Chapter Four — Welcome to Happy Harbor
"I just want you to be happy, if that's with me or somebody else or nobody; I just want you to be happy."
When Dick and Wally and Kaldur— Aqualad, who wore his usual crime fighting uniform —had all showed up at the Jordan-Gluck apartment unannounced and uninvited a little over a week since the formation of the team, Arley who had answered the door with a charcoal black face mask on and in a pair of short pajama pants blinked at the sight of them. Her short hair was tightly braided back as much as it could be and her bangs were held up out of her face by a single pink curler.
"Do you three have my Chinese food?" Arley asked, she leaned against the apartments door frame; Dick, with a duffel bag over his shoulder snorted.
"No but it's quarter past ten at night why are you ordering Chinese food now?"
"Because I'm hungry, next question."
"You ordered from Fortune Hawaii?" Wally asked,
"Duh, where else am I getting my food from?" The Lantern snorted, she moved and the boys one by one entered the apartment, Arley shut the door behind them as the three boys situated themselves in the Jordan-Gluck living room. "What are you guys doing here though? I thought we were meeting up at the cave tomorrow."
The muted television played a documentary on an ancient long forgotten civilization.
"Roy called," Dick said as he set his bag down on the floor next to the couch; Wally had zoomed off to the kitchen only to return with the bag of chips Arley and Hal had labeled with a lightening bold in sharpy. Wally sat on the couch, Dick sat on the couch's arm next to the Speedster. "He asked if we wanted to help him take down Brick and his guys before they steal a shipment of weapons."
"Sure," Arley shrugged, "But I have to get my food and wash my face first."
"Roy is not expecting us until eleven, that is when he says the crime will happen," Kaldur said. Arley supposed that while Dick and Wally had to drop whatever they were doing as civilians in order to travel to the West coast, Aqualad had only needed to pop right out of the water to meet them at her apartment.
"Alright," Arley raised the ring on her finger and pointed her closed fist in the direction of her bedroom, a green hand shot out and returned with both her Lantern battery and her phone. Arley took the phone and the hand placed the Lantern battery on the coffee table next to the money she was going to use to pay the delivery guy.
Unlocking the phone Arley went to contacts and pressed the one labeled Boss-man. Hal who was still on a not-date with his not-girlfriend Carol Ferris, was quick to pick up.
"Hey kiddo I was just about to walk back into the movies so you gotta make it quick, what's up?"
"Just wanted to let you know I was stepping out for a little, the boys asked if I wanted to hang," Arley said. Just because Carol wasn't next to Hal on the other end of the speaker didn't mean no one was listening.
"Where?" Hal asked. Arley looked to Kaldur and Dick and mouthed the question at them.
"Star City, hey Hal!" Dick said, his voice raised.
"Hey boys!" Hal said through the phone, "Be safe!"
"Will do, love you, tell Carol I say hi."
"I'm going to tell her you hate her," Hal joked laughing; Arley pulled back from the phone and shot the device a mean look before bringing it back to her ear.
"Don't you dare!"
"We'll see, love you, talk to you before I leave for work tomorrow!" And with that Earths first Green Lantern hung up.
Arley looked at the phone dryly before tossing it onto the couch cushion between Wally and Dick, the phone bounced up and went to swan dive onto the wood floor— Arley's let out a painful hiss from between her teeth at the sight and raised her hand so she could used a construct to catch the ring —only for Wally to catch it in his hand before it could drop, the speedster bent and placed it face up on the coffee table.
"Thanks," Arley breathed; her shoulders dropped in relief.
"You know I got your back Glowstick," Wally winked.
Arley rolled her eyes at the nickname, she had long ago given up on trying to get Kid and Flash from calling her that; though Arley supposed it was better then Guy Gardner's affectionately dubbed Nightlight.
"Don't you have a suit to change into Genius Boy?" Arley asked, Wally pulled up his sweatshirt to reveal the yellow half of his reinforced tripolymer suit.
"I'm good," Wally smiled before stuffing another handful of chips in his mouth. Arley looked at the television and then at the boys.
"Dick you can use the my room to change—" The boy wonder, in one fluid motion got to his feet, picked up the back and had moved down the apartments short hallway towards Arley's room. Arley looked at Wally and Aqualad, "I'm going to wash the mask off and take out my hair, do me favor, if the food comes before I'm out just pay the guy with all the money on the table and—" Arley looked solely at Wally, "—Don't eat all my shrimp dumplings again if you have some."
"I'll eat what I want," Wally teased in a faux-petulant voice.
Arley's eyes narrowed, whilst she knew Wally was kidding and he would never purposefully eat her food— he knew what she had gone through as a foster kid and how protective she was of her food now, it was why he never made comments about how she tended to eat more like a rapid wolf then a person —the speedster, much like his uncle, had a tendency to accidentally over eat and save no one else anything without realizing he had done so.
"Best friend or not I will kill you." And with that she left the boys in the living room as she walked down the hall to the bathroom.
...
An hour later, hidden in the shadows, Arley watched Brick— who Robin, as she had transported the three boys in a glowing green jet, informed her was a red skinned superpowered human who in the last few years had made a name for himself in Star Cities underground drug trade —and his men cut open into a shipping container and start to begin unloading the boxes of weapons they had planned to steal.
Speedy let a trick arrow fly, the arrow head hit the ground at the feet of two thugs who had grabbed the first box of weapons to load into their truck only to explode seconds later before either criminal could realize what had landed between them.
The two masked criminals flew back, the box of guns went up into the air and hit the ground; the box spilled open. Brick who had been standing some feet away overseeing his operation kicked a fallen gun up and into his hand, the drug dealer aimed the weapon at the sky.
"You again!" Brick shouted, he had spotted Speedy who stood openly on top of steal beams. "I'm starting to get offended Green Arrow's not messing up my operation personally." He shot at Speedy who jumped to another steel beam; Arley's brows shot up at the sight of what had almost hit the red headed archer because it hadn't been a bullet. Speedy jumped with every shot, dodging every blast shot from the gun; flipping Speedy shot another trick arrow, this time at Brick whose gun blew up in his hand once the arrow made contact with the weapon.
The red skinned mans suit was torn to shred. "Do you know what I pay for a suit in my size!" Brick demanded, his neck turned, "Scorch the Earth, boys." And that was their queue.
