"Oh yeah, sure, go ahead and trust the guy who wanted us dead ten minutes ago. It's not like my opinion mattered on this team or anything," I muttered as we trekked through the jungle.
"I think you'd make a good leader," Superboy said, walking next to me. I gave him a small smile.
"Actually, I didn't really want to lead. I was just trying to get Robin to back down," I whispered out of earshot of said boy.
"Still, you'd do fine." He replied, smiling a little. Usually I would tease him about that, but the factory came into view as I remembered what the mission was.
I could see people down there, and boxes. Boxes of venom? I thought. There were a lot of them.
"A buy is going down," Robin said, looking into binoculars. I wondered briefly why I didn't seem to need any.
"We need to identify that buyer." Aqualad stated.
"Just was I was thinking," Kid Flash said. So I guess he wants to lead, too.
Robin chuckled. "Yeah, you're the thinker," he mocked.
"Sarcasm? Dude, a real leader would focus on getting answers." Kid Flash replied.
"Yeah, like what's going on in that factory," I pointed down.
I saw Bane go down the hill and in front of what looked to be a boulder. Moving it, he revealed his secret tunnel.
"Answers are this way," he said, waving for us to go inside.
"So now El Luchador is our leader." Kid Flash commented. I whacked him upside the head as I passed.
We walked in silence, until Bane brought us to a door and pushed a button, making it open and lead into the factory. I peered around, looking for any trouble, but it looked like everyone here was outside waiting for that buy to go down.
"All clear," Robin announced, and disappeared into the factory. I really hate it when he does that.
"Has the little fool already been caught?" Bane asked about Robin.
"No, he just does that." Aqualad answered, exasperated.
"Stay put." Kid Flash said, putting his goggles on. "I'll get our intel and be back before the Boy Wonder."
"Wait, Kid," Aqualad tried to stop him, but by then it was too late. Both of them were gone. Great, means I can drop the act now.
"Great chain of command," Bane said sarcastically. I glared daggers at him.
"So, Aqualad, what now?" I asked, turning to him.
He looked surprised. "I had thought you wanted to lead."
I shook my head. "No, not really. I just didn't want Robin to lead."
"And why is that?"
"He's too...young. And inexperienced on the whole "teamwork" thing." I made air quotes. "And I had already thought you were the leader, anyway." I shrugged, then kept walking.
The team ended up following me to see outside to where the buy was going to happen.
"It's a massive shipment," Aqualad said.
"Yeah, but they're only taking new product off the line. They're not touching this venom." Superboy noted.
"Maybe freshness counts?" Miss Martian asked. I turned to Bane to test a thought.
"Did you develop this stuff before or after the Cultists took over?" I asked.
"This stuff was made before," he answered in his gruff voice. I looked back at the people moving around.
"Maybe...maybe they added something to it. Changed it." I thought. It was crazy, I knew, but…
Wait. I heard something. A loud whirring sound.
"Helicopter's coming." Superboy said. So that's what it's called…
"And here comes the buyer," I stated. "Now would be a good time for a plan," I said, looking at Aqualad. He nodded.
"Miss Martian, stay in camouflage mode and see who the buyer is." He commanded. She did as told to. I could almost make out her form hovering above where the buy was going down while we made it to a safer place in the factory.
"Sportsmaster, he is the buyer," Aqualad said. His voice sounded shocked. I didn't know who this "Sportsmaster" guy was, but he sounded like bad news.
He tried his comm. "Aqualad to Red Tornado, do you read?" He asked. He apparently has no reply.
"Ugh, can't reach the League, Robin, or Kid Flash. Comm's jammed." He said. I tried the one in my ear as well, and recoiled as I got nothing but loud static.
"We need a plan, now." Aqualad said.
"I have a suggestion," Bane spoke up, then promptly jumped off the side and caught the attention of the guards.
"Oh, that's perfect. Just what we need right now: a firefight." I stated sarcastically. Suddenly, a growl erupted from outside. A monster jumped through the glass window and onto the walkway we were on, causing it to crumble.
Great, another Desmond, I thought, glaring at the monster. Back then at Cadmus it had taken all of us working together to even knock him out. What would it take for this guy?
Superboy lunged at the monster and kept him busy while Aqualad and I fought off the guys with guns.
I leaped backwards, taking cover and swooping around to the side and clotheslined some guys with my wings. When I ran out of momentum, I knocked one guy's gun out of his hand with my elbow, taking it from the ground and throwing it at another guy's face.
