"Hurry UP!" Artemis yelled to Robin and Wally, who had been getting more pillows from the bedrooms and were coming back up the hallway with them.
"One second!" Robin loudly replied. Apparently they'd taken a detour in the kitchen. The sound of cabinet doors closing was heard, along with the crinkling of plastic.
"Don't forget the skittles!" M'gann yelled at them; Connor mumbled something to her, and she added, "Plus the gatorade!"
"We don't have 8 hands you know!" Robin hollered back.
"We're starting it without you!" Artemis threatened.
"One SECOND please!" Wally yelled, and moment later they came into the living room, arms full of pillows, bags of potato chips, twizzlers, gatorade….and Robin was balancing a bowl of pretzels on top of his head like it wasn't even there. Artemis shot him a strange look.
With his mouth full, Wally answered her silent inquiry by saying what sounded like 'old circus trick', but Robin elbowed him hard because of it.
Everyone settled in and Robin played the paused tape.
The screen showed the inside of a factory, and the words 'Santa Prisca June 19, 00:43 ECT'.
"Oh, wonderful." Connor groaned.
"Crap." Robin said in sudden realization of something, and he whispered whatever it was to Wally.
Wally looked at Artemis for a second, before turning to Robin and saying, "I'm sure she'll be a good sport about it," a remark that earned him an elbow in the rib, and an annoyed look from Robin.
Henchmen in red cloaks and hoods were surrounding Bane and several of his own henchmen with machine guns.
"Can't say I'm sorry to see that." Robin remarked. There were some hard feelings between him and the gangster.
One of the red-cloaked men said in Spanish, "Our sublime Master proclaims he will depart this facility, if….one of you defeats his champion in single combat."
"What's going on?" Artemis asked, "Is this some sort of cage fight?"
Walking towards the man issuing the challenge, Bane replied, "Just make it interesting."
"It is interesting to see what happened before we actually arrived." Kaldur observed.
Going into the arena-like area in which they were going to fight, Bane faced his opponent - a scrawny red-headed young dude with horrid fashion sense.
"Oh my GOSH." Artemis exclaimed, eyes wide. "I don't know where to put my eyes."
"So you don't like his sideburns?" Wally asked,
"Or maybe it's the crop top," Robin offered.
"Nah, must be the dog collar," Wally concluded,
"I dunno," Robin disagreed, "Those pants give 'low cut' new meaning."
Bane was given back his strength-inducing steroid, to his surprise. "You give me back my greatest weapon?" he asked the red-cloaked man. "What's the catch?"
"No catch." the cloaked henchman replied. "It would hardly test his champion's prowess if you were not at your best."
"So Mammoth beat Bane at his 'best'. Says a lot for that type of venom." Robin said quietly.
"Huh?" Artemis asked.
"Don't tell her!" M'gann said, "No spoilers!"
"So…then I should definitely NOT tell her that Snape killed Dumbledore?" Wally asked sarcastically.
"What!?" Connor exclaimed, shocked.
"Wally, I'd just gotten Connor into Harry Potter!" Robin reprimanded.
Putting his 'weapon' on, Bane rhetorically asked, "You want my best?" then plugged the steroid into the intake port in the back of his head.
"Oh gross." M'gann said.
The chemical immediately went into effect; enlarging Bane's muscles, bulging veins, making him grow to an immense size.
"OH GROSS!" she literally yelled this time, while everyone else cringed and voiced their own shock at seeing the transformation.
Everyone was transfixed by the screen.
"Is anyone gonna point it out?" Artemis asked. Wally and Robin immediately shook their heads no.
"Do I have to be the person to point it out? Come on," she complained.
"You're the one who brought it up," Robin mumbled.
"Brought what up? M'gann asked.
"The fact that everything suddenly got bigger except for his ass!" Artemis exclaimed.
"You got it." he answered.
A lady henchwoman on the opposing side injected a purple chemical into Bane's opponent's blood.
"Bad idea bad idea," Robin was repeating,
"This guy's gonna hulk out like Desmond, great," Wally complained
The scrawny redhead began clutching his head in pain, before growing grotesquely is size, transforming into a beast-like creature.
"Holy CRAP!" Artemis exclaimed, while everyone else was voicing their own shock at the transformation.
"But his pants!" Wally exclaimed. "Just like Desmond! Everything else ripped and fell off and was gone, but the pants somehow magically expanded and stayed on!"
"And what part of that are you complaining about?" Robin asked,
"….Good point." Wally said.
He attacked Bane, who landed a few punches before he was brutally taken down and immobilized.
Everyone went "oh," "Oh," "WHOA," at the blows Mammoth was delivering, and how brutal the short fight was.
Upon Bane's defeat, the red-cloaked henchmen started chanting, "Hail Kobra. Hail Kobra." over and over again.
"What mindless twits," Artemis complained. Wally and Robin immediately started chanting, " Hail Kobra, Hail Kobra," but stopped once she took their gatorade away. They then started chanting "Hail Hydra, Hail Hydra," until she took their pretzels away, and again with "Heil Hitler, Heil Hitler," until she threatened to separate them. After that they finally shut up.
Kobra was then revealed, a pale, intimidating, smug, and cloaked figure gazing at his winner.
"Greetings, Voldemort," Robin remarked, and Wally snorted in amusement.
"Wait, that's what he looks like?" Connor asked, skeptical.
"In similar aspects." Wally explained.
The screen switched to show the bioship, with the words 'Carribean Sea June 22, 20:08 ECT' on the screen.
Wally started humming the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, but stopped when Artemis shot him a warning look.
