I am very sorry for the long disappearance! Life happened. :(
To Jason Hunter: Hm, that's interesting! I've not decided anything for sure yet, but I have a tentative plot line for Talia in season 2 already, but I'll definitely keep that idea in mind! As for who voices her, I haven't thought much about it. You can imagine whoever you would like.
To Guest: It's technically the MCU, but I've taken quite a bit of liberty with it in terms of timeline and such, so it's not quite canon. For example, Age of Ultron has already happened but JARVIS still exists (that's mainly cuz I fucked up, tbh, but it's a good example of liberties taken).
To Beastdragons2187: Thank you for letting me know! I'm a little lost as for what to do, because this is technically a crossover of three different fandoms and I can't make that appear in story tags...fingers crossed that this doesn't get reported, I guess!
To Fox-Z: Thank you for your input! (I love Zee :))
To XS-Flash: Talia's mother is an OC and a former X-Man. As for the season 2 thing, as I said above, it's very interesting and I'll keep it in mind! As for Talia's armor, her nanites can take on whatever color/form she wants (she could technically manipulate them to look like clothing if she wanted to although she's still learning the nuances of her powers), so that's definitely a possibility! And yes, that suit of armor is pretty freaking cool.
To MyaFezo: Here is the next chapter! I'm also looking forward to Failsafe :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or Marvel!
THE X-MANSION
September 22, 12:48 EDT
Talia was sitting on the lawn of the X-Mansion with some of her new friends, enjoying the free time left in the lunch period. All her frees were in the morning that day, so she had nothing to look forward to but academic classes this afternoon.
She'd become relatively close with a girl named Kitty Pryde, whose mutation allowed her to walk through walls as well as – apparently – project people's minds backwards in time. Talia wasn't exactly sure of the intersection of those two traits, but she accepted in nonetheless.
The two of them shared a lot of classes together, and Talia was becoming friends with Kitty's friend group – a guy named James with enhanced abilities, and a girl named Clarice who could open up portals and teleport between them. All three of them were sophomores, like Talia.
They were also sitting with two seniors, Bobby and Marie. Talia had gathered that Bobby was able to manipulate and create ice, but she wasn't sure about Marie, although Talia did notice that the girl always wore elbow length gloves. Talia knew better than to ask what her mutation was though – the question seemed rather invasive.
"Talia." The girl looked up, turning towards James, who was frowning at a math problem. He shoved his paper towards her. "Teach me your ways," he demanded playfully. Talia looked down at the Algebra problem, running her finger down James's column of work. She caught the mistake pretty quickly.
"Oh, you just forgot – you can't cancel out terms over addition or subtraction," she told him, pointing to one of the steps where he'd crossed out an x in the numerator of the fraction, and an x in the term (x – 5) in the denominator, leaving him with one over negative five. He leaned over her shoulder, his long hair falling in his eyes. He pushed it out of the way to see better.
"Oh, right," he said. Talia handed him his work back, and he took his paper back, correcting his mistake and finishing the problem correctly. He flashed Talia a grin. "Thanks." Talia nodded in response, smiling slightly as she pulled her knees towards her chest.
October was nearing, and many of the students were outside, enjoying the last warm days before autumn set in. Although Talia vastly preferred cold to hot – she hated the summer heat, especially when it was humid – she had to admit that the weak rays of sun felt nice on her face.
"How much time do we have?" Clarice asked, blinking her bright green eyes open. Her mutation manifested in her physical appearance, giving her neon colored eyes and pink markings on her face.
"The bell's about to ring," Bobby replied. As if on cue, the teenagers heard the faint jingle of the school bell in the building, signaling the end of the lunch period and the start of class.
Groaning, Talia got to her feet, rolling her shoulders out. Her muscles were still sore from training with Natasha a few nights ago, and her heavy backpack made her back ache. Kitty got to her feet as well, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"Ready?" she asked Talia. The two girls had English with Professor Xavier next. Talia nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder with a grimace.
As she looked up, she noticed that Kitty was eying Bobby slightly as the blonde teen bent to talk to Marie. Talia raised an eyebrow. She knew that Bobby and Marie were dating, and Kitty had known both of them way longer than Talia had, so Kitty definitely knew this. Kitty turned to face forward again, and she caught Talia's inquisitive gaze. Blushing, Kitty adjusted her backpack strap and cleared her throat.
"Um, let's go." Talia hummed in agreement, not willing to bring up what had just happened, and the two girls set off.
QUEENS
September 22, 14:33 EDT
Peter was walking through the halls of the Midtown School of Science and Technology with his best friend Ned. The two of them were discussing the Physics test they'd just taken the last period, comparing the answers they'd gotten to see what mistakes they'd made and what they'd gotten correct.
"Also, I can't believe she gave us homework right after a test!" Peter grumbled with an exaggerated shake of his head. "Like, we can't wait one day to start the new unit?" Ned nodded in agreement, pausing at his locker to switch out his textbooks for his next class. The two boys were so involved in their conversation that Peter didn't notice the person sneaking up behind him.
Someone clapped their hands down on his shoulders, making him yelp and jump in surprise. Peter spun around, slamming his back against the lockers instinctively, and his assailant burst out laughing at his reaction. Peter blinked, his mind taking a moment to register that the girl in front of him was actually there.
"Shuri!" Peter shouted, torn between confusion, surprise, and excitement. "What the hell? What are you doing here?" He paused, realizing for the first time that he hadn't been surprised like that in a long time. "How did you sneak up on me?" Shuri's eyes gleamed.
"Apparently you can distinguish between friend and foe," Shuri replied. Peter rolled his eyes, pressing a hand over his heart to feel it pounding against his chest. "It's good to see you." Peter sighed, standing up straight and pulling the older girl in for a hug.
"Good to see you too," he said, squeezing her. Ned stared from Peter to Shuri in surprise, having no idea who the girl was or why she was there. Peter noticed this. "Oh, right. Ned, this is my friend Shuri. Shuri, this is Ned." Ned nodded slowly. He'd heard Peter talk about Shuri before.
"Nice to meet you," Ned extended his hand towards the older girl, and Shuri shook it.
"You as well," she replied with a warm smile. "Peter has told me a lot about you." Ned smiled, pleased. Shuri glanced around the hallways, looking intrigued. She had never been in an American high school before - actually, she'd never really been to high school. One didn't really need to go to school when one was in charge of creating all technological advances in one's country.
"So," Shuri couldn't help but tease Peter. She waggled her eyebrows at him, a mischievous grin crossing her face. "Are you going to introduce me to MJ?" Peter groaned loudly, slamming his head back against the metal of the locker.
"I hate you."
MOUNT JUSTICE
September 22, 19:01 EDT
"Recognized: Artillery: B-Zero-Four." Talia stepped out of the Zeta Tube, yawning. She was in serious need of a coffee fix. Rubbing her eyes, Talia looked across the mission room. She frowned when she saw Peter on the other side of the room, talking to someone.
Talia blinked in surprise, squinting at the figure across the Cave. The girl was standing with her back facing Talia, but something about her posture and hair was very familiar…a broad grin broke out over Talia's face.
"Shuri!" she shrieked, sprinting across the room. The Princess of Wakanda turned around, throwing her arms around her best friend as Talia collided with the older girl. Talia laughed, squeezing her friend happily and burying her face into the taller girl's shoulder. "What are you doing here?"
"My brother has business with the Avengers," Shuri responded, pulling back from Talia slightly. Her dark eyes were glinting with happiness. "He said I could come along and visit you and Peter." Peter grimaced, glaring at Shuri in mock-anger.
"Yeah, she snuck up on me and scared the crap out of me at school today," Peter said with a laugh and a shake of his head. Shuri shrugged, smiling playfully.
