Finally getting the ball rolling again!
I don't own anything.
Flowers were bright, colorful things, and more than anything else she loved them. And the person who grows the most beautiful flowers that Cathy knows of is her great grandmother, who lives with her grandmother who is her mothers mother, who for some reason didn't live with her mothers father. She knows this but to her they are only Great and Grand.
The wind blows and the chimes sound as she sits in the dirt between the old women, short legs crossed and brown eyes locked on the cheerful yellow flowers that the others are ripping out.
"Why are we getting rid a the dandy lion?" she asks innocently, plucking a few yellow tuffs of on as she takes the newest pulled stock into the bag with the others.
"Because they're weeds," the oldest explains, digging out the roots, "and they hurt other flowers. So we get rid of them."
I love to smell flowers in the dark ... You get hold of their soul then.
Lucy Maud Montgomery
We were flying over the ocean in the Bioship, its dark waves moving constant rhythm as we soared above them like a ghost. It was out first official, covert, mission, to investigate strange happening on a drug dealing island called Santa Prisca. Bane, an old foe that Robin had mentioned a few times, was supposed to be in charge of the place, but the steroid making man was nowhere to be found. So our team was being sent in to investigate, equipped with little knowledge, but brand new stealth gear.
Miss Martian was at the controls while the rest of us sat around in varying parts of the semi-circle created by the ships paneling, strapped in for our own protection. It was quiet between us, the mental preparation and lack of distraction palpable.
After what seemed like eternity of anxious waiting and excitement we finally hit our first drop, and with an announcement from the green girl Aqualad stood up, pressing the A of his belt. It was an impressive feat of human technology that turned Kaldur's once red shirt a dark shade of grey, and will of an alien that dropped him through the floor and into the ocean bellow.
"Heat and motion detectors now patched. Move in," his voice came in over the comm links and we did so, now in camouflage mode, a nifty little trick of the Bioship.
"Drop zone B" M'gann told us, and the seat belts melted away into the organic ship. Lines came down for Robin and Kid Flash, who tapped his chest 'target' and turned his own suit darker, no longer the glaring yellow. They both hooked on their cables.
"Siege, you can do stealth mode right?" Dick looked at my costume and I followed his gaze. The green was a tad too bright to properly blend in, and the glowing would mean that I should avoid flying until cover was broken(which it would be, it always it) or an emergency came up. I could do without it though, I had spent most of my childhood in an environment where stealth equals life, so it wouldn't be too hard.
"You remember that my ring, which generates this suit, reacts to my will, right dear?" I couldn't help it, I had to show off a little. The bright green of the armor that covered my chest, shoulders, and back, as well as my boots/shin guards, and gauntlets darkened until they were the same green as trees at midnight, the lantern symbol on my chest dying with the same wave of will power until only that lanterns itself was still green, the white a dull grey.
While I was stroking my own ego Wally was trying to impress M'gann, who one upped him with Martian clothes. I wasn't sure if she was flirting back or just humoring Kid most of the time, but either way watching the love sick expression that over took him was a constant source of amusement.
"Hey Supey, not too late to put on the new stealth tech," the Speedster offered, green eyes turning to our Kryptonian teammate.
"No capes, no tight…no offense," his arms crossed over his chest and I shook my head, double checking that I was dressed dark enough.
"It totally works for you," Miss Martians comment made me stop and look to see her looking at Superboy in the same way Wally looked at her before embarrassment seemed to take hold, "In that you can totally do good work. In those clothes. Haha…" The green girl flashed him an awkward thumbs up and he just turned away, leaving her to pull her hood up and disappear. It was hard not to laugh at them.
Ah, young love.
Boy wonder made an annoyed sound and I took the hook Miss M had prepared for Superboy, who had refused it. Arrogant boy still had a lot to learn. I had to form a belt for it to clip onto, and ended up being the last on a rope to leave the ship.
We landed and barely had time to dive out of the way before the oh so subtle clone dropped down after us.
"Knew I didn't need a line," Supey commented smugly while robin and I glared at him from the tree we had both managed to land by.
"And yet, I don't think creating a seismic event helped us much on the covert part!" he scolded, M'gann making contact with Kaldur. I wasn't sure about our using out comms. They have been known to be hacked before.
I hissed a quiet curse and sat up from where I had landed, already bruised. Superboy was going to get us killed before we could even find a decent name for him. Robin and I wanted to name him Walter, but Wally but stubbornly set on Calvin.
"Language C.G." Rob taunted quietly as we fell into step. I was too busy looking around to call him a hypocrite. The trees were tall and the foliage was thick. I would have no problem in this environment, so similar it was to Cataria's.
I just hoped the water here was friendlier.
We crouched around Rob's holowatch as Aqualad explained that we would meet up just outside the factory in talk I was sure just to play with the fact that we were now on a secret mission. I was starting to get edgy with the surroundings, instinct and past experience calling for me to get out of the open and open myself to anything the area had. The vies would kill me, the dirt would give out, a Kla'or'rin would leap through the leaves and tear apart my team. Damn jungle paranoia.
From there the young bat took the lead as we made out way, surprisingly silently, through the jungle. I stayed in the trees except for when we had to make our way along a cliff, M'gann floating and the boys staying on foot. The feeling of bark and the rush of green had me set on what Wally refers to as Predator Mode, my senses heightened and flight-or-fight response going off at a constant. I was ready to spring as any second, poised to strike at whatever moved within three feet of me. The lenses of my mask were gone, revealing the ring induced glow of my eyes.
