Hello lovelies! How are you doing this fine day? I think this is the first time I've updated the main story at a reasonable time (AKA two o'clock in the morning, because sleep is for the weak) in a while. Let me tell you, this chapter kinda kicked my ass. You know how sometimes you have an image in your head of how you want something to go, but then you can't quite manage to get it just right on paper? Like when you want to draw a beautifully realistic horse and it ends up looking like a mistake of nature? Long story short, my outline for this chapter underwent a few rewrites until it became something I'm happy with.
To answer a question from TheShapeshifter100, as of right now, I haven't seen any of season three yet. At this point, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this story past season two, but that's a very, very long way off : ).
MOUNT JUSTICE
SEPTEMBER 22ND, 2010
18:43 EDT
Ski'Lira prided herself on her impeccable spatial awareness and alertness, always prepared to act at any moment. Her enhanced senses easily allowed her to keep track of any threats that could cause her potential harm and react accordingly.
However, that point was moot if she had earbuds crammed in her ears and the volume turned up has high as she could manage.
The actual choice of music didn't matter to her (she'd just hit shuffle and hoped for the best), as she just wanted sheer noise to drown out the world around her, opting to maintain her focus on the copy of The Count of Monte Cristo currently in her hands. She had removed her clawed gauntlets and set them on the countertop in order to avoid ripping the pages.
The reason for her disconnect from the world around her?
The two besotted teens currently making out in the hangar.
She'd heard one giggle from M'Gann and decided she'd had enough, confining herself to the kitchen until it was time for the team's rendezvous in half an hour for training.
A flicker of yellow and red movement caught her attention from her peripheral vision, and a glance up confirmed the presence of Wally. He was zipping around the kitchen, gathering ingredients for a sandwich that he prepared in a few seconds. Once it was completed, he casually sauntered over to her with his sandwich held loosely in his grip, snagging the spine of her book in his free hand.
She saw his lips move as he lifted the book up. "Count of Monte Cristo huh? Saw the movie, haven't read the book. Is it any good?"
Ski'Lira provided an answer in the form of snapping the book shut harshly on his fingers, forcing him to flinch back. "Okay, okay, I get it. You want to be left alone. I can take a hint. I'll leave you to your reading. Guess I'll go see what Conner and M'Gann are up to."
As he walked out of the kitchen (neglecting his superspeed, most likely solely for the fact that he wanted to keep his precious sandwich intact).
She briefly debated with herself for a moment, between delaying him, attempting to warn the occupied couple, or doing nothing.
She opted for the third option.
There's no way that neither M'Gann nor Conner would be able to miss his arrival, especially with the speedster's tendency to loudly announce his presence whenever he walked into a room.
So instead, she settled back down in her chair and lost herself once more in the written word.
H
Just as she reached the start of the prison escape, she felt a tremor pass through the mountain. Tearing out her earbuds and tossing her book carelessly onto the counter top, she snapped her gauntlets back on as she tried to figure out the source of the commotion. Hearing the shocked cries of her teammates, she quickly realized that whatever had happened, had occurred in the hangar.
Flaring out her wings, she took to the air to speed through the hallways, and burst out into a battlefield. Water had flooded the cavern, no doubt the source of the initial tremor, and she managed to find Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian, and Kid Flash within the chaos. However, the clear interlopers and cause of the newfound destruction gave her pause.
Two sleek androids, molded in bright red metal with expressionless faces, one vaguely male and the other vaguely female. The male was clearly controlling the water, while the female had wreathed herself in flame, creating faux hair out of fire.
She'd taken in all of that information in the span of a heartbeat.
And that's all the time she had before she was blindsided by a wave of water. The torrent tugged at her wings, forcing her down to the ground before dissipating, leaving her disoriented and soaking wet on the concrete floor of the hangar. At that point, she completely lost track of her friends, and she shook her head to clear it and focus back on the matter at hand.
Feeling a searing heat approaching rapidly, she ducked and rolled out of the way as a massive gout of flame scorched the floor where she had previously been. Thanagarians were more resistant to extreme heat, yes, but that didn't mean they were fireproof.
Dodging another blast, she took cover behind a solid platform, only to come face to face with Aqualad.
"How the hell did they get in here?!" She hissed.
Kaldur looked at her helplessly. "I do not know. I- MOVE!"
His warning came just in time, and she tucked in her wings and dropped down to the ground, executing another neat roll as a fireball slammed into the wall behind her. Aqualad was not so lucky, dropping to the ground like a sack of bricks.
"The Atlantean has been eliminated." The female android intoned from somewhere.
"Place him with the Martian." Her companion ordered from very close by, definitely within striking distance.
She'd barely gotten her hand on her mace before she was hit with another wave of water, this one far more targeted. The water around her started to spin in a vortex, making it impossible for her to gain purchase on anything or try to escape the watery trap, and she lost her grip on her weapon in the process, the handle slipping out of her fingers (which was far from an easy feat, considering the death grip she usually kept on it).
In a vain attempt to fight back against her captor, she forced her arms forward and lashed out with her clawed gauntlets. She felt a flare of pride as she felt the tips catch on something, barely able to see a distorted red shape hovering in front of her. Sinking the talons in as deep as she could manage, she started to tear back, hearing a distinct screech of metal and feeling it peel away under her fingertips.
Apparently her opponent didn't like that, because he only increased the pressure of the water around her, which was not a pleasant sensation, especially considering she was running out of air by this point.
When she was finally dropped out of the water, vision slightly faded from oxygen deprivation and spatial disorientation, she felt herself being propped upright as heat almost started to pour down around her.
Blinking the last of the dots out of her vision, she was shocked to see herself completely immobilized, molten metal twisted around her body and quickly cooled, an efficient manner of making tailored restraints. And she wasn't alone. Both Kid Flash and Superboy were in near identical prisons next to her.
"You okay, Hawkgirl?" Kid Flash asked with gritted teeth, visibly straining against his confines. Ski'Lira was relieved to see that none of the superheated metal had touched Wally's skin, confined to his suit, which was built to resist vast amounts of heat.
"I'd be happier if I'd actually managed to tear at least one of them apart." She growled, shooting a glare at the marred water android (bearing two sets of claw marks, one on his right shoulder and the other in the middle of his chest), who looked as unimpressed as before. Reflexively, she reached for her mace, but there were two obstacles preventing it. One, her hands were both sealed within the prison. And two, her mace was currently embedded in the wall next to Sphere. She had no idea when or how that had happened, but she wasn't happy about it.
