[Mount Justice]
[Superboy]
He watched Canary and Robin fighting, learning their technique's. It has been one week since the fight with Mr Twister and it made him realise that his strength was still lacking compared to Superman's. Superman could have ended the fight in less than a minute if he wanted to, but he struggled against the robot.
It showed that he needed to get stronger, and while absorbing solar-energy from the sun has helped him more than the fake one in cadmus did, it would still take him a long time to catch up to even even half of Superman's strength. "Fail!" The AI's voice echoed throughout the room and he saw Robin pick himself off the ground.
"Aww, that hurt." Robin groaned, rubbing his back. "You did good, just make sure to keep your guard up next time." Canary said, before turning to look at him. "Samael, your turn." Michael, a name he felt He walked to the fighting ring, his eyes locked on Canary's form.
Since he wasn't as strong as Superman that means he needs to be able to know and outsmart opponent's stronger than him. "Begin." As the voice rang out, Canary rushed at him, her hand curled into a fist aiming at him. But he saw through and blocked her kick that was aimed at his midsection, he returned the kick to her stomach, sending her back.
It looked as though she would fall but she did a flip before she could. He didn't give her the chance to recover and sent a punch at her shoulder, which she managed to dodge.
Canary then pressed the attack. A series of sharp punches and spinning kicks flowed like water. Samael caught a kick on his forearm, absorbed the momentum, and pivoted around it, trying to drive his shoulder into her center mass.
She smiled slightly.
Too slow.
A sudden snap-kick caught him in the ribs. Before he could balance himself, she spun and swept his legs. Samael hit the cold steel floor hard enough.
"Fail, Superboy!" the AI called. He grunted and then exhaled — a slow, measured breath — and pushed himself up.
Canary beckoned. "Don't think too much, Samael. Trust yourself."
He nodded, circling. This time, he waited, observing. When she feinted left, he didn't bite. When she moved high, he swept low, nearly clipping her knee. She grinned approvingly.
But she was still quicker.
They traded blows — his heavy, deliberate strikes against her flowing, technical assaults. He took hits to the shoulders, ribs, thigh — but this time, he moved with them, absorbing, adapting. His breathing stayed steady, his movements tighter, smarter.
A quick flash — Canary's foot was aimed at his temple.Instinct screamed to swat it away with brute strength.But instead, Samael ducked under, twisted at the waist, and launched an elbow strike — controlled, fast, precise. And managed to hit her arm.
A flurry of strikes forced him to retreat, guard high. She flowed around him, her blows faster, sharper, finding the small gaps in his technique. He countered her attacks and sent a series of strikes aimed her, and before she could process, he swept low and knocked her off her feet. Her body hitting the ground with a satisfying thud.
"Winner, Superboy!" The AI's voice rang out. He allowed a small smile to form on his face. "Good job Samael. I didn't see that one coming." She got up and proud smile on her face. "You've progressed fast for one that started only a week ago."
"Thanks, I had a good teacher." He nodded, he walked out of the ring, walking to the kitchen to get a drink. "Dude, I can't believe you beat Canary! I mean I couldn't and I was trained by Batman!" Robin walked beside him, looking at him in shock.
"It was a lucky shot. Most times Canary would beat me if I wasn't using my powers." He opened the fridge, taking out a bottle of water. "Maybe. But you honestly got way better than a week ago. I've never seen anyone learn as fast as you." Robin said.
"Heh, it must be my Kryptonian genes." He replied honestly. "Man, that's such a cheat! I had to train with Batman for years and I'm still not as good as him." Robin whined, crossing his arms.
"Recognize: Batman A-02." The Ai's voice rang out. Batman? What was he doing here? "Team, report to the mission center." That was the only thing he said. He looked at Robin who looked confused and excited at the same time.
They walked there seeing Batman standing next to Canary and Red Tornado. He and Robin were the first to arrive. Soon Miss Martian and Kaldur arrived and they had to wait for Wally since he was in Central city. Five minutes later and the teleporter announced the arrival of Kid-Flash.
Batman didn't waste anytime and started speaking.
"Isla Santa Prisca," Batman says, showing them a map of the island. "This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neuro-steroid, a strength-enhancing drug sold under the street name Venom." Venom, while does help is problematic and wouldn't be able to penetrate his skin. He discarded the idea of using it.
The display changes to show the shots of the warehouse. "The infrared heat signatures indicate that their factory is operating at full capacity, but all shipments of Venom have inexplicably cut off. That's where this Team comes in. This is a covert recon mission only. Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will."Once again, the profile changes back to the island map.
