After splashing into the pool, and sinking to the bottom he swam to the surface, and came up for air, Little Mermaid style. Was it extra? Probably. But this was Zachary Zatara we’re talking about. Extra was his middle name.

Once Zach’s head was out of the water, the handsome tatooed lifeguard called out to him, and Zach grinned from ear to ear. Now this is what he was here for. ”Sure thing baldie!” He gave a salute, and laughed as he made his way out of the pool, and over to the lifeguard. “You must use that line on all the boys huh? How often does that work out for you?”

---

---

Alisa made the decision to tag along with Aleen’a. “I’ll come with!” She followed closely behind her. After their conversation earlier in the lab, she worried for her friend, and especially worried about her ability to keep their mission under wraps. Aleen’a was normally a little spacey, but right now she was extra spacey. Plus, it never hurt to stick with a friend in a strange place. Which the center definitely was. As much as Alisa hated to admit it, being around so many strangers made her nervous, especially when she was pretending to be a partially human girl. Last she checked, metahumans didn’t come in the robot variety. So she had to blink. And remembering to blink was hard.

As soon as Alisa had finished and attached her new hand- which still felt a bit strange- she had rushed off to her room to get ready. Her first instinct had been to go for pastels and chunky earrings and skirts, but then she realized that she was trying to not be noticed and had gone with a black hoodie and jeans instead. She had worn her clip-on strawberry earrings, though. They were too awesome to not wear!

On their way to the cafeteria, Alisa spotted something through a window and had to stop. Was that… an art studio? She unattached from Aleen’a’s side and moved to peer through the glass. It was! They had easels, and the good markers, and was that a pottery kiln? She probably wouldn’t have any time to paint while she was here, but it couldn’t hurt to go inside, could it? She jiggled the door handle. It was locked. A frown crossed her face. Damn. She would come back later. But she had lost Aleen’a! Shit! She rushed down the hall to the cafeteria, where she was met with Aleen’a having a conversation.

Alisa went back to standing at Aleen’a’s elbow, entering at the start of their conversation. At Camila’s comment on height, Alisa was met with a twinge of annoyance. She forgot how tiny standing next to Aleen’a made her look. Not that Cecile had called her short, but still. Annoying.

“Hi! You weren’t talking to me, but I’m Ally. Me and her are friends, we just got here. She is very tall! It’s nice to meet you.” Alisa shook Cecile’s hand way too tightly. Damnit. Alisa cringed in embarrassment. She had fucked up the calibration on the new hand. Something to fix later.

M E T A H U M A N Y O U T H C E N T E R

---

At the pool

He gestured for Zach to lay down on the pool bed, quickly throwing off his bag and other stuff. The lifeguard put a fair amount of sunscreen on Zach’s back, spreading it all over.

“It works when I need it to,” he answered confidently.

“So when did you get here? Haven’t seen you around before.”

He took off his shirt and layed down on the bed next to Zach. He stretched out his arms and put his hands behind his head.

---

The Cafeteria

“Eh…” The sound that escaped her was faint as she did not want to make a scene, but her hand felt like it was being crushed. She couldn’t keep the slight pained expression from forming on her face but managed a smile. “Nice to meet you… You’ve got some grip there!” Cecile attempted to make the best of the situation and the forced smile was beginning to become more genuine. “So you’re both new here? Because I haven’t seen you either… and you’re both friends so I guess that makes sense. That or I’m losing my touch on spotting the newbies.” Cecile nodded her head towards the nacho line as an invitation to join her in getting something to eat. “Let’s get some food and mingle.”

I could use more girlfriends… Or just use any in general

Zach laid on the bed as the lifeguard rubbed sunscreen on his back. Now this is what he was talking about. Having a hot guy rub his back was fabulous. The guy then took his shirt off and sat next to him. Zach had to keep himself from staring and looking like a creep. This guy was almost as ripped as Viktor was. ”I’ve actually been here for years. I’m just very good at hiding from people. I’m very shy you see.” He paused for a minute to let that sink in before laughing. “In all seriousness, I just got here today. What about you? How long have you been here?”

Location: Greenhouse
Interactions: The Martian Manhunter

---

"We’re going to save those kids, Daphne."

“You’re really a shit driver Daph.”

“One day at a time, Daph.”

The Martian Manhunter's deep set eyes opened wide. Finally after hours of telepathic pushing, he managed to break through and catch glimpses of his protege’s mind. He was surprised to see her posture had also changed. He floated closer towards Daphne, studying her more closely. She placed her hand just below her right shoulder, appearing to touch something on her upper arm. Her head was tilted into the same direction. He cocked his head and looked at her face. The corners of her mouth were drawn into a subtle smile while her eyes were still closed.

You're smiling....

The League hadn't found a way to determine exactly how much of her human self remained and how fast those remaining cells were changing. They were running against an invisible clock. The Martian telekinetically lifted up a watering can and lightly doused the soil around her. With a quiet goodbye to the Nymph, he left the greenhouse.

At the pool

The lifeguard spit out his sip of beer at Zach’s sassy reply. He coughed and cleared his throat.
“Was just gonna say, you don’t seem like the shy type to me. Besides, being shy is boring.”

He smirked when he caught Zach staring at his chest. He subtly tensed his muscles.
“I’m Mateo, what’s your name? Or I can just keep calling you blondie.”Mateo ran a hand over his shaved head and took another sip of his drink.

“And yeah I’ve been here for two years. No superpowers, I just work here as a lifeguard.”
“You definitely look like you got some awesome powers. Unless making the staff around here hot and bothered is all you can do.”

Mateo flicked the can of beer into the trash can with practiced precision and turned his attention back to the pool, he had an actual job to do at the same time.

