The air roared around them as they fell toward the jungle canopy. Then —
THUD.
Robin landed in a crouch.
WHOOSH.
Kid Flash vibrated the ground from the speed of his descent.
Miss Martian floated down like a leaf.
Superboy hit like a meteor.
Spartan landed like silence.
His adaptive density softened the impact, letting his boots sink just an inch into the soil before he straightened.
Robin signaled the team."Aqualad, we're down."
Static crackled… then Kaldur's calm voice responded.
"Good. Proceed. I will meet you at the factory shortly."
The group moved through the jungle, sticking low to the ground.
Spartan's senses ran at full capacity. His vision adjusted, his hearing sharpened, his density shifted to make his steps nearly soundless.
Superboy paused.
"Something's wrong."
Spartan stopped as well — his brother's instincts weren't to be underestimated.
Then —crk.
A twig snapped.
"Thermals!" Robin whispered.
Kid Flash tapped a button on his goggles."Uh… guys? We've got armed bozos at 3 o'clock. And 9 o'clock. And they're headed straight for each other."
Miss Martian floated slightly higher. "They're not… together."
"Rival groups," Spartan murmured. "Territory conflict."
Aqualad's voice whispered through their coms."Do not engage. Avoid—"
Kid Flash, already anxious to support Robin's scouting, sprinted off.
"KF—!" Robin hissed.
CRASH.
Kid Flash tripped, rolled, and skidded directly into the firefight.
"Ah, c'mon!"
Spartan sighed. "I've got him."
But Superboy was already ahead of him, sprinting into the fray with a roar.
Gunfire erupted. Miss Martian telekinetically deflected bullets. Robin dropped smoke pellets and bolas. Aqualad arrived in a burst of water-hard-light constructs.
Spartan surged forward, density increasing; bullets bounced off him like raindrops. He slipped between muzzle flashes, disarmed two men with precision palm strikes, and shattered a rifle with a single squeeze.
One mercenary swung a machete at him.
Spartan's hand caught the blade barehanded, and the metal bent under his grip.
He pushed the man back with a density-weighted shove that sent him flying into a tree.
Then the largest mercenary of the group lunged—
Only to be intercepted by Superboy.
The two crashed into the dirt. Dust exploded.
And from that dust rose a familiar, scarred, venom-powered brute.
BANE.
Superboy tackled him again, slamming him into a boulder.
Miss Martian tried to read his mind — only to recoil as Bane forced her out.
"Stay out of my head, girl."
The fight tapered off as both mercenary groups retreated from the chaos they stumbled into.
Bane stood, brushing off dirt."So. The little heroes."
"Little?" Superboy growled.
Spartan stepped forward slightly, a silent warning.
He and Bane locked eyes. Two warriors, one infused with science, the other made by science.Two weapons sharpened for war.
Bane smirked. "Ah. The Cadmus Spartan. I heard rumors."His eyes moved up and down Spartan's armored frame."A weapon forged to kill gods. Yet you follow children."
Spartan's voice lowered. "I follow those who stand beside my brother."
Superboy blinked, surprised but not displeased.
Robin cleared his throat. "Okay. Focus. Kobra's in control. Batman didn't know. They must've kicked Bane's crew out."
Aqualad nodded. "They are hoarding the Venom."
Robin added, "And we don't leave until we learn why."
That's when he and Kid Flash immediately began arguing.
"I should lead—"
"No, I should—"
"We agreed no leader yet!"
"We didn't agree to—"
Bane lifted a hand. "If you children are done…"
Spartan's patience thinned. "Enough."
His voice carried an authority none of the others possessed — the weight of a warrior bred for command. Even Robin stopped mid-sentence.
Bane grinned. "Good. Now. I offer assistance. There is a secret entrance. I can show you."
Miss Martian's eyes glowed. She skimmed his surface thoughts.
"He's telling the truth about the entrance," she said, "but… he's hiding something."
"Of course he is," Spartan murmured.
Bane shrugged."The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
------
They followed Bane along a ledge overlooking the massive Venom facility. Lights blazed across shipping containers stacked twelve high and conveyor belts moving crates marked with the Venom sigil.
Robin narrowed his eyes. "That's… a lot of Venom."
"A shipment is happening soon," Spartan noted. His adaptive mind keyed in on patterns, guard rotations, crate distribution, and timing.
Kid Flash and Robin fell into another spat about leadership, barely listening as Bane revealed a concealed hatch in the rock.
"Secret entrance," he announced.
Robin zipped inside first. Kid Flash followed immediately.
Spartan sighed. "Children."
He and Superboy entered next. Miss Martian and Aqualad followed.
Inside, Robin silently dropped a cultist with a taser-batarang and hacked into the computer.Miss Martian suddenly gasped. "Kobra's only exporting the newest Venom!"
