It's here we find an abandoned Concordia Resort, a giant mansion-esque building that went into receivership a few months back. Just recently, however, it became the new home of the super hero team Young Justice.

The mansion was fully furnished and fully stocked with food, computers, cable, internet access, pool tables, and all kinds of ways to pass time. Comfortable beds, hot showers, a pool and more. It was a nice change of pace from what the team had recently endured.

After Sebastian Shaw and the Hellfire Club sought to take the team down, that is. The Department of Extranormal Activities was manipulated into issuing an arrest warrant for the young heroes, and actions made by a clone of Superboy who had infiltrated the team caused YJ to be on the run. They fought with DEO troops, their team Generation Next, the Super-Unit Police, Sentinels, the Point Men, the Living Monolith, Hellfire goons, demons, and finally, the Avengers League.

The clone was exposed with the return of the true Superboy. The clone, then naming itself Match, fled. A new member, Jolt, joined just as the crisis started . . . former members Magik and Cannonball were released to Muir Island's custody. The Red Tornado, the team's mentor, was told to stay away. And, it appeared as though Robin had quit. In actuality, he just switched codenames to Nightwing.

[[For those of you keeping score, that's a very brief explanation of the Young Injustice storyline, raging from YJ 17 to 26, Detective Comics 12 and 13, YJ Annual 2, YJ: Moonstar, YJ: Hellions, Generation Next Secret Files #1, and Generation Next/Young Justice 1 and 2. Whew. - Paul]]

Having apparently wrapped up most of the loose ends and turning anything else over to the League, the team decided that now would be a good time to catch a break. For those of you new to the book, let's give a little role call:

Chuck Barnes is Nightwing, formerly Robin. He's broken away from Batman to become his own, independent hero, but lived for years under Batman's guidance. He's an incredible detective and trained in several different fighting styles. Armed with several gadgets and a bo-staff, Robin's an ordinary human pushed to peak physical conditions.

Bart Allen is Impulse. The speed force is something he doesn't understand, nor does he know that he controls it. He can move faster than one can think, and for him, this is very true, often not thinking and of an intellect comparable to that of a five year old. He can also vibrate the molecules of his body so fast that he becomes intangible.

Kon-El is Superboy. Though his origin is unknown, he uses his powers of tactile telekinesis to be a hero and take after his inspiration, Captain America. The tactile telekinesis makes him invulnerable, super strong, and capable of flight. He also wears a photonic 'S' shield as an homage to the Captain. Currently, his powers are slowly being drained away by his clone. The only way to reverse the effect is to kill his clone, who is on the loose. In the mean time, the mysterious Graviton gave him a power boost to tide him over.

Cassie Sandsmark is Wonder Girl. Originally, she believed that her powers were given to her by Odin, Lord of Asgard. Recently, though, she discovered her powers were ionic in nature, given to her by Arnim Zola, the bio-fanatic. She can fly, is super strong, and pretty darn near invulnerable. But now, when she powers up, she bursts into ionic energy. What her body can handle is unknown.

Cissie King-Jones is Arrowette. A normal teenage girl to the naked eye, she is an excellent markswoman. Her eyes are keener than anyone else around and she can hit any target. She also runs around with another identity, called the Spoiler, who is apparently having a pseudo-relationship with Robin.

Linda Danvers is Firebird. She was originally super strong, invulnerable, and could fly, as well as had the gift of telekinesis, but then her powers started manifesting themselves as large, fiery wings behind her back. She was manipulated by the Hellfire Club and for a time fought against YJ, but was freed and came to her senses. Her wings seem to grow more powerful every time she calls upon them, while her original powers seem to dwindle. Recently, she had called herself the Phoenix and unleashed large psionic attacks upon foes, which she would not remember later. The mystery remains unsolved.

Jennifer-Lynn Haden is Jade. She's hard to miss with her emerald green hair, eyes and skin. Her power allows her to create and sustain anything she can think of with her own force of will. Anything from wings to fly on to a huge battering ram to slam into an enemy, so long as she's confident, she's strong.

Hallie Takahama is the newcomer, Jolt. A tortured prisoner of Arnim Zola, she was freed and sought to join the team, seeking a home and eventual revenge. Her body absorbs any and all ambient energy and releases it in increased agility, endurance, speed, and electric shock punches.