Zach sighed, partly to aid the lie he was about to tell, and partly because he wished he could tell the truth. But Zach wasn’t ready to blow the mission. ”Mateo, honey, do you think I’d be in this place if I had that kind of relationship with my powers? Maybe take me out for dinner first, and I’ll tell you.” Zach smirked. He was hoping to actually get a date out of this. “As for my name… Call me Jack.”

Location: The Gym, Metahuman Youth Center
Interactions: The Team

---

Viktor hadn't seemed to even pay Charlie any attention as he stoically scanned the gym for a few seconds longer.

“Do I look like I'm here to work out?” He didn't even look Charlie's way and clenched his jaw.

“No dude you definitely don’t.” Charlie scoffed. This guy was exactly the kind of weird he expected. He had the tough guy routine down to a T, he was playing it a little too convincingly.

“I'm looking for someone.” Charlie followed the guy’s gaze. There were only a handful of regulars at the gym around this time. Thiago was the only regular who was missing. He bailed on him, using some lame excuse. He deduced it could possibly be him he was looking for, seeing as he didn’t approach anyone else.

“Thiago bailed, if you’re looking for him he’s not here and he’s probably not coming.”

Finally, Viktor turned his gaze to him

“So he's your friend?”

“Yeah sadly enough he is, haven’t heard from him since last night.”
Charlie picked up his bag and packed up his water bottle and towel. He sighed and lowered his headphones.
“Must have been some date, he’d been going on and on about it for days. Rubbing it in my face. Wish I could say he was lying, but Thiago is pretty popular.”

“You’re an idiot.” Viktor sighed with a shake of his head. “It’s the afternoon and you haven’t heard from your friend since last night… during a time when guys like us are going missing?” Viktor lowered his shades down his nose to reveal his piercing green eyes. “Come, we’ll walk and talk. Tell me about this date.”

---

Alisa followed Aleen'a while heading to the cafeteria. She was at peace knowing that someone wanted to come with her but along the way, Ale lost track of Alisa. She thought that maybe her friend had something to do and she debated about whether or not to find her. Then again, the team was here on a mission and Ale wanted to carry through it. As Viktor made it very clear at the start: the mission always comes first. Sighing sadly, she continued her way to the cafeteria alone.

The scene before Aleen'a reminded her of the late-night food bazaars she and Kori used to frequent back when she was still being introduced to the customs of Earth. She remembered the looks of awe on the people's faces whenever she and her cousin would buy a mountain of the food and drinks, only for them to consume it all like it was nothing. The night air was filled with the scent of cooked food and sounds of laughter among friends and family. It was one of the most peaceful and joyful memories Ale shared with Kori before the latter went on an intergalactic mission.

Ale was supposed to feel happy but in her current state, she found herself getting sadder for a memory long past.

Her train of thought was interrupted by someone shouting about nachos, and a girl from behind introducing herself to the Tamaranean. "Cecile..." Ale softly repeated as Alisa eventually got to the cafeteria in time and introduced herself. With Cecile's comment about height, Ale didn't really think about it. Taking a look around, she realized she was definitely taller than the average human, about as tall if not taller than the tallest one within the cafeteria. She guessed that also played a part in her feeling different in a world where everyone looked the same.

Ale followed the two of them and got in line like the others for nachos. It was clear that everyone was excited for today, almost every teen was getting in line for nachos compared to other types of food. She figured nachos were only to be eaten during special occassions, seeing that they even dedicated this day for this certain food. "I am... Eena. We are both new here. I am... away, far away from my home. The streets are dangerous and unwelcome but I am... thankful for Ally helping me." Aleen'a quietly said, her tone soft and meek. "Is it true... that it is much safer here?" She further asked Cecile.

---

Thump…thump…thump…
A basketball bounced across the court, chased by one of the younger kids of the youth center. The boy eventually caught it and ran to his mentor, handing him the ball. Jeremia grabbed and immediately tossed it back onto the court. He was trying to tire this kid out. Israel was due for a nap.

“Tired yet Israel?” Jeremia called out to the curly haired boy. He stretched and groaned, resting his hands behind his head. At this rate he would be tired before this crazy tornado of a kid.

Ja, going by Ezekiel for the sake of this mission, had entered the court area. He had remembered the prompt for what the kidnappers were searching for; young and fit meta boys. Viktor had already gone to the gym, Zach to the pool, so Ja figured that this was a solid place to look for clues as well. As it were, there were a couple of guys playing a halfcourt game on one end and one guy on the other, seemingly keeping watch over another younger kid.

Basketball, while he didn’t play often in Buredunia, was something popular there as many players ended up coming to America to play professionally. With what he knew about the sport in mind, he wouldn’t try talking to the ones playing down the other end. Picking up a ball from one of the racks on the sidelines, Ja dribbled it as he walked, imitating what he’d seen on TV. Observing the older of the two, he seemed somewhat tuckered out.

Shifting a few braids from his face, Ja smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. When he got close enough to speak, a voice that wasn’t his own came out:

”Get into any good games?”

Jeremia’s brows shot up in surprise. This guy sounded exactly like Gerald from Hey Arnold. If that was his normal speaking voice that was awesome!

“Yo man can you do that again?”

He broke into a smile, though Israel wasn’t catching on. He didn’t grow up with the cartoon but Jeremia was having a serious fanboy moment. “You sound exactly like Gerald from Hey Arnold.”

“You can join us for a game if you can record some messages for my cousins.”
Jeremia had a cheeky look on his face. Israel was finally catching up to the conversation. He held the basketball under his arm, trying to look all grown up. The boy was clearly struggling to keep the ball from sliding down.

“So your superpower makes you sound like some cartoon character……that’s dumb.”

