Chapter 2: Rough around the edges

Mount Justice

11:16 | July 18

Rhode Island

"Recognize Robin B01; recognize Kid Flash B03." Mount Justice's zeta teleporter ignited, bathing the Cave in a bright light. The two teens materialized in the Cave and smirked at one another before rushing to Aqualad and Red X, staring at a holographic display. "So, did he say anything?"

With crossed arms, Red X looked at the display tracking a fast-moving object coming into the Cave's airspace. He was dressed as before with his usual domino mask, a brown leather coat, black undershirt, dark grey pants, and black combat boots. "He's almost here, but you guys will be disappointed." Red X sighed with a slight smile.

"One can still hope," Aqualad gave a reassuring look as Robin and Kid Flash rushed to the hangar to meet Red Tornado outside. Red X sighed and followed behind even though he knew the answer. They walked outside, joined by Miss Martian and Superboy. Red Tornado landed before the excited Robin and Kid Flash.

"Why have you all intercepted me outside the Cave?" Red Tornado enquired.

"Well, do you have a mission for us?" Robin hit his open palm with his fist.

"Negative, missions are the Batman's prerogative; if a mission does appear, the Batman will contact you." Red Tornado stepped through the group.

"We've been here for weeks; you're telling me nothing's come up?" Kid Flash threw his arms up.

"You will be tested in time; until then, I suggest you enjoy each other's company." Red Tornado gestured to the team.

"This team is not a social club," Aqualad stated with a slight narrowing of his eyes.

"Indeed not, however, I am told socializing is an important part of team-building exercises." Red Tornado walked back into the Cave where the systems recognized him.

"Team building, come on, there's gotta be more to it." Robin scowled behind his shades at the retreating Tornado.

"Oh, I can find out!" Miss Martian turned to Tornado's retreating back, reaching out with her mind. "Oh wait, sorry, I forgot he isn't organic, I can't read his mind."

"That's alright, but you can read my mind anytime." Kid Flash winked at Miss Martian.

"Don't need mind reading to know what's going on in there," Red X walked past the group. "But hey, since Superboy Miss M and I live here, let's give you guys the grand tour. If nothing else, we can kill time."

"Right, team bonding," Miss Martian floated over to Red X.

"Team building," Aqualad shrugged, and they all followed Miss Martian as she began her tour. Miss Martian took them through most of the facilities and the vacant rooms.

"The Cave is the entire mountain," Miss Martian floated ahead of the group.

"Superman and the Green Lanterns hollowed it out and reinforced it back in the day." Kid Flash provided helpfully.

"Then why abandon this place for the Hall?" Superboy shrugged.

"The Cave became compromised apparently," Red X quipped. Everyone stopped and looked at him. "What?" He narrowed his eyes behind his domino mask. "So I've been reading up about the League sue me."

"Wait, but if the bad guys know about this place, don't we always have to be on our guard?" Miss Martian asked.

"The bad guys know that we know about this place, so they won't come looking," Robin took Miss Martian's hand, cradling it between his. Miss Martian's brows shot up, mulling his words over.

"Uh, he means we are hiding in plain sight," Kid Flash said, snatching Robin's hand away from Miss Martian and earning a glare from the boy wonder.

"Oh, that makes more sense," Miss Martian smiled at Kid Flash, earning another glare from Robin.

Superboy perked and sniffed the air, "I smell smoke," he frowned.

"My cookies!" Miss Martian flew off instantly towards the kitchen. The team trotted behind her to see her sadly pull out burnt cookies from the oven. "Awh, I was trying the recipe from Hello Megan epis-uh you know what, never mind." She quickly recovered, smiling shyly at her team.

"Ah, I'm sure they would have come out great; KF doesn't seem to mind," Robin jabbed his thumb in Kid Flash's direction.

"What?" Kid Flash shrugged, eating the blackened cookies. "I got an accelerated metabolism."

"I'll make more?" Miss Martian smiled, a bit confused.

"It was sweet for you to make any at all," Aqualad smiled.

"Thank you, Aqualad," Miss Martian perked up visibly.

"Please, we are off duty; my name is Kaldaur'ahm, but my friends call me Kaldur." Aqualad smiled warmly at the young Martian.

