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Chloe's POV
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I had always loved snow. I still remember the first time I saw it, I was terrified. I thought the world was ending. But, once I stepped out into it, and threw a snowball into Wally's face, I realized it wasn't that bad. Except for the cold. The cold part was horrible. Currently, Karen, Jaime, and I were on the way to Bibbo's Dinner. Ever since we discovered that the real Bibbo was with the Krolos, we decided to investigate.
"It's so cold." I said as I rubbed my arms. Jaime nodded in agreement as he shivered, and Karen pulled the hood of her coat over her head to keep herself warm. "C'mon, we're almost there." Karen said as she picked up her pace. "Do you think they have hot chocolate there?" I asked as I ran a bit to keep up with Karen. "M-maybe." Jaime said as his teeth chattered. My boyfriend didn't do well with the cold, but neither did I so I couldn't talk. Finally, I saw the neon pink letters of 'Bibbo's' in the distance.
As we walked in, I heard good old Gordon G's voice coming from the T.V. What a great start to a mission. Fake Bibbo grabbed two menus and made his way over to us. Karen pulled down her hood while me and Jaime looked around the restaurant to see if anything was out of place. "Sit anywhere kids." Fake Bibbo said as he began to hand us menus, but paused to study our faces. He gasped and did a double take when he realized who we were.
He launched himself from the counter and dove to the back of the kitchen. "Well that's one way to do it." I said as we all looked at each other. We immediately ran to the back. Karen threw her mask over her face and went to tiny size, while Jaime's armor covered him. Me? I struggled a bit more. I threw off my coat to reveal the top part of my suit, quickly throwing my mask over my face, not bothering with the hood. My pants and sneakers still remained, so I disintegrated them with my beams. M'gann always asks how I run out of clothes so quickly.
We all quickly flew after Fake Bibbo, who could run surprisingly fast. There was an upcoming fence, which had to be at least 8 feet tall, and he hopped it. He hopped an 8 foot fence. Some great acting that Krolo was putting on for a middle aged man. Karen quickly flew through a small hole in the fence, but Jaime didn't have enough time to fly over it, so he covered his face with his hands and smashed right through it.
"Just a reminder, Nightwing said no property damage." I said as I flew next to him. "Yeah yeah, Scarab reminded me too." He said as he continued flying. Fake Bibbo was almost to the street, but then real Bibbo jumped out of nowhere and punched him square in the jaw, causing him to fall back in the snow. "There's only one Bibbo, and don't you forget it." He said as he rubbed his now sore fist. Fake Bibbo's mechanical chest opened to reveal the tiny Krolo piloting the machine. The Krolo quickly jumped to the wall and began to climb along it, dodging my blasts. He jumped to a sewer drain and quickly pulled it off.
It was Karen's turn to fire. She hit the Krolo in the shoulder, causing him to fall back into the sewer. He landed in a small ship, which he quickly turned on, and a large trail of fire following the ignition of the machine. We all took a step back and covered our faces as a wall of flames erupted from the sewer. "Your hair!" Jaime exclaimed as I looked to see a small edge of my ponytail on fire. I quickly patted it out, leaving it a bit black, and making me frown. I also realized my mask had disintegrated, Karen's too.
"Boy, that practically singed my eyebrows off." Bibbo said, not realizing that his eyebrows were quite literally signed off. The only person's suit that wasn't damaged was Jaime's, who only had a bit of soot and ash covering his suit. "Yeah, practically." Jaime said as he looked at Bibbo's now bare eyebrows. "Uh, you got a little something..." Jaime said as he pointed to both our faces. "Blue, scan for it!" Karen and I both exclaimed. 'Right, right! Scanning." He said as his eyes turned yellow while he scanned. I desperately kept trying to fix my partially burned hair as he continued to scan.
He sighed as his eyes turned back to normal. "Sorry, nothing. He's gone." He said after a minute. Then he frowned and placed a hand to his head. "No, it would not have been preferable to vaporize him back at the diner!" He said to Scarab. He turned to see Karen and Bibbo's concerned and confused looks, and my face of amusement. He gave a tiny smile. I sighed and turned to Bibbo. "You wouldn't happen to have any hot chocolate, would you?" I asked him. He smiled, and I almost hoped he would start singing the 'Hot Chocolate' song from the Polar Express movie.
"3 hot chocolates coming up." Bibbo replied, and I sighed in relief as I thought of the warm drink.
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"Remember, this is primarily a recon mission. We want to discover all we can about the Kroloteans invasion strategy, before we shut them down and deliver them to the Green Lantern Corps." Batman stated. We were currently flying to Malina Island in Bioship, to do a 'recon' mission on the final Krolotean hideout. But if there's one thing I learned from Wally, it's that no mission with the team is ever a recon mission.
I also felt like an absolute 7th wheel, as Aquaman and Lagoon Boy were on one team, and Barbara, Dick, Batman, and Robin III were another. I was kind of just hanging with the Bat fam I guess, but Dick insisted that I should come for some reason. "Approaching drop zone Beta." Dick announced to Aquman and Lagoon Boy, who were ready to drop off in the back of the Bioship. They dropped, and we kept flying.
