Kristen's Pov
I sat with my head in my hands on the steps in front of the zeta tubes. The Team and I sat impatiently on the top floor in the Tower. We hadn't even gotten out of our suits or caught up with ourselves before we were called up here.
And let me say this, I was really mad.
"This is pointless," I mumbled. I stood, a bit too quickly, and began pacing. Dick stopped his conversation with Tim and stared at me. "What?"
"You need to calm down before you go in there," He smirked, although I couldn't find anything funny. That mission was a complete failure, and he was smiling.
"Calm? We just had our asses handed to us!" I stopped, grabbing the attention of everyone else. "And the Justice League? Too busy to deal with the Light? I call bullshit!"
"She's right you know," Tim spoke up, looking from the floor to Dick, with a serious expression on his face. "Don't tell us you haven't noticed they've been a bit checked out lately."
"Are you serious? It's the League. This team was formed in spite of them, we should be used to this by now," He turned to all of us, then landed on me. "We've been working with them for over a year now. You said it yourself, we don't have room for doubt."
I scoffed, turning away to avoid his burning stare. Even though he was right. But I was in the heat of the moment and some part of me was right too. "Tim, what did you find?"
He was silent for a moment as if trying to remain innocent. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about you hacking their system," I smiled at the look of shock on his face. "You're one of the best hackers we have. And you were pretty pissed before we left. So tell us, what did you find out?"
"Nothing. They must have a separate system I don't know about for special clearance mission reports. Batman changed the firewall...again," He looked embarrassed, but he didn't seem done. "They have been absent, though, no doubt. We just have to figure out where they've been."
I nodded. A part of me should have definitely felt guilty about going behind their backs. But I'm kind of fed up of being treated like kids. We worked too hard for that. "Are we sure we want to do this?"
I patted M'gann on the shoulder with a grim look. "We were so close to figuring out Savage's game plan. I'm tired of secrets."
"Well, you're about to uncover them," Artemis was at the other end of the room by the elevators. "The League's ready for us."
"It sounds like we're having a meeting with our bosses," I followed everyone into the metal box and watched as the doors closed.
"Technically," Dick said from behind me. "They are our bosses."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A table had risen in the middle of the room. It was a place I hadn't been allowed to see, and judging by a few faces, I wasn't the only one. This was the League's mission room. What an honor.
"Thank you for joining us today, especially after your mission," Wonder Woman started the meeting, addressing everyone around us. Not all of the League was here of course. Sitting around me were Superman, Batman, Canary, Manhunter, Flash, Icon, Captain Marvel, Green Arrow, Tornado and Wonder Woman.
"I want an explanation," I started right off the bat, even if it was a bit rude. Beside me, Dick gripped my hand; a warning. I gave him a glare, "I want an explanation as to why we've basically been on our own for the past few months."
I saw Bruce squint his eyes in my direction, but I ignored it. Everyone else was apparently too guilty to look any of us in the eye. "Well?"
"You are correct about our absence," Tornado started.
"And we are here to inform you that our space mission was not just a failure," Canary was speaking now like she was trying to redeem her straight lie earlier. "For the past few months, a select few of the League have been under Darkseid's hold."
Silence. I was speechless. This could not be the truth. Something we could've noticed. I looked at Artemis but she was just as shocked. She sat forward, "Why weren't we told about this?"
"We had to keep it under wraps and avoid any chance the press could get a hold of it," Superman replied. He was looking at Conner.
"And don't you think someone would've noticed!" Conner's voice was rising to a dangerous level, but he knew the real problem, too. We hadn't noticed.
"We had the Team," Batman spoke up, defending his own. "You are heroes in this world, too. They look up to you, too."
"We are a covert ops team. We work in the shadows, we're not a public face," Dick too, looked embarrassed. We had been used. "There's no way the media would have held on to that!"
