---

Freddie was relieved as Coach Stewart's frustrations seemed to be directed upon some meathead he wasn't familiar with, and so he remained silent at the rear of the group; whilst he was thankful for his tardiness seemingly going undetected, he was constantly on edge as the domineering man barked at the class. He was an unnecessarily aggressive man who Freddie felt had the complete wrong approach to teaching. Fear might have been an effective way to control his class, but his lack of empathy made it difficult to learn anything from Stewart.

They were swiftly sorted into teams, with Freddie being allocated a role as one of the 'bad guys'. He smiled wryly, rather enjoying the idea of being villainous: all the best characters were perceived as evil, because it was they who would stop at nothing to succeed in their desires. His pleasantry soon faded as sweepingly as it had come when he realised that Mari was on the opposing team. Partly because he liked to be around her, but mostly because he didn't like the idea of being on the receiving end of her competitiveness. He scowled, surveying his own group, noticing the presence of Julian Luthor. Now there was somebody he'd gladly trade-in...

Aside from the obvious flaw in the group, as far as Freddie was concerned they had a rather solid team; he had friends in Tanya and Andy whom he knew were more than capable, and his roommate Kieran was also an obvious advantage. He knew little about Rick and Casey; but knew that the former was extremely fast and that both were likeable and non-hostile, which was always ideal for team-based activities. He had to wonder how the other team was going to manage with characters like S'tann at the helm of operations...

Aiden seemed a more than competent leader, which surprised Freddie somewhat. The guy wasn't reclusive in a strange way, but he definitely kept to himself; if Freddie could describe him in a word, it would be 'studious'. But his allocation of roles amongst the group were well-informed: Freddie was quite thrilled to be addressed before the others as Aiden requested he defended the base. Freddie nodded affirmatively.

"Consider it done." he said. As the others received their orders, Freddie reluctantly found himself agreeing with the leader that Julian was the best option for scoring them bonus points. Even with all his disdain for the son of Luthor, Freddie could not deny that the guy knew his way around mathematics, code and the like. He was many things... But dumb was not one of them. Of course, he'd never even dream of telling him that.

As the timer ran out, Freddie belted through the steel doors as swiftly as he could; though other members on his team had a clear advantage... And by that, he meant near enough everyone, and not just the three speedsters they had somehow managed to acquire. Nevertheless, it mattered not, for he had the shortest distance to move to. He wanted to get as high up as he could: his tactic was to get a decent view of the field, as well as placing himself out of harm's reach. The roof seemed the logical destination.

It didn't take him very long to climb the interior of the base; using its various steel stairwells and ladders to ascend through the maintenance hatch which lead to the roof of the large compound. A thick chill flooded through the trapdoor as soon as it was opened, causing Freddie to shiver. Fortunately, whilst he wasn't immune to the effects of the atmosphere, he had enough experience in extreme climates that he was somewhat used to dramatic conditions such as this.

He looked out over the vast field; it still blew his mind what modern technology was capable of. It seemed frankly impossible to him that all of this existed within a building on the campus grounds. In the distance, he could just barely make out the opposing team in the form of a gathering of small, coloured dots, way out on the horizon.

"Oh, that simply don't do..." he muttered to himself beneath his breath, as he began to concentrate. Raising his arms either side of his body, Freddie drew on his core; urging the effects of his powers to come to the surface and manifest. It always seemed easier for him to influence the weather here in the ARC; he suspected it was because the effects were somehow aided by the technology that conjured them within the walls of the facility.

As he focussed, a voice interrupted his train of thought. He recognised it as Rick's: "We need Freddie to make it warm. And I mean warm. In the cold, I'm useless." he said, uregency in his tone as he addressed the team. "We need to think, guys. Quick."

Freddie groaned to himself, before buzzing back in himself. "The cold is our biggest advantage, Rick," he said, trying not to sound as inconvenienced as he was feeling. "We need to hold them off as long as we can. I don't think turning the field into a beach resort is going to keep them at bay." he explained, continuing through his mental motions regardless of the request. "Andy," he called, addressing his friend. "Is there anything you can do to keep Rick warm whilst leaving our defences in tact?"

He didn't wait for an answer, as finally he felt that familiar-yet-indescrible something within him fall into place. There was no time to lose; sweeping his hands from left to right, an impressively vast cloud of fog rolled out along the field, twenty-or-thirty meters away from the entrance to the base. It was unbelievably thick; so much so that once it had settled in position, it seemed not to swirl or be disturbed by the frosty winds: it merely sat; heavy and white. It was the perfect disguise for the bunker, with the wall of fog helping it to blend seamlessly into the crisp snowy landscape. Observing his handiwork, he smiled to himself and nodded in approval of his work.

"I think that should stall them," he spoke into the communicator that was installed in his suit, addressing his teammates. "How is everyone doing?" he asked, assuming that everyone else had already gotten into position as he had been scaling the bunker. At least, he hoped so: he would look rather foolish if his actions had been premature.

Jason was chilling until Mr. Stewart had to crash the peaceful relaxation with his serious hard ass and made Jason get up from where he was comfortably sitting. He followed the others into the waiting room and soon heard a voice come on over the intercom. It explained to them their objective and what they had to do in order to win as well as the penalties for killing hostages. The possibility of threatening to kill hostages as leverage was a good idea and he would be sure to remember that if things got tight. Once the voice wished them good luck and the timer started, Jason listened to Aiden give them orders for how they were split up into different groups. After they were all assigned to a duty, he asked if they had any objections. Jason took a sip of his root beer and let out a loud burp.

"No complaints here" he said patting his stomach and then watched as the doors to the room opened up into the research base. Even with his cold resistance Jason still like he would freeze if left in this training room for too long, oh well. He moved over to Tanya, Casey and Rick. He hoped that the four of them were up to the challenge and weren't all lazy like he could be at times. Thankfully he brought his spear with him and wasn't completely reliant on his superhuman physical powers.

"It looks like duty with the bombs is our job, and here I was hoping to threaten the hostages with feeding them to the sharks. Oh well playing pirate will have to wait for some other day I guess" he said to his group. He then listened to Rick complain about being useless in the cold and needing it to be warmer.

"I guess you might have to learn to fight when you're at your weakest then" he said to the speedster as he took another sip of his drink.



Mars opened his mouth to object at Mr. Stewart throwing Jake out of the session, but he just closed it and remained silent realizing that arguing was useless. Damn John when did you become such a bro-block? Mars thought to himself as he followed the others into the waiting room and listened to the introduction that was given to them. He was surprised that their instructor placed him, S'tann and Rita on the same team, that didn't seem like a very good idea to Mars. After the count down finished the doors opened into the antarctic environment. Mars was completely caught off guard by the extreme cold and he clutched at his biceps with his hands. His breath was visible when he exhaled and his teeth chattered.

"Shit! It's cold as a motherfucker in here! Couldn't he have sent us somewhere hot and dry" he said irritated. He listened to S'tann give them his plan and was surprised that he had the two of them in the same group.

"Going in loud? Now that's the kind of plan I like, great idea dude, no problems there for me" Mars replied with a smile showing his missing front teeth. Rescuing hostages would be tricky, but that would mean that he would get a chance to get in some good battles with the opposing team. Don't screw this up Mars, he thought to himself as he cracked his knuckles in preparation for their attack on the Suicide Squad.

---

RICK ALLEN Star City; Corrigan School for

---

"The cold is our biggest advantage, Rick. We need to hold them off as long as we can. I don't think turning the field into a beach resort is going to keep them at bay. Andy, is there anything you can do to keep Rick warm whilst leaving our defences in tact?"

Now that he thought about it, that wasn't a bad idea - Rick had heard of a pyro at the school. He was just about to walk over to said pyro when Jason decided to chip in.

"I guess you might have to learn to fight when you're at your weakest then."

"Yeah, you go be a speedster, then come back and tell me that. Stick to water, bro." Rick walked over to the kid called Andy. "So, you sure you can do this without roasting my ass off?" He smirked.

