The martian bio-ship was silent, like the cold vacuum of space. It was familiar to Mason. That pit in his stomach. The way his ring hand seemed to weigh a little lighter. The clarity of his mind.
Years ago, he never could've imagined doing this. Infiltrating the island of Bane, the man who broke Batman's back. One of the most brutal drug lords in the world. Now he couldn't imagine not.
Having the ring was the same as a blind man having sight. It was transcendental. Flight, strength, and the ability to create anything he could imagine. The power he got from the green circlet was not something that could get simplified.
"Who's going to be the leader?" Mason asked, breaking free from his ruminations and shattering the quiet.
Wally, aka Kid Flash, and Robin, aka Robin, perked up, "Me!" They both shouted.
The response was nothing short of instant as they then turned to the other, affronted.
The ginger-headed speedster of Central City was fifteen to Robin's thirteen. But, somehow they both became four-years old.
Mason squeezed his eyes shut. This was not going to end well.
Kilowog—the alien Green Lantern who did his basic training—would be so ashamed of him right now. A part of a team like this.
"Can't we wait until we get there?" Miss Martian, or as she preferred, Megan, asked. The alien shapeshifter was in her default form.
She had red hair—a similar shade to Wally's own—amber eyes, and a couple freckles dotting her cheeks. The only thing that separated her from a normal girl was the green skin. She usually had a cheerful smile on her face, only now it was gone, replaced by a nervous grimace.
Robin and Kid Flash's barbs were getting sharper and, from what Mason knew of her, he could tell she didn't like it.
He supposed it made sense, in a way. As the niece of the Martian Manhunter, she would share the Green Martian's beliefs about peace. If he didn't have the ring, he never would've suspected that she was a part of the warlike White Martians. From the way she looked to the way she acted, nothing showed violent impulses. She was the cute girl next door.
Good thing his ring possessed a veritable encyclopedia about the universe at large.
Even after two years of swimming through it like a fish, Mason only skimmed the bare surface. But, where he still lacked sheer knowledge of the world, he thought he had some wisdom.
"I vote for Aqualad to be the leader." Mason said, cutting off the puerile pair.
"What?" they asked, aghast, as they both turned to the dark-skinned Atlantean in question. He could only raise his hands as he, too, showed surprise.
"He's one of the few experienced ones we have on the team with the right amount of maturity," Mason said. "Superboy and Miss Martian aren't used to Earth."
"Kaldur doesn't even want to be the leader of the team." Kid Flash argued as he crossed his arms, but there was a flicker in his eyes. The ability to process thousands of thoughts in an instant brought with it a quick way to look at the pros and cons.
"He's partner to the King of Atlantis. He knows duty."
"What about you?" the speedster asked. Suspicion tinting his tone.
Their partners might have been friends, but they were mere acquaintances at most.
"I know my duties, too. They're elsewhere. Besides, the only other options are you or Robin. Are either of you ready for that?"
Kid Flash opened his mouth to speak again, but Robin stopped him.
"Wally, he might not be wrong." The black-haired boy wonder of Gotham said. "Kaldur would be a great leader. He's already a great friend. And, look at it this way, remember the chewing out Batman and Flash gave us for Cadmus? Now that's all going to Kaldur."
At that, Kid Flash smiled.
"He's right, Kaldur," Kid Flash said, quick to change his tune. "How about it? You wanna be our leader?"
The Atlantean was still and silent, as he was for the entire argument. Sitting back against the bio-ships comfy chair, he closed his eyes. It was only a moment later when he opened them and turned to look at his teammates. His pale-green eyes meeting each of theirs.
"Thank you, my friends. I will accept the trust and burden you have given me until such a time that one of you can take it." He agreed with a small, solemn nod and smile.
"Megan, what's our ETA?" the newly dubbed leader asked.
She paused before responding, mentally communicating with the ship itself. "Drop Zone A in thirty. I'm putting it in camouflage mode now."
"Good," Aqualad said, standing as the floor in front of him opened up. "Green Lantern, with me."
Mason was quick to rise, but even quicker with his ring. In a brief flash, his suit darkened, becoming the covert uniform such an operation needed. The illuminated green lantern insignia on his chest dimmed. The brighter colors in his uniform turned black. His normal appearance of a glowing emerald hero was gone. In its place was a black figure that sucked in all light.
"Let's go." Mason said as he stood by Aqualad. Both of them jumping into the hole at the same time.
