Bleeding Multiverse

Chapter Nine: Monkeys and Moles

Mount Justice Sept 23

I'd come to check on the Team after the attack, and while several members of the League were repairing the base, I also noticed that our young transfer was not to be seen, nor was the rest of the Team. Curious. Well, since the cameras had all been repaired, I simply used my electrical abilities to view their recordings and found them in the bay entrance. With a quick 'jump,' I arrived in the room with none the wiser. We watched as Tony finished putting together what appeared to be a small-scale particle accelerator, though why he wanted one, I had no idea. "So, what's the point of this?" Wally asked.

"FRIDAY double-check the accelerator, I want to be absolutely certain it's up to Stark's specs," Tony told a floating cube. "The point, Wally, is that while I can never have my powers again and it will take some hacking before I can access the reformatting option, this suit can still be useful. Fortunately for me, Tony Stark has an ego the size of a country, possibly even a small planet, and he helped design my suit. As a result, if I can create an arc reactor, preferably one with a particular energy source, my suit will essentially become an Iron Man suit with repulsor technology in the hands, feet and chest. How's it looking, FRIDAY?"

"Everything looks up to specifications, boss. All that's left is the final alignment once the accelerator reaches maximum power."

"Should we be worried if anything goes wrong?" Artemis asked.

"Nah, this is a very stable reactor. Besides, while I have heard of particle accelerators overloading, the only one I know of that did was responsible for an alternate Flash to get his powers … even if he DID end up in a coma for nine months. Also, that little accident was done on purpose by Eobard Thawne."

That … did not inspire confidence, so just to be safe I jumped in and said "Fortunately, you don't need to worry. If it's necessary, I can jump all of you out of here in an instant."

"Thanks, Shade, I appreciate it," Tony said with a smile, the first we'd seen since the incident. "Okay, FRIDAY, let's fire it up!"

"You got it, boss. Initiating prismatic accelerator." A few minutes later and she announced "Approaching maximum power, boss. Better get to work."

Immediately, Tony started trying to turn a wheel on the accelerator, but he clearly wasn't strong enough. "Kon, I could use some help here!"

"What do you need?" he asked.

"Turn this until the beam hits the core ring, I can take it from there." Kon did as he was told, and while the beam started cutting through anything it touched, the second it hit the core ring, the ring absorbed the energy and started glowing.

"That's 75% boss," the AI said, and immediately Tony turned the machine off.

"Time to test it out and see how I did," Tony stated. With that, he placed in what appeared to be a tiny fusion reactor. "Okay, activate Magefire suit with arc reactor modification. Arc reactor code World's-Greatest-Hero-AES-I-am-Iron-Man-BS." With that, Tony's symbol vanished, creating a hole in his suit that he placed the reactor in. In an instant, the reactor started glowing with power while Tony said "Huh, it really does taste like coconut and metal."

We all laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement, but I soon realized that Kon was focused on something else. I turned and spotted Kaldur speaking to Bruce, and I immediately realized that whatever they were talking about, it wasn't going to be good for the team. Sure enough, Kon charged Kaldur demanding "You knew?! That android and his maniac family nearly killed us!"

"Conner, what are you doing?" M'gann asked.

"Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us and said nothing!" my nephew accused. I looked at Bruce, and he simply nodded his head. Damnation! This was not going to go well for the team, especially on top of their other problems. My fears were proven within seconds as nearly everyone else attacked Kaldur for keeping the secret. Everyone except Tony, who seemed to both shocked … and was I reading guilt on his face as well? Before things could collapse any more though, Bruce stopped the fight by explaining the new shifts that we Leaguers would be using to watch over them and giving them their next mission. I could only hope that India and this gorilla rumor would help them with their current issues.

Northern India, Sept 23

Good grief, but I never expected the secret about the mole to be revealed so soon! Thank the Vishanti that I had already learned the truth though. "Kaldur, are you alright?" I asked after a few minutes wandering the jungle in silence. Kon and M'gann had wandered off with Artemis while Wally and Dick had been the first to run off.

"My apologies, Magefire, I am plagued by doubts." Captain Marvel, who had decided to join us, raised an eyebrow at that. "Perhaps I was wrong to withhold the truth from the team."

"Kaldur," I started. "When you suspect a spy, you keep it between yourself and those you absolutely trust. The problem isn't keeping it a secret, it's ensuring it's a secret while you investigate. Talking about it around a guy with super-hearing, not the best idea."

"He's right," Captain Marvel said. "I'm probably the most naïve member of the League and even I know better than to discuss a secret around a Kryptonian, even when I don't have access to the-" Just then we were attacked by monstrous elephants, all of which were wearing collars and juiced up on Kobra Venom. While Kaldur and Marvel took out the colors, I returned the elephants to normal with a dose of fear gas. Marvel then gave Kaldur some advice before going after a tiger.

M'gann was quick to make contact, and Kaldur used that to establish our usual telepathic link. The fight quickly started again, so I decided to speak up. Listen, be upset with Kaldur all you want. But if you're going to be upset with him about keeping the mole a secret, why don't you blame me, because I've known about the mole since before I came here! As I expected, for a few moments there was silence, then everyone, including Kaldur exploded at me in rage. I let them vent for a minute before speaking up again. Kaldur and I had our reasons for staying silent, and you're all idiots. Now SHUT UP!

There was silence again before Wally replied Naruto, really?

