AN: So, I've had this idea for Bone Master for a long time. He's odd and I love him. This is the first time in a long time I've posted a fanfic online, I think the last one was also a YJ fanfic, called Whisper Runner over on an old account. But I was like 13 when I posted that and it probably sucks. Either way, if this gets a few kudos I'll probably post more as I go along writing in my free time.

I also don't have anyone editing this as a beta, so if you see a mistake, don't be afraid to comment and tell me.

Humming the mission impossible theme song, a young boy flipped the bird to a rock wall. Said finger started to glow a vivid purple and an elephant skeleton seemed to spill out from the roman numeral 'III' tattooed right below the second knuckle. With a laugh, the boy jumped back as his entire right hand was engulfed in the same purple also now covering the huge skeleton before him.

A lopsided grin crept onto his face and with a clearly exaggerated fake Jamaican accent he commanded, "Charge, Jumbo!" He held his hand forward and the massive skeleton seemingly came to life, running full speed at the rock wall. The wall cracked.

"Again!"

The elephant skeleton ran at the wall again, taking out enough for the tall skinny boy to wiggle his way through. Tan fingers snapped and the skeleton disappeared in a flash back to where it came. With a chuckle, Bone Master readjusted his overly large purple trench coat and marched to the opening he had created. Once through to the other side, he broke into barking laughter, "You think it would be harder to break into the batcave!"

Almond shaped eyes peered around the cave and shined with enthrallment once they found what they had been searching for, "It's true! Batman does have a t-rex!" Clambering closer, he suddenly paused, "But is there an actual skeleton under there?" He narrowed his eyes in concentration and they began to glow just as his hand had.

"Bah! Ag jou hol man! Fucking hell!" Stomping his foot, he threw up his hands, "I came all the way here only to find out that this t-rex isn't even real!" Pouting, he crossed his arms, "Now what do I do?"

He froze as a long shadow came down upon him from behind. Slowly, he turned around and gulped as he met the gaze of Batman.

"Now, you tell me who you are and what you're doing here."

Cackling, the boy beamed up at the glaring superhero and cheekily answered, "I call myself Bone Master." His eyes glanced back to the t-rex, "And I'm disappointed that you don't have an actual t-rex. I could've been in Salem hours ago and shopping for new things to mess around with."

Batman snapped his arm forward to snatch Bone Master by the back of his coat, but missed as the boy ducked and quickly moved away.

"Boo. Be nice, I'm a guest. Though I guess I'm technically an intruder, since I smashed a wall to get in here."

A batarang nearly pierced the boy's coat tail.

Pouting, Bone Master dashed sporadically about the batcave with Batman on his heels, "This reminds me of when I was in Kenya and I upset a pride of lions! That was the trip I got Jumbo."

Batman didn't respond to the erratic comment and continued chasing the boy around the cave.

It was clear the hero wasn't trying his best to catch the boy, in some attempt to make sure he didn't accidentally harm the child while in pursuit, but Bone Master gleefully took advantage of the fact and climbed up onto the bat computer. "This is awesome! I'd tell people about this, but I doubt they'd believe-"

Batman handcuffed him.

"You know, I'm pretty sure I heard a woman call being handcuffed 'coquin' and this just makes my understanding of the word even worse."

Without a word, Bone Master was led to a interrogation chamber, and then secured to a metal chair. Batman glared at him, "How did you find this place?"

He laughed, "I followed the batmobile!" The boy stared off in space for a second, "Or I suppose I followed the rat I put into the batmobile's exhaust pipe."

"You came close enough to the batmobile to put a rat into its exhaust pipe, why?"

"Technically, I made it do that while I stood in a condemned apartment."

Batman pressed the topic, "You can control animals?"

The boy blinked and frowned, "I'm still disappointed that the t-rex isn't real."

"I am going to keep you in that chair until you answer my questions."

Laying his head back, Bone Master stared at the ceiling and off handedly answered with his eyes now closed, "The answers you seek, lie within you. Also, I'm bored."

Silence danced by until Batman broke it, "You broke into the cave to see if I had an actual t-rex."

"I'm gonna have to go all the way to like, the Smithsonian now to see if they have a real one. It's gonna take forever to walk that far."

"What's your name? I'm calling your parents."

"Hahaha, that's a good one." Bone Master chuckled and grinned, "I told you, my name is Bone Master. Good luck calling my parents though. If you find them, tell them I said they forgot to pick me up from the babysitter's." The boy began to swing his feet and clicked his tongue, "Hey, do you think if I leave within the next couple of hours, I'll be able to catch a bus or something out of town?"

"You don't live in Gotham."

Bone Master cackled again, "The world's greatest detective has solved the case!"

The dark knight turned to leave the cell, "I'm going to make some calls."

