MOUNT JUSTICE
OCTOBER 10TH, 2010
16:58 EDT

Few things were more satisfying in this world than successfully keeping a Kryptonian stuck in a headlock. Oh sure, Conner was putting up an excellent fight, thrashing around in her grip, but when she tightened the strain of her biceps against his throat, he was forced to rethink his strategy. Meanwhile, the rest of the Team were enraptured in their own one on one fights, with one glaring exception.

Namely, a certain speedster with a broken arm. Though being sidelined had done nothing to assuage his inherent need to make snarky comments, if anything they'd increased twofold.

In her very brief moment of distraction, Conner dropped his center of gravity, forcing her to release him lest she be dragged down to the floor. Her balance was still disrupted by the move, so when he dove at her to grapple her in turn, she was unable to dodge in time. Conner's fingers latched around one wing, using the feathered appendage to practically throw her onto the ground.

He stood over her, eyes shining with visible surprise, mouth agape. "Did that just... work?"

Hawkgirl snarled at him, "It won't a second time."

Surprise faded in favor of playful confidence, "You sure? You seem a little slow today... Need a break like Wally?"

For his information yes, she was tired, because it was close to the end of the training session and keeping up with the Kryptonian's endless well of stamina was a challenge. But she wasn't going to admit it. Instead, she tensed and prepared to spring. "I'll show you slow." Diving at his legs, she tackled him, his head impacting the floor with a sharp crack.

Not from his skull, but from the floor.

While they did a semi-frantic inspection to see if they'd unintentionally damaged the concrete, the temporarily incapacitated Wally was being pampered by an overeager Captain Marvel. He presented the speedster with a glass of juice complete with a teeny tiny umbrella.

Wolf was also taking this moment to nap, curled up fast asleep near Wally's armchair.

"Pineapple juice?" Wally took a long draw of the drink. "Ahh, just what the doctor ordered."

"How's the arm doing, Wally?" Captain Marvel asked with his usual enthusiastic sincerity.

"Well, nothing wrong that nachos can't cure."

The older hero perked up, "Nachos? Oh! I'll go get you some!" He sped off back towards the kitchen like the overeager Labrador puppy he truly was at heart. A moment later, Robin was bodily thrown halfway across the ring by a grinning Artemis, securing her victory. M'Gann and Kaldur's bout was no less intense, the two trading blows back and forth like an intricate dance.

"Good work, everyone," at Black Canary's call, all movement halted. Hawkgirl and Superboy scrambled up from the ground, where they'd confirmed the presence of a small hairline crack that would hopefully be overlooked. "In fact, it's been a very productive week."

Artemis scoffed at the compliment, "Yeah, for everyone except Kid Malingerer."

"Hey!" The speedster's eyes narrowed in offense. "Arm broken in combat against the Injustice League, here!" He, somewhat unnecessarily, held up his white cast for emphasis. Hawkgirl couldn't help but roll her eyes at his dramatics. Dealing with Wally had been nearly insufferable as he milked his relatively minor injury for all it was worth.

Canary, wisely, ignored the brewing verbal spar. "I've really enjoyed being your, uh, den mother this week."

"Recognized: Zatara, 11"

Anything the vigilante could have said further was disrupted by the arrival of the magician. Hawkgirl's mace hummed to life at her hip in anticipation, reacting to the aura of magic that always surrounded him. The Leaguer stopped at the holo-keyboard near the transporter, prompting the computer to speak once more. "Access Granted, Zatanna, Zatara A03. Authorization: Zatara, 11."

Out of a second burst of light came a slim girl, pitch black hair and blue eyes that immediately started looking around. Apprehension rolled off of her in waves.

"Zatanna, this is the Team. Team, my daughter, Zatanna." Zatara presented the girl with a stage-like flourish of his hand, an ingrained habit.

Ever the friendliest of their number, M'Gann flew forward first, a beaming smile in place. "Hi! I'm-" Only for her introduction to be cut short as Robin darted between them, which was... definitely unexpected.

"Robin!" He cleared his throat, forcing himself to tone down the eagerness. Ski'Lira shared a meaningful, long-suffering look with Kaldur. "I mean, I'm Robin. Heh. She's Megan, and that's Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, Hawkgirl, and Conner."

"Welcome to the Cave," Kaldur greeted with a slight incline of his head.

"Thanks," Zatanna crossed one arm over the other, discomforted by the influx of attention.

Robin, still a little flustered judging by his stilted speech pattern, asked, "So, uh, are you joining The Team?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," stepping forward, Zatara swept his elegant top hat off his head, holding it tight to his chest. "This is strictly a visit." He turned to address the only other adult (currently) present in the room. "But I am sorry we missed the training. It's something from which Zatanna could benefit."

Training? From Black Canary? Considering she was a League kid, it would make sense for Zatanna to be instructed on some kind of self-defense, and Black Canary was undoubtedly the best choice for it. Though, it was a little odd he would bring her for Team training if he was against her membership.

A mind link settled into her brain before she could muse further.

"Do the rest of you get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?" M'Gann spoke first.

"Not just Zatara." Superboy corrected. "I mean, why is Marvel still hanging around?"

Hawkgirl was horrifically disappointed, as they were doing nothing to stem their physical reactions to their 'speech', gesturing and turning to look at the others as they 'spoke'. Seems like there was something new to add to the training docket, not reacting to mental conversations.

"Because we like having him around!" Wally insisted.

Artemis' irritation cut through like a knife. "You like having him around because he waits on you hand and foot!"

"And your point is...?"

"It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor." Eyes dropping to the ground, Kaldur's tone went a little solemn.

