A/N: WHY DO I HAVE WRITER'S BLOCK AND WHY COLLEGE APPLICATION DEADLINES ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER?! *frantically runs around in circles* I'm trying as hard as I can to have weekly updates, but I doubt it so. D: I'll do my best to keep updates weekly or bi-weekly, but no 100% guarantees. If I don't update by two weeks, expect a barrage of The Robin and The Falcon chapters as my deepest apologies. ._. Now onto reviews!
bluepenquin1998: Nono. It's not bad at all. I'm quite thrilled and honored, actually. :) I love it when you readers let out actual sounds. I make a lot of squeals and rolls when I read good stories, so I hope that's the reason why you guys make noises. :)
skullcandy216: I do, too! 'Cause I haven't written a lot yet, I'm quite curious as well. ;)
silly-melodies: Hahah! I love Kyle, too! Of COURSE I'll have him as GL! That's why I introduced him in the first place! Awww thank you. :3
Anime hotty lover.18: Thank you! :)
Guest #1: Thank you! :D
LadyFelton1994: Yup! Bringing back the Lovebirds! ;)
Gina B-ookworm: Thank you! I can't wait myself. ;)
piggythelaw: Awww, thanks! I felt giddy writing it. Hahah. Well, Bruce is trained in the art of ninjutsu, so I'd assume Dick and Verena are as well. ;)
EvilCheesecake437: Thank you! :D
Panda-Chan8: Awww, thanks! LOL. It's no problem!
Haliston: Thank you! Dick and Verena will still have their little moments~ Of course! This IS a Robin/OC fic FIRST, after all. I just want more development on Verena as a character. :)
LadyAmazon: Thank you! :D
That dorky blonde: *takes a bow*
Xmidniteaangel15X: Hahah. Call me Tracy. ;) Thank you! No! I love your questions! Ask away!
Guest #2: Thank you! And yes, bring on the Lovebirds! ;)
FabIsHere: Thank you~ LOL. Did you catch that Lion King 1 1/2 reference? :o
PamelaSarcastified: I do too. :D
goddessofthenigth: I missed you! :D LOL. I'm glad I'm back too.
Guest #3: LOL. Why thank you very much. :)
And here's a new section for people who ask questions. :)
Q&A:
Xmidniteaangel15X asks: (1) Will Jason be making an appearance in this story? (2) Will Cheshire be in this story pregnant, and would Roy ask Verena to be the God-mother? (3) Will a love triangle form in this story?
(1) YESYESYES. Jason WILL be making an appearance, but not for a while. Look forward to it, though! (2) I will tell you that Lian WILL be happening, but... it'll be slightly different. You'll see. (3) I honestly suck at writing love triangles, and to be honest, is there any doubt that Dick and Verena will end up with each other? I, myself, am not a fan of love triangles. If anything, there WILL be love triangles, but not with Dick and Verena. (There's always La'gaan-M'gann-Conner.)
Iono. It just seemed fitting to have a little Q&A section, so don't be shy to ask! :) And now, onto the story! :)
MOUNT JUSTICE
JULY 12, 2011
13:23 EDT
"I'm bored like no one's business," Kyle declared from his spot on the sofa. "Team Alpha's on a mission and we're stuck here Cave-sitting."
"Don't you know patience is a virtue, Kyle?" I questioned from Dick's lap. "Besides, they're dealing with something in Atlantis. Water's not really our element." I fiddled with the gun that I was cleaning.
"Team, report to the Mission Room for a mission debrief."
"And that's our cue," I sighed. I patted Dick's outer thigh before standing up. "Get up, Boy Wonder. Duty calls."
"Heh, you said duty," Wally laughed at his silent joke.
"You're ridiculous," we all sighed, before piling out of the lounge.
"Egnahc enoyreve otni rieht smrofinu," Zatanna ordered, and I felt a bit of wind surround me before my Black Falcon uniform was on.
"Saves a lot of time with a magician," I grinned to the dark-haired girl.
"Totally," Artemis agreed, and we entered the Mission Room, where Batman was waiting patiently. When all of us took our places in front of him, Batman pulled up a holographic screen.
"This is The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Eliminations, better known as H.I.V.E.," Batman explained, showing us images of people dressed like bees.
"Let me guess… Queen Bee?" I quirked an eyebrow at my mentor.
