Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or the DC Universe

Rated M for language, some sexuality, and violence

Enjoy

Cadmus, July 10, 2010, 10:25 pm...

"Guardian," Batman greeted as he entered the office.

"Evening, Batman." Guardian took off his helmet. "Sorry to call you here so suddenly. I figured you'd want to see this as soon as I found it."

"What is it?"

He led Batman to the far side of the office where a pod sat. He pressed a button on the control panel, the fog inside the pod disappeared. Batman widened his eyes. "Is that...?"

"Yes," Guardian answered. "Superboy was only half of Project Kr. This...is the other half."

Caribbean Sea, July 22, 2010, 10:08 pm...

M'gann guided the ship silently in camouflage mode. The moonlight shone bright through the windows as the team sat, patiently awaiting their mission. "We're approaching Santa Prisca."

Natalia stared out the side window, thinking back on Batman's briefing. She noticed Superboy staring at her in the reflection of the glass. When their gaze met, Superboy glanced away.

"Drop zone A in 30," M'gann announced.

Kaldur stood up, his chair dissolving into the ship. He pressed his belt buckle, turning his red shirt dark gray, "Ready."

M'gann brought the ship down close to the water, opening the hatch. Kaldur dove into the water, and M'gann lifted the ship back up into the sky. After a dew minutes, Kaldur's intercom beeped through the ship, "Heat and motion sensors are patched. Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in."

M'gann flew the ship farther in to the drop zone, "Drop zone B."

They all stood; chairs and controls dissolving into the ship. M'gann closed her eyes and concentrated, creating lines for them all from the ceiling. Robin hooked the clip to his belt and Wally did the same. He pressed the lightning symbol on his chest, turning his outfit to dark gray and black. He glanced at M'gann, "How cool is this?"

"Very impressive," Megan smiled then closed her eyes. Her outfit slowly transformed into a black catsuit with the same red X on her chest, and darkening her blue cape and creating a hood as well.

Wally swooned at her, "Uh, that works too.

"Stop drooling, Wally."

"Aw, come on, Nat. You totally look hot in that, too."

Natalia's uniform was solid black, no red accents what so ever. She also didn't wear her leather jacket, leaving her upper arms bare. She wrapped her ponytail up in a bun, "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Of course it's a compliment," he smiled, eying her up and down. "I mean, it fits you so right."

"Shut up," she frowned, turning away from him.

Wally smiled at her back then glanced at Superboy, "Hey, Supy, not to late to try on the new stealth-tech."

"No capes, no tights. No offense," Superboy crossed his arms, wearing his Superman shirt, cargo jeans and combat boots.

"Totally works for you," M'gann admired, then held her hands up defensively. "In...that you can totally do good work in those clothes."

He frowned and turned away. M'gann placed her hood over her head and turned invisible. She opened the hatch and floated down with Robin and Wally. Superboy glanced at Natalia who tugged on her line until it disappeared. "What're you doing?"

"M'gann forgot I can fly." She walked to the edge of the hole and turned to face him. "I'll just float down."

She fell backwards into the hole, flipping so that she landed on her feet. M'gann and Natalia both gasped in unison and glanced up, seeing Sueprboy falling. They rushed out of the way as he landed, creating a small crater beneath his feet. He smiled, "Knew I didn't line."

"And yet creating a seismic event, may not have helped us much with the covert!" Robin scolded, standing up.

Natalia frowned at Superboy. "A little warning next time."

"Sorry."

M'gann floated in the air, pressing her earpiece. "Aqualad. Drop B is go."

"Head to the factory," he replied, his voice ringing through all their ear pieces. "I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."

"Roger that!" Robin replied.

He led the way through the woods, checking the special path on his computer. After awhile, Superboy stopped suddenly, glancing back towards the waterfall, "Did you hear that?"

"Uh, no," Wally glanced back at him. "Wait, is this a super-hearing thing?"

"You do have great ears," M'gann swooned.

Natalia rolled her eyes and grabbed M'gann's arm, dragging her along, "We need to keep moving. Robin, where to next...? Robin?"

The team followed her gaze, finding Robin gone. Wally clutched his head in frustration, "Man, I hate it when he does that!"