"The plan requires two drop zones," said drop zones appear on the map.
"So, who's in charge?" Robin asks, getting Batman and Red Tornado to whip around and face the Boy Wonder before exchanging glances.
"Work that out between you," Batman commands. Robin nods, a smile forming on his face, which is still there as he refocuses. "You're dismissed."
Samael sped into his room, finding a suitcase on his bed. He opened it, and inside was a suit that looked similar to Superman's. Instead of red and blue, he requested that the suit be made black with the symbol of the House of El in dark silver.
He changed into the suit, finding it fitting and showing off the definition of his muscles. It had a black cape that reminded him of Batman's. That man loved dark colors. Not that he could blame him, the suit fit nicely on him.
He sped into the hangar, finding that everyone was already there. "Man, our first mission, I am excited." Wally said, his voice giddy. "Yeah. Honestly felt like we were never going to get one." Robin said, his voice equally happy as Wally's.
"Hey, nice suit Supey. Digging the dark look. Very edgy." He cracked a smile at the speedster's words. "Thanks, felt the black would suit me better than the bright colors." He replied, entering the BioShip.
"It is indeed a good suit." Aqualad complemented. "Yeah, looks good on you Sam." M'gann said shyly, her face red. He sent her a smile, making her blush even more. M'gann took control of the ship, and they exited the hangar.
[2 Hours Later]
"We're approaching Santa Prisca." Miss Martian tells them. He focused, calmed himself, and cleared his mind. Nothing else mattered now but the mission. "Approaching Drop Zone A."Aqualad stood up. He hits his symbol, and his suit turns from navy blue and red with black accents to dark grey and black accents. "I am ready." he says, looking to Miss Martian.
"Putting BioShip in Camouflage Mode." She says as they come within eyesight of the island. Over the water, a hole in the base of the BioShip forms, Aqualad dropping out and diving into the water below. They continued until they reached their next stop.
"Drop Zone B." Miss Martian says as they stop over a break in the canopy. All the remaining members stand as their straps and chairs fade into the ship's floor. Miss Martian raised her hand, and zip lines fell from the ceiling, which Robin and Kid Flash didn't hesitate to attach to.
Once attached, Kid Flash raises his hand to his lightning bolt emblem. The white turns light grey as the yellow turns to a darker grey, and his goggles turn a dark grey, his red accents remaining as he looks it over with a smile. "How cool is this?" he asks, turning towards Miss Martian.
"Very impressive." Miss Martian says, before her own clothes change, her blue boots and skirt become a skin-tight full-body suit, all black and accented with the same red X and edging like on Martian Manhunter. Only her cape remains blue. "Uh, that works." Kid Flash said.
Miss Martian lifts her hood and turns invisible. He watched as Robin and Kid Flash jumped down and waited until they landed safely. He followed after them, the land getting closer and closer. He landed on the ground with a small thud and immediately surveyed the area.
"Aqualad, Drop B is a go." Miss Martian says. "Head to the factory. I'll track your GPS and meet you ASAP." Aqualad replied. "Roger that." Robin said, looking at the map of the Island on his hologram.
They took off for the factory. He kept watch of the area, making sure they didn't get attacked. Robin then stops, pulls up his hologram. "Guys, we're surrounded by mines." Robin said. "I know a way, follow me."
They continued, more cautious this time at the threat of mines. His ears picked up on a sound. He looked in the direction, his eyes finding two squads about to meet each other, enemies from the looks of it. "Wait." They stopped, looking at him in confusion. "Enemies ahead, two squads."
"Steer clear of them." Aqualad said. He looked at Robin."Robin, stay with the team. I don't want you leaving us." He told the Boy Wonder. "Who made you the leader?" Robin said, and he sighed. "I say we take them on. We go quick and fast, don't give them a chance to recover."
"Batman said this was a covert mission. Gather intel and get out." Robin whispered. "And what better way to get intel than from the guy who controlled the Island. Bane is with them. Plus, most of these guys are grunts; we can take them out before they can react."
Robin looked at him with narrowed eyes, then sighed. "Fine." He looked at the rest. "You guys can deal with the grunts, make sure they don't have a chance to radio in our presence. I'll go after Bane so that he doesn't escape." They nodded, but he noticed the way Robin's eyes narrowed.
He didn't have time for childish insecurities.
They ran forward, hiding behind a rock and a fallen tree to avoid being seen. Kid Flash turns on his infrared vision. "Two squads." Kid Flash says. "Go." He orders them. He speeds at the grunts, knocking them out with his super-strength. He saw Bane, who looked shocked and bewildered to see him. He ran and punched the man, sending him flying back into a tree.
