To TheGreatGodzilla: Thank you for all your input and questions! Several of your questions will be answered in the next few chapters, and as for the story arc, I really like that idea! I do think I'm going to finish out a lot of the season if not all before doing some original story arc, though. I may write some original time-skip missions.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Talia :)
MOUNT JUSTICE
August 8, 09:42 EDT
Talia licked her lips, leaning in towards the computer screen. She squinted at the diagrams of her new and improved Extremis virus, carefully reviewing her work. Despite her father's warnings, Talia hadn't been able to resist returning to her engineering. Talia was well-aware of the dangers of her project, but she was too proud to step back from her work. She was just so close…
But she couldn't do anything in the lab at home anymore. Tony was keeping a close eye on his daughter, so working on Extremis at Mount Justice as the perfect compromise. Besides, JARVIS wasn't set up in the Cave, so he wasn't there to tattle on Talia, either.
Which to be totally honest - sucked just a little bit. It meant Talia had to do everything manually, and she'd become very used to having an AI to assist her. Every now and again she found herself absent-mindedly calling out to JARVIS before realizing that she was just talking to no one.
Her hands flew across the keyboard as she made notes of the changes to the virus. She had changed the molecular structure of it ever-so-slightly: she didn't want to compromise the design of the virus too much, she just needed to stabilize it.
Talia glanced at the notes she'd just taken, comparing them to her old ones on the design of the original virus. She paused, tilting her head to the side and looking again at the structural diagram of her new Extremis.
Was she…done?
Talia blinked, almost surprised. She'd been working on this for so long; the ending seemed nearly anti-climactic. Nearly. A big part of her was proud with her work, proud that she'd done it. Shaking her head slowly, a grin spread across Talia's face.
Sure, she wasn't one hundred percent sure it worked. She'd need to do further testing. But she'd done as much as she could to change Extremis without completely re-engineering the virus, and the theoretical results were perfect.
A knocking on the door made Talia jump, and she whirled around. Robin poked his head through the door as Talia hastily swiped at her work, minimizing it enough that the Boy Wonder wouldn't see what she'd been doing. Robin raised an eyebrow at her, noticing her hasty movement.
"Working hard or hardly working?" he asked her with a mischievous grin. Talia smirked back at him.
"You decide." She turned back around, saving her work. "I'll be out in a minute," she said, knowing why he'd come down in the first place. She glanced down at her band tee and jeans, adding, "I just need to change." Robin nodded, shooting her a thumbs-up and closing the door.
As the door to the lab clicked shut and Robin's footsteps retreated down the hallway, Talia breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She pulled up the results once more, tapping out a quick message to her friend Shuri, the princess of Wakanda and also one of smartest people in the world. Maybe even the smartest.
"Hey, Shuri," Talia murmured out loud, reading the message to herself as she typed. "Do me a favor – take a look at this, run some tests. Let me know what you think. Keep it quiet though: I'm not supposed to be working on this." She hit send and received a response almost instantaneously.
Ooh, a secret, Shuri had written back. Talia could picture the sly smirk on her friend's face. Looks interesting. I'll get back to you.
Talia grinned again, tapping out a quick message of thanks before closing the computer. She stood up from her chair, grabbing her beach bag off of the floor and walking towards the bathroom. After all, she hadn't come to the Cave just to work. It had just been an added bonus while she'd waited for the others to arrive and/or get ready.
After Talia changed into her black bikini and looped her ponytail through the hole in the back of her baseball cap, she picked up the straw bag containing her towel, sunglasses, sunscreen and extra beach necessities and slid her feet into flip flops. She swung the beach bag over her shoulders and pushed through the lab door, heading to meet up with her friends.
By the time she made it to the mission room, the rest of her teammates were gathered there, waiting for her. She smiled apologetically as she quickened her pace to join them. As soon M'gann saw her, the Martian grinned broadly.
"Talia's here!" the other girl announced excitedly. "Let's go!" Talia couldn't help but laugh at the Martian's enthusiasm as the green-skinned girl led the group out to the beach. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, making the sand and sea practically glow in the bright light. Talia was glad for her sunglasses.
"Hello, Megan!" M'gann said, spreading her arms wide. The Martian girl was jubilant. "We should hit the beach every day." Robin grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed dramatically.
"First," he replied, lowering his head. "A moment of silence for our…absent comrade." At Robin's remark, M'gann's shoulders slumped. She sighed, shaking her head sadly.
"Poor Wally," she agreed. Talia couldn't help but smile slightly, shaking her head in sympathy to the unfortunate situation. Wally unfortunately had his first day of sophomore year on the same day the rest of the Team had decided to go to the beach. He'd admittedly been upset, but when the others had offered to postpone the day, he'd claimed it wasn't necessary.
The others didn't start school for the next few weeks. Talia wasn't sure what Robin's story was, of course, but M'gann and Superboy were in the process of being enrolled in the local high school, Kaldur didn't go to school, and Talia had been expelled from the prep school she'd attended last year. Her dad had yet to find another.
The Team dropped their stuff in the middle of the beach and all immediately headed for the ocean. They'd brought food for a cook out later, and also a volleyball, but right now all of the teenagers just wanted to get into the water.
Talia initially hadn't been too enthused about the idea of a beach day, but as she waded into the cold water, she had to admit that she was having fun. Kaldur dove into the waves effortlessly. He was only underwater for seconds, but when he popped up he was almost twenty feet away, standing in chest deep water.
