Titans Tower during the same week

It had been almost a week since Dick and Donna had returned from the White House. In that time things had rapidly escalated.

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Oliver had called an emergency meeting with the rest of the council to go over the coming cut in funding from the United States as soon as they exited into Titan's Tower. He dragged both Dick and Donna along to the Watchtower as J'onn synchronized with their zeta tube. About an hour after his message had been received, the League was convened.

Cutting straight to the chase, Oliver explained that the mission was a failure and the elements were in the wind. Due to this, the President has elected reallocate his budget to compensate for additional intel operations and deployments. Everyone in the room immediately understood that the reality was the President was unhappy with their response and results.

"What exactly happened? We sent the hero that we thought fit the mission parameters." Superman asked with a puzzled expression.

"We never clarified the actual parameters with the President. Aqua Girl was a clear mismatch for the mission. The President accepted our selection due to time constraints and needing someone to take the credit for a job well done. While his agent did the work. My best guess is that he thought his agent could handle the mission alone if need be." Oliver explained.

Batman shifted forward with a mild scowl on his face, "What were the parameters? Our research indicated that the mission should have been to escort a package across the Atlantic with Captain Atom as an unofficial lead."

Dick adjusted his stance and expression slightly to show his disapproval, but not enough to cause issues with the other members. He knew Bruce was at fault, but any outright accusations here wouldn't be heeded or would be turned against him and the Titans. They were aware of the mismatch and didn't say anything out of respect to the President and his team's request to keep quiet about the mission. He had hoped it would go well and this matter overlooked. But it obviously had come back around to bite them.

"Aqua Girl was stationed on an old, decommissioned oil rig in the North Atlantic. Remodeled into a research station. She and the aforementioned agent were tasked with safeguarding the elements until a containment chamber could be assembled and delivered. Captain Atom was in charge of escorting said chamber to and from the rig. She was isolated from most water sources due to her positioning." Dick answered succinctly.

"But the President cut our funding after this mission failure. We've had failed missions in the past with the US and they've never threatened, much less actively sought to punish us for these failures." Diana said with a small frown.

"So, what exactly happened that the President decided he needed to send a message?" Batman asked.

"The start of that list is that we sent what the President and his staff thought of as a child in place of someone a bit older and experienced. To further branch off from that, we sent someone who wasn't considered a full JLA member. Rather, a Titan. Which was seen as us brushing off the President's request and not taking him seriously. Finally, and this is probably the trigger behind him defunding us, Aqua Girl interfered with his agent and allowed the elements to be taken." Oliver ran through. As he stood there arms crossed and looking around the room. Making sure to make eye contact with each individual at the table.

"Aqua Girl did her job and what she was trained to do." Dick defended.

"Then how is it seen that she interfered?" Superman asked again. Growing more confused at how Tula doing her job led to a mission failure.

"We were shown drone footage and briefly talked with Aqua Girl prior to her being escorted to the tower to heal. To summarize, an unknown group attacked the rig. According to Aqua Girl, she engaged Gizmo and was quickly knocked out. She awoke a little while later and stumbled upon the agent engaging Mammoth, as Gizmo tried to escape. The agent…. neutralized Mammoth and was advancing on Gizmo, when Aqua Girl utilized the surrounding snow to trap the agent against a shipping container. She then tried to talk down Gizmo, but was ignored in favor of escaping with a jetpack. The agent had broken free of the ice during this and attempted to shoot down Gizmo. Aqua Girl blocked his shots with more water from the platform, allowing Gizmo's escape." Oliver disclosed.

"We're supposed to be getting a mission report and related, non classified, footage later today. The President's team is reviewing it for clues as to who the mystery attacker was." He finished.

"What do you mean neutralized? That had a lot of meanings during my time as a marine." John Stewart asked. Brow furrowed as he learnt more of the mission.

"Mammoth is dead." Donna threw out bluntly. The room all turned to her with wide eyes.

"How?! He was capable of taking me on and was no pushover from what I remember!" Superman exclaimed.

"We only saw the last few minutes of the mission from the drone. He seemed tired and was definitely clutching his stomach. We couldn't make out why on the footage. Both he and Gizmo had turned at Aqua Girl's approach and the agent struck. He quickly climbed up Mammoth and a second later had decapitated the man." Donna went on. The room became silent again as the council took in that information.

