Returning to the Batcave with Bruce in the Batmobile, Bruce leads me over to an armor rack, "This is the Delta one, accelerator suit!"
'This sounds familiar…'
"What does it accelerate?" I ask and feel like I'm living out a scene from a movie.
"You…The Delta One is an experimental battle armor made by Wayne Industries to enhance the soldier wearing its capabilities; their strength, speed, and agility are all greatly heightened, It also has an advanced cybernetic Heads-Up Display helmet that feeds into the suit when you think what to do, the suit does it, 10mm caseless gatling sub-machine gun capable of firing 50 rounds per second, a three triple explosive launcher, heat-seeking, fire-and-forget missile rockets, wind and gas repelled grappling spear gear, and even a cloaking device…for covert missions." Bruce explains to me while handing me a manual for the Delta One.
"Whoa, Bruce…this is awesome…and it comes with a gun…"
"I realized I'm putting my fears and hate towards firearms onto you. There are members of the league that use firearms that don't have your abilities and they don't needlessly kill people…it's just…before I became Batman…before I trained with Ra's Al Ghul, I-I killed Joe Cool the man who killed our father and my mother…and I hated…still hate myself for it. Even using a gun to fire my grappling lines makes me feel a sense of guilt and shame, I don't want that for you…"
'Wow, Bruce actually killed Joe Cool…in this universe…this might get me punched…but…' I pull Bruce into a bro hug and pat his back.
"As long as you feel guilty and ashamed for your actions that day you'll never become what you fight against."
Bruce cautiously returns the hug, "Thank you…" Bruce mutters his voice tense, same with his body language.
"Come on let's get you squared away, I've got a mission to send you and the team on…" Bruce says and quickly breaks the hug nearly making me chuckle.
Bruce helps me into the accelerator suit in under thirty seconds, 'This things cool and all but it's gonna be a bitch to get out of.' I think as the hydraulics and pneumatic come to life with low hums, the gatling gun spools up and then stops before actually firing.
"Bruce, you know the knowledge I have…of a potential timeline that may be useless now because of my existence…"
"It pertains to the mission about to take place on Santa Prisca." Bruce states and looks at me with a calculating look in his eyes.
"You know this mission is about more than recon, it's about team building and helping the team come to a decision on a leader…but if you have information on what the situation on the ground is, I'll take that information…I know it has to do with the Cult of the Kobra."
"Right so, you know about the Blockbuster serum that Doctor Desmond from Cadmus labs developed and consumed, mutating into the mutate Blockbuster, well somehow Kobra has gotten their hands on said formula, and have usurped control of Santa Prisca from Bane…not completely contentiously as Bane is resorting to Gorilla tactics with his few loyalist to take back his control of his island and his drug factory."
"...It is a warzone, and Sportsmaster will become involved as well."
"This mission's risk level is higher than I expected it to be…I…should I reconsider sending the Team in?" Bruce asks me and I shake my head no.
"No, they need this…the team is falling apart…they need the cohesion and constant…uhh I can't think of the word but without it they're not intermingling with each other during their free time, without constant missions to help their feelings of friendship and camaraderie the team will fall apart, shit they didn't even take advantage of this down time to explore their super awesome secret fort I mean I know they're sidekicks and get to see coolshit all the time but…come on a secret hideout…is most kids dreams they should be going through the entire thing."
"Shit, I was hoping taking everyone to the mall would help, I mean sure Superboy and I need clothes but…that went to shit, I was also hoping I could curb M'Gann's infatuation with Connor not because he's a stud muffin/lost puppy…but because he reminds her of a character in a tv sitcom, I mean the kid is a week old he's not developed enough emotionally for a girl to be interested in him and Clark is really fucking the kid's head up he thinks Clark hates him because he's weaker than Clark is…sorry…" I grunt and the end of my tangent to find Bruce smirking at me.
"You care about them…so it isn't just a job to you even though you keep trying to tell the snot nosed little shits that it is…" Bruce teases and I feel myself blush.
"Fuck off…" I mumble while looking away from Bruce whose smirk has grown bigger at my answering blush, he chuckles at my cursing.
"They're lucky to have you…and I believe you have taken all of M'Gann's romantic interest for yourself if the evidence of how she reacted when you were injured is anything to go by…" Bruce continues to tease me his voice full of amusement and light, which makes me look to the man and glare at him.
