Mount Justice

September 23

Green Arrow placed a bowl of pretzels on the table, silently offering the snack to the team.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Wally muttered, looking away from the treat.

"We don't want food, we want answers," Sakura sighed.

"Yeah, what's the deal with Red Tornado and his freaky siblings?" Robin demanded. Green Arrow shrugged and went to take the bowl but Kid Flash stopped him.

"Leave it," he muttered, taking a few of the pretzels in his mouth.

"Do speedsters always need to eat?" Sakura sighed, looking away in slight disgust. She noticed that Artemis was staring at the table, looking pot off. The pinkette slid closer to her, wrapping an arm around the blonde's shoulders. "Are you okay Artemis?"

"I'm fine," the archer sighed, rubbing her head. "Still…a little shaken up, but I'm fine…"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," M'gann assured her, rubbing her back. "You were very brave."

"You knew!" Superboy shouted. The team looked over in shock to find the clone gripping Aqualad's shirt, glaring at him. "That android and his crazy family nearly killed M'gann!" he growled.

"Conner!" said Martian gasped, flying over to the pair. "What are you doing? Let go of him!"

"Kaldur knew there was a traitor among us and said nothing!" Superboy shouted.

"What," the pinkette hissed.

"You knew?" Robin asked in shock.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Kid Flash demanded.

"I was protecting the team from-"

"From what?" Artemis said in anger. "Knowing that there was a traitor among us could have saved our lives!"

"Enough," Batman called. Conner let go of Aqualad and faced the masked man. The team gathered around each other, staring at the Dark Knight. "With Red Tornado…missing, you will get a new supervisor, in rotations. Captain Marvel has volunteered to be the first."

"I'm really looking forward to hanging with everyone," Marvel smiled.

"Once I'm done with Red Tornado, you and I will," Batman walked forward, cutting off Conner's threat to Aqualad.

"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League. He is our responsibility. You will leave him be," Batman ordered lowly. "Meanwhile, I have another mission for this team," A screen was pulled up, showing the front page of a newspaper.

"'Gorilla trades bananas for bullets'," Sakura read. "Wait, is that thing holding a machine gun?" The pinkette was pointing to the slightly fuzzy picture of a Gorilla, with a machine gun in its hands. Another one came up, of an injured man with a gorilla's face in the corner.

"'Gotham's Mayor attacked by guerrilla gorilla'?" Wally read in disbelief.

"Please tell us you're not sending us on some wild…ape chase," Robin asked. "It's a joke!"

"I never joke about a mission," Batman reminded him, glaring at him through his cowl. Robin stiffened and looked away in embarrassment. "I've checked the sources and studied the patterns. Mayor Hill's encounter is only the recent in a series of incidents. Aqualad, you and your team will go to India and check it out." The team walked past the Atlantean, glaring at him.

Sphere rolled over to the bioship, calling out to Conner.

"Nu-uh, go," Superboy ordered. Sphere looked downward before rolling off.

"Wait, you're coming with us?" Robin asked as Captain Marvel was about to fly on the ship.

"Sure, it's gonna be a blast," Marvel nodded, entering the ship.

"Translation, he blames us for what happened with the Reds," Robin sighed.

"He doesn't trust us at all," Sakura summed up, crossing her arms.

"It's a big club," Wally grumbled as Kaldur approached them. The two boys glared at him before stepping into the ship.

"Kaldur, I don't blame you for keeping this from us," Sakura sighed. "Knowing that there was a mole would have set us on edge. We would probably be wary of each other."

"Then why are you mad?" Kaldur asked.

"Because you proved that you didn't trust us. In order for any team to work perfectly, there can't be any secrets. Hidden information that could affect the team can severely damage team dynamics if the others aren't prepared for it. Plus, it damages the trust the team has in the one that held the secret. If you were willing to keep a mole from us, what else are you not telling us? I just thought you had better judgment than that," the pinkette sighed before entering the ship as well.

"You know, this mission isn't so farfetched," Sakura stated once they were in the air.

"What makes you say that?" Marvel asked. Sakura crossed her arms and brought her hand up, biting her thumb.

"In my village, it is possible to summon animals to help fight alongside us," the pinkette answered. "Kakashi-sensei can summon dogs, Lady Tsunade can summon slugs, Lord Jiraiya has frogs, as does Naruto, and Orochimaru can summon snakes. In the shinobi world, it is quiet common to have a summoning do some work for you. If this is the case, then that would mean a rogue shinobi from one of the hidden villages could be using a gorilla summon to do his dirty work and get press."

"Or, they could be using the summon to get something," Wally continued. "They could be in it for glory, if they pretend to take down and catch this gorilla they could get a hefty reward."

"Or, they're using it for crimes," Artemis added.

"Yes, but I do warn you…if that is the case…" Sakura trailed off.

"This will no longer be our mission," Robin finished.

"Correct," Sakura nodded. "This will be handed off to the proper village and from there, ANBU will be dispatched to take care of the rouge and his summon."

"What do you mean by 'proper village'?" Marvel asked.

"Simple, I hold sacred village secrets and techniques. If I were to turn rogue, then ANBU from my village would come after me to kill me, and dispose of my body properly. If anyone were to get a hold of me, they could use village secrets to destroy it," Sakura answered. "If this is the cause of a shinobi and summon, it is my duty to figure out the village from which the shinobi originated and send a message to the kage. After that the kage will send out ANBU from their village to dispose of the shinobi and keep the village secrets exactly that."

"Your village is brutal," Marvel muttered.

"That's how you survive," Sakura told him. "So, are we clear on what will happen if this turns out to be a summon?"

