A/N: Ayo! Hey guys! So my muse for stories seems to jump back and forth. For those of you who have read- or are reading- 'When Lightning Strikes', my muse for that story has gone out the window- for a short while hopefully- while my muse for 'Strike' here has come back. So yeah. What does that mean? This story is no longer on hiatus whereas my other story is.

Anyways, terribly sorry for the two month no updating thing. I kind of suck. Like wow. But hey, at least this chapter is a super long one? It's seriously almost ten thousand words. I sort of debated making it two chapters, but then I didn't because I felt I owed you guys a decent chapter for my absence.

I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! I tried to put some twists on this episode, seeing as in basically every plot-following-OC-story it goes the same way, not that there's anything wrong with that. The episode itself doesn't allow for that much wiggle room so people with an OC are basically forced to send said OC with Superboy and Robin. But /shrugs/ I decided to make my own wiggle room.

Lastly, I changed the spelling of Jayce's name to how I just spelled it. I think it looks nicer~

Young Justice is not mine.


MOUNT JUSTICE
August 3, 13:06 EDT

Strike's eyes flickered back and forth, eyeing the puck as it ricocheted around the holographic hockey table. Aqualad and Kid Flash were currently in the midst of a heated battle. Kid Flash stood on one end, a smug smirk settled on his face as he chomped on his banana.

"Ten bucks on Kaldur," Strike whispered to Robin. Their Atlantean leader had just scored a point, causing him to pull into the lead.

"You're so on," Robin answered back, slapping Strike's extended hand.

The brunette's attention jumped back to the game at hand. Kid Flash's smirk had been wiped off his face only to be replaced by a more determined look. The speedster was so going to not lose against Aqualad, who was playing the game for the very first time.

Miss Martian stood off to the side, watching the four boys with mild amusement. She wasn't quite sure what was going on with the game, but she felt as if she was slowly catching on. It was simple, really. The object was to get the puck into the opponent's goal. What was so hard about that?

"Goal!" Kid Flash cheered as his puck careened past Aqualad's hand. The Atlantean merely frowned, eyeing the small puck as it disappeared into the goal.

"Lucky shot, KF," Strike muttered. At first, he had felt confident with betting on Aqualad, and now, now he wasn't so sure.

Kid Flash sent the young bat a cocky smirk before settling in for the next round. Strike noticed Aqualad also sported a more determine look. The Atlantean was really getting into the game.

About five minutes later, after the puck zigzagging numerous times across the game board, Kid Flash scored again. The speedster cheered, at both the fact he won and at the sullen look on his best friends face. As Aqualad stepped away from the table, a small frown on his face, Strike looked at the Atlantean incredulously.

"You totally let me down, Kal!" He cried out in a slightly over exaggerated manner.

Aqualad simply shrugged, cocking his head to the side, "I am sorry?" He replied, a bit unsure.

"That's what you get for betting against your best friend!" Kid Flash chirped, throwing an arm over the bat's shoulder, "Now where's my ten bucks?"

Strike scoffed, "Your ten bucks is in Robin's pocket. I betted against him, Kid Doofus, not you."

"Yeah but," Kid Flash frowned, pulling his hand back, "I shou-"

"Recognized: Superboy: B-Zero-Five."

Kid Flash trailed off as he watched the angry clone storm by, and right through the holographic hockey table. The speedster pouted, but said nothing as the Superboy continued to storm by.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Strike muttered.

"Dude," Kid Flash elbowed his friend, "Super hearing remember?"

Strike shrugged, leveling Superboy's glare with one of his own. The young bat wasn't fazed. He dealt with Batman's glare for a living!

Miss Martian glanced nervously between the two as they continued to glare at each other before chirping, "Hi Superboy! How was Metropolis?"

The clone didn't answer. He tore his gaze away from Strike before striding across the room, choosing to wallow in his anger by himself and crossing his arms over his chest.

As Strike opened his mouth to make some snide remark, someone cleared their throat. Five heads snapped to one of the many entrances as Black Canary and Martian Manhunter strode into the room.

"Black Canary," Miss Martian greeted. Her eyes sparkled and widened as they landed on her uncle, "Uncle J'onn!" She called out, floating over to the older Martian. She immediately enveloped him in a hug, burying her face in his strong chest.

"M'gann," Martian Manhunter started, placing a firm hand on the younger's shoulder, "I was just in the neighborhood so I thought I'd see how you are adjusting.

"A few bumps," Miss Martian admitted shyly, "But I'm learning."

Strike glanced to his left, catching the clone's movement as the Martian's continued to converse. The bat had to admit, he wasn't the biggest fan of Superboy, what with the teen being so hard headed and stubborn, but he could tell from the clone's posture that the bonding going on between the two Martian's was causing feelings, most likely jealous ones, to surface.

Superboy caught Strike's gaze, frowning at the bat when the younger didn't turn away. With another scowl, the clone tensed before turning around, preparing to storm out of the room.

"Stick around," Black Canary called out, also noticing the clone's movements, "Class is in session."

Superboy frowned, but complied as he turned around, arms crossed firmly over his chest.

Strike's attention returned to the blonde haired heroine as she stepped into the center of the room. The ring around the room immediately illuminated a glowing blue color.

"I consider it an honor to be your teacher," She admitted with confidence, "I'll throw a lot at you. Everything I've learned from my own mentors," Cue flinch as she shrugged her jacket of, "Ugh. And my own bruises," Strike watched as the blonde subconsciously lifted her hand to curl gently around her bandaged arm.

"What happened?" Miss Martian asked, voice full of concern.

"The job," Black Canary replied simply, throwing her blue jacket over her shoulder. The blonde heroine propped her hands on her waist, steely blue eyes flickering over each and every young teen hero standing before her, "Now, combat is about controlling conflict; putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting. I'll need a sparring partner."