"But you weren't the only ones," M'gann's soft voice echoed throughout the entire room. She looked to Conner first, and then to her uncle. "My uncle and I have been assisting the absence."
There was a definite psychic conversation between the couple, and it couldn't have been good. Conner had his permanent scowl on. He looked at the table, "Who was held hostage?"
"These select few included me, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Tornado, Dr. Fate, and Hawkman," Superman spoke, putting our questions at ease.
I sat forward in my seat, ready to jump up. "Those are all powerhouses! How did this even happen in the first place?"
I knew I shouldn't have said that. I had insulted great heroes, and Wonder Woman looked as if she was ready to pulverize my face. Luckily, she kept her cool.
"Darkseid's armada has gotten an upgrade, they aren't just monsters. They are monsters with our powers. We had asked the other half of the team to fall back and head to Earth."
"They managed to escape with a boom tube, and we have it in Examination as we speak," Icon said. He folded his hands in front of him. "Maybe we could use it as means of traveling back to Apokolips in the near future."
"As far as the experiments are going," Karen stood. I forgot she was going to debrief us here. I momentarily pushed aside the League's issue. "They've stopped. Luthor was talking about accelerating some sort of process. They talked about releasing the successful projects, their weapons, onto Earth."
"So we should be expecting super humans?" Superman asked.
"I'm pretty sure, something like what the Reech did with their meta-gene," Karen nodded in response. "But I wouldn't be hoping for anything good."
That was the last straw. I had failed. You know you could've done something more. I shook my head, "Well, what should we do about them? They are just kids."
"We've decided that if this was to happen," Wonder Woman's voice echoed throughout the room. "That if there was a risk, in terms of a mole, to the Team and the League, we would call a code red."
Dick gripped my hand, preventing me from opening my mouth. He was probably thinking the same thing I was. Canary took over for Wonder Woman. "Code Red means both teams are on lock down. No one goes in or out. And only a select few members of your Team are allowed in the Tower."
"You're kicking us out?" I squeezed Dick's hand, just to release some extra energy.
"Temporarily, yes," Canary answered. "Only Tigress, Guardian and Nightwing are going to be allowed in the Tower for the time being."
Artemis I understood, she was one of our leaders, and Malcolm lead plenty of our missions from the Hall, but I don't understand why Kaldur wasn't added to the list. Suspicion grew in my head, but I tried my best to suppress it.
"And now?" Malcolm cut me off. He looked my way, warning me not to cut in. "What do we do now?"
"We're waiting for intel," Canary replied. "The only reason Aquaman and Aqualad are not present in this meeting is because they're on a recon mission following Black Manta."
"And that's where our question for you comes in," Bruce hadn't spoken in a while, and I was startled to hear his voice. "As a team, knowing your leader, is Aqualad fit to pursue Manta?"
I was confused, but in the back of my head, the answer gnawed at my brain. I scrunched up my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," He paused and took a deep breath. "I mean, does Kaldur'ahm know where his loyalties lie?"
"You too?" I glanced at Dick, but then again, what did I expect? "Yes, Aqualad is under a tough position considering Manta is his father, but that doesn't mean he's going to turn his back on us. We know where his loyalties are."
"There is always room for precautions, Scarlet," Wonder Woman cut in. "Batman is just looking out for the future of the Team."
"Yes, I get that," I ran a hand through my hair. Frustration flowing through my body. "But Kaldur is our leader, our friend, and I refuse to believe the worst in him."
"You're being naive if you decide to ignore this, Scarlet," Bruce stared me down, maybe deciphering my reasoning behind my anger. Let him, go ahead and study me.
"Call it faith, faith in my Team. If I am to do my job well here, I need to be able to trust those around me," I stood, shaking off Dick's grip. "You know what? I'm done here."
"Kris, wait!" Dick hissed my name. I turned to him with a look of apology. He was desperate to keep me from loosing my place on the Team, but if that's what was going to happen. Let it happen.
