Idk why but this chapter was so hard to write lmao. But I managed! So enjoy and be sure to read the end note because there's a bit of info regarding upcoming chapters!

~/~/~/~

Blüdhaven

April 8, 09:02 EDT

Banshee was in a relatively good mood since Siren cleared him to return to duty after having recovered from his concussion. That was until he saw the news broadcast that several members of the team were watching when he walked into the team's new-new HQ.

He groaned as he moved up next to Blue Beetle. "This guy? Really?" he said quietly.

"-Earth's true benefactors, the Reach, have been working openly and without fanfare for the betterment of all mankind," G. Gordon Godfrey declared on the GBS channel. "Exhibit A: Lexcorp Farms, where the Reach has partnered with noted philanthropist Lex Luthor to increase food production. Lexcorp and the Reach are even allowing public tours! Just openness and an end to world hunger. Now, why didn't the Justice League think of that?"

Nightwing paused the video.

"Oh thank you," Banshee said in relief. If he had to listen to that man's voice any longer…

"Obviously, any partnership between the Reach and Lex Luthor is bad news," the team's co-leader pointed out. "So Alpha Squad is going undercover to recon Lexcorp Farms."

He turned to his successor. "Robin, you'll be running Alpha."

Robin was surprised. "Me? Run Alpha?" he questioned before collecting himself. "Uh, right. Who's on the squad?"

"Banshee, Blue Beetle-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I should not be in the field, ése," Blue countered. "What if the scarab goes all 'Reach Apocalypse' on us?"

While he had been recovering, Siren had been keeping Banshee up to date on new information given to the team. The most recent major discovery was some intel from Impulse who first told Blue. About how in the future, Blue Beetle, their Blue Beetle, would become a bad guy. An extremely bad guy.

Of course, Blue didn't want there to even be a possibility of that happening so he told the team's and League's leaders that he wanted the scarab fused to his spine to be taken off...for good.

Banshee had just wished that he had known what was going on before it did so he could have been there in support of his friend. But Impulse was, worriedly looking onas The Atom and Bumblebee had tried to remove the scarab. Keyword: tried.

So it was back to square one.

"Your scarab has had multiple opportunities to betray us," Nightwing said, approaching Blue. "It hasn't."

He placed a hand on the kid's shoulder. "And right now, its connection to the Reach may be our best shot at identifying what they're up to."

Banshee elbowed Blue. "Dude, you'd be our trump card."

Impulse ran over to stand between Blue Beetle and Nightwing. "Well, if Blue's goin', I'm goin'," he declared.

Nightwing just smiled. "I assumed as much. And last but not least, Arsenal."

Banshee looked off to the side where the guy in question had been standing in the shadows. It was only the second time he'd actually seen the former Speedy after Siren recruited him to the team. It certainly wasn't long enough to really get an idea of what he was like.

"But you'll have to travel lighter for your first mission," Nightwing added, noticing the several guns on the newbie's back. "Nothing that won't fit under civilian clothes."

He glanced around at the squad. "Any questions?"

"Just one," Arsenal spoke up. "Why are we meeting in this dump?"

Banshee rolled his eyes. Have you not been keeping up with what's been going on?

"With the Cave and the Hall of Justice destroyed, we don't have many other options," Nightwing said sharply.

"Except the Watchtower. It's national news now. You can't pretend it doesn't exist."

Banshee could only imagine the glare behind Nightwing's mask. "Only Justice Leaguers and senior members of the team are authorized for the Watchtower. You don't qualify."

"Good to know where we stand," Arsenal scoffed.

Banshee raised an eyebrow. "You assumed otherwise?" he muttered lowly.

"You have your assignment," Nightwing finally said, even though it almost seemed like he wanted to say more to the new guy. "Be ready, you'll move out in a few hours."

~/~/~/~

Star City

April 8, 13:35 PDT

Jenna took a deep breath before opening the door in front of her. It swung open, revealing M'gann who had just knocked a moment prior.

"Hi."

"Hey," Jenna answered, shoving her hands in the pockets of her cardigan. "Um, come in."

The blonde stepped away from the doorway to allow her friend into the apartment, feeling more awkward than she had been in the five years that she knew M'gann. Why am I so nervous?

"So," she started, sitting down on the couch beside her friend after she had closed the door. "You said that I deserve the truth. What truth?"

