And we are back! These past two months have felt way too long. Thankfully, I had the last half of season four to keep myself entertained lol.
Note: If this is your first time reading my stories, be sure to go back and read A Siren's Call. Otherwise, there will be a lot of confusion. :)
~/~/~/~
New York City
January 1, 18:15 EST
"The Zeta-Tube should be nearby."
Jennifer Lance, also known as the heroine Siren, had her eyes glued to the tracker in her hand. Two of her teammates, Batgirl and Wonder Girl, were close behind her.
"And why, exactly, are we supposed to check it out?" Wonder Girl questioned.
She was one of the newest team members of the past five years, having only joined a few months prior. The demigod heroine was always eager to go on missions so she jumped on the chance to join Siren and Batgirl when the former approached them.
"This Zeta-Tube has been out of commission for a long time," Batgirl, a close teammate and good friend of Siren, explained. "We received logs that it recently started up again this past week though, so we're checking it out to make sure nothing suspicious is going on."
Tucked behind an abandoned building was a tiny shed, likely used to contain gardening items for the backyard. As the three heroines slipped through the fence to take a look at the hidden Zeta-Tube, it didn't take them long to find some answers.
"That's odd."
Siren turned to Batgirl. "What is?"
"I'm checking this Tube's logs directly and...there's nothing."
Wonder Girl looked confused. "Nothing weird going on?"
Batgirl shook her head, mystified. "No, something weird is definitely going on. There are no recent logs."
"But this is the Tube that we got an alert about," Siren pointed out with a frown. "I downloaded the coordinates as soon as Nightwing and I got a notice on it."
"Are you sure it was this exact Tube?"
Siren crossed her arms with a huff. "Maybe I was wrong. But this is still the correct coordinates and I don't see another Tube, do you?"
Before they could discuss it any further, a beep sounded in their ears. "Beta Squad, we got word from Captain Atom that the United Nations Headquarters is under attack. We need you to investigate."
Siren exchanged a glance with the other girls before she responded; Wonder Girl had perked up, eager for a little action. "Copy that, Mal. We're on our way," she answered.
One short trip across the rooftops later and it was easy to tell that whoever was attacking was no ordinary assassin. Judging by the hole ripped out of the side of the building, exposing the interior of the building that was scattered with, hopefully just unconscious, security, the culprit was wasting no time.
Siren led Batgirl and Wonder Girl through the path of destruction, straight toward the Secretary-General's office. "I know by being Secretary-General, Tseng probably has had some hits on him, but something to this scale?" she wondered, glancing back to address the two.
"I know. Something doesn't feel right about this," Batgirl agreed.
"What, do you think whoever's behind this isn't normal?" Wonder Girl questioned to which Siren only shook her head.
As they drew closer to the office, the gunfire grew louder. At least he's got protection. But Siren's momentary relief was squashed when the gunfire ended abruptly.
"Wonder Girl, go!" she commanded.
As the teenager flew on ahead, Siren and Batgirl opted to take to the rooftops—thanks to the easy access provided by whoever was behind it all—to save them some time. The latter led the way, using her technology to find the room from the outside.
"The blueprints show there's a hidden elevator in the office. We can use that to get Tseng out of there," Batgirl explained, showing the information on-screen to Siren.
"Good idea. Wonder Girl and I will stall for time."
The sound of lots of glass breaking certainly helped find the right location. Both heroes dropped through the now-open window to find Wonder Girl squaring off with a large man and Secretary-General Tseng cowering by his desk.
"Wonder Girl, help Siren keep him busy," Batgirl ordered as Siren sided up to her fellow blonde heroine. "I'll get Secretary-General Tseng to safety."
"All over it, Batgirl." Wonder Girl smirked down at the man she had just knocked the wind out of.
"Okay, big guy," she said as she punched the attacker in the jaw, "let's see how much punishment you can-"
The teenage girl yelped when he immediately grabbed her by the face and chucked her into the wall behind him.
Siren winced, appalled by the man's sheer strength. She loosened the garrote that was attached to her waist as she flipped over the man's body, using his side as a boost.
Looping the chain around his body, she pulled it taut until it slid up and caught the aggressor by the throat to pull him down to her level. While she had glanced back to check on Wonder Girl just for a brief moment, she didn't realize he had managed to grab the chain and yank on it hard.
Hard enough for Siren to lose grip as she stumbled forward straight in his waiting hand.
The man grabbed her by the jacket, throwing her over his shoulder into the Secretary-General's desk. Siren's ribs hit the desk edge, the momentum flipping her over entirely and into the wall.
The man then said something in an unknown language before speaking in English...sort of, "Keezy fem think they can take down the Main Man?" He dropped into the elevator shaft, deciding that going after Tseng was more important than finishing off the two heroes.
Groaning, Siren grabbed the desk to pull herself to her feet. "Wonder Girl?"
Her teammate responded with a groan of her own. "I'm alright. But what about Tseng and Batgirl?"
Siren sighed. "Batgirl will be able to hold that guy off, but not for long. You can get there faster than I can. Go on, I'll catch up," she said.
With a nod, Wonder Girl flew through the elevator shaft, leaving Siren behind to slowly follow. The heroine clutched her side, using her free hand to hold onto objects until she could reach the shaft herself. He better not have broken a rib.
