Chapter 21: Team's First Mission Part 1: Shatter...

[Third Person's Point of View]

[Venom Facility, Santa Prisca. June 19, 00:43 ECT.]

An alarm wails through the factory, alerting the workers that their secret operation is under attack. Chemicals, research, and experiments are all abandoned as figures in red hooded cloaks and black masks that give the appearance of a snake round up all the drug-manufacturing thugs at gunpoint.

The intruders finally have them surrounded in a circle, weapons aimed at their heads. Some are questioning their choices in life that led to this while others think that they are not getting paid enough to be killed by snake fetish cult.

All of the workers and thugs have their hands behind their heads in surrender. However, it is a different story for the leader of this operation. Bane, a wanted criminal in most countries around the globe who has left Gotham for a while though his influence on it has increased lately, stands in the middle.

His face openly displays contempt for the invaders and how he would love nothing more than to crush their heads if the opportunity is presented to him. One of the intruders begins to speak in Spanish, Bane's native tongue.

"Our sublime Master proclaims he will depart this facility, if… one of you defeats his champion in single combat."

Bane pushes his way to the front of his lackeys, shoving them aside as he goes. He stops in front of the electronic cage doors that lead to a fighting area. He places a hand on the bars as the lock buzzes.

"Just make it interesting."

He says as he shoves it open and walks inside while the cultist intruder smirks at his arrogance. The door closes and locks behind Bane as he scans the empty floor. At the other entrance, where his foe is to enter, he sees a pale, painfully skinny young punk.

He has shaggy red hair, long and spiky in the front and closely shaved in the back. He pushes it out of his face as a similar figure, a girl who is most likely his sister, leans against the wall outside the door. She sends him a confident smile.

Bane's venom pump lands behind him and he turns to the same cultist that spoke as he picks it up, continuing to speak in his native tongue.

"You give me back my greatest weapon? What's the catch?"

"No catch."

The masked man tells him before adding on.

"It would hardly test his champion's prowess if you were not at your best."

Bane places the activator on his right hand.

"For what, crush that twig? He has a higher chance of beating me in my sleep while I am being tied up much less with this? I do not know why you want this but if you want my best? "

Bane asks before he attaches the pump to the connector implanted at the back of his head. The red-like steroid, nicknamed venom, rushes inside his veins. He growls as his pupils dilate, veins becoming more prominent.

His muscles, which would normally put an average man to shame, expand even larger. He grows taller and his stretchy, elastic-based clothes nearly burst at the seams. Bane turns away from the cultist and breathes heavily.

"You fucking got it."

He cracks his neck as he watches his opponent. The girl walks forward and uses an injecting gun to put a purple liquid in her brother's right shoulder. The man's frail and insane-looking grin widens as he strains, stumbling forward and clutching his head as he cries out.

He falls to his knees as his body starts to grow. His cries become deeper, more feral, as they are ripped from his expanding chest. His mouth grows and his teeth sharpen into lethal-looking fangs. His shirt strains to contain him, but eventually shreds apart and falls to the ground.

His now green-gray skin becomes thick and splits apart in places, revealing the rippling, powerful muscles underneath. The girl ominously shuts and locks the barred door behind the champion. Her brother has gone from Bruce Banner to the Hulk.

Bane watches carefully as the beast rises from his crouched position, easily standing a good five feet taller than when he'd first entered the ring. After a moment to calm his breathing, the creature roars and charges at the enemy. Bane takes a ready stance in preparation.

He halts the advance of the champion with his hands on the challenger's shoulders, and the youth takes advantage of the position to punch him in the stomach. Bane quickly uppercuts him in the face before punching him in the gut.

Sadly for the masked drug dealer slash leader slash villain, the champion barely even flinches.

'Bitch please.'

His face indicates as his right-hand clamps down on the villain's neck and delivers a bewildering series of blows to his face, head, and torso. The good old two piece and a biscuit, grabbing Bane's arm, he whirls him in a circle before tossing him into a series of pipes along one wall.

