Chapter 31: The Teams First Mission Part 2
"Speedy! Speedy! Speedy!" Batman called into the communicator first.
But he got no response, leaving him frantically trying to reach the others.
"Aqualad! Superboy! Robin! Someone answer!" Batman yelled desperately to get a hold of the kids.
Unfortunately no response was made yet, leaving the bat to try and contact Martian Manhunter.
"Manhunter do you copy?! Mayday, Martian Manhunter do you copy?!" Batman yelled frantically.
"Batman, what is it?!" Martian Manhunter answered urgently.
"It's the kids, the mission went A-wire and they need out! Can you try to contact them with your telepathy?"
"Give me one moment."
Batman waited with baited breath, desperately hoping the Martian could get a hold of the team.
"There's too much going on and I'm too far away to get a better signal. I'll get closer and see if I can get a better signal."
"Alright, as soon as you see them, get them out of there. This mission has gone far beyond their training." Batman instructed, his heart beating rapidly all the while.
"I will, do not worry, they are far more capable than we know. I'll contact you as soon as I have them in the ship. Over and out."
"Over and out."
Batman then immediately went to work calling the other mentors and guardians. Knowing they needed to know what was going on and also needing something to do as to prevent himself from exploding with worry.
Argentina
Despite the now very dark atmosphere the sounds of battle still raged on. All the while the team tried their best to get away, they all held hands, besides Robin who was being held by Speedy, to ensure no one was lost.
"Everyone into that cluster of trees over there, we should be safe there!" Speedy instructed as he adjusted a trembling Robin in his arms.
All the kids scrambled to where the archer had pointed out, all knowing they were in well over their heads at this point. Once they were in the safety of the trees the younger members of the team all sniffled and tried to hold back tears. This left Aqualad and Speedy feeling incredibly overwhelmed. They wanted to help their teammates, but unfortunately they were just as much of kids as their youngers leaving them woefully unprepared. Nonetheless Aqualad took a deep breath and did his best to take charge.
"Alright I know we're in a scary situation, but we need to be brave." Aqualad said as calmly as he could muster.
"Aqualad's right, we still have a mission to complete. The League needs to know about what's going on here." Speedy said in support as he cradled and rocked Robin.
"But how? Our communicators are down and Martian Manhunters too far away to hear or see us!" Kid Flash as he managed to finally push back his tears and wipe his runny nose.
"We just need to calm down and think. We may not have been trained for this moment, but we have all been in unexpected situations before. So everyone draw on those experiences and focus on helping us escape." Aqualad encouraged.
With that everyone was quiet for a moment, all trying to think of a way to get out of the fiasco they were in. After several minutes of silence everyone began to worry as they all felt empty on ideas. Until a tiny and unexpected voice then spoke up with a thought.
"We could make a signal flare. That's how the police get Batman." Robin peeped as he rubbed his teary eyes and finally turned away from Speedy's shoulder.
"That could actually work, good job baby bird." Speedy said as he hugged the boy closer and rubbed his little back.
"But what do we use? No one brought any explosives and I can't set fire to things with my telekinesis." Miss Martian asked concerned.
"We'll have to find explosives of the enemy, I'm sure both Kobra and Bane's cartel have some around here somewhere." Aqualad theorized.
"Great more sneaking around! Cause that worked out greâ" Kid Flash started to complain before Superboy stopped him.
"Quiet I can hear someone coming!" Superboy called out, his heightened senses catching the sound of large steps coming towards them.
Everyone immediately was silent and prepared to fight whoever was about to see them. Soon enough the steps were close enough even the rest of the team could hear them. Their hearts pounded as they prepared to fight, except Speedy who was holding Robin to keep him safe. But then an unexpectedly an enormous white wolf popped out of the bushes looking a little worse for wear.
"Wolf!" Superboy cried out as he ran up and buried his face into the canines fluffy white chest as he hugged him.
Wolf immediately began to muzzle his large face into Superboy giving him a barrage of wet slobbery kisses as well. As this went on everyone, except Miss Martian, watched in confusion wondering if they missed something over the last few hours.
"You got away from the bad guys! I was so worried about you!" Superboy said joyfully as silent happy tears ran down his face.
Wolf whined happily in response, and ecstatic he found his boy.
"Uh Superboy, who is this?" Speedy asked nervously as protectively held Robin tighter.
"This is Wolf, Miss Martian and I found him when we were scouting outside the factory. He was that poor doggy who you saw all chained up at the meeting earlier. But don't worry he's really nice, he saved me before we found you guys. Can we keep him!?" Superboy explained and asked excitedly.