Humming bellowed in response. Batman left and Bone Master immediately opened his eyes, which started to glow purple at the top of his irises and bright yellow at the bottom. The thumb on his right hand flashed purple and a skeleton of a squirrel appeared the floor behind him, "Nutty buddy! If you would be so kind as to pick the handcuffs' lock?" Chittering noise replied and clicking noises sounded as Bone Master wiggled his fingers the entire time

Click

"Hahaha, thank you!" The boy stood up and stretched his arms, "And now to leave!" His eyes flashed again and his middle finger glimmered, a burst of light slipped past the cracks of the locked door before him. Bone Master crouched underneath the metal table bolted to the floor, "Charge, Jumbo!"

Crash

The wall was decimated. Bone Master climbed out from underneath the table and hollered at the top of his lungs as he and his skeletons fled to the crack in the wall he had made earlier, "YOLO!"

Batman moved to grab the boy, but had to dodge the raging elephant skeleton instead. The dark knight used his graphing hook to pull himself to the rafters in time to see the monstrous skeleton disappear in a flurry of purple and Bone Master slip away. He swung down and raced outside, only to barely be able to make out three glowing smudges carrying off a blur screaming, "Caw! Caw! Motherfucker!"

"Up next for auction, we have the remains of a creature from the deep dark abyss of the ocean!"

Bone Master smirked from his place high above the audience watching the auction, "Bingo." He shifted onto the balls of his feet and cracked his neck as he watched as a cadaver was wheeled onto stage. The aquatic black body smelt revolting even from where he was, but the razor sharp teeth in the deceased thing's mouth were enchanting. Oh, the damage he could do controlling that skeleton.

Bone Master cleared his throat and threw himself off the ledge he had been on, jumping off foothold to foothold and landed on the makeshift stage, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'll be taking thi-" A gunshot echoed and a bullet sped past his head. His smirk twisted into a nasty grin, "I hear you all loud and clear, let's do this the fun way!" The teenager held up his right hand and the roman numeral 'II' shimmered on his pointer finger, releasing a swarm of glowing purple piranha skeletons.

The audience broke out in screams and commands were shouted out. Half the people raced towards the exits, and a handful in suits pooled onto the stage with guns pointed at Bone Master's head. Said teenager waved his hand and jumped up onto the table the rotting body was resting on, while tsking, "How rude! My pointedly toothed pretties, fetch the boom twigs!"

Cackling, his swarm of piranhas flew forward and stole all the guns from his attackers. All the men called out in pain and clenched at their hands, "Ya khara!"

Bone Master smiled as he crouched back down as he examined the corpse below him, "I prefer the shit." His piranhas continued circling the room and shielding the teenager as necessary, until a large boom interrupted the task at hand.

Looking up, Bone Master spotted a man in a modified old timey scuba suit. The man had a water gun pointed at Bone Master with his finger on the trigger, "Boy, I don't know who you are, but if you don't-"

"If I don't what?"

The water gun's trigger was pulled and on instinct, Bone Master dived onto the floor. Slowly, he got back up and whistled as he stared at the the large hole in the wall behind him, "I now know what." He turned around and noted who was in front of him, "Aren't you that dude, Sea Thief?"

Sea Thief took another shot at the teen, "I am and I'm the last person you'll ever meet."

Frantically, Bone Master dodged the blast of water headed in his direction and rolled off the stage with a grunt. He waved his hand around wildly, making his skeletal fish swim around the air in a frenzy in an attempt to distract the madman with a lethal water gun after his head. The teenager flitted about the warehouse in a panic and screamed, "Petunia!" As one of his piranha was smashed into pieces.

Bone Master stopped where he stood and put up his glowing middle finger, "Viva la die, bitch! Get'em Jumbo!" The chaos was soon joined by a raging elephant skeleton, who raced directly at Sea Thief at top speed.

Sea Thief cockily pulled the trigger at the skeleton, but quickly fell into fear as he realized his high pressure water gun wasn't doing anything, was then launched into the air, and knocked unconscious as he hit his head on the ground.

"Hahaha! Beautiful! I love this game." Bone Master waved his hand one last time and all his skeletons disappeared back into the roman numerals on his hand. Cheerfully humming, the teenager hopped back on the stage and leaned over the sea creature he had scared a warehouse empty for, "And now, I get to collect-"

A long shadow came down upon Bone Master from behind. The teen awkwardly paused and turned around, "Long time no see, Batman." He glanced around the room and spotted multiple other heroes, such as Aquaman, a Green Lantern, and Hawkwoman.

Sighing, Bone Master questioned in his ever present fake Jamaican accent, "I'm in trouble aren't I?"

"Speedy was so wrong."

"This team thing might just work out."

Kaldur, Wally, and Robin turned to leave the mission room, but the zeta tube stopped them in their tracks.

"04- Flash"

"06-Aquaman"

"14-Green Lantern"

"Hey, Flash! What's going on?" Wally greeted his uncle.

