TENEBRIS ~ Young Justice

19 ~ Deception; What Else?

I'd never been a fan of Taos--actually, I've never been a fan of New Mexico. The dry heat was a pain in the ass, especially because I didn't like excessive sweating, and the last time I'd been stuck in the desert was when we'd been abandoned in Bialya a few years ago with amnesia. One bad experience, right? 

I was even more displeased to find out our next point of focus was S.T.A.R. Labs. M'gann, La'gaan, and Superboy had joined Nightwing and I and the rest of Alpha Squad in one of the facility's conference rooms. We were using it to interrogate the new Martian, the Green Beetle. Our group lingered against the back wall, watching cautiously as M'gann approached the stranger sitting patiently in a chair in the middle of the room. 

"I-I'm not very comfortable with this," M'gann muttered, lowering her head a bit. "Delving into your mind? I-It is an intrusion." 

"You have my permission," Green Beetle replied. "We must be able to trust each other." He then pulled his cheeks up tightly, exposing his straight--and incredibly creepy--smile. I could only cringe in tandem with the others, but I don't think any of us felt more awkward than M'gann when she let out a faint gasp. 

"Does my smile...displease?" Green Beetle asked, looking around the room at us. "Is this not how humans convey friendship and put each other at ease?" 

"At ease?" I muttered to myself, and a tiny smirk pulled at my lips when Impulse snickered beside me. 

"There has to be another way," Conner piped up. Nightwing glanced back at him over his shoulder with a sigh. 

"Look, I'm not sure what the Martian etiquette is here, but Green Beetle is right. We need to trust each other, which means we need to confirm that he is who he says he is. Miss M is our only real option." Conner didn't reply, instead folding his arms over his chest as he turned his eyes to the floor. To be honest, I shared his reluctancy to letting M'gann use her telekinesis on Green Beetle, Martian or not. She wasn't exactly stable these days; the pot calling the kettle black. 

The rest of us kept silent as La'gaan stepped up beside M'gann, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

"Go for it, Angelfish," he said, smiling. "Reading this guy will be a piece of crab cake." While I made no effort to hide my utter disgust, M'gann's expression remained incredibly unsure. 

"Please," Green Beetle pressed, nodding, "proceed with the mind link." M'gann hesitated for another moment before taking a deep breath, and almost immediately after, her eyes began glowing their bright green hue. In turn, Green Beetle's turned a deep red, presumably because he was still wearing his armor. 

"So, what happens now?" I asked, hovering in place as I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. 

"Now, we wait." Nightwing sighed. 

"Exactly how long do we have to wait?" Robin murmured, his gaze lingering on the pair in front of us. Nightwing shook his head. 

"I don't know. Depending on how much information he holds, it could take longer than expected--"

"Green Beetle is on our side," M'gann interrupted, turning back to us. 

"Well, that was fast," Impulse mumbled, leaning his elbow up against my knee. I rolled my eyes but made no effort to remove him. 

"Again, I say, what happens now?" I asked. 

"Now, we find out what the Reach is really up to," Nightwing replied, and we all turned to Green Beetle, who nodded in agreement. 

* * * 

"This consumable contains the Reach's additive," Green Beetle said, holding up two bottles of some kind of drink as we all gathered around him, "which combines microscopic quantities of two chemicals. One is a dopamine polymerase; the other, an adrenaline inhibitor. Taken over generations, they will slowly addict the entire population to Reach, making the people of Earth...placid." He paused, glancing down at the beverages with a look of utter distaste. "Literally incapable of revolt."