Thea sat in the infirmary watching Green Arrow take on Merlin, on Starling news, heroes versus villains was hardly news anymore, but local stations still covered league events and their local heroes. As she watched the she couldn't help but remember that day so long ago. One of Slade's goons had tracked her down, another thing to be used against Oliver, the mirakuru soldier tearing through everyone. A local cop opened fire on the thug, for all the good it did. Thea ran as he walked past everyone else, picked her up and began to strangle her.
"Thea, you ok?"
"What?" Huntress was standing in the door way of the infirmary, looking concerned.
"You had this far off look in your eye. Everything alright?"
"Peachy Cat-brat, what brings you down to the dungeon?" Huntress explains that she wanted to come see how see was doing and apologizes for not coming more often, even remembers to ask where Will and Roy are. "Roy is on a mission with your brother and as such Will is in the kitchen fixing dinner and talking on the phone to a friend. What about the rest of your expanding family?" Batgirl was now common knowledge and everyone in the know was having a field day messing with Dick.
"Batgirl is still training in Gotham and Hood is on a mission to. Between you and me, I think it'll be awhile before she's allowed to join the team."
"Is she that bad?" Huntress told Thea about how she'd rushed into the Scarecrow's warehouse and how she questioned every little thing Catwoman and Batman tried to teach her. Thea told her it was a good thing to question ones mentor. The two girls talked for well over an hour until Speedy finally asked. "Where is Will with my food?" As a matter of fact the cave was strangely quiet, it was getting late true, but Wally never left the cave without telling Thea bye and Kaldur spent exactly an hour with her each day. "Helena I think something's going on, check the cameras."
"Why because Arsenal is late with your meal? I know your a Queen and all but..."
"Just check them." Huntress brought up the feed, the first thing they saw was Aqualad talking with Red Tornado, Thea and Helena are shocked at what they discover, their den mother and one fo their leaders, their friend, thought there was a mole on the team. Tornado asks him if he told anyone about this, and Aqualad is uncertain that there really is a mole, and in case there is, he doesn't want to alert them. He wonders if he should tell Batman, but Red Tornado claims that Batman generally expects the Team to solve problems in-house, but it is his prerogative. Tornado then says he must go for monitor duty at the Watchtower, despite being exempted from it due to his mentoring role, but he claims he must cover for Green Arrow who has a hot date with Black Canary. As he teleports out of the Cave, Aqualad is left pondering. As the scene unfolds Thea is livid. "I can't believe Kaldur would keep this from us."
"Shh."
"Excuse me?"
"Quiet, I'm working and I'm not as good at this hacking stuff as Dick is." Thea observes while Helena continues to tinker away at the security footage. "We have a problem. This footage is at least twenty minutes old."
"And the cameras are supposed to be a live feed, can you find out whats really going on out there." Huntress hacks the security footage to see whats really going on. They see Aqualad coming over to Kid Flash, who is trying to get some of whatever the xerox is making, and Arsenal, and subtly question them about their loyalties. As they discuss Artemis, they are suddenly ambushed. "Who are they fighting?"
"No idea." Helena tries to check the footage from different angles, but the attacker wiped out all four cameras before being recorded. The fate of their comrades is also left unknown. "That's it. All four are dead. The cameras. I meant the cameras. I'm sure the others are alright, right?"
"I'm sure they're fine Huntress, but if we have an intruder, who has already taken care of everyone else, why haven't they come for us?"
"The infirmary has its own power source, first sign of sabotage or hostile intruders this room is taken off the cave bluprints and senors are killed, but a silent alarm should have triggered. Where is the league?"
"No idea, looks like its up to us." Speedy replied.
"Us? You can't even walk, no offense." Thea replies by saying then she'll just have to take the asshole out on her stomach. "Speedy your awesome but this is crazy."
"Thats alright, I'm used to crazy." She recalls the mirakuru soldier who strangled her, how he was killed, and she was saved, by Malcom Merlin. Who are you Deathstroke's lackey had asked. Thea would never forget that moment when Merlin, the man who was already well known for making the glades a crater, answered I'm her father.
Huntress convinces Speedy to wait in the infirmary while she sneaks into the library, for a secret passage behind a bookshelf, when she notice someone approaching. "Huntress?" Believing it to be Red Tornado Helena comes out from behind the bookcase and comes face to face with Brainiac. "Do not resist and you will not be destroyed." The vile machine informs her.
