GOTHAM CITY
July 18, 10:16 EDT

Soft snores were just barely heard as the bedroom door creaked open. Andy Mallory snickered before quickly silencing himself when Jace rustled in his sleep. Taking cautious steps, Andy made his way towards the bed. Pulling out an air horn, Andy silently counted down from three, preparing to press the button.

Just as his finger was about to press down, he froze, "Don't even think about it." Came Jace's drowsy voice, before he groggily turned over, lightly glaring at his brother.

Andy plastered a blank expression on his face, hiding the air horn behind his back. He silently cursed Jace's bat instincts, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"There's an air horn behind your back." Jace deadpanned, eyes fluttering closed. All Jace wanted to do was sleep. After all, he was out late last night helping a not too happy red archer out.

"Oh, you mean this?" Andy pulled the air horn out, flashing it in front of Jace's face, "It's not like I was going to use it or anything."

Jace's eyes cracked open, peering accusingly at his brother, "Mhmm. Sure you weren't."

Andy pouted, grumbling, "Fine. I'll leave."

Jace smiled triumphantly as his brother left his room. Rolling back over, he curled up in the covers, effectively dozing back off.

Unbeknownst to Jace, his bedroom door creaked back open as Andy, once again, snuck back in his room, "I didn't buy this thing for nothing." He muttered as he crept back over towards Jace's sleeping form. Not bothering with a countdown this time, Andy's finger jabbed right down on the button, eliciting a loud, resounding toot from the object.

Jace's eyes snapped open and in a flurry of blankets, he found himself on the ground, "Damn it Andy!" Jace cried, spring up to his feet, "I told you not to do that!"

Andy, between bouts of laughter, glanced up at his fuming younger brother, "Just because you said not to," He wheezed, still laughing his ass off, "Doesn't mean I'm not going to!"

Jace growled, glaring at his brother. Sometimes, Jace thought, I hate my brothers more than anything.

A screech escaped Andy's lips as Jace dove towards his brother. Tearing out of the room, Jace missed Andy before he leapt back to his feet, chasing down the young villain.

Samantha Anderson rolled her eyes as two of her adopted sons came racing into the kitchen. Sliding on his socks, Andy slid on the linoleum floor before coming to a stop right behind Sam. At the same time, Jace skidded in, halting across the table from him, his teeth bared and an angry look in his eyes.

Sam, semi amused, took a sip of her coffee before she continued to read the newspaper, "What'd you do this time, Andy?"

"I-"

"He blew a fucking air horn in my ear! That's what he did!" Jace shouted, cutting Andy off.

"Jace," Sam chided, glancing up at the younger boy, "Language."

"Sorry." Jace mumbled, glancing down sheepishly for a moment. Sam chuckled quietly before she craned her neck, glancing behind her at Andy.

"Andy, where in good heavens did you get the idea to do that?"

Andy shrugged, "I saw an air horn and the idea came to me."

Jace's glare intensified, "Really? And the first person you thought to use it on was me?!"

"Of course!" Andy chirped, smirking at his brother, "As the baby brother, you are deemed the perfect specimen for experimental pranks."

"Thanks," Jace grumbled, crossing his arms, "My eardrums really appreciate it."

Andy laughed, ignoring the sarcasm in the younger's voice, "Any time baby bro!"

Jace's eyes narrowed further as he continued to glare at Andy. A goofy grin spread across Andy's face, which caused Jace to roll his eyes. Jace knew for a fact that, no matter what, he wasn't going to be getting an apology out of Andy.

"Whatever," Jace grumbled, exiting the kitchen. He made a beeline towards his bedroom but paused once his phone went off.

'Meet you at MJ? RT may have something for us!' –Dick.

Quickly stepping into his room, Jace threw on a pair of dark blue, denim jeans. Throwing on a white t-shirt, he tugged on a blue sweatshirt. Walking over to his closet, he reached into the far back, snatching is utility belt. Coiling it up, he tucked it into a pocket before walking out.

Slipping his shoes on, Jace walked towards the front door, calling out, "I'm going to go over to Dick's."

"Have fun at your boyfriend's!" Came Andy's immediate response, earning himself an elbow in the gut from Sam.

"Andy." Came Sam's light scolding, to which Andy ignored.

"Ugh!" Jace cried out, snagging his keys and sunglasses before exiting the apartment with a slam of the door.

Stepping into the dirty streets of Gotham, Jace slipped his sunglasses over his eyes before making his way down the sidewalk.


"Recognized: Strike: B-Zero-Two."

As soon as the coolness of the Cave washed over Strike, he felt calmer. Even though they've only been a Team for a few short weeks, Strike already felt at home at the Cave, even more so since his annoying brothers weren't here.