The team was sitting silently and stoically, until Miss Martain broke the silence by annoucing, "We're approaching Santa Prisca."
"Aaaad here's where the fun begins!" Artemis announced giddily.
"How would you know?" Robin asked.
"Cause you are are trouble when you walk in," she replied, "I'm guessing this mission will end in flames. It's like you're guys' MO."
"….shut up." Wally provided as a comeback.
Robin was then focused on, as the screen changed to a flashback from earlier.
The team was in their civvies at the Cave, being informed about their mission.
"This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neosteroid; a strength enhancing drug sold under the street name Venom." Batman told them, as everyone focused on the images the computer had brought up. "Infrared heat signatures indicate their factory Is still operating at full capacity, but all shipments of Venom have been inexplicably cut off." the Dark Knight continued, "That's where this team comes in."
"Okay, I follow," Artemis nodded, like she was being briefed too.
"This is a covert recon mission only. Observe and report." He clearly told them. "If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will."
"I'll keep in mind the phrase 'covert recon mission only'" Artemis said, smirking.
"The plan requires two drop zones." Batman went on.
"So who's in charge?" Robin asked his mentor.
Everyone except Artemis sighed.
"What a simple, yet loaded question." Artemis observed.
"Kind of wish that it had been established before we actually deployed on the mission." Connor mumbled.
"You can say THAT again," Wally agreed, rolling his eyes. What a fiasco that had been.
The question seemed to catch Batman, and Red Tornado (who was standing right beside him), off guard. They turned quickly to look at Robin, before meeting each other's gaze.
Artemis started laughing hysterically. "They look like two parents who just got asked where babies come from!"
Everyone else started snickering as well, but Wally and Robin ended up in full blown laughter for some reason.
Because in the past, Robin really HAD gotten to ask The Batman where babies came from.
"Work that out between you." Batman told Robin as he faced toward him again.
Robin smiled and nodded in confirmation.
"Ooohhh, I see where this is going," Artemis realized.
"No you don't." Robin said.
The scene switched back to present time on the bioship, where Robin was again smiling.
"You'll be turning that smile upside down," Wally teased,
"Shut up, Wally," Robin told him, while M'gann giggled.
"Drop zone A in 30." Miss Martian announced; Aqualad reacted by preparing for the drop. Standing up, he switched his costume to stealth mode before saying, "Ready."
"Putting bioship in camouflage mode." Miss Martian stated, as the bioship swooped down closer to the water. Dropping out of the bioship, Aqualad made a perfect dive into the water.
"8.7!" Robin yelled out, scoring the dive,
"9.1!" Wally called as his score,
"9.7!" M'gann joined in, nudging Connor, who sighed and said, "9.5".
Kaldur laughed as everyone looked at Artemis expectantly; rolling her eyes, she said, "Fine, 8.9."
Swiftly swimming, he passed underwater mines, then cut through a net with his water bearers before leaping out of the water and onto the beach.
Running to a machine, he plugged a piece of tech into it then radioed the rest of the team; "Heat and motion sensors are patched," he told them,"Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in."
"Perfect execution," Artemis noted, "Now where did it go wrong?"
M'gann laughed while Connor sighed.
"It was a learning curve!" Robin exclaimed.
"Drop zone B." Miss Martian said as she made the bioship hover over a clearing with no trees. She lowered lines for everyone to use so they could drop down out of the bioship.
Robin and Kid Flash each clipped the lines onto their belts, then the speedster switched to camouflage mode.
"How cool is this?" he directed towards Miss Martian, who replied, "Very impressive." She then morphed her outfit into her own version of 'stealth mode', to Kid Flash's admiration.
"I believe I would score that a perfect 10," Kaldur commented, and everyone laughed.
"Uh, that works, too." the speedster said, then directed his attention to Superboy. "Hey, Supey! Not too late to put on the new stealth tech!"
"Pfft, good luck with that," Artemis scoffed, and Connor crossed arms in front of his chest.
"No capes, no tights." Superboy replied, crossing his arms in front of him. "No offense."
"I think Robin would be the most offended at that," Wally laughed.
"Hey, I was against the cape!" Robin defended,
"Really?" M'gann asked,
"Of course, but Batman wouldn't budge on it," he replied.
"It totally works for you." Miss Martian approved, staring at Superboy dreamily.
"And I'm right, aren't I Artemis?!" M'gann exclaimed, and the blonde laughed in agreement. Connor looked a bit embarrassed.
Superboy turned to look at Miss Martian after her comment; embarrassed, she immediately tried to backtrack. "In that you can totally do good work in those clothes," she said, but Superboy looked away, and didn't react or reply.
"You can make things really awkward sometimes with your brooding silence, Connor," Wally teased. Connor just shrugged.
"Eh, I've been used to that sort of thing for years," Robin commented.
Miss Martian pulled her hood over her head and turned camouflage in embarrassment.
The bottom of the bioship opened; Miss Martian, Kid Flash, and Robin smoothly descended, landing quietly on the ground. Looking up, they all leapt out of the way; Superboy had jumped out of the bioship, making a small crater as he landed where the others had just been standing.
Kaldur looked on with a completely resigned, 'of course he did' expression while everyone else laughed at Connor's 'stealth'.
"Knew I didn't need a line." Superboy deadpanned, smug and pleased with himself.
"Nah, lets just create a seismic event instead!" Artemis laughed, and Connor did too.
"And yet creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the covert!" Robin exasperatedly told him from where he was sitting, leaning against a tree.
"You seem upset," Wally observed, sniggering. Robin ignored him and pretended to be reading something on his phone.
The three who's scattered regrouped again around Superboy.
