𝙶𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚖 𝙲𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝚈𝚘𝚛𝚔
𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝚜𝚝, 𝟷𝟼:𝟻𝟾 𝙴𝙳𝚃

The street was empty, mostly. A ginger woman in blue jogging gear with those stupid water bottle belts was strolling with her dog, but by the sheen of sweat on her figure, I could tell she had been going for a while. The dog sniffed the side of a street lamp and lifted its pudgy little leg up to pee.

She huffed, taking one of her hand-sized bottles and chugging the whole thing. Despite the weather becoming slightly colder, it was apparently the warmest fall in three years, so she must've been dying in clothes so heavy.

Other than her, two cars passed by us at the same time a cloud came overhead and blocked the sun, passing just a little slower than the motorized vehicles. Skyscrapers that reached up to the clouds and beyond, towering over us.

Barbara giggled at something Dick said, and I chuckled too. His eyes appeared darker under the cloud, a slightly duller midnight blue shade that really suited him. But even despite the lack of light, his eyes shone, glittering like stars.

We turned when we reached a metal gate, perfectly melded metal came together to create a gothic style of fence that littered the entire city. On top of it was a wooden sign bolted every few inches. It read, 'Gotham Central Park.'

I kicked some leaves as we walked along, they'd just started to scatter around as they fell off the preparing trees. It was my favorite part of fall, to watch the leaves change colors and to play with them after they fell.

"Did you already finish the bio homework, Barbs? I saw you scribbling pretty harshly when Mr. Matthews gave us time at the end of math."

She nodded, ginger hair falling over her shoulders, still clothed in the school uniform. It wasn't exactly straight after school, we'd stayed by the field and talked on the railings before we were shooed away and decided to go to the park instead, but all three of us were still clad in our uniforms regardless.

"Yeah, it was easy, only ten questions? I had enough time to check my phone– Oh wait." She rolled her eyes and showed the ancient device, still a smile on her face as she made fun of the fact her father, in an effort to keep her safe in such a dangerous city but didn't want her to have a real phone, got her a flip phone.

"Yikes," Dick shivered comedically. "Can you imagine?"

She shot him a glare. Only Barbara was allowed to make fun of her phone, that was the rule.

"Did you do the homework, (Y/n)?" I jumped ahead and kicked at a bundle of leaves, watching them fly up into the air and then come down around me like a shower. Luckily, they were completely dry, as opposed to after-rain sog. I hated soggy leaves.

"Nah, 'M gonna do it later. I just didn't feel like working on it, don't worry though, I'll get it done if it's really that easy." I gave her a thumbs up and a wink, seeing her skeptical face and Dick's disinterest. He'd probably tuned out to our conversation, seeing as we weren't in the same science class as him. I think he'd advanced to take forensics this year.

"Anywho," I spun around, continuing to play with the leaves and grunting when my backpack slid off one of my shoulders and thumped against my side. "What do you two wanna do? I don't really know this area that well, so lead the way, I guess."

"There's a great ice cream place near here," Barbara pointed out, "They have the best strawberry flavor you'll ever have." I started walking backward, facing them as we talked.

Dick thought for a moment, "Ice cream sounds good, I could go for some chocolate mint." I turned around at his comment just in time to see him shrug.

"I didn't take you to have such a sweet tooth, Dickie pie."

He grimaced at the same time Barbara cringed, "Don't– don't say that again."

Holding back my own cringe at the same time as a laugh, I nodded, "Yeah, as soon as it came out of my mouth– I knew it was bad."

Dick, for his credit, chuckled. "It's not that I don't have a sweet tooth, but, I do spend a lot of energy and time on gymnastics, so it's nice to break the diet once in a while."

I remembered my strawberry shortcake and Megan's cookies, and suddenly I wondered how much he breaks this 'diet.'

Failsafe put me on a diet too, didn't last as long as she hoped. I snickered, yeah, diet...

"Fine by me, just as long as they have cotton candy flavor."

Dick held back a laugh, "Why does that not surprise me?"

I stuck my tongue out, "Hey, cotton candy and chocolate? No contest. Best flavor in the entire world. Especially melted!" My mouth watered, and my desire for the sugary treat increased, "Oh, now we have to get ice cream."

"Melted? Really? Might as well just get a milkshake at that point." Barbara pointed out, gagging, "Melted? What color would that even make..?" She murmured under her breath.

I looked her in the eyes, "Gray. And– This place has milkshakes?" I asked, hopeful. Milkshakes are so, so good!

"No, it was just a comparison. Sorry, (Y/n)." My mood dropped and I made a dramatic show of slumping my shoulders and sighing loudly before waving her off. Dick questioned my color response, gagging just a tad.

"It's not your fault this place just isn't cool."

"Well, it's a cart, (Y/n)." My attention snapped back up to Barbara.

"A cart you say? You know, the best foods come from carts."

"That's not true at all."

"Shut it, rich boy!" I pointed at him dramatically again, to which I earned a smile and a raise of hands in surrender. "As a Floridian, I'm obligated to fight for street food."

Barbara hummed, snickering when I almost tripped on a leaf as it slid under my shoe. Still, I didn't learn my lesson and continued walking backward.

"Yeah, you did say you were from Florida..."

