Third person view
In a lab completely isolated from those around them, a scientist speaks to two familiar robots; the male and female robot that infiltrated Mount Justice. Although now they were repaired from Artemis and Razor's attacks. A different scientist's voice speaks up from the center of the lab as he was working on something.
"When the prodigal son returned, his father saw him" a dirty blonde with green eyes shines a light into Red Torpedo's eye as someone else continues to speak.
"And had compassion and ran and embraced him" the man speaking is in a lab coat.
"For this, his son was lost, and is found" he leverages something smoothly mechanical that his green eyes go maniac.
"You are the prodigal son, Tornado and I rejoice at your return" a cylinder releases pressure as he stops leaning over his worktable, setting his tool aside.
"And thank you for making our little family reunion possible" Something small, black replaces his tool he points it at the table with his right hand, and it makes a light buzzing noise as he turns it on.
"Now, you must have many questions" he answers himself.
"No?" he covers his mouth, not in compassion but dramatism.
"Oh! How could I forget? Your voice box is offline. But your eyes and ears still function perfectly" behind Tornado's black lens his camera moves to follow the movement of the approaching man.
"As does the prodigious mind I built for you all those years ago" he said finally crouching down to be level with Tornado's face, leaning on the table that Tornado is sitting on.
"And really, what else matters?"
Or rather the one Tornado's body is splayed out on. His head is tied to two wires that keep it on the "pillow" of the table only two wires continue down to his neck. His chest plate is open to reveal his golden core, steel ribcage, and spine. His pelvis and legs are still together but are fully separated from his core. Both shoulder sockets have a few wires splaying from them while one of his arms hangs from a claw.
At Mount justice
"Pineapple juice?" Captain Marvel offers a glass with a paper umbrella to a relaxing Wally. His right arm now casted, as he sits in a reclining chair and all his technology right at his elbow on a table and to his left was wolf sleeping soundly.
"Ahh! Just what the doctor ordered" the speedster says appreciatively after a long drink.
"How's the arm doing, Wally?" the Captain asks curiously.
"Well, nothing wrong that nachos can't cure" he isn't subtle in his motives, leaning back on his chair as the sounds of his teammates practicing can be heard from the center of the room.
"Nachos? Oh, I'll go get you some" the captain said before taking off.
As he flies away, Robin is hit and lands on his back before rolling with the force of the throw that gains his opponent5ptsas he groans.
Artemis smirks as she jogs towards the Bird boy for another attack.
Behind her, Kaldur and M'gann are in far closer combat. She throws a low punch towards Kaldur's side that he blocks with his forearm for2pts, stepping forward to throw another at his face that he uses an open hand to knock his wrist out of the way for2ptsmore. He spins to try and get a front kick in, though M'gann blocks with a knife-hand to his ankle for2ptsback.
A roar suddenly echoed before Razor was thrown backwards by Superboy who attacked with a punch to the face however Razor put his hand up to block the attack before trying to sweep at his legs.
It had been over a week since the incident with the Injustice League and so far everything was going good.
DJ explained his plan for the team to be Dr Fate's hosts' until they could find a permanent one. M'gann and Kaldur agreed to it immediately while others like Artemis and Robin took some more convincing but eventually they all agreed to it. Though Wally still claimed that it was all an illusion and they didn't really turn into Dr Fate.
"Good work everyone" Black Canary says stopping the fight from the sidelines. Until Superboy headbutted Razor to get a last hit in. However he then helped up the clawed teen with a smirk which DJ returned.
"In fact, it's been a very productive week" she added as everyone came up to her, Artemis shooting a glare at Wally.
"Yeah, for everyone except Kid Malingerer" the archer taunts. Wally finishes his drink of juice, glaring at the blonde.
"Hey, arm broken in combat against the InJustice League here" he waves off the cast to prove his point.
"So was mine" Razor stated.
"You break your arms during TV commercials!" Wally pointed out. Black Canary chuckles seeing her son and friend bickering. It was nice to see with her own eyes him getting along with them.
"I've really enjoyed being your, uh.. Den mother this week" she said trying to find the word to describe it.
Suddenly the Zeta-tube powered up making everyone turn towards it.
Recognize: Zatara;1-1
Everyone in the room turns to the man in the suit and top hat with a cane, that he's not using, standing in the Zeta Tube as he moves outside it and then uses a HoloScreen without a word to them.