M'gann rested her elbows on her knees, propping her chin up on her clasped hands. Her expression looked…distant before she screwed her eyes shut.

"Artemis is alive."

Jenna didn't know what to say. She shook her head. "M'gann…we were both there. Dick declared her dead, remember?" she said in a pained voice.

M'gann turned her head, looking at the blonde. "I know. And I don't know why they faked her death, but she's alive and she's undercover with Kaldur."

Jenna was still uncertain so M'gann leaned toward her. Hesitation was clear in her eyes, but they glowed green anyway. "Here, let me show you."

Jenna's eyes automatically slid shut as she recalled a memory that wasn't her own.

~8~8~8~

"Murderer!"

Jenna felt the unbridled rage as if it was her own. And there was zero hesitation when Miss Martian entered Kaldur's mind.

But what she saw made her recoil nearly as much as Kaldur's scream of pain did.

"Welcome back."

Artemis' death played out in Jenna's mind again, but something was different. Actually, lots of things were.

It had all been orchestrated: Kaldur creating a bend in the sword that killed Artemis so that it would wrap around her body on one side, the pill that stopped Artemis' heartbeat temporarily so that Superboy wouldn't be able to reveal the truth, and the fake patch of blood to sell it completely.

"And still, only we four know the secret?"

Then she saw the meeting that Kaldur had with Nightwing, Artemis, and Wally. And the Glamour Charm that was given to Artemis to make her appear different to everyone except the four of them.

To look exactly like the woman, Tigress, that was with Kaldur at the Cave and on the Reach ship.

~8~8~8~

Jenna let out a strangled gasp, eyes flying open in shock. "Oh my god." She's alive, she's alive, she-

M'gann looked pained. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I should have told you first thing. I-"

"No." Jenna's voice was stern as she reached out to grasp her friend's arms. "M'gann, this is not your fault. You couldn't have known. Clearly, none of us did."

Pure guilt was written all over the redhead's face though. "But what I did to Kaldur was."

Jenna froze. Her hands slowly slid off M'gann's shoulders. "Wh- what did you do?"

When she got no response, she moved her hands back up, gripping the woman's shoulders tightly. She ducked her head to try and make M'gann meet her gaze. Fear coursed through her body.

"M'gann," she said shakily. "What did you do?"

~/~/~/~

Smallville

April 8, 16:38 CDT

"Please remain seated at all times while the tram is in motion!"

Sam was glad he had his sunglasses on because he swore that the tour guide's attitude was as bright as the sun. He turned to look outside the moving vehicle at the rows of greenhouses. All of it looked relatively normal. He wouldn't have thought anything was amiss if he didn't know that it all belonged to Luthor.

Still, Sam slipped his phone out to snap pictures in case. It helped to sell the tourist cover anyway. He then set it to record and quietly slid it into the front pocket of his shirt. What LexCorp doesn't know won't hurt them.

The tram entered a glass building where it came to a stop to allow the passengers off. Sam followed the rest of the crowd as they walked down one of the many rows of plants. How could it all look so…normal?

He sped up his pace, drawing closer to the tour guide so he could listen in. "We've just entered one of our farm's hydroponics domes where Lexcorp and the Reach are growing the food of the future," she said with grandeur.

"This could put the rest of Smallville's farmers out of business," an older guy, Johnathan Kent, pointed out.

He had come along for the tour at the request of Superboy. It might have seemed a bit suspicious if five teenage boys were wandering around the farm for no reason, so Superboy's dad had no problem taking the tour too in order to help keep their cover secure. But Sam's squad still had their mission so Mister Kent was really just there to help them get in.

"No, no! Not at all," the tour guide was quick to reassure him. "The Reach plans to share their techniques with the entire agricultural community."

She immediately turned away as if to physically end the conversation, leading the group down to where tables were set up with a spread of various fruits and vegetables. "Enjoy your choice of these new vitamin-rich Reach-enhanced produce!"

"Genetically enhanced?" Tim wondered.

"There's been no tinkering with genes, rest assured. The Reach have ways of drawing out an organism's full potential."

Yeah, I bet they do. Sam wrinkled his nose at the sight of the food. He wasn't sure how much he'd trust eating something 'enhanced by the Reach'. He grabbed a pear though, examining the item before he pulled out a ziplock bag from his jeans pocket. Gather samples if you can, Nightwing says. Well, I certainly don't plan on eating it.