I have to say, the teams were pretty damn good. And that’s not just because S’tann was on the other team (although, mostly… yeah). They were evenly spread, taking into account every person’s strengths and weaknesses. It should’ve made for an interested A.R.C. sesh. But yeah, I was mostly looking forward to seeing what S’tann would do, what with me and Nora being pyros. Oh, and punching that Balboa guy in the face. I really wanted to punch that Balboa guy in the face.

The simulation had begun, and Aiden, Aiden Roth, took charge pretty quick. I have to say, his plan wasn’t all that bad. I gave him a nod to let him know I was on board before Rick piped up, saying something about the cold negating his speed, saying that he needed heat. He asked Freddie to make it warm, but I already knew what his answer would be. The cold was our biggest advantage, and Freddie knew it.

But that didn’t stop me from thinking, “Please don’t, please don’t, please don’t, please don’t, please don’t.”

…

He did.

"The cold is our biggest advantage, Rick. We need to hold them off as long as we can. I don't think turning the field into a beach resort is going to keep them at bay. Andy, is there anything you can do to keep Rick warm whilst leaving our defences in tact?"

Fuckin’ logic. I hate it.

Rick, seeing the sense in that, turned to me. "So, you sure you can do this without roasting my ass off?"

“Nup,” I said, because honestly, I wasn’t. “But you know what they say. First time’s a good time, and all that.”^* I paused, thinking on it a bit. “I could try to raise my body temp, get the radiating heat to about thirty degrees Celsius. That should be warm enough for you to run, right? Only thing I’m not sure of is the radius. You’ll need to try and stay as close as you can.”

^{*I don’t think anyone says that.}

Kieran blushed slightly when Mailsi ruffled his hair. In more ways than one she was like an older cousin to him. From what he understood this is what happened to a lot of younger members of a family. It was also pretty embarrassing. He understood why she left. He hadn't noticed Kara glaring at him earlier, but he didn't doubt it. She could be scary when she wanted to.

He rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand before attempting to speak. That was when he heard Mars and his friend Jake yelling towards him. They were two guys who could really irritate anyone, including Kieran. He couldn't really stand Mars, but he definitely couldn't stand Jake. He was like a lap dog that did anything to look good for Mars. And this time he did so by calling Superman a pussy for wearing a cape. He didn't even bother to retort. He didn't even need to.

Neither did Mailsi as Sugar stepped up to the plate. Sugar might not have done it to jump to Kieran's aid. Nor did she probably do it to save Mailsi's breath. Rather she was just that kind of person. Still it didn't stop Mailsi from being pleased.

Kieran gave Sugar an appreciative nod before returning his attention to Mailsi. "She surprisingly didn't yell. I expected her to be really mad, but she was more worried that I'd do something I'd regret during today's A.R.C. Session. Honestly? She might be right. I'm really looking forward to going against S'tann. I was shaking earlier because I was excited. You know how things get when my adrenaline kicks in."

Mailsi was a little surprised at the sudden heart to heart. She wasn't used to being a person someone might look up to. Most people pointed to her and her family and said: This is what you don't do. She took a deep breath and gave a small smile. If anyone understood tempation, she did.

"It's not what you want to do. It's what you do do." Mailsi was a little mentally amused that she was turning into a font of wisdom. "The trick is to not become what you fight against." She shrugged. It wasn't like Kieran was going to go dark side if he gave into some of his less Boy Scout-y instincts. Not like Mailsi might. "And if you do, just try to learn something about your self from it."

For their first heart to heart moment it was going really well. He had started to calm down since arriving at the Center and he was more focused now after talking to Mailsi. Kieran was ready for this. Even if things did go a little bad it wouldn't be like he'd kill or even seriously hurt S'tann, right? "Thanks M---." He was cut off by a deep familiar voice. It was their instructor for today. Coach Stewart or was the rest of the world knew him as, Green Lantern.

The man spoke with such authority and not even Mars and Jake would talk while he addressed them all. Even when he told the latter to leave. After Jake was gone it was time for Coach Stewart to list the leaders and teams. Immediately it was decided that Mailsi and Kieran would be on opposing teams as one of the leaders. That would make things pretty interesting. Kieran wasn't even surprised that he was chosen as one of the leaders. Most already thought he was a shoe-in for joining up with the Teen Titans. But now it seemed that they might be shaping him up to lead the Teen Titans. Even if they did make him a leader of this session's villains. He wasn't even sure if he was ready for that type of role in a real team. His father on the other hand would be sure that he was ready. He shook his head and focused so he could listen to see who the members of each team were. Both sides were more or less equal when it came to potential. The Suicide Squad had more speedsters, but the All-Star Squadron had some powerhouses. Two of which that he wanted to fight. He just might get his chance.

He quickly put on his suit for the session before following the others into the wait room. He listened to their objectives and then Aiden's plan. It was a mostly solid plan, but it wasn't perfect. While Freddie went to do his weather thing Kieran finally spoke up. "I have some adjustments to the plan. I say we switch Casey and Kyle's positions. As heroes the hostages will be their main priority. Or at least it should be. We need a better combination of offense and defense on that end. I don't know if Kyle's powers would activate through these suits, but I don't want to risk him going through something like earlier again today. Casey, I don't really know how your magic works, but do you think you could put a barrier around the hostages as an added obstacle for the All-Star team? And since Andrew has to be close with Rick we should switch him and Jason." He paused to think for a moment to make sure it sunk in for everyone. He was smart and he hoped his plan was good for everyone. He didn't have the same tactical mind as Julian, but their chess games helped in situations like this. "For Nora and Andrew. You two are also very crucial. You have a major advantage against S'tann. Your powers can make or break this whole session. If he's in a group that's coming for you I want you to focus your powers on him. I expect them to send a lot my way. I don't mind. It's one of the reasons why I wear this big target on my chest." He looked down at his suit that was covering his shirt. "Well... You can't see it now, but you get it. We may be villains, but we're a team first. After I'm done with my objective I'll come and help the rest of you in anyway that I can. Even if it means taking damage. Do any of you have any objections to any of this? It's better to speak up now before changing your mind when everything's underway." He felt confident in his team. He felt confident in his position. They were going to come out of this victorious. There was no doubt about it.

Thanks to Julian, Kyle arrived on time, clean and feeling slightly better. He changed into the approved uniforms and waited. He stuck close to his friend's side and tried not to physically flinch when he spotted Blondie again. And no, he didn't but Julian between them. If he was already there, it doesn't count. As John Stewart talked, and pointedly mentioned Kyle, he couldn't help the uncomfortable twist in his stomach.

Kyle was going to die. He held his breath as teams were read out and nearly cried out Yes in joy to find he wasn't on S'tann's team and was with Julian. Since this was his first time he followed the others as they went to the waiting room. It was almost exactly as some of the older kids described it. Kyle shifted on his feet nervously.

When a guy started speaking, Kyle assumed it was Aiden. Since it wasn't Kieran. He clearly listed out their objective and goals. He frowned a little as Julian got the task of deleting some drives and he was assigned to hostage duty. Kyle wanted to say something, maybe ask to switch places when the timer ran out and the door opened. In all that time Aiden didn't stop talking.

Any objections team?

Maybe Kyle would have voiced his if everyone didn't spill out into the open room and into the cold. Despite the fact they were in-freaking-doors. Even the stones themselves seem to radiate the chill that permeated the facility. A faint thought ran across his mind making him briefly wonder if they could freeze to death. But it was quickly pushed away as he watched everyone somehow know where to go.

"I have some adjustments to the plan."

Still Kieran spoke up to the remaining population of their squad. The sound of his voice froze Kyle to his spot, keeping him from wandering off. He watched the older teen list off changes he thought should be made. When he mentioned that Kyle should not be on the hostage team, a small warm fuzzy feeling filled him. Though it vanished quickly at Kent's next words. No, it wasn't to help Kyle, it was only logic. Kyle was no defense. And worse, he might hurt somebody.

