Emergence 2.10

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

HEROES SQUARE, METROPOLIS

August 9, 2010

13:00 EDT

"Happy Monday, everyboooody!"

The seated audience rose to their feet and burst into applause at the announcement as music began to swell with an infectious exuberance. The sounds of wild whooping and cheering fought the show's intro music for dominance and neither seemed to be backing down yet.

A boyish-looking man with red hair quickly walked onto the brightly-lit stage with all the confidence in the world, wearing a well-fitted tan suit and unbuttoned dress shirt underneath it. He sauntered toward the middle of the stage, footsteps in time to the jazzy music, only to stop with his back to the cheering crowd as he faced the wall-to-wall windows overlooking the bustling Heroes Square below.

With a snap of his fingers, the redhead spun to face the audience with a smile and a display of finger guns. "Great, great energy, everybody!"

With an ease that spoke of both practice and familiarity, the man dropped himself onto the right half of the gray sectional on the stage and continued grinning at the audience. "Now, do like me and, please take your seats!"

The audience did exactly that, but their clapping and cheering barely eased in the slightest. If anything, it increased as two more people walked on stage, both of them smiling just as brightly and infectiously as the man in front of them.

Right behind the man in the suit, two young women followed behind, throwing kisses as the eager audience caught sight of them and waved to the once-again seated crowd. One of them, a younger brunette with a voluminous head of hair and flawless olive-toned skin spun around to show off her outfit, a pink leather top and similar skirt, and gave the audience a wink before she dropped down on the sectional right next to her male co-host.

The second woman on stage, a somewhat-older blonde wearing her hair in a slight bob and dressed from top to bottom in a loose snake-print jumpsuit, pointed at her protruding stomach with one hand as the other rubbed it, and received a loud "Awwww" from the audience in addition to applause.

With a slightly widened smile on her face at the reaction, she sat down carefully in the middle of the sectional sofa and faced her two partners. "Amazing energy today, guys! Like a jolt of caffeine!"

The younger woman in the middle shook her shoulders a little and leaned slightly over to the blonde, one hand on the couch. "I know, right? It's always great, but today just seems a little more... super!"

The redhead to the left of both women clapped once and pointed all five fingers of one hand over to the crowd as they began to relax. With a faux-confused expression on his face, he gestured wildly in their direction. "Well, who knows why they're so excited? You never can tell sometimes!"

"Anywaaay," the young woman in the middle drawled, "how ya'll feeling? Hank? Cassie? How y'all doing on this beautiful day?"

The blonde - Cassie - brushed some of her hair over her ear as she leaned forward on the couch and turned her attention towards her co-hosts. "Steph, so far, I'm doing great."

She paused a moment later, tongue sticking out as she made something of a goofy expression. "Well, pretty great, I've had to go to the bathroom like five times already thanks to this little stinker," she pointed down to her pregnant belly, "but at least, it's given me plenty of time to plan my day. You know, around my pee breaks, at least." Laughter from the audience and her co-hosts made her pause again, and the pregnant woman cast a glance at the red-head on the far side from her. "How about you, Henry? How's your weekend? What'd you get up to?"

Henry laughed and sat up a bit straighter, adjusting the jacket of his unbuttoned suit. "You know how it is, great weekend. Always busy, but still great!" He let out a slight chuckle and tilted his head to the side. "My twins and wife have been asking me for weeks to go out riding horses out in the country and you all know I'm not the biggest fan of horses, but I also do love to see them having fun so..."

"Awwwwwwwwwww..."

The simultaneous sound from the audience and his two female co-hosts interrupted Henry, but the man simply grinned and laughed again, a slight blush visible on his face. The blonde host glanced over at the audience, smiling wide as she pointed in Henry's direction. "Mr. Family Man over here, always bragging about his kids. I only wish my little guy makes me as happy as Hank always looks."

The "Family Man" in question physically waved away Cassie's words with a put-upon expression and sighed dramatically. "Trust me, it's not always roses and perfect family days. Kids can be a lot of trouble, but you just gotta love 'em anyway."

The audience "awwwed" again, provoking a smile from two of the hosts.

With a slight grunt, Steph shook her head and shot both Henry and Cassie a look that rang with faux-annoyance. "Now look at the two of you. Already got kids and another about to get one. Y'all making a girl real jealous here, y'know?"

Henry laughed out loud as Cassie let out a long groan of her own, leaning back onto the couch with a hand palming her face. "Seriously, Stephanie, you're twenty-four. You have plenty of time, don't worry about it."

Cassie snorted, repeating the sound once more with the sound of accompanying laughter as she rose back up to a sitting position. "Can you believe this girl? Jealous? Of me? Have I told you how many times I've had to use the bathroo-?"