Brick's lackeys clicked the safety off their stolen guns and Kid Flash speed by grabbing several. Robin threw a birdarang at another two, knocking the weapon from the criminals as he soared over their heads. Aqualad and Arley dropped from the sky, the pair using their ring and water barers created whip like constructs, knocking the criminals against the side of the truck they had brought and taking them out.
Arley, as Aqualad moved towards Speedy, flew higher in the air. She could see Robin flip one criminal over his shoulder and harshly onto the ground, and she could see Kid Flash run around a second one until the masked man was nothing more then a dizzy pile on the dock grounds.
Brick reached into the concrete under his feet, his fingers grabbed at large slabs and the man pulled up with a yell, tearing the concrete from under his own feet and he threw it at Speedy who ran across the tops of shipping crates.
With a flick of her hand Arley made a bubble around one slab of rubble before it could hit the archer and dropped it on the ground. With another yell Brick threw a second slab of concrete, this time Aqualad, with a sword he had used his water barers to form, cut through the concrete.
Arley settled next to the boys, hovering just over their standing forms.
"The cave is perfect," Aqualad told Speedy, Arley could hear the joy in the Atlanteans voice, "It has everything the team will need."
Robin dropped down behind the two boys, Arley drifted lower to the tops of the shipping crates and landed softly on her feet.
"For covert missions, you know, spy stuff," the boy wonder sounded excited.
"It also has rooms and running water," Arley told Speedy, "If you know, you need a place to crash."
Speedy shot Arley a dry look, "I told you I'm fine."
He had multiple times— after leaving Dinah and his mentors without so much of a note both League members had asked Arley and the other former sidekicks of Roy was crashing with them, which he wasn't; and though Arley knew Roy had money of his own, independent of Green Arrow she worried because money only ever lasted so long and though Star City may not have been Gotham the streets were still the streets —and though the archer said he wasn't sleeping in someone's gutter whenever Arley had texted he always refused to tell Arley just where he was staying when she asked.
"And wait 'til you see Superboy and Miss Martian," Kid said jumping onto the top of the crate. "But I saw her first!" Arley's heart clenched and the Green Lantern turned away from the speedster.
Brick, having collected his barrings shot up with a scream. The Kingpin tossed another large slab of concrete at the young heroes and while Speedy rolled to the left and Robin used his grappling hook to shoot away, and Kid and Aqualad jumped down, using her ring Arley formed a large hammer and smashed the concrete in the air.
Rubble hit the ground below her; Speedy shot three arrows at Brick, one of them on fire and the other two explosive ones that blew up against the mans chest on impact. Brick simply stumbled back with a sneer.
"Tell Arrow he shouldn't send boys to do a mans job." Speedy pulled a single arrow and Brick stretched his arms out wide, "Go ahead," the Kingpin said arrogantly. Speedy released the arrow and this did not explode on impact and instead bubbled over the moment it made contact with the criminals skin. Red foam quickly covered the man before he could pull the arrow off him.
Skidding to a stop in front of Speedy, just on the edge of the shipping containers, Kid, crouching low, turned to the archer.
"High-density polyurethane foam," Kid nodded appreciatively, "Nice."
"So, Speedy you in?" Robin asked; his arms were crossed as he leaned against a shipping crate next to Speedy.
"Pass," the archer said, "I'm done letting Arrow and the League tell me what to do. I don't need a babysitter or a club house hang out with the other kids, your junior Justice League is a joke, something to keep you busy and in your place," he sneered. He walked away into the darkened corners of the shipping yard maze, "I don't want any part of it."
Arley and Kid stepped forward as, in an almost Batman like fashion Speedy disappeared into the shadows, leaving the four of them behind. Arley, with a hard look in her eyes crossed her arms over her chest;
"I cannot believe we care about that asshole."
...
Dick and Wally had slept over on the living room floor of the Jordan-Gluck apartment that night; Arley had claimed the couch as it was her house and until about five in the morning the three teen heroes watched comedy movies like Scary Movie and Robin Hood Men in Tights, it was why all three of them were late to meet up with Kaldur, Superboy and Miss Martian at Mount Justice.
"Robin, b-zero-one. Green Lantern b-zero-two. Kid Flash, b-zero-four."
Materializing in the zeta-beam tube, Arley, Wally and Dick, all of whom were wearing normal civilian clothing appeared. The three jetted out into the cave and stopped behind the three already waiting non-humans. On the map in front of them Red Tornadoes face moved closer to the caves location.
"Did you ask him?" Dick wondered,
"What did he say?" Kaldur turned with a smile on his face,
"He's arriving now." Wally thumped Dick on the shoulder,
"Then what are we waiting for!" Wally said running, Dick and Kaldur took off after the boy; Arley turned to Superboy and Miss Martian.
"It's nice to see you too again," Arley said to the pair, Miss Martian who beamed at Arley took to the air, Superboy nodded at Arley in acknowledgement. The three of started walking in the direction of the caves secrete entrance.
"It's good to see you again Green Lantern Arley," Miss Martian smiled as she flew over Arley's shoulder.
"You've been adjusting to Earth well?" Arley asked the girl, Miss Martian nodded,
"My uncle's been helping, it's certainly different from Mars," Arley snorted at that; she had been to Mars a handful of times over the years on Corps related missions and every time something otherworldly— though normal on Mars —always happened.
"Tell me about it, last time I was there Hal almost started an intergalactic incident 'cause he winked at the wrong person." It had been a misunderstanding that had been quickly cleared up, but apparently winking on Mars meant something completely different then what it did on Earth. Miss Martian giggled.
"I heard about that," the green teen said. Arley arched a brow.
"Seriously?"
"It's rare when the Lantern Corps comes to Mars, all yours and the other Lanterns of the sectors' exploits are well known," Miss Martian told Arley; Arley grimaced as past missions flashed through her mind. The secrete cave door opened and Wally was the first one out; when she had been thirteen and on her second mission to the fourth planet John and Guy had faked a fight— a fake breakup of sorts —so loud that all the eyes that had been in the town square had turned to them; Arley had pretended to started to cry to keep everyone's attention on them just so Hal could sneak a tracking bug onto the inter galactic pirate they were collecting evidence against.
"Great," Arley nodded. She wondered if everyone on Mars knew about the time her ring had died and she had been forced to steal, sloppily fly and crash a bio-ship into the Martian palace in order for Hal to sneak in and save the royal family from invaders who had been holding them captive.
Red Tornado landed on the grassy green in front of the six teens as Arley and Miss Martian walked up the incline together.