Kyle discretely tucked his hands into his armpits and tried to vanish from sight. As he studiously looked at the floor he tried to remember just what it was Casey had been assigned to. He hadn't remembered, too caught up in the fact that he was canon fodder. He might have asked, had Kieran not drove the fact home he was a dangerous liability.

Until the cold rock wall touched his back Kyle hadn't realized he had started retreating. The sudden shock of cold caused him to jump just a little. It seeped quickly through his A.R.C. suit. However oddly enough, it was the cold that pulled him out of his spiral of self pity enough for clear thought.

With a quick look Kyle spotted an exit and headed that way, intent on leaving the room. The Professor might have said this exercise was mandatory, but he refused to stick around and be told just how useless he was. Plus, what if Julian believed everyone. Hell, he didn't know what really had happened that morning. And he didn't want to see Julian turn away too. Best to leave first.

---

RICK ALLEN Star City; Corrigan School for

---

"Nup. But you know what they say. First time’s a good time, and all that." Rick didn't actually think anyone said that. Nonetheless, Andy continued. "I could try to raise my body temp, get the radiating heat to about thirty degrees Celsius. That should be warm enough for you to run, right? Only thing I’m not sure of is the radius. You’ll need to try and stay as close as you can."

"Doesn't sound too bad of a plan. Only one problem - how're you gonna keep up with me? Unless..." He fiddled around with a switch on either one of his shoes. "I made a modification to my shoes, just in case I ever ran into a problem. It's meant to jump-start me with electricity, but if I adjust the gauge meter and duration, you could fire these bad boys up and they'll keep me warm."

Just then, Kieran piped in with his alterations to the current plan.

"I have some adjustments to the plan. I say we switch Casey and Kyle's positions. As heroes the hostages will be their main priority. Or at least it should be. We need a better combination of offense and defense on that end. I don't know if Kyle's powers would activate through these suits, but I don't want to risk him going through something like earlier again today. Casey, I don't really know how your magic works, but do you think you could put a barrier around the hostages as an added obstacle for the All-Star team? And since Andrew has to be close with Rick we should switch him and Jason." The Kryptonian paused so people could keep up. "For Nora and Andrew. You two are also very crucial. You have a major advantage against S'tann. Your powers can make or break this whole session. If he's in a group that's coming for you I want you to focus your powers on him. I expect them to send a lot my way. I don't mind. It's one of the reasons why I wear this big target on my chest. Well... You can't see it now, but you get it. We may be villains, but we're a team first. After I'm done with my objective I'll come and help the rest of you in anyway that I can. Even if it means taking damage. Do any of you have any objections to any of this? It's better to speak up now before changing your mind when everything's underway."

"No objections from me, Kieran. So long as I got Andy and Tanya with me, this lesson's gonna be fun." He looked to the two mentioned, nodding. "Alright, fire me up, Andy." He braced himself as he watched the other team - which were composed of tiny coloured dots in the distance - disappear in Freddie's thick, winter fog. This is gonna be fun, he thought.

The fairy listened intently as his friend spoke, nodding politely at every odd interval. Inside, Mailsi was a complicated individual, for reasons she often neglected to share with the fey. He understood though. Casey himself had his secrets. He was like the king of secrets. Well more like prince of secrets. Heh, family puns. The mention of Mailsi’s aunt, threw Casey off slightly for a second. The teen tended to try and avoid interacting with members of staff unless he deemed it absolutely necessary. That was one of the reasons he tended to avoid hanging around with Mari that much. Dealing with students related to the staff was bound to cause issues. What if they fell out or something? Would their parents know? Would that result in Casey having a target painted on his back for harassing their precious sons and daughters? No, Casey really didn’t want to have to deal with that. That probably leaves you asking, why on earth was he still friends with Mailsi?

That question had been running through his mind when their conversation was interrupted by Kieran. Casey had mixed feelings about him. It wasn’t like there was anything wrong with the kid. Like, if Casey had to be honest, the Kryptonian was probably one of the nicest guys on campus. He was strong, powerful, majestic, and definitely a shoe-in to be one of the next greatest Teen Titans. Like the Man of Steel himself, Kieran was the perfect hero in Casey’s eyes. Sure that fact kind of bugged Casey, but he couldn’t help but look up to the guy. No, his problem was how friendly he was to Mailsi. First of all, Casey wasn’t jealous. Not at all. No. Besides, why would he be jealous? Casey just knew that Kieran was up to something. The Kryptionian was just pulling some angle. Yeah, that was it.

As Mailsi ruffled the guy’s hair, Casey had to hold back his tongue before he said something he’d regret. He swore internally, repeating the f-word frequently. As the two began to speak, Casey began to shift his feet awkwardly below him. While they continued their narrative, the faerie decided that it was probably a good time to take his leave. After giving his friend a short silent wave which ultimately when unnoticed as her and Kieran continued their heart to heart, Casey turned and departed. This was a good thing, yes. He needed to put on his training suit anyway!

Casey re-emerged from the locker room minutes later, just as their instructor, John Stewart appeared to begin the session. Casey listened intently as the man spoke, smirking as that talking baboon that Balboa was obviously banging was kicked out. Good riddance, Casey thought. That was when the teams were announced. Casey heart leapt with joy at the news that he would be on the Suicide Squad team! Oh this was going to be good!

Now, due to Casey’s natural yearning to chaos and drama, Casey had often pondered about what it would be like being one of the world’s most powerful supervillains. In fact, Casey even admired some of them, having researched a number of them previously during his free time at the library. Take Anarky for instance. The first one that is. Lonnie Machin. That was truly someone that Casey could get behind. However, after having thought on the subject of becoming a villain frequently in the past, Casey decided that the life of a villain was not the life for him. Partly due to the killing. That was something that he definitely wasn’t about. Another reason why he was such a fan of Anarky. Despite all his schemes in the past, no one ever died. Even most of the Justice League had a higher death toll than that guy!

No, the main reason that he didn’t want such a life was that the villain never ever seemed to actually win. Sure many of planet’s big bad guys may accumulate a hefty sum of wealth after a few bank heists, but at the end of the day, they always got caught. Hence one of the reasons as to why the Suicide Squad was actually a thing. Casey didn’t want to spend his time and effort committing crimes, just to simply end up behind bars. That wasn’t what he had in mind at all, especially since Casey loved to win. This A.R.C. session was no exception.

As Casey followed the rest of his team into the waiting room, he suddenly remember where he had heard Professor Stewart assign Mailsi. The thought of him having to fight him unnerved him slightly, although thinking about it, she wouldn’t want him to just go easy on her since they were friends. Regardless, the thought still made a bit queasy. In order to put that out of his mind, he turned his attention to one of his team’s co-leaders as the fellow student spoke. He had to agree that his role in this plan made sense. Despite being able to give a decent punch with his abilities if needed, Casey was well aware that he wasn’t as strong a combatant as many on his team so guarding the bombs was probably a good fit for him.

As the doors to the arena slid open, Casey’s signature mischievous grin flashed across his face. This was going to be extremely fun! He already had a small plan cooked up in his head. What need was there to protect the explosives if the other team weren’t able to even see them? Casey had been practicing an invisibility charm recently that was sure to be a vital help to the team. Before he could speak however, Kieran spoke up.

At once, all misgivings Casey had previously held towards the Kryptonian vanished. Maybe it was just because he wasn’t with Mailsi, but Casey once again saw the guy for the hero that he was. He listened to the change in plan and nodded understandingly. It was probably a good idea to keep him away from the explosives if he was honest, as Casey knew that given the chance he’d probably set those things off early just for the hell of it. But now his new target was the hostages. Keeping them safe would be easy.

“Sure thing!” Casey said cheerily to the Kryptonian as he began to follow the rest of the group through the compound. “Can put down some protective wards and what-not. Got a muffler charm up my sleeve too so those All-Star Shits can’t hear the hostages struggling and screaming!” He gave a menacing giggle at that last comment, with the green haired teen rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"Thanks M---."