"Good morning, Strike!" Miss Martian chirped, catching Strike off guard. Strike tensed, but quickly relaxed when he realized it was just their resident Martian smiling happily at him.

Strike smiled, "Morning, Miss Martian."

Falling into step with the older girl, the duo walked over towards the Atlantean and the clone, who were watching a holo-screen.

"Hello, Strike." Aqualad greeted Strike in the formal tone he always spoke with, "Where is Robin? I was under the impression him and Kid Flash were accompanying you."

Strike frowned. He didn't know that, "Uhmm…" Strike replied, "They should be here soon."

"Good," Superboy nodded, "I'm itching for some action."

Strike glanced at the clone before looking at the screen. The holo-graphic screen currently showed the path RT was making, "When's RT going to be here?"

"He should arrive any minute now." Aqualad replied, eyeing the screen.

"Good. So should the ninja midget and Kid Idiot." Strike crossed his arms, laughing slightly at his own joke. His laughter ceased when he realized no one else was laughing. Instead, they all were staring at him curiously.

Miss Martian cocked her head to the side, slightly confused, "Who?"

Strike sighed, of course they wouldn't get his humor, "Robin and Kid Flash."

"Oh," She nodded, still slightly confused, "But if they're your friends, why would you make fun of them?"

"Because-"

"Recognized: Robin: B-Zero-One. Kid Flash: B-Zero-Three."

The two boys entered the Cave, excitement radiating off of them. With quick, excited glances, they raced over to the rest of their Team.

"Have you asked him yet?" Robin grinned, excitement radiating off in waves.

"What'd he say?" Kid Flash questioned before anyone had a chance to respond.

Strike chuckled, crossing his arms, "Relax, West. Patience is a virtue!"

"Oh come on!" Kid Flash rolled his eyes, "Don't tell me you're not excited!"

"Never said that." Strike retorted. He was excited; however, he was also nervous. What if RT had nothing for them?

Aqualad smiled, glancing from the screen to the boys, "He is arriving now."

Kid Flash grinned, exclaiming, "Then what are we waiting for!?" Snagging Robin's and Strike's shoulders, the duo were dragged out with the speedster, the rest following them.

As they walked down a long hallway, the end of it lowered, revealing the bright blue sky. Racing up the ramp, the young heroes smiled as Red Tornado landed.

"Red Tornado!" Kid Flash waved.

"Greetings," The robot began monotonously, "Is there a reason you have intercepted me outside the Cave?"

"We hoped you had a mission for us." Aqualad calmly explained.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility."

Robin stepped forward, protesting, "But it's been over a week and-"

Red Tornado held up his hand, cutting Robin off, "You'll be tested soon enough. For the time being, enjoy each other's company."

Strike huffed, crossing his arms, "We didn't come here for play dates."

"No, but I have been told social interaction is an important Team building exercise. Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourselves with the Cave." Red Tornado suggested, pushing past the heroes.

"Keep busy?" Kid Flash huffed, lightly punching Strike. Strike glowered, glaring at the retreating form of Red Tornado.

"Does he think we're falling for this?!" Robin scoffed, sharing an annoyed glance with Kid Flash.

"It sure seems like it," Strike grumbled, arms crossed.

"Oh!" Miss Martian exclaimed, "I'll find out!" Turning around, she stared at Red Tornado's back intently. A concentrated look overtook her features as the boys stared at her curiously.

A few moments later, she sighed, turning to glance at her company, "I-I'm sorry. I forgot. He's a machine, inorganic. I cannot read his mind."

"Nice try thought," Kid Flash comforted, a slight flirty tone edging into his voice, "So, uh," He stuffed his hands into his pockets, staring dreamily up at the Martian, "You know what I'm thinking right now?"

Robin snorted, jutting his elbow into the speedster's lower back, "We all know what you're thinking right now."

"Yea," Strike scoffed, "No need for telepathy here!"

"Dudes!" Kid Flash exclaimed, glaring at his so-called 'best friends.' "Why pick on me?!"

Ignoring everything Kid Flash said, Aqualad glanced around, "And now we tour the clubhouse." He said in an un-amused tone.

"Well, Superboy and I live here, we can play tour guides?" Miss Martian kindly suggested.

Strike glanced over at Superboy, as did everyone else, causing the clone's eyes to fly open in a slight panic, "Don't look at me!"

"We won't," Kid Flash interjected quickly, turning his attention back to Miss Martian, "A private tour would be much better." He flirted with a wink. Miss Martian smiled kindly, not quite sure what to make of his flirting.

Robin stepped forward, stuttering his snap, "S-she never said private!" Strike quirked a brow. It was obvious to him how Kid Flash felt about the Martian, but Robin apparently took a liking to her too? Strike's eyes roamed over to the Martian; she was cute and Strike did understand how Robin could like her, after all, Robin had a thing for red heads.

