Naruto x Young Justice Fanfiction
AN
Hello guys and welcome to the sixth instalment of this story
I want to thank all the support you guys have given this story, we already hit the mark for 100 favs so that's nice
I read your reviews I'm glad you guys are liking it even though the first chapter is a little messy on grammar something I will fix up later on
As always, I don't own Naruto nor Young Justice
With that being said enjoy the new chapter
"Normal talk"
"Thoughts, mental conversations and comms"
"Demons, magic spells and A.I"
Chapter 6: Don't be afraid of the shadows
"Hello Nate, its good to see you" the voice said as Nate open his eyes as he stared at the red-looking sky, he cursed mentally as he was having a good dreamless night but here, he was in the hellhole again
"Hello me, I can't say the same, I thought this was over" Nate said as he stood up and saw his clone siting at a chair facing the one who didn't have a person in it, Nate walked towards his counterpart was located and sat across of him as he stared at him with a frown "What do you want? Why did you bring me here again?" Nate asked angrily annoyed that he was back here
"Don't you remember what I told you?" The voice said as he looked at Nate incredulously "I do not control anything here, I can not bring you here anytime I desire" the voice said as he crossed his arms in indignation
"Then why am I here?" Nate asked the voice as he leaned back on the chair
"Don't know, last time you ere here you started with your new team maybe is sometime like that" The voice offered as he shrugged his shoulders
"But everything with the team is going great, we even decided to go to the beach today" Nate replied as he thought of todays plans
"The beach huh? Are you going to take your shirt of?" The voice wonder as he looked at Nate who had his head down "How are you going to explain you're scar?" the voices as Nate winced at the remainder
"I won't, not for now it's too early" Nate said as he traced his abdomen with his hand "If they ask, I'll just tell them to ask later" he said as he faced his counterpart
"So still hiding I see, you wanted to tell Superboy didn't you? About your real name" The voice said as Nate's eyes winded in surprise and shock
"How the fuck did you know that?" Nate asked in shock as he stared at the voice
"I'm you, whatever you see, feel and think I also do, there's nothing you do that I don't know of Naruto" the voice said smugly as Nate got up in anger
"My name is Nate, not Naruto you get that?" Nate shouted angry tired of him remaining o what he was hiding
"And how long will it stay that way?" the voice shouted getting in the face of Nate reading the thoughts of Nate "You saw what happen, how one of your abilities came up suddenly, what will you do when they all come up again?" the voice asked as Nate grew confused
"Abilities, I don't…" he started but the voice interrupted him
"You don't have abilities? Please," the voice said sarcastically "Nine years of our lives trapped in that hell, nine years getting experimented on, you block that memories so I can't remember what we could do, but with eidetic memory coming back I don't know what else they did to us" The voice said as he took a breath to calm down
"Blocked? I have my memories blocked?" Nate asked curiously wondering what the hell his counterpart was talking about
"You did it unconsciously, when they controlled you, the things you did or rather the things we did, does weren't the things a child should do" The voice said as he sat again on the chair and beckoned Nate to sit on the other one thing the blond hero did "You remember the all around things we did but you don't remember exactly what we did and certain missions, when the doctor woke you up, your mind reacted and kept you safe, it put Naruto to sleep and woke Nate up technically speaking" the voice said as Nate grew confused
"How do you know all of this?" Nate asked confused remembering the voice saying he had no control over this place
"Because this is your mind" the voice said simply "Just as you can remember that your childhood wasn't great and everything, I can remember the details and everything you have blocked but you won't heard them until your ready" the voice explained as he sigh remembering the horrors they had gone through
"What do you mean?" Nate asked wondering how the hell he won't heard him as he had been hearing him all the time
"Here watch" the voice replied as he stared at the figure, but Nate couldn't hear anything, he saw the figure's lips moving but not heard a word that the figure was saying "See you can't hear it" the voice explained as Nate leaned back into the chair in defeat
"How is that even possible?" Nate said as he grabbed his head on his hands contemplating the situation that he was
"Mind is a powerful thing Nate" the voice said as Nate turned to look at him "And with the things they did to us our mind is more powerful than any normal human being, but with Nate waking up, it needs time to heal" the voice explained
"My mind is healing?" Nate asked curiously
"Yes, we are traumatized" the voice said as Nate nodded "Right now our mind is blocking some trauma and letting it out slowly and someday all the traumas will be crashing down, I'll suggest you start seeing a therapist soon" the voice said as Nate frown at the thought of going insane
"There's no way of stooping it?" Nate asked hoping he won't have to face his past again
"No there isn't, nothing stays truly buried in this world Nate" the voice said simply as Nate dropped his head in frustration "Although for you I don't think it would be a bad idea for that trauma to come out?" the voice said as Nate grew confused
"Huh?" Nate managed to get out waiting for an explanation
"You have a new goal Nate" The voice said matter-of-factly "What is it?" the voice asked Nate rhetorically waiting for him to respond
"Protect my friends, no matter the cost" Nate said with conviction as the voice smiled and nodded having the same thoughts "But what does have to with our trauma and past?" Nate asked
"Everything, Nate you're weak" the voice said holding a hand stopping any protest from the young hero "What I've mean to say is that you're weaker, and when you unblock your memories, a thing that will most definitely happen, you will be stronger again and no one will be able to mees with our loved ones because…" the voices said but stopped himself as he knew Nate wouldn't remember it and wouldn't hear it, but he was surprised when he heard Nate spoke again
"Because only when a person have a precious people to protect does that person become truly strong" Nate said as he looked at the figure in shock not knowing where the hell those words had came from
"Exactly" the voice said as he looked at the sky in deep thought and then looked back at Nate "It's time for you to wake up, you have a big day ahead of you" the voice said as he stood
"Huh, so you can predict the future now to?" Nate said sarcastically as he didn't expect a response but got one
"Maybe" The voice said with a chuckle as Nat saw the dream world started to disappear and look at the castle on last time and saw that it was getting closer than the last time.