Pulling out a small grappling hook from the inside of her leather jacket, Siren fired it at the top of the shaft and leaped into the open air. The weight of her body pulled at the wire, rappelling her down to the very bottom.
She landed on top of the broken elevator, noticing that, luckily, Batgirl had been able to get Tseng away via smoke bomb. Siren sprinted down the hall, following the sounds of fighting to the conference room.
When she got there, Wonder Girl was knocking the self-proclaimed 'Main Man' back with her fists. Batgirl, who was ducked behind a table with Tseng, made eye contact with Siren, spurring the latter forward to vault over the tables to join them.
"We need to get him out of here!" the redhead said.
The conversation paused as they both watched Wonder Girl being launched into the ceiling. Siren winced. Good thing she's half-god.
"Distract him," she told Batgirl. "I'll get the Secretary-General to the exit."
Batgirl nodded, turning to Tseng. "When I move, run!"
Following her orders, Tseng and Siren took off when she vaulted over the table. Siren quickly ushered the Secretary-General toward the doors, feeling a small amount of joy when they drew closer. Almost there-
She had been so focused on getting Tseng out that she wasn't staying aware of where the attacker was until he had dropped down in front of them. Siren instinctively shoved the Secretary-General behind her, using her body as a shield as she let out a sonic scream, but she was only backhanded away as if she was a mere nuisance.
When she tumbled down the steps and into another table, she cried out in pain. Dammit.
"Time to die, Krolo."
Oh no. Fighting past the ache in her side, she surged forward as Batgirl and Wonder Girl ran up beside her. They hurried to get to Tseng as the Main Man grabbed him by the arms and pulled, but they were too late.
"No!" Wonder Girl cried out as the Secretary-General's body was ripped apart, but the three girls came to a stop when it wasn't what they were expecting.
Instead of blood and bone, inside Tseng's body were wires and metal.
"Ew," the youngest heroine muttered.
And inside the body was a little green creature which the hunter promptly picked up despite its writhing. "The Main Man's contract's complete," he said, tapping a button on his belt buckle as he looked to the heroines. "Keezy fem, your world's your world."
There was an explosion, forcing the trio to shield themselves as the room was filled with smoke and debris. Once Siren could see again, she approached the body of Tseng. The frown on her face deepened when she realized that the attacker and the little creature were both gone.
"I think...I think you were right, Siren. Clownface was some kind of alien," Wonder Girl said in shock as she looked out the hole in the wall.
"Definitely." Siren shared a glance with Batgirl, who was kneeling by the body, as the former spoke. "And I think that's only the tip of the iceberg."
~/~/~/~
Mount Justice
January 1, 20:02 EST
"Then they both just took off. The guy said that his 'contract was complete' so I guess he had no more business here."
Once Beta Squad returned to the Cave, Siren recounted everything that happened with her co-leader and Captain Atom who was listening in via video call.
"I'll set up a League meeting once one of the Green Lanterns is free. Hal or John especially might know more about these aliens," Captain Atom decided. "I'll keep you updated so you two, Miss Martian, and Superboy can be present."
"Thanks, Captain," Nightwing said, ending the video call with the Justice League's leader shortly after.
Siren grunted as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her side felt like it was on fire, having seemed to only get worse after her squad returned to the Cave.
"Need any help wrapping that up?" Nightwing asked, gesturing to her side which she was clutching.
"Maybe," Siren admitted, starting to move toward the med lab. "How did it go with Delta?"
"Clayface is back at Arkham," Nightwing explained, following her.
"Good." Siren sighed. "And how did-" Movement suddenly caught her eye.
"Oh, hey, Jen."
Siren smiled at the sixteen-year-old kid who had just appeared around the corner. "Hey, perfect timing. How'd your mission go?"
He shrugged. "It went fine. I didn't get to do much since Superboy and Miss Martian were the ones to actually flush Clayface out of hiding," he said nonchalantly.
He then eyed Siren's posture with raised eyebrows. "And I'm guessing yours didn't go that well?"
Siren laughed, wincing when the movement jarred her side so she gestured her mentee over. Once he stepped up beside her, she slid her arm across his shoulders, putting her weight on him.
"Wanna help me wrap this up?" she suggested. "You could use the practice."
He slid a toned arm around her waist, being careful not to bump her bruised side. "Sure. I don't have to be home yet."
Siren waved Nightwing off as he had been still hovering by her side to ensure she was alright. "Let me know when you hear back from Captain Atom," she said as she continued down the hall.
"Will do."
As Siren managed down the hall with some help, she looked from the corner of her eye to glance at her new protégé.
Well, not necessarily new.
Siren had first met Samuel Hendricks almost two months, following the team's very first mission, after she saved his life. Then she ran into him a couple more times after that by pure chance.
The kid had been through a lot during that first year. A parent's death would never be easy, but it was unbearable when it was both, leaving him and his sister alone.
Sam was caught trying to be a hero one night when Siren was out patrolling. It was simple enough: two people were getting mugged in an alleyway and Siren had been about to intervene when someone beat her to it. Intrigued, she decided to watch and see what would happen, and step in if things took a wrong turn.
Which they did, so she did exactly that.
After sending the civilians on their way and calling the police to collect the assailants, she confronted the masked figure. By the nervous way they acted upon seeing her, she knew something was amiss.
It didn't take much to realize that the masked kid standing before her was that boy she became sort of friends with due to strange circumstances. So a little over four years after their first meeting, Siren helped him become a real hero just like her sister had once done for her.
