Unfamiliar Places, Unfamiliar Faces
Bedford, Massachusetts
July 17, 12:30 EST
"I dunno, kiddo. You're sure that Hal will be able to keep an eye on you in Happy Harbor?"
"Not just Hal, Dad. Red Tornado is staying there 24/7 and Black Canary will be training us. We'll never be without supervision." I explained, over the phone, "Not to mention the fact that the Cave has a zeta tube so I can still get to school in New York. And it takes some stress off your shoulders since you're gone so much. Please, Dad. Superboy and Miss Martian need someone familiar with civilian life to help them figure things out. And Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad all have commitments in their home cities."
Dad was silent on the other end of the line for a minute. I waited with bated breath for him to make a decision. I had been begging for over a week for him to let me live at the Cave instead of Hanscom Air Force Base, and he was finally starting to crack.
Dad was a Colonel, responsible for overseeing a significant portion of the bases' operations and their off-site training. He spent a lot of time at different bases and at the Pentagon, so at this point, I spent more time alone on base than with him. This was a good medium, I could zeta to the base when Dad was home, zeta to New York to attend the private school my trust fund paid for, and I could help our two newest members adjust in between.
"Alright. You can stay in Rhode Island."
The breath I had been holding released, "Thanks, Dad. I'll text you when I'm settled in. Love you."
"I love you too, Cassidy."
As soon as the line went dead, I pocketed my phone and went to work packing my bags. With Superboy, Miss Martian, and Aqualad lending a hand, I'd be moved in before dinnertime.
The zeta tube in Bedford was fortunately just outside of the base, and with my new authorization, travelling to and from would be a breeze, though I could easily fly to and from both locations without trouble. Nevertheless, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and shoving my free hand into the pocket of my jeans, I walked to the zeta tube and typed in the Cave's location.
"Recognized: Green Lantern, B-zero four."
Letting out a sharp whistle as soon as I stepped into the cave, I called out, "Hey! Anyone home?"
"Yeah." Superboy stepped out of the living quarters at my call, his arms crossed over his chest. With a lopsided grin, I tossed him my backpack which he caught one-handed.
"Great! You can help me move in."
Superboy arched a brow, "You're moving to the Cave?"
"Yep. Dad's barely ever home so this way I'll at least have some company. C'mon, we've got bags to grab."
With a shrug, Superboy followed me through the zeta tube and together we went to work.
Mount Justice
July 18, 11:16 EST
"Recognized: Robin, B-zero one, Kid Flash, B-zero three."
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Rob and KF running in excitedly from the zeta tube. Aqualad, Miss Martian, Superboy, and I were tracking Red Tornado's flight path as he finally arrived to begin his supervisor duties. Both younger boys were looking for a new mission from the League's resident robot.
"Is he here yet?" Robin asked us.
Aqualad gave a small smile, "He is arriving now."
"Then what are we waiting for?" KF asked, before speeding off to the front entrance.
As a group, the remaining five of us made our way to the front entrance of the Cave, arriving just in time to see Red Tornado touch down in front of us, pushing a heavy gust of wind past us. Kid called out to the Leaguer as the wind began to die down and when it finally stopped, Red walked toward us with a metallic clang to his stride.
"Greetings. Is there a reason you intercept me outside of the Cave?"
Running a hand through my messed-up hair in an attempt to fix it, I came clean with our team's hopes, "We wanted to know if you had a mission for us."
Red Tornado didn't react, "Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility."
Everyone, even Robin was upset at that, "But it's been over a week and nothing-"
"You will be tested soon enough." The robot interrupted, "For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company."
"This team is not a social club." Aqualad insisted.
Red Tornado turned to him in acknowledgement, "No, but I am told that social interaction is an important team-building exercise. Perhaps you can begin by familiarizing yourselves with the Cave."
With that, Tornado strode past us and into the Cave, not even stopping as the scanners identified him. We all clustered together and watched as he walked away, all a bit pissed off at our den mother's suggestion.
Next to me, Kid Flash scoffed, "Keep busy. Does he really think we're falling for that?"
"Oh! I'll find out." Miss Martian offered, her eyes glowing a fluorescent green. After a few seconds, the glow faded away, and Red Tornado was long gone.
"I'm sorry, I forgot he's a machine, inorganic. I cannot read his mind."
I offered her an apologetic smile as Kid wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Nice try, though. So, uh, you know what I'm thinkin' right now?"
