The rattling of war drums echoed from high above from a tunnel lit by candles. Statues of snakes lined the wall and a group of robed cultists kneeled down on the ground. A gentleman stood higher than all of the rest, named Kobra, the namesake of this cult. The cult leader's eyes narrowed upon the realization that he was no longer alone.
A large hulking bruiser dressed in black, with a mask that showed nothing other than his beady haunted eyes, made his way through the room, with two of his henchmen who also had been buffed up. Several of the cultists made plenty of noise when they locked eyes with this intruder.
Bane, the man who ruled Santa Prisca, their current location, with an iron fist stood and peered down onto them. His two henchmen looked menacing, but no threat. The Kobra Cult had numbers on their side and therefore they were confident of their ability to strike down Bane.
From a pedestal, a robed woman peered down as the cultists moved their way in. Calculating, and measured, like a viper ready to strike against her prey.
"I'm here to take back what is mine," Bane said. "You've known what you have stolen, Kobra."
"You have shown up at the right time," the robed priestess said. "The gods, they are restless. They demand a sacrifice."
"Then, I will be the one who will satisfy their lust for blood," Bane said.
All of the cultists moved backed off, cautiously judging the situation. Despite Bane not being on the drug venom, he was still skilled and intelligent. One could see that Bane would have something up his sleeve. Kobra snapped his fingers and all of the cultists fell back.
"Have you lost your nerve?" Bane asked with a dry chuckle.
"Beat our champion," Kobra commented. "And I will concede control."
Bane wondered which of these skilled warriors Kobra would throw out to face him him. He received his answer in the form of a young man and a young woman. Both skinny, with Bane chuckling at the thought of them having a chance to hang with him with a minute. Bane ate meals on the regular that was much bigger than these two.
Combined.
"Give him back what belongs to him," Kobra said.
Two of the cultists presented Bane with an apparatus. Bane's eyes narrowed the second his eyes locked onto it and he took the tubes into his hands, breathing out in a very solid breath when he took it.
"You give me back my greatest weapon?" Bane asked in a cold voice. "Not that this...warrior had a chance without it. But I will crush him in seconds with it."
"If you have a chance to properly utilize it in time," Kobra commented with a snap of his fingers.
The young woman injected the young man with a fluid from a syringe. He grunted as the changes in his body became obvious. Suddenly, the scrawny man turned into something else, something more hideous. He shifted into a real mammoth of a man and growled when he came up against Bane.
"Show him what you have, Mammoth," Kobra said.
Bane looked upon him, almost grudgingly impressed. Mammoth dove at Bane and sent him crashing down to the ground into the wall.
He reached for his venom, but Mammoth responded by kicking him hard in the face. Two more unanswered kicks fired. Bane blocked a punch and flipped him into the ground. Bane grabbed Mammoth in a full nelson. The larger man broke free in a matter of seconds and smashed Bane down to the ground like he was nothing.
Mammoth hoisted Bane up by the throat and whipped him hard into the wall. The cultists cheered. Bane's guards moved in, but the cultists blocked them.
Mammoth stamped him into the ground, with Bane never being able to fully utilize his venom to take him down. Not that it would matter at this point.
"All hail Kobra!" the cultists yelled.
Kobra just smiled. Their buyer would be most pleased with the success they've accomplished today. He knew he was, peering down at the battered body of Bane.
"Time for a sacrifice to the gods," Kobra hissed.
"So be it," the priestess said.
Harry smiled when going face to face with Helena in a sparring session. She dressed in a purple sports bra and a matching pair of tight yoga pants, showing off her toned and great body. Harry was honestly surprised to find out she was only fifteen. If Helena had not Harry herself, he would have never guessed. Because, she looked fairly mature for her age.
Then again, the age gap was a trick thing. Physically he looks eighteen, mentally he feels around that age, although there's a fair amount of fog. Most of his interest directing towards older women says a lot. Although, denying how beautiful each of his teammates were, would be extremely ignorant.