Mailsi gave a small nod of her head as John Stewart began to talk about the A.R.C. session. His little drill Sargent bit didn't phase Mailsi at all. It hadn't the first time she had attended and probably never would. After all, she had seen some of the things that went bump in the night. Most of them were loitering around her ancestral home. Or even in her blood.

Anyways, as the young woman ignored the drill talk, she looked back to where Casey had been standing only a few minutes ago. She struggled to catch sight of the shorter fey, but eventually did. He had moved away and was grinning like a loon. Well, at least he was happy right? Mailsi couldn't help the frown that made itself home on her face. She didn't know what she did wrong, but apparently she did something. Again.

As Stewart listed out teams, Mailsi groaned. She was on a team with S'tann? This was going to be the worst session in the history of sessions. And that includes the time Mailsi once damaged the A.R.C. Facility the first time she tried it.

Mailsi patted Kieran on the shoulder before she headed off to the waiting room. Hopefully the kid could keep his head when pitted against S'tann. Because she didn't doubt the Martian was eager to put himself in the Krytonian's way. Inside the small waiting room, Mailsi listened to S'tann barrel ahead with his plan.

Mailsi might be a rolling stone, an unstoppable force, but she knew a good plan when she heard it. S'tann was surprisingly competent. Then again, maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise. J'onn J'onnz always spoke very highly of his skills. It was just his personality that needs work. Which wasn't the topic at hand. This motley group needed a firm hand and no division in the ranks. Which meant that even if Mailsi objected to the plan, she would have to back it up. She made a quick mental balance of the teams.

Damn. S'tann was good. And he didn't actually pick himself to go after Kieran. Yet, there was one change that should be made. Amethyst shouldn't be tied down fighting Kieran. Her power set was far more useful elsewhere. And maybe having to fight Mailsi would throw the Kryptonian. He was too much like his cousin Kal-El. A corner of her mouth quirked up as she made eye contact with S'tann. She let him see her amusement, and approval. "Swap me and Amethyst and you're golden Martian boy." Her green eyes sparkled with delight.

Then she turned back to the group. "You heard him." She pulled her Silver Banshee power out from inside of her. The transformation was nearly instantaneous. Within less than a second her A.R.C. uniform had transformed with her into her second form, black marks stood in stark contrast against her white skin giving her face an eerie look.

"Lets move." Silver Banshee snapped out as the doors opened.

The cold was instantaneous. Dark clouds loomed on the horizon. But the rest of the sky was clear. In the distance she could easily see the facility they would have to retake. It was a fair distance away. And all the speedsters were on the other team. Though that didn't change they needed to get there fast. The faster they got there, the less time the other team had to prepare. The hostage team needed to get there fast and be the distraction.

Mailsi cocked her head at S'tann. "How many people can you carry at once?" She looked again at the compound. It wasn't even visible anymore, just white against white. It was going to be a pain to find again.

Just as everything seemed ready to go, the plan then had an alteration and had Jason watching over the hostages. For God's sake make up your mind already! he thought angrily and was sure that this would make them get caught off guard by the opposing team. Oh well, now he had to get up and be replaced by a pyro-guy so that the speedster didn't get cold feet, never had he heard of such a ridiculous weakness for a speedster. Finishing his root beer Jason walked over to where the hostages were and turned to Casey.

"That muffler charm better not deafen them so that they don't hear our intimidation when we threaten them should they try to escape or help our opponents, I've always wanted to try some villainous intimidation tactics" he said with a smile. Leaning on his spear he waited for this whole mess to start and Jason wasn't sure how this whole thing would blow over, but the odds could be in their favor since The All-Star Squadron had three team members who hated each other. He turned to face the hostages and gave them a wicked smile.

"Alright you sorry sack of shits! If any of you try to run or aid the heroes in anyway then I will chop you up into little pieces and make you chum for sharks!" he said making his voice as threatening and intimidating as possible. Maybe this whole A.R.C. session wouldn't be so bad and he would be sure to get in some good hits on his opponents, he especially wanted to give S'tann a good punch in the face.



Mars was getting himself pumped up and making mock punches at the air, it also was a way of keeping himself warm by making blood go through his system quicker. He then made his body become surrounded in a crimson red aura as Mars felt the Alpha Zone's power flow through him and now that it was game time, his personality was now serious and he was ready to punch something and rescue some hostages. Mars may not have been very book smart, but he was street smart and in football especially when playing a defensive position it was important to read your opponents and understand what they were trying to do and stop it. Of course this more offensive than defensive so he would have to adapt a bit and go on the attack, but it would be too hard.

"So who will go up and knock down the door? I'll do it if no one else wants to" he said to them and hoped that they would. His punches could definitely smash through the stone doors of the research lab and since it was not a student then he wouldn't have to worry about harming anyone, it was a rare occasion for him to cut loose and show some real power. Mars wasn't wearing his usual boxing gloves and instead went for fingerless black leather sports gloves. These would do him just fine and said the words of inspiration for him in his head over and over again to keep himself ready for action It's not about how hard you can punch, but about hard you can take it.

“Doesn't sound too bad of a plan. Only one problem - how're you gonna keep up with me? Unless...” paused Rick, flicking a switch on both of his shoes, “I made a modification to my shoes, just in case I ever ran into a problem. It's meant to jump-start me with electricity, but if I adjust the gauge meter and duration, you could fire these bad boys up and they'll keep me warm.”

Andy gave it a little thought, but only a little – what contemplation he achieved in those brief seconds told him that it was good plan, and so, he figured, what the hell. “Alrighty. That should work well,” he said, clapping the speedster on the back.

“I have some adjustments to the plan,” announced Kieran, and, in announcing, lay them out. Andy had to admit, they were sound adjustments, but whether or not he thought so just because it meant he could scare the crap out of S’tann, he wasn’t sure. Either way, he thought that Kieran had all their bases covered, and that was enough for him.

“No objections from me, Kieran. So long as I got Andy and Tanya with me, this lesson's gonna be fun,” said Rick once the Kryptonian had finished speaking. Giving Andy and the aforementioned Tanya a nod, he said, “Alright, fire me up, Andy.”

Giggity, thought Andy.

Concentrating on Rick’s shoes, he focused all the heat from his hands into them, his arms glowing orange through his hoodie’s sleeves. He was trying hard not to heat his arms up too much, because he liked this hoodie, and it would be a bummer if it lit on fire. He often liked to remind himself that clothes do not, in fact, grow on trees, and that if they did, he’d need to be careful not to light them on fire, too, as they would then have double the capacity to go up in flames, and then he’d be double the amount out of clothes. But then he liked to remind himself that his mum was also a very successful lawyer, and as such was loaded, and so would be able to send any clothes he might want his way.

A distant part of his mind tried to tell him that Rick’s shoes should not be glowing that bright a red, but the dominant part of his mind, which was still thinking about the obvious issue at hand, shook its head and told it to take its problems somewhere else. Sighing, the distant part of his mind reminded him that when an object glows that bright a red, it probably means that it’s burning, and so he should probably take a look at that, because Rick’s feet were probably not having a good time.

Snapping out of it, Andy quickly stopped heating up Rick’s shoes, saying, “Sorry, I think I zoned out a bit…”, then mumbled something about how the heat should stay there until the end of the exercise, and if not, then he’ll try not to lose focus during the recharge. “Uh, anyway, I think we’re good to go. Let’s get to it, yeah?” he added, trying for a reassuring smirk.

Deep in his thoughts, he wondered if geniuses like Ted Kord, Michael Holt and Martin Stein could work on creating a clothes-tree. It would, he concluded, make them a fortune.

