Chapter 50 - Interlude 8

Above the night skies of Bialya, the Bioship flew undetected, invisible to both visual and electronic surveillance as it floated a few kilometers from the location where the Watchtower had picked up a huge energy spike.

Below them there were several military buildings protected by a tall, metal fence, watchtowers every five hundred meters and a wide, empty desert area for kilometers in any direction.

Miss Martian sat in the captain's seat; her hands touching the Bioship as she kept it beneath the radar while also connecting their minds together. At her side, Superboy sat in a meditating position. He had gotten into the habit of doing so whenever possible to control his anger.

Aqualad had a map stretched in front of him, studying what they knew of the Bialyan troop deployment one last time before the mission truly started.

"Alright, we're above where our equipment tracked the exotic energy source," Aqualad warned telepathically, rolling the map back and making sure they were all aware of what to do.

"Should I land?" Miss Martian asked, briefly glancing at him.

"No, with Kara's equipment, we're more than capable of scanning for non terrestrial emissions from the air. Just lower our altitude to hover above the location, there's no need to risk detection from the military," the team leader said through the link. His eyes found the Martian girl's and they traded a meaningful glance. "Can the Bioship sense anyone close by?"

"I'm detecting non-terrestrial energy sources," Miss Martian answered, then gasped. "Wait, I can feel a lot of pain and desperation, as if something is struggling for its life!"

Letting herself do what came naturally, Miss Martian reached for the mind she sensed, trying to offer it some amount of comfort while they prepared for a rescue, her hands squeezed into fists on top of the Bioship's control panel.

Suddenly, she felt a spike of pain as something struck their mental link, a malevolent entity taking control of her mind and locking her in place. Gathering her power, she attempted to struggle free, using her greater power to fight off the mental attack.

Unfortunately, while she was much stronger, the intruding mind was more skilled… and more insidious, slipping through her defenses with a mocking laugh, spreading his influence through the mental link.

"Oh my, what do we have here?" the male voice reverberated through her mind, as if it came from everywhere. "Child, did no one teach you to not leave yourself so open? Maybe I should teach you a lesson."

Slowly, the image of Psimon materialized into her mind, his power stretching like a virus as it reached for the mind link she was still maintaining, an unconcerned smile on his face while he drew closer to Miss Martian's own mental image.

The Martian used her power to form shields, trying to cut him off and eject him from her mind, but he really was more skilled than her. It was like fighting her uncle, with every one of her actions countered before she could even start. Gritting her teeth, she grunted and retreated.

"Tsk-tsk, how useless. You really are too raw, too untrained… distracted," Psimon laughed again, his face growing, filling her vision as it seemed to tower over her. "This is almost too easy."

"It really is!" Superboy yelled, punching the mental projection with everything he had.

Superboy's physical strength couldn't really be used in a mental battle, but Torquasm-Vo was a discipline specifically created for such battles and he had been training with Superman every day.

While he couldn't claim mastery of the art, he was actually much better at it than Kara, having taken to meditation far better than his cousin not only because it helped with his anger, but because it was necessary to increase his power.

The punch shattered Psimon's giant projection, breaking his control over Miss Martian while also revealing his true mental form, a small, pale man with his brain visible through a clear dome.

"WHAT?!" the villain yelled before a second punch cracked said dome, completely disrupting his concentration.

Miss Martian attacked, a blast of psychic energy slamming at his back and causing him to scream out in pain, the effect extending even to his real body which collapsed to his knees.

Taking another breath, Superboy kicked the villain in the chest, sending him flying back towards the Martian. Taking advantage of the situation, Miss Martian grabbed Psimon from the back, both hands enveloping his head as she struck, a blast of raw power that completely shattered his mental projection.

Inside the tent, Psimon fully collapsed, his face hitting the ground and bouncing off, droll escaping his mouth as his eyes lost their focus and he fully passed out.

Inside the ship, Aqualad relaxed, releasing the telepathic jammer and stepping away from his teammates as he saw both of them shake themselves awake. Releasing the device, he pressed a button on Supergirl's portal communicators and spoke. "Psimon is down, I repeat, Psimon is down, the mission is a go!"

Inside the military encampment, hidden behind a crate, Starfire touched her own comms. "Understood, friend Aqualad. We shall retrieve the targets at once!" glancing at Robin and Kid Flash at her side, the Tamaranean gave them a huge smile and a nod.