The champion, infused with his new powers of strength, size, and invulnerability in hand-to-hand combat, in addition to speed, quickly makes his way over to the dazed fighter and shoulder-checks him back against a pipe. Steam pours out of a rupture and surrounds them.

'Feel that? You just became my son!'

The champion smirks as he grabs Bane by the head and tosses him out of the hazy cloud toward the first entrance. He leaps upward and prepares a blow to the head as he body slams down on his enemy, knocking out any air still in his lungs.

'W-What just happen?'

Bane thinks before blacking out as his men flinch out of sympathy for their boss as well as the fear of what fate awaits them. Bane himself, however, groans and remains still, defeated. The cultist smiles.

"Hail Kobra."

He chants, switching to English.

"Hail Kobra."

"Hail Kobra."

Now other cultists, both men and women dressed and armed identically to the first, add their cries to the mix.

"Hail Kobra. Hail Kobra! Hail Kobra!"

A spookily pale, heavily muscled man stands above the fighting ring on a catwalk, arms folded across his chest and standing in deep shadow. A satisfied grin adorns his face while a red hooded cloak covers his body. His followers have no idea what is going on in his mind.

'~I'm a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world

Life in plastic, it's fantastic

You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere

Imagination, life is your creation~

Damn it, that song is stuck in my head... Well played brother. Note to self, never let your future opponent have any last words.'

He is strikingly different from each of his followers, exuding an aura of power, and loving the multi-ego-job his minions are giving him.

"Hail Kobra!"

Now the chanting is reaching a crescendo, screamed from hundreds of throats within the compound and echoing out through the surrounding rainforest.

"Hail Kobra! Hail Kobra! Hail Kobra!"

[Caribbean Sea. July 22, 20:08 ECT.]

All is silent in the bioship, the Team thinking about the mission ahead of them. Their first official mission. All of them are wearing their hero suits. 

"We're approaching Santa Prisca."

Miss Martian says unnecessarily. Acnologia is quietly taking a power nap as he thinks back to the mission briefing held just before they left.

-Flashback-

"Isla Santa Prisca. This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neo-steroid, a strength-enhancing drug, sold under the street name venom. It started being sold in Gotham before spreading outside the country."

Batman explains to the Team. They are grouped around him and Red Tornado in the mission briefing area.

"Infrared heat signatures indicate their factory is still operating at full capacity, but all shipments of venom have been inexplicably cut off. That's where this team comes in. This is a covert, recon mission only."

Batman says turning to look the teens in the eye.

"Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will."

The holoscreens displaying the different factory images change to an overview of the island.

"The plan requires two drop zones."

"So who's in charge?"

Robin asks with hidden excitement.

Batman and Red Tornado exchange glances.

"Work that out between you."

Batman answers causing Robin to nod, then smile to himself while Acnologia raises his right eyebrow.

-End of Flashback-

"Drop Zone A in thirty."

Miss Martian's voice snaps everyone out of their thoughts. Aqualad and Acnologia stand up and their seats are reabsorbed into the ship. Outfitted in new stealth tech, Aqualad presses the Atlantean A on his belt, and his suit changes.

The gold A turns silver and his red shirt turns grey. On the other hand, Acnologia donned dark blue version of Aqualad's suit. 

"Ready."

The two Atlantean replies.

"Putting bioship in camouflage mode."

Miss Martian says as they approach the drop zone. The bioship swoops down low over the ocean and a small hatch opens in the middle of the floor where no one sits. Acnologia and Aqualad jump through and disappear beneath the waves with a small splash. 

They swim together through the water, past naval mines protecting the island. An underwater net surrounds Santa Prisca's waters to ensure no ordinary divers or boats can get through unless authorized.

Aqualad activates a water bearer, creating a sword, and slices through the net, and they swim through. Silently, they creep out of the ocean's depth onto the surf, where rain patters softly on their heads.