Mount Justice
Nate woke up startled as he grabbed his face in annoyance and groan at the memories of his dream, he stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before he grabbed his phone to check the hour
"12 in the afternoon?" he thought surprised he slept that long as he sat up and looked at the floor in deep thought "Training with Canary and the team yesterday sure as hell left me burnout" he thought as he put a black tank top on head out into the living room to grab something to eat
He headed into the kitchen to make something up and notice a figure sitting on the living room watching tv
"Good morning" Nate said still half asleep as the resident clone turned to look at his friend in the kitchen
"More like good afternoon" Superboy said with a chuckle as he saw the blond teen grab something of the freezer and started cooking it "You never wake up this late, what happened?" Superboy asked in concern
"Don't know" Nate said as he started making some scrambled eggs for him "I think yesterday's training session had something to do with that, but I don't really no" Nate said as he massaged the back of his neck as he stared at his eggs
"How's your neck?" Superboy asked from where he was
"It's fine, healing quickly" Nate said as he show his neck at Superboy "The marks are still there but they will fade soon" he said as his eggs were finished and put them on a plate as he headed into the living room
"You're watching cooking shows?" Nate asked as he started eating looking at the tv
"Yeah" Superboy said scratching his head "Megan force me to watch them one time when you were gone and I kind of like them" he said shyly
"You like her, don't you?" Nate said with a chuckle as the young clone looked at Nate in embarrassment and shock
"How did-" Superboy managed to get out in embarrassment as Nate laughed at the face of the young clone
"How did I figure it out?" Nate asked rhetorically as he continue to eat his meal "I know how to read people dude, I do it unconsciously, you try to hide it, but I can tell" he said as he put his empty plate on the table and looked at the concerned face of Superboy "Don't worry I won't tell her, that's for you to tell her" Nate said as he put a hand on the shoulder of the young clone
"Thanks man I appreciated it" Superboy said with a smiled as he turned to look at the tv thinking the conversation was over, but the voice of Nate brought him back to the real world
"I have a question though" Nate said as he took a look of curiosity as he stared at the tv
"What is it?" Superboy asked as he raised an eyebrow looking at the blond teen
"Did the gnomes of Cadmus thought you everything about sex?" Nate asked amused as Superboy choke on his saliva at the question "Because if you don't, I don't want to be the want to teach you" Nate said with a face of fake disgust as he laughed at the embarrassed face of Superboy
"Yes, they thought me that" Superboy exclaimed angry and embarrassed as he out his head in his hands, Nate was going to continue making fun of the young man but a voice behind the two of them
"Thought you what?" the resident Martian girl asked curiously as she entered the living room, Superboy saw Nate smirked as he started to talk and move to put his hand over the blond teen's mouth
"We ere talking about how Cadm…" The blond teen stared until the young clone put a hand over his mouth preventing him from keeping talking
"About how Cadmus thought me how to cook" Superboy said as he chuckled nervously and look at the beaming girl
"Really?" Megan exclaimed happily as he smiled at the young clone "We need to cook together sometime" the girl said excitedly as she went to the freezer to take out a drink as Superboy dropped his hand from the blond teen's mouth as he looked at the girl in horror thinking what he just had get himself into
"You're fucked" Nate whispered as he chuckled at the young clone
"Screw you" Superboy growled out as he massaged his head as Nate continued chuckling until the blond man turned towards his other roommate and started talking to her
"So," Nate started as he looked at the green skinned girl "You're exited for today?" the blond teen asked with a smile
"Hello Megan!" she said as she hit her head playfully making Nate looked at her in curiosity wondering what the hell what that was all about "Of course I am, its my first time going to the beach" she said excitedly
"Really?" Nate asked curiously "They don't have beaches in Mars?" he asked in genuinely curiosity as he didn't meet any aliens so casually
"No, we don't, Mars is a relative cold world and there isn't much water on there, so beaches doesn't form there" Megan said sadly remembering her childhood on Mars
"Well, that's sucks" Nate said with a frown but then smiled reassuringly at the young girl "But I guess it's never too late to discover new things" he said with a smiled as he turned to the dark-haired man "I guess that applies to you too, doesn't it?" Nate asked the young clone who nodded
"Yeah, the gnomes implanted the image of it, but I haven't gone to one yet" he said as Nate nodded and stood up as he look at his phone
"You'll have fun I promise you that, unless sand get up your ass that sucks" he said as Megan and Superboy chuckled "Rob and Kaldur should arrive soon, I'm going to get change and meet you on the entrance of the beach" Nate said as he headed into his room as Superboy also took a leave to change too
Nate entered his room as he took a black swim trunks that reached his knees he change into that outfit and took out some sunscreen and applied it on his body he look at the scar that was in the middle of his abs in a diagonal form, he traced it with his hand as he remembered how he had gotten it and took a sad look as he felt something in his eye, he looked up at the mirror and realize he had dropped a tear, he rubbed his eyes stopping the tears from falling, he hit his cheeks with the palm of his hands trying to get his emotions under control, he calmed himself and headed out to meet his roommates
Nate approached the entrances of the beach and spotted again a dark-haired figure in the hallway
"Sup' sunshine" Nate said as he approached the young clone "Where's Megan?" Nate asked as he didn't see the Martian girl
"She said she needed a moment" Superboy said as he noticed the scar on Nate's abs but didn't comment on it, a thing that Nate appreciated "And robin and kaldur are they arriving soon?" the young clone asked curiously
"Kaldur said they should be arriving in a minute or so, he said he was going to meet rob before they came here" Nate said as he noticed a figure approaching them
"Hey guys" Megan said as she tried not to look at the upper body of Superboy "How do I look?" she asked as she twirled around and show off his yellow swimsuit and the guys could appreciate her figure, Superboy appreciated longer as he spoke up first
"You look nice" Superboy said shyly as Megan smiled and thank him for the comments
"You look gorgeous Meg" Nate said with a smiled as Megan look down and smiled in embarrassment "See you even left Superboy out of words" Nate said chuckling at the embarrassed teens and then he heard footsteps behind him and turned and saw Kaldur and Robin approaching them
"Greetings" Kaldur said as he nodded at the persons that lived in the cave "Are you ready for today?" the atlantian asked as they all nodded, and they began to head out for the beach but the voice of the protégé of Batman stopped them in their tracks
"Hey Nate, what happened to you?" Robin asked as he looked at the scar of Nate as the blond teen cursed mentally because he was being put on the spot "Did you get that on one of the missions?" Robin asked in worry
"No, this is something from my past" Nate said as he looked at the scar on his abs "This is supposed to be a fun time and trust me the story of this is anything but fun, I'll tell you guys later for now let's just have fun on the beach" Nate said with a smile as the team nodded and walked forward and headed out to the cave's beach
"Hello Megan" the Martian girl exclaimed spreading her arms out as she appreciated the beach and the sea in front of her "We should hit the beach everyday" she exclaimed excitedly as the young heroes approached her
"But first" Robin said as he looked down "A moment of silence for our fallen comrade" Robin said as he put his hand in his head in mock sadness
"Poor Wally" Megan said emphatically as she remember that Wally started school today
They stood there in silence for a few seconds until they lifted their head up and smiled as they went into the sea
Megan and robin were splashing playfully with water from the sea as Kaldur watch thinking it would be unfair to get in and Nate swim nearby them in perfect calming motion until a figure dropped between Robin and Megan splashing the both of them and stropping Nate from swimming, Nate was prepared to confront Superboy until he heard Megan laughed and a shadow overtook him as he turned and saw massive wave heading to them courtesy of Megan, they all got soak and laughed at the moment
After a while they brought a grill and started cooking sausages to make hotdogs, all the team except robin put the sausages in buns to make the hotdog as Robin preferred to eat it alone
Some time later the team started to play beach volleyball as Megan and Superboy team up to take on the other guys as Nate played the role of the referee, he signaled Aqualad to start as the atlantian boy pass the ball to the other side, they played for a while but at the end the side of non-humans ended up wining
By the end the guys decided to bury Superboy on sand as the young clone lay down with some glasses on as the team purred sand on top of him, Nate smile at the image in front of him as he sat up on the sand as he looked at the sky seeing it was turning dark and new the moment will come to an end soon, he was prepared to help buried Superboy more until he felt his phone started to vibrate
"Hello?" Nate said as he put his phone on his ear and stood up as the team looked at him in curiosity
"This is Batman" a deep voice said over the other line "Tell your team to meet me in the debriefing room in an hour" the dark night said over the other line
"May I ask what this is about sir? We weren't schedule to take a mission today" Nate asked curiously at the league member
"You're getting a new teammate" Batman said as he proceeded to hang up
"He hung up, that's rude" Nate whispered as he turned to face his team "Batman wants us on the debriefing room in an hour, hit the showers and suit up" Nate order as the team got up and shake the sand that they had on them
