A/N: Ah yes, time for another chapter. Enjoy!

Only two days after his campout with Kaldur, Arsenal was sitting with him in the living room, showing him a map of Arizona. "Right here," he said, tracing the unmarked area of the reservation. "It also extends into New Mexico and Utah."

"Did you ever visit those places?" Kaldur asked, studying the area.

"Once. We went to New Mexico to visit a friend of my adopted dad."

"And this is the desert?"

"Yeah, its all desert. although right here," He moved his finger to the edge of the reservation's borders. "There are forests in these mountains."

"I see. Where-"

"Hey, guys!" Robin called, poking his head in. "Batman has a mission for us."

"Let's go." Roy quickly folded the map and stashed it somewhere before running to catch up with Kaldur. They found Robin, Wally, Connor, and M'gann standing in the main cavern of the cave, waiting to be briefed.

"East La Santa Prisca," Batman said, looking at the map on the holographic screens in front of him. "This island nation is the source of a dangerous and illegal neuro-steroid. A strength enhancing drug sold under the street name 'Venom'. Infra-red heat signatures indicate the factories are still operating at full capacity, but all shipments of Venom have inexplicably cut off. That's where this team comes in." He turned around to look at them. "This is a covert, recon mission only. Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will." Batman turned back to the screens and a map of the island came up, marked with an A and a B on opposite ends. "The plan requires two drop-zones-"

"So who's in charge?" Robin asked suddenly, making Arsenal shaking his head.

Batman and Red Tornado turned around sharply. "Work that out between you." Robin nodded, but Arsenal didn't miss the smile on his brother's face. He looked away and focused on Batman as the briefing continued.

— —

Not too long after that, they were in the Bioship, suited up and heading for their mission. Arsenal knew it was a serious mission, but he couldn't help but feel excited about working so far from Gotham. 'I've never done something like this before,' he thought. 'Working outside of Gotham…or Star. Robin's been on missions with Batman in Central and Metropolis.'

"We're approaching Santa Prisca," Miss Martian informed them.

Arsenal glanced over at Robin, who was focused on the world outside the window. Every time the Dynamic Duo left Gotham, Arsenal had been left to monitor the city. 'I can't mess this up. If I mess up Batman will take me off the Team. I can't mess up.'

"Drop-zone A in 30." Arsenal and Aqualad stood up, their chairs becoming part of this ship once more. Arsenal stood next to Aqualad and the latter activated the new stealth modes on his suit.

Aqualad looked at Arsenal, who nodded. He looked at Miss Martian. "Ready," he said.

"Putting the Bioship in camouflage mode." Arsenal put his rebreather on and wrapped his arms around Aqualad's neck. Outside, the Bio-ship became invisible and dropped lower to the water. Arsenal took one look at Robin before the floor opened up beneath them. The two teens dropped down into the water. It was surprisingly warm and Aqualad needed only half a second to get his bearings before swimming through the water. Arsenal's grip got tighter as the current tried to tug him off his friend's back. The Atlantean's tattoos started glowing and he created a small sword with one of his water bearers. He cut through something, then kicked up towards the surface.

Arsenal dropped down off his back and pulled the water-proof covering off his quiver. He unslung his bow from around it and pulled an arrow out, almost all in one motion. Standing in the shallows, he did slow sweeps of the area, his eyes scanning the jungle on the edge of the beach for any motion as Aqualad ran towards the sensors. Aqualad worked quickly, putting the device they'd brought on one of the sensors. There was a whirring sound and a click, then the blinking light on the sensor stilled. "Heat and motion sensors are patched. Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in." Now safe to move, Arsenal put his arrow back in the quiver and followed Aqualad into the jungle. They ran through the trees and reached a cliff. Arsenal stowed his bow on his back and started climbing up, right behind Aqualad.

"Aqualad, Arsenal," Miss Martian said on the comms once they were halfway up. "Drop-zone B is a go."

"We'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP," Aqualad replied.

"Roger that!" Robin said.

