I do not own Young Justice or any of the characters.


Newbie

Cassius nodded silently to Batman, who returned the nod before leaping out of the Batplane with Katana and Metamorpho. Cassius waited a few seconds, then followed with Rose and Cassandra held in a cocoon of goo, leaving their heads uncovered as he used a goo glider to descend quickly but silently. The mission to investigate Cheshire's report of the League of Shadows being based on Santa Prisca now had originally not included Cassius, Rose, or Cassandra. However, when Cassius had found out about it through his meetings with Kaldur, he'd all but demanded to be allowed to take part, and Cassandra and Rose had been a default inclusion.

Cassius circled the island once, spotting Deathstroke's new home, then dropped, landing silently in the jungle. They silently made their way through the jungle, evading three patrols easily thanks to all having been trained under the Shadows and knowing their tactics and what they watched out for. Finally, they stopped on the edge of a field where Lady Shiva was training five recruits.

"Be mindful of your strikes," Shiva said. "It is a fool who thinks anger will help in battle."

"It's helped me," Rose messaged with her Darkwear, using the group chat between the three of them.

"Me, too," Cassius messaged back. "But it narrows your field of awareness and makes you more vulnerable, regardless of whatever benefits you get from it. Unless you're the Hulk."

"This isn't a comic," Rose messaged.

"I like comics," Cassandra messaged.

Cassius grinned. That was true. She'd recently taken up a hobby of collecting and reading Marvel Comics.

"Be at peace with your weapon," Shiva was still instructing. "Feel it extend your reach. Let it become an extension of your arm, an extension of yourself."

"Lady Shiva," Oracle said, Cassius's Darkwear picking out Metamorpho and Katana both watching from a short distance to their left. "Said to be the deadliest woman alive. Probably best to steer clear."

Just then, a helicopter flew overhead and Shiva ordered the recruits to stop.

"That's enough for today," Shiva said. "Return to your quarters."

The recruits all bowed.

"Except you," Shiva said, pointing to a female in the middle of the line, the others all running off. "Follow."

She turned and began to walk away, the recruit following. Cassius glanced at Cassandra, seeing her holding the handle for her liquid metal sword. He slipped his hand into her free one and she glanced at him before nodding.

"Okay, forget steering clear," Oracle said. "Metamorpho, Katana, stay on Shiva, but be careful."

Cassius, Rose, and Cassandra all waited until Shiva and the recruit were gone before moving. They quickly crossed the clearing to the cliffs and climbed them, Cassius carrying Rose and Cassandra using his slime while also using it to make himself the same slate grey as the rocks and silence his movement. The League of Shadows headquarters was in a sea cave below the section they were on, so once Cassius had made sure the coast was clear, he made his way down along the outside of the cliff to the edge of the cave, then slipped inside. He stopped directly over the headquarters, roughly a hundred feet above the landing pad on the roof. Batman was in the back of the cave, watching from a distance, but Cassius and his girls could actually hear what was being said, once their Darkwear filtered out the helicopter.

"That's a LexCorp chopper," Rose messaged.

"Not a surprise given he's a part of the Light," Cassius messaged back.

"There he is," Cassandra messaged, the other two directing their attention to Deathstroke as he walked out of the chopper and toward Shiva and the recruit still with her.

"I like the new armor," Cassius messaged.

Deathstroke had changed from his mostly-black armor to mostly grey with black on the chest, biceps, and legs below the middle of his thighs, gold pauldrons, belt, vambraces, knee guards, boots, and pistol holsters. He had also replaced the sword that had been turned into a fire snake and destroyed during the battle against the Light and the Reach to a pair of Ninjato.

"So do I," Rose messaged back. "He has good taste."

"Welcome back," Shiva greeted Deathstroke, Cassius and the others' Darkwear picking up their words.

"Good to be back," Deathstroke replied. "I trust all has run smoothly in my absence?"

"Training is well underway," Shiva said. "A few recruits show great promise. Others will be disciplined."

"And have you been settling back in, my dear?" Deathstroke asked the recruit, who reached up and pulled her mask off.

"Yes, sir," she said. "I am glad to again be amongst Shadows. Although I couldn't help noticing the empty bunk in my dormitory. If I might ask...what happened to Markov?"