"Aqualad, drop B is go." Miss Martian radioed Aqualad, who was climbing a cliff.
"Wow, Kaldur's kicking butt!" Artemis exclaimed, and everyone agreed.
"Head for the factory." he replied, "I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."
"Roger that." Robin told him, shutting down his wrist computer then taking off with his teammates towards the factory.
They moved swiftly and efficiently through the forest and across some rocky terrain, until coming to the forest again.
"We got off to a good start at least," Connor said.
"Wait isn't this where you disappeared?" Wally accusingly said to Robin,
"Geez Wally, you'd think I'd abandoned a baby - oh wait, I did!" Robin quipped, and things escalated quickly almost into a wrestling match until Artemis kicked both of them off the couch. They gave her a wounded look.
A twig snapped in the distance.
"Did you hear that?" Superboy asked; Kid Flash and Miss Martian turned towards him.
"Uh, no." Kid Flash replied, "Wait. Is this a super hearing thing?"
"You do have great ears." Miss Martian commented.
"I…guess?" Wally agreed, looking at Connor's ears. "Wait, do I have good ears?" Robin asked, "What about Kal?"
"Does this mean Connor has better looking ears than all of us?!" Wally exclaimed, but was shushed by Artemis so she could watch what was going on.
"Ok, Rob, now what?" Kid Flash asked, turning towards Robin, but Robin had disappeared.
Everyone except for Robin groaned at the trademark move.
"Man, I hate it when he does that!" Kid Flash complained, exasperated.
"Cause you've been doing it to me since we first met!" Wally exclaimed.
"Superboy, Kid, switch to infrared. See if you're being tracked." Aqualad ordered.
"Kaldur, you really kind of stepped into the leadership role from the beginning of the mission, even though you didn't mean to. It's just you're really good at it," M'gann observed, and Kaldur thanked her.
"Got a squad of armed bozos incoming." Kid Flash reported as his goggles revealed the squad.
"Two squads." Superboy corrected, seeing another. "But they'll meet each other before they find us."
The sound of gunfire suddenly erupted; "No super hearing required now," Kid Flash commented.
"Swing wide, steer clear." Aqualad told them over the radio.
"Yeah yeah, just as soon as I find Rob." Kid Flash said, taking off down a dark path.
"Ah, no come on!" Artemis complained, "Things had been going so well!"
"Dude, you know you can't find me unless I want to be found and let you find me, right?" Robin asked Wally, who ignored him and said, "Instead of a 'Where's Waldo' book it should be "Where's Robin,' since you're so dang hard to keep track of.'
"And here's where things get interesting," Connor announced.
He ran for several seconds before tripping on a rock, and taking a hard fall down a decline; the sound of his fall caught the attention of Bane's men and the cultists, who stopped their fire-fight.
"You didn't see that coming?!" Artemis asked, bewildered.
Just in time for Kid Flash to drop right in front of Bane.
Looking at Bane with a 'I done screwed up' expression on his face Kid Flash observed, "So much for the stealthy,"
"How eloquent of you," Robin dryly observed.
Kid Flash backflipped and fled as Bane and the others started firing at him. Superboy suddenly appeared, attacking Bane while Kid Flash dodged and fought the other henchmen.
Wally tossed a red gatorade to Kaldur, who cracked it open and drank some. This drew Artemis' line of sight back to the Disastrous Duo…
Robin and Wally had all of the snacks and drinks that Artemis had previously confiscated, and were bickering over who got the blue gatorade.
"When did you…? Oh nevermind." Artemis said.
Robin was suddenly dropping from the tree tops, landing and proceeding to take out several henchmen.
"Oh, NOW you decide to grace us with your presence. Wonderful," Wally sarcastically drawled.
"What is wrong with you guys?" Robin exclaimed, "Remember covert? Why didn't you follow my lead, vanish into the jungle?"
"Way to clue everyone in," Artemis snickered. Robin simply facepalmed; they just weren't gonna let it lie, were they.
"That's what you were doing?" Kid Flash asked, as he knocked out another goon. "Way to fill us in. We're not mind readers, you know!"
Kid Flash's attention was directed towards Miss Martian as knocked out a goon.
"Well the majority aren't," Connor said, smirking
"Er, I'm not anyway," he corrected.
"You told me I could only read the bad guys' minds." Miss Martian told them.
Robin noticed a cultist running away, and unsheathed a batarang to take him out, but Aqualad dropped down in front of the goon and did the Altantean version of tasering someone.
"Kal, you should totally cosplay pikachu!" Wally exclaimed.
The scene fast forwarded to the henchmen being tied up, and the team discussing the mission.
"I recognize those uniforms." Robin told them, "They belong to the cult of the Kobra."
"What creeps." Robin added.
"I am certain Batman would have mentioned it If he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation." Aqualad pointed out.
"I dunno, are you SURE he would have mentioned it?"
"Shut up Wally," Robin said.
"Agreed." Robin replied, "And since there's clearly no love lost Between the cultists and those goons, I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out."
"That's why normal supply lines have been cut off."
"We get it. Kobra wanted super cultists, mystery solved." Kid Flash said,"Radio Bats, and we'll be home in time -"
"For what?" Robin asked, smirking, "Supper?"
"These cultists aren't on Venom!" Robin cut him off, "Kobra's hoarding the stuff. We don't leave. Not until I know why."
"He's got a point," Artemis said.
"Until you know why?" Kid Flash challenged.
"This team needs a leader." Robin told him.
"And it's you?" the speedster scoffed,"Dude, you're a 13 year old kid, who ducked out on us without a word."
