Chapter 4: Drop Zone
My white eyes fluttered open to see the familiar walls of the cave. I had nearly forgotten that I stayed the night here, so that I could recover. I looked down at my arm to see that the burn had healed up completely. My legs swung over the bed as I lifted up my upper body to stretch my right wing. My white wing stretched out to the side, still a little sore from the fight yesterday. My white tank top rose up a little as as I stretched my arms up high.
"Rose!" I turned around slightly to see Robin, Wally, M'gann, Superboy, and Kaldur all standing in the doorway. They all looked worried beyond relief, making me raise a brow.
"Hello, everyone."
"Are you well? We heard you were injured on your mission." Kaldur asked, with worry in his eyes. I gave him a reassuring smile before nodding my head
"Oh, yes, that is true. During the mission one of the enemies managed to burn my arm and wing, but I am a fast healer. In a few hours, the wound will have completely healed." I looked down at my left arm. The blisters that once covered it have completely disappeared. The swelling has gone down and all that remains is the crude dark scar that wrapped around my bicep. My left wing, the one that was scarred in battle, still ached badly. Stretching out my wing would only harm me, as it is still burned beyond my accelerated healing abilities to heal within a day's time. It was wrapped beneath a white bandage wrap, but it did not help the pain. It still burned, only now it was like a dull pain.
"That's so cool. So what was the mission?" My heart stopped as I froze slightly. Still I put on a sweet smile before answer
" A simple reconnaissance mission Gone wrong." I was hoping that no one would ask that. I hate lying to them. It was proof of how I seemed untrustworthy, even if I am not. I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing this for the sake of the team, because if they found out what I am that my mission was to be destruction, they would never trust me again. I am lying for the sake of the team. They can never know. Besides what that man does would scar them for life. They should not have to know anything about it. Kaldur must have noticed my discomfort so he put a hand on my shoulder to calm me. I gave him a small smile before letting out a breath.
"Enough about the mission. What are you all doing today? I would like to get out of this stuffy room and have some fun." M'gann gave me a bright smile at me.
"We can make more cookies? Or we can play a game of ping pong in the game room." I raised a brow at her in confusion. I have never heard of anything like ping pong. Most of the things I have memorized have been battle tactics or information that may hold purpose in future missions. I know about a few sports like basketball or football, but things like this "ping pong" are a mystery to me.
"I have never played ping pong before." Wally sped over to me holding a small white ball, and two paddles.
"Here gorgeous, let me explain the rules to you." I held up my hand and gave him a small smile.
"No need, is there a rule book or instruction manual that I may see? It will be quicker if I were to just see that." M'gann gave me a paper containing all the rules and regulations and I examined it. Within seconds I knew everything on the page, so I gave it back to M'gann.
"Alright. Let us begin. I will start." I dropped the ball onto the table and struck the ball with just enough force to hit the ball so that it will fall onto the table, but out of Wally's range. It flew by him causing everyone to look at me in surprise. I gave them a small smirk and placed a hand on my hip.
"It is my turn again, yes?"
"No way! How'd you learn to play so fast" Wally yelled. I let out a laugh and pointed to me head.
"I apologize for not informing you all sooner, but I have a photographic memory." M'gann flew up next to me, excitement in her eyes.
"Oh I get it, that's why you asked to see the paper, it was easier for you to remember!" I gave her an acknowledging nod.
"Yes, I have also used this method to memorize as many battle plans as possible."
"So you're like a walking library? That's extremely useful" Robin exclaimed. Those words, though unintentional, really bothered me. The thing about being an experiment is that I know I was not like other beings. Being an experiment with my abilities made me as far from human as possible. This is particularly true with my photographic memory. While other people with it are seen as potential genius', I think it just reminds me of how far away I was from being a human because normal humans can not recite an entire dictionary just by looking at it once. Nor can they recall most things in history like a robot. Still I put on a smile for my friends to hide my disapproval of the word.
"That is what I like to think. I use it to my advantage particularly when developing more strategies."
"So you remember everything?"
"In a way. Remembering things are kind of selective. Like the Internet, I will need to pull it up, information will not just pop up."
"But how did you perform so well?" Kaldur asked A smirk found its way on my face as I placed a hand on my hip.
"Physics. Force and speed equaled my required results. I memorized the laws of physics 3 months ago." I stated proudly. Robin laughed at Wally.
"Which also means Wally just got served by a girl." Guilt crept over me slightly as I saw Wallys' face turn red.
"It was plain to see that Wally was going easy on me. With his speed, he could have likely returned the serve." I stated nervously. Wally give me a smile and wink.