“Well, I guess it does seem a little dumb at first… Ja began, looking down at the younger boy with a smile. His breathing shifted just a little, and soon, the kid’s own voice came out, perfectly mimicked. ”It has its uses.”

”Name’s Ezekiel, but you can call me Eezy. Who’re you guys?

“Ahh!!!” Israel yelped and hid behind Jeremia, freaked out by the sound of his own voice coming from someone else.

Jeremia laughed and patted Israel's curls, letting him know things were okay.
“I’m Jeremia and this chicken behind me is Israel, nice to meet you Eezy.”

He covered the younger boy's ears with his hands and looked at Eezy with a more serious look in his eyes.

“It’s not a good idea to hang out around by yourself. Lately guys like you and me have been disappearing left and right. Stay with me and Israel for a bit.”

Eezy’s expression shifted to one of mild concern, and his voice returned to Gerald’s. “Really…? Thanks for the heads up…” He eyed little Israel a moment, deciding to speak up again briefly before little ears were uncovered.

“Did they have anything in common besides basketball?”

---

Eena… Alisa barely held back a giggle when she heard Aleen’a’s fake name. She grabbed a tray and followed Cecile and “Eena” into the line. Alisa wasn’t sure that she wanted to eat, but it might help her identity to be seen eating. Maybe just a bit of nachos.

“That it is much safer?” Cecile briefly grimaced before feigning a warm smile. “Of course it is! Especially for us! I mean…” Upon realizing she misspoke, Cecile averted her gaze with a nervous laugh. Sure, it was safe… but only for the girls since they weren't being kidnapped.

Aleen’a looked at Cecile and then at the other teenagers within the cafeteria. “I am aware that we have just met today but you must understand. Our life… We have been running from danger ever since, trying to find a place where we can feel truly at peace.” She carefully took the human’s hands and wrapped her hands around Cecile’s. “You have invited us into your home. Let us help you defend it.”

Alisa laughed, shaky, and grabbed Aleen’a’s arm. Oh, why did she have to blow their cover by saying something so weird? And now Cecile was judging both of them with that uneasy smile of hers.

“What Eena means to say is…” Alisa scrambled for an appropriate save. “We heard about the kidnappings-” she stage-whispered that word- “and we, um, well… can I trust you with something super, extra secret, Cecile? Cross your heart and swear to die? Maybe we should talk in private…” Alisa had a nuts idea, but maybe it could get them even closer to the truth.

“Uhhh…” Cecile looked between Aleen'a and Alisa with slight concern. Her hands were still in Aleen'a's which only made the whole situation feel even more awkward. “A secret that has to do with the kidnappings?” Cecile questioned with a raised eyebrow. It wasn't the best icebreaker, but Cecile appeared interested enough. “Okay… we can sit over there.” She pointed to a vacant table in the corner of the cafeteria.

As they walked to the tables, Alisa pulled Aleen’a to the side. She whispered in her ear, “I have an idea. I can’t explain it but just go with it. I promise it makes sense.”

Ale looked at Alisa then at Cecile, then back at Alisa again. ”Yes. I trust you. Whatever shall help us with the mission.” She said before she followed both of them to get their food.

Once the three received their helping of nachos and toppings, they took the available seats at the table pointed out by Cecile.

“So.” Alisa sat down with her tray across from Cecile, not touching the food. “You swear not to tell anyone?” At Cecile’s nod, Alisa soldiered on. “We’re not actually residents here. We’re, erm, metahuman vigilantes trying to investigate the kidnappings. And we think you could help us. Right, Eena?” Alisa whispered and nudged Aleen’a to corroborate her story.

“You’re…metahuman vigilantes…” Cecile stared blankly at the two.

Aleen'a looked at Alisa with a bit of shock on her face. She thought this was supposed to be a secret mission but her friend already admitted everything to one of them. Granted she didn’t actually say who they were exactly but still, it was a very huge risk that she took. Yet Cecile suddenly perked with a smile.

“You lie! Come on are you two serious?!” Cecile noticed she was speaking a tad too loud and cupped her mouth with both hands before leaning forward to whisper. “Don’t freak out but… I’m also a metahuman vigilante trying to investigate the kidnappings! We should definitely team up! Plus, two girls on the same team! I like the guys I’m with but jeez it sucks to be the only girl. I am always trying to tell them that the whole voting system we have isn’t fair with only- sorry I’m blabbing. Sorry. I- Anyway, what’s your team name? Wait, are you part of the Titans?!”

Aleen'a was about to say something but much to her surprise, Cecile admitted that she too was trying to investigate the kidnappings as well. Was she lying or was she actually telling the truth? It was hard to hone in on Cecile’s emotions when Aleen’a's psyche was all over the place too. Nevertheless, the Tamaranean gave Alisa her word and she would trust the judgment of her friend.

“I am sorry but… We have no knowledge of these ‘Titans’ that you speak of.” Aleen'a said. “Just know that this mission means so much to us just as it means to you too. We will do everything in our power to make sure these kids are safe and well…” She glanced down at the nachos that were just oozing with all these different kinds of toppings. She took one that was mostly covered in them and ate it.

Alisa didn’t bother to smother the shocked look on her face. There was no way she had guessed that. Was Cecile fucking with her, or were there really two teenage superhero teams running around this center? “Wow, that’s awesome. Your team name first! Who else is in on it?”

“Our team name…” Cecile averted her gaze nervously before sighing. “Omen… Trust me, I know it sucks but I was outvoted. The boys always win when it comes to anything creative. Like, do I look like an edge-lord? Omen,” she rolled her eyes as she mocked the name.

