Chapter 8

-[Santa Prisca]-

-[Dante]-

Dante and Miss Martian flew above Kid Flash and Superboy in camouflage as the team silently moved through the forested island.

[Two armed squads coming in both directions.] Robin's voice came through the link. [Barely a minute before they make contact.]

[Do not engage. You guys stay put. M'gann follow my lead.] Dante said, explaining the plan to her.

-[Kobra Cultists]-

The Kobra group held their guns firmly as they patrolled the island, searching for their targets.

'Where are those bastards?' One of them thought as they walked.

Bane had lost to Mammoth in single combat and yet the man was still trying to fight back. The man was a fool for not submitting to Lord Kobra.

'When I find them I want to be the one to kill them.' He thought as he and his group continued their patrol.

-[Dante]-

Robin, Kid Flash and Superboy watched in surprise as the two groups walked past each other, not even giving each other a glance and ignoring the other's existence.

[Okay, what just happened?] Robin was the first to ask, confusion apparent from the way he sounded.

[Psychic illusions. They didn't even realize they just passed each other. Nice job M'gann.] He praised the girl who beamed in satisfaction.

She handled the illusion on the Kobra cultists while he handled the one on Bane's group.

[Though, we're not done yet.] Dante immediately.

[We're not?] Kid Flash asked, his tone still grouchy.

[No. Our job is to find out exactly what is happening on the island. Who would know better than Bane himself.] Dante answered.

[Aren't you the one who said not to engage?] Robin questioned.

[That hasn't changed. We're not engaging, at least not directly. Robin, Superboy and M'gann, stay on the cultist. Wally, you're with me. We're following Bane.] Dante ordered as they complied.

[What are you going to do?] Kaldur asked. Dante could feel the Atlantean headed towards them.

[I'm going to read Bane's mind. He's supposed to be the one in charge according to Batman. If anyone knows another way into the factory it's going to be him.] He explained as he and Kid Flash neared Bane's group.

As soon as he finished explaining, he reached out with his telepathy, using an old trick Cadmus G-gnomes used quite often on him during his time there.

Like a signal went off, Bane and his men fell to their knees, unconscious and asleep.

[Whoa…] That was Kid Flash's honest reaction as he saw it happen.

[We don't have all day. Tie them up.] Dante said as he reached into Bane's mind.

At that moment, he realized something. It may be different for others but people who claim to have experience dealing with telepaths are always aware before the telepath tries to invade their mind.

Bane blocked M'gann from reading his mind by reciting football scores. It raised a hypothesis that unless the target is aware that you were trying to read their mind, it's basically opened to you.

Constant mental shields required the expertise of another telepath to help set up which Bane didn't have access to. Perusing his mind, Dante found what he was looking for just as Kid Flash finished tying them up.

His main reason for having Wally with him was to stop him in case he tried to speed off and do something stupid. Miss Martian wouldn't expect it and would be unable to stop him.

[I've gotten what we need.] He announced as he walked forward, grabbing Bane's wrist to inspect his hand.

[Well that was fast. What'd you find?] Robin asked.

[To sum it up, the cult of the Kobra took over Santa Prisca a while ago. They kicked Bane out and stole his factory from him.] He explained, raising concerns from the Gothamite among them. He lightly touched the criminal's thumb for a moment before releasing the hand all together.

[That shouldn't be possible. Bane may not be the best fighter but he's not the type to get beaten so easily.] Robin stated, his confusion apparent.

[Here comes the interesting part. Kobra has developed a new formula stronger than Bane's doses of Venom. They tried it on one of their guy and look how Bane ended up.] Dante finished explaining as he made his way through the forest.

[So that's why the supply lines have been cut off.] Robin said in realization.

[Exactly. There's a secret entrance that leads into the factory. Rendezvous at my coordinates.]

It didn't take long for Dante to reach a cliffside. Looking into the distance, he could see the factory. He heard the leaves rustle as Aqualad walked into view.

[Are you sure this is the place?] He asked, looking around them as the others soon walked out of the bushes and into view.

