Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Young Justice or any related characters or properties.
.:12:.
Drop Zone
GOTHAM CITY
JULY 21, 4:56 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
Dick's fingers flew across the keyboard, a small part of him musing that creating a quick program to scan for connections in the data would be much faster. Even so, he pressed on into the dead of night, driven with purpose that would benefit everyone.
Crossing data streams looking for information, any information, about Red Tornado and his potential enemies was actually quite difficult. Obviously, Red was an AI with an aptitude for technology that the Boy Wonder could never hope to achieve. The android had to be keeping detailed records somewhere, but it must not be in any of the Justice League's servers.
No. It has to be here. No way that Batman would ever let Red keep pertinent information on a more secure, private network. He's too untrusting.
He had a responsibility for his team to look into Mister Twister, to realize what the connection between the two androids was and to see if he could understand a motive.
Dick had several floating around in his head, and the one he'd narrowed his current focus to was the similar abilities. Both were created by T.O. Morrow, a true pioneer genius in his field. They each had similar abilities as well, which led to his purposed motive: Mister Twister was trying to best his "brother," to see which of Morrow's long-dead wind elementals were better. Dick could relate to wanting to be on top in that regard, so it seemed plausible.
He pulled up the best rendering he could of the robot piloting Mister Twister, which was a conundrum in and of itself. Was the pilot actually Twister, or was Twister not an android but just a suit of armor powered by one? And who built the pilot?
The endless loops fell on top of each other one by one, driving him insane even while he added pertinent information to a potential list. A glance to the clock reminded him that he'd spent several hours focusing on this, and while it was important, Red's nonchalance about the Team involving itself in his safety ran through his mind once more.
"No leads?"
Robin forced himself not to flinch as the Dark Knight walked into the Cave, his exposed face lit by the screen of blue light. A hand descended on his shoulder as he placed a cup of coffee by the keyboard, a gentle squeeze. Dick didn't know whether to feel like Bruce was supporting him or patronizing him, but the man didn't say anything, waiting on the boy to respond.
"No. I can't figure it out," he explained, before descending into full-blown madness trying to explain his theories for why Mister Twister would attack Red Tornado now, who or what sent him, and how he found the android member of the League. Bruce nodded once and eventually sat down, his face actually interested.
It took him a long moment to realize that the tables had turned. Batman and Robin had swapped roles in the detective game, and everything was so surreal for a quick moment before he forced himself to continue. Dick remembered something that Batman had said a few weeks ago, while investigating where Killer Croc would strike next. "Any ideas? A connection you see that I don't?"
Bruce immediately recognized his statement, and apparently the role reversal, because a hint of a smile came to his face. "It's a troubling situation, but one that the Team should not be facing. And one that you should not be facing alone."
Dick couldn't stop the frown from appearing on his face. "Don't say that. My team faced off against him, and-"
"Your team?"
Dick glanced up at him, a near scowl across his face before Bruce gave him an even look. The Boy Wonder sighed. "Are you trying to tell me that I can't lead the Team? I'm ready, and they all know it. It's my responsibility to hold them together, to investigate threats that we feel responsible for as a group. Our first one of those is Mister Twister."
Batman didn't say anything for a long few seconds, but eventually, he sipped his coffee and drifted back to meet the gaze of the computer. "As chairperson of the League, I manage the Team, and I could appoint a leader to handle field operations. However, Diana suggested that the Team itself choose its leader, as the League did in its early days."
"Obviously someone like me with the most experience would be the best choice," Robin stated with one hundred percent conviction.
"Perhaps that's true," Batman agreed. "But that is something that the Team itself should decide."
MOUNT JUSTICE
JULY 21, 9:25 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
Pulling it off the shelf on the bathroom, Naruto slid on the necklace containing the drachma before sliding into the rest of his uniform. The Atlantean wasn't sure where the League's supplier of specialized uniforms came from, beyond that Batman was somewhat involved. He supposed that the man had to have a ton of money to make it, but it could have been someone else's design as well.
He tapped the insignia on his chest, watching as the stealth tech activated and changed the color scheme from silver, black, and blue to a darker scheme of each color. He supposed that if he had to use his magic on a mission, it would be difficult to not reveal his position with his glowing arms.
Even so, he was glad to have it, and an excuse to help with his hand-to-hand training. He needed to be more well-rounded, because fighting against someone like Twister and like Kobra have seriously adjusted his priorities.
Making his way through the Cave, he passed a shirtless Superboy staring carefully in the mirror, standing almost inside the closet. He weakly waved and continued moving forward, hoping to avoid the death stare he received from someone with the powers of Superman.
"Okay...," he muttered, before remembering that the clone could probably hear him. Cursing silently, he considering pressing on before finally calling out, "Aqualad is supposed to be here very soon, for an early training session. Considering we're somewhere near your weight class, you should come!"
He heard shuffling and a potential groan, before the black-haired boy turned down the hallway to follow him, still sans shirt. Naruto laughed. "You should probably grab a shirt." Wouldn't want to give M'gann a heart attack if she chooses to join us.
The Kryptonian grunted once almost quietly before grabbing one and sliding it over his head quickly, passing through the small room carefully. Naruto clapped him on the back of the shoulder, gesturing toward the end of the hallway, while noting how normal that felt under his fingertips. He pondered whether or not to ask Wally if he knew how Kryptonian durability worked and how their skin was pliable at all, despite the name "Man of Steel."
Naruto approached the fight stage in the center of the room, the glowing white computer in the floor activating to the sound of his voice. He knew Kaldur would still be a few minutes later, so he eventually took a stance and met the clone's eyes. Naruto was ready for a challenge.
But Superboy wasn't. He stared apathetically to the training apparatus, not even meeting his eyes. "You sure you want to do this? I don't exactly see the point."
Naruto nodded. "You're right there, but it can't hurt to do it anyway. What else have you got to do? Stare into your closet mirror?"
The movement was shaky, all of the force-grown teen's body language projecting where he was going to attack from. Despite that, he moved fast enough in two bounds that he slammed his forearm into the Atlantean's neck, threw him to the ground, and then prepared to kick him in the head. A roar of anger was the only mercy from the clone that ended the bout, and the machine beeped with the message, "Status: Fail!"
Naruto coughed as the clone walked away from the fight. "Told you there was no point." Superboy disappeared into the hallway, leaving the other to wait until he could breathe painlessly again.
Remind me never to spar with him again ever, Naruto thought to no one in particular, out of his own sense of self-preservation.
M'gann flew into the room from the kitchen, her face concerned. "What's wrong? You okay?" She pulled him off the ground with an outstretched hand. "Did someone attack you?"
Naruto just laughed. "If by someone you mean our angry, brooding cave-mate, then yeah." He explained the situation to her. "It's not a big deal, I just didn't expect to make him angry like that."