"Of course, beautiful." My eyebrow twitch at the cockiness Wally showed. Involuntarily, I shot him back down.
"Grateful but not necessary, I am afraid. Do not fret Wally, I will take it easy on you from now on." I laughed with a wink.
After playing ping pong for a while, of which I remained undefeated, I took a zeta tube back to Midway city (I have no idea where she lives) to get a change of clothes. Unable to fly, I walked to the apartment. The sun shined down on me as I walked by the shops and buildings. Children were playing on the sidewalk without a care in the world. It made me wonder what I would have been like as a kid, had I been born. It would have had a mother and a father. Maybe a few siblings. I smiled at the thought of a smaller version of me playing with a sister. I opened the door to our apartment building and sighed.
I suppose Shayera is like my mother. She has been there for me since I was released from my pod. She has always taught me lessons to carry throughout my life and loves me unconditionally. She has even let me stay in her place. If nothing else she would make a fantastic mother. Hopefully with a certain green lantern as her partner, and I do not mean Hal Jordan.
Giving off a slight giggle I turned the key, opening the door to reveal Shayera and John. My face heated up seeing how close they were as I froze. I have seen on tv shows many situation like this. The couple has a romantic encounter and right at the perfect finishing moment, someone interrupts them and they put aside their feelings once more. The pair looked at me and quickly jumps apart, blushing slightly as an awkward silence hits the room. I chuckled nervously as I slowly walked towards my room.
"I apologize for interrupting, please continue. I am only here to get a change of clothes." The lantern laughed slightly as he relaxed a little.
"No, it's fine Rose. We were actually just talking about you." I raised a brow and turned towards my loved one.
"What about me?" John came up with a smile and ruffled my hair, making my hair go around in different directions. I scowled momentarily before looking up at him.
"Just how much you've grown. You're becoming one genuine hero and a great leader." I let out a sigh and smiled at them. I do not know about being a leader but it is a great relief to hear them say something like that. Being a hero like them is all I ever really wanted. Even in the pod I believe that is all I ever really wished for, though I had to destroy them. I am glad it is different now.
"Thank you, it really is wonderful to hear that you both think that. Well I must get dressed and head out." I walked into my room and began to get changed. Because my normal wear was ruined due to a certain fire raging, winged girl, I decided to wear my black crop top and black and dark blue jacket. After getting out of the shower I put on a pair of black pants, with a light blue shirt and a black leather jacket. I began to tie my hair up with a light blue ribbon when thoughts began to wander.
My mind suddenly drifted to the two other people I met the other day. I wonder if they stayed voluntarily because of their devotion to Oz, or if they have something else up their sleeves. The female seemed so devoted, and so deadly. Regardless of how she appears, she is not to be taken lightly. Then there is Clay, the mysterious male who helped me. He seemed so distant, until now I had not notice how he hardly tried to look me in the eyes, but as suspicious as he seemed, he still helped me. Both of them had something eerily familiar about them. It was almost uncanny.i want to help them, I do not know why, but I sincerely do. I shook my head trying to stay focused. I have to get back to the cave.
When I got back, I did not expect that we would be gathering for a mission. Batman called us up to the briefing room to tell us about it. It was a covert reconnaissance mission in Santa Prisca. Now we were a on Ms. Martians Bioship, a marvelous piece of technology, that had me captivated. I have already explained the most logical and reasonable plan. There should be two drop zones, in order to put the motion sensors on a continuous loop. We would meet up, then Ms. Martian will go into camouflage mode and temporarily freeze the camera so that we can slip in. I will observe, because of my photographic memory, along with Robin, whose intellect can easily pass anyone here. Superboy, kid Flash, and Aqualad will observe too but their main thought should be as lookout. After we are done, we will reverse do the same thing in reverse.
"Drop zone "A" in 30." Ms. Martian stated. Aqualad and I stood up to get ready to drop. My wings still hurt but if I needed to fly for a few minutes I can. Still my white wings stand out too much so I have to wear my jacket over them for now. I pulled down my mask and pulled my hood up before nodding to my teammates.
"Ready?" Aqualad asked
"Yes. Let us depart."
"Putting bioship in camouflage mode."
The floor dropped beneath us and I activated my breathing device. I took a deep breath before hitting the water. An electric sound filled my ears as water filled my nose. Panic filled my core as I realized my breathing device must have malfunctioned. My throat burned with the need to get air. Aqualad noticed my dilemma and swam over to me, a distressed look on his face. I held my throat trying not to breath in the water as if to tell him I could not breath. For a brief moment in time, everything moved in a fast motioned pace before it felt like time froze. Aqualad had taken off my mask, and placed his lips on mine pushing more air into my lungs. A blush crept up on my face as I realized what was happening, but what was not happening at the same time. Aqualad was giving me air, through mouth to mouth. This, however, is also my first kiss. Aqualad let go and looked into my eyes, a blush visible on his face. My heart pounded in my chest as I looked right back into his nearly silver orbs.
