To KingPenguinJG: thank you for the support!
To zincpop: that's a really good point! Too bad I didn't think about it when writing the Cadmus chapters...but I really like that idea. I may bring that into play later, if that's okay with you.
To London201516: thank you! I'm glad you like it :)
To TheGreatGodzilla: thank you so much for the advice! I will definitely PM you if I have any questions. Talia's mother is actually an OC as well, and there will be more information about her later. To be honest though, aside from being Talia's mother she's not super important to the story, but she will be brought up. I hope to incorporate other Marvel villains/characters in general later on in the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or Marvel, only Talia.
Note: I went back and edited the last few chapters very minor-ly, literally just because I forgot to include an important quirk of Talia's. If you don't want to go back and read the chapters again for the few sentences I added (don't blame you lol) here it is: Talia nearly always has a baseball cap on her person. One of her nervous habits is fiddling with the bill, but it's also a kind of security device for her. The more anxious she is, the more she plays with it. Sometimes she'll wear it just because, but sometimes she wears it because it grounds her from freaking out.
so yeah. that's it.
CARIBBEAN SEA
July 22, 20:08 ECT
The silence in the BioShip was charged with anticipation. Talia fiddled with the helmet in her lap in the same way she usually played with her baseball cap. She was wearing the full suit of armor, but she'd taken the helmet off for comfort reasons. Now, an hour after she'd done so, she'd been tinkering with it to calm her nerves.
She wasn't doing anything serious, as she didn't want to mess with the helmet's design too much right before a critical mission, but the minor repairs and changes she was making in the wiring was comforting to her, soothing her nerves.
"We're approaching Santa Prisca," Miss Martian announced from the pilot's seat. Taking a deep breath to settle herself, she recalled the events leading up to their mission.
The Team was standing in the briefing room at the Cave, still dressed in their civvies. Batman stood in front of them, briefing the teenagers on their first mission. The Dark Knight was facing the holographic screens, which displayed a map of the island they were to investigate. Several blips on the map of the island were blinking, indicating spots of interest.
"Isla Santa Prisca," Batman began. "This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neosteroid, a strength enhancing drug sold under the street name 'Venom.' Infrared heat signatures indicate their factory is still operating at full capacity, but all shipments of Venom have been inexplicably cut off." Batman turned around, looking at the teenagers. He nodded at them.
"That's where this Team comes in," he continued, stepping forward to look at them. "This is a covert recon mission only," he added sternly, looking at the Team pointedly. "Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will." Batman turned back towards the map, continuing to explain the subtleties of the mission.
"The plan requires two drop-zones," he told them, highlighting each on the screen. The first drop-zone was over the ocean, about a half-mile from the shore line, and the other was about a mile and a half into the jungle.
"So, who's in charge?" Robin asked his mentor, somewhat eagerly. Batman paused, turning around. He and Red Tornado exchanged a look, and Batman turned to face his protégé.
"Work that out between you," he replied simply. Talia raised an eyebrow at the Dark Knight's response, a bit incredulous. Not that she would ever contradict Batman out loud, but she doubted that going into the Team's first mission, considering their inexperience, with anything but a clearly defined leader could cause some problems. Besides, Talia liked to know whose orders she was going to be disobeying and ignoring.
Heh. Kidding.
Shrugging off her worries, Talia turned to go get the suit ready when Batman dismissed the Team. The others walked with her, heading to change out of their civvies and into their uniforms.
What could go wrong?
"Drop-Zone A in thirty," Miss Martian announced, snapping Talia out of her reverie. The teenage girl blinked, shaking her head in to clear it. She hadn't realized how close they were to the island. Talia tugged her helmet on over her face, closing it and watching as her Head's Up Display flickered on, displaying information about the island they were approaching, such as the weather and time.
Artillery turned her head. Aqualad was standing up now, his seat dissolving back into the ground as he did so. He tapped the A insignia of his belt in order to activate the stealth tech. As the nano-tech went to work, his bright colors of his red and blue uniform changed to grey and black respectively, better for blending into the night.
Under her helmet, Artillery grinned. She had helped her father design the stealth-tech, and she was glad to see that it worked. She couldn't exactly test it out herself – yet, that is. Artillery and her father were currently working on nano-tech for the suit that could potentially do this. For the time being, Artillery had donned a silver and dark-grey suit, similar to War Machine's.
"Ready," Aqualad affirmed, nodding at Miss Martian. She nodded back.
"Putting BioShip in camouflage mode," she said. She piloted the ship in a sharp dive downwards, so that it was hovering a few yards above the sea's horizon. A small hole opened in front of Aqualad, and the Atlantean dove into the water. The hatch sealed up automatically, and the BioShip soared on.
The BioShip rose again to fly over the treetops, and after a few moments the Team's comm.'s crackled. Aqualad's voice echoed in the Team's ears.
"Heat and motion sensors have been patched," he informed the others. "Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in." Miss Martian flew the BioShip over the thick jungle, finally stopping at break in the tree tops.
"Drop-Zone B," she announced, standing up. The rest of the Team followed suit, unstrapping their seatbelts and getting to their feet. The chairs and the controls to the ship melted back into the ground. Miss Martian held her hand out and closed her eyes, concentrating. After a moment, several lines dropped from the ceiling in front of Kid Flash, Robin, and Superboy.
Kid Flash attached the clip to his belt, touching the lightning-bolt emblem on his chest. His suit turned black and dark red, making him grin as he examined himself.
"Babe," Kid Flash breathed, looking at Artillery adoringly. "This stuff is sick." Artillery grinned underneath her helmet, nodding at the speedster to acknowledge his compliment. Kid Flash then turned towards Miss Martian, striking a pose. "How cool is this?" he asked the other girl.
