22nd July 20:34 GMT -5

At the end of the tunnel there's a service lift. Robin crouches in front of it and tries to access it with his computer. Turns out it's a simple electronic device with no processing power. Once I confirm that there isn't anyone close enough to hear it they enter and descend. At the bottom there's a small generator which powers the thing and another tunnel, this time leading towards the underground portion of the factory. At the end of that tunnel there's a heavy blast door, and Robin gets his hacking fix. That takes them into a locker room, which in turn leads to what I presume to be a mixing room. Large metal cylinders provide cover and concealment, though I don't think having them leak from bullet impacts would be very healthy.

**All clear.** I see Robin sprint forwards into the room, moving from cover to cover.

Aqualad is not happy. **Robin. We need to stay together.**

**I'll be back in a minute.**

**Stay put. I'll get our intel and be back before the Boy Wonder.**

**Oh, for goodness sake, Wallace.**

**Oh El, we're on a mission. Remember code names?**

**Remember staying together and supporting one another? Look, Robin's gone up onto the catwalk around the room you're in now. Looks like one cultist in the control room directly above your current position. There are no guards likely to reach you soon, so I suggest heading there.**

**Agreed.**

I send a map of the route to M'gann, but Aqualad has a better idea. **M'gann, fly up and support Robin.**

**On it.**

The cultist operating the machinery gets one bewildering moment of staring at her before Robin knocks him out from behind with a hand held spray. **Good distraction, Miss Em.**

I watch as the others hurry quietly around the room. The lack of guards in the production areas is a little puzzling. Maybe they're just here to produce the one batch? They clearly know that Bane wants this place back.

Another screen draws my attention. Kobra has descended to ground level and is talking to a scrawny woman and a truly huge bloke with hardened skin and… Ugh, are those cracks? The woman reads as Selinda Flinders, aka Shimmer. She isn't listed as being a Kobra cultist and she isn't wearing the robes. Mercenary work, maybe? Nothing on the big guy.

**Orange Lantern to team. Be advised, Kobra has at least one supervillain with him. He's not on the League's database yet, but he's huge.**

Aqualad responds as they make it to the control room. **Define 'huge'?**

**At least as big as Doctor Desmond. Maybe a bit broader.**

This perks Robin's interest. **Think they're producing the Blockbuster Formula here?**

Oh, whoops. **I'm sorry, I can't check. I didn't think to record its chemical structure.**

**Don't worry about it. I'll soon… Find… Out…**

Another screen blinks at me. **Guys, there's a transport helicopter coming in. Not certain it's coming here, but it is heading in this direction.**

**Is it likely that they will spot you?**

Aqualad, if an unarmed helicopter could take a Lantern… **Anyone can spot me, but they're flying fairly low. They shouldn't be able to identify me.**

**Very well. Maintain surveillance. Alert us if anything changes.**

Kid Flash reaches Robin first. **Rob, what have you got?**

**Chemical formulas. It looks like they are producing the Blockbuster Formula here. Or something like it. I think… I think they've combined the two.**

**According to this, Kobra's new juice is three times stronger than Venom, and the effects are permanent. But how did Kobra get access to Project Blockbuster?**

**Our mystery buyer must also be Kobra's supplier! Using the cult to create a Venom-Blockbuster super formula!**

I feel obliged to jump in. **Let's not jump to conclusions. The two may be unrelated. A cultist working under cover at Cadmus could have passed the formula on to them.**

Aqualad thinks for a moment. **Orange Lantern. How much of the new formula remains to be loaded?**

**Looks like two forklift loads. They'll be done soon. They're not bothering with the remaining regular Venom. Kobra and the big guy are going out to meet the helicopter now. Two guards entering the floor below you.**

**I believe we now have enough information to call in the League.**

Sounds like. There's a pause for a moment.

**Orange Lantern, they have jammed the radio. Are you able to send a message to Batman?**

!Our mission!

!Not his!