Still, Harry directed his focus off of his sex life and on his teammate which was throwing down. She had some swift moves. The more Harry learned her patterns, the more they varied. Which he appreciated it, because fighting a predictable opponent is never fun at all.
"So, you do realize we could have helped you, if you just asked?" Helena asked.
With statement, Helena swept Harry down with a swift hold and got him into an arm hold which Harry rolled out of. The two jumped to their feet in a battle stance. She referred to the incident a couple of days ago with Metallo. And yeah, Harry was going over into his head, he might have handled it different.
"I handled it," Harry said shortly.
"You might want to punch a little bit more ot the right and sweep your leg," Helena advised him. "It will allow you to take an opponent down to your level."
Helena blocked his fist and then took him down. Harry bounced back up and they circled each other.
"You have issues with asking Superwoman for help," Helena said. "Believe me, I know….I didn't know my real father for thirteen years. And when I met him, it was because I was stuck in a middle of a gang war."
And given that her grandfather was Carmine Falcone, although that was something that Selina did not like talking about much, being a pawn in some kind of Gotham City gang war was only inevitable. Helena took her trip down memory lane off of the rails. Because, it got her taken down on her feet and having Harry pin her down on the canvas.
Try as she might, Helena could not help and be distracted by Harry's body on top of hers. She broke out into a very intense breath before he pulled off of her.
The duo went back into spar. Harry would have to thank Karen for the watch, because it gave him a chance to test his fighting abilities, without having his powers a factor. Several intensity settings allowed Harry to unlock certain aspects of his powers, although there were some that he did not know about or have not unlocked.
Caitlin's help with him allowed him to unlock a lot. Harry just broke out into a smile. More than Cadmus did.
"Keep your eye on the ball," Helena warned him.
After their sparring session concluded, Harry and Helena joined the rest of the team who had been hanging out. Whitney just broke out with a smile when she saw Harry and Donna and M'gann appeared to be very amused about something.
"So, you were caught kissing Cat Grant live on camera?" Whitney asked.
Without missing a beat, Harry answered Whitney's question.
"To be fair, she kissed me," Harry said.
"Details, details," Whitney said with a waggle of her finger.
Harry decided to keep the fact that he thought she was prepared to do much more than kiss him, if the camera had not been rolling. Harry had been thinking about it for the longest time and thought about her proposal. He decided not to look too eager about coming for her just yet. Perhaps in time.
Mostly to give the young reporter more time to stew in her juices.
"Yeah, they're burying it on television, not even airing it other than one slip," Helena said. "Of course, the Internet comes through in the end. It's out and it's posted everywhere and….well Cat Grant is being called the luckiest bitch in the world."
Harry just smiled. If they called Cat lucky just for one kiss, he wondered what they would say about Karen, Lois, and Caitlin.
"Well, he did seem like he would be an amazing kisser," M'gann commented with a smile. "Not that I would know."
"He did, although I've never kissed a boy," Donna commented.
"But, on the island didn't you…." Whitney replied.
"Yes," Donna said. "Haven't you?"
"Well, yeah, my friend Linda and I...we….well that's private, isn't it?" Whitney asked.
Whitney grew a bit red, and turned away before things get too personal.
Harry just gave her a knowing smile. When suddenly, the door opened up. Mareena showed back up, looking a bit weary when she stepped into the room. Harry looked at her with a smile.
"Why don't you have a seat, you look dead on your feet?" Harry asked her.
"I'm fine," she commented shaking her head. "My mother insisted running me through all the tests. One of the stipulations that I keep up on my studies. And my mother...never gives me a break just because I'm her daughter."
"So, did you do well?" Helena asked.
"Nailed it," Mareena said with a smile. "Passed it with flying colors. I mean, I have a reputation to uphold. I just don't coast by on being the Princess. I earn my keep, thank you very much."
Although, that's what she was known by and people were too afraid to offend her by criticizing her. It frustrated Mareena because of the lack of a honest opinion.
"Where do you go to school?" Harry asked.
"The Conservatory of Sorcery in Atlantis," Mareena responded. "It's a school of magic, if you can believe that."