Strike would've done a double take at the speed Kid Flash's hand shot into the air had the kid not had super speed, "Right here!" He stepped forward, a smirk spread across his face, "Yeah!" While taking a bite of his banana, he mumbled out, "After this…" The speedster swallowed his bite of banana before aiming it at a nearby trashcan, "Swish," The banana peel sailed into tin can, "I'll show you my moves," He grinned cheekily at Black Canary.

Strike held back the urge to barf whereas Black Canary looked highly amused. While Kid Flash had his guard down, the blonde attacked. Kid Flash managed to somehow block the first punch but was soon knocked off his feet as Black Canary dropped to the ground, sweeping the speedster's feet out from underneath him.

Kid Flash landed on the ground with a thud. A circle appeared under the teen, illuminating blue and reading out Kid Flash's status as "FAIL".

"Ugh…" Kid Flash groaned, still laying on the ground, "Hurts so good…"

Black Canary stepped forward, staring down at the speedster, "Good block," She complimented, helping Kid Flash up, "But did anyone see what he did wrong?"

"Ooh! Ooh!" Robin's hand shot into the air eagerly, "He hit on the teacher and got served?!" Strike began to cackle at his best friend's remark.

"Dude!" Kid Flash cried out, holding his arm in pain.

Black Canary ignored the two bats, choosing to instead carry on, "He allowed me to dictate the terms of-"

"Oh please," Superboy scoffed, interrupting Black Canary. All eyes turned to the clone as he stood on the opposite side of the room, arms crossed over his chest, "With my powers, the battle's always on my terms." He gestured angrily to himself, "I'm a living weapon and this is a waste of my time."

Strike's eyes widened. Even he wasn't that cocky about his abilities!

Black Canary didn't seem fazed by Superboy's words one bit. Her blue eyes narrowed challengingly as she replied with a simple, "Prove it."

The room went dead silent. Kid Flash stepped backwards as Superboy stepped into the ring. Strike could feel the room fill with tension as the clone leveled his glare on Black Canary.

The two were quick to sink into battle stances, fists held up and out in front of themselves. Time slowed down slightly, at least until Superboy attacked first. A slight roar escaped his lips as he aimed a strong punch at Black Canary's face. However, the blonde was quick to duck under the blow. With years of experience under her belt, she easily caught the enraged clone's punch before she flipped him over and across the ring.

Superboy landed on the ground with a thud, which resounded around the room. Strike's cheeks puffed up as he held back his laughter, but as soon as Robin burst out laughing, the brunette was quick to join in. The only sound in the room as Superboy climbed to his feet were the two bats laughing at him.

Serves him right. Strike snidely thought to himself, smirking and still laughing at the clone. Only when Miss Martian elbowed him, while Aqualad elbowed Robin, did the two bats control their laughter. Strike's gloved hands flew up, clasping over his mouth and helping to stifle his guffaws.

Superboy growled as he climbed to his feet. The clone was visibly shaking with anger and Strike laughed harder as he pictured actual steam coming out of his ears.

"You're angry," Black Canary commented calmly, obviously not fazed one bit by Superboy's anger, "Good, but don't react. Channel that anger into-"

With another battle cry, Superboy launched himself at the blonde heroine. Black Canary easily flipped over the clone, using him as a spring board to push him away from herself. Superboy whirled around, arm spread out and aimed at the woman. Black Canary simply ducked under the punch, once again dropping to the floor and sweeping the clone's boot clad feet out from under him.

Strike had to bite his lip to refrain from breaking out into another cackle. Beside him, Robin had his gloved hands up to his mouth once more, stifling his own laughter.

"That's it." Superboy snarled, brushing off Black Canary as she offered him her hand, "I'm done." He seethed.

"Training is mandatory," Black Canary commented, placing a calming hand on Superboy's shoulder. The clone merely shrugged it off, flashing Black Canary yet another glare. Strike made a mental note to count up just how many times that boy glared at people.

Just as tension settled in the Cave's air once more, an alert popped up followed by Batman's face appearing on a large screen.

"Batman to the Cave," The Dark Knight said. Once he saw the Team, and the two Leaguer's, gathered before him, he proceeded, "Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary," A small screen appeared in the top left corner of the screen. On the screen was what appeared to be a man. Strike cocked his head to the side as he studied the image, quickly coming to the conclusion the pale, elf eared humanoid being was in fact not human. What he was, though, was still a mystery to the young bat, "The attacker was capable of studying, then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents," The image shifted to the attacked swinging Superman around violently, smacking the poor Kryptonian into the Flash and various other Leaguer's who dared near him, "Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."

"Whoa," Kid Flash breathed in awe, "One guy with the entire powers of the League?"

"That's not good," Strike tacked on.

"In the end, it took eight Leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android."

Strike's eyes widened, "An android?"

"Who made it?" Robin cut in, "T.O. Morrow?"

"Good guess, Robin. But Red Tornado doesn't think so." Batman complimented his protégé. Strike quietly grumbled to himself. He could've easily tossed out Morrow's name.

"The technology bears the signature of Professor Ivo," Martian Manhunter voice gravely.

Aqualad glanced over at the elder Martian, gray eyes slightly wide, "Ivo? But Ivo's dead."

"So we all thought," Black Canary turned towards him, "Or hoped."

"To make certain this threat is permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate S.T.A.R labs facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation. Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo, or anyone, tries to recover the remains. You will split into undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks.

"Yes!" Kid Flash cried out in excitement, high-fiving Strike, "Road trip!"

"Except you, Strike," Said bat's eyes widened as he faced his mentor, "You will stay behind and be the ops manager."

Strike's excitement deflated as his shoulders slumped, "B-but why?" He protested. The young bat really wanted to go on this mission, not do behind the scenes stuff.

"After your last escapade involving your motorcycle, you have been benched from all missions involving these vehicles as a mode of transport."

Strike flinched slightly at the underlying tone of anger his mentor's voice contained. It was true, however, that the last time he rode a motorcycle it hadn't gone according to plan. But hey, it wasn't his fault Robin had challenged him to a race through the streets of Gotham. And of course the original Boy Wonder got away with the race simply because he had lied and said they were chasing down an escape vehicle when Strike got cocky and ended up crashing his bike. Though the second Boy Wonder couldn't hold Robin responsible for the lie. After all, Batman would've punished them both and much worse had he known they had actually been racing instead of bringing justice to those who break the law.

