Leaders Emerge

Mount Justice

July 22, 17:16 EST

"Isla Santa Prisca." Batman pulled up a holographic map of the Caribbean Island as we all waited with bated breath for our first official mission, "This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neuro-steroid; a strength-enhancing drug sold under the street name Venom. Infrared heat signatures indicate that their factory is operating at full capacity, but all shipments of Venom have been inexplicably cut off. That's where this team comes in. This is a covert mission only. Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will. The plan requires two drop-zones."

The Dark Knight's protege arched a brow and asked the question we were all thinking, "So who's in charge?"

Batman and Tornado looked at each other, then back at the Boy Wonder, "Work that out between you."

Caribbean Sea

July 22, 20:08 ECT

I paced back and forth across the Bioship as we approached our initial drop-zone. I always paced when I was nervous, a habit I had inherited from my dad. Seated around me, my teammates were eerily quiet, but the air around us with filled with determination. We were ready to impress the League, ready to get the job done.

"We're approaching Santa Prisca." M'gann informed us. My soft footsteps stopped as I looked up to see the island growing larger as we got closer to its shores. I slipped on my ring, my suit appearing in hues of forest green, charcoal, and black; my own brand of stealth tech. A dim green glow emanated from my body, barely visible unless someone got close enough.

"Drop-zone A in 30."

Kaldur stood up and pressed the Atlantean symbol on his belt, the red and navy of his uniform shifting to black and gray. He looked to me with a stern nod then turned to M'gann.

"Ready."

M'gann nodded back, "Putting Bioship in camouflage mode."

As the Bioship blended in with its surroundings, a pair of hatches opened up in the floor for Kaldur and I. Together, we stepped through the hatches and dove feet first into the ocean below, barely even making a splash. Under the surface, my ring took care of pressure adjustments and provided me with ring of oxygen, no rebreather required. The dark sea water around us sent a chill down my spine as laid out in front us, a maze of sunken mines and a rope net stood in our way, protective counter measures put in place by whomever it was that ran the place.

Kaldur and I were able to swim around the mines with no trouble, and my Atlantean compatriot was able to cut through the net with his water bearers, not even slowing down as we approached the shore. As our heads erupted from the waves, I felt the soft pattering of rain on my face and glanced up to see an overcast of clouds shielding the moon and stars.

"Quickly." Kaldur instructed at a whisper, his voice nearly drowned out by the crashing waves as we jogged onto the beach. The aura around me faded and I pulled a sensor patch from Kaldur's water pack, running up to the aerial motion and heat sensors' power box. Staying out of range of the motion sensors, I set the disruptor on top of the box with a soft metallic click before pressing a finger to the comm in my ear.

"Heat and motion sensors are patched. Data is on a continuous loop. Move in for drop-zone B."

There was no response on the other end of the line, but Kaldur motioned for me to follow him into the jungle anyway, not intending to wait on the others.

"It would be best if you moved on foot, Cass. Flying may attract... unwanted attention." He advised. I nodded in agreement and motioned for him to lead the way as we took off into the trees. The second drop was supposed to be situated near the center of the island, so we had some significant ground to cover before we could rendezvous with the others. Kaldur made it look easy, practically sprinting through the jungle while I was on the verge of an asthma attack about 5 minutes in.

As we crept up on a cliff face with no way around, Kaldur wasted no time climbing up when M'gann's voice reached our ears.

"Aqualad, Lantern, drop B is a go."

"Head to the factory," I instructed between pants, ignoring Kaldur's earlier request and levitating to the top of the cliff to give my lungs a break, "We'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."

"Roger that." Robin said quietly before the comms went dead again. Setting down gently at the top of the cliff, I waited patiently for Kaldur to finish climbing up, taking the time to catch my breath.

"What happened to covert?" He asked me once he had clambered all the way up. I smirked and crossed my arms over my chest.

"It collapsed from exhaustion about a mile back." I quipped, "Can we please switch to a lively jog or a brisk walk perhaps?"

A small smile emerged on the Atlantean's lips as he slowly started to jog back into the brush. I groaned, but my ring sent a rush of warmth through my bones, and in an instant, I felt refreshed. I took off after my friend, thankful that he had slowed his pace enough that we would still make it to the factory without being completely drained.