"Oooh, that's cool," M'gann said.
"Yeah, that is pretty interesting," Donna said.
Harry chuckled at the looks of interest on both Donna and M'gann's faces. They looked like they were about ready to burst with a million questions. Whitney and Helena looked on, because naturally they knew this.
"And for the record, I can believe it," Harry said.
Mareena offered him a small smile.
"Good work," Harry said. "But, I didn't think you would do any less than your best. As hard as you work during training, always the first to come to practice, and always the last to leave."
"Well, tied with you anyway," Mareena said, looking fairly pleased at Harry's praised.
The doors opened and Batman stepped in to break up this hang out session. The members of the team looked alert, knowing their leisure time was over, and also knowing that finally they would be going on a mission.
Never one to mince words, Batman dove right in.
"We have reason to believe that the Island of Santa Prisca has been compromised," Batman said. "By a group of cultists, who may be using the facilities to work on a highly addictive and highly dangerous drug which they will sell to the black market."
Harry frowned. Santa Prisca, he knew all about that place from his training. Home to one of the most horrific prisoner facilities on this planet. People checked in, but they never leave.
"So, you want us to go there and take a look?" Mareena asked.
"Yes," Batman said. "Do not engage. And also, you may want to choose someone to take the lead, so the mission can run more smoothly than your previous one."
The Team nodded, the fact the Mister Twister mission could have gone better was completely something that they remember. Since they, they were a bit more adept at communicating with each other.
Hopefully it would be enough.
"No, just no."
When being asked if she wanted to lead the team, Donna flatley turned down the offer. The rest of the team looked at her when she was on the Bioship to Santa Prisca. M'Gann piloted the ship on their way there.
"And why not?" Mareena asked her. "I mean, you seem take the lead in training more than enough."
"Yeah, that's training, this is the field," Donna said. "Trust me...last time I took a group of people on the field….I just don't want to talk about it."
Everyone gave Donna some room, respecting her feelings. Helena just broke out into a soft smile and leaned back against the chair.
"So, Donna's not going to do it," Helena said. "And I'm not going to do it and Whitney…."
"That wouldn't end well," Whitney darkly said.
Both Helena and Whitney had their hang ups which would make them not able to lead the team. They turned to Mareena, the last person involved who had not turned down leading the team outright.
"You should do it," Helena said.
"Me?" Mareena asked.
"Oh, yeah, you," Whitney said. "Last year, you lead the students at your school against Ocean Master and saved countless lives. I mean, you've told that story to us at least a dozen times, we know it by heart."
The princess tried to look modest at one of her greatest triumphs being brought up.
"Two dozen actually," Mareena said, but to be honest it was a good story.
"You would be a great leader," Helena offered her.
Mareena just thought about it. She had come here to prove herself. What better way to prove herself than to be able to lead someone where they were not obligated to follow her just because of the title and her bloodline.
"I'll be honored to lead the team," Mareena said. "Providing it's fine with M'Gann, Harry, and Donna."
"Mareena, I know you're going to be great," Donna said.
"It's fine by me," M'gann said. "Unless you want to lead, Harry?"
The rest of the team turned to Harry. They did not think to ask him and they all knew that none of them would want to say know if Harry wanted the leadership of the team. Harry just broke into a smile and looked over at all of his girls.
"No, go for it,' Harry said.
'So you didn't want to lead?' M'gann asked him. 'I mean, you have such a commanding presence….you would be a great leader.'
'It takes more than a commanding presence to lead,' Harry thought to her. 'And you should go a bit more right.'
'Sorry,' M'gann thought.
'And Mareena will be a great leader.'
The team switched to stealth mode before they landed, in the cover of night and underbush. The group all dropped down onto the ground, their black suits blending into the darkness.
"The facility should be North of here," Mareena said. "Whitney, could you scout ahead to make sure….."
Harry hovered up above the ground and pointed something out. Mareena's mouth opened, as they came across a temple. Statues of snakes jutted up off of the ground, and started to hiss. The hissing grew darker and more ominous.
