Replacement
Chapter One
)O(
Raven stood in their kitchen, arms crossed as she watched the dynamics (or lack thereof) play out in front of her. The air was thick with unspoken tension, suspicion, and loyalty to everyone's own team. Raven likened it to a middle school dance, one clique on one side of the room, the other clique on the other side of the room, and nary the two shall meet. It was bordering on pathetic. She sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to ward off a headache. They were young adults, they should be able to get along with other young adults. Heaven forbid her teammates would act mature for once.
"I suppose it's too much to ask for all of you to get along immediately." Batman's voice was like ice in the heated room and Raven turned to stare at him. He tried to smile but it looked more like he was baring his teeth, and it frightened her a little. "I know you all must be… upset at this new arrangement, but I assure you that it will only be temporary."
"We have to work with them?" Robin pointed in the Titan's general direction and scowled. "We've got our own problems to deal with, we can't pick up after someone else's mess."
Raven cringed at his accusation, that was a low blow. Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and she had all worked hard to keep Deathstroke from becoming a global problem. They had been diligent in making sure that the Justice League didn't have to get involved, and that there was no need to bother other superheroes. For six months they had done a fairly good job, but knowing that Deathstroke was teaming up with Lex Luthor made things complicated and even more dangerous.
"Now, hold on a second." Cyborg held up his hand and stared at the five kids across from him. "We worked hard to keep Deathstroke from becoming a serious problem so you didn't have to deal with him. We were doing you a favor. It's not our fault that he got smart and sold himself to Lex Luthor."
"You could have stopped him before. You should have stopped him before." Superboy crossed his arms over his chest and stared. Raven had a hard time looking at him, for several reasons. The first was that he had the most intense, icy blue eyes. It was like staring into an ancient glacier, waiting to for it to swallow you whole. The second was that he was the supreme specimen of primal masculinity, and something in his broad shoulders and deep voice rattled her bones.
"We did!" Beast Boy was whining, which was a sure sign that he was getting upset. Not that Raven blamed him, their team was getting accused of things they had no control over. "Do you know how hard it is to stop him? Like, really hard. He's brutal."
"He is most upsetting!" Starfire's eyes were glowing, which made Raven uneasy. She was the one who handled contention the worst. She felt every superhero must be on each other's side, and if they weren't, she became confused and angry… which usually led to something being destroyed. "We have beaten him the best we could, and yet he continues to thwart our every move. He is most evil and will not stop until he obtains what he wants."
"Everyone, calm down." Raven pinched the bridge of her nose and moved to stand between the two teams. "This pointless fighting is going to do all us no good." She turned and looked at the Young Justice, frowning. "Please, think above yourselves right now. We have a brutal, ruthless, maniacal mercenary on the loose, which has teamed up with one of the most dangerous business men in the world. And not just one of the most dangerous business men in the world, the one who now has full economic control of both North and South Rhelasia."
Pausing, Raven watched with mild satisfaction as their faces fell and every team member in the room turned sheepish. They were all beginning to understand the severity of what was happening. "We have to figure out what is going on, and why Deathstroke has chosen to team up with Lex Luthor." She turned to look at her own team and glared. "And you need to stop being so accusing and defensive. They are working with us the best they can, and we should be grateful that they're at least helping."
Raven felt their emotions shift from angry to remorseful, and she had to fight a smirk. Leave it to logic to keep everyone in line. She looked at Cyborg, who had taken a serious interest in one of his displays on his left arm. "We need a plan of action. All we know right now is that Deathstroke has teamed up with Lex Luthor, we don't know why, and we need to." She moved to the television screen and flitted through the files until a map of Taipei pulled up. "There are five separate offices within Taipei that house important sections of LexCorp. We need to get into each of those offices and discover exactly what Lex Luthor plans on doing with Deathstroke."
"Or vice versa." Robin stood up and walked to the screen, rubbing his chin in thought. "Why can't we just hack into the main database and pull the files wirelessly? I bet it wouldn't take more than a day to do so, and it doesn't involve an eighteen hour flight to Rhelasia."
"We've discussed that option." Cyborg stood next Robin and looked down at him. "Unfortunately all of the secure databases for LexCorp are not linked to anything. They function as standalone servers on an ultra secure network, which keeps their information impossibly safe. It also makes it damn near impossible to hack into the system."
"So, what are we going to do?" M'Gann started to pace and mumble rapidly in her native language. Raven watched her curiously, there was something… endearing about her. Like a sister, or long time best friend. "If we can't hack the system remotely, then we'll have to infiltrate each of the offices to reach the databases… right?"