"Yes. We know!" Henry and Stephanie cut the blonde off as they spoke in unison. All three of them glanced at each other simultaneously, amusement clear on each one of their faces before they broke down into laughter, the audience joining in with both laughter and applause.

"Anyway, thank you for being here with us this afternoon and welcome to Metro Today," the red-head grinned at the audience with bright white teeth, both hands on his knees. "I'm your man with the plan, Henry J. Olsen."

The blonde on the far side of him grinned, hands clasped together in front of her. "I'm Cassie Arnold."

"And I'm Rachel Davenport," The brunette in the middle said with another wink. "We're live from Heroes Square in the heart of beautiful, bustling Metropolis, Delaware. Our weather forecast for the day shows a high of 75, and once again, the skies are bright, clear and blue."

"Thank you, Rach," Cassie chimed in. "So, Henry, what do we have for the audience at home?"

"Well, Cassie, we have a lot of fun special topics to talk about from big events happening all across the country to a live musical performance on the show by hot new rapper, Karter B!"

Cheering broke up Henry's words, the audience clearly excited for live music even if they had little to no idea who was performing.

"However," Henry Olsen continued on, "the big thing that everyone is tuning in for is going to happen in about half an hour. We have a super-duper guest on Today and he can't wait to come out here and give us some big news with a guest of his own. One of the members of the Justice League, the hero of Kansas City and the Silver Sentinel himself, Captain... Atom!"

Cassie shook her head with a laugh as the younger Stephanie joined in on the audience's rabid applause and whooping. "I can't wait myself either but we're gonna have to wait to see what Captain Atom has to show us. For now though, let's talk LexTrum and Pixtagraph. Which social media service is the hottest right now and for what?"

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

"And welcome back!" Stephanie Davenport announced as the standing audience clapped for all they were worth, everyone in attendance clapping loudly in anticipation for what they knew was coming up next.

"Our special guest this morning is a home-grown superhero, an officer of the United States Air Force, and a member of the Justice League, please give it up for the legendary Captain Atom!"

The audience went from loud clapping to an outright wall of sound from the noise of their cheering and applause as the three show hosts stood up and turned their gazes to the left of the stage.

On cue, a man covered entirely in what looked like unblemished and highly polished silver stepped out from behind a curtain. With a polite smile to the cheering audience, the hero raised one hand and gave a slow and controlled wave to the people of Metropolis, both in attendance and the ones watching wherever they happened to be. Captain Atom looked like a masterpiece, a living sculpture carved from a single pure element, the only thing breaking up the argent makeup of his body being the scarlet red of the emblem on his chest and the similar coloring of his gloves and boots.

And even those seemed to be pretty much painted on.

Standing statuesque at well over six feet tall, every eye in the studio was on him as the heroic captain marched forward toward the stage.

It was for that captivating reason that it took the audience more than a few long seconds before they seemed to catch sight of a much smaller figure as he exited the curtain immediately afterwards and made his way into the studio following right behind the Captain.

He stood just barely five feet tall but he strode right behind the much-taller and imposing Captain Atom with confidence. Where the captain was Silver broken up by Red, the young boy's costume was a distinct cobalt blue from top to bottom separated by lines of bright white. From the visor-like goggles over his eyes to his gloves, sneakers, the jacket he wore and the tight jumpsuit he had on underneath all of the above, the boy's outfit and his ease at the hero's side screamed one thing loudly to everyone watching...

"SIDEKICK!"

With a pep in his step and a smile on his face, the young man waved right back at the still-cheering audience as he dropped himself down on the gray couch next to his mentor and across from the hosts of the show.

"Good morning! Good morning to everyone here and at home." Captain Atom's deep voice rang smoothly as his head slowly turned from side-to-side as if taking in the faces of everyone present. "Thank you for having me on your show," he continued. "It's been a while since I've last appeared on a program like this."

"Yeah, what's it been, Captain?" Henry asked, a single eyebrow raised as he leaned forward. "Two, three years since your last time on a talk show?"

"Wait, no... wait a minute," Stephanie raised a finger, hair bouncing as she shook her head. "Two years ago, he joined the Justice League and he announced that on... was it Leno? "

Captain Atom nodded, a slight chuckle leaving him with the motion. "It was Leno, yes. I was honored to be a guest."

"And of course, he had to be honored to have you on as a guest," Cassie continued. "But three years ago, your debut, you... You were on with Letterman, right?"

"Again, that's right. I was there to introduce myself to the country in a less formal setting than just an announcement," Captain Atom's lips tightened, mouth forming a line so thin that it appeared almost invisible against the silver sheen of his face. "You've all heard the story, of course."

"Of course! Who could forget?" Henry Olsen brightened, hands clapping together as he nodded his head. "Brave officer testing a missile, caught in the explosion, and came back to life years later looking like..." After a moment of silence, Olsen shrugged his shoulders and gestured to the superhero sitting across from him. "Well, looking the way you do."