"Superboy, Kid, switch to infrared," Kaldur whispered on the com. "See if you're being tracked."

Wally put on his goggles and glanced around, "Got a squad of armed bozos incoming."

They hid behind a large log. Superboy peered through the thick trees, "Two squads. But they'll meet each other before they find us-"

Loud blasts of gunfire echoed through the woods. "No super-hearing required now," Wally pointed out.

"Swing wide! Steer clear!" Kaldur's voice ordered.

"Yeah, yeah, just as soon as I find Rob," Wally jumped over the log and took off.

"Wally! Dammit," Natalia hopped over as well.

Wally yelped as he slipped along the mud, rolling right into the gun fight. The two sides ceased momentarily then joined fire on Wally. He rolled back onto his feet and sped away, avoiding the bullets on his heels. Natalia jumped over the mud puddle and aimed her foot at a gunmen in a red cloak, knocking him instantly. "KF, over here!"

"Trying to. Whoa!" Wally leaned back, avoiding a gunman's swipe to his head.

Natalia flew towards the group on the right. The leader of the group stepped into the moonlight, illuminating his white-and-black masked face. Natalia came to a sudden stop, gazing at the man in shock, "Bane..."

Bane glanced at her, a devilish grin of recognition spreading on his face, "Poco Bruja, esto ha sido mucho tiempo."

Natalia glared at him angrily, "Sí...lo ha hecho."

She surged forward, blasting red energy balls at him. He ducked to avoid the blasts and lunged, aiming his fist at her head. She raised her hands, creating a wall of red energy that shielded her from him. As his fist hit the energy wall, he was zapped and thrown back against a tree. He landed on his feet and smirked at Natalia. "All that power and no imagination. Pathetic?"

"Come see how pathetic I really am!" she dared.

As he prepared to rush at her, Superboy tackled Bane into another tree. A bullet grazed Natalia's arm and she dropped her energy shield. She fell to her knees, clutching her arm. Robin dropped down near Natalia, throwing bombs at the shooter. "What's wrong with you guys? Remember covert? Why didn't you follow my lead? Vanish into the jungle?"

Wally flipped in the air, kicking a gunman away, "That's what you were doing? Way to fill us in. We're not mind readers, you know. Er, I'm not, anyway."

M'gann threw two men against a tree, "You told me I could only read the bad guys minds."

Robin pulled out a batarang, noticing a runaway. Kaldur appeared, shocking the gunman and crushing his weapon underfoot. They tied all the men up, the red cloaked men on one tree and the army-dressed men on the other. Superboy approached Natalia who glared at Bane from where she stood. "Do you two know each other?"

"Unfortunately," she replied. She crossed her arms under her chest. "We crossed paths when Robin and I were doing a stakeout with Sorceress and Batman. It's because of him that I can't..."

"Can't what?"

Natalia sighed loudly and turned to look away from Bane. "Forget it."

Superboy glanced back at Bane then returned his gaze to Natalia, raising an eyebrow. "What did he mean 'all power and no imagination'?"

Natalia mimicked his raised eyebrow. "You don't know about my powers? Didn't you read my bio briefing?"

"No."

"That was rather blunt." She uncrossed her arms. "I was told my abilities are magical with a focus on reality warping and energy manipulation."

Superboy stared at her then blinked in realization. "Told? So, then you're not sure? Wait, you're a wizard?"

She pursed her lips and placed her hands on her hips. "Sorcerer...there's a big difference. And yes, I'm not totally convinced. Like M'gann, I also have telekinesis. So, yeah...I'm not really sure."

"What about what Bane said?"

"Let's just focus on the mission." Natalia joined the team by the tied-up men. "What do you got?"

Robin glanced back at her, "These men in red...I think they belong to the cult of the Kobra. No, I know it."

"I am sure Batman would have mentioned it if he knew extremists were running Santa Prisca's Venom operation," Kaldur crossed his arms.

"Agreed. And since there's not love loss between the cultists and the goons," Robin grabbed his chin in thought. "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," Wally smiled. "Radio bats, and we'll be home in time for-"

"These cultists aren't on Venom," Robin retorted. "Kobra's hoarding this stuff. We don't leave. Not until I know why."

"Until you know why?" Wally cocked a brow.