It was then Wolff gave him a big kiss to the face with his huge wet tongue causing the young Kryptonian to giggle.
"UmâI think you'll have to ask your father about that. But besides the point we need to get back to the subject of escaping this island." Aqualad said partially to get them back in track and partially to avoid making any decisions Superman would be angry for him making.
"Wolf can help! I'm sure he can lead us to the explosives we need with his nose and get all of us back to the ship then all of us on foot." Superboy mentioned excitedly.
"Superboy's right Wolf can carry you three while we fly and KF runs." Miss Martian added in.
"You do have a point and he would be a big help. But I think we better see if it's ok with Robin as it was his idea. Robin, are you ok with this?" Aqualad asked as he turned to the scared little bird.
Dick sat up a bit from his position in Roy's arms and looked at Wolf. The large canine was honestly quite scary and ten times his size, but then again so was his daddy and he loved him more than anything. So finding his courage, Dick nodded, agreeing to let the massive creature join their team.
"Good boy! Alright then we'll ride the pooch, do you think you can get him to find some explosives for us?" Speedy asked as he walked towards Wolf.
"Yeah he's really smart and I'm sure all the gunpowder in the air will give him an idea of what to look for!" Superboy said confidently.
With this Speedy, Aqualad, and Robin got onto the giant wolf's back, Robin up at the front to ensure he was securely on.
"Alright Ace, sniff out some explosives for us if you can." Superboy requested as he floated up to the large beast's head and stroked it encouragingly.
Giving a huff of understatement, Wolf closed his eyes and took a deep whiff of the air. He could smell all kinds of things for quite a distance, but did his best to isolate the traces of the things he smelt when the Kobra members would cart their weaponry through the building his cell was in. It took him a few minutes but eventually he was able to pinpoint where the familiar scents were coming from. Immediately the large white wolf took off, the three little boys on his back, running as fast as he could towards the smell. Miss Martian, Superboy, and Kid Flash followed, flying/running as fast they could to keep up with the super canine.
At first it was a little scary for Robin as they rode making him close his eyes and hold onto Wolf's fur tightly. Speedy was a little nervous as well, doing his best to hold onto Robin to ensure the petite boy didn't go flying off. However eventually as the ride went on Robin started to feel comfortable as he realized the dog's running was not nearly as bumpy or scary as he thought it would be. Feeling brave Robin slowly opened his eyes and was astounded with how fast they were running. This caused Robin to laugh happily, feeling like he was on a living version of the Batmobile making him feel safe.
"You're so fast Wolf, you're amazing!" The boy wonder declared as he hugged the top of the large wolf's head.
Wolf purred in happiness, happy he was being accepted by these little children who put such trust in him. For a while all seemed like it was going smoothly, until they once again heard gunshots. Wolf came to an immediate halt nearly sending the children on his back flying. Said children were a little bit disoriented at first but soon enough were able to focus on what made Wolf stop. Quickly they saw a few Kobra members were in a gunfight with Bane and his goons.
For several minutes the whole team watched as the groups fought, both determined to win the terf. However, eventually Banes' group were victorious, now loudly celebrating as they watched the Kobra member's retreat. Running further into the jungle till they were out of sight. With the battle over the team thought this was the time for them to sneak to the explosives. Unfortunately they hadn't realized there was a gunman behind them now aiming to shoot.
"My what do we have here? A preschool field trip? Now move forward little ones, I'm sure Bane would love to meet you." The gunman said as he aimed his large mini gun at them menacingly.
Knowing there was no way out of this without one of them being hurt the team did as he said. Even Wolf followed the man's orders, but that didn't prevent him from covering the children protectively as possible as they were pushed forward. Eventually they were all brought before a large muscled man with a black and white mask, this man was of course Bane.
"So it looks like we have a few lost chicos on our hands and with their little stray too." Bane mocked with a light laugh.
"Wolf is not a stray, he's mine!" Superboy yelled defensively as he hugged one of the large canine's legs.
"Oh my apologies mijo, I did not mean to offend you. Though all things considered I think that's the least of your problems amigo. Now why don't you tell me who you all are and what you're all doing here?" Bane said as he ruffled Conner's dark hair.
Wolf growled menacingly as the man touched his boy, ready to rip the man's arm off should he touch him again.
"That is none of your business, now let us be on our way!" Aqualad spoke up authoritatively, despite his young age and fear.
