Deep in the bowels of the Cave hidden within the stony Mount Justice loud twangs, rushed whooshes and soft thumps echoed in a constant easy rhythm; a pair creating a symphony out of flying arrows.
The cold light that shone in the hidden and locked room glinted off of the metallic arrows as they soared through the open air. Red arrows landed in the bullseye every time, soon having to land on the next circle out by sheer necessity; whilst green shafted arrows landed scattered around the centering circles.
The nearly-melodic rhythm of the volleying arrows dropped to a single note as the red garbed archer lowered his bow and turned masked eyes onto the blonde standing next to him, shooting arrow after arrow with a too-closed-off expression on her vietnamese features.
With a hidden look of concern in his eyes Roy attempted easing nonchalantness in his tone as he said, "Artemis, something bugging you?"
"No. Why?" She half-growled as she loosed another arrow.
"Because your shooting is off."
A loud scoff echoed from the blonde as she turned her gaze to Roy for a second, "As if, Roy-boy."
The red-head motioned to the targets. Artemis followed Roy's gaze and groaned when she really registered that all of her shots were terrible. She groaned as she dropped her arm down, letting the string slowly release. The blonde's eyes were downcast as she shifted her weight uneasily from foot to foot, though her facade was crumbling. Exhaustion and stress were showing on her features quite clearly. Roy did not expect any less, but he understood why she was hiding it.
Artemis was so much better than he deserved. She was constantly with him when he was upset or there was something that could trigger a relapse. She did her best possible to make sure Roy kept his nose clean and stayed away from everything, and the red archer never dared expect more from her, though he always managed to stretch her a little too thin with his overly present and visible bull-like attitude.
With caution in his movements Roy stepped towards Artemis and reached a hand out to place on her shoulder. He squeezed it softly, gaining him a half-glance from the stormy eyes glued to the floor.
"There's no shame in admitting that having a teammate missing is taking a toll on you," Roy said as gently as he could.
A scoffing laughter echoed from her as she lifted her eyes up, "You telling me that admitting something's bothering me isn't that bad? Who are you and what have you done with the real Roy?"
The older archer visibly winced at the words. Realization of what she had just said sowed blatantly on Artemis's face as Roy stepped back. Shock was plainly visible as the green archer flapped her mouth, trying to find words to say.
"Roy, I didn't mean it like that."
An angry snort answered her as the red-head turned and walked away, tossing scornful words over his shoulder as he went.
"Yeah right. I'll leave you to your crummy shooting then."
As the doors whooshed open and closed behind the boy Artemis turned and practically hurled her bow at the target. Her blood was now not only seething in turmoil because of the mission but boiling to the point of overflowing with self-loathing and anger at her stupid mouth. She managed to tick off everyone by saying the wrong things. Why couldn't she just keep her over-active tongue in check and try not pissing off her boyfriend for one day? Oh right, because that's just how the wrecking ball she was built to be just was.
She strode over to the wall, slamming her fist into it harshly before pulling her arm back and resting the opposite hand flat on the wall, head hanging below her shoulders as they heaved with sobs and un-uttered screams of anger at once. Her whole form was shaking as she tried to keep from exploding with all of the bottled-up feelings.
In a sudden movement she pushed off of the wall and was almost running towards the door. She hardly waited for it to open before slipping through and making her way to the training area set up for self training. She needed to punch the lights out of something, and practice dummies usually did the trick.
Once at the doors she slid inside and immediately began wrapping her hands to avoid any more injuries than the one she had already given herself by punching that concrete wall.
She stopped in front of a particular dummy that she had begun abusing so regularly she had felt the need to name it. She called the dummy Things Of the Morning, or Tom for short. She readied herself in front of Tom and began to let out everything. All the years worth of anger at her father for making her so shielded, all the months and months worth of frustration at life for giving her such an amazing person to be with but making her keep so much from him, all this last week's worth of worry and pain and anger at the numerous villains involved. Tom swung back and forth, moving from her hits, but always accepting the next one.
