Author's Note: Hi guys! Here's the next chapter, obviously haha. It's slightly longer than all the others so I hope that makes you guys happy Anyways, on with the story! Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.
Chapter Nine: Mission Possible
The entire team sat, with their attention completely focused on Batman. He pulled down a white projection screen and clicked on the overhead projector. The hundred watt smile of Lex Luthor, CEO of LexCorp flashed onto the screen. "As most of you should know by now, the League has had a recurring problem with this man right here."
Batman rapped on the screen as if to draw their attention there completely. Remy sighed as she caught sight of Wally nodding off on the far side of the room. Typical.
"Publicly, the League cannot take action against Luthor," Batman explained, "because as far as the public knows, he hasn't done anything wrong. That's why I'm giving you this assignment."
"Get to the point," Robin huffed silently from beside Remy. Batman fixed him with a glare, obviously having heard him and Robin's face colored slightly.
"There was a recent break in at Star Labs in Gotham City," Batman continued. "A dangerous toxin was stolen from sub level seven, more commonly known as the prototype labs. I investigated the break in myself and found evidence that Luthor was behind the break in."
"What evidence?" Remy piped up, feeling her teammates eyes turn towards her.
"Doesn't matter," Batman said flatly.
Well alrighty then, Remy thought irritably.
"I caught sight of the extraction vehicle for the thieves in the security footage and managed to I.D. it," Batman said.
"Then it was a simple matter of hacking the car's LexCorp issue GPS device and tracing it back to the lab where they took the toxin!" Robin called out, his voice cracking slightly.
"Incorrect," Batman said, wiping the smile off of Robin's face. Artemis snickered from the seat behind Remy. "The idiots forgot to black out their plates and all I did was plug in the plate number into the terminal at the Bat Cave."
"Oh," Robin said quietly. "I guess you could do that too.'
Remy almost laughed alongside Artemis this time. The look on Robin's face was so crestfallen… so… pathetic. The little devil on Remy's shoulder encouraged her to laugh it up, but she managed to stifle the urge with a discreet cough.
"The owner of the vehicle is head scientist at a LexCorp facility in Nevada," Batman explained, clicking the remote. The building schematics for the LexCorp facility now showed on the screen. "The facility claims to be working on gene modification, however we have reason to believe that this is merely a front. The likelihood that they've taken the toxin to the Nevada facility is high."
"What reason?" Remy scoffed.
"Excuse me?" Batman asked.
Remy cleared her throat, feeling the eyes of her teammates upon her once more. "How do you know it's just a front?"
"Because it's LexCorp," Batman said. "When you deal with a Luthor, nothing is one hundred percent what it seems."
"Well—" Remy was cut off.
"If by chance the toxin is not there, then you will extract any and all information about its possible whereabouts. The objective, of course, is to find the toxin and bring it back to base." Batman switched the screen off and removed a thumb drive from the projector, tossing it to Miss Martian.
"I would advise you to take a look at the schematics and find your entry and extraction points," Batman said meaningfully. "Aside from that, I'm leaving you to decide how to accomplish the mission objective.
"This mission will require a much more delicate touch," Batman hinted, rolling up the projector screen. "Do any of you have any questions or need clarification on the mission objective?"
Wally raised his hand, finally awake, a nonplussed look on his face. "Uh yeah. What are we doing again?"
The general reaction in the room was to groan, save for Batman who merely glared at him before saying, "They can explain it to you on the way there. Contact me when you've found the toxin."
On that note, Batman exited the room, shooting Remy a meaningful look on the way out. She rolled her eyes, waiting for the team to congregate together more closely in the meeting, before slipping out after him.
She matched his stride as they walked down the hall to the entrance of Mount Justice. "You wanted to see me?"
"How are you adjusting with the team?" Batman asked, ignoring her insinuation.
"Fine," Remy muttered. He raised his eyebrows and she elaborated. "Fine as in good, normal, whatever the hell you want to call it."
"Good," he mused. "Are you able to keep your affairs in order properly?"
He was talking about her commitment to the League of Shadows, obviously. Remy wasn't an idiot. "Ares wants to meet with me on Friday at a restaurant in the city. He didn't say why though."
"Good, we can have a League member on sight to survey the situation. That way we won't have to risk bugging you. You can send me the coordinates when I debrief you."
Remy nodded. "Smart. But about this mission—"
"What about it?" He asked shortly, stopping in his tracks.
"There's a hell of a lot of information you're leaving out," Remy said bluntly. "I'm not as dense as some people would like to believe. There's no way that LexCorp operatives—whom are probably highly trained—are stupid enough to forget to black out their plates, let alone let themselves get caught in surveillance cameras. It's a rookie mistake."
Batman considered her for a moment. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you're the boss," Remy scoffed, shifting her weight onto one hip. "Everything you just told us in there screams trap."
"Well if you already know what to expect then it's not a trap," Batman said evenly. "I expect you'll be prepared if that's the case."