"Wow you have some balls kid, but I'd be careful if I were you. Cause you never knowâ.wait is that the bats nino? Robin?!" Bane said as he then noticed Robin clinging to Speedy.
The large man walked closer to Robin causing Speedy to protectively push the little boy behind him.
"So the boy wonder is without the Batman, but with other little heroes. By the looks of it you all must be sidekicks of the other league members. Hahah so the Justice League is putting together a kinder squad, how adorable!" Bane laughed at his own joke.
"We are not sidekicks!" Speedy barked as he heard the term he hated most of all "sidekick".
"Of course you aren't, you're my hostages now mijo. With you I can get the Justice League to take care of Kobra for me. Boys tie them up to that tree and put that dog on a chain!"
Immediately all the kids and Wolf were seized, each one getting one henchman to detain them. Except Robin who was grabbed by the cape by Bane himself.
"Put me down, you big meat head!" Robin screamed as he aimlessly flailed and kicked at the air.
"Awe just like your father, so full of determination to take down crime. Now pequeÃo if you don't mind I'm going to borrow this." Bane said as he then opened the led pocket on the helpless Robin's utility belt.
He pulled out a small piece of kryptonite and then looked for the goon trying futilely to detain Superboy.
"How is this kid so strong, he's barely 8 by the looks of him!" The man grunted as he tried to pull Superboy's little arm.
"Give me back my wolf!" The angry little boy yelled.
"Hey amigo! You're gonna need this to capture that one!" Bane whistled at the goon as he tossed the kryptonite at him.
With one hand the man holding Superboy's arm caught the rock and held it near the Kryptonian. Almost instantly Conner began to slow down as the radiation of the kryptonite drained him of his strength. Eventually the boy more or less fainted from the extended exposure and was left breathing heavily.
Meanwhile the others had been more easily captured and knocked out in various ways. However Kid Flash was still trying to run out of his captured grip, digging holes under feet as he tried to run away.
"Hey let us go you big goons!" Kid Flash yelled as he tried to struggle out of the large man holding his little arms behind him's grasp.
"No can do Speedy Gonzalez, you're our ticket to a monopoly on Venom!" The large goon chuckled as he roughly knocked the little boy out and dragged the speedster to a tree.
Eventually all the kids were tied around a large tree with thick ropes to keep them in place, some of them with their weaknesses nearby to insure they didn't escape. Wolf was chained by both his ankles to a tree further away from them. It was then the team knew that they were officially in over their heads.
Mount Justice
Meanwhile at the Leagues secondary headquarters heroes and mentors were freaking out alike.
"Can anyone get in contact with them!?" Green Arrow yelled as he frantically tried to get his personal communicator with Roy to work.
"No, nothing coming through!" Wonder Woman answered as she tried another communicator.
"I'm not getting any response from J'onn either!" Black Canary added.
"There has to be some way, they're just babies they aren't strong enough to take on both Kobra and Bane! They could be captured or worse!" Flash freaked out.
"They are not taking my baby, I will not let him get returned to CADMUS so he can be experimented on again! I'll fly there and kill then myself before I let that happen!" Superman bellowed out his eyes red with laser energy.
"You will not be doing that!" Batman said stoically but with a little more fire than he normally would.
"So what do you suppose we do then let them get taken! Only to get killed and cloned, then returned to us so they can kill us! Is that what you want! I thought you loved Dick!" Superman yelled, now even angrier.
"Don't you dare question my love for my son, just because I can keep it together right now! While you are ready to go in and possibly get our kids killed with your reckless actions!"
Batman said intensely, barely able to keep himself from punching the Kryptonian with the stick of kryptonite he had in his belt.
"My reckless reckless actions! It's your actions that got them in this position in the first place! We all tried to tell you it was too soon and too dangerous to send a bunch of kids under the age of ten into the field unsupervised! But no, you had to prove a point that your training was good enough and better than all of us, you psychotic bastard!"
"You think I don't realize that Boy Scout! I'm sorry I trusted our children with what I thought was a perfectly safe mission. I've guided them each step of the way, watched them grow, and saw their potential. So don't act like this was a ego trip for me or that I'm some heartless monster who isn't worried and feeling guilty that my actions could get them killed! We all take the same risk everyday, letting our babies out of our safe and protective arms when we go out to fight in our cities!"
Everyone fell silent, everyone feeling shocked by the amount of passion and pent up sadness the dark knight was putting up on display.
