Disclaimer: In chapter one
"Lila. Lila! Can you hear me?"
My eyes opened when I heard someone call my name. Black Canary stood in front of me and smiled slightly when she saw I was awake. I didn't smile back. "Tornado! The Reds! Where are they?!" I said while trying to get out of the liquid that was holding me.
"Relax Lila. You and the team are safe now," She assured me, "Flash and Captain Atom are working on setting you, Wally and Conner free." I looked behind her to see Flash working with the machine that Artemis had tried to use earlier.
"You okay?" Wally asked.
I nodded. "Are you?" He nodded as well. I asked Conner the same thing and he grunted in reply. I took that as a yes.
"Artemis! Artemis!" Superman was trying to wake up Artemis, "Can you hear me?" I hear her groaning and sighed in relief when I heard that she was okay.
She got up with a grunt and Superman asked "What happened here?"
"What happened!" She snapped, "The Reds happened! Tornado and his- Wait, where are they?!" She whirled around to look for them.
"Gone," Robin replied. I grit my teeth, feeling annoyed, "All three of them. Gone."
…
A few silent minutes later Flash managed to free me. "Thank you Flash." I said as I rubbed my arms. They were sore from staying in that position for so long.
Flash nodded and replied "No problem. You okay kid?"
I nodded and walked over to the table where Robin, Artemis, Kaldur and Conner were sitting in silence. I sat down beside Artemis and Wally joined us soon after and sat beside me. I stifled a yawn. I was exhausted even though I had been knocked out for a while.
Soon after Batman called Kaldur over to talk and Green Arrow came over with a bowl of pretzels. "Thanks but no thanks," Wally said.
"Yeah!" Robin added, "What we want are answers about Red Tornado and his siblings!"
"Exactly!" Wally exclaimed. Green Arrow then took the bowl away. At least he was going to before Wally grabbed his wrist and put the bowl back on the table. He then took a handful and shoved it into his mouth. I grimaced as bits of food came out of his moth, some of them landing on me.
"YOU KNEW!" I whipped my head around as Conner yelled and sprang out of my seat as he slammed Kaldur against the wall. "That android and his maniac family nearly killed M'gann!"
"Conner! What are you doing?" M'gann said as she flew towards him.
"Let him go Conner!" I exclaimed as I sprinted towards them and grabbed Conner's arm, trying to pull him off Kaldur. This didn't work as he is Kryptonian and I'm a human.
"Kaldur knew we had a traitor and said nothing!" Conner snapped. I let go of Conner's arm and stepped away.
"W…what?" I said, looking at Kaldur with wide eyes.
"You knew?" Robin asked, sounding furious.
"And you didn't tell us?" Wally snapped.
"I sought to protect the team." Kaldur said, his gaze steady with Superboy.
"Protect us with what? Knowledge that might have saved our lives?" Artemis snapped.
I didn't say anything. It all started to add up. The talk with Red Arrow in Taipei. That was about the mole.
Kaldur had lied to me.
I was his girlfriend and he had lied to me about something that could have killed me and the rest of our friends.
Why did he do that? Did he not trust me? Did he not think I could have kept it a secret?
"Enough." Batman's words brought me out of my thoughts. He narrowed his eyes at Conner and Conner released Kaldur. We walked over to join the rest of the team as Batman said "With Red Tornado missing the team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors," I scowled at Batman. Babysitters?! How old were we? Five?
A man, in a red suit with a while lightning bolt on the front and a white cape, stepped forward. "Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift." Batman said.
"I'm really looking forward to hanging out with you guys." Marvel said cheerily.
"After I dismantle Red Tornado, you and I are gonna-"Conner's threat to Kaldur was cut off by Batman.
"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League. That makes him a league responsibility. You will leave him to us," Batman told Conner, "I have another assignment for the team." On the screen a picture of a newspaper appeared. The headline was "Gotham mayor attacked by Guerrilla gorilla!
Really? We were dealing with monkeys now? Not even the robot kind now.
"Gotham mayor attacked by Guerrilla gorilla." Wally sounded as impressed as I did.
"Batman please!" Robin exclaimed, "Tell me you're not sending us out on this joke of a wild ape chase!"
