A/N: I own nothing you recognize.
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Mount Justice
July 18, 0200 EDT
"Located Speedy," Lilith said with a yawn. She stood in the mission room, the holographic computer in front of her. "He's at the Star City harbor."
"Great," Robin said. "You sure you don't want to join us?" he asked.
"You know how he feels about me," Lilith said dismissively, not looking at him.
"He was with you for like, five minutes!" Kid Flash said. "And besides, who wouldn't like you?" Lilith glanced at him and he waggled his eyebrows.
"I can think of a few," Lilith said, raising an eyebrow at Robin. She sighed. "Anyway, he worked with the three of you. He knows you best, trusts you. If anyone will get him back, it's you three." Lilith finally turned around and saw Aqualad had joined them. "You guys ready?" They nodded. "I'm teleporting you to the closest port," she said. "Once you land, I'll send you the coordinates."
Aqualad nodded and went to stand in the teleporter. Kid Flash and Robin joined him.
"Recognized: Aqualad, B-0-3; Kid Flash, B-0-4; Robin, B-0-2."
Lilith turned to the computers once they had disappeared. "Sending coordinates now," she informed once she saw they had landed. There was a pause before she heard Aqualad say, "Received."
"Radio when you're on your way back," she said. "Lilith out."
Lilith yawned again and stretched her arms over her head. Deciding on a pick-me-up, Lilith headed to the kitchen.
While she made herself tea, a shuffle caught her ear and she whirled around.
"Superboy," she said, surprised. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I could ask the same for you," Superboy responded with a small smile.
"The trio went to get Speedy," Lilith said, turning to her tea and stirring in honey. She glanced back at Superboy and blew on the hot liquid.
"I couldn't sleep," Superboy responded.
"Any particular reason?" Lilith asked, cocking her head.
"Leftover Cadmus residue," he said with a frown. "I keep getting flashes, images."
"I'm sure Manhunter could help you," Lilith said. "You know, root around and take out whatever it is that's bothering you."
"I don't feel comfortable with that," Superboy said.
"At least you're being honest," Lilith said with a small laugh. "What if you got to know another mind reader?"
"Are you talking about Miss Martian?" Superboy asked immediately.
Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Possibly."
"I don't—" Superboy started.
"Oh, hold on," Lilith said. She raised her hand to the comm link.
"We're on our way back to the Cave," Aqualad's voice came.
"Roger," she said. "I'll be waiting for a debrief." Lilith turned to Superboy. "Sorry, they're on our way back. But we can continue this another time, yeah?" she asked.
"Sure," Superboy said with a nod, but he didn't look at her.
Lilith hesitated, unsure if she should stay despite, but she turned and headed to the mission room.
Aqualad, Robin, and Kid Flash appeared out of the zeta-tubes. Aqualad opened his mouth to tell Lilith how their recruitment of Roy went, but she held up her hand before he could speak.
"Since Speedy isn't here, I can assume how your conversation went," she said simply. "Now, if you boys are done for the night, I'm going to turn in," she said through another yawn. "See you in the morning."
Kid Flash and Aqualad made their way to one of the tubes, and as Lilith walked to the other one, Robin caught her elbow.
"Hey, Lilith," he said, pulling her to a stop. "Can I ask you something?"
"You just did," she said. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and smirked when she saw Robin scowling at her.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Robin deadpanned. "Where did you live before David and Lisa?"
Lilith pursed her lips. "Well, when I first got taken in by Bruce, I lived with him. He, and the Scotts now, are listed as my legal guardians." She glanced at Robin and saw he was glowering. Her lip quirked slightly. "What's the matter, Wonder Boy?" she asked, inversing his usual Boy Wonder title. "Used to getting special attention because Bruce is your legal guardian?"
"No-o," Robin said, drawing out the o. "I'm mad he didn't tell me. Where were you when I came into the picture?" he asked.
"Hm, you were nine, right?" Lilith asked. Robin nodded, not bothering to ask how she knew. "By that time, I had already lived there for two and a half years. One thing led to another, and Batman gave me special access to the Watchtower, thinking I could live there. But I was miserable."
"So how did you get to David's?" Robin prodded.
"Alan got in touch with Bruce, one thing led to another, and David and Lisa were offering me a place to live. I jumped at the opportunity," Lilith said.
"And you've been with them for…" Robin asked.