"That's pretty much it," Captain Atom replied calmly.

"Again, thank you for coming, Captain, but... I think I have to ask the question on everyone's mind right now," Stephanie leaned in with a smile as she turned her gaze to the left of Captain Atom, the actions mimicked by both her co-hosts. "Who is this little cutie pie next to you?"

"Well, he's actually the reason I'm here today." The captain shifted his body slightly as he turned his head to face the pre-teen sitting next to him with an expectant smile. One large arm wrapped itself around the boy's back, a scarlet hand resting itself on his shoulder before he continued speaking. "However, I don't plan on speaking for him. He can introduce himself."

With a nod at the kid, Captain Atom pushed him forward with a gentle nudge, the boy in blue taking that as his cue to stand up. "Hello, everyone... " Smile still on his face, he struck a quick pose that he probably intended as heroic, both fists on his hips as he stood with his head tilted upwards. However, despite his intentions, it only came off as more cute or precocious than anything else. "My name is Proton Genesis and I'm Captain Atom's sidekick!"

The audience cheered regardless.

Henry Olsen let out a laugh as his two co-hosts threw their hands over their faces in failed attempts to hide their patronizing smiles. "Oh my God, he's adorable!" Cassie cooed, hand dropping from her face to her heart.

"Uhhh..." Proton Genesis seemed to falter slightly, his smile weakening underneath his goggles. Coughing slightly into his gloved hand, he sat down once again. "Thank you, uh... ma'am."

"And so polite too! Isn't he just the cutest?" Stephanie squeed to match the older Cassie's coo. "He's even cuter than Henry's kids, maybe."

The man in question shrugged. "I wouldn't say that. My twins are pretty darn cute, last I checked," he added with a laugh. The man's gaze drifted as he spoke, moving from Cassie to the audience before finally landing back on the silvery form of the Justice Leaguer on the couch. "So, Captain Atom, tell us... you've always seemed to be somewhat of a lone hero. Why does a man like you feel the need for a sidekick?"

"Well, Henry, it's not that anyone finds themselves in need of a sidekick, that I know of," Captain Atom replied with a slight raise of his head. His hands sat folded in his lap as he kept his attention firmly on Olsen. "The point, as I've come to understand it, of a hero of a certain caliber taking on a sidekick is not for any desire for assistance but simply to help along the next generation of heroes. I was an adult and an officer with years of experience and military training when I found myself with these abilities and even then I was disoriented... confused... lost..."

Captain Atom went silent, the studio just as quiet waiting for him to continue what he had on his mind. After a few moments, the hero seemed to find himself as he nodded again and continued. "If I could feel that way with strange powers that I had no context for, no understanding of, can't you imagine what a young teenager could be going through?"

The audience burst into applause again at the captain's words, the hosts joining in as well after a moment of shared confusion. "Beautiful, beautiful statement, Captain," Cassie spoke up again, before directing her attention back to the topic of discussion. "Now Proton..."

"Genesis."

"I'm sorry?"

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

"Genesis."

Zeke regretted the interruption as soon as it left his mouth, unable to help himself from uttering the correction. Why did you... ugh. His eyes slammed shut behind his goggles, a slight exhale of frustration leaving his mouth as he felt the attention of all the show hosts and the audience land themselves firmly on him. Why did you speak?

He already felt the stress - annoyance? - of being under the bright studio lights and cameras broadcasting live nationwide being pointed in his direction, but to be under the focused scrutiny of a live audience too?

That was just bitter frosting on a cake he barely liked already.

The pose and self-introduction had been the limit of his confidence already, and he had only done that much because Captain Atom had requested that of him, his words something like "the world needs to see that you are your own person. I don't intend to be your mouthpiece, at least for that much."

Zeke understood.

He didn't like it all that much, but he did understand it.

There was a reason he had asked the Captain to do most of the speaking for him, almost begged him even. Much the same way he didn't feel trained up enough for real superhero work, the fiascos the League called missions included in that, he most definitely wasn't trained enough to handle the attention that came with being on live television.

"I'm sorry?" The young sidekick winced behind his visor again as the older blond woman — Cassie Something? — seemed to focus her attention even more on him after his unintended interruption, her body language showing as much as she sat up and leaned forward on the couch with her own blue eyes trying to pierce through his visor. "You said Genesis?"

Zeke raised his hands apologetically, nervous laughter spilling out of his mouth. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt you." He swallowed a mouthful of nothing as he tried to avoid looking at the blonde hosts, or any of her co-hosts in particular. "It's just... if you're gonna shorten it, I just... I prefer Genesis, y'know."

"Oh?" the older blonde pulled a slight face, one of slight confusion rather than anything else. "Mind if I ask why that is?" She leaned forward slightly more, still doing her best to make direct eye contact with him. "Why Genesis and not Proton?"