"Cheater," Talia said, grinning at Kaldur. He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders unapologetically. M'gann and Robin waded out towards the Atlantean with Talia. M'gann laughed, dragging her fingers through the water and flicking it upwards. It hit Robin in the face, making him splutter.
"Oh, I'm so sorry –" M'gann began, her eyes wide with chagrin. Robin giggled, and instead of responding, splashed the Martian back. M'gann's mouth dropped open, and then she began to laugh.
"Hey, where's Superboy?" Talia asked suddenly, realizing she didn't see the clone anywhere. As if answering her question, the clone suddenly bellowed out a warning. Talia glanced upwards, confused, and her eyes went wide as she saw the clone plummeting towards them.
Diving to the side, Talia ducked underwater to avoid being splashed in the face. Still, the force of Superboy's dive caused a current of water to push her back. Shaking her head in amusement, Talia resurfaced, laughing and snagging her sunglasses before they sunk.
The rest of the day was just as fun. They grilled hot dogs for lunch and set up a net to play volleyball on the beach. Talia was on a team with Kaldur and Robin, and the three of them managed to win despite M'gann's use of extra arms and Superboy's super strength.
After spending nearly the entire day on the beach, Batman interrupted their downtime to tell them to suit-up and meet in the mission room. The Team reluctantly packed up their things and lugged them back inside.
"I'm gonna shower before I change," Talia announced, running a hand through her hair, which was stiff with salt-water and sand. The rest of her friends murmured in agreement, and they headed off for the bathrooms.
By the time the entire Team was dressed in the uniforms and had made it back into the mission room, they found several people waiting for them. Batman and Red Tornado were there, as well as Green Arrow and an unfamiliar teenage girl. The new teenager had long blonde hair, and was dressed in green get up similar to Green Arrow's, complete with a quiver on her back and a bow in her hand. Artillery walked up to Robin.
"Who's she?" Artillery whispered to the younger boy. She hadn't announced her presence, but Robin was impossible to sneak up on. He shrugged in response.
"No idea," he replied, surprising Artillery. She would have thought he'd already done a full background sweep. "I think we're waiting for – "
"Recognized: Kid Flash, B-Zero-Three." The computer cut off Robin's response, and when the glow of the Zeta Tubes faded, Wally was standing in the tunnel. He was dressed in swim gear, and he was holding an umbrella, a boom box, a large beach ball and a cooler full of food. He didn't seem to notice that everyone else in the room was dressed in their uniforms – or, in Artillery's case, jeans and a t-shirt, which was just what she wore underneath the armor.
"The Wall-Man is here," Wally crowed. "Now, let's get this party star – " He raced into the room, and the end of the umbrella dragged on the floor. Wally's foot caught onto the tip, and he fell flat on his face, dropping everything. The beach ball bounced across the room, nearly hitting Batman in the face. Wally looked up, sighing. " – ted?" he finished hopefully.
Artillery chewed on her inner lip, struggling not to laugh out loud. It was clear by the looks on Robin's face that the Boy Wonder was struggling to contain their amusement as well. The blonde girl smirked as well, turning around to face the speedster.
"Wall-Man, huh?" she asked teasingly. "Wow, love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?" Wally scoffed, rolling his eyes as he climbed to his feet. He walked up to the rest of the Team, brushing himself off.
"Uh, who's this?" he asked, looking at his friends for an answer. It was the girl herself who responded, finally introducing herself to everyone.
"Artemis," she said proudly. "Your new teammate." Wally shrugged, smirking.
"Kid Flash," he introduced himself. "Never heard of you." Artemis's eyes narrowed, and Green Arrow walked up to her. He placed his hand on Artemis's shoulder.
"Um, she's my new protégé," Green Arrow explained hastily. Wally's eyes widened with dismay at that statement.
"What? Why? What happened to your old one?" Artillery recalled being told that Speedy, Green Arrow's former protégé had turned down joining the Team.
"Recognized: Speedy, B-Zero-Seven." The Zeta Tube powered down, and out stepped a tall, red-headed young man with a quiver across his back. Artillery frowned, looking at the archer. There was something vaguely familiar about him.
"Well, for starters," he said, stepping into the Cave and crossing his arms over his chest. "He doesn't go by 'Speedy' anymore. Call me Red Arrow." Artillery frowned again…his voice was also familiar. She couldn't place it, exactly. Come to think of it, it was the same feeling she got sometimes when Robin spoke…
"Roy," Green Arrow said, stepping forward. When the green archer said his name, a wave of understanding passed through Artillery.
Duh, she thought to herself. In the back of her mind, she did kind of remember being told by her father that Oliver Queen worked with the League. And it only made sense that Roy Harper, his foster son, was his partner.
Artillery shifted her feet, suddenly finding the floor very interesting. She was always hyper-aware of herself when she was around Roy. Because, yes, she had a completely embarrassing crush on him. One that successfully succeeded in dropping her IQ about a hundred points when she was around him, turning her into an awkward, stammering mess. He was either blissfully ignorant of it or kind enough to ignore it. She still wasn't quite sure which.
"Why waste time finding a sub?" Roy – Red Arrow – asked, glaring at Artemis and ignoring Green Arrow's protests. "Can she even use that bow?" Artemis's slender fingers tightened around the bow in question and her shoulders tensed as she glared at the elder archer defensively.
"Yes, she can." Artemis's voice was annoyed, but calm. She wasn't intimidated by Red Arrow. Next to Artillery Wally groaned, staring at Artemis in disbelief.
