I own nothing related to Young Justice, except my OC.

Independence Day

Washington D.C.

July 4, 2010 14:00 EDT

"Why is it that whenever something important happens, the guys are always the ones who are late?" I complained. My mentor, Black Canary, set a calming hand on my shoulder and laughed.

"Be patient. They'll be here. Believe me, Roy will make sure they get here." I rolled my eyes, looking up at the Hall of Justice. Today is the day.

"Been waiting long?" A voice called out from behind us. I turned to see Green Arrow and Speedy walking toward us. I smirked at GA when I replied.

"Wouldn't have had to wait at all if you had let us tag along."

"Very funny, Whiskers." Speedy commented. My eyes narrowed beneath my mask at the nickname he gave me.

"I'm not a house cat, Roy."

"In your mind maybe." GA muttered under his breath. I punched him in the arm, making him wince.

"Uh, why are we beating up Green Arrow?"

We all turned around to face Batman and Robin. The latter had his arms crossed over his chest with his signature grin plastered on his face.

"Don't ask, Bird Boy." I said, placing my hands on my hips. Roy kept quiet with no emotion on his face. While our mentors started chatting and Roy was moping, Robin and I struck up a conversation.

"How much you wanna bet KF and Flash will be the last ones here?" I asked. The younger boy grinned at the irony.

"I wouldn't be surprised. They're always late." It was true; even though both speedsters could break the sound barrier without breaking a sweat, they were always the last ones to arrive.

"So who else is supposed to be here?"

"Aside from us and Speedy, just KF and Aqualad." Robin explained. I nodded slowly, thinking about the last time I had seen either of them. It had to have been at least a year. The Boy Wonder and I were so focused on our conversation that we didn't even notice that Aquaman and Aqualad had shown up. It wasn't until our mentors cut us off that we realized they were there. Aqualad was quiet like Roy, but he didn't have the attitude that made Roy so lovable.

Finally, sans Kid Flash, we lined up with our mentors, facing the Hall of Justice.

"Today is the day." I heard Batman say.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice." GA said, placing his hands on Roy and I's shoulder. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

"Headquarters of the Justice League." Aquaman finished.

Black Canary leaned in and whispered, "Your grandfather will be so proud of you."

My smile softened a bit when I replied, "I know."

"Aw, man! I knew we'd be the last ones here!"

I held back a laugh as I looked over at Kid Flash, then glanced over at Robin who was covering his mouth to conceal his own amusement. This was going to be fun.

Tourists snapped photos of us as we walked into the Hall. Some of them were arguing about what to call Kid Flash, which made me snicker under my breath. But I paid little attention to the cameras, keeping my eyes focused on the Hall, while the boys argued over the term 'sidekick'. At least, I was focused until I heard someone in the crowd shout out.

"Where's the real Wildcat? I was expecting the real deal, not some copy cat!" Okay, that stung. Yeah, I'll admit it. I'm not the first Wildcat. The original was my grandfather, Ted Grant. He hasn't been on the scene in decades though. I took up his mantle when I was 10; he taught me the basics of fighting and when he turned 89, I started training with Black Canary. But I'm no fake.

The outburst made me cringe slightly but I didn't stop walking. In return, I got a lot of confused and somewhat worried stares, not only from the people surrounding me, but also from the crowd of tourists. Once we were inside, Robin was the first to try and convince me to talk.

"You okay, Cat?"

"I'm fine." I replied curtly, refusing to make eye contact, "Words are empty. Sticks and stones, remember?"

"Robin, Speedy, Wildcat, Aqualad, Kid Flash, welcome." We were greeted by Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado at a door that read 'Authorized Personnel Only' that was tucked between the massive homages to the founding members of the League. Manhunter and Tornado led us to an open area with bookshelves, chairs and a super computer.

"You now have unlimited access to the gym, our fully stocked galley and, of course, our library."

Flash turned to face us and said, "Make yourselves at home."

I immediately went toward the bookshelves. I've never been a social person; I prefer to keep to myself. Robin, Aqualad and KF all dumped themselves into chairs while Roy stayed standing. I casually ran my tape-wrapped hand over the leather-bound books, glancing at the titles for something interesting.

"Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day. We shouldn't be long." Batman announced. He and the other League members went toward a zeta tube to be granted access to the League's orbiting HQ. The same orbiting HQ that I was strictly ordered by Green Arrow not to tell anyone about.

"Recognized: Batman, zero-two, Aquaman, zero-six, Flash, zero-four, Black Canary, one-three, Green Arrow, zero-eight, Martian Manhunter, zero-seven, Red Tornado, one-six."

"That's it?" Roy shouted. I groaned, thinking to myself, 'Here we go...'

"You promised us a real look inside. Not some glorified backstage pass!"

GA stepped in to try and calm him down, "It's a first step. You've been granted access that few others get."

That only made things worse. Roy jabbed a finger at an observation deck sealed off by a wall of glass. Tourists were snapping photos on the other side.