"No, I've heard enough for today."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dick's Pov
I sighed and sat back down in my seat. If I knew one thing for sure in here anymore, it's that Bruce is going to be super pissed at Kris' reaction.
"I know what you're going to say."
Bruce's facial expression hadn't changed in the past thirty minutes we've been here. He looks me straight in the eye, challenging me. "You're going to question Scarlet, and her place on the Team, but here's my argument. She's looking out for her own. She believes the best in all of us, and that's why she reacted so badly to this meeting."
"He does have a point there, Batman," Canary rushed to my defense before Bruce could get his word in. "I've seen her around the Team. She cares a lot, more than she probably should, but she cares."
"And maybe," I cut her off. "Maybe even to the point where she would be okay if you kicked her out right now. She's willing to sacrifice everything for us. Even if it's her downfall."
Bruce grunted, and I knew what that meant. He's considering his options. So maybe for once I've changed a part of him. "I haven't spent as much time training her as I should have, so I will let it slide. But let me make it clear. She has a job to do, and we can't have our heads in the clouds."
I clenched my jaw, of course, he would say that. But I'm just glad he didn't kick her off. "It won't happen again."
"As for the rest of you," Batman turned to the other members. "Code Red goes for the Team as well. We have to be careful in the next few months. I have a feeling we're going to know why very soon. Dismissed."
Just like that, it was over. I thought about talking to him after this was over but I decided against it. I had to go talk to Kristen. Before she does something reckless.
"Dick," Tim ran up to me, catching the next elevator ride. "Should I keep going with the hack?"
"Honestly?" I turned to face him. "I don't know. It seems to me they told all there was to tell."
"But?"
"But, the Team and the League are not in sync," I stared at the numbers rising slowly. "We have intel they don't, and we have no idea what to do with it. For example, the League has possession of the parts Manta had at STAR Labs, but we still have the key, most likely connecting to that weapon."
"We're being torn apart," Tim concluded, and I nodded. This was more than just secrets. We weren't working together anymore, and I had a good guess that this is what the Light wanted. "So I'll keep you posted?"
"For now," I smirked, and entered the zeta-tube.
I checked the Hall. She wasn't in the mission room, or the training room, so I headed back for Gotham. Maybe she was on patrol. Quickly, I did a sweep over the main city and our targetted suburb. She wasn't there, could I be looking in the wrong place?
I dropped by an apartment, hoping it was the right one. Silently, I checked the window by the fire escape. She was sitting on her bed, with a woman that seemed around her early thirties. The conversation seemed very forced. Kris did not look calm or happy, or the least bit relaxed. I decided it was best to get back on the roof. Instead, I sent a message to her watch.
Five minutes later, she climbed over the ledge. She only stood there, arms crossed, looking anywhere except at me. "Do you want me to say something first?"
She looked up from the cement, "I don't know, what did they say in there?"
"You still have your spot on the Team," I watched her body relax, but I was not done. "But Bruce isn't happy, and we have to try and keep the League and the Team together."
"You're talking about the riddle, aren't you?" I didn't reply. "Well, then why don't we just say something?"
"We can't, we've had our history of moles in the past," A flash of Roy's clone passed my mind. "It'll just make things worse."
We stood against the wind, looking over the city. The bat signal was up again, as usual. But this time, neither of us were swinging around the metal jungle. We were a lot farther from finishing this war than we thought.
"We should head back soon," I looked down at Kris, she had crossed her arms again. See here's the thing, Kris reminded me so much of...her. Is that why we're like....this? Whatever this even is? But I don't want to use her like that.
She meant a lot to me, I mean I caved and told her my identity, while only knowing her for less than half a year. And she was sure as hell out of my league. Since when did I get like this?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Heroes,
That was hard for me to write since it was just talking back and forth, but I hope I gave everyone some significant hints.
I hope you enjoyed as well. Please share and vote.
Thanks, and stay whelmed, see you next week!