Hello hello. I am back. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've updated :( I'm very sorry. I know I'm terrible at updating but I very much still have inspiration for this story I just don't have time XD.

Lol. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

To HeavenedWolf: Thank you! I'm sorry this chapter is so freaking late lol. But I agree, I never really liked Superboy and Miss Martian's relationship, at all. Lol. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint after the long wait!

To thatfanboi: thank you! Here it is!

To Astroroa: Thanks! I'm glad you like Venus's character - and I was worried if it would seem like Superboy and Venus would actually go together, so I'm glad you think they do!

To AmEmIg-Chan: Muchas gracias una vez más!

To jacksonwang: omg first I love your username LOL. But I'm really glad you like my story, thank you!

To akagami hime chan: Your comment about Castiel is PERFECT that's exactly how I feel. He's so fun to write bc he's so irritating but in the best way.

To littleboyblack17: thank you!

To iPhone iNsomniac: I see what you mean, thank you for bringing that to my attention! The short answer (and maybe not satisfying) is that I don't want her to seem overpowered or like a Sue. The canon answer would be she hasn't actually had much training. Overall, I'll try to do a better job of balancing in the future, though, thank you!

To Layla347: Thank you! Exactly right, Venus is very stubborn.

Disclaimer: I don't own YJ! Please enjoy!

(also if there are mistakes in this chpater plz excuse them and/or let me know i was dying to get it up so i edited rly quick)


MOUNT JUSTICE
September 23, 21:36 EDT

Venus leaned against the wall with her arms crossed tightly to her chest. Her mouth was set in a hard line, eyes sharp and flinty as she glared at the others around her. The rest of the Team was sitting around a table in the center of the mission room, with the exception of Superboy and Aqualad. Superboy was standing closer to Venus, and Aqualad was across the room, speaking to Batman.

Grimalkin meowed next to Venus's leg, and the demon leaned down to pick up her familiar. Cradling the cat to her chest, Venus dug her fingers through Grim's silky fur and glared at the opposite wall. She let out a huffy sigh, and Superboy turned towards her.

"You okay?" he asked. Venus turned her gaze towards him, staring at the clone levelly.

"Fine," she replied, giving him a mocking grin. "Bored, but fine."

"Bored?" Superboy asked. He frowned. "Vee, come on -"

"Vee?" Venus blinked, her eyes narrowing as she registered the nickname. He had called her that earlier, too. "Vee?" Superboy hesitated and then nodded. Venus frowned, mulling this over. "Huh."

She frowned at the ground, trying to ignore the considerably warm feeling that pooled in her chest when she heard Superboy call her Vee. It felt...special, and she wasn't sure she liked that. Venus scowled harder, growing angry.

Actually, she was sure. She was sure that she liked it and she was sure that she didn't want to like it. She didn't want to like Superboy, she didn't want to like any of them.

"Vee - Venus," Superboy said. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to be here, that's what's wrong," Venus snapped, exasperated. Superboy blinked, looking shocked, then hurt, then angry. Venus glared at him. "In case you're wondering, that's going to be my answer to the question any time you ask 'what's wrong' from now until the time I leave. I shouldn't be here. I don't belong here, and I don't want to be here."

Superboy stared at the demon, surprised by her explosion. Venus had seemed bitter about her situation first, sure, but he had thought she'd warmed up to the Team - to him - a bit. He felt strangely hurt by her proclamation, and even more hurt when he remembered that she was physically unable to speak a lie. He reached out for Venus, meaning to touch her shoulder, to comfort her.

Picking up on the demon's mood, Grimalkin hissed at Superboy from her place in Venus's arms. The black cat arched her back, her fur puffing up around her spine as she let out another growl. Superboy frowned, ignoring the cat and reaching out to Venus again.

Grimalkin yowled, leaning from Venus's shoulder to swipe at the clone. Superboy shouted in surprise as the cat's claws cat his cheek and he stumbled backwards, pressing a hand to his cheek. His hand came away bloody, the narrow gash on his cheek gleaming wetly under the florescence of the mission room.

It was obvious he hadn't expected Grimalkin to be able to harm him. For all intents and purposes, Grim seemed like a normal cat.

"Sorry about that," Venus said, her tone considerably non-apologetic. "You should listen to her."

Superboy's eyes narrowed, his lips thinning into a line.

"Point taken," he snapped, turning away from Venus. The demon shrugged, trying to act like she didn't feel bad about hurting Superboy's feelings as she glanced around the room again.

Green Arrow walked over, holding a bowl of pretzels. He set it down on the table in front of Kid Flash, and the speedster scowled at the snacks like they'd personally offended him.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Kid Flash spat, shoving the bowl away from him.

"Yeah," Robin piped up. "What we want are answers! About Red Tornado and his siblings."

"Exactly!" Green Arrow leaned over to take the pretzels away and Kid Flash snatched them. "Leave the bowl," the speedster muttered, beginning to scarf up the food. Venus rolled her eyes, letting an irritated huff out through her nose.

A sudden commotion made Venus whip her head back around. The demon stared in bored confusion as she watched Superboy launch himself across the room, slamming into Aqualad to pin the other boy against the wall.

"You knew?" Superboy shouted loudly, slamming the Atlantean against the wall once more. Venus arched an eyebrow, swiveling around to watch the fight with a distracted interest.

"Conner!" Miss Martian gasped, flying across the room. The other members of the Team were scrambling up from the table as well, crowding around the two boys as Superboy pressed his teammate into the wall. "What are you doing?"

"Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us and said nothing!" Venus sniffed, rolling her eyes. She listened in idle irritation as the other members of the Team protested Aqualad's decision, offended at being left in the dark.

How mundane.

Venus scoffed loudly, and the members of the Team swung towards her. She met their gaze coolly. "Chill," she ordered them, rolling her eyes. "It's not that big a deal."

"Not that big a deal?" Kid Flash swung his arms wildly. "How are you not mad?" He whipped back around to Aqualad. "How could you not tell us?" He demanded again. Venus laughed scathingly.

"You humans are so insignificant," she murmured in wonder, her dark eyes locked in the distant. She didn't even blink when the gazes of the Team once again locked themselves to her. "None of you know anything. What's this bit of information against all the others that you're missing?"

Venus's perfect features soured, her jaw clenching tightly as her lip curled in disgust. Suddenly, her angelic face was dark and twisted, and the look she tossed at the Team was pure hatred. She ignored the look of shock on their faces as she glowered at them, ignored the tiny twinge in her chest. She looked away. "I shouldn't be here."

"Enough." Batman's voice cut through the tense atmosphere of the mission room, and Venus's face cleared, the storm gone as if had never been there. The Team broke from their cluster in the corner of the room to assemble in front of Batman. Venus didn't move, and Batman didn't make her.

She was there, watching, observing. That was enough. That was her sentence.

She was an outsider, right down to her damn designation.

Venus tossed her head, sneering at the teenagers clustered in front of Batman. The feeling in her chest was uncomfortable, and in her own head, silently to herself, she could pretend it was disgust.

"With Red Tornado…missing," Batman said. "The Team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift." Venus frowned as the tall, burly man stepped forwards, beaming at the Team brightly.

"I'm really looking forward to hanging with you guy!" he said cheerfully. Venus blinked, surprised at the blatant honesty behind his words. She shook her head, a bemused smile working its way onto her face as she took in the aggravated looks of the Team members.

Superboy had taken the moment to continue to threaten Aqualad in a low voice, but Batman was already stepping forward to diffuse the situation. Venus watched the situation with a half-smile, thriving off the tension and anger. Chaos was her natural state, after all.

Batman continued to brief the Team, pulling up an article of a…gorilla holding a gun?

Venus let out a loud groan, annoyed again. She ignored the warning look it earned her from Black Canary and Green Arrow as Batman chastised Robin for a similar incredulous. She tipped her head to the side, glaring balefully at the wall.

Dad, I am going to fucking kill you. She could practically hear his sing-song response: patricide's a sin, dear!

Venus was only half-listening as Batman debriefed the Team on the gorilla attack, ordering the Team to check out the unusual animal activity in the jungles of India. She rolled her eyes again when Kid Flash scoffed at Batman calling the Team "Aqualad's" Team.

She couldn't believe that she'd called these people her friends. Ridiculous is what they were.

"Venus." Aqualad's voice broke her from her stewing, and she looked up. He gazed at her steadily. "Are you coming?"

"Hm," Venus grunted, pushing herself off the wall. "Not like I have a choice."

The demon followed Aqualad to the hangar where the rest of the Team was boarding the BioShip. Captain Marvel was following Kid Flash and Robin up the gangplank, a cheery grin plastered to his face. Venus paused, setting Grimalkin on the ground and absent-mindedly stroking the cat's ears before she walked away.

Grimalkin meowed loudly at Venus and the demon paused, glancing back at her familiar.

"No," Venus said, narrowing her eyes at the cat. Grimalkin took a few steps forward. "I said, stay, Grim," Venus snapped. "The last thing I need is you getting eaten by some animal in the jungle."

Grimalkin meowed plaintively, and Venus pointed back down the hall. "I mean it."

Snarling at her owner, Grimalkin spun around and stalked down the corridor, her tail held high. Venus huffed, turning back towards the BioShip as she stepped aboard.

Venus paused at one of the cabinet's in the back of the BioShip before heading into the cockpit. As she passed Superboy, she tossed the supplies she'd grabbed onto the clone's lap. He blinked in surprise, picking up what she'd given him - some anti-bacterial ointment and a bandaid.

"Don't know if you need that, being Kryptonian and all," Venus said as she took her usual seat in front of the clone. She glanced over her shoulder. "Bust last thing I want is another beautiful face marred," she mock-pouted at Superboy, tracing her elegant fingers down the scars on her own face that she knew he could see.

"Your face isn't - you're still - " Superboy blinked, cutting himself off. His ears were turning red. "Never mind." He glanced down at the medical supplies in his lap and then shook his head, grinning. Venus peeked over her shoulder at Superboy again, and she frowned at the bemused look he was giving her.

"What," Venus muttered, her mouth drawing into a hard line. She again tried to ignore the way his smile was making her feel.

"You show affection in a weird way," Superboy replied. Venus opened her mouth, and then closed it, unable to deny that he was right.

"Whatever," she muttered, turning back to face the front of the ship. She folded her arms, placing her head down on top of them. In doing so, she missed the jealous looks that Artemis and Miss Martian were shooting her and Superboy.

Venus kept her head down for the remainder of the flight, fighting off the urge to scream her frustration.

Though she couldn't see the looks that the Team members were undoubtedly shooting at Aqualad, she could feel the tension in the air. And she couldn't help but thrive off the chaos.

After a couple hours of tense silence, Miss Martian spoke.

"Approaching Batman's coordinates," she announced.