As one, the three of them reached towards their heads, deactivating their psychic shielding and allowing Miss Martian to reestablish their psychic connection to better coordinate things.

With a nod back, Robin jumped over the crate, his figure disappearing before any of the guards ever noticed him. Touching his chest, Kid Flash activated the invisibility on his own suit and dashed away.

Not losing any time, Starfire herself flew low along the ground, making directly for where Psimon was supposed to be. She had a most vile man to apprehend!

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24 HOURS EARLIER

Starfire sucked the mustard from the bottle with her straw, making a slurping noise as she did her best to consume every last bit of the delicious condiment.

It was truly a pity she did not have any zorkaberries, it would make her meal perfect.

Perhaps she could take a quick trip with Kara to get a few supplies? She had not wanted to leave Earth using the Psion's ship lest it reveal their location even more but, now that Kara's own spaceship had finished growing…

Waiting for the rest of the Titans to arrive, Koriand'r threw the bottle away and went to the Mountain's mission room, starting to prepare her presentation while wondering about the future.

Yes, a break outside the planet would be exactly what Kara needed.

In truth, Koriand'r did not think it wise to return to the Vega system before they were ready —no matter how much she missed her homeworld— but, while zorkaberries were native to Tamaran, their divine taste had long been recognized by the universe as a whole and it had became a common delicacy.

Still, where should they go? Thanagar itself was a good destination, likely to have anything they could wish and Koriand'r was greatly impressed by The Hawk couple, meeting their people would be an honor.

More importantly, Kara would appreciate the chance to acquire a new supply of Nth metal. Her girlfriend was always complaining that she had too little of the metal for her liking.

Or perhaps they could visit Colu? It would not be her preference but, even in Tamaran, Koriand'r had heard of the planet's technological superiority. Kara would certainly enjoy spending a few days there and trading knowledge with the natives.

Havania was another location, similar to Tamaran in temperature, the planet was a paradise where they could relax, enjoy nature. Koriand'r had heard there were many idyllic rivers there. Hopefully, Kara would not mind being naked in nature.

Pausing her preparations, Kori smiled as she remembered her time at their moon base, the way she had ripped Kara's costume away, the things they had done.

Though, the Moon Base had survived their encounter, so perhaps she had not shown her girlfriend the full extent of her appreciation.

A loud swallow caused Koriand'r to stop and look up, her eyes staring straight at M'gann's unnaturally wide ones hidden behind a bucket of popcorn.

"Friend M'gann, please, are you unwell?" She worriedly asked, the young Martian was an accomplished shape shifter capable of changing every aspect of her body, but she usually wore a green skin color, not the glowing red she was sporting now. "Perhaps you are suffering from the flu? You appear to be having a fever!"

"I WASN'T PEAKING!" M'gann snapped, her body flying up to hover in the air, some of her popcorn spilling to the floor as she avoided Koriand'r's eyes. "Ack! I mean, I-I…" Finally, she lowered her head, already sensing Koriand'r's reaction through their mind link. "Sorry."

"Oh, I do not mind," Koriand'r said, helping the girl get back onto the sofa. "I do not know how many ways I must convey this, but my people do not share Earth's prudish ways. Still, perhaps do not mention it to Kara, yes?"

"You think she'd be angry?" M'gann asked worriedly as she helped pick up the popcorn.

"I do not, else I would ask that you beg for forgiveness," Koriand'r shook her head. "But she would be embarrassed for a time."

"I bet. I didn't know Kryptonians could…"

"Hello Megal… ehem, I mean, hi girls," Wally appeared at the door, his eyes taking in the situation. "Sweet, you made popcorn!"

Flashing forward, he grabbed all the ones still on the sofa and started eating them before the two girls could say anything. Still, he did grab a broom and help tidy up the room before the rest of the Titans arrived.

Kaldur entered shortly, arriving directly from Atlantis where he was helping out his still wounded King, The Aquaman had still not received a new hand and Ocean Master had become far more active because of it.

Both Kon-El and Robin arrived together, actually laughing as they entered the room and relaxed in their seats.

"So, we're getting our first mission today huh?" Robin asked, "Anybody else really whelmed about it?"

"What? No way, really? I thought we were just getting another teacher like Detective Chimp!" Wally jumped up, pumping his fist in the air. "YES!"

