Hey all! Sorry it took so long to upload, I actually was going to post this early this morning, but I couldn't get the chapter to load, and so I ended up downloading chrome and using that instead of Safari which is where I usually post from. I don't really know what was going on, but it was a mess, and I could post a chapter for my other story- honestly, It was just a struggle. But, here you are! The next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

'1st: Robin

2nd: Roy

3rd: Artemis

4th: Megan

5th: Zatanna

6th: Kaldur

7th: Conner

8th: Wally'

"This is ridiculous- how come he's still in first place? We were both found after him! And the archers are still up there! What is this- " A certain magician was currently raging over the results of the scoreboard that now seemed to run the lives of the young heroes. "I bet it'd favoritism because they're fragile normal people."

Robin smirked. "Ah yes, we are so fragile. We sacrificed our own teammate's shoulder and used her as a human landing pad with minimal collateral damage and yet we are all still here competing. We're practically glass."

"Easy for you to say." grumbled the afore mentioned sacrifice. "You can't call an archer's shoulder 'minimal collateral damage' that's not even remotely ok." Artemis scowled at Robin, gesturing to the sling that was keeping her arm immobile. "Canary says I fractured my humerus…did you know that's the second strongest bone in the human body- because it is and it's fractured— because I was dragged out of a pipe and used as a landing pad on concrete. Do you even understand the level of not ok this has reached?- because it's real freaking high!-"

Wally slung an arm around her uninjured shoulder. "Oh calm down sweetcheeks, you're still in third place there's no need to get all salty about it." He was met with a glare that could have melted steel…if she weren't an average human with no superpowers…if she were Superman it would have melted steel- but that's aside from the point. It was an intense gaze of displeasure and anger to say the least.

"What's the next challenge?" inquired Megan, her question working to ease some of the tension in the room.

"It hasn't been announced yet. Guess we get a break while we wait for it…" said Roy with a shrug. "Though, you'd think Kaldur and Conner would want to be here to hear the challenge too…where are they anyway?"

"Conner…do you think glitter would be…tacky?"

"Glitter can never be tacky. The glue might be tacky, but not the glitter. Unless of course you bought glitter glue…then you just have to wait for it to dry."

"That wasn't what I meant." the atlantean sighed. "What I was trying to ask is if glitter would be…in bad taste, would it set back our purpose more than farther it? Yes, It is esthetically pleasing, but would it be cliche?"

"The Man has taught you to fear following your dreams and intuition. Follow your heart Kaldur, use the glitter…." there was a moment of silence. "is 'Repression' spelled with two 's's or just one?"

"…..'R-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N'…..two, Definitely the two…Now, would 'THE MAN HOLDS US DOWN, HOLD YOURSELF UP BY GIVING UP' make a good sign?"

"No."

"No?" Kaldur sounded slightly dejected.

"No."

"….No?"

"No."

"Well, why not? I think it is…catchy…"

Conner sighed, shaking his head. "It isn't empowering enough. Sure, 'Hold yourself up' is good, but it still shows the man as a power figure over us. Also, 'giving up' just sounds like we aren't fighting. We are fighting, its just a more modernized..cultured fight. Like Ghandi."

"….Conner…Ghandi was assassinated…I don't want to be shot…"

"No, we're the new improved Ghandi. Ghandi 2.0…we take what we learned from him and we build…see!" the superboy spun his poster around to show it to his accomplice. In large red letters it read: "I WILL NOT FIGHT MY FRIENDS. FIGHT THE MAN. THE MAN IS NOT MY FRIEND. also superman sucks. He might actually be 'The Man' who knows. THE MAN IS NOT MY MASTER' and in the bottom corner there was a picture of Superman's face with an 'X' over it, and a picture of Ghandi with a thumbs up next to it.

A moment of silence passed between the two of them.

"Conner…."

"…Yes?…"

"I've never been inspired in my entire being…please turn it around before I am moved to tears."

"Alright."

"…."

"Conner…."

"Yes?"

"…..Why did you need to know how to spell 'repression' if it's not used in your sign at all?"

Another moment of silence passed between the two of them.