She pondered it a moment. "If he would just take things less seriously, he would probably get along better with everyone here." M'gann frowned. "Oh, my tone was probably too negative! Sorry! After all, he's had a lot on his plate, probably more than anyone else here. It's all new to him."
Naruto smiled, coughing once more and rubbing his fingers across the skin of his neck. "M'gann, you don't have to defend him. I'm not going to run after him with a Kryptonite pitchfork."
She nodded once. "Yeah, I know. So do you want me to show you how to make those veggie wraps you liked at the bonfire so much?"
The Atlantean laughed, remembering the bonfire they had all made the night before. His stomach rumbled. "I would, but Kaldur's going to be here any minute now for a little bit of hand-to-hand training. You're welcome to join us. It can't hurt to be prepared."
M'gann took a few seconds to think about it and then nodded. "I'd like that very much."
MOUNT JUSTICE
JULY 21, 14:33 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
After half a day of goofing off and running through hand-to-hand drills, most of which included Naruto and M'gann getting thrown on their asses by the more highly-trained Atlantean, he supposed he shouldn't have been happy when his necklace began to burn across his sweaty skin, just painfully-enough to get his attention without causing him to yell out.
Leaving his poorly-made replica of M'gann's veggie wrap behind, he disappeared to his bedroom and pulled the necklace out of his shirt, revealing the ancient coin. It was shining slightly, glimmering with an unnatural golden hue, and he frowned at the idea of what it meant.
But before he could question it further, the hole in the center of the coin suddenly solidified with light and then projected outwards, revealing a misty six-inch tall golden hologram of Hermes from the neck up. The god looked distracted, despite contacting him, which irked Naruto to no end.
"Hello, traveler," the immortal said, earning a small scowl from the Atlantean.
"Lord Hermes," he said respectfully, despite the look on his face. Even if he didn't like the guy, he had to respect him out of fear that he would be vaporized into oblivion.
"Oh, I think I'm going to like you," the man said, his Greek dialect interesting to interpret.
"Why are you contacting me?"
The god raised an immaculate eyebrow. "Why not?" After it didn't get a laugh, he resigned himself. "Fine. If you must know, we are running out of time."
"What do you mean?"
"The other players are making their moves," Hermes said. "I apologize that I cannot explain it to you in more clear terms, but I'm walking on eggshells here just reaching out to you. Until you have been struck by divine lightning, I don't think you'll be able to understand how careful I have to be."
The blonde frowned, all of this a lot to take in. A few years ago, he didn't think it was even possible for gods to exist beyond theoretical ideals to teach morality. Seeing they were flesh and blood and could physically interact with the real world was very difficult to wrap his head around. "Look, unless you have something concrete, could you please refrain from pestering me?"
Hermes peered at him through narrowed eyes. "Did you just make a demand of a god?"
"No!" Naruto nearly shouted through his fear, a shot of adrenaline rushing through his body. "No, Lord Hermes."
The messenger god finally nodded. "I have it on my authority that Kobra is traveling. I am not allowed to speak of whereto- confidentiality, you see, between patron and client. Something that Rome adopted from our system, actually - but someone let me know that he will cross your path in the very near future."
The notion was terrifying for several reasons, but he took a moment to reflect when the god did not speak further. "Thank you for letting me know, I suppose. Is there anything that you can tell me about him? You promised information that I need to know about him."
"At the moment, no."
"Really? I don't know why I am even agreeing to do any of this for you," he muttered. "Can't we both help each other out with this, rather than me helping you and getting nothing back?"
The hologram flashed with golden yellow light as Hermes' expression shifted with intensity. Naruto was unsure if he should be worried, but the idea of looking at the image of him was incredibly uncomfortable all of a sudden. His instinct was to hurl the coin away from him, as though the image of the god would reach out and tear his throat out with his teeth. Because Hermes was divine, he supposed that would be entirely within the realm of possibility; he shuddered at the thought.
"All I can tell you at this moment is that Kobra has been influenced by your home realm through you," Hermes explained after a long moment. Naruto had assumed as much based on how Kobra worded it. "If you can figure out what that means, then I will confirm it for you.
"But I do want to tell you that your place in this is incredibly important; I cannot stress this enough. Your interactions with the League put you in the perfect position to intervene on a level far beyond someone like Kobra." Naruto's eyes widened. "Quite frankly, I do not know whether or not you have the power alone to make a difference. But perhaps you can help those who do."
The odd coin call ended, the metal going cold and returning to its normal, almost rusted luster. The boy sighed lightly, confused and worried about what any of this could mean. A sudden thought ran across his mind, and he cursed that he hadn't asked the obvious question already.
But how soon was the 'very near future'?
MOUNT JUSTICE
JULY 22, 15:16 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
The Team gathered to watch Batman deliver intelligence about their first official operation as the covert operations arm of the Justice League. Holographic screens swirled with activity, morphing based on voice and by touch, to reveal all they had gathered about an island nation in the Caribbean Sea.
Robin glanced toward the Team, trying to see how they were feeling. Wally was stupidly confident, his fingers twitching to signify that he probably needed food but had to refrain- wait, no, he took a bag of chips and started to munch on them in the middle of a debriefing. Kaldur was calm and collected, completely ready for the task at hand; his analytical mind was impressive. Miss Martian was holding one arm across her body, displaying defensive tendencies that he noted to ask her about later. Superboy looked ready to go, perhaps even more confident than Wally, which was saying something; at least the guy had the muscle to back it up. Naruto was staring off into space, suggesting distraction or preoccupation, like there was something external he worried about.
"Isla Santa Prisca," Batman explained, zooming in on a topological map of the area. "This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neo-steroid..."
Robin's attention trailed off as Batman continued relaying information he already knew about Bane's drug, going through scenarios of what to do in this situation. He already knew how Batman would expect them to operate, moving in and out of sight before they could blink an eye. He had never seen or fought Bane in person, but he did read the case file of how Batman once ran across venom-enhanced criminals in the Latino's employ.
"This is a covert, recon mission only," Batman continued, making a pointed glance in Wally's direction as the speedster continued to eat loudly. "Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will."
Robin supposed that made sense, although if they were already there, he figured that the Team could impact the factory. If they planned it correctly, they might could even dismantle it, perhaps by destroying their servers or taking pieces of important equipment. All without the island even knowing they were there. Robin almost grinned at the idea, but held back knowing that the others probably wouldn't have the kind of training necessary to not get caught. Even so, if he could play it correctly, he could probably do it all himself.
The map highlighted with their planned drop zones, one in the ocean and one on a forested hill near the center of the island, two clicks from the probable location of the factory. Robin played through the purposes of the drop zones in his mind, knowing exactly why and what they could be used for.