He checked to see if the man was unconscious, and when confirming he was, he sped back to help his team with the rest of the grunts. It didn't take long, and they tied them against a tree.
"I recognize those uniforms." Robin says, looking at most of the assailants tied to the trees. "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." He turned to see Aqualad.
"Agreed." He said. "I'm betting they came in and tossed out Bane's group. That's why normal supply lines have been cut off." He explained.
"We get it. Kobra wanted super cultists." Kid Flash says confidently. "Radio Bats, and we'll be home in time for-" Robin cuts him off. "These cultists aren't on Venom. Kobra's hoarding the stuff. We don't leave. Not until I know why."
"Until you know why?" Kid Flash questions, leaning forward to get right in front of the boy's face. "This Team needs a leader." Robin says strongly, standing up straighter.
"And it's you?!" Kid Flash questions, annoyance clear as he steps into Robin's personal space. "Dude, you're a thirteen-year-old kid who disappears on us without a word. "
"And you thin-" He cuts in. "Enough. Right now, we are in enemy territory. We can argue about who is the leader later." His voice was calm and firm. "Oh, you're just saying that so you can-"
"I said enough. Your constant badgering about being leader and disappearing act is not helping this mission. Now, I will not hear another word about this for the remainder of this mission."
His super-hearing picks up on the Spanish with ease."Look at them argue. Free yourselves and take them while they're distracted." It's one of Bane's lackeys who said that, his eyes instantly turned to them. "I see you're awake. Good. I want you tell us all about your factory." He said, marching up to Bane.
"Yes, I can also tell you about the secret entrance. I can show you and the rest of your group the entrance." Miss Martian gets closer, her eyes focused on Bane. "He's not lying, but I can tell he's hiding something."
"Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane is not that easy." he says smugly. Miss Martian's eyes still glow, but she loses her intensity. "Ohh." She groans, pulling out of his mind. "He's mentally reciting football scores in Español." she looks over her shoulder at the boys. "This could take a while."
"No." He crouched near Bane. "You can tell us right now or I'll rip off your arm." Bane's eyes widen slightly. "You wouldn't. You're a he-"
"I am, but I also care about this mission and will do whatever is necessary to accomplish it." He looked into the man's eyes calmly. "Hey, Superboy, that's too far man. We don't do that." Kid Flash said, Bane looked at Robin, but he grabbed the man's head.
"Don't look at him, look at me. I will rip off your arms, and you will never be whole again. Now, let my friend see the location." Bane didn't say anything, staying silent. "Ok." He grabbed the man's arm and broke it. "AGGGHHH." Screamed Bane. "That is enough, Superboy." Aqualad's hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"I am giving you one last chance, tell me where the entrance is." The man didn't say anything. "Hmmm." He looked into the man's eyes, watching them intently. "He won't say anything. I admire your spirit. Fine, you will take us to the factory." He untied the man and brought him to his feet, not caring for the way the man grimaced.
"This way." Bane said through clenched teeth. They started walking, not caring for the way his teammates eyed him.
~~~~~~~~~
They were on top of a cliff, the factory clearly below them. Bane stops about three feet from the edge, pointing. Both Robin and Kid Flash step up to get a closer look. He looks inside and sees a forklift carrying boxes into the containers by a helipad.
"Look at all that product." Robin mutters, shocked. "A buy is going down." Bane tries to walk away, but he grabs him by the hem of his shirt. "But if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects, then﹘"
"We need to identify that buyer." Aqualad states. "There is a way inside." Bane said. He let the man go and watched him lift a rock, revealing an entrance.
"Answers are this way." Bane says simply, gesturing down the mine tunnel. All five teens join him to look down the tunnel. Bane says nothing as he heads towards the tunnel. "Great, now we're taking orders from El Luchador." Groaned Wally.
They walked down the mine until they came across a metal door, which Bane used his fingerprint to unlock. The door opens, and it leads them to the factory floor.
Bane props the door open slightly, giving Robin just enough room to get a full look around the‒ now confirmed to be‒ empty floor. "All clear." he vocalizes before running out of the doorway. The others follow, but once they get to another hidden location, Robin is nowhere in sight.
He sighs in annoyance. "Has the little fool been captured?" Questions Bane. "No," Aqualad assures, but his voice is giving away his annoyance, "He just does that."
Kid Flash slides his goggles over his eyes with ease. "Stay put. I'll get our intel and be back before Boy Wonder." He grabs him before the idiot can compromise their position. "I wonder if your mother dropped you in the head when you were a baby. You will potentially compromise our position. So, stay put." The speedster glared at him. He held his gaze, watching the boy squirm in his grip before relenting.