"The entire team is here at night, it's kinda obvious there's a mission," Robin said as he ate some of the last popcorn. "Well, glorious leader, spill. What's this about?"

"I don't know," Aqualad shrugged and then looked around at the expecting faces, even M'gann and Kon-El were leaning forward in their seats. "I agreed we were ready for a mission, but we'll be acting on information from Kori and the Justice League, she's the one doing the briefing today."

"Thank you, friend Kaldur," Koriand'r nodded, floating up and towards where she had prepared her holographic projector. Adjusting her body into a more professional stance, she started. "Ahem, to be more precise, we will be acting on Supergirl's information."

"Ack!" Kon-El started coughing, having swallowed wrong when he heard that.

"Ugh," Wally collapsed back on the sofa. "Say, anybody gets the feeling we should, maybe, I don't know, skip this one?"

Everyone stopped and gave the speedster a look, causing him to scratch at the back of his neck. "Look, I'm all for proving we're not sidekicks anymore, but maybe we should start with an easier mission, maybe from Batman? He should be more lenient with us, right?"

"No, Wally is right," Kon-El said when he finally managed to clear his throat. "I love my cousin, but every time she's involved with something it gets bad. League bad. And, while I hate to say it, we're not at that level yet."

He still remembered his fight against Lobo, the memory immediately causing both his hands to squeeze into fists as he nearly growled. Yeah, he definitely wasn't there yet.

"Come on guys, it can't be that bad!" M'gann tried to animate everyone, but it wasn't having much effect.

"She does have a bad record with such things," Robin said with a careful voice. Lifting his fingers, he started counting. "Mr. Mind, Lobo, Infinity Island going kaboom, that… thing at Salem…"

"Do not worry, I have spoken with The League and they have agreed with this mission," Koriand'r informed them. "The Superman will also be ready to intercede in case anything happens."

Everyone traded a quick look, but it was Robin that broke the silence again, his voice hard as he squeezed his hands into fists. "On the other hand, if the situation came from that Flying Maniac you call a cousin,, it's likely to have something to do with them. Anything that messes with their plans is good in my books."

Kaldur and Wally stopped, almost immediately sobering up and getting a glint in their eyes.

As they were new to the planet, much less their little group, neither M'gann, Kon-El or Koriand'r had known Speedy very well, but the three original sidekicks were greatly affected by the redhead's death, clone or not.

As a result, all of the Titans were interested in anything to do with his passing and, while they hadn't found everything yet, they'd learned far more than the League itself may have wanted.

They knew there was a Supervillain team working behind the scenes, one powerful enough to control the entire underworld, and they really weren't happy with it.

"Starfire, please continue," Aqualad said, now fully focused on the briefing.

"Yes," Koriand'r pressed a button, showing a map of Bialya with a glowing dot near the border. "Almost a week ago, there was a massive surge of power in Bialya. Unfortunately, the situation at Salem has not allowed the League the time to look into this phenomenon.

"Information from Supergirl changes that, allowing us to know what had occurred and the League agreed to let us handle the situation," She continued, presenting them with all the information Kara had given her and letting them read it.

The Titans were led by Kaldur, with Koriand'r as the second in command, but every one of them had their say in things, and, while Koriand'r was the one in charge of this mission, she knew how to hear her friends out.

"So, if Psimon is a psychic, should we drop Megan's link and use Supergirl's portal comms instead?" Wally asked, "As I understand, the signal should be weak enough that nobody can intercept it."

"No, I think I've a better idea," Kon-El said, turning towards the Martian girl with a smile.

"Alright, Psimon is wanted in several countries so, as long as we take him out of Bialya, we should be able to hand him over to any authority," Robin said, searching for information on the computer at his wrist.

"So, first plan is to sneak inside invisible and get him before anyone notices," Superboy said, leaning forward. "Anyone got an alternative plan when that inevitably fails?"

Ideas flew, the entirety of the Titans offering suggestions to improve their plans. Eventually, Red Tornado arrived and started helping out, offering suggestions himself.

Finally, after two hours of brainstorming where they went over every aspect of the plan, they were satisfied.

"Titans, our goal will be three-fold: rescue the New Genesphere, arrest the criminal Psimon and acquire a sample of Queen Bee's pheromones," Koriand'r said with a smile. "Since Bialya is a desert, I will be the one leading the ground operation. Friend Kaldur coordinating from the Bioship and acting as reinforcement."