"Uhh... well, no reason, really. I just... uhh," Genesis coughed into his fist again, looking away for a moment. "I just like it better?"

That much was true. He did like it better.

It was the name he originally chose for himself, after all.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

"You're working with Captain Atom and you couldn't come up with a name that fit?" Ms. Wilson paused at that, finally having gotten to the crux of her point, not even noticing that neither Zeke nor the captain were paying her much attention at this point as they returned to their paperwork.

"You know, I literally have a list of names prepared for something just like this. If you had just come to me first, I could have given you some that tested extremely well with most audiences, like, for instance; Warhead, X-Ray, Manhattan, Atom Smasher, Proton, Megaton, Nuke, Fission, Radical, Particle Lad, Fallout Boy…" She finally paused to rub the bridge of her nose, letting out a long breath as she did so.

"Just… see if you can give... Proton a try. For marketing purposes, at least. You can put whatever you want down on that form but just try the name out."

Zeke stared back, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment as he mulled it over. He glanced over at Captain Atom, the man saying nothing, and then back again to Ms. Wilson, before letting out a sigh. "I… I'll think about it."

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

And think about it, he did.

After giving the issue a few long hard thunkings, he then decided to do what Captain Atom's PR Manager had said and used one of the names she offered. Technically, he used it as a prefix to what he considered his real superhero name, but it was still there.

Pretty genius move, in his humble opinion.

"Okay, but even then, why Proton Genesis?"

Zeke blinked, the sidekick pulled from his thoughts as the younger — and hotter — co-host took her turn to speak, the woman's voluminous hair bouncing as she tilted her head to the side. This woman was one he knew somewhat well enough to remember her name, given that he had plenty of free time the last month and a half to use Google and stream media on his S.T.A. .

A young actress who had done a few kid-friendly shows growing up before going onto some long-running appearances on more mature TV shows, Stephanie had one huge part as the female lead for a comic book movie called Warrior Angel. With that over, the starlet decided to rest for a bit and took up this job on one of America's biggest talk shows.

"Seriously, it's kinda weird isn't it? Proton Genesis?" She laughed slightly, as she popped the "P" in the first part of his new code-name.

"Is it really that weird?" he questioned back, not sure how to answer her question.

Staring back at her, Zeke could see that the woman had a look of bright curiosity as well as a sharp and cunning awareness behind her eyes, one that seemed slightly at odds with her bubbly personality and shockingly bright neon-pink clothing. "I mean, it doesn't really fit much, does it? Captain Atom. Proton Genesis."

She paused to give a dismissive wave of her hand. "Not Kid Atom? Atom Lad? Sergeant Atom?"

"Genesis chose his name, Stephanie," Captain Atom answered, choosing to cut in. "He chose his own name for himself and I saw no problem with it. He's not a soldier. He might be one when he reaches the age for it, but that's going to be up to him and him alone. He doesn't need to worry about following my footsteps, so much as following my example."

The hosts waited for the audience to die down with the applause again as Captain Atom finished, all three of them giving him appreciative nods at that answer.

"One question, though, before we continue," Henry Olsen - why does that sound so familiar - raised a finger as he chimed in. "Captain, what about him made you choose Genesis as your sidekick? What stood out to you?"

"Well... what do you mean by that, exactly?" the Captain asked back, neither his tone or expression betraying his thoughts. "I mean, he's a great kid. What wouldn't?"

"No harm, Captain," Olsen raised his own hands with a little laugh. "I'm just saying that there's more than a bunch of super kids and super people running around out there, holding little super-conventions and running around their neighborhoods trying to fight crime. What is it about Genesis that makes him a stand-out and not, let's say... uh, little Timmy in Wisconsin who can bend spoons with the power of his mind?"

Zeke nodded, honestly having expected this question or something like it to come up. Well, I guess I wasn't the one who expected it but she told me to expect it so...

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

"You need to play up some thematic connection, kid," Willow Wilson's sharp voice rang clear as she dropped a stack of papers on the desk in front of him and looked him directly in the eyes. "Okay, because as it is, you two are as different as can be and don't read too much into that statement. That's a request from me."

The woman straightened her back and let out a long sigh before dropping her head back down to cast a glance in Captain Atom's direction before returning her brown eyes back to Zeke's blue. "Look, the public needs to latch on to something. The Captain's only been around three years but he's made one heckuva splash already. The public knows him as a hero. The public has seen him do things they would usually expect from Superman. The public is going to want answers!"

