Hi there! So, I didn't exactly follow Episode 4's entire script. Hope you guys can spot the difference! I can't wait to reveal Oracle's real name but it won't happen yet. It'll be fun when it happens though!

Oh right, before I forget, the next update will be later than usual. I'm guessing, I'll be able to upload within two weeks at most. I'm going on a short trip for the summer and I doubt I'll be able to write... Anyway, I'll do my best to upload early!

Special thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! You guys are amazing :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Young Justice. I do own the calculative Oracle!

Chapter 4: The Team Leader

Oracle swings her legs, looking out at the visibly-full moon in front of her. She bites her bottom lip and sighs. Maybe she shouldn't have been that excited to get here. She is about thirty minutes early. She pulls out her wrist computer and begins typing away to pass the time. So far, there's something bothering her about the Blockbuster formula. It's not a permanent solution. If someone really wants to create a monster-like soldier… Well, that's not the right solution then. Doctor Desmond is already back to his normal self in the prison cell he's going to spend some time in. But that leaves Oracle with an annoying question: how would someone go about making it stronger and permanent?

Still, it feels like there's a lot Oracle doesn't know and she hates it. Batman wants her to keep a tight lid about her tragic vision of the future and she plans to stay silent. It won't matter how many people knows about the future when there's nothing they can do to prevent it right now.

"Oracle." The voice interrupts her thoughts. Oracle turns around to see a red-clad teenage boy with a black domino mask and a red quiver full of arrows. She looks away, hiding her pink cheeks. "I've already told the others that I won't join their little clubhouse."

Oracle crosses her arms. "Hey, you're the one who called me here! I'm not even going to try to get you to join." She gives him a smirk as she gestures at him to take a seat beside her. "Look, I know how stubborn you are. But let me say this," she pokes him in the chest and narrows her eyes. "Don't you dare underestimate them!"

Roy Harper stares at her and smirks. "So the new members won your heart, have they?"

Oracle tucks her lose strands of hair behind her ear and sighs. "It's not about that. I honestly think there's a lot they have to learn as a team but they'll get there." Oracle pulls her knees closer to her chest and looks out at the calm sea. "How's the solo gig coming along?"

"It's coming."

"Red Arrow, huh?" She looks at him from the corner of her eye, trying her hardest to hide her smile.

"Don't. You. Start." He emphasizes each word, narrowing his eyes at her.

She shakes her head and chuckles. "I won't, Red Arrow."

Roy reaches out and wraps his arm around her shoulders to pull her in. Oracle turns completely pink and looks away with a shy smile. "Told you to stop."

She crosses her arms, leaning her head on his shoulder but still opting to look away from Roy's face. "Yeah, well, I hate you."

Roy gives her a smug look. "Sure you do."

But it's true, Oracle thinks to herself, she hates how easy it is for Roy to leave and to do whatever he desires. She can't exactly blame him for being who he is, but she can still be jealous. She takes a deep breath. "Why'd you call me out here?"

Roy runs his fingers through his orange-red hair. If there's one thing Roy appreciates about Oracle, it's that she doesn't care much for small talks and will get right into the heart of the matter. Well, he should probably return the favor. "What can you tell me about the League of Shadows?"

Oracle pinches the bridge of her nose and looks at the star-filled sky. She sighs and stands up. "No, I can't." Then, she pauses. "Maybe next time, Roy."

Roy Harper watches as Oracle leaves him behind. He smirks, knowing full well that Oracle will now be researching about the League of Shadows and that is all Roy wants from their short meeting. Besides, she'll be back. She always has.

x

Oracle runs her fingers through her hair and stares at the mess in front of her. She wrinkles her nose, rubbing at it gently as she blows the dust off a dated folder. There are things that Oracle already knows about the League of Shadows from Batman's and the Justice League's digital files. But, as much as she hates to admit it, there's a certain beauty in keeping paper copies of important files, especially after reading Batman's own handwritten notes about the dangerous organization.

Ra's al-Ghul and his assassins.

They are basically hired killers. But why would Roy point her in this direction? There has to be a reason for that. She lays out all the documents she has on the secretive organization and begins scanning through the several members' information. She starts by separating members that are already confirmed dead from the ones who are still active. Oracle admits that she needs to do some cleaning and organizing soon, but it'll probably be a while before she'll actually do it.