Koriand'r had decided to debrief the Titans an entire day before the actual operation, leaving herself plenty of time for adjustments. To rest, make preparations, choose her equipment.

With Kara as their supplier and Kon-El to make adjustments to their gear, the Titans had several advantages over the League, not the least of which was the fact they had standardized equipment and training, allowing them to operate in a generally more uniform manner.

Hours later, when they were getting into the Bioship to fly towards the mission, Kaldur stepped besides her, watching as Robin and Wally joked with each other.

"You think we covered everything?"

"Indeed, we went over all that was possible," Koriand'r nodded, floating a few centimeters above the floor. "What remains is to hope for all the luck that is good."

"Right, let's hope nothing goes wrong," Kaldur said, putting a hand on her shoulder to offer support.

Koriand'r looked at him and lifted an incredulous eyebrow. "Must you pronounce such words? Even I have consumed enough of Earth's entertainment to know they do not usher anything good."

Ahead of them, Robin snickered, shaking his head as he finished getting into the Bioship.

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NOW

Koriand'r sneaked her way past the guards, the invisible mode on her costume making the feat laughably easy, her feet did not touch the ground as she floated from cover to cover, using all she had learned from the Batman and The Green Arrow about sneaking into locations.

It was not that she did not trust Kara's technology but, from what she understood, Bialya had dealings with Apokolips and it was not impossible they could see through the simple visual contrivance.

The military complex was large, with several armored vehicles parked all around the perimeter, at least six anti-aircraft artillery pieces and several temporary tents all around the outer perimeter.

In the center of the most protected area there was a large camouflaged building, from the air, the reddish yellow color making it hard to distinguish the constructions from the sands of the desert.

The place where they had already detected the New Genesphere, her current target.

Moving faster than she could manage while being careful, Robin quickly found his way inside his own target building, extending a cable from his wrist into a computer port.

"Miss Martian, can you confirm Psimon's location?" Robin asked through the link. "It would be totally not whelming to sneak through this security only to find I'm in the wrong place."

"You're in the right place," Aqualad answered instead, sending them a mental image of the holographic map in front of him with three red targets.

"Great, cutting off the alarms… now."

"I'm in!" Kid Flash warned after running full speed towards the side of the building and managing to climb through an open window. "Should I disable everyone or try to sneak through?"

"I managed to get Sphere's location when I tried to reach for it," Miss Martian said, her mental voice still a little shaky. "The central building has four underground floors and she's on the last one."

"Crap," Robin said with a grunt. "Disabling it is."

Koriand'r nodded to herself, it seems they would have to execute plan B. It was unlikely she could rescue Sphere fast enough to go unnoticed.

Since their presence would inevitably be discovered soon and they couldn't accomplish all their goals fast enough, they had to give up on going completely undetected and would instead pay more attention to making their exit easier.

"Miss Martian, Superboy, deploy and disable their air capabilities," Aqualad ordered from the Bioship, causing Koriand'r to redouble her speed. "Robin, will you be able to complete the third objective?"

"No way. The security is too much for such a small country, it will take too long."

"I'll do it!" Miss Martian spoke again, having finally recovered from her encounter with Psimon.

"Dropping now," Superboy said.

Up in the air, a small hole opened up along the underside of the Bioship, less than a second later, both heroes dropped feet first through the air. Eyes closed, Superboy tried to slow his fall, but he barely managed to change his direction, full-on flight still beyond him.

With a sigh, he felt Miss Martian's telekinesis grabbing him and, together, they dropped invisibly on top of the outer buildings. The Martian gave him a smile and he managed to get over his irritation, giving her a nod before they dashed in opposite directions.

Flexing his legs, Superboy leaped towards his own targets, he couldn't fly yet, but he could already use his power to soften his fall enough he wouldn't cause a ruckus.

Flying into the building, Koriand'r ignored the scientists on the first floor. Quickly, she found an elevator guarded by two soldiers wielding Earth-tech rifles.

Making sure nobody was looking, she flew closer, grabbing both men by the throat and squeezing just enough to cut the blood flow to their brain. They struggled for a second or two, but the Tamaranean's vastly superior strength and technique meant they were hopeless.

Opening the doors, she dragged both men inside by their necks and dropped holograms in their place. Gently, she laid them down on the floor, making sure to adjust their clothes back into place while checking they were fine.

Koriand'r had more than enough skill to not hurt them, but it was always best to be certain.