Access Granted.
Zatanna Zatara;A-0-3
Authorization: Zatara;1-1.
The Zeta Tube lights up again and Zatara steps up.
"Zatanna, this is the Team. Team, my daughter, Zatanna" he introduced. She looks very much like her father with the dark black hair that falls over her shoulder and is parted on the left side, and skin tone. The only difference being her baby blue eyes and that she's wearing a school uniform.
M'gann then came up to the new girl who held her arm shyly with a smile.
"Hi I'm-" she began but Robin jumped in front of her.
"Robin" he introduced quickly before he got fidgety.
"I mean, I'm Robin. Ah, she's Miss Martain, uh and that's Kid Flash, Artemis, Aqualad, Superboy and-" this time he was cut off.
"Razor!" she said rushing past Robin to the razor clawed teen as by now all shyness had left her.
"Oh my god Razor! Oh Barbara is not going to believe this. Can I get a picture with you?" she said not waiting for a response before she threw her body up against his and took a selfie.
Even though DJ was shocked he still quickly smiled and extended his claws for the picture. Luckily he had decided to train with his mask on.
"It is always nice to meet a fan" he said glad this fan was closer to his age and not a full time superhero.
"So are you joining the team?" he then questioned. Before she could answer, her father spoke up for her.
"Eh, now let's not get ahead of ourselves" Zatara speaks up his voice shakes a little as steps closer to his daughter again.
"This is strictly a visit. Though I am sorry we missed the Training. It's something from which Zatanna could benefit" he said turning to Black Canary. M'gann looks curiously at the Team.
'Do the rest of you guys get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?' she asks telepathically as everyone turned to her, even Zatanna.
'Not just Zatara. I mean, why is Marvel still hangin' around?' Conner asks, his annoyance coming through in waves. Wally pipes up in the Captain's defense.
'Because we like having him around' he said as Artemis turns on the ginger.
'You like having him around 'cause he waits on you hand and foot' she pointed out.
'And your point is?' Wally drags.
'It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor' Kaldur said. Robin lets a sarcastic half chuckle through the link.
'Yeah, at least he trusted us' Robin said.
'If you ignore the fact we shouldn't have trusted him' Conner snarled, seeming to forget that while he can't be heard by others outside the link, his very obvious hand gestures can be seen, something which annoys Zatanna as everyone had been making gestures like they were talking but nothing had been said.
'He was traitor. That machine nearly got M- all of us killed!' he added.
'Then why didn't he?' Razor said voicing his own opinion which made the team turn to him.
'He had the chance to end the League's secret team for good but instead he chose to knock us out and retreat with his siblings and now is hunted by the League... I don't know, something just isn't adding up' he added. Before anyone could respond, Zatanna stepped forwards.
"Are you guys having a psychic conversation? 'Cause I can't decide if that's really cool or, uh, really rude" she said catching both the team's attention and the adults.
Connor then looks over his shoulder at the two adults who were looking at the team for answers about what they were talking about.
"Alright, fine. We were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack and the League hasn't told us anything" he said as calmly as he could considering how angry he was seconds earlier.
"The League is searching for Tornado as well as the other Androids that invaded the Cave and their creator, T.O. Morrow. Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority" Canary said strongly.
"But you've found none of the above" Robin objects.
"Or even any leads for that matter" DJ chimed in.
"Not yet, but Tornado is Justice League. The Team is not to pursue this but when we have a location, you may get your chance at redemption" Canary said remembering the deal Batman had made with Razor.
Knowing that this could turn into a real argument at any point, especially with Razor and Superboy, Zatara stepped up.
"Why don't you all take Zatanna on a, uh…" he trails off not seeing her.
"A t-tour of the Cave?" he said as everyone looked around for her.
Hearing Wolf stirring in his sleep, they turned towards him and found Zatanna had been sitting at his side and petting him in his sleep.
As the Large canine got up from his nap, Captain Marvel also arrived now with a plate of nachos which Wolf immediately noticed.
"Huh, you're giving a tour? Cool!" he said petting Wolf as Connor came up to him.
"Actually, I was hoping you'd take Wolf outside. He needs the exercise. Uh, we'll join you in a few after we're done with the tour" he said.
"Sure, sure. I- I can do that. Come on, Wolf" Marvel says brightly, taking off towards the back door of the Cave with Wolf following close behind and with Wally's nachos still in his hands.
