Emergence 2.4

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Santa Prisca

July 22, 8:15 ECT

Seriously, Zeke thought to himself, a mental groan sounding off in his head, why am I the only one bringing up the fact that there are so many things wrong with this? His hands fell to his sides in utter frustration as he continued creeping through the underbrush, eyes shifting from side to side as he tried to keep on the lookout for anyone that could sneak up on them.

Ability Learned: Stealth

Stealth Lv 1

It's so overt, it's covert.

This represents your ability to avoid being seen, allowing you to slip past foes or strike them from an unseen position.

This skill does not cover the art of silent movement. Increases critical chance of stealth attacks by .5% per level.

Zeke ignored the pop-up, too nervous to even glance up at the thing as the five of them found themselves entering the thick depths of the jungle once more.

A quick search on the internet before they left for this mission had told him that stealth missions — at the very least, covert operations with any positive chance of remaining such — relied on the team handling said covert mission being focused, trained, and experienced enough to pull it off with minimal complications.

As far as Zeke knew, this team as a whole possessed absolutely none of these qualities. Apart from Robin and maybe possibly Kaldur, none of them could be said to have any experience with covert anything. In fact, the only thing most of them had done in preparation for this mission that could really be called stealthy was replacing the bright, primary colors of their costumes with a subdued black.

That, at least, was a good idea.

Under the cover of night, his eye-catching blue and white jumpsuit would have stuck out like a sore thumb covered in glow-in-the-dark paint, and all it took to resolve that was spending a few minutes fiddling with his over-complicated S.T.A.R. Tab to change the color of the smart fabric from white and bright blue to black and a far duller, midnight blue.

Past that, the only thing he knew about being stealthy was trying not to be seen.

Kaldur is so frickin' lucky right now, he groused to himself.

The dark-skinned Atlantean's path had diverged from the remainder of the team early on; he'd leapt off the bioship as they neared the island to pull off some part of the mission that Zeke hadn't quite paid attention to, what with his somewhat freaking out over the possibility of facing a certain supervillain at the time. While the older sidekick might not describe his own situation as lucky, Zeke couldn't help but feel that it was far less of a death sentence than what he was doing right now.

So far, despite Zeke's misgivings, everything had proceeded as planned. They had set up several mines in locations that either Batman or Robin - Zeke honestly wasn't sure which, but he trusted their judgment either way - had mapped out for them, and they were headed towards the surveillance point, some sort of cliff overlooking the factory. All well and good, but Zeke couldn't help but feel anxious.

Especially with the Mission still clear in his mind.

Still, is it too much to ask that we get some stealth training or something? His frown only increased as they continued to stealth their way through the jungle, the youngest member of the team flinching at every fallen branch and leaf he stepped over. Unable to hold back his frustrations anymore, Zeke decided to voice his concerns again.

"So… uh, guys," Zeke whispered, eyes continuing to dart around, "what's the actual protocol for if we… uhh, you know, get seen? What's the plan?"

"What else?" Kid Flash snorted, shooting the smaller boy an incredulous look with a raised eyebrow. "We take them down, duh. What other plan do we need?"

"I'm just saying, there's gonna be guys with guns. Guns," he hissed for emphasis. "Not sure about you, but I definitely can't outrun bullets."

"Would you give it a rest already?" Kid Flash bit back, voice lowered to a hiss much like Zeke's. "You've been whining this whole mission, and nothing's even happened yet."

Something shouldn't have to go wrong before I can point out that it could, Zeke thought back, annoyed. His mouth was held tightly in a thin scowl that might have almost crossed the line all the way to intimidating if he wasn't only five feet tall and barely over a hundred pounds soaking wet. Instead, it was a very cute pout. "You wanna talk about whi-"

"Would you two stop it with the chit-chat?" This time, Robin was the one who responded, the boy in front actually turning around completely to shoot Zeke a direct glare as he hissed. "This is supposed to be a covert mission."