"Yeah, at least he trusted us." Robin added.

Superboy didn't seem to agree with that statement, immediately bursting out with, "If you ignore the fact we shouldn't have trusted him! He was a traitor! That machine nearly got M- All of us killed!"

"Are you guys having a psychic conversation?" Zatanna interrupted, earning startled looks from the teens. Or rather, most of them. "'Cause I can't decide if that's cool or really rude."

"You all really need to work on your subtlety." Hawkgirl deadpanned, finally making her opinion known. Based on the glares she earned in response, it wasn't an appreciated observation.

The commotion earned the attention of the adults, who were visibly disapproving for excluding the newcomer so early.

"Alright, fine!" Conner was the first to acquiesce, and there was little doubt in Ski'Lira's mind that it was purely because he couldn't stand the thought of Dinah's disapproval. "We were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since hsi attack, and the League hasn't told us anything."

"The League is searching for Tornado, as well as the other androids that invaded the Cave and their creator, T.O. Morrow." Black Canary assurance wasn't as powerful as he had hoped. "Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority."

Throwing his hands into the air, Robin took a step forward. "But you've found none of the above!"

"Not yet, but Tornado is Justice League." The emphasis she put on those words was not missed. "The Team is not to pursue this."

She really should have known that phrasing it that way would do nothing to deter them from wanting to. Logically, Ski'Lira understood that standing back and letting the Justice League spearhead the investigation was the safest option. Red Tornado wasn't just a member of the Justice League, he was also a member of the Justice Society. A formidable hero, he'd already taken them down once with very little effort on his part.

Not to mention the presence of two other androids that had proven to be equal to Tornado's power level.

The last time, they had barely escaped with their lives.

But logic was thrown out the window, in favor of acting upon the knife sharp sting of betrayal.

Ski'Lira took advantage of the still-intact mental link, "We're going after him."

"Agreed," it was good to know she didn't even have to outline an argument to convince Kaldur. The others flooded the link with feelings of acceptance and determination, bolstered by stern expressions.

That was all she needed to confirm they were all on the same page.

"Why don't you all take Zatanna on a, uh, a tour of the Cave?" Zatara offered, attempting to distract them from the matter at hand.

They all looked towards Zatanna, who was on the ground next to Wolf giving him all of the pets and cuddles he deserved.

At that point, Captain Marvel finally made his grand return, bearing a plate of hastily made nachos. "You're giving a tour? Cool!"

To Hawkgirl's surprise (and pride), Conner took the initiative. "Actually, I was hoping you'd take Wolf outside. He needs the exercise. We'll join you in a few." He falsely promised.

"Sure, sure! I can do that! Come on, Wolf!" Still carefully balancing the plate in his hand, Captain Marvel bounded off with Wolf towards the exit like the two overgrown puppies they were.

With that obstacle taken care of, the Team headed deeper into the Cave, much to Wally's chagrin. "Wh-what? My nachos!" Hawkgirl wordlessly grabbed him by the back of his shirt and physically dragged him along with her. As they were passing by the lounge, Zatanna reminded them of her presence, now clad in a lilac tank top and khaki pants, far different from the skirt and blazer ensemble she'd been sporting when she arrived.

Hawkgirl's unseen eyes narrowed a little in thought, as she realized her mace was still humming despite them being well away from Zatara's presence. A casual sniff as the girl passed by her confirmed it.

Magic user.

Well, this whole situation just became a lot more interesting.

Robin was clearly thrown off by the sudden wardrobe change. "When did you...? How did you-?"

"We're not really taking a tour, are we?" Zatanna asked, straight to the point.

"No." Superboy answered, stopping and bringing the group to a temporary halt. "We're hunting down that robot."

"Yes, we are." Kaldur affirmed.

"Oh, wow." Zatanna's eyes widened a little. "Out loud and everything."

"What about new girl?" Artemis gestured to the tag-along, clearly skeptical.

Robin practically leapt at the opportunity to defend her. "I'm sure she won't tell."

"I can't tell." A sly look sparkled in Zatanna's eyes. "Not if you kidnap me."

Artemis put her hands on her hips. "Oh, she's going to fit in great."

A scoff left Hawkgirl's mouth before she could suppress it. "As long as she can keep up." Knowing magic didn't equal being able to use it effectively in combat. This was going to be a difficult enough challenge already without the prospect of introducing a completely new element to the equation. The tide of battle could shift drastically out of their favor if she made a single slip up, and she wasn't about to let that possibility go unvoiced. "The last thing we need on the field right now is a liability."

The (completely valid) comment earned her a harsh elbow jab in the ribs from Robin.

H

It took but a moment for the bioship to reconfigure for the presence of an additional passenger, and soon they were in the sky and starting out on their completely unsanctioned journey. Only a few minutes had passed before they were being hailed by the Cave, and M'Gann immediately answered it to avoid garnering further suspicion.

"M'Gann, the bioship wasn't authorized for departure." Black Canary immediately reprimanded.

"We're kidnapping Zatanna!" The Martian teen cheerfully replied. "To show her Happy Harbor! Be back soon!"

"... Roger that." The female hero sounded a little taken aback, but seemed satisfied. "Have fun?"

Once the line had been cut off, Robin began musing aloud. "Where are we going? Batman is the world's greatest detective and he searched for Tornado and Morrow in every logical location... If we're going to do better, we need an illogical solution... a truly dumb idea..."

Everyone turned to look at Kid Flash.

He didn't look even the slightest bit upset. "As a matter of fact..."