Soon Artemis could no longer see Tom straight because of the tears and sweat in her eyes. She hated almost everything in her life and how she always screwed it up when it came to people. The job she could do. Taking down criminals was no different then taking down good guys like she had been trained to do since she was a child, but people were harder to deal with when they were talking.
With a harsh scream Artemis threw her entire body weight behind a punch that sent Tom swinging off his hinges. Artemis stood over his cotton and sand stuffed-corpse, sweat pouring off her just as fast as the anger and adrenaline were slipping back into their cages until another time. She stood with her hands on her knees, bending over for what seemed like forever as her mind played what she had said over and over again before her eyes and ears.
When her breathing slowed down she shook her head and straightened up, running a hand over her hair to smooth back the sweat covered strays. She let out a saddened sigh before closing her eyes and turning around. One hand reached up to pull the hair-tie out and let her hair tumble down around her shoulders as she said to no one, "I'm so sorry, Roy." Her hands dropped to her sides and she opened her eyes as she stepped forward, only to be halted by the familiar figure standing in the doorway with his lips puckered in that annoying thinking grimace that he made.
Artemis's mouth was once again agape as she looked at him, floundering for words. Her hands were moving at her sides trying to help her explain the words she couldn't say when the red-head stepped forward and cut off her mental rant, "Don't hurt yourself thinking too hard, I'd hate to have to explain that and the hand to Ollie."
Artemis shut her mouth with an audible snap, a playful smirk back on her face as she stepped forward. Her eyebrows raised and her posture went back to confident as she let out a teasing disbelieving chuckle.
"You're the one warning me? I'm not the one who has trouble forming sentences under pressure," She said, her voice softer than the usual rough-melody.
"Last I recall you could only say one or two words a sentence, if that can be called one." Roy's eyes narrowed in determination to prove his point.
Artemis feigned an offended gasp in an over-reactive manner as she pulled a hand to her mouth and twirled around before saying, "Moi? You would call my linguistical skills poor and uneducated?"
"That," Roy said with a definite nod, "is exactly what I'm saying." His lips were smirking, though a laughing smile was hidden underneath and Artemis saw it.
She let out a relieved sigh as she dropped the topic and turned away, starting to unwrap her left hand when she let out a small gasp of pain. As she craddled her right hand Roy skirted around her and reached a hand towards her right. With a gentleness not many had seen from the hot-tempered archer, Roy began to unwrap the injured hand. His movements were small and slow as he was poised to feel and react to the smallest twinge of pain, no matter how hard Artemis tried to hide it.
Once the wrap was off Roy let out a short shrill whistle, impressed by the swollen hand and slight discoloration already appearing. He flicked his gaze up from the hand to it's owner's eyes and back down. He stepped away for a few seconds, going to find the first-aid kit and returning with gauze and an ace wrap to bandage it tightly before they could get to a hospital. He started in silence before flicking his eyes upwards again.
"Were you pretending the wall and dummy were me?"
Artemis looked at Roy with shock on her face before she schooled it off. She almost pulled her hand away but with the vice-like grip he had on it, that would do more harm to her than gain his attention. She settled with making an undignified squeak prior to speaking.
"You seriously think I was upset with you?" She asked, tone completely sincere and incredulity plainly in sight.
Roy paused in his movements before continuing and answering, "Who wouldn't be? I'm not exactly the easiest person, or even anywhere near easy or even moderately hard, I'm the worst person anyone could ever try to care for. Anyone who has, has ended up paying the price."
The green archer registered the hunched shoulders and now strained slow movements, the tired bags beneath his eyes, tousled-more-than-usual hair, the muscles in his arms and neck that should not be that tense; no matter how terrified anyone was. The young girl swallowed hard as she realized something that she should have seen much sooner, and she would have had she not been on the lookout for Roy doing something stupid again. She mentally smacked herself and made a note to give Tom another beating once her hand was healed for her stupidity and lack of detective reasoning and skills.
But in the meantime she had a job to do as Roy-boy's significant other. She cleared her throat and reached her left hand forward to rest it on his shoulder.