"Jacksonville, baby," I winked, "The place of sixty-person dance crews, the Florida man, and robbing a Mendy's with an alligator." I made finger guns at Barbara and fired them.

"It's also the largest city in the US according to land mass, has the largest urban park system, and the center of the third largest fire to happen in the US." Dick rattled off, like a prick.

I scoffed, "Okay, Wikipedia."

He shrugged and Barbara walked over and grabbed my hand, pulling me along, "Micheals cart's right there, c'mon."

I looked over at the metal cart next to a park bench, a darker-skinned male was standing there, checking his phone as there seemed to be no one else around. The cart itself was obviously advertising the ice cream it was selling and was completely decked out with a pink umbrella and other pink accents.

"Last one there has to pay!" I dragged Barbara with me as I started running toward the cart, giggling maniacally.

I stopped once we made it near the cart, 'Micheal' barely looked up from his phone, spending a few extra seconds on it before pocketing it and offering a smile.

"Hello ladies, what can I get you today?" He leaned over onto the cart and motioned to the menu. Luckily, he had cotton candy.

I looked at Barbara, already knowing what she wanted, nodding at her. "One cone of strawberry, one chocolate mint, and one cotton candy, my dear Micheal!" He nodded, opening the cart's freezer lid as I pulled out my wallet from my backpack, not actually intending to make the still-walking Dick pay.

I paid him upfront before putting my wallet away, knowing my hands were gonna be too sticky after I got my ice cream to comfortably make the transaction. I left the paper in the jar on his cart– his hands being too full with the scoop and cone to take it. He gave me a nod of confirmation.

There wasn't much in my wallet, just part of the cash Batman gave me as an allowance. It would be stupid to carry it all with me, but I had more than enough for three ice cream cones.

Though it just occurred to me– Batman is technically Bruce Wayne, so, in a way, Dick is still paying, isn't he? Huh.

"I thought I was paying?" Dick said as he walked over, leaning on the cart.

I snickered, "Hasn't anyone ever told you, locker buddy? Chivalry is dead."

"Fair point."

Micheal handed me my cotton candy cone before scooping up Barbaras, I stood back and licked it a couple of times so that it wouldn't start to melt. In an effort to save the napkin covering my cone, and my hand from becoming sticky, it would be a race.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something brightly colored among the leaves. A green little sprout came out of the ground next to the sidewalk. I smiled, still seeing plant life in the fall, especially a new plant.

It made me wonder, were there things in Gotham that grew during the fall? Or was this poor little sprout doomed to die soon? No, right? Plants coordinate growth based on the weather. It should probably be fine, I decided as Barbara joined me, licking her strawberry ice cream slowly.

"Thanks," She said and I smiled at her.

"We're friends, right? Besides, you could always pay next time." She smiled too.

"Will do."

In my peripheral vision, the sprout seemed to grow. I looked over at it, thinking it was just my lack of focus on it. But, it did seem to grow, a red flower still yet to bloom was now on the stem.

Okay, that was weird– way too fast for a normal plant. And I'm realizing now I'm suspicious of a goddamn plant. I think maybe the League is affecting my state of mind too much...

Dick got his ice cream and walked over to join us, and I saw Micheal go back to whatever he was doing on his phone.

And then the sidewalk cracked. I noticed it a second after it happened, and a second before the sprout became a vine, bursting up for the ground and heading straight for us, specifically en route to Barbara.

"Look out!" I yelled, tackling her to the ground and watching as the plant skewered Micheal's cart. The male shrieked and backed away slowly from it before bolting.

Good plan Micheal, good plan.

"Holy Molly–" Barbara gasped from next to me as the vine wiggled and continued to grow from the hole in the ground, more unbloomed flowers littered the sides of it, and now that this thing was as bulky as Bane, I don't think they're just flowers anymore, and probably not good either.

As it grew, we got closer to the hole. Ice cream littered the ground with sticky leaves to create a soupy melt of liquid, but I could care less. I tapped Barbara on the shoulder, "Barabara, run."

"What about–"

I looked her in the eye as we slowly stood up, "Doesn't matter. We'll be fine. My house is in the other direction and Dick's– Well, I don't know about him, but I need you to go find your father and get the police down here."

"I can call." She stated, I shook my head.

"In this danger?" I asked, rhetorically, "Go home, me and Dick'll do the same."

"No!" She argued with me. A second later her eyes expanded and I turned around to see the vine swinging over, Dick vaulted off of it, making it to the other side.

Meanwhile, I felt it hit my back and I felt myself being launched as it slammed me into a tree with its force. Barbara fell beside me, I could see she scrapped her skin with the fall.

I groaned as she quickly got up, rushing to me. "Are you okay? (Y/n)!"

"'M fine, Barbs."

'You've sustained damage, (Y/n), let me help.'

I grit my teeth and groaned, feeling Failsafe start to heal what I'm sure would be a bruise. 'No, I can't. Not in front of Barbara.'

On the other side of the plant, Dick yelled to see if we were okay. "Barb, run, I'll be okay. It doesn't really seem to have a pattern of attack, so I'll get around it and go home. No biggie." I tried to seem nonchalant, to keep Barbara calm and reassured so I could book it to the cave or let Failsafe take over and handle this once she was gone, but it was a little harder than I thought to make it seem natural.

