DJ's p.o.v.
I groaned and I got up to a sitting position spitting out a few mouthfuls of sand as I did. I rubbed my forehead and looked around me. All I seen was that I was in a desert and it was night time.
'The hell? How'd I get here' I thought before going into deeper thought. Did I escape from Cadmus? And if so why did I end up here and how. I then looked down and seen I was in an orange and black costume.
"And who put me in this!" I said out loud. I suddenly heard groaning from my left. I looked over and seen an African American man laying on the sand. But he weirdest thing about him was he had gills.
"Atlantean, native to Atlantis. Not entirely sure that the desert is a good place for them" I said to myself before walking over and bending down to feel his skin. It was almost too hot to touch.
Even though it was night in whatever desert we were in, it still gets hot at night. I sighed before looking around the sky for the North Star, and I had to find it quick because it looked like dawn was less than a few hours away.
I found it and started to walk away from the teenager but suddenly scientist Dr Smith's voice came through my head.
'No matter what your doing, whether it's a training session or a real mission that the higher ups send you on, if there's someone who can recognize you that's still alive. You will get punished. Remember that.'
I flinched before putting a hand on my shoulder and rotating it a few times while remembering last time I disobeyed an order. I sighed before turning back to the guy.
I didn't want to kill him, but if this was a test then to avoid any punishments I needed to. I lifted my right hand and unsheathed my claws before walking towards him.
"Sorry man" I said before grabbing his neck and aiming my claws for his head. Best to kill him quick. Just as I was about to kill him, my mind flashed to me and the exact boy standing underwater. I had no diving equipment on, but I seemed to be okay.
The boy's hand began to glow orange as he grabbed my wrist. Suddenly my wrist felt as if it was on fire. I squirmed, but for some reason I didn't attack him. Suddenly he let go as I nursed my wrist. I looked down at a tattoo now on my wrist. It looked like two hands and wrists in the middle of a Bro handshake.
"This is the Atlantean symbol for brothers in arms. I myself have only given it to one other person in my life" the African American boy said.
"Kaldur, you don't need to do this" I said. He smiled and nodded.
"I know, I want to" he said before putting a hand on my shoulder.
"It is my way of saying thank you for saving my Queen, my home and myself" he added. I smiled and gave him a hug.
I shook my head and looked down at the boy, who was still unconscious. I then rolled up my sleeve and looked at the tattoo on my wrist. My thumb traced across it as I looked back down and rolled down my sleeve.
"I guess we're friends" I said only to receive no response. I then grabbed both of his wrists and pulled him over my shoulder.
"Hang on buddy, we'll find you some water" I said before I began walking North.
"Man, you need to loose some weight" I said as I stumbled with the guy on my shoulders. I had taken off my jacket part of my costume and had covered as much of him as I could since it was at least three hours after dawn, so that left me in just a tank top and bottom of my suit.
I know with it being black it might be doing more harm than good but it was the only thing I could think of for keeping the sun off his back.
Suddenly I heard the engine of a truck. I quickly scrambled over to a dune and laid the guy down in the shade. I then belly crawled over the dune and looked out into the vast desert. A speck of black then appeared over another dune, coming towards us.
I watched as it parked less than fifty feet from us and two men stepped out. one of the guys then reached in the truck and pulled out a canteen.
I looked back over at the teenager, but he started to shake like he was cold. I frowned before looking back at the two guys. They had their backs turned to me. I smiled before I went around the other side of the dune.
I slowly Crouch-walked towards the two people. They were talking in the native language of Bialya, so at least now I knew where I was. But now I just had to figure out why.
"Can not believe this, stuck out here in this heat and for what? To look for a few children" one of them said in annoyance. they were looking for us? Guess me and the other guy are troublemakers.
"Yeah but you know two of the kids are the ones who escaped from-"one of the guys was cut off when he turned and seen me. But he was the far one, so I first had to go through the closest one.
"Hey!" he yelled raising his gun. I ran at the first guy grabbing his shoulder and using him to launch myself forwards. I flew feet first and both feet landed on his chest, sending him back his back. He then landed on with the back of his head hitting a rock.
Suddenly I heard the sound of a gun loading a bullet. I turned and directed the gun away from me and gave the guy a right hook to the side of the head.
He fell down unconscious as I smiled. I love having metal bones. I quickly ran back to the teen picking him up. I carried him back to the truck and put him in the passenger seat.
I seen that the truck had a full tank of gas so I turned it on and turned on the AC as well. I then went back to the two guys and grabbed both their radios and their rifles. I left them with their pistols and one canteen with a few MREs I found in the truck.
"Be glad I'm a good-ish guy" I said walking back to the truck. I got in and immediately ripped off my tank top and soaked it in water before putting it on the guy's forehead.