"Red Tornado!" Wally flagged the robot down.
"Greetings, is there a reason you intercept me outside the cave?"
"We hoped you had a mission for us," Kaldur said.
"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility," Tornado replied.
"But it's been over a week and—" Red Tornado cut Robin off with a hand,
"You'll be tested soon enough," the robot said. "For the time being simply enjoy each others company."
"This team is not a social club," Kaldur said.
"No but I am told social interaction is an important team-building exercise," Red Tornado said, the boys expressions only seemed to darken. "Perhaps you can keep busy familiarizing yourself with the cave," the robot moved past all six teens.
"Keep busy," Wally muttered.
"Dose he think we're falling for this?" Robin wondered, Miss Martian gasped.
"I'll find out!" She turned to Tornado, her eyes narrowed.
"Red Tornado, one-six." Miss Martian sighed, she looked at Arley and the boys disappointingly.
"I'm sorry, I forgot he's a machine, inorganic. I cannot read his mind." Arley rested her hand on the girls shoulder reassuringly.
"Nice try though," Arley said with a small smile. Wally leaned over Arley, a sly smirk on his face;
"You know what I'm thinking right now?" The speedster asked the Martian, Arley's heart twisted in her chest as she moved away from the speedster and Martian girl, closer to Dick. She continued to smile though as she did.
"Please" she muttered jealously, unable to help herself, "We all know what you're thinking." Though apparently she had said it loud enough for the speedster to hear because the red headed boy whipped around to face her.
"Seriously?" Wally hissed as Dick laughed into his fist. Besides them Kaldur sighed.
"And now we tour the clubhouse."
"Superboy and I live here," Miss Martian said, "We can play tour guides."
Arley, Wally, Dick and Miss Martian turned to Superboy who shook his head.
"Don't look at me," the clone said.
"We won't," Wally replied, he turned to Miss Martian, his hands in his pockets. "A private tour sounds much more fun." Arley looked at the grass ground below her feet.
"Wait-wait," Dick moved, "She-she never said private," the boy wonder told the speedster.
"Team building, we'll all go," Kaldur announced and the six turned back towards the cave. Miss Martian was the first to turn, Superboy as he and the other followed the green teenagers lead, roughly bumped shoulders with Wally, sending the speedster tumbling into Arley.
"And here I thought it was summer," Arley mused as Wally leaned up and away from her, "Not fall." The red headed boy snorted at the lame joke. Miss Martian's hands flared out, as the six teens once more entered the cave.
"So this would be out front door."
Miss Martian lead the five other teens through the cave, through the compute room and hanger and through the library Arley almost refused to leave. The walls were three times as large as the Hall of Justices, the bookcase seemed to almost be carved from the Mountains rock.
"I think she's in love," Wally snorted as Arley took in the room and the signs the hung over each row of books, one row was all about myths, another dozen was about engineering and sciences, several were on dead languages and ancient civilians, and some where on civilizations the public just weren't privy too like Themyscira and Atlantis.
"You think?" Arley's arm moved out behind her and she swatted at her friend, "I am, Hal and John can drag my cold dead body away I'm never leaving." Dick chuckled behind Arley.
"In case you forgot GL, we have the rest of the Mountain to see," Arley looked at the younger boy with forlorn expression,
"Can't you guys just tell me about it later, I mean, the books," Arley motioned to the bookcases, "There's six rows on ancient civilizations!"
Wally gently reached out and grabbed Arley's wrist, the speedster pulled her back to his side.
"Not-uh, you can come back later Glowstick."
"But the books—"
"—Will still be here when we're done with the tour," Wally grinned, "You heard Aqualad, team building." Arley pouted as Wally and the others, leading her out of the library, reentered the hallway.
After the library Miss Martian lead Arley and the four boys through the small kitchen area, past the television and living room set up— Arley's nose curled at the bright lime green couches that the League had chosen to leave behind when they moved to the Watchtower —past the meeting room that each teen envisioned one day sitting in as Batman gave them their missions. She pointed out the girl and guy locker rooms and the showers and the gym and laboratory and workshop that were down the hall from them; Kaldur had seemed transfixed on the gym equipment while Dick eyed the workshop appreciatively and Wally— after a quick look around the room and all it's toys —almost looked like he wanted to move into the laboratory.
"And this," Miss Martian said, as she lead Arley and the boys to the back landing of the Mountain, one that faced away from the town and out at the water, "Would be the back, the cave is actually the entire Mountain."
The six of them didn't stay very long on the tiny slab after that and instead all quickly turned back around to the watery passage that had been left for Aqualad and other water-themed heroes.
"It was actually hollowed out and reinforced Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League," Wally said; four pairs of eyes shot to Arley who held her hands up.
"The first Green Lantern, Hal," she told them, "I was still on Oa for training when the League was formed." She could remember Hal telling her all about it though; about what it was like to meet Wonder Woman and Superman.
"Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" Superboy wondered.
"The caves secrete location was compromised," Kaldur said truthfully before any of the other sidekicks could think of a plausible lie; Batman and the others had already told Arley and the boys that until further notice neither Miss Martian or Superboy were to know about Watchtower.
"So they traded it in for a tourist trap? Yeah, that makes sense." Miss Martian frowned,
"If villains know of the cave, we must be on constant alert." Dick grabbed Miss Martians hand in his own, a sly smile on his face.
"The bad guys know we know they know about the place so they'd never think to look here," the boy wonder said. The Martian girl blinked at the shorter boy and Wally moved from Arley's side, and pushed Dicks hand away from Miss Martians; the speedster smiled flirty at the green girl and Arley looked away, at the still cave water.
"What he means is we're hiding in plain sight."
"Ah," Miss Martian scratched her head, a small smile on her face, "That's much clearer." Superboy sniffed the air.
"I smell smoke," the clone boy said and Miss Martian's eyes widened.
"My cookies!" The Martian girl cried out, her feet lifted off the ground and she shot out towards the kitchen, Arley and boys moved quickly after her, though by the time they had arrived in the Mountain kitchen area the burnt cookies Miss Martian had attempted to make were already splayed out on the marble island.
The cookies sizzled and cracked against the baking sheet and Arley grimaced at the burnt pucks. "I was trying out Grammy Jones recipe from episode seventeen of, huh," Miss Martian laughed, "Never mind."
Arley watched as Wally lifted a hot cookie off the baking sheet and placed it under his nose, sniffing it.