“Omen…” Aleen’a quietly repeated to herself. This made no sense. They should have been briefed that there was another team involved in the investigation of the missing teens. It was highly unlikely of the Justice League to hide such information from their team that would be of great help to their mission. Was it possible Cecile was speaking the truth or was it all just a ruse to trick them? It’s highly unlikely Cecile would admit to who they were working for as well because Aleen’a and her teammates would never disclose such important information. Not only could it jeopardize the mission, but it could also endanger the kidnapped teens.

“Our team is called… The Outsiders.” She said, glancing at Alisa before continuing. “We are all outcasts of our home, outsiders to our own community. We became the Outsiders in the hopes that no one would feel like one again as long as we are here.” Aleen’a ate another nacho chip before sighing. Cecile raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t fond of that name either. At least it had a decent explanation to go with it.

“Yes! Yes. The Outsiders!” Alisa beamed. “Omen’s not that bad, and ours is a little edgy too.” She took another chip, chewing on it slowly and glancing at Aleen’a. The poor girl looked stunned. She’d have to explain later.

“I wasn’t going to admit that.” She smiled as she finally took a chip for herself.

Well, she’d have to come up with an explanation later. Alisa herself wasn’t entirely sure what she’d gotten them into. “So? Should we collaborate? Try to find all the missing boys?”

“I can’t imagine going forward any other way! A team-up. You get your people, and I’ll get mine… After nachos of course.” Cecile appeared as if the excitement might jump off of her. This is going to be AWESOME!

-With assistance from @canaryrose-
Location: Metahuman Youth Center
Interaction: NPC

After spending some time venting about other people having the easy kind of powers with Raquel, Kassy realized that she was getting overheated. Even if the center had air conditioning, New Mexico’s dry heat seemed to be sucking the moisture straight from her skin. Dehydration could put her in jeopardy. Not to mention it would mean she’d ruin another mission. She politely excused herself and headed for the pool.

Once there, she removed and folded up the sweatshirt, careful to hide her shrunken staff, wiping a sheen of sweat from her forehead. She kicked off her shoes and dunked her legs into the cold pool with a sigh of relief. Out of the corner of her eye, she stopped Zachary’s blinding blonde head. He seemed to be making friends himself. Or boyfriends. It was hard to tell with Zach.

As Kassy took her dip into the pool, a whoop came from behind her and a boy entered her field of vision, dashing at the pool. He leapt in. “CANNON-BALL!” A big splash followed his dramatic entrance, soaking Kassy from head to toe. As he surfaced, he opened his eyes- and widened them at the sight of the girl he had just soaked. Fuck. He swam over, a guilty look on his face.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said. The boy was tall, with lean muscles and light brown skin. His dark hair was tied back into something between a man bun and a ponytail, and a light blush dotted his face along with a few stray freckles. His green eyes cast back and forth. Six slits on his neck- three on each side- flared as he spoke. “I really should start looking before I jump. I’m Riley. Need me to grab you a towel?”

Kassy stared at the offending boy through her dripping red hair, scowling faintly. But then, she realized she was actually a lot cooler this way and decided not to fuss. “Hi Riley. I’m Eveline. Yes, a towel, please.” She hoped Viktor wouldn’t be too angry about his sweatshirt smelling like pool water.

Riley climbed out of the pool, still looking like a scolded puppy. He made a beeline for the towel rack and draped it over Kassy’s shoulders before getting back into the pool. He didn’t jump this time.

She tried not to look too curious, but she’d never seen a human with gills before. Her illusion deep-green eyes looked him over. Raquel hadn’t had much to say about missing kids. She said there were ‘too many people and she ignored most of them’, so using her for leads was out. Maybe this boy would know something of use.

Once she was handed her towel, she mopped off her wet face and body before he looked too closely at the way her skin was absorbing the water. “So… assuming those gills work, I have a pretty good idea of your power.”

Riley rubbed his gills, looking a little self conscious. He chuckled. “Yeah man, they’re a little ugly, aren’t they? It’s not that cool. I just breathe underwater- I can’t even do magic like Aquaman or whatever. But it’s chill.” He hung his hands on the side of the pool, staring at ‘Eveline’. “So, Evy, what’s your thing?”

Evy? Kassy gave him a tilted look but decided to ignore the overly familiar nickname. "My thing is… Hypnosis. And no, I will not demonstrate." She decided to head off that line of questioning before it could start. Trying to relax and play nice, she offered up a smile. At the very least, this boy was nice to look at, and friendly. It made things easier.

"I'm sure there's a lot you can do with being able to breathe underwater. Maybe marine biology or something?" She shrugged vaguely. "You're not the only one who doesn't know what to do with their power."

She trailed her hand loosely in the water. "So, how long have you been here?"

Riley also shrugged, almost in a playful imitation of her. “Erm, I got here… Monday… so Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday…” he counted off the dates on his hand. “Like, a week maybe. I’m from California. You think my thing would be useful out there, but it didn’t go over so well.”

He decided to strategically ignore the hypnosis thing, instead hopping up on the side of the pool and taking a seat next to her. “But you probably got here today, huh? You kind of have that look.”

Darn. He'd only been here a week. Riley probably wouldn't know much of anything. Still, it would be strange to suddenly cut the conversation short. She continued on.

"Well, there isn't much water out here, so I would imagine it-" Kassy stopped mid sentence to gaze curiously at Riley. "Wait. What look? I have a look?"

“Oh, just the new look. I can’t really describe it, it’s just… the look. You stare at everything, you look kind of uncomfortable… not that you look uncomfortable. You look, um, nice. Not nice like pretty- I mean, you are pretty- not that I’m objectifying you- you look nice like, uh, not mean.” A blush climbed Riley’s cheeks. “Sorry.”

