A/N: I own nothing you recognize.
So I'm back after a year! Sorry about the delay. I was working on a chapter that would take place between Episodes 5 and 6, but I couldn't quite write it the way I wanted, so I decided to go ahead and post Infiltrator. There is a high possibility I'll post the interlude as a one-shot, but not sure yet.
This is also one of the longer chapters I've written, mostly because I ended up really expanding the beach scene. For some reason, I really wanted to flesh out everything the Team did during their beach day. It's nothing vital to the storyline, but I had fun writing it (even if it took me a while).
*also, I changed the date for this because the date in the show has it taking place over the weekend, which wouldn't work if it's Wally's first day of school.
Anyway, here's a new chapter!
6.0 - Infiltrator
Location: Wayne Manor, Gotham City
Date: Monday, August 09, 2010
Time: 0931 EDT
Naomi's eyes snapped open. She blinked a few times at the ornate wrought iron chandelier that hung above her in the family sitting room as the tingling sensation faded from her forehead. A slight throb remained at her temples, though, and she groaned a little as she sat up. She swung her legs around so her feet were enveloped in the plush rug beneath the sofa she had been lying on and cradled her head in her hands while the throb eventually subsided.
She finally looked around and found Dick on the sofa opposite hers, his feet stretched out in front of him and on top of the glossy surface of the dark, heavy coffee table between them. His laptop was open in his lap and his attention was on the screen.
"Morning," Naomi said thickly, rubbing her eyes and stretching the kinks from her back.
Dick looked up from his laptop and grinned. "Morning," he replied, his tone much more chipper than Naomi's. "What were you doing sleeping out here?"
Naomi sighed and flopped against the back of the sofa, her legs curling under her as she spread the blanket she had been using across her lap. "I woke up crazy early and couldn't fall asleep so I came down to have breakfast with Bruce, and then I suddenly couldn't keep my eyes open, so I crashed down here."
Indeed, Naomi had once again chosen to climb only one flight of stairs to get to a comfortable sleeping place instead of trekking all the way up to her bedroom. And Dick had once again found her in the family sitting room on the second floor of the manor when he had been unable to locate her in her room, the kitchen, or the gym.
Naomi yawned and stretched, dropping her head against the back of the sofa. Dick went back to his laptop and Naomi's eyes slid shut again. Their quiet was interrupted when both their Team comm-units beeped with an incoming call.
"Lark? Robin?" M'gann's disembodied voice came.
"We're here," Dick answered for the both of them.
"We were thinking of having a beach day!" the Martian said brightly. "I was calling to see if you two were interested."
"Count us in!" Dick chimed in after Naomi nodded in confirmation. He scrambled from the sofa he had been working on and rushed toward his room.
"We'll be there in a few minutes," Naomi said. "Lark out." She sighed heavily and flopped back onto the couch, rubbing her forehead as she did.
Waking up before dawn for an inexplicable reason and then falling asleep for another few hours had become increasingly normal over the past month. It was getting annoying.
When she met Dick in the Batcave, she was dressed in a dark red modest one-piece bathing suit under a plain gray cotton dress. Dick was wearing navy swimming trunks with a red elastic waistband and a t-shirt, and both had a towel slung over their shoulders and their dark sunglasses on their noses.
They stepped through the Zeta-Tube into an empty mission-slash-training room, so they walked through the hallways until they found M'gann, Superboy, and Kaldur, all in swimwear. The Martian had a bodyboard while Superboy carried a cooler casually over his shoulder and Kaldur held a case of bottled water.
"You're here!" M'gann said happily. "Are you ready?"
Lark and Robin glanced at their Teammates, then at themselves. While the birds were still in their coverups and flip-flops, the others were all ready for the water. Kaldur and Superboy were shirtless while M'gann was already showing off her lemon-yellow bikini top and matching boy shorts.
"Uh, we'll be right back," Lark said with a little laugh, and she and Robin took off down the hall toward their Cave bedrooms. Neither bothered to fully enter their rooms, instead standing at the door and simultaneously kicked off their flip-flops and yanked off their coverups. With their towels in hand, they hurried to rejoin the Team.
"Now we're ready," Robin grinned, and they set off. They stepped out of one of the Cave's entrances, the one that led directly onto the beach, and then headed for the shore.
Lark inhaled the fresh sea air deeply, a small content smile stretching across her lips as the light breeze lifted the ends of her hair and made the strands tickle her nose.
"Hello, Megan!" M'gann called, stretching out her arms. "We should hit the beach every day!"
"First, a moment of silence for our absent comrade," Robin said solemnly, placing his fingertips to his forehead.
"Poor Wally," M'gann said, bowing her head.
Poor Wally, indeed; instead of joining the Team on the beach, he was being subjected to the first day of school.
"Moment's over!" Robin declared after a beat, dropping his towel and running for the water.
"Wheeee!" M'gann squealed, running after him and diving in, Superboy following closely behind.
As was the norm, the two oldest members of the Team were slower to join the activities. Lark took her time to spread out her towel on the sand before she began strolling leisurely toward the water.
"Enjoying the downtime?" Kaldur asked as they stopped in the wet sand, letting the waves lap over their feet.
"Definitely," Lark sighed happily, closing her eyes and tilting her head up toward the sun. "We don't go to the beach often, so this is a really nice treat."
True, Wayne Manor was built on a cliff that dropped dramatically and sharply to the ocean, and the property even included a stretch of private beach. But calling it a "beach" was being generous; it was more like a narrow strip of land covered in rocks that were that awkward size of being completely useless: too large to walk on comfortably and too small to be considered sit-able boulders.
Glancing at the Atlantean, Lark asked, "What about you? Were you surprised by 'beach culture' at all?"
He chuckled and nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It was not completely foreign to me, since I had seen it in some movies and television from the surface world, but it was certainly something else entirely to witness it in person."
"C'mon, you two!" Robin hollered from the water. "Are you going to join us or what?"
Lark rolled her eyes and called back, "Impatient much?"
She and Kaldur were now up to their knees in the surf, and she would have been content to stay there for a few more minutes. A shadow loomed large behind her, though, and she whirled around in surprise. The water lifted itself off the beach and Lark turned on Kaldur, his eel tattoos glowing and a rare mischievous look in his eyes.