'Do you know anything about this? Failsafe?'

'Injustice League, shadow cover for the Light organization. Giant Plants come from Poison Ivy, controlled by Joker. Also present are Black Atom, Wotan, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, and Count Vertigo.'

'Shouldn't you have told me this earlier?!' I reacted as the plant came back, I pushed Barbara away and fell to the ground, it clobbered the tree right off its stump before going to focus on something else, someone else? Dick?

Was he okay? Was he fighting it, or not? He would blow his cover if he did, but we were his friends too...

I hope he didn't blow his cover, just for us. I mean, Barbara I get. But me and Failsafe? He should know we'll be fine.

'You told me to stay out of daily life. This counts, does it not?'

'Yeah, I guess. I'll get to the cave, then you can take over. I'm assuming this'll be a mission?'

'That assumption is correct.'

"You sure?" Barbara asked me, furrowing her eyebrows in worry. I laughed.

"Yuppers, perfectly fine. Just go, see ya at school on Monday, okay?"

She nodded, "See ya, (Y/n)." Almost robotically, she forced her body to move away from here, away from me, her friend.

She'd make a good hero, with loyalty like that.

I bounced up and we split ways, as I made my way passed the plant, I noticed the distinct lack of my locker buddy. He must've split to keep his cover, smart.

The plant slammed down onto the ground and one of the flowers opened like a hand, I took that as my incentive to get the fuck outta dodge.

'Left,' Failsafe told me, and I skid to the left, vaulting over a knocked-down tree in the process. The entrance to the park was in view, as soon as I crossed the threshold Failsafe gave me another set of directions.

'Right, then another left, then go straight.'

"So this was in your memory too, a warning would have been nice." I huffed but followed her directions.

'It– wasn't, not exactly like this. But... Like you said a week ago, I see what you see. But I remember different details than you do, observe different things.' Failsafe explained. 'The zeta tube should be in the alley, photo booth.'

"Yup!" I found it, the very same photo booth that I'd gone to the night the Tornado terrors attacked. I guess she remembered the directions.

I threw open the booth, launching myself into the machine's scanner, and let it scan my entire body. Despite the scanner not being physical, I shivered as it went over me.

"Recognized: Failsafe. Designation S-Zero-One."
_________________
𝙼𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚁𝚑𝚘𝚍𝚎 𝙸𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍
𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝚜𝚝, 𝟷𝟾:𝟷𝟹 𝙴𝙳𝚃

When we walked out of the caves zeta tube, we weren't surprised to see the team there M'gann and Connor talked as they walked beside Wolf, and Sphere followed behind. Aqualad stood at the computer, typing something out on the holo pad.

We clutched the white fabric of our outfit, the long sleeve securely fit our frame, and along with our other accessories, we were ready for battle when Batman came to deploy the mission.

The thought of Barbara came, and while our hesitance toward the girl was still there, a sense of restlessness and unease came over us. We know she will get home safely. She will be fine. She will be.

"Kaldur'ahm, where's Robin?" We asked, walking up to him. He looked down at us as his towering frame turned.

"Robin?" He asked, "Still in Gotham, most likely."

He raised a brow, "Failsafe, what happened to (Y/n)? I thought you two agreed on splitting hero and civilian time." His voice was gentle– soft, trying not to poke the lion. We think that's the idiom.

"We were attacked in Gotham, by the same plant that attacked Metropolis this morning." We swatted him away from the monitor and pulled up footage of multiple cities with the same plants growing out of their grounds in different places. National news also made it onto the monitor as we pulled up more and more.

Around us, Connor and M'gann came to see the footage, and Wallace and Artemis also joined, coming from the living room.

"So if Zatara's our babysitter of the week," Wallace groaned, "Why's he still here? And why is he eating my snacks?" He complained, not seeming to notice the footage until it was out of his mouth.

Zatara was watching the monitor intently. But on a second look, we couldn't help but think he was looking at us. Captain Marvel was eating an energy bar.

The computer chimed in, and we all looked to see Batman and Robin trailing behind him, coming from the teleporter. The curious thing is, he wasn't dressed in his suit, but in different clothes, clad in his usual sunglasses as well. How would this protect his identity?

"Recognized, Batman-Zero-Two. Recognized, Robin-B-Zero-One."

"The initial attack was short-lived." Reported Cat Grant as Batman walked in, it looked like he was about to pull up everything that we did. His eyes narrowed and zoned in on us, skeptical.

"But Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve." The video continued to play with the plants expanding and moving in crazy, seemingly random directions. "And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League... There seems to be no end in sight."

Hawkwoman, Hawkman, and Green Lantern were all seen battling the creatures as we all watched.

It was Robin, who took the initiative this time. "Should we get out there?"

"No. The League will soon have the situation under control. That's not why I'm here." Batman told his protege quickly, he pulled up a map on his holo computer.

"According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster formula to Kobra." The DNA mapping for the liquid popped up, only for a brief moment.

"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to create Kobra Venom," Wallace explained.

"Which the Brain used to create his animal army." Robin followed.

"And upgrade Wolf," Connor finished, smiling fondly down at his pet as he pet the wolf's white, furry head.

