I do not own Young Justice or any of the characters.
Payback
Cassius smiled as he wrapped his arms around Cassandra, Rose currently flying. They were on their way to Russia to investigate a possible Meta-Teen trafficking center. However, as the League wasn't sure if it was trafficking or a youth center like Taos, they were going as Recon only. And they were also going in as a full stealth mission because the League wasn't allowed in Russia. Over the last few days, the kids had all joined the Team, minus Victor, despite Cassius, Rose, and Cassandra's repeated objections and warnings that Tara was definitely Deathstroke's spy. Garfield had also rejoined the team in an effort to take down Gretchen Goode. And since they no longer had a team to lead, Artemis had returned to retirement with Wally and Dick had rejoined the Team.
"Think this mission'll turn out recon only?" Garfield asked.
"So long as you do as I say, yes," Cassius said. "I was placed in charge because I'm the leading stealth expert, though Dick, Rose, and Cassandra are all arguable. Follow my orders to the letter, and I'll make sure we aren't discovered. Now, have you all been practicing silent messaging with your Darkwear?"
"No dice," Garfield said, the others who couldn't figure it out nodding in agreement.
Cassius sighed. "Alright. We'll make do."
"We're here," Rose said, setting the Bioship down.
"Alright," Cassius nodded. "Beast Boy, you run early recon as something small and fast. Stay out of sight. The rest of you, follow me."
Everyone nodded, shifting their uniforms to Winter Camouflage and they all ran out of the Bioship together, Minus Forager, who remained in the Bioship, as Garfield took off as a small bird. Once they were outside, Brion used his powers to form them a tunnel, Tara levitating a chunk of stone down into it for all of them to ride on. Cassius knelt, holding his hand into the tunnel and grimaced, pulling his hand back and shaking his head.
"Cassandra and I will stay on the surface," Cassius said. "Rose, you've got tactical command of the others in the event of a fight that doesn't include us."
Rose nodded and the others all got onto the stone, dropping into the tunnel as Rose and Cassius continued along the surface, Cassius turning his entire body white. They quickly made their way to the facility, joining the other four outside of it as Halo used her green aura to form a disk-shaped barrier, behind which, they were all invisible.
"Welcome, Lieutenant Dmitri Pushkin, to Area Fifty Two," a blonde female in red cybernetic armor greeted a brunette man who had metal plates bolted to his body all over, everyone who didn't speak fluent Russian having their Darkwear translate.
"It is an honor, Colonel Olga Ilyich," the man said, saluting.
"It is an honor you have earned after volunteering and training," Ilyich replied. "Soon, Lieutenant, you will take your place as the newest member of the Rocket Red Brigade. The bonding of a Red to his armor is painful. Fortunately, you will be in a drug-induced sleep."
"Understood," Dmitri said, staring at the massive red pod behind him as it opened, revealing a suit of armor matching Ilyich's, but with the front open. "And soon the Brigade will be revealed to the world as heroes whose valor puts the Justice League to shame."
"Fall back," Cassius messaged everyone.
They all retreated into the now cool tunnel and Tara sealed the entrance behind them.
"Forager, prepare for extraction," Cassius messaged. "Our mission is complete."
"It is?" Halo asked.
"Why are we not stopping this?" Brion growled irritatedly, stepping forward.
"Because it's not a smuggling ring," Cassius said. "It's volunteers trying to be heroes. That's none of our business, and it's not our place to stop them."
"But their government will use them as super soldiers for propaganda and...who knows what!" Brion hissed. "They want to be the Russian Justice League!"
"Then let them try," Cassius said. "It's not our mission to stop them from forming a team of heroes. We're going."
Brion narrowed his eyes but nodded. They all climbed onto Tara's platform and she began to move it along the tunnel again. After a moment, however, Garfield began to send a video feed of Black Manta, Monsieur Mallah, and Captain Boomerang in the trees over the facility, Mallah holding a rocket launcher.
"Void, Beast Boy's feed!" Halo hissed.