H

BELLE REVE PENITENTIARY
OCTOBER 10TH, 2010
18:35 CDT

This was far from Ski'Lira's first time in an interrogation room, as the St. Roch Police Department loved to throw the Hawks at particularly uncooperative criminals. But this time was definitely the strangest to date.

It also wasn't her first time in Belle Reve. One of the on duty security guards had recognized her and smiled and waved, which had earned some looks from the other teens.

Now, the Team was clustered in a relatively small room with a one-way mirror taking up most of one wall, all staring down an orange jumpsuit-clad Ivo.

Miss Martian was taking the lead, glaring down at the mousy scientist with all the venom she could muster. "Warden Strange owed us a favor for stopping last month's prison break. He's given us five minutes with you."

"Spill, Ivo," Superboy snapped. "How do we find T.O. Morrow and his Reds?"

Unimpressed by the attempt, Ivo leaned back in his (no doubt highly uncomfortable) metal chair, expression placid. "Now, why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?"

"Because..." Kid Flash began, "And here's a truly dumb idea, you're Morrow' biggest competitor in the evil android game. Who better to keep track of what he's up to, and where?"

Folding his hands together, Ivo gave the claim serious consideration. "Ah, I see your point, so let me rephrase..." His eyes hardened. "Why in the world would I tell you how to find Morrow?"

"He knows," Kaldur nodded towards M'Gann. "Do what you must."

With the succinct order, M'Gann's eyes began to glow as she invaded his mind... to no effect.

The mad scientist smiled, smugness oozing out of him. "Oh, please. As if I've never faced a telepath before."

"There are plenty of other ways to get someone to talk." Hawkgirl met his eyes, pointedly twirling a slim, silver Nth metal knife. While the attention had been on Ivo and M'Gann's exchange, she had retrieved it from its hiding place in her right boot.

At the sight of the razor sharp blade glinting between her fingers, Ivo visibly tensed, cocky facade fading in the face of a very real physical threat.

Before Hawkgirl could drive the point home (either figuratively with further threats or literally with the knife), Zatanna spoke up from where she stood innocuously behind Ivo. A litany of nonsense words left her lips, tinged with a strange echo.

Ivo's spine straightened as if he'd just been doused with a bucket of ice water. "Morrow's in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone Park, one hundred meters south of Old Faithful." his hands clapped over his mouth, but it was far too late for that. "Waist, what just happened?"

Everyone else in the room, apart from Hawkgirl, were staring down Zatanna with shocked expressions.

Rolling her eyes, Hawkgirl wordlessly slipped her knife back into its customary sheath and headed for the door. She could already tell they were in for a fun conversation once they made it back to the ship. On the way out, the same friendly security guard from earlier waved again, this time in farewell.

Boarding the bioship had been a tense and quiet experience, as no one wanted to be the first to call out Zatanna for her display of magic. Hawkgirl honestly had no clue why they were so taken aback in the first place. It was a highly logical jump to assume that Zatanna had the same or similar abilities that her father had. She literally came to the Cave today for training with Black Canary, did nobody else pick up on that very telling piece of information?

"Black our all external communications," Aqualad told M'Gann. "Soon, Canary and Zatara, Batman too, I imagine, will know of our visit with Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."

"Look..." Robin was the first brave soul to address Zatanna directly since the interrogation room. "I'm trying to be all... nonchalant here..."

"Why?" Zatanna raised an eyebrow. "Be as chalant as you like."

Hawkgirl bristled indignantly, but silent, unable to comprehend how Robin's trend of grammar mutilation was spreading so soon.

"I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers." Artemis admitted, unusually demure for her. It was an important issue to address, considering what the magician in training had just accomplished with a single spell. "Could you teleport us to Tornado? Or Morrow to a cell? Or force his bots to surrender?"

"Or create peace on Earth for all time?" Amused by the suggestions, Zatanna offered a grin. "Zatara couldn't even do all that, and I'm nowhere near my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold, or else have time to prep it... Plus, all magic requires energy, which usually has to come from within. I just can't make the impossible happen at will."

"What's our ETA to Yellowstone?" The sound of Superboy's steadily growing temper snapping was nearly audible. "I'm way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor."

Actually, that wasn't too bad of a plan. The sheer crushing force would both mangle his body beyond repair and likely destroy any of the delicate components inside past the point of salvageability.

Aqualad's interjection brought her out of her vicious pondering, "Are you so certain he betrayed us?" Well that opinion was certainly news to Hawkgirl. How long had he been holding onto that one?

"Aren't you?" Superboy prompted.

"I am... not convinced. And even so, that makes him but the victim of his creator's programming. Certainly, he deserves a chance to prove he's more than the weapon others designed him to be."

Conner went quiet after that, the words hitting too close to home for him to dismiss outright.

Hawkgirl cleared her throat, "That's something we will have to discover for ourselves when we find them." The rest of the bioship's occupants kept their own silences. This was not good, closing off communication before a fight was a terrible idea. She thought quickly, tossing out the first thing she could think of to keep a conversation flowing. "... Did you all really not realize she was a sindarti?"

At the first confused look, she realized her error. "A magician, I mean. I thought it was obvious."

Throwing his hands up into the air, Wally let out an impassioned, "Clearly it wasn't!"

"Perhaps your training is lacking, then."

"HG, no offense, but you deal with magic way more than the rest of us... except Aqualad maybe. You know, because, sorcery." Robin waggled his fingers indicating their friend's own mystical abilities.

"How did you know?" Zatanna's question was delivered with the confidence of someone who had never had an actual conversation with a Thanagarian before. "I mean, it surprised everyone else. Do you have some super secret technique?"