"Before you were 13 you were 12 though. 12. That is kind of weird, I mean thats just…12. You make 13 seem so much older." Artemis commented.
Laughing at Kid Flash, Robin retorted, "And you're a mature 15? You blew our cover first chance you got!"
"You're one to talk about maturity," Wally scoffed.
Artemis was laughing; "You guys are really getting in each other's faces!"
"Don't you want to lead?" Miss Martian asked Superboy, who shook his head no and asked her, "You?"
Putting a hand up in a 'no thank you manner' Miss Martian said, "After the mister Twister fiasco?", clearing wanting nothing to do with leading.
"You did all right." Superboy told her, causing Miss Martian to blush.
"Awww how sweet," Robin cooed, and Connor threw a pillow at him.
Superboy's attention was suddenly drawn to Bane's henchmen, who's quiet tones could be picked up with superhearing.
"Look at them argue!" the henchman told Bane in Spanish, "Free yourself and take them while they're distracted!"
"Take us where?" Wally asked, "He doesn't seem like the 'take your kid to the zoo' type."
"Quiet!" Bane ordered the goon, "For now I play along. They'll give me what I need."
"Yeah? You don't even have super powers!" Kid Flash exclaimed to Robin; yes, the two had spent that entire time bickering.
Artemis burst out laughing. "That whole time you two had just been arguing like a couple of 6 year olds?!"
"Neither does Batman!" Robin indignantly told him,
"Tch, you're not Batman." Kid Flash scoffed,
"Tch, closest thing we've got!" Robin retorted.
"This is priceless," Artemis gloated, stealing a handful of Robin's pretzels.
Bane's laughter shut them both up. "Such clever ninos." Bane told them, "But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance."
"Oh ya, he's a real Samaritan," Wally scoffed.
"There is a secret entrance," Miss Martian said, focusing on reading Bane's mind, but he's also hiding something." Her eyes glowed as she tried to go deeper.
"Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane is not that easy." he taunted.
Miss Martian stopped with a frustrated 'uh'. "He's mentally reciting futbol scores, en espanol," she told the team, "This could take a while."
Everyone smiled in sympathy at M'gann, who was just shaking her head.
"It's not complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Bane explained. Robin gave Aqualad a look; the Atlantean nodded his head in affirmation.
"Awww thats cute!" Artemis said.
"What?" Wally asked, confused,
"How Robin looks up to Kaldur." Artemis stated.
"Robin looks up to everyone," Wally deadpanned, poking fun at his friend's height.
"I mean in a big brotherly way, moron!" Artemis exasperatedly told him, and M'gann just giggled.
The scene switched to the factory. "Sublime master, he approaches," one of cultist henchmen told Kobra.
"Don't feed his ego." Connor said.
" Activate the radio jamming net," Kobra replied, "Nothing must interfere."
Everyone who'd been there groaned. That had really screwed them up.
Bane led the team to an overlook where they could view the factory and proceedings there. Using his binoculars, Robin watched the cultists as they hauled crates to the landing pad.
"Cool specs." Artemis complimented,
"Thanks, I designed them," Robin replied.
" Look at all that product." he said, "A buy is going down, but if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects -"
"We need to identify that buyer." Aqualad finished for him.
"Artemis is gonna love that part." Robin sarcastically mumbled under his breath.
"Just what I was thinking." Kid Flash agreed.
"Yeah!" Robin immediately replied, enjoying himself way too much as he insulted Kid Flash, "You're the thinker!"
Everyone laughed at the jibe - Robin was such a smart ass to Wally, you could practically see the years of history and friendship between the two of them.
"Sarcasm? Dude. A real leader would focus on getting answers." Kid Flash told him.
"Sarcasm is Robin's middle name," M'gann said, exasperated.
"Actually, Danger was almost my middle name," Robin said under his breath.
"Seriously?" Wally whispered,
"Tell you later." Robin replied.
Bane moved a boulder out of the way, revealing a secret entrance. "Answers are this way," he told them, gesturing down the tunnel.
As everyone started down the tunnel, Kid Flash commented, "So, now el Luchador is our leader."
"Sarcasm?" Robin scoffed, echoing Wally's own words from a few seconds ago.
Robin smacked him/shoved Kid Flash out of the way and he lead the way down the tunnel.
"Ah, lover's spats. Nothin like 'em." Artemis commented, bursting into laughter a moment later with M'gann. Robin shot her a filthy look, lethal even with shades on.
They reached the end of it, and Bane pressed a button that unlocked a secret door into the factory. Cracking the door a few inches, Bane peered out the top of it, while Robin peered out the bottom.
"Why is there something bizarrely funny about that?!" Wally exclaimed, laughing.
"All clear," Robin told them, heading into the factory. Everyone else followed suit.
A few moments later Bane noticed that Robin was nowhere to be seen.
" Has that little fool already been caught?" he exclaimed in a loud whisper.
"Oops, he, did it again - mmph" Wally sang, but was cut off when Robin shoved a pillow into the speedster's face.
"No - he just does that." Aqualad replied, sounding like a vexed parent.
Everyone laughed really hard at this, at how much Kaldur sounded like an exasperated, tired, dad who was just so done.
"Stay put," Kid Flash told them, "I'll get our intel and be back before the boy wonder!" and then he took off.
"This is just a mess," Artemis said, face palming.
"Wait, Kid!" Aqualad tried to protest, but Kid Flash payed him no attention and was already gone.
"You guys should listen to Kaldur more," Connor told Robin and Wally.
"We know," they said at the same time.
"Great chain of command." Bane growled to Miss Martian, Aqualad, and Superboy, who looked at each other with resigned expressions.