Robin and I rolled our eyes, as the former jabbed the speedster sharply in the ribs, "We all know what you're thinking."
We all fell silent for a moment, then Aqualad spoke up again, his tone irritated, "And now we tour the clubhouse."
"Well, I moved in yesterday, figured out my way around pretty fast, maybe I could play tour guide?" I offered.
The others looked around at each other, then collectively nodded. Given the go-ahead, I led them inside showing them the main generator, the kitchens, the bedrooms, showers, workout rooms, the mission room and finally-
"Here's the back door. Pretty sweet, huh? The cave runs through the entirety of the mountain, from top to bottom."
The rear entrance to the Cave overlooked Block Island Sound, situated to the southwest, setting up for some kick-ass sunsets. The ledge that jutted out of the mountain provided enough space for everyone to fit comfortably, and if we were careful, we could even turn it into a helipad. Once everyone had gotten a good look, we all went back inside.
"The whole place was carved out and reinforced by Superman and my mentor, the first modern Green Lantern, when the League was first started." I explained as we all came to a stop in the living room.
"Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" Superboy asked.
Aqualad, Robin, Kid Flash, and I all looked at each other warily. We all knew the story.
"The Cave's secret location was... compromised." Aqualad answered cautiously. Superboy didn't seem impressed with the Atlantean's response.
"So they traded it in for a tourist trap? Yeah, that makes sense."
"If the villains know of the Cave, we must be on high alert!" Miss Martian declared, but Robin reached out and grabbed her hand reassuringly.
"The bad guys know we know they know about the place, so they'd never think to look here." The Boy Wonder said nearly too quickly to comprehend. Miss Martian looked at him confused, but Kid Flash was able to put it in layman's terms.
"He means we're hiding in plain sight."
Miss Martian's gaze became relaxed and more filled with understanding, "Ah, that makes much more sense."
"I smell smoke." Superboy announced, making Miss Martian's expression immediately turn worrisome.
With a loud gasp, the Martian leviatated and took off toward the kitchens, "My cookies!"
She had me and KF at cookies. We took off after her and made it to the kitchen in time to watch her psychically pull a burnt tray of cookies from the stainless-steel oven. Miss Martian looked disappointed as she set the tray on the stove.
"I was trying out Grammy Jones' recipe from episode 17 of-" She caught herself, her green cheeks blushing sharp pink as she did, "Uh, never mind."
By then, the rest of the team had filed in from the mission room and Robin set a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure they would've tasted great. He doesn't seem to mind."
We all turned to see Kid Flash chewing a charcoal cookie puck, not even minding the taste. My face scrunched in distaste as he looked over at us innocently.
"I haf a seriouth metabolithm." He said through a mouthful of char.
"I'll... make more?" '
Aqualad smiled softly at the Martian, "It was sweet of you to make any."
"Thanks, Aqualad."
"We are off-duty, call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."
Through a stiff swallow, Kid Flash smiled semi-seductively, "I'm Wally. See I already trust you with my secret identity. Unlike Mr. Dark Glasses over here. Batman's forbidden Boy Wonder from telling anyone his real name."
Robin glared at Wally from beneath his sunglasses and I gently smacked the speedster in the arm as a warning to watch his mouth.
"I'm Cassidy, but you guys can call me Cass, almost everyone does." I said, smiling warmly at Miss Martian, "And to make it easier for all of you, you can call my mentor Hal, and the third Green Lantern is John."
"My name's no secret, it's M'gann M'orzz! But you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name and I'm on Earth now." Miss- uh, M'gann replied happily. She turned to see Superboy walking away and the realization hit me that Superboy didn't have a 'real' name, at least not yet.
"Get out of my head!" He snapped suddenly, whipping around to glare at M'gann. We all stared at him, confused, but then a sharp pounding echoed through my head as a familiar voice rang out in my mind.
"What's wrong? I don't understand. Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically."
"M'gann, stop!" Kaldur demanded aloud. The pounding faded away as M'gann's psychic link was severed, her facial expression one of embarrassment.
"Things are different on Earth," the Atlantean continued, "Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."
Wally sped over to M'gann and set his arm around his shoulders, "Besides, Cadmus' creepy little psychic genomorphs have a bad taste in our brains."
M'gann's hand flew to her mouth in shock and fear, "I- I didn't mean to-"
Superboy growled, his tone nearly feral, "Just. Stay. Out."
Awkward silence filled the kitchen as Superboy turned to walk away again. Almost instinctually, my hand flew to my neck and rubbed it sheepishly as my hazel gaze drifted to the floor.