I pat him on the shoulder before putting the truck in drive. The truck had a GPS navigation system on the dash with a picture of a red arrow and a yellow line behind it.
"Hey where the hell is everyone. We got one, but this kid is like a freaking gorilla on Angel Dust!" a strained voice over the two radios said. I was confused so I went to grab one of the radios. However the boy suddenly came to life and gave me a punch, causing me to swerve.
I slammed on the brakes and we skidded to a halt. However I didn't buckle him into the seat, so he jumped at me causing me to slam against the door and take it off the car entirely.
We landed on the sand and rolled around for about a minute before he finally got on top of me using super strength.
"Who are you, where am I, where is Garth and Tula?" he quickly questioned me. I groaned before I flipped him as he was still kinda weak.
"First of all to answer your questions in order. My name is DJ, we are in a desert and it have no idea where or who they are" I said. He then kicked me off of him and I landed against the vehicle making, a dent in the back drivers side door. He then pinned me using his arm.
"Did you take me and bring me here?" he asked. I shot him a look.
"Yeah, I brought you into the desert and then I put you in a truck with the AC on and a damp cloth on your forehead" I said sarcastically. He felt his forehead before feeling the rest of his body.
"Oh" he said before he let me breathe again. I coughed a few times before he outstretched his hand for me to grab. I grabbed it and he pulled me up with a decent amount of strength.
"Thanks (cough) Thanks Kaldur" I said remembering the name in the flashback. He looked at me with a shocked expression.
"How do you know my name?" he asked. I rolled up my sleeve and showed him the tattoo.
He was shocked at this. His hand started to glow orange like it did in the flashback. He then outstretched his hand towards me. Instantly the tattoo began to glow the same orange as his hand and slightly burn like it did last time.
However he stopped quickly this time.
"It is true" he muttered in shock. "I have only given the symbol for brothers in arms to one other person in my life, my best friend from Atlantis" he said. I coughed again before extending my hand.
"DJ" I said as he smiled and shook my hand.
"Kaldur'ahm, but my friends call me Kaldur, which you obviously know" he said as we laughed slightly. I reached into the now three doored truck and pulled out a canteen of water before handing it to him.
He quickly grabbed it and gulped it down as I grabbed the door and tried to put it back on.
"So do you remember anything about what we were doing out here?" I asked. He stopped drinking the water before he let out a relief sigh.
"No, the last thing I remember was me and my friends Garth and Tula on a trip just outside of the Atlantis borders and that was probably yesterday. So today must be March 5" he said. I went to nod but I remembered something. Kaldur must've seen it in my eyes because he perked up.
"What?" he asked. I just leaned into the truck and looked at the navigation system. I groaned as Kaldur came in through the passenger side. He seen what I was looking at and sighed.
"Well that definitely complicates things" he said as we looked in the bottom right corner of the screen.
September 5, 9:13 AM.
"Huh, so that's why I have no memory of escaping. Good to know" I said to myself.
"What" Kaldur questioned. My head snapped up, realizing that he heard me.
"Uh, nothing just talking to myself" I said. He came closer and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Brothers in Arms should never keep secrets from each other" he said. I sighed before taking a deep breath.
"I was created by scientists to be a weapon against the Justice League should they ever turn bad" I said as his eyes widened. I knew Aquaman was a member of the Justice League, so he had every right to hit me and probably was going to.
"But the last thing that I remember was being held in my cell and then I woke up next to you in the desert with memories that I don't remember" I said. He nodded.
"Well, I don't know what's going on. But how about this. If we can get to the ocean from here, I can get my king and we can return for you. Maybe even bring you to the Justice League to help get our memories back" he said before looking down.
I followed his eyes and seen I was wearing a watch. I guess being from Atlantis he probably didn't have anything like this. Well I wouldn't think.
But the thing was that I didn't remember having a watch or even remember the scientists have anything like this.
"Hmm" I said before inspecting it. Suddenly I heard a click and a hologram of the desert around us popped up. Out of surprise both me and Kaldur jumped and put our fists up to hit it.
"Huh, interesting" I said inspecting it. About ten kilometers to the West was a GPS save. But it was in the opposite direction of the ocean.
"I saved this location for a reason" I stated pointing at the red dot. I then pointed to the spot on the hologram.
"But it's away from the ocean" I added. Kaldur drank the rest of the canteen before he hopped in and closed his door.
Let's go he said. I smiled before climbing in and turning the truck to the west and stepping on the gas.
As the truck rocked back and forth, I couldn't help but think. Why would I be sent to Bialya if I was meant to be a weapon against the Justice League?
Further more, why the Hell can I not remember the last six months of my life? I thought I was done having blackout periods in my lifetime.
"Hey" Kaldur said looking out my window. "What is that?" he asked. I turned and seen a blur of grey and green moving along the top of one of the dunes.
I made sure there was nothing to crash into out front before focusing all my sight on the colours.
