Dick Grayson
Star City
Saturday, July 14th, 2012
I admit it. Slade was right. After a long sparring session and a full night of sleep, I felt better about everything. Especially when Bruce called me to the Batcave to tell me that he'd reached a decision and we got to see Mount Justice—our new hideout! Seeing Kid Flash and Aqualad so excited makes it perfect. There's only one thing missing.
Ever since the Triad Takedown three years ago, the three of us have free reign in anyone else's cities. Wally and I can show up in Star City to hang out with Roy any time, and the same goes for me and Roy in Central (even if Bruce is still too paranoid to let them patrol in Gotham). So, when Wally, Kaldur and I show up at Green Arrow's latest hideout looking for Roy, he doesn't even bat an eye.
"Last I heard, he was tracking down some dealers by the docks, but he doesn't really tell me anything anymore," the archer says, aggressively shooting bullseye after bullseye. By the time we arrive at the docks, Speedy is flipping around a loading platform as he dodges the gunfire. He destroys the gun and the boss guy's custom-tailored suit with a perfectly aimed explosive arrow. Before any of the other goons can fire at him, Kid Flash speeds through, disarming everyone he passes.
I fire my grappling gun at Roy's platform and swing across the loading zone, cackling as the night breeze ruffles my cape. Two of my birdarangs disarm the goons Kid Flash missed. As I land, Aqualad ignites his water-bearers and knocks them against a crate. Speedy is still fighting the big guy, dodging huge chunks of earth and metal, but his arrows aren't doing much. Aqualad slices through one of the boulders, giving Speedy an opening to fire a gas-releasing arrow.
"The cave is perfect," Aqualad says, unable to keep his excitement out of his voice as he deactivates his weapons, "It has everything the team will need."
Jumping down from my perch on top of a stack of crates, I add, "For covert missions. You know, spy stuff."
Kid Flash races up the side of the crate, flipping when he gets to the top, "And wait till you see Superboy and Miss Martian. But I saw her first."
Aqualad and I roll our eyes in sync. The corner of Speedy's mouth twitches up into a smile, breaking through his serious demeanor for a second. The leader of the goons gets back up, chucking a massive boulder at us with an angry grunt. Speedy, Kid Flash and I scatter in different directions while Aqualad easily smashes through the rock with his water-maces. On his right side, Speedy launches three explosive arrows that don't have any effect on the meta-human. He notches another arrow, and I recognize it as one of his foam arrows. I fight back a laugh when the goon spreads his hands wide, daring Speedy to shoot.
He shoots.
The arrow lands in the center of the guy's chest and rapid-hardening foam bubbles out. In seconds, he's trapped. Kid Flash skids to a stop in front of Speedy.
"High-density polyurethane foam," he whistles, "Nice."
Speedy turns away from him and I jump to the reason why we really came.
"So, Speedy, you in?"
"Pass," he turns on me, his face set in a deep scowl, "I'm done letting the Arrow and the League tell me what to do."
As he continues his rant about being treated like a joke, it brings up doubts I didn't even know I'd been thinking.
What if he's right? What if the only reason the team exists is to keep us sidekicks out of the League's way? To keep us in our places? It's like Slade said about Captain Marvel; they want us close so they can keep an eye on us. Batman would never do that to me… would he? Except he lied to me about joining the League. He never would've told me if Speedy hadn't thrown the truth back in their faces.
"Roy, are you serious?" Kid Flash asks.
"It's Speedy," Speedy snaps angrily, "Actually, you know what? It's not Speedy. I'm done being Arrow's sidekick."
"I understand," Aqualad says, disappointed, "I had hoped that you felt differently, but I will respect your decision."
"Good."
Speedy slings his bow over his shoulder and starts walking away.
"Are you kidding me?!" I shout. Startled, the other three look at me.
"You're seriously going to say all that shit about us and walk away?! What the actual hell, Roy?! What's wrong with you?"
Speedy snorts.
"The only thing wrong with me is that I've put up with the League and their shit for as long as I have."
Kid Flash and Aqualad look at each other.
"Dude… I know you're upset and all, but you're really acting weird," Kid Flash says, "You never let Rob swear that much."
"Well, maybe it's not my job to baby him anymore. Maybe I have bigger things to worry about than if he wants to say a potty word."
Baby me?! That's it.
"You know what, Speedy?! I was upset that you walked out. I wanted you to be on this team with us, but now I'm glad you're not because I don't want you on it! Just go off and do that stupid be your own man thing. See if I care!"
