Chapter 18
A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! Good to see y'all again! Remember, I just own my OCs (except Haruo, he belongs to twilightnite13), otherwise, Young Justice belongs to DC and Godzilla belongs to Universal Studios.
/comms/
Telepathy
Mt. Justice, September 23, 06:34EDT
"Thanks but no thanks," Wally grumbled as Green Arrow set down a bowl of pretzels in the middle of the small table the Leaguers had moved into the briefing room to let the kids sit on as they recouperated from the attack on the cave.
"Yeah, we want answers on Red Tornado and his siblings," Robin spoke up causing the blonde archer to glance away for a moment before reaching for the bowl.
He was intercepted by Wally who quickly hugged it to his chest. "Leave the bowl," he said between bites.
"I can't believe Red Tornado was a traitor," M'gann whispered.
"I can't wait to tear him apart," Superboy growled.
Skylar smirk, "Let me melt him into a paperweight or something, then you can punch the hell out of him whenever you want."
"I like the way you think."
"Guys, maybe it wasn't his fault," Amber spoke up. "He could've been reprogrammed or something against his will?"
"Pfft," Remix scoffed. "That doesn't excuse his actions. Don't you think if he was reprogrammed he would've spied on the League? But no, he spied on us. And isn't it odd, as soon as he left yesterday, we were attacked?"
"What are you getting at Sky?" Artemis spoke up sharing a confused look with M'gann.
Skylar looked to Onyx who gave a barely noticeable nod. Smirking, she leaned forwards and interlaced her fingers, "Well, do you wanna hear something I overheard just before RT left? Our dear leader was talking to him, about a potential spy among us."
"What?"
"You heard me, Aqualad, was investigating the team about a spy from a tip he got from Sportsmaster," she repeated. "He told Red Tornado to figure out what to do—he decided to investigate—and just after that what happened?"
"We were attacked," Wally scowled.
"He fucking knew."
"And didn't tell us?"
"He believed Sportsmaster over his own team?!"
"Conner," Amber said standing up alongside her brother and she grabbed his arm. "Don't do something you'll regret."
"I'm not," he snarled pushing her aside and storming towards Aqualad and Batman. "YOU KNEW!" Grabbing Kaldur, Conner shoved him up against the wall. "You knew there was a traitor among us?! That maniac and his family nearly killed M'gann and the rest of us!"
"Conner!" Amber groaned.
"Not now Amber! You almost died! M'gann almost died because of him!"
"Why the hell didn't you tell us?!" Robin snapped.
"I sought to protect the team from—"
"From what?!" Artemis cut him off. "Knowledge that might've saved our lives!"
"Or is it the fact you don't trust us," Onyx growled.
"Enough," Batman said, silencing the group of rightfully enraged teens. "With Red Tornado missing, the Team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift.
The red and gold clad hero stepped forwards with a grin, "I'm really looking forwards to hanging with you guys."
"After we turn Red Tornado into a punching bag," Superboy growled glaring at Kaldur, "you and I are gonna—"
"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League," Batman interrupted, "that makes him a League responsibility. You will leave him to us. I have another assignment for this team." The Dark Knight turned, activating a holoscreen.
"Gotham mayor attacked by guerilla gorilla," Wally read the headline.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Skylar muttered.
"Was this the only thing he could find to distract us?" Conner scoffed.
"Batman please tell me you're not sending us on some home wild ape chase!" Robin exclaimed.
The Dark Knight's scolding glare landed on them causing all mouths to snap shut, "I never joke about a mission. I've checked the sources, I've studied the patterns, Mayor Hill's encounter is only the latest in a series of incidents. Aqualad, you and your team will depart for India and investigate."
Wally scoffed as they moved to get changed back into their uniforms, "Your team."
-.-
India September 23, 08:36EDT
Nightmare landed silently on the ground, sniffing the air. "All clear," he whispered waving up as the Bioship lowered to the ground.
"Switch to stealth and we'll review mission parameters," Aqualad ordered as the rest of them stepped off of the Bioship.