"I never joke about the mission," The look on Batman's face made us all shut up. I could see why people are afraid of him, "I've checked the sources. I've studied the patterns. Mayor Hill's encounters are only the latest in a series of incidents."
Batman turned to Kaldur. "Aqualad, your team will depart for India and check this out."
"Huh, your team." Wally snapped at Kaldur as he walked past.
I couldn't even look at Kaldur as I walked past. How could he lie to me like that? I know we had only been in a relationship for a week but for him to keep secrets like that was pretty big.
He grabbed my hand when I was walking past and said "Lila I-"
"Don't. Just don't." I cut him off before pulling my hand out of his grip and walking ahead. I got to the Bioship and climbed aboard, taking my seat silently. I raised my eyebrows as Captain Marvel climbed on. Did the league think we needed to be babysat all the time?
The Bioship left and we sat in silence.
…..
The ride to India was silent. As we approached India, Artemis, Robin and I got up from our seats and attached the hook that Miss Martian had created onto my belt. She then created a hole in the Bioship and we leapt out, unclipping the hooks as we feel.
I landed on my feet and checked if the area was empty. We couldn't have anyone finding the Bioship. The area I checked was empty and I went back to where the Bioship had landed.
"All clear." Robin reported.
"Switch to stealth," Aqualad commanded, "And we'll review mission parameters." The rest of the team, apart from Captain Marvel and I, switched to stealth mode.
"Parameters! Kid exclaimed while switching to stealth mode, "We don't need no stinking parameters."
"It's recon!" Robin added, "We know what to do."
The pair were about to walk off when Aqualad exclaimed "Kid! Robin!"
Robin spun around to face Aqualad "The three of us started this team because the Justice League was keeping secrets from us."
"Or, did you forget that like you forgot tell us about the mole?" Kid Flash added harshly. They both ran off into the jungle. I looked around as we settled into an awkward silence.
"Come on!" Superboy said, grabbing Miss Martian's arm, "I'll keep you safe." Miss M then pulled her arm out of his grip. M'gann glared at him and I suspected she was telling him something telepathically.
"I just want to protect you!" Supey said.
Artemis marched up to the pair. "Like Aqualad protected us? I'm not sure your protection or your patronising is good for our health," They started to walk away but not before Artemis called out "You coming Shade?"
I nodded and followed the pair without even looking at Kaldur. I just didn't want to talk to him right now. Not after he lied to me. I eventually caught up with the two of them.
"Did Kaldur tell you about the mole Lila?" M'gann asked telepathically.
"Nope. I can't believe he lied to me. Does he not trust me? Why would he lie to me?" I replied. The others shrugged in reply.
We walked past the river, the silence was slightly unnerving. This was a jungle, why couldn't I hear any animals?
My head whipped around when I heard shouts. "What was-"
I stopped when a crocodile leapt out the water and attacked Miss M. I grabbed explosives to throw at the animal and Artemis pulled an arrow from her quiver. Suddenly, the logs crumbled from beneath Artemis and pulled her under water.
I dove in after them and saw that the crocodile was trying to death roll Artemis. I swam beside them and used one of my throwing knives to cut through Artemis' quiver before pulling her out of the crocodile's grip.
M'gann grabbed Artemis and threw her towards me. She then used the telekinesis to lift the crocodile above the water and push the water away from Artemis so she could breathe.
I knelt beside her and soon Artemis stopped coughing. "Okay, nearly drowning two nights in a row is way less fun than it sounds." She told us.
"I wouldn't have thought so," I replied, "But did you see the size of the crocodile? That isn't natural."
"It may be Kobra venom. I'm going to set up a telepathic link with Aqualad and the others." Miss Martian replied. I helped Artemis to shore before turning to M'gann.
"Aqualad can you hear me?" M'gann telepathically asked.
"Yes Miss Martian. Report." Kaldur replied.
"Artemis, Shade and I just got attacked by animal wearing inhibitor collars, like those used on convicts in Belle Reave prison." M'gann told him.
"Captain wait!" I heard Aqualad say. Artemis and I exchanged looks before I said "I'm going to see what's happening." They both nodded and I ran ahead.
