Turdus (Young Justice Fanfiction)

Just This Once

//R

Swan zetaed in with Batman and the room got quiet. Batman had a grim expression on, while Swan looked at the ground hiding her face. She trudged her feet next to Artemis while staring at her shoes. I witnessed a blood stain on her elbow and a little on her right foot. Who's blood was that. Swan was unreadable and Batman looked grim, but - was that sympathy? What is going on?! 

I know it wasn't the right time to ask since Batman was about to start debriefing us for our next mission. I tried to focus on the holo and Batman's voice, but I couldn't help but look over at Swan's blood stains. 

"Scarecrow," Swan's head perked up instantly, "specializes in fears and phobias. He uses fear gases and toxins to induce fear into his enemies. He is always making new chemical formulas so we don't have a secure antidote. In place of the antidote you will wear air filters to prevent inhalation of any chemicals. He has just broken out of Arkham, but he hasn't noticed the tracker we have placed on him. He is here," Batman pulled up a map of Gotham, "a chemical processing factory. Your job is to find out what chemicals he is stealing so we can create an antidote. You are not to engage. If you happen to be spotted, you will immediately contact the League and we will handle the situation from their."

Don't engage, you are not to engage, don't engage the contact, contact the League. It's the same speech over and over again. Is the League ever going to trust us to actually take out a baddie? 

They don't even trust us with Scarecrow, for crying out loud! Batman and I have taken out Scarecrow more than once, so I'm sure the Team could put him back behind bars. I crossed my arms in disappointment and looked at the ground. This whole 'on League terms' thing was really starting to piss me off.

"Come on, can't we just take him out this once? We can do it Batman! Scarecrow is no match for the seven of us, you know that." KF begged.

"That cocky attitude is exactly what's going to get you killed." Batman said harshly.

"I don't see the harm in letting us engage Scarecrow. We will have gas masks, so there will be no need for the antidote. If we can stop the production before he even makes the gas, will we not have a need to find a new antidote?" Aqualad tried to reason.

Kaldur looked very serious and thoughtful, but I could see that there was a little glimmer of excitement in him. We all looked to Batman for an answer. He looked deep in thought, like he was actually considering it! Now my excitement started to spark, he's never actually had to think about his decision before. Maybe we had a chance after all.

Batman sighed, "Fine, but just this once. Keep the fight contained and do not draw attention. I will be keeping tabs on the mission, but I hope I can trust you to do it on your own." Batman said defeated.

The entire team nodded out heads violently, except for Swan. She looked worried, but as soon as she saw me staring she glared. I shrugged it off and watched as Batman zetaed out of the mountain. As soon as he left, Wally practically exploded.

"I can't believe we are going on a real mission. Scarecrow is going down!" Wally yelled.

He sped around the room, stopping every five seconds to punch the air pretending to fight Scarecrow. While he was throwing punches in the air Artemis tripped him and he fell flat on his back. 

"You're going to be a lot faster than that to take on Scarecrow. We're also going to need a plan." Artemis pointed out. 

"Artemis is right, if were going to put Scarecrow behind bars we are going to need a well thought out plan." Aqualad stated already deep in thought. 

"We can come up with one on our way there. I'll wake up the Bioship!" M'gann said cheerfully.

She grabbed Connor's hand and started to pull him to the docking bay. He simply grunted in response, but followed willingly. 

We all boarded the ship as Miss Martian strapped us in our chairs. She turned all of our chair to face each other and we then we began to form a plan. We all looked to out leader, Kaldur, to start the meeting.

"As Artemis stated before, we will need to formulate a plan is we are to successfully take down Scarecrow. With gas masks, most of his attacks should be useless. We need a way of 'containing the fight' as Batman said and enclosing him in the factory. Any ideas?" Aqualad started.

He was an amazing leader, he always knew exactly what to do. I know I wanted to be leader, but I was so blind to how great a fit Kaldur was for a leader. He showed us what to do under pressure and made sure we all got a say and part in the mission. I looked around the room and everyone seemed to be coming to a blank.

"I think we should know the mind of a Gotham criminal before we start planning. It will give us the insight to their strengths and weaknesses." I piped up.

Everyone's head turned to Swan lounging in her chair. She was leaning back in a casual position with her legs crossed. When everyone looked to her she sighed.

"I gave that life up. Remember?" she stated bluntly.

"Yeah, but you knew what it was like to be one of them so please, inform us." I pushed.

"I may have turned good, but that doesn't mean I can give away all their secrets." she said stubbornly.

"You're supposed to help us now. You shouldn't feel the need to protect the low life criminals of Gotham." I pointed out.

Swan looked extremely irritated when I addressed Gotham's criminals as low lives. Swan once was one of them and she didn't take well to the name. She sat up and looked me dead in the eye.

"Penguin might not have taught me anything good, but he did teach me to respect those who deserved it. They might be crazy psychopaths, but they'll deserve more of my respect then you ever will." she spat.

She said it so venomously my face started to turn pale, but I regained my composure in a matter of seconds. I didn't realize that she felt that way towards Gotham's criminals. I never would have considered her to respect her fellow criminals. I always thought they were heartless scum bags just wanting to watch the world burn in flames.

"Fine. since you know so much about Gotham's criminal population, why don't you tell us." I said angry.

"I will. Scarecrow doesn't need his fear gas to induce fear into his enemies. A criminal is always better than their gadgets and nothing is different for Scarecrow. He know's you're darkest fear, even if you don't know them yourself. When we go up against him you need to be mentally prepared to face you deepest, darkest fears." she said grimly.

Wally looked a little pale and M'gann looked a little green. Well, more than usual. The rest of us had emotionless faces, but we were all lost in thought. Was the Team ready to take on our biggest fear? Maybe Batman was right, we weren't ready for a real mission. 

"We still have an entire ride to prepare ourselves, but lets focus on the attack." Superboy said breaking the silence.

We all nodded in unison and talked out a plan. We were to surround the facility and enter through a few open windows that I had located in my holo blueprint. We would split up into two teams and move towards the middle of the factory until we had Scarecrow blocked off and tied up. 

It was a simple easy plan and I wasn't worried about the attack, but more about what Swan had said. He knows our darkest fear even if we don't know it ourselves. Was the team mentally prepared to take on Scarecrow or would we crumple under the pressure of our own fears? There is nothing to fear, but fear itself. The problem is, facing our fears is something to be fearful of.

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I am honestly surprised that even one person is reading my writing. I hope it's good and everything you want it to be. Don't forget to let me know your likes and dislikes. Also PM me if you just want to chat, I love meeting the people who read my books. :D

~KO

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