I pull out my grappling gun, fire at a nearby scaffold and swing away.
"Rob!" Kid Flash calls, "Nice going, Roy."
From the top of the scaffold, I glance back in time to see Aqualad shake his head at Speedy and jump off the shipping crates. By the time I stop swinging and jumping from crate to crate, they've both managed to catch up with me.
"He didn't mean that," Wally says.
"And I don't believe you truly meant what you said either," Kaldur adds.
"What's wrong with him?!"
"He is acting very strange," Kaldur agrees, "He is… very upset at discovering the League's deception."
"Yeah, well so are we!" Wally spits, "They lied to us to, and you don't see us throwing our hats on the ground and stomping off."
"No. Just breaking into secret undercover laboratories against strict orders to remain in the Hall."
"Don't pretend you weren't right there with us!" Wally yells at Kaldur.
"I was joking," Kaldur says quietly and Wally deflates.
"I thought he'd listen to us," I huff.
"I did as well," Kaldur leans back, head against the wall.
Wally starts to sit down, but pauses. Then he stands bolt upright and snaps, "You know what? Screw Speedy! Who cares if he's throwing a stupid temper tantrum over being treated like a kid? He's just proving them right!"
Kaldur and I look at each other.
"I'm sick of it! We found and rescued Superboy by ourselves! And destroyed Cadmus's illegal cloning facility! Maybe the League isn't happy about it, but they gave us a base and we get to call ourselves a team. That's not nothing! And I'm done letting Roy pretend it is."
He holds out his hands to pull us up.
"I'm going to go run a late patrol around Central. You guys coming or not?"
Mount Justice
Sunday, July 15th, 2012
"Guess if we're going to have a babysitter, a heartless machine is exactly what we need," I frown, gesturing at the android heading for the Zeta beams.
"Dude, harsh!" Wally hisses.
"And inaccurate. I have a heart. Carbon-steel alloy," he turns, and his eye sockets are glaring waves of invisible irritation, "I also have excellent hearing."
Wally and Miss Martian wince. Behind me, I can feel Superboy and Kaldur wince too.
"Hah, right," I say, taken aback. Is that it? From Batman, a warning like that would be accompanied by another dozen rounds of katas. From Slade, it would mean a few rounds of full-contact sparring that end with my face meeting the floor, "I'll strive to be… more accurate?"
"And more respectful," Kaldur's hand lands on my shoulder, squeezing lightly. I jump. Slade does that as a warning that I've made one joke too many, and I hate that it feels the same from anyone else.
"I guess that's that," Wally sighs, "Is it too much to hope that they actually start telling us about guys like Mr. Twister next time?"
"I believe that is truly asking too much," Kaldur shakes his head, almost joking but not quite, "Shall we?"
We turn towards the zeta beam and the massive disks start spinning as the lights turn on.
"You guys are leaving?" Miss Martian asks. The three of us turn around to see her standing in the doorway, one hand on her arm in a half-hug. Behind her, Superboy is leaning against the wall of the hallway, looking like he's trying not to pay attention.
"We'll be back for training on Tuesday," I shrug. Miss Martian wilts like I just kicked her puppy. Which I would never do. Why is that even an expression?
"Unless you had something else in mind?" Wally grins, raising an eyebrow suggestively. I smack him in the stomach and shoot him a mild Batglare.
"Well, I thought we could do some team stuff. I mean, I know obviously we're a superhero team and we're not a 'social club' or anything and we just went on a mission, but I know it's customary on Earth to do some team bonding activities. I read in a magazine once that spending some time together outside of whatever the oriented goal is can strengthen relationships and I just thought it could be fun!"
Miss Martian blushes. Wally and I look at each other. When Red Tornado suggested we just enjoy each other's company, it pissed me off. It just seemed like the League trying to keep us busy and out of the way. But when Miss Martian says it, it sounds like it could be kind of fun. I mean, there's no reason we can't be a superhero team that's also friends with each other, right?
"What did you have in mind?" Kaldur asks.
"Oh! Um, we are right on the water, so maybe we could do a beach day? Or, the rest of the mountain is pretty heavily forested, we could go for a hike… or if we wanted, we could take the bioship out further. I've heard the Wolf Hill Forest preserve has some amazing trails! Or if you guys don't want to do that, there are a lot of malls around here. Malls are fun places to hang out, right?"
"Not sure today is the right day, but camping could be pretty fun," Wally suggests.
"I'm up for it," I agree, "Tuesday night, after training?"