"Did he tell you what the announcement was?" Robin asked his leader in curiosity
"He said that we're getting a new teammate and then he hung up" Nate said as the team proceeded to enter the cave
"I hope the new teammate is friendly" Megan said excitedly at the prospect of meeting a new friend "Maybe I should make a cake in celebration" she said as the guys smiled at her enthusiasm
"Hey rob did you managed to get the sword?" Nate asked as Robin shook his head
"Batman said it was stupid and we wouldn't need it" Robin said with a sigh as he also wanted a ceremonial sword
"And then proceeds to introduce a new member" Nate said in frustration "We'll get that sword Rob, even if it's the last thing we do" Nate said in conviction as the enter a hallway that will separate the team "Okay guys I'll meet you at the debriefing room" Nate said as he headed into his room to change
Mount justice debriefing room
Nate entered the room with his full outfit minus his face mask as he had that on one of his jacket's pocket and with all his weapons on, he knew this was probably just the introduction of the new member, but he refused to get caught unaware every time he put on the outfit, he entered the room and noticed 4 figures in it one smaller than the rest of them this were Batman, Green Arrow, Red Tornado and a young blond girl dress with a similar outfit as Green Arrow, he grew confused and turned to speak to the dark knight himself
"We aren't late, are we?" he asked Batman as he approach the figures
"No, we arrived early" Batman said as he put a shoulder on the blond girl "This is your new teammate" he said as the girl in question stepped up and put a hand in front of her
"Artemis nice to meet you" she said with a smirk that Nate couldn't help to find it cute
"Nate" He said as he shook her hand and look at her eyes "Team leader although sometimes I regret that" he said with a chuckle as the girl raised an eyebrow
"And why is that?" Artemis asked curiously
"Well" Nate said as he scratched his head "The fact the I get the most glare from batman, his as scary as they tell you" he whispered trying not to get caught by the dark knight himself as he heard footsteps approaching "The team should be here soon, you'll fit right in" Nate said reassuringly as he could tell the young girl was a little nervous, he turned where he heard the footsteps approaching and saw his team arriving in full costumes "Hey guys, come meet the new girl" he said as he put a hand on the girl's shoulder
The team surrounded the girl and were going to introduced themselves until the A.I on the tube interrupted them
"Recognize Kid Flash B03" the A.I said as the tube glowed and a figure carrying multiple stuff entered the cave
"The Wall-man is here!" Kid flash exclaimed excitedly as he was carrying a bunch of beach stuff and dressed in swim trunks preparing to head out to the beach "Let's get this party star…" he started saying but trip up with his foot sending a beach ball in the middle of the room as Nate caught it with his right hand "ted?" Wally said from the floor as he noticed Batman and Red Tornado looking at him and saw his teammates dressed in their mission's outfits
"Wall-man huh?" Artemis asked sarcastically as she took her bow out in reflex thinking an enemy was coming through the tube a thing that only Nate noticed "I love the uniform, what exactly are your powers?" she asked sarcastically again
"He can shoot beach ball's out of his hands" Nate said before Wally could managed to speak up as Artemis turned towards her fellow blond with a smirk appreciating, he was following her joke "Hell of an entrance Wally, I give a solid 7 out of 10" Nate said with a chuckle as he threw the beach ball behind him without a care
Wally stood up and address Nate ignoring the blond girl "uh, who's this?" Wally asked Nate and Artemis answer first before Nate could get a word out
"Artemis, your new teammate" she said annoyed by how the red-haired teen was treating her
"Uh huh, Kid flash never heard of you" Wally deadpanned as he didn't care of the girl
"She is my new protégé" Green Arrow said interrupting the teens conversation
"But what happened to your old one?" Wally asked in worry thinking something wrong had happened to his friend
"Recognized Speedy B04" the tube's A.I spoke out as a figure in red entered the cave
"Well for starters, he doesn't go by the name speedy anymore" The teenager known as Roy said as he entered the cave, and everyone notice he had changed his outfit "Call me Red Arrow" he said as he entered as he own the place
"Well for someone who said he didn't want anything to do with his mentor he sure as hell doesn't know how to choose a name" Nate thought as he saw Green Arrow stepped up to confront his former protégé
"Roy, you look…" Green arrow started but Roy cut him off
"Replaceable" he said as he glared at the blond girl
"It's not like that" Green Arrow said trying to get across his protégé "You told me you were going solo" he remained
"And you went to look for a new one?" Roy asked rhetorically "does she even know how to use that bow?" he asked sarcastically making the blond girl get mad
"Yes, she does" Artemis said angrily getting in the face of Roy
"Who are you!?" Wally exclaimed from the side tired of not knowing who the blond girl was
"I'm his/ she is my niece" Artemis and Green Arrow said at the same time
"Well, that didn't sound fake at all" Nate thought sarcastically as he saw how Robin had also pick up that fact and notice how Aqualad steeped up to Roy
"But she is not your replacement" he reassure Roy as he put a hand in his shoulder "We always wanted you on the team, and we have no quota on archers" he said as Nate smiled at the young atlatian words but scold at what Wally said next
"And if we did, you know who we'd pick" Wally chirped in excitedly not caring about his new teammate
"Whatever Baywatch" Artemis said as she glared at the young speedster "I'm here to stay" she fished
"Jesus fucking Christ Wally, Rob was right you don't think what you say" Nate thought as he grabbed the top of his nose in annoyance and shook his head a thing only Superboy notice
"You came to us for a reason" Kaldur said changing the topic
"Yes, the reason is Dr. Serling Roquette" Roy said as Robin tensed recognizing the name and type in his pad rapidly searching for information on the Doctor
"Nanorobotics genius and claytronic expert at Royals University in Star City" Robin said as she projected the information of his pad into the holograms of the room "Vanished to weeks ago" he finished as he looked at Roy
"Abducted two weeks ago" Roy corrected the young boy as he walked forward "By the league of shadows" he said as he turned to face the team
"Whoa dude, you want us to rescue her from the shadows?" Robin said fist bumping with Wally
"Hard-core" Wally agreed as he responded to the fist bump
"I already rescued her" Roy said in a begging voice which caused Nate to frown "There's one problem though, the league force her to make a weapon, Doc calls it the fog, its compromised of millions of microscopic robots, nanotech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating any in their path, concrete, steel, flesh, bones" Roy said as a hologram of the weapon showed up on the room "But they have another purpose, theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen data to the Shadows" Roy finished as he stared at the team
Nate frown as he looked at the holograms "Something is missing here but I cannot figure out what" he thought as he stared at the former sidekick
"Providing them access to weapons, strategic defenses and cutting-edge science and tech" Roy said as he reminded them of what was at stake
"Perfect for extorsion, manipulation and power broking" Artemis listed off sarcastically as she looked at the hologram "Yeah, sounds like the shadows" she said in deep thought
"Familiar with their work?" Nate asked concerned unknowingly stopping Wally from taking a shot at her
"You could say that" Artemis smiled remembering her past
"My deepest condolences then, they're awful people" Nate said reassuringly as Artemis smile and thanked Nate for the comments
"The doctor is working on a virus to stopped the fog" Roy said ignoring the two blond teens
"But if the shadows find out…" Robin started thinking what could happen to the doctor
"They'll target her, right now she's off the grid" Roy said as a hologram of a school showed up making Nate rubbed his neck as Superboy looked at him in concern "I stashed her in the local school" he said
"Dammit why does it have to be a school?" Nate complained at loud not expecting anyone to answer him
"You have a problem with that?" Roy said as he glared at the young blond
"Yes" Nate deadpanned "It's the fact that I got my ass handed to me last week on a school, that's my problem" he said as Superboy nodded remembering how the android had kick their asses
"You left her alone?" Green Arrow spoke up in shock stepping up preventing any discussion to continue
"She is safe for now" Roy said as Nate held back a scoff
"Well, that's reassuring" Nate thought sarcastically as he frowned at the former protégé
"Then let's, you and I, keep her that way" Green Arrow said stepping closer to his former sidekick
"You and I?" Red arrow scoffed as he turned to look "Don't you want to take your new protégé with you?" he asked sarcastically as Artemis got mad and prepared to defend herself again but a hand in her shoulder stopped her as she saw Nate on her side
"Don't take the bite, its beneath you, if he wants to be petty let him, do not acknowledge it" Nate whispered calming his new teammate down as she nodded and turned her attention to her mentor as Nate dropped his hand from her shoulder
"You brought this to the team" Green Arrow said bringing the attention of Artemis and Nate to him "It's their mission, which means it's hers now, too" Green arrow explained as Red arrow glared and started to leave the cave
"Then my job is done" he said as he entered the tube, the A.I started recognizing him, but he interrupted it updating it in the process "That's Red Arrow B04, update" he said as he disappeared from the cave
"So, what's our mission exactly?" Nate asked as the team looked at him confused but Batman nodded thanking him mentally for following procedures
"Protect the doctor at all costs, that's priority one" Batman said as he stared at the blond young man "And if you can destroy the fog" he finished as Nate nodded and turned at his team and notices Wally still glaring at Artemis