The boy wonder nodded at his side with an eyebrow cocked, "I thought the league was busting a black market auction in Jordan?"

Flash sighed, "We did, someone just beat us there first."

"Who could beat the league to a black market auction?" M'gann questioned, floating closer and landing beside Kaldur, "Was there a supervillain attack?"

"02-Batman and guest"

"We're about to find out."

Out from the zeta tube came the dark knight carrying a yammering teenaged boy by the back of his purple trench coat, "I'm just saying, you guys could've let me keep the thing's bones."

Groaning, Robin frowned, "Please tell me Bone Master isn't going to be here long."

"I love you too, Traffic Light."

"Wait," Kaldur interjected, "This is Bone Master?"

"I'm confused." M'gann glanced back and forth between everyone, "Why do you do you all look so irritated?"

Bone Master wiggled and squirmed as he saw something that he caught his attention, "Hey, who's the broody hulk of a guy in the corner?"

He was ignored as Batman stepped forward without putting down the adolescent, he was holding off the ground, "Bone Master has agreed to a parole arrangement with the Justice League instead of being put into prison."

"Hey! Hey! Broody! I like your shirt!"

Superboy ignored Bone Master and crossed his arms as he listened to the conversation taking place.

"He will be put on the team and watched around the clock, until it is decided he has been rehabilitated."

"You can't be serious, Batman!" Robin protested.

Desperately, Wally agreed. "Please tell me that was a joke, a very bad disturbing joke!"

"Hey, Broody! Have you seen Aladdin? You seem like someone who's secretly into Disney."

"Is he that evil?" M'gann asked Kaldur.

He shook his head, "Not in the way you're thinking. From what Robin and Wally have told me, Bone Master is…" Kaldur paused, trying to think of the best word to use.

"Come on Broody, sing it with me! Prince Ali, Fabulous he! Ali Ababwa!~"

"Unique."

Flash nodded and watched as Wally and Robin finagled the details from Batman, "The kid is definitely something, but being around all of you will help straighten him out."

"Flash," Wally began as he came up to his uncle while Robin kept on Batman, "There is no straightening Bone Master out. There's no putting him back on track!" The red head raised his voice as he gestured his hands, "Bone Master is insane!"

"Kid," the older speedster sighed, "It's the same situation as Trickster, just different ways of acting out."

"Oh, no! Trickster calms down and makes sense after taking his medication! Bone Master is just- just- Bwah!"

Batman put the singing teenager down onto his feet, "Robin, the decision is final."

"But Batman!"

The dark knight put his foot down, "The team was formed to take covert missions the Justice League can not. Consider this a long term mission, rehabilitate Bone Master from his stealing tendencies."

Looks were traded and the team retreated into a line before their superiors. Bone Master stood next to Batman as the rest of the present leaguers joined him. A debrief began as soon as everyone was in place.

"Bone Master is a notorious thief-"

"Daw, thank you for the brilliant review, Batman." Said teen smiled and put his arms behind his head.

"He specifically goes after bones that peak his interest, no matter if their- rumored or confirmed-

location is a public museum, black market auction, or even the batcave."

Everyone's eyes drifted onto Bone Master as he bounced up and down on his tiptoes. He happily waved with a crooked grin.

Batman put video clips up on the holographix screen, depicting Bone Master in action. "His abilities include use of parkour, limited spatial manipulation to store pre-prepared objects, and osteokinesis, the ability to telekinetically control bones." Shown on the screen was said teenager with a bat skeleton hovering in his hand.

"Defining features include his purple trench coat, high cheekbones, gauged ears, roman numerals one through five tattooed on his right hand, his purple and yellow eyes, and his hairstyle, which consists of having one side of his head shaved and the majority in thick dreads, except for his bright yellow bangs."

Winking, Bone Master stuck his tongue out and held up a peace sign, "And I make it all work!"

The glare Batman gave Bone Monster didn't deter him in the slightest, so the dark knight went on. "We apprehended him two hours ago and brought him here. He will join the team as previously stated and will be staying at Mount Justice to be rehabilitated." An image of the outline of a person appeared on the screen with a blinking dot on the neck, "Before coming here, Bone Master was injected with a microchip to track his location and rules were established. He is not allowed to leave the premises without two members of the team and checking in with a league member before leaving and exactly every hour from then on." Batman met the gaze of everyone on the team before nodding, "Debrief over."

Green Lantern put his hand on Bone Master's shoulder, "Come on, son. I'll show you your room."

"Sweet! I need a nap."

Bone Master sat upside down on the chair a seat away from Superboy on the couch and intensively stared at the static on the television like the other boy. Kaldur and M'gann weren't sure what to make of it. Robin and Wally had left with their mentors last night, leaving the three other members of the team alone with their new member. From the debrief, Batman had made it sound like the teenager just had a tendency to barge in and steal bones from places. Yet, the way Robin and Wally passionately pleaded to be told Bone Master wasn't sticking around said a lot about him.