It was a man and a woman. The man I recognized as Kid Flash, but in a different uniform. This one was grey instead of red and yellow.
The girl I didn't know, but if the costume was anything to go off, I'd say... Green Arrow. But then wait, what happened to Speedy?
Suddenly the girl turned towards me and narrowed her eyes. She raised her bow and fired an arrow at us. I quickly jerked the wheel to the right and avoided an explosion. But the truck still rocked back and forth.
I growled before I grabbed the machine gun that was in the back seat.
Third person view
"Oh, can we not get a break?" Kid Flash asked as Artemis released the arrow at the Hummer. It jerked to the right and avoided the blast, but it still rocked back and forth threatening to flip.
Suddenly Kid seen a black object lean out the window of the vehicle. Bullets then erupted from the end of the gun and struck the ground underneath the two. Kid Flash had to do some fancy jumps and dodges to avoid them, which made Artemis miss her next shot.
The arrow went high up in the air, but at least it went in the direction of the vehicle. However Kid Flash lost his footing and the two began falling down the dune towards the side of the Hummer.
DJ smiled as he stopped shooting and put the gun back in the back seat. The plan was to make Kid Flash trip and then get quickly drive away. The dune was high enough to keep them falling for at least a minute. Plus now they knew that they had rifles.
"Do you ever get the feeling that something is going to go wrong?" Kaldur asked as his driver turned to him. DJ went to respond however before he could, the arrow that Artemis fired came down just before the front of the truck and caused an explosion lifting the front of the truck up.
It came down on it's side and began rolling until it came to a halt upside down. Luckily it didn't explode, but the engine was smoking.
DJ groaned as he looked over at Kaldur, who was still conscious. DJ unsheathed one of his claws and cut his seat belt. He fell on his back against the roof. He then did the same with Kaldur.
Kaldur punched the door off the passenger side and the two climbed out. However no sooner than they were out and standing, Kaldur has a grey blur run past him hitting him in the face, knocking him down.
An electric arrow then hit DJ in the chest, taking him onto his stomach. Artemis smiled as she came in front of the two as Kid Flash stopped beside her.
Suddenly DJ and Kaldur both stood up, Kaldur cracking his neck and DJ pulling the arrow out of his chest.
"It will take more than that to bring us down, I assure you" Kaldur said as he raised his fists while DJ unsheathed his claws.
Kid ran off while Kaldur ran after him. Artemis then fired an explosive arrow at DJ, who only stood still. The arrow hit him in the chest and exploded as Artemis smiled. However once the smoke cleared, she seen DJ was healing from the burns on his chest and was flicking the remains of what was the arrow off his chest.
He scoffed before he ran at her and slashed at her with his claws. She ducked and avoided them before rolling away. She reached back for another arrow only to feel nothing. She looked back and seen that there was nothing on her back. She turned to DJ and seen her quiver hanging off his claws by the broken strap.
He threw then behind him and sheathed his claws.
Meanwhile Kaldur kept getting hit after hit by Kid Flash. The desert was making him weaker than he normally was so he couldn't use his water-bearers willy-nilly. Another punch to the face, however caused him to reconsider that thought.
He pulled one and turned it into a whip. He then used it to trip Kid Flash, who wasn't fast enough to dodge.
DJ swung his fist at Artemis who ducked under and punched him in the gut. She then tried to kick DJ in the face but she immediately felt pain shoot through her foot. She fell to the ground clutching her hurt foot.
DJ went to restrain her and help Kaldur, but several little black balls made contact with his chest and exploded, sending him backwards.
Robin then landed in front of a downed Kid Flash and kicked off Kaldur's chest sending him back before he also threw a few exploding balls his way.
"Hey KF, heard the fighting. Who's this?" Robin asked as Kid Flash jumped to his feet.
"Girl in the green is Artemis, she mine by the way. And the two dudes no idea" Kid Flash said as they focused on Kaldur, who collapsed from the heat of the explosions.
However both Robin and Kid Flash got a bad gut feeling. They turned around on a whim and seen that DJ had Artemis in a headlock and had one of his claws against her throat.
"Hands" he ordered as the two superheroes put their hands up. Robin couldn't make a shot with any of his Batarangs and Kid wasn't fast enough to stop him even with food.
"Back off" he ordered as they did as they were asked. DJ then made his way to Kaldur with his hostage still in his grasp.
However once he got to Kaldur he seen that he had passed out from the heat. He looked back at the vehicle before looking back at Kaldur and then the heroes.
He cursed before he sheathed his claw and pushed Artemis back into Kid's arms. He then put his hands at his sides.
"I hope that this shows enough trust for someone to help my friend" he said. Robin looked at the other two and shook his head. From the look in Kid's eyes, he agreed. But Artemis, she felt something in her chest. Even though he had them to her throat, she felt some kind of... Connection with the claws. Safety and security.