"Wh- wha- wha- My nachos?" Wally whines as Artemis smirked at his misfortune before walking away with the team and Zatanna. Conner grabs the front of his shirt and drags the speedster along at the rear of the group.
As they neared the kitchen area of the mountain Zatanna, who had been behind the group, caught up so she was now next Robin who noticed her outfit change. She was now wearing a white pants and a pink shirt with straps.
"When did you? How did you?" he questioned as it went unanswered as she asked the obvious question.
"We're not really taking a tour, are we?" she said, her tone sounding more bored than anything. Her question also made the group stop walking as Superboy and Kaldur turned to her.
"No. we're hunting down that robot" Superboy said looking at Kaldur for comfirmation who nodded.
"Yes, we are" he comfirmed.
"Oh wow, out loud and everything" Zatanna said.
"What about new girl?" Artemis asked.
"We can't just leave her here and go off on a mission. She may be mad enough and tell Canary and Zatara, and we wont get very far" Razor pointed out.
"I'm sure she wouldn't tell" Robin said defending her.
"I can't tell... not if you kidnap me" she said turning to him with a smirk. At that, Artemis smiled and placed her hands on her hips.
"Oh she's gonna fit in great" she said.
As the camouflaged Bio-ship flew over the woods surrounding the mountain, it flew over Captain Marvel and Wolf. Captain had a large log in his hands and Wolf was eating Wally's nachos.
"Fetch" he said throwing the log away however the large canine just continued to eat.
"Come on. Fetch" he said in almost a pleading tone.
"Please" he said finally dropping his hands in defeat.
Inside the Bio-ship M'gann was driving while Artemis and Zatanna were in front of her, Wally and Robin to the left and Superboy, Aqualad and Razor to the right.
Suddenly the speaker that the League insalled inside beeped.
"M'gann, the Bio-ship wasn't authorized for departure" Black Canary said.
"We're kidnapping Zatanna... to uh show her Happy Harbor. Be back soon" M'gann said.
"Rrroger that, uh have fun" Canary said sounding a little suspicious.
"Where are we even going?" Robin said as the Ship didn't seem to be flying in a specific direction.
"Batman is the world's greatiest dectective. He's searched for Tornado and Morrow in every logical place. If we're gonna do better, we need an illogical solution. A- a truly dumb idea" Robin added turning his attention to Kid who realized everyone was looking at him.
"As a matter of fact..." he began with a smirk
In the Cave Morrow is still working on Tornado while the dirty blonde guy walks in front of the other two androids. Using a small pen laser to turn Red Inferno and Red Torpedo back online. Their eyes glowing red.
"Look Tornado, your brother and sister are back online despite that... Razor's best efforts. Though I will say he does know how to fight" Morrow said catching the scientist's attention. He looks over his shoulder to see that Tornado is almost completely back together on the table as Morrow continues with the last few wires running around Tornado's body.
"We'll have you up and running too. Maybe even turn your voice box back on as soon as I'm done copying and downloading your memory files" he grabs his computer chair, spinning it around and sitting in it by Tornado's side.
"In the meantime, I'll tell you a story"
Coils spark and light up the lab as the color washes out of the scene leaving it dreary, bleak, and old where the shadows of a man are on the more expansive equipment in the room. But there is also another figure on a table like Tornado's in front of him.
"Once upon a time, a brilliant scientist decided to build his own superhero to infiltrate and destroy the Justice Society of America. His first creation was… Red Torpedo, Hero of the ocean deep. a machine programmed to think he was a man" a man stands on the rocky shores with waves splashing up at him, the moon at his back. Torpedo's robotic form flashes with the image of a pale ginger in a red suit and mask-wearing form.
"Unfortunately, that programming was crude. Torpedo never quite fit in. Your eldest brother was a failure" Torpedo's human form sits on the same cliffed shore, watching the sea splash up at him.
The scene returns to the lab, with a new silhouette on the table before Morrow's.
"But the scientist believed in his plan and began again" before the tall spireing tower and below the monorail tracks, among the walkers of the 1939 New York World's Fair, surrounded by towering statues.
"Your sister debuted as Firebrand, a much loved and admired heroine" a woman with hair falling down her back, mask in place despite her otherwise street-ready clothes as she tossed a fireball between her open palms. she creates a small arc with her fire as people looked on. Including one man with a three-point lightning bolt traveling up his shirt with a round helmet sporting only small wings on the sides.
