Location: Communications Complex
Interactions: Squad 🐝

---

Aleen'a's questions on what the plan might be if the enemy were to discover the presence of the team caused Viktor to lower his phone. He silently looked at his squad and then at Talon who was a bit away. It was his call to make, but Viktor felt he knew well enough what the plan should be. Once his eyes returned to his squad, he answered.

"If our team is discovered, our squad will bound back together and regroup with the team at the extraction point. We will not assist the other squad in escaping the facility if it hinders our squad's movement to the extraction point. Worst case, we leave them… And Brightheart, wear…" Viktor looked up at the screen displaying some of the information regarding the mission. "Wear dark gray."

Location: Communications complex
Interactions: Squad A and B

---

Daphne listened to Viktor attentively, taking in everything he said while trying not to worry too much. She nodded along until she heard his comment about abandoning half of their team. The thought alone made her sick to her stomach. They couldn't really be doing that, could they? Daphne stared at Viktor in disbelief. She didn't know how to react, so she simply stayed quiet. The rest of the team was getting ready too. She was going to make herself useful. It wouldn't help worrying about this now.

Ja had the right idea, it was clever to bring something to eat. Over the last two weeks Daphne had everyone's favorite snacks pretty much memorized. She got to work on making a whole bunch of sandwiches, packing them into labeled bags. Four would probably be enough, if she brought some other stuff too. It was like prepping lunch for ten kids. Daphne was used to mothering others and herself, a result of growing up without a mom. She put a lot of thought and effort into her prepping. It was obvious she paid attention to details, using Aleena's favorite jam, catering to Zach's sweet tooth, Talon's peanut butter and banana combo, Ja's tangy baobab spread, Kassandra's love of tuna salad, Felix a spicy omelet (which she didn't make from scratch, using one they had left over, don't tell him!), even Viktor's weird combination of turkey and cheddar. The teen girl kept a close eye on the clock, she knew neither Viktor nor Talon would appreciate late comers. With that in mind she cleaned up after herself, setting up a new objective. Changing into winter clothes and bringing some blankets and pillows in case anyone wanted to sleep.

The prepped lunches were transferred into a bag. She looked at it, deciding on bringing them with her or leaving them there for now. Hopefully she wouldn't forget them, it wouldn't be the first time. Sometimes her head was in the clouds and stuff just passed by her. Daphne got done changing into winter gear surprisingly quickly. It took a stop to the supply room, to find everything. Winter clothes weren't exactly on her list when she was packing to move to the HQ. She decided on a white turtleneck, a knitted hat, gloves, grey pants, white boots and a stone colored coat. It was light enough to blend into the snow.

Daphne got down to the hangar lugging two heavy bags behind her, cheeks flushed. It looked like she was going on some kind of ski trip.

"All ready to go!" She said slightly out of breath and with a smile on her face. It was best to keep smiling because she knew what they were going to be facing. They were in this together.

K O B R A'S M O U N T A I N HQ

---

The jet was parked inside a clearing in the pine forest, cloaked so no one would see their landing. The mountain region was covered with small patches of trees huddled together, steep hills and winding pathways. The weather was a complete turn around of the sunny beach days in Happy Harbour. A thick layer of snow covered everything, the clouds adding to it continuously. The air was crisp and clean, but something was of. In the distance Kobra's factory operated in secret. Using binoculars would allow to the team a view on everything that was going on. One single road led up to the gates of the factory which were watched by two armed guards. A couple more roving guards were patrolling the outside perimeter.

The team was standing outside in the cold, grouped close together. In a couple of minutes squad A and B were going to split up, each responsible for an important objective. Equipped with night vision goggles and ear pieces they set out on their first mission!

---

The ride on the jet was a solemn one for Talon. He sat focusing on the mission, head low. After the briefing, they had split for a short time to prepare themselves, either suiting up or grabbing any preparatory items. Talon wasn't sure how to feel when Metamorph and Nymph prioritized snacks. He hadn't been expecting to be asked that by Metamorph, who Talon was recently having a hard time getting a read on. It seemed when they interacted his moods were all over the place. Or if not his mood, his interests, his body language. It was like they were meeting for the first time every time. It unsettled Talon, but he wasn't one to judge. He knew of Metamorph's abilities, but not of his history.

The others also took Talon by surprise. Zatara's enthusiasm was surprisingly catching the others, and he seemed like he was particularly motivated. When Nymph shyly pointed out that she had made snacks custom made for everyone, Talon felt that same churning he felt back at Happy Harbor Mall. But something was wrong.

When it came to The Mission, there was only The Mission.

When Talon was in the field with the others during his youth, he was taught that there was no such thing as allies. No such thing as familial connections. If someone was hurt, they were left. Weakened knives to be thrown into the dull heap of broken bodies, left to their own devices. Talon was taught never to sacrifice anything for the mission. And sacrifice anyone that needed to be sacrificed. His training was singular, finite.

There is no one else.

There are no allies.

These were the memories ringing in Talon's head. Mixed in with the voices of Metamorph offering his other ear bud to Mirage. With Cybergirl and Brightheart giggling to each other. What would Talon do when his muscle memory kicked in? What would he be like? Would he ever shake that feeling? Could he ever be one of the others?

