Cape Canaveral
March 19th, 2016 - Team Year 6 (Bart's Timeline) 21:21 EDT

This mission was not going well. There had been intel that certain elements didn't want the Earth-Mars commsat launched. But as another blast from an energy rifle forced Jaime Reyes to duck back down behind a heat shield next to Nightwing, he couldn't help but think they were in a little over their heads.

La'gaan had started it by attacking against Nightwing's direct orders. Now Miss Martian was heading to help him and Superboy was piloting the bioship. But the two part attack still made Jaime feel uneasy. There was something else at play here. This seemed like too much effort, especially for Black Manta, for a simple satellite.

The whine of a higher-powered laser caught his attention as the camouflaged bioship strafed the beach and Black Manta's troops.

We have an opening. Attack. Jaime hated the grating voice of his scarab that had been a constant presence since that fateful night outside of Kord Industries. And while the alien device could be annoyingly insistent about what it felt were his flaws, he had to agree with its current take on the situation.

But as Jaime started to rise over the blast wall, a flurry of shots began peppering the air around him. He felt a strong hand grab his leg, pulling him back down as pieces of superheated concrete showered the ground.

"I know you're new, but are you trying to get yourself killed?" The disappointment in Nightwing's voice stung. Everyone on the team wanted the approval of their leader, but Jaime even moreso. The other members of the team were there because of their skills or powers. He was there because he had been unlucky enough to have a piece of alien tech attach itself to him. It made him always strive to prove himself.

Listen to the Nightwing, Jaime. His question is valid. Was that... sass from the scarab?

Missile launch detected. Ocean level. Jaime peaked over the wall again with Nightwing before ducking down because of another barrage of fire. "I won't be able to get a clear shot," he said, looking over at the former Boy Wonder.

Nightwing nodded. "Superboy." The older man's voice filled his mind through the psychic link. Jaime heard the whoosh of the bioship overhead.

"On it." Jaime watched the missile streak above him before a blinding flash emitted from empty air. The missile exploded just short of the rocket. That was too close.

A few seconds later, an alarm claxon began blaring from the direction of the rocket. Launch sequence initiated. "Yeah, I guessed that," Jaime mumbled, turning to Nightwing. "Uh, ese... we might want to move."

Another missile came bursting from the sea. This time, Superboy was able to destroy it over the beach, and Jaime saw Black Manta's soldiers cover their eyes from the blast. He exchanged a wordless nod with Nightwing, who reached into his belt and tossed a small sphere over the wall. There was an explosion and a flash of light as the troopers yelled again.

"Move!" In a flash, the older man was over the wall. Jaime activated the boosters on the back of his armor and shot up over as well. He was vaguely aware of two more missiles emerging from the ocean, but he had work to do.

Hovering above the beach, he activated his sonic cannon, aiming short bursts at Black Manta's troopers. This is only marginally effective, Jaime Reyes. You are not eliminating the enemy. Recommend switching to plasma cannon. Turn this beach to glass. Jaime rolled his eyes. "You really need to chill out, hermano."

Below, he watched Nightwing flip and twirl between the soldiers, his escrima sticks flashing as they made contact. After a spinning kick sent a trooper flying backward, Jaime watched in horror as the armor-clad man rose to his feet, grabbing a knife from his ankle sheath. Simultaneously, Jaime fired his boosters as his hands formed into a battering ram. The trooper was too close to risk using a cannon.

The soldier ran at Nightwing, occupied with fighting another of Black Manta's goons. Time seemed to slow for Jaime, the man in ebony armor pulling the knife back to aim at Nightwing's unguarded kidney. And then Jaime impacted with the man's leg, sending him flipping into the air with a yell of pain. For his part, Jaime crashed into the beach... hard, rolling end over end until finally coming to a stop just in time to see Nightwing plant a kick to the trooper's face, silencing him.

The older man paused. "Thanks." Jaime nodded as he struggled to his feet, but was stopped by a look on Nightwing's face. Turning back to the ocean, he watched as Kaldur, formally Aqualad, rose from the waves with troopers in tow.

Traitor! Jaime felt his hands begin forming into plasma cannons before he could regain control.