"The Brain also used inhibitor collars like the ones at Belle Reve Penitentiary," M'gann added, helpfully.

Yes, Belle Reve, something was going on there, if we recall correctly. What was it again..? We blinked, our memories were getting more and more spotty, lost entirely. Was this the power of the universe..? Of creation. The truth of our species.

The lie we are fighting for.

"Batman, is it possible that plant thingy's on Kobra Venom too?" We backed away from the towering male, letting him be center stage by the holo computer, knowing that he was giving us a mission assignment.

"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis." The DNA sequence for the plant appeared, "The vine's cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra Venom variant."

"These cannot be coincidences. Unrelated criminals are cooperating with one another worldwide." Kaldur'ahm stated, to which Batman nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of... Secret society of supervillains." The caped crusader spat it out like the phrase was disgusting just laying there on his tongue. "The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."

"You got that right." Robin unpaused all the videos we'd pulled up as he talked, "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei..."

Then, suddenly, static hit, and the channels cut off. We held our breath, the Injustice League would make their announcement now.

"Dude."

"It's not me." Robin snapped back at his best friend as he tried to fix the feed, typing quickly on the virtual keyboard. "Someone's cutting into the satellite signal. All satellite signals!"

The Joker appeared on screen, his eye the focus of the frame until he backed away, the green-haired male presented the audience with a big smile, plaster all over his white face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen..." He introduced creepily, tapping the screen. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem." He chuckled at the hilarity of such a downplay of words, "To bring you this important announcement."

The camera panned out to get a good look at all the faces of the distractions. Just like we recalled, Atomic Skull, Black Adam, Joker, Poison Ivy, Wotan, Ultra-Humanite, and Count Vertigo.

"...From the Injustice League," The chuckle that came from the mutated clown originated from deep within his chest, giving the sense of even more danger than what everyone had already experienced.

Count Vertigo stepped up, and surely Vlativa would deal with him later, no? Diplomatic immunity shouldn't apply in this situation.

'Ah, but of course it does.' (Y/n) chimed in whimsically, disappointed that our assumption had been wrong.

"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them, a ransom of 10 billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit, but the longer your governments wait..." The white-haired adult smiled through his speech until his face morphed into a frown as Joker took the camera, interrupting him.

"The more we get to have our jollies." The green-eyed villain whispered the words before breaking out in another fit of laughter, the camera cut out and the news coverage began again.

Batman touched his comm and answered the other line which only he could hear. "Roger that, Aquaman. The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback. But it won't come to that." He stressed, deadly serious as always.

He had every right to be, too. They were attacking multiple cities, taking advantage of the human government systems and more, and even worse, putting the lives of civilians in danger.

(Y/n) hummed, and we had half a mind to ask about the light curiosity flowing through us now. But we kept it to ourself.

Robin typed, pulling up the recorded footage of the broadcast we'd just watched. "Count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Adam, Wotan. Seven heavy hitters." On the screen, their faces were identified and their files were automatically pulled up. "Probably behind nearly everything and everyone we've faced."

They were just decoys, however, meant to distract the League and the Team from the real Light behind everything we've faced so far... As they bring civilians into their games, use their pain and suffering as cover-ups to make it seem more real. Many lives lost, many more hurt.

'So tell them that...' (Y/n) encouraged.

We hesitated, a burning, agonizing sense slowly drifted through us like lava down a hill, flames engulfing everything in their path before anything could truly be destroyed by the molten rock. It was slow, building, and not intense at all. '...But you said to share between us first.'

As we said the words, that irking came up again. As if we were defiling something. A scared something. Something we just couldn't name. We wondered if (Y/n) was again angry, but when she responded it almost sounded like she was trying to soothe, instead of reassure.

'...I said I wanted you to share in general. I appreciate your wanting to prioritize my feelings first, but for something as serious as this? You need to share, Failsafe.'

If that is what (Y/n) wants, we shall propitiate. The wish to fight again was not a welcome one.

"There's your secret society." Wallace corroborated.

"Not so secret anymore," Artemis mumbled, unimpressed, she'd crossed her arms and hid her real feelings toward the situation behind her usual mask. Designed to keep even those closest to her out.

We stared back at the hologram, looking past the caped hero in front of it. And our eyes shifted to the news footage on the smaller monitors, of civilians, running away in horror at giant plants, thicker than the buildings around them, barely being contained on the streets as they wiggled about.

"What secret society?" We asked, out into the air for it to sit. "Because I certainly do not see one."

Around us, the atmosphere grew cold and quiet as they waited for us to follow up on our statement, so we did.

"Them?" We motioned to the screen. "It's as Robin said, a group of heavy hitters. Not a group of meticulous planners. None of them could very well account for the Joker's variability, the probability of him ruining a plan before it begins is high, especially for the sake of a joke. And do you really believe they could have worked with Cadmus, or do you think they stole the blockbuster formula? Neither seems like a possibility. A break-in would have been televised in some capacity, even if it hadn't, Batman would surely have picked up on something happening at Cadmus, regardless." We took in a breath, inhaling and exhaling again before continuing.

We spoke slowly and clearly as we went, only intending to state our point once. "And there is little chance Sportsmaster would work with a group like that, he's an assassin. They're much too flashy to employ him, lest get him on their side." We crossed our arms over our chest and continued.