"Very impressive," Miss Martian allowed, smirking at Artillery. The Martian closed her eyes, mentally commanding her uniform to change. Her blue skirt and white shrit changed into a black body suit with a red X on it, like Martian Manhunter's. She added a hood to her cape as well.
Kid Flash gawked at the Martian, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. Artillery was surprised he wasn't drooling.
"Uh," Kid Flash stammered quickly before a smile crossed his face once more. "That works too." Regaining his bravado, Kid Flash turned to look at their resident clone. "Hey, Supey! It's not too late to put on the new stealth tech." Superboy scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He was wearing the same outfit he wore when he was in civvies – black t-shirt with the red S and cargo pants.
"No tights, no capes," Superboy replied. He shrugged. "No offense."
"It totally works for you," Miss Martian replied, staring at Superboy dreamily. The clone frowned, turning to look at the green girl in confusion. Miss Martian's eyes widened when she realized what she'd said, and her cheeks flushed. "In that you can totally do good work in those clothes," she covered. She shot Superboy a thumbs-up, and the Kryptonian looked away.
Miss Martian bit her lip, fiddling the edge of her cape uncomfortably. Her cheeks were still bright red as she pulled her hood over her head, going invisible. Artillery struggled not to laugh, not wanting to be mean.
A hatch opened up in the BioShip, and Artillery and Miss Martian descended first. The two girls landed on the ground, and a few seconds later Robin and Kid Flash joined them. The two boys detached their lines, and the four heroes looked around for their missing teammate.
When Artillery raised her head, her eyes widened when she realized Superboy was dropping down towards them very quickly and without a line. She leapt to the side, the suit clunking awkwardly as she moved.
Superboy hit the ground with a loud crack. Dust flew everywhere, blocking visibility for a few seconds before the ocean breeze blew it away. Artillery blinked. Superboy was now standing in the middle of a small crater, looking around smugly.
"Knew I didn't need a line," he said with a smirk.
"And yet," Robin replied sarcastically from his place on the ground. "Creating a seismic event may not have helped with the 'covert.'" Superboy shrugged, unapologetic, and Robin and Kid Flash stood up. Miss Martian floated down from where she'd flown upwards to evade Superboy's violent landing, radioing Aqualad.
"Aqualad," she reported, setting her feet back on the mud. "Drop B is go."
"Head for the factory." The Atlantean's voice sounded over the open-comm. link. "I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP." Artillery and the others were looking over Robin's shoulder as the boy displayed a map on his holo-screen. There was a blinking red dot at said rendezvous point, showing the Team where to go.
"Roger that," Robin replied, closing up the screen and taking off. Artillery followed Robin and the others, flying a few feet off the ground. Her suit was heavy enough that it had the potential to make a lot of noise if she operated it wrong while on the ground. Flying was just easier.
Truthfully, the stealth part of the mission would have been easier, in general, sans suit. But it also wasn't exactly covert to have the suit tailing her in case something was to go wrong. However, this dilemma was precisely the reason she and her father were currently working on a more…portable option.
Artillery hovered slightly above Miss Martian. She was careful to keep enough distance that the fire from her thrusters wouldn't harm any of her teammates, particularly the Martian.
The Team had been moving towards the factory quietly. They were about a half-mile away, and their journey had been uneventful thus far. Suddenly, Superboy froze, turning his head and narrowing his eyes.
"Did you guys hear that?" he asked tersely, looking around. Artillery looked down at the clone, frowning. She hadn't heard a thing.
"Uh," Kid Flash replied, looking just as confused as Artillery felt. "No." The speedster paused, realizing. "Wait, is this a super-hearing thing?" Miss Martian stared at Superboy with wide-doe eyes.
"You dohave great ears," she complimented him. Again, Artillery had to resist the urge to laugh at her clearly love-sick teammate.
"Robin," Artillery hissed, lowering the volume of the voice modulator. "Now what?" There was no response, and Artillery looked around. Their resident ninja was nowhere to be seen. "Robin?" She asked again, slightly louder this time. Kid Flash groaned.
"Man, I hate it when he does that," the speedster whisper-yelled.
"Superboy, Kid, Artillery," Aqualad's voice said over the comm. "Switch to infrared. See if you're being tracked." Artillery obeyed, changing the display accordingly. Usually she asked JARVIS to do it, if she was busy controlling another function of the suit, but right now she could do it herself.
Artillery moved forward, wincing as the suit clanked. She swept her eyes over the forest, noting two squads of armed adversaries about to converge on one another.
"Got a squad of armed bozos incoming," Kid Flash reported to Aqualad. Superboy moved in front of the speedster, narrowing his eyes as he peered in the other direction.
"Two squads," Superboy corrected, seeing the other armed group incoming.
"They'll reach each other before they see us," Artillery noted. As if on cue, the familiar popping of gunfire sounded, disrupting the peaceful quiet of the jungle. Artillery glanced at Superboy, raising her eyebrows. "No super-hearing required now," she muttered.
"Swing wide and steer clear!" Aqualad ordered, having heard their conversation over the open comm. line. Kid Flash moved from where he was crouched behind a boulder, stepping out in front of his teammates.
"Yeah, yeah," he replied almost dismissively. "Just as soon as I find Rob." Before anyone could argue with the speedster, he took off into the night. Artillery exchanged a look with Superboy and Miss Martian, and shrugged, flying after Kid Flash.
Superboy squinted his eyes, tracking Kid Flash's heat signature through the woods. Before he could direct the girls to where Kid Flash was, the speedster's yell split the air. There was a brief cease in gunfire before it started back up again, more vigorously than before. Which could only mean one thing…
"Guess our cover's blown," Superboy huffed. "This way." The clone leapt forward, covering about fifty meters with each bound. Miss Martian and Artillery followed him, weaving around tree trunks until they reached the clearing.