"What is this, twenty questions?" Lilith asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've lived with for about four years now."
"So, how did you know about Mount Justice?"
Lilith rolled her eyes but gave a small smile and said, "Actually, before David took me in, Batman thought this might be a nice place for me to stay. But it was even worse than the Watchtower."
"Lonely?" Robin guessed.
"Very," Lilith affirmed with a nod.
"And just one more question," Robin said, and Lilith nodded. "Why Batman?"
Lilith tilted her head. "I didn't know Bruce Wayne was Batman when I came to him," she said eventually. "I just knew there was a wealthy man in Gotham, and I thought maybe he could help me."
An awkward silence passed between them.
"Well, uh, I'll let you go," Robin said finally, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Right," Lilith said. "Bye." She turned away and entered the tube.
"Recognized: Lilith, B-0-1."
Lilith reappeared in Gotham and hurried through the streets. Though she lived in a nicer part of the city, the path to the zeta-tube was still littered with crime.
When Lilith got home, she heard someone rustling around in the kitchen. She crept forward quietly and slipped a gun out of its holster. She held it steadily in her hand and then flipped on the light switch.
"What are you doing out so late?"
Lilith gasped but a broad smile crossed her face when she realized who was pawing through the refrigerator.
"James!" she exclaimed.
James Scott laughed and wrapped his arms around Naomi when she launched herself at him. "Good to see you, Birdie."
Naomi rolled her eyes at Adam's nickname for her. Her codename, Lilith, was the name of a female demon that some believed was the mother of all demons, and Lilith often translated to screech owl. "James, what are you doing home? I thought your trip ended in a week."
"Ended early," James replied. "I flew in a few hours ago," he said.
"It's great to have you back," Naomi said with a smile, pulling away. "Well, I need some sleep. See you in the morning."
She turned and took the stairs two at a time to her room. She opened the door and flopped on her bed, not bothering to get dressed.
What seemed like minutes later, Naomi heard a beeping in her ear. With a groan, she turned over and checked the time: 8:45 A.M.
"What?" she asked groggily into the phone.
"Cave. ASAP." Then the line went dead.
"Thanks, Aqualad," Naomi mumbled, picking herself up from her bed. She brushed her teeth, changed, and redid the knot she usual kept her dark hair in. Lilith tripped down the stairs and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and scribbled a note for the Scotts before exiting the house and making her way to the zeta-tubes.
When she arrived, Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian were standing around the holographs. Behind her, the zeta announced, "Recognized: Robin, B-0-2; Kid Flash, B-0-4." The two appeared and hurried to the others.
"Did you ask him?" Robin asked immediately.
"What did he say?" Kid Flash asked imploringly.
"He's arriving now," Aqualad said, turning to look at the three.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Kid Flash exclaimed. He took off, and the others followed behind him.
As the Team approached the end of a hallway, the ceiling suddenly lowered, letting in the morning sun and the smell of sea water. They walked up the incline just as they saw Red Tornado's red tornado, and they stopped to greet him.
"Red Tornado!" Kid Flash called, waving his hand.
"Greetings," Red Tornado said, landing. "Is there a reason you intercept me outside the Cave?" he asked.
"We hoped you had a mission for us," Aqualad said, stepping closer.
"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility," Red Tornado said.
"But it's been over a week," Robin said with a frown, "and nothing—"
"You'll be tested soon enough," Red Tornado interrupted, holding up his hand. "For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company."
"This Team is not a social club," Aqualad pointed out respectfully.
"No," Red Tornado agreed, "but I am told social interaction is an important team-building exercise. Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourself with the Cave," he suggested, walking past them before they could respond.
"Keep busy," Kid Flash grumbled.
"Does he think we're falling for this?" Robin asked indignantly.
"Oh, I'll find out!" Miss Martian whispered excitedly. She turned to Red Tornado's retreating back as the scanner said, "Recognized: Red Tornado, 1-6." Miss Martian sighed. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down. "I forgot he's a machine, inorganic. I cannot read his mind."
"Nice try though," Kid Flash said as he walked up to her. "So, uh, you know what I'm thinkin' right now?" he asked flirtatiously.
"We all know what you're thinkin' now," Robin snapped, shoving his elbow into Kid Flash's side.
"Ow," Kid Flash grumbled.
"And now, we tour the clubhouse," Aqualad sighed, not sounding happy about it at all.