"I see it," Cassius nodded. "Black Manta, Captain Boomerang, and Monsieur Mallah. All three should be in Belle Reeve with inhibitor collars."
"I thought that place was supposed to be escape proof," Brion said.
"It's not entirely escape-proof," Cassius said. "I did it before inhibitor collars became a thing, and we managed it again later on, but for these three, Manta specifically, to have gotten out without us knowing about it is impossible."
"Did anyone tell them?" Halo asked.
"They're going to blow up the facility," Rose commented.
"And is that our business?" Brion asked.
"No," Cassius said. "But we're stopping it anyway. Tara, block the rocket."
Tara nodded and focused. A second later, Garfield's feed showed a wall of stone blocking the rocket shot. A second later, Cassius burst free of the ground, landing behind the three criminals, all three spinning to him.
"Void," Manta growled.
"Manta," Cassius nodded a greeting. "You might want to surrender now."
"I think not!" Manta snarled. "You and I have a score to settle!"
"It's not getting settled at all," Cassius warned, just as Cassandra and Rose landed opposite the three from Cassius, Brion and Tara exploding up from the ground to Cassius's left and Halo flew down on his right, encircling the three. "Last chance for you to surrender."
Mallah roared, opening fire with his minigun at Cassandra and Rose as Manta fired his helmet's lasers at Cassius. Captain Boomerang hurled two metal boomerangs at Halo, who formed a barrier around herself, the boomerangs exploding. Cassandra and Rose began to avoid the bullets as Cassius shot forward, evading laser blasts as he quickly closed in. Mallah began to turn to shoot at Cassius, but Cassandra hurled a batarang into the gun, the batarang exploding and destroying it. A second later, Cassius ducked around Manta's fist and drilled a fist into his gut, then twisted, his other fist exploding into the back of his helmet and burying his head in the snow. Mallah roared, leaping at Cassius, only for Tara to send a boulder into his torso, launching him. As Captain Boomerang pulled his arms back, Rose hurled an electrified bolo at him, wrapping it around his torso and electrocuting him, his unconscious form collapsing on the spot.
Garfield sent a feed of Ilyich flying toward them with a pair of jet thrusters in the back of her suit, and Cassius messaged him to stay in the sky, watching for more company or Dmitri. As soon as that message was sent, Dmitri left the facility, flying over to join Ilyich above them.
"Move and you die!" Dmitri warned.
"Stand down," Cassius said, glancing at the others as he messaged Garfield to remain hidden. "We have no quarrel with the heroes of Russia. We formed the stone wall that blocked the rocket shot. The culprits are these three."
"You expect us to believe that!?" Ilyich demanded.
Just then, Cassandra tackled Cassius out of the way as Manta rolled, his laser flashing past where Cassius had been and blasting a tree. A pair of rocket launchers rose from his shoulder, blasting the two members of the Rocket Red Brigade with a full volley before he flipped into the air and slammed a kick into Tara and Brion, launching both. As he landed on his feet, Mallah slammed a punch into Halo just as she was about to blast Manta, launching her.
"Playing possum worked like a charm," Boomerang said.
"You were actually unconscious," Manta said, breaking the bolo still wrapped around Boomerang.
"Yeah...well...so was Mallah!" Boomerang said defensively.
"You just made a mistake," Cassius warned, turning back to the trio.
"We'll see about that," Manta said. "Now!"
Cassius's eyes widened just before a sniper bullet punched through his heart. His eyes dropped to the hole as it sealed before rage blossomed over his entire face. "Deadshot!"
His voice was little more than a snarl, but Cassandra and Rose's heads both snapped around to him in alarm at the sound of it. His Darkwear instantly identified Deadshot, highlighting him, and he began to walk forward, his body bulging as his muscles reinforced themselves ten-fold. Mallah leapt at him, but Cassius left arm swiped outward, contorting like a whip and slamming into his side hard enough to fling him through a tree and send him bouncing away. Manta fired his lasers into Cassius's chest, burning him, but Cassius ignored it. In response, a tail extended from Cassius's back, the end of it a mass of goo that shattered Manta's helmet and chest armor in the impact. Boomerang shrieked in surprise and fear, fleeing from Cassius, only for Tara to pin him under a pile of stone.