He caught Hex looking concerned at him from a distance, undoubtedly the empathic boy was able to pick up on his mental distress. Talon nodded to his friend in an attempt to reassure him, but wasn't sure it really stuck.

The others were talking amongst themselves, some laughing and joking, but even Zatara was looking serious. Talon was glad. He wanted the team to deliver on their promise to their mentors. They wouldn't screw this up. Talon wouldn't allow it. He'd do anything to make things right, to make up for the past. But even amongst their growing camaraderie, there was something else gnawing at Talon. It was Rain and Squad B. They had held a separate discussion among themselves, and Talon had grown easy. Self-conscious even. Rain was looking serious sitting in the transport, his arms crossed. Talon stood from his spot and sat in the empty seat across from him. He leaned in close.

"I put you in charge of Squad B because I need someone I can trust to lead the others. Don't think I need you to play babysitter. You're only leading Squad B because of that reason. Everything is riding on this mission." Talon's voice was low but stern. He was expecting Rain to challenge him at this moment, but it was possible Talon could be surprised.

---

The wind blew snow all around the boots of the team. Talon shivered in spite of himself. He turned to the others. His time as a member of the Court of Owls was filled with these moments. The silent stalking of prey, communicating non-verbally. But this wasn't like that. He was in charge of keeping the team on task. How could he do that? He saw his allies standing around, staring at him awkwardly. It seemed they were expecting him to say something. What could Talon do? What would Nightwing do? Talon wracked his brains. A joke? Talon didn't know any.

Then what would Nymph do?

Talon shuffled his feet. Thinking he would come up empty, Talon searched for the words. Searched for the feelings. Even though it was a short time together, each of the heroes on this team were making a difference in Talon's life. He had thought strength was the only way to impress him, thought that power and ability were the only ways for people to inspire him.

But in such a short time, he was learning it was the opposite of those things that made people heroes. It was Brightheart's enthusiasm. It was Cybergirl's curiosity, Mirage's courage. Hex and his empathy, Fel-Gold Rush and his confidence. Each of them was gifting him something in even a small way, but in a way it ached Talon not to be able to tell them.

"Please....do your best."

With those words, something shifted in Talon. Something softened, if not just for a second. But that same earlier echo spoke back to him. Changed him to the person he was when there was a mission to be completed. Without fail.

---

Winter was, unsurprisingly, Casper’s favorite season. He had often come across a comparison between himself and the eternal beauty of falling snow, a comparison he appreciated. A compliment. It brought memories to the forefront, moments of when the boy found himself at the highest peak of Castle Blackwood, eyes turned towards a sky of infinite, glacial petals slowly descending from an endless sea of clouds. A hand extended, snowy pearls gently gathering upon ebony claws as the Wraith’s tail slowly swayed in tune with bliss. Though chaos was soon to arrive, he could not help but appreciate the moment, a ghost in hazy rime. With eyes closed beneath his mask, Hex took another step forth, a weightless motion pushing his foot into a blanket of snow. How he wished for this ivory purity to be spared crimson strife. It was, however, a promise the teen could not make.

Indeed, it caused Casper’s mind to center itself on a single thought, his attention shifting towards Viktor. ‘Leaving allies behind’. Had the battle hardened warrior shed himself of the respect otherwise earned throughout two weeks of camaraderie? With a single statement, he had warranted a sense of skepticism. What was the Young Justice League without its entirety? Was it truly so easy for the living to abandon their kin? No, it was an individual decision, one Viktor would likely find difficulties in issuing. Would others blindly follow an order? If this was the case, they were merely echoes of what the Justice League fought; men and women simply following orders issued by amoral superiors.

Though the Wraithborn was unable to fully comprehend a human’s desire for survival, he understood enough to draw reasonable conclusions. It did not matter if they knew of an afterlife, and it mattered less that Casper would shepherd them onto greener pastures. They wanted to live. It was the only existence they knew, and the prospect of joining another, abandoning what was their sole reality strung along a daunting path to say the least.

With this in mind, was it truly so easy for a man to abandon his comrades willingly? Contemplating Viktor’s statement pointed Casper in a single direction; insubordination. In truth, Hex had been incorrect, springing from his very initial reaction. It was never about following orders, and it wasn’t about issuing them. This was not a platoon, and neither Viktor, nor Talon were commanders, sergeants, or chiefs. The heart of this exercise was a concept of trust. The ability to place one’s faith in another, and follow instructions as they were presented.

Taking a moment to consider this, Casper paused, his teeth clenching. He was wrong. One could not approach a group of teenagers in a manner reminiscent of military exploits. They were not soldiers, and orders in lieu of instructions would backfire immediately.

Crossing his arms, Hex’s bliss had reached its end. Beneath his stealth suit of glacial white lingered a mellow expression. Had he lost all faith in Viktor before the mission even began? It was difficult to say. Perhaps their fearless leader would surprise him, but the notion of a fearless young man found itself blatantly questioned in the willingness to abandon the team. Would Batman do the same? Casper did not know much of the caped crusader but he had been told of Bruce’s compassion. There was a heart beneath that armored suit. Did Viktor lack that most crucial ingredient?