"Each and every one of us saw these kids and how much they needed an outlet to get their anger, fear, and traumas out of themselves. We saw their potential and how much good they could each individually do. They have trusted us, now it's our time to trust them! I know it's scary and I don't know how they're going to get out of this. But I believe they can do it, we just need to help them leave the island."
"But how? No one can get a hold of J'onn or the kids!" Superman asked, finally calming down a bit.
"I'm sure whatever stopped their communicators from emitting a signal probably took out any cell service for a long distance. So likely Manhunter is searching for a signal to contact us. Which unfortunately means we need to be patient, it could be a while beforeâ."
It was then J'onn's voice came through everyone's communicators, calling out for help. Everyone rushed to answer it at the same time causing a lot of interference. This went on for about a minute, everyone frantically trying to get in contact with the Martian.
"Everyone stop, we can't all be on the line at the same time!" Batman yelled over the crowd of anxious Justice League members.
Immediately everyone went quiet and slowly put their devices away. Then taking a deep breath to calm himself down Batman answered the call.
"Martian Manhunter, are you alright, have you been compromised?"
"I'm alright, but I have not been able to get in contact with the children for almost an hour now. I believe an EMP of sorts was set off as the whole island has gone dark and all I have been receiving is static when I try to contact them."
"I think you're right, no one here has been able to contact the team either. Manhunter do you think you could still find the previously planned meeting spot for the team?"
"Yes luckily the bio ship is purely organic so nothing inside or outside of it was affected. Do you think the team will be there, even with the chaos that I'm sure ensued after the EMT went off?"
"They may be children, but they were well trained on what to do in an emergency. Either way we have no choice but to simply trust them in this situation." Batman resolved though his heart pounded with pure anxiety.
"Very well, I will contact you as soon as I have the team and we are on our way. Over and out."
With that the League was left to wonder what would become of their precious little ones they had come to love and know. Would J'onn be able to find the children or were they already too late to save them.
The Island
Robin felt his head throbbing as he finally came too from what felt like a forced sleep. As he started to wake up and become more aware of his surroundings Robin felt his arms and chest bound to something. Eventually he looked down and saw strong ropes wrapped around him at least five times. It was then it all came back to him, he remembered how he and the rest of the team had been captured by Bane. Once that happened he then remembered how they were knocked out with a spray of gas. Immediately Robin was worried, where were his brothers and sister?! However he then saw Speedy on his right and Kid Flash on his left. Then he noticed that they were tied to a large tree, and saw out of his peripherals Miss Martian and Aqualad next to KF and Speedy. He assumed Superboy must have been directly behind the tree they were all tied to.
Needless to say he knew they were in a dangerous situation and that he needed to act quickly. So he at first tried to get into his utility belt that the goons foolishly left on him, thus why they were the goons and Bane the boss. However, no matter what he did Dick couldn't reach into his belt, stupid short arms. So knowing he'd need some help Robin tried to wake up Kid Flash and Speedy.
"KF! Speedy! Wake up!" Robin yelled quietly as wiggled his body to nudge the two older boys.
With painful groans the two started to come to both feeling the same splitting headaches Robin had earlier.
"Ow, Geesh what did they give us to knock us out?" Kid Flash complained remembering enough to know they didn't just fall asleep.
"Who knows, but I could use an aspirin because of it right now." Speedy responded as he tried to raise his hand to rub his throbbing head.
This was when he realized that he couldn't and that he was tied tightly to a tree.
"Oh you've gotta be kidding me, captured and tied up on my first solo mission! If we get back from this Green Arrow is never going to let me hear the end of this." Speedy grumbled as he tried to escape only to give himself painful rope burns.
"Stop struggling Speedy I can get us out of here but I need your help. They didn't take my utility belt from me and I have batarangs that should be able to cut through the ropes in it. But my arms are too short to reach them. Do you think you or KF could reach and grab them?"
"I don't know, these ropes are pretty tight. But I don't think they'll be necessary just to wake up Miss Martian or Superboy. I'm sure one of them could either phase out or rip them apart." Speedy pointed out.
"I'm afraid that won't be happening. They have a fire burning over here which has put Aqualad and Miss M out of commission. And I think they still have the kryptonite from Robin's belt tied to Supeys chest." Kid Flash said as he had tried to wake the Atlantean and Martian close to him to no avail.
"Then I guess it's plan A then, just try to reach my belt the best you can." Robin said all he kept a look out for more goons.
Speedy nodded and then began to try wriggling his way over to Robin Batarangs. The ropes were super tight so it burned like hell as tried to get his mostly exposed arm to move. Eventually after much effort Roy's hand managed to reach the pocket and open it.