Kid Flash had so far avoided being shot, but he was distracted enough that someone had managed to sneak up behind him. The man was wearing a black and white mask, and he raised a gun, pointing it at their teammate. Superboy noticed this as well and jumped out of the trees to tackle the man to the ground.
Artillery flew into the middle of the clearing. Bullets pinged off of her armor, not harming her in the slightest. She lifted her palm, firing a shot at one of the shooters. She landed on the ground as one of the goons ran up to her, realizing that his gun wasn't doing anything. As he approached her, Artillery grabbed onto his shoulder. The servos in her suit whirred as she pulled the goon forwards, slamming him face first into the ground easily.
"What is wrong with you guys?" Robin's voice snapped as he dropped out of the trees. Artillery turned her head to see the Boy Wonder beating up several goons. "Remember covert? Why didn't you follow my lead, vanish into the jungle?" Kid Flash kicked the guy he was fighting backwards, and then turned around to look at this friend.
"That's what you were doing?" the speedster asked incredulously. "Way to fill us in! We're not mind-readers, you know." He paused, glancing at Miss Martian who was right behind him. "Well," Kid Flash amended, glancing back towards Robin. "I'm not, anyway." The alien threw several of the foes back with her telekinesis, looking at the two boys.
"You told me I could only read the bad guys' minds," she defended herself, crossing her arms over her chest. Footsteps behind Artillery made her turn around. A man wearing a red hood was running towards the group of teens, holding a knife.
Artillery raised her hand, her repulsors powering up. Before she could shoot the guy and knock him down, Aqualad jumped out from the thicket of trees. He shoved his hand out, touching the hooded villain in the chest. Electricity crackled on his arms, shocking the guy and knocking him out.
The Atlantean turned towards his teammates, his eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. Artillery half-expected him to reprimand the Team, but he didn't. Instead, he bent down and began to drag the man he'd just knocked out towards a tree.
"Let us tie them up and move on," Aqualad told the others. Robin reached into his utility belt, pulling out several lengths of rope. The Team worked silently as they dragged their enemies over to two different trees and bound them there.
"I recognize those uniforms," Robin spoke up, pointing to the group of people wearing red hoods and masks. "They belong to the Cult of the Kobra." Aqualad frowned.
"I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation." Artillery turned to the Atlantean. She had flipped her facemask up for easier vision, so her voice came out unaffected by the modulator.
"Maybe he didn't know," she pointed out. "Batman said that shipments have been cut off but that the factory is still running. Which could be that there's been a disruption - you know, a change - in with shippers but not with the shipment."
"I agree," Robin said, crossing his arms. "Clearly there's no love-lost between the cultists and those goons. I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out." He spoke in a self-satisfied manner.
"We get it," Kid Flash said, somewhat irritably. "Kobra wanted super-cultists. Mystery solved. Radio Bats and we'll be home in time for –" Robin cut his friend off, scowling.
"These cultists aren't on Venom," he corrected the speedster impatiently. "Kobra's hoarding the stuff! We don't leave, not until I know why."
Kid Flash seemed to be acquiescing to Robin's argument at first, but his shoulders stiffened at Robin's last few choice words. Narrowing his eyes, the speedster leaned in towards his friend, propping his hands up on his hips.
"Until youknow why?" Kid Flash asked, glaring at Robin. Robin stood up straight, squaring his shoulders back.
"This team needs a leader!" he reminded the redhead. Kid Flash scoffed, rolling his eyes dismissively at Robin's defense.
"And it's you?" Kid Flash's voice was just a little too loud, making Artillery wince and look around nervously. Even though they'd beat two groups of adversaries, that didn't mean there weren't more. "Dude, you're a thirteen-year-old kid who ducked out on us without a word." Robin snickered, unbothered by Robin's argument.
"And you're a mature fifteen? You blew our cover first chance you got!" Artillery watched the two boys in mild amusement. In some ways, their argument was reminiscent of her father's arguments with Captain America. Then again, Iron Man and Captain America's arguments were slightly less petty.
Usually, at least.
"Don't either of you want to lead?" Miss Martian asked Artillery and Superboy, drawing the other girl's attention away from the bickering pair. Superboy just shook his head adamantly, scoffing, but Artillery smirked.
"Nah," she replied airily. "But I'm much better at disobeying orders than giving them." She grinned at the Martian to show that she was (kind of) joking. "Seriously, I'm too impulsive. What about you?" Miss Martian held up a hand, her eyes wide.
"After the Mister Twister fiasco?" she asked, shaking her head quickly. Artillery smiled gently, about to comfort the Martian. To her surprise, Superboy beat Artillery to it.
"You did alright," he reassured the girl. Miss Martian's eyes widened, and she dropped her gaze, her cheeks turning red. Chuckling, Artillery walked over to Aqualad. The Atlantean was still studying the cultists with a frown on his face.
"Hey," Artillery said. She nodded towards Kid Flash and Robin arguing. "You want to do something about that?" Aqualad looked up at her, frowning.
"Me?" he asked, confused. Artillery smiled at Aqualad. She raised an eyebrow, wondering if Aqualad actually hadn't noticed that he'd unknowingly stepped into a leader's role ever since he'd set foot on the island.
"Yes, you," she replied. "Aqualad, you're the only one who's actually given useful direction this entire mission. And that is saying something coming from me, because I never listen to direction."
"I have noticed," Aqualad replied, smiling at Artillery in a slightly exasperated, fond way. "But the others – " Aqualad was cut off by the sound of a low chuckle. Frowning, she and Aqualad turned towards the other tree. The man who appeared to be leading the group of non-uniformed goons was the man laughing.