"Well, Superboy and I live here," Miss Martian said hesitantly. "We can play tour guides," she said, glancing behind her at Superboy.
"Don't look at me," Superboy said.
"We won't," Kid Flash said lightly to Superboy. "Besides," he said, turning back to Miss Martian, "a private tour sounds much more fun."
"Sh-she never said private!" Robin stuttered, though he leaned toward Kid Flash as though to keep his voice down.
Lilith rolled her eyes. "Boys," she mumbled.
"Team building," Aqualad stepped in. "We'll all go."
"Yippee," Lilith grumbled under her breath. Miss Martian started walking back into the Cave and Kid Flash started to follow. Robin reached forward and yanked him back and began to walk ahead.
"So, this would be our front door," Miss Martian announced, gesturing to the ramp they were currently standing on. They walked through some hallways, and Miss Martian said, "And this would be the back." She opened another door that led to a small cliff that dropped sharply to the water. "The Cave is actually the entire mountain," she included, sounding excited.
"It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League," Robin casually added. Lilith rolled her eyes.
"Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" Superboy asked.
"The Cave's secret location was compromised," Lilith said.
"So they traded it in for a tourist trap?" Superboy asked. "Yeah," he scoffed. "That makes sense."
"But no one actually knows the Watchtower exists," Lilith explained. "So they decided to have a front door for the bad guys to knock on. If the Hall was destroyed for whatever reason, the League can still get to their actual HQ in space."
"I suppose," Superboy grumbled.
"If villains know of the Cave, we must be on constant alert," Miss Martian declared, raising a pointed hand as if to emphasize her point.
Robin stepped forward and took her hand. "The bad guys know we know they know about the place," he said, placing his other hand on top of hers. "So they'd never think to look here." Lilith covered her mouth with her hand to keep her disbelieving smile hidden and to muffle her snicker.
Kid Flash narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, putting his hand on top of Robin's. "Uh, he means we're hiding in plain sight," he translated as Miss Martian pulled her hand away. Robin glared at Kid Flash.
"Ah," Miss Martian said, scratching her head. "That's must clearer."
Lilith sighed and stepped beside Miss Martian, pushing Robin away in the process. "What these two imbéciles mean is: the bad guys wouldn't think to look for us here because they would think the League wouldn't want to have their secret headquarters in a location that has already been discovered."
"Oh!" Miss Martian exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "That makes much more sense!" Lilith smiled at her and then threw a smirk at the two boys who glared at her.
Robin opened his mouth to say something else but was cut off when Superboy sniffed the air and said, "I smell smoke."
Miss Martian gasped. "My cookies!" she exclaimed and then flew off to the kitchen.
"Cookies?" Lilith asked to no one in particular and followed the others to the kitchen.
When they arrived, Lilith saw Miss Martian levitating a baking tray with nine black disks. Everyone gathered around the kitchen island.
"I was trying to make Grammy Jones's recipe from episode seventeen of—" She quickly cut herself off and gave a nervous laugh. "Never mind."
"I bet they'd have tasted great," Robin assured her. "He doesn't seem to mind," he added snidely with a glance at Kid Flash, who was already crunching on one and had another one in his hand.
Kid Flash glanced around. "I have a serious metabolism," he said through a mouthful of cookie.
"I'll make more?" Miss Martian asked hesitantly.
"It was sweet of you to make any," Aqualad said kindly.
"Thanks, Aqualad," Miss Martian said gratefully.
"We are off duty," Aqualad said. "Call me Kaldur'ahm." He paused. "Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."
"I'm Wally," Kid Flash said immediately, swallowing the cookie. "See? I already trust you with my secret I.D.," he said, leaning across the island toward Miss Martian. "Unlike Mr. Dark Glasses over here," he added, gesturing to Robin. "Batman's forbidden Boy Wonder from telling anyone his real name." Robin glared at Wally.
"What about her?" Robin snapped, throwing a finger at Lilith and not looking at her.
"Everyone loves a good secret," Lilith responded with a coy smile. "Makes it…fun. Mysterious." Robin smirked at Wally, who glanced up at Lilith and gave her a half smile that came out more like a grimace.
"Mine's no secret," Miss Martian said. "It's M'gann M'orzz," she said proudly. "But you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now." She sounded as though she still couldn't quite believe it.
