"Aqua Girl, status." I say in a voice I hope sounds leaderlike.
"In position." she says through the communicator, "Bane is within sight."
Lifting my binoculars, I scan the terrain of the jungle surrounding me. We were currently back on Santa Prisca- not exactly the safest place to be when the leader of the island has a grudge against you, but things were different this time. At least, I hope things would go better than the last time I was on this island with the team.
As Bat Man instructed, he wanted us to investigate the odd supplies that had been shipped into Santa Prisca the last few weeks. While it was known to smuggle illegal drugs and other precarious liquids, a new company had begun to start trade with Bane.
The company, despite our best effort, was untraceable, as well as learning what exactly were within the crates being shipped off. The only way to figure it out was go ourselves.
Which was odd all in itself for a company to have no means of contact- so perhaps it was just a front for something bigger?
Bat Man had a theory that whatever was in these boxes had something to do with The Light, and in a greater sense, Cenver.
I suppose that is why Roy asked to join in on this mission. It was nice having him along- he was an unusual calming presence despite him often giving others the cold shoulder. His experience as a hero helped me feel at ease though.
Not saying I hadn't gotten slightly use to being Gamma's leader- we've had a few missions before this. Investigating previous criminals, scouting out different spots where criminals might be, or even just visiting certain eye witnesses to ask what they saw.
I worked well with Rocket, Garth and Tula. Rocket didn't always listen, but she meant well and took everything I said under consideration. Then Tula and Garth were always very calm, despite Garth being unsure of his actions from time to time.
Which was fine since he is new, everyone does that. But Tula, she is just a natural. Confident but humble, I suppose is the best way to describe her. She is a good person to turn to for advice on many things, and in turn she comes to me when she doesn't understand something about the surface world.
It was quite the challenge to explain to her what a Taco was- In the end I just had to give her one and point out the different ingredients. She really likes them.
Overall, Gamma was great. They understood that I had little to no experience as a leader, and often gave offers to what they thought we should do, but accepted what I would choose. As well as told me I was stupid if I choose something stupid, but Ari usually beat them to it.
"I'm in position too." Rocket informed us.
"As am I." Garth says.
Sinking deeper into my hiding spot on the top of the cliff, I glance at Roy, who is crouched beside me. "Really think Cenver might be involved?" I asked, handing Roy the binoculars.
"Not sure- I suppose that would depend on if she is big on trading with others." he holds it up to his face.
"Not unless it benefits her." Ari speaks for us. "So if she is, then Bane would have to have something she wants."
"Super induced steroids could be useful to a lot of people." Roy mumbles, "Or at least be used to make something more… long lasting, like the Blockbuster serum."
"That could be it- and we know The Light has tried to use Bane's factory for something similar to it." I put a hand to my ear, "Rocket, any signs of the delivery?"
"Not yet." she says, "I'll keep you posted."
Nodding, then finding it ridiculous that I nodded since she can't see me, I lower my hands. Roy is quiet, eyes focused on scanning the surroundings of the factory. Staring at him for a few minutes, I say, "You holding up okay?"
He turns his head to me. His mask hides them, but I know there are bags under his eyes sketched in from nights of bad sleep and a restless search for the real Roy Harper.
"I'm fine."
"You haven't been sleeping."
"Is that really something you should be pointing out?" he grumbles, "The girl with the billion problems?"
"And you're the guy with his own billion problems." I huff, "And if everyone else can point out my issues, I can do the same." I lower my voice, "Maybe it is Cenver and the Light. Maybe it'll give us a clue to where another hideout of theirs is and we can check it out and maybe learn something." I offer, hoping to give him a little hope.
"Or maybe it is nothing." hope was cut down instantly.
"Way to be optimistic." I scoff.
He smirks a bit, "I'm as optimistic as a sunflower."
"That doesn't make any sense."
He lifts his hand suddenly to shush me. Freezing, we press ourselves to the ground when a car passes by below us. Peeking up at them from the grass, I narrow my eyes at the vehicle, spotting a few men with guns inside. The patrol was returning.
"Hey, I got something." Rocket speaks up into our communicators, "Fancy looking Helicopter comin' in for a landing."
"The next shipment?" Tula asks
"I think so."
"Who is inside?" Roy demands
"Hold on…" there is the sound of shifting clothes, "Hold the presses it's Sportsmaster." She gasped
I glanced at Roy. Sportsmaster seemed to be a constant presence to the Light's off grid plans.
"What is the plan?" Roy demanded. I freeze up for a second before clearing my throat.
"...Hold off on attacking. I want to see how this business trade plays out and see what Sportsmaster gets from it." Better to play it safe and see what we are up against before charging in.
"Roger that, standing by." Rocket and the others confirm.
Rising to our feet Roy and me moved forward to our next position in hopes of getting a better view of the deal. Crouching behind a few bushes we peeked over, spotting Sportsmaster not too far away. We couldn't hear what he was saying, but we could at least see him talking with Bane.
Bane wasn't too keen on selling his venom steroid before, but with our previous fight here at Santa Prisca- I guess he changed his mind.
His conversation with SportsMaster seemed business like, neither saying much and the friendly chat very little- but then Bane pulled something out of his pocket. Unsure what the object was, we watched quietly as he handed it to Sports Master for him to look at.
After turning it over a few times, he nodded. With the nod, a few more crates were brought out to SportsMaster by Bane's goons, all eagerly pilling them onto the Helicopter and retrieving the payment in the back.
Money was what SportsMaster brought to this deal. But what was Bane giving to him?
"Tula, Garth- can you get close enough to one of those crates?" I ask them.
"We shall try."
A few moments later, the communicator was back online.
"We have enough cover to look through one unseen. There are not many of these crates, so we must be fast." Garth told us.
"What is inside?" Rocket inquired.
"It appears to be- some sort of metal?" Garth announced. "Metal I have never encountered before."