As goons began flying around the place, I figured Miss Martian had also joined the battle. Superboy was currently occupied with the monster-guy, so I rushed up, gaining air with my wings and sending him back a few inches with a double kick. He simply growled and shook me off.
Grabbing my wing, I yelped in surprise as he threw me in Superboy's way, preventing him from rushing the monster-guy.
"Ugh, sorry," I apologized, getting back up and shaking my head.
I heard an explosion, and turned to see what happened as the wind was suddenly knocked out of me from the monster-guy sending a heavy punch to my stomach. I doubled over as Superboy kept him busy.
"Everyone online?" I heard Miss Martian in my head. I was getting used to that now.
"Yeah," Superboy groaned.
"You know it, beautiful," Kid Flash said.
"Eww," I thought. "But yeah, I'm on too."
"Good. We need to regroup." Aqualad commanded since the battle was quickly turning sideways.
"Rendezvous at the tunnel?" I suggested, already heading that way, knocking a few goons back in the process.
"Busy now," Robin said.
"Oh really? Where's the Boy Wonder got to now?" I thought, ducking behind cover. He didn't answer.
"Robin, now!" Aqualad commanded. "Strategic retreat; Kid, clear a path," he seemed to take charge now. That was good.
"Come on, we're almost there!" I ran alongside the others, making a beeline for the tunnel entrance.
Once inside, Superboy forced the door closed. I felt a little better now that we were safer, but we weren't out of danger just yet. The monster-guy broken through the door about ten seconds after we got in there. I ran for my life.
"Superboy, Hawkgirl, the support beams!" Aqualad drew my attention to the weak wooden beams that held the place up. With Superboy on the right and me on the left, we locked a few down, enough to send the rocks above crashing down and separating us from the guys chasing us.
Aqualad had a red glow-stick that he broke to illuminated the cave. We were all still reeling from the adrenaline rush from the fight. I bent over, panting. My lungs hurt and my throat burned.
"How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" Robin reflected. Um, excuse me, your first mission?
"You do have the most experience, but perhaps that is exactly what left you unprepared." Aqualad offered his advice to the hero. "Fighting alongside Batman, you're roles are...defined. You two do not need to talk. But this team is new. A leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play a part in an unknown plan." Aqualad spoke.
"Oh, so now I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands?" Robin retorted, irritated. He looked down at the ground. "Oh, who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can." He smiled up at the teen.
"Please, I can run circles-" Kid Flash started.
"Wally, come on, you know he's the one. We all do." Robin interrupted him.
"That's what I've been saying from the beginning," I said, crossing my arms but smiling.
"Hello Megan, it's so obvious." Miss Martian chimed in.
"Could've told ya," Superboy said.
We all looked at Kid Flash, awaiting his answer. "Okay," he finally said.
Aqualad stepped forward to meet Robin, who I noticed looked way too short standing next to the Atlantean.
"Then I accept the burden, until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders." He placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. Wait, what? "You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon."
With the leader thing now in order, Aqualad turned to the rest of us. "Alright, our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island." I nodded, understanding.
"Funny, I had the same thought." Robin said. Yeah, but Aqualad does it better.
With the plan sorted out, we ran along the tunnel to the exit, where we can double back into the factory.
"Sportsmaster's the supplier/buyer, but it still doesn't track. He doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster formula, or to get Kobra to do his dirty work." Robin pulled up his circle-computer.
"And neither of them have the chops to bond the Blockbuster formula with venom. That took some major nerd-age." Kid Flash added. Wait, so I was right about the new venom being different?
"I believe the expression is 'tip of the iceberg.'" Aqualad said as we ran to the exit, which was currently being blocked by Bane. Great. Just...just perfect.
"Halt, niños," he said. We did. "I'm feeling...explosive." I now noticed a bunch of beeping explosives around the rocks where we were. I didn't like it.
"You betrayed us, why?" Isn't it obvious? I thought at Aqualad. "Kid, you'll need a running start." I was impressed at Aqualad's acting skills now.
"I want my factory back, so I forced you into a situation where you either take down my enemies, or die trying. If the latter, then the Justice League certainly would have come to avenge their little sidekicks. And when the dust cleared, Santa Prisca would me mine once more." I started zoning out at the explanation of his evil plan. Did all bad guys do this or was it just the stupid ones?