"This team needs a leader."

"And it's you? Dude, you're a 13 year old kid who ducked out on us without a word."

Robin chuckled, "And you're a mature 15? You blew our cover first chance you got."

"Boys-"

"Let them argue," Kaldur placed his hand on Natalia's shoulder. "They'll stop soon enough."

She raised a brow at him, "Then maybe you should lead us. You're the only one who's level-headed."

"What do you mean by that?" he frowned at her.

"Robin's too young. Wally's too childish. Superboy's got anger issues. M'gann has no experience. You're the only one who qualifies. You can keep a cool head in the heat of battle. I don't see why you shouldn't lead us."

"And what about you?"

"Eh," she shrugged, watching Wally and Robin pace after each other. "I've got a list of issues that you'd rather not hear right now."

Kaldur glanced away in thought, just as Wally's voice got louder. "You don't even have superpowers!"

"Oh, yeah? Neither does Batman!"

"Ch-uh! You're not Batman!"

"Ch-uh! Closest thing we've got!"

Bane chuckled, catching their attention, "Such clever ninos. But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest, get you into my factor via my secret entrance."

M'gann knelt in front of him, "There is a secret entrance but he's also hiding something."

"Uh-uh-uh, chica!" he smirked. "Bane's not that easy."

M'gann made a "tsk" sound, "He's mentally reciting football scores and...espanol."

"You want me to translate? He's not that hard to crack," Natalia crossed her arms.

"You would know, huh?" Bane teased. "Oh, wait...it's your mother that would."

Natalia lashed out, grabbing at his face. Superboy wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her back in time. "¡Él es el diablo! ¡¿Oyó usted qué él me dijo?" she spat.

"Relax, I was just teasing her," he shook his head, relishing her expression of rage.

M'gann tried again, but to no avail, "Ugh, he's thinking in Spanish again. This isn't getting us anywhere."

"It's not complicated," Bane snickered. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Natalia forced her way to Kaldur, Superboy's arm still around her, "You cannot be seriously considering this."

"He's offering to help us. It's the best chance we have," Kaldur spoke calmly.

"Fine," she spoke through gritted teeth. She slowly knelt down in front of Bane, "Juro, si usted nos engaña... ¿Le perforaré en Dios cara maldita, entenderé?"

"Bastante feria. Haré cuando prometí," he nodded slowly, still smirking.

She stood up and glanced at Kaldur, noticing his waiting expression. She took a deep breath and nodded. Kaldur returned the nod and freed Bane. He stood up, towering over the kids as he rubbed his wrists. Natalia kept her eyes on him as he strode through the jungle, leading them to a ledge at the end of a small path. He stood by a tree and pointed down to the factory below. Robin knelt down, peering down with binoculars. "Look at all that product. A buy is going down. But if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects then..."

"We need to identify that buyer," Kaldur urged.

"That's what I was thinking," Wally lifted his goggles up on his forehead.

Robin snickered, "Yeah, you're the thinker."

"Sarcasm? Dude, a real leader would focus on getting answers."

Bane lifted a large boulder off of a mine entrance, "Answers are this way."

He gestured for them to follow, and walked inside. Wally stood in the entry way, "So, El Luchador is our leader?"

Robin pushed him aside, following Bane with the others. Natalia stopped beside him, "You should really lay off the jokes, Wally."

"Why?" he raised a brow at her. "Nat, I still remember what happened. What he did to-"

"Don't bring that up, Wally," she ordered darkly. "That's the last thing I wanna think about right now."

She started to walk away, but Wally caught her arm, "Hey..."

"Guys!" Robin shouted from the mine. "You coming or what?"

Natalia sighed and placed her hand on Wally's. "Thank you...for caring."

"Of course," he released her arm. "I'm here for you. You know that."

Natalia glanced away then walked into the mine, Wally following close behind her. They caught up with the group at a large red door. Bane pressed his thumb on a small panel, the light changed from red to green and it unlocked. They entered the locker room, making their way to the only door across the room. Bane opened the door just enough for Robin to stick his head out. "All clear."

Bane opened the door some more and Robin slipped out. They walked out into the warehouse, finding no one in sight. "Has that little fool been caught already?" Bane hissed.

