"We have reason to feel proud of yesterday's victories." Kaldur said as we walked down the cave's hall to the main room. "But one thing has not changed."
"Somehow the bad guys are still getting inside intel about us." Robin finished.
"Ya, but at least we know none of us are the moll." Wally said optimistically.
"That's correct." Batman said as we walked into the room to see him and Red. "The mole was Red Arrow.
Batman pulled up a holographic image of Roy as we all froze. I felt my stomach drop.
No...not Roy! I can't have another friend do this...
"Roy?" Wally asked. "No way!"
"You're wrong! There's no way he would..." I said, my voice fading.
"It cannot be. He was Green Arrow's protégé, we have all known him for years." Kaldur explained.
"Unfortunately, the Roy Harper we have known for the past three years was another Project Cadmus clone." Red said.
No...no...this can't be right!
"We have learned the real Speedy was abducted and replaced immediately after becoming Green Arrow'ssidekick." Batman explained. "The clone was installed with programming to join the Justice League. Which is why he got so angry over any delays in his admission, and why he refused to join the team. This Roy Harper had no idea he was a clone or a traitor, and his subconscious programming drove him to become...league-worthy, so he struck out on his own as Red Arrow. When he was finally admitted, his secondary programming kicked in and he attempted to betray the league to Vandal Savage. Fortunately, I had already deduced Red Arrow as a clone: we were prepared."
"Savage was subdued, but Red Arrow managed to escape. He is now a fugitive, armed and dangerous." Red added.
"If you guys hadn't rescued me from Cadmus..." Conner mumbled.
"What...What happened to the real Roy?" Robin asked.
"You mean the original Roy." I corrected. Roy was real, I knew he was: him being a clone didn't change that.
"We don't know." Batman answered. "He isn't at Cadmus. We have to face the possibility that the real Roy Harper...is dead."
Driven by grief, I reach up and grabbed Kaldur's arm as I held back tears, looking down at the ground. I felt his hand place itself over mine and squeezed it gently.
"The clone Roy, the league will find him." Kaldur announced.
"Negative, Red Arrow's a member of the Justice League now. Leave him to us." Batman said, making my head shoot up.
"No! He may be Justice League: but Roy was-is our friend! We're finding him!" I exclaim, going to step forward but Kaldur held me back.
Batman didn't answer me as he pressed his hand to his ear, receiving a com message.
"I'm needed at the Watchtower. Red Tornado, watch the kids."
"You're serious-" Kaldur shut me down as he grabbed my hand, shocking me into shutting my mouth. I whirled around and looked at him, only to see a slightly amused grin on his face.
By the time I was done glaring at Kaldur, Batman was gone and Kaldur turned to address the whole team.
"Clone or no clone, Red Arrow was one of us. We will go after him." Kaldur said, but stopped when we saw Red walk toward us before...shutting down?
"Red?" I asked, stepping forward and poking my mentor.
"What happened to him?" Conner asked.
"He's totally powered down!" I said, not getting a response to my poking.
"All functions offline." Robin alerted.
"Guys, I'm sensing a low-level mystic force at play. I don't know if it caused his shut down but-wait. Now that I think about it, I was getting the same buzz off Batman." Zatanna said.
"Batman...he called us kids. He neverdoes that!" Robin exclaimed.
"Look." Wally said, grabbing something out of Red's hand and holding it up to show it was one of the chip-things from the attachécase. "One of those bio-tech chips we confiscated off Cheshire."
"Something is not right."Kaldur said. "Robin, Kid, Zatanna, Rocket: see if you can get Tornado back online. The rest with me to find Ro-Red Arrow."
We ran our separate ways, but in the last minute, I turned and faced the other squad.
"Be careful with him, alright?" I asked.
"Don't worry Lin'." Wally said. "Rob and I are two of the smartest robotics people ever! He's in good hands."
I smiled and nodded before running to catch up.
"Computer logs state that Red Arrow Zeta-ed from the hall to the Watchtower." Artemis said.
"But he could be anywhere by now!" Megan exclaimed.
"After Roy went solo, he installed in equipment stashes in several major cities: safe-houses." I explained.
"One is here." Kaldur finished as we pulled into an old apartment building. "You three stay in the ship, Lina and I will go. Standby if we need backup, though Ihope it will notcome to that."
As Kaldur and I stalked the halls to Roy's stash, I turned to Kaldur and noticed his tense figure.
"It'll be okay Kaldur." I whispered to him. "Roy's our best friend: he won't hurt us."
Kaldur nodded at me as we came to the door. He held up three fingers and started counting down, once he got to zero: he kicked down the door.
The room we stepped into was old and rundown. A broken window, ruined floorboards, damaged walls; and it was completely empty save for Roy, who had an arrow pointed at Kaldur and I.
"Roy!" I exclaim, and (stupidly) go to run to him but Kaldur holds me back.
"We have not come to harm or apprehend you." Kaldur states. "But the team needs answers."
"Me first." Roy says roughly, not lowering hisbow. "Both of you need to tell me something, something you've never told anyone else." He aimed his glare at Kaldur. "Tell me who broke your heart."
Kaldur sighed before looking at me, and then back at Roy. "Tula. The girl I thought I loved chose my best friend, Garth, over me. While my best friend on the surface world aims an arrow at my chest, and the chest of the girl very close to me."
I looked at him, my head full of confusion and my face heated, but my attention was torn back when Roy said my name.
"You, tell me deepest fear. The fear you've shared with nobody, not even your family." Roy said, and I felt my cheeks burn even more and I bit my lip.
"I'm afraid of not having any friends again." I admitted. "I fear that all my friends, including the one that is currently ready to shoot an arrow through me, will betray me and I'll be back to being a loner again."
After a long moment, to which I could feel Kaldur's gaze on me, passed before Roy lowered his bow. I sighed in relief before pushing past Kaldur and running to Roy, embracing him.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" I asked, checking him over he smiled amusingly before nodding and pushing me off of him.
"The bioship's waiting outside, come on." I said, grabbing Roy and dragging him out of the apartment.
"We were told you were the mole." I said once we were in the ship and flying again. "But we our source wasn't reliable so we're doubting-""Forget doubt." Roy said. "I was the mole."
"Batman said you're a Cadmus clone, like me." Conner said.
"That explains it...I was a sleeper agent: preprogrammed to infiltrate the league. I think...Sportsmaster was my handler. He had this phrase 'broken arrow' that could put me in a hypnotic state...to steal secrets for his superiors, or incorporate further programming." Roy explained. "I'd thenfollow out all order subconsciously, completely unaware of what drove me. I think one of those orders was to focus suspicion on the three of you." Roy turned to look at Megan, Artemis and Conner. "I'm sorry."
"How did Batman discover this? And prevent you from betraying the league?" Kaldur asked.
"...he didn't." Roy said, catching us all by surprise.
Something wasn't right here...
"I'm sorry, but how is it that you are no longer enslaved?" Megan asked.
"No Staro-tech for starters." Roy said, probably referring to the chip Tornado tried to infect Kaldur with back at the cave before he shut down. "Just my...Cadmus programming. And once I has satisfied its last parameter: my mind began to clear. I'm sure Savage tries to Staro-tech me, but he paused to...bask: I escaped."
"I promise, I can erase any residual programming from your mind." Megan said.
"Miss Martian, you here?" Robin's voice asked telepathically.
"Here Robin, linking both squads and de-camouflaging." Megan replied.
"Good, cause we really need to compare notes." Robin said.