"Fine." He let Kid Flash go. "Come." Bane said, walking ahead of them. They were all crouched behind an unused assembly line, while Bane hid in the shadows of a crate stack. He watched, noticing that they weren't shipping the old version of Venom, but some new drug.
"It is a massive shipment." Aqualad said in shock. He nodded. "They sending in a new drug by the looks of it. This is dangerous. If this gets into the hands of ordinary criminals then the damage will be astronomical." He was determined to destroy this shipment, people's lives were at stake.
The sound of a helicopter caught his attention. "A Helicopter's coming in." He told them.
The helicopter lands, the doors open, and reveal a buff white man with blonde hair. He was wearing a black-on-black outfit, and his facial features were covered by a grey hockey mask. Sportsmaster. As he walks between two lines of the cult, his matching forearm and shoulder-upper arm guards show.
He listens in on the conversation. "Lord Kobra." Sportsmaster greets the head of the cult.
"Sportsmaster." Kobra returns, as a girl steps up, case in hand. "The shipment is ready." She opens it up, revealing blue vials. A mixture of the Blockbuster formula and Venom.
Sportsmaster takes one, holding it up to look at it. "The new Kobra-Venom?" He questions.
"This is a game-changer." Sportsmaster proudly states, flipping the vial to catch it in his fist. "Finally, we can go mano-a-mano with the Justice League."
Above them, Miss Martian uses her camouflage. "Aqualad, sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now."
"Sportsmaster." Aqualad says, opening his eyes. "He is the buyer?" He questions, looking at him in shock. Then brings his hand up to his ear. "Aqualad to Red Tornado. Do you read?" He gets the same results as Robin. He huffs in annoyance. "Can't reach the League, Robin, or Kid. Comm's jammed. We need a plan now."
"I have a suggestion." Bane jumps over the rails with a battle cry. A roar catches his attention, but before he can do anything, he crashes. He gets up and watches as Blockbuster charges at him, intending to grab him in a bear hug.
He steps to the side and grabs the arm of the big brute, and with all his strength, throws him at the other agents. Blockbuster screams in rage, getting up off the ground. He speeds towards the brute and punches him with all his strength, shattering windows.
He throws multiple punches at Blockbuster, the attacks doing nothing against him. An odd sensation fills him, and he notices that his attacks are starting to do some damage. He ducks under the punch of the brute and throws an uppercut, which launches Blockbuster into the air. He grabbed ahold of his leg and brought him down.
"Ahhh." He screams, slamming the monster with all his strength. A crater forms, and debris spreads around him. "AHHH." He jumped and slammed down on the monster, punching him over and over.
"Ugh..." The beast groaned in pain, his face bruised and bloody. He gave him one last punch, knocking out the monster. "Hehhh." He breathed out, getting off the creature. "Suberboy, the support beams!" He heard Aqualad say, and punches out three in quick succession, but he was surprised when the cave-in was so quick. He felt someone grab his suit and was whisked away from the debris.
~~~~~~~~~
Aqualad snaps a glow stick to create a light source. Robin stands with his back to Aqualad, looking to the cave in, while Kid Flash leans heavily on the wall, he was calmly standing beside Miss Martian, taking a moment to gather his thoughts.
"How can my first mission as leader go so wrong?" Robin questions. He raised an eyebrow. He wasn't aware that Robin was the leader.
Aqualad sets down the two pieces of the glow stick before looking at the youngest member of their team. "You do have the most experience. But perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared." He watched the interaction. "Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are clearly defined. You two do not need to talk. But this team is new. And a leader needs to be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play a part in an unknown plan."
Robin turns and physically swipes the idea away. "Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands?" Then looks down with a pained groan. "Ah, who am I kidding?" he questions, entirely to himself and with a note of pain in his words. "I mean, Superboy is only a few months old and led this mission better than me. Maybe you should be the leader, Superboy. You were the one who focused on the mission while I argued about who should be leader."
"Please!" Kid Flash shouts. "I can run circles-" "Wally, come on." Robin cuts him off, even using his secret ID in the field. "You know he's the one, we all do."
The speedster slumps. "Yeah, I guess." Everybody looked at him expectedly. "If you guys want to, then sure." He said. "But I would like to have Aqualad as my second in command. I need someone's opinions that are different then mine, and I feel like Aqualad is a good choice."
Aqualad looked at him and bowed slightly. "Thank you, my friend. I hope to be able to live up to your expectations."
