[Mount Justice
March 26, 16:00 EST]
"Recognize: Aqualad – B02"
Kaldur calmly stepped out of the zeta tube and into Mt. Justice. By now, he was used to the sudden and stark absence of pressure all around him. Being on the surface world, without the feeling of the seas enveloping him, no longer made him feel insecure and exposed. He was far more comfortable here now and more confident in his role as leader. He knew what needed to be done and what his team needed him to be.
And that was calm, cool, and collected – especially with their worst fears bearing down upon them.
"Kaldur!" M'gann exclaimed when he walked into the mission briefing room. "We didn't think you would be fighting with us."
"Red Tornado told us that the Atlanteans were guarding the coasts of all the major cities," Conner also left the massive holographic screen to greet him. "You're not going to stay with them?"
"My king gave me a choice of where to fight," Kaldur told them both simply. "I chose to be here with my teammates."
"We're really glad to see you," Zatanna was standing beside Artemis, who was at the console trying to raise the Watchtower on communications. "We don't have any idea what's going on right now. Captain Atom contacted us ten minutes ago and told us to prepare for an incoming Manhunter attack, but we haven't heard anything since. Is the Watchtower being attacked? Is that why we can't get them to answer us?!"
She was panicking. Zatanna was still the least experienced member of their team, and although she could hold her own in a fight well enough, she had yet to figure out how to handle the stress of intense situations. Kaldur squared his shoulders and approached the monitor. He didn't have the answers to any of her questions, but he could help her stay calm. As leader, he needed to reign in his teammates and make sure that they didn't fall apart before any actual fighting began.
"It is alright," he placed a hand on her shoulder and carefully moved Artemis away from the controls. "If this truly is an impending attack, then the Justice League is currently trying to coordinate a defensive plan. We would only be hindering them by bombarding the communications satellite with calls."
"Well, they should have told us more about what's going on!" Artemis said angrily, folding her arms over her chest. "All we got was a quick 'Get ready. They're coming'. What are we supposed to do with that?!"
"Be patient," he kept his own breathing steady and regular to show them that if he wasn't frightened, they shouldn't be either. "The Justice League may not know any more than that. When they are ready to give us our assignment, they will contact us. We must make sure we are ready to answer. I want to do an equipment check while we wait."
The check wasn't necessary. Kaldur knew that his friends were well-trained enough to properly gear up when they were getting ready for a battle, but giving them something to do in the meantime did wonders in keeping their heads on straight. He knew from his time in the Atlantean military that even just touching your weapons and knowing that you were prepared gave you a sense of calm in the face of danger. So, he helped his teammates make sure they all had the shield generators that Kilowog had given them and that Artemis had all of her new arrows specifically engineered for combat against the Manhunters.
He reached back and brushed his fingers against the water-bearers strapped to his water pack to steady his own nerves. By the time they were all finished, the cave was receiving an incoming transmission from the Watchtower.
Captain Atom's silvery face and glowing yellow eyes were suddenly on screen and staring out at them grimly, "Watchtower to Mt. Justice. Respond. Are you ready for battle?"
Artemis scoffed at his words, "It's about time. We've been ready for fifteen minutes!"
Kaldur assumed control of communications, "We are prepared. May we ask our role in Earth's defense and the status of the attack?"
"We don't know how far away the Manhunters are, but we received information that they will be attacking soon. Our long range sensors are useless for detecting their approach, but we have a network of Green Lanterns spread out to warn us when they're spotted," Captain Atom relayed in curt, military tones. "The only thing we know for certain is that this will be an attack on the Justice League, not the planet. The target will be the Watchtower."
Kaldur felt his eyes widen in alarm and saw his teammates stiffen around him.
"We believe this will be a direct, concentrated assault with the purpose of eliminating the League as Earth's primary defense, leaving it open and vulnerable to the Manhunters."
"But, the League already destroyed all the Manhunter bases on Earth!" M'gann gasped, expression drawn tight with distress. "They don't have any influence here anymore."