"Hello, Megan! I know what we can do!" M'gann declared, before motioning for all us to follow her. Even Superboy followed behind her as we made our way into the hangar. Situated in the center of the room, was a red and black oblong orb, motionless and non-threatening. M'gann gave a proud look as she set her eyes on the orb, but I was only confused.
"Okay, I give up. What are we looking at?"
"It's my Martian Bioship!"
"Cute." Wally commented, "Not aerodynamic, but cute."
M'gann laughed and raised her hand, "It's at rest, silly. I'll wake it."
The orb rose up a few feet above the ground and pivoted, extending and shaping itself in the form of a sleek and powerful space ship. I couldn't bite back the excitement that leapt past my lips in the form of a laugh. M'gann giggled at my reaction and opened a hatch in the back of the Bioship.
"Well, are you coming?"
Robin and Wally were practically shoving each other trying to get on board first, Kaldur and I followed close behind the younger boys with Superboy bringing up the rear. The inside of the Bioship was just as stunning as the outside. Streamlined and practically brand new, everything from the control panels to the pilot's chair was completely organic and capable of bending to M'gann's psychic requests. I had only heard of this sort of Martian technology during my training on Oa, but to witness it firsthand was an entirely different experience.
"Strap in for launch."
Robin, Wally, and I took seats toward the front of the ship, straps crossing over our chests as we set ourselves down while Kaldur, Superboy, and M'gann filed in behind us, the latter taking her seat in the pilot's chair. As if it were by mental command, the Bioship was connected to the Cave's communication system, allowing M'gann to alert Red Tornado that we were going out.
"Red Tornado, please open the bay doors."
The hydraulics on the two-foot thick steel doors hissed, even though we couldn't hear them. Pale rays of sunlight leaked inside as the doors spread wide enough for the Bioship to fly through, taking off at near break-neck speed. We sped out over the bay for about a mile before rotating directly upward to a 90 degree angle before evening out and transitioning into a barrel roll over Happy Harbor.
"Incredible!" Robin exclaimed.
Wally rested his head in his hand, looking up at M'gann with a dreamy expression, "She sure is..."
M'gann turned toward him, giving him a confused look, which made him straighten up and pat the dash board in front of him.
"I, uh, I mean the ship. Which, like all ships, is a... she."
"Fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth," I remarked, an amused smirk appearing on my face. Wally's green eyes met my hazel ones in horror.
"Hey!"
Across the deck, Kaldur leaned over and whispered something to Superboy, who continued to glare straight ahead out the front window. M'gann noticed that the clone was still angry too, her eyes dropping to the ground in front of her controls.
"He'll come around." Robin whispered to her, catching on to the Martian's downcast.
"He doesn't seem to like me very much." She whispered back. Wally, ever the realist, leaned over and joined in on the conversation.
"You guys remember he has super hearing, right?"
We all looked to Superboy, still motionless in his seat, but anyone with half a brain could tell that he had heard every single word. Everyone fell silent for a moment, awkwardly shuffling in our seats until an idea came into my mind.
"Hey, how about showing us a bit Martian shapeshifting?"
M'gann smiled and stood from her chair, her clothes morphing into a form fitting outfit reminiscent of Robin's as her face shifted to look like a more feminine version of the Boy Wonder. Just as quickly as she became Robin, she shifted into an effeminate Kid Flash, and Wally practically melted into a puddle on the floor.
"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" He swooned. I bit back a laugh and rolled my eyes as Robin applauded the Martian.
"Impressive!" he lauded, "But you know you're not exactly going to fool anyone with those."
M'gann reverted to her original form, her smile becoming a bit sheepish as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks, "Mimicking boys is a lot harder. But girls..."
In an instant, I was looking at an exact copy of myself in my Lantern uniform, right down to the glowing ring on my right middle finger.
"They're much easier to copy."
Kaldur gave her a fascinated look, "And your clothes?"
Once again shifting back to her Martian form, she grabbed hold of her cardigan, "They're organic, like the ship. They respond to my mental commands."
"As long as they're the only ones." Superboy growled darkly. Everyone but M'gann glared at the clone for a second before Wally turned back to his 'dream girl'.
"Can you do that ghosting through walls thing that Manhunter does?"
"Density shifting?" M'gann's expression faltered, her kind eyes falling to her hands, "No... it's a very advanced technique."