Suddenly I felt myself begin to change. My neck, legs, hands and feet began to tingle as I stared down at them. My hands began to form a scaley webbed look, like Aqualads. I felt my neck to find that I was beginning to form gills. My eyes widened as the change became complete. Hesitantly, I took in a deep breath of the water, and began to digest the feeling of breathing underwater. After a few breaths, I pushed myself forward, swimming at a speed almost as fast as Aqualad. We jumped onto land and attached the device to loop the motion and heat sensors. As Aqualad spoke to the others, I simply looked at my hands as they began to go back to its normal form. A sigh escaped my lips as I pulled my mask down.
"How did you do that?" Aqualad asked
Maybe this is a power I have always had. I was made to destroy the Justice League it is entirely possible that I have the power to absorb other's skills and abilities. In fact, it is likely that I have powers that I do not even know about. Still this power can prove to be quite useful, if I can control it. I wonder how it works.
"I believe we just discovered a new power." I stated as we began to run through the forest. The warm winds hit my face as we dashed the jungle quietly and stealthily. We were both silent, and deep in thought. Though I should be focusing on the mission, my mind still danced around what had happened. I have touched plenty of people before, but I have never gained their abilities. Then it hit me, Aqualad kissed me...in a way. Doing that must have transferred his DNA to me. That is how I gained his power. (Lol cooties.)
"Rose?" Aqualad's voice knocked me out of my train of thought.
"Yes? I apologize, I was deep in thought." I stated as I looked up into his eyes. We both stopped for a minute and looked at each other. My face heated up as I was brought back to what happened. Thank goodness I have my mask on.
"I asked are you ok? If you are upset about what I did-"
"Oh! No that is not it. I just... that was just...how should I put this?" I stated flustered. I let out a deep breath.
"That was my first kiss in a way…even if it was to help me." I looked away slightly as I blushed.
"Aqualad and Archangel, drop B is a go." Ms. Martian stated snapping us out of our conversation.
"Copy that. Head for the factory. We will track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP." I stated as we climbed onto the mountain and began to cling to the the side.
"Roger that." Robin stated. We then started to climb in silence. I was a bit embarrassed about what I said so I am glad he did not say anything more about it. It is true that I find the aquatic male attractive, but I barely know him. Though I very much so want to. I shook my head and continued forward. I can not allow myself to think about such trivial things
"I apologize if I have made you uncomfortable, and for taking something that you can never get back." Aqualad stated apologetically. I let out a small laugh as looked over to him.
"Aqualad, it is fine. You did it to help me, I am honestly not upset about it." Especially since it was from you. I thought to myself.
"Besides you do not seem like the type to sneak a kiss from someone in need." I said playfully. I heard him let out a chuckle as we continued onward. Suddenly I heard a scuffle, as a gasp let out of Aqualad. Aqualad began to fall slip so as quick as I could I reached it and grabbed his hand. He looked up at me and I smiled. I pulled him up into the ledge and he gave me a smile.
"Thank you."
"Maybe I should just fly us over there. I know my wings are not preferred for a covert mission, but it would be quick, especially if I fly low." I said as I rub my back. Aqualad gave me a worried look.
"Are your wings completely healed?" I shook my head.
"Not completely, but it will not hurt too bad." He put a hand on my shoulder.
"Then we will continue on foot. I do not wish to put any stress on your wings."
"But-"
"No buts. Let's go." Aqualad said assertively I gave him a pout and we continued on through the night. Most of the time we were silent, quickly trying to move to the rendezvous point. Aqualad would occasionally say something to me pertaining to the mission, but we quickly returned back to to stay quiet. Suddenly my ears perked up from the sound of footsteps in the woods. I stopped and listened hard. There was a large group of people up north, near the rendezvous point.
"Superboy, Kid Flash, switch to infrared. I hear a large group of people in your direction. See if you are being tracked." I said as I continued running through the forest with Aqualad.
"Got a squad of armed bozos coming." Kid Flash stated After a few minutes of silence Superboy spoke up.
"Two squads. But they'll meet each other before they find us." Then I hear gunshots exploding in the air. Panic filled in me as I feared for my friends.
"Is everyone alright?" I asked worriedly.
"Swing wide, steer clear." Aqualad stated
"Yeah, as soon as I find Rob." Kid flash stated
Where did Robin go? I mentally face palmed at the lack of organization that they were having. Better yet, the lack of teamwork.