"Parameters? We don't need no stinkin' parameters," Kid Flash scoffed switching to stealth.
"It's recon, we know what to do," Robin stated.
"Kid, Robin!" Kaldur protested as the pair began to stomp off.
"The three of us started this team because the Justice League was keeping secrets!" Robin snapped.
"Or did you forget about that just like you forgot to tell us about the mole?" Wally added lowering his goggles. Without waiting for an answer, the pair disappeared into the jungle.
"Like he was ever going to tell us," Remix muttered as she and Nightmare followed their lead and disappeared into the brush.
"C'mon," Superboy said grabbing M'gann's arm. "I'll keep you safe." M'gann glared at him, clearly saying something to him telepathically causing him to look surprised and to take a step back. "I just wanna protect you."
"Like Aqualad protected us?" Artemis replied pointing her bow at the clone as she stepped up beside M'gann. "I'm not sure your protection or your patronizing is good for our health." Whirling on her heel, the two girls went off in their own direction.
"Conner, I'm sure they didn't mean it," Aroura said.
Superboy pushed past her, completely ignoring his sister as he stormed up to Kaldur. "Why didn't you stop them?! You're supposed to be charge!"
"I am—" Kaldur began, however, he didn't get to finish before Superboy leapt off.
"Um…did I miss the part where you actually said what the plan was?" Captain Marvel spoke up as he stepped off the ship sheepishly.
Aqualad merely sighed, leading the Leaguer and his remaining teammate in another direction.
-.-
"I can't believe Kaldur wasn't going to tell us!" Artemis snarled as she stomped through the jungle, M'gann floating just behind her. "If it wasn't for Remix and Nightmare, we probably would've been toast!"
"You don't know that Artemis."
The blonde archer rolled her eyes, "Oh, yeah I do. Those machines took out five of my crazy powerful, superpowered friends! Most of whom, had more training than I did. Do you really think I could've taken them out? I mean Robin could have, but by the time we would've made that EMP thingy you guys might've been dead! And you wanna know how we could've avoided this whole situation in the first place?!"
"By telling us?"
"Exactly!" Artemis exclaimed throwing her arms in the air. "Kaldur believed Sportsmaster. Sportsmaster! Over us!"
M'gann nodded, allowing Artemis to continue her rant as they moved by a riverbed. Neither one of them noticed movement in the water.
-.-
Robin shoved a branch aside, nearly breaking is as he and Wally stomped through the thick brush. He couldn't believe Batman sent them on this wild ape chase. He wanted to be back at the Cave, hunting down Red Tornado.
But no, instead they were here, in the middle of nowhere, chasing a gun-toting gorilla with a leader who didn't trust any of them as far as he could throw them. He'd known Kaldur since he became a sidekick for crying out loud! Robin was the first protégé, the very first, all the others only came in after Batman introduced him to the League. And still, Kaldur, someone he'd considered a close friend, didn't trust him or Wally. They'd been through everything together and Kaldur didn't trust them. He was starting to wonder if Kaldur was the one who could be trusted.
Too busy fuming, neither boy noticed the dark shadows pass overhead.
-.-
Onyx crouched down, examining strange tracks left in the soil. He was pretty sure they weren't gorilla tracks, or really the tracks of any other mammal he knew of in India, the claws were too long. But he didn't really know of anything else that could have claws that long other than a tiger. And he was pretty sure that the track was too big to be a tiger.
"I thought we were supposed to be looking for a gorilla?" Skylar said kneeling next to him.
"We are," he replied standing up. Sniffing the air, he growled, his tail twitching in annoyance. "Though it would be easier if I knew what scent I was looking for."
"I could take a look from above, see if I can spot something?"
Onyx shook his head, "No, the canopy would likely be covering anything."
"And flying would likely be a clear sign we're here," she frowned. "So ground it is. But if we get attacked by a lion or a tiger or a bear or something, I blame you."
"Ha ha. I don't think India has bears."
-.-
The ground shook as Superboy bounded through the forest, leaving large craters in his wake as he moved loudly through the otherwise quiet environment. But he didn't care.
