SMOKEY MOUNTAINS

DECEMBER 30TH 12:45 EST

Honeybee shivered in the cold and stepped down the mountain side, toward the broken plane pieces that sat in the valley below. The soft snow and ground squished under her boots, and she jumped down into the valley, landing in a crouch. The raven-haired girl walked slowly closer to the plane wreck, Superboy and Miss Martian at her sides. Honeybee crouched down next to a piece of the plane and peeked into it, trying to see if she could see a body or the case anywhere.

But there was no luck, as she found nothing but grass and snow. She frowned and stood back up, walking over to another piece to continue her search.

"How come Homeland Security and the N.T.S.B isn't all over this?" Kid Flash asked, rifling through parts to the left of Honeybee.

"Cheshire's ID was a League alert," Robin explained. "Authorities didn't pick it up, and her plane didn't follow it's flight plan. They flew under the radar, literally. The Watchtower auto-tracked the jet and then recorded the crash."

"Then why isn't the League here?" Rocket inquired. Zatanna smirked and put her hands on her hips and motioned with her head to where Robin was investigating the plane's black box.

"Because our Boy Wonder has some mad hacking skills and arranged to get the alert first," Zatanna said. Aqualad looked up from where he was inspecting and frowned.

"And because Cheshire and that case represent our unfinished business," Aqualad said. Superboy tossed over a piece of the plane's wing and turned back to face the rest of them.

"Here's one," a voice purred, and Honeybee turned with the others to see Cheshire standing on a ledge, looking down at them. Honeybee tensed and instinctively reached for the lasso on her hip. "And it is stunning."

"I am flora, not fauna! I am foliage, not trees!" another voice called out, and Honeybee turned to see the Riddler on top of the ridge. Mammoth and Shimmer stood with them, and a bevy of white coated assassin and warriors stood surrounding him and on the many ledges that stuck out alongside the ridge. Honeybee grit her teeth as Riddler snapped his fingers, and multiple towers sprouted onto the ridge. They formed a circular shape and they sprouted with electricity, creating a dome that encircled them and kept them inside.

"Come on! You can get this!" Riddler insisted. "I am shrubbery, not grass! I…."

"Am bush," Robin murmured. Riddler smiled, lips lined with mischief, and put one foot forward, leaning on his knees.

"Did you really think we wouldn't be tipped you were on Cheshire's tail?" Riddler asked. Honeybee supposed they had been naïve to think otherwise. They had been so caught in a lead that they had acted without a plan. It was a rookie mistake; one she knew they wouldn't make again. "We're tired of your interference, kiddies. This is the end game. Ordered from above and executed by their master strategist, moi."

"Miss Martian," Aqualad's voice cut through Honeybee thoughts like butter, "is everyone linked?"

"Yes," Miss Martian replied.

"Go!"

Honeybee launched herself forward, jumping over a piece of the plane and down into the snow beneath her. One of the white-coated assassins met her where she was at, and she smirked as she dodged a punch directed at her.

"Ekahs siht eblogwows!" Zatanna chanted. Honeybee grinned as snow began pelting around them, reminding her of a blizzard, making it harder for their opponents to see. There was a downside however: it made it harder for them to see as well. Honeybee swiped up in an uppercut, hitting the man under the chin and causing him to fall to the ground.

Honeybee avoided a kick aimed at her by another one, and she flipped backwards in a handspring to avoid a swipe made by the staff they carried. She landed in a crouch and reached for her lasso and swung it out to catch the mercenary's leg. She pulled him forward, and he fell to the ground with a soft thud, half-buried in the snow.

"Superboy, the pylons!" Aqualad cut in. Superboy grunted in the mindlink.

"Working on it!"

From above them, some of their white-coated opponents began to shoot weapons that shot our red disks of energy, which would make then shoot out beams of red electricity that would entrap their prey with a shock of energy. Honeybee gasped as one caught Rocket and the poor girl fell into the snowy ground.