Rob grinned widely, thinking of something to cheer her up, much to Wally's disdain, "Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall, but when he does it: bloody nose."
"Dude!"
A thought occurred to M'gann and her happy appearance returned, "Here's something I can do-"
The Bioship's outward appearance began to blend in with the partly cloudy sky, making us seemingly invisible to the naked eye from down below.
"Camouflage mode."
"Red Tornado to Miss Martian." Tornado's voice came up clearly through the comms as M'gann retook her seat, "An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate covertly. I'm sending coordinates."
"Received. Adjusting course."
Rob scoffed and slumped in his seat as the Bioship veered toward the power plant on the outskirts of town, "Tornado's keeping us busy again."
"Well," I started, trying to remain somewhat optimistic, "a simple fire led us to Superboy. We should find out what caused the alert."
"I think I know the cause." Superboy said plainly, pointing toward the power plant. Crashing through buildings on its campus to the shock and awe of innocent bystanders and workers was a massive tornado. And it was heading right for us.
Before M'gann had time to react, the Bioship was engulfed by the vortex. The force of the winds proved quickly to be too much for M'gann to maintain control, even camouflage was a no go as we were literally being pushed away from the power plant. After taking a moment to reorient herself, M'gann firmly pressed her hands down onto the controls and steered us out of the tornado. Landing gently in the parking lot, we all filed out quickly, pulling gear from our pockets as we ran.
Slipping my ring on, I felt the rush of power course through me, but decided against having the suit appear. We were supposed to be acting covertly after all.
"Are tornados common to New England?" Kaldur asked over the whipping of wind and the crashing of debris. I shook my head, looking around for Robin to gain some sort of confirmation that I was right. But the Boy Wonder had already vanished, his arrogant little laugh echoing through the parking lot.
"Where did that little bastard go?" I growled, a faint green glow appearing around me as everyone else looked around.
"He... he was just here." M'gann said, bewildered. A few crashes and bangs rang out from inside the power plant, drawing our focus. Kaldur waved a hand to motion a collective move on the building. Sure enough, Rob was crumpled against a wall when we ran in, rubbing his head and grimacing toward the source of the tornado.
A red and black metallic form stood towering over all of us, even Superboy. Electric blue tubes ran across its back and a tattered brown scarf wrapped around its neck. From its massive hands, two smaller funnels of air swirling above the palms. All of us surged forward ahead of Robin toward the robot.
"Who's your new friend?" I heard Superboy ask behind me.
"Didn't catch his name, but he plays kinda rough!" Robin called out in warning. The machine readied itself, small gusts of wind emerging from its wrists.
"My apologies," it said in a semi-robotic tone, "you may address me as Mr. Twister."
With a flick of his wrists, the gusts surged forward toward Superboy. The clone was able to withstand the initial impact fairly well, but before he could step forward to gain any ground, Twister redirected one of his creations back toward the Kryptonian, lifting him up and into the nearest wall. As he struck the concrete, the wall caved in slightly, as did the floor when he hit it.
Our heavy hitter now down, Kaldur, Wally, M'gann, and I all looked to each other and gave a collective nod, surging forward simultaneously. Wally moved into a front hand spring, aiming for Twister square in the chest but ultimately unable to hit him when he was brushed aside by another vortex and sent flying back out into the parking lot. M'gann and Kaldur moved in, but like he had done with Wally, Twister simply formed a pair of cyclones and pushed them away.
After watching the bastard toss my teammates away, I raised my hand and formed a box around Twister, attempting to cut him off from any control of air surrounding him. From the corner of my eye, I saw Robin ready a small hand grenade as our metallic friend attempted to break through my box.
"I was prepared to face a challenge from superheroes!" Twister declared, continuing to strike my construct, "I was not, however, expecting children."
Rob and I sneered, the former launching his grenade toward the box. I mentally commanded my ring to allow it to pass through the construct, and it did, exploding upon impact with Twister but remaining confined with the box.
"We're not children!" The Boy Wonder cried defiantly.
"Objectively, you are." Twister replied casually, unaffected by the bomb, "Have you no supervision? I find your presence here... disturbing."
"Well, we hate to see you disturbed, maybe you'll be more turbed once we kick your can!"