"You're a superhero. You need better reflexes."
"I literally have a sixth sense that tells me when there's danger," Peter deadpanned. A sly smile spread over Shuri's lips.
"I did not see it working this morning." Talia giggled, the warm, happy sound bubbling out of her. It wasn't often the three of them were together, but when it was, Talia was always happiest.
"How did you get access to the Cave?" Talia asked, a little confused. She was pretty sure that Peter didn't have that authority, and she was a little surprised that Batman would allow Shuri into the Cave, even if she was related to the Black Panther. Shuri grinned at Talia impishly.
"Oh, Talia. No one can resist me." Talia grinned, hugging Shuri again before pulling back. She then remembered her original quest.
"I need coffee," Talia announced, putting her hands on her hips. She glanced at Peter and Shuri. "Either of you want to go to Happy Harbor with me?" Shuri nodded immediately, and both girls glanced at Peter, who looked conflicted. After a moment, he sighed and shook his head regretfully.
"I can't," he said with a sigh. "I have to finish up some homework – I'll catch up with you guys later." Shuri nodded, turning to head back towards the Zeta Tubes. As soon as Shuri turned her back, Peter winked at Talia and made a kissy face.
Talia poked her tongue out at Peter childishly, her cheeks flushing. She had let it slip that she and Shuri had kissed once a few years ago, when Talia was thirteen and Shuri had been fourteen (it had actually been Talia's first kiss). Since Peter had had found out, he hadn't given up on the idea of them dating.
It didn't matter how many times both she and Shuri told Peter that the reason they weren't dating was because they literally lived on different continents, and – more importantly – that they didn't want to mess up their friendship. He still wouldn't give up. One would think that the boy wanted to be a third wheel.
Shaking her head, Talia turned around and trotted off after Shuri. She had to admit, she still kinda had a crush on the girl – something that Shuri was well aware of. But neither of them wanted to risk ruining their friendship.
Talia trotted off after Shuri, trying to hide the flush on her cheeks. If Shuri noticed, she didn't say anything.
"How's your family?" Talia asked Shuri as the two girls exited the Cave through the entrance that took them into the woods. There was a trail about half a mile away that took them to the town. Talia saw Shuri's older brother, T'Challa, more often than she saw Shuri, but she always asked after the rest of her family, whom she almost never saw. Shuri smiled.
"My mother is well," she replied. "And my little sister – obsessed with the War Dogs, as always. She's always underfoot – Nakia is very patient." Talia laughed, picturing Shuri's little sister dancing around by her future sister-in-law, watching the elder woman's every move.
"I don't know why Imani bothers," Shuri continued with a shake of her head. "Mother will never allow it."
Shuri's younger sister, Imani, idolized the War Dogs. Talia knew that the nine-year-old wished more than anything to be allowed to join the program when she was older. Logistically, the chances of it happening weren't bad, either.
Imani's eldest sibling, T'Challa, was currently king, and with no children yet, Shuri was heir to the throne. Given the fact that both T'Challa and Shuri were young and in good health, and that T'Challa would likely have children sooner rather than later, Imani could likely join the espionage program with no detriment to the lineage of the throne.
It had happened before, that a monarch of Wakanda's younger sibling was allowed to leave the country. However, the last time it happened hadn't ended well, and every member of Imani's family was protective over the youngest, so her chances seemed low.
"She'll grow up eventually," Talia said mildly. She chose not to say more, knowing that not only was her input probably not wanted, but that she also had no say in the matter. She technically wasn't even supposed to know that War Dogs existed – the only reason she did was because the Avengers did, and Talia managed to learn every secret the Avengers had access to.
Shuri made a face at Talia's response. She sometimes wished her younger sister would stay little forever.
"I guess," Shuri replied with a sigh. She glanced at Talia, her eyes falling on the metal gleaming at the center of her friend's chest. She took a step forward so that she was standing in front of Talia, and the other girl's eyes went wide as her steps stuttered to a halt. Shuri smiled at her friend as Talia's cheeks flushed at their close proximity, and Shuri reached out to tap the metal gently.
"Am I going to get to look at this?" Shuri asked longingly. Talia smirked, stepping past Shuri and bumping her hip against the other girl's playfully.
"Not even here for ten minutes and you're trying to get a look at my chest." Talia shook her head dramatically as she continued to walk down the path. "At least take me on a date first." Shuri smirked, following the other girl with a fond shake of her head.
"Fine, then. Coffee on me." Talia grinned, her cheeks tinting pink once more.
"If you insist."
It took the two girls a little less than an hour to get into Happy Harbor, find a coffee shop, and then walk back to the Cave. The two of them didn't stop talking once during that time. Although they spoke to one another on the phone at least twice a week, and texted each other much more often than that, seeing each other in person was different.
"Recognized: Artillery, B-Zero-Four. Access Granted: Shuri, A-Zero-Two. Authorization: Batman, Zero-Two." Shuri and Talia entered the Cave the same way they'd left, through the side door. As they walked down the grassy ramp, Talia drank the rest of her coffee, tossing the empty paper cup in a trash can as they walked by.
"Let's go find Peter," Talia suggested. "Then I'll introduce you to the rest of the – oh!" Talia was cut off when Shuri suddenly tackled her to the ground. A wave of heat over the two girls' heads made Talia's head swim, and as she looked up she could see a blast of fire that surely would have fried her.
Shuri rolled off of Talia, pulling her up of the ground. The two girls ran towards the hallway, still trying to process what was happening.
"Is this some sort of training exercise?" Shuri asked Talia as the two girls ran deeper into the Cave. Talia shook her head grimly.
"I wish." Reaching up, Talia pressed down on the comm. link in her ear. "Aqualad? Superboy? Anybody?" Her only response was static, and she groaned. Letting her hand fall to her side, Talia projected her thoughts outwards, hoping to catch Miss Martian's attention. 'Miss M, can you hear me?'
There was still no response. Sighing, Talia rounded a corner, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she and Shuri weren't being pursued. There was nothing behind them, so she paused, pressing her back against the wall to avoid being snuck up on. Shuri stopped beside Talia, both girls panting.
"I can't reach my team," Talia said with a frown. Shuri's eyes narrowed in concern, and she opened her mouth to speak. Before she could say a word, a metallic creak caught both girls' attention.
Talia's breath caught in her chest as she stared, wide-eyed, at the two robots that rounded the corner of the hallway. They looked like Red Tornado – same colors, same shape. It had to be the same creator.
Talia stepped forward, the armor forming over her arms and chest instinctively. She placed herself deliberately between Shuri and the robots, keeping her eyes forward. The robot with a female build put her hand out to the side, flames whipping around her metal wrist. Talia grit her teeth, anticipating the attack, and threw up a metal shield made of nanites to block the flames.
The nano-tech swarmed out of Talia's hands, creating a floating barrier several feet wide in front of Talia. The fire hit the shield dead on, the flames fanning out to the side as their initial direction was blocked. Talia winced, feeling a slight sting as though the flame was blistering her own skin. It wasn't nearly as painful or damaging as the real fire would have been, but Talia had learned that when she manipulated nanotech outside her body – as in, not the armor – she experienced pain when the robots were damaged.
"Shuri, go!" Talia ordered as both the shield and the flames dissipated. The tiny robots swarmed back to Talia, sinking underneath her skin. She swept her arms out, a sonic blast flying from the center of the arc reactor. It hit the androids dead-on, but barely did anything to deter them. Shuri hesitated behind her friend, but Talia threw a stern look over her shoulder. "Go, now! I'm right behind you."
Frowning, Shuri whipped around. She spotted an air vent across the hall and made a run for it. By the time she had scrambled into the ducts, Talia was sprinting after her. The two teenage girls crawled through the vents as fast as they could, making a few wild turns to try and shake off their attackers.
