AN: I'm BAAAAAACK! BUY MY BOOK! (Read my Announcement post)

DISCLAIMER: I DON't OWN THIS STUFFS!

|STAR CITY, ARROW CAVE
|April 8, 05:56 PDT

I rolled my shoulder over and over again for the fourth time since waking up to make sure that it was working properly again. With a quick crack of my neck, I decided that I had no more carryover injuries from the attack on the Hall of Justice, I guess it was now more accurate to say the 'Rubble of Justice,' by Despero and his irritating drone.

"You sure you're ready to go back out in the field?" Oliver asked through a yawn.

I smirked to myself as I hooked my quiver over my shoulder and checked my bow. "Go back to bed, Oliver. I'm fine."

"I just don't want to hear about you getting hurt worse because you should've been resting," he protested.

I tossed him a careless smile, "I said I'm fine, old man."

He snorted, "I don't know how you could be. You were really messed up. Hell, a whole building fell on you!"

I laughed thoughtlessly, "I heal really fast."

He sauntered up to me, still in a bathrobe and pajamas. Without warning, he punched me in the left arm, hard. Pain shot through my left side as pins and needles shot through my body. I bit down on my own teeth to prevent myself from crying out. I took a deep breath and glared up at him.

"Hey!" I complained.

"Hmph, evidently so," he muttered. With a frown, he added, "Maybe give yourself a few more days to recover. Just to make sure you're back up to one hundred percent?"

I shook my head, "I said 'I'm fine.'"

Oliver just frowned again, "I can't have you getting injured further. Dinah would kill me!"

I gave him a push that was mostly playful and began punching in the coordinates for Blüdhaven into the Zeta-tube computer. "Don't worry about Dinah. I could lose an arm and she wouldn't notice if I didn't want her to."

Oliver placed the cup of coffee he had been sipping down on the desk and placed a hand over mine to stop me. "Tommy,"

Suddenly I realized just how insensitive what I had said was. "Oh... sorry. I didn't mean-"

"I'm just worried about you," Oliver told me.

A twinge of pain struck me in the chest as I looked into his sad blue eyes. I took his hand in a firm grip. "I'll be alright, Oliver."

His eyes still held every bit of anxiety and uncertainty that they had before, but he nodded. "Just be safe."

I smirked, "If I have to."

Olivier smiled and pressed a button on the computer and the Zeta-tube began to whirr to life. I threw my bow over my shoulder and began to descend the stairs towards it.

"I'm not going to miss my first official mission, and besides, Rose would kill me if I kept her waiting!" I called as I jogged through the tube.

|BLÜDHAVEN
|April 8, 09:02 EDT

"The question isn't whether our 'world's finest' are the galaxy's most wanted. It's not whether they've been using secret undercover covert operatives against targets of their own choosing. No. It's not even whether these interstellar hoodlums have their own watchtower in orbit over our planet. No, old G. Gordon proved all that a week ago didn't he? So the question is this, How long are you going to stand for this, and do nothing to check these lawless 'heroes?!' Ugh, well I'll just wait here for you to make up your minds. Take your time. If you're not in a hurry, why should I be?" The loud British man on the monitor reported. "Meanwhile, the Earth's true benefactors, the Reach, have been working openly and without fanfare for the betterment of all mankind. Exhibit A, Lexcorp Farms, where The Reach has partnered with noted philanthropist, Lex Luthor to increase food production. Lexcorp and The Reach are even allowing public tours. Trust, openness and an end to world hunger. Now, why didn't the Justice League think of that?"

"Obviously, any partnership between The Reach and Lex Luthor is bad news," Nightwing announced, "so Alpha Squad is going undercover to recon Lexcorp Farms."

In the shabby basement of the warehouse in Blüdhaven, Nightwing explained the mission to us. Us being, Superboy, Mal, Impulse, Blue Beetle, Lagoon Boy, myself and Robin.

"Robin, you're running Alpha," Nightwing concluded.

"Me? Run Alpha? Uh, right," Robin muttered uncertainly. I frowned at him. I was not envious. "Who's on the squad?"

"Blue Beetle-" Nightwing began.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Blue interrupted him. "I should not be in the field, ese. What if the scarab goes all 'Reach apocalypse' on us?"

"Your scarab has had multiple opportunities to betray us. It hasn't," Nightwing placed a hand on Blue's shoulder and gave him a smile, "and right now, it's connection to The Reach might be our best shot at identifying what they're up to."