"No, he just does that," Kaldur sighed.

"Stay put," Wally put on his goggles. "I'll get our Intel and be back before the Boy Wonder."

"Kid, wait!" he hissed but Wally was already gone.

Bane watched him disappear, "Great chain of command."

Kaldur exchanged glances with the team. Bane led them to the loading deck where the cultists loaded crates cautiously. Kaldur stared in awe, "It's a massive shipment."

"Yeah, but they're only taking the new product off line," Natalia pointed out. "They're not touching this Venom."

"Maybe freshness counts?" M'gann shrugged, unsure.

Superboy cocked his ear, "Helicopter's coming."

They listened; hearing the faint piercing winds of the helicopter blades grow louder. Kaldur glanced at M'gamn, "Go find out who the buyer is. Let me know when you identify them."

He tapped his head and she nodded. M'gann turned invisible, flying away unnoticed by the cultists. Bane led the rest of the team up high to the catwalk, staying low. Kaldur sat down, hearing M'gann's voice in his head. His eyes snapped back open, "Sportsmaster."

"He's the buyer?" Natalia whispered in surprise.

Aqualad pressed his earpiece urgently, "Aqualad to Red Tornado. Do you read? Ugh, can't reach the League, Robin, or Kid. Com's jammed. We need a plan. Now."

"I have a suggestion," Bane smirked, diving off the catwalk and landing between two gunmen, knocking them out.

Natalia peered over, "Condénelo."

She froze, hearing an odd noise. Kaldur watched as Bane deflected the cultists. "What is he-"

"Move!" Natalia grabbed Kaldur and Superboy by their shoulders, jumping off the catwalk with them.

A large monster burst through the glass windows, slamming it's fists into the catwalk. A pale skinned man entered the warehouse with a punk-dressed girl at his side, "Destroy them!"

The monster roared and charged; Superboy tackled it, wrapping his arms around it. The monster grabbed him by his pants and lifted him up above it's head. Kaldur drew his water swords, creating a large shield to deflect the bullets. Natalia's eyes glowed red as her fists glowed with electric energy. She fired blasts at the men, destroying their guns. She approached a cultist and placed her hands on the floor, flipping forward as her knees locked around the man's neck. She threw him and he slammed into a wooden crate. She fired more energy blasts at several others, their guns exploding upon contact. Everyone online? M'gann's voice echoed in her head.

Yeah, Superboy groaned.

You know it, beautiful.

Shut up, Wally, Natalia scolded as she elbowed a man in the face.

Good. We need to regroup, Kaldur ordered.

Busy now! Robin replied in annoyance.

Kaldur's voice growled in their heads, Robin, now! We need to retreat. Kid, clear a path!

Wally zoomed through the men, knocking them down. He ran straight into the locker room with Kaldur, Robin, and M'gann behind him. Superboy held the monster at bay, struggling against it's strength. He slipped his hand around it's wrist and tossed it at the gunmen. Natalia ducked in time, grabbing Superboy's arm as she ran through the room and into the mine. Superboy slowed and grabbed the door, slamming it shut. As they took off, the monster burst through the door, tearing it off it's hinges. "Superboy, Red, the support beams!" Kaldur barked.

Superboy punched a few of the wooden posts while Natalia kicked down the rest. The ceiling rumbled as the rock gave way. Natalia grabbed onto Superboy, diving away from the wreckage in time. When the dust cleared, Natalia raised her hand, and the red energy created a dull red light. Robin stared at the piles of rock in front of him, "How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?"

"You do have the most experience," Kaldur broke the stick completely in half, letting it drop to the floor. "But perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting along side Batman, your roles are...defined. You two do not need to talk. But this team is new and a leader must be clear, explicit. It cannot vanish and expect others to play part in an unknown plan."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands?" he snapped, exasperated. He slumped his shoulders, sighing in defeat, "Aw, who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can."

"Please, I can run circles around-"

"Wally, c'mon," Natalia shoved his shoulder. "You know he's the one. We all do."

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

"Coulda told ya," Superboy crossed his arms.

They all turned to Wally. He thought for a moment then smiled, "Okay."

Kaldur walked over to Robin, placing his hand on his shoulder, "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.