After a few moments, Shuri paused, slumping against the metal wall of the vent. She gazed at Talia with wide eyes.
"What's happening?" she asked. "Do you think Peter – and your other friends – are okay?" Talia bit her lower lip, frowning. The truth was, she wasn't sure. None of them had responded when she'd called through her comm., and Miss Martian hadn't responded over the mental link.
"I don't know," she admitted, her heart hammering at the thought of her teammates being hurt. She took a deep breath, shaking her head to clear it. "I think I have an idea. Give me a sec." Talia closed her eyes, pressing her back against the metal wall of the vent. She closed her eyes, focusing her mind as much as possible.
She inhaled once, slowly, recalling Professor Xavier's instructions. Breathe out slowly. Open your mind up and relax. I know it's difficult for you to think of nothing, the man had said wryly as Talia had fidgeted in her seat. But if you slow down, you have access to every piece of technology in your vicinity. Here, Talia had opened her eyes, inquiring to just what the "vicinity" entailed. It's like a muscle, Professor Xavier had responded. You need to stretch it, build it up. The more you do, the more you can lift.
"What are you doing?" Shuri whispered, confused.
"Trying to access the cameras," Talia responded, not opening her eyes. "I need to see where to go. But I need to concentrate." Shuri nodded, falling silent once more. Talia took another deep breath.
In her mind's eye, Talia could suddenly feel every piece of technology in the Cave. If she pulled back, like she was zooming out, she could feel tech in Happy Harbor, too. But when she did that, she felt a loss of control – she was aware of its presence, but she had no control over it.
Shaking her head, Talia zoomed in again, focusing on the Cave. Find the cameras, she told herself, the cameras. Her mind focused further, like an image becoming sharper as picture was enhanced. Suddenly Talia was felt a gentle buzz in her blood, like a static shock. She was hooked up to the camera and surveillance system of the Cave.
Already, Talia could feel her control slipping and her exhaustion setting in. She wasn't very good at this yet, and it was hard to do. Furrowing her brow, Talia flexed her fingers, running through each camera in the Cave.
Some of them are out, she realized with a frown. It was all the ones in the hanger. Skipping over the broken cameras, Talia came to the ones lining the hallways. She bounced from camera to camera, mapping out a path from where she and Shuri were to the computer lab. The camera in the computer lab swung around slowly under Talia's command, focusing on the air vent in the laboratory. That was their way in.
"Straight," she mumbled out loud. "Left, left. Go straight again. Then a right."
Talia did one final cursory scan of the hallways, both to make sure that she'd gotten the path right and to make sure that the robots were nowhere in their pathway. At the moment, they were nowhere to be seen.
Talia's eyes flew open, the images vanishing from her mind. She shook her head, feeling slightly dazed. The brief buzz the caffeine in her coffee had given her was gone, replaced by a feeling of abject exhaustion. Talia glanced a Shuri, exhaling slowly. "Okay, let's move."
"Where to?" Shuri asked, pressing closer to the metal wall so Talia could squeeze past and lead the way.
"The computer lab," Talia responded, starting to crawl again. "Those were robots – I think I can code a virus to shut them down. Once I create a basic virus, I can continue to code it offline by making my nanites into a computer system. But I can't do that by starting with nothing – I need an actual computer first." Shuri frowned.
"Why?" Talia shrugged, although internally she was cursing herself for not having her utility belt with her – she had a couple of viruses loaded onto flash drives in it, and without them she had to start from scratch.
"I don't know. It's just easier this way."
The two girls moved forwards, turning at the places that Talia had indicated. Sure enough, there was an air vent at the end of their path. Talia slid forwards as quietly as possible, peering through the slats of the vent to make sure that she hadn't messed up.
Gazing through the tiny lines, Talia could make out the computer lab. She nodded once, glancing back at Shuri.
"Stay here," Talia told her friend. Shuri gave Talia a look, and Talia gave Shuri a pleading one back. "Shuri, please. It's safer, and I'll be fine on my own. Hacking is the only thing that I'm better at you in, and I know the Cave's systems better."
"I could still have your back," Shuri argued, despite knowing that Talia's point was true.
"Please," Talia said again, sliding towards the vent cover. Shuri scowled, but didn't argue, sliding down slightly so she could poke her head out to watch. Talia dropped to the ground quietly, her feet tapping against the floor almost imperceptibly.
Talia dashed towards the nearest computer, sitting down in the chair and logging onto the mainframe. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Talia's fingers began to fly over the keyboard. She could write code to create a rudimentary virus in less than a minute, but she was guessing that a virus that would wipe out these androids would be more like the one she'd written for Ultron – and that had taken her nearly fourteen hours.
Granted, she'd been eleven at the time, and Ultron had had complete control over nearly every electric device that had internet on it, so she'd had to simultaneously create a code that kept Ultron out of her laptop, updating it every four minutes so that the AI wouldn't be able to override it, but still.
The sound of footsteps registered in Talia's brain, and her fingers faltered for a half a second. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to type faster. The footsteps paused outside the door to the computer lab, and a bead of sweat slid down Talia's hairline.
After a moment of tense silence, the footsteps continued down the hallway. Talia let out a sigh of relief, her fingers pausing. She'd built enough of a base to continue this offline. As Talia reached to pull out the flash drive that had been downloading the virus, Shuri cried out.
"Talia! Watch out!" Talia's head snapped up, just in time to see a wave of water rushing towards her face. The liquid collided with her with enough force to send her sprawling backwards, soaked to the skin. Gagging on saltwater, Talia struggled to her feet. She glanced around wildly for the flash drive that she'd dropped.
Spotting it a few feet away, Talia lunged for it. Before her fingers could close around the drive, a metal foot came down, smashing the machinery to pieces. Talia looked up, dazed, as a red android leaned over her. Out of the corner of her eye, Talia could see Shuri starting to climb down from the vent. She shook her head wildly.
"St – stay there," she ordered shakily, keeping her eyes on the robot to make it look as though she was referring to it. "Don't come any closer." Shuri got the message. Her lips pressed together in a thin line, she slowly retreated up the vent. Her reluctance to leave Talia behind was explicit in her every move: Talia could tell it was killing Shuri to leave her there, but she was glad.
Stay safe, Talia thought desperately, as a metal fist came down on the side of her face.
Spider-Man groaned as he slowly woke up. His neck was aching, and his head was pounding. He recognized the symptoms from last year when he'd been in DC trying to stop the Vulcan, aka Adrian Toomes, from stealing alien tech and he'd whacked his head against the metal roof of a truck. He had a concussion.
"Ugh." Spider-Man raised his head, slowly, wincing. He turned his head to the right, his eyes widening in surprise as he caught sight of Kid Flash and Superboy. Both of them were trapped in some kind of melted metal. "What happened to you guys?" Spider-Man cried. Kid Flash turned his head, staring at the other boy incredulously.
"Dude," the speedster said, arching an eyebrow. Spider-Man frowned, and then he suddenly realized that he was immobile. He glanced down, yelping when he realized he was trapped in the same state as the other two boys.
"What happened to all of us?" he asked, looking up again. Kid Flash shook his head.
"Not sure, exactly," the redhead said with a sigh. "We were attacked – some kind of robots, I think." Superboy turned his head. The clone's eyes were full of anger.
"They looked like Red Tornado," Superboy supplied, scowling. He turned his head again, and Spider-Man followed his gaze to the top level of the hanger. There was a cage made out of fire burning on the concrete, and two of their teammates were unaccounted for.
"M'gann!" Superboy shouted, struggling against the metal that kept him trapped. "M'gann!" Spider-Man's heart sunk in his chest as he realized the severity of the situation. He was just now remembering that both Martians and Atlanteans were susceptible to extreme heat. Aqualad and Miss Martian could be in a lot of trouble.
