Mount Justice: Night…
"Conner, can you hear me?" Superman asked.
There was a high-pitched ringing in the clone's ears, and he groaned upon opening his eyes. There was a blurry blue and red figure standing over him.
"Dad?" Superboy questioned.
He blinked and Superman came into focus above him. "He's alright."
He helped his son stand. The rest of the team was being helped to their feet; save Chimera who stood next to Hal. Lucky Girl had ended up teleporting him to his mentor's apartment before the pair hurried back here.
"What happened here?" Superman asked. "We know you were attack by Agent 11 and his people, but we thought everything was handled."
"Albedo appeared before Red Tornado sucked out the oxygen." The clone suddenly stiffened and looked around. "Wait, where is Kevin, his team, Albedo, and Red Tornado?"
"Gone." Robin ended up answering. "All them are just gone."
"Batman, something's wrong." Black Canary called from her position above Cameron's still form.
Superboy ended up rushing over with Batman as the team's eyes followed.
Batman knelt on his other side. "What happened?"
"He's warm." Black Canary replied.
Batman narrowed his eyes and felt around Cameron's neck for a pulse. The former criminal groaned and tried to pull away from his touch; however, Batman held firm.
"His heart rate is too high." Batman pulled the teen into his arms, and Cameron's head flopped around uselessly. "We have to get him to the infirmary."
Infirmary, Later…
Cameron woke up to find bright lights in his face and grimaced before turning away from it with a groan. "Why does it feel so hot!?"
"Cameron?" Black Canary asked. "Can you hear me?"
"Turn off the sun!" He groaned.
His voice was dry and sore. It felt like someone had stuffed cotton balls in his mouth. There was a soft chuckle before the lights dimmed. He blinked rapidly trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden darkness. The heroine ended up moving over to the sink.
Black Canary put a towel in the water before wringing it out and walking back over to him. She placed the towel on his forehead. Cameron didn't even try to smother the pure sigh of relief as the cool liquid met his skin. The concern on her face grew, and she pulled up a chair.
"Kyle told me what you did for him and M'gann." Canary stated.
"Yeah?" Cameron asked drowsily. "God, who knew the cold could feel so heavenly?"
"I suppose you could say I was surprised when I heard that it was you who suggested the reverse body heat technique to help them survive." Canary stated causing Cameron's brows to knit together in confusion. "I mean, it doesn't fit the profile we have of you."
Cameron understood what she was getting at. "Most of that was my father." He admitted. "Most of the time, when he made me part of his plans, he would make me promise to do as much damage to people and structures as possible.
Occasionally, I tried to not hurt anyone as a sort of rebellion, you know? When I didn't live up to his expectations, he would threaten to sell me out to the police, or a fellow criminal I might've pissed off at some point."
"How would he have notified the police?" Canary asked.
"Anonymously or something. After a while, it sort of became a stress reliever." A sudden heat wave crawled across his skin. "Why am I so hot?"
He began to pull off the sheets.
"You're sick." Black Canary stated.
She grabbed his hand to stop him from pushing the rest of the blankets off.
"Wait, what?" Cameron was shocked. "I don't get sick even with this stupid collar suppressing my powers."
Canary began reapplying the blankets over him. "Well, it appears that when you were keeping M'gann and Kyle cool, you were leaving yourself vulnerable to the flames and bacteria. While normally your body would have no problem fighting it, you weren't in the best condition.
That was part of the reason I asked you to disclose all injuries the day you first got here. Now, your body has warmed up to kill off the bacteria. Unfortunately, it isn't very effective due to your normal core body temperature."
"Damn." Cameron sunk into his mattress.
"Since you were unconscious, we took the liberty of finding everything wrong with your body and treating it. Thought you will still be potentially vulnerable to illness. As such, I'll have to keep an eye on you just in case you get worse."
"I can take care of myself." Cameron argued back weakly.
"I know you can, but there are some things that you might need my help doing that you can't do on your own." Canary replied patiently.
"Like what?" Cameron asked irritably.
"Do you know how to use a hypodermic needle and properly insert it into a vein?" Canary asked.
"…Okay, maybe she had a point." Cameron sighed deciding to shift topics. "Anyways, how're M'gann and Kyle?"
"They're perfectly fine." Black Canary replied. "Now, you should really try to get some rest."
"Yeah, I hear you." Cameron grouched. "At least this bed is about as comfy as the one in my room and far comfier than the ones at Belle Reve."
Black Canary eventually took her leave to attend a meeting with the team and promised to return soon after.
With the Team
Nearly a third of the Justice League was hard at work repairing the damage that the Rooters left in their wake. The Leaguers who weren't on repair-duty, or out doing their job, were in the briefing-room with the team. Red Tornado's betrayal had hit them hard.
None of them could claim to be close to the android, but he had been a constant presence in their lives since the team was founded. It made them all uncomfortable to think that their 'den-mother' had been a spy all along. It was even worse for the Justice League.
Most of them had known Red Tornado for years, yet none of them had suspected a thing. Superboy, while glad Gwen hadn't been captured, still found himself distracted and angry. Cameron was becoming a fast friend, yet he almost died. Gwen could tell Conner was wound.
She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. When he looked at her, the magic user offered a sincere, gentle smile. That did work to calm the clone a bit, but it couldn't completely erase his negative feelings. The clone found his attention drawn to Ben and Batman to distract himself.
Without really thinking about it, he reached out with his super-hearing. "…I'm not positive about anything, but I think Albedo may have done something to him." Ben replied. "Either that or he was a mole all along."
"Regardless, Red Tornado is a league responsibility," Batman stated with a warning tone. "The team will not pursue this."
"I hear you, but if Red Tornado is a traitor, doesn't that compromise security for both the Cave and Watchtower?" Ben asked. "He must have had high clearance at least for the Cave."