It was best for the both of them.

"Ops manager at your service," Strike grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Goo-"

"So now we take out your trash?" Superboy demanded angrily. Strike's masked eyes widened. Nobody cut Batman off. Ever.

Batman flashed the clone his signature Batglare, but the hard-headed Kryptonian clone hardly seemed fazed, "You had something better to do?" He quipped.

Superboy scowled, gaze shifting to the floor beneath him.

"Coordinates received," Aqualad acknowledged, glancing down at a small GPS, "On our way."

Robin fake saluted Strike as him, and the rest of the Team, made their way towards the hanger. In response to the salute, Strike stuck out his tongue and leveled his best glare at his partner. The original Boy Wonder merely cackled before disappearing out of sight with the rest of the Team.

Black Canary and Martian Manhunter each gave Strike a quick goodbye before exiting through the zeta tubes. Once they were gone, Batman pulled back his cowl, revealing the concerned face of Bruce Wayne. Strike got the silent memo and removed his own domino mask, revealing a pair of frustrated green eyes.

Bruce sighed as he eyed his young protégé. It was obvious the teen wasn't happy with his decision, "Jayce," The brunette looked up, green eyes meeting Bruce's own blue, "You understand why you're not going on this mission, correct?"

Jayce chewed his lower lip as his eyes landed back on the floor below, "Yeah," He muttered.

"Good. You and Dick both need to realize that the dangers that come with this job aren't just limited to the bad guys. They're also inclusive of your own reckless behaviors and mistakes."

Jayce glanced back up at Bruce. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it. As much as he wanted to throw Dick under the bus, he couldn't. Not only would he have severely pissed off his closest friend, but he didn't want to face the wrath of the Bat that Batman would definitely not hesitate to unleash on his two protégés.

Hell hath no fury like an enraged Batman.

"I understand," Jayce spoke up, "I… I was dumb, felt like I could just show off. It was stupid of me and won't happen again."


"Everybody online?" Strike called out. He waved his hand and almost immediately a holographic map of Litchfield County appeared before him.

"We are all here, Strike," Came Aqualad's calm reply. Strike nodded, though he quickly felt dumb at the realization that no one could see him nod.

"Good."

"Yo, Strike," Kid Flash called out. Strike easily picked up on the undertone of curiosity that laced the speedster's voice. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"What Kid Flash?"

"What'd you do to get yourself benched?"

Strike had a feeling this question was coming sooner or later.

"Nothing that concerns you, West," The bat snapped, a bit too harshly he later reflected on.

Over the comm, Strike heard Kid Flash whistle lowly, "Touchy subject, huh?"

It was only when Robin's cackle joined the conversation did Strike grit his teeth together in annoyance, "We were chasing down these robbers when Strike decided to show off, get cocky. All he ended up doing was crashing his motorcycle. Bats was pissed!"

Strike was almost positive his teeth were going to break due to the force he was exerting on them. Robin was still cackling in his ear and after Kid Flash muttered his infamous "Dude." He could picture the speedster shaking his head back and forth in disbelief.

Holding back a growl, Strike watched as the six dots on screen-which signified the six trucks- began to depart, "How about instead of focusing on my mistake, we focus on the mission?"

"Strike is correct. We are moving out now."

Strike silently thanked Aqualad. He knew he could count on his cool, calm, and collected leader. As soon as the six dots hit the road, five more dots showed up on screen. The group of five split up, two heading towards New York while the other three headed towards Boston.

Once safely on their way, the dots shifted in color. The decoy trucks stayed red while the two trucks actually containing the parts shifted into a green color. The dots representing each member of the Team became a yellow color.


The mission began silently, each member of the Team focused on the mission at hand. Strike had to say, he was getting more and more bored with each passing minute. Being ops manager was not fun. It was the exact opposite.

After flipping back and forth between Team New York and Team Boston's, as he dubbed them, comms- each of which were silent- Strike was about to give up hope of relieving his boredom when Robin's voice chimed in his ear.

"If dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster?" Strike rolled his eyes, holding in his chuckle. He knew that Robin fancied butchering the English language, a fact their English teacher hated Dick for. Jayce, however, found it highly amusing, "See, instead of things going wrong, they go right." There was a pause. Strike knew Robin wasn't directly talking to him, but to Superboy instead, who was probably moping and being grumpy as per usual, "Uh, clearly you're not feeling the aster. What's wrong?"

There was a silence and for a second Strike thought Superboy wasn't going to answer.

"Canary," Came the clone's short reply, "And what business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?"

"Taking down stronger guys is part of the gig. Canary learned that the hard way. Same with Batman and, well, Strike and me."

"Oh those were not fun times," Strike chimed in, finally alerting the two of his presence. The bat almost laughed as he watched a yellow dot, who he assumed to be Superboy, speed up and ahead.

"Supes zoom off?"

"Supes zoomed off," Robin confirmed, "But dude," He carried on, "Eavesdropping?"

Strike shrugged to himself, "What? I'm bored. This is boring. Thought you guys could entertain me." The brunette could almost sense Robin rolling his eyes.

"You're ridiculous."

"This is your fault, really."

"How so?" Robin challenged. The original Boy Wonder knew where his partner was going with this conversation but knew that Strike wasn't going to say anything over and open comm link.

Scoffing, Strike said, "Fine. I can tell when I'm not wanted." With that said, he didn't wait for Robin's remark as he switched comms to Team Boston's. If Robin wanted to reach him, he could just open up the group comm link.

"-I swear," Strike just barely caught the end of Miss Martian's sentence. Needless to say, it piqued his interests slightly, "But anger flowed off him in waves."

"Heh. Surfed that wave. Just give him space," Kid Flash replied, attempting to reassure the Martian, "Me? Stick as close as you want."

