"Okay, the building is up ahead," Red Robin said.
"Why haven't they sent… anyone? They have to know we're here," Superboy said.
"Good question," Red Robin replied as he released a minuscule, almost microscopic, drone into the air. "Superboy, can you see or hear anything in there?" Superboy turned towards the building, frowning and squinting. "Superboy?" Red Robin looked up at him, his mouth twisted in annoyance.
"I—I can't hear or see anything," Superboy admitted, completely baffled.
"So... the walls are lined with lead," Red Robin guessed as he maneuvered his drone.
"No," Raven interjected.
"What do you mean 'no'?" Red Robin asked, not sparing her a glance.
"I mean, the building - there's a magical force field around it."
"How do you know that?" Red Robin sighed.
"I can see it," Raven answered. That got Red Robin's attention. Nowhere in the dossier did it mention that Raven could see magic, but maybe she can. Honestly, I don't understand the world of magic, so, whatever. "Can you get through it?" Red Robin asked, standing up.
"Yes," Raven answered confidently.
"Great. We need to get in there, but I don't want us to enter the building blindly."
"I could teleport your drone inside," Raven offered. "Hopefully, the inside isn't as heavily insulated with magic as it is on the outside."
Red Robin frowned. He didn't want to rely on Raven, but he didn't have a choice. "Okay," he called his drone back. "Let's do it."
After Raven teleported the miniscule drone inside, Red Robin conducted a full thermal scan of the building. "Okay," he said. "Raven, with me. Can you teleport us into the building here?" He pointed to an area on the hologram. "The server and security room is over here," he pointed again. "Once I have control of the servers, I'll open the doors and hopefully find where they're keeping Beast Boy and Miss Martian."
"Is Raven going to accompany Kid Flash and me?" Superboy asked.
Raven opened her mouth to reply, but Red Robin answered for her. "No. I want Raven with me. Also, she needs to figure out a way to lower this magical barrier or whatever." He paused. "Raven, teleport KF and Superboy inside first. They'll be our distraction." Red Robin turned to the other two male heroes. "Draw as many guards as you can away from the server room, then find Miss Martian and Beast Boy. I'll also be looking for them while downloading whatever files I can get my hands on. Once you find Beast Boy and Miss Martian, Raven and I will meet up with you. She'll teleport us back to the bioship. Then we're homebound." Red Robin looked at each teammate.
"You know something is going to go wrong, right?" Kid Flash asked. "Like, there's a 100% chance that this plan will not work. Do we even know what guns these guards are packing?"
Red Robin glared at Kid Flash through his mask, though Kid Flash was the only one who didn't notice it. "Just do it," Red Robin replied. "As for the guns, assume they're alien. Don't get shot."
"Okay," Kid Flash said. "Since this is Raven's first mission, should we put our hands in the middle and say, 'Go team?'"
"Go."
"You summoned me, sorceress," Deathstroke said as he and Ravager entered the security room.
"You spent years creepily spying on these minors," Anita said, her green eyes flashing as she pointed to the screen. "Who. Is. This?" She punctuated each word.
Deathstroke examined the screen closely. "I have never seen that girl in my entire life," he said, frowning as he stepped towards the screen.
"Are you certain? Because she broke through my force field with startling ease."
"I swear," Deathstroke replied. "I may have backed off the little brats, but I've kept with the roster since their inception. That girl is new. Very, very new."
"How new?"
"I've been watching them," Ravager spoke up. "They've had several missions this last month. She wasn't there for any of them."
"Run her face," Anita ordered her men.
"Right away," a guard replied. Moments later, a negative beeping echoed throughout the room. "Uh… ma'am, there's no record of her existence."
"Excuse me?" Anita whirled around to face the man. "That program has been enchanted with techno-magic. It not only matches faces in this galaxy, but in the next galaxy over." Her eyes flashed as green energy leaked from her fingers and wrapped around the guard's neck. "You're telling me she doesn't exist in either galaxy?" She snapped his neck. "Is that what you all are telling me?"
"Uh… ma'am," a different guard tentatively raised his hand.
"What?" Anita whirled around, fixing her icy glare on him.
"They're gone," he pointed to the screen.
"What? Find them! Find them now!"