"Three reasons," Hawkgirl held up three fingers for emphasis, ticking them down as she made her way through the list. "One, Nth metal naturally reacts around magic, the purer the alloy, the stronger the reaction." With her free hand, she tapped her mace for emphasis. "Two, you reek of magic. And three, you're literally Giovanni Zatara's daughter."

The younger teen's nose wrinkled, "Are you saying I smell?"

"Of magic, yes, I did say that."

"I'm sorry," Artemis spoke up, clearly not as apologetic with the interruption as her words made her seem. "But did you just imply that magic has a scent? Like... What does that even smell like?"

Hawkgirl could only offer a shrug, "Can you explain what a rose smells like without using the words 'rose' or 'flower'? You can't."

"... Okay, point to you on that one. So all this time you've just been able to... smell magic?"

"Yes and no. Only highly concentrated sources, like particularly powerful people, or places. Like the Tower of Fate. Artifacts too, sometimes, but only highly potent ones. Have I sufficiently answered all of your questions, Artemis?"

"Yeah, I'm going to be wrapping my brain around that one for a while..." Her forehead suddenly wrinkled. "Wait, no. One other thing's been bugging me since we met with Ivo... Exactly how long have you had that knife in your boot?"

"... What have I done to make you think I'm not the kind of person who would keep knives in her boots?"

"Point made once again... Wait, did you say 'knives'? As in plural?"

H

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
OCTOBER 10TH, 2010
20:22 MDT

Ship brought to ground, Aqualad shifted fully into 'leader mode' and started issuing orders. "Stealth mode." Half of the Team did so, making use of their specialized tech (or in M'Gann's case, merely mentally willing the hue of her outfit to change).

Apart from their tag-along, the Thanagarian and Atlantean were the last ones to leave the ship.

"I recommend you stay behind." Kaldur halted the younger girl as she made to follow them.

Zatanna's eyes gleamed, "Is that an order?"

"No. You must do as you see fit." The reasoning of 'because if you follow us we don't know how to operate with you on the field and you might be killed' remained unspoken.

"Good," reciting a new spell, a spiral of smoke surrounded the girl's form, unveiling a fitted magician's coat and tails similar to her father's own hero attire. Zatanna popped a hand on her hip, smiling like she'd just accomplished a great feat.

A mere change in outfit wasn't enough of an argument for Hawkgirl, flashy magical girl transformation or no. Up until this point, she had tolerated Zatanna's presence, as it was harmless to have her around. She had stayed out of the way, only intervening once to use her powers in a helpful manner. But that was in the safety of a well-guarded interrogation room of a supermax prison with an absolute weakling of a villain.

This situation was entirely different, what was sure to be a hard fought battle, not a mere milk run to get answers out of an already incarcerated foe.

Stepping in close, Hawkgirl put a gauntlet-clad hand on the younger girl's shoulder, careful to avoid tearing the fabric with her sharp metal claws. "This is your first battle. Do not deny it, I can tell. I do not know what lessons your father has imparted to you, but I trust you will follow them. Keep your wits about you and stay close to us. No risks. Understand?"

The cocky grin on Zatanna's face faltered for a second before coming back in full force. "Going soft already, Hawkgirl?"

"Attempting to prevent disaster does not make me soft," she corrected, looming in closer, the beak of her helmet almost touching the girl's nose. "I would rather not bring you home to your father in a body bag. Or do the same for any of my teammates, if they end up paying for a rookie mistake."

The young magician didn't draw back so much as a millimeter. "And there's the Thanagarian temper I've been warned about. So angry."

"Angry? Oh no. You have no idea what a truly angry Thanagarian looks like." Her teeth were bared, half threat, half smile. "And hopefully you never will. Now get moving."

Zatanna gave a snappy salute, obediently following the team leader and his second out of the ship. That matter concluded, The Team took off into the night, sprinting in tight formation. The newcomer thankfully kept up with the pace.

Ever the navigator among their merry band, Robin took point, halting only to pull up a holomap of the surrounding area. "Ivo was right," he squinted at the red markings littering the map. "Something's down there."

Aqualad took over the lead, setting off once more, but they had all scarcely begun to follow suit before they were accosted by an unnaturally strong gale of wind. At the first ripple of air across her feathers, Ski'Lira pulled her wings in as tightly to her back as she could. Just in time, too, as they were all thrown violently to the ground.

Red Tornado had found them first.

There was a strange parallel here between their encounter with Mister Twister. The sight of Red Tornado looking no worse for the wear filled her with both blinding rage and the slightest bit of relief.

The combination of Aqualad's valid suspicions about Red Tornado's motivation for desertion, along with the memory of his devotion as a den mother and a trusted member of two renowned superhero teams were difficult to forget, hence the relief.

Rage won out in the end, though, the far stronger of the two warring emotions.

Tornado began summoning a circle of his namesake to surround them, keeping them trapped in a relentless vortex. Her sharp eyes caught on something just behind the floating android, deep furrows carved into the ground, blatantly positioned.

"Why, Tornado?! Why are you doing this?!" Miss Martian screamed as she set up a mental link, displaying a telepathic message of the carving to those that hadn't seen it. "Message received?"

Wordless affirmations poured through from the other members of the Team (and Zatanna).

"Who cares why? Nail him!" Superboy's shout was loud as he charged straight at Tornado, but lacked the bite of genuine upset.

Aqualad called after him, "Superboy! Maneuver Seven!" Changing tactics, Superboy skidded to a stop and laced his fingers together, allowing Kaldur to step onto them and create a makeshift launching pad. With the leap bolstered by Kryptonian level strength, Aqualad made it all the way up to the hovering Tornado. He was struck out of the air before he could make contact, careening straight back into Superboy and knocking them both out of the fight.