"Oh really? Who cares what side of the glass we're on?"

"Roy, you need to be patient." Black Canary chimed in. That got my attention. If my mentor gets involved, then something interesting is gonna happen.

"What I need is respect." Roy spat back. He turned to face me and the boys, shouting, "They're treating us like kids, worse, like - sidekicks. We deserve better than this."

Venom was dripping from every word he said. I bit my tongue to stop myself from snapping at him. The other three teens were silent as well.

"You're kidding, right? You're playing their game? WHY? This was supposed to be THE day. Step one to becoming full fledged members of the League!" he looked over at me and his frown softened slightly, "Come on, Grant. Don't tell me you're not upset with this."

I scoffed, "So what if I am? I'm not the one acting like a child."

My remark made his frown return and his gaze harden. That was when Kid Flash spoke up, "Uh, I thought that step one was a tour of the HQ."

"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ." Roy replied smartly. I face palmed, giving GA a hard glare.

"I bet they never told you it's just a false front for tourists and a pit stop for catching zeta beam teleporter tubes to the real thing. An orbiting satellite called the Watchtower."

Batman gave GA an equally angry stare, while I got a look from BC. I held up my hands in surrender, but I knew it wouldn't help my case. Meanwhile, Arrow was trying to defend himself, but was failing miserably. Soon after, Aquaman stepped in to try and smother Roy's tantrum.

"You're not helping your case here, son. Stand down, or-"

"Or what? You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son, I'm not even his." Roy spat. He glared at GA, "I thought I was his partner. But not anymore."

Roy ripped the hat he was wearing off, and threw it to the ground at Arrow's feet.

"Guess they're right about four." He said as he stormed out, "You're not ready."

"Superman to Justice League." And the Big Blue Boy Scout saves us from an awkward silence, "There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

Batman approached the computer and looked up at Superman, "I've had my suspicions about Cadmus. This may present the perfect opportunity to-"

"Zatara to Justice League. The sorcerer Wotan is using the amulet of Atan to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response." My favorite sorcerer, aka my unofficial godfather, appeared on the screen.

"Superman?" Batman looked to the Kryptonian for approval.

"It's a small fire. Local authorities have it under control."

"Then Cadmus can wait. All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out." The Dark Knight turned to the four of us, "Stay put."

"What? Come on, Batman. That's not fair." I whined.

"This is a League mission. You're not trained." Flash explained.

"Not trained? Since when?" KF interrupted.

"I meant you're not trained to work as a part of this team."

"There will be other missions. When you're ready." Aquaman continued.

"But for now, stay put." Batman ordered. I looked away from BC and GA, upset with everything that had just happened. When the Leaguers were gone, I pulled my cowl off, exposing my entire face. I walked over to a hanging mirror and stared at my reflection. My long brown hair was in a messy ponytail, strands falling over my ash gray eyes.

"When we're ready?" Kid Flash started to pace and rant, "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like-, like sidekicks?"

"It's a liability." I said suddenly, gaining the attention of all three boys. I turned away from the mirror and faced them, "We aren't legal adults. It raises controversy to have minors doing what we do."

"My mentor, my king. I thought he trusted me." Aqualad whispered mindlessly.

"Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics! They have a secret HQ in space!" Kid yelled.

"Actually, I knew about the Watchtower." I admitted. KF looked over at me angrily. I held up my hands in surrender.

"Arrow told me and Speedy a while ago. But he told us to keep our mouths shut about it."

"What else have they not told us?" Aqualad asked.

"I have a better question. Why didn't we leave with Speedy?" Robin questioned. Silence fell over us for a bit before Aqualad spoke up again.

"What is Project Cadmus?"

"Don't know. But I can find out." Robin responded with a grin, "Wildcat, mind giving me a hand?"

I scoffed, but joined him at the computer, where he was hacking into the League's systems. I watched the screen and notice some familiarities to another system that I've hacked in the past.

Access denied.

"Is this the same system as the Batcave?"

"How do you know what system the Batcave uses?" Robin asked me. I shrugged.

"I may have hacked into the system in a few times before."

Access granted.

I located the file on Cadmus and opened it.

"Okay. Project Cadmus is a genetics lab in D.C.," I read, "That's all there is. But if the big, bad bat is suspicious, maybe we should check it out."

Aqualad walked up behind me, looking up at the file.

"Solve their case before they do. It would be poetic justice."

"Hey, they're all about justice." Robin joked. I rolled my eyes.

"But they said stay put." Aqualad reminded us. I looked over at him and smirked.

"They said that for the blotting out the sun mission. Not for Cadmus." Kid Flash sped over to me.

"Wait, beautiful. Are you going to Cadmus? Because if you're going, I'm definitely going. How about you, Rob?"

"I didn't come for a play date. I'm in."

We all looked at Aqualad who looked back at each of us, then gave us a half grin and a nod, "Just like that, we're a team on a mission."

I pulled my cowl back over my face and cracked my knuckles, "Let's do this."