"Metal? That isn't what Bane usually specializes in." Roy glanced at me.
"I do not believe it was originally his." Tula continues, "I think these were perhaps stolen from somewhere else for there is no indication that they were made from this factory." Tula cuts herself off, "There is a name- It is in Swedish. I do not understand it but I will take a picture for us to investigate further."
"Good plan, Aqua Girl." I smile. "Grab a piece of that metal too if you can- we'll bring it back to Bat Man for further analysis."
"Confirmed-" There was a heavy bang, and the we could hear the echoing sounds of gun shots, both from in a distance, and from the communicators.
"Our cover has been jeopardized!" Tula yells.
"On our way!" I jump to my feet and slap my hand down on Roy's shoulder.
A second later we were at Tula and Garth's side, Roy's bow already set with an arrow and firing. The smoke emitting from the arrow gave us a quick cover.
"Little heroes come to my factory again?!" Bane yells, pushing out of the smoke to glare at us. SportsMaster isn't as keen to start small chat and reveals his presence by throwing a spear. I lift my hand to block the attack, shivering of the sound of metal grinding against my shield.
"SportsMaster." Roy growled out.
Bane motioned for SportsMaster to step back, "You have your supplies SportsMaster, get off my island."
"Gladly." Sportsmaster began to step back towards the helicopter. He couldn't get far before Rocket emerged from the tress, attacking him. We took that as a chance to run forward and joining her, Garth leaping upward to slam his foot into Bane's face.
The battle was quick and honestly, moved too fast for me to remember every detail. Since becoming Leader, or what not, battles seems to be something I focus on yet also focus very little on… if that makes sense.
I mean, obviously, I am focused on the fight because I am in the fight. But I am also completely focused in on my team mates and making sure they are okay and stressing on whether or not they might get hurt, which makes me unfocused on the actual combat part.
Either way, Sportsmaster got to his plane and took us, leaving retreat as the only option for us.
It wasn't exactly a win, but we at least got something out of it.
A chunk of that strange metal.
When we returned to the cave, Bat Man was quick to call over the Atom to help confirm what kind of metals Bane was selling to Sportsmaster.
"Incredible." Atom takes the metal from Garth's hand to investigate it. "This color- the texture- I've never seen anything like this before." he runs his fingers over it with a sparkle in his eyes. "You said that they had entire crates of this stuff?"
"Not a whole lot, but yes." I nod, "They were selling it to SportsMaster."
"This could be a rare type of material, no doubt priceless if used correctly. Where in the world did that brute Bane even find this?" Atom marvels. "He didn't make it did he?"
"We do not believe so." Tula explained, lifting her hand to bring up the holographic projection of the picture she took. "We believe it originated from whatever this name is."
Bat Man didn't look at it for longer than 2 seconds before saying, "I know this company- It is a research facility in Marstrand Sweden, directed by Doctor Hutcheson. They specialize in many different fields."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's head over there and demand to know what they are doing helping the Light." Roy growled.
Bat Man silence him, "We've gotten recent reports of a break in to the facility and several accounts of supplies being stolen. These crates were some of the stolen items."
"Why would Bane steal from them specifically?" I inquire. Bat Man turns to take the metal from Atom's hands.
"There was word that they had discovered a new material within their research- I'll send your team over to discover the full properties of this Metal and why the Light wants their hands on it." He hands the piece back to me.
Nodding, I place it back into the bag and seal it. "When should we leave?"
"You've done enough for today and it is late. Rest for now." Bat Man instructed, "I will send word to Doctor Hutcheson on your arrival."
We nod once, but Roy doesn't seem too happy that he has to wait and turns to storm off. I on the other hand was grateful for the time off. It meant I would have a chance to prepare for tomorrow.
I glance at the clock. TWO IN THE MORNING?!
I mean today! It is today!
Today was something that could not be fooled with! The importance that was this day would go down in history as the best day ever! I would make sure of this!
So I took a quick shower, changed my clothes and snuck my way to Conner's room to prepare for the event to come. It was his Birthday after all.
And that is why I am sneaking into my brother's room and tackling him awake.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" I yell into his ear. He wakes up screaming, jumping three feet in the air and tossing me off of him.
"Arinna!" he roars, leaping off his bed to chase me around his room.
"Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!" I chant, tossing streamers and glitter at him. "Get up! Get ready! Meet me in the loading bay!" I barrel through the door, a trail of glitter behind me. Stumbling into the loading bay, I shriek when I run around the Arinna Mobile and almost crash into another form.
Barely side stepping, my gaze catches with blue eyes and fluffy blonde hair, "Stephan-?" I trip and he catches me by the arms.
"Oh, Arinna!" he smiles as he helps me up, "What are you doing up so late?"
"...It's 3 in the morning." I tell him
He blinks than glances at his watch, "Oh." he smiles nervously, "I suppose then the correct question is, what are you doing up so early?"
"Well I just got back from a mission a little while ago. Now I'm preparing for Conner's Birthday." I tell him, "What are you doing up so early?"
"I seem to have lost track of time.' he admits, "I thought it was only midnight."
"Oh, well you should probably go to bed." I pat his back.
He nods absentmindedly, yawning, "What are you up too?" he starts shuffling pass me.
"I'm taking Conner for a beginning the day present." I grin.
Giving me a curt nod, Stephan waves and disappears down the hall. I always forget that he lives here too.
That aside, Conner eventually stumbles into my sight, his eyes hazy and his expression grumpy. "What do you want?" he yawned, "It is too early for this."
"We're heading out." I toss him the pink floral design helmet I got him and his hisses at it.
"I don't even need a helmet."
"There is no such thing as being too safe." I said
"Yes. Yes there is." he disagrees, "I don't even like this helmet."
"But I made it for you." I pout.
"... You couldn't have added flames?" he winces, "Or at least something cool?"