Taking another step, Hex gazed across the night, his spectral eyes allowing for clear sight. He preferred this, the comfort of darkness. Though witnessing little more than two souls in the distance, a conclusion could be drawn that several more resided within their target destination. Was Team A enough to deal with what awaited inside? ”Coal,” Casper began.

“Yup?” Came a response, wings stretching as the bird flapped.

”Would you reckon that outposts are to be considered?” Hex crossed his arms.

“Ya’, probably. They wouldn’t just have a factory out here without scouts patrolling the place,” Coal responded, “and backup if shit goes sideways. Like us. We’re shit going sideways.”

”One can hope that we are so successful,” Casper noted, followed by a slight shake of his head.

“Boy, you have no faith in this, do you?” The spirit chuckled, nudging his spectral friend, “look, if this goes to hell..,” Coal whispered, close to Hex’s ear from where he stood atop the Wraith’s shoulder, “we really leaving the kids to croak?”

”My dearest friend..,” claws moved to gently comb their way across Coal’s feathers, ”we shan’t shepherd a single soul here to the afterlife. Not for a very long time, yet.”

Though silence briefly lingered, Coal nodded his head, “you’re a good kid, Cas.”

Location: HQ ➡️ Jet ➡️ La Hoya
Interactions: Talon & Squad 🐝

---

The reactions from his squad after mentioning the worst-case scenario didn't phase Rain in the slightest. In fact, it was what he expected. As he entered his room to suit up, the young man could recall his first time hearing of a plan including the option of leaving others behind if necessary. It was not an option he enjoyed, but it was needed for certain missions, especially those that were covert. To be a ghost of sorts. Commit an action without anyone knowing of it nor your presence. In this case, your true presence.

After wearing some added layering, Rain equipped his suit, wearing all but the hood and visored mask. For the rest of the hour of preparation, Rain tested his equipment, reviewed the mission brief again, and grabbed some leftover pizza with peanut butter spread on it for the trip.

---

Jet

Rain remained quiet for the most part on the jet, seated with a navy blue backpack resting between his feet. The packaged turkey and cheddar sandwich Daphne had given him was inside, waiting to be eaten later. He didn't know how to react to the gesture, because he found a few things off about it. Rain wondered why the girl was paying so much attention to certain details about everyone. It reminded him of his own observations, except the information she collected pertained to favorite foods and colors. Then there was the delivery. There were either no words exchanged or no handover at all. Just an item to accept for no stated reason. But like her, it was harmless and nothing to weigh too heavily.

Talon taking the seat across from him helped take Rain away from his thoughts. He hoped Talon did not decide to sit there and glare at him for seven hours. Luckily, this was not the case.

"I put you in charge of Squad B because I need someone I can trust to lead the others. Don't think I need you to play babysitter. You're only leading Squad B because of that reason. Everything is riding on this mission."

"I agree. Everything is riding on this mission. I don't care about why you placed me in a position to lead. I will just lead... to ensure our team's success." He said calmly before his eyes narrowed at Talon. "Don't address me like I'm one of them. Any issues we have outside of this… are outside of this." He was open to working with Talon or anyone for that matter if it meant the mission's success.

It was hard to see the faces on this plane as expendable to a mission objective, but unfortunately, it was an option. Perhaps the last option, akin to an animal gnawing off a trapped limb to save itself.

---

La Hoya

Rain now had both his mask and hood equipped, his eyes on Talon who appeared as if he was going to address the group. About what, he wondered, but not for very long. We can do without this. He took a step away to visually survey the area just as Talon spoke. As the squads were dismissed Rain turned to his group he could quite clearly due to his enhanced vision.

"Remember. Observe and report. Simple yet crucial. I will let you determine your vantage points, but I will recommend changes if necessary. Remaining hidden is key. I'd sacrifice any of you not being able to see anything if it meant none of us are seen. Ensure your earpieces are set up and now would be the best time to address any concerns. Coal can you recon ahead of us. You're the least conspicuous." Rain would probably never verbalize it now, but Coal would turn out to be a very useful asset.

---

"Oh... I see." Aleen'a simply muttered upon Viktor's answer. She was expecting he'd say something like that but it was still very sad to hear. To abandon your teammates for the sake of the mission, such sacrifice would be hard to do for a Tamaranean that values fellowship among everything. She vowed to herself that she would at least try to save her friends to the best of her abilities. If she couldn't, well, the guilt within her won't allow her to stand idly by and just watch as her friends were in danger anyway.

Once they were dismissed, Aleen'a went back to gear up for the mission. She loved how everyone kept their merry spirits despite the danger they might face. She had always seen average humans as overall physically weak but mentally resilient, and she admired them for it. Anyways, Aleen'a put on a grey and white bodysuit, boots, and arm guards. She didn't put on a coat or jacket as Tamaraneans were naturally resistant to extreme temperatures and she didn't want to be weighed down by heavy clothing. She also brought many first aid kits and put them in a big medicinal bag as well. As the Warlords of Okaara would always say: to be ready for anything, one must train for everything. As for the rest of the waiting time, Aleen'a spent hers reviewing the mission once more and, while no one's looking, spread peanut butter on some leftover pizza slices and ate them.