"Are they – " Spider-Man choked on the word "dead," not wanting to say it out loud. Before any of them could worry longer, Aqualad spoke, his voice sounding weak.
"We are fine," the Atlantean said, his voice sounding unsteady. "I am sorry, I just woke up. M'gann is still unconscious, but she is breathing." Superboy sighed in relief, slumping forward as far as the metal would allow him. As Spider-Man examined the situation further, he realized that they were trapped in the melted remains of Superboy's bike.
"We have to get out of here," Spider-Man said, shaking his head. Kid Flash sighed.
"I completely agree," the speedster replied. "Any idea how?" Underneath his mask, Spider-Man pressed his lips together. He didn't have any ideas, and if Superboy couldn't break out of the metal, then he and Kid Flash stood no chance.
"No," he admitted with a sigh. "But Talia and Shuri should be getting back soon. I'm sure they'll think of something." Kid Flash nodded, looking relieved when he remembered that not all of their teammates were trapped. Superboy frowned, a strange expression coming over his face.
"There may be a problem with that," the clone said, his eyes narrowed. Spider-Man followed the clones gaze, but he couldn't see anything. His best guess was that Superboy was using his x-ray vision to peer through the walls.
Within seconds, however, no extra superpowers were needed to see what Superboy was seeing. A robot came into view – it really didl look like Red Tornado – and Spider-Man's blood ran cold when he saw who the robot was dragging.
Talia was limp on the ground; her body completely slack as the robot pulled her by her arms. About halfway across the top of the hanger, the female android stopped, carelessly dropped Talia's arms to the ground. The girl lay still.
Spider-Man struggled from where he was trapped inside of Superboy's melted bike, his eyes wide with panic. He scanned the room desperately, slightly relieved when he saw no sign of Shuri in a similar position to Talia. At least she was safe, wherever she was.
"Talia!" Spider-Man shouted desperately, trying to get his friend's attention. She lay limp on the ground, giving no sign of any consciousness. Spider-Man grit his teeth, struggling harder. "Talia!"
The android spared a quick glance at Spider-Man before disappearing once more. Spider-Man's chest heaved from the exertion of struggling against solid metal. He took a deep breath to attempt to calm himself, and then shouted out to his other two teammates.
"Aqualad!" Spider-Man called. "Is Talia okay?" There was a beat of silence as the Atlantean shifted himself to look towards Talia. He was cradling Miss Martian on his lap, and he took care not to disturb her as he glanced to their teammate.
"She is breathing," he reassured the three boys trapped below him. "Her head is bleeding, but the cut looks mostly superficial." Spider-Man let out a breath of relief, glad that Talia was confirmed to be alive at the very least. He exchanged a glance with his two teammates trapped in melted metal with him.
"What are we going to do?" Superboy asked, raising his voice loud enough that Aqualad could hear him. The Team's leader sighed before replying.
"We can do nothing," he admitted. "Spider-Man's friend Shuri must be here somewhere, and I imagine she is capable enough to take care of herself. We can only hope that she finds a way out and gets help." Kid Flash frowned, a thought occurring to him.
"What about Robin and Artemis?" the speedster asked. "Aren't they supposed to be coming soon?" There was a tense silence, and Spider-Man swallowed hard.
Neither Robin nor Artemis had superpowers. Now, he didn't mean that they weren't perfectly capable without them – Robin was more experienced than anyone else on the Team, and Spider-Man wasn't ashamed to admit that Artemis could probably take him down if she was trying – but they would be walking into an ambush.
These two robots had managed to take out six teenagers, all with some sort of enhanced strength or healing system that protected them from too much damage. At least two of them – Spider-Man and Talia – had sustained injuries that hadn't healed yet, and both of them had a healing ability.
Spider-Man could only hope that Artemis and Robin could manage to escape better off than the rest of the Team.
Shuri had been creeping around the Cave inside the ventilation system for the past – actually, she had no idea how much time it had been. But at least an hour. So far, she'd managed to evade the two robots, but she was having no luck in finding Talia, Peter, or any of their teammates.
Pausing to catch her breath, the Wakandan girl weighed her options. She had come to the Cave completely unarmed – she'd obviously never expected this to happen – and she didn't know her way around. If she made it out of the vents, and managed to evade the robots, Shuri was fairly certain that she could either find her way out of the Cave or figure out a way to stop the robots herself.
But that was a big "if." Shuri had watched these robots come out of nowhere twice now and given that she was unarmed and wearing no protective armor of any kind, she knew that she wouldn't last long against them.
As she was thinking, a loud clang caught her attention. Shuri went still, sure that the robots had managed to find her. Before she could worry too much, footsteps started approaching her. The sound of them reassured her slightly – they sounded much too light to be the metal androids. They sounded like humans running.
Then, she heard an explosion and felt the temperature around her raise suddenly. Now that was most definitely the female android, the one who could control fire. The smell of smoke was rising around Shuri, and just as she was about to crawl away, she heard a very distinctly human voice.
"I know that other access tunnel is here somewhere," someone said. It was a boy's voice, and Shuri recalled suddenly that Peter had mentioned two of his teammates hadn't arrived at the Cave yet at the time she had gotten there. This had to be them, right?
Shuri crept forward, slowly sliding her fingers around the slats of the air vent cover and pushing it open. She poked her head out, sighing in relief when she spotted two teenagers dressed in Kevlar a few yards away from here. One of them was a boy, consulting with his map, and the other was a blonde girl.
"Over here!" Shuri hissed, loud enough to attract their attention but hopefully quiet enough that no one else heard. Both young heroes swirled around, instinctively falling into battle stances.
Artemis raised her bow, frowning. The owner of the voice was a dark-skinned girl with braids piled on top of her head. She was older than both Robin and Artemis but still a teenager. Raising her hands, the girl spoke calmly, as though she wasn't being threatened to be stabbed.
"I'm a friend," she promised. She jerked her head backwards, indicating the vent that the lower half of her body was still concealed in. "This is the way out."
Robin and Artemis exchanged a look, wary of this strange girl in their territory. Before either of them could come to an agreement about what to do, the loud clanking of metal footsteps sounded behind them. There was no time to argue.
Artemis nodded sharply, racing towards the vent that the other girl had popped out of. The dark-skinned teenager disappeared, ducking farther into the tunnel to make space for Artemis. Robin paused only long enough to place two charges on the nearest piece of equipment to cover their escape.
Once in the relative safety of the tunnels, both Artemis and Robin turned towards the stranger. She stared back at them. Her dark eyes were rather calm, but her shoulders were tense.
"My name is Shuri," she told them quietly, anticipating their question. "I'm a friend of Talia and Peter's. You two must be Robin and Artemis."
Artemis frowned, confused as to why this "friend" had been granted access to the Cave. Robin was wondering the same thing, but he was slowly putting together a theory.
Her English was perfect, although she spoke with a beautiful accent. After listening for a few moments, Robin was able to place it – eastern African, probably. After digesting that information, he made an educated guess about who she was.
"Are you Wakandan?" he asked, an interested lilt to his voice. The country was so long thought of as "third-world," with nothing to offer the world. When King T'Challa had recently come out to share some of the country's resources – incredible, futuristic, technology – Robin's interest had been piqued. Shuri smirked slightly, as though she found his question amusing.
"Yes," she replied simply. Robin nodded. This girl must be somehow connected to the Black Panther, and thus the Avengers, which would explain why she'd been given clearance to enter the Cave.
Artemis glanced at Shuri again, still looking slightly confused. Robin turned towards the side of the wall, prying a control panel open and plugging one of his wires from his glove into the outlet. The loading screen came up on his holographic computer, and he began to type.