"Such clever niños," he remarked, smirking at them. He was the one wearing a black and white wrestling mask, but it did nothing to hide the grin on his face. "But you only know half the story." The rest of the Team gathered around. "Let me show the rest," the man offered. "Get you into the factory via my secret entrance."
Miss Martian frowned, kneeling down in front of the man. She placed a hand on the side of her head and closed her eyes in order to focus.
"There is a secret entrance," she confirmed, reading the man's mind. "But he's also hiding something." She opened her eyes, and they began to glow white as she delved deeper into his mind.
"Ah, ah, ah, chica," the man reprimanded, shaking his head cockily. "Bane is not that easy." Miss Martian groaned, and the glow faded from her eyes as she stood up.
"Ugh. He's mentally reciting fútbol scores en español." She turned to her teammates, looking regretful. "This could take a while," she admitted with a sigh.
"It's not complicated," Bane said with a shrug, still smiling at the Team in an odd manner. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Artillery scowled, studying Bane suspiciously. She didn't really trust the guy – she was guessing he had ulterior motives. She glanced at Aqualad, waiting for the unofficial leader's decision. After a long moment, the Atlantean nodded his head.
"Robin. Cut him loose."
After freeing Bane from his bonds, the villain led them through the jungle. It was clear that Bane knew where he was going, as he didn't hesitate at the junctions of paths. Bane led the Team to a cliff overlooking the factory, pointing down to the building nestled between the trees.
Robin knelt at the edge of the cliff, using a pair of binoculars to look down at the factory. Artillery hovered in the air, zooming in on her display to see what was happening. She could see a small crowd of armed cultists, and several crates that were likely full of Venom.
"Look at all that product," Robin murmured, pointing to the crates that were stacked outside the factory. "A buy is going down."
"Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects," Artillery pointed out, flipping her faceplate up again. Aqualad nodded in agreement.
"We need to identify that buyer," he said. Kid Flash straightened up, nodding his head in agreement.
"Just what I was thinking," the speedster said wisely. Artillery rolled her eyes in amusement. It was clear Kid Flash was trying to appear responsible. Robin, on the other hand, apparently had no qualms about being responsible.
"Yeah," Robin chuckled sarcastically, standing up. "You're the thinker."
"Sarcasm?" Kid Flash asked disapprovingly. He shook his head. "Dude. A real leader would be focused on getting answers." Artillery couldn't help but silently agree with Kid Flash. Robin didn't answer, instead focusing on Bane.
The villain was a few yards away, moving a strategically placed rock to reveal a door in a solid stone wall. He tossed the boulder aside with a grunt, and then dusted his hands off. Artillery flipped her faceplate back down and looked through the tunnel. It looked well-constructed, reinforced with wooden beams and lights illuminating the pathway. JARVIS analyzed the tunnel without being asked, deeming it stable.
"Answers are this way," Bane announced. Bane led the Team through the tunnel, a fact that Kid Flash was none too pleased with.
"So," Kid Flash muttered sarcastically. "Now el Luchador is our leader." Robin passed his friend, whacking Kid Flash on the arm as he did so. "Ow!"
The Team followed Bane silently. The tunnel wound around, descending and turning for several miles. At last, they reached a dead end, the entrance to the factory.
Bane pressed his thumb to the button to unlock the door. They entered into a small hallway, with another non-secure normal door at the end. Bane cracked the door open and Robin bent down to survey the factory.
"All clear!" The Boy Wonder whispered, taking off before anyone could tell him otherwise. By the time Bane and the rest of the Team had walked into the factory, Robin was nowhere to be seen. Bane looked around scornfully.
"Has that little fool already been caught?" Bane asked in disgust. Aqualad sighed exasperatedly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"No," Aqualad replied, a touch of irritation edging his voice sharply. "He just does that." Next to Aqualad, Kid Flash pulled his goggles over his eyes.
"Stay put," he commanded. "I'll get our intel and be back before the Boy Wonder." Aqualad shook his head, reaching his hand the grab Kid Flash's shoulder.
"Wait, Kid!" Aqualad's fingers closed around empty air as the speedster zipped away in a blur. Aqualad groaned, closing his eyes. Bane watched Kid Flash speed away against Aqualad's wishes. He turned to the remaining for members of the Team, an eyebrow arched contemptuously.
"Great chain of command," he muttered sarcastically. Artillery looked at the other members of the Team, faintly wondering what they were going to do now that two of the most experienced members had vanished. As he had before, Aqualad took charge.
"Miss Martian, Superboy: with me and Bane. Artillery, please go after Kid Flash and Robin – quietly." Artillery saluted Aqualad, firing up the flight thrusters and ascending towards the catwalks.
She could see the rest of the Team moving into position, and she could see Robin and Kid Flash in the factory's control room. Lowering herself to the catwalk as quietly as possible – metal on metal was known to be loud – she entered the room. The cultist who had been manning the station was unconscious on the floor. The two boys were looking at one of the computer screens.
"Way to run off, Sonic the Hedgehog," Artillery said, crossing the room to look over Robin's shoulder as well. The speedster was eating a chocolate protein bar. She had picked up her father's habit of making nicknames for people. Robin snickered, and Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "Don't be jealous," Artillery teased Robin mildly. "I got a nickname for you too, Wonder Bread."
Artillery studied the computer screen intently. There were two different chemical formulas on the screen. Kid Flash was clearly smarter than he let on, because he was able to identify both.
"This one's Venom," the speedster stated, using his half-eaten chocolate bar to indicate one of the strands. "And that one's – woah." Kid Flash's eyes were wide. "That's the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus." Frowning, Artillery took a closer look. As Robin's fingers stroked the keys, the two chemical structures bonded together.
"If they're bonded correctly," Artillery murmured, analyzing the data. "They make a formula more than three times stronger than Venom and it's permanent."