Lilith saw Superboy stand from his leaning position against one of the kitchen's counters and walk away. Suddenly, he grunted and turned around, looking both disgusted and terrified.
"Get out my head!" he yelled, glaring at M'gann. Everyone turned to her.
What's wrong? she asked, her voice ghosting through their heads. I don't understand. Lilith winced and clutched her head. Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically, she explained.
"M'gann, stop," Kaldur said firmly.
"Things are different on Earth," Lilith explained gently, stepping forward and putting a hand on M'gann's shoulder.
"Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy," Kaldur said.
"Besides," Wally said, leaning toward M'gann, "Cadmus's creepy little psychic genomes left a bad taste in his brain."
"I-I didn't mean to—" M'gann started to say.
"Just stay out," Superboy said harshly, and he walked out of the kitchen.
There was a pause, which M'gann broke. "Hello, Megan!" she exclaimed, hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand. "I know what we can do!" She took off, leaving the others to follow. Lilith passed Superboy, who was sitting on the couch and facing away from them, and Lilith paused before going to him.
"Hey," she said softly. "I'm still here if you ever need anyone to talk to."
Superboy offered her a small smile. "Thanks."
"Now, come on," Lilith said, offering Superboy a hand. "Let's go see M'gann's surprise."
Lilith walked with Superboy to the others, and all of them took the elevator down to the hanger deck.
When the elevator doors opened, M'gann stepped out and said, "It's my Martian Bioship." The Team followed her onto the landing deck and saw a large red egg-shaped ship with two black horizontal lines circling the center.
"Cute," Wally said graciously. "Not aerodynamic, but cute."
"It's at rest, silly," M'gann said. "I'll wake it." She passed her hand once through the air in front of it and it transformed.
"Now that's a ship," Lilith said, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one leg with an impressed smirk.
M'gann waved her hand again and it turned so they could enter. The back seemed to melt off to become a ramp for them to walk up.
"Well, are you coming?" M'gann asked, turning to look at them. Lilith was the first to walk forward. He glanced back and saw the four boys follow hesitantly, all with the same look of trepidation on their faces.
"Boys like to pretend to be all macho," Lilith whispered to M'gann, though she made sure her voice carried, "but really, they're just big scared-y cats." M'gann giggled and Lilith smirked at the boys, who scowled at her.
They entered a circular chamber, and the back wall quickly disappeared to reveal another portion that ended in a rounded point. A circular mound was centered in the back, and five chairs around the perimeter of the ship materialized, along with the captain's chair and controls at the front.
"Strap in for launch," M'gann said, sounding slightly nervous. Robin and Kid Flash immediately went for the chairs that were on either side of M'gann. As Robin sat, the chair turned so he was facing front and he was strapped in by two belts that formed an X across his chest.
"Whoa," he said, and across the way, Wally said, "Cool." Kaldur took the chair at the head, and Lilith sat to his left, in front of Wally. Superboy took the chair to Kaldur's right.
"Red Tornado, please open the bay doors," M'gann called from her spot in the captain's chair. The wall at the far end slid open, and reaching out, M'gann's hands came in contact with the controls. The lifted a few inches off the ground and took off.
"Incredible!" Robin exclaimed as they moved smoothly over the ocean.
Wally sighed wistfully. "She sure is," he said. When M'gann turned to look at him, Wally stammered, "I-I man the ship, which, like all ships, is a 'she.'"
"Fast with his feet, no-ot so much with his mouth," Robin commented with a smirk.
"Dude!" Wally hissed. M'gann smiled. Robin returned to looking out the window and Wally slumped slightly.
Lilith shook her head and stared straight ahead. Beside her, she heard Kaldur say softly, "I may not have psychic powers, but I can guess what you're thinking. You overreacted, and you don't know how to apologize. Just say sorry." Kaldur gave Superboy a small smile, and Superboy turned forward, looking in deep thought.
"He'll come around," Lilith heard Robin whisper to M'gann.
"He doesn't seem to like me much," M'gann whispered back, sounding sad.
"You guys remember he has super hearing, right?" Wally mock-whispered behind his hand, shooting a look at Superboy. Robin and M'gann glanced at the back of Superboy's head, but he resolutely kept his gaze forward.
"Hey," Robin said to break the tension that had started to fill the ship, "how 'bout showing us a little Martian shape-shifting?"
