The Ambassador ran through the hallways, forgetting every rule he had learned about posture, rank, and the hierarchy as news of his mate reached his ears. He ignored the confused looks of the patrolling soldiers and the passing scientists. He ran, with one thought on his mind, with only one question, with only one emotion running through his mind. His mate was back.

He reached the door where his mate was lying just beyond. He took several deep breaths, his heart racing, his mind unsure of what to say. How did he tell his mate that he had been worried out of his mind because he did not know where she was? How did he tell her that his very existence depended upon his mate's safety? How did he tell her that? The Reach by their very nature are supposed to be ruthless and know no weaknesses. Interrogators were bred to be a reminder of that.

As he took his final breath before heading inside, a messenger came up to him. He growled with irritation, but he also knew that the messenger would never dare to interrupt him unless it was important. He turned towards the small female who though she stood straight, her eyes were averted in proper submissive form.

"Ambassador, the Warrior has returned from his mission and the Interrogator as well. She has brought in three prisoners which can be used as leverage. She wishes to speak to you immediately as does the Warrior."

"Can't it wait?" the Ambassador growled back harshly.

"May I speak freely, Sir?" The messenger glanced upwards, but quickly lowered her eyes once again. Normally, such a request would be denied immediately. And yet, the Ambassador knew this Reach child. She was intelligent and well on her way to becoming much more than a simple messenger. The Scientist had even expressed hope that she would one day become a Scientist or at the very least, an Assistant.

"Of course."

"The Warrior was furious over his mission. He was shouting and screaming of sabotage. He ordered that everyone who had access to those ships to report to the bay immediately. He is saying that there is a traitor in our midst."

"Is he serious?" A traitor, as the Ambassador knew, was not something to be taken lightly of.

"I believe that he is convinced of the existence of a traitor. However, I am unsure if he is simply blaming his failure upon another."

"The Warrior failed?" Disbelief tinged with the wicked's curiosity could be heard in his voice.

"Quite terribly. His entire squadron was destroyed before even reaching his destination. He was made unconscious to be taken away where we found him and the Blue Warrior was taken captive by the Young Justice."

The Ambassador clenched his fists with dissatisfaction. "I trust your opinion, Messenger. Is it possible that this Young Justice is suddenly much stronger than we anticipated, or that the Warrior is losing his competency?"

"I believe it to be both. While I only know of the metabirds through hearsay - I apologize for eavesdropping, Ambassador - I do believe that it is possible that during the time that the bird is training the supermetahuman, it is possible for the host to become aware of its condition and harness that training for its own use. I also believe that the Warrior has been Scarab-bound for too long and is suffering from egomania as a side-effect of his serving as Warrior. As long as I am speaking freely, Sir, I believe it to be wise to... relieve him of his position."

The Ambassador nodded. He knew that on a certain level, it was dangerous for a lowly messenger to speak so freely and without restraint, but he also heard wisdom from her young mouth. He looked at her. Yes, she had potential. He grinned. He would have to promote her to his Advisor. It was a position much more fitting for her intelligence. He made a mental note for her ceremony later. She would be young, but he was too when he became an Ambassador. "Anything else?"

"I find it would be wisest, Ambassador, if you postponed your visit with your mate for only a moment to see the Interrogator. I trust that she has valuable information that could finalize our domination of this pathetic planet."

The Ambassador nodded. He looked through the door where his mate was still unconscious. It was possible to spare a few moments. He took a deep breath and nodded to the messenger. He ordered, "Take me to the Interrogator."

He followed the Reach child until reaching a room where few ever ventured for fear that the screams and cries would give them neverending nightmares. He knew the rumors that spread from this place deep within the belly of the ship and was inclined to believe a few himself. Despite being in charge of this mission, he in reality had very little authority over the actions of the Interrogator. They had a mutual respect and understanding of one another. In simplest terms, they agreed to stay out of each other's way and not cause trouble for the other.

He pushed open the door with the messenger following behind him. He saw the Interrogator wearing her typical purple armor. However, her helmet was gone revealing the black spines on the back of her neck. The Ambassador knew that they were filled with poison and often fell off during a Reach's first molt, yet this was the most obvious sign of an Interrogator born instead of genetically altered. Behind her were three humans, an adult male, and adult female, and a male child. The Ambassador wondered what these humans had to do with anything.