Willow slammed her palms down on the table, sending several of those oh-so-neatly stacked papers of a few seconds ago flying around the office. "Why are you his sidekick? Why not any other random metahuman kid? Especially one of their own kids. Because they're going to want to know and Cap saying 'well, I just had a good feeling about this one' is really not going to cut it. Now, this probably might not quiet the geeks and the smarter people on the internet who make this their life but for everyone else, they'll eat it up. So, what you're gonna tell them is this…"

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

"I can actually answer that one." Zeke smiled at the familiar-looking redheaded man and held both of his hands out in front of him, palms facing up as he cupped them together.

"See, the Captain and me kinda have the same kind of energy bouncing around inside us. Quantum stuff, y'know." His gloved palms began to glow brightly, a sparse collection of blue energy flaring up in the center of them both. "I spend all my time training them too, so I can be ready to go out with the Captain to save people. Just this last week, I made a bunch of progress." That much was true, for sure. In fact, if it hadn't been for the occasional spar with Kaldur, weight lifting or running laps, he would have made way more progress than what he had managed since last Tuesday.

Still, it's not like he was disappointed.

STR 50 → 55

SPD 50 → 53

VIT 50 → 52

INT 50 → 60

Awareness: Mana 16 → MAX

Awareness: Willpower 5 → MAX

Martial Arts (Basic) 19 → 21

Meditation 12 → 14

Resistance: Blunt Force 22 → 24

Mana Burst 26 → 27

Mana Impact 4 → 10

Mana Shield 6 → 8

Power Leap 10 → MAX

Power Sprint 16 → MAX

No, he grinned. No disappointment here.

Spreading his hands apart, the energy collected in between simply split apart, half of the not-quite ball of energy sticking to each hand and brightening further as Zeke fed each hand more mana. "See, even though I'm not shiny and chrome or anywhere near as strong as the Captain, I could still hurt myself if I don't know what I'm doing. So, Cap took me under his wing."

Just like that, Zeke slammed both his hands together, dissipating the light show as he flashed a grin at the shocked hosts and awed audience.

Awareness: Mana 18 → 19

CHA 12 → 13

"My goodness, that was amazing," Cassie finally spoke up, getting over her shock a few moments after the display came to a close. "Wasn't that amazing, everyone?"

Once again, applause filled the studio.

"I'm glad to hear that," Zeke replied with fake relief. "I was worried I had some of you guys scared. Guess I should have asked permission before I did that, huh?"

"Maybe you should have," Stephanie replied back in a stage whisper and a wink.

"Just maybe." Cassie repeated, in a slightly less playful tone.

Zeke nodded in understanding. "That's the type of stuff I have perfect control over. The little stuff. I figure if I give it a couple of years, maybe by the time I hit eighteen, I'll be able to do 5% of the things Cap can."

A heavy hand clapped his back, Zeke nearly tipping forward if it wasn't for the same hand gripping his shoulder to keep him from falling out of his seat. "I'm sure you'll be even stronger than that, son."

That earned a lot of applause from the audience and a set of appreciative "Awwwws" rang out throughout the studio.

"So, I hear you and the Captain graced the cover of Esquire Magazine this month! Do we have a copy of that..."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

MOUNT JUSTICE BEACH

August 9, 2010

13:56 EDT

"Robin."

The Boy Wonder glanced up from his phone, a smirk affixed to his face as he stared at Aqualad's shirtless body somewhat blocking the bright summer sun overhead. "What's up, Kaldur?"

The dark-skinned Atlantean remained where he stood, arms folded over his chest as he stared down at the younger boy, the dark sunglasses Robin always wore finally appropriate given the environs. Kaldur'ahm's mouth was, as usual, a thin line of imperceptible emotion as he looked over his similarly shirtless teammate as the younger boy sat on a beach towel.

In fact, it was only his slightly raised eyebrows that would give you the idea that his mood was one of slight curiosity rather than barely-repressed anger.

Or it could be both.

Aqualad was never the easiest person to read, honestly.

"Robin," Kaldur repeated again, "I recall that today was supposed to be a time of enjoyment at the beach." The Atlantean tilted his head towards the shore Superboy and Miss Martian were splashing at each other, telekinesis unsurprisingly outdoing super strength at producing both effective and massive waves. "Was that not the idea of this team gathering?"

"Yeah," Robin's smirk dropped slightly as the young teen lowered the phone in his hands. "Isn't that what we're doing right now?"

Kaldur nodded, arms dropping down to his sides as he did so. "That is what we are doing. Connor, M'gann, and I, yes. However," he bent slightly at the waist, lowering himself slightly to Robin's level, "for the last thirty minutes, you have been persistently focused on your phone."

Robin let out a slight laugh, lowering the device in his hands even lower in an attempt to place it out of sight. "Oh, that... ummm, well..."

When Kaldur's expression didn't ease up, the thirteen-year old let his laugh trail away and finally let out a sigh. "Alright, I got nothing."

"Then, may I ask what has you so occupied?"