This was the last place Superboy wanted to be, right now, he wanted to turn Red Tornado into a punching bag, or better yet, wring Kaldur's neck for lying to them. Kaudlur put them all in danger, he almost killed M'gann and everyone else.
And Amber…she kept trying to defend people. Was she really going to just excuse Kaldur's actions?! They almost died and she was trying to be the peacekeeper as usual. Just like Superman would've been in their situation.
Making another leap, the clone growled at the thought of his sister. Superman liked her. She barely had to do anything to get his attention, while Conner had to fight tooth and nail just to get the Man of Steel to acknowledge his existence. When the League came after the attack, Superman went to check on her, he didn't even spare him a glance as he helped her out while Conner had to wait for Flash and Captain Atom to cut them out.
Aurora was everything he wasn't, she was understanding, powerful, and she wasn't a disappointment. And for that, he hated her.
Leaping away again, Superboy never noticed the patter of paws hitting the ground after him.
-.-
"Guess this is where Mayor Hills' monkey business happened," Captain Marvel said landing behind Aqualad as he knelt, examining the scattered tracks in the ground. "So at least we've confirmed his story."
"It would appear so," Aurora said picking up a bullet casing. "But that still leaves many questions unanswered."
"Such as why this happened? Where did their attacker go? And what is their plan?" Captain offered.
Aurora nodded, smiling, "Exactly." Turning to Kaldur, she frowned as she felt his emotions. He was so unhappy, berating himself for the events at the cave. "You do know what happened is not your fault right?" Kaldur looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "You could not have known Red Tornado was the mole. Mistakes happen. What matters is that we move on and work to right the wrongs made. In the end, everything will work itself out."
"I hope you are right, Aurora," Kaldur said standing up.
A branch snapped nearby, silencing all conversation as they all snapped to attention. Trees began to rustle and one fell over as a massive elephant emerged from the jungle, charging towards them with an angry trumpet. The massive animal swung its trunk slamming into Captain Marvel and sending him soaring across the clearing as two more stomped out from the brush, each swinging their heads angrily.
-.-
Superboy landed on the ground and grunted as something slammed into him. rolling over, his fist closed around what felt like fur. Throwing the thing away, he heard a yelp and stood up do see a dark wolf getting up, baring its teeth at him.
Growls came from all around him and he turned to see more of the beasts emerging, saliva dripping from their maws. The wolf that attacked him first growled, its hackles rising before it lunged at him. throwing a punch, he swatted the animal aside as its companions leapt at him. Superboy grit his teeth as he heard his shirt tear and teeth try to dig into his flesh. Grabbing the wolf from his back, he tossed it off of him, sending it slamming into one of its companions before it was replaced by another of its packmates.
-.-
"You were saying?" Remix deadpanned as she and Nightmare stood across from two massive black bears.
"How was I supposed to know there were bears here?!" he snapped.
The first bear roared, charging forwards. Waving her hand, Remix sent an arch of flame at the beasts. They roared loudly rearing back away from the fire, lighting their eyes red and revealing the inhibitor collars on their necks.
Seizing his chance, Nightmare raced forwards. One of the bears swiped at him and he rolled out of the way, and leapt onto its back. Electricity sparking off his hand. He grabbed the inhibitor collar. The bear reared up and roared as electricity sparked off the collar, before it ended as he ripped it off. Leaping off the bear, he tossed the collar away as Remix ripped the collar off her own bear and landed next to him.
The pair looked at the animals, watching as they turned away, lumbering off into the shadows of the jungle.
"What the hell was that?" Nightmare muttered.
"I don't know," Remix replied. "But clearly something's going on here."
"No kidding. And whoever's responsible knows we're here."
-.-
Robin grunted as Kid Flash tackled him to the ground as massive claws closed around where he'd previously been as a massive vulture swooped down. A rush of wind came as the unusually large animal flapped its wings, moving higher into the air alongside its companion.
