placing her hands on his forearms and slowly pulled them down. Locking eyes for a moment, both remembered to breathe then went right back into the kiss.

Far below the two flyers, hidden in the shadows, Zan watched the teens embrace. It was almost impossible, but he had managed to keep up with the two as he flew through the forest in the form of an owl and had just barely got to their position in time. Having his ears pick up on what they were saying, he grinned and shook his head.

"Slick, girl." Raising his hand, he looked a USB drive over he had received from Mar'i several minutes ago. "Your old man would be proud."

He then shifted into an eagle and flew off into the night.