"Locking out Cave's heat and motion sensors to keep the enemy from tracking us," Robin told the two girls. Artemis shook her head, sighing as she sat back against the metal vent.
"And I ask again – who is the enemy?" Robin shrugged, his forehead creasing slightly.
"No idea." Both teenage heroes looked towards Shuri, who frowned.
"Robots of some kind," she supplied slowly. "I'm not exactly sure," she admitted. "But Lia seemed to recognize them – she got taken out coding a virus to shut them down." Robin looked up.
"Do you have it?" he asked her hopefully. If Talia had started a virus, there was a chance he would be able to finish it on his holographic computer. But Shuri shook her head ruefully. He paused, trying to think.
"Well," Robin said. "Let's find out what we're up against." He clicked a few more keys, pulling up images from the Cave's security cameras. One of the images from the camera enlarged itself, showing Kid Flash working on Superboy's bike, as Miss Martian and Superboy stood by and watched. Aqualad and Spider-Man were walking up to join the group.
"Torque wrench," Kid Flash demanded. The audio was surprisingly distinct for security camera footage. Miss Martian lifted her hand, and the tool from the box beside her responded, floating over to Kid Flash. "Thank you, green-cheeks."
"I have been meaning to ask," Aqualad began, politely interjecting himself into the conversation. His tone was careful, like he was wary of something. "Any problems juggling schoolwork with your responsibilities here?"
"No," Superboy responded promptly, and Spider-Man shook his head.
"Not really," Spider-Man said with a shrug.
"Juggling's just one of my many talents," Kid Flash gloated, poking his head up from where he was crouched next to the bike. "Socket wrench!" Again, Miss Martian levitated the tool over to the speedster, before responding to Aqualad's question.
"Daily cheerleading practice has presented a challenge," Miss Martian admitted. "Oh – but my first loyalty is always to the Team. This Team," she added quickly to clarify. "Not the Bumblebees." Aqualad nodded his head.
"Artemis starts school today," he said slowly, his tone still careful. "And Talia started earlier this month. Do you think either of them will have trouble maintaining their loyalties?" Artemis raised her eyebrow at the question, slightly offended at the implication. To her surprise, Kid Flash came to her defense - well, sort of.
"Nah, they'll manage alright," the speedster said flippantly as he rose to his feet, putting his hands on his hips as he admired his work on the motorcycle. In the background, Shuri saw Peter stiffen and whirl around - she could guess his spidey-sense had been activated. "Talia's clearly been fine so far," Kid Flash continued before Peter could warn his friends. "And I mean, how much more hostile and annoying can Artemis –" his words were cut off by an explosion.
Smoke and debris covered the camera's image before it went static-y, the video feed cutting out. The last audible noise were the screams of surprise from their teammates. Artemis's eyes went wide, and she turned to stare at Robin with wide eyes.
"What happened?" she asked, distressed. Robin frowned, his lips pressed together in a thin line. He didn't like what had happened either.
"Explosion took out the camera," he replied tersely. "I'll find another angle." His fingers flew across the keyboards, pulling out several different angles of the hanger. Every time he managed to find an image, the three teenagers watching only caught quick glimpses of their teammates before the cameras went dead.
"That's it," Robin said quietly after viewing the four cameras in the hanger, all of which had been destroyed. "They're all dead." Artemis and Shuri both flinched, whirling around to stare at Robin, and his eyes went wide as he realized his choice of words. "The cameras!" he cried. "I meant the cameras. I'm sure the others are okay. Just – give me a sec to find the fastest route to the hanger."
Artemis sighed, slumping against the metal wall once more. She wrapped her arms around her knees, her grey eyes betraying her worry. Shuri glanced at the other girl worriedly as she began to mutter to herself.
"Yeah, they're fine," Artemis said. "They all have superpowers. They can handle anything." Shuri chewed on her lower lip. She really hoped that that was true. Wherever the others were, they were clearly in a bad enough state to not be able to fight back or attempt to communicate with the other team members.
The three teenagers sat in silence as Robin continued to type away on his keyboard, trying to find a safe path out of the air vents. It only took him a few more moments before the Boy Wonder raised his head triumphantly.
"Got it!" he said. "Follow me." He set off, crawling through the air vents. Artemis and Shuri followed him through the winding ducts. After a few moments of crawling, Robin paused, kneeling up to loosen the cover of the air duct.
After prying up the screws, the Boy Wonder carefully pulling the metal cover off and threw it aside. He leapt down to the ground, landing in the middle of the library. Shuri and Artemis followed suit.
"There's a secret passage behind one of these books," Robin explained, leaping down the stairs and towards the back of the library. The two girls followed him, and Shuri couldn't help but to laugh.
"Seriously?" she asked, amused. It just seemed so...juvenile.
"Yeah," Artemis agreed. "Cliché much?" Robin cast the two girls a look over his shoulder, grinning mischievously.
"You should see the BatCave." The sound of an opening door echoed throughout the empty library, and the three teenagers dove behind the cover of a bookshelf. Shuri noticed, with a hint of annoyance, that both of the younger heroes placed themselves in front of her as though to protect her.
Whatever. It was clear they thought she was just a civilian.
The sound of robotic footsteps got closer, and then a robotic sounding voice rang out through the library, calling to the two heroes by name.
"Artemis. Robin." Artemis's eyes flew wide with relief, a gasp leaving her lips.
"It's Red Tornado!" She exclaimed, leaping out from behind the bookshelf to greet the Leaguer. As soon as she'd come face-to-face with the android, however, her face dropped in horror as she realized her mistake.
The robot lifted its hand in a clear attempt to grab Artemis, and Robin sprang forward, tackling Artemis aside. The robot swung its arm around, trying to aim at both of the young heroes as well as Shuri, who evaded the hit swiftly. She ducked underneath the swinging metal arm, sprinting after Artemis and Robin.
"Yes on the Red, no on the Tornado!" Robin shouted, leading the two girls to an exit at the back of the library. Before they could escape, another robot stepped out of the doorway, effectively blocking their exit.
Changing directions swiftly, Shuri followed the two heroes as they scrambled up over the bookshelves to avoid the flames the female android produced. Robin landed on the ground, running his fingers over the spines of the books, and Artemis stood on top of the bookshelf, covering him.
"Get down!" Artemis ordered Shuri, who obeyed, albeit reluctantly. As Shuri landed on the ground, she heard a concerning rumble. She glanced over her shoulder, watching as Artemis landed next to her. The bookshelves were tumbling down, threatening to crush the three teenagers.
Robin's fingers closed over one of the spines and he yanked the book down. As he did so, the book slid down, unhinging the secret doorway. The whole panel slid away to reveal a passage, and Robin ducked through it, Artemis and Shuri hot on his heels. The three teenagers landed on the ground just before the bookcase crushed them.
"Did you know Tornado had – siblings?" Artemis shouted to Robin as the three teens ran through the empty corridors of the Cave.
"No," Robin responded. As the three of them came to a halt at the intersection of two hallways, Artemis grabbed Robin's arm, halting the younger boy in his tracks. She stared at her friend desperately.
"So now what?" she demanded. "Red Tornado is one of the powerhouses of the League – how are we supposed to take down twoof him?" Robin smirked at Artemis's question, unable to resist a joke.
"They do seem pretty user un-friendly," Robin quipped.
"Don't joke," Artemis snapped at her friend, her grey eyes stormy with irritation. "They –" Before the blonde could finish her sentence, a voice crackled over the intercom. It was one of the robots speaking.
"Attention, Robin. Attention, Artemis. You have exactly ten minutes to surrender, or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished." The three teenagers stood still for a moment, shocked into to a silent stillness by the message. Then, the robotic voice continued. "Nine minutes and forty-five seconds."
