Chapter 15: The Team

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Edited On: 5/15/2021

I do not own Young Justice or anything DC related.

"Are you sure, you don't have to if you don't want to?" my father asked as he laid a hand on her shoulder as they approached the entrance.

"I have to stop running away at some point," I said, trying to shove the heavy feeling in my stomach away.

"Just acknowledging it, doesn't mean you're running away. It just means you might not be ready yet. And yes, there is a difference," Bruce said as he pulled the cowl over his head.

The black windshield of the Batmobile covering our faces so no one outside of it can even tell who's in it.

"I can do this," I said unconfidently as I stared up at the volcano-like mountain in front of me that was the Young Justice headquarters.

My brother was already inside, probably not even in uniform and instead in his usual hoodie and dark sunglasses.

My own sunglasses were perched on my nose, a blue sweatshirt covering the batman shirt I was wearing underneath (for some reason, Dad hasn't actually bought me new clothes yet. I've deduced it's because he enjoys seeing me in batman related items), my blue jeans were loose enough to move in and do my own moves but still tight enough so they're not baggy, along with the black sneakers that I had 'bought' when I first left Deathstroke and my past.

"First is the introduction and then perhaps showing the team what you can do. Neither Dick nor I have explained to them that you are my daughter, or that you are a clone. That will be up to you to decide if you wish to tell them. Dick will back your plays and will make sure they understand that you have both of our trusts," Bruce explained calmly.

"Do I deserve this?" I whispered slightly, my mind jumping to the people I've harmed while under Deathstroke. Did I deserve to be on a hero's team? Working to help people instead of condemning them to a certain hell.

"You do," Bruce said as he laid his hand on my shoulder, I felt myself relax slightly as his thumb started to rub soothing circles there.

I let out a slow breath and nodded before exiting the car. Surprised no one had surrounded the vehicle because of the possibility of a mission, I used Deathstroke's training to make sure my breath was even and that my face remained impassive so no emotion escaped it.

"You will be fine. If you find you don't want to be on this team, I can pull you out and we can just work Gotham," father said calmly, his facade as the non-emotional Batman seemingly non-existent at this moment.

It was a silent moment between us, a father reassuring his daughter that everything will be alright.

"Can we still do that anyway? Some days?" I asked because it sounded nice. Just the two of them or perhaps with Dick working on fixing the streets of Gotham, our home. It sounded nice in its own way.

"We can, I don't plan on sending you on a mission with them just yet, I still need to figure out your own skillset and make sure you have enough experience to last on your own in case you end up split from the team, okay. We're going to do this slow and properly. First introductions and making sure they know your own fighting style enough to work off it," Bruce said as his gloved hand brushed through my hair slightly, a knowing stress-reliever between the two of us.

Unknown to probably everyone outside their household, Bruce remembers braiding his own mother's hair and was in the process of teaching me too. During said training, we figured out the fastest way to calm me down was by playing with my hair softly and soothingly.

"I can do this," I muttered to myself and felt like I believed it more this time than previously. Dick was going to be there himself, and he had my back along with dad. Everything will be fine.

It was silent as we walked the halls of Mount Justice, our feet leaving no sound as both of us were trained in remaining silent and sneaking up on people. We didn't have to communicate to do it, it was just instinct in the family.

"Have you figured out a name?" Bruce asked, his voice gruffer and certainly signifying that he was now in his Batman-role instead of Bruce-role.

"I think so," I responded. Finding a covert name to go by was hard and one I thought long and hard about after almost talking it through the night with Dick who had the worst ideas.

We stayed silent as we finally approached the teens that were hanging out in their common room. My eyes instantly connected with Dick's and I watched his mouth turn into a full-blown smile.

"Nyx!" he screamed as he jumped off the couch and used it to vault over it before rushing over to me.

Instantly, opening my arms for him, I felt our chests collide slightly as he hardly stopped himself from running into me.

"Robin," I responded calmly even as a smile danced onto my lips and I felt my heart speed up slightly as I realized that I was here and that this was happening.

The anxiety that had been rumbling deep in my chest made itself known but I pushed it aside with practiced ease, now wasn't the time to become anxious, not when a mission was right in front of me.

"Uh, Rob, maybe you should introduce us, and uh, hi Mr. Batman," Wally West, or Kid Flash as I read up on, said hesitantly as he took in my appearance and the fact I was right beside Robin and Batman.

Bruce, no Batman I reminded myself, didn't say anything but slightly tilted his head toward me. Right...this was my lead.

Releasing Dick and stepping forward, I made eye contact with Kaldur, or Aqualad and team leader of Young Justice, "Hello, my name is Nyx. I would be pleased if I could join your team that my brother is on," I said the last part with my head tilted toward Robin who was standing by Batman anxiously.

Aqualad looked between me and Batman before our eyes connected once more. "While I would love to say you can join, I fear that I cannot make a team decision without consulting my team. Perhaps you can stay and the day and we can figure out later," Aqualad compromised.

"Come on Kaldur, you can't say no to someone this beautiful," Wally commented as he threw an arm around me.

Acting reflexively, my hand gripped his arm and twisted it and as he doubled over so his arm didn't break, my knee instantly went up and kicked him in the male's anatomy.

"Oh, in pain. Very much in pain," Wally groaned from the ground as his hands moved to cover his hurt anatomy.

"Good job Kid Idiot, you do realize you just hit on the daughter of Batman right?" Artemis sneered from beside Megan and Connor who looked on with slight interest.

I watched as Wally's eyes widened and he instantly looked up toward Batman, wondering what had made his face drastically pale. I looked up and saw father glaring at Wally at the ground, a silent promise of pain in his future clearly painted there.

"Other news, I totally want her on our team if she can beat Baywatch like that; plus, it slightly evens out males and females on the team," she commented with crossed arms.

I felt a small smile making its way onto my face. I've never really had friends and maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

"Alright, first things first. Team Bonding," Dick finally jumped into the conversation after I noted he had also glared briefly at Wally.

I watched as Batman silently made his way out of the room and felt my anxiety just settle underneath my skin. Sure, it might not be as bad as I first thought, but I do wish Bruce would've stayed for just a bit longer. I felt the safest when I was with him, like no matter what, Bruce will always make sure I was safe.

Safe from the world.

Safe from any harm done to me.

And most of all, safe from Deathstroke.

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