"Well, if Blue's going, I'm going," Impulse interjected.

"I assumed as much," Nightwing smiled. He turned to me and added, "Speedy will also join you." I nodded, a bit apprehensive, but prepared. "And last but not least, Arsenal." Out of the shadows appeared the last person I expected. Roy Harper, in a new red and black suit, that reminded me a bit too much of my old one, with a buzz cut and several impressive looking weapons strapped to his back. His new metal arm was on full display for everyone to see. "But you both will have to travel lighter for your first mission. Nothing that won't fit under civilian clothes. Any questions?"

"We're sending two new recruits on their first mission, together?" Lagoon boy asked. Arsenal and I exchanged a terse look.

"Both Arsenal and Speedy have proven themselves with their past working with Green Arrow, and Speedy helped us out during the rescue of the captured Reach abductees," Nightwing explained. "They're both highly trained in covert tactics."

Loon Boy dropped the topic, but I could still feel his eyes linger on me. I decided not to force the situation.

"I got a question," Roy asked, in what sounded to me like an intentionally deeper voice than I had heard him speak with before. "Why are we meeting in this dump?"

"With the Cave and the Hall of Justice destroyed, we don't have many other options," Nightwing told him, sounding a bit bitter if you asked me.

"Except the Watchtower," Arsenal countered. "It's national news now. You can't pretend it doesn't exist."

"Only Justice Leaguers and senior members of the Team are authorized for the Watchtower. You don't qualify," Nightwing informed him. I didn't see an issue with it. I was used to being told that I couldn't go places, and the last time that I went one of those places... well, you know.

"Good to know where we stand," Arsenal growled.

"If there are no further questions, then you are dismissed to go and prepare," Nightwing ordered.

As everyone left, a certain someone very bitterly, I approached Nightwing by myself as he was leaving. I was relieved to find him alone. "Nightwing, a moment?"

He turned to me and gave me a friendly, though a bit suspicious, smile, "What is it speedy?"

Hesitantly, I asked, "I was wondering about..."

"Yeah?" he asked.

I leaned in close and whispered, "Rose."

Nightwing sighed, a GREAT sign. "She's still... recuperating."

"Recuperating from what?" I asked, a bit impatient.

Nightwing subtly glanced over my shoulder at the others to see that they weren't listening in. "Speedy, she's still getting used to all this. Unlike your situation, she left her father and brother behind when she... left. She's gonna need time to adjust."

"OK, but where is she?" I asked. "I want to talk to her."

Nightwing frowned at me. In a much quieter tone, he said, "Tommy, she needs some time."

I was beginning to realize what he was saying. "She... doesn't want to see me?"

Nightwing sighed, "I'm sorry, but that's what she wants right now."

A weight settled upon my chest. "I understand," I lied. I tried to understand, but it was a bit hard to not take personally.

He placed a hand on my chest, "It'll be OK, Speedy. She needs time to think."

"Yeah, OK," I muttered.

A bit awkwardly, Nightwing said, "For now, I think you should focus on your mission."

I nodded and walked away, trying to comprehend what was going through my head.

|SMALLVILLE
|April 8, 16:38 CDT

"Please remain seated at all times while the tram is in motion," our tour guide announced over the intercom of the tram as we rode through the Lexcorp Farms compound.

It all looked much more high tech than I had expected from a farm. Either The Reach had really upgraded this place or I was vastly mistaken at how farms looked and worked. I was actually learning something! The tram entered a massive greenhouse on the property and everyone hopped off. There were about fourteen other civilians on the tour other than Jaime, Bart, Roy, Tim and me. It was really odd to see them all in civilian clothes. If I didn't know any better then I'd swear that they all looked like normal teenagers. Personally, I felt naked without my suit. Not to mention that I couldn't even bring my bow.

"We've just entered one of our farm's hydroponics domes where Lexcorp and The Reach are growing the food of the future!" The tour guide lady announced with gusto.

One of the other tour members, an older man, folded his arms over his chest, "This could put the rest of Smallville's farmers out of business."

"No, no! Not at all!" The tour guide assured, "The Reach plans to share their techniques with the entire agricultural community."

She then led everyone over to where display tables had been set out with samples of fruits and vegetables had been set out next to two large tanks that were pumping a suspicious pink liquid into the plants around us. "Please everyone, enjoy your choice of these new, vitamin-rich Reach-enhanced produce!"

"Genetically enhanced?" Tim asked.

