Happy Harbor
September 7
Addie P.O.V
"Ready for school? I made our lunches!" M'gann exclaims, flying through the doors to the Zeta room, trailed by me, Kaldur, Red Tornado, and Martian Manhunter.
"The first day of the scholastic season," Martian Manhunter begins. "Carries great cultural resonance. We want to wish you both well."
"Guess it's not a Kryptonian thing," Superboy replies.
'Whether he wants to admit it or not, he wants Superman to be here,' I think.
"You may wish to...change before you depart," Kaldur points out to M'gann, attempting to be nice about her physical appearance.
"OH! I spent hours choosing this outfit," M'gann states, changing her uniform into an outfit consisting of a pink sweater with a matching skirt, black flats, white over-the-knee socks, and a white shirt.
"What do you think? Can M'gann M'orzz pass as an Earth girl now?"
We give her a look.
'You're still green, M'gann…' I think to myself.
"Well... " Kaldur begins, uneasily.
"Just kidding!" M'gann changes her skin color to a lighter pinkish color, and gives a curtsy. "Meet 'Megan Morse'! What's your new name?" She asks Superboy.
"My...what?" Superboy asks.
"I chose the name John Jones for myself," Martian Manhunter states, turning into his human shaped self. A tall, dark man in a nice looking business suit. "And suggested 'John Smith' for Red Tornado. You could be a 'John', too."
"Pass," Superboy states, crossing his arms.
"'Conner's' always been my favorite name…" M'gan-err… Megan states, hanging off of Superboy's shoulder.
He just shrugs.
'Conner it is' I think to myself.
"A last name will also be required," Kaldur remembers.
"Very true," I agree.
"Perhaps, Kent," Martian- John says.
"Oh, in memory of the late Kent Nelson!" Megan realizes.
"Yeah, sure, why not…" I mumble, knowing full well that that wasn't what the Martian has in mind.
What? Diana told me after I told her that I knew who Batman and Robin are.
"Ah, of course…" He 'agrees', changing back into his true form.
"Okay, sure," Conner says. "I guess it would be an honor, or… something."
"Well Conner Kent," Megan begins. "Time to change your shirt!"
He touches his shirt as if he were offended.
"You don't want to reveal your identity!" She points out.
"I could run and go get you one-" I begin, but Conner has already taken off his shirt, and is flipping it inside out. "-Or, you can just change right here. Why not?"
"Will this work?" He asks annoyedly.
"Works for me," Megan blushes.
He places his shirt back over his head, and starts walking out the door.
"Wait, shouldn't I be Conner Nelson?" Conner asks.
"They grow up so fast," Martian Manhunter states longingly.
Sphere comes up from beside him and beeps in agreement.
"So, Adeline," Kaldur addresses me. "What are your plans for today?"
"Well, Wonder Woman says that I'll be 'Homeschooled', Robin is in school right now, and so is everyone else, so I have nowhere to be," I explain.
"Care to spar?" He asks.
"Sure," I say. "Just don't be sad when I wipe the floor with you."
"We shall see," Kaldur states, accepting the challenge.
"HUAHHH!" I cry out, sending Kaldur around my torso, and straight onto the cyber-floor on his chest.
"Fail: Aqualad," The automatic voice referees.
I walk over to him and take his hand.
"Hey, one out of three isn't all that bad," I play-mock, helping him up.
"Again?" He asks.
Just as I am about to respond, a voice is heard over the intercom.
"It's me," A familiar voice begins over the intercom. "I may...possibly… be in over my head…"
"Coordinates?" Kaldur asks, bringing up a holo-screen.
'Where have I heard that voice?' I wonder to myself.
The voice rattles off some numbers and directions.
"Kaldur, who is that?" I ask.
"Red-Arrow," He responds.
'Oh, joy…' I growl in my head.
"Are you coming along?" Kaldur asks, making his way to a zeta tube.
'And prove to that sexist little twit that I can totally throw him down into the mud? Abso-frickin'-lutly!" I cheer in my head.
"I have nothing better to do," I respond out loud.
Kaldur and I arrive in Taipei.
It's a nice place. I wouldn't like to live here, but it is nice.