**I generally use radio waves as well. I might be able to message one of the other Lanterns, but I don't know where they are at the moment. If they're on Oa, or near the other side of the Sector…**

I can feel the smug emanating from Kid Flash. **You send messages with… What was it? Early twenty first century Earth technology?**

**The ring can send messages in more advanced formats, but our mountain doesn't have the receivers for them.**

**Maybe you shoulda thought of that before the start of the mission.**

**Do you know how to build a Bleed Fracture-Pulse receiver?**

Kon's feeling combative. **We can take them.**

Aqualad is having none of it. **No. This is a recon mission, not a combat operation. We will exfiltrate and head outside of the jamming area.**

Wallace isn't happy. **But they'll get away!**

**If it comes to it, I'm confident that I can disable the helicopter with minimal risk to myself. The only thing I can see that might threaten my shields is that big metahuman.**

**Robin, download as much data as you can. We'll need to transmit this to the League.**

**… Fine.**

And then a rocket hits the forklift and explodes.

The hell!?

**Aqualad to Orange Lantern. What just happened?**

Another rocket shreds a group of cultists who had hunkered down to prepare for a rush. **Give me a moment.** A small group of fighters are firing rockets from the tree line. Either they have superb marksmanship, or those are being guided somehow.

**Bane's men fired rockets at the landing zone. Kobra's sending cultists back into the factory to secure it while the big meta goes after the guerrillas. You need to get out now.**

**Understood.**

They begin falling back, jumping down to the ground floor with M'gann's help rather than going all the way around the catwalk. They just about make it to cover by the time the first cultists enter the room and notice that the guy in the control room isn't responding. The team are already in the tunnels by the time the cultists start a search. I can't tell exactly how obvious the secret door is from here, but with a little luck they won't be able to go through it without extra equipment.

If Bane's people aren't rushing, that was a diversion. It clearly wasn't laid on for our benefit. There's still a minute or so until the helicopter touches down. What am I missing?

I feel M'gann's alarm.

!My team!

!Mine!

Bane. My team is surrounded by bombs. That will not do. I drop the WarSphere, switch my environmental shield back to minimum and aim myself at their location. With a little luck I'll be mistaken for misdirected ordnance.

Ring, what is he saying?

"Halt, children. I'm feeling… Explosive." Hammy supervillain monolog coming up.

**I'm inbound. I'm... I'm not completely sure that I can suppress those explosives.**

"I was a little worried when I found that my secret entrance had been uncovered. I wasn't expecting the Justice League Junior."

Aqualad starts to organise. **Kid, you'll need a running start.**

"I. Want. My factory back. If you're not here to take down my enemy, then perhaps the Justice League will come to avenge their sidekicks. Blowing the tunnel up with you inside should provide them the motivation needed."

Ring, prep armour constructs, and target his fighters' guns.

"And when the smoke clears, Santa Prisca will be mine once more."

Kid Flash moves. "With what? This trigger thingy?"

"Range achieved."

I grin. Coils of orange light reach down to seize rifles out of guerrilla hands.

"Don't you know, you never split the party

Cleric in the back, keep those fighters hale and hearty."

Orange armour constructs appear around my team mates. Superboy lunges at Bane, who takes a surprise fist to the diaphragm. M'gann telekinetically catches a thrown grenade and hurls it into the distance, where it explodes brightly.

"Wizard in the middle,

Where she can spread some light."

Wallace hits the outermost fighters while Aqualad and M'gann use precision blasts of water and telekinesis to slam those closest to them into the scenery. I hit the ground just in time to put manacle constructs around Bane's arm as he tries to punch Superboy. I then put another around his neck to pull his face down into Superboy's fist.

"And you never let that damn.. thief…"

I stop. "Where's Robin?"

I didn't look for him when I created the armour because he doesn't like using it. Oh, he can take care of himself. Bane shows some signs of life, so I pop a StunCrownTM construct over his head and activate it. He goes rigid for a moment, and then slumps.

It seems that my team mates have mastered the art of rendering people unconscious using kinetic force without causing lasting damage. Even M'gann, which I find a little surprising. I wonder what the secret is? I begin piling unconscious guerrillas into neat heaps. **Seriously, where's Robin?**

Aqualad deactivates his Water Bearers and shrugs. **He has a most unfortunate habit of doing that.**

Kid Flash walks back, eating a chocolate bar. "Haven't seen him. Hey, what did I do to finally qualify for actual armor?"

"You just looked so gosh darn fragile."

Actually, all the armour will do now is draw attention to us. The constructs dissipate.

M'gann looks at our captives. "I didn't bring any rope."