"Traitor," she had time to gasp with a grin before the water came crashing down on her. It pushed her further from the shore, and when she popped up, her sunglasses were (somehow) still safely perched on her nose, though her hair was now plastered to her face.
She quickly ducked under the water again and when she rose out of the water, her hair was smoothed away from her face. She quirked an eyebrow at Kaldur and was prepared to declare war when a voice suddenly hollered, "Cannonball!"
A shadow passed over them and Lark had enough time to hold her breath and turn her back before Superboy came crashing into the water. She laughed with him once the water had settled, and she could hear Robin hacking up a lung as he tried to cough up all of the seawater he had inhaled.
It was suddenly a water battle, Lark and Superboy versus Kaldur and Robin. A swell of water lifted Superboy up and away while Robin tackled Lark under the waves. When M'gann looked uncertainly between the two teams, they decided she could side with Lark and Superboy and use her telekinesis to help even the field.
They finally declared a truce when Superboy's stomach began to growl. They headed for the shore, splashing each other good-naturedly as they did, and M'gann dashed inside to retrieve supplies for a hotdog lunch.
She used her telekinesis to level the sand, which gave Lark and Robin a nice flat surface on which to set up the little grill. Soon, the coals were hot and everyone got started on grilling their hotdogs.
The young Martian was beyond excited to try new Earth food and her eyes grew wide after she had her first bite. She nodded enthusiastically at Lark and Robin, then at Kaldur and Superboy before taking another large bite. While they weren't as excited to try the new food, the Atlantean and the clone did show their approval of the quick, easy staple of American summers.
Lark tapped out after three, and while the others continued to grill up hotdogs, she stretched out on her towel nearby. She quickly found herself relaxing, the tension in her shoulders seeping into the sand, and despite being out in the open in a relatively new and unfamiliar environment, she felt safe with her brother and new friends so close.
The gentle roar of the waves, the distant calls of the seagulls, the easy chatter of the Team. Lark felt calmer and more well-rested than she had in months, and if it weren't for the fact she wanted to stay conscious enough to flip onto her stomach eventually, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she could very easily drift off to sleep.
She got about thirty minutes of sunning in before she heard the others start to groan about being full. She heard someone flop onto the sand next to her, and opening one eye, she saw it was Robin.
"You had the right idea," he cried out, dramatically clutching his stomach. "I feel like I'm about to burst!"
Lark just chuckled as she turned onto her stomach again and then propped herself on her elbows to get a lay of the land. Superboy had followed the birds' lead, stretching out on the hot sand, while Kaldur and M'gann sat on their towels just behind him.
"What else is there to do at the beach?" M'gann asked when she realized Lark was awake.
"Beach volleyball!" Robin said immediately and he leapt to his feet. "I think I remember seeing a volleyball in the game closet." He dashed off into the mountain and came back triumphantly a few minutes later, a white volleyball tucked under one arm and a collapsible net under the other.
Kaldur stood to help Robin set up the net, and once the net was taut, Lark asked if he, Superboy, and M'gann were familiar with the rules. Superboy nodded in the affirmative immediately, while the Atlantean and the Martian said they had passing familiarity with the sport from the various broadcasts from the surface world.
Lark and Robin offered to demonstrate the rules with a little one-on-one, and after the two birds had volleyed the ball back and forth a few times to explain the basics, everyone agreed they were ready for a match.
Robin immediately joined Lark on her side of the net, declaring themselves a team. If Wally or Roy had been present, they would have protested vehemently, saying that whenever Lark and Robin were on the same team, they were nearly unbeatable.
But alas, neither redhead was present, so Kaldur, Superboy, and M'gann were more than willing to let the two team up. Superboy thought it was strange that it was Lark who suggested that everyone else play together as a team, but the other two were already agreeing, so he remained silent on the strange arrangement.
Lark tossed the ball to Kaldur, giving his team first serve. He copied the motion he had seen Robin make, and thus began their game of volleyball.
The birds scored the first point, then got scored on, and then gained another. Once the game was tied three to three, Lark and Robin shared a smirk which did not go unmissed by the others. Soon, the game was over in their favor, and M'gann, Kaldur, and Superboy could only gape at how quickly they had been beaten.
"Is that why you let the three of us play as a team?" Superboy asked as Robin whooped and high-fived Lark.
Lark shrugged, maybe a little sheepishly, and nodded with a small laugh. Superboy could only chuckle in response as Robin continued to celebrate.
"That was so fun!" M'gann exclaimed, completely unfazed at the crushing defeat. "Can we play again?"
"Lark and Robin can't be on the same team, though," Superboy said, crossing his arms over his chest with a quirked eyebrow.
"Ooh, we shouldn't play against each other, then," Robin winced, immediately sobering from his cheering. "We get…a little too competitive."
"Seconded," Lark said with a solemn nod. The only time they had ever been on opposite teams had been back in middle school during a school-wide field day. They had ended up playing against each other in dodgeball, and things had gotten…intense. After that incident, it was an unwritten rule within the Gotham Academy system that Naomi Williamson and Dick Grayson were never, under any circumstances, to be allowed to play on opposing teams. It was also conceded that they would be practically unbeatable when they played together, but it was truly the lesser of two evils.
The five of them took turns playing two-on-two, with Lark or Robin serving as referee if the other was playing.
Superboy was the first to tap out, and once he had stretched out on his back in the sand, Robin got a mischievous gleam in his eyes and a playful smirk on his lips. Lark knew immediately what was on his mind, and he quickly filled in Kaldur and M'gann (telepathically, to keep Superboy from overhearing).
That turned out to be unnecessary, because what they were learning about the Boy of Steel was that he was a heavy sleeper. Robin took the lead, with M'gann eagerly following his lead. Kaldur seemed only willing to join in when Lark also started piling on sand.
They not only managed to cover Superboy from foot to neck, but they also succeeded in creating a small mountain of sand over the clone. Lark and Kaldur had to act as the voices of reason when Robin wanted to keep going, but Lark was already worrying about Superboy's ability to free himself from the sandy prison.
"So, do we wake him?" M'gann asked curiously. "Or do we wait for him to wake up naturally?"
Robin answered her by waving them all to back away and then shouting, "HEY, SUPERBOY!" They held their breath and shielded their eyes for the inevitable sand shower.
It turned out, even the might of a super clone was no match for the mountain of sand piled on him. He jerked awake, his eyes flying open and flashing first in concern for Robin's hollering, and then confusion when he was unable to move freely.