M'gann gave a small smile and stood, and even Kaldur and Superboy turned around to watch as M'gann's outfit—black flats, pale pink knee-high socks, dark pink skirt with matching cardigan, and pale pink top—morphed into Robin's usual uniform, complete with mask and raven hair. M'gann glanced over at Wally, and spun. When she stopped, she looked like Kid Flash.
"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" Wally asked, gazing at female Kid Flash.
"Yes," Lilith said, wrinkling her nose. "Very."
"Impressive," Robin said, giving M'gann a little applause as she morphed back to her usual form. "But you know you're not exactly gonna fool anyone with those."
"Mimicking boys is a lot harder," M'gann said sheepishly as she sat down.
"And, your clothes?" Kaldur asked.
"They're organic, like the ship," M'gann explained. "They respond to my mental commands."
Superboy turned back to the front. "As long as they're the only ones," he muttered.
"Can you do that ghosting-through-walls thing that Manhunter does?" Wally asked quickly when he saw M'gann wilt slightly.
"Density shifting?" M'gann asked, turning to Wally. "No," he said. "I-it's a very advanced technique."
Robin leaned forward in his chair and shot Wally a wicked grin. "Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall," he said. He laughed. "When he tries it," Robin said, glancing at Wally, "bloody nose."
"Dude!" Wally exclaimed with a glare.
"Here's something I can do," M'gann said brightly. "Camouflage mode." Lilith glanced out the window and saw that the red Bioship had seemingly disappeared on the outside.
"Red Tornado to Miss Martian," came Red Tornado's disembodied voice. "An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate, covertly." Lilith glanced at the others, who were glancing around. "I am sending coordinates."
"Received," M'gann said. "Adjusting course."
Robin scoffed. "Tornado's keeping us busy again," he grumbled.
"Well, a simple fire led you to Superboy," M'gann said optimistically. "We should find out what caused the alert."
"I think I know the cause," Lilith said, looking out the window. The others followed her gaze. Below them, a tornado had appeared.
Before M'gann could move the ship, it got sucked in. Everyone grunted as they began to get blown around, but after a moment, M'gann managed to steer them out of the winds. She brought the Bioship to a landing, and everyone dropped to the asphalt.
Lilith heard the workers screaming as the they fled the building, and the tornado danced along behind it.
"Robin, are tornados common to New England?" Kaldur yelled over the noise. Lilith opened her mouth to respond, but Kaldur turned and saw that Robin had disappeared. "Robin?" Robin's tell-tall laugh echoed through the air, and they looked around for him.
"He was just here," M'gann said, looking confused.
"Yeah, well, he does this a lot," Lilith grumbled. Lilith heard explosions coming from the building, and she turned to see the windows of the building shatter.
The Team raced inside the building in time to see Robin get blown against the wall and fall with a thud to the floor.
"Who's your new friend?" Superboy asked, kneeling beside Robin and looking at the machine across from them.
"Didn't catch his name, but he plays kinda rough," Robin said as Superboy took off.
"My apologies," the giant red-and-black robot said. "You may address me as Mr. Twister." He closed his hands into fists and pointed them at the floor before slowly lifting them. Two tornados sprung from each arm, and Superboy charged straight toward them. Mr. Twister lowered his eyes and lifted his hand. One of the twisters caught Superboy and spun him around a few times before releasing him and slamming him into a wall.
Lilith glanced at the others. Wally put on his goggles and Robin stood with a groan. Wally took off running and did a handspring, landing a kick in the center of Mr. Twister's chest before he was blown away. Kaldur and M'gann rushed him together, but Mr. Twister easily blew them back. Kaldur slammed into a column and M'gann hit a railing.
"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero," Mr. Twister boomed. Robin glared at him and Lilith was planning. "I was not, however," Mr. Twister continued, "expecting children." Lilith glanced at Robin and saw he was holding a disk behind his back. She mentally sighed in relief that he, like her, kept his belt on him at all times.
"We're not children!" Robin said angrily, and he began throwing his toys.
The first disk slid under just as Mr. Twister began his tornados, and it exploded with a puff of air underneath the android, causing the tornados to be scattered and allowing for a disk to lodge itself in the android's chest. Unfortunately, Mr. Twister just glanced down and flicked it away.
Using the pause in wind, Lilith pulled out one of her guns from beneath her coat and began firing, but each bounced off with not even a dent to the machine.