"Ca-" Cassandra began, only for Cassius to leap toward Deadshot, the ground shattering below him as he pushed off, then exploding as he landed.
A second later, Cassius's tail thrashed through the air, clearing the dust. As his body was revealed, the rest of his team gasped and Deadshot staggered backward. Spikes jutted out of his body all over his arms, torso, and legs, his tail was now tipped with a spear head, and was thrashing back and forth furiously, his head had grown a short, wide snout with his mouth reaching back further than it and bristling with pointed, horrible fangs. He began forward, snarling in rage as his crimson irises all but shone with malice, his gaze fixed on Deadshot. His tail thrashed downward, hitting the ground and cratering it.
Deadshot raised his arms, a pair of custom, wrist-mounted, automatic guns buzzing to life at the same time as he opened fire with a pair of Glock 17s. Bullets began to rip into Cassius, punching holes through him as he had neglected to keep his armor formed, yet even when they punched through his head, they did nothing to slow him advancing on his prey. Deadshot dropped his pistols and raised a highly customized AR-15 and began to spray, but again it didn't faze Cassius. Cassius's tail shattered the ground again as he snarled.
Deadshot scrambled backward, raising his left hand and pressing a button on a small PDA strapped to his forearm. The base of a tree to Cassius's right exploded, the tree toppling toward him. However, Cassius merely growled as his tail flashed upward. The impact between tree and tail bore all the devastation of a rocket blast, obliterating the section of the trunk above Cassius, allowing the rest of the tree to crash harmlessly to the ground.
"Remember me, Deadshot?" Cassius growled, his voice deep and monstrous. "I've been waiting a long time for this! You killed my sister!"
Deadshot trembled before Cassius's wrath as Cassius's arms began to change, flattening and broadening, retracting their spikes until his arms had transformed into grisly, jagged blades below mid-bicep. Deadshot staggered backward and to the side, a tree being placed between them, only for Cassius to smash it out of the way with his tail, not slowing his gait at all.
"It wasn't personal," Deadshot said, trying to sound calm but his voice trembling slightly. "I was just doing the job I was hired to do."
"That may not have been personal," Cassius snarled, "But this is!"
He finally reached Deashot, who had backed up against a tree, and pulled his right blade back. Deadshot turned his head away, knowing he couldn't escape, but just as Cassius swung, Cassandra stepped between them, her sword blocking his blade.
"Move!" Cassius almost roared.
Cassandra didn't flinch at his hostility, simply shaking her head calmly. Cassius snarled angrily, swelling even more for a moment before slowly shrinking back down to his usual, black-armored form. His spikes and tail retracted and he pulled his arm back from her blade before shifting it back into a normal arm. He let out a long, snarling sigh before his face calmed, though the hatred remained in his eyes as they shifted back to their usual color.
"Move," he instructed evenly.
Cassandra nodded, deactivating her sword and stepping aside.
"What that's it?" Deadshot asked. "I thought you were protecting me!"
"Not kill," Cassandra said simply.
Deadshot's head swung back around to Cassius just as fury bloomed across his face once again. Then, before Deadshot could move, Cassius's hands had grabbed Deadshot's own, crushing his bones beyond any hope of repair at the same time as a pair of goo tendrils sprouted from Cassius's shoulders, driving themselves into Deadahot's eyes, blinding him. Cassius allowed Deadshot to crumple to the ground before kicking him in the head, knocking him out.
"You will never kill again, Deadshot," Cassius snarled, then sighed, turning to Cassandra. "I'm sorry. I lost control."
Cassandra hugged him. "Okay. Not kill."
"How is this okay!?" Brion demanded. "Weren't you the one who taught us to never use excessive force!? What do you call this!?"