"Yeah, I know that. But…" Zeke rolled his eyes at Wally, shaking his head a moment later, "I'm pretty sure we tipped that Jenga tower when Supey's landing registered on the Richter scale."

At this, Zeke shot a quick glance at the Boy of Steel behind him, both Robin and Wally following along with him. Superboy stared right back at the three of them with an uninterested and unrepentant expression, arms at his sides as M'gann floated over his shoulder. "I'm not apologizing."

"Nobody expected you to, Big Guy." The boy in blue shook his head at Superboy's aloof attitude, unable to fight the small smile growing on his face. He's so dang cool!

Before anyone could say anything else, Robin raised a single palm up into the air.

Almost in unison, the team stopped their forward advance.

Almost in unison.

After a moment's confusion, Zeke paused as well, coming to a complete stop just a few feet ahead of the rest of the group. Ignoring the slight smirk on Kid Flash's lips as he slinked over to Robin's side, he found his gaze falling to the Boy Wonder's outstretched glove as a panel opened up to display a holographic projection of… something.

Zeke wasn't actually paying attention as to what it was, far too focused on the fact that a glove was projecting a hologram. Part of him couldn't help but wonder how you would fit all the stuff needed to make a hologram into a wrist-mounted computer, in addition to everything else. Man, even Star Labs didn't have holo wrist computers. Wrist computers? He pulled a face as Robin continued to speak, still not paying much attention. Wrist-tops?

Before Zeke could continue his internal confusion, Superboy suddenly stood up straight, gaze darting off to the right of the group. "Did you hear that?"

"Uh…" Zeke blinked up at the clone, paranoia suddenly heightened by Superboy's comment. "Which of us are you asking?"

"Yeah, pretty sure you're the only one with the super hearing here," Kid Flash remarked.

"You do have great ears," M'gann added.

Come on, Miss M. Not the time. Zeke took a moment out of his worrying to shoot the Martian girl an odd look. Jeez, gonna have to get a spray bottle at this rate.

"Okay, Rob, what's the plan?" Kid Flash turned around to face the Boy Wonder only to find nothing but an empty forest path in front of him, Zeke letting out a startled yelp as he realized the young acrobat had vanished.

The redhead let out a sigh, shoulders drooping slightly as he remarked, "Man, does he have to do that all the time?"

"Better question is," Zeke whipped his head around from side-to-side, searching the thick forestry as if Robin would pop up at his side when he least expected it, "how does he do that? I was right next to him."

"Not the time." Aqualad's whispered voice cut into everyone's ears, the ear comms they all wore carrying his commanding tones without any distortion. "Superboy, Kid, switch to infrared. See if you're being tracked and report back."

Kid Flash allowed himself a self-assured smirk and lowered his circular goggles over his eyes, red lines forming over them as he did so. After a moment, he spoke up again, voice quiet but firm. "Got a squad of armed bozos incoming. Not too far down the trail."

The redhead jerked his head forward as a signal to the rest of them as he quickly moved forward; Zeke, M'gann, and Superboy followed behind him as they all moved into position behind forest brush and a partially fallen tree.

Conner glanced in the opposite direction from Kid Flash, a look of concentration on his face. "Two squads," he added, correcting Wally's earlier statement in his usual clipped tones. "But they'll meet each other before they find us."

That's weird. Zeke screwed up his face in thought. They're only guarding one factory, right? Why would you have two groups walking in opposite dir-

Several bursts of gunfire rang out, cutting into the rookie's train of thought and clueing him into the situation. Not on the same side, then. He nodded to himself, face relaxed. Makes sense.

"No super hearing needed for that," Wally snarked.

"Ya think?" Zeke shot back, rolling his eyes a second time. Kid Flash glared back at him, mouth open for another retort when Aqualad's deep voice came through the comms again with another message.

"Enough talking," The youngest of them stiffened slightly as Aqualad commanded them again, voice loud and urgent to make himself heard over the gunfire. "Swing wide, steer clear!"