"All of our security measures have been changed," Batman assured him. "Now, I need to ask one thing of you Ben. When you were in Taipei, you heard that either the League or the team had a traitor. Did you, at any point, suspect Red Tornado?"
Like a switch had been thrown, Superboy snarled.
The clone let go of Gwen and tackled Ben into a wall. "You knew!?" Everyone looked up and had seen Conner tackle their leader. "Kevin Levin, his Rooters, and that maniac android nearly killed Cameron. They could have very well done that to Gwen to."
"Conner!" Gwen ran over to them. "What are you doing?"
"Ben knew we had a traitor among us, yet he said nothing!" Conner yelled.
The team stood up from the table and stared incredulously at Ben.
Robin narrowed his eyes. "You knew, and you didn't tell us!?"
"I sought to protect the team…" Ben began.
"Protect us from what Ben?" Gwen interrupted clearly hurt her cousin didn't trust any of them. "Knowledge that might have saved our lives?"
Wonder Girl's eyes widened. "It was Icicle Junior. He's the traitor. The guy's barley here for a few days, and this happens. He probably hacked into Red Tornado to make him betray us."
"Enough!" Batman ordered stopping everyone. "Cameron is not the mole. According to information provided from multiple sources, this team has had one for quite some time now. Well before Junior was around."
"Doesn't mean he couldn't have anything to do with this." Wonder Girl muttered.
"With Red Tornado… missing, the team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors." He stepped aside to reveal their new den mother. "Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift."
"I'm really looking forward to hanging with you guys." Captain Marvel stated happily.
"I thought we could trust each other. I thought you were my friend." Conner had turned back to Ben. "Once I dismantle Red Tornado, you and I are…"
"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League." Batman stepped in. "That makes him a League responsibility. You will leave him to us." He stared down Superboy for a moment before turning to a hologram screen. "I have another assignment for this team."
It showed several images and news articles depicting an ape holding a machine gun.
"Gotham Mayor attacked by Guerrilla Gorilla?" Kid Flash asked skeptically.
"Batman, please don't tell me you expect us to go on this joke of a wild ape chase." Robin asked.
His mentor stepped forward. "I never joke about a mission." Robin bowed his head. "I've checked the sources and studied the patterns. Mayor Hill's encounter is only the latest in a series of incidents." He turned to Ben. "Chimera, you and your team will depart for India."
Ben nodded reservedly. He didn't look at his teammates, but he could feel their condemning glares. The feelings of anger and betrayal were palpable. The only ones who didn't seem angry was Bushido and Kid Flash.
"Your team." Wonder Girl scoffed as she brushed past him. "Yeah right."
Ben sighed and decided to go get dressed for the mission.
Bushido stopped him. "Ben, I feel as though I must apologize."
"What for?" Ben asked reservedly.
"I had overheard what Sportsmaster told you about prior missions and started talking about it with Wonder Girl." Bushido bowed his head. "It is likely that my actions were what led to last night's fiasco."
"Relax." Ben sighed. "If Tornado really is a mole, he'd have betrayed us regardless of anything you may have said. If anything, we're lucky he showed his hand, so we could stem the flow of intel out of the Cave." He patted the guy's shoulder. "Now, I'm going to go get ready."
Infirmary
Cameron looked up at Black Canary who walked through the door after the meeting. "Hey."
"What are you doing out of bed?" She asked.
Her eyes narrowed at him standing by the sink and holding a plastic cup filled with cold water.
"I was thirsty." He answered back confused.
"Oh no, you get back to bed." She stated while taking the cup.
"Hey!" Cameron wriggled out of her grip. "I'm sick; not a cripple!"
She gave him a look. "I know you aren't, but that doesn't mean you're going to get any better if you're running around. You need rest."
She pushed him towards the bed. He glared at her, but reluctantly climbed back in. Canary then placed the water on the bedside table within his teach.
"So, how're you feeling?" She asked.
"A bit better actually." Cameron stated.
It was half true. He still swayed on his feet while burning up, but at least his mouth didn't feel like he'd recently been attempting to eat sand.
Canary nodded. "Good."
"Anyways, what happened at the meeting?" Cameron asked.
Black Canary shifted and didn't look comfortable with the subject. "I'll get you a clean change of clothes." She headed for the door. "You'd better not move from that bed while I'm gone."
She gave him a warning finger before leaving. Cameron raised an eyebrow at her only to shrug and simply enjoy the warm, knitted blanket. Honestly, he could get used to this. Canary soon returned with a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.
"After the fiasco yesterday, we didn't get a chance to get you into something clean." She admitted while handing him the clothes.
"Thanks." He stated before looking up and seeing that she was still standing there.
"Right, you want me to leave while you change." Canary stated.
Sure, she's already seen and treated all his injuries, but it was the principal of the thing.
Cameron wanted to say no, but, once again, his mouth suddenly decided to speak for him. "It's alright. You can stay if you want." He gripped the T-Shirt silently. "Why does my mouth keep doing this to me!"
So, Black Canary stood there as worry started to etch into her features. Cameron took a deep breath and slowly began to remove the dark tank top. It revealed his now bandaged up chest.
"You know, your chest was starting to get infected, and it's not completely out of the question still." Black Canary could see that his chest was bruised purple and swollen red. "What happened?"
"It wasn't really that big a deal." Cameron stated defensively.
He finished pulling off his shirt and reached to grab the spare only for Canary to grab his wrist. "Whether you believe it's a big deal or not makes no difference. Infections like that could be the reason you got sick"
She forced him to let go of the shirt. "Stuff like that can be lethal if it goes unreported, so why didn't you tell us?" Cameron didn't know what to say, so Black Canary just sighed. "At the very least, we should give you some antibiotics. Any allergies?"
She reached into the bedside drawer for some on hand medicine.
Cameron crossed his arms. "None that I know of."
Black Canary didn't comment on that as she managed to pull out two pills. The heroine then held out the cup of water the former criminal had gotten and handed him the pills. Cameron seriously considering not taking the meds just to piss her off.