Aqualad rushed to her aid, and Robin and Honeybee had a similar idea. Honeybee and Robin launched themselves up to hit the man, who was sent reeling back by the double kick that was leveled at his chest and face. Honeybee landed next to her old friend, and she turned to him, the two of them sharing a coy, proud smile.

Then Robin's mouth opened in shock, and Honeybee turned to look in the direction that he was looking, and her mouth nearly dropped too. Superboy was engaged in a fight with Blockbuster, which was par for the course, but what was shocking was that Superboy was flying. Superboy could do many things that Superman could, but flying was not one of them. And yet, here he was, flying up towards the sky with Mammoth in his grip.

"SB, you're flying!" Robin exclaimed in the mindlink, and Honeybee could only stare in shock.

Robin took off towards Riddler and Shimmer, and Honeybee stared for a moment longer as Blockbuster was raised up towards the dome. Honeybee shook her head and finally turned away, knowing now was not the place to gawk at Superboy's new power set.

Honeybee roundhouse kicked a white coated mercenary, and he was knocked back into the ridge. Honeybee was hit in the back of the knee by a staff of one behind her, and she cursed under her breath at the pain that shot up her leg. She turned around and avoided the punch aimed at her head, and she used her other leg to knock the feet out from beneath them.

Riddler began to yell, and Honeybee turned to see him bound by white bandages, Zatanna floating nearby and Robin standing before him, Riddler's protector fallen to the ground out cold.

"No! No!" Riddler screamed. "I am not the straight-jacket type! I am strictly Belle Reve, not Arkham!"

Honeybee rolled her eyes and turned away, facing one more white coated man. She kicked him clear in the chest, and he fell off the side of the ledge she was standing on, down into the snow below. Honeybee looked around to see most of the men down, one or two still engaged in fights, but the rest of them unconscious or having disappeared completely. Cheshire was nowhere to be seen and Artemis held the case they were looking for.

Honeybee frowned and crossed her arms. This was far too easy. None of their opponents put about too much of a fight, falling easily with the slightest provocation. Cheshire was gone completely, and she seemed to have abandoned the case she was fighting to protect.

They had been set up to win, it was clear. But by who? And why?

MOUNT JUSTICE

DECEMBER 30TH 2010 15:45 EST

"Let me see if this sounds familiar," Batman said, looking between the members of the Team. Honeybee held her gaze steady, never one to back away from a Batman glare. "You hacked League systems, disregarded protocol, endangered your lives, and your initiative resulted in the capture of three escaped felons, thus proving that Warden Strange runs Belle Reve as a cover for criminal activity." Batman let one of his rare smiles cross his face. "Well done."

Honeybee blanched, staring up at Batman in shock. Well done? Well done? Honeybee had expected the moment they returned to the Cave and met with the League to be ripped a new one. To be reprimanded until the cows came home and taken off active duty with the League. She had not expected for the assembled Leaguers to be… understanding. To congratulate them on what they accomplished, especially since they hadn't really accomplished anything.

They were set up, and Honeybee knew that the capture of Riddler, Mammoth, and Shimmer was just a sacrifice that Cheshire and her benefactors had to make.

"And then there's this," Batman said. He opened the case where it sat on a table, revealing a series of three-pronged star-shaped micro-chips. Honeybee for the life of her could not figure out what it was, what her father had come up with. All she knew was that it was dangerous, as was everything her father created. "Bio-technology integrated with some form of nano-circuitry."

"Though I am unfamiliar with the species," Icon, one of the new members of the League, said, "the bio-component is clearly not of Earth."

"We'll take it to the Watchtower for further study," Batman finished, shutting the case. And just like that, it was over with, Batman was done. Honeybee watched him go, crossing her arms.

"Recognized, Batman – 02."

And then he was gone, disappeared into the Zeta tube.

Icon and Black Canary made move to leave, and Rocket rushed to her mentor, smiling up at him wildly.

"Sorry for skipping out earlier," Rocket apologized lightly to Icon. "Congratulations on the League thing."

Icon smiled good-naturedly and put a hand on Rocket's shoulder, casting an approving look over the assembled Team.