"There's a bear." I point to it, "That is cool." I point to the teddy bear sticker on the back.
He sighs, morally struggling for 10 minutes before he slammed it on top of his head, "Why are we leaving so early?" he grumbles.
"It is your special day." I giggle, "A special day requires something special."
"And it can't possibly be special at 9? Or at least 8? It can only be special at 3 in the morning?"
"Yes." I nod.
Getting into the Arinna mobile, Conner gives me an annoyed look, "Can't we just teleport there?"
"If all I ever did was teleport where I wanted to go, what would I use the Arinna mobile for?" I ask him, "Plus it isn't that far. It'll take 5 minutes, tops."
"It would take 5 seconds with teleportation." he grunts, hopping in.
"Suck it up and deal." I start the engine and we are off, shooting down the cave and towards the woods below. Well, not woods per say, but an area largely encompassed by foliage? Big park?
I dunno, there is grass and trees, but not enough trees to make it a forest.
There is a field though. That was our destination. Conner wasn't pleased when we parked.
"A field." he says, "My birthday present that was oh so important to come out before even the sun itself…. It's a field."
"Not the field." I chuckle, climbing out.
"...The grass. I swear if it is the grass Arinna I am dumping your body into the ocean."
"Just come on." I motion for him to follow.
Creeping into the field, I sit down within the tall grass, my face barely able to creep up from the top. The field is barely visible within my perspective, but most likely completely viewable to Conner. He eventually joins me in sitting down after grumping around a bit.
"Nothing says Birthday like sitting in a field while it is dark." he says sarcastically.
I hum at him, "Yup."
He looks mortified, "Is this the gift?"
"Nope."
He huffs, "Then what is it?" he demands.
"Wait for it." I tell him.
10 minutes later, the roars at me, "What are we waiting for?"
"Well if you would stop yelling and just look then you would see!" I yell back.
Huffing once, something caught Conner's eye. A little light that floated up from the ground- followed by a few similar to it.
They circle around us, illuminating our faces in a gentle light. Conner doesn't say anything, his gaze never once leaving the sight before him.
"Fireflies." He says.
"I discovered them one day while I was out here."
"Why were you out here in the middle of the night?"
"I struggle to sleep sometimes. Fields help me feel less restless." I hug my knees close and glance at him. I smile when one moves closer to his nose, landing on it. He crosses his eyes to gawk at it.
Letting it sit for a few seconds, he blew up towards his nose, causing it to fly off in a panic.
We sat there for 30 minutes before getting up and heading back.
"Well?" I ask, "Did you enjoy it?"
He glances at me, and finally says, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."
"So you loved it." I coo
"I didn't say that."
"But you were thinking it." I poke his chest. He hits my hand away, grumbling.
"...Would could have still been able to see them at 5 o'clock, just saying." he smirks, "Didn't really have to wake up at 3 for this."
I hit him again. "Happy Birthday."
"...Thanks."
000-000
The rest of the day was spent setting up Conner's birthday. M'gann was very enthused about every little detail, insisting the whole thing had to be perfect. I was in agreement with her and often had to teleport Wally a good mile away whenever he tried to sneak a piece of the cake too early.
"Come on, Arinna." he whined after returning for the 6th time. "Just one slice?"
"No."
"But it looks so tasty. It is a crime against the food gods to just let it sit there another second!"
"Wally, I said no. You got two cakes for your birthday, you have to let Conner have all of his too." I hit him with a spoon. He recoils and grouches into the living room.
"He won't even eat the whole thing, the thing is huge!" To be precise this cake was triple stacked and at least 18 inches long and both sides. I may have over done it a bit with how much cake we would need.
"Well he will want a majority of it!" I call to him, placing the candles on top of the cake.
"Oh, Arinna that looks amazing!" M'gann gushed when she returned to the cave with dozens of balloons in her hands.
"Thanks." I grin, "Did you get them?"
"All 250 of them." she held them up.
"You got Conner 250 balloons?" Zatanna asked in awe.
"It took forever to get them up." Nicole stepped into the room at that point, Match at her side. He seemed proud of himself and Zatanna could only assume he did most of the balloons.
"All with the Super Man insignia on them." M'gann said proudly, "Speaking of, Super man is coming to the party, yes?"
"Of course he is. I would hit him if he didn't." I nod, "He is off distracting Conner with a trip around Metropolis. They should be back in two hours. I thought it would be nice if they got some quality time together."
"Nice." Zatanna smiled,
Match held up his hand and signed something. Zatanna looked to Nicole for a translation. "Superman said next time it would just Match and him. He is really looking forward to it.'
'I see." Zatanna chuckled, "Well the room is looking great so far but-" she titled her head in thought. Then she lifted her hands and said some strange incantation that caused the streamers that were sitting on the table to lift upwards and attach to the walls and roof. "There we go."
M'gann and me clapped, "Perfect."
Robin and the others appeared through the Zata tube a little while later, each carrying gifts, "The place looks great!" Rocket said, though she looked exhausted. We had been having a lot of missions lately and with her school work I bet she was exhausted. I'm glad she gets to relax a little bit today.
"I have never been to a surface celebration before, I am very excited." Garth agreed, "I hope Conner enjoys my celebratory gift for his new age." he held it up with pride, though the wrapping around the gift was very odd.
"You wrap that yourself?" Robin snickered.
Garth's expression fell a bit, "I am still puzzled by the use of tape and scissors." he admits, embarrassed.
"It was a challenge for myself as well." Tula says nervously, holding up a similar horribly wrapped gift.
"They- it is fine." M'gann insists, "Conner won't mind at all."
I chuckle at how cute they are, and show them were to put the gifts. "You two seem to have gotten along well here on the surface." I point out. They smile at me and nod.
"Some things are still confusing, but I am enjoying my time all the same." Garth grins. "As well as everyone here on the team, they are very kind."