Sam, under the new hero name Banshee, had only been doing the whole gig for half a year. And he had been on the team even less than that. He officially joined around the same time Wonder Girl had, making him one of the newest team members alongside her and Blue Beetle, who joined two months after them.
It was definitely a culture shock. It was one thing to become a hero like the ones he heard about on the news. But it was another to find out that there was a secret team of teenage and young adult heroes–some he never even heard of before–that had been in operation for five years.
Sam had told Siren later on that stuff she said in conversation suddenly made a lot more sense.
As Siren settled on top of a medical table, Sam retrieved an ice pack for her to use while he got the bandages. Carefully slipping off her jacket and shoving her necklace inside the pocket, Siren worked the top of her leotard off her shoulders–pulling her arms out of the long sleeves–to leave her exposed in her sports bra so she could have clear access to the bruise.
It was hard to gauge how bad the bruise was from her angle, so she just settled the ice pack over the area while biting back a hiss from the shocking cold.
"So I should be getting a package in a couple of days," she said casually to Sam's back.
He spun around, eyes lit up. "No way."
Siren smirked. "Yes way. What do you say we spend tomorrow afternoon here working some more on your technique? I want to go over a few more things with you before you get the real deal."
"Yes!" Sam said excitedly, moving back to the table with the bandages. "It's been, what, six months since you started training me? I never thought I'd get to have the same powers as you, but now that's going to become a reality because of advanced technology? Unbelievable."
Sam's wide grin was contagious. "Well, you'll have STAR Labs to thank for that," Siren explained.
Sam had unrolled the bandage, making Siren remove her ice pack to grasp one end. Holding it securely on one side, she patiently watched as Sam worked the bandage around her torso, guiding him when he needed it until the bandage was secure and providing comfortable pressure on her rib cage without suffocating her.
"So," Siren continued as she pulled her top back on and grabbed her jacket to carry it instead of trying to put it back on and cause more strain, "let's meet here around three o'clock and get to work, shall we?"
"Deal," Sam answered, moving toward the med lab doorway. "See you tomorrow!"
Siren chuckled as the boy quickly left the room, likely leaving the Cave entirely to go home. The last thing she expected when she became a hero was that she'd be a mentor one day. But something about it kept her going.
~/~/~/~
The Watchtower
January 3, 17:00 EST
"Recognized: Siren, B-zero-two."
She waved at her teammates as she entered the room located at the very top of the League's satellite headquarters. Since the day the team saved the entire League from mind-control, things had eventually become a little more lenient.
The original nine members of the team had been granted access to the Watchtower for certain circumstances such as meetings. The second time Siren stepped into the H.Q, when she wasn't laser-focused on the mission, was just as breathtaking as the first time. After that, it became a normal occurrence for her.
But she wouldn't forget that the headquarters she stood in many times would forever bear life-changing memories thanks to the events following the escape of Vandal Savage five years before.
"Siren, you're just in time. We were just about to go over your mission with Beta Squad," Captain Atom explained.
Siren lightly smiled. "Sorry, I would have been here a little earlier, but Banshee finally got his new tech in today so we were testing it out together."
She playfully nudged Miss Martian on the shoulder as she came to a stop between her and Nightwing. "How're you feeling?" her Martian friend wondered, having heard about the mission in New York.
"Better," Siren assured, subconsciously rubbing the bruised area. "I'm just glad nothing broke."
"Why don't you tell us what you observed about this guy?" Captain Atom spoke up, gesturing to the screen in front of them all that displayed footage of the two aliens Siren and her two teammates encountered.
Siren crossed her arms, fiddling with the chain around her neck. "Right off the bat, Batgirl and I could tell something wasn't right. The destruction alone didn't seem like it could be done by any non-superpowered assassin, like from the League of Shadows," she started. "It didn't take much to find out that this guy was strong. Abnormally so. My body can attest to it." Her lips turned up in a smirk before dropping again.
"He also said things in an unfamiliar language," she added. "I couldn't really catch what it all meant, but one thing he said in particular was...'Keezy fem'. I didn't have to know what it meant to understand it wasn't exactly the nicest compliment." She glanced off to the side when the League's two newest members, Zatanna and Rocket, entered the room via Zeta-Tube.
"You're not wrong," Green Lantern told her. "The big guy's Lobo. He's an intergalactic bounty hunter. Extremely dangerous, but not likely to return."
He gestured to the green creature in the image. "The little guy's another story. That's a Krolotean. And Kroloteans always travel in packs."
"Meaning more of them are on Earth," Batman surmised.
Siren had a grim frown. Lobo might have been just a bounty hunter, but if it was a big enough issue for him to have a contract? She didn't like the idea of those Kroloteans being anywhere on the planet.
"I believe my friend may have vital information on that point," Martian Manhunter spoke up, having been standing off to the side with an unfamiliar guest.
"Some of you have not met Adam Strange of STAR Labs' Erdel Initiative." The stranger lifted his hand in greeting as Manhunter spoke. "He is the scientist responsible for maintaining the Zeta-Beam technology we use for teleportation."
"I was wondering why a stranger was allowed on the top-secret Watchtower."
The corner of Siren's mouth lifted when she glanced over at Superboy as he spoke through Miss Martian's link. It was always proving to be handy to have easy communication between her oldest friends.
