Chapter 16: The Team part 4...

[Third Person's point of View]

[Mount Justice, Rhode Island. July 8, 08:04 EDT.]

Superheroes are crawling over every inch of the mountain, fixing broken machinery, updating computer equipment, and performing general cleaning tasks. The five teenagers once again stand facing the Dark Knight, back to the zeta tubes.

All of them are wearing civies or civilian clothes. 

"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League."

Batman explains before he continues.

"We're calling it into service again. Since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms."

At this point, Batman turns to look the teens in the eye, ensuring they understand, noticing that Acnologia is looking around but does not bother pointing it out.

"Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary's in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."

"Real missions?"

Robin questions, still a bit suspicious.

"Yes, but covert."

Batman answers, moving to stand next to Aquaman.

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff. There's a reason we have these big targets on our chest."

Flash says, tapping his lightning bolt symbol before the King of Atlantis speaks.

"But Cadmus proves the bad guys are getting smarter. Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly." 

They had held a meeting after Batman reviewed and decyphered the full content of the USB given by Robin personally and it showed that Luther had some part in it. His involvement was however not substantial enough to merit the League taking action.

What concerned the Dark Knight even more was the fact that the USB showed that Cadmus had plans to clone Superman or even an army of him if they managed to perfect their cloning technology along with the fact that they had acquired a ton of Kryptonite.

The reason as to why the government had started and covered the cloning technology was due to Superman's rampage due to the being known as Agamemnon poisoning him. They had seen that their Hero was not so infallible and Batman understood this as it was what had made him start his contingency for the league.

Batman was relieved to have listened to Acnologia's remarks when the latter decided to destroy the blood of Superman after they managed to stop his rampage. The young Atlantean had given the possibility of someone cloning Superman through the blood acquired at that time as a reason to dispose of it.

Most of the League members who considered this possibility including himself thought that the young Atlantean was referring to the bad guys such as Luther or some mad scientist but they never thought about the government.

Looking back at it, Batman realizes that he had been naive while Acnologia had not but he is relieved that they still took into consideration the possibility of Superman being cloned and destroyed any D.N.A that was his on the scene that day.

With Supergirl into the equation, many started to fear what would happen if both Kryptonians went rogue. The bad guys used this as a way to gain the support of the government or that was Batman current hypothesis.

It was now clear that the bad guys were becoming clever and using the laws to hide from the League, Batman theorized that it was only a matter of time before they weaponized it against the League and they had to be stopped before that happened.

As for the reason why they acquired a ton of Kryptonite, it was due to Acnologia transmuting his surroundings into Kryptonite during Superman's rampage to stop him. Obviously, some people were sent to extract the Kryptonite before Acnologia returned it back to normal at the end of the fight.

"The six of you will be that team."

Batman announces solemnly.

"Cool!"

Robin says, then catches exactly what the Dark Knight said.

"Wait, six?"

Batman looks behind them. The teens turn to face the zeta tubes, where Martian Manhunter has arrived unnoticed, with a teenager beside him.

"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian."

Batman explains with a tone of resignation, expecting the typical response when introducing a young lady to the boys, especially Kid Flash who looks like he would drool at any moment. Acnologia had yet to stop observing the cave they were in.

She steps into view and reveals she has the green skin typical of most Martians but with freckles on her face and copper hair.

"H-hi."

She says, waving a little. It was clear that she was shy.

"Likin' this gig more and more every minute."

Wally says, reacting the way everyone knew he would.

"Uh, welcome aboard! I'm Kid Flash, that's Robin, Aqualad and Triton, its cool if you forget their names."

He says as he practically zooms to her.

"I'm honored to be included."

Miss Martian says, clasping her hands in front of her. The other two former sidekicks move forward to greet their new teammate. Supergirl follows a few moments behind them.

"Hello, I'm Supergirl. I'm glad I won't be the only girl on a team of boys."

She says trying to break the ice that seems to come with all new introductions.

