[IC] Young Justice

[Blizz]

”Maybe after. Thanks,” She told Pei, before Will started yapping.

Cora looked at Will, then lazily looked over at the others. Then back at Will.

On any other day, she might have been putting up with this shit for longer. But if she were being completely honest with herself, she wanted nothing more than to curl up under a blanket and cram half a bottle of ibuprofen into her mouth. Will was testing her patience saying this shit.

Kassy was right, and Cora had this weird, knee-jerk feeling someone was going to give her shit for what she’d just said.

”…Oooookay… Lemme fuckin’ tell you somethin’…”

Cora took in a deep, shaky breath and started floating again. Her skin and flesh were too devoid of red blood cells for her to feel the sting on top of the pain she was already in. Veins under her skin started to glow the same neon blue that her eyes always has going on, something that Cora hadn’t ever seen her powers cause thus far. She drifted closer until she was right in front of Will and used her powers to levitate her shaky, jittery hand. She pointed a finger at him.

”Metamorph might be fucked up, traumatized or just plain mentally ill. Maybe. Maybe all of the above, or maybe somethin’ else.” Deep breath out. Deep breath in. ”But he is not a fuckin’ villain. Apparently you-“ Cough ”Left. Cool. You missed everything the others did before I came here. This team’s like a family for them. Viktor. Kassy. Kila and Ja and Daphne. They all fucking love each other.”

Breathe out. Breathe in.

”What happened? Yeah. That’s fucked. But you’re shittier about it than he was- Then. By a lot. I talked to him after- After everyone left, I talked to him. You weren’t-“ Cough ”There when I asked if he’d ate the day after that, and he said he didn’t. It fucking hurt him, okay?”

The lights in the room were starting to flicker. ”You… Can be an ass for longer. Or you can do something about it. What. Are. You. Doing. About. It?”

She took a bigger breath and then looked away from him.

”Bad things happen. Don’t… Don’t make it worse for anyone.”

[DClassified]

_{E P I S O D E : R E F L E C T I O N S}

DEBRIEF

SOUNDTRACK

S E C R E T S A N C T U A R Y

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^{September 17th, 2021 | 16:50pm. | Happy Harbor, Rhode Island}

The Knight was silent when Zatara and Mirage’s initial additions, and the response offered was a single nod.

”I see. This individual will definitely be accounted for during further missions upon further investigation on what was happening at that plant. Thank you for your analysis, Zatara. As for Mirage, I’m sure that could be arranged, I will corroborate with Black Canary and Red Tornado to arrange for more aid in that area.”

It seemed that as soon as his breath had finished, Quiver had exploded with words. All the while through his grievances, Batman kept an even expression. When it seemed that the younger man was done dealing out all his frustrations, the older one calmly divulged despite the younger’s attempt to push. Then he watched on for a moment longer as the group’s emotions unfurled around this situation. While everyone clearly had their own points, it was getting out of hand.

”Enough! All of you!”

The voice of the Bat boomed through the monitor’s speakers, with Cora’s inherent interference causing an unintended echo. In the following silence, Red Tornado now at the table across from the monitor and raised his hand.

”If I may, as their caretaker, I will accept this flaw as I have chosen not to burden them all with incomplete information. It is clear that some confusion, skepticism, and tension has formed in the wake of a full explanation of Metamorph’s condition. However, seeing as it has all come to a head over recent months, I believe it is time we shared some of what we know to aid with easing their concerns.

Firstly in regard to how dangerous Metamorph is: The reality is that everyone’s threat level was assessed prior to their selection on the team. That level does not remain static as time goes on and circumstances change, as the members of the Young Justice Initiative are people. As people, their volatility is prone to change over time, especially during their youth. The purpose of this initiative is to aid young people with superhuman capabilities. For some of you with more troubled upbringings, it is also to have a second chance; to use your skills and abilities for the betterment of yourself and others.

For Metamorph, the circumstances are all the more unique. As I am sure some of you have deduced for yourselves, Metamorph suffers from both Dissociative Identity Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder respectively. Although not all who have DID are equal in manifestation, a common persona that may develop is one that acts as a guardian to protect the others. In the assessment of him during the course of this year, as well as some prior reports from Vixen, this third alter of his did not front as often the two you all have already met.

It was a variable that we did not and do not have a complete understanding of. Being that his record of activity prior did not incur fatal action towards innocents or his team members, we decided to simply monitor on a week to week basis. We believed that it was only when under circumstances that could alarm his PTSD, that this ‘Red Beast’ persona could appear. However, it has been recently uncovered that a trigger is at play to set off this particularly animalistic side of Metamorph.”

Batman could be heard pressing keys that adjusted the screen to shrink his image and display a graphic containing schematics of one of the sonic-guns used by the bank robbers.

”As you can see, the sonic gun used in Star City has several settings for how it fires. While the most prominent was to project sound into a concussive force, another setting seemed to be catered to releasing a specifically high frequency noise. This frequency, when discharged, is too high for the average human to hear.

After the rampage at the bank, I assigned your team to the mission here in Gotham to observe for myself how Metamorph behaved in the field, via a drone as well as to isolate any potential variables. What I didn’t anticipate was for the drone to pick up this same audio frequency. This should not be possible, given the circumstances of the mission, neither of the gangs involved had access to such technology.