"Good," Aqualad replied. "Artemis, Robin - "

"We got it," Artemis snapped before Aqualad could finish his order. Venus peeked up from her arms. Robin and Artemis were already standing, lines clipped to their belts. Aqualad nodded tersely, ignoring Artemis's rude interruption, and instead nodded at Miss Martian.

The girl's eyes glowed green as she communicated silently with the BioShip, and a hole opened up in the bottom in response to her mental command. The two humans stepped out of the hole, falling silently into the jungle to do reconnaissance before the rest of the Team landed.

Miss Martian brought the BioShip around into a smooth landing, opening up a hatch for the rest of the Team to exit through. Artemis and Robin were both returning when the rest of the Team reached them.

"All clear," Robin reported. Aqualad nodded, tapping the A isignia on his belt to switch the bright colors of his uniform to muted grey and black.

"Switch to stealth," he ordered the rest of the Team. "Let's review mission parameters." Kid Flash scoffed loudly.

"Parameters? We don't need no stinking parameters," he snapped at Aqualad, tapping the lightning bolt on his chest to switch to stealth mode. Robin nodded.

"It's recon, we know what to do," he replied coldly. Kid Flash and Robin turned to leave, but Aqualad called after them softly.

"Wait - " he began, stretching out an arm. Robin swung around. Even through the mask, Venus could tell his glare was murderous.

"The three of us started this Team because the Justice League was keeping secrets from us," Robin reminded the elder boy angrily. Kid Flash nodded, lowering his goggles over his eyes as he turned to leave again.

"Or did you forget that? Like you forgot to tell us about the mole?" Kid Flash's question was clearly sarcastic and rhetorical, and he zipped off without waiting for an answer, Robin disappearing into the thick jungle after him. Aqualad sighed, turning back to the remaining members of the Team with a slightly defeated expression on his face.

Superboy nudged Venus, and she glanced at him.

"What?" she muttered. "I'm enjoying this."

"Come with me," Superboy said, "I'll keep you safe." Venus arched an eyebrow, turning around to face Superboy incredulously.

"Keep me safe?" she repeated. She snorted. "As if. I'm immortal. Invulnerable. And have you forgotten that it's my job to watch after you lot?" Superboy frowned, looking surprised.

"I just want to - "

"Stop talking," Venus said coldly. She ignored the guilty pang in her chest as she registered the hurt expression on her face. "I don't - " the word 'care' died in her mouth, her lips and tongue refusing the utter the word. The lie burned in her mouth and she grit her teeth, changing the trajectory of her sentence in the middle. "- need your help."

There. That was true. Venus took a deep breath.

"I just want to protect you," Superboy finished quietly, ignoring Venus's outburst. Venus blinked, suddenly floored. The shock flittering across her nearly-perfect features was plain to see, and Superboy's lips twitched up gently.

Venus stared at the clone unblinkingly, her lips still parted in surprise. No one ever wanted to protect her. No one except her father and maybe Maze, though Venus sometimes figured that both of them felt more of an obligation to protect her than a desire to.

Before Venus could come up with a response, whether it be snarky or thankful, Artemis cut in.

"What, like Aqualad protected us?" the archer snapped. The blonde stuck out her bow, poking Superboy in the chest with it. "I'm not sure your protection or your patronizing is good for our health." The blonde nodded at Miss Martian and Venus. "Come on, let's go."

Slightly dazed from Superboy's revelation, Venus allowed herself to be herded away into the jungle by the two other girls.

"I hear a river," Artemis said, pointing. "Let's cut that way and follow it." Miss Martian nodded from where she was floating a few feet above the ground, flying forward to lead the way. Venus followed, still feeling a little lightheaded.

Artemis cast Venus a look, frowning slightly. She'd pulled Venus away from Superboy for two reasons - one, she was genuinely irritated by Superboy's assertion that he'd protect Venus and how it mirrored Aqualad's version of trying to protect the Team. But two, she'd also been irritated by the special attention Superboy seemed to pay to Venus.

The archer tried to assuage her fears, convincing herself that Venus, as she had said so clearly earlier, had no desire to be with the Team. Even if Superboy was interested in Venus, there was no way the demon was interested in Superboy.

A low growl and a gasp behind Venus and Artemis made the two girls whirl around. Miss Martian had landed behind them, and in doing so attracted the attention of a crocodile.

A very large crocodile.

"The fuck?" Venus gasped eloquently, reaching for her whips as Miss Martian fought to keep the crocodile's jaws from closing on her. Venus cracked the whip, her holy fire cracking out with the motion. Next to Venus, Artemis knocked an arrow against her bow. The demon glanced at the archer, and her eyes widened in shock at the shadow moving through the water.

"Artemis, watch out -" the blonde started to turn around, but before she could move out of reach, another giant crocodile had grabbed onto her quiver and puller her into the water.

"Shit," Venus swore again. She cracked the whip against the crocodile's back, wincing herself when the animal shuddered in pain. Yes, it was attacking Miss Martian, but she doubted it was actually evil. And non-evil beings, such as animals, didn't deserve to feel the wrath of her holy fire.

But she didn't have a choice. She brandished the whip again, bringing it down with a crack onto the shoulders of the crocodile. This time it wailed, its jaw opening enough for Miss Martian to pull out of the creature's jaws.

"Get Artemis!" Venus ordered. Miss Martian nodded, her eyes glowing green as she dove into the murky water of the river. Venus faced the crocodile, eyeing it warily as it rounded on her. The croc's eyes tracked the movement of her whip warily, and Venus scowled at it, raising the leather hilt again.

