Mount Justice

August 9th 01:15 EDT

After I finished up with Serling, and Kid Flash finished delivering the virus and foiling the plans of the villains, whom we then rounded up and threw in jail, we had a quick after-report with Batman that went rather unceremoniously. Limited praise and curt (and minor) criticism towards Aqualad's choices, but otherwise we did well.

"Dismissed," Batman said.

I made a beeline for Artemis before she could Zeta away. "Told you I wanted to have a chat, didn't I?"

She looked up at me in anger, "What?"

I set up a sound barrier around us so Superboy wouldn't hear, "You don't have to tell me your story," I grinned, taking off my blindfold, "But I will say, I'm a bit of an asshole. In general."

"So I've heard," she said.

"But I'm really psyched to have you," I said, "Red Arrow's a pompous prick, and K.F is too blinded by loyalty, but I think you'd make a great fit here. You're funny, more skilled than I really expected, and not that bad to look at either," she looked at me flatly.

"Thanks… right back at you," she replied sarcastically.

"And… sure, I'll stop calling you an assassin. I was a dick."

"Aw," she said, "Only a tiny one."

I snorted at that.

"Did Megan talk to you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah, Megan, my only weakness," I gazed up distantly, "Yep, pretty much. Well, she didn't tell me the real story, but she did tell me, very specifically, to stop. So I'll stop," I raised my hands in surrender. "We can trade stories whenever you want. I promise you mine's probably much cooler."

She looked me up and down and gave me a half-grin, "Might take you up on that sometime, blindfold. Can't really stick around, though. It's a school night."

"Sad that you have to go to school," I said.

"Not going to school feels a lot sadder," she said, "You probably shouldn't let yourself get left behind like that. Pretty with no brains is a bad look." I chuckled at that.

She turned around and sashayed out of my sound barrier, towards the Zeta Tubes. I watched her back as she left.

Megan skipped up next to me. "She seemed happy! Sa-chan, can't you see that it's much better to be nicer? It's not like you can't do it if you try!"

"I know, I know," I said, "But it isn't nearly as much fun."

"Infinity," Batman said. The Mission Room had pretty much cleared out completely, leaving him alone with Red Tornado. And Megan, standing next to me. "Let us talk. In private. Miss Martian," he gave a dismissive nod. Miss Martian got the picture and walked away.

I walked up with an easy grin, "Am I in trouble for roughing up the assassins? I didn't even break any bones this time!"

"I want you to follow Artemis," Batman said, "During the third of August mission, Artemis interfered in a battle between the Titans and Sportsmaster. I want you to observe Artemis, and make sure that Sportsmaster doesn't get to her, especially in light of this recent slew of arrests."

"No," I gasped, "Big bad Sportsmaster? Are you sure I'm ready?"

"The matter is time sensitive. I've already transmitted Artemis' address on your phone. Make your way to her location as soon as you can."

I cracked a grin. Rescuing a damsel in distress, Batman? Holy shit, I could just kiss him.

This would be fun!

Gotham City

August 9th , 01:25 EDT

Just as I Zeta'd in, it was to see Red Arrow and Artemis going their separate ways, a few hundred meters away. They must have had a chat, huh? They were easier to spot with my Six Eyes even through the noise of the city. I had gotten better and better at making out needles in haystacks. Went to show that no training was in vain, and that even the things that felt the most difficult at the start could still be overcome with effort.

I turned invisible and jogged after Artemis on the pavement. She was hopping around on the flat rooftops, freerunning her way home. At one point, she shot an arrow attached to a piece of rope and used it to grapple her way up an elevation

We were approaching a building corresponding to Batman's data. I gave it a quick scan and saw him. Sportsmaster in full costume, lying on her bed.

I felt my heart speeding up slightly at that. My professional pride had been hurt, seeing a guy I had put away in the past prancing around, free as a bird.

I flew after Artemis—she intended on getting in through the fire escape.

Rather than follow her via invisibility, I teleported into the empty hallway outside her room, fully visible, and waited. Sportsmaster was in league with the sword lady. That meant they might share the same sensory powers that allowed her to make me out to begin with.

Artemis rolled into her room smoothly and then gave out a gasp. Sportsmaster put a finger over his mouth, and I couldn't quite make out their words through the hallway. I felt a sting of jealousy towards Superboy. Super-hearing was an amazing power.

Sportsmaster stood up, looming over a terrified Artemis. That's when I popped in, teleporting right between them, facing Sportsmaster with a grin. "You're supposed to be in jail."

