29 Chapter 29: Inflitration failed.
[Third Person's Point of View]
[Mount Justice, Rhode Island. August 8, 09:58 EDT]
The team of young heroes walks down to the sandy beach below Mount Justice, carrying boogie boards, towels, coolers, and a beach bag.
"Hello, Megan! We should hit the beach every day!"
M'gann exclaims in excitement.
"First, a moment of silence for our absent comrade."
Says Robin as he puts a hand on his forehead.
"Poor Wally..."
M'gann agrees as she bows her head. After the moment passes, they set up the beach umbrella, the small mini grill, and the volleyball net. They had a beach episode as Acnologia would describe it. Now some might be shocked why he decided to join the rest of the team... minus Kid Flash.
The reason is because that being that now resides in him nagged him about it like a kid wanting some Ice Cream. The nagging coupled with the fact that he felt like he was constantly being watched caused Acnologia to agree.
Originally, Acnologia planned to head to the hidden sea today but since the feeling of being under watch never left, even after warding himself with magic, he decided to postpone this and take a break to calm himself. He would also require time to cast a stronger warding on himself since it required him to gather rare ingredients some of which he did not know where to find.
When the sun starts to set, the superhero teens decide to head back and end their beach day. They went to the cave to clean up, then changed into their hero suits as Batman had informed them of a mission that had just come up.
When they arrive at the mission briefing area, they see Batman along with Red Tornado, Green Arrow, and another girl in a green hero costume. Her suit exposes her abdomen and lower back, she has a quiver of arrows, a bow she carries, and the arrow symbol on her upper torso.
"You wished to see us?"
Aqualad politely asks Batman.
"Yes. Team, this is-"
Batman answers but is cut off by the computer announcing an arrival.
"Recognized: Kid Flash, B-0-3."
Wally appears as the light fades, carrying a giant umbrella, cooler, beach ball, and many other items such as a stereo. He is wearing yellow swim trunks, a towel around his neck, flip-flops, sunglasses, and a thick layer of sunscreen on the bridge of his nose.
"The Wall-man is here! Now let's get this party star-"
Wally exclaims before he trips over the pole of the umbrella, dropping everything and falling on his front in the middle of the mess. The beach ball bounces past Batman, who is unamused at his entrance.
"-ted?"
Wally finishes his sentence while being confused.
"Wall-man, huh?"
The archer girl asks before adding on with sass in her tone.
"I love the uniform. What... exactly... are your powers?"
"Uh, who's this?"
Wally asks, standing up and moving to stand near his friends.
"Artemis, your new teammate."
The girl introduces herself, one hand on her hip.
"Kid Flash, never heard of you."
"Hm... she's my new protégé."
Green Arrow says, deciding to step in. He places his left hand on her shoulder. Acnologia raises an eyebrow but decides to remain silent.
"What happened to your old one?!"
Wally asks slightly agitated.
"Recognized: Speedy, B-0-6."
The computer announces. Everyone, other than Acnologia, turns to see Speedy enter through the zeta tube wearing a red and black uniform.
"Well for starters, he doesn't go by Speedy anymore."
He says coldly before adding on.
"Call me Red Arrow."
'How did he time his entrance? Matter of fact, how did he even hear enough of the conversation to respond? I am pretty sure the Zeta Tubes started lighting up at the earliest after Wally was midway through his question so how would he know that Wally was talking to Green Arrow?'
Kara thought to herself.
"Roy..."
Green Arrow says, taking his hand off Artemis before adding on.
"You look-"
"Replaceable?"
Red Arrow interrupts stiffly, eyes narrowing.
"It's not like that... you told me you were going solo."
Green Arrow begins as Kara thinks to herself.
'Why does it feel like Red Arrow just caught Green Arrow cheating like they were some kind of married couple?'
"So why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?"
Red Arrow asks while Kara's eyebrows twitched.
'Is this some kind of soap opera? Am I being pranked? Am I dreaming or something?'
