Author's Note: Thank you so much for your reviews. I appreciate whatever input you give me, and it helps keep me going. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as I had fun writing it.
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Earth's customs often fascinated her, though it often left her feeling baffled. On Mars, there were no inhibitions on flying, telepathic communication, and manipulating friends with a blink of an eye as a practical joke. It took some time to readjust her new life on this lush planet. But she loved every moment of it. Despite the inconsistencies flowing through human thinking and decisions, life seemed more interesting as a result. Like there was something worth living for.
Megan found herself staring at him again.
They were assigned to keep watch over the apartment building that Vanghor rented for the past few months. The paper trail led them to the bayside of Gotham. He had already paid for one year's worth of rent in advance, and the transaction took place way before the meeting with Mr. Charleston. This could only mean that Vanghor had planned ahead, and the possibility that he was working with someone loomed above them.
Miss Martian fought the temptation to focus on Superboy's perfectly chiseled jaw line and zoomed in on Vanghor's empty bedroom instead. He has yet to arrive home since this morning. Robin and Artemis were following his tracks all day without much fruition, while Kid Flash stalked the harbor in search for any unusual dealings. Not one of them found anything substantial. They were hoping it was only a matter of time…
"Do you get the feeling that the majority of our operations involves guard duty?" Superboy asked out of the blue. His gruff voice surprised Megan that she almost dropped her binoculars onto the busy street below.
"Yes, it may seem like that at first. But we eventually find something more than the Justice League had bargained for," Megan said, feeling a blush creeping up her face.
Superboy didn't respond. He just stared at her.
Megan turned away, clueless and unsure of herself.
Breaking the long silence between them, Megan asked, "Are you hungry? I brought some sandwiches and home-baked cookies."
The offer took Superboy slightly off guard. He remembered the last time he accepted those suspiciously black, irregular-shaped goodies, his tongue became numb with bitterness for three hours. No matter how much sugar and milk he consumed, the bitter aftertaste left his taste buds in total shock and temporarily handicapped.
He merely shook his head. "I'm fine." But as soon as he convinced her of that, his stomach claimed otherwise. It growled in protest. He quickly shifted his kneeling position to distract her.
But nothing seemed to get past her.
"Don't worry. If you need to go to the bathroom, I'll be standing guard. Here, have a sandwich. It's turkey with pickles. And I also packed lemonade. I hear humans find it very refreshing," Miss Martian held out the food for Superboy's taking.
Superboy looked at it uneasily and then at her expectant face. Her outstretched arms started shaking in nervous anticipation. When he didn't move or say anything, she turned her gaze away from him, half-retracting her food offer.
"I'll have the sandwich." Superboy lightly smiled, finding her oddly cute. "And water will do for me."
Megan could feel her heart leaping up her throat. "Yes, of course!" She ransacked her bag and fished out a canister of water. Their fingers touched when she handed him his dinner.
"Oh, sorry," Megan lied. She sat back down and stared.
Superboy quickly unwrapped his dinner and took a bite. After a couple of chews, he said, "Not bad." Even though the tangy flavor brought tears to his eyes, his hunger pang welcomed it.
Megan grinned and looked away. Grabbing her binoculars, she hid her bright-red cheeks behind its wide-spectacles.
Suddenly, the lights went on in Vanghor's apartment. He was carrying two black duffel bags. Megan looked on as he walked into the kitchen and unzipped one of them. She sensed Conner leaning forward for a better view. From the bags, he pulled out a laptop and a sniper gun.
"Guys," she started, opening the line of communication in their comlinks. "We have visual on Vanghor. He's assembling a sniper gun. But something's not right."
"Your voice is the best thing that's ever happened to me today," Kid Flash urged her on.
Megan ignored it and continued, "It looks like a cross between a sniper and harpoon. I'm taking some pictures and I'll send them to all of you. Maybe it's a weapon from Atlantis."
"Good job, guys," Robin praised. "Artemis and I are parked on the street from across the apartment. Kid Flash, report to our current location. Nothing seems to be going on in the docks. For now."
"On my way, Rob," Kid Flash said.
As Artemis continued to watch for any unusual activity on the street, she immediately noticed a hunched figure crossing the apartment's entrance. Donned in a trench coat and fedora hat, she didn't see much of his face but judging by his uneven gait, either he was crippled or alien to solid ground. She directed Robin to her observation.
Robin nodded. "Miss Martian and Superboy, keep watch for the possibility of a visitor."
"Got it, Robin," Miss Martian replied.
Following Robin's order, the couple kept their eyes peeled for something out of the ordinary.
