A-ko grinned, running across the training arena she and B-ko had built in the heart of the Watchtower. "You couldn't hit the broadside of a barn," she taunted. B-ko gritted her teeth, "Oh, yeah?" Missiles flew from her wrist launcher, and A-ko barely leapt over them. Watching from the control room was D-ko and the Oracle program. "Do they do this sort of thing often?" Oracle asked, pushing up her holographic glasses. D-ko kept her hands in front of her face, peeking out from between her fingers. "All the time," the blonde haired android sighed. A massive explosion, and she winced, "Ouch." "Not bad," A-ko admitted, dusting the soot of her costume. Smoking slightly, B-ko nodded, "Nice deflection of my missiles." D-ko's plaintive voice came over the speakers, "Are you two done playing, yet?" "Looks like it," A-ko smiled, and B-ko nodded reluctantly. D-ko sighed in relief, and Oracle looked at the android thoughtfully. "You really worry about B-ko, don't you?" she asked. "She's my creator," D-ko shrugged a bit uncomfortably. "Of course," Oracle said gently, and disappeared. A-ko showered and changed quickly, meeting B-ko in the monitor room. News reports displayed on the screens, including coverage of their first time out in the field. Metallix, the villain Metallo's daughter, had tried to rob a bank, and the two of them had stopped her. "I still don't see how a cyborg brain could even have a daughter," B- ko complained. 'Not to mention her being made of liquid metal,' she thought. A-ko shrugged eloquently, indicating that she also had no idea. "Maggie Sawyer," she said quietly, "the chief of Metropolis Police, asked us to stop in and see her later. Do you want to get that over and done with now?" "Not a bad idea," B-ko admitted. She looked around before calling out, "D-ko, could you get the Steel armor ready for me?" "Hai!" was the cheery response. A few moment's later and D-ko was helping B-ko to pull on the cleaned and repaired suit of armor. "Thank you," B-ko smiled, turning to walk towards the transporters. D-ko blushed in pleasure, and A-ko had to smile slightly. "Hey, wait up, B-ko," she called as she ran to catch up with her. Maggie Sawyer looked up from her paperwork to see two young women materializing in front of her desk. The armored girl appeared slightly taller, her face hidden behind a tinted visor, while the redheaded Supergirl stood beside her. "Thanks for coming so soon," Maggie got up to offer them her hand. "It's an honor," B-ko smiled. "My father's told me so much about you," A-ko smiled at her cheerfully. Maggie winced slightly at that, and B-ko threw her partner a cautioning glance. "What can we do to help," B-ko smiled. Maggie relaxed a bit on hearing that. "I'm glad you want to help," she smiled. She tilted her head, "We no longer have a Special Crimes Unit, so having you two around will be a great help." She paused, "Is there a way we can contact you, in an emergency?" A-ko suddenly had visions of a Supergirl signal, and had to forcibly reign in her imagination. "I think we can work something out," she stalled for time, looking over at B-ko. B-ko calmly drew a small square device out of her armor, "This is a signaling device, useful for both voice and text inputs." She smiled at A- ko's surprised look and smugly said, "Some of us come prepared." Maggie had to hide a smile at their interplay. 'They really are young people,' she thought. "This will do nicely," she smiled. "Call for emergencies only, please," A-ko said as nicely as possible. "I understand," Maggie nodded. The older man frowned, gazing into the view screen at the news reports coming in from Metropolis. "Well," he sighed, "it's nice to see some of the younger generation in costume." He pressed a few switches on his control panel. The Oracle hologram materialized, and she smiled at him, "Bruce!" Bruce Wayne nodded, the exoframe he wore helping him rise from the chair and bow. "It's good to see you, Oracle," he smiled. The steely gray haired man still looked good, even with the effects of age weighing him down a bit. She saw the monitor screens behind him and smiled, "I see you already know about the new guests in the Watchtower." A smiling Bruce nodded, "Though Clark should have asked us, first." The grumbling was good natured, though. Oracle hesitated, "How is the real Barbara doing?" "Settled down with Dinah, finally," Bruce shrugged. "I'm glad," Oracle said with a sad smile. "I'm sorry," Bruce said softly. "I shouldn't have suggested recording your persona into the Watchtower computers when you retired," he sighed. "Don't take too much on yourself, Bruce," Oracle chided him gently, "I did go along with all of it quite willingly." He nodded, but didn't look convinced. Oracle flickered, and she smiled, "Duty calls." Bruce released the link to the Watchtower mainframe, and Oracle disappeared.... ...only to reappear in the Watchtower command center. D-ko sighed in relief. She frowned, "What happened? I called for you and you didn't respond." "Visiting an old friend," Oracle shrugged. She looked around, "Supergirl and Steel aren't back yet, are they?" "I called for you because there's a message in something called the DS buffer," D-ko reported. Inquisitively she asked, "What's a DS buffer?" "Deep Space," Oracle noted, even as she checked the automated system, "It's a message from Superman and Wonder Woman." She used an uplink to B- ko's armor to let them know, and a few moments later both young ladies were back at the Watchtower. Superman and Wonder Woman appeared together, their expressions serious but not grim. "Not much yet to report," Superman said, "we've contacted the Green Lantern Corps, as well as the Darkstars and L.E.G.I.O.N. organizations, but so far we've turned up nothing." Wonder Woman spoke up, "There's a few other leads, however, that we've come across. Apparently a disease has struck the people of Almerac, killing their men. If that's so, it might explain the kidnapping as an attempt to acquire DNA for cloning." "We can't talk for long," Superman smiled, "but I know you're doing well, A-ko. You're your mother's daughter, of that I'm sure." Wonder Woman blushed, punching gently at Superman's arm. "Be well, daughter," she smiled, "you and B-ko. B-ko, watch out for her, please." With that, the message ended. B-ko looked over at A-ko in honest surprise, "Did you tell your mother you were going to try to recruit me?" "No," A-ko shook her head with a smile and laugh. "I guess my mother knows me pretty well," she sighed softly. B-ko smiled sadly, "You're lucky to have her." With that, she walked away. A-ko blinked in surprise, then she winced visibly. 'I completely forgot she doesn't have a mother around,' she thought mournfully.
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