Chapter 17

In the shadows crept a brunette archer dressed mostly in red, dark red. Thea Queen, the former Speedy, now known as Red Arrow, crossed the shadows. Granted, it was not the most original name in the world, but it was a step up from Speedy. And she wanted to divorce herself from her knees.

"Left, right, up, right," she murmured.

One of the guards turned his head just enough to create a blind spot. That proved to be his mistake, with Red Arrow taking him out with a couple of well-placed arrows to the back. The arrows caused him to slump down. They kept coming at her. Thea punched one of the guards out and caused him to slump down to the ground.

Another dropped to the ground before he rose the alarm. In the back of her mind, Thea hoped that she was not too late. With these people, there was always someone else lurking in the shadows, and if they got the barest hint that she was here, then there would be trouble.

Thea fired an arrow at the door to blast it open. Stealth was out the window now. Time to improvise. Two more guards dropped to the ground and Thea slipped to the door, where an attractive young scientist had been bent over the computer, looking rather distressed for a number of reasons.

"I'm here."

The woman, Doctor Serling Roquette, raised her eyebrow for a second. She just finished what project she was doing and did not seem too happy to see Red Arrow.

"I need saving, and the Justice League doesn't come," she muttered. "They send the sidekick of their least impressive member."

Despite the slight, against both her and her brother, Red Arrow does not bat an eye.

"I'm the best you can hope for, unless you want to die" Red Arrow commented, ignoring the very obvious groan coming from Roquette. "And unless you want your head taken off by the Shadows….I suggest you come with me."

"I can't leave it," Roquette said.

"Just how did you get into bed with these people?"

Roquette took a deep breath. It had been one of those situations which happened, despite her intentions.

"Long story," she said.

"I can get you out of here, but the project...leave it," Thea said. "They're coming."

"You don't understand how dangerous it is," Roquette argued.

Movement from downstairs caused the hairs on the back of Thea's neck to prickle up for a few seconds. She breathed in and breathed out.

"Yeah, maybe," Thea said. "But, if we don't leave now, we're going to be dead...and they'll have the project regardless"

Red Arrow grabbed Roquette by the arm. She spun around and fired a net arrow at the door, entangling two of the ninjas. She grabbed her charge and with a swift motion, Thea wrapped her arms around Roquette.

"Hang on."

Roquette's feeble protests had been lust in a scream, as the two of them jumped out of a window, to the edge of the cliff below. Glass flew, and Roquette's glasses almost came off of her face.

Seconds later, the Shadows slipped into the room. They had been lead by a dark man with slimy hair and a fancy eyepiece. He put his hand on his face and just frowned. He moved over to what Roquette was working on and pressed his finger onto it. He put his finger to the earpiece.

"Professor Ojo," his contact said in a dark voice.

"I have good news and bad news," he said. "The bad news is Roquette has escaped, with the vigilante known as Speedy. The good news is, the Fog is completed."

"And then the League of Shadows shall go forth with our plan."

Laughter came out as a group of five members of the Team came out. Megan led the way, dressed in a yellow bikini which proved to be a nice little alluring contrast to her green skin. Mareena stepped out, in a sheer white number, which left little to the imagination. Helena opted for a purple one piece, which drew attention to her ass and legs. Donna dressed in a black bikini, with the bottom riding up and showing her ass. She smiled, on Themsyircia when they hit the beach, it was in far less than this. As in, it was in absolutely nothing, but still, there were modest standards.

"I can't believe this, we were near a beach all of this time," Megan said. "We should have had a chance to enjoy this."

"We should have, yes," Mareena said.

The smell of fresh beach air caused them to all smile and also enjoy one of the final days of summer. Harry made his way out, with a cooler of drinks and snacks. He wore a pair of simple swimming shorts, but that did not stop his four beautiful teammates from ogling his body.

"Put it down here," Donna told him with a smile. "It's important for us to relax...after last week, you know."

Yes, last week, with the entire AMAZO incident, which raised a lot of questions in the back of his mind. Despite that fact, Harry endeavored to enjoy a good time on the beach.

"It's a shame Whitney had to go back to school though," Harry said.

"Well, that's just the breaks for her," Helena said. "She'll be fine...and I'm sure that she'll be able to spend plenty of time on this beach, next summer."