I chuckled quietly when Kaldur said "Hey, speed of Mercury."
"Miss Martian. I need a telepathic link up with the team now." I heard Kaldur say as I got to the trees.
"Link established." She replied.
"Should he really be giving us orders and should you really be following them?" Artemis chimed in sarcastically.
"Listen please!" Kaldur pleaded. I bit my lip. I could see Kaldur now. He was a short distance away.
"Oh good! Aqualad's voice in my head, I've so missed that!" Kid said with the same amount of venom in his voice as Artemis had in hers.
"Hey Kaldur! KF and I were attacked by giant vultures. Course, since we're moles you probably think we attacked ourselves!" Robin added sarcastically.
"If he did he wouldn't tell you." Artemis replied.
"Superboy, are you online or are you just pouting?" M'gann asked.
"Busy. Call back later." He grunted in reply.I watched Kaldur as he walked further and followed him. I frowned as the team continued to be aggressive towards Aqualad. I raised my eyebrows when I saw what Kaldur was looking at. Four large metal spikes stuck out of the ground. What were they for?
"Guys don't you think you're being a bit-"
I was cut off by Aqualad when he said firmly "Enough." My eyes widened when Kaldur pulled one of the metal spikes out of the ground. "Captain Marvel has been captured and we must act as a team to save him."
"Huh, under your leadership? I don't think s-"
"This is not up for debate," Kaldur shut KF's mouth immediately, "This is not up for debate. You all chose me to lead. When the mission is over, if you wish to select a new leader I will happily stand down but until that time I am in command here." Kaldur threw down the spike and walked forward. I watched him walk off, his shoulders hunched over.
"I am sorry." Kaldur said. He turned and made eye contact with me. I stepped out of the shadows and sighed.
"You lied to me. In Taipei when you were talking to Red Arrow that was about the mole wasn't it?" I asked.
He nodded. "I only wanted to protect you and the team to prevent suspicions arising among teammates. I did not mean to hurt you."
I swallowed. "It still hurts that you lied to me." Though it did hurt less now. I realised that he just wanted to protect the team. Maybe we had been too harsh on him.
"I am truly sorry Shade." Kaldur said quietly before slipping his hand into mine and squeezing it gently.
"You did what you thought was best for the team. It's….understandable," I replied before adding, "You're still an idiot for hiding it though." I smiled slightly.
He smiled as well before saying "I know," He released my hand, "Now we should go find Captain Marvel." He called out to M'gann in his mind and started to organize a plan. I followed him with a slight smile on my face.
…
We reached the compound nearby soon after. Aqualad made a hole in the shield surrounding it and Artemis shoot an arrow, hitting the button that turned the shield off. We were in and thought the plan was going smoothly until a monkey started to screech and the alarm went off.
More monkeys jumped down from the roof and we started to fight them. Kaldur called out "Remove their collars!" as I kicked a monkey away. These things were pretty strong. I hissed as one of them scratched my arm. I pulled our two explosives and stuck them on two different collars. The collars exploded and fell to the ground, destroyed.
Then an ape with a mission gun appeared. I'm not kidding.
We focused most of the attacks on him and I dodged several bullets. I then pulled out one of my throwing knives and did an attack Scarlett taught me. I threw it as the ape fired and the explosion from his gun sent him backwards. While he was distracted, Superboy leapt forward and punched him, sending the ape through the wall.
We walked through the hole the ape had created into a room where Captain Marvel was strapped to a table and a machine with a brain in it stood further away. This mission was weird but then again most of our missions were odd.
KF pointed to the brain machine. "It's the brain!"
"Uh, I can see it's a brain." Artemis replied sarcastically.
"Not a brain! The Brain!" He exclaimed.
"In the flesh, so to speak," It replied. It could talk. Oh boy. "Mallah!" It turned to the ape. It pressed a button and four metal spikes, that were the same ones I saw earlier, came out of the ground. We fell down with a cry of surprise and, whatever it was, held us down.
"Miss Martian Superboy! Now!" Kaldur telepathically commanded. Miss M took the button that Mallah had pressed and pressed it again. The thing holding us down disappeared and we got up. We started attacking the ape again and The Brain fired lasers as well.