"Forget it." He let out a sigh of defeat. "The only person I'd hurt doing that is me."
Cameron took the pills and washed them down with the cup.
"Alright." She took the cup and sat it down. "Now, mind telling me where you got that injury?"
She sat down across from Cameron on the bed, and Cameron's lips pinched themselves shut. It was humiliating and embarrassing. He wasn't going to tell her even if she came at him with a hot poker. He shook his head and pulled the T-shirt over his head to avoid the question.
Canary sighed and stood. "If you need anything, press that button on the side table."
She then walked out.
Cameron scoffed as he pulled the blankets over himself. "Yeah right…."
Zeta Tube Room
Black Canary walked into the room and saw Batman realigning the cameras. "He didn't tell you."
"Didn't breathe a word." Canary's shoulders sagged. "I swear, these kids are going to give me wrinkles."
Batman's lip twitched. "How is his heart rate?"
"It's doing better." She moved to help him type in more codes. "The infection is still there, but that's obvious. I did get him to take some antibiotics though."
"How bad is it?" Batman asked.
"Prior treatment did seem to work, but it could get worse if we don't keep an eye on him." Canary replied.
"Then, why aren't you?" Batman asked bluntly as he turned off the screen.
"It's just…" Canary trailed off.
"…what Wonder Girl accused him of?" Batman asked.
She sighed. "I know he couldn't have done it, but I'm not so sure anymore."
"I've already reviewed the tapes." Batman stated. "He hadn't met or was near Red Tornado before the attack, and his story matches what Chimera and Robin reported. Like Wonder Woman, her theories tend to be based more on preference than fact."
She nodded. "Anyway, I came to talk to you about something else." Batman raised an eyebrow. "When I asked him why he saved Kyle and M'gann, he told me his father forced him to hurt others. If he didn't, his father would threaten to sell him out to the police or other villains."
"Blackmail." Batman stated.
Black Canary nodded. "He told me that it became a stress reliever for him, and that might explain why he seemed excited about the destruction when Wonder Woman and Girl arrived to stop him. I know it doesn't excuse him, but…"
"I'll have to update his psychological profile in the database." Bruce nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you for reporting this to me."
Hanger
Chimera joined his team in the hanger just as Superboy was turning away sphere. Captain Marvel flew up behind them and dropped to the ground.
"You're coming with?" Robin asked.
"Sure, we'll have a blast!" Captain Marvel stated as he eagerly stepped inside.
Robin scoffed as he turned to Wonder Girl. "Translation: he blames us for the Red fiasco. Doesn't trust us."
Wonder Girl glared in Chimera's direction. "Big club."
They entered the ship and Chimera's shoulders dropped.
"This'll all blow over eventually." Bushido was there to pat him on the back. "They're honestly just blowing everything out of proportion."
"I hope so." Chimera saw Miss Martian float past them with a stoic expression. "M'gann…?"
"Don't." M'gann's voice was cold and hard. "You didn't trust me enough to confide in me, and that hurts."
She then hovered into the Bioship. Honestly, having most of his team treat him this way didn't feel good. Betraying the trust of Ms. Martian, Superboy, and Lucky Girl did hurt the most though. It was like three extra cherries on top of this already awful situation.
Kid Flash observed all of this with a stunned eye. Every time he thought he knew how The Coming Storm would act; he acted a different way. Given last night's events, which were what really had him annoyed, he wasn't certain about being an actual mole anymore.
Honestly, it felt genuinely right to support his current leader like Bushido. "Hey Chimera." He walked over. "Look, I just wanted to say that I understand why you didn't say anything about there being a mole. I know the others are mad at you, but I think they'll come around."
Chimera nodded. "Thank you, Kid Flash." While having these two in his corner felt nice, it could only do so much to alleviate the current situation. "Anyways, we should get aboard. We still have a mission after all."
The three of them walked aboard with Chimera taking a seat, in the corner, dejectedly.
India: Night…
The following hours were spent in silence as the ship flew towards India. Nothing was exchanged except for angry glances at Chimera. Only Captain Marvel seemed oblivious to the tension and would occasionally make small talk with individual members.
Finally, M'gann cleared her throat. "Approaching Batman's coordinates."
A hole formed in the floor of the ship allowing Robin and Bushido to hop out with their weapons ready. When they had secured the area, M'gann landed the ship, and the rest of the team walked out.
"Switch to stealth." Chimera ordered. "Then, we'll go over the plan."
"Plan?" Wonder Girl sneered as she tapped her emblem causing her suit to morph to black, "We don't need no stinking plans. Especially from people we thought were our friend."
"It's recon." Robin added angrily as he turned away. "We know what to do."
"Guys, I don't think…" Kid Flash began.
"You don't get it." Robin interrupted. "Chimera, Lucky Girl, Wonder Girl, and I started this team because the Justice League didn't trust us. Then, Chimera goes around and shows he lacks trust in us to."
The boy wonder took off into the forest followed by Wonder Girl.
"Guess the rest of us will just have to make do." Chimera sighed. "I was thinking Ms. Martian, Ion, and Lucky Girl could…"
"Save it." Lucky Girl snapped. "I thought you'd finally learned that you couldn't do everything alone. In the end, you didn't trust us just like you constantly didn't trust Grandpa and me. Well, now I don't trust you. Ion and Ms. Martian, let's get out of here."
She stormed off into the jungle followed by Ion. Miss Martian at least spared a glance back at him before disappearing into the foliage.
"Why didn't you stop them?" Superboy demanded. "You're supposed to be in charge!"
"You're kidding me, right?" Chimera questioned stunned. "After all that undermining of my authority, you're seriously going to hold me responsible?"
Superboy rolled his eyes before launching himself into the night sky. Chimera hung his head since everything had gone so wrong in mere days.
Captain Marvel walked up behind him. "I'm sorry, but did I miss the part where you told us the plan?"