"There's been no tinkering with genes, rest assured," our guide smiled. "The Reach have ways of drawing out an organism's full potential!"

I unconsciously shuttered when she said that. Tim gave each of us a slight nod. Pulling out a couple of plastic bags from my pockets, I began to bag up specimens to take back for analysis. As I placed a couple of horribly out of season avocados in a bag I couldn't help but growl to myself. This was bringing me no closer to Slade! What was the point of all this? Who cares if some people ate some funky alien enhanced fruit?!

A loud crunching noise disturbed my train of thought. I looked up to see Bart holding a large apple with a bite taken out of it. I just shook my head at him incredulously. Jaime, who was just next to us, also gave him a disapproving look.

"What? I'm maintaining cover," he defended, taking another bite.

"The entire reason we're here is to figure out of this stuff is toxic or not," I hissed at him.

"The way I see it, if The Reach wanted to outright kill everyone, they'd just blow everyone away from space. Right now they're trying to look like friendly ambassadors," he shrugged and took a third bite, "besides, I burn a lot more calories than you do, so I don't need you judging me."

Tim approached the tour guide and gestured to the tubes of pink liquid. "What's in those tubes?"

"Just water, nutrients, and a little Reach/Lexcorp love!" She announced. She then began to walk back to the tram before we could ask her what she meant by 'Reach/Lexcorp love.' "Our next stop is the pluot orchard. That's right! Pluots! In April!"

Tim looked to the rest of us and ordered, "Time for a bathroom break."

We all began to move towards the bathrooms. All except for Bart who began following the tour group. "I went before we left."

Jaime had the good graces to grab him by his shirt and redirect him, though not without a complaint from Bart.

"Ah, dude, they don't have pluots in the future," he protested.

"I don't even know what a pluot is," I muttered.

"It's a cross bread of a plum and an apricot," Tim stated matter of factly.

I frowned, "I didn't mean that I cared."

Tim frowned back at me. "Ah..."

After anywhere between seven and twelve hours of hiding in the bathroom later, which gave me plenty of time to think up how we could've just infiltrated the compound at a later time and steal samples and surveillance tapes to make up for missing the tour, Impulse finally spoke all of our feelings into words.

"Ugh! Can we please start the mission now?" He asked.

"Fine. Yes. Go," Robin sighed.

We all exited the bathroom stalls together in uniform, though Robin was wearing a different suit than what I had seen him in before. Where his suit was red was now dark gray.

"You're in the wrong mode," he told Impulse and me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Dude, I crash all modes," Impulse smiled.

"Stealth mode, hermanos," Blue informed us.

"What?" I repeated.

"Oh, right!" Impulse laughed. "Now where exactly did I..."

He began to start poking himself all over, looking for who knows what. Getting impatient with him, Blue jabbed him in the chest with his shoulder. Instantly his suit transformed, the red sections of his suit turning black and the white turning gray.

"Ow. Thanks," he complained bitterly.

"Whoa," I gaped. "How'd you do that?"

"Your suit doesn't do that?" Robin asked.

I shook my head, "I don't... think so."

"Where'd you get your suit?" Robin asked.

"I made it out of..." I trailed off looking at Arsenal.

"What?" He asked aggressively.

"I used an old..." I started again, feeling awkward.

"You used one of my old suits?" Arsenal finished.

I looked away, unsure why I felt so weird about that. "Yeah."

He narrowed his eyes at me and took a step towards me. Hesitantly, I took a step back, unsure of what he was about to do. Then, out of nowhere, he reared back and punched me in the center of my chest. I let out a grunt, more out of surprise than pain, as my whole suit changed to a very dark, black and gray color scheme.

"Uh, thanks?" I offered.

He smirked at me, "I'm surprised you didn't notice that while you were altering it."

"I wasn't sure what it was," I admit.

He patted me on the shoulder, a bit harder than I felt was necessary, and exited the bathroom.

"What's that guy's problem?" Impulse muttered.

"I have a few theories," I griped.

After we disabled the security system and set the cameras on a loop, which I could've done in my sleep, we found an access hatch which led down deeper into the compound. We took the liberty of letting ourselves in to find armed guards. Huh. 'Openness' was the word that I believe G. Gordon used. We silently maneuvered behind them, leaving them completely unaware that we were there. Down a few separate halls, we found more tanks of mysterious pink ooze, these ones being treated by Reach alien scientists. I glared at them, memories of electric shocks still fresh in my mind. The sound of their language as they spoke to each other alone was enough to make my throat sore.