"Strike?" Strike glanced up, focusing on what was in front of him. Superboy was staring at him curiously while everyone was standing a few meters away, "You coming?"

"Y-yea." Strike quickly nodded, following after the clone.

Miss Martian smiled at the boy before turning around, gesturing around her, "This would be the front door…"


"And this would be the back." Miss Martian concluded the tour. Strike smiled, staring out at the vast, beautiful view of the harbor they had. A light, warm breeze blew by, ruffling the hero's hair before they turned around, reentering the Cave.

"The Cave is actually the entire mountain!"

"It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern back in the early days." Kid Flash chimed in, attempting to impress Miss Martian with his knowledge. Strike and Robin held in snorts, clearly amused by their friends failed flirting skills.

Superboy looked towards Kid Flash, asking, "Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?"

"The Cave's secret location was… compromised." Aqualad answered.

"So they traded it in for a tourist trap?" Superboy questioned, slightly confused. Pushing the confusion away, Superboy scoffed, choosing to comment on the League's idiocy instead, "Yea, that makes sense."

Strike resisted the urge to chuckle. He had forgotten Miss Martian and Superboy didn't know about the Watchtower and for now, they wouldn't know about it. Mainly due to the fact they would, most likely, be in further trouble if they informed the duo of the real headquarters.

Miss Martian's hand flew to her face, pondering, "If the villains know of our location, then we must be on constant alert!" She concluded.

Robin swooped in, snagging the Martian's hands in his own, "The bad guys know we know they know about the place, so they'd never think to look here!"

The confusion on Miss Martian's face caused Strike to laugh, "The bad guys won't be looking for us here because they know we know they know about Mount Justice, keeping us nice and safe here." Miss Martian smiled, still confused, but slightly less confused. All in all, she really didn't know what the bats were talking about.

"Ignore the bats," Kid Flash stepped forward, removing Miss Martian's hands from Robin's grasp, "They insist on making everything more difficult."

"Hey," Strike grinned, "Life's no fun if it's not a challenge!"

Kid Flash rolled his eyes, ignoring Strike, "What they mean is; we're hiding in plain sight."

"Leave it to Kid Flash to dumb it down," Robin snickered to Strike. Upon catching the speedster's glare, the duo looked away, pretending to not have seen a thing.

Miss Martian took her hands back, scratching her head, "Ah, that makes… much more sense."

Superboy sniffed the air, deadpanning, "I smell smoke."

"That has to be the calmest reaction to the smell of smoke I have ever seen." Strike commented, shaking his head.

In contradiction to Strike's comment, Miss Martian elicited a loud, shocked gasp, "My cookies!" She immediately took off, flying towards the kitchen, where the smoke was evidently coming from.

"Well," Robin glanced at Strike, "So much for a calm reaction?"

Strike smiled, racing after Miss Martian with the other boys on his heels, "I was talking about Superboy, but you know, whatever."

Filing into the kitchen, the boys watched as Miss Martian levitated a tray of heavily burnt cookies out of the oven. The immediate area filled with the scent of smoke as Strike studied the burnt crisps.

Miss Martian looked down at her cookies, frowning, "I was trying out Grammy Jone's recipe from episode seventeen of uh…" She trailed off, chuckling nervously, "Uh, never mind."

Strike picked up a crisp, examining it closely. Sniffing it, he took a small bite, flinching slightly as the charred, crispy cookie made a loud crunching sound, "They taste," He swallowed, forcing himself not to grimace at the burnt taste, "Uh… fine?" His comment made the Martian perk up slightly.

"You hesitated." Robin pointed out. Strike sent his partner a glare, to which Robin cheekily grinned, "Besides," He turned towards Miss Martian, gesturing at the speedster, "He doesn't seem to mind."

Strike glanced towards Kid Flash, who was scarfing down the crisps. Noticing everyone was staring at him, Kid Flash smiled sheepishly, swallowing the bite in his mouth, "I uh… have a serious metabolism?"

"I uh… I'll make more?" Miss Martian hesitantly asked, more than stated.

"It was sweet of you to make any," Aqualad pointed out, smiling kindly at the Martian. Strike nodded his head in agreement. Besides, who wouldn't enjoy a cute, sweet girl making cookies for them?

Miss Martian clasped her hands together, smiling softly, "Thanks Aqualad."

"We're off duty," Aqualad said, gesturing to himself, "Call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."

Kid Flash leaned on the island, smiling dreamily at Miss Martian, "I'm Wally. See? I already trust you with my secret ID. Unlike the dynamic dark sunglasses duo over there," He gestured to the bats, who were, in return, glaring at the speedster, "Batman's forbidden the Boy Wonders from revealing their real identities."

Strike rolled his eyes, deciding to not comment on the majority of what Wally had said, "To be fair, Wally, Kaldur trusted Miss Martian with his secret ID first."

