chapter seven.
( follow the leader. )

The Martian Bioship zooms through the cloudy moonlit skies above the Carribean Sea. "We're approaching Santa Prisca," Miss Martian announces from the pilot seat in the centre of the cockpit.

Flamebird sits in the front row, her arms crossed over her red and gold suit as she watches the ocean pass by in a blur beneath them. The tip of her foot nervously taps against the ground. It was their first official covert mission as a team, assigned to them by Batman himself– it was normal to be worried, she convinced herself.

"Drop-zone A in thirty." Miss Martian states, her eyes flickering over to Aqualad. The Atlantean stands up and presses the symbol on his belt, his red shirt turning black as he activates the stealth-tech.

He glances back at Miss Martian. "Ready."

"Putting the bioship in camouflage mode." With a few taps of the buttons surrounding her, the outside of the ship disappeared from view. The bioship lowers itself closer to the water, and in a matter of seconds, Aqualad drops into the water below.

The bioship continues forward in its pursuit toward the island of Santa Prisca, only stopping as they reach the shores of the beach. From the front of the ship, Flamebird peers down toward the island surface, watching Aqualad's figure sprint across the sand until his voice echoes through the cockpit.

"Heat and motion sensors are patched." He announces in a hushed tone. "Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in."

Miss Martian places her hands on the two glowing levers at her sides, manoeuvring the bioship toward the second coordinates Batman had given them. "Drop-zone B," she addresses the team.

One by one they stand and their seats, as Aqualad's had when he left, melt into the floor below. Three lines lower from the ceiling, Flamebird reaches for the one in front of her and hooks it into the belt of her uniform, then presses the phoenix-symbol in the centre of her suit. Slowly, the reds and golds of her costume bleed black and grey. The League told them it was vital for the "covert" part of their missions; she didn't understand the point of it but even she had to admit it looked cool.

With a bright grin on his face Kid Flash looks between Flamebird and Miss Martian, his hands stretched out at his sides to show off his own dark suit. "How cool is this?"

"Very cool." She can't help but smile back at the boy as he meets her gaze.

Behind them, Miss Martian closes her eyes; willing her own uniform to change shape and colour. Her dress splits into a black and red bodysuit, while her ankle boots stretch further up her legs to morph with her newly formed pants.

Kid Flash watches in awe. "Uh, that works, too," he breathes out in awe, then glances over at Superboy. The clone stands in the back corner of the cockpit, wearing his usual black Superman shirt and jeans. "Hey, Supey, it's not too late to put on the new stealth-tech."

"No capes, no tights." Superboy states firmly, crossing his arms as he looks between Robin, Kid Flash and Flamebird. "No offence."

"None taken." Flamebird shakes her head. "But if you think our suits are bad now, you should've seen Rob's four years ago."

"No, no, no." Robin reaches out to cover the girl's mouth. "We are not bringing this up again."

Miss Martian lets out a dreamy sigh. "It totally works for you," she murmurs, leaning her cheek into her curled fingers as she stares at Superboy. Her eyes then snap open, her green cheeks heating up in realisation, "In that you can totally do good work in those clothes!" She awkwardly gives him a thumbs up.

Knocking Robin's hand away from her, Flamebird presses her lips together to stifle a laugh as she watches the Martian flip the hood of her cape up over her head in embarrassment. "We should get going." Taking pity on her new friend, she speaks up. "Aqualad should be catching up by now."

Miss Martian eagerly nods her head, and holds her hand out. A hatch in the floor opens and the team, one by one, jumps out. Flamebird's feet carefully touch the ground, and she unhooks the line from her belt just in time to dodge Superboy's ungraceful fall from the bioship.

He stands up, brushing the dirt off his Superman-themed shirt. "Knew I didn't need a line," he smirks.

"Not subtle," Flamebird points out with a click of her tongue. "Not subtle at all."

"Creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the covert ," Robin agrees.

"Aqualad," Miss Martian addresses their absent team-mate through the comms. "Drop B is a go."

"Head for the factory." He instructs. "I'll track your GPS and rendezvous asap."

Robin, who had crouched in front of the team, stares down at the holographic map emitting from his gauntlet. A small red dot showed the factory's coordinates, not that far from their current location. "Roger that," Robin replies.