"That is most likely what precipitated this attack. The League has presented itself as a threat too large to be ignored any longer," Captain Atom said gravely. "And so they're coming to take us out."
"What can we do?" Kaldur asked immediately, head held high. There was no time to be afraid any longer and no room for doubts.
"You'll be fighting side by side with the League," Captain Atom told them without hesitation. "On the Watchtower."
The whole Team went still. Kaldur merely stared up at the computer screen in disbelief. They were being asked to fight with their mentors and the rest of the League? As equals?
"We need every available hand to stave off this apocalypse," he continued, seeming not to notice their frozen bodies. "All of your mentors gave their consent to your participation. Your signatures have been authorized for Watchtower access, and we need you on board ASAP. Report to the observation deck and standby for further orders."
Kaldur was the first to snap out of their trance. He nodded briskly to Captain Atom and turned to make his way to the zeta tubes, "We're on our way."
The transmission ended, and the cave was silent once more. Kaldur eyed his teammates and took a deep breath, "This is what we've been waiting for since we started this team. The Justice League needs our help."
They all sprinted to the zeta tubes at once, and Kaldur waited until everyone else had been scanned before stepping in himself. He keyed in the Watchtower's coordinates and stood still while he was being teleported into space.
"-artian – B05, Superboy – B04, Aqualad – B02"
Kaldur blinked to alleviate the brightness of the zeta beam. That was another thing he'd needed to get used to when he came to the surface world; light was so much brighter up here as opposed to the soft glow of bioluminescence that Atlanteans were accustomed to. He stepped out of the tube and down the wide steps to a huge room bordered on two sides by floor to ceiling windows that looked out into the deep black of space.
The expansive observation deck was holding the largest congregation of heroes that Kaldur had ever seen in one place at the same time. There was a multitude of different colors and costumes gathered together with many voices speaking all at once. Outside of the huge windows, among the constellations and blackness of space, he could see dozens of glowing green dots scattered around the exterior of the Watchtower. They must've been the members of the Green Lantern Corps that had come to help, shielded in their energy bubbles.
With the rest of the Team, Kaldur descended to the bottom platform to stand with the other heroes. His eyes scanned the crowd for familiar faces and were instantly drawn to the two most impressive figures in the room.
Superman and Batman were standing right in front of the windows on a slightly higher, outer platform, speaking to each other in inaudible voices. Every now and then, they'd nod to someone in the crowd like they were discussing a plan for them. Kaldur spotted Black Canary quickly, standing rigidly and silently among the other nervous and chatting heroes with her eyes straight ahead and shoulders squared almost regally. Her expression was carefully stoic, but when she glanced over and saw the Team assembled, the corners of her mouth turned upwards in unmistakable pride.
A few feet away from her, both Hawkwoman and Hawkman were waiting in relaxed poses with their maces resting on shoulders and hands on hips. Kaldur spotted Huntress leaning against the far wall with her arms crossed and violet crossbow in hand, looking bored and angry at the same time. Beside her was a hero he'd never seen before. It was a tall, black-haired man in a dark blue trench coat and banded fedora – with no face. He was similarly leaning on the wall with his hands in the pockets of his coat and his head turned slightly towards Huntress like they were talking. But he had no eyes and no mouth, and his nose didn't have any nostrils. How did he breathe?
So consumed was he by the anonymous hero that Kaldur didn't see the missing two of their team until they were calling out to him. He immediately scanned the faces near where M'gann had rushed off flying to and found Robin and Wally standing together with Green Arrow.
It was the first time that Kaldur had seen his surface brother since he'd been taken. They'd been told vague details about what happened to him, and Kaldur had honestly expected him to be a mess. But the Wally that he was looking at right now was standing tall and looking fierce and confident in the face of their incoming foe. His eyes were alive and bright in a way that Kaldur hadn't seen them in a long time. He looked healthy and absolutely ready for a fight.
M'gann crashed into Wally, immediately moving to lock him into a tight hug, "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"This is déjà vu," Wally said wryly, moving to hug her back when Conner joined in, pinning Wally's arms to his sides and lifting him right off the floor.
