OOOH CHILD, THINGS WILL GET EASIER. These chapters are like 23x the length of my normal updates lmao.

"Isla Santa Prisca. This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neo steroid, a strength enhancing drug, sold under the street name Venom. Infared heat signatures indicate their factories are still operating at full capacity. But, all shipments of Venom have been inexplicably cut off. That's where this team comes in." Batman turned from the holographic computer where he was showing images of Santa Prisca and its operation to stare at the seven teenagers. "This is a covert, recon mission only. Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will. The plan requires two drop zones."

"So who is in charge?" Robin asked.

Batman and Red Tornado exchanged a look. "Work that out between you."

Caribbean Ocean

July 22, 20:08 ECT

"Approaching Santa Prisca." Miss Martian announced and the team looked at one another. "Drop zone A in thirty."

Aqualad stood up, his chair melting into the bioship beneath him as he pressed the symbol on his belt to morph into his stealth suit. "Ready."

"Putting bioship in camouflage mode." Aqualad dove from the ship into the sea, leaving the remaining six members. They heard Aqualad give the all clear for them to enter the island. "Drop zone B."

Rappels dropped from the ceiling of the bioship as the six team members switched over to their stealth suits. They attached the hooks to their belts before dropping out of the ship, landing softly on the jungle grounds. All except Superboy, who created a crater when he landed.

"Knew I didn't need a line." He smirked.

"And yet creating a seismic event may not have helped us so much with the covert." Robin chided him.

"Aqualad, drop B is a go." Scarlet Witch spoke through the communication unit, trying to avoid a fight.

"Head to the factory, I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."

The group began to walk through the jungle, Robin charging ahead. Superboy paused after about fifteen minutes. "Did you hear that?"

"Uh, no. Wait, is this a super hearing thing?" Kid Flash asked.

"You do have great ears." Miss Martian sighed.

"Okay Rob, now what?" Kid Flash turned, not seeing his friend. "Man, I hate it when he does that."

"Superboy, Kid, switch to infared. See if you're being tracked." Aqualad commanded as he ran through the jungle towards his team.

"Got a squad of armed bozos, incoming."

"Two squads." Superboy corrected him. "But they'll meet each other before they find us."

Gunfire was heard, loud and clear.

"No super hearing required now." Quicksilver joked.

"Swing wide, steer clear." Aqualad advised.

"Yeah, yeah, just as soon as I find Rob." Kid Flash ran off into the jungle, tripping over a rock and falling down a hill. He fell right into the path of the gunfire. "So much for the stealthy."

Both groups began firing at him so he got up and ran as Superboy attacked the man with the mask over his face. He got out of his hold, punching him into a tree.

"What is wrong with you guys? Remember, covert?" Robin yelled, jumping into the fray. "Why didn't you follow my lead, vanish into the jungle?"

"That's what you were doing? Way to fill us in." Kid Flash snapped. "We're not mind readers, you know." Scarlet Witch and Miss Martian flew past him, taking down armed gunmen. "Er, I'm not, anyway."

"You told me I could only read the bad guys mind." Miss Martian looked to Robin confused. Robin said nothing, looking away.

The team tied up the two groups to separate trees, Aqualad having joined them. "I recognize those robes. They belong to the Cult of the Kobra."

"I'm sure Batman would've mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation."

"Agreed. And since there is clearly no love lost between the cultist and those goons, I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out." Robin deduced. "That's why normal supply lines have been cut off."

"We get it. Kobra wanted super-cultists. Mystery solved. Radio Bats and we'll be-"

Robin cut Quicksilver off. "These cultists aren't on Venom. They're hoarding this stuff. We don't leave. Not until I know why."

"Until you know why?" Kid Flash looked at Robin, putting his hands on his hips.

"This team needs a leader."

"And its you? Dude, you're a thirteen year old kid who ducked out on us without a word." Kid Flash grumbled.

The two of them devolved into an argument. Miss Martian looked at Superboy, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch. "Don't any of you want to lead?"

Scarlet Witch let out a sound between a startled squeak and a horrified squeal whereas Quicksilver and Superboy just shook their heads.

"You only know half the story. Let me show you the rest. I can get you inside the factory, via my secret entrance." The man with the mask offered.

Miss Martian crouched in front of him, eye glowing. "There is a secret entrance, but he is also hiding something."

"Ah, ah, ah, chica, Bane is not that easy."

"Argh, he is mentally reciting football scores in Española. This could take awhile."

Quicksilver looked to Scarlet Witch, who subtly shook her head.

"Its not complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Bane smiled at Miss Martian.

The team exchanged a look, deciding to trust Bane. They followed him to a cliff's edge where Robin pulled out binoculars, staring down at the factory where Kobra cultist were bringing product to the helipad.

"We need to identify that buyer." Aqualad stated.

A small snark fest broke out between Kid Flash and Robin, making Scarlet Witch rub her temples.

Bane walked over to a boulder and lifted it to reveal a passageway. "Answers, are this way."

"So, now El Luchador is our leader." Quicksilver chuckled, earning a whack to the side from his sister and glares from Kid Flash and Robin.

They followed Bane through the tunnels into the factory, Robin declaring it all clear before disappearing. "Has the little freak already been caught?"

"No, he just...does that." Aqualad sighed.

"Stay put. I'll get our intel and be back before the boy wonder."

"Wait, Kid!" Aqualad tried and failed to get Kid Flash to stay with the group.

"Great chain of command."

"We're still working out the kinks." Quicksilver shrugged.

Scarlet Witch looked up, watching as Robin ran along the catwalks to one of the control rooms. She smiled, looking back to the group. They had started to make their way to the open doors at the end of the factory and she ran to catch up. They hid behind boxes of Venom.

"Its a massive shipment."

