I decided to post this a little earlier than I was going to, but I just couldn't wait. This is it! Are you ready? (To know my plans for the next fic, be sure to read the end!)
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Mount Justice
December 31, 07:16 EST
The team was still basking in their victory as they conversed about their battle in Santa Prisca the night before. With secrets brought to light, they were able to ruin Lex Luthor's and Queen Bee's plans so of course they were eager to celebrate. But nothing was that easy.
"We have reason to feel proud of yesterday's victories," Aqualad was saying. "But one thing has not changed."
"Somehow, the bad guys are still getting inside intel about us," Robin recalled.
Siren frowned while she kept pace with him. "But the question is how? We've faced every possibility, but we're still missing something somehow."
"Yeah, but at least we know none of us are the mole," Kid Flash added helpfully.
The team entered the mission room where Batman and Red Tornado were waiting. They looked grim.
"That's correct," Batman said, having overheard the conversation. "The mole was Red Arrow."
Siren's heart plummeted to her toes. "What? That's not possible."
"Roy?"
"No way."
Robin and Kid Flash's voices overlapped in disbelief.
"Batman, that cannot be," Aqualad countered, trying to find the flaw in Batman's revelation. "He was Green Arrow's protégé. We have all known him for years."
"Unfortunately," Red Tornado started, "the Roy Harper we have known for the last three years is another Project Cadmus clone."
Siren recoiled in shock, losing the ability to speak. No...no, they're wrong. I would have known that by now!
"We've learned the real Speedy was abducted and replaced immediately after becoming Green Arrow's sidekick..."
That was just before we had met. Siren felt like she couldn't breathe. The blood rushed in her ears, making it incredibly difficult to focus on anything else.
"...pre-programmed with a drive to join the Justice League..."
"...angry over any delays...why he refused to join the team..."
"...had no idea he was a clone or a traitor...to become League-worthy...struck out on his own as Red Arrow..."
"...finally admitted, his secondary programming kicked in and he attempted to betray the League to Vandal Savage. Fortunately, I had already deduced Red Arrow was a clone. We were prepared."
Siren shook her head to clear the fog when her mind found something to fully pay attention to. Vandal Savage? Her eyes narrowed darkly.
"Savage was subdued but Red Arrow escaped," Red Tornado explained. "He is now a fugitive, armed and dangerous."
"If you guys hadn't rescued me from Cadmus..." Superboy realized.
"What- what happened to the real Roy?" Robin asked which made Siren tense.
He is real! But everything was so confusing that she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
"We don't know," Batman admitted. "He isn't at Cadmus. We have to face the possibility that the real Roy Harper...is dead."
Just like that, Siren's heart shattered. Tears sprang up in her eyes. It was all too much.
She reached for the closest thing to her to use as support to keep her knees from buckling. That thing just happened to be Aqualad's hand. A tiny amount of calm went through her when he grasped her hand just as tightly.
"The clone Roy. The team will find him," Aqualad declared, his voice slightly cracking.
"Negative. Red Arrow's a member of the Justice League now. Leave him to us."
"That's not fair!" Siren snapped, her voice rising in pitch.
But arguing with Batman was useless. Especially when his attention was drawn away. "I'm needed on the Watchtower. Tornado, stay with the kids."
Siren balled her free hand into a fist. How could they expect us to just stand by after telling us that? How could they expect me to?
When Aqualad's hand slipped out of hers, she suddenly felt cold. He stepped forward, turning to face the rest of the team and, in particular, her.
"Clone or no clone, Red Arrow was one of us. We will go after him," he spoke through their mind link. Miss Martian nearly kept it open all the time anymore.
Siren's eyes flickered to the side, just behind her co-leader as Red Tornado suddenly approached. Her eyes widened when he lifted his hand as if to put something on Aqualad. Without thinking, Siren started to reach forward to grab the straps of his water-bearers and yank him away. But it turned out that her actions wouldn't have mattered as Tornado immediately shut down.
The young heroes rushed forward, concerned about their supervisor.
"Tornado," Miss M said worriedly.
"What happened to him?" Superboy asked.
Kid Flash examined the android. "He's powered down."
"All functions off-line," Robin confirmed, having opened his computer instantly.
"Guys, I'm sensing a low-level mystic force at play," Zatanna said slowly. "I- I don't know if it caused his shutdown, but...now that I think about it, I was getting the same buzz off Batman."
"Batman. He called us kids. He never does that." Robin sounded extra miffed.
"Look. One of those bio-tech chips we confiscated off Cheshire," Kid said, holding up the object that was in Tornado's hand.