"Something's coming," Superboy muttered. His hearing sharpened.
Spartan heard it too.Rotors.
"A helicopter is landing," he said.
Miss Martian phased upward, invisible, and hovered above the landing pad. The helicopter door opened.
SPORTSMASTER.
Kaldur tried to contact the League, only static.
"Kobra is jamming communications," Spartan deduced.
Bane suddenly leapt from the shadows, attacking cultists. Chaos erupted.
Then the wall exploded inward as—
MAMMOTH, now massive, mutated, and snarling on Kobra Venom, crashed into the factory.
Superboy roared and charged.
Spartan dropped into a low stance, density shifting, muscles coiling, and sprinted after his brother.
-------
Superboy slammed into Mammoth first, the two Titans smashing through crates.
Mammoth roared and flung Superboy into a forklift.
Spartan blurred in, density lightening to increase speed. He struck Mammoth's knee, a sharp, precise jab, forcing the brute to stagger.
Mammoth swung a massive fist the size of a cinder block.
Spartan increased density instantly; the punch hit him, but barely moved him.
He grabbed Mammoth's wrist in both hands and twisted, sending the giant skidding across the concrete.
Aqualad engaged multiple cultists, water-hard-light blades flashing.
Robin went after Kobra, darting through machinery.
Miss Martian was telekinetically deflecting shrapnel.
Kid Flash, for once, was actually helping more than hindering, zipping between enemies, disarming them.
Superboy leapt back into the fray, double-teaming Mammoth with Spartan.
"You take right!" Spartan yelled.
Superboy nodded and struck Mammoth's ribs from the side with a punch that cracked the air.
Spartan followed with an upward kick to Mammoth's jaw, density reinforced so heavily that Mammoth's teeth clattered.
Mammoth crashed to a knee.
Superboy jumped, landing a blow that knocked him unconscious at last.
The brute toppled.
Spartan breathed out slowly, letting his density return to normal. His body healed microfractures instantly, adaptive physiology working overtime.
Superboy stared at him, panting."You're a monster, you know that?"
Spartan clapped his shoulder. "Takes one to know one."
Superboy smirked.
But then they saw Robin struggling with Kobra.
"Go!" Spartan ordered.
The brothers sprinted together
------
The dust was still settling from Mammoth's collapse when Aqualad landed beside Spartan and Superboy.
"We must fall back!" he barked.
Spartan scanned the factory. Sportsmaster and Kobra were regrouping, more cultists pouring in, a second dose of Kobra-Venom being prepared.
This wasn't a winnable fight. Not yet.
Aqualad reached for Miss Martian.
"M'gann, link us."
Her eyes glowed white as she reached out mentally.
<
Aqualad's voice filled all their heads at once.
<
Robin materialized from the shadows near a conveyor belt.
<>
Kid Flash dashed past Spartan in a blur of yellow lightning, knocking aside two cultists.
"Clear path coming right up!"
The Team rallied, retreating through Bane's secret stone passageway. Cultists swarmed behind them — and Mammoth, groggy but recovering, roared as he gave chase once more.
Aqualad turned sharply.
<
Superboy grinned, finally allowed to break something.
"Gladly!"
He slammed his fists into the carved stone pillars.
Cracks spiderwebbed instantly.
Spartan stepped in beside him. "Little brother — together."
Superboy nodded.
They struck the last support beam in unison.
KRRAAAAASH!
The tunnel imploded behind them, burying Mammoth and the pursuing cultists beneath tons of rock.
Silence.
Dust-filled air.
Ragged breaths.
Robin leaned against the wall, shoulders slumped.
"I blew it," he muttered. "First mission leading, and I blew it."
Aqualad placed a steady hand on his shoulder.
"Perhaps… your experience is too great. You see every angle, while we are still learning to see one."
Spartan nodded. "You move faster than the rhythm of the team. And they cannot keep up yet."
Robin sighed. "Well… if I'm not ready… you should lead."
Kid Flash looked to Aqualad. "I second that."
Miss Martian hovered closer. "Aqualad has been so steady this whole time."
Superboy folded his arms. "Works for me."
Spartan spoke last — and his voice carried weight.
"You think like a commander. You stand like a protector. Leadership suits you."
Aqualad bowed his head. "Then I accept. But only until Robin is prepared to reclaim the burden."
Robin allowed himself a small smile.
Aqualad turned forward, tone sharpening.
"Our first priority is to stop that shipment."
-----
Back at the factory, Sportsmaster attempted to start the helicopter, only to hear a loud click and a sputter.
He frowned. "What—?"
A cultist stammered, "Should we send men after the intruders?"
"No," Kobra said calmly. "They will come to us."