"So one for Kaldur and Naruto to knock out the detection sensors along the beaches," M'gann commented through the mental link, an unfamiliar but not painful sensation to Robin; at Kaldur and Naruto's suggestion, they used her telepathy quite a bit, an upgrade over traditional radios, as far as anyone else was concerned. "But why go in the center? Why not come in behind the two of them, or drop along the beach?"
Superboy crossed his arms defensively. "Hutier infiltration tactics, developed in the first World War."
"Uh... Supey, you okay? You sounded a bit like Mister Twister or Red Tornado there," Wally said into the link, glancing toward the clone with legitimate concern. Robin frowned, knowing that the information was pre-programmed by the telepathic Genomorphs.
"He is right," Kaldur explained. "By attacking from two fronts and getting behind enemy lines with a smaller force, we cause confusion for the others to retaliate. If they hit the four of you hard, Naruto and I can meet and turn the tide, or vice versa, by attacking from behind."
Batman suddenly cleared his throat, looking at the six of them curiously before staring at M'gann. "Well, that's certainly a tactic we have only used sparingly, but I see that you might be using it a bit more than we do. Know, however, that sometimes her telepathy is not something you can use effectively in every situation."
"An interesting phenomenon," Tornado declared. "I imagine that it was useful against Mister Twister?"
Robin nodded, about to open his mouth before Wally cut in, speeding over to place a hand on her shoulder. "Miss Martian here is brilliant! Her powers are one of a kind." M'gann smiled, embarrassed to be praised in front of everyone.
"An incorrect statement," Tornado stated, and the look of confusion on Kid Flash's face made Robin chuckle audibly, joining Naruto. "The Martian population is two point seven billion, concentrated in only sixteen cavernous communities, each with a population density ranging between thirteen and twenty seven people per square kilometer. Possession rates of telepathy estimate a near ninety-five percent of the population."
Wally just frowned nervously. "Well, maybe not one of a kind on Mars, but on Earth, she's only got her uncle to contend with."
"There are several recorded human users of telepathy on Earth," Tornado continued, but Batman raised a hand.
"Later," he said. "Focus on the mission."
It took a moment for Robin to really think, but after considering Batman's words from the other night, he turned to the Team. "So... does anyone have a problem with me being the leader?"
The five of them turned to each other, a sudden outcry of thoughts pouring into the mental link and overwhelming it. When everyone suddenly clutched their foreheads in pain, Batman nodded once. "That's one of the disadvantages to her telepathy."
CARIBBEAN SEA
JULY 22, 20:08 ECT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
Naruto was anxious for how this was going to actually happen, if at all. The flight to the island had been extremely quiet after the argument finally subsided, and after a time, everyone eventually just agreed they would follow Robin's lead, while helping whoever was assigned to the task they were. It wasn't a very solid plan with specific tactics in place or a specific system for orders, but Naruto was just ready for this thing to get over with.
He wasn't expecting anything particularly exciting, assuming everything follows ideally. He doubted it would work that perfectly, but who knows? Perhaps the Team would work more fluidly than he imagined; the mental link would help, considering how there was almost no risk involved in sending a message, but it would have to be carefully orchestrated to avoid the flooding effect.
Even so, he twisted his neck around to give M'gann a small smile, sharing a nod with Robin. The Martian tightened her grip on the control orbs, glowing light blue under her grasp in the captain's chair. "We're approaching Santa Prisca."
The HUD on the window in front of them lit up, revealing some small information about the island that mostly confirmed what they already knew from their original debriefing. They descended below the cloud layer, and within a few moments, Naruto suspected it was his time to shine. "Drop Zone A in thirty."
Standing up from his chair, which morphed to fold back into the floor, Naruto clasped hands with Kaldur for a brief moment and shook them. "See you fools in a minute," he muttered, and activated his stealth gear at the same time that Kaldur did. As soon as M'gann communicated that they were in camouflage mode, the two holes in the floor opened beneath the Atlanteans' feet, dropping them into the expanse below.
The moment the water touched his skin, diving as hydro-dynamically as possible as to avoid an excessive sound, Naruto sighed with relief and continued forward, glad to see Kaldur at his side. The Atlantean signaled to move forward, keeping their voices to a minimum in case of sonic detection.
Naruto knew his wind sorcery wasn't available to him at this point in the mission, as the bubble effect underwater would be noticeable on the surface. When they came upon the huge netting that they needed to cut through to approach, he felt a bit bad sliding through the hole that Aqualad's sword of water slashed open. He kicked hard to keep up with his friend, his young stature and smaller musculature enough to hold him back a few meters.
The second he felt it, heard a sound, something was wrong, as they passed over a ridge lined with odd coral far below. His eyes could see them, but they hadn't seen him yet; even so, he was one hundred percent aware that it could spot them at any moment and stop them.
"Look below," he stated, reminded of Kaldur's explanation of what happened the night they saved Superboy. "Cadmus takes on a whole new meaning. Or maybe it lines up with the old one. Remember what you said?"
As Aqualad's eyes widened, they realized very quickly that deep below them, there were three serpentine creatures, of a different breed than the leviathan he ran across before. Finned wings lined their shorter bodies, and it was clear that either the books were wrong or Ismenian dragons are much smaller than they appeared. Despite that, neither of them wanted to face the creatures, and after a few seconds, they managed to get away as best they could.
When Kaldur motioned upward, and then immediately kicked off from the sandy floor to jump high overhead, Naruto followed him, tumbling through the night air. His tattoos glowed with light as he controlled his fall, an air current shoving his body in line so that he would land on his feet.
Aqualad pulled the device from his back, attaching it to the machine. After a short moment of hesitation, the machine beeped with their triumph. "Heat and motion sensors are patched. Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in."
Naruto stared at him, unsure of how to really function in this world as more discoveries continued to shift them. The mythologies were probably all true to some extent, including all of their monsters and demons. He supposed he should be grateful that he had only run across Greek monsters so far, because at least he knew the general stories that they grew up on. Aqualad knew more.
"They looked like they were still growing, but this can't be a coincidence. Kobra is here."
The older boy shook his head. "I would not go that far just yet, but it seems likely. Perhaps there is simply a worldwide return of monsters, and it is merely a coincidence."
It would certainly seem like there was a worldwide return of gods as well, because for a long period of time, it was exceedingly difficult to talk to any of the Olympians, requiring special access to the Aegis on Paradise Island. Now, it seemed that at least one of them was making direct contact, alongside all these other mythological monsters suddenly attacking him. Is this related to my situation with Hermes? Does Kobra have mythological sea-serpents on speed-dial or something?
SANTA PRISCA
JULY 22, 20:16 ECT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
The hole in the Bio-Ship's floor opened at Miss Martian's command, and immediately, she, Robin, and Kid Flash dropped from it, the latter two tethered to it to control the fall. Robin gave her a small smile the second he dropped, admiring the way Martian technology worked and was so mutable; it was unlike anything that Wayne Tech could do, and he was intrigued.