"Hello M'gann!" M'gann berated herself, "We never did introductions last night!" She smiled and went on, "I'm M'gann M'orzz! Earth name, Megan Morse. Codename, Miss Martian. My uncle's Martian Manhunter! It's nice to meet you!"

Bone Master smiled and waved, "Good to greet you!"

Not wanting to fall behind in common courtesy, Kaldur introduced himself, "My name is Kaldur'ahm, but my friends call me Kaldur. You may know me as Aqualad.

"Oh!" M'gann waved a hand over at the raven haired boy on the couch, "And this is Superboy! He doesn't have an earth name yet, but…" She trailed off.

Swinging his feet over his head so he was standing again, Bone Master smiled, "My name's Bone Master."

There was a pause. He hadn't mentioned his name name. In an attempt to smooth things over, M'gann quickly said, "It's okay if you don't want to share your secret identity! Robin isn't allowed to, so it's fine if you don't want us to know."

Bone Master kept his uneven smile on his face and didn't skip a beat, "Bone Master's my name. It's the one I gave myself and I don't remember having one before it." Chuckling, he spared a glance at Superboy, "Looks like I have something in common with big guns over there."

He was gifted with a grunt in response.

"Yes. I totally agree." Bone Master nodded as if something sagely had come out of Superboy's mouth and went back to his conversation his M'gann and Kaldur, "Soooooo, questions and concerns?"

Kaldur and M'gann met each other's eyes out of the corner their own.

"Bone Master? If I may ask," M'gann politely began, "Why were Robin and Wally against you being here last night?"

"The stories they told me of you were…" Kaldur paused, "Eccentric, to say the least. They spoke of you hanging out with multiple villains and mentioned you made comments that enraged them."

"Oh, I do and I did."

"What?" M'gann sputtered.

The teen fiddled with the claw tied to a leather strip around his neck as he sat back down, "Mm hm. I like to hang out with the Flash's entire rogue gallery and a few of the nicer bad guys in Gotham. Catwoman's given me some great tips to get by some really wicked security systems." With a sigh, Bone Master let the necklace charm fall back onto his chest, "I am totally going to miss movie night with Trickster and Pied Piper."

"Then," M'gann frowned, "Aren't you a bad guy?"

Kaldur held onto her shoulder comfortingly, "M'gann."

"I guess." Bone Master shrugged and put his eyes back onto the static on the tv, "I steal and stuff using my powers, so I'm a super for sure. Super what? I don't know." He bursted out laughing and pointed at the screen, "Wo cao, the writing's brilliant on this show." After choking down his laughter, he flip flopped his attention back to M'gann and Kaldur, "I don't kill, but I make chaos wherever I go. So, I'm probably a bad guy."

Bone Master cackled loudly, "But it's fun! One time, I accidentally set up a blind date between a police chief and a yakuza boss. The building went down in flames by the end of the date!"

"Hn," Superboy glared at Bone Master for the noise.

A tan hand was waved, "Fine, fine. I'll silence myself and'll quietly watch the show."

M'gann and Kaldur traded another look and retreated. They hadn't made any headway on figuring out how to feel about Bone Master.

Wally ran by Bone Master, announcing he'd be back in a few minutes so they could go. Not knowing what he meant, the bone loving teenager strayed from his target of the mission room and towards the kitchen; where M'gann was excitedly explaining the plan to Kaldur, Robin, and Superboy.

"We're going to sit under the stars and make s'mores!" She smiled, then clapped her hands, "Hello, Megan! Why don't we all go?"

Robin smirked, "Camping's fun, sounds like a plan."

Nodding, Kaldur agreed. "It would be another good team bonding experience."

"Oooo!" Bone Master slid on over and interjected, "Did I hear camping?" He pushed himself up to sit on the kitchen counter, "I love camping! Mostly out of necessity. But camping's awesome!" Purple, yellow eyes turned onto Superboy, "SB, you gotta try camping!"

The clone stared apathetically at the mad boy and then finally sighed, "Fine. I'll try camping."

Bone Master cackled, threw his head back and exclaimed,"Wonderful! Woot!"

Vibrations could be felt in the air as Wally came running back into the room, his arms filled with camping supplies, "...Gathered a couple of chairs, some firewood, scrounged the pantry for graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows, and now we'll cozy up together outside-" The speedster slowed to a stop with big eyes as he noticed everyone else in the kitchen and meekly whispered the end of his sentence, "-Just the two of us?"

Robin smirked and tilted his head, "We're going to need a lot more stuff than that if we're going camping. "

Smiling sweetly, M'gann apologized, "I hope you don't mind, I invited all the others to join in the fun with the s'mores!"

