Aniv followed the team to their "base," an old, rather large, two-story house with an attic and a basement. The house had "happened" to be abandoned when they set up camp, though Aniv suspected that it belonged to someone close to one of the team members; the legal issues otherwise would have been too much trouble.
They'd turned the basement into a gym-slash-training area, claimed bedrooms and fixed up the kitchen and living space. It all looked pretty nice, especially considering the half-robot, whose name was Alexandroid, was probably the oldest member of the group at fifteen.
Robin showed her around, mostly silent.
"Bathrooms on both floors. My room and Spike's are down this hall, you'll be upstairs with Alexandroid and Hyrax. Rules; I'm in charge. You follow orders without question. We're a team, and the team comes before anything else. Respect each other's privacy, and don't monopolize the training room. Lastly, no one goes in my room. Ever. Got that?"
Aniv raised an eyebrow and nodded almost imperceptibly. Robin looked away, and Alexandroid locked eyes with, well, Aniv's mask.
"Alex, Spike, show Streak around," he ordered. "I'm going to my room."
The two lead Aniv around, showing her the different rooms. She barely listened.
"Tell me about the team," she suddenly demanded.
Spike and Alexandroid shared a look, then turned back to their newest member.
"What do you wanna know?" inquired Spike.
"Everything," she said. "Waymate Warriors? What's that about? Why are you all here? What's your story? What's with. . . him?" She motioned in the general direction Robin had gone.
They exchanged glances again; Spike pulled Alex aside.
Aniv hadn't yet had a chance to mention her super-hearing, so they didn't know that she could hear every word they said.
"She just joined!" whispered Spike. "This is fishy."
"New or not, she's one of us now. She deserves to be filled in."
"We don't know anything about her! Robin only agreed because he wanted to know who she was."
"But he did agree."
"He was too distracted to think straight! You know that!"
"I'm sure he knows what he's doing."
"Alex-"
"Excuse me," interrupted Aniv, "but I, uh, probably should mention I have super-hearing."
The boy punched the cyborg in her flesh arm, glaring at her as they turned around.
"Alright." He motioned for her to sit on what was to be her bed. "But you have to tell us about you."
"Question-for-question?" she proposed.
"Deal," agreed Alexandroid.
"But we're first," conditioned Spike.
"Fine."
"Name?"
"I told you, it's Streak."
"No, your real name."
"Not happening."
"Then why should -"
Alex held a hand up. "No Spike, that's fair."
"Fine." Aniv could feel his glare. "Powers then."
"Flight, super-strength, laser vision, x-ray vision, super-speed, Invulnerability, super breath, -"
"Super-hearing," interrupted Spike.
Aniv ignored him. "The ability to remove my consciousness from my physical body and enter another -"
"You mean possession."
"Putting it crudely, sure. Are you gonna let me finish?"
Spike glared, but went silent.
"Invisibility, shapeshifting, healing factor, energy awareness, telekinesis. I can transform the appearance of objects and people at will, but only minor alterations and usually only temporarily. I also have super-smell - though I rarely mention that one. Oh, and my IQ, if that counts. My head basically works like a supercomputer, allowing me to quickly find the solution to any problem I am presented with."
The other two heroes looked slightly stunned.
"You're like Superman on steroids," breathed Spike, trying to hide the awestruck look on his face.
"Well I've been working on it for a couple years," replied Aniv, almost shyly.
"What do you even need a team for?" observed Alexandroid. You'll put the rest of us out of a job."
"Let's just say I have a lot to prove," Aniv replied. "My turn now. Team name. Explain."
"Waymate," began Alex. "It means 'sidekick.' Most of us here are - or were - sidekicks to some member of the Justice League. Actually, you're talking to the only two here that aren't. Me, parents screwed me up. Had an accident, got half my body replaced with this." She motioned over her cybernetics. "Ran away, Robin found me, took me in. Spike here, similar story, but -"
"For me," he interjected, "the powers are in the suit. Made it myself, got flight, minor super-strength, and soon I'll be able to pick up radio transmissions." There was a hint of pride in his voice. "Still working out the bugs on that one."
"Yeah. Anyway, Robin and Hyrax, they're sidekicks from the big guys. Hyrax worked with the Martian Manhunter - they say she's the only human he can stand - and Robin worked with the Batman himself."
"Really?" asked Aniv, incredulously. "Impressive."
I've worked with Bruce and J'onn for two years, she thought. Why haven't I heard of either of them?
"Yep. What about you? Worked with the big leagues at all?"
More than you know.
Her expression was neutral. "Me? The Streak? I just came onto the scene today."
"Fair enough," conceded Alex, but Spike looked suspicious. Aniv wished more than ever in that moment that she knew how to read minds.
"Spike. Why the suit? Why all this just to get away from your family?"
He shrugged. "Let's just say I've got a lot to prove." His eyes glinted.
Aniv grinned mischievously. "Fair enough."
"If you won't tell me about that then," she queried, "tell me about Robin."
"There's not much to tell. Him and the B-man got into a fight, he ran off. Something about a girl I'd guess; he doesn't talk about it much. Whoever it was, must be pretty important. We think he's secretly looking for her. I say he's got a shrine dedicated to her in his room - that that's why no one's allowed in. Alex and Hyrax think I'm nuts, but I'm sure of it."
Alexandroid rolled both her human and mechanical eyes. "Come on," she said. "We shouldn't be talking about him like this. Let's just finish the tour and get back to training."
They started to leave.
"I think I'm gonna stay here for a while," said Aniv quietly. "Kinda tired. Long flight, you know?"
Her new teammates didn't argue. The door shut behind them, and Aniv laid back to look at the ceiling.
Something about this Robin person really bothered her, and she couldn't quite place her finger on it. She knew one thing for sure though: there was no way she was leaving until she found out what it was.