But seconds after landing, it was by sheer luck that the three of them split-up to avoid Superboy's landing, shaking the earth and kicking up dust from sheer force. Robin scowled as he pulled himself to his feet.
"Knew I didn't need a line," the clone stated, smirking in the small crater he created from his landing.
"And yet, creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the covert!" Robin half-whispered, half-said. This mission was going to fall apart if they didn't do something soon; the others, especially Superboy, needed Captain Atom's stealth ed pronto.
"Riptide, Aqualad, Drop B is go!" the Martian said into the mental link.
"Head for the factory," he stated. "We'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."
"Full disclosure, there's something… odd going on. Anyone familiar with Ismenian Dragons?"
The four heroes stared at each other before Wally practically coughed with disgust. "Dragons aren't real, Riptide. Just misinterpretations of fossils."
"Well, you're dead wrong, KF. There are at least three of them in the ocean around the island right now. Cadmus was the hero who famously defeated one of them in the city of Thebes."
Robin's eyes narrowed at the name, trying to decide if Naruto was just joking around or if he was serious about a dragon. Superboy's fists clenched, muscles tightening impulsively in the rainy jungle. "Understood. I know you aren't going to want to hear this, but all of this can't be a coincidence. The leviathan, Cadmus, Kobra, and now this… it's all connected!"
The flooding effect kicked in once more, a small amount of near painful discomfort fired like feedback, as everyone tried to express their emotions together. "We should rethink this plan," M'gann stated when the link cleared enough for everyone to think rationally again. "It's not too late to turn around and call for backup. This seems far too big for us to handle alone."
"And abandon the mission?" Robin shouted.
"Rob's right! That's not happening," KF agreed.
"I'm not stopping until they are all unconscious under my feet," Superboy said. "If they truly are related to Cadmus, they deserve it."
Aqualad was the voice of reason. "Focus on the mission at hand. Observe and report. You heard Batman."
Robin was already planning. "Yeah, yeah, but we can't lose this opportunity to investigate something bigger. We're already here, so let's figure out as much as we can." He turned to the three of them standing behind him, looking at the GPS signals of the two Atlantean teammates stalking toward them. "Meet us pronto."
"Got it," Riptide replied.
SANTA PRISCA
JULY 22, 20:37 ECT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
Running through the forest, Kaldur and Naruto focused only on the pathway ahead. This mission was already going south, for various reasons. For one thing, the damn dragons that could rush onto land at any point were an issue. If they weren't careful, the two Atlanteans could be blindsided by creatures that probably shouldn't exist.
And now, they just got a warning that Kid Flash and Superboy discovered armed guards wearing cloaks by scanning ahead, which was even more terrible when considering that their impromptu leader predictably vanished. This mission was falling apart already, and they hadn't gotten any information relevant to the drug's production yet.
Aqualad shared a glance with Naruto. "Don't use the radios," Robin shouted a warning into their heads. "Wrist computer is picking up interference, maybe even a jammer. Miss M, I apologize for ever doubting how brilliant this is."
Kaldur's eyes opened wide, but Naruto beat him to the punch. "If signals are being jammed, does that mean that they know we're here?"
As though to answer the exact question, Riptide barely managed to get out of the way as a grenade incinerated the area between the two of them. Instinctively, even as pain wracked his eardrums, he shoved outward and blocked the heat with a blast of wind, diverting all of it to the south.
In nearly the same instant, gunfire peppered all around the island, echoing as seemingly every single guard caught on in the same moment. Kaldur rolled toward him and threw up his water-bearers, a shield covering him and Naruto from the spray fire.
"Shit," Kid Flash offered. "My fault. Tried to go after one of the guards stealthily and fell underneath one of their vantage points. Ground is muddy from the rain earlier."
"No use explaining it now," Robin shouted. "Everyone move to the location I am marking to the map! We're stronger together!"
Superboy's inexplicable scream into the mental link made Naruto shudder, even as he prepared his next move, deflecting another incendiary grenade. The blonde tried to ignore the ringing in his ear, even as Kaldur tried to say something to him. "They're going to burn down the whole island if they keep doing that. Be careful, M'gann."
"Will do, Naruto." Her weakness to fire was well-known to the Team, and Kaldur and Naruto weren't very happy to be around it either. More prolonged exposure to the heat would dry them out, sap their cells of the extra water required to keep them alive.
Gunfire continued to rattle the area, and Kaldur ran forward into the thick of it, his superhuman strength enough to stop untrained thugs. When the older boy threw one of them into the clearing, Naruto whipped his head around in the middle of blocking bullet, unsurprised to see the source but still utterly terrified.
Those serpentine eyes flickered through Naruto's eyes, remembering how odd and pervasive they felt… It was like staring down a predator who knew exactly how to stalk and kill their prey. He froze in the memory of those eyes, those stark yellow eyes.
"It's the Cult of the Kobra!" Kaldur yelled to the others.
Naruto didn't move, he couldn't bring himself to. The drachma was almost painfully heavy, a phantom sensation of burning against his chest. Hermes was right… Hermes was right…
"No way did Batman know about this," Robin declared. "He would have told us if he did, because Kobra is grade-A League material."
"I'm sure I can handle him," Superboy stated.
"If Batman can't take care of him, do you think you can?" Robin challenged.
"Please," Superboy scoffed.
A bullet slammed into the ground in front of the Atlantean, barely missing his leg by inches, before Kaldur jumped in front of him with his shield out-stretched, kneeling down to block and defend him. "Riptide! Snap out of it!"
He shook himself out of his fear and immediately called on the winds to move around him. With each movement of his glowing arms, he hurled entire columns of wind into the trees, knocking cultists from their perches. Every pretense of stealth was gone from his mind; he didn't know what really drove him to move, whether it was to run or to fight. But he ran forward, dragging Kaldur forward even as a volley of slugs followed after him, unable to get close as he summoned a silver panel of hardened air.
"Thank you, Kaldur." He thought back to the mental conversation. "Guys, Robin might be right about him. I'm… not sure how powerful he is now. I think he used me to upgrade himself."
"What does that mean? Humans don't just download the latest Java update for themselves," Wally said indignantly.
"I wish I knew how he did it," Naruto said, forcing himself to not add that he knew where he might get that information.
The two Atlanteans strove through the trees, guided by Kaldur's glowing GPS marker on his belt that was probably showing exactly where they were to anyone around. A sudden group of three cultists near a waterfall whirled around and aimed their rifles, but Naruto continued to run toward them, leaped into the air, and then slammed between them, a shockwave of silver air spiraling outward from him. They were knocked off their feet and into the path of the waterfall, and both Atlanteans worked together to use the water to their advantage, bending the force of the water pressure to knock them unconscious. Fishing them out of the river was easy, dropping them on the riverbank and crushing their communicators.