Robin shrugged his shoulders in defeat and raised his phone up to Kaldur, the Atlantean taking it with a single webbed hand. "Here ya go. It's waterproof."

"-enesis, let's talk about some amazing footage of you a few weeks ago in Colorado with some other famous sidekicks and two new faces fighting a couple of scary supervi…"

The Atlantean was silent for roughly half a minute as he stared at the video playing on the phone with what was for him a quizzical expression, meaning absolutely stone-faced with a single raised eyebrow. "Ah, I see, today was Ezekiel's first public appearance on television."

"Yeah," Robin replied as he rose to his feet. He held out a hand for the phone and Kaldur made a motion to return it, only to hesitate, the Atlantean pausing with the phone still in hand.

The older teen faced the other protégé with a look, a single eyebrow still elevated. "Why is it that this video held your attention so aptly?"

The Boy Wonder shrugged again, hand still out. "Come on, man, it's no big reason."

"If the reason is so small, then I suppose you wouldn't be against satisfying my curiosity," Kaldur said as a rebuttal. "Please do."

Both boys were silent for a few moments, the noise of a squealing M'Gann over the natural sounds of the beach suddenly louder than anything else.

"Fine, alright." Robin let out a frustrated sigh after Kaldur refused to back down, the boy clearly rolling his eyes behind his glasses. "It's about... Zeke, Genesis, whatever."

"What about Ezekiel?"

"He just... I..." Robin threw his hands up by his head, a slight frown on his face as he turned his head to face Mount Justice. "He literally doesn't make any sense and I don't understand why!"

"Robin," Aqualad stepped closer, expression looking distinctly concerned this time. "What are you talking about?"

Robin kept his gaze on Mount Justice, a heavy breath leaving the boy before he finally spoke. "Listen, I need you to keep this from the rest of the team but," He turned around to face Kaldur again, a frown on his face as his voice dropped into a near-whisper, "there's something definitely not right about Genesis."

"What are..." Aqualad glanced back at the still-playing M'gann and Connor, the Kryptonian close a dozen feet in the air and rising after trying to take a telekinetic splash head-on. Realizing they were too distracted to pay attention, he didn't bother to whisper as he stepped towards Robin and continued with his question. "What do you mean by that, Robin?"

"I mean that he doesn't exist. I looked him up on Batman's personal supercomputer. We have records on everything, everyone, pretty much, but Zeke... Genesis..." The young tech genius shook his head, displaying both confusion and exasperation with a simple groan.

"I'm telling you, Kaldur. He doesn't exist. Facial recognition, nothing. No school records. Not even a birth certificate. No records at all. No dental records, and that doesn't even make sense. You've seen those teeth. They're perfect!" He hissed the last word with frustration. "Literally, the earliest trace I can find of his existence is him being checked out of a public hospital in Kentucky by Captain Atom."

"That..." Kaldur's mouth turned downwards as he seemed to think on Robin's words. "That does seem rather unusual, but is it not possible that you might be chasing a shadow, when Ezekiel might just be a clone or an experiment of some kind, like Superboy?"

"Doubtful," Robin shut down that option with all the finality of a headsman's axe.

"Genesis doesn't act like someone raised in a lab. The guy's been socialized. He even knows about stuff like pop culture. Batman won't answer any of my questions about him and I can't find any juicy info in his files but I know the newbie's hiding stuff with the way he lies." The Boy Wonder glanced up at the leader of his team, frown still present. "And boy, does he lie a lot.

"...Explain."

"Look, a lot of times, you ask the guy a question or he explains something, he'll only tell you half the truth, if that. Batman taught me how to tell these things and I can tell a lot."

"I see." Aqualad was silent for a time, clearly thinking over what Robin had brought to his attention. "I propose we put this aside for now. If it becomes an issue or you find it relevant, we shall take this issue to your mentor or question Ezekiel ourselves. Do you agree?"

"...Sure." Robin shrugged again, accepting the phone from Kaldur's outstretched hand. "You're the boss. I won't push it."

"Thank you, my friend," The Atlantean replied, gracing the boy with a rare half-smile. "You know, I remember my first time in front of the camera, introducing myself to the world as a son of Atlantis and apprentice to the Aquaman." He shook his head and raised his gaze upwards for a moment, before glancing back down at Robin again. "I could barely speak, the worry of making myself look like a fool in front of my King and the surface was so strong. I fear my silence that day has left me with a reputation for stoicism."

"What?" The corner of Robin's mouth quivered upwards as he tried his best to fight off laughter at Kaldur's words. "Stoic? You? Come on, Kaldur. That's ridiculous. Everyone knows you're a laugh and a half."

The older teenager stared back at the Boy Wonder in silence for a few seconds, eyes narrowed slightly. "Sarcasm does not become you, Robin."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

MOUNT JUSTICE

August 9, 2010

18:15 EDT

Today had been a pretty good day.

