Ye Old Young Justice

by Angelus-v1

The team is assigned an undercover mission to find evidence of Clayface and Mammoth who are suspected of operating in Florida. The catch? They have to blend in with the locals…at a renaissance fair. – Takes place during season one after Zatanna is introduced but before Wally and Artemis are a couple.

Ye Old Young Justice

By Michael Lara

10:42am – Atlantic coast, Bio ship:

"Are we there yet?" Artemis asked for the umpteenth time.

"For the zillionth time," a sunglasses wearing Dick Grayson sighed. "We'll get there when we get there. It's just another hour."

For the last hour and a half, the team traveled through the air in M'gann's bio ship towards their destination. Getting their mission from Batman shortly after eating breakfast, the team was ordered to head to Florida on an undercover mission to determine if a sighting of two criminals was true. So far they only had vague descriptions of Clayface and Mammoth in the area. The possibility of having two superpowered villains in a close knit area was bad enough, but when the area also happened to contain around a thousand people on an almost daily basis, it only made it worse. If the two should actually be in the area and a fight breaks out, then innocent men, women, and children will be in the line of fire.

"Ooooh, I can't wait to get there," M'gann said with a large smile on her face. "I'm so excited about this mission."

"Tuh, I don't see what the big deal is. A mission's a mission." Conner sat low in his chair as he looked out the window to his right with his arms crossed over his chest.

"It's not just a mission, Conner. We get to have fun too."

"Do you even know what a Renaissance fair is?" Artemis asked. "It's one of the most boring things in the world."

"You think so?" Wally asked. "They're not all bad, especially the ones with a jousting tournament."

"Oooh, I hope they have one of those," M'agnn told the speedster from her pilot seat. "I hope they have a joust, a medieval dance circle, games, and-"

"M'gann," Kaldur interrupted her. "They'll have all that and more. I've pulled up what they have on my terminal and if there's no evidence of Mammoth or Clayface, you can feel free to explore the fair for the rest of the day. But in the meantime, you need to be focused on the task at hand."

"Don't worry Kaldur, I know what to do. But I just have to ask if we're going to dress up to fit in when we get there."

"Of course, Megarella," Wally said as he spun in his chair to face her. "They should have costumes for rent once we get there. We can't walk in wearing our normal clothes like we are."

"And if not, I can help out in that department," Zatanna told them.

"Pass," both Conner and Artemis said in unison.

"Jeez, no need to be sourpusses." Turning back around to face front, Wally propped his feet on the dash terminal before him. "Hey, Megs, how about some tunes till we get there?"

"Ok, I know just what to listen too." Bringing up a projected display screen, the Martian searched for the song she had in mind.

"NO!" Conner and Artemis yelled at the same time, but it was too late as "Bad For Me" by Megan and Liz began to play. Both sighed angrily as they slumped in their seats while the upbeat pop music loudly played and she sang along.

"M'gann, please. Turn that off," Conner thought loudly.

"Yes! Play something else. Something better," Artemis added.

"Like what?" M'gann asked. "This is popular music, so everyone should like it."

"Just…let us pick something. Robin has his electronica, Wally has his rap, Zee has her operas, Kaldur has his classical, and you have bubblegum pop. It's time for some real music. So please! If you let me or Conner pick the next song I swear he'll listen to The Little Mermaid, Tangled, and Beauty and the Beast soundtracks with you."

"What?" Conner yelled mentally."Artemis-"

"Deal," M'gann told her as she passed the music controls over to the blonde archer and boyfriend.

"Sorry Conner, but you did have to fall in love with the happy go lucky Martian girl." Pulling up the list of tracks, Artemis cycled through the various playlists until she arrived at the Metal section. "Here's something we can enjoy. How about some Anthrax to rock our eardrums?"

"Fine," Conner told her. "But we're listening to some Rob Zombie and Seether after this." For the next hour, Metal music filled the ship as they continued to their destination with Conner dreading what he was "volunteered" for once they got back to the cave.

11:53am – Once Upon A Time Renaissance Fair - Florida:

With the camouflaged ship secluded several feet above ground behind a large group of trees, the teen team made their way to the fair grounds. Robin lead the way with an excited M'gann, now Megan, beside him anxiously looking over the crowded area. Conner and Artemis took up the rear with the others between the four. People dressed up in medieval costumes traversed the large gravel path from the parking lot to the entrance where a booth was set up with a man inside selling tickets. People journeyed over a large wooden bridge with a wide creek running under it after paying to enter the fairgrounds. Pausing momentarily, Kaldur handed each a predetermined amount of money they may need as judged by Batman. It was a welcome change of having to spend their own money for once.

"There's a costume tent by the entrance," Kaldur pointed out. "After you pay to get in, head over there and…Where's Artemis and Conner?"

The group looked around for the two missing teammates when Wally saw Artemis nonchalantly walk past the entrance without paying. Conner was already inside looking at a rather impressive metal dragon as it breathed fire for the people's enjoyment. After the rest of the team got in the right way they literally drug the two, who didn't want to waste their money on such an event and skipped paying altogether, into the costume rental tent where they were made to pay this time except for Megan.

Less than a minute after entering a changing room she was sharing with Zatanna, the Martian girl emerged in a flowing red and white princess gown reminiscent of Rapunzel's from Tangled with a matching headband.

"Oh I love dressing up like this." She twirled around in front of a mirror with a large smile, looking at her dress from every possible angle she could. One of the advantages of having bio-morphic skin was that she could get every detail just right.

"Okay, make way for the dashing Sir Wally the Magnificent." Coming out of one of the dressing rooms, Wally struck a heroic pose in his silver armor.

"That...looks…good," Megan told him while trying to stifle a laugh.