Someone screams, and as people run away, a man wearing a full-body costume and a mask with a laser gun aimed at the heroine, hitting her in the side.
"If only she hadn't been so darn heroic. Yet our intrepid scientist would not quit and this time, the andriod would know he was an andriod" a flash cuts off the scene this time splitting to a press conference where camera flashes continue to go off showing the members of the JSA; Sandman, Green Lantern, Doctor Fate, Flash, and Hourman welcoming Red Tornado into their ranks. The official picture is captured.
"The new approach worked. Red Tornado, the robot hero was inducted into the Justice Society. The scientist believed he had triumphed" Morrow said.
However as scene returned to normal, T. O. Morrow's voice goes sour.
"But Tornado's original heroic programming and Pinocchio-like desire to become more human caused him to betray his creator, his father" he snarls at the still silent hero. Morrow steps up beside the dirty blonde by Torpedo and Inferno.
"Still the scientist refuses to give up"
Belle Reve
"Warden Strange owed us a favor for stopping last month prison break. He's given us five minutes with you" Miss Martain said harshly as she leaned on an interrogation table with professor Ivo sitting on the other side of it.
"Spill Ivo! How do we find T.O Morrow and the Reds" Superboy snarled at her side.
"Now why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?" Ivo questioned.
"Because, and a truely dumb idea, you're Morrow's biggest competitor in the evil andriod game. Who better to keep track of what he's up to and where?" Kid stated.
"Ah I see your point. So let me rephrase. Why in the world would I help you find Morrow?" he questioned.
"He knows. Do what you must" Aqualad said said coming forwards as Miss Martain stood straight up. She closed her eyes for a second before snapping them open, now glowing green. However Ivo just laughed and leaned back in his seat.
"Oh please, as if I've never faced a telepath before" he said with a smirk. At this Zatanna leaned over to Razor, who was standing next to her at the back of the group, and whispered something in his ear. A smile then crawled onto his face.
As the team thought over their options, Razor suddenly pushed forwards and slammed his fist downwards into the table and from the sound it made his claws were out and had gone through the table.
"Then we try this my way. Now the evil andriod game is going to loose a creator today, now only you can decide who that's going to be: you or Morrow" he stated with a snarl. Robin went to pull him back however Aqualad grabbed his arm. Razor never did anything without reason.
Most of the time.
"You think you scare me, boy" Ivo mocked leaning forwards as Razor smirked.
"Maybe not. But you're focused on me and that was the goal" he answered. Suddenly Zatanna appeared to Ivo's left before he could get his mental guard back up .
"Trulb tuo s'worroM eurt noitacol" she chanted quickly.
"Morrow's in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone national park. 100 meters south of Old Faithful" he said rapidly. Zatanna smirked as she and Razor high fived while the rest of the team looked at Ivo and them in shock. Immediately Ivo covered his mouth in shock at what he had just said.
"Wait. What-what just happened?" he questioned as Warden Strange watch it all from a camera in the corner of the room. His eyes then narrowed in anger.
"Download complete" Morrow said as he punches out numbers on his keypad. Then he engages the crane above him, lowering down a table near the ceiling of his lab.
The form on it is covered with a white cloth. Morrow removes the crane as he steps up to the table.
"Time for the upload" then he yanks the sheet off.
Now Red Tornado stands beside Torpedo and Inferno, all of them still standing sill.
"But first, introductions" Morrow says, now looking over the fourth android.
"Red Tornado, Red Torpedo, Red Inferno, I like that name so much better than Firebrand. Meet your baby brother…" this android is a darker red than even Torpedo, but with red hot lines running across the outside of his body and a glowing hot Triangle with a circle on the inside of it on his chest. His face has narrower red eye slots and a red line that makes it look like he has a mouth turned into a perpetual frown, and his same icon on the center of his forehead.
"Red Volcano" he said as he plugged in a cable to the table from the console behind him.
"This Red won't bother infiltrating the heroes. He'll simply destroy them with the help of your memories. Finally, the scientist has built an android that transcends the need to be human" he turns to his console and starts typing out commands. The remote beside him beeps and he picks up, turning back to Volcano.
"No more Pinocchios" he hits the button in the remote and the eyes of the newest red began to glow with a low buzz entering the room.
