"Are you in position?" Wonder Girl whispered from where she and Kon were crouched.
"We're at the last grate now. Give me a moment to disarm it then we'll be ready to move in," Arrowette reported through the comms.
"Got it." The demigoddess turned to him. "Ready?"
He opened his mouth.
"Okay, don't respond to me, but you guys need to get out of there," a familiar voice said in his ear.
Kon brought his hand up to his communicator, his jaw dropping. "Did you hack our comms?"
Wonder Girl jerked back, eyes wide, which belatedly made him realize she hadn't reacted to Tim's voice.
The other boy sighed. "Technically I only hacked your comm, which was why I told you not to respond."
"How am I not supposed to react when you suddenly start talking in my ear!?"
"What's going on Superboy?"
"Well, I was kind of hoping you'd just take my advice right now and ask questions later."
"Why would you think I'd just leave a bunch of alien weapons in the hands of smugglers without asking questions?"
"Because you trust me?"
"Okay, fair, but I still have questions."
"Guys, hold on. Someone's hacked Supes' comm. we might be compromised. Be ready to pull out," Wonder Girl said, glaring at him.
"That's not necessary."
"I'm going to be in so much trouble," Tim muttered as he typed quickly. "Actually, she's right. You have been compromised and you need to get out of there."
Wonder Girl's hand flew up to her ear, which Kon took as a sign the others could hear Tim now. "What are you doing?"
"Your inside source was a dirty cop. Órlaith figured out you've been tracking the weapons and set up a trap for you."
"And how do you know that? Who are you?" Wonder Girl demanded.
"I'm benched and bored."
"Please tell me you don't have a concussion again," Kon said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Broken leg. They would have stolen my laptop if it was a concussion."
"Like that would stop you."
"Yeah, hi, still here, and wondering what's going on? Who is that, Supes?" Impulse asked.
"He's, uh…"
"I'm…"
"He's T," he said after a moment.
"T?" Tim asked.
"T!" Impulse gasped.
"That's T!?" Wonder Girl said, looking lost.
"T's a guy?" Arrowette squeaked.
"T's what I've been calling you when I talk about you to them. Since, you know, secret identities."
"T's a hero?"
"T is a guy!?"
"Vigilante, and I'm technically genderfluid, but I use he/him pronouns and usually don't mind being called a boy. You talk about me to them?"
"A little. I never told them anything revealing."
"Your gay!?" Arrowette squealed. "Or bi, I guess? Pan? Oh my gosh, why didn't you tell us!?"
"What?" Tim asked as Impulse snickered and Wonder Girl slapped her forehead.
Kon groaned. "For the last time, T and I are not dating."
"What exactly have you been telling them about me?"
Kon could hear the smirk in the Gothamite's voice. "Shut it."
"But -"
"Oh, it's not what he said, exactly," Arrowette cut in.
Kon opened his mouth to stop her, but Wonder Girl set her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
"It's just how often he talks about you, even if he never really says anything. And you guys always seem to be doing things together. How many times has he had to turn down a movie marathon or video game raid with us because he already had plans with T, Imp?"
"Seventeen. Wait, does two weeks ago count since he ended up having to leave T because of that invasion in San Francisco we had to help with?"
"Eighteen times!"
As the others were talking, Wonder Girl mouthed, Can we trust him?
He nodded. Batman's morality might be in question (and by extension Oracle's and The Nest's), but the others' wasn't. Nightwing, Red Hood, and Tim just wanted to help people, brainwashed or not. Given his comment on getting in trouble and the fact he was benched, he doubted Batman knew what Tim was doing so he couldn't have put Tim up to it. If T's saying something's up, we should hear him out.
Does he work for Luthor?
No, he doesn't work for Lex. I told you we met while I was on a job.
"You guys should learn sign language. It's a lot more reliable than lip reading. Or better yet, come up with a secret system of signs for yourselves."
The two jerked away from each other and looked around.
Kon's eyes landed on a security camera that he knew hadn't been pointed at them earlier. "Did you hack the cameras?"
"Yeah, how else would I have been able to confirm the weapons weren't there and were actually being prepared for shipment in warehouse seven?"
"The cameras use one of the most secure software in the world," Arrowette choked out.
"Eh, nineteenth at best. I've cracked way harder."
Wonder Girl glanced at Kon, then nodded. "Alright. Guys, pull back. T, tell us everything you know."