The countdown shocked the three back into action, and they began running down the hallway. Shuri followed Artemis and Robin, as she didn't know exactly where to go.
"We can access the hanger from here," Robin said as the three teenagers ran down the hallway, their urgency renewed as the android continued his countdown. A rumble behind them caused the three to pause, watching in horror as seawater surged down the corridor towards them. "Or not."
"Will you please stop saying that?" Artemis cried, as they turned back around and kept running. They didn't make it very far before the water swept them up, carrying them forwards.
The corridor filled with water rapidly, and Shuri held her breath, her eyes stinging from the salt. She hadn't had proper time to take a deep breath before she'd been submerged, and already her chest was burning.
Robin tapped her on the shoulder, and Shuri turned her head. The Boy Wonder was holding out a rebreather to her, one already clamped into his own mouth. She reached out to accept the device, popping it into her mouth and gratefully sucking in air. Robin then swam forwards again, taking his own rebreather out and pressing it between Artemis's lips.
Shuri floated a few feet away, watching. Her eyes widened in shock as she spotted the male android swimming towards the three teenagers swiftly. She exhaled loudly, trying her best to attract the attention of Robin and Artemis. The blonde archer was facing in Shuri's direction, and she caught sight of the girl waving her arms, pointing behind Artemis's head in an alarmed manner.
Artemis's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Just before she turned around to look at what was behind her, a metal hand closed around her ankle. She gasped instinctively, the rebreather falling out of her mouth and water filling her lungs immediately. She struggled against the robot's strong grip, trying to avoid being grabbed again.
Robin swam forwards, collecting the arrows that had fallen loose from Artemis's quiver. He grabbed one of them, shoving the point into the robot's eye. Sparks flew around the point of impact, and the android let go of Artemis, surprised.
The Boy Wonder grabbed onto Artemis, who was limp from lack of oxygen, and pointed his grappling hook for the far wall. He motioned for Shuri to grab onto him, and she did so. Taking one last deep breath, Shuri took her rebreather out of her mouth and put it into Artemis's. The blonde girl gave her a grateful look as she sucked in air.
After Robin pulled the three teenagers to the end of the hallway, they managed to swim out of the Cave and into what appeared to be open water. Shuri followed Artemis and Robin upwards, towards the surface.
The three teenagers broke from the depths of the water, gasping for air. Shuri managed to look around, realizing that they'd made it into the hanger of the Cave, where the other teeangers were being held. They were only granted a quick reprieve from being attacked before someone called out a warning. Instinctively, Shuri ducked back under the water, although she hadn't even seen what she was avoiding.
Her answer came quickly, as she saw a ball of fire turn into steam underwater. Heart hammering in her chest and her lungs already burning for air, Shuri swam after Artemis and Robin as fast as she could.
The three of them surfaced by Spider-Man, Kid Flash, and Superboy. Shuri noted with relief that Peter seemed to be mostly unharmed, although he was trapped in something that kept him immobile. Spider-Man also sighed in relief upon seeing Shuri – for the most part – safe and sound.
"You guys okay?" Robin rasped, his voice rough from salt water and lack of air.
"Forget us!" Superboy cried, his blue eyes wide with concern. "Help M'gann!" Shuri followed the clone's gaze upwards, wincing when she saw two figures encased in a cage of flames. A boy was cradling a girl in his arms. She could also just make out Talia's prone body a few feet away.
"Aqualad!" Artemis cried out, her voice panicked. "Is she –"
"She is unconscious," Aqualad responded. His breath was labored, and it was clear that he was in pain. "I fear that she –we – cannot survive much longer." A rush of air drew Shuri's attention to above them. She turned her head, her eyes widening in fear.
"Get down!" she shouted to Artemis and Robin, ducking underwater. The other two teens followed suit just as flames hit the surface of the rising ocean. The three of them dove deep, swimming as fast as they could to the stairs leading to the upper level of the hanger.
They were only halfway up the staircase when the male android caught up to them, blocking their escape back into the water. Shuri grimaced as Robin and Artemis stepped in front of her, each of them pulling out their weapons. This was the last time she'd ever leave home without any sort of weapon to defend herself.
Metallic footsteps behind her caused Shuri to turn her head. She grit her teeth, glaring as the female android cut them off from the other end. Artemis swore under her breath, noticing as well. The blonde stepped around Shuri, planting herself between the Wakandan princess and the droid. Once again, Shuri felt a flash of irritation – more so at herself than at the heroes – for being so helpless.
"I'm almost out of arrows," Artemis warned Robin, her voice tight.
"Distract her, now!" Robin ordered. Artemis complied, letting the arrow she'd knocked fly loose. It hit the android dead center, exploding and sending up a barrage of smoke. Behind Shuri, Robin was flinging several explosives at the android. All of them bounced off harmlessly, one of them impaling itself a mere two inches from Kid Flash's face.
"Now!" Robin shouted as both androids raised their arms. The three teenagers dove off the side of the stairwell, sinking back under the cover of the water and swimming for an exit. This time, they dove down deeper, into an underwater cave. Robin led the two girls over to a hatch, pulling it off to allow the teenagers to swim up the narrow cavern.
They reached the surface next to a ladder, all three of them gasping desperately for air. They'd lost both rebreathers in the struggle. As the three teenagers clambered into the vent beside them, still struggling for breath, the android's voice rang out over the PA system once more.
"Six minutes."
"What do we do now?" Artemis asked, shaking salt water out of her eyes. Shuri sighed, resting against the side of the vent, wondering the same thing. They had so little time, and so few resources.
"We save them," Robin replied without hesitating for even a second. "That's how it works." Artemis's eyes flashed angrily at Robin's somewhat blasé response. She was tired, and scared for her teammate's lives.
"Maybe that's how it's supposed to work, but those robots already took out our six superpowered friends!" Robin smiled gently, trying to reassure his teammate.
"You seem distraught," he noted quietly. Artemis stared at the younger boy incredulously, shaking her head.
"Distraught!" she exclaimed incredulously. She pulled out her sole arrow from her nearly empty quiver, waving it in front of Robin's face to make a point. "M'gann is dying, we have no powers, and I'm down to my last arrow! Of course I'm distraught!"
"Well, get traught or get dead!" Robin snapped in response, his jaw tightening. Artemis's eyes went wide, and she returned her arrow to her quiver. Her hands were shaking slightly. Shuri watched the exchange quietly, not sure what to say.
"How can you be so calm?" Artemis asked Robin quietly as the boy began to crawl forwards. Robin sighed. Sometimes he wondered the same thing himself. Artemis's response to this situation was much more natural than his own. But that's just how it was.
"Practice," he replied simply, not pausing in his ascent up the vent. "I've been doing this since I was nine." Artemis and Shuri began to follow Robin through the vents.
"What good is that now?" Artemis demanded. "What chance do we have against unrelenting machines?" She exclaimed, still nearly hysterical. Shuri froze, something occurring to her. She shot up, whacking her head against the top of the vent. She ignored the pain that rang through her head.
"Bast's sake!" she exclaimed, making the other two teenagers stop short as they stared at her in surprise. "I'm an idiot." Both of the others stared at her. "They're machines," she exclaimed. "Lia was going to write a virus to knock them out, but one electro-magnetic pulse will shut them down!" Robin grinned, an 'oh-duh' expression also spreading across his face. Artemis smiled too.
"Great!" she exclaimed, before quickly sobering up. "Except Robin better have an EMP in his utility belt, because I know I don't have one in my quiver." Robin grinned easily.
"Fresh out," he replied. He glanced at Shuri, appraising her newly. He had heard Talia speak of a friend before (from the way she spoke about this friend, he'd always assumed that Talia had a crush on her) and how smart she was. He was willing to bet Shuri was this friend. "But I'm betting we can make one." Robin raised a finger to his comm., pressing down. "What do you say, KF? Do-able?"
