3 Months Later.

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(General P.O.V)

The bio ship touched down on the hanger silently. It took a few seconds for an entrance to form on the side of the Martian aircraft, followed by the beat of feet as the team shuffled out.

"That's the second damn time!"

Kid Flash complained, limping out of the Bio-ship with an angry look on his face.

"She broke my computer. So not traught."

Robin added with a frown, fingers tapping the holographic device strapped to his wrist.

"I was so close! I had a clear shot and then...bam! Darkness, no sight, no smell, no nothing. It's so annoying."

Artemis remarked in frustration, being the third to exit.

"At this point I believe a change of tactics is in order."

A tall beautiful girl advised while floating out of the Space ship. Robin stared at her with his mouth slightly open. He still couldn't get used to just how beautiful and...and...unique she was when compared to other girls. His heart always skipped a beat when she smiled.

"Earth to Robin." Kid Flash snapped his fingers infront of Robin's face, making the younger boy throw an annoyed look his way.

Kid Flash snorted,

"Any more staring and your jaw will drop to the floor."

Robin blushed and looked away.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He denied.

A chuckle escaped Kid Flash

"Sure Rob."

Starfire's feet gently landed on the floor and looked around the Watchtower. A panoramic view of the earth could be seen through the invisible energy shields surrounding the whole structure.

"So beautiful." She stated, her hands clasped between her chest.

"Yeah. It took a while to get used to all of it."

Miss Martian commented while flying towards her fellow alien.

"You seem to have accepted it as your new home." Starfire observed.

"I...I don't know if I'm... ready to. Or if I'll ever be."

She added in a little sadness.

Miss Martian placed a hand on the Tamaranean's shoulder.

"No one expects you to." She softly said. "Whether you see this as a new beginning or just a resting point before things work out... you're not alone Kori. We're here with you."

Starfire smiled at the green skinned superheroine.

"Thank you M'gann. You are very proficient in the 'cheering up'."

Miss Martian laughed at the funny way Starfire worded her statements. It wasn't that habitual for her but just enough for it to be noticeable.

"Now...I am going to the Hub and bake something. The rest of the team needs my powers of 'cheering up' to forget how badly the mission went. You want to join me?"

Starfire shook her head, still looking out at the planet.

"No... I think I'll stay here a while. I have a lot on my mind."

She replied.

Miss Martian nodded in understanding and flew off towards the Team's new headquarters, known as The Hub.

Using Batman's blue prints for the Watchtower, the League had managed to attach another structure to the Watchtower for the Black Ops team use. It was outfitted with the same amenities the Watchtower had yet remained a separate entity except for times when the two teams needed to work together.

After Batman had resigned from the League, he had been offered the position as full time overseer for the teens. It was a position that involved his old duties of Mission assignment and strategy training for the Junior Team. Batman had refused at first but after Superman continued to be in a coma , the latter's stand in had needed better guidance from someone experienced with how Superman went about safe guarding Metropolis. And no one knew Superman better than the dark Knight.

"Not alone huh?" Starfire absentmindedly said, rubbing a pendant with a stylized yin yang symbol clasped along her neck. She could feel a warmth that she instinctively knew was his 'beacon' to her. If she pressed her thumb on the Pendant...she knew he would come. No matter what he was doing or where he was...he would come. It was enough for Starfire to smile with a fond look on her face. They weren't talking...yet, he would come.

What if...

"Star? You okay?"

Robin, her smart teammate who was usually the brains behind most of their strategies, questioned in genuine concern.

She hadn't felt him walk over to her, which was something not just anyone could do. It was a testament to how good he actually was. Starfire had undergone rigorous training with the Warlords of Okara after all.

"I am fine, Friend Robin."

She answered, shutting off her train of thought into past memories.

"Just Robin is fine." Robin chuckled slightly.

"Oh am I not supposed to consider you friend?"

Starfire asked in genuine confusion.

"No no. We are friends. It's just that the connotat..you know what, nevermind."

A brief silence fell between the two of them.

"It's worth it."

Robin begun. Starfire threw him a questioning look but the Boy Wonder was already answering.

"Broken bones,torn skin, exhausted minds...they always seem to fade away whenever I look out and see that. It reminds me...this is what it's all for. Call it what you will, the mission, the purpose, the calling. Everything."