"You listen to me, Roy Harper. You may have done some stupid things with your life and I may disagree with some of the things you're going to do, and not to mention there's plenty that I don't know about; but there's one thing that I know and that I want you to know too, Red, is that I love you and that includes entire package, the faults and all the shit you carry around with you. I know better than almost anybody that you can't choose your family, or in your case where you come from, but that doesn't have to lead where you go." Artemis stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Roy's torso, almost suffocating him as he stood still as a board.
An annoyed expression seeped onto Artemis's face as she tilted her head back to look up at Roy, whose face was an expression of shock. Artemis pulled her right hand away from his back and raised it to smack him lightly on the back of the head as she grumbled quietly, "This where you're supposed to make some sort if remark about how I need to stop being so sappy and get back to collecting blackmail on Robin and Cassie."
The red clothed archer let out a strained chuckle as he tilted his head downwards. Despite his eyes being hidden behind the domino mask Artemis could practically see the doubt and uneasiness that was swimming there. A puzzled look overcame her features as she pursed her lips before turning her head and nuzzling it gently against his chest. She closed her eyes as she ignored the most likely accurate image that her mind was making of the increasingly dumbfounded look on Roy's features, which just made her smile more as her arms tightened around him.
"Artemis, what are you doing?" She felt the rumble in his chest more than heard his words.
"Trying to get you to think about something else, mostly my failing skills at comforting people if you're anything to go by," the green archer said without moving her head.
Another, deeper, rumble shook through Roy's chest as he lifted his arms despite Artemis's death grip on him, and wrapped her in his own hug. They were both smiling as he lowered his head, brushing the stray wisps of hair with his lips as he said, "Hey, look on the bright side; you're better at this than Conner. Probably."
Roy leaned down a fraction of an inch, gently pressing his lips to Artemis's head as he laughed to himself. He didn't expect the sudden pain at the back of his head, causing the hero to startle and yank his head up and jerk his eyes open. For a few seconds he was oblivious to the laughter echoing from a doubled over green archer. He glared at her in a semi-playful manner. It took her all of a few minutes to collect her composure and look Roy in the eyes without cracking up again.
"That's what you get around here for that, Red."
Not-so-quiet sobs rang in the still air atop Mount Justice as Conner looked to a shrugging Garfield for help. Only red-brown hair was visible of the martian as she hid beneath layers of coats and the protective embrace of the Kryptonian. What had started as a simple enough comforting in Gar's room had morphed into something that neither Conner nor Gar had any idea how to deal with, they had even tried asking Sphere and Wolf for help; but that did not even help in the slightest. The two had suggested taking the then-weeping martian outside for some fresh air, but that had led to her passing by Nightwing's motorcycle on the way out and his favorite "hiding" spot on their way up.
Another sound of saddened distress brought Conner's attention to the crying green mess in his lap. Uncertainty was etched onto every feature of the clone's face as he looked back at Gar, who was now motioning for him to gently rub her back. The demi-kryptonian did as the young changeling told him to with careful, mindful movements. He felt every small tremor from the fine frame he held; he heard every whispering word of self-punishment she muttered and every heart-breaking sob-choked breath she took.
Another sound of saddened distress brought Conner's attention to the crying green mess in his lap. Uncertainty was etched onto every feature of the clone's face as he looked back at Gar, who was now motioning for him to gently rub her back. The demi-kryptonian did as the young changeling told him to with careful, mindful movements. He felt every small tremor from the fine frame he held; he heard every whispering word of self-punishment she muttered and every heart-breaking sob-choked breath she took.
Even as he continued his movements Conner lifted his eyes up to the pacing green form for aid, though the forest green eyes seemed fixated somewhere else. The demi-clone wanted to call the young boy's name, but that would do no good expect alert M'gann that Conner was uncomfortable and then she would try to fix it and hide away everything. The demi-kryptonian would not let her do that; he heard enough about how much it hurt to hold things in, like she was likely to attempt to, from Ti-Robin.