At least, it had been so far as Zeke was concerned. He didn't need to dwell on the many people who had been having a bad day, or even a fatal one, given how many accidents and deaths happened on the average day.

Wait, this is the DC universe, the thirteen-year old thought with a slight frown on his face. How many people got blasted with a freeze ray, disintegrated, stepped on by a giant robot or teleported into space today? That's not even getting into those guys attacked by a werewolf or a vampire today alone. He shook his head a moment later to push that morbid thought aside, but not before another whim passed through his mind. Note to self: buy wolfsbane, silver, garlic and a crucifix.

Besides the possible fatalities that Zeke didn't feel like thinking about, it had been a pretty good day for him.

Unfortunately, that little fact didn't quite hold true for everyone else on the Team.

"Recognized: Kid Flash, B-0-3."

In near-unison with Captain Atom, Red Tornado, Green Arrow, Batman and the rest of the Team, Ezekiel turned to face the giant hole in the cavern wall that was the Zeta Tube as it activated with it's usual surge of bright light and customary announcement.

A full second later, the gold-white light died down and Wallace Rudolph West came into full view at the center of the Zeta Tube, smiling widely... and for some reason, shirtless?

Zeke blinked at the sight of his super-fast teammate, confusion warring with curiosity. What am I missing here?

The redhead was also wearing swim trunks, flip-flops, sunglasses and had a streak of white on his nose that could only be sunscreen. To top it all off, Wally also happened to be carrying a whole lot of what could only be described as enough beach gear to stock a shelf, from the towel around his neck to the beach ball, ice cooler, umbrella and surfboard in his hands.

I know I'm missing something, Zeke thought again, actually confused now.

Before he could realize what it was, Wally began to run into the cavern hall, yelling at the top of his lungs the most fearsome of war cries, "The Wall-Man is heeeere! Now, let's get this party sta-!"

The speedster did not get very far into the room before everything he had been carrying fell from his grasp almost all at once, and the teenager fell along with them, crashing and sliding forwards on top of his surfboard as his beach ball bounced up and away and into the hands of a cackling Boy Wonder.

Zeke let out a laugh of his own only to pause half a second later as he recalled what he had forgotten. Today was beach day! All at once, he realized that he had missed the beach day the rest of the Team had just like 'The Wall-Man' had, which meant...

Dang it. No Miss Martian in a bikini. At that moment, Zeke knew he had never felt a stronger sense of solidarity with his red-headed speedster of a teammate before.

It was not an entirely pleasant realization.

"Wall-man, huh?"

The mocking tone came from the individual that had been the subject of discussion in the Cave just moments before 'The Wall-Man' had made that himself. A teenage girl barely an inch taller than Robin (and three of them taller than me, Zeke had noted rather quickly), Artemis was a pretty blonde with a ponytail dressed in a tight green-colored sleeveless costume that was also perfectly designed to leave her stomach completely open.

Zeke wasn't exactly sure why, not that he really particularly cared either way. Because she felt like it, seemed like the obvious answer to him, but again, it was none of his business. And I'm gonna try to keep it that way. Considering that Green Arrow had introduced her as his new protégé and she seemed outfitted with a high-tech bow that she clearly knew how to use, he didn't feel like getting on the bad side of a teenage girl with pointy weapons by asking dumb questions.

He was already a little on her bad side from what he could tell, considering her response and expression from when he had jumped the gun a few minutes before by calling her Arrowette.

A use of Observe and Artemis' own vehemence in stating her name had quickly robbed him of that notion. The only really noteworthy thing about Artemis that he had noticed was that she had decided to use her first name as her superhero codename, for some insane reason. Who does that, seriously?

Even still, despite her denial and the confirmation from Observe that she wasn't the Cissie King-Jones he had expected, something about the blonde girl had still seemed incredibly familiar...

Observed: Artemis

Artemis Crock (Artemis) Lv 18

Little Miss Huntress

A short-term vigilante, a somewhat skilled martial artist and an excellent archer.

Artemis is surprisingly naive about hero work despite her otherwise cynical nature and experience regarding the darker side of crime.

Eh, it's probably nothing.

"Love the uniform," she continued, staring down at a prone Wally with a look of undisguised amusement. "What exactly are your powers?"

Wally West was not one to take being mocked lightly. Then again, very few teenage boys did well when they were embarrassed. Zeke knew that very well. So, he was unsurprised when, instead of addressing the new focus of his irritation directly, Wally decided to do the thing teenage boys did do well.

Piss them off.

Ignoring the new girl completely, Wally West picked himself off the floor, glanced past her completely to turn towards the Team and the gathered adults. He then asked whoever felt like answering with a resoundingly clear irritation in his voice, "Who is this?"