"Not to mention this," Robin added. He pulled up another file, and yet another chemical structure popped up. "Looks like there's some kind of third component," Robin said, his fingers flying over keys. "It seems they haven't bonded it to the other two yet – says the supply of the stuff is too limited." He turned around, his masked eyes flicking from Artillery to Kid Flash. "Either of you recognize it?"
Artillery bent over Robin's shoulder, flipping her facemask up for a better look. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the strand. She gasped suddenly, her heart pounding when she realized what the third component was.
"God damn," she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. Robin and Kid Flash swung around to look at her expectantly. Heart hammering, she pointed to the third strand. "It's Extremis," she told them, her voice slightly hoarse.
"Extremis?" Kid Flash and Robin asked at the same time. Artillery nodded impatiently, but both boys looked blank. Sighing, she explained quickly.
"Long story short: it's a virus, a serum. It gives people powers and it is highly dangerous and volatile." Artillery shook her head. "I have no idea how they got their hands on it, and I really don't want to find out what happens when all three of these are bonded together."
"But how did Kobra get access to Project Blockbuster and Extremis?" Kid Flash asked. Robin's eyes widened as he put the pieces together. He leapt up from his seat, the chair falling backwards to the ground with a clatter.
"Our mystery buyer must also be Kobra's supplier! Using the Cult to create a Blockbuster-Venom-Extremis super-formula!" Robin raised his hand to his ear, pressing down on the comm. "Robin to Aqualad, we got – " He broke off, growling in irriation. "Static," he muttered.
Artillery opened her mouth to ask how they were going to alert the others without causing a scene, but before she could, machine gunfire sounded. Well, I guess that answers that question, she thought to herself, flipping the faceplate back down. A scene has already been caused.
Artillery followed the two boys out of the computer room. Below the catwalks, Aqualad and Superboy were engaged in a firefight with a number of cultists and a creature that Artillery was guessing had taken the Blockbuster-Venom formula. Miss Martian was rising from the corner, rubbing her head, and Bane was nowhere to be seen.
"Uh, who's Jason Voorhees?" Artillery asked to no one in particular, referring to the blonde man wearing a hockey mask. She swept down from the catwalk, knocking a bunch of cultists to the ground. She landed with a thump, firing several repulsor shots.
"Miss Martian!" she heard Aqualad yell. "Radio is jammed; link us up!" Gritting her teeth, Artillery braced herself for the odd feeling of a mental link. A second later, the tugging sensation returned, and Miss Martian's voice sounded through Artillery's mind.
"Everyone online?" the alien asked, floating up from the corner she'd crashed into.
"Yeah," Superboy responded, sounding resigned but slightly annoyed. Artillery whipped around, firing a repulsor shot at a cultist before responding.
"I'm here."
"You know it, beautiful," Kid Flash flirted.
"Good," Aqualad replied simply. "We need to regroup." Artillery was about to point out that no one knew where Robin had disappeared of too again, but then his voice sounded through her mind.
"Busy now," Robin responded in a sing-song manner. Aqualad sighed aloud, whipping two cultists with his water bearers.
"Robin, now!" He ordered. "Strategic retreat. Kid, clear a path." Artillery nodded, silently acknowledging Aqualad's order. She flew forwards, just behind Kid Flash, as the speedster plowed into cultists blocking their escape.
As soon as everyone was through the doors, Artillery slammed the controlled door shut, putting it on lockdown to ensure that no one would pursue. Unfortunately, this effort was fruitless, as the door was simply plowed down by the creature hopped up on Blockbuster-Venom.
"Superboy, Artillery! The support beams!" Aqualad cried when he glanced over his shoulder and saw that the Team was being pursued.
"Miss, the two support beams directly to your left are integral to the design of the tunnel," JARVIS informed her. "Minimum safe distance once they've been destroyed is seventeen point six yards away in either direction." Artillery nodded, quickly repeating that last bit of information to her less-than invulnerable teammates.
Artillery nodded, coasting hard to the left and slamming her body into the two wooden beams JARVIS had indicated. She scraped against the wall of the tunnel, spinning and flipping over in midair as she attempted to regain control of the suit. By the time she'd righted herself, Superboy had punched through the two beams opposite Artillery.
The result of the loss of the four wooden support beams was nearly instantaneous. The rocks on the ceiling groaned, and the entire tunnel began to shake ominously. Superboy and Artillery joined the Team just as the rocks began to fall, effectively separating the Team from the cultists on the other side.
Immediately after the tunnel collapsed, the lights flickered off and the Team was plunged into absolute darkness. Artillery's suit sensed the change in lighting and quickly compensated, switching to night-vision mode.
There was a cracking sound next to Artillery, and suddenly the tunnel was bathed in red light. Aqualad had activated an emergency light stick so that the Team was able to see. Artillery looked around, doing a quick headcount. Everyone was accounted for and looked safe, although Robin seemed rather dismayed.
"How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" he wondered aloud, surveying the collapsed tunnel sadly. Aqualad snapped another light stick, and then stepped towards the younger boy.
"You do have the most experience," he told Robin gently. "But perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk. But this Team is new, and the leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan."
Aqualad's voice was gentle and words were gentle, but his meaning was clear. Robin could not be the leader of the Team, not if he kept on acting the way he had during this mission. Robin seemed to understand this immediately, and at first he got upset.
"Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands?" He snapped, clearly pissed off. Just as quickly as his anger had come, it faded. He smiled at Aqualad, his shoulders slumped. "Who am I kidding?" He murmured, shaking his head. "You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can."
"Please!" Kid Flash scoffed, crossing his arms. "I can run circles –"
"Wally, come on," Robin interrupted his friend. "You know he's the one. We all do."