Then, he tried hitting the switch he held, but I saw a blur and realized Kid Flash had run ahead and snatched it out.
"With what? This trigger thingy?" He asked, leaning casually against a tree. Bane tried to punch him, but Miss Martian stopped him and levitated him above us.
"Finally," Superboy got under him. "Drop him." He said, then sent Bane flying.
We tied him up to a tree so that he could watch our own plan unfold. It was my idea, really, as payback for trying to play us like chumps.
I got into position in the trees. "Remember, Hawkgirl, hit and run only." Aqualad said in my mind.
"Yeah, yeah, I know the plan," I replied, stretching my wings for the jump out.
I saw my signal in the form of Kid Flash's blur, prompting the guys with guns to shoot at him. I lunged out of the underbrush, gliding on my wings and knocking a few guys down with my speed alone.
I ran ahead, not stopping to fight one person at a time. I kept some people off Kid Flash's back by hitting them with my wings, then continued back into the forest until I could get another shot.
I saw Superboy and Aqualad work together to take down the monster-guy, until a masked-guy started shooting at my brother. I figured that was a good time and target, and dashed out again.
I flew faster with each shot, synchronizing my wingbeats as I was taught. I lunged at the man, but he saw me coming and stepped back, making me hit the side of the helicopter instead.
I groaned from the pain. Before I could move again, I got a kick to the side and was launched back into the concrete. Well, at least I was on my stomach that time.
As much as I wanted to try again, I stuck to the plan, and ran back into the woods. Mia Martian suddenly seemed to appear trapped in a choke-hold as Superboy kept taking shot after shot from the masked man's gun.
I decided to go ahead and try again, giving my friends enough time to either escape or counterattack. I rushed again, this time keeping my wings as quiet as they could be to try to have some element of surprise.
It didn't work. As I sent my fist aimed at the guy's face, he caught it and used my momentum to throw me out of the fight again. I was beginning to feel useless here.
He walked onto the helicopter, as it began to take off. Now I really wish I could fly, I thought as it looked like it was escaping. I rushed over to Superboy and Miss Martian to see if they were okay, as she held up the trigger to the explosive we got off Bane and put on the helicopter.
I flinched at the loud explosive, but now our job was nearly done. I flinched again when the fiery helicopter crashed back down on the factory.
"Well, at least now there'll be no more venom. Or any new venom." I said, hopeful.
I now turned to who I remembered was Kobra, the leader of the cult, who was currently pinning Robin down.
"I am plagued by mosquitoes." He said. Get off of my friend if you know what's good for you, I thought, readying myself for a fight.
"Good, 'cause this mosquito's mighty concerted over your pain." Robin replied with his usual snark.
He leaped backward in front of us. I smiled as he knew we knew he was outmatched. But then he began to fade into the jungle.
"Another time, then." He stated, then vanished.
I turned to survey the damage we had done to the factory. Everything seemed to be on fire. "We'll, at least we got them all out of here," I said, trying to lighten the mood.
"And we destroyed their venom supply, too." Kid Flash added.
"We picked the right guy to lead," Robin admitted. "Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman." He walked away, laughing.
Holy carp, Batman! I thought, putting my forehead in my palm. Oh no, he's so going to kill us…
"A simple recon mission, observe and report," Batman berated once we got back to the Cave and changed our of our dirty suits. "You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes." He really sounded angry. I couldn't blame him.
"Until then, good job." We all looked at him, surprised at his words.
"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success; and how you choose who leads determines character."
He let us retire back to our rooms after that. I found a sticky note on my door and peeled it off the read.
Dear Hawkgirl,
We apologize for our last training session. If you are feeling up to try again, meet us at the Hall entrance tomorrow at ten o'clock in the morning.
Signed,
Hawkman and Hawkwoman
A smile crossed my lips despite myself. I did want to at least try to make amends with the Hawks now that I wasn't so angry with them. I decided I would meet them tomorrow to try again.
I got another note, this one stamped with a bat symbol, a few days later. I dreaded actually opening it since I knew what it was about already. I didn't really feel like reading what Batman thought of my first mission, but I opened it anyway.
Hawkgirl
Could use some combat practice.
Follows orders well, though should work on defensive maneuvers.
Batman
A/N: I liked writing this chapter as well. It's always fun to tell a known storyline from a new perspective and see what a new person adds on to a story. The next chapter I think will be more of a filler chapter with some character development.
Reviews, followers, and favorites are all appreciated. :)