Tugging on each limb individually, she found she was well and truly stuck. All four of her limbs completely immobilized, and her wings almost glued to her back. That was definitely going to be painful eventually.
And from all evidence, as she watched the fire being create a flaming cage around the resident Atlantean and Martian, it looked like they'd be reaching eventually here.
Because they were well and truly trapped.
And Ski'Lira was weaponless and defenseless… in a confined space… without a single viable source of escape in sight… and on top of that, they were underground.
She'd hadn't thought it was possible for today to get any worse. How naïve she'd been.
H
GOTHAM CITY
SEPTEMBER 22ND, 2010
21:35 EDT
Dick had been waiting for this moment all day. He'd even planned his exact words for the next time he saw Artemis, especially since he knew exactly where she'd be. And just like he predicted, when night fell, a suited up Artemis appeared at the mouth of the alley bearing the Gotham Zeta Access Point. Dropping down silently from the fire escape he'd been crouched on, he straightened and stepped out from the shadow of the "phone booth".
"Artemis?" Robin said, unable to keep a smile off of his face.
The blonde immediately whipped around, grey eyes wide. "Robin? I, uh-"
"How random that you're in Gotham City instead of Star City where your uncle Green Arrow lives!"
"I'm, uh… here to see my cousin!" He had to give Artemis props for the speed with which she came up with a believable cover story. "She was in the state spelling bee. Here. In Gotham City."
"C-O-O-L." He spelled aloud. "Did she W-I-N?"
Like the flip of a switch, the archer's nervousness was replaced with irritation. "N-O."
"D-R-A-G."
"Yeah." Artemis crossed her arms, clearly unwilling to continue with the charade any longer than she had to. "Let's just go to the cave."
Giving an eccentric bow, he gestured to the doors of the phone booth. "Ladies first."
That earned him a raised eyebrow as Artemis put her hands on her hips. "Your town, you go."
Internally, Robin admitted that was well played. Straightening, he headed inside, closing the shutter doors behind him as the Zeta Tube activated. The familiar voice of the computer system intoned around him. "Recognized: Robin, B01"
The moment that his body materialized in the Cave he was hit with an intrinsic sense of wrong. If his instincts screaming at him weren't enough, then the choking smoke filling the Hub and the unnatural heat certainly provided sufficient confirmation.
"Recognized: Artemis, B08"
"Get down!" Robin shouted as he saw a fireball aimed straight at the entrance (and ergo, his teammate), leaping out of the smoke and to Artemis' side, throwing a couple of batarangs at the unseen assailant.
Following his lead, Artemis blindly fired arrows at the source of the fireball. The black haired teen paused briefly when he heard one of his projectiles actually connect, creating a harsh ringing sound as it struck metal. That did not bode well.
He had very little time to consider that new revelation as a massive gout of fire forced them to drop to the ground to avoid being toasted. Scrambling to his feet, Robin saw not one, but two blurry silhouettes only vaguely visible through the haze of smoke.
"Who are we fighting?" Artemis demanded, though if she was asking him or them, he didn't know for sure.
"Don't know." He answered anyway. "But we're sitting ducks by these tubes. Head for the exit." Without further preamble, he ran for the nearest hallway, hoping Artemis would follow. He was relieved to hear the sound of her footsteps behind him. They ducked under yet another fire attack as they made it to the hallway, and Robin felt a rush a relief as they escaped the near-choking heat.
Naturally, that's when a wave of water that definitely didn't belong in the hallway appeared. "Or not." Robin deadpanned.
Turning, they attempted to escape the watery onslaught, but were swept up before they could make it more than a few feet forward. Feeling his back slamming up against the wall, Robin made sure to keep his mouth shut, though it proved futile as the water dissipated, depositing them onto the ground (which was now coated in a good two inches of water). Artemis managed to scoop up her fallen bow just as they were assaulted with more fire, both of them retreating further into the hallways.
Robin felt slightly safer when they made it into the exercise room, the doors sliding shut behind them, but he knew better than to drop his guard. At most, the barrier would buy them half a minute. But it was still more time than they had before. Activating his comm unit, he kept pace with Artemis as he called desperately for backup.
"Robin to Team. Come in! Aqualad! Hawkgirl!" His growl of frustration at the lack of answer was swallowed up by the explosion of the door behind them, sending them sprawling to the ground from the concussive force. Picking themselves back up, they hurried forward as flames licked at their back. A brief glance over his shoulder confirmed the cause as a swirling vortex of fire.
Ducking around a corner, they ended up in the locker rooms, and Robin made a beeline for the largest of the three sets of shower rooms, both the largest and the only one without privacy cubicles. Robin started turning knobs as he saw them, Artemis copying his actions on the other side of the room. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would be enough to protect them from the pursuing fiery vortex.
"Robin to Batcave, override RG4." He snapped out, trying another comm line. "Cave calling Justice League. HOJ slash Watchtower B01. Priority Red." He paused, confirming the lack of response. "Comm is down. Locked." Retreating to the center of the room, he glanced over at Artemis, whose eyes were starting to look a little wild. "At least the water's helping."
His attempt to reassure her at least a little was ruined as the pipes started to groan ominously.
One by one, metal water fixtures exploded off the walls and their connective piping, the room flooding around them.
"Or not."
When the water reached the ceiling, Robin reached into his belt to retrieve an explosive, swimming over to one of the tiled walls. A few seconds later, the wall was blown outwards, the cascade of water taking both himself and Artemis with it as it poured into an empty hallway. They allowed themselves a single moment to gather their wits about them and get their breath back before they started running again.
Robin skidded to a halt as they appeared at the entrance to the kitchen. "We need to get lost." Frantically looking for a viable escape route, his attention was briefly caught by an open book and Hawkgirl's music player lying untouched on the counter. But that was something to consider for later.
"The air vent!" Artemis cried, eyes locked on the ventilation system above the stove.
"Good, go!" While she ran towards their new exit, Robin instead headed to a mainframe access point near the door, activating his hologlove and connecting to the system.
"What are you-?!"
"Downloading Cave blueprints." He explained quickly. Honestly, he had no idea why he didn't think about getting the map sooner. In all fairness, the Cave was supposed to be safe. "Could come in-" Robin stopped himself as he heard the distinct sound of approaching footsteps coming from far closer than he'd like. "Go, go!"