Superboy loots one of the fallen. "This guy did. Think he'll mind if we use it?"

Did he just make a joke?

It's been too long since Scouts for me to remember much about knots, let alone how to tie someone up reliably. Wallace and Aqualad on the other hand have the right skill set. Is that something I should learn? Not sure. My StunCrown is more reliable, but that would probably look like inappropriate brutality in this situation. It temporarily shorts out the motor cortex, but it actually causes less risk to long term health than the air tasers used by Batman and Robin. Two mornings of studying neurophysiology well spent.

I suppose if there's no one around who knows rope tying then I'd probably be on my own anyway. Not sure how all of the Venom in Bane's system will affect the paralysis effect. Don't want him getting away. Hmm.

"Would it be acceptable for me to remove all traces of Venom from Bane's body?"

Aqualad and Kid Flash share a look before Aqualad turns to me. "You are able to do that safely?"

"It's a single molecule whose structure I know. Shouldn't be a problem. Not sure about the withdrawal symptoms, but I can probably do something to reduce them."

Aqualad smiles slightly. Thinking about it, he's probably second only to Superboy when it comes to being sombre. Wonder why? "I think that would be acceptable."

I raise my left hand over the recumbent Bane. "Ring, locate and remove all Venom molecules. Identify and repair damage caused to all systems."

"Compliance."

Strobing beams of orange light project from the ring. There doesn't seem to be much of a pattern, until I wonder hard enough and I understand that it's targeting the Venom sites in order of concentration. Watching Bane visibly deflate is… Unnerving. Particularly when his neck and face shrivel so much that his mask comes loose.

Once the ring finishes Kid Flash steps forwards and picks the mask up. "Souvenir."

That went well. Now, let's see what I've been missing in the excitement. Ring, where did Robin and that big meta end up?

Two screens appear in front of me. The one on my left shows Robin, crouched under… The helicopter. The helicopter has landed, and Robin has somehow managed to sneak right up to it. Not good. The one on my right shows… I need a better name than big meta… Baran Flinders? An orange construct showing his last known appearance now floats next to the right hand screen. Whaw.

"No way. That little guy became that thing?" Wallace is now leaning on my shoulder. He's still eating.

And not sharing. I'm bringing my own snacks next time.

"Baran Flinders, eighteen years old. His DNA hasn't changed, and his face is roughly the right shape, allowing for the growth he's done since this image was taken."

"When was that?"

"Three days ago."

"Whaw."

"Worse news, looks like he's coming here." I move my hand and the picture of him walking through the jungle switches to plane view showing the landing area, Mister Flinders and us. He has a little way to go, but he's between us and Robin unless we want to go through the tunnels again. He looks like he should be able to move faster than he is. I can only assume that he saw a few orange flashes and is being thorough. Doesn't seem to be wearing a radio. Oh, jamming, right.

Aqualad joins Kid Flash just behind me, while Superboy and M'gann watch from the front.

**Robin, are you in immediate danger?**

**No one ever looks under the helicopter.**

**Can you get away safely?**

**Sure, when you get down here and we've finished kicking Kobra's keister.**

**That was not the plan.**

**I don't remember anyone making you leader.** Didn't we? We didn't talk about it but… Argh! That was why Robin asked Batman who was in charge. He thinks it's a contest he can win. Damn it. **Whoo… I think they're loading the Venom Buster now. Not sure the League can get here in time.**

Ah, hell. We can't leave Robin here. We can't extract him covertly. Can we? I pull the left window outwards from Robin. Nope, too many guards. My best idea for remaining covert involves sending a giant orange drill construct up underneath him.

I wonder what vert means? Some sort of skateboarding jump, isn't it?

Aqualad is a bit more together. **We will need to bypass or ambush Mister Flinders, then launch a diversionary attack on the airfield to allow Robin to withdraw. Ambushing without giving away our position will be difficult, and bypassing him risks him attacking us from the rear later. His strength will be particularly dangerous in the close confines of the forest.**

Hang on… I rotate the right screen and switch it to relief map. Since he's having to move up the side of the ridge, and with all of the trees… I should be able to pick him up without the other Kobra types seeing. After that, I could either stun him or fly him to the sea while keeping out of line of sight of the airfield. I should be able to hold him under water, as long as he has nothing solid to push against. Superboy speaks first.