"I bet they would have tasted great," Dick said, as Arley looked at the speedster as he bit into a cookie, "He doesn't seem to mind."
"I have a serious metabolism," Wally said with his mouth full.
"And no manners apparently," Arley tisked, Wally shot Arley a contemptuous look as Miss Martian offered to make more.
"It's alright," Arley told the Martian girl, "It was sweet of you to make any."
"Thank you Green Lantern."
"Arley," the human girl said with a warm smile, "When we're not in the field feel free to call me Arley."
"We're sharing names?" Kaldur wondered with a raised brow, Arley shrugged.
"Why not?" It wasn't as if she didn't already know his, Dick and Wally's names. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she told the Atlantean boy.
It had taken ages for him to actually tell her his name. In the beginning of his time as Aqualad, Kaldur had for the longest time kept everything about himself— from his name to the fact his first pet had been an eel —under wraps; unlike Dick who's civilian identity had been revealed to her— and hers to him —because Canary, and Manhunter, the Leagues psychiatrists, had both thought it would be best that if, at the time, the worlds only two children-aged heroes knew one another outside of the field.
"It's Kaldur'ahm when we're off duty," he told the group, "Well," he amended, "Actually my friends call me Kaldur."
"I'm Wally," the speedster practically swooned, he rested his head in the palm of his hand as he looked at the Martian girl. Arley twitched. "I already trust you with my secret ID, unlike Mr. Dark glasses over there," he jerked his head in Dicks direction, "Batman's forbidden boy wonder from telling anyone his real name."
Dick's hands perched themselves on the boys narrows hips and Arley's lips twitched into a smile because Dick who had been excited at the prospect of another boy sidekick had— more then probably against Batman's urging —told Wally his name, back after the red headed speedster had recreated his uncles particle accelerator accident and gotten his powers.
"Well mine's no secrete!" Miss Martian beamed, "It's M'gann M'orzz, but you can call me Megan, it's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now."
She's absolutely adorable, Arley thought.
Superboy pushed off the counter he had been leaning against and began to walk out of the room.
The clone boy stopped walking abruptly, with a grunt he turned to the Martian girl. "Get out of my head!" He yelled. Arley and the three boys turned to the green girl.
"What's wrong?" M'gann wondered telepathically, Arley braced herself against the counter-top while Wally and Dick and Kaldur seemed to curl into themselves at the mental intrusion. Arley felt as if someone had taken a can opener to the curve of her skull; she pictured glowing green razor wire and glowing green safes in her mind as she fought against the weight that had seemingly settled over her. "Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically."
"This isn't Mars," Arley ground out, the weight that had settled in Arley's mind quickly dissipated as the Martian straightened her back. "Things here are different, here your powers are—" Arley cut herself off thinking of the right words.
"—A powerful invasion of privacy," Kaldur said kindly.
"Besides, Cadmus' creepy little physic genomes left a bad taste in Supey's brain," Wally said. M'gann's face feel as she turned to Superboy.
"I-I didn't mean to—"
"—Just stay out," Superboy snapped before he walked into the living area and sat down on one of the bright green couches. Arley looked through the space between the hanging cabinets and the marble counters and at the clone boy whose eyes were firmly glued to the floor between his feet.
"Hello Megan!" M'gann's palm hit her forehead, the girl took to the air and flew out of the room, Arley and the three boys shared a look with one another, the four of them shrugged their shoulders and began to follow, Arley, the last one to trail out of the kitchen looked at Superboy from the corner of her eyes.
Superboy had pointed turned his head in the opposite direction of them; Arley, with a sigh walked on. M'gann flew back down the hall, past Arley as Wally, Dick and Kaldur stopped at the elevator.
"I'll be a second," the Martian girl giggled weakly. Arley as she came up next to the boys leaned against Wally's shoulder.
"Roy was right," Dick muttered, "We are jokes."
"Roy was not right," Arley said, Dick scoffed.
"Of course you don't think so you get to go off world and fight evil aliens whenever," the boy muttered. Arley's eyes narrowed, it was more than that, being a Lantern was more than just fighting evil aliens the same way he and Batman fought the Joker.
"Roy wasn't right because he's never right," Arley snipped. Being a Lantern meant being a soldier; it meant being a warrior. "Bats said we'd get covert missions, remember, I'm sure missions like those aren't just going to crop up all the time." Kaldur's shoulders rolled back.
"Perhaps you're right." Arley smiled, "Or perhaps this junior Justice League is a joke."
The girl groaned, she looked to Wally with big pleading eyes silently asking him to back her. The speedster smiled down at her, he looked at the other two boys.
"Arley's probably right, there just hasn't been a mission yet."
"Probably," she snorted with a smile, "I'm always right." Dick and Kaldur's lips twitched as Wally grinned at the girl,
"You're always right until you're wrong." Arley shrugged impishly,
"When I'm wrong I'm just less right," she said, Wally chuckled as Superboy and M'gann came down the hallway. Kaldur hit the button on the elevator and the doors opened up, one boy one each of the young heroes stepped into the elevator. M'gann, the last one in, hit the button for the Hanger. A moment later the doors opened up to reveal a red and pod shaped thing Arley knew to be a bio-ship.
"This," M'gann said with her arms sped out, "Is my Martian bioship."
"Cute," Wally said, "Not aerodynamic, but cute."
"It's at rest silly, I'll wake it," M'gann said and with a wave of her green hand the ship came to life, wings stretched out from the sides and lengthened from front of back and each end of the bioship sharpened into points.
Arley's eyes widened. She wasn't like Hal— airplanes and jet crafts and spaceships didn't get her motors running —but still, seeing a bioship wake was something that made the young Lanterns heart speed up. It was amazing.
Arley turned to M'gann, "Can I fly it?"
The Martian girl's smile faltered.
"I don't-I mean I heard about the last time, my uncle said no," the green girl stumbled over her words, blushing.
Arley grimaced; so she had heard about the palace incident. Wally and Dick turned to Arley.
"Last time?" Wally asked, Arley felt her own cheeks heat up.
"It was-I mean," Arley ran a hand through her hair, "Last time I flew a ship I crashed it, on purpose," she pointed at Wally before he could open his mouth, "So it wasn't like I'm a bad pilot, I just needed to create a distraction."
"Right I'm sure that was it," Dick snickered as the bioship turned around and opened up, M'gann swept her hand forward.