"Oh, that's foreboding just a little bit," Whitney said. "They just keep hissing like that."
"Because they demand a sacrifice," Harry said.
The team wondered how Harry knew what they wanted. There would be no time for answers, as Kobra Cultists crawled all over the temple entrance. And they came across Bane and one of his henchmen being dragged across the temple.
"If anyone knows about what's going on, and how to get around this island, it's Bane," Helena said.
"Right," Mareena said. "Let's get a closer look...right?"
"You're the boss," Whitney said with a handwave.
"Right, lead the way," Donna said.
"Let's go, Team," Mareena said.
They moved in to get a closer look at what these cultists. Harry thought the team should find it lucky that they could not understand what these snake statues were hissing. Because it brought chills to Harry's spine and he was not easily rattled.
"You make a huge mistake."
Bane's gruff words fall upon deaf ears. The cultists have him chained up outside of the temple. They prepare to open the front of the temple.
Suddenly, one of the cultists dropped to the ground on his own accord. Bane strained his eyes through the darkness, as more of them dropped.
"Intruders!" one of them hissed before he had been taken down to the ground.
Bane relaxed in the chains, no danger of being sacrifice to the gods inevitable. The heroes were here, although their actions were less refined. That was curious, quite curious indeed.
From the shadows came a group of young heroes. Bane took his eyes on them, narrowing them. The henchman who had tied up against him grunted and grumbled.
"So the Justice League sent their ninos to do their dirty work," Bane said. "I am insulted."
"That means children in Spanish," Donna offered. "Sorry, I speak eight languages."
"And I know what it means," Harry told her curtly. "What's going on here?"
The glare this young Kryptonian male flashed at Bane did not phase the man.
"Kobra has overtaken my island and I want it back," Bane said. "And you do not want them to unleash what they have been developing. I've seen it's….grisly potential up close and personal."
"So, you're willing to help us?" Helena asked.
"Yes," Bane said. "I know the secret entrance to the base where they're keeping the chemical."
A shift of his body weight as Donna moved to snap the chains off of him caused Harry's eyes to narrow in suspicion.
"He's hiding something," Harry commented.
Mareena turned her attention to M'gann and nodded. M'gann turned her attention to Bane and tried to get into his mind a few seconds later.
However she found herself being hit by a wall.
'He keeps bombarding me with football scores,' M'gann murmured mentally to the rest of her team.
There was only so much sports statistics a person could take before it drives them out of another person's mind and M'gann hit her limit.
"Free him," Mareena said. "But, we'll be keeping an eye on you."
"I don't know why you're so concerned," Bane said. "We both want Kobra taken down and we don't want their wonder drug to be distributed. Especially since they have a partner who is very interested to distribute it internationally."
That was a tantalizing piece of information they would have to deal with later. Harry wondered if Bane knew much more, or had his own motives.
Best to keep both eyes on him because Bane pulling a fast one seemed inevitable.
The Team slipped into the secret entrance of the base. Bane's directions got them under ground completely and past the guards. They moved to several containers of a chemical.
"Run a chemical analysis," Mareena said.
"Already way ahead of you," Whitney said.
Whitney moved in to scan, while Donna and M'gann kept a look up. Helena and Harry directly watched the speedster's back while Whitney broke out into a sigh.
"This is bad," Whitney said.
"Given they mixed Venom with Blockbuster formula...yes," Harry grunted.
"Are you sure?" Helena asked.
"I can see what they do too," Whitney said. "If I had to guess, they're trying to replicate the TN-1 formula from years ago again."
Whitney's information mandated a very ugly sigh from Helena. After the mess replicating that particular formula came in the past, they would think that they would stay away from that cocktail. There were people who were working on it, at least trying to create a watered down formula because they thought it would cure some of the more extreme cases.
Helena thought that if they meant cure in the sense that it could potentially turned them into vegetables, and cause them to lose their sense of being, then yes, that would most certainly keep them from causing any trouble.
"Where did Bane get off to?" Harry asked.
"He was right behind us," Donna said.
"That way," Helena said.