"Who are you?" Wally cried out, throwing his arms in the air.
"I'm his niece," Artemis replied quickly, speaking at the same time as Green Arrow when the elder archer said: "She's my niece." Robin chuckled.
"Another niece," he murmured, glancing from Miss Martian to Artemis. Artillery noticed that Robin sounded just a little bit dubious at the two archers' claims. Racking her brains, she tried to remember if she knew that Oliver Queen had a niece or not, but she couldn't seem to recall. Red Arrow's eyes narrowed at this statement and he frowned.
"But she is not your replacement," Aqualad added, walking up to his friend. The Atlantean placed a hand on Red Arrow's shoulder, his gray eyes as steady and calm as they always were. "We have always wanted you on the Team," Aqualad reminded him. "And we have no quota on archers."
"And if we did, you know who we'd pick," Wally added, smiling at Red Arrow hopefully. Artemis snorted, clearly unbothered by the cold welcoming from the speedster.
"Whatever, Baywatch," she replied, propping her free hand on her hip and shrugging her shoulders. "I'm here to stay." Red Arrow's shoulders stiffened, and Artillery was willing to bet that he was rolling his eyes beneath his domino mask.
"You came to us for a reason," Aqualad said to Red Arrow, drawing his attention back to the matter at hand. Whether intentional or not, Aqualad had an amazing skill for defusing tension. The redheaded archer nodded, also remembering why he'd come.
"Yeah," he agreed, walking farther into the room and over to the holographic computer. "A reason named Doctor Serling Roquette." Robin's eyes widened at the mention of the scientist. He pulled up his holographic wrist computer and began to type, quickly pulling up a profile on the woman.
"Nano-robotics genius and claytronics at Royal University in Star City!" Artillery scowled at the pictures of the woman on the holographic screen, remembering with a stab of annoyance her few interactions with the scientist.
"Yeah," Artillery muttered, putting her hand on her hip. "I'm familiar. Not really a fan." She didn't really hate the woman, per say. It was more of a dislike by association. Talia's mother, Jesse Young, had always disagreed with the woman, and her dad had never liked her either. From Talia's own interactions with Roquette, she couldn't quite say that her parents' irritation with the woman was misplaced.
"She was abducted two weeks ago," Red Arrow told the Team, ignoring Artillery's comment. "By the League of Shadows." Robin's mouth dropped open, his eyes widening with excitement at Red Arrow's statement.
"You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?" Robin practically squeaked. The Boy Wonder exchanged a look with his best friend, and he and Wally low-fived, unable to contain their excitement.
"Hardcore," Wally whispered in awe. Red Arrow shook his head, walking towards the computer. He typed something into the keyboard and pulled up a diagram. Artillery stepped closer, her attention piqued by the complex robotics displayed on the screen.
"I already rescued her," Red Arrow clarified, quickly shutting down the younger heroes' enthusiasm. "Only one problem. The Shadows had already coerced her into created a weapon. Doc calls it the Fog. It's comprised of millions of microscopic robots, nano-tech infiltrators, capable of destroying anything in their path: concrete, steel, flesh, bone." Artillery suppressed a shudder.
"Hang on," Artillery said, interrupting Red Arrow. He tossed her a look, and she struggled not to blush, very pointedly keeping her eyes on the computer screen. She pointed to a piece of code that was circling through the screen. "It's not meant to just destroy things, is it?" Red Arrow shook his head.
"No," he agreed. "Its true purpose is theft. The Fog eats and downloads information from computers – "
"– and then turns the intel over to the Shadows," Artillery muttered, finishing Red Arrow's thought. Under normal circumstances, she would have been extremely embarrassed to have interrupted the elder teenager, but right now she was preoccupied with the mechanics in front of her. "That'll give them access to weapons, strategic plans, and cutting-edge science and tech."
"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power-broking," Artemis listed. She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah. Sounds like the Shadows." Wally scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest in response to Artemis's remark.
"Pft. Like you know anything about the Shadows." Artemis didn't answer, but a small, knowing smile crossed her face. Wally groaned, throwing his hands in the air again. "Who are you?!"
Artillery struggled not to roll her eyes. It was a little hard to take Wally seriously when he was standing there in swim trucks and a towel, with a smear of sunscreen spread across his nose. Red Arrow ignored the speedster's outburst, continuing.
"Roquette's working on a virus to render the Fog inert," he told the Team.
"But if that Shadow's know she can do that…" Robin said, horror coloring his voice when he realized the danger of the situation.
"They'll target her," Red Arrow agreed. His eyes fell on Artillery. "Do you think you can help her program it?"
Artillery swallowed hard, hyper-aware of everyone's gaze on her. She shifted her feet uncomfortably. "I don't know…" she replied dubiously.
"You helped wipe out Ultron with a virus a few years back," Red Arrow reminded her. She felt her cheeks go warm at his recognition of her accomplishment, and she ducked her head, hoping it wasn't too obvious. "Can't you do this?" Artillery shrugged her shoulders, lifting her eyes just enough to study the schematics of the Fog again.
"That was a little different," Artillery replied, a little defensively. "I was familiar with the programming of Ultron, and I had almost fourteen hours to write the code." She crossed her arms over her chest, frowning. "Roquette may be irritating, but she's brilliant as well. Coding something against an invention of hers that I've never seen before won't be easy." She looked up, meeting Red Arrow's eyes for a brief second. "Um, sorry."
"What's Ultron?" Miss Martian asked, her forehead crinkling in confusion.