All caught up? Hope so . . . 'cause now we can begin the actual story, on the streets of New York City, December 24th, around 4:30 p.m . . .

"I can't believe I waited 'till the last minute to do all my Christmas shopping," Cissie frowned.

"I can't believe how much money it costs to buy people gifts," Jennifer said.

"I can't believe how many cool video games there are!" Bart exclaimed.

Cissie, Jen, Linda and Bart were together doing their shopping in and around Times Square. Needless to say, the place was packed.

"I think it was a poorly planned move to stick us with baby-sitting duty," Linda said, referring to the oblivious Bart.

"Eh . . . he's harmless," Cissie smiled.

"But the others knew we were gonna be out and about," Linda continued. "That we'd be doing a lot of shopping . . . "

"Well, the others are probably gonna be in a more serious mood," Cissie answered. "For Hallie, this is her first Christmas in awhile, and, well . . . we did find out that her family was killed. She's hanging out with Robin--er, Chuck, since he went through the same thing . . . they're gonna have a sad Christmas."

"Well, this isn't a merry Christmas for any of us," Jen sighed. "Chuck just broke away from Batman, who's been a father to him . . . Kon's dealing with the fact that he was replaced by a clone which drove us all to hate him . . . Since Cassie's powers went crazy and she blew up her house, she hasn't even mentioned her mother and what might have happened to her . . . Cissie, you've never gotten along with your mother, and she's the only family you've got . . . Hallie I already said . . . Linda, after everything you've been through, and this whole Phoenix thing, I bet you're pretty confused . . . and me, well . . . I miss Sam."

"At least Bart's happy," Linda shrugged.

"Don't get all depressed," Cissie said. "We've still got some shopping to do, and it'll be a lot easier if we stay happy, right? Right. So, come on . . . "

Wonder Girl sat perched upon a tree branch overlooking the residential block that, just recently, was burned almost completely to the ground by a fire. A fire caused when her ionic powers exploded.

"Hey?"

"Huh?" Cassie spun around. "Oh . . . hey, Kon."

Superboy waved slightly. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," she said.

"I had Rob--Chuck look into it . . . there wasn't any list of her name in the casualties or the injured."

"I know," Cassie said, returning to watch what used to be her home. "But I also know she was home when I . . . when I . . . exploded."

"Maybe she had left? Stepped out, went to get something to eat?"

"She would have told me she was going . . . and then she would have tried to contact me after seeing what had happened."

" . . . "

"What if . . . what if she wasn't my mom?"

"What do you mean?" Kon asked.

"Zola said that I was his first successful experiment, right?"*

*(in YJ 15 - Paul)

"Yeah . . . "

"And that he had wanted me to be an agent of his . . . but for some reason the process didn't make me loyal to him . . . I retained my own will power. So he created false memories of how I got my powers and returned me home, to one day retrieve me, right?"

"Right . . . "

"So what if my 'mom' was just some loyal agent of Zola's whose task was to watch over me?"

"That's not . . . I don't think . . . I . . . "

"It's possible," Cassie said, tears welling in her eyes. "My entire life has been a lie . . . "

"No it hasn't," Kon said, putting an arm on her shoulder. "You don't know that that's the truth. And even if it is, your life hasn't been a lie. You have friends . . . people who care about you. You have feelings, you care about people . . . you have these awesome powers that you use to help others . . . your life, though complicated, has been amazing."

" . . . "

"Come on, Cass," he said, helping her to her feet. "It's Christmas Eve. You should be happy."

"Yeah . . . should be."

"Let's go home."

Chuck and Hallie sat in the study. They had been talking for awhile.

"So . . . you have no family left, either?" Hallie asked.

"Nope," Chuck replied. "Not a one."

"My parents were all I had . . . but when Zola took me, well . . . I guess he considered them loose ends," she said, holding back the tears and pain, speaking almost matter-of-factly. "Kinda makes the holidays a bummer, huh?"

Chuck nodded. "I was lucky. I was taken in by Batman . . . given a home, a family of sorts . . . people who cared about me. It wasn't the same . . . but it really helped."

"Must've been nice."

"It was," Chuck nodded. "Just like it will be for you, since you've decided to stay. You'll have a whole family to look out for you and help you through all the bad times."