He leads the team further into the dark and muggy forest. They pass a small waterfall, and continue making their way downriver until the sound of rushing water no longer echoes in the air. 

Superboy, just a few steps behind the other four members of the team, stops in his tracks. "Did you hear that?" He whispers, his brows furrowing as he looks around the jungle surrounding them.

"Uh, no?" Kid Flash stops and turns around to look at the boy. "Wait, is this a super-hearing thing?"

Miss Martian smiles as she, too, glances back at him. "You do have great ears," she swoons.

"Hey, Rob, we should-" Flamebird faces forward, her eyes widening and her voice cutting off as her eyes scan over the vacant area Robin had been standing in just seconds prior. She huffs out a sigh, and reaches up to her ear, switching on the comm-link. "Aqualad, we lost Rob and there's a chance we're being tracked."

"Superboy, Kid." Aqualad's voice comes through. "Switch to infrared, confirm whether or not you are being followed. Flamebird, try to locate Robin's position."

"On it." Kid Flash responds, then pulls his goggles down over his eyes. "Got a squad of armed bozos incoming." Without taking his eyes off of the enemy, he pulls Flamebird behind a row of nearby boulders, while Superboy and Miss Martian hide behind a fallen tree.

Staring out into the forest, Superboy squints. "Two squads," he corrects. "But they'll meet each other before they find us."

Flamebird stares down at her gauntlet, a frown tugging at her lips. Robin seemed to be straying farther away from the team and closer to the two squads. Gunfire echoes through the jungle, and her head snaps up.

"No super-hearing required now," Kid Flash comments, switching off the infrared vision of his goggles.

"Swing wide." Aqualad orders. "Steer clear."

Kid Flash glances over Flamebird's shoulder, taking mental note of the small red dot marking Robin's position. "Yeah, yeah. Just as soon as I find Rob." He brushes off Aqualad's orders and sprints in Robin's last known direction.

"KF." Flamebird quietly hisses, her hand shoots out to stop him but she's too late. Her eyes flicker over to Miss Martian and Superboy, "Let's follow behind. Stay quiet till we find Robin."

With a nod of Superboy's head, they each move from their hiding spots and run after the speedster. Flamebird halts at the top of a hill, her brown eyes widening behind her mask as they fall onto Kid Flash. He had slipped in the mud and landed in the middle of the fight between their enemies, announcing their presence loud and clear.

Kid Flash scurries to his feet, narrowly dodging gunfire from both directions. Superboy runs out of the bushes, charging directly at Bane– who drops his weapon to tackle the clone onto the ground.

Their disturbance forces Robin to jump out of his hiding spot, he knocks two men down and punches the third while shouting, "What is wrong with you guys? Remember covert?"

"What's wrong with us?" Flamebird throws a birderang toward one of the shooters, forcing him to drop his gun as it pins his arm to the tree. "What's wrong with you, Rob?"

"Why didn't you follow my lead, vanish into the jungle?" Robin glares over at the team.

Her brows furrow. "You can't expect them to know what you're thinking!" She tells him harshly, her hand wraps around the back of a man's neck and she jabs her knee into his stomach.

"That's what you were doing?" Kid Flash asks from behind them. With his superspeed, he throws a couple of punches and knocks the man in front of him to the ground, before running toward the next. "Way to fill us in. We're not mind readers, you know!" Miss Martian telekinetically pushes one of the men into the tree behind Kid Flash, causing the boy to correct himself, "Or, er- I'm not, anyway."

"You told me I could only read the bad guy's minds," Miss Martian points out with furrowed brows.

Robin turns away from the group, his eyes narrowed into the darkness as he just makes out the figure of another goon. Though, before he can pull out two birderangs, Aqualad drops from the trees. The Atlantean grabs the goon by the front of his shirt, his tattoos glowing bright as electricity flows from his arms and through the other man, zapping him unconscious.

Flamebird lets out a sigh and pulls a rope from within her utility belt. "We better get these guys tied up before they wake."

With the help of the team, the two separate groups are tied to the trees surrounding the small clearing. Robin walks toward the group in red, his brows furrowing behind his mask as he stares down at their matching uniforms. "I recognise these uniforms," he informs. "The Cult of The Kobra."

Aqualad frowns. "I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's venom operation."

"Agreed." Robin nods, glancing toward the rest of the team. "And since there's clearly no love lost between the cultists and those goons, I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out. That's why normal supply lines have been cut off."