Scrambling to their feet, Robin reached into his utility belt and tossed several explosives at the birds. "I thought vultures were only supposed to eat dead meat!" he growled as the birds gave loud screeches as the explosives went off. glancing behind them, the Boy Wonder cursed to himself as he saw the two birds fly through the smoke.
"Well, these are some very proactive scavengers," KF commented as he ducked under the snapping beak of one of the birds.
"Proactive and supersized," Robin remarked pulling out several smoke bombs. While the explosives didn't seem to do much damage, at least they could disappear. "Thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Kobra Venom? Yeah."
"That, and we need to make ourselves scarce," he said throwing down the smoke bombs.
-.-
The smooth surface of the river was broken as something burst from the depths, spraying water on Artemis and Miss Martian. Massive jaws snapped at M'gann almost clamping down on her, before she used her telekinesis to push the massive crocodile away. The massive reptile hissed crawling towards her again and Artemis notched an arrow to aid her friend.
She didn't expect a second crocodile to burst from the river. Teeth grazed her arm as its jaws latched onto her quiver. Throwing itself back, Artemis grunted as she slammed into the water surface, bubbles passing through her lips as the predator dragged her under the surface. She could feel the force of water move around her and the color of light and dark rapidly changing between. She wasn't sure if that was because she could've been blacking out from lack of air or simply because it was possible the monster was doing its infamous death roll.
A shadow came towards her and Artemis's eyes widened as M'gann came to her aid. She managed to grab onto her, holding the strap of her quiver. Suddenly she was on the ground surrounded by walls of water, looking up at M'gann she saw her using her telekinesis to hold back the river and its beasts like the Red Sea. Coughing, she wiped her mouth, feeling gross, "Ugh, almost drowning two nights in a row, way less fun than it sounds."
-.-
Flaring her wings out, Aurora filled the area with blinding light. The mutated pachyderms shook their heads, trumpeting angrily as they swung their trunks blindly.
Nearby, Kaldur used his hand to block the blinding light coming from his teammate and as the elephants were illuminated, he could observe the black collars standing contrast to the pale grey skin of the large mammals. Pulling his waterbearers off his back, he summoned his waterwhips and charged as soon and the bright light faded. The trunk of one of the blinded elephants swung towards him, rolling under the limb, he swung his whip, the end of it wrapping around the collar. Aqualad then yanked as hard as he could. The collar snapped, small pieces of metal and wire falling to the ground separately from the rest of the prison enforcement device. Looking up, Kaldur watched as the angry rumbles of the beast calmed down, its ears folding back against its head. "Remove the collars!"
"On it!" Captain Marvel replied as he shot towards one of the animals. Landing on its back, he quickly used his strength to rip the collar in two, allowing it to fall to the ground as he floated off the elephant's back and watched as it began to stomp away from them.
Another snap echoed in the clearing as Amber tossed the collar of the one she had been fighting. fluttering away, the third beast retreated back into the jungle. "Fortunate that the issue was able to be resolved quickly," Aurora replied.
"Yeah, it was pretty sweet how you figured out it was the collars causing the problem," Captain praised.
"But the presence of the collars indicates that there is a higher intelligence behind this attack. The rest of the team may also be at risk." Reaching up to his ear, Kaldur turned on his comm to contact the others only to grimace as he received the sharp ring of interference. "Comm's dead."
"And Miss Martian did not establish telepathic communication before separation," Aurora reminded.
"Actually, Aqualad allowed everyone to split up before communications were set," Captain Marvel corrected.
"They would not listen!"
"Then you make them listen," the Leaguer replied. "Remember, back at the cave, Batman stopped everyone from fighting with one word."
Aqualad glanced away, appearing to sulk. "That's cause Batman is…Batman."
Captain Marvel shrugged, crossing his arms. "Hey, you don't have to tell me; when I first joined the League, all he did was boss me around. And it's hard to not take it all personally. However, I never disobeyed an order, and that's probably what's kept me alive. A leader needs to take command."
Kaldur nodded, "Thank you, for helping me understand."
"Hey, Wisdom of Solomon."
"Aqualad, can you hear me?"