Red Robin and Raven appeared inside the facility just as the warning siren and lights went off. Thanks to Raven's powers, they made their way to the security room with ease. Whatever havoc Superboy and KF were causing was working as a successful diversion, judging by the number of guards that unknowingly passed Raven and Red Robin as they hid in the hallway shadows.
They rushed to the security room. Once outside the security room, Red Robin activated the detective vision built into his mask and counted the bodies inside. "There are seven guards in there," he said to Raven. "I'm going in."
"Wait." Raven gripped his forearm before he could leap into action.
"What?" he huffed in annoyance. What's her deal? I don't have time for this.
"There's... someone else in there."
"You mean a meta-human?"
"I—I'm not sure. Maybe I should go first?"
"Not necessary." Red Robin shook her off before throwing smoke pellets into the room. "Just... wait here."
Raven frowned as Red Robin disappeared into the security room. She heard a series of grunts, groans, followed by yelps of pain. Then... nothing. "Red Robin?" Raven spoke into her earpiece. No answer. "Red Robin? Come in, Red Robin," she said again. She reached out with her senses only to be met with a spike of pain shooting through her head. "Screw this," she muttered. I'm going in.
Inside the room, Red Robin landed a well-aimed kick to one guard's chest while striking another with his bo-staff. The two guards slumped to the ground, unconscious. He looked around, ensuring everyone in the room was debilitated. Double-checking his surroundings, he made his way to a computer. Typing commands into the system, he slid a drive into the port and began clicking through security feeds, searching for Beast Boy and Miss Martian.
"Well, well," a seductive, feminine voice came from a dark corner of the room. "What do we have here?" The owner of the voice stepped into the light, and Red Robin instinctively took a step back as the warning bells in his head began to ring. A scowl formed on his face as he recognized the figure. "Enchantress," he growled.
Anita, the Enchantress, gave a sly smile. "I don't think you and I have had the pleasure of meeting." Red Robin brandished his staff. He knew all about the Enchantress, though he had never met her. He knew her to be a formidable opponent; even Batman didn't fuck with her. I am so screwed, Red Robin thought, schooling his facial features. Should have listened to Raven. "Though it would be entertaining to fight you – it certainly would be fun for me – I'm more interested in your purple-haired teammate." With a flick of her wrist, a screen grab of Raven's face appeared on every monitor in the security room. "Who is she?" the Enchantress asked, slowly approaching Red Robin. "I want to know all about her."
Before he could move, Enchantress placed her hand on Red Robin's face. Paralysis took hold of his entire body. He felt his brain lurch, and pain flooded his temples. No, he thought frantically, I can't let her inside.
"Cute," she smirked. "You're trying to keep me out. This'll be fu—ow!" she screeched. The pressure disappeared from Red Robin's head almost immediately. He tentatively opened his eyes to see the Enchantress sprawled on top of the destroyed computer terminal and Raven standing protectively in front of him.
"Back. Off," Raven growled. Enchantress very slowly stood to her feet. "Red Robin," Raven said from beneath her hood, "do whatever it is you need to do. I'll handle her."
For the first time in months, Red Robin listened to Raven.
One second, she was about to siphon every memory from Red Robin's head – the next, she was on her back, staring up at the ceiling, her muscles crying out in pain. What hit me? Anita gradually lifted herself up onto her shaky arms in shock. It's her. She hit me. Anita stood to her feet and smiled while inwardly screaming in pain. "Just the girl I was looking for," Anita grinned as she regained her balance. "You broke through my magical barrier."
The hooded girl didn't answer. Instead, she brought her glowing fists up, taking a fighting stance. Hmm, Anita cocked her head to the side. I wonder what powers she possesses? I'll just take them for a spin. Anita teleported right in front of the dark girl and placed her hands on the cloaked hero's face. "I need to borrow your body for a bit."
Anita felt her spirit leap out of her body and toward the dark girl. Suddenly, Anita released a scream as she felt her soul slam back into her body. She backed away, gasping for air and grasping at the pain in her chest. Her world spun, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. "What! What!" she gasped. She felt her body become airborne before smashing into a wall. The girl had blocked her attempt at possession! How? Who is this girl?