One floor above them, Robin was silently making his way into a computer room.
"Doing the ninja thang," Wally commented.
"Hey Wally, with you being a redhead, if you became a ninja would you technically be a 'ginga'?" Robin asked….they looked straight at each other for a moment before breaking into laughter.
A cultist was typing on a computer when suddenly, a batarang was imbedded in the computer frame next to him, and knock out gas ignited, rendering the guy unconscious in his chair.
"That guys is playing for the wrong team," Artemis said.
"What team?" Wally asked, and then he and Robin both shouted "WILDCATS!" at the top of their lungs.
Robin walked over, simply shoving the guy out of the seat, then sitting down in the now-vacant seat as he dove into the computer files.
Everyone cracked up at the complete disregard for the unconscious guy Robin shoved out of the chair without a second glance. Something about it was just funny.
The scene switched to Bane, Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian, who were spying on the cultists' activity.
"It's a massive shipment." Aqualad observed in hushed tones.
"Yeah, but they're only taking new product off the line." Superboy pointed out, "They're not touching this Venom."
"Maybe freshness counts?" Miss Martian asked skeptically.
"Helicopters coming." Superboy said.
"Oh boy." Wally breathed under his breath. Him and Robin shared a look, Artemis wasn't going to like the go-between for the buyer.
Things transitioned back to Robin on the computer, who was looking at a molecular structure of a compound. Kid Flash sped in to meet him.
"Whatcha got?" the Speedster asked, munching on a snack bar.
"Chemical formulas." Robin told him, and Kid Flash moved closer to the screen.
M'gann was the one to laugh this time at the two of them. When asked why she was laughing, she simply said, "It's funny how the rivalry just dropped when it came down to getting the job done, and how the comfortable casualness just took over. You guys can't stay mad at each other."
Robin continued. "I'm guessing it involves Venom, but - "
"This one's Venom," Kid Flash cut him off, pointing to a red structure, "And that one's - whoa."
"It pays off to have a science geek-boy along for the mission," Robin stated.
A blue molecular structure was shown on the screen, combining with venom…
"The blockbuster formula from cadmus." Kid Flash finished.
"Good times," Wally deadpanned.
"Mixed correctly, Kobra's new juice is than Venom and permanent." the speedster said, reading the data off the screen."But how did Kobra get access to project blockbuster?"
"No, question is how was anything even salvageable after that train wreck called the 'Cadmus incident?" Artemis asked, shaking her head.
"Our mystery buyer must also be Kobra's supplier!" Robin said, "Using the cult to create a blockbuster Venom super formula."
He activated his commlink- "Robin to Aqualad, we got - static."
"Great." Connor remarked.
The helicopter landed, opened up and revealed the buyer, who greeted his supplier.
"You have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Artemis yelled; Robin and Wally had braced themselves by covering their ears. A string of curse words erupted out of Artemis's mouth, a mixture of English and Vietnamese, so it was questionable what was really said.
"Lord Kobra."
"Sportsmaster." Kobra acknowledged. "The shipment is ready."
Artemis was glowering at the screen, and everyone else was giving each other hesitant, unsure looks. Nobody said a word; it was a very awkward silence.
Shimmer presented a case of vials, and Sportsmaster took one out to inspect. "The new Kobra Venom?"
"A complete success." Cobra confirmed, "Our friends will not be disappointed."
"This is a gamechanger." Sportsmaster said, "Finally, we can go manoamano with the Justice League."
"PLEASE tell me someone got a really good hit in, right in his face!" Artemis growled, still glaring at the screen.
Miss Martian, who was hovering above the conversation in camouflage mode, telepathically linked herself to Aqualad.
' Aqualad, sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now.' she told him.
Upon mentally viewing the image, Aqualad said, "Sportsmaster. He is the buyer?" and then activated his com.
"Aqualad to Red Tornado. Do you read?" but all he got was static.
"It's a shame we'd never be able to include Red in the minklink," Wally said, voicing a stray thought.
"Can't reach the League, Robin, or Kid. Comm's jammed." the Atlantean told Superboy, "We need a plan."
"I have a plan!" Robin suggested,
"Is it a good one?" Wally challenged;
"I have a plan," Robin repeated in an almost threatening tone, narrowing his eyes at Wally behind his sunglasses.
"I have a suggestion," Bane spoke up, before jumping over the railing and going crazy attacking Kobra's cultist henchmen. Gunfire erupted, attracting the attention of Kobra, Sportsmaster, and the henchmen around them.
"What the frickety frack is he DOING?!" Artemis exclaimed, and Wally and Robin jumped too; they hadn't been there for this part.
"What is he -" Aqualad started to question, but a roar brought his attention to the window above, where the enormous silhouette of Mammoth was shown before the creature smashed through the glass.
"Holy crap!" Robin exclaimed - that like seeing the silhouette of the hulk coming at you before smashing through and…well, tearing the roof down.
"Destroy them!" Kobra, who made a quick appearance, ordered his men.
"How the heck did he get there so fast?" Connor asked.
Mammoth and Superboy charged each other, beginning their fight. Aqualad made a shield out of his water bearer, and used the other one to shoot mystic jets of water at the henchmen, effectively taking several out.
"Uh, Wally? Robin?" Artemis asked, "You guys could show up any time now!"
Bane, who was hidden behind a column, laughed the stereotypical villain laugh as he watched the young heroes' plight, then disappeared.
Using the gesture Robin had taught her, M'gann flipped her middle finger up at Bane's treachery.