"Yes, she can."
Artemis says, stepping forward to challenge him while Kara turns to look at her.
'Not you too?'
"Who are you?!"
Wally yells extremely confused.
"I'm his niece."
"She's my niece."
Artemis and Green Arrow say at the same time.
"Another niece?"
Robin asks, a smirk on his lips. He plans to figure out exactly who this new teammate is. Miss Martian seems to stay quiet as she does not want to say anything wrong.
"But she is not your replacement..."
Aqualad says, stepping forward before adding on.
"We have always wanted you on the Team and we have no quota on archers."
"And if we did, you know who we'd pick."
Wally tells his friend hero.
'Calm down Acnologia, calm down. You need to stay with them until you get Klarion. So calm down and sit through this glazing session of nursing a wounded Napoleon complex of an ego... Then again...'
Acnologia thought before he spoke.
"Aqualad, Kid Flash... Speak for yourselves. YOU have always wanted him on the Team not everyone. As for who would be picked, I don't remember agreeing Speedy or Red Arrow to join the team and last time I checked... to be someone's replacement, that someone would have needed to be on the team first."
"H-he doesn't mean-"
Robin tried to speak to Red Arrow but Acnologia interrupted.
"Yes, I do."
Acnologia then turned to face Red Arrow.
"From what I bothered remembering, you were offered a position but refused it after storming off just like you did at the Hall of Justice. Listen Red Arrow, I am going to say to you what none of those three are willing to say..."
Acnologia said before walking closer to Red Arrow and adding on.
"There is no way I can fathom giving even a microscopic amount... of a single fuck... about your obsession with joining the League or your Napoleon's complex issues. I could use the ability to pretend like I give a damn about your piddly-ass problem...
But that would be wasting everyone, more importantly, my time. You said that you quit, it was your decision..."
Acnologia turned to face Green Arrow as well as the rest.
"... So there is no reason why everyone should be acting like a fucking character of a drama soap opera from the Surface World."
Red Arrow gritted his teeth as silence reigned for a moment since Acnologia was not wrong before Wally spoke.
"I still choose him."
"Whatever, Baywatch."
Artemis says, taking a few steps forward and placing her hand on her hip again.
"I'm here to stay."
Red Arrow turns to leave.
"You came to us for a reason."
Aqualad prompts him.
"Yeah, a reason named Dr. Serling Roquet."
Having his ego properly stroked, Red Arrow answers. Robin thinks for a moment before a lightbulb seems to go off in his head. He fiddles with his wrist computer, bringing up several screens with the necessary information.
"Nano-robotics genius and claytronics expert at Royal University in Star City. Vanished two weeks ago-"
"Abducted two weeks ago."
Red Arrow corrects.
"By the League of Shadows."
"Woah."
Robin says, obviously excited, as he, Wally, and Miss Martian move closer.
"You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?"
"Hard-core."
Wally says as he and Robin share a fist bump.
"I already rescued her..."
Red Arrow responds in a condescending tone. He walks to the holo-screens and pulls out a device, clicking a button on the side. A new screen pops up in front of Robin's. It has images of a laptop, different angles of a cylinder, and a silver mechanical bug.
"Only one problem. The Shadows had already coerced her into creating a weapon. Doc calls it the Fog, comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nanotech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path... concrete... steel... Flesh... bone."
'Perfect for completing Amazo on my own... I'mma eat it.'
Acnologia thought as Red Arrow adds.
"But its true purpose isn't mere destruction. It's theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system, and deliver the stolen intel to the Shadows. Providing them access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech."
'Fog my guy... no need to dig any further, you already struck oil. At this point, it feels like it's begging me to absorb its abilities... Note to self, copy that doctor's knowledge just in case things go south.'
Acnologia thought as Artemis interrupted in a bored tone.
"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking. Yeah, sounds like the Shadows."
"Like you know anything about the Shadows."
Wally retorts only for Artemis to merely throw him a confident smirk causing Wally to shout in frustration.