We wear outfits over our uniforms, because if we were to reveal ourselves in our disguises, then the gig would be up, and Diana and I would be revealed. The same for the others.
Kaldur wears a blue and black jacket that covers his gills, and I grabbed a colorful Wolverine jacket that covers my corset, and I held the hood up on the back portion of my head to cover most of my hair, like I've seen so many other teens do.
"The unification is unthinkable! Our peoples no longer have anything in common!" One of the older men yells at the other through Lex Luthor.
"Gentlemen, this is mere rhetoric," Luthor states. "Despite your differences, you still share an appreciation for many things, such as the exquisite art of the Rhelasian tea ceremony."
A woman in white face paint, with bright red lips, moves a tea cart up to the stands, but this is no servant.
"That is far enough Cheshire," Kaldur states, moving one of his water-bearers in front of her, unactivated.
Then she smirks, and clicks a button on her cart, and sends it forward.
Thinking quickly, Aqualad takes every drop of water from the room, and forms a barrier with his water bearers around us, and the crowd.
Just as the cart is about to hit the barrier, an arrow swishes past my hood, and hits the cart dead on.
It explodes on contact, busting the glass windows, knocking down a few columns, and it blows my jacket off, revealing my full uniform.
I glance over to Aqualad, only to see that he is sweating, and that his jacket is ripped in many places, revealing his glowing, Atlantean tattoos.
I spot R.A notch an arrow in his bow, and I stand ready with my wrist-cuffs crossing each other.
"It's over, Cheshire," Red Arrow states, another arrow notched into his bow.
"You would think so," She taunts, getting up from her spot on the ground.
A helicopter moves up to the window revealing Sportsmaster, and a bunch of his goons.
And they're armed.
One of the Ministers yells out orders of attack (I think?) in a foreign language, and a few security guards move in to take action.
'Well… this should be entertaining…' I think as they start to pile into the room.
"Take Sportsmaster. Cheshire's mine," R.A orders.
"So territorial, and only our third date," Cheshire taunts once more, moving to attack R.A with her twin sai.
"Wonderbat! Evacuate the people!" Aqualad orders.
"But Aqualad!" I shout, hitting away a few bullets. "You know that I can do more than that! Let me take out a few guys along the way!"
"Wonderbat!" Aqualad reprimands.
"Fine…" I groan. "Just gotta suck the fun out of everything…"
I turn to the people, "Alright! Let's get moving! Out! Now!"
Nobody listens to me.
I feel a hand grab my shoulder.
On instinct, I grab the arm, flip them over my body, then flip them on their chest, and dislocate their shoulder with an loud 'Crack!'
I look back up to the group of people.
"GET. OUT." I state once more.
They listen to me now. Good. I was worried for a second.
They quickly file out of the room, running down the stairs, and some taking the elevator.
"Glad they see it my way," I say to myself.
I join back in the fight,
I see Aqualad be thrown down by the Sportsmaster, as his water bearers, and his tattoos cease to glow.
Sportsmaster takes out some sort of mace on a string, twirls it around, then he tosses it at Aqualad's fallen form.
I fly out in front of Aqualad, and hit it away with my cuffs.
Yes, I know that this mace is no bullet, and it is substantially bigger, and heavier, but the cuffs worked all the same. I just had to hit it away instead of just blocking it.
I spot Aqualad snap out of it, then roll over to attack Sportsmaster while he's recovering from my sudden appearance.
Let me tell you though, the man is a true challenge to fight. He's always got something up his sleeve, like, say, a sword?
He jabs at Aqualad, who forms his own sword from his water-bearers.
"Not bad, Lad," Sportsmaster compliments. "Better than your team did at Santa Prisca, and Bialya."
"How did you-" Aqualad begins.
"Let's just say I have an inside source. Very inside,"Sportsmaster states.
"Aqualad, let's end this," R.A calls shooting an explosive arrow at the sprinklers, making them all go off.
"Agreed," I growl, running up the Sportsmaster's sword, and kicking him in the jaw.
I mentally applaud myself. I felt good about that kick. I am proud.
Aqualad uses the gallons of water coming from the sprinklers to form a large Water-Eel. It swoops around the room, taking out goons as it goes, until Cheshire throws a grenade into it's mouth, evaporating it, and creating a smoke wall.