**I'll take the big guy. I can wear these guys' clothes as a disguise and hold his attention while you get Robin. I'll join you once I'm done.**

I shake my head. **Superboy, you beat rock with paper, not with more rock. Miss Martian or I could neutralise his strength advantage, but I should be able to knock him out faster. That would also put me in a better position to attack the helicopter should it make a break for it.**

Aqualad steps to my side to get a better look at the map. **Following the helicopter in the Bio-Ship while under camouflage might lead us to the ultimate buyer.**

Robin does not appreciate the delay. **OR we can just grab everyone while they're still here, and Miss Em can take the information from their minds.**

She shakes her head. **It isn't as easy as that. There are ways to keep me out. And they might not even know who hired them.**

Kid Flash takes a closer look at the arrangement of guards. **Superboy, you're pretty much bulletproof, right?**

**Yeah?**

**Think you could jump from here-** He points to an elevated area which from the airfield is obscured by trees. **-into the middle of them?**

**Probably.**

**I should be able to clear out most of the Kobra goons if they're all looking at him. If M'gann's invisible when the attack starts she can be right over the helicopter when Superboy goes in!**

Stealth, guys! Stealth!

**Clock is ticking, guys. Don't really want to try hanging onto the underside of a helicopter all the way back to the US!**

Ah, hell. It probably doesn't violate my orders if I'm not the one doing it.

**Big Flinders is getting close. If we're doing this, I need to move now.**

Aqualad looks about as happy with this turn of events as I am. He bows his head slightly. **I suppose wisdom involves adapting a plan to unpredicted circumstances.** He places a hand on my back, and looks me in the eyes. **You are confident you can take him alone?**

I nod. **It should be within my abilities.**

**Go. Meet us either on the airfield or back at drop point B.**

I look at the relief map once more, planning the best route. Ring, plot flight path.

Course plotted.

I drop the map constructs, reinforce my armour and crouch slightly. In my mind I can clearly see the route I'll be taking, but the journey itself will be too quick for me to really experience it. The next thing I'll be aware of is Big Flinders being right in front of me.

Execute.

An unintelligent person might try to ram him. A moderately intelligent person like Jordan or Stewart would stop and create a striking construct. I like to think that I am a little more than moderately intelligent. That is why the now musclebound Mister Flinders finds himself hoisted into the air by the awesome power of the full nelson. Once he's off the ground I stick a flight aura around him as well. I do that second as it isn't impossible that he could flail around enough to break its hold, and I really don't want to make this a fair fight. Superboy and I tested it, and sufficient force can break the flight aura from inside.

Perhaps most importantly, I do this from behind. When I start my attack he can't see me, and he will struggle to turn his head enough to do so. His massive muscles mean that he can't bring his strength to bear to attempt to break my constructs, which I desire to flow around any strikes he makes and reform while still supporting him.

I'm also far enough behind him to be outside of immediate striking range if he does somehow get free, and I'm keeping a couple of trees between us in case I'm wrong about his neck. Doesn't look like I am.

His attempt to cry out is muted by the flight aura, and we're moving through the jungle away from the landing field even as I put a ShockCrown on his head. He twitches a bit, but keeps struggling. Guess his augmented physique is made of stronger stuff. I could turn the power up, but that would risk lasting damage and I don't currently need to.

I'm not going to try and move something as big as him through the jungle at full speed, but once we get down into the gully I can rise above the trees and increase my flight speed. Big Flinders is really going crazy now, hammering his chest in an attempt to hit the parts of the construct holding him. A couple of times he hits it but it just moves around the blows. Hmm.

Ring, power remaining?

Fifty eight percent.

A twitch of my right hand and he's upside down, hanging off his right ankle. He can't reach the construct at all and the flight aura prevents his weight straining it. It also gives me a clear view of the exposed muscle tissue showing through the cracks in his skin on his back and arm. I have no idea whether or not that will grow to cover it. I guess he thought the physical boost was worth it. They must have done animal tests first, surely? If only to find out if it actually worked or not.

Line of sight from airfield now obscured.