Batman gave a curt nod. "The organization is headed by Queen Bee, assisted by Deathstroke, real name Slade Wilson." He showed us images of Queen Bee, and a man dressed in a half-orange, half-black mask.
"The ex-husband of Adeline Kane?" Robin inquired, and we exchanged looks.
Adeline Kane was a woman that ran in the same social circle as us, and through Bruce, we've exchanged a couple of words at some parties before. She mentioned being divorced, and I've never personally met her ex-husband.
"And our assignment is…?" Kid Flash questioned, munching on a protein bar.
"There's a location in the Persian Gulf in which we have been investigating. There's no civilization there, but the Justice League has been monitoring their activities and has noticed some disturbances in the area around there. Most likely, there's a H.I.V.E. base located there.
"The objective is for you six to covertly check things out and gather as much intel as you can, from the mainland of Saudi Arabia to the underwater base that we detect is there. Afterwards, then you can destroy it."
"Oh good, so we can blow things up today," I grinned. Blowing up things was fun, especially when it was a bad guy's lair.
Batman nodded. "After you gather information. Until then, stay covert. The items that you requested are in the compartment below the pilot's seat in the jet." Without another word, he turned his heel and walked off, his cape dramatically flowing behind him.
"Let me tell Garfield we're heading out first," I said, remembering the little boy we picked up half a year back. "Meet me in the jet." I jogged off without waiting for a reply, heading to the rooms.
I knocked twice before I heard Garfield's voice say, "Come in!"
I poked my head in and saw Garfield was watching Star Wars on the large television screen on the other side of the room from his bed.
"We're heading off on a mission," I informed Garfield. "There's some leftover pasta from last night in the fridge, so just heat it up if you're hungry."
"Okay, mom," Garfield turned to me, grinning to show that he was just messing with me. I threw him one last smile before saying a quick goodbye and jogging to the hangar.
When I stepped into my jet, everyone was already seated, and just watching an episode of what looked like… "Are you guys seriously watching Jersey Shore on my jet?" I frowned.
"Why not?" Wally questioned, his mask down, munching on an apple. "It was the first channel we turned to and it's not like we have to watch the entire episode."
"This show's stupid," Zatanna said, and I rolled my eyes before turning it off and starting the engines.
"Wally, don't mess with my controls," I said before I took off.
"Why do you assume it was me?" the speedster whined. "It could've been Kyle or Robin!"
"But it wasn't, now was it?" I smartly replied, soaring past a group of flying birds, going into stealth mode.
Only snickering from the other team members was my reply.
Once everything calmed down, we began our mission briefing amongst ourselves.
"First and foremost, Saudi Arabia is not under our jurisdiction, so we have to be extra careful to avoid creating an international accident," Robin declared. "That means no creating extra attention amongst ourselves."
Without taking my eyes off the skies, I reached under my seat and felt something between my fingers. I pulled it out and tossed the bag to Robin, who caught it easily.
"We had these made for you guys in case of outside missions that involved staking out for a period of time," I explained, and saw Robin pull out the items inside. He turned around and tossed them to our teammates, who caught them easily.
"Phones?" Zatanna inquired, her tone confused.
I could see why she was confused. We had just given them slick, black phones about the size of an iPhone. It looked a lot similar to an iPhone, but it was thinner and slightly longer, so it would be easy to slip anywhere. It also had three buttons below the five-inch screen.
"Com-phones, actually. Heat-sensor-based phones with all the necessary functions you need," Robin explained. "No one but members of the Team and the League can access these. Information on wherever you are is located in there, along with a translator in case you don't know the region's languages. There's also facial recognition and scanning for your missions to identify who's behind it."
Kid Flash let out a low whistle. "Sweet."
"It also gives you direct contact to members of the Team or the League. Pulling out a phone and talking into it is a lot less suspicious than activating your com-link," I informed them. "Your com-links are connected to the phone, so if you're occupied, just slip out the phone."
"You guys have the coolest gadgets," Artemis declared.
"How do you activate the facial recognition?" Kyle inquired.
"Press the button in the middle. That unlocks it, and then press the middle button again. Then, point your camera at someone," Robin said. I glanced up to look at what was going on and saw Kyle doing what Robin told him to do.
"Kid Flash," Kyle read, a smile appearing on his face. "That's so cool! There's even an option to read more."