"You are absolutely ridiculous, Kid," Strike scoffed, "And besides, Superboy just needs time to cool off. You guys know he doesn't play very well with others."

"Why would he be playing?" Miss Martian replied, confusion evident in her voice.

Strike mentally facepalmed. Sometimes he forgot how clueless Miss Martian could be, "I di-"

"What he means, babe, is that Superboy needs to adjust to Team life."

"Yes," Aqualad agreed, "A quiet mission will be good for him to help clear his head."

Strike sighed. He didn't do quiet missions. Where was the fun in them? No action whatsoever. Boring.

"But Strike," The Atlantean called out to the boy, "Did you need something in particular? I did not think you would contact us unless you needed to relay information."

Strike pinched the bridge of his nose, holding in his sigh, "Yeah, no. I'm just bored, is all. Standing around for a few hours in front of a holographic screen watching dots move along a map isn't as fun as it sounds."

"Oh you make is sound like a blast," Kid Flash quipped sarcastically. Strike could picture the speedster's smug smirk.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have destroyed your bike?" Miss Martian chimed in innocently. Strike groaned as Kid Flash immediately broke out into laughter with tears welling up in the corner of his eyes, "What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Miss Martian. Kid Flash is just being his usual idiotic self."

"Hey! I take off-"

"Sh. Did you guys hear that?" Aqualad cut in.

"Hear what?" Strike asked. His masked eyes glanced over the screen before him, looking for any and all anomalies. So far, there were none. The map looked completely normal, "I don-"

"Monkeys!?" Kid Flash called out, voice incredulous, "Monkeys are frickin attacking our truck!"

Strike's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Nothing was showing up on screen. And if monkeys were attacking the trucks, then they were definitely show up as a threat on screen.

"Strike!" Robin's voice shouted in the brunette's ear, "What the hell, man?! You were supposed to be on top of this!"

"They're not showing up on screen!" Strike shouted back as his fingers moved in a flurry across the holographic keyboard, "Nothing is showing up on screen!" He hurriedly hacked into the Batcave before quickly hacking into the Watchtower's satellite system. Within in a few seconds the bat had live action footage of both teams and their trucks.

True to their word, monkeys were attacking each truck. What was even stranger was the fact that these monkeys were robots and flying.

"Robot monkeys! Ha ha! Totally Ivo's tweaked style!" Robin cackled dryly. Strike had to agree with him, this was definitely an Ivo thing to do.

Shoulders slumping, Strike was rendered helpless as he watched his friends jump into action. There wasn't much he could do from here. He noted Superboy- as per usual- was the first to jump into the heat of battle. The clone leapt of his bike, allowing it to lose control and skid across the ground, right into Robin's bike which had just been switched into battle mode.

Speaking of which.

Strike's fingers flew across the keyboard as he hacked into the second half of Robin's bike, the flying half. This half was used for back-up, it only attacked when it needed to. But now, with Strike in control of it, he could be a bit more of assistance.

Robin hardly seemed fazed as he jumped into the air, launching a grapple hook and swinging to the back of the truck where he latched onto dear life. Almost immediately he was attacked by the green and black flying monkeys. The original Boy Wonder put his acrobatic skills to use as he kicked and punched monkeys off the back of the truck while Superboy went ape shit on the ones on top.

Things seemed to be going decently well. The monkeys weren't getting closer to the parts seeing as every time more came to help, they were destroyed. Strike's gloved fingers flew over the screen as he ducked the hovering craft to the right, avoiding a green blast from a nearby monkey. In retaliation, Strike launched his own laser, which decimated the robotic creature.

Strike's concern for his teammates grew when he watched as a monkey caught Superboy off guard, shooting him in the eyes with green lasers. The clone roared in anger before a handful of the robotic monkeys picked him up and tossed him off the truck. Strike gulped. This wasn't good.

Superboy skidded across the pavement before coming to a halt. The clone paused, settling on his knees before propelling himself into the sky and back onto the truck. Strike sighed. With Superboy back in the game, Robin was no longer alone and he could quickly check on the others.

Putting the hovering craft back in its own control, Strike flipped the satellite imagery so he could watch Aqualad and the others. Miss Martian and Kid Flash had both ditched their rides, leaving Aqualad as the only biker for the time being.

"They're ripping a hole in the top, guys!" Strike warned as he watched the monkeys do just that. As soon as their laser penetrated the metal truck, they tore it back, revealing the two men in said truck.

"On it!" Miss Martian called back. Sure enough, he watched as the Martian floated to the top of the truck. She hovered for a second before her hand shot out, tossing the monkeys surrounding the hole backwards.

Beside the truck, Kid Flash made quick work of the monkeys hanging on to the side. At the same time, Miss Martian flew off the truck, flailing slightly as she attempted to get the monkeys off of herself. Strike's masked eyes widened as he watched the Martian sprout four more hands before she made quick work of the monkeys attacking her and the ones in front of the truck.

"Aqualad: three more incoming behind you," Strike reported, eyeing the small group of monkeys wearily. With this battle, Strike was relatively helpless. None of the three had switched their bikes to battle mode meaning that the young bat had nothing he could hack into. However, he could play look out for them.

"I see them," Aqualad acknowledged. Just as the three monkeys landed on the back of the truck, the Atlantean whipped out his water bearers. The water formed into whips at his bidding before curling around each of the monkeys, snapping them and destroying them.

"There are too many of them!" Kid Flash complained, just as he landed on the roof of the truck. He ducked under a monkey before punching another one. The speedster whirled around as he heard Miss Martian land beside him before letting out a cry of surprise at the many armed girl. Strike would've laughed at his reaction, as well as Miss Martian's, had a few of the monkeys not just blown a hole from the inside of the truck. What made things worse was the fact that the monkeys flew out of said hole carrying the box containing the parts.

Aqualad skidded to a halt, a small scowl gracing his normally collected features as he watched the box disappear into the horizon, "They have taken the parts, Strike." He informed the bat.

Strike sighed, "I saw. I'll check in on the others."