'No…M'Gann was just being her usual sweethearted self…' I internally express but then the way she snuggled against me in bed, and the way she stormed off when I left to visit Harley…combined with all of the blushing… 'Ahh…shhweet waifu's interest detected….'
Bruce puts his cowl back on, his smirk thinning but still present as he walks over to the Zeta Beam platform inside of the Batcave that is surrounded by weapons of mass destruction and explosives…
"Bruce…we need to talk about your paranoia…and how it can be used against you and those you care about in the most damning and damaging of ways." I mutter and the man turns to look at me over his shoulder before shrugging.
"Alfred has had this talk with me many times, especially after my contingency plans for dealing with members of the league were stolen and used against us…" Bruce admits and if I wasn't wearing a helmet with a built in heads up display that probably costs millions of dollars I'd be smacking my own forehead right about now, as a loud groan slips out of me.
"So is there a bomb in this Accelerator suit?" I ask Bruce who flinches.
"There was but I removed it... it's not like it would do much but slow you down..."
"Bruce, you know I feel pain right...?" Bruce nods yes to my question.
"Debilitating pain in equal amounts to the damage I sustain...I may have a high pain tolerance and a grit my teeth and clench my ass muscles attitude towards pain...but I still experience it fully...if there is still a bomb in this suit...and you trigger it because you feel that I've gone too far or am compromised well, I'll find a way to beat your ass, and then I'll heal you back to perfect health and do it all over again, again and again until I'm satisfied you feel my pain..." Bruce admits and if I wasn't wearing a helmet with a built in heads up display that probably costs millions of dollars I'd be smacking my own forehead right about now, as a loud groan slips out of me.
"Noted..." Bruce replies his thin smirk growing slightly, as the Zeta tube comes to life thanks to whatever code Bruce typed onto the terminal next to it.
~~ — — — — — — — — — — — — ~~
Walking through the Zeta tube slightly behind Batman into the arrival room for zeta tube travelers.
The Team quickly assembles and I walk over and stand beside Connor who gives me a nod. I don't miss how M'Gann crosses her arms over her chest and looks away from me with a pouty expression on her face.
'She looks kinda adorable like that.' I internally admire and see M'Gann's alabaster skin flush pink.
Judging by the way Bruce keeps looking at me he finds my not directly interacting with M'Gann but still making her blush up a storm amusing, as many holographic displays become flooded with satellite images of Santa Prisca.
From the images and data on the screens it looks like the island of Santana Prisca is mostly untouched as it is covered with vegetation and the only real building looks to be a bit centered on the island with easy access to the coastline where a large port has been erected, 'Bane's drug factory.' I idly think.
With that errant thought ended and my amusement at M'Gann's adorable reactions sated I focus on what Bruce is saying.
"Isla Santa Prisca, this island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neo-steroid, which is a strength enhancing drug, sold under the street name Venom.
The league's limited information network combined with heat signatures taken as an orbiting satellite passed over the island indicate that their factory is still operating at full capacity.
But all shipments of Venom have been inexplicably cut off. This is where the Team comes in." Bruce says as his gaze pans over all of us making all but me stand up a little straighter, Red Tornado is looking at the information displayed on the various holographic screens, after Bruce finishes his intimidating gaze of doom and gloom he starts speaking again.
"This is a "Covert Recon only Mission." Bruce puts a lot of emphasis on the words covert, recon and mission.
"You are to Observe and Report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will." Bruce continues as he turns towards the holographic displays and continues giving us the 411 on our operation… '…okay he is a little menacing like this.' I internally admit and understand the stiff and straight back posture of the kids, 'You are technically a sixteen-seventeen year old kid in this world too.' I tell myself as I watch the screens.
"The plan requires two drop zones, here and here." Bruce says as two points on the map are highlighted one near the coast and one deeper in the jungle, my heads up display immediately highlights the drop points on a map in my top right corner of my vision, similar to a map in an fps shooter with my team highlighted in green.
"So who's in charge?" Dick asks in an overly excited voice, but only receives silence from the two 'grownups'.