"And Batman's really okay with this?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"After everything that happened with Nightwing and the Titans, isn't he worried history will repeat itself?"
"Wing's situation was different from what you and Ghosty are doing. The rest of the Baby Justice League don't even know he's a Bat and they'll never be close enough to trap him even if they figure it out. Hell, the fact he's going to be spending more time safe behind a screen instead of risking his neck out in the field is a win in B's book."
"So GB didn't tell you guys we were going to let the others know who he is."
Red Hood sighed, the sound crackling eerily through his mask. "No, he didn't. And I get why. B would prefer he stayed unnamed."
"We didn't want to hide anything from the others."
"Yeah, I get it. I think O and Wing still wonder if things would have gone better if they'd told the League the Graysons were Wing's genetic donors from the start. But B's always been a bit paranoid about our safety, you know. The less people know about us, the better."
"Are you going to tell him?"
Red Hood waved a hand. "Nah. He'll figure it out soon enough anyway. Better forgiveness than permission and all that. If those three give Ghosty a hard time, though…"
"Then we'll call the whole thing off."
"Good. There's a reason Wing cut ties with the Titans after they found out, and it's not because B made him like they've been telling everyone. They wouldn't shut up about B even when Wing said they needed to stop or he'd cut contact. If the Baby Justice League treats Ghosty like that, I might get shooty."
"You're not going to shoot my friends," Kon snorted.
"I make no promises. At least not for Wonder Blonde and Impulsive. They'll shake it off."
"Hood."
"I'm guessing since you two are just sitting here instead of dealing with the fire, you're the ones who started it," Nightwing sighed, sitting down on Kon's other side.
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Red Hood gasped dramatically, placing a hand on his chest.
"Wasn't us," Kon shrugged.
"I can't believe you would even accuse us of such a thing!"
"That's insulting, Wing."
Nightwing rolled his eyes at the both of them and pointed over his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. You better get going, Innocent-boy. The first responders are just a minute out."
"Yeah, okay." Kon took one last look at the beautiful light show he'd helped Red Hood create from a meth lab then took off.
"Every pure intention ends when the good times start," Bart sang as he strode forward then started dancing an odd mix of flossing and Doja Cat's Woman.
Cissie slammed the pause button, staring at him in horror. "What are you doing?"
"… The … TikTak dance? I thought it was popular around now."
Kon and Cassie burst out laughing as Cissie raced forward to correct him. The clone nudged the demigoddess's arm and gave her a smile that made her heart flutter.
"I changed my mind! Karaoke was a great idea!"
"Told you!"
"Do you think Kid Flash knows?"
"He has to! There's no way TikTak hasn't come up at all!"
The two watched Cissie show Bart videos on her phone until Cassie remembered the TikTak she'd been sent recently. She usually didn't like superhero conspiracy theories, but she'd given it a shot. She was glad she did and she'd even watched some of the other videos from the creator. Dowd2Business was always respectful and it was fun to see just how close to the truth he somehow managed to get before going off the deep end.
She pulled out her phone to show Kon a really funny video Dowd did about him then paused when she remembered Tim had sent her another video earlier. She frowned, staring at the notification. "I wish Tim could be here."
Kon shrugged, leaning forward to grab a can of soda. "Yeah, I wish he could have called in too, but it sounded like Batman really needed his help with that case."
Scowling, she said, "I meant I wished he was here. Actually here. With us."
He snorted into his drink. "The compound might be on a private island five thousand miles from Gotham, but I still don't think Batman would consider it safe enough. Not without a chaperone, at least. And as cool as Nightwing sounds, do we really want him hovering over us."
"Nightwing doesn't sound cool," she said, glaring at him. "He kidnapped Tim. And don't say safe like we both don't know Batman just wants to be sure we won't rescue him."
He rolled his eyes. "You know GB will be ticked if he hears you saying that."
"His name's Tim and he's not here so we don't need to play pretend just to soothe his brainwashed mentality," she huffed.
Frowning, he lowered his drink. "It's not playing pretend to follow our friend's wishes. He doesn't want us to say crud about the Bats so we shouldn't. Especially when we don't know what we're talking about."
"Are you saying you believe Batman!?" she snapped quietly, not wanting the others to hear.
"I don't know what I believe," he hissed back. "I haven't seen any proof either way. I haven't met Todd, Haywood, Drake, the Graysons, or Batman."