She took a few steps despite Kid's and Robin's protests. She came closer to him and looked at his hands. She took one in them and trailed her hands along his knuckles.
"Okay, I'm both weirded out and slightly happy" DJ joked as Artemis ignored him.
"Have we... Met before?" she asked. DJ shrugged.
"Don't know, both me and my friend have memory loss" he said. This got Robin's attention.
"Six months?" He guessed. DJ looked at him with a questioning look before shifting to an angry one.
"Did you do this to me?" he accused. He would've lunged if he didn't want to avoid Kaldur getting any help.
"No, but I've got the same thing" he said before looking at Kid Flash. "It's September" he added, which caused both Kid and Artemis to tense up.
"I'm guessing both of you have the same thing" DJ guessed. Both nodded all now very confused.
DJ sighed as he went back to the vehicle to look for the canteen and the top half of his suit.
He found his suit and the canteen. But the canteen was empty due to a crack in it. He swore before hitting the vehicle and walking back to the others.
"I'm outta water. And he ain't gonna last much longer" DJ said. Everyone was silent until a loud whooshing sound flew over their heads, making them all look up. Above them were three Reaper Drones. Everyone dove outta the way just in time to avoid machine gun fire.
DJ looked up and seen three more Hummers were heading their way. He looked back at Kaldur and grabbed him by the collar before dragging him to any cover he could find.
Robin threw several Batarangs at one of the Hummers that was going to try and run him over, however they just stuck to the grill. He dove out of the way of the tires before he smiled.
All the Batarangs then started beeping before they exploded ruining the engine.
DJ dragged Kaldur back towards the Hummer they came in hoping that he could hide his friend in there. But while he was doing that he couldn't help but wonder... Did he know those other people?
"Claw-boy look out!" He suddenly heard the voice of the girl he just had as his hostage. He turned his head and seen a Drone had zeroed onto him.
He quickly threw Kaldur away before bracing himself for the ammunition that was coming. The Drone opened fire, however what did hit him, seemed to just go through him with no effect. The camera on the Drone then focused on the Hummer next to him. More specifically the gas tank.
DJ watched as a few shots went past him. He turned his head in slow motion and seen what they were firing at. By the time he knew it's plan, it was too late.
The Hummer exploded and came down into DJ. He yelled as he felt the entire weight of the vehicle crush his body. He couldn't even move his arms enough to cut through the metal.
He struggled to stay conscious due to the weight of the vehicle crushing his lungs. He turned his head only to see that the Drone was zeroed in on him again. He braced for the upcoming assault, which he worried he wouldn't survive from. Suddenly the Drone exploded for no real reason. Suddenly a flash of green flew overhead of DJ.
He turned his head and seen that there was a flying green woman attacking another one of the Drones with telekinesis powers.
However the other one had locked onto the others and the circling Hummers were starting to get closer. Suddenly DJ got another memory.
This time he was sitting on couch next to a boy with a black shirt with a red S in the middle of it. On the other side of him was Kaldur and beside him was the girl in green who DJ had just held hostage. However she wasn't wearing anything uninformed and was just in blue jeans, a blue tanktop and a brown jacket.
"Popcorn is ready" a voice called out as DJ turned their heads and seen a girl with brown hair and red eyes. However she was moving the bowl without her hands as it floated above them and then onto the coffee table in front of them.
"Sweet, popcorn. Thanks M'gann" a boy sitting on a lazy chair said as he dove into the popcorn. He had ginger hair and green eyes. But DJ recognized the voice. It was Kid Flash. So that means that the silent kid was probably Robin. They knew each other.
"I have friends" DJ muttered confused. Suddenly he heard a scream as he turned back and seen the green girl fall to the earth next to the others as all the Drones surrounded them. DJ's eyes narrowed as he grabbed onto the Hummer where he could.
"Leave my friends ALONE!!!" He yelled out lifting the Hummer over his head with a yell. Everyone looked at him with shocked looks. He then threw said Hummer at one of the Drones and it exploded.
Suddenly another Hummer drove past DJ as the passenger shot at him with a machine gun. The bullets tore through his body and healed almost instantly.
He then started running after it. Surprisingly he caught up with it while it was driving. He grabbed the back of it and dug his feet into the sand.
Soon enough he ripped the the vehicle in half with his strength, sending the two people inside flying onto the sand.
M'gann took the chance and flew back up to the last Drone. He put her hands together and quickly threw them apart. Instantly the Drone ripped in half and fell to the earth.
One of the men who had fallen on the ground groaned and went to roll over when suddenly two claws buried into the sand on both sides of his neck. He froze and looked up only to see the crazed red eyes of DJ.
DJ retracted his claws and grabbed the man by the throat. He held the man up over his head with still a crazed look. The man then drove a knife into DJ's head. However the knife just bent making an L shape.