"Totally do-able!" the speedster responded cheerfully. His voice rang out loud enough for Shuri to hear through the radio. Then, the android's voice echoed through the Cave.
"Five minutes."
"You know," Kid Flash continued with a dejected sigh. "If we had more time." Shuri smirked.
"Five minutes is plenty," she said reassuringly. She could whip together a simple EMP in seconds with the right materials, she just needed to find them first. "Just show me where to go."
Robin repeated Shuri's message to the speedster, and he began to direct them. Under Kid Flash's instruction, Robin led Shuri through the vents to the medical lab. He relayed the speedster's instructions to her as she raced through the laboratory, collecting the items she needed.
Given enough time, Shuri could have made this herself, easily. But she was in an unfamiliar setting, and they were on a time-crunch, so she took their instruction as to where to find the equipment.
"X-Ray machine," Robin instructed Shuri, telling her what Kid Flash was telling him. "There's a small vacuum tube." He continued telling her what to do, but after Shuri found the device she was looking for, she mostly tuned him out. She knew what she was doing.
"It will cause a ripple effect," she told Artemis and Robin, carefully disconnecting the tube and inverting the power. "Like dropping a stone in a pond." Kid Flash overhead her statement, agreeing.
"A stone with ten to the twelfth power wattage, yeah." Shuri smiled slightly. The speedster clearly knew what he was talking about, which was admirable for most normal teenagers.
"So, we'll need to hook it up to the Cave's main generator," Robin said, looking at the blueprints of the Cave on his computer. Shuri nodded, adjusting the EMP to ensure that it was functioning properly.
"It'll take two of us to set this up efficiently," Shuri told the other two teenagers. "One to set up the EMP, and the other to re-route all energy into the EMP so it redirects out instead of just working internally. I should be one of the two." Neither Robin nor Artemis spoke, and when Shuri glanced up the two were exchanging dubious looks. Shuri rolled her eyes.
"Oh, come on!" she said impatiently. "I know what I'm doing better than either of you, and besides, we need someone to cover us. I don't have anything, but Artemis has a long-range weapon." Robin sighed.
"She's right," he said, sounding reluctant. It wasn't that he thought that Shuri wasn't capable, but he was reluctant to put someone not on the Team in harm's way. But her plan made sense.
"Where is the generator?" Artemis asked, hoping that it wasn't where she thought it was. Robin looked up at the two girls, grimacing. The main generator was in the center of the Cave's bottom level – aka the hanger, just the place that they needed to avoid.
"Come on," he said with a sigh. The three teenagers traipsed back through the air vents and towards the hanger. This time, Robin lead them to a corridor that ended in a steep drop to the hanger below – Shuri realized that it was probably for a jet of some kind. The three teenagers dropped to the ground, peering out at the hanger.
Robin reached for his comm., ready to signal the start of the distraction that they'd planned. Artemis reached out and grabbed Robin's wrist, pulling it away from his ear. A sudden thought had occurred to her, giving her major cold feet.
"Wait!" Artemis said, looking at Shuri and Robin. "What about Talia? Won't this shut down the arc reactor? She needs it for her heart!" Shuri glanced down at the EMP in her hands, her eyes going wide. Talia's injury was so recent that it hadn't occurred to her.
The Wakandan tried to think. Tony Stark's armors were usually EMP proof, something that he managed to do by having all power return to the arc reactor, which then cycled it back throughout the suit, essentially doing the fastest reboot possible. But she didn't know what would happen to just the arc reactor, and she didn't like taking the chance of stopping Talia's heart.
Robin pressed his lips together, looking down at Talia's body lying across the ground. She was still unconscious, but even from the distance, he could make out the rise and fall of her chest.
"Talia can survive without the arc reactor for a while, although she'll be in pain and it is dangerous," Robin murmured. He glanced at Shuri. "If it does shut off, can you get it up and running again?" Shuri nodded assuredly, and Robin nodded. "Then we have to risk it. We don't have another choice." Shuri peeked out, looking down at Talia in concern.
"She'd understand," Shuri agreed with a sigh. Robin nodded, and Artemis let out a long, slow breath, nodding her head as well. Robin reached up to his comm. again, giving Kid Flash the affirmative to start with the distraction.
Upon hearing Robin's order, Superboy, Kid Flash, and Spider-Man all began shouting various insults and taunts at the two robots, making fun of their trap and claiming that it wouldn't work. Meanwhile, Robin and Shuri ziplined over to the generator. Artemis crouched in the corner of the ledge, her last arrow knocked against her bow as her eyes scanned for any sign that the other two had been seen.
Robin took the EMP and began to set it up, and Shuri slid around to the other side of the machine. She popped open one of the panels and began to adjust the settings. Scanning the inner workings of the machine, Shuri pulled a lever down, and then tweaked two wires, crossing them over one another to finish the adjustment. She was done within seconds, but when she went over to check on Robin, he was still fiddling with the EMP.
"Why isn't it working?" Shuri whispered, scanning the EMP impatiently. She cast a nervous glance over her shoulder. Robin caught what was wrong – a small gap between the EMP and the generator.
"The circuit's incomplete," he muttered, digging in his utility belt. "I need something conductible, a piece of metal." Shuri frowned, patting her pockets to see if she had anything on her. As she moved her hand, she realized that she was wearing a vibranium ring. She slid it off of her finger, but before she could wedge it in between the gap, Artemis cried out.
"Robin, Shuri, look out!" A wave of water crashed down on Shuri and Robin, making both teenagers cry out. Shuri trashed in the water, choking as seawater invaded her lungs. She struggled for a few moments, and then everything went black.
"Shuri?" Someone was shaking her. Shuri groaned, squeezing her eyes shut. It was probably Imani, always up early and wanting to play in Shuri's lab.
"Not now, Imani," she murmured, cracking her eyes open. To her surprise, instead of her little sister crouched over her it was Artemis, eyes wide with concern. As Shuri opened her eyes, she remembered what had happened and where she was. "Oh!"
"Thank god you're alright," Artemis said with a sigh, sitting back in relief. Shuri looked around, taking in the scene around her. The fire cage had dissipated and the water level had descended. Both of the robots were on the ground, eyes dull and clearly functionless. Shuri flashed Artemis a grin.
"Nice work," she complimented the other girl. Artemis smiled back, feeling slightly proud. She'd pulled it together in the end, all on her own. Shuri looked around again, her eyes falling on Talia, who was still unconscious.
Shuri frowned, crawling over to Talia to check on her friend. The girl was still prone across the ground. She had a bruise and dried blood on the side of her head where she'd been hit by one of the robots. But the arc reactor was still glowing inside her chest, and her breathing was steady.
As Shuri watched her, Talia's eyes squeezed shut. She groaned, sitting up slowly as she regained consciousness. Shuri huffed out a relieved breath, throwing her arms around her friend.
"Ouch," Talia muttered, wincing. She brushed her fingers against her temple where she'd been hit. "That hurt." Shuri pulled back, chuckling. She placed her fingers on Talia's chin, gently angling the smaller girl's head to the side to check her cut. As Shuri watched, Talia's nanites began to close up the cut, healing the wound in front of Shuri's eyes.
"I'm glad you're alright," Shuri said quietly, tracing her long fingers down the younger girl's face. Talia blinked, her eyelashes fluttering as she swallowed convulsively against Shuri's soft touch. Shuri smiled.
Talia leaned against Shuri's arm, looking at her teammates. Artemis was helping Robin stand up, and Miss Martian seemed to be regaining consciousness as well. Aqualad was bent over the Martian, checking on his teammate carefully.
"We're all alright," Talia replied. "Thanks to you guys." Shuri laughed again.