When M'gann shifted in his arms Conner stopped running his hand up her back and let it sit there, just laying on her shoulder blades, he moved his other arm into what he would assume would be a more comfortable position to lay her head on it. Gar then looked up at the clone, small green face lit up with some kind of realization or idea that would, hopefully, end in M'gann not crying anymore and the world, mostly just Mount Justice, would stay intact.
With excitement now lighting his face and seeping into his step, Gar came over to M'gann and Conner. He stopped not a foot away, his tail waving in the air. Wolf lifted his head to look at the new development in the scene and atmosphere. Garfield lifted a hand and stretched towards M'gann, though pulling it away sharply before looking up at Conner for assurance and support. The demi-kryptonian nodded his head, as did Wolf when Gar turned to him as well. With a short deep breath and sigh Gar cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Hey, sis?" Gar asked, tentativeness in his voice.
"Yeah Gar?"
After recoiling from the sudden loud voice in his head Gar put a hand on M'gann's shoulder and said, "Can we go flying? All of us? And out to a movie?"
"Garfield, this is not the ti-" Conner started before being silenced by a green-eyed glare the changeling had undoubtedly learned from Robin. The new Robin. The newest Robin.
Conner half-considered returning the glare with a glower of his own, but all thoughts were halted when the green girl in his arms shifted, pushing away from him as she turned to look at Garfield. Her cheeks were shinning with tears almost dried and a blotchy mess of shaded greens and brownish-greens. Her pink lips attempted a smile as she extended a hand towards her "little brother". When their hands touched, she pulled him close and buried her face in his too-small shoulder.
"That is a wonderful idea, Gar." She said, voice seeping into Gar, Conner and Wolf's minds.
"Except for the fact that one of us can't fly." Conner shrugged at Gar's comment as he wrapped his arms around the two. A low growl sounded beside him as Wold got to his paws and walked over, nudging Conner's arm to make room for the wolf's massive white head. Conner chuckled a little before adding, "Sorry, two of us that can't fly."
The blue eyed boy felt the two bodies he surrounded shake with laughter, one more so than the other, but at least the red-haired one was laughing a little.
"That should be simple enough to remedy though, thanks to our amazing resident martian girl here." Conner said, lowering his head so that it was next to M'gann and Gar's heads, the three of them looked as though they were having a miniature huddle.
Conner felt M'gann shift and opened his partly closed eyes to see her amber one's looking back up at him. They were not as bright and happy as they had been when the two had first met - how could they be, having seen death and felt it within her mind? He wondered silently- , but something in them had changed from the lost dullness of even a few short hours ago; a frail happiness was alive once more within. He smiled gently, knowing his own were alight with some display of contentment.
The super powered teen opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by a static in his ear and then the buzzing a communicator channel opening. He almost groaned, but refrained knowing there was only one person who could get into the frequencies at all hours in such a manner. His suspicions were confirmed as a rough voice began speaking in the typical monotonous gravel.
"Team, assemble in mission room."
And the comm's went dead again. The threesome pulled away, Garfield looking sad yet excited while M'gann looked conflicted with feelings of guilt and excitement. Conner stood up, offering a hand to his girlfriend. The red-haired martian ignored the hand as she rose, arms curling protectively around herself again. She started walking, her head hanging lower than it would have a few months ago, or even days. Though, neither Conner nor Gar expected her to snap entirely out of her near-depressed state of mind, they wanted to get her to stop acting so strange. Neither really understood what was going on; one of them was a teenager with a good excuse, and the other actual age of a small child but brain capacity and looks of a forever sixteen-year-old.
Conner sighed as he turned his head to look at the young green boy beside him. With a sad sigh the "older" boy stepped towards the simian-like child and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Bright green met crystal blue as Garfield turned his head and looked up at Conner. Both heroes were upset at their lack of knowledge about what to do and the fact that the small scrap of progress they had made was lost within the minute. In an amiable silence the pair began their descent of the mountain, staying behind M'gann to give her space to think; they at least understood that was important.
