I do not own Young Justice or any of the characters.
Sideways
Cassius used his goo to open the train's doors for them. Strange had been forced to ditch as soon as they were on the train in order to distract a Science Command patrol and get them off the train, which he had done by quoting the old Alice in Wonderland book series, then flew away with his jetpack to return to Sardath. When Alanna had said goodbye by holding his hands and very clearly displaying that she had feelings for him, Megan and Connor had gotten uncomfortable about it, so, Beast Boy had begun trying to remind them of when they had been together in a naïve, if sweet, attempt to fix their shattered relationship, succeeding only in getting Connor mad, and making both Connor and Megan uncomfortable. However, before it could become a problem, Alanna had informed them they were close enough to the target to leave the train.
Alanna left the train first with her backpack, then Megan and beast Boy followed, as both could fly themselves, and Superboy leapt out. Cassius, Cassandra, and Rose all jumped as well, the girls using their grappling guns to swing to the ground safely as Cassius used a strand of goo to do the same. Once they were on the ground, Cassius reclaimed his goo from the girls' disguises and both pulled their masks on. Almost as soon as they were on the ground, Beast Boy moved to grab a plant in the middle of a small patch of blue sand as a souvenir, only for Alanna to catch him by the tail and pull him back, then toss a stick forward into the sand. It was swallowed by the sand instantly, which let out a noise that Cassius was quite certain was a burp, before violet flames burst to life across the sand.
"Blue sand bog," Alanna said. "Deadly." She leaned down beside him, arms crossed. "Basically, if it looks pretty, don't touch."
"Noted," Beast Boy said.
They continued through the jungle, passing several blue sand bogs, as well as several other deadly traps and plants, before finally stopping as they found a building half-reclaimed by the jungle. It looked to Cassius like a military airplane hangar with a curved roof, round towers along the walls that were only slightly taller than the building and would make excellent sniper towers or machinegun positions, and the entire building was hundreds of meters long.
"It's bigger than I anticipated," Megan said. "Even this far out in the jungle, how could something of this size have been built without the Science Command knowing about it?"
"Maybe it wasn't," Cassius said. "Or, rather, maybe they do know about it."
"It's possible," Connor agreed.
"I'm going in," Megan said, pulling her hood up and cloaking herself. "I'll send you an image of where to rendezvous."
After a few moments, they got an image of a round hole in the ceiling.
"I found your entrance," Megan said, everyone heading up to the opening instantly before crouching around it. "All clear."
She floated them all in silently, then off to the side where they were out of sight. Cassius shifted himself into a Krolotean instantly, as Beast Boy became a Green Monkey.
"Maybe you should stay the bird thing," Cassius suggested. "Or try for a Krolotean."
"Six Zeta platforms?" Alanna said as Beast Boy waved Cassius off.
"Not for long," Connor said, setting down his backpack and pulling out a box of explosives. "These are small-target explosives. Should permanently disable the platforms without blowing the whole base. Three-minute triggers will give us plenty of time to get out before the Kroloteans know what hit them."
"Beast Boy, Cassius, and I will plant them," Megan said, using her telekinesis to pass two to Beast Boy and Cassius, keeping two for herself. "You two wait here."
The others nodded and Cassius absorbed the two black semi-spheres he'd been given into his body before Megan flew him and Beast Boy down to the ground below the platforms out of sight. Beast Boy headed for his two quickly while Megan flew toward hers and Cassius walked calmly toward his chosen two. No one gave him a sideways look, and as he was passing one of the platforms, he flicked his right hand, ejecting an explosive onto the pipe under the platform.
"One placed," Cassius reported.
"Same," Beast Boy said.
"My two are in place," Megan said.
"That's two for me," Cassius reported as he placed his second and headed toward where Beast Boy should be finishing.
"All set, now let's blow this popsicle s-" He was cut off by an alert beginning to shriek.
"Incoming Zeta-transmission!" One of the Kroloteans shouted, Cassius able to understand it for reasons he couldn't understand, that understanding transferring across the telepathic link "Raise the antennae!"
"Oh, I guess I can understand them if I turn into one," Cassius said.
A metal tower in the center of the room rose, the hole they'd entered through opening and immediately being plugged by the antenna.
"The escape route's blocked!" Alanna said worriedly. "We're trapped inside with the bombs!"
"Joy," Cassius sighed internally. "Fire."
"We can cause a distraction," Rose volunteered.