"I need it for my tattoo design."

"You are not getting a tattoo-"

"WATCH ME."

"What are we gonna do?"

"What?"

"We don't have another task, we've only had them do like…two things- they won't stand for it."

"If we just brainstorm more I'm sure it'll be fine-"

"They're gonna start rebelling, you're teenagers I know how this works! First they get sassy, then they get angry, then they rebel. The sass has left their eyes, there is only anger- and then soon…rebellion."

"Well then just think of some game for them to play or something-"

"It's not that simple. We've given them simple tasks only for it to all end in disaster, they are truly gifted at making a mess."

The light in the conference room flicked on as Dinah entered. She frowned, leaning down to look under the table at the three men who were crouched there. "Oliver, Barry, Bruce….why were you sitting under the table in the dark?…"

"it felt safe." murmured the resident bat.

She sighed. "Mhhmm, I'm sure it did. Now, just stop complaining and give them a task to do or something, they're getting antsy….how about twister?"

"NO."

"Bruce, it's twister what could go wrong?..I mean, sure they fall and get hurt but it would be fine…" Barry looked questioningly, as The Batman sat glaring at the wall as if he was having flashbacks to a war.

"How do you not remember? The Incident. THE INCIDENT. The Sleepover…the alcohol…the twister…the….stripping." Bruce was raving, eyes wide as he gestured frantically in what appeared to be..distress. "Their 'Childhood Night' How do you not remember?" (*Shameless plug for my story: "Childhood Night" because I'm trash, but go check it out, because if you enjoy this humor you'll enjoy that.)

As if in synch, the expressions of the adults fell into that of horror. "No. Twister is in fact not the game to be played…how about chess?" suggested Oliver, his voice low.

Bruce shook his head, "Robin's three time national champ, it'd just be unfair really. Plus it would be boring to watch…"

"Do you want interesting or safe?" demanded Dinah with a groan. "Because right now those two things are at opposite ends of the spectrum…"

There was a lapse in conversation and Barry sighed heavily, crawling out from under the table. "I really could just use some peace and quiet for once….really why did we have to set them up like this..it's more trouble than what it's worth…."

"That's it-" Bruce stood from under the table, well…more so shoving the table out of the way as he flew to his feet. "Peace and quiet- we make them play the quiet game! Whoever can not talk or make and noise the longest wins!"

"Let's type up some rules and have ourselves and nice evening then!"

With a fun little 'ding' often associated with emails from the 1990's, a message spread across the screen, covering the scoreboard.

"Here we go again." muttered Roy with a scowl.

'The Task: THE QUIET GAME

The Rules:
-No Talking

-No Laughing

-Nudity can not be used as a tactic to make other players speak.

Last one to NOT talk/laugh wins.

You start when the countdown hits 0:00'

Ready. Set. GO.'

As soon as they had appeared, the rules disappeared and a clock appeared counting down from one minute.

Megan grinned, connecting Zatanna, Conner, Kaldur and herself up with the mindlink. "Now we don't need to talk! It's perfect, and the rest of them are left out, so they'll be more inclined to talk!"

Zatanna smirked at the other three. "Lucky for you I know a spell so we couldn't talk if we wanted to!" "Ecnelis Rof Eht Thgin!" "Now even if we wanted to talk, no sound will come out- it's flawless!"

Conner glared at her, eyes narrowing in anger. "We don't WANT to win, we need to talk so we can prove that this competition is crap- you're doing this against our will-"

The girls glanced at each other and shrugged. "Sorry, too late now.." noted Zatanna, though she sounded none to apologetic. "Besides, we have to beat the regular people and you guys need to have our backs in this."

"Come on Conner, let's just make more signs and use our words instead of our voices…."

"…fine."

The girls glanced at each other and shrugged again. "They are SO weird."

Those not included in the mindlike-forced-silence-squad stood and glanced around at each other until the timer hit zero. With a shrug, a smirk, a scowl, and a sigh the four 'regular teens (well, 3 and Wally but you know the non humans left him out. Though the argument could be made that Zatanna is human- BUT that is besides the point)' went their separate ways without so much as an attempted mouthing of words.