They set up a volleyball net and began to play a game, with Helena and Harry against Megan and Donna, with Mareena standing off to the side and watching them.

"I'm pretty sure that using telekinesis is against the rules, M'gann," Harry said with a good-natured smile.

"Sorry, I got a little bit excited," M'gann said.

Helena just smiled and showed her athletic ability and agility. Harry was able to keep up with her, but Megan and Donna were good.

"We could do a lot out here," Mareena said. "You know, I've always wanted to go surfing."

"Yeah, that would be cool," Megan said.

"You've never been?" Helena asked.

"Wait, you have?" Megan asked.

"Sure," Helena said. "Well, once, for a little bit...one of the only holidays that my father took me on, but it didn't last any longer, because you know...crime never sleeps."

And there was an incident with a shark as well. Which thankfully her father had shark repellent in his utility belt. Just one of the examples of how crazy prepared Batman could be.

They finished their game of volleyball, before moving over to the beach blanket and enjoying some drinks. Donna and Megan decided to sit close to Harry before Donna pulled out a bottle of oil from her bag.

"This is straight from the goddesses," Donna said with a smile. "Or so Diana tells me...it's supposed to relax you a little bit...maybe...Harry...do you think that you could help me test it out?"

"So, do you want me to rub it on you?" Harry asked her.

Donna broke out into a smile and looked very flustered.

"Maybe later," Donna commented. "I can rub it on you first though...just to see if it works….don't worry, I can really work it in."

Harry laid down on a second blanket and Donna poured the oil over Harry's body. Her strong hands rubbed all over his body and worked the oil in. Harry felt relaxed, as Donna pressed up against him, straddling his ass when she rubbed in. A soft moan followed as Donna enjoyed rubbing her hands all over Harry's strong body.

She lost herself in the moment, of every bit of his strong, supple muscles.

"You know, you missed a spot," Helena said.

Without any pretext, Helena slipped her hand down Harry's leg and rubbed his inner thigh. She pulled away and smiled.

Megan smelled Harry and he smelled very good. She reached in to stroke his cheek. Retracting, Megan smiled.

"Oh, I thought you had a bit of sandwich on your face," Megan said. "But, it's all good."

"Yes, it is," Harry told her.

"So, do you think that you can help me with this suntan lotion?" Megan asked. "It's getting very hot, and the last thing I want to do out here is burned."

There was a question about whether or not Martians could burn from the sun. Regardless, Megan laid down and loosened her top, and allowed Harry to pour the suntan lotion on her back and her legs, to really work in. Harry heard a couple of moans and swore that her breasts swelled a cup size the second that he went around them, thus giving her more prominent cleavage.

"Do me, next!" Donna demanded before switching to a softer voice. "After all, it's only fair."

And so, Harry applied suntan lotion to all of the girls, although he was pretty sure that Helena was the only one who could get sunburned. Still, he humored them, feeling up their young and vibrant flesh. He moved between all four of them, rubbing their backs, and massaging every inch of their skin.

A sound of thunder echoed in the distance.

"Well, that shoots those surfing plans in the ass," Helena murmured.

Harry's hand slid off of her leg, coming as close to touching Helena as possible. Perhaps intentionally, perhaps not as well.

The rain cut their day in the beach short. Harry changed into his usual shirt and jeans combination. Dinah had finished their training session and the rest of the team was watching television, enjoying this downtime. Dinah sank down on the couch next to Harry, smiling at him.

"So, we're ready for tomorrow night?" Dinah asked.

"Yes," Harry said.

"We're going to have a nice dinner and then we're going for there," Dinah said. "Don't worry, I'm paying."

Harry would have argued, but he did not have it in himself to argue.

"There's got to be something good on here, right?" Megan asked.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Donna asked.

"Coming this autumn, twelve prospects battle for a chance to work for Gotham City's Simon Stagg, the billionaire tycoon. Which one of these nobodies will get a chance to be Simon Stagg's Understudy!"

Helena caught a glimpse of the billionaire on television, looking very smug and she sighed.

"They'll put anything on television these days," Helena commented with a shake of her head. "Stagg's daughter's nice enough though...met her at a fundraiser."

"Not like her jerk ass father anyway," Dinah muttered darkly.

