Hello all! Thank you for reading and don't forget to follow, fav, and review!
Disclaimer: Same as all the other chapters.
Schooled
Star City
August 2, 11:25 PDT
I stepped into the near-empty diner and looked around for Roy, finding him sitting in a corner booth, a mask no longer hiding his face and his Speedy uniform replaced by a pair of jeans, sneakers and a black t-shirt. I sat down across from him and he pushed a menu in front of me.
"Nice to see you out of costume, Roy." I said with a smile.
"I was going to say the same to you, kid." Roy smiled back, "So, I heard you went out for the first time."
"Yeah, we did. It was a rocky start at first, but we were able to pull together and get the job done."
"Hi, are we all set to order?" A young waiter with platinum blonde hair asked us. Roy looked over at me and I nodded.
"I'll have a burger. Lettuce, tomato, onion, no mayo. And an order of curly fries." The archer ordered.
"Make it two. And can I get another water?" The waiter nodded as he wrote down our order before taking our menus and walking away.
"So," Roy continued, "Where did he send you guys?"
"Santa Prisca. Recon turned drug bust. And we elected Kaldur as leader of the Team."
"You're kidding? Kaldur?" He asked with an arched brow and a lopsided grin, "I would've thought it would have been you."
"Hey! Be nice! But I'll be honest, you're not the first person to think that. I gave it some thought, but I think that he'll be better at maintaining the others. I mean, c'mon, Roy. I'd lose my mind trying to keep Wally in check; I can barely handle you." I replied.
"Hilarious, kid. But I guess you have a point. You managed to inherit my temper when it comes to pressure, even though we aren't actually related."
I chuckled in response, "I spend too much time with you. Though I'd be okay with that if you were on the Team with me. The guys wouldn't mind having you on board either."
"Maybe someday, Whiskers. But right now, I have a few things to figure out. I can't go back to being Speedy after everything I said."
I nodded in understanding as the waiter returned with our food. We dove in and continued our conversation.
"So when do you go back?"
"Tomorrow. Dinah is starting her training sessions with the Team which means I'll probably end up being her sparring partner for her lessons."
"I'd wish you luck, but I know you won't need it. Not with the training you've had in the past."
Mount Justice
August 3 13:06 EDT
The Team, with the exception of Superboy, was playing holo-air hockey while we waited for BC to arrive. Currently, Kaldur and Wally were playing and the latter was subtly cheating using his superspeed. As Wally scored his winning point, banana in hand, Superboy returned from spending the morning in Metropolis.
"Recognized: Superboy, B-zero five."
"Hi, Superboy! How was Metropolis?"
No response came from the clone. Instead, he simply walked past us and made his way toward the showers, but was interrupted by the arrival of Black Canary and Martian Manhunter.
"Ready for training, everyone?" BC asked with a smile. I joined my mentor as M'gann spotted her uncle.
"Black Canary! Uncle J'onn!" The Martian girl flew over to her superior and wrapped her arms around him.
"M'gann. I was... in the neighborhood, so thought I'd see how you are adjusting." J'onn said happily.
"A few bumps, but I'm learning!"
"That's all I can ask."
Dinah looked over my shoulder at Superboy as he tried to sneak away, calling out, "Stick around! Class is in session."
The two of us walked on the main floor as Superboy begrudgingly rejoined the group. Beneath our feet, the floor lit up, ready for combat. BC continued her introduction.
"I consider it an honor to be your teacher. I'll throw a lot at you. Everything I've learned from my own mentors," she winced in pain as she removed her jacket, revealing her bandaged arm, "and my own bruises."
"You okay?" I asked in concern. My mentor smiled over at me.
"I'm fine. It's all part of the job. Now, get in position."
I obeyed, cracking my knuckles and getting into a basic fighting stance. Black Canary continued her instruction while I held my position.
"Now, combat is about controlling conflict, putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting. Kara will need a sparring partner for this."
Wally raised his hand eagerly, mouth full of banana, "Oh, right here!"
The speedster walked over to stand across from me and smirked, "After we're done with this," he tossed his banana peel into a nearby trash can, "I'll show you some of my moves."
"You're all talk, Wally. Are you going to flirt or fight?" I teased. Wally got into position and waited for my move. I threw a simple right hook at him, which he blocked easily. But he wasn't expecting me to go low and kick his feet out from under him, causing him to land flat on his back."