"Assuming the League doesn't need us to go save the world or anything," Wally agrees. Kaldur snorts, but it's definitely less sarcastic than his usual snorts.
"Sounds great!" Miss Martian floats a foot off the ground and touches back down. Wow I wish I could fly. Imagine the kinds of trapeze stunts I could do if I could literally turn gravity off.
"We could do something now too, if you want," I say.
"Sure! The cave has a great entertainment system! The hologram projector has an air hockey table, but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet."
"Are there movies?" Superboy asks suddenly. Yikes. Almost forgot he was there. But on the upside, he's nailing the brooding-from-the-shadows thing. If Superman doesn't get his head out of his butt, Superboy will fit right in with us Bats.
"I've never seen one before," he says defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. Suddenly, there's a burst of air and Wally isn't standing next to me anymore. He's got one arm around Superboy's shoulder as he leads him down the hall towards the living room and the giant tv.
"—got so much to show you, young grasshopper. Star Wars, Star Trek, Iron Man, dude you'd love that one, it's a live-action remake about a character from this comic book, Fight Club's always a classic…"
"Ferris Bueller's Day Off!" I call, before jogging after them.
"Nice one, thanks Rob. Uh, Die Hard, Indiana Jones-"
"Jaws," Kaldur offers. Miss Martian giggles.
"I've seen Earth television shows, but I don't know if I've ever seen a movie," she admits as we enter the living room.
"Well, there's a lot of ground to cover. Where do you want to start?" I ask, making a beeline for the television set. There's a remote somewhere, but no sign of any DVDs or Netflix hookup. But there is a port that connects into my wrist computers, so we're good. Wally looks up from his phone and makes a face.
"According to Rotten Tomatoes, the best movie of all time is the Wizard of Oz, so that site is stupid."
"You don't like the Wizard of Oz?" I ask.
"You do like it?" Wally retorts.
"What's it about?" Miss Martian asks earnestly. Superboy leans forwards, trying to read the screen of Wally's phone.
"A girl from Kansas gets caught up in a tornado that takes her to a realm called Oz, where she and her companions must seek aid from the Wizard to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West," Kaldur explains, "It is quite a compelling tale."
Maybe watching something about tornadoes isn't the best idea right now, given the whole Red Tornado and Mr. Twister thing, but Superboy actually looks interested.
"Your tornadoes were pretty cool," Miss Martian says shyly. Wally blushes bright red before getting a flirty look on his face. I brace myself.
"Thanks, Megalicious. You know, sometime I could show you what a real—"
"I believe that is enough, Kid," Kaldur steps in firmly. Miss Martian and I smile gratefully, but before I can say, "THANK YOU," Kaldur presses his hands over my ears and adds, "After all, there are children present."
"Hey!" I push him off, but he lets go without letting me even throw him in revenge. Kaldur gives me his most self-satisfied grin and steps back, hands raised innocently.
"Fish food," I mouth at him. Kaldur grins even wider.
"I will disconnect this TV," I threaten, "Don't think I won't!"
"My apologies," Kaldur says smoothly, bowing deeply in a picture of diplomatic serenity. I give him one last glare before I pull up the movie, but when I turn away, I'm grinning like a maniac. I missed Kaldur's ridiculous stoic sense of humor.
The Haunt, Gotham
Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
The garage is a hub of loud machinery, music blasting over speakers and workers leaning back from half-built cars to fan themselves. An army of fans are chugging away in the corner, trying their best to cool down the space but it's a lost cause. Even with the bay doors open, it's a furnace in here. Charlie and two other mechanics are drinking beers on the old couch in the corner.
"Hey Sam," Charlie waves as I walk over. Her hair is sticking to her face and neck, sticky with sweat, "Nice day, right?"
"It's so hot in here! You need to install AC or something!"
She shrugs, "It's not so bad. We're off in an hour anyways."
"If you think it's bad in here, the office is an oven," one of the other mechanics warns me. I think his name is Mark. I glance at the closed office door.
"Is he in?"
Charlie shrugs again.
"I think so. He's been making calls all morning, so I'd knock first. He can be a real ass about that."
Great.
"Thanks."
"How's the computer stuff going?" the other mechanic asks. Jared, maybe?
I make a face, "I got the system installed no problem. But now I have to teach him how to actually use it."
Mark laughs at me, "I got a six-year-old who already knows how to work a phone better than I ever will. Drives her crazy. I wish you the best of luck."
"But at least you're getting paid," Charlie claps me on the back. I can't help but grin back at her. Getting paid. Yeah, right.
"I better get going."