Wally scoffed, "So? At least I told her who I really am!"

Before Strike had a chance to retort, Miss Martian stepped forward, standing between the two boys, "Mine's no secret!" She chirped, giggling, "It's M'gann M'orzz! But you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name and I'm on Earth now."

From the corner of his eye, Strike saw Superboy exiting the kitchen. In one swift movement however, the Clone whirled around, an angry glint in his eye, "Get out of my head!" He roared. Strike blinked, confused by his outburst until a voice echoed in his skull.

'What's wrong?' The boys all clasped their heads in pain, 'I-I don't understand. Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically!'

"M'gann, stop," Kaldur scolded firmly. Almost instantaneously Strike felt the tension in his mind disappear as his mind became his own once more, "Things on Earth are different. Whereas on Mars your powers are normal, here they are an extreme invasion of privacy."

"Besides," Wally spoke up, leaning forward with his hand cupping his mouth, "Cadmus's psychic gnomes left a bad taste in his brain."

"I-I didn't mean to-"

"Just. Stay. Out." Superboy growled, storming off. Strike glanced around, sensing the awkward silence that had settled on the group.

The silence lasted only a few mere seconds, but when it's an awkward one, it can feel like an eternity. It ended when M'gann suddenly smacked herself on the forehead, earning a concerned glance from Strike, "Hello Megan! I know what we can do!" Without explaining herself, she flew out of the room. Strike shared a glance with Wally before the four disappeared down the hall, leaving Superboy behind.

Strike followed everyone into the elevator but before the button was pressed, M'gann noticed they were missing a member, "Where's Superboy?"

"Sulking in the lounge," Wally answered. Upon noticing M'gann's concerned look, Wally tried to pick back up with the flirting, "Come on babe, he's nothing special." He waggled his eyebrows, voice taking on a husky tone, "Why don't you just show me this thing you're so excited about?"

M'gann shrunk back slightly, however, the motion was unnoticed by Wally, "I uh…" She glanced down the hall, "We can't just leave him out. I'll be right back!" Without further protest, she flew down the hall.

"Dude," Strike crossed his arms, shaking his head. For a kid who was supposedly a genius, could Wally reall not see M'gann's lack of interest?

"What?" Wally faced the bat.

"Your flirting is pathetic." Robin spoke up.

Wally glared at the bats, but the pout on his face hindered the intensity of the glare, "It is not!"

"It-"

"I got Superboy!" M'gann chirped, floating into the elevator. The Clone, looking slightly less angry, stepped into the elevator and with a ding, the doors closed, taking the heroes down.

The elevators slid open, revealing the hanger. Strike looked around, expecting some great and huge Martian ship. However, what he wasn't expecting was a red and blue blob sitting dead center on the landing pad. Sharing a glance with Robin, Strike quirked a brow. In response, Robin shrugged before exiting the elevator.

"It's my Martian Bioship!" M'gann announced; voice filled with pride as she gestured to the blob.

"It's a blob," Strike commented, staring curiously at it, "A red and blue blob."

M'gann giggled, clearly amused by their obliviousness, "It's at rest, silly!"

"I uh… oh."

"I'll wake it!" Turning to face the blob, M'gann held out her hand. With a wave of her hand, the ship transformed and molded itself into a large, fully functional ship.

Strike let out a low whistle, "Now that's what I'm talking about."

M'gann faced him, smiling, "I'm glad you like it!" Taking a few steps forward, M'gann made her way towards the ship, only to stop when she realized no one was following, "Well, are you guys coming?"

Strike eagerly swarmed into the Bioship, marveling at the ships interior as the cockpit molded itself like putty right before their eyes.

M'gann gestured to the five seats, "Strap in for launch!"

Jumping into the seat at the front of the ship, Strike grinned as seatbelts shot up and around him, strapping him securely in.

"This is so cool!" Wally exclaimed, marveling at his surroundings.

M'gann smiled, happy that her friends liked her Bioship. Facing forward, she spoke up, loud and clear, "Red Tornado, please open up the Bay doors."

Once the large doors had completely opened, the Bioship took to the air, smoothly sailing out.

"Incredible!" Robin exclaimed, flashing M'gann a huge grin.

From across the ship, Wally let out an audible sigh, "She sure is," He said in a dreamy voice, smiling at his crush, "I-I mean the ship. Which, like all ships, is a she."

Robin smirked, sharing a glance with Strike, "Fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth." Strike snickered behind his hand.

"Dude!" Wally protested, flushing slightly.

From the corner of his eye, Strike caught Kaldur flashing Superboy a concerned look. Facing the clone, Strike noted the semi-guilty, quite physique he was carrying.