"I'm Wally; see, I already trust you with my secret ID." Wally put on his best charming smile for Miss Martian. "Well, except the boy Wonder here, he isn't allowed to reveal that." Robin glared at the speedster.

"Oh, I don't have a secret identity technically; my name is M'gann M'orzz," her eyes widened slightly at a sudden thought. "But you can call me Megan; that's my Earth name. Because I'm on Earth!"

"Red X," Red X shrugged, "you can just call me Red though, and if that's too shady for you, John works too."

"Is that your name?" Robin raised a brow. Red replied with a half-shrug in a noncommital way.

"Get out of my head!" Superboy suddenly shouted behind them all.

What? What's wrong? Everyone communicates telepathically on Mars. M'gann's voice suddenly invaded the rest of the member's heads.

"M'gann stop!" Aqualad replied out loud firmly but without anger. "Here on Earth, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."

"Yeah," Wally shook his head. "Cadmu's psychic genomes left a nasty little taste in his brain." Wally jabbed his thumb in Superboy's direction.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't know."

"Just stay out!" Superboy snarled before stalking off.

"Just," Red shook his head, clearing the fuzziness out of it. "Just let him cool off, he'll be fine."

M'gann wrapped her arms around herself and looked down. "I-I really am sorry."

"It's okay, you didn't know." Red put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But maybe to help everyone remember you're an alien, how about you share more of your Martian customs with us." Red raised his hands up. "The non-mental invasion kind, please."

M'gann looked up gratefully at Red before an idea popped up in her head. "Hello Megan! come on, I know what we can do!" She flew up and zipped off towards the hangar. The rest of the team shrugged and followed behind her before she returned to the kitchen. She leaned over the wall to see Superboy sitting on the couch in the adjacent living room. "Superboy…please?" M'gann looked at him with remorse for her action.

"Don't talk to me," Superboy replied curtly. He closed his eyes before he took a side glance at M'gann's saddened face. Ugh, she's like a puppy. Superboy thought before sighing and silently followed the group. They piled together into the elevator and went down into the hangar.

The ride was silent and a bit awkward. Red looked at M'gann and smiled slightly before nudging her. She looked up at him, and Red tapped his forehead with his finger. She blinked, then smiled slightly, nodding.

Thank you for suggesting this, Red, or do you prefer John? M'gann's voice this time was a gentle, almost shy probe rather than the intrusive voice from earlier.

You're welcome; I get the feeling of not being from here. Granted, I'm from a parallel universe, but still. Red smiled. Well, how about John to my friend?

M'gann perked up and looked forward again. John, then, to my first friend on Earth. I hope the others will think of me as one, too.

I've only known Kaldur for a few weeks, but I can guess he already considers you one. Just give it time; Robin and Wally are practically falling over each other to impress you. Just be yourself; you already won over those two. Red almost shrugged out of conversational habit. M'gann gave Red one more side smile before the elevator came to a stop. She was the first to step out, gesturing with her arms to a red and black sphere at the center of the room. "This is my Martian Bioship!"

"Cute, not very aerodynamic, but cute," Wally commented with a raised brow.

"It's currently at rest, silly, here. Let me wake it." M'gann gestured with her hand, and the sphere suddenly morphed into a sleek alien ship. The bioship floated above the ground before turning to face the exit. The back just opened and morphed a ramp for everyone.

Red whistled, crossing his arms. "That's some impressive tech," Red looked over the sleek vessel.

"Bioship is purely organic, actually. I bonded with it before my uncle J'onn; it's how I sneaked in to get to Earth." M'gann looked down, embarrassed by the tale.

"Wow, you got a rebel side to you," Wally walked past M'gann, winking at her. "I like that in a redhead."

"You'll fit in just fine with us rebels," Red followed next before the rest joined in.

"Strap in," M'gann telepathically had Bioship create five more seats. Everyone sat down, and the seats generated safety belts across everyone's chests. "Red Tornado, open up the hangar doors, please," M'gann called through Bioship's comms, and the hangar doors opened. Bioship shot out, cruising above the Rhode Island skies. "Really cool, Miss M," Robin smirked.