The speedster laid sprawled out on the floor. Next to him, a hologram appeared, reading, "KID FLASH, STATUS: FAIL".
"It hurts so good." Kid groaned. Robin and I laughed as I extended a hand to help him up.
"I'll give you points for your block and your one liner." I said, still laughing and patting him on the shoulder. Black Canary chuckled under her breath before addressing everyone else.
"Good block, but did anyone see what he wrong?"
"Oh! He hit on Kara and got served!" The Boy Wonder joked, earning himself a jab from Kaldur's elbow.
"DUDE!" Wally exclaimed with embarrassment.
Black Canary's expression turned stern as she continued to instruct her new students, "He allowed Kara to dictate the terms of-"
"Oh, please." Superboy groaned. BC and I turned to face the Kryptonian, "With my powers, the battle is always on my terms. I'm a living weapon. And this is a waste of my time."
"Prove it." Dinah challenged. She stepped aside, exposing me to Superboy. Behind me, I could hear Wally and Robin placing bets.
"Five bucks says Wildcat kicks Superboy's butt." Rob whispered.
"Oh, you're so on."
For a while, Superboy and I just glared at each other. I could feel a smirk creeping onto my face as I slid into a fighting stance with Superboy doing the same.
"Go ahead. Give it your best shot." I taunted. Anger spread across the clone's face as he threw a heavy punch at my head. His movements were slow, so I was able to dodge, grab his arm and shift his weight, allowing me to flip him onto his back. I turned to face him and the Team, still in a fighting position. Behind Superboy, Robin was suppressing a laugh.
"You're angry. Good." Dinah commented toward Superboy, "But don't react. Channel that anger into-"
"Rraahh!" Superboy charged at me, but I lifted myself over his shoulder, landing on all fours as he rotated to swing at me, allowing me to take out his feet in the same manner I did with Kid Flash. I straightened up and extended a friendly hand out to Superboy, who in return gave me an icy glare and shoved my hand aside. He stood on his own.
"That's it! I'm done." He seethed. Black Canary stepped in.
"Training is mandatory." She reminded him calmly. He whipped around and glared at my mentor in retaliation while I rejoined the others, falling into line between Wally and Kaldur. As Superboy and BC stared each other down, Batman appeared on a holoscreen behind them.
"Batman to the Cave. Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary. The attacker was capable of studying then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."
"Whoa, one guy with the powers of the entire League." Wally breathed. Batman disregarded the speedster's comment and continued.
"In the end, it took eight Leaguers four hours to defeat and disassemble the android."
"Wait, this guy was an android?" I questioned, "Who made it? T.O. Morrow?"
"Good guess, Wildcat. But Red Tornado doesn't believe so." The Dark Knight replied.
"The technology bears the signature of... Professor Ivo." J'onn said darkly. My breath caught in my throat when I heard the name. That sneaky little bastard was alive? How was that even possible?
"Ivo? But Ivo's dead..." Kaldur gaped. He was just as confused as I was. Dinah looked over her shoulder at us.
"So we all thought... or hoped."
"To make certain this threat is permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate S.T.A.R Labs facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation. Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion, in case Ivo or anyone tries to recover the remains. You will split into two undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks." Batman concluded.
"Yes! Road trip!" Wally cheered. Superboy crossed his arms and focused his stare on Batman.
"So now we take out your trash?"
"You had something better to do?" Batman shot back. Points to the Bat for the great comeback. A ring sounded from Kaldur's handheld.
"Coordinates received. We're on our way." Kaldur said.
Litchfield County
August 3, 20:08 EDT
The best thing to come out of our mission at the time was the free motorcycle. Everyone got one that was customized to their new outfit. Mine was black, white and charcoal grey. Underneath my new civvies, I wore my uniform in case of any issues.
With everyone geared up, we waited within the nearby trees and brush for Batman's signal. Several members of the League were there as well, including Superman, who was doing everything in his power to avoid being in contact with Superboy. That must've been why Superboy was upset earlier. Which meant that he would be a pain to ride with all the way to New York. Lucky me. Thankfully, I would have the Boy Wonder to keep me company, while Kaldur and M'gann would have to put up with Wally all the way to Boston.