Kassy watched with some amusement as Riley fumbled through his sentences. There was a compliment in there somewhere, and she went a little red herself. “I understand. And thank you. You… look nice as well.” She rubbed the back of her neck, her thumb brushing over her marking in a subconscious way. It was still weird to have conversations with strangers her own age, mission or no.

“Is there a lot of turnover here? People arriving, and leaving all the time? Or are we the first new people in a while?”

“Hm?” Riley seemed briefly distracted but was brought back with Kassy’s question. “Yeah, totally. This place isn’t really permanent for a lot of people as far as I can see. It’s somewhere we come when we first find our powers, or are having trouble with them… a lot of people just come here during the summer to chill. It’s like, uh, Camp Half Blood.” He looked away, looking embarrassed. “Shit. You probably don’t know what that is. Never mind.”

Kassy smiled a little bit. “Those books about children of Greek gods? I’ve read a few. I do hope this place is a little less adventurous than that.” But of course, it wasn’t. Not with boys going missing. “Have you made many friends?”

He flashed a toothy grin. “Yeah. There are a lot of cool people here. Have you?”

“At the last place I was at, I thought I was making friends. Then my stupid power messed everything up.” A dimness crept into her eyes, and she quickly pushed it away. “Perhaps I’ll have better luck here?”

“I think you might.” Riley knew there the MYC was the only one of its kind, but he pushed that inquiry away. “Everyone has stupid powers that fuck things up here. You’ll fit right in.”

Kassy felt the sudden urge to snap at Riley. What would he and his gills know about it? As far as she was concerned, he’d won the jackpot! “I-” She exhaled slowly. “One can only hope.”

Riley felt the aggression coming off of her and he shifted away ever so slightly. “... Sorry.”

Realizing that her anger might have been noticed after all, she smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry as well. I’ve been through a lot lately.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize.” It was all her fault, anyhow. She looked back at the complex in a distant way. “I suppose I should go mingle.” She stood up and flashed a smile at Riley. “See you later.” And she walked off to go back inside.

T H E H O T S P O T C A F E

---

The Team talked separately to many different teens at the youth center. It turned out the number of missing teens was even higher than what they were told during the briefing. In the span of two weeks almost eleven teens went missing, nearly one a day. They further discovered a trio of teens had banded together as an independent crime-fighting team, much like the initiative, but without any supervision. It consisted of Charlie, Cecile, and Thiago. They called their team Omen.

While coming up with a plan of action the Team was joined by the remaining members of Omen, Cecile and Charlie. They compared findings, deciding their objectives were the same. The Team and Omen set up a plan. Taos wasn’t a large place and Thiago was likely the most recently abducted teen. He not only fit the bill for the other abductees but Charlie also knew Thiago’s last known location was an eatery, and probably a decent establishment if he was going on a date.

Both teams would investigate a location of interest. The Team went to one of the local cafes, The Hotspot to search for clues. Many of the missing teens were reported to have visited this specific cafe prior to going missing. Omen opted for a second location of interest a couple of blocks away.

The plan was to sit and observe while also taking the opportunity to search for any potential clues while remaining inconspicuous. It was unsure what they were looking for exactly. The cafe was relatively busy, a popular date spot in town. The only competition it had was the diner across the street. On the surface, everything seemed normal enough.

Location: The Hotspot, Taos
Interactions: Alisa @canaryrose and Aleen'a @baraquiel

---

After departing from the gym with Charlie, Viktor and his new acquaintance discussed Thiago. It was more like a line of questioning from Viktor that led to Charlie spilling the beans on being part of an independent and amateur group of heroes. This led to more sternly asked questions from Viktor before Charlie was saved by a phone call from Cecile who had coincidentally met with another team.

From what Viktor gathered, Thiago, Charlie, and Cecile were a trio that made up a superhero team that operated locally in Taos, New Mexico. They had been investigating the kidnappings to the best of their ability but fell short as they lacked resources. It wasn’t until recently that Thiago reached out to the Justice League unbeknownst to Charlie and Cecile. Charlie could not figure out why Thiago failed to say anything except for thinking he was going to try to secretly take credit for cracking the case himself. With Thiago now missing without a word, he was likely kidnapped like the other teenagers.

With the two teams coming together, Viktor was sure the extra manpower and access to abilities would aid in finding the kidnappers and perhaps even the young woman that was suspected to be behind it!

---

The team had decided on their objectives, and all without guidance from the Justice League. Zach had informed them he was very busy tracking down a lead, something Viktor did not believe. Whether or not the magician was telling the truth, Viktor accepted it since it meant he’d be away. Casper had been tasked with supporting Omen in their own quest of trying to find information.

The team had awkwardly split in two, mostly due to underlying tension.
Kassy and Ja sat at one table on one end of the cafe. Their table was a great vantage point as they were placed in a corner where they could see nearly everything except the entrance. Most patrons seated in the cafe would have to go out of their way to look in their direction while they could passively see plenty with a simple glance. Alisa, Aleen’a, and Viktor sat at a table that had a clear view of the entrance and was close to a window that could give them a good look at the parking lot.

The team had three main objectives: Case the cafe for the best places to install surveillance devices, watch for any suspicious activity, and gather any information available. Two security cameras installed in the cafeteria presented an opportunity to collect surveillance footage, but would also keep the team from acting overtly.

Viktor had been convinced to change his attire some, removing his gloves, jacket, and shades, while also untucking his shirt. Oddly enough, he did this with more reluctance than one might expect.

A server had approached their table, already asking what their orders would be.

“Tiramisu and a…” He almost ordered what was the norm for himself but with this type of mission, he could expand his horizons some. “Blonde vanilla iced latte,” He said as stone-faced as ever.