The man began to sweat as DJ then swiped his left claws at him several times. He screamed, however felt nothing. DJ threw him onto the ground and turned around to walk away. The man looked at himself and sighed in relief as he didn't see any blood.
However when he went to stand up all of his clothes except for his boxers fell off.
DJ walked back to the others as the green girl landed. Kid Flash smiled at her.
"Nice outfit J'onn. But I'm not sure that the new bod screams 'Manhunter' " Kid Flash said. M'gann looked at the boy shocked.
"You know my Uncle J'onn?" M'gann asked before she lightly slapped her head.
"Hello, Megan, of course, you do! You're Kid Flash. Wally! And you're Artemis" she said excitedly.
"Wait, wait, wait. Martian Manhunter is your uncle?" Wally asks, taking in the new information happily considering he's not riddled with bullet holes thanks to her.
"Is that how you know my name?" Wally questioned. Artemis then looked over at Wally.
"Your name is really Wally?" Artemis asks, unimpressed. Wally hangs his head and groans.
"Ohh…" He groaned at her tone.
"It's okay" M'gann assures. "We're teammates, friends. I made you cookies" she said before looking at DJ and Robin.
"Wally West aka Kid Flash. Artemis aka.. Uh well Artemis. Robin who is just Robin because Batman has told him never to give his name out and finally DJ also known as Razor" M'gann said pointing at the team members as she listed them off. DJ was still coming down off of his power surge so he just panted and didn't respond.
"Although I thought all you had were claws and healing powers" M'gann said. DJ looked over at a large rock and went to pick it up. He got a good grip, but could not lift it whatsoever.
"Strange" he said in a raspy voice before he put a hand on his head and sitting on the rock. Meanwhile everyone came into a circle trying to figure out what had happened.
"So we're a Team?" Robin asks, kinda-sorta believing what M'gann is telling him.
"The five of us and Superboy" M'gann says, saving the hardest to believe piece for last.
Though not hard to believe as Robin grabs something from his belt and responds with ease and speed.
"Then this must be his" he said holding the object up. In his hand is a piece of a black shirt with a red S decal on the front.
"Yes" M'gann gasps, taking it from the Boy Wonder.
"Did you see him?" she asked worried.
"I think we did!" Artemis realizes while Kid Flash mulls it over.
"Feral-boy? Some teammate, he attacked us" he says annoyed.
"He didn't know who we are" Artemis defends. "I don't even know who we are!"
"I remember Batman ordering Radio silence" Robin inputs. "Our team must work for him" he added. In an instant, Wally has a smirk on his face.
"How do you know we don't work for my mentor?" he asks, hitting the Flash logo on his chest for emphasis. Though when his suit suddenly goes back to bright yellow, he stops short.
"Whoa" He hits it a couple more times, watching as his color scheme changes.
"This is so cool" he said as he continued to switch colours. Everyone else started pressing their chests hoping for the same result, but nothing happened.
"We look ridiculous" Artemis said before she seen Wally was still switching colours.
"Quit touching yourself" she scolded as he stopped immediately. But not before doing it one last time. Artemis made a sound of annoyance before she turned to the others.
"We need our memories back" she said as DJ stood up and nodded.
"Agreed. I need to know who to hit and who not to hit" he said. M'gann nervously rubs her hands together nervously before she made her decision.
'To help Superboy' She thinks to herself, hardening her resolve before bringing her hands to her head and her eyes glowing white.
Robin, Artemis, DJ and Kid Flash look around stunned as they see small chunks of memories playing around them.
"I brought you into my mind to share what I remember so far" a white form appears before the four, using M'gann's voice.
"But I need your help" finally M'gann's hooded form appears. "Together our broken memories can form a whole, if you open your minds to mine" Artemis looks angered and betrayed as DJ looked scared.
"You wanna paw through our private thoughts?" she yelled as DJ shook his head.
"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea either" DJ said. He didn't want to put a normal-ish teenage girl through all the horrors what he experienced.
"I don't wish to intrude but-"
"You need to hack our minds to figure out what happened to us. Got it, go" Robin finishes, snapping his fingers as he gives her his okay.
"My brain's all yours. Try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you" Wally flirts.
"Or underwhelm you" Robin pipes up. "Hey, why isn't anyone just whelmed?" he asks.
Artemis ignores the fact that he's spouting nonsense and turns to M'gann. Hearing Wally step up, her eyes fall on him. What catches her attention is his soft smile and the fact that his hand is reaching out for hers.
"Last six months only. And only what you need" she tells M'gann, glancing back at Wally briefly.
M'gann nods before she looked at DJ for his acceptance. DJ sighed before he went and pulled M'gann away.