Her eyes linger on Talia al-Ghul, Ra's al-Ghul's daughter and someone Batman is quite fond of. Oracle runs her fingers through her hair and sighs. What are they up to? Did they have something to do with Project Cadmus? She smirks. Of course, they did. As long as money is involved somehow, the League of Shadows will be the first ones there. The question is, what are they planning to do now? What are they going to do that worries Roy Harper?

She looks down at her hands and shakes her head. There's no point trying to force the future to reveal itself right now. Oracle stretches and begins keeping the papers into a briefcase. She pauses at Sportmaster's image. Isn't he involved with another famous villainess? She shakes her head again and shoves the paper into the briefcase.

"Good morning, beautiful!" Oracle turns around to see a blur of yellow and red appear right in front of her. She rolls her eyes but smiles at the sight of the familiar speedster. "Whoa! What happened to you?" Kid Flash asks, looking surprised and a little worried at her tired expression.

"Roy happened." Oracle replies, ignoring Kid Flash's grin. "That damn idiot sent me on a wild goose chase and I spent all night going through my notes and digging out old files."

"You make it too easy for him, Oracle." Kid Flash pats her on the back before offering her a granola bar. She takes it with a slight nod. "So, what did he want?"

"Can't tell you, KF." She winks and sits on the table. "Top secret info and all that."

Kid Flash holds his hands up in front of him in a surrender position. "Fine, fine. Keep your secrets." He leans over and peers at her holographic computer screen. "Looking for some muscle enhancement? Oracle, I don't think you'll need-"

Oracle pokes Kid Flash's cheek. "I am not thinking of bulking up. I was just looking at Santa Prisca and its factory production of Venom, a neo-steroid."

"And what's the problem?"

"The factory shouldn't be producing Venom. The government made it illegal for the people in charge of the factory to continue its production." Oracle points at the Santa Prisca island and zooms in to show Kid Flash the image of the factory. "So someone's doing something illegal on the island."

"Villains do illegal stuff all the time, Oracle." Kid Flash comments, placing his hand on his hip with a smirk.

"True. But how many of them use neo-steroids to bulk up for their criminal activities? Besides, what's to say they won't be combining these neo-steroids with another chemical to form a new-? Oh." Oracle types rapidly on her keyboard, already pulling up the Venom formula and the Blockbuster formula. "Oracle to Batman."

Batman's face appears on the screen. He narrows his eyes. "What is it, Oracle?"

"Something you might want to see…What do you know about Venom?"

Kid Flash grins beside her as realization hits him. He looks like a giddy child on Christmas as he begins typing at the keyboards to redraw the chemical formula and combine the two compounds. Oracle pulls Kid Flash down and gets him to sit on the empty chair beside her.

Batman sits up straighter and enlarges the camera viewpoint to show the rest of the main Justice League members. "An illegal neo-steroid that was produced on Santa Prisca."

"You're almost right." Oracle corrects, ignoring the raised eyebrows of several Justice League members. Kid Flash is almost done reconstructing the new chemical formula as Oracle bites her bottom lip and thinks of how to explain it. "The thing is, if you look at the infrared sensors, it shows that the factory is still running at full capacity but no shipment is leaving the island for the past-" Oracle pulls up several camera views of the island. "month. With that in mind, I believe this warrants a team sent to investigate."

Black Canary leans in, smirking. "Are you suggesting a covert mission?"

"No. Um, not really." Oracle shakes her head as Kid Flash clicks the enter button to send his artwork over to the Justice League for them to see. "I'm suggesting a covert investigation and prevention mission."

"And the purpose?" Martian Manhunter questions, putting his elbows on the table while interlocking his fingers.

Oracle exchange looks with Kid Flash. She takes a deep breath. "The factory is still running, but I doubt that they are still producing Venom, or at least, Venom as a singular compound. Instead, what you see on your screen is the combination of Venom and the Blockbuster formula. If this is true, we-" she gestures at Kid Flash and herself, "believe it's important to know who has taken over the factory and who the buyer is. And most importantly, to stop the shipment from taking place."

"Yeah!" Kid Flash chimes in, standing tall with both hands on his hips. "The team and I will make this mission a success!"