"Hahaha!" Bone Master fell off the counter with a thud, "Fast feet forget to make the invitation exclusive!" He laughed, held his stomach, and sat up on the floor, "I love it!"

"Alright," Wally frowned and put all the stuff be had grabbed on the counter, "Everyone else can come, but Bone Master is uninvited."

The thunderous laughter ended as Bone Master quieted down, "Daaw, mean." Pouting, he got back onto his feet and crossed his arms, "How come I'm the only one who gets uninvited?"

Wally gave him an unimpressed look, "Because."

"Because whhyyy?"

"Because you're a jerk."

M'gann and Kaldur exchanged glances, watching as Bone Master continued to cheekily smile and Robin moved to join Wally's side. Superboy stayed neutral and kept where he was.

"But I wanna have fun under not the sun too!" Bone Master chirped as he stood across from Wally and Robin.

"Dude," Robin began as he backed up Wally, "No, you don't. You wanna butt in where you don't belong."

"That's how it always is with you!"

Bone Master narrowed his eyes, but he quickly seemed just fine with the fact he was being kicked out from a team bonding experience. "At least I'll always have Jumbo. And eventually another Petunia."

M'gann tried to quickly think of something to say to ease the idea of Bone Master camping with them a possibility, but the zeta tube announced someone's arrival before she could.

"14-Green Lantern"

The odd teen's eyes light up in joy, "The jolly green man is here to help secure my clothes!" He pumped both his fists in the air and left the kitchen spastically happy.

It didn't take long for everyone to settle down in the campsite they created. The fire is roaring gently in the rock ring made for it, the tents are pitched, and everyone got to share their backstories and feelings. It's a good night. Things are winding down when M'gann finally asks the question she and Kaldur have been trying to figure out.

"Why do you guys hate Bone Master?"

Wally and Robin freeze and stare at her.

"Um, we don't hate hate him." Wally admits.

"He..." Robin pushes up his sunglasses while everyone looks to him, "He just doesn't get what he's messing around with. We," The boy wonder gestures to all of them, "have reasons for what we do."

"Even the villains do." Wally held up a single finger, "Trickster's family booted him out because he was super smart and wasn't good at being part of the circus, so he's a little nuts and needs his medication to figure out what he's doing." The speedster put up another finger, "Pied Piper's parents keep trying to 'fix' him because he's deaf, so he acts out by committing crime with the rogues."

Another finger was put up as Robin picked up for him, "Harley Quinn teamed up with the Joker because he manipulated her to the point she went insane. The point is," Robin's tone changed from upset to critical, "the worst of the worst do things just because they can. And that's what Bone Master does."

"And he constantly rubs it in our faces with his carefree attitude!" Wally's voice became louder, "Did you hear him back there? 'But I wanna have fun under the not sun too!' He even used that stupid fake accent he always uses! He's a brat and a jerk!"

Superboy finally got in on the whole Bone Master topic, "It just sounds like you're jealous over what he has."

"We are not!"

"We're totally whelmed on the whole thing!"

"I believe what our friend is saying," Kaldur explained, "Is that the grass is greener from the otherside."

Robin and Wally gaped at Kaldur betrayed.

"You know about Bone Master from what he's shown you and you've run with it. You've picked up what you could from the barest interactions you've had with him, if the stories you've told me are true." Kaldur met his teammates' eyes and solemnly added, "Bone Master is a part of our team, whether we like it or not. It is time to learn about him from more than what's on the surface."

Pregnant silence and tension permeated. The team sat there and thought about what Kaldur had said.

"Yeah," Robin agreed attention on the campfire, "We'll give him a chance."

"But not because he deserves one," Wally grumbled, crossing his arms.

Bone Master would need to find new songs to hum under his breath if he kept ending up in 'shh shh' types of operations. The mission impossible theme song wasn't going to cut it. It would also help if the people who stuck him on this team broke down the technical jargon for him before they sent him out on an alien spaceship over the Caribbean sea. But eh. He was here and staring out the window of the bioship while Miss Martian announced what was happening.

"Dropzone B."

Everyone stood up and attached themselves to cables, preparing to touchdown on the island. Bone Master had the least serious expression out of all of them and merrily looked from teammate to teammate. Their costumes were nice.

The way Kid Flash's costume turned black after he tapped the logo was very appealing, "How cool is this?"

Miss Martian smiled, "Very impressive." She transformed her outfit into stealth mode, earning a whistle from an applauding Bone Master, but not for the nice display of power.

"Hahaha! Quick Pace got shown up!"

He was ignored though, as Kid Flash reminded Superboy, "Not too late to put on the new stealth tech!"

"No capes, no tights, no offense." He crossed his arms and glanced at Bone Master, who hadn't changed from his usual attire of a yellow sleeveless shirt, tan cargo shorts, hiking boots, and his purple trench coat. "Not like Bone Master had to change anyway."