He stepped back in shock, but before he could reach for something in his belt, I had him suspended with four orbs of Blue attached to his hands and feet, holding him aloft. No matter how hard he resisted, he couldn't pull his way out.

I turned around and shot Artemis a grin, "This guy bothering you?" I pointed my thumb behind me.

000

"This guy bothering you?" Infinity grinned like he always did.

"Let me—" her father shouted until he abruptly couldn't make any more noise. Infinity had muted him somehow.

"Yikes," he said, "Your mom's rolling over. I'm gonna turn us invisible while you talk her down."

Artemis' eyes widened. She blinked, and he was gone, suddenly.

Mom opened the door, "Artemis? Are you okay? I heard a voice."

"I'm okay," Artemis forced herself to grin and chuckle, "Yeah, no, it was just a video on my phone."

Mom scowled, "It was loud."

"I'll keep it down, okay?"

Mom smiled, "Go to sleep, baby. You can tell me all about your first day tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, mom, I'm pretty exhausted anyway. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, dear," she closed the door and rolled away.

"So," Infinity said, voice loud and chipper. Both he and Sportsmaster appeared out of nowhere, making her jump a little.

"Shhh!" Artemis hissed, grabbing his shoulders to shake him slightly. "My mom will come back if you're that loud!"

"No, she won't," he replied with a grin, putting a finger to his lips. "I've made it all quiet, see? That way, no one can hear his screams." He gave her a mock-scary grin before shifting his gaze to Sportsmaster. "You somehow slither your way out again, and I'm straight-up stealing your knees. That's a solemn promise, athlete boy. You might escape for a third time, but there won't be a fourth one."

Sportsmaster glared, his face twisted with anger, but Infinity merely splayed his fingers, and whatever kept the man aloft pulled him by his limbs. He struggled, mouth open in silent fury, but no sound escaped.

"Stop," Artemis said, her voice unsteady, feeling slightly conflicted about seeing her own father get threatened—by a teenager, no less. He was utterly helpless. One of the biggest monsters of her life, reduced to a flailing mess. "Just… just take him away, please?"

"Sure," Infinity replied with a casual shrug. He reached out, resting his hand gently on her head. She flinched a little, unused to the odd warmth of his touch. "I'd say something sappy like 'I'm glad I got here in time,' but…" He shrugged again, retracting his hand, the playfulness of his words softened by a strangely sincere smile. "You'd never have gotten hurt under my watch. Just ain't possible."

Artemis looked up at him, those blindfolded eyes of his barely hiding the intensity underneath. She remembered what Jade had told her once: You really think a guy like that would go out of his way to keep you safe?

"Why are you here?" Artemis asked.

Then he pulled his blindfold up, revealing those unnervingly clear, striking eyes—a piercing, unnaturally blue that made her stomach twist. He gave her a grin, the kind of grin that made him look like he knew every secret in the room.

"Batman tipped me off," he said, "Told me Sportsmaster would come after you because you, you know, kinda messed with his whole operation a while back. And then we all went and got his little buddies arrested too. Probably didn't sit too well with him."

That's it? Artemis thought. That's all Batman said?

"Not sure why he'd go after you specifically, though," he mused, his gaze swinging back to Sportsmaster. "Or how he even knew who you were. You've got a secret identity, right? Actually… hang on. Your first name is Artemis, right?" He raised a brow, as if just piecing it together while staring at a very particular stretch of her wall. He must have gotten that tidbit from the drawing that Artemis had hung on that place years ago, that contained her signature at the bottom. Great eyesight. Amazing senses. He was overwhelmingly powerful. Did he even need the rest of the team? Megan had told Artemis that he used a 'level system' to even the playing ground for the other Titans—otherwise, he could just clear every mission on his own. This was what they meant. A senior member of the League of Shadows, defeated in seconds. "Kind of a bold choice there," Infinity continued with a chuckle. "Makes it a little easier to find you, huh?"

Artemis flushed slightly. She crossed her arms, glaring at him, but a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth despite herself. "Tough break," she muttered.

"Saw you were chatting with Speedo," he said, tilting his head, "What about? He didn't give you a hard time, did he?"

"Why do you care?" she asked.

"Told you, didn't I? You're my favorite arrow. So, what'd he say? Don't assassinate my friends or I'll shoot a boxing-glove arrow at you?" He growled the last part.

Artemis giggled, "Something like that."

"Can't wait for my visit," he said, "I mean, I wish he'd try."