Chimera just started walking off into the jungle. "Look at us." Captain Marvel, Bushido, and Kid Flash followed him. "The band of rejects… extended edition. Man, this brings back memories."
"I'm not a reject." Captain Marvel retorted.
"Really? I assumed you pulled the short straw."
"No! I volunteered!"
"That makes one of us." Chimera brushed aside a bush as he stepped over a small brook. "Stupid team. I didn't even initially think of becoming a leader until they talked me into it. "Seriously, I didn't get a chance to explain myself!
All I did was tell Red Arrow I'd investigate to placate him. I knew no one on the team was a traitor. Until Red Tornado attacked the Cave, I thought it was just something Sportsmaster said to get in my head. Even then, I'm uncertain he was acting of his own will."
"If it is any consolation, I doubt I'd have done much differently." Bushido replied. "Your logic was sound, and it only succumbed to human error."
"Do you really trust the whole team?" Kid Flash asked.
"Of course, I do." Chimera replied without hesitation. "I trust all of you from Robin to Cameron and everyone in between."
Well, now Kid Flash felt extremely guilty and even more doubtful of Sevantis.
"Anyways, what are we looking for?" Captain Marvel asked hoping to get their minds off the situation.
"A sign of a struggle." Chimera sighed. "The mayor was attacked, so there must be something in this area."
"Like that over there?" Captain Marvel stated.
The leaguer was pointed at a large clearing a few yards away. Clearly, large tufts of grass had been uprooted violently and clawed tracks marred the ground. One thing that disturbed them was a pile of bullet casings next to a gorilla's footprints.
"I'm a little torn between making a 'Planet of the Apes' joke or a 'monkey-business' joke," Captain Marvel stated getting a snicker from Kid Flash, but Chimera was just quiet. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Sorry Cap, but I got distracted." Chimera shook his head. "I'm just wondering how things could have gone so wrong so fast. It's…" He was cut off by the rapidly growing sound of approaching, angry footsteps. "Quick question. What's the biggest animal in India?"
"The Indian elephant." Bushido replied. "Though, that sounds much bigger than that."
With a trumpeting roar, the source of the footsteps broke through the tree line. It was an elephant, but not a normal one. Its tusks had multiple points, its eyes glowed red, and its skin seemed to split in several places revealing dense muscle underneath.
It was also over fifty feet tall which was concerning. The elephant trumpeted and thundered forward. Captain Marvel flew fists first at the mutant's head. Despite his impressive strength, the elephant was only pushed back a few feet.
It caught Captain Marvel with its trunk and hurled him deeper into the jungle. Just as the young heroes took a stance, with Chimera dialing up his Vaxasaurian, the trees behind them fell in a shower of splinters revealing two more mutant elephants.
"Those collars look familiar… That's it!" Chimera shifted his dial to a Loboan. "Kid Flash, you and Bushido take one elephant and get the collar off." He slammed the face plate down. "Blitzwolfer!"
With a growl, Blitzwolfer charged in on all fours. He avoided the charging elephant and managed to hook his claws into it. The Loboan then climbed up the elephant and slashed his claws into the collar taking it out.
While Blitzwolfer handled his elephant, Kid Flash ended up taking Bushido out of the path of their elephant. "You heard our leader." He twirled around quickly before launching Bushido onto the back of the large elephant. "Get that collar off!"
Bushido went with the flow on this managing a perfect landing on the back. He then ran up the elephant while drawing a handle with collapsed metal from one of his pouches. It extended into another katana, but this one could cut more than demons. He slashed off the collar.
At that moment, Captain Marvel flew back in seeming more embarrassed than hurt. "Whoa, what's going on here?"
"No time!" Blitzwolfer shouted. "Destroy the collar on the last elephant. If I'm right, that's what's controlling them."
Captain Marvel gave a two-fingered salute. "On it!"
In a crimson blur, Captain Marvel slammed into the elephant that had thrown him. He knocked it down before blowing the collar off with a blast of magic lighting from his hands. No longer being controlled, the elephants shook their massive heads and ran away.
Captain Marvel scratched his head. "Well, that was random."
"Maybe, but it's also disturbing." Blitzwolfer returned to normal and picked up a section of broken collar. "I've seen these collars before. They look exactly like the ones used to keep the inmates of Belle Reve in line."
"That must mean there's an intelligence behind the attack." Bushido reasoned.
"If we were attacked, it stands to reason the others are in danger as well." Kid Flash added.
Chimera immediately reached for his communicator clearly alarmed.
With Robin and Wonder Girl
Robin and Wonder Girl were attacked by a mutated rhino that was nearly twice the size of a normal one. The boy wonder threw a bola around the rhino's legs tripping it up.
"Hey, does that thing kind of look familiar?" Robin asked as the rhino tore the bola and charged.
"Yeah, it looks like Neo Venom!" Wonder Girl managed to catch the rhino by the horn. "Okay, enough of this!"
The demigod got under the rhino and lifted him high into the air. She then managed to turn him around and pile drive the rhino into the ground. With the beast now on the ground, Robin noticed the collar and threw a birdarang. With the collar off, the rhino snorted but didn't attack.
"Neo Venom infused animals and control-collars." Robin mused.
"That's not a good combo." Wonder Girl stated.
With Lucky Girl, Miss Martian, and Ion
"Is alright if I say I hate birds!" Ion shouted as he fired off a blast of will.
"I think it's fine!" Lucky Girl shouted as she fired off spheres of mana. "I'm honestly starting to hate them too!"
Not long after they'd taken off, Ion, Lucky Girl, and Miss Martian found themselves under attack by giant, mutant vultures. There were only three of them, but they were very persistent. They just getting back up no matter how many times they were knocked down.
"I don't want to judge since Mars certainly has strange creatures, but these aren't normal for Earth, right?" Miss Martian asked as he stopped a vulture midair and chucked it away.