"Ultron was this – " Artillery shook her head, cutting Kid Flash's explanation short.
"Not important," she replied shortly, focusing her eyes forward. The speedster gave her a surprised look, and Artillery shrugged. She hated talking about Ultron. The stupid robot still gave her nightmares, not to mention the fact that people loved to blame her father for it. Red Arrow shook her head.
"Fine," he replied, returning to business. He looked at the screen, pulling up a picture of a building. "I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab. She's off the grid."
"You left her alone?" Green Arrow asked his former protégé incredulously. He sounded alarmed, and Red Arrow's shoulders stiffened at the disapproving tone of his former mentor.
"She's safe enough for now!" he snapped, crossing his arms. Green Arrow stepped forward, spreading his arms out.
"Then let's you and I keep her that way," he offered sincerely. Artillery could tell that this was a peace offering, Green Arrow's way of trying to make amends with Red Arrow. Artillery knew the older boy well enough to doubt that he would take it.
"You and I?" Red Arrow replied, scoffing and proving Artillery's assumption correct. "Don't you want to take your new protégé?" Batman stepped forward, placing his gloved hand on Green Arrow's shoulder. The archer paused, glancing at the other Leaguer, and then nodded his head. He heaved a sigh.
"You brought this to the Team," he said, sounding resigned. "It's their mission." Green Arrow nodded his head towards his new protégé. "Which means it's hers now, too." Red Arrow's eyes narrowed beneath his domino mask. He scoffed, tossing his head like he was irritated by this answer.
"Then my job's done," he muttered, beginning to stalk off. Artillery dropped her gaze when Red Arrow passed her again, trying and failing to keep her cheeks from flushing. He stalked over to the Zeta Tube, where the computer began to announce his designation.
"Recognized: Speedy –"
"That's Red Arrow," he cut off the machine. "B-Zero-Seven. Update." The Zeta Tube whirred to life, and Red Arrow faded, leaving the Team in silence. Artillery chewed on the inside of her cheek, keeping her eyes trained on the ground as she waited for the flush on her cheeks to fade.
She was partially disappointed that Red Arrow had refused to accompany them, and she could tell from the looks on the faces of Aqualad, Robin and especially Kid Flash that the others were as well. Still, part of her knew that it was a good thing he'd left.
She knew she'd never be able to focus with him around.
HAPPY HARBOR
August 8, 21:47 EDT
To say that Dr. Roquette was pleased to see the Team when they walked into the lab and announced their intent to protect her would have been an understatement. The expression on her face changed from surprised to amused to irritated to livid, all in about three seconds.
Artillery scoffed, rolling her eyes in irritation. She had left her suit outside, leaving it on sentry mode on the top of the building with Miss Martian. It was as good as another set of eyes for the time being, and Aqualad thought that her physical presence was better put to use in the lab. Artillery was less sure that Roquette would be happy to see her, but she hadn't argued.
Dr. Roquette's eyes widened with shock when she saw Artillery. It didn't take her long to recognize the girl – she'd worked with both of the teenager's parents in the past. But not in several years.
"Talia," Dr. Roquette said stiffly, inclining her head. Artillery smiled sweetly back, wiggling her fingers in a sardonic wave hello. Aqualad shushed them both, walking over to the door and looking out. The Atlantean peered out the small window on the door to the computer lab. He narrowed his eyes, squinting through the glass at the darkened hallway.
"Everyone online?" Miss Martian's voice echoed through Artillery's head, making her grimace at the unexpected intrusion. Across the room, Artemis's eyes went wide, and her hands flew to her head in an instinctive reaction. She winced, making a face.
"Ugh." She sounded surprised, as she looked around with wide eyes. She held her hand up in front of her face, twisting it around and observing it. "This is weird."
"And distracting," Dr. Roquette sniffed, her fingers clacking over the keyboard. To her credit, she hadn't missed a beat at Miss Martian's voice. "Coding a distributive algorithm virus on a kiddy-computer with less RAM than a wristwatch is bad enough. Now I have to hear teen-thinkin my skull?!" Artillery rolled her eyes again.
"'A bad workman blames his tools.'" She couldn't resist reciting the idiom, and the withering glare she received from Dr. Roquette made it worth it. The warning look she received from Aqualad made it a little less worth it. But only a little.
"Yeah," Kid Flash agreed as he crunched loudly on a candy bar. The speedster was sitting on the windowsill of the classroom, next to Robin. His dark stealth suit was in dark contrast to his red hair and green eyes, which practically glowed in the dark. "Do you always complain when someone tries to help you?" Artemis smirked.
"Pot, Kettle," she replied smugly, gesturing to Roquette and Kid Flash in turn. "Have you met?" Kid Flash's shoulders stiffened, and he leaned forward, his green eyes burning with irritation as he glared at Artemis.
"Hey, hey! I do not need attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the Team!" Artemis's mouth fell open and she leapt to her feet.
"That is so not on me!" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her back on Kid Flash. The speedster scoffed, rolling his eyes at Artemis's dramatics. Next to Artemis, Roquette groaned, her irritation plain on her face.
"Fate of the world at stake!" she reminded the quarrelling teenagers, gesturing to the computer in front of her. Aqualad sighed from his place by the door, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"She started it," Kid Flash grumbled, flopping against the wall. Artillery rolled her eyes slightly at the speedster's childish antics. Artemis sighed, uncrossing her arms and propping a hand up on her hip.