"Just the last six months. if you go back any further than that... You won't like what you see" he said. M'gann was hesitant now but still nodded before she reached her hands out as astral projections of hands branch off her hands and her head to meet with Artemis, Kid Flash, and Robin's heads. The memory clips become more uniform before finally becoming a full image.
"The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan desert" Batman's voice speaks. Forming an image of the Dark Knight in Mount Justice, displaying a map to the Team.
"Spectral Analysis revealed elements non-terrestrial in origin" Artemis, Robin, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, DJ, and Superboy stand before him all in uniform.
"Find out what happened at that site. What landed there?" Batman hits his remote again, changing the screen to show Queen Bee.
"Bialya is a rogue state ruled by Queen Bee and not a member of the League's UN charter. All communications are subject to interception" the image changes back to the map.
"Maintain radio silence at all time"
Looking out through binoculars at the Bialyan desert, Batman's voice continues.
"You will land in Quarac, on Bialya's border, two clicks from the hot zone" the binoculars fall and the attention is turned again to Miss M, Superboy, and Artemis, who are backed by the bioship, and Superboy is moving the same thing that Robin had a GPS marker on.
"All clear" the Boy Wonder tells them.
"The Bialyans control the site" Artemis's voice speaks up as her, DJ and Robin crawl in the desert to look over a small Bialyan camp.
"Set up here" Kaldur's voice tells Superboy, who drops the device he was carrying on his back. The straps disappearing and only needing one button to fully activate the machine.
"We'll be up and running in no time" Robin says as he types away at the keyboard on the machine.
"Jackpot!" Wally says from behind the Boy Wonder, standing up from his slight crouch.
"This site's lousy with Zeta Beam radiation" Robin said looking to the speedster.
"Detecting non-terrestrial trace elements from the tent" he informs the Team.
"I'll check it out in camouflage mode" M'gann offers.
"Good idea, go" Kaldur tells her.
"Careful" Superboy says immediately.
"And maintain telepathic contact" Kaldur reminds her.
"I will guys" she promises as she looked at the two boys but looked at Superboy for a split second longer.
Everyone shook their heads as they remembered why they were sent her and by who. But they soon remembered that there was only six not seven.
"Superboy!" everyone shouted in worry and panic.
"Where is he? What happened next?" Robin asks.
"I don't know. That's the last thing I- we remember" M'gann admits, worry coating her voice.
Kid and Artemis look down to their clasped hands, both of them pulling away.
"Ugh-" Wally grumbles, moving his hand to rub the back of his neck. Meanwhile DJ remembers something.
"I think he was captured" DJ said making everyone look over at him with questionable looks.
"Over the radio I heard them talking about quote 'a kid on Angel Dust' " DJ said. Everyone was about to continue on about how to find the clone, when suddenly Kaldur suddenly began to groan.
"Du ra, vis ol may" Aqualad murmurs, his face scrunching up in pain as Robin, Kid Flash, DJ, Artemis, and Miss Martian nervously look him over for any physical damage after realizing that they didn't check him after the Drones and Hummers were disposed of.
"Aga pa, olsey" he kept murmuring in pain.
"I can't restore his memories in this state" M'gann tells the others.
"He needs immediate rehydration" Robin says sternly. "Call the Bio-Ship"
"It's out of range" Miss Martian says instantly, then looks to Kid.
"You can get him there quickly" she said only for Wally to shake his head.
"He's too heavy, and I'm too low on fuel" Kid says almost breathlessly.
"Right now, I couldn't even carry her" he gestures to Artemis with his thumb. Artemis pushes it away with a scoff, looking at Miss Martian.
"Why not just levitate him back?" She asked
"I can't Superboy is still out there. Six months ago, he didn't exist. Just animal impulse, I'm the only one who can help him" she said. Kid Flash then gestured to the rising smoke from the way he and Artemis came before they met up with DJ and Kaldur.
"Superboy's indestructible, just ask those tanks. It's Aqualad who needs your help- like- now" he said. Suddenly M'gann clutched her head as an image of Superboy being electrocuted surfaces.
"No!" she shouts. "Superboy's in pain" she takes off with nothing else on her mind.
"M'gann wait!" Artemis yells after the martian.
"We still don't know what erased our memories!" Robin calls after her. "It could happen again!" he yelled only to no gain. DJ sighed before turning to the others. Looks like it was time to take charge.
"You three take him back to the Bio ship I'll go aft-" DJ started but was interrupted when Artemis groaned and grabbed her ankle.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Artemis shook her head and smiled.
"It's nothing" she said in a strained voice. DJ suddenly remembered something and frowned.
"It was when you kicked me in the face, wasn't it? You caught my cheek bone" he said as Artemis finally sighed and nodded. DJ frowned and looked in the direction that M'gann just flew off in.
"Okay, we get to the Bio-Ship, we get the two of you medical treatment and if we haven't heard from M'gann in that span of time we'll go after them" DJ said as they nodded.