"Markov?" Deathstroke asked. "She washed out."

"Lying," Rose and Cassandra both messaged.

"But...perhaps Granny can find some good for her," Deathstroke finished.

"Pity," the recruit, which Cassius's Darkwear identified as Cassandra Savage, Vandal Savage's daughter, said. "I rather liked her."

"In this line of work, Cassandra, it pays not to get too...attached to anyone," Deathstroke said.

"Dick," Rose messaged.

"Yes, sir," Cassandra Savage said. "I have...observed that."

"Good," Deathstroke said. "Now you're dismissed."

Cassandra Savage bowed and left.

"So, how is our young Miss Savage doing?" Deathstroke asked once she was inside and the door was closed.

"The girl shows a natural aptitude," Shiva said. "Hardly unexpected, given her...heritage."

"I imagine it can't be easy training the boss's daughter," Deathstroke said.

"Savage made it very clear not to give Cassandra any special treatment," Shiva said.

Deathstroke chuckled, crossing his arms. "What a surprise. And how have you been holding up? Juggling two jobs is no easy feat."

"Don't insult me," Shiva mildly scoffed. "If you can lead the Shadows and be the newest member of the Light, surely I can be Sensei to the Shadows and Enforcer for the Light."

"That's going to complicate things," Cassius messaged.

"Of course!" Deathstroke said. "My apologies, Lady Shiva. I meant no disrespect."

"If I feel disrespect," Shiva said.

With that, she turned and walked back inside. Cassius waited until Deathstroke had headed inside before carrying Cassandra and Rose back to the top of the cliff, then down into the jungle. Once there, he released them before they started toward the harbor. As they neared it, Oracle directed them to the ship they needed to sneak out on. However, just as they prepared to get onto the ship, Venom's voice called out through the silence, stopping them all in their tracks.

"Buenas noches, Batman," Venom called out. "I've been expecting you."

Batman walked out into the light as Bane walked down the gangway.

"No one gets on or off Santa Prisca without Bane knowing," Bane said.

"Mmm, yeah, I wouldn't go that far," Cassius said, rising from where he was hidden in the water as goo and reforming behind Bane. "There was the Cult of the Cobra. And Aqualad. And Robin."

"Kid Flash, Rocket, Zatanna," Batman added.

Bane roared in rage, charging at Batman without having any venom in his system. Cassius hummed thoughtfully. He'd gotten over his addiction. That made him more dangerous. After a few seconds of hi giving Batman a hard time, he slammed him to the ground, chuckling as he pressed his boot into the side of his head. However, a second later, he leapt backward as Rose hurled several smoke bombs into the ground around them. Bane growled angrily, but without him being able to see, Rose and Batman took him out in seconds. A second later, a burst of gunfire went off for a second, Cassius spinning, seeing Shiva and Deathstroke standing off to the side, Deathstroke holding a gun with two barrels, having just missed Katana and Metamorpho.

"Rose!" Cassius said, charging Deathstroke, forming a pair of Wakizashi.

Rose formed her swords as she joined him, Deathstroke hurling the gun aside and drawing his swords. Shiva moved to aid Deathstroke, only to spin, her sword blocking Cassandra's blade.

"I was wondering why my daughter's guardian was without her," Shiva smirked.

"Not...daughter," Cassandra snarled, then jumped, slamming a foot into Shiva's chest, hurling her backward. "Mine."

"Be careful," Cassius said, he and Rose struggling to fight Deathstroke on even ground. "She has the same ability as you."

Cassandra nodded and shot forward, clashing with Shiva furiously, both of them holding nothing back. Cassius forced himself to tear his attention away from their fight and back to his own, just in time for Deathstroke to take his head off.

Cassius formed himself a new set of eyes on his chest as the head spun through the air, his decapitated corpse blocking the blades for Rose before she flipped over him, her feet rainbowing his head onto his shoulders like a soccer ball. She slashed at Deathstroke, his blades blocking hers before he leapt backward as a third arm of Cassius's goo erupted from his chest, stabbing a third wakizashi at him. The hand expanded once Deathstroke was out of range, Cassius reforming from the hand and retracting the original body. He and Cassandra shot forward, slashing rapidly again, but again, Deathstroke was able to fend them off seamlessly. Cassius smirked. He'd been training himself hard since their last fight. But so had all of them.