In all honesty, normal soldiers did not present a challenge for her, much less when she was shielded from their ability to see. In less than fifteen minutes, she had disabled a third of the building and found her way towards the fourth floor.

It looked… very intimidating. Gray concrete walls filled every hallway and Koriand'r could smell a large amount of cleaning products, with just a hint of the blood they had removed.

The temperature was higher than on the surface, with a constant noise from the ventilation system echoing through the entire facility, only a dim light illuminating the path filled with dark cells. Thankfully, she did not find any prisoners.

Finally, she found the door to the test chamber. Peeking through a translucent window, she saw a wide, white room with two other entrances, the lights were much better there and it was filled with wall sized computers.

Poor New Genesphere was suspended by several chains with an equal number of cables connected to her frame. At several spots, the Genesphere had been pried open, her inside circuitry pulled out. More than that, two sharp clamps kept her locked in place tight enough Koriand'r knew she would not be able to disconnect the beleaguered prisoner without raising the alarm.

All around it, almost a dozen scientists were studying the Sphere, using several devices to move its cables or staring intently at computers, there was also four armed guards

"Robin, do you have any…" She started to ask.

"ACK!" Came the immediate mental answer. "Busy now!"

From all around her, Koriand'r heard the alarm going off, the sound almost deafening in the quiet bunker.

"Starfire, what do you need?" Aqualad asked.

"It is no longer important," she answered, watching a giant stepping away from the wall where it had been guarding the sphere beyond her vision.

Staring at the giant, she recognized the bulging muscles and the missing patches of skin on its frame, a Cobra Venom user. From one of the doors, another two giants burst through, starting to yell.

The first giant came towards the entryway in front of Koriand'r, his lumbering gait gaining speed. Flying back, Koriand'r took a deep breath. The time for stealth was over.

Bursting into movement, she flew feet first into the reinforced door, breaking it off its hinges and smashing into the giant's face right as he was about to pull it open.

The Cobra Venom user was driven back for two steps, then he lost his balance and fell on his back, Koriand'r rode the door on top of him into the center for the room, her flaming hair flowing behind her as her invisibility was deactivated.

For a second, everyone in the room froze. Eyes glowing green, she shot a starbolt at a second giant, hitting him in the chest with a wave of power and driving him back through the door he had just walked out of.

Stomping on the metal door, she heard a grunt of pain from below her as she flew straight at the last giant, hands enveloped in green light.

The four regular guards recovered first, raising their weapons and opening fire at her, but they were still shaken and most of their bullets missed. Moving with grace, Koriand'r lifted her arms, using her teacher's gifts to deflect the ones that did not.

The metal bracelets reflected the bullets with ease, allowing Koriand'r to fire weak starbolts towards all four guards, sending them flying into the wall and knocking them out.

The scientists screamed in fear, rushing out of the room as fast as they could while grabbing everything they could.

The last Venom user roared and punched out, but Kori weaved under the blow, grabbing at his wrist and letting her momentum pull his arm back, dragging the giant out of balance.

Still holding his arm, she reversed her direction and smashed a knee into his back, causing him to collapse to his knees with a presumably rare grunt of pain. Grabbing the back of his head, she smashed his face into the ground, breaking through the concrete and causing the entire room to shake.

Acting under a strong dose of Cobra Venom, the first giant jumped up from the ground even as copious amounts of blood fell from his broken nose. With a roar, he lifted the broken door and hurled it like a disk at Koriand'r.

Still holding her enemy's arm and head, Koriand'r manhandled his body, lifting it up and using it as a shield to block the projectile, the door hit him in the chest and drove the both of them back a few feet.

Miraculously, the giant remained awake, the drugs in his system making him act far beyond what his body should be able to, his free arm desperately grasping towards Koriand'r at his back.

"You little bitch," the third giant growled as it walked back to the room, a massive hand massaging his scorched chest where Koriand'r had hit him with the starbolt.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have no relationship with canids," Koriand'r said with a frown. She had nothing against the creatures, but her people were quite proud of their felid origins.

"Crap, crap! A little help here people!" Kid Flash shouted over the mental link. "Watch it, you maniac!"

Glancing up, Koriand'r thought about retreating, but she trusted her team, still… "Apologizes, but it seems I will not be able to be gentle."

With a scream of triumph, the Venom giant she was still holding managed to get his hands on her clothes, his large fingers finding purchase on her outfit before attempting to dislodge her from his back. Seeing that, both of the free giants rushed her.