DJ bent down and picked up Kaldur bridal style as Wally did the same with Artemis.
"Ready?" he asked Robin who was looking at his hologram. He gave his temporary leader the thumbs up and pointed in a direction opposite to the one that M'gann had went.
"We're here, now what?" Wally asked in a strained voice as the group came across the red Martian ship. Artemis took notice that strength wasn't his strong suit as sweat poured off his face. DJ looked at the Bio-Ship before a thought came to his mind.
He put Kaldur down and stepped up to the ship. He put a hand on his head and outstretched the other to the ship. After a few minutes the ship began to transform and created a ramp for the group to enter.
DJ kneeled over and gasped for air as if he hadn't breathed for those few minutes. He then smiled and gestured to the ramp.
Wally quickly took Artemis inside so he could put her down while Robin dragged Kaldur towards the ramp.
DJ scoffed before he picked up the Atlantean with no effort and walked him inside. Robin scoffed as he followed them.
"I could've done that" he mumbled before the hatch closed.
"Okay, Kaldur's on fluids. Artemis, how's the leg?" DJ asked as Artemis wrapped her ankle in bandages. She looked up and smiled.
"It's good, I think I just sprained it" she said. DJ nodded.
"Okay, it's not good but it's not the worst thing neither" he said before he faced the way M'gann had went.
'M'gann, are you there' he said only to receive silence for a few seconds.
'Hey, DJ I'm okay. I got Superboy too, he's back to normal' M'gann said. DJ sighed in relief before nodding.
Aqualad jolts up, panting, looking to Artemis with wide eyes.
"Who are you?" he questions, though not putting up much of a fight as Artemis pushes his shoulders back down.
"And how did you get inside my head? DJ what's happening" he quickly questioned.
'Hello, Megan' the martian continues. 'Aqualad's memories. I knew I forgot something'
'Aw man, me too I didn't get a souvenir for the mission' Wally said completely ignoring how Artemis and Kaldur turn to look at him in varying levels of annoyance.
'Don't worry, got the souvenir thing covered' Miss Martian assures. Everyone looked at each other with confused looks.
Everyone walked out of the debriefing room with smiles. Batman had told them that they could debrief the League tomorrow so that meant getting a few hours of relaxation which was okay with DJ.
He knew that tomorrow someone would tell them about his burst of strength and speed. He had absolutely no idea about that though, he didn't have any memory about super speed or strength.
Meanwhile Wally had nearly emptied out the cabinets and the fridge while everyone else barley got enough to eat.
"Can you not act like a such a slob?" Artemis asked leaning on the table. She heard rustling to her left and looked over. She seen DJ was dumping a box of cereal into his mouth before he dumped in some milk as well. He looked up at Artemis and smiled with a full mouth.
She rolled her eyes and decided she would eat at home. Plus her mom was probably going to be getting worried soon. She went to take a step, but immediately winced at the pain that shot through her foot.
Fortunately she was able to fight off a groan or a scream, so no one knew that she was having trouble walking.
As she went through the Zeta-Tube however DJ looked over and rolled his eyes. He got up and stretched his back, making a crack. The others then looked over at them.
"Well, I'm going to head out. See you guys tomorrow" he said as everyone nodded and said their goodbyes. He nodded at them and went over to the Zeta as well.
Recognized. Razor B-06
He stepped out of a phone booth and turned to the side and seen that Artemis hadn't even made it out of the alleyway. She turned back and seen her teammate standing there.
"W-what are you doing here?" she asked confused and scared. She had told everyone that she lived in Star City. DJ rolled his eyes ad came forwards offering his hand.
"Stop being a tough chick and let me help you" he said. Artemis smiled and blushed slightly before she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks.. um I'm here visiting my aunt and uncle. They live here in Gothem-" she started but was interrupted by DJ.
"2643 Victoria street" he said saying her home address and looking over at her. She had both a shocked and scared look.
"Batman had me track you down after our little team up at the school" DJ said answering the unasked question.
"Oh... Please don't tell the team. I told them that I lived in Star City and if they find out about that lie then they won't trust me as much as they do" she said as they walked. DJ nodded.
"Sure, but you know that you'll have to tell them the truth at some point" DJ said. Artemis only nodded and stayed quiet as the two kept walking down the street. To everyone else it just looked like a pair of teenagers walking down the street.
Eventually they got to Artemis's house. It was a nice house with a few levels. DJ also took note of seeing a ramp as well as stairs at the front door.
Artemis leaned on DJ and got her keys out. She planned to just get DJ out of here as fast as she could.
However just as Artemis was about to put her keys in the lock, it unlocked from the inside.
"Uh oh" she said before she switched from leaning on DJ to leaning onto the handrail for the steps. The last thing she needed was for her mother to get the wrong idea.