"Who are you?!"
"Roquet's working on a virus to render the Fog inert..."
Red Arrow continues, ignoring his speedster friend.
"But if the Shadows know she can do that-"
Kara starts but is cut off by Red Arrow.
"They'll target her. Right now she's off the grid."
The screen changes to an image of the Happy Harbor High School.
"I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab."
"You left her alone?"
Green Arrow asks in alarmed disbelief.
"She's safe enough for now."
Red Arrow retorts.
"Then lets you and I keep her that way."
Green Arrow says, walking forward, eager to reconnect with his young former partner. Artemis lets her tough girl facade drop for a moment, revealing pain and disappointment before she conceals it once again though this is caught by Batman, Kara, and Acnologia.
"You and I?"
Red Arrow asks.
"Don't you want to take your new protégé?"
Batman stops Green Arrow with a hand on his shoulder.
'I'm getting tired of this soap opera shit. Let the kids handle it.'
The older green archer pauses, then sighs.
"You brought this to the Team. It's their mission, which means it's hers now too."
Red Arrow scoffs.
"Then my job is done."
He stalks to the zeta tubes and the computer scans him.
"Recognized: Speedy-"
"That's Red Arrow, B-0-6, update."
The young hero corrects as the zeta tube sends him off to an unknown location. Wally sends a resentful glare in Artemis's direction, and she turns stiffly away.
[Happy Harbor High School, Rhode Island. August 8, 21:53 EDT]
Supergirl and Miss Martian in her stealth suit stand guard outside, protecting the perimeter from within the wire fence surrounding the school. The rest of the team is in the computer lab with Dr. Roquet. Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Triton are also in stealth mode.
'Miss Martian, link us up.'
Triton says in his mind before adding on.
'We do not want the Shadows intercepting our comms.'
Miss Martian concentrates for a second.
'Everyone online?'
She asks through the link.
'Ugh, this is weird.'
Artemis says.
'And distracting.'
Roquet adds as she is interrupted from typing at a furious pace.
'Coding a distributed algorithm virus on a kiddie computer with less RAM than a wristwatch is hard enough, now I have to hear teen-think in my skull!'
Roquet grabs her head.
'Lady, do you always complain when someone tries to help you?'
Kid asks while eating a protein bar... proving her point.
'Pot, kettle. Have you met?'
Artemis says through the link.
'Hey hey, I do not need attitude, from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the Team.'
Kid Flash says.
'That is so not on me!'
Artemis shouts through the link, standing up angrily.
'Fate of the world at stake!'
Roquet shouts through the link, spreading her arms to emphasize her point.
'She started it!'
Kid Flash blames her, crossing his arms.
'How about I just help Miss Martian and Supergirl patrol the perimeter.'
Artemis suggests, trying to diffuse some of the tension in the room as she walks to the door only to be stopped by Triton.
'No, Supergirl, Miss Martian, you can come inside, the warding is complete no need to patrol the perimeter, we will be leaving shortly.'
'Wait, what?'
Roquet exclaims as she stops coding.
'The virus won't be of much use if we cannot find the weapon...'
Triton says, approaching the doctor.
'Track it.'
He orders but this offends her though not at the order but at the mention of her work being called a weapon.
'My utility Fog is not a weapon! It's science, brilliant science. And of course, I can track it, but I'd have to go online.'
Roquet resumed working on the virus as she spoke.
'Might as well rent a billboard with this address and assassinate me written in neon.'
Triton shrugs his shoulder as she retorts.
'That is why we will be moving after you tracked it. Save everything you have done so far regarding the Virus, and get ready to leave before tracking the Fog. As soon as you get its location, the team will split in two. I will go intercept it while they move you to a safer location.'
Says Triton as he uses his shadows to copy Roquet's knowledge and intellect. None is the wiser among those present due to him having them under an illusion where they can not see or feel his shadow.