He sits up, then moves to standing and walks towards Morrow. Towering over the man. Red Volcano thren grabbed Morrow's hand that held the remote with enough strength to break the technology. He holds the man off the ground by the wrist.
"Hello, father" he said before grabbing his other wrist.
"Son, you're hurting me" Morrow said wincing at the harsh hold.
"Yes, but pain is so human" Volcano pulls on Morrow's wrists.
"And per your programming, I've transcended any concern for humans" he said yanking Morrow's arms off, causing the sockets to spark as the now revealed droid falls to the ground, face still showing pain, but no longer moving.
"No more Pinocchios"
Volcano zeroes in on the tear in the corner of the android's eyes, showing just how humanoid it's creator was. Volcano looks down at the at the still sparking arms in his hands to the rest of the body.
"His son was lost. Son was lost. Son was-" the andriod of Morrow said until Volcano stomps on the face of the fallen android then turning to the other three.
"Did you know father was an android?" he questioned. None of them respond.
"Where's Stikk?" he demands, throwing the arms to the floor as the dirty blonde man who was working with Morrow had disappeared. Volcano then looked over his shoulder at the crumpled body.
"Father you were right. Humans are annoying"
Back in the camouflaged bio-ship
"Block out all external communications. Soon Canary, Zatara, and I assume Batman as well, will know of our visit with Ivo. We haven't much time" Aqualad said as Miss Martain did just that. Meanwhile Robin couldn't stop looking at Zatanna.
"Look, uh... I'm trying to be nonchalant about this" he said chuckling as Zatanna turned to him.
"Why be as chalant as you like" she said with a smile which made him smile.
"I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers" Artemis spoke up from the other side of the new girl.
"Could you teleport us to Tornado?Or Morrow to a cell? Or force his bots to surrender?" She then added.
"Or create peace on earth for all time? Not even Zatana could do that and I'm no where near my dad's level" Zatanna said. Razor allowed a snicker to escape his lips which made Artemis glare at him.
"I need to know a spell cold or else have time to prep it. Plus all magic requires energy which usually has to come from within. I can't just make the impossible happen at will" she said.
"What's our ETA to yellowstone!" Superboy yelled attracting everyone's attention to him.
"I am so ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor" he said angrily as everyone looked at him with concerned faces.
"Are you so certain he betrayed us?" Aqualad questioned from behind.
"Aren't you?" Superboy questioned rounding on the leader.
"I am not convinced. And even so, that only makes him the victim of his creator's programming" Aqualad said turning back to Superboy.
"Certainly he deserves a chance to prove he's more than the weapon other designed him to be" he added. Superboy just closed his eyes and turned back forwards.
"I agree, Aqualad" Razor said from infront of him and behind Superboy.
"But if it turns out he cannot turn against his creator, we have to be prepared to immobilize him. Or go further" he added. After that the area drifted into silence.
"Listen to me my brothers, my sister. I have been downloaded with all your memories. Father's too. Oh, he left out the bit of him being an andriod but he did reveal his plan, his dream for our destiny" Volcano said going over to a computer and began typing commands into it.
"There is a semi-dormant volcano beneath yellowstone. Father gave me the power to activate it in 3 stages. The eruption will decimate the planet, killing millions and trap the rest under an impenetrable cloud of ash" he said as the screen showed the stages and the ash cloud.
"While humanity struggles to survive, we 4 will build a red army to make this earth a red planet" he said as the world on the screen turned red. Suddenly beeping was heard coming from a nearby phone.
"Ivo to Morrow, Thomas are you there?" Ivo said. Red Volcano then came over to the phone and his figure beeped.
"I'm here, Anthony. What do you want?" he said now using Morrow's voice.
"Reluctantly, to warn you. The children have learned about your location. I do not believe they have told their elders and betters, but they are on their way. And we both remember what this Razor did to your droids when they invaded their base" Ivo said as Volcano turned towards Tornado.
"Indeed" he said still in Morrow's voice before he destroyed the phone as visions of Razor fighting his brother and sister came to him.
In the Bio-Ship
"Stealth mode" Aqualad said as the ship soared over Yellowstone. He then pressed his belt buckle as his suit turned into it's stealth mode. Everyone then did the same with the exception of Razor, Robin, Zatanna and Superboy. Zatanna then stood by the door as it opened revealing the ship had landed.
