MOUNT JUSTICE
AUGUST 3RD, 2010
13:06 EDT
At the moment, Ski'Lira was weighing the potential consequences of completely detaching from the current situation and sneaking her phone out of its temporary hiding place in her boot to get back to her reading. There were three driving factors pushing her towards doing so. First, she was currently spectating the most boring game of air hockey she'd ever seen in her life, with Kaldur barely trying and Wally more focused on consuming a banana than playing. Second, both Superboy and their scheduled mentor for their very first group training session were late, with no sign of showing up any time soon.
Third, and most importantly, she was on her first read through of 1984 and had been forced to stop on a cliffhanger.
Just as she had made up her mind, surreptitiously bending over to retrieve her phone, the Zeta Tube behind her whirled into life.
"Recognized: Superboy, B04"
She didn't know whether she was relieved or disappointed, casually straightening and resigning herself to more hours left in suspense of Winston's fate. If it were just Superboy, she would definitely be reading by now, but she could hear two sets of footsteps coming from further down the hallway.
Superboy looked grumpier than usual, if it were possible, stalking in a straight line through the holographic hockey table and dispersing it. Instead of ire, he was met with relief from Aqualad, who clearly was tired of being coerced into participating.
"Hi, Superboy!" M'Gann greeted, cheery as ever, grin wide and welcoming. "How was Metropolis?"
His question went unanswered (even though he likely wouldn't have done so anyway), as a woman cleared her throat. "Ready for training, everyone?"
Emerging from the nearest entryway were two instantly recognizable members of the Justice League, most likely having arrived from the exterior access route.
"Black Canary! Uncle J'onn!" M'Gann darted forward, hugging her uncle tightly around the waist.
"M'Gann," he replied pleasantly, placing a hand on her shoulder once she had released him from her embrace. "I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd see how you were adjusting."
"A few bumps..." She admitted, "But I'm learning."
That earned her a small smile from the elder Martian.
During the course of the exchange, the last of Superboy's patience had snapped, and he moved to slink off into the depths of the Cave.
"Stick around," Black Canary commanded, leaving no room for argument via tone alone. "Class is in session."
The Team (minus Superboy, who was sulking on the opposite side of the room) gathered together as Black Canary took a position in the middle of the cave floor. Once stationary, a perfect circle of fluorescent light activated on the floor beneath her feet, radiating outwards. They'd been informed of the upgrade to the training programs during the Mountain's renovation, but this was their first time seeing it in action.
"I consider it an honor to be your teacher," Black Canary began. "I'll throw a lot at you, everything I've learned from my own mentors-" Pulling off her leather jacket, she winced as a thick white bandage was revealed wrapping around one bicep. "And my own bruises."
M'Gann's eyes shone with genuine concern, "What happened?"
"The job," Casually tossing her jacket off to the side, she was left in just her corset, effectively freeing up her range of movement. "Now, combat is about controlling conflict, putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting. I'll need a sparring partner."
Hawkgirl saw Canary's gaze flicker towards her pointedly for a moment, but before she could act on the silent request, Kid Flash volunteered, "Right here!"
Ambling forward, he tore into the last bit of his banana, stuffing his mouth with what remained of the fruit. "After this..." He tossed the peel off to the side carelessly, plastering what he assumed was a charming grin on his face. "Swish! I'll show you my moves."
With only a smirk as warning, Black Canary threw a fist straight at his face once he was in range. He hastily jerked up his left arm to block the blow, a well-practiced motion, only for her to suddenly duck and sweep his legs out from underneath him.
Sent crashing to the ground, Wally let out an audible, 'Oof!' as the breath was knocked out of his lungs. While he was still splayed on the ground, a circle display burst into life underneath his torso, bearing his name and designation number. The word 'FAIL' burned in bright red letters. "Hurts so good..." He groaned.
"Good block," Canary complimented, reaching down and offering a hand to pull him up to his feet. Once he was upright, she continued, "But did anyone see what he did wrong?"
"Ooh, ooh!" Robin was practically vibrating in place, "He hit on teacher and got served?" He held up his hand, and Hawkgirl immediately reached over and high-fived him for the excellent insult.
"Dude!" Kid Flash's cheeks flushed almost as red as his hair.
Visibly amused by the comment, Canary fondly shook her head at their antics, "He allowed me to dictate the terms of-"
"Oh, please," Superboy's derisive interjection immediately earned everyone's attention. His arms were firmly crossed, mouth set in a deep frown. "With my powers, the battle's always on my terms. I'm a living weapon... and this is a waste of my time."
Usually Ski'Lira would intervene, but seeing the look on Dinah's face, she was wholly content to let her handle this situation. After all, she was selected to be their combat mentor for a reason.
"Prove it," Black Canary asked, voice calm, but stern.
Uncrossing his arms, Superboy stepped up to the challenge. Kid Flash wisely backed out of the danger zone as his place in the ring was swapped.
The two combatants were evenly matched in height, putting Superboy eye to eye with Black Canary, both slipping into textbook fighting stances. Though it was immediately clear from the ease of Black Canary's movement who was more skilled.
Naturally, Superboy was the first to throw a punch, steadfast in his goal in proving that strength and power outweighed competence. Black Canary dodged the punch, limbs nearly fluid with her grace, snagging his outstretched arm and bodily flipping him up and over her. Just as Kid Flash had before him, he ended up laying on his back, disoriented.
Robin burst out laughing, earning himself a sharp nudge in the ribs courtesy of Aqualad's elbow. He attempted to muffle his mad cackling with his hands, but it did little to dampen the noise.