Two explosive-laden arrows came from Artemis, only for them to be returned to their origin point via a gust of wind. Both she and Robin were caught in the blast radius as the projectiles detonated at their feet.

Knowing she had to make this look believable, Hawkgirl took a calculated risk. She flared out her wings, grimacing as multiple air currents tugged harshly at her wings. Mustering every bit of strength she could, she forced her wings to flap powerfully enough to propel her at Tornado. En route, she disengaged the head of her mace and threw the chained, spiked ball at his metallic face.

A hand shot up, grabbing the weapon before it could make contact, and with his other hand he grabbed the chain and swung down. Since she was still holding onto the weapon and still fighting to remain aloft, she was flung into the ground. Or rather, she allowed herself to be flung into the ground.

The impact was a little harder than she expected, the breath thoroughly knocked out of her lungs, but no other injuries. She forced herself to go limp, slackening her mouth and feigning an unconscious breathing pattern. One of the many benefits of her helmet, the white lenses meant she didn't have to keep her eyes closed to sell the performance, allowing her to keep watch.

"That does it, Red!" Kid Flash yelled. "You're not the only spin doctor around here!" True to his words, the speedster set his body into a spiral, generating his own small whirlwind. It didn't really do anything, but it provided enough of a believable distraction for Miss Martian to fly in close. But just before she could make contact, the android grabbed her, throwing her into the speedster's vortex. Both Martian and human were taken out of the fight, leaving Zatanna the last one standing.

A spell tumbled frantically from her lips, but she stuttered and lost concentration as Tornado landed menacingly before her, wrapping a metal hand around her throat. A few heartbeats later, her body collapsed.

Expressionless as always, Red Tornado flew up to hover over them like a predator with a field of caught prey, surveying his handiwork. The earth shook as a pillar of rock bearing a darker red android emerged from the ground, rising up to eye level with Tornado. "Quite a performance, brother, but we both know that's all it was. I have all your memories Tornado, plus a next-gen processor. I know your next move before you do."

The large section of ground bearing the 'PLAY DEAD' message was ripped from the ground.

Ruse proven ineffective, the Team was already up, ready, and on the move.

"Blowing a message into the sand?" The unfamiliar android tossed the giant chunk of stone at the gathering of young heroes. Aqualad, Hawkgirl, and Superboy all jumped and flew in tandem to intercept it, destroying it with fists and weapons. The large projectile shattered into smaller bits that were much easier for the others to dodge.

"Zatanna?" Judging by Robin's worried inquiry, the magician must have almost been hit by one of the wayward chunks of rock.

"I'm good." She assured. "But Red Tornado's getting away!"

Miss Martian joined Hawkgirl and Superboy, who were currently targeting the new android via the air, letting the others handle ground attacks.

"Is he abandoning us?" Artemis asked.

"I don't believe that." Miss Martian insisted.

The first of their number to make it to the earth-moving android was Kid Flash, who raced up the side of its rock pillar, fully intent on a takedown. A heavy metal hand swung into him on approach, sending him back down to the ground with an audible thump. "You stand no chance against me, humans." If the android had the physical capability of sneering, he definitely would be doing so right about now.

His comment was highly uncalled for, as Hawkgirl, Miss Martian, and Superboy all found themselves shouting back in unison. "We're not human!"

"Apologies," it didn't sound sorry in the least. "I suppose the properly inclusive term is... meatbags." Two monstrous hands made out of rock burst upwards from the ground, clapping the trio between them and crushing them into a pile of debris. Temporarily immobilized they may be, but they weren't dissuaded from digging themselves out of the rock.

Like hell was Hawkgirl going to let another of these infuriating androids encase her in a coffin. Judging by the concerned look M'Gann was giving her, she wasn't the only one noticing the similarity in the situations.

Gritting her teeth, Hawkgirl kept chipping away at the rock around them with her mace, Superboy punching with a single-minded fervor, and M'Gann letting out little blasts of telekinetic force to create weak points. From between the gaps in the rubble, they could just barely see the rest of the battlefield.

For a single heart-stopping moment, Aqualad and Artemis vanished down a newly formed crack in the earth, only to reemerge moments before it sealed itself shut. Robin threw an explosive birdarange at the android, only for it to be easily caught and explode harmlessly against the metal carapace of its body.

"Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move." Well, having Tornado's memories certainly explained why it had the typical 'villain' monologue already perfected. Considering how many egotistical villains Red Tornado had faced over the years he'd been in service as a hero, there was plenty of fodder to choose from.

With their combined might, the trapped trio managed to free themselves from their confines, just as Zatanna snapped out a rapid-fire spell. A curl of smoke wrapped around the android's optics and solidified, creating a blindfold.

"Tornado never knew my moves." Zatanna declared with pride.

"And I bet you've got some good ones." Robin's eyes widened as he realized what had just tumbled from his mouth. "Whoa. Sorry. That may have come off a little too Wally."

"I don't mind."

"KEEP IT OFF THE BATTLEFIELD!" Hawkgirl shouted, immediately enraged at the prospect of having to fend off even more untimely flirting. "I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO KEEP SAYING THAT!"

Any reply Robin could have made was cut off as their enemy's eyes started to shine with a red light. Face angled upwards, a beam of light shot from his eyes up into the sky. The light show was accompanied by tremors rumbling the earth beneath their feet, followed by a plume of lava erupting behind him.