"Very," Aqualad nodded.

Northern India

September 23

The bioship hovered over the forest. Artemis and Robin jumped out of the ship, running into the forest as M'gann landed their transportation. The hatch slid open and the group exited as Robin and Artemis joined them.

"All clear," the Boy Wonder announced.

"Switch to stealth mode and we'll review mission parameters," Aqualad told them, turning on his suit.

"We don't need parameters," Kid Flash grumbled, turning on his stealth suit.

"Yeah, its recon we know what to do," Robin scoffed. The two males turned towards the forest.

"Kid, Robin, wait," Aqualad called.

"Look, the four of us started this team because the Justice League was keeping secrets from us," Robin huffed.

"Or did you forget that part? Like you forgot to tell us that we had a mole?" Kid Flash huffed, pulling the goggles over his eyes.

"You coming with?" Robin asked Kunoichi. Sakura nodded and ran over to him, following the two into the forest.

Sakura crouched on the edge of a small ridge. She placed her glasses on her face, scanning through the foliage. Robin and Kid Flash pulled up their binoculars and goggles, searching through the forest as well. A screech from the air ripped them out of their thoughts. They looked up and saw three large vultures swooping down towards them.

"I thought vultures only went after dead meat!" Robin shouted, jumping out of the way.

"Vultures are scavenger birds," Sakura informed them. "They hunt for dead and decaying animals and pick their bones clean."

"These are some very proactive hunters!" Wally shouted as they began running downhill.

"And super sized! How big can these things get?" Robin shouted.

"It all depends on the type! There are about sixteen different species. Tell me which one these are, and I'll tell ya!" Sakura answered.

"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Robin asked.

"Totally," Sakura nodded.

"It's Cobra Venom!" Wally answered.

"And look! They have collars as well," Sakura pointed out, flipping forward as a vulture tried to grab her. The pinkette gasped as she lost her footing and began rolling downhill. She slid to a stop and jumped back up, running.

"We have to get rid of these things, now!" Robin shouted.

"How do you suggest we do that?" Wally questioned.

"Just fight!" Sakura answered, sliding to a stop and taking out several kunai. She threw them at the predators, narrowing her eyes. "Release!" An explosion went off, throwing the hunters back. Robin flipped through the trees, losing his opponent in the vines. Wally ran up the trees and jumped into the air. He curled up his body and shot through the night sky, taking a vulture out of the air. He hit another tree and swung down, tumbling onto the ground.

"Run!" Robin shouted, running through the treetops.

"Wally! Disappear!" Sakura shouted at the speedster. The redhead nodded and ran through the forest. Sakura and Robin jumped into the trees, following him.

"Link established," M'gann spoke in their mind.

"Should he really be telling us what to do still?" Artemis scoffed. "Better question, should you really be doing what he says?"

"Please listen," Aqualad requested.

"Oh great, what I really need, Aqualad's voice in my head," Wally smirked.

"Hey Kaldur! We were just attacked by giant vultures!" Robin reported. "Of course since we're moles you probably think we just attacked ourselves."

"If wouldn't tell you even if he thinks you did," Artemis replied.

"Superboy, are you online, or pouting?" M'gann asked.

"I'm a little busy right now! Call back later!" Superboy answered gruffly.

"You know what really bothers me? The fact that he's so nonchalant about not telling us about the mole," Wally told them.

"He should be more chalant, way more chalant," Robin agreed.

"How can we be a team if he doesn't trust us with his secrets," Artemis huffed.

"Or Conner not trusting us to take care of ourselves!" M'gann added.

"How could he think one of us is the mole?" Wally shouted in disbelief.

"Yeah! I mean, we've known each other for years!" Robin agreed.

"Trust is a two way street pal!" Artemis growled.

"And everyone would hate it if we kept secrets from them!" M'gann huffed.

"Not that we would! Never!"Artemis added quickly.

"ENOUGH!" Cherī shouted through the mental link. Wally and Robin whipped back to see Sakura, her eyes slammed closed, and gripping a rock, which quickly turned into dust in her strong grip. "You are all acting like children! You are teenagers, mature teenagers that are a team! START ACTING LIKE IT! There is a reason that Kaldur did not tell you about the mole! Look at what has happened now that you know; everyone's fighting like a bunch of damn two-year-olds! If you guys had known about the fucking mole in the first place, what do you think would have happened, huh? The same thing that's happening now; you are turning against your own, creating alliances and not trusting anyone else."

"Well then, Ms. Perfect, what would you do? Hug and congratulate him for nearly killing us because he didn't tell us about the mole?" Artemis questioned.

"Kaldur put our lives at risk by keeping the mole a secret!" M'gann agreed.

"Enough," Kaldur commanded. "ENOUGH! Captain Marvel has been taken, and we must act like a team to get him back."

"Under your leadership? I don't think so," Wally replied.

"This is not up for debate." Kaldur told them darkly. "You all chose me as your leader, and I will see that through. If you want to choose a new leader after the mission, then I will gladly step down. But until then, I AM your leader, and you WILL follow orders."

"This is a mission, as such we should not let our personal feelings get in the way," Sakura told them. She stood up and dusted off her hands, looking at the two boys with a seriousness in her eyes that made them flinch back. "We can't afford to fall apart at the moment. I resent the fact that Kaldur kept this information from us, but at least I have the right sense to push my personal feelings aside and focus on the mission. I thought you guys had been trained to do that, to not let your emotions take control on a mission, but I guess I was wrong, about all of you." She turned around and stalked into the jungle, leaving Robin and Wally to hang their heads in shame. "Unless you shape up and get your act together, then after this mission, I am gone."