"Yes, well, we both seem to have found teams that suit us," Icon said. Icon and Rocket shared a warm look and Honeybee could not help the infectious smile that crossed her face at the display. Black Canary came behind them and put a hand on Icon's shoulder.

"We should go," Black Canary interrupted, but not rudely. "Wouldn't want to miss the League's big induction party."

Icon and Black Canary stepped into the Zeta tubes, the computer reading off their numbers and then they were gone.

Aqualad wasted no time getting to business, calling them all to his attention.

"You realize we were set up?" Aqualad asked the Team, and Robin answered for them.

"Yes."

"Cheshire and Riddler were tipped and ready for us," Aqualad continued. Artemis grumbled and rubbed her temple.

"Not the mole thing again," she groaned. Rocket raised a brow and looked between them all.

"Mole thing?" Rocket asked. Honeybee was unsure how to broach the topic. The idea of a mole on the Team she thought was finally put to rest with Red Arrow's departure to the Justice League, as he was the only one still holding out that there was one. Honeybee still had too much doubt to really believe that any of her friends could be the one to turn their back and be a mole for the other side.

Aqualad was the one to finally answer Rocket, answering as ever diplomatic as he usually was.

"We had intel that there was a traitor on the Team," Aqualad answered. Superboy seethed at this, thrusting forward out of the group and towards Aqualad. Superboy pointed his finger accusingly at Aqualad.

"Namely Artemis, M'gann, or me," Superboy supplied angrily. Aqualad furrowed his brow in frustration and held his ground.

"It is more complicated than that," Aqualad said. Superboy stared in frustration and exasperation as Aqualad continued. "But your recent behavior does concern me. Your attack on Mammoth nearly got Artemis killed."

Superboy opened his mouth to say something but then decided against it, shouldering away with rage following him in waves. He attempted to leave, but halfway there, he cringed like he was hearing a high-pitched sound of some kind. Honeybee reached out a hand and tried to step forward in concern, but he straightened out and turned to face them, determination set in his face like it was stone.

"There's something I need to do." Superboy faced them, standing tall but the beginnings of nervousness infiltrating his features. "Something I need to tell you." Superboy rubbed the back of his neck and continued. "Last month, on Thanksgiving, I went back to Cadmus and found some things out. When I was cloned, only half of the DNA was Superman's. The other half was human."

Honeybee's brow shot up. Superboy was half-human? But if he was half-human, how did he have the powers he displayed today in the valley? Flight? Heat vision?

"That's why I don't have, will never have, full Kryptonian powers."

"But Supe," Honeybee said softly, "what about today? Yo-you could fly!"

Superboy pulled something out of his back pocket, revealing a small metal container of some kind, a Superman symbol emblazoned on the label.

"I've been using these. Shields," Superboy explained. "They suppress my human DNA. I get the flight, the heat-vision, but I think I also get angry." Honeybee raised a brow, and Superboy continued. "Well, angrier." Superboy looked down, ashamed. "I'm sorry."

"Where did you get those?" Aqualad inquired, his tone decidedly even.

"From my human father, Lex Luthor," Superboy answered. Honeybee felt a second sucker-punch to her gut. Lex Luthor was Superboy's dad? That couldn't be-that couldn't be right. Superboy was the farthest thing from how Lex Luthor was. Superboy was kind and passionate, not vile and cold. But then again, Honeybee thought as she looked down at her hands, sometimes the apples really do far from the tree.

"He's summoned me to Santa Prisca." Superboy seemed to finally be finished, and he waited for the judgement that would follow. But nothing came, and Honeybee smiled at him, trying her best to let him see that she didn't see him differently now. He was still her best friend, the one she could turn to when everything else fell apart and the one he could count on even when the world was against him. His human father did not change that.

"Ah, listen…" Artemis cut in, and Honeybee turned to her. "Superboy is not the only one suffering from bad genes." Artemis began to type on the holocomputer, bringing three mugshots of Huntress, Sportsmaster, and Cheshire. Across Huntress's picture was the word 'retired' and Artemis stood in front of them, rubbing her arms softly. "My mother is Huntress, an ex-con. The rest of my family aren't even ex. My dad, Sportsmaster, is sending my sister, Cheshire, to fly me to Satna Prisca."