"No," Cassius said. "I can. At a minimum, I can fake an attack by a goo monster to give you all a chance to break out through the wall."
"You'll still be here with the bombs," Megan pointed out.
"Not once I follow you out through the hole as a retreat from the Krolotean counterattack," Cassius said, already heading to the opposite side of the room from Connor and the others.
Just then, the base of the antenna lit up before all of the Zeta platforms began to activate, Kroloteans appearing in massive groups on each.
"The raids have started," Cassius said. "We're late. Now or never."
"Sir, what happened?" the Krolotean who had announced the others' arrival, and who wore a strap across his chest, asked an arriving Krolotean who wore a similar strap.
"The Meta-Earthlings drove us back here," that one reported.
"Times up," Cassius said. "Bombs going off in T-minus ten."
"When the bombs blow, use the chaos to charge through the front door," Megan said. "Cassius, can you find a place to cause a distraction without getting blown up?"
"Way ahead of you," Cassius said, waiting behind a support pillar that should protect him from the explosions.
Just as he stepped behind it, the explosions began, hurling Kroloteans, dropping Zeta platforms off of their pillars, and causing absolute chaos.
"Beast Boy!" Megan gasped, Beast Boy having been too close to a bomb when they went off as well. "Gar! Are you alright!?"
"Yeah, yeah," Beast Boy said, pushing himself up and holding his head. "I'm good, go!"
"And...action!" Cassius said, running out just as the Kroloteans who weren't knocked out by the blast began to look around for the culprit. "Monster!"
Kroloteans spun instantly, just in time for the goo Cassius had chasing him to send out a tentacle, catching him and dragging him back into the massive, shifting, writhing goo creature he'd formed, which had a mouth full of sharp teeth and a pair of beady, glowing red eyes surrounded by a sea of goo tentacles. He took a second to reorient himself to being the goo monster rather than the still-screaming Krolotean body he was reabsorbing, then stopped the screaming in favor of a wet, bubbling snarl and a vibrating roar. His tentacles lashed out, smashing the floor, hurling Kroloteans around, and even carefully grabbed a Zeta platform that wasn't on fire, the only one that wasn't, and hurled it into the front door, smashing it wide open while grabbing several awake Kroloteans and hurling them, keeping the others' attention squarely on himself as the others all fled.
The Kroloteans began to screech orders instantly and Cassius hurled a Krolotean grunt into him, sending both bouncing away. More Kroloteans swarmed him, some armed with blunt objects, other firing energy weapons. Cassius began to move as soon as the shooting started, streaking from one spot to the next, never staying still for long and scattering any Kroloteans he passed. A couple shots managed to hit him and burned him slightly, but he healed quickly. It wasn't fire, and the burns were basically superficial. Then, just as he was beginning to run out of targets, the leader and a handful of other Kroloteans all jumped into a hole that suddenly opened in the floor. A moment later, a massive, quadrupedal machine of some kind with two massive, blocky, mounted weapons on the top and a glowing green circular observation port, or maybe camera, rose from the hole.
"Megan, are you still in range?" Cassius asked, launching himself to the side as the weapons fired a pair of bright orange energy beams.
He avoided the shot, and the massive fiery explosion it set off, but the concussion hurled him. As soon as he landed he cut his losses. He launched himself onto the front of the four-legged tank, rocking it backward and blinding it, then to the front door, streaking down the hallway and narrowly avoiding a second blast before compressing himself into his fastest goo form, one similar to his strongest combat form that he used to spar Connor and had learned against Nemesis, but this form had digitigrade legs and enough leg strength to kick through the side of a tank. As soon as he was in that form and his feet hit the ground, he was off, streaking along the short tunnel and out of the facility.
"M'gann M'orzz!" Cassius shouted in his head as he streaked through the jungle in the general direction of the city.
An explosion lit up the jungle behind him and he pushed himself harder, flashing through the trees, leaping over blue sand bogs, and dodging around poisonous plants. Then, finally, he found them. In fact, he crashed headlong into Connor.
"There you are!" Connor said, standing and lifting him as he returned to his normal form. "What's-"
"Tank!" Cassius said. "Run!"