"Hello, Megan!" Miss Martian cried, agreeing with Robin. "It's so obvious!" Superboy simply shrugged from the corner, seemingly indifferent.
"Could've told you," the clone responded, giving Aqualad a tiny smile and an accepting nod. Artillery grinned under her face plate, looking at Aqualad.
"See?" she said simply. Everyone looked at Kid Flash. The speedster shrugged, smiling genuinely. For all his immaturity, he was pretty easy-going.
"Okay!" Kid Flash agreed easily. The Atlantean smiled at his teammates, looking mildly surprised at their quick acceptance of his leading. He walked forward, placing a hand on Robin's shoulder.
"Then I accept the burden," he replied, looking at Robin. "Until you are ready to lift in from my shoulders." Robin smiled, and Aqualad continued. "You were born to lead this team," the dark-skinned boy told his younger friend sincerely. "Maybe not now, but soon." Robin nodded, a grin stretched across his face. Turning around, Aqualad returned to business.
"Alright," he said. "Our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving the island." Robin laughed.
"Funny," he mused teasingly. "I had the same thought." Robin then sobered up, remembering something. "We have to trade notes," he added. "KF, Artillery and I found some disconcerting things." Aqualad nodded.
"Let us move," he ordered. "We will talk on the way."
As the Team ran – or in Miss Martian's and Artillery's cases, flew – away from the factory and back towards the jungle, Robin explained how someone had joined the Blockbuster formula with the Venom formula, and how this person planned to bond it with Extremis as well.
"Can our second priority please be destroying and cutting off access to Extremis?" Artillery asked once Robin was finished speaking, looking down at her teammates. "That stuff is dangerous – if we can stop the buyer from getting it, we should." Aqualad nodded quickly.
"Agreed," he said. "Robin, anything else?" The Boy Wonder consulted with his holocomputer, frowning slightly.
"It just doesn't make sense," he responded. "Sportsmaster's the supplier/buyer, but it still doesn't track. He doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster or Extremis formula orto get Kobra to do his dirty work!" Kid Flash nodded in agreement. As courtesy to his teammates, he was running at normal speed.
"And neither of them have the chops to bond Blockbuster with Venom," the speedster said. "That took some major nerdage."
"I believe the expression is," Aqualad replied. "'Tip of the iceberg.'" He slowed as the Team reached the exit to the tunnel. Before they could leave, Bane stepped into the doorway, effectively blocking the exit. He was clutching something in his hand.
"Halt, niños," he ordered. "I'm feeling…explosive." Artillery followed his gaze upwards to see several bombs beeping above their heads.
"You betrayed us!" Aqualad cried in faux-shock. "Why?" Then he spoke over the mental link, quickly running through his plan with the Team. "Kid, you'll need a running start." The speedster started to back away slowly, not wanting to draw attention to himself.
"I wanted my factory back," Bane explained, thinking that the Team was actually surprised that he'd tricked them as opposed to just buying time. "So, I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying." Artillery couldn't help but be mildly amused by Bane's monologuing – classic movie villain, anyone?
"If the latter, the Justice League and Iron Man would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks. And when the smoke cleared," Bane continued. "Santa Prisca would be mine once more."
"Well." Artillery couldn't help but to speak up. "Neither of those things happened, so you might have to reconsider." Bane chuckled, pointing the trigger towards them.
"True, chica," Bane replied. "But blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect." There was a brush of air and a blur of black and red as Kid Flash sped past Bane, grabbing the trigger as he did so. Bane didn't notice at first, pressing down with his finger only to realize he was no longer holding anything. His eyes widened in shock.
"With what?" Kid Flash called, wagging the trigger in mid-air. He grinned at Bane cheekily. "This trigger thingy?" Bane shouted in rage, whirling around. He threw a punch at Kid Flash, but before he could land it Miss Martian had grabbed Bane with her telekinesis and pulled him backwards.
The Martian raised her hand, lifting Bane into the air. He struggled against the invisible hold, flailing rapidly in midair. The rest of the Team approached Bane and Superboy stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.
"Finally," the clone said with a satisfied smirk. He nodded at Miss Martian. "Drop him." Miss Martian obeyed, releasing her hold on Bane. The villain fell towards the ground, and Superboy positioned himself in the perfect spot to send a powerful uppercut into Bane's face.
Artillery stepped over Bane's unconscious body. She nudged him in the ribs with her toe to make sure he was completely out.
"I vote we keep him tied up this time," she said, smirking at her friends. Aqualad sighed, rolling his eyes fondly at Artillery's teasing suggestion. As Robin pulled more rope out of his utility belt – seriously, how much stuff did he have in there – Aqualad walked over to inspect the bombs.
"Kid, may I have the detonator?" Aqualad requested. Blinking, the speedster handed the trigger over to the Atlantean.
"Sure," the redhead said, confused. "Um, why?"
"Thank you," Aqualad replied, carefully taking hold of the trigger. He smiled at his friend teasingly. "I was concerned that you would accidentally detonate the bombs." Kid Flash pouted.
"That's…actually probably a legitimate concern," he muttered. "But still offensive." Aqualad chuckled, returning his gaze to the still active bombs. He nodded at Artillery.
"Artillery," he said, beckoning the armored girl over. "Do you think you can disarm these bombs so that they can be safely transported but will still be able to be rearmed by someone not as knowledgeable of science as yourself?" Artillery stepped forward, inspecting the explosives. They looked pretty simple to her, and with JARVIS's help, she was confident in her answer.
"Yeah, definitely," she replied with a shrug. "Why?" Aqualad was quiet for a moment, his grey eyes pensive. When he replied, there was the barest ghost of a smile on his face.
"I have a plan," he informed her.