A loud crunch caught Sam's attention and he shot a look at Bart as he handed his sample over to Roy. The speedster was happily enjoying an apple until he noticed his squad staring.

"What? I'm maintaining cover," he defended himself. He took another bite of the fruit and grinned.

Sam shook his head, sharing a look with Jaime before wandering to the other side. The produce looked perfect. Too perfect. And that unsettled him.

"Don't these oranges look absolutely delicious?"

Sam glanced over at the elderly lady who had moved beside him. "Uh, yes, ma'am. Too bad I'm allergic to citrus," he said with an awkward laugh. At least that much is true.

"What's in those tubes?" he heard Tim ask.

"Just water, nutrients, and a little Reach slash Lexcorp love!"

That's not creepy at all. Sam looked down at the rows of plants where a liquid was being distributed via a misting system. Like everything else, it might not have seemed off if the liquid wasn't a bright purple. Seriously. No one else thinks this is weird?

"Our next stop is the pluot orchard. That's right: Pluots! In April!"

"Pass," Sam muttered.

"Time for a bathroom break," Tim decided.

The squad began to break off from the rest of the tour group, all but one. "I went before we left," Bart said with a shrug.

But Jaime grabbed him and dragged him along, making the speedster complain. "Dude, they don't have pluots in the future," he whined.

"You're not missing out on much," Sam said over his shoulder.

As he casually walked away from the group with his friends, something caught his eye. Down some steps was what looked like a cellar door made with the most security possible. Even just by looking at it, Sam could tell the door was heavy and locked up tight, probably accessed by the small keypad nearby.

He quickly elbowed Tim in the side, nodding his head in the direction of the steps when the squad leader turned his head. He frowned, simply nodding in acknowledgment as they continued on.

The squad slipped into the men's restroom, each of them taking a stall so they could change into their costumes. Sam noted that one stall was already occupied so he waved the rest of his teammates on while he waited by the sink. In the meantime, he pulled his phone back out and ended the recording to look over later.

The sound of a toilet flushing made Sam's eyes flicker up to look through the mirror. A balding, middle-aged man stepped out of the stall, approaching the sink to wash his hands near Sam. He decided to wait until the man left before he joined his friends in changing, so he kept his head down as if he was looking at something on his phone.

But a glance through the mirror showed that he was being watched. The man's eyes were particularly looking between the side of his head and his hands, making Sam subconsciously scowl. He didn't have to guess that his earrings and painted nails were the focal points of the man's attention. And the wrinkle in the man's nose made Sam straighten up.

He ran a hand through his hair to remain casual, but before he did, he slid his sunglasses off to 'accidentally' make eye contact with the man. Sam barely restrained a scoff when the man quickly looked away, finishing up to leave. They're always cowards.

The man left soon enough, finally giving Sam the chance to move on and change into his uniform. But before he did though, he grabbed a wet floor sign, placing it outside the restroom door. No sense in having others walk in while we're waiting for the place to close.

"I put a sign up to deter others from entering," Sam spoke up to his friends as he slipped into the empty stall. "You're welcome."

"Cool," he could hear Bart say in the stall on the other end. "So how long are we gonna be in here?"

Sam didn't even bother to stifle a sigh. This is gonna be a long wait, isn't it?

~/~/~/~

Banshee looked up from his communicator when he heard Impulse groan. Again. "Can we please start the mission now?" the kid from the future begged.

"If you ask that one more time, I'm gonna kill you," Banshee threatened, sending his update to Jenna.

He hadn't heard from her all day, but he knew she would want to know about everything going on up to that point. One of her 'rules' as a mentor.

Robin was apparently getting fed up too. "Fine. Yes, go."

Banshee opened the stall door, slipping his hood on as he joined his squadmates. All of them were also suited up and ready to go. He eyed the single brightly colored hero with a questioning gaze.

"You're in the wrong mode," Robin pointed out to Impulse.

"Dude, I crash all modes," Impulse boasted, making Banshee roll his eyes.

"Stealth mode, hermano," Blue explained.

"Oh, right." Impulse searched his uniform for the button. "Now, where exactly did I-"

Banshee watched with a deadpan stare. And this is why I don't bother with two modes.