"I heard about what you did to escape," he said with a hesitant smile like he was testing Wally's mood. "I thought it was really cool."
Wally beamed, flashing a toothy smile and hooking an arm around Conner's neck like he was telling him a secret, "I know! I'm like a Manhunter destroying machine. Heh. Get it? Anyways, don't worry, Supey. Stick with me, and I'll make sure the evil robots don't get you."
Conner jerked back and made a face while Robin cracked up laughing. Kaldur had to smile too, because it was such a normal Wally thing to say. Only, this time, he wasn't using humor and false bravado to hide behind so that they didn't see his insecurities and pain. He was just being light-hearted.
Kaldur was so relieved that he didn't notice his body was moving in time to stop it from enveloping Wally in a very quick, one-armed embrace. He stepped back right after, feeling a little awkward, "I am sorry. I know you must be tired of everyone fretting over you by now. I do not mean to make you uncomfortable."
Wally just rolled his eyes at the formality and grinned, "Calm down, Kal. You're one of my best friends. If you had any idea how uncomfortable Red Arrow's made me in the last twenty minutes…"
"What did he do?" Green Arrow asked warily, looking up from obsessively checking Artemis' quivers to make sure she had the specialized arrows. He looked like an anxious mother packing her child's backpack for their first day at school. Artemis smacked him away and warded him off with a glare.
Curiously, at his question, both Robin and Wally went quiet and turned red, mumbling dismissals and excuses that didn't match up.
"Recognize: Firestorm – 28"
Kaldur glanced over his shoulder and saw yet another hero arrive, dressed in a red and yellow costume with actual fire for hair. The newcomer casually made his way down to the rest of the gathering, and Kaldur couldn't help but wonder how many heroes the League had called to action to help in its defense this last month.
"Is there any kind of plan yet?" Artemis asked her mentor, similarly surveying all the heroes around them.
"Well, we're trying to keep the fighting up here," Green Arrow explained. "That's why we're grouping together as many heroes as possible. We don't want the Manhunters to go looking for us down on Earth and cause any damage there. As for the actual battle plan…that's still a bit unclear. I think Batman and Superman are still working out everyone's role, but for the most part, we're splitting into teams to tackle the different parts of the Watchtower. I doubt the fighting's just going to be in one place…"
"Recognize: Mister Miracle – 33, Big Barda – 34"
This time, two more heroes joined the grouping, one a man in strange, full-body armor with a high-collared green cape, and the other a woman who was easily a full foot taller than her companion and wearing similar plate and scale mail armor with an elaborate helmet. They stalked through the gathering with the air of gods, sending a rare chill down Kaldur's spine.
"At any rate, the Lanterns are probably going to be handling the battle outside along with a few in the League that can survive out in space. That'll probably be Superman, Martian Manhunter, and Captain Atom."
The sudden, uncomfortable feeling of being watched made Kaldur glance over his shoulder. It seemed that some of the heroes had finally noticed his and the Team's presence, and a few looked none too pleased that they were there. He'd always known that King Orin and the other mentors often received criticism for their decision to take on young sidekicks, but it was a little disconcerting to see so many disapproving stares all at once. Kaldur turned his back on them resolutely and tried to appear as though he hadn't noticed.
"Recognize: Atom Smasher – 30"
The floor trembled as an impossibly large hero in a full-body red and blue suit came slowly walking in.
"Do you know if our team will be split amongst the more experienced heroes, or will we be allowed to fight together?" Kaldur inquired.
"As far as I know, the eight of you will be working together," Green Arrow said thoughtfully.
"Eight?" Zatanna raised an eyebrow and looked like she was mentally counting them all.
Even Robin looked confused, "Are you talking about Red Arrow?"
"No," Green Arrow shook his head and gave them an apologetic look. "I'm actually not sure about that either. Wonder Woman just told us to expect another for your team. Didn't say why, and she's not back from Themyscira yet."
"Recognize: Fire – 36, Ice – 37"
Two beautiful women entered their ranks. The first was in all green with long, pale jade colored hair, and the second was wearing white and blue, shocking white hair framing her face in sharp spikes.
