Finally! I was starting to think that I'd have to give this up! But, never fear, I came through! ;)
This one is for SilverxDawn's A Time and a Place: Random Word challenge and, I'm not going to lie, it was hard. It took well over two months, I'm pretty sure of it.
Anyway, hope you like it. I had nothing else to offer...
"Are you sure you're doing it correctly?" Kid Flash asked nervously as he peered over the Boy Wonder's shoulder and glanced at the multitudes of numbers and ninja faces flashing onto the holographic wrist computer screen. Robin rolled his eyes behind his mask at his friend's behaviour.
"I think I know how to hack into a computer, KF!"
"I know, I know. But...it still feels like we're breaking into Fort Knox or something."
"Awww, how cute," Artemis commented as she stuck her bottom lip out. "Is Baby Flash scared that he's going to get a detention from the Head?"
"First of all, it's Kid Flash and secondly-"
"How is 'Kid' any better than 'Baby'?"
"At least I actually came up with an original super hero name instead of using my real name. Ever heard of common sense, Arty?"
"Call me Arty one more time and one of my arrows will suddenly find itself embedded deep within your skull."
"Just try it, Arty."
Artemis growled dangerously and leaped towards the speedster's throat only to tumble headfirst into an invisible barrier. She recoiled and hissed in pain, gently rubbing her forehead, before turning around to glare at Megan.
"What was that for?"
The Martian shrugged apologetically.
"We need Robin to be focused, Artemis and you fighting with Wally won't he-"
"Got it!"
Everyone turned around to look at the Boy Wonder as he smirked triumphantly.
"All security systems are down. You can thank me later."
"About time," Superboy grumbled as he scrambled into the air vents, the rest of the team following behind.
"Who'd have thought that I'd ever willingly sneak back into school?" Artemis asked as she glanced at the vents, distracting herself from the sight of Megan's wiggling butt in front of her face. "Are all vents this clean?"
"I don't really know. I haven't crawled in enough vents to compare," Kaldur smiled playfully as he lead the rear of the group.
"It just shows how perfect this school is," Robin said causing Wally to poke him.
"Just because this is your school doesn't mean you have to brag about it," The speedster whispered in an effort to make sure no one else heard.
"It's Artemis' too, you know."
"You must have fun seeing her every day," Wally stated, sarcasm dripping from every one of his words.
"No comment."
The six heroes continued to crawl through the air vents and one could hardly have called any of them graceful as they did so. Grunts and occasional complaints rang throughout the vents before Robin quickly reminded them to shut up because 'even if the security systems are down, who's to say there won't be a security guard or two?'.
"I think we're here," Superboy announced as he abruptly stopped before a small grate that lead to what looked like a science lab.
"Great," Robin quickly fumbled around with his utility belt before pulling a screwdriver from on of the pouches and giving it to Artemis. "Pass it on to Superboy."
The blonde archer nodded and gave it to Megan who then gave it to Superboy. He grabbed it and stared at it in a puzzled way.
"Thanks for the gift Robin but how..."
"Put the sharp side into one of those screws you see in each corner of the grate and turn. Keep turning until the screw becomes loose."
"Okay," Superboy said uncertainly before doing just as he had been instructed to. When he finished, he quietly lifted the grate and placed it on the other side and slipped down, creating a heavy, muffled noise and a small crater in the floor. Megan gently floated down before wincing at the hole. Artemis jumped down and raised her eyebrow at the sheepish Superboy.
"Great job," She commented sarcastically.
"...Thanks?"
"What the-!" Robin stared at the crater from the open grate. "Superboy! What did yo-!" The Boy Wonder took a deep breath before coming down. "Just...be more careful next time. Batman is going to be so pissed..."
Wally snorted when he took in the sight but didn't comment while Kaldur didn't take it into notice at all.
"Well? Where is it?" Artemis asked impatiently as she glanced at the empty marble tables and stools. She suddenly remembered that she had a science test first thing tomorrow in the room. She wondered if the teacher had absentmindedly left any test answers lying around.
"Should be around here somewhere..." Robin trailed off thoughtfully, a slight frown on his face.