"I recommend you stay behind" Aqualad said coming up to her as she turned around with a slight smirk.
"Is that an order?" she questioned.
"No. You must do as you see fit" Aqualad said shaking his head.
"Good. Emit to yrt eht wen kool!" she chanted. In a swirl of gray and light blue smoke, her outfit changed once more. This time it turned into a more female version of her dad's with
As the team ran through the woods, they were unaware that they were being watched via cameras by the Reds. Volcano then turned to Tornado
"Prove yourself a loyal red, brother. Kill them for me" he said as Red Tornado just looked at the screen that had the team on it.
The team came to a stop as the trees ended and revealed an open area. A hologram then opened up on Robin's glove and he began typing away.
"Ivo was right, there's something down there" he said. Everyone then ran out into the clearing however the wind picked up, immediately stopping them in their tracks until they all flew back onto their backs. Superboy then seen the source, Red Tornado.
He was flying above them with his arms crossed. He then uncrossed them and made several tornados surrounding the team.
"Why Tornado?! Why are you doing this?" Miss Martian called out, only to receive silence.
'Message recieved?' she questioned telepathically as everyone nodded.
"Who cares why! Nail him!" Superboy called out.
"Agreed!" Razor stated.
"Superboy, maneuver 7" Aqualad called out. Superboy ran forwards as Razor and Aqulad followed before Superboy turned and locked his hands together. He then threw Razor and Aqualad towards Tornado. However Tornado punched Aqualad back into Razor and both slammed into Superboy.
Up next Artemis shot two arrows at Tornado however he used his winds to send them back at her and Robin who had come up next to her.
"Look out!" Robin yelled as the two jumped back as the arrows landed in front of them and exploded.
"That does it, Red. You're not the only spin doctor around here" Kid Flash said before spinning around, creating a grey tornado. However this was just a distraction for Miss Martain to sneak up behind Tornado.
Unfortunately Red knew this and turned and caught the Martain's fist before throwing her into Kid's tornado causing it to break apart as she hit him.
Now the only one left standing was Zatanna who ran passed the unconscious team mates.
"Etaerc a… a… dleihs dnuora ym-" She stuttered having never done this spell before. However she was unable to say any more as Tornado grabbed her by the throat and squeezed tightly until her eyes closed and he threw her back to the others.
The Tornados around them disappeared as the only one left was the one Tornado was using to hover.
"Quite a performance, brother" a voice called out making Tornado turn to see Volcano rising from a mount of rock he was summoning.
"But we both know that's all it was. I have all your memories, Tornado. Plus a next-gen processor. I know your next move before you do" he added before raising his hands to the sides as a piece of earth behind him raised up behind him and the words 'PLAY DEAD' were clearly seen.
By this point, the team had gotten up, knowing they had lost the element of surprise like they had planned.
"Blowing a message into the sand" Volcano said with a scoff before the piece broke apart and was sent towards the kids. Aqualad, Superboy and Razor all jumped and met their rocks head on while Miss Martain used her telekinesis to deflect rocks from herself. The others were forced to dodge while one landed close to Zatanna.
"Zatanna?" Robin questioned worried about her wellbeing. However as the dust cleared it revealed that she was uninjured.
"I'm good but Red Tornado's getting away" she said seeing Tornado was flying away from the fight.
"Is he abandoning us?!" Artemis questioned angrily.
"I don't believe that" Miss Martian said.
"Wheather he is or isn't, do not let it affect your decisions now!" Razor said as Kid Ran up the rock mount towards Volcano.
"You stand no chance against me, humans" Volcano said easily dodging Kid's attack while punching him away.
"We're not human!" both Superboy and Miss Martain said flying towards him.
"Apologies. I suppose the properly inclusive term is..." he said raisng his hands once more as two large stone hands came up before they slapped together with both aliens in between them.
"Meatbags" Volcano finished. he then waved his hand as the ground began breaking apart in front of Artemis and Aqualad. Before they could react, they suddenly found themselves falling in a hole while the ground was sealing back up.
Artemis shot a grapple arrow upnear the top of the hole before grabbing Aqualad. Razor then appeared at the top before he grabbed the rope and pulled with all his strength getting them out just before the hole sealed up.
Robin jumped up on a mount of rock and threw a batarang at Volcano who was facing away from him. However he still caught it and the explosion that followed did nothing.