First whelmed, now turbed? I needed to have a sitdown with this kid about his grammar later. M'gann, having regained her composure, loosened a steam pipe overhead and pointed down on top of Twister to provide some semblence of cover for us. I dropped the construct just in time for Superboy to leap through the fog to strike Twister in the chest. But the robot, despite its bulky frame, reacted quickly and caught Superboy's fist, throwing him up into the ceiling before he came crashing down into M'gann. Rob and Kaldur were able to avoid being caught up in their collapse, but were thrown into each other by a pair of vortices. I lifted myself up in an aura of green light, but a fraction of the nearest wall slammed into my side, catching me off-guard and forcing me to slump to the floor.
"Indeed," Twister growled as he turned to leave, "That was quite turbing. Thank you."
As we all scrambled to our feet, we realized that Twister had left the building and was trying to push forward to Happy Harbor. I looked around to make sure that everyone was alright and caught a glimpse of a blur speeding up to the big bad. Wally.
I took off running, jumping up into the air and allowing myself to levitate toward the confrontation, the others close behind. The speedster and Twister exchanged some words before a tornado appeared from the ground, throwing him toward us. M'gann caught him psychically and lowered him gently.
"I've gotcha, Wally." She exclaimed happily as he groaned and muttered a begrudging thanks.
"I would have thought you had all learned your limitations by now." Twister said, lowering his head in a menacing manner. I raised my hand and clenched my fist, a circlet of green energy bursting around it.
"I have no limits, pal." I snarled. Kaldur stepped forward as Twister rose up into the air, generating a tornado even larger than the first one he created.
"What do you want?" The Atlantean shouted over the crashing of debris and the whipping of wind.
"Isn't it obvious?" Twister asked back, as if the answer was obvious, "I'm waiting for a real hero!"
I looked over at M'gann and called out authoritatively, "Read his mind! Now!"
"But I thought-"
"It's okay to do it on the bad guys!"
The Martian steeled herself, her eyes glowing a near sea-foam green for a moment before she said, "Nothing, I'm getting nothing... hello, Megan! Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise! He's an android, inorganic. And how many androids do you know that can generate tornadoes?"
It didn't seem right to me. From what I had been told about Red, he wasn't the testy type. His robotic mind was advanced, but he was still learning how to act more... human. But M'gann's conclusion seemed to be enough for the others.
"Red Tornado sent us here." Kaldur reminded us.
"After saying we'd be tested soon enough, this is his test." Robin spat, "Something to keep us busy."
"Speedy called it, we're a joke." Wally agreed. My eyes fell to the ground as I lowered myself to stand with my team. As confident as I was in my abilities, this was a team assignment. Kaldur, Rob, and Wally turned to confront Twister, anger present on all of their faces.
"We know who you are and what you want." Robin called out, jabbing an accusing finger in the robot's direction.
Kaldur slammed his fist into his open palm, ready to fight, "So let's end this."
If he had been capable, I'm sure Twister would have grinned maliciously, "Consider it ended."
Dark clouds formed above the mechanical man and the wind picked up further. Robin's resolve dropped ever so slightly, but Kaldur remained firm in his lack of enthusiasm.
"An impressive show! But we will not indulge you! We will not engage!"
A crack of lightning appeared overhead, cutting across the sky and adding an additional evil flare to Twister. I had only been in the hero game for a year or so, but I was pretty sure that Red Tornado couldn't do that.
"Guys... I don't think Tornado can summon lightning." I shouted over the crackling of electricity.
"You think I'm Tornado? Ironic." Twister said, amused. Raising one hand, he summoned another bolt of lightning and sent it crashing down on top of us. The sharp sting of electricity coursed through my body and forced me to my knees, biting back an animalistic scream as I quickly fell to unconsciousness.
"Ugh. Wh-what happened?" A voice asked. I was still out of it, my vision blurry, my hearing warped. Slowly, I began to hoist myself onto my knees, my ring casting a green glow around me. My vision cleared and the pain I had felt earlier faded.
"I put the Bioship between us." M'gann explained weakly. Not too far off, I saw Superboy smash a discarded boulder to pieces as the Bioship lifted back up into the air. Whatever happened while I was down clearly didn't end well.
"And that's supposed to make it right?" the clone growled, "You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado!"
"She didn't do it on purpose." I groaned, trying to stand slowly.
Robin nodded in agreement, "It was a rookie mistake. We shouldn't have listened."
Wally sighed, resting his hands on his hips, "You are pretty inexperienced... hit the showers. We'll handle things from here."
"Stay out of our way." Superboy warned, turning to head toward town. I clenched my fists, anger and disappointment in my team mixing together in my mind.