"You're not wrong." Ion stated as he constructed a construction beam and chucked it into his bird knocking it out. "These must be mutated somehow."
Lucky Girl and Miss Martian used their respective powers to slam the remaining birds into each other sending them hurtling towards the ground unconscious.
With Superboy
Superboy didn't have anyone to verbally vent to, but he did get a chance to work out his anger. A pack of giant wolves, each more than twice the size of a normal wolf, had surrounded him. In the back of his mind, Superboy berated himself for not using his super senses to detect them.
Still, he was happy to punch something. "Bring it, Fido Clan!"
The first of the wolves snarled before leaping at him, but Superboy backhanded it into a tree with ease. The next few wolves were knocked out in a handful of seconds. After another minute, all but one wolf was unconscious. This was the one Superboy took seriously.
This wolf was clearly the alpha. It stood at double the mass of the other wolves. Its fur was snow-white which made the slightly yellowed fangs more noticeable when it snarled. Superboy gave an answering snarl and charged.
He missed his first punch, and while he was off-balance, the wolf sank its teeth into the clone's arm. Superboy yelled in pain as the fangs penetrated his skin. Though it was not that much, the fact that it was strong enough to hurt him was a feat.
"At least you're interesting." Superboy stated with a smirk.
With Chimera's Group
"Come in team." A harsh burst of static filled Chimera's ear causing him to kill the line. "Comms are down, and Ms. Martian didn't link us up before she left."
"Actually, you let everyone leave before communications were set." Captain Marvel commented.
"They wouldn't listen!" Chimera protested. "How am I supposed to lead people who don't want me as their leader?"
"I don't know." Captain Marvel shrugged. "Though Batman seemed quite capable of ending arguments with one word."
"I'm not Batman." Chimera huffed.
"You aren't, but you are a leader like him." Kid Flash pointed out.
"He must take commanded for the good of the league." Bushido asked.
"It's hard to take something from people who don't want you to have it." Ben grunted before looking to the stars. "Grandpa Max was a high-ranking Plumber. I wonder if he ever ran into something like this?"
"Chimera, can you hear me?" Chimera glanced at Kid Flash and Bushido who were receiving Ms. Martian's telepathic message too.
"Go ahead, Ms. Martian."
"Lucky Girl, Ion, and I were attacked by animals wearing inhibitor collars."
"Cool! A tiger!" Chimera turned to see Captain Marvel float into the air and give him a wide grin. "I'll be right back!"
"Captain, wait!" Chimera hissed only for the hero to shoot off into a field of tall grass.
"Well, he does have the speed of Mercury." Kid Flash commented.
"Come on, let's go after him." Chimera sighed. "Kid Flash, please stay with Bushido and I." He then ran off into the grass followed by the others. "Ms. Martian, link up the team."
"Link established." Miss Martian confirmed.
"Should he really still be giving us orders?" Lucky Girl complained. "When he gets like this, all he cares about it 'keeping us safe'. He doesn't think we can look out for ourselves."
"That's not what…" Chimera tried.
"Oh, Chimera's voice is in my head." Wonder Girl butted in. "I soooo missed that."
"Chimera, W.G. and I were attacked by a giant rhino." Robin reported. "Since we're moles, you probably think we attacked ourselves."
"Please, let us focus on the matters at hand." Bushido pleaded.
"Superboy, you online, or are you sulking?" Ion asked.
"Later." He replied tersely. "Busy now."
"What gets me is how nonchalant Chimera is about not telling us." Wonder Girl ranted.
"He should totally be chalant." Robin agreed.
Chimera brushed aside a large palm frond and entered a clearing. In the middle, three metal stakes protruded from the earth and were cackling with electricity. Captain Marvel was nowhere to be seen but distinctive drag marks showed where his body had been carried off into the jungle.
"How can we trust him to lead if he doesn't even trust us?" Ion asked
"Did he really think Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, or I could have been the mole?" Lucky Girl questioned. "We've all known him for years."
Chimera was getting tired of all this constant anger directed at him. Kid Flash and Bushido looked at him with clear concern.
"None of us would've kept it a secret." Miss Martian stated.
"I think it's safe to say that this team is…" Wonder Girl began.
"That is enough!" Chimera took off his helmet and chucked it as hard as he could into a metal spike out of anger. "I have been trying to be respectful of your feelings concerning this, but you seem to have forgotten I only became leader because people suggested it to me."
Up until that point, I had no desire to be your leader. Then, you elected me to be in charge, and I have done everything in my power to keep this team safe. You disagree with my methods? Fine. You want me to step down?
Even better at this point. You want me to leave the team? I'll gladly do it. Right now, we are on a mission, and Captain Marvel just got himself captured. That means, until further notice, I am you leader."
"After all that's happened?" Wonder Girl scoffed. "I don't think…"
"I'm sorry." Chimera interrupted. "You seem to be under the impression that I'm giving you a choice in the matter. Now, any more stupid comments before we get it together and act like a team again?" Silence reigned supreme. "Good. Rendezvous with Bushido's GPS signal. We'll track down Captain Marvel. Got it?"
There were affirmative answers across the board, so Chimera began to follow the tracks.
Bushido smiled as he followed Chimera. "Now, that is the Chimera I respect."
Kid Flash joined them having retrieved their leader's helmet. "You forgot this?"
Chimera stopped and took the helmet before looking at it. "Thanks for the effort, but I'm honestly realizing now how good the cold air feels without this thing." He threw the helmet away again. "Regardless of how tonight goes, I think I'll need a new identity."
With that declaration, the group pressed on.
With the Team, Later…
After a few minutes, most of the team had regrouped at a large bunker that sat in a clearing. A circle of pylons ringed the structure together, and they emitted a large, semitransparent dome over the bunker.
"See a weakness?" Chimera asked.
"I do." Robin replied. "There's a small control-panel near the door. One good shock will probably short out the whole thing."
"I could fly up to it in camouflage-mode?" Miss Martian offered.