"How about I just go help Miss Martian and Superboy patrol the perimeter?" She asked in a resigned, mightier-than-thou tone, spreading her arms and walking to the door. Aqualad dipped his head, looking irritated.
"Good idea," he agreed tersely, his eyes sliding from Artemis to Kid Flash as the blonde pushed through the door next to the Atlantean. She stepped into the hallway, and the door swung shut after her, clicking shut. The mental link was silent for about thirty seconds before Robin spoke.
"You might cut her some slack," Robin commented, directing his remark towards Kid Flash. The Boy Wonder smirked knowingly at his best friend. "I mean, it was her arrow that saved your ass against Amazo."
"What? No!" Kid Flash insisted defensively. "That was Speedy's arrow – I mean, Red Arrow's…arrow. Right?" Artillery snickered, shaking her head. She couldn't tell if Kid Flash truly believed that or just refused to accept that Artemis had been helpful.
"You wish, Sonic the Hedgehog," she replied teasingly, enjoying the irritated expression on his face. Kid Flash scowled, turning away and glaring at the floor.
"Huh," he grunted. "Well, I'm still not giving her the satisfaction." Artillery struggled not to laugh.
"You know, I can still hear you!" Artemis reminded him, sounding a little bit annoyed. Kid Flash's eyes flew wide and he groaned loudly gripping his head dramatically. Aqualad shushed the speedster again, and Roquette buried her head in her hands. Artillery had to bite down on her lip to prevent herself from laughing out loud.
"I couldn't get the Justice League," Roquette muttered into her hands. "Or the Avengers." Artillery's hands clenched into fists and she took a deep breath. It was no wonder her mother had disliked this woman, and a perfect reminder as to why Artillery herself did.
"Hate to be the one to remind you, but they're busy with real problems," Artillery griped. Roquette swung around, glaring at Artillery. Aqualad sighed again, stepping between the two women and looking at the doctor.
"None of this will be much use if we cannot find the weapon," Aqualad reminded Roquette, quietly redirecting the conversation. "Can you track it?" The woman scowled at the Atlantean.
"My utility fog is not a weapon," she snapped. "It's science. Brilliant science." Her eyes slid to Artillery, a small smirk on her face. "Unlike some –" Artillery leapt to her feet, her eyes blazing as she stepped forward. She could guess what Roquette's next words were about to be. Aqualad turned around, catching Artillery by the arm and stopping her in her tracks.
"Say one more word against my father," Artillery spat, straining against her teammate's grip. "And the Shadows will be the last of your worries, you – "
"Enough!" Aqualad cut off Artillery's tirade, shoving her backwards firmly. He stepped into her eyeline, looking at her intently. He didn't look angry, exactly, but it was clear he wasn't pleased. Artillery grit her teeth, trying to take another step forward. Aqualad placed his hands on either of her shoulders, holding her in place and looking at her intently.
His green-grey eyes were very steady, and as he stared at her Artillery found herself calming down. She took a deep breath, fighting to control her anger. Finally, she managed to turn away, her shoulders tight. Aqualad placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Can you track it?" he repeated his question to Roquette, keeping his eyes on Artillery.
"Of course I can track it," Roquette replied, ignoring what had just happened. "But I'd have to go online. Might as well rent a billboard with this address and 'Assassinate Me' written in neon." Aqualad took his hand on Artillery's shoulder, turning back to face the scientist. He met her eyes calmly, nodding once to reassure her.
"We will protect you," he promised her. Roquette looked around dubiously, her eyes falling on Artillery. As she watched, Artillery turned around slightly. She met Roquette's gaze steadily, before nodding once, promising both to herself and Roquette that she wouldn't let her personal feelings get in the way of the mission. Roquette sighed, turning back to face the computer. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and then hit a button on the keyboard.
"Tracking fog now," she announced. Artillery turned around completely now, watching the computer screen as it began to trace the nano-tech. Suddenly, Artemis's voice broke through the mental link again – but not to give an update.
"Mm…that boy," she murmured. Artillery blinked a little disturbed by Artemis's forwardness. She quickly became amused when she felt Superboy's wordless confusion.
"He can hear you!" Miss Martian replied, sounding irritated at Artemis's flirt. "We can all hear you!"
"Oh, I know," Artemis replied confidently, not sounding the least bit bothered. Artillery rolled her eyes. As the two girls argued, the spinning globe on the computer screen stopped spinning and a red dot indicating the location of the fog began to blink. Aqualad nodded his head.
"Miss Martian. Dr. Roquette has located the fog. Reconfigure the BioShip so that Robin and Superboy can pursue. Artillery will follow in her suit." Robin stood up, catching Artillery's eye and nodding at her. The two teenagers left the computer lab, running outside to join their friends.
When they reached the schoolyard, Superboy joined Robin and boarded the waiting BioShip, but Artillery summoned her armor instead. JARVIS piloted the suit down to her, splitting it open and forming it around her body within seconds.
The helmet flipped closed over her face, and Artillery took off into the air after the BioShip. She was able to keep up with the plane easily, and she adjusted her thrusters so that she was flying near the cockpit. If she turned her head, she could see Robin and Superboy sitting inside the BioShip.
"Miss, we are approaching Philadelphia," JARVIS told Artillery about fifteen minutes later. "We will be above the STAR Labs being targeted in thirty-seven seconds." Artillery looked forwards, her heart dropping in her chest.