As I waited, my mind drifting off to unknown places, a hand appeared on my shoulder. It was Kaldur.
"I will be in contact with you while we head for our separate destinations. If anything should happen, notify me first, then the League."
I nodded in response, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, "I'll also let you know when we arrive in New York. We'll zeta back to the Cave from there."
"Good." He replied with a smile. He opened his mouth to say more but behind me I could hear the trucks revving up. It was time to go. I set my helmet on my head and mounted my bike.
"I'll see you when we get back." I said as I started my bike. Without waiting to hear a response, I led Robin and Superboy after the New York truck and its two decoys.
We rode for about half an hour in silence without any problems. That was when Robin tried to make small talk with Superboy.
"If dislike is the opposite of like, then is disaster the opposite of aster? See instead of things going wrong, they go right."
I rolled my eyes, while Superboy didn't respond at all.
"Um, clearly you're not feeling the aster. What's wrong?"
"Canary." Superboy grunted. I glanced over at him cautiously.
"I mean, what business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?"
"There are some cases where strength isn't as important as skill." I replied calmly, "I mean, look at me. I'm probably a good seven inches shorter than you and I was able to take you down without super strength. No offense, of course."
"None taken, I guess." The clone growled.
Then, without any warning, a group of robotic simians rocketed over us and attacked the truck. In my ear, Kaldur's voice rang out.
"Kara! Our truck is under attack!"
"So is ours. Ivo?" I replied.
"Undoubtedly, protect the parts and report back." Kaldur ordered before going offline.
"I hate monkeys." Superboy growled angrily.
"Robot monkeys! Totally Ivo's tweaked style!" Robin shouted as he switched his bike into battle mode. Superboy, however, ditched his bike completely and leapt on to the truck, joined shortly after by the Boy Wonder. I remained on my bike pulling out a Glock 21 and taking out the monkeys on the back of the truck. Even after emptying my clip, more robots came after the truck using lasers to infiltrate the truck and steal the parts.
"Aaahh!" Superboy yelled as he tumbled off the truck. I glanced back for a moment, but being a Kryptonian meant that he had invulnerability, so I wasn't too concerned.
"Robin, the robots have the parts and are taking out the tires! Get the driver out!" I called out over the comm as I watched two monkeys blow the front tires.
With Robin and the driver safely out of the truck, which had quickly become a pile of fiery scrap metal, I stopped my bike and waited for Kaldur to ring in. It didn't take long.
"Aqualad to Wildcat, we've lost our cargo. Did you-"
I sighed heavily, interrupting him, "We lost it."
A small quake from behind me came from Superboy as he leapt off after the parts. Robin tried to call after him, but it was pointless.
"Aqualad! We've lost Superboy! He's gone rogue!" I exclaimed into the comm.
"I will try to contact him." Kaldur replied, "Aqualad to Superboy. Radio your position, we'll help you."
"Don't need help! Don't want any!" Superboy shouted, followed by static.
"Sounds like he ditched his comm." Robin said, carrying one of the monkeys over his shoulder.
"Super. Now we can't even track him." Wally said with venom. A brief pause came before M'gann spoke up.
"He's out of my telepathic range. This Professor Ivo, if he is alive, seems to be two steps ahead of us... maybe we should contact Red Tornado?"
"Tornado always tells us to handle things ourselves. And the mission can still succeed if we recover the parts before they're reassembled." Kaldur answered.
"Well, that's a great plan," Wally said sarcastically, "Except for the part about us not knowing where to look!"
"Relax, KF." I sighed.
"Yeah, dude. Calm down. We may have a way of finding the parts after all." Robin went to work hacking into the robot he had been carrying, "We would've heard by now if the decoy trucks had been attacked. So how did these monkeys know exactly which trucks to target?"
I looked over the Boy Wonder's shoulder as he worked his way into the robot's systems. My eyes widened when I saw what he had found.
"Guys, the parts have GPS. The monkeys can track the signal, so we can track them with the one Rob caught. And it looks like the parts are converging on Gotham City." I announced to the others.
"That far south?! M'gann and I won't get there anytime soon. I'm sending Kid on ahead to meet you. Aqualad out."
With the comm line now silent, Robin summoned his bike, now a one-wheeler, and removed his helmet, "I'm gonna change, Cat. You ought to do the same."
