Another chapter! Yay! Surprisingly I coughed this one up pretty quick, but don't be too excited. It's pretty short. Hope you enjoy! Please leave a comment and tell me what you think!

oOo

12: Truth

May 30, 2016

Taos, New Mexico

I hit the ground hard. My elbow hit the hardwood at a weird angle, and I reached to rub it just as Arsenal landed on top of me, his metal arm smacking me in the nose.

"Get off me!" I shoved him hard, not really caring if I hurt him. I rubbed my tender nose. "Dude, totally not crash!" Arsenal glared at me, climbing to his feet.

We had been transported back to the apartment, which still looked as messy as we had left it. Tye groaned in front of me, rubbing his head which I assumed had smacked hard on the floor. After climbing to his feet he reached back down and helped Asami to her feet.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"Great!" Ed exclaimed, looking pointedly in my direction. "Now we're fugitives from the Justice League!"

"Hey! I didn't ask Miss Martian to dig around in my head!" I snarled.

"Yeah," Virgil added. "And I didn't hear you objecting when we were back there!"

"Didn't really have a choice, did I?" Virgil marched forward, getting right into the Hispanic boy's face.

"What were we supposed to do? Let them arrest Jade?!" And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the laptop on the coffee table blinked to life.

"So, am I right in thinking congratulations are in order?" Lex Luthor said smugly.

"Luthor!" Arsenal hissed. "You were running errands for him?!"

"Ah. You brought home a souvenir," Lex replied, a barely-audible edge to his voice. I groaned.

"Let me guess, you two have history together?" Arsenal turned to me.

"This guys the reason I'm missing eight years of my life and my arm!" he barked. I could see the wheels turning in his mind. "Don't you get it? He didn't care if you rescued the team! He was using you as a distraction to lure Black Beetle away from the Crystal Key so one of his other pawns could steal it!" he turned back to Luthor in rage, as if checking to see if his assumptions were correct. I wasn't sure what the Chrystal Key was, but Arsenal seemed to think it was a pivotal piece of information.

"Mm, Deathstroke's more of a bishop, actually, but I'm not sure I understand the problem," Lex replied, keeping his seemingly unbreakable cool. "You rescued the heroes and dealt a blow to the Reach, isn't that exactly what I promised you?"

"We're not pawns, Lex, and we're definitely not your pawns," I stepped forward, glaring at the screen. I spread my hands. "I think I can speak for all of us when I say we're not even players. We have our own war to fight, and I definitely won't be working under a king." Lex smiled.

"Was that supposed to be threatening?" he spoke as if scolding a child.

"No, it was actually one of my more heartfelt attempts at a goodbye," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. He did not look amused. "I have a slight problem with working under authority figures, so like a told the Jr. Justice League, stay out of my way."

Lex opened his mouth as if to respond, but Arsenal growled and lifted his arm, blasting the computer into tiny pieces. The rest of us jumped back in surprise.

"Whoa, dude!" Virgil exclaimed. Without a second thought, Asami brought out the Father Box and incinerated it with a purple energy blast.

"Well, I guess that means we're not allies anymore," Tye observed. Ed sat back on the couch, his face stunned.

"Wow, you have a habit of making enemies," Arsenal said, smirking at me. I scowled at him.

"You can shut your face. We're not buddies, or even comrades, and I don't really like you," I said pointedly. He only smirked, and I realized I was proving my point. Idiot.

"He's right, Jade." I looked towards the couch, where the quiet voice of Ed had spoken up. "Now not only are the Reach and the Justice League after us, you managed to make an enemy of Lex Luthor!"

"It's not like all of you were crazy about working with him, either. It was only a matter of time!" I defended myself.

"I got three words for you, Jade; Apartment. Computer. Father Box," Ed responded. "We wouldn't have survived without Lex!"

"Technically that's four words," Tye inserted. Ed looked at him.

"You're missing the point, amigo." Ed continued. "We would never have made it on our own for so long without him. The money we used for food, the med kit that saved you, even getting out of STAR, that was all his doing, and now you've gone and pissed him off!"

"I've survived way worse injuries than that bit of rock, so I wouldn't say that he 'saved me'," I protested.

"Why are you taking his side?" Virgil but in, stepping towards Ed. "Jade's our friend!"

"I'm not taking his side!" Ed jumped up from his seat.

"Well you're certainly not taking ours!" Virgil stepped closer until once again, the boys were nose-to-nose.

"Are they always like this?" Arsenal remarked to me dryly. I glared back up at him.

"Why don't you just shut your hole and stay out of this?" He just smirked and continued watching the argument.

"What Jade does is not everyone's side!" Ed retorted.

"Well it should be! We're a team, we're supposed to work together!" Virgil responded vehemently.

"Really? You can honestly say you agree with everything Jade's done? Don't you remember why she's here in the first place?!" At the words, Virgil physically balked.

"Anata no ryōhō ga chinsei-ka suru hitsuyō ga arimasu! Watashitachiha tomodachidesu!" Asami yelled as she placed herself between the boys. It was the most angry I had ever seen her. "Calm."

The boys glared at each other one last time before relaxing. Asami may have defused the situation, but it was already too late for me. In that moment I felt very small, very isolated. I knew I would be rejected, even put in prison for what I came to do, but it still hurt. For the first time since the argument started, Ed and Virgil seemed to notice me watching them. Virgil looked back at Ed and glared.

"Jade, I'm sorry, it's just that –" Ed started.

"No, I get it," I said, inching my way out of the room. "I'm just gonna go … uh … shower, or something," and with that weak excuse I fled the room.

oOo

Oh uh! Team's not so team-y anymore! Will Arsenal add to or help solve that problem? Find out next time on: "A Jaded Mission"!

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