"Just… take him, already," she said. "This is kinda weird. You standing here, with him just hanging in the air, us having a chat. In my bedroom."

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"Never heard any thanks," he said, "Or worship. Where's the praise, beautiful?"

"Thank you," she tried not to grin, but failed. Why was he flirting with her right next to her dad?! "Alright now, get out of here! I have school tomorrow! Also, before you leave… can you… make sure you don't hear anything he has to say?"

He gave a nod and a knowing grin, having probably figured things out already. Knowing him, he already had the whole story just from seeing her room. He was freakishly good.

"Like I told you, Artemis, I don't give a damn who your parents are," he said, "As long as you call yourself a Teen Titan, it's all good!" He winked at her, "I'll make sure daddy doesn't bother you again." And then blinked out of existence, taking her father along with him.

Artemis sat on her bed, and gave a mournful moan. Her stomach was hot, her face felt so flushed that she feared she might have a swelling from an allergic reaction.

"I'm in trouble," she muttered.

000

As I floated off towards one of Gotham's many police stations, I contacted Batman, "Target secured. Artemis is okay. Heading to a police station. Anything else?"

"No," Batman replied, "Good job, Infinity."

Nice.

I turned to Sportsmaster curiously and unmuted him, "Anything to say?"

"Koooooliaaachmaaaa—"

I muted him the moment I realized he was incanting something, but it was too late. A strip of paper in his pocket started to burn, and he slipped through my Blue, landing easily on a rooftop and pulling off a pair of collapsible javelins from his back.

They started glowing blue.

"You can't hurt me," I said as I dropped down and waited for him to attack.

"I can," He said, "And I will. These'll punch through your force field no problem." I blinked, and for a moment, pictured him as that lip-scar bastard. I clenched my jaws. "Don't worry, I'll end things quickly—this ain't the place to give you what you really deserve for stepping into family business."

He ran up to me, slow like a snail. I easily weaved through his enchanted weapons and buried my fist into his gut with a tiny pinch of Cursed Energy, enough to send him flying and rolling, almost falling over the ledge of the ceiling.

He pushed himself away from the ledge, lifted his mask, and began to vomit blood.

"Told you, Sporty," I said, "There wouldn't be a fourth time."

I hovered over to him and dropped down on his knees, shattering them with ease.

He screamed.

I tried to pull him back up with Blue and found success.

Then I rung Batman, "Sportsmaster just burned a talisman to slip the leash" I grinned. Those Shadows hadn't wasted any time figuring out a way to counter me—with magic no less. This was getting interesting. "We had a brief fight. But I bagged him again pretty easily. Guy's weak."

"Take him to the first precinct of the Gotham City Police Department," Batman said, "They have power dampening collars that should work on magic."

I heard a beep in my phone and pulled it out to see the location. I flew up in the sky along with Sportsmaster to try and compare the map to the city, and once I had gotten a lock on the police department, I warped over there with my baggage in tow.

Sportsmaster didn't get to try anything else before I had him collared and booked.

000

Mount Justice

9th August, 01:45

"Aside from that, things proceeded smoothly," I said.

"Was breaking his knees necessary?" Batman asked.

"He's an assassin," I said with a frown, "And though he's weak, he's still pretty crafty. I already lost track of sword lady once before because I wasn't careful. Losing Sportsmaster again? No," I clenched my jaws, "At some point, all this stops being a job and starts being a game when we treat it this way. And I don't play with assassins," I gave a vicious grin. "Now, even if he gets out, what'll it take, a year for his knees to properly heal? That's perfect."

"If ever," Batman said.

I snorted, "Wow, what a loss to humanity that would be."

"Don't toe the line with me, Gojo," Batman said, "You won't like the results."

I sighed.

"I gave you this mission to see whether you would comport yourself as a hero," Batman said, "But your cruelty towards criminals has no place in the Justice League or in the Titans. You know this already."

"Are you kicking me out?" I asked with annoyance, "Because if you aren't, then how about I get some training in, in order to make sure I'm powerful enough to afford being a Superman when super-powered assassins from another world are after my head. If you think I'll ever let what happened to me happen again, you're dead wrong."

"You're benched," Batman said.

I barked out a laughter. Benched? What the hell did that mean for the team? "You're really going to screw 'em over like that just to show me up?" I laughed, "I'd love to see them complete a mission without me. So. How many games am I in the bench for?"

"Three missions," Batman said. "You will explain to Aqualad why you can't accompany them for any missions for the time being. And you will tell him it's because of your behavior in the field. Your acts should not be a secret to your leader. If you don't tell him within two days, then I will."