Acnologia searches the area with his shadow and Haki as Aqualad unpacks and assembles the waterproof equipment he brought and patches it into the island's surveillance feed. It beeps once and blinks from blue to red.

"Heat and motion sensors are patched. Data is now on a continuous loop. Move-in."

Acnologia says through the comm link. Aqualad gets up and starts walking into the jungle towards Drop Zone B. They walk in silence, the quiet only broken by the occasional moving animal and the rain pattering the treetops above them in a constantly varying pattern. There is no light around but for them, this level of darkness would be akin to a sunny day for regular humans.

The duo travels along the edge until they come to the crossing point, a rock wall. They place their feet and hands in the many cracks in the rock face and move across the chasm. Move one foot, and find a spot. Move one hand, and find another place to grab. Over and over again they do this.

There is one bad moment where Aqualad loses his grip on the slippery rock. His webbed hand slips as he moves his foot, and he is left dangling by his right hand and left foot. Acnologia uses his gravity ability to aid Aqualad in gaining a better grip.

"Thanks." 

Aqualad says.

"No problem."

Acnologia response.

"Aqualad. Triton. Drop B is a go."

Miss Martian's voice says over the comm.

"Head for the factory."

Aqualad replies before adding.

"We'll track your GPS and rendezvous with you ASAP."

"Roger that."

Robin responds before cutting his comm. The duo jumps the last few feet from the rock wall to the jungle floor once again. They start to run, not wanting to get left behind when the real infiltration starts. As they made their way there, Aqualad could not help but ask one question.

"Triton, correct me if I am wrong but do you not possess the ability to teleport?"

"Yes, I do. Why?"

Acnologia answered.

"I am just wondering why you would climb the rock wall if you could teleport to the rendezvous point."

Aqualad said.

"We are in enemy territory, leaving someone alone is not the wisest course of action. I could teleport us using magic but such magic would be visible through this time of the night. Plus... I am waiting for the signal."

Acnologia replied before Aqualad asked.

"What signal?"

As if to answer his question, they hear speaking through the comms, which someone left open.

"Did you hear that?"

Supergirl asks.

"Uh, no."

Kid Flash says before adding on.

"Wait, is this a super-hearing thing?"

"Supergirl, Kid Flash, switch to infrared. See if you're being tracked."

Acnologia advises as he and Aqualad run through the jungle, coming ever closer to the other heroes.

"Got a squad of armed bozos incoming."

Kid Flash says after a few moments.

"Two squads."

Supergirl corrects.

"But they'll meet each other before they find us."

A loud popping sound of gunfire ensues, and Acnologia exchanges a look with Aqualad, full of certainty. Wait for it. His eyes telling his fellow Atlantean this.

"No super-hearing required now."

At Kid Flash's lighthearted remark, Aqualad says through the comm.

"Swing wide. Steer clear," 

"Yeah, yeah, just as soon as I find Rob."

Kid Flash says. 

"No, don't do that, Robin's fine, you could jeopardize the mission!"

Supergirl says, exasperated. The sound of stumbling and grunts comes through the link.

"Aaaand he fell."

She finishes with a sigh.

"So much for the stealthy."

Kid Flash's voice says over the comms. They run through the jungle, and the sound of gunfire is audible even without the comm link now. They can hear hand-to-hand fighting as well. Aqualad increases his speed keeping up with Acnologia.

Aqualad jumps in front of the last escaping shooter, placing a webbed hand on his chest and shocking him with electricity, his tattoos glowing as he does so. The man falls to the ground and Aqualad breaks the shooter's gun. The Team ties up both groups, making sure they stay separate.

"I recognize those uniforms."

Robin says, gesturing to the group dressed in red hoods.

"They belong to the Cult of the Kobra."

"I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's venom operation."

Aqualad replies.