A few minutes later, they saw Vanghor dropping the gun and heading to the front door. Miss Martian alerted the team.
"Think our mystery man has arrived." Robin said. "Superboy, tune in to your super-hearing. Miss Martian, open our mental comlink so we could all hear everything."
Miss Martian glanced at Superboy nervously.
Superboy noticed her gaze and then said, "If it's for the mission, I'll get over it."
As soon as Miss Martian established the one-way conference call, Vanghor had just opened the door. His visitor gave his host a tired yet conniving smile. Vanghor moved aside to let his visitor in.
"So, how does it feel to be back on land after being cooped up in the submarine for 13 months?" Vanghor asked coolly.
"Being cooped up in a submarine and extracting the DNA of at least 85% of underwater species for 13 and a half months weren't as bad as I thought it'd be," the visitor said, tossing his hat on the couch. He sported a receding hairline and he looked to be in his late thirties, early forties.
"Sure," Vanghor said with a bored expression.
"I mean, cleaning out fish tanks at Sea World and getting beaten up by Aquaman for the past five years—this experience made me realize that I—we should've done this a long time ago," the visitor said.
Vanghor ignored the older man's prattle and led him to the kitchen.
"I was so naïve," the older man said. He trailed off at the sight of the weaponry. He touched one of them, caressed it. "They're so beautiful."
"Yes, well, with your original blueprints and my creativity and financial resources, we can use these babies to exact our vengeance on Aquaman and his apathetic sidekick." Vanghor smiled evilly. "We will finally destroy Aquaman's world." He hefted the gun in his hand. "The DNA works like a homing device on each and every sea creature. The missiles will trace and annihilate each species with the same genetic code that we lock on, bringing about the ultimate demise of the oceanic wildlife. By destroying the things that Aquaman worked so hard to protect, it will leave him more impotent and vulnerable than he already is."
"Yes, yes, yes! Let's do this!" the older man exclaimed, brimming with excitement. He slipped out of his coat.
As soon as Superboy and Miss Martian saw the older man shedding the coat, they noticed him wearing what looked like a bulletproof vest with numerous compartments. Miss Martian relayed it to the rest of the team.
They watched him pluck vials out of the jacket's tiny compartments. They knew then that it must be the DNA of those sea animals.
At that moment Aqualad's voice entered the psychic channel. "Good work, team. I received Miss Martian's photos and heard the latter exchange between Vanghor and Black Mantra. Unfortunately, Aquaman and I are still cleaning up the mess Vanghor left for us in South China Sea. However, Watchtower is monitoring the harbors in and closest to Gotham."
"Sweet. What's our next move then?" Kid Flash asked.
"Stop Vanghor and Black Mantra from reaching the harbor and destroy those vials," Aqualad said before breaking the connection.
"You got it, boss," Kid Flash said and saluted to no one in particular. "Okay, Rob, what's the plan?"
"Miss Martian will phase into the apartment and take the jacket and vials. Kid Flash, distract the dynamic duo and disassemble their guns. Artemis will have a better shot from the rooftop as backup, while Superboy and I will engage in head-on combat." When no one argued, he said, "Great. Break!"
"Aspiring to be on the football team?" Kid Flash teased.
"Tryouts are coming up," Robin said, pulling out his grapple gun. "Think I'll make the cut?"
"Umm… I hear that one kilogram of spinach a day does the trick," The young speedster suggested.
"Dude, seriously," Robin rolled his eyes.
"I won't advertise the use of drugs, man," Kid Flash ruffled Robin's hair before running off.
"Yeah, sure. Bruce will have my head if I even think of steroids. Not that I am. Thinking. About it," Robin muttered and fired his grapple gun.
Meanwhile, Miss Martian was in mid-air, eyeing Vanghor and his companion preparing their firearms. She waited until Wally would rush in and distract them while she would free the older man—otherwise known as Black Mantra—of his jacket.
Just when she glanced at the clock, a sudden burst of air consumed the whole room.
This was her cue.
She swooped in, phased through Black Mantra's body, and grabbed his jacket in her wake. Ignoring his string of profanities, she grabbed the remaining vials on the desk and floor. Kid Flash, on the other hand, flung one of the guns against the wall, breaking it into two—but not before hitting Black Mantra in the head to knock him unconscious. He then made a move to wring the other gun out of Vanghor's grip when his face met the sharp sting of Vanghor's fist. A few more punches and roundhouse kick left him writhing on the floor.
"If you think you sidekicks have the audacity to foil my plan—" Vanghor's trident was poised over his head, ready to crack Kid Flash's skull wide open when Superboy came crashing through the window with a dead-defying yell.