Moving as one unit stride for stride, we were eventually veered off-course by the sound of rapid gunfire not too far off. The closer we got to the source of the fight, the louder the sound of grunts and groans became. By the time we reached the clearing where the fighting had been, it was obvious that the Team had run into a bit of trouble with two separate groups of gunmen. Superboy was going toe to toe with the biggest guy of them all, a burly Hispanic-looking man wearing a luchador's mask, while the others were working their way through the rest of the goons. As the number of baddies began to dwindle, Kaldur and I stepped into the fray, kncoking the last few gunmen unconscious as Superboy managed to grapple the big guy.

I walked up to him and aimed my ring at the masked man, a line of green chains wrapping around him tightly as Superboy let him go. With the big guy secured, I turned to glare at the rest of the team.

"What. Happened?" I snarled, demanding an explanation.

"Someone alerted these goon squads by running into a firefight." Robin replied, nudging his head slightly in Wally's direction.

"Only because I was looking for you!" The speedster snapped, his fists clenching at his sides, "Who ducks out on their team without saying anything?"

"Enough." Kaldur commanded, "Investigate the shooters, see if they provide any insight as to what has happened."

The younger boys clammed up and did as they were told, looking over the unconscious goons from both squads. It was obvious just from looking around that whoever these guys were, one group belonged to the original organization, and the other belonged to the new crew.

"I recognize these masks," Robin said, pulling a snake-like mask off one of the guys dressed in blood-red robes, "They belong to the Cult of the Kobra."

The name sounded familiar, but the Green Lantern Corps wasn't concerned with fanaticism. So long as they posed no threat to the galaxy itself, we didn't handle them.

"I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation." Kaldur remarked, keeping a very watchful eye on the Boy Wonder.

"Agreed," he said, placing no fault on his mentor, "and since there's no love lost between the cultists and those goons, I'm betting they came in and tossed them out. That's why normal supply lines have been cut off."

"We get it. Kobra wanted super cultists," Wally drawled, "Radio Bats and we'll be home in time for-"

"These cultists aren't on Venom," Rob interrupted, "Kobra's hoarding the stuff! We don't leave, not until I know why."

"You? You?" I seethed, stomping up to the shorter boy.

Robin crossed his arms arrogantly over his chest, "This team needs a leader."

"You're not in charge of this team, kid! We never voted on a leader, and even if we had, I never would have voted for someone who assumes that everyone knows the plan!"

"I'm with GL on this one." Wally agreed setting a hand on my shoulder, "Dude, you're a 13-year old kid, who ducked out on us without a word!"

The Boy Wonder laughed at the speedster, his hands flying to his hips, "And you're a mature 15? You blew our cover the first chance you got!"

That sent KF and Rob spiraling into a heated argument, making me pinch the bridge of my nose as the masked man came to and began struggling against my chain construct. Superboy and M'gann muttered a few words to each other, and Kaldur watched as the younger boys continued to argue, his expression weary.

"You don't even have any powers!"

"Neither does Batman!"

"Chuh, you're not Batman!"

"Chuh, closest thing we've got!"

A deep, gravelly laugh came from the masked man, as though he were entertained by the boys. He grinned and looked up at them, his eyes a beady black color.

"Such clever niños, but you only know half the story, "Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance."

M'gann stepped forward and began to probe his mind, the familiar green glow in her eyes as she worked. But the masked man's grin only grew wider and more arrogant.

"Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane is not that easy."

The intensity of the glow in M'gann's eyes brightened for a moment, but then it faded entirely, frustration plain on her face, "Ugh! He's reciting fútbol scores en español. This could take a while."

Bane shrugged, "It's not that complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

We all looked around at each other, silently debating whether or not letting him go was worth the risk. After a few seconds, we all (some of us begrudgingly) agreed. I released him, and he began to lead us toward the factory.

Coming to a halt at the edge of a high-standing cliff overlooking the factory, Robin pulled out a pair of binoculars while Wally lowered his goggles. I created my own pair of high-powered binoculars and zoomed in on what looked like a pile of crates on the edge of a helipad.

"Damn, that's a lot of product," I observed, passing my binoculars to Kaldur "Looks like a buy is going down."

"We need to identify that buyer," he concluded.

Wally raised his goggles and set his hands on his hips, "Just what I was thinking."

