13.
"We're over the drop zone," M'gann said, and Artemis's heart started to beat faster. Here we go. "Are we ready?"
"Ready," the team responded in unison. They had reached Santa Prisca. Their first official mission was underway. Artemis clutched her bow, instantly ready. M'gann lowered the bioship into the trees in camouflage mode. They were close to the site where Batman said Bane was operating.
"Proceed with caution," Aqualad said as the team quietly exited the bioship. "As Batman said, we cannot be seen or heard. We must apprehend Bane and his men without getting caught."
"Easy peasy," Kid Flash said. "We got this, guys." Artemis almost smiled. At least he was encouraging.
The team crept up to the treeline, where they could see the gray building that Bane was operating his drug ring out of. Artemis didn't see any Shadows around, but that didn't mean they weren't there.
Robin brought up a hologram screen from his watch. "Seven guards outside the building. Two in front, two on the sides, three in back. There are trucks in the back - they must be getting ready to transport the product. We've gotta stop that from happening."
Wally focused his goggles. "Tons of heat signatures inside. One really big guy - that must be Bane. About . . . ten or fifteen other people inside the building."
"Is that all?" Artemis scoffed. Kid Flash grinned in the dark. It was nighttime, and the dark would be the perfect cover, as they were all in stealth mode.
"First things first," Superboy grumbled. "The guards."
"Take them down quietly," Aqualad instructed. "We must not let Bane know we are here. M'gann, you and I will take the ones in the front. Robin and Kid Flash, you take those on the side. Superboy and Artemis, the back. Once you have disarmed and apprehended the guards, find your way inside. Stay undetected. Once inside, we'll apprehend as much of the men as we can before we move on Bane together."
Everyone nodded. Artemis was a little nervous about being paired with Superboy, but she tried not to let that make her lose focus. It was all about trust, after all. She had to trust him in order to work well with him. She just hoped he trusted her, too. It was a two-way street.
"Move out," Aqualad said, and the team separated. Artemis's heart was steadily pounding in her chest, but she was focused. She and Superboy shared a look before Superboy took a huge leap that put him on the other side of the building. Artemis grit her teeth. She ran swiftly across the Santa Prisca ground, her bow at the ready. Kid Flash had already taken down one of the guards on the side of the building, so she got past without any interference. She joined Superboy at the back. There were four large metal trucks standing in a line at the back of the building, three guards standing watch in front of them. One was stationed at the back entrance, and the other two were poised by the trucks. Superboy landed in front of the guard by the back door. Before the guard even had a chance to react, Superboy had grabbed him and disarmed him. Artemis snuck behind the trucks and disarmed the second guard. The third guard almost fired his weapon before Superboy stopped him, and they hogtied the three guards together, putting gags over their mouths so they wouldn't call for help.
"Nice job," Superboy grumbled without smiling, and Artemis smiled to herself.
"Thanks. You too," she said. "Let's get inside."
She opened the back door of the building quietly. Luckily, it wasn't creaky. The door opened directly into the building, which was a flat warehouse with only one floor. There was a metal catwalk suspended from the ceiling. The warehouse was filled with crates and boxes and machines, which Bane's men were lifting and moving across the floor. There was a strange machine which Artemis assumed was the thing that made the drugs, and Bane stood near that, surveying his operation with a smug, satisfied look on his face. Artemis looked around, but she didn't see any other members of the League of Shadows. Bane must've been working alone.
"Up here," she whispered to Superboy, heading quietly towards the staircase that led up to the catwalk. She could see a shadow moving around up there that she thought was Robin. She felt a gust of wind at her back, and her ponytail whipped behind her. Her spine tingled. Kid Flash ran past her and up onto the catwalk. She could hear the ghost of his laugh as he passed her, and she rolled her eyes.
She and Superboy rendezvoused with the rest of the team on top of the catwalk. From this vantage point, they could see everything that was going on down below.
"You've all taken down your guards?" Aqualad whispered, and everyone nodded.
"Hogtied and gagged," Superboy said.
"Tied up and shut up," Kid Flash said at the same time.
"Good. Now, we handle the rest." Aqualad looked down on the scene below, and Artemis could tell he was trying to figure out their next move. She was ready to use her bow - she hadn't had to use that much force to take down the guards outside, and she wanted to shoot some arrows. Her hands were practically itching for it.
"There are fifteen men, plus Bane," Robin said quietly. "Should be easy."
"Take them down using any means necessary," Aqualad said.
"What about Bane?" Artemis asked, her fingers tingling. They twitched towards her quiver.
"We take him down together. Avoid his attacks until the rest of his men have been apprehended."
Artemis grimaced. She could just shoot him with a polyeurathane foam arrow right now and have him trapped in high-polymer foam within seconds. It might not hold him for very long, but it would give her enough time to use a shock arrow to knock him out. She could take him down single-handed.
But no. She was on a team now. She had to keep reminding herself of that. A team worked together. Black Canary and Green Arrow were expecting her to do well, and she wanted to impress them. The best way to do that was by working well with the team.
"Fine," she said. "Can we go get them now?"
"Yes," Aqualad said, a smile on his face, and he dropped down from the catwalk.