This time, when Venus made the whipping motion, she didn't let the fire spiral out of the hilt. Still, the crocodile followed the motion, already anticipating the pain of the whip.

"Go," Venus said to the animal, not wanting to hurt it again. She made a whipping motion again, and the crocodile dove back into the water, disappearing into the murky depths.

The demon turned towards the river, her eyes scanning for any signs of Artemis or Miss Martian. She stepped forward, hesitating, wondering if she should step in.

Before she could do so, the water from the river exploded upwards in a funnel, sending a spray across Venus's face. The demon blinked droplets out of her eyes as she watched Miss Martian - with the help of a couple of extra arms that she'd grown - sent the crocodile that had attacked Artemis back into the depths of water.

Artemis coughed loudly from where she was seated on the river bank, the circle around her free of water.

"Okay," she gasped. "Drowning two nights in a row? Not as fun as it sounds."

"You okay?" Venus asked, reflexively. She scowled to herself when she realized that she didn't need to ask that question. She didn't care about their well-being as long as they were alive and clearly in one piece. She didn't, she didn't, she didn't.

"Yeah, thanks," Artemis replied with a sigh, oblivious to Venus's inner monologue. She stood up, shaking excess water from her clothes and wringing out her hair. She picked up her quiver, looking through the contents of it carefully. "Ugh, I have to check my arrows," she muttered. "If they're water-logged, they might not fly right."

Venus glanced around. "I think they're gone for now," she said, referring to the crocodiles. "Let's rest."

As Artemis sat on a log and meticulously checked her arrows, Miss Martian glanced around. "I'm going to contact Aqualad," she murmured to Venus. "Those crocodiles were wearing inhibitor collars." Seeing the confusion on Venus's face, Miss Martian added, "They used them to control the inmates at Belle Reve. I think he should know."

Of all the members of the Team besides Venus, Miss Martian had seemed to least irritated at Aqualad. Venus nodded, and Miss Martian's eyes glowed green as she reached out to the leader.

The Martian must have used a private connection, because Venus heard nothing, felt no familiar tug of the link in her mind. A few moments passed, and then she did feel the tug, and Miss Martian's voice.

'Link established.' Artemis looked up from the log, a scowl on her face as she heard the same mental message.

'Should he really still be giving orders?' Artemis questioned with a roll of her eyes, clearly inferring that Aqualad had requested the link to be set up. 'And should you really be following them?' Miss Martian shrugged helplessly, unwilling to argue but also not wanting to rock the boat further.

'Listen, please - ' Aqualad began, only to get cut off by Kid Flash.

'Oh, good!' the speedster chirped sarcastically. 'Aqualad's voice in my head. I've so missed that.'

'Hey Kaldur!' Robin added. 'KF and I were attacked by giant vultures. Of course, since we're moles, you probably think we attacked ourselves." Venus rolled her eyes.

'If he did, he wouldn't tell you,' Artemis replied snarkily as she finished her inventory of her quiver and clipped it back onto her back. Miss Martian frowned, realizing that they'd yet to hear from one of their members.

'Superboy, are you online? Everything ok?'

'Busy,' came his curt response. 'Call back later.'

'Are you okay?' Venus repeated Miss Martian's question before she could stop herself. She had turned to face the jungle, scanning the thick trees like she might be able to get a glimpse of Superboy some how. Even with her enhanced vision, he was clearly too far away for her to find. With her back to the other girls, she once again missed the looks on their faces.

'Fine,' Superboy responded briskly. Venus frowned, pressing her lips together. She wrote her worry off as pragmatic - Superboy was the only one who hadn't gone off with someone, meaning that he had no one to watch his back.

'What gets me is how nonchalant he was about not telling us.' Kid Flash returned to complaining.

'He should be chalant! Way chalant! Extremely chalant!' Robin agreed.

'How can we be a team if he doesn't trust us with our secrets?' Artemis added, her legitimate question underscored by the irritation in her voice. Venus sighed, but said nothing. It was her job to take care of the Team, not break up their arguments. She'd leave that bit to Aqualad - if he could get a word in edgewise.

'Did he really think you or I could have been the mole?' Kid Flash asked, clearly speaking to Robin. The Boy Wonder hummed in agreement.

'We've known each other for years!'

Venus arched an eyebrow, surprised at the sudden "us-versus-them" of the boys - their statements made it seem like Aqualad's distrust of the other four members of the Team were reasonable. She could tell this implication was not lost on the other two girls, and offense and hurt flickered across Miss Martian and Artemis's faces.

'Trust is a two-way street,' Artemis pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at the sky. Her statement was likely as much to Robin and Kid Flash as too Miss Martian nodded, fired-up by the re-ignition of the argument as well as Kid Flash's slight.

'And you know they'd hate it if we kept secrets from them!'

'Not that we'd do that,' Artemis supplied quickly. 'Ever!' Venus frowned, picking up the deceit in Artemis's statement. She tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowing in confusion.

'What -' she began. Before she could finish, Aqualad spoke.

'Enough,' he said, cutting everyone's complaints short. Venus was almost relieved - though she was now infernally curious about what Artemis was hiding, she knew in reality any questions she brought up would further to anger the Team more and slow them down. And really, she just wanted to get home. 'Captain Marvel has been captured, and we must act as a team to save him.' Kid Flash scoffed.