Vanghor easily dodged Superboy's blows, ending the fight by hitting Superboy's temple with the end of his trident. Superboy in turn flew into the wall, his head spinning out of control from pain.
Sensing a volley of Robin-rangs coming his way, Vanghor quickly deflected them and lunged at Robin, hitting him face-first.
"Aquaman was right. You are a skilled fighter," Robin spat out blood.
"Right he was," Vanghor nearly stabbed Robin with the trident but Robin executed a somersault and kicked him in the face.
Slightly disoriented, he dropped the trident and pulled out another weapon that was strapped to his back. Just like Aqualad's, the single sword was a malleable mix of water and electricity. He was about to direct a torrent of water in Robin's direction.
Before he could will it into action, an arrow was shot out of nowhere and landed next to where he stood. It emitted a minor explosion, which slammed Vanghor into the wall. Kid Flash took the opportunity to take both guns—both the intact and broken one—out of the apartment. Superboy towered over Vanghor—who was still cursing under his breath trying to get up—and administered the final blow.
"Guns are now out of harm's way," Kid Flash's voice echoed on their comlinks.
"I have the DNA," Miss Martian held up the jacket and a handful of vials.
"Looks like it's mission accomplished. Too bad Aqualad missed out on the action," Robin gingerly touched his bruised face, leaned against the wall.
"At least we got plenty of cool souvenirs this time. We got a harpoon-sniper hybrid, vials of sea creatures I've never heard before, and… can we keep the trident? Looks cool," Kid Flash said through the comlink.
"You really never stop, do you? We have to destroy the DNA of those creatures, no duh," Artemis said.
"You never stop yourself," Kid Flash paused before adding, "Took you forever to fire just one of your arrows. We were getting creamed here."
"You were unconscious half the time," Artemis was about to say more when Miss Martian interrupted them.
"Guys, we all did great here. And I think it's best to brief Aquaman and Aqualad on what we've done."
"Ah, always the sensible one," Kid Flash gushed.
"Idiot," Artemis mumbled.
"I heard that," Kid Flash retorted.
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"Okay, what do you think of this batch?" Megan held out a spoonful of batter.
Conner wanted to shake his head but Megan's eyes seemed to sparkle. He couldn't turn her down and watch her eyes grow dim. He conceded once again and took a bite.
"A little too sweet," Conner said.
"Oh, okay." Megan made a few notes on her notepad. "Less sugar… maybe instead of three cups, I'll make it two and a half…"
"I think your cookies are the best. Not too sweet, salty, bitter, burnt…" Wally stared at Megan lovingly. "Can I have a taste?"
Megan gave him a spoonful.
Instead of taking the spoon, Wally opened his mouth in anticipation of Megan feeding him. Artemis snorted from the sidelines.
"You're pathetic," she said.
"And you… you're a bully," Wally sat up straight, offended.
"Whatever. You know it's true," Artemis said. Suddenly, her phone rang. She picked up after the second ring.
After hearing her side of the conversation, it was apparent that Green Arrow was calling for her.
"It's about time," Artemis said, winking at Superboy on her way out.
Megan stared anxiously at Superboy, but he didn't seem to show any mutual signs of infatuation. But then, he never showed her any interest either…
"Hey Megan," Conner started.
"Yeah, Conner?" Megan nearly jumped in surprise.
"You got some batter on your…" he pointed at his cheek to illustrate where it was on her face.
"Oh. Right," Megan blushed, quickly swept her left cheek.
"No, the other side…" Conner stood up, brushed it off her right cheek. "There. All better."
If this was how being brain dead felt, Megan loved it. Her face was no longer the shade of green; it ripened into a bright tomato. Conner smiled slightly. His dimples were to die for.
Kaldur glanced at a stunned Wally, while Dick was snickering in the background. Kaldur then asked, "Wanna shoot some hoops outside?"
"Hoops? Like ring hoops?" Wally slowly stood up.
"Like basketball hoops," Kaldur explained patiently, patted Wally on the shoulder.
"Whoever loses buys me dinner at Chipotle," Dick said, motivating Wally.
That seemed to have done the trick.
"You're on, Boy Wonder," Wally sprinted out of the kitchen, out of their lair. Leaving behind two blossoming lovers to bask in his nonexistent dust.
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To be continued…
Next on O Captain! My Captain! While GA and Artemis are battling foes in Central City, the rest of Young Justice is paid a visit from an old friend—Red Arrow.
If you have any suggestions as to which villain you'd want me to use against GA or Red Arrow, I'm open to it.
Anyways, you like? No? Oooh, tell me!