During the trip, she happily ate the sandwich Daphne made for her, she needed all the energy she could get especially since it'll be night by the time they get to their destination. She loved how thoughtful she was to her; even though the number of times they interacted with each other was scarce, Aleen'a could tell she was a lovely individual. She couldn't help but worry about Daphne though especially back at that awful incident in the obstacle course weeks ago. She hoped she would be alright and Aleen'a will always be there for her friends whenever. She spent the rest of their trip psyching herself up, meditating to calm her nerves and remind herself that things just got a lot more serious. This wasn't a fun little exercise anymore, lives were at stake here.

If Koriand'r made Aleen'a join the team to solve her boredom, it was working much more than she thought it would.

---

Thankfully, the teams managed to arrive at their mission's location in one piece. She left her medicinal bag within the ship and joined the others outside. Brightheart had only ever seen snow-covered trees in holiday-themed movies and she would've loved to take a picture of them as remembrance, but she reminded herself that she's on a mission. Like the rest, she put on her gadgets and also put on this grey-colored cap that kept her bright red hair within at the last minute. She figured an alien with golden skin, blue eyes, and red hair would stick out way too much in such a white and grey environment, especially when she's flying up in the night sky. All that was missing were a pair of flippers and Aleen'a looked like she was going to take a swim in feets-high snow.

When Talon spoke to the groups, Brightheart was touched. When Rain spoke to the groups, she was a little disappointed. These boys were really confusing her. She thought one boy was scarier than the other then it turned out the boy wasn't scary at all, and now the other boy got less scary while the other was suddenly back to being scary. Human boys were so much more confusing than this thing called human math.

She raised her hand up to speak. "I suppose we should ask for your permission for breakings in the bathing room or are we expected to hold our excrements in until the mission ends?" Brightheart, from the bottom of her genuine, sincere, naive heart, asked Talon and Rain.

---

Prior to exiting the jet and venturing out into the snowy peaks of La Hoya Daphne had transformed herself. She felt her skin tighten due to being exposed to the cold, but just like every other physical pain it was lessened. The nervous system of her plant form was a unique blend between fauna and flora. It caused her to be able to withstand the low temperatures better, at least that's what she hoped. With only her head exposed her hair fluttered in the wind, snow getting caught on the surface of the leaves.

She squinted at Viktor, her eyes narrowing to watch his masked face. His speech was militant and clear cut. Daphne was beginning to get used to it. This was important to all of them, but it seemed particularly important to the stoic hero. She didn't know why, maybe because leadership was split between him and Talon. It was probably something else, if she knew him better she might have known where his motivation came from. One thing she did know for sure, she didn't want to disappoint him and her team again. Daphne was determined to succeed.

Talon said something to the team. It was unexpectedly.....nice? Or at least, she knew he wasn't an unkind guy, but this was something he wouldn't usually say. These were the kind of words and emotions he struggled with. They´d spent time together in short but meaningful intervals, one of their activities included sign language lessons. Daphne wanted to include Talon in the team. Communication was the first step. Sometimes during her lessons she caught a glimpse of this other side of him, underneath the shades.

"I suppose we should ask for your permission for breakings in the bathing room or are we expected to hold our excrements in until the mission ends?"
Daphne turned to Aleen´a and stifled a laugh at the same time. They could always count on the alien girl to say something funny to break up the tension. Daphne shook her head, still smiling.
“No Brightheart, if nature calls you don’t need permission to go”

Wait….maybe using figure of speech wouldn’t be the best idea. Aleen’a often took things literally which was understandable. Next thing you know Aleen’a was going to try to use their coms to call a pine tree. Daphne attempted to sheepishly correct herself, blinking the snow out of her eyes.
“I just meant that if you need to pee, you can find a quiet place between the trees and go there”

Coal flew on out ahead of them and she watched Casper's spirit companion go off into the distance.The falling snow combined with the still dark night sky made it difficult to see clearly. After a couple of seconds Coal had already disappeared. She also needed to find a vantage point. Somewhere where she could keep an eye on things and communicate with the team. Daphne turned to squad B, her voice just loud enough to be heard, in order to keep a low profile.
"I'll scout on ahead and find a vantage point and start up our comms"

With a determined nod to squad B she started towards the hills leading to the Kobra factory. The backpack carrying the radios and earpieces was strapped to her back. She glanced back every so often, just to make sure to not lose sight of the team. So far she was walking in a roughly straight line towards a hill. After a while she was starting to get tired. Daphne sucked in a cold breath and looked around. There was a rock jutting out of the snow, it was large enough to hide behind. She walked up to it, trudging through the heavy snow.

This spot looked pretty good. She took off the backpack and put it in front of her, the snow crunching under the weight of the equipment. Alright what was she supposed to do first at comms? They only had one training session using everything, but it couldn’t be too difficult right? She got the radios installed without problems. Daphne was impressed with herself. This kind of stuff usually took repeated tries for her to get right. She was the kind of girl who couldn’t even hang up a frame and here she was operating a military style communications set.