Growling, Superboy surged to his feet, his displeasure fully evolved into fury. There was no doubt that if he actually possessed laser vision, Black Canary would have two extra holes in her head.
"You're angry," Black Canary observed, calm as ever. "Good, but don't react. Channel that anger into-"
Heedless of her advice, the Kryptonian blindly charged forward, hands poised to grab at her. Flipping over him easily, Canary crouched under his shoddy attempt at an elbow jab. Her foot hooked around his ankles, knocking him off his feet with the same move she used to take down Kid Flash. The circular display sounded underneath him, proclaiming the attempt a failure.
Dinah offered her hand, but she was rebuffed. Grunting, Superboy clambered to his feet of his own volition. "That's it, I'm done."
At his words, the light of the training floor blinked off in response to the verbal command, ridding the space of the eerily bright light. "Training is mandatory. Batman's orders." Canary reminded him as he prepared to stalk off.
That tidbit seemed to reach past the haze of anger and bore straight into the logical part of his brain. None of them wanted to risk Batman finding out they'd disobeyed his direct instructions, as it impacted their chances of going on missions. He wouldn't take it kindly if Superboy skipped training for purely petty reasons.
Canary considered him for a moment before turning her attention to the rest of the team. "Maybe a different demonstration is necessary. Hawkgirl?"
She was unable to help the excited flutter of her wings, something which did not go unnoticed by her fellows judging by the fondly exasperated looks she was sent. Stepping into the ring, she took Superboy's place as he stomped off angrily to the side. At least he was still watching.
"Armor off, if you would," Black Canary requested.
Giving a nod, she slipped off her gauntlets and pauldrons, setting them on the ground. Her mace joined the pile of equipment, and she reveled in the disappointed looks she received from M'Gann and Wally when she made no indication of removing her helmet.
Just like Superboy, Hawkgirl was eye level with Dinah, though she knew that the older woman gained at least a couple of inches from her thick combat boots.
Ready, the training floor burst back into life, ready to register the next bout.
Ski'Lira wondered whether or not Dinah remembered the last time they had sparred, when she joined her and her parents for a few bouts in the makeshift ring outside of the house. She remembered getting locked into a hold by Canary, to which she purposefully dislocated her arm to escape, then promptly popped it back in to continue fighting. That stunt had earned her an immediate stop to the fight and a twenty minute lecture.
"I don't want a repeat of last time," Dinah warned her, eyes narrowing. So apparently she did remember. "Show them what they did wrong, no more than that."
That was easy enough to handle.
"Ready?"
Sliding into a fighting stance, Hawkgirl nodded tersely, "Always."
The moment she gave verbal confirmation, she mirrored the failed attempts of her teammates, aiming a clenched fist straight for Black Canary's torso. As she had been forewarned, the blonde grabbed her extended arm and began to carry out the throw. Instead, Ski'Lira jerked her weight to the side, twisting in place and bending her elbow, locking her previously trapped arm around the woman's neck. Never one to be held in place so easily, Dinah bent forward and pitched Hawkgirl up and over her back. Following through with the movement, Hawkgirl landed on her feet and immediately whipped around to face her.
They exchanged a few cursory blows just to retain the flow of the fight. Remembering Superboy's move, she replicated his attempt at a grab, though with far more finesse. As predicted, Canary dropped to carry out the leg sweep, and she allowed the hit to make contact. Instead of letting herself fall, she followed through, executing a neat roll, ending up with her feet safely back underneath her. Jumping up, she slid back into a fighting stance.
"Excellent," Canary praised, returning to a neutral stance, calling the fight to an end. Hawkgirl's circular display proclaimed the exercise a, 'SUCCESS', and her wings flared a little in pride. "Acting, not reacting. Hawkgirl, correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember Hawkwoman telling me about the rules of Thanagarian combat? What is the first rule?"
"Do not lose."
That earned her a slightly furrowed brow from Dinah, "I must be thinking of the wrong number. Second rule?"
"If you lose, you haven't trained hard enough."
That earned a few snickers from the present teens. Even the still-present J'onn cracked the smallest of amused grins.
"I'm trying to refer to the rule about emotions."
Understanding what she was being asked, Hawkgirl dutifully recited, "Number six, emotions on the field of battle must be honed like a weapon, or else they will make you unstable and vulnerable."
"When you let emotions rule the outcome of your fight, you lose the advantage. It's important to-" Canary was halted mid-lecture as an expansive holographic screen burst into life behind her, displaying Batman's scowling visage.
"Batman to the Cave," In an instant, the mood shifted, as Canary and J'onn repositioned so they could see the screen. "Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary."
A smaller screen appeared off to the left, depicting the menace in question. It appeared to be a metallic being of some sort, with bright orange hair and pointed ears. Its eyes lacked a pupil, the sclera solid black, with burning red irises. Scarcely did they get a close up view before the still image cut to a video of it systematically taking down members of the Justice League.
"The attacker was capable of studying, then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."
Well that explained why experienced heroes were struggling.
Kid Flash voiced their concerns aloud, "Whoa, one guy with the power of the entire League?"
"In the end, it took eight Leaguers to defeat and dismantle the android."
Hawkgirl's eyes widened slightly at that revelation. The last time she could think of so many Leaguers called in to combat against a single enemy was Wotan in July. She also couldn't help but wonder how upset her parents must be for missing a fight like this. The one week they opted to go on a lecture circuit overseas, this happened.
"An android?" Robin asked. "Who made it? T.O. Morrow?"
"Good guess, Robin, but Red Tornado doesn't think so."
"The technology bears the signature of Professor Ivo," J'onn informed them.