They scattered instantly, Cassius feeling Megan reconnect Cassius to their link as they ran. Less than a second after they scattered, an explosion went off where they'd been. Then, another, albeit smaller, blast hit Alanna's jetpack and it malfunctioned, spiraling into the air before she dropped it, falling before it exploded. Connor caught her, only to get blasted in the back, going flying. He crashed down hard, skidding to a stop clinging to the top of a cliff with his left hand while holding Alanna up with his right, only to drop as the tank all but sprinted toward them, then leapt after them. Just as it did, Cassius's massively-expanded goo hands caught it by the sides and he shouted in effort, hurling it away, then dove off the cliff before the tank blasted it where he was, Cassius narrowly escaping the explosion. Before he could worry about landing, Cassandra swung past, catching him, then swung to a hole in the cliff face and landed inside of it, both sprinting away from the opening and found Rose inside already, blood coating the side of her face.
"What happened?" Cassius asked, glancing at Cassandra.
"A rock hit her head," Cassandra signed.
Cassius nodded, using Rose's own sleeve to wipe the blood away before using goo to bandage the wound, his goo also stitching it closed, since he knew she'd need it later anyway. She didn't scream in pain, but the pain did wake her. She smiled up at him and sighed.
"I think it's safe to say this mission went sideways fast," Rose said.
"Very," Cassius nodded. "I think I can break it, if I can reach it without worrying about being blasted."
Just then, Cassandra knocked on the wall of the cave, near the opening, and Cassius walked over and looked down, seeing two walking past below them. He sighed.
"Figures," Cassius sighed. "There are at least two. Maybe more."
"Zeta, report," Megan said. "Are you-"
"Safe, for now," Connor interrupted. "I'm with Alanna."
"Orphan, Ravager, and I are in a gave partway up a cliff," Cassius reported. "Ravager took a blow to the head and probably has a concussion, but Orphan and I are unharmed. The three of us aren't in any immediate danger. You?"
"We lost 'em," Megan said. "Beast Boy and I are both unharmed."
"Now can we blow this popsicle stand?" Beast Boy asked.
"Now we stay put," Megan said. "Give their patrols a chance to move on. We'll meet up below the mag rail when it's safe."
"And then regroup with Adam and my father to determine what to do about this Krolotean base," Alanna added.
"M'gann...be careful," Connor said.
"You too, Connor," Megan replied before the connection went silent.
He walked deeper into the cave, sitting against the wall and glancing at the girls. Rose had her eyes closed and might have been sleeping. Cassandra was staring into space, holding her locket.
"Are you okay?" Cassius signed.
Cassandra smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. Just thinking."
"Anything important?" Cassius signed.
"Not really," Cassandra signed. "I don't think I ever told Tim when we'd have the chance to go to dinner. Are you sure you don't want to come?"
Cassius smiled. "I'm sure. You two have fun."
"Oh, it's not going to be us two," Cassandra signed. "I'm going to bring Rose, and I'm going to invite some of the others."
"Do you not want to be alone with Tim?" Cassius signed. "Did he do something?"
"No," Cassandra signed. "He didn't do anything. I just...don't like him the way he likes me. I'm happy," she paused. "Wrong word."
"Flattered," Cassius signed. "It means you appreciate someone doing, thinking, or saying something that has to do with you and is nice or sweet."
Cassandra nodded and signed, "I'm flattered, but I don't want to give him the wrong impression by mistake by going with just us, then hurting him by making him think I feel the same."
Cassius nodded, then looked toward the mouth of the cave, his thoughts warring for no apparent reason and no discernable sides. Finally, he signed, "Don't do anything you're uncomfortable with, and explain to him before you go anywhere with him that you don't feel the same. But...going to dinner or the movies with just the two of you will give you the chance to see if you might feel that way about him without realizing it, or maybe you'd start to like him back."
Cassandra frowned, signing, "I don't want to feel that way about him. I feel that way about you."
Cassius sighed. He ran a hand through his hair for a moment as he decided what to say. "I know you care about me, but I can't return your feelings. You should try to find someone else you can care about. It doesn't have to be Tim, but I'm not the right person for you."
"I don't care," Cassandra signed.
Cassius sighed just as he felt the link go dead. "Something's wrong."
Rose's eye opened instantly and she stood, pulling her mask back on as Cassandra did the same, all three heading for the mouth of the cave. Cassius picked up the girls and climbed to the top of the cliff and stopped, all three staring at the fortress, which was now hovering in the air as a complete ship, round and long, like a maggot. The tanks were all headed for it, and just as Cassius and the girls began to run, Connor landed beside them, setting Alanna down, all of them running along together.
"Something's happened to Megan," Connor said.