"Don't you think that's a tad bit too big for you?" Robin asked as he joined them. He was dressed as a prince with a red leather vest, white long-sleeved shirt, and black trousers with matching boots. He of course still wore his sunglasses.

"So, it makes that cool clanking noise like in the movies, Prince Robin."

"I have to admit, I do like the garb of the Medieval time period we are wearing. Except for the boots." Exiting his change room, Kaldur came out dressed as a king donning a blue satin-like royal tunic with matching red cape, black trousers and red-brown leather boots. A scepter hung from his oversized leather belt.

"King Kaldur," Wally Joked while bowing. "How may I serve you, my liege?"

"You can start by getting out of that ridiculously oversized costume, beanpole," Artemis said as she joined them wearing a female version of a Robin Hood costume complete with a quiver, which housed a collapsible bow and an array of her trick arrows instead of the plastic ones. The hood of the green and brown tunic hid her face particularly well so as not to warren a mask if she required it. "I'm just glad they had one of these with pants and not a skirt."

"Good job finding something to hide your weapons," Kaldur told her.

"Yeah, not really too many places to conceal my gear," Robin commented.

"Of course, not all of us need weapons." Coming out of her dressing room, Zatanna wore a long black and silver robe with large sleeves, which she held out to show off. "I think a wizard's outfit is quite fitting for me. Don't you agree?"

"It's perfect." Robin didn't take his eyes off her as she looked herself over in a nearby mirror.

"Conner," Megan called. "Are you done yet?"

No answer came from the final dressing room Conner occupied.

"Conner? You in there, buddy?" Robin asked.

Still no response.

"Conner," Kaldur spoke up. "Are you in need of any-"

"No," the powerhouse of the team finally said.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I…I'm not coming out. I'm just gonna wear my regular clothes."

"You can't do that," Kaldur told him. "We are undercover and need to blend in. You can't go walking around here wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Just come on out and-"

"I said no."

"Come on, Con Con. How bad can it be?" Wally asked.

"…No."

"Conner, please?" Megan asked sweetly.

"Yeah," Artemis added. "If I have to run around like an elf, you surely can stomp around like a, like a…Wally, what costume did you give him?"

"It doesn't matter," Conner told her. "I'm not coming out so go ahead and start looking for Clayface and Mammoth without me. I'll meet up with you soon."

"Conner," Kaldur said, not as a leader but as a friend. "We are all friends here. You can trust us. We'll look you over and if it doesn't suit you, we'll let you wear your usual clothing. Okay?"

"…You promise?"

"Of course," Megan told him.

After a minute the cloth door ruffled and slowly slid to one side to reveal Conner's head. After another coaxing from the team, he jerked the cloth to one side and stepped out with a stern look on his face in an outfit so tight, it left very little to the imagination. With a sideways nod, Kaldur tried to tell him something but it was no use. He just had to start laughing his crowned head off.

"Oh snap…Bwah ha ha!" Artemis was the second to begin laughing with the rest following shortly after.

Standing with an angered expression on his face, Conner could only listen to his teammates laugh their heads off at his expense. Unlike the other guys, he was dressed in a orange and yellow harlequin costume complete with a star patterned neck decoration with jingle bells on the tips. A similar skirt-like accessory wrapped around his waist with white frilly cloth adorning each wrist. The hat completed the look as each of the six hanging points were tipped with even more jingle bells. His comrades couldn't stop laughing and were doubled over with Wally on the ground clutching his sides.

"Please…what…whatever you do, Conner…just…just don't bend over," Robin said between laughs.

"Rrrgh, that's it!" he yelled as he turned to head back in the room. He tried to slide the curtain closed but put too much strength behind it and only succeeded in breaking the support bar overhead. As the curtain fell on his head, he heard Megan try to put an end to their laughing as well as her own.

"Wait…Con…Conner," Zatanna said through her laughing. "Just…just come back out and let me see what I can do."

"No, you'll just laugh at me some more," Conner said while trying to hide his shame.

"No, no, I'm serious."

He reluctantly stepped back out as the others, except Wally, tried to stop their laughing. "Kid, I swear I'm gonna-"

"Hctiws gnihtolc neeewteb Dik Hsalf dna Yobrepus." With a swirl of light, both Conner and Wally were surrounded in whirlwinds to conceal them as their clothing was exchanged. Wally's whirlwind died down to reveal him wearing the orange and yellow jester costume complete with the shoes Conner had yet to put on as well as the hat.

When the whirlwind around the angered and embarrassed Superboy subsided, he too was wearing a new costume. It was a variation of Wally's knight armor only with black cloth trousers and leather boots. A long white tunic with a large red cross covered his torso and reached down to his knees with chainmail covering his arms and shoulders and ended with leather gauntlets covering his hands. An oversized belt holstered a sword with a red flowing cape on his back.

"How's that?" Zatanna asked.

"Better," Conner said. "But I don't do capes. And I would still like to wear my own clothes."

"Ooh, now you can really be my knight in shining armor," Megan said as Conner gave a grin to her words.

"Oh, yes, Sir Conner of Krypton and Princess Megan of Mars blahdy blahdy blah," Wally pouted. "Why do I have to be the clown? It's so unfair."

"Let's just get the mission started, shall we?" Kaldur asked. "I want everyone to take one of these. I got the idea from our previous encounter with Clayface and I don't want the same thing to happen to us again." The team's leader took out several purple and blue beaded bracelets from his pocket and handed each of his friends one.

"These are beautiful," Zatanna commented.

"Yeah, man. Where'd you get them," Robin said as he slipped his on.

"From Atlantis. They are a special kind of pearl jewelry is made of. Hide them under your sleeves. When we meet up later, show your wrist and we'll know who's real and who's the imposter. Now, there are three main parts of the fairgrounds." He handed them each a map with sections marked for each team. "Superboy, Robin, you two will take the Eastside of the fair. Miss Martian, you and Artemis take the Westside. Wally, Zatanna, and myself will take the central part. The fair closes at six pm, leaving us roughly six and a half hours to find what we can. Miss Martian, link us up once we're outside and good luck to all of you."