"Hey now, hold on a second here," Flash frowns, looking at his teenage nephew. "I don't think this is a mission for-"

"We're ready." Another deeper voice interrupts. Oracle and Kid Flash turn around to see the rest of the team walking towards them. Superboy stares at the Justice League with defiance in his eyes.

"We'll be so turbed to have this mission." Robin agrees, placing a hand on Oracle's shoulder as Miss Martian, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy stand behind Oracle. "You promised us a mission and this is finally it."

"R-right!" Miss Martian's cheeks turn pink as attention falls on her. "We won't let you down!"

Aqualad nods, keeping his focus on the older superheroes.

"They'll succeed." Oracle speaks out, standing beside the rest of the teens. "I guarantee it."

Batman stares at the young red head before smirking. "The only way to learn is through experiences." He mumbles under his breath. Green Arrow and Black Canary exchange smiles, knowing full well what Oracle must have said. "Very well. Oracle will brief you on the mission and you will depart tomorrow. Get yourselves ready." Batman turns off the connection as Oracle turns to face the team.

Robin grins. "So, what did we sign up for?"

Oracle rolls her eyes and punches Robin's arm. "Come on, I'll get you guys up to speed."

By the time the briefing is done, most of the team members leave the room. Oracle reaches out and grabs Kid Flash's wrist. She stares him dead in the eye as the speedster jokes about her finally realizing his good look. She pokes his cheek. "Wally, no."

"Wha-?"

"Just no." Oracle narrows her eyes. "You're not ready to be team leader."

"How did you know-?"

"Let's just say we've been friends for a pretty long time. That and you and Robin are way too competitive." She starts walking away with Kid Flash scrambling to his feet to join her. "Try to behave tomorrow."

He laughs, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Says the troublemaker."

x

The next day, Oracle stands beside Batman as they face the team of young superheroes. She watches as Batman eyes every one of them. "The plan requires two drop zones." Batman ends his long speech.

"So who's in charge?" Robin asks.

Batman and Oracle exchange looks. "Work that out between you." Batman smirks as the young team coordinator groans. This is the reason Batman wanted to come over in person to brief the team on the mission. She tries to give Kid Flash a stern look but the speedster is already heading towards the bioship. Oracle shakes her head, knowing that today is going to be an interesting and frustrating day.

Oracle sits in front of her computer and puts on a pair of headphones with a microphone. She keys in the coordinates of Santa Prisca and sends it over to Miss Martian's bioship. "Alright, coordinates sent. Stay safe, guys. I'll be manning the coms if you need me."

"Thanks, Oracle!" Miss Martian puts in the coordinates and the bioship takes off for Santa Prisca.

Oracle hides her blushing face as she nods. "You're welcome, Megan." Oracle looks down at a printed copy of Kid Flash's drawn concept of a combined Venom and Blockbuster formula. It would be bad if the experiment works out and the enemy does create this supposed miracle potion of theirs. Yes, very bad. She shudders. She doesn't want to have to deal with evil Superman 3.0s running around. Having two super strength beings on earth is more than enough. It doesn't help that someone is trying to create replicas of Red Tornado. Oracle narrows her eyes at the dismantled red android, Mister Twister. Unfortunately, the person who created it relinquished their entire connection on it and so Oracle could not trace it back to its maker. If only Red Tornado would be so kind as to let Oracle butt in on his business but the superhero refused.

She places the paper down and watches the world map in front of her. The bioship is travelling fast and is about to reach its destination in less than an hour. She stretches and stands up to get a pint of strawberry ice cream. Sugar. She needs sugar to function. Her brain craves sugar. The Justice League needs to stop using her brain too much. Oracle chuckles. Like that would ever happen.

"Is that my pint of ice cream?" Kid Flash narrows his eyes at Oracle as she takes a seat.

"Maybe?" She shrugs, trying to look innocent as she stuffs a huge spoon of ice cream into her mouth.

"Oracle!" Kid Flash yells as Robin starts chuckling to himself.

"Oh, don't worry, Wally!" Miss Martian shouts. "You can have some of mine when we get back to base."

Kid Flash sighs happily, looking at Miss Martian with a dreamy look. "Beautiful, inside and out." Then, he gives Oracle a pointed stare. "Unlike, somebody."

Aqualad interrupts before Oracle could argue. "We are approaching Santa Prisca. Let's focus on the mission first."

"Right." Oracle nods. "Thanks, Aqualad. Miss Martian, drop zone A should be approaching in 30."