Miss Martian giggles.

"Me too, though it is nice to meet you all, I was worried I would be the only girl on the team."

Robin looks back and sees the aloof Atlantean standing by himself, still focused on the cave.

"Hey Triton! Come meet Miss M!"

Having finished his observation, he joins the others as almost immediately, Miss Martian's outfit begins to change, her cape disappearing and her shirt turning black with the blue Manhunter X symbol.

"I like your T-shirt."

She says a little shyly. Acnologia looks up at her and gives a small smile while Supergirl feels a slight annoyance. Robin jogs him a bit with his elbow, grinning as Kid Flash zooms over to Acnologia's other side, laying a hand on his shoulder. 

'Kid Flash is already infatuated with Miss Martian who seems to have taken a liking to Acnologia which has been noticed by Supergirl. There is going to be a lot of drama and from the look that Robin is giving, he is counting and hopping for it.'

Aqualad thinks as he looks at his teammates and smiles, reflecting on the surprising turn of events the past few days has brought. Instead of the disillusioned sidekicks, they began their adventure as, he now sees a team of crime fighters in training, learning to work together, aspiring to be heroes in their own right.

"Still, today is the day."

'This is just like what I foresaw.'

Acnologia thought while everything else was going on. Nobody expected that he had his own agendas for joining the team.

[Star City, California. July 17, 23:16 PDT]

It's dark down at the docks, only the distant lights from the city providing sparse illumination. Two men with bandannas over their faces shove open a shipping container and start removing a heavy crate.

Suddenly an object thumps on the ground below them and they pause. Too late, the men recognize it as an arrow. It blows up, and the goons are thrown back, dropping the crate, which breaks open on impact.

Guns spill out, scattering across the ground. One of them comes to a stop in front of Brick, an enhanced local crime lord, and he snatches the weapon up as he scans the area and his gaze finds itself on the archer, standing on the scaffolding above him.

He cocks the experimental laser gun, then realizes he's facing Speedy, the junior archer.

"You again!? I'm starting to get insulted that Green Arrow's not messing up my operation personally."

*BOOMB* *BOOMB* *BOOMB*

He fires over and over but misses Speedy every time while the bullets cause explosions upon impact. The former sidekick does not retaliate but jumps around on the scaffolding, leaping from the metal to land in another temporary safe spot.

Speedy grabs another arrow from his quiver, and nocks and fires while doing a flip without missing a step.

*BOOMB*

The arrow hits the gun and explodes, destroying the weapon and leaving the crime lord's tailored clothes in tatters, but thanks to the enhancements that have been made, his skin is nearly invulnerable, which brought him to take on the name Brick.

"Do you know what I pay for a suit in my size?!"

He yells, more outraged than injured, then turns to the rest of his lackeys and goons.

"Scorch the earth, boys, and BRING ME HIS HEAD! I WILL BE HANGING IT AT THE BACK OF MY CAR!"

They raise their guns, but one of their own is suddenly taken out by a yellow blur. They switch targets, but birdarangs knock the weapons out of their hands. The goons look up as they see a shadow pass overhead, followed by Robin's usual cackle.

Aqualad drops down on a shipping container and draws his water bearers, his eel tattoos glowing as he forms a whip. He knocks several goons against a shipping container, knocking them out for the rest of the fight.

Brick, using his heightened strength, rips a boulder out of the ground with his bare hands and lifts it over his head. He looks around for a moment, then throws with all of his might at Speedy. The young archer dodges the boulder and shoots another explosive arrow, which does little except tick him off.

Brick hurls another boulder at his moving target. As Speedy jumps to the side, Aqualad jumps in front of the rock and slices it with his water swords. Speedy launches a smoke arrow at the crime lord, this buys them a few moments.

"The Cave is perfect."

Aqualad tells his friend as he deactivates his water bearers before adding on.

"It has everything the Team will need."

"For covert missions. You know, spy stuff."

 Robin drops down next to them as he chimes in.