---

RICK ALLEN Star City; Corrigan School for

---

Rick rubbed his hands together as Andy's arms glowed an orange colour, and the speedster felt his feet begin to warm up, before the heat slowly crept through his entire body. Thank god the adjustments worked, he thought to himself, unsure of whether his feet would just be burned to a crisp or not - the adjustments were untested since the day he made them, and it was risky of him to test them on the battlefield. But, then again, what choice did he have? He couldn't just run around like a normal person, and get hurt like a normal person, no! He had to be a speedster!

It kinda disoriented Rick a little, what with the storm gathering outside the base, but his body heat being unaffected. Regardless, it was what he needed to do if he wanted to be able to do anything. Without his superspeed, Rick didn't know how to function, how to live! Then again, if other people could do, he was sure that he could do it, too. But only if he had to. And by the looks of it, that wouldn't be too often.

Unfortunately, the to-be Flash didn't have long to think about this, as he looked down at his now-burning feet to find out his shoes were glowing bright red. Luckily, Andy noticed this too, and stopped heating them up before they exploded.

"Sorry, I think I zoned out a bit..." Rick could just make out the pyro mumbling about how the heat should stay there, and if it didn't that he wouldn't zone out next time. The speedster gave him a reassuring pat on the back, one that says not to worry about it. "Uh, anyway, I think we’re good to go. Let’s get to it, yeah?"

"Yup. Come on, Tanya." He sped out to his position by the bombs, with a smirk plastered on his face. Bring it, All-Stars.

Stepping into the ARC chambers pretty much wiped the grin - which she got when Stewart kicked Jake out of the room - clean off her face.

Tanya instantly shivered as she stepped inside. She's been doing this for a little while, and she questioned how the hell she got cold, or hot. Since, this is all supposed to be... digital? Or hard-light? Tanya could never remember the technobabble. Though, she had a feeling that this cold feeling came from this suit of hers. Whatever it was, Tanya was essentially in the polar opposite of the tropics that she was used to (And honestly, preferred), yet, if she was going to become the top superhero, she has no choice but to adapt.

Since she was done whining about the snow, Tanya took one glorious leap into the air - assisted by her power - and was engulfed in a wreath of glowing green flames. Quickly taking the shape of an orb. It began to dissipate, and the first thing to breach the orb was a talon that pressed up against the ground. Revealing her glorious glowing wings that shined green - with various colors splashed in - and fearsome talons that glowed with the same magical energy. Feathers were dramatically falling off her body. Tanya folded her wings, and took two steps in.

So, they were the villains. Tanya never saw herself as a villain - since, she can't sell if she's terrorizing the world - but as Aiden said, they'll have to think as villains. The team was excellent, if she could say so. It had Freddie, Rick, Kieran... Honestly, she was wondering if John was trying to make sure that the Suicide Squad lost in the most humiliating way possible! Just having Freddie in an Arctic environment made him a beast. Though, she felt bad that Mari was on the other team - and that instantly vanished when she remembered that Mari sold Tanya - the fastest person on campus! - as less than the fastest.

It was expected, but the group was planning out their moves. Oh, Kieran made a great leader - even if he was just playing second fiddle to Aiden. While they were making plans, Tanya decided to sit on the sidelines, and listen carefully. Wondering where her bird powers could come in - she just hoped the explosives weren't in a closed off area. She was, for obvious reasons, not built for close spaces. From the looks of things, though, Rick would have a bad time with his powers. Something about the cold chilling him down. Ouch. Fortunately, Andy lended a hand.

"Just to let ya'll know, I can just shoot wind so hard that they're going to have a hard time keeping on us!" Tanya noted, just to throw something into the plan.

Though, once Kieran spoke, Tanya paid extra attention. He was the kind of person you'd listen to. He spoke like he was already worthy of that S. She was going to try extra hard for this course. "Bravo, Kieran!"

That's when the doors slid open, and Tanya was ready. Ready to battle. Though, she was going to focus a bit on dodging rather than dealing hits. Freddie immediately climbed up to the top of the building, and put his weather manipulating magic to good work! There was a heavy ass fog outside the base. Though... there was something she had to say....

"... You know I could have flew ya' up there, Freddie." Tanya noted.

Eh, it was probably for the best. She had to play her own part of the plan. But where's little Kyle? For a moment she wondered, and just wondered if the little wallflower had just snuck off... or he's actually a ninja! Once again, Tanya had to remind herself that she had to win, and, while she didn't care for these ARC sessions, she refused to be made the joke of the class.

"Yup. Come on, Tanya."

Rick said, as he sped off. "Right behind ya!" Tanya said as she immediately dove after Rick.



The team lineup was a little... hm. Well, it was clear that someone was going to get stuck with S'Tann and the meathead, but did they had to be put on the same team (Especially after that stupid insult leveled towards S'Tann earlier)? A recipe for disaster. However, they could still pull through this if they focus.

At least Sugar had Molly and Mari on the team (Heh M&M).

Time to plan, and since S'Tann was team leader, he was the one calling the shots. Well, Sugar didn't really want to lead this mess of a group to begin with. So the matter of leadership was fine, long as they were competent, and not her. While he explained his plan, he was surprisingly mature about the earlier insults Mar's leveled towards him. But that wasn't important. S'Tann, Mars, and Mari were going in balls to the wall. Molly, Richard, and Rita were going to beat up Kieran (Good luck, have fun with that!). Jack was supposed to go disable the bombs. That left Sugar... she was going with her own team to disable the bombs, and possible reactivate the collars.

The girl smiled.

"Good choice." Sugar said on her assignment -it felt too appropriate that she's getting the hard drives. With her little guardian (That she believes S'Tann should she), all she has to do is get close, and she'll just send Sir Reginald in. "Long as I'm the leader of Beta." While she didn't want to lead the whole All-Stars... Sugar was content with bossing around Raphael, and Fen the fabulous. Sugar took a few steps forward the second the doors opened... and it wasn't long until the base got engulfed in a strange fod. Which was going to be a pain in the ass to traverse - the point. Sir Reginald couldn't move the fog, unfortunately, so she's just going to have to suck it up, and keep moving.

Before she began, Sugar took two steps forward, and looked over to her gigantic guardian... the thing that saved her life more than once. She just had to make sure of one thing, "Don't kill anyone Sir Reginald." Sugar whispered to her psychic entity. "Just stay out of sight, and just use telekinesis. Make it look like I'm doing it."

Sugar then looked back, and nodded at her teammates. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Sugar started running to the best of her ability through the fog. Despite missing a leg, she moved like she was long used to moving with prosthetics.

Rita Rexen:

Having left Kyle with his legs stuck in the ground, Rita had smoked four cigarettes, best part about her powers was that her lungs didn't take damage from the accursed things. She had been addicted to them since she was 10 years old, when Sarah Dawner, the cool girl in school had stolen her older brother's pack of unfiltered ones. God, those things were vile. Finishing the fourth one, waiting for the ARC session to almost start, she put her lighter back in her leather jacket, before heading inside. She found her way into the changing room, getting out her training suit. The thing was ugly as hell, which was why she wore her boots and jacket over it. Pulling the hood attached to the jacket over messy hair, she made her way to the main hall.

Stewart was calling on them all, she was on the All Star Suquadron, lead by the Silver Banshee – a girl with a lot of fight in her, a woman after her own fist, as it was. And the Boy Manhunter. She would have much rather fought S'tan, than had to take orders from the brat. She would rather tie his shapeshiting limbs into a tie around his neck.

Then again – Kieran Kent was the leader of the other team. Testing herself against the youngest member of the Superman Dynasty was something that made her lips curl into a grin. As the simulation started, S'tan began barking orders, Rita didn't listen, only taking in the howling fjord the simulation had created. She could feel the snow on her skin – she hated snow. She rather would be at a beach in California, or in a desert somewhere in the middle east.

"We'll split the team into multiple squads, to try and deal with as many objectives at once as we can. Alpha team will be composed of Amethyst, Richard, and Rita. Your job is to take down Kieran. The Kryptonian is their biggest gun; without him, they'll be demoralized and easier to defeat. Once we're closer I'll be able to telepathically scan the base and determine his location, and then relay that information to you."