"You two have done great on the team." I agree, "In fact, I don't really think there is a need for you to stay on Gamma much longer."
The two frown a bit at this, "What do you mean?"
I straighten, "Oh, I didn't mean anything bad by that. Gamma is basically supposed to be the team were new members or those who can't do many missions are put on. It is a starting point for those unsure of their powers or team work. That is why you were put there since we didn't know how you would react to being on the surface or with the team."
"Then you are saying we will be moving to another team?" Tula raises her eye brow.
"Basically- I don't know which one. It is based more on your experience and abilities after that." I tell them. I feel a sense of pride with how far the two have come, "I'm sure you both could get into Alpha easily."
Glancing at each other, the two grin, "We appreciate that, Arinna. Thank you for helping us when we first arrived."
I shake it off, "I'm glad you two are here." Sharing a small chuckle, I return to the kitchen to finish the cooking for today's celebration.
As I pull the cookies out of the oven and put them down, a pair of arms wrap around my shoulder and someone nuzzles their face into the side of my own. "Kaldur." I chuckle recognizing him instantly since he always does this.
"Arinna." he greets.
"What have you been up to all day?" I coo, turning to hug him.
"A mission with My King." he explains, "I came as soon as I was able, I hope I did not miss much."
"The Birthday boy hasn't even arrived yet, so you are just on time." Pulling away, I smile, "Have you decided which team Tula and Garth will be joining?"
"I have discussed it with Bat Man and we are both unsure. We still have yet to see how they react with high stress missions and the full capability of their abilities. We will place them into Beta first and then see if they will stay with that team or move up." He takes my hands, "Have you been up all night?"
"Is it obvious?" I ask, surprised he noticed.
His thumb brushes under my eye, "Only a little."
"I got back from the mission late, and was too excited for Conner's Birthday to sleep." I explain, "I'll get plenty of rest tonight."
"Did you show him the fireflies?" he inquired. I brighten at the mention of them and nod.
"I think he really liked it, but he won't admit it." I say, "Next time you and me should go again." The two of us have gone before and it was our little secret till I told Kaldur I wasn't sure what to give Conner and he suggested that.
It would still be Kaldur and my spot though- no brother would change that.
"You sure it was okay?" I ask
"A meadow is a meadow, those belong to everyone." he tells me, "It will still be the same as long as we get chances to go there alone at times."
"We will." I hug him again, "What about you? Did you get Conner a gift?"
Kaldur held up a box, "I thought perhaps he might enjoy a new jacket."
"He would." I agree, "As long as it is black or brown and gloomy."
"Would dark brown suffice?"
"It is perfect." I pause, "You still have to tell me what you want for your birthday." I remind him.
He almost pouts, "I have nothing in mind."
"Then I'll take you somewhere.' I offer,
"I would enjoy just spending the day with you. It does not matter where we go." He didn't say that in a he was trying to be romantic kind of way, he said it like he honestly and truly meant it. It was just something that was natural to him, like snuggling up in a blanket with hot chocolate when it snows.
When he looked up from examining Kaldur's gift, his expression calm, he was not expecting me to be giving him the sappiest look ever mustered on this planet. "W-What?" he asks.
"That was the sweetest thing ever." I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. He blinks, bewildered.
"What was…?"
"You just being you."
"Oh."
"Yeah, Oh." I snort at him. Then, with my arms still around his neck, I move my fingers below his ears, pressing down to tickle the spot. He tenses, his shoulders shooting up and pressing his chin to his collarbone in attempt to get me to stop. My hands get squished between the two and I can't pull away even if I wanted to. "Tickle tickle~" I coo.
He makes a noise that could be considered a laugh, and tries to step away from me, his lips puling upward into a smile, "Stop."
"You never should have told me you were ticklish under your ears."
"I should have never done so." He agrees, finally managing to tug my hands away and forcing them to go back at my sides.
Sharing a smile, I jumped when my phone began to vibrate. Glancing down and realizing I got a text from Superman, I gasp. "GUYS!" I scream to the others, "Conner and Super Man are heading back right now! Quick! Hide!"
Everyone scrambled to duck behind couches while Nicole switched off the light. Waiting with baited breath, I grinned when I heard the Zata tube turn on. Super Man's voice echoed in the room a second later, mid explanation about something krypton related.
Waiting 5 seconds, not willing to give too much time with Conner's excellent vision, we leapt up screaming, "SURPRISE! Happy Birthday, Conner!"
He jumped in shock, his growing wide. Dumbstruck, he glanced at Super Man, who was grinning, then back to us.
"You guys…" Conner mumbled, "You didn't-" he looked angry, but it was faltering, "What is this?"
"Your birthday party, silly." M'gann runs up and grabs his arm, tugging him closer, "It is your Birthday after all."
"I don't-" he looked back to Super Man for help, but the older man simply held up a birthday present with a sly smile.
"Happy Birthday, little brother."
Conner was struggling to mask his joy with frustration, and let M'gann lead him into the room where we were quick to commence with the gifts. Conner loved all of them, but was a little confused with the rainbow sparkle jacket that Garth got for him. "Uh… thanks?"
Garth smiles, saying that he read it was in style in some surface magazine. I had to see what kind of magazine would insist that this jacket was in style.
"Cake time!" Rocket cheered.
"Finally!" Wally pumped his fist.
With a cheer we began to sing when M'gann brings out the birthday cake. Conner gives this little huff, trying his best to look like he didn't care, but his eyes were directly on the cake, sparkling with excitement. He loved this.
Celebrating his creation and that fact that he was there- who wouldn't be happy?
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"
Through the cheer and joy, I scanned over the face of my friends. They were all clapping and singing, expect for one.
It was Robin. He was clapping, and mumbling the words, but his eyes were down casted, his brows furrowed slightly.
Puzzled by his mood, I lowered my hands a bit, my voice dropping. "Happy birthday dear Conner."