As the group exited the tent, Artemis held Megan back for a moment and silently signaled for a private link to be set up between the two of them. "Yes?" the Martian girl asked.

"M'gann," Artemis thought. "You should really get Conner to wear tights." A triumphant grin spread on Artemis' face when she saw Megan blush redder then her dress.

For the last half hour, the three teams searched the grounds for any signs of their adversaries but so far had turned up nothing. Besides Wally having to try nearly every food available and throwing up, nothing really happened. Everything was so festive around them as large cloth banners lined the food and game stands with long triangular flags perched atop each one as well. Families and couples moved from one booth to the other in the hopes of participating in as many activities as they could before the crystal clear day came to an end. Unknown to them, their constant movement around the armored Conner was getting on his nerves as they kept cutting him off every now and then.

"Easy there big fella," Robin said when he saw his teammate scowl at a couple that had forced him to come to a stop for the third time that day. "Deep breaths, count to ten, recite a mantra. Just don't go all super smash on the innocent people."

Looking down at the youngest team member, Conner made a grunt of annoyance before continuing to look around for any sign of the villains. "How are we supposed to find a shape shifter in all these people? It's worse than finding a needle in a haystack."

"True, but don't let that discourage ya. Mammoth can't hide out in the open so he's got to be somewhere behind the scenes. Maybe we'll get lucky and find him in one of the larger booths further down."

"Or maybe under a bridge. Guy's ugly enough."

"You're totally right by that," Robin cackled. "Speaking of looks, look over there."

The two teens made their way over to a large group of young women who stood in front of a large yellow and red striped tent intently watching a half dozen older women work meticulously on small wooden frames in front of them. Comments of how beautiful their artwork was could be heard the closer Robin and Conner got when they saw what they were working on. The small frames were filled with colored glass, forming shapes and different designs. A multitude of completed work hung along the side of the tent as well as overhead with different prices on each. They shimmered in the bright sunlight and were being sold quite quickly.

"Hey look, there's you." Pointing to one of the women, Robin showed Conner a knight themed stained glass portrait of a white knight she was working on. "He's even slaying a dragon."

"He'll also be saving his princess when I'm done with him," the woman said. She held up her work of art to show the two boys. "Would you be interested in purchasing one? We have many others and all sell out rather quickly."

"I know who would like one," Robin whispered to Conner.

"Who, you?" The powerhouse raised a questioning eyebrow as he looked at the younger boy. "You can get one if you want but just don't look at me to-"

"No, I mean Megan. What are you, nuts? You two are kinda dressed for the parts, you know."

"You think she'll like it?"

"If you want to buy this one, I'll need another hour, hour and a half to finish it. You can go ahead and pay for it if you want. Just leave me your name and come back around three, three thirty to pick it up." The woman informed them.

Further down the area they were patrolling, a shadowed figure kept watch on the two young heroes before retreating further into the shadows of a nearby forested area.

On the other side of the fairgrounds, Artemis was having a hard time weaving through the crowd while searching for their quarry. Kids ran everywhere trying to get to the game booths while the adults rushed to follow them. Loud jig-like music flowed around them as couples participated in medieval dances around a large wooden dance floor. The hooded archer rolled her eyes as her princess partner clasped her hands tightly to her chest and smiled from ear to ear. Neither realized they were being watched carefully from afar.

"Everyone's having so much fun!" Megan exclaimed as she grabbed Artemis by the arm and drug her over to where the musicians played. "I love this, everything's so cheerful."

"Megan, we're supposed to be looking out for –"

"I know but five minutes please? I really want to see all this."

With her hands on her hips, Artemis finally relented. "Fine, five minutes. Stay here while I go get us something to drink and inform Aqualad we haven't found anything. yet"

Walking off, the Robin Hood themed blonde turned to tell her comrade one more thing. "And Megan? The Safety Dance is not an actual dance, just so you know."

In the middle of the renaissance fair, Wally and Zatanna scoured the area while Kaldur received the transmission from Artemis on their situation. "This could take a while," he said with a sigh.

"Tell me about it," wally said. "Clay man could be anyone right now and we wouldn't be able to tell him from her or him or even them." His gaze shot from person to person as he began to become paranoid with the possibility of being face to face with the shape shifter and not know it.

"Calm down Wally," Zatanna told him. "If we run into him, chances are he'll turn tail and head further into the crowd. So if someone looks like they're following or trying to lose us, chances are we've found him."

"She's right. Just keep your eyes open for anyone who looks suspicious." As Kaldur and his group headed further into the fair they didn't notice a slight shift in the ground around them.

It was a quarter after four and still no trace of either Clayface or Mammoth could be found. The search was exhausting for the seven ex-sidekicks who left no sword holding stone unturned. They each re-walked each other's marked out path but nothing new popped up. As it was, Kaldur allowed them to tour the grounds in pairs with Artemis, Wally and Zatanna heading for the game booths while Conner and Megan headed back over to where the festivities were. Kaldur and Robin chose to stay behind at the food stands and compare notes on what they've seen around the area.

"Hey Artemis, care to show these guys how to shoot a bow?" Wally asked as they approached an archery shoot out. Several men each tried to hit the bull's eye in the hopes of winning their significant others a prize.

"Nah, not today. But why don't you give it a shot?"

"Is that a challenge, babe?"

"More like a chance to see a jester make a fool out of themselves."

"Um, a jester is a fool."

"I think that was her point," Zatanna said as they walked up to one of the spots where Wally could shoot.