"I," he snapped both his fingers and did dual finger guns, "literally cried until they left me stay in my usual clothes."

"I saw. It was so manly."

"Thank you, Robin!" Bone Master showed no signs of understanding the sarcasm used.

The drop zone was reached and Robin, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Bone Master all came out of the bioship silently. Followed by Superboy jumping down and creating a small boom along with a crater.

"Knew I didn't need a line."

Bone Master chuckled from where he had moved out of the way to stand by Robin, "I can hear my bones thanking me for moving out of the way."

"Yeah, well, the seismic event might not of helped us with the covert part of this mission," Robin complained as he stood up.

"But I'm not dead from the seismic event," Bone Master reasoned, "So, it's all good!"

Miss Martian and Aqualad exchanged updates, then they moved out. Bone Master adamantly deciding not to move from Robin's side, followed his lead. The endeavor led him way off the path where the others were and into the trees until gunshots were heard. From where Bone Master was, he could see Kid Flash dodging bullets.

Robin jumped down from the branches and scolded his friend, "What is wrong with you guys?" He took down an opponent, "Remember covert? Why didn't you follow my lead like Bone Master? Vanish into the jungle!"

"That's what you were doing?" Kid Flash hurled a man onto the ground, "Thanks for filling us in, we're not mind readers, you know!"

A grunt from a man Miss Martian had flung into a tree interrupted Kid Flash's point.

"At least I'm not." The speedster glanced around, "Where's the jerk anyway?"

Robin gave him a look and pointed above them, "He followed my lead and vanished into the jungle."

"Yep!" Echoed disembodiedly around the area they were in, "The view's amazing! I can see everything from where I am!"

Aqualad and Superboy rejoined them as Kid Flash shouted up into the forest canopy while searching for the oddball's location, "Are you going to come down and help tie them up?"

"Why would I do that? That's overkill, you got this!"

"Kid," Aqualad interjected, "Let him be for now."

"What? Why!?" The speedster frowned, "He hasn't done anything to help!"

"Like he said. He can see everything."

Robin rolled his eyes and took out the rope as he went to start dragging unconscious men to the tree, "Might as well let him keep watch."

Eventually all the captives were anchored to the base of a thick tree and the next objective was discussed. Bone Master didn't pay mind to it and eagerly watched the bad guys squirm in place. A particular conversation between two baddies caught his attention though.

"Look at them argue! Free yourself and take them while they're distracted!"

"Quiet. For now I play along. They'll give me what I need."

Laughing, Bone Master hopped out from the tree he was hidden in and sat down in front of Bane, "I know for a matter of fact like two of the others know Spanish. Why are you openly admitting you plan to backstab anyone?" The teen put a hand under his chin and speculated, "That's like backstabbing a backstabber when you're the backstabber and-"

Bane gave the boy a once over, "Aren't you that stupid boy, who barged into a venom trade five months ago, saying to ignore you because you were just there to take the puma skeleton?"

"Yes. Yes, I am, but I wanted to know about the backstabbing stabby Mc-"

"Hey! Why is Bone Master cozying up to Bane?" Kid Flash yanked Bone Master back by his trench coat.

Bone Master, now flat out on his back grinned, "I'm trying to figure out how he's gonna betray us."

"And now the parolee is trying to take things into his own hands!"

Robin rolled his eyes again, "At least he listened to me earlier."

"You're not in charge!"

"Hahaha," Bane crowed, "Such clever ninõs, but you only know half the story. Let me you show the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance."

"That sounds like an innuendo and I'm disturbed." Bone Master braced his hands and rolled his feet over his head in order to stand up, "I'll be behind Superboy."

Miss Martian put a hand to her head and concentrated, "There is a secret entrance, but he's hiding something."

"Our doom!" Bone Master softly wailed from behind his super shield.

"Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane is not that easy."

"Innuendo!"

Groaning, Miss Martian got to her feet, "He's reciting fútbol scores in Español. This could take awhile."

Bane interjected, "It's not complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

The team shared a contemplating glance and Bone Master opened his eyes wide in alarm, "Didn't this guy once break Batman's back?"

Purple and yellow eyes didn't once leave Bane's back as the team made their way into the factory. No matter how much Bone Master tried to remind them he had been probing Bane for his plans to betray them earlier, no one listened and now they were following Bane into the factory.

As soon as they were inside Robin disappeared, to which Bane commented, "Did that little fool already get himself caught?"

"Don't you fight Batman?"

Aqualad monotonously replied, "No, he just does that."

"Stay put!" Kid Flash pulled down his goggles, "I'll grab our intel and be back before the boy wonder!"

"Wait, Kid-" Aqualad reached to stop him but it was too late.

"Great chain of command," Bane remarked.