Vibrant orange magma oozed down the hillside towards them at a worrying speed, and soon, lava had pooled all around them. The heat had an almost instant effect, the air turning thick, soupy, and dangerous to breath as fires sprung up everywhere. They needed to wrap this up fast, lest the more vulnerable members of their Team start dropping from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion.

The android had yet to pause in its assault, firing pieces of half-molten boulders at them.

"He's activating a Stage Two Eruption!" Kid Flash's tone was frantic as he made use of the still-active mental link. "It gets to Stage Three, kiss the hemisphere goodbye!"

"Hit him from all sides!" Aqualad's order spurred them into action, altering their course from defense to all out offense. The Atlantean took the first shot, only to be smacked aside. Superboy's following charge was interrupted as his fist was caught before he could land his intended punch.

Meanwhile, Hawkgirl had taken full advantage of the makeshift distraction, using the superheated air to gain rapid altitude. Wings tucked in, she dropped into a dive.

She had no clue what tipped him off to her presence, but a sizable rock was fired straight at her. Unable to dodge in time, she had to tank the hit. The melting stone was stopped from searing her skin only due to the incredibly durable fabric her suit was made out of.

However, there was nothing to stop the force of the attack from knocking her off course. Disoriented, her wings twisted out of alignment, and one caught the wrong current. Ski'Lira found herself plummeting straight down towards a pool of lava.

Jaw clenching, she forced her wings to spread out straight to either side, catching a heat-generated updraft to keep her from a surefire death.

Literal centimeters separated the tips of her feathers from the surface of the deadly glowing pool, soaring straight out and away from the immediate danger. Before she could recalculate a course and attempt to attack the android again, it disrupted the ground at M'Gann's feet and flipped down towards the vulnerable Martian.

"M'Gann!" Superboy's scream was nearly drowned out by the roaring of flame and fire, and there was nothing he could do to stop the android from grabbing and holding onto M'Gann. In its grasp, she hung limp like a wet kitten.

Zatanna grabbed Kid Flash's shoulder, and a quick spell later, half a dozen copies of the redhead stood around them. "I use a scaled down version when I want to sneak out of the house."

The magical constructs proved an excellent diversion, allowing the real Kid Flash to zoom in and snag M'Gann from the android's grip, pulling her back with him to rendezvous with the others.

Hawkgirl landed next to the others, mace ready for another onslaught. She also made sure to do a quick visual inspection of Kaldur, knowing how dangerous the heat was to his well being. He seemed relatively fine for now, but the moment that changed she was ready to act.

A massive tendril of water tore out from a nearby geyser, looping around the rampaging android and shoving him down into a nearby lava pool.

But... Kaldur hadn't moved in the slightest and he seemed just as surprised as the others.

"Nice hit!" Robin shot a grin at Aqualad, who was remaining perfectly still.

"The hit was not mine." He admitted, brow furrowing. "Look!"

Ski'Lira had already spotted the newcomer, the unmistakable form of Red Torpedo. Distinct talon-shaped patches of a slightly lighter hued metal marred his chest, the robotic equivalent to lasting scars.

Making his well-timed return was also Red Tornado, rocketing down from the sky and using his momentum to obliterate the unnamed android's constructed pillar of rock and lava it was using to escape from submersion. Tornado's attack put him right back under the magma, and a gout of flame courtesy of Red Inferno pummeled its face. Inferno didn't hesitate to engage directly, far more resistant to heat than the others of her kind.

"Sister! Brothers! Stop!" The darker red android cried, electronic voice screaming and glitching in desperation, but to no avail.

Torpedo and Inferno both dragged the android under, with Tornado fully immersing his legs into the lava to aid from above. A few tense moments passed as the surface remained undisturbed.

Tornado's body suddenly began to sink more rapidly into the superheated rock.

Dashing forward, Superboy managed to grab the android's torso and spirit him away to tentative safety before his body was completely engulfed. The entire volcano began to rumble, the tremors far more intense now.

To be heard above the apocalyptic noise, Kid Flash was resorted to yelling at the top of his lungs. "Tornado, listen! We're on the verge of a Stage Three Supervolcano Eruption! There's no turning back from that! We need to vent pressure, fast. But the ash cloud will bring on worldwide nuclear winter unless you divert it!"

Red Tornado gave a single, concise nod.

Kid Flash turned to Robin, "Triangulate around the pressure locus."

"Right," activating his holomap of the area, the Boy Wonder fiddled with the settings, causing three dots to highlight in succession. "There, there, and there!"

Artemis didn't hesitate once she'd seen the map, drawing a multi-shot explosive arrow that she only saved for the most dire situations. Aiming carefully, she took a steadying breath and fired at the pressure points. Every arrow hit its intended target with well-trained precision, spraying chunks of rock and plumes of steam up into the air as they detonated.

Red Tornado supported his absent lower half with a scarlet cyclone as he took to the sky, disappearing up into the dark, ominous cloud of smoke emanating from the top of the volcano.

They waited with bated breath and pounding hearts for one moment, then two... and finally the smoke began to clear, siphoned upwards harmlessly into space. The lava around them began to cool as the trails feeding them dried up, the threat successfully neutralized.

"Yes!" Kid Flash pumped a triumphant fist into the sky like it was the end of an eighties teen movie.

And that's when the motionless body of Red Tornado fell from the sky.

H

This was one of the few instances in their mutual careers where being in close proximity to a supervillain's hideout was actually a benefit. Red Tornado had regained consciousness and was able to point them in the direction of Morrow's secret lab . Once they'd ferried the damaged and temporarily mute Tornado into the depths of the sterile bunker, they'd set to the task of reassembling their mentor.