Perking up at the sign of the telepathic link, the Atlantean turned, holding his head. "Yes, Miss Martian. Report?"
"Artemis and I were attacked by animals wearing inhibitor collars like those used in Belle Reve Penitentiary."
Aurora turned her head as she heard something rustle at the edge of the clearing. Energy smoking off her hand, she raised her fists as she spotted a tiger hiding in the tall grass. And, apparently, she was not the only one who had spotted the creature watching them.
"Cool, a tiger," Captain Marvel grinned. "I'll be right back!"
"Wait!" she called after him as he flew off in the direction of the animal as it ran off into the dark forest. "Kaldur!"
"I saw," he replied. "It should be fine, I have heard Captain Marvel is easily distracted."
"Well, in a jungle filled with animals that are under the control of an unknown enemy, perhaps going off alone isn't the best idea," she replied.
"No, it's not."
-.-
Captain Marvel flew after the tiger as it bounded through the brush. Leaping into another small clearing, the large feline came to a stop, turning around to look at him baring its massive fangs as it growled at him. "Hey there Mr. Kitty," he greeted gently landing on the ground some distance between him and the big cat, "why don't you let good ol' Cap take that nasty collar off for you?"
Slowly walking forwards, he raised his hands to show he was unarmed as the tiger took a few steps back, growling at him still. Something clicked as he took another step forwards and several metal rods shot out of the ground. They turned on with a dull hum and the hero collapsed as his muscles seemed to feel like jelly.
Nearby, there was a laugh and Captain Marvel strained to turn his head as a grinning boy with a scorpion tail and another boy with darker skin a long tail with small spines coming out of it stood across from him. "Well, aren't you a pleasant surprise?" the second one grinned.
A sharp sting spread through his body, and Captain Marvel grit his teeth as he managed to turn his head to see the stinger of the scorpion boy retreating. "Sweet Dreams big guy."
-.-
"Miss Martian, I need a telepathic link up with the entire team."
"Link established."
"Oh God, just what I need, Kaldur's voice in my head," Remix immediately remarked.
"I've soo missed that," KF agreed.
"Should you really be giving us orders?" Artemis scoffed. "And should you really be following them?"
"Guys, listen please," Amber implored.
"Hey Kaldur, KF and I were attacked by giant vultures," Robin said. "Though since we're moles you probably believe we attacked ourselves."
"If he did, he wouldn't tell you," Onyx sneered.
"Superboy are you online or just pouting?"
"Busy, call back later."
"What gets me is how nonchalant he is about telling us," Wally grumbled.
"He should be chalant, way chalant."
"How can we be a team if he doesn't trust us with his secrets?"
"Or if Conner doesn't trust us to take care of ourselves."
"No, he just expects you to stab everyone else in the back."
Aurora sighed as she followed Aqualad through the jungle as they tried to figure out where the heck Captain Marvel went. She just wished they all would stop arguing. The whole event at the cave wasn't Kaldur's fault yet everyone was blaming him. How us he supposed to know Red Tornado was the traitor? She never would've suspected him. And who cared if the intel came from a bad guy? Sure it may've been a way to tear the team apart, but in the end, he was right. There was a spy among them.
Coming into a clearing, the pair looked at each other as they saw several pylons sticking out from the ground. Getting frustrated, Kaldur ripped one from the ground, allowing Amber to kneel down and pick up a small piece of white cloth. "Kaldur," she said handing it to him.
"A piece of Captain Marvel's cape?" he recognized looking around for the hero.
She nodded, "I think he's likely been captured by whoever has been collaring the animals."
"You are likely right Aurora," he nodded.
"Did you really think you or I could've been the mole?" KF spoke, undoubtedly asking Robin.
"We've known each other for years!"
"Trust is a two-way street!"
"And you know they'd hate it if we kept secrets from them."
"Not that we would."
"Never."
"ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU!" Aurora shouted. "Stop your childish squabbling for five minutes! We are on a mission! Do you think the League does this on their missions?! No! So shut up and listen! Captain Marvel has been captured. And we must rescue him."