It was not long before the three stopped at the hidden entrance to the Cave, waiting for it to let them all in. Without question it allowed them in, announcing them as they proceeded deeper into the structure. As they neared the mission room the three were joined by a steady flow of their companions, until when they entered the room they were all present and filing in one by one.
Everyone quickly settled in the room, choosing to either stand in the corners or against a wall or sit around the table. Each hero's face was a different mix of emotions, jumping around from panicked to hopeful to excited and then back to the negative emotions alongside grief and anxiety. No one was speaking, the tension running through the air feeling too much like electricity about to fizzle into a storm.
They all jump when the large holo-screen appears and casts a blue light over everything. Every single pair of eyes are glued to the screen, looking at the black caped hero sitting on teh other side, begging and pleading in silence for news of anything to do with their friend. The tension in the room dropped from sparking and hot to a deathly cold as they watched the Dark Knight take breath and open his mouth to speak; though one person cared not for waiting and did not notice the small movements as she stood up suddenly, her posture strong and ready to leap into action.
"Where are we going? How do we find him?" She asked, her grey eyes narrowing at the thought of kicking in some faces and shooting a few arrows through the sockets of the people who got between the Team and Nightwing.
She was yanked back into her seat by a red-clad archer and Conner decided to graciously ignore the quiet, yet heated, words they were exchanging in favor of returning his attention to the black figure on the screen, who looked almost ready to hurt someone. Soon no one was speaking and Batman began.
"I don't have any news concerning Nightwing." He paused, letting that sink in before continuing,"Though my news does pertain to the Team and one of it's members. Due to circumstances I will not relay to the Team, Batgirl is no longer an operating protege of mine, and until further discussion on behalf of the League she is no long an acting member of the Team. She will be escorted to the Cave tomorrow in order to recuperate her belongings, but is under no circumstances to be approached or questioned during that time or afterwards. She is returned to normal civilian status and, after she has collected her things from the Cave, is to be treated as an intruder if she re-enters or attmepts to contact any of you. Am I clear?"
An even stilled silence spread through the room, mouths open in some cases though no sound coming out. Everyone was frozen,minds trying to catch up and comprehend what they had just been told. Conner listened to the mutterings that began to break out now as he watched Kaldur rise from his seat and step towards the screen, his step confident and strong despite the rapid heartbeat the clone could hear.
"I understand that you said you would not convey to us the details for why Batgirl is no longer one of us as a personal matter between protege and mentor, however that does not seem a fit reason for the Team to be kept in the dark on a matter that could effect how it performs." Kaldur stated with the ever polite tone that sounded like it could almost talk anyone into anything.
"There is nothing within the events leading to Batgirl's demotion that could lead to harmful repercussions upon the Team. She is no longer an operating member, or member at all, until the League so decides; and such actions are only discussed when the League gathers for meetings. She will wait until the next meeting to return to the Team, should a majority choose so. All you need to know for now is that she no longer operates as my protege; she is to be considered a vigilante and all necessary precautions and protocols are to be used should she attempt contact at the Cave or under civilian identity. Am I clear?" He asked, tone harsher and even less forgiving than normal.
The Atlantean took a breath before dipping his head a fraction of a degree and sighing, "Yes, Batman."
"You are aware of the actions to take place if the need arises, Aqualad; make sure your team is as well. There are no missteps allowed."
The blonde teen nodded silently, earning in return a gruff nod from Batman. And with that the screen flickered out of existence, leaving a room full of heroes with confused perceptions of what had just happened. As Kaldur lowered himself back into a chair the muttering sprang to life again, echoing loudly in the room. The Atlantean sighed as he heard all the questions flooding him, just the same as when he had relinquished to Batman's demands before going to search for Nightwing the first time around and Deathstroke at the warehouse. The Team was bound to be more than fed up with their leader always giving into the adults around them. The hurried, but quiet, call of his name drew Kaldur out of his attempt at re-centering himself. He opened his eyes to see Raquel pointing to Artemis making her way through the crowd, her face giving Kaldur a peek into his near future and the headache that was sure to spring forth.
