You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged, oh I realize
It's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
The darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small
Show me a smile then
Don't be unhappy
Can't remember when
I last saw you laughing
This world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
Just call me up
'Cause I will always be there
And I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
~True Colors ~ Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake~
...December 31, 2010...
After the whole ordeal, we return to the cave. I remain quiet, still trying to grasp everything. Robin, Artemis, and Wally stay close to my side.
"We have reason to feel proud of yesterday's victories. But one thing has not changed," Kaldur says.
"Somehow, the bad guys are still getting inside intel about us," Robin says.
"Yeah, but at least we know none of us were the mole," Wally says.
"That's correct," Batman says, upon our arrival in the mission room. He turns to the computer as everyone turns to him. "The mole was Red Arrow."
"Roy?" Robin says stunned.
"No way!" Wally shouts.
"Batman, that cannot be," Kaldur says. "He was Green Arrow's protégé. We have all known him for years!"
"Unfortunately, the Roy Harper we have known for the last three years is another Project Cadmus clone," Red Tornado says.
All our eyes widen.
"We've learned the real Speedy was abducted and replaced immediately after becoming Green Arrow's sidekick. The clone was pre-programmed with a drive to join the Justice League. Which is why he was so angry over any delays to his admission and why he refused to join the Team. This Roy Harper had no idea he was a clone, or a traitor, and his subconscious programming drove him to become League worthy. So he struck out on his own, as 'Red Arrow.' And when he was finally admitted, his secondary programming kicked in and he attempted to betray the League to Vandal Savage. Fortunately, I had already deduced Red Arrow was a clone. We were prepared," Batman says.
"Savage was subdued, but Red Arrow escaped. He is now a fugitive, armed and dangerous," Red Tornado says.
"If you guys hadn't rescued me from Cadmus..." Conner starts.
"W-what happened to the real Roy?" Robin asks.
"We don't know. He isn't in Cadmus. We have to face the possibility that the real Roy Harper is dead," Batman says, causing the three ex-sidekicks to get a mixture of emotions.
"The Clone Roy, the Team will find him," Kaldur says.
"Negative. Red Arrow is a member of the Justice League now. Leave him to us," Batman says, getting a beep in his ear. "I'm needed on the Watchtower. Tornado, stay with the kids."
"Kids?" I mutter with a confused look.
"Recognized: Batman, 02."
'Clone or no clone, Red Arrow was one of us. We will go after him,' Kaldur telepathically tells us.
RT begins to walk up behind Kaldur, but freezes and powers down.
'Tornado!' Megan shouts.
'What happened to him?' Conner asks.
'He's totally powered down,' Wally says.
'All functions, offline,' Robin says, examining his computer.
'Guys, I'm sensing a low-level mystic force at play. 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,' Zatanna says.
'That explains it,' I muse.
'Batman! He called us 'kids'. He never does that!' Robin huffs.
'Look! One of those bio-tech chips we confiscated off Cheshire,' Wally says, picking something out of RT's hand.
'Something is not right. Robin, Kid, Zatanna, Rocket, see if you can get Tornado back online. The rest, with me to find Ro—Red Arrow," Kaldur instructs.
We make our way to the bioship and arrive at a run-down apartment building.
"Computer logs indicated that Red Arrow headed to the Hall from the Watchtower. But he could be anywhere by now!" Artemis says.
"After Roy went solo, he installed equipment caches in several major cities. One is here," Kaldur says as we land the ship on the roof. "I will go and find him. The rest of you stay here."
"But–" Megan starts.
"He is my best friend. I can handle him," Kaldur reassures, exiting the bioship.
"I-I will follow," I reassure the team. "He won't even know."
"Are you sure?" Artemis asks worriedly.
I nod before becoming electricity and enter into the building, following behind Kaldur.
Kaldur kicks down the door just to have Roy aim an arrow straight at him. "I have not come to harm, or apprehend you. But the Team requires answers."
"Me, first. Tell me something you haven't told anyone else. Tell me who broke your heart!" RA shouts.
"Tula. The girl I love chose my best friend, Garth, over me, while my best friend on the surface world aims an arrow at my chest."
He stands down, reassuring me to head back to the bioship.
"Is he okay?" Megan asks.
"No, his heart is broken but not from RA," I say. "They're on their way up."
"What do you mean?" Artemis asks.
"The girl he loves is dating someone else," Megan says, remembering her, Superboy, and Kaldur's adventure to the world under the water.
Artemis and Wally give each other confused looks, but understand in their own way. A few minutes later, RA and Kaldur enter the ship then we leave.
"We were told you were the mole, but we have reason to doubt," Kaldur tells RA.
"Forget doubt," RA scoffs. "I was the mole."
This earns shocked looks from everyone.
"Batman and Tornado said you are a Cadmus clone, like me," Conner blurts out.
"That explains it," RA sighs. "I was a sleeper agent pre-programmed to infiltrate the League. I think Sportsmaster was my handler. He had a key-phrase, 'Broken Arrow,' that could shut me down. It'd put me into a hypnotic state to steal secrets for his superiors or incorporate further programming. I'd then carry out all orders subconsciously, completely unaware of what drove me. I think one of those orders was to focus suspicion on the four of you." He turns to Artemis, Megan, Conner, and me. "I'm sorry."
"How did Batman discover this and prevent you from betraying the League?" Kaldur asks.
"He didn't," Roy huffs. "The entire League is under the complete mental domination of Vandal Savage. The method was something Savage referred to as 'Starro-Tech'. An alien bio-organism infused with nanotechnology and magic. It shuts down the mind's autonomy, allowing Savage to reprogram the individual to suit his needs," RA explains.
"I'm sorry, but how is it that you are no longer enslaved?" Megan asks.