"Wally enough" he said bringing the red-haired boy's attention to him "We have our mission head out to the hangar, Wally get change and meet us there ASAP" he said in full seriousness as the team nodded and Artemis look at him in surprise at the change of character
The team minus Wally arrived at the hangar as Megan woke up the ship and Artemis look at the transforming bioship in shock
"Impressive, isn't it?" Nate asked as Artemis turn to look at him and nodded as they both entered the ship and took the sits that were in the very front "I'm sorry that we have to go on a mission so quickly after your introduction, we had a plan and everything" Nate explained regretfully
"A plan?" Artemis asked her new leader curiously
"Yeah, Megan was going to make a cake" Nate said as Artemis turned to look at the other girl with a raised eyebrow as the Martin girl scratched her head nervously "Well, I'll guess that's for later then, so then let me make introductions, you already met Wally" Nate said with a smile as the young speedster arrived at the ship and Megan command it to take off
"Unfortunately," Artemis said with as scowl as Kid flash hadn't stooped glaring at her since he arrived at the ship
"Any way, that beacon of sunshine over there is Superboy" He said pointing at the resident clone who flipped a finger at Nate and nodded to Artemis "Behind him we have our teams heart Mr. Aqualad himself" Nate said pointing at the person behind Superboy
"It's a pleasure to meet you" Aqualad said as he nodded at Artemis
"Like wise" she said as she nodded as well
"in the middle we have the never ending curiosity herself Miss Martian or as she likes call herself Megan" he said pointing at the smiling Martian girl
"It's nice to meet you, hope we get along" Megan said smiling as Artemis nodded greeting the Martian girl in the process
"And last but not least, we have the perfect partner in crime, the boy wonder himself Robin" Nate finished as Robin smirked and nodded at Artemis
"It's a pleasure to meet you all" Artemis said bowing her head slightly
"You came with that on the spot?" Robin asked Nate with a chuckle
"Yeah, imagine what I could do with time to prepare" Nate said as both of them chuckle as they travel to their destination
Happy Harbor
The team arrived and landed on the top of the school and landed on the roof as the proceeded to head down to meet the doctor
"Sup, Meg" Nate said stopping the both of them before they could walk the stairs down "Stay here and set up a perimeter, we don't want any unwanted guests crashing our private party" Nate said with a smile as he placed his face mask on and put his hoodie on, both of his roommates nodded and stayed on the room as the rest of the team headed down to meet the doc
The team enter a classroom and saw a blond-haired doctor typing in a computer rapidly, but they couldn't see what the doctor was typing on as the computer wasn't facing them, Nate tapped Aqualad and order him to introduce them as he was the most sensitive of all as Nate check the windows seeing if anyone was out there
Nate saw Aqualad talking to the doc as he and Wally changed into their stealth mode and the rest of the team took a sit on the room Robin and Kid flash took one on the windows Artemis sat on the table where the doc was working on and Aqualad stood by the door, Nate grew impatient and decided to scout the school
"I'm going to scout entrance points around the school, stay put you guys" Nate said as he headed out of the room and got an idea "Megan can you hear me?" Nate said on his mind trying to reach Miss Martian
"I hear you Nate" Megan said as Nate nodded and turn right into the hallway "What's going on?" the Martian girl asked on his head
"Link us up, we don't want anybody messing with our coms" Nate said as he entered a room with big windows that gave him the perfect sight to the entrance and also, he was on the prefect distance to the room where the doc was located
"Everybody online?" he heard Megan asked mentally and figured she had connected everyone up
"Ugh" he heard Artemis groan, he felt weird hearing another person groan in his head "This feels weird" Artemis said
"Don't worry you'll get used to" Nate said as he stared at the horizon
"It's also very distracting" the doctor said "Codding a destructive algorithm virus on a high school computer the government hands down is bad enough, now I have to hear teen-talk in my head" she complain making Nate chuckle a little bit
"Lady do you always complain when someone tries to help you?" Kid flash asked sarcastically, and Artemis couldn't help herself trying to rile Wally up
"Pot, kettle" Artemis said as she pointed at the doctor and Wally "Have you met?" she said as Wally grew angry
"Hey, I don't need that attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow from the team" Wally said in anger as Nate pinch his nose in frustration, he will have to talk about this later on
"That's not my fault" Artemis exclaimed in anger as she glared at the speedster
"Fate of the world here" The doctor interrupted trying to get the teens too stop arguing
"She started it" Wally defended himself childishly
"How about I help Superboy and Miss Martian scout ahead" Artemis said trying to get her anger in control
"Good idea" Aqualad said as he was a little stressed at the arguing teens
"You might cut her some slack" Robin said with a smirk as he faced Wally "It was her arrow that saved Nate" he said with a chuckle a thing that surprised Nate
"What? It was speedy I mean red arrow's arrow, wasn't it?" Wally said trying to come up with something
"Not so much" Robin teased with a smirk as Wally frown and thought something forgetting he was still connected
"Well, still not going to give her the satisfaction" Wally said as he crossed his arms in anger
"You know I can still hear you, you know?" Artemis said annoyed at the comments of the speedster as Wally cursed mentally
Nate pinched his nose in annoyance and had enough of this, he acknowledge what robin said and planned to thank Artemis later, but he needed to focus on the mission as he rubbed his face thinking of their next moves
"Enough Wally, whatever problems you have with Artemis leave them after the mission" Nate said as he heard the protest started to form on Wally but he interrupted him "I don't want to hear it, we will discuss this later" he said in full seriousness that shock Artemis but the others were used to it by now "We need a plan we cant keep jerking off here expecting the worst, and the virus will be of no use if we don't know where the fog is, Doc think you could track it?" he asked the doctor as he saw Artemis arriving at the front of the school
"Yeah, I could, but if I do that I might as well put a big neon glowing sing over me that says I'm here come assassinate me" Th doctor said nervously as she didn't want to get killed
Aqualad put a hand on one of the doctor's shoulder as he face her with a reassuring smile "Don't worry we will keep you safe I promise" Aqualad reassured the doc as the woman started typing in the computer
Nate saw Megan headed where Artemis was as he heard the doctors voice on his head "Tracking the fog now, it should only take a moment" the doc said as he noticed a figure landing next to the girls revealing itself to be Superboy, the girls tensed for a moment before they realize who it was
"Mmm… that boy" Artemis said as she stared at the young clone making him turn and look at her in confusion before heading to check out a different spot
"He can hear you, we can all hear you" Megan said as Nate chuckle noticing the jealous tone on her voice
"Oh, I know" Artemis replied as she stared at the retreating form of the clone
"Nate were good to go" Kaldur commented as Nate stared at a bush in front of the girls noticing the assassin
"Good, Megan reconfigure the ship so Robin can pilot it, Rob take Superboy and track and stopped the fog you're in charge got it?" Nate asked not taking his eyes from the bush
"Got it" Robin said as Megan brought the ship down and Robin and Superboy entered it
"Good luck and be safe, or you will miss future cakes from Megan" Nate said with a smile as Robin answered him
"Good luck too you guys too" Robin said as the ship took off and meanwhile Nate didn't take his eyes from the bush, he didn't say anything as the assassin was to close of the girls and didn't want to put them in danger
"You embarrassed Superboy" Megan confronted Artemis, jealousy clearly on her voice as Artemis smirked and looked at the Martian girl
"Didn't heard him complained" The blond girl said smugly and innocent as the Martian girl frowned
"Must you challenge everyone you know?" Megan asked as she glared at the blond woman who turned her head away in sadness
"Where I come from that's how you survive" Artemis said, and Megan looked at her sadly as both of them missed a figure behind her backs heading into the school,but Nate saw it and prepared for the fight that it was about to happened
He smiled excitedly and headed into the hallway that connected the room where the Doctor was being guarded and waited for the assassin to come, he stood there for a few minutes with his eyes closes until he felt a presence behind him and spoke without turning back
"You know its not legal to break in in public property" Nate said looking forward as he felt the presence stop
"Well, I'm not exactly a model citizen you know" The figure said as Nate turned to face the assassin, he saw a slender and fit woman with a big messy black hair and a Cheshire mask on her face
"What a shame then" Nate said as he grabbed one of his tantos "I'm Nate and I guess I'm here to stop you" he said as he faced the assassin and noticed how she took two trident looking knives out and put them in front of them
"Yeah, I heard of you Dragon" the assassin said as neither made a move they just stared at each other "I'm Cheshire by the way"
"Really? You heard of me?" Nate asked excitedly but internally he was asking how much she knows
"Yeah, I heard all there is to know about the Red Dragon from the underground" Cheshire said jokingly
"Well, that's a shame, here you know a lot about me, and I don't know anything about you" Nate said in mock sadness as they traded jokes with one another but both of them were checking their opponent's stance looking for any sings for an opening
"Maybe if you buy me a drink, I'll tell you anything you want to know and more" Cheshire said seductively trying to get a raised from the man in front of her, but Nate didn't bite as he joked back
"Sorry darling but you're not my type and we wouldn't work out" Nate joked as Cheshire raised an eyebrow under her mask