"They've taken La'gaan! I'm going after him." Miss Martian's voice filled his head. Jaime guessed that's why they hadn't heard as much from the Atlantian lately.

"Priority is the missiles." Superboy's response followed as three more missiles erupted from the water in rapid succession. Jaime's sensors told him the bioship was back near the rocket, basically its back to the wall, as it fired on the missiles approaching ever faster. "There are too many! I'm not keeping up."

There was no response from M'gann as Kaldur continued walking up the beach. A few seconds later, the ocean bubbled up as a muffled explosion reached the shore. The missiles had stopped, but Jaime had no idea what was going on under the waves.

"Kaldur! You don't want to do this!" Nightwing's voice brought Jaime back to the beach, the team's leader standing directly in front of the traitor and his team.

"I believe I do!" Water began to bubble and rise up around Black Manta's son. It shot into the air, taking the form of... some type of animal. Jaime thought it almost looked like a bird Beast Boy liked to transform himself into.

We are under attack! Recommend switching to plasma cannon to boil the water around them! "Enough with the plasma cannon, hermano!" Jaime fired the sonic cannon at the water monster, but watched as the waves passed through it without harm. A split second later, the water crashed into Nightwing and then himself, knocking Jaime out of the air and onto the beach with a crash.

As Jaime coughed and brought himself to his knees, the rumble of rockets shook the ground. He looked up to see the Earth-Mars commsat rising into the sky, orange fire spitting out the back. Behind him, he heard Kaldur mumble something he couldn't make out above the roar of the engines, and then a small shoulder rocket shot out at the spacecraft.

Recommend switching the plasma cannon! "Right, you got it this time!" Jaime watched his hand switch to the plasma cannon as he closed one eye, tracked Kaldur's rocket, and fired. The beam of energy shot out, lancing the small missile and exploding it short of the commsat.

"Yes!" Jaime pumped his fist in celebration as he watched the rocket continue to ascend. Your celebration is premature, Jaime Reyes. Sensors indicate a bomb has been placed onboard the rocket. It is equipped with an altitude sensor. We must disable it, or it will destroy the satellite.

Without a word, Jaime fired his boosters and shot after the rocket. He could hear the grunts of Nightwing fighting Kaldur and his troops below, but the satellite was their mission. If it was destroyed...

"How long before it explodes?" Impossible to determine, Jaime Reyes. "If we're on the rocket when it explodes, are we going to make it?" I calculate that if we are not successful, we will survive the explosion. "You better be right, hermano."

Jaime pumped more juice into his boosters, gaining even faster on the rocket. He was maybe fifty feet away when he heard a sharp pop. Then he was blinded by brightness before falling into darkness.

Stars filled his vision as Jaime's eyes cracked open again. Well, stars and the concerned faces of Nightwing, Superboy, and Miss Martian. He tried to sit up, but was met with a wave of pain and a sharp groan. Rest, Jaime Reyes. You have survived the explosion, and a fall from several thousand feet. It will take time before you are healed.

"Easy there, Blue. That was quite a fall." Nightwing put a hand on his shoulder, a slight smile on his face. Relief, possibly.

"The satellite..." Jaime watched as Nightwing shook his head.

"It's gone."

"And Lagoon Boy?" Nightwing looked up at Miss Martian, who turned away from Superboy. He sighed.

"Kaldur's men took him. We'll get him back. But right now we need to get you back to the cave. Come on."

XXXXX

Mount Justice
March 23rd, 2016 - Team Year 6 (Bart's Timeline) 21:05 EDT

Dick Grayson hated waiting. Whether it was for the criminals to show up during a stakeout, for Barbara to answer the door for a date, or for one of his best friends to come and betray them all, he hated waiting. And it showed.

Normally so good at keeping his emotions hidden from those except his closest friends, nervous tics betrayed him now. A fidgeting, a nervous tap of a foot, hands unable to stay in one place for more than a few seconds, obsessively checking and rechecking the cave's computer system.

The program he had slipped into the cave's security system was up and running. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hide it, if the computers were going to survive the next few minutes. But they weren't, and Dick knew that.