He did succeed in dislodging a good amount of the sand, but he was still trapped beneath the majority of the stuff. He wiggled a little more, and another handful of sand shifted. He turned his questioning gaze to Lark and Kaldur, each of whom gave him sheepish smiles while Robin cackled as he moved forward to help dig Superboy out.
The others quickly followed, and before long, Superboy was on his feet again, brushing sand off his skin and shaking the grains out of his boardshorts.
M'gann didn't appear to know where to look: at Superboy or away. She had managed to avert her eyes from Superboy's shirtless chest for most of their beach day, but with nothing else to distract her, she was forced to confront the objectively impressive sight. Every time her eyes flickered to Superboy, M'gann's cheeks would flame and her gaze would dart elsewhere, only to inevitably return to the clone.
The poor, flustered Martian was given a reprieve when Lark and Robin's watches buzzed with an incoming message from Batman: Change and meet back in the mission room.
They relayed the message to the Team, and after some grumbling from Robin about beach day being cut short ("Rob, we've been at the beach for hours."), they gathered their supplies and headed back into the Cave.
After depositing everything in their rightful places, M'gann and Lark headed for the girls' showers. "What do you think Batman wants to show us?" the Martian asked as she stepped under the warm spray.
"Dunno," Lark shrugged while she gathered a couple towels and her uniform to change into after she was done with her own shower, though M'gann couldn't see while she was in the shower stall. Silence stretched between the two, which Lark felt bad about. She knew M'gann was beyond ecstatic to have another female on the Team to teach her the ropes of what it meant to be an Earth girl, but that just wasn't in Lark's DNA.
Naomi Williamson did fine with her friendships, but she tended to keep them at arm's length. Part of that was due to the reality of her night life, but she was a shy and quiet person by nature. It hadn't been helped when she moved into the Williamson estate and into that lifestyle, since she had been relatively isolated and felt alienated whenever she did interact with children her own age.
In general, she was just used to spending her time with a very small circle of people. Her school friends had come into her life slowly and on her terms, so she felt about as comfortable as she could around them as people who weren't Bruce, Dick, or Alfred. And while she had agreed to be on this Team wholeheartedly, it was still more new people than she was used to in one sitting.
Lark sighed and walked into another shower stall. Since she did have a little bit of privacy, she felt comfortable taking off her sunglasses to wash, and she quickly scrubbed the salt from her body and hair before shutting off the water and wrapping a towel around her torso.
M'gann exited first, giving Lark time to towel dry her hair without putting on her mask or sunglasses. Since her hair was short and her hair dried relatively quickly anyway, it didn't take her long to get her hair to a satisfying state of dryness. She made sure her hair was parted down the middle before dressing, placing her mask over her eyes, and exiting the locker room.
When she reached the mission room, Batman and Red Tornado were already gathered with the rest of the Team.
"Now what are we waiting for?" Superboy grumbled. "Lark's here, let's get started."
Lark quirked an eyebrow. "Did I hold up something?" she asked, glancing around the mission room.
"No," Robin assured with a grin. "Supey's just being impatient."
Superboy spared Lark a glance, and while his expression didn't change any, she could see the apology in his blue orbs. She gave him a little smile in response, letting him know there were no hard feelings.
"Recognized: Green Arrow, 0-8; Artemis, B-0-8," the automated voice suddenly announced.
Lark and Robin glanced at each other, a rare glimmer of surprise crossing their expressions before they quickly schooled their features. Batman had told him he was looking into the mysterious archer who had helped out the Team during their mission in Gotham, but hadn't given any indication that he had found anything. But who else would be with Green Arrow, an archer, but the new one that had popped up?
The Zeta-Tube light died down and the Emerald Archer times two stepped out into the Cave. With Green Arrow was a tanned female teenager, in a green mask, pants, and crop top that had a lighter green arrow in the center. Her long, thick blonde hair was pulled away from her face in a high ponytail, and her blue-grey eyes were defiant, challenging.
"Everyone, this is Artemis," Green Arrow announced, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hi!" the Martian said immediately, flying forward to greet the new archer. "I'm M'gann!"
"Nice to meet you," Artemis said, looking a little off put by the green girl's cheery personality, but like she found M'gann cute, too, like a little sister.
"I am Aqualad," their leader introduced, "and this is Superboy, Lark, and Robin." The clone nodded simply, Lark offered her a small smile, and Robin gave a little salute.
"We are just waiting for the last member of the Team," Batman informed.
"Kid Flash should be here soon…" M'gann said as a slightly awkward silence settled over them.
"Recognized: Kid Flash, B-0-4."
"There he is now!" M'gann said brightly. "I'm sure you two will get along famously."
"The Wall-Man is here!" the speedster declared excitedly as he appeared, decked out in his beach gear, complete with sunglasses and zinc on the nose. "Now let's get this party star—"
In his rush, he tripped over the end of his beach umbrella, causing him to fall forward, his things clattering around him. A beach ball bounced its way over to the Team, and Lark quickly covered her mouth with her hand to hide her amused grin as Batman's eyes narrowed when the ball passed him.
"—ted?"
"The Wall-Man, huh?" Lark glanced at Artemis, who raised an eyebrow and cocked a hip. "Oh, I love the uniform," she mocked. "What exactly are your powers?"
"Uh, who's this?" Wally asked, ignoring her and glancing around to notice everyone was dressed in their uniforms.
"Artemis," the blonde responded confidently. "Your new teammate."
Green Arrow quickly stepped forward. "Uh, she's my new protégé," he explained.
"What happened to your old one?" Wally demanded.
"Recognized: Speedy, B-0-7."
Talk about impeccable timing, Lark thought to herself, an eyebrow lifting slightly as Roy stepped into the Cave, dressed in his new uniform. She had seen it once previously, but it still caught her by surprise. She had grown so used to his Speedy uniform that anything else hadn't quite seemed right. But she couldn't deny it seemed much better suited for stealth, and was also much more fitted than his previous tunic had been. (Not that she was paying attention, of course. It was simply a passing observation.)
Her lips pursed slightly when she took in that his own were set in a tight scowl as he stepped into the Cave and snapped, "Well, for starters, he doesn't go by Speedy anymore. Call me Red Arrow."