'Under your leadership? I don't think -'

'This is not up for debate,' Aqualad cut off, his tone making Venus's eyes go wide. She chuckled to herself. Good for him, she thought privately. He showed some leg.

'You all chose me to lead,' Aqualad continued. 'When the mission is over, if you wish to choose a new leader, I will happily step down. But until that time, I am in command here.'

Aqualad continued to instruct the Team in a terse, strict tone, giving them instructions for where to rendezvous. His voice gave no room for argument, and no one tried to.

'Let's move,' Miss Martian nodded at Artemis and Venus, and the three girls set off through the jungle, heading towards the factory Aqualad had found in the middle of the jungle.

Robin and Kid Flash crept closest to the factory, the other four members of the Team fanning out on higher ground. Superboy was nowhere to be seen, likely still dealing with whatever problem he'd had before. Venus tried to ignore the feeling in her stomach that was too close to worry for her liking.

'I'll fly over,' Miss Martian offered, scanning the factory and seeing no obvious signs of security other than the high-tech projectors creating a dangerous energy field. Venus frowned. Her sensitive eyes could pick up a slight shimmer in the air, all the way up around the compound.

'Negatory,' Kid Flash replied, seeing the same thing that Venus was with the help of his goggles. 'The field extends like a dome over the whole compound.'

'Pylons are insulated,' Robin reported from where he was typing on his computer gloves. 'But one good shock should cause a momentary gap.'

'I see a target!' Artemis announced, knocking an arrow against her bow and taking aim proactively. Aqualad nodded from next to the archer, his eyes following on the same device that Artemis had locked on to.

'Then be ready to hit it. Be ready, all of you.' Venus shifted positions slightly, wrapping one hand around the hilt of one of her whips as she took on a defensive stance. Aqualad picked his way down the hill, coming to a halt in front of the energy field. The tattoos on his arms glowed, and he raised his hands above his head and placed them against the barrier. Electricity crackled around him and Kid Flash watched tensely as Aqualad began to pull the shield apart, muscles straining.

'Now!' Kid Flash announced, seeing a small hole open up above Aqualad's head. Artemis let her arrow fly, and Aqualad didn't flinch as it shot past his head and straight towards the button that would shut down the field. Her aim was perfect, and Aqualad trusted her not to hit him.

The field deactivated, and the rest of the Team moved in. Their success, however, was short-lived, as an alarm began to blare. Besides the obnoxious beeping of the alarm, Venus would make out another much more animalistic sound, and she scanned across the factory. Her eyes fell on a screeching monkey, once again being controlled by the inhibitor collars.

"Great," she groaned under her breath. She hated fighting animals.

"Remove their collars!" Aqualad shouted to the Team. Venus let out a sigh of relief as she dodged a tackle from a monkey. She wouldn't have to hurt them after all. She brandished her whip, aiming carefully as to not burn the animal. The holy fire cut through the metal of the inhibitor collar like it was butter, and it fell to the ground. The monkey took off, screeching in a much more natural way as it disappeared into the jungle.

She pivoted, lashing her whip down. Before she could aim again, she shrieked in surprise as a giant paw grabbed her, heaving her up in the air and tossing her clean across the clearing. The demon lost her grip on her weapon, the hilt falling to the ground and rolling away as Venus was flung through the air. She landed hard on the dusty ground, coughing as the impact knocked the wind from her lungs.

"Ugh..." she groaned, slightly dizzy from her unexpected flight. She placed her hand on her remaining whip hilt as she climbed to her feet, her head spinning. "Who invited the big one?" she croaked, limping back towards the fight to retrieve her other whip.

"We have to get into the factory!" Aqualad shouted. Venus grunted in assent, picking up her other whip hilt. Miss Martian was climbing to her feet from where she'd been attacked by the gorilla, and her eyes glowed green as she flew a few feet up in the air, levitating there.

The Martian held her hands out, and the gorilla grunted as it began to float, struggling against the invisible hands that held him in the air. Miss Martian moved her hands through the air, brandishing her telekinesis like a weapon as she flung the gorilla against the wall of the factory. The speed at which she threw him in addition to the weight of the gorilla was enough to make the wall implode, and the gorilla fell to the ground among the stone fragments of the wall.

Venus joined the other members of the Team as they stepped through the hole in the wall, scanning the factory. Captain Marvel was strapped to a medical-grade looking table, an inhibitor collar around his throat. Rolling up from the table to the Team was a large cylindrical tank filled with a -

"It's the brain!" Kid Flash exclaimed. Venus's lips curled.

"No shit it's a brain," she muttered in disgust. "Ugh."

"Not a brain, The Brain," Kid Flash corrected Venus. The demon made a face, glaring at the villain in disgust as she realized what she was looking at.

"No good comes when man tries to extend their life beyond what is natural," she said ominously. She pointed a finger at the Brain, regarding it with a withering expression upon her face. "There's a special place in Hell waiting for you when you leave this world," she told it.

"If that day should come," the Brain replied coldly. "I would be delighted to see what your Hell offers me, Devil-Spawn. Mallah," the Brain said, addressing the gorilla. The animal was climbing back to its feet, and it reached into its belt to pull out a remote control. He pressed a button on it, and several devices similar to the ones surrounding the factory sprouted out of the ground in a circle around the Team. Before any of them could react, they energized, sending a wave of energy across the teenagers and forcing them to the ground.