"Do you know how to handle one of those?" the game maker asked the dual colored harlequin. His muscular frame flexed at the sight of the blonde and brunette.

"Oh yeah, I'm a master at all I do."

"All but shutting his mouth," Artemis said quiet enough so Wally wouldn't hear but loud enough so her wizard friend could.

Drawing the arrow back, Wally took careful aim at the large target some fifty feet away and let the projectile fly. The arrow traveled in a straight arc towards the target and he could just see it hit the bull's eye. It didn't; however, as it hit the ground several feet from the target, missing completely. The game maker laughed heartily as he picked up a second bow lying on the table.

"Ladies, I think your little friend tried to do this." Loading another arrow, the muscular archer launched another arrow and hit the area just shy of the bull's eye. "See, quite simple."

"You didn't hit the bull's eye," Artemis pointed out.

"Well, it is slightly windy, little lady. A bull's eye's not always guaranteed."

"Really?"

"Really," he replied with a wink.

"Wally," she said, never moving her gaze from the male archer. "Bow please."

Handing his teammate a bow and arrow, Wally and Zatanna stepped back to give Artemis room. Taking careful aim, she exhaled slowly and let her arrow fly. It sailed through the air and nailed the bull's eye dead center.

"Well, look at that." The hooded Artemis grinned as the game master stared at her perfect shot.

"Lucky hit, Hunger Games. Bet you can't do that again."

"Of course she can't," Zatanna said. "The first arrow has to be moved out of the way first."

"All right, I'll get someone to remove the arrows and-"

"Oh, please." In a flash, Artemis loaded another arrow and shot it at the target. Had they not have been there, they would not have believed such a shot could be pulled off as her second arrow split the first straight down the middle and once again nailed the bull's eye. "Now, where's my prize?"

The male archer only gawked at what he saw.

"Conner, over here!" Dragging her boyfriend behind her, Megan weaved between the crowd of people as they headed towards the sound of metal clanging and wood breaking. "They're having another jousting tournament."

Arriving at a fenced in area, the couple managed to get a good view of the contest, which was just getting started. A black armored knight mounted his horse as a brown knight did the same at the other end of the arena.

"Oh this is gonna be neat," Megan said while tightly gripping Conner's arm. She couldn't wait to see her first jousting match, unlike Conner who only looked at the two knights indifferently.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted a small group of teenage boys eyeing the excited Megan. His enhanced hearing picked up on some of the things they were saying about her looks and if she were with anyone as they approached them to which Conner went from holding her hand to draping an arm around her shoulders and bringing her in close. The boys turned and headed the other way when they saw him do that. Megan on the other hand blushed at the gesture and wrapped her arm around his waist, making him develop a small grin.

At the drop of a flag, both men took off on horseback at full gallop. Mud kicked up underneath the horses as their hoofs dug into the ground for traction. As they drew near to the center of the arena, they raised their long twelve foot jousting lances and put on one more burst of speed before meeting in a climactic collision. Splinters flew into the air with the black knight being punched back from the violent impact and landed hard on the ground. His shield hit and rolled along the dirt like the hubcap of a just crashed car in the cartoons. The trained horse he rode on trotted back to its handler as the brown knight rode back to his side, ignoring his fallen opponent.

"Hoorah for the brown knight!" the man posing as the king shouted along with the crowd.

"I hope he's not hurt too badly," Megan said while straining her neck to get a better view.

Maybe it was being alone with his Martian girlfriend or maybe it was the demonstration of violence, but Conner found himself strangely calm for the first time since stepping foot on the fair grounds. "I doubt it. It's all a show. These guys know what they're…" Before he could finish his sentence, the brown knight rode past them and caught his eye.

Something was wrong with this picture. He could have sworn both knights hit each other as evident by both lances lying shattered on the ground. The armored breastplate on the fallen competitor was severely dented but the armor of the brown knight was immaculate. Replaying the hit in his mind, Conner saw him take a direct hit to his right side.

"Conner?" Megan asked. "Are you okay? You're not board are you?" She bit her lower lip as she waited for his response.

"Megan, can you think back to when they hit? The exact moment they hit?"

"Hold on." Using her mental abilities, she closed her eyes to prevent anyone from seeing their green glow and replayed the collision in her head. As the knights struck each other, she saw the impact the black knight took as well as his forced dismount. As for the brown knight, he seemed to absorb the blow with the lance going completely through him faster than anyone could see with the naked eye.

"Conner, I think we just found Clayface."

"Tell the others, I'll trail him and see what he's up too."

As Megan mentally alerted the rest of the team, Conner followed the brown knight back to his tent. Peaking inside the front curtain, he could see the knight standing in the middle of the darkened tent as his helmet literally melted off his head. It was absorbed back into his body as a deformed, melted face looked around the interior. Ducking away from the entrance when the faux knight turned back his way, he switched to is super hearing to keep tabs on him when he heard Clayface radio Mammoth about some kind of engine.

"Superboy," Kaldur said over the mental link. "Where are you?"

"Behind the jousting grounds at the last tent. Clayface is inside talking to Mammoth about some sort of engine. A Q-36, something."

"The Q-36 Space Modulator?" Robin asked. "That's the most advanced rocket engine NASA developed before being shut down. If they get ahold of that then they could potentially reach the Watchtower before its systems could detect its trajectory course."

"That or it could be sought after for its Illudium core. Very explosive," Wally added.

"What's the yield?" Kaldur asked the scientific speedster.

"Enough to destroy a great deal of Rode Island. If that's the target."

"It's stashed in the stables near the forest." Conner told them. "Look for a horse therapy room marked with a-"

"Hey Mack, what are you doing here? You need to be ready for the next heat." Surprising Conner was a scruffy portly man in brown and green squire's clothing who was holding a clipboard. "Since Jackson was injured yesterday, we need his replacement to go out there and put on a show."