"That's why…." Kid Flash realized, and Honeybee's eyes widened. That's why Artemis had been deadset on stopping Cheshire alone. She wanted to keep her secret at any and all costs. And Honeybee could not begrudge her for it. How long had she kept her secret of Ivo being her father?

"Yeah," Artemis said. "I was so desperate for none of you to find out…"

"I knew," Robin jutted in, and Honeybee turned on her heel, not surprised by Robin's revelation. "Hey, I'm a detective. But it never mattered. You aren't your family. You're one of us."

Artemis gave a small smile, and Honeybee felt an electric buzz work up her arms. If they—could they have this same reaction if they told them about Ivo? Would it really not matter? But she'd kept the secret for so long, for years, not months like Artemis. Maybe it was too late for her.

"So, who's next?" Kid Flash joked.

"I am," M'gann revealed, not daring to look any of them in the eye. Kid Flash raised his hands in surrender, his eyes wide.

"I swear I was kidding," Kid Flash insisted. M'gann stepped forward, expression downcast as she tried to make herself smaller, hugging her middle.

"Queen Bee's been blackmailing me," M'gann said. "She wants me in Santa Prisca too."

"Blackmailing you?" Robin asked. "How?"

"She knows my true Martian form," M'gann said. Kid Flash raised a brow and crossed his arms.

"Bald M'gann?" Kid Flash confirmed. "Who cares if –"

"No," M'gann interrupted. M'gann transformed before them, turning into something that Honeybee would normally see in a Hollywood horror movie. Her skin turned chalk white, and she became at least teen feet tall. She had large teeth that were covered by no lips, and her skin was white and pink, red stripes creating an x on her front. She had only two fingers on what looked like hands, and two toes on her feet. Honeybee instinctively stepped back but did not feel any real fear in her heart.

This was M'gann. Sweet M'gann who baked cookies and greeted everyone with kindness. Honeybee could never fear M'gann, try as she might.

"I realized you would never accept me," M'gann said telepathically, "if you saw what I truly am."

"M'gann, did we truly seem so shallow?" Aqualad responded, voice pained.

"I couldn't take that chance. Being a white Martian among the green on Mars, I faced constant rejection," M'gann whispered in their heads, hugging herself tight. "I couldn't face that from –"

Superboy stepped forward, and Honeybee felt the connection to M'gann cleave away from her. Superboy and M'gann entered their own private conversation, and the rest of them watched as Superboy took her hand and gave her a soft look.

After a long minute, M'gann transformed back into her normal appearance, and she looked between them all. She kept her arms around herself and she smiled weakly.

"This is who I want to be," M'gann said. "This is me. I feel….at home like this. I'm sorry I hid this from you for so long."

"Oh, M'gann," Artemis whispered. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder and squeezed it. Honeybee stepped forward and smiled at M'gann. What M'gann needed now, at her most vulnerable, was a friend. "We love you no matter what you look like."

"I doesn't matter to us if you're green or white," Honeybee insisted. "What matters is what is in your heart. And you've shown everyone nothing, but kindness is in yours."

M'gann grinned, a thin blush coloring across her green cheeks.

"Thank you," M'gann murmured.

Honeybee stepped back and the moment spread out across the Team as the absorbed the information they were just given. Superboy was half-human. Artemis was the daughter of Sportsmaster. M'gann was a white Martian. All of it felt like sucker-punches to Honeybee's very existence as she tried to take it all in. It changed nothing, but it also changed everything. They were the same people they were before, but now they had shown parts of them self that none of them had expected.

Honeybee felt the moment slip away, and she knew that this would be a perfect moment to reveal her secret. That Ivo was her father, and that was why she had reacted so poorly on the missions involving him. But as the moment passed, her mouth would not move, and she knew the secret would not come.