"Pft. That ought to go over well." Kid Flash leaned back into the sofa and glared at Raven with freakishly green eyes. She returned the stare, still frowning. Kid Flash made her feel more uncomfortable than Superboy. He was suspicious, easily upset, and impulsive, and something in his face warned Raven that he was a force to be reckoned with. "Ten teenagers just parading through some of the most highly guarded offices in the world? Housing some of the most top secret information in the world? You don't think that Lex Luthor is going to know we're up to something?"
"Of course he's going to notice, regardless if there're ten of us or none of us. He's smart, and if you or I know anything about him, then he must already suspect that we're on this case." Raven crossed her arms over her chest and turned towards him. "So, we're going to have to figure out a way to keep him off our trail long enough to download the information we need."
Kid Flash sneered at her. "And how do you expect we do that?"
"We split up." Artemis stood and pushed Robin out of the way. She stared at the screen for a moment before turning back to her friends. Raven was finding she liked Artemis more and more. There was something no-nonsense and down to earth about her, and that was something Raven desperately needed in her own team. Artemis pointed out the offices marked on the map. "Look, there are five offices and ten of us, if you count Kaldur. We split into teams of two and infiltrate one of the offices. We can be discrete and still have back-up if needed."
"Then that's what we do." Robin turned around and looked at all the team members. "We split into five teams. Each team should have one ground support and one aerial support. We have two members who can fly, how many do you have?"
"Your math is off." Superboy rolled his eyes and stood up. "I don't fly, Robin. In case you forgot."
Robin waved off his concern. "You can leap buildings in a single bound, that's good enough."
Superboy frowned and looked away. "Whatever you say."
Raven watched as M'Gann moved closer to him, touching his arm gingerly. His demeanor almost immediately changed, and something in him softened. Interesting. Ignoring the subtly intimate moment between the two teens, she turned back to the rest of the group. "We have three members with flight capabilities. Myself, Starfire, and Beast Boy. That will give us five aerial support members and five ground support members, if we count Aqualad."
"Good. Beast Boy can go with Kaldur, and they'll take the office closest to the river." Robin pointed to a small dot near the industrial district.
"That one is the least guarded…" Cyborg pulled up the building specifications and displayed them on the screen. "If we time this right, we can have Beast Boy and Kaldur set off a diversion in the office, and that should keep Lex Luthor occupied and distracted long enough so that the other four teams can infiltrate the other offices and get out without being noticed. Do you think you can do that?"
Beast Boy saluted. "You can count on me!"
Raven rolled her eyes. "That's what scares me."
"You're just jealous because I have a cool and important job." Beast Boy stuck out his tongue at her, and Raven turned away.
"Super jealous." She moved to stand next to Cyborg and looked at the screen, chewing on her lower lip. "So, who should be on the other teams?"
"M'Gann can team up with Cyborg, and they'll take the office in the northern district. Starfire will team up with me, and we'll take the office closest to the airfield. Superboy can team up with Artemis, and they'll take the one downtown." Robin tapped one of the red dots outside the main city. "That should do it for the offices within city of Taipei… there's still that weird office out in this suburb area though."
Kid Flash stood up and cursed loudly, making everyone turn and stare at him. Robin dropped his hand and turned to face his teammate. "You forgot me. Where will I be going?"
"Clearly you and I will be teaming up, and we'll be taking that last office." Raven gave him a cold, emotionless stare. She didn't care how big of a tantrum he threw, she wouldn't let him feel like he'd won. Nor would she let him belittle her. "Is there a problem with that?"
"Um, yeah. Why does Robin get to be paired with the hot redhead?"
Raven jerked backwards in surprise. Of all the things that could have come out of his mouth, that was one she was not expecting. His team members seemed unfazed by the comment, although Artemis called him something rude. Add childish to the list of things Kid Flash was. "I'm sorry I'm not attractive enough for you. Might I remind you that we are fighting a deadly mercenary and my appearance has nothing to do with the severity of the situation? Me being attractive isn't going to make this mission any safer or easier."
"You're right, it won't. However if I'm going to be stuck in an eighteen hour flight with someone, it should at least be an attractive woman."
"Ugh." Raven rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Of all the people she could have been paired with, it had to be him? She would have much rather been paired with Artemis or Robin, at least they had some kind of sense. Working with Kid Flash would be like working with a ten year-old boy. "Can you even hear yourself think over the sound of that ridiculous ego?"
Kid Flash shrugged. "Sometimes."
"I do not believe that I am that hot…" Starfire had taken to touching her skin in curiosity, pressing her fingers to exposed spots on her body. "The last time I had my temperature taken, I was ninety eight point six degrees Fahrenheit, the same as most humans."
Everyone in the room blanched and stared at her.
"Star…" Raven shook her head and reached out to touch her friend. "That's not what he means."
"Is she always this…" Artemis cocked her head to the side and searched for the right word. "Confused?"
Raven turned to her and nodded. "Particularly with colloquialisms and earth customs."