"But don't be surprised if some of the Leaguers hover by you," he warned them unhappily, sending imposing glares at the onlookers and crossing his arms. "I'm sure you've noticed. Not many are very happy with you seven being up here to help fight the Manhunters."
"Recognize: Vixen – 38"
Conner seemed especially agitated at the whispers being breathed around them, as he could hear it all clear as day. He looked several of the heroes right in the eye and growled, "Then they should get over it and stay out of our way."
He spoke loud enough for many to hear, earning the Team a few looks. But, Green Arrow smiled beneath his mustache and clapped Conner and Artemis on the back, "I don't think you'll have any trouble with the League. Just keep your focus on the Manhunters and watch each other's backs. Alright?"
They all nodded their understanding.
"Recognize: Blue Devil – 29"
"I'm going over to talk to Huntress and Question," Green Arrow jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "She'll need to coordinate with Red Arrow and myself since she uses ranged attacks too, and I'm pretty sure Question has a bug on Batman somewhere. I'm gonna see if I can figure out more about the strategy. That's a good thing to remember, by the way – if you ever need answers that no one else can get, go to Question."
Kaldur looked back at the faceless hero beside Huntress and watched Green Arrow make his way over too them. Black Canary met him halfway.
"Who do you think our eighth person is going to be?" M'gann asked worriedly.
"Recognize: Authorized Guest – Grifter"
"Do you two know anything about it?" Zatanna asked Wally and Robin, who both shrugged in reply.
"First I'm hearing about it," Robin shook his head.
Artemis poked M'gann in the side covertly and nodded towards Superman and Batman, "They probably know. Just take a listen real quick and see if you can find out."
"No!" M'gann gasped in a scandalized voice, looking around to see if anyone had heard. She turned back to Artemis, who was grinning slyly. "Are you crazy?! I'd never do that!"
"I actually don't think you could get into Batman's head," Robin chuckled wryly. "And that's nothing against you, it's just…he's Batman, y'know?"
M'gann snuck another look for a second and shook her head furiously, "Not doing it!"
Wally and Artemis both snickered to each other, but Conner actually seemed to be trying to eavesdrop on the two heroes across the room. He wasn't the only one either. It looked like almost everyone in the room was straining to hear something or asking around for little snippets of information.
"Recognize: Wonder Woman – 03, Authorized Guest – Wonder Girl"
"Wonder Girl?" Wally frowned in confusion and exchanged looks with Robin.
"Who's that?" Zatanna looked to each of them for an answer, but Kaldur had no idea.
He stepped closer to the edge of the crowd to see the zeta tubes better. Wonder Woman was moving down the steps, carrying herself with both the grace of royalty and the lethal stride of a warrior. As usual, her commanding presence drew the attention of nearly everyone in the room, but Kaldur and his teammates were more interested in the younger girl following alongside her. She was shorter by maybe a foot and looked to be Kaldur's age – in her mid teens. The young girl's appearance closely resembled Wonder Woman's; both had long, lustrous black hair and the same deep blue eyes. Her costume was even modeled after Wonder Woman's – a bright red halter top jumpsuit with stars running down the sides and black boots. A golden lasso and short sword hung at her hips, and a shield was strapped to her back.
She didn't have the same confidence either. Her demeanor was an odd mixture of nervousness and glee – like this was the best day of her life, but it wasn't quite turning out like she'd hoped.
The Amazons paused for a few heartbeats while Wonder Woman scanned the crowd like a hawk. Then her eyes fell on the Team, and she smiled like she'd found what she wanted. Wonder Woman steered the young girl towards Kaldur and the others, coming to a halt right in front of them. She had one fist on her hip and the other hand across the girl's shoulders, "Team, I'd like you to meet your newest member. This is my little sister, Wonder Girl. She'll be fighting side by side with you today."