"You mean—" Remy started.
"Remind me of why I wanted you on this team, Roulette," Batman said darkly before teleporting out of Mount Justice.
Remy sighed, starting back for the briefing room. For lack of a better word, Remy would have described the Dark Knight as batshit crazy.
"There are eight levels to this LexCorp facility," Aqualad explained, from his seat at the front of Miss Martians' Bioship.
Remy felt a bit nervous about flying in, well, a spaceship, but everyone else on the team seemed to be comfortable letting M'gann drive. With her mind of course, as Conner had pointed out to her, as if it were that obvious.
Remy sincerely hoped that M'gann wasn't as spastic while trying to fly as she was when she was running around Mount Justice. A severe case of ADD doesn't really help much at all when you're twenty thousand feet in the air.
Not to mention that she was slightly uncomfortable in her new role as hero.
She now had to put on that costume that she'd kept stashed underneath her bed. She had always wanted to play hero, wear the costume and all that jazz, which is why she had invested in one months ago. But back then it had been an idle fantasy, now that it was a reality, it just made her feel like a kid dressing up for Halloween. It consisted of a tight fitting, strapless black top with red seams and black tights and flat leather boots—no heel for stealth purposes, obviously. She had her hands wrapped with her boxing wraps so that she wouldn't break a hand trying to punch someone. Other than that, she just had just thrown a black frontless wrap, allowing her the freedom of movement of her upper body, while still covering her pale white skin which tended to show up even in the dark.
Black Canary had insisted on a mask, however since Remy refused to change her everyday appearance in some fashion. She was still getting used to having to see through those little eye slits.
Not to mention the fact that Remy hadn't been able to touch her guns since joining the team. As a matter of a fact, she couldn't even find them. Her weapons cases had made the trip with her to Star City, but not a day later all the cases had disappeared from the compartment she had hidden underneath her living room couch.
She'd even had to leave her staff with the switchblade—which Remy thought really completed her casino themed outfit quite well—at home.
"Therefore we shall split up into teams of three and divide the facility's levels between the teams," Aqualad said, breaking Remy's train of thought.
She coughed loudly. "There's seven of us now, Kaldur," she reminded him.
"Oh," the Atlantian colored slightly. "Right well then, a team of three and four?"
Remy shook her head. "Split the four. We need groups that can move around the facility quickly and silently. Three is already pushing it."
"Who put you in charge?" Wally huffed irritably. Remy swiveled her chair around to glare at the speedster.
"Oh grow up," Remy snapped, turning her chair back to face Kaldur's.
Kaldur fixed Wally with a meaningful but, nevertheless returned to his discussion. "Now if we're going to split up, we need to decide upon the rendezvous point…"
Of all the people on our team, Remy huffed, glancing over at Wally, I had to get stuck with him.
You know I can hear you right? Wally asked flatly.
Remy groaned. Telepathic communication was the worst inconvenience that she could possibly think of. Remy didn't need to talk to get the job done and neither should the rest of the team.
She, Wally, and Kaldur were currently crouched behind the bushes in a blind spot for the LexCorp's security cameras. Miss Martian and Superboy had entered into the facility first off, followed swiftly by Robin and Artemis.
Remy had suggested that they space the entry points and time in between them accordingly, so as not to cause an unusual amount of commotion. It had been a good ten minutes since Robin and Artemis had gone into the facility through the back door. Miss Martian and Superboy were probably crawling through the ventilation ducts as they sat there.
You're attitude doesn't help the team Roulette, Kaldur thought calmly.
Ha! Wally thought triumphantly, prompting Remy to scoff at him. Nanana boo boo!
Neither does your immaturity, Kaldur added. Remy shot a smug smile at him over her shoulder.
If Wally gets out of hand, I usually just smack him, Artemis offered with an internal chuckle.
Hey! Wally's thought was indignant.
Could you guys shut up? Robin complained. I'm trying to hack this door.
And you're giving me a headache, Conner added.
Remy rolled her eyes, scanning the facility's outer security. Aside from a few guards making perimeter sweeps and the state of the art security system, Remy had to admit the security was pretty lax.
You call this lax? Wally thought disbelieving. Were you in the navy seals or something before this?
Remy fixed him with a glare. You know, just because we're on a mission and you're able to listen to my thoughts, doesn't mean you should.
Wally rolled his eyes as Kaldur rubbed his temples. Remy could tell that even though he was a relatively calm individual, he was obviously getting annoyed very quickly.
Got it! Robin cheered. Artemis and I are in. We got the doors open for you guys, Kaldur.
Thanks Robin, Kaldur nodded to no one in particular, probably forgetting that we couldn't see each other.
Remy turned away from the boys and scanned the scene in front of her quickly, seeing a short break in the perimeter guards' sweep of the area. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see a pair of trucks coming in.
Convenient, Remy thought as Wally started to stand up. Remy promptly yanked him back down into the bushes.
