Shrill beeps filled the air in a small cozy room as a low groan came from a mass of sheets. Red hair poked from beneath a sun bathed pillow. Wally lifted his head and glared at the offending machine that read 6:45 AM. He moaned as he began to untangle himself from his bed sheets. He was moving rather slowly for a speedster, though rather normally for a fresh-out-of-bed-teenage-speedster-without-food-for-wight-hours-straight speedster which is to say like a normal human being. He slammed his hand down on the snooze button with a seeming grudge. Wally then proceeded to glare at the window with blinds drawn.
"Why do I have to wake up so early? It's summer! I should be sleeping long days and working nights." Wally grumbled as he moved to the shower.
A quick rinse and towel dry later Wally was ready to go the Cave. He wore the usual black long sleeve shirt and his dark blue jeans. He was downstairs raiding the fridge in seconds. His red goggles sat on top of his messy red mass of hair as he chewed and closed the fridge door. His aunt Iris and uncle Barry weren't up yet, so he quietly ate a few bowls of cereal and left them a note on the counter. Wally snuck quietly to the door and opened it slowly.
"So close," groaned the flaming haired teen as the door let out a harsh squeak.
In seconds Barry was standing behind Wally in his night wear holding a bat and seemingly ready to beat down a burglar. Wally waved nervously to his newly awakened uncle. The older speedster gave Wally a short glare before curling his hand into a thumbs up and a smile curling on his lips. Wally grinned ecstatically. He put on his goggles and stepped out the door. Wally stopped to take a deep breath of the early morning air before waving to Barry and taking off, speeding down the streets of Central City. He was a barely a blur as he rocketed through the city. He loved the wind whipping at his face as he ran, almost as much as he loved the speed itself.
It took a total of twenty minutes for the speedster to reach Happy Harbor and from there, seconds for him to reach the cave. He sped in as usual, skidding to a halt before he slammed into Artemis and Rocket. The archer gave Wally her typical good-morning-now-scram-before-I-get-mad look before returning to her conversation with Rocket. Wally sighed as he headed towards the kitchen. There he found M'Gann trying to make another batch of cookies.
"Hi." Wally said to her as he walked to the fridge.
"Hello Wally. Would you happen to know how many ounces are in a pound? Or is it the other way?" M'Gann asked as she looked up from her cookbook.
"You had it right the first time." Wally chuckled good-naturedly before continuing, "I'm not sure how many ounces are in a pound though. Try asking Artemis or Nightwing."
"Do you know where he is?" The martian asked.
"No. Isn't he here? I thought he practically lived here with you and Supey." Wally said as he nearly dropped his bag of chips.
"No one's seen him since yesterday after the mission debriefing Baywatch." Artemis said, an eyebrow raised beneath her mask in question as she entered the kitchen. "He probably was dragged home by Batman. He doesn't like it when Nightwing stays too long at the cave."
"Guess it comes from being a father, but still. Wouldn't he have let us know?" Wally said, mostly to himself.
Before anyone could answer they all heard Batman's deep booming voice resonate in the cave.
"All Team members, report to mission room." The Dark Knights voice rang loud and clear.
Wally, M'Gann and Artemis shared a look, each showing some versions of worry. They all proceeded to sit the kitchen and walk through the cave towards the mission room. Every hero in the cave dropped whatever they were doing and joined their small procession. When all heroes had assembled there were a total of ten Team members standing in the room. M'Gann was of course standing next to Beast Boy, who looked too excited to be humanly possible as he bounced in his seat; Kaldur was standing stoically beside Conner who was wearing a mask of indifference as he looked at the other heroes in the room. Artemis was begrudgingly standing beside Wally as the newer recruits took the spots in front row.
"The League has received news of an attack in Spring Field whilst we suspect a theft to be planned in New York, utilizing the New Orleans incident as a distraction. The theft is thought to be of a caravan of highly valuable new wave technology. The League will handle Springfield. The Team will handle prevevnting the theft." Batman paused to scan the group of heroes in front of him. A puzzled scowl deepened the furrow of his brows before the Dark Knight said, "Kaldur, you will be in charge. Take who you wish but leave quickly." Batman said as he turned on his heel, cape whirling around in a black mass, and strode out of the room.
Kaldur walked to the front, his steps confident as he re-assumed the role that he had held some time ago. He looked over the heroes before him, eyes lingering on each member thinking over who to bring and who would be valuable.
"Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Artemis, Blue Beetle, Superboy, Bumblebee, Rocket. You will all come with me. Wonder Girl, make sure that Beast Boy stays here." Kaldur said as he looked at the young green changeling.
Garfield let out a saddened whimper of protest before changing into a puppy and trying to persuade Kaldur to let him come. But after some minutes of arguing, the boy agreed to stay behind. All members vanished to their rooms to switch from their civilian garb into hero suits. The chosen team reunited in the kitchen before making its way to the launch bay where the bio-ship awaited them. They boarded in peaceful silence. M'Gann took her seat in the pilots chair before Batmanpopped up on the holoscreen.
