Green Lantern's Protégée

44: "Well, Team, we got some heroes to beat up."

The Dark Knight's words set stone on Cyra's shoulders, but a scorching light inside of her shook them off.

"No!" she stated with iron-clad bolts that caused the Leaguers and her own teammates to blink. "I'm not buying it! Before the League said they weren't going to investigate and that it was a Team problem, remember that, RT? But suddenly you guys have all the information? How? And if you had it before, why didn't you tell us? And how'd you even find out?"

"You've never been completely trusting of Red Arrow, Green Lantern," Batman glared.

"No, I haven't," Cyra admitted. "But he isn't that bad once you get past the jerk parts. I demand evidence!"

Aqualad's hand fell on the blonde's shoulder, cutting off any more arguments. "The clone Roy, the Team will find him," Aqualad promised.

  "Negative. Red Arrow's a member of the Justice League now. Leave him to us." The hero's wrist beeped. "I'm needed on the Watchtower. Tornado, stay with the kids."

Another vibration on her finger. Cyra twisted her ring uncomfortably.

With that, Batman rushed out of the Cave, bidding goodbye with the Zeta Beam flash of light.

Aqualad turned back to his team, his eyes narrowed in dangerous determination. "Clone or no clone, Red Arrow was one of us. We will go after him."

Cyra huffed, her jaw clenching.

Kid Flash tugged her to the side. "Hey, I'm not anymore happy about this than you are, but it's our mission to finish this. You know that."

"I don't believe it."

"I don't want to, but the League wouldn't lie. The evidence—"

"Doesn't exist!" Cyra cut him off, flinging her hands into the air. "We have no proof of anything Batman is saying!"

"You think he'd just lie to us?" Kid Flash snapped. "I wish it wasn't true, but right now, it's looking pretty bad."

Cyra paused, her words freezing on her tongue as she caught a good look at the speedster. His shoulders were slumped and his breathing ragged. Wally knew Red Arrow much longer than Cyra, and actually liked him and looked up to him. Cyra sighed.

"Fine," she succumbed. "If you think this is the right thing to do, then I'm in."

Wally smirked, but it wasn't nearly as bright as his regular ones. "I knew you loved me."

"I'd love you to shut up."

Red Tornado took a step towards them before static crackled through his metallic mouth. His head slumped down. The Team circled around the robot.

"Tornado!" M'gann explained.

"What happened to him?" Connor asked.

"He's totally powered down," Kid Flash observed.

Robin tapped away on his holographic watch. "All functions offline."

"Guys, I'm sensing a low-level mystical force at play," Zatanna said, her fingers to her temples as her eyes fluttered behind closed eyelids. "I-I don't know if it caused his shutdown, but now that I think about it, I was getting the same buzz off Batman."

Cyra ring dinged on her finger. "Yes! Batman kept calling us sidekicks."

"And kids," Robin added. "He never does that."

"Look," Kid Flash pointed out. He plucked a gray and red little starfish shaped device from Red Tornado's hand. "One of those biotech chops we confiscated off Cheshire."