"Stay away from bullets, got it," Zeke nodded firmly, fully on board with Aqualad's idea for multiple reasons. "No problem with me."

"Yeah-yeah," Wally replied blithely, instructions clearly going in one ear and out the other as he walked from behind the boulder serving as his cover. "Just as soon as I find Rob."

Soon as I… what? Zeke's head snapped to face the junior speedster, alarm bells ringing in his head as he parsed Kid Flash's words. "Wait! Aqualad sai-" The words died on his lips, Kid Flash already having vaulted over a tree by the time he finished the first syllable.

Are you kidding me? His mouth fell open in a gape as Kid Flash booked it through the treeline and towards the gunfire, the black-clad sidekick already moving at highway speeds the very same moment his feet touched the ground. Are you really kidding me right now?

"Of all the stupi- Jesus Christ, I mean, can you believe that guy?" Zeke pointed one hand in Wally's direction as he glanced back at the two remaining members of his team, voice full of frustrated rage and expecting them to agree with him. What he got instead was a burst of wind strong enough to nearly topple him over and an empty space where M'gann and Superboy should have been standing.

Blinking in utter shock, Zeke turned his gaze upward to watch Superboy arc upwards in one of his impressive leaps and M'gann flying right after him, blue cape fluttering in the wind. His palm met his forehead a moment later, a headache that had to be 100% stress building up directly behind his eyes. "Avoid the guys with guns," he finally said, voice slowly rising in pitch. He threw his hands up in the air, in another show of exasperation. "What about that is so frickin' hard?"

Sighing, Zeke continued speaking to empty air, already aware that his comm would relay everything. "Aqualad, Zeke here. I'm kinda running solo righ-"

"I am aware." The Atlantean interjected, not wasting a single moment as he relayed Zeke a new set of instructions. "Follow them from behind. St-"

"Hold up," Zeke interrupted, eyes widening slightly, "You want me to go toward the guns?"

"Correct," Aqualad replied back tersely, military training coming across clearly in his tone. "Stay unseen. Eyes peeled, mouth closed. Aqualad out."

Mission Gained!

Keep to Covert

Aqualad has given you a new set of orders. Keep hidden while your team does all the legwork. Sound good?

Success: +2 to [Stealth], + 1 Stat Point, + 1 WIS, + 1000 XP

Failure: Enter Combat

Son of a- Zeke shut his eyes and let out a deep sigh, head beginning to pound uncomfortably. I thought we were all supposed to be covert? Pushing down his frustrations as deep as he could manage, Zeke grit his teeth and vaulted over the tree in front of him, his own actions a rough imitation of the speedster's earlier move.

Acrobatics

2→3

"[Power Sprint!]" As he touched down on the ground, his lower body began to glow a soft golden color and he began his rapid dash toward the repeated bursts of automatic fire. It was only seconds later that he realized a problem, eyes widening as he did so.

The shoes S.T.A.R. Labs had made for him were designed for several things, extreme comfort and breathability being at the top of the list considering they were designed to be used by someone on their feet all day.

What they weren't designed for was traction.

Specifically, the type of traction required to support a rapid shift in speed combined with unstable, muddy jungle trails.

Long story short… "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh-Ow!"

-49

The sidekick came to a sudden stop, his body coming into contact with a boulder kind enough to halt his impromptu tumble. "A frickin' stupid rock?" Sadly, Zeke wasn't quite in the mood to be grateful. "Ahh... Son of a..." He arched his back, rising to his feet as the pain slowly began to recede. "Just my luck."

Mostly recovered from his sudden pratfall, Zeke raised a hand to his head, rubbing it gingerly as he cracked open a single eye. An instant later, both of them were open as wide as they could possibly go.