"Wotan is a prideful magic user as well, he would never stoop to science in a situation in which he can avoid it. Everything Vertigo does is closely watched due to his status, and not even Ultra-Humanite could have handled everything happening in the last few months by himself." That last point was a little weak, but we were sure our credibility and the other few points would be enough for them to believe us.

"So then who is our secret society?" Wallace asked, eyes focused on us.

"Not them." We stated, "They're decoys to get the League of the true perpetrator's trail."

Robin typed a little more, "Well, it does make sense. Joker's been in Arkham until recently, and Ivy only broke out some time ago..." A hand found its place on our shoulder and we looked up at the owner.

Aqualad looked down and met eyes with us, smiling, "I'm glad your starting to open up more, Failsafe. This was very beneficial."

We looked away from him, "(Y/n) said I should share more. It didn't seem too detrimental to."

"Well, we're still glad." He responded, and his hand left our shoulder. The warmth from it radiated a little longer before dissipating.

Wallace punched his hand, "Whatever– whoever the real perp might be. We still have a giant plant problem. So I say we go kick some plant-creature butt!"

Batman, who'd been silently observing us the whole time, finally interjected. "The Justice League will handle the plants. I have a different job for this team."

"Oh, man..." Wallace whined, only to receive an elbow to the side from his side. The strawberry blond grunted, rubbing the sore spot as Artemis rolled her eyes.

"With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously, there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it."

Zatara stepped up, concerned. He rubbed his wrist with a gloved hand, his mustache moved with his upper lip as he talked. Green eyes looked at Batman with worry. "You realize what you're really asking them to do?"

We looked at him and he felt our gaze, turning around we locked eyes. We nodded, "Zatara, there's nothing to worry about. We are all capable of completing this mission."

Batman nodded himself, "They're ready."

Behind us, Wallace questioned what exactly we were ready for, only to be hit by Artemis again.

"Hello, Wally. If the big guns are fighting plants, who do you think we'll be fighting?" she asked, annoyed.

"I don't know!" He rubbed at his sore spots, "I guess we'll..." She motioned to the hologram, to which Wallace ineloquently stated, "Huh? Oh."

"Well, Batman, I trust you're correct..." Zatara's voice was shaky, but we believed him when he placed his trust in the other adult. Batman is trustworthy, commands respect, and earns the respect he gets.

"I trust you can locate the enemy." He agreed, motioning to the hologram of the globe he'd pulled up just a moment prior.

"Indeed." Zatara stepped up, "Wotan's involvement suggests sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity." He lifted his arms and spoke his incantation backward.

"Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!" He inhaled as a red dot was pulled up on the holo map. Louisiana. Specifically the Louisana Bayou. "There."

'Magic is so cool...' (Y/n) gushed, then tried to say the words in our mind, 'Etecol recitipe foy recros!' A humorous sense flushed through our body at the silly display.

'It's backward speech, quite hard to practice and get correctly. Especially as fast and as masterful as Zatara has done... That was a good first try.' We couldn't help but think how skilled Zatara was though, to be able to execute how he's done.

He makes a great wizard. And a great candidate for Lord of Order if he improves more.

"That is where you will find the Injustice League's central control system."

"Coordinates locked in. The Louisiana Bayou." Robin typed it out into the keyboard, setting everything in place.

"We are on our way," Aqualad announced, and with that declaration, everyone headed to get their costumes on and hop into the bioship. We turned too, intending to go to the bioship after materializing the toolbelt Robin gave (Y/n) from our room.

"Failsafe, Captain Marvel. For this plan to succeed, the entire Justice League must be seen fighting the plant creatures." Batman emphasized 'entire,' seeing our foot shift toward the exit of the room. "All of us are needed elsewhere."

We couldn't shake the dread at his statement. The blinding disagreement has us still even as Captain Marvel moved back toward our supervisor. "...I'm an honorary member. The public doesn't know about me, and the Injustice League hasn't ever faced me before– They won't be looking for me."

'That's it, Failsafe. Tell him." (Y/n) urged, and we acquiesced yet again.

"The public has seen you, and with other heroes around the globe already dealing with the plants– we need all hands on deck." He narrowed his eyes, and we did the same.

"I appeared once in the public eye, for a moment. And in terms of where I'd best serve, I think being with the Team would be better." We stood our stance. "The Injustice League may not be the true threat– But they are the true threat of the day. The League can handle themselves, and while I have no doubt the Team can handle it– I'd prefer to be with them."

"Go, as you said, the League will be fine as we are." Zatara smiled at us, and we nodded.

"Thank you, Zatara." We ignored Batman as we hurried to meet up with the rest of the Team in the bioship.

_______________
𝙱𝚊𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝙱𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚠, 𝙻𝚘𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚊
𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝚜𝚝, 𝟷𝟾:𝟻𝟸 𝙲𝙳𝚃

We approached the bayou as the sun began to set, we didn't have long before the cover of night would make things hard to see now that the autumn months were upon us. Sitting in our usual spot in the middle, by Artemis and Superboy, we watched as Wallace snacked before the battle and Aqualad shifted his duffle bag closer to his leg. Robin checked his tools in front of us.