"Yeah, no problem." He then looked at them seriously. "I expect you to listen to my orders when I tell you to do them. And I don't want any disappearing acts." He looked at Robin.
"Jeez, leader for one minute and already a hardass." Wally muttered. "I heard that." The boys eyes snapped to his in shock. "Super-hearing." Wally blushed in embarrassment.
"Alright, our priority is preventing that shipment from leaving the island." He tells them. Robin smirks. "I had the same thought."
"Sportsmaster's the supplier-slash-buyer," Robin says as they run down the mine tunnel. "But it still doesn't track. He doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster formula or to get Kobra to do his dirty work."
"And neither of them has the skill to bond Blockbuster with Venom." Kid Flash agrees. "That took some major nerdage."
"I believe the expression is 'tip of the iceberg'." Aqualad states, coming to a stop as they see Bane standing in front of their exit. Something long and metal was dropping from his grip. Joining at least half a dozen more just like it on the ground.
"Halt, niños." Bane commands, something bright green sticking out of his left hand. "I'm feeling explosive." He should have killed the man when he had the chance. He noticed that his right arm was still broken. Bane's eyes were focused on him, knowing he was the most dangerous one in the room.
"You betrayed us, why?" He almost wanted to slap Aqualad on the back of his head.
"Kid, get that trigger." He says through the mind link, the ginger does as he's told and slowly starts taking steps backward.
"So, I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying." He smirks proudly before continuing. He wanted to punch the smirk off the guy's face. "If the latter, the Justice League would certainly come to avenge their sidekicks. And when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more." he holds out the trigger. "Blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect." he didn't notice the blur and went to hit the button on to find it missing.
"With what?" Kid Flash's voice asks from behind the supervillain. Leaning smugly against a nearby tree as Bane turns to him. "This trigger thingy?" He continues to taunt, showing Bane the still-intact trigger in his hand.
Bane went to go punch Wally but was pulled back and away by an unseen force, M'gann's telekinesis. Now, being held a good ten feet off the ground, he felt threw a punch, sending the Luchador flying.
~~~~~~~~
Kid Flash ran in, taking out two of the guards. "M'gann, take care of the guards." He told her telepathically. Sportsmaster starts shooting at him, he dodges the bullets, and makes it to Sportsmaster. He punches the guy, knocking him out. He quickly checks the man's pockets and takes out a vial of the serum.
He enters and sees the crates inside. He destroys it, making sure nothing is left. Exiting the helicopter, he noticed most of the enemies were knocked out. Only Robin was left, pinned under King Kobra. He sped towards the man, punching him. He was launched into the forest, and he went to find the man, finding his form down. He picked him and brought him back to the others.
"Fake Voldemort looking ass." He snorted in amusement. He placed the guy on the ground. "Where's Sportsmaster?" He asked them. "He disappeared." Aqualad said. "What? I knocked him out. How did he wake up and leave?"
"We don't know." Said Robin. He sighed. "You know what? It's fine." He couldn't care, he already destroyed the supply of Kobra-Venom that Sportsmaster had on him. And he destroyed everything on the helicopter.
"We picked the right guy to lead." Robin tells him sincerely. He was about to smile before Robin continued. "Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!" Then walks away laughing. "You little shit." He shouted at the boy.
[Mount Justice]
"A simple recon mission." Batman gets within inches of his face, berating him. He stayed calm. "Observe and report!" Then backs off. "You'll each receive written evaluations detailing your many mistakes." Batman walks past all five, who stand at full attention.
"Until then: good job." The others' heads snap up in shock, then look at Batman out of the corner of their eyes. "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy." All of them relax, even he did. "How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success." He watched as Batman continued. "And how you choose who leads determines character." He looked at him, his eyes narrowed.
"You're dismissed." He went to his room, taking off his suit and taking a shower. He thought about his fight with Blockbuster. Something happened that made him stronger. His punches weren't doing much damage until they did. Was it that the angrier he got, the stronger he was? No, he wasn't that angry.
He remembered Doomsday, a monster that Superman struggled against and lost to. One that adapted at an alarming rate. Did he adapt to the monster? It seemed that the more stressed he was against the monster, the stronger he got. Even now, he could tell it wasn't temporary, he felt the power coursing through him.
He needed to find a way to test this, but his real question was, where did he get it from?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[A/N]
Now, I know I don't update this or my other stories a lot, but here's a chapter. If you have any questions, just ask. If you're wondering how Superboy's suit looks, then think of the black suit Superman wore when he was injured against Doomsday, but with a black cape.