"And he has a story to tell," Manhunter added.
"Uh, it's a little involved," Adam admitted. "Wish I had...visual aids or something."
What a coincidence that we have two mind-readers in the room. "I can assist you," Martian Manhunter assured, just as Siren expected before she felt a presence in her mind that was different than she was used to.
"We are all linked, Adam. What you remember, we will see."
"Uh, great," Adam answered Manhunter, still recovering from the new intrusion in his head.
He glanced around the room to see all heroes were unaffected and waiting for him to begin. "Well, I was performing a routine Zeta-Tube upgrade when...something went wrong," he explained. "And I found myself transported halfway across the galaxy to a planet called Rann. There was a scientist there: Sardath."
It was like Siren was recalling the memory herself through Adam's eyes. The planet, Sardath...images of both were in her mind.
"He was conducting his own experiments in enhanced, very enhanced, Zeta-Beam technology," Adam added. "It took weeks to establish even basic communication, but Sardath eventually made me understand. Some of his Zeta tech had been stolen."
"Fits the Krolotean M.O," Green Lantern revealed. "Their entire culture revolves around stolen tech."
So that's why they're here. But what tech are they wanting exactly?
"Sardath detected transmissions between a single location on Rann and multiple locations on Earth. He was attempting to trace those when he accidentally transported me to Rann."
Adam pulled out a tiny device that could fit into the palm of his hand. It projected holograms for the whole group of Leaguers and team members to see.
"He gave me this," he continued. "It detects trace Zeta radiation and can pinpoint all the locations where Kroloteans have beamed to Earth."
"Then I'm ordering a two-pronged attack," Captain Atom decided, moving closer to examine the points on the globe projection.
Meanwhile, both Nightwing and Siren stepped up, ready to receive orders since no doubt their team would be deployed somewhere.
"We'll stage simultaneous raids on every Krolotean target on Earth while a contingent of Leaguers travels to Rann with Strange to cut the Kroloteans off at the source."
Adam cleared his throat, seemingly uncomfortable with the Captain's plan. "Uh, we might have a problem with that...second prong," he said, changing the projection in his hand.
"Totally unclear on the why, but Earthlings are persona non grata in Rann's corner of the galaxy and these six leaguers are wanted criminals." The projection showed exactly that.
Siren's stomach dropped. No fucking way.
"What?" Green Lantern was bewildered, missing as Siren placed a hand on Nightwing's shoulder and shared a look with him.
"Batman, it's the missing sixteen hours!" Nightwing declared, agreeing with Siren's silent deduction.
"Agreed. Five years ago, Vandal Savage took complete mental control of the entire Justice League," the Dark Knight recalled. "These exact six Leaguers went missing for sixteen hours."
"It never even occurred to us that Vandal might have sent us into space," Green Lantern mused, watching the image of the six Leaguers be played on loop. "I'll alert Hal. He and Guy are on Oa with the Green Lantern Corps."
Captain Atom, thankfully, didn't seem too concerned. "Meanwhile, we have fifteen other active Leaguers to send to Rann to investigate."
"You're not getting it," Adam spoke up. "There's a planetary watch alert out on Rann for every Leaguer." He showed them the...wanted posters.
"Except we're not all Leaguers," Siren informed him, stepping forward with her hands on her hips. "We've got several other heroes that can get the job done under the radar."
"We can send a squad to handle the Rann end of things," Nightwing offered, "and to find out more about those missing sixteen hours without causing an intergalactic incident."
"Do it."
At Captain Atom's command, the two leaders set out with Superboy and Miss Martian to return to the Cave, but before they could go any further, both Zatanna and Rocket stopped them.
"You know that thing about you not being Leaguers, you four still have an open invitation to-"
"We know, Zee," Nightwing interrupted her.
"But we're all pretty happy-"
"-where we are," Superboy finished Miss Martian's sentence.
As those three continued on, Siren paused by Zatanna's side, placing a hand on her arm. "I don't think I could after...you know."
Zatanna sent her a sympathetic glance, only nodding in understanding. Before her emotions could get the best of her, Siren offered a weak smile and left.
When she teleported back to the Cave, Nightwing was already discussing the mission with Superboy and Miss Martian. "-it would probably be best for a third member to go along with you two just in case," he was saying.
"What about Beast Boy?" Siren suggested. "His powers will keep him from sticking out just like M'gann's will."
"Good idea. M'gann, will you go find him and make sure he's ready for the mission?"
"Of course." With that, she left the room and set off to find her adopted brother.
Superboy acted like he was going to walk off too, but Siren stopped him. "Are you sure the two of you will be fine working together?" she asked. "It's different when you're on a whole other planet."
Her two teammates had broken up when Superboy dumped Miss Martian for an unknown reason. It was surprising, to say the least. Siren honestly thought they would have been the couple to stay together forever...well, one of them.
But since then, Superboy had wanted little to nothing to do with Miss M, especially once she started dating Lagoon Boy pretty soon after.
"Don't worry, Siren. I can prioritize the mission," Superboy assured.
"I wasn't worried about the mission, Con," she countered, giving him a concerned look.
His expression dropped. The two of them greatly bonded throughout the years they had been on the team together. Even though it was now Siren who led training instead of Black Canary—which she really only made mandatory for the younger or newer heroes—the two of them still took time to spar together. And more than that, they had been there for each other through tough times.