Leaning forward, Strike whispered, "Look, Supes, I can tell you feel guilty about the whole incident earlier." Superboy gave him a questioning glance. After all, the clone thought he was doing a pretty good job hiding his emotions. "I'm a bat, trained to read people."

Kaldur chimed in, smiling softly, "We get it, you overreacted and now you feel guilty because you are not quite sure how to apologize."

"My advice to you?" Strike placed a caring hand on the clone's shoulder, "Just apologize. Say sorry. It's that easy." Strike tried to flash him a reassuring smile, but Superboy just turned back around, hopefully to digest what they just said.

Sharing a glance with Kaldur, Strike sighed. At least they tried.

"Hey!" Robin exclaimed, causing Strike to turn around, "How about showing us some Martian shape-shifting?" Strike grinned. This was going to be so cool!

M'gann nodded, smiling softly as she stood up. Within a few seconds, M'gann was gone and replaced with an exact copy of Robin. Well, almost exact. As perfect as the copy was, you could clearly tell it was a girl.

Next M'gann shifted into Strike. She had even added the hood the young hero would sometimes be seen wearing. Strike didn't wear it that often, so most of the time, it hung on his back, blending into his cape. Strike was pleasantly surprised to see his hood. Besides for a few select people and heroes, not many people knew Strike had a hood anymore. Reason being, he had used it when he was younger to try and postpone his brothers discovery of him being Strike. Now, Strike never had the heart to get rid of it. It came in handy sometimes patrolling Gotham, especially when it was drizzling and Strike could rub in his hood to Robin.

Whirling around and striking a pose, M'gann shifted a copy of Kid Flash, to which Wally drooled over, "Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?"

"Impressive!" Robin clapped, smiling giddily, "You know you're not exactly going to fool anyone with those, right?"

M'gann sat down, admitting, "Mimicking boys is a lot harder."

"And your clothes?" Kaldur questioned.

M'gann smiled, tugging on her jacket, "They're organic, as is the ship. They respond to my mental commands."

"As long as they're the only ones." Superboy grumbled, causing the group to slip into an uncomfortable silence.

Clearing his throat, Strike broke the silence, "Can you ghost through walls? Y'know, like Manhunter does?"

"Density shifting?" M'gann looked at the bat, a bit of sadness in her eyes, "No. That technique is very advanced. I'm nowhere near my Uncle's level of experience."

Robin leaned forward, "Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall," He paused laughing, "When he does it, bloody nose." Strike joined in with Robin's laughter. After all, he had been there the time Wally first tried the technique out.

"Dude!"

"Red Tornado to Miss Martian," The monotone voice of Red Tornado echoed around the small space, "An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate. Covertly, I'm sending coordinates."

"Received. Adjusting course."

Robin scoffed, "Tornado's keeping us busy again."

"Well, a simple fire led you to Superboy," M'gann answered, "It wouldn't hurt to find out what caused the alert."

"I think I know the cause," Superboy spoke up. Snapping his head to the right, Strike's eyes widened. What the heck was a tornado doing in this part of New England?!

As M'gann attempted to control the Bioship, Strike braced himself as the tornado made impact, slamming into the Bioship. The seatbelts strapped around his chest tightened, making sure that Strike went nowhere. Which, Strike had to admit, he appreciates, but in all honesty, he could do without the bruises they were going to leave.

The tornado spun and whirled the Bioship around, eliciting cries of pain from its passengers. With a highly concentrated thought, M'gann finally steered the ship out of the tornado and into a safer area.

As soon as the Bioship touched down, Robin and Strike exited the ship, making a run for it. Stepping onto a car, Strike flipped over a few scared pedestrians before he pulled out a grapple gun. With Robin right on his heels, he launched it before the duo swung inside.

Before making their presence known, Strike and Robin paused, hiding behind a pole as they scoped out the area. The inside was trashed, debris was everywhere as the wind whipped around. Finding the source of the wind, Strike almost laughed. It was a robot, a red and black robot firing gust after gust of high powered wind. To top the robot off, he was wearing a ragged scarf.

Sharing a glance with Robin, the duo pulled out some birdarangs. Flipping over the railing, Strike flung the small weapons. They flew through the air, only to be deflected by a gust of wind.

With a pained groan, Strike was flung backwards, right into a column. Rubbing his head, Strike accepted his partners hand as Robin helped him up. Before they could launch into another attack, Superboy raced up to them, "Who's your new friend?"

"Don't know his name," Strike grumbled, staring up at the robot.

"But he plays kind of rough!" Robin concluded through clenched teeth.

"My apologies," The robot spoke, voice deep and resounding, "You may address me as Mister Twister."

Superboy stalked forward, arms raised as if to deflect the tornadoes. His escapade proved useless as a particularly strong gust hit him, launching him up and backwards, into the concrete wall.