"She probably got caught," Cassius said.
"Has your friend been captured?" Alanna asked in Rannian.
"I think so," Cassius replied in the same, Alanna nodding.
"I'm glad I allowed you to have a copy of my memory of our language," Alanna said.
"So am I," Cassius said, just as they spotted three tanks up ahead. "Connor and I will take point. You hang back with Rose." He switched back to English as Alanna nodded. "Connor, take the first. I'll take the second, then Cassandra, Rose, and Alanna can distract the third for you."
"Right," Connor nodded.
"Don't damage the front of the main body," Cassius warned. "When the one in the Zeta platform room attacked me, I slammed into the front of it and it felt hollow. I think that's where they keep captives."
Connor nodded and the girls all scattered as they caught up with the first tank. Connor shot forward, grabbing one of its legs and yanked it backward before ripping the legs off, Cassius breaking off the guns before launching himself to the next and slashing off all four legs with goo claws, then the guns. Then, a strand of goo attached to a tree and yanked him out of sight before the third could fire just before Cassandra hurled an explosive disk into the tank's side. It began to turn and Rose hurled one into its back. As it began to turn again, Alanna landed on top of it, placing an explosive on each gun, just before Cassius yanked her off with a goo strand, allowing the bombs to destroy its guns. Then, Connor exploded down on the tank, ripping the glass dome over the controls off and lifting out the Krolotean commander. Cassius stepped up to the tank in front and shoved goo into a seam in a metal dome just below Connor, then spread his arms, shoving the door open and revealing Megan and Beast Boy, both unconscious.
"Bingo," Cassius said, growing a pair of goo arms to lift them out carefully.
"Connor," Megan groaned.
Cassius swapped Connor Megan for the Krolotean just as Beast Boy stirred. Cassius set him on his feet as the other two joined them. Just then, the ship above them began to fire down at them and Connor pulled the tank into the way, everyone ducking down behind it.
"They still trying to capture us, or is it just a bitter revenge thing now?" Beast Boy asked.
"Either way, we discourage them," Connor said. "Game?"
"Me?" Beast Boy grinned. "I'm big game."
"Take care of her," Connor said to Alanna.
"We'll be back soon," Cassius said in Rannian. "Rose and Cassandra will stay with you."
Alanna nodded and Cassius looked to the other girls, both of whom nodded, already knowing their job.
"Connor, I'm hitching a ride," Cassius said.
"Right," Connor nodded as Cassius formed over Connor's shirt.
Then, Connor ran out of cover and hurled Beast Boy, who smashed into the ship before Connor leapt to one of the guns, Cassius leaving him a second before Connor smashed it. Cassius slipped in through the hole Beast Boy had made and reformed as himself in his armor, complete with his mask, and looked around. Beast Boy was a gorilla, hurling tanks around and destroying anything he could, so, Cassius encased his arms in goo and began to help. As Connor reached them they'd already cleared out the hangar-like room they were in.
"Kid, you may just change my mind about monkeys yet," Connor said.
Beast Boy laughed, sounding every bit like a gorilla. They continued to destroy anything they could, and after a particularly violent string of explosions, the ship began to rise.
"Time to go!" Connor said, all three leaping out.
Connor landed heavily, and Cassius and Beast Boy both flew down, Beast Boy as his new winged reptile form and Cassius with a set of goo wings. However, as they landed, there was a Krolotean lying comatose on the ground and Megan was holding the Krolotean commander's sash.
"Oh shit," Cassius breathed.
He looked to Cassandra, and she looked to Megan.
"You okay?" Connor asked.
"Fine," Megan said, holding up the sash. "Got this for Beast Boy." She tossed it to him, and he grinned widely.
"Souvenir," Beast Boy said excitedly. "Sweet!"
"Where did that come-" Connor trailed off as he saw two more Kroloteans lifting their vegetative commander. "Megan what did you-"
"Nevermind that right now," Megan interrupted. "We have to get back to Earth."
Connor narrowed his eyes.
"I know what the Justice League did on Rimbor," Megan said. "I know what happened during their missing sixteen hours."
Cassius grit his teeth, looking to the retreating Kroloteans for a moment before sighing. "She's right. If she really knows, that's the most important thing right now. And the facility we were sent to destroy just flew away, so now there's no reason to stay."
"Fine," Connor growled. "But this isn't over."
Megan watched him for a moment before turning and walking away, the others all following.
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