Wonder Girl held her head high, no doubt to make her mentor proud, but her expression was shy. Kaldur had no idea if she was Wonder Woman's actual sister or not. He knew that all Amazons saw each other as sisters and referred to themselves as such. Either way, she greatly interested Kaldur. He felt self-conscious openly staring at her, but he couldn't tear his eyes away.
"These young heroes will be your teammates from now on," Wonder Woman looked down at her sister. "Aqualad is the leader."
Wonder Girl looked over at Kaldur, and the motion sent her red, star earrings swinging mesmerizingly. She gave him a smile and a hello.
Kaldur clasped her hand firmly and tried to respond with his warmest smile, "Welcome! We are happy to have you with us. Especially today."
"Thank you," she beamed. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."
"Your teammates are Superboy, Miss Martian, Artemis, Kid Flash, Robin, and Zatanna," Wonder Woman nodded to each of them in turn. "We've gone over all of your powers, and I know you're all familiar with an Amazon's abilities."
"We are," Kaldur nodded in confirmation.
"Follow Aqualad's orders as you would my own," Wonder Woman addressed her sister firmly.
"I will," Wonder Girl eagerly promised.
Then Wonder Woman's expression softened, and she smoothed her sister's hair back with distinct fondness, "Fight well, sister."
She left to go join Batman and Superman, ignoring the sea of stares she received along the way. The Team seemed to snap out of it and enthusiastically greeted Wonder Girl. While she was trapped in M'Gann's attention, Kaldur felt a sharp elbow jab into his ribs.
He turned his head to see Wally leaning on his shoulder and pointing at the corner of his own mouth, "You've got like…some drool right there."
Kaldur's face heated up, and he stammered an excuse, but Wally and Robin were already laughing too hard to hear it.
"Recognize: Flash – 04"
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[The Watchtower
March 26, 16:30 EST]
Wally looked away from Kaldur's embarrassment and saw his uncle stepping out from the zeta tubes. His smile faded away, and he watched Uncle Barry spend half an instant searching the crowd before spotting him. He sped over to Wally and took his arm, leading him a few paces away from the rest of the Team.
Before he had the chance to even open his mouth and ask how Aunt Iris was, Uncle Barry was answering him, "She's safe, along with Joan, Jay, and Max."
"What about Zoom?" Wally asked in a low voice, feeling his stomach twist anxiously at the thought of his family down on the same planet as Professor Zoom. It was much safer than being on the Watchtower at the moment but not ideal. He really didn't like how fixated Zoom was on Aunt Iris, and both Max and Jay were still injured. They would be at an extreme disadvantage in a fight if Professor Zoom found them.
"There's nothing about the safe house in Alaska that links it to me," he assured him with a worried, pensive look – like that wasn't enough to convince himself either. "But even if he finds them, it'll be okay."
"How?!" Wally whispered, trying not to alert his teammates even though he was in borderline hysteria. He knew that in tense times like this, the nerve-wracking waiting before the start of battle, it was important to stay as calm as possible. Psyching yourself out before the fighting even began could be just as deadly as the fight itself.
Uncle Barry rested one hand on Wally's shoulder, "I taught her how to disable a speedster long enough to escape, and I have a pretty wide network of friends that she can call on if she needs to. Granted, most of them are here on the Watchtower, but there are others."
Wally frowned as he thought about what Uncle Barry meant. He couldn't really imagine his aunt taking down Zoom by herself, but he trusted his uncle and tried to push it to the back of his mind.
"Believe me – your aunt means the world to me," Uncle Barry tried to be reassuring for him. "I would not have left her unprotected. Besides, she can take care of herself. She's always been the toughest person I've ever met…although, you've been taking that title lately."
He winked and shook Wally's shoulder warmly.
Wally gave his uncle an embarrassed sort of smile, but hesobered quickly, "Do you think we can do it? Fight off the Manhunters?"
Uncle Barry looked over the top of Wally's head with a thoughtful frown. His grim eyes darted from hero to hero and then focused back on Wally with a helpless smile, "I think we have to."
That was when Wally realized that his uncle wasn't sugarcoating it for him. He wasn't treating him like a kid or trying to protect him from the cold, hard truth.