"Yeah, you're the thinker." Rob jabbed. My brow furrowed, but Wally took it in stride, acting surprisingly mature compared to earlier.

"Sarcasm? Dude, a real leader would focus on getting answers."

Behind us, a loud grunt and the shifting of rock diverted our attentions. Bane had stepped away from the group and moved a massive boulder away from the entrance of an old mining cave. He gestured to the dark entrance and eyed us amusingly.

"Answers are this way."

Without waiting for us, Bane began walking inside, and the rest of us willingly followed, with the exception of Wally. The speedster had had just about enough of the whole back and forth with who was in charge, but now he was getting ridiculous.

"So, now el Luchador is our leader?" He asked sarcastically. As I stepped past him, I raised my hand and caught him in the back of his head with my palm. He muttered an 'ow' but didn't say anything else as I raised my arm and sent a bright ray of light up in the cave, casting everything in a bright green glow.

We walked for a while slowly descending downward following Bane in silence, until at last we came to a stop in front of a heavy metal door. The massive man stepped up to the door and pressed his thumb to a fingerprint scanner. A loud click sounded and with confirmation that the door was unlocked, Bane pulled the door open wide enough for Robin to peer through, using his wrist computer to scan the main floor of the factory. I snuffed my light and waited for Robin's signal which came only a few seconds later.

"All clear." He whispered, ducking inside while Bane pushed the door fully open. The rest of us filed into the factory, moving silently across the floor until we reached a stack of crates just within the edges of the shadows cast by an overhead catwalk. Robin was nowhere in sight.

"Has that little fool already been caught?" Bane growled, looking around the room.

Kaldur sighed, his tone conveying annoyance with the Boy Wonder, "No. He just does that."

Wally slipped his goggles on and grinned, "Stay put. I'll get our intel and be back before the Boy Wonder."

I reached out to try and grab the speedster as Kaldur tried to protest, but he was too fast for the both of us. In a flash of black and red, he was gone, along with Bane's amusment.

"Great chain of command," he sneered sarcastically. Kaldur, M'gann, Superboy, and I all exchanged exasperated looks, but immediately went to work trying to figure out who Kobra was selling to.

Superboy switched to his infrared vision and scanned the room, his baby blue eyes landing on a dust covered assembly line in the back of the room. Motioning for us to follow him, we came to a halt behind another stack of crates and saw the production date on the side of the boxes was listed as being almost a month ago.

From where we had ducked down, we had a clear line of sight leading to the helipad. Our initial view had no comparison to the real thing. There were dozens of crates, all of them likely containing hundreds of doses of Venom.

"It's a massive shipment." Kaldur observed, his pale eyes going wide with surprise.

"Yeah, but they're only taking new product off the line," Superboy noted, gesturing to the crates in front of us, "They're not touching this Venom."

M'gann shrugged, "Maybe freshness counts?"

I doubted that was the reason, but hey, any guess was better than no guess at all. I began to wrack my brain for a possible answer, but Superboy's head snapped up sharply and his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Helicopter's coming." He announced, clearly making good use of his super-hearing as a dark green transport rotorcraft appeared within our field of vision. I squinted, taking a moment to get a better look at the copter.

"Looks like a Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, decommissioned military transport helicopter." I guessed, "Whoever owns it probably bought it from a black market auction or a collector's sale."

Everyone looked at me with a mixture or confusion and impression. I offered up a half-hearted smirk and shrugged, "Military family. Miss Martian, go camo and see if you can get your sights on whoever comes out of that helicopter."

"Right." M'gann nodded in understanding and tossed her hood up, vanishing from plain view save for the slight distortion of the crates she was standing in front of. The distortion moved away as she flew out of the factory and toward the helipad, while we waited patiently for M'gann's report.

A few tense, silent moments passed before I heard M'gann's voice in my head, "Aqualad, Lantern, sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now."

My eyes willed themselves shut as a flash of an image appeared in my thoughts. The buyer was a man, big and burly with short, spiked blonde hair. His face was hidden by a black metal hockey mask, but I recognized him from League files.

"Sportsmaster." Kaldur and I said simultaneously as our eyes flew open.

Kaldur's hand flew up to his ear to reach his comm, "Aqualad to Red Tornado, do you read?"