The sound of fighting and gunfire suddenly returned to the forefront of his mind, the small skirmish still ongoing as he took in what he stood at most half a dozen meters away from a superhuman brawl, Kid Flash zipping around gunfire with an almost casual ease and Miss Martian hurling gunmen back with bursts of telekinesis, sending them flying into the treeline with little care. Most importantly, the sight of Bane getting rag-dolled by Superboy on the other side of the clearing did its very best to etch itself into Zeke's mind immediately.

Mission "The Villain from Santa Prisca" Failed!

"Of course it did."

He was pretty fine with that, considering it meant Bane wasn't a problem anymore. As tough as Bane was, any form of Superboy had to be at least several magnitudes tougher. Lost mission aside, the silver lining of this confrontation happening this early meant that the team could basically rest easy with the worst of the mission dealt with.

Mission "Keep to Covert" Failed!

What? Zeke blinked rapidly, staring at the words in confusion, but I'm not figh- The words trailed off in his mind as he was interrupted by simultaneous twin shouts of pain and surprise off to his right, two men in camouflage clothing and face paint suddenly bursting through the tree line and falling to the jungle floor in a heap of scattered limbs.

Mission Gained!

Battle Wary

Defeat two of Bane's men on your own.

Success: +1 to [Basic Martial Arts], + 1 Stat Point, + 1 STR, + 750 XP

Failure: Lose the fight, Call for help.

...Of course.

Two men stared back at him in surprise as they jumped up from the jungle floor, both conscious and ready to fight and one of them still clearly armed with a gun. Zeke took a cautious step back, gaze locked on the weapon.

The gunman whipped up the black handgun and brought it to bear in an instant, finger on the trigger as Zeke's eyes widened further. "[Mana Burst!]"

Mana Burst Lvl Up!

13→14

The gunshot rang out, the man's arm rocking with recoil the very same instant as a roiling blue sphere of energy slammed into his face and exploded with the force of a pro boxer's punch. The bullet went wild, disappearing into the jungle but apart from a single abrupt flinch, Zeke paid no attention to it.

[Critical Hit!]

Instead, he simply stared wide-eyed as the thug stumbled backward wearing a dazed expression as his nose gushed blood like a fountain. Moments later, he simply collapsed, abruptly toppling to the jungle floor like a puppet with its strings severed.

+ 150 XP

The rookie glanced up from the gunman's still form, eyes lit with excitement as he stared at the man's now shaken partner. A blue glow surrounded his palm as he took a single step forward, the weaponless thug now being the one to take a frightened step back.

Zeke raised that same glowing palm as the camouflage-wearing assailant turned to run.

A smile spread across the teen's face as he said the words.

"[Mana Burst.]"

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o – +100 XP Mission Success!

Mission "Battle Wary" Completed

+1 to [Basic Martial Arts]

+ 1 Stat Point

+ 1 STR

+ 750 XP – o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Less than five minutes later, Zeke found himself back again with the rest of the team, both Robin and Aqualad having made a reappearance in the short while he was occupied.

Unsurprisingly, the team had handled the majority of the bad guys by themselves. Not only that, they had tied them to several trees in an attempt to keep them from escaping. It wasn't like he expected anything different from a team full of Justice Leaguers, but it was still impressive.

Especially considering who they had tied up in front of them right now.

The big bad man of Peña Duro himself.

Bane.

Even sitting on the ground and hogtied to a tree, the supervillain still managed to come off as intimidating. Considering he still managed to tower over his men by at least a head and a half when they were all tied together, it wasn't surprising that he managed to pull of imposing easy.

Still, for someone so tough, Zeke was honestly surprised he hadn't put up more of a fight, though. Of course, his opponent was Superboy but still, Bane was a big name on his own. He had to be, considering what he did to Batman. Wait, Zeke frowned, a sudden thought coming to him. Do I know for sure that happened here?

The teen cast a critical eye at Bane, the villain still unconscious after Superboy's furious counter. After a moment, he did the only thing that came to mind. "[Observe.]"

Bane Lv ??

????

??????

?????