"You slipped a tracker on him?" Whitney asked.
"I don't know why you're surprised anymore," Helena lightly responded. "And let's see what we can get out of Kobra's radio frequency."
It took some fiddling with the knob, but Helena was able to break through Kobra's radio frequency. And with it, an extremely obscene amount of static.
"Bane may have escaped, but the buyer is here," one of the voices commented.
"Move it out."
"They're moving the shipment, there's a buyer here," Helena said. "I think he's coming by helicopter."
"What about Bane?" Donna asked.
"We'll worry about him later," Mareena said. "Right now, we can't let this Kobra-Venom get off the island."
"Especially considering we're going to meet him anyway," Helena said her eye on the tracker.
All sides would clash soon. They strapped in for a bumpy ride.
A helicopter landed on the island. Exiting it was a very fit man dressed in blue coveralls with a hockey mask and blonde hair poking out of the back of his suit. He carried a sport's bag over his shoulder and walked down onto the rocky surface of the landing point.
"Welcome, Sportsmaster," Kobra said.
Sportsmaster nodded gruffly and surveyed the entire island. The first people who his eyes fell upon were Kobra, the Priestess, and several of the cult members. His eyes turned towards the woman, who he knew was known as Shimmer, and her brother, now Mammoth. Right in front of him, was the proof that their cocktail worked.
"Well, I see that you've held up your end of the bargain," Sportsmaster said. "As a result my backers will ensure that the island of Santa Prisca and all of its resources will be yours."
"Yes," Kobra commented. "There's been an issue, with Bane…."
"We'll take care of it," Sportsmaster said.
"And there's also…."
The Priestess lifted up one hand to prevent Sportsmaster from talking and she also shut Kobra up. Energy crackled through the air. At first, it appeared that she lost all sense of herself, but then something warm glowed into the darkness.
"They're here."
The mysterious priestess muttered an enchantment which eliminated the team's cover and shut off their stealth mode. They were standing face to face with Sportsmaster, Kobra, his cult, Mammoth, and Shimmer.
Helena's eyes narrowed when she saw who the buyer was.
"Sportsmaster."
Right away, Harry could tell from the tone of her voice, she did not approve of this criminal. Seconds before they could move into action, the Prietess turned her eyes. Harry realized that she looked right at them and then eliminated their cover and brought them out into the open.
"Wait, the League sent the Pee-Wee team to deal with us?" Sportsmaster asked. "I'm insulted."
"Eliminate them!" Kobra hissed.
The Cultists brandished weapons and rushed into the battle. Mareena dodged the attack and broke open an underground well before sending a stream of water down at them. The blast of water caught the cultists off guard and caused them to go down to the ground.
Mammoth charged at Harry. Harry blocked his attack and took him down with a series of rough punches. He kept one step ahead of Mammoth, who may have been strong, but lacked Harry's intelligence.
Donna slid on the ground and took Mammoth's legs out from underneath him while Harry hit him with a jaw jacking punch. The Amazon and the Kryptonian locked hands and ran at Mammoth to take the monster down with a duel attack. The blast from the impact sent him flying head over heals and crashing down onto the dirt, his ribs shattering from the hard impact.
Sportsmaster came face to face with Robin and brushed against the crowd with a golf club.
"I'll school you just like I did the first Robin."
Robin dodged the golf club and came down onto the back of Sportsmaster's head. She disarmed him of the weapon. Sportsmaster whipped an exploding ball at her. Robin crouched down and the ball hit the edge of the wall. Robin popped up and nailed her enemy in the face.
"I heard that story ended differently," Robin commented.
One could see the rage burning through Sportsmaster's eyes. Sportsmaster charged Robin, swinging at her with several punches. Each of them dodged by the Girl Wonder.
Helena knew he was skilled. And knew he could take her down if she did not keep her eye on the ball. Sportsmaster withdrew a javelin and hurled it at her. Helena dodged the attack, only to be wrapped up by the ankles with a chain.