Robin, as I have heard does have the tendency to leave the other behind. Though he is very much so qualified for the position as leader. His time with Batman has given him both the experience necessary to lead us, and the bad habit of nonverbal communication with a new team. A sigh escaped my lips once again as we moved hurriedly through the jungle. The gunshots became more apparent, as well as the voices of our teammates, as we got closer to the fighting. We jumped into the trees and just as two other villains were about to strike Robin, we jumped down and attacked. Aqualad jumped in front of one of the Kobra cultist and sent an electric shock through him, knocking him out. I jumped behind one and struck him in the middle of his neck with my sword knocking him out. I grabbed the gun and crushed it in my hand, before looking at my friends with slight irritation.
After destroying their weapons and tieing the groups up. I watched the two groups suspiciously, not trusting any one of them. A growl escaped my lips as I walked over to the rest of the team. Robin explained how these were members of Kobra, an extremist terrorist group. I do have information about the group, as they were implanted in my brain, but until now I have yet to meet them.
"I recognize those uniforms. They belong to the cult of the Kobra."
"I am certain Batman would have mentioned it If he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation." Aqualad stated
"Agreed. And since there is clearly no love lost between the cultists and those…..cretins, I am willing to bet that Kobra came in and tossed them out. That is why normal supply lines have been cut off." I concluded, eyeing the group suspiciously.
"We get it. Kobra wanted super cultists. Mystery solved. Radio Bats, and we'll be home in time-" Kid Flash was cut off by Robin who took on an authoritarian tone.
"These cultists aren't on Venom. Kobra's hoarding the stuff. We don't leave. Not until I know why." Kid flash scoffed at this.
"Until you know why?" The two then began to argue over who should be leader and I sighed at the two. Technically speaking, he would be the most logical choice as leader. Out of all of us, Robin had the most experience and qualifications to be this teams leader. Working solely with Batman, however, has left him accustomed to silent communication and routine, something this team is not yet use to. It is because of that, that Kaldur is meant to be this teams leader. He is patient and understanding with the team, yet holds authority and order to us all. I am willing to bet that the other will realize this before we complete the mission.
"Look at them argue, free yourselves and take them while they are distracted." One of the cretins stated in Spanish quietly. My ears perked up at hearing this and I consciously prepare to attack. Little did they know I am fluent in at least 40 different languages.
"Quiet. For now I play along. They'll give me what I need." The lead cretins replied back. I rolled my eyes at his stupidity. I can not believe he would be stupid enough to think we would lead him to what he wants. My team may be new, but we are not gullible. A low chuckle escaped his lips.
"Such clever ninos. But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest. Get you into the factory via my secret entrance." I narrowed my eyes at the man, not trusting a word coming out of his mouth. He merely smirked at us as Ms. Martian kneeled down before him trying to read his mind.
"There is a secret entrance, But he's also hiding something." She reported before trying to dig deeper.
"Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane is not that easy." Bane takes as his smirk continued to show through.
"Ohh. He's mentally reciting futbol scores en espanol. This could take a while." Her brown eyes looked to ours as we all exchanged debating looks. There is no question that he was not to be trusted. Anyone with a large gang, a mask, guns and illegal drugs on a private island screams villain, and we would have to be completely delusional to believe otherwise. Why are they even thinking about this?
"It's not complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." This was like a classic pediphile trick. Offer some candy to a kid and the next thing you know, the kid ignorantly hops in the van to get it. There is no way we would actually take him along. No one would be that, well, stupid.
Oh my god, we are that stupid. We were now walking through the forest, with Bane, to his secret entrance. Electricity sparked around me as we continued through the forest to the entrance. If it was not obvious that he is up to something then I do not my knowledge on everything is completely useless! For Christ sake, he did not even let Ms. Martian read his mind! Yet we are allowing him to lead us into the factory! Not to mention the fact that we still do not know why Kobra is hoarding venom, and who they are giving it to. A sigh escaped my lips as I tried to calm down. This is becoming increasingly more aggravating, but I will give my teammates the benefit of the doubt.
"Are you alright?" Aqualad asked knocking me out of my thoughts. I turned towards him in confusion.
"Yes, why do you ask?" His golden orbs looked at me with worry as he gave off a small chuckle.
"You sigh and push you hair back when you are deep in thought." A blush crept up on my face my face as I suddenly realized all the times I have previously done that. Then I realized how Aqualad had even paid attention to it.
"I did not think anyone would really take note of that." A blush crept up on his cheeks as he turned away rubbing his neck.
"It is just something I have seen you do when you are quiet."