The Team stayed crouched in the trees of the jungle, waiting for Aqualad's signal. The Team's newly appointed leader was leaning out from behind a tree, watching the cultists surrounding the factory. He narrowed his pale eyes, judging for the correct moment.
As he watched, the blades of the helicopter began to spin, signaling that they'd fixed it. Robin had sabotaged it earlier in order to slow them down, but as the Team had suspected, it had only worked for so much time.
"Kid, now!" Aqualad commanded mentally. The speedster zipped forward, taking out a half dozen cultists in less than a second. As the rest of the Team swarmed onto the clearing, Artillery could hear Kobra ordering Sportsmaster – aka Jason Voorhees – to take the shipment and leave.
Artillery landed in the midst of a group of cultists. They began to shoot at her, their bullets doing nothing once more. Sighing, Artillery raised her two tiny missile launchers from her shoulders, shooting the cultists down easily.
"Come on," she whined to their unconscious bodies. "At least make it fun for me."
As if responding to her complaint, someone began to fire at the suit from behind. Artillery whirled around to see Kobra's underling, the girl with short red hair shaved on one side. She had picked up one of the guns the cultists had dropped.
Artillery was about to hit the young woman with a repulsor shot, but she dodged it easily. Frowning, Artillery pulled her left hand back to pretend to aim again. The girl jumped, anticipating the shot, and Artillery shot out a bola to bind the woman's arms to her waist. She lost balance, falling to the ground.
"Artillery," Aqualad called over the mental link. "Make sure the Extremis is destroyed." Artillery nodded to herself, taking off and flying towards the open door of the factory.
"Stop her!" Kobra cried, about to take off after Artillery himself. Before he could, Robin tackled the cult leader, smirking. She heard Robin taunting Kobra, and it gave her ample time to reach the building.
"JARVIS," Artillery asked, hovering in the factory and looking around at the overwhelming number of crates surrounding her. "Which crate is the Extremis?"
"I'm scanning for it now, miss," JARVIS responded promptly. Artillery watched the loading symbol at the corner of her display, and after a moment the display zoomed in on three crates, highlighting them. "That's all of it, miss," JARVIS informed her.
Artillery flew down to the crates. She pried it open, looking at the contents to see for herself. There were stacks of vials everywhere. Frowning, Artillery stepped back, firing up her repulsors. Before she destroyed the substance, however, she was seized with a sudden fever of an idea.
Before she even knew what she was doing, Artillery was moving forward. She grabbed one of the vials, carefully stowing it away in a storage pocket in the suit's wrist. She then fired, destroying the three crates and taking to the air once more. Her heart was pounding.
"Miss, may I ask what you're doing with the Extremis vial?" JARVIS asked, sounding nearly reproachful. She could tell he disapproved of her taking it.
"Later, J," Artillery replied, watching the burning crates below her. "To tell the truth," she added, as she turned back to rejoin the Team outside the factory. "Idon't know what I'm doing with the Extremis."
"Artillery!" Miss Martian's alarm was clear over the mental link. "Get out of the factory! I blew the helicopter, and its headed right for you!"
"Coming!" Artillery responded, firing her flight thrusters. She zoomed out of the building, landing a safe distance away from the explosion moments before the copter crashed down directly on the building, effectively destroying it. Artillery sighed, shaking her head in mock-dismay.
"And I was so careful to make sure that I destroyed the Extremis," she complained good-naturedly, flying over to her teammates and returning to the ground. As Artillery landed, Robin walked back over to the Team as well. He smiled.
"We picked the right guy to lead," he admitted, grinning at Aqualad. And then, smirking and cackling, he added, "Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!" Artillery winced as Robin walked away, laughing manically.
"Ooh," she muttered sympathetically. "That is not going to be pretty."
MOUNT JUSTICE
July 23, 10:01 EDT
Batman courteously waited until the Team had had a shower, a meal, and a good night's sleep to chew them out. The next morning, however, the Team was lined up as though they were facing a firing squad.
Although, Talia mused to herself, trying to keep a straight face. A firing squad might be less scary than an angry Batman. The Dark Knight strode back and forth in front of the Team as he lectured them.
"A simplerecon mission; observe and report," he stated, repeating the words he'd earlier used briefing them. "You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes. Until then…" Unbeknownst to the Team, as all were focused on the ground, a small smile crossed Batman's face. "Good job."
Talia looked up, shocked. She exchanged a look with Wally, and both turned to look at Batman. He nodded at them, looking slightly pleased – there was even a tiny smile on his face.
"'No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy,'" he told them. Talia was pretty sure she'd heard her father use that quote before – albeit in a different context: an argument with Cap. "How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success," Batman continued, turning away. "And how you chose who leads determines character."
As Batman strode away, Talia's shoulders relaxed. She recalled her earlier thought – "what could go wrong?" – and answered it to herself.
A lot could go wrong – but they'd pulled it together in the end.
And that was what mattered.
NEW YORK CITY
July 25, 23:01 EDT
It was two days after the Team's first mission, and Talia was currently in her lab working on her own souvenir that she'd taken from the factory in Santa Prisca.
Talia studied the chemical formula of Extremis, comparing it to her father's notes on the original Extremis virus. It seemed largely the same, which didn't surprise her. Whoever wanted to engineer Blockbuster-Venom couldn't have been bothered about some dangerous side-effects from Extremis.
One of Talia's biggest faults was her hubris. She always thought that she could make something better, do something better. It some ways it was a good thing, as it was what had driven her to put on the armor in the first place (or rather, beg her dad to let her put on the armor), but it was also dangerous.