"Are you guys coming?" Arley pushed the boy wonder to the side lightly as he continued to snicker and she grabbed the cuff of Wally's undershirt with her fingers and pulled the speedster forward.
The inside of the ship was purple and blue, five seats, as M'gann lead then to the front of the ship morphed from the floor, as did the the control panel and pilots seat.
"Strap in for launch," M'gann said. Arley sat in the front with Kaldur and Superboy, the three seats were lined up in front of the large glass window. Wally and Dick sat behind them, on either side of M'gann. Straps wound themselves from up over the chairs to around the heroes.
"Red Tornado, please open the bay doors," M'gann said. The heavy metal bays doors opened with a groan and the bioships steering wheel like mechanisms came up from the floor. M'gann placed both her hands on it.
The bioship shout of the Mount Justice hanger, up into the sky and over the grassy tree tops. Arley beamed; flying, no matter if you were in ship or not, never got old.
"Incredible," Dick gaped.
"She sure is," Wally sighed, Arley straightened in her seat because she knew— she could feel it in her bones —that her best friend wasn't talking about the ship. Arley focused on the blew expansion in front of her.
If she didn't turn around to see whatever lovesick school boy expression the boy she loved had on, then there was no way it could hurt her.
"I-I mean the ship, which, like we all know, is a she," Wally backtracked.
"Fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth," Dick laughed.
"Dude!" Kaldur looked to Superboy.
"I may not have physic powers but I can guess what you're thinking," Kaldur said as he leaned over Arley and looked at the clone. "You over reacted and you don't know how to apologize. Just say sorry."
The Superboy looked away and out at the sky; Arley placed her hand on the clones bicep and he looked at her, "Kaldur has a point you know—" Superboy huffed through his nose, "—But you didn't over react, Wally was right, Cadmus' genomes left a bad taste in your head, you're entitled to not like telepathy after what they did to you."
"I'm sensing a but," the clone boy hissed.
"But what you didn't have a right to do was blow up at M'gann the way you did, she didn't know, you didn't have to yell at her, telling her to stay out of your head would've sufficed." Superboy blinked at Arley and though he didn't even so much hum in the back of his throat in acknowledgement he looked back out at the sky in front of them.
"Hey" Dick said loudly, "How about showing us a little Martian shape-shifting?" M'gann stood up and Arley and Kaldur and Superboy turned to the green teenage girl just in time to watch her shape-shift into Robin. Arley could spot several glaring differences between the Martian-version of Robin and the actual boy next to her, the biggest being M'gann's Robin form still had breast.
With a spin she changed into Kid Flash, flexing her arms she looked at the dreamy eyed red head.
"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" Wally wondered. Arley's stomach twisted in her gut.
"Immensely," she told her friend dryly as Dick clapped. Wally stuck his tongue out at Arley who wrinkled her nose in his direction.
"Impressive, but you know you're not going to fool anyone with those," Dick said as he motioned to his own chest. M'gann winced,
"Mimicking boy's is harder then girls," M'gann said, and suddenly it wasn't Kid Flash standing in front of the bioships pilot seat but rather Arley, in her Green Lantern uniform. Arley— the actual Arley —blinked at the sight of herself. M'gann grinned and Arley was flashed with her own gap toothed smile.
Arley hadn't meant to, she wasn't even sure why she had, but Arley peaked over at Wally from the corner of her eye and she saw the red head looking at M'gann— at the shape-shifted version of her —the way she always dreamed of him looking at her.
Softly; Wally was looking at the M'gann-version of her like an infatuated puppy. Arley's eyes dropped to her hands; at that moment the young Lantern felt as if she rather be back in the training hall on Oa, locked in a faux hand to hand battle with Kilowog then on the ship will Wally and the M'gann-version of herself.
Bubbling stomach acid shot up her throat. M'gann shifted back to her normal green self and sat back down in her seat.
"And your clothes?" Kaldur asked.
"Their organic, like the ship, the respond to my mental commands," M'gann said.
"As long as they're the only ones," Superboy said harshly, Arley— ignoring her burning throat —and Kaldur looked at the clone sharply.
"Can you do that ghosting through wall thing Manhunter dose?" Wally wondered.
"Density shifting? No it's a very advanced technique."
"Wally can vibrate his molecules through walls but he gets bloody noses when he dose," Arley chimed in. Maybe it was uncalled for but Arley wanted to scream, Wally could look at her the way she always dreamed about as long as it wasn't her; as long as it was someone who just looked like her.
"Arley!" Wally hissed, Arley turned in her seat and looked to M'gann, ignoring the red headed boy. She needed out of the ship, away from Wally and his lovesick looks; she needed a few minutes to collect herself.
"You know, these bioships go pretty fast, but I wonder, whose faster," Arley asked, "Me or the ship." She already knew the answer— Lanterns could travel at Mach-Ten speeds, much faster then any bioship could fly —but nonetheless she continued to smile at the Martian girl.
M'gann's eyes brightened.
"You want to find out?"
Arley smirked.
"Why not?" Arley stood, but she didn't power up as she walked to the back to the ship, "Alright open up the hatch!" she shouted to M'gann. The Martian girl did and Arley was sucked out into the blue Rhode Island sky, with her arms thrown out wide the girl fell through the air.
Who cared if Wally didn't love her, she didn't. She was okay with Wally not loving her.
Air rushed around Arley and it was almost hard for the girl to breath; Who cared if Wally could look at a not-version of her with soft yearning in his eyes but look at her the same way he always did, she was okay with the way he looked at her.
The ocean water got closer to her but Arley didn't power up.
Being Wally's friend was what mattered, being in his life was what was important; just because he didn't love her the way she loved him didn't mean anything, it didn't and she was okay with where she and Wally stood in each others lives. With where she stood in his; she was.
Arley powered up, just before she hit the ocean water green warmth flooded Arley's body, her mask and uniform materialized, and shooting out over the water splitting it around her the girl flew back up.
Superboy and M'gann— and Wally —all seemed to have half relieved, half horrified looks on their faces; Wally's bright green eyes shinned with worry. Arley grinned at them and Dick and Kaldur; the Boy Wonder and the Atlantean both seemed both amused and saddened at Arley's display. She really was an open book when it came to her feelings for Wally.
"Ready to eat my bright green contrails?" Arley wondered. M'gann, as worry and horror began to slip off her face and determined smirk seemed to take it's place looked up at the ceiling of the bioship before she could reply.