Roy headed off to the 'living room' to watch tv. It was a logical course of action really, you didn't need to talk to watch tv, you just had to sit and watch and enjoy yourself. In fact, television could make 4 hours feel like a blink of the eye full of entertainment and the potential for joy.

He settled himself on the couch, taking the rare opportunity to stretch out and have the entire couch to himself. Usually there was at least one other teen who would fight for their space on the cloudily comfort of the sofa. With a flick of the remote, the tv was on and Roy was set to cruise channels to find something mindless to watch to kill the time.

Reality TV? No, that would be something that would attract the other teens like flies to honey…surprisingly enough, superheroes or not, the teens were intensively fascinated by the raw, lewd, entertainment brought by the trashy reality shows.

A channel playing a marathon of sitcom reruns? Again, a no, the laugh track would only attract the other teens, bringing about the possibility of communication. This same reasoning cut out cartoons and any movies that were playing.

This left two other options; documentaries and the shows about cooking. Now, Roy was a sensible man, and so he realized that he didn't want to sit and listen to Paula Deen and some plump Italians talk about butter and olive oil.

Considering all these things, he settled in to watch a two hour documentary on the history of ghost hunting. It may not have been the most riveting show on the air, but the dramatizations were gory (and cheesy) enough to keep him occupied and awake.

The young archer and current title holder for resident 'angst-king' was surprised at how well the situation was playing out. He'd gone to the kitchen, grabbed a soda, returned to the couch and only had 10 minutes left in his documentary, and had lasted without any issues or signs of other people. He wasn't complaining of course, just, pleasantly surprised.

In a similar line of thinking to her fellow archer, Artemis decided that isolation was key to winning this. Not that she particularly cared about winning of course, but from the looks of it Robin planned to make her life a living hell if she followed in Kaldur and Conner's footsteps and attempted to avoid the competition.

As soon as they had started, she went off to her room, both locking and barring the door, and pushing the dresser in front of the vent a certain bird so liked to enter through, adjusted her sling, and crawled into her bed. She plugged in her phone to the pair of soundproof headphones she'd been forced to invest in after dealing with Kid Mouth's snoring next door in the first week of sleeping over at the cave, and with some soothing jazz melodies and the feeling of sweet sweet isolation she drifted off to sleep and hoped to remain that way until they had an actual mission to complete.

Wally wasn't a man who handled silence well. The team had so affectionately dubbed him 'Kid Mouth' for that very reason, but he'd be damned if he came in last again. He had to move up the leaderboard, and the only real way he could do that now was by winning this round. His strategy was a bit…overdramatic, but he was sure it would be effective.

He'd sped throughout the Mountain, gathering his supplies and then he'd shut himself up in the rarely used bathroom next to the med bay. Locking the door with a silent snicker he sat in front of the mirror and began his work. First, he shoved a pack of gum into his mouth, chewing enough to get it to it's full gummy capacity, he arranged it between his teeth and gave himself another reassuring nod. 'No matter how gross and flavorless this gum will become' he thought to himself, 'this plan has got to work.' Next he took the roll of duct tape he'd snatched and placed a large piece over his mouth, firmly sticking it in place. Next he placed one of the medical masks on, then another piece of duct tape, securing the mask more intensively to his face, and then to finish it off he tied a bright yellow bandanna over the mass of tape and gauze and gum.

He looked like some slightly bloated bandit wannabe, but there was no way for him to talk, he tried opening his mouth to no avail and shot himself a look that would have been a grin if he were able to move his mouth.

There was no way for him to fail this, he had this on lock- this was in lock down- he was so prepared for this. He was confident! He was self assured! He was so prepared for anything-

….he was starting to get hungry.

If there was anything to say about Dick Grayson, it would be that the child is more slippery than an eel, He prided himself in always being the smartest guy in the room and he was always more devious than anyone around him was ever really prepared to handle.

He was secure in 1st place, and he intended to end there as well, but, that didn't mean he couldn't play dirty for the next round in order to screw over some of his allies that had been doing a little too well.