"Objectively, you are," Mr. Twister said as the disk exploded. "Have you no adult supervision?" he asked in mock concern. "I find your presence here quite disturbing."
"Well, we hate to see you disturbed!" Robin called back. Superboy, Kaldur, and M'gann were up again and standing around Robin and Lilith. "Let's see if you're more turbed once we kick your can!"
"Really?" Lilith hissed, referencing Robin's removal of the prefix.
"Not now," commanded Kaldur. Robin glanced at Lilith and smirked, and she just glowered at him.
M'gann reached forward and above Mr. Twister, a tube exploded, momentarily paralyzing him with the pressurized air. Superboy took that time to leap forward, but Mr. Twister just raised his hands and blasted Superboy back, causing him to crash with M'gann in midair. Lilith, Kaldur, and Robin ducked out of the way and continued. Kaldur and Robin were caught in two more of Mr. Twister's tornados, but it gave Lilith the distraction she needed to shoot at Mr. Twister's joints. Kaldur and Robin fell to the floor once the air released them, and for a moment, Lilith thought she had stopped the giant metal man. Her hopeful expression fell when she saw Mr. Twister roll his shoulders and her bullets fall uselessly to the ground. He raised his hand and Lilith was blasted into a wall. Her back hit the wall with a thud and she fell to the floor.
"Indeed," Mr. Twister rumbled. "That was quite turbing." He raised himself in the air and flew out of the building.
Lilith groaned as she tried to raise herself to her knees. Around her, the others stood with varying difficulty. They rushed to the large doorway he had exited and saw Wally get blasted back.
"I got you, Wally," M'gann called. The dust cleared and Lilith saw Wally was hovering a couple inches above the ground.
"Thanks," Wally said once he was on his feet.
"I would have thought you had all learned your limitations by now," Mr. Twister as they stood to face him again.
"What do you want?" Kaldur yelled, stepping forward and spreading his arms.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mr. Twister called, rising in the air. "I'm waiting for a real hero," he goaded.
"Read his mind," Kaldur told M'gann. "Find a weakness."
"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that," M'gann replied helplessly.
"It's okay with the bad guys!" Robin yelled with a glare.
M'gann closed her eyes. "Nothing. I'm getting nothing!" she said desperately. Suddenly she said, "Hello, Megan! Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise!" Lilith furrowed her brow. "He's inorganic, an android," M'gann explained. "And how many android do you know that can generate tornados?"
"Red Tornado sent us here," Kaldur argued weakly.
"After saying we'd be tested soon enough," Robin said slowly, putting the pieces together. "This is his test, something to keep us busy!" he exclaimed angrily.
"Speedy called it," Wally gripped. "We're a joke." Kaldur punched his palm angrily, and Wally said, "This game, so over."
"That's not Red Tornado!" Lilith snapped. "His tornados are red, for one thing. But secondly, his creator could easily create another android to do that exact thing."
The others ignored her and walked toward Mr. Twister.
"We know who you are and what you want!" Robin yelled.
"So let's end this," Kaldur said.
"Consider it ended," Mr. Twister said, and Lilith knew if he had a face, he'd be smirking right now.
Mr. Twister raised his arms in the air, and two tornados erupted from them. Above them, dark clouds started to form, and the wind picked up.
"An impressive show," Kaldur yelled up to him, "but we will not indulge you! We will nod engage!"
Lightning crackled in the sky as the wind continued to pick up.
"Uh, can Red Tornado do that?" Wally asked nervously.
"No, he can't!" Lilith snapped.
"And the girl gets it right," Mr. Twister applauded. "You think I'm Tornado? Ironic."
Lightning struck in front of them and everyone was thrown back.
For a moment, Lilith blacked out. When she roused again, she heard Mr. Twister say, "Fine then. I won't deny you children have power. But playing hide-and-seek with you would not help me achieve my objectives, so stay concealed. If you confront me again, I will show no mercy."
With that, Mr. Twister flew away, taking with him the disagreeable weather.
Slowly, everyone sat up.
"What happened?" Wally asked, sounding groggy.
"I placed the Bioship between us," M'gann said.
Superboy stood from the trench he had created and angrily punched a boulder to bits. "And that's supposed to make it right?" he demanded. "You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado," he said, stalking toward M'gann.
"she did not do it on purpose," Kaldur spoke.
