Hi! I hope you guys liked my last chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.
Tim POV
I stared up at the entrance to our current HQ at Bludhaven, emotions running around my head.
I walked inside, my stomach twisting into a knot with all my problems twisting the knot even tighter. One thing that has gotten worse, was definitely the Drake's. Or to be more accurate, Jack Drake. Dana accidentally slipped out that she knew Jack beat me when Janet was alive in the middle of dinner.
I couldn't blame her, she didn't mean to really, but Jack hadn't liked the idea of his new wife knowing he beat me, though he assured Dana he wouldn't even think about doing it now. So what did he do? He started to beat me again. Or, he tried at least.
Since Jack was in a wheelchair now, he couldn't do much except roll over my feet with the his wheels. But he didn't have to do much of anything, simply because it was his words that hurt.
Jack knew I was sensitive about my parents, about my brother, about everything that made me come to the shit hole he called home. Now, whenever it was just me and him, he mentioned my parents. It would be something simple and quick, like if Dana said she would go to the bathroom or something like that, he would say, "Did you hear your parents screamed when they fell? Or we're they too scared to scream?" Then Dana would come back, and I would leave the room to hit the punching bag.
That was just a small problem compared to my problem with the team.
I couldn't deny that I didn't like the team any more, not after saving Batgirl. But the reason I joined the Light was so that I could get revenge on the man that murdered my parents. Besides M'gann making people brain dead, killing was something that was not allowed on the team. So I guess the real question was, revenge or a one shot chance at having a family and friends? That one question was driving me insane, and I hated it. Why did I have to start liking the team?
"Are you okay, Osprey?" Conner, or Kon as I've started calling him, asked when I walked in dazed.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I said with a fake grin to throw him off. Sadly, he was not convinced.
"Liar. But you're as bad as a Bat when it comes to telling the truth, so do you want to play a video game while everyone else gets here? Your 2 hours early to the meeting, after all." Superboy asked, gesturing to the PS3 that had some how stayed fully intact during the destruction of the Mountain.
"Yeah, I guess." I said with a nod, looking over to the computer Nightwing was sitting at.
It had never been my plan to come here so early, but it was my only option after a comment that Jack made that sent my anger rising. Sadly, Dana had walked in before I could say anything, and I left so I wouldn't be tempted to punch him in the face for the remainder of the time I had to stay there. But I never thought Nightwing would be here either, considering the fact that he had an actual job during the day.
"What do you want to play? The only games that made it were Black Ops, Assassin's Creed, and Mortal Kombat." Kon asked, holding up the three games.
"Assassin's Creed." I said, grabbing a controller.
The main reason I liked Assassin's Creed; I was good at it. Like, not even a master gamer could beat me at this game. And Kon figured that out the first hour of playing Assassin's Creed. "Your good. How are you this good, again?" Kon asked curiously.
I paused, but then started pressing buttons again. "My legal guardians weren't home a lot, but they always bought me things to make up for not being there around times like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or my birthday. Well, when I was 9, my legal guardians bought me a PS3 along with games like Assassin's Creed. I practically grew up playing this stuff." I said with a casual shrug.
"... I know I was born in a tube and all, but even I can tell that's not normal or right. Why were your legal guardians gone?" Kon asked concerned.
I shrugged again. "I'm not sure. We never really got along, and we still don't. But it's not too bad. It was always better when they were gone anyways." I said, trying not to look at Kon.
"Osprey, you know you could always crash here if you need to right? Sure it's not as great as the Mountain, but if you're having problems at home, nobody would mind if you bunked here for a few days." Kon said, making me almost getting killed in Assassins Creed.
Nobody, not even Ra's or Slade who are the closest figures I have to a family as uncle figures, offered anything like that to me. Kon was the first to ever invite me to stay at his place, some place safe. "Yeah, I know." I said with a soft nod.
Little did I know, Nightwing was listening on our conversation the entire time.