"Drop zone, Gamma." Nightwing announced, and the rest of us prepared to drop. Barbara and Robin III quickly took out the first two guards standing by the main entrance, while Batman took out the last himself. We slowly made our way in, Nightwing signaling for Barabar and Robin III to take either left and right sides, while I went with him. I quickly realize that the Krolos aren't alone, they were with Black Manta and some of his soldiers. Now I realized why Dick wanted me to come.
They were also building a large rocket ship, because why not? Who doesn't want to escape? But then, Manta began to shoot at the water where Lagoon Boy and Aquaman are, and I realized that he knows we're here. Two of his guards spot Robin III, and fire their weapons at him, but he dodges. I guess Wally is right about some things. Batman takes down the two guards firing at Robin III just as more come at him, which me, Barbara, and Dick take down. Like I said, I'm the 7th wheel. Robin III takes out two more guards with his bow staff, while Aquaman and Lagoon Boy emerge from the water and take down the guards that were firing at him.
The Krolos also realize that we are here, and send some robot mech things on us. This mission just keeps getting better and better. I jump down and help Aquaman and Lagoon Boy fight off the Mechs, while the other 4 keep busy up top on the rafters with Manta's guards. I watch as Aquaman goes for Manta, but instead gets hit on the shoulder by one of Manta's red eye beams, and lands back hard.
"Nightwing to Delta Squad, enemy is attempting escape, requesting backup." I hear Dick say over comms. I watch as a red laser comes through a nearby cave wall, the rocks' rubble destroying a nearby mech going for Aquaman. Superman comes in through the hole carrying Super Boy, Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl following behind. Great, now I'm the 12th wheel. Don't get me wrong, John mentors me sometimes with my powers, but I don't have that close of a relationship with him.
I watch as Superman throws Conner towards the ceiling, allowing Conner to destroy 4 mechs. Superman also takes down a few of his own. Wonder Woman and Cassie also take down a few mechs. I hear a loud slamming noise, and I see Black Manta go flying across the room after getting punched by Aquaman. His mask falls off, only to reveal Kaldur as he stands up. Now I realize why Dick definitely wanted me to be here.
"I had not believed Nightwing until this moment." Aquaman says as he looks at Kaldur. "You did not want to believe!" Kaldur angrily fired back. "None of us wanted to believe this! How could you betray us?" Conner exclaims as he walks up next to Lagoon Boy, me following behind. "You dare question me! After all of you let Tula die!" Kaldur exclaims angrily as he makes two water swords.
"Kaldur, that was a mission. Aquagirl knew the risks, no one wanted-" Dick began as he jumped down from the rafters, but Lagoon Boy interrupted. "Neptune's Beard! Don't cobble this traitor, he has joined forces with our King's greatest enemy!" Lagoon Boy exclaimed. "You mean the King who hid from me the true identity of my father." Kaldur fired back. "That was my error, Kaldur'ahm. No one else needs to suffer for it." Aquaman says calmly. "All will suffer if Black Manta demands it. Blood is thicker than seawater." Kaldur says. Damn, he's a good actor.
Suddenly, a tiny missile fired from his suit. I quickly make a shield, blocking everyone from the explosion. Once the smoke clears, Kaldur is gone, and I notice a nearby hole in the wall. I look at Dick, and he nods, and we quickly follow after him. "Kaldur." Dick says as he and I face him. He turns to us, and I wink and smile while he returns with a small smile and nods. Then he frowned, and acting mode was back on again. "Just you and me, old friends?" He said as he prepared his swords, and I watched Conner slide down from a tunnel.
"No! It's a regular reunion special." Conner says as he gets in his fighting stance, me and Dick preparing too. Then Kaldur drops his swords, and they plop into water. "Fine, you can take me down, or you can save everyone from this bomb." He said as he turned. My eyes widen as I see a weird 'U' shaped black and gold piece of metal stuck on a nearby support beam. I didn't think we were going this far.
"I am told the yield is quite impressive." He said as he turned back to us. Conner lets out an angry grunt and charges towards us, but Kaldur simply throws his fist up, knocking Conner back. He turns and grabs Conner's neck, using his electricity bracelet to shock him. "You have two minutes." Kaldur says as he looks at us and lets Conner go, then diving into a nearby pool of water. "We have a bomb down here, alien tech. I cannot disarm it." Nightwing says over comms. "I can take care of it." Conner says as he steps forward. "No! It might have pressure or motion sensors. All squads, evacuate to Bioship. Now!" Dick says over comms.
I exchanged glances with Conner, and then looked at Dick. He nodded, and we ran back up the tunnels. "Listen, listen to me!" I hear Superman say to the remaining Krolos as the rest of the squad flees. Then I realize, he's trying to help them get out. I fly up to him for support. "Listen! I'm not trying to hurt you! A bomb is set to explode beneath this base, but there are too many of you to carry individually. But if you can board your ship, we can fly you all to safety!" He tries to explain, and I nod in agreement. But the Krolos aren't too good at listening.
