So we're a team?" Robin asked Miss Martian.
"The five of us and Superboy." She answered. I didn't want to be included in their "super-sidekicks" club, but I went along with it.
"Then this must be his," the Boy Wonder produced a scrap of clothing that I saw had Superman's "S" shield on it. Miss mArtian took it.
"Yes! Did you see him?"
"I think we did." Artemis answered.
"Feral Boy?" Kid Flash asked. "Some teammate. He attacked us." He said, sending a hard glare in my direction. I mirrored his.
"He didn't know who we are. I don't know who we are!" Artemis exclaimed.
"I remember Batman ordering radio silence. Our team must work for him!" Robin deduced. Yeah, right. And I'm the Queen of Atlantis.
"Hey, how do you know we don't work for my mentor?" Kid Flash asked, pointing to his chest. All of a sudden, he suit changed from a black to a yellow and red. I wish I could test that out on mine, but my hands were tied at the moment. He did it a few more times.
"We look ridiculous. Quit touching yourself!" Artemis said. He did it one more time to annoy her. "We need our memories back."
I saw Miss Martian put her hands to her temple, as I was suddenly within a space-looking place with bunches of shards that looked like snippets of what I saw in my memories from earlier. The other were also transported.
"I've brought you into my mind to share what I've learned so far. But I need your help. Together our broken memories can form a whole, if you open your minds to mine." She explained.
"You want to dig through our private thoughts?" Artemis exclaimed.
"You won't find much in here, that's for sure," I said, referring to my own mind.
"I have no wish to intrude, but-"
"You need to hack our brains to grab what happened to us, got it. Go." Robin interrupted Miss Martian.
"My brain's all yours, try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you." Kid Flash said in a strange tone.
"Or underwhelm you. Hey, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?" I don't think that how words work…
"Last six months only. And only what you need." Artemis said as Kid Flash stood by her and took her hand. I didn't understand the gesture. Miss Martian linked us all to our broken memories.
Scenes flooded my mind. Rescue from Cadmus, defeating Blockbuster, joining the team, Xavier, our battle against Mister Twister, our first mission, becoming the Hawks' protégé, battling Amazo, meeting Artemis, keepin Dr. Roquette safe, and getting beat by Clayface. One memory stood out from the rest, though.
I was sitting in some kind of ship, except this one didn't sail. It flew. I looked out the window as the sea rolled past underneath the red and blue ship.
"You feeling nervous?" I turned as Robin asked his question.
"No, why?"
"Good. You just seemed awfully quiet lately." He noted. I shook my head.
"Just...thinking about our last mission." I admitted, putting my palm on my head.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over Clayface. You did the best you could." He reassured me with a smile. I returned the gesture.
"Approaching Bialya," Miss Martian announced from the controls. I pressed the button on my suit making it turn darker shades of red, yellow, and green as the ship landed and the team got ready.
Other memories appeared in my mind, although they weren't as clear as the one I had. All of it was about setting up in the desert, save for…
"Aqualad!" I shouted in unison with the rest of the team, who I now remembered.
"Where is he? What happened next?" Robin asked.
"I don't know, that's the last thing you-we remember." Miss Martian replied. Now that I was no longer someone bad, I tried cutting my way out again. No one stopped me this time.
It was quicker the second time around. I cut through the weaker ropes and broke free, standing up.
"It's alright, I'm not trying to...kill you now." I explained as the team backed away.
"We've been wandering the desert for over 24 hours. If Kaldur's been missin that long...we'll, that's not good for a guy with gills." Kid Flash said after breaking away from Artemis.
"Now that I know to look for him," Robin brought up his gauntlet computer, "he's close! But he's not moving." He announced to the rest of us.
We hurried off, following Robin's lead. I took to the air with Miss Martian, looking for any sign of the Atlantean.
"There!" Miss Martian pointed down. I could hardly make it out, but the figure of someone lying on the ground was just a few meters away from us. I landed on the ground running, as the team reached Kaldur.
He was speaking in some sort of language I didn't understand as Miss Martian cradled him.
"I can't restore his memories in this condition." She said.
"He needs immediate rehydration. Call the Bio-Ship." Robin ordered.
"It's out of range, but you can get him there fast," she looked at Kid Flash.
"He's too heavy, and I'm too low on fuel. Right now, I couldn't even carry her." He pointed to Artemis.
"I'll carry him. Tell me where the ship is and I can fly him back there." I stepped up. Everyone looked at me, but I remained determined to help. Robin was the first to step up, showing me the map of Bialya, pointing to where we were and where the ship is. I nodded in agreement.
I put my hand on Aqualad's back and then back of his knees, stretching my wings as Miss Martian went to help Superboy.
It was tiring being already worn out from having no memories of the team and carrying Aqualad, but I managed with a strong tailwind.
The recent events played over in my head. I wondered if the team remembers what they were like before like I still did. Was I really like that in Cadmus? Was I just some...assassin like the masked cat lady? Did I really try to kill my friends? I almost missed the Bio-Ship I was so lost in thought.
I flew down to the ship, trying to open a hatch to get in. The ship responded to me as I carried Aqualad in and laid him down on a mat. The rest of the team followed shortly after me, and soon Aqualad was resting and gathering his strength and rehydrating.
"So, Hawkey, mind telling us why you tried to kill us all when you lost your memories?" Wally asked once Kaldu was safe. I had hoped no one would ask, but that was a pretty big thing not to wonder about. I shook my head.
"I remember it all. I thought you all were…targets. I thought I was supposed to kill you because you knew too much about Cadmus. About me. I'm sorry, I didn't know." I apologized.
"It's fine. You didn't remember who we were or how you got here." Artemis reassured me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I smiled at the gesture, but I still felt guilty.
"I didn't believe Megan when she said I was on a team. That I would work with...heroes. I just pretended to so I could strike out when the time was right." I admitted, remembering my previous mindset clearly. The team didn't seem to know how to respond.
"Hey everybody, I've got Superboy. He's back to normal and we're on our way." Megan broke the tension over the psychic link. I still had second thoughts. So that's why I was created...to snuff out anyone who knew too much about Cadmus. I was an assassin for them...a killer…
But I wasn't anymore. I was a good person on a good team. We worked together to bring down the bad guys, including Cadmus. Killing wasn't my purpose anymore. Saving others, doing the right thing, helping people who needed it, that was my purpose now. Keeping the world safe was my mission.
I stayed quiet the whole way back. The silence was deafening, even when others made small talk. I couldn't stop thinking about Cadmus. I didn't care about the headache, I just wanted answers.
What did Cadmus do to me? What did they want from me?
A/N: A bit of a resolution as to what Hawkgirl's original purpose is. I'm going to write out the B-plot for "Targets" with Megan and Connor going to school with Tabitha and all that, and then, during "Terrors," things are going to really start to heat up.
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