"What?" Arley asked, Wally brought up his phone out of his pocket and Arley used her ring to create the kind if headsets pilots wore as M'gann said something, still looking at the ceiling of the ship.
"Red Tornado just told us an alert at the power plant's been triggered, he wants to covertly investigate," Wally said with an eye roll at the word, 'covertly'.
"Alright, I guess the race will have to wait." From her side of the glass Arley saw Dick cross his arms and mutter something, "Tell M'gann to open up the hatch, I'm coming back in." There was nothing covert about the Lantern uniform. Wally nodded and turned to M'gann, his lips moving; the Martian girl nodded and zipping around the bioship Arley once more entered the Martian spacecraft.
"Well a simple fire lead you to Superboy, we should find out what caused the alert," M'gann said as Arley powered down and once more took her seat in between Kaldur and Superboy, "We should fine out what caused the alert."
The bioship a few monuments later, though it hadn't yet landed, hovered above the blacktop of the Happy Harbor Power Plant parking lot, "I think I know that cause," Superboy said.
A large swirling tornado hit the ship, sucking it in before M'gann had the chance to fly the bioship and the team to safety, yelling, the team rocked around the ship as it was thrown to and for inside the twister.
"M'gann open the door!" Arley shouted.
"What?" The Martian girl yelled. Arley pictured bubblegum, large balloons and bubbles children blew in the summer.
"Trust me!" The Marian girl nodded and as the ship and six young heroes continued to get tossed around in the Tornadoes funnel Arley, though her body braced against the back of her seat stretched out the her ring hand.
A bright green bubble surrounded the bio-ship and though the bubble swirled around the tornado the ship itself in the shield stayed stationary.
"Go Megan!" The Martian girl urgently pressed the ship forward and the bio ship, once out of the tornadoes funnel landed. The team dropped from the ship. A second tornado, as Power Plant workers ran from the building screaming, ravaged the back of the building.
"Robin are tornadoes common in New England?" Aqualad yelled over the whipping winds, only for the boys ghost like laughter to answer him, "Robin?" Arley turned to find the boy gone.
"He was just here," Miss Martian said; several windows from the power plant explodes outwards.
"And now I think he's in there," Arley said. Aqualad was the first to take off, leading the four other heroes into the power plant just int time to see Robin being thrown back and into a pillar. Superboy jumped down, drop the top of the stairs and to the boy wonders side.
"Who's your new friend?"
"Didn't catch his name but he plays kind of rough," Robin replied. Wind swirled around at the feet of the robotic suit. Blue tubes were connected to the robots arms and shoulders and hips; a tattered scarf was wrapped around it's neck.
"My apologizes, you may address me as Mr. Twister." The robotic villain— or at least, a man in a robotic suit —sent three small tornadoes in their direction. Superboy tired to run though them only to be thrown back into the far wall when hit with a fourth.
Wally slipped on his glasses and Arley formed an almost comically large mallet.
Aqualad looked at M'gann who looked at Arley and Kid Flash, all three nodded as Robin got to his feet and held his hand tightly against his abdomen. Kid Flash, being quicker then the others, was the first to attack, he went to kick the villain in the chest only the robotic villain to use a twister to turn the teen hero and fling him out of the power pants already open window.
Aqualad went to attack Mr. Twister from the middle while Miss Martian went high and Arley swung her mallet villain didn't even flinch as he knocked all three teens away with mini-twisters.
Arley landed painfully on the concrete steps as Aqualad hit a power plants pillar and Miss Martian hit the railing next to the stairs Arley had landed on; the girl groaned as the back of her head came up from the concrete.
"I was prepared top be challenged by a superhero, I was not however expecting children," the villain taunted.
"We're not children!" Robin snapped, throwing two birdarangs. One exploded before it hit the villain and the second, though it embedded itself in the robotics chest, was easily flicked away before it blew.
"Objectively you are," Mr. Twister said, "Have you no adult Supervision, I find your presence here quite disturbing." Arley got to her feet, as did the others. The robotic villain looked away; the four young heroes to Robins side.
"Well he hate to see you disturbed, let's see if you're more 'turbed once we kick your metal can," Robin snapped. Miss Martian raised her hands to bring down the vent that hung above the robot; dirty air blew out on top of the villain in a hot puff.
While he blew that away Superboy jumped; though like before, before he could land a hit he was pushed away by a twister and into Miss Martian; the pair hit the ground with a painful grunt. Arley, as Robin and Aqualad— both of whom had run forward to attack —were picked up by two twisters and flung into each other, formed a heavy machine gun-like construct using her ring, glowing green bullets shot out of the guns muzzle as Arley aimed it at the villain only for them to be shot back when Mr. Twister threw a miniature twister at her; while the bullets and the machine gun disappeared before any of the construct bullets could hit her the twister did not.
Arley was thrown back into a wall and fell onto the power plant floor with thud.
"Indeed, that was quite 'turbing," the villain drawled before leaving out of the large whole in the wall he had made. Arley groaned as she slowly got to her feet she looked around the room; Supeboy and Miss Martian got up on their own while Aqualad helped Robin to his feet, led settled in her stomach.
"Kid!" Arley moved, the others were quick to follow her. She could hear the red head screaming from the inside of the tornado had that moved back towards the building. The tornado violently died off; Arley threw her hand out.
"I got you Kid!" She shouted, and as the smoke cleared Kid Flash was found to be in a a large green bubble. Arley dropped the construct and Kid Flash fell to his feet, with a large and grateful smile she beamed at Arley.
"Thank's Lantern." The girl shrugged. Like she would have let him get hurt when she was right there.
"I would have thought you had all learned your limitations by now," Mr. Twister called out from the sky.
"What do want!" Aqualad called out angrily.
"Isn't it obvious?" The villain called, "I'm waiting for a real hero!" Arley didn't bother to bite back her snarl; she was a real hero— they all were, but unlike Robin or Kid Flash or Aqualad she wasn't a sidekick —just because the Earth wasn't ready to call her that didn't mean she wasn't; it didn't mean she hadn't been a hero for the past several years.
"Read his mind, find his weakness," Aqualad told Miss Martian.
"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that?"
"It's okay with the bad guys," Robin ground out loudly. Miss Martian shut her eyes and pressed two fingers to her temple.
"Nothing," she told them, "I'm getting nothing!" The Martian girls eyes opened, "Hello Megan!" she thumped the side of her head with the ball of her hand, "Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise, he's inorganic, an android, and how many androids do you know that can generate tornadoes?" Arley blinked with a frown.
