Chapter 6: Agendas

TAOS

September 24, 13:01 MDT

"Try again Ed. Take your time, there's no rush."

Eduardo Dorado Jr.- or Ed to most people- was trying, really hard actually, and even though Black Canary was trying to encourage him, her soothing tone was only grating on his nerves. And of course his father standing pretty much right behind him was really not helping.

His eyes scrunched shut, he clenched his outstretched arm open and shut. Tiny beads of sweat fell from the bridge of his nose and his back was soaked through already but he still tried to get that small ball in front of him to float. After a few minutes he slowly opened his eyes. Maybe this time the damn ball would do as he said.

The ball sat unfazed on Black Canary desk not having moved even an inch.

Ed yelled in frustration as he dropped his arm back to his side startling his father from the relaxed dose he had been in. Black Canary gave a small grimace but quickly hid it by smiling comfortingly at the teenager.

"It's okay Ed remember we are only trying to see the extent of your abilities. Perhaps telekinesis is just not one of them." She said as she stood up eyes never leaving the young boy. "How about we end today's session here? We can try something else tomorrow."

Black Canary's tone sounded hopeful but Ed knew that there was little chance he could do anything more than teleport at this stage. And yes, that was amazing, most people can't do that, but he had hoped he could have done more, more than just be an extension of his father's work.

Tired as he was he asked anyway. "Couldn't we try again, just one more time? I, I think I can still go on a while longer." But even as he spoke a spike of pain lanced though his skull making him wince. Noticing Black Canary shook her head no.

"Like I said, there's no rush and too much stress at this point won't do you any good." Glancing towards his father she made a few notes on her notepad casually dismissing the conversations. Taking the hint Ed slumped in his seat, resigned, and nodded. So the little ball wins again.

Ed could feel one of those headaches starting so he was all for not continuing these pointless tests anyway. He picked up the tiny ball. It was funny how in these last few weeks this ball had become his worst enemy. His dad approached him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder making Ed tense up at the unusual and unexpected gesture. Since saving him form that android at S.T.A.R labs he'd been much more 'fatherly' than he had been his entire life, and in all honesty it took some getting used to. Ed replaced the ball on top of the desk and turned to leave still not meeting his father's eyes. Black Canary hurried towards the door to open it for the two.

Eduardo sr. stopped to shake her hand. "Thank you so much Ms, erm, Canary. You have helped my son so much this last few weeks." He gushed. Gosh, could he be any more obvious? Fawning over a pretty face.

Black Canary just laughed good naturedly. "It's my pleasure Mr Dorado Ed is a very hard-working boy. I'm simply glad that you've agreed for him to meet with me. Sometimes the psychological strain that powers gained through such… means has on children." Ed sighed and kept walking; they were definitely going to be a while. He wanted nothing more than to get in the car and drive back home and take some aspirin. Soon he thankfully heard two sets of footprints following behind him.

Back inside Black Canary's office the ball slowly started to float.

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METROPOLIS

September 24, 14:32 EDT

Nightwing pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose as he watched the people enter and leave the building across the street from the coffee shop where he sat. Their target, I.D.E.A. Technologies, was one of many companies owned by Lex Luthor and right now their only lead. It had taken Batman and himself far too long to find this and he was going to make damn sure the mission was a success.

"Hey Dick! Ah- Sorry!"

Miss Martian narrowly dodged crashing into a lady with a pram as she came running up, arm waving. She, like himself, was dressed in civilian clothing. A wide brim sun-hat protected her head from the last summer rays and large, white-framed sunglasses concealed her eyes making her smile even bigger. She dressed practically in a green tank top with a white V-neck cardigan and washed out jeans. Looking down at himself he felt slightly overdressed in his navy blue blazer and black cashmere turtle-neck. It was only the two of them today, no Team, no watchtower, directly linked to the Batcave.

Dick stood from his seat and smiled as she started doing what he had been doing before she got there. "Are you ready Megan?" He asked.

She turned around so fast her hat whipped him across the face. Ouch. "Yes. Ready to go when you are," she looked down at her watch. "Luthor should be leaving the building in 5 minutes, give or take."

He sat back down but she remained standing, eyes narrowed and focused on one of the security guards standing just outside the buildings entrance. "Megan, aren't you going to sit down? We don't really want to draw any attention to ourselves."

Megan looked at him for a couple of seconds before smacking herself on the forehead and hurriedly sitting back down. "Hello Megan! Of course, sorry. Haven't done an undercover mission like this in a while, especially in broad daylight!" Her voice lilted up in excitement. Nightwing chuckled and sipped his now cold coffee that he'd been nursing for the past one and a half hour.

"For consistencies sake, let's go over the mission parameters one more time."

Megan leaned her elbows on the table top and leaned forward holding up one finger. "Of course. First objective, successfully infiltrate I.D.E.A. Tech as Dick Grayson visiting on behalf of Bruce Wayne in regards to a new business venture. My cover is you P.A," she held up a second one. "Second objective, create a distraction so that you may separate from your guide and find the main server to hack and find evidence of the link between Lexcorp and the situation at Wayne Enterprises." She clenched her hand into a fist and brought it back down to the table.