"Roy," Green Arrow said, clearly surprised to see the younger archer. "You look—"
"Replaceable," Red Arrow cut in with a glare.
"It's not like that," he argued. "You told me you were going solo."
"So why waste time finding a sub?" the redhead sneered. "Can she even use that bow?" Lark frowned at her friend; what got him in such a mood? He had been in such good spirits the last time she had seen him.
"Yes, she can," Artemis snapped back, stepping forward so she was right in front of him and tilted her head back so she could maintain eye contact. Lark couldn't help but smirk a little when she noticed Roy looked slightly taken aback by the blonde's bold attitude.
"Who are you?" Wally asked loudly.
"I'm his niece," Artemis answered just as Green Arrow responded, "She's my niece."
Lark barely managed to keep her eyebrows from shooting into her hairline while Robin voiced, "Another niece?" That certainly might fool some, but the birds knew better. Something was up.
"But she is not your replacement," Kaldur told Roy, trying to placate him. "We have always wanted you on the Team," he said, taking a step forward, "but we have no quota on archers."
"And if we did, you know who we'd pick," Wally added firmly. Lark elbowed him in the ribs.
"Whatever, Baywatch," Artemis scoffed, ignoring Wally's glare. "I'm here to stay."
"You came to us for a reason," Kaldur spoke up as Roy turned away from Artemis.
"Yeah," he agreed stiffly, "a reason named Dr. Serling Roquette."
Lark tilted her head as the name rang a bell. "The nanorobotics genius and claytronics expert at Royal University?" she finally spoke up.
"The very same," Robin confirmed with a nod once he had consulted his glove's holocomputer. "The one who vanished two weeks ago."
"The one who was abducted two weeks ago," Roy corrected. "By the League of Shadows."
Lark's eyes widened as everything from that night clicked. Beside her, Robin gasped, "Whoa! You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?"
"Hard-core," Wally whispered with a grin, fist-bumping Robin.
"I already rescued her," Roy said, and while Lark's immediate reaction was her stomach dropping to her feet at the thought of one of her closest friends facing the League of Shadow's alone, she also noticed that he couldn't help but sound a little cocky at his success.
"Only one problem," he admitted. "The Shadows had already coerced her into creating a weapon." He held something in his hand and clicked it. Above his fist, images appeared of said project.
"Doc calls it the Fog," he continued, "comprised of millions of microscopic robots: nanotech infiltrators capable of disintegrating anything in their path—concrete, steel—" He paused. "—flesh, bone." Lark couldn't stop the shiver that traveled down her spine at the mental image. "But its true purpose isn't mere destruction. It's theft.
"The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen intel to the Shadows, providing them access to weapons, strategic defense, and cutting edge science and tech," the archer finished.
"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking," Artemis concluded with a sigh, sounding bored, or…bitter? "Yeah, sounds like the Shadows."
"Like you know anything about the Shadows," Wally said, looking unimpressed. Artemis glanced over her shoulder at him with a knowing smirk, and he exclaimed, "Who are you?!"
"Roquette's working on a virus to render the Fog inert," Roy cut in.
"But if the Shadows know she can do that…" Robin trailed off.
"They'll target her," he finished with a nod. "Right now, she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab."
"You left her alone?!" Green Arrow exclaimed.
"She's safe enough for now," Roy responded defensively.
"Then let's you and I keep her that way," he suggested.
"You and me?" the younger archer scoffed in disbelief. "Don't you want to take your new protégé?"
Green Arrow stepped forward, but Batman stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "You brought this to the Team," the blond man sighed, not looking at his former partner. "It's their mission, which means it's hers now, too."
Roy scoffed. "Then my job's done." He walked stiffly to the Zeta-Tubes, though he spared Lark a glance when he felt her worried gaze linger on his retreating back.
The computer said, "Recognized: Speedy—" as he stepped into the Zeta. He snapped, "That's Red Arrow, B-0-7. Update." He held Lark's gaze as the Zeta-Tube whirled to life, and she sighed a little once he disappeared.
"Looks like you have a mission to prepare for," Green Arrow said once the light had died down. To his new partner, he asked, "Are you ready for this?"
Artemis smirked confidently and said, "Born that way."
Wally scoffed and brushed past her on his way to the locker rooms. He came back in a second, dressed for a mission. He continued to stare frostily at Artemis as Batman began discussing the impromptu mission.
Once the mission briefing was over, Lark excused herself. She hurried to her Cave bedroom, and once there, pulled out her phone. She wasn't even sure if Roy was still using the Miami number, but she dialed the last one he had contacted her with and hoped he answered.
She was pleasantly surprised when he answered on the second ring. "Are you out of your mind?!" she yelled before he could say hello. "Going after the League of Shadows by yourself?!"
"I survived, didn't I?" Roy snarked back with a scowl.
"That's beside the point and you know it," Lark snapped. "You could have been captured! You could have been killed!"
"Why is it these days you only reach out to me to yell at me?!"
"Because someone needs to knock some sense into you, and you won't talk to Oliver or Dinah!" Lark huffed out a breath and said, "Christ, Roy, you have been taking more and more risks since Independence Day, and I don't understand why. Are you trying to prove yourself worthy of being a member of the League? Because the best way to do that is to prove you can be a team player, and this lone wolf schtick you've got going isn't helping your case!"
On the other end of the line, Roy opened his mouth, then closed it with a snap. She was right. He had been getting reckless, picking bigger and bigger prey to take down. But how else was he going to prove himself? He didn't think Naomi was right, that being a member of the Junior Justice team would do enough to make his mark. How was he supposed to show the world he could hit with the big guns if his actions were limited to clandestine operations, just one of a bunch of do-gooders?
Before he could formulate an answer that would satisfy Naomi, she cut him off. "Look, I have to go. I guess I'll see you…whenever."
Her tone was bitter and she hung up before he could say anything. With a growl, Roy hurled his phone against the brick wall of the back alley he had ducked into to answer Naomi's call. She probably knew him better than anyone, but it still took him by surprise how quickly she had been able to see through his bravado. He took a deep breath to calm his harsh breathing before picking up the pieces of the destroyed burner phone. He would have to reach out to her, and soon, if he wanted to patch things up.
Red Arrow sighed and disappeared into the shadows.