"Do you ever feel sorry for henchmen?" asked Riptide curiously.
Aqualad peered at him. "Hmm. I once had a conversation with my parents about this. We concluded that they made their choices and that they were just as complicit as their employers. But even then, I can see where there is room for sympathy. After all, one's life has to have gone down a dark road for someone like Kobra to sound enticing. Not many clear-headed individuals join cults."
Naruto nodded, staring at the black mask covering a woman's face. He fought down the urge to be afraid of her because of her association with her leader. He didn't quite accept Kaldur's view, but it was hardly the time to consider it. More gunfire sounded ahead, very close and beyond that ridge.
"They're just up ahead!" the other Atlantean shouted, urging them forward once more.
SANTA PRISCA
JULY 22, 20:48 ECT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
When they finally regrouped with the two Atlanteans, Robin and Kid Flash had just finished tying up the group they had just stopped. Superboy watched over them out of the corner of his eyes, daring them to make a move if they regained consciousness.
Avoiding the mental link, Robin was glad to finally begin rounding down everything they knew. "Make sure we watch the perimeter."
"We know, Rob. You don't to tell us what we already know," Wally stated, as he, M'gann, and Superboy began to look around and listen, the odd infrared goggles sitting over KF's eyes.
The acrobat stared at his best friend in frustration, annoyed beyond belief that he was being so obnoxious. "Whatever. So let's start from the beginning. The point of this is to figure out why normal supply lines have been cut off, and this island supposedly is the source of Venom."
"Sounds like Kobra was calling the shots," Superboy stated.
"He does have a snake motif," Miss Martian added. "Venom makes sense as a name, doesn't it?"
Robin considered the evidence. "Not really sure it actually fits. Of course, it's perfectly reasonable that maybe he doesn't feel the need to use Venom anymore to create super-cultists or whatever else he was going to do." He stared at the shark-toothed Atlantean, who raised an eyebrow. "He was well-trained enough to go toe-to-toe with my mentor and walk away nearly unscathed. You gave him superpowers."
Everyone shot back to stare at Naruto, who nodded but seemed angry for some reason. "Hey, it's not like I meant to do it! I didn't even know what the hell he was doing."
Robin frowned. "You still got into that situation because you were in over your head. Bottom line, you don't have the experience-"
The Atlantean rolled his eyes, glancing between him and Kid Flash. "Way to bring my age into this again. You two really are joined at the hip; do you actually think for yourselves or do you just parrot each other?"
"Hey! I thought we'd gotten past that, but you're dragging me back into it!"
"And I'll do it again because you're obviously going to jump in to defend Robin!"
The three of them continued to argue, and Robin felt like he was on the cusp of victory, until Aqualad walked in between them. "Enough!" The tone of voice and look on his face was seriously enough to make Robin quiver where he stood. "This has gone too far."
"Robin, we all begrudgingly agreed to follow your lead on this, but if you cannot remove your pettiness over matters that were beyond our control, then you cannot make effective decisions as a leader. How can you expect us to feel comfortable following your lead if you are going to throw our unity under the bus by blaming us for our mistakes in the middle of a mission? This is neither the time, nor the place to hold any of us accountable, especially someone who couldn't control that situation to even be responsible."
The words needed to be said. Robin immediately recognized that, and even though he considered trying to argue, he caught himself and stopped, sighing. "Fine. You're right. I'm sorry for bringing that up, and I'm sorry for holding that against you. It was wrong to do so."
"It's not really fine, because I bet that it'll come up again. But I'll accept your apology for now."
It took them a long moment for anyone to say anything, and Robin truly felt terrible. How could I be such an ass?
"So what now?" M'gann asked.
Robin was already there, the question shocking him from his reverie. "Now, we investigate the factory. We still nee-"
"No," Kaldur stated, earning a surprised look from nearly everyone. "The purpose of the mission is to gain knowledge of Santa Prisca's drug operation. However, we have landed ourselves in a situation where we are far outmatched. We have dragons just off the coast, and this man is a powerful threat, someone who was already strong enough and smart enough to evade and thwart the League's efforts to stop him. Now, according to Naruto's reports, he displays numerous abilities that, although untested, could be too much for any of us to handle." He glanced toward Superboy. "Even you."
"What abilities are we talking about here?" asked Kid Flash.
The blonde Atlantean looked around, trying to remember. "I'd say enhanced strength, speed, and malleability, but there could be more. Does anyone know who Plastic Man is?" Only Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash nodded. "He was able to stretch his body to attack me, like he had become part snake. I don't know how he compares or even how strong Plastic Man is, if he is at all, but when we fought, the only I could do was give Kobra a few scratches. He was overwhelming me at every turn and resisted nearly everything I did." Naruto gulped. "I was- am terrified, plain and simple, like he could have done anything to kill me and he wouldn't have hesitated at all."
Robin knew exactly where Riptide was coming from. Every time Robin fought a super-powered criminal, even with Batman at his side, the fear never left. Never. It didn't matter who it was, it never left.
No one replied for a long few seconds, before Kaldur finally cleared his throat. "Because of this reason, I suggest that we head back and call for the League."
"No!" Robin shouted, earning a nod from Superboy. "I'm okay with getting out of here, but at the same time, we don't know enough yet! And we can't even be sure that Kobra is here. His cultists are, but how do we know he is? After all, he seemed to have a secret base in Coast City a few weeks ago, where he fought with Riptide. He could be anywhere!"
Superboy looked up. "I'm with Robin on this one."
"Me too," Kid Flash agreed, still scanning the area with his goggles.
"But even if what you say is true, Robin, we can't be sure that he didn't spread those new abilities around," Naruto explained. "We don't have any idea how it works, if he could do that or not, if he'd have to use me again, or even if it was a onetime thing. There could be like fifty cultists with similar powers, or even fifty more cultists on Venom. "
Robin frowned. Naruto was right, and fighting fifty people on Venom would be incredibly dangerous, something that they would need more heavy hitters for. Superboy was strong and a virtually invulnerable tank, Miss Martian had the most powers and interesting diversion potential, Kid Flash was fast enough to get out of danger and hit people before they see him coming, and both Riptide and Aqualad were very trained in different aspects of their sorcery and physiology. Robin himself wasn't anywhere near their level in the event of fighting a hypothetical army of fifty super-powered cultists. But even if they all worked together, fighting an army of fifty would be suicide, even without counting the three mythological dragons. The League could handle it, but could they?
"All right. If we play this correctly, I think we can still get some more information. Maybe I can hack into travel records or maybe their supply records, while you create a diversion. We can still figure out information about why shipping is being disrupted, and figure out where Venom is going," Robin stated, before raising his hand to stop their objections. "I'm not saying we have to do this. But there might be ways to make it work so that we get out of this alive with the information we need to fulfill the mission objectives. As it is now, we are leaving our assignment unfinished, and if we want the League to take us seriously, then we need to complete the tasks at hand." He paused when everyone looked up to each other to see what they were all thinking. "Again, it's not something we have to do. If we're not whelmed about it, we can back out now. I'm sure the League will praise us for having self-preservation."