'I know that this is necessary for the development of the team…and I said as much to Bruce but damn if it isn't tempting to simply tell Bruce to call off this mission…Wally very nearly gets killed by running off to get Dick who is so used to how Bruce and he operates that he thinks it's business as usual…Connor…is too much of a hothead right now for anything close to stealth…M'Gann is inexperienced at all of this crap and so am I.' I internally express my worries for the Team's safety, a small part of me wanting to just take the reins of this operation like I did at the mall.
But how that turned out is a painful reminder that this whole thing isn't a videogame or some other fantasy, I got people killed and killed someone, and I know I'm not cut out to be a leader…plus they probably wouldn't listen to me...anyways.
Bruce leaves without another word and Red Tornado looks at us for a bit before creating a tornado underneath himself and flying up upwards…into his loft/laboratory area.
As everyone is geared up already we all head to Bioship in as close to near silence as a group of teenagers can be.
-Caribbean Sea, June 22, 20:08 ECT-
The flight is mostly silent, "Arriving at drop-point A in thirty seconds." Miss Martian's voice shocks me out of my zoned out staring at the ocean, finding the sight of it beautiful and slightly terrifying at the same time.
Aqualad stands up, taps the golden A on his belt and turns his clothes into a more stealthy color scheme. "I am Ready Miss Martian." Aqualad says with a nod.
M'Gann nods, "Putting Bioship in camouflage mode." M'Gann says and a tension fills Bioship, and thirty seconds later a hole opens up in Bioship's floor which Aqualad dives through and enters the ocean under us with a splash.
'I really don't think he should be on his own.' I express worry for Aqualad in my mind as we continue towards the island, I feel nervous as flashbacks of what happened to me during the last fight…and what could have happened to M'Gann and the others plague my mind.
A minute or two Miss Martian calls out to us, "We've arrived at drop-point B." I find myself standing up on reflex, I walk over and grab Connor's shoulder as safety ropes slide down from the roof.
"Sweet, thanks Miss M." Robin thanks M'Gann as he hooks one of the lines to his belt.
"Yeah, thanks babe!" Kid Flash expresses before beginning to showboat with a grin on his face as he turns his really noticeable yellow and red costume to a black and gray one.
"This is cool, isn't it babe?!" Wally continue while fishing for a compliment from M'Gann
"Very impressive." Miss Martian replies with a lack of her usual enthusiasm.
"I know you don't need the rope but if you jump down without one you'll make a sonic boom and put everyone on the Team in immediate danger by revealing our location to the enemy." I tell Connor gently and the kid glares before turning his head away from me a bit of a pink flush dusting his cheeks as he nods.
Letting out a relieved sigh in my mind, 'Still got my big brother mojo…' I say in my head as I help Connor hook the safety line to his belt while showing him how to wrap his legs around the line.
"To go slower, squeeze your thighs together to go faster, loosen them, that's basically all there is to repelling down a line…and since you're so durable you don't have to worry too much about rope burn."
"Thanks." Superboy says to me in a gruff embarrassed grunt.
"No problem bubby." I say to him gently and pat his shoulder, I hook my own repelling line to me, and look over to M'Gann who is looking at me with a soft warm expression in her eyes, as she turns her costumes into a black bodysuit that covers everything under her mid neck.
'Those shape shifting clothes are really cool and I bet that they're really comfortable…wish I could get a set for myself.' I idly think as Wally tries to recover from his wounded pride.
"Uh... That works too. Hey, Supey! Not too late to put on the new stealth tech!"
"No capes, no tights, No offense!" Connor immediately shoots Kid Flash down, making the kid hang his head slightly.
I roll my eyes at Connor, who is wearing normal clothing consisting of a black t-shirt with a red house of El symbol on it, dark blue cargo pants, black combat boots.
"Does that armor have a stealth function?" Wally asks me and I begin to nod and I'm shocked when Connor is the one to speak.
"It is pretty shiny…"
"I uhh…" I stumble for words.
"It totally works for you. In that, you can totally do good works in that armor." M'Gann gushes and blushes at me making me feel slightly embarrassed by extension M'gann's embarrassment must be enough to feel like she needs to hide herself as she dons the hood of her cloak, and tilts her head downwards as she becomes invisible.
At the same time the floor opens up beneath our feet and all of us are slowly lowered to the ground.