With a swift movement, Koriand'r released his head and grabbed the offending hand. Putting both feet right in the middle of his back, she pulled, dislocating both his arms.

If her enemies were too resistant to blunter forms of incapacitation, she would just have to fully disable them in a more deliberate fashion.

Kicking her disjointed enemy into the path of the first giant, she rushed the second, both her eyes and hand glowing with green energy. She had to finish this fracas quickly.

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At the other side of the military base, Kid Flash rushed through the building, taking full advantage of his speed and invisibility to sneak through the soldiers, lightly touching each one and leaving a single small device where they couldn't see.

Disconnecting his wrist computer, Robin did the same. The ability to go invisible made things almost too easy for him, so he made a mental note to get in a little more training with Batman later.

They found Psimon passed out in a bedroom, his mouth open as he drooled on the clean floor, a crack on the see-through dome that protected his brain.

"Crap, think that's bad for his health?" Kid Flash asked, poking his body with a foot.

Robin crouched over the unconscious psychic, making sure to snap a psychic blocker around his neck before checking his vitals. "Naaa, he's fine. It only cracked the outer glass, there's several layers."

Kid Flash released a sigh of relief.

Putting one of the maniac's devices on the body, he watched the villain disappear from his normal view, only the filter on his visor allowing him to know there was something there. Pulling the man by an arm, he threw the psychic over his shoulders… or at least he attempted to.

"This is embarrassing," Robin commented, looking at his friend struggling with the weight of the adult man.

"Shut up, he's heavier than he looks," Kid Flash growled. "Let's see you try."

"Pass," Robin shrugged, watching as Kid Flash finally managed to get the villain into a firefighter's carry. Standing beside the door, he pulled it open with a bow. "Age before beauty."

"Humph, pearls befo- ACK!"

Using all his speed, Kid Flash jumped back, letting a wave of bullets pass right by where he had been. Widening his eyes, Robin slammed the door closed on reflex, causing the wood to splinter as several bullets hit it, tearing a large hole through the door frame.

Jumping out of the way, Robin himself barely survived as a hail of bullets broke through the wall where he had been standing.

"Hmm, as much as I dislike the creep, maybe don't kill our client?" said a sultry female voice from out in the hallway. "It would be bad for business."

"Fine," said a second, slightly younger female voice.

Scrambling on the floor, the two heroes traded a glance before Robin hurriedly touched the computer on his wrist, activating the devices they put on all the soldiers and causing them to explode into clouds of knockout gas, making every soldier pass out in seconds.

"Huh, neat. Maybe this will be fun after all," the second girl said.

"Hmm, it's not them. They used electricity at Infinity Island."

"Have you watched the Salem videos? Cuz I saw the armored guy shooting at the beast," the younger girl asked with a mocking voice. "I wouldn't be engaging if I thought it was them. Not without better equipment."

With a metallic sound, a cylinder flew through the opening at the door, hitting the floor and bouncing up.

Eyes wide, both Robin and Kid Flash threw themselves away and over the bed frame, a second later, the grenade exploded in a wave of light and noise that shook them to their core.

Blinded, deaf and shaken, Robin used all his training to recover, his head killing him. Thankfully, he had been exposed to such things with Batman and even Kid Flash had some experience with the Titans.

Throwing a batarang at a wall, Robin grabbed Kid Flash's arm and ran towards it. With a 'beeping' noise, the bat shaped device exploded, the entire charge aimed towards the wall and creating a hole that they used to escape.

Throwing a batarang back towards the door, Robin vacated the hole, pushing Kid Flash ahead of him and towards the door at the other side of the room.

"Robin, do you have any…"

He heard Starfire starting to talk in his mind, but two medieval swords burst out of the wall a few feet away from him, immediately cutting through the thin drywall and making a beeline for him.

"ACK! Busy now!" he shouted back and felt Miss Martian isolating him from the mind link so he wouldn't be distracted by their chatting. "Thanks!"

There was blessed silence in his mind, allowing him to fully concentrate on his fight. His enemy burst through the wall with a lunge, forcing him to flip over a sword slash, then his eyes widened when the blow was followed by an upwards strike he couldn't dodge.

With desperation, Robin managed to parry with one of his batarangs, but the blow had so much strength he went flying through the room. Flipping midair, he fell on his feet, his eyes already looking for an escape before every single soldier converged at his location.