"Tornado's memory files and my superior proccessing speed allow me to anticipate your every move" Volcano said.
"Ekoms emoceb a dlofdnilb!" Zatanna chanted while raising a hand to the robot. Some smoke from Robin's explosion then wrapped around Volcano's eyes like a blindfold.
"Tornado never knew my moves" she said smugly as Robin came up next to her.
"And I bet you got some good ones" he said only to hear what he had just said.
"Whoa sorry, that came off a bit too Kid Flash" he said with his hands up as Zatanna just smiled.
"I don't mind" she said.
Suddenly Razor appeared behind Volcano and stabbed him through the chest with three claws before he prepared to cut off his head. Unfortunately Volcano commanded a rock to come to him and then posistioned himself so Razor took the hit, knocking him off the platform.
He then burned through the blindfold and at the same time, the mountain top behind him exploded in lava and smoke.
Underneath the fight in the hidden lab, the ceiling shook as the eruption began. Tornado then turned to his siblings with a wire running from his head to a box.
"We must stop him" he said, the box given him his speech back.
"Why? Once we believed we lived. Now there is only Red Inferno and Red Torpedo. Why should we help save humanity when we are no longer human?" the female bot said.
"The premise of your question is flawed. You were never human but you were always heroes" Tornado said. That seemed to get through to them as they turned to look at each other.
Back topside
Red Volcano still stood a top his platform and commanded a trio of rocks to launch at Kid Flash who was running to charge at the bot but had to avoid the rocks.
'He's activating a stage 2 eruption. It gets to stage 3, kiss the hemisphere goodbye' He thought as soon as he landed. Razor, who was standing behind the group, growled loudly and took a finger off his earpiece.
'Comm's jammed. we're on our own unless the League shows up on their own' he reported though the mental link. Aqualad then came from beside Kid, his water-bearers as swords.
'Hit him from all sides' he thought leaping up as Superboy and Razor did the same.
However Volcano commanded a rock to block Aqualad before he easily caught Superboy's fist and then swung him into Razor, sending the two to the ground.
Miss Martain attemtped to attack in camo mode and tried to use her powers to pull him off the platform, however Volcano summonded lava to burst from the ground all around her.
"M'gann!" Superboy yelled charging with Razor behind him however Volcano jumped from his platform and landed in between the two and the Martain. He then hit Superboy back however Razor ducked the boy before slicing off Volcano's right hand.
"Impressive" he said before waving his handless arm in the air. A large rock then struck Razor who thought his powers wouldn't work without his hand.
"But ineffective" he added before seeing Zatanna and Kid Flash who was kneeling in front of her.
"Ekoms dna srorrim. Etaerc Dik Hsalf snoisulli!" She spoke as about a dozen more Kid Flashs appeared from smoke and charge at Volcano.
"I use a scaled-down version when I want to sneak out of the house" she said with a smirk.
Razor had just gotten out from the rubble that was the boulder that had knocked him away just as the Kids' ran past him.
"Either I'm concussed or in Hell" he mumbled to himself before shaking his head.
"I heard that!" the Kids' all yelled.
Volcano also didn't appear to like the clones either and began launching rocks at them. However instead of blood, he was met by smoke by each one.
Unaware that the real Kid was running at him from behind until he suddenly lost his grip on the Martain who found herself in Kid's arms back with the group.
Suddenly the ground shook and a huge stream of water shot up from it and towards Volcano which knocked him back into the water.
"Nice hit!" Robin said to Aqualad, however his water-bearers weren't activated.
"The hit was not mine. Look!" Aqualad said gesturing to the side where Red Torpedo now stood. He then levitated with more water before he sent two more streams at Volcano who had just gotten up from the lava.
His laid out body then began raisng on another platform however Red Tornado flew in and destroyed it, sending him back into the lava.
He got up once more but Red Inferno now arrived and began shooting fireballs at him before she too landed in the lava and began struggling with her younger, yet bigger, brother.
"Sister! Brothers! Stop!" he tried to command them. However Torpedo landed on him, sinking the trio into the lava.
Beneath the surface Volcano tried to break free but they held on. Red Tornado then appeared before he too slammed his feet onto Volcano's chest which sunk him further down as the paint and metal began to melt away from them.
"Father would be so disappointed" Volcano said before he powered down.