'Miss Martian, Superboy, now!' Aqualad ordered. The alien girl craned her head up, unable to move her body below the neck. Her eyes glowed as she activated her telekinesis, summoning the remote in Mallah's hand towards her. As it hovered above her face, she once again used her telekinesis to deactivate the energy field pinning the Team down.

As the members of the Team climbed to their feet, Superboy acted from outside. He smashed the wall of the factory in, sending a shower of rubble across Mallah's black. The clone was covered in scratches and bite marks, his short torn at the shoulder. Next to him was a large, white wolf, and by its stance Venus could tell that it had taken to Superboy.

The wolf attacked first, running across the room and tackling Mallah to the ground. It bounded off to stay out of the way as the rest of the Team mounted their attack against the gorilla. Kid Flash slide tackled the gorilla, keeping him off his feet before rolling away so that Miss Martian could swoop in with her own attack. Venus stood to the side, her whip hilts held aloft. She timed her lash perfectly, making sure all her teammate's were out of harm's way when she brought it down. The holy fire strand wrapped around Mallah's chest, and Venus gave a sharp tug, pulling the gorilla down to the ground and pinning his arms by his sides.

Robin used the gorilla's distraction to throw two birdarangs, destroying the gorilla's jetpack and gun. Venus tightened her grip on the whip, planting her feet against Mallah's strength as the gorilla strained to break free. Aqualad dodged a blast from the Brain, timing his counterattacks to corral the mastermind next to the gorilla.

Seeing Aqualad's plan without needing to hear it, the rest of the Team fanned out in a circle to surround Mallah and the Brain. Trusting that they had them contained, Aqualad broke away to free Captain Marvel.

The attack was perfect, almost seamless. They didn't need to speak, and barely communicated over the mental link. They knew each other's moves because they'd trained together and fought together before. They trusted one another.

They were a team.

Aqualad had freed Captain Marvel from the table, who had in return freed the tiger slumped on the ground. Superboy and the wolf closed the gaps on the other side of the circle, and the Brain and Mallah were completely surrounded.

Mallah roared again, shaking against Venus's whip. The demon narrowed her eyes, planting her feet again as she slid forwards under the gorilla's strength.

"Try it," Superboy threatened Mallah. "I hate monkeys."

Mallah grunted again, one of his arms rising up against Venus's whip. She scowled, twisting her wrist to try and contain the beast.

"No, Mallah," the Brain said. "This will not be our Waterloo."

The Brain's bionic body began to expand, glowing and whirring loudly as a machine powered up. Venus's eyes flickered to the mastermind, and her momentary distraction was all Mallah needed. Raising one of his arms free of the whip, the gorilla yanked on the strand of holy fire and pulled Venus towards him. The demon yelped as she flew towards, recognizing the cries of her teammate's as Mallah tossed her away as quickly as he grabbed her. Venus flew across the room, hitting the back wall with a pained grunt.

"Vee!" Superboy shouted, whipping around to try and get eyes on the girl. He instinctively broke position from the Team, racing to Venus's side. He helped the demon up as she cradled her head in her hands, dazed from the hit.

"Get down!" Kid Flash shouted in warning as the Brain's machine continued powering up. Venus instinctively placed a hand over her face to block it from, presumably, the impending explosion. Superboy shifted slightly so that his back was completely blocking Venus from the Brain, protecting her from whatever was coming.

However, instead of a wave of heat and debris, the Team was instead plunged into darkness as the lights in the factory flickered off. When they came back on, Mallah and the Brain were gone.

"What the..." Venus stood up slowly, rubbing her ribcage. Superboy wrapped a hand gently around her upper arm, steadying her. His eyes were fixed on her, oblivious to the looks the two of them were receiving from Artemis and Miss Martian.

"Wait." Kid Flash blinked, looking around for confirmation that the villains were truly gone. "That big weapon thing was a...light switch?" Venus snorted, shaking her head and leaning it against Superboy's broad shoulder. She chuckled drily.

"Go fucking figure."


"Are you sure you're okay?" Superboy asked her for the umpteenth time, noting the slight limp in her step as she walked away from freeing another animal from its collar. She shot him a warm smile.

"I'm right as rain," she chuckled. "It just shocked me - haven't felt a hit like that in a long while, if ever." She wiggled her hands in a little dance. "Woke me up, that's for certain."

Venus wasn't used to feeling pain or discomfort, a perk that came with angel physiology. Her powers lessened the more and more time she spent out of Hell, never to the point of rendering her human, but to the point where incidents that would leave humans dead could cause her a little discomfort. She'd explained as much to the Team when they'd expressed their surprise at her physical reaction to pain.

"Don't worry," she'd added at their slightly concerned looks (she wouldn't admit to being warmed by their concern, no she wouldn't). "Need a good dose of Grimalkin when we get back to the Cave. She's my anchor to this plain, she keeps me well."

Miss Martian's voice rang over the mental link.

'We got all of them,' she announced, referring to the inhibitor collars. 'Return to BioShip.'

Venus and Superboy turned to walk back to the clearing where the BioShip was together, and Venus eyed Superboy again, taking in his disheveled state.

"Anyways, what on Earth happened to you?" Venus asked. Superboy smiled, glancing over at the wolf next to him. He rubbed the animal's ears, and the wolf leaned against Superboy's legs, rumbling in a satisfied manner.

"He's about as violent as Grim," Superboy replied with a soft smile. "The rest of his pack is long gone, I don't know what he's still doing here."

Venus laughed. "I like him already." The wolf whined, butting his head against Superboy's legs, and Venus grinned. "I think he likes you." Superboy smiled widely, rubbing the wolf's ears with a fond look on his face. Venus watched him, thinking silently to herself, the wolf's not the only one.