Were the only words she gathered. She would fight the wonder boy, of course, she didn't care about knowing where he was. She wouldn't need to know. He would come find her, or his team would be decimated under her fist and lose the simulation. She got out her finger-less leather gloves from her pocket, putting them on as she tightened the strap around her wrist. “I've got the Kryptonian. You guys make sure he doesn't cheat and squeel for help.” Rita told the two magic users.

***

Julian Luthor:

Once he and Kyle had left Kyle's room – rather, once Kyle had stopped sobbing so they could leave, Julian patted Kyle on the shoulder, the boy going rigid as Julian did for a moment, as Julian laughed a little, quite pleased with the fact that his invention had worked. Before the two made their way to the ARC reactor, they had gone into Julian's room, left his backpack with new gadgets, and gotten a steel cased briefcase that Julian's robotic arm carried. Once the two got into the ARC, Julian noticed the pressence of several others, he waved at Kieran, before heading down to get changed.

He changed into his suit, and got out the gold plated steel colorer titanium belt, that contained most of his field-ready inventions. The utility belt was slung over his shoulder and clapsed together with the bottom half over his chest, showing the Luthor Insignia over his heart. He recalled his conversation with Kieran when he had designed it – it was him saying that you didn't have to be made of steel to have your family crest on your chest.
Once they were their suits, Julian listened to Stewart, the well esteemed Green Lantern. A man who had single handedly saved entirely solar systems. John was everybit the hero Superman was, yet, people didn't seem to give him the same respect they would if Krypton's Last Son was the one teaching. The rules were set, Julian was on the same team as Kieran and Kyle, his friends, and they were led by the Super, plus Aiden, Aiden was almost as brilliant as Julian, and Julian agreed that despite his own mental prowess, Aiden had more experience in the A.R.C. Him not being made leader of the exercise didn't bruise his ego, even if he would've been amused to do a Luthor Kent dreamteam. The simulation started as they walked into the main room, and their leaders began barking orders.

Aiden ordered Julian to tend to the data files, of course he did. Julian wouldn't have minded being on the front lines, but him tending to the tech was the smart play. He didn't complain. Well, not till after Kieran had spoken up, and Kyle was B-lining it for the exit. “I have one adjustment. I need a lookout. The hacking's gonna be tricky, even for me, I need someone watching my back. Kyle's the logical choice. He knows what I can handle, and when I'd need to cry for help, while he's not a immediate threat to the others – he'd sneak under the radar.” Julian prompted. It sounded like he was looking after his friend, he did, partly. But he was really dictating the superior strategy. He did need someone to watch his back, and Kyle was the best option for more reasons than he let Aiden and Kieran know.

The teams split up to their objectives, Julian carried his briefcase, still. His watch on his wrist lit up, reveling a holographic map of the compound. Proctor Todd had used this program in several of his capture the flag routines, and in nuclear disarming scenarios. In both of which, the map had been lined with limb splitting traps. The young man didn't expect the same from the Green Lantern, whom was a man of honor and fairness.

“Kyle?” Julian spoke, hoping to find his friend behind him once they had split from the group.

---

---

---

The pink haired girl was never really into anything Star Wars. To be honest, it was a waste of time franchise to her and that it only kept to the hearts of geeks and loser. But alas, she had to suck it up and do the assignment no matter how much it pained her. It seemed that Rick hadn't paid much attention to her as he went about and did his own thing. It was half expected since most of the time they ignored each other unless the other was in trouble like the event that just took place. Even though Amethyst tried so hard not to care about what her other half of the family thought, there was still an inkling deep inside of her being that wished she got a chance to get to know them a bit better. Only time would tell if she would ever get the chance to build a bond with her speedster family.

After mulling over the script they were assigned, class was dismissed and Amethyst headed over to the A.R.C. as it was time for their occasional simulation test. For the time that Amethyst had attended the school, she just about had perfect simulation scores even though most of the missions ended up with her doing something reckless or careless that could have jeopardized her teammate's lives. The pink haired teen was never one to follow orders correctly. She always tried to do things herself because she was the type that thought her way was always the better alternative. However Amethyst was doing her best to turn over a new leaf so maybe this time would be a bit different.

She made inside the dome shaped building with the rest of her teammates on time and headed to the locker room to change into her A.R.C. outfit which wasn't the most fashionable, be she could make it work. After tying her pink hair into a high pony-tail, she walked over to the rest of the group just in time for Mr. John Stewart to give out the instructions for today's simulation. The old Green Lantern was quite assertive, causing a smirk to form on her lips when he forced a student out of the training room. She didn't like cocky bro types anyway so thank goodness all of that nonsense babble that had been going on behind her had come to an end.

"Today's session will be done in two teams. The simulation will be pitting the 'Suicide Squad' against the 'All-Star Squadron.' Miss Kelly! You will be leading the All-Star Squadron alongside Mr. S'tonn. Mr. Roth, you will be leading the Suicide Squad along side Mr. Kent. Allen, Blackwell, Harper, Hughes, Kama, Lamont, Lancaster, Luthor and Norwich. You'll be making up the Suicide Squad under Mr. Roth and Mr. Kent. Balboa, Balore, Bordeaux, Dowie, Grayson, Kyle, Linden, Murray and Rexen. You nine will be joining Miss Kelly and Mr S'tonn as the All-Star Squadron. Please move to the left side entrance while the rest of you head to the right to take up your starting positions."

Amethyst groaned and rolled her eyes so hard she thought she saw god. This had to be one of the worst teams to be on. Even though she was slightly exaggerating, she hated almost half the people on her side. Either way, she didn't want to tarnish her perfect simulation score so she had to make due with who she had. It was also kind of ironic she was placed on the hero side since she was raised by a well known villan. Sighing, she left with the rest of her team to the life side of the building to wait for the simulation to start. After being in the Waiting Room for few minutes, John Stewart's voice came over the intercom to issue the team's instructions.

"Hello All-Star Squadron. As some of you are aware, each team has specific goals to accomplish throughout the course of the A.R.C. session. As the 'heroes' of our simulation you should be aware that the 'Suicide Squad' has taken over a remote research location in the Antarctic. In doing so, they've taken several hostages and have rigged the lab to explode. Your goal is to free the hostages and disable the explosives. Bonus marks will be given if you can recover the labs hard drives and re-active the neutralization bombs planted in the neck of each member of the Suicide Squad. Best of luck."

After the voice on the intercom ended, the countdown started from ten and counted down. Once it reached zero the doors opened and a blast of cold air almost knocked the wind out of Amethyst. Of all places, the simulation took place in an arctic tundra of sorts.

"OH. MY. GOD. You've got to be kidding me!" Amethyst grabbed herself as she shook from the cold weather. Couldn't the base have been in the Florida Keys or something? She turned around and looked to S'tann who was one of the leaders of their team and listened in to his instructions

"We'll split the team into multiple squads, to try and deal with as many objectives at once as we can. Alpha team will be composed of Amethyst, Richard, and Rita. Your job is to take down Kieran. The Kryptonian is their biggest gun; without him, they'll be demoralized and easier to defeat. Once we're closer I'll be able to telepathically scan the base and determine his location, and then relay that information to you."

Amethyst immediately shook her head at the commands. Yes, magic was a huge weakness to a Kryptionian but not every magic user should be fighting him. She felt at least one of them should go inside and either help with the bombs or the hostages. Before she could open her mouth, Mailsi put in what she had to say as if she read Amethyst's mind.

"Swap me and Amethyst and you're golden Martian boy."

Thank goodness someone had some sense. "That's exactly what I was thinking." She was actually surprised at how well she was working with this team. Maybe it wouldn't be a total disaster after all. However she wasn't going to hold her breath. She looked towards the horizon and she could barely see the base. She could barely see anything at all which meant they needed to hurry and pursue forward. "Let's just hurry and get inside the base as soon as possible. We need to make this fast. I have a nail appointment later."