"Do we know if the agent is a meta of some kind?" Diana asked. She was no stranger to war. But from the way her sister described it, it sounded like the agent was enhanced in some way.

"He said he was the first in some sort of augmentation program. But beyond that, we don't have any ideas. I will say the man was cold. He didn't seem bothered by Mammoth's death or even that of Aqua Girl's actions. It was like he expected her to do something like this. I'd guess he's been a soldier for a long time and isn't as bothered by death as we are and knew it was a possibility." Dick answered. Remembering the cold distorted voice and clear disregard for them.

"Makes sense. Anyone selected for such a program is probably Spec Ops. He would be used to such missions and outcomes." John nodded along. Dick noticed Batman across the table narrow his eyes and scowl deepen. Clearly forecasting he was going to look into the agent later.

"The agent doesn't matter right now. We signed a contract and have to honor it. How can we get back into the good graces of the President?" Diana asked as she started to brainstorm ideas.

"I'd say leave this whole matter be. Let them do what they need to do and send a letter informing them we're here if needed. Beyond that, we can continue our missions and wait for another shot." Oliver shrugged.

"We can refocus on getting more private backers and maybe expanding our influence in Europe." J'onn said.

Dick leaned over to Oliver and whispered, "I don't think you need us anymore. Mind if we head out?" Oliver just nodded in thanks for their help and refocused on the discussion of funding.

Dick and Donna quickly made their way from the meeting and into the zeta tubes. Reappearing in Titans Tower. Both tired from the day's events and disbursing to get some rest.

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Since that meeting, Dick had been interviewing Tula about her experience on the rig and the agent. Most of the answers he received painted a picture of a cold man that wasn't particularly interested in anything outside of the mission. He was willing to compromise for better teamwork and trust, as evidenced by him listening to Tula and her concerns over his use of explosives. But in the end the mission came first and he'd comprise any teamwork to accomplish his objective it seemed. Dick didn't know whether to chalk that up to working with the JLA or just standard procedure for the agent.

When asked about his combat abilities, Tula could only say she saw the aftermath. He had apparently been able to take out all but two of the men that attacked with Gizmo. The two survivors being the men Tula had frozen in the containment chamber. She said his kills were mostly headshots. She couldn't speak to the men he ambushed prior to the containment chamber, but some of the researchers that had seen that aftermath spoke of similar findings. The part that freaked Dick out the most was her story of the ride back in the helicopter. She couldn't see his eyes or face, but she felt his stare piercing her the entire flight back. As if he was waiting for an excuse to fight. She decided that her headache was enough to keep quiet and not return the glare.

It all pointed to another Death Stroke. This one younger and more efficient than Slade. But just as, if not more, deadly. Dick really didn't want to think how one could make Slade any deadlier than he already was. His team barely making it through dealing with the assassin the last time. He wasn't interested in pissing off his replacement any more than he had now if he could help it. One good thing was the agent clearly wasn't vengeful about the mission. He was pissed they got in his way, but was professional enough to let the President hand them their ass and to only intimidate Tula on the ride back.

Deciding that he would have to watch for any more missions with the man, Dick left Tula to rest and heal her concussion.

The next couple of days were quiet. They did patrols or trained, but mostly they just relaxed. The JLA announcing new initiatives in France and Germany to boost their reputation.

That was all shattered when alarms went off indicating a hack. The team raced into the common room. Dressed in their suits and gear, ready for whatever demand the hacker made. They were met by the sight of a red-eyed Gizmo. He clearly had been crying for a while.

"Hey…. Losers." He tried. He just didn't have the energy or will to put on a front at this point.

"Hey Gizmo. What can we help you with?" Dick asked gently as he motioned the team to relax. Only Donna not sending a confused glance in response. The rest of the team had been giving Tula space as she recovered. Her concussion not liking noise and bright lights, they had yet to find out about her mission.

"Can I talk to Jinx? I don't have her number anymore and couldn't think of another way." Gizmo answered. Playing with his sleeve awkwardly.

"Sure, let me see if I can get her." Dick said, motioning to his phone.

A quick phone call and asking Raven to teleport her to the common room from her place in Jump City later, Jinx was stood before Gizmo.

"Can we have the room?" Gizmo asked.

"Of course. Jinx call if you need us." Dick answered as he signaled the team to leave the room.

They reconvened in the training room. Dick knowing the team wouldn't let this drop without some sort of explanation. They had all followed him without question. "So is this a new policy or something? I don't think our insurance plan can handle us casually getting hacked on the regular." Cyborg inquired as he stood next to Garfield.

