269 Chapter 264: Bait Part 4

Meanwhile, on an undisclosed island just off the coast of Gotham, there was an isolated area with a lone mountain towering at its center. It was in this unsuspecting mountain that Batman had launched Project "Mount Justice," a temporal base for the Justice League following their departure from the Hall of Justice. 

However, with the senior team away and the still under construction, it now acted mostly as the training grounds and mission center for the Junior Justice League.

Currently, in the hangar bay around the center of the mountain, Robin, Aqualad, Artemis, Miss Martian and Zatanna were currently present, wiping down a set of unique-looking jets without their distinctive costumes.

As Robin was wiping down the jet with a soggy white cloth, he soon threw it down and leaned against the wing of the jet, bearing a frown. "The world's a mess, and Batman's idea of us helping is cleaning up back jets no one ever uses. There are better ways to call someone useless," Robin broke the silence, and his voice echoed in the hangar bay. 

All the other members paused their cleaning and turned his way, with Aqualad putting down a metal bucket of water before replying. "I understand your frustration, Robin, but we have to trust that Batman and the rest of the League know what they're doing. With so much happening with the H.S. group, human traffickers, and the chaos in Markovia, our skills are needed more than ever," Robin then argued, "All the more reason we should be out there helping instead of wasting our time here."

Hearing Robin's statement, Artemis frowned and clenched the cloth she currently held in her hand, also joining in. "Let's be honest, we all know the reason they are not letting us go out is because they think it's too dangerous. Now that we've lost a member from both the Junior League and the Senior League, we also don't have a lot of information on what's going on. So, don't you think it's a little stupid for us to want to go out there and risk losing someone else?"

Artemis's argument sparked a bit of silence as everyone remembered the recent loss they suffered in the form of Kid Flash and Green Lantern. Artemis was also personally upset over the fact that her mentor was now considered a heinous criminal and had to live on the run, eluding even the League, and not contacting her at all. 

Miss Martian was not particularly close to anyone to add to the conversation, and the same could be said for Zatanna. Aside from Robin, Aqualad, and Flash, who knew each other prior to the formation of the Junior Justice League, the others were pretty new to each other and were only now getting better acquainted.

Robin looked at Artemis and frowned. Seeing Robin do this, Aqualad decided to intervene. "Robin, Artemis, that's enough. Look, none of us are happy about not being able to be deployed. However, we have to trust that the Senior Justice League knows what they're doing. In the case that there really is danger out there, and they succumb to it, we will be the ones who need to step up. So, in that sense, don't you think it's better for us to adjust to our duties and focus on our training for now?"

Robin let out a sigh upon hearing Aqualad's words, whereas Artemis just kept silent and crossed her arms, turning her gaze away with a huff. As she did this, she felt a vibration in the back pocket of her skinny jeans. 

She quickly reached out to it and saw an unknown caller ID, prompting Zatanna to look at her oddly before asking, "How are you able to get a signal here?" to which Artemis ignored. 

Robin then eagerly replied, "There are a few towers set up around. As long as you have a phone powerful enough, you can use them. You'll be able to get a signal even if you were all the way in the Himalayas. Satellites and stuff." 

"Hello, Artemis. Artemis, can you hear me?" Artemis's alarmingly nonchalant expression soon turned urgent as she surprisingly blurted out loud, "Oliver, is that you?"

As Artemis said this, Robin and the others looked her way, and she didn't bother to try hiding who had called. "Yes, it's me. Can you do video? If not, I'll just speak like this, but it's urgent. Where are you? Are you at the base? With the team?"

"What's going on? Are you in danger?" Artemis quickly asked considering the rushed tone Oliver was speaking in.

"No, but I couldn't reach Batman, and I'm afraid if I do, he might track the call. Anyway, I don't have much time and won't be able to get to the location in time, so I have no choice but to relay the information to you. Something big is going to go down in La maz, Mexico, related to human trafficking. From the information I've gathered, it's not something we can ignore."

Robin looked at Oliver with a bit of caution. Although it was good to see him, the fact that he hadn't communicated with the League did draw some suspicion. Afterall Batman always questioned anything and everything people did. 

Oliver could be heard fumbling about with papers somewhere in the tight space, a dark, dimly lit deck space he was in. "Also, Green Lantern and Kid Flash's killer might be ther. The alias they're calling him by is 'Middleman,' and I have reason to believe he's an alien. Look, just get this information to Batman and the others urgently. The deal is supposed to be going down in less than 2 hours from now. They need to mobilize and set a plan in place quick."

"And also- *kshk*" before Oliver could finish speaking, the feed cut out. 

"What's wrong? What happened?" Artemis inquired while hitting her device.

"Signal cut. Wherever he is, or whatever he was using, it wasn't strong enough to stay connected. Dammit, I should've tried to trace it." Robin explained while showing a bit of regret.

Aqualad, more worried about what Green Arrow said also added in, "We should relay this information to Batman." To this suggestion, Robin thought for a moment but refused, "No, we're doing this one on our own."

…

At the same time, in an unknown location, Oliver could be seen standing near a monitor. As the feed on the monitor cut, he no longer looked panicked and instead looked calm before snapping his fingers and getting engulfed by a bright purple light. 

As the light faded, his figure changed to that of Tala, who smiled while saying to herself, "Zhe master vwill be pleased vwith Tala. I zhink I have done zhe quite well."