With an annoyed groan the leader lifted himself out of the chair and stood tall, awaiting the angry words from Artemis with as close to a level head as he could muster. She stopped a couple feet away, anger rolling off of her in waves and burning in ehr stormy eyes.
"How could you just let him bench her like that? She has the experience we need to find him, no one else knows the systems better or how to think like those crazies. Kaldur, you just let him take away the only shot we had at finding him ourselves!"
He took a breath, preparing to answer but was beat to it by Raquel's sharpness, "What's up with you? Don't you know that there ain't no arguing with that man once he's said something?"
"Not like he was opposed to it before we went for Nightwing or, so I've heard, when this Team started."
"The situations are completely different." Conner stepped in, though only bringing the storm gaze of fury onto himself.
"And what is the Boy of Steel's excuse for not standing up to Batman?"
The gathered heroes were poised to leap at each other, their words still flying with a ferocity mounting. Kaldur groaned inwardly as he strode forward. He massaged his temples briefly before raising his hands to get everyone's attention, or most of everyone at least. The Atlantean was as close to rolling his eyes in annoyance as he had ever come as he turned away from the majority of the heroes to the two bull-headed ones who were locked in their own little world. He took a step towards them before clearing his throat in a vain attempt to capture their consideration. They, however, seemed intent on continuing to argue; not to mention that, much to Kaldur's chagrin, Raquel then joined them once again.
The blonde teen ignored their raised voices and the spiteful words any of the three tossed at the others, preferring to simply stand there and calmly attempt to get them to focus on him. Though Fate had never been a kind mistress to Kaldur'ahm and continued not to be as he heard Artemis drag him back into the topic of arguments. He stepped towards them again, a more irked expression growing on his face with every slow, controlled step. The Atlantean teen focused his mind on the task of breathing evenly, stepping carefully and attempting to school away the obvious emotions creeping onto the naturally neutral features he forced upon himself. He felt his hands curl and uncurl in a steady rhythm, using that as a seeming metronome to match his steps.
When he stopped, he was standing only a few feet away from the epicenter of the argument. He slowly began to let his ears focus on the shouting match before him, not wanting to have the entirety of the raised voice hit him at once and make him cringe; weakness was not something Kaldur'ahm showed easily. The once-soldier registered the faces of his friends, slowly taking in the creases and lines which could only scream anger; however, he also noticed the slightest traces of lines and curves or tints in their eyes that also said to Kaldur, though in lighter tones, that his friends were acting of fear or stress. But that was no excuse for the childish conduct they were displaying. He winced inwardly at the harsh tones and elevated voices that his ears were now slowly getting used to. With almost aggravating slowness Kaldur began focusing on the words, despite not particularly wanting to. He had never liked listening to fights when he was in the military, however it was highly likely that he did not want to listen due to the fact that more often than not they were concerning him.
A heaving sigh ran from his barely parted lips. He raised his hands, thumb and index finger, pinching the bridge of his nose for a brief second before dropping as he stepped half-a-step forward. His brows furrowed and eyes squinted a little tighter as his annoyance flared. The teen caught himself and quietly cleared his throat before oping his mouth and speaking.
"Rocket, Superboy, Artemis, stand down. Now is not the time to fight amongst ourselves like children."
From behind him Kaldur heard a half-whispered reply, "Conner is technically only three and a half." A short laugh followed, but before the leader could respond a soft thud, a squeak of protest and several more chuckles rang out and let the Atlantean know that all was handled behind. He returned his attention fully to the arguing trio, pausing to listen to them and waiting for a lull in their flying words.
"Maybe if y'all could get your heads out from under whatever rock you've hidden them under and see that this isn't anyone's fault, then we could focus on finding Nightwing," Rocket snapped at the archer and clone.
"We aren't the ones who need help seeing better. It was him that came up with the plan, him that told us to put down our weapons, him that just now didn't even try to stand up against Batman. All this circles back to him! Leadership is a two way street from a single point-"
"You used that saying before already. Get some new material." Conner snorted.
"Shut up, Conner. I'll get new material when I see you kiss a monkey on the mouth and when little miss bee can admit that her boy's been acting like a rookie!"