---

---

Alisa sat beside Viktor at their little corner booth, sketching an outline of the space in her favorite notebook. She held up the notebook while she drew so no one but the three of them could see it. Her hands moved the pencil across the page with practiced skill, building a picture of the building while she had an eye trained on their surroundings. It was nice here, quiet and quaint. Classical music played demurely from the speakers, and patrons spoke with an almost reverent hush. It was difficult to believe that someone- many someones- had disappeared from here.

It was also difficult to believe how well their mission had been going so far. So well, in fact, that Alisa had begun waiting for the other shoe to drop. Something awful had to happen soon, if their other missions had been anything to go off of. But this one seemed to mostly be… sleuthing, if anything. It was kind of exhilarating. She had fully expected Viktor to disapprove of her sudden information reveal to Cecile, but, to her surprise, he had done something similar, and hadn’t been very upset. And now, they were working with another group of teenagers, trying to thwart a kidnapper. She wouldn’t mention it to anyone out of fear of being seen as callous, but it was all exciting.

“i’ll just have an iced chai latte, please,” Alisa told the waitress. She wasn’t particularly in the mood for anything to drink or eat, but it would look strange if she didn’t get anything. She had chosen to wear a jean skirt, a white crop top, and black Converse for this particular operation, tying her hair back into a French braid as well. She thought she looked nice.

As she had that thought and as the waitress walked away, Alisa slid the 3D map of the cafe towards Viktor and Aleen’a. ”I think here, here, and here would be the best places to hide cameras, and here, here, and here for mics. Objections?” she murmured. She pointed the tip of her eraser to six locations. The ones for the cameras were by the door, behind the counter on the menu sign, and by the back door. The ones for mics were various tables where Alisa thought they might be most likely to sit. The kidnapper wouldn’t want her face seen by everyone, right?

Alisa shot a glance towards Kassy and Ja. “Whoever goes back there to download the footage should plant the camera when they do. We were thinking it would be Kassy, right?”

Mateo got reservations at the best taco place in Taos. It was a favorite among the locals. Around lunch time there was a line of people all the way down the street. The inside was decorated with warm earthy tones, along with splashes of bright and colorful tapestry and pottery. The lifeguard held out the chair for Zach like a real gentleman. The pair got a couple of looks which Mateo ignored. He smiled at Zach and waved over a waiter.

He confidently ordered a bunch of taco’s for Zach and him. A different waiter arrived with their food. While he was laying down the taco’s his eyes went back and forth between the food and both teens. Admittedly Mateo ordered a lot of food. He caught on to the waiter's surprised expression.

“Gotta build up my stamina for later” He winked at Zach with a cheeky smile on his face.

Zach giggled. “Neat. Just make sure to save some for me, K? I want to eat too.” He can’t believe he actually managed to score a date. Mission accomplished! Sure, it was based on a lie, but that would be corrected… He did feel some guilt for having to ditch the rest of the team to go on on this date, but it was worth it. They would understand. He would call it a personal investigation. “Thank you so much for this btw. It means a lot.”

“No problem cutie”Mateo was laying it on thick. His flirting was almost too much, like he had some ulterior motive. Every couple of minutes he checked his phone with a quick glance down at his lap before continuing to chat with Zach. Mateo was asking Zach a whole bunch of questions, wanting to get to know him. Between every couple of questions he snuck in specific questions about his powers, the reason for him being in Taos.

Whenever Zach questioned him on those questions Mateo twisted it around, saying he wanted to know that stuff so he could watch out for him. With all the teens going missing and all.

“So ready to get some drinks?”

In between eating tacos, Mateo asked him all the basic first date questions. Nothing out of the ordinary there. The odd thing was that he kept pressing him about his powers. To which Zach either deflected, or quickly shoved a taco into his mouth. It was a little sus that he kept looking at his phone a lot… Was he that boring?

Zach sighed “I would love to have drinks, but uh… listen, if this is actually going to go anywhere, you’re gonna have to know the truth. Emutsoc otni egnahc!” Zach snapped his fingers, and in a puff of smoke, Zach changed into his magician costume. “My real name is Zachary Zatara. I’m a magician. I do real magic, not just pulling rabbits out of my hat, and card tricks. Although, I can do that too… Skrowerif!” Zach pointed a hand up and shot fireworks into the air. “I’m kind of internet famous. I have a million subscribers on YouTube. I’m surprised I wasn’t recognized, even with the blonde hair… Maybe I should get a publicist or something… Anyway, sorry for lying, but me and a few friends of mine were investigating those missing kids… Now, will you stop looking at your phone and pay attention to me please.”

Mateo raised his brows. He had a feeling Zach looked familiar and now it all clicked into place. He broke into a smile. He sent his last text and put down his phone. “This is awesome, I like you even more now. Sorry about being on my phone. It’s work stuff. Being a lifeguard isn’t my only job.”

“Don’t worry about it Zach, let’s just have fun for now. I know this cute bar we can hit up. They serve the best cocktails in Taos.”

He got the bill and they got up from the table. He put his hands into his pockets and turned to Zach with a relaxed smile.

“About those missing kids, just stick with me and you’ll be safe. We can go help your friends later.”

Zach sighed. “Oh, what a relief! Ok, I’d love to get something sweet and fruity.”

---

Aleen'a's team talked with Omen and both parties seemed to decide to help each other solve the mystery of the kidnappings. She still had her reservations regarding Charlie, Cecile, and Thiago. They seem to be too eager to help her team with this case even if they all just met each other. On the other hand, it would make sense for an independent team composed of teens who were genuine and passionate to help to show such eagerness in fighting crime, especially if it would affect their safe space and their friends too. That just meant Aleen'a's team added another task: to protect Omen at all costs.

