ᑌᑎᔕTᗴᗩᗪY

Secrets Revealed

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
~Uprising ~ Muse~

... December 30, 2010...

The team is in the living quarters of the Hall of Justice, watching on the big screen live coverage of the five new heroes joining the Justice League.

I keep quiet not paying attention to anything around me as I remember what Catwoman told me to do.

"I'm glad they didn't kick Billy out," Wally says, taking a bite of his apple. "And I love the fact that there's a 10-year-old on the League."

"There is?" Rocket asks.

Robin elbows Wally hard in the stomach.

"Owww!"

"Way to keep a secret, genius," Robin huffs.

"Hey, she's on the team now, right?" Wally claims.

"Superman is now handing out official League membership cards. Starting with Doctor Fate," the lady on the tv announces and Zatanna lowers her head, Kaldur places his webbed hand on her shoulder for reassurance. "The Atom, Plastic Man, and Icon."

"You know, I was the one who convinced Icon to become a hero in the first place. I should be outside, celebrating with him. Not hidden away in here!" Raquel huffs.

"Welcome to our world," Kaldur chuckles.

"Well," she says, looking at Kaldur up and down. "I suppose there's an upside, too!"

"Finally, Green Arrow welcomes his former protégé, Speedy, now known as Red Arrow to this roster of heroes," the woman continues.

"Way to go, Roy!" Wally cheers, throwing a fist into the air.

"At last, he has his wish," Kaldur says.

"The first of us to make it! No one will call him a 'sidekick' anymore," Robin says.

"Wait, since when is being a sidekick a bad thing? You sidekicks were my inspiration," Raquel says.

"Well, see six months ago–" Robin begins but is cut off by a beeping sound from his watch. "We got a mission in the Smokey Mountains. It's Cheshire."

We all give each other a look before we head to the cave and load up the bioship.

"A-are you sure it's her? I mean, are you absolutely positive?" Artemis asks about Cheshire.

"See for yourself. This is the security footage from the Asheville Regional Airport. Facial recognition confirms that's Jade Nguyen. But you've seen her without her mask. What do you think?" Robin asks, showing her the pictures.

"It's Jade. Cheshire," Artemis whispers, looking away.

"Agreed, but focus on what Cheshire carries," Kaldur says. "Is that the case you saw in New Orleans? The one that got away?"

"Yes," Artemis answers.

"Okay, I'm guessing from the mug shot that this 'Cheshire' is the bad guy," Rocket says. "But what's so important about that case?"

"Remember the Injustice League?" Robin asks.

"And their giant evil plants? Uh yeah!" Rocket exclaims.

"The Team and the League put them in prison, but their allies still scheme and whatever is in that containment case seems important to their plans," Aqualad concludes.