"Ivo?" Aqualad's brows furrowed in confusion. "But Ivo's dead."
Black Canary seemed to share his sentiment of incredulity. "So we all thought... or hoped."
"To make certain this threat is permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate S.T.A.R. Labs facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation." Yet another screen appeared, this one depicting a map of the routes in question. "Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo or anyone tries to recover the remains. You will split into undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks."
Pumping his fist into the air, Kid Flash shouted, "Yes! Road trip!"
Far less amused by the prospect, Superboy's displeased expression remained in full force, "So now we take out your trash."
Batman remained, as ever, unphased, "You had something better to do?"
Aqualad spoke up before Superboy could retort, "Coordinates received. On our way."
Perhaps today wouldn't be such a waste after all.
H
LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT
AUGUST 3RD, 2010
20:08 EDT
The six heavy duty trucks selected for this endeavor were carefully overseen by both S.T.A.R. Labs personnel and members of the Justice League as they were loaded with their cargo (both real and decoy). The remains of the android were already evenly divided between the two real vehicles.
Hidden away in a nearby copse of trees, well out of civilian (or otherwise) surveillance, the members of the Team were all waiting patiently astride specialty motorcycles. In the pursuit of remaining as inconspicuous as possible, they'd all swapped out of their standard uniforms for sturdy civilian gear and helmets.
Hawkgirl herself was wearing a thick black leather jacket clearly made for a masculine frame, the excess fabric obscuring the fold of her wings tucked tightly against her body. She'd pulled the zipper all the way up to her neck, protecting the potential vulnerability as best she could. Hers was the only helmet with a blacked out visor.
When they'd been handed their helmets by Black Canary (who had switched from combat instructor to makeshift quartermaster, setting them up with the equipment they needed for the mission), there had been another stir about a potential reveal of her face. Dinah had handed her the specially-crafted helmet with a grin.
"This used to be one of mine, just one of the many things we left behind when we evacuated the Mountain," She had explained. "Should fit just fine, and I double checked, and all the electronics inside still function. As long as you're okay being the only one with a hand me down."
"It's perfect," Ski'Lira insisted, taking the helmet. "Thank you."
Back in the present, Hawkgirl leaned back, stretching her arms up and over her head. They'd been waiting so long she could feel stiffness start to set in, and was determined to combat that before they spent hours on the road. It was lucky that they were all able to actually ride a motorcycle, or at least were capable enough to pretend.
It had come up during the briefing, thanks to Robin voicing his concern about the plan, citing his own years of experience patrolling the streets of Gotham. Apparently Aqualad had experience with similar vehicles in Atlantis, saying only that he'd have to adjust to the different aerodynamics. Kid Flash's reflexes were exceptional, literally superhuman, so his inexperience was easily compensated for via his powers. Sheepishly, Miss Martian had admitted she was probably going to use her telekinesis to keep herself upright until she could get the hang of it herself.
Superboy... Had remained silent. After he'd wordlessly straddled the bike and started it up with ease, he'd proven he could manage fairly well, but gave zero explanation as to why. If it had been included in the torrent of information fed to him via his telepathic education at Cadmus, that only brought up more questions.
It was just one of those mysteries that would remain unsolved, she supposed, as Superboy certainly wasn't going to tell.
Ski'Lira herself had been taught by Roy Harper two years ago, when they'd been left alone for a weekend at Oliver's penthouse in Star City. After growing restless from hours playing video games and watching movies (with an explicit ban on unsupervised sparring), Roy had come up with the idea to teach her how to ride a motorcycle. They'd snuck down into the private garage and absconded with Roy's bike, then he'd driven to a small abandoned airport to practice.
Needless to say, Oliver hadn't been happy when they'd returned to the penthouse at four in the morning, windswept and bearing more than a few road rashes between them. Her father had been even less happy when Oliver had to explain why his daughter was being returned missing a few layers of skin from her arm.
It was a weekend she still remembered with great fondness, even if she and Roy were no longer on speaking terms.
"S.T.A.R. Boston is a go."
"S.T.A.R. Manhattan is go."
Shaking her head to clear it out of an unwanted reverie, Ski'Lira leaned forward and revved her bike into life, syncing with the others. As a pack, they sped out of the trees and towards the road, splitting into two groups once tires hit asphalt.
Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Miss Martian trailed the truck heading to Boston, while herself, Superboy, and Robin were tasked with escorting the Manhattan truck. Honestly, a part of her was hoping for at least something interesting to happen, else they were in for a very long, monotonous day.
H
Bored out of her skull, Ski'Lira's mind wandered as much as she would allow. She wasn't about to let her guard down while actively on a mission, but she was also... very bored. This was far from her first time escorting an armored vehicle with something precious inside, both as a hero and as a civilian. The tedium of this particular instance reminded her more sharply of the times she'd either ridden along as a passenger or drove a truck herself bearing artifacts being shipped to and from the museum. Though at least then, she could listen to music or audiobooks to pass the time.
They'd spent a good chunk of time in silence, almost playing a game of who could hold out the longest before breaking it. Really, it was almost a given that Robin would lose. Increasing the speed just enough to pull up alongside Superboy, he activated the comm channel tuned just for the three of them.
"If dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster?" He mused aloud, "See, instead of things going wrong, they go right."
Hawkgirl let out a short, frustrated noise, turning on her own speaker, "The English language is unnecessarily complicated as it is. You're somehow managing to make it worse."
Turning his head back, he took one hand off the steering to snap off a cheeky salute in her direction.
Superboy let out an unhappy grunt at his antics, drawing Robin's attention. "Uh... clearly you're not feeling the aster. What's wrong?"