Now was not the moment, now was not the time. She simply was not ready for them to know yet. Honeybee had kept this part of herself secret for so long, it was buried deep within her, and it would take deep digging to get it out of her.

Not today. But someday.

"I applaud each of your courage in telling us the truth," Aqualad said proudly. "I know that it was not an easy decision for you. But given that each of you are wanted in Santa Prisca, we can use this to our advantage."

And the real mission began.

SANTA PRISCA

DECEMBER 20TH 17:57 EST

Honeybee positioned herself in the trees surrounding a clearing on Santa Prisca and kept herself hidden amongst the foliage. She snickered to herself as she remembered what Riddler had said earlier in the day, about not being trees or foliage, but was an am-bush. And now here they were, only a few hours later trying to pull off the same thing.

"What's so funny?" Robin whispered next to her. Honeybee smiled and motioned to the trees.

"Am bush," she murmured. Robin rolled his eyes and shoved her shoulder.

"You realize that if Riddler knew you thought he was funny, you would never hear the end of it," Robin said. "Every fight against him would be—"

"Torture?" Honeybee finished. She smiled. "Yeah, I know."

Robin and Honeybee fell into a quiet pattern, sitting amongst the trees as they prepared themselves for events about to unfurl. Rocket, Aqualad, Zatanna, and Kid Flash sat in another part of the forest, prepared and waiting. Superboy, Artemis, and Miss Martian were yet to arrive, having needed to seem like they were coming of their own accord and not as part of a mission to destroy whatever this was.

Honeybee leaned against the side of a tree and watched overhead as Superboy's supercycle flew overhead. The show was about to begin.

"Feeling the aster yet?" Honeybee asked her friend, and Robin smirked.

"Always," Robin answered. Honeybee and Robin remained where they were, and Honeybee watched in the distance as Superboy approached Lex Luthor and Queen Bee. It seemed these two were behind everything from the start, not the Injustice League. Bane and Blockbuster stood off to the side, most likely the muscle for the evening in case something got out of hand.

One by one, Artemis and Miss Martian appeared. Artemis stood with her father and sister, standing tall and proud, not an ounce of suspicion in the others that she was playing them. M'gann looked downcast, ashamed, and afraid. While Superboy appeared stunned at his friends being there, the role that Aqualad had told him to play back at the Cave.

It was all going according to plan. Superboy froze, under Queen Bee's control, and Blockbuster approached him to carry him. Artemis sprung into action, sending a foam arrow right at Blockbuster's chest, which exploded into an entrapment of sticky foam to incapacitate Blockbuster.

M'gann pretended to attack Artemis telepathically, but used it as a cover for Artemis to shoot an arrow at her family. M'gann used her telekinesis to knock out Queen Bee, sending her flying into a tree.

Superboy came to and approached Lex Luthor slowly, seemingly engaged in conversation. Blockbuster broke free of the foam and roared, coming after Superboy and dragging him through mud and dirt to the cliffside. Lex Luthor turned to Bane and his men, and they began shooting at Artemis and M'gann. Artemis kept a hold on keeping her family back while M'gann flew between gunshots that Bane's men were sending flying out.

"Guys, reinforcement time!" Artemis called in the mindlink. Robin and Honeybee shared a look and then sprung into action. Robin and Honeybee raced forward, flying through the trees and bushes. Rocket was the first one to reach the clearing, using her inertia belt to fly and pick up one of the goons trying to shoot down M'gann.

Kid Flash was next, and he knocked into three of the shooting men, each one going down to the ground with loud thuds. Bane did not like this, and he pressed the button on his drug supply in order to become stronger to battle.

Honeybee burst through the trees and immedailty made a beeline for several of the goons that were shooting at M'gann. She took out two of her stingers and launched them, and they landed on their guns, sending out a small-grade EMP pulse that shut them down. These were not regular guns (thank goodness), but rather electric ones that sent out energy pulses. Ones that could easily be shut down by Honeybee's EMP stingers.

Honeybee jumped forward and landed on one of their shoulders, causing them to wildly miss their target. Honeybee jumped off and kicked them in the face, sending them flying backwards into the ground. Honeybee thrust out her stingers so that it hit their energy gun, and it shut down with the yellow electricity spurts.