Blue finally elbowed Impulse sharply, making his outfit change to black and dark grey. "Ow!" the redhead cried out. "Thanks?"

"Let's go," Robin ordered.

Banshee moved to the exit, opening it up while grabbing the wet floor sign and setting it back into the restroom. His teammates filed out, being careful to be quick but quiet as they returned to the area the tour had begun.

"Bypassing the security cameras," Robin informed as Banshee kept a lookout. Not that there was much to look out for since it was after hours.

"Got it. Arsenal, you're up."

Arsenal's arm opened up, small arrows being automatically loaded inside. He moved forward, aiming for the first security camera just down from where the squad huddled. Once it embedded the wall next to the camera, it flashed red, indicating that the camera was hacked and put on a loop. Arsenal repeated his actions, targeting each camera in the vicinity as the others kept close and out of sight.

"Blue, Ban, your turn."

Banshee followed his friend on foot, quickly taking the steps down to the suspicious cellar door. He glanced around, ensuring the coast was clear as Blue Beetle scanned from higher up.

He pulled out his communicator, plugging the small USB port into the side of the pedestal and swiping to another app on the screen before holding it above the keypad. Dozens of combinations flashed through the software, flying by too quickly for Banshee to really pay attention to any of them. The device soon let out a ping though as the screen turned green, revealing the right combination for him to input himself.

And as expected, it was correct and Banshee grinned when he heard the trap door on the ground click as it unlocked. Thank you, Siren and Nightwing.

He turned back to his teammates that were waiting and waved them forward. They hurried over, Arsenal making good use of his new arm to pry open the door to expose the ladder that went all the way down the long tunnel.

As Banshee fell through after the rest of his squad, he went still when he noticed Robin signaling to not move. Just ahead of them were two armed guards with their backs turned. Banshee took a cautious step backward when Robin signaled again, opting to take another route.

They turned down another hallway, luckily one that was clear, and began their search to find what was so important that it had to be hidden.

At the end of a hall was a large, open room, easily visible with the lack of a door to seal it off. And there were several members of the Reach moving around, meaning the squad had to be extra careful.

Banshee ducked behind the closest thing he could find, a machine that was filtering the Reach and LexCorp 'love' up into the ceiling.

He looked around the room, watching the Reach communicate with each other in their own language. Some were tampering with the rows of plants further into the room, while others were extracting whatever was inside the big, out-of-the-ordinary containers.

"What's she saying?" Robin asked Blue Beetle, the latter being their automatic translator thanks to the scarab.

There was a brief pause before Blue looked over at the squad leader. "Okay, uh, she's warning her technicians to 'go easy on the additive'…Just a sec."

He leaned over Banshee who was crouched on the ground, making a quick glance around the room. He then nodded toward the containers. "That's it. That's your additive."

So who's gonna go- Banshee paused when he turned his head to find Robin was already gone. Huh. Well, they learn from the best.

Blue was bewildered to see the Boy Wonder had disappeared before he even finished speaking, asking, "Where did he-" But Arsenal quickly shushed him before their position was discovered.

From one blink to the next, Robin was by Banshee's side, making him jump. Christ. "Got what we came for. Let's go."

Don't need to tell me twice. Banshee quickly hurried after Robin back to the way they came in. After a quick grapple up the tunnel, he was back in the main room, but he had to almost immediately hide when he spotted two guards in front of the dome exit.

He signaled to his teammates who were coming up behind him, warning them to stay out of sight. "Trouble ahead," he hissed when they drew near.

Robin crouched in front of Banshee. "Two guards, one door hack, and we're home free."

"Fine. Arsenal and I can take out the guards." He moved away from their hiding spot to go around, but Arsenal suddenly grabbed his arm.

Banshee frowned at his unsettling grin. "What?"

"Wait for it…"

Barely a second later, the basement entrance exploded, shards of metal flying everywhere. Even more debris, caused by the tremors in the building, began to rain down.

Banshee turned on Arsenal with a scowl. "What the hell, dude?" he yelled over the blaring security alarm.

"You blew the lab?!" Robin snapped. "But this was a covert op! What were you thinking?"

Arsenal sneered. "That I'm not about to let Lex Luthor and his alien space buddies poison the world just because we don't know exactly what poison they're using," he countered then his lips curled up into a grin. "Plus, I enjoy making Lex miserable."