You don't think much do you? She sneered, earning herself a glare from Wally. She yanked at his collar and pointed back down the road where the convoy of trucks were approaching the facility.
Good thinking, Aqualad complimented her.
Wait for the trucks to stop, Remy instructed. She pointed towards the chain link fence and the facility's watch tower. When they stop, just go.
You're so bossy, Wally complained.
Remy sighed, not even bothering to answer this comment. She was beyond the point of caring what some fleet-footed, immature ginger thought of her. Instead, she turned her attention back to the trucks that were now gradually slowing down.
Without a second thought, Remy leaped over the bushes and broke out into a sprint towards the back of the last truck. With an almost inhuman show of agility and grace, she slid underneath the truck and latched onto the hardware underneath, effectively hiding herself from view.
She lowered her head in time to see Kaldur latch onto the truck in front of her as Wally suddenly appeared beside her. Her heart stopped for a moment at his sudden appearance.
Fastest kid alive remember? He grinned.
Remy thought about this for a second. Then shouldn't you have beat me here?
I wasn't trying to run that fast, he protested, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. Besides, ladies first.
Remy felt the truck begin to lurch forward. Relax. I was kidding.
Oh, well that's… different, he thought, eyeing her. Remy read his thoughts as being surprised, but as soon as the thought was there it was gone, disappearing like a kite flown off it's string and into the sky.
Did I really just think that? Remy gagged. Poeticism was not her style
Yes, Wally laughed, yes you did.
Hey would you two cut it out? Artemis interjected. I am tryingto copy these files.
You guys found something? The cheerful voice of Miss Martian broke through the thought bubble for what seemed like the first time that night.
Something? We found the jackpot, Robin told them.
Have you run across the nerve toxin yet? Kaldur asks.
No, Robin admitted grudgingly, just their files. But this lab is huge, we need you guys down here to cover the rest of the place. The toxin is most likely down here but—
He needs to keep his hack job quiet, Artemis finished for him. Get your asses down here. Basement level six.
We're on our way, M'gann told them.
As are we, Aqualad informed the group.
Remy had split off by herself sometime after the team had regrouped on level six, figuring she could get more done on her own. She had taken herself to the opposite side of the lab and begun searching the metal cabinets for anything that looked like a dangerous toxin. Whatever the hell that meant.
What does this crap even look like? Remy thought, leaving anyone open to answer the question. More accurately, what's it called?
They refer to it as 'Test Chemical Theta,' Robin laughed at the name. Far as I can tell it's made up of Calciseptine and a bunch of different fluorocarbons.
English please? Remy suggested, dropping to her knees to glance at a row of binders. She pulled out one labeled Project Theta and started scanning the table of contents.
Calciseptine is venom taken from a Black Mamba, Wally answered thoughtfully. Fluorocarbons are odorless, and colorless gases that are generally known to cause problems with the lungs.
The group was silent for a moment as they considered what Wally had said. So it's like a panic toxin? Robin asked. The Black Mamba—
Sort of, Wally mentally shrugged, interrupting him. Not really though. The venom from a Black Mamba causes erratic heartbeat and difficulty of breathing. It causes you to go into cardiac arrest and most people die within an hour of being bitten. An oxidized form of the venom—if it were to be inhaled—might work even quicker if it went straight to the lungs.
Who knew Wally West was a science prodigy? Artemis mused. I certainly would've never guessed.
Oh shut it Artemis, Wally snapped. If what I'm thinking is correct then we're dealing with a pretty dangerous bio-weapon. On a large scale, it could be disastrous.
Everyone's thoughts turned immediately more somber, save for Remy's thoughts. She was still scanning through the binders.
How would it be distributed? Kaldur asked.
Irrelevant, Remy thought, turning another page in the binder. She quickly scanned the page, reading the memo that detailed the science team moving the toxin to sub-level eight. Let's just find the toxin and get out. It's not here.
Sub-level eight, Conner said, reading her thoughts.
Remy stood up slowly, closing the binder and started running back to the team's position.
God you're slow, Wally complained as Remy skidded to a stop next to Miss Martian.
Suddenly the computer that Robin and Artemis were working on blanked out. Artemis pressed the space bar a few times and tried turning it on again, but to no avail.
Let me, Robin moved her to the side and tried typing in a few commands. Nothing. I can't get a restart, someone must have shut it off remotely.
But nobody knows we're here, Miss Martain thought, a frown on her green face.
Try it again, Kaldur instructed Robin.
I'm telling you it's not working, Robin said irritably.
Remy shifted her glanced towards the large steel door that they had entered the lab from. She pulled on the handle, only to find it locked. She jiggled the handle a couple of times, even tried kicking the door, but nothing happened.
We're locked in, Remy thought grimly. They know we're here.
Author's Note: Sorry guys, I know you probably don't want to listen to me ramble. But I just tried my hand at a cliffhanger, a lame one at that, but it's my first one lol. So tell me, lame? Awesome? Weird?
Peace.