"Or not." She replies diving for cover and drawing her crossbow. "Thea its Brainiac." In the infirmary Thea's reestablished com picks up the cry for help in Helena's reveal. Brainiac is a principal foe of Superman and responsible for shrinking and stealing Kandor, the capital city of Superman's home planet Krypton. Not to mention, one of the few villains capable of taking on the entire league, what could Thea and Huntress do.
"Huntress the boys are still in the kitchen, get them or if you can get out." Taking Thea's advice the young heroine makes a run for it, only to be blocked by an other Brainiac. Huntress flips over the second deranged robot and escapes through the hidden passage. "So now what? Brainiac is one of the powerhouse baddies of the League. How are we supposed to take down two of him?"
"He does seem pretty user unfriendly doesn't he, Cat-brat?"
"Do not joke about this."
"Attention Huntress and all remaining heroes in Mount Justice. You have exactly 10 minutes to surrender, or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished." Brainiac announced through out the entire cave.
"What do we do now?" Helena practically yells over coms.
"We save them, thats how it works."
"Maybe thats how its supposed to work, but what chance do we have against unrelenting machines? Nevermind I've got an idea." Following her train of thought Speedy asks if Huntress has an emp in her utility belt. "I'm fresh out, but I'm betting we can make one. In the Med lab, with you, the X-ray machine. You'll find a small vacuum tube called a vircator that converts high energy pulses. Reprogram the unit's microwave conversion from X-rays to EMPs, with a cascading energy vector directed outward."
"How do you know all this?" Thea inquires.
"You know how much KF talks, everyonce in awhile he says something useful."
"Maybe I shouldn't tune him out as much. Huntress we have a new problem. It's taken me a while, but I finally have cameras again. Brainiac has moved everyone to the hanger."
"Where the cave's main generator is. Of course he has. Then there is only one thing left to do, we're counting on you." Huntress enters the hanger slowly and in plain view. "I surrender. Stop the clock." Brainiac scans the child and replies.
"Your surrender is false, you humans can not fool me. I am above such simple tricks, however now that I have you I shall dispose of you all and then those in hiding."
"Who's in hiding?" Thea asks standing in the hanger door way.
"Speedy what are you doing?" Huntress yells.
"Saving your ass, how about a thannk you."
"Foolish humans, do you really believe you can defeat me with those archaic weapons?" Brainiac questions looking from Helena's crossbow to Thea's bow.
"No." Thea replies. "But this light projection of me, which to be honest couldn't even touch you, will keep you entertained long enough for the real me to fry your ass."
"And you said we couldn't fool you." Brainiac turns to see another version of the girl in the door way this one laying on her stomach in front of the main generator. From the sweat pouring off her face it is obvious she struggled to reach it, but that didn't matter as the electro-magnetic pulse burst through the Cave. "Wow, you really beat Brainiac on your stomach." Helena laughed.
"How are the boys?"
"Fine, just fine." At that point, Red Tornado arrives. Huntress and Speedy tell him what happened and he appears surprised at finding out Brainiac would target the children. He claims he tried to use the teleporter after realizing that communications with the Cave were down, so was forced to teleport nearby and fly back. In the middle of Red Tornado's explanation Sphere rounds the corner.
"And where were you?" Thea asks the living device, patting it. All to late she realizes the effects of the EMP have worn off. As Red Tornado approaches the androids, he reaches out for one and there's an electric charge between the two. Their eyes glow red and Red Tornado turns on the Team and sucks the air out of the entire room, suffocating them into unconsciousness.
"Thea, Thea can you hear me? She's all right." Thea wakes up to Superman's reassuring voice, and finds the Justice League in the Cave. She says Red Tornado attacked them and that he is now gone, and Huntress notices that so are the other androids.
After everything settles down Huntress visits her friend again. "Pretty sweet how you handled Brainiac today."
"Pretty sweet? You've been spending a little to much time with Wally." Thea replies looking up from her book. When Helena asks what she reading Thea answers. "Advanced Robotics and Technology. Today I learned I can help the team even if I can't actually be on it for a while. I can sit in the main room and read the monitors, cordinate our missions."
"Sitting in front of a computer doesn't exactly scream Speedy though." Helena replied.
"Actually I was thinking about another name for the time being."
"How do you feel about Oracle?"
"Oracle? Hm, I'll think about it."
Inside Lex Luthor's private lab the busimess man was trying to close yet another deal "Well Brainiac what do you think?" Lex asked. Luthor had spent weeks on this deal and if Brainiac agreed the light might not even need U-day.
"This Android is your evidence, your best exhibition that what you want will benefit me as much as you claim?" The original Brainiac looked up and down the hero his drones had brought him.
"See Brainiac this is what I'm talking about. No imagination."