Sure, in the beginning he'd intended to make a pact, and he'd followed through on that part, but really, they were doing too well, and it was too much work to watch out for two frumpy archers who obviously didn't have the drive for this sort of competition. They would hold him back in the long run, and that was something he simply couldn't afford.

Robin played to win.

He was also a man(boy/child/emotional mess) who knew when sacrifice was in order, and for him to win in the long run, he would have to screw over his closest friends. He still had, two more rounds after this to make up for it….not that he planned to….really they were just doing too well and if a little 'excesiveness' occurred it would allow him to push his more skilled competitors down the ladder.

Now, time to go do some backstabbing.

"Meg, hun, I love you to death, but if you think-sing one more Taylor Swift song- I will literally banish you to another dimension." Zatanna was scowling at the Martian in question, who was now pouting quite intensively.

"Sorry, she's just so catchy…and I feel like she really just, gets me, you know?"

"You're a Martian girl, on a team of teenage super heroes, and you have the potential to turn someone's brain to mush…..Taylor Swift is a talented pop icon and cat lover…."

"But Zee- her lyrics speak to me!"

"That's the point of pop music- it's supposed to speak and appeal to everyone, it's what makes it 'pop'ular music."

"You're just huffy because you aren't half the lyricist T-Swizzle is."

"…Megan…..I'm a magician, I don't claim, nor want, to write music. …..and for the love of god never say 'T-Swizzle' again…I'm begging you here…."

"….fine…"

Robin strolled into the main living air, a grin on his face and a skip in his step. He leaned over the edge of the couch, grinning down at Roy as if the archer were his next meal. He may be a bird at heart, but right now he was the cat about to get the cream. Reaching forward he took a hold of Roy's hand, which caused the other teen to give him a stare that quite obviously said 'what are you planning?'

With a silent cackle and a grin sweet enough to give you a cavity, Robin took a hold of Roy's pointer finger and bent it back until there was an unnerving 'crack' against the hubbub of the documentary.

"Shit- What the fuck Robin- what the hell are you doing?-" He jerked his hand back, examining his finger with a scowl. "This is why we don't hang out with you- it's because get psychotic when there's any sort of competition involved- chores and no training is not worth putting up with this shit- especially with you running around breaking my fingers!"

"Red Arrow, is out of the game." came the voice of Red Tornado over the intercom.

Roy stormed off, shoving Robin off the back of the couch onto the floor as he made his way past. He banged on Artemis's door as he passed. "Watch it, bird-brain my try to break your other shoulder to get you to talk." Though of course, she didn't hear him over the noise canceling headphones and the smooth jazz.

He went to the med-bay and wrapped up his finger, scowling the whole while. "This is ridiculous, why do I put up with this-"

"That's it-" exclaimed Kaldur with a grin. "Zatanna stopped us from talking- not from laughing! If we laugh, then we'll still be disqualified and we can still stick it to the man!"

"Roy already lost, so we need to step up out game before we get bumped into the top ranking. So, can we just force ourselves to laugh? Is that….physically possible?" asked Conner.

"We won't know until we try."

The two shared a glance, and as a pair let out what could only be described as a forced choking sound which transitioned to a cough, then a loud barking noise and finally into a pair of two very forced very monotoned laughs.

They sat and looked at each other, glancing back and forth in silence.

"Superboy and Aqualad, are out of the game." announced Tornado again.

"Well…that was far easier and far more awkward than I anticipated it to be..now we just get to sit in silence until Megan and Zatanna want to let us speak again.." Kaldur sighed. "Opposing The Man, is a lot of work Conner…. is this going to be worth it in the end?"

"We have to believe. If we don't believe, then there will never be change or progress.."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Do you want to go put puff-paint and some sequins and crystals on our posters and signs?"

"…"

"…"

"Yeah. Let's do it."

Starvation had set in. There was no possible way his stomach wasn't currently digesting itself- at this point it was probably working on his liver or spleen as well…before you knew it he'd just by a black hole sucking in everything around him because this challenge was going to kill him.