Regrouping, the five teens, minus Superboy, stood up, facing the villain. With a nod from Kaldur, they attacked. While M'gann, Wally, and Kaldur went for the direct attack, Robin and Strike snuck off, each taking one side of the villain.

Wally, being the first to reach Mister Twister, was immediately caught in a tornado and flung right out of the building. M'gann and Kaldur where next to reach him, well almost reach him. Before they even could get close, they were swept up in tornadoes and flung back into columns.

Sparing a glance at his comrades, Strike pushed forward. From across the building, he made eye contact with Robin. With a quick nod, the duo sprang out, birdarangs in hand.

"Pathetic," Mister Twister said, tone almost amused. With a raise of his hands, the birdarangs were stopped and the two boys caught in tornadoes, which the villain crashed together. With a cry of pain, he threw the duo into a column, which they slid down in a heap of entangled limbs.

"I was prepared to be challenged by actual superheroes, not children." Mister Twister gloated. Though he was a robot, Strike had a sense that the villain was smirking.

Disentangling himself from Strike, Robin stood up, birdarang at the ready, "We're not children!" He cried out, snarling. With that said, he launched a small bomb, which blew up, providing cover for the birdarang, which managed to lodge itself into the villains torso.

Seemingly un-amused, Mister Twister flicked the birdarang away, "Objectively you are. Have you no adult supervision? I find your presence here quite disturbing."

Strike growled, shouting sarcastically, "Well we hate to see you disturbed!"

"Let's see if you're more turbed once we kick your can!" Robin cried, pissed.

M'gann went for a distraction, pulling off the cover of a vent and shrouding the villain in smoke. Superboy, with an enraged cry, attacked first. He leapt towards the villain, who blew him back into M'gann.

Next, Robin, Strike and Kaldur charged forward. Before they could get close, all three were swept up by a tornado and crashed together.

Groaning, Strike propped himself up, rubbing his head as the villain floated above them.

"Indeed, that was quite turbing. Thank you."

With an annoyed growl, Strike stood up, watching as Mister Twister flew out of the building.

The five heroes walked outside just in time to see Wally get launched into the air.

"I got you Wally!" Acting quickly, M'gann caught the speedster just before he could hit the ground.

"Whoa… thanks." Wally hesitantly responded, not quite used to being lifted telepathically.

Mister Twister, upon noticing the teens, spoke up, "I would have thought you all would have learned your lesson by now. There is no beating me."

"What do you want!?" Kaldur shouted, voice abnormally pissed.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for a real hero." Twister taunted. Strike growled, this guy is really starting to piss me off.

Kaldur faced M'gann, demanding, "Read his mind. Find a weakness!"

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that?"

Strike sighed, annoyance getting the better of him, "You're more than welcome to read the bad guys minds!"

M'gann pressed a finger to her temple, concentrating on the villain. Her head snapped up, eyes widening, "Nothing. I'm getting nothing!" M'gann suddenly smacked her forehead, realizing something, "Hello Megan! Mister Twister is Red Tornado in disguise."

Strike glanced up at the floating villain. It did kind of make sense, but something was still bothering Strike, he just couldn't place it.

"He's inorganic, an android! And how many androids do we know that can generate tornadoes!?" M'gann concluded her explanation.

"Red Tornado sent us here!" Kaldur said, realization dawning on him.

Robin shared a glance with Strike, "After he said we'd be tested soon enough!"

Strike groaned, "So this is his test! Something to keep us busy!"

"Speedy called it," Wally scoffed, voice filled with annoyance, "We're a joke."

Kaldur growled, punching his hand. Turning around, he walked towards the android, closely followed by the rest of the Team.

"We know who you are and what you want!" Robin shouted, gaining the android's attention.

"We're through playing games!" Strike called out, arms crossed.

"So let's end this." Kaldur finished.

"Consider it ended," Mister Twister said, voice dark and eerie. Raising his hands up, the sky began to turn black, wind whipping and howling around as a large storm began to brew.

"An impressive show," Kaldur shouted, studying the storm, "But we will not engage!"

Strike glanced around, taking in the building storm. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach alerted him of his unease. This was not Red Tornado.

Lightning cracked in the sky, giving Strike a further feeling of unease. Tornado could not do that, "Guys," He called out, "I don't think Tornado can do that."

Mister Twister laughed sarcastically, "You think I'm Tornado? How ironic." As the last words left his robotic mouth, two large strikes of lightning struck the ground, creating a small explosion. The force of the explosion, slammed into the heroes, thrusting them back a few feet.

Groggily sitting up, Strike rubbed his head. He opened his eyes to see Mister Twister floating away from them.

"What happened?" Strike looked to his left, where Wally was currently staring at M'gann, waiting for an explanation.

"I-I place the Bioship between us." She hesitantly replied, voice filled with guilt.