"The Titans -"
"Met Mr. Grayson once, for a very short time. And from what I've gathered, all that proved is that he's Nightwing's genetic donor."
"They lied."
"They kept their identities secret. So? Almost every hero has a secret identity and I doubt all the Leaguers and Titans have shared theirs. I mean, I don't even know your identities. What's the difference?"
"We weren't kidnapped into this."
"I can't know that for sure. Just like I can't be sure Nightwing kidnapped GB, and neither can you. So until we find out the truth, we should respect his wishes instead of acting like we're all just pretending to be his friends while lying in wait to rescue him."
Cassie bit her lip, then immediately released it. Kon must have saw, though, or maybe he heard something in her heartbeat because his eyes narrowed.
"Unless you are just pretending!"
"We're not pretending to be his friend."
"But you are just waiting for an opportunity? You all are? What is wrong with you guys?"
"He needs help!"
"He needs friends more! Ones who won't plot behind his back and betray him at the first chance and give more leverage to whoever's keeping him isolated!"
"Batman!"
"You don't know -" he cut off with a growl, standing up. "And what about me?"
Cassie distantly noticed the others glancing over, but her focus mostly remained on Kon. "What about you?"
"How do I know you guys aren't doing the same thing to me?"
"That's different!"
"How? You guys don't like Lex any more than Batman!"
"Because we already got you out from under Luthor!"
He gave a harsh laugh as he gestured around them. "Out from under him? Lex owns this entire island! I have dinner twice a week at L Tower, visit in between sometimes, and usually call Lex once a day! The only reason I live out here instead of there is that Lex wanted me to have a place where I could be safe from Cadmus and reporters!"
Her eyes widened. They knew Luthor owned the island and assumed he was still keeping an eye on Kon, but they didn't realize the two were still in contact. They thought Luther had tossed him aside as a failed project after it became obvious the clone couldn't beat the original.
"I'm not out from under him! And I don't want to be! He's my-He and Lena are the closest things I have to family!"
She opened her mouth to refute the comment, then his phone went off.
"I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed."
"Is that Tim?" Bart asked, zipping over as Kon took his phone out. "Why's he calling?"
"Get along with the voices inside of my head."
"He isn't," Kon said, frowning and answering the phone.
"You're tryin' to save me, stop -"
"I thought that was Tim's ringtone," Bart said.
"It is," Cissie confirmed.
"Why? What's wrong?" Kon asked, turning away from the others. He became tense, face paling. "Okay, I will. As fast as I can."
"What's going on?" Cassie asked when he put his phone away.
He glanced at her, but quickly looked away. "I've got to go. You three should probably head home."
"What?" Bart pouted. "But I thought we were spending the night?"
"Is it really going to take you that long? Maybe we could help?" Cissie offered.
"I don't know how long it will take, but you should still leave."
"Superboy, -" Cassie started, but he cut her off.
"Leave. We'll talk later when I'm not in a hurry and I've had time to cool off." Then he was gone.
"What was that about?" Cissie asked.
"You need to get to Gotham immediately!… Ghost's been taken. I can't explain. I'm sending you the search radius. Just get there now and find him!"
Kon panted as he stopped at the center of the search radius. He'd pushed himself to go as fast as he could. He didn't know what was going on, but if Oracle had to call him in instead of one of the other Bats, it had to be bad.
He double-checked that he was in the right place, then closed his eyes to listen. He searched and searched, cursing the fact he didn't know how to recognize people just by their heartbeats like Impulse had mentioned Superman could do. Not that it'd help, since the Bats' suits hid their heartbeats.
"- Drake loaded up before we're found."
He froze, trying to catch the voice again.
For a moment, he thought he'd gotten out of range, then he caught it just as the woman said, "- sedated for much longer. Start the first injection while I'm getting the truck ready."
He quickly flew towards the warehouse the voice was coming from, smashing through a window.
Ghost was there, unconscious and strapped to a gurney. A man in a lab coat was standing over him with a syringe filled with a pale, metallic yellow liquid that faintly glowed green.
The man turned to him with looks of first anger, then shock. He dropped the needle onto a table and held up his hands. "This isn't what it looks like."
"Really? Then what is it like?"
"I'm a doctor. I work for a group of people trying to free Batman's captives. You're Superboy, right? We're on the same side. Superman's talked with one of our people before."
"You mean John Grayson?" Kon said, slowly moving closer to the doctor as he studied him.