That conversation was interrupted by the cave's entrance coming to life. A new girl appeared at the cave, dressed in an archer getup which caught Harry's eyes. Tight green pants, a green-half top to show her toned mid-drift, and a mask, along with a quiver draped over her shoulder. Not to mention, a dark skin tone indicating that she was of mixed origin.

Behind her followed Red Tornado, Batman, and Green Arrow.

"Batman, Red Tornado, Green Arrow," Dinah commented with a smile to two of them and a crisp nod towards the third. "And you are…."

Just seconds later, a very haggard looking Whitney West stumbled into the cave, and almost collapsed a second later.

"Sophomore year in high school sucks, and the teachers are sadists," Whitney said. "And Devoe, I swear he has no sense of humor…..and there's a new girl in our cave."

"Yeah, you're quick," the archer commented with a smile.

"This is Artemis," Oliver said. "She's my…..new partner."

The other members of the team nodded, with Harry and Helena both giving Artemis a knowing look. Whitney just raised her eyebrow for a second and could not resist commenting on this new situation.

"You've moved on quickly," Whitney said.

And speaking of partners, the entrance opened up, signifying Red Arrow. Red Arrow stopped for a few seconds and stared down at her.

"Who are you?" Red Arrow asked shortly.

"My name's Artemis, I'm the Green Arrow's new partner," she commented, staring down his ex-partner.

"Good luck," Red Arrow said before cocking an eyebrow towards her brother. "It's nice to see that you've rebounded quickly...wonder how long it's going to take to drive this one away."

That caused Oliver to cringe, but he recovered very quickly.

"Speedy...it's not like that…"

"I'm not Speedy anymore, it's Red Arrow, get it right."

"But, I've called you Speedy ever since that you were three…"

"That's the point though, I'm not three!" Thea snapped. "And you still treat me like a child!"

"Right, I'm going to stand over there," Artemis grumbled.

Megan's felt a stabbing pain through her head when she caught some of Red Arrow's thoughts.

"I don't understand what that awful feeling coming from her is," Megan said.

Helena leaned over to speak to the Martian. "It's called angst. I wouldn't go anywhere near S...Red Arrow's mind now."

Artemis moved over to join her future teammates and caught Harry's eye. She wondered how he could know because it really seemed like it would know.

"So, your name for your codename?" he asked in an undertone. "That's interesting...we'll talk later."

A second later, Red Arrow managed to check her temper, and turned her attention to both Batman and Black Canary.

"Serling Roquette, she went missing three months ago," Red Arrow said. "And I've finally tracked her down, turns out that she was hired by the League of Shadows...and now they have this weapon called the Fog."

Now, Red Arrow finally got the attention of the League and she could not help, but milk it just a little bit.

"It's a weapon that can eat through anything, and steal data and technology," Red Arrow said. "Now, I don't need to tell the World's Greatest Detective how dangerous that is in the hands of the Shadows."

"No," Batman commented shortly. "We will have to stop it."

"It's already begun I'm afraid," Red Arrow said. "Overwatch….do me a favor and show Batman the video of Miami Beach University."

This caused Green Arrow to look on in surprise, those two were still talking. Thea hadn't talked to him in two months. He tried not to seem too bothered about it. The members of the Team moved closer just in time to see the image of the fog attacking Miami University and the robotics division.

"Great Hera!" Donna exclaimed.

Mareena's eyes widened at the path of destruction.

"They could be unstoppable," she breathed.

"Yes," Artemis agreed. "The League is going to use it for extortion, manipulation, power broking, and to bring their rivals to their knees. And with HIVE brought down, the League is number one again in that field."

"Wait, how do you know so much about the League?" Kid Flash asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Flash Girl?" Artemis asked with a smile.

Harry put his hand on Whitney's shoulder as if to warn her not to say anything. She relaxed, although she was still glaring daggers at the Green Arrow's new replacement goldfish.

"Roquette's at GCU, but it will be only a matter of time before the Shadows finds her," Red Arrow offered, cutting through the akward silence. "She's working on a countermeasure."

Batman turned his head and nodded.

"The Team will guard her."

Red Arrow responded with a nod and turned her attention to the entrance.

"I've done my job, good luck. If I find anything else out about what the League's planning, I'll let you know."