Tearing across the room, he leapt up into the newly opened shaft, crawling up and then forwards into the confined space. Bringing up an arm, he pulled up the newly downloaded map on his holoscreen. "Go left." He directed.
He'd barely turned the corner when flame filled the tube they were just in, nearly from end to end. "Too close." He muttered before getting back to business. "Take the first right. There should be a vent cover right in front of you."
Artemis found the grate in question, taking it off and sliding down the tube first, Robin close behind. They both dropped out of the vent and onto a metal catwalk mere seconds apart. Pulling up his map again, he confirmed their location. "This way." Running down the set of stairs to their left, he led the way down to the ground floor, which was a maze of machinery.
A loud clanging noise caught his attention, as a lone figure dropped from the vent they'd previously vacated, wreathed in flame. As they stood, the flames increased, creating a mushroom cloud-shaped blaze that erupted outwards. The entirety of the ceiling vanished under flickering orange and yellow light. The duo ducked between two large metal machines, one of which bore a readout that turned an alarming shade of red shortly before beeping loudly and erupting with sparks.
"That's not good." Robin wasn't sure of the exact purpose of the machine, but he had some inkling, and it definitely didn't bode well. The Cave would definitely need some serious repairs after this disaster.
They forced to start running once more, this time with the added element of dodging eruptions of steam from bursting pipes, along with fiery potshots from their pursuer that always came just a little too close for comfort. Hiding around a corner, Robin consulted the map, eyes scanning quickly. "I know that other access tunnel is here somewhere."
"You mean this one?" His gaze snapped up to Artemis, who was standing over an open grate, which she promptly jumped down. Pausing just long enough to leave an explosive for their new "friend" behind, he bolted for the opening and dropped down.
Once they'd gotten fair distance down the cramped circular tunnel, Robin called for a halt. "Hold on." With a birdarang, he popped open an access panel, plugging his hologlove in directly. "Locking out the Cave's motion and heat sensors to prevent the enemy from tracking us." He explained.
"And I ask again, who is the enemy?" Artemis was crouched close by, face illuminated in eerie blue light.
Robin smirked at her before turning his attention back to the screen, typing quickly. "Let's find out. Downloading Cave security footage… There." An old feed from the hangar appeared onscreen, where Conner, M'Gann, Kaldur, Wally, and Sphere were gathered around Superboy's bike. Hawkgirl was nowhere to be seen.
Kid Flash was crouched on the ground beside the bike. "Torque wrench." He held out his hand expectantly as M'Gann used her telekinesis to float one over into his grasp. "Thank you, green cheeks."
"I have been meaning to ask." Aqualad spoke up. "Any problems juggling schoolwork with your responsibilities here?"
"No." Conner answered swiftly.
"Juggling's just one of my many talents." Wally joked. "Socket wrench." The tool in question was sent his way.
"Daily cheerleading practice has presented a challenge." M'Gann admitted, but quickly backtracked. "Oh, but my first loyalty is always to the team. This team! Not the Bumblebees."
"Artemis starts school today. Do you think she will have trouble maintaining her loyalties?" Aqualad sounded slightly stilted in his speech, but no one seemed to notice.
"Nah, she'll manage all right." Wally insisted. "I mean, how much more hostile and annoying can –"
His words were cut short as a sudden explosion obscured the camera, registering the surprised cries of several of their friends before the feed fizzled completely.
"What happened?" Artemis demanded.
"Explosion took out the camera. I'll find another angle."
The new angle did little to assuage their fears, as they watched their teammates pounded by powerful water attacks, all of the cameras breaking before they could see the conclusion.
Robin let out a short sigh. "That's it. All four are dead." Seeing the horrified look on Artemis' face as he realized the possible misconception of his statement, he clarified. "The cameras. I meant the cameras. I'm sure the others are okay."
"What about Hawkgirl? She was here, right?"
"Yeah…" He agreed. "I think she was in the kitchen when the attack happened." He found the relevant feed.
Hawkgirl was sitting at the counter, reading quietly, and earbuds in her ears. They watched as her head suddenly snapped up and she shifted seamlessly into battle mode, replacing her gauntlets and flying out through the hallway. He managed to track her up until the point she reached the blindspot in the hangar.
"Whoever they are, they definitely have her too." Honestly, he'd really been hoping that Skylar had managed to hole herself up somewhere in the Cave, but it looked like that was a false hope. He didn't dwell on that, instead refocusing on the matter at hand. "Just give me a sec to find the fastest route to the hangar.
Artemis leaned against the wall, curling up into a ball. "Yeah, they're fine. They've all got superpowers. They can handle anything."
H
After perusing the Cave blueprints for a few minutes, Robin had found a viable option to traverse the Cave, a secret tunnel that ran through the mountain.
He made a mental note to share that with Wally later while simultaneously avoiding getting the 'Secret Tunnel' song stuck in his head. The speedster would probably get a kick out of it.
However, getting to the secret tunnel meant they had to leave the relative safety of the ventilation system to read the entrance hidden in the library. The moment they'd dropped down out of the vent, they'd started moving. "There's a secret passage behind one of these bookcases." He said quietly as they headed down the staircase, vaulting over the side to skip the last handful of steps.
"Seriously?" Artemis questioned. "Cliché much?"
Robin stifled an amused snort, but he couldn't quite keep the smile out of his voice. "You should see the Batcave."
As they traversed the shelves, a sudden hiss as the door slid open echoed through the space, sending them both on alert. Artemis immediately nocked an arrow as Robin slid a birdarang into his hand. Whirling around, they confirmed that whoever had entered was still out of sight, so they hid behind the nearest shelf.
The same metal footsteps that Robin had heard multiple times before rang out. He was harshly reminded of the countless times he'd fought Mr. Freeze, but he knew that there was no way it was the cryogenic villain.
"Artemis, Robin."
His spine stiffened at the familiar tone, and he saw Artemis' shoulders relax and a wide grin cross her face as she stepped out eagerly. "It's Red Tornado."
The light hit the newcomer just right, and he saw the unfamiliar golden emblem coating a scarlet chest that was marred by angry claw marks, with no signature blue cape draped around his form. He didn't hesitate, throwing himself to the side into Artemis.
"Yes on the Red, no on the Tornado!" He shouted as they rolled under a wooden table, which was smashed into little pieces with no effort on their pursuer's part. In their flight, they came face to face with the other android, the female one, who spewed fire from her hands that they barely managed to dodge. It was a miracle really, considering they were in point blank range.