"We're too late," she murmured. She switched over to the comms. to talk to her teammates, who were slightly behind her. "Robin, Superboy – "
"We see it too," Robin replied tersely. He opened up the comm. line, reporting to Aqualad. "Robin to Aqualad. We're at the STAR Labs in Philadelphia – we're too late. It's destroyed – totally destroyed. The fog decimated it."
"This is bad," Artillery said, stating the obvious. "STAR Labs is cutting edge science – all their technology, all their secrets are in the hands of the Shadows."
"Miss," JARVIS broke in, sounding urgent. "I believe there is still something here. My scanners are picking up nano-technology in the vicinity." Artillery frowned, looking around. Her eyes widened with horror when she saw the fog.
It was coming straight towards her.
"Artillery!" Superboy said over the radio, alarmed. The girl nodded her head to herself, turning tail and rising up in the sky to try to outrun the fog. It didn't work. The nano-tech split off into groups, encircling Artillery and intertwining around her until she had no chance of escape. She ground her teeth together. Damn you, Roquette.
Artillery whipped her head back and forth, her eyes wide with panic beneath the face plate. She could hear Robin's concerned voice in her ear, asking for her status, but she was preoccupied with the worrisome sound of crunching metal around her.
"JARVIS!" Artillery shouted, panicked.
"Miss, the robots seem to…the armor…losing connec…." JARVIS's voice faded, and Artillery's heart thudded in her chest.
"Artillery!" Robin shouted over the comm., his voice breaking through her panic. "The Fog is eating through your armor: you need to get of it and on the ground, now!" Taking a deep breath and trying to control her rising panic, Artillery began her descent. She winced as the Head's Up Display flickered and then went black, leaving her nearly blind.
"Mark 48," Artillery said, her voice shaking. She was still nearly twenty yards above the ground, descending as quickly as she could. Ideally, she'd be able to land before she had to shed the suit, but she was guessing that that was a luxury she couldn't afford. She would have to brace herself for a hard fall. "Dissemble armor. Override: Talia Stark."
Without JARVIS's voice to warn Artillery, the girl could only watch the approaching ground helplessly as she felt the suit begin to loosen and peel back around her. She grit her teeth, coasting as close as she could to the ground in her last few seconds of control.
"Artillery!" Robin shouted helplessly. The girl shouted as the armor peeled away from her body about ten feet above the ground, and she fell forwards, hitting the concrete and rolling hard. By the time Artillery fell still, the momentum from her fall stopping, she was a good fifteen feet away from where she'd landed.
"Ugh," Artillery moaned, pushing herself up slowly. She watched in horror as the fog swarmed around her armor, devouring the armor and all the precious data that JARVIS stored for Artillery within seconds. She lowered her head into her hands, eyes pricking with tears as she thought of all the terrible things that the Shadows could do with that information.
"Talia!" Robin's voice broke into her train of thought and the girl looked up. Robin was racing towards hers. He and Superboy had landed the BioShip a few yards away. Robin knelt beside the girl, his face drawn with concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm…" Artillery began, looking down at herself. Her elbows and knees had taken most of the impact when she'd fallen, and they were a bloody mess. She could see plainly that her elbows were ripped up, and blood was soaking through her jeans at her knees. Other than that, she had plenty of other scrapes and bruises, but nothing was broken. No serious damage had been done. Except for the fact that the suit was gone. She sighed. "I'm fine."
Robin eyed her dubiously but offered her his hand. Artillery allowed Robin to pull her to her feet, and she grimaced when the movement made her cuts sting. She allowed Robin to lead her into the BioShip. He ushered her into a chair, pulling out some first aid supplies. She waved off his offer to help.
"I got it, thanks," she replied, taking the bandages and anti-septic wipes he was holding. Superboy glanced at Artillery from his place at the helm.
"You okay?" he asked his friend in concern. Artillery nodded her head, holding a thumbs-up towards Superboy as she ripped one of the bandages open with her teeth.
"I'll live," she mumbled, wiping up the blood on her arms to the best of her ability. Her eyes narrowed as she looked towards the two boys. "I'm more concerned about the suit," she said. "Not only is the tech a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands, but if they get access to JARVIS they get access to basically all of Stark Industries – not to mention a lot of the Avengers' intel." She bit her lip. "We have to stop it." Robin nodded in agreement.
"Aqualad," the Boy Wonder said, radioing their leader. "What's our next move?"
"Re-scan for the fog," Aqualad replied promptly. "We're moving the doctor."
"I can track it," Artillery said, moving seats so she was sitting in front of a computer. She wiped as much of the blood on her hands off on her jeans as she could before beginning to type. It didn't take her long to track down the nano-tech's next target.
"It's a WayneTech facility," she announced, horror coloring her voice. Robin's eyes widened behind his mask and his head whipped around.
"What?" he almost shouted. Superboy cast Robin an odd look, but Artillery didn't take the time to wonder why the younger boy had reacted so violently. She was too preoccupied. "In theory, its systems software could be used to hack the –" Robin broke off suddenly, dropping his gaze. Superboy looked at him curiously.
"The what?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter," Artillery replied, shaking her head and standing up. "Nearly all WayneTech facilities operate with a twenty-four-hour workforce." Her dad had once taken her to visit his colleague who owned the company – Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne had known each other a long time – and she recalled being told that WayneTech facilities never closed. Her eyes scanned the building, counting floors and office windows and making a rough estimate with some quick mental math. "There's gotta be at least two hundred people in there – we'll never evacuate it in time!"