Arsenal focused on pulling himself up another foot. He reached out, slowly finding a handhold, then pulled himself up. His left foot slipped, momentarily leaving him hanging from his fingertips. Thinking quickly, he pulled himself up, jumping from his current handholds to the next one. Aqualad looked back at him, silently asking if hew as ok. Arsenal nodded, then continued his ascent. They finally reached the top, Arsenal slightly more fatigued than Aqualad, and then they started running through the jungle again. He could hear the rest of the Team over the comms.

"Did you hear that?" Conner asked.

"No," Kid Flash said, "wait, is this a super-haring thing?"

"You do have great ears," Miss Martian said in the tone Arsenal never understood.

"Ok Rob, now what?" Kid Flash looked around and sighed. "Man, I hate when he does that."

'I don't think disappearing on the Team is a good idea right now, bro,' Arsenal thought as he jumped over a tree root.

"Superboy, Kid," Aqualad said, "switch to infra-red. See if you're being tracked."

There was a moment of silence, and then, "Got a squad of bozos incoming," Kid Flash reported.

"Two squads," Superboy added. "But they'll meet each other before they find us." Even over the comms, they could hear the shooting. Arsenal hoped, briefly, that Robin was nowhere near those guns; but he also knew his brother.

"Swing wide!" Aqualad instructed. "Steer clear!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kid Flash said. "Just as soon as I find Rob." Aqualad shook his head as they ran, while Arsenal hoped they got there before someone got hurt. Without needing to say anything, they pushed themselves faster; eager to reach their teammates. Over the comms, the heard Wally grunt and then, "So much for the stealth mode."

'Oh no,' Arsenal thought just as the tell-tale sounds of guns shots rang through the comms. "They're in trouble."

"I know," Aqualad responded.

When Arsenal finally heard Robin, it sent a moment of relief through him. "What is wrong with you guys?!" Robin demanded. "Remember covert?! Why didn't you guys follow my lead? Vanish into the jungle."

"That's what you were doing?!" Kid Flash demanded. "Way to fill in the rest of us! We're not mind-readers! Well…most of us."

"You said I could only read the bad guys' minds," Miss Martian said.

'I see them!' Arsenal thought, catching a flash of Robin's tunic through the trees. Aqualad pulled ahead and jumped down in front of one of the escaping goons. He electrocuted the man just as Arsenal shot an electroshock arrow at the other one.

"Nice of you to drop in bro," Robin said to Arsenal as they tied the bad guys up. Once they did, they stepped back and Robin looked at Arsenal. "Recognize those uniforms?"

Arsenal nodded. "The Cult of the Kobra," he replied.

"I am certain Batman would have warned us if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation," Aqualad told them.

"Agreed."

"And since there's no love lost between the cultists and those goons," Robin said as he mentally put the pieces together. "I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out."

"That's why normal supply lines were cut-off."

"We get it," Kid Flash said, "Kobra wanted super cultists. Mystery solved. Let's radio Bats and get home in time for-"

"These guys aren't on venom!" Robin interrupted him. "Kobra's hoarding this stuff. We don't leave. Not until I know why." Arsenal almost smirked at how much like their mentor Robin sounded right now.

"Until you know why?"

"This Team needs a leader."

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

Robin chuckled, borderline cackled, at the speedster. "And you're a mature 15? You blew our cover first chance you got!"

Miss Martian looked at Superboy. "Don't you want to lead?" she asked, but he shook his head. She looked at Arsenal who took a physical step back.

"What about you?" Superboy asked her.

"After the Mister Twister fiasco?" She shook her head.

"You did alright."

Arsenal focused on the argument between Robin and Kid Flash, shifting from one foot to the other as he wondered if he should intervene. "You don't even have superpowers!" Kid Flash shouted.

"Neither does Batman!" Robin yelled back.

"But you're not Batman!"

"The closest thing we got!"

Bane laughed. "Such clever niños," he smiled. "but you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest. I can get you in the factory, via my secret entrance."

Miss Martian knelt in front of him and they all waited for a minute. "There is a secret entrance," she said. "but he's hiding something."

"Uh-uh-uh, Chica. Bane isn't so easy."

"Ugh! He's mentally reciting football scores, in español. This could take a while."

"It's not that complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." The Team all looked at each other. Arsenal and Robin made eye contact for a moment, both weighing the options of trusting Bane. Face with no other option though, Arsenal gave him a slight nod, then Aqualad.