"It'll be alright, Jen," Superboy promised.
Satisfied, albeit reluctant, Siren nodded, allowing him to leave to likely prepare for the mission. So much has changed in the last five years. We just have to learn to move on, no matter how hard it might be.
~/~/~/~
The next day, while the rest of the team were getting ready to handle the Krolotean issue on Earth, Miss Martian, Superboy, and Beast Boy had already left with Adam Strange to travel to Rann. Even being part of the hero game for over eight years, Siren found it unbelievable that they could go to another part of the galaxy in a blink of an eye and be back home in time for supper. If only it was going to be that easy.
"Alright, everyone, listen up," Siren called out to gather the young heroes' attention. "It's going to be all hands on deck in order to get this done as smoothly and quickly as possible."
"The League and the team will hit fourteen Krolotean Zeta locations simultaneously," Nightwing continued. "Your priorities are to destroy all Zeta-Tubes or platforms and search for any humans the aliens may have abducted."
Siren glanced over at Mal who was by her side. "As per usual, Mal is ops manager, so if you get into any kind of trouble, radio him immediately so he can get backup to your location."
"Wonder Girl, you, Siren, and I are Alpha. Assignment: Philadelphia," Nightwing told her, much to the young girl's glee as she pumped her fist. "Batgirl, Bumblebee, you two and Wolf are Beta. Assignment: Vlatavastok."
"Neptune's Beard!" Siren gave a sharp look to Lagoon Boy before watching the trio set off to accomplish their job.
Nightwing then approached the final four. "Robin, Banshee, La'gaan, Beetle, you're Gamma. Prep the Bioship and head to New Orleans."
"Gamma always gets the soft gigs," Siren could hear Lagoon Boy mutter under his breath as he walked off, but she ignored him as she turned to Banshee.
"Use your mask tonight," she told him, glancing down at the object in his hand. "This'll be a good chance to get used to it since you likely don't have to worry about a big fight."
The item in question was modified to amplify his voice when it reached a certain decibel achieved when he screamed. The sonic waves that it gave off were nearly as powerful as Siren's natural powers, but not quite.
The team leader noticed Banshee looked a bit nervous when he glanced down at his new tech. She reached out, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Just remember proper breathing techniques, don't push yourself too hard, and you'll be fine."
"Okay," he said after letting out a long breath.
Siren slightly smiled. "Good luck."
"Back at you."
That left the team leaders and Robin behind. Before the latter could join his teammates, Nightwing stopped him. "Tim,"—the current Boy Wonder turned back to face the former—"you'll be running Gamma."
Robin's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Me? Dick, I've never led a squad before."
"Making this a good opportunity to get your feet wet as field leader," Nightwing pointed out.
"Because it's Gamma and you're not expecting trouble? Or because we're stretched thin and you have no choice?"
Siren and Nightwing shared a look. Her co-leader frowned deeply before turning back to Robin.
"Just don't die, okay?"
Siren closed her eyes, forcing down the lump that had suddenly grown in her throat. Memories of a previous Boy Wonder unwillingly entered her mind. Just when I think it's getting easier.
"And no unnecessary risks to the squad. That's an order," Nightwing finished, finally letting Robin leave.
Siren watched him go. "They'll be okay," she said, although it was uncertain whether she was reassuring Nightwing or herself. "They're just going to New Orleans. What could go wrong?"
~/~/~/~
New Orleans
January 4, 21:59 CST
Banshee's eyes hadn't left the item he held in his lap since Gamma left the Cave. The piece of tech was simple enough: a mask made of black metal plates in a very cyberpunk fashion that covered his lower face. Enough to where if he chose to hide his identity, he didn't have to wear an eye mask like Siren once did, something she had since abandoned for the past few years.
Lagoon Boy's grumbling drew Banshee's attention out the window of the Bioship. "A tool shed?" he said incredulously upon finding the location the team's leaders gave. "Barely enough room for one Zeta-Tube in there. I knew we got the soft gig."
"And yet I'm strangely okay with that," Blue Beetle mused, propping his hands behind his head.
The smile on his face fell when he started doing that thing where he talked to himself. "Yes, I am. Yes, I am. Yes. I. Am."
Banshee craned his head back to stare at the blue-armored hero before exchanging a look with Lagoon Boy and Robin. Blue was a nice guy, but sometimes he weirded Banshee out. Not even I talk to myself that much.
"Gamma Squad to Cave," Robin radioed in, deciding to move on. "We're in position."
The image of Mal's face appeared between him and Banshee. The latter took the chance to glance at the third Boy Wonder. Banshee had to be honest, even though he had been hanging around heroes he admired for the past three months, he still got a bit starstruck. But like with a lot of things since he became a hero, it was starting to be normal.
"Acknowledged, Gamma," Mal answered. "All team squads and Justice League units are in place and ready. Go time."
Banshee stood up wordlessly, sliding his mask on. After wearing it off and on since Siren brought it to him, it began to feel less heavy and awkward on his face. Thank god STAR Labs took into consideration how often he'd actually be wearing it so while it was taking some getting used to, he knew that it could be far worse.
The quartet of heroes dropped out of the Bioship's back hatch, landing among the wreckage of cars. It was otherwise empty, the singular tool shed resting in the center of the dump. It felt almost too easy.
At Robin's nod, Blue Beetle fired his cannon at the shed, tearing it to shreds in less than a second.