"Red Tornado sent us here."
"After saying we'd be tested soon enough," Robin scoffed, he turned to Arley, "Still think Roy's wrong? This is his test, something to keep us busy."
"Speedy called it," Kid Flash said glaring up at the Tornado, "We're a joke."
Arley looked up at the villain and thought herself because no, that couldn't be true. Roy's wrong, he has to be, and yet, How many other inorganic creatures were there on Earth with Red Tornadoes powers?
"This game," Wally snapped, "So over it."
Did Hal know? Did John? Was this something Batman had come up with between board meetings or had the League sat around the large table in the Hall of Justice and vote on which test to dole out? They couldn't know; this was something Batman had to have come up with himself, John and Hal wouldn't test her— trivialize her years as a hero —like this, not when she had already proved herself several times over.
Arley approached their opponent with Wally and Dick and Kaldur at her sides, the four of them stony faced.
"We know who you are and what you want," Dick called out,
"So lets end this," Aqualad snapped.
"So let's end this," the robot repeated, it raised it's hand s in the air and large sky darkening twisters formed; the wind around them whipped about.
"Impressive but we're done with your game," Arley called out, her hands cupped over her mouth. Lighting crashed around them and the girls hazel eyes widened.
"Can Red Tornado do that?" Wally wondered; the villain above them cackled.
"You think I'm Red Tornado? Ironic." And with that lighting exploded around them; rocks and dirt flew up from the ground— Arley felt Wally reach out and grab her, he pulled her close to his chest and tucked his chin over her head —before they and others were thrown back and the world around them momentarily darkened; Arley's ears rung as she tried to collect her baring.
She herd Wally groan.
"Fine then," the android drawled above them, "I won't deny you children have power but playing hide-and-seek with you will not help be reach my objectives so stay concealed." Arley's brows knitted together because when had she and the others become hidden?
The girl opened her eyes and turned away from Wally's chest, she could clearly see the villain in front of them; Miss Martians hand was over the speedsters mouth.
"If you confront me again I will show no mercy!" The villain declared darkly before flying away; slowly the other members of the team came to. Robin was the first to get to his feet, Arley sat up and got to hers.
"What happened?" Kid Flash asked as Arley helped him up to his feet, the speedster kept his hand in hers.
"I placed the bio-ship between us," Miss Martian explained, Superboy hit one of the rocks next to him, and then another. Arley flinched at the clones reaction; Superboy stalked over to Miss Martian,
"And that's supposed to make it right? You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado!"
"She didn't do it on purpose," Aqualad defended the Martian girl.
"It was a rookie mistake," Robin said, he looked to Miss Martian who was still on the ground, "We shouldn't have listened."
"The hell it was," Arley snapped, she looked at Robin harshly, "It was a solid leap in logic otherwise you would have never went along with it." Because fifteen minutes before the six of them though Red Tornado was the only inorganic creature with wind abilities.
The boy glared back at her; Kid Flash stepped in between the two. He looked at Miss Martian.
"Logically or not, you are inexperienced, hit the showers we can handle it from here." Superboy crossed between Miss Martian and Kid Flash,
"Stay out of our way!" And with that the Man of Steels clone took off with a running jump; Kid Flash looked to Arley who powered up; she created a platform for him and Robin and Aqualad to stand on, only Robin and Kid got on it though.
"I'll catch up," Aqualad said; Arley looked at Miss Martian sadly because it wasn't her fault. Arley then looked at Aqualad trying to get the Atlantean to understand he needed to talk to Miss Martian with only a look; Aqualad nodded and Arley, took off into the pinking sky, towards the town of Happy Harbor.
By the time they caught up to the robot though the sky had changed to a violet purple; orange and red and yellow and some lingering pink dotted the patch of Rhode Island sky. It would have been beautiful if not of the multiple twisters destroying boats and businesses, and the sound of civilians screaming in terror.
"Certainly this will get the required attention."
"You got ours!" Kid Flash called as he ran at the hulking metal robot, "Full and undivided!" He kicked the villain back.
"Insignificant and immaterial, you are a distraction I can no longer tolerate!" Superboy with his fists clenched fell to the ground ready to crush the metal evil-doer only for the robot to speed away. Arley tried to capture the villain in a car sized hand she had used her ring to form only to miss every time.
Mr. Twister shot two tornadoes out at Kid and Superboy and a blast of slighting Arley had to fly several feet back to avoid only for a twister she hadn't seen him throw toss her back onto the top of a Volkswagen buggy; the cars alarms went off loudly.
Aqualad and Robin jumped over a car as Superboy rushed forward; Mr. Twister tossed a boat at the clone and the boy staggered back. Aqualad was thrown into the balcony of a house, explosions rocked the ground as Robin threw whatever he had in his utility belt at the villain.
Kid Flash helped Arley off the top of the crumpled car roof and onto the ground behind it; the girls ring beeped loudly.
"Caraya's soul, now?" Arley hissed at her ring. Kid blinked at her from behind his goggles;
"You forgot to charge it this morning?"
"No!" Arley's brows knitted together, "Maybe, I just, I remember taking the battery out to charge when you and Rob started fighting over which Pokémon was better." For the record both Wally and Dick were wrong— Dick though Ditto was the best Pokémon and Wally thought it was Joelton —because the best Pokémon was Cindaquil.
Both Superboy and a boat Twister had moved with the help of his tornadoes were thrown into the same house Aqualad had been tossed into.
"How long?"
"Twenty minutes before I'm out of juice, maybe."
"Can you make it back to Coast?"
"And leave you guys here?" Arley looked at the red head in disbelief, "No way."
"You'll be more help when you come back then splattered along the side walk after your ring dies," Kid hissed. Arley's shoulders tensioned. The house Aqualad and Superboy had landed in crumbled around them.
"Then I guess we better beat this guy in the next fifteen minutes."
Kid sighed and poked his head around the car the pair of them were hiding against as Aqualad, with a metal beam from the house ran at Twister.
"Come on, Robin's over there," Kid pointed. Arley peaked and there he was, with his back pressed up against the bottom of a boat Twister had thrown hard enough to embed upright into concrete was Robin.
The pair of them, rushing over to the youngest of the sidekicks crouched behind the boat with them. He swung his utility belt around his shoulder and under his arm, across his chest.
"You brought your utility belt?" Kid Flash blinked.