"Keep an arrow on him," Robin whispered to Arsenal as Miss Martian and Kid Flash untied Bane.

"An electroshock arrow will do me no good," Arsenal whispered back. "As long as he's not juiced up a single glue arrow should work."

"Good. I don't trust him." Once Bane was untied, Arsenal casually pulled a glue arrow from his quiver and nocked it to his bow, which the villain didn't miss.

"What's the matter, Arquero?" he asked with a smile. "You don't trust me?"

"You know who we work with," Arsenal replied evenly. "Why should we?"

"Fair enough. Let's go." Robin stuck close to Arsenal as the group followed Bane through the jungle. Arsenal kept his arrow pointed at the ground, muscles these and ready to shoot if he had to. It didn't take long to reach the factory. They crouched down in the foliage and Robin pulled his binoculars to of his belt.

"Look at all that product," Robin said, watching as crates of venom were moved around. "A buy is going down, but if Kobra is selling to the usual suspects, then-"

"We need to identify that buyer," Aqualad said.

"Just what I was thinking," Kid Flash agreed.

"Yeah," Robin smirked. "You're the thinker."

"Sarcasm? Really dude? A real leader would focus on getting answers."

"Guys," Arsenal said, getting their attention. He nodded his head over towards Bane, who was moving a rock. It was one he stepped back to reveal a tunnel.

"Answers," he said with his ever-present smile, "are this way." He walked down into the tunnel and Arsenal followed.

"So, now El Luchador is our leader," Kid Flash said, causing Robin to shove him. Arsenal swallowed and focused solely on Bane, eyes following his every movement. The alternative was to notice how small the tunnel was and how easy it would be for it to cave in and trap them. Down here in this enclosed space- Arsenal shook himself.

'No, stay focused. Don't think about that.' They arrived at a small panel on the wall and put his thumb on one of them. A door built into the wall opened and Robin stuck his head out.

"All clear," he declared, darting out into the factory. Arsenal sighed and shook his head as the rest of them followed at a slower pace. They didn't see him for a couple minutes as they wove their way between vats and equipment.

"Has that young fool already gotten himself caught?" Bane asked.

"No," Aqualad sighed. "He just does that."

"Relax," Kid Flash smiled, putting his goggles on. "I'll go get our intel and be back before the Boy Wonder."

"Kid, wait-" The speedster paid no attention and took off running.

"Great chain of command," Bane remarked. The remaining teens all shared a look, none of them feeling as though they had grounds to argue.

"Let's keep going." As they wove their way between the crates, Arsenal started to get worried about Robin. Batman's order rang in his head. 'Robin is your responsibility. Robin is your responsibility.' The sounds of forklifts sharpened his focus though, and he put his arrow away, satisfied for now that Bane wouldn't attack them. He joined the others, crouched down behind a crate as they watched the forklifts carry cares of venom. "That's a massive shipment."

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

"Maybe freshness counts?" Miss Martian suggested.

Superboy's head snapped up suddenly. "Helicopters coming," he said.

"We need to figure out who is here," Aqualad told them.

Arsenal glanced up and spotted a catwalk above their heads. "I have an idea." The others looked up, all catching on almost instantly. With a glance back to make sure the cultists had moved on, Arsenal shot an arrow up at the catwalk and retracted it. Aqualad wrapped his arms around him at the last moment and they were jeered into the air. Superboy leaped up to it and Miss Martian floated up. Bane climbed up after them just as Aqualad and Arsenal pulled themselves up.

"Miss Martian," Aqualad said, "Can you turn invisible and spy on who has arrived?"

Miss Martian nodded. "Of course," she said. "However, to report back it…it may be easier and safer for me to contact you telepathically." While Aqualad didn't miss the look of anger on Superbly's face, or the look of fear on Arsenal's…he knew she was right. So, he settled for a middle ground.

"Contact me telepathically and I'll pass the information along to everyone else."

"Ok." She turned invisible and flew away from the group.

