Mimic

Suspicions and Mini-Marts

"So, Wally," I said to the red head on the ride back to Mount Justice. We had decided to take the bio-ship since we were tired and it was arguably faster than most of us anyway.

"Yeah?" the speedster's head shot up.

"What was your souvenir from this mission?" I asked curiously.

"This," Wally announced, holding up a white ribbon. "A little girl I saved gave this to me."

"Nice," I commented, "And just so I'm on the same page as everyone else, who were those special hostages?"

"Oh," Robin said flatly, turning his chair around to join our conversation. "They were just people we know in our civilian lives, like Bats said."

"Ah, I see," I turned my nose up, pretending to be offended, "You don't trust me."

"No, Alex-" Robin started.

"Can't blame you," I shrugged, "I am the new girl in a group of teens who have been friends for a year and a half. Some of you have known each other even longer!"

"We do trust you," Wally said quickly, sending a glare to Robin, who seemed oblivious to the speedster's annoyance. "Two of the hostages were my parents."

"That's what I figured, with you hugging them and all," I nodded, "So your last name is West?"

"How'd you know?" Wally asked.

"I asked your dad for his name. Trying to find a pattern in the kidnappings," I told him. "So Rob, who did they get that was close to you?"

"Red Arrow," the Boy Wonder answered.

"He doesn't count," I countered, "He was never a real hostage."

"He's the only one I was good friends with," Robin shrugged.

"Whatever," I sighed, "So, you think Red missed the party because he was too busy getting caught by Deathstroke?"

"He probably wouldn't have shown anyway," Robin chuckled.

"But let's hope that was the reason," Wally added with a smirk.

"And why doesn't he like me?" I asked the boys.

"Red just doesn't trust you," Robin assured me, "He's like that with everyone at first."

"You should've seen him and Artemis when they met," Wally laughed, "They hated each other. But now they're like siblings."

"More like, third cousins at best," Artemis said with a smirk. Everyone laughed.

We were all quiet for a moment after that, until Robin said, "But there's still a question that needs to be asked."

"And that question is...?" I asked, although I had the sinking feeling I knew where this was going.

"Somehow, three or more villains got a hold of our secret identities," Kaldur said slowly, "Which would suggest that we have a mole."

"Oh come on guys!" Wally protested, "Not this mole thing again! Remember how it felt when Red Arrow thought one of you guys were a mole? It started to tear us apart."

"But we can't just ignore the fact that our parents and friends were taken," Superboy complained.

"No one's saying we should just forget about the possibility that we have a mole," Zatanna said.

"We just need to tread lightly," Rocket added.

 The rest of the ride was painfully quiet, which gave me the opportunity to think.

Okay, so obviously I was the number one suspect for being a mole. Even if I wasn't shady at times, they'd suspect me just because I was the newest member. I had to win their trust back somehow, or at least keep my spying on the down-low for who knows how long.

After an eternity and even more jumbled thoughts, we finally arrived back at Mount Justice. I quickly made my way to my room and flung myself onto my bed. I began to absent-mindedly fiddle with my wrist communicator watch. I suddenly sat up and squinted at the piece of technology. It was supposed to allow my parents and uncle to contact me. But already it had been proven to me to be more than a simple communicator. A few days prior, my uncle had known exactly where I was, which means the watch is a tracker. And my so-called family had also known information, such as secret IDs, that I'd never told them. Meaning that the watch also recorded all of my conversations.

The very thought enraged me. How dare they track me. How dare they spy on me. This was just another thing to add to the list of ways they've insulted me. I took the watch off and chucked it across the room. It hit the wall hard and hopefully shattered.

Without really thinking, I opened my door and sped out. I raced into the main room, which was empty. Presumably, because everyone who didn't live here was gone, and everyone who did was either in their rooms or watching TV. So I easily zeta'd away to Gotham, my home. I sprinted a few blocks away from the zeta tube and entered the Gotham Mini-Mart. After grabbing a few supplies in the somewhat deserted store, I made my way up to the front counter and dropped them in front of the cashier, a middle-aged man who gave me a weird look. I assumed that it was because I hadn't changed out of my superhero garb. He started ringing up my items. First the food, then the hammock and the blankets. He paused, staring at me intently.

"There a problem?" I grumbled.

"Aren't you the new superhero? From the news?" the man said, pointing to a TV screen behind him that I hadn't bothered to look at before. I now glanced at the screen and strained to hear the reporter's words.

"Can you turn it up?" I asked, and the man grabbed a remote from underneath the counter, fulfilling my request.

"I'm late-night reporter Vicki Vale," the blonde woman on the screen said, "Giving you the news on the earlier events of tonight, when the Joker, Harley Quinn, and Deathstroke took twenty-two hostages and threw all but six off of the roof of Wayne Enterprises. The other six, which included Red Arrow and Cheshire themselves, were taken inside the building and put into a room guarded by Deathstroke. Luckily, Justice League and Young Justice Team members were quick to the scene, saving falling hostages and fighting the clowns along with robots that were released halfway through the battle. Bystanders also have claimed to see a new hero, a teen-aged girl dressed in black and white who was seen racing inside Wayne Enterprises and saving all the civilian hostages inside, on top of saving numerous of the other hostages. We beg the question, who is this new vigilante, and where did she come from? And we now show you footage taken by a on-lookers phone."

So much for clearing all the bystanders away, I thought as I watched the poor quality video that showed all of the fliers, including me, saving hostages. And I have to admit, I could barely recognize myself. With my robe twirling every time I twisted and the heroic, somewhat caring look on my face, I looked like a different person.

I looked like a hero.

"Yeah," I muttered in awe, "That's me."

"Then I'll tell you what," the cashier whispered to me, "I'll give you these things for free."

"Really?" I asked, shocked that this stranger would do that.

"Yep, just keep on doing what you're doing," he smiled kindly, "Thank you."

"No problem," I smiled softly, "And thank you."

With that, I left the store and went out into the Gotham night.