The door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman in her forties. She had black hair and was Vietnamese. But what stood out the most was the fact that she was in a wheelchair.
"Artemis there you are! You weren't answering my texts or calls" the woman said.
"Sorry mom, I didn't take my phone with me on this mission. Batman's orders" she said. The woman then looked over at DJ who just stood there with a plain expression.
"And who is this?" she asked in a tone that told Artemis her mother thought she was out doing something else.
"Um mom this is DJ he's on the team. DJ this is my mom, Paula" Artemis said. DJ bowed his head and smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, ma'am" DJ said. Artemis's mom smiled and hummed.
"Ooh, great looks and chivalry. A good combo, Artty" Artemis's mom said winking to her daughter as she turned her wheelchair around and entered the house. DJ looked over at Artemis.
"Artty?" He asked as Artemis got close to his face.
"Never. Ever call me that" she said before she limped into the house. DJ chuckled and was about to leave when he heard Artemis's mom yet again.
"Artemis, are you okay?" Paula asked with concern. DJ turned and seen Artemis was leaning on the couch. He sighed before he went back to the doorway.
"Um, that may be my fault ma'am" DJ said preparing for a punch. Paula looked at him with a scowl before she turned for Artemis for an explanation.
"Um okay, first it's not what you think mom. DJ has metal bones and I tried to kick him in the face because... Reasons. And I may have slightly sprained my ankle" Artemis said mumbling the last part. Paula looked over at DJ and looked him up and down.
"You have metal bones?" she asked. DJ nodded.
"Yeah, do you want confirmation" DJ asked as he went to lift up his shirt exposing a bit of his muscular stomach.
"Yes" "No!" Artemis and Paula both said at the same time. Artemis then quickly pushed DJ out the door while shooting her mother a look, who just smiled at her daughter's embarrassment.
DJ stumbled as he was shoved out the door and stubbed his foot. He cursed quietly as Artemis laughed.
"Oh, now who has a hurt foot?" Artemis mocked. DJ smiled.
"At least I'm not whining and crying" DJ countered.
"I didn't whin or cry!" Artemis said immediately getting defensive. DJ made a face of fake pain.
"Oh why why" he said in a high pitched voice as he and Artemis laughed. However Paula wasn't laughing. Instead she had a look of pure terror and fear.
flashback
A woman in her thirties stepped out of a SUV with a damaged front end. She was dressed in burnt orange clothing with a paw print on the chest. Around her waistline were two large stripes that represented a tiger's. She also had two more stripes running down the sides of her neck and facial paintings around her eyes and cheeks.
She stretched her back until she heard a satisfying crack she then inspected her vehicle. It's front was completely crushed inwards and would've been more crushed if the vehicle wasn't reinforced.
But it wasn't her vehicle that she had to worry about.
She looked forwards and seen a smashed up minivan on its roof. As she walked forwards she thought about the contract.
These contractors had contacted her through Lawrence. She was to use a tablet that was mailed to a rented PO box and was to run into a vehicle that had a GPS tracker on it.
She waited for it to reach a part of town that had the least bit pedestrians or vehicles and then she ran into them.
As she got to the car she inspected it. Whoever ordered the hit, specifically asked her to hit the front end of the vehicle so she aimed for the driver's side door.
She kneeled down and looked inside through the passenger window. She seen a woman and a man, both cut up and bloody. And both not moving.
She smiled and got up before fishing in her pocket for per pre-paid cell phone. She was about to send the confirmation email to the people when she heard groaning from the back of the car.
She got the 9 mm off her waist and flipped the safety off. She couldn't let a witness go free. As she approached the back of the passenger side a body rolled out of the already broken window, making the person freeze. It was a boy.
A young boy maybe a little older than her daughter, Artemis. He had dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was looking up at her with a pained look and a sad expression.
"Why" he said before he began crying.
"Why!" he yelled his voice going higher pitched.
End of flashback.
Paula found herself snapped out of her flashback by light shaking. She looked over and seen her daughter was standing beside her with a concerned look. DJ had also came back into the doorway with a concerned look as well.
"Mom, are you okay?" Artemis asked. She nodded her head before she smiled.
"Yeah, I just. Uh..." she started but was interrupted by a timer ding from the kitchen. She looked back at the kitchen.
"I forgot I had something in the oven, sorry about that" Paula said before she wheeled her chair around towards the kitchen. Her facial expression then immediately changed into a frown. She hadn't thought about that day in so long.
Meanwhile DJ and Artemis looked at each other and shrugged.
"Anyway, see you tomorrow, Artty" DJ said before immediately running away. Artemis frowned and was now regretting leaving her bows at the base for the night.
Okay quick clarification. This isn't going to be an Artemis Jade and DJ fanfiction. I'm saving that for the harem story.
But I just couldn't think of any other way to work in the Flashback into this chapter.