Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice
Author's Note: Second last chapter. The last chapter should be up in two weeks unless things get unforeseeably busy. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen.
The warehouse seemed a lot colder the past few days, not even Dick could make his 'ware-home' joke. It partly had to do with Wally and Artemis still ignoring each other completely (no one had been able to convince the two teens to finally talk). But what was really hanging over their heads was they hadn't heard anything for the Agency since the botched mission. And this worried them.
Kaldur had made his report but since then it had been dead air. At first they thought they were being 'grounded' for failing a mission but when no one came to tell them that… Even Conner was starting to worry and tried calling his cousin.
It was New Year's Eve and the team decided to meet up and celebrate. But no one felt like it once they arrived. The worry and tension had festered enough to ruin a holiday, let alone a normal night (and it was safe to say that the past few normal nights had already been below average mood wise). But this wasn't going to stop them from trying at least.
So in the end, they were just sitting around the warehouse, eyeing each other periodically while also ignoring that Wally still seemed to be able to eat.
The ginger was mostly eating at this point to avoid the girl who had been plaguing his thoughts since the mission. Granted, she was on his mind a lot normally, but he wanted to go back to not being angry about the situation they were in. He wasn't angry with her anymore. Well, he might have been a little, but it most just shifted to not being able to talk to her in fear of making everything a hundred times worse. He definitely had a knack for that.
Grabbing another sandwich from the now dwindling food table, Wally walked over to Kaldur, leaning on the back of his friend's chair.
"Still no word from the boss people?" he said, chewing his food still.
The blonde boy glanced up then returned his gaze to the computers. "No," he responded, rubbing his head slightly, "I am beginning to worry. Well, worry more. This is very unlike the Agency."
"Seriously though, I can't remember them ever being this laid back about a bunch of teenagers doing dangerous things," the ginger said, taking another bite of his sandwich. Kaldur laughed as he shook his head. Grinning, the boy turned and swallowed his food. "Guys! I just made Kaldur laugh, he's not actually a robot."
"Shut it, Wally!" Dick called from across the building. The youngest of them was currently trying to set up a large TV against a wall. Conner was standing by, staring at the instructions, a confused look on his face. "We're trying to make sure this night isn't a failure, we can't concentrate with you blabbing!"
"Fine!" the ginger shouted back, feigning being hurt by his friend's words. Though, he couldn't really ignore the worry on both the dark haired boys' faces, he was sure it was probably just his imagination. He patted Kaldur's shoulder before glancing around the building. Artemis and M'gann were sitting on one of the tables, laughing quietly as they flipped through what looked like the school's old yearbook. Shaking his head, Wally wandered over to the girls.
Artemis glanced up before quickly returning her gaze down at the pages before her. It was a yearbook and the two girls just happened to be in the Ws. Before the boy could protest, a sound at the warehouse's entrance drew everyone's attention away from what each of them was doing.
"Roy?" Dick asked, quickly moving to the newcomer.
Roy Harper stumbled further into the room, allowing both Dick and Conner to help keep him up right. The two boys helped the older ginger to a chair as the whole group moved around him, Artemis staying behind the others.
"Dude, you look terrible," Wally said, avoiding the ex-agents eyes. "What happened?"
"Let's just say my handlers roughed me up a bit before I could escape them," Roy muttered, accepting a handkerchief from Megan.
"Handlers?" the ginger girl asked, looking around the group.
"Remember how there was a mole?" the older boy said, fist beginning to clench over the clothe in his hand. "Well, there definitely was one."
"Roy, my friend, you have discovered the identity of the mole?" Kaldur asked, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Laughing bitterly, he shrugged his friend's hand off him. He bowed his head to rest it into his free hand. After a few minutes of this, Roy spoke, "Yeah, I definitely did. It's me. I'm the mole."
Megan's gasp was the first thing to meet the words and then silence. Wally's mouth hung open as he tried to process the information that was just handed to him. For a brief second, he thought he felt a hand on his shoulder but when he looked it was bare (though Artemis was standing closer to the group now).
"Roy…" Dick said, a frown appearing on his face. "Why?"
"I didn't mean to," he responded, his other hand joining the first. Megan moved closer, kneeling down in front of the sitting boy. She placed her hands on his knee and a breath left him. "I swear I didn't mean to. A few months ago I had a run in with Jade Nguyen and I thought I had gotten away but… It turns out they've been drugging me for information and then drugging me to forget. I've been betraying all of you without even knowing it."
"Shit…" Wally muttered, rubbing his face.
"I know that you want to ask us for our forgiveness," Kaldur said. He gripped Roy's shoulder, keeping it there as the older boy tried to shake it off again. "But I need you to focus, Roy. You must tell us what the League knows now. Let us help you fix this."
"I guess I should start with the fact I was being asked to re-join the Agency. Oliver got me to slow down a bit. The past month I had been on mission for them. So when I showed up with that mission with Nguyen and Crusher… It was a test. The Agency wanted to see how you were doing on missions but didn't want to make it obvious they were watching," the ginger explained.
"Well, I'm taking it we failed that one," the younger ginger muttered, glancing over his shoulder at Artemis.
"I'm the one that failed you," the agent said. He looked up to the blonde, meeting her gaze. "I was subconsciously putting the blame on Artemis because it was easy. I'm sorry. I know there is no way you would betray us."
"Roy… I need you to focus," Kaldur pressed.
"They know how to break into the Agency. And they're going to, today," he answered, hanging his head again. "They have this toxin they plan on releasing into the air once they've finished taking them down. That's what Lex and Vandal have been working on. Vandal will get to cause a panic until Lex comes swooping in with an expensive antidote. It's all going to be my fault."
The group stared at their friend. This explained everything they had dealt with the past few months. Slowly they piece together the puzzle, realizing that this was not the picture they wanted.