The drop was fast. Both heroes descended as swift as they could. The sound of the displaced air was only overcome by the rough waves that were under them.
Aqualad hit the water beneath them like a torpedo and plunged deep. His Atlantean origins granted him unmatched prowess in the sea. Maneuvering through traps and nets, he darted past the security and onto the shore.
As soon as he disabled the motion and heat sensors, Mason, as quick as a jet, zoomed over.
"Heat and motion sensors are down. Data's now on a continuous loop. Move in." Aqualad ordered through the communication system.
A moment later, they could feel a slight tremor hit the island.
"Aqualad, Drop B is go." Miss Martian alerted.
"Head for the factory," he directed. "Green Lantern and I will track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."
"Roger that." Robin responded.
Sprinting through the forest, Mason and Aqualad were minutes away. That's when they heard Superboy and the rest of the team.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
"Uh, no," Kid Flash replied, nonplussed. "Wait, is this a super-hearing thing?"
"You do have great ears." Miss Martian whispered.
"Okay, Rob, now what?" Kid Flash asked.
"Man, I hate it when he does that."
Mason and Aqualad shared a look. What were they doing?
"Superboy, Kid," Aqualad got their attention. "Switch to Infrared. See if you're being tracked."
After a few tense seconds, they could hear Kid Flash's report. "Got a squad of armed bozos incoming."
"Two squads," Superboy informed. "But they'll meet each other before they find us."
The sound of gun-fire erupted over the radio.
"Go," Aqualad told Mason, "I'll catch up."
Taking to the air, Mason zoomed forward, dodging trees and branches as he flew in a straight line toward the team.
Through the comms, he could hear Aqualad telling Kid Flash to wait, but the order went ignored.
Sighing, he put more power into his ring, so he gained speed. The wind from his flight velocity sending more than a few leaves whirling behind.
He reached the team's position right in time to see Kid Flash tumbling down a hill and between the two armed groups.
Not wasting a second, Mason boosted his speed even more as he threw his ring hand out in Kid Flash's direction. A green bubble surrounded the downed hero as one of the armed men pulled his trigger.
Bang! Ding!
The sounds echoed right after the other. The bullet shot forward, itching to rip through the speedster's flesh, only to meet the green light. It was only the first bullet, but Mason's willpower couldn't be beat as another series of shots rang out.
Every gun in the area started unloading its clip into the dome.
It was pointless, though. For them.
For Superboy, Miss Martian, and Robin, it was a welcome sight as they leapt from the trees.
Superboy was the first to arrive on the scene. And, as the clone of the strongest man on Earth—Superman—he lived up to his genetics as he hit the man closest to him.
The man flew twenty feet until he hit the tree on the edges of the battlefield. The other armed assailants looked at the ebony-haired alien clone like he was a monster. With the rage visible on his face, accompanied by that smile he wore, they weren't wrong.
Robin, like Batman, who trained him, dealt with his opponents with swift brutality. Like gravity didn't apply to him, he jumped and twirled between opponents. Delivering debilitating hits to any weak point he saw.
Miss Martian was unlike the other two. She wasn't power or control. She was simple. Using her telekinesis, she threw the men into each other, knocking them unconscious.
The guys with guns were nothing to the super-powered and trained teens. It wasn't long before they were all knocked down or out. Even Bane wasn't spared. Mason was quick to tie him up when he saw the head honcho himself. The luchador mask he wore making him unmistakable.
Aqualad arrived shortly after.
"I said 'swing wide, steer clear'. What part of that did you not understand?" Aqualad asked Kid Flash.
"I'm sorry! I was trying to find Rob, okay?"
Aqualad was about to speak, but Mason did it for him.
"Aqualad's your friend, and now your leader, so I'm going to say what he won't, Kid. What you did was stupid and idiotic," the green lantern said. "It put Superboy and Miss Martian in danger. It put Robin in danger. And it put yourself in danger. We are in enemy territory and we are on a mission. There's no one to back us up, or to fix our mistakes. You wanted to join the big leagues, well, here you are."
"What about Rob? He ran off too?" Kid Flash shot back.
Seeing Mason open his mouth to talk again, Aqualad took over.
"Thank you for the support, Lantern, but I can take it from here," he explained. "I get that we are a new team, friends. There will be mistakes, but we need to stick together and follow the plan. We can't run off, and we can't ignore orders."
"Sorry," the speedster and ninja said in low voices.
Robin glanced to the side, looking at the two armed groups.