 Kid Flash zooms up the side of the shipping container they are standing on and flips before landing on his feet.

"And wait until you see Miss Martian. But I saw her first!"

"You said the same thing about Supergirl."

Robin comments on Kid Flash proclaiming his dibs before the smoke has disappeared and Brick is angry- no he was livid. He lifts up another chunk of the ground and launches it at them. Everyone moves out of the way while Aqualad activates his water bearers and forms them into maces, smashing the boulder into smaller pieces.

Speedy launches another explosive arrow that detonates three times on Brick's chest. The crime lord laughs.

"Tell Arrow he shouldn't send boys to do a man's job... Honestly, I don't get how we are the villains when your mentors constantly put you kids in costume and then have you fight bad guys. The Police should be arresting them."

Speedy draws another arrow as everyone ignores Brick's words and nocks it to the bowstring, pulling back and aiming. Brick cockily stands with his arms wide, offering a larger target.

"Go ahead, make my day."

Speedy fires after Brick made a reference. Brick stands confident until the hardening foam starts gushing. It was at that moment, he knew... he fucked up. He panics as it covers him, muffling his cries and holding him in place.

Kid Flash zooms to a stop in front of Speedy then turns to face him with an impressed expression.

"High-density polyurethane foam. Nice."

Speedy walks away to an opening between two shipping containers. Aqualad stands on one side, while the Boy Wonder leans nonchalantly on the other.

"So Speedy, you in?"

Robin asks confindently assured that his friend would accept.

The archer stops and then looks at him.

"Pass. I'm done letting Arrow and the League tell me what to do. I don't need a babysitter or a clubhouse to hang out with the other kids. Your Junior Justice League is a joke. Something to keep you busy, and in your place."

He walks away from his friends, disappearing into the shadows before adding on.

"I don't want any part of it."

Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash exchange a concerned and sad look. They had hoped and were excited at the prospect of working together with their friend but what he said still had some merit to it which is what left them with one question in their heads. Is Speedy right?

[Destiny's Point of view]

Some people think that they can defeat or change destiny but spoiler alert they can not. They can however change their fate. This might sound contradicting but to be clear, fate and destiny are two separate things and not synonyms of each other.

It would be better with an example, a boy is told that he will grow up to be an evil king by a fortune teller. It is his fate but he perseveres and becomes a good king. His fate was changed but his destiny, to be a king, was not.

Being a king is a metaphor, it's basically existing for me. That is the bare minimum for it to be counted as your destiny in my book which holds every possible future of every existing individual, including their true future which I can distinguish from the rest.

With free will, I tend not to meddle in the affairs of others unless it is of the utmost importance as in the fate of a multiverse or... if it has something to do with helping a sibling or two. A seed has been planted, will it bring creation or destruction, only time can tell... well, other than me and a few other omniscient beings.

I walk to my gallery where there are six sigils portrayed in the air. I stand before a portrait of the sigil that is shaped like a heart and then speak.

"Desire, I stand in my gallery and I face your sigil. Talk to me." 

"Sweat Destiny, well if this isn't the miracle of the millenia... I don't know what it is."

He responds after the black heart turns red and his face appears in it.

"I would like you to meddle with someone you have meddled before at my request."

I say which causes his smile to turn upside down.

"And here I thought you called because you missed me, I am hurt brother. Very Hurt. And who would that be anyway?"

He says as he rolls around on his heart-like sofa.

"A former human warlord, I requested you meddle with his thirst for power-"

"Oh, I remember the guy who beheaded his own father after the latter gave up everything to resurrect him, right? Didn't he become a demon or god or something? Why would I do that?"

He interrupts me.

"I want you to reawaken his thirst for a specific goal he had when he was a mortal-"

"I don't know, I'm kinda bus-"

He interrupts me again but I cut him off before he can finish his excuse.

"You will get to piss off Dream if you do so."

"... What can I say, I love to help my brother when he needs it. Consider it done."

He says with a devilish smirk.