It was to Strike's semi-happiness that when he switched back to the other team, they were faring better than the Team Boston. He noted that Robin had switched from the back of the truck and was now standing on the top, escrima sticks spinning furiously as he took out monkey after monkey. Superboy was also back, tearing into each and every monkey that came his way. However, Strike frowned when he realized that the hovering craft he had originally hacked into had been destroyed.

A loud popping sound followed by the sound of skidding tires filled the comm and Strike's jaw tensed as he watched the tires explode. The truck immediately started to fish tail and swerve violently.

"Robin get out of there!" Strike called over the comm. It was easy to tell that, in a matter of seconds, the truck was going to flip. There was no stopping it.

"Working on it!" Robin shouted back as he moved to the very front of the truck. Strike watched as his partner grabbed onto the truck driver before the two of them dove to safety in the cornfield.

Just as Strike predicted, as soon as Robin and the driver left the truck, it skidded to its side before flipping over violently, with Superboy still on the back. Now the young bat knew the Kryptonian clone was next to invulnerable, so he wasn't all too concerned about Superboy being seriously harmed, but that didn't stop him from flinching slightly each time the truck rolled. It looked so painful.

Dust flew into the air, creating a dark hazy cloud as the truck settled. A few seconds later, the suspended dust particles were disrupted as the back of the truck exploded. Monkey laughter filled the air as a group of the robotic monkeys flew out the back, carrying the box of android parts with them.

Strike punched the air, seeing as he had nothing else to punch, as he gritted his teeth together. This mission had taken a serious turn for the worse.

"Robin," Strike called out, studying the screen before him, "You alright?" The young bat couldn't see his partner on screen, who had disappeared into the cornfield moments before.

"I've been better," Came Robin's sarcastic remark as he walked out of the cornfield, relatively unscathed. He gently set the nearly unconscious driver he was helping on the ground before turning to face the monkeys as they disappeared into the distance.

A loud groan echoed over the comm as Superboy tossed the heavy metal truck of himself. Strike could see his posture was rigid, and that wasn't a good thing. The clone was angry.

All of a sudden, Superboy burst into the air. He landed a distance away with a loud thud before immediately jumping back into the sky.

"Superboy!" Robin called out. If the clone heard the original Boy Wonder he didn't say anything. Instead, he continued to bound after the slowly disappearing parts.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Strike quickly connected both sets of comms together, allowing the whole Team to converse with one another, "Both sets of parts are gone." He relayed the information.

"That's not the only thing that's gone," Robin muttered, eyeing the clone, "So is my partner!"

Strike could hear Aqualad sigh before the Atlantean's voice filled his ear, "Aqualad to Superboy. Radio your position. We'll help you."

"I don't need help, don't want any!" The clone roared in response.

"Superboy?" Strike questioned. A frown formed on his face as he got no response.

"I think he ditched his comm."

"Super!" Kid Flash joined in the conversation, "Now we can't even track him!"

"He's out of my telepathic range," Miss Martian chimed in, "This Professor Ivo, if he is alive, seems to be two steps ahead of us. M-maybe w-we should contact Red Tornado?"

"No," Strike shook his head, "This is our mission. It would reflect negatively on us if we don't complete it."

"Strike is right. Besides, Tornado always tells us to handle things ourselves." Aqualad agreed, "And the mission can still succeed if we recover the parts before they're reassembled."

"Well, that's a great plan! Except for the part about us no knowing where to look!" Kid Flash added in angrily.

"Leave it to Kid Flash to be the optimistic one," Strike mumbled to himself. He sighed, running a gloved hand down his face before turning his attention back to the holographic map before him. Superboy's dot had long since disappeared, as well as the trucks that were carrying the parts, "How did the monkeys know exactly which trucks to target?"

"Don't know," He heard Robin reply, "We definitely would've heard if the decoy trucks had been attacked," Robin trailed off. For a minute, all the comms were silent. Strike wasn't sure what Robin was hacking into- he had dropped the satellite imagery to look at the map- but he could tell from the light clicking and the familiar whirring of the gauntlet that the original Boy Wonder was onto something, "Aha! The parts have GPS! The monkeys can track the signal, which means I can track them with the one I captured."

"You captured one?" Strike couldn't help but ask. If he were in Robin's place, he'd want nothing to do with the robotic creepy monkeys.

"Well… destroyed, but that's not the point!" Robin replied, "It looks like both sets of parts are converging on… Gotham City." Strike's eyes widened.

"That far south?" Aqualad breathed out, incredulous, "M'gann and I won't get there anytime soon. I'm sending Kid on ahead to meet you. Aqualad out."

"Definitely a disaster, heavy on the 'dis'." Robin sighed.

"I think disaster is an understatement," Strike commented back. Robin merely chuckled in response.


"Kid Flash is almost here," Strike told Robin. He watched as a speeding dot grew closer and closer to the original Boy Wonder's dot.

"And here he is," Robin confirmed before chuckling slightly, "So you changed too?"

"You kidding? Huhh. I feel naked in civvies."

"That's an image we did not need, KF," Strike grumbled, suppressing a shiver.

Kid Flash laughed, "Your own fault for thinking that way. You guys still tracking the parts?"

"They used to be heading through Gotham, but now…" Strike began.

"But now they've veered," Robin finished, "Wait. Dude! They're at our school!"

Strike's eyes widened. True to his words, the parts had converged on Gotham Academy.

"I-I think this means the android has been rebuilt."

"Great! Just when we thought this mission couldn't get any worse," Robin groaned, "Kid Flash and I are going in, Strike. Tell the others. Robin out." There was a soft click as the line went dead.

Strike nodded his head, though he knew Robin couldn't see it. The young bats heart rate had increased. The android being rebuilt was not a good thing.

"Strike to Aqualad."

"Aqualad here."

"The parts have converged on Gotham Academy. Robin and I believe the android has been rebuilt. I-I'm going to join them in the field."

Aqualad sighed on the other end, "Negative, Strike. Thank you for the information, but you are ops manager. Your place is in the Cave, being our eyes and relaying information between us."