Banshee winced. "A bit overkill, don't you think?"
"Well, we needed the job done, didn't we?" Blue defended himself.
Lagoon Boy had dropped down by the debris, kicking over a toolbox that had managed to stay intact. "Congratulations, Blue," he laughed. "You took out an actual tool shed."
Banshee scoffed. "If I knew that's all it was going to be, I would have left my tech in the Bioship."
"Gamma to Cave," Robin called in. "There's no Zeta-Tube here. No Kroloteans, no hidden entrance."
Banshee could hear Mal speak through his own comm. "Watchtower sensors still read trace Zeta radiation from the site."
Robin checked his tracker which Banshee glanced at over the shorter hero's shoulder. It did show that something was around, but not directly at their location. It was farther out than they thought.
"Confirmed. But the radiation signature is coming from...below the waterline." He turned to Lagoon Boy who was still waiting at the bottom of the wreckage. "You're up."
While the Atlantean went ahead to scout, the remaining three heroes hovered nearby if he sent the signal to join him. Banshee tightened his bag that rested diagonally across his chest, ensuring that it wouldn't go anywhere if they had to take a dive. Jenna would probably kill me if I accidentally destroyed another one...even if it wasn't my fault the first time.
"How's the new tech?"
Banshee glanced up when Blue spoke. "Clunky. But I'll get used to it," he answered. "Doesn't look like it'll get used a lot during this mission though."
A beep coming from their comms interrupted the conversation. "Don't speak so soon, Ban," Robin said, shoving his rebreather in his mouth and jumping into the water.
Banshee huffed. Well, at least the mask has a built-in rebreather. He jumped in after Robin, soon followed by Blue Beetle.
Banshee spotted Lagoon Boy a short distance away, staring into the entrance of a tunnel. Whatever he saw had to be important. And Banshee figured out he was right.
At the very end of the tunnel, where Lagoon Boy was swimming to, was a spiral door. It was continuously opening and closing, probably to allow water to flow through and not build up pressure.
Banshee began to search the small area, trying to see if there was a way in. Jenna always says to scan my surroundings. But nothing stuck out as a lever or switch to keep the door open.
Robin seemed to have a plan though as he gestured to Lagoon Boy. The Atlantean seemed to know just what to do as he swam closer to the door. Oh, that's right.
Lagoon Boy's tattoos began to glow and in a few short seconds, his torso expanded as expected—much like a blowfish—until he was able to easily pry apart the fluctuating door and allow the other three teenagers through.
The squad swam through the corridor until they found a place to come up for air. What they found upon breaking the surface was...unexpected to say the least.
"What the-"
Robin quickly shushed Banshee, not wanting to accidentally give away their position even if he hadn't spoken very loudly. "Let's go."
Banshee couldn't believe what he saw. A base containing hundreds of those...Kroloteans running around, some even transporting away on what resembled Zeta-Tubes but were instead like platforms for more aliens to use them at one time. Jackpot.
Robin radioed in. "Gamma to Cave. We hit the motherlode. Huge base, alien tech, multiple Zeta, uh, platforms. And more Kroloteans than I can count."
"Acknowledged," Mal told him. "We'll send backup. Until then, lay low."
Banshee felt like his nerves were getting the best of him as he jumped when a loud alarm went off. He was too worried to take a look around so he just huddled against the concrete platform beside Blue Beetle.
It wasn't until Blue spoke up that Banshee even looked up. "That may be a problem, ése."
Banshee braced himself as he slowly turned around to look at what Blue was referring to. His eyes landed on a large screen in the center of the base. And what else was on it but them?
The other guys swiveled around to find the camera, but Banshee also took note of the several Kroloteans that were viewing the projection. Oh, we are so screwed.
"'Soft gig', huh?" Blue snapped at Lagoon Boy as the hundreds of aliens started to climb down and head in their direction.
Banshee turned to Robin. "What do we do?" he asked worriedly. But he already knew there were few options.
Robin scowled. "Form up. Blue, Ban, you have our six."
"Okay."
"Sí, hermano."
Banshee spun around on his heel, facing the water. More Kroloteans were pouring down from walkways above them, swarming in an instant. There were too many to count.
'Won't have to worry about a big fight', huh, Jen? Deciding there was no time like the present to test out the limits of his tech, Banshee planted his feet, took in a deep, controlled breath, and let out a scream.
Something that Siren had warned him about was to be spatially aware. The tighter quarters he was in, the more likely that his ability would knock him off his feet due to it ricochetting off whatever was in front of him and hitting him instead. She said it would get easier as he learned how to adjust his body weight and brace himself better, but for the time being, it was best to only use the tech in large, open areas.
Several Kroloteans went flying as they were hit by the sound waves of Banshee's scream. Huh, I guess having a higher-pitched voice pays off. He also physically knocked off whatever aliens were able to avoid his and Blue Beetle's blasts. All in all, the squad was managing to hold their own relatively well.
As a couple of Kroloteans leaped on Banshee's back and he threw them off into the water, those he previously took down began to run forward again. But they didn't seem to care about him or any of the others. Instead, they were running to the Zeta-Platforms in what seemed like fear.
Banshee's sonic cry knocked away some of the Kroloteans that were still trying to attack before backing up beside Lagoon Boy.