"Yeah, she is," Wally looked at M'gann with a dreamy face. "The ship, I mean, because all ships are a she."

"Smooth like sandpaper," Red smirked.

"Dude!" Wally threw his hands up, exasperated.

"So," Robin interrupted, how about another Martian trick? Can you shapeshift?"

"Of course, M'gann stood up, and ship controls were retraced back onto the ground. M'gann's clothes and appearance changed to a very girly-looking Robin, then she did one more to a girly-looking Red X, Brown jacket and all.

"Nice, but I don't think I'm a girl last time I checked," Red smirked.

"Sorry, I'm not very good with boys yet," M'gann said, reverting to her original self.

"Can you phase through stuff?" Wally asked next.

"Oh, density shifting? That's a really advanced technique. Sorry, haven't mastered that yet." M'gann apologized with a sheepish smile.

"How do you control the ship without the controls?" Red raised a brow to the still-standing M'gann.

"Oh," M'gann sat back on her seat, and the control orbs rose from the ground. "Telepathically, it's how we do a lot of things in M'arzz. The Bioship, even my clothes, all respond to my telepathic commands."

"As long as they're the only ones," Superboy grumbled. The clone saw M'gann's face fall and cursed himself for speaking out angrily. Superboy looked to his right to Kaldur.

"It doesn't take a mind reader to see your thoughts. You overreacted, and want to apologize. Just say sorry," Kaldur nodded before staring ahead.

Superboy looked ahead, scowling at nothing.

"I don't think he likes me."

He'll come around; give him time."

"Uh, super hearing, you know he can hear you, right?"

Superboy pursed his lips, sighing internally. Socializing wasn't his strongest suit, after all.

"Attention, Red Tornado, to Bioship," Red Tornado's voice came alive inside the ship. "an emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor power plant, sending you the coordinates. Investigate covertly, Red Tornado out."

"Received, adjusting course," M'gann turned the bioship back towards Happy Harbor. "Here is something I can do, by the way," The Bioship became translucent, making it practically invisible to the naked eye.

"Now that's what I call covert," Red said as he sat back in his seat.

"Tch, Tornado is keeping us busy," Robin grumbled.

"A fire alarm led you guys to Superboy and John; who's to say what we'll find," M'gann interjected hopefully. "At least we can find out what set off the alarm," M'gann said as Bioship arrived above the power plant's parking lot.

"Uh, I think I found it," Superboy pointed out the left side as a freak tornado rushed towards them.

"Miss M!" Robin shouted, shocking M'gann into action.

"Hang on!" The Bioship was unable to evade in time and was sucked into the whirlwind. Everyone was pulled against their seats as the Bioship was thrashed about. M'gann narrowed her eyes and had the Bioship. She steered the vessel to ride the currents before finally launching out of the whirlwind several meters away. She flew the Bioship low, and the bottom of the ship opened, dropping off the team.

"Robin, are tornados common in New England?" Aqualad turned to Robin, but he was already gone. "Robin?" Aqualad looked around for him.

"Red is gone too," M'gann looked for him. "They were just here," M'gann looked towards the plant where windows were being blown out by gusts of wind from the inside.

"No matter, let us go!" Aqualad rushed ahead, and everyone followed suit. They made it to the plant to see a gust of wind sending Red X and Robin sprawling. Before the team was a red man standing nearly a meter tall. He was encased in red metal and had a scarf around his neck. The armor was decked out in heavy equipment, generating intense winds.

Superboy flew next to his comrades, "Who's your new friend?"

"Don't know," Red X rubbed his head.

"But he plays rough," Robin glared behind his shades.

"My apologies, but you can address me as Mister Twister!" The armored villain aimed his hands, and from the underslung cannons, he generated twisters, casting them at the team. Red and Robin flipped out of the way, and Superboy charged, trying to fly through the extreme winds before he was flipped away, smashing against the far-end wall.

"Take him down!" Aqualad rushed in. Kid Flash fished his goggles out of his pocket and sped towards Twister. He flipped forward into a dropkick. Twister generated a whirlwind, catching Kid Flash in it and tossing him out the back exit of the power plant. M'gann and Aqualad got within a hair breath before Twister's wind blasted them away.