Banshee groaned. "You couldn't have done it on your own time?" He spun around, rushing forward to take out the guards.

"Hey, what are you-"

Before the guards had a chance to raise their guns, Banshee let out a high-pitched scream, making the two guards fly back against the door. They both slumped to the ground, groaning, but quickly slipping unconscious.

He whipped back around to his team. "Let's go!"

Robin ran forward to take care of the door so Banshee watched over his shoulder while occasionally glancing behind them to make sure no one else would show up. He narrowed his eyes at Arsenal as he joined them, but then just looked away in silence.

Robin wasn't going to let it go that easily though. "You just don't get it, do you?" he questioned. "You went off mission. That was a huge mistake."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing."

Banshee froze at the sound of the new voice. Oh, fuck no. He warily glanced up at the top of the dome, finding the last person he wanted to see.

Black Beetle hovered above them with a wicked smirk. And in a flash, he dropped down, forcing the squad to split before they were all crushed.

Robin was the first to react, striking Black Beetle across the face with his electrified bo-staff. But Black Beetle retaliated by punching the staff into the ground and smacking Robin back into a shelf of plants.

"Impulse, maneuver seven!" Banshee yelled, sliding brass knuckles over his fists.

Suddenly, he was no longer standing on his feet. Instead, he was scooped up into a pair of arms and, as they zipped past their opponent, tossed up into the air. As he fell back down, he reared his fist back to punch Black Beetle across the face.

Except before he knew what was happening, his fist was grabbed and he was flung to the ground, slamming onto his back and skidding to a stop near Robin. Rubbing his head, Banshee looked up just in time to see Impulse being punched into a produce display.

Black Beetle began to move over to where the kid had landed, clearly not done dealing with the speedster. "I may not move as fast as you, meat, but my scarab processes faster than even you can run, let alone think," he boasted.

"Let's try this again," Banshee muttered.

He fired his grappling hook into the wall above Impulse, launching himself up into the air. As he swung above Black Beetle, he kicked the big guy in the head with a steel toe. Black Beetle lurched forward from the force, giving Banshee a chance to clasp his fists together and bring them down onto the back of his opponent's neck.

Banshee dropped onto solid ground, wincing as he shook his hands out. Okay, bad idea. He certainly didn't need broken bones on top of everything else.

But Arsenal came to the rescue, firing a rocket at the Beetle's back. Once the smoke cleared, Black Beetle turned his attention to the new guy.

Banshee noticed that Arsenal was reloading so he let out a loud screech at Black Beetle's head.

"Didn't you try that before?" Black Beetle huffed when he turned around, hardly phased by the sonic wave.

"Eh, it was worth a shot," Banshee answered with a shrug, grinning when Impulse chucked a few tomatoes to piss the big guy off more.

"Besides," Impulse piped up. "That was just a distraction. Ha!"

Black Beetle's eyes widened and he turned back around just as Arsenal fired a laser gun at his chest. Except he just stood there as if it was nothing.

"Any more tricks, meat?" he sneered.

"Just a few!"

Blue Beetle, who had been hanging back for a moment, dropped down in front of his 'brethren' and fired a cannon straight at him. It wasn't a sonic cannon, but rather it was a huge blast of something unfamiliar to Banshee. Sometimes he forgot that he was still new to the hero game completely so he was pretty ignorant about some things.

Whatever it was, it physically impacted Black Beetle, making him read back from the force. When it cleared, the Beetle's armor was glowing red, even steaming to prove just how hot the metal now was.

Black Beetle just grinned as he let out a satisfied sigh. "Nothing like a warm plasma bath to calm the nerves…and clean off the tomato stains."

Banshee made a face. Oh. Gross.

Blue then fired a sonic cannon instead. Black was quick to counter, firing his own sonics. The two blasts made an impact, exploding almost as soon as they touched. Banshee and the rest of his squad were far enough to be unhurt, but both Beetle's recoiled.

"Seriously? The fruit hurt more," Black Beetle scoffed.

There's no stopping this guy! How were they supposed to take him down when they barely managed the first time? Black Beetle barely batted an eye last time as he easily overpowered the whole team. This go-around, it was clear that he was taking his time, but Banshee was afraid that he would soon get tired of messing around and decided to take them all out in one fell swoop.