"What's she saying?" Robin asked.

"OK, uh," Blue muttered, "She's warning her technicians to go easy on the 'additive.' Just a sec." His eyes glowed orange for a moment. He gestured to a bin filled with pink crystals. "That's it. That's your additive."

By the time he looked back, Robin was already gone. "Where did he-"

"Shh!" Arsenal hushed.

Robin snuck towards the bin, and without any of The Reach noticing, he grabbed a crystal and came back. "Got what we came for. Let's go," he announced.

"This feels almost too easy..." I murmured.

"Dude, you're never supposed to say that!" Impulse hissed.

Before we left, I noticed Arsenal doing something off to the side, but I couldn't tell what it was that he was doing. He noticed me and just smirked. I grimaced at him, honestly disturbed by his smile. We made our way back the way we had come, slowly working our way to our exit. We hid behind a wall of what looked like kale as we inspected our final door before we could leave.

"Two guards, one door hack and we're home free," Robin announced. Before he could move into position, Arsenal grabbed his shoulder. "What?"

"Wait for it," Arsenal replied with a smile.

"What the-?" I shouted.

"You blew the lab?!" Robin exclaimed, "But this was a covert op! What were you thinking?"

"That I'm not about to let Lex Luthor and his space alien buddies poison the world just because we don't know exactly what kind of poison they're using," he retorted, "Plus, I enjoy making Lex miserable."

Impulse rushed forwards and body checked the guards, knocking them out. He called, "All clear."

We all rushed to the door as Robin began hacking it.

"I can't believe you!" I growled.

"Don't give me crap, replacement," he barked.

"Replacement?!" I snapped.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Robin chastized Arsenal, "You went off mission. That was a huge mistake."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," a deep, intimidating voice called from behind us.

We all turned just in time to see Black Beetle come surging toward the ground at us. We all rolled out of the way together, just avoiding becoming paste. Robin was the first to react. He whirled around, pulling out his collapsing staff and smacking Black across the face. He then powered on the stun gun on the tip and jammed it into Black's chest. Black just smacked the staff away and launched Robin into a rack of plants with one swipe.

I lept in, whipping out my retractable batons. I bashed him across the face and pummeled him in the chest. He let out a chuckle and grabbed me by the neck.

"That all you got meat?" he challenged.

"No, but I wasn't allowed to bring my bow!" I barked.

Black Beetle just laughed, "How primitive!"

Before I could argue, he threw me four meters, into an orange stand where I got covered in juice and wooden debris. Instantly I felt my side explode into intense pain. I grit my teeth and clenched my fists so that I wouldn't show how much that it hurt.

Impulse ran in and slammed Black across the face twice, but Black's eyes glowed orange for a moment and then he launched Impulse into a tomato stand.

"I may not move as fast as you, meat, but my scarab processes even faster than even you can run. Let alone think." He said.

Arsenal pressed a button on his prosthetic arm and fired a missile at Black. All it did was get his attention. Luckily, so did the tomatoes that Impulse threw at him.

"Now that's just a waste of good fruit," Black complained.

"No, that's just a distraction!" Impulse corrected.

Arsenal fiddled with his arm for a moment and then fired a laser at Black. It cut a deep gash across his chest as well as setting several planters on fire, but his armor just healed itself right over the gash.

"Any more tricks, meat?" Black growled.

"Just a few," Blue told him.

He landed from where he had flown into the air and blasted Black with a wave of hot plasma. He just took the blast as if it were an ocean wave at a beach.

"Ah, nothing like a warm plasma bath to calm the nerves..." Black mocked, "And clean off the tomato stains."

Blue quickly switched to a different weapon and sent a sonic blast at him. Black just made the same weapon and fired his own sonic blast back, canceling it out.

"Seriously? The fruit hurt more," Black laughed.

"Well, we've tried everything else," I said. "Everyone, cover your ears if you value your hearing!"

"Speedy, no!" Robin called.

I took a deep breath, and, "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It felt like my throat was ripping itself apart as I cried, but I put everything into the attack. Black Beetle actually seemed to struggle with the force of my voice. He slowly began to begin sliding backward. Cracks formed in his suit. They spiderwebbed their way across his chest and shoulders, moving up towards his head. He glared at me as I continued to roar at him. All around us echoed the sound of my screeching coupled with the sounds of cracking.