The night air was warm, and the clouds were gathering again as though preparing to start raining again. Everything around them seemed to continue as normal, the ecosystem unchanged by their situation, with SB and KF glancing around at the perimeter of their small clearing, listening and looking for trouble coming.
Aqualad turned to Riptide. "How do you feel about this? If we move forward, there's a chance that you could run into him again."
"All things considered, I don't know. I don't want to be anywhere near him again; I only got away last time because he can't breathe underwater. If he fought me on land, I bet he'd beat me again, and I'd be dead. And I think if he tried hard enough, he might could kill any of us."
Superboy huffed as though to challenge him, but the others were still affected by his words.
"But if the five of you want to try to complete the mission, then I won't abandon you. If we ran away from any kind of life-threatening odds all the time, then we'd get out of the business of fighting super-powered bad guys. And as much as I love it, I'm not interested in becoming a boiled wakame chef."
SANTA PRISCA
JULY 22, 21:05 ECT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
The plan was sound, and fool-proof if they played it correctly. Unfortunately, it required everyone to split-up again, but it had more purpose this time. It was much more clear what everyone's roles were, and honestly, Kaldur was brilliant.
He'd taken command now. As soon as Kaldur's plan was brought up, with a tiny tweak or two from Robin, everyone sort of realized that it was always going to be Aqualad. He was the leader, and until someone else was ready to step up, he'd remain the leader. And Naruto could never have been more proud for him; he deserved it.
If this plan worked, it was because they all handled their individual parts in the whole and could use M'gann's telepathy to help adjust if needed, by telling people when to adjust. Their teamwork was making Naruto feel like he might actually make it out of this alive.
The six of them had found the top of a cliff overlooking the factory, and Robin pulled high-tech binoculars out of his pack. Superboy angled closely and listened, and Kid Flash still kept a look out for anyone who might interfere with them from behind.
The people below were moving around, several cultists carrying crates and setting them up on what looked like tarmac outside the huge building. Kobra was nowhere in sight, thankfully, because that proved that this mission might go off a bit better.
"Look at all that product!" Robin stated. "A buy is going down. But if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects, then-"
"We need to identify that buyer," Aqualad added. "That adds a new wrinkle in the plan. Looks like the buyer will be coming by air, on that landing pad."
Naruto glanced toward them. "What do we do? If it's a copter, I can probably knock it out of the sky." Controlling the drafts between the propellers, even for a few seconds, would be enough to bring that down. It would be much harder to do it for a plane, but Naruto might could do that too if he had enough prep time.
"We'll consider it," Kaldur stated after a few minutes of consideration. "Is everyone ready to go?" They all glanced toward the factory and nodded after a time. "Miss Martian, Kid Flash, and Robin, call the cloaked Bio-Ship and get ready for your move. The rest of us will prepare for our own."
As soon as the other three members had disappeared in the ship, aiming toward the back end of the factory, Naruto nodded to the other two. "I'm ready when you are."
"Good," Superboy stated, slamming his fists together. "I'm ready for some action."
Naruto smirked. "You might not be so ready if Kobra calls for the dragons."
"I can handle them."
He couldn't argue with the clone's confidence. It made him feel so much better about this entire situation to know that Superboy wasn't afraid. Aqualad didn't seem to be afraid either, so Riptide decided to man-up and stop his shaking hands. "All right, let's go."
The three of them immediately jumped off of the cliff, the Kryptonian going much farther off of it than they did. He smacked against the rocks about halfway down, and then jumped again with both legs, arching toward the canopy.
Naruto and Kaldur stuck closer together, using his winds to control their descent. It was much slower, and required far more stops along the cliff, but in short bursts, the two Atlanteans landed on the forest floor and streaked towards the factory. Each time that Superboy landed on the ground, the sound was incredibly loud, enough to get their information.
"The three of you may proceed," Kaldur stated in the mind-link, just as the first wave of cultists fired into the tree line.
SANTA PRISCA
JULY 22, 21:11 ECT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
Robin turned to M'gann just as Kaldur gave the word, holding the blue and red USB drive in hand. She stood at the back of the Bio-Ship, along with Kid Flash, as she took the device from him. "Get inside and find a control room of some kind, with a port that will fit; unless Kobra has a more powerful firewall than Batman, which he doesn't, it should only take a few minutes to wipe their systems clean. KF will be able to find you with your GPS to get you out of there the moment that you get in trouble, just give the word."
Robin honestly wasn't sure he felt completely ready to force her to do this, especially alone, because she didn't have the kind of experience with this as he did. But he didn't have her abilities, and no one could deny that it was ingenious.
She nodded. "Got it. Just a little nervous for everyone else." Placing the hood of her stealth uniform over her face, she faded from sight until only a very thin, blurry outline was left.
"They'll be okay, and you're going to do great," KF said, giving her a thumbs-up. The girl took a moment to breathe and then opened the back of the Bio-Ship, floating into the tree line and directly for the factory only a few meters away.
"She'll be fine, right?" asked KF.
Robin nodded. "Yeah, of course. She has to be."
SANTA PRISCA
JULY 22, 21:15 ECT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
This was a terrible mistake, Naruto realized as a bullet grazed his shoulder, a small cut more than anything else. He returned the attack with a horizontal arc of air, throwing three cultists back toward the pavement as they were pummeled by the silvery blast.
The Kryptonian clone smashed into the concrete from above, screaming out once as several tried to pepper him with bullets, but all of them were nothing to him. Naruto suddenly remembered the training session from earlier, realizing that his physiology might as well have been cheating. With an amused frown, he ran up behind the clone to use his body as a defense, before flipping outward and sending several blades of wind with every movement of every limb, cart wheeling back toward the tree line to his right.
Superboy gave him a nod before he immediately ran toward the factory like an unstoppable machine, an incendiary grenade going off right in front of him, the flames not enough to even give him pause. Naruto frowned more deeply, a tiny bit annoyed that the clone didn't seem to see how serious this was. He was having fun while going up against someone who terrified Riptide so much, and it didn't seem fair.
"Helicopter's coming," Superboy said.
"Found an access port," Miss Martian said with a nervous twinge of fear. A few seconds later, "Program's starting to hack through all security measures."
Naruto was glad that the plan was working, and could tell that everyone was itching to get out of here, for the Bio-Ship to swing around and pick them all up to head home. He angled toward where he could barely hear the helicopter coming toward them, which became more and more clear.
The Atlantean darted toward the trees again, finding a secret place where he could potentially attack it from without getting into trouble. He avoided the places where bullets continued getting fired, hiding behind a log just as the projectiles ripped through the area where he had just been standing. "Aqualad, I can take that thing down. Just need a few seconds to focus."