"But I'm-" Conner tried to say.

"Look, we need you to pay attention and do your job."

"What's going on out here?" Clayface, now back as the brown knight, asked while stepping out of his tent. Conner could only hope he didn't recognize him from their last fight.

"I just came to get the rookie, Mr. Hagen. He's up next against Hoffman."

"Well, kid? Ain'tcha gonna wear a helmet? Or do you need a spare?" Clayface, or Mr. Hagen, asked the cornered spy.

Not wanting to blow the cover that was conveniently provided for him, Conner had no choice but to agree. "Uh, ye, yeah. I sort of need a hel-"

"Here," Hagen said while shoving a metallic helmet in his chest. "Lances are at the arena and you can get a horse from Sondra Fuller." Turning to face the portly man, Hagen eyed him sternly. "I'll be taking the rest of the day off. Personal issues." Before a response could be given, he disappeared back into his tent.

"Conner? Come in," Kaldur called.

"Therapy stable. Door marked with a marked out medical cross."

"Where will you be?"

"Jousting. Apparently."

Arriving at the jousting arena around ten minutes later, Artemis climbed the back of the booth where the actors portraying royalty sat. She positioned herself in a shadowed area and pulled off her quiver to retrieve a collapsible bow. With the press of a button, it sprang open and was loaded with a trick arrow. "I'm in position with a clear shot of the arena."

"Rodger that. Taking my place on Conner's side of the field," Megan thought back. "Conner, how are you doing?"

"Uh…okay…I guess." Sitting on his horse was a lot more troublesome than the young hero thought. His legs tightened around the animal until it let out a whinny of pain from the pressure he applied to it. In the five minutes he had been on it, he had fallen off once with several near falls after that. "Do either of you know how to ride one of these things?"

"Oh, yeah. I rode them all the time in the city," Artemis sarcastically said.

"Just hold on and I'll keep you on." Megan's eyes shimmered green as she used her telekinesis to hold her boyfriend in place. "You'll still need to brace yourself after the hit but I'll keep you seated."

"Hear ye, hear ye!" the king shouted out to the audience. "The final match of the jousting tournament will feature the white knight against my champion, the blue knight!"

The crowd applauded loudly as a second knight on horseback entered the arena. His armor was predominantly blue with hints of red between the armored plates. His lance was adorned with a long red flag that flowed freely in the wind as he held it vertically.

"And as an added incentive, the winner will not only be crowned the winner of the tournament, but will also receive a kiss from the fair Princess Buttercup!"

At the announcement, a large chested blonde woman in a red and yellow dress stood up and waived to the people. She received catcalls and cheers from the masses as she did so. Before sitting down, she gave each knight a wave and blew them each a good luck kiss.

Megan's eyes grew wide at the possibility of Conner winning and kissing another woman, especially that woman. The sight of the top heavy princess made her rethink the form she had taken when she came to Earth. Sure he told her it didn't matter how she looked and that he loved her regardless, but could it be if a woman were to really be deemed attractive she must have blonde instead of auburn hair? Long eyelashes? Flawless skin instead of freckled? A thin waist that made it look as if she starved herself instead of a small amount of what was known typically as "baby fat"? A straight as a board body instead of the curves Megan thought looked good on her? Or maybe it was the large pair of…

CRASH!

With a thud, Conner crashed on his hind end with his helmet flying through the air as he tumbled to a stop on the loose soil. A gasp came from the audience as he finished his end over end fall with a face full of dirt. His tunic was torn on his left side with his shield shattering upon impact just like his lance. As for the blue knight, he didn't fare much better as his impact sent him flying backwards from hitting the Kryptonian. He was in a daze as he tried to stand up and succeeded in only falling down again.

Getting back to his feet, Conner looked around to find Megan staring at him with an embarrassed look on her face. "I thought you were going to keep me on!"

"S…sorry, Conner. I was-"

"Jeallin like a felon," Artemis butted in. Her laughter over the mental link was loud enough to quiet the couple down. "She, she didn't want you kissing Booberella over there and, and…" She had no choice but to continue laughing.

Over at the stables, Kaldur, Wally, Robin, and Zatanna carefully snuck in and found the marked room Conner had described with the rocket engine sitting in the back of the room under several horse blankets. They had each donned domino masks should they be discovered by any chance before making their way over to the stables. It was too easy. There were no security alarms of any kind, no traps anywhere, and the room was locked using a standard deadbolt. The thought of walking into a trap nagged at the back of their heads, making them keep on high alert.

"Robin, is everything in one piece?" Aqualad asked from his spot beside the door.

"Yeah, nothing's been removed or damaged. The fuel cell is still intact and it hasn't been hooked up for launch in any way."

"Well at least that part's good," Kid Flash said. "We don't need it to-"

"Guys, we got problems! Mammo-" Before Zatanna could finish alerting the others, Mammoth crashed through the wooden wall and targeted the three teen heroes inside.

"Oh man, big guy in a little space with little guys," KF muttered. "Not good."

"We will have to make it good," Aqualad told him.

Charging at the closest of the teens, Mammoth roared as his fist came crashing down where Robin was. Flipping out of the way, Robin barely missed being crushed by the genetically altered criminal's fist. Before he could wind up for another attack, Kaldur used his water bearers to snag his arms and give Robin an opportunity to hit him with several smoke bombs.

"Outside in the open, now. Zatanna, move the engine the first chance you get," Kaldur ordered when he was flung to the other side of the room by is water bearers.

Landing roughly, he had only a second to look up to see Mammoth rushing over to crush him when he heard Zatanna shout out a spell. An uprooted tree came bursting through the wall and hammered into the supervillian, sending him through the far side wall and out of the stables. Fire shot up from an exploding generator when Mammoth crashed into it, setting the side of the stables on fire and sending the horses into a panic.