When I could no longer take the strain on my throat, I doubled over and began coughing up a storm. I was driven to my knees in a fit, just trying to breathe. Impulse rushed to my side to try and support me as I began to heave and wheeze. I coughed again and spat out phlegm and blood. Impulse began to vibrate his hand against my back, stimulating my lungs and making it a bit easier to breathe.

I stared at the small pool of blood just beneath me. A sense of terrifying wonder came over me. Bucky never coughed up blood when she used her cry. Not even when she was first using it. Sure, she didn't know how to control it at first, but she could still use it without any damage to herself. Meanwhile, I felt like I had just been put through a tumbler and I nearly blow out my own throat! I made a mental note to talk to Dinah about it.

"Thanks..." I sputtered to Impulse.

"You OK?" He asked.

"Define 'OK,'" I struggled.

"Everyone out, now!" Robin ordered.

I was about to say that we were doing our best when a very loud CRIIIIIIICK captured my attention. Above us, the entire glass ceiling was coated in fractures and webs of cracks. It looked as though it were going to come crashing down at any moment. Blue just turned and blasted a hole in the wall next to us. Impulse passed me off to Blue and rushed out.

"Go! Go!" Robin ordered.

With Blue supporting me more than I'd have liked to admit, we all rushed out of the compound with the ceiling collapsing on top of a recovering Black Beetle behind us. As we exited, Impulse came rushing back to us.

"Did a quick recon," he announced. "You want the options? Cornfield or cornfield?"

"Cornfield," Robin answered. We all began to run through the crops.

"Way to go, screecher," Arsenal smirked at me, "I doubt that'll make Lex very happy."

"Shut up," I coughed.

"What? I was serious," he offered.

"I don't want to hear it!" I growled.

He glared at me. Getting in my face, he said, "Do you have a problem with me?"

I opened my mouth to reply but Robin answered for me. "No. He doesn't. Not right now, at least."

Robin fixed a firm look in my direction. "Fine," I agreed.

"Think that will keep him down long?" Impulse asked, looking back at the farm hopefully. From inside we could hear a loud growl and crashing noises.

"Not at all," Blue said.

"Keep moving!" Robin told us. We all began charging through the fields.

"Man, this guy just doesn't go down!" Impulse noted.

"Blue what gives?" Robin asked, "The last time you threw down with this guy you were hardcore!"

"That wasn't me," Blue explained. "Scarab was in control."

"So give it control again!" Arsenal told him.

"Believe me, I'd like nothing better, but I can't risk that," Blue said. "Not with Impulse's prophecy hanging over my head."

"Well, we wouldn't even be having this problem if Arsenal could just keep his bombs in his pants!" I hissed.

"Hey! Maybe if you could use your powers without destroying your own windpipe-" Arsenal shouted.

"Enough! Both of you!" Robin chided.

"It's his fault that-" I began.

"That doesn't matter right now!" Robin said. "Right now we need to lose Black Beetle."

"That doesn't seem likely," Black's voice called down to us.

With a loud THUD, he landed right in front of us. Blue Beetle began backing up, and backed up right into another armored Reach soldier! THIS one came in green!

"How many colors do these guys come in, anyway?!" Impulse asked.

"Hopefully three," I sighed.

We all backed together, forming a ring with Black and Green Beetle on either side of us.

"Form up. If we go down, we go down fighting," Robin commanded.

"I'm betting that sounded may more inspirational in your head," Impulse said.

Black Beetle formed his left hand into a sword-like appendage to ready to attack us. On the other side of us, Green Beetle mirrored his actions. Then, to my absolute shock, Green Beetle lept completely over us and began to engage Black Beetle in combat! He sliced across his chest and then threw him backward. Black recovered decently quickly and charged Green. Green pointed his sword at the ground where a massive rock levitated into the air and hurled itself at Black. He just sliced through it and locked his swords, of which he now had two, with Green's, who produced a second to block Black's blades.

"Warrior! You dare attack me?" Black bellowed. "You scarab rejects are coming out of the woodwork tonight!"

"Better to be a reject than a slave!" Green shot back.

"Uh, this guy? Not in the history books," Impulse informed.

"Then who is he?" Blue asked. "What is he?"

Black and Green exchanged blades left and right. For a moment, it looked like Black was about to get a hit on Green, but then Green went intangible and Black's blades just passed right through him. Then Green's legs melded together to form a snake-like tail that wrapped around Black's legs to hold him down.