"Never leave home without it, first thing Batman taught me," Robin said.
"More like never go to the bathroom without it," Arley smirked; her ring beeped. Robin raised a brow,
"Seriously?"
"I know!"
"Listen to me, all of you!" Miss Martian's voice rung out throughout Arley and the others heads. Kid and Robin grabbed their heads, their fingers pressing down into their hair, and Arley gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.
"What did we tell you!" Superboy said; his voice rang out through the mind link.
"I know! I know I messed up, but now I'm very clear on what we need to do, please trust me." Arley could feel Superboy growl through the mind link, she could practically taste the clones resort in her own throat.
"You got it M'gann, what do you need us to do?" Arley wondered. She could feel the Martian girl smirking through the connection as a plan flashed through her mind, the boys groaned though none of them protested.
Arley, herself smirked.
"Alright, lets go."
Arley and Kid and Robin moved, Superboy and Aqualad appeared next to them as Red Tornado— as M'gann —dropped from the sky.
"Hit the showers kids," the disguised Martian said, her voice as void of emotion and robotic as the actual Red Tornado's. "I was hoping you could handle this, clearly you can not."
"But we got a plan now," Robin said.
"The subject is not up for debate," the M'gann-version of Tornado said. The five young heroes splintered, their heads down and their shoulders low.
"I was beginning to believe you were never going to show up," the villain said.
"I'm here now." With a wave of her hand Miss Martian, still looking like Red Tornado, created a tornado, one that Mr. Twisted replicated. The villain, as he tracked Miss Martians tornado turned his back to the disguised Martian. Mr. Twister dissipated Miss Martians Tornado and Miss Martian didn't even flinch as the villain sent one at her.
"We are evenly matched Twister," Miss Martian said, and the villain shot a burst of lighting at her.
"No we are not!" Miss Martian dodged, only to be blown back by a boat she had floated over exploding. She landed on the ground limply as a robot could. Taking its chance Twister landed in front of the Martian.
"Remain still android," it told Miss Martian as cables extended from its finger tips. The cables connected to the parts they should have. "Reprogramming wont take long."
Miss Martian turned her head, she grabbed the wires and her face shifted from that of Red Tornadoes to Miss Martians. She smiled smugly.
"Longer than you might think." Throwing the enemy back with her telekinesis the robotic villain was pushed into a speeder-made twister only for Wally to emerge smiling as it was thrown towards Superboy.
Superboy, after punching two holed into the robot threw him into the water where Aqualad waited to electrocute him; the force of the shock blew not only gallons of water onto the concrete but the malfunctioning robot as well; Arley, dripping wet stood there at the waters edge with a glowing green sword.
Using the sword like a meat cleaver, before the robotic villain could get up cut off both the robots arms. Miss Martian, green and back in her pink clothing moved the android to the air where Robin threw three birdarangs that caused it to explode. The team of young heroes moved as the android fell to the ground on it's knees with an earth shaking thud.
It's chest cavity opened up and out fell a man, he was skinny and wearing a green jumpsuit. Arley's eyes shot up. Arley's ring beeped louder and louder; the Lantern continued to ignore it. She had at least another ten minutes before it died.
"Foul, I call foul."
M'gann with a happy but closed lipped smile didn't reply, instead the Martian girl raised her hand and dragged the heavy boulder that had been lying to the side into the air over and on top of the man. Aqaulads eyes widened; Arley's heart stopped in her chest.
"M'gann no!" He rushed forward only to be too late; the boulder landed on top of the android. Robin turned to Miss Martian, his glasses were still firmly on his face but even with them Arley could see the fire burning behind them, in the boys eyes.
"I don't know how things are done are Mars but on Earth we don't kill out captive," Robin snapped.
M'gann almost seemed to be smirking down at the shorter boy.
"And you said you trust me," she told him. She turned to the girl who lifted her hand; the bolder rose and instead of exposing what the boys thought should have been a nightmare inducing image, revealed the broken and shattered parts of a humanoid android.
Kaldurs shoulders sagged; Arley breathed in deeply.
"Oh thank Nortz," she muttered; Arley leaned back and onto Wally's shoulder as relief flooded her.
"That's why I couldn't read his mind." Wally moved away from Arley towards what was left of the android; the speedster leaned down, his goggles on his head, pushing back his hair, kneeled over the body and picked up one of the androids eyeballs.
He tossed it and caught it in the air, "Cool souvenir."
Aqualad placed his hand on M'ganns shoulder, "We should of had more faith in you."
"Yeah," Wally said. "You rocked this mission, get it, rocked." Arley snorted at the dumb pun.
"Was that joke hard for you come up with?" Arley wondered punning herself, Wally snickered as he tossed the robotic eye into the air and caught it. Dick and the others rolled their eyes at the pairs sense of humor.
"Ignore them," Dick said, "We're all just 'turbed you're on the team."
"Thanks," M'gann smiled, "Me too."
...
Later that night, back in the cave and dried off, and with her ring recharged, Arley and the five other young heroes and their robotic den mother stood around the Mountains workshop, the parts and pieces that had once been the android inside Mr. Twister were scattered across one of the rooms only cleared off tables.
"It was clearly created to sabotage or destroy you," Kaldur said to Red Tornado.
"Agreed," Red Tornado said.
"Is that why you wouldn't help us?" M'gann wondered as Wally and Dick ran diagnostics on the crushed parts.
"No," Tornado said quickly, "I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you, nor should you solve mine for me." Arley frowned at that,
"But if you're in danger—"
"—Consider this matter closed," Red Tornado said cutting Arley off. The robot then turned and began to leave.
"Batman, Aquaman, Hal or Flash, they'd have jumped right into fix things," Wally said.
"Guess if we're going to have a babysitter a heartless machine is exactly what we need," Dick shrugged, Red Tornado stopped mid-step, he turned his head.
"Dude," Wally hissed, "Harsh!"
"And inaccurate," Red Tornado said, "I have a heart, carbon steel-alloy. I also have excellent hearing." Dick blushed as he chuckled embarrassed.
"Right, sorry I'll try to be more accurate." Kaldur placed a hand on Dicks shoulder, smirking,
"And more respectful." Wally, with his arm over Arley's shoulder, and Arley, walked with Kaldur and Dick towards the laboratory's exit and to the kitchen.
"Speedy was so wrong," Wally said.
"Like I said," Arley rang in with a smile,
"This team thing—" Dick said,
"—Just might work out."