Deathstroke spun, avoiding a downward slash from Cassius, only for Rose to spin around Cassius, her swords knocking both of Deathstroke's aside before she completed her spin, slamming a windmill kick into his head. as he staggered to the side, Cassius shot forward, retracting his right wakizashi in favor of doubling the strength of his right arm before drilling a punch into Deathstroke's chest, sending him streaking backward into the side of the dockhouse, rendering him unconscious. As soon as Deathstroke hit the ground, Cassius swung an arm, a massive glob of goo flinging off of it and slamming into Deathstroke's chest, splattering and coating most of his body and a large area of the wall behind him, effectively leaving him stuck in place, only his head and right arm free.

Cassius spun toward Cassandra and Lady Shiva's fight instantly, seeing them fighting on nearly equal ground still. Both of them were sporting a dozen gashes over their bodies, though Cassandra had a few more than Shiva, and all of hers were more severe, but Cassandra showed no sign of being affected by them or the heavy bleeding they were resulting in. Cassius hesitated to help Cassandra, knowing she wanted face Lady Shiva alone. And she was doing well.

"Be ready to step in," Cassius said to Rose as Rose stepped up beside him.

Rose nodded, both of them ignoring Batman, Katana, and Metamorpho all fighting Bane together, since they could handle him without more help. As they both readied their swords, Cassius regrowing his second wakizashi, Cassandra suddenly flipped over Shiva's blade, slamming the back of her own into Shiva's shoulder, making her drop her own. Then, as Cassandra landed behind Shiva, she drove her sword through Lady Shiva's abdomen. Cassius's gut clenched before relaxing as he double-checked the location. The blade had missed anything and everything vital, but Shiva would need months to heal. Cassandra had won.

Cassandra withdrew her blade and deactivated the sword, then tore her cape off, quickly bandaging Lady Shiva's stab wound before turning and walking over to Cassius and Rose. Both hugger her proudly before they hurried over to Batman and the others, who were all waiting by the ship.

"Ready to go?" Oracle asked.

"Just let us collect these three," Batman said.

"No time," Cassius said, watching the treeline blur as a flood of Shadows sped through them, a single white silhouette barely catching the light from the dock as he stepped out of the trees. "Nemesis is here."

"Time to go, then," Oracle said.

Just then, the Batplane flew over, blasting all of the AA-guns around the dock before a small metal rod extended from below it, a pair of arms extending from it. Metamorpho and Cassius each caught an arm, being able to stretch their bodies up to the arms, then Batman and Katana caught Metamorpho's legs as Cassius used his goo to bring his girls with him, leaving a goo clone behind to delay Nemesis, the clone forming just in time to block Nemesis's blades with a pair of his own. Cassius and Metamorpho pulled themselves into the plane and they all headed up to the bridge, Cassius arriving just as he sensed his clone be destroyed.

"That was too close," Batman said.

"Now we know the Shadows are still using him," Cassius said, wiping sweat from his brow. "I hate ditching goo to escape him. It's fucking exhausting."

"You three did well," Batman said. "You especially, Cassandra."

"You should have killed her," Katana said.

"Not kill," Cassandra said.

"Especially her own mother," Cassius said. "Shiva will be down for months, anyway, unless Deathstroke makes the mistake of sticking her in a Lazarus Pit."

"He won't," Rose said. "He doesn't like her well enough for that."

"Good," Cassius said.

They all fell silent after that, riding the rest of the way back to Gotham without anyone saying a word, Cassius using goo to temporarily bandage Cassandra's wounds. Once they were alone in their room, Cassius pulled Cassandra into a hug, Cassandra holding him tightly but smiling.

"Okay," Cassandra said. "Happy. Free."

Cassius smiled and nodded. "Good. But you are never doing that again. Now, take your clothes off so I can clean your wounds."

Cassandra nodded and stripped, Cassius and Rose bandaging her wounds before both kissed her and they all went to bed, falling asleep quickly.


Cassius raised an eyebrow as an alert popped up on his Darkwear. Brion had just accessed the computer in the garage of Megan's house. Megan was at the school for the day, Halo, Otto, and Forager had been enrolled there as Violet Harper, Otto Karst, and Fred Bugg. Conner was out test-driving a motorbike he'd just finished fixing. Dick was meeting Batman to go over what they'd learned on Santa Prisca. That left Cassius and the girls in charge of Brion for the day.