??

As helpful as always, Zeke remarked to himself, shaking his head at how useless this power seemed to be on anything that wasn't a simple object. No help there so let's… Let's think about this. Like, rationally. A few seconds later, he cast another glance over at the crime lord's form.

So... Batman gave us this mission. His eyes narrowed as he turned to Robin and then back to Bane, glancing between them a few times as he tried to put together what he knew. He knew Bane would be here. He also knows that if Bane gave him that much trouble, Robin couldn't handle him.

He nodded again, the line of thought beginning to make sense to him. Robin also didn't really seem to be worried about Bane. Like at all. Which doesn't make sense. At least, not if Bane managed to wreck Batman like he did in Knightfall. Zeke shook his head again, still unsure as he continued to stare at the luchador. And Batman wouldn't send us up against someone that messed him up, right? Right?

+ 1 INT

...I'll take that as a yes.

"I recognize these uniforms."

Zeke raised his head, pulled from his thoughts as Robin spoke up, the Boy Wonder previously silent for a few minutes as he looked over the men tied to a different tree, a bunch of guys in red cloaks.

"They're with the Cult of Kobra," Robin concluded, finally turning back to face the group.

"That with two K's or one?" added Wally, the black-clad speedster wearing a grin.

Zeke wore his own grin as Aqualad leveled an unamused glare at Wally, the Atlantean turning back to face Robin after making sure his silent admonition was received. "I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation."

"No doubt. And considering that the Kobra kooks and these goons have it in for each other," Robin muttered, one hand on his chin, "odds are good they came in and tried to muscle in on Bane's production. Likely succeeded too, if normal supply lines ran completely dry."

"Done and done," Kid Flash added, snapping his fingers with a confident grin. "Kobra wanted super-cultists. Good job, team. Let's radio Bats and h-"

"No." Robin quickly cut off whatever Wally was going to say with a single, firm word, mouth held in a tight line. "The cultists definitely aren't on Venom. I've seen what it does to people," he paused for a moment to cast a quick glance at the seemingly unconscious luchador. "This fight would have been ten times harder if they were."

"Oh, come on," Wally scoffed, arms crossed over his chest. "Just cause these guys aren't the ones using it, none of the crazies on the island are? Maybe their boss is keeping all the stuff for himself. You don't know."

"Exactly," Robin replied firmly, voice gaining an edge to it that Zeke couldn't help but find familiar. "I don't know. So, we're not leaving. Not until I know what's going on here."

"Excuse you." Kid Flash snorted and leaned forward, bending over slightly as he looked directly into Robin's masked eyes. "Until you know why?"

Robin stood up straight, the timber in his voice now sounding far more familiar. "This team needsa leader."

Wait, I thought... Zeke tilted his head over at Aqualad, the blonde catching his gaze almost immediately. Both sets of eyes were confused. Guess not.

"And it's you?!" Kid Flash questioned, annoyance clear in his own voice as he advanced into Robin's personal space. "A thirteen-year-old kid who ducked out on us without a word?!"

"Oh, so now you're a mature fifteen?" Robin shot back with a condescending laugh, leaning forward himself. "You blew cover first chance you got. Genesis is green as grass and even he stuck to the plan!"

"Uhhh…" The boy in question blinked at the sudden mention from where he stood beside Aqualad. "… Thanks… I think."

"Nobody asked what you think," Wally snapped, shooting him a quick glare.

"Be like that then." Zeke spoke up again, arms crossed to match Kid Flash's posture, "I already know who's not getting my vote for team leader."

"Ha!" Robin's retort came in the way of a fist-pump, Kid Flash's mouth falling open slightly as the two high-fived in front of him. "Don't burn your bridges, KF."

"You're gonna vote for him?" He gestured wildly towards a smirking Robin, chopping the air like a car salesman. "He doesn't even have powers!"

"Neither does Batman!" Robin jumps forward, smirk suddenly replaced by a small scowl.