"Ok I got it from here." Robin said as he wriggled his tiny arm to the pocket and grabbed a batarang.
He then managed to flip the sharp edge to him and slowly started to cut at the ropes. At first the pressure he was able to apply was pretty weak due to the distance his hand was from his body. But luckily the edges were very shard so it was able to cut enough that the cutting got stronger and stronger. After about 10 minutes the ropes fell flat on the ground, freeing the team. It was then the three protégés went to work at reviving their incapacitated friends.
Robin took care of the kryptonite that still laid on Superboy's chest, placing it back in its lead lined case, and then cracking a smelling salt. He waved it around the Kryptonians nose and with a huge gasp the little boy woke up feeling very weak. Kid Flash and Speedy stamped out the small fire and threw dirt at it to put it out. This almost immediately woke Miss Martian and Aqualad up but neither felt much better than Superboy did at that moment.
"Thank you, you three I don't know how much longer the rest of us would have lasted like that." Aqualad said as he leaned on Speedy for support.
"We're a team, it's what we do for eachother. Now come on, I know you don't feel good right now, but we have to move quickly! We have to find my bow and Wolf so we can get off this island. Robin, KF support Miss M and Superboy! Superboy I don't know how strong your senses are right now but do you think you could hear or see where Wolf is?" Speedy said as he took on the role of leader in that moment.
"I'll try." Superboy said as he leaned on little Robin for support.
His senses felt pretty dull at that moment, but he could hear for at least 50-75 feet away from him if he closed his eyes and focused. At first he heard mostly Spanish chatter and the moving/cleaning of weapons. But then he caught a slight ping of chains and growling. Knowing that had to be Wolf, Conner focused in on the sound hoping that it was none other than his precious dog. It took him a minute with his weakened senses but eventually Conner was able to confirm where Wolf was.
"He's over there chained to a tree I think, he shouldn't be more than 100 feet from us." Superboy stated as he pointed over to where he heard Wolf.
"Any sign of Guards around him?" Speedy asked not wanting to put his weakened team in danger.
"No, I think we're good, I didn't hear any footsteps near him."
"Alright everyone follow Superboy and try to be quick we can't get caught or we're screwed." Speedy instructed as he helped Aqualad get into position on his shoulder.
From there the group made their way across Bane's camp as quietly as possible, luckily not running into anyone. Though at one point they did almost walk into a small group of men surrounding a campfire. However they managed to stop in time to move around them. Eventually the team made it to where Wolf was much too Conner's relief. The poor canine laid there tiredly, having exhausted himself from trying to escape earlier.
But then Wolf saw the children there causing him to perk up as he knew they were now safe.
"Wolf!" Superboy cried as he gathered his strength and ran to his precious new friend.
He threw his little arms around Wolf's neck and hugged him tightly, hoping this was the last time they'd have to reunite under such circumstances. Wolf in turn responded by giving Conner big wet kisses to show him how happy he was to see him again.
"Superboy I get you're excited but we need to be quiet or else we'll get caught." Aqualad said quietly but urgently as he finally stood up his own from Speedy's shoulder.
"Oh right sorry." Superboy said bashfully before he smooshed his face into Wolf's fur again.
"Uh Superboy we also need to hurry out of here, you can snuggle your dog later. Now try to get that chain of his back leg there." Speedy added to the urgency.
"Ok I'll try." Superboy said as he begrudgingly let go of his dog and focused on the metal cuff around Wolf's leg.
He grabbed each one of the ends that were bolted together and immediately tried pulling them apart. Unfortunately this was not easy thanks to the lingering effects of his long exposure to kryptonite earlier. None the less the little Kryptonian kept pulling at the cuff, bending it more and more with each pull. Eventually after much struggling Superboy got the cuff to break in half, freeing Wolf.
"Ok you three hop on and gather the rest of your strength, we'll just have to go a little slower to the explosives." Speedy instructed once more as he helped Aqualad onto Wolf's back.
Miss Martian and Superboy followed and once they were on Wolf's back, the group made a run for it. Everyone except Robin who got a piggyback ride on Speedy to make sure he didn't fall behind. The team ran for a good fifteen minutes, everyone keeping more alert than before so they didn't get caught again. Luckily they weren't and before they knew it found themselves at the location of the explosives. Unfortunately they were once more faced with another obstacle to getting off the island, armed guards.