"I was expecting to face superheroes, not children."

Robin glowered at the metallic enemy, "We're not children!" From his sleeve, he threw out a bomb. Twister raised a gust of wind deflecting the explosion, and Robin followed it up with a shuriken, embedding it in his chest. "Objectively you are," he carelessly flicked the shuriken off. Then he raised his hand, firing a gust of wind at Red X, who tried a sneak attack from above but was repelled and slammed against a pillar next to Robin. "Are you children here without supervision? Frankly, I find your presence here quite disturbing."

"Sorry about that; how about we see how 'turbed' you are when we kick your metal behind!" Robin threw two more bombs. They exploded into a smoke screen before Twister. M'gann reached out with her telekinesis to a metal pipe above with a heavy metal cap. She pulled the cap off, dropping it on Twister. Twister blew the smoke screen away, and Superboy jumped up, throwing his hand back for a punch with M'gann flying behind him to back him up.

"Amusing," he fired winds above him, catching the falling metal cap and throwing it a Superboy, catching him mid-fall and swatting him out of the sky. M'gann gasped as Superboy crashed against her, slamming them both against the pillar. Twister threw a whirlwind at Aqualad and Robin. They sidestepped it and rushed him from both flanks. Twister generated two whirlwinds immediately ahead of them, catching them in a spin that smacked them against each other. "Indeed, that was quite 'turbing,'" Twister sneered; he flew up, taking his leave, "Thank you."

Outside, Kid Flash rushed Twister. He flew off to the side, dodging Kid Flash's kick. "where's my team? What did you do to them?"

"Embarrass them mostly; allow me to demonstrate," he drawled, casting a tornado, catching Kid Flash in it and sending him crashing toward the plant.

"I got you, Wally," the tornado smashed against the powerplant, but Kid Flash was plucked from it by M'gann's telekinesis.

"Thanks, M'gann," Kid Flash sighed in relief.

"I would have thought you children would have learned your lesson by now." Mister Twister flew up higher into the sky.

"What do you want!?" Aqualad shouted at the villain.

"Isn't it obvious? Waiting for a real hero!" Twister raised his arms, summoning a gale of winds.

"This guy's really ticking me off now," Red X bared his teeth in frustration. "M'gann read his mind, find a weakness."

"But, I thought I wasn't supposed to?" M'gann looked at her friends.

"It's okay when it's the bad guys!" Robin said testily.

"R-right," M'gann focused her telepathy on Mister Twister. "I can't read his mind, it's like…hello Megan!" M'gann smacked her forehead with her hand. "Mister Twister is Red Tornado in disguise!"

"What? Come on, are you serious?" Kid Flash threw his hands up.

"Who else has wind powers?" M'gann said confident in her assessment.

"I don't know the guy, er, robot, but attacking civilians doesn't strike me like an MO for busy work." Red X shook his head. "M'gann, are you sure that's him?"

"Well, what other android do you know with the ability to generate tornados?" M'gann smiled, gesturing to the flying android.

"How amusing," Mister Twister laughed, "thinking I'm Red Tornado is quite ironic!" Mister Twisters Gale turned into a maelstrom as the clouds turned dark and lightning crackled across the sky.

"Uh, can our Tin Man do that?" Red X took a cautious step back. "Superboy!" Red X pointed at Twister.

"Raah!" Superboy pushed off the ground, cracking the pavement and rearing his fist back for a punch. From the swirling skies, thunderbolts struck at the heroes. One caught Superboy square in the chest, exploding, and sent him crashing into the ground. The other exploded around the young heroes, knocking them unconscious. The team was out cold, but M'gann was the first to regain consciousness. She held her throbbing head, watching as Mister Twister flew down towards them, lightning crackling around his armored fists. Thinking quickly, she reached out telepathically to the Bioship. The cloaked ship flew stealthily, blocking the direct line of sight between her friends and Mister Twister.

"Fine, staying here toying with you will not help achieve my objective." Mister Twister growled, annoyed. "I won't deny you children have a modicum of power, but get in my way again, and I will show no mercy." Twister clenched his fist with lightning crackling around it, emphasizing his point. Mister Twister flew up and away, leaving the defeated team behind. M'gann commanded the ship away as everyone regained consciousness.