Robin was nice enough to inform me that it was creepy.
At once Superboy stopped and I paused on a branch, crouched and looking around for whatever had name him stop.
"Did you hear that?" he asked, voice hushed and blue eyes darting as rapidly as mine.
"Uh, no?" Kid Flash looked cluelessly as me, and I shrugged before he went on, "Is this one of those super hearing things?"
M'gann tossed in, "You do have great ears," and I thought she was going to disappear again. Poor girl had it bad, but a mission isn't the place to be flirting. Especially no one like this, though that might have been childhood instincts talking.
Wally looked back to Robin, who had as some point become our leader, only to find him gone like the little ninja he was trained to be. I wasn't sure if I should be proud or annoyed.
"Man I hate it when he does that," Wally grumbled, and Kaldur came in over the radio.
"Superboy, Kid, switch to infrared and see if you're being tracked," he ordered, and I climbed higher to see further. If we were being picked off it would take Batman himself to catch Robin and me unaware, but it was still a good idea.
"Got a squad of armed bozos incoming," Kid explained, and I followed his gaze. Shaped moved in the dark and my vision, much better in the dark than the light, picked up the gleaming of weapons and soldiers coming from the other side. Guard duty changes of the watch, I assumed, and jumped forwards in the trees to see better, keeping my knees and elbows always bent.
I didn't hear most of what happened next, only that Kid was ignoring advice and going closer, in search of Rob, and a second later he was hitting mud to fast, sliding straight into gun fire. Those squads were not on the same side, I could tell from where I had positioned myself above their heads. Robin dropped on the branch next to mine and we looked at each other for a second.
"Toss down some cover and get Central out of there," I hissed, and he did as I said, throwing down a smoke pallet and dropping to the ground at my side as we took out men from both groups, defending the clumsy speedster.
"What is wrong with you guys!" Dick cried, taking out two gunmen while Wally dodged agilely in the trees and Superboy threw a man into one, "Don't you remember covert?!"
Cover was blown but I was too caught up in the battle to remember that I had a ring in, too far in the past to pull punches as I twisted arms and broke noses, rips, and collar bones. Survival was the only thing on my mind as I was grabbed from behind, a hand clamped over my mouth and my arm twisted behind my back. I growled, surprising the man, and bit hard into his hand, breaking skin and tearing out flesh. He gave a sharp shout and threw me away from him, cradling his hand to his chest as I spit out the chunk I had taken off, blinking into the present and spitting copper tasting blood out of my mouth.
When I looked up it was over, and no one had seen my more instinct driven fighting, which was probably for the best. Humans, and Martians as well, tended to be a bit squeamish. The man I had bitten was now out cold, Kaldur standing over him as I pulled myself up, some of the adrenaline wearing off.
"I recognize those uniforms," Robin told us once we had all the men tied up in two neat, separate groups, "They're from the cult of the Cobra."
"I am sure Batman would have mentioned it if he knew there was a dangerous extremist running Santa Prisca's venom operation," Aqualad reasoned, and I crouched in front of one.
"Agreed," Robin sounded so professional, "and since there's clearly no love lost between Cobra and those goons, I'm betting Cobra came in and tossed them out."
"If that's true then it would explain the changes. Question is, what do they want with the Venom?" I looked over at the boys and the looked at each other before I turned to M'gann. We had given her some very confusing rules about telekinesis, ones my Lemyoire had never enforced with J'orm, but they were, as she had said, 'the bad guys'.
"She's right," Rob continued, arms crossing, "We don't leave. Not until I know why."
"Until you know why?" Wally accused, leaning down to match heights with our youngest member.
"This team needs a leader," he reasoned, and I stood up slowly. I could feel the argument coming on, and everything in me said to stop it. But he was right, we did.
"And it's you? Dude, you're a thirteen year old kid. Who ducked out on us without a word," at Wally's argument Dick just laughed.
"And you're a mature fifteen? You blew our cover first chance you got!" I tuned them out, pushing a hand through my hair and looking at the nearest tree while Aqualad stepped closer.
"You could lead us. You said that you have lead a group before," he offered, and I knew that I probably could get those two to listen to me, some how.
"I did. But those were vastly different circumstances. Well, maybe not, considering where we are now, but still. This is a team of heroes, not a group out to survive. Maybe you should do it? You think clearly and they respect you. Just don't take crap and give orders like they have no choice but to obey them," he was already shaking his head but before he could say anything else we found ourselves being laughed at.
"Such clever niños but you only know half the story," it was the man in the white mask, Bane I knew from photos, "Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance."
Miss Martian stepped out in front of him and lowered herself to the ground, eyes glowing white as she concentrated on reading his mind.
"There is a secret entrance, but he's also hiding something,"
"Ah, ah, ah, chica," he chided, smirking smugly, "Bane is not that easy." M'gann grimaced and broke the connection, pulling back.
"Ugh, he's mentally reciting football score, en español, this could take a while," she looked back at us and frowned.
"It's not complicated," he tried to reason, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"But once we rid you of them then we, as your enemies friends, once again become your enemies," he laughed and nodded at me, seeming amused that I knew how this worked.
"See, you understand!"
We looked at each other before Aqualad nodded, and the decision was made.