"And why is that?" Cheshire aske with a chuckle, she was having fun with this man
"Were way to similar" Nate said as Cheshire nodded seeing that could be an issue "Besides I think both of us loke to be on top if you know what I mean" Nate said smirking as Cheshire laughed
"Damm straight we do" Cheshire nodded getting her laughed under control "So are we going to do this pretty boy? Or are you going to let me get to the doctor?" she asked as her gripped on the knives tighten preparing for the fight
"You think I'm pretty? Wow thanks, "Nate said with a smirk "And the other thing you know my answer is no, so make your move princess" Nate said as he drew his tanto and put it in front of him, both fighters stared at each other and run towards each other as the clashed knifes pushing each other back but neither of them letting off, both of them took their other knives and struck as the clashed knives again, Nate pushed forward but the assassin side stepped letting him pass as she spin around and threw a kick to his head, Nate saw it coming and duck under sweeping the leg that was balancing the assassin, Cheshire flip as she landed on the floor and turned to face here enemy as Nate did the same
Nate run to attack the assassin but Cheshire met him in the middles as she block one of his punches and with her legs grabbed his necked and flip over throwing Nate in the process into the floor as he arc his back in pain, the assassin didn't waste time as she threw shurikens at the down male but Nate blocked them with his tanto still on the floor as he stood up and saw how the assassin was running towards him, he waited and grabbed the arm of the assassin as she had threw him as slash with her knives, he threw a punch on her stomach that connected and threw her into a nearby lockers as she landed with her back facing the lockers
Nate didn't let up as soon as he saw her standing up he threw a punch which didn't connected with the intended target as he only felt the locker, the assassin took a step bac as she grabbed her stomach in pain and glared at the male, Nate smirked and jumped as he threw a flying knee into the face of the assassin, she dodge as she stood in front of the trophy displays and got an idea as she saw the blond teen throwing a right hook at her face, she grab his arm and got into his space as she put her legs in his neck and with all her strength threw him behind her as Nate came crashing face first into the trophy display's glass breaking it in the process and cutting his forehead by the shatter glass as blood started running down on the left side of his face as little bits of glass got stuck on the face, he got out of the trophy display and saw that the assassin had left, he sat on the floor as he took out the shards of glass that were on his face and was going to clean his face but a voice on his mind stopped him
"Nate, Megan, Kid, Artemis" Aqualad said on their mental link as Nate could tell he was being attack by the tone of his voice "We are under attack in the computer lab" Aqualad said as Nate cursed mentally in the heat on the battle, he had forgot to tell them
"We're on our way" he heard Artemis said respond as Nate brought his guns put and check the battery noticing they were at 100% he turned them into heaven mode and headed into the hallway he had confronted the assassin as he hadn't noticed how much they have move, he neared the door that lead into the computer lab as he saw it was open he saw Artemis standing close to the entrance as she was pointing her bow at the middle of the room, and in his peripheral saw Megan and kid flash entering form the other side, he cracked his neck and entered the room and noticed Aqualad protecting the doc as Megan and Kid stood in front of them, he walked and stood on the left side of Artemis as he glared at the assassin
"Maybe a little too interesting" Nate heard the assassin say as she looked at the Martian girl and the speedster, she then turned and saw Nate entering the room "Red looks good on you dragon, didn't hurt you too much did I?" the assassin said with a chuckle as she noticed the blood on the face on the blond man who was pointing a gun at her
"I could ask you the same, how is your back treating you?" Nate said as he remember how he had thrown her into the lockers
Cheshire chuckled as she stared at the blond man and spoke up "We will meet again Dragon" she said as she disappear form the room in a black cloud as Wally run to grabbed her but tripped over as there was nothing to grab, he was going to crash with Artemis, but Nate place a foot up that stopped Wally as his face came crashing on the foot of Nate
Wally stood up as he rubbed his face and looked at where the assassin had disappeared "Gone" he growled as the doctor grew nervous
"She's getting away, you're letting her get away" The doctor exclaimed nervously as Nate addressed her
"Ma'am calm down, pursuing her will be useless, and we still have to protect you" Nate said reassuringly as he put his guns on the holster and sat on of the tables and cursed as he didn't bring anything to clean the blood
"This is your fault" Wally said as he glared at Artemis "You were on the perimeter how in the hell the assassin got in?" he asked in anger as he glared at the blond girl, Artemis didn't say anything as she only glared back at the young speedster making him take a step back.
"That's not fair" Megan said stepping in front of them "I was also guarding the perimeter" she said taking Artemis side
"Being distracted by her" Wally said pointing at the blond girl, who glared back again "Besides I can't get mad at you" he said going on flirtatious mode instantly "You gave me mouth to mouth" he thought dreamily but didn't realize that the mental link was still on
"We heard that" Artemis, Megan and Aqualad said over the mental link making the speedster dropped his head as Nate pinch his nose in annoyance
"I didn't do well on my first combat" Megan said as she put her hand on the blond-haired girl reassuringly "And I know you couldn't have been Green's arrow partner for long, you did good" Megan said as Artemis nodded in appreciation, she turned to look at the other guys, Aqualad nodded but Nate was staring at the floor in deep thought, she noticed his bloody face and took out a handkerchief and approach her leader to give it to him so he could clean himself
Nate was looking at the floor until he saw a hand on his face with a green handkerchief on it, he look up and saw his new teammate smirking at him
"That doesn't look good" Artemis said as Nate took the handkerchief
"Don't worry it looks worse than it is" he said as he cleaned the blood of his face "Thanks" he said as Artemis nodded, he then stood up and grabbed a two chairs one of each hand as he placed one in front of the doctor and beckoned her to sit
"Hey doc, do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Nate asked as he sat in front of the doc
"Not really" Dr. Roquette said as she stared curiously at the blond man
"Good, good my first question you don't really have to answer honestly, is more for me to figure it out" Nate said as he frowned and looked at the doctor
"What's your first question?" The doctor asked curiously as she didn't know where this was going
"Why are you still alive?" Nate asked as the team looked at him in shock and the doc grew confused
"I don't know what you mean" The doctor said with a frown trying to see the train of thought of the young man in front of her
"It's just that I'm curious, you were abducted two weeks ago am I right?" Nate asked rhetorically but pause anyway waiting for an answer, the doctor nodded, and Nate continued "And in those two week how long it took you to build the fog?" he asked as he crossed his arms
"It took me a week and a half" the doctor said as Nate nodded, he continued to talk but Artemis beat him to it
"Then how are you alive?" the blond girl asked in shock as he stared at the doc, the other team members grew confused as the doctor also grew confused
"What do you mean?" the doctor said not seeing the issue
"It's the way the shadows work" Nate said as he leaned back on the chair "They use you and when your not they get rid of you" Nate said as he looked at the ceiling "The assassin wasn't really trying or they are just stupid I think they want you alive" he said as he looked at the windows as the doctor grew concerned and worry at the thought of going back at where they were keeping her "When this is over, you'll need to watch yourself, they will come knocking again trust me on that" he said as the doctor nodded "One final question" Nate said as he stood up from the chair
"What?" the doc asked as she looked up at the blond man
"There were assassins guarding you right?" Nate asked with a frown as the doctor nodded
"They were keeping me on an island and the island was surrounded by assassins from the league" The doctor said as Nate grew a thoughtful face
"Interesting" Nate said getting closer at the thing that was bothering him, but his train of thoughts were interrupted by a voice on his earpiece
"Robin to Nate" he heard on his earpiece as hi focus on his teammate ignoring whatever was going around him "We located the league's next target, Star labs facilities located in Philadelphia" Robin said as he took a pause to looked at the wreckage in front of him "Were too late, the facility is destroyed completely, the fog got here first" Robin said
"Shit" Nate cursed as he leaned on one of the desks "You got its next target?" he asked Robin as he stared at the windows in anger
"No, but we can find out" Robin said as he started typing on his pad
"Located the next target and redirect the ship to there" Nate said as Robin nodded "Even if the virus isn't ready, the fog is operated by someone, Superboy fuck up whoever is controlling the fog" Nate said as he cut off the communication and turned to face his team
"We need a plan, they will be back, and we can't stay here" Nate said as he scratched his chin "I have an idea" he said as the team gather together to listen to their leader
"So, the plan is simple, we will divide ourselves, Aqualad" Nate said as the Atlantean look up "You will, take Megan, Kid and Artemis to this place" he said as he took a map of Happy Harbor and show him a place located on the docks "This area in the night is practically abandon so no civilians will be here, Megan you will disguised yourself as the doctor, meanwhile Artemis and Wally will pretend to guard you and you two, I don't want any arguments from now on got it?" he said as he glared at the speedster and the blond girl who nodded in affirmation "What ever problem you have leave it after the mission, Aqualad your role here will be the most important of all of them" Nate said as Aqualad nodded and put his full attention on his leader "You will patrol the area here in the forest, but your real mission is being a bait, I want you to make the league believe that me and Megan are patrolling the perimeter, so that they think that the only ones inside of the building are Artemis, Wally and the doc"
