Chapter 2: Chasing Shadows
Recognize, Nightwing, B01. Robin, B20. The zeta platform whirred in activity as the crime fighters stepped into the Watchtower proper. Aqualad's voice could be heard over the intercom. Team, please report to the mission room for debriefing.
~break~
Artemis, clad in her orange Tigress suit, made her way down the hallway to meet with the others. It was hard to get used to being in the League's private space station. She always felt like there wasn't enough room for all the people there. Some days it was worth it to take a trip to Earth just to get some room to breathe freely. Even the makeshift living facility near the ruins of Mount Justice was starting to look more comfortable than the Watchtower. She suddenly felt glad that she still had their place in Palo Alto, even if she kept forgetting that Wally wasn't going to be running through the door at any second.
She saw Miss Martian, Beast Boy, and Blue Beetle coming from the opposite hall. Wonder Girl and Batgirl were close behind, emerging from the upper floors. As she turned the last corner, she was shocked to see Nightwing standing beside his mentor and Black Canary. The last time he had been in the Watchtower was the night that Wally sacrificed himself, she realized. She wondered what could have convinced him to rejoin the Team. Was it only temporary, or was Nightwing coming back for good? She would have to find out for sure later. Kaldur was beginning the debriefing.
"As you know," the Atlantean said, "the zeta-shield has been offline for some time. Several small cells of various alien groups have taken advantage of the lapse in protection to pursue criminal interests on Earth. At the request of U.N. Secretary Lex Luthor, the League has taken on the responsibility of containing these threats. The Team has pledged to do whatever we can to help them. Several of our members are already in the field alongside League members. In the meantime, we should focus on reestablishing the zeta-shield as soon as possible."
Kaldur signaled Batman, and the caped crusader stepped forward.
"Adam Strange has determined that the magnetic field disruptors deployed by the Reach in June were the initial cause of the zeta-shield failure. He has established a weakened version of the zeta-shield, but it will only alert us to when and where someone zetas to Earth instead of stopping them from coming altogether. He needs to speak with the Reach scientist to find out how to repair the shield for a permanent solution."
Black Canary brought up a map on the viewscreen. "We also have reports of Bialyan agents conducting covert activities in Egypt. Our intelligence points to Psimon, Devastation, Shimmer, and an unknown adult male leading their forces in door-to-door searches. President Bahur has asked us to intervene for the Egyptian government."
Aqualad faced the group again. "Nightwing, Tigress, and Blue Beetle, you are Alpha squad. You will be accompanying Batman and Adam Strange to the Sciencells on Oa to interrogate the Reach scientist while she is awaiting trial. Batgirl, Miss Martian, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, and Robin are Beta squad. You will investigate the situation in Egypt. Find out who they are looking for and why. If we can get to him first, we may not have to face the agents directly. Are there any questions?"
Artemis tuned out the Team's questions and Aqualad's answers. Right now she was more concerned with getting Nightwing's attention. She kept trying to catch his eye so she could signal that she wanted a word with him. So far, he wasn't cooperating with her mental directions.
After around twenty minutes of questions, the squads were ready to move out. There was little chance of talking to Nightwing alone at this point. Artemis decided to corner Nightwing sometime while they were on Oa.