"Thanks to Artemis," Shuri corrected. Talia grinned, looking past Shuri at the blonde archer.
"Hey!" Kid Flash shouted from below them. "Um, a little help down here?" Talia chuckled, and Shuri carefully stood up, helping Talia to her feet. Once Shuri was sure Talia was steady, she led the other girl down, not letting go of her arm. The two girls followed Artemis and Robin down the stairs to the three boys, Aqualad assisting Miss Martian behind them.
When they reached the bottom level, Shuri instructed Talia to sit down and she began to check over her arc reactor. Talia rolled her eyes at the elder girl's concern, although she was secretly warmed by it.
"Rob, what happened?" Kid Flash asked his friend as Artemis bent down to pick up a nearby laser cutter. She began to fiddle with it, trying in vain to turn it on despite the EMP. Robin grinned sheepishly.
"Figured my only shot was to surrender," he explained. "Pretend to drown before I actually did." He smiled, shrugging. "Blacked out, though."
Shuri crouched in front of Talia, still carefully scanning Talia's arc reactor for any sign of damage.
"Are you sure you feel okay?" Shuri asked Talia, her dark eyes crinkled in concern. Talia glanced up at her friend, smiling. Given that Shuri was literally monitoring her heart rate, she couldn't hide the fact that heartbeat picked up at the elder girl's concern.
"I'm fine," Talia replied reassuringly. She tapped the arc reactor. "EMPs don't work on this, because it's controlled by my robots." Shuri smiled, carefully closing down Talia's vitals and helping the younger girl stand. Talia turned towards Spider-Man, grinning.
"How are you guys?" she asked the three boys. She took note, amused, at Superboy clutching M'gann's hand. She faintly wondered when that had become official. Kid Flash snorted.
"I'll be a lot better once we get out of this stuff!" he snapped, glaring at Artemis, who was still fiddling with the laser cutter. "Will you quit playing with that thing and cut us free already?" Artemis glared at the speedster, her grey eyes narrowing dangerously.
"It's not working, genius! EMP shuts down all machines, remember?" Talia chuckled. Even after a life or death situation, the two still managed to find a way to wind each other up. It was honestly amusing.
"All machines present at the time," a familiar voice said behind the Team. Talia turned around, seeing the good red android descending behind them. She smiled in relief as Red Tornado landed beside the teenagers. "What has occurred?" Red Tornado asked. Robin put his hands on his hips, glancing behind him.
"Had a little visit from your family," the Boy Wonder said, looking over his shoulder at the two robots. Red Tornado followed Robin's gaze, taking in the sight of the other two androids.
"Your extremely nasty family," Artemis added, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling. Red Tornado stepped forward, his metallic footsteps clunking against the ground as he moved towards the other two robots.
"I was not aware I had relations," Red Tornado said, sounding as startled as a robot can sound. Superboy scowled as Red Tornado passed him.
"Where have you been?" the clone demanded, sounding slightly sullen.
"Monitor duty on the Watchtower," Red Tornado replied, looking down at the two robots. "When it became clear that Cave communications were down, I attempted to investigate. But your Zeta Tubes were also non-functional. I transported to Providence," he said, kneeling down by his two "relatives" but turning his face towards the teens as he continued to speak. "And proceeded here."
A loud whir caught the attention of the entire Team, as well as Red Tornado. Everyone turned to look at Sphere, who had come back online. The alien tech buzzed loudly from where it was wedged into the wall, rolling around and around in place until it finally popped out of the crevice, beeping happily.
"Hey, boy," Superboy said with a relieved sigh, and Sphere beeped again. Superboy hadn't been sure if the EMP would damage Sphere, and he was glad that it hadn't. Suddenly, the weapon in Artemis's hands turned on, blasting out a laser that scorched the ground before she quickly turned it off. Shuri's eyes went wide.
"The pulse has worn off!" she cried at the same time as Kid Flash and Robin. Talia whipped around, watching the two robots warily. Red Tornado was there now; surely everything would be fine. As she watched, the Leaguer reached a finger out to touch the palm of his "sister," a red spark of electricity passing through them.
All the androids' eyes flashed red as the other two came back online. Red Tornado stood up stiffly and turned around to face the Team. A twister whipped around Tornado's waist, and he flew upwards a few inches, levitating in the air. The Leaguer raised both arms so that they were pointing forward at the Team. Two more tornados whipped around his arms, sucking the air out of the room.
Instinctively, Talia's hands flew to her throat as she gagged, unable to draw oxygen into her lungs. That added to her head injury made her one of the first to fall to the ground, her brain shutting down as it lost oxygen. As her vision went dark, Talia could see her friends falling around her as well.
As Talia's eyes slid shut, she faintly wondered who was going to save them this time.
When Talia blinked her eyes open for the second time that hour, her head was pounding even harder than it had been before. She groaned, pressing her hands to her ears as though blocking out the noise would make the pain stop. She sat up very slowly, faintly aware of hands guiding her up.
"Dad?" she said blearily, a little confused. She blinked a couple times, her vision clearing slightly. "What are you doing here?" Tony was kneeling in front of his daughter, his brown eyes concerned. He looked a little more relived when she started talking.
"Batman called," Tony told her, carefully helping Talia to her feet. "T'Challa and I came immediately." The girl looked around. The Flash and Captain Atom were cutting Spider-Man, Kid Flash, and Superboy out of their metal bonds, but they hadn't made much progress yet. Robin was standing and talking to Batman, and Aqualad was with Aquaman. Miss Martian was still sitting on the ground, her uncle kneeling next to her.
Talia looked around, her eyes falling on Shuri, who was talking to her brother. The monarch looked a mixture of concerned and angry, but Talia could also see the slightest glimmer of pride in his eyes as he surveyed his younger sister. He knew she had done well. Talia groaned, pressing her palm against her forehead as she looked around for her last teammate.
Artemis was still lying on the ground, unconscious, with Superman bent over her. The Leaguer was calling to young hero gently, and Talia could see Artemis's eyes fluttering open slowly. Superman nodded in relief, carefully helping Artemis to her feet.
"She's alright," he reassured the others, glancing towards Green Arrow, who was walking towards his protégé. Artemis took her arm back from Superman's grip, rubbing her temples and blinking in confusion.
"What happened here?" Superman asked Artemis. The blonde archer blinked once, registering the Man of Steel's question and then she whipped around, glaring.
"What happened?" she repeated. "The Reds happened. Tornado and his –" she paused suddenly, looking around. The room was suspiciously empty of evil robots, detained or otherwise. "Wait," she said. "Where are they?"
"Gone," Robin answered his friend, turning away from where he'd been speaking to Batman. "All three of 'em. Gone."
Talia blinked in surprise, looking around and realizing that Robin's statement was true. Talia frowned, confused. If the League hadn't known what had happened, then they hadn't shown up to intervene. Which meant the Team had been completely at Red Tornado's mercy, and he had let them live.
But why?
wow i edited this extremely tiredly so i am v sorry if it gets sloppy towards the end. i'll reedit it when i have a brain if i need to, i just really wanted to get something up.
so there it is! i freaking love shuri man. and yes, talia has a crush on shuri (cuz who doesn't) and shuri probably reciprocates ;) they will not date in this season tho, even though i love #shalia (my little nerds!) cuz i think it's unrealistic for them to date and literally never see each other :/ oh well.
and i'm sorry if shuri is ooc, she's so freaking badass in black panther and infinity war that it's hard to know what she'd be like in this situation where she's supposed to be a little out of her element. :/ i sorry. i tried my best.
also! did anyone of you catch my oc for the next season? imani, princess of wakanda will be kicking ass and taking names in season 2! (along with talia ofc)
anyways, please leave a review as always (talia's love life is still open for input!) let me know what you think!