"Where," Red X rubbed his temples through his domino mask. "Where is Twister?"

"I moved the Bioship in stealth mode to cover us," M'gann explained.

"Rah!" Superboy growled, punching a stray piece of debris into pebbles. "That makes it better?" He glared at M'gann. "You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado!"

"Easy, Superboy," Red X stepped between him and M'gann, "she isn't trained like us; she didn't know."

"It was a rookie mistake; we shouldn't have listened to her." Kid Flash sighed, shaking his head.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," M'gann stood up, raising her hands in self-defense.

"Look, it WAS a rookie mistake," Robin crossed his arms, not meeting M'gann's gaze. "You couldn't have known."

"You did alright; hit the showers; we'll take it from here." Kid Flash adjusted his goggles. "Where did you see him go?"

"Uh, east towards Happy Harbor, I think." M'gann wrapped her arms around herself, looking down at her feet.

"Stay out of our way," Superboy walked past her before flying in the given direction, and Kid Flash sped off with Robin following suit.

Red X stepped up, offering M'gann his hand. She looked at it and took it, standing back up. "I just wanted to be part of the team."

"Sorry," Red X sighed before he took off after the rest of the team.

"To be frank," Aqualad sighed, passing a hand through his hair. "I don't believe there is a team at the moment." Aqualad sprinted after the group, leaving M'gann to her own devices.

At Happy Harbor, the civilians ran for cover as Mister Twister cast about whirlwinds destroying the town. "This should get the attention I require," Mister Twister chuckled, pleased with his work.

"You got ours, full and undivided!" Kid Flash rushed, delivering a dropkick to the android's chest.

Twister slid back and fired a gale of wind at Kid Flash. "Immaterial, and insuficient!" Twister tilted his head down, his still eyes glowering at Kid Flash. Kid Flash rolled out of the gale's way, and Twister aimed another blast at him.

"Rrraah!" Superboy roared, falling from above with both fists in a hammer strike.

Twister glided away again, kicking up dust in the wake of his winds. Superboy cracked the ground into a small impact before standing back up into a combat stance. "You are no longer a distraction I can afford to entertain," Twister threw his arms out, launching whirlwinds at Kid Flash and Superboy. Kid Flash bolted left, and Superboy flew straight, attempting to overpower the wind. Twister clapped his hands together, catching Superboy between the tornados, and launched him into the sky in an uncontrollable spin.

"Whooaa!" Superboy's yell echoed as he disappeared into the sky.

Four red circular shurikens flew at Twister's back, and he turned, throwing his hand back, sending a gale of wind knocking the projectiles aside. "Head's up," Red X, seemingly out of nowhere, delivered a jumping roundhouse to the back of Twister's head, making him stumble. Twister turned and shot a lightning bolt, catching Red X in the chest and sending him flying back with a smoking chest. Twister heard rapid beeping, and he looked down to his chest to see two X-shaped Shurikens that exploded. "Annoying pests!" Twister raised his hands before he was knocked aside by Kid Flash with another dropkick. Twister fired a gale of wind, catching Kid Flash and sending him flying and rolling into a car. Aqualad rushed in after Kid Flash, his fist crackling with electricity.

"Not good enough!" Twister shouted, making a circular motion with his arms, and caught Aqualad in a forward spin before tossing him against a colonial home. Aqualad crashed into it, splintering into wood and shrapnel before he fell face-first on the front lawn.

"Raaaah!" Superboy's rage-filled shout gave him away as he flew at Twister from above, arms extended like a thrown javelin. Twister threw up both arms, firing a huge whirlwind at Superboy, derailing him into a spin. Twister made a throwing motion with his arms, and the whirlwind arched above him, spitting out Superboy at the same home Aqualad had crashed. Superboy tucked into a roll, then spread his arms out, catching himself midair. "Close-" he sighed before a shadow loomed over him, cutting him off. Superboy turned at the last second to have a yacht crash into him bow first, slamming him into the ground.

Aqualad regained consciousness, rising to one knee. "We are barely keeping him off balance." He saw the fallen motorboat of the yacht and grabbed it, running at Twister before tossing it at him.