"The Justice League is the largest organization of heroes on the planet," he went on. "If we fail…well, there's not much hope for Earth. Martian Manhunter wasn't able to convince Mars to help us, and the Lantern Corps can't take out the androids like the Guardians did the first time."
"So…we're it?" Wally swallowed hard, surveying the gathering behind him. There were more here than he'd expected but still not enough.
Behind him, Uncle Barry put a hand on his shoulder, "But we're not alone. And since the League was formed, we've pulled off some pretty amazing stunts. We've taken down enemies that were much bigger than us before."
Wally's eyes fell on his own teammates, and he remembered all the times they'd come out on top when they shouldn't have been able to. Freeing Conner from the intimidating Cadmus facility had been sloppy, but they'd defeated Blockbuster on their own as well as a whole army of weaponized genomorphs. They'd foiled international assassins multiple times and bested some of the big guns like Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, and Black Adam.
He looked at the Team one by one, thinking about how much each of them had overcome to get this far. As if he could sense Wally staring, Dick turned his head and locked eyes with him. His mouth stretched into a crooked grin, and Wally felt warmth coil through his limbs. Dick returned the smile with one of his own, and it made Wally's body hum with slow vibrations.
"Plus," Uncle Barry's voice captured his attention, and Wally glanced back to see his uncle looking between him and Dick with the barest hint of a suspicious smile. "We've all got something we love that we're protecting. That's a more powerful motivator than anything else."
He didn't give any other indication that he knew what had happened between them. He just squeezed Wally's shoulder again, "I need to go find out what we're doing. Stay ready, and we'll tell you your role soon."
"Yeah, okay." Wally nodded, knowing his uncle was about to speed off. He needed to say it now. In case… "Um…"
Uncle Barry paused and waited curiously.
"Thank you," he said lamely, trying to convey what he meant but just ending up gesturing uselessly. "For y'know, everything. I really…"
His throat swelled shut, and he couldn't finish the sentence, but Uncle Barry seemed to get it.
"You're welcome, Kid," Uncle Barry said quietly, pulling him into a quick, one-armed embrace. "But you never have to thank me again."
Then he sped off to stand with Hal and Kilowog, both of whom were waiting to hear the plan before rejoining the other Lanterns. Wally watched him for a few seconds before moving back to his own teammates. Most of them were still getting acquainted with Wonder Girl, but Dick broke away and gave Wally a silent look that clearly wanted to know if he was okay. He nodded easily with an anxious sort of grin that belied his nerves.
Suddenly, Wally felt M'gann's presence in his mind – he really was getting better at detecting telepathy. Then the individual minds of his teammates were joined up one by one. Wally remembered when they'd all adamantly refused to let M'gann do this, but now it just seemed natural. It was quicker and more efficient than talking and a much easier way to get your point across.
'So, Wonder Girl,' M'gann's voice rang out cheerfully in their heads. 'Do you have a name you'd like us to call you, or would you just prefer your hero name?'
Apparently, Wonder Girl had never experienced telepathic communication before. She reeled back in surprise, blue eyes going wide in alarm and darting around frantically for the source of the voice in her head. M'gann just stayed still and waved at her with a warm smile.
'Sorry…I'm not used to…speaking this way,' Wonder Girl thought haltingly as she figured out how to organize her thoughts clearly. 'My name is Donna Troy. I've no qualms about sharing it with you.'
'You can call me M'gann!' she replied joyfully, mentally prodding the others to join her.
Predictably, Kaldur immediately offered his name to her. Wally resisted the urge to tease him any further. It was still funny, but the Atlantean had a tendency of overthinking things, and Wally didn't want to push him too much. It was probably best to let that take off on its own.
Artemis, Zatanna, and Conner gave their names next, and Donna really seemed excited that they were accepting her so easily. For the first time in his hero career though, Wally was a little hesitant to reveal his identity. After everything that had happened with his father, he didn't really want anyone new to know it. Just in case. Of course, his father and Professor Zoom could have told any number of people by now, so what did it matter? And Wally had decided not to let his dad dictate what he did anymore.