There was nothing. He huffed and looked over at the rest of us, "Can't reach the League, Robin, or Kid. Comm's jammed. We need a plan."

Bane's vile smile returned and a look of determination appeared on his masked face, "I have a suggestion."

Without another word, he leapt over the crates and charged toward a pair of armed Kobra soldiers with an echoing battle cry. As the thugs turned toward the sound, they were met with a heavy impact from Bane, sending one flying into a nearby support beam and forcing the other's aim upward into the ceiling as he pulled the trigger on his gun. More gunshots bounced off the walls as the masked man continue to fight, much to our surprise.

"What is he-" Kaldur's question was cut off by the roar of a massive creature similar in build to the Blockbuster that we had faced in Cadmus. But this one... he seemed more feral. His skin was mottled and green, with sections of sinew and muscle visible in place of skin in certain places across his body. The monster leapt up over us, his eyes set on the catwalk overhead as he grabbed hold of its railing and pulled it down, taking Robin and Kid Flash down to the factory floor.

"Found 'em!" I quipped, letting my ring's power surge through my veins. We all moved from our hiding place, dividing the Kobra soldiers as we moved to different areas of the factory. The rapid fire of bullets toward me were cut off by my ring's defensive measures, which placed a wall of translucent green light between myself and them, the bullets landing on the floor with soft metallic clinks until the familiar click of an empty clip hit my ears. Right away, I threw down my shield and formed a life-sized bulldozer that trucked through the factory from one end to the other, taking every Kobra shoulder along with it until it crashed into the opposite wall.

I felt M'gann's touch in my mind as she establish a mental link and asked, "Everyone online?"

"Yeah." Superboy drawled.

I could practically see Wally's smirk when he said, "You know it beautiful."

"Knock it off, Wally, or I swear to God-" I warned, aiming my ring like a gun to fire off a few shots of light at a few more Kobra thugs.

"We need to regroup." Kaldur interrupted, trying to remain the voice of reason.

"Busy now." Robin said. I looked around to see where he had wandered off to, only to see him in a standoff with Kobra himself. Kaldur seemed to notice it too, and furrowed his brow.

"Robin, now!"

The Boy Wonder paused, then begrudgingly threw down a flash grenade and retreated back into the factory. I flew up high enough to get a clear view of the floor and determine how to get back to the tunnel.

"Everyone, strategic retreat. KF, clear the path. Superboy, take up the rear with me." I instructed, falling in behind the rest of the team as Wally pushed and shoved his way back to the tunnel. Behind us, that massive monster was hot on our heels, with a few soldiers in tow, but as we continued through the tunnel, the walls began to quiver.

"SB, the beams!" I shouted, punching clean through one of the beams. The clone did the same thing, helping me destroy a few more joints in the tunnel until it finally began to cave in behind us. When the crumbling of dirt and stone finally stopped, we all came to a halt in the darkness, taking a moment to catch our breaths.

I created an orb of green light and tossed it into the air, where it hung motionless, casting a welcoming green glow over all of us. Bane was nowhere to be found but, quite frankly, I didn't give a damn about him.

Robin sighed, his eyes fixed on the ground at his feet, "How could my first misson as leader go so wrong?"

"You do have the most experience," Kaldur agreed cautiously, "But perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk. But this team is new. And the leader needs to be clear, explicit. They cannot vanish and expect others to play a part in an unknown plan."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hand?" Robin snapped, whipping around to face us. He caught himself quickly, sucking in a deep breath and calming himself down, "Who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur, you're the only one who can."

"Please!" Wally exclaimed angrily, "I could run circles around-"

"Wally, come on," Rob pleaded, "You know he's the one. We all do."

M'gann smiled, "Hello, Megan! It's so obvious!"

"Coulda told ya." Superboy agreed. Kaldur glanced over at me and I nodded firmly. He was the best choice, no doubt about it. After seeing all of us cast our votes, Wally crossed his arms over his chest and smiled.

"Okay."

"Then I accept the burden," Kaldur said, "so long as Cass acts as my second."

My jaw dropped, "Wh-what?"

"Your strategic planning abilities have proved invaluable now twice over," he explained, "And your willingness to step in when intervention is needed within the team has saved us from falling apart equally so. I can think of no other more suited to help me lead this team."