Nightwing nodded his head. Perfect. And that was why he chose her to accompany him on this mission. Returning his attention to the building he noticed the huge double doors had opened to let the world's most well-known chrome dome out: Lex Luthor. Nightwing discreetly indicated to Megan letting her know to get ready and he signalled for the bill.

As soon as Luthor's car was out of sight Megan and Dick left the coffee shop, stepping out into the sunlight and heading straight for I.D.E.A. Tech.

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INSIDE I.D.E.A. TECHNOLOGIES

Nightwing, hurry, I feel others approaching.

Nightwing growled lowly at Miss Martian's voice in his head. He was of course trying to go as fast as he could but as soon as he had logged on it was like someone had been lying in wait for him, and they launched an aggressive cyber-attack that was taking all of his skill just to circumvent. Gritting his teeth he risked glancing up once in Miss Martian's direction. She was standing outside, guarding the doorway in her camouflaged state, doing her job as he failed miserably at doing his. Whatever kind of information was being held here had to be important if the security here was greater than the security over at Wayne Enterprises, Lexcorp and S.T.A.R Labs, so it was important he got it! Especially as the last time the Team was sent to a Lexcorp owned factory, fearing they were selling a rebranded version of the Reach sports drink, the entire thing had been a bust, arriving at an empty factory.

A loud sound outside almost caused Nightwing to look up but he continued. Then, Miss Martian came flying into the room, crashing through the wall and sending splinters of wood lancing through the air. She grunted in pain as she hit the opposite wall but quickly stood up, crouched low, and launched herself back at her assailant.

Miss Martian do you need my help?

No Nightwing I- urgh!- got it. You? Not that I- argh!- can help but-

I'm barely managing to hang on here but don't worry. This guy's good, but I'm no push-over.

Miss Martian opponent forced her back into the room. Moving so fast to Nightwing's peripheral vision it looked like she was teleporting from place to place. A sudden urgency gripped his mind to end this and kick this guy out from the network, but no matter how fast he typed, the other guy was better and always just a step ahead, spewing out lines of code like a… a machine? He cursed but pushed on, determined to get the upper hand.

And then Miss Martian crashed into the desk, screaming in agony.

Nightwing was thrown back and his connection to the computer was severed. But just before he fell and the machine died the words 'I am Cyborg' flashed in white against a black screen.

Compartmentalising all that for later, Nightwing crouched beside the screaming girl. She was clutching her head so hard her fingernails were digging into her skin, drawing blood. She tossed from side to side eyes glowing bright green beneath closed eyelids.

"Miss M? Come on, snap out of it!" Nightwing frantically shook her, images of Wally disappearing briefly replacing Miss Martians convulsing form, panic taking the reins for a moment before his training kicked back in and instead of trying to directly save his friend, he reverted his attention to the attacker, posture hostile and ready to fight.

However the girl was simply staring at them standing straight, posture perfect like a dancer. She was dressed like a Romani Gypsy woman, with a white gypsy shirt and green ankle length skirt. Her golden bangles glittered under the rays of light peeking through the shuttered blinds. As she walked towards them, golden-plated tassels tinkling with every step, her green eyes started to glow.

"Who are you and why are you here?" She asked.

Nightwing took a minute to think, noticing her child-like tone and blank look. Obvious signs of some form of mental manipulation.

He raised his hands in mock-surrender, still very aware of the screaming girl lying beside him, and took careful steps towards her. "Woah, woah there, calm down. What's your name kid?" He tried to make his tone as soothing as he could, took a leaf out of Black Canary's book, and kept his posture non-threatening.

The girl's expression became confused and she paused mid-step. "I- I don't," she began but suddenly her eyes hardened and screaming in anger she jumped him.

Nightwing gritted his teeth and braced himself. She hit him with a right hook which he deflected with his arm then throwing her arm off him he struck her palm up under the chin knocking her backwards. She fell to the ground but was quick to get back up but Nightwing didn't give her the time to recover. He caught her in a chokehold and she gasped as he shut off her air.

It would only have taken him a couple of seconds to incapacitate her but a sudden onslaught of confusing images assaulted his mind making his scream in pain and let go of the girl. She fell forward, coughing and spluttering. Miss Martian still continued to scream in pain.

The images stopped as soon as he let go of the girl but he still felt disoriented. The girl looked towards him breathing heavily. Her eyes had that confused look again. "What, what's goi-"

But Nightwing didn't let her finish. With practiced movements he slid a neural-synaptic disrupter disc from his utility belt and threw it at the girl's head, landing square in the middle of her forehead. She let out the slightest gasp before crumpling in a heap at his feet. The disc gave off a crackling blue light and her eyes had rolled back into her head. He shakily got back to his feet and removed the disk, slipping it back into his belt. Miss Martian's screams had stopped so that was good. He looked back at the gypsy girl who he could now safely identify as a telepath. It was good he had these discs made soon after what Miss Martian did to Aqualad…

Quickly returning to his fallen friend he helped her as she, groaning, struggled to get up.