"Under Kaldur's leadership?" KF scoffed. "I don't think—"
"This is not up for debate," Aqualad snapped, silencing all argument. "You all chose me to lead. When the mission is over, if you wish to select a new leader, I will gladly step aside. But until that time I am in command."
-.-
Captain Marvel groaned as consciousness began to return to him. His head throbbed with every pump of his heart he could feel running through his head. Forcing his eyes open, he closed them again as a sharp pain came through his head at the bright light looming just above his face. He tried to turn his head away, only to feel cold metal against his burning forehead.
"Well, have a nice nap sleeping beauty?" a voice spoke next to his ear.
Snapping his eyes open, he came face to face with the orange gaze of the boy who had knocked him out. "You stung me."
He grinned, showing a small set of sharp canines. "You sound surprised? Though, considering you're considered to be invulnerable, it should be." His tail moved and the hero went cross-eyed as the sharp tip of a tail came into his vision. Stopping just above his forehead, a small droplet of green liquid starting to form a droplet on the tip. "Not that it's hard to break through your skin. I was designed to stab through much stronger. I wonder if you're immune to acid; wanna find out?"
"Enough Serket," an accented voice called. "We do not want ze Captain to be damaged before la procedure. And, more importantly, I want hiz brain intact."
"Fine, you're no fun."
Captain Marvel released a breath he didn't realized he'd been holding as the tail retreated and the boy stood up. "La procedure? What procedure?" he asked.
"I have often pondered the effect of your powers on the cerebral cortex. I long to see de Wisdom of Solomon up close. Your collar is set to inhibit le movement from the neck down and I have allowed you to retain the power of speech as your reactions may prove interesting during la procedure. Monsieur Mallah, prepare for surgery."
-.-
"This has to be the place," Robin said as the group crouched in the bushes on a ledge overlooking a large complex.
"Where else would it be? Have you found any other mysterious hidden complexes in the jungle?" Onyx deadpanned.
"I can fly over," M'gann offered.
Putting on his goggles, Kid Flash switched through a few frequencies before grabbing her arm. "Negatory, there's a field that extends over the compound as a dome."
Robin pulled out his glove, and started typing, "Those pylons are insulated, but one good shock could cause a momentary gap."
"I see a target," Artemis relayed notching her arrow.
"Be ready to hit it," Kaldur said. "Be ready, all of you. Nightmare, with me."
The younger boy nodded, jumping off the ledge alongside Kaldur. Running to the edge of the pylon circle Kaldur's tattoos began to glow as he slammed his hands into the shield alongside Onyx's own electrified hands. They pulled away from each other, creating hole within the shield. "Now!" Artemis fired her arrow, the projectile whizzing past their hands and hitting a panel within the shield.
The field dropped from existence and the rest of the group ran towards them. Movement from the roof caught their attention as they looked up to see a monkey perched upon it an inhibitor collar around its neck. It gave a loud screech as alarms began to go off, the swirling red lights illuminating more primates rushing towards them as a furry tide.
"Remove the collars!" Aqualad ordered as they leapt at them.
"Easier said than done!" Onyx replied using his tail, to swat several aside. One monkey leapt at his face, and Onyx ducked, grabbing it by its tail before slamming it on the ground and baring his own fangs at it. His jaws locked around the edges of the collar and he pulled it off, spitting out pieces of metal and tufts of fur.
Now clearly scared, the monkey raced away as another one leapt at him. However, an arrow flew by, hitting the collar and knocking it off. Even though their collars were off, several remained, still looking ready to fight when Remix landed and spread her blazing wings with a shrill roar, which quickly caused them to scatter.
There was a hiss of air escaping and all heads turned as a gorilla with a machine gun and a red beret stomped out. With one arm, it swung out widely, grabbing something before pulling it close to him and aiming his weapon at it revealing Miss Martian as she dropped her camouflage.
"Get you paws off her you dirty ape!" Wally snarled charging forwards. He slammed into the ape, bouncing off of its round belly. He started to get up when small pieces of earth rose to cover his hands and feet.