"It is Bane. He is going to cross us, the only question is when." I answered his previous statement while eyeing Bane dangerously. Bane turned back to us with a slight smirk before turning forward. Should I just take him out now? Aqualad put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down.
"Don't worry. We still have our suspicions of him as well. If he tries anything we will be able to take him." I gave him a slight nod, but it did not ease my worry.
After walking for a while we finally reached the factory to find Kobra moving supplies around outside. The rest of the team watched as i stayed back far enough to see what was going on but to stay out of their petty argument about being a leader. To be brutally honest, their arguing is beginning to make me angry. If I hear much more of it, I may end up turning this island into a Fourth of July tribute. Bane walked over to the big rock and threw it to the side. He revealed the long, dark tunnel that supposedly led to the factory.
"Answers are this way." He said as he walked through the passage. Kid Flash scoffed at Bane crossing her arms and rolling his eyes.
"So, now el luchador is our leader." Robin smacked KF in the head as we all walked on. For a few moments we walked in absolute silence. That is until we reached a door with a thumb print recognition. Bane pressed his thumb down onto the software opening the door. Robin looked around for a moment before telling us it is clear and running out. We soon followed only to find Robin nowhere in sight. Bane scoffed and looked to us.
"Has that little fool already been caught?" Aqualad sighed loudly before answering.
"No, he just does that." Once again the boy wonder had decided to go into the dynamic duo mode, and run off to do God knows what. He probably thought we were to follow him, but once again the only thing we have caught onto was that he leaves us to go on with the mission. Now it will be Kid Flash who will run off and either be caught or successfully do whatever it is he wants to do. My suspicion was confirmed when he pulled down his goggles.
"Stay put. I'll get our intel and be back before the boy wonder." With that he ran off against Aqualads protest, leaving the five of us to
"And there goes our speedster." I say with my arms crossed.
"Great chain of command" Bane said sarcastically. We all looked at each other in worry before walking on.
We hid behind some crates and watched as the Kobra men took large shipments and prepared them to be sent off. They, however, did not touch the boxes closest to us. Maybe all these boxes are not simply venom. The question is, what other things could they be shipping out? I need to see those crates. Surely, they have a chemical formula in them of some sort.
"It's a massive shipment." Aqualad stated
"Yeah, but they're only taking new product off the line. They're not touching this Venom." Superboy pointed out
"Maybe freshness counts?" Ms. Martian inquired I shook my head and looked at them.
"Good guess, but I doubt it. There is something different from this product from those. Bane, are theses crates where you and your men left off before you were kicked out?" I asked. Bane raised a brow and nodded at me, proving my theory more correct. Interesting, very interesting. My ears picked up the sounds of helicopter wings and rapid winds, causing both me and Superboy to look up.
"Helicopters coming." We both said. I turned towards Ms. Martian with a serious look in my eyes.
"Ms. Martian, this Helicopter will likely reveal the buyer of the Kobra Venom. We need you to camouflage yourself and go to where the helicopter is landing, and send us a telepathic image." Aqualad said
"It will be too dangerous if we all went. If things seem to be getting too dangerous, leave immediately, can you do that?" I asked her she gave me a curt nod before turning seemingly invisible. The rest of us quickly went up to the upper level and waited for Ms. Martian to send us the image.
"Aqualad, Archangel, sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now."
We all saw the Helicopter landed. After the winds slow down, a man wearing a metal mask, that revealed only his brown eyes. A blue shirt covered his large upper body with a shoulder blade and metal armor covered his left arm. I immediately recognized him as Sportsmaster. A notorious villain who used to be the partner of the Huntress, before she retired after she took the fall for their crime, leaving her cripple. Things suddenly began to click as I observed the large group of people. He must be the buyer, but why would he need venom?
"Sportsmaster. He is the buyer." I stated Aqualad reached for his communicator and tried to contact the League.
"He is the buyer? Aqualad to Red Tornado. Do you read? Ugh. Can't reach the League, Robin, or Kid. Comm's jammed. We need a plan, now." Bane smirked.
"I have a suggestion." He then jumped down and began to attack the Kobra men. I growled angrily as electricity once again began to spark in the air only more violently.
"What is he-" Aqualad was cut off by a large, angry, mutant like man crashing through the window.
He crashed onto the platform we were standing on causing us to fall down onto the ground. The three of us landed perfect in a ready stance, in case he sprung on us. I threw off my leather jacket and pulled out my swords. The cold air hit my now visible skin as the rest of the Kobra cult and the Sportsmaster entered the factory. Bane was obviously nowhere to be found, which will be his last mistake. A bald man with red eyes, and a different looking Kobra cloak, to whom I recognized as Lord Kobra, leader of the Kobra cult.