"Oh, yes! Aqualad, are you ready?" Miss Martian hovers her hands over the bioship's control system.

"Ready."

Miss Martian nods. "Putting bioship in camouflage mode."

"Be careful, Aqualad." Oracle tells the older teen as he dives into the ocean.

Aqualad swims to the island and disables the sensors. "Heat and motion sensors are patched. Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in."

"Drop zone B is approaching now." Oracle tells them.

Kid Flash clicks on a button on his suit, turning it dark grey. "How cool is this?"

"Very impressive." Miss Martian agrees as she uses her shapeshifting ability to turn her own costume into camouflage mode.

Kid Flash blinks. "Uh, that works, too." He turns around to face Superboy. "Hey, Supey, not too late to put on the new stealth tech."

"No capes, no tights. No offense." Superboy replies. Oracle grins in response. He must really want to distance himself from Superman.

"It totally works for you... in that you can totally do good work in those clothes." Miss Martian pulls her hood over her head as she blends into the environment. Lever-like lines appear from the bioship's ceiling. Robin and Kid Flash hook the lever onto their costume and jump down from the bioship. Miss Martian floats down. The three of them get out of the way as Superboy jumps down, creating a huge hole in the ground.

"Knew I didn't need a line." Superboy sounds proud of himself.

"And yet creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the covert." Robin narrows his eyes at the smug raven-haired boy.

"Aqualad, drop B is go." Oracle clarifies, covering her smile with her hand.

"Thank you, Oracle." Oracle could hear the amusement in Aqualad's voice. They are both chuckling inside their heads at the team's dynamics with each other. "Everyone, head for the factory. I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."

"Roger that."

The team makes their way through the jungle, keeping their mouths shut and their feet silent. Oracle frowns, hearing the static that's growing from her communication device. That's odd. Something, or someone, is trying to block her connection to the team. She narrows her eyes and zooms in on the map. The static seems to be growing the closer the team gets to the factory. Oracle blinks when several red dots appear on her screen. Even odder. It looks like there are two factions about to face off. Perhaps the owners of the factory against the people who took over?

"Did you hear that?" Superboy asks, interrupting Oacle's train of thoughts.

"Uh, no." Kid Flash answers immediately, shrugging his shoulders as he looks at Superboy. "Wait. Is this a super hearing thing?"

"You do have great ears." Miss Martian has a dreamy expression on her face as she blinks her eyes at Superboy.

"Guys," Oracle tries to gain their attention through the static. "Hey, switch to infrared now. There are two hostile enemy groups approaching one another in approximately a hundred feet ahead of you."

"What? Can you repeat that?" Kid Flash frowns, rubbing his ear at the static coming from the device. "Okay," he pauses. "Rob, now what?" He turns around to find Robin missing. "Man, I hate it when he does that."

"Hostile… approaching!" Oracle's voice shouts through the communication device. "Don't…. repeat…engage!"

"Oracle? Hey, you still there?!" Kid Flash's hushed whispers could not reach Oracle as the young coordinator straightens her back. She taps her index finger on her chin. The only solution she has in mind would be to mess around with the satellites orbiting around the world. She pinches the bridge of her nose, wondering how long Batman's lecture will be this time. Hopefully, he wouldn't be that harsh since it's for a mission. She connects to the two closest satellites in space and sets new coordinates on them. It takes a while for the satellites to retrieve the coordinates and to move to it. Oracle starts tapping on the edge of the table as she waits for the satellites. She is watching the trackers she placed on the team and could see them making their way to the factory.

By the time Oracle could get back to the connection with the team, she could hear Robin's dejected voice. "How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?"

Oracle blinks, wondering what has happened in the short time she was gone.

"You do have the most experience." Aqualad's voice comes through. "Perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk. 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."

Oracle smiles, keeping silent as she realizes what is happening. So, a new team leader is about to be established. Finally.

"Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands." Robin takes a deep breath, turning around to face Aqualad. "Who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can."

Kid Flash sighs. "Yeah, yeah. Kaldur is the best choice, huh?"

"Hello, Megan! It's so obvious."

"Could have told you." Superboy smirks.

"Then I accept the burden until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders.

You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon." Aqualad returns Robin's smile, placing a comforting hand on the younger teen's shoulder.