He noticed my gaze then and straightened, putting on a smile and raising his voice, "Happy birthday to you."
I give him a forced smile, not quite sure what I just witnessed, but putting my attention back on Conner. I couldn't help but glance back at Robin from time to time.
After that, during the cutting of the cake, the presents, and the party afterward, I kept looking back to Robin. From time to time he would be smiling and laughing with the others, but he seemed distant.
The night ended with M'gann giving Conner a big kiss and all of us cheering at the sight. From there we slowly dispatched, heading back to our own houses and rooms to retire for the night.
I attempted to ask Robin what was wrong, but he shrugged it off as if it was nothing, insisting he was just tired from a long night of patrol.
Bat Man and him would not look each other in the eyes.
Did they have a fight maybe?
I couldn't be sure. I suppose I would just have to wait and see.
-000Next day-000
"Bat Man." I raise my hand.
"Arinna." he nods to me.
"So we are going to see Hutcheson, to figure out everything we can about that metal we got from Sportsmaster. I get that… but why is Stephan here?" I point to him, already feeling Ari getting restless at his presence.
"He will be joining you to go talk to Doctor Hutcheson." Bat Man explained, "Stephan knows him and with him present he may be more open to discuss the properties of that material."
So basically, Stephan was joining us for a mission? Really? Not like this mission was too dangerous, but still…
"...Okay." I nod slowly. Ari was hating this. It was almost funny.
10 minutes later we were aboard the Arinna mobile and headed off to Marstrand Sweden. No one really spoke and just stared out their respected windows. Stephan on the other hand was lifting and lowering his knees excitedly, smiling brightly.
"So this is what a mission is like." Stephan beams, "Very exciting."
"Not really." Rocket insists, "We get all the boring jobs."
"Travelling all around the world doesn't seem boring to me." Stephan says.
"Once you've seen the world it is. A city is just a city after a while. Nothing really changes except the names and the faces- and even then there are a lot of similarities." Roy says.
"I've never been to Sweden before though." I try to say, "I'm a little excited."
Rocket shrugged in agreement, "Well yeah, it might be a little cool. I want to get some chocolate before we leave."
"Agreed." Everyone nodded.
When we arrived, we wasted no time to approach the facility. We were met with a few guards and a young researcher.
"Ah, you must be the people Bat Man mentioned on the phone." The woman nodded, "I admit I did not expect you all to be so young, but come in- Doctor Hutcheson is expecting you." We followed her into the building, frowning at the damage to the side of it. That must have been were the thieves entered the site. "We are currently going through reconstruction, so please pardon the mess." The woman says.
"It is fine." I nod to her. Following her to the door, we pause to allow the woman to knock on it, informing the person inside that we would be entering. Waiting for the okay, we stepped in to meet an elderly scientist with kind eyes that were enlarge by wide circular glasses. His light blond mustache matched his graying hair,
"Hutcheson!" Stephan perked up at the sight of him, "Old friend." he moved towards him, arms extended out. Hutcheson's eyes widened at the sight of Stephan.
"Stephan Nadine?" He asked, then extended his own arms, "Dear friend!" they embraced, patting the other's back fondly. "It has been so long. You don't look a day older from the last time I saw you in college."
"You two went to college together?" Rocket grimaced, confused since Hutcheson seemed so much older than Stephan did.
"I went back to College for a few years in America to better my knowledge on Genetics and psychology. I met Stephan there during those courses." he explained.
"Hutcheson really helped me find what path I wanted to take in my career." Stephan smiled,
"Great." Ari said coldly, "Back to what actually matters, we are here to question you about this." she lifted up the bag with the material inside.
Hutcheson almost doubled over, "So it is true!" he rushed to us, snatching it out of our hands, "Those scoundrels- how dare they!"
"So it is really is yours?" Stephan frowned, "Hutcheson, however did you manage to make something like this?"
"Oh- I didn't." Hutcheson suddenly seemed very excited but hesitant, "I… Here, follow me. I wish to show you all something." He scurried to the other side of the room, pressing in a code to unlock the steel enforced door. Shuffling after him we had to have walked down at least 4 stories of stairs before reaching our destination. "You are the first to fully witness our discovery." He said in a giddy tone, like a child on Christmas.
Feeling almost nervous from what we were about to see, we all had to take a breath when we approached the thick bullet proof glass. Peeking in, I could only see something that resembled a giant disformed rock surrounded by men in hazmat suits.
"Is that a… meteorite?" Tula gasped in awe, "I have never seen one so close." It reached up to the ceiling and was just as wide, towering above our heads.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Hutcheson gushed.
"How did something so big not cause mass destruction?" Roy questioned. "I saw nothing about this on the news."
"Because it wasn't on the news. It crashed down several months ago, but left little to no impact about 4 miles away from this facility. I thought for sure it would have caused a large crater of some sort, but it did not. In fact, when we found it the meteor was levitating slightly off the ground as if it had its own sense of- gravity almost. We brought it back here without further delay and through several tests deemed it safe to come into human contact."
"Then you opened it up?" Rocket motion downward to the suited scientist cutting deep into the meteorite.
"With great struggle, yes. Inside was a material not of this world! We used that material to create what you see here." he held up the metal, "I call it Inertron."
"Inertron." I repeat slowly, "What is so different about it from other metals?"
"I'm glad you asked." Hutcheson pointed to me, "Through extensive research, we've compared this to all other known metals on Earth. Inertron is denser, harder, and overall stronger than any other metal we have to offer. Do you understand what this means?"
"...Uh…" I scratched my head.
"This makes an entirely new element! This could change the periodic table!"
Glancing at the others, I lowered my gaze, "I guess this would explain why Cenver wanted it."
"What in the world would she use it for?" Garth questions.
"You could make a lot of things from Metal." Roy folds him arms, "The question is, for a woman who souly focuses on the enhancement of genetics, what would she want to use it for?"
