Scene 44 - The Reveal
Nightwing sat rather pensively in front of the ship, relieved that his Team members were all safe and that their time at the Warworld did not leave them damaged or scarred. It wasn't a happy ending however, and Dick frowned at the thought of the motherbox, the runaway teens, and Roy. The dilemma and burden of being leader was slowing wearing him out. Kaldur'ahm would have been much better at leading. The ex-Boy Wonder sighed at his thoughts, he vowed so many years ago that he never wanted to be in the lead and his leadership so far proved it. It cost him a friendship and now Brianna distrusted him. It also almost cost Kaldur his life but thankfully M'gann managed to salvage the Atlantean's psyche. It was just a miracle the Martian wasn't killed and that Aqualad's and Artemis's covers weren't blown.
Dick couldn't keep relying on plain luck though. It wouldn't always be with him and right now, they had Blue Beetle and the Reach to worry about. Just a few more goals to accomplish and he'll be done with leadership. His mind was jumbled up with a lot of thoughts and he exhaled quietly, deciding that couldn't risk any more harm to both Kaldur and his teammates.
Nightwing turned his chair around and addressed the Team, "I know all of you want to rest after your ordeal at the Warworld but it's an uncommon opportunity that everyone is gathered together in one place. What I'm going to tell you will shock you and I sincerely apologize for that. I understand that you will be angry at me and if you want to leave the Team, I'll respect your decision."
Ember looked up at him suspiciously and crossed her arms, having a hunch on what would happen next. Nightwing glanced in her direction apologetically and then began his tale. "Miss Martian, Lagoon Boy, Superboy, and Ember recently knew about this… Aqualad has been undercover in Black Manta's force ever since he 'defected' from the Team last year. His betrayal was a ruse to gain his father's trust to enter the Light, to take them down from the inside. Ever since the invasion, he has also been doing his best to sabotage the Reach too. We kept this a secret from everyone as we wanted the reactions towards him changing sides and Artemis's death to be real."
Beast Boy spoke up, "Wait, Artemis is alive?"
Nightwing nodded, "She is and she has joined Kaldur disguised as Tigress." There was a collective sigh of relief through the bio-ship and Dick continued, "As I mentioned earlier, we wanted to keep all of you safe. Both of us couldn't take the risk in any of you falling into an enemy telepath's hands or they would have taken the information and blown both of their covers. I realize my mistake now when Miss Martian encountered Aqualad on the Reach ship. We should have used M'gann's powers as a mental defence for everyone and let all of you in on the secret."
Brianna shifted in her seat and glared at him, not saying a word. Batgirl spoke up, "It wasn't your fault, Nightwing. You were doing what was best for all of us. Not everyone would have been able to keep a secret. I still trust your decision."
The rest of the Team murmured in agreement and Ember was a little peeved by her teammates forgiving the duo so easily. Even though she understood the position they were in, she still couldn't bring herself to forgive Dick and Kaldur. Conner and M'gann looked at her worriedly, knowing full well that she held a grudge against both men.
"So, what happens now?" Wonder Girl asked and Nightwing replied, "We wait for more intel from Aqualad. In the meantime, I want all of you to keep training and be on your toes; we'll never know what the Reach will do next. Most of their fleet might have perished but who knows if they have genetically manipulated their soldiers?"
The blonde girl nodded, satisfied with the answer and the bio-ship finally arrived at the warehouse in Blüdhaven.
Most of the Team got off, leaving the senior members behind. Dick looked towards the red head and said, "M'gann, please set the bio-ship to auto-pilot around the city. I think all of us need to talk."
The brunette sighed and replied irritably, "There is nothing to say to you. I already made myself clear that I no longer trust you or Kaldur but there are more important things at stake than my feelings for a boy I once loved so I will carry out all missions faithfully to the end."
Nightwing verbally sparred with her, "Brianna, I really did not want this to happen either! I told Kaldur that you should know but he turned down my suggestion and I had no choice but to accept it!"
The pyro flew up from her seat angrily and Conner held onto her arm as she lashed out, "No choice?! You were my friend, I thought you would fight for my right to know about the secret!" Ember sat back down and continued bitterly, "Should I be thankful that you at least had the thought to let me know the truth?"
Superboy laid a hand on her shoulder, "Brianna, enough. You aren't the only one who is angry. I'm still trying to accept it too but we should move on. All this hate isn't good for the Team."
The girl stared back at him, a little annoyed but still somewhat appeased by his words. "It takes time…" She whispered quietly and M'gann flew up to hug the brunette.
"Bri… Kaldur is truly sorry for what he did and he sends his best regards. Please, give him a chance to talk it out in person when he can finally return back to all of us."