The group got into place to observe the warehouse workings.

Bone Master clambered onto top of a cargo box and stared at all the Kobra cult members, "The Cult of Kobra's here?"

"Bone Master." Aqualad cocked an eyebrow and backed away to confront Bone Master more directly, "They have been here the entire-"

"I know, it's just-" He climbed down from where he was and sighed, "Let's just say it's only now sunk in that they're here, I'm really popular in the magic community, and cults have very strong opinions." Bone Master gulped and took another peek.

"Will that be an issue?"

"Uhhh," Bone Master paused and racked his mind for an answer, "I don't think it will be. The Cult of Kobra are big on some prophecy and I don't think it has anything to do with what I deal with."

Aqualad nodded but didn't seem to believe him, "Then we will proceed."

"They're only taking new product off the line," Superboy reported. "They're not touching the old stuff."

"Maybe freshness counts?" Miss Martian offered.

Bone Master nodded, "It counts for everything else."

"There's a helicopter coming."

"Goodie. Now, it's really like the last time I bumped into a cult."

"Alright," Aqualad's eyes swept the perimeter, "Miss Martian, see if you can get a look at who's arriving on the helicopter. Bone Master, find a new angle in the room to watch things from as a midway point. Superboy and I will get onto the catwalk and observe things from there."

"Aye, aye, Chief!" Bone Master mocked a salute and headed on out until he was stationed behind a large crate in the middle of the room. It wasn't too long after that things fell apart and action ravaged the room.

Bane jumped down from the catwalk and attacked two cult members with guns, sending bullets flying. Then a giant lumpy gray man smashed through the warehouse windows roaring at the top of his lungs, forming a standoff with the cult of Kobra members on his side. Finally, someone commanded for the guy to 'destroy them' and the lumpy man ran forward, only to be tackled by Superboy. The cultists weren't far behind and went in guns blazing with Kaldur putting up a small shield in front of himself.

Not to be left out, Bone Master put up a glowing finger gun and screamed, "When I come through, I come through, I come through like a machine gun! Ra ta ta ta! RA TA TA TA TA!" A small army of skeletal piranhas spilled out of the roman numeral tattooed to his finger and they swam around trying to snag guns out of occultist's hands.

More occultists continued to pour into the warehouse battleground and so Aqualad yelled, "Miss Martian, Radio is jammed. Link us up!"

'Everyone online?'

'Yeah,' Superboy noted.

'You know it, beautiful.'

Bone Master laughed as he swung his hand around while rolling out of the way of a wave of bullets, 'This is exactly like the last time I met up with an occult. Voices in my head and all.' For no apparent reason he felt like having one of his skeleton piranhas go straight for his face, so he made one come to him and ducked at the last second, taking out an occult member who had been trying to sneak up on him. That made him smile, "Take that, bitch!"

'Good, we need to regroup.'

'Busy,' Robin's voice rang.

Bone Master had one of his piranha's bit a guy's shoulder when he went to reload his gun, "You go, Pansy!"

'Robin. Now.'

'I'd listen to him, Traffic Light.'

'Fine, give me a second.'

A moment passed, and Robin entered the scene. Aqualad acknowledged it and pushed some men back with a water whip, 'Strategic retreat. Kid, clear a path.'

Everyone ran for it and Bone Master recalled most of his piranhas into his tattooed knuckle as he came in behind Miss Martian, with Superboy dealing with the large lumpy man behind him. The entire team sprinted down the tunnel Bane had showed them, Superboy knocking down the support beams after Aqualad made the call. It made a portion of the tunnel collapse around them, but it gave them the reprieve they needed.

The purple glow of Bone Master's piranhas illuminated the section they were in as they hovered around the top of the cave the collapse had created. Everyone soberly took in what had happened.

Robin broke the tension, "How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?"

"You do have the most experience," Aqualad comforted, "But perhaps that is exactly what has left you most unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined and you do not need to talk." The Atlantean adjusted his footing as everyone listened, "This team is new. Its leader must be explicit, clear. They cannot vanish and expect its members to play unspoken parts in an unknown plan."

"Oh, so I'm suppose to hold everyone's hands?"

Staring at his wiggling fingers controlling his fish night lights, Bone Master whispered so quietly only Superboy could hear him as he let himself sit on the ground, "Yes… That would've helped. Yes." He paused in his ramblings, " I have no fucking idea what's going on."

Sighing, Robin finally relented, "Who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can."

"Please-"

"Let Fish Man lead, Speed Limit!" Bone Master lamented from the floor.

Robin ignored the bone thief, "Wally, come on. You know he's the one. We all do."

"Hello, Megan! It's so obvious!"

"Could uh told ya."

"The gilled one has literally led the rest of us the entire mission, he has my vote."

The speedster glanced around as everyone stared at him, "Okay."