Regardless, by the time I managed to get to the scene, the damage had already been done…An apology does not heal Quiver or Talos’ scars, but an attempt to prevent any further injury became the priority.”

Another momentary crack in his stoicism came through a sighed grimace. Where Batman stopped, Red Tornado continued.

“You are all well aware that after the incident at the docks, Metamorph was intended to be off of the mission for that purpose. We had given him the benefit of the doubt when he left the base. A tracking bracelet was placed on his wrist so that I could monitor his movement. Yet, the signal remains on the east coast of Florida, even now after you have all returned.”

The screen changed again to show the others a live map of florida, showing a red blip near south east florida.

“Clearly it was discarded when he decided, as Rain has detailed, to warn of you a trap he deciphered. While well intentioned, the lack of communication with us led to Metamorph himself falling into the exact situation he attempted to warn against.”

”None of you are to blame for his lack of trust in us. This debriefing was never intended for you to apologize for what was out of your hands. He is none of your sole responsibility. Leave it to us to find him again. In the meanwhile, everyone, keep your emotions in check. We will keep you all updated as the situation develops as necessary. For now, get some rest. Batman out.”

[FunnyGuy]

Location: Debriefing Room, Mount Justice
Interactions: The Team
Mentions:

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Viktor sat in silence as Zach chimed in with some useful information on one of the does he faced. He actually raised his eyebrows at the mention of him subduing the person despite their abilities affecting him. Kassy then suggested a means of combating such a dangerous ability. We’ve all come a long way it seems. Viktor initially thought before Will spat out his disagreements to both Batman and the Team about Metamorph. Viktor was aware he had mixed feelings toward Will. Before leaving the Team, he and Will had always butt heads and they had a more than toxic rivalry between each other. Upon Will’s return, neither of them had done much to mend their relationship, so he figured they would only end up arguing at a time where it was not needed.

But he could not say he didn't understand his peer who lashed out due to the recent event that occured. Will was hurt and frustrated, feeling the Justice League was at fault. Viktor took a look at Batman. He too wondered if they knew more about Kila’s actions.

Kassy and Cora pushed back while Pei practiced some restraint by sighing to show her discontentment with what was occuring. Viktor parted his lips to finally speak, to perhaps put an end to the turmultuous discussion but Batman’s powerful voice quieted the room. With Batman and Red Tornado putting everything they were aware of out on the table, the gears in Viktor's head began turning. The corroboration of his findings and what Batman and Red Tornado revealed only solidified what he believed into facts on the matter. It wasn't long until Batman dismissed the debriefing, leaving the Team to themselves once more.

“Will. You and I need to talk. I'll be at the obstacle course in thirty minutes.” Without skipping a beat, Viktor looked at each of the others. “Cora, Pei, and Kass. It's thanks to you and the information we just received, we can now confirm that the frequency used by the guns at the heist, was also used by the mysterious man in the shipping container. Now that I am more than sure he's involved, allow me to share his description until I can perhaps have a friend create a sketch for us… dark-skinned complexion.
Age, between late thirties and mid forties. Height, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall. Build, lean. Hair, dark brown dreadlocks. His accent resembles one from Jamaica but could be from elsewhere amongst the Caribbean… It's not much but, it's something.” With that, Viktor made for the exit, Kila’s mask in hand.

[Daxam]

Location: Debriefing Room
Interactions:

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Vincent went straight to the debriefing room. He didn't necessarily want to be there, but feeling responsible for the fight on the jet, he felt that it was the least he could do to at least be present for the debrief. He watched as everyone else made their way into the room and took their seats at the table. The meeting started with Daphne and Viktor giving a play-by-play of the mission, after which Zach mentioned knocking someone out, to which Vincent couldn't help but smirk at, glad to hear that Zach's practice had a chance to pay off. After that, the debrief devolved into another argument once Will opened up with his grievances.

For once, it was a fight he wanted no part of, so Vincent tuned everything out. Everything he wanted to say, he had already said on the jet and he didn't see the point in bringing it up again, especially after Kassy had shut him down, something he knew she was in the right for. Instead, he sat at the table, spinning a coin he had made until Batman quieted everyone down with a command before he and Red Tornado resumed the debrief. Not long after, the screen went dark as the meeting drew to a close.

"I saw him," he blurted suddenly after hearing Rain's description, his fist closing around the coin. "In Florida. I fucking saw him. He was there with the guard and that Florida guy. He told the guard to shoot him, that's why I rushed in. I would've gotten him, too, but he managed to get away."

He was quiet for several moments after that. Eventually, he spoke up again, saying in a quiet voice, "You know, like a lot of us here, I've lost a lot. I lost my parents, I lost anything I could've called a home, the Old Man, who was like a second dad to me. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I'm not. I fucking hate it as much as I ever have and ever since I lost the Old Man, other than one or two times here and there, I feel like I've been doing nothing but losing." He stood up, his fists pressed against the surface of the table. A low groan resounded in the room as the steel supports of the building flexed ever so slightly until Vincent regained control of his building anger. He wasn't angry at any of his teammates, not even Viktor, who had made the call to hand over KJ. He understood why the call was made. No, he was angry at himself for being so weak that something like that ever had to happen.

"I'm sick of it. I'm sick of losing fights, of losing people, of being. Weak." With that, he stepped away from the table, hands in his pockets. "I won't let this happen again."