The explosives were held in an armory of sorts that was like a small but long open faced shed. It looked like it was maybe made out of a repurposed storage container. However, this didn't prevent it being surrounded by 15 Kobra guards all armed with a variety of guns ranging from AK-47's to mini guns.
"Something tells me Bane's gang is more upset about Kobra taking their weapons arsenal than their Venom factory since all action is closer to here than there." Kid Flash joked trying to cut the nervous tension everyone felt.
And how could they not be nervous? With three out of the four meta humans on their team still not at their full strength and their way out now blocked by guards armed to the teeth. Their odds of escaping were at an all time low. But nonetheless Roy was determined to get his friends and teammates out of this situation. So he had everyone crouch down behind the bushes so they could come up with a plan
"Ok guys we need to act quickly and quietly if we're gonna pull this off. We need to somehow get something into that artillery shed that will set off most of, if not all the explosives so we can signal to Martian Manhunter where we are. Miss Martian do you think you feel well enough to go into camouflage mode to sneak into the shed? You can use your telekinesis to shoot my explosive arrow at whatever you think is going to work best." Speedy offered as a plan.
"I'm still feeling pretty weak but I'm sure I could at least try." Miss Martian answered not wanting to let her team down.
"Speedy, that is far too risky, there's no way Miss Martian could get out of there in time! The heat from the explosion alone will prevent her from acting quick enough to escape, putting her into an even worse state than now." Aqualad worriedly pointed out.
"Dang it you're right, why didn't I think about that!" Speedy said frustrated that he suggested a plan that would put his teammate in greater danger.
"What about me? I could do it, I'm fast enough, just let me borrow your bow!" Kid Flash then suggested.
"KF no, you couldn't outrun the force of the blast. Dang it, why couldn't we have something more timed?! No one here could get out fast enough with my arrow setting off the explosion." Speedy said now even more frustrated and worried.
From there everyone tried to make suggestions that could work, except Robin. Who was meticulously going through his utility belt to see if he had something more helpful. Then he remembered his jelly bombs he forgot to take out from a previous mission with Batman. He pulled out the jelly bomb gun that basically looked like a hand held toy paintball gun.
"Guys I can do it!" Robin chirped up.
Everyone fell silent and then looked at the little boy.
"Uh Robin I know you're skilled at stealth but I don't even think you could get out in time." Speedy tried to answer tactfully as to not offend his baby brother's feelings, but also not wanting to endanger him and face the wrath of daddybats.
"No not with your arrow, I have some jelly bombs I can set for up to five minutes. I can shoot them in there, sneak out and be back before anyone would even notice."
"Robin Iâ"
"Please Speedy let me do this, I know I'm little but I can still help as much as anyone else!" Robin begged, even letting his baby blue eyes peek out a bit.
Immediately Roy was torn, he did not want Dick to put himself in danger. But he also knew the little bird was right and was probably the only one capable of doing this right, and gosh damn it those baby blue eyes! Taking a deep breath Roy knew what he had to do.
"Alright, but you have to be very careful! Is there any way the rest of us could help?" Speedy relented.
"Yes, yes there is." Robin said with a confident smile.
Two minutes later
The guards continued to observe the surrounding area, all of them on edge with the thought Bane and his goons could show up and take back their arsenal. It was then they heard a small explosion go off in the jungle to the right of them.
"You five go check out that explosion, it's most likely that meathead bane so shoot to kill." The head guard instructed.
Five men immediately went off to investigate, but not even two minutes after they left, trees started to fall over in another corner of the opening in the jungle.
"Damn it they're trying to surround us, you two stay here with the arsenal! The rest of you come with me and be on your guard!"
With that the rest of the group dispersed to investigate the other disturbance. Meanwhile the two guards frantically looked around ready to shoot anything that moved. Little did they know Robin had been sneaking behind them the entire time and was now in the mouth of the arsenal. The boy wonder made his way through the weaponry noticing it was well organized with a section of ammo all sorted by caliber. There was also a section of single shot guns, another of semi automatic, and then fully automatic. He even saw a small knife and traps section, which he was tempted to swipe a few things from. But he persevered till he made it to the bomb section which was organized by gas and explosive type.
Robin immediately got to work and set the timer for the bombs for 5 minutes on the control pad of the gun. He then went about doing his best to discreetly shoot the jelly bombs in ideal places for maximum explosive effect. Once everything was in place Robin immediately started to timer and turned to get out only to be grabbed by the cape and lifted into the air.
"What the hell is this brat doing here?!" The guard holding Robin yelled.