"Indestructible weapon?" Rocket was quick to guess.
"Cenver doesn't really focus on inorganic stuff."
Rocket shrugs, "Maybe a weapon for someone? Like an indestructible gun? Indestructible sword? Indestructible shield? A nice new fridge?"
"Either way, I have a feeling it will be revealed through time." Tula folded her arms.
"I'm not sure I want to find out." I admit with a sigh. "B-But thank you Hutcheson for answering our questions. We will make sure to put your research under our protection to prevent any more of your supplies or this metal from being stolen."
"I would appreciate that, thank you." He smiles
"Great." Roy scoffed and turned away.
"What is up with you?" Rocket frowned.
"This was a wild goose chase." he grumbled, "We travel all this way only to learn that Cenver got her hands on some extremely dangerous metal, and have still no sliver of information on how to track her."
"We know she is still continuing her trading with Bane." Garth offers.
"What good will that do? We already knew Bane had something to do with the Light!"
"Roy." I lift a hand to diffuse the situation, "I know this is frustrating. I was hoping to find something through this too- but getting mad at the team won't help."
Roy turns away, "The team? You mean the team that sits around watching old men talk all day? Yeah, super exciting and oh so important."
"Hey." I raise my voice a little, "It may not be the most exciting job, but what we do is important all the same."
He grunts and goes quiet.
"Roy." I frown and reach for his arm.
He rips away from my grip, "Whatever. I've wasted enough time here. You head back on your own, I got some people to go question." With that grumpy note, he leaves, going a separate way from us.
Sighing, I watch him go, knowing there was nothing I could say at this point.
Stephan places a hand on my shoulder, 'Give him time."
I shake my shoulders a bit to loosen his grip, "I know. I just- I wish there was something I could do."
"Finding the real Sparky is the only thig that will ease Roy's mind." Stephan says sadly. "For now, we can only give our all in locating him."
"Yeah… Let's head back everyone." As we return to the Arinna Mobile, Ari speaks up.
("That could have gone better.") Ari rolls her eyes. "Yeah." I agree with myself mentally. In all honestly, I was really hoping this would give us a link to Cenver too. At least that way I could have some piece of mind on finding Vincent.
("Cenver is not someone who can easily be tracked Arinna.")
I know- but I couldn't help but hope for something.
("We learned she is in possession of this new material, as well as the properties of it. This day was not a complete waste.")
"Well, I know this mission did not go exactly as you had hoped, but we learned at least about the metal." Stephan attempted to offer the team to lighten the mood on our journey back to the cave. Everyone nodded a bit.
I frowned at this, "Stephan has a point, we did our best and will stop Bane from any further selling of the metal."
Rocket glanced at Stephan, "Weird to know you two went to College together." she snorted, "He was so much older than you."
'Yes, but he is a very kind man." Stephan smiles.
"He seemed like a cute grandfather kind of fella, yeah." Rocket grinned, "So you went to College for Genetics and Phycology?"
"Just Genetics and engineering." Stephan says quickly, which was surprising since he was basically the Team's psychologist, "At least, at first. As I mentioned before, Hutcheson helped me realize what I wanted to do with my life. When I was younger I was- well, very different from how I am now. I hated a lot of things and shut out everyone who was important to me."
"You did?" I gawked at the impossible thing he was suggesting, "But you are so… so- open! And friendly."
"Now." Stephan said with a small frown, as if recalling something horrible, "I wasn't a very happy kid- and I only saw the worst in others. When I met Hutcheson he was so open and loved his career with so much passion that I felt inspired to find something similar."
"So you went to psychology?" Tula concluded.
"Do not get me wrong, I loved the work I did at Star Labs- but yes, psychology and helping others move past their struggles is something I just love to do. Which is funny, when I was little, I wanted nothing to do with the human brain- when my very career's definition is the study of it."
"Why did you not wish to do it when you were younger?" Garth asked, curious.
Stephan didn't answer for a while, but with a glaze in his eyes he said, "My Father specialized in the study of the human mind. I wanted to be nothing like him- in any shape or form, so I turned my back on it."
"And Hutcheson changed your mind?" I ask softly.
I was glad when the smile returned to Stephan's face- It didn't feel natural for him to frown, "Yes." he says, "Hutcheson insisted that just because I follow something I like to do, doesn't mean I'm like my Father. It is about how I treat others during the job that defines me."
Rocket smiled at that, "Sweet."
Ari was oddly silent from the situation, but I could hear her thoughts. She thought he was a ridiculous man… but she felt she understood him in some sense.
With that, we returned home and reported to Bat Man. He nodded gruffly, but said very little and excused us. When I told him that Roy would find his own way back, he only nodded.
It was strange- not that Bat Man was a man of many words other wise, but today he seemed extremely solemn. More solemn than usual.
Not sure what the problem was and knowing I could never get it out of him- that was a job for Super Man, I went off to find the rest of the team. Most of them seemed to be out on their own missions or something else. It made the cave empty. Ever since we split the full team into three different divisions- I hardly see any of them anymore. It was a little lonely.
Something crashed down the hall. Jumping at the sound, I went to investigate, happy to see that it was Robin in the training room.
I was ready to tell him about what happened that day, but froze when he slammed his fist into a slab of wood, shattering it. Stunned to a frozen silence I watched him turn to the practice dummy next, punching is several times, as if the very fact that the dummy was there made Robin Angry.
With heavy force, he slammed his foot into the dummy's head, kicking it off. Flinching at the sight, I straighten and gulp, "Uh…"
He turns to me, his fist unrolling. "Arinna." he says.
"...This a bad time?"
He licks his lips and dabs at the sweat on his chin, "No." he tries to insist and looks away, "It is fine. How did the mission go?" he turns to the bench and I can't see his face anymore. Not like it would matter with the mask, but still.
"Good." I shuffle around a bit, "Well, kind of. Didn't really learn anything much about Cenver, but we learned about the material. It is space material from a meteor, which is cool cause it is super strong I guess…"
"Sorry you didn't learn anything about Cenver. I know Roy was hoping it was." he says after a moment of hesitation.
"It is… expected."
"Expected?" he turns his head a bit.
I shrug a bit more, "Cenver isn't someone who can easily be tracked, and she doesn't leave a trail behind. She is smart. Conveniently learning Bane is selling stolen metals to Sportsmaster was never gonna be enough to find Cenver. I was hoping it might give us a clue to another base of hers though for Roy's sake and his hunt to find Speedy but- that didn't turn out."
"Oh." there is a long pause.
I was starting to get an odd feeling that maybe, just maybe, Bat Man and Robin had a fight? They were both acting strange.
"Are you okay?" I asked hesitantly.
"I'm fine." his voice is gruff. "Just- trying to blow off some steam."
"Bad day?"
"...You could say that."
"...Like a uh- like a fight kind of bad day?" I asked cautiously. He didn't reply. I purse my lips, "Did Bat Man and you have a fight?" The anger emanating off of him hit me in a second and I had to turn my gaze away from his glare, "Soooo, yes?"
"Did he tell you that?"
"You really think Bat Man would tell me about his private life?" I snort. His slowly lowers his shoulders, sigh, and look away.
"It wasn't a big deal." He mumbled
Obviously it was a big deal if it was still bothering him. Ari, what should we do?
(...I question why you feel obligated to do something, Arinna. They are fighting, let them figure it out themselves.")
Ari, you don't understand, this is Bat Man and Robin we are talking about. Two of the most stubborn people on this planet- there is no way they can figure it out alone. We have to help!
Ari sighs, "(Then I suggest you do what you always do. That seems to work for you.")
I grin. She was right! "Robin!" I grab his hand.
Startled, he blinks at me, "What?"
"Lets get some ice cream?"
"W-What?" I'm already tugging on him.
"Come on." I start to pull him towards his jacket, grabbing it and throwing it over his shoulders and grabbing his sunglasses. He almost kicks me when I throw off his mask and slam the sunglasses on his nose. I didn't really see his eyes either way because my fast pace made it blurry, so he doesn't have to worry.
"W-Wait- hold on! Why?" He stammered, confused.
"No time. Lets go go go!" with a snap of my fingers we are in town.
"Arinna!" he yells.
"Sit!' I push him into a table. "Don't move! I'm getting ice cream." I run off.
He sits there bewildered, a hand extended out towards me, before he sighs and gives up, slouching back.
The ice cream gives me a little smile when I approach him. "Two ice creams please." I grin. "One vanilla and one strawberry."
With a nod he handed me the two cones while I handed him the money, "Have a nice day."
"You too." I smile, rushing back to the tables to reunite with my brutting friend. "Here you go Dick." I say to Robin.
Absentmindedly he takes the ice cream, "Thanks." He nods. Sitting next to him, I take a few licks of my own.
"So…" I trail off, "Tell me wait ills you?"
"I think you mean ails." he corrects.
"That too."
"Nothing is wrong."
"Oh come on, something must be wrong." I frown.
"Nothing."
"I think there is."
His grip tightened around the cone just enough to make it crack,
"It is obviously about Bat Man." From his heavy huff I knew that it was. "Did he do something?"
"Other than treat me like a child? Undermined my every choice and overall try to control everything about my life?"
"He does all of that?" I was surprised.
"Well…" Dick sighed, "Not as much anymore since joining the team I guess, but it is still there. But the pressure has been getting pretty intense."
"What pressure?"
He is gritting his teeth, and glances at me. "You- this is just between us." He points at me.
I hold up three fingers, "Scouts honor."
"You weren't in scouts."
"I wasn't." I nod, "But the thing still applies. A promise is a promise."
Shaking his head once, he clears his throat, "Gotham." He answers. "To Bat Man, my priorities should be as followed; Gotham, then the team, then personal endeavors." He explains,
"And that bothers you?"
"I… Kind of?" He sounded unsure of himself. "With the team I'm just… me. The more I spend time in Gotham the more I feel like that city expects me to be Bat Man. But I am not Bat Man. Lately, I'm not even sure I am Robin…."
"I don't fully follow." I admit.
"I didn't think you would." he grumbles. I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Then explain it to me." I insist, "You- You don't want to feel like Bat man, that is okay. That is completely okay. You don't feel like Robin though, which is confusing. You've always been Robin."
"That is the problem."
I pause, giving him a look, "...How so?"
"I've always been Robin. Robin is Bat Man's sidekick, a kid who was stuck in a rough place for a while and needed someone to look up to. I'm not that anymore." he says, "I am not a kid who needs Bat Man's guidance for everything."
"Oh." I nod in understanding, "Well that is part of growing up, isn't it?"
"It should be, but here I am, still Robin and one day I'll stop being Robin to be Bat Man. Because that is what everyone expects and it is my duty to be him." he says dryly, as if the very words make him sick, "Then one day someone else will be Batman, then someone after that- and it will just go like that forever because Gotham will always need a Bat Man. Always."
I frown at that, not sure how to help him through this. Considering a few things for a while, I said the only thing I could think of, "Do you have to be Bat Man?"
"I'm Robin, his sidekick. Everyone will expect me to be." he quickly adds in, "Not saying I want to get out of the super hero business, I'm still all in for that. I just don't want to be the Bat man."
"Well if you don't want to be, then you don't have to. Can't you be something else?"
He was still, "...What else would I be?"
I shrug, "Maybe you- maybe you just need a break?" I offer.
"A break?" He cocks an eyebrow.
"Take some time off from the boy wonder, ya know?" I suggest with a nervous smile, "Figure things out? Determine who you want to be." I tap his chest, "Cause you aren't Bat Man. And you can't be Robin forever." I pause, "Well, maybe you could be Robin forever, if you wanted to. Or something… Okay, no scratch that. It's like how super heroes retire. You can't always be Robin. So who do you want to be after that? I mean..." I struggle with this, "Do you want to be Robin till you are old and gray?"
"No." he says instantly.
"Then what do you want to do then? You have a choice to not be Bat Man, so have you ever thought about what you want to be after Robin?"
"After Robin…?" he glanced away, rubbing his chin. "I don't know."
"Well, take some time to figure it out."
"Like a vacation?"
"I guess so?" I shrug, "Bat Man took care of Gotham before he met you, I'm sure he can manage for a while to give you some time to yourself."
Pondering it, he smiled, "You know, I may just take your advice. Thanks Arinna." He reached his arm around my shoulder and tugged me close, ruffling my hair. "Since when did you become so wise?"
I laugh, "Well I am technically older than you." I remind him, "I want to think I have some elder knowledge somewhere within me."
"Ugh." he stuck out his tongue, "Knowing you are older than me is weird."
"How so? You are the weird one if you think that is weird." I laugh.
"Because you are Arinna and Arinna's tend to overthink things that they shouldn't worry about and the things they should worry about they don't think twice on. Or at least, you don't ever bring them up. Your priorities are messed up."
I scoff, "That isn't true."
He raises his eye brow, "Want me to list every reason why it is?"
"...No." I sigh, knowing he was right. "I tend to run from the serious things." I agree. "I try not to, honest, but I still do it anyway."
"Well not everything. You faced a lot of big things and survived." he flinches when some of his ice cream drips onto his foot. Quick to slurp up the melted ice cream on his hand, he chuckled, "So I think you are doing pretty good so far."
"Because I had you guys." I smile. "You pushed me to face what I was too afraid to and stood by me when I couldn't handle it. Which was always. I owe the whole team my life and then some for that."
"And we owe you ours too." he glances at me, "That is a team. We look out for each other…" he takes a big bite out of his ice cream, "Where do you think is a good place to take a vacation?" he inquired.
I took a while to consider that, "Somewhere new?"
"New?"
"Yeah. Some place you've never been before." I kick my feet out in front of me, feeling excited just at the thought, "Like um… You could go to some little towns, or a big city. Maybe a whole different country?"
"That isn't very specific."
"Well I don't know where you have and have not been." I pout.
Dick nods, "Very true." he smiles, "Making a big road trip out of it might be fun though. Just travel and see where I end up."
I purse my lips, "Are 15 year olds allowed to travel the globe by themselves?"
"I can handle myself."
"I know that, you know that, but is it legal?"
He shrugs, "The law has never been something I strictly follow."
"I know." I chuckle.
000-Elsewhere-000
"Delivery." Sports Master slide the first crate across the table. A pair of hands caught it and opened it to peek at the contents. "This better have been worth it, Cenver."
"Well done, Sports Master. I assure you this will assure victory for the Light."
"It is Metal- it isn't a big deal." he folds his arm. The glint in Cenver's eyes is unsettling.
"Metal not of this planet- stronger than any other element in the world." she reached forward to grab schematics, "With this I can complete my Project's final step."
Sports Master moved forward to examine the blueprints. "A helmet?" he scowled, "You want to build a stupid helmet?"
Cenver glanced at him, her smirk never faltering. "Is that all this looks like to you?" she mused. He couldn't answer, knowing he probably would be wrong. "Sports Master, you of all people should know that one's supplies and tools can make the biggest difference in a war. If your soldiers are weak and have nothing to protect themselves, they will fail."
"So that is what this about- protection? I didn't think you cared about your Projects well being so much." he says dryly.
"Protection is not the issue here, young man." A new voice speaks up, startling them. Cenver turns, eyes widening ever so slightly.
"Well well…" she coed, "Look what the cat dragged in. Mr. Nadine." she greets
The man stepped forward, blue eyes cold and hair slicked back in elegant waves of blond.
Sports Master blinked once, then twice, pointing to him, "You- you were with those brats." he says, "Cenver never mentioned having a spy within that team of brats."
Cenver looked ready to burst into laughter.
"You insult me, Sports Master." The man grumbled, "I am not Stephan Nadine- though I admit the resemblances between us can be a pain to my side."
Sports Master was a little confused, and blinked, "Then who are you?"
"I am Reagan Nadine. The unwilling Father of Stephan Nadine." He strolls forward, reaching into the box to pull out a sheet of metal. Running his fingers over it, he smiled, "Yes, this will do nicely."
"His Father…" Sports Master folds his arms, "And you two know each other?"
"We've been known to dabble in each other's work." Cenver nods, "His knowledge on the cerebrum and human brain waves are a key to this helmet's success, so he will be joining us for a while."
Sports Master wasn't sure what they were talking about, "I don't really understand, and I don't care- so long as I get paid."
"You will." Cenver smiles, "Once you complete the tasks I have for you. Now take this-" she hands him some measuring tape. "Be a dear and go measure Project V's skull for me."
"The helmet is for him?" Sports Master takes it from her.
"Indeed. I must secure the role of my Project." Cenver turns away, pulling out more plans.
Oh my god why did this take so long? It shouldn't have but I've been so busy and I'm lost and confused in my life but whatever. I'm taking some time off, so hopefully I can work things out.
…. GUYS GUYS!
IMPORTANT NEWS! Did you hear?! Did you hear about Young Justice!
SEASON 3 HAS BEEN CONFIRMED! THEY DID IT! They are making the next season for Netflix! I am so excited! I AM SO EXCITED!
T-That wonderful news aside though. I'm going to be jumping into the big plot stuff to get to season two.
So! The next chapter we instantly meet JASON TODD! I'm a little nervous because I've never really tried to write about him and some people write him differently. So I'll try my very best to give you all a Jason Todd you can like!