Thankfully, M'Gann was right there for her, ripping the chain out of Sportsmaster's hands. The cultists grabbed M'Gann until she slipped into the ground to break their grip. M'Gann came from behind them and brought them halfway down to the Earth, which allowed Whitney to come in and go from cult member to cult member, pinging their face like a ping-pong ball with strikes.
Kobra opened up the crate and went for the Kobra-Venom. Two large arms wrap around him from behind and put the squeeze on him. Kobra struggled in an attempt to break free from Bane's strong grip.
"I'm afraid if you thought that you would be using that, you are quite mistaken," Bane said.
Bane hurled Kobra down to the ground like a ragdoll.
"Venom of any kind belongs to me," Bane growled.
With a fury, Bane slammed Kobra down to the ground one more time and put his lights out with a huge punch to the back of the head. Bane only barely put his fingertips onto crate, before Superboy caused it to blow up in a fiery explosion. The explosion took out several cultists, with a shield protecting the Team from harm.
"You," Bane growled. "Time to get back to basics."
Bane slapped his hand to his arm and the venom enhanced his body to full strength. Eyes bulged and his veiny arms pulsed, with a howl of rage following. Bane charged over towards Superboy and knocked him down to the ground with a thunderous attack.
Mareena blocked three daggers hurled at her with a wall of solid water. The attacks knocked them back and took the cultists back down to the ground.
A blast knocked her down to the ground. The water around her evaporated and caused her to suck in air. The Priestess lowered down onto her with a smile. The force of the potent magical assault of this priestess caused Mareena's lungs to size up.
It felt like she was, suffocating on land. The air grew so much dryer.
She sunk into her reserves, with Aquagirl pushing back the attack of the Priestess. It burned through the shield, forcing her to push even deeper into her reserves.
Aquagirl realized she had been going head to head with a sorceress of the highest caliber and her magic, seemed to alter the probability of Mareena's working. Yet, Mareena had to be stronger. The Princess of Atlantis pushed back up though, hammering her attack. Lifting deep under the ground to pull water out, Mareena just barely was able to get out.
With a furious flare of her eyes, Mareena hurled a sickle made of hard water at the Priestess who vanished into a flicker of ash and appeared behind her. The two beams of magic crossed together, with Mareena's being teal and the other being the darkest of dark magic. Mareena and the mysterious witch pushed back and forth, energy cackling in the air.
"You can't physically defend yourself when you're doing this," she managed.
"Yes, but if you slip up, you'll die," the Priestess commented.
"Good thing I'm not in this alone."
Donna used her lasso to ensnare the enchanting woman. The Priestess turned and channeled chaotic energy through the lasso, causing a ripple effect which caused the lasso to snap off of her and ensnare Donna.
Bound and powerless, Donna fell to the ground. But, that gave Aquagirl the opening she needed.
Bane and Harry flew into the temple, with Bane grabbing the hybrid around the neck. With furious power, Bane growled with an attempt to snap his neck. Harry responded by jamming the release, and shattering Bane's venom release with just the force of his thumb. Without the constant release of venom pouring into his body, Harry was able to take Bane down. He hurled up into the air was hard as possible.
With a huge punch, Harry drove Bane down onto the ground.. Bane rolled over and Harry curb stomped him into the ground, causing a crater to explode. Harry lifted Bane up by the mask and hurled him as far as he could go. Bane landed hard, in a crumpled heap.
The Kobra Prietess shimmered into the night, disappearing as quickly as she arrived. M'Gann dragged Kobra back out of the shadows and hurled him into the pile alongside of the rest. A subdued Mammoth and a bound Shimmer had been left on the ground. Harry dragged Bane over and put him with the rest of them.
"We stopped half of the shipment from leaving with Sportsmaster," Whitney commented. "Which means that half of it is in the air and to...who knows where…..please tell me you slipped a tracker on him?"
"No, not this time," Helena said.
Despondent, was Helena's voice. Mareena put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Well, you just had to miss one of them," Mareena said. "We stopped Kobra, and Bane...although she got away."
"She gave me the creeps," M'gann said with a shudder.