"We get it. Kobra wanted super-cultists," Kid Flash chimes in, his hands on his hips as he stands between the two restrained and unconscious groups. "Mystery solved. Radio bats, and we'll be home in time for-"

"These cultists aren't on venom." Robin points out sternly. "Kobra's hoarding the stuff. We don't leave, not until I know why."

Kid Flash raises a brow, "Until you know why?"

"This team needs a leader," he nods.

"And it's you?" The speedster lets out a laugh. "Dude, you're a thirteen year old kid who ducked out on us without a word."

"And you're a mature fifteen?" Robin retorts. "You blew our cover the first chance you got."

Rolling her eyes, Flamebird crosses her arms and turns toward Aqualad. "Wait 'till they realise neither of them are cut out to be leader," she scoffs quietly, her voice hidden under the loud bickering of their stubborn teammates. "They-"

"What about you, Flamebird?" Aqualad's question catches her off-guard. "Would you not like to lead?"

"Me?" She points towards herself. "Lead?" She blinks in surprise as she meets his gaze.

His brows furrow. "You do not think you have what it takes?"

"I know I don't have what it takes." She corrects. "Batman's a good leader. He can put aside his personal feelings for the sake of the mission... head before heart, you know?" Frowning, her eyes flicker back to where Kid Flash was still arguing with their friend, "I don't think I could do that. My feelings would just get in the way of what we're building here."

"I do not agree." Aqualad smiles, "Your emotions are what make you a good person. A true hero."

Her lips part, unable to utter a single response as she allows his words to soak in. She shakes her head, averting her gaze awkwardly. "Thank you..."

"Such clever niños." Bane, restrained to the tree with the rest of his goons, chuckles loudly as he observes the team. "But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance."

Miss Martian crouches in front of the man, her amber eyes glowing white before a frown tugs at her lips. "There is a secret entrance," she confirms. "But he's also hiding something."

"Ah, ah, ah, chica." Bane shakes his head. "Bane is not that easy."

The Martian groans and stands up, her hands falling to rest on her hips as her eyes narrow down at the man. "He's mentally reciting football scores en Español. This could take a while."

"It's not complicated," Bane shrugs, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Flamebird shakes her head. "We shouldn't trust him," she informs the team. "This is Bane we're talking about; he's not exactly known to be trustworthy."

Robin turns to face her. "What other choice do we have?" He wonders. "We need to know why Kobra wants that venom."

"Besides," Kid Flash chimes in with a charming grin, "We'll keep an eye on him. He's not going anywhere."

She sighs and crosses her arms, watching as Miss Martian moves closer to untie Bane. "I don't like this." She voices with a frown. Bane glances over at her, his lips curled into a smirk that sends a chill down her spine. "I really don't like this..."

With Bane's guidance to help them navigate their way through the dark forest, the team comes to a stop on a cliff overlooking the large venom factory below. Robin kneels at the edge, raising his binoculars to scan over the site. "Look at all that product," he whispers. "A buy is going down. But if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects, then-"

"We need to identify that buyer," Aqualad states.

Kid Flash raises his goggles over his forehead, "Just what I was thinking."

"Yeah. You're the thinker." Robin snickers under his breath.

"Sarcasm?" Kid Flash glances over at the younger boy. "Dude, a real leader would focus on getting answers."

"Real leaders wouldn't waste a mission fighting over who's the leader," Flamebird tells them with a roll of her eyes. The sound of footsteps distracts her from their conversation as she hurriedly turns around, her brows furrowing once again as Bane effortlessly pushes a boulder to the side and reveals a tunnel inside the mountain.

"Answers are this way." He gestures to the dimly lighted, and rather narrow, tunnel in front of him. Without looking back for the teens, he begins to make his way into the secret entrance, inciting a laugh from Kid Flash.

"So, now he's our leader," Kid Flash mutters sarcastically.

Flamebird, the first to follow the masked-goon through the narrow tunnel, chimes in with a grim tone. "I'm hating this more and more every second."

In a matter of minutes, they reach a large metal door just a few miles away from the cliffside entrance. Bane presses his thumb against the small scanner, as it activates, several loud clicking sounds resonate throughout the passageway. The man slowly pushes the door open, then peeks his head out to ensure the room is clear.