"Hot has nothing to do with temperature?" Starfire looked sheepish. "I am sorry. I am trying very hard to understand all that I can about earth, but I appear to still be unable to grasp many concepts, such as the temperature of one's person."
Raven closed her eyes and shook her head. "Star… I love you to death… but please stop talking." She turned back to the group motioned to the screen. "We need to come up with a legitimate game-plan before we can even attempt this mission, and we need to do it quickly. We have intelligence that two of these servers will be moved to more secure locations within three days. We only have until then to collect the information we need."
Robin slammed a fist into his open palm. "Then let's plan until we pass out."
"That sounds like fun." Beast Boy mock snored, earning a glare from the Boy Wonder.
Raven chuckled. "He has a point, you know."
Robin rolled his eyes and sat down. "Shut up and get to work."
)O(
Kid Flash woke up to quiet shuffling in the kitchen behind him. He was on the sofa, he never fell asleep on the sofa. Great. His body felt stiff and sore from falling asleep in whatever weird position he did. The two teams had been up until all hours of the night, trying to plan for the recon mission tomorrow. Not that planning would do that much good against Lex Luthor, but it was better than going in blind.
Yawning he turned around to see that short, purple-haired girl nuking water in the microwave. Okay, Wally would admit that what he said about her was rude. Super rude. And it was really low that he said it to her face in a room crowded with both of their teammates. But, he was still angry about having to work with those kids. They didn't know the first thing about how to prepare for a proper recon mission, that kid Beast Boy kept talking about flies on walls… did he even know what that meant?
And even though Batman swore up and down that the Young Justice was irreplaceable, Wally couldn't help but feel… suspicious. After all, look how easily Speedy had been replaced with Artemis, and that turned out just great.
"You're thinking an awful lot over there, Kid Flash."
Wally cringed under the sound of her low, even voice. How did she know he was up? "It's Wally…" He sat up and twisted his body to look into the darkness. He saw the dark movement of her shadow against the cabinets, and he watched as other shadows seemed to stretch toward her, as if reaching for her. Weird. What exactly was she? "How did you know I was awake?"
"Empath." She tapped the side of her head and forced a small smile, which sat somewhere between a cringe and a sneer. "Don't worry, Wally, I'm just grabbing some water, and then this ugly duckling will remove herself from your presence. Then you can go back to dreaming about hot redheads from Tameran."
Wally cringed and ducked his head. He deserved that. "I… I didn't mean to say that I couldn't work with you. I just… it's just Robin always gets whatever he wants." Wow, that sounded douchey and childish to his own ears, he could only imagine what she thought of him now. He sighed stood up, walking into the kitchen where she stood. "I meant to say… I'm sorry. It was rude of me to say those things to you, and I didn't mean them."
She stood there, her back to the counter, and stared at him until his skin felt hot and itchy. What was with this girl? It was like creepiness was her super power. Finally she cocked her head to the side and frowned. "Were they true?"
Wally jerked backward in surprise. "What?"
"The things you said… do you think they were true?" The microwave beeped that her water was done, and she turned around to remove the mug. "After all, Starfire is very pretty… I imagine I pale in comparison."
Wally was confused. He was no stranger to the mind games girls played: do I look fat in this? I'm so ugly! No one really likes me. But, this question didn't feel like one of those kinds of games, and she didn't feel like she was fishing for compliments. She seemed genuinely curious about what he thought about her. "I don't think so."
"You don't think so?" Raven chuckled and dropped a teabag into the steaming water. It fizzled and popped for a moment before sinking to the bottom. "Is that an opinion or are you just trying to skirt around the question?" She glanced over her shoulder at him and smirked. "I have been called many things, Wally… your insult was just another."
Now Wally really felt bad. He shouldn't have teased her. He was supposed to be good and uphold the law and justice, and whatever heroic bullshit was in his job description, but he couldn't even control his own temper? And he'd hurt someone's feelings in the process. It didn't matter how tough she thought her skin was, the point was that he couldn't keep himself in check. Ugh. He was such an idiot. "I didn't mean to say you were unattractive… That just kind of came out wrong… I actually think you're kind of pretty." Was it his imagination or was she blushing? "I'm just… upset."
"That we're here?" Raven finally turned around and looked at him. Her eyes brushed across his face as if searching for something. Wally took a step back, trying to avoid her stare, but the darkness didn't seem to hide him. She blinked a few times before leaning back on her heels. "You think we're here to replace your team, don't you?"
Wally suddenly felt very sheepish. "No. Yes… I…" He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "To be honest, I'm just nervous around other superheroes our own age." There was a long pause and her curious stare urged him to continue. "We tried to have Speedy join our team and he refused, and not two months later he was easily replaced by Artemis. As if he never existed. It… it made me feel like we were all disposable. That we could be replaced as soon as we needed to be." He sighed and shook his head. "I guess it's kind of a stupid thing to be upset about."