"Destroy them!" The monster roared violent and raced towards us. I jumped up and immediately went for the Kobra's slicing through them with the intent. Superboy had tried to take on the large Neanderthal, like i would expect, and Aqualad took on the Kobra men. I went towards Lord Kobra brought my katanas down on him in an x. They were caught off guard as I swiftly flew towards them, forgetting the pain in my wings. I then landed a roundhouse kick on Lord Kobra causing him to fly back a little then the girl, who I nearly forgot was right here, came at me. She threw a punch at me that was 10 times harder than what I expected it to be. I flew back into a couple of Kobra men, grunting from the impact.
'Everyone online?' Ms. Martian asked telepathically.
'Yes.' I replied as I stood up. Kobra men began to swarm around me as I stood strong.
'Yeah.' Superboy entered the Kobra men began to fire at me and I flew up before launching myself down onto them. I kick and sliced at them angrily, cutting them down one after another, but there were too many of them.
'You know it beautiful.' Kid Flash flirted. More Kobra men started to come around me, causing me to have to retreat. I did a backflip and grabbed my jacket, that was thankfully near by before hiding behind a machine near Aqualad.
'Good. We need to regroup.' Aqualad stated. More men shot at us and I sheath my swords ready to run.
'Busy now!' Robin replied irritably. I raised my hand at the men and fired electricity at them at a large scale, knocking out half of their men, but more kept coming. The downside of the attack is that it was beginning to take a toll on me. I faltered a little and leaned on the machine for support, breathing hard from exhaustion. Still, I tried to shoot more at them until one shot me in my injured wing. I cried out in pain and held my wing. Aqualad ran over to me through all the shooting and helped me up.
'Robin now!' Aqualad yelled angrily. I tried to push myself off of him.
"I am fine! Let us just go!" I said looking him in his eyes. I ran towards the men, anger in my eyes and hit them with my lightning
'Strategic retreat. Kid, clear a path.' Kid Flash ran through the Kobra men to the exit. We all followed him into the path way, Superboy coming in last. We all ran through the tunnel from the crazed man and Kobra men that had followed us to the tunnel.
"Superboy, the support beams!" I called out as calmly as I could. Superboy began to knocked them down causing portions of the tunnel to collapse. I picked up Aqualad and flew forward so that we would not get caught under the debri. After we got to the point where it stopped falling, I let Aqualad down and took a knee. I pulled my wing in front of me and inspected the damage. My bullet wound was already nearly healed thanks to my super fast healing. Aqualad used a light stick so we could see and came over to me.
"How is your wing?" He asked I gave him a small chuckle before showing him my wing.
"I am a fast healer remember. The bullet wound has nearly healed but my burn is still bothers me." I said He gave me a relieved smile at hearing his before standing up. We all sat in silence for a moment before Robin spoke up.
"How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" I let out a sigh before looking to Robin.
"You do have the most experience. Perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared." I stated
"Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk, but this team is new, and a leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan." Aqualad continued.
"Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands." Robin exclaims before groaning. There was a moment of silence before looking at the two of us.
"who am I Kidding? You two should lead us, Kaldur, Rose. You're the only ones who can." My eyes widened at hearing this. It is true that I knew they would realize Kaldur should lead us, but I never expected they would put me in the mix.
"Please! I can run circles-"
"Wally, come on. You know they're the one. We all do." Robin said with a smile. M'gann smiled and put her hands on her hips.
" Hello, m'gann. It's so obvious."
"Could have told you." Superboy added with his arms crossed. We all looked at Kid Flash who after a minute of thinking smiled.
"Ok." He said convinced. They all looked at me and Kaldur. We both looked to each other having the same thought. I pulled my mask up and smiled at him confirming our thoughts. He looked to me returning the smile before turning to the rest of the team.
"Then We accept the burden, until you are ready to lift it from our shoulders." Kaldur said as he put his hands on Robin's shoulders. I came behind him and put my hand on Aqualad's.
"You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon." I said with a smile. Robin gave us a nod and we all gathered around to hear what we had to say.
"Ok our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island." Aqualad stated I smirked and spoke up
"I have a plan."
That is when I went into the details. It was obvious that Lord Kobra and Sportsmaster are expecting us to come after them, but what they will not expect is for the plan to be rigged with explosives. I can make them and Robin still has a few, but Miss. Martian must be the one to place them as we distract them. Aqualad and I will take the large venom induced man. Robin can take Lord Kobra . Kid Flash will take on the the Kobra henchmen, and Superboy will take on Sportsmaster. All the while Miss. Martian will be placing the explosives on the plane. After he takes off, the plane will explode, completing the mission. Worst case scenario, I will have t!o light it up myself, but that will use most of my energy.