"Bad idea." Kid Flash was analyzing the dome with his goggles. "That energy being emitted would probably fry you."
"I got this." Chimera dialed in his Nosedeenian. "All of you need to be ready." He then slammed the face plate down. "Buzzshock."
Buzzshock zipped across the clearing, merged with the shield, and zipped right on up to the control box before shorting it out. Once it was down, the rest of the team surged forward. They immediately stopped as Neo Venom baboons shirked and charged them.
Buzzshock rejoined the team "Remove the collars!"
He then used his unique abilities to move quickly from collar to collar disabling them.
"Easy for you to say!" Robin grunted while kicking a baboon away.
He then drew birdarangs and threw them ripping off two collars. The rest of the battle was largely simple. Ion, Wonder Girl, and Superboy could hold the monkeys down while the rest removed the collars.
"That was just annoying." Ion grunted.
"It was a delay tactic." Bushido corrected. "Whoever is in that bunker just wants us kept busy until they're done with Captain Marvel."
"You're probably right." Buzzshock agreed. "Look, the door's opening, so go Miss Martian!"
The Martian tried to enter the bunker in camouflage-mode, but as Monsieur Mallah came out, he caught the girl's scent. With a growl, he grabbed her by the shoulder and slammed her into the ground. The gorilla aimed his minigun at the fallen Martian but was distracted by a voice.
"Get your paws off her, you damn, dirty ape!" Kid Flash yelled.
He shoulder checked the gorilla. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted on what colliding with a 500-pound gorilla, in body armor, would do to him. While Mallah was knocked back a step, Kid Flash bounced off like a rubber ball and slammed into a tree.
"I got this!" Wonder Girl yelled.
She charged at the ape slamming him through the wall. This allowed the team into the building. Fortunately, they had gotten into the operating room where they found the brain electrocuting a tiger. Captain Marvel was laid out on the operating table.
Wally gasped. "It's the Brain!"
"In the flesh… so to speak." The trashcan slid forward as the gorilla stood behind him.
Suddenly, the wall behind the brain imploded as Superboy stepped through. His shirt was ripped, and he stood in front of a particularly large white wolf.
"Sorry I'm late." Superboy smirked. "Hey, I brought along a friend."
As if on cue, the wolf charged Mallah knocking him down. The Brain backed up and began firing lasers from his metallic body. Superboy leapt in front of the others to guard them while Buzzshock freed Captain Marvel. Robin and Bushido threw shuriken into the back of the gorilla forcing him to lose his gun. All the heroes then corralled the two villains together.
"No, Mallah." The Brain stated when it looked like his partner was about to charge. "This will not be our Waterloo. Au revoir, mes ami."
Dozens of devices unfolded and popped out of his chassis.
"Get down!" Kid Flash shouted.
Those with high durability got in front of those who didn't, and Lucky Girl even threw up a barrier around everyone. Instead of an explosion, the lights in the room went off. When they came back, The Brain and Monsieur Mallah were gone.
"Wait." Kid Flash said in disbelief. "All that stuff… was a light-switch?"
"Apparently." Ion replied.
"Well, there gone." Chimera was just relieved this mission was over. "Time to go home."
Later…
Ms. Martian called the Bioship to their location while Captain Marvel was kneeling in front of the tiger. "I can count on you to keep the other animals out of trouble?" The tiger growled, but it seemed to be a 'yes'. "Cool. I'll come visit you soon, I promise." He petted the tiger for a moment before it ran into the jungle. "I think I'll call him Mr. Tawny."
That left only one animal remaining, and he was getting his ears scratched by Superboy. "The rest of the pack is gone, so what are you still doing here?"
"Maybe he wants to stay with you?" Lucky Girl replied.
"Can I keep him?" Superboy asked excitedly.
"First Sphere. Now, this big puppy." Kid Flash chuckled. "What is it with you and collecting strays?"
"Maybe because he's such a stray." Lucky Girl stated happily. "He knows how well strays can turn out when given a place they can belong."
"Well, he's going to need a name." Ion cut in. "Oh, how about 'Krypto'?"
The wolf growled, and Superboy picked up on his displeasure. "Pass."
As the team started to gather, Robin had to confront Chimera. "I have to know why you didn't say anything about a mole?"
"Two reasons." Chimera replied. "First, I never suspected any of you. Over our time together, I've gotten to know all of you, and I'm positive that none of you would betray this team."
Almost everyone felt pride in his faith in them, but it just continued to make Kid Flash feel guiltier. Most of them then felt shame in how quickly they lost faith in him. The only one who didn't feel any shame was Bushido since he stuck by Chimera's side without ulterior motive.
"What's the other reason?" Ion asked.
"The source of my information was Sportsmaster, and Red Arrow was the one trying to get me to look into this." Chimera replied. "Sportsmaster was most likely trying to divide us, and while I like Red Arrow, he holds no sway over me as a leader."
"Given how this mission almost ended, sounds like a safe bet." Robin mused.
"That left the possibility of the traitor, if there was one, to be a member of the Justice League. That was part of the reason I didn't personally go to a leaguer with this." Chimera glanced over at Captain Marvel. "No offense, Cap."
"None taken." Captain Marvel assured.
"I meant what I said before." Chimera looked at his teammates. "If you want me to step down and/or leave the team, I'll accept that decision."
Kid Flash raised a hand. "All in favor of keeping Chimera as our fearless leader?"
Every member of the team raised a hand while the wolf tilted his head and pointed one ear up.
"I guess it's unanimous." Captain Marvel stated happily.
"Yeah, seems that way." Chimera smiled. "Considering everything that happened, I'm going to make a new start from this." He nodded to them. "This was my last mission as Chimera and in this armor. I'll get back to you guys on my new name later."
"There is another matter we must discuss." Robin sighed. "You made your second in command; however, I failed. A second is supposed to have your back. I'm supposed to offer advice when you thinks you wrong and support your decisions when you're right."