"I recognize those uniforms," he said, looking over at the group wearing robes with hoods. "They belong to the Cult of the Kobra."
Mason withheld a groan. He knew of the Cult. And the outfits looked familiar enough. But that made things much more complicated. The Cult was something else, and that was from the perspective of a man who dealt with aliens on almost a daily basis.
Whatever was happening here was definitely out of the ordinary. He went over to Bane to find out how much.
Aqualad looked at Robin with a sharp glance. "I'm certain Batman would've mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation."
"Agreed. And, since there's clearly no love lost between the cultists and those goons," he deduced. "I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out. That's why normal supply lines have been cut off."
"We get it," Kid Flash said. "Kobra wanted super cultists. Mystery solved. Radio bats, and we'll be home in time for- "
Robin cut him off. "The cultists aren't on Venom. Kobra's hoarding the stuff. We don't leave. Not until I know why."
Kid Flash stepped up to him. "Until you know why?"
"I meant until we know why," Robin replied, not backing down.
"Now why don't I believe you?"
"Because you're a giant- "
"Robin!" Aqualad interrupted, his face stern. "We are friends. Now is not the time to turn on each other." He sighed and slumped. "Perhaps we do need to radio Batman."
"No," Mason objected, his voice harsh and through clenched teeth. He was standing on shaky legs over Bane with his ring—glowing—touching the villain's forehead. "Our mission can't get delayed. Bane thinks that Kobra and his partners are going to meet tonight. We need to stop them."
"I didn't realize your ring could read minds." Aqualad said.
"It can do almost anything," Mason informed. "But that ability, like all the others, requires will." Looking at Bane, he continued, "overwhelming will power when it comes to another's mind."
"Wait," Robin said, "did Bane know who Kobra's partners are?"
"No. That's why it's even more necessary that we continue with the mission. Aqualad, what's the call?" Mason asked.
"The call?" Aqualad repeated, looking at him confused.
"Do we continue or withdraw?" The green lantern elaborated.
Aqualad paused. "We continue."
"Okay," Mason nodded. "Bane installed a secret entrance, so we can use that to get in." He turned to the lone female of the group. "Miss Martian, read my mind and broadcast it to the others. We can use the blueprints from his memory to make a plan."
"Umm," she hesitated, raising her hand. "I thought I could only read the bad guy's minds."
"Where did you hear that?" Mason asked, sounding as if it was the dumbest thing he ever heard.
"The Team." She answered, confused.
He looked at the others. "Why? Having a mental link is much more secure than relying on Earth's technology."
They looked uncomfortable at that, but Superboy stepped up, his visage twisted. "We don't like things messing with our heads."
"Okay," Mason sighed, shaking his head. "Miss Martian, you and I will open up a mental link. I'll reconstruct the schematics with my ring for the others."
Megan looked surprised, but held a tentative smile as Mason felt her mind brush against his.
For the group, they stepped back as a miniature green copy of Bane's factory popped up on the ground under them. In no time, they had a plan.
Step 1: Breach the perimeter.
This was the easy part.
The Cult of the Kobra might have been able to attract followers like a Kardashian, but they were still human. None of them had powers, and it looked like only one took the super-strength inducing Venom drug.
They were nothing compared to even the Team's least powerful member. The sentries didn't stand a chance as Kid Flash and Robin took them down before anybody noticed. Their speed and stealth making them a powerful combination.
Step 2 was information gathering.
Here, Robin and Miss Martian had to break off from the rest of the team.
Robin took to the computers, pilfering any evidence he could, while Miss Martian flew to the skies. Her martian invisibility made her the perfect scout as she relayed her sight via mental link. Through it, Mason and Aqualad—with some urging from the green lantern—had omniscience. Everything she saw, they saw.
Step 3 was the preparation stage.
The entire factory had to go. None on the team argued with that. The amount of deaths and crimes attributed to people on Venom was in the ten of thousands. Stopping the manufacturing of the drug might have been only a stop-gap, but it was something.
Luckily, Bane had explosives.
Kid Flash, with his speed, was unseen as he strapped the C-4 to every pillar and beam that kept the building together.
Step 4 was when they struck the match.
Miss Martian saw the partners. Robin had every piece of information encrypted on the computer. And Kid Flash had rigged the building.
Everything was going perfectly.
Then they struck.
Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Robin went to decimating the swarms of armed, robed cultists.
Superboy charged against the sole Venom-enhanced cultist. The large, grotesque man with bulging, discolored veins was the clone's only match.