Tim POV
"Obviously any partnership between the Reach and Lex Luthor is bad news. So, Alpha squad is going undercover to recon Lex corp farms. Osprey, you'll be running Alpha." Nightwing said, taking me by complete surprise. Why the hell would Nightwing make me the leader of Alpha? I've only been leader one other time, and that was for Gamma. Alpha and Gamma were two very different things.
"Me? The leader of Alpha? Um, right. Who's on the squad?" I asked, willing myself to not sound totally shocked. Which I was.
"Blue Beetle-"
"Woah, I should not be on the team. What if the scarab goes Reach apocalypse on us, or something?" Blue asked, totally shocked. Well, at least I wasn't the only one.
"Your scarab has had multiple opportunities to sabotage us. It hasn't. And it's connection to the Reach may be our best shot at finding out what their up to." Nightwing said, making no room for Jaime to back out.
Jaime looked down, probably listening to something the armor was saying. Then Impulse said, "If Blue's going, I'm going."
"I thought as much." Nightwing said with a smile.
"Last but not least, Arsenal will be joining your team. But you'll have to pack lighter for your first mission. Nothing that can't be hidden in civilian cloths." Nightwing said, talking to just Arsenal in the end, who was hiding in the shadows in the back of the room. And to think, every one thought it was a Bat thing.
Arsenal was wearing a uniform close to Red Arrow's. He had the same red and black tunic, and the same black pants. What was not the same however, was the fact that he was carrying two guns slung over his shoulders. I bit my lip to stop the sharp grin that was starting to form on my lips, and looked forwards. As crazy as I've heard this guy was, I had to say, I liked his choice in weapons.
"Any questions?" Nightwing asked, looking around.
Arsenal looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. What would be so bad that he wouldn't want to ask? "Good, then M'gann will take you to Lex Corp Farms for the tour." Nightwing said, the rest of us loading into the Bio-ship so we could get to Lex Corp. Farms.
Tim POV
"Remain seated at all times while the tram is in motion." The lady who was taking us on the tour of Lex Corp. Farms said.
Ugh, could her voice get any more high and squeaker? "We just got here and I'm already hating it." Roy muttered from behind me. I had to agree. Though if Roy hated it because of the lady's rediculously high voice or because he was in the building that belonged to the man who had his arm cut off, I wasn't sure.
"We've just entered one of our farms hydroponic (sorry if I spelled it wrong) domes. Where Lex Luthor and the Reach, are growing the food of the future." The brunette said as we walked into an isle filled with plants.
"This could put the rest of Smallville's farmers out of business." One of the people who came to the tour with us said, though it was obvious he was a farmer himself.
"No no, not at all! In fact, the Reach has decided to share their techniques with the entire agricultural community." She said with a grin, as if it was a good thing.
"Please, everyone enjoy some of these vitamin, Reach enhanced, produce." The lady said, leading us to a table with plates of different fruits on them.
"Genetically enhanced?" I asked warily.
"There's been no tinkering with genetics, rest assured. The Reach has ways of drawing out an organisms full potential." The woman said, making me want to punch her in the face for wording it like that. Their full potential, huh?
"She says that as if it's a good thing." Arsenal muttered next to me with a scowl.
I looked around, making sure that no one was looking. I took out a zip lock bag from my pocket and picked the first thing I saw, a tomato, and put it into the bag. "We're supposed to bag the food, not eat it." Blue hissed at Impulse. Wait, was he seriously eating that?
From what I've heard about what he's said, and about Blue's armor, Bart came here from the future to save us from a Reach apocalypse. Now he was eating Reach food? Did this guy want to become a slave in the future again?
"Fine, I'll stop eating it. Just stop looking at me like you want to murder me, Osprey. The glare is creeping me out. Seriously, stop. I can feel you glaring at me through your shades." Impulse muttered, throwing the rest of his apple away while not looking at my eyes.
I stopped glaring at him, and decided to look at the rest of the building. One thing however, did catch my eye. "What's in those tubes?" I asked the woman who was guiding us, pointing towards a vat of pink liquid that had tubes running the liquid to all the plants.