The Interrogator turned around, as if sensing his thoughts. She smiled demonically. "Ah, Ambassador. How is my sister?"

The Ambassador smiled respectfully. The one thing that frightened him about his mate, but was perhaps the fact that also attracted him to her, was the fact that she came from a line of Interrogators. She was not quite one, yet he knew that their children had the potential to be Interrogators. He often wondered if his twins would be some if they hatched. "I was unable to see her. I was interrupted beforehand and urged to speak with you first."

Her smile grew wider. "Normally, I would threaten to do unspeakable acts as my sister did not come first in your life. However, I believe I have found the secret to perfecting our technique to deal with metahumans."

"How so?"

"You see, in my sister's absence, I ran tests upon these humans. They are related to the supermetahuman, Joan Hayes. I was curious if the secret to the supermetagene was within their DNA."

"Is it?"

"Unfortunately, no. However, I have made a quite interesting discovery. Their DNA has the unique ability to imprint. In other words, if we introduce a certain gene into their DNA, then it absorbs the gene and mutates it to a whole new level. This is only a theory. I was about to test it though and I thought that you would want to be here when I tested it."

"Of course."

The Interrogator grabbed a small vile and attached a needle to the end. "I will be testing this upon the boy. His ability to imprint appears to be greater than his parents who are only slightly imprintable. In this vile, there is the extracted gene of Kid Flash. On his own, Kid Flash is an impressive metahuman. Though his gene is not natural, the mutation is still valid. Now, imagine that gene on a supermeta level. The possibilities are endless."

"Should he be restrained?"

"His body is sedated to a level of tranquility. He will not even understand what even has occurred." The Interrogator waited for the nod of approval from the Ambassador before injecting the swirling fluid into the boy.

The reaction was almost instantaneous. The boy's eyes widened. His back arched. He screamed in agony. The Ambassador wanted to cover his ears to block out that screech, but found himself mesmerized by the scream. But as quickly as the scream started, it ended. The boy turned to the Interrogator and the Ambassador. Before the Ambassador knew what had happened, he was on the ground and the boy was at his throat. His hand pressed down on the Ambassador's throat, threatening to stop the flow of air into his lungs.

"Where is my sister?" he shouted. The Interrogator came towards the boy but in less than an instant, the Interrogator was on the ground unconscious and the boy was back on the Ambassador. "I'll say this one last time. Where. Is. My. Sister."

The Ambassador started choking and the boy let him go, suddenly standing. The Messenger threw a knife, a weapon that was more of a formality than a weapon, but the boy's hand was up and caught it. He looked at the Messenger. "Really?" The Messenger was on the ground next to the Ambassador. The boy glanced back at his parents who were unconscious on the floor. "I'll be back, Mom and Dad. I'll be back before you know it."

The boy was gone.

The Ambassador sat up, coughing on his own blood released from the force of the boy's strike. The Interrogator also stood up. He nodded at her and she took off. She now had a new mission. To hunt down the greatest advantage the Reach had possessed since the start of the war. He stood up, kicking the Messenger awake. She stumbled up, but up she came. The Ambassador nodded and he led her back to the emergency wing of the ship. It was rarely used, but occasionally they were still victims of Young Justice or errors among the technicians of the ship.

He set her down in the capable hands of a nurse while waving off a different one who came to attend to him. He stood up and walked over towards the room where his mate was being held. She was awake and alert, but her face was confused as when she first discovered the conundrum of the metagene. Slowly, the Ambassador entered the room. His mate stood taller at attention when she saw the others do so first. The Ambassador furrowed his brow.

"Why do you stand at attention?" he asked her as he neared towards her, stopping at her bedside.

"May I ask a question, Ambassador?" Her tone was strict and formal like the Messenger's. The Ambassador knew he would not like what he would hear next. And he was right.

"Who are you?"


Author's Note: Woo! I'm updating more regularly! I hope you have as much fun with this chapter as I did. And thanks again to Shadowsofthenightsky for betaing. Seriously. I knew I needed a beta reader. She showed me just how much I need one. Also, if anyone had any ideas for what's going to happen next, I'm open to suggestions!


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