Strike huffed. His place was not here at the Cave, just sitting by and doing nothing. The young bat wanted- no needed- to help, "Forgive me, Aqualad, but I can't just stay here in the Cave, doing nothing," As he spoke, Strike began to close down the map and satellite imagery, "Batman said it took eight Leaguers to take this guy down. Three proteges don't stand a chance against it. I need to help out as much as possible."

Aqualad began to utter another protest, but Strike shut down his comm. His cape fanned out behind him as he darted towards the zeta tube.

Besides, Batman had only benched him for the motorcycle mission. Taking down the android, however, involved no motorcycles.

GOTHAM ACADAMY
August 3, 21:34 EDT

Strike grumbled under his breath as he raced up the sidewalk to Gotham Academy. Sometimes the young bat forgot how awful crisscrossing the streets of Gotham was without a fast mode of transportation, like his bike. Sure, grappling was one thing, but that got tiresome after a grappling over a couple of high-rise skyscrapers.

The sound of glass smashing and explosions greeted Strike's ears as he neared the preppy academy. A gaping hole, with smoke billowing out of it, sat above the majestic entrance of Gotham Academy. Just as Strike was about to dart into the building, the familiar sound of the robotic monkeys laughter came from around the corner.

Strike skidded to a halt, ears perked up. He glanced at the building before him before taking off and darting towards the sound of the monkeys. When he finally rounded the corner, the young bat was surprised to say the least.

A girl with long blonde hair, who looked a few years older than Strike, stood high up in the branches of a large oak tree that was situated in a side court yard. She was swinging what looked to be a bow back and forth violently, smacking and destroying monkeys that came near her. That wasn't the most unusual part though. What caught Strike's attention was the fact that the girl was clad in a dark green uniform, her midriff pair and a quiver full of arrows situated on her back. It was obvious this girl was either a hero or attempting to play hero.

Strike peered at the girl curiously before making his way towards the tree. He pulled out a handful of birdarangs from his utility belt before launching them. They lodged in the heads of a few monkeys, causing the robots to spark before spazzing and falling to the ground, decommissioned. The bat then began to expertly hoist himself up the tree, kicking and knocking down any monkey that dared cross his path.

"Never seen you around before," Strike commented lightly. The blonde jumped slightly, whirling around. She pulled out an arrow, expertly aiming her bow at the bat. Strike's hands immediately shot into the air in surrender, "Woah. I'm a friendly."

The blonde's grey eyes eyed the bat wearily before recognition dawned on her, "You're Strike," She voiced, lowering her weapon.

"In the flesh," Strike confirmed with a slight bow.

The girl opened her mouth to comment, but shut it. The next thing Strike knew, she had pulled out a crossbow, which had been holstered to her upper thigh. The girl tugged the trigger a few times, releasing a flurry of arrows. Each hit their mark, taking out a handful of monkeys that had been attempting to sneak up behind Strike.

"Let's chat after we destroy these obnoxious monkeys!"

"Sounds good to me!" Strike ground out, back flipping over a monkey. Just as he was about to land, he snagged the monkeys tail, narrowly avoiding the lasers that shot out from its eyes.

The bat used the captured monkey as a whip of sorts, swinging it around in circles. Strike swung it to the left, taking out a few monkeys. However, with every monkey the duo took out, more seemed to show up.

With a growl, Strike hurled the monkey into a tree. There was a metallic clang as the robot crashed into the trunk of the tree. Its head flew off as the body slipped off the branch and fell to the ground below.

"Get off me!" He heard the girl gasp. Spinning around, Strike watched as the blonde struggled with a monkey, who had its hands clasped over her eyes and tail wrapped around her neck. Acting quickly, Strike whipped out a birdarang. With a flick of his wrist, the birdarang went soaring through the air, where it lodged in the monkeys head. The robot sparked before slumping. The girl immediately ripped the monkey from her head, flinging it away from herself and into an incoming monkey.

She tossed a simple thanks to Strike before jumping back into battle. The bat nodded in response, launching a fist at a monkey. It crumpled under his fist and fell to the ground limply.

Just as he was about to launch another attack, a strangled cry escaped his lips. Breath slipped past Strike's lips as he was tugged back by his cape. He struggled against the pull of the monkeys, but it didn't do much good. Another monkey latched onto his cape, adding more strength to the monkey side before Strike felt his feet leaving the tree branch.

His hands shot up to his neck, fiddling with the clasp that kept his cape on as the monkeys lifted him higher and higher. Finally, just as he had undone the clasp, two arrows soared through the air. Strike watched his cape flutter the ground with the destroyed monkeys before he pulled out his grapple.

It latched onto the nearby building and Strike swung to it safely, landing on a ledge outside a window. He peered into the window, eyes widening as he watched his friends take on the android in the middle of his school's gym. A few seconds later, Artemis joined him on the ledge.

"KF!" Strike gasped, watching as the android latched onto the speedster. He heard the android's robotic voice say something about Superman before Kid Flash let out a cry of pain as the android's grip on him increased steadily, attempting to crush and kill the speedster.

"I got this," The girl barked, quickly pushing the window open. Before Strike could even ask, she had whipped out a sharply pointed arrow and took aim. With a thwang the arrow soared through the air.

Just as it was about to hit the android, it went intangible. The arrow passed through the android harmlessly, which then allowed Kid Flash to safely slip out of its grip and speed away to safety.

"Aaaaand that is my cue to go in," Strike announced, facing the girl. Just as he was about to slip through the open window, he paused, "I never got your name."

"Never gave it out," The girl simply replied.

Strike chuckled, smirking at the girl, "Touché, blondie," He made a move to enter the building, pausing one more time to say, "And thanks, for everything." The bat then turned around, finally slipping through the open window and into the chaotic gym.

Artemis smiled as the boy disappeared. Strike, one of the Boy Wonders, had thanked her. Maybe she did have a place in the hero world.

"Things aren't looking so hot here," Strike commented, landing in a crouch next to Robin.