"Just water, nutrients, and a little Reach/Lex Luthor love. Now, let's continue to the Pluots. That's right! Pluots, in April!" She said, walking away to a new area.
"Time for a bathroom break." I said, motioning for the others to follow.
"I went before we left." Impulse said with a grin.
Arsenal grabbed Impulse by his hood, and started dragging him over to the bathrooms. "But guys! They don't have pluots in the future! And stop glaring at me, Osprey! Seriously, your freaking me out." Impulse said, moving behind Arsenal a bit so Arsenal was a human shield.
"Don't glare at me! Sheesh, it's not like I'm the one trying to get pluots. And where did you learn to do that Bat glare?" Arsenal asked, looking at me slightly impressed and slightly scared.
"Not sure, but it's an amazing ability to have." I said with a sharp grin.
Tim POV
"Can we please start the mission now?" Impulse asked annoyed, which, yeah, even I was annoyed after hanging out in a bathroom for however many hours straight.
"Yes." I said, getting out of the bathroom stall I was in quickly.
"You're in the wrong mode." I said, pointing out that he wasn't in stealth mode. And honestly, I don't feel like getting caught because Bart decided to be in red and white instead of black.
"Dude, I crash all modes." Bart said with a smug grin that made me and almost everyone else on the team roll their eyes.
"He means stealth mode, hermano." Blue Beetle said, making Impulse realize what I was talking about. But, seriously, what was it with this guy and the word mode?
"Oh, right. So, um, where did I put it..?" Impulse asked, touching certain spots on his suit. Till Jaime elbowed him and it turned on.
I shook my head, cursing them under my breath in Romanian. Why does fate hate me so much to make me have to have these guys as friends?
We all sneaked down the hallway quickly and quietly, making sure not to be caught on any cameras. "Get the camera's." I hissed at Roy, pulling out my computer in my glove to hack into the buildings security to open the door that was blocking our way back to the room with the tubes putting stuff in the plants.
"Done, do you have the door?" Arsenal asked after shooting the camera's with a trick arrow.
"...Got it. Let's get this done quickly." I said, opening the door.
We ran down the hallway to the room we were in before, but we had to duck behind one of the isles of food when we saw Reach aliens down there as well. "Blue, what's she saying?" I asked softly so we wouldn't get caught.
He paused for a second before saying, "Uhhh, okay, she's telling one of her technicians to go easy on the... additive. Just a sec." Blue's eyes turned full yellow, like he was scanning the entire room. Well, considering what his armor could do, that might just be what he was doing.
"That's it. The tank filled with the pink crystal things are you additive." Blue said, and I left before he even finished talking.
I sneaked behind the Reach aliens, careful to not get caught as I took a crystal from the tank and went back to the team. "I got what we came for, let's go." I said, appearing next to Blue.
"Where did you come from?" Blue asked shocked.
I didn't say anything as we ran towards the exit, I just smirked. Though, I think that scared him more than an answer would have.
When we got to the door, I pulled the others aside to hide from the guards blocking the door way. "Two guards, one door hack, and we're home free." I said, starting to get my hidden glove computer out.
"Wait for it." Arsenal said with a smile, putting his hand on my shoulder so I wouldn't move.
Even with the mask, I could tell he had a certain look in his eye. One that I did not like. And what was I supposed to wait for?
Just then, the door to the lab we had been in moments before flew off its hinges, and the entire building shook from an explosion. "You blew the lab? But this was a covert op, what were you thinking?" I growled, glaring at him in hopes he would be scared off like before. He wasn't.
Instead, the guy had the nerve to smirk. "That I wasn't about the Reach or Lex poison the human race just because we didn't know what poison he was using. Plus, I enjoy making Lex miserable." Roy said, sounding way too happy. Though, I had to admit, this guy did have a good setting up explosives without anyone noticing.
"Ugh. I hate you. Impulse, take down the guards." I ordered the speedster.
"Right." Impulse said, running straight for one of the guards and body slamming him into the wall and the other guard.
"They're down." Impulse said, looking at me over his shoulder.