"Spe...Red Arrow!"

Black Canary followed after her, stopping her at the entrance from the cave.

"What is it?" Red Arrow asked.

"I just want to talk," Black Canary said. "I'm just...well I think that you might be…."

"You're not defending him, are you?" Red Arrow asked. "Because, after what happened in Shanghai….and I know you remember what happened….because it nearly got you voted out of the League."

Black Canary did not react, with the crime fighter acting like she heard that brought up. It was nearly a year ago and it stung, and that was the death knell to anything that she and Oliver might have had. She always backed his play, and then it turned out he didn't back hers, well it was...it was rough.

"I'm not sticking up for him," Black Canary said. "But, I think that you're backsliding again…."

"I'm not using," Red Arrow said quickly.

"Because you worked so hard to get clean before," Black Canary said.

"Listen, I know that you're concerned, and I'm glad you are," Red Arrow said. "But, I've got my own thing to do. And It's obvious that Green Arrow's going to get on just fine without me because he's found a new little teen sidekick to groom."

Artemis cringed, did Red Arrow really imply something like that? Oliver Queen might have helped her out of a spot of trouble once, but he was most certainly not her type. She didn't go for the blonde goatee look at any rate. Why did he think that goatee was a good idea anyway? She preferred her men tall, dark, handsome, green eyes, black hair, things like that.

"Speedy…"

"Red Arrow!" Thea snapped when Oliver walked behind her.

"Thanks for bringing this to the League's attention," he told her in a firm voice.

"You're welcome," Thea coolly said.

The two siblings exchanged a nod before leaving.

After that encounter, the team moved into position. The first squad, with M'gann, Donna, Harry, and Artemis stood outside, patrolling around the area.

'I've got the mental link set up,' M'gann thought. 'So don't freak out too much if someone yells in your head, okay?'

'I won't,' Artemis commented. 'Mmm...the shirt and jeans look..it's simple...but you pull it off well.'

She appraised Harry with a smile, some of her more intimate thoughts filtering in to her head. Donna closed her eyes and Megan flushed ever so slightly. Harry's eyes drifted over Artemis, lingering on her navel before smiling.

'I like your uniform too,' Harry said. 'You look really good in it. Obvious you work out.'

'Oh, hard and every day,' Artemis thought. 'I mean, if you're not sweating, you're not trying...but still, I could use a partner sometimes...to make sure I'm pushed to my limits.'

'Well, I'm not sure if you can keep up with me,' Harry thought.

Megan and Donna giggled at Artemis being thrown off a little bit. Harry cleared his throat and it was down to business. The entire group moved into position.

'Whitney, Helena, and I are on the inside,' Mareena confirmed.

'Nothing on the outside just yet,' Harry thought.

In the shadows, someone lingered. A dark-haired woman in green, her face covered in a Cheshire cat mask. She stood on the rooftop, observing the quartet of sidekicks from the distance. She had her eyes on Artemis for a second.

"Well, this job just got a bit more interesting."

Cheshire shifted when she got a good look at Superman. Instinctively, her tongue trailed over her lips and she just barely remembered to swallow.

"Very, interesting indeed."

Cheshire moved right before he could get a good look at her. Her contacts were not sure what kind of vision he developed yet, because all plans for his development had been out of the window.

Roquette frowned when she worked on the counter virus.

"I can't believe that I have to solve this problem with such a primitive computer," Roquette said. "Doesn't GPU get backed by Bruce Wayne? Shouldn't there be better equipment? This is straight out of the nineties."

She put a hand on her head and heard the bond traffic, the various members of the team going in and out. Most of the thoughts had been from a certain archer about what she would like to do with a certain emerald-eyed young man. Which Roquette happened to agree with, but she did not need those thoughts flittering in her mind when she needed to focus.

"And there's teen chatter in my mind," Roquette said. "Great!"

"Focus on the virus," Mareena said.

'I don't think that there's any need for Roquette to be on the network,' Mareena thought. 'M'gann, cut her link...she might work faster without the traffic.'

'Right,' Megan chimed in.

In the hallway, Helena paced back and forth. She heard something coming from the shadows and moved in to investigate.

A figure popped out from behind her and dropped a ball from the ground. It released a cloud which caused Helena to put her hand over mouth a few seconds later.