Starfire could feel the passion in Robin's voice. He meant what he said. That made her reevaluate her own principles and ideals. What was her purpose? What did she want? She had survived her sisters machinations caused by jealousy, she had survived the experiments to bombard her body with high levels of ultraviolet radiation, even gaining something from it. Not to mention escaping her captivity, finding something she thought she would never ever get then losing it due to it all being a lie. The past many months had been a roller coaster of emotions.

What was next for her?

"Ok Anakin."

Starfire teased Robin after his words. The younger teen barked out a laugh full of disbelief.

"Did you just use a Star Wars reference?"

Starfire Smiled as she turned to leave. It was time for a debrief after all.

"Maybe I did."

She threw that over her shoulder and floated away, thinking to herself, she didn't have a purpose yet but...she was among friends and for now...for now that was okay.

(5 minutes later)

"Now that everyone is gathered, let us go over the mission."

Batman's gruff voice stated, waving a hand infront of him. He was standing at the head of the table, with the whole team gathered around it. A projection appeared in between the table showing what seemed to be a wrecked train, off its rails.

"Approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes ago, a report came in about the possible sighting of Red Tornado on a train headed out of city limits. The League was occupied with trying to stop Sabbac's rampage through Fawcett City, so the scouting mission fell to your hands."

"And we blew it. Big time."

Artemis groaned, hiding her face behind her hands.

"I wonder if the two incidences were connected. The timing seems a little too convenient."

Robin spoke up.

"Yeah. It does make sense. Especially when you consider what we found on the train."

Kaldur agreed.

"Initial test results have confirmed that it's a body enhancing serum with traces of the block buster formula and an unidentified chemical. We have designated it as Variant X. The surviving vials have been sent to Star Labs for in depth scan."

Batman informed them.

"So they're moving again?"

Kid Flash wondered, looking around the table.

"We have no confirmation on whether the Light is responsible."

Batman responded.

"Oh come on. 'Red Tornado's possible sighting?', 'block buster formula?' and to make sure the League were non the wiser, a last minute distraction in the form of a villain rampage? We all know that memo. They've been quiet for long but...now they're back."

Kid Flash' words made sense to everyone present.

Batman narrowed his eyes.

"That is not productive to our current discussion. Back to the mission." The visual feed displayed above the table changed to play a distorted clip.

"This video file was collected from one of the surveillance drones tasked with protecting the cargo in the train."

The drone seemed to sway out of the way of Miss Martian's space ship. Said ship hovered over the moving train below, followed by the team jumping out and landing on top of it with barely any trouble. The weekly training from Richard Dragon was paying more and more dividends.

Batman paused the clip.

"Any thoughts so far?"

"Yeah...I should have checked for any air surveillance devices. A short range EMP would have extended the time frame we had to gain access to the train. Especially when the Bio-ship would have been unaffected due to her shielding. Because of the oversight, we lost the tactical advantage of surprise."

Robin said.

Upon the team's landing, Ivo's Monqi drones poured out of the train like water from a broken dam and a fight broke out. It was clear to see that despite the surprise attack, the team was well equiped to handle the drones. A wave of telekinetic wave blasted out of Miss Martian, pushing all the Monqis away from their immediate surroundings.

The Bio-ship with team delta in it moved ahead, out of the encirclement of the Monqis and closer to the cart where a red armored figure stood. Artemis and Kaldur jumped out while Robin controlled the Martian craft to move to the side and begin taking out the Monqis keeping Alpha team occupied.

Then things went from relatively bad to worse. A cloak of darkness instantly fell over the surroundings.

"The White Shadow and Darken."

Batman concluded. The video file cut off as the surveillance drone lost control in the zone of darkness. The last thing seen were two grainy and badly taken images.

"Two new players. As if this game wasn't too crowded already..."

Artemis pitched in.

"They were very powerful."

Starfire spoke up.

"After Connor, Kori's our heaviest hitter, yet...she couldn't even push The White Shadow back." Robin was quick to point out.

"Not to mention Darken's ability to basically numb everything with her Umbrakinesis and...it's a miracle that we only lost the cargo."