"No." I commanded, my eyes blazing up at the slightly taller clone before flicking toward Wally, "This team can't fall apart before it's even started. We don't leave people behind. Either we act as a team or this whole thing is over. So, all of us are going to work out a plan, right here, right now, or I'm walking away."
No one moved for a heart-stopping moment, but then Robin turned and nodded, walking toward me as a small smirk appeared on his face. Wally followed close behind him, then Kaldur and M'gann. Finally, with a heavy huff, Superboy joined us and together we began to hash out a proper plan. After a brief conversation with Tornado via the Cave's comm system, we came to the conclusion that Twister was still an android, he just wasn't Tornado. That opened up a flurry of opportunities for us in terms of how to kick his ass, but we thought it best to go with a classic fake-out.
Robin, Wally, Kaldur, Superboy, and I all kept Twister busy at the harbor, working in consort to keep his attention focused on us instead of the skies. Once our asses were thoroughly 'kicked', Tornado appeared overhead and landed in front of us.
"Hit the showers, children," he instructed, "I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot."
Robin took a step forward in false protest, "But we have a plan-"
Tornado raised a hand, effectively silencing the Boy Wonder, "The subject is not up for debate."
None of us protested, walking away in separate directions, appearing dejected. Once I rounded the corner around an internet cafe, I slipped my ring back on and felt my power surge through me. Peering around the corner, I could see Tornado and Twister going mano a mano, throwing cyclones back and forth until the latter sent a bolt of lightning into a nearby boat, setting off an explosion big enough to send the former flat on his back.
With Tornado down, I readied myself, waiting for the signal to move as Twister raised a hand and wires sprang from his fingers. Before they could reach Tornado, his hand grabbed hold of the wires, his face reverting to that of M'gann's. It was time to move.
M'gann telekinetically shoved Twister back into a small vortex which threw him back toward the Martian. Moving as one swift unit, Superboy and I surged forward and struck the off-balance android in the stomach with simultaneous punches. Smoke began to stream from beneath the metal plates in Twister's abdomen as he flew backward into the harbor with a massive splash. And just as quickly as he went under, he came back out, struck by Kaldur below the surface. With one final effort, M'gann pushed our target into the ground, forcing him to his knees and ripping his arms off, while Robin threw a set of explosive disks into his chest. A few small explosions later, and the chest plate hissed open, a small, feeble looking man emerging from the android.
"Foul, I-I call foul." He sputtered. I raised my ring with a sense of suspicion.
"Ring, scan." I ordered.
"Scanning... scanning... no biological life detected." The AI reported. I gave M'gann a nod, and she pulled a hunk of rock from the harbor, sending it crashing on top of the 'man'. When she lifted it away, the shattered remains of a smaller, more complex android were left behind.
"Good call, GL." Rob grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. Wally walked over to the remains and pulled a detached eye from the wreckage, flipping it and catching it in his hand.
"Cool. Souvenir."
Satisfied with our work, we all made our way back to the Bioship before returning to the Cave with the android pieces in tow. Whomever it was that sent the thing seemed hellbent on getting to Red Tornado, though why was still unclear.
Tornado agreed.
"Is that why you wouldn't help us?" M'gann asked him. It was a valid question, but one that Tornado answered bluntly.
"No. This was your battle," he explained, "I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me."
"But if you're in danger-"
Tornado held up a hand and began to walk away, "Consider the matter closed."
Next to me, Rob and Wally looked over at me and Kaldur. Wally scoffed softly as we watched Tornado leave.
"Batman, Aquaman, GL, and Flash, they'd have all jumped in to fix things."
"Guess if we're gonna have a babysitter, a heartless machine is exactly what we need." Robin remarked, not thinking before he spoke. I nudged him sharply in the ribs, making him wince.
"Not cool, dude." I muttered.
"And inaccurate." Tornado added, stopping to glance over his shoulder, "I have a heart: carbon-steel alloy. I also have excellent hearing."
A flush appeared on Robin's cheeks as he rubbed his neck sheepishly, "Right. I'll, uh, strive to be... more accurate."
"And more respectful." I added, eyeing him like a little kid who just got busted. Tornado didn't answer, but seemed satisfied with the apology and continued to walk away as the boys began to make their way to the living quarters. Superboy moved to follow them, but stopped for a moment, glancing back at M'gann, his gaze softening at her.
"Sorry."
I smiled, setting a kind hand on M'gann's shoulder as SB walked away. This team... it was gonna work out. I could feel it.