"Thanks for the assist," Aqualad told his teammate. "Kid Flash, free the horses. Robin go after Mammoth, Zatanna, back him up after securing the engine. I'll work on putting out the fire."

Zipping from stable to stable, Kid Flash worked on unhinging the wooden gates and setting the horses free as the fire spread. Some were too frightened to get out and had to be slapped on the rear to get them to move. Aqualad in the meantime had tapped into a large water silo some fifty yards away and rode a platform of water to the fast spreading flames.

People scattered around the area from the chaos. Those that worked at the fair tried to round up the horses and figure out a way to put out the flames. Others screamed as a young man did battle with a monstrosity several feet taller and several hundred pounds heavier than he was. When it looked as if he were about to be crushed, a flying silver and black clad woman levitated him out of the way and had the roots of nearby trees tie the creature up and drag him into the ground.

"Horses are free." Wally yelled into his communicater.

"Handle crowd control," Kaldur ordered as he had the water rain down on the stables.

"Okay, ladies and kiddoes first. Especially if the ladies are hot," Kid Flash said as he guided everyone away from the carnage.

Standing before the royal family, Conner and the blue knight, whose helmet was stuck on his head, waited through the announcements as the king declared the winner. Artemis kept her eye out for any sign of the brown knight but she hadn't seen anyone fitting the description she was given. Constant telekinetic contact with the two on the ground helped expand their search but to no avail.

"…And for my champion, the second place trophy," The king announced as a young man presented him with a gold plated griffin trophy. The crowd applauded for the second place winner as he held up his prize.

"And now for the winner of the match, the white knight, as he was the only one who could stand at the end." The crowd cheered loudly as the young man holding the trophy approached Conner. "He not only won the match, but is also the first one to knock my champion off his horse."

Accepting the first place dragon trophy with the crowd cheering him on, Conner was just about to walk away when a dainty hand fell on his shoulder. "Where are you going? You haven't collected your grand prize yet, my brave knight."

Looking at the top heavy princess, Conner became nervous as he remembered what else he was supposed to get. "Uh, that's fine, you don't have too."

"Look, dude, we gotta do this for the crowd so just play along so we can both collect our paychecks, alright?" she whispered to him, breaking character momentarily.

"Yeah, you know how many guys would kill to be in your shoes?" the trophy handler asked. "Every man here." The last words he spoke became distorted as he began to deform and grow in size.

The princess let out a high pitched shriek as the rest of the crowd went into a panic at the sight of Clayface. Leaping out of the way before the large shape shifter could grab hold of him, Conner landed in a rollout several feet away. The moment the villain's oversized mud-like fist crashed into the ground, Artemis fired an explosive arrow and blew his arm off. Miss Martian levitated several large wooden pillars and slammed them into the ground around Clayface to slow him down long enough for the perched archer to ready her specially prepared arrows.

Bursting from his temporary prison, Clayface morphed one arm into a hammer and the other newer one into a curved sickle. The separated part of him lay motionless on the ground in dried up chunks and was ignored. Attacking Superboy, the hulking monstrosity let out a deep laugh as his hammered fist came down where the young Kryptonian was at.

"I remember you. You can't win, boy. You can't even touch me without putting yourself at risk." A hard swipe of the sickle cut through the air, barely missing the top of Superboy's head.

Several pointed mud spikes flew off is hand from the attack and shot over to the fleeing crowd of people. They all came to a halt as Miss Martian, now with green skin, mentally flung several shields in front of them.

"Superboy, now!" Artemis thought over the mental link.

Leaping over the shifter, Conner got himself clear as Artemis fired another trick arrow. It landed beside Clayface's foot and instantly froze his legs to the ground.

"What?" As he looked himself over, another arrow struck him and flash froze his torso and arms. "No! This isn't happeni-" Before he could finish, a third arrow struck his head and froze the rest of him.

Leaping down from her position, Artemis met back up with her teammates. "Anyone order a mudsicle?"

With the park deserted of innocent bystanders, the team didn't have to worry about making any more of a scene than they already had as they left the fairgrounds. Miss Martian levitated the frozen Clayface while Zatanna did the same for the stolen engine.

"So what happened to Mammoth?" Artemis asked Robin. "Heard you three ran into him about the same time we took out Playdoh here."

"Zee sent him to his cave. She did this whole vine attack thing on him and sucked him underground. He'll be there for the League to pick up after we get back to the ship."

"Oh, man," Wally moped. "Why didn't anyone tell me my tights split in the back? The seam just split wide open."

"At least you didn't get soaked, my friend," Kaulder told him. "How you stand shoes is beyond me. Feels good to lose those boots."

As the rest of the team continued forward, Megan and Conner brought up the rear. It didn't take long for her to notice the bag in his hand he held rather tightly and after a few minutes of floating by his side, her curiosity got the better of her.

"Um, Conner? What's in the bag?"

"…Something."

"What?"

"Just…something I…got for you earlier." His hand reached up to rub the back of his neck.

"Oh," she said with a smile. "May I see it?"

"Um, not, not now. Wait until we're back at the cave."

Landing in front of him, Megan brought her boyfriend to a halt. "Oh come on. Don't be embarrassed. Everyone knows about us. We don't have to keep it a secret anymore."

"Well, okay." Bringing the bag up, Conner opened the bag and reached in to pull out a newspaper wrapped item when a loud mechanical squeal rang out over the area. He dropped the wrapped object back in the bag and covered his ears along with the others.

"Agh, what is that?" Zatanna yelled.

"Gahh, my fillings!" Shouted Wally.

"Uh, guys?" Robin said once the loud grinding noise died down a little. "We have another problem!"