"Cassandra, Rose, Brion's misbehaving again," Cassius sighed, standing.

Both of them followed him to the garage as Brion's third database search was denied due to lack of clearance. In order, he'd tried "Santa Prisca", "League of Shadows", and "Markov, Tara".

"Now, Brion, you know you're not supposed to play with Daddy Dick's things while he's at the store," Cassius said, smirking as Brion wheeled around to glare at him.

"You will tell me where my sister is!" Brion ordered.

"Sure," Cassius said. "If you can beat Rose in a sparring match."

Brion swelled with rage.

"Nightwing, B-Zero-One," the computer announced as the Zeta Tube activated.

"Looking for something?" Dick asked as he walked out of the tube, raising an eyebrow at Dick.

"Actually, yes," Brion growled. "Because you and the walking pudding bowl won't tell me anything!"

"Oh, that's a new one," Cassius smirked. "Usually I get something to do with slime or sewage."

"Not the point!" Brion snapped.

"Go ahead Cassius," Dick said. "Batman says you should fill him in, being one of the three experts, the other two of which happen to be your girlfriends."

Cassius nodded. "Tara was on Santa Prisca, but she was sent elsewhere before we ever knew to look there. The leader of the Shadows claimed she was no longer affiliated, but he was lying. She still takes orders from him, at a minimum. We're trying to track her down now, but have had no success as of yet. And it's a good thing she wasn't on Santa Prisca, because even if she was, there's no way we could have gotten to her if she was."

"Why not?" Brion asked impatiently.

"Have you ever heard the name Nemesis?" Cassius asked. "Specifically in reference to a villain?"

"No," Brion said. "Who is he?"

"He's arguably the most dangerous being on the planet, potentially to include Superman if Superman turned evil," Cassius said. "He's been used by the Shadows in the past as a weapon, and he showed up to see us off when we were leaving Santa Prisca. If Tara had been there and we had tried to rescue her, we would have had to retreat without her anyway, or we would all have died."

"So your delays," Brion glared at Dick, then turned to glare at Cassius, "and your cowardice cost us the chance to rescue my sister!"

"Brion, listen to me very carefully," Cassius said icily. "If Nemesis and Superman fought, Nemesis might win. As for your sister, it's more complicated than just rescuing her. By the time someone becomes a Shadow, they are usually Shadows for life, willingly. I stopped because the Shadows betrayed me, but I only stopped living and thinking like a Shadow because I had Cassandra and Rose to teach me to be human again. Cassandra stopped because she read someone's body language as they died and what she saw scared her, understandably. Rose stopped because she wanted to be with me and Cassandra."

"Just you, at first," Rose said. "Cassandra happened later."

"Not the point," Cassius said. "The point is, even if we bring Tara back, there's very little chance her loyalty will stop being to the Shadows, to Deathstroke."

"You do not know what you are talking about!" Brion snapped.

"Think what you want," Cassius said. "I told you what you want to know."

He and the girls left the garage just as it began to rain.

"Do not turn your back on me!" Brion snapped, lunging.

Cassius transformed into goo, swapping his front and back sides in the blink of an eye before grabbing Brion by the elbows and spun, Rose dropping into a crouch calmly as Cassius flung Brion over her and out into the muddy driveway. Brion shouted in rage, his clothes burning off in seconds, leaving him in his green costume as he stood.

"So what now, genius?" Cassius asked coldly, stepping forward as Rose and Cassandra stepped back, their expressions both just as cold and calculating as Cassius's. "You going to roast me alive for not giving you the answer you wanted?"

"You think you know what I want!?" Brion exploded, the ground below him rapidly melting. "I want to find my sister! You were too afraid to antagonize your old bosses, so my sister was taken away before you had the balls to go there! and all the while, Nightwing covered for you by preaching patience! And now, after you allowed them to do God knows what to Tara, now you insult my sister, and still you expect me to be patient while Batman searches for my sister again!"

"If you were actually mad that I said your sister is loyal to the Shadows instead of you, you'd have attacked by now," Cassius said flatly. "Your little tempertantrum isn't about her at all."