".. Canary," He answered after a moment, "What business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?"
"Taking down stronger guys is part of the gig. Canary learned the hard way. Same with Batman and well... me."
Clearly not satisfied with that answer, Superboy surged ahead, bike wobbling dangerously for a moment from the sudden onset speed before he managed to readjust properly. Hawkgirl took the opportunity, revving forward and stealing the newly vacant spot next to Robin. Using the HUD on her visor to its full capability, she altered the channels, opening a private link between her and Robin.
"I really don't understand it," she began.
"What?"
"How did he beat me in a fight?!"
Letting out an amused snort, Robin's shoulders were visibly shaking from his efforts to suppress his laughter. "Maybe you're not as good as you think you are?"
Even though the teasing was fairly blatant, she still felt the need to defend her honor. "We both know that's not true. He was merely lucky... I refuse to let him beat me again."
"That's the spirit!" He crowed, "Buuuuut, if he does win again, I reserve the right to mock you mercilessly for it."
"If he manages to do so, then I will have earned your ridicule and I will do nothing to stop you."
Pulling his bike a little further to the left, he brought himself within arm's reach. He stretched his arm out across the space, holding out a gloved pinkie. "Swear on it? Just for posterity."
She didn't hesitate to link her pinkie with his, "I swear." After nearly two years of knowing Robin, and being coerced into countless pinkie swears, she was slowly getting used to the odd practice. "If Superboy beats me in a fair fight, you are allowed to laugh at me, and I will not kill you for it."
They drifted apart, not wanting to risk a potential accident.
Resigning herself to another long, uninterrupted stretch of no talking and endless cornfields, a sudden noise from the nearby fields put her immediately on the alert. Leaping from the crops came a horde of strange silver and green constructs, resembling simians in shape and noise. The monkey-like robots slammed into the side of the heavily secured truck, robotic vocal chords hooting with laughter.
Just as she was about to call in the disturbance, the group channel opened. "Robin, Superboy, Hawkgirl, our truck is under attack!" Aqualad's timing was impeccable, really. Or rather, whoever was clearly orchestrating this two-pronged assault had impeccable timing.
"Kind of figured," Robin snapped back.
Rolling her eyes at the lack of communication, she responded directly to their leader, "As is ours, preparing to engage."
The present trio returned to their initial triangle formation, trying to maintain close proximity to the besieged truck. By this point, they were so close she didn't need the comm unit's aid to hear the others through the helmets and wind.
"I hate monkeys," Superboy muttered to himself.
Robin, on the other hand, was unnervingly enthused by this turn of events. "Robot monkeys! Ha! Totally Ivo's tweaked style." Activating the display on his bike, the rear half detached entirely, flying off into a hover nearby as the rest of the remaining parts shifted into a one-wheeled vehicle. "Hey, hey! Switch your rides to battle mode!"
"No point," Superboy merely jumped off his bike, landing on top of the truck.
Forced to leap off of his own, newly changed vehicle thanks to Superboy's bike careening sideways into his, Robin shot out a grapple and hooked onto the back of the truck. "... Or not."
Having dodged to the other lane, efficiently avoiding what would have been a three-motorcycle pileup. She shot forward to rejoin the convoy, keeping pace by the truck's side, which was crawling with robotic monkeys. One hand on the steering to keep the vehicle steady, she used her free hand to start plucking robots off the side paneling. She merely tossed them down onto the pavement, letting physics do the work for her in destroying them.
It became apparently very quickly that the process was far too slow, and that her best bet would be to overtake the truck and force it to come to a stop. Unfortunately, she didn't get the chance to implement her hastily made plan, as three of the little robot devils leapt straight at her face.
Their added weight and movement thoroughly disrupted her balance, and she felt the moment she lost complete control of the bike in the split second that it happened. Feeling it tipping dangerously to the left, she hopped up onto the seat and jumped to the right.
Impacting into the side of the truck, she barely managed to get her fingers clasped onto the lip of the truck's roof. She was intact for the moment, even if she was dangling somewhat precariously from her perch, and couldn't access her wings thanks to their confines.
Taking the tried and true approach, she drew back her booted feet, kicking them into the metal and creating makeshift footholds out of the newly created dents. It gave her enough support that she was able to readjust her grip, and pulled herself up and onto the roof.
She made it up just in time to see Superboy get blasted in the eyes via a green laser emanating from a robotic simian's optics. Disoriented from the pain, he couldn't dodge as four more grabbed him around the limbs. They activated propulsions, ferrying their protesting cargo off the truck and onto the road behind them.
If she weren't so focused on maintaining her grip on the roof of the truck, she probably would have laughed at the ridiculous image. Instead, she punched and kicked every construct in her reach. Her attention was drawn away for a brief second when Robin joined her, armed with twin escrima sticks.
She really wished she had her mace right about now, but she'd been forced to leave it behind along with the rest of her armor. Her weapon was far too recognizable to be seen on a mission like this.
"This isn't exactly how I thought this mission would go!" Robin shouted at her as he ducked to avoid a lunging construct. "At least I didn't have to break out the road trip games!"
Superboy came into view, steadfastly jumping to close distance with the truck and rejoining the fray. But before he could offer any aid, the two back tires exploded. With the vehicle veering wildly side to side, Robin made a beeline for the cab. Tearing open the door, he yelled at the driver, only to physically grab the man and leap away safely onto the side of the road, disappearing into a swath of corn stalks.
Hawkgirl remained at her position, determined to protect their cargo even if the vehicle itself had become a hazard. She was in the perfect place to prevent... whatever these things were, from absconding with the crates, as they were no doubt inside.