This was the most dangerous part of his plan. There were so many things that could go wrong, so many ways that people could get hurt. If he was lucky, no one else would be captured tonight. If he wasn't lucky, whatever new memorial park the League put together would be getting a few new statues.

And Dick Grayson hadn't been lucky lately.

Kaldur was still alone undercover. Dick hadn't wanted it to be this long. The Light and their new partners were moving slower than he had anticipated. He had been talking to Artemis, behind Wally's back, yes, about joining him. About creating a new identity, using her expertise to help Kaldur, and help keep him sane.

But those plans had been thrown into disarray when Barry had died. He couldn't have her go undercover when Wally needed her now more than ever. Kaldur had understood, of course he had, but a message after the satellite raid told him the situation was getting more desperate. The Light still wasn't letting him close, and he needed something big, really big, to prove he wasn't a double agent.

Dick checked the computer system for the sixteenth time. This had been his idea. It was drastic. It was extreme.

It's what Batman would have done.

"Pretty quiet night?" Dick couldn't remember the last time someone had snuck up on him. It was weird being on the other end of the that trick. But Jaime had managed to do it. Dressed in his civilian clothes, the boy was still recovering from the Cape Canaveral job. It was the reason he wasn't out with the team tonight.

"Haven't heard anything from Batgirl. They'll be fine."

"You think this lead will get us closer to where that bomb came from?" If it doesn't, I'm not sure what I'll do, Dick thought.

"I think we'll have significant progress after tonight. How's the arm?" Dick motioned to the sling Jaime was still wearing.

"When I'm in the armor, it's fine. Outside of it, it's still sore. I mean, if you need me to check something out, I can..."

Dick shook his head. "Take it easy tonight, Jaime. We just want you back to one hundred percent." A light beeping sounded in his ear and Dick turned just in time to see Superboy being flung through the air at him. The Kryptonian clone's body hit him squarely in the chest, sending him crashing down to the ground.

Dick heard Jaime's armor gear up, but an arm was quickly encased in ice. Dick saw Icicle Jr. standing on an upper ledge as he shoved Connor off of him. A shout of pain escaped Jaime's lips before the armor expanded over the arm, breaking the ice. The boy rose into the air as Dick saw Tuppence Terror walk in with Beast Boy slung over her shoulder. Her twin brother, Tommy, was the one who had thrown Superboy. Kaldur had brought quite the arsenal with him.

Jaime fired off a sonic blast towards Icicle Jr., who dove away. Dick saw Tuppence drop Beast Boy rather unceremoniously before charging towards him. Shifting to a fighting stance, he waited until she was close before leaping into the air, grabbing her shoulder and propelling himself over head. Landing behind her, Dick aimed a kick at the back of her knee. He heard Tuppence shout in pain as the knee buckled, but she still managed to turn and backhand him hard across the room.

Before Dick could get back to his feet, a pair of large hands clapped an inhibitor collar around his neck. He looked up to see Tommy Terror standing over him, collar control in his hand.

"That won't help you much. Nothing for it to turn off." Dick crouched, his legs coiled to jump into the air and aim a kick at the other Terror Twins' head.

"It don't need to turn anything off to be useful." As Dick rose into the air, Tommy pressed down on the control, sending electricity shooting through his body. Spasms wracked his muscles, and he fell to the floor in a heap.

Drifting in and out of consciousness, Dick watched Jaime knock Icicle Jr. out with a sonic blast, and then caught pieces of a conversation between Kaldur and the Blue Beetle. He saw the bomb. It looked exactly like the one that destroyed Malina Island. Dick felt more uneasy about the plan by the second.

Still, he needed to remain focused. Needed to stay awake. Dick saw Blue Beetle descend, his hands raised in surrender. An inhibitor collar was placed around his neck as well.

"Move Beetle and Beast Boy to the flyer," Kaldur motioned to the twins. "The other two will stay here to ensure we are not followed."

"Aqualad!" Slowly, Dick forced himself to his feet. "You'll regret this!" There was a slight snicker from the three members of Kaldur's team as his friend walked over slowly, stared him right in the eye, and then punched him in the gut.

Dick doubled over in pain, his hands clasping over Kaldur's. He felt something passed to him, and he palmed it easily.