Robin nodded. Kaldur turned back to the rest of the team, "Alright, our first priority should be preventing that shipment from leaving this island."

"Funny," Robin smirked, crossing his arms. "I had the same thought."

"What'd you do?" Wally asked.

"I sabotaged their helicopter."

"Sw-eet!"

"All right then. We need to move," Kaldur took down the mine, the others following. "Robin, what do you know about the buy?"

Robin brought up his computer, "Well, Sportsmaster is the supplier-slash-buyer. But it still doesn't track. 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, that took some major nerd-age," Wally added in.

"I believe the expression is 'tip of the iceberg'," Kaldur stopped, holding his hand up for them to halt as well.

"Halt, ninos," Bane stood with a trigger in his hand, arming several explosives above the kids. "I'm feeling...explosive."

Natalia stepped forward, "Usted diablo-"

"Uh-uh-uh," he waved his thumb over the button.

"You betrayed us. Why?" Kaldur demanded.

"I want my factory back."

Kid, you'll need a running start, Kaldur ordered. Wally discreetly backed away as Bane blabbered.

"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 have certainly come and avenge their sidekicks. When the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside...should have the same effect," he pressed his thumb down, then opened his hand, holding nothing.

"With what?" Wally asked, leaning on a tree behind him. "This trigger thing-y?"

Bane roared as he thrusted his fist, then was suddenly lifted into the air. M'gann twirled him around as the team walked out of the mine. Natalia approached him with a wide smirk on her face, "¿No le dije qué pasaría? Este es para mi madre, usted monstruo. Drop him."

"Gladly," M'gann lowered her head, dropping Bane. Natalia jumped in the air, thrusting her glowing fist into his face.

Venom factory...

Sportsmaster walked towards the working helicopter, holding a small silver box under his arm. Wally zoomed through the cultists, knocking them down. "Take the shipment!" Kobra barked at the buyer. Sportsmater took off running when Superboy landed in between him and the carrier. He glared at the monster standing next to Kobra, "Go again?"

The monster charged, knocking several men away when he was suddenly blasted with water. Superboy watched him roll away, "Sorry, not the plan."

Kaldur drew water from the well, continuing the pressure against the monster. M'gann snuck onto the helicopter invisibly as Sportsmaster snuck behind Superboy, blasting him with a ray gun, forcing him to back up. Natalia hopped in front of him, her eyes glowing a brighter red as an aura of red energy surrounded her. Sportsmaster kept firing as Natalia advanced, unfazed from the blasts. He harrumphed and turned a small dial on the gun, the blasts turned blue and Natalia cried out from the force. He backed up towards the helicopter then suddenly flipped in the air, blasting the ground. M'gann appeared, clutching her head in pain. He wrapped his arm around her neck, firing continuously at Natalia and Superboy as he backed up into the helicopter. "Thanks for the workout, but I gotta fly."

He tossed M'gann at Natalia, knocking her down as he ran inside. M'gann rolled off of Natalia as the helicopter took off into the air. Natalia gritted her teeth and prepared to jump when M'gann caught her arm, holding the trigger she swiped from Bane. She pressed the button and the helicopter exploded, twirling in circles until it crashed into the factory, sending it up in flames. Superboy pulled Natalia and M'gann under him protectively as the rest of the factory exploded. Kobra kicked Robin onto the ground, stepping onto his chest, "I am plagued by mosquitoes!"

"Good! Cause this mosquito's mighty concerted over your pain!" Robin kicked at him. Kobra stepped back and the boy rolled to his feet, joining the team.

"Another time, then," Kobra backed up into the shadows. Robin searched through the trees, but found Kobra gone. Kaldur stared at the burning building, blank faced. "She's right. Batman's gonna chew us out," Robin laughed, his shoulders jiggling. "Guess we picked the right guy to lead us."

Kaldur glanced down in thought, silently regretting the future.

Mount Justice, July 24, 2010, 1:06 pm...

"A simple recon mission. Observe and report," Batman scolded, pacing in front of the team in costume. The team bared the lecture, dressed in their casual clothes. "You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes. Until then...good job."

All six of them glanced up at him in surprise. Batman turned away, heading towards the hallway, "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success. And how you choose your leader...determines character."

end of chapter 4