She regretted that decision a few seconds later.
The truck's undercarriage was in shambles, and the metal underneath shuddered before the entire vehicle flipped over. She was sent falling off the roof, thoroughly flung from the tumbling truck. If her wings weren't still trapped in her jacket, she could have easily caught herself.
But she wasn't exactly that lucky.
Landing on the asphalt with a sickening thump, she skidded across pavement, rolling over a few times herself before coming to a halt. She ended up staring up at the sky, vision swimming.
Immediately, she started to catalogue the state of her body. She definitely hadn't hit her head, which was the biggest concern. A few of her ribs were definitely bruised, if not cracked, and already her left shoulder and left knee were protesting at movement. It was almost a given that her full range of motion was shot, and probably would be so for a few days. At the very least, the thick material of her jacket had prevented another road rash incident.
But the real kicker was the sight of the remaining monkey horde flying off with the remains of the android that they had been tasked to protect. Superboy was chasing after them with singular focus, and Robin's attempt at calling him back were to no avail.
If either of her parents heard the long string of Thanagarian swears that proceeded to spill out of her mouth, she probably would have earned a cuff upside the head, or a grounding.
Mindful of her injuries, Ski'Lira carefully climbed to her feet, resigning herself to a slow shuffle as she moved towards Robin.
"Aqualad to Robin. We've lost our cargo. Did you-"
And just when she thought it couldn't get any worse. Honestly, this was starting to make Santa Prisca look like a cakewalk.
"It's gone," Robin answered, sounding resigned. "And so is one of my partners."
Their leader wasted no time in attempting to contact their wayward teammate, "Aqualad to Superboy. Radio your position, we'll help you."
"I don't need help! I don't want any!"
"Superboy?"
She inhaled and exhaled in an effort to tamp down the sudden spike of rage at his blatant disrespect of their chosen leader and ignoring his direct orders. This pattern of behavior was starting to become intolerable. A moment later, she regretted that, as her ribs were not happy with her fully inflating her lungs.
"I think he ditched his comm," Robin suggested, finally turning to face her and doing a double take as he saw the way she was awkwardly holding herself.
"Super," Kid Flash huffed, joining in on the conversation. "Now we can't even track him."
Robin's brows were furrowed, staring at her in silent question. She gave him a nod, trying to reassure him without alerting the others that she was fine enough to continue. As long as she didn't get another beat down today, she'd probably be in fighting shape tomorrow morning, albeit stiff.
"He's out of my telepathic range," Miss Martian admitted sheepishly. "This Professor Ivo, if he is alive, seems to be two steps ahead of us. M-maybe w-we should contact Red Tornado?"
"Tornado always tells us to handle things ourselves," Aqualad insisted. "And the mission can still succeed if we recover the parts before they're reassembled."
"Well, that's a great plan, except for the part about us not knowing where to look!" Kid Flash pointed out with exasperation. There was no doubt he'd thrown his hands up in the air to emphasize.
Meanwhile, Robin's attention had drifted to something on the road, and he was quick to voice his thoughts, "Maybe we do..." Crouching down, he hooked a cord from his glove's computer to a port on the back of the... more intact monkey robots left behind by their brethren.
Typing furiously, Robin continued to speak, "We'd have heard by now if the decoy trucks had been attacked. So how did these monkeys know exactly which trucks to target?" A glowing holographic display illuminated the triumphant grin as it appeared on his face. "Ha! The parts have GPS! The monkeys can track the signal... Which means I can track them with the one I captured... It looks like both sets of parts are converging on..."
His masked eyes widened, looking genuinely distressed. "Gotham City..."
"That far south?" Aqualad questioned. "M'Gann and I won't get there anytime soon. I'm sending Kid on ahead to meet you. Aqualad out."
Robin stood up, activating another button on his glove. From a ways down the road, Hawkgirl heard the remains of his motorcycle purr back into life.
"Definitely a disaster, heavy on the 'did'."
Hawkgirl resisted the urge to groan, "Please tell me this won't be a recurring thing."
"No promises," He smirked, his bike pulling up autonomously next to him, waiting for its rider. "Think you can keep up? That was a pretty big hit you took. I don't think you can ride with that shoulder."
"Who said anything about riding?" Unzipping the front of her jacket, she let the heavy material drop to the ground, showing off the red tank top she'd been wearing underneath. Finally freed from their confines, her wings snapped out to their full length. "You need roads, I don't."
"Uh uh," He gestured pointedly to the patches of bruising that were beginning to mar the skin of her left shoulder. "You sure?"
"I've flown with worse," She assured him, and she was telling the truth. "It's just bruising. Lead the way, I'll be right above you."
H
GOTHAM CITY
AUGUST 3RD, 2010
21:21 EDT
The streets on the outskirts of Gotham City were calm, a far cry from the chaos that usually reigned throughout the city when night fell. Hawkgirl had kept up a steady pace flying above Robin's cycle, trusting him to lead the way. After all, he was the second most knowledgeable person in Gotham when it came to its maze-like network of infrastructure. True to her word, she'd managed to keep up just fine, as unlike Robin, she wasn't limited by the flow of traffic.
She caught a blur of out of place yellow, quickly identifying Kid Flash as he rushed in, slowing down just enough that he was able to speak to Robin. Judging by the angle of the Boy Wonder's helmet, they had opened a private frequency of their own.
Speaking of which, her HUD pinged an alert as she was added to a new channel. "Hawkgirl, you still with us?" Robin asked.