She was currently at the Hotspot, a local cafe that was a famous place for dating and such. She was seated with Viktor and Alisa while Ja and Kassy sat together at another table. Aleen'a sighed. The tension within the group was so thick that one could stick a knife made of butter through it, at least that's how the saying went for her. She could only hope things would go back the way they were and that Daphne would return to them in one piece.

"And I shall have a penne pesto, strawberry milkshake, a slice of your chocolate cake, and a warm muffin." Aleen'a said with a small smile to the waitress as they looked at her in bewilderment and shock before going to process their table's orders. Continuing with her unbeknownst 90s aesthetic, she was wearing a multi-colored crop top, denim mini shorts, knee-high mismatched-colored socks, and sneakers, with her hair loose and free showing how voluminous and curly it could be.

She leaned in as Alisa began to talk about where to put hidden cameras. "I agree. Putting cameras at different angles might be the key to finding out who our suspect is." Aleen'a said just as she eyed the door where a waiter was carrying a tray of another table's orders. "Should the personnel of this cafe be also of our concern? These servers saw those teenagers before they were kidnapped. Some of them must know something that could aid in our investigation." She added before pausing. "Would it also be wrong for me to assume that, perhaps, they have something to do with the teens' disappearances?"

Location: The Hotspot, Taos
Interactions: Alisa @canaryrose and Aleen'a @baraquiel

---

“Impressive,” Viktor commented on Alisa’s decision-making with a single nod, which was almost like getting a standing ovation coming from him. “And I agree with you both on the placement of our surveillance.” He spoke plainly as always while leaning in to take a closer look at the finer details of the sketch. As detailed oriented as he believed he was, he knew he could never produce anything so intricate.

When Aleen’a asked about how the team should deal with the staff of the restaurant, Viktor gave her a nod as well.

“That’s an element to keep in mind. In a situation such as this, I would advise treating them as potential suspects or threats. Watch them, remember their faces, and allow them to believe this is just another day.” Viktor spoke as if he was speaking someone else’s words.

“Also… During our briefing, the same thing that affected Talon in Gotham was identified as being involved here. We know what the victims will look like and we also know-” Viktor stopped as their server approached with a tray with their orders. All but the penne pesto were present with the server quickly informing Aleen’a that it would be served shortly.

---

His eyes twitched from place to place, and he fidgeted ever so slightly. The trouble with being on an undercover mission like this was that his animalistic senses didn’t go away. If anything, they intensified because he was looking for something— a strange person or object. With those senses though, came instincts and urges to sniff and walk all over the place. The only things that kept him still was his training and the fact that there were other eyes watching for potential perps, both at his table and on the other end of the restaurant.

Despite the tension between Viktor, himself, and Kassy, Ja wanted none of that to interfere with the mission at hand. This was about freeing the other kids, if they were still alive, and catching the people responsible. Plus, once this was all over there was even still Daphne who was at home, stuck in her condition. The longer this took, the longer it’d take for them to get home and possibly figure out how to free his Green sister too. He wasn’t going to fail again and possibly inadvertently fail her too again.

However, with all of that in mind, he didn’t want to get ahead of himself and mess things up. So, back in the moment, it came to looking for strategic spots to place a…probe? He forgot to ask what that word meant, he assumed it had something to do with spying on the place. If he was honest, he didn’t keep up with all his English lessons. Though with his cover of Ezekiel being from America, he figured it was a word he should know and he didn’t want to ask ‘Eveline’. There was no knowing who could be listening.

He felt a small change of wind in one of the braid locks that drooped to the right of his head, a small scent of smoke…his head twitched back towards their table as a waitress approached. Like a switch was flipped, a small smile flipped to his face as she asked them what they wanted to drink. His mouth opened briefly to speak but he looked over at Kassy. Thinking about the theme of where they were…

”Whatever you want Eve.~” He offered, extending a slightly wider smile to her.

“O-oh. Sure!” She had browsed the menu twice, but not really found anything she particularly wanted. Still, they had to blend in. “I will take a… iced double mocha espresso and a chicken sandwich. Thank you, Miss.”

She was distracted. There were parts of the mission that were leaning on her forbidden power. She didn’t really know how to explain to the others that she wouldn’t. Possibly couldn’t. Even now, she could hear the screaming back in Atlantis. She just knew the same thing would happen again, here. She would ruin it all. Rubbing the back of her neck, she peeked over at Ja.

“So. Um. Zeke. What do you want?”

”Hm…” Zeke took a gander at the menu himself. “I’m thinking a orange juice and,” He closed up the menu and passed it over, gesturing his head to Eve. “I’ll take a chicken sandwich too.” Came a chuckle as Ja watched the waitress walk away. Returning his eye to her, his smile became a bit more solemn, noting Kassy’s mannerisms.

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

Kassy murmured, lost in her thoughts. Then her ears tugged a little harder at her brain. “No, not really.” She dropped her voice, low enough to be heard by no one but Ja. “I know what needs doing, but… I’m very reluctant to do it.” She scrubbed a hand over her face. “I’m scared I’ll screw everything up again. I know we talked about it, but it’s still in my mind. Heh. I haven’t even told the rest of the team what I am fully capable of. Just you.”

She was terrified that it would make everything so, so much worse. After all, who could trust a monster who could turn your very mind against you?

Her explanation had garnered a small nod of his head. “Well…there hasn’t been much time to allow wounds to heal completely…But, remember what you thought about the—“ He paused to rethink his wording. “committee changing their minds by cutting you from the project. They had enough faith in your abilities to keep you here…for our squad though…I don’t think you did anything unfixable. You just build trust back up and tell them in your own way.”

“Right. Of course you would say that.” She pulled back her sleeve, revealing a thin metal bracelet etched with similar runes to those on her staff. The same eye marking that was on the back of Kassy’s neck was prominent amid the runes.