"Why though?" Wally asked confused at that part of the plan
"Because me and the doc will be here" Nate said pointing at the other side of the map "It's a cybercafé it won't be much doc, but it will have better computers than this computers" Nate said as the doctor nodded "The assassins are desperate and will get sloppy" Nate said as he turned to face Wally "There is a chance the check the building with thermal lenses, if they believe that me and Megan are patrolling the area, when they see just the three of you there, they won't hesitate and enter the building, giving the doctor enough time for her to finish the virus" Nate said as the team nodded and faced Nate in conviction preparing to start the plan
"Good, Aqualad you're in charge of your team, I won't be able to communicate with you so don't hesitate, okay?" Nate asked as Kaldur nodded "Megan change into the doctor, you guys head out first and then me and the doctor will get out" he said as the Martian girl turned int the exact same replica of the doctor as Aqualad prepared to lead the team out "Good luck and stay safe" Nate said as the teamed leaved the room and headed towards the exit of the school, Nate approached the other door as he opened it and bow mockingly as he spoke to the doctor "This way doc" he said as the both of them exited the school
Happy Harbor cybercafé
Nate and the doctor arrived at the café as the doctor entered first as Nate check the surroundings checking to see if someone follow them, he then entered the café as the doctor got settle on one of the computers and started working on the virus
"Is this good? Nate asked as he saw the doctor started typing on the computer as the doctor nodded and concentrated on the work
Nate took a chair and place it facing the entrance of the café, he realize he had time and if his plan worked out perfectly no assassin will come here so he took out his phone and made a call his eyes never leaving the entrance
"Kid?" he heard a deep voice said over the other line as he smirked under his mask
"Markus how are you?" Nate asked jokingly as he leaned back on the chair
"I'm good kid, but we both know you didn't call for chit chat at this hour, what do you want?" Markus said as the bartender turned full serious
"You were always the perceptive one" Nate said sarcastically turning serious all of the sudden "I came face to face with one of the shadows, she seem intelligent not like the other one I encountered" Nate said as he remember Sportsmaster "I can give her a messages from the bosses if they want, about messing with the underground, if that's what they want" Nate said as he focused again on the entrance
"Let me ask, I'll text you" Markus said as he hung up, Nate stared at the phone before putting it on his pocket
"The underground?" The doctor asked not taking her eyes from the computer screen "I thought that was a myth" she said as she looked at the blond man
"There are no such things as myths in this day and age" Nate said with a chuckle as the doctor nodded, with the age of superheroes upon them anything was possible "Tell me doc, after this what will you do?" Nate asked as he stared at the doctor
"I don't know, I probably will return to work to star labs" the doctor said as she nearly finished the virus
"You're not afraid the shadows will target you again?" Nate asked with a raised eyebrow
"I'm terrified, but what else can I do?" She asked the young heroes as her hands started shaking
"Well, the league probably can't offer you protection after this" the blond man said as the doctor looked at him shock and fear "I can, but you will have to stopped working for star labs" Nate said as the doctor looked at him in curiosity "Think about it and if you say yes, text this number" Nate said as he grabbed a nearby notebook and pen and wrote his number on it and handed it to the doctor as she grabbed the note and put it on her lab coat
"The virus is ready" The doctor said as Nate nodded
"Send it" Nate said as he looked at the entrance and the doctor send the virus to Robin "Maybe our intruder won't have to actually kill you now" Nate said as Cheshire entered the café and stared at the blond man
"Hey there darling, nice of you to join us" Nate said as he turned the computer so the assassin could see that the virus uploading "Sorry but you're a little late" he said with a chuckle
"That was a little good plan you pull here" Cheshire said she sat on one of the tables as she saw the virus finalizing its uploading "And here I was itching for a rematch" she said with a chuckle
"I don't like pointless fights, but don't worry I can assure we will fight another time" Nate said as he saw the assassin stand up "Well I guess that's my mission done, look out for yourself doctor, after all the shadows might have a use for you again" the assassin said as she headed out of the café
"You're not pursuing her?" the doctor asked with a frown
"My mission is to protect you, if I pursue her I might anger her and she might decide to kill you anyway" he said as he felt his phone vibrating and took it out and saw a message from Markus, letting him know to convey the message to the assassin "I wont take that ch…" he started but heard an explosion outside of the café "Stay here" Nate said as he headed out and saw Artemis confronting the assassin
"You" Artemis said in recognition as Nate noticed the mask of the assassin on the floor and leaned on the entrance of the store as the two girls didn't notice his presence as they were focused on each other
"I suppose you bring me to the league now, let your new friends interrogate me" Cheshire smirked as she titled her head "I wonder if your position's secure enough to survive if I tell them everything I know" Cheshire said as Nate raised an eyebrow in curiosity
"So, they know each other, by the familiarity of her voice I think they're sisters" Nate thought as he heard the assassin speak again as he saw Artemis put her bow down "Yeah sisters indeed" he thought as the assassin grabbed something for her pouch
"Didn't think so" she said as she took a step back and put her hand up "So, like a Cheshire cat, I'll…" she started but a noise behind her stopped her
"Ehem" Nate coughed as the assassin turned around in shock as she got careless and only now notice the young hero "You two know each other?" he asked sarcastically as he pointed at the two of them "Pass lovers perhaps?" he asked as he notice the slight disgust on the women's face confirming his theory "Oh shit, I interrupted your grand exit, didn't I?" he said mocking her
"You dis, I had a catchphrase and everything" she said jokingly
"I'm so sorry, but you couldn't leave without saying goodbye darling" he said jokingly as he separated himself from the wall of the store and turn serious "Don't worry I wont keep you long, I just have a message that I would love if you pass it to your masters" he said as the assassin raised her eyebrow
"And what would that message be?" she asked with curiosity
"If you shadow fuckers keep poking things that doesn't concern you" Nate said as he crossed his arms "You will see that shadows don't survive on the dark, sincerely the underground" he said in full seriousness
"I'll make sure they get that" the assassin said without a trace of fun on her voice as she dropped a smoke bomb on the ground as she disappear from the area
"The hell was that all about?" Artemis said as she stared at the blond man in front of her in curiosity
"If you tell me your secret, I'll tell you mine" he said with a smirk as Artemis frown in annoyance as he knew Artemis wouldn't tell him "The guys are approaching your choice princess" he said as Wally arrived at the scene
"Where's the assassin?" he said as he glared at the blond woman
"She, uh- got away" she said looking at the floor, as Nate smirked and decided to play her game
"Oh, from you?" he said as he glared at the teen "Big surprise, notice we caught ours" he said pointing at the captured man that Megan was carrying with her powers
"Ehem wally," Nate said as he grabbed the attention of the speedster "She also got away from me technically" Nate said supporting the young woman as Artemis looked at him with a raised eyebrow
Wally cursed and looked at the floor noticing the mask of the assassin "Oh cool a souvenir" he said as he grabbed the mask forgetting his anger with Artemis
Aqualad noticed it also as he questions his new teammate "Her mask?" Kaldur asked with a raise eyebrow "Did you manage to see her face?" he asked trying to get a profile for the league
Artemis looked at the bay and away from Kaldur "It was too dark, I couldn't see her clearly" she said not looking at the team as Nate smirked
"She is a terrible liar" he thought before he addressed the Atlantean "Me neither I only saw the back of her head before she disappeared "Did Robin contacted you?" he said changing the topic
"Yes, he and Superboy managed to bring down the fog and are headed this way" Aqualad said as Nate nodded
"Good, we'll wait for them here and then we'll help the doc get to Star city" Nate said as he headed into the shop to get the doctor
Mount justice
The team had finished getting the doctor to Star city as they stood on the debriefing room facing Batman and Red Tornado as Nate stood in the middle of the team with a frown on his face
"You seem to have something on your mind" Batman said as he faced Nate
"I have a lot of things to get out of my mind, but they can wait after the report" Nate said still with his frown in his face "One of the things has to do with the mission so it will help if you hear the report" he said as Batman nodded
"Ok, report then" he said as Nate nodded and looked at the Martian girl
"Megan do the honors" Nate said as the Martian girl nodded and step up as Artemis looked at Nate in curiosity
"We got into the school and Nate order me and Superboy to stay on the roof and scout the area" Megan started as she gave her report "Then Nate said if we didn't knew where the fog was the virus might be useless so the doctor started tracking the fog and Nate order Robin and Superboy to go after it, that's when the assassin infiltrate the school, she took out Wally and Nate first before she headed into where e the doctor was located, we caught her and then she escaped and we decided to move the doctor to a different location" Megan finished as she looked at Nate
Nate nodded signaling her that she did a good work and looked at Wally
"You're up kid" Nate said as Wally nodded and stepped up as Artemis grew more confused
"Why isn't he giving the report?" Artemis thought as Wally started talking
"Nate came up with a plan too fool the shadows, Me and Artemis" he said as he glared at the blond woman "Guard Megan disguised as the doctor meanwhile Aqualad patrol the surroundings making them believe that Nate and Megan where doing that also, and in another location Nate guarded the doc," Wally said as he took a break before continuing "Then the assassin came back with two other friends, we managed to capture the other two but the assassin from the school got away and Artemis started chasing her" Wally finished as he took as step back
Nate scratched his chin as he looked between Robin and Superboy deciding what to do next until his eyes rested on the younger boy
"Rob" Nate said skimpily as Robinin nodded and took a step forward
"Me and Superboy headed out of the school into the Star labs in Philadelphia, but we weren't was enough, when we arrived the fog had destroyed the entire facility" he said in frustration as he remembered the facility "Nate order us too keep tracking the fog and we realize that their next target was Wayne tech, thankfully by the time we arrive the virus was almost done, I hacked into the main frame of Wayne tech and stopped the fog and Superboy delt with the guy that was controlling the fog" he said as he took a step back
"Good, you did well protecting the doctor and stopping the fog" Batman said as the all the team minus Nate smiled at the praise "So then, what's bothering you?" Batman asked as he stared at the blond teen
"Two things" Nate said as he put two fingers forward "One, the assassin either was pretty stupid and didn't know how to do her job or, and I think this is the reason, she wasn't really trying to kill the doctor" Nate said as the team looked at him in shock
"Explain" Batman said as he stared at the teen in confusion
"The exact moment we started tracking the fog, she arrived that only tells me she was there before we started tracking the fog, so why didn't she strike earlier?" Nate wonder as Batman nodded seeing the problem there too "And also the way she decided to attack was suspicious too, she took the time to get rid of me and Wally, the doctor was in a room with a lot of windows, a well place shot with a thermal sniper would've kill her instantly" Nate said as he crossed his arms "And then I show her the virus was done already and she left without a question, I don't know what the actual plans of the shadows where, but I know for a fact that killing the Doctor wasn't it" Nate said lying partially as he had an idea of what the shadows wanted but he didn't rust the league not too screw it up
"And the second thing?" Batman said taking the information that Nate gave it to him as he will look into later but preferred to be practical and finish the debrief
"Roy" Nate said as the former proteges looked at him in confusion, Nate scratched his head as he thought how to phrase his next words so no one would get mad "I don't really know the guy and his skills, but it something didn't add up"
"If this is about arte…" Wally started trying to stop his leader from badmouthing his friend, but Nate put a hand up stopping the speedster in his tracks
"This isn't about Artemis" Nate said interrupting Wally without looking at him "There are two mayor points that concern me, one he alone rescued the doctor from an island surrounded by a bunch of shadows with nothing but his bow and his might, tell me does that seem possible?" he asked batman as he stared at the young man in deep thought
"Depending how he did it one might pull it off," Batman said as he crossed his arms "But it does sounds suspicious, and even Green arrow couldn't pull that off" he said as he frowned seeing the point of the young mand as Wally grew angry because Nate was doubting his friend
"Speedy isn't a criminal" Wally exclaimed in anger as Robin and Aqualad nodded as the rest of the team stayed out of the discussion
"I'm not saying he is" Nate said as he reassure the young speedster "But I don't like when things don't add up, I might be wrong or the shadows could be playing with Roy" he said as Wally stepped back "That being said I also have a problem with him" he said as Wally grew angry again "Wally enough" Nate said as he looked at the speedster as he saw that Waly was going to shout again "I know he is your friend, but he isn't mine and I'm seeing things impartially and following my gut, and is my job to report everything at the league, whether it make's sense or not, if we ignore a potential threat because we are blinded by our love, the people we protect could get hurt" Nate said as he turned and glared at Batman "You of all people should know that" he said staring at Batman
"Nate is right, Roy probably is secure, but it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on him, what is the other thing?" Batman asked as he stared at the young man again
"For someone who wanted to make a name for himself and be as far away from the league, its curious that his first thought was to aske help from us" he said as he crossed his arms and stared at the dark knight eyes
"You make a good point, but with Speedy track record we will him the benefit out the doubt, but we will keep an eye on him" Batman said as Nate nodded
"That's fine, but fair warning" Nate said as the team and batman looked at him in curiosity "You don't want to see what would happen if anyone of my team is harm in any sort of way" he said as he stared at Batman in full conviction
Batman smirked at the young man seeing his conviction and pray for whoever dared to hurt his teammates "If that's all you're dismiss" he said as Nate nodded and cracked his neck and turned at his team
"You know the drill" he said as the team nodded and headed into the living room, he notice Artemis standing there looking confused as he approached her
"What's the drill?" she asked as Nate neared her with his arms on his pockets
"After our first mission, we all shared a drink on the living room, and discuss the mission and problems we had" Nate said as he took his face mask and put it on one of his jacket pockets "And ever since we've being doing that after every mission" he said as he started walking towards the leaving room, Artemis following him on his side
"Why did you make the guys give the report and not give it yourself?" she asked as the travel the cave
"Explaining yourself and the things that happened come with the job" Nate said as he face the young girl "All of them want to be great heroes as their mentors on the league, making them give the reports to Batman is a first step to that goal" he said as the young girl smiled
"You really cared for them, don't you?" she asked playfully as Nate scratched his head and look away in embarrassment
"Shut up" he mumble as Artemis laughed at the embarrassed teen as the arrived at the living room and saw everyone was already there, they took the remaining couch and sat next to each other
"Before we start" Nate said as he stared at Wally "I know you have a lot on your mind, please let it out" he said as the speedster sighed
"I'm mad" Wally said as he crossed his arms
"At artemis?" Nate asked as he placed a hand on the shoulder of the girl next to him stopping her from defending herself
"Yes!" he exclaimed as he glared at the young female, who in return glared at him also
"Are you sure?" Nate said breaking the staring contest as Wally turned and looked at him in confusion
"What do you mean?" he asked staring at Nate
"Are you sure you are angry at Artemis or are you angry at something else?" Nate asked as he stared at the young speedster
Wally frowned and stared at the floor in deep thought and after a while he sighed and turned to Nate "I'm mad at Roy" he said shocking Robin and Aqualad
"At Roy!?" Robin exclaimed in shock and stared at Wally "why?" he asked confused
"I thought when he came today, he would join us, but he didn't" he said still looking at the floor "And I started thinking are we just not good enough?" he asked concern as he looked at Nate
"What did I tell you when Roy declined your offer?" Nate asked as he leaned back on the couch
"We make our own destinies" Wally said rephrasing the words from Nate
"Exactly" Nate said as he put his feet on the table "The only ones who can get to say that the work we do is good or not are the persons in this room, not Roy, not even the league but us, Superboy do you think were doing a good job?" he asked the young clone
"Damm right we are" Superboy said as he nodded
"Megan?" Nate asked as he turned at the Martian girl
"Well, we did have our bumps and bruises" She said rubbing her arm remembering their mission against Mr. Twister "But I believe we're doing well" se said with a smile
"Kaldur?" Nate asked facing the Atlantean boy
"You already know my answer, since day one I believe we are doing great" Aqualad said with a smile as he looked at the speedster
"Rob?" Nate asked as he stared at the youngest member of the team
"I'll admit I had my doubts at first" Robin said as he crossed his arms "But after Santa Prisca I believed in this team, and nothing will make me doubt again" he said with conviction
"And what about you Artemis? I know you only have gone on one mission, but what are your first thoughts?" Nate asked as he turned and faced the girl next to him
"Well," Artemis started a little embarrassed at being put on the spot "We worked well, and we completed our mission, I think this team is good" she said as Nate nodded and turned to look at the speedster
"So, Wally, what do you think?" Nate asked the young speedster as Wally lost his frown and smirked
"I think were doing a fucking great job" he said as the team chuckle at his sentiment "Sorry about treating you badly" Wally said turning at the blond girl
"Water under the bridge" Artemis said as both of them shook hands in formality
"So now that that's done" Nate said as he grabbed his drink and stood up "Let's celebrate for another mission complete, and the integration of our newest member" he said as the team minus Artemis stood up and place their dinks on the middle as Artemis looked at them in curiosity "Now don't be shy, get in" Nate said as Artemis smiled and grabbed her drink as she stood up and cheered with her new team.