Looking further down the middle isle to the front entrance, the team saw something that made them feel as if they were in a Japanese B-movie. Rising up into the sky was a large forty foot tall metallic creature with red glowing eyes and fire spewing out of its mouth. It let out a howling roar then turned its sights on the young heroes.

"What in the what?" Artemis gasped.

"It's-" Kaldur said before being cut off.

"Godzilla!" Wally yelled.

"Well?" Robin said as he looked back at Conner.

"Well what?"

"You're the knight. He's a dragon. Ipso facto…go get him"

With another mechanical roar, the robotic dragon unleashed a wall of flame at the team who dove, flew, or leapt out of the way. It left the ground scorched with black dirt covering the once orangish soil. The engine was pulled out of the way in just the nick of time and was suspended in the air by the wizard themed magician. To make matters worse, the ground began to shake as Mammoth burst from the ground. Pieces of the entrance bridge flew through the air as he emerged from his onetime prison and set his murderous sights on his would-be captors. Robin couldn't help but remember what Conner said earlier about Mammoth being as ugly as a troll.

"Zatanna, Wally, get that engine back to the ship and make sure it's not damaged and secure it!"

"Got'cha," Wally told him as he and the magician headed for the bioship in a roundabout way.

"Okay team, we have a Mammoth troll and a fire breathing dragon. Take your pick."

"Personally," Conner said as he stepped forward with a grin. "I kinda wanna slay the dragon."

"Count me in too," Artemis said while loading her bow.

"Okay, you two take the robot. Robin, Miss Martian, and I will take on Mammoth. Let's go!" Unsheathing his water bearers, Aqualad made a dash for the genetically mutated individual with Miss Martian and Robin close behind.

The first one to reach Mammoth was Robin who flung several birdarangs to slow the charging mutant down. Miss Martian followed him by raising a large boulder and threw it was him where he caught it. The load was nearly too heavy for the villain that he nearly fell backwards with the large boulder being precariously held above him. Aqualad whipped his water weapons around his feet and tripped him up. This time the boulder landed on his chest.

Around a hundred yards away, Superboy and Artemis fought the mechanical dragon as it moved to either crush or burn them. The team's archer fired several exploding arrows in quick succession as the powerhouse leapt up and landed a hard enough punch make it stagger back a few steps.

"How much you wanna bet this was from T. R. Morrow?" Artemis asked.

"Less betting, more fighting." Superboy replied as he jumped over a tail swipe. The arrows barely made a dent in its armored hide with Superboy only succeeding in knocking it off balance after every hard punch.

Reaching out, the mechanical creature managed to grab Superboy by his cape as he fell back to earth and slammed him into the nearby ticket booth.

"Ooh, he's not gonna be happy," Artemis said as she fired another arrow.

Standing back up from the destroyed booth, Superboy angrily ripped off his cape and threw it on the ground. "I hate capes," he muttered through clinched teeth before charging at the robot. When his fist connected with the back of its knee, Artemis got an idea as how to take it down.

"Superboy, go for the joints!" the archer yelled as she pulled out another arrow. "I'll take out its eyes!"

Back at the fight with Mammoth, Kaldur succeeded in holding his arms temporarily with his weapons working like whips as Robin delivered several electrical birdarangs to his chest "Miss Martian, now!"

Taking her cue, the Martian girl ripped several fire hydrants off their mounts and flooded the ground. She then levitated Robin into the air while keeping a circular patch of dirt around the Atlantean leader dry. With a yell, he released a strong electrical current at the same time Robin's birdarangs detonated and electrocuted Mammoth into unconsciousness. The three looked over their fallen enemy before Miss Martian wrapped him up using several light posts.

"Rrrraaaggghhh!" Superboy leapt up and delivered a metal crunching blow to the dragon's neck area and knocked it over. Its joints had taken a pounding at his hands and Artemis' arrows. It was now a blind spasming pile of scrap as it lay on the ground.

"Well, I say that a notch in the win column for Arty-hood and Sir Conner, don't you?" Artemis asked as she took off her hood.

"I guess." Conner ran a hand through his hair as they were joined by the others with the knocked out Mammoth in tow.

"Good job, all of you," Kaldur told his team. "Hopefully we won't be-" Another loud screech sounded from the dragon as it stood back up and a large fire ball erupted from its mouth.

"M'gann!" Acting fast, Conner dove at the Martian and tackled her out of the way just as the fireball flew past where she was.

The two came to a stop a few feet away where Conner looked her over to make sure she wasn't injured. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks. I didn't think it was still working."

"Neither did I."

With no injuries on her he let her go and charged at the head of the robotic dragon as it gave another squeal. He dove into its mouth just as it was fixing to launch another fireball and caused it to explode; sending a chain reaction down its body that completely destroyed it and sent its head flying across the fairgrounds. Large flames covered the ground where it once stood with its metal body lying in ruins.

"Conner?!" Kaldur yelled. "Conner!"

"Conner!" M'gann shouted as well.

The four searched around the debris but couldn't see him and they couldn't immediately put the fire out. It wasn't until a minute later when a large metal plate moved and was shoved off when they saw the Kryptonian. He stumbled out of the burning debris while putting what was left of his tunic and pants out and his chainmail armor being so hot that it glowed red.

"Uh, can somebody help me?" he asked. He held his arms up as he took short steps from the defeated dragon. "It kinda burns."

"Always said the boy was hot," Artemis commented.

"Good job Superboy." After Kaldur expressed his congratulations he took stock of the area and shook his head. "I fear we may have failed in our mission. This was supposed to be an undercover operation, not an all-out battle."

"Hey, lighten up AL. It went perfectly until they engaged us. Besides, we got the engine, got Mammoth, got Clayface, and slayed a dragon as a bonus. What else could you want?" Robin patted his leader's shoulder for reassurance.

"Wait, where's Clayface?" Miss Martian asked.