"Sportsmaster's the supplier/buyer, but it still doesn't track. He doesn't have the juice to acquire the blockbuster formula or to get Kobra to do his dirty work."
"And neither of them have the chops to bond blockbuster with took some major nerdage."
"I believe the expression is "tip of the iceberg."" I stated
First things first want Bane to pay for what he had done. We reached the end of the tunnel to find Bane himself. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. I looked up to see explosives over our hands and Banes holding the trigger. I knew he would rear his ugly face again. The only matter I faced was when.
"Halt, ninos. I'm feeling explosive."
"You betrayed us. Why?"
'Kid, you'll need a running start.' Aqualad said mentally
"I want my factory back. So I forced you into a situation Where you would either take down my enemies or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks, and when the smoke cleared, Santa prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect." He tried to push the button but when he looked down, the trigger was not in his hand. much to his surprise, kid flash had stolen it from him.
"With what? This trigger thingy?" Miss. Martian picked Bane up with her telekinesis, as Bane struggled to comprehend what just happened to him. A smirk found its way on my face as Superboy happily walked over to him.
"Finally. Drop him." With a smile of her own Miss. Martian dropped the large Hispanic man, much to his dismay. Superboy reared his fist back and knocked him out, throwing him across the trees. I went over to check out the explosives that were meant to cave us in. My smirk grew wider as I inspected it. At least now I do not have to make any.
We made it to the factory with no time to spare. Kid Flash and I zoomed through the henchmen, stopping Sportsmaster in his tracks. I landed with my swords unsheathed and glared at the group.
"Which one of you shot my wing?" My voice was hard and menacing bringing fear to the Kobra's soul. They were all frozen stiff as I walked towards them confidently. Now I was knocking them out one by one, slicing down everyone gracefully. I bend and twirled never once missing a beat, until I was near Aqualad. I sheath my swords and ran over to him.
"May I?" I asked holding up my hand. Aqualad gave me a small and I sent my electric waves into his powerful water turbulent, knocking the poor misconstrued man out. I heard a grunt come from Robin and immediately ran over to assist him. Lord Kobra foot was planted on Robin's chest firmly, but Robin managed to sweep his leftover kick him off him. Robin hopped back over to us and we all stood in a ready position to attack at any given moment. Lord Kobra looked at us all, giving me a particularly hard look, staring me down as if to study me. A shiver nearly escape me from the way he observed me. It was almost as if he was assessing my abilities by a simple look, peeling me open with his eyes. The very look made me feel uncomfortable.
"Perhaps another time, then." He stated as he began to walk back, not once taking his eyes off of me. Robin ran over to the woodline only to find the Lodd Kobra has disappeared. We all relaxed and let out a relieved sigh finally feeling the tension being lifted off our shoulders. Robin turned to Kaldur and I with a smile.
"We picked the right people to lead." I gave him a smile before his smile turned into a sly smirk as he chuckled.
"Automatically making you two the right guys to explain this to Batman." My smile dropped as I imagined the Dark Knight's fury with us for not conpleting the mission without being caught. He would likely be very furious, but no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy, it is the way we overcome it that determines success. Aqualad got a worried look on his face as the rest of the team walked back towards the Bioship. I instinctively I grabbed his hand to comfort him causing him to look at me in the same worried expression. I simply gave him a small, sweet smile to calm him down. ,
"We will do it together, ok?" His expression softened as I began to pull him towards the Bioship.
After a calm silent flight back to the cave,we all changed back onto our civilian clothing. I wore a light blue shirt with sleeves that reached my elbows and a black pair of jeans. My hair was still pulled up in its usual high ponytail with my side bang over my right eye. We stood in a line in front of Batman ready to be debriefed. I stood I stood between Kaldur and Robin with my arms crossed, ready to receive Batmans rage.
"A simple recon mission, observe and report." Batman snarled at Kaldur and I. We held a blank firm face as he continued walking down the line with the rest of the team
You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes." The rest of the team looked to the ground in disappointment before Batman continued.
"Until then, Good job." Everyone's head snapped up in surprise while I smirked slyly knowing why he thought so. It is as I have said, we recovered well after the initial plan failed.
"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success." He looked over to Kaldur, Robin and I.
"And how you choose who leads determines character." The three of us exchanged a smug glance as Batman walked away. Happiness filled my core as we began to go our separate ways. I got my duffle bag and walked to the zeta tubes.
"Rose!" I turned my head to see Kaldur running towards me with a smile on his face. I stopped and returned the favor allowing him to catch up to me.