The best they could do was remain on the offensive and hope for the best.

Speaking of offensive, Impulse dashed out, literally running circles around Black Beetle until a funnel began to form out of the wind.

"Trying to suck away my oxygen?" Beetle assumed. "I hardly touch the stuff."

So definitely not human, got it. "Time for a new plan," Banshee suggested, eyes wide.

Rather than respond, Robin turned to their other teammate. "Blue, what gives?" he asked. "Last time you threw down with this guy, you were hardcore!"

"That wasn't me!" Blue defended himself. "Scarab was in control."

"So give it control again!" Banshee and Arsenal yelled out at the same time.

Blue ducked his head. "Believe me, I'd like nothing better," he admitted. "But I can't risk that, not with Impulse's prophecy hanging over my head."

Oh, yeah, the prophecy that Blue's gonna become a big bad in the future. No big deal. "Great, so we're screwed either way," Banshee cried out, throwing his hands up in the air.

He looked back to where Impulse was still working in vain to fight against Black Beetle. The funnel increased in size, but it was nearly impossible to see what was happening inside of it.

That is until Impulse came flying out of the self-made funnel, slamming against the wall and hanging there via the oversized staple Black Beetle shot at him.

"Now what?" Banshee grumbled, not expecting an answer anymore.

Robin stepped forward, approaching Arsenal. "Your laser. It's the only thing that's done any damage," the squad leader realized.

Before the words had fully left the Boy Wonder's mouth, Arsenal fired his prosthetic weapon right at their enemy. Black Beetle surprisingly let out a grunt when it hit his arm which he held up to shield his face. He glowered at the group of teenage heroes momentarily, and as soon the armor once again healed itself, he aimed a huge cannon at them.

Banshee let out a curse as he dove out of the way from the blast, passing under Blue Beetle as he had instead shot up into the air.

"You're only toying with us, aren't you?" he could hear Blue call out.

From his hunched position near the shelves of plants, Banshee watched as both Blue and Black Beetle had their swords drawn, literally, struggling against each other's force. But it seemed that the latter was just messing with the former.

"Banshee, let's move," Arsenal called out, making the young siren turn his attention back to the rest of his teammates.

He ran over with Arsenal to the wall where Impulse was still knocked out and where Robin was planting a bunch of bombs. "Nice decorations," Banshee remarked, reaching out to examine his unconscious teammate and the thing trapping him.

A loud slam made Banshee jump as Blue Beetle slammed into the wall close by. The noise also jolted Impulse awake as he quickly took in the situation.

"Time to go?" the speedster asked the squad leader.

"Yeah, do your thing."

Banshee backed away as Impulse quickly vibrated through the wall, turning on his heel to similarly get out of dodge from the bombs before they exploded.

"Go, go!" Robin ordered once the smoke had cleared, spurring Blue Beetle and Banshee forward and through the new hole in the side of the building.

"Where's Impulse?" Banshee asked as he slowed to a stop outside.

Before anyone had a chance to answer, the boy in question had returned to their sides. "Did a quick recon," he said, eyeing Banshee. "Want the options?"

"That bad?" Banshee mused, judging by Impulse's grim expression.

"Well, do you want cornfield or cornfield?"

"Cornfield," Robin answered, racing into the nearby stalks.

The squad surged through, Banshee pushing the tall plants aside to force his way to…anywhere that could get them away from the Beetle that was after them.

"I know you could fly out of here," he could hear Impulse suggest to Blue Beetle.

"And you run about a thousand miles before Black Beetle could blink," was Blue's counter. "If I took Arsenal and maybe Ban, could you carry Robin?"

"Sorry. Fast, not strong," Impulse admitted.

He gave Banshee a side eye since he had to pick up the latter earlier for their maneuver. "No offense, Ban."

"Well, Alpha never leaves a man behind," Blue Beetle said determinedly.

Banshee said nothing in response to either of them, but a smile grew under his mask. Damn straight. Finally, he could see the light at the end of the tunnel as Arsenal and Robin broke through the last row of corn. They found themselves in a break between fields, the wide space providing much more leg room than the corn did.

But they were no doubt going to be found by Black Beetle again if they didn't hurry and find a way out.

"We'll double back, maybe lose him," Robin decided.

"That doesn't seem likely." Oh for fuck's sake! Banshee was ready to rip his own hair out as Black Beetle landed in front of the squad.