Arsenal glanced around, hoping the vantage point could give him a visual on his missing brother. Worry was starting to weave its way through his brain. His heart rate was picking up and his stomach was starting to knot itself. 'No!' he told himself sternly. 'It's ok. You're on a mission, stay focused. Robin is ok. He's fine.' Thankfully, it didn't take Miss Martian long to report back to the group.

'Aqualad,' she said mentally, her voice echoing slightly in the Atlantean's head. 'Sending telepathic images of the buy now.' Aqualad closed his eyes and tilted his head down as the image appeared in his mind.

"Sportsmaster," he gasped. "He's the buyer." He put his hand on his comm. "Red Tornado, come in." No noise greeted him when he activated it. "Comms are blocked."

Arsenal's hand immediately flew to his own comm. "Robin," he said, then waited a moment for a reply. "Robin."

"We can't reach anyone," Superboy observed. "Now what?"

"I have an idea," Bane smiled. Without wanting, he jumped over the side of the catwalk, landing between two cultists, starting one of them start shooting at the ceiling.

"What is the-" Aqualad began, only to be cut off by a giant monster jumping through the window. The monster landing on the catwalk broke it in half, causing the three remaining heroes to fell to the ground. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Arsenal put his hand to his quiver, fingers hesitating over which arrow to use.

"Destroy them," the cult leader ordered.

Superboy ran to meet the monster charging at them and stopped him dead in his tracks. Aqualad used his water bears to make a shield as bullets were shot at him. Using one to keep his shield up, he punched the other one through and shot a water missile at the cults firing at him. Meanwhile, Arsenal was firing off arrows to disable the guns shooting at him. He ducked and wove, never staying still as he shot the arrows off. Despite his rapid and erratic movements, not a single one of his shots missed. Miss Martian flew in through the hole in the wall and started throwing the bad guys around with her telekinesis. Unknown to her, Sportsmaster noticed the way the air around her quivered and seemed to be warped. It made her form not so invisible and he threw his spear at her. Miss Martian turned and saw it in time to dodge, but a small explosion suddenly knocked her sideways and out of the air. Superboy was still fighting the monster but was punched away after getting a few lucky hits.

Above their heads, Robin ran down a catwalk, surveying the fight. Kid Flash ran ahead of him, looked at what was going on for a moment, then started running again. Robin was about to follow unit he saw Arsenal, now behind Aqualad's shield as well, as he fired more arrows at the cultists. The two ducked behind a metal structure, both taking a moment to rest, but two more cultists came around the other side. Before anyone could react though, Kid Flash ran up and knocked them down, rendering them unconscious. Aqualad glanced around, then remembered their comms were down.

"Miss Martian!" he yelled. "Communications are blocked! Link us up!"

Miss Martian, who had just come to, nodded and reface out to connect all their minds. 'Everyone online?' she asked.

'Yeah…' Superboy agreed grudgingly, taking another punch form the monster.

'You know it beautiful,' Kid Flash thought.

Arsenal simply made an uncomfortable noise, making Robin cackle a little bit; still just as good when he did it verbally. 'Good,' Aqualad thought. 'We need to regroup.'

'Busy now,' Robin told them, flipping down to the ground. Aqualad turned to Arsenal, only to discover he was gone as well. The archer reached his brother as the Kobra leader approached him.

"Batman must be truly desperate if he's sending his whelps to track me," the man said, clearly unfazed.

"What's the matter, Koby?" Robin asked as Arsenal pulled an electroshock arrow from his quiver. "You look disconcerted."

"This is beneath me. Shimmer, take them." The woman standing next to him attacked them. Robin flipped over her and Arsenal threw himself to the side as he shot an arrow at Kobra. The man dodged it with ease though.

'Robin, Arsenal, retreat now!' Aqualad ordered. Arsenal nodded to Robin, who rolled his eyes. Arsenal shot a flash grenade arrow at the woman's feet before she could reach Robin; giving them cover to make their escape. By the time she ran through, both teens were gone.

Back with the others, Aqualad made whips with his water bearers and used them to push the cultists away. 'We need to retreat,' he reiterated through the mind link. 'We need a clear path through.' Without needing another order, Kid Flash ran ahead and took out the cultists blocking the path. Everyone ran out after him. Superboy followed a few steps behind but had to stop to catch the fists of the monster again. He was pushed back a few feet, then threw the monster at the cultists that were trying to follow them. He slammed the door shut behind him when he left, but it only took 5 seconds before the monster had broken through it. 'Superboy, the support beams!'