Kid Flash held his bruised ribs, grimacing, watching Twister catch the engine thrown at him and toss it aside with his wind. "We need a plan here," Kid Flash turned to Robin, who slid his utility belt from his sleeve before clipping it across his torso like a bandoleer. "Dude, you brought that with you?"

"Never leave the cave without it, Batman's first rule." Robin knelt beside him.

"Smart man," Red X groaned, coming up behind them. His shirt was scorched, revealing the armor beneath it.

"Wait, you armored up your civis?" Kid Flash raised a brow.

"Had a lot of time to kill at the Cave," Red X shrugged with a lopsided smirk. "I also pretty much turned this jacket into a second utility belt." Sure enough, he flicked his wrist, and a straight red blade slid out of his sleeve. He caught it, and it unfolded into an X-shaped shuriken.

"You guys are way too alike sometimes," Kid Flash rolled his eyes.

Everyone, please listen to me.

The young heroes grimaced as the voice suddenly filled their heads. Superboy snarled, crushing the air with his fist. "What did we tell you?" He glared at the air as he pulled himself from the boat wreckage.

I know! I also know I made a mistake, but I know what we need to do. Please just trust me.

The group was quiet, thinking M'gann's words over. "Let's do it; nothing we're throwing at him is getting the job done." Red X shrugged.

"What do you require of us, M'gann," Aqualad spoke up next. He was staring down Twister, who had his arms aimed at Aqualad. After a few seconds, Aqualad closed his eyes and sighed.

"Stand back boys, I shall handle the situation now." Red Tornado suddenly flew into the battlefield.

"You heard him, team, fall back!" Aqualad shouted, and they all regrouped by the colonial home. Red X slid out two bombs from his jacket sleeve and threw them at their feet, creating a smoke screen.

"Finally, I was growing tired of dealing with these petulant children," Mister Twister floated upwards, gliding just above the ground. "Now, you will face my wrath!"

"I think not," Red Tornado raised his hand, generating a tornado next to him and flinging it at Twister.

Mister Twister dodged, throwing two of his own whirlwinds. Red Tornado flew back and threw up his own tornado before him, dispersing the incoming attack. "you are no match for me; surrender," Red Tornado said before flying back as a stream of lighting from Twister scorched the ground where he once stood.

"I think not!" Twister pulled back his arms and shot out his left arm, firing a lightning bolt. The bolt exploded a car Red Tornado flew too close by. Red Tornado was flung back onto the ground, where he remained motionless. Mister Twister flew down to his downed opponent and lifted his hand up. "Lay still android; the reprogramming won't take long." Cables extended, connecting to Red Tornado's head.

Tornado's head suddenly turned to look at Twister, "longer than you might think," M'gann's voice came from the fallen android before it morphed back into her green face. She grabbed the cables holding Twister in place. M'gann raised her free hand, pushing Twister off with her telekinesis. Twister fell right into a tornado created by Kid Flash that spun him around and flung him past M'gann. "You dare!" Twister rolled midair before throwing his arms out and catching himself just before hitting the ground.

"Oh, I dare!" Superboy was suddenly on him. The clone trapped his arm underneath his and threw two jabs, punching holes into Twister's chest plate. "Raah!" Superboy roared, throwing a final uppercut, sending Twister into the sky.

"You insolent!" Twister again caught himself in midair. He raised his arms toward Superboy, lighting crackling around them.

A loud thunk caught Twister off guard. Red X dropped on his back and embedded two shurikens on the strapped to his back. Twister turned his head, and Red Xi smirked, giving him a two-finger salute to his forehead before kicking off and being caught by M'gann's telekinesis. "Let's clip your wings," Red X smirked as the shuriken exploded, knocking Twister one final time off the air. He fell into the bay, where Aqualad rushed like a stingray through the water, burying a huge anchor in his shoulder. Aqualad's lips twitched slightly upward as his tattoos glowed bright blue, and he sent a current of electricity through the anchor. The anchor exploded, destroying Twister's left arm, and threw him out of the bay into the air. Robin slid past underneath, throwing two shuriken, landing on his left arm. The shuriken exploded, destroying his arm before he crashed into the ground. Mister Twister forced himself onto his knees, and his entire torso opened, revealing a man inside. The man fell forward, looking miserable. "foul, I-I call foul," he said timidly.