Artillery was so preoccupied with her concerns about the civilians that she missed the instinctive, grateful look that Robin shot her. Even if she'd seen it, she wouldn't have understood the context.
"Let me check Roquette's progress with the virus," Robin said, pulling up his holographic computer. He logged onto the transaction of the virus, and a rush of relief swept through him. "It's downloading!" he announced, glancing at Superboy and Artillery as the other two moved towards the hatch.
Superboy was standing at the other end of the BioShip, near the edge of the hatch. He looked down at the parking lot below the camouflaged ship, and his eyes narrowed as he spotted the Shadow stepping out of a grey, unmarked van.
"Don't need it!" he called, jumping out of the ship.
"Superboy!" Artillery shouted, raising a hand in a futile attempt to grab his shoulder and pull him back.
She watched as the Shadow looked up to see Superboy flying towards him. The assassin shot a powerful beam from his helmet, hitting the Boy of Steel in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Sneering, the Shadow pressed a button on the canister he was holding, and the fog slipped out, winding out of the dark grey van and towards the building.
"No!" Robin shouted. He stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Artillery's waist. Before she could protest, he'd shot his grappling hook and pulled her off the BioShip with him.
The girl's eyes widened, and she struggled not to cry out in surprise as the two teenagers flew through the air. When Robin reached the end of his hook he pulled off, letting the two of them fall for a short period of time before expertly shooting the hook again and swinging them to the ground right in front of the building.
"Little warning would be nice!" Artillery snapped as she steadied herself. Robin mumbled an apology over his shoulder as he took off, running through the building after the nano-tech. Grumbling to herself, Artillery followed him.
"What in the world?" the security guard positioned at the front desk muttered as he watched the fog fly through the lobby and deeper into the building. Robin ran after the fog, and the guard's eyes widened further. "Hey!" he shouted after Robin. "You can't come in here!" He snatched up a walkie-talkie from beside him, barking orders into it. "Unauthorized entry!"
Immediately, alarms began to blare loudly as the building went on lockdown. A heavy metal door was beginning to slide shut, preparing to cut Robin off from the rest of the building. Artillery halted, watching as the Boy Wonder shouted something she couldn't hear before sliding under the closing door. She shook her head in wonder as the alarms suddenly stopped, responding to his unheard command.
"What the hell?" the security guard muttered, staring after Robin in shock. He snapped back suddenly, shaking his head and looking at Artillery. He opened his mouth, about to order her to leave when he recognized her. "Talia Stark?" the girl turned towards him, smirking.
"Yeah," she responded, jogging over to the wall and pulling the fire alarm. "We need to evacuate the building," she told the guard urgently as the siren began to blare loudly. "Get as far away as possible." Without waiting for his response, Artillery turned around, running after Robin.
Artillery ran up the stairs, knowing that they'd be faster than trying to take the elevator. As she did so, she had to shove her way through people streaming down the stairwell. "Get outside," she called to people in the hallways who were still milling about.
Bursting through the doors onto the second level, Artillery turned the corner, running into the room with the first computer she spotted. She shoved the door to the office open, ignoring the surprised shout of the worker inside.
"Run!" she ordered, grabbing the chair that the woman had abandoned and sitting down. The woman began to protest, but Artillery ignored her. She leaned over the computer, beginning to type rapidily. She logged on quickly, hacking her way into WayneTech system. Right before her eyes, she could see what the fog was stealing. Gritting her teeth, Artillery began to hack, trying to steal it back.
Robin had the virus to destroy the fog, so the best Artillery could do right now was "distract" it. By interfering with the fog's purpose, she was slowing down the process of stealing and destroying. Hopefully, it would buy Robin enough time to actuallydestroy it.
It only took a few more moments before the data that had been rapidly disappearing stopped. Artillery paused, raising her hand to her comm.
"Robin," she asked. "Did you –"
"Got it," the Boy Wonder responded triumphantly, the relief in his voice palpable. "The infiltrators have been out-filtrated." Artillery took a deep breath, slumping backwards into the rolling chair. Relief was washing over her in waves.
"Um," the WayneTech worker said, clearing her throat and crossing her arms as she stared at Artillery pointedly. "Can I have my desk back, please?"
MOUNT JUSTICE
August 9, 00:01 EDT
The hanger doors of the Cave slid open, and Miss Martian piloted the BioShip smoothly down into the hanger, landing on the ledge where the BioShip always sat. As the plane touched down, the seatbelts on the Team's chairs automatically retracted, allowing the Team to move about.
Aqualad led the Team out of the hanger and back into the Mission Room. When the group of teenagers reached the room, Artillery blinked in surprise. As expected, Batman was waiting for the Team's arrival. Green Arrow was there as well, likely to see how Artemis's first mission had gone. Unexpectedly, however, Tony Stark was also there, looking over the holographic screens.
"Dad," Artillery said, confused and a little bit concerned. "What brings you here?" Tony turned around, raising an eyebrow at his daughter.
"Reports of my daughter breaking into WayneTech facility," he responded, sounding faintly amused. "Unmasked." She cleared her throat awkwardly, shifting her feet. Batman stepped forward, placing a hand on Tony's shoulder.
"In a moment, Tony," Batman said to his friend. He nodded at Aqualad. "How did it go?" Aqualad stepped forward, glancing over his shoulder at the Team.
"It went well," Aqualad replied. "Artemis performed admirably, especially for her first mission." The archer smiled slightly, glancing at the ground at the praise. "The Team adapted well to the circumstances." He went into a more detailed report, telling Batman of the Shadows that attacked and the data that hadn't been recovered.