"The last time I saw him was right before Wally and Zatanna took the engine to the ship." After Artemis pointed that bit of information out, every member of the team looked suspiciously at each other.

"Not cool," Robin said. "definitely not cool."

"Ok, everyone, show your bracelets. They're the only thing Clayface didn't know we wore." On Kaldur's orders, each member raised their sleeves to show the blue and purple bracelets hidden underneath.

"Ok then, we all pass," Artemis said. "What about Wally and Zee?"

"We have to trust neither of them is Clayface."

"Or how about you look over there?" Conner asked them. "Unless the fair got a new ugly statue, he didn't get far."

The others looked over at where Conner indicated and saw a large stone statue of Clayface. He was still in the same position Artemis froze him in only he was now completely dried out.

"Whoa," Robin said. "He must have been thawed out and completely dried when he got hit by the dragon."

"I didn't mean to leave him behind," M'gann said. "But I guess we don't have to worry about him trying to escape anytime soon."

"Still ugly." Conner looked over the solid brown statue and couldn't help but kick one of the legs, making a small chunk of his shin break off. "Wonder what would happen to him if I-"

"Conner, if you ask Megan if you can keep him…" Artemis said, drawing a look from the collector of strays.

"Actually…I just wanted to smash him."

8:27pm – Mount Justice:

"So with mammoth and Clayface both behind bars at Bell Reave as well as the destruction of the robotic dragon, your mission has been deemed a success. Good job. On a side note, the League will handle the return of the Engine to NASA. In the meantime, take some time off to recuperate. Batman out."

"Sweet, mission accomplished and a really cool souvenir." Reaching into a pocket, Wally pulled out one of the dragon's teeth and flipped it in the air.

"You kept its teeth?" asked Robin.

"No, just the one. Megs took the other."

"Oh lord, please don't tell me she's collecting trophies too," Artemis commented. "One pack rat's enough."

"Just because you don't keep mementoes of your victories…" Wally dashed to his room to add the metal tooth to his trophy collection before heading home for the night.

After the standard de-briefing with Batman the team began to retire for some much needed rest. Kaldur had quickly changed into his regular uniform to head back to Atlantis with Wally and Robin each donning their civvies. Wally headed for home while Robin headed back to Wayne Manor. Zatanna had headed for her room to turn in early while Artemis ventured into the kitchen for a quick bite to eat while still wearing her Robin Hood costume, sans quiver and hood. The gold plated arrow she had won earlier in the day from the archery shoot out rested beside her weapons, which lay on the coffee table in the living room.

Back in her room, M'gann took one last look at her princess costume in the mirror before shifting into a long sleep shirt and shorts. Her only regret of the day was not getting a picture of them all in costume but other than that, it was a truly eventful day. Removing her hair ribbon, she grabbed a tooth she acquired from the defeated robot dragon and tied it around the thickest part of it to make a necklace. She smiled to herself at the thought of giving it to Conner.

As she turned to head out of her room she noticed a bag sitting on her nightstand, the same bag Conner had when they were leaving the fair. She had forgotten all about it when the dragon and Mammoth showed up. Taking the bag and sitting on her bed, she pulled out the wrapped object inside and removed the newspaper from it. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the colorful framed glass with a white knight standing in front of a princess wearing a white and red dress while defending her from a dragon. A large smile spread on her face as she hurriedly flew out of her room.

Coming out of the shower to a dozen or so knocks in what sounded at one time, Conner quickly slipped on a shirt before opening the door. His lounge pants were damp from having to put then on without fully drying yet. He didn't get a chance to speak once the door slid open as M'gann leapt up to give him a kiss for her present.

"I love it, thank you. It's so pretty." She held it up to show him how the light reflected in its colors.

"I was hoping you would." He was still a bit nervous about if she would like it and was relieved at how much she enjoyed it. "I thought you were coming to get me to listen to those…songs."

"Oh, that's not tonight. We can listen to them tomorrow."

Conner rolled his eyes at that remark. "You're really gonna make me go through with that?"

"Of course I am. A deal's a deal, even if you were pushed into it." She bounced on her tip toes nervously as she looked around to make sure Artemis wasn't coming down the hall. "I…I got something for you too." Holding her hand up, she dropped the tooth so it could hang freely from her ribbon.

"What is that? A spike?" He took it in his hand and examined it closely.

"No, it's a tooth from the dragon. Robin was right, you were a knight and you did slay it. Not to mention rescue the princess while you were at it." She paused and bit her lower lip before continuing. "Did, did you like that other girl? The one at the tournament?"

"You mean the one Artemis called Booberalla? Tuh, no. Why do you think I tried to leave after they gave me that trophy?"

"Oh, well, I was just wondering because-"

"And it's not like she was the only princess there, right? You were there too." A small grin crept up on him when he saw her blush.

"Well…I"

"And…I never got my prize from the princess." he said with a slight smile while rubbing the back of his neck.

A few minutes later, Artemis wondered down the hall the rooms were situated in and found M'gann's room to be empty. As she searched for her two companions she noticed a couple of objects hanging from Conner's door. Upon closer inspection she saw they were a dragon tooth necklace and a stained-glass picture frame. His being the only door that was closed with the lock light illuminated and M'gann missing told her all she needed to know.

"Knight gets his princess. Checkmate." Leaving the two alone, she headed back to the Zeta tubes as the whistled tune of "Glory of Love" trailed behind her.

END

AN: Cheesy at the end, I know. But a little cheese never did anyone any harm. If you want to know how I came up with this, it was the combined viewings of "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", "A Knight's Tale", playing "Skyrim", and a discussion on why I've never seen "The Princess Bride". (Seriously, I haven't, even though I've been told it's pretty good and it has Andre the Giant in it.)

Anyways, hope you enjoyed.