"All clear." Robin announces to the team. He rushes out into the warehouse ahead of Bane and the team, forcing them to creep out after him. By the time they reach the row of pipes Robin had run for, the masked-boy was gone.

With a scowl, Bane turns toward the team. "Has that little fool already been caught?"

"No." Aqualad sighs. "He just does that."

Kid Flash lowers his goggles, then softly nudges Flamebird's arm as a smirk begins to tug at his lips. "Stay put." He orders them all. "I'll get our intel and be back before the Boy Wonder." Aqualad's arm reaches out to grab hold of the speedster, though his hand only grasps the air of the empty spot where Kid Flash had once been standing.

"Great chain of command." Bane rolls his eyes.

"Shut it." Flamebird hisses at the goon, then takes a step forward. Her arms cross over her suit as she stares in the direction Kid Flash and Robin had disappeared in. Her heart races in her chest. She knew they could handle themselves, but would their egos force them into a dangerous situation?

"Flamebird." Aqualad's hushed voice snaps her out of her thoughts. "Are you going after-?"

"No, no." She cuts him off with a shake of her head. "Unless you want me to? I think we all know they both need someone to keep them in check, but the mission is-"

"No. We must finish what we came here to do." He answers firmly.

The team, those who hadn't disappeared into the factory, follow Bane into the outside storage and shipment area. The four young teens crouch behind a row of shipping containers, cautiously watching as the Cult of Kobra moves the supply. "It's a massive shipment," Aqualad whispers.

"Yeah, but they're only taking the new product off the line." Superboy comments, then points toward the containers in front of them, "They're not touching this venom."

Miss Martian's brows furrow and she turns to face the rest of the team. "Maybe freshness counts?" She suggests.

"Or it could be a new variant of venom." Flamebird sighs, peeking over the top of the container to watch the goons. "Their buyer might've had specific requirements."

Superboy tilts his head back, his blue eyes narrowing up at the dark sky as a low humming sound begins to echo through the night breeze. "The helicopter's coming," he announces quietly.

After a beat, Aqualad orders, "Miss Martian, follow them to the meeting place. Identify the buyer. Flamebird, Superboy, you're with me."

Bane leads the three remaining team members – Aqualad, Superboy and Flamebird– to the second floor of the warehouse. The three teenagers each kneel by the railing, their backs turned to the large window as they peer down into the factory.

Aqualad sits with his eyes closed, his brows furrowing as Miss Martian syncs a telepathic link between the two of them. He breaks the silence with a small gasp as Miss Martian relays the buyer's information to him. "Sportsmaster. He is the buyer?" He raises his hand to his ear, switching on the communication device. "Aqualad to Red Tornado. Do you read?" His words are met with static, causing a groan to fall from his lips. "Can't reach the League, Robin or Kid. Comms jammed."

"I can go and find them," Flamebird offers, her hand pressed against the metal beneath her as she leans closer to the group. "We should-"

"No. It is too risky." Aqualad shakes his head and faces her. "We need a plan. Now."

"I have a suggestion." With a loud grunt, Bane tosses himself over the railing and lands in the crowded factory below– attracting the attention of every armed goon inside.

Aqualad quickly jumps to his feet, his eyes widening. "What is he-?"

In a single leap, a monster the size of Blockbuster, crashes through the window behind them. Everything around Flamebird seems to slow down as the railing gives out beneath her feet, she swiftly reaches for her grapple-gun and presses her finger against the trigger. The hook digs into the factory wall, remaining in place as she safely lowers herself onto the ground floor.

"Destroy them!" Kobra, the leader of the red-wearing cultists, orders.

The monster roars and charges toward the group. Superboy meets him in the middle, throwing himself at the monster in an attempt to tackle the larger being; while Aqualad forms a shield with his water-bearers, blocking the array of bullets being fired from the group of cultists.

"Aqualad, we need to find the others and get out of here." Flamebird calls out over the gunfire as she crouches behind his shield. The young Gothamite reaches into the back pocket of her utility belt, taking a handful of small orbs and tossing them onto the floor.

The smoke-bombs roll across the ground, emitting a cloud of thick, dark smoke to cover the team's escape. Masked by the thick cloud, Flamebird creeps next to one of the cultists. She drops to her knee, her other leg shooting out to knock the man off his feet. With a terrified scream, he lands on his back.