M'gann flew down and raised her arm towards the left, lifting a nearby boulder and flying it above the man before dropping it above him. "M'gann!" Aqualad rushed up to her.

"Wait!" Red X raised his hand, stopping everyone from rushing to M'gann. He nodded, and she smiled grateful as she lifted the rock, revealing a broken robot. "I couldn't read his mind, remember?"

"Good job," Red X put a hand on her shoulder, "Miss Martian."

Miss Martian blinked before smiling broadly. "T-thank you, Red," M'gann said, looking at everyone who smiled back.

"Souvenir," Kid Flash walked to the broken Robot, picking up a mechanical eye. "Seriously, you 'rocked' that Miss M." Kid flash winked at Miss Martian."Get it rocked?" Kid Flash wiggled his brows.

"Ignore him. We're just 'turbed' you're on the team, Miss M," Robin patted her back.

"We should have had more faith," Aqualad nodded.

Yet, as the team celebrated, they missed the red light from the crushed Robot's remaining eye.

A man resembling the destroyed Robot was hunched over a console. He pulled at his collar, sighing.

"Well, aren't you glad I convinced you not to use the armor?" A man in a lab coat with handsome features approached the hunched-over man.

"Yes, professor, and then some." He pushed off the console and looked worriedly at the handsome Professor. "But aren't you angry we failed?"

"I'm convinced our tracking program is working as intended. Red Tornado is most definitely near Happy Harbor. Those children are perhaps the key to finding him." The Professor stroked his chin. "Besides, you know science, it advances in fits and starts. Even failure can be a learning experience."

Mount Justice

12:45 | July 18

Rhode Island

"Clearly, this machine was sent here to reprogram or destroy you." Aqualad looked at the remains of the Robot on the table.

"An accurate assessment," Red Tornado impassively looked at the broken parts.

"Is that why you didn't help us?" M'gann walked up to the group.

"No, this was your battle." Red Tornado looked at the gathered team. "I don't believe my responsibility is to fight your battles for you. Just as it is not yours to fight mine," Red Tornado turned, taking his leave.

"But what if you're in trouble?" M'gann clasped her hands together.

"Consider the matter closed," Red Tornado said, not bothering to turn around.

"Well, guess if we have to have a babysitter, a heartless machine is what we need." Robin drawled.

"Dude, harsh," Wally glared at Robin.

"And inaccurate; I possess a heart made of carbon steel alloy," Red Tornado quipped from the far end of the hangar exit. "I also have excellent hearing."

"Right," Robin raised his shoulders and grimaced, "I'll strive to be more," Robin pursed his lips. "Accurate."

"And more respectful," Aqualad put a hand on Robin's shoulder. Red Tornado simply turned and walked off around a corner.

"Well, I think this team thing is gonna work out," Robin pocketed his hands in his coat and started walking towards the living room.

"Just fine," Aqualad finished for him.

"We should probably work on the whole team cohesion thing, though," Red grinned. "Just saying."

Superboy walked up behind them before turning to M'gann. "You coming?"

M'gann jumped a little before smiling, and she floated up to Superboy before landing by his side.

"Sorry," Superboy muttered, pocketing his hands. M'gann smiled sideways before bumping her shoulder against his, accepting his apology silently. They walked after the team, who were already discussing Pizza and toppings.

Bat Cave

00:00 | July 19

Gotham City

"You called Bruce?" Diana walked up to the Dark Knight as he typed away on the bat computer. "You said this had to be in person."

"Yes," Bruce stated plainly before bringing up camera footage.

Diana crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the footage. "You're spying on him."

"I find not remembering too convenient an excuse," Bruce pulled off his cowl and turned on his seat to look at Diana. "Notice something off?"

Diana looked at the footage; Red X was in sweatpants, shirtless, doing push-ups. There were scars on his back and sides. Some were blade scars, a few were bullet wounds, and a few were burn marks. Red X switched to sit-ups, and sure enough, his chest and abdomen were scarred as well. He also had a tattoo on his right arm, a skull, holding a combat Knife, and wearing a barret. "To see someone so young scarred by battle," Diana sighed, her eyes softening.