"No Starrotech, for starters just my Cadmus programming," Roy explains. "And once I've satisfied its last parameter, my mind began to clear. I'm sure Savage planned to Starrotech me, but he paused, to... bask. I escaped."
"I promise I can clean any residual programming from your mind," Megan says.
Robin and the others connect to the mind link and appear in the bioship from the Supercycle.
"We have a lot of work to do," Robin says upon arrival. "And I have an idea of where to start."
~~~
We return to the cave and Robin pulls me aside.
"Bol– Daw–" he sighs. "Aura. Do you know if Joker and Harley are home?"
I sigh. "Just call me Bolt. I haven't been called Aura in years."
He smiles. "I've already decided to call you Aura."
My eyes widen. "Y-You remember the first time we met?"
"How could I forget the girl with green hair?" he jokes.
I smile as I give him a quick hug. "They shouldn't be," I answer his question. "Why?"
"Let's go get your stuff."
"Really?"
"I don't want you to be around those two any longer," Robin says.
I separate from him. "I-I can't just leave. They took care of me and–"
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter," Kaldur says.
"We won't allow you to live there any longer," Artemis says.
"You're moving in the cave regardless," Conner says.
"At least until we get Flash back," Wally says, draping an arm over my shoulders with a grin. "I'm technically your cuz!"
I look at everyone around me, tearing up. "I love you guys."
"And we love you!" Megan grins, wrapping me in a hug.
"D-do you mean it?" I ask.
"You've been a part of this family since you first went on a mission with us," Wally says.
"We should get going," Robin says, grabbing my arm. "We have a lot of work to do."
I pick him up as we exit the zeta-tube.
Storm greets me at the door, immediately getting defensive with Robin. I set down Robin and place my hand reassuringly on Storm's head.
"I'm leaving," I tell her. "I'm becoming a superhero permanently. You can stay with me or stay here. It's your choice."
She looks up at me. ~I'm staying with you.~
"Won't you miss Bud and Lou?"
~They aren't like me.~
I nod, turning to Robin. "Let's go get my things. We're leaving."
We head up the stairs to my room with Robin looking all around.
"For the house of Joker and Harley it actually looks quite normal."
"Until you see the inside of the rooms," I respond, stopping in front of my room. "This is my room."
We enter and begin packing my things into any bag we can find. We finish quickly, and I take one last look of the barren room.
"Come on, Aura. It's time."
I turn to Robin with a smile. "Yes. I've finally realized that this life was not one anyone should live. Parents shouldn't be abusive. I believe I'm ready to stay at the cave with friends."
"Temporarily until we get Flash back. He is legally your parent."
I nod. "Let's go save the world."
~~~
After quite a few hours, we've made a plan to infiltrate the Watchtower. We also have created a reverse engineered cure and vaccine for the Starrotech. We call it Curotech. Red Arrow, Black Canary, and Red Tornado, back in his original body, use the zeta-tube to the Watchtower as the rest of the team sneaks in through the bioship. All of us have switched to our stealth suits.
'RT did it,' Robin says. 'Wirelessly bypassed security first, as soon as he arrived. Savage doesn't know we're here.'
'Move out,' Kaldur commands.
We move throughout the Watchtower, curing any league member we come across. I head with Artemis and Wally. The three of us take hiding places behind a crate, watching Green Arrow, Flash, and Aquaman moving things.
'I'm amazed we're still alive,' Artemis gasps.
'It's 'cause they're being controlled. They depend on whoever's pulling their strings. The very thing putting us in danger the only thing giving us a chance,' KF says, heading to her.
'I have an idea,' I say, looking at the switch for the cargo bay door. 'It'll knock them out quickly, but you need to hang on tight to something.'
The two nod as Artemis shoots off an arrow into a nearby wall with a cable connecting to it then wrapping that cable around herself and Kid.
I get into the electric current to the switch, flipping it down.
"Warning! Cargo bay, venting atmosphere," the computer voice alerts.
Artemis and KF are lifted up as they hold on to the cable. Flash tries to run but gets sucked back towards space along with the other two controlled heroes. I shut the door before they head into space, knocking them out as they slam into it. KF quickly places the cure into each of their necks.
"Now let's go take out the main course!" I shout.
We end up meeting the rest of the group as Wally and I speed ahead to try and catch Savage and Klarion. Klarion summons a portal and disappears with Savage. I manage to send a bolt of lightning through the portal before it completely disperses.
"Congratulations, Team. You have won the day," Red Tornado says from the ground as Kaldur leans next to him.
A computer screen pops up. "Happy New Year, Justice League!" A little tune spreads throughout the tower.
Wally scoops up Artemis. "I should've done this a long time ago," Wally smirks.
"No kidding," Artemis responds, wrapping her arms around his neck as they kiss.
Conner and Megan take that as their cue to kiss as well.
Robin walks over to me, pulling me to him by my hips. "I've wanted to do this for some time."
I look up at his smile, putting a finger up to his lips to stop him. "A-are you sure? I'm like the most unsteady person out there."
"I'm sure. I've handled you this long, haven't I?" he smirks before he kisses me.
Our first kiss where there's no secrets between us.
"Human customs still elude me."
I break off the kiss with a laugh.
After a while, all the leaguers regain consciousness and begin getting everything back to normal.
Barry manages to find me. He awkwardly starts up a conversation. "So, you're Aura?"
"Yes, that is the name my parents gave me," I respond.
"There's so many things I need to say–"
I walk up to him and hug him, much to his surprise. "I'm sorry."
He breathes out a sigh, returning the hug. "It's okay."
I sniffle, feeling the tears forming. "I'm sorry. I thought you'd be better off without me."
"Ssh. Ssh. It's alright. You're here now and that's all that matters. Welcome home, Aura."