Wally had waddled (quite unhappily) to the kitchen and sat on the floor, hoping that by some miracle being surrounded by food would allow him to satisfy his unending hunger. He slouched against the cabinets, clutching dramatically at a towel. 'This is where I die-' he thought. 'Alone in the kitchen- I'm going to starve to death in the kitchen.'

He let out what would have been a choked sob, had it not been for the general obstruction of the mouth, so he just sort of lurched forward, eyes glistening with unshed tears. 'I haven't even done anything to deserve a documentary yet- I can't die here-'

The light patter of footsteps brought his gaze up to the familiar sunglasses covered face of his dearest friend. The speedster reached a quivering hand out, his eyes pleading. Robin raised a brow, strolling over and ripping off the duct-tape/bandana/mask combo with a single pull.

Wally spit out the gum and clung to his friend's leg. "Oh my god- I thought I was gonna die here Rob- I got tunnel vision TUNNEL VISION- can you believe it? Thak god you showed up-"

"Kid Flash is out of the Game"

"I don't even care- I'm so happy to be alive!" he pried himself off of Robin's leg and grabbed a granola bar, shoving it into his mouth before moving to rummage through the pantry. Robin shrugged, walking out of the kitchen. 'That was easier than expected.

'Mis, 'Mis, 'Mis….you have got yourself barricaded in very nicely… unfortunately you leave me no choice…walls are easy to fix, right?' Robin shrugged, the walls were metal, so plasma torch would be best…other than that he would figure it out as he went…maybe.

Artemis knew something was wrong when a burning spark flew onto her face. Her eyes shot open, headphones off in an instant. She fell into a low crouch on the bed, watching as a trail of sparks flew out from the wall across from her bed…like someone was cutting through the wall, and the room on that side was Robin's…plus he was the only one psychotic enough to try an cut through the wall. She scowled, moving to remove the obstructions from the door, she slid out as silently as she could, not that anyone would hear her well concealed footsteps over the sound of- was that a buzz saw? who knew- over the sound of whatever the hell Robin was using to ruin her life today.

She made her way into the room with the scores displayed, all of the guys name's (except for Robin's) had been turned red, which she assumed meant they were out. At this point, Artemis decided it wasn't about winning. It was about taking Robin down in a very painful very harmful way. Due to her shoulder she was off duty for the next two months. Two months without missions or training other than runs and physical therapy because Bird-Boy wants to win the dumb game. And now her room was being vandalized as well, this had all gone to far.

Leaving the scores behind, she found Wally devouring everything in the kitchen, she managed to grab a soda before heading to the couches where Roy was sitting glaring at a bandaged finger. She raised a questioning brow. He scowled. "Robin."

That was all it took, she nodded and curled her legs up under her, watching the tv, which was now a documentary on the creation of the submarine. She was waiting, not to win, she was waiting for Robin to come poke his nose in to try something again. Someone needed to put that child in his place, and despite the protest her shoulder made when it was jostled she was going to take him down, healthy shoulder or not.

It didn't take long. Robin came strolling in from the hall leading to the bedrooms, a smirk in place. He perched himself on the edge of the couch, watching Artemis with the same look he'd given Roy earlier. She met his stare with he most unamused scowl imaginable.

He reached a hand out, going to grab her bad shoulder when she intercepted, grabbing his wrist with her good arm. His grin spread and he reached out again, but she was faster- deciding the head first direction was best.

She slammed her forehead forward, hitting Robin directly in the nose- which gave a satisfying crack and knocked him off the arm of the couch onto the floor. "Ow-" he froze as the word escaped his lips, clutching his nose, which was dripping blood.

"Robin, is out of the game."

Artemis smirked. "Check Mate.

"Artemis, is out of the game."

Roy leaned over and the archers shared a high five with their respective good hands. Artemis looked smugly at Robin who was still clutching at his nose, trying to stop the flow of blood. "A broken nose can be nasty, I'd get that looked at if I were you. Then again, considering…I think it's just minimal collateral damage, don't you?"

Ta-da! Another chapter down! I really hope you enjoyed, and remember, leaving reviews is like giving me a lifeline to write! Thank you all for all the support!

Until Next chapter-

~GettingTraught