His smile was stiff and he kept glancing towards the door. His heart beating fast from his nerves, which made it hard for Kon to tell if he was lying.
"Yes. The Graysons and Edward Drake are part of our team. The late Drakes were as well before their accident. We just want to help the poor boys return to their families."
"And hiding out in an abandoned warehouse and drugging Ghost Bat with whatever that is," he nodded towards the syringe, "will help him?"
"This is only a temporary hiding spot. We're going to be transporting Timothy to a secure facility very shortly where he will be safe from the Bats. And the serum is to help him. To fix what Batman's done to his mind."
He moved a little closer. "How?"
"What?"
"How is it supposed to fix him?"
The doctor took a step back. "I-I don't know. I don't make it, just administer it."
"You're a doctor. Shouldn't you know what you're giving your patient so you know how to help if he doesn't react right?"
The doctor took another step back. "I-Of-I mean… I'm just trying to help."
"Well, then give GB to me. I'll get him somewhere safe."
He glanced towards the door. "GB?"
"He's my friend. I'll bring him to my island. He'll be safe there. No one will be able to get anywhere near the place without me hearing their boat or plane. I can even have my team call in the League to help."
"There-there's no need for that. Besides, they already lost Richard. We will keep Timothy safe."
A lump in the doctor's coat caught Kon's eye and he looked closer, peering through the cloth to see a pin on his shirt in the shape of an owl mask. He clenched his fists and stood up straighter. "Let me make this clear, Dr. Owl. I'm leaving here with GB and I won't hesitate to go through you if I have to."
The doctor fled just as something scratched along his back. The blades hurt more than he'd been expecting, so despite having heard the near-silent approach, he was startled and swatted his attacker away with too much force. He turned as they flew across the room and slammed into the wall with a sickening crack. He listened, and relaxed after a few seconds when he heard a soft, slow heartbeat.
He quickly checked over Ghost as much as he could with the suit still on, taking a moment to place his hand on his wrist to feel his best friend's heartbeat in place of hearing it, then turned back to his attacker.
They were in a suit that was mostly black and covered them from head to toe. It had small golden embellishments on the arms and legs and golden goggles that covered the eyes. The suit also had a beak, which only reinforced that these were the Court of Owls people Tim mentioned.
"You know, trying to give GB mystery drugs and having a talon attack me isn't helping me believe the Bats are wrong about you guys?" Kon joked as he approached. He stopped, breath catching, as he realized the unnatural angle their neck was at. He tried to remember any first aid he'd been given for people with injured necks, trying to push down the thought that a broken neck equaled death. He tried to listen for the talon's heartbeat again.
Their head jerked back into place with a sickening crick. He took a step back as they rose to their feet, dislocated shoulder snapping into place like their neck had.
"Okay, so Hood had been serious when he called you guys zombies. Good to know," he muttered, dropping into a fighting stance.
They cocked their head, then backed out of the room.
He listened to them run out of the building as he pulled out his phone and called Oracle.
"Superboy," she answered, voice clipped and hectic.
"I've got him."
She gave a relieved sigh, then he heard clicking. "Superboy found him."
"How is he?" Nightwing asked.
"Where are they?" Red Hood added.
"Warehouse on fifth and Jackson."
"He's okay," Kon answered, deciding not to think too hard about how Oracle knew exactly where he was. "Just unconscious. I overheard someone saying they sedated him. I also saw a guy with a vial of yellow stuff, but I don't think they injected GB with anything. There're no injection marks on his visible skin."
"What guy?" a new voice asked, deep and gruff.
"I don't know. He said he was a doctor and kind of looked like one. I think he might have been with the Court of Owls. He had this owl pin and there was someone else. Black suit with a beak and bounced back from a broken neck faster than Impulse does from a broken arm."
"A talon," Oracle confirmed. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." He reached back to where the talon had scratched him, but there was no blood so the scratches must have been superficial. He did find a small metal device and crushed it, assuming it was a tracker. He extended his senses to make sure there weren't more, but didn't feel any odd weights or hear an electrical buzz. "Barely scratched me before running off. I think they knew they couldn't take me and were just giving the other guy time to get away."
"Or they're regrouping. You need to get out of there," the deep voice said.
"I'm sending you a location. Bring Ghost to the roof."
"Alright." After hanging up and checking the location, he shoved his phone back in his pocket and grabbed Ghost.
Once in the air, he found himself hesitating, staring over the bay towards Metropolis.