"Robin, Superboy, and Artillery were able to stop the fog and the Shadows before they uploaded any of the data stolen from WayneTech," Aqualad said. Tony's lips quirked up almost imperceptibly, and he fought the urge to look at Batman. "Unfortunately, we were too late to recover the data from STAR Labs." Artillery cleared her throat, and Aqualad nodded at her.
"They, um…" she trailed off, glancing at her feet before looking up at her dad once more. "They got the suit." Her voice pitched up at the end, displaying her anxiety clearly. Tony went still for a moment, comprehending his daughter's statement. He nodded to himself, sighing and running a hand through his hair.
"JARVIS," he asked. "What are we missing?" To everyone's surprise, the AI's voice rang out clearly to everyone in the room. A couple people jumped as the unexpected, disembodied British accent spoke.
"It seems, sir, that we are missing nothing," JARVIS replied, sounding puzzled. "I've down several comprehensive sweeps of all data, and everything appears to be accounted for. It seems that they never uploaded and transmitted the data stolen." Artillery's shoulders slumped with relief as she sighed. Batman shot Tony a look.
"You installed JARVIS in the Cave?" he asked, disapproval clear in his voice. Tony rolled his eyes.
"Thanks, J," he responded, acknowledging JARVIS's report. Then, turning to Batman, "I was bored," Tony replied amicably. "I'll take him down – look." Tony turned back to the computer, swiping his hands across a few keys. There was a beep, and Tony turned back towards Batman, raising his eyebrows. The other man grunted. Tony walked forward, placing his hands on his daughter's shoulders.
"See, Widget? No harm done," Tony told his daughter. He squeezed her shoulders, looking at her bloody clothes in concern. "Are you okay?" She nodded her head, smiling at her dad.
"I'm fine," she reassured him, taking a deep breath. She really was. Her cuts hurt, sure, but they were superficial. Her belief that the data had been stoled had been her true concern, and the relief that came with knowing that none of the data from her suit or JARVIS had been taken made her weak. Batman stepped forward, drawing the attention back to himself once more.
"Good work, Team," he said, nodding his head in approval. "Dismissed."
AVENGERS COMPOUND
August 9, 11:53 EDT
Talia headed down to her father's lab. She'd been too exhausted and relieved last night to think too much about why the Shadows hadn't bothered to send the data from her suit, but now that she'd had a good night's rest, it was bothering her. Tony looked up when the door to his lab opened, smiling at his daughter as she stepped in.
"There you are, Widget," he called, looking down at the invention he'd been tinkering with all morning. "Come over here, okay? I have something for you." Talia walked over to her dad, her interest piqued and her concerns momentarily forgotten. Tony grinned, picking up the diamond-shaped machinery. He handed it to her.
"An arc reactor?" she said, turning it over in her hands. She was momentarily distracted from the reason she'd come down. She glanced at her dad in confusion, and then her eyes widened with excitement. "The nano-tech suit?" she asked, her breath catching with excitement. Tony nodded, grinning when a huge smile spread over Talia's face. Her fingers curled over the machinery in excitement.
"Yup," he said. He crossed the lab, taking out the other part he'd been working on. She followed him, frowning when he shook out a flight suit that had been reinforced with Kevlar. He glanced at his daughter. "And this," he said, gesturing to the dark grey flight suit. "Is so that –" he gestured at her carefully bandaged elbows " – doesn't happen again." Talia grinned, picking up the suit.
It was a dark grey one-piece suit, with black combat boots, gloves, and a utility belt. She fiddled with the arc reactor in her hand and placed it on the center of the suit. The machinery whirred, clicking into place as it had been programmed to do and Talia grinned.
"Cool," she commented, grinning broadly. She looked up at her dad. "Thanks." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug. He kissed her forehead absent-mindedly.
"Of course," he responded. He rubbed her shoulder. "Everything okay?" Talia frowned, thinking about why she'd come down here.
"Yeah. Just thinking." Tony pulled away from Talia to look at her more seriously and she shrugged, fiddling with the bill of her baseball cap. She sighed. "Dad, why do you think the Shadows didn't take our data?" Tony shrugged, frowning.
"They wouldn't have tried to take it if they didn't want it," Tony said. "It must have been a mistake that they didn't upload it." He shrugged. "Does it matter, Widget? The important thing is that they don't have it." He walked over to his daughter, smoothing his hands down her shoulders in a comforting manner. "And even more important is that you're safe."
Talia smiled vacantly, her mind whirling. She still wasn't as completely convinced as her father was. She'd been noticing an odd pattern lately, something that led her to consider something impossible, something she didn't even wantto think about. But there was so much evidence…
"Widget?" Talia looked up at her father, who looked concerned. "Everything okay?" Talia forced a smile, nodding.
"Yeah, fine," she replied. "Just tired. And – you're probably right." Talia shook her head, banishing the thoughts that were swarming her brain. She was just being paranoid.
also...about talia's ship. i'm still a little hung up on the kaldur idea. i don't rly think they're compatible but i just love kaldur so much. also i know i introduced her crush on red arrow in this chapter, but i don't rly think i'm gonna ship them together. i just think flustered talia having a crush on roy makes sense lol
anyways, if you have any ideas on talia's ship, please let me know!
even if you don't i'd LOVE a review. please please please let me know what you think - i love hearing from people, even if it's just a few words. it honestly makes my day. my whole entire day.
thanks!