It had taken a great deal of work, wordless direction from the android, and a great amount of poring (and bickering) over blueprints scrounged up from Morrow's filing system.

"There, that should do it." Robin declared, stepping back and scraping his hair back from his sweaty forehead.

Ruby faceplate dropped back down into place, the sensitive inner working hidden, Tornado spoke for the first time in over an hour. "Yes. I can speak again."

"You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet." Aqualad spoke first.

"The planet would have survived. It is humanity that was saved... Though not by me. My sister and brother were the true heroes this day."

Placing a hand gently on his armored shoulder, Kaldur offered the hero a small smile. "My point is this... You were never the mole, never the traitor."

"No." He confirmed. "I left to protect you from further attack and to find my creator, Morrow."

"Cool!" Kid Flash crowed from the corner, brandishing a familiar bulky robotic hand from a box. Hm. That certainly explained a great deal about Mister Twister. "Souvenir!"

In turn, Robin held up a dismembered robotic leg from the same source, judging by the size and coloration. "Reddy, we can rebuild you better than you were before!"

"I do not believe I should be repaired." Tornado's somber declaration hung over the room, until Superboy broke the silence.

"Why'd you volunteer to become our den mother in the first place?" He demanded, uncrossing his arms and glaring at Red.

"I was the pragmatic choice. I do not require sleep. I have no secret identity or second life to live."

Kid Flash's green eyes widened, a wide grin on his face. "But you do have advanced AI programming designed to learn, adapt, evolve!"

Smacking herself in the forehead, M'Gann couldn't help but smile too. "Hello, Megan! You wanted to become more human!"

"And you couldn't do that with the League." Artemis offered. "They're stiffs."

That last point Hawkgirl disagreed with wholeheartedly, though the others had likely never seen the video Flash took once of a heavily anesthetized Green Arrow crying over a picture of a baby pig in a sweater.

"You're sure not going to learn emotion from Batman. Trust me." Robin added with a shrug. "Or the Hawks either, no offense HG."

"None taken, I'm well aware what we're like." Hawkgirl tilted her head towards the younger teen.

"Then the Cave was not a proving ground only for us." Aqualad summarized the whole revelation nicely. "But for you as well."

"... I do not know if these statements are accurate..." Tornado was still pensive, but... content? "But perhaps they are true. And if I understand the term correctly, I believe I have come to... care about you all."

"See?" Superboy finally allowed himself to smile. "Practically a meatbag already."

"You'll get used to it." Clapping him on the opposite shoulder, Hawkgirl looked down at Red Tornado with a feral grin of her own. "Good to know I won't have to claw out your inner workings with my bare hands for betraying us."

"The sentiment is... appreciated." Tornado said slowly. "Which reminds me... I... believe there is someone else I must... care for."

H

While Robin and Kid Flash had executed the reconstruction of his melted legs, Red Tornado had filled them in on all the details of the situation. Morrow's creations, his multiple attempts to infiltrate the Justice Society of America, and his siblings' penchant for heroism above all else. The final result was their ultimate sacrifice.

Story told, he compiled a detailed report of events for the Justice League, providing more than sufficient evidence. In tandem with nine eyewitness accounts, there was no doubt that he'd have his name completely cleared and he'd be welcomed back to the League with open arms. After transferring the digitized report to Robin's safekeeping, he'd ushered them back towards the bioship, instructing them in no uncertain terms to fly straight back to the Cave. He claimed he had personal business to attend to, and none of them faulted him for taking the time for himself.

"So... Good kidnapping?" Robin asked Zatanna once their journey home was well underway.

"Actually, yeah. Best ever."

"Heh. First of many, I hope."

Groaning, the girl rolled her eyes in exasperation. "If my dad doesn't ground me for life."

"But hey, I'd say your first foray out into heroing went pretty well! Despite what some people may think." He shot a not-so-subtle look Ski'Lira's way.

Honestly, Hawkgirl had thoroughly checked out by that point, partially from tiredness and also from her ruminations about the events of the night. She was attempting to reconcile the image of the androids from their misdeeds with their heroic personas.

She had yet to voice this to the others, but she sort of knew who Red Inferno was, or rather, who she had been. Firebrand, the persona she'd taken on as a member of the 'All-Star Squadron', was featured in several of the stories from World War II that Kent Nelson had told her over the years.

Her 'death' had been in 1945, sacrificing herself to save the Flash from Dragon King.

And now she'd died again, this time to save the residents of the entire planet.

But she'd also nearly killed eight children.

So caught up in this train of thought, she had no clue why she was being stared at. "Hm?"

"Come on, just admit that you were being a little harsh on Zatanna. I mean, didn't she prove herself?" Robin clarified. There was no real irritation in his tone, clearly teasing just for the sake of it. Maybe it was an attempt to lighten the decidedly dour mood.

Hawkgirl let out a noncommittal hum. "She didn't suffer permanent injury or die, so... I suppose she wasn't completely useless." She shot him a lazy look. "You know, I was no harsher on her than you were on Artemis during the android's attack on the Mountain. What was it...? Get traught or get dead?" Her face screwed up in distaste. "Ugh, I can't believe you forced me to say that aloud."

Dick's eyes were wide, taken aback. "How do you know about that?!"

Loudly coughing, Artemis crossed her arms. "You know, we can have conversations by ourselves, where we tend to share stuff."

"Okay, fair, but why did you tell her that?"

"Because she asked to hear my side of things, you know, like a friend does? Besides, it's obvious you're deflecting because you're embarrassed because Hawkgirl called you out for flirting with the new girl."