From outside the building, he heard the emergency sirens starting to blast, the noise warning everyone of what was happening.

For a single second, Robin's heart skipped a beat as he took in his opponent from the corner of his eye.

Tall, wearing a mixture of black costume and body armor that showed all of his well defined muscles, with several details in orange, his mask was also orange, with a black half that obscured his eyes.

FUCK! He needed help, he needed help right now!

And then he blinked, doing a double take as he noticed his opponent had HER mouth uncovered and some very shapely hips.

"There you are," the girl wearing Deathstroke theme armor said with an amused voice, a sword held carelessly over her shoulder and the other pointing straight at where Robin stood, invisible. "Nice trick."

"Oh, thank god, it's just discount Deathstroke," Robin couldn't help taunting her.

"It's Ravager," The girl growled, her voice completely under control, but Robin saw her single eye narrowing in barely contained anger.

Every muscle tensing. Robin prepared himself. He wasn't confident on dealing with the Terminator, but a copycat he could handle, the key was doing it fast enough to get away before the rest of the base joined them.

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Kid Flash ran, Psimon's weight heavy at his back, slamming the door open, he jumped over the body of another unconscious soldier and dashed towards the exit, trusting his invisibility to keep him safe from the soldiers gathering outside long enough for him to gain speed.

A sting at his right foot preceded a feeling of weightlessness hitting him. Mind accelerated, he watched in slow motion as Psimon went flying out of his shoulders, rolling down the hallway while his own body went tumbling to the floor.

Behind him, both sides of the hallway were damaged as his foot had dragged the nearly invisible metal wire out of the walls.

Rolling to his feet, he glanced at his aching foot, noticing the line that had cut through his costume and hit the metal protectors hidden under it, the only thing that had kept him from losing a limb to the trap.

Still thinking at super-speed, he managed to roll out of the way as three shuriken hit the ground, "Damn, I hate ninjas!" he couldn't help yelling before getting to his feet and glancing at the approaching supervillain.

He recognized her immediately, his lessons with the Titans having taught him to recognize important members of the League of Assassins.

Thick black hair hidden behind a white cat mask, a green kimono tied at the waist, a slender but fit build, Cheshire strutted towards him in a confident gait.

"Almost," she commented with a sultry voice as she looked at him. "Invisible superheroes, how amusing. I thought that was our gimmick."

Kid Flash didn't say anything, slowly moving away from the supervillain and keeping his mouth from giving away his position. It didn't work.

With a dash forward, the assassin almost took off his head with her sai, the only thing saving him was the fact she didn't know exactly where he was, just his general location.

Dodging the attack, he grabbed her arm and tried to throw her, but she jumped up, wrapped her legs around his neck and twisted, bringing him to the ground. Holding him in place, she stabbed down.

In desperation, he managed to block with one arm, changing the direction of the strike just enough it only cut deeply into his cheek instead of ending his life.

"Crap, crap! A little help here people!" Kid Flash shouted over the mental link.

"I've the pheromone samples!" Miss Martian answered. "Hold on, I'm coming!"

"Ten seconds," Superboy growled, "Just finished the air defenses."

Moving as fast as he could, he kicked up at super-speed, managing to knee her in the back, the blow strong enough to push the assassin away with a grunt.

Cheshire rolled through the hallway, another shuriken flying towards him before she even got to her feet.

"Watch it you maniac!" he shouted in his mind, doing his best to hold in the sting from his cut.

Cheshire turned back towards him, the maniacal grin on her mask unnerving him as she turned her head sideways, then laughed, a low, menacing sound. With a slow movement, she scratched at her own cheek.

For less than a second, fear gripped him, but he realized she was playing with him. There was no way Supergirl's tech wouldn't take bleeding into account; his wound would not reveal his location.

More than that, if she knew exactly where he was, Cheshire wouldn't reveal it until it was too late.

"Oh, you didn't fall for it, pity," she said, her gray eyes glancing over his shoulder at where Robin should be coming from. "No matter, it's not like I need to see you."

Kid Flash glanced at where Psimon was still unconscious on the ground, then turned around and ran back, he needed to regroup and wait for help.

He didn't get very far. Less than a second later, Robin flew through the door, his body flipping through the air, back hitting against the wall before he fell to the ground and scrambled away, mask cracked and blood obstructing his vision.