"You'll have two minutes." Kaldur's voice was barely audible, even to him. But Dick knew what he meant. With a moan, he fell to his knees. Dick looked up at Kaldur one more time, and could see the pain in his friend's eyes. The suffering. Dick gave a barely perceptible shake of his head. Not here, not yet.

Kaldur turned to walk out of the cave, pausing for a moment by the bomb. "I will leave the bomb with you as a souvenir. Oh, and the dead man's switch has a five mile range. Do not pursue."

Dick waited until they were out of sight and then sprang into action. Pulling a tool from his belt, he inserted a key into the back of the inhibitor collar and felt it release. Kneeling down, he pulled Connor's off as well. The clone was still unconscious, which was going to make this harder. Sprinting downstairs, Dick freed Wolf before finding Sphere. He looked at the piece of alien tech for a moment, a frown crossing his face. Did she know? Could she know that he was the one who allowed this to happen? He didn't have time to wonder.

"Come on, Sphere. We've got to get everyone out of here. We've got less than two minutes." A few beeps and hoots came from Sphere before she expanded into her cycle form. Hopping on, they flew back to the main room, where Wolf was nudging at Connor, still out cold. Dick jumped from Sphere, helping the animal drag his friend's body onto the cycle. Climbing back up, Dick saw the bomb. They had to go now.

Shooting out the cave's main doors, the four of them raced over the water. And that's when the explosion happened.

Dick saw the water in front of him reflect the fireball first. Then the noise reached them. A millisecond later, the shockwave and heat followed. Dick felt Sphere spiral out of control, and then he felt nothing at all.

XXXXX

Washington, D.C.
March 24th, 2016 - Team Year 6 (Bart's Timeline) 03:12 EDT

"Batgirl, B-1-6." Barbara Gordon practically ran out of the zeta tube at the Hall of Justice. Normally, on this side of the glass, she'd be in uniform. But at this early hour, the Hall was closed. It was deserted, except for the raven haired boy sitting at a table.

She didn't stop running until she reached him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. Barbara buried her head into his neck, feeling Dick Grayson slowly run a hand over her back in return.

When she broke the hug, she hit him on the arm. Hard.

"Dick, what the hell happened? Are you okay? How did Kaldur get into the cave? And why the hell did it take two and a half hours to call me and tell me what happened?" Her blue eyes took in all the little details in the room. The slump of his shoulders. His tired eyes, even behind his domino mask. The untouched cup of coffee in front of him, cold. The random flash drive sitting on the table next to it.

"Kaldur got a bomb into the cave. He took Jaime and Garfield. He left Connor and me there. I guess he expected us to die in the explosion." Barbara was keenly aware that he avoided her last question.

"Dick, I went over the logs. There was no alarm. There was nothing." She watched his back tighten. "Kaldur was never good with computer systems, Dick. Tell me what happened."

"I don't know how he got in, Babs. One second I was talking with Jaime, the next second, he and his team were there." Barbara pulled out the chair across from him and sat down, taking his hands in hers.

"I need you to be straight with me, Boy Wonder. I need you to tell me what's going on." Her voice softened. "Dick, there's no one else here." Her eyes glanced down at the flash drive before moving back up to his. She watched as his lips curled downwards, his brow furrowing. But Dick Grayson didn't speak.

"Did he hack in, Dick? Or did someone let him in? I upgraded that system myself, Dick, and I know of four people in the world who could have hacked in." Barbara held up four fingers. "One is off world. One is me. One was with me on a mission all night." She pointed her last remaining finger towards him. "And the last one is you. Now tell me what is going on."

Barbara watched Dick struggle for an answer. When he couldn't find one, he shook his head. "I don't know how he got in, Babs. Right now, I don't care. My only focus is on getting La'gaan, Jaime, and Gar back."

"And how are you planning on doing that?" She glanced pointedly at the flash drive. Dick noticed, and covered it with his hand. Subtle, Boy Wonder, she thought.

"I'm still gathering intelligence. Hopefully I'll have something soon." Barbara rolled her eyes as she stood.