"What's in the duffle?" Kid Flash asked, voice soft and low. Still too loud for the quiet atmosphere.

"Plan B."

We didn't understand why no one was as lively as they usually were.

'It's because the League is trusting us with the real bad guys, real danger. No one wants to let them down, especially when the situation is so fraught. People are counting on us.' (Y/n) explained solemnly. 'I wish there was something I could do, to help.'

'You are helping,' we reassured, 'We're helping, together.'

That seemed to cheer (Y/n) up, just a bit.

Miss Martian groaned and took a hand off the controls to hold her head, her face flushed, and we knew this meant trouble.

"You all right?" Superboy piped up, concerned. Even Wolf rose from its seat.

"Dizzy." She responded, still focused on her nausea.

"Martians get airsick?" Robin quirked a brow from under his domino mask.

"She does look a bit greener than usual..." Kid Flash tried not to raise offense.

"Not me, her." Miss Martian retorted with little clarity. Artemis looked at us, before looking at Miss Martian. "I feel fine, you, Failsafe?"

Before we could respond, that yes, we are fine, Miss Martian clarified again. "Not her, the Bio Ship. She's trying to shield us but..."

Something hit the bioship from the bottom, and a shockwave that circled around the whole ship jumbled us up as the entire aircraft was left spinning in the sky and left to fall into the lake with kinetic fury.

The group of us screamed, but there was no reprieve until it landed, and even so only for a moment until the ship was dragged under again by the very same plants that caused this whole situation.

For the first time in a very, very long time, we were uneased. Trapped in a situation where we didn't know what would happen next. If we were pulled under, how long could the bioship protect us? There was no way to break free of it without hurting the poor creature, and any other escape options would leave our teammates on their own– we stopped the thought. Never again.

Never again. That is what we promised. We'd use any and all power stored up if we had to— there was still time to get it back. And, their lives were important.

The ship filled with water at a rapid rate, from a hole in the top of the ceiling. Around us, our teammates tried to readjust themselves, groaning and coughing and trying to get out of their seats to be upright. The bioship released us from our seatbelts, something we're sure helped save some lives.

"Unh, he's hurting her!" Miss Martian exclaimed, falling into Superboy's arms as the psychic link affected her.

Artemis looked around hurriedly, pulling out something from her toolbelt.

"No." She stated, "No way I'm nearly drowning three missions in a row."

She handed a backup of her tool to Kid Flash, who was unprepared for such a nicety.

"Wow. Uh, thanks." Next to him, Robin had gotten out his and prepared himself to start swimming.

We got the backup from our toolbelt too, placing it on our lips. Superboy placed a hand on the struggling martian's shoulder. "M'gann, we need to get out. Open a hatch."

"Hello, Megan. Of course." She slapped her palm on her forehead, and there was movement in the bioships structure below.

"Out! Everyone out!" Aqualad ordered, diving through the hole first. We followed with Wolf, Superboy trailing behind as Artemis, Kid Flash, Robin, and finally Miss Martian exited the sinking ship.

As we surfaced, the swamp water stuck to our clothes and the area was too silent. Robin and Miss Martian looked out from behind a bush, trying to locate our opponents and make sure we're in the clear for now.

Superboy gasped as he tried to inhale, while Miss Martian informed Robin of the ship's condition. "She's in shock. She'll need time to recover."

Our teammates let out a scream around us and dropped to the floor, looking distinctly green. We looked up to discover Count Vertigo using his usual, and only, trick. Creating a field where all people felt nauseous in front of him, so much so to the point of major bodily dysfunction.

"Vertigo." Kid Flash said in between gritted teeth.

"Count Vertigo to you, peasant." Knowing we were the best match for someone like Vertigo, who had psychic powers we were naturally immune to, we charged. Kicking him in the shoulder and sending in straight into the muddied ground.

Behind us, our teammates groaned. Slowly recovering. We looked down at the remarkable, and average, Vlatavan man. "I don't kneel to your human structures. Stay down."

He scoffed, white eyebrows furrowing on his pale forehead as he said, quite simply, "Like hell I would kneel to a child like you."

Our eyes narrowed, and we grit our teeth.

"I will show you, child." Pressing our foot farther down and narrowly dodged Black Adam's attack from behind. Noting the difference in the air pattern only a second before the shift occurred, followed by the movement that created it.

Copying the male's strength, then adding a little more, we threw him over our shoulder and slammed him into the ground as a torrent of water shot out from Aqualads water bearers. He'd joined back into the fight along with Superboy, who went after the now-released Adam.

We slammed Vertigo into the soft ground hard enough to knock him out before removing ourself from on top of him. Stepping down with a little jump.

'Robin, Miss Martian, Failsafe, disappear. We will keep them busy while you fulfill the mission objective.' Aqualad ordered through the mind link. We nodded to ourself instinctively, flying over to Robin and Miss Martian.

Silently, we all nodded to each other– a silent communication where not even a psychic link was needed.

The others continued to fight Black Adam, while we teleported Robin, Miss Martian, and ourself to the side of the building containing and controlling the giant plants. It went without saying that we needed to be careful.

'How do we do this?' We asked, "fire would be the most efficient. But..." We looked to Miss Martian.