"Superman, watch out!" I say as I throw a shield up, just as the Krolos start firing at us. "Please!" Superman begs. "We're just trying to help!" I also try, but they still don't listen. "Superman, we have to get out!" I say as the Krolos continue to fire bombs at us. But it was too late, I saw the wall of fire coming at us, but I didn't wrap my shield around us quick enough. Superman shielded me with his own body, and I felt a wave of pressure hit us, then everything went black.
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Conner's POV
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I watched as Aquaman pulled Chloe and Superman aboard the ship. Wonder Woman put Superman's head in her lap, while I put Chloe's head in mine. She touched Chloe's shoulder and put a hand under Superman's head, then closed her eyes. "They're both breathing, pulses strong. They will both be fine." She said, and the whole room breathed a sigh of relief. "They didn't save the Kroloteans. Neither of them will be alright with that." I said as I turned to face Wonder Woman, who nodded in agreement.
"What... just happened?" Wonder Girl asked. "The Kroloteans were clearly trying to build a new ship." M'gann replied. "They had to angelfish, it was their only way to leave Earth without their zeta platforms." La'gann replied. I wish Chloe was conscious so she could make a gagging face with me. "But was Aqualad helping them escape, or luring them into a trap?" Wonder Girl asked.
"The bomb was of alien origin. Yet, the Kroloteans clearly knew nothing about it. So where did it come from?" Dick asked no one in particular. "I have the feeling it might be up to you and your team to find out." Batman replied.
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Chloe's POV
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I woke up in my own room, and I tried to recall what happened. Then I remembered the bomb. I sat up and gasped. "Hey, hey, hey, you're okay." I heard Jaime's voice from next to me. I turned to look at him. "The bomb. What happened?" I asked. He looked down. "Nightwing told us that you and Superman stayed behind to try and save the Kroloteans, but it failed, and you two ended up in the explosion. They dragged your bodies out of the water, and you were still unconscious when you zeated back." He explained.
I put my hands over my face. "So the Krolos...?" I asked. "Probably dead." He said. I sighed. "Hey, mi amore, I'm just glad you're okay. I mean, you did just accidentally get caught up in an explosion." He said as he pulled me into a hug. "Yeah, but they just didn't understand that I was trying to save them." I said angrily as I leaned into his hug. He ran a hand through my hair and kissed my forehead. "Well, I'm glad you woke up when you did. The 6 accused Leaguers are heading to Rimbor to stand trial for their space crimes. I figured you wanted to say goodbye to John since he's leaving too." Jaime said. I slowly nodded. "I'll be right back." I say as I get up off the bed after a minute.
I made my way out of the room and to the beach, where I found the Leaguers and some of the team members getting ready for departure. I first made my way over to Superman, who was talking to Conner. "Sorry to interrupt," I began as both turned to me, "but I just wanted to thank you for saving me earlier, and sorry about the Kroloteans." Superman smiled at me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you for staying behind. I am sorry as well." He said. I nodded and walked off, towards John.
"John, we need to talk." I said to him just as Captain Adam walked away. He turned to me, and I could see the concern lacing his face. He gave a nod. I took a deep breath. "It's about one of your Green Lantern friends, Hal Jordan." I said as I played with my hair. His eyebrows raised. "Do you know where he is? The Corps hasn't heard from him in a while." John said as he crossed his arms. I have a tiny nod. "A year ago, when I got my memories back, my final memories were being sent to invade Earth, alone. As I was being sent out I was attacked by your friend, Hal. I was knocked unconscious, and my sister took your friend." I said really fast, and John's face remained the same.
I gulped. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know that he was missing, I should have told you. I assumed he had gotten out. I didn't even know-" I began to ramble, but John placed a hand on my shoulder. "Chloe, it's fine. But for future reference, it's very rare to escape a Helman prison. I'll tell the Corps, and they'll look into it." He said as he gave me a smile. I returned it. Then Batman came over. "John, it's time to go." He said in his normal gruff voice, to which John nodded.
"You gonna be okay, kid?" He asked me. "I'll try." I said, giving him another smile. Then I hugged him. I could tell he wasn't expecting it, it took him a second to hug me back. "Thank you, for everything." I said as I pulled away. "Anytime kid, I'll see you when we get back." He said. I nodded, and he walked off. He began to make a green bubble around the Leaguers.
"May the gods be with you all." Wonder Woman said as it closed. The green bubble slowly turned into a large space ship, and the wind picked up as they turned and took off towards space. We all stood there for a minute, then Captain Atom was the first to walk back to the cave, the rest of us following.
"How'd it go?" Jaime asked as I walked back into the room. "Fine. They probably won't be back for a few months." I said as I sat back down next to him on the bed. "What movie are we watching?" I asked as he wrapped an arm around me. "Disney?" He asked. "Disney." I agreed.