"Huh?!" Arsenal let out a strangled cry, making Robin glance back at him.

'Keep running,' he instructed. Eyes straight ahead, bro!' Behind them, Superboy punched out the metal support beams as he ran, bring down a portion of the cave. Everyone stopped at the rocks and dirt separated them from the bad guys. Aqualad pulled a glow-stick out and snapped it, casting a red glow over them. "I don't get it," Robin muttered, staring at the wall of rock. "How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?"

"You have the most experience," Aqualad admitted. "but perhaps that is what led you so unprepared."

"He's right," Arsenal greed. "When we're with Batman our roles are clear. We don't need to communicate because we've worked together for years…but the Team is new. Our leader needs to be clear and explicit. He can't vanish and expect others to take part in an unknown plan."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hand!" Robin turned to Arsenal. "You at least should've known to follow me!" Arsenal took half a step back and Robin's demeanor changed in an instant from angry to calm, and slightly guilty. "Sorry, bro. Who am I kidding?" He remembered who it was that had ordered them to regroup and retreat, then looked at Aqualad. "You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can."

"Please!" Kid Flash yelled. "I could run circles around-"

"Come on Kid, you know he's the one. We all do."

"Hello Megan," Miss Martian said, "it's so obvious."

"Could've told ya," Superboy said.

Aqualad looked at Arsenal, who smiled at him, not needing to say anything else. "Then I accept the burden," the Atlantean said as he approached Robin. "until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon." Robin nodded in acknowledgment. "Alright, our first priory is preventing that shipment from leaving this island."

"Funny," Robin smiled. "I had the same thought."

"You disabled the helicopter, didn't you?" Arsenal asked.

"You know it."

"When- Never mind," Aqualad said. "I don't want to know."

"Good idea," Arsenal told him.

"Let's get out of this tunnel."

"Another great idea." They took off running down the tunnel as Robin pulled up his holo-glove.

"Sportsmaster's the supplier/buyer," Robin said as they ran, "but that still doesn't track. He doesn't have the juice ta acquire the Blockbuster formula. Or the ability to get Kobra to do his dirty work."

"And neither of them have the chops to bond Blockbuster with Venom," Kid Flash added, keeping pace with the rest of them. "That takes some serious nerd-age."

"I believe the expression is…tip of the iceberg," Aqualad said as they came to a stop, just inside the tunnel. Bane stepped out in front of them, dropping several items on the ground.

"Halt, niño," he said. "I'm feeling…explosive." The Team looked up to see the blinking lights of explosives above their heads.

"You betrayed us! Why?"

"I want my factory back."

'Kid, get a running start,' Aqualad instructed mentally.

"So I forced you into a situation where you'd either take down my enemies or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would come to avenge their sidekicks; and when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more. When the tunnel collapses with you inside, it should have the same effect." He held up the detonator, only for it to disappear from his hand and reappear in Kid Flash's, several feet behind him.

"With what?" the speedster asked with a smile. "This trigger thingy?" Bane shouted and started to throw a punch at Kid, only for an invisible force to grab him and jerk him up into the air.

"Finally," Superboy said as he and Miss Martian approached. He pulled his fist back. "Drop him." The latter dropped the villain and Superboy punched him as he fell. The combined forces were enough to knock him out. For good measure, Arsenal shot him with a glue arrow to keep him immobilized.

"We still have to stop the shipment," Aqualad reminded them. "I have a plan." Quickly, he briefed them with his plan. "Everyone understand?" They all nodded. "Kid, run ahead of us."

"On it!" Kid Flash said, following orders. He approached the landing pad and took out the guys with guns. Not far behind him, Superboy landed, creating a small crater in the ground.

"Go again?" he asked the monster. The monster growled at ran at him. Before it could reach the clone though, Kid Flash ran in from the side and took out Kobra so Aqualad could blast the monster with his water bearers. "Sorry, not the plan." He was so distracted by it, that Sportsmaster was able to sneak up on him. It surprised him enough that he stumbled and back away. None of the shots hurt, but they were coming so fast he had to keep backing up and they tore up his shirt. Miss Martian, having completed her part of the plan already, tried to sneak up on Sportsmaster invisibly, but he whipped his arm around and caught her in a headlock.