"If you point it at a villain, it'll give their real name," I piped in. "We left out the real name function for heroes, just to be safe. You never know how tech-savvy these villains are."
"There's a Villains Gallery in here!" Zatanna exclaimed.
"Hah!" Wally laughed. "Count Vertigo's first name is Werner! That's so rich! I love this!"
"Good," I mused, my lips curling up. "Because you guys are required to have this on you at all times. Not only does it help you, but it allows us to track where you are, just in case you need help."
"I'm not complaining," Zatanna shrugged.
"There's also unlimited access to the internet, as well as the Team's and Justice League's database. Of course, some things are still private, but you can Google anything you need anytime," Robin said, kicking back.
"What's the other two buttons do?" Artemis asked.
"The one on the left is the call function. Just hold it and say a name, and the phone will immediately patch you to that person. The button on the right is a GPS. Using the Watchtower's satellites, it'll detect where you are instantly. The middle button, as you know, unlocks the phone, and gives you access to the camera if you press it again. Just holding it for three seconds will bring you to the camera as well. You don't have to worry about anyone else accessing it, because, like we said, only members of the Team and Justice League are able to unlock it."
"How's that possible?" Kyle mused.
"The middle button activates an invisible scan, almost like before we get onto a Zeta-Beam. It'll recognize you and then give you access," Robin explained. "But seriously. Don't forget or leave them anywhere."
"The others should get theirs when they come back," I explained. "I'm assuming the League members already have theirs. Did you guys see the How To for it on your screen?"
"Yeah," Artemis replied. "Holographic functions too? Why am I not surprised."
"Batman seriously has the coolest gadgets ever," Wally declared.
"Hey! We came up with the idea!" Robin and I protested.
"We proposed the idea," Robin began.
"And we were in charge for the development of these," I finished.
"Batman just gave us the materials," we said at the same time.
"Your guys' bond is seriously creepy sometimes," Wally groaned. "But…" Before I could blink, he was right next to Robin. "You guys are the best friends ever! You're so worried about me that you created a phone to practically stalk me and help me with my missions!"
Then I felt his arms circle around me.
"Wally, I'm driving," I deadpanned, but I liked the feeling of him hugging me. It was like an older brother showing his little sister affection. But of course, I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. It'd be too easy. "Let go before I crash-land us in the middle of the Atlantic."
"You're too skilled for that," Wally replied. He boldly pecked my cheek and ruffled my hair.
The second he stepped away though, I tilted the jet upwards, making Wally flail and scramble. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, before I heard a thud. "Babe! I was still walking!"
"Oops," I replied unapologetically, not even bothering to hide the smile I had. "You distracted me from my driving."
"Ha-ha," Wally deadpanned, before I heard the familiar click of the seat belt.
"We're approaching Qatar," I announced, seeing Africa below me. "We'll be there in about five minutes at this speed."
"Honestly, it'd be easier for the guys to investigate the land, because of Saudi Arabia's beliefs, but we can't risk being exposed when we investigate the water base, so Fal, Kyle, and I will handle the water base while Wally, Artemis, and Zatanna investigate. But be careful though," Robin warned.
"Disguises are in the room in the back," I said. "Closet on the right."
The others, minus Kyle, unbuckled their seatbelts, as I soared over Egypt. A couple minutes later, the three returned, most likely wrapped up and dressed in similar clothing to the locals.
"Done," Artemis declared.
I nodded and reached up to flip a couple of switches. "I'll be dropping you three on a rooftop. We'll rendezvous an hour later after investigation."
"Drop zone in thirty," Robin announced, as I flew over Qatar, opening the lower hatch.
"Now," I ordered, and I saw the three of them jump out of the jet, trusting my orders. I closed the hatch and flew a bit further.
"It'll be a bit of a drop, since I didn't want the jet to cause ripples," I announced, looking at Green Lantern and Robin.
"That'll be fine," Robin shrugged, and slipped on a rebreather. I slipped on my own and looked at Green Lantern, who had put his own rebreather on as well. He gave me a thumbs up and I opened the hatch.
I looked down and it was a rather far drop, about a hundred feet. I looked at my two teammates before we nodded and I dived down first, making sure my arms were guiding me.
I landed smoothly in the water, just as I felt two splashes right after me. Robin motioned with sign language. "Go deeper down. Follow me." I activated my night vision, since it was almost nine o'clock at night in Saudi Arabia.
Green Lantern and I followed after him, kicking the water behind us and we swam deeper and further away from the shore. It was a good thing the Persian Gulf wasn't all that deep, so we didn't have to use the Green Lantern's power to avoid being crushed by the water pressure.
The Persian Gulf, I knew, was only at most, three-hundred feet, so it was safe to free dive if you were experienced, and able to fend yourself from the creatures that swam these waters.
"You doing alright?" I signaled Green Lantern. It was his first actual deep-sea dive. We were all trained at simulated depths, but only Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian, Robin, and I have actually deep-sea dived. The prior three was because they've been to Atlantis before.
"Alright," Green Lantern signed back. He turned back to focus, and his eyes widened and I resisted the urge to laugh as a dugong and her calf swam past me. I swam up, to avoid the gentle, yet large creature.
"So far, I'm not seeing anything," Kid Flash reported. "Nothing seems unusual."
"Same," Artemis and Zatanna replied.
"Keep searching," Robin ordered, his voice muffled due to the rebreather. "We're bound to find something related to H.I.V.E.."
"Got it," the other three responded.
"I see something," I signaled the others, spotting something.
"Get closer," Robin told me. "We'll watch your back."
I nodded and pushed my arms, swimming closer and closer to what I spotted. It looked like something yellow. Now, I know underwater life was weird, but I know for a fact nothing was yellow and black in the sea life in the Persian Gulf.
I pulled out my own phone, and began to snap pictures. I spotted something moving, and moved to the side, taking refuge behind rocks, before snapping a couple more pictures.
I looked down at my phone in my hand, and used the zoom function. It became really blurry, so I double tapped to clear it up. Was that someone moving inside?
I zoomed even further and a shadow became clear. I snapped a couple more pictures, and grabbed onto a dolphin that swam past me. The dolphin chirped and clicked at me, nudging me, and brought me closer to the surface, but then I let go, rejoining Robin and Green Lantern.
"I found the base," I informed them. "Not as slick as I thought they'd be."
"Maybe they wanted to be found?" Green Lantern signaled back. I shrugged in response.
"Someone's harassing another person," Zatanna reported.
Robin's head snapped up in attention. "Don't attack," he ordered. "Take pictures and ignore. This is strictly recon right now. We have to lose some to gain some. After that, we'll rendezvous. Meet us on the rooftop we dropped you off on earlier."
"Uh… Rob… Fal… Angry sharks aren't a good thing, right?" Green Lantern asked.
"Of course they aren't," I rolled my eyes, turning my attention to him. "Wh–" I cut myself off when I noticed a shark, thrashing about. "Shit. It's a tiger shark," I identified. "We gotta get out, quick."
"You mean the sharks that eat anything?" Green Lantern inquired.
"Unless you know about some other Galeocerdo cuvier that I don't know about," I deadpanned. "It comes out late at night. What's it doing up now?"
"I don't think we want to find out," Robin responded, just as it stopped and looking at us.
Its beady eyes stared at us blankly, and my eyes widened as it began swimming towards us. Green Lantern summoned a protective green sphere around us at the last second though, causing the creature to hit it with a dull thud.
It opened its teeth threateningly and I nudged the older male. "Get us out," I ordered. Green Lantern nodded, and we shot off like a rocket, right out of the water, and I activated the bottom hatch of the jet to open just in time.
I landed on my feet, almost stumbling as we entered the jet, and I let out a sigh. I didn't care that water was dripping all over the floor. I set the controls to auto-pilot, and the jet took off as I sat down on the ground. Swimming for an hour straight was exhausting, especially in deep waters.
The jet then slowed to a stop, and Zatanna floated up with Kid Flash and Artemis.
"Escaped the shark?" Wally asked as the hatch closed.
"Who do you take us for?" Robin asked from where he sat.
"No offense," Zatanna started, "but you guys smell."
"Give us a break," Kyle sighed, peeling off his mask. "We were in the ocean for an hour, and I almost got ran over by a dugong and eaten by a tiger shark."
"Hit the showers first," Robin told Kyle. "Fal and I will handle what we gathered." Robin walked over to the front of the jet, and hit a button that caused a keyboard to pop out. The window then changed from the view outside to various window screens popping up.
"Another good thing about the phones," I said, looking at my teammates. "Instant data access without having to transfer anything."
"Totally cool," Wally grinned, looking down at his phone.
"These are the pictures we all gathered," Robin declared, looking at the six screens. "H.I.V.E.'s base has been found about four hundred feet underwater, and judging by that tiger shark's attack, it's been affecting the animal life around there negatively. Normally, tiger sharks sit there and wait before attacking."
"So we have to get rid of it," Zatanna declared.
"Yeah," I nodded. "Hopefully, the animal instincts will kick in for them, because we're blowing it up. We can't afford to leave the base in one piece, just in case someone decides to use it again."
"How do we get in there?" Artemis inquired, crossing her arms.
"We're still figuring that one out," I declared.
"The pictures that you three gathered, show that H.I.V.E. has been running some fear amongst the people around here," Robin explained, pulling up Artemis, Zatanna, and Wally's pictures. All of them showed various people in black uniforms, with yellow lines on the sides. "Well, we suspect these people are a part of H.I.V.E. at least."
"Wait," I mused, making Robin stop flipping through the pictures. "Go back a couple on Artemis's." Robin did as he said. "She looks familiar…" I mused.
"Running facial recognition," Robin declared. A few seconds later, the name DRAGONFLY appeared at the bottom of the picture. "Real name unknown."
I walked over to him, and looked at the image of the young woman. "I seriously don't remember where I've seen her, but I recall watching a video of her beating up multiple security guards and dodging motion-sensor lasers."
"H.I.V.E. isn't lacking in lackies then," Zatanna declared.
"Doesn't seem like it," I agreed, nodding my head.
"Shower's clear," Kyle declared, coming into the room. He was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt, while wiping his wet hair with a plain white towel.
"You go next," Robin told me. "I'll send this to Batman." I nodded my head before walking off, heading to the back room.
The jet was modified so this back room had multiple closets and a shower for members of the Team. There was also a spare drawer with Justice League uniforms, just in case. There were five doors total in this room. One led to the main jet area.
Two of the others led to changing rooms, one for the males, and one for the females. The other two led to a bathroom and a shower room. I walked into the shower room and undressed quickly, showering and getting rid of the Gulf's scent and replacing it with my own.
Once I was sure the stench was off me, I climbed out of the shower and got dressed in one of Dick's large t-shirts and a pair of jeans. I wasn't going anywhere, and I didn't need to impress anyone. I slipped on a pair of sunglasses, since Zatanna and Artemis still didn't know my secret identity, and walked out of the shower room.
"Hey," Robin greeted me, coming into the back room.
"Shower's free," I informed, even though I didn't really have to. I walked over to him as he closed the door, and leaned against him. He bent forward a little bit, kissing my forehead. I circled my arms around him, and he wrapped his arms around my upper back.
"Already gave Batman the information we gathered," Robin told me, before digging his face in my hair. "We should be back in less than a week."
"Alright then," I muttered more to myself than to Robin. I pulled my head back and leaned up to peck the tip of Robin's nose. "Now go shower. You stink."
I could tell he rolled his eyes behind his mask, but he did as I told him to, but not before stealing another kiss from me.
I walked back into the main area of the jet, and the others were lounged casually on the seats, pushing up the arm rests to lie comfortably, all the while watching an episode of LOST.
Well… better than Jersey Shore.
"I'm gonna find a place to land and refuel the jet," I announced. They hummed in reply and I made the screen a bit smaller so I could see what was in front of me.
It didn't take me long to find a nice, secluded area in the desert. This was Saudi Arabia after all. I landed the jet and shut off all engines, activating its stealth and defense systems in case we were attacked… which was highly unlikely, but hey, can't ever be too safe and sure… especially with a life like ours.
I widened the screen again and walked towards the many storage areas. Built for survival for days, the jet had a stock of food, a stove, a microwave, a fridge, a closet full of blankets and pillows, and extra fuel.
Granted, I didn't use up that much fuel today, but it was good to reload. It was also a lot easier to do than most planes, because I could do everything from inside, considering how dangerous it was to just be outside like a sitting duck.
After making sure the jet was full, I put away the fuel just as Robin came back. He was decked out in a pair of loose fit jeans, a dark blue t-shirt, a pair of black shoes, and his sunglasses.
"And now we wait," I declared.
"And now we wait," Robin nodded.
A/N: The first chapter proudly got 19 reviews. Now, I know there are some more usual reviewers out there! Where are you guys? :o Can we shoot for twenty? ;)