"I-it was a rookie mistake," Robin defended, turning to Superboy. "We shouldn't have listened."
"And if you had believed me, or even bothered to listen to me, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Lilith yelled, standing and glaring at the boys. "Boys are too impulsive! How do you ever get anything achieved?"
"You're one to talk!" Robin yelled. "If you're so good at planning, why didn't you stop him?"
"Like you would have listened to me anyway, Wonder Boy," Lilith snapped with a sneer. "Females are inferior to you males, after all."
"Well, look where it got us this time," Robin snapped.
"You are pretty inexperienced," Wally said slowly to M'gann, cutting off anymore Lilith-and-Robin arguing. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced at the ground. "Hit the showers," he said eventually. "We'll take it from here."
"Stay out of our way," Superboy growled as he passed, glaring down at M'gann, who was still kneeling on the grass. Superboy, Wally, Robin, and Kaldur all hurried away.
"I was just trying to be part of the team," M'gann said weakly.
"To be honest," Lilith said softly, "I'm not sure we really have a team."
"Aren't you going to join the boys?" M'gann asked.
Lilith held out a hand of M'gann. "Nah," she said with a small smile. "I'm more of a plan-it-out-first type of gal. That's the only way we operated: with a plan."
"Who is 'we?'" M'gann asked as they climbed onto the Bioshiip.
"Nobody important," Lilith said dismissively, waving her hand vaguely in the air.
"Maybe we should call Red Tornado and ask him to help us," M'gann said once they were in the ship. Lilith pursed her lips but nodded.
Red Tornado picked up immediately.
"The Team really needs your help," M'gann said desperately.
"If I intervened, it would not be to help," Red Tornado said. "Still, it is an odd coincidence that this Twister shares my elemental abilities and my immunity to telepathy."
"Tietysti!" Lilith exclaimed. "I've got an idea," she said and began explaining her plan to M'gann.
M'gann nodded along and once Lilith was done, M'gann moved the Bioship closer to the docks, where Mr. Twister was fighting Superboy, Aqualad, Robin, and Kid Flash.
Listen to me, M'gann spoke once she was in range. All of you.
"What did we tell you?" Superboy roared, glaring at the sky.
I know! M'gann exclaimed. And I know I messed up, but now I've very clear on what we need to do. Lilith and I have come up with a plan. Please, trust us.
After explaining the plan, M'gann parked the Bioship and she and Lilith hopped off.
"We're not too far from the docks," M'gann said. "Are you going to be okay walking there?"
"Yeah, I'll make it in time," Lilith responded with a smile. "See you there!"
M'gann smiled back and flew off, and Lilith made her way as quickly as she could to the docks.
She arrived behind the boys just as Red Tornado appeared. "Hit the showers, boys," he said, landing in front of them. "I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot."
"But we've got a plan now!" Robin exclaimed.
"The subject is not up for debate," Red Tornado said. The boys and Lilith turned and started walking away. They crouched out of sight and waited.
"I was beginning to believe you'd never show up," Lilith heard Mr. Twister say.
"I am here now," Red Tornado said. After throwing a couple tornados back and forth, Red Tornado said, "We are evenly matched, Twister."
"No, Tornado, we are not," Mr. Twister said. He sent arcs of electricity toward Red Tornado, and he managed to dodge it until the lightning hit a boat gas tank, causing it to explode. Red Tornado landed with a thud, and Mr. Twister approached.
"Remain still, Android," Mr. Twister commanded. He lifted his hand and five wires popped out of the tips of his fingers and attached themselves to Red Tornado. "The reprogramming won't take long."
Suddenly, Red Tornado lifted his hand and ripped out the cords. "Longer than you might think." Red Tornado's head had morphed into M'gann's, and Mr. Twister stumbled back.
"No," he said, not wanting to believe it. M'gann lifted her hand and blasted Mr. Twister off his feet. Behind him, a tornado appeared and tossed Mr. Twister behind M'gann. The tornado disappeared, and Wally came to stop.
Superboy instantly took advantage of Mr. Twister's unstableness. He punched him a few times, and then punched him twice through the chest. With one last punch, Superboy released him and Mr. Twister disappeared under the water.
After a moment, Mr. Twister was thrown into the air again, and he crashed onto the dock.
M'gann rose and lifted the android and pulled off his remaining arm. From behind her, Robin and Lilith ran forward, Robin throwing his exploding disks and Lilith shooting electrically charged bullets. Mr. Twister exploded, and M'gann released him.