"Urgh my head…" She rubbed her temples and winced as she touched the cuts. Nightwing pulled her to a sitting position. Noticing the fallen girl she scrambled up to her feet.

"She's fine, but I think we should take her with us." He said but Miss Martians look was anything but friendly.

"She tried to kill me doesn't that mean anything at all!?That," she pointed at the girl. "Is definitely a bad guy."

Nightwing picked up the girl fireman style and, still wondering why no alarms had gone off or security guards come barrelling in, he ignored Miss Martian's enraged ranting to find a way out that wasn't the front door. Just then a secret door was mechanically triggered behind a bookcase old school style. Raising a suspicious eyebrow, he signalled to her and she quickly walked passed him and peered through the opening.

She closed her eyes. "I don't hear anyone down there, but it could be a trap." She mused. The tapping sound of running footsteps reached them from the hallway and Nightwing made a split-decision, stupid or otherwise.

"We'll risk it for now, deal with it as we go along. Lead on Miss M." He rushed forward just as she did and the door slid shut behind them muting all sounds and light. Small, overhead light-bulbs twinkled into existence, lighting up a narrow staircase leading below ground. Tentatively, Miss Martian led the way, walking through what appeared to be a maze of sorts; the lights showed the path whilst leaving others in the dark. For the moment Nightwing followed, his curiosity over the day's event overpowering his caution.

It was not long before they were let out into a shaded alleyway about a mile or so away from the main building. Nightwing looked back at the quite building puzzled. It should have shown signs of the fight that had gone on earlier behind its walls – he remembered having blown a hole through at least one of them- but it was unnaturally still, unnaturally unmarked.

"Nightwing, the nearest zeta-platform is only a couple of blocks away. I've called Superboy and he'll meet us there in case we were followed." Miss Martian said as she turned off her communicator. "It's strange isn't it, who in there helped us?"

Nightwing snapped out of his thoughts and shrugged. "For now, doesn't matter. I'm just glad we got out of there, it was obviously a trap, designed to test us." He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms. "Or perhaps her." He straightened and squared his shoulders. Explaining that they had not only failed their mission but that the entire mission itself had been a trap for them wouldn't be pleasant. "Let's go, this girl needs medical attention."

"Oh, hello Megan! I almost forgot," Miss Martian exclaimed. "The girl in the medical bay, Seble Howard? She woke up. Superboy told me over the comm-link. He also sounded worried about something else but he wouldn't say…"

At the mere mention of that… monster's name Nightwing tensed. All he could think of was of Alfred lying sick and dying at Wayne Mansion for 4 days before Batman and Zatanna found the right anti-venom to cure him. Good, now that she was awake, he'd get his answers.

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UKNOWN

September 24, 16:59 EDT

He sipped his tea, the mild citrusy taste of the Earl Grey engulfing his senses before he returned his cup to its saucer. It was a good brew, a fine selection, but the experience was ever so slightly marred by his present company.

Klarion cackled loudly as he watched Nightwing and the Martian leave the building. A shame, he had hoped the girl would have proven to be a stronger opponent than she had shown to be- especially with the amount of money he had spent on her and the others. It simply added to his already low opinion of these… magic users.

"Looks like the little birds flew the coop! And they took your dove too!" He clapped his hands together causing the tabby cat in his lap to jump out of his lap yowling. He tapped the video screen and continued his jeers, causing his companion to grimace in displeasure.

"A minor set-back Klarion, but a necessary one. The test had to be made, and the League and their young protégés suspect little to nothing." He explained. "But the girl, what was her codename? Ah yes, Gypsy, she showed promise. If the rest perform half as well as she did today it will not be long before we have what we need."

"Psht, you're no fun Mr Optimist. Blackbriar what do you think? How's your new pet doing?"

The addressed, Blackbriar Thorn, turned minutely towards the witch boy, his hand lying gently atop a raven-haired girl's head. The girl stared with wide vacant eyes outside a tall window as if dazzled by the sun rays peeking through the drawn curtains. She was kneeling on the floor whilst Blackbriar sat on a padded armchair cross-legged. "June is no pet Klarion, mind your tongue." He rasped. He turned back around facing the closed window, staring at nothing.

Klarion pouted. "Rats, you're all so boring! I'm leaving." Mr Tekkl jumped into his arms and he stroked the little creature lovingly. The mysterious man chuckled and continued to sip his tea.

"Not to worry Klarion, very soon you'll have more fun than you could ever possibly handle, and this world will finally see the light."

Blackbriar's finger dug deep into the girl's head making her squeak in pain as a bark of laughter escaped him and Klarion squealed in delight and spun on his heels. Magic users, so easily placated. He sighed contentedly and went back to drinking his tea.

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A/N: Yep, I don't think I'm very good with deadlines… So screw them, I'll do it when I'll do it! But seriously, things just keep coming up and I find no time to write, even this one is so short in comparison to my usual stuff…