Superboy and the monster continue to battle it out amongst the smoke, each direct punch the clone hits is dealt back with equal force. The monster grabs the boy by his collar, slamming him against the concrete before tossing him in the direction of Flamebird's crouched figure.

She braces herself for the impact, her eyes falling shut and her arms covering her head protectively. Nothing comes. As the wind brushes against her face, she blinks her eyes open. Kid Flash's masked face is the first thing she sees, then Aqualad's as the trio hide behind a wall. "Nice save," she grins, nudging the speedster's arm with her elbow.

"I disappear for a few minutes and you go get in trouble." Kid Flash's signature smirk spreads across his lips like wildfire as he meets her gaze. "I thought you were the responsible one here, Birdy."

She laughs, "Like you're any better!"

Across from them, Aqualad peeks his head from behind the wall and shouts, "Miss Martian!" He addresses the girl as she picks herself up off the floor. "Radio's jammed! Link us up!"

"Everyone online?" The foreign intrusion of Miss Martian's voice, alongside the various inner-thoughts of a group of teenagers, begin to filter through Flamebird's mind. She winces as her mind splinters.

"Yeah." Superboy groans unenthusiastically as he adjusts to the sudden change.

Kid Flash presses his back to the wall behind them, his smirk shifting to a lovestruck grin – even with the bullets being fired at them – as he replies, "You know it, beautiful."

"Good. We need to regroup." Aqualad informs the team.

For the first time in the half-hour since Robin disappeared from the group, his voice sings through her ears like he was right beside them. "Busy now."

Outside. She could see the night sky clearly, as if she were there herself, because he could see it. Then, she sees the face of Kobra as he stands beside the helicopter that Sportsmaster arrived in.

"Robin!" Flamebird hisses through the mind-link. She presses her hand against the ground, shakily pushing herself up; recovering from the whiplash of being unknowingly moved by a speedster was always the hardest part of it. "We need to go. Now!"

"Strategic retreat!" Aqualad orders. He leaps out of their hiding place and forms a long whip with his water-bearers, effortlessly knocking both shooters from their advantage point. "Kid, clear a path."

Under his order, Kid Flash takes off running. He sprints three armed-cultists, snatching their weapons and tossing them aside to clear a path for the team as they swiftly follow him to the passageway door. Superboy is the last to enter the secret tunnel and he slams the metal door shut behind him.

The monster smashes through the door just seconds later, he trails after the team with a group of gunmen following closely behind him. "Superboy, the beams!" Aqualad's voice rings through the minds of each member of the team. The clone rushes to destroy the beams supporting the passageway, within seconds the rocks surrounding them begin to cave in.

Flamebird feels a hand brush against her own as the passageway is drenched in darkness. A ruffling sound fills the silence, until a small light emits from the flashlight she pulls out of her utility belt. "Everyone okay?" She questions.

Kid Flash leans against the wall beside her, his hand still occasionally brushing against her own and a breathless grin on his face. "You know it, Birdy." He made it out, they all did, safe and in one piece. Flamebird can't help but smile back at him as she, too, leans against the rocky cave wall.

She tears her relieved gaze away from her best friend only to check over the other team-members; Miss Martian and Superboy stand next to each other, somewhat exhausted and relieved at the same time, while Robin stands closest to the rubble they left behind. His back faces the team.

Concern laces Flamebird's eyes, and she pushes herself away from the wall as her brother sighs loudly. "How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" He runs his hand down his face in frustration.

"You do have the most experience." Aqualad comments. "But, perhaps, that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman and Flamebird, your roles are defined. You three do not need to talk, but this team is new, and a leader must be clear, explicit." The Atlantean frowns, "He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan."

Robin spins to face the older boy, his masked eyes narrowing. "Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hand?" He spits. Then, after a beat, he sucks in a deep breath and sighs, "Who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can."

"Please," Kid Flash rolls his eyes, "I can run circles-"

"Wally." With a harsher tone than Robin's admittance, Flamebird cuts the speedster off mid-sentence. Her eyes flicker back to Aqualad as she smiles, "We all know it's you, Kaldur. You've been leading us this entire mission, after all."

"Hello, Megan!" Miss Martian grins and turns to face Aqualad. "It's so obvious."

With a nod of his head, Kid Flash places his hands on his hips. "Okay," he agrees.