Location: Happy Harbor, Rhode Island
Date: Monday, August 09, 2010
Time: 2159 EDT
That night, the Team traveled to the high school in Miss Martian's Bio-Ship. Lark was quiet the whole trip, wondering if perhaps the White Tiger would be among the Shadows sent to Happy Harbor. It wasn't until Miss Martian gently tapped her shoulder that Lark realized they had landed and that everyone else had stood to depart.
"Lark, Superboy, and Miss Martian," Aqualad addressed as the Team stepped off the Bio-Ship, "stay out here and keep an eye on the perimeter. The rest of us will stand guard around Dr. Roquette."
Lark nodded in understanding and while the Team filed into the school, she took to the roof as Superboy and Miss Martian patrolled the grounds.
{Everyone online?} Miss Martian's disembodied voice came in Lark's head a minute later.
{Ugh,} Artemis grumbled. {This is weird.}
{And distracting,} a new voice snapped, and Lark figured that must be Dr. Serling Roquette. {Coding a distributive algorithm virus on a kiddie computer with less RAM than a wristwatch is hard enough,} she said, her voice rising. {Now I have to hear teen-think in my skull?!}
{Lady, do you always complain when someone tries to help you?} Kid Flash asked, clearly annoyed.
{Pot, kettle,} Artemis sighed. {Have you met?}
{Hey, hey!} Kid Flash snapped. {I do not need attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the Team,} he threw at her.
{That is so not on me!} Artemis exclaimed hotly.
{He chose to go solo,} Lark reminded. {You really can't blame Artemis.}
{Fate of the world at stake!} Dr. Roquette hollered angrily.
{She started it,} was Kid Flash's juvenile response.
{Real mature,} Lark sighed.
In the computer lab where Dr. Roquette and the rest of the Team were holed up, Kid Flash scowled and stuck his tongue up at the ceiling and Robin snorted and said gleefully, {L, he just stuck his tongue out at you!}
{Dude!} Kid Flash hissed.
{Knock it off, both of you,} Lark said sharply, and Robin and Kid Flash felt the hairs on the back of their necks rise as they imagined the glare she must have been sending their way.
{How 'bout I just help Lark, Miss M, and Superboy patrol the perimeter?} Artemis cut through.
{Good idea,} Aqualad agreed stiffly, and from the emphasis in his tone, Lark believed he would have eventually suggested it.
There was a brief pause before Robin spoke up. {You might want to cut her some slack. It was her arrow that saved your butt against Amazo,} he added smugly.
{What?} Kid Flash floundered. {No, that was Speedy's—I mean, Red Arrow's—arrow, right?} he asked.
{No-ot so much,} Robin snickered.
{Whatever,} the speedster grumbled. {Still not giving her the satisfaction.}
{You know, I can still hear you,} Artemis said loudly, sounding exasperated.
From there, Lark tuned everyone out. It was amusing, but it had its limits. Now, she just wanted to stay focused.
Her concentration was broken, though, when a few minutes later, she heard Artemis practically purr, {Mmm…that boy.}
Lark's eyes widened a little at Artemis's brazenness, while Miss Martian snapped angrily, {He can hear you. We can all hear you!}
{Oh, I know,} Artemis said casually, not sounding at all embarrassed.
Aqualad sighed. {Miss Martian, Dr. Roquette has located the Fog,} he said. {Reconfigure the Bio-Ship so that Lark, Robin, and Superboy can pursue.}
Lark paused her patrolling the roof to say, {I think I should stay behind. With the Shadows behind this, at least one of us Bats should stay, since we have more knowledge than anyone here about the organization.}
Given her position up on the roof, she missed the sharp, if slightly nervous, look Artemis shot her way.
{Very well,} Aqualad said. {Then Robin and Superboy, get ready to leave.}
{Sure thing,} Robin said and a minute later, Lark saw him exit the school and jog toward Superboy, who was already waiting by the Bio-Ship.
Once they had departed, Miss Martian rounded on Artemis. {You embarrassed Superboy,} the Martian griped, and Lark didn't need to glance at the two to know Miss Martian was glaring at Artemis.
{Didn't hear him say that,} the blonde responded coolly.
{Must you challenge everyone?!} Miss Martian exclaimed.
{Where I come from, that's how you survive,} Artemis bit back.
{Guys, focus!} Lark snapped; she had just seen two shadows flip gracefully over the fence lining the school property, one after the other. {I saw something…}
{Lark is right,} Aqualad spoke up. {If we are to keep our promise to Dr. Roquette and keep her safe, we must be vigilant.}
{I'm going in,} Lark informed. She dropped to the ground and entered through a side door. Before she got very far, a figure landed in a crouch in front of her.
"I knew you were the clever one."
"You." Lark's eyes narrowed and she took a fighting stance as White Tiger slowly stood to his full height.
{Me,} he responded with a smirk. {Good to see you again.}
{Wish I could say the same,} she replied, unconsciously switching to Mandarin to match him.
White Tiger wasted no time, launching straight into his attack. Lark was prepared this time, though, anticipating his light projections and throwing up a shield in time to defend against the sparkling beam.
Behind his tiger mask, dark brown eyes widened in shock as both he and Lark were thrown back several feet as the collision of light and dark resulted in an unexpected explosion. The lockers up and down the hallway rattled loudly, and the ceiling and floor where the two forces had met showed signs of cracking.
{What was that?!} Kid Flash exclaimed in alarm.
{Are the Shadows trying to bomb us?} Miss Martian asked worriedly.
{Is everyone all right?} Aqualad called over the concerned voices.
In took Lark a moment to answer in the affirmative through her slight daze. Once she had, she gave a soft groan as she turned onto her side and then pushed herself upright to take in her surroundings. There was a slight ringing in her ears and she felt a little stiff from the explosion, and farther down the hall, she could see White Tiger getting to his feet slowly.
What she couldn't see was his shock and confusion, but she didn't understand how her powers worked anyway, so a surprise explosion didn't faze her nearly as much. Instead, she used his obvious shock to her advantage and drew her batarangs.
White Tiger snapped out of his stupor at the last second, lifting his hand to block the projectiles. A white shield materialized in front of him, but it flickered, unstable, and he was forced to dodge out of the way of the second barrage of batarangs.
Lark pressed her advantage, keeping White Tiger off balance as she pushed forward, forcing him away from the computer room where she had been informed the Team was guarding Roquette. White Tiger accounted for one of the Shadows; now it was just a matter of staying ahead of the second.