"Well, you'll want to try harder than that," Serket grinned as he stepped out.
"You again."
"Aw, you remember me, I'm flattered," he said putting his hands against his chest, the end of his tail twitching.
"Stop fooling around Serket," another boy said stepping out. None of them recognized this one, he had darker skin, a pale gold mane of hair and a long, tufted tail.
"You're no fun Barbarian," Serket scoffed. Kid Flash leapt at him and the boy jumped over, landing on his shoulders before springing off, raising his tail. "Wow hot stuff, you seem eager for punishment." An arrow hit his side and blasted him back.
"Useless as ever I see," Barbarian sneered. Rushing forwards, he leapt at Aqualad, his claws colliding with the other boy's swords. Baring his fangs, he breathed a wave of flame at the Atlantean, causing him to stumble back as the flames came towards his face. Looking up Kaldur's eyes widened as he saw a glowing fist flying towards him before Aurora landed between them, her impact blasting his attacker back.
She flared her wings and all of her comrades slammed their eyes shut. Even through their closed lids, they all were nearly blinded by the rays of light and they could hear their enemies crying out in pain. The sound of gunfire echoed in the clearing, causing those who weren't bulletproof to flop to the ground hoping the stray shots wouldn't hit them. Fortunately, it didn't last long as a loud snap later the gunfire stopped as the light faded away. Opening their eyes, the others saw the machine gun bent in Aurora's had before she turned and hurled it at Barbarian. It slammed into the other boy, and all of them grimaced as they heard a crack as the teen slammed to the ground. Serket bared his own teeth when a batarang hit him blasting him back as an arrow with a blunt tip hit Mallah snapping his head to the side and knocking his beret off as the ape stumbled to keep his balance.
Now free, M'gann flew up into the air, using her telekinesis to lift the three into the air and hurled them through the wall as Remix pulled Wally out of his trap. Racing through the makeshift entrance, they stopped as they were greeted by a sterile room with Captain Marvel strapped to the table, something pointed at his head.
Beside the table, a dark object rolled around to reveal a brain in a jar on wheels. "It's the Brain!" KF exclaimed.
"We can see that it's a brain," Artemis muttered.
"Not a brain, the brain! The supervillain!"
"In ze flesh, so to speak."
"Looks like a trashcan to me."
"Mallah."
The gorilla got up, pulling out a remote and pushing a button. Pylons rose from the ground, surrounding them and activating, causing them all to slam to the ground as their muscles went limp. "You couldn't have done that sooner?" Serket muttered getting up.
"Had you not been such an idiot, then maybe we could have," Barbarian replied.
"Miss Martian, Superboy, now!"
The remote flew from the gorilla's hand, flying over to M'gann as she used her telekinesis to deactivate the pylons imprisoning them before crushing the remote to ensure it couldn't happen again. On the other side of the room, the wall exploded inwards, pieces of rock hitting the villains who stood just in front of it as Superboy entered, cracking his knuckles as a white wolf stood by his side. The canine bounded forwards, leaping onto Barbarian, before leaping off as Artemis ran over, kicking the fallen boy in the face. With a snarl, the other boy swiped her legs out from under her and Artemis landed on her back. Claws descended towards her face and she rolled out of the way, grabbing an arrow from her quiver and slamming it on his hand allowing the high density foam to form and trap him.
Unfortunately, that plan didn't work. Barbarian yanked his hank up, pieces of hardened foam falling to the ground as he got up. Fortunately, a bolt of light hit him in the chest and slammed him into the wall.
"Stay still!" Serket snarled pulling his tail from the dirt as he watched the yellow and red blur rush around. Stabbing his tail again, he grit his teeth as it once again missed.
"What? Having a problem catching me?" Kid Flash teased, stopping for a moment to flick his ear.
Stomping on the ground, he sent a shockwave through the dirt, tripping the speedster as he ran. As he slammed to the ground, Serket raced forwards to stab him with his tail when a hand grabbed it just below the stinger. "Sorry," Superboy grinned, "but I believe we still have a score to settle."