She turned on the radio for a test, if she did this right squad A would now be able to hear her.
“Uhh hello...guys…?”
Daphne quickly corrected herself, remembering radio etiquette.
“I mean...Squad A, this is Nymph, I have set up the comms and we’re now online, over."

---

---

Alisa set the plane down in the field with a gentle touch. Then, for the first time in eight hours, she took her hands off the steering wheel and sighed in relief. It had been a long, quiet plane ride. Most of the team had gone to sleep after an hour or so, and the ones who were still awake (namely the ones who didn’t need sleep) were either already quiet-natured or didn’t want to speak for fear of waking the others. So, for the android in the pilot’s seat, it had been a quiet plane ride full of staring out at landscapes below, talking aloud to the plane, and trying not to crash a multi-million-dollar jet.

Luckily, she had been successful in that. After patting the plane’s controls rather affectionately, Alisa rose from the pilot’s seat and stepped off the plane after the others.

“Jeez, it’s cold,” she remarked, more to herself than the others. Although she wore a dark blue puffer jacket, black boots and mittens, and gray ear muffs, she still felt the chill through her clothing. Her eyes widened as she saw the snow. Wow. Although she would never say it aloud for fear of embarrassment, this was her first time seeing the stuff. She bent down to run it through her fingers, curious. Funny to think that her first time seeing snow was also her first time on a superhero mission.

There would be a lot of firsts today. Aware of eyes on her, she straightened up and rubbed her hands together, clearing off the snow. She certainly didn’t need everybody else to think she was some idiot who had never seen snow before.

Alisa watched Talon as he said his bit, and nodded encouragingly. “We will. Promise.” She still wasn’t sure of him as a leader, but that didn’t mean she would completely disregard his orders. There had to be a reason they had chosen him.

She giggled with Daphne at Aleen’a’s comment, but let the other girl explain. Oh, Aleen’a was so hilarious! If only she was on Squad A instead of B this time around.

Daphne then walked into the woods with the comms. After hearing it, she sounded off. "Roger that, Nymph! Cybergirl's online. Over." Alisa then turned to Talon again. “Does that mean it’s time to go?”

---

So far Kilamanjaro wasn’t sure how he felt about their stealth mission. At first, he was excited because it had been a really long time since he got to do one. Well, really after freedom, this was the first time he was getting to do any missions. He even got to wear the camouflage costume that changed colors to the animal from the Red he was drawing from. Though there was one small problem, being the mask which was designed to cover his whole head. It was sort of thin, yes, but his hair was big, which he supposed made it a big problem.

Ja’s hair was one of his strongest ways of feeling what was around him. However, if he left that, or his face out on a mission like this, it would be easy to figure out who it was after. If their enemies managed to put together it was Young Justice carrying out the mission, it would be bad news, like Batman said.

When he was with King Lion, if there was a stealth mission, they did his hair in different ways to suit the occasion. Ja remembered when he was really little and they tried to cut it all off…He still felt bad about mister Bumi who couldn’t do missions after Ja took his eyesight away…Because of that incident, Ja promised from then on that he would control himself when missions required something to be done to his mane.

Still, he wasn’t sure who initially in his new herd to ask. It was when he mentioned it to Kassy that she offered to do it for him on the plane. At first he wasn’t sure, Ja liked her a lot and didn’t want to accidentally hurt her. Yet it was pretty easy to notice that, despite the color, her hair was sorta like his. If she knew how to manage hers, then she could surely help with his!

Then they got on the mission plane. It took so much of his inner strength not to make a sound or squirm…or at least not squirm a lot. It felt like a hundred howler monkeys screaming for help on his head at the same time. He tried to focus his mind on other things…Like when Daffy-Knee was nice enough to actually bring some chocolate baobab for him. It made his heart fill up with enough joy to balance himself out.

Once it was done, his mane had become neat rows going the length of his head, drooping to the back of his neck and upper back a little bit. It not only fit under the mask…it looked kind of nice! Nice enough, that he went around and showed the rest of the pack. He even showed Alisa!- even though she was driving the mission plane.

When it was time to land, Ja understood that the time for silliness was over and he actually put the mask on. With the chill from the foreign air, he opened and closed his fingers. He opted to leave the pair of night vision goggles for him behind, deeming that they’d make it harder for him to see. Although instinctively remaining near to Mirage, he followed Talon. When urged to try their best, Ja nodded, gripping his shoulder to share the sentiment back to him.

While half Team A seemed to wait around for Talon’s next order, Ja took note of Nymph going off to find a vantage point. Thinking that to be a good idea, the Meta lowered to all fours and the camo suit took on the fur pattern of a Snow Leopard. Creeping along after and a bit further beyond, Metamorph managed to get a glimpse of the HQ.

Noticing Coal flying above, he perched still and doubled up to become a Snow Leopard with Barn Owl eyes. Almost immediately on scanning the area, the Meta noticed something. With Nymph having gotten the comm system online, Metamorph immediately put it to use.