Aqualad turned to Robin, "Then I accept the burden until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon."

Robin nodded.

"Alright, our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island." Aqualad commended.

Bone Master got back onto his feet, "Now that we have a leader, can I ask about what we're going to do about Bane preparing to betray us?"

"Not this again," Kid Flash complained. "We all saw you buddying up with Bane! You have any proof?"

Bone Master put his hands up, "We already had our dramatic heart to heart for the day, can't you just believe me? Did none of you hear Bane say he was gonna play along to get what he wants?" He met everyone's eyes, "Please!"

The rest of the team exchanged glances. No one wanted to take the unpopular side of the argument.

Bone Master frowned and crossed his arms. "Please!" He pleaded.

Sighing, Superboy raised a hand, "I know Bane and one of the grunts were talking before Bone Master jumped in to talk with them."

"Bane did start the fight earlier by jumping into the fray without warning," Aqualad agreed. "It wouldn't go without merit if we were prepared for the eventuality of Bane coming back to potentially take us out."

Bone Master clapped his hands and grinned, "Thank you!"

Plans were made and they set out. They cleared enough debris away and went on down the tunnel with Robin checking out the situation on the holographic computer in his glove, "Sportmaster is the supplier slash buyer, but it still doesn't track. He doesn't have the juice to acquire the blockbuster formula or get Kobra to do his dirty work."

"And neither of them have the chomps to bond blockbuster with venom. That took some major nerd-age." Kid Flashed added.

"I believe," Aqualad started, "The expression is tip of the iceberg."

They all stopped just short of the tunnel's exit, where Bane dropped some explosives at their feet. "Halt ninõs. I'm feeling explosive."

Beeps sounded from above them, revealing more explosives planted above them.

'No way, Bone Master was right?' Kid Flash complained over the link.

'I told you all!'

'In hindsight, this is Bane we were talking about.' Robin admitted.

Aqualad faked disbelief about the ordeal to Bane, "You betrayed us. Why?"

"I want my factory back."

'Kid,' Aqualad caught his attention, 'You'll need a running start.'

"So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying."

Bone Master pouted, "I told you guys he was hiding our doom."

"Ninõ," Bane said, "you might've been right but you're going to be dead wrong-" The villain went to click the button to ignite the explosions but found the trigger was missing from his hand.

Kid Flash smirked from where he was leaning against a tree, "How? With this trigger thingy?"

A large fist was swung in his direction, but missed as Bane was levitated into the air.

The team stepped out of the tunnel and Superboy readied his own knuckle sandwich, "Finally. Drop him."

Bane was hit out of the park.

"This is the one time," Robin murmured, "I will say Bone Master was right."

The bone thief put up two thumbs up, "First time for everything, Traffic Light."

"And because you called me 'traffic light' again, this will be the last time as well."

Bone Master shrugged, "I can live with that." He held up his middle finger and released Jumbo the elephant skeleton, "Just like I can live with Jumbo going in first to mix things for up the bad guys."

"Actually," Aqualad butted in, "I have another job for you next, Bone Master. The cult of Kobra will be preoccupied and an opportunity will open up for us."

"Hm?"

That job was sweeping through the factory to make sure there wasn't anything they had missed. From where Bone Master was, he could hear the battle ramping up. The factory was empty at this point, not a single cult member to be seen- thankfully, Bone Master definitely dreaded finding out whether or not anybody higher up in the cult would recognize him- so everything was quiet from where he was. However, time was ticking down fast and if he wanted to find anything of use, Bone Master would need to pick up the pace.

Eventually he made it to a backroom, probably used as a breakroom seeing as there was a couch in the corner of the room. It didn't look like there was anything in there though. But it was the last room to check.

Bone Master stepped inside to get a closer look, but paused when he felt a tile move under his foot. He frowned, leaned over to move the tile away, and found a staircase hidden beneath the floor.

The tall teen was about to climb down the stairs to explore, when Aqualad's voice rang out in his head, 'Bone Master, head back. The explosives have been set.'

'On it.'

He pushed the tile back and ran the hell out of dodge. It seemed like he wouldn't get to find out what was down those stairs.

The factory exploded right after Bone Master got outside, and he only made it to the team's side after Robin came over to Aqualad to say, "We picked the right guy to lead. Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman." The boy wonder laughed and walked away from the Atlantean.

"Sooooo," Bone Master began as he got closer, "I found a secret staircase." The tan boy glimpsed at the fire behind him,"It might've been important buuuut," He rubbed the back of his had,"I'm pretty sure it's destroyed now."

Aquald sighed.

AN: Alright, comment and follow for more! Look me up on Tumblr at Papercranecolors. I do art commissions and post stuff I draw along with the occasional theory. The picture of Bone Master you see as the cover is one of mine! This is also cross posted on AO3 under my wishin4reincarnation account.