"Density-shifting, shape-shifting," Robin listed, "All the powers of a martian except-"

"Heroes of Earth!" A new voice called out in my head. "I established this link to better coordinate our attack."

"Telepathy," Robin finished. "That clinches it. This guy's the Blue, uh, Green Beetle of Mars."

"So another alien?" Arsenal surmised. "Do we leave them to fight it out?"

"That... feels wrong," I muttered.

Black fired his rockets, launching Green off of him and into the cornfield and lighting the corn on fire.

"Isn't fire bad for Martians?" I asked.

Robin whipped held his bo-staff across his body defensively, "Move in! Blue, keep Black busy. Impulse, put out the fire. Speedy, try and keep him distracted. Arsenal, use your laser on that plasma cannon. I want it out of commision."

"Right. Be prepared to move," he replied.

We all jumped in to help Green together. Blue flew in and began firing giant staples at Black. Impulse began running circles around the inferno, sucking the air away from the flames. I ran around to the side of Black and jammed my batons into the back of his knee, driving him down onto one knee. Arsenal rolled to the side and fired his arm laser at Black from his other side. Black turned and fired a blast of hot plasma at him, but he just rolled out of the way. Robin came running around the back of Black and threw one of his birdarangs at him. With two beeps warning, it exploded, throwing Black across the dirt.

"In for a penny," I sighed.

I rushed over to Black and stood over his prone body as he began to stand back up. There were several placed on him where his armor had been completely stripped away, revealing his thick carapace. I took a deep inhale, and quite a bit of satisfaction from noticing him flinch a bit.

"RWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Black was smashed back into the dirt as a wave of sound exploded from my mouth and rocketed into him. The force was so great that he began to sink down into the ground as a crater slowly forme under him. All of the breaks in his armor peeled away even more. This time, I was able to force my mouth closed while screaming, but it felt like my teeth were rattling in their sockets as I did, and I was still coughing up a storm as I ran back to the others. When I pulled my hand away from my mouth, there was blood on my glove.

As I ran up to where Robin and Impulse were helping up Green. Behind me, I heard the horrible, deep echoing of Black's laughter as he stood back up.

"I was kinda hoping that might have had a more lasting effect," Arsenal complained.

"Your methods are crude, but you have the right idea," Green Beetle told us. "Beetle of Earth, fire your sonic cannon at twenty-seven angstroms precisely."

"Uh, my scarab's telling me that, 'that tactic will be ineffectual," Blue replied. "That's a quote, by the way."

"For one scarab, the tactic would be ineffectual," Green agreed. "But tonight, it is not alone. Twenty-seven angstroms. Now."

Blue formed his sonic gun on his arm and aimed it at black, letting out a loud attack that looked like it didn't do much of anything to him.

"Ha! Tickles," Black laughed as he continued his approach.

Then Green fired his attack, and it looked like it did more than tickle. Black's armor ripped itself apart, exposing the alien's ugly face. Black let out a cry of pain and collapsed. Hesitantly, I walked up and inspected the green-skinned creature. I couldn't help but marvel at the power they showed together. I began to wonder what it would be like to be able to fully control my voice. What kind of power could I wield. Definitely enough to take down Slade, to say the least.

"Scarab says he won't be unconscious long," Blue told us.

"That is true," Green confirmed.

"Then what do we do now?" Impulse asked.

"Now, we run!" Green responded.

Green held his hand out towards Robin, Arsenal and me. His eyes glowed orange and I felt myself go weightless. Then he flew off into the sky with us in tow. Blue grabbed onto Impulse and followed him.

I heard Impulse complaining in my head, "Dude, what are you doing? Wherever we're going, I can totally get there first. Uh, where are we going?"

An hour later and we were all in some barn thirty miles from Lexcorp Farms, though not nearly far enough if you asked me. I was still unsure about where we were, but I could see Nightwing and Superboy speaking with the owner of the barn off to the side of us all. They had shown up in the Bioship a few moments ago. The owner of the barn was one of the farmers from the tour oddly enough.

Green Beetle officially introduced himself to us, "My name is B'arzz O'oomm, and obviously, I am of Mars."

"Obviously, but it's the beetle thing that's got us wondering," Robin explained. "How are you connected to The Reach?"

Green looked to Blue, "I imagine my story is not dissimilar to yours. On Mars, I am what you would call an archaeologist. Two of your Earth years ago, I stumbled upon a scarab which attached itself to my person."