"A compromise," Cassius said coldly, his tone silencing Brion. "Deadshot killed my sister. If not for Cassandra stepping in, I'd have killed him without a second thought, and then would have slept as peacefully as a baby. Now he's still alive but will never kill again, and I'll still sleep as peacefully as a baby. However, and I say this mostly for you, Halo, if you ever do what I just did, you'll be off the Team, and you may be marked a criminal by the League. I'm sure at least Batman will want to have me locked up, if not neutralized entirely."
"No killing, no excessive force," Halo said.
"That's right," Cassius nodded. "I'm sorry I lost my shit. It won't happen again."
"It's...okay," Brion said. "I would not be able to remain calm either in your shoes, as I've proven in the past. I cannot judge you for this."
Cassius nodded and called Forager back down, all of them getting in the ship with the four escaped convicts.
"YOU MUTILATED, DEBILITATED, AND NEARLY KILLED HIM!" Batman roared, the rest of the leaders of the supposedly separate teams all glaring at him from their places in the Batcave. "GIVE ME ONE REASON WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BE SITTING IN BELLE REEVE ALONGSIDE HIM RIGHT NOW!"
"Because the last thing the League wants is Amanda Waller calling my shots," Cassius said. "There's also the problem of Nemesis. And beyond that, how would you explain your ward being locked up in Belle Reeve?"
"YOU THINK THIS IS THE TIME FOR JOKES!?" Batman roared.
"Batman," Kaldur finally said. "He is correct. If it was known that Void was taken to Belle Reeve, and then was seen to be your ward, your identity would be exposed. He is also correct on his other points. However, that does not mean you will not be punished. As of now, you are stripped of all leadership privileges, seniority, and authority. You will remain as the lowest member of the Team indefinitely, and your standing invitation to join the League is rescinded."
"I expected as much," Cassius nodded. "Just so it's clear, it would never have happened if it wasn't Deadshot, and it will never happen again."
"It had better not," Wonder Woman said.
"It won't," Cassius said. "However, that said, I should warn you all that if the day ever comes when I beat Nemesis, I have no intention of sparing him."
The others all looked around at each other before nodding.
"You are dismissed," Kaldur said. "Return to the Watchtower for now. I will be along to speak with you soon."
Cassius nodded and walked to the Zeta tube and leaving. In the Watchtower, Cassandra and Rose were waiting, and both wordlessly hugged him when they saw the irritation on his face. After a few minutes of waiting, Kaldur finally arrived and instantly sighed heavily.
"I do not enjoy punishing my friends," Kaldur said. "You are making my job very hard. I've had to publicly lie and say that the wounds were the result of an explosion and not your intentions twice."
"I'm sorry," Cassius said, then clarified, "that your job was made harder."
Kaldur nodded. "I can understand your sentiment regarding Deadshot. That is why I was lenient this time. Your punishment will last for one year. Then you will be allowed to lead again, provided there are no further incidents like this. Your spot on the League will likely not be restored for a long time."
"Understood," Cassius nodded. "I don't mind that. I'm not joining without these two."
"I know," Kaldur smiled. "We all knew that from the moment they arrived."
Cassius shrugged, smiling. "So, what now?"
"Remain here until tomorrow," Kaldur said. "That should give Batman time to cool off."
Cassius nodded and headed to the spare room assigned to the three of them if they ever needed it. Once they were inside, and Cassius had locked it so that he could hopefully delay Dick's turn at tearing him a new asshole, he turned back to the room, only to raise an eyebrow. Rose and Cassandra had both stripped already and were both watching him from the bed, Rose seated behind Cassandra with one hand slowly working her quickly-moistening slit while the other was kneading her left breast.
"We know something to take your mind off of your scolding," Rose said seductively just before she managed to make Cassandra moan lowly.
Cassius smiled exasperatedly as Cassandra held a hand out to him, then took her hand as his clothes sank into his body.
Leave a review.