[I'm positive.] Dante reassured them before gesturing for them to look at the factory.

With Kid Flash's goggles and Robin's binoculars, they could see the Kobra cultists moving numerous crates.

[Well at least we know they're still in business. If Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects…] Robin trailed off.

[Then we need to identify the buyer.] Kaldur finished, drawing a nod from Dante.

[Correct. Let's go. The entrance is this way.] Dante said, moving away from the ledge.

[Still don't know who made him leader…] Kid Flash grumbled but was fully ignored as Dante stood in front of a boulder that was stuck in the wall.

With a simple thought, the large rock was lifted out of the way and deposited carefully to the side, revealing what looked like a mine tunnel.

They walked for a while until they got to a locked entrance. There was no keyhole except for a fingerprint scanner.

[Great. How are we going to open this?] Kid Flash asked sardonically, causing M'gann to lightly elbow him.

[I'll punch it down.] Superboy said, winding his arms. Dante immediately raised his hand to calm his fellow clone.

[There's no need for that. I got it.] He said as his hand shapeshifted to match that of Bane, placing his finger on the scanner.

Almost immediately, the red light on the door turned green as it whirred open.

[Cool.] Robin said as they continued moving. They soon reached another door, this one being a simple door, fortunately being unlocked.

Entering camouflage, he peeped through the door. [All clear.] Finding nobody, he called them in.

[There should be a control room somewhere. Robin, take Kid Flash and see what you can find.] Before he could even finish, he felt Robin on the move. Wally then rushed off after him, causing Dante to sigh just a bit before focusing on the matter at hand.

As much as he wanted to keep the speedster from doing anything rash, Robin was the tech expert while Wally was more knowledgeable in the general areas.

Dante, Superboy, Miss Martian and Kaldur hid behind a few large crates.

[It's a rather large shipment.] Kaldur said as they peeked at the cultists who were moving the crates.

[Yeah but they're only taking the new ones. They have touched this venom.] Superboy added.

[Does freshness count?] M'gann asked innocently.

[I really doubt that. That should be the new Kobra venom.] Dante said, putting the idea out there as Superboy perked up.

[I hear a helicopter.] He warned, drawing their attention.

[M'gann, go check it out.] he ordered just before Robin's voice came through the mind link.

[Guys we found something. The new Kobra venom, it's not just a more advanced steroid. It's a mix of Bane's venom and the blockbuster formula from Cadmus.] Robin explained.

[Just think of the normal venom but like three times stronger. Stronger and permanent.] Kid Flash added. [The only way they'd have access to the blockbuster formula is if the buyer-]

[Is also Kobra's supplier.] Dante finished, interrupting him.

[There's also some bad news. Comms are jammed.] Robin added.

At that moment, M'gann's voice came through the link. [Dante, sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now.]

The image of a tall man with short blond hair and a face covered by a gray hockey mask. With the exception of Superboy and Miss Martian, the man was instantly recognizable.

[Sportsmaster? This is bad, we can't contact the league. What do we do?] Kaldur asked.

Dante turned to see the Atlantean along with Superboy looking to him for an answer. The link was strangely silent as neither Robin nor Kid Flash said anything.

[Our objective has changed. Naturally, we can't let that shipment leave the island.] This is the first big change he was going to make. [Superboy and I will grab their attention long enough for you all to slip by. M'gann and Robin, you two will sabotage that helicopter while Kid Flash and Kaldur hold off Sportsmaster.]

[What about Kobra?] Robin asked.

[We have to prioritize. If you see an opportunity to take him down after you've disabled the helicopter, you're free to go for it. Now spread out.] As he finished, Kaldur nodded at him before sneaking off to a different position. [On second thought, Superboy, when we begin, your target is Kobra. Leave the goons and Mammoth to me.]

[Are you sure?] M'gann asked worriedly.

[A hundred percent. Is everyone ready?] Receiving confirmation from them all, Dante smirked.

