"Wally, seriously, just go!"
"No way! It was my turn last time! Why don't you go, Artemis?"
"Since when do we take turns? Whoever eats the last of the food has to buy the groceries!"
"What?! No fair, that's always me!"
"Exactly!"
The bickering of the teenage heroes echoed around the cave, making training for Superboy and Aqualad much harder to concentrate on. The team was used to the pair squabbling, and from his perch on the couch arm Robin subconsciously untangled and placed his ear buds in firmly, though a passing-by M'gann noticed strangely that there weren't any songs playing on his iPod screen.
"I bet you can't even shoot that bow! Half of that's probably just luck; anyone could do it!"
"Oh yeah? Well, I bet my aim'd be pretty good if I just took one of these arrows and shoved it up your—"
"My companions, that is enough," Aqualad interrupted, seeming to abandon his usually patient demeanor. With a glare, the archer and speedster separated, though Artemis seemed to intercept the intent behind his new path because she quickly stole his desired seat next to Robin.
Superboy and Aqualad's training was interrupted again, however, when the former straightened from his combat stance and, raising an eyebrow, wondered aloud, "Is something burning?"
The high-pitched squeal from a certain green martian answered that question as she flew away hastily. "My cookies! Crap!"
"Gee, Miss M, watch the profanity," the Boy Wonder chuckled as a new stream of "gosh darn it!"s and "Oh boy!"s flowed from the wafting kitchen; Aqualad couldn't help but notice the small smile that brightened Connor's face as he resumed their training session.
Robin was in the middle of telling an amusing story to Artemis that involved much arm waving and jumping over furniture right when Miss Martian emerged with what resembled oozing hockey pucks on a cooking tin.
"Sorry, guys! I-I thought I might get it right this time," M'gann breathed a quick apology before holding out her work for their examination.
"It is perfectly alright, we thank you for your good intentions," Aqualad smiled, reaching out to take one out of pure politeness.
"Yeah, it's definitely an improvement from last time," Artemis mumbled, earning a sharp elbow-jab from Wally as he gave what he apparently thought was a dazzling smile, saying, "Ignore her—I think they're beautiful, just like you babe." And the speedster proceeded to scarf the dripping items down (which even Artemis was thankful for, as they now didn't have to make an excuse to decline the martian's offer).
"Arhm—wewl—ohm—it wooks lyrk—ohm om—," Kid flash struggled to say in between bites, "terdur—omhomg—"
"Can you swallow? Geez, Robin and Batman's secret morse code thing would be easier to interpret than whatever grunting sounds you're making—" Green Arrow's protégé fumed.
"Gulp. Ahem, as I was saying, it looks like today is going to be a good one, and we have nothing else to do, so—"
"Beach party!" the Boy Wonder grinned, high-fiving his best friend before the group departed, giving each other smirks as they headed off to round up supplies for their much-needed day off.
Reassembled, the former sidekicks, clad in swim-wear, beach towels, sunscreen, and an assortment of other summer-time fun items, headed toward the zeta teleporter. To the young heroes' surprise, however, someone was coming in just as they were going out.
Everyone but Robin jumped back immediately, tripping over their beach gear. "Batman—zero one; Green Arrow—one four," the machine recited faithfully, its information unheard by the happily conversing teenagers until the Bat-glare was suddenly upon them, much too close for comfort, followed by Oliver Queen as the League members emerged into the hideout.
"Going somewhere?" The Caped Crusader asked, the raised eyebrow heard in his gravely voice. There was a collective sigh heard—so much for their day of fun.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"Why didn't you call?" Suberboy and Artemis frowned, discarding their umbrellas and sand-pales (yes, you never get too old for those) onto the abandoned couch.
"Last-minute missions," Batman barked as if this explained everything, sweeping to the center of the room. "Hurry up and change into your work clothes," he added, and no one had any doubts as to what that meant.
When the team returned to the League members, clad in their costumes, There was already a three-dimensional image of a globe hovering in the air, a red mark pinpointing the item of their talk.
"Seilvik, a remote area of Russia. The League has heard rumors of an escaped killer, by the name of Day Dreamer, residing there. It is your job to confirm if we have a new villain on our hands. Tomorrow morning, Miss Martian—," He nodded to the girl, "—will fly you all there in the bio-ship, aside from Aqualad and Superboy, who I have elected for a private mission in California, where you will go undercover and infiltrate an underwater base. You two will be leaving the day after tomorrow, and I will give you further information then."
"Sweet, dude, mission with just us and the chicks—not including Artemis, that is—" Wally mumbled to his buddy when Green Arrow interrupted him.
"Actually, Kid, you and Robin have also been elected for a private mission."
The two exchanged hopeful glances before Batman acknowledged them, saying in his gravely voice, " Robin, you and Kid Flash will also have to go under cover. There is a boarding school in England that has drawn the League's suspicions, and we suspect some form of mind-control may be involved, either on the students or faculty or both."
"Sweet, man! Undercover!" Wally beamed, high-fiving his friend. The Boy Wonder grinned, though something was a little suspicious…like Batman was trying to hide a smile…
"M'gann will drop you off on their way to Seilvik."
Green Arrow definitely couldn't hide a grin, as he looked at the Boy Wonder and KF. "It's no coincidence that it turned out that way—we made sure that you boys would have plenty of time to chat with the ladies before your departure."
The team looked at Queen suspiciously.
"Since when have you been a matchmaker?" Superboy voiced the young heroes' thoughts. It was Batman who answered next, only Robin able to notice amusement in his voice.
"The name of the school is Lady Isabella's Academy for Young Women."
Robin and Artemis were the first to understand.
"HA!" the archer almost screeched, pointing at the two—well, mostly Wally— in triumph.
"What!? You've gotta be kidding!" The Boy Wonder gaped, his face a mixture between mortification and indignation.
The rest of the team soon caught on, and even Green Arrow's laughter mixed with the teens. Megan collapsed into Connor's arms in a fit of giggles, while the latter barely suppressed a smile of his own. Kaldur's eyes shone with sympathy, though he couldn't mask his amusement, either.
Kid Flash was the only one still waiting on edge, unable to grasp what the others found so plainly obvious. Turning to his younger best friend, the teen almost shouted, willing the others to shut up, "What? What's happening?"
Robin met the speedster's gaze with a firm grimace, and the team broke back out into laughter as he replied.
"We're going undercover as girls."