Robin peered over at his friend, "Where the heck have you been!? Aqualad radioed me saying you were on your way!"

"I got caught up with a swarm of monkeys," Strike shrugged. Though the girl didn't directly say it, he had a feeling she didn't want the rest of the Team to know she had been there. If she really wanted to be known, she would've joined in the fight by now, not just stayed out of view, fighting from the sidelines.

"Huh," Robin scoffed, whipping out a few birdarangs. Strike mimicked the boy, "Are you sure it's not because you had to walk all the way here?" He added with a small smirk.

Strike rolled his eyes, releasing his biradarangs in sync with Robin's, "Aren't you funny," He grumbled. The birdarangs flew through the air, but they didn't even faze the android.

The android faced the two bats, setting its steely red eyes on the two, "Superman," It said. Strike's eyes widened as its red eyes began to glow. Soon after, beams shot out from its eyes.

The two bats didn't have any time to dive to safety before Kid Flash came speeding by, knocking the duo to the side. Strike rolled on the ground with a grunt before propping himself up and rubbing his pounding head.

This was not going well for them at all. The android was too powerful, combating each one of their attacks with a stronger one of its own.

Maybe they should've called Red Tornado in…

"IT MAKES ME ANGRY!" Strike's head snapped to the right at Superboy's enraged outburst. He looked just in time to see the clone launch himself up into the air and across the stadium, where Professor Ivo was sitting calmly.

The small man let out a shriek at the incoming clone before diving to the side. Superboy landed with a loud thud and an enraged roar in the bleachers, causing them to splinter and dust to fly up.

Strike let out a groan. Superboy had finally lost it. The clone really needed to work on his anger management skills, or else team life would be hectic for all of them.

"WANNA SEE ME CHANNEL THAT ANGER?!"

"Great," Kid Flash moaned, "He's gone ballistic again."

"Maybe not…" Robin grinned. Strike eyed him curiously. Robin sent his partner a pointed look and it was then that realization dawned on him.

Superboy had formed some sort of plan.

"Amozo, protect your master! Priority Alpha!" Ive cried out in terror, darting down the bleacher stairs as Superboy launched another attack on him.

"Captain Atom," Amazo said blandly. Its hand began to glow a soft yellow before a beam shot out from its hand. The beam flew through the air before colliding into Superboy's abdomen, sending the clone flying backwards.

"Where ya' going, Ivo?" Strike cackled, his eerie laugh echoing around the gym. He landed behind the evil professor as his monkeys helped him stand up. Ivo squeaked as he whirled around, going wide eyed at the sight of the second Boy Wonder standing behind him and blocking his escape route, "The fun's just begun!"

"Anyone wanna play keep away?" Robin asked, kicking Ivo down. The tiny man skidded across the ground with a thud, coming to a stop a few feet away.

"Oh! Me! Me!" Kid Flash blurted excitedly, racing towards the downed professor.

"Superman," Amazo said. The android stomped the floor hard, causing the floor to shake violently and a shockwave to spread out across the gym floor.

Kid Flash got caught up in the shockwave and was tossed across the room once more. Strike and Robin launched their birdarangs again.

"Martian Manhunter."

Amazo density shifted, body becoming intangible and allowing the birdarangs to pass harmlessly through its body just as Superboy landed in front of it. The clone's hand shot forward in a punch, but because the android was still intangible, Superboy's hand went through its head and stayed there as the android said:

"Superman."

Amazon attempted to become tangible once more, but because Superboy's fist was stuck where its head was supposed to be, it couldn't become fully tangible. This caused Amazo's head to spark and eventually blow up because it malfunctioned.

The body fell to the ground with a metallic clank and missing its head. Strike and Robin shared a look before immediately racing towards the fallen android.

"Help me disassemble it, now!" Robin exclaimed, skidding to the ground next to the android.

"Dude, I'm right next to you. No need to shout!" Strike retorted. He fell to his knees next to his partner and immediately began to tinker with the android's body.

"Dudes, the guy has no head," Kid Flash pointed out bluntly.

"Don't take any chances!" Aqualad called out as he raced into the room, Miss Martian on his heels. Aqualad slowed to a stop next to the two bats as the Martian flew past everyone and directly to Superboy's side.

Strike held back his amused snort as he heard Miss Martian ask, "Superboy, are you alright?" Strike felt her voice was filled with a bit too much concern. After all, the clone was invulnerable.

To an extent at least.

"Fine," Superboy sighed before looking towards Robin, "Feeling the aster." Strike glanced up, an amused smile on his face, which only grew when he noticed the subtle smile that graced the clones face.

"Hey!" Kid Flash suddenly called out, "Where's Ivo?"

Strike's head shot up as realization dawned on him. The Professor was gone. He must've slipped out amongst all the chaos destroying the Amazo caused. The bat silently cursed in his head. Sure, they'd actually destroyed the android, but Ivo probably had its blueprints lying around still, which meant he could easily make another one.

"Dude," Strike glanced up as Kid Flash called out to him, "Where's your cape?"

Strike glanced behind him, finally remembering he had ditched his cape when the robotic monkeys used it against him. With a shrug he said, "The monkeys got it." Technically not a lie.

Kid Flash eyed him curiously but said nothing in response, which the bat was happy for. Just because he was good at lying didn't mean he liked to lie.

As Robin worked to dismantle the android before him, Strike glanced up at the window he had entered from. As much as Strike would've liked to go see if the mystery girl was still out there, he knew he couldn't. That'd just make his Team suspicious.

However, though he wasn't going to mention to the Team the girl he met, he definitely needed to talk to Batman about it.

MOUNT JUSTICE
August 4, 01:06 EDT

"The Amazo android is in pieces again, safely being analyzed at the two separate S.T.A.R. Labs, but Ivo escaped, and since he originated the tech, he's arguably more dangerous than the android," Aqualad reported. Strike crossed his arms as Black Canary spoke up.

"Capturing the Professor will be a League priority."