After a brief pause and unsuccessful interruption from Kaldur Superboy said, "Literally or are you just saying that?"
"She's just talkin' Conner, but she can talk to the hand cause the ears ain't listenin'."
"They'd better be listening or else I'm gonna-"
"ENOUGH!"
All sounds in the room stopped, mouths snapped shut and eyes went wide as everyone gawked at the leader who was standing with fists curled at his sides, gills fluttering madly and posture so near to being angry it was terrifying. Most of the gathered heroes could not see Kaldur'ahm's face, and nor did they want to.
The typically placid and schooled expression had melted and given way to an infinitely more intense one with furrowed brows and pursed lips. His eyes were hardened and almost appeared lit on fire within their depths. The eighteen year-old had never looked more frightening to his teammates.
The boy managed to keep himself in check enough after that explosion to not stride forward and begin rattling off things all too similar to what the trio had been flinging around. It took him a few deep breaths and what seemed like an eterinity, but was actually only a second, before he moved. It was only a small movement, but it caught everyone's eyes.
He let out the pent up breath as he sighed a quiet, yet commanding, "Enough." His head shook side-to-side in a slow rhythm while being turned towards the ground, with his eyes closed. It was a gesture many of the heroes had seen their parents do when disappointed with their actions.
When Kaldur re-opened his eyes and looked up they were still harder than steel in appearance, though the burning anger had somewhat diminished. He took a deep breath before narrowing his eyes at the the three worst arguers.
He let out the pent up breath as he sighed a quiet, yet commanding, "Enough." His head shook side-to-side in a slow rhythm while being turned towards the ground, with his eyes closed. It was a gesture many of the heroes had seen their parents do when disappointed with their actions. "This is supposed to be a team." The Atlantean reopened his eyes and looked up they were still harder than steel in appearance, though the burning anger had somewhat diminished. He took a deep breath before narrowing his eyes at the the three worst arguers. "But, what I see before me is not a team."
He turned his back to Artemis, Conner and Raquel, focusing on the others with that same steel glare. His posture remained hard and the expression on his face was clearly communicating his discontentment with the situation and disapproval of their actions.
"We have been trained to fight against those who would seek to harm the defenseless, not our own. How can we hope or pretend to be better than those we oppose and call unjust when we fight as such amongst ourselves? If we are to act as children do when given gifts of power, how can we claim to be better than those who would see us fall, and rejoice because of it?"
Kaldur felt a surge of, mostly, unwarranted anger rise up as none of the heroes before him so much as flinched or even appeared to register his words. At least the soldiers in Poseidonis reacted when being reprimanded so Kaldur would know they listened. The surprising rise in emotion coupled with the Atlantean's broken ability to hold himself back caused him to stride forwards, hands opening flat and beginning to move around as he spoke.
"You have sworn to protect those who inhabit this world, that is a burden you have all chosen to shoulder and so you must shoulder it without mistakes. That burden holds it's reason even in face of doubt beyond compare, when all hope is chased away; even then we must stand strong and continue, just like we have trained to do in the past." The older team members cringed a bit at that, even Kaldur did but he kept speaking. His tone, however, faltered, "The key to success in that mission lies within the team and how it is lead; and I, as your leader must be able to lead it efficiently. I promise I will not let will not let this team down as a leader. However, to succeed I require you all to, how to put this in your terms, step up to the plate?"
Kaldur watched as the heads around him dipped and eyes glued themselves to the floor. He almost regretted saying that to his team, but the embittered resentment and soured sadness made the Atlantean walk towards the doors, his boots hitting the ground and echoing loudly. His resolve held steadfast until the whooshing sound of the doors ground in his ears. He let out a deep sigh and turned to look back at the almost-sulking group of heroes.
"Do not stay here for too much longer. I will not tolerate any further disputes nor the repercussions of them. We shall resume the previous schedule of training. Everyone report here at five thirty. Do not be late or else you will be removed from missions until ten hours are logged in the simulation chamber." He warned, tone icier than he would have liked it to have been.