M'gann came up behind her and lifted up a piece of the ground to keep someone else's energy pulse from hitting them, and Honeybee gave a quick smile as thanks. Honeybee slipped below the pieces of dirt and rock and sprang to her feet, roundhouse kicking another one of the men in the face.

Honeybee was unexpectantly knocked back by a blast from above, and she looked up to see Rocket in a bubble as Lex Luthor flew away in a jet with Queen Bee and Mercy, his bodyguard. Honeybee knew it was only a few moments before Aqualad used the Apokliptan tech they managed to get from their fight earlier in the day.

Honeybee rushed towards where Bane was fighting Zatanna and Robin, Zatanna having already fallen onto the ground. Robin was thrown back into the side of a helicopter by Bane, and Honeybee grit her teeth as she ran. These were her friends, and though this was the job, it made her angry none the less to see them hurt.

"Zatanna, Robin!" she called out. This caught their attention, and the called individuals looked up at her. This also got the attention of Bane, who turned to her, which was just what she wanted. It was to give Robin and Zatanna a distraction to come up with something while she dealt with Bane in the meantime. Lord knew she couldn't take on Bane all by herself, he was far too strong, and she was far too small. She knew Robin would understand her plan, after all, she always understood his.

"He-yah!" Honeybee exclaimed. She jumped up and tried to punch him once in the face, but he swatted her away. Honeybee managed to land herself in a crouch. She narrowed her eyes and stood, and attempted a roundhouse kick, only for Bane to grab her leg and swing her into the helicopter that Robin just was flung into.

"Etaerc Nibor soniuslli!" Zatanna called out, and Honeybee tried to return to her feet, but was struggling to regain her balance. Several Robins appeared out of thin air, carbon copies of the original boy that stood among his clones. All of them began to run at once, attacking Bane as he tried to fend them off.

"Gotta love…"

"…an army…"

"…of me!"

With each hit to a fake Robin, they disappeared into smoke, but it was just enough to distract Bane. Robin jumped over top of Bane, disconnecting his drug supply tube from his spinal column. He shot out an electric rope that quickly electrocuted them. Bane fell to the ground in pain, squirming in the electric blue light before falling into unconsciousness with a bang as he hit the ground.

Honeybee managed to return to her feet, and she looked to see that Aqualad had unleashed the Apokaliptan technology, creating small rives of goo that took in Blockbuster and Sportsmaster, both of them knocked cold. Cheshire had managed to escape again, and Honeybee looked among her Team as they stood between the unconscious bad guys.

Honeybee couldn't believe they had managed to do this. They discovered who was really behind all of this, who was the ones pulling the strings, and they managed to get Bane, Sportsmaster, and Blockbuster in the process. All in all, it looked like the mission had worked, despite Lex Luthor and Queen Bee getting a way.

Honeybee turned to face Robin, smiling a large smile. "Still feeling the aster?"

Robin nodded, his smile even bigger. "You know it."

Chapter Bible Verse:
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?"—Psalm 8:3-4

I am so excited for next chapter! I've been writing up a storm because I can't want for part 2 to commence, as we are going to delve into a few key moments over the timeskip that are going to make part 3 easier to understand and more meaningful.

Let me know what you think of this chapter!

Review Replies:

MsRosePetal: Wally really is a breath of fresh air, ain't he? He reminds me a lot of my twin brother, so I have a lot of fun writing him. I unfortunately haven't gotten to do it often because he's not really related to the Jason storyline, we've been following but expect more from him during the timeskip! I have plans for him! Thank you for leaving a review and have a blessed day!

Power Rangers Is Life: First of all, love the username! I love me some Power Rangers! And secondly, for some reason Frindle was one of those books that stuck with me? I just thought it was such a cool premise as a kid, and fifth grade me just ate it up. Thanks for leaving a review and have a blessed day!

Questions, comments, or concerns? Let me know! Have a blessed day!

-PrincessChess