Quickly getting his bearings, Robin realized that the surprise attack had inadvertently led them towards the secret passage. Leaping up onto the top of a bookshelf with ease, Robin started jumping from one shelf to another as the fire suppressant system went off, dousing everything in water. He dropped back down onto the ground in front of a very specific shelf.
"Who? What are they?" Artemis asked, though it was mostly rhetorical at that point. He heard her fire an arrow as he examined the spines of the books carefully. Shortly after, there was a distinct thunk as the bookshelves started to topple into each other like dominoes. His eyes lit on the emblem he was looking for, grabbing and pulling the hidden lever as the shelf behind them started to fall.
The moment the entryway was exposed, they both flew into the secret tunnel, and started sprinting yet again as the door sealed shut behind them.
"Did you know Tornado had siblings?" Despite the amount of running and hiding they'd been doing, Artemis didn't sound out of breath at all, which was a relief to hear. They'd probably be at this for a while longer.
"No." Robin answered swiftly, only to have Artemis grab his arm just as he was about to turn left at the junction, yanking them both to a stop.
"So now what? Red Tornado is one of the power houses of the League!" She demanded, starting to sound slightly hysterical. "How are we supposed to take down two of him?"
"They do seem pretty user unfriendly." He quipped, more as a reflex than anything else.
His attempt at humor didn't land in the slightest. "Don't joke. They-"
"Attention Robin, Attention Artemis." The voice of the Not-Tornado echoed throughout the Cave. Seemed like he'd figured out how to patch himself into the intercom. "You have exactly ten minutes or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished."
Robin froze minutely, trading a look with Artemis.
Great. He hated it when supervillains insisted on deadlines.
This was so not asterous.
H
Just as she predicted, this entire situation was turning into a bit of a nightmare for Ski'Lira. Thus, in order to stave off a full nervous breakdown (because she couldn't move she couldn't moveshewastrappedtrappedtrapped) she was steadfastly mentally reciting as many verses of the Tale of Syn'Arth the Conqueror as she could in its original High Thanagarian. She knew she kept skipping parts, and forgot sections entirely, but it was… mostly working.
Thankfully, Kid Flash and Superboy seemed to be just fine, although Miss Martian and Aqualad were most likely suffering highly from the heat. Not that she could see them from where her head was locked in place.
She was just trying to recall which verse she'd left off on (since she had lost her place when the android intruder had announced their untimely demise to their two teammates were seemingly running around the Cave), when one of her fellow trapped and half-submerged companions spoke up.
"You think Artemis and Robin are okay?" Superboy's quiet question interrupted her recollection, making sure that her brain was one hundred percent fully in the moment.
Which is definitely what she wanted right now.
"They'll be fine." Kid Flash assured him. "I mean, Robin's the king of disappearing, and I bet… I bet there are secret tunnels all over this… mountain." He suddenly laughed. "Oh my gosh, secret tunnel through the mountains. I've got to tell Rob that later."
"I swear that if you start singing the song I am going to rip your mouth off of your face." Ski'Lira snapped.
He turned to her, eyes wide. "Wait, you got that reference?"
"Of course I got that reference. What do you take me for, some kind of heathen?" Growling lowly, she relished in the simmer of anger, letting it fill her head. Deciding that being angry was doing a lot more than the recitations were, she turned her attention to the metallic beings patrolling around them.
At that moment, she was very glad that no one in the room could speak Thanagarian, because a lot of the angry insults that left her mouth, directed solely at their captors, probably would have given Batman pause.
But her tirade was cut short as the masculine android she'd marred with her claws gave an idle wave of his hand.
The water that had previously been lapping at their waist rose until it was well above torso height. Since she was setting up a few inches higher than the other two, the waterline stopped at her collarbone, while the others had it up to their necks.
The next insult she'd prepared abruptly died in her throat as her eyes froze on the new danger. Clamping her mouth shut as tight as she could to make sure that no unfortunate noises (like, for example, whines or whimpers) would be audible to the others.
She was not weak. She was not weak. She. Was. Not. Weak.
It was just a little water.
She'd been submerged before, she'd been stuck underwater briefly before, this was something she knew how to deal with. The villains were just trying to scare them and their wayward teammates, what for, she had no clue.
But she still couldn't move.
Her wings fluttered without her permission, but the feathery appendages were firmly glued to her back by the metal surrounding her.
Letting out a soft growl of frustration, she squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could manage, desperately trying to remember which verse she'd been on as she forced her wings to stop moving, because the unconscious attempts at fluttering and stretching were not helping.
But she couldn't remember.
She couldn't remember any of it.
Closing her eyes had proven to be a mistake, as cutting off one of her senses made her focus on the sensation of being stuck more than she already was. Eyes snapping open, she tried to focus on anything, but all she could see was a rocky ceiling, the dangerously close water, and her teammates trapped and unable to do anything.
Just like her.
It was about then that she realized she was hyperventilating. Logic told her she should open her mouth and try to get a handle on her breathing, but her unwillingness to give any of her distress away (either to her friends or to her captors). She forced herself to keep breathing through her nose.
But it didn't help.
Not soon enough, anyway.
In between one labored breath and the next, Ski'Lira Hol quietly passed out, her teammates none the wiser.
H
"Eight minutes" The false Tornado announced as the two wayward heroes sprinted for their teammates' lives.
"We can access the hangar from here." Robin said, but they were both forced to skid to a halt as a noise sounded behind them. A hauntingly familiar one. Robin felt his heart drop into his stomach as he saw another wave of approaching water. "Or not."
"Will you stop saying that?!" Artemis shouted, thoroughly frustrated.
Fleeing proved fruitless, as they were once again submerged in water. This time, there was no quick escape, as the entirety of the hallway had been filled top to bottom and end to end. Using the quick release at the neck of his cape, Robin dug a compact rebreather out of his utility belt and placed it in his mouth, relishing in the influx of air. Once he'd managed a few lungfuls, he swam over to a flailing Artemis. He grabbed her hands and shoved the rebreather between her lips.
He had no way to warn Artemis as the water-controlling Not-Tornado appeared behind her, cutting through the water effortlessly and snagging an ankle in a viselike grip. Robin grabbed one of the arrows floating around him that had fallen from Artemis' quiver, swimming up to the android and jamming it into his left eye. The sudden attack forced him to release his grip on the archer.