I nodded in response and unzipped my jacket, tossing it to the ground along with the matching pants, revealing my uniform sans the cowl. I removed my helmet, slid the mask over my eyes and replaced my helmet.
"You ready, Rob?" I called out to the cornfield where he was changing. He emerged fully dressed, helmet on.
"Yeah, let's get those parts."
Gotham City
August 3, 21:21 EDT
When Robin and I reached the Gotham City limits, there was no sign of Superboy. As we entered the city limits, we were joined by Wally, who had also changed.
"So you changed too?" Rob asked the speedster.
"You kidding? I feel naked in civvies!" Wally joked, "You still tracking the parts?"
"They were heading through Gotham, but they've veered." Robin replied, "Wait. Guys, they're at my school!"
"And which school would that be, Bird Boy? You do know there's around 10 different private schools around the city and about twice as many public schools." I questioned.
"Gotham Academy." He replied shortly, before speeding ahead and leading us to the school.
When we got there, Superboy was in the gymnasium along with the reassembled android and Ivo himself. As the android was about to crush Superboy, Kid sped out and grabbed the clone, bringing him over to where Robin and I were. The Boy Wonder threw a birdarang at the android who responded with a robotic 'Martian Manhunter', allowing it to density shift. The birdarang passed easily through the android and exploded behind him.
'Access: Red Tornado.' The android created a whirlwind and flew toward us, blowing us in separate directions, slamming Superboy and Robin into the bleachers, and Wally and I into a wall. Wally helped me up shakily just as the android raised its hand and said 'Access: Captain Atom.' The speedster grabbed me and sped off behind the bleachers as a nuclear blast struck where we once stood. As Kid round the corner and set me on the ground to charge the android, I heard 'Access: Black Canary,' followed by a canary cry. I tapped my comm twice to activate an automatic muffler in my cowl, protecting my ears from the high decibels. Kid wasn't as fortunate. He was slammed into the floor as Superboy tried to land a hit on the android.
'Access: Superman.' The android grabbed the clone's fist and nailed him in the jaw, sending him flying back into the bleachers. I lunged at the android ('Martian Manhunter.') who density shifted again and let me pass through him. Wally sped up to the android who grabbed him in both arms, accessed Superman, and began to crush the speedster. He screamed in pain, but it was cut off by the familiar sound of an arrow being loosed. The android phased again, releasing Kid Flash in the process. I noticed the green fletching on the arrow, it was similar to Oliver's but it wasn't one of his, nor was it one of Roy's.
Superboy charged the android again but was thrown by the android into the bleachers on the other side of the gym. Robin threw a charge at the android who destroyed it with a blast of heat vision which nearly barbequed me and Rob, had we not been saved by KF.
I breathed heavily as I tried to plan out how to take this android down. Ivo, however, was growing bored at our attempts to beat his creation.
"Oh, yawn. Normally, Amazo would study and mimic your abilities during battle, but what's the point? You're all such poor copies of the originals." Ivo droned, with an air of overconfidence. The monkey robots that sat next to him cackled loudly.
"So everyone keeps saying," Superboy growled, "It makes me ANGRY!"
The Kryptonian lunged at Ivo, who clearly wasn't expecting to be attacked. He narrowly dodge Superboy's hit.
"Wanna see me channel that anger?" Superboy shouted.
"Great. He's gone ballistic again." Kid exclaimed. But being a student of Ted Grant and Dinah Lance, I knew better.
"Not quite, Kid. I know what he's doing and I think I know how to stop this thing." I said with a smirk.
"Amazo! Protect your master! Priority Alpha!" Ivo commanded. The Amazo android sprang into action, defending Ivo from Superboy's attack, leaving the Professor wide open.
"KF, Rob, focus on Ivo! Keep him away from Amazo and keep him moving; don't let the android focus on you for too long." I instructed. The professor tried to escape with assistance from his monkeys, but Robin knocked him down before he could take off.
"Anyone wanna play keep away?" He asked happily.
"Oh, me! Me!" Wally answered as he zoomed toward Ivo. As he approached, Amazo sent a small quake his way, sending the speedster flying over Ivo's head. I picked up one of Rob's birdarangs that had been lying on the floor and threw it skillfully at the android's head.