"I don't know but by the looks of it, it's Batman's brat. Better take him to Lord Kobra for questioning." The other guard surmised.
"Let me go, or you'll be sorry!" Robin yelled as he tried to punch at the two as he flailed in the air, once again cursing his tiny size.
"Yeah right short stack no come on let's take you to the boss. I'm sure he has so many questions for you."
However when the trio were out of the weapon shed they were greeted by the sight of Bane and his men standing with smirks on their faces. Each one was armed and holding a gun to a Kobra member. There were also a few holding tight to each one of Robin's teammates despite their struggling, all of them captured once again.
"Well well well, I never knew children could be so useful in times of emergency."
"What are you talking about?!" Robin yelled as he continued to struggle as the Kobra guard fell silent.
"Did you not think it was odd that while everyone else's things were taken you were left your little belt of tricks there?" Bane asked smugly.
"I figured your goons were too stupid to know it was separate from my costume." Robin yelled.
"Hahah you're too funny little boy. I may be large in stature but I have to have the brain to match it. I knew you and your little team would be able to find a path to the armory with the help of your canine friend there." Bane explained as he pointed to Wolf who was once more muzzled and being held in place by four men with long ropes.
"You're lying! There's no way you could know that!"
"Oh my little amigo,you clearly don't pay enough attention. Did you not even notice how there was no struggle for your group, despite having weakened team mates and a group of six, to make it to your pet. I let you all escape so that you would find my weaponry for me and a nice easy path to get there. I can believe you didn't even notice the tracker I left in your belt, Batman would be sorely disappointed."
"You can think you're really smart and that we're just a bunch of dumb kids but you got another thing coming!" Kid Flash, who was being held by Bane, then yelled as he tried to struggle from the strong man's grasp.
"Oh really and what would that be Speedy Gonzalez?" Bane asked as he lifted the little speedster up to his face.
"This!" Robin yelled as he used hands to cover his ears.
It was at that moment the bombs went off causing a massive explosion that knocked everyone to the ground. This also set a good portion of the surrounding jungle a blaze, filling the area with smoke. For a few minutes everyone was disoriented as their bodies and ears tried to recover from the sheer power and noise of the explosion. Luckily the kids knew it was coming so they were able to properly brace themselves for it leaving them less disoriented. Once the world stopped spinning the kids were able to escape their captor's grasp and run to where they last saw Robin.
Though trying to navigate through the smoke and debris was easier said than done. However after a little bit of what felt like aimless wandering the group found Robinthabks to the nose of Wolf. Unfortunately it was not good what they saw, the poor little boy's clothes were slightly scorched and he seemed unconscious. He clearly took on the worst of the blast and no one expected it to be as big as it was.
"Robin! Robin wake up! We gotta get out of here! Robin!" All the kids yelled at various times to wake up the little boy.
Eventually after a huge coughing fit the boy was conscious once more.
"Did we win?" The little boy asked with a painful but cheeky smile.
"Yeah baby bird we won, now come on you little heart stopper. We gotta find a place to hide till Martian Manhunter gets here." Speedy said as he gingerly got Robin on his back so he could piggyback ride.
"There is no need to hide children, I'm here."
It was then everyone looked up to see the bio shop flying above them. It slowly landed on the ground then opened up to reveal Martian Manhunter standing in the opening.
"Children in here, hurry!" Manhunter called out.
Immediately all the kids booked it to the ship, all of them relieved to be rescued. However, bullets began to fly at them as they all ran.
"You're not getting away that easy Chicos!" Bane called out, looking very rough and slightly burned, as he shot an AK-47 at them.
But then Martian Manhunter's eyes glowed red and he sent a powerful psychic blast at the masked man. This immediately knocked him unconscious to the ground, for no one messes with the League's children. Once they were all on board the Bio-ship took off leaving the burning jungle behind.
Mount Justice
All the adult paced and worried as they waited for news to come. This was particularly worse for the mentors Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Flash, and Aquaman. The four men were losing their minds with worry as they wished for the safe return of their little boys. This went on for nearly two hours, till at last they heard the bio ship landing in the hangar.
Everyone ran to the ship and watched anxiously as the hanger door opened. Much to everyone's relief all six of the kids were there and looked to be for the most part alright. All the mentors ran over to the kids and without any warning gathered them up in their arms.
"Wally! Oh gingerbread man, I'm so happy you're back! Are you alright, did they hurt you?" Flash asked frantically as he inspected every inch of the red headed eight year old in his arms.