Aqualad took Kobra's partner. The hockey-mask wearing supervillain and assassin, Sportsmaster. The javelin, bat, and hockey stick he used to attack the Atlantean, proving his namesake, rang true.
Mason, meanwhile, fought Kobra and his right-hand woman, Shimmer.
The match-ups were precise, and all was according to plan.
Superboy was on top of his opponent, raining down a volley of punches. Aqualad had tanked most of Sportsmaster's dwindling arsenal of weapons. Mason had gotten the two evasive martial artists wrapped in green chains. And Robin, Miss Martian, and Kid Flash only had a handful of cultists left.
That's when Kobra called out. "Fleas surround us, my loyal soldiers! Show them the error of their ways."
All at once, four of the cultists jumped back. Before even Kid Flash could react, they each jammed a vial of blue liquid into their arms.
Immediately, the four grew. Their muscles expanded. The robes covering them ripped apart. Even their skin wasn't spared the consequences of such rapid growth as it cracked. Blood oozed as they reached their ultimate form.
They were taller than any human had a right to be, and built like a caricature of a strongman. The four roared as the drug ran its course.
Kid Flash was the fastest, and so was his reaction as he dashed to the one closest to him. He tried to take one out of the game early, but wasn't ready for the meaty club that swung into him.
The teen crashed into the floor, skidding against it. His groans of pain signalled the start of the new round of action. This time with the wave turning against the heroes.
Superboy was the second casualty. His attention strayed for a second, but it was enough to see him get a fist to the face.
Aqualad was the next to get hurt as he turned to his team, trying to regain order. Sportsmaster took the chance to throw a bomb at him before he took off. Aqualad flew back as the explosion rocked him off his feet.
Miss Martian and Robin were already getting overwhelmed by the new monsters. One of them took off after Kid Flash, but the other three went after the two closest targets and they were it.
Robin danced between the two of them. The only thing saving his human body from breaking in two were his acrobatic talents.
Miss Martian was luckier. She only had one enemy, and her ability to fly saved her from direct confrontation.
It did not deter the monster, though. It jumped to grab her from the skies, but she hit it hard with a wave of telekinesis back to earth. But even that wouldn't be enough to keep it down.
Mason's own attention was strong. He even tightened the chains on Kobra and Shimmer. But, as he lined up his ring hand to fire at one of Robin's monsters, Superboy crashed into him.
The chain construct broke as Kobra and Shimmer slunk into the forest.
From beneath Superboy, Mason saw something in the air. The pouncing form of the original drug-infused, muscle-bound man.
His hand shot out. A green ball hit the mid-air man into the roof of the factory.
"Get them into the factory!" Mason yelled to Kid Flash, who jumped to his feet to dodge a giant fist.
The nod he gave showed he recognized the plan.
Aqualad soon got up and gave Superboy his own order. "Help Miss Martian. Green Lantern and I will help Robin."
A grunt was the clone's reply as he leapt to help the flying girl.
Corralling them was quick work with the right teamwork.
Kid Flash proved to be the perfect, untouchable bait as he stung the monsters with hits like a bee, then ran. All the others had to do was protect him and not attract too much attention.
It was a straightforward process with the right supervision and abilities.
Robin had an endless list of gadgets in his tool-belt. Megan had her telekinesis. Mason had his ring. Aqualad could manipulate water. And Superboy was still unmatched in raw strength.
Kid Flash got the four into the factory uninjured. The original monster was still lying on the floor from when Mason hit it through the roof by the time Kid ran in and out. That's when he triggered the C-4.
The factory collapsed in seconds, smothering the monsters within. Though they all knew that wouldn't keep them down forever, it would last long enough to call in back-up.
"Robin," Aqualad said as they all looked at the smoking building, "call Batman."
Turning to Green Lantern, he asked, "can I talk to you for a second?"
"Yeah," Mason agreed as they walked to the side. Stopping, he turned to Superboy, "don't listen in."
When they found a spot, Aqualad turned to him. "You should lead," he said. "We're a new team. It would be better to have someone experienced to unite us."
Mason shook his head. "I can't."
"Can't, or won't," Aqualad looked at him, a flash of recognition crossing his face before he blinked it away. "They listen to you."
The green lantern put his hand on Aqualad's shoulder, "and they'll listen to you too. Lead this team, Kaldur. No one else can. Not even me. You'll get there. You've already taken the first step. Now you have to take the second."
"And that would be?" The Atlantean asked.
Mason smiled, "explaining this to Batman."