Superboy punched a rock, breaking it into pieces, "And that's supposed to make it right!?" He shouted accusingly, "You tricked us into thinking Red Tornado was Mister Twister!"

"She didn't do it on purpose," Kaldur defended.

"I-it was a rookie mistake!" Robin reasoned.

"It's our faults too," Strike continued on, hands stuffed in his pockets, "We shouldn't have listened."

M'gann hung her head, taking in everything the boys said.

Wally sighed, glancing down at the girl, "You are pretty inexperienced. Hit the showers, we'll take it from here."

"Stay out of our way!" Superboy shouted, glaring slightly at the Martian before storming off.

Strike nudged Robin, whispering quietly, "Somebody has anger issues."

"No kidding."

The boys arrived at the docks of Happy Harbor to see people running amuck in panic. Tornadoes were flying around everywhere, causing debris and destruction to fly about. One particular tornado went through the water, picking up boats and spewing them into the crowd of panicking people.

As a crowd of people raced away, a little girl, no more than five, tripped. Curling into a ball, she cried as the masses of people around her continued to race by, not bothering to help the trembling child. The screams of the people increased as a boat came flying their way. Everyone scattered, leaving the child alone, just as the boat came flying her way. Right before the boat could crush her, Strike rolled in.

Snagging the child in one hand, he rolled out of the way of danger. Glancing down, he eyed the young girl for any signs of injury, "Are you okay?" The girl nodded, lifting her tear filled gaze up to him.

"Charlie!" A voice shouted. Strike glanced to his right, where a woman in her late thirties was racing their way. Meeting her halfway, Strike handed her the child, "Thank goodness you're okay!" The woman exclaimed, checking over her daughter.

As the woman was about to thank Strike, he cut her off, "There's a safe house set up in the basement of Sally's Subs. I recommend you and your daughter get there. Now."

The woman nodded, smiling her thanks at the boy who save her daughter. However, her face contorted into one of fear as she screamed. Spinning around, Strike went wide eyed as a tornado rammed into him, spinning him around before it deposited him on top of a car.

Strike groaned as he sat up. Sliding off the car, he stumbled before righting himself. He turned around, smiling slightly when he saw the woman and child running to safety.

"Dude! There you are!" Wally called out, skidding to a halt next to the bat, "We were starting to wonder if you got lost!"

"Please," Strike scoffed, pulling out some bombs, "Me? Get lost? Yea, right."

Wally shook his head, "True. I swear you bats have an internal GPS system or something."

With a cackle, Strike ran off. As tornadoes raced towards him, he launched his bombs, dissipating the tornadoes. Racing to the side, he ducked behind a boat. A few seconds later, Robin joined him.

"Where have you been?"

Strike faced his partner, "Saving civilians."

"We were wondering where you were."

"Aw," Strike smirked, "Did you guys miss me?"

Robin grinned, "Please, there's not much to miss!"

Strike rolled his eyes as Wally skidded up to them.

"As much fun as tornadoes are, I'm really starting to get sick of them."

"You and me both," Strike agreed, pulling out his utility belt. From beside him, Robin did the same.

"You two brought your utility belts!?" Wally asked incredulously.

"Never leave him without it," Robin replied, a proud tone in his voice, "First thing Batman taught us!"

Wally rolled his eyes, muttering, "Yeah, right after never go to the bathroom without it."

"Actually," Strike spoke up, studying his birdarangs, "That's his third rule. It goes right after 'if you don't wear a cape, you can't be a bat' rule."

"What is with you and this cape thing?" Robin questioned, glancing over at his partner.

Strike shrugged, "They're deadly!"

"Since when?"

"Ever see the Incredibles? They are very dangerous."

Robin rolled his eyes, ready to retort when all of a sudden, they clutched their heads in pain.

'Listen to me,' M'gann's voice rang in their heads, 'All of you.'

"What did we tell you!?" Strike heard Superboy roar over the wind.

'I know!' M'gann replied, voice firm, 'And I know I messed up. But now I am very clear on what we need to do. I have a plan. Please, trust me.'

Strike shared glances with Wally and Robin. So far, M'gann and he plan seemed to be all they had.

'Lay it on us, Megalicious,' Though M'gann wasn't there to see it, Wally waggled his eyebrows.

Robin jumped out, followed by Strike and Wally. Regrouping with Kaldur and Superboy, the five walked towards Mister Twister, plan fresh in mind.

Mister Twister paused his tornadoes, causing the heroes to look up as Red Tornado flew towards them.

"Hit the showers, boys." Red Tornado said, landing on the ground, "I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot."

Robin stepped forward, protesting, "But we have a plan now!"

"Yea," Strike agreed, "We only need a few minut-"

Red Tornado held up his hands, cutting the hero off, "This subject is not up for debate.