"Excuse me!?" Brion thundered, the lava around him boiling.

"You've been online every minute of every day since you got here, obsessively following your brother's every move, waiting for him to tell his baby brother that he can come home now," Cassius said. "Hate to break it to you, but you're not going home. Not for a very long time. And if you attack me like you're considering right now, you'll never see home again."

Brion's expression of shock and rage flickered slightly. "You hacked my phone!?"

"Stay focused, Brion," Cassius said evenly. "You won't get a second chance to make the choice I'm about to give you, and I'm not going to give you long to decide. You can either continue to live in the past, mourning what you lost, or you can focus on what you have, and what you can be. Better men than you have remained lost to the past and became some of the worst men on the planet for it. On the other hand, we have what you have and can be. You can attack me and be forever labeled as a criminal, in which case you will be beaten to within an inch of your life and locked away in a freezer until you die of old age, or you can forget about going home for now, focus on becoming a better hero, and trust us to do everything we can to save your sister. Either way, you decide now. What's it going to be? Villain? Or will you trust us and be patient?"

Brion stared at him for a long while before the lava around him cooled. Cassius nodded, retracting the tendrils of goo he'd driven into the ground in preparation to use chunks of it to fight Brion. Then, he and the girls headed back to the house while Nightwing left with the Zeta Tube, leaving Brion standing in the driveway.


Cassius raised an eyebrow as Megan walked into the house with the three kids she'd left with along with a black boy in hia late teens, probably a senior, with a football player's build and the left side of his head, including his left eye, replaced by black metal plating and a glowing red optic array designed to look like an eye with a black sclera and a red iris.

"Welcome home, everyone," Cassius said as Conner kissed Megan. "Who's our guest?"

"I'm just a freak," the boy said as Cassius's Darkwear lit up.

First it identified him as Victor Stone. Then it identified the mechanical parts, which included his left arm below the elbow and the left half of his chest, as originating from a Father Box. Cassius let out a long whistle as he deactivated the X-ray mode.

"That's quite the impressive set of hardware, Victor Stone," Cassius said, standing. "Father Box tech. Not something a guy can find easily, even for a football star."

"How do you know that?" Victor asked.

"You might find out my secrets later, but for now, you'll just have to wonder," Cassius said. "Should I call Dick?"

"Please do," Megan said.

Cassius nodded, forming a cellphone from his goo in his pocket, then pretending to use it to call Dick while actually using his Darkwear.

"What's up?" Dick asked.

"Something's come up at Megan's," Cassius said. "Dress casual but be ready for fun later. Oh, and give Wall-man and his slave-driver a ring, would ya? I'll let the others know."

"No problem," Dick said.

"Wall-man?" Victor asked, Megan and Conner grinning widely at the memory of their first meeting with Artemis.

"Slave driver?" Violet asked. "I do not think I like this person."

"You do," Cassius chuckled, pretending to use the phone to call Jeff. "Hey Jeff, you and your not-girlfriend available?"

"It's not..." Jeff sighed. "Nevermind. I assume since you're being indirect, something important is happening and you need us there?"

"Solid 'yes,'" Cassius said.

"We'll be there in ten minutes," Jeff said.

Cassius grinned instantly.

"Don't even-" Jeff began the moment he'd realized he'd said the wrong thing.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for interrupting," Cassius grinned, Megan covering her mouth instantly to stifle a laugh.

"-think about it," Jeff finished. "I really hate you sometimes."

"Am I on speaker phone?" Cassius asked, grin widening when the call ended instantly. "Busted."

Megan, Conner, Rose, and Cassandra began to laugh instantly. Then, they all headed to the patio in back of the house to wait for the others.

"Long time no see!" Wally cheered as the others all walked out of the garage about ten minutes later.

"Nice to see you again, too, Wall-man," Cassius smirked.

"Dude, seriously," Wally glared at him. "I was gonna let it slide, but could you not remind Artemis about that?"

"Way too late for that," Artemis grinned, walking over to Cassius, only punch him in the shoulder.

"Ow," Cassius said, massaging the spot.

"That's for calling me a slave-driver," Artemis said, crossing her arms as Wally mouthed "True" behind her.

"So, who's your friend?" Dick asked, eyeing Victor.