"Wow," I said flatly, "Well, can't say I'm not curious to see what they do without me. Besides, it's more training time for me."

Batman walked away and took the Zeta Tube, leaving me alone to train in the Mission Room.

It wasn't five minutes after I was alone that Kaldur stepped up. "Gojo. We need to talk."

I looked at him in aggrievement, "I just came out of a rather annoying talk. Sure, go ahead, what is it?"

"I lost trust in you, in the field," Kaldur said, "Some of it had to do with your… 'banter'. But it also had a lot to do with the fact that you watched me fight Cheshire completely alone. In fact, you hardly participated in any of my battles, nor did you truly have my back."

"Failure is a good teacher," I said, rolling my eyes, "You think I'd have let you die?"

"I think I'm beginning to find some rather substantial objections with your way of doing things," Kaldur said. Oh my god, were we having a fight? "And as leader of the team, I've come to realize that the way things are currently doesn't work for me."

"Alright, fine," I rolled my eyes, "I'll make it easier next time. But I can't, because Batman benched me."

Aqualad frowned, "Why?"

"I got a solo mission to make sure Artemis was safe from Sportsmaster," I said, "I ended up bringing him in. Broke his knees during the fight. Batman thought this was unnecessary violence, and here we are. So I'm benched for three missions."

"Was it necessary?" Aqualad asked.

"What does that word even mean, necessary? What would make it not necessary? Serious question."

"Were you not able to restrain him without injuring him?"

"I was not able to predict the ways he could slip free," I explained, "And so I made sure that even if he did, he couldn't run anyway. Or be a villain for that matter."

Aqualad shook his head, "It's not our place to preemptively strike at villains."

"Look, he's in jail now, so my way worked," I said, "I won't argue about that point. So, tell me, once I'm free from the penalty box, how are we going to fix things between us? What flowers will I have to send you?"

"Don't express interest in joining villains," Aqualad said, "Don't demean us to said villains. Don't disrespect our effort by letting the villains know that you're holding back for our sake."

Whoops.

Yeah. I totally got it. I had definitely stepped over the line about that. There was only so much a man's pride could take.

"Sorry," I said.

Aqualad sighed, "I shouldn't have lost trust in you. I could have sent you to retrieve Cheshire, and you would have done so quite easily."

"I get it," I said, "Things looked… shaky. Sorry, man." I sighed heavily.

Humans were such sensitive beings. It was exhausting keeping track of all these feelings.

Wayne Manor, Gotham

August 9th , 02:54 EDT

"I'm beat," Dick said after a long yawn. He had spent an hour practicing his staff mastery in the gym, and was pretty much ready to hit the hay and pass out. The mission didn't tire him out much. Was just a bunch of running, and on one occasion, breaking that creep Ojo's helmet—that part was easy. He just had to get sneaky about it.

Bruce stretched his arms, "Go to bed. It's a school night."

A four-hour nap would cover his need for sleep before getting to school. Dick didn't worry much about that. "Oh, and before I go," Dick said, channeling his inner Columbo. He wrestled for a moment for the right words—a clever way to dig for more information on this quite-frankly bizarre topic—, but found none. Whatever, just rip the bandaid off, "You guys might not happen to have a ten-year-old in the league, right?"

Bruce didn't react in such a pedestrian fashion as freezing. Instead, he took one fifth of a second longer on a response than usual. A very subtle tell, but one Dick could spot from a mile away. "I want you to be honest with me, about whether or not you think that is a serious question."

Dick's eyes widened. "You're kidding! Really? Who?!"

Bruce frowned—frowned. If this had been a trivial matter, he'd never react so emotionally! Finally, he relented. "Who else has Gojo told this to?"

"I don't even think he really believed it!" Dick replied, "But… the team. Uh, the Titans. We were in the hallway. Maybe Red Tornado heard? I don't know how good his hearing is."

"Impress upon him the sensitivity of this information," Bruce said.

"Wha—you still haven't explained why there's a ten-year-old in the Justice League! What—he goes to middle school while fighting on behalf of mankind, battling the forces of evil? I don't—this is insane!"

"Go to bed," Bruce said sternly, putting on his Batman voice.

Dick couldn't believe it. Gojo was right, this world really was insane. "Alright then. I'll forget this for now, but I want something in return."

Bruce sighed, "I'll start funding the mark four explosive robarangs, okay?"

"Yes!" Dick pumped his fist.