White Tiger's confused haze didn't last long. Lark got in a few solid punches and kicks that he managed to block or knock aside, but the blow to the stomach that had him stumbling back and gasping for air brought him back to his senses. He might have had powers, but before they had manifested, he had been trained in combat by the best masters in the world. He knew how to fight.
Lark noticed the change in his demeanor immediately and rolled out of the way of his first offensive attack. As she did, she slipped her staff from its holster and extended it with a snap of her wrist. It was fully extended by the time she was on her feet again, and no sooner had she straightened, White Tiger was on her with a growl, his fingers flexing as he did, causing claws to extend from his gloves.
Her staff twirled with practiced ease, knocking aside and blocking White Tiger's punches and kicks. He was stronger than her, and so each blow she managed to block sent her back a step as well as sending shock waves up her arms. She leapt backward, out of the way of a particularly vicious swipe of his claws and holstered her staff once she had ducked behind a row of lockers.
She was just preparing for White Tiger's next assault when Aqualad's voice suddenly rang in her head. {Lark, M'gann, Kid, Artemis,} his calm voice called, only vaguely twinged with panic, {we are under attack in the computer lab.}
Lark cursed under her breath as she was caught unprepared for White Tiger. She barely managed to dodge out of the way, but his claws grazed her right side, catching the Kevlar weave of her uniform.
{On our way,} Artemis replied immediately.
Lark found herself unable to travel any further, with White Tiger's claw snagged on her uniform. She twisted, trying to untangle herself, while her adversary grasped at her wildly. The sharp metal claws were driven further into the tight weave, and Lark could feel the force of them start to dig into her skin. They went slamming into another set of lockers, which rattled against the combined weight of the two fighters.
{Lark, do you copy?} Aqualad called, having heard nothing from the older bird.
"A little busy at the moment!" Lark ground out loud, too preoccupied to hope she had also informed the Team through the mind-link.
She ducked White Tiger's free fist, which was a feat considering he was still snagged in her uniform. She managed it by spinning out of the way, but at the cost of driving the claws further through her uniform and eventually into her skin. Now that the claws were free of the Kevlar weave, though, White Tiger was finally able to draw back his hand.
Lark drew out her grapple gun and fired it past White Tiger's shoulder. He lunged out of the way, but not before Lark was able to kick him in the solar plexus as she passed. She hit the ground running as he doubled over, wheezing, and she clutched her bleeding ribs as she headed toward the computer lab. She winced a little as she felt something dig further into the wound, and she blindly pulled out a claw that had come loose from White Tiger's glove.
She didn't have time to inspect it, though, and instead stuck it in a pocket in her belt and picked up her pace down the hall. She finally burst into the lab, just as Kid Flash and Miss Martian entered from the door on the other side of the room.
A Shadow whirled around as Lark came skidding to a stop, her hand dropping from her injured side in anticipation of another fight. White Tiger came barreling into the lab just then, and he too prepared for a new fight with Lark as she spun around to face him.
"Maybe a little too interesting," a feminine voice admitted, though she sounded intrigued about what might happen next. Her eyes swept over them once more before she said, "Tiger, let's go!"
White Tiger eyed Lark a moment longer before dropping back. He and his partner—a young black-haired woman dressed in a short green kimono, knee-high black boots, and a grinning white cat mask—dashed out of the room, but not before the green-garbed Shadow dropped a smoke bomb to enable their escape.
Lark coughed and brought her cape up to her nose and mouth, thankful her domino mask at least protected her eyes from the harsh smoke. She turned in time to see Kid Flash barrel into Artemis' arms in an attempt to follow the Shadows, and for a split second, they stared at each other in horror before Kid Flash came to his senses and pushed himself away.
"Gone," he declared unnecessarily.
"They're getting away!" Dr. Roquette exclaimed, glaring around the room. "You're letting them get away!"
"This is all your fault!" Kid Flash accused, ignoring Roquette and rounding on Artemis. "You were on perimeter! How'd those Shadows get in?!"
The speedster and the archer were pulled away from their glaring contest when Miss Martian stepped forward. "That's not really fair," she said hesitantly. "Lark and I were outside, too."
"Outside being distracted by her!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "Besides, I can't be mad at you," he added, glancing over his shoulder at Miss Martian. {You gave me mouth-to-mouth.}
{We heard that!} Lark snapped, along with everyone else.
"Dang it!" Kid Flash yelled out loud.
"I didn't do half as well during my first battle," Miss Martian comforted Artemis as she took a step closer and placed a hand on the archer's shoulder. "And I know you can't have been Green Arrow's sidekick for very long."
Artemis gave the Martian a grateful smile as Aqualad said, "Focus, everyone. The Shadows will be back." He tilted his head slightly and Lark figured Robin had made contact. After a moment, he said, "Rescan for that Fog. Find it. We're moving the doctor."
"Where can we go?" Miss Martian asked.
"Lark, can you look into that?" Aqualad requested. She nodded and raised her arm to access her holo-computer, but winced a little as it pulled at the punctures on her side.
"Lark, are you okay?" Miss Martian asked, noticing her discomfort before she could school her features, and Kid Flash sped to her side.
"I'm fine, I swear," she said, dodging Kid Flash's attempts to play nurse to her wounds. "They're shallow and small and not even bleeding anymore." He opened his mouth to argue but was silenced when Lark sent a scowl his way. He backed off and when no one stepped up to take his place, she went back to searching for a suitable location to hide the doctor.
After a few minutes, Lark announced she had found a place that could work.
"Good," Aqualad said. "Now, we need a plan. I doubt Cheshire and White Tiger are alone."
"Knowing the Shadows, they'll have backup," Lark confirmed, this time not missing the look Artemis shot her way.
"So, we need a diversion," Aqualad suggested.
Lark nodded, her mind spinning as a plan started to formulate in her head. "I have an idea," she said. Aqualad nodded, giving her the go-ahead to lay out her plan. "There's a second location that has computers, which means we can have the real Roquette and a fake Roquette working simultaneously."
"Wait, wait," Dr. Roquette stuttered. "Real?"
Aqualad nodded again, catching on to what Lark was saying. "We throw the Shadows off the scent, give the real Roquette time to work on the virus."
"Again, I ask: real?!" the doctor exclaimed.