Martian Manhunter took over, crossing his green arms over his chest, "But we understand your mission encountered other complications."

Strike uncrossed his arms, sharing a look with the rest of his teammates. No one said a thing as Batman stepped towards them.

"Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the League."

"The whole League?" Superboy spoke up hopefully. It didn't take a detective to know the clone was talking about Superman.

Batman glanced over at the clone, noting the hope that swam in the boys blue eyes, "Given time, yes. Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads," A small smile grace Superboy's lips at the slight reassurance from Batman, "Of course, there's no shame in asking for help. That's why the League exists- because there are some problems even we can't handle individually."

"Please," Robin scoffed, "If we needed your help, we'd never get the chance to ask!" The Boy Wonder dug around in his utility belt before pulling out an arrow, one that was very familiar to Strike, "Look familiar?" He quipped.

The second Boy Wonder gulped before taking a subtle step back. He could tell Robin, as well as Kid Flash, was pissed. And, if that arrow was actually a League members, they had a right to be. But it wasn't. It belonged to the mysterious blonde archer that seemingly had a Green Arrow fixation, or that might've been Strike's imagination.

"You were following us!" Robin carried on with his mini rant, handing the arrow over to Batman, "Babysitting! You still don't trust us."

Green Arrow stepped forward, accepting the arrow Batman handed to him, "We didn't follow you," Batman calmly said as Green Arrow reached into his own quiver. The archer pulled out one of his arrows before holding it side-by-side with the arrow he was given. The two were nothing alike.

"And that's not you arrow…" Robin trailed off, "But that means-" A smile spread across his face as realization seemingly dawned on him.

"Speedy!" Kid Flash exclaimed with a grin.

"He has our backs." Aqualad added in with a grin.

Strike stood back, chewing on his lower lip as he watched his friends smile and rejoice in the thought that Speedy stood behind them. Batman noticed his second protégé slink back at the mention of Speedy, and how quiet he had become. The Dark Knight was quick to come to the conclusion that Strike knew something the others didn't, but he wasn't saying anything.

"Souvenir~!" Kid Flash sing-songed as he snagged the arrow from Green Arrow's grip.

GOTHAM CITY
August 4, 01:36 EDT

Batman pulled his cowl off as he entered the Batcave, closely followed by his two protégés. Strike pulled off his own mask, while Robin did the same, before running a hand through his brown hair. The brunette was more than ready to go home and get some sleep. The mission had been a lot more stressful than what was originally thought.

"Jayce," Bruce called out, causing the teen to stop in his tracks, "I need to speak with you."

Jayce nodded, sharing a glance with Dick. The blue eyed teen shrugged and sent his friend an apologetic look before trudging up the stairs to his manor bedroom.

"Y-yeah?" Jayce responded, walking towards Bruce. The Dark Knight sat in his chair in front of a large set of computer screens. His back was turned to the teen as his fingers typed along the keyboard.

When Jayce got no response, he felt his stomach begin to twist and tie itself into knots. He hung his head as beads of sweat formed on his forehead and his mind raced with thoughts of what Bruce wanted with him. After all, he did slightly disobey a direct order. Bruce was probably pissed at him for that.

"I'm correct in the assumption that you met this girl today?" Bruce finally spoke up. Jayce's head snapped up. His green eyes widened at the picture that appeared on screen before him, and the fact that Bruce was in fact not yelling at him.

It was the girl from the school.

She was poised for attack, obviously not knowing this picture had been taken of her. Her blonde mane, pulled back into a tight ponytail, was splayed out behind her. The green bow she carried with her had an arrow nocked and ready to be launched.

"Yeah, I uh… did," The brunette responded, "It was her arrow that saved Wally's life."

Bruce spun around in his chair, "I know it is. Green Arrow and I have been watching her for the past few days. She's been taking down small time thugs and stopping robberies in the Bowery."

Jayce quirked a brow. The Bowery was known as one of Gotham's worst neighborhoods, right next to Crime Alley of course. So how come him and Dick hadn't heard of the girl?

"We've kept the knowledge of her existence under wraps," The Dark Knight carried on, obviously being able to tell what Jayce had been thinking, "I just have one question, Jayce: why didn't you tell the others about her? I know you recognized that arrow as hers and not Speedy's."

Jayce shrugged and chewed his lower lip, "I just… I don't know. It seemed to me like she was unsure of herself. Sure, she helped us out, what with keeping the robotic monkeys off Robin, Kid Flash, and Superboy as they fought the Amazo and saving Kid Flash's life, but had she really wanted to help and be known, she would've jumped into battle with us, not hid out in a tree next to the battle."

Bruce nodded and clasped his hands together, leaning on them for support, "I see. Green Arrow and I are going to ask her to join the Team in a few days."

"Really?" Jayce's green eyes lit up. After having fought side-by-side with the girl, he knew she would be a great addition to the Team. But then he realized something- he didn't even know who she was, "But I do-"

"Her name is Artemis," Bruce cut in, answering Jayce's almost unspoken question, "And that's all you need to know. Green Arrow and I have agreed that she gets to keep her privacy, which means that you are not to delve into her personal history. When she wants to reveal it, she will."

Jayce nodded, but then frowned. Bruce seemed so… sure this girl would join the Team. From Jayce's impression of Artemis, she seemed unsure of herself as a hero, like she didn't believe she could make it, "What makes you so sure she'll join the Team?"

Bruce smirked almost knowingly, "Trust me, she will."


A/N: So there's that. I figured if they could have an ops manager in the future, why can't they have a temporary one now? Gotta start somewhere.

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! This story, as well as 'A Few Cards Short Of A Deck', will be what I'm going to focus on over my break and hopefully along the way my muse comes back for Silver's story.

Side note: Jayce WILL be with Zatanna.


Tune in next time for:

"Fancy seeing you here, Blondie."

"It was her arrow that saved your life."

"I-I can't b-believe my two best friends are Robin and Strike!"

"We're coming for you, little brother."


Remember to leave a review! They mean a lot to me friends! ;3