Robin literally fell off the couch from laughter, Artemis couldn't breath because of it, Wally had tears of mirth in his eyes, even Connor was laughing, and Kaldur was just shaking his head in amusement and trying not to laugh.
Miss Martian swooped in in camouflage mode, helping Aqualad and Superboy with the fight, but she didn't go unnoticed by Sportsmaster.
"M'gann he sees you!" Artemis exclaimed, having caught her breath again. Wally was helping Robin get up from the floor.
As the fight kept going, he launched an exploding bo staff at Miss Martian; she barely got out of the way, but it's explosion knocked her out of the air, and out of camo mode.
Everyone winced or cringed for M'gann; that was a close call, and a rough hit.
Staring at the screen that showed what her dad had done to M'gann, all Artemis could do was quietly say, "Sorry."
Everyone reassured her that it wasn't her fault, with Wally using a Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker analogy.
Robin and Kid Flash graciously decided to show up at this point in the fight, but while Kid Flash went down to help his teammates, Robin smirked, then disappeared again.
"Finally you two showed up!" Artemis exclaimed, while M'gann nodded in agreement.
"Wait, where are you going, Robin!?" M'gann exclaimed. Connor sighed again.
Aqualad was backing up behind a large tank for cover, and Kid Flash had to take cover behind a steel support.
"Miss Martian, radio is jammed! Link us up!" Aqualad yelled as M'gann was getting her bearings from the fall she took.
"And we finally see sense," Connor said, and the other boys snorted.
'Everyone online?' she telepathically asked,
'Yeah.' Superboy replied, sounding very aggravated.
The whole team, even Connor himself, laughed at his aggravation.
'You know it, beautiful.' Kid Flash flirted,
"Ow!" Wally complained when Artemis punched him in the shoulder.
'Good.' Aqualad said, We need to regroup.'
"But Robin…?" Artemis started to ask,
'Busy now!' Robin told all of them, and the scene switched to him landing by the helicopter.
"Ah, of course." Wally said, rolling his eyes. "First time ever with the mind link while everyone is under attack, and you're just, 'LOLz, sorry guys too busy ttyl, YOLO!'"
Robin just stared at him a moment, before saying, "I can't believe I just heard you say that."
"Batman must be desperate if he sends his whelp to task me." Kobra said, standing at the opposite end of the helicopter with Shimmer.
"Oh, ha. Ha. Very funny, ho ho, it is to laugh." Robin sarcastically drawled.
"You know sarcasm is the lowest form of wit," Wally told him.
"And that is a comeback for those who suck at them," Robin replied, not missing beat.
"What's wrong, Koby?" Robin quipped, "You look disconcerted."
"This is beneath me." Kobra droned. "Shimmer, take him."
Robin just just started dodging her attacks and was in a fighting stance when Aqualad ordered over the mindlink, 'Robin, now!'
Kaldur laughed with the others; he really did sound like a scolding parent.
He threw a smoke bomb, cloaking his exit as he disappeared.
The scene switched to Aqualad fighting with his water bearers; 'Strategic retreat,' he said over the mindlink, 'Kid, clear a path.'
Kid Flash cleared a path by knocking henchmen over like bowling pins; Aqualad, Robin, and Miss Martian followed behind him.
"How did you get there so fast?!" M'gann asked, bewildered.
They fought their way into Bane's secret access tunnel, where they locked the door behind them then fled towards the outdoor exit.
"Go!" Artemis rooted for them, getting caught up in the action.
Mammoth busted through the door, and cultists started firing at their retreating backs.
"Oh crap crap, go go go you guys!" Artemis practically yelled.
"We're trying!" Robin yelled back; she was getting way too into this.
"Superboy, the support beams!" Aqualad told him, and the clone destroyed them; the ceiling came falling down accordingly, separating them from their enemies.
"I came in like a wreeeeeckinnnng ball!" Wally started singing, but Robin tackled him, putting an end to that.
Aqualad cracked a red glowstick, illuminating the dark tunnel the team was taking a short reprieve in.
Kaldur gave Wally and Robin stern looks. They looked everywhere but at Kaldur, avoiding his gaze.
"I'm missing something here," Artemis said.
Picking at a loose thread on his pants, Robin took a long-suffering breath then said, " Wally and I took all of Kal's glowsticks and lit them up then threw them in the pool at 2 am when we were swimming so it'd look cool and now we have to replace them by Monday.
"How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" Robin asked, facing away from his teammates.
"If you play this right, this could be a really melodramatic scene," Artemis told him.
"You do have the most experience." Aqualad said, "Perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are… defined."
"That's one way of putting it," Wally said.
"You two do not need to talk." Aqualad continued, "But this team is new. And a leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan."
"Dude, you should be taking notes on this," Wally teased, and got elbowed for it.
Robin whipped around and exclaimed, "Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands?!" in frustration, but then calmed down.
"Which is ironic, cause you're the youngest," Artemis pointed out.
"Who am I kidding," he said, "You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can."
"Ah! The moment of truth!" Artemis exclaimed.
"Please! I can run circles -" Kid Flash tried to protest, but Robin cut him off with, "Wally, come on! You know he's the one. We all do."
"Hello, M'gann! It's so obvious." Miss Martian agreed.
"Could have told you." Superboy told them.
Aqualad looked at Kid Flash, who shrugged, smiled and went, "Ok."
Artemis pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. "This is so touching!"
"Then I accept the burden until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders." Aqualad told Robin, resting a hand on the younger hero's shoulder.
"You were born to lead this team maybe not now, but soon."
Robin smiled, and nodded.