"What if it's not in the lab?" Wally asked. "Maybe you put it somewhere else and you forgot."
Robin shot him a look that quickly shut the speedster up.
"I don't forget things like that, KF."
"How about we go back to when you last infiltrated this place and retrace your steps?" Megan suggested. Robin smiled at his cover story. He'd told the rest of the team (apart from Wally since he already knew the truth) that he had lost it when he'd broken in before instead of losing it during the school day. In his opinion, it was a more believable cover story too compared to Wally's 'let's just say that aliens grabbed it and play Call of Duty already'.
"What if one of the students took it?" Kaldur asked.
"No, I have a tracer on her and it said that she's in this building."
The room fell silent and the Boy Wonder became concious of the fact that everyone's eyes were on him. And they looked pretty ticked off.
"Tracer?" Artemis growled.
"Yeah, wh-oh, right!" Robin grinned guiltily. "Forgot."
"And what were you saying about not forgetting things like this?" Wally raised an eyebrow.
"Shut up, Wallace."
"Dude!"
"Let's just find the stupid thing and get out of here," Artemis hissed.
"Artemis! She's not a 'thing', more a highly clever computer interface that allows me to hack into things and easily access files and schematics."
"So basically, a cheat disc."
"A highly clever computer interface that al-"
"Alright!" Wally interrupted. "How about we just find it-her-and leave?"
"Why don't you just use the one on your wrist now?" Megan asked, a little puzzled with everything.
Robin rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"This," He pointed to his left glove. "Is a spare. She's the only real thing..."
"Robin, trace the signal to your wrist computer...thing and let's go before we get caught," Kaldur ordered as a tired sigh escaped his lips.
Robin quickly tapped a few things into his holographic keyboard, his face a mask of concentration before it lit up when a small red dot appeared on the screen. "Got her signal."
"Stop referring to it as her, will you?" Superboy snapped. "It's freaking me out!"
"Reminds me of the whole 'Chucky the Doll' thing," Artemis added.
"Chucky the what?" Megan asked.
"Trust me," Wally answered the Martian's question as a small shiver ran down his back. "You don't want to know."
The five older teenagers traipsed around sleepily as they reluctantly followed the Boy Wonder's lead. Kaldur briefly acknowledged the irony before he was forced to jog to keep up with the 13 year old. Soon, they were pushed into a full sprint to keep sight of Robin as he disappeared down corridors and into shadows. Eventually, and much to everyone's relief, Robin stopped in front of a wooden door looking extremely smug.
"What kept you so long?"
Wally glared.
"Staff Room?" Artemis asked. "What's it doing in the staff room?"
"Oh, the watch? It's doing the Irish Jig," The speedster answered casually causing his best friend to snort.
"If only."
Robin swiftly reached into one of his pouches and retrieved a small lock pick and quickly inserted it into the key shaped hole. After expertly fiddling around, the door gave a satisfying click. Robin grinned victoriously as he pushed the door open.
"A utility belt, folks. Never leave home without one."
"You 'whelm' me, Rob," Wally commented dryly before speeding in and back out into the hallway with a gust of wind accompanying him. In one of his hands lay a single black glove.
"Yes!" Robin cried before removing his current glove and replacing it with the one that had previously been in Wally's fist. It looked exactly the same. "Now we can get out of here."
"Thank God!" Artemis yelled as she began sprinting back towards the science lab. "I was beginning to think that I'd have to spend the rest of my life here with you lot!" She suddenly stopped and added as an afterthought. "No offence."
"Just because you add 'no offence' doesn't mean there won't be any offence!" Wally spat as he easily managed to catch up with the archer. The rest of the group was left in front of the open staff room door watching the archer and the speedster have, what it seemed to look like, a race, their insults and biting remarks echoing around the hallway.
"So much for stealth," Robin sighed.
Badaboom!
Finished. Hope you liked it and all that jazz. Wouldn't mind a few reviews blah de blah de blah (been watching way too much Doctor Who and BBC's Robin Hood).
Allons-y (now I'm not even using it in the right way...)