He took a breath, let his eyes slide slowly closed and turned his back to the team once again. Then he release the breath, opened his eyes and stepped through the doors. As he felt eyes follow him away, the weight of the team began to fall on his shoulder, heavier than it ever had. He forced himself to keep walking, measuring his steps and counting them as he waited for the doors to close.
One. Easy breathing, nothing to worry about as he walked.
Two. A little bit harder to keep his even steps from faltering.
Three. He was slowing down, but that did not have to mean anything.
Four. Dangerously slow, almost stopping. Keep moving! His mind screamed at his legs.
Five. The whoosh of the door sounded.
All breath rushed out of him as the Atlantean felt crushed by the weight on his shoulders and the stress of battles past, in Atlantis and with the Team, where he had failed as a leader. Troubles seemed to follow him everywhere he went when he was told to lead. The blonde boy had never wanted to lead when he had first joined Atlantis's military, though it was thrust upon him. Through the forceful teachings that were brought upon the young Atlantean, he learned what would eventually lead him to become the Team's leader. An odd prickling began to spark behind Kaldur's eyes as he remembered the worst missions he had led in either place... the "deaths" of the entire Team, the mission in India with Captain Marvel, the deaths of the half the third praelialegio of Altanis's army. The dark skinned teenager lifted his hands to cover his ears, trying to block the words that had haunted his moments of doubt ever since that day. Scaevitas! Inexcusabilis! Nequior!
Kaldur was pulled from his thoughts and memories by a light shaking on his shoulder, or as his body began to reconnect with his mind, the shaking of his shoulder by a warm hand. He turned his head to look at who was standing behind him. A relieved smile stretched onto his lips as he took in the features of the african american woman he cared for above all else. The happiness on his features , however, died as he remembered her display and part during the arguing. He watched as a fleeting look of regret and apologetic hints flew across her face only to be replaced with a strangely placed grin that was reflecting a happiness none of the team should be able to show.
The heroine held out her hands for Kaldur to grasp and began to pull him back towards the room before he could ask questions. In the few seconds it took for them to get back to the door Kaldur's curiosity won out, but he was beat to asking his question by the answer.
"Someone hacked the systems and took control of the holo-screen. She's saying that she's got information on Nightwing, but she'll only talk to either you or Batman about it to make sure it's dealt with properly. Apparently she knows just how dysfunctional this team can be. Now go get the info so we can get our teammate back, tiger shark."
And then Kaldur was shoved into the mission room. Everyone stopped talking to one another and focused on the Atlantean leader walking up to the holo-screen. No one knew how this would end, and they all fell into a state of shock when they watched Aqualad raise his head and say, "I demand to know who, by Neptune's beard, you think you are and why, when we have the seven oceans and skies to search, we would need you help, villainess?"
Silence filled the room.
Author'sNote
You guys have full right to be mad at me for taking so long. But may I point out that school started and stuff like that got in the way. However, I (and my most amazing beta who I feel writes the story almost as much as I do) have been slaving over this chapter for a little while now. It is fairly long (as you must have read) so, I hope you enjoyed it.
This was the last of the stagnant time chapters, from here on out we will be going only forwards.
However, before saying goodbye. I would like to just give a shout out and thanks to all those who have consistently read this story and for the feedback that you have all given (when you review that is). So here are some names of amazing reviewers to whom I give some great thanks!
soccernin19 - every single chapter you give me a review and something to work with. It's appreciated.
Godgirl4ever - been there for a pretty long time, so thanks.
The coolio anonymous guest who reviewd all the cool chapters - thanks for the critiques and everything, really helped me remember to take care of all possible loose ends when writing further on and made me want to go back to fix up the mistakes I made.
DragonflyThief - who reviewed until her family/friends had a problem and beta'd one chapter for me. I will miss you, but smile if you read this cause I haven't forgotten.
Now, onwards and upwards. I'm sorry for the cliffy; but it had to happen sooner or later that I'd want to try it out on you. Purposely that is.
Anyways, goodnight!
Luffles the Creative! ;)