Siren stepped forward, examining the item as she turned it over in her palm. "Why would he just have this on hand? You'd think Batman would have that case on lock and key."
"Something is not right," Aqualad surmised. "Robin, Kid, Zatanna, Rocket: see if you can get Tornado back online. The rest with me to find Ro-" He flinched. "Red Arrow."
Siren took a deep breath, nodding mostly to herself as she followed the rest of her teammates. She didn't care what Batman said. Red Arrow was her family. Clone or not. She was going to find him and make sure he was okay.
~/~/~/~
Siren's knee bounced as she forced herself to stay seated in the Bioship. Her eyes remained glued to the window, scanning the streets of Washington D.C below, only paying enough attention to her teammates to understand that they were trying to figure out where to go.
"Computer logs indicate Red Arrow Zeta'd to the Hall from the Watchtower," Artemis recalled the information they searched for as soon as they boarded. "But he could be anywhere by now."
"After Roy went solo, he installed equipment caches in several major cities." Siren looked over at Aqualad as he spoke, meeting his gaze. "One is here." Her jaw tightened.
She glanced down at her communicator, examining the tracker's location that was right below them. It was still on his person after all that time. She almost smiled, thinking back to the night she, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin went to try and recruit Red Arrow...Speedy...to join the team. Feels so long ago now.
"I'll be back in around five minutes," she finally spoke, standing to her feet as she stashed her device away. "Hopefully, I'll be returning with Roy." She glanced over at Miss Martian.
The Bioship's pilot lowered the ship onto the rooftop they hovered over, opening the back hatch so Siren could exit. Before she had the chance to though, Aqualad stopped her, having followed her to the back of the ship. He probably would have been ready to join her, whether it was to see Roy as soon as possible or to make sure she wouldn't have a breakdown.
"Are you sure you want to go alone?" he asked, no hesitation in his actions as he reached out to grasp Siren's hand.
Siren nodded, trying to give a convincing smile. Judging by the concerned expression on Aqualad's face, it didn't work. "I'll be okay. Just give me five minutes," she repeated, squeezing his hand before she let go to exit the ship.
She slipped into the apartment complex undetected, repeating the right apartment number in her head until she found it. She paused when she found the correct door, nerves getting the best of her. She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
When Siren tried to turn the door handle, it wouldn't budge. She let out a long sigh. You've got to be kidding me.
A quick glance at her surroundings told her that she was alone. She could have banged on the door and called out his name but she didn't want anyone overhearing. And picking the lock would take too much time.
Taking a step back, she brought her foot up waist-high, delivering three heavy kicks near the door handle to break the lock. By the final one, the door splintered, flying open into the room.
Squinting into the dimly lit room, she spotted a figure. She glared at them. "Isn't the bow a bit excessive?"
Red Arrow didn't budge from where he stood beside a broken window, aiming an arrow at her. He didn't speak either.
Siren stepped further into the room. "Look. There's a lot to process right now. And you have a lot of explaining to do. We need answers."
"Not so fast. How can I trust you're not under mind control? How do I know that you and the team won't drag me back to them to finish me off?"
"Are you serious right now?" Siren snapped, confused about what he meant by mind control but looked past it for a moment. "I may be pissed, but it's not at you. I've already told you before: you're stuck with me. Clone or not, you're my family, Roy. As much as the whole deal with the mole thing ticked me off, I never once would have turned my back on you and I'm not going to do that now.
"I don't give a damn if you're not the original Speedy,"—She ignored his slight flinch—"you're the one that I've fought beside all these years and you have given me no reason to stop now. I am with you one hundred percent."
"Answer something for me first, then I'll consider," Red Arrow began. "That night we saved those two kids. The one whose parents were shot in their own home. You wouldn't talk about it, but I know you weren't really okay. Why?"
Siren sighed, knowing he was trying to get some answers that she wouldn't tell anyone else. She crossed her arms, leaning against the door frame. "I met the brother, Sam, before. Twice," she began. "I dunno, I guess I feel like I have to protect him. He and I can relate in certain ways and now that he's going to grow up without parents...I want to help him."
Her eyes were downcast. "Having a big sister isn't exactly the same as having a mom and dad around. And with the way Sam is going to have to be there for his sister the same way Dinah had to be for me, my heart goes out to him."
She finally looked up from the ground to shoot Red Arrow a look. "Now, will you put down the goddamn bow? You're making me nervous."
Red Arrow eyed her for a moment longer before slowly lowering his weapon. That spurred Siren forward, standing a short distance away from him.
"Please, help us understand," Siren spoke softly. "Just a while ago, Red Tornado tried attacking us so who knows what the rest of the League will do. Any info you can give will help us out of this mess."