Like right now, for instance. Talia was currently messing around with an extremely dangerous serum in hopes that she could re-engineer it to highlight its true purposes and eradicate any of the side effects. A project that she knew her father would not approve of – precisely why she was glad he was currently on a business trip, and also why she'd forbidden JARVIS from telling her father – or any of the Avengers, for that matter – what she was currently doing in the lab.
There was a beeping noise of the lab door opening, and Talia quickly flicked her wrist, shoving the Extremis equations away. There was another beeping noise, and the Good Charlotte song Talia had been blaring clicked off.
"Hey," Talia protested, turning around to scowl at her father. "I don't turn your music off." Tony grinned at his daughter, leaning over to kiss her on the forehead.
"Nice greeting," he teased her. "And I'm your dad. I get certain privileges." Talia laughed, sitting down in her spinny chair and turning to face her dad. Tony sat down on the chair opposite her. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and shrugged it off.
"Here," he said, holding out a brand-new baseball cap. "For your collection." Talia grinned, taking the cap from her father and adjusting the strap in the back to fit her head.
"Thanks," she replied with a smile, running her fingers over the stitches. Tony watched her. He was smiling slightly, but his eyes were sad. He never knew quite what to do about Talia's dependence on baseball caps; he was never quite sure if he should support her or put his foot down and insist that she stop depending on them to calm her down.
"What were you working on?" Tony asked his daughter, changing the subject. Talia looked up, her almond-shaped eyes wide. She blinked a few times.
"Oh," she replied, sounding surprised. "Nothing much. Just working on some of the nano-tech stuff." Tony frowned, narrowing his eyes at his daughter. Talia was a very good liar, but he knew she wasn't telling the truth for two reasons. One, he was her dad. Two, he knew for a fact that all the nano-tech machinery was still on the other side of the lab.
"Okay. So, what are you really working on?" Tony asked seriously, sitting in the spinny chair and looking at his daughter stonily. Talia scowled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Nothing!" she insisted defensively. "Why don't you believe me?"
"Because you're not telling the truth," Tony replied simply. He sighed, standing up once more. "JARVIS, what is Talia doing?" The A.I. didn't respond immediately, and when he did he sounded slightly annoyed.
"I am afraid, sir, I have been forbidden to tell you that." Tony turned to glare at his daughter, who had the decency to look sheepish.
"Hacking JARVIS to keep secrets from me," Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest and raising his eyebrows. "Really."
"I didn't…hack him," she muttered defensively, fiddling with bill of her new baseball cap. Tony waited another minute to see if Talia would come clean. When she didn't, he shrugged. He'd been as patient as he needed to be.
"Alright," Tony said with a long-suffering sigh. "I gave you a chance. Override: India-Mike-Yankee-Foxtrot. JARVIS, what is Talia working on?" Talia's mouth fell open and she stared at her father angrily as JARVIS responded.
"Miss stole a vial of Extremis from her mission with the Team," JARVIS explained, sounding a little bit smug. "She is currently working on a new strand of the Extremis formula in order to remedy its substantial faults." Tony closed his eyes, shaking his head. He took a deep breath, turning towards his enraged daughter.
"Talia," he said slowly, his voice shaking slightly. "Please tell me there is a bug in JARVIS's system that I have to reprogram. Please tell me he is mistaken." Talia didn't try to defend herself, instead glaring at her father.
"You can't do that!" she snapped. "That's so unfair – that's an invasion of privacy."
"No," Tony replied, pointing a finger at his daughter. "No. An invasion of privacy would be looking through your room or backpack or asking JARVIS to search your phone. It is not an invasion of privacy to ask the A.I. I created to help me and keep you safe to share what you really work on in this lab." Talia scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, please," she spat, waving a hand. "You didn't create JARVIS to babysit me. I wasn't even born when you made him!" Tony took a deep breath.
"That is beside the point," he told her, trying to remain calm. "Talia, Extremis is dangerous. I do not want you messing around with it. End of discussion." He turned to leave.
"No, no it's not!" Talia replied heatedly, her eyes flashing. Tony turned back around, raising his eyebrows expectantly. She sighed then, sitting down in the chair as she collected her thoughts.
"Dad, think about it," she finally said, her voice dropping considerably. "If I could engineer it for its true purpose: to heal unhealable injuries, to cure incurable diseases, without any of the side effects." Talia looked at her father beseechingly. "Wouldn't that be better? For the entire world?" Tony looked down at his daughter.
One of Tony's darkest secrets was that he sometimes wished that Talia's mother had never told him she was pregnant. Tony would never have known about his daughter and never would have had the chance to influence her negatively as he sometimes thought he did. And Jesse, Talia's mother, would never have died in a car crash on her way to pick Talia up from Tony's.
"Listen to me," Tony replied, also speaking much more softly. He knelt down so that he was looking up at his daughter. "You mean well. I know you do. But Widget, when people like you and me mess around with stuff completely beyond our comprehension and fancy that we can control it?" Tony shook his head sadly. "It never ends well."
"Dad, this is nothing like Ultron," Talia said, her voice breaking in the middle.
"Isn't it?" Tony asked her steadily. Talia's eyes filled with tears, knowing her father was right. She took a deep breath, swallowing thickly as she ran her thumbs over the edge of the cap in her hands.
"I'm sorry," she finally whispered, her voice choked-up and shaky. Tony sighed, standing up and ruffling his daughter's hair absent-mindedly.
"It's okay, sweetie," he told her. "But just promise me you're done with this." Talia didn't immediately respond, nor did she look up at Tony when she spoke, so he wasn't sure exactly why he believed her so whole-heartedly.
"I promise."
and that is drop-zone! also shitty foreshadowing at the end is shitty. ah well.
please drop a review! i love hearing feedback from you guys, and it keeps me motivated to write more. please tell me what you think about this chapter, talia, or the story in general and i guarantee i will appreciate your thoughts!
thank you!