"I know what you're going to say Robin, but I'm not letting you go just because you made one mistake." Chimera grinned. "Whenever I've needed you, you've come through. Honestly, there's no one else I want as my second in command."
"I don't know about this." Robin stated.
"Why don't you guys put it to a vote." Captain Marvel offered. "You both just laid out excellent points, so there should be more than enough information out there."
"Good point." Chimera held up a hand. "All in favor of keeping Robin as my second in command?" Everyone, except Robin, raised their hands. "Looks like we're both stuck with out roles, boy wonder."
"Yeah, I guess." Robin sighed. "I just don't know how I feel getting off easy like this."
"When did I say you'd be getting off easy." Chimera smirked as he put an arm around the boy wonder. "See, as team leader I have the right to issue some punishment. Since you still feel uneasy, you can be the one to report this mission to Batman."
Robin paled at that. "Is it too late to resign."
"Yep, too late." Chimera patted his back. "You already lost your chance with the vote." He led the boy wonder back into the ship. "Let's head home everyone!" Captain Marvel floated up into the air. "Huh, you're not coming?"
"Nah." Captain Marvel replied. "Gotta stretch my wings, but I'll certainly be coming back around because you guys are fun to hang with."
He shot off over the horizon towards the rising sun and disappeared. Lucky Girl walked with Superboy and the wolf towards the ship.
"So, what are you going to call him?" She asked.
"What's wrong with Wolf?" Superboy suggested.
"Generic, but acceptable." Kid Flash said.
"I mean, we do seem to have a good theme." Ion added. "Bioship, Ship, Sphere, and now Wolf. Seems to me like noun names are working."
Bioship
"I think we're still missing a crucial piece of the puzzle here." Wonder Girl stated as the ship flew on back to the mountain. "None of us may be a mole, but what about Cameron?"
"It's already confirmed that he had no prior interaction with Red Tornado." Superboy retorted.
"Well, he's still a criminal." Wonder Girl retorted.
"As much as I hate to say it, you really don't have that much of a case here." Robin stated
"Fine." Wonder Girl pouted as she crossed her arms. "When he goes back to his old ways, and you're all standing there wondering what happened, I'll be standing here to tell you I told you so."
M'gann called out, "We're here."
They all left the ship feeling exhausted but happy to be home.
Wonder Girl turned to the group. "Well, I'm gonna head home. See you tomorrow!"
Superboy just shook his head before deciding to check on Cameron.
As most of the others left, M'gann approached Ben who rubbed the back of his head. "So, are we cool?"
"Well, you did keep something big from me." M'gann sighed. "Though, you were only doing it to keep our friends from falling apart, so I guess it was worth it. Still, the last day has been hectic to say the least, and it's ultimately your fault."
"So, what's the final verdict?" Ben asked hopefully.
M'gann smirked. "I believe you owe me a date, leader."
"You got it." Ben smiled. "Just not tonight. Like you said, today was hectic."
"I can live with that." She then left.
Ben moved to leave himself only to find Gwen waiting for him. "Hey Gwen." He bowed his head. "I didn't forget what your problem with this was, and I'm…"
"Ben, I'm sorry." Gwen interrupted shocking him. "This situation wasn't like the previous times, but it's what my mind jumped to. I guess I never really got over all those times you'd go off alone without considering me or Grandpa. The times you'd be arrogant like you didn't need us."
"Yeah, I hear you." Ben nodded. "I did that a lot back then. I'm sorry for doing it then, and the fact that you've still felt this way now. Honestly, I've learned a lot from being around these heroes in general. I know how to work with you guys. I do forgive you."
"Yeah, I should have realized that." Gwen stated. "I forgive you as well."
They hugged each other to show there was no hard feelings about any of it before leaving the hanger. In the end, things seemed to have worked out. Bonus point, Robin was officially the one who had to handle this debriefing.
Infirmary
Cameron woke up to an incredible burning sensation in his side. He gasped and couldn't seem to find air. The ice user grunted and groped around blindly for the emergency button on his bedside table. His fingers banged against wood for a few seconds before it hit plastic.
He grabbed the button and held his thumb firmly on the button while gripping it tightly to his chest. Sweat had once more began to drip down his face, and he grunted as his side flared in pain. He grabbed a fistful of the sheets causing his knuckles to whiten.
"Where was everyone?" His thoughts were cut off by another wave of fire down his side.
He couldn't hold back the sharp cry of pain that escaped him before he curled into himself. Suddenly, there were footsteps in the hall before the door opened letting the warm light of the hallway leak in.
"Cameron?" Superboy asked shocked at the former juvenile's state. "Cameron what's wrong?"
"Woke up." Cameron grunted. "Side hurt. Call Canary!"
"She's on the way." A gruff voice announced.
Cameron opened one watery eye to see Batman in the doorway. He moved over to Cameron's bedside and lifted his shirt to see that the bandaged side was now an angry red. Batman then quickly reached into a nearby cabinet for a syringe.
"Hey, it's going to be okay." Superboy reassured.
He reached to carefully grasp one of Cameron's hands. Apparently, he had dropped the emergency button at some point. He just couldn't remember when. Cameron didn't answer as he was too busy grinding his teeth at the pain.
"What's going on?" Gwen asked as she and Ben entered the room.
"Nothing you need to be concerned with." Batman answered.
He returned to Cameron's side as he finished filling a syringe with antibiotics. He brushed Cameron's shirt out of the way, and, without any more prompting, carefully injected the syringe directly into the infection. Cameron yelped, and his grip on Superboy's hand increased.
Cameron struggled not to move but couldn't help the shudder of pain as Batman finally removed the syringe from his side. He blinked watery eyes as he felt Batman apply a large bandage to the wound and groaned.
"Is he going to be okay?" Ben asked.
"He'll be fine. I'll stay here to keep watch." Batman replied.