Robin shook his head, there were batterangs in his hand, we suppose he's rethinking his stratagem too. "You've got a point."

"I'll be fine. But," Miss Martian closed an eye and grimaced, "I've lost contact with Aqualad and the others. Should we...?"

"Already?"

"Sorry, that's not the gig. This is." Robin pulled up his hologlove, looking for the plant's structural weakness.

"The Injustice League's central control system. Looks like that plant is acting as an antenna... To control the other plants worldwide." Robin rambled to himself, looking over the information he received from his hologlove.

"I could go help them," We offered, peering over him to see the information ourself. It looked to be that the plant was weakest around the outer rim of the building, the strong skin of it was being chaffed by the building's edges. Our best guess was that it was a new adjustment, not part of the original framework.

"You might want to help yourself first, sweetie." The sickeningly sweet voice of the redheaded plant activist turned villain practically sang.

A moment later, we were all encased in plants. Writhing around us and pining our limbs together as they started to squeeze painfully.

We burned them off, and she yelled in pain in frustration.

Dropping to the ground, our boots hit the water beneath, the splashing sound of dirty swamp water and the stick to our clothes was forgotten as we rushed over to Ivy, giving her an uppercut– the same way Black Canary had taught us.

Behind us, Robin broke free of his restraints and assisted Miss Martian in getting out of hers.

Ivy retaliated with a punch of her own, uncoordinated and messy– clearly having relied on her plants too much. She must be exhausted, keeping up the main control and the plants all over the world. We're at an advantage.

It wasn't worth copying her strength, but we did regardless, kicking her knee down and bringing ours up to attack her face.

She screamed in pain before two roots came hurdling from the ground, we disintegrated them before they even had a chance to touch us.

She screamed again, and before she had another chance to act, with more plants springing out of the ground, we tousled her to the ground and knocked her out. She was powerful, and without her consciousness active, the plants would weaken considerably.

We turned around intending to indicate the need to find the others and group up again– they could be in trouble on their own, Black Adam was a threat and there were still four unaccounted for.

But when we turned around we realized it was only three, as Ultra-Humanite stood defeated without any weapons to protect him, far away and trampled on the swamp floor.

We hadn't even heard the scuffle.

We expected no less from them, Robin or Miss Martian.

We and Robin met eyes, and we understood his message and chose to follow it, although reluctant. 'We need to finish the mission.'

'Robin, she's made contact.' Miss Martian informed our group leader through the mind link, overhead floated a fully conscious Vertigo with Black Adam, and the sorcerer Wotan floated with a golden cage made of magic.

'Artemis?' He asked, confused, looking up.

'No.' Her voice had taken on an air of annoyance. In the sky, the bioship, clad in its usual colors of red and black accents attacked Wotan by completely running him over. Our teammates dropped from the sky as Black Adam grabbed Vertigo.

Using telekinesis, we slowed our teammates' descent until they hit the ground comfortably on their feet.

In the distance, Vertigo fought with Black Adam about his priorities, grunting as the brute lowered him to the ground. "Not me! Stop those delinquents!"

Now that the Team was free and grouped back up again, we felt confident in letting them handle the situation.

'Robin, with me.'

'Roger.' That was a confirmation word, we know that now. In an instant, both of us were teleported atop the building.

"Well, that's a time saver." He quipped and we nodded.

"I can cause an explosion, but without a basis, I'm not quite sure what the right measurement is."

His domino mask lifted on one side, indicating a lifting of his eyebrow. "You need a measurement for an explosion?"

"Not unless you want the planet to go with it. The last explosion I witnessed would be the cosmological beginning."

"Huh?"

We sighed, "The Big Bang."

"Oh." He sucked in a breath with his mouth, it made a weird noise that we believe perfectly summed up this conversation.

"I need your batterang as a basis."

"Right." He handed us quite a few, not nearly as many as what we knew he had, but it was more than enough.

Using telekinesis, we placed them all around the plant in a rotating form– this plant was covered every five feet in explosives.

They blinked, the red lights on them beginning to light up green. We prepared to create an explosion twice as big as the ones they created, but (Y/n) told us to make it three times as strong. So we did.

Landing beside Robin, we exploded the plant. The plant was blasted apart, torn open at the seams as a shockwave fired from out of it, launching its parts into the air. Fire and ashes floated into the night's cool air as the remnants of the still-burning plant fell from above us.

"Timber," Robin muttered victoriously, crossing his arms with a smirk.

"That's not the correct usage of that word, Robin. You're supposed to say it before it falls." We don't know why he smiled at our statement, but it made us smile too.

Behind us, a beam of radiation was shot at Robin, to which we blocked it with a shield, jumping in front of the boy. In front of us were Atomic Skull and Joker, looking particularly blue about the events that just occurred.

"Children? Children foiled our plan?" Joker asked through gritted teeth, his face twitching in an unhinged way. "Inconceivable. Unacceptable. Retributionable! ...That last one might not be a word. So sue me." He shrugged to himself, laughing all the while.

He raised his hands, and whatever was left of the plants responded to him as Atomic Skull charged.

Robin came beside us as we lowered our shield, "I'll get the clown, you get the corpse."