As the large foe rose to full height, Banshee shrunk back, feeling even more intimidated by the Reach's guard. What do we do, what do we do?

Blue Beetle suddenly let out a gasp, bumping into Banshee when he suddenly moved. Turning to check on his friend, Banshee's eyes only widened when he saw a Green Beetle behind them. It was like he had appeared out of thin air.

"Fighting one was hard enough!" Banshee snapped as he quickly looked between the two Beetles surrounding the squad.

"How many colors do these guys come in, anyway?" Impulse said exasperatedly.

"Form up," Robin called out. "If we go down, we go down fighting."

"I'm betting that sounded way more inspirational in your head." Banshee glared over at Impulse when he spoke, elbowing him in the side.

Black Beetle drew his sword, but before any of the heroes had a chance to brace themselves for the onslaught, Green Beetle leaped over their heads. Black Beetle managed to block Green's swing, spinning around as the new Beetle came to a stop behind him. He lunged forward, but Green ducked at the last moment and sliced Black's abdomen and an invisible force sent him careening down between the rows of corn.

Banshee watched with increasing astonishment as the Green Beetle fought with powers, unlike the ones the scarab provided Blue. Flight without the assistance of rocket thrusters, levitating large mounds of earth with his mind, and who knew what else. Except maybe someone did know.

Banshee turned to Impulse. "Future boy, care to explain?"

But his teammate just looked confused. "Uh, this guy? Not in history books."

"Then who is he? What is he?" Blue Beetle wondered, probably bewildered by the fact that there seemed to be even more like him showing up more and more as of late.

Banshee glanced back at the fight to see Black Beetle swing at Green, only for his attack to literally pass through the latter. And once he was in the clear, Green Beetle's lower half morphed into something resembling a snake's body to wrap around Black.

That's not normal…

Robin seemed to be on the same track too. "Density shifting, shape-shifting, all the powers of a Martian except-"

"Heroes of Earth, I established this link to better coordinate our attack." And there it is.

"Telepathy. That clinches it," Robin confirmed. "This guy's the Blue, uh, Green Beetle of Mars."

"So another alien? Do we leave them to fight it out?" Arsenal questioned.

"It doesn't seem like half a bad idea." Banshee watched as Green Beetle was thrown back into the cornfield, the plants catching fire from Black Beetle's thrusters and effectively trapping the Martian. "But should we trust Green Beetle?"

"We'll worry about that later," Robin waved off. "Move in. Blue, frontal assault. Keep Black busy."

Blue Beetle took off, making the squad leader turn to the rest. "Impulse, put out the fire. Banshee, once it's clear, check on Green Beetle; we'll catch up."

As Banshee ran forward, following Impulse who had already sped ahead, Robin finished giving orders to the remaining squad member. "Arsenal, use your laser in that plasma cannon. I want it out of commission."

"Right. Be prepared to move."

The fire was clear by the time Banshee got there, allowing him to run straight to Green Beetle. The Martian was already faring better since he wasn't trapped in a ring of his one weakness.

Banshee dropped to one knee, eyeing the newcomer as he rose to his hands and knees. Can we trust this guy? Our track record hasn't been phenomenal as of late. He wondered how Nightwing and Siren were going to feel about him.

The rest of the squad, minus Blue, had quickly caught up to Banshee, with Robin approaching to help him and Impulse pull Green to his feet. Banshee spared a glance back at Black Beetle, wondering just how well Arsenal's attack did. But the alien was laughing evilly as he rose to his feet. When the armor fully closed up again, he stalked toward the group.

"I was kind of hoping that might have had a more lasting effect," Arsenal mused.

"It's just how our luck's doing tonight," Banshee grumbled.

But maybe not all was lost. "Your methods are crude, but you have the right idea," Green Beetle assured, looking up to Blue who was still hovering up in the sky. "Beetle of Earth, fire your sonic cannon at twenty-seven angstroms precisely."

"Uh, my scarab's telling me that tactic will be ineffectual. That's a quote, by the way."

"For one scarab, the tactic would be ineffectual," Green Beetle agreed. "But tonight, it is not alone. Twenty-seven angstroms, now!"

As he strode forward, Blue fired his cannon at their opponent. At the very least, it made Black Beetle pause as he scoffed.