The pair broke through the trees, coming into view of the BioShip and the rest of the members of the Team.

"Woah!" Kid Flash said, eyes falling on the wolf. "What's he still doing here?" Superboy grinned.

"I think I'm keeping him." The speedster shook his head, looking at the giant wolf with an amused expression on his face.

"Boy, you sure have a habit of collecting strays! First the sphere, now this beast." Venus grinned, breaking away from Superboy to head over to the others.

"Not to mention me," she whispered, only loud enough for Superboy to hear. His head jerked up and he stared at her. Venus winked, wriggling her fingers in a wave before turning back to Aqualad at the foot of the BioShip. She could hear Kid Flash pestering Superboy out of his stupor about a name for the dog, but Venus ignored the exchange to look at Aqualad instead.

"Venus." The Atlantean looked at her. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Venus said. She glanced around at the Team, and took a deep breath. "I wanted to apologize," she said. Aqualad frowned, tilting his head to the side. Venus was the only one who hadn't been angry with him; he wasn't sure what she was apologizing for. Before he could inquire, Venus continued. "That night, after Taipei...I told you that you weren't my friends."

"It is fine," Aqualad dipped his head. "I understand that you cannot lie, and it is okay if you do not care for us. You are an excellent teammate, regardless."

"No, that's..." Venus trailed off. "I think I was wrong," she said uncertainly. The doubt surrounding her was an odd feeling.

Venus knew she couldn't lie. She hated liars and she hated hypocrites, and never tried to lie herself. Maybe to her father when she was younger, trying to get out of some kind of punishment only to be caught immediately when she couldn't spit out the words of her excuse. But she had learned quickly. Whatever she'd done, a confession was better than a lie, better than a sin on a sin.

So for her whole life, she'd almost never been caught failing to tell a lie. She could think lies, but she hardly ever did, for what use did thinking them do?

Venus had always known that no matter what else, she could trust the statements that fell from her lips as fact. Often they were the only things she could trust. When she'd tried to say that the Team weren't her friends, she'd been truly shocked when she couldn't speak what she had thought was a fact.

Venus didn't know what friendship felt like. She hadn't known that they were her friends, and she'd tried to lie. And that had shaken her to her core. Venus realized that she tried to lie to herself more in the past few weeks than perhaps ever before in her life. She could no longer trust her words in her head. She could no longer trust herself.

But now...it seemed like she didn't have to. Now she could trust them.

"I got a visit from my cousin after the Reds attacked," Venus explained, looking back at Aqualad. "He asked me - well, it's not important. But I almost called you guys my friends, and when he questioned it, I couldn't deny it. I truly thought I would be able to. But I couldn't." Aqualad blinked, surprise coloring his features. A small smile worked its way across his face. Venus's heart was pounding with uncertainty. She realized now it wasn't for her - it was for them.

She could tell when people lied, but she couldn't read their minds. She couldn't sense if they cared about her until they spoke it.

And the one person that she had always presumed loved her was the one person she couldn't catch in a lie. The one and only being shielded from her powers, in a cruel joke against her, was her father. If he said he loved her, she had to believe him, she had to trust. She pretended she did. She knew her father cared for her, in his own way, and she could speak that freely when Castiel tried to twist her to thinking he didn't.

But her deepest secret, one that she never uttered for fear that it would be true, was she was never sure she believed her father when he told her she was loved. And to speak this would be to admit to her heavenly relatives that maybe they were right, and that was a chance she'd never take.

"Thank you," Venus said finally, turning back to Aqualad. "For helping me learn what it means to be a friend." She offered him a tiny smile, her heart beating quickly with the chance for rejection that this offer held.

Aqualad didn't disappoint. He smiled back at her.

"I am glad you learned," he responded, not a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I am happy to be your friend." Venus closed her eyes briefly, letting the truth wash over her, a blessing more pure than any that He could offer. Venus smiled again.

"Awww," Robin said, catching the tail-end of their conversation as he walked over to them. His voice was teasing, but the smile on his face was real. "Did Mama Demon soften up again?"

"And just like that, the moment's over," Venus said, sticking her tongue out at Robin childishly. "Maybe I don't want to be your friend anymore, now."

"Ooh, you said maybe." Artemis grinned, throwing an arm over Venus's shoulder. "Say you don't. Say it. Say it."

Venus groaned, rolling her eyes in faux-annoyance.

"You guys are the worst," she said. "Oh, would you look at that! That's the truth right there." Artemis laughed, shoving Venus playfully. Robin grinned, but the smile fell of his face as he turned towards Aqualad. He hated to ruin the light mood, but the question that had almost ruined the mission was still one that needed to be answered. He just hoped that this time they could do it civilly.

"Look, I need to know," Robin said with a sigh. The others, knowing what he was going to say, turned towards Aqualad expectantly. "Why did you keep the mole intel a secret?"

Aqualad looked around at his teammates, knowing that they deserved an answer, that they deserved the truth. He nodded.

"The source of the tip was Sportsmaster."

"What?" Artemis's eyes went wide at the name. "You can't trust him!"

"I do not," Aqualad responded evenly. "It seemed possible, even likely, that he was attempting to divide the Team with false information."

"And given how this mission went, he nearly succeeded," Robin said with a sigh. He looked at Aqualad. "But you had to consider that the information might be true." Aqualad nodded gravely, slightly hesitant to admit it should it cause another reaction like last time.