Looking between Kaldur and Robin, Artemis cooed, "Oh, you guys are having a moment!", causing M'gann to break out in giggles and for Connor to snort. Kaldur looked every bit the worn down parent, and gave Artemis a long suffering look.
"All right." Aqualad said, switched back into mission mode. "Our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island."
"Funny, I had the same thought." Robin replied, and the scene changed to Kobra and Shimmer by the helicopter…which wasn't starting.
Laughter wouldn't describe the team's reaction, it was more like…cackling. What would they do without their little troll?
"Sabotage." Sportsmaster stated. "Robin?" he asked.
"Yours Truly!" Robin smugly said, taking a bow.
"Undoubtedly." Kobra told him
"Find the problem." he ordered Shimmer, "Fix it."
Shimmer bowed and left to fix the problem.
"Master, shall we send search parties after the intruders?" a cultist asked Kobra.
"Don't be absurd. " Kobra said,
"They'll come to us." Sportsmaster finished.
Scowling again, Artemis raised both of her middle fingers towards the screen showing her dad.
The screen showed the team making their way down the access tunnel. "Sportsmaster's the supplier/buyer, but it still doesn't track." Robin said, working on his wrist computer as he ran, "He doesn't have the juice to acquire the blockbuster formula or to get Kobra to do his dirty work."
"And neither of them have the chops to bond blockbuster with Venom." Kid Flash added, "That took some major nerdage."
"So Bill Nye the Science Guy wouldn't make the cut?" Robin asked.
Wally sorrowfully shook his head no.
As they reached the end of the tunnel, Aqualad stated, "I believe the expression, is tip of the iceberg."
"Wait what?" Artemis asked, and Wally shushed her while gesturing to the screen.
Bane was blocking their exit, holding a detonator.
"Halt, ninos," he deadpanned. "I'm feeling, explosive."
"That could be interpreted in a handful of different ways," Artemis pointed out, sniggering.
"Shhhh, I'm about to be awesome," Wally told her.
Above the teams' head were explosives that would go off at the press of a button.
"Aw sonnovabitch." Artemis said under her breath.
"You're telling me," Robin said, having heard her.
"You betrayed us! Why?" Aqualad exclaimed, stalling for time.
"Very smart," Robin observed out loud, "Keep 'im talking."
"I want my factory back." Bane replied, while Aqualad used the mind link to talk to Kid Flash - 'Kid, you'll need a running start!'
"So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying." Bane continued, "If the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come To avenge their sidekicks. And when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect."
Everyone started laughing at Bane, while Artemis was telling Wally to hurry up.
Bane pressed down on the button to trigger the explosives, but….while he had been talking, Kid Flash has sped by and taken it out of his hand without Bane even seeing/realizing it.
A round of applause broke out for Kid Flash; that was a great grab.
"Swiper no swiping!" Robin told Wally to harass him.
"With what? This trigger thingy?" Wally asked, leaning casually against a tree and brandishing the control for the explosives.
"You're almost as smug as Robin!" Artemis exclaimed, facepalming.
"How is that a bad thing?!" Robin demanded to know.
Bane yelled and went to punch the speedster, but was jerked back my Miss Martian's telekenesis, and held in midair.
"WHoo!"
"Go M'gann!"
"Finally." Superboy said as he approached Bane from below. "Drop him."
Miss Martian let go of her hold on Bane, who fell fight into Superboy's swinging fist.
"He's Soarin! Flying! There's not a star in heaven that Bane can't reach," Wally and Robin tried to sing, but were laughing so hard it was choppy.
The scene changed to the helicopter, which was running again.
"The helicopter is operational, exalted one," a cultist informed Kobra.
This elicited many eye rolls. Wally started bugging Robin about something, using the phrase 'exalted one'.
As Sportsmaster started towards the helicopter to leave, the cultists were suddenly under attack again by the team.
"Yes!" Artemis shouted, "Come on guys!"
"We are!" Wally exclaimed.
"Take the shipment!" Kobra ordered, so Sportsmaster hurried away.
Superboy landed on the platform, leaving cracked concrete below him. "Go again?" he invited Mammoth, who roared and charged…but was immobilized by a huge rush of water, thanks to Aqualad and his water bearers.
"Sorry." Superboy followed up, "Not the plan."
A round of cheering went up for Connor and kaldur, which quickly turned to shouts of warning as they watched what happened next.
Sportsmaster started shooting Superboy with a gun that actually seemed to hurt him, while Miss Martian tried to get into the helicopter. However, Sportsmaster was able to stop her, and ended up with Miss Martian in a choke hold while still firing at Superboy.
"Guys, help them!" Artemis exclaimed, worried for her friends.
M'gann telepathically sent comforting thought and feelings to Artemis, who was wringing her hands.
Kid Flash was zipping around knocking out henchmen, and managed to grab the hood/mask of one. "Souvenir!" he exclaimed.
Everyone started cheering Wally again, although Robin was hollering scores for his performance.
Shimmer was suddenly taken down by Robin, which attracted the attention of Kobra.
"Uh oh," M'gann said,
"I know you hate getting your hands dirty." Robin told Kobra.
"True." he replied, taking his cloak off to reveal a completely bare, pale, and bald upper half of his body, "But sometimes, even a god must stoop to conquer."
Cheers and words of encouragement erupted from everyone…
Robin went on the attack, but it was like trying to kick/punch a brick wall' he couldn't make a dent.
But they ended up in groans and desperate cheering as things favored Kobra.
As Kobra managed to kick Robin away, the hero landed gracefully and grit his teeth in determination.
"What's wrong, boy? You look disconcerted." Kobra taunted.
"Oh, bad luck man," Wally said, cringing.
