Three Musketeers

A contingent of disgruntled protégés, incensed by what they perceived as a slight against their mentors, converged on the Cadmus Labs facility. They surveyed the premises only to discover an inferno that persisted unabated, despite the presence of firefighters who had already deployed their apparatus from a nearby hydrant. The firemen endeavored to extinguish the burgeoning blaze with powerful water cannons.

Fortune smiled upon the trio of youthful heroes - Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Robin - sidekicks to the renowned Flash, Aquaman, and Batman respectively. Their timely arrival allowed them to witness the uppermost floor erupt in a maelstrom of fire, the explosion propelling two terrified researchers who had frantically called for aid from a window. Both cried out in fear as they plummeted from the second-story edifice towards the unyielding concrete below.

Fortunately, Kid Flash decided to sprint ahead of his companions at that moment. Upon realizing the situation, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he ascended the building, grabbing the two researchers under each arm before setting them down on the roof of the inferno. He leveraged the momentum from his high-speed dash, which rendered him little more than a blur to the naked eye, to complete the task.

However, this haste caused him to lose his balance when he came to a stop, slipping on the edge of the building. Luckily, he managed to grasp the window ledge just in time, narrowly avoiding a fall to the ground.

"Ohh, what's his name, Flash Boy!" one of the firefighters exclaimed to his colleague, pausing in the middle of operating his hose to glance at his fellow firefighter.

"It's Kid Flash! Why is that so difficult?" Kid Flash grumbled as he clung to the window ledge, his bright yellow full-body suit adorned with a lightning bolt emblem on his chest, ginger hair, and red goggles making him stand out.

As Kid Flash was saying this, his fellow sidekicks, Robin and Aqualad, arrived at the labs, both of them arriving just in time to witness Kid Flash save the scientists from a precarious situation, before he then lost his footing, somewhat ruining the 'coolness' of his previous action and leaving him dangling from the ledge.

"So smooth," Robin remarked sarcastically as he came to a stop next to the still-busy firefighters. The boy in question was clad in a vibrant red, green, and yellow outfit, with a yellow utility belt cinched around his waist, and a flowing black cloak billowing behind him.

"Does he always run ahead? Because we need a plan," Aqualad, a dark-skinned Atlantean with a striking appearance, featuring short white hair and piercing blue eyes, commented to Robin. He turned to see that the caped and masked boy had already vanished, disappearing with a carefree laugh as he shot off towards the burning building without a word to anyone.

"Robin?" Aqualad called out again, scanning the area before he finally spotted Robin sprinting towards the building. Without hesitation, Robin leaped off the fire engine, shot a grapple line at the roof, and effortlessly entered the building, offering Kid Flash a helping hand in his own way.

"I need to borrow that," Aqualad said, rolling his eyes at Robin's impulsive action. He activated his water bearers, two intricately carved tools resembling metal handles, imbued with Atlantean magic and technology. With a flick of his wrist, he borrowed the water gushing forth from the firefighters' hoses, using it to create a solid water platform beneath his feet, which allowed him to ascend to the roof of the laboratory, where the two scientists were still anxiously awaiting proper rescue.

Once he safely lowered both of them to the ground and to safety, Aqualad took a moment to clean up the mess that Kid Flash's half-completed rescue attempt had left behind. Following that, he redirected the water he had under his control to extinguish the flames that continued to pour from the building, effectively doing the firefighters' jobs for them.

"I appreciate the help," Aqualad said a few moments later as he entered the building, the last of the trio to do so. Upon arrival, he was greeted by the sight of both Kid Flash and Robin already snooping around the now charred and ruined second floor, investigating the aftermath.

"You handled it. Besides, we're here to investigate. Poetic justice, remember?" Robin replied easily, clearly unfazed by the irritation in Aqualad's tone, or perhaps just oblivious to it, as he instead focused intently on the matter at hand.

Aqualad once again rolled his eyes at that but shrugged it off, well accustomed to his fellow sidekick's quirks by now. Shaking his head, he began to look around, still keeping a firm grip on his water bearers. The intricately carved implements allowed him to manipulate water with ease, which he found invaluable.

With his primary weapons in hand, Aqualad wandered through the burnt-out lab, passing by Kid Flash and Robin as he did so, before stepping out into the hall. Suddenly, a faint dinging sound caught his attention not far away. His cold blue eyes flickered up at the sound, only to see the silhouette of an inhuman, horned creature inside the lift before the doors closed and it began its descent.

"There was something in the—" Aqualad started to say, drawing the other sidekicks' attention as he headed for the lift.

"The lifts should be locked down," Kid Flash interjected quickly moments later, interrupting Aqualad as he and Robin jogged over to where Aquaman's sidekick stood.

"This is wrong," Robin stated immediately, his sharp eyes narrowing as he examined the lift. Using the holographic computer on his wrist, he analyzed the elevator before nodding to himself. "I thought so. This is a high-speed express elevator. It doesn't belong in a two-story building."

"Neither does what I saw," Aqualad added in, even as he approached the sealed doors. With a focused effort and Kid Flash's help, he pried them open, revealing a vast elevator shaft that descended far deeper than the two-story building would suggest. "Huh, maybe that's why?"

"Whoa, I would not want to fall down that," Kid Flash remarked bluntly as he peered over the edge, unable to make out the bottom of the ominous shaft.

Robin, however, remained undeterred. He swiftly fired a grapple line at the top of the shaft, using it to begin his descent down into the dark abyss. Aqualad and Kid Flash quickly grabbed the line and followed after him. The trio slid down the grapple line, passing dozens of floors as they descended far below street level and into the depths of the earth. A few minutes later, Robin's grapple line ended, leaving him swinging fruitlessly in the center of the shaft.

"I'm at the end of my rope," Robin said simply, swinging his legs back and forth to build the momentum he needed to launch himself out and grab the ledge of the elevator entrance to sublevel 26. Both Kid Flash and Aqualad quickly followed suit, pulling themselves up and precariously balancing on the ledge.

"Bypassing security. There we go!" Robin exclaimed as he knelt down and hacked the lift doors. Aqualad, with his usual efficiency, pried open the door, his blue eyes narrowed as he immediately scanned the dimly lit hall that lay beyond.

Looking around, the three sidekicks soon found themselves staring at a long corridor adorned with metallic walls and equipped with high-tech security features. Suffice to say, it was a stark contrast to the building they had just been in moments before.

"Welcome to the real Project Cadmus," Robin said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper as he took in the surroundings, the other two following his lead with wide eyes.

Moments later, Kid Flash, upon realizing he had enough room to run again, took off in a blur, using his super speed to his advantage as he dashed away far quicker than any human had a right to be.

"Kid, wait!" Aqualad yelled, only to be ignored as Kid Flash continued running, disappearing from view just a few moments later.

However, he only managed to cover so much distance before he came to an abrupt halt at the end of the corridor, finding himself confronted by an even larger hallway. It was filled with five-meter-tall, heavily muscled, gorilla-like creatures, their mottled grey skin glistening under the harsh lights, red eyes glaring, and adorned with horns, spikes, and tusk-like teeth, thundering past him.

The sheer sight of them made him skid to a stop in the middle of the corridor, forced to roll out of the way as the creatures continued their relentless march, seemingly indifferent to his presence. However, a much smaller, monkey-like grey creature riding atop one of the titanic beasts cast him a fleeting glance, though it did nothing more than that.

A few moments later, Robin and Aqualad slowly approached where Kid Flash stood, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, all of them coming to a stop as they watched the terrifying mob of creatures shuffle past.

"No. Nothing odd going on here," Aqualad remarked sarcastically into the heavy silence that had enveloped the trio.