You're intelligent, I'll give you that I responded with a smirk, remembering the meme that The Witcher had created. Now, here's how things are going to go down. For the rest of the mission, Kaldur is in charge, we treat this as if nothing happened. We deal with the crisis right now, then we deal with our trust issues. When we are finished with the mission, Kaldur and I will discuss the mole, our sources of information, and my findings, since I've already finished my investigation. Once that is done, we go home and sleep on what we've learned. On Friday we reunite and decide on the future of the team with cool heads, including mine and Kaldur's places on it. Sound good?

Everyone sounded off in approval, though Kon did shock me briefly. What's The Witcher?

A video game series and later TV series for people a bit older than us, doesn't matter. Let's get to work. Had I really been projecting that much? Yet it also brought up another potential revenue for myself … and another potential redemption for a particular criminal. I'd have to consider my options, and do some serious research. Anyways, Kaldur came up with a plan and within minutes we were back to how we'd been working before the whole mole situation: like a well-oiled machine.

We quickly got past the forcefield protecting the villain's base and just to ensure that we could leave when we wished, I destroyed one of the pylons that had created the field. We were about to enter when a troop of macaques attacked us, followed quickly by ... a gorilla with a minigun? Well, at least that answered the question as to who was behind this ... and identified another member of the Light. While we dealt with the remaining macaques, Mallah grabbed M'gann out of the air, but that just let her throw him through a wall, allowing the rest of us into the compound. The Brain caught us in a pylon prison, but I immediately blasted a pylon with a repulsor, freeing most of the team, while Kon burst in through the wall with ... a giant wolf? Eh, we'd get the story later, and we managed to force Mallah and the Brain to retreat.

An hour later and Mr. Tawny ensured that all the collars were removed. Once that was done, Robin asked why we didn't tell anyone about the mole. "Because the source of the claim is Sportsmaster," I answered. Aqualad raised an eyebrow at that, clearly asking how I knew. "Alternate universe, remember? The last episode I watched before coming here covered your mission to Taipei where Sportsmaster claimed to be getting info from a mole."

"I don't suppose you know the truth about the claim?" Captain Marvel asked.

"If you mean did I watch it, no, there was a massive break between even the mission to Bialya and Taipei, and there was another one after Taipei. I left shortly after the Taipei mission aired. But as I told my team, I did do my own investigation."

"And your results?" Robin asked.

"First, I need to ask your forgiveness. To be utterly certain of my investigation, instead of looking for physical evidence, I dove into each of your minds." Everyone started yelling at me once again. Once they had finished, I started. "I know, alright?! I know that there is nothing more invasive than that, but with telepaths, cloning and brainwashing, I did what I had to. Any of you could be the mole and not even know it! Now, can I continue?" Everyone agreed to that, so I started. "Okay, I decided to start with the one I was almost certain was innocent and worked towards my own main suspects. As such, Wally was first."

"Me, really?"

"Again, cloning and mental manipulation. You're clear by the way, KF. Next was Robin, who has worked for a villain in another reality, but was also cleared. M'gann was next ..."

"How did you even search my mind?"

"I snuck into your room while you were asleep, and just to be on the safe side I engulfed myself in flames to weaken your powers. Sorry. I also cleared you though."

And you're fine with my true form? she asked in my head.

You're still a Martian, I don't care that you look more monstrous than the greens. Remember, you're on Earth, we have literally no idea about the racism on Mars. "Next on my list was Connor."

"You doubted me?" he asked. Ouch! He sounded more hurt than I had ever heard him.

"Not really, but with the G-Gnomes, and considering another reality, it was very possible that you were the mole and didn't even know it, but you were clear, and after Bialya, I completely cleared your mind of any commands Cadmus implanted. That left only my main suspect: Artemis." She bowed her head, knowing I knew her secret. "I cleared her as well, though she does have some personal issues, that's her secret to reveal." Then I turned to her. "I know you're more loyal to us than you are to your father and sister, Artemis. You may go soft on them, but you'd never truly join them," I said in Vietnamese.

"Thank you, Tony," she said with a smile, before giving me a hug.

"Any time, Artemis," I replied, hugging her back. Kaldur also explained his reasonings, and only then did we head for home.

Mount Justice-Sept 30

One week later, we met up again as planned, with Kaldur and I staying off to the side while the others held their discussion about our future. "What do you think's going to happen?" I asked.

"I have faith that our teammates will make the correct decision." I just shook my head at that, such a Kaldur thing to say! Why had I expected something different? Oh well, the week of silence had allowed me to work on my plans for the future.

"We've reached a unanimous decision," Dick said. "While we're upset about the fact you didn't tell us about the mole, and that Tony violated our minds, we all understand why you did it. So, you're both staying on the team, and Kaldur is still our leader," he finished with a rare smile.

"So, with that settled, how about we get to that team name idea?" Artemis asked.

"Why don't we ask Mr. Know-it-all over there?" Wally grumbled. Huh, I wonder what made him upset?

"Oh no, I insist you suggest something first," I replied with a grin, hoping to cheer him up.

Wally stared at me in suspicion, but announced his idea. "Fine, I think we should call ourselves the Super Seven."

"Please, that's a horrible name! What if the team expands, do we just keep updating our name?" Dick asked. "I think we should call ourselves the Titans."

"Well, that's definitely an improvement," Artemis stated. But when asked, she passed on giving a name, as did Kon and M'gann. "What about your idea?" she asked me.

"Well, back home, this team was called Young Justice," I replied. "Now, since we only have three names, let's vote. Raise your hand if you're in favor of the Super Seven." As I expected, no one except Wally voted for it. "Okay, how about for the Titans? And Wally, you can vote again since your idea failed." Dick, Wally and M'gann all voted for Titans. "And Young Justice?" I asked, raising my own hand, along with Kon, Kaldur and Artemis. "Four to three, Young Justice it is."