"Hello Kaldur. Is something wrong?" I asked
"No, I just wondered if you would like any company on your walk home." A blush crept into my face at his kindness. I could see a blush on his face as well as he looked me in my eyes. As nice of a gesture as it was, I could tell there was a hidden motive behind him asking me this. Instead of questioning him on the matter, I decided to play along.
"I would love that." We walked through the the zeta tube side by side my bag at my side.
The streets of Midway city were quiet and dark. Streetlights illuminated the sidewalk. To anyone else, these streets may seem scary and dangerous, like something out of a horror film. I find the beauty in it, enjoying the scenery and little bits of plant life that stuck out of the ground or on the buildings. A smile danced onto my lips as I continued to take in my surroundings. I cleared my throat catching Kaldur's attention.
"It is beautiful outside tonight, no?" I asked
"Yes, but I am afraid I am not to fond of this particular scenery." I let out a chuckle before shaking my head.
"On the contrary, everything has beauty in it. You just have to look past our first glance to find it." I said begging him to look again. Kaldur gave me a look before looking at his surrounding again. I smirked as I sent electric sparks into the air, brightening up the street with my purple sparks. A smile danced onto his lips as I let the spark go off.
"See. Beauty hides in everything." I said as he looked at me.
"Yes, perhaps that is not the only thing that is hidden." I gave him a look before drawing back my sparks.
"Perhaps. But some things are better left hidden." I dismissed as we continued to walk forward. We entered the apartment complex and began to walk up the stairs in silence. I could tell the Kaldur was onto me. He knew that there was something different about me, something that I was hiding. But knowledge could be dangerous, especially knowledge as classified as mine. If Kaldur were to find out about me, the whole team would never trust me again. He would never trust me again. They would also likely be more in danger if it were to slip out. Knowing Oz, he would undoubtedly seek them out if he were to ever find out about them. If not to experiment on them then to hurt me. I clutched my shirt at the very thought of them getting hurt. As we made it up to Ms. Shayera's apartment.
"Thank you for the company, Kaldur." I said Kaldur gave me a soft smile before speaking.
"Thank you for allowing me to tag along. You sometimes seem so quiet and reserved. I was happy that you allowed me to accompany you." I blushed before looking to the side pushing my hair back gently.
"I was happy that you asked. I have never had friends my own age before I met you all. So I was honored to be asked at all."
"That sounds lonely." Kaldur said sadly, realizing that I have ruined the happy mood we were both in, I frantically waved in a panicky motion to reaffirm my past with friends.
"It was not really! I had the Justice League who kept me plenty of company, and Ms. Shayera is a wonderful mother figure to me! In all actuality, I have everything a girl could ask for, to which I am grateful. Though it would be nice to have a friend to talk to everything about." Now that I thought about it, I have always been a little lonely when Hawkgirl would go on missions or had to go on patrols. I never once really considered how lonely that may have seemed. How I had no one to really talk to, or relate to. A smile crept upon my face as I thought of my new friends. They made the time I spent away from Ms. Shayera less lonely. They made me more human.
"Besides, things are much different now that we're all friends." A smile crept into Kaldur's face as we stood in a comfortable silence. With a heavy heart I let out a sigh and looked at my friend.
"Thank you for walking me home. I suppose I will see you tomorrow?" I said as I turned to the door. A cough echoed behind me catching my attention. My hair whipped behind me.
"If you would like, I could walk you back to your home again?" A blush crept on onto my face as I smiled happily. Kaldur's looked to the ground nervously likely expecting my answer to be no. A visible blush was clear on his face causing me to smile wider. Feeling bold, I bent down and place my lips on his cheek. My face felt hot with embarrassment.
"That's such a sweet thing of you to do. I would love that." I told him quietly. He looked at me a little shock but I just smiled at him before turning for the door.
"Goodnight Kaldur. See you tomorrow."
Kaldur
Her Snow White hair whisked behind her as she went through the door. My heart pounded against my chest as I smiled at what had just happened. I walked down the stairs of the apartment. Though I know I should not feel this way, I couldn't help it. My heart still yearned for Tula, but when I'm around Rose, it is as if i forget about it all about my feeling for her. What is worse is that I do not feel bad about it. A sigh escaped my lips as I walked down the street to the zeta tube. My mind went back to the beauty Rose had previously shown me. How mysterious she seems on a regular basis. Though I am admittedly getting...close to Rose I could tell she was hiding something. And I am determined to find out what it is.
Hey guys! Thanks for all of your love and support for the story! I'm so sorry for the late update, I'll try to get it out in a month's time spans, but I want to make sure that every update is as good as the last. Keep it up you guys. And thank you all so much for the support!
-Anna Blue Ivory