Brianna rested her head on the Martian's shoulder as she pondered on her selfish thoughts.
Kaldur'ahm stood in front of a series of consoles showcasing the various Light members as Vandal Savage briefed him on their Reach betrayal, "The Reach drink Lexcorp developed supposedly had an additive but thanks to Luthor, we secretly added a neutralizing agent and it's merely a harmless carbonated beverage heavily laced with sugar."
Aqualad nodded quietly and allowed Luthor to speak, "It is important that this information is not made known to the Ambassador. Lately, he has been less than pleased with the bad publicity Godfrey subjected him to and it would be best to keep him calm. However, we suspect that they have something planned after acquiring Blue Beetle…"
Getting the hint, the blonde Atlantean spoke confidently, "I will see if I am able to persuade the Ambassador on his plans the next time I see him."
Ra's al Ghul replied, "Gratitude, Kaldur'ahm. We're so close to getting rid of the League on Rimbor as well as removing the Reach from Earth. Soon, we will be in charge of this planet."
Kaldur gave him a small evil smile and Savage spoke once more, "The Reach has also demanded a meeting with all the Light's members. Tentatively, the date has been set in a couple of weeks but the location has yet to be determined. I'll assign you as chief of security for this little summit of ours. I trust you'll find a venue that is advantageous for us."
Kaldur nodded, "You have my word."
Lex smiled, "It's always a pleasure working with you, Aqualad." With that, his meeting with the Light ended and all the screens turned black.
"I need to return to my room to think, father," The blonde said and Black Manta waved him off. Of late, his father had been rather kind and somewhat familial with him after his recuperation… Manta was probably feeling guilty about treating his son harshly and decided after his horrific mind wipe that family was important and cannot be replaced so he had been a lot more fatherly towards Kaldur.
The Atlantean shook his head to get rid of any sympathy he held for Black Manta. The man might have been noble but he was still on the dark side; threatening, torturing, and killing as he pleased. Black Manta might be his biological father but those tainted traits were definitely not a part of Aqualad. He proceeded to open up the safe in his room and took out a flash drive before plugging it into his computer. It contained more files and updates that continued from the previous drive he gave to Nightwing some months ago. Right now, he had to deliver this last drive to Dick soon as endgame was approaching.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out evidence that would nail the Light as the ones who framed the League, that they were the ones who bribed the court on Rimbor to keep the Leaguers there as long as possible and to give them a guilty verdict. Aqualad then suggested a plan on how to nail them with a holographic recording hidden in Artemis's glamor charm necklace. He also gave details on where he planned to hold the summit and how the Team could infiltrate and ambush both the Light and the Reach.
As for the aliens that invaded the Earth, he wasn't sure what their next plan of attack was but he assured Dick that the Reach drinks were neutralized and wished him all the best in curing Blue Beetle. Then, a thought occurred in his mind and he typed even faster. Kaldur came up with a plan to weaken the alliance between the Light and their extra-terrestrial partner. It would require acting and recording on his part. A genuine smile graced his face and he was satisfied with the plan.
Looking over his report, the Atlantean saved the file into the flash drive and added an encryption on it. He leaned back on his chair and sighed before reaching out to drink out of his glass of water. Just two more weeks and all would be over… One fortnight and he'll be home free with Brianna once more.
Author's Note: Very brief mention of "Runaways" and "War". I didn't want to cover the things that happened in the War World as it doesn't contribute to the plot. If you're curious, Ember does get captured along with the team but gets rescued, of course. ;)
First part of the chapter takes place directly after "The Hunt". Second part of the chapter takes place a couple of days after "Complications".
Brianna is only angry at Dick and Kaldur since they were the instigators of this undercover plan. From what I read online from the Ask Greg website, Artemis and Wally were roped in much later so they too, initially believed Kaldur betrayed the team. Both Artemis and Wally were not aware of the plan from the beginning so Brianna isn't too angry at 'em since they're just following direct orders from Dick.
I was quite surprised that the rest of the Team didn't appear to be angry in the "Summit" episode but Greg brushed it off as having not enough screen time to showcase the reaction. If the companion comics were continued, we might have seen how they reacted to the big reveal. So I took my own spin on things... I think the rest of the Team weren't that close to both leaders so they might forgive them a little easier. I do think they'll chide them in private later.
To Eszra: *gives you tissues* Thank you sweetie.
To murdercrowther: No worries! The internet is very fickle sometimes. I'm glad my advice worked. :)
To Molly Grace 16: Thanks! I wanted to think of something that wasn't used often but still very sweet and romantic. I'm glad the sky idea worked. :D
To SakuraPheonix13: Yay! Thanks for enjoying the story and giving this ship a name. I like the Kalanna ship name too.
To piggythelaw: Thank you so much!