"I'm sure you will." She took a few steps, but stopped and turned back towards him. He still hadn't moved. "Dick, I can't help run this team if you don't tell me everything that's going on." The redhead heard a sigh escape from his lips and watched his shoulders slump even farther. This was it, he was finally going to open up...

"A member of my team died, Kaldur turned traitor, and now three of our own are in enemy hands. And I'm doing my best to get them back, find out who the Light's new partner is, and keep Gotham from burning to the ground while Batman's away. That's what's going on." His voice was low and steady the entire time, barely above a whisper, but Barbara could hear the frustration. Whether it was directed towards her, the situation, or himself, she couldn't tell.

"Dick?" Her voice was soft. Dick finally looked up at her. She offered him a small smile. "Bruce is a better liar."

Barbara turned and walked through the zeta tube doors, feeling them close behind her. She wanted to help him, to take some of the weight of the world that he carried off his shoulders. The zeta tube fired up in front of her. Before stepping in, Barbara pulled out her own gauntlet from a pocket and fired up the wrist computer. A few quick keystrokes got her into the Hall's security cameras.

She saw Dick sitting at the table, his eyes still on the door she had just passed through. Then he took the flash drive and inserted it into his own wrist computer. Barbara watched as his fingers started moving through the data contained on the drive. She closed her eyes.

If he wasn't going to open up to her, he wasn't going to open up to anyone.

XXXXX

Pacific Ocean
March 30, 2016 - Team Year 6 (Bart's Timeline) 21:05 HAST

On a "bad idea" list of Dick Grayson's plans, this one had to rank near the top. Intentionally putting themselves into harm's way by way of capture to get on board the Reach ship, a ship they knew nothing about, he might add, was not Tim Drake's idea of a sound plan. Between Black Manta's troops, Kaldur, and the Reach soldiers that appeared around every corner, this was getting worse and worse.

It brought a small measure of relief to see that the cute blonde from the docks was still with them, still safe. Well, safe was a relative term at the moment. Though he supposed being trapped in a room with two of Batman's trusted lieutenants, even if they were on a alien ship crawling with... aliens, was as safe as an ordinary civilian could hope for at the moment.

Tim listened as M'gann reported finding Beast Boy over the mental link. He was about to respond about seeing Lagoon Boy when Barbara took charge and did it for him. A cool pit of concern formed in his stomach over the presence of Shimmer. He was sure she could have no love for their captors either, seeing as she was in a cell with them, but they didn't know how she'd react to being saved. They didn't have time to debate it as Nightwing gave the go order.

Discretely, both he and Barbara pulled their utility belts from their sleeves. Opening a pouch, Tim placed special charges against the inside of his pod. Specifically engineered to disrupt the electronics of the pod and then explode the containment wall outward, Tim only hoped he hadn't put them on backwards. He wouldn't get the chance to regret it if he had.

The release of pressurized air as the front of the pod flew off with a pop let him know the charges had done their jobs. Tim sprang from his pod, seeing Barbara do the same. Opening his coat, Karen flew out and over to the nearest captive, pushing the same series of buttons she'd used to free Barbara from a pod back in Bialya. Nothing happened.

Barbara let out a muffled curse as Karen tried again. Scanning the room quickly, Tim noticed the panic in the eyes of the other captives. Of the blonde, especially. She had the prettiest blue eyes...

"Robin!" Barbara's voice, audible, not through the mental link, brought him back. "Computer!"

"On it!" Tim raced over the central computer in the room, fingers flying over the holographic keys. Alien words flew before his eyes, letting him know he'd activated... something. But while Timothy Jackson Drake was well-versed in several languages, both native and computer, he didn't have a clue what any of them meant.

Finally, the picture of what somewhat looked like the pods sped past. Tim stabbed a finger into the largest button on the keyboard in front of him. The flashing symbols paused for a moment, then went blank. Tim winced, bracing for an explosion, but instead he heard another hiss of air as the pods all began to open.

That wasn't so hard, Tim thought. Pushing up his sleeve, he pulled a jack from his own wrist computer as Barbara and Karen worked to get the hostages up and moving. Inserting it into the station before him, Tim's fingers began tapping rapidly, his own hacking and translation program running. If he could just get into the system, he might be able to leave a bug to listen remotely to the Reach's communications. No more Gamma Squad missions for him after that...