Snagging Artemis around the middle, Robin fired off his grapple gun, the hook embedding into the wall at the end of the hallway. With a press of a button, they were jerked forward far faster than either of them could swim. On the way, he undid the pouch holding his explosives, allowing them to fall out of his belt and into the water behind them. He felt the explosions go off behind them as they turned the corner. Letting go of Artemis, they both swam for the nearby hangar.
Surfacing, they both gasped desperately for breath.
"LOOK OUT!" Kid Flash shouted, giving them just enough warning to duck back down underwater in time to avoid a targeted fireball.
Robin spotted out of place splashes of color, red and yellow (both from Kid Flash's boots and pants, and Hawkgirl's gleaming golden boots). He made his way over, and he and Artemis resurfaced next to their trapped friends.
"You guys okay?" Robin said immediately.
"Forget us. Help M'Gann!" Superboy's eyes turned up towards the nearest platform.
Robin caught a glimpse of a fiery cage in his peripheral vision, but he kept his attention on the trapped trio, looking for potential injury. They seemed fine, but he couldn't be certain. He felt a little inkling of concern when Hawkgirl didn't speak up, nor did she angle her head towards them. But considering she had a tendency to go quiet during missions and more serious situations, he wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.
"Aqualad, is she-?!" Artemis called up to the caged Atlantean.
"She is unconscious. I fear she- we cannot survive much longer." Aqualad answered, voice visibly strained. Robin was harshly reminded of when they'd recovered him in the Bialyan desert. At least he was still fully cognizant at this point.
Before they could take any further action to check on the condition of their friends, the fire android made another appearance, forcing them to dive back down to avoid being roasted alive. They headed towards the half-submerged stairs, only to see that the other android was close on their heels.
With his sparking eye and torn apart body, he was looking rough. If his face wasn't expressionless, he'd probably look pretty peeved by that point.
The fire android at the top of the stairs, sandwiching them between the two formidable enemies.
"I'm almost out of arrows." Artemis said. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to hear, but it was definitely something he needed to. In a split second, he came up with an idea. Not an entire plan, but something that would definitely help them.
"Distract her, now!"
As she fired off an arrow at the fire android, Robin headed down the stairs towards the masculine android, tossing two birdarangs, which both glanced off (which really made him wonder exactly what had managed to pierce that guy's armor). However, one of the projectiles went exactly where he intended it to go.
He turned to see Artemis had joined them, and they both jumped off the platform back into the water just as the androids simultaneously let loose their attacks, water and fire colliding harshly.
His goal was a grate down below that led into yet another tunnel, which he tore off with ease. Artemis led the way, swimming ahead and then upwards, until they emerged into an air-filled pipe that hadn't been fully flooded. Making use of the handy ladder, Robin hauled himself up and collapsed onto the metal curved floor, gasping for breath. He was used to long nights of running around Gotham, but this demented game of cat and mouse was starting to wear on him.
"Six minutes"
Robin resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the reminder of their deadline.
"What do we do know?" Artemis asked.
"We save them." He answered without hesitating. "That's how it works."
The blonde promptly exploded, an outburst that he was honestly surprised hadn't happened earlier. "Maybe that's how it's supposed to work, but these robots already took out our five super-powered friends!"
Robin offered her a placating smile. "You seem distraught."
"Distraught?! M'Gann is dying. We have no powers and I'm down to my last arrow! Of course I'm distraught!"
"Well get traught or get dead!" He snapped. Robin blew out a harsh breath, lapsing into silence. For a moment, he'd expected to hear Hawkgirl chide him for ruining the English language again.
"…How can you be so calm?" Seemingly calmer, Artemis' shoulders slumped slightly.
"Practice." Robin turned onto his hands and knees and started crawling away from her. "I've been doing this since I was nine."
And honestly, this still wasn't the worst situation he'd ever found himself in. It didn't even make the top five.
"What good is that now?" Artemis insisted, sounding almost pleading. She really was reaching the end of her rope. But neither of them could afford to snap, not with the deadline looming so close. "What chance do we have against unrelenting machines?"
Robin froze. "Oh duh." He couldn't believe he didn't see it before! "They're machines." He angled his head back to look Artemis in the eyes, well aware he was now grinning like a madman. "And one electromagnetic pulse will shut down any machine within range!"
"Great." For the first time in a while, he saw a spark of hope in the archer's gray eyes. "Except you better have an EMP emitter in your utility belt, because I know I don't have one in my quiver."
"I'm fresh out. But I'm betting we can make one." He pressed a finger to his comm unit, activating it and connecting remotely to the birdarang currently embedded in metal next to Wally's head. "What do you say KF? Doable?"
"Totally doable." The speedster agreed, voice slightly tinny.
"Five minutes" The android reminded.
"You know… if you had more time." Kid Flash amended.
H
Kicking at the metal panel in front of him, Robin clambered out of the vent into the med bay.
"Med bay, x-ray machine." Kid Flash directed quietly. "You'll find a small vacuum tube called a vircator that converts high energy pulses."
With his friend's instructions, he headed over to the x-ray machine and connected his hologlove directly.
"Reprogram the unit's microwave conversion from x-rays to EMP's with a cascading energy vector directed outward."
Reaching in, he gently grabbed the tube in question with his gloved hands, twisting it and carefully removing it from its hub. He knew the device was relatively durable, but he didn't want to take any chances.
"A ripple effect, like dropping a stone in a pond."
"A stone with ten to the twelfth power of wattage, yeah."
"So I'll need to hook it up to the cave's main generator…"
Artemis spoke up. "Which is where?"
Oh, she definitely wasn't going to like this next part.
H
"Four minutes." The android was diligent with his countdown that was for sure.
The two young heroes dropped quietly down into the hangar via the ventilation system, infiltrating from above rather than below this time. Robin activated his comm. "Okay, make with the distraction."
On his cue, Kid Flash started shouting, loud enough that it echoed around the space. "Hey, Red Tomato! Who's your girlfriend, Red Onion?!"
"Yeah!" Superboy added. "And by the way? Worst death trap ever! We can escape any time we want!"
"I can vibrate my molecules out of here before your binary brains can count to two!"
During the course of the distraction, he and Artemis booked it to the other side of the hallway, closer to the generator. "Cover me." He ordered the archer as he hooked the end of a rappel line to the stone wall next to them, dropping down towards the generator.
"And you can't drown a Kryptonian, dumb bots! We don't breathe air!"
"Ha ha ha!" As Wally gave an exaggerated laugh and continued the ruse, Robin landed safely on the giant machine, popping open a panel and placing the precious tube inside, starting the process of hooking it up. "And Miss Martian? I can't believe you're buying her act!"