Strike walked away, head hung in shame followed by the others. As soon as he was out of sight, Strike ducked behind a stray boat, waiting for his cue.

There was a loud thud and Strike peered out. Lying on the ground, in a comatose like state, was Red Tornado. Mister Twister floated forward, gloating about something. As he tried to reprogram Red Tornado, M'gann's head appeared, slightly startling the villain.

Stumbling backwards, Mister Twister was swept up into Wally's tornado, thrusting him backwards into Superboy's fist. A particularly powerful punch from Superboy sent the android spiraling backwards, right into the water, Kaldur's domain. There was a loud explosion and Mister Twister came flying out of the water.

In his weakened state, he became no match for the young heroes as M'gann caught him mid air. Her eyes glowed green as she telepathically ripped the arms off the android. Before she dropped him, Strike and Robin leapt up, releasing their birdarangs, which, upon contact, exploded and further weakened the android.

Finally, with a loud thump, Mister Twister landed on the ground, completely defenseless and weak. As the heroes approached him, he sat up on his knees before the body opened up to reveal a man, who looked scraggly and weak, falling to the ground.

"Foul. I-I-I call foul!" The man mumbled, picking himself up. Strike noted how he quaked in fear as the approached him.

Reaching to the side, M'gann picked up a large rock before, with a wave of her hand, the rock came crashing down, right on top of the scraggly man.

There was an awful crunching sound as the man was crushed to death. Strike's eyes widened, disbelieving what he just saw. M'gann had always seemed so sweet. He couldn't believe she'd do something like this!

Robin approached M'gann, anger radiating off him in waves, "Don't know how things are done on Mars, but on Earth we don't execute our captives!"

Strike stormed up to the Martian, "What the hell were you thinking!?"

M'gann just smirked, causing Strike to narrow his eyes, "You said you trusted me." Raising her hand, she removed the rock to reveal… an android?

Strike shook his head, anger dissipating. Of course M'gann would never kill! She's way too sweet.

"That's why I couldn't read his mind!" M'gann smiled in satisfaction, clearly enjoying her company's astonishment.

Swooping down, Wally picked up an eyeball, already having forgiven M'gann completely, "Cool! Souvenir."

"We should have had more faith in you." Kaldur admitted, smiling.

"Yea, you rocked this mission! Get it? Rocked?" Wally joked.

Strike rolled his eyes, grinning, "It'd be best if you ignored him."

"Yea," Robin spoke up, "We're all just turbed you're on the Team!"

M'gann smiled softly, thankful she had a place of her own, "Thanks. Me too."

Bending down, Strike picked up a hand, "Think we should take this to Tornado?"

"Sure!" Wally sped over, snagging the hand from Strike, "But first, M'gann I gotta hand it to you. You did a great job!" Strike groaned, not enjoying Wally's puns. Taking the hand back, Strike smacked Wally upside the head with it before he dropped it back onto the pile.

"Ow!" The speedster protested, rubbing his sore skull, "That was uncalled for!"

"You're uncalled for," Strike muttered, walking off.


As soon as they had made it back to the Cave, the leftover parts were deposited on an examination table. After they debriefed Red Tornado, the Team stood around, watching as he studied the remains.

"It was clearly made to sabotage or destroy you." Kaldur reported.

"Agreed," Red Tornado spoke, voice as robotic as ever.

"Is that why you wouldn't help us?" M'gann asked.

"No, this was your battle. I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me."

"But… if you're in dange-"

"Consider this matter closed." Red Tornado said. Turning on his heel, he exited the room.

Strike stretched, "An emotionless android for a den mother? This'll be interesting."

Wally stared at Red Tornado's retreating form, "Batman, Aquaman, and Flash. They all would've stepped right in to fix things."

Robin sighed, gesturing to Red Tornado, "I guess if we're going to have a babysitter, a heartless machine is exactly what we need."

"Dude, harsh."

"And inaccurate." Red Tornado spoke up, alerting the Team he was still there, "I may seem emotionless," Strike smiled sheepishly, "But that doesn't mean I don't have emotions. I just show them in a different way than you humans do. Prior to contrary belief, I have a heart, one made of carbon and steel alloy." He turned around just before fully leaving, "I also have excellent hearing."

Robin let out a nervous laugh, sharing a glance with Strike, "Right. Sorry. We'll strive to be more accurate."

"And more respectful," Kaldur stepped forward, placing a hand on the two young bats shoulders.

Falling in to line with Wally, Robin and Kaldur, Strike exited the main room.

"Speedy was so wrong." Wally started.

"This Team thing," Robin continued.

"That we have going on," Strike smiled.

"Might just work out." Kaldur concluded.


A/N: Thank you all for the feedback! I appreciate it and remember, review! It makes me happy to see your guys' thoughts and comments! :D