"Not poison, because you're not the target….."

Suddenly, Cheshire jumped up and Helena's eyes widened just an intstant before a kick floored her. She rolled over, groaning.

Cheshire came down one more time. Robin was ready for her though, blocking the attack. The Girl Wonder dove up to her feet, engaging Cheshire hand to hand a few seconds ago.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" Robin demanded.

"Nothing personal, just a job," Cheshire said. "Never met Roquette in my life...she must be important if so many powerful people want her dead."

Cheshire flung Robin through the open door and release two explosive balls. This forced the Girl Wonder to abort her attack and clamor up the wall.

"Right about, now."

Kid Flash sped down the hallway, with Cheshire releasing a slick oil onto the ground. This caused the speedster to spiral out of control and hit the wall. She disappeared into a cloud of smoke and then kicked Kid Flash, knocking her for a loop.

Cheshire slipped into the shadows, disappearing.

The sounds of battle echoed from the building. He heard Whitney smashing into the wall from above, which was rarely a good sign.

'Someone's there,' Harry thought.

'I'll go check it out,' Artemis thought.

'Not alone you're not,' Mareena said. 'Donna, you come with Artemis. M'gann and Harry...you stay out there.'

Artemis and Wondergirl slipped into the entrance to check out the situation and that left M'gann and Harry standing out there, to stand guard, even though someone slipped past the guard already.

'How did they get inside past us?' M'gann thought. 'Because, I didn't hear anyone...or sense their thoughts.'

'If they work for the League of Shadows, they are a master of stealth,' Harry thought. 'They're the best in the world at what they do, and what they do is not very nice.'

Helena moved over and pulled Whitney off of the ground. She rubbed the top of her head and groaned a couple more times when holding herself back.

"Did you get the number of the truck that hit us?" Whitney asked.

"That's Cheshire, she's a freelance assassin," Helena said.

There was something disapproving about Helena's tone, that Whitney could not place. There was much more than she wanted to tell, but they could not tell it here to be honest. Inside came two other members of the team, in the form of Artemis and Donna.

Whitney's eyebrow raised and she rounded across Artemis without any provocation.

"Why didn't you see her come inside?" Whitney asked.

"Because, genius, she's a ninja!" Artemis snapped. "Stealth is her game."

"Cool it," Donna said. "For the record, I didn't see her either."

To Donna, missing a very obvious sign like that was a personal affront to her pride. She hated that fact and she grimly thought that Diana would not have missed that sign either. The entire team crowded around to regroup.

'And for the record, M'gann and I didn't see her either and M'gann didn't pick up any stray thoughts,' Harry thought. 'So, there's no need to jump down Artemis's throat, because we all missed her. I don't know how we missed her.'

''Fine,' Whitney thought before she switched the subject. 'So, our daring doctor…'

'She's still at work,' Mareena confirmed. 'I don't know how much longer though because Cheshire's somewhere in the building.'

'We'll find her,' Helena thought.

The group moved up a level, and they noticed someone lurking in the hallway. The figure moved and Artemis fired off two arrows in rapid-fire succession. The figure evaded the arrows and threw one of them back to cause the team to scatter.

"Hmm, well this is interesting," Cheshire casually commented.

Artemis almost froze when she heard Cheshire's voice. No, surely not. Regardless, Cheshire pulled out a pen and pressed a button on it.

Kid Flash instantly ripped it out of her hand right after her finger brushed against it.

"What is this?" Kid Flash demanded "Some kind of remote detonator."

"Nothing that crass," Cheshire said. "You have your little team...and I have some friends who want to play."

Three figures repelled from the ceiling next to Cheshire. The first of the figures dressed in a silk suit made of white and silver, with spider webs stitched into it and a black mask slid over her face. The second of the figures dressed in red, with her dark hair tied back into a ponytail and a domino mask covering her face. The third looked like a glittering insect, with blonde hair. Her costume was a bit more colorful than the rest of them, but that distracted their enemies from how deadly they were.

"Silken Spider, Tiger Moth, Dragonfly," Cheshire said. "Play nicely."

These three lovely, but dangerous, lady assassins stalked forward to engage the team members. Cheshire, in the meantime, had an appointment to keep. She moved into the shadows and the team prepared to go into battle.