"Team, here are the coordinates for the caravan in question and it's route to intended destination. Primary mission is to assure the caravan arrives at its destination, secondary mission is to find out who is behind the theft. Batman out." And with that the holoscreen disappeared and the Team was left looking at blank space.
"Miss Martian, take us to the coordinates." Kaldur said, his voice the usual calm it always was.
M'Gann nodded. The bio-ship lifted off of the ground as the doors to the landing bay opened wide enough for the ship to clear it. While M'Gann focused on flying the ship and Kaldur on the mission ahead the others began to chat quietly.
"What do you think is up? Bats didn't even seem to know that Nightwing wasn't there." Wally whispered.
"You mean when he took a breath to continue speaking? Not everyone can speed talk like you Baywatch. Normal people have to breathe." Artemis snorted in a hushed tone.
"Not Batman and not when he's assigning missions." The red-head protested.
"Kid does have a point. That wasn't exactly a normal behavior. Plus, didn't you see how he walked out of the room with a different step than normal?" Superboy interjected.
"Thank you someone else for noticing!" Wally exclaimed, louder than he had meant to, drawing the attention of Aqualad.
"For noticing what, Kid Flash?" The atlantian questioned.
"Kid Idiot is saying that Batman didn't know Nightwing wasn't at the cave and that he thinks that Nightwing is thus missing." Rocket spouted.
Wally was forming a protest as he opened his mouth to reexplain what he'd said to keep himself from looking stupid, but the speedster was cut off.
"I believe that Kid Flash is correct in his assumptions about Batman being unaware of Nightwing's location."
Kid Flash's jaw dropped in surprise at Kaldur agreeing with him.
"Really? You agree with me. I mean- Yeah, see. He agrees with me."
"Since when is Kid Idiot right about anything?" Artemis asked.
"I've been right about stuff before!" The red-head protested.
"When?" The other heroes, excluding Aqualad, asked in unison.
"When it comes to food and speed and science." Kid Flash responded.
"Let us put this debate aside for the moment. We need to decide on a plan. Primarily we are going to be accompanying the shipment, so we will need to be in groups and spread around it. I will take Rocket and we will be in front of the caravan. Superboy and Kid, you will take the left flank, while Artemis and Miss Martian will be positioned on the right flank. Bumblebee and Blue Beetle, you will watch the skies from the back of the caravan. Does everyone remember their positions?"
All the team nodded looking at their partners with agreeing nods. Artemis and Kid Flash were more than happy when they had not been paired together and were quietly celebrating before Kaldur threatened to switch partners and put them as a pair. That made both heroes shut their mouths tight and turn to face the front of the ship. Hushed laughter and snorts came from their teammates as the two teens tried to ignore the other and sit quietly. Luckily for them they didn't have to wait long since the group was quite near to the current location of the caravan.
The bio-ship landed easily and the heroes stood. Bumblebee settled into the pilots seat as the others began to file out of the bio-ship. Superboy and Kid didn't need one, leaping-buildings-in-a-single-bound ability and super speed were enough. Miss Martian and Artemis were fine with telekinesis aided flying and since Blue Beetle and Bumblebee were using the bio-ship only Aqualad and Rocket needed an alternative mode of transport. Sphere had been happy to offer her help.
The teams took their places down the four truck long caravan and prepared to depart. Sphere roared to life as she began to drive down the highway. After the second truck drove off the flank teams started up and began their way down the road. Bumblebee lifted the bio-ship into the air following the departure of the last truck. Miss Martian established a mental link between all the teams.
How long till we reach final destination? Beetle asked.
A little over three hours Beetle. Came the deep voice of Aqualad in answer.
A communal groan of protest echoed through everyone's head from everyone, though loudest from Wally.
What's up with you Baywatch? Thought you'd like this long run more than anyone. Artemis asked with her trademark snark.
Huh? Nothing's up. I'm just kind of wanting to get back to the cave and see if Nightwing's back.
Can Kid Mouth not get by without his buddy at his back? Artemis asked jokingly.
Hey, when you make a friend who becomes your partner and with whom you work contantly and then you don't have him around, you have this feeling like something's missing. Kid snapped at Artemis.
Okay, sore subject. Beetle thought, not meaning for it to be shared with everyone.
Beetle, mind link. Bumblebee thought in a whispered tone.
Dang, sorry. Blue Beetle said hastily.
Wally sent a near perfect bat-glare over his shoulder at the bio-ship, silently thanking his best friend for teaching him how to do that over the years. A chuckle came from the red-headed speedster as he saw Beetle scramble back from the bio-ship's windshield.
Don't get mad at him just because he's right. Rocket chided Kid.
The speedster let out an annoyed huff as he resisted the urge to speed ahead just to get away from the others. His annoyance, near anger, must have traveled through the mind link because he felt the mind link retreat from him as he was left with blessed silence to brood in peace. Wally's thoughts drifted from his annoying teammates to the absent member. Wally was quite unbalanced by the lack of their usual leader, though found himself almost laughing when he thought of how he would have paired the speedster with Artemis.
Author's Note: 5 reviews on this chapter and I post the next one. Hurry up and write!