"Yes… and no." Raven dropped a spoon into the mug and swirled the contents around. "Your fears have some merit, but you're not disposable. More like… promotable. If we were to take your mantle here, do you think that the Justice League would simply forget about you? Odds are that they'd find a better position for you within their rankings." She gave him another awkward smile, this time it looked a little sad and broken. "You have people looking out for you, Wally. People who care about what happens to you. If you're in need, they aren't going to ignore you."
Wally hadn't really thought about it like that, and now he felt a bit stupid for not realizing it before. Even though he might have to leave the team or get moved around, there were people looking out for him. People trying to help him make the best decisions. And that was a lot more than most people had.
He glanced at Raven, whose face was blank, and felt another surge of guilt. He really was a douche. Here he had forgotten about all the people who loved and looked out for him and he had completely forgotten that Raven and her team had no one. Like Robin said, they weren't associated with the league, and so they didn't get their guidance and protection. They had to figure everything out on their own, including how to properly battle Deathstroke.
"I'm sorry… for everything."
Raven snorted into her tea and looked up at him. "That is a lot to be sorry about, and not all of it is your fault, Wally." She smirked up at him. "Why don't you choose one thing to be sorry about, and we'll take it from there?"
He felt his lips twitch in an effort to smile. There was something kind of funny about her dry sense of humor. Wally had always been a slap-stick kind of guy, but the subtle nuances in her tone, the turned eyebrow, the sarcastic (and almost true) comments made him fight laughter. "I'm sorry for the things I said before. I didn't mean them, and I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"Apology accepted." She moved toward the edge of the kitchen and stopped abruptly, staring into the darkness. There was a long pause before a quiet curse spilled from her lips. Wally cocked his head to the side and watched her with mild curiosity. She glanced back at him. "Can you show me back to my room? I can't remember how to get back there."
Wally snickered. "Really? Of all the things that could happen, you get lost?"
An eyebrow peaked and she stared at him. "I would be careful of who you make fun of, Wally. And furthermore, it's not my fault you have a labyrinth for a lair."
"Lair? You're calling Mount Justice a lair?"
Raven stopped walking and turned to give him a deadpanned stare. "You're half submerged underground, surrounded by rock, and cut off from the normal world. That's not just a lair, that's one step away from mad scientist lair."
"Mad scientist?" Wally laughed and shook his head. "I'd say more like disgruntled troll."
"Well… if the shoe fits…" Raven cocked her head to the side and smirked.
Wally's face fell and he rolled his eyes. She was really good at teasing people, and that was supposed to be his job. He wore that badge with honor and pride, but Raven just seemed to tease naturally, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. And in spite of her efforts to calm his concerns with their actual mission here, Wally still felt a bit like he was left out, or that he was being replaced.
Raven seemed to sense his trepidation, and reached out to pat his shoulder. The gesture felt weird and awkward coming from her, as if she was doing it because that's what she should have done. "Wally, I'm flattered you think us capable enough to have your job, but I'll be perfectly honest… I have my own problems to deal with. I don't need your problems here, nor do I want them. The truth is exactly what we told you before. We simply do not have the strength alone to fight Deathstroke and Lex Luthor. You and your team is incredibly lucky in what you have, do not think that we are here to upset that."
Wally stared at her shape in the darkness, watching the shadows on the wall stretch to touch her. She was peculiar, that was for sure, and her words felt honest, but… still… there was something off about her. Something inside her triggered Wally's flight-or-fight response and set him on edge. Was she lying about taking their place? Maybe she really did want their position, and she was just pretending she didn't. Maybe she was trying to prove she was better than him.
Maybe they all were.
Raven sighed and looked up at him blankly. "You're not going to trust me no matter what I tell you… isn't that the truth?" She stopped outside the door to the room her and Starfire were sharing, and the quiet of the hallway was drowned out by the sound of Starfire's powerful snoring. "I could tell you we have no powers at all and we're a traveling circus with a vendetta against cheese, with no interest in the Young Justice and you still wouldn't believe me." She shook her head. "I'm sorry you don't feel like you can trust me."
Wally cringed and he took a step back from her. "Me too."
"Mm…" There was a sudden change in her expression, and something about the quick movement of her lips and eyes told Wally that she'd been hurt. She looked up at him with a nearly blank stare and moved toward the door. "Well, I appreciate you showing me back to my room. I suppose I'll see you in the morning. Good night."
Wally couldn't find his voice in enough time to tell her the same, or maybe his heart just wasn't in it.
)O(
So… there it is. Take it with a grain of salt and let me know how you feel. I hope to have the next chapter out soon, but I can't make too many promises. Thanks again!