Aqualad strolls forward. "Then I accept the burden." He reaches out to place a reassuring hand on Robin's shoulder, "Until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team, maybe not now, but soon." He watches the shorter boy nod his head, then turns to address the team. "Alright. Our first priority is stopping that shipment from leaving this island."

"Funny." Robin snickers. "I had the same thought."

The six heroes take off running down the darkened passageway, with only Flamebird's flashlight to guide them toward the exit. "Sportsmaster is the supplier-slash-buyer." Robin goes over the intel he and Kid Flash located during their departure. "But it still doesn't track, he doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster formula or get Kobra to do his dirty-work."

"Hasn't he been on the down-low these last few years?" Flamebird questions with a frown. The down-low for a mercenary like Sportsmaster never truly meant cutting out crime, she knew that all too well from her own father. "There's no way he could've done something to gain enough traction with Kobra, let alone steal the recipe for Blockbuster, while avoiding the League's radar."

"Right," Kid Flash nods his head in agreement. "Neither of them have the chops to bond Blockbuster with Venom either, that took some major nerdage."

She raises a brow, "You think Sportsmaster was working with Cadmus?"

The team slows down as they reach the light at the end of the tunnel, though her question remains unanswered as a large figure stops them in their path. "I believe the expression is, tip of the iceberg," Aqualad mutters. With a pointed gaze, he watches as Bane blocks their only exit.

"Halt, ninos." Bane orders with a smirk, his thumb hovering over the button of his handheld device. "I'm feeling... explosive." A beeping sound draws Flamebird's attention to the cave ceiling, where a dozen small bombs are scattered across the rocky surface.

"You betrayed us. Why?" Aqualad demands. Behind him, Flamebird can't help but frown. She had said from the beginning that Bane couldn't be trusted, yet in their individual missions to prove who would be leader, nobody had listened.

An "i told you so" was certainly in order once they returned to Mount Justice.

"I want my factory back–" The man begins.

"Kid." Aqualad's voice echoes in their minds. "You'll need a running start."

"--So, I forced you into a situation where you would either tear down my enemies or die trying." Bane's voice sends a shiver down Flamebird's spine, even as she focuses her attention on the quiet footsteps Kid Flash takes while disappearing behind the team. "If the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks, and when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect." He raises his hand to show the detonator, then begins to lower his thumb toward the trigger; only for it to press against his now-empty hand.

The bombs above their heads remain unchanged.

"With what?" Kid Flash's smug voice chimes in. The speedster leans against the tree behind Bane, a smirk on his face as he holds the detonator in front of him. "This trigger thingy?" He swiftly dashes out of the way as Bane's fist pummels through the tree he had once been standing in front of.

Miss Martian reaches out her hand, slowly lifting Bane off the ground and into the air. Superboy strolls forward, a determined grin on his face as he clenches his fists and braces himself. "Finally," he mutters, his eyes narrowing up at the goon. "Drop him."

With a shrug of her shoulders, Miss Martian releases her telekinetic hold on Bane. The wide-eyed man falls straight into Superboy's fist; the Kryptonian punches him into the ground with enough strength to create a small crater around his unconscious body.

"One criminal down," Flamebird strolls toward the unconscious masked-man, "An entire cult to go."

Kid Flash sprints through the helicopter's landing-site, outrunning the bullets being fired his way. He jumps over a crate, knocking out one of the armed cultists, before taking off when the other men begin firing anywhere they believed the speedster to be.

"Take the shipment!" Kobra orders Sportsmaster.

Superboy drops from the sky, a crater forming beneath his feet as he lands between Kobra, the monster and the helicopter. He smirks, "Go again?" He raises his fist, as if taunting the monster to run at him. The monster falls for his trick, charging directly at the Kryptonian. Aqualad, crouching nearby the old supply of venom, uses his water-bearers to shoot the monster back. "Sorry, not the plan!" Superboy calls out to him.

With the cultists distracted by Kid Flash, the monster pinned down by Aqualad and Superboy battling Sportsmaster, Flamebird and Robin ditch their hiding spot behind the factory and make a break for Kobra himself. She vaults over the crate in front of her and throws her bola in the direction of Kobra's right-hand woman, the weighted weapon expands into a rope that wraps around Shimmer's figure and pulls her to the ground.