"Can you do it without harming any passengers?"
"Um, I don't know, but it's going to land soon, so I need to do it now if we're going to do that." If M'gann wasn't busy, she could probably halt its descent if she worked alongside Naruto.
"Don't," he stated after a long moment of consideration. "We cannot risk not getting the information we need."
"Got it."
When the helicopter finally did land, Superboy ignored the cultists and shot right toward it. "I'll get the-" Immediately, the clone was shoved out of the way by what could only be a huge monster of a man, tackling into the clone and firing him halfway across the tarmac.
"That looks like the Blockbuster formula!" Kaldur said from where he was crouching behind cover, a couple dozen meters to Naruto's left.
Despite the fact that Kid Flash probably couldn't see from just inside the Bio-Ship, he gasped mentally. "If you're right, then there's the connection to Cadmus."
Naruto ignored the stinging pain of his healing, his magic taxed for a few seconds as they healed the gunshot wound. He watched carefully as the monster stalked toward Superboy, trying not to think too much about the specifics and more about battle and how he could help.
The red-headed giant looked very similar to what happened to Dr. Desmond, his skin torn in places and revealing the tightly-corded muscles underneath. He slammed Superboy into the pavement, and Kaldur rushed forward with a mace and shield, blocking the ballistics and then slamming hard into the creature.
Superboy pulled himself up and then jumped toward the stumbling giant, a fist hitting him as hard as he could manage and hurling him toward the helicopter. He shouted angrily and then bounded toward it, leaping twice and then slamming another fist into the creature, denting the metal vehicle behind him.
Immediately, the door to the copter swung open and there was suddenly a javelin thrown toward the clone. The metallic object was nothing to Superboy, until he grabbed it to throw it back and it exploded, hurling him away.
Kaldur ran toward the mysterious stranger, and Naruto begged for his healing to speed up, and the assailant spun out of the vehicle with both feet outstretched, kicking the Atlantean's shoulder hard and throwing him to the dirt.
Riptide had no idea who this guy, the buyer, was, but his outfit was blue and black, with an armored look that matched the gray hockey mask that covered his face and left his blonde hair uncovered.
"Sportsmaster is the buyer!" Aqualad shouted.
Naruto still didn't know who he was, but he reached for his radio to contact the League or Red Tornado. Unfortunately, there was nothing but static. "Radio signals are still jammed. Miss Martian, how you doing?"
"It's almost finished, I promise. Estimated at seventy-six percent complete."
Riptide jumped up the second he felt ready, his powers slinging around him. A silvery vortex surrounded his lower body, inspired by both Red Tornado and Mister Twister. He wished he could use it to fly, but that wouldn't work. Even so, he ran toward them, adding more and more power behind it as it surrounded him, thickening and thickening until he was sure he would unleash it on everyone.
The giant creature pummeled into Superboy, even as the clone tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't work. Aqualad managed to flip back up and was prepared to keep fighting, twin swords at his disposal.
"Get out of the way!" he shouted to both Superboy and the other Atlantean. They complied when they saw what he was planning, jumping backward to ignore their opponents. Naruto concentrated on the wind below him, spiraling around him, and flicked his wrist toward Sportsmaster and this giant Blockbuster-enhanced creature.
The former was unable to hold on, and went flying across the pavement, so fast that he didn't have any way to recover. The silvery wall of air that hit him followed after him for a bit, as though it wanted to continue slicing into his armor.
The latter was hit by such a large blade x-shaped blade of wind that it cut into his hide, flinging him nearly as far as Sportsmaster had been. Any other cultists received the last of Naruto's concentrated build-up, spherical blasts of wind being just as annoying as their bullets.
Naruto smirked at his efforts, praying silently to the gods that Miss Martian was finished by now, and that the Bio-Ship was coming to collect them. The mission was nearly over, and while it would be awesome to apprehend them all or even one of them, that wasn't an objective.
Someone clapped several times, confusing the Atlantean and his two teammates. When Naruto glanced toward the source, he was immediately met with the robed figure of Kobra stalking toward him, a smile on his serpentine face. Those eyes seemed to stare into his soul and Naruto froze.
SANTA PRISCA
JULY 22, 21:36 ECT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
"I've got it!" Miss Martian declared. The relief was immediately apparent to Robin, who was so happy it was over. The others needed their help right now.
"Take it out of the control panel. KF is coming," he stated once, and the speedster, having checked her GPS signal once more on the ship's controls, immediately blurred toward the factory.
His patience was wearing thin as he waited for them to return, while the rest of the Team continued to feed important updates as they happened. Every time that a rifle sounded, every ricocheting bullet, it was all a tiny bit of guilt wearing him down. He should be out there, risking his life, not sitting in the Bio-Ship behind bulletproof walls, allowing all of his friends to do the heavy lifting.
He stared at the controls of the ship, wondering if he could... No, not yet, he didn't have any concrete experience flying it. The Bat-Plane, yes, but not this Martian ship. And he needed to stay here until KF returned with Miss M in tow.
"Kobra is here," Aqualad confirmed. "And he just threw Superboy like a rag doll!"
"We're coming!" Kid Flash shouted, and within a few seconds, and Robin sighed with relief.
The black-suited speedster rushed into the ship, smirking once and dropping M'gann after carrying her bridal style. The Martian moved so fast into the piloting chair that it was almost like she had super-speed. "We are on our way." She held up the USB triumphantly.
KF and Robin dropped into two of the seats, Robin glad to be on his way out of this situation, but his best friend turned to him and presented something that he didn't expect to see. "Souvenir."
The ripped-up ski mask with a skull design was obvious to him, and his trained eye found the unmistakable stain of blood lining a hole right between where the eyes would be.
SANTA PRISCA
JULY 22, 21:45 ECT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
Naruto had not moved during that entire exchange, the first blows that Kobra dealt on his own in the fight. Kaldur had attempted to attack him with water projectiles, pressurized spheres which could tear the hide off of a sea tortoise if concentrated enough, but the man had somehow dodged it effortlessly, his agility improved to impossible degrees. When Superboy had attempted to rush him and was immediately rebuked and then hurled into one of the crates, Naruto knew he had to do something.
But he couldn't force himself to make a move, and the supposed contest turned into a stare off between the Atlantean and the snake-eyed man with powers to match.
"I can tell that you are scared. And that is what you should be feeling, young Riptide," he stated. "This is how men should react to being in the presence of gods."
Hermes ran across the boy's mind, and something was immediately apparent to him. The pure hubris of this cult leader was impossible to ignore. He remembered all the stories of the gods punishing mortals for having the audacity to compare themselves to them. Now would be a great time for you turn to turn him into a potted plant, Hermes, please. I'd settle for a bit of seaweed, just because I'm homesick.
