Meeting the Team (Pt. 1)

I took a deep breath as I approached the Zeta-tube that would take me to the hall of justice. I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness as I was about to meet the team for the first time. 

Black Canary had informed me that the mentors, as well as the sidekicks, would be meeting today, but I decided to go a little later since I didn't plan on watching Speedy throw a hissy fit because the league didn't think he was ready for the big boy table.

It was one of the distinct things I remembered from the original show and one that I wanted to avoid.

I was also kind of bummed that Megan wasn't going to come today. I had hoped that unlike canon she would show up today, which would have been an immense help since we were going to have to deal with telepathic creatures later on today.

Apparently she was stuck doing some last-minute training assignment her uncle had given her and I suspected it was a deliberate move on his part.

It seems like he didn't want to bring Megan with him today, and probably predicated that things wouldn't go over well with the sidekicks, and seeing that having a bunch of emotional and angry teenagers around his neice was less than ideal.

He probably thought not bringing her was a wise choice.Especially when said niece was highly sensitive to emotions and happened to be untrained and a very powerful telepath.

Robin was the only one of the sidekicks who had met me before, and that was only two months ago. And, speaking of two months ago, it hadn't been the best time.

I remembered the conversation I had with Black Canary about my little excursion with Miss Martian to Gotham and the following showdown we had with Killer Croc.

I still stood my ground and all, but I didn't expect Black Canary to come at me the way she did. She called me irresponsible and chided me for my recklessness.

She also criticized my decision to take Megan along with me, reminding me that although I had some training and experience, Megan had absolutely none.

The issue was that she actually had a point. Recalling the events that transpired, Megan didn't try to engage Killer Croc until she was forced to physically engage him when he attacked her.

Her only contribution to the fight was a failed attempt to telepathically knock him out, which distracted him only momentarily and allowed me to land a solid hit. In the end, I had to concede to her point.

Manhunter was also understandably upset with me and said that he wouldn't be bringing Megan back to the mountain for the time being.

She would also be receiving a lot more training and wouldn't be back to the mountain until the team was officially formed. I still saw her from time to time, but it happened a lot less frequently than what I would have liked.

Which is why I spent the last two months experimenting and exploring the Ox Talisman's power.

And, as it turns out, my strength increased in direct proportion to the size and weight of the object I was trying to lift or throw.

This meant that my strength could range from being strong enough to lift a car to being capable of lifting hundreds of tons and since the Ox talisman could also strengthen objects, this meant I could lift or throw objects without having them break apart in my hands.

However, I found out that overuse of the talismans power led me to exhaustion and the physical strain would often leave me spent, but thankfully my limit seemed to be increasing with training.

The last few days, though, I was busy contemplating the second talisman I was about to absorb.

I had already checked with Zatara a few days ago, and it seemed my body had quickly adapted to the Ox Talisman, and I could now absorb my next one. Since I knew today was the day, we were going to rescue Superboy from Cadmus, I had to choose a talisman that would be useful not only on today's mission but also future ones.

The issue was I didn't know which one I should choose. From a logical point of view, since I was going to join a black Ops team, it would make sense if I had a power that helped me sneak into places or do recon.

However, the sheep talisman would not be practical in the field as it would leave my body too vulnerable, and I also planned on keeping it a secret. Therefore, I was only left with the option of choosing the snake talisman.

The only issue was that the place was swarming with telepathic creatures, and I lacked any defense against them, and If something were to happen and I got captured.

The villains could potentially get their hands on the rest of the talismans, and although they wouldn't be able to use them, due to the ownership enchantment woven into the talismans.

I couldn't be certain that they wouldn't find a way to circumvent them.

After all, they had magic users and a chaos lord on their side, and even if they couldn't use them, I would still lose access to some of my powers.

There were simply too many unknown factors, and I wanted to delay their knowledge about the talismans for as long as I could, at least until I had absorbed a good chunk of their power.

That's why I wasn't taking the talismans with me. And, planned on only making do with with whatever powers I had already absorbed.

In the end, I decided to absorb the power of the horse talisman. Sure, it didn't have much fire power. But, It was an insurance policy and as long no one dies before I can get to them, it would increase our chances of survival on missions.

Deciding I waited long enough, I activated the Zeta-tube and was off to the hall of justice.

Recognized " Zodiac A01"

As I walked out of the zeta-tube, I was greeted by the sound of Kid Flash and Aqualad arguing about something, but I couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Robin was typing away on his computer, his fingers moving so fast that they were a blur.

"Hey, Zodiac!" Robin called out as soon as he saw me.

"Hey, Robin, long time no see," I said, walking over to him.

Robin looked up from the computer ,"What's up, big guy? Sorry, Batman had me investigating a few cases back in Gotham. By the way, good job on taking down Killer Croc, he's a tough opponent and I also heard about the tussle you had with Cupid."

I smiled, "Thanks, Robin. I wish everybody felt the same about it."

"So, Zodiac, we were just discussing our next mission. We've received an alert that there was a fire at Cadmus labs. And we were planning on going there and doing a little investigation. Are you up for a mission I know last time things with Batm…"

I held up my hand, " Let me stop you right there. I'm coming."

Aqualad and Kid Flash stopped arguing and turned to me.

Aqualad sighed. "But they told us we should stay put."

"For the blotting out the sun mission, not this, plus we got a dragon on our side." Robin says, smiling and putting his hand on my shoulder.

" Wait. What! Dude, you can turn into a dragon!" Kid flash asked.

"Well, I didn't bring the monkey talisman with me. But I can show you back at the mountain base." I said.

"You have a mountain base too?! " He asked.

Aqualad interrupted, " Kid Flash. We don't have time for this, right now we need to leave."

He then turned to me and said," Robin tells me you are a formidable and competent hero, so it would be a privilege to work alongside you. "

I gave him a nod of respect, " Likewise. I hear that the warriors of Atlantis are mighty, so it would be an honor to work with you too."

"Wait." the speedster starts, grabbing Aqualand's shoulder "Are- are you going to Cadmus? Because if you're all going, I'm going!" He announces.

"Just like that? We're a team on a mission?" Aqualad stated.

" I guess we are." Robin said.

(Chapter End)

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