"Ha! Tickles," he said with a cocky grin.

Except something changed when Green Beetle fired his own cannon. As soon as the sonic waves also struck Black Beetle, they suddenly affected the alien.

Come on, come on… Banshee gritted his teeth, having nothing to do but watch as Black Beetle continued forward. At a slower pace, sure, but still not stopping.

Then whatever he was feeling had become too much to handle.

The cannons from Blue and Green Beetle tore through Black's armor, exposing parts of his body. With nothing to protect him, he let out a final cry of pain before collapsing back into the dirt.

Blue Beetle dropped down once their foe was fully unconscious. "Scarab says he won't be unconscious for long."

"That is true," Green Beetle confirmed.

"Then what do we do now?" Impulse piped up.

Banshee frowned. "Yeah, I'm not sure I want to be around when he wakes up."

"Now…we run."

Banshee yelped when he suddenly levitated into the air alongside Robin and Arsenal. Green Beetle surged forward, pulling the three heroes behind him as he soared up into the night sky.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Banshee glanced back to see Impulse had been grabbed by Blue and he didn't seem to like being off the ground. "Wherever we're going, I could totally get there first…uh, where are we going?"

And as usual, the resident Boy Wonder had a solution. "I might have just the place."

~/~/~/~

Star City

April 8, 21:02 CDT

Jenna rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands, making spots dance across her vision as she fought back the tears that threatened to fall. How am I supposed to continue on, knowing Kaldur may never be the same ever again?

Upon opening her eyes, she opened the fridge door and pulled out a beer bottle. After popping the cap, she moved back over to the couch where M'gann was still sitting, sagging against the back cushions. She had rejected Jenna's offer of any sort of drink so the team leader just flopped back down, leaning against the arm of the sofa.

"Are you feeling okay?" M'gann asked weakly, probably aware that the question was redundant.

Jenna huffed, taking a sip of her drink as she stared at the coffee table so intently that if she were Kryptonian, she probably would have burned a hole into the wood. "I don't know," she admitted quietly. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel when they all lied to me for so long."

"Are…are you going to talk to Dick?"

Jenna's brow furrowed angrily. "Eventually," was all she said.

How was she supposed to even approach the subject? Hey, care to explain why you, my ex, and our best friends decided to keep secrets from me? That was about as good as it was going to get.

She was hurt. No, it was more than that. She had been leading the team for over five years and yet they thought it was smart to leave her out of it. It felt so long ago when Kaldur first suggested that she lead. Then when he left the team to get some answers, leaving her feeling confused, but trying to trust that he knew what he was doing. Then that trust was shattered, leaving her heartbroken when Nightwing told her that he switched sides.

Except now it all makes sense why Kaldur refused to approach me himself. Because he was…is a coward.

"Thank you," she finally said, looking over at M'gann. "For telling me the truth."

M'gann looked confused, maybe still guilty. "You're not…mad?"

Jenna sighed. "Not at you. As terrible of a decision as it was, I can understand where it came from. And I also understand why it left you so messed up. If you didn't truly feel bad about what you did, then you wouldn't have batted an eye."

She reached out, covering M'gann's hand that she had resting on her knee. "We'll figure things out. I- I don't know how yet, but we'll solve this."

The conversation reached a lull, which was perfect timing as Jenna's phone received a text message. She let go of M'gann's hand to grab it off the coffee table.

And the corners of her lips instantly dipped when she saw who the text was from. Then her mind cleared enough to see what the message was, making her irritation change to resignation. We can't catch a break.

"It's Nightwing," she said after taking another swig. "We're needed at Taos."

~/~/~/~

Damn, so Jenna finally knows. She's gonna have a few things to say next time she sees Dick, Wally, Artemis, and especially Kaldur.

So, after next week's chapter, I might be taking a, hopefully, small break. I've still yet to finish the chapter for War plus I've started work and classes for this semester. I've got a huge research paper due in December so I have a feeling a lot of my time will be taken by that.

I still want to finish up this fic by the end of the year though, so I might just be a bit slow on uploading new chapters after next week. But we're super close to the end (omg I can't believe it) so it won't be long! As for when I'll start uploading chapters for the third fic, it'll probably depend on what my workload looks like next semester. I'll of course let you all know when we get closer to the finale.

I'm excited for you all to see next week's chapter so see you then!