I ran over to Captain Marvel and used a throwing knife to cut his collar away. "Thanks!" He said before getting off the table and pulling the collar off the tiger that was on the ground. My eyes widened when I saw The Brain powering up. This couldn't be good.
"Get down!" Kid yelled.
Then the lights went out.
And flickered back on again.
The Brain and Mallah were gone. "Wait, that big weapon thing was a light switch?" KF said.
….
"That's the last of the collars." Marvel said to his tiger friend. I was surprised it could even understand him. The tiger growled in reply.
"Now I can count on you to keep the other animals out of trouble?" Marvel asked. The tiger growled again. "Good. I'll be back for a visit. I promise." The tiger leapt off as Marvel said "I think I'll call him Mr Tawney." I smiled. Captain seemed oddly childlike.
"Well he's gonna need a name!" I walked over to Kid Flash, Superboy and Miss Martian. They also had a large white wolf standing with them. "Uh, how about Krypto?"
The wolf growled. He didn't like that name it seemed. "Pass." Supey replied.
"Besides, isn't that taken?" M'gann asked.
We went back to the Bioship when Robin asked Aqualad about the mole.
"The source of the tip came from Sportsmaster." Kaldur revealed. I blinked. That's pretty big.
"What! You can't trust him!" Artemis exclaimed.
"I do not," Kaldur assured her, "It seemed possible, even likely, that he attempted to divide the team with false information."
"And given how this mission went, he nearly succeeded," Robin added, "But you had to consider it might be true."
"Yes, as leader I did. In which case I did not want to alert the traitor." Kaldur replied.
"Hate to say it, but it makes sense." Robin said.
"I am still prepared to step down." Kaldur said.
I snorted. "Which is an even worse decision."
"Agreed," KF said, "All in favour in keeping Aqualad as leader?" Everyone raised their hands as I grinned. Captain stepped up beside Kal.
"Guess it's unanimous," He and Kal shook hands before Marvel walked off, "See you tomorrow."
"You're not coming back with us?" Kal asked.
"Nah. Got to fly." Captain Marvel said before flying into the sky as the sun rose.
"So what are you going to call him?" M'gann asked.
"What's wrong with wolf?" Conner asked.
"Generic but acceptable." Came Wally's reply from inside the Bioship.
Kaldur and I smiled at each other. I slipped my hand into his and squeezed it gently before going to my seat in the Bioship.
….
The ride back was normal. Artemis and Wally bickered about gorilla lice until we got back to the cave. I smiled when I stepped off the Bioship and saw who was waiting there.
"What happened to you? Did you get into a fight with another cat?" Scarlett asked me with a smirk when she saw my scratches.
I rolled my eyes. "Nice to see you too, Rudolph." I replied, mentioning her sunburnt nose.
"Hey, Nairobi is a hot place," Scarlett replied before I crouched down and hugged her. "Good to see you kiddo."
I pulled out of the hug when I heard a cough behind me. "Uh, who's this?" Artemis asked.
"This is my godmother, Scarlett." I replied.
Artemis' eyes widened. "Whoa, you're the original Shade!"
Scarlett smiled. "In the flesh. It's nice to meet you…" She looked up at me.
"Artemis," I pointed to each member of the team in turn, "Conner, M'gann, Wally, Robin and Kaldur."
"It's lovely to meet you all." Scarlett smiled widely.
Wally ran up to her. "It's nice to meet you too and I must say, I see where Lila gets her good looks from."
"We aren't' actually blood related Wally." I replied.
Artemis snorted. "Smooth Baywatch."
Scarlett smirked and began to chuckle. "What are you laughing at?" I asked as I started to push her wheelchair into the other room.
"I just realised, I have plenty of embarrassing stories to tell you friends."
I groaned as she added "Consider this revenge for the Rudolph remark."
…..
Scarlett's back! You see where Lila gets her snark from.
Molly Grace 16- Thank you!
lack-4-a-better-name-Thanks!
Patattack-Thanks!
Murdercrowther-Thanks!
Piggythelaw-Yay cookies! Thanks!
ZabuzasGirl-Updated!