Sportsmaster snarled as he found the problem — a severed wire expertly sliced.
Robin's handiwork.
-----
The Team burst out of the tunnel only to come face to face with Bane — grinning, detonators strapped to the walls.
"I thank you, little heroes," Bane said, spreading his arms wide. "By dying here, your Justice League will come. They will drive out Kobra and avenge you. My island will be mine again."
Spartan stepped forward, helmet lowering over his face.
"You betray the ones who helped you."
"I am Bane," he growled. "I betray everyone."
He thumbed the detonator—
But it vanished from his hand in a yellow blur.
Kid Flash waved it. "Yoink!"
Superboy strode up and punched Bane so hard he cratered into the dirt.
Spartan smirked. "Nice form, little brother."
-----
The helicopter was airborne again, rotors spinning up.
Aqualad raised his voice. "Team — attack!"
They rushed out in formation.
Sportsmaster leapt down first, swinging his metal staff.
Miss Martian and Superboy rushed him together.
Spartan flanked them, motion sharp and silent.
Sportsmaster struck Miss Martian with the back of his staff — she tumbled.
Superboy caught the next blow, but Sportsmaster twisted and kicked him square in the jaw, sending him skidding back.
Then he faced Spartan.
"Well well," Sportsmaster smirked, "Cadmus' golden boy."
Spartan raised his fists. "Surrender."
"Hard pass."
Sportsmaster lunged, lightning fast. Spartan parried every blow, his adaptive physiology adjusting with each impact. Sportsmaster's speed, his angles, his timing, Spartan was downloading it all, refining, calculating.
"You're learning me," Sportsmaster said with a grin.
"Good. I love a challenge."
He feinted left, struck right, Spartan caught the strike under his arm and headbutted him through a crate.
"Learning fast," Spartan corrected.
Meanwhile, Kid Flash zipped through the battlefield, knocking out a cultist and stealing his mask.
"Souvenir!"
Aqualad faced Mammoth, the brute had clawed his way free of the collapse, steam rising off his mutated body.
Mammoth charged.
Aqualad slammed both water-bearers together, electricity crackling between them —
ZZZZZAAAP!
Mammoth seized, convulsed, and collapsed unconscious.
Up above, Robin engaged Kobra on the catwalk.
It wasn't a fight.
It was a dismantling.
Kobra dodged every strike.
Countered every gadget.
And with a flick of his wrist —
SLAM!
Robin hit the railing, breath knocked out of him.
"You are skilled," Kobra hissed. "But not enlightened."
Spartan turned mid-fight, ready to assist —
But Robin lifted a hand.
"No. I've got him."
He didn't, not fully, but he needed to try.
Aqualad coordinated the final strike.
"Miss Martian! Now!"
Miss Martian telekinetically forced an explosive she'd planted earlier into the now-airborne helicopter.
Sportsmaster leapt onto the rope ladder. "Pleasure as always, kids!"
She detonated the charge.
BOOOOM!
The helicopter burst into flames.
Sportsmaster parachuted away, cursing.
The flaming wreckage spiraled, then plummeted into the Venom factory.
WHOOOOOMPH!
The entire structure erupted into a fiery inferno.
Bane, tied to a tree, howled in rage.
Robin staggered forward.
"Kobra, he escaped into the bushes. But…"
He looked at Aqualad, a small but firm smile on his face.
"We chose the right leader."
Aqualad touched his shoulder. "We chose each other."
-----
MOUNT JUSTICE — DEBRIEFING
July 23, 10:01 EDT
The Team stood before Batman.
Silent.
Tired.
Bruised.
But standing together.
Spartan stood at Superboy's side, as always.
Batman's voice was ice.
"You all made several tactical errors."
Kid Flash gulped.
Miss Martian shrank.
Robin looked down.
Even Spartan braced out of instinct, Batman was one of the few men alive who could intimidate him.
"However…" Batman continued, "…you adapted. You made a new plan. You chose a leader."
He looked directly at Aqualad.
"That decision was correct."
Aqualad bowed. "Thank you."
Batman's eyes moved to Spartan.
"And you, you showed surprising restraint. I expected more collateral damage."
Spartan inclined his head. "I don't need to destroy what I can control."
Batman accepted that with a tiny nod, high praise from him.
"Report again at 1800 hours. Dismissed."
The Team exhaled in relief.
-----
Sportsmaster knelt before the Light's holographic council.
"I salvaged only one vial of Kobra-Venom," he admitted, lifting it.
The cold voice of L-6 replied:
"But the formula can be reverse-engineered."
A deep, distorted voice added:
"Three times now the children have interfered."
Another answered:
"They are becoming a nuisance."
A final voice concluded:
"Then we shall deal with them."
The holograms flickered, leaving Sportsmaster alone, clutching the single vial.