-AU where the team never met the league... but they did meet each other-
-CW for mentions of infected drug strains, and themes of poverty-
They'd intercepted a fentanyl-laced drug handoff before it could reach the public, but they'd taken quite the beating in the process.
"Well what do we do with this junk?" Artemis kicked one of the boxes. "We can't sell it, we can't smoke it, we can't dump it in the ocean or bury it..."
"Tomorrow we'll drop it outside a police station or something." Wally said, smothering ointment over the fat purple welt on his cheek.
"I don't trust them enough for that." Artemis replied, pacing around the dilapidated house they were squatting in. It was a temporary situation, but it was a roof over their heads.
"I'm on for dinner." Dick turned on the camping stove, rustling around the duffle bag of stolen food. He held up a can. "Veggie soup good for everyone?"
They murmured in approval. "Can I help?"M'gann asked, struggling to maintain her humanoid shape as she swayed across the threadbare carpet to him.
Kaldur sat in the corner, quietly examining his black eye in the broken mirror. he turned to the most standoffish of the group. "Are you hurt?"
"No." Conner replied. "...I lost my shirt."
"We'll find another one." Kaldur assured, shrugging off his hoodie and draping it over the younger boy's shoulders. "Take this for now."
The evening was cold and long, drawing the humans around the camping stove for warmth. The others could tolerate the cold better, but the dark chill of winter still bit though their souls.
They were running low on food. They might to send Wally for more; he was usually too fast to be seen, and always too fast to be caught.
"I swear I can see my breath." Artemis said.
"Oh, defiantly." Dick said.
M'gann exhaled, watching the vapor fade and disperse.
"We're going to need propane for the stove if you keep burning it all night." Conner remarked.
"That's a risk I'll take." Wally replied through his shaking jaw. It was freezing, and no matter how fast he vibrated he could feel his toes going numb.
"We've been monitoring a cocaine ring for about three months now. We were able to trace a lot of Gotham's fentanyl overdoses back to them."
"Are we ready to close in?" Arrow asked.
"Not yet... you see, last night a handoff was intercepted." Batman continued. "A small shipment was stolen by an unknown group, possibly another gang."
"So, we're seeking justice for the drug smugglers?"
"More like we're trying to get a read on this new group." Wonderwoman corrected. "They have to be pretty powerful to hijack a shipment like that, but there's no sign as to who they are."
"And more importantly, what are they planning to do with it?
"We only have a couple leads:" Bats gestured to a bag on the table. "We also found a throwing knife and a couple arrows at the scene. As well as this shirt. Looks like it had superman's shield on it, but it's pretty torn up..."
Clark lowered his eyes, an unmovable shame and disappointment solidifying itself. Then he was mad; who could do such a thing and think they could get away with wearing his symbol?
"Any blood?" Flash asked.
"Not that I can tell, I'm hoping to run it for DNA and see if we can get a description of the person who was wearing it. Worst case, we can check hospitals and morgues." Bats nodded seriously. "Dismissed, we'll meet again when those lab results are in."
The night was even colder than the evening, six bodies huddled together for warmth under a mismatch of old, thinning blankets and unzipped sleeping bags.
"Arty?" Dick hissed.
"Mhm?"
"How are we gonna get rid of all this coke?"
"...we'll figure something out." She promised. "We have every time so far."
"Yeah, yeah." The thirteen year old agreed. "You're right."
"Results." Flash announced, entering the main room. "There's good news and bad news."
"What do you mean?" Clark asked.
"Well on one hand we should be able to ID the person.. on the other... well..." Flash blew out a slow, heavy breath. "According to the skin cells from the fibers, they aren't human."
"...come again?"
"They're human-like, but they resemble, well... the computer IDed the wearer as Superman."
"What?" Wonderwoman turned to her colleague.
"I was here when the highjack took place." Clark explained. "I don't... I don't know how..."
"This situation just gets weirder and weirder." Arrow observed.
The morning dawned frigid and clear, their breath hanging in a low cloud over the sleeping teens. Dick, who'd somehow ended up at the bottom of the pile, wriggled himself free, stepping carefully over his friends to the food bag. Breakfast wasn't something they always ate, but he was still starving from how much they'd had to dilute the soup last night. A snack bar would do, they were pretty light on food at the moment.
"Wally." He hissed. "Wally!"
"What?" The boy groaned, rolling over.
"Your body's going to eat itself." He pressed another snack bar into his friend's spotted hand.
"Thanks."
The boys sat down on the floor for their modest meal, Kaldur joining them shortly after.
"Hungry?"
"No thank you." The eldest teen lied, ignoring the bite of his stomach. The younger teens needed the food more. "Did you sleep well?"
"Only woke up a few times." Dick replied. The cold really made it hard to sleep, even with his friends' body heat.
"We need a grocery trip today." Wally said, rifling through their meager supplies. "I can get the stuff if someone covers me." Having someone as fast as Wally was essential to shoplifting as much food as they needed, not to mention medical supplies and hygiene.
"I volunteer Arty." Dick said, draining a another bottle. "I'll refill the water later."
"Something interesting happened at the shops today." Alfred remarked, carrying a serving tray into the cave. Bruce didn't reply, gazing wistfully into the blue screens of his dreadful computer. "...Two children were there, obviously pilfering," He set the tray down and began straitening the younger man's robe. "when the staff noticed, they took off and flew out the door at inhuman speeds."
"Thanks." Bruce took his food, proceeding not to eat it.
"Truly, it reminded me of that rather fast friend of yours from Central City."
"Flash?" The man asked, only half-listening.
"Yes, I was quite surprised to see someone with such powers in your city." He waited to see if Bruce would react. "What's distracting you?"
"I found footage from the docks, they captured part of the drug hijacking." He referred to a blurry, dark video. "Look, right between the bins."
Alfred squinted, and was barely able to make out several short figures flitting between the storage units.
"Witnesses?"
"Or suspects." Bruce stood. "We need to kind those kids."