Kid Flash was still knocking people over and out, while Aqualad continued to attack Mammoth, adding electricity to his stream of water, which knocked the beast out.
Sportsmaster was backing into the helicopter, still holding onto Miss Martian and firing at Superboy, who was trying to advance on him.
"Thanks for the workout, but I got to fly." he told the heroes, throwing M'gann into Superboy, which knocked them both into the ground.
"aw come on," Artemis muttered, ticked off, but everyone else seemed to be moaning, groaning and complaining for a different reason.
The helicopter took off, but Superboy and M'gann sat up, giving each other a look; M'gann held up the detonator they took from Bane and clicked it, which set off Bane's explosive that they'd planted on board the helicopter.
There was some clapping, but also some pouting as the team watched what went down.
Sportsmaster ejected with a parachute, while the flaming helicopter fell out of the sky, and into the factory with a huge fireball.
"Oh, so THATS why you guys are pouting," Artemis concluded, then started mumbling about 'covert recon only', Wally and Robin shot her a dirty look.
For a moment Bane was shown in the distance, tied up to a tree, with a look of rage on his face as he watched his factory go up in flames.
"HA!" Robin exclaimed, but was shushed by Wally.
The fight between Kobra and Robin was shown again, with Robin being thrown harshly to the ground, and Kobra using his foot to hold him down.
"Come on, Robin!" M'gann exclaimed, while Wally pointed out, "We are a second away from being there, it's okay!"
"I wouldn't define getting my butt kicked as 'okay'", Robin complained under his breath.
"I am plagued by mosquitoes!" Kobra exclaimed.
"Good, 'cause this mosquito's mighty concerted over your pain." Robin retorted, escaping from Kobra, and flipping through the air to stand by his teammates.
"Again with the word thing," Connor facepalmed, while the rest of the team gave Robin fondly exasperated looks.
Gazing at the odds between himself and the team, Kobra disappeared into the trees with the farewell words of, "Another time, then."
Robin followed for a few steps, gazing into the underbrush, but it was too dark to see Kobra.
"Aw, shame." Artemis commented.
Turing back around to face the team and the flaming, smoking factory, Robin smiled. Walking towards Aqualad, he said, "We picked the right guy to lead."
"But-" Artemis started, but was hushed by a look from Wally that said, 'you don't want to miss this'.
But his demeanor changed from 'sincere' to 'lol sorry bro' as Robin added,"Automatically making YOU, the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!", gesturing broadly to the flaming factory, and proceeding to double over in laughter.
Aqualad reflected for a moment on that statement.
"YOU LITTLE TROLL!" Artemis exclaimed,
"Below the belt, dude!" Wally yelled, punching Robin in the shoulder, but everyone couldn't help but laugh…
"Way to act your age," Connor observed, smirking while Artemis and Wally were still doubled over from laughter, Robin was looking sheepish, Kaldur was reflective, and M'gann was giggling.
The team was back at Mount Justice, with text on the screen saying, "Mount Justice, August 4, 01:06 EDT
"Oh no!" Artemis exclaimed, knowing the team was going to be told off.
"A SIMPLE recon mission, observe, and report." Batman's harsh voice grilled the team, who were lined up soldier style in their civvies.
"You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your MANY mistakes." the bat continued, ticked off. The team held their heads down in shame, embarrassment, and the bitterness of failure.
"Man, harsh." Artemis said sympathetically. Everyone else was cringing, wincing, or looking resolutely at the ceiling - getting told off by Batman was not something for the faint of heart, and while they had thick skin, it wasn't fun to revisit.
"Until then, good job." Batman said, surprising the teens. They all lifted their heads and looked at him in shock.
"Plot twist!" Wally shouted while Artemis looked dumbfounded, going, "Wait, what?!"
"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy." Batman explained.
"How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success." he continued, walking away to leave, "And how you choose who leads determines character."
Aqualad smiled down at Robin, who was smirking in satisfaction.
"Oh, then in that case, well done team!" Artemis exclaimed, and Wally and Robin took a bow.
The scene switched to something very interesting….
"All I recovered is a single ampoule of Kobra Venom." Sportsmaster addressed the blurred silhouettes on screens all around him.
"Whoa whoa whoa, this is-" Wally started, but was hushed by everyone, as they stared avidly at the screen.
"Peutetre, the drug can be reverse engineered." A french accented voice spoke. "Mais, what of our young heroes?" it asked."First, Cadmus, then Mister Twister. Now, Santa Prisca."
Not a sound was uttered from the teenagers as they watched this rare and dangerous insight.
"Once is happenstance." A deeper, scary, mysterious voice said, "Twice is coincidence. But 3 times is enemy action. And enemies of the Light must not stand."
Nobody said anything for several moments as the screen went black.
"Great, so now what, we have a contract out on us?" Robin asked, breaking the tension.
"Huh?" M'gann asked,
"We're on a hit list," Wally simplified, and Artemis smacked him, saying, "We're not on a hit list you morons!"
"I am concerned about our mentors; surely some of them are wondering where we are at?" Kaldur pointed out,
"No, I got that covered for another 7 hours at least," Robin said, "Then we might have to start improvising. All I know, though, is that we need to keep watching it till they're over; its now or never."
Well, it was posted Sunday, just like I said it would be! (I'm on U.S. Pacific time, btw)
I really appreciate all the feedback! You guys are totally awesome and have been really supportive of this story!
Shoutout to cocopops1995! Can't tell you how much fun it's been reading your reviews! And I it was actually really funny, my email being blown up like that, so no worries, haha - and Sorry about causing you pain after you wisdom teeth surgery, lol!