Instead of offering a verbal reply, she opted for the more amusing option, Tucking her wings in tight, she allowed her body to fall into a steep dive. Just as she was about to drop into their line of sight, she heard Kid Flash speak up.
"I think she fell behi- AHHHH!" His shriek of surprise as she swooped down off to his left was music to her ears.
"Still here," She swept back up into the sky once she was flying at a steady pace again.
"We are confiscating that helmet at the first possible opportunity. It is way too intimidating." Wally complained.
"Good luck," She huffed. She'd definitely be relaying this bit of the mission in great detail to Black Canary after this, as her gift had been put to excellent use. "Have you figured out the destination yet?"
"Looks like Superboy managed to divert the android," Robin answered. "It's at Gotham Academy."
"Coordinates? I can get there faster with a direct route."
"Sending them your way now."
It only took a moment for her HUD to display a map, the location pinged in bright red, along with another marker for her current location. Studying it, she adjusted her course, readying herself for another fight.
H
Oddly enough, this was a first for Hawkgirl, physically stepping inside of a human school. It had been seven years since she'd arrived on this planet, but the opportunity had never come up. There also had been some effort to avoid the concept, seeing as Hal Jordan and Roy Harper's combined horror stories had thoroughly put her off the idea. She was perfectly content with her online schooling and practical education.
Having arrived long before the others, she was left to search for a good entry point on her own. A crashing noise drew her attention towards the gymnasium. Through the massive windows lining the topmost part of the exterior wall, she saw Superboy picking himself up after being bodily thrown through concrete by the newly intact android. Her criteria switched from 'good entry point' to 'fastest entry point'.
Mentally apologizing for the property damage she was about to cause (though it probably wouldn't make much difference considering how badly the building was already off from the android's rampage), she tucked her wings in tight and plummeted headfirst through the window.
Her helmet absorbed the impact, and her sudden appearance startled who could only be Professor Ivo off of his seat, where he'd been watching gleefully. He caught himself before he could fall completely from the bench.
Making full use of her momentum, she flipped herself and slammed her booted feet into the android's chest, driving it away from the prone Superboy. The good news was that she had successfully distracted the robotic being from her teammate while he recovered. The bad news was that she had successfully distracted the robotic being and now she had its full attention.
"Access: Superman," The android's voice was an empty monotone, displaying no signs of free will, completely under Ivo's command. Its words were all the warning she got before receiving a strength and speed-enhanced punch straight to the face.
Managing to keep her ground, Hawkgirl's heels dug into the lacquered floorboards, cracking and cratering beneath her feet. The electronics on the inside of her helmet were a lost cause, and a massive spider web crack spiraled out from the center of the visor. Shaking off the hit, she let out a war cry, lashing out with her own fists in quick succession to the android's torso. Weaving underneath another enhanced punch, she ended up behind it.
She kicked into the small of its back with as much power as she could muster, actually sending it stumbling forward a few steps. But one of its metal hands snapped backwards in an unnatural movement, grabbing her ankle and yanking her towards it. Her head impacted with the ground sharply once as she was dragged upwards, ending up dangling fully upside down from its firm grip.
It seemed to assess her for a moment, and she was unceremoniously tossed off to the side.
A casual toss from a being with Kryptonian-level strength was still potentially deadly.
Hawkgirl was sent airborne, going the entire length of the gym and crashing into the bleachers.
For the second time that day she was left staring dazedly above her. But she didn't have the privilege of time to gather her bearings. Every second she laid still was another second that could be used as an advantage against her. She set to the task of extricating herself from the her-shaped hole in the demolished structure. The sheer amount of generated debris was not making the task easy.
With her thoroughly indisposed, the robot was given free reign to dole out a similar beatdown on Superboy. If he weren't Kryptonian, no doubt the teen would be a smear across the floor. Instead, he was merely left panting and prone at the construct's feet. Before it could deal out a decisive blow, Kid Flash sped into the gymnasium, dropping to his knees and locking his arms around Superboy. "Yoink!"
Both of them disappeared in the blink of an eye. Guess the cavalry had finally arrived.
From one of the darkened corners, a handful of birdarangs winged straight at the android's head, only for it to intone, "Martian Manhunter," going fully intangible. The birdarangs passed harmlessly through, stopping only when they hit the wall behind it, exploding and causing further damage to the school.
"Access: Red Tornado,"
Swirls of red-tinted wind obscured the android's legs, which promptly rushed at the three heroes pinned in the corner. The sheer force from the buffeting wings sent them careening away from their enemy. Robin and Superboy somehow ended up landing close to Hawkgirl, while Kid Flash was shot over to the complete opposite side of the gym.
"Having a bit of trouble there?" Robin asked, taking the time to poke fun at Hawkgirl's predicament even as he himself struggled to put himself upright.
Snarling, she redoubled her efforts to escape. "I am going to rip this thing apart!"
"Have to get up, first!"
Before she had been dubious about the severity of the damage to her ribs, but judging from the pain radiating from her torso, that last hit had been more than enough to upgrade the severity from 'probably bruised, maybe cracked' to 'definitely cracked'. Throwing off the last of the debris, she rejoined the fray, determined not to get taken out again.
Meanwhile, the android had switched its power set back to Superman, using its re-enhanced strength to bat away Superboy after he had leapt recklessly forward.
"Martian Manhunter," previously rigid arms turned into long, elastic tendrils, forcing them all on the defensive. Both Superboy and Robin were driven back by the new method of attack, but she managed to duck low and dodge quickly enough that she made it through the gauntlet of whirling limbs.
Up close with it, she focused on hammering fists and feet into the metal chassis, determined to deal as much damage as she could before it inevitably switched abilities. Its arms retracted back to normal size, only to abruptly extend outwards again, flinging her straight back at the bleachers.