"So now what?" Megan asked. She stood up and moved away from the agent. "Do we warn the Agency or hide?"
"The Agency will have been hit already. Hiding is the only option," Roy spat, his fists clenching.
"Wait, but we have an advantage now," Dick said. Everyone looked over at him. "Sure we could hide, or we fight back. I don't know about you, but I think taking down the bad guys is a great option. Saving the day, it's our thing."
"Then I think you will need help strategizing," a voice said behind the group. They all turned to the speaker and let out an uneasy breath. Bruce Wayne walked towards them, Clark following him. "This mission will not be easy."
"Bruce!" Dick said, sprinting to his guarding. "Is the Agency…"
"Taken? Yes. That's why we're here. While the agents go head to head with this attack, we need you seven to infiltrate the Agency and stop the toxin from being released," the agent explained quickly. The man looked the group over, eyes lingering briefly on Roy. "We will deal with the aftermath when it comes. We need to get there still."
The agents quickly explained how they could enter the building. How they could find the device and turn it off (though both men were sure blowing it up would work just as well). They warned them of each danger and of each chance the League would take in killing them. They needed to have a clear head because the enemy certainly was going to.
After a brief side conversation with Dick, the two men looked the team over.
"We were hoping to ease you three into a mission like this," Clark said, the worry in his voice clear. "And we hoped that your friends wouldn't actually get involved in any of our messy business. But we have to ask all of you this time."
"Do not be rash. Think before every move. You have until midnight, do not rush and get yourselves killed," Bruce commanded. He looked at Dick one last time before turning to leave.
Wally watched the men disappear and gulped. He had always been up for missions, always eager to please the Agency in case it meant they would recognize him. But this? This was not what he had in mind. Sure, some saving the world had been there, but it was never this close to home in his thoughts. These agents had for some reason allowed him in, they even trained him a bit. The fact that they might be…
"This is really happening?" Megan asked, slipping her hand into Conner's.
"We should start getting ready if we're going to be there by nine," Artemis stated.
"I think we have one order of business left here, actually," the youngest of them said. He sighed and looked over at Artemis. "Time to share your secret, I think."
The colour from the girl's face faded quickly and her hands tensed. "How…?" the blonde asked.
"Artemis, we need to get all the secrets out. Yours can help us," the boy said. "Besides, I know some of us are dying to hear it."
Wally frowned as his eyes travelled to his feet. Even with that, he could feel Artemis' eyes on his back. He kept his gaze glued to the floor as he heard footsteps. Only when the blonde began talking did he look up.
"I don't really know how to start this, but I guess you can gather that Roy isn't the only one with a secret," Artemis started, typing into the computers she was now standing in front of. "Or the only one with a secret involving Jade Nguyen."
One the computers, three faces appeared. The girl stepped back so the group could move to get a closer look.
"That's my mother, Paula Nguyen-Crock, she used to work for the League before my father, Lawrence "Crusher" Crock, used her as a scapegoat. She ended up in a wheelchair and jail. Once released, she decided to retire to raise me properly, away from the crime filled life of my father. Unfortunately… My sister, Jade, didn't get the chance to escape that life.
"I was so scared about you guys finding this out," the girl said, looking down at the ground now. "The Agency promised to protect me from my father, so I asked to join. I didn't realize I was going to be put with a group of kids my age. With people I would care about. I was scared you'd hate me if you knew."
"That's why…" Kaldur began, looking over at Wally.
"That's why I botched that mission, yeah," Artemis answered. She lifted her gaze, catching the ginger boy's eyes. "I was worried that if Roy got to her first that she'd let it slip. I didn't want it to go that way; I just didn't want to lose you. Any of you."
Wally took a breath in and smiled, "I think that answers all of my questions. How about we go get some bad guys?"
"You heard the man, everyone get ready, we're leaving in ten," Dick said, a grin on his face.
The group dispersed to gather their various necessities for the mission. Wally followed Artemis to where her bow was kept.
"Hey," he said in a hushed voice, leaning against the wall. "So I think it's pretty clear I'm the biggest asshole out there."
"Oh, I didn't need to reveal my secret to figure that one out," she answered, grinning up at him. "But I'm glad we're on the same page."
The ginger nodded and reached out as the girl handed him his utility belt (he had forgotten that he had started storing it by her things before that mission).
"Hey, listen," Wally said. He placed his belt on the ground quickly before taking hold of Artemis' hand. She met his gaze and he could tell her breathing had stopped, as if she was waiting for the next hit of the storm. "I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusion and I fucked up. I should have let it go, I should have listened to you, I should have trusted you. I'm sorry."
"I know," the blonde answered, squeezing his hand. "Sorry I kept it a secret."
"Don't be, with the way I reacted when I thought you were just being insecure, I can't really blame you for that one."
"I'm still sorry, to all of you," Artemis replied, shrugging. She smiled at him as she used her free hand to tuck a loose hair behind her ear. "So, bad guys now?"
"Not quite," Wally whispered. He pulled on her hand and brought her into a hug. She responded immediately by wrapping her hands around his waist. He let out a breath before breathing her in. His hands buried themselves in her hair and for a moment he didn't care they had a city to save. They were okay again. They were back on the path he wanted. They were with each other and suddenly he was invincible.
"We need to go," she mumbled into his shoulder. He nodded before they both pulled apart. "I swear to God if you die doing something stupid tonight."
"Please, look who you're talking to! What could go wrong?" the ginger exclaimed as he grabbed his dropped belt. The blonde rolled her eyes as they made their way to the others.
Everyone shared a look before they headed out. They knew this was all or nothing. They knew the thousands of lives depended on them. They knew it would be a miracle if they made it out of this.