"Lark, you will stay with Dr. Roquette," Aqualad went on. "Kid Flash and Artemis will guard Miss Martian." The green-skinned girl immediately shifted, and suddenly there were two Roquettes in the room. The real doctor scrambled backward and sputtered, but the Team continued to ignore her.
"I will create the diversion, bring the fake Dr. Roquette to the Shadows' attention," continued Aqualad. "Once the Shadows are successfully diverted, I will join Lark with the real Dr. Roquette."
The speedster and the archer grumbled when they heard they would be together, but they were silenced by a sharp look from Aqualad. "Are we clear?" he asked rhetorically. When everyone nodded, he said, "Good. Let's move."
Lark scouted ahead, checking for any lingering Shadows. When she announced it looked as though the Shadows had also pulled back to regroup, the Team snuck out of the school and began making their way to the first destination.
They made it to City Hall without any Shadows intercepting them, and once Lark had picked the lock and used Robin's program to turn off any alarm, Aqualad ushered in Kid Flash, Artemis, and the fake Dr. Roquette.
Once the door was clicked shut, Lark turned to Aqualad. "How long before they kill each other?" she asked dryly.
He gave her a wry smile. "Let's keep moving."
While Lark began to sneak Roquette farther down the street toward the Sandbar Internet Café, Aqualad stepped into the middle of the road, making a big show of guarding City Hall on the off chance the Shadows had returned.
With the abundance of caution, it took Lark several long minutes to escort Roquette to safety, but once the doctor was situated at a computer, Lark said through the mind-link, {We're all set.}
{Understood,} Aqualad replied. {Stay alert, everyone.} A few minutes later, he said firmly, {Stop it, both of you.}
{What?} Kid Flash and Artemis demanded at the same time.
{I can hear you glaring,} Aqualad responded wryly before moving behind a tree.
From her position by the window, Lark could just barely make out Aqualad's form. She knew he was saying something out loud, because a moment later, red webbing came down on his head.
{They took the bait,} Lark alerted everyone, straightening just slightly in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Black Spider's partner.
{Who do you see, L?} Kid Flash asked.
Lark winced slightly as she watched Aqualad sail into the side of a van, leaving a large dent and the Atlantean unprepared for the large Shadow that came crashing down on him, knocking the air out of their leader and down for the count.
{Our old buddies Black Spider and Hook,} she answered. {Along with the masked female from the school,} she added as the lithe figure joined her companions.
{They are heading your way, Miss Martian,} Aqualad warned as the Shadows left him.
A moment later, Artemis called, {They're here.}
{All four of them?} Lark asked.
{No,} Kid Flash responded with a grunt. {Just Spidey and Hook.}
She cursed. {Keep an eye out for the other two.}
After a few moments of tense silence, Miss Martian said, {Cheshire is searching for the real Dr. Roquette now and Artemis is in pursuit.}
{Got it,} Lark responded. "Still no Tiger?" she muttered to herself. If their fight was anything to go by, he was pissed about something, and she could only assume it was something she had done. He was a Shadow, though, and he wouldn't leave in the middle of a mission. So where the hell was he?
The sound of a floorboard creaking caused Lark to whirl around, a birdarang in her hand in an instant. Aqualad stepped out of the shadows and Lark sighed in relief.
"Cheshire's on her way, but Miss M and the others haven't seen White Tiger," she informed. "Can you hold down the fort here? I'll scout."
"Of course," he nodded. She gave him a small smile and headed out.
She grappled to the roof of the café they were set up in and scanned the area. Near the van where Aqualad had encountered Black Spider, Lark saw Artemis draw her bow at Cheshire's back. She started toward the pair but paused when a rustle behind her caught her attention. She whirled around, eyes scanning the foliage carefully.
She didn't spot anything out of the ordinary, so she turned back to Artemis and Cheshire. She frowned when she saw they had disappeared from sight, and she sighed.
{Aqualad, I'm going to patrol the area, widen my net. You still good in there?} Lark asked through the mental link, and he responded in the affirmative. With that, she grappled to the ground and began walking the perimeter.
From his perch on a tree limb near the café, White Tiger observed Lark as she ventured further away from the building's entrance. Now that he was out of the fight, he had time to wonder at his strange power outage. What was even stranger, Batman's oldest bird seemed to have a very similar power as his…
With a frown, he glanced at his left glove, noticing for the first time that the dark gray material was stained with blood. Her blood. His gut began to sink as a horrible thought occurred to him and he removed his gloves, hopeful there was enough blood left over to run some tests.
He caught Cheshire's eyes as she slinked toward the back of the café, and he dropped from the tree to join her.
"Where were you?" Cheshire demanded, eyes narrowing behind her mask.
"Around," White Tiger shrugged, unbothered by the scrutiny.
"We'll be discussing this later," she snapped. "For now, we have a mission to complete."
"Whatever you say, boss."
"I believe there's one little hero unaccounted for," Cheshire noted, mentally crossing faces off the growing list of sidekicks.
"She's around. I'm sure she'll be back any minute."
"Then let's prepare a little welcome party, shall we?"
They tucked themselves away into the shadows surrounding the building. They didn't have to wait long for Lark to reappear, coming around the corner as she approached the rear entrance. White Tiger stepped out from behind a tree, stopping Lark in her tracks. She prepared herself for a fight, noting with some relief that his clawed gloves were off, but before she could make a move, something hit her in the crux between her neck and shoulder. She crumbled to the ground, unconscious.
Behind his mask, White Tiger pouted. "Well, you're no fun."
"We're not here to toy with the sidekicks," Cheshire scowled. "I don't know how the Emperor runs his missions, but you're with the League of Shadows now. We don't fool around."
"You're the boss," White Tiger acquiesced with a slight bow and a hint of a sneer, though the latter went unnoticed by Cheshire.
"Let's wrap this up and get back to base," she said with her own slight lip curl. "You take the direct approach, hold the Atlantean's attention." White Tiger simply gave her a mock salute, and she rolled her eyes before marching toward the rear entrance.
The two Shadows slipped in through the back door, and while White Tiger made a show of searching for the doctor, Cheshire found the vents and hopped in.
A thump alerted Aqualad that he and the doctor weren't alone. "We have company," he warned, glancing between Dr. Roquette and the door. Where is Lark? he thought to himself, worry nagging at the edge of his mind before he reminded himself that she was a Bat, and no one was too big an opponent for a Bat.