Red Arrow let out a heavy sigh. "Okay."
Before he had a chance to move away, Siren stepped closer, throwing her arms around his neck. She had to rise on the balls of her feet ever so slightly, burying her face in his shoulder. There was some hesitation, but after a beat or two, she could feel him return the hug.
After a few more seconds, Siren stepped away. She got a good look at his face from their close proximity and she frowned as she noticed the scrapes and bruises on his face.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently, cupping his face gingerly so as not to irritate any of the wounds.
Red Arrow let out a scoff, grabbing her wrist to pull her hand away. "I'll heal." His tone was short, so Siren didn't have to be a mind reader that he wasn't alright otherwise.
Siren stepped away, moving back toward the door. "Aqualad, Artemis, Miss Martian, and Superboy are waiting in the Bioship."
It didn't take long for the two of them to return to the ship, the hatch closing behind them as they went on board. Red Arrow took a seat, but Siren hesitated beside Miss Martian. She knew she'd have to take a seat so they could return to the skies and discuss everything, but she wished there was a way she could sit next to him instead. But she didn't know how to ask that of Miss M.
It turned out that she didn't need to. Siren's eyes widened slightly when an extra seat suddenly appeared beside Red Arrow. She glanced over at Miss Martian who only gave a small smile. The blonde returned the smile gratefully as she went to sit down.
"So we've found out a lot in the past couple of hours," Siren started.
"We were told you were the mole," Aqualad explained. "But we have reason to doubt-"
Red Arrow was quick to interrupt. "Forget doubt. I was the mole."
Siren's shoulders slumped. After all this time...it was right before our very eyes from the beginning. Part of her wondered whether he would have joined the team if he didn't have that instinctual drive to join the League. What would have been different?
"Batman and Tornado said you're a Cadmus clone. Like me," Superboy said hesitantly.
"That explains it." Red Arrow sighed as if he had a huge weight on his shoulders. Which he probably did. "I was a sleeper agent, pre-programmed to infiltrate the League. I think...Sportsmaster was my handler."
"That's why we kept encountering him," Siren mused, her brow wrinkling angrily at the thought of Artemis' dad.
"He had a key phrase, 'Broken Arrow', that could shut me down," Red continued. "Put me in a hypnotic state to steal secrets for his superiors or incorporate further programming. I'd then carry out all orders subconsciously, completely unaware of what drove me."
He turned around to face Miss Martian, Artemis, and Superboy with a frown. "I think one of those orders was to focus suspicion on the three of you. I'm sorry."
"How did Batman discover this and prevent you from betraying the League?" Aqualad wondered.
"He didn't."
A chill went through Siren. "What do you mean?"
"No one was expecting it," Red Arrow pointed out. "While the League was all together for the induction party, I managed to infect every single one of them with Starro-tech."
"What's...Starro-tech?" Artemis questioned.
"I suppose Cadmus or Sportsmaster programmed the information into me so I would know how to carry out my orders," Red Arrow mused. "It's those biochips you guys managed to obtain yesterday in the case Cheshire had in New Orleans. It's made up of an alien bio-organism combined with nanotechnology and magic."
Siren was stunned. Nearly villain they had gone up against, even if it seemed like the circumstances were coincidental, probably had a hand in the mess they were in. How did we miss it? It was right there this whole time.
"Once infused into the victim's body, it shuts down the mind, leaving it open for reprogramming. And after I infused the whole League, I had Batman allow Zeta clearance to Vandal Savage."
"I'm sorry, but how is it that you are no longer enslaved?" Miss Martian wondered.
"No Starro-tech, for starters. Just my Cadmus programming. Once I had satisfied its last parameter...my mind began to clear," Red continued. "I'm sure Savage planned to Starro-tech me, but he paused to...bask. I escaped."
"I promise, I can clean any residual programming from your mind," Miss M assured, but paused before she could say anything else.
"Linking both squads and de-camouflaging," she said in Siren's mind.
"Great. Because we really need to compare notes."
Siren perked up at the sound of Robin's voice. Miss Martian had opened a hatch in the back of the ship, allowing the Super-Cycle to enter along with the rest of the team.
What Siren wasn't expecting was there to be a sudden commotion. Bolting from her seat, she, along with the rest of her team, hurried to see what the matter was.
"Dinah?!" she exclaimed as she found her sister thrashing against the ropes that she was tied up with.
"She attacked us at the Cave. We really need to figure out how to cure them," Robin said with a strained voice as he and Kid Flash kept her pinned down.
"Well, how did you tie her up in the first place?"
"Knockout gas," was Robin's answer to Siren.