"Robin!" Barbara's voice cut through his little fantasy. His fingers typed faster. Tim knew he was almost in. Okay, knew was a bit of a stretch. "Strongly suspected" might be the better term. Maybe "impressive gut feeling". "Robin, we've got to go, now!"

Tim continued to type, his eyes locked onto his wrist computer's screen. This was going to be their only shot at this. A few extra seconds...

"Robin!" Tim physically winced at Barbara's voice. His muscles tightened at a hand on his shoulder, but it wasn't the redhead. The blonde cocked an eyebrow over one of her beautiful blues, the look on her face clearly conveying that she was done with his escapades.

"Let's go, handsome. I ain't stupid enough to get captured to try and rescue you." Tim hesitated another half second, partially because he was contemplating continuing to try and hack into the system, and partially because she thought he was handsome. Then he pulled the jack from the Reach computer and grabbed his bo staff.

The hallway outside the room where they'd been held was empty for the moment, despite an alarm klaxon blaring. The problem was, Tim didn't remember which way they'd been brought in. Luckily, he didn't have to. Tapping a finger to his sunglasses, he rewound footage from earlier as they were being trucked down the hall in their pods. After a moment, he pointed.

"That way!" The three heroes started leading the hostages down the hallway, which suddenly filled with Reach soldiers. Pressing a small button, Tim's bo staff extended to its full length. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Barbara slide on some steel knuckles. Batman's own invention, the small weapons released an electric charge when they hit something, and packed quite a punch.

"Bumblebee, get the kids out of here. We'll be right behind you!" Barbara's legs coiled before she sprang at the nearest soldier, deftly dodging a clumsy thrust from his spear-like weapon. One of her fists connected solidly with his head, and the soldier went down in a heap.

Twirling the staff in his hands, Tim ducked a swing by one alien, and blocked a thrust from another. Standing between them both, he brought the staff over his head as he parried a stab at his back, then leapt over a low swing. While in the air, he lashed out. The end of the staff connected solidly with one soldier's face, at the same time his foot connected with the neck of the other.

Both crumpled to the floor.

That's when Tim heard a voice through the mental link that made his stomach drop.

"We can't find Blue Beetle."

XXXXX

The alarm had gone off as soon as she'd used her telekinesis to rip the front off of Garfield's pod. There may have been more subtle ways of doing it, but M'gann wasn't going to leave her adopted brother in Reach captivity any longer than she had to. Her imagination had already been running wild with the horrors they had been inflicting on him over the past week. If only she'd been at the cave, she might have been able to stop it...

"Garfield?" Her voice sounded small in her own head as she knelt down next to him. The plaintive groan that escaped his lips cut her right to the heart.

"I knew you'd come for me..." His words were pained, even over the mental link. M'gann pushed away any thoughts about what the Reach had done to him. They had to get home.

But Blue Beetle was nowhere to be seen in the room. "Did you see where they took Blue?" She fought to keep the panic out of her voice. Garfield rubbed his hands over his face, still shaky on his feet.

"Not since the cave," Garfield responded. "When I woke up, they'd taken him someplace else. Whenever I asked, they just said it wasn't my concern." M'gann frowned. The alarms seemed to be getting louder.

"We can't find Blue Beetle," she reported, flying over to the door, density shifting through it to glance into the hallway. Still deserted. For now. "Should we search the ship?" There was a pause. Nightwing almost never hesitated.

She understood the hesitation, though. Do they leave Jaime behind, in the hands of the Reach, and try and mount another rescue later? Do they risk even more members of the team being captured or killed now, or do they escape while they still could?

"Only check rooms on your way back, Miss M." Nightwing's voice sounded older, much older, even through the mental link. It was the exhaustion of a general that was tired of making decisions that could get his soldiers killed. "We need to get everyone home."

M'gann gave an affirmative before blowing the doors off. She saw Reach soldiers run down an adjacent hallway, but they were clear for the moment. Motioning to Garfield, they took off in the opposite direction. She "ghosted" through as many doors as she could, but was unable to find Jaime. Where were they keeping him?

