STAR CITY, CALIFORNIA
March 30, 21:57 PDT
It was dark out on the docks, ships signaling their arrival and departure by blasting the horn. Amidst the shipping containers was a large gated cage that was filled with whispering runaway teenagers guarded by Black Manta's goons. One of the teens demanded to be released, his fingers laced with the thin metal bars.
He and the others went unheard as a woman dressed in orange and black armor with a tiger-shaped mask approached. She glared menacingly at the captives, causing them to cower back before she whipped around, ordering the soldiers, "Bring out the pods. Now!"
The dark-armored troopers pushed carts of pods over to the cage while others stood with guns ready to injure or kill anyone who threatened the mission. They were unaware of two shadowed figures looking upon the scene from one of the above shipping containers. The two assessed the situation quickly and found their way in.
"Alright, get those pods open," Tigress commanded, "We're on a schedule and Kaldur'ahm does not tolerate delay."
Suspicious, the villainess jerked her head over in the figures' direction, only to find the space they once occupied empty. She ignored the feeling of someone watching her and continued searching the perimeter, maintaining her confident demeanor. Her dark grey eyes watched the troopers type in passcodes to open up the pods, large enough to hold humans.
Without warning, the two shadows jumped quietly down into the barbed wire cage from the tower above which earned some gasps from the kids inside. A couple of them questioned the two's intentions while the rest stared in complete disbelief. Why would anyone purposely put themselves in this situation?
The red-haired girl quieted them down, whispering, "We're here to help."
"Why should we trust-" a blonde girl was interrupted by the small heroine, Bumblebee, flying past them towards the boy with sunglasses on, who opened his jacket for her to hide in. As if she knew immediately, the girl shrugged, "Okay, never mind."
"One per pod. Move," ordered Tigress before Manta's troopers opened the cage and grabbed each of the teenagers forcefully.
They clambered and protested against the armored guards, but they were of no match to the strength the troopers possessed. The troopers shoved each of the teenagers into the pods provided for them as one of Manta's underwater cruisers docked, prepared to take on its new passengers.
Tigress commanded, pointing at the black ship, "Okay, go! Boat 'em and float 'em."
It took roughly ten minutes for the soldiers to load the incapacitated teenagers onto the ship without further delay. Tigress seemed pleased with being right on schedule as she boarded the cruiser. It sank into the dark waters, using maximum speed to swiftly maneuver against the harsh and cold waves, unaware of the tail it picked up.
Using camouflage mode, Miss Martian guided the bio-ship behind Manta's cruiser. Nightwing's wrist holo-computer indicated the destination of La'gaan using the information Kaldur had provided him with previously. Electra peeked over subtly, watching as Nightwing's shoulders dropped somewhat in relief.
"Good. They're leading us to Lagoon Boy and the others."
"How can you be sure?" Wonder Girl questioned curiously.
Electra knew the young teen had caught him off-guard and was wondering if she needed to help him out. However, Shockwave beat her to it.
"Maybe Nightwing injected him with a tracking device." It was meant to be a joke, yet no one laughed. Instead, Nightwing and Electra's eyes widened in shock while Wonder Girl simply glared at him. "What?"
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Long Story Short {Second Book to Born For This}
Fanