Standard disclaimer.
Artemis held her head high as she walked into her English class. The class idiot was already in his seat, essay on his desk, and even from all the way across the classroom she could see the piece of junk for what it was: junk. It was messy and crumpled. That was a very bad thing for him- this teacher docked points if it was messy. Artemis had hers in her black folder she used especially for her English assignments. The class was not her best class, and she was barely maintaining a B- in it. Algebra was by far her worst class, though, with a straight C. Gym she was easily acing, best in her class aside from the Grayson kid, who was surprisingly athletic, and commissioner Gordon's daughter, who kept herself in shape for kicking butt if she should ever have to. For some reason, Gordon, Artemis, and Grayson were put on the same team if the gym class would ever split into teams for something, and whichever team they were on would wipe the floor with the other team.
Sitting down at her desk, Artemis sighed, wishing it was already Gym class so she could go home. Gym being the last class she had had its perks.
"Assignments, please," the teacher said, walking around the classroom collecting the essays. Artemis pulled out her black folder, slipping her essay out, all neat and typed and spell checked. Looking around at her classmates, she noticed hers was one of the neatest. She had chosen to write about Robin, and how he inspired her to strive for excellence because he was a human among meta-humans and aliens, and was one of the best. She would never tell anyone she knew the troll personally, and he really did inspire her. Especially so when the Reds attacked. He kept her going, even when all seemed lost, and together the two non-meta non-alien humans saved their superpowered alien Team.
The teacher looked at her, and Artemis was barely able to register a small spark of approval in her eyes as she picked up her assignment. The hero was awestruck. The teacher actually liked the appearance of her essay? That in itself meant that her day was going to be insanely strange.
An insanely strange day it was. She had aced her algebra assignment (with Robin's help, of course) and one of the cute guys she had eyes for took the time to complement her hair. And then the Grayson kid popped up, grinning like he knew something she didn't, and ask her how she did on her math work. She looked at him weird, and told him she did okay with it. All in all, she was still happy to get out of school to the Cave to hang out with her real friends.
Recognized: Artemis B07
Walking in to the kitchen, she felt a brief shot of disappointment as she didn't see Robin, then mentally facepalmed. The kid had been shot, of course she wouldn't be seeing him.
Recognized: Robin B01
Scratch that, the insane kid was here.
"Sorry I'm late, I had to get something checked out," Robin explained as he walked into the room. He was favoring his right side exactly how Dick Grayson had favored his side that day at school. Artemis frowned, mentally filing that away to dissect later, and walked over to Robin.
"Shouldn't you still be out of commission? That shot looked pretty nasty," she remarked.
"Pfft. I've had worse than that," Robin brushed it off, although he still limped over to the couch and carefully sat down on it.
"You got shot?" Conner frowned, looking at Robin.
"Yeah, no biggie," Robin replied, shrugging, a slight cringe crossing his features.
"You shouldn't be here if you got shot," M'gann concernedly murmured.
"Relax you three. I'll be fine. I won't be doing anything worse that walking for the next or so, so it should be fine," the bird glared a little at the two aliens, telling them to drop it.
"Just take it easy," M'gann murmured.
"That's what I planned on doing," he muttered, pulling his laptop out of its bag and setting it up on the table. Typing in the passcode, his files popped up on Drachenfluch, Malamingin, and Huatakaivurit. Drachenfluch translated to Dragonbane, Malamingin to Nightwish, and Huatakaivurit to Gravediggers. The mercenary groups were German, Indonesian, and Finnish respectively. Malamingin was led by an obscure person, decidedly female, and Huatakaivurit was led by one Jaakko Aalto.
"What are you hacking now?" Artemis had wandered over, looking slightly curious.
"I'm doing research on other gangs that were mentioned in Brightraven's files. A Finnish gang, name Huatakaivurit, is led by Jaakko Aalto. It's name translates to Gravediggers. I haven't found much more than that, though," Robin informed. "There's also the German Drachenfluch- Dragonbane- led by an unknown individual, and the Indonesian Malamingin –Nightwish- led by someone who's decidedly female."
"Wow. All this in a half hour?" Artemis looked impressed.
"Actually, no. I've been researching this while I was out from the gunshot, and I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot more research on this. It's getting annoying how many firewalls Germans have," Robin said the last part to himself.
Recognized: Aqualad B02 Kid Flash B03
"Hey guys! Sorry we're late but you know how it can get in the cities. So much stuff to do, and yes, before you ask Robin, I do have my homework but the English is confusing," Wally blurted.
"Good for you, but I'm slightly busy," Robin mumbled, fingers flying as he hacked through the German BND's firewalls.
"Robin, what is it you are hacking now?" Kaldur looked interested in the bird's work.
"The BND," he replied.
"What's the BND?" Artemis asked, frowning. "I've never heard of it."
"It's the German CIA," Robin informed, "And it has amazing firewalls. Those Germans take security seriously." He raised an eyebrow as he finally found the right passcode. Who would've thought that one of the most important passcodes in Germany would be 'Spiel_Des_Hungers'1? Apparently there was some very important German officer who liked the Hunger Games…
Now past the firewalls, Robin began his research. Drachenfluch made its first appearance on the German news in 2005, when it assassinated a German politician that was in place to become the next Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellor) of Germany. The team of Drachenfluch assassins had never been caught, and it consisted of Gitta Abendroth, Katarina and Katrina Kluge, and leader Vreni von Zeigler, all female.
"Hey, guys, I got something on Drachenfluch finally," Robin looked over at his teammates, who were bickering over something random.
"Well? What did you find out?" Wally zipped over, perching himself on the arm of the couch.
"Drachenfluch made its debut on the German news with its 2005 assassination of the future Bundeskanzler. The team that assassinated him consisted of now thirty-two-year-old Gitta Abendroth, forty-one-year-old Katarina and thirty-eight-year-old Katrina Kluge, and their leader, forty-nine-year-old Vreni von Zeigler, all female. Von Zeigler is married to fifty-year-old Anton von Zeigler. They have two kids, twelve-year-old Elise von Zeigler and her eight-year-old brother, Xaver von Ziegler," Robin informed.
"How is this information about the one chick's family relevant?" Wally asked.
"I told you, everything is relevant," Robin replied, glaring daggers at the speedster.
"What is a Bun… Bund… Bundes…" M'gann trailed off.
"Bundeskanzler?" Robin looked up at the martian who was floating in place.
"Yes, that," she replied.
"German Federal Chancellor," he replied, looking back at his laptop.
"We will need to take a trip to Germany, then," Kaldur said decisively.
"I think that's jumping the gun a little… Maybe… Yeah. We have no idea who runs Drachenfluch, and almost no idea what we're up against. This could be another League of Shadows we're dealing with," Robin pointed out.
"C'mon, we could totally find out that stuff in Germany!" Wally protested.
"I think it would be… nice to visit Germany," Conner interjected.
"It could be beneficial to your quest for info," Kaldur suggested.
"You kids have fun then. Even if I wasn't working here, I wouldn't be able to go. I'm still recovering from an intimate encounter with a bullet," Robin replied.
"You were injured and you did not inform me?" Kaldur asked, looking offended.
"Didn't think it was important," Robin replied, still immersed in the BND's files. "Crap, another firewall," he muttered.
"If you guys want to, I can put the bioship to manual control. I think I'd like to stay here and watch Robin look," M'gann said, smiling.
"Very well then. Artemis, Kid Flash, suit up," Kaldur ordered.
"I'll be right back," M'gann told Robin, smiling.
"M'kay, have fun," he muttered, fingers flying across the keys. Oh yes, someone in the BND really liked the Hunger Games.
Okay, M'gann's actions in this chapter have an explanation. I like the Robin/M'gann dynamic as friends or maybe brother/sister. Also, M'gann shall be introduced to rock music next chapter, I think.