She gritted her teeth, trying to assess the situation as quickly as possible. If she knew her sister, Canary would be able to escape in minutes. I'm really going to have to do it, aren't I?
"When I get close enough, let her go. But be ready to grab her again just in case," she said, approaching the struggling Leaguer.
Robin and Kid exchanged a glance but did as she said once Siren was only a few inches away. The moment she was loose, Black Canary surged forward toward her sister.
Who promptly grabbed her shoulder and drove an elbow into the side of her skull, making her eyes roll back as she slumped in her seat.
Siren lifted her head to glance back at her teammates who had varying degrees of shock and impressiveness on their faces. "There, problem solved."
~/~/~/~
Star City
December 31, 12:16 PDT
They needed a cure and fast. With the entire League under mind control, it was only a matter of time until havoc was wrecked upon Earth. And the team wouldn't be able to do anything if they were captured and infected too.
"Thank you all for agreeing to help on such short notice," Siren said gratefully, looking around at the four adults that had gathered.
With the Cave being unsafe, the team set up a temporary haven at Doctor Serling Roquette's lab at Royal University in Star City. Thank god the college was still in the middle of their winter break.
Based on the intel given by Red Tornado—who had been transferred into a secondary body and had control of his mind once again—and Red Arrow, the team was able to round up a group of scientists and sorcerers to attempt to reverse engineer a cure from the sample of Starro Tech the team had in their possession.
Red Arrow helped to get in contact with Doctor Roquette and Superboy returned to Cadmus to speak with Doctor Amanda Spence, one of the scientists who worked with Desmond when he was still...human.
The faces of Queen Mera of Atlantis and Vulko, Atlantis' Minister of Science, were visible on a nearby computer screen. The team's resident hacker managed to call out to the Atlanteans and after Aqualad explained the situation, they were willing to help upon learning the League, especially King Orin, was in trouble.
"Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Zatanna will help you in however way they can. The more capable hands we can get on this, the faster we stop the League before things become worse," Siren continued.
She scanned the group before nodding at Aqualad. "Let the rest of us know if you need anything."
The teens and adults began to split off, leaving the rest of the team, Red Arrow, and Red Tornado to wait in one of the other lab rooms.
Siren turned to the remaining heroes once they regrouped. "The rest of you, take this time to rest or prepare. We're going to have a long day ahead of us," she admitted.
A long day indeed. Several hours passed by and those trying to create a cure were still working hard.
After periodically checking on their progress, Siren eventually retreated to the break room across the hall to find something to distract herself with. Standing around was only making her more restless as she could only imagine what was happening with the League while they were forced to wait.
Her stomach reminded her that she should eat so she walked over to the nearby vending machine after shedding her jacket. After she selected a bag of chips, someone spoke up behind her.
"Si?" Robin was in the doorway, followed by Artemis.
Siren straightened up after grabbing her snack. "Yeah?"
"I was wondering if you could come with me for a bit. I have an idea of what might help us in the fight."
Siren took a bite of a chip, glancing over at them, uncertain. She really didn't want to leave Canary behind with the chance that she might wake up again. She was securely tied up, but Siren was still worried about her sister.
"Go, we'll be alright," Artemis assured her friend.
Reluctantly, Siren nodded and turned back to Robin as she picked up her jacket. "Let's go."
Apparently, the Boy Wonder's plans called for leaving the college building entirely. Siren didn't know where she was going, but she followed Robin all the way to a concealed Zeta-Tube. Siren eyed her friend skeptically as he put coordinates into the system.
"Trust me," he assured after he noticed her glance, teleporting away.
With a sigh, she stepped inside. Once the blinding light dimmed, the team leader blinked to find herself in a familiar place.
"What're we doing here?" she asked, glancing around.
"Batman keeps some Kryptonite in a vault in case of emergencies. Since we're going to have to go up against Superman, I think it would be smart to have it on hand."
Siren raised an eyebrow. "I shouldn't be surprised that he keeps Kryptonite in the Batcave. So where's it at?"
She followed Robin further into the cave straight to a very high-tech vault door. Crossing her arms, she watched as her teammate began to work on his computer.
"It's going to take me a minute," he said. "Batman made sure that nothing and no one could get inside."
"So what makes you think you'll be able to get in?"
"Yes, Master Dick, what makes you think you'll get in?"
Siren and Robin both froze like kids who were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Slowly turning around, Siren flashed a sheepish grin at the man standing behind them.
"Hi, Alfred."
The butler was eyeing them with a disapproving gaze. "Hello, Miss Jenna. Might I ask why the two of you are here?"
"I can explain," Robin piped up.
"Please do."
Robin launched into a very brief explanation of their situation and the plan he had with the Kryptonite. Upon hearing the issue with the League, Alfred looked slightly less like a disappointed grandfather, but he still seemed like he wasn't fully on board with the plan.
"We wouldn't be doing this if we weren't so desperate," Siren pointed out. "We're kind of reaching the point where we have to take drastic measures. If we don't, I'm not sure if we'd even have a chance."
Alfred pursed his lips. "I can see the gravity of the situation. Are you sure you'll be successful?"
"We have to be. We have no choice."
After a moment of silence, Alfred nodded. "Very well. I'm sure Master Bruce will understand, so all I suggest is that you be wise about how you go on about using it."
Siren grinned. "We will, promise."
Just then, the vault unlocked, allowing Robin to open it and grab the small container of Kryptonite inside. A little goes a long way, I suppose.
After saying their goodbyes to the butler, Siren and Robin returned to the college. And not a moment too soon.
Black Canary was awake again, fighting against her bonds.
Siren groaned. "I really don't want to knock her out again."
"You might not have to."
Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Zatanna had returned with the scientists and Atlanteans. Kid was approaching as he spoke, holding something in the palm of his hand. He approached Canary–who was being held back by Superboy–and placed the item on the back of her neck.
Immediately, she went unconscious and would have toppled off her chair and hit the ground if Superboy hadn't been there.
"What did you do?" Siren demanded to know, trying not to react angrily at the sight of her sister seemingly reacting badly to an unknown cure.
"Created a cure, hopefully," Doctor Roquette said. "Our best guess is that it'll take around an hour for her to wake up, but by then we'll know if she's back to normal. It not only cures but acts as immunization in the case that they get infected again."
Siren met Aqualad's gaze with a look that said 'can we trust this?', hoping that he would feel more confident than she did.
His brow furrowed in thought as he looked between her and Black Canary. "Now we wait."
That was Siren's least favorite thing to do. With so much riding on the cure, it was hard to be patient after waiting a whole afternoon. But that was all they could do.
That didn't stop her from pacing though. Which she did for what seemed like forever until Rocket approached her.
"You look nervous," she pointed out with a teasing grin.
Siren let out a short laugh which seemed to ease the tension in her shoulders. "That obvious?"
Rocket shrugged. "I think Kid Flash is about to run a hole in the ground so I don't think you've got that beat just yet."
Siren grinned in amusement. "I can't imagine you're feeling much better though. You've been on the team for less than a week and now you're about to go toe-to-toe with the Justice League," she realized. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm okay. But I'm a little worried too. I mean, what if we don't get a cure? What happens then?" Rocket seemed relatively calm, but concern was in her eyes.
Siren looked away, eyeing Aqualad who was on the other side of the room, discussing things with Kid Flash and Robin. She lightly smiled at the sight of the three guys who had been with her since the beginning.
"Remember when all of the adults disappeared?" she recalled, glancing over at the new team member who nodded. "I had the same worries as you. I was terrified that that day was going to be the one time we failed."
She looked back over at her three friends. One in particular. "Then someone reminded me that we'd just take it one day at a time, but that we also still had a fighting chance," she said. "And that applies now. We're going to give everything we've got to save the League."
Just then, Aqualad searched the room, landing on her. He smiled, giving Siren a bit of peace, even if he didn't know it.
"She's waking up!"
Siren's head snapped to where her previously-unconscious sister sat. She was starting to stir, but she was no longer immediately fighting to get free.
The team and other adults in the room slowly began to approach the Leaguer, with Siren in the very front of the group as she crouched to be at eye-level with Black Canary. The first thing the younger sister noticed as Canary opened her eyes was that they were full of confusion. The cloudiness in her expression seemed to clear once she laid eyes on Siren, but she didn't try to attack.
Siren glanced over at Superboy–who stood behind the chair at the ready–and nodded. He reached forward, removing the gag around Canary's mouth. Siren tensed, ready to go on the defensive if she needed to.
Except that didn't seem to be the case.
"Jenna? What's happening? Where am I?"
It was almost like there was a collective sigh of relief. Siren stood, happy that her sister seemed to be back to normal, but still being wary in case it was a ruse. "What was the last thing you remember?"
Canary's brow furrowed as she tried to recall. "The League's induction party. Everything was going great. We were all having a good time. I think...I remember Roy coming up to speak with Oliver and me...then nothing."
Siren turned to gauge Red Arrow's reaction. He gave a resigned nod. Siren's chest tightened. Oh, Roy...
"It's kind of a long story, Dinah," she said. "One we don't really have time for, but we'll try to get you up to speed. In the meantime," she turned to the other adults in the room, "how fast can we have enough cures for the League and the team? Including Red Arrow."
"An hour and a half, maybe? Two tops," Doctor Spence decided.
"Then go ahead and get started on them." Siren stepped toward Canary, setting about untying her. "We'll explain what's going on and what our plan is so far."
~/~/~/~
The Watchtower
December 31, 23:16 EST
The time to fight back had arrived. Once it was available, the team and Red Arrow all had applied the cure patch to themselves then they applied the tech to Red Tornado's regular body while he rebooted. That way, they would be immune to Starro-tech like Black Canary had become.
Oddly enough, the team and Red Arrow didn't go unconscious as Canary had. Their best guess was that since they weren't already infected, their bodies didn't have to shut down to recover.
The overall plan was to send the Leaguers up to the Watchtower so they could stall for as long as possible and to vaccinate who they could. Red Tornado would bypass the security systems so that the team could slip into the orbiting satellite undetected via Bioship. Then, it would be up to the rest of the team to accomplish the rest of the mission.
As ready as she ever would be, Siren joined her teammates in the corner of a long corridor at the bottom of the Watchtower. While Robin checked the systems, she reached into her pocket to check on the small container of cure patches. She had never felt so nervous before. If this doesn't work, I don't know what will.
"RT did it. Wirelessly bypassed security for us as soon as he arrived," Robin reported. "Savage shouldn't know we're here."
"Move out," Aqualad commanded.
The team split up into smaller groups to cover more ground on each level. Siren went with Kid Flash and Artemis, more as a backup than anything due to the team being at an odd number of members since Rocket joined.
Luckily, it didn't take long to come across one of the adult heroes, Plastic Man, who was moving packages into the storage room from a Zeta-Tube. All it took was a smoke arrow from Artemis and Kid Flash waiting on the opposite side for Savage to be down one puppet.
Siren dropped down into the room, heading for the nearby hallway to catch up with the rest of her teammates. But she froze when an arrow came flying from the dark corridor, knocking her off her feet. Shit!
She scrambled backward, barely having time to roll onto her feet to dodge as a red blur zipped into the room. As Artemis and KF joined her, Siren let out a scream that Flash only avoided. It didn't help much when Green Arrow was firing explosives at them either.
Siren jumped back into a back handspring to avoid a blast, but she hadn't noticed a third League member come up behind her. She yelped as she struggled in Aquaman's tight hold.
"Too bad Cure-tech doesn't work as fast as Starro-tech. We could use these guys!" Siren grunted as she heard Rocket's voice in her head. This is not helping right now!
"It is a small miracle Queen Mera and Doctors Roquette, Spence, and Vulko were able to re-engineer a cure and vaccine at all," Aqualad admitted. So help me-
"Hey, if you guys aren't busy!" KF said sarcastically as he ducked under a punch from Flash.
"On my way. You three rendezvous with Robin and Superboy."
Siren slammed her elbow into Aquaman's side, having no luck as she swung a few more times. An idea struck her, and she grabbed a smoke pellet from her bag to shove into the Atlantean's face as it went off.
Sent into a coughing fit, Aquaman loosened his grip on Siren enough for her to tumble away and group up with her teammates.
"I'm amazed we're still alive," Artemis commented.
"It's 'cause they're being controlled. They're limited by whoever's pulling their strings," Kid explained. "The very thing putting us in danger is the only thing giving us a chance."
"I'm not a big fan of those odds," Siren said dryly. "Maybe if we could get that cargo door open to sweep them off their feet-"
"Artemis. Siren. Kid."
Siren turned to the sound of Aqualad's voice, seeing him run in, slam the hallway door shut and lock it. "Now!" he ordered.
Her eyes lit up as she realized the button nearby, no doubt the exact one they needed. Siren sprinted over to her co-leader's side, slipping her hands around the handle he was holding on to. She watched as Artemis shot an anchor into the door for her and Kid Flash to use so as not to go flying out of the Watchtower by accident.
"Hold on," Aqualad told the three of them as he slammed the button.
"Holding."
Siren clung to the handle as best as she could. The mere thought of being ejected out into space was enough motivation to use all her strength.
The cargo door began to open, immediately creating a vacuum into space. Green Arrow and Aquaman were barely holding on as it was, and while Flash tried to use his speed to attack Siren and Aqualad, even he wasn't a match for the sudden pull on his body.
Siren gasped as she felt her grip begin to loosen as she was swept off her feet. She reached out, sliding an arm around Aqualad's waist, knowing that he had a stronger grip and wouldn't let go of the handle as easily if she happened to. Through squinted eyes, Siren watched as the Leaguers were finally swept off their feet.
"Now, Kaldur!" she cried out in warning, hoping that they'd be able to close the cargo door before the men were flung into space.
Fighting against the wind, he managed to reach the button and press it, causing the door to immediately close. The three men were knocked unconscious after being slammed into the wall.
Siren stumbled as she suddenly regained her footing, releasing her death grip on the handle and Aqualad's body. Both leaders joined their teammates after Kid quickly cured the three mentors.
"Apologies, my king," Aqualad said, but Siren knew that he understood their actions had to be done in order to save the League.
"We've got Wonder Woman trapped!" Rocket called out. "But we need help getting her cured."
"Be right there," Siren answered, leading the others back to the hall.
The four heroes managed to catch up with the rest of the team with no other hindrances. Judging by the few unconscious League heroes scattered along the way, that meant their fight was coming to an end.
They had rounded a corner to find Wonder Woman encased in Rocket's force bubble. Of course one of the strongest members had to be last.
"How do we handle this?" Rocket asked, spotting the rest of the team arriving.
"When I say, release her. M'gann, be ready with the cure," Siren told her, planting herself beside her teammate.
She watched as Wonder Woman banged her fists against the bubble a moment more. "Now!"
Rocket's bubble dissipated, allowing Wonder Woman to move forward again. Siren took a deep breath, letting it out as hard as she could muster. The Amazon heroine was flung back into the wall, easily denting the concrete. The force of Siren's scream was nowhere near close enough to knock the woman out, but it provided enough time for Miss Martian to immediately fly above Wonder Woman and telekinetically apply the cure.
Siren let out a breath, shoulders slumping in relief. "Please tell me that's the last of them," she begged.
"That's the last of them," Robin assured. "Now we just have Vandal Savage to deal with."
"Then let's do it."
The whole team took off for the top of the Watchtower, ready to end things once and for all.
But it seemed that fate was the one that wasn't ready.
As the team raced into the room, Kid Flash even speeding on ahead, they witnessed Vandal Savage teleport away with Klarion. By the time Kid skidded to a stop, they were gone.
Siren was beyond frustrated. She was happy the League was going to be alright, but it felt like they were back to square one. With Vandal Savage anywhere on Earth, she had a feeling that the fight was far from being over.
Siren moved to check on Black Canary and Red Arrow, both of whom were unconscious, but relatively alright. Aqualad had checked on Red Tornado who was still active but missing all four of his limbs. Siren couldn't help her amused grin. That seems a bit familiar...
"Congratulations, team," the android praised. "You have won the day."
There was a beep as a computer screen opened up in front of Siren's face. It revealed the calendar date: January first. Siren huffed out a laugh, not even realizing that it was already midnight. Everything had been so eventful since that morning that she had honestly forgotten what day it even was.
"Happy New Year, Justice League," the robotic voice echoed through the mission room as a soft rendition of Auld Acquaintance played.
Across from her, Siren saw Kid literally sweep Artemis off her feet. Oh my god, is he gonna-?
"I should have done this a long time ago," he admitted.
Artemis chuckled, wrapping her arms around Kid Flash's neck. "No kidding."
Once the two of them finally kissed, it seemed to set off a chain reaction between Miss Martian and Superboy. Then surprisingly—or not so surprisingly—Robin and Zatanna.
Siren felt a hand slip into hers, forcing her attention to the person beside her. Aqualad lifted his other hand, gently tilting Siren's chin up higher.
"Is this okay?"
A slow grin grew on Siren's face. "More than okay."
Her eyes fluttered closed as Aqualad drew nearer, closing the distance between them. Her breath hitched in anticipation as time seemed to slow down.
Then it finally happened.
Siren let out a sigh when Aqualad's lips met hers. As he moved his hand to cup the back of her neck, she wrapped her arms around his waist to pull the two of them flush together.
Something that she'd wanted to do for the past two months, maybe even longer, was everything she had hoped for. She didn't want it to end.
Sadly it would have to. Seeing as they weren't exactly alone and had other matters to attend to, their moment of peace couldn't last long. But she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
"I didn't know joining this team would mean I'd be the ninth wheel."
Moment of peace over. The couples broke apart, laughing at Rocket's bemused comment.
~/~/~/~
Just as it was proved with Black Canary, the League woke up with clearer minds, even if they were confused about the situation initially. But after a long explanation by the team and a confession by Red Arrow, Batman sent all of the team besides Aqualad, Siren, and Robin out of the conference room to rest and recuperate.
Most of the League stepped out as well, many still recovering from the past twenty-four hours of amnesia. The only ones that stayed behind were mentors, Captain Marvel, Red Tornado, and both Arrows.