'Wait, if you were going to do that then why did you have Miss Martian and Supergirl guard the perimeter?'
Kid Flash asks before adding.
'And add the warding or whatever you did on this place?'
'To prevent the shadows from entering before we were ready to move and-'
Robin answered realizing the reason behind Triton's action before Artemis ended his sentence.
'And to trick the Shadow into wasting time when they get here.'
'That's... not a bad idea.'
Says Roquet, she cannot see anything wrong with this plan since she would not be putting herself in danger- in any more danger than she already was. She gets everything ready and once the team is ready to leave, Roquet starts tracking Fog.
After a moment's hesitation, Roquet clicks a button on the computer.
"Tracking Fog now."
A robotic voice says as a preliminary scan shows the Fog is somewhere on the East Coast. Triton stays behind as the tracking pinpoints the Fog's location while the Team goes enters the Bio-ship and heads to Gotham.
'You might cut her some slack.'
Robin says mentally as they travel inside the Bio-Ship, before adding on.
'It was her arrow that saved your butt against Amazo.'
Kid Flash quickly protests.
'What! No that was Speedy's- I mean Red Arrow's- arrow. Right?'
'Not so much.'
Robin says with a sly grin causing Kid Flash to turn away.
'Well, still not giving her the satisfaction.'
'... You know I can still hear you.'
Artemis puts in, very annoyed and confused. Kid Flash groans aloud, smacking his forehead.
'I couldn't get the Justice League.'
Roquet laments inside the Bio-Ship at all the teenage drama, massaging the bridge of her nose.
'Nope!'
Supergirl says into the mind link before adding on.
'But look on the bright side, if you had gotten the Justice League then you would have had to deal with Batman glaring at you twenty-four-seven.'
This got a chuckle out of everyone. It took an hour but they managed to arrive at their destination which was a famous club in Gotham, "The Sirens". Some of the team including Robin were shocked that this was their destination. Dr. Roquet was also shocked.
They landed on the roof and Supergirl rang on the buzzer that was placed there. After a few minutes, a voice came out of the comms.
"Super blondy, how's it hanging girl? Still haven't porked Acno yet?"
Supergirl sighs as she speaks.
"No, I haven't Harley. Why do you always ask me that- you know what never mind. Now can you let us in, we need a favor no questions asked."
Triton had explained to them that the team would follow Supergirl's lead when they arrived at their destination before he handed a bag to Supergirl. The door opened and Harley Quinn along with Poison Ivy came out to greet them which caused most of the team to be on guard.
"You want a favor no question asked? Did Triton send you guys here?"
Poison Ivy asked.
"Yeah, and I got the tributes for the no-question-asked part."
Supergirl said as she lifted the bag that Triton had given her.
"Oh, this is going to be good."
A voice came from behind the two villainesses before the team saw a third woman walking out of the shadow. She was Catwoman, the most famous thief in Gotham. She looked at Robin and smiled before speaking.
"Why, hello there bird boy. Isn't it a little too late for you to be out at night?"
Before Robin could retort, Supergirl took control of the conversation as she brought something out of the bag while speaking
"For Catwoman, a cat-shaped mini statue made of pure jade."
Supergirl tossed the jewelry to Catwoman who happily accepted it as Supergirl continued.
"For Ivy, here is a pouch full of seed that can grow into plants that feed off pollution and release twice as much oxygen. Warning, they might try to rule the world and enslave humanity into causing more pollution to other plants if you try to make them sentient."
"Come again?"
Robin says as Poison Ivy catches the pouch full of plant seeds. Supergirl takes out the final object in the bag and it is none other than a simple letter. She opens it and reads it out loud.
"For Harley, you can mess with Kid Flash all you want while they do what they have to do just keep it legal and as the Surface world says PG-13.
P.S.
If you could stop him from riding Red Arrow's red arrow every time he is mentioned or keeping it out of his mouth every time the guy in question is present that would be much appreciated."
"Red Arrow's what-"
Kid Flash exclaims but is cut off by Supergirl.