"Superboy, NOW!" I yelled as the android became intangible. Superboy leapt in front of the android and threw his fist at Amazo's head. As the android became tangible again, Superboy's hand was surrounded by metal, before being freed by a small explosion, resulting in the loss of the android's head.
Robin sped over without any hesitation as the body of Amazo collapsed, "Wildcat, help me disassemble it!"
"Dude, the guy has no head." Wally pointed out as the two of us began removing pieces.
"Don't take any chances!" Aqualad's voice echoed in the gym. I looked up and held back a grin as he and M'gann approached us.
"Superboy! Are you okay?" M'gann asked worried as she helped him up.
"Fine. Feeling the aster." He replied smiling at Robin and me.
"Hey! Where's Ivo?" Wally asked, clutching his arm. We all looked around, searching for the professor, but he was gone.
Mount Justice
August 4, 01:06 EDT
We got back to the Cave a little after one. Everyone stood in front of various members of the League as we reported what had happened. In my hand, I clutched the arrow from earlier.
"The Amazo android is in pieces again, safely being analyzed at the two separate S.T.A.R Labs. But Ivo escaped, and since he originated the tech, he's arguably more dangerous than the android." Kaldur explained.
"Capturing the professor will be a League priority." Dinah declared, glancing over at me with a nod.
"But we understand your mission encountered other complications." Manhunter continued, glancing at Superboy. Batman then stepped in front of us.
"Complications... come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the League."
"The whole League?" Superboy asked hopefully. Batman hesitated for a moment, before facing the clone.
"Given time, yes. Kryptonians as you know have very hard heads." I smiled at Superboy, who smiled back in response.
"Of course, there's no shame in asking for help. That's why the League exists, because there are some problems even we can't handle individually." The Dark Knight continued.
"Please." His protégé replied, ripping the arrow out of my hand, "If we needed help, we'd never get the chance to ask. Look familiar?"
He held out the arrow to his mentor, who took it and handed it to Green Arrow. Robin continued his rant, "You were following us! Babysitting! You still don't trust us!"
"We didn't follow you." Batman replied coolly. Oliver drew one the arrows from his quiver and showed us the difference in the two arrowheads.
"And that's not your arrow... but that means-"
"Speedy!"
"He has our backs." The three protégés all smiled at the thought of Roy helping the Team, but I glanced at Ollie and Dinah with a frown and shook my head. This wasn't Roy's doing.
"Souvenir!" Wally exclaimed, snatching the arrow out of GA's hand. As I walked over to BC, ready to leave, Superboy came up behind me. clearing his throat.
"I'm ready." He said quietly to my mentor. She turned to face us and smiled.
"Good. Because I'm here." She looked down at me and crossed her arms, "Kara, what do you say? Want to give me a hand?"
I chuckled tiredly, "Maybe later. Right now, I'm beat. I need to sleep. I'll go back to Star City with GA."
My mentor nodded as I walked over to Ollie. He smiled at me and clapped me on the back. "Ready to go, Cat?"
"More than ready."
Star City
August 4, 1:38 PDT
As Oliver and I stepped into his equipment cache, I pulled my cowl off of my face. We changed into our civvies and snuck out onto the street.
"I'll call a car for you if you wanna head back to the apartment." He offered. I glanced up into his bright blue eyes and grinned.
"I'd rather crash at Queen Manor, if you don't mind, Ollie."
The archer laughed and ruffled my hair, "Sure thing, Whiskers, but first, you have to tell me something."
"What?"
"How do you know it wasn't Roy?"
I shrugged nonchalantly, "The fletching was green; Roy's has always been red. And the arrowhead was wrong. Roy uses a serrated edge like you, not a rounded one. But whoever it was, they were a good shot."
"Yeah... a good shot..." Oliver trailed off as the Queen limo pulled up to the curb.
Queen Manor was one of the nicest homes on the West Coast. The fact that I could crash there whenever I wanted was a big plus for me. Training rooms, an Olympic sized pool and a kitchen with a 24-hour staff was only the beginning of what Oliver had at his disposal as the CEO of Queen Consolidated and the Green Arrow.
When we arrived, I practically ran to my personal guest room and collapsed on the bed. I whipped out my phone and sent Dinah a text telling her where I was. After getting the okay text from her, I finally passed out, exhausted from the long day.