Kid Flash ran up to one of the cultists, knocking his gun from his hands and something off his head. "Souvenir!" the speedster declared. Arsenal shot an electroshock arrow at Kobra's assistant, which was quickly followed by a rope that wrapped around her from Robin.

"I know you hate getting your hands dirty," Robin smiled.

"True," Kobra said, pulling back his hood and throwing his robe to the ground. "but sometimes, even a god must swoop to conquer." Robin attacked him, trying to punch him, but it was blocked easily by the man's hand. As he fell back to the ground, Arsenal shot another electroshock arrow, which Kobra dodged. Robin jumped up again to kick him, but Kobra caught his foot and kick him backward, over his brother. "What's wrong boy? You look disconcerted." Arsenal shot a glue arrow a the man, but he dodged it just as fast as ran up to archer, punching him in the face. The force knocked him back and he fell into Robin, knocking him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Kid Flash was running around, still disarming the cultists. Aqualad had kept up his blast of water on the monster, and now took his other hand, generated lightning with it, and electrified the water. It electrocuted the monster, knocking him out. Over with Superboy, Sportsmaster still had his tight grip around Miss Martian's neck as he backed onto the helicopter. "Thanks for the exercise," he said throwing her at the clone. "But I got to fly." Superboy looked at Miss Martian, who held up Bane's detonator with a smile. She pushed the button and the Blockbuster-Venom in the crates onboard the helicopter blew up. Thinking fast, Sportsmaster threw himself out of the burning machine. It crashed into the factory, setting it ablaze.

Robin was thrown to the ground again by Kobra, who pinned the Boy Wonder down with his foot. "I am plagued," Kobra said, clearly irritated, "by mosquitoes."

"Good!" Robin grunted. Behind Kobra, he could see Arsenal getting to his feet again. "Because this mosquito's mighty concerted over your pain!" The foot moved enough for him to somersault away and push himself into a backflip. As he did, Robin landed with the Team and an arrow hit Kobra in the shoulder. He did no more than grunt in pain, but one look at the young heroes, as well as the failed operation, and he smiled. "Another time then," he said as he backed slowly into the jungle and disappeared. Robin followed him for a moment, but discover he was gone. Frustrated, but satisfied they'd completed their objectives, he walked over to Aqualad and Arsenal.

"We picked the right guy to lead," he said. "Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman." He spread his arms wide at the burning factory and cackled. Aqualad looked at Arsenal, who shrugged.

"Let's go home," their leader sighed.

— —

By the time they got back to Mount Justice, it was nearly midnight. Surprisingly, Batman wasn't the one who greeted them when they got there. "Welcome back, Team," Red Tornado said.

"Where's Batman?" Robin asked as they disembarked from the bio-ship.

"The Batman will debrief you tomorrow morning. For now, you are to rest here."

"…All of us?"

"Yes, all of you. Robin, Arsenal, Kid Flash, Aqualad, rooms have been prepared for you in the mountain."

"We have rooms too?!" Kid Flash asked excitedly. "Awesome!"

"Rest now."

"I bet your rooms are near ours," Miss Martian said to them. "We can show you where." They followed her through the halls to the living quarters of the mountain.

"These two have keypads on them," Kid Flash observed.

"Those would probably be ours," Robin deduced quickly. Thinking for a moment, he put in his passcode for the Bat-computer and was rewarded with the door opening. Arsenal did the same and the door unlocked. He stepped inside and looked around. There was a large bed, a desk that was built into the shelf against one wall, and a closet. On the same wall as the door, were two pegs on the wall, one set holding another bow. He smiled and put his own bow on the wall, then set his quiver down next to the wall. In front of the way were two racks of arrows. Wandering over to the closet, he opened it to find many of his own clothes, including the clothes he'd been wearing before the mission, were inside. His sunglasses were on the desk. Grabbing a pair of sweats, Arsenal went back over to the door and shut it. The lock clicked into place automatically and he changed out his suit. He laid down on the bed, muscles starting to finally relax. After a few minutes, he heard something moving around in the vents. He sighed.