"This is probably a one time thing for now. Gizmo isn't trying to do anything at the moment from what I can tell." Raven answered. She hadn't seen Gizmo like that before and didn't think this was a normal "attack".

"He's not. He's calling to let Jinx know of a friend's passing." Donna clarified. Drawing the gaze of her teammates.

"Mammoth was killed in an attack this past week. Gizmo was present when it happened." Dick finished somberly.

"Wait! Who attacked them and why do we know?" Garfield asked. He didn't think they were doing any undercover missions at the moment.

"He was the attacker. It was on Tula's mission." Donna explained.

"Did Tula kill Mammoth? She isn't like that and Mammoth hasn't done any major crime since our team-up with Hood." Starfire asked. She remembered how the villains looked after Jason got through hunting them down. He put the fear of god into them as a warning.

Telling her before he left, "If they're afraid of what I can do with ten pounds of explosives and few warning shots. They don't want to see what I can do with an actual budget and plan." His trademark smirk on his face.

"Team-up is a strong word. Association might be more fitting." Garfield tacked on. He really wanted that plane. Hood had even promised if it survived the mission it was his. It was used as a "battering ram" to the second underground facility they found.

"Tula didn't kill Mammoth. She was partnered with an agent on the mission and he was the one to kill Mammoth." Dick signed out.

"Is there a funeral? Do we… do we send flowers?" Cyborg asked uncertainly. It was now that Dick realized he didn't know what happened to Mammoth's body. He was so caught up in the agent and failed mission, he forgot about all the bodies and cleanup.

"I don't know. I don't think the military would give back his body. Even if they did, I don't know if they know who to send it to." Dick answered as he rubbed his chin in ponderance.

"In the meantime we will support Jinx and await word on if there is a funeral. We will only go if invited and should that happen, we will not start a fight. Understood!" Donna spouted with vehemence. Looking at each of her teammates.

Jinx entered the training room a few minutes later. Face stoney and eyes glassy. "Thank you for calling me." She said softly. As she slowly worked her hands together. A nervous tick she developed during her time in HIVE and its training methods.

"No problem. We're sorry for your loss. Is there going to be a funeral? We'd like to send flowers if allowed." Dick said as he stepped forward. Unsure if he should be hugging her or not.

"We're doing a small service later this week. Gizmo said he didn't have time to take anything with him." Jinx responded. Still processing that their big man was dead. He was the happy go lucky one in the group and always made the others smile. It was hard to believe he was dead.

"We're here if you need anything. Just ask." Dick said as he decided on grabbing her shoulder and giving it a tight squeeze. Her eyes snapped up to his. A lost look held within.

"Thank you, I'd like to go home now please." She said as she looked toward the floor and had the first of many tears began to fall. Dick only nodded and turned to Raven. She quickly walked over and enveloped her and Jinx in magic. Teleporting the girl home.

"Um guys, we've fought Mammoth for years. He's beaten both Donna and Cy multiple times." A loud "Hey!" Echoing in the room from Cyborg"s indignation.

"But one guy not only beat him, but killed him. Is the agent a meta too?" Garfield finished. He didn't know of anyone outside of some assassins and the bats that could accomplish such a feat.

"He claims he's augmented. I don't think that's it though." Donna said as she crossed her arms and scowled.

"What do you mean Don?" Dick asked, turning to her.

"He didn't care he killed Mammoth. He barley cared he was in the same room as the President. He was invited to the highest office in the land, and he spent most of his time leaning on the wall. It speaks of confidence and belief from those in the room of his abilities. It also reminds me a lot of Slade." Donna continued, starting to pace. "He was rightfully confident in his skills when confronting us. Slade didn't brag about his abilities but did let them build his reputation. The agent seemed similar to that, but he was also more apathetic to both the mission and its combatants. I think he only cared that he was interfered with."

"I caught that too. He was given a mission directly from the President, and it seemed like it was another Tuesday to him." Dick said with a small frown.

"Dick, they didn't want us on that mission. They had to have us because of the scientist's ego. He killed Mammoth and shrugged it off like Mammoth wasn't capable of matching Superman. He's obviously experienced and has been doing this for years if Waller's praises rang true." Donna said as she continued her trek. Stopping mid stride and turning to the team.

"I don't think Slade was the most dangerous person in that room Dick."