This time she managed to catch herself, flaring out her wings so she landed upright at the top of the bleachers. Now it felt like they were stuck at a complete standstill here, stuck in a constant loop of being thwarted by the android's roster of powers. It had taken eight members of the League to take this thing down the first time. Their chances weren't looking great, especially since two of their team members still had yet to arrive.
Kid Flash sped towards the metallic being in his second attempt to engage it directly, only to be quickly grabbed around the torso. His arms trapped at his side and feet lifted off the ground, the speedster was thoroughly pinned. A pained noise left his throat as the android started to squeeze.
Catching the sound of a scraping boot above, a moment later there was a light thwip as an arrow shot through the air, headed straight for the monster's head.
"Martian Manhunter," Phasing once more, the arrow continued unobstructed on its trajectory, lodging into the ground near Robin's hiding spot.
Head whipping back, she tracked the arrow's origin point, fully expecting to see Roy Harper or Green Arrow. It came from the same window she'd broken earlier, but all she caught was a flash of long, pale blonde hair and tanned skin before her attention was diverted back to another of Superboy's failed attempts to engage.
Filing that away for later, she snapped out her wings and leapt into a hover, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Robin tossed out more birdarangs, only for the android to dodge them all easily, putting the black-haired boy straight in its sights.
"Superman," for a moment, nothing happened, as the android remained motionless. A red glow began to pulse from its eyes, lasers shooting straight for the vulnerable Robin. Kid Flash sped in immediately, tackling his best friend to the side, sending them both skidding to relative safety.
Dropping her altitude, Hawkgirl kicked out at the construct's head, forcing it to snap to the side from the decisive strike. The thrill of victory was short lived, as it did something new.
"Captain Atom," Holding a palm outstretched in her direction, the hole in its hand burst with white light, a beam of pure energy slamming into her torso, blasting her up and into the ceiling.
In her confusion of what had just happened, she attempted to flap her wings and fly herself down to ground level, only to realize with some horror that her limbs and wings were tangled in the half-destroyed rafters and permanent scaffolding holding up the gym's roof.
Any and all guilt that she was feeling about the amount of damage they'd done to this learning institution had completely vanished by this point. This was the last time she willingly stepped into a school. Roy was right, high school was hell.
Not wanting to risk further injury (her primary worry was dislocation now, along with fully breaking one of her ribs), she carefully tried to untangle herself from the twisted mess of metal. With little else to do, she kept a careful eye on the battle. If someone was in great danger, she would a thousand percent willingly risk dislocation to tear herself out and provide aid.
At the moment, Superboy was the last man standing, something he seemed to realize as he glanced around the gym, tracking his teammate's current positions. Now he actually seemed... cautious.
"... Access Black Canary," he muttered to himself, thoroughly confusing her and making her wonder if he'd experienced a brain injury. Considering how much he'd been knocked around by something with a power level equal to his own, it was highly plausible.
"Oh, yawn..." Professor Ivo made his presence known, exaggerating his boredom. "Normally, Amazo would study and mimic your abilities during battle, but what's the point? You're all such poor copies of the originals..."
The pack of robotic monkeys perched around him like a flock of birds burst into mocking laughter that echoed strangely thanks to their synthetic vocal chords.
"So everyone keeps saying," Superboy's face suddenly twisted from contemplation to rage. "It makes me angry!" Leaping straight at Ivo, the scientist let out an undignified squawk. "Want to see me channel that anger?!"
She was even more confused by his behavior now. They'd seen his angry outbursts enough by now to pick up on his tells. This seemed too... dramatic for him.
"Great, he's gone ballistic again," Kid Flash bemoaned, voice carrying across the expansive room.
"Maybe not..." Robin seemed to have noticed the same discrepancy in behavior that she had.
With Superboy heading straight for him, Ivo and his monkey minions were forced to scatter. "Amazo, protect your master!" Ivo shouted desperately, "Priority Alpha!"
"Captain Atom," Amazo announced another power switch, and she couldn't help her small wince of sympathy as Superboy was hit with the same energy blast that had launched her out of the battle.
"Anyone want to play keep away?!" Robin shouted as he kicked out at Professor Ivo as he attempted to escape via fly monkey.
"Me, me!" Kid Flash volunteered, zooming straight towards the vulnerable engineer.
"Access, Superman," The speedster was knocked off his feet as Amazo drop kicked the ground, sending out a shockwave.
Yet another birdarang was thrown at Amazo's head courtesy of Robin. The android, as expected, switched to its intangible mode, only for Superboy to drop down directly in front of it, directing his fist through the phased head. It reacted instinctively, switching to Superman's power set.
But that left Superboy's fist lodged firmly within Amazo's now-solid head. Fragile machinery disrupted, sparks started to ripple across the metal surface of its face, exploding violently a second later.
The headless Amazo dropped to the floor, smoke curling up in a lazy tendril towards the ceiling from the sparking hole of its neck. Robin wasted no time, running up to the android's side and kneeling down next to it. "Help me disassemble him, now!"
After what seemed like hours of struggling, Hawkgirl finally managed to disentangle herself from the warped debris without further injury. She merely allowed herself to drop from the ceiling, heading straight for the android's remains, intent on aiding Robin (and carrying out some retribution for humiliating her).
"Dude, the guy has no head," Kid Flash pointed out, somewhat needlessly.
A new, familiar voice interrupted, "Don't take any chances!" Aqualad charged into the gymnasium, more than a little late to the party, with Miss Martian following close behind.