Tornado sunk just above where his knees would be when Razor cut both his legs clean off inches from the lava. And before he could fall in, Superboy grabbed him and jumped away just as a explosion of fire and rock came from where he had been standing.
Superboy then laid him down in front of the rest of the team before they seen the volcano Red Volcano activated was still erupting.
"Tornado, listen! we're on the verge of a stage 3 supervolcano eruption. There's no turning back from that. We need to vent pressure, fast! But the ash cloud will bring on a worldwide nuclear winter unless you divert it" Kid commanded. Red Tornado simply nodded. Kid then turned to Robin.
"Triangulate around the pressure locus" he added as Robin brought up a diagram of the volcano on his glove.
"Right... There, there, and there" he said as three dots appeared on the hologram/ Artemis fired an arrow that tranformed into three missiles heading for the points.
They struck and the volcano began to depressurize however the ash cloud then began rising.
Tornado's legs sparked a little, however he quickly rose on a tornado until he was above the cloud. He then summonded a huge tornado which began sucking up the cloud moving it outside the atmosphere.
At the same time the last of the ash cloud was gone, the lava stopped flowing and the stuff outside hardened and lost it's orange glow.
"Yes" Kid celebrated until he seen Tornado coming back down. As soon as the bot landed, he was on his hands to support himself. The team immedietly rushed to his side.
The team were all now crowded around Red Tornado in Morrow's lab. Robin and Kid working on him underneath his face cover.
"There, that should do it" Robin said as they stepped away.
"Yes. I can speak again" Tornado said closing the cover.
"You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet" Aqualad said stepping forwards.
"The planet would've survived. it is humanity that was saved" he said before turning his head towards the team.
:Though not by me. My sister and brother were the true heroes today" he said as Aqualad placed a hand on his shoulder.
"My point is, you were never the mole, never a traitor" Aqualad added.
"No, I left you to prevent further attack against you and to find my creator, Morrow" Red Tornado said turning his head back so he was looking at the roof.
"Cool. Souvenir" Kid said holding up a robotic hand while Robin picked up a leg.
"Reddy! We can rebuild you better than you were before" he said as Tornado perked up.
"I do not believe I should be repaired" he said. Finally Superboy, who had been standing away from the group and facing away with his arms crossed, turned to the robot.
"Why'd you volunteer to be our den mother in the first place?" he questioned.
"I was the pragmatic choice. I do not need sleep,I have no secret identity or second life to live" he answered.
"But you do have advanced A.I. programming, designed to learn, adapt and evolve" Kid said playing with the fingers of the hand.
"Hello M'gann! You wanted to become more human" Miss Martain said.
"And you could'nt do that with the League, they're stiffs" Artemis said.
"You sure aren't gonna learn emotion from Batman, trust me" Robin said.
"Then the cave was not a proving ground for only us, but for you as well" Aqualad said.
"I do not know if these statments are accurate, but perhaps they are true. And if I understand the term correctly, I beleive I have come to... care about all of you" he said.
"See, practically a meatbag already" Superboy said.
"Which reminds me..." Tornado said trailing off.
In a different part of the underground lab, the dirty blonde scientist stood beside a hospital bed in the middle of the room surrounded by medical eqiupment, with a respirator hissing and a different machine beeping. Suddenly Red Tornado appeared, startling the scientist.
"I will not hurt him" Tornado said walking up to the bed to reveal an aged Morrow, his black hair and mustache now grey and he struggled to breath even with the respirator.
"He was evil, but T.O. Morrow was still my father. I will care for him. It's the human thing to do" he said.
Back in the camouflaged bio-ship
"So, good kidnapping" Robin questioned from his seat behind Zatanna.
"Actually, yeah. Best ever" she answered, turning around to face him.
"Heh, first of many I hope: he responded. She frowned and turned away.
"If my dad doesn't ground me for life" she said.
"If he's anything like Canary, I wouldn't get your hopes up" Razor said as he turned on his phone and began reading the multiple angry messages coming through from Canary
"She's grounded for life!" Zatara's voice echoed from the mountain in Happy Harbor.
So I'm sorry about the delay guys, honestly it's been multiple things. There was a point where I wasn't really interested in writing any more, work has been keeping me busy and I've got the attention span of a Squirrel. I'll write a few hundred words for one story, think about another story, go write a few hundred for that one and so on and so forth.
But here's another chapter and I'm excited for the next one.