"I'm ok Uncle, but I'm tired!" The little speedster said as he laid his head on his uncle's shoulder and fell asleep.
"That's right baby flash just take a nice long sleep." Flash said as he began to rock the sleepy little baby in his arms, now relieved as a sleepy Wally meant a safe and protected Wally.
"Robin!" Batman yelled as he ran to Speedy who had the roughed up little boy on his back.
The dark knight gathered the poor little boy into his arms,nearly tearing up at the fact that his baby was safe and home.
"Baby are you alright? Dickie please wake up and talk to daddy!" Batman practically yelled as he cradled his son.
"Daddy?" The little boy asked weakly as he finally opened his eyes.
"Yes little bird it's me!" Batman said relieved.
"Daddy, I'm sorry our mission didn't go according to plan. I'll do better next time." The worn out Dick replied.
"No baby you all did wonderful, Martian Manhunter told us all about it." Batman said as he held his baby boy to his chest.
"Daddy I'm tired."
"I know, so just go to sleep păsărică." Batman said as he wrapped his baby boy in his dark cape.
Immediately Robin relaxed as he knew he was safe and that all was well. At the same time Green Arrow was looking over Speedy.
"Kid I swear you age me ten years with all the trouble you manage to get into." Green Arrow said exasperated.
"I'm sorry, I know I'm a bit of a burden and a lot to handle, but I'll try tooâ" Roy started before he was swept up into his mentor's arms.
"Don't you ever say that kid! You're my boy and no amount of trouble will change that. I'm just beyond happy you're safe" Green Arrow said with tears leaking from his eyes as he held his protege in his arms.
Roy immediately began to cry as well as he hugged his mentor's neck tightly and wrapped his legs around him. For despite their seemingly tempestuous relationship the two truly did love eachother.
Aquaman crouched in front of Kaldur looking over every inch of the atlantean child.
"Are you well little one?" Aquaman asked firmly as he held Kaldur's face in his hands.
"Yes my king I'm alright, a little warm, that is because I was exposed to a fire. Otherwise I have recovered." Aqualad assured his king.
Without any further words Aquaman hugged his protege, which Kaldur gladly reciprocated, and the two just held each other for a while. The same happened for M'gann and J'onn who was holding said little girl as she had fallen asleep on his lap when they flew. Lastly there was Superman and Superboy who both looked to be on the verge of tears.
"Daddy!"
Baby!"
The two ran towards each other and within seconds were in each other's arms.
"Oh baby I was worried! I thought they were gonna take you back to CADMUS!" Superman sobbed as he held his baby boy tight.
"I was scared I wasn't gonna see you again daddy! It was so scary!" Conner sobbed into his fathers neck.
"I know baby but you were so brave! You were so so brave!" Superman said as he stroked his son's soft black hair.
For a moment they were quiet until Conner remembered Wolf.
"Daddy, I brought back home a friend!"
"Oh you did? Where is he?" Superman asked nervously.
"On the ship, Wolf come out!"
It was then the humongous Wolf came out looking a little nervous himself. Immediately Clark held tightly to his baby boy, afraid of what his son had brought home with him.
"I know he looks scary but he's nice. He helped us escape and beat the bad guys!"
Superman was about to question this when Wolf suddenly came up to them. Immediately Conner began to pet Wolf's head which caused the truly sweet dog to close his eyes and purr in delight. This made Superman smile and join in the petting session.
"Thank you for protecting my boy and his friends, we're eternally grateful for that." Superman said lovingly.
"Can we keep him daddy!?" Conner asked excitedly.
"I don't know Conner he's veryâ" Clark began to answer before he was face to face by two sets of puppy dog eyes by both Conner and Wolf.
This about made the blue Boy Scouts heart break making yo relent
"Alright we can, but he has to stay here. I'm afraid our apartment isn't nearly big enough for him."
"Yeah! I'll take good care of him, daddy, because he did the same for me." Conner promised.
"I'm sure you will baby. Now come on, sleep, it's well past bedtime." Clark said as he rocked his little boy and held him to
him chest.
Conner willingly did so leaving every mentor with a sleeping protégé's in their arms. Despite the fear they had felt just moments ago every mentor was filled with pride at the skill and versatility of their little ones. Together the team had managed to not only complete the mission but also adjust for the most extreme of circumstances. They all knew one day the little boys and girls they held in their arms would grow up to be great heros that would change the world for the better. So they all promised that they would help them do that and guide them on their paths. But for now they were little children and they would relish in that time for before they knew it this time would pass and they wouldn't be so little anymore.