"Yeah, but they're only taking new product off the line." Superboy pointed out. "They're not touching this Venom."

"Maybe freshness counts?" Scarlet Witch whispered.

"Helicopter is coming."

The five of teammates and Bane watched as a helicopter landed and a blonde male stepped out wearing a hockey mask. He approached one of the pale men wearing the Kobra robes, addressing him as Lord Kobra.

"Sportsmaster. The shipment is ready." Lord Kobra spoke as a red haired woman opened up a briefcase displaying vials of a blue liquid.

"The new Kobra-Venom." Sportsmaster picked one up, looking it over.

"A complete success." Lord Kobra gestured to the hulking beast next to him. "Our friends will not be disappointed."

"This is a game changer. Finally, we can go mano a mano against the Justice League." Sportsmaster tossed the Kobra-Venom in the air, catching it as he spoke.

Unbeknownst to the two men, Miss Martian floated above them, sending a telepathic image of them to the rest of the team. Aqualad tried to reach out to Red Tornado but his comm wasn't working so he couldn't reach anyone.

"Comms jammed. We need a plan. Now."

"I have a suggestion." Bane jumped down to the ground, punching two Kobra cultist in the face.

"What is he-"

The window smashed in as the hulking beast jumped onto the catwalk that Aqualad, Superboy, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver were sitting on, sending them to the ground below. Superboy jumped into battle with the beast as Aqualad went on the defensive. Quicksilver ran around, trying to steal the weapons from the Kobra men. Scarlet Witch dove for cover, hiding behind one of the vats.

"Miss Martian, radio is jammed! Link us up!"

Everyone on line?

Yeah.

You know it, beautiful.

Yuck, spare us the flirting. We're in the middle of a fire fight.

We need to regroup.

Busy now.

Scarlet Witch sensed where Robin was and snuck off, undetected by either side of the conflict. She watched as he confronted Lord Kobra and Shimmer before Aqualad called for him and he disappeared after throwing a flash grenade. She went to retreat with him when an arm wrapped around her middle, a hand covering her mouth.

"Ah, ah, ah, little witch. Going somewhere?"

The rest of the team met in the tunnels after shaking off the Kobra cultists. Robin complained about how poorly his first mission as leader was going and Aqualad gave him words of wisdom.

"Oh, who am I kidding. You should lead us, Kaldur. Its obvious."

"Coulda told ya." Superboy crossed his arms.

"Then I accept the burden, until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders." Aqualad grinned at Robin, who nodded. "You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon."

"I hate to break up such a touching moment, but has anyone seen Scarlet Witch?" Quicksilver tried and failed to hide the panic in his voice.

"She's usually quiet and glued to your side, I thought she was behind you." Kid Flash shrugged.

"So you're saying my sister is alone on an island full of murderous cultist?" Quicksilver growled.

"I'll try to find her." Miss Martian reached out telepathically. "Well, good news is she's still on the island. Bad news...she's been taken hostage."

"What?!"

"Don't worry, we'll get her back safely." Robin reassured Quicksilver. "Right now we need to stop that shipment from leaving the island."

The team started out of the tunnels, only to find Bane blocking their path. He told them his plan to blow them up, only for Kid Flash to steal the detonator from his hand. He went to punch Kid Flash but Miss Martian used her telekinesis to lift him in the air. Superboy punched him in the face, sending him off the island.

They made their way to the helicopter, Kid Flash and Quicksilver speeding ahead to take out cultists. Superboy jumped in the path of the hulking beast, asking to go again. When the beast ran towards him, Aqualad blasted him with water. Robin faced off with Lord Kobra as Sportsmaster started the helicopter.

Stop the chopper!

Miss Martian flew at the helicopter only for Sportsmaster to hit her over the head with his gun, sending her sprawling on the ground. The helicopter rose in the air, high above the island.

"Where is our friend?" Robin yelled at Lord Kobra.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about." Lord Kobra kicked Robin to the ground before disappearing into the trees.

Miss Martian-

On it, Quicksilver.

Miss Martian scanned for Scarlet Witch, shaking her head.

She's not on the island anymore, which means-

She's on the helicopter with Sportsmaster.

How are we supposed to get her back?

Before anyone could reply to Kid Flash, the helicopter became encased in a familiar scarlet mist, shaking violently.

Oh no.

What is it, QS?

She's bringing it down herself!

The helicopter began to rip apart seam by seam, careening towards the factory. A person jumped out with a parachute, obviously Sportsmaster, but no sign of Scarlet Witch. The helicopter crashed into the factory in a fiery explosion, the team gasping in shock.

"Sister!" Superboy and Aqualad had to hold Quicksilver back from running into the flames. "Let me go, that is my twin!"

"You'll kill yourself going into that." Robin reasoned.

"If anything happens to Wanda I'll-" Quicksilver cut himself off when a shape stumbled from the factory, a scarlet bubble surrounding them. "Wanda!"

"Pietro...stop...threatening our friends." She smiled weakly, right before her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed on the ground.

Quicksilver picked her up, turning to the rest of the team. "Let's go home."

"Is she going to be okay?" Miss Martian asked worriedly.

Quicksilver didn't reply, he just looked down at his sister's face.

Mount Justice

August 04, 01:06 EDT

"A simple recon mission. Observe and report. You'll each receive a written report detailing your many mistakes. Until then, good job." Everyone looked at Batman in shock. "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is how you determine success. And how you chose who leads determines character. Dismissed."

The teens all walked from the room, talking amongst each other. Batman stared at the back of Wanda's head, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. He had heard what had happened during the mission but Wanda herself had not spoken about what happened during her short time held captive or explained how she survived a fall from hundreds of feet in the air. He had his theories but nothing he could confirm.

Yet.