An assassin flies over-head, twin blades raised, and falls towards Luthor, and the Ministers.
I fly as fast as I can, in attempts to take down the assassin, but Luthor has an ace up his sleeve, that he didn't bother to share with the rest of the class.
"Mercy," Luthor calls.
His assistant puts her arm out, and it transforms into a- what? A laser-gun of some sort? And she shoots the assassin away.
I skid to a halt in mid-air.
"Gives new meaning to the arms race, doesn't she?" Luthor jokes, as though his assistant were a punchline.
"That technology is most impressive," One says, shaking Mercy's hand.
"We owe you our lives, sir," The other states, shaking Luthor's hand.
"They owe him their lives?" R.A asks in disbelief.
"Yes, quite a coup for Lex Luthor. Under his leadership, North and South Rhelasia are signing a treaty, which could eventually lead to reunification," Cat Grant reports from beside us.
"Wait a second here!" I interrupt, landing on the ground in front of her. "I told everyone to evacuate the area! There were lives at stake! Why are you still here? Do you want to get killed by a villain? Because that's how you get killed by a villain!"
"Wonderbat, enough," Aqualad states, placing a hand on my shoulder, leading me away.
"I can't believe we just did a solid for Lex Luthor," Red Arrow pouts, as we walk out of the building, feathers a bit ruffled.
"Not for Luthor, for peace," Kaldur corrects. "Beyond that, if Ra's and the League of Shadows wanted to sabotage the summit, the signing of the treaty renders their contract moot. It is over."
"Is it? I heard what Sportsmaster said," R.A states. "Do you really think there's a mole on your team feeding him intel?"
"I cannot rule out the possibility. I will investigate quietly," Kaldur concludes.
"Not tell them?"
"I don't not want the unit unraveling over baseless suspicions. And if there is a mole, I have no wish to tip him or her off," Kaldur logically states.
"Good luck with that," R.A scoffs.
"One moment, my friend," Kaldur stops. "Tonight you could have called Green Arrow for help, or the Justice League. Instead, your first instinct was to call the Cave."
"You're right. The team deserves... has my respect," Red Arrow states. I'm still getting used to this solo act stuff, but if you need me, I'll be there."
"Good to know," I reply sarcastically.
"You know, for someone grown in a test tube," R.A begins. "I guess you're not all that bad."
"For your sake, I'm going to take that as a compliment," I say, holding out my hand.
He reaches out with his gloved hand and shakes it.
"Kaldur?" I ask as we re-enter the cave.
"Yes, Adeline?" He answers.
"I've been thinking about what the Sportsmaster said, and I have a theory… or question rather," I state.
"What is it?" He asks.
"Is it possible that, since I was made from Cadmus, that they implanted something in my mind that makes me subconsciously report to them?" I ask in all seriousness.
"Adeline, I… I cannot be sure. But, if you truly do suspect this, then perhaps you should have yourself looked at?" He suggests.
"I don't suppose you know any doctors who take in Cadmus clone projects?" I ask humorously.
"I do not," Kaldur agrees with a light smile. "But, I'm afraid that you might not like the other option…"
"And what would that be?" I ask.
"It's who it would be, and that would be to have Batman scan, and analyze your mind for any abnormalities in your system, other than the obvious," Kaldur states, turning to me with a serious, yet caring look on his face.
"He wants nothing to do with me, Kaldur. And I'd rather keep it that way," I pout.
"You might not have another option," He says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Mmmmm… I'll think about it… okay? Nothing is for sure, but, I'll keep it in mind," I agree.
"Thank you," He says. "One less person that we have to worry about."
HEY. I return with gifts of a new chapter.
And I'd like to shout out to Judy. Laura .L, who's been commenting like it's her job! Applause! And a cookie. (::). There. Enjoy your cyber-cookie. You should be proud.
Guest: I place Addie to be in about the same age group as Artemis, and Wally, but Nash is about Sixteen.
.L: Well, I do have an 'episode' where he explains how he got it. I don't want to give too much away, but I'll just say this: he was placed in a dark situation, and Hal had to act quickly. ;)
Gargoyle77 out!