There was a definite tone saying 'now get out and let me do my job' included in there. Superboy looked reluctant to leave.
"Listen supes, I'll be fine." Cameron assured. "I've got the Dark Nurse to watch over me."
Batman raised an eyebrow, but Superboy sighed with a rueful smile. "Fine, but you'd better still be here in the morning."
He couldn't quite hide the real fear that underlined that phrase.
"I'll do my best." Cameron said as his breathing finally started to slow down.
Superboy nodded before joining Ben and Gwen in leaving the room.
Batman turned to the former criminal incredulously. "The Dark Nurse?"
"Striking fear into the hearts of all patients." Cameron began to feel very sleepy. "You add pain meds to that stuff?" Batman's lip twitched. "Thanks."
Mount Justice, Next Day…
Conner and Ben were both very quiet, lost in thought, as the team meandered through their activities.
Cassandra's current activity was raving about Cameron. "I know that he isn't a spy, but he might still have a motive to betray us. I mean, look at how many years he worked for his dad. No one just stops a streak like that at the drop of a hat."
Conner rolled her eyes.
"Hey, what's wrong with them?" Dick asked.
The rest of the team looked at them prompting Gwen speak up. "Cameron has an…"
"Cameron has what?" Cassandra questioned angrily.
"I'm getting tired of this constant ragging on Cameron." Superboy stood up. "You don't even deserve to know."
"Where are you going!?" Cassandra yelled after him.
"To the infirmary!" Conner shouted back angrily.
The Infirmary
Conner entered the room to find Black Canary standing nearby. She had taken over watching him from Batman last night.
"Hey…" Conner stated.
"Conner." Black Canary nodded. "He's still alive."
First thing Conner did upon waking was to check up on the guy who had been sleeping.
"Yeah, I figured…" Conner stated.
"In the end, it's not what has you worried." Black Canary guessed.
"It just seems like only Ben, M'gann, and I even notice he's here. I mean, I think Gwen's coming around." Conner growled. "Don't even get me started on Cassandra."
There was a quiet moment of contemplation before a new voice entered the conversation. "What about me?"
Conner turned and was startled to see Kyle, Dick, Wally, and Ryuko standing there.
"What?" Conner asked.
"Did you think I would forget what Junior did for me in that cage?" Kyle asked.
"I didn't…" Conner rushed to defend himself.
"It's okay. We're kind of getting tired of Cassandra too." Wally stated.
"Even I am, and that should say something." Robin added.
"So, how is he?" Ryuko asked as he looked to the older heroine.
"He's doing better." Canary glanced at the heart monitor. "His heart rate is good, and the A/C seems to be helping us control his body temperature. Far as we can tell, the infection is moving out."
"Should we tell Cassandra?" Dick asked.
"If she doesn't care enough to find out what's happened, why let her in?" Superboy questioned bitterly.
Dick nodded solemnly.
"Some things are difficult for people to accept my friend." Ryuko stated. "I'm sure she'll come around eventually."
Suddenly, the heart monitor started to beep faster.
Cameron groaned and opened his eyes. "Oh, hey Conner." He looked around confused when he noticed Dick, Ryuko, and Wally there. "What're you guys doing here?"
"Checking on you." Kyle replied. "After what you did for M'gann and I…
"It's no biggie." Cameron interrupted with a shrug.
"No, it was a very big deal." Kyle looked him in the eye. "I don't think you realize how big a deal it was." He stepped closer to the bed. "It would have been easy for you to keep quiet about your abilities. To allow M'gann, and potentially me, to die of dehydration. If you wanted to, you could have simply shoved us into the fire."
Cameron shuddered. In this moment, he could feel the ghostly sensation of that inmate's fingers constricting his neck. Yeah, he knew how easy it could have been.
"In the end, you didn't." Kyle concluded. "For that, you have my gratitude."
Cameron looked up at the Green Lantern in shock since being thanked was still something so foreign to him.
"Hey, at least the majority of the team seems back in array." Robin plopped down on the bed.
"Don't you mean unison?" Cameron asked.
Conner shook his head. "Robin thinks that by removing certain parts of a word, it makes him sound cool."
"It's been catching on with the team." Kyle added.
Black Canary watched as Cameron relaxed around them. "It seems you do become what you surround yourself with…"
For this chapter, I had a lot more to write out than normal what with all the Cameron bits to properly build him up. As for those bits, that's the consequence Cameron pays for not owning up to his injuries prior. When put through a situation, like what he was in the prior chapter, it can have some real negative effects on the body. Especially when you are still injured. As for Ben's side in this, it's nothing you particularly have seen before from some canon characters.
When it came to Gwen, a situation like this could be linked to many a situation from the summer road trip. In canon, Ben never really seemed to grasp the lesson that he couldn't do everything alone. Of course, the first two season of Alien Force seen Ben having learned that lesson. In the end, that's kind of what I portrayed here. Ben has been surrounded by heroes and knows he can work with them. As a leader, that does come with responsibilities.
Ibrenneke: Honestly, Albedo was there to take Red Tornado, but if Ben is available, he wouldn't have minded taking the hero. In the end, Gwen ruined that aspect of his plan.
Aztec 13: Sorry, but that's not the direction this was going; however, I got something interesting planned for what Albedo will do with Red Tornado and his siblings.
Guest: thank you, and I will consider it.
Guest: Like I said, I got some interesting plans with Red Tornado in Albedo's hands.
Guest: Eventually
Guest: Yep. In fact, I planned it for right around this chapter.
TFG: There are more of them. Also, great names for the DC aliens. As for more races, well there are a lot of them. I'll certainly keep you posted since again those are some awesome names.
Guest: I'm aware Ben does have other aliens; however, you got to admit that Ben used a fair share of powerhouse over technique. Still, I see what you're saying, so hopefully this chapter is to your liking.
Jebest4781 (Ch. 1) Thanks
Jebest4781 (ch. 2): I try