So, when Donna looked over at him shyly, he made an impulsive choice, 'I'm Wally West.'
'It's very nice to meet you,' Donna smiled at him in relief.
'Sorry, I can't tell you my name,' Dick shrugged helplessly with an apologetic, slanted grin. 'Mentor's rules.'
Donna didn't seem offended in the slightest. If anything, her smile grew wider. 'I've been told about Batman's paranoia. Don't worry.'
Wally had to laugh at that. He looked over at Dick to see him similarly struggling with laughter when a very recognizable hero cleared his throat. The whole room went silent. All conversation died down, and Wally's voice caught in his chest. He turned around and saw that both Superman and Batman seemed to be done talking. Superman was surveying the crowd like he was about to speak, "Everyone, as you know, we are all here because we received credible information that a Manhunter attack is impending."
Wally tried not to feel like everyone was suddenly looking at him. Because, after all, he was the source of that 'credible information'.
"We don't know exactly when the attack will hit us," Superman's voice carried out over the crowd like thunder. "But we will be ready for it. The League has been training for weeks for this, and thanks to the help we received from the Green Lantern Corps, we're well-equipped for the fight."
"It'll take place on two fronts," Batman explained without moving from his spot. His voice wasn't as loud and was much more abrasive, but it instantly drew all the attention in the room. "The Green Lanterns and any other hero able to withstand the conditions of space will be our front lines. They will intercept the battle first and engage outside the Watchtower. The rest of us will handle the battle inside. Mister Terrific will operate the Watchtower's defenses and keep the core stabilized, and everyone else will split into squads and spread out to combat the threat where needed. Make no mistake; they will get through, and their goal is to eliminate every single one of us."
Not for the first time, Wally felt his insides twist themselves into knots. Leave it to Batman to terrify instead of inspire.
"We need to watch each other's backs and work together to defeat this enemy," Superman seemed to sense the all around nervousness and took over. "This isn't just Earth we're defending. The Manhunters are a threat to every planet with life in the universe. We must succeed."
That seemed to puff out everyone's chests with determination. Wally didn't need the motivational speeches. He didn't know if it was selfish or not, but he already knew what he was protecting and didn't require anything else to keep him going.
Superman and Batman were ordering the assembled Leaguers into teams when Dick nudged Wally's elbow and spoke in a low voice, "You look like you're really hoping that you're not wrong about this."
It took him a moment to figure out what Dick meant. Yes – in a way, Wally hoped that he hadn't read Professor Zoom's signs wrong. It would be extremely embarrassing to be the one who pulled the false alarm on a doomsday event, especially when he was in the middle of the entire Justice League and a good, hefty portion of the Green Lantern Corps. Wally could only imagine the glares he'd get if the Manhunters never showed up. But, then again…
"Considering the alternative, I really wouldn't mind being wrong all that much," Wally whispered back. In fact, now he really wanted to be wrong.
Very soon after, all the Leaguers were divided up into teams, and the heroes fighting in space exited the Watchtower to coordinate with the Lanterns. All the teams were well-formed – equal in strength and experience, averaging four to five heroes each. Wally's team was assigned to stay together despite numbering eight. He supposed that was because of their age and inexperience. For once, that didn't insult him.
The Team spoke mostly through M'gann's mind link after that, coming up with whatever they could talk about to keep their thoughts off of the looming battle. Roy came by and dragged Wally, Dick, and Kaldur aside to basically threaten them with death if they let themselves get hurt. He only stayed a few minutes before he had to leave with his own team once Batman gave the order for everyone to go to their assigned sections of the Watchtower.
The Team was assigned to the observation deck along with a second team consisting of Black Canary, Vixen, Atom Smasher, and Fire. If he took the time to really think about it, Wally probably would have been suspicious of the fact that they were the closest team to the zeta transport. Their mentors may have been trying to give them a last minute escape if they wanted it, but Wally decided to think that it was random. None of his teammates were the type to run to save themselves.
They coordinated a plan with Black Canary's group, turned on their communicators, and waited.