"P.S.S
Wait five seconds before answering Kid Flash's question. By Red Arrow's red arrow, I meant his dick since the current terminology on the surface of what you do was 'riding his dick' and 'glazing him' non-stop... If you have time try to see Aqualad and Robin too."
This caused the three villainesses, Supergirl and Atermis to chuckle while Roquet sighed as she spoke.
"We're doomed."
Now some might wonder what a favor no questions asked was... it was simply a favor that one would grant without running their nose into the one that was being helped but nothing was simple in Gotham.
To ensure that the helper would not ask questions or tell others, the one seeking help had to offer something in exchange. Usually, it had to be double the price of what the favor was worth since that would mean that you would not owe the helper anything afterward.
---
Meanwhile, Triton is currently looking down at the top of a parking garage. He sees a man with a strange helmet covering his eyes open the sliding door of his van, placing his hands on a device the young Atlantean recognizes as the Fog.
The helmeted man, known as Professor Ojo, looks up through a specialized lens in the face shield and sees no one around before he proceeds to activate Fog which swarms toward Star Labs or so he thinks.
In reality, Professor Ojo is currently being bound by Triton's shadow as part of it slithered around the device before ensnaring it to the point that no part of it is visible to the outside world. While completely being covered by Triton's shadow, the device seems to shrink in size as crunching sounds reverberate around them.
In almost no time, Triton's shadow retreats but the device is nowhere to be seen. Triton smiles as part of his shadow which has been extended upward turns into a fog and swarms him. As if regenerating a lost limb, his shadow extended once more to cover the part that had been turned into a fog.
After a few minutes of flying around the fog heads towards Triton's shadow which had returned to normal after he had knocked down Professor Ojo. The fog dives into Triton's shadow as if it were a pool which darkens for a moment before returning to normal.
He then sits there waiting for the team to send him the virus. He did so because once the virus was complete then the Shadow would no longer have any reason to target Roquet's life. Destroying Fog would not be enough since they could force her into recreating it but once the virus was accessible then Fog would become obsolete. Plus, he figured it would be good to test if the virus could work on his [Shadow Mist] as he called it.
[Gotham City. August 9, 01:16 EDT]
Artemis steps out of the zeta tube disguised as a phone booth, the debriefing had been long due to Triton requesting help from villains during the mission as Batman stated but everyone could see that Triton did not care about that.
He even stated himself that the mission was a success, Fog was destroyed and the virus was created thus the Shadow had no reason to kill Roquet anymore. She pauses as she senses she's not alone. She quickly pulls out her bow and places an arrow on the string, aiming it at the space where she knows the person is standing.
"Step into the light. Now, before I shove this arrow where the sun doesn't shine."
She orders.
The figure steps forward, revealing that it is Red Arrow.
"Nice move."
He comments as Artemis releases the tension on the bowstring, standing up from her crouched position as the other archer stops about a foot away.
"Almost made me believe you are Green Arrow's niece. But we both know you're not."
Artemis narrows her eyes in a threatening manner.
"Still, I'm sure G.A. and Bats have a reason for lying. So your cover's safe. But I warn you..."
Red Arrow leans in closer.
"Do not, hurt my friends."
He turns and walks away into the shadows, leaving Artemis alone in the dark alley before adding on.
"Triton on the other hand is fair game."
[Infinity Island]
"Report."
The order comes from one of the light-infused silhouettes displayed on the seven screens surrounding the meditating figure of Sensei, one of the League of Shadows' most senior members.
"Masters."
He responds respectfully.
"Before Ojo's capture, he was unable to transmit the STAR Labs data you required, but we managed to acquire it through an employee who found our methods very persuasive but the Wayne Tech intel still eludes us."
"Once again, the young... heroes interfere..."
L-2 asserts.
"So it's fortunate we have an operative on the inside."
Sensei smiles.
[AN: Want more? Like Thanos, I want those STONES!!!]