"Uploading now," Dr. Roquette informed. "And by the way," she added with a glare at Aqualad, "you said you'd protect me!"
"He seems to have done a good enough job up to this point," White Tiger drawled, stepping into the room. "Unfortunately, that ends now."
Aqualad immediately reached for his water-bearers, creating two swords. White Tiger, having regained his light manifestations, copied his motion, and two matching white swords that shimmered with pale purple appeared in his hands.
"Where is Lark?" Aqualad demanded with a growl.
White Tiger raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked. "What's she to you?"
"She is a teammate and a friend," the Atlantean replied stiffly.
Behind him, one of the square tiles that made up the ceiling shifted, making Aqualad's ear twitch.
"You are just the distraction!" he realized too late, whirling around and raising his swords.
"Obviously, it worked," White Tiger smirked. Aqualad may have detected Cheshire, but he was too slow to strike down the three darts she shot at his chest.
As Aqualad stumbled back, White Tiger's swords vanished with a lingering shimmer and Cheshire dropped from the ceiling.
"Let's test the limit of your jellyfish immunity, shall we?" she asked gleefully.
As the gilled teen rushed Cheshire sluggishly, White Tiger turned to Dr. Roquette, a jian sword materializing in his hand. "I wouldn't move if I were you," he warned, leveling the blade even with the doctor's sternum. She held up her hands and with prompting from the Shadow's light sword, moved away from the computer.
Behind White Tiger, Aqualad fell with a thud on the floor and Cheshire stood over him triumphantly. "There," she said in a sing-song tone. "Limit tested." Turning to her partner, she raised an eyebrow. "Why haven't you killed her already?"
"Figured you'd like to do the honors," he replied.
Cheshire rolled her eyes. "Always the gentleman," she said with saccharine sweetness as she sashayed over to him and Dr. Roquette.
"Looks like it's time for my appointment, Doctor," Cheshire grinned as she pulled a sai from its sheath, taking White Tiger's place in front of Roquette as he moved to stand behind the doctor.
He stood fast behind Dr. Roquette, keeping her from backing up too far. The doctor's eyes flashed to the computer screen she had been working on, and White Tiger followed her gaze.
"Trouble, Chesh," he warned with a frown.
Cheshire glanced at the screen before turning back to the doctor. "So, you finished the virus," she growled, "eliminating the reason for your elimination."
"Though not the entertainment value," White Tiger pondered, creating a knife and holding it against Dr. Roquette's throat.
Cheshire just hummed and stepped back. "Lucky for you, our orders are clear," she said. "You live to program another day."
"What a shame," White Tiger sighed, the knife disappearing as he stepped around the doctor to join Cheshire. "But I guess you never know when your talents might come in handy again."
Cheshire turned on her heel and she and White Tiger strode out of the café. As soon as they stepped out, four arrows impaled the sidewalk at their feet.
"Ah, I see someone's not finished," Cheshire smirked. To White Tiger, she said, "Meet the others. I have some unfinished business with the archer."
He nodded and took off, only to double back and return to the rear of the café, where he found Lark still unconscious. He studied her for a long minute. He felt like he had been handed a puzzle, but only given a fraction of the pieces. He sighed with a slight shake of his head before disappearing into the night.
Lark came to with a soft groan. Pushing herself to her feet and forcing the building ache to the back of her mind, she realized there were voices coming from around the corner. She grappled to the top of the café and crept to the edge. Peering down, she saw Artemis facing a mask-less Cheshire, whose sharp cat-like eyes, fine jawline, and soft cheekbones were practically identical to Artemis'.
"So, like the Cheshire cat," she was saying to the blonde archer as she dropped a smoke bomb, "I'll just disappear."
Lark dropped to the sidewalk behind the blonde once Cheshire had vanished, and Artemis whirled around with an arrow poised at Lark's heart.
"Oh, it's just you," Artemis sighed in relief, returning the arrow to her quiver. Soft panting came from behind her, and Lark peered over her shoulder to see Aqualad being helped out of the café by Dr. Roquette.
"Lark, Artemis," he addressed as he stopped between them, "where are the Shadows?"
"I was ambushed earlier," Lark admitted with a wince. "I just woke up and saw no one."
"She—I mean, they, uh…they got away," Artemis said, her eyes flashing to Lark just for a second as Kid Flash appeared.
"Oh, from you?" he asked sarcastically as he skidded to a stop next to Lark. Artemis turned away from him. "Oh, big surprise. Notice, we got ours." Miss Martian floated down, levitating Black Spider and Hook, who were tied up and unconscious.
"Hey, Kid," Lark called, noticing Cheshire's mask on the ground. She slipped her toe beneath the mask and flipped it into her hand, where she held it out for the redhead, hoping it would distract him from picking on Artemis; it worked.
"Cool," he grinned as he took it from her. "Souvenir!"
"Her mask?" Aqualad stepped forward and started to pull the darts from his chest. "Did you see her—her face?" he asked as he winced in pain.
"It was dark," Artemis defended immediately, turning her back to everyone.
"It is fine," Aqualad assured. "Robin and Superboy neutralized the Fog, and Dr. Roquette is safe, thanks in no small part to you." Artemis slowly turned to face them again. "Welcome to the Team."
Artemis managed a small smile and Lark, Aqualad, and Miss Martian approached her.
"I've always wanted a sister, and now I have two!" Miss Martian said happily as Aqualad held his hand out for Artemis to shake. "Here on Earth, I mean," she clarified. "I have twelve, back on Mars, but trust me, it's not the same."
"I wouldn't know," Artemis said with a small smile, and Lark had to admit she had a good poker face, but something in her tone made Lark think the blonde wasn't being truthful. "But thanks," she added.
Miss Martian elbowed Kid Flash in the ribs. "Ow," he said, sounding more like he was just making a point and not actually hurt in any way. "Yeah," he said finally in the same tone. "Welcome."
Lark rolled her eyes as he and Artemis shook hands. "Pardon Kid Manners," she said. "The rest of us are glad to have you, making his feelings on the subject irrelevant."
Miss Martian giggled while Artemis smirked. "Words hurt, babe," Kid Flash whined.
"Come on," Lark laughed, ruffling Kid Flash's hair. "Let's go home."