I swallowed hard and thought about it for a moment. Me? Co-lead the team? Would they even be okay with that? I shrugged and looked over everyone quickly.

"I... I mean, if it's okay with everyone-"

"Hey, I've been rooting for you from the start," Superboy confessed, "You're the only one here who seems to know how to coordinate a solid attack. I'm cool with having two people in charge."

Everyone else muttered their agreement, so I nodded and extended my hand to Kaldur, who shook it firmly.

"Then I accept your offer, until Rob here is ready to take over," I said, looking over at the Boy Wonder, "If anyone here is truly meant to lead this team someday, it's you."

Robin smiled genuinely and nodded as the team fell into a huddle and looked to Kaldur and I.

"Alright, our first priority is stopping that shipment from leaving the island." The Atlantean started.

"Funny," Rob smirked, "I had the same thought."

"So Sportsmaster is the supplier slash buyer, but it still doesn't track. He doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster formula or to get Kobra to do his dirty work." Robin said, talking over the intel as we ran toward the tunnel entrance. He and Wally had informed us that the new product that Kobra was moving was Venom laced with the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus, creating a superdrug labelled as Kobra Venom. That was how they managed to created that mammoth-sized monster and how they planned on strategically taking down the Justice League.

"And neither of them have the chops to bond Blockbuster with Venom," KF pointed out, "That took some major nerdage."

The light at the end of the tunnel came into view, so I snuffed my light, as Kaldur said, "I believe the expression is 'tip of the iceberg'."

We all skidded to a halt as we reached the entrance, seeing none other than Bane blocking our way out, a plunger in his hand.

"Halt, niños. I'm feeling... explosive."

Surrounding the entrance of the tunnel, explosive charges were planted and active, ready to go off the instant Bane's finger hit the plunger. The drug lord betrayed us... who didn't see that coming?

Kaldur feigned shock as he looked back at Bane, "You betrayed us, why?"

"I want my factory back," Bane explained matter-of-factly.

"Kid, get a running start." I instructed psychically. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the speedster slowly start to back up into the tunnel, but Bane took no notice as he continued to rant.

"So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would certainly come to avenge their sidekicks. And when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside, should have the same effect."

Bane pressed his thumb down, but instead of hitting the plunger it only hit his hand. Wally had already grabbed it from his hand and was leaning smartly against a tree behind him, waving the plunger around enticingly.

"With what?" he asked, "This trigger thingy?"

Bane surged toward Wally with a ferocious roar, but barely even took a step before he was lifted into the air by M'gann's telekinesis. Once he was a good ten feet in the air, Superboy stepped forward with a shit-eating grin, cracking his knuckles.

"Finally," he said, falling into a boxing stance, "Drop him."

M'gann's hold on Bane faded away and he fell right into Superboy's fist which sent him flying back into the tree where Wally was standing. The drug lord slid down against the tree trunk and slumped unconscious on the ground. With him handled, we began making our way back to the factory to execute our new plan.

Mount Justice

July 23, 10:01 EDT

The plan had worked, every last detail with the exception of Kobra's escape had been executed perfectly. Sportsmaster's helicopter had been destroyed along with all of the Kobra Venom that was on board. Superboy even kept his cool, acting as a distraction for Sportsmaster while M'gann planted charges on his helicopter while the rest of us took out Kobra's goons. But Batman was less than thrilled with our report and made his feelings very clear by getting right up in mine and Kaldur's faces during our briefing.

"A simple recon mission, observe and report," he berated before walking down our lineup, "You will each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes. Until then... good job."

My head snapped up, as did everyone else's. Batman's anger had absolved and turned into the faintest glimmer of pride as he continued to speak.

"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success. And how you choose who leads determines character."

Kaldur and I glanced at each other and smiled proudly. Batman approved of our leadership, hearing that brought forth a feeling only comparable with winning the lottery. I felt like I was capable of conquering the planet if only for a moment in time before I was reeled back into reality by the Dark Knight's voice.

"Report for briefing tomorrow at 9 am. You're dismissed."

A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I wanted to provide a brief heads up regarding when exactly Cass and Zatanna meet. You can expect a formal introduction around Chapter 8 but Zatanna's introduction to the Team won't be until Chapter 15 or so. Until then, keep on reading and, of course, fave, follow and review!