"Yeah," she said, a smile slowly creeping into her face. "I guess I will."

"At the very least, you can count on Bart's undying loyalty."

She laughed. "That's true . . . "

"Anyways, I just wanted too--eh?" he paused. "The proximity sensors Kon and I set up last week . . . they're going off."

"Unwelcome visitors?" Hallie asked. "On Christmas?"

"Let's go," he said, taking her by the hand and leading the way to the front entrance. Within moments, they were outside. What they found, however, was not what they expected.

"Wow . . . " Hallie said.

"No kidding."

Before the two stood a twenty-foot Christmas tree, fully decked out in lights and ornaments. Beneath it, eight gift-wrapped boxes. And hanging low, a card. Chuck approached and pulled off the card.

"It's addressed to Young Justice," he said.

"What is?" Superboy asked as he and Wonder Girl landed. "That tree?"

"Holy crud," Jennifer exclaimed as she, Linda, Cissie and Bart approached with a shipment of gift-wrapped packages upon one of Jen's green floating discs.

"It says," Chuck started, "To Young Justice: Merry Christmas. I'm proud of you. Signed, the Red Tornado."

"Reddy did this?" Cassie asked. "Awww . . . "

"Presents!" Bart exclaimed, speeding over to 'em.

"And lots more where those came from," Linda said, motioning to the load Jen was carrying.

"That's just too cool," Hallie said.

"Well, everyone, grab your presents and come on in," Chuck said. "I've got some eggnog, some hot chocolate, and plenty of ginger bread cookies inside waiting."

"I'm there," Kon grinned.

"To Jade . . . " Jen read the card from the Tornado. "'Your will is stronger than you believe. Not just anyone could do the things you do. Keep believing in yourself.' Awww . . . " She opened the present. "It's a picture frame with Sam at Muir! He must've flown over there and done it for me . . . "

"To Linda," Linda started. "'May your wings always burn bright with the passion you exhibit. Despite your hardships, your soul is a beacon, a shining light that inspires us all.' What a smoothy. He got me a stuffed Dove . . . heehee. That's kinda awkward . . . maybe he was tight for cash. Or maybe it was, like . . . hope."

"To Cissie," Cissie took over. "'Don't let your past keep you down. You're a hero.' Short but sweet. He got me a photo album? With pictures of all my other family members who were super heroes! Cool . . . even my mom's in there, the original Miss Arrowette . . . "

"To Cassie," Cassie continued. "'You're smarter than you think. Stronger than you think. And just an all around wonderful person. Keep on the path . . . you've got a bright future ahead.' And he got me sunglasses? Reddy, you're so weird . . . but at least they look expensive."

"To Impulse," Bart said. "'Think before you act.'" He shrugged, then tore his present open at lightning speed. "Cooool! An XBOX!!!"

"That's not fair," Superboy frowned. "Ah well . . . 'To Superboy: Despite your ego and attitude at times, you always do what's right. To you, things are almost always black and white. Don't lose that innocence.' And he got me an autographed picture of Captain America from World War II? Sweet, this thing's gotta be priceless . . . "

"He got me something, too," Hallie said. "Which is weird, since he doesn't really know me. 'To Hallie: This may seem weird, since I don't know you, but I just wanted to say . . . welcome to the team. Good luck . . . you'll need it.' Heh! He got me a scrapbook? It's empty . . . but it says 'To fill with all the memories to come.' That's pretty cool."

"What about you, Chuck?" Kon asked.

"It's addressed to Nightwing," he said. "Which is weird . . . I didn't tell anyone I was becoming Nightwing. It says, 'You did the right thing.' Huh."

"Did anyone tell Reddy about Rob--Chuck?" Cissie asked.

Everyone answered no.

"Huh," Chuck continued. "He got me a Batarang?" He grinned. "A Batarang that's done it Nightwing style. I don't know how he found out . . . but it's cool."

"Merry Christmas," Linda said.

"Merry Christmas, everyone," Chuck answered. Everyone else followed. "No, come on . . . let's get some music going, and let's have a good time. We've finally got a break that we deserve . . . but we all know it won't last. Eat, drink, and be merry . . . and for the moment . . . don't think about tomorrow."

"Amen, brother," Kon said. "Amen."