Nora was glad the rain had died into a sprinkle by the time she had exited the Quadrangle. She walked at a hurried pace toward the A.R.C., wanting to make sure she had plenty of time to change out of her clothes and into the designated simulation uniform all students were required to wear during training.... and, if necessary, to empty her stomach of those annoying butterflies.

---

Did you ever have that feeling like you just don't belong? Like all eyes are on you even when you have yet to do anything wrong? That's how I feel the few times I've entered the Augmented Reality Center. Of course I know it's mostly in my head, my anxiousness getting the better of me. Yet today was different. It was not all in my head because I could clearly see I was getting the eye from at least two students.

I knew the one called Mae-il-say... Ma-il-see... Molly was about to enter the building a good two minutes before she actually did. Not only do I have the ability to generate dark fire, but I can also sense beings of supernatural and mystical origin. The gorgeous senior classman with the snow white hair and crystal blue eyes was one such being. Whenever my eyes fall upon her I can't help but to bite my lower lip as I'm so smitten by her beauty. When she discovers me today within feet of herself Molly gives me the same look that the captain of the cheer squad would give the lowly captain of the chess club. A wrinkle of her nose and a look of disdain. We really haven't had that much interaction with one another so I do not know what I've done to deserve such treatment.

Then there was S'tann S'tonn. Known to most as Martian Boy. Referred to as Legacy by mostly himself. Called several other names that I'm too lady like to repeat by nearly the entire rest of the school. I can't recall ever being a victim of S'tann's sharp tongue, yet he seems to go out of his way to distance himself from me. Could it simply be my ability to produce fire that causes this reaction from him? And there he is now, in his human guise, trying to blend into a small gathering of classmates so as not to be noticed by me. My ability to locate the supernatural obviously does not work on the Martian, but I'd spot that handsome face anywhere. Can't deny the Martian makes for a very cute boy. As for his (original?) Martian form, well, it did shock me the first time I saw it. Now I.... I find it intimidatingly magnificent.

---

Several Heart-Pounding Minutes Later...

Pulling up his tablet, [John] Stewart quickly rolled through the rest of the names. "Allen, Blackwell, Harper, Hughes, Kama, Lamont, Lancaster, Luthor and Norwich. You'll be making up the Suicide Squad under Mr. Roth and Mr. Kent." Turning to those whose names had yet to be called, he looked over the rest of his list. "Balboa, Balore, Bordeaux, Dowie, Grayson, Kyle, Linden, Murray and Rexen. You nine will be joining Miss Kelly and Mr S'tonn as the All-Star Squadron. Please move to the left side entrance while the rest of you head to the right to take up your starting positions."

As the Green Lantern would go on to describe her team's objectives after they entered the briefing room, Nora was surprised that she and her teammates were to act as the villains of this exercise. How is acting like bad guys beneficial to hero training? she couldn't help to wonder. The fifteen year old was still wrestling with the idea as Aiden Roth, a senior student, began to lay out his plan of defense.

"Nora, Andrew, Kyle and I will keep the hostages safe."

Nora almost smiled. At least one of her teammates seemed to want to treat this as a heroes' mission. It was then that she decided to do the same. She wouldn't even refer to the virtual people as hostages, instead calling them innocents or bystanders. Yes, that would make this simulation just a bit easier for the girl.

The doors to the briefing room slid open and the cold air of the seemingly unheated Arctic building hit Nora like a slap in the face. After stepping through the door as well as taking a few steps away from the other members of her team, Nora immediately an aura of violet fire around her entire person. The flames did not warm her body for she was immune to their heat. Instead, they prevented the cold from hitting her. Cold weather normally didn't bother Nora too much. She loved winter. But, Arctic temperatures were something she could definitely due without.

Soon Kieran Kent spoke up. "I have some adjustments to the plan. I say we switch Casey and Kyle's positions." Nora listened to the current/soon to be Superboy intently. "I don't know if Kyle's powers would activate through these suits, but I don't want to risk him going through something like earlier again today." Nora couldn't help but give an anxious glance at Kyle. He was the boy that everybody been talking about earlier. 'The Kyle Incident'. Great, she thought. Now we have two members of the team who can't control our powers.

Kieran went on to tweak Aiden's plan. "For Nora and Andrew. You two are also very crucial. You have a major advantage against S'tann. Your powers can make or break this whole session. If he's in a group that's coming for you I want you to focus your powers on him." Nora shot another nervous glance, this time Andrew. Kieran's words made sense of course. Yet Nora couldn't avoid worrying still. The building, weather, hosta-- bystanders, and the explosives were not real. Amazingly realistic yes, but not real. Her powers on the other hand were very real. The last thing the girl wanted to do was to hurt someone. With her inability to full control her powers when her emotions ran high and Martian Boy's vulnerability to fire the chances of someone getting seriously injured enhanced tenfold. The butterflies suddenly returned to her tummy.

She was soon enough distracted from her worries when she heard Jason Kama apparently enjoying the role of the villain too much for her liking. "Alright you sorry sack of shits! If any of you try to run or aid the heroes in anyway then I will chop you up into little pieces and make you chum for sharks!" Nora gave the magically empowered Hawaiian meathead a look of total disgust. The guy was still holding the glass of soda his that he walked into the A.R.C. with for Pete's sake!.

With a flick of her slight wrist Nora flung a burst of purple fire near his head, though not so close that she might accidentally hit the boy. "You should be taking this way more seriously," Nora said sternly, glaring at the Waverider, her annoyance momentarily causing the aura of violet flame surrounding her to crackle and flare.

Kyle hesitated just outside the room as he heard Julian's voice. He closed his eyes a took a deep breath. So he didn't get out of there fast enough. With any luck Julian wouldn't say anything about Kyle and life would move on. He wouldn't have to hear the only person in the school who put up with him agree with anyone about how useless he was. He could have kept walking, but he had to know, had to hear it.

When Julian stated that he needed a lookout, Kyle knew Julian was going to ask for someone else. Maybe a speedster. So when he added that he wanted Kyle, it threw the teen. At first he didn't believe he was hearing things right. Every part of him was conditioned for rejection. He was used to it. In fact it was his one constant in his fourteen years of life. Everyone pulled away.

Except Julian didn't seem to be getting the memo. Kyle almost hated him for that. The longer this went on, the harder it would be for Kyle. He could still walk away first. He could be that sort of person that protected himself above everyone else. Kyle took another deep breath and finally opened his eyes. He could, but he wouldn't. When he was first offered a position at the school he was offered a chance. A chance to change who he was. And quite frankly, Kyle hated the person who he was. And if he walked away now he'd always be that person.

Kyle?

"Over here." Kyle managed in a level voice. He turned around and waited for Julian to follow his out of the room. While he might have decided to step up, he still couldn't force himself to look at any of the others at the moment. Didn't want to see himself reflected in their eyes.

"You do know that I can easily destroy stuff just by touching the computers right?" Kyle pointed out. "No techno-mumble-jumble necessary." He offered up a cocky smile to match the confidence that he didn't feel.

An expansive cloud of unnatural fog rolled in from seemingly nowhere and blocked the far-off laboratory from view. "Ugh." S'tann grumbled. Freddie was already up to his mischief, even before they'd begun to move out. Typical. That must mean the Suicide Squad entered the arena near or inside the research center. Well, S'tann thought, At least we know where they are. Unsurprisingly, the first words out of most of the team's lips were complaints. It's too cold! They whined. Why couldn't we be on a beach in California? They thought. Ya know, some days, S'tann wished he couldn't read mind. Telepathy was such a hassle. It seemed as if everyone wore their hearts on their sleeves; he knew their darkest secrets. Their deepest desires. Their dirtiest fantasies (those were the worst; and the most common. Disgusting human fucks). It'd be just magnificent if they'd all just SHUT UP FOR ONE BLEEDING SECOND. The Martian took in a deep breath of the freezing Arctic air. He'd never get used to it; knowing what he shouldn't no. Sometimes, S'tann wished he could close off their thoughts. Or stop reading their minds altogether. But no. That only worked when people thought quietly. It's hard to explain. But some thoughts are more easily heard than others; certain brainwave patterns can be picked up by telepaths without even trying. Those were usually the most passionate thoughts, containing the strongest emotions. The ones S'tann specifically didn't want to know.