"Have a good one," Charlie finishes her beer. I'm still smiling as I knock on the office door and Slade's voice calls, "It's open."
"How was camping?" Slade asks as I walk into his office. The door clicks shut behind me. I stare at him, mind flooding with memories of my teammates relaxing around a campfire, telling stories and trying to scare each other.
"How did you…"
"If we're being honest, the words you and camping do not belong together. It was more of a shock than actual interest."
I stare at him, trying to think of something to say but what comes out is a defensive, "I like camping!"
Slade rolls his eye and spins his chair so he's facing me.
"Let's go."
I follow him through the secret closet door and down into the hideout. Every time I come down here, it seems like there are more and more hallways and doors and I never remember how we got anywhere. It's all the same gray steel walls and concrete floors.
He holds the door to his office open and says, "So it seems Batman made his decision."
I freeze.
How does he know about that? Suddenly, the comment about camping seems a little more sinister. How did he find out about that?
"What... why do you think so?"
Slade laughs, "So paranoid, aren't you? Last week, you walked through that door like you wanted to punch anything that moved. Right now, you're practically bouncing out of your seat. Ergo, your frustrations with your mentor have been resolved, and I presume you're happy with the outcome by the smile you keep trying to hide. As far as camping goes, you smell like smoke and I haven't heard any reports of arson in the last few days. Your sneakers are also covered in grass and mud, which means you were outside for an extended period of time recently. Put that all together, it's a safe assumption."
"Oh."
I look down, my face heating up. What's wrong with me? Slade doesn't spend his time watching me. Besides, even if he did, the only way he would've actually known that I went camping with my new teammates is if he'd hacked Mount Justice's computer systems, and to do that he'd have to get through all of the League's security systems and defenses. I couldn't even do that without prior access codes, which he doesn't have.
Slade saved my life. He's on my side, and everything he does, he does it to help me. I can trust him to keep my secrets.
"I take it they've forgiven the three of you for singlehandedly taking down an illegal genetic engineering ring?" Slade asks.
"Yeah. We're a team now."
"And?"
"And… I think this is good."
Slade sits behind his desk, and I sit in the folding chair across from him.
"It seems this is a convenient arrangement. Maybe too much so."
"Speedy thought so. And I guess, he got the rest of us messed up about it, but he was wrong. No, it's not the same thing as being made real members of the League, and yes, I'm still angry that they lied to us. But this team isn't a joke either. We're going up against real threats, and we've already won once."
"Good. I'm glad for you. I know you were upset, and it would have been a waste of your skills otherwise. That being said, this team may become quite a time commitment. I am concerned that it may impede on our schedule."
"It won't. I'll make time. Besides, Canary only has us training twice a week."
"Is she your team leader?"
"No, we don't actually have a leader yet. But Red Tornado is our… supervisor. And we're technically Batman's team."
"Interesting. I've heard very little about Red Tornado and seen even less. He wouldn't have been my first thought for a supervisor."
"Mine either. But he let us handle it on our own with Mr. Twister, and I mean, he's a robot. He's kind of just there."
Slade nods, looking thoughtful.
"You said Mr. Twister? I haven't heard of him."
"Um… He was a robotic suit with tornado powers piloted by another robot. We aren't sure who was behind it."
"Well, there aren't that many players capable of that degree of robotics. Ivo certainly, Toymaker, Magnus, but they'd hardly have the motive…"
"Magnus? Who's that?"
"Doctor Magnus was a student of T.O. Morrow's. A truly brilliant man, he was the creator of the Metal Men."
"Uh…"
"The Metal Men were a robotic superhero team during the 1980's. Unfortunately, they were destroyed in battle against another of Magnus' creations after he was abducted by a terrorist cell in Austria. Magnus's current whereabouts are unknown, and he has never quite recovered from the experience."
"I've never heard of any of them."
Slade looks thoughtful, "That could be dangerous. This team of yours may come across any number of villains that you may never have heard of. I can teach you about the major players and make sure you are prepared should you engage them."
"You'd do that?"
"I'll work on a draft for you. When you go home, do your best to research the names and find out their background, abilities, weaknesses and affiliations. Next week, I'll quiz you and provide any information you may have missed."
"Okay."
"Good. We're working on hand-to-hand today, correct?"
I nod.
"Go get changed. I'll meet you in the gym. No weapons."
AN: Even though Robin is good at a lot of things, separating the truth from lies might not be one of them. But what would Slade possibly get out of lying to him?
I hope you're enjoying the story! Leave a comment to let me know!