"Yes. As leader, I did. In which case, I did not want to alert the traitor."

"Hate to say it, but..." Robin paused, and then grinned, sighing slightly. "It makes sense." Aqualad looked around at the others, all of whom were nodding in agreement. Now that they were no longer frazzled with emotion, they could see the situation more objectively, with more clarity.

"I am still prepared to step down," Aqualad offered.

"All in favor of keeping Aqualad as leader?" Kid Flash asked, looking around at the others as he lifted his hand in the air. Without hesitation, everyone else raised their hand as well. The Atlantean looked around, looking neither disappointed nor relieved at the decision. As usual, he took command with a steady, clear head. He nodded once.

"Guess it's unanimous," Captain Marvel said cheerfully, clapping Aqualad on the shoulder. He shook hands with the Atlantean before turning back around. "See you tomorrow," he called with a wave over his shoulder.

"You're not coming back?" Venus asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Nah! Gotta fly!" Captain Marvel took off into the air, without another word, disappearing into the sky within seconds. Aqualad shrugged, beckoning the Team into the BioShip to head out. Venus glanced at Superboy and the large wolf still at his feet.

"So, what are you gonna call him?" She asked. After her attack from the hellhound, Venus had always been much more of a cat person, but the wolf seemed largely friendly.

"What's wrong with 'Wolf?'" Superboy asked, shrugging.

"Generic, but acceptable," Kid Flash quipped as the Team headed towards the cockpit of the BioShip. Venus nodded.

"Not exactly creative," she teased. "But it suits him." Superboy grinned back at her, raising an eyebrow.

"You're one to talk. You named your cat 'Grimalkin.' That literally means 'cat.'" Venus laughed.

"Alright, mate, you got me there."


MOUNT JUSTICE
September 24, 00:21 EDT

"Hey." A familiar accented voice made Conner look up. As usual, Grimalkin followed Venus into the room. He was sitting on the couch, staring at the static on the television again. Venus sat next to him, looking at the screen with amusement. "Interesting show, eh?"

Conner grinned, happy for her company. He glanced at the kitten at Venus's feet, and Grimalkin purred in response, winding her way around Conner's legs. The boy's lips twitched. "Is that her way of apologizing?" He asked, tapping on the scratch on his face. He had covered it with the bandage Venus gave him, less so for the fact that he thought he needed it and more so because Venus had given it to him,

"She picks up on my moods," Venus explained with a shrug. She scooted closer on the couch and took Conner's hand, intertwining their fingers. Conner blinked in surprise, his breath catching slightly as Venus leaned closer to him. "I'm sorry about earlier," she said softly, also touching the bandage on his cheek. "I was a little frazzled."

"It's okay," Conner replied, ducking his head. "I'm sorry, too. I know you can take care of yourself." He cracked a grin. "I know it's your job to take care of us." Venus's lips twitched.

"Bloody good job I'm doing of it, too," she muttered, shaking her head. She smiled, looking down at their hands. "It's fine. It was actually...it was kind of nice, being cared about." She looked back at Superboy, locking eyes with him. "Thank you."

"Of course I care about you," Superboy said candidly. He blinked, looking a little embarrassed by his knee-jerk response. "I mean..." Venus chuckled, tracing their interlocked fingers with her free hand.

Grim eyed the giant dog - Wolf was sitting at Conner's feet - and let out a pleased purr. The black cat leapt up nimbly onto the wolf's back, walking up and down the oversized dog's spine before settling down on his shoulder blades. Both Venus and Superboy jumped to their feet, expecting the worst, but the wolf simply rotated his head around, looking at the cat curiously.

"They like each other," Conner chuckled in relief as Wolf nudged Grim with his nose once before letting out a doggy sigh. The wolf settled down on the ground slowly, as though taking care not to disrupt the smaller animal on his shoulders. Venus smiled, watching Conner's face.

"Well, you know what they say…" Conner turned towards her, tipping his head to the side in confusion. She smiled at him, looking a tiny bit hesitant. "Pets take after their owners, don't they?"

A slow, pleased smile spread over Conner's face as he realized what Venus was saying. He put his hand in Venus's, carefully pulling the demon closer to him and wrapping his free arm around her waist. She smiled, tossing her arms around his neck and rising up on her tiptoes so that they were face-to-face.

"Yeah," Conner muttered, leaning in closer. "They do."

Conner couldn't actually see Venus's smile, but he felt it when he kissed her.

And honestly? That was way better.


alpha male ft a mini character study of venus! i hope you guys don't find it boring - i figure there's no point in having a character as complex as venus if i can't explore her, right? let me know what you think.

also if it seems like there any inconsistencies with venus's inability to lie, etc. like what she says at the beginning, they're ~kind of~ intentional. venus's feelings about being bound to the team are complex, and she can feel multiple emotions towards them and her duty at the same time while all of them being valid and true. yay!

also don't be fooled. the end of this chapter is full of soft!venus but our lawful evil/chaotic good (idk) bby hasn't disappeared yet! yay for complexities! yay!

which do you guys like better? soft venus or edgy venus or both? please let me know in a review and let me know what you think of this chapter! please please please!

from the bottom of my heart, thank you all so so so so so much for your continued support and patience. it truly means so much to me, and i really really hope i'll be able to get a chapter out sooner than eleven months!

i hope everyone is staying healthy and safe (wear your masks! wash your hands! social distance! be careful!) and i hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, end of the year, etc. 3