"Yeah, that last part sounds familiar," Blue laughed humorlessly.

"From the scarab, I learned of The Reach and their plan for the galaxy," Green continued, "Millennia ago, they sent out one scarab to every planet sporting primitive life. The scarab bonds with, and takes full control over its native host giving The Reach an advanced operative for their inevitable invasion."

"But my scarab malfunctioned, and didn't take full control," Blue stated, "That's why the reach wanted to reboot it, by killing me."

"So, did your scarab malfunction too?" Arsenal asked.

"No," Green told us, "but it was not prepared for the Martian physiology, which allowed me to take control of the scarab instead of the other way around."

"We're still missing one thing," I said, "why are you here?"

"For decades, the one you call Martian Manhunter has sent communications from your world to ours," Green explained. "Television signals. They are quite entertaining."

"All Martians love television," Robin smirked.

"So do all four-year-olds," I muttered.

"But when it became clear that The Reach were on Earth, I believed my assistance here would be required," Green said.

Nightwing seemed to take a moment to ponder the story. "The Justice League will need to confirm your story."

"But for now, thanks," Robin added.

Green bowed as a response. Nightwing took Robin to the side to speak with him. I purposely separated myself from the others, walking outside to stare at the stars. I tried not to think about anything, but there were still too many questions on my mind. I found myself unconsciously rubbing my neck.

"Hey!" An aggressive bark came from behind me. I turned to see Arsenal right behind me. I just flat out ignored him and turned away. "Hey!"

"What?" I growled.

"We gonna talk about the problem you have with me?" He asked.

"Why should we?" I grunted.

"Because you're starting to get on my nerves," he growled.

"You've been getting on my nerves since I first saw you," I retorted.

"What did I ever do to you?" He asked.

"Why do you care?" I asked, finally turning to look at him.

"I don't," he denied, "but you're starting to get in my way."

I stuck my face in his, "Then maybe you should stay out of my way!"

"You're the one who brought a building down on us," he pointed out. He grabbed a hold of my suit.

"You're the one who blew the lab!" I snapped, grabbing a hold of him.

"Having an interesting conversation?" A third voice announced itself.

We both turned to see Superboy standing in the doorway to the barn. Arsenal and I let go of each other, though none of the animosity was lost.

"You both done?" Superboy asked with a stern look.

Arsenal gave me one final glare and stormed off inside.

"What is up with that guy?!" I snarled.

"He's been through a lot," Superboy muttered. "Being in a pod for a long time... it's not easy."

I stared at him. I knew almost nothing about him other than he was a clone of Superman. Though, growing up with Bucky, I had some experience with clones. Course, that didn't make me any more social... We just stared at each other for a moment.

"So, you think we can trust him?" He asked after a moment.

"Green Beetle?" I asked.

"Yeah," Superboy said. "How do you feel about him?"

I gaped at him. "You really want my opinion?"

He shrugged, "Why not?"

"Well..." I muttered, "With my background and all... plus I just joined the Team..."

Superboy smirked at me, "Speedy, you're one of us now. There's a sort of unspoken rule when it comes to the Team, no matter where you come from, if you're willing to do good then you're welcome here."

I looked at the ground. "I don't really feel like that applies to me."

Superboy frowned at me. "Are you not willing to do good?"

I quickly threw up my hands, "No, it's not that. It's just... that's not exactly the reason that I joined the Team."

Again Superman just shrugged, "Whatever your reasons, you're one of us now."

"So was Aqualad," I blurted out. I didn't know why I said it, but I instantly regretted it.

Superboy's expression became dangerous. "Yes. He was. Why do you bring him up?"

I swallowed hard. "I don't know, I just..."

He placed a hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, Speedy. We're not going to kick you out."

I frowned, "I didn't say-"

He held up his hand, "All of us have something in our past, what matters is what we do with our time now."

My brows pulled together. "I don't really know what that means."

He smiled, "You will."

I just shrugged. "Whatever."

He sighed, "Let's just get home. It's late."

"Yeah, alright," I agreed.

He led me off to the Bioship where everyone was already waiting for us.

AN: OK! SO! Sorry again that it took me so long to write this chapter, but hey, I'm an adult and I have responsibilities. And a book! If you like my writing then you should buy it! It is one hundred percent self-written, edited and published (hence why it took so long) so it's not perfect, but it is something that I'm proud of. Read more about it in my Announcements post that I did. And as always, thank you for reading!