Big Flinders gets a mouth full of tree as we accelerate. I think he may have seen me then, as I've come over the canopy so as to avoid getting slowed down. Of course, he wouldn't be able to make out details, just a glowing orange humanoid. Yep, definitely seen me. He's stopped his flailing in favour of trying to twist around to get a better look at me. Far too slow.

If a person can drown in a bucket or a wheel rut, they can certainly drown in the shallows off the shore. Hm. Wonder if the environmental shield can prevent a person from breathing as well as making them always able to? Don't want to experiment here in case it inhibits all biological processes. Worth thinking about, though.

I drop the constructs around him and he drops towards the sea. Before he hits I loop another construct in an X shape around his chest. He's going at a fair old rate when he hits, hopefully with his mouth open, and then the construct locks him in place. He isn't far under, but he has nothing to push against and the Venom Buster appears to have removed any natural buoyancy he might have possessed.

Ring? Notify me when he becomes unconscious. I have no desire to kill him, but I don't want him fighting again any time soon.

Based on Human drown times and altered physical structure of subject, optimal time submerged is predicted at one minute thirty seconds.

He's trying to swim towards air now. I apply a little force and he moves in a circle. He can't reach the bottom with his feet, and the surface is just out of reach even if he twists face up. Which he can't. Without leverage his strength is useless.

I try listening to M'gann's telepathic communication, but I can't hear anything and I don't want to distract them by asking questions. I could look at what they're doing, but I don't want to risk losing focus on my current task.

Big Flinders is properly spasming now. Probably thinks I'm going to kill him. Or it could just be an automatic reaction to being out of breath underwater. He has a criminal record -I quickly review it- but there aren't any outstanding murder charges. I wonder what he's done that hasn't been discovered? I doubt that Kobra keeps written records.

Alright, I don't have anything better to do. The rents in his flesh are disturbing me.

Ring, is knitting his flesh back together practical?

Task is possible, but not advised under current conditions.

Wait until I take him out then.

Compliance.

His struggles are getting weaker. Son of Margaret and Joseph Flinders, Australian nationals of Markovian origin. His criminal record starts five years ago. Gang graffiti, petty vandalism. Stops two years ago. Maybe he joined Kobra then? Stands to reason that they'd want him to stop attracting attention.

Consciousness lost.

He isn't moving now. A scan of his brain confirms a lack of consciousness. Good, good. I haul him out. Remove the water from his lungs, and fix the splits. A small fountain vomits forth from his mouth, and the visible muscle glows orange. Ring, make sure he's breathing and notify me if he looks like he's about to wake up.

Compliance.

I float him up to my level -I'm about eight metres over the water- and begin flying us back towards the airfield. First solo supervillain take down went well, I think. Does he count as a supervillain if he doesn't have any outstanding super type offences? Not sure.

The ring has finished repairing his skin. Looks much better. The gaps which used to be there didn't seem to be irritating him; even when he was on his own he wasn't scratching the edges. I know I would have been, in his place. Maybe the Venom Buster stuff numbs the skin? Or maybe the whole thing hurts, and the tear isn't notably worse? Wouldn't it have got infected?

Ring, location of helicopter. It's left the airfield and is flying away from the factory. I suppose that part of the plan went-. The helicopter disappears from my awareness. Ring, show me what just happened.

An image of the twin rotor helicopter appears in my mind. It lurches in the air as an electromagnetic surge from near its rear hatch wrecks its electronics, forcing it to crash land. I see a single parachute leave from the front before it hits the ground.

I really hope that was intentional, and that the idea of us following them back to their home base was intentionally abandoned. Probably worth me trying to pick up that last guy, as I imagine tracking him and taking care of everything else would tax both myself and the ring somewhat. Also have to consider that the island's military must know that something's going on by now. Don't really want to have to fight our way out through them.

Ring, location of pilot. And now I can feel him. He's heading down hill, towards a stream which will take him to the coast. He is probably planning to take a boat back to the US. Intercepting him shouldn't be too difficult, but I'll do a weapon scan just in case. No, one low yield plasma weapon and a few explosives. Nothing I can't handle.

Might even get some useful intelligence out of this. I wonder if the League will be able to bring charges against Flinders, Bane and whoever this is. Bane is a 'person of interest' in a load of places, but all of Flinders' outstanding stuff is pretty minor. Even with being a member of Kobra.