The latter headed straight for Superboy, helping him up to his feet. "Superboy, are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he insisted, actually smiling a little. "Feeling the aster."
"NO!" Shrieking, Hawkgirl whirled and pointed an accusing finger at the Boy Wonder sitting across from her, startling him into momentarily stopping his work. "I knew you weren't going to drop it! You've corrupted him!" She opted to deal with her burst of frustration, a culmination of every ill feeling she'd experienced in the last hour, in a healthy and productive way. Reaching down, she tore one of Amazo's arms straight out of the socket.
Dropping the dismembered limb with a huff, she pointedly ignored the wary looks she garnered from her teammates, instead opting to continue the disassembly with a little more finesse.
"Hey..." Wally's head turned from side to side, eyes flitting over the immediate area in a desperate search. "Where's Ivo?"
H
MOUNT JUSTICE
AUGUST 4TH, 2010
01:06 EDT
It was a relief to be back in her standard uniform. The helmet Canary had gifted her was nice, but she had grown tired of seeing the world through a spiderweb crack. Also it had gotten a little stuffy once all the electronics properly filtering air through had been destroyed. Even more important, her mace was a reassuring weight at her hip once more.
Of course, they couldn't relax quite yet, as they had a debriefing to get through.
"The Amazo android is in pieces again, safely being analyzed at the two separate S.T.A.R. Labs," Aqualad was nearing the end of his part of the verbal report.
Hawkgirl had given her own statement partway through, as he had not been present during the actual battle with Amazo. He had taken back over during the course of their effort to take the android apart and continue the delivery, which had taken a few more grueling hours of travel. They'd had to call in a couple of the decoy trucks to divert their planned routes to pick up the cargo in order to properly ferry it to their destinations. And then they had to escort those vehicles.
This time they'd merely split into two teams and ridden in the backs of the trucks for the last leg of the journey. Which was even more boring than their motorcycle ride had been, despite a far shorter travel time. During the journey, Robin had taken the initiative and checked over her ribs, confirming that none had been broken, just cracked.
"But Ivo escaped. And since he originated the tech, he's arguably more dangerous than the android." Aqualad finished his report, falling respectfully silent.
"Capturing the professor will be a League priority," Black Canary assured, sounding less than happy about the situation.
J'onn's arms crossed, "But we understand your mission encountered... other complications."
Every member of the Team looked at Superboy, who in turn looked to Robin, chagrined.
Batman stepped forward before any accusations could be thrown around, "Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the League."
"The... whole League?" Superboy ventured, tentatively hopeful.
"Given time, yes. Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads." That earned a small smile from Superboy. "Of course, there's no shame in asking for help. That's why the League exists… Because there are some problems even we can't handle individually."
"Please," Robin scoffed. "If we needed help, we'd never get the chance to ask!" He revealed the arrow he'd been steadfastly holding to for the rest of the mission, taken from the floor of the gym. Brandishing it in an accusatory manner, he barreled forward, "Look familiar? You were following us! Babysitting! You still don't trust us."
It was Green Arrow's turn to amble forward, taking the arrow with a critical eye.
"We didn't follow you," Batman insisted.
Removing an arrow from his own quiver, Green Arrow held the two up side by side, revealing the stark differences in structure.
Like a deflated balloon, the fight left Robin, "And that's not your arrow..." He perked up once again, realization sparking in his eyes. "But that means-!"
"Speedy!" Kid Flash finished happily.
"He has our backs," Aqualad agreed.
Darting over, Wally liberated the arrow from Green Arrow's grip, "Souvenir!"
But Ski'Lira wasn't feeling any of the good cheer. If it had been Roy, she would have complained very loudly about his shoddy work, firing one arrow and then leaving. The heat of battle could sometimes muddle the mind, but if she had seen Roy, she would know it.
Brow furrowing, she glanced over to see that Batman was staring at her with a pensive look of his own.
A few feet away, Superboy awkwardly cleared his throat and stepped towards Black Canary, "I'm ready."
Dinah sounded heartily relieved at the news, that he was finally accepting the help he needed, "Good, because I'm here."
H
When the others began to disperse, Ski'Lira lingered. There must have been something about her body language that alerted Batman, as he remained behind.
"Hawkgirl, is there something you wish to add?" Batman cut straight to the chase once they were assuredly alone, and that included out of earshot of a super-hearing Kryptonian.
"I think that my teammates are blinded by sentiment," She began, lips pursing. "Roy definitely wasn't there."
That seemed to surprise him, "You saw the archer?"
"Only a glimpse," Shrugging, she was internally wishing she had more to offer. "Long blonde hair, tan skin. Definitely not the pasty redhead I know."
"That's all?"
"Like I said, not much."
"Nonetheless, your aid has been appreciated," he paused, voice switching from stern mentor to something a little softer. "How are your injuries?"
"Manageable," she answered truthfully, shifting her posture a bit and wincing at the bite of her ribs. "A few days of healing, at most. It would have been worse if my jacket wasn't lightly armored... It would have been better if I had been allowed to take my mace."
His lips quirked into the palest possible imitation of a smile, "Go home and get some rest. You've earned it."
Giving him a nod, she offered a wave in farewell before heading towards the Zeta Tube, following the lead of her other non-Cave residents and heading home. She fully intended to collapse on her bed and finally power through the rest of 1984 (or at least as much as she could manage before passing out from sheer physical exhaustion).
However, she found herself stopping after only a few paces, a question burning in her mind. "Batman? Who do you think it was?"
He remained silent for a moment, to the point that she was sure she wasn't going to receive an answer, until he finally gave his reply. "… An unknown."