"Rerouting power now." Robin whispered, updating the others to his progress.
"Yeah, you know how hot it gets in the caves of Mars?" Superboy yelled.
When the device failed to connect, a harsh groan left Robin's throat. "It's not working!"
"That cage just making her homesick!" Conner continued.
"Duh!" Wally added, letting out another exaggerated laugh for good measure.
Eyes narrowing as he examined the device, he suddenly realized what had gone wrong. "The circuit's incomplete." His hands scrabbled for his utility belt, searching through the pouches that had become significantly sparser over the course of this little adventure. "I need something conductible. A piece of metal or-"
"ROBIN, LOOK OUT!"
Water erupted around him before he could take so much as a step backwards, surging up and closing around him.
After a mere five seconds of struggling, he forced his body to go limp, intent on tricking the androids. What he hadn't planned on was how long the android kept him locked in a bubble.
What had started out as a ruse turned all too real very quickly as he fell unconscious, his final thought a hope that Artemis was able to survive on her own.
H
It was the sound of voices and the feeling of hands on his body that roused him. Eyes opening a crack, Robin coughed up a small amount of water, turning his head to the side to make sure it landed on the ground instead of on his chest. Blinking a few times, his vision cleared enough for him to make out Artemis' relieved face hovering above him.
He smiled, feeling distinctly proud of her. "Way to get traught."
A few minutes later, everyone had successfully regrouped around the trio trapped in metal. M'Gann was fully conscious, her limp form being supported by a quickly recovering Aqualad. Artemis had taken a quick trip to the armory to retrieve a large laser, which would hopefully provide enough firepower to safely melt the metal prison without harming their teammates.
"Figured my only shot was to surrender, pretend to drown before I actually did." Robin said, finishing his explanation of his plan. "Blacked out, though."
Superboy's hand twitched, stretching it as far as he could manage. "M'Gann"
"I'll be fine." The Martian assured, voice slightly wavering.
"Hey HG." Robin said, turning his attention to the Thanagarian member of their team. "You must be pretty peeved you missed all of the fun stuff."
But she didn't answer.
Mentally cursing, Robin felt his stomach clench at the thought of his earlier hunch being proven. He felt Aqualad's eyes tracking him as he moved towards the unresponsive Hawkgirl.
"Will you quite playing with that thing and cut us free already?!" Kid Flash demanded, his attention focused on Artemis. Meanwhile, Robin pressed two fingers to Hawkgirl's exposed neck, letting out a relieved breath at her steady pulse. He had no doubt that if her heart had stopped, Superboy would have told them far soon. Tapping her on the cheek, she didn't even twitch at Robin's prodding.
"It's not working, genius." Artemis snapped. Her temperament had returned to its usual level of irritation, mostly in response to the speedster. "EMP shuts down all machines, remember?"
"All machines present at the time."
Heads whipped in unison towards the voice, all of them immediately relieved at finally seeing the real Red Tornado descending towards them. He looked and sounded about as concerned as a monotone machine could get. "What has occurred?"
Robin took a step back from Hawkgirl to address the hero directly. "Had a little visit from your family."
"Your extremely nasty family." Artemis added with no small amount of vitriol.
"I was not aware I had relations." Red Tornado admitted.
Superboy scowled. "Where have you been?"
"Monitor duty on the Watchtower." He approached the powered down androids, his blank eyes examining them where they lay motionless on the ground. "When it became clear Cave communications were own, I attempted to investigate, but your Zeta Tubes were also nonfunctional." Tornado bent down to get a closer look. "I transported to Providence and proceeded here."
His explanation completed, their attention was caught by a sudden whirr as Sphere burst into live, vibrating himself out of the wall and rolling over to Superboy. The force also dislodged Hawkgirl's mace, and it clanged harshly when it hit the ground.
"Hey boy." Superboy greeted, smiling at his pet.
A burst of laser fire startled Artemis, who stared at the barrel of the device in her hand in surprise.
Robin's eyes widened. "The pulse has worn off!" He and Kid Flash apparently had the same thought.
Red Tornado stood up from his crouch, turning away from the two androids to face the teens, promptly creating three full powered vortexes, sucking all of the air out of the room.
As Robin gasped for air along with his comrades, his last thought was 'Not again'.
H
Robin wasn't going to lie, he was more than a little concerned that Hawkgirl hadn't woken up yet. Everyone else on the team had, with Artemis being the last, thanks to the timely arrival and aid of the Justice League. Batman, Superman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Captain Atom had all arrived on the scene, but it was too late. Red Tornado was already gone.
He had just finished quietly talking to his mentor when Black Canary suddenly garnered everyone's attention.
"Hawkgirl, can you hear me?" Dinah asked.
Lo and behold, the Thanagarian was finally beginning to stir.
After they'd been awakened by the League (and they hadn't been able to rouse Hawkgirl), Robin had finally gotten to tell the others his suspicion. With the input from Kid Flash and Superboy, they were able to figure out a rough timeline of when she'd lost consciousness.
They just had no idea why.
With a final decisive crack, the last of the makeshift cage holding Hawkgirl fell away, crumbling to the ground. Captain Atom extracted her and gently set her on the ground before moving to start freeing Superboy.
"Hawkgirl-" Canary started to repeat as she kneeled down next to the twitching brunette.
What happened next was definitely one of those 'blink and you miss it' situations.
Hawkgirl's limp body had stiffened and a clawed hand shot towards Canary's throat, only for Superman to appear abruptly between them, catching both of her hands in his steel-like grip.
"Hawkgirl, you're safe. The intruders are gone and your team is unharmed." Superman said softly, yet firmly.
Robin saw the moment she regained her clarity, as her head angled slightly and her wings relaxed ever so slightly. Assured that she wouldn't be attacking anyone anytime soon, Superman let her go.
For a moment, she just looked at him, then cast a searching gaze around the cave, eyes lighting on each of them in turn.
And then her wings snapped out to their full length, and she shot herself into the air, tearing out of the nearest exit like a bat out of hell.
But none of the present League members made a move to follow her.
Robin regrouped with the rest of his team as Batman went to speak to Martian Manhunter. They all stood awkwardly near the piled of melted metal, unsure what they could even say.
It was M'Gann who broke the silence, and not in a way they were expecting. "… I don't think I've ever seen her so scared before."
Artemis did a double take. "Wait, what? Who?"
"Hawkgirl."