Was I the only one who heard 'the hell' in the middle of that sentence? Zeke thought to himself, a grin on his face to match Robin's.

Artemis didn't let Wally's mood get to her as she strode up to him, wearing a smirk as she introduced herself. "Artemis, your new teammate."

Wally scoffed as he stared her down. "Kid Flash, never heard of you."

Before the verbal back-and-forth could go any further or devolve into fisticuffs, and before both Genesis and Robin could go off to microwave some popcorn to enjoy it, Green Arrow decided to head things off quickly by walking up to Artemis' side.

With a warning look at Wally and a hand on her shoulder, he spoke up in her defense. "That's because she's new. My new protégé."

Wally's green eyes widened in clear shock and confusion. "W-wait, what happened to the old one? What about Speedy?"

Before either Green Arrow or Artemis could answer, the Zeta Tube began to spin, the teleportation device activating once more as it's gold-white light flashed.

Yet again, a robotic voice spoke up.

"Recognized: Speedy, B-0-6."

Talk about timing.

The 'old one' trotted out from the recesses of the Zeta Tube wearing an outfit that was shockingly different from the colorful 'Men In Tights' look that Zeke had seen in the pictures he could find online of Green Arrow's former sidekick. Red. Black. Very smooth. I kinda like it.

It still looked rather different from what Zeke remembered of Roy Harper as Red Arrow but the general idea was there, even if the current outfit looked a bit more combat-ready than he had expected from him. Still cool, though.

The cool factor only skyrocketed as the taller and more muscular redhead surveyed the gathered heroes in front of him, both young and old, for a half-second before he glanced at Wally with a slight frown "Well, for starters, he doesn't go by Speedy anymore."

Wait, Zeke blinked, pulled out of his nerd-moment by a sudden question. Can the person on the other end hear what's going on even before they teleport in fully? That's…

He screwed up his face in thought. That's really weird.

Roy Harper raised his domino-mask covered eyes to glare at a surprised Green Arrow with a clearly clenched jaw. "Call me Red Arrow."

Observed: Red Arrow

Roy Harper II (Roy Harper) Lv 28

Broken Arrow

With the same cocky, harsh, loner attitude, this Roy Harper is almost 100% the same Red Arrow you would expect, with the exception of an attitude adjustment here and there.

Okay, yeah, but that's still so cool.

Turning back to Wally, the renamed Red Arrow gave the younger ginger something of a smirk. "Besides, who the hell do you think recommended her?"

"What?" Wally was not the only one to speak this time, Robin actually chiming in with undisguised confusion in both their voices.

"Yeah," Red Arrow jerked his head over in Green Arrow's direction before folding his arms over his chest. "To the old man and to your Team."

"But why?!" Wally demanded, the teenage speedster rounding on Red Arrow.

"Because apart from styling his ridiculous beard, Green Arrow's useless on his own-"

"Hey!"

It took a great deal of effort for Zeke to contain his laughter at both the insult to Green Arrow and the man's offended reaction as he actually raised a hand to cup his facial hair, but the thirteen-year old somehow managed. After all, Captain Atom was in the room and he doubted the man would be okay with his sidekick reacting that way to an insult to his teammate.

Red Arrow ignored the man's offended interjection. "Long story short, I found her taking on purse snatchers in Gotham and I realized I knew a team in need of an archer."

"But you know which one we'd rather have," Wally insisted as he stepped forward. "The one we still want."

Aqualad stepped forward as well, easing a frustrated Kid Flash back with a hand on his shoulder, before he turned to face Red Arrow. "Thank you for thinking of us. We will do our best to make Artemis feel welcome. Even still, if you ever want to join us for a mission, the Team would be glad to have your assistance."

"It's appreciated, Aqualad," Red Arrow said with a nod, eliciting a small smile from Kaldur, "but I'm sure you'll be fine with just her help for now. From what I've seen, she's pretty good with a bow."

"Just good?" Artemis shot back playfully as Wally looked back and forth between both archers helplessly.

"Your anchoring could use some work," Red Arrow replied to her calmly. "Green might be useless but he's good enough to teach."

"...You know, I really don't feel like I deserve that."

"Too bad." Red Arrow spoke the two syllables without even looking in his former mentor's direction as he walked towards the center of the room. "Now, for your mission..."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Mission Gained!

Weather Alert: Fog Advisory

Some nanobots are on the loose and some super-assassins are in control of them.

You're going to have to keep a scientist lady safe from those same baddies.

Looks like this is a job for... Wait, do you guys not have a name for your little group yet?

No? Well, this looks like a job for... The Team.

Objectives:

Survive [ ]

Rewards: 15000 XP, Increased reputation with Red Arrow

Bonus Objective:

Defeat 1 Member of the League of Shadows without assistance [ ]