Breathe.

In.

Out.

Breathe.

Thankfully, Molly had something constructive to say. Legacy knew what she was going to say before the words left her mouth, but he waited until she voiced her concerns before responding. She wanted to swap places with Amethyst. He mulled it over for a second and a half. Molly's sonic attacks would be devastating for the Kryptonian's ultra-sensitive ears. And Amethyst's powers would make her invaluable in the facility; while Molly's uncontrollable scream in what was most likely very tight corridors spelled disaster. A very logical concern. One apparently shared by Amethyst. "Alright." S'tann agreed. "Good idea. Anything else?" Molly's next question was an odd one. Although, after a moment, S'tann realized what she meant. He could fly. Very, very fast. Most of these guys and gals had peak human or less in the way of speed; which was a major disadvantage for the team. A small smirk crossed the Martian's green lips. His eyes glowed a bright red and his body began to grow, shift and change. He absorbed the electricity of the Augmented Reality Center into his body, converting it into mass and using said mass to shape shift. The shape he was going for was very clear after a moment. His torso extended to forty feet long, and each arm stretched further than that. His smooth skin transformed into hardened scales, and his arms sprouted leathery wings.

The great, black dragon let loose a terrible roar that shook the very foundation of the entire center.

"Climb on." S'tann ordered, his voice deep, powerful and guttural. The kind of voice you'd expect from a forty foot long monster with a one hundred and twenty foot wingspan. Once the team was on, S'tann beat his wings against the air and shoved himself skyward. (Well, okay. So that's a bit of a lie. The wings were just for show; he used his Martian telekinesis to fly. Now if only he could use that telekinesis for anything else. Maybe when he was a little older.) He flew forward, cutting through the sky at breakneck speeds. He had to travel at roughly half his top speed to keep from injuring any of the passengers. S'tann pushed himself upwards, up up and away! Not too far away. Just high enough to get a bird's eye view of the laboratory despite the fog. They were no doubt visible to Freddie now, if they weren't before. Good. They were supposed to be going in loud anyhow. "Listen up!" S'tann roared over the deafening wind. "I'm dropping you off, Jack, outside the fog. Keep you out of view from any prying eyes. Hold on tight!" Without anymore warning, S'tann dived. He fell near vertically towards the cloud, leveling out as they disappeared into the fog bank. Hopefully before Freddie managed to do anything crazy. Legacy glided to a stop, his four massive claws digging into the snow in an effort to slow himself down.

"Your time to shine, Catboy. The bombs are scattered in the southwestern wing of the laboratory." He remarked. Once the thief was let off, the Martian addressed the rest of the crew. "I can sense their positions now." He said. Telepathy wasn't all bad. It helped in situations such as this one. "Once we're inside, Alpha team, you'll need to split off and follow the northwest tunnel to a...a helipad. The Kryptonian should be there. Beta team, you'll need to go the opposite direction: southeast, to find the hard drives and the bomb collar controls. The rest of us will head northeast towards the hostages. Mars. Once we exit the fog we won't have much time to get to the door before Freddie hits us with everything he's got. So I'll need you to take out that door from off my back. Ready? Here we go.."

S'tann burst forth from the fog, flying head-first towards the laboratory's massive door. "Mars! Jump off and hit it! NOW!" Without a doubt, there was a whole load of pain heading their way from skyward...

There was something to be said to for being on the All-Star Squadron. Jack had already gotten the laughs out about being part of the Ass team. Whoever had decided on that name needed to be fired into the heart of the sun. Who would think that the Suicide Squad would be beaten by ASS. Jack had figured that he would be put on the Suicide Squad since he had always thought that one day he would end up on the team. He figured that one day he would be caught by Amanda Waller and forced to join her Villain Bridge Club. He was one of the world's best thieves after all. One day he would be even better than his own mother. There was something that would make Freud blush but Jack did not want to think about something like that. Still he needed to get over the whole being only known as the Catboy.

Which of course was what S'tann had called him. Jack would have attacked the guy if he was not a huge dragon. Jack figured that a parade in a fireworks factory would be more subtle than this plan. Jack pulled his goggles down and nodded at the plan. He moved his gear around as he waited for his cue to drop. Jack dropped off with a smile and a wave to the group. He dropped down right outside the fog bank as it turned into a blizzard. If this was Freddie's attempt to slow him down, it was hilarious. Jack had grown up in Gotham. He had learned how climb in the middle of winter on top of Gotham Cathedral. The weather in Gotham was notorious for how bad it was. So Jack knew how to get around in a blizzard. Usually they involved lightning and other nasty fun things. He had fought goons in the middle of much worse storms so this blizzard really was not slowing him down.

Jack managed to clamber up one of the walls in through a window that he had forced open when he had climbed up. Jack fell to the interior floor as he slunk off towards the lab. He had no idea if Freddie had seen him but Jack wanted to confront the guy. He figured that Freddie had seen Jack force the window open with a crowbar. Jack was also covered in snow from his break in. He cringed a bit as he heard S'tann the dragon attacked. Jack looked around since he was so lost.

---

"... You know I could have flew ya' up there, Freddie." Tanya chirped in through the monitor.

"Well, yes," he chuckled. "But I have my macho pride to uphold!" he joked, though it probably wasn't the time for it. Freddie's restlessness was most evident in moments of wait such as this: patience was not his strong point. Still, his eyes were fixed upon the thick shroud of fog he'd conjured to conceal the base. He was quite impressed with it; he had a tendency to sometimes make them a little light and wispy, and he was thankful he'd managed to pull through on this occasion.

That's when he heard it: a low and primal roar, that seemed to shake the very facility beneath him. It seemed the All-Stars had decided against a stealthy approach, and Freddie prepared himself for whatever might be coming his way. Of course, he wasn't sure what to expect: which team would they send? How would they move? But of one thing he was sure: he hadn't expected to ride in on a dragon.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, smirking to himself. They could all say what they wanted about S'tann, but he had an appealing element of theatre and spectacle about him; more akin to a pantomime villain than an evil warlord. "It seems we have company," he said clearly into the commlink. "They're heading straight for us. Expect them any moment." he said, before watching the dragon dive back into the fog, which earned a chuckle from the Brit. "Not so fast."

With apparent ease, Freddie moved his arms outwards; like Moses parting the Red Sea, the fog swiftly and efficiently split into and dissipated as it swept itself away. The benefit of this meant that the whole team would be able to see their opponents now, and intervene as they saw fit. It also meant Freddie was free to focus on other things.

He was in the flow of things now: the adrenaline and presence of the situation driving him forward. He raised his arms to the skies, and began swinging them in large circles above his head. He'd done only a few rotations before the effects became clear: an incredibly strong wind began to whip around the base, a vortex of sorts encircling the facility that only increased in speed and ferocity the more Freddie worked it. As it blew, it picked up large amounts of snow and whirled them around aggressively, making the winds visible as the flurry of white span violently.

"I'd like to see you fly smoothly in that," Freddie gloated to himself as his hair fluttered wildly in the eye of the blizzard. He hoped his efforts had been enough to ground his opponents; he had no doubt they would make it into the base eventually, they were a competent bunch. But it was his job to slow them down at any cost.

Through the snowstorm, he was able to make out a lone figure approaching the base from a different angle; though he wasn't sure who. Soon enough, the figure had grown too close for Freddie to see them from his vantage point. He buzzed into the communicator once more.

"There's a lone agent approaching. It seems all the noise was but a distraction: he isn't heading for the entrance so I expect him to infiltrate by some other means. It's probably Jack." he said, realising that he was probably the best option the opposition had for a stealth attack. "Hit him extra hard for me."