Whatever answer they'd been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that. Robin couldn't help the pensive frown that appeared on his face.
"My mental shields are… weak, right now." M'Gann started to explain. Her voice was significantly stronger than it had been before, and she was able to stand on her own two feet without difficulty. "I'm only picking up on surface thoughts and emotions, but… it's enough. She was terrified the entire time."
"… And we didn't notice." Conner's blue eyes dropped to the ground. The present members of the League were kind enough to keep silent.
"None of us did." Aqualad agreed, sounding ashamed. "We were so focused on M'Gann's distress that we missed hers."
A loud throat clear jerked them out of the guilt trip they'd started. Black Canary crossed her arms. "You can all continue this chat in the med bay. I want to get you all looked over, just in case."
"What about Hawkgirl?" Artemis asked.
"She'll be back." The older woman assured them, and they had no doubt she was telling the truth, and thus they headed towards the hallway. Both Kid Flash and Superboy were freed almost simultaneously, and they both joined their friends. Satisfied with their compliance, Dinah turned to Green Arrow. "Arrow, can you wait here and-?"
"Direct her where she needs to go. Got it." The archer flashed her a thumbs up.
That was the last Robin heard and saw before they made it into the hallway, KF and Superboy catching up easily. He hoped Hawkgirl really was doing alright.
H
Ski'Lira spent a good percentage of her life in the sky, but she couldn't remember the last time going on a flight had provided such relief. The moment she'd felt the wind on her face and the breeze rippling through her feathers, it felt like the first dive into a swimming pool on a hot summer day.
Or, you know, finally being released from a metallic coffin after being trapped for who knows how long. She hadn't exactly stuck around long enough to ask.
She kept herself up in the sky, going so far as to remain above cloud level, up until the point the last of the tension had left her chest and her mind had finally steadied into its standard level of calm. Savoring a last few moments hovering in the cool night air, she tucked her wings in tight and dove down back towards the mountain.
By her count, she'd been gone for probably fifteen minutes by the time she walked back into the hangar. Her teammates and the League were all gone, apart from Green Arrow and the Flash. The former was idly leaning against the same wall that Sphere had previously been stuck in, while the latter was perched up on one of the generators, crouched down and inspecting something within.
"Hey" From his tone of voice, she could tell she was talking to Oliver rather than Green Arrow right now. "Feel better?"
"… Yes." To avoid eye contact, she bent down and scooped up her mace, hanging it from her belt. The familiar weight was reassuring. "Everyone else…?"
"In the med bay, but no serious injuries. Dinah wanted to make sure everyone got checked out. Including you. But… there's something you should know first."
Her brow furrowed, and she gave him a nod, urging him to continue.
"Thanks to Artemis and Robin, they managed to disable the two androids that broke into the cave. Red Tornado was the first responder and… it seems that he went rogue."
Ski'Lira's mouth parted slightly in shock. "Tornado did what?!"
"We're not sure of the exact details since all the cameras in here are down, but from what the kids told us… He attacked them without warning, sucking out the air and knocking them all unconscious. By the time we got here, he was long gone… along with the two other androids."
She let out a swear that made him wince a little with its severity. "There's no trace? And it was definitely him? Not a lookalike like the others or Mister Twister?"
"The Zeta log confirmed that it was definitely him." Oliver straightened, pushing back his hood to run a hand through his hair before replacing it. "It's a mess, that's for damn sure. But for now, you should head over to the med bay. Your team's pretty worried about you."
"Worried, why?"
"You passed out for seemingly no reason. Of course they're worried."
"There is no need for that. Honestly, I could probably just head home-"
He just gave her a look. "Go, Skylar. Or I'll call your parents."
And that was definitely a real threat. As much as she'd like to avoid this confrontation, she didn't want to garner her parents' ire. Or Dinah's. So it was with great reluctance that she left the hangar. The last thing that she had wanted was for her teammates to find out, but apparently they still had. They'd seen her weak.
And she was not. But maybe she didn't have to tell the truth, she just had to come up with a believable enough lie in the next thirty seconds.
A dark shape loomed in the dimly lit hallway as she turned a corner, quickly identified as Batman. He maneuvered himself so that he was blocking her path, looking down at her.
"Hawkgirl. I know that you're planning on lying to your teammates. Don't."
"… Are you sure you're not a mind reader?" She grumbled, crossing her arms. How did he know that?! Oh, that was a stupid question. He's Batman, he knows everything.
"No. I just know you." He replied evenly. "As second in command, you should know that having knowledge of everyone's potential weaknesses is vital. You are not an exception."
"I do not have a weakness." Ski'Lira hissed, her wings flaring behind her.
The older vigilante was unimpressed with her threat display. "Severe claustrophobia is a fault, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not. And your teammates need to know about it. If none of you knew about a Martian's susceptibility to fire, how would anyone be able to tell how much danger she was in today? Or if you didn't know about Kid Flash's increased calorie intake and were stranded? Or in Bialya, when Aqualad almost died from dehydration?"
"… That's different." She resisted the urge to wince, knowing that defense was terrible.
"It's not." Batman replied vehemently. "Believe me, I've had plenty of experience with Thanagarian pride thanks to your parents… and seeing you grow up. But someday, it could get you killed. Tell them."
Swallowing heavily, Ski'Lira gave the slightest of nods. "Fine."
Without another word, he reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder in reassurance before sweeping past her, disappearing into the shadows.
H
When she arrived at the med bay, she felt a spike of worry at seeing her friends all laying on hospital beds. Both Robin and Artemis had oxygen masks perched on their faces, while Kid Flash and Aqualad had IV's stuck in their arms. Both M'Gann and Conner seemed fine, but the former was looking distinctly tired. Nevertheless, they were still confined to beds.
"There you are." Dinah said from where she was standing next to an empty bed. "I thought I'd have to send someone to drag you back."
Ski'Lira merely shrugged, pointedly ignoring everyone's eyes on her as she sat down on the bed, carefully adjusting her wings.
"Alright everyone, look away, I need Hawkgirl to take her helmet off." Canary ordered, sending the spectators a glare.
"If you look, I'll claw your eyes out." Ski'Lira threatened, but it didn't come out with as much violent promise as she could usually manage. Once she was sure everyone was looking away, she pulled off her helmet. She grimaced at the wet and tangled mess of her braid that dropped onto her back.
Canary kindly didn't say anything about the obvious tear tracks marring her face, instead picking up a pen light and checking her pupillary response.