He fell with a thud and lifted himself so he was kneeling. Everyone stood before him. The chest opened to reveal a man sitting at controls, and he fell forward with a grunt.
"Foul," he said weakly. "I-I call foul!"
M'gann stepped forward and then glanced to her side. She levitated a boulder and raised it above her head.
"M'gann, no!" Kaldur yelled, rushing forward, but Lilith placed a hand on his chest. M'gann lowered the boulder on top of him.
Robin stormed up to M'gann and yelled, "Don't know how things are done on Mars, but on Earth, we don't execute our captives!"
"You said you trust me," M'gann said with a devious smile.
Lilith shook her head but a smile tugged on her lips. "When will you boys learn that girls simply know best?"
"You knew she was going to do this?" Robin demanded, turning on Lilith.
Lilith tsked. "Show them, M'gann."
The boys turned to the boulder and M'gann lifted it. Underneath were the broken parts…of a robot.
"That's why I couldn't read his mind," M'gann said.
"If a human had been inside the suit, M'gann still would have been able to read his thoughts," Lilith explained.
Wally stepped forward and picked up an eye. "Cool," he said. "Souvenir."
"We should have had more faith in you," Kaldur said. "Both of you."
"Yeah," Wally said. "You rocked this mission. Get it? Rocked?"
"Ignore him," Robin told M'gann. "We're all just turbed you're on the Team."
M'gann gave a small laugh. "Thanks. Me too."
That night, they debriefed in the mission room. They had gathered the pieces of the robots, and they were now on a platform that had risen from the center of the practice ring.
"It was clearly designed to sabotage or destroy you," Kaldur said to Red Tornado.
"I'm leaning toward sabotage," Lilith said thoughtfully.
"What makes you say that?" Robin challenged.
"Didn't you hear the android?" Lilith asked. "The android was talking about a reprogramming. And since he was the bad guy, I assume the reprogramming wouldn't have been good for Tornado."
"Agreed," Red Tornado said.
"Is that why you wouldn't help us?" M'gann asked.
"No," Red Tornado said simply. "This was your battle. I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me." They all paused what they were doing and looked at him.
"But, if you're in danger…" M'gann said.
"Consider this matter closed," Red Tornado said. He turned and walked away before any of them could argue.
"Batman, Aquaman, and Flash, they'd have jumped right in to fix things," Wally said sourly, watching Red Tornado's retreating figure.
"Guess if we're gonna have a babysitter, a heartless machine is exactly what we need," Robin muttered.
"Dude!" Wally exclaimed.
"Harsh," Lilith said, scowling at Robin.
"And inaccurate," Red Tornado called. "I have a heart: carbon-steel alloy." He turned back to them. "I also have excellent hearing."
Robin gave a nervous laugh. "Right. Sorry. I'll, uh, strive to be more accurate."
"And more respectful," Lilith added pointedly. Red Tornado turned and walked away.
"Speedy was so wrong," Wally said to Robin and Kaldur.
"This team thing," Robin continued.
"Might just work out," Kaldur finished.
Lilith rolled her eyes but smiled. "Well, I'd better get going. See you guys later."
She walked to the zeta-tubes and waved as she disappeared.
When she got home, James was in the kitchen again.
"Out at all hours again, Naomi?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.
Naomi rolled her eyes. "Whatever Jamie," she said with a smile. "What did Lisa make for dinner?"
"Pasta salad," James said, nodding toward the refrigerator.
"Hmm," Naomi said. "Delicious."
"So what have you been up to?" James asked once Naomi was seated at the kitchen island.
Naomi swallowed her food and said, "You know, the usual. Saved Happy Harbor from a giant android this time." She tilted her head. "I never understood why you and David never got into the crime-fighting business."
James shrugged, staring at his plate. "Dad didn't want to endanger Mom, and I never really got into it."
"Fair enough," Naomi said, standing and putting the food back in the refrigerator. She yawned and stretched. "I'm heading to bed. See you later."
Naomi showered and changed before climbing into bed, drifting off in a dreamless sleep.
A/N: Thanks for reading. Until next time :)
P.S. Again, all translated words are from Google Translate, so they may not be entirely correct. If I get comments concerning the unrelated translations, I can go back and add the words in the Author's Note at the end of chapters.