"You're not Batman!"

Robin jabbed at his chest with a thumb, still advancing on Kid Flash. "Next generation right here!"

The two kept going, their back and forth surveyed by a silent Aqualad and a grinning Zeke, one of them at least partially enjoying the back-and-forth. Miss Martian and Superboy simply stood back from it all, the two murmuring about something to each other that Zeke couldn't be bothered to pay attention to. After nearly a minute of Robin and KF's back and forth, though, his smile began to fade, expression almost matching Kaldur's if not for sheer intensity. The teen let out an audible snort and raised both hands up in the air, stepping forward before Kid Flash could launch into a rant about how short people couldn't be leaders. "Guys, guys, guys…"

"What?"

"Mmm-" Zeke flinched at the simultaneous shout from both costumed boys, one eye actually closing as he took a step back. "Absolutely loving that stereo, but could we chill for a sec? I mean, seriously, we'll be out here all night like this."

"I know that." Robin nodded and took a few steps away from Kid Flash, mouth set in a scowl, "I really do but we kinda have to settle this now. This is our first mission and this team needs a leader."

"And it can't be him," Kid Flash added on, quickly sharing a glare with Robin.

Definitely can't be you, either. Zeke closed his eyes and let out a low breath before opening them again a moment later, mind fully made up. "Full disclosure, guys, I wouldn't pick either of you."

Simultaneous gasps of outrage came from both of them, Robin quickly pushing Wally aside as he got in Zeke's face. "Dude, you said you'd vote for me!"

"No, I said I wouldn't vote for Wally," Zeke clarified, jerking his head in the offended speedster's direction. "If it came down to a choice between both of you, sure, but not until then. If I'm being serious, this whole 'who's gonna be the leader' thing is a surprise to me," he added, eyebrows raised.

"A surprise?" Wally chose this moment to shoulder-check Robin over to the side.

"Well, duh." Rolling his eyes for a third time at the two, Zeke nodded. "I already thought we had a leader; Aqualad."

Zeke's announcement would have likely incited another outburst from the two sidekicks in front of him, and at least a minor one from Aqualad himself, if it were not for the sound of deep laughter that wafted over from the trees toward them.

The entire team turned as one, Robin's hand already on his utility belt, to see Bane now conscious and clearly amused. If the laughter alone didn't clue them into it, the shaking shoulders did.

"Such clever niños in front of me," baited a voice that sounded like it should be followed by a riff from a Spanish guitar. "Only half the story and too busy fighting to see the rest of it."

The team stepped closer, each member taking a stance around the tree to better see Bane as he spoke, voice dripping with hidden humor. Zeke couldn't help but shudder as the man's gaze roamed across all of them, almost immediately singling him out as the weak link. "Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance."

"Bad idea." The whispered words left the youngest's mouth almost on instinct, brown eyes flicking back and forth between his team members hoping someone else agreed. "Really bad idea."

No one replied, not even offering him a glance in return. When it became clear that no one actually had any ideas, M'gann seemed to take it onto herself to resolve the situation. Quickly dropping to one knee, she raised a hand to her temple and made direct eye contact with the smirking villain.

Good idea. Zeke let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, far more at peace with his Martian teammate just ripping the information out of Bane's mind than allowing the luchador drug lord to lead them anywhere. Martian mind powers for the win.

After a moment of silence, M'gann spoke up, voice carrying well in the virtual silence of the jungle. "There is a secret entrance… but he's also hiding something. Give me a second."

Moments after Miss Martian finished speaking, her eyes suddenly shone with a bright light, a white glow obscuring both pupils and iris as she continued to stare into Bane's eyes. It didn't do much for Zeke's nerves that the villain didn't seem fazed in the slightest, amused expression still firmly in place.

If anything, it continued to get even more smug as the seconds ticked by.