Robin glances over at Kobra, a teasing smirk on his face. "I know you hate getting your hands dirty."

"True." Kobra slowly peels his cape off, tossing it on the ground as he faces the two Gothamites. "But sometimes, even a god must stoop to conquer." The youngest of the duo rushes at him, he leaps off the ground and raises his foot with ease. Kobra blocks the attack. Robin drops to the ground, kicking his leg out to swipe at the man's feet but he simply jumps to avoid the attack. The young hero raises his leg once more, only for Kobra to grab hold of it and toss him back toward Flamebird .

Robin skids across the dirt, then presses his palm flat against the ground as he glares at the cult-leader. "What's wrong, boy?" Kobra's eyes narrow back at him. "You look disconcerted."

A whirring sound echoes through the area as the helicopter carrying Sportsmaster and the supply takes off into the night-sky. Seconds later, an explosion rocks through the aircraft and the burning vehicle crashes into the factory.

"Manoeuvre seven." Robin calls out determinedly. He holds his hands together and creates a step for Flamebird, the second her boot presses into his palms, he pours all his strength into pushing upward. Pivoting over Kobra, she immediately falls to her knees to take out his own legs. Yet again, he steps to the side.

"Watch out!" She reaches for the folded staff connected to the back of her belt and charges at Kobra as he pins Robin to the ground, his foot pressed up against the boy's chest. She thrusts the staff toward the cult-leader. Unphased, he grabs hold of the weapon and pulls the girl closer to him, only letting go once she was close enough for him to grab the collar of her cape instead.

He lifts her off the ground effortlessly, while his eyes remain narrowed at the burning factory in front of them. Flamebird wriggles within his grasp, her hands batting at his wrist when his grip tightens. "I am plagued by mosquitoes," he growls, looking between Robin and Flamebird.

"Good." Robin grunts. "Cause this mosquito's mighty concerted over your pain." He spins his legs around and flips out from beneath Kobra, landing on his knees in front of the team . Yue takes his distraction to jam her foot against the back of the cult leader's knee, forcing him down as he releases her collar.

While she steps back towards her teammates, Kobra rises to his feet with a knowing look in his eyes. "Another time, then." He menacingly begins to walk backward, disappearing into the dark forest behind him.

Robin sprints forward and uses his hands to part the bushes, his brows furrowing as his eyes scan over the empty area. "He's gone!" He announces to the team, loudly sighing as he makes his way back over to them.

Silence washes over them as they each turn towards the burning building. So much for covert, Flamebird thinks as smoke rises into the air.

Taking another step forward, Robin clears his throat and smiles. "We picked the right guy to lead," he addresses Aqualad. "Automatically making you the right guy to explain this to Batman!" He extends his arms, laughing loudly as he motions toward the mess of a factory they had left behind in their attempt to be covert.

Aqualad's shoulders slump as he, too, faces the fire.

By the time they had arrived back in Happy Harbour and rested enough to quell the exhaustion of an all-night mission, it was mid-afternoon of the next day. The team gathers in the Cave's meeting-hall, each dressed in their civilian clothing after having just arrived at the headquarters – or just woken up and left their assigned rooms. Yue stands in the centre of the lineup, her posture firm and her hands anxiously clenched in the pockets of her red sweater.

"A simple recon mission, observe and report." Batman, in a gruff tone, reminds the team as he walks back and forth in front of them. "You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes. Until then," he comes to a stop at the end of the line, "Good job."

Yue's racing heart stutters in her chest, her dark eyes widen as she quickly turns to face her mentor. Praise wasn't commonplace in the Bat-Cave. She wasn't sure Bruce knew what it was, despite Alfred singing it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"No battle-plan survives first contact with the enemy." Batman steps away from the teen heroes as they all grin in relief. "How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success," he turns his back on them to head for the doorway, "And how you choose who leads determines character."

Wally's lips quirk upward as he happily nudges Yue's arm with her own. "Batman can compliment people, after all. Who knew?"

author's note.

and another chapter is up!! if you enjoy, please remember to comment/vote so i know!

on that note, would you all rather see yue become a star sapphire after season 2 or would you prefer her to remain a full bat-fam hero (either way, she still has heavy connections the bat-fam)?

i've recently had a lot of ideas for star sapphire yue post-act two, but i also have ideas for yue as another bird-inspired hero so let me know what you would all prefer!