"They really don't like you," the Atlantean told Blue Beetle. He let out a short laugh as he knocked some of the little creatures away. "I'm a little jealous."
Blue didn't seem to be paying attention though. "He said what?"
"I said I'm jealous. Don't rub it in!"
"Not you. El jefe over there."
"Wait. You can understand this screeching?" Robin called out, still in the middle of defending himself with his bo-staff. "How?"
Blue looked worried. Extremely worried. "I don't know exactly, but I can. Jefe's ordering all the Kroloteans to Zeta off-world. He's setting this base to self-destruct in four minutes!"
"I'd rather not stick around for that," Banshee grumbled, no longer needing to defend himself as all of the aliens were trying to get out as fast as possible. "Does anyone else vote to blow this popsicle stand?"
"Wait, anything else I need to know?" Robin asked.
"No sé, he said something about sacrificing the playthings below?"
"Playthings? Oh, man, the abductees!"
Banshee's eyes went wide. What were they going to do? They had to abandon ship ASAP, but there was no way they could just leave a bunch of hostages behind. Who knows how many were in that base, unexpectedly about to die?
"Three minutes thirty, ése," Blue warned. "Then, boom!"
Robin gritted his teeth, looking away in contemplation. "And Nightwing said no unnecessary risks to the squad," he murmured.
Banshee stepped forward, determined. "We can't leave them," he pointed out.
Robin nodded. "You're right. This is necessary." He turned to the others. "Below! We have to get below!"
"There!" Lagoon Boy pointed out a row of tunnels embedded into the wall of the base. Several Kroloteans were getting the hell out of dodge, angling upward as if they were coming from somewhere further down.
"Beetle, on point! Go!" Robin ordered.
"Going." Blue flew on ahead, using his armor to create a battering ram and knock away the droves of aliens trying to escape.
The rest were right behind him, sprinting as hard as they could. With a quick glance back, Banshee saw the first digit of the countdown had changed. Not much time left. We need to hurry.
He grabbed the edge of the tunnel entrance, using it as an anchor to swing in feet first. Perhaps it was a little careless to jump in with no idea what exactly was at the bottom, but they didn't have much of a choice. Besides, there was no going back.
Banshee tumbled out of the tunnel exit to find a single Krolotean on the floor.
"Grab him!" Robin commanded to which Blue Beetle obliged.
"What should we do with him?" Banshee wondered, eyeing the thrashing creature.
"Hello? Is someone there? Please, get us out!"
The hostages! Banshee tugged his hood off as he followed Robin down the short corridor to find a metal cage in the middle of a platform. Several people were trapped inside. As Robin drew closer to the cage to reassure them, Banshee looked down the side of the platform. It was a very long drop with no way of knowing where it would lead.
His head shot up when the hostages gasped and started to scream, cowering in fear. "More aliens. Keep them away!"
Banshee looked over his shoulder to see Lagoon Boy and Blue approaching with the Krolotean in hand. He winced. He could see their point. Even Blue didn't look exactly human with all his armor on.
"Hey, we're not aliens," Blue defended. He noticed Banshee's pointed look, turning to stare at the Krolotean he held who dared to look offended. "Okay, well, he is. But we're not."
But they had more pressing matters to attend to. It wasn't the time to debate on appearances.
"Get this open." At Robin's request, Lagoon Boy expanded, using his strength to pry apart the cage. The mechanics let out a hiss as it broke apart, but Banshee imagined that in a few seconds, the Kroloteans wouldn't have use of the base entirely.
The prisoners looked guilty for jumping to conclusions. "Thank you. We didn't mean-"
"It's fine," Lagoon Boy said exasperatedly. "I get that a lot, chum."
Banshee chuckled as his teammate gave him a disgruntled glance, patting him on the shoulder as the latter passed by. Before he could join his squad as well, he noticed one of the abductees, a young girl, was having a bit of a problem standing. His brow furrowed in concern.
"Here, let me help," he offered, scooping up the girl in his arms to carry her on his hip.
The little girl looked at him in awe, smiling brightly as she lifted a hand to her chin and moved it outward. Thank you.
Banshee's hidden smile faded before he lifted his own hand—bringing it to his chin and moving to arc it downward—in return. You're welcome.
When he returned to his friends' sides, making sure to keep the little girl near her mother, Blue was...talking to the Krolotean.
"What the hell," Banshee muttered, watching the squawking match.
"Blue's an odd little fish, isn't he?" Lagoon Boy questioned, but the other two were too busy staring at their strange teammate to answer.
At that moment, Blue turned back to them, continuing to speak to them in the Krolotean's language. He shook his head, realizing he wasn't speaking in English. "-I mean, this way! Come on!"
Banshee had to have faith in his teammate as Blue led the group blindly. Come to find out, tucked into a corner of the corridor was a barely noticeable tunnel submerged in water. We're gonna have to take a dive.
Banshee turned to the mother that was following him. "Can she swim?" he questioned.
"No," the woman said worriedly.
Banshee nodded, digging around in his bag with one arm until he found an old rebreather.
He held it up, showing it to the mom. "Tell her to put it in her mouth and take deep breaths."
Her mother quickly relayed the message to which the girl obeyed, taking the rebreather from Banshee and placing it in her mouth. Banshee tightened his hold on the child, waiting for the rest of the hostages to jump in before going into the water himself.