"Speaking of claws…" Robin suddenly piped up, voice slightly muffled from the plastic mask fitted over his face. Ski'Lira glanced over while Dinah ran a stethoscope over her chest, to see Robin on the bed next to her with a hand clamped over his eyes. "Was that you who" He made a vague scratching gesture with his free hand. "The water guy?"
"Yes." She answered tersely.
"Awesome. No matter what Artemis and I threw at them, we couldn't even dent them. Except that arrow I put through his eye."
Things grew incredibly awkward very quickly. Thankfully, Canary spoke up. "You seem to be in the clear, Hawkgirl. No adverse effects. You can put your helmet back on now."
Fitting the mask back over her face, Ski'Lira swung her legs up onto the bed so she was sitting cross-legged.
"Alright, Kaldur, Wally, I want you to keep those IV's in until they're almost finished. You kids already know the drill. Artemis, Robin, you can take off the masks now."
"Thank god." Artemis mumbled as she tore the offending plastic off of her face, setting the mask aside as Dinah turned off their respective tanks.
"I'll check in on you later." Offering them all a last reassuring smile, Black Canary left the teens alone.
The only sounds that filled the room were the steady hums of machinery, and the occasional awkward shuffle from the occupants.
Finally, Wally's legendary impatience kicked in. "Okay, elephant in the room." He pointed an accusing finger Ski'Lira's way. "What the hell was that?"
"Wally…" M'Gann chastised. "Don't be rude. If she doesn't want to talk about it, then it's none of our business."
"None of our business?" The speedster asked. "You said yourself she was scared! We're her friends which makes it our business to help her!"
Hawkgirl's head whipped towards the Martian, a scowl on her lips. "You told them?"
"Just that you were scared!" M'Gann insisted. "I'd never invade your privacy by… I didn't mean to… We're just…"
"I think that M'Gann is trying to say that we are concerned for your wellbeing." Kaldur swiftly amended.
"Hawkgirl." Conner said softly. "We just want to help."
Blowing out a long breath, Ski'Lira bent her head, rubbing the back of her neck. "… What I'm about to tell you can't leave this room."
"It won't." Robin promised, and the others either nodded or gave verbal assent.
She remained quiet for just a few seconds longer, trying to get her thoughts in order. "A long time ago… Thanagarians developed this… genetic quirk. Evolutionary scientists on my planet came to the conclusion it was a direct result of developing our wings." She flexed her own for emphasis, the feathers rustling softly. "It's… the quirk, it's… we don't do well in… small spaces. Some only have a mild aversion, but others…" Ski'Lira trailed off, her shoulders hunching in a little.
"You're claustrophobic." Robin filled in.
Ski'Lira gave an affirming nod, her eyes locked on the bed she was sitting on. She didn't want to see the pity on their faces. "Most of the time when I get trapped, I get angry, or at least I force myself to be. It helps with the… panic response. Remember when we were in those pods in Cadmus and they tried to clone us?"
"Vividly." Wally deadpanned. "I also remember you tearing out of that thing like a chestburster from Alien."
"Like I said. Angry. But sometimes… it's not enough."
Feeling the bed dip under new weight, Ski'Lira looked up to see M'Gann had gotten up from her own and settled down next to her, smiling softly. "I understand. I mean, Martians have something similar, as you know… You shouldn't feel ashamed of it, it's just part of who you are."
Ski'Lira's face reddened a little and she instinctively snapped. "I am not ashamed." She was definitely ashamed.
She could tell from the look in her eyes that M'Gann had clearly seen through that blatant lie. "More importantly, we don't think any less of you for it."
"Why the heck would we hold something like that against you?!" Artemis demanded, arms crossed. "That's insane."
"You can't help it, and let's be real, you've been handling it pretty well so far." Wally agreed.
Robin nodded. "Like Cadmus… and probably the mines in Santa Prisca too, right? This time you just-"
"Have a severe panic attack and passed out?" Hawkgirl said in monotone, her lip tugging ever so slightly into a wisp of a smile. "Handling it. Right."
M'Gann reached out and grabbed one of her hands, entwining their fingers. "It's okay, really. None of us blame you. You don't blame me for getting overwhelmed, do you?"
"No!" Ski'Lira insisted. "Of course not."
"Then why won't you allow yourself the same courtesy?"
All Ski'Lira could offer was a slight smirk as she felt… relieved, at least a little. "Call it a cultural difference."
"Nevertheless, we know better now. Perhaps we can help to avoid such an occurrence in the future?" Kaldur suggested. "If we know the signs, we can provide aid."
Artemis snorted and mumbled something that distinctly sounded like 'hiding bullet wounds'.
Hawkgirl sighed, rolling her head back, still allowing M'Gann to hold her hand. "I suppose I will… endeavor to be more open. For the record, it's purely because Batman threatened me earlier. Not because we're friends and I would occasionally welcome your help."
Robin smirked. "Sure. Whatever you say."
Wally smacked his knees loudly as he stood up, carefully removing the needle from his arm since the IV was finished. "Well, today has been all kinds of terrible. So I vote we order pizza from that place downtown with the killer breadsticks and watch Ratatouille."
The motion passed unanimously.
An hour and a half later, Black Canary quietly took and sent a picture to the entirety of the League. All seven teens fast asleep in the lounge, plates of half-eaten pizza strewn around them and the end credits for Ratatouille playing on the flatscreen. M'Gann and Superboy were curled up next to each other on the couch, while Aqualad had an armchair to himself. On the floor was a veritable pile of limbs, with Ski'Lira acting as a makeshift pillow for both Artemis and Robin, the former on her stomach and the latter her shoulder. Kid Flash was sprawled face down on a pile of pillows, his legs thrown over the Thanagarian's.
It was, in a word, precious.
I decided to do the POV switch to Robin for a few reasons. One, Homefront is one of my favorite episodes. Two, Robin's just a lot of fun to write. Three, if I had the chapter completely in Sky's POV (as per usual), it would be a very short chapter and probably not as much fun for me to write and you all to read. And finally, I had the option of putting Sky with Rob and Artie, but I felt like that would completely ruin the integrity of the episode, considering the whole point is to prove to Artemis that even those with superpowers are fallible.
I hope you all enjoyed it!
As of right now, I have three oneshots started and planned out for FoF: Side Stories. I should have at least one of them up before the next chapter of the main story is published.
Oh, and I still don't own Young Justice. Big surprise.
Have a wonderful day and questions, comments, and concerns are always welcome!