Growling, Serket moved to throw a punch before the other clone yanked on his tail, sending him stumbling off balance. Rolling on the ground, he got to his feet in time for the red flash that could only be the Boy Wonder to kick him in the face. Landing flat on his back, Serket grunted as something pinned his leg and he looked to see the Brain's stupid pet pinning him. "Get off me!" Shoving the ape off, he got up to see that the Atlantean had freed the hero and the tiger.
"Enough, zis will not be our Waterloo," the Brain spoke. Multiple pieces on hi container pulled back, allowing various electric prongs to come out. "Au revoir mes amis."
"GET DOWN!"
Everyone dropped as they expected an explosion or gunfire or something; what they didn't expect, was darkness. However, it didn't last long under Remix's and Aurora's natural glows. "So…the big weapon was…a light switch?"
"It would appear so."
"Well that seems overcomplicated."
"No kidding."
-.-
"What are you grinning about?" Artemis groaned as she spotted a stupid grin on Wally's face as they made their way to the Bioship.
If it was possible, his infernal smirk got wider as he pulled out a red beret. "One word: souvenir."
"Two words: gorilla lice," she replied.
Almost immediately the color drained from his face as he yanked the beret from his head, holding it at arm's length as if it had the plague. "Aw man!"
"Ha ha."
"Oh shut up Remix."
"Make me lice boy."
Nearby, Superboy knelt down, running his fingers through the thick, matted, white fur of the wolf that had joined them in the fight. "The rest of the pack is gone," he said, "What're you still doing here?"
"He seems to like you," Amber spoke stepping up.
"Can I keep him?"
"First the sphere, now that beast?" Wally scoffed. "Dude, you're making a habit of picking up strays."
"Maybe because he is such a stray himself," M'gann smiled.
"We should think of a name," Amber said kneeling beside him.
"How about Krypto?" Wally suggested.
"I think that's taken," Robin said as the wolf growled. "And I don't think he likes it."
"No, he doesn't like it," Aurora agreed. "What do you think Conner?"
"Wolf."
Amber blinked, "Wolf? Does that not seem rather…generic?"
"Yeah, so?" Conner challenged.
Smiling nervously, she raised her hands. "I mean, he's all yours, so you can name him what you want. Wolf works."
"Alright, I have to ask," Robin spoke up. "Kaldur, why did you keep the mole intel a secret? Especially if the tip was from a bad guy?"
"Yeah, you can't trust the bad guys!" Artemis exclaimed. "Especially not Sportsmaster!"
"I do not, it seemed possible—more likely—that he was trying to divide the team with false information."
"Well, obviously. And it almost worked too, look how we all were," Nightmare replied crossing his arms. "Causing distrust among your enemies is supervillain 101. At least that's what they drilled into me back in the lab."
"Same," Remix replied. "Another thing we were taught back in the lab, was to not have conversations this important out where everyone could possibly hear you, Kaldur."
"That is how you knew?"
"Yeah. I walked in on you talking to the piece of scrap metal," she deadpanned. "Had there actually been a traitor on the team, I would've said you were lucky it was only me."
"But you had to consider it might be true," Robin chimed in.
Kaldur nodded, "Yes, I did. In which case, I didn't want to alert the traitor."
"Then don't talk out in the open where literally anyone can hear you. Otherwise, makes sense."
"Hate to say it, but yeah, it does," Wally grumbled.
"I am still prepared to step down."
"All in favor of keeping Aqualad as team leader?" Artemis asked raising her hand as the others raised theirs.
"Guess it's unanimous," Captain Marvel said patting Aqualad on the shoulder. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"You're not coming back with us?" M'gann asked.
"Nope, gotta fly," he said taking off. "Bye guys!"
"So…how are we going to explain all of this to Batman?"
A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! 2020 is almost over! Can y'all believe it? I am so ready for this crazy ass year to be done! Anyways, i hope all've y'all had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, as well as I hope we all have a great New Year. I'll see y'all in the next chapter!