“Faith is one thing. Trust is another. They… dampened me. Not fully. But enough so that I can’t do what I did before. I’ll be able to manage ‘projects’, but…” She rolled her sleeve back down. “My… ah… boss said it will be on until such a time when I can be in complete control, no matter my emotional state. So.” A half shrug.

“I see…I’ve had similar things said to me from my superiors while growing up. My…father told me that he liked that I was learning but that the way I was applying what I learned…’upset’ people. A lot of them…So, I was kept inside for a long time.” Ja’s eyes seemed to glaze over as he stared down at the table. “I had to learn how to follow orders better…”

Kassy reached out under the table, found Ja’s hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. He didn’t speak of his past much, just like her. Whatever was in his head had to be difficult to think about. “You’re out now. That’s important to remember. You made it out, they can’t hurt you anymore.”

The waitress returned then, with two chicken sandwiches and Kassy’s espresso drink. She took a careful sip. It was bittersweet, but blissfully cold. She drank gratefully, feeling a pleasant chill on her insides. She let the waitress leave before speaking again.

Realizing her other hand was still warm in Ja’s, she pulled back abruptly. “S-sorry.”

“After many failures with other teams in the past, I’ve learned a lot of things. Coming here, I wasn’t sure it’d be much different.” He eyed his food but didn’t touch it. “Despite what we all went through, and even where we’re at now, I’m actually grateful that I was wrong. Honestly, I haven’t had as much fun then as I’ve had in the past year working on this project.” He looked up, smiling a little again. In a small leap of faith, the hand that she retreated from followed and latched back to hers.

“You’re a big part of that. So, even if you don’t really like yourself right now, please don’t beat yourself up too much. That’s my friend.”

Kassy felt her breath hitch in her chest, suddenly. Her mind was as blank as wet sand. “But-” She tried, then stopped. “Okay.” It was very warm in here. She could feel her heart starting to thunder in her chest, and a rich blush on her face. She hastily sipped her drink to fill the silence.

And yet, her hand remained in his.

“I agree with you. I have had fun with this project. And the team. I’ve never been a part of anything before, so this is good experience.” She could feel her skin buzzing, for some reason, her head feeling like it was full of tiny bugs. “...I feel weird.” Ja could probably feel it too. Minute tremors in her fingers.

Which, he did, and the minor shaking shifted his glance into one of slight concern. “How so? Like a sick thing or a head…sick…thing?” He had trouble trying to phrase it. “You’re shaking a little.”

“I don’t know. It’s really hot in here.” She tugged at, then removed the sweatshirt.

The young lion kept a careful eye on her movements. Her heart rate, the fact that she had shook a little in his hand seconds ago…It seemed to be like an actual sick thing opposed to something more emotional. His lips pursed a bit. She seemed fine a moment ago…what was it?

“Do you need to get some…” He stopped midway through. He was going to say ‘air’ but in reality, she’d probably need: “Water? I mean…coffee is hot, and I’ll admit it’s kind of warm in here…” He looked at his orange juice which had some ice cubes in it. “Would that help?”

“Water! Water, yes, please. ” She snatched the cup from the table, tipping her head back and chugging the cold juice in seconds. “That’s not water.” Her speech was rapid and her eyes were darting. “Waterwaterwater- wait!” She looked at Ja with wide eyes. “We have shit to get done. Let’s go! Let’s gogogogogo!”

Ja’s expression kept calm but inwardly there was more and more growing concern. Did that perhaps make it worse? She was acting frantic. “Okay, okay. Just keep steady, we’ll get you water.” He coaxed, standing up. From the way she was acting, it was almost as if it were like an allergic reaction of sorts. He briefly glanced at the table that held their squad but didn’t want to draw any more attention than they already might.

With that same line of thinking, her suddenly needing a giant pitcher of water from the kitchen because she’s allergic to the expresso would be rather dramatic as well…Wait, bathrooms had water in them. Not to have her drink from toilets, but there was usually always a sink. His eyes briefly scanned the restaurant’s perimeter until he picked out a sign that indicated ‘restrooms’ down a small corridor. Looking back down at Kassy, he gestured to get her darting attention.

“Okay, so there’s a bathroom over there—”

Kassy’s head jerked at Ja’s motion. “Bathrooms have sinks. Sinkshavewater! LET’SGO!” She grabbed Ja’s hand as she rose, and sped for the bathroom. Ja, unfortunately, was caught in her trembling grip as she burst through the doorway.

---

A couple walked into The Hotpot. The guy was positively beaming, smiling from ear to ear. Latched onto his arm was a girl. He pulled out a chair for his date and waited until she sat down. He was being a real motormouth again. It was a combination of nerves and excitement.
“You’ll see they have the best milkshakes here. My fav is the bubblegum flavor. I know I know, weird choice, with the blue and all. Trust me though it tastes amazing!”

The gills on his neck were opening and closing the more excited he got. He didn’t even notice. Right now, he couldn’t get over the fact that he was such a lucky bastard. This girl was something else! He noticed her looking at him from behind her menu.

“I’ll have the pomegranate flavored one.”

“Yeah awesome, that’s a great choice, perfect pick. That’s so tasty too!”
He didn’t have a clue what it tasted like, but he could bet on her having good taste. Everything about her was perfect already. His eyes followed her every move. When their eyes met again his breath caught in his throat.

“Uh…so yeah…” He stammered. God he was being such an idiot. The girl reached for his hand, brushing her fingers on top of his. It sent shivers down his entire body.

“Relax Riley, you’re being so tense.”

Riley felt obliged to listen to her, making an effort to calm down.

Their milkshakes arrived in record time and the couple enjoyed their chosen drinks. It was mainly Riley who did the talking and the girl who listened, or at least that’s what it looked like.