[Then let's begin.] He announced, stepping out of his hiding place with Superboy behind him.

"Intruders!" One of the cultists shouted, aiming their gun at him.

He immediately began firing at Dante, the others following as well. The boy smirked as the bullets stopped a few inches before it hit him. "Handy, isn't it?"

Despite seeing that it wasn't working, the only continued as Dante stalked forward like he was taking a stroll.

*CRASH!*

Moments later, Mammoth smashed through the glass as he jumped into the factory with an inhuman roar.

"Finally." Dante said as the more cultists flooded the factory, guns trained on the two clones.

"Destroy them!" Kobra ordered, having just entered to see the cause of the commotion.

Mammoth shot forward to grab Dante only for the boy to slip under his arms. With a thought, the cultists found themselves suspended in the air.

Dante rolled into a dodge as Mammoth swung his arms at him yet again.

[Superboy, now!] With that, Superboy shot forward to face Kobra. Sportsmaster who wanted to assist found himself faced with Kaldur and Kid Flash who took advantage of the momentary confusion.

Dante wrung the guns from the hands of the cultists, crushing them into a ball of metal and sending it flying to Mammoth who just barely dodged it.

The cultists were then flung to the wall, the impact knocking them unconscious. Turning to Mammoth who now charged at him, Dante slightly stretched his body in preparation.

He tilted away from an attempt to grapple, quickly spinning behind him. Grabbing his shoulder, he immediately pulled Mammoth backwards, messing up the monster's balance.

He threw a low roundhouse kick, sweeping his legs and sending Mammoth crashing on his back. The creature was quick to get up, swinging his fist at Dante who slipped under it, grabbing Mammoth by the face.

Pulling him towards himself, he smashed his knee into chest, repeating it with a knee to the stomach before releasing his face. Before Mammoth could regain his bearings, Dante was already delivering a high kick to the side of his head, sending him crashing into the wall.

Each of his hits were loud and powerful as they landed. He telekinetically pulled Mammoth himself and into his waiting foot, following it up with another kick to the shoulder blade and a final one to his jaw.

The last one was enough to knock him unconscious. 'Who would've thought that I'd actually use what you taught me?' He thought to himself before turning quickly to see Kobra dodging a particularly powerful punch from Superboy before being forced to duck under a kick from Robin.

The snake themed villain no longer wore his cloak and was now shirtless. An unconscious Shimmer laid on the floor far to the side.

He turned to Sportsmaster to see Miss Martian push away an exploding Javelin with her telekinesis, allowing it to explode away from them.

The man was barely tired, his main issue being M'gann's telekinesis which he was wary of. Seeing Dante walk out of the factory with no one else, there was a brief pause in the battles.

"Well would you look at that." Sportsmaster muttered, peering behind him to see an unconscious Mammoth laying on the floor.

Dante rose into the sky, immediately lashing out with his telekinesis as he took a hold of both villains, hoisting them in the air.

"Now then. I think that's enough fighting for now, don't you agree?" He asked rhetorically as his hold spread to their entire body, not allowing them any movement below the neck.

"Release me this instant you vermin!" Kobra screamed in outrage, earning a smirk from the boy.

Suddenly, he and Sportsmaster were slammed into each other. "Hey, what was that for?!" The hockey masked criminal screamed as they were slammed together once again.

"Uh, don't you think it's a bit too much?" Robin asked, pointing out that they were now unconscious.

"They'll be fine. More importantly, we've finally finished our mission…and then some." Dante said, victorious smirks going all around.

The cultists were unconscious and so were Mammoth, Shimmer, Sportsmaster and Kobra. The shipment of the new Kobra venom was prevented from leaving the island.

"Miss Martian and Robin, whatever is blocking our signal is somewhere here. After we find it, destroy it and call the league, then we can celebrate." Dante said, still holding Kobra and Sportsmaster in the air.

He didn't want either of them pulling off any bullshit vanishing acts so he was being cautious. 'This is one huge ripple I've made. What's going to happen next?' Dante wondered.