"What're you doing, Dick?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Dick asked from inside the vent. He pushed the cover open and crowed out, landing nimbly on his brother's desk. "Coming to see you."

"We're supposed to be resting."

"Keyword: supposed." He jumped onto the bed and sat cross-legged on the bed next to his brother.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Why?"

"….Well…I mean…after I yelled at you…"

"It's fine, Dick."

"It's not. It's one of your triggers, and I should know better-"

"Hey." Roy reached out and gently put his hand on Dick's arm. "I told you I'm ok. You took me by surprise, but I managed."

"I'll try not to do something like that again."

"Thanks. Although, try not to go off disappearing on me again."

"You should be used to me and Bats disappearing."

"I know, but this is different. That's in Gotham, not out in the world where we don't know the layout. It's not the same. When you disappeared in the factory, I had no clue where you could be or what you could possibly be doing. I know you wanted to prove yourself to the Team," he held up his hand, "don't try to deny it, I'm your big brother, I know these things, but we're partners, Dick. You have to keep me in the loop, especially when we're out there."

Dick sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I guess this is a bit more different than patrolling with Bats."

"It'll just take some adjustment."

"Good thing we're great with that."

"Mhm." Roy yawed. "You should go to bed. We have to explain to Batman why the mission went south."

"You mean Kaldur has to explain." Dick got up, hopped off the bed, then climbed onto the desk. "Night, Roy."

"Night, Dick." Roy waited until Dick had crawled back through the vent before closing the cover and shutting the light off. He burrowed down under the covers, taking the time to enjoy how comfortable the bed was, then falling asleep.

— —

The fowling morning, the Team assembled before Batman, who surveyed them with a look Robin and Arsenal recognized as 'You messed up'. "Explain," he said simply. Being the leader, Kaldur stepped forward and told him about how the mission went down. After he finished he stope back into line and Batman was quiet for a moment. "A simple, recon mission. Observe and report." He walked down the line of assembled teens. "You'll each receive a written evaluation dealing your many mistakes." As irritated as he was, he remembered to keep his voice even and stern, not loud and angry. "Until then…good job." They looked at him in shock and Robin and Arsenal shared a look. "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen determines success. And who you determine who leads, determines character." Kaldur smiled at Robin from the corner his eye, which the bird returned. Behind Robin's back, Arsenal and Kaldur briefly clasped hands.

'We survived the first mission,' Megan said telepathically. Arsenal still flinched a little, but soon relaxed.

'We did,' Kladur agreed. "Hopefully, the first of many.'

— —

Oliver was playing with the arrow, looking between it and the small tablet in his hand. He moved the arrow around, mentally noting the video feed on the tablet. He stopped when he got to the doorway behind him. "Afternoon Lex," he said to the man in the video.

"Oliver." Luthor walked in.

"What do I owe to this visit?"

"Have you spied on the children yet?"

"I'm working on it."

"Well work on it faster."

Oliver sighed as he set the arrow and tablet down. "Weren't you the one lecturing me on the virtues of patience?"

"The Light has decided the sidekicks have crossed us too many times. We want them dealt with."

"What about-"

"Except Roy, relax. We've told all of our operatives to make sure he isn't seriously harmed."

"You'd better."

Luthor looked at him sharply. "We will fulfill our end of the bargain Oliver, as long as you fulfill yours. Keep tabs on that team for us and give us a way to get rid of them."

Oliver sighed loudly. "I have some ideas-"

"Do you seriously have nothing else?"

"Well…given the information you gave me on the League, I think the most likely place they're set up is the League's old headquarters in Happy Harbor. If their precious children are there though, I'm certain the security is far above anything I can get past. Although I do have an idea on how to get information from the inside…. since I can't set foot in Gotham, I need something along the lines of a miracle to make it work."

"Then you'd better pray for a miracle, because if you don't give us a way in and get the information we need, then you don't get to have revenge on the League or get Roy back. Is that understood?"

Oliver leaned forward and grabbed his arrow, pointing it at Luthor, then glanced at the tablet. "Understood."