"Agreed. And since there's clearly no love lost between the cultists and those goons, I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out. That's why normal supply lines have been cut off."

Robin deduces with excitement in his tone.

"We get it."

Kid Flash says.

"Kobra wanted super cultists, mystery solved. Radio Bats and we'll be home in time for-"

"These cultists aren't on venom!"

Robin interrupts the speedster with a fact.

"Kobra is hoarding the stuff! We don't leave. Not until I know why."

Robin says that the last part is more to himself as well as to establish his position as the leader.

"Until you know why?!"

Kid Flash asks in a flabbergasted tone.

"This team needs a leader."

Robin retorts.

"And it's you."

Kid Flash says sarcastically.

"Dude, you're a thirteen-year-old kid, who ducked out on us without a word!"

Robin laughs.

"And you're a mature fifteen? You blew our cover the first chance you got!"

"Don't you want to lead?"

Miss Martian asks Supergirl quietly as the two teenage boys argue. The girl of Steel shakes her head.

"You?"

"After the Mister Twister fiasco?"

She groans, holding her hands up in a 'no-thank-you' gesture. Her mistake almost cost them defeat had it not been for Supergirl's X-ray and heat vision that saw through the robot and defeated it while everyone thought that it was Red Tornado.

"You did all right."

She replies with a small smile. Acnologia turns to Aqualad.

"This signal."

At Aqualad's surprised look, he walks to the center of the group and speaks. He explains his reasoning.

"Neither of you two will be the leader. Now that it is settle-"

He was interrupted by Kid Flash.

"So you are going to be the leader then?"

Kid Flash asks in an exasperated tone which causes Acnologia to turn to him before speaking.

"Yes because unlike a certain someone, I do not view the position of leader as a way to get into Miss Martian or Supergirl's skirts-"

"*Snicker* He got you there KF."

Robin interrupted Acnologia while Kid Flash frowned which brought his attention to the boy wonder.

"And unlike another certain someone, I do not view the position of leader as a way to impress the broodiest man alive."

Robin and Kid Flash's facial expressions switched at that comment. Acnologia continued before Robin could retort.

"The first thing you thought when the mission was announced was who was going to be the leader. You practically asked Batman to confirm who the leader was going to be and took his words to match what you wanted to hear.

He said and I quote 'work that out between you'. English is not my native tongue but I know that there are two 'you' pronouns and he definitely did not mean the first one. You instantly assumed that you would be the leader because Batman is your mentor but failed to realize that the teamwork used by you two is incompatible with this newly created team."

"And you are the right fit to lead this team? You have the biggest ego on the planet!"

Robin retorted after Acnologia finished while stomping his foot down and pointing his finger at Acnologia. Silence rained before Acnologia walked up to Robin. They were now face to face with Robin looking up and Acnologia looking down. Tension was increasing as Acnologia spoke.

"The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It has got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet."

"What?"

Kid Flash asked confused he thought they were going to banter but Robin Domino's mask widened as before turning his head to the side as he spoke.

"Theodore Hesburgh, huh... Didn't pick you as the type to read a book."

Acnologia shrugged his shoulder as he spoke.

"I hate lacking in any area."

"Okay, can someone explain what this internal conversation is?"

Kid Flash yelled.

"Oh for the love of- KF don't you have ears? He basically proved that I wasn't the right leader for this team cuz I ghosted you guys."

Robin explained.

"B-but I also said that!"

Kid Flash said.

"Yeah, but he said it in a smart way."

Robin smirked not letting himself be beaten two verbal debates in a row.

[AN:

I'm going to give you guys two options that will determine my release schedule, comment/like the choice that you want and by next Monday I will pick the one with the most like/comments:

1 per week every Friday EST (Will be the most consistent release)

2 per week; Fridays and Mondays (Will be consistent at the beginning but might change)

Massive chapter dump but will cause me to not be able to make a chapter for a while.

Want more? Like Thanos, I want those STONES!!!]