"M'gann, where are you guys?" The concern in Connor's voice was palpable. Her heart ached again when she thought about what she'd done, or tried to do, to him. This wasn't the time for those thoughts, however.

"Just a second." M'gann ducked her head into a final room. Nothing. They were going to have to leave him behind, try again later.

A familiar grunt of pain came over the mental link. "Connor!" She increased her pace as she flew around the corner, Garfield in tow. At the doorway to the landing bay, a hulking black figure stood, its back to them. It looked like Blue Beetle, but larger, more menacing. Its hand was extended to the side, and suddenly the doors began to close. Pulling up, M'gann summoned her mental strength and blasted the creature away from the door.

The portal stopped closing as M'gann flew through and Garfield leapt in. They both raced past the creature, who was already rising to its feet, stopping near the assembled team and remaining hostages. Wonder Girl was the first to speak.

"Listen, uh... Black Beetle." Creative, M'gann thought. "You're totally outnumbered. Back off, and we'll go easy on you." There was a pause, and for a moment M'gann thought the bravado might work. Then the creature rose, new pincers expanding from the back of his armor.

"You. Will go easy. On me?" Black Beetle's head shook as a low chuckle emerged, which soon grew to a full-fledged laugh that reverberated through the hanger.

"Oh that is not a good sign," M'gann heard Bumblebee mutter. She watched Batgirl pull a Batarang from her utility belt.

"Alpha Squad, hit him hard!"

XXXXX

Garfield didn't need to be told twice. He felt his body begin to change as the other members of the team charged in. Connor landed a couple punches before the obsidian-armored alien grabbed his leg and tossed him like a candy wrapper against the far wall. Cassie and her lasso didn't fare much better, the Black Beetle using it to pull her in before landing a punch square to her stomach.

Watching a horn rise before him, Garfield felt the lumbering power of the rhino boil through his blood. With a shake of his now-massive head, he started forward, the deck shaking beneath his feet. As the distance between him and Black Beetle closed, the alien was suddenly lifted into the air. Surprise flooded the onyx-clad enforcer's face, before he was suddenly dropped onto the deck. Hard.

Yeah, sis! Garfield thought as he rumbled along. He wasn't expecting your telekinesis. Before the big alien had a chance to recover, Garfield let his rhino form slam into his side, sending the Beetle skittering across the deck with a roll as he skidded to a stop short of the far wall.

Garfield turned in time to see pairs of explosions dot Black Beetle's armor. Batgirl and Robin were throwing explosives from a distance. Miniscule dots of light showered down as Karen zipped around his armor. Then the alien shot up from the floor and was slammed down just as quickly. For a moment, the brute didn't move. Connor and Cassie both rose to their feet, assuming ready stances, but clearly exchanging glances with each other. Garfield knew what they were thinking, he just chose to verbalize it.

"That wasn't all that hard." But no sooner had the words left his mouth than that low, slow laugh returned. It built in volume and menace as Black Beetle himself rose like some demon breaking out of hell.

"Silly children," the bass voice rolled through the enclosed hanger with a low, sinister vibration. "You really think your puny attacks have any effect on me? That was hardly a tickle."

"We're on our way to help!" Nightwing's voice flashed through Garfield's mind. Good, he thought. They were going to need more firepower.

"Negative, Nightwing." Batgirl's voice responded, her face showing none of the concern that laced her words. "We'll need you at the controls of the bioship to make a quick exit."

"Acknowledged. Stay safe out there."

The squad was arrayed around the edges of the hanger, Black Beetle blocking the door back towards the Reach ship itself. None of the team were looking at each other, their gaze focused on their singular enemy.

"Go." The word, spoken through the mental link, returned the steely calm to Batgirl's voice. Once again, Black Beetle was lifted off the deck as Connor leapt in. A punch landed squarely with the creature's head, but the alien seemed to ignore it. Instead, he moved an arm so it was pointed towards M'gann, the end beginning to morph into four barrels.

Garfield wanted to shout a warning, but it was too late. Black Beetle fired, the plasma bolt flying across the room before anyone could blink. It slammed into M'gann's chest, sending her crashing back against the wall of the hanger. The Reach enforcer dropped back to the deck as his sister crumpled in a heap.