"You're not the only one," Mareena said. "Dabbling in magic that dark, I'm not sure any human is capable of that."
"Those who try are not human for long," Harry said.
"I couldn't say it better myself," Mareena said. "We better canvas the island, make sure that there's no one else that we need to pick up...maybe there's a few cultists we can knab in the process."
Donna, M'gann, and Harry stayed behind for babysitting duties while Mareena, Helena, and Whitney left to scan the island for any stragglers.
After the League came in to deal with the mess, they had gotten the call to return to the cave. There were mysteries that they would have to add to the growing list. For starters, the buyer of the Kobra Venom and the identity of this mysterious Kobra Priestess. All of the records stated they did not have Priestess, although that changed.
"Mareena, can I talk to you for a second?" Harry asked.
"Oh, yes," Mareena said.
The two moved off for a second.
"First of all, I thought that you were a great leader out there," Harry said. "I'm happy that we put our faith into you."
That meant a lot to Mareena.
"And I'm glad you did as well," Mareena added. "But...you could have told me that with the rest of the team."
Silence followed, and Harry hoped that she would be receptive to the small bit of criticism he had to fofer.
"But, there were times where it was almost like you second-guessed yourself out there," Harry told her.
"Yes," Mareena admitted. "People….I thought they followed me out of obligation. Because of who my parents are….but the Team….I should trust them more. They are equals...we're all in this together."
She responded with a sigh and much like Mareena did earlier, Harry sensed a "but" lingering in the air.
"But, there's a part of me who will always be in that mindset."
"The rest of the team will tell you if you screw up and if you make a decision that they don't think is best," Harry told her. "At least, I know I will."
"I can live with that," she replied. "But, I admit...I think you're a better leader."
A chuckle followed from Harry at Mareena's assessment.
"Hardly," Harry said. "The first time I lead a team of my peers, it didn't end well."
"You mean during the simulations?" Mareena asked.
Harry responded with a nod, although there was a part of him who wondered sometimes. Some of the memories he attributed to training, they became sharper and more vivid in time. Tonight's mission brought in images of Harry fighting a fifty foot long snake in an underground chamber back into his conscious mind. The snake part at the very least, the circumstances to why Harry fought such a creature were vague as usual.
Regardless, he pushed that thought to the back of his head. Real or fake, it was the past.
The team spent the next few minutes just resting and thinking about the mission. They appeared where Batman was there to give his assessment to them.
"You made a few key errors that made your job harder than it needed to be," Batman said. "But no mission survives contact with the enemy. Good job. The League will track down Kobra and their partner and the rest of the missing shipment."
Batman took a personal interest given what they were trying to replicate. It was a chemical that caused him trouble in his early years.
Helena watched her father depart. She did agree they did a decent enough job and also there was room for improvement. For now, the Team entered that glorious moment of downtime until they entered the next mission.
Meanwhile, Helena beat herself up for not being able to stop Sportsmaster. She had a score to settle with him. For personal reasons.
Sportsmaster finished giving his report to the group of seven figures, bathed in light.
"They sent a bunch of pee-wee pipsqueaks at me," Sportsmaster said. "To me, that's an insult."
If the members of the Light had any concern about Sportsmaster being insulted, they did not voice it.
"The League using children is most disconcerting," one of the voices conceded.
"But, it's just proof that we need to accelerate our time table even more," another voice said.
"Everything went to plan even if half of the shipment was lost," the first figure in the light added.
After Sportsmaster and six of the League members departed, The Priestess stepped towards the seventh, the sole woman.
"There's something within him, within Superboy," she softly informed the only Light member who remained. "He's more powerful than any Kryptonian."
"Did I not tell you he was everything we could have hoped for and much more?" the lone Light representative asked.
"We only briefly glimpsed each other, but he did make an impression," she said.
Someone who could handle Bane on full power like that, when even Superwoman struggled, was something special.
"I would imagine," the Light Representative said.
Step one of the long game had begun, but this world would need to be burned down and rebuilt. One thing the Priestess agreed with her father on, despite their problems in the past.