It took at most ten seconds before Miss Martian gave up, the girl letting out an annoyed sigh as her eyes closed and the hand on her temple came down. "He's mentally reciting fútbol scores... en Español, not giving me a second to dive into what he's really thinking. Primitive… but ingenious." She paused for a moment to glance up at the boys, a slightly concerned look on her face. "This could take a while."

No. Please. No. This is obviously a trap. Just as Zeke began to dread the idea of his team seriously considering Bane's offer, his heart rate already speeding up, is when the man in question spoke up again, smile still in place.

"It's not complicated. At least, it doesn't have to be. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

That is literally what a bad guy would say before betraying you.

Aqualad and Robin shared another meaningful glance, Kid Flash's gaze darting between the both of them as if expecting one of his own. When neither of them turned to him, he simply folded his arms, a slight scowl on his face. M'gann rose up from her kneeling position as Superboy stepped forward, shooting Aqualad an expectant – albeit somewhat aloof – look as he spoke up. "So, are we doing this or what?"

There was silence for a few long seconds, each one of them looking at each other.

"If we're taking requests," Zeke raised a shaky hand as he spoke up, "Wally kinda had a good idea before. I mean, no offense but why don't we just call Batman and report back what we know?"

"Dude!" Robin shot him a look as Wally pumped his fist beside the bird-themed sidekick. "Pick a side already."

"That is a possibility," Aqualad interjected, giving the youngest of them a slight nod as he spoke over Robin. "However, Batman made it clear that the League has no jurisdiction in Santa Prisca. Returning to him without any knowledge as to where all this Venom is being shipped to would provide him with no information that he wouldn't already have pieced together himself."

"Except for the news about Kobra, right?" added Miss Martian.

Aqualad nodded. "With one exception, yes."

"Okay," Zeke said, somewhat tight-lipped as he looked up at the blond. "I'm… Honestly, I'm up for any plan that doesn't involve working with Bane to pull off."

The team continued to stare at him as he glanced at each of them in turn, an almost desperate look in his eye. "Seriously, guys, any plan. Any."

"Look, Gen... " Robin paused as he said those two words, waiting as Zeke's eyes settled on him. "If it makes you feel any better, Batman gave us this mission," Robin snapped back. "The big guy never takes a mission lightly, and I mean never. Not on his birthday, not on Jesus's birthday, and certainly not on mine. So, if he sent us here," Robin paused to let out a low breath, closing his eyes for a second before opening them again. "If he sent us here, it's because he knows we can cut it."

"Awwwwww, Uncle Batman does care." Kid Flash chose that moment to undercut Robin's words, the speedster sending a smirk at the shorter boy.

As usual, Aqualad chose to ignore the non-serious words that left the mouth of his red-haired friend. "Then let us not disappoint him."

With that said, Aqualad turned to face Bane, the Atlantean giving both Robin and the tied-up villain a silent nod of approval.

Mission Gained!

Anathemic Alliance

Follow Bane's lead into the warehouse and discover what Kobra wants with the Venom.

Success: +2,000 XP

Failure: None

Bonus: Ensure that Bane doesn't get the chance to betray you.

Zeke felt his shoulders slump.

Of course.

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o – Spoiler: STATUS Ezekiel Patrick Armstrong Age: 13 Level 4 Experience 275/1500 Health 460/460 Mana 150/150 Willpower 155/155 STR 29 SPD 32 VIT 32 INT 30 WIS 9 CHA 12 Stat Points: 1 Cash: $375

Traits

Bright Kid: While you're no genius or some prodigy, you're obviously brighter than most kids. By the time you're an adult, however, no one will care. (Before the age of 18: +75% to INT gain and +25% to speed of learning Mana-based skills/abilities)

Perks:

Hard Hitter

Bare knuckle boxer.

All unarmed strikes deliver 25% more knockback force but no additional damage.

Quick Healer

Don't worry, it won't scar.

You heal rather fast, at a rate of a tenth of your VIT every fifteen seconds.

Reactive Reflexes

Gotta be quicker than that.