It wasn't easy trying to swim while carrying a child, but he made do with one arm, trying to move as quickly as possible. Before he made it to the end and broke the surface, he felt the base explode from behind, causing ripples in the water.
We made it. Resurfacing, Banshee removed the rebreather from the girl's mouth, checking over her to make sure she was okay. Which she seemed to be.
After handing her back over to her mom, he focused on locating his teammates. "Rob?"
"Over here!"
Banshee swam over to him, spotting Beetle with the Krolotean a short distance away. "Wait, where's La'gaan?"
Just then, a body shot out of the water beside him, nearly knocking him over.
Lagoon Boy pumped his fists in the air. "That's right! Gamma Squad rules!"
As Robin let out a sigh of relief, Banshee couldn't help but laugh. "And you thought we got the soft gig," he said, letting out a shout when he was splashed in the face.
"Uh, Rob?" Blue spoke up nervously.
Banshee followed his line of sight to the night sky. At first, he couldn't tell what the specks were, but he quickly found out as they drew closer and bigger. He watched as more and more members of the Justice League and the team began to appear, surrounding them.
Banshee gulped as he shared a look with his teammates. I think Jenna told me a story once about something similar to this.
Speaking of, his mentor was on board the Super-Cycle with Nightwing, Wonder Girl, Bumblebee, and Batgirl. He couldn't gauge her expression all that well as she simply looked down at the four young heroes. There was a long pause before she shot him a smirk.
Nightwing leaned forward, grinning at Robin. "Dude! Way to get your feet wet."
Banshee finally let out a breath. No kidding.
~/~/~/~
Star City
January 4, 23:15 PDT
When Sam opened the front door of his house, he barely had time to get inside and shut it before he was barreled into. He let out a grunt of surprise, wiggling his arm free to embrace the small figure that had pounced on him. He chuckled, pulling back to look down at the young girl who smiled widely.
"It's late. Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked.
The girl pouted before stepping back entirely. You're one to talk. Sam followed her quick-moving hands to translate what she was signing in his mind.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Well, I had responsibilities to take care of, Kellie," he said, all while signing with his hands at the same time.
"Sam? Is that you?"
"Yeah," he called out, leading his sister into the living room.
Upon entering the cozy, dimly lit room, he found his other family members waiting with a movie paused on the television. His aunt and uncle were relaxing on one of the sofas, their daughter was curled up in a chair in the corner with her phone in hand, and their son was stretched out on the rug with a set of coloring books that belonged to Kellie.
"How did it go?" his aunt, Tina, asked.
Sam dropped his duffel beside the couch, vaulting over the back of it to flop down on the cushions. "It went fine. We got into a little trouble, but my squad made it out safely."
Five years ago, after his and Kellie's parents were murdered, the Hendricks siblings moved in with their next-of-kin that luckily lived in Star City too. Being underage, Sam wasn't able to go into heroism or even join the team without Jenna approaching his family first. The young woman was very persuasive though, especially once his cousins had recalled meeting her a long time ago after she rescued Sam from a high-speed chase.
Of course, there were concerns, but Jenna vowed to train him properly, never pushing him to do anything that she deemed too dangerous. There were obviously unavoidable exceptions, seeing as one could never be sure what would happen on patrol or missions, but Jenna had kept to her word, even showing up at Sam's home to have a chat with the whole family once every few weeks to let them know about his progress.
Sam didn't realize he had zoned out until he felt someone slapping his arm. He turned to look at Kellie who looked eager. Do you think I could become a hero?
Sam chuckled, rolling his eyes playfully. "What makes you think you could be as cool as me?"
Kellie's jaw dropped in mock outrage before she grabbed a nearby throw pillow and smacked him in the head with it. Sam yanked the pillow away, staring at his sister with wide eyes. A mischievous grin grew on his face as he grabbed her, tugging her into his chest and flopping down on his stomach to lightly smother her into the sofa.
"Hit play!" he called out to his uncle, ignoring Kellie's punches with a laugh.
As she finally gave up, he rolled onto his side, keeping his arms around her. She turned around to watch the movie, letting him examine her with a fond smile. You'll be a badass hero one day, Kels.
~/~/~/~
Wow, there's so much I want to talk about. First off, I am extremely excited to get into the next part of Siren's story. I have a lot in store for this season and even the next that I really hope I can manage to successfully and completely do. I can say that, as you probably can imagine, she's going to be putting up with a lot this time around.
Secondly, what do we think about the new deuteragonist? Did you guys expect to see more of Sam? Did you even expect to get to witness his POV? Way back when I was starting ASC, I knew right away that it wouldn't have been easy to have just Siren's experience. There are just so many changes in the way each episode works that we would have barely had any lengthy chapters. That's still going to be the case a good chunk of the time, but I wanted to pad it out as well as I could by adding Sam into the story early on.
Fair warning, I don't normally write a fic where there are two POVs. I'm going to try to make it as clear and easy to follow as possible. It's not going to be the same every chapter, but there will at least be a clear indicator (the line breaks) whenever it does change. Plus, we'll still have chapters where the sole focus is either Siren or Banshee.
Well, I don't want to talk your ear off before the fic has even had a chance to start lol. If you have questions or comments, please don't be afraid to let me know! I want to hear from you guys. There's nothing wrong with being a ghost reader (believe me, I do it too) but I would love some feedback!
See you guys next week! (Man, I miss saying that lol)