"Glad you guys solved that one." Oracle interrupts, trying to get their attention back to the mission at hand. "What's the plan, Aqualad?"

"Now that we've discovered the supplier and the buyer, our priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island." The blond teen takes control of the situation.

"Funny. I had the same thought."

"But it still doesn't track." Kid Flash interjects. "Sportsmaster 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."

Oracle frowns, realizing where she has seen Sportsmaster's name recently. But the League of Shadows are hired assassins too. Just how many middle men are there in this crazy operation? Just how many people are leading it? She blinks at the screen. "Hey, guys. There's someone blocking the entrance of that tunnel you're in."

"Halt, ninos. I'm feeling explosive." Bane appears just as Oracle warns them.

"You betrayed us. Why?" The young coordinator hears Aqualad say. Maybe a distraction?

"I want my factory back." Bane states simply. "So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks." Oracle smirks at that. Oh, don't ever underestimate these sidekicks. "And when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect."

"With what? This trigger thingy?" Kid Flash asks, leaning on the tree with a grin.

"Finally." Superboy holds out his fist. "Drop him."

Oracle stands up from her seat, wiping her hands together before running her hands through her hair. Another step is achieved for the team. She could still hear the fight going on in the background as the team takes on Kobra, Sportsmaster, and their underlings. At the rate they're going, maybe Oracle doesn't have anything to worry about. Maybe the world will be saved anyway. But no, there's still one last missing piece: the blonde archer.

x

Oracle stands beside Batman again as he paces in front of the team. "The mission is a success. You figured out the supplier and the buyer. You stopped the shipment from leaving Santa Prisca. However, you are all still new at this and your teamwork still requires work. You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes. Until then, good job." Batman walks away from the room as Oracle moves closer to give Kid Flash and Robin a hug. She nods at Miss Martian, Aqualad, and Superboy.

"I think that's the highest praise you'll ever get out of Batman." She grins and congratulates the team on their successful mission.

"What happened to the coms?" Robin asks.

"It was being blocked, for some reason. Like someone knows how to make the connection go all static-y or something." Oracle blinks. "I had to bring the satellites closer to earth but even then, the connection wasn't that great. I may have to work on it and make our devices more sensitive and receptive to sound."

"So the villains are getting smarter." Kid Flash muses, shaking his head at the thought.

Miss Martian looks worried, reaching out to hold Oracle's hand. Oracle's first reaction is to jump away or to pull her hand out of the older teen's hand but instead, she squeezes Miss Martian's hand and smiles at the older teen. "Come on, guys. I'll treat you to ice cream just this once. Let's celebrate the team's new leader!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Robin grins, walking ahead of the rest of them. Miss Martian and Oracle following right behind. Aqualad walking alongside Superboy who is being pushed forward by Kid Flash.

"Come on, Supey. It's a good time for team bonding!" Kid Flash urges the broody teen. Superboy shakes his head and smiles, willingly walking to their destination. Aqualad just smiles.

"Isn't that Green Arrow's card?" Robin asks as he spots the credit card in Null's free hand.

Oracle looks at the card and smiles. "Sure looks like it! Come on, he wouldn't mind treating us."

The team make their way to a small ice cream parlor in Washington D.C. The owner of the shop doesn't seem fazed by the costumed teens entering his store as he greets them with a bright smile and a loud greeting. Kid Flash rushes to the counter and starts ordering a huge ice cream sundae. Miss Martian keeps pointing at all the flavors she wants to try. Robin decides on a classic banana split. Superboy ends up having a large chocolate sundae when Kid Flash took it upon himself to order for the raven-haired teen. Oracle stands beside Aqualad and orders a cookies and cream milkshake. Oracle grins as she sends a quick text message to Green Arrow: Thanks for the ice cream! The green-clad superhero will definitely get back at her for this.

As Oracle makes her way past Aqualad to pay for their orders, she holds out her hand for the older teen to shake. "Congratulations on being team leader, Aqualad. Let's work on proving Roy wrong."

Aqualad shakes her hand, a smile on his face. "We will succeed."

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I actually thought of ending it before the ice cream parlor scene. Do you think it's better to end it before the ice cream parlor scene or is this ending better? What did you think about Red Arrow's interaction with Oracle? I've always pictured Red Arrow as cocky but smart and observant. As always, I do appreciate reviews! See you as soon as I can!