”Metamorph to Squad A, we have an automobile hidden near Kobra HQ. It seems to be hidden, and given the placement, its alignment with the faction seems questionable, over.”

For Zach, the ride on the jet was mostly uneventful. He spent most of the time sleeping. Batman did tell them to rest up, and that’s what he did, he needed his beauty sleep. It was hard to get comfortable on the jet, but he managed somehow. During the time he wasn’t sleeping, he ate the sandwich Daphne made him. It really satisfied his sweet tooth.

Eventually, the team landed in La Hoya. Zach stepped off the plane, and Zach was lucky he dressed for the cold. The teams then spread out to do their own thing. Daphne went to get the comms online so they had communication. Zach stayed next to Talon for the time being. “Zarara also online. Um… over I guess…

Ja also went up ahead to get a vantage point, and reported back on the comms that there was a car hidden near the headquarters. What was the significance of that? Zach looked through the night vision goggles, and saw guards. “Well Captain Talon, there seems to be guards there. But I’m sure you suspected that already. Any plans on how to get past them?”

Kassandra’s anxiety over the mission had mostly given over to excitement by the time the jet landed. Doing Ja’s hair had helped, oddly enough. Her hands were as gentle as she could make them, and she was rather amused by his squirming as she braided his hair into neat rows down his scalp. She also ate the sandwich that Daphne had thoughtfully packed. Then she had slept the best she could (she missed her water bed), and then sat and meditated for the rest of the trip. Once they landed, she was ready.

After climbing off the ship and listening to Talon’s short speech, she started gently walking back and forth in the snow. The snow crunched under her brand new snow boots. She let her illusions loose to mask the sound. It took a few more minutes of stepping around before her sound was completely silenced. Snow was interesting. She sort of wanted to play in it, but she was too focused on the mission to stop.

She trailed after the others a bit, before Zatara called in mentioning guards. Now was her time to shine.

“Mirage to Squad A. I could scout ahead a little bit more if you want? I’ve got the snow silenced, and I’m ready.”

Location: La Hoya
Interactions: Squad 🐝

---

“No Brightheart, if nature calls you don’t need permission to go”

“I just meant that if you need to pee, you can find a quiet place between the trees and go there.”

"You don't need permission, but you and anyone else will inform the rest of the squad whenever you need to leave your post." Viktor butted in to make sure it was clear that his squad wouldn't just vanish from their positions without a word.

With Aleen'a's question answered and Coal not returning with alarming news, Viktor only saw it right to let Squad B start moving. The sooner they got into position, the better it would be for Squad A. Daphne was already on the move, which he had mixed feelings about. Sure, she was being proactive, but he didn't trust her very much to operate anything on her own.

"Again, our squad's comms is on a separate channel from Squad A and Nymph. She and I will be the bridge of communication. Let's move and get to different vantage points surrounding the facility."

Rain trailed Daphne's path, following her small footprints leading to the position she had taken.

"Adequate spot, Nymph. And we're also good on comms." It was the closest thing to a compliment he was willing to give her. Now in position with Nymph, he crouched down peering down at the facility in the distance before speaking to Squad B through his helmet refitted to establish comms with the earpieces of his team.

"Rain and Nymph in position Northwest of the facility. I have eyes on Squad A. Call in when in position, over." Rain stated calmly.

"Gold Rush here and set up southwest of the facility. Anyone else wishes they wore something heavier? Over."

"Good copy Gold Rush, and let's hope Squad A moves swiftly, over." Rain gave a slight stab at humor before turning to Nymph.

"Once I get word that Squad B is in position, relay it to Squad A."

K O B R A'S M O U N T A I N HQ

---

Squad A and B were closing in on Kobra HQ lead by Talon and Rain respectively. The members of squad B took up vantage points in a semi circle around the base. Gold Rush covered nearly half of the area using his clones. Brightheart had a birds eye view on the factory from the air and Hex stalked the shadows. In squad A Mirage was key in successful infiltration, by studying the guards patrol routes over the course of an hour they were able to find multiple entry points. The safest entry point could be reached through the roof. The team managed to find a way up there and were discussing a plan of action.

Metamorph was given orders to investigate the automobile he came across in the pine forest a little ways outside of the factory. He was currently separated from squad A, either Brightheart or Coal could spot him and call in Hex as back up. The car looked suspicious, there was no one inside. Out in the snow signs of a struggle could be seen. There was a container filled with a mystery substance, it had leaked, leaving a trail from the car back into the direction of the factory.

Rain and Nymph were operating the comms together relatively smoothly, relaying important information to both squads. They managed to find an efficient way to work together, only talking when needed, as small talk only made their inherent unease around each other worse.

Location: Rooftop
Interactions: Squad A

---

Things were moving smoothly with little input required from Talon so far. Mirage's abilities allowed Squad A to successfully pinpoint the guards patterns of patrolling, and with the additional support from Squad B keeping them informed of any variables that might come up, only minutes passed before the entirety of Squad A had made it to the most easily accessible infiltration route - the rooftop. The only thing that had changed from the original plan was Metamorph's deviation to investigate an unmarked vehicle not far from their location. Although he would have appreciated having Metamorph's abilities inside with them, his particular set of skills would be of more use where he was. Talon activated his comms and spoke to Squad B.