The second he vacated the spot, the second girl appeared, a sword cutting straight through the wall in a single upwards swing as if it wasn't there. Recovering fast, she followed up with a diagonal, dowards strike with all of her power behind it.

Robin managed to block with a batarang again, but he was too weak to stand his ground, being sent stumbling back several steps. Still, for a moment, he had a smug smirk on his face.

Then she smiled, tossing her sword at him like a javelin and his smirk disappeared. "Crap."

Robin dodged down but, before he could do anything else, the explosive he had sneakily struck to the blade exploded, the impact hitting him like a hammer and driving all the air out of his lungs.

"You realize you just ruined my sword, right?" the girl asked, her voice hard. "I liked that sword."

Running towards his friend, Kid Flash offered him a supporting hand as they both looked at the enemies and gulped.

An artillery piece flew through the house, opening a huge hole through several walls and sliding to a stop between them and Cheshire, completely blocking her for a few moments, two handprints deep in its barrel.

For a second, their hearts skipped a beat, but the throw had been well aimed, not hitting any of the unconscious soldiers in the buildings.

"Stop them!" Cheshire yelled, her voice rising for the first time in their encounter as she saw her path blocked and ran through the wall.

"Right away… boss," the second girl growled, not a small amount of annoyance at the order in her voice.

The heroes didn't wait; Cheshire would only take a few seconds to get to them. As one, they rushed the girl together with Superboy, hoping to overwhelm her.

It worked, kind of. Despite the Kryptonian clone joining in, the supervillain waved between their blows as if she knew where they came from, predicting every one of their moves and using the tip of her sword to try and take out Superboy's eye any time she could.

Superboy couldn't just ignore that, the threat working to keep him from just rushing the girl. Still, Robin managed to get a kick on her face, snapping her head back.

Then Cheshire came back, cutting her way through the wall and engaging them. The fight moved through the holes made by Superboy until the team was pushed outside.

Kid Flash expected soldiers to start shooting at them, but a large metal sphere burst out of the central house, drawing everyone's attention, Starfire following closely behind, dragging a Cobra Venom enhanced by the ankle and throwing him at some soldiers.

"Do not worry, I will deal with the soldiers," Starfire sent them. "Bewilder the villains for a few seconds!"

"Helicopters incoming!" Aqualad shouted in their minds, the Bioship slamming into the closest one before it could start shooting. "Hurry!"

They restarted the fight. Lifting his leg, Superboy gathered his strength and stomped on the floor, causing the ground to shake, but both supervillains had reacted too fast, jumping up to avoid losing their footing.

Taking his chance, Kid Flash rushed Cheshire, using his speed to dodge a strike of her sai and punching her as hard as he could on the side. Before she could recover a batarang flew at her mask, exploding in a flash of light that was blocked by Kid Flash's lenses.

The second girl almost cut off his head for that, but Superboy blocked with an arm, the strike leaving a red line on his skin.

The three of them worked together far better than before, coordinating seamlessly to repel both girls, managing to force the second villain to the defensive until Superboy actually managed to hit Cheshire, his punch leaving her left arm hanging loosely at her side.

"I've got Psimon!" Miss Martian yelled into their minds, her body appearing above the damaged house with the psychic under one arm.

Immediately, Robin threw a few more flash bombs, causing both girls to dodge back and earn a few seconds of reprieve.

Not really needing time to recover, the second girl still glanced around and sheathed her sword, a thin smile on her face as she turned to her companion. "Well, well, well. Seems like you've got another failure in your hands."

"What?" Cheshire barked.

"We're not beating them with your arm like that and they've got Psimon," the girl shrugged. "Why are you so surprised? I thought you'd have gotten used to losing, just like your father."

The three heroes traded a quick glance, but they wouldn't complain about villains not getting along. Instead, they took the chance to dash away, Superboy grabbing both of their waists and jumping on top of the tallest building they could find.

A second later, Aqualad managed to use the Bioship to disable a second helicopter and made it hover over them, Miss Martian lifting them up with her telekinesis before Starfire herself entered the ship, their rescue target held high over her head.

Exhausted, wounded, dirty, they all looked at each other and laughed. They had won. Completely and without help from the League, they'd won! Dropping bonelessly on their seats, they laughed as the Bioship flew straight up, moving beyond Bialya's ability to attack them.

.

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Thanks to Eric Faust for helping out with the chapter.

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