"It's more than that," Batman turned around and typed away. "Close examination of the scars tells a dark tale." Batman zoomed in to a cut on his side long since healed over. "Here, the cut was precise, surgical even. The only match I could find to this type of cut was an Amazonian blade." Batman pressed another key, and a burn scar showed up. "That's a scorch mark from an Atlantian energy weapon. His armor protected him from lethal damage." Finally, he brought up the tattoo. "That's a tattoo common among American special forces, specifically Army Delta Force."

Diana pursed her lips, gathering her thoughts before speaking. "When we first met him, he said something my mother told all Amazonians when they were deemed ready to become warriors." Diana looked at the pictures again. "You can learn a lot by fighting by your sister's sides." Diana uncrossed her arms and stepped up next to Bruce. "I decided it was a mere coincidence after a while. However, if that wound truly is from an Amazonian blade…" Diana trailed off.

"There's more; take a look at the footage." Bruce resumed the playback. "He's been following the same regiment since he settled into Mount Justice."

Diana raised a brow, watching as Red X switched to one-handed parallel push-ups. He was impressive, but she was clearly missing Bruce's observation. "Is there something I should be looking for?"

Bruce typed away, rewinding the footage. "I compiled the weeks of footage. Look right here on his back and at the position of the beads of sweat." Bruce brought up the consequential footage of four days. 'He sweats in those same spots for several days before it changes."

"He knows someone is watching," Diana narrowed her eyes.

"Yes," Bruce nodded, "he's been feeding us loops of his workout routine changed up every few days." Bruce narrowed his eyes, clasped his hands, and leaned on the bat computer's dash. "He doesn't want to share his past, but why?"

"Do you think he's a Cadmus spy?" Diana asked.

"I don't know what he is," Bruce said. "But he is trained, too well trained to be a rookie." Bruce hit a key on the bat computer, bringing up reports. "These are reports from Red Tornado."

06:00 Red X wakes up and does morning martial arts katas.

07:00 Red X has breakfast with Superboy, and he cooks for both of them.

08:30 Red X talks with M'gann M'orzz; their topics are relevant to Earth culture.

09:25 Red X reads; currently, he is reading 'Moby Dick' by Herman Melville.

"Everything he does is benign, but he is very… cheeky." Bruce chose the words carefully.

"What do you mean?" Diana raised a brow.

"He's been reading Moby Dick for the past week, and he positions himself to always show the cover to the nearest camera."

At that, Diana couldn't help but smile. "Do you think he knows it's you watching him?"

"I'd be surprised if he wasn't suspecting it was the League watching him through me." Bruce shrugged. "I brought you here because I saw your reaction to him when we first met him." Bruce turned once again, resting his folded hands on his lap. "If you can, get close to him, get him to confide in you. Maybe then he will finally let us know what he is hiding."

Diana frowned, "I will not lie to him, Bruce."

"I didn't ask you to. You must want to know too. Especially knowing he's been attacked by amazons." Bruce raised a brow. "Just a suggestion," Batman turned and shrugged. "Robin is doing his own digging."

Diana opened her mouth but closed it, thinking better of it. "Very well, I shall see what I can do." Diana turned and took her leave from the Cave. When she entered the mansion proper, Alfred walked up to her. "Ah, Mistress Diana, I don't suppose you would join us for a late dinner?"

Diana smiled, "normally, I would not turn down one of your meals, Alfred. But I'm due at the Watchtower for a meeting."

"Ah, then I shall enjoy your lovely company another time, Mistress Diana." Alfred bowed, and Diana returned the gesture. Diana exited through the front door and took off into the skies, thoughts about the mysterious Red X swirling in her head. I will go see mother after the meeting and seek her counsel on the matter.

Chapter 2 down! I hope you enjoy it, and we will start doing deviations with Bruce and Diana's meeting to start looking into Red X. The next chapter is Dropzone. After that, a significant deviation will happen.

Look forward to it!

Anyway, drop a review and let me know your thoughts, concerns, and what have you.