"We've made it to the infiltration site. Keep comms open - we'll be silent while we engage inside. Keep an eye out for Metamorph, and let me know of any changes outside. If you sense something is up, inform both squads. But do NOT act without my order."

He looked up at Squad A, all of them looking tense and serious.

Good.

"Cybergirl - that vent. Can you remove the top of it? And quietly? I want us in tight formation - first a camoflauged Mirage, then myself & Zatara, and Cybergirl trailing. Mirage can easily scout ahead using her ability. From there I've the most experience with stealth. If things get dicy enough, Zatara's magic would allow us a Plan B of either distraction or engagement. And if if it comes to that, Cybergirl's physical strength will get us far." He nodded to each of them in turn as he pointed out each of their roles. He was confident that this formation was best. From their entry point they could navigate the vents in the building until they came across what they were looking for - a computer room, or else an office that looked of particular import. He didn't want to split them up - the way their comms were set up was too much of a handicap to reach the others. But if he needed to he knew what he would do.

---

Daphne's brows furrowed together focusing on her communication with Talon. She didn't want to misinterpret what he was saying. Summarizing the content of the message she relayed the information to Viktor, who was huddled up next to her. She looked at her reflection in the visor of his helmet, and imagined his eyes were there.
"Squad A made it to the rooftop of the factory and are about to enter inside, they'll keep comms silent while they're in there. We have to keep an eye out for Metamorph"

"Talon, message received, we will keep an eye out for Metamorph and inform you of any changes outside, over."

Daphne thought of all the potential dangers squad A might face inside. If they were spotted it would likely turn into a confrontation with Kobra's agents. These unknown dangers worried Daphne. She didn't want anything bad to happen to any of them. No matter how skilled they were, they were not invincible.

Comms returned to a momentary silence. Daphne leaned back against the rock they were hiding behind, drawing her legs up to her chest. She noticed her limbs were a little stiff, probably because they had been crouched down for the better part of an hour. She stifled a yawn and blinked a couple of times. Daphne was inexplicably lethargic all of the sudden. How could she be tired already? She slept for seven hours straight on the plain ride and if she was to believe her team she even snored! How attractive....

---

---

Alisa squatted down next to the vent, considering her problem with a drawn face. How do you remove a vent quietly? She certainly didn’t have a screwdriver on her (just one more reason she needed a swiss-knife hand), and Talon had almost exclusively been referring to her brute strength so far. That implied he wanted her to rip it off. Unfortunately, the rending of metal was the opposite of quiet, which left her in a conundrum.

“I don’t have a screwdriver,” she whispered. “I’ll try, but this is not going to be quiet.”

She set her hands on the vent and thought about the best way to go about this. Tearing it off brute-force style would be too loud but would take the least time. She could try jiggling it? Alisa started to jiggle the vent around on its screws, trying to weaken it. It took a minute, but she eventually got it loosened. Then, with crossed fingers and a grimace, she ripped it off its hinges.

It still made a distinctly not-quiet rending noise as it was ripped off the roof, but less than it would’ve been. She quietly set down the vent on the roof and grimaced. Hopefully no one had heard that. “... Sorry," whispered Alisa, who then gestured to the vent for Kassy to step in. She then headed to the back of the group. Her position in the back had been inspired by her physical strength, whatever that meant. Talon was seeming to forget her lack of combat skills as well as her intelligence, which was a valuable asset. That irked her a tiny bit, but she would do what was asked of her.

Location: La Hoya
Interactions: Squad 🐝

---

"Got it." Rain nodded at Daphne before talking to his squad. "Brightheart. You might be able to spot Metamorph down below investigating a stationary vehicle. I'll try to get eyes-on from my position. Everyone else, watch the factory, over."

Rain stepped out from the rock, his eyes scanning for Ja while keeping close to the rock. There.

"Squad B, Rain has eyes on Metamorph, over." Looking at Daphne, an audible sigh escaped him. "Nymph, stand up!" He ordered sharply. "This is not the time to relax. This is a mission." He failed to hold back any venom in his tone. Rain would be perfectly fine if he intimidated or scared her. In fact, to him, it was a good thing.

---

With her question aptly answered, Brightheart nodded eagerly in understanding. It was very good to have such patient teammates in a group. Mostly, Aleen'a and her peers would just be subjected to combat scenarios right from the get-go with no opportunity to ask the Warlords what they should be supposed to do. It was part of the teachings of the Warlords especially since the Tamaraneans have been slowly integrating into a battle-conscious alien race ever since their freedom.

Despite their patience and some of their laughter, Aleen'a could feel tension brewing from within them. As far as she knew, this was mostly everyone's first mission ever as a group, the type of mission where one wrong move could spell bad things for them. Everyone had to be on their toes as the mission went on, relaxing on such a critical time of their duty was foolish.