When attempting to dodge an attack, your reflexes ability is 10% more effective.

Skills

Mana Burst Lv 13

Pew-pew! Pew-pew-pew!

A hastily-formed burst of energy with an unspecified nature.

Max Damage: 10% of INT x Skill Level

Minimum Cost: 5 Mana

SS: Hadoken

A derivative of Mana Burst created through the forced merging of two bursts.

Explodes on contact with far more force than any singular Mana Burst could manage.

Max Damage: 5x Mana Burst

Cost: 5x Mana Burst

Mana Shield Lv 6

Shields at 20% and holding!

A protective construct formed from the desire for protection and made from an energy of an unspecified nature. Drains 1 MP for every point of damage blocked. Shatters if more than 20% of MP is drained by a single blow. Ignores damage up to 6% of INT x VIT.

Minimum Cost: 5 Mana

Observe Lv. 9

Kinda like a scouter, but less cool somehow.

Allows you to view the status or qualities of anyone or anything, allowing you to learn information about them.

Cost: 1 MP

Power Sprint Lv 10

You'll never be the Flash relying on this alone. Still, we've all gotta start somewhere.

While active, your running speed increases by 5% per level. (50%)

Cost: 1 Will/s

Power Strike Lv 5

Not exactly a heavy hitter quite yet.

Increases the STR value and knockback of your physical strikes by 10% per level. (50%)

Cost: 5 Will

Abilities

Gamer's Body Lv. MAX

Allows your body to exist in a similar standard to that of a video game character.

Sleeping restores HP, MP, Will and removes most negative status effects. Health, Will, and Mana regenerate at a base of 1 point every 30 seconds. Food and drink items can accelerate recovery.

Gamer's Mind Lv. MAX

Allows your mind to exist in a similar standard to that of a video game character.

Grants immunity to mental status effects, emotional trauma and severely damaging emotional states. Grants immunity to forceful/unwanted mental intrusion.

Acrobatics Lv 3

Basically a flip kick, but without the kick part.

An ability that enables you to pull off backflips, frontflips and any manner of jumping-based ground-movement technique with greater ease.

Awareness: Mana Lv 16

Mana, magic energy, magicka, prana, ether, spirit energy, magatsuhi or even chakra… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.

You have gained awareness of Mana, the spiritual energy found within the human mind and soul. Gaining awareness of your magical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.

Awareness: Willpower Lv 5

Willpower, ki, chi, qi, stamina, aura, mantra, physical energy, life energy, od, or even hamon… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.

You have gained awareness of your Willpower, the physical energy found within all living organisms. Gaining awareness of your physical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.

Basic Martial Arts Lv 4

Heroes prefer fists. Apparently, so do sidekicks.

This ability measures your skill and intuition in bare-handed combat, allowing for rapid growth and adaptation in martial arts.

Breathing Control Lv 7

Batman can breathe in space. Why can't you?

The ability to use oxygen efficiently, enabling you to hold your breath for extended periods of time. Increases by 1 minute every level. (2 minutes)

Meditation Lv 5

When the mind is enlightened, the spirit is freed and the body matters not.

The ability to train your mind in order to achieve a state of oneness with your spiritual essence and life force, as well your mind and body.

Reflexes Lv 2

DODGE!

Decreases innate reaction time and increases innate perception speed by 10% per level. (20%)

Resistance: Blunt Force Lv 18

A little pain never hurt anyone.

Reduce all blunt force damage from attacks less than 100% of your health. Increases 1% by level. (18%)

Resistance: Electricity Lv 5

Harmless Electrocution.

Reduce all electrical damage from attacks less than 100% of your health.

Increases 2% by level. (10%)

Stealth Lv 1

It's so overt, it's covert.

This represents your ability to avoid being seen, allowing you to slip past foes or strike them from an unseen position.

This skill does not cover the art of silent movement. Increases critical chance of stealth attacks by .5% per level.