We nodded and with opponents assigned we charged, copying Skulls strength as we tried to get close to attack. The radioactive male shot at us, and we blocked it with our shield– it shimmered when it connected, colored the same as his beam for a short moment before dissipating, becoming clear again.

He kept shooting, and we had to keep the shield up as we got closer. He backed up, continuing to shoot.

'Just shoot him or something! This is boring, do something cool!' (Y/n) urged.

Deciding to humor the suggestion, we asked, "Like what?"

'I dunno, like make a bow out of light that shoots out mini-nukes. Or a sword made out of the same radiation he's using to attack us right now!'

'Those suggestions are highly...'

'Unadvisabel, I know, I know. I'm just saying, be more creative, Failsafe!'

So we took her advice, going for a low sweep we shot out fire from our leg and caught him off guard, causing him to trip and fall. We grabbed him by the shirt as he almost fell off the roof.

From this height, if we let go, we could kill him. Couldn't we?

Deciding against it, we threw him back onto the roof, to which he shot at us as we kicked him in the stomach. He gasped out, trying to collect air in his lungs as we picked him up and slammed him back down again. This time he grunted before desperately trying to get air back into his lungs, even more than the first time.

We let him collect his breath before leaning down, placing our fingers in the junctures of his fragile and thin neck, knocking him out with the help of a little of our powers. We weren't making the same mistake we made with Vertigo with him.

As we picked up the unconscious body of our opponent, a shockwave rang out across the air and our eyes expanded, mouth becoming agape and dry as we recognized the magical power that possessed.

He was here, Fate.

Well, it was only a matter of time.

In the corner of our mind, Nelson popped up, and an ache settled in our chest. We wondered why (Y/n) was thinking of him, and why (Y/n) was hurting for him.

It didn't matter, not right now, at least. We can ask later. For now, we dropped down from the roof and placed Skull's body on the ground, leaving him be before going to assist another teammate.

We cannot interfere in their battle now. A lord of order, and an avatar of chaos. Not an agent of chaos, but as close as this battlefield will see. It's in fate's hands now.

'But does it have to be?' (Y/n) urged us, to which we shook our head.

'It does.'

We jumped into the fray as Artemis saved Miss Martian from, the now-awake, Vertigo. Kid Flash aiding her in that regard. Superboy was dealing with Ultra-Humanite, so we dealt with Black Adam.

The male had invulnerability, super strength, speed, and the power of flight. Nothing truly impressive. The only thing truly interesting about him was his long lifespan, and the fact he used to be a hero, at one point.

We copied his strength and engaged in a fistfight with the mute male. Who seemed to think he'd humor us until he was inched back. With gritted teeth, we started wrestling.

With a burst of strength and a swipe of our hand fire took over both our figures, swamp water catching on fire as we danced the barbarians' tango, trading blow after blow of punches and kicks. Dodges and counters.

The fire seemed to harm him just enough, but it wasn't worth the energy– or potential risk of a raging swamp fire.

There was silence all around us, and the scuffling of fighting stopped. Curious, we halted our fight with Adam. Caging him in a forcefield sphere, using Rocket as our base, before using that to take his air and knock him out.

Above us, the Justice League had appeared. Batman peered down at the 'Injustice' League menacingly. "It's over."

"There will be another day." Count Vertigo promised as he raised his hands in surrender, knowing the fight was over.

Beside him, the wildcard freaked out. Laughing as he rambled on. "Another day? Another day?! There won't be another day! Not for any of us!" With a movement of his hand, the flowers on the remaining flowers opened with a pop, a gas spewing out of it in a discolored and unnatural way.

"Joker-Venom spores! Don't breathe!" Batman acted quickly, covering his nose with his cape and punching Joker so hard he fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

Above him, Doctor Fate lifted his blue-clad arm, the golden gloves sparked his signature golden ankh, which started to collect the Joker venom before anything else could occur.

"Fear not." He declared, and we thought about how we used to comfort Nelson with those words.

...Was he still in there? He had to be, we could feel his presence. Though, as we searched for it, it seemed faint. (Y/n) wasn't imagining him there, right? How powerful could a human mind be? That the power of suggestion would outpass us?

No, it's not possible. Which means he's still there.

"Fate has intervened!" He declared again, before floating down in his glory to the ground. The League started to arrest the villains, cuffing the surrendered and unconscious.

Kid Flash strutted in anger to where Doctor Fate landed, still controlling Aqualad.

"What were you thinking? How could you let him put on the helmet?" He motioned accusatorily back at the mage as he turned to Miss Martian, who'd seemingly aided him in this.

"Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Doctor Fate forever." Kid Flash mounted his friend as he lowered his head. And as if to prove him wrong, Nabu removed his helmet. To a little shock from us.

Joyous, Kid Flash turned to his friend with a relieved smile, "Nabu let you go?"

Aqualad smiled, the helmet heavy in his hands, "He almost did not. But your friend Kent was most helpful. He says, 'Hello.'" Aqualads eyes turned our way, and we knew he extended the same greeting to us too.

A longing sense was heavy in our chest, and we furrowed our brows as we tried to figure out why.

But Batman spoke up, addressing his team who, for once, completed the mission without completely messing it up. "We're done here. The supervillains' secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance..." Collectively, all of us held our breaths.

"...It was satisfactory."