"Victor Stone," Cassius said. "Star football player and currently wearing Father Box prosthetics."

The others all tensed subtly.

"Interesting," Dick said, looking to Megan. "I'm hoping you can shed some light?"

"Are you all seriously more freaked out by were the pieces came from than how I look?" Victor asked.

"You picked the right crowd for looking weird and no one caring," Conner said.

"Yeah, we hang out with Wally, and he's...well, him," Cassius teased.

"Dick," Wally grumbled.

"No that's him," Cassius said, jabbing a thumb at Dick.

"As I was saying," Dick said.

"Is Victor Stone freaked out by how Forager looks?" Forager asked, pulling the Glamor Charm he'd been wearing to look and sound human off, Victor yelping and stumbling away, only to fall off of the patio.

"Apparently Victor Stone is," Forager said, disappointed.

"N-No, no," Victor said hurriedly. "I'm sorry. You've been great. You just...caught me off guard."

Jeff helped Victor to his feet. "Way off guard."

"Way off guard," Victor agreed.

"Ahem!" Dick cleared his throat. "Still haven't heard what happened."

"At school today, Violet Harper opened a Boom Tube," Forager announced. "As if Violet Harper was a Mother Box."

"WHAT!?" everyone but Megan shouted, Dr. Jace jumping to her feet in surprise, the rest already standing.

"Mhm, it's true," Violet said cheerfully. "I didn't know I could do it until I did it. Then it seemed...well...natural."

"But...even for a Meta-human of your abilities, how is that possible?" Dr. Jace asked.

Cassius raised a hand. "I'd like to remind the class that we still don't actually know what her abilities are, only what she can do. And apparently not all of that, either."

"I have a theory," Conner said. "When we were at Bedlam Central, I spotted a dissected Motherbox."

"Of course!" Dr. Jace said. "That must be the device Barron Bedlam gave to Dr. Ecks. Simon tried to learn its secrets but only succeeded in destroying it. There was a burst of energy, then the machine went dead."

"Not just dead," Conner said. "Murdered. Mother Boxes are living computers. That burst of energy was probably Mother Box's...soul escaping."

"And judging by recent events, I'd wager my superhero paycheck that soul then latched onto a recently deceased body of one Gabrielle Dou," Cassius said.

"Wait, we get paychecks for being superheroes?" Violet asked.

"Not a cent, no," Wally said.

"The first time I saw Halo, Bedlam's thugs were burying her," Artemis said. "Bedlam wasn't in the business of ditching powerful Meta-humans, so they must have legit thought she was dead."

"I told you I wasn't Gabrielle!" Violet said, sounding excited.

"You did," Artemis nodded. "Over and over. I'm sorry I didn't understand."

"The trauma must have wiped their combined minds clean," Dr. Jace said. "She'd get flashes of Gabrielle's residual memories, flashes of the Mother Box's knowledge..."

"Everything else she'd have to learn anew," Brion said, stepping up beside Violet.

"It...doesn't upset you that Gabrielle is dead?" Violet asked.

"Strangely, no," Brion said, taking Violet's hand. "I suppose it's because you are the only you I've ever known." He smiled. "Besides, I've grown accustomed to such...strangeness."

"Yeah, well, newbie to strangeness here!" Victor said, stepping back onto the patio, raising his hand for a moment. "What does all of this have to do with me?"

"That's a little complicated," Cassius said. "I'll explain what I can. Firstly, you have a Father Box inside of you. It's like the opposite of a Mother Box. It's also a living computer, but with one huge difference. Mother Boxes are all good, protecting the innocent and all that. Father Box, on the other hand, is all evil. Violence, destruction, murder. Much more fun. But also vastly more dangerous. And since you're now part Father Box, we're going to need to run a few tests to make sure it's not able to take control of you. In the mean time, you're going to need to keep your anger in check. Getting angry will make it easier for it to control you."

Victor frowned. "Will I ever be able to get this thing off?"

"I can take it off now if you like, but you'll die," Cassius said. "The prosthetics are keeping your brain, heart, and lungs working. "Whatever happened to you before erased a quarter of your brain, shredded your diaphragm, and perforated your heart. We can eventually find ways to hide it, but you'll have to live with them other than that."

Victor's face fell, but he nodded. "How do you know?"