I nodded, than ran towards the door to hack it open. Arsenal ran up behind me, and I glared at him over my shoulder before looking back at the door. "You just don't get it, do you? You went off mission. That was a huge mistake." I said, hoping that he would get tired of me talking so much that he wouldn't pull this crap again.
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing." Black Beetle's voice said, making me wrench my head where he was flying above us.
When Black Beetle landed on the ground, I attacked him immediately, hoping to get him off guard. It worked to get him off guard slightly, but it didn't do much since my bo-staff didn't affect him. He blocked my next attack, and then punched me so hard my back hit an isle of plants, making me groan.
I blacked out for a little bit, but when I woke up, Impulse was throwing tomatoes at Black Beetle and Arsenal was using it as a distraction so he could shoot a laser out of us mechanical arm. "Anymore tricks, meat?" Black Beetle asked once his suit healed, and I was standing up.
"Just a few." Blue said, hitting Black Beetle with his plasma cannon.
But once the plasma energy was gone, Black Beetle stood there with a satisfied smirk. "Nothing like a nice plasma bath to relax the nerves. And get rid of tomato stains." Black Beetle said, making me scowl at him.
Blue and Black Beetle's hands both turned into sonic cannons, both of them shooting at each other, and it did nothing. "Is that all you got? The fruit hurt more." Black Beetle said, walking towards us menacingly.
Impulse started running around him in circles next, trying to keep him from reaching us. "Trying to suck away my oxygen? I hardly touch the stuff." Black Beetle said, making my eye twitch.
"Blue, what's wrong? The last time you were beating us this guy." I asked, confused and completely and utterly, pissed off.
"That wasn't me. It was the scarab in control last time." Blue said, slightly nervous.
"Then give it control again." Arsenal snapped.
"And have the possibility of his scarab turning on us? Have you even heard what Impulse said will happen?" I asked, watching Jaime sigh in relief out of the corner of my eye.
While we were talking Black Beetle had somehow aimed one of the giant staples at Impulse, and he hit the back of a wall, pinned there. "Your laser. It's the only thing that's done any damage." I said to Arsenal.
He nodded and shot his laser right at Black Beetle's arm that he held up as a shield. The cut it made healed, just like every wound we've given him, and he attacked us all with a plasma cannon.
All of us managed to get out of the way, and Blue ran at him once his arm changed into a weird sword like thing. "Your just toying with us, aren't you?" Blue asked with a scowl, which, yes, it was kind of obvious he was. If he wasn't playing with us, Impulse and Arsenal would be dead while I stay alive because I worked with the Light and deal with the guilt of seeing Jaime die so they can put his scarab back on mode and Impulse and Arsenal dying on my watch. That was a guilt I didn't want to live with.
"What gave me away?" Black Beetle asked with a smirk before pushing his sword thing so hard against Blue's that he was thrown into a wall. The vibration of Blue hitting the wall made Impulse wake up though, so I guess there was one good thing. Good, because I wouldn't want to blow him up with the explosives I was setting up against the door.
"Time to go?" Impulse asked.
"Yeah, get out of here. The rest of us will follow." I said with a nod.
Impulse nodded back at me, and he vibrated out of the building right before the wall crumpled to pieces. Arsenal wasn't the only one on the team good with explosives. "Let's get out of here." I yelled at the others, running out of the building with Arsenal and Blue following.
"Did a quick recon. Want to know the options? Corn field or corn field?" Impulse asked.
"Corn field." I said, running straight into the corn field in front of us. Hey, it was one of the options, right?
We reached a clearing seconds later, and we all stopped. "We'll double back. Maybe we can lose him." I said, scowling when I heard his laugh.
"That, doesn't seem likely." Black Beetle said.
We all stepped back from him slowly, but when Blue stopped moving we all heard a clink of metal bumping into metal. Like, there was something behind him.
As if on cue, a green version of the beetle appeared before us. How many were there? All the colors of the damn rainbow plus black? "How many colors do these guys come in?" Impulse asked, like he was reading my mind.
One thing I did know, I didn't like this guy. Not. One. Bit.
So, what do you guys think? Review!