As everything was cleared between the two groups, Brightheart also got into position as the rest of them. She flew up to the cold night and thankfully her alien physiology had made her strong against very hot and cold temperatures. The winds were pretty strong though but it's nothing to be alarmed of presently.

Once Nymph made the comms online, Brightheart reported. "Brightheart here. I am in position. Oh, over!" She said to her teammates over their comms. She could also hear them talking over the comms and ensuring everyone that they were also in their respectable position. She would giggle giddily if she could because missions like these excite her. Everyone was doing their part and being a part of a very incredible team like this made Brightheart very happy that she wanted to do somersaults and various other flips in the air, but she had to restrain herself and conserve her energy. There will be time for celebrations later.

Right now, she's focused on listening to the comms to be aware of what's happening to her teammates while also scouring the entire area for any potential danger. She could see Metamorph being away from his squad to investigate a car, an automobile made by humans to travel long distances because they tire so easily, that's parked there for some reason. She decided to pay a closer look at him just in case things went wrong. She could also see various guards patrolling the vicinity while Group A managed to skillfully dodge them and make their way to the rooftops.

"Understood, Rain. It appears that the guards are still not aware of our presence. I shall stay very quiet and continue to give you updates from the sky. Uh, over." Brightheart whispered into the comms as a force of habit. "Rain, do I have your permission to fly around and scour the perimeter of the area? Over."

---

"Nymph, stand up!"
Daphne flinched and involuntarily shut her eyes. She got up from the floor and wrapped her arms around herself Viktor's harsh tone made her stomach turn uncomfortably. She looked away and felt his eyes burn. Someone being angry with her always made her feel horrible. Sadly anger and annoyance were the two things which made up the bulk of their relationship. Viktor tolerated her because he had to and Daphne tried to avoid him as much as she could. Whenever she had finally pushed herself to make another attempt at civil interaction something always happened. Case in point, Viktor would say or do something, or she would not do something he asked, turning into disaster.

With this pit of negative emotion in her stomach Daphne didn't trust herself to say anything. She didn't want to argue. Her voice could crack because of her uncertainty. She didn't want to give Viktor any other reason to cement his idea that she was weak and useless. Daphne grabbed her pair of binoculars from the back pack and started to watch the guards outside of the gates. She wanted to make sure they weren't changing their patrol routes, in case they did she had eyes on them. The activity helped to fight her unexplainable drowsiness. Occasionally the chilling wind tugged of a leaf, the cold was causing her hair to wilt. The leaves were losing their luster and weren't able to hang onto the tendrils, which also started to droop.

After a couple of minutes one of the guards still hadn't come back. Daphne kept looking back and forth, retracing the route he took every 30 minutes. He'd gone into the forest. She checked the time, he should have been back eight minutes ago. Did something happen?
She had to warn Metamorph. Daphne switched on the comms for squad A.
"Metamorph, one of the guards at the gate hasn't returned to position yet, he was spotted going into the forest, over"

---

With clearance given to check out the strange vehicle, Metamorph waited for just a moment. Monitoring his teammates as they got into position, he kept to his snow leopard posture to keep the pattern matched with the snow and rocks. Then, on all fours, he got to the ground level just a ways off from the HQ. Confident of his teammates abilities, Ja went to work in investigating the scene.

As he approached, it was easy to notice displaced and broken branches. Given his specific authenticity, this wasn’t an animal that made this mess. When he got closer, it was confirmed, this car was a point of interest. On all fours, he crept out of the brush after carefully looking around. With his headbush tied into the pretty Kass lines, he had to double his attentiveness.

Closer now, a burning scent hit him after closing a six foot distance and he exhaled from his nose aggressively. Bad stuff was close, which he quickly took notice of green liquid mixed between small red hazes in the snow. The red was blood, though something about it was strangely familiar but he couldn’t quite place it. The green stuff, he had no idea.

Standing up, he looked at the car itself, noting some minor damage; small dents and chipped paint. Clearly there was some kind of struggle that happened here. That wasn’t a guarantee that there was a friendly in the area, but Ja was optimistic given the familiar blood scent. Returning his eyes to the ground, he noticed a small trail it left, as well as some footprints in mixed directions.

The trail of green, Ja followed to a beat up little container that it seemed to come from. His head tipped to the side, comfortably going back down with his hands gently squeezing at the ground. Looking over his shoulder at the scene again, he looked back to the container. Were they fighting over this thing? And, if they were, why just leave it here?

As he was picking the container up to examine it further, he heard the message from Nymph. One of the guards was off their patrols en route to the forest? Ja was willing to guess that they’d be heading this way. He still had to report what he had found as well…Metamorph made an executive decision, feeling something off in his gut. The suit’s pattern changed as he now took the inspiration of a squirrel, scurrying into the brush and quickly up a tree.

Once in the tree and in a secure branch, he laid on it for the brown to blend with the tree bark. The brown seemed to slowly deepen as he combined the squirrel with that of a golden eagle, searching the forest visually. Pressing a finger to his coms, he kept his voice low while his eyes searched for the stray guard.

”There was a struggle near the car…blood, many foot falls, and a strange green liquid. It seems to have some toxic qualities…Something here seems out of place, over.”