Nothing happened, predictably. Even so, he had to move. Superboy couldn't continue to get hit by that monster forever, and Kaldur was much less durable. He knew that the others were very close to coming, so he had to get everyone closer.
"Are you going to say thank you?"
"Excuse me?"
"Are you going to thank me for giving you superpowers?" he asked, knowing he was stalling. "Don't you owe me at least a small amount of gratitude?"
"Do I?" the man mused, curious. The woman with a partly shaved head and nearly the same hair color as the giant behemoth - siblings, maybe? - smirked by her leader's side. Even as he said that, Sportsmaster walked toward them, favoring one side as though his leg was injured, and stood by Kobra and his minions.
"Get ready." M'gann's voice was wonderful to hear in that exact moment. "We are swinging overhead... Now!"
The three members of the Team immediately jumped up and grabbed the pink and purple tethers that seemed to come out of nowhere to anyone un-inclined. The second Naruto's hands wrapped around it, he smiled in what could only be pure relief.
The looks of shock on the enemy's faces were hysterical, as they held on and waited for the Martian to pull them upward. But Kobra reacted first, his hand striking out like a snake and grabbing Naruto's leg, fang-like fingers digging into his ankles. His arm stretched really far, a grotesque sight that ended when the man pulled his own body forward, until suddenly, the man was right underneath him, trying to climb up.
"You won't get away that easily!" the man shouted, forcing Naruto to struggle and for the tether to shake violently. "Shimmer, call the dragons!"
The Atlantean's eyes widened, but he couldn't let this stop him. "You know, this was a terrible idea on your part." His tattoos glowed brightly and almost immediately, a column of silver air pummeled the snake man, so fast and hard that it was impossible for him to hold any longer.
The man fell toward the ground, unable to do anything but fall back to the earth as gravity intended.
Unlike anything he had seen before, the three Ismenian dragons shot out of the sea from the southern coast, flying toward them so fast and hard that there was no avoiding them. They were not tiny at all, a mistake generated by perspective when Kaldur and Naruto first ran across them. They were each easily as large as the Bio-Ship itself, and when the first creature opened its maw to spit a fiery acid at them, Naruto could only react fast enough to cover himself and Kaldur with a rotating sphere of silver.
Superboy screamed in agony as it doused him with the liquid flame, the magic-infused monster enough to harm him. Naruto quickly extended it just as the second closest creature slammed into the Bio-Ship.
Spinning off course, they fell back toward the island and everyone was shouting both physically and mentally to try to regain some sense of communication and composure. Naruto and the others were yanked into the ship's interior, the porthole closing just as the creature aimed its acid toward the ship itself.
"This thing have weapons?" Kid Flash shouted as Naruto strapped himself into the chair she created for them. Superboy and Aqualad followed suit.
"Yeah, but it's weakening," Miss Martian replied, struggling through every word, as though someone was screaming in her mind. "She doesn't do well around fire either!"
"Shake it off!" Robin shouted, urging M'gann to do a spinning move in mid-air, and it worked just well enough to get some small space between them and the creatures.
M'gann angled the ship back around, looping so that she was higher and pointed directly toward them. The factory came into view, as did all three of the dragons. The Bio-Ship lurched for a moment, just as the red bolt of energy charged and then fired on the dragons.
The cannon blast slammed into the first, a laser tearing through its hide, and it slammed into its friends and they all fell together towards the factory. She fired once more, another red blast forcing them to fall faster, just as they crashed through the roof of the factory.
"Go, go, go!" Kaldur yelled.
They speared toward the sky, higher and higher until Kobra was smaller than an ant.
Kid Flash cleared his throat. "Uh, Supey, do I need to take you shopping for clothes again?"
Everyone turned to look at something that, during the chaos, they hadn't noticed. He was completely naked, his clothes having burned away in the acid attack, and he apparently hadn't managed to even notice. What burns he had retained were already healing, right before their eyes, so at least he didn't need medical attention.
When someone suddenly fell over, dropped to the floor of the Bio-Ship underneath the pilot's station.
Naruto just laughed. "I guess M'gann learned why they call him super."
MOUNT JUSTICE
JULY 23, 10:01 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO
Robin stared ahead, hoping to not be torn apart by the Dark Knight. He knew there was a lot to be ashamed about, considering the situation they were in. Based on the man's scowl as he stood before the five of them, it wasn't looking good.
"A simple recon mission. Observe and report." Batman stared directly into Kaldur's eyes, inches away from his face, before turning toward the rest. "You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes." The tension in the room was palpable, and Robin almost wanted to argue to say that they did succeed in some aspects. "Until then, good job."
Everyone whirled around to see where Batman stood before Naruto, a small smile on the man's face. Robin's eyes were so wide that it almost hurt. "You planned well in the thick of it, in an interesting way that only a powerful telepath could provide. You correctly assessed the situation and acted accordingly, and succeeded to accomplish the mission parameters in a way that played to your individual strengths as a cohesive unit. Choosing a leader that can iron out the kinks between you and provide a tactical, stable support for everyone is key, and how you determine that person shows your character."
Robin smiled at Kaldur, proud to see that it worked. But as Batman started to walk away, the Boy Wonder ran up to him. "Wait, shouldn't we discuss what we know now? About Kobra and Bane?"
The man shook his head. "This is a League priority now, and not something to concern yourselves with beyond the data analysis you have already begun. I expect your results as soon as possible, and once we have assessed them, the League will discuss what to do about Santa Prisca."
The Boy Wonder frowned, turning back to the Team as Batman disappeared into the zeta-tube. "Fine."
"All right, pizza to celebrate!" Wally suddenly declared, stopping whatever awkwardness they felt. "There's a place in Central City that you have to try."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" M'gann said happily as they made their way toward the zeta-tubes themselves.
"Do they have veggie options?"
Wally laughed. "Of course they do, shark-boy."
"I think we have bigger things to worry about," Robin declared, earning a wide-eyed look from everyone else. He smirked, realizing that they probably didn't know what he was talking about. "After all, we do have the living bottomless pit with us."
"Hey, I resent that!"
And that's all for now. Longest chapter yet, although I have to admit, I didn't really mean for that to happen. It just happened while writing. Hope you don't mind the length.
Despite the fact that this is the last we see of Kobra in the canon episodes *beyond a small appearance in the tie-in comics that no one read*, he's definitely going to appear again in this one. For those angry or worried that I only gave a taste of his abilities, you're going to see quite a bit more as it goes along (and get an explanation, of course). Hope the events, shown on-screen and off-screen, prove what kind of threat he really is now.
I wanted to make this one more of a cerebral mission than the non-covert "beat-them-up" that Drop Zone actually was. Hope that that comes across well here, and no one feels cheapened that the action wasn't necessarily there.
Let me know what you thought in a review!