In a moment, Connor was at her side, shielding her with his body from a second blast that never came. Black Beetle was once again focused on the other team members. Cassie ducked under a swing, landing a punch to his midsection before another heavy arm sent her crashing into the ground.

Garfield let loose an animal bellow escaping from his rhino form as he charged. The alien turned at the last moment, a fist slamming into the side of the boy's massive head. Garfield felt his legs give underneath him, his bulk sliding across the smooth deck as stars popped before his eyes.

A few explosions dotted the Beetle's armor again before a shout of surprise cut them off. Garfield turned his head, vision still swimming, in time to see Shimmer take another swipe at Batgirl. Her hands were glowing, and Batgirl seemed to be taking great care not to be touched by them. Garfield could see that Robin's bo staff, a weapon he had seen him slam against enemy after enemy and not break, was warped and almost melted.

Garfield saw La'gaan enlarge into his puffer form, despite holding his head, and charge Black Beetle. The Atlantean's hands locked with the larger alien, pushing him back for a moment before starting to buckle. The younger boy watched as the Beetle's pincers descended over Lagoon Boy's shoulders to make contact with his back, energy flowing through them. A shout of pain emerged from the sea-dweller's lips as his body reduced in size.

Closing his eyes to clear his still-ringing head, Garfield felt his form change again. He felt the lumbering power of the rhino replaced with the muscled solidity of the gorilla. Padded feet changed to hands, and the horn disappeared into a flattened face. He charged again, practically climbing up Black Beetle's back, pounding his fists into the spot where the pincers connected to the armor. A quick burst from the Beetle's back jets flung him off.

As he landed on his butt, Cassie rose with her lasso in hand. With a quick flick of her wrist, the golden rope flew out, wrapping itself around the ink-colored warrior's throat. Pulling with all her strength, the Amazon-in-training yanked back, forcing the alien's head up into the air.

That slight distraction gave Bumblebee all the opening she needed. Flying in, she blasted tiny bolts at Black Beetle's eyes. The alien howled in pain, hands swiping wildly as Karen continued to fire.

Out of the corner of his eye, Garfield watched Batgirl land a spinning kick against Shimmer's head. The Cobra follower went stumbling back until she hit a wall.

And that wall melted away when it touched her hands. After a frozen second, the ocean from outside began rushing in.

And that was when Black Beetle's flailing found its mark. A large, armored hand slammed into Bumblebee. Her tiny form plummeted towards the floor, and then was lost into the rapidly rising water with a splash.

"We've got to get out of here!" That was Connor's voice, frantic over the mental link. He was already moving M'gann towards the bioship's opening.

"Agreed. If that water floods the hold, it'll flood the bioship." That was Batgirl, seemingly always in control of herself. "Wonder Girl, grab Lagoon Boy and let's go."

"I'll find Bumblebee." Garfield matched actions to words, lumbering over to around where he saw her enter the rising tide.

Wading around in the knee-deep water, Garfield frantically moved his massive hands through the flood. He couldn't feel Karen anywhere. He couldn't find her. Panic started to rise in Garfield's chest as his hands continued their methodical back and forth motion. His feet barely lifted off the deck, careful not to step on her as he searched.

But then a sharp pain in the center of his back demanded his attention. As his head lowered, Garfield was able to see a serrated edge slowly recede into his chest. Vision swimming, Black Beetle withdrew his arm-blade as Garfield's body slowly morphed back to its normal form.

"Garfield!" M'gann's scream, out loud, not through the mental link, caused his eyes to rise slowly. She started towards him before Connor grabbed her, bodily pulling her back. The doors to the bioship began to close as blackness teased at the edges of Garfield's vision.

His sister reached out a hand to him, still visible through the closing doors of the ship. Garfield tried to lift an arm in response. His limbs weren't working. Noted. That was probably a bad sign.

Suddenly, his vision flashed to white and M'gann transformed into an image of his mother, crimson hair framing blue eyes and a freckled smile. Her hand was also outstretched to him, but while his sister had been trying to reach him, his mother merely beckoned. Garfield smiled internally. His hand rose to reach his mother's, and a warmth radiated throughout his body.

Then he saw nothing at all.