"I have special equipment that let's me see like an X-ray machine and an MRI," Cassius said.

"Wait, we have MRI vision?" Dick asked.

"Should have done the full tutorial instead of the basic functions class," Cassius shrugged.

Dick rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'll go get some equipment to start running the tests. And...maybe I should give Jaime a call."

"Probably should, yeah," Cassius said. "As long as he's careful."

Dick nodded. However, before he could leave, Sphere suddenly rolled over, revving like an engine before beeping threateningly at Victor.

"Easy Sphere," Cassius said. "Right now, I doubt it's the Father Box in control."

Sphere transformed into her Superbike form, aiming at Victor as she lifted off the ground.

"Supercycle, calm down!" Conner ordered.

Suddenly, a loud, sour note echoed from Victor as his eye glowed purple, as did several lines running across his prosthetics and across the bridge of his nose onto his right cheek.

"You dare threaten me!?" The Father Box demanded through Victor, Victor's voice distorting as it mixed with a much, much deeper synthetic voice.

Victor raised his left hand, firing a purple energy beam out of it, but Sphere dropped under it, beginning to fire back. Conner leapt into the way, both blasting him as he ordered them to stop. Sphere stopped, but the Father Box was just getting started.

"Fool!" the Father Box said. "You seek to intervene?" His left palm opened to fire yet again. "Then suffer for it!"

"No!" Violet shouted, a purple beam with specks of white light flooding through it shining from her hand onto Victor's chest. She began to chant suddenly, eyes rolling back, then closed her eyes as the light faded before looking around.

The purple light faded from Victor's prosthetics and he groaned as he returned to awareness.

"Sorry!" Victor said. "Sorry!"

"Conner!" Megan cried out worriedly, hurrying over to him.

"I'm fine," Conner said. "I'm fine. Supercycle, stand down!"

Sphere refused until Violet flew up to her, calming her in seconds, then flew to Victor.

"I swear, that wasn't me attacking," Victor said.

"No," Violet agreed. "It was the tech within you taking control. I have cleansed you again."

"Yeah, well, clearly a 'Halo Cleanse' is only a temporary solution," Dick said. "And we obviously don't need to run any tests."

"I'd also like to change my vote to keeping Jaime the Hell away from him," Cassius said. "Once was bad enough. I'd rather avoid a Round Two."

"Agreed," Dick nodded, looking between Violet and Victor. "For the time being, you two had better stick close to each other."

"Understood," Violet nodded. "I will stick close."

"What about his father?" Jeff asked. "Shouldn't we brin Vic back to him?"

"My fatherdid this to me!" Victor snapped.

"All the more reason," Jeff said.

"Keep him away from his father," Cassius said. "At least until Father Box is under control."

"Look, I'm eighteen!" Victor snapped. "You can kick me out, but you can not make me go home!"

"No one's kicking anyone out!" Conner said, Megan sighing, then grinning at him.

"For now, we'll try to find a way to disable Father Box," Cassius decided, Dick nodding.

"Stick around after this conversation's done," Megan told him telepathically. "As I understand it, congratulations are in order. And we've been waiting for forever to get this chance."

Cassius sighed. "Who ratted me out?"

"Dick, Cassandra, Rose, Tim, Batman, and Alfred," Megan listed, Cassius's jaw dropping and his eyes going wide as he stared at her.

"Alfred ratted me out?" Cassius asked. "Your joking!"

Megan grinned wickedly. "Dead serious. Cassandra and Rose messaged me the next morning, Dick messaged me apparently when you were keeping him awake that night, Batman told me to make you pay for waking him up the one night he got to sleep, and Alfred gave me some tea before I left the last meeting, which you skipped, and made sure I knew. You should have seen how happy he was."

Cassius groaned, resting his face in his hand.

"What's going on?" Brion asked.

"Megan's having a psychic chat with Cassius," Dick grinned knowingly, Rose, Artemis, and Cassandra all grinning.

"Don't leave me out of this!" Artemis and Rose both said.

"Me," Cassandra agreed.

Cassius felt their minds connect and shook his head. "Let's at least go inside."

The girls all nodded and followed him inside, and as soon as they were out of sight, Megan and Artemis both cheered inside their linked minds, hugging him tightly. Then, the string of humiliating questions began.


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