Because they had to address the elephant in the room.
"Everything I thought I knew about myself was a lie," Red Arrow said, hunched over the table with his fists clenched tight; Siren could feel from her hand on his forearm that his muscles were rigid. "I'm not a hero or a sidekick. I'm a traitor...a pawn."
"Roy, it'll be all-"
"I'm not Roy," he said tiredly, cutting off Canary before she could continue, but he didn't brush off her consoling hand on his fist. "I don't know what I am. All I know is I need to find the real Roy. I need to rescue Speedy."
If they even knew where to begin, what was to say that they'd find what they were looking for? Siren would be willing to help Red Arrow of course, but if Batman in his mind-controlled state had been correct about it being three years since Speedy was replaced, how could they be sure that he was still alive?
"Guardian is already searching Cadmus," Batman assured.
"You've had a long day; you need to rest," Black Canary pointed out. "If this is something you want to do, then you'll need your strength."
"We're done here anyway," Batman said, turning to the team members. "All of you should go home and get some rest."
That was something Siren could agree with. But as Green Arrow and Canary guided Red Arrow out of the room, something held her back. A bad feeling.
She spared a glance in Aqualad's direction. He was already looking at her with a frown.
"Something else is wrong," he spoke to Batman, voicing their suspicions.
Batman and Robin exchanged a look. "The entire League was under Savage's spell for just over a day," the younger hero said, pulling up images of six Leaguers, one of those being Batman himself. "We've accounted for most of that time, but these six went missing for a full sixteen hours we can't account for."
"Sixteen hours," Batman mused. "What did we do?"
I guess our work is never done. Siren had to admit that while that day was excruciating, it still somehow felt like the fight was too easy in the end. Like Vandal Savage gave up too quickly to escape; like he had already accomplished what he wanted. But Siren knew they wouldn't find the answers anytime soon.
After the meeting was finally adjourned, Siren stuck around the Watchtower for a little bit longer. Although the circumstances of being up in space weren't desirable, it was still just as amazing as she hoped it would be.
And the view couldn't be beaten.
She had found a spot to look out over her home planet, enjoying the beauty of it all while trying not to deal with an accidental existential crisis of how small it actually looked. The content smile on her face grew as an arm slipped around her waist and she leaned into the owner's side.
"It's hard to believe six months ago, this was all we wanted," she said thoughtfully.
"I do not believe any of us could have expected the events that would take place after escaping Cadmus," Aqualad mused.
Siren's smile slightly faded as she looked up at him. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us, don't we?"
The question was mostly rhetorical, but Aqualad nodded anyway, eyes trained on the world below them. "I fear that this will not be the last we hear of Vandal Savage."
Siren rested her head against his chest, frowning in thought. Who knows what the future has in store for us. She felt him squeeze her waist, making the wrinkle in her brow soften.
She pulled back from their embrace enough to look him in the eye. "Whatever happens, we'll handle it together. We always do."
No further words were spoken as he tilted his head down to cover her lips with his own.
~/~/~/~
And that is the end of A Siren's Call! Oh my god, I can't believe it's finally over. I keep going between giggling excitedly and nearly crying lmao. Six to seven years ago, I would have never expected to finally—and fully—upload a fanfic, much less one that became my baby. You have Cartoon Network airing the first episode and making me forever obsessed with the show to thank for this lol.
Let me know what you thought! Of this last chapter, of the entire fic, of Siren, whatever. I want to hear what you have to say! I've gotten to see some comments here and there and I appreciate your love for it. Seeing people love this story means the world to me.
And it's what's keeping me going! So here's the deal: I've already started planning out the sequel and I've even begun to write the first chapter. But I won't be publishing it for a while for a few reasons.
First, I want to give myself, and you all, a break. I want to be able to focus on writing without feeling like I have a deadline because while I knew I had no pressure to post, I was determined to make it consistent. I've been posting almost every week since the end of last October so I definitely need a breather.
Second, I want to be able to get as far ahead in the chapters as I possibly can before I start posting. That way, if things come up, I don't run into issues with trying to write (since I am still trying to find a job after all).
Finally, my brother is graduating high school next month. It's about to get very busy in our household so I'm not totally sure how often I'll be able to write with events going on and family coming to visit. So at the very least, I won't start uploading until June, but I might wait until July to start just to give myself more writing time.
And that's all! This is the end of ASC. I hope you enjoyed it and I appreciate you following along this far. But this is definitely not the end, so be sure that you're following me so you can stay up to date when I start the next fic. I'll try to remember to put an update in here too in case you've been following the fic itself.
Hopefully, I'll see you all in a couple of months! :D