Gotham
A phone booth that said it was out of order glowed for a moment as Artemis exited from it with a smile thinking of her new team
"Today was good day" she thought as she noticed a presence behind her as she took out her bow and pointed at the alley in front of her as she saw a shadow in front of her
"Step into the light" she said as she pointed the bow at the shadow "Now" she ordered as the figure reveal itself as Red Arrow
"Nice move" he said with a scoff as he walked closer to her "Almost made me believe you're Green Arrow's niece, although you and me we know that's not true" he said as he glared at the young woman "Still I'm sure G.A and batman have a good reason for lying so your cover's safe, but I warn you, do not hurt my…" he started but a voice behind them stopped him
"You know, treating a girl in a dark alley doesn't screams hero work to me" they heard a voice said as they turned and saw Nate standing on top of the phone boot "Its very suspicious, ma'am is this man harassing you?" he asked jokingly as Artemis smirked but didn't say anything as Roy turned and glared at him
"This doesn't concerns you" Roy said as he glared at the young man
"Well, you're threatening my teammate, I'm pretty sure it concerns me" he said as he dropped to the floor and stood next to Artemis "You're a long way from home city boy, trust me, so please leave the lady alone" Nate said as he crossed his arms
Roy glared at both blonds and turn away headlining into the streets getting away from them
"You, okay?" Nate asked as he stared at his new teammate
"Yeah thanks" Artemis said as Nate nodded "How did you get here so fast?" she asked as Nate smirked and lean on one of the alleys walls
"I have something to do here on Gotham, but I saw Roy lurking in the shadows and grew curious, when he confronted you, I decided to intervene" Nate said as he shrugged his shoulders
"You didn't need to, I would've been fine" Artemis said as she crossed her arms
"I know you would've, but I didn't want you to fucking destroy Mr. grumpy over there" Nate said with a chuckle as Artemis smiled at the joke "Want me to walk you home?" Nate offered as he separate from the wall "And don't tell me you are from Star city, I know you are from Gotham" Nate said as Artemis grabbed her arm in nervousness
"How did you know?" Artemis looked at her leader in fear on being discovered
"Its in your eyes" Nate said as Artemis grew a face of shock "We can try to hide it, but the eyes of people from Gotham are the same, eyes that have seen darkness and have live to tell it, I can recognize those eye's anywhere" he said as Artemis looked at him in confusion
"How can you tell?" Artemis asked in confusion
"Because I stared at them every time, I looked at the mirror" he said as he put a hand in front of him "Hi I'm Nate, born and raise citizen of this shithole known as Gotham" he said sarcastically as he dropped his hand "So then my lady" he said as he made a mock bow "May I walked this fair maiden to her place of rest?" he said mockingly as Artemis laughed and nodded
"Are you going to tell the team about me lying where I'm from?" Artemis asked as they both headed into the street and towards Artemis house
"Nop" Nate said as he put his hands on his pockets "That's your secret to tell, you can tell whoever you want, whenever you want, I'm not about to force into a situation you don't want to be in" he said his eyes facing the road ahead
"Thanks" she said as she rubbed her arm
"Hey is the least I can do for the woman who save my life" Nate said with a smile as he looked at the blond girl next to him "Thanks by the way, I owe you one" he said as turned to face the road ahead
"It was the right thing to do" she said with a nervous smile until she frowned remembering the conversation her leader had with her sister "By the way, what is the underground?" she asked as she looked at her leader who lost his smile and frown
"You really want to know?" he asked the girl as Artemis nodded, Nate sighed and looked at the floor
"I know part of her secret, I owe it to her to tell her a bit" he thought as he stopped and face the young archer, who stopped and looked at him "You'll have to promise me, whatever I said stays between us until I say otherwise" he said in full seriousness as Artemis nodded and they started walking again
"The only thing I can say without asking permission is that the underground is a facility where retired mercenaries and upcoming ones too gather to take jobs, is a beacon for all class of mercenaries excluding the ones who have ties to the shadows" Nate said as he had the full attention of the archer "It's also a safeguard for people who want to disappear or make a new life for themselves" he said with smile remembering how he had discovered the place "I know its not much but I cant say much without asking permission to the bosses" he said as the archer nodded
"So, your conversation with Cheshire? What was that all about?" Artemis asked curiously as she noticed they were nearing her house
"Sorry I can't…" Nate started but Artemis cut him off
"You can't say without permission" she said with a chuckle "I guess the name fits for such a secretive place" she said as the arrive to a building with a bunch of apartments "This is me" she said as she smiled at Nate "One day I'll learn all your secrets captain" she said with a smirk as Nate also smirked
"And one day I'll learn yours darling" he said with a smirk "Good night" he said as he continue to walk forward leaving the apartments as he heard the response of the archer, he walk a few steps forward until he felt his phone vibrate, he took it out and answer the call
"Hello is this Nate?" he heard a feminine voice over the other line as he recognized the voice
"Doctor Roquette, did you arrive well at Star city?" he asked in curiosity as he headed into a bar
"I did but that's not why I'm calling you" she said as Nate took a sit on a booth and order something to eat
"And why did you call me then?" he asked having an idea of why she was calling him
"Your offer" she said as she took a pause and sigh "I'm afraid the shadows could come and capture me again, so I accept" she said as Nate crossed his arms
"Are you sure? I told you the price, didn't I? there's no turning back from here" he said with his arms crossed as the waitress place a drink in front of him
"Yeah, I'm sure" she said "I already quit my job at star labs" she said with a sigh
"Really? They didn't get suspicious?" Nate asked in curiosity
"I told them I was traumatized by my abduction, which is kid of true, and didn't question anymore" she said as Nate chuckle
"Okay then how long could it take you to get to Gotham?" he asked as he saw the waitress smiling at him seductively as he smirked at her
"An hour or two maybe" the doctor responded as Nate nodded
"Well then, meet me at the bar the 7th heaven in Gotham when you can" Nate said as he saw his food arriving "Welcome to the underground doc" he said as he hung up and started eating as he waited for the doctor
End of chapter 6
So that's everything for chapter 6
What do you think? Let me know in the reviews guys and I'll see you on the next chapter
Adios