Spluttering, Robin was at a loss for words, earning himself a bout of mocking laughter from his so-called best friend Wallace West.

Once the laughing fit came to an end, M'Gann seemed nervous to speak her mind, but did so anyway. "I don't want to be the one to bring down the mood, but... Do you think Red Tornado will be alright on his own?"

The question made Aqualad frown, "He has already proven himself to be innocent."

"No, no, that's not what I meant! I know he's not the traitor, we all do. But..." Chewing on her lip for a moment, she took a moment to rephrase. "He just watched two of his... siblings... sacrifice themselves for him, and the world. It just... feels wrong to leave him alone to deal with that."

"He wanted to be alone." Artemis defended, eyes glued outside to the passing clouds they flew over. "And besides, the League's probably going to find him soon enough, considering how long he's been MIA... and you know, thought to be a traitor."

"Yeah, they'd probably be better off talking to him anyway. They probably understand better than we could." Wally added.

"Even better once I submit that report." Robin pointed out. "Especially if it means Inferno and Torpedo get the credit they deserve."

"The other Reds..." Wally trailed off a little. "We thought they were super evil, but... they didn't even hesitate."

"It's something to be proud of, such a sacrifice." Hawkgirl's tone was grave, but reverent. "There is no higher honor one can achieve. I hope to accomplish such an end when I meet mine in battle."

The cabin went absolutely dead silent.

Hawkgirl straightened in her chair, looking for some kind of threat outside of the windows that she somehow missed. "Is something amiss?"

"Your phrasing," Kaldur clarified, drawing her attention to his stricken expression. "It was... concerning, to say the least."

"Which part?" Genuinely confused, she thought back to her last statement, seeing nothing wrong. It was unlikely she'd used the wrong terminology, but still very possible considering English was her third language.

A noise of frustration came from the back of Artemis' throat, "Um, the part where you literally just said, 'Yeah, I'll die in battle and I'll be happy about it!'"

M'Gann had a distressed expression on her face, "It sounds..."

"Insane!" Conner snapped, his fingers flexing in and out of fists as he twisted around in his seat to glare at her.

Sighing, Ski'Lira couldn't help but roll her eyes. Today had been a long day. "Yet again, you find yourselves forgetting how intrinsically different our cultures sare."

"In what world is this a cultural difference?!" Wildly waving his hands, Wally was clearly as agitated as the others, though he showed it more blatantly. "So you've just... resigned yourself to some kind of... culturally sanctioned suicide?!"

"That is not what I said." Hawkgirl growled, offended.

Zatanna was casting a critical eye over all of them. "This took a much different turn than I was expecting. Are the flights home always this morbid?"

"Not usually." Robin promised. "HG, come on. You've gotta see this from our point of view."

Sensing escalation incoming, she attempted a hasty explanation before things could get worse. "Look, before you all start yelling at me, you have to understand. Thanagarians are literally born and bred for war. Evolution didn't just give us wings, our entire genetic structure is specifically made for war. And above all things our priorities are to protect our people and take down the threat at any cost, whatever that might be."

"That's..." Robin, usually so well-spoken (apart from his relentless butchering of the already butchered English language), could only come up with. "Downright suicidal."

"Sometimes we don't get a choice. When our very lives are on the line, we-" Hawkgirl snapped her mouth shut with a soft click.

They were already upset enough, the words about to leave her mouth would only have added more fuel to the fire, and resulted in an even longer and messier explanation of some of the finer aspects of Thanagarian biology.

"We put our lives on the line every day." Hawkgirl tried again. "This choice of lifestyle we have? Every time we put on our uniforms we know there's the chance we will be buried in them. How is it so unnatural for my people to look forward to that day?"

A calloused hand curled around her forearm, and she turned to see Aqualad had physically reached over to capture her attention. "We don't mean to persecute you or your culture. Your words merely bring us... concern... for your well-being."

"Especially hearing it from Miss 'I hide gunshot wounds!'" Artemis added with a particular vindication.

Zatanna's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "You do that?"

"She does," Robin confirmed, some of the ire leaving him from the shift in topic. "We hate it."

A low, half-growl half-whine came from Ski'Lira before she could muffle it. "It was once."

"And it won't be the last, I'm sure!" Artemis huffed, turning her head away to stare pointedly out the window again.

"Perhaps we best continue this conversation at a later time." Kaldur's eyes shone with the unspoken, 'Yes, we will be talking about this in great detail once Zatanna's not around, probably with an adult present.' "For now, we should be thankful we were able to save a friend today."

Doing what he does best, Wally broke the last of the steadily waning tension that had fallen over the group thanks to Ski'Lira's verbal slip. "And he admitted he cares about us! Maybe we should make him a scrapbook or something?"

"Do we even have any pictures to put in a scrapbook?" Robin saw the fatal flaw in the idea first.

"... My plan, foiled. I'd suggest M'Gann bake a cake, but something tells me he wouldn't be able to appreciate it."

"I'm sure we'll think of something." M'Gann assured. "... So, um... How angry do you think Batman's going to be that we went on an unapproved mission?"

Absolutely none of them wanted to think about it and in fact, they had been avoiding thinking about it since they'd first undertaken this endeavor.

"At least you guys don't have to live with him." Shuddering, Robin bent double and put his face in his hands. "I am so grounded."

"Something tells me we're all going to be grounded." Wally corrected. "After all, we did kidnap someone today, willing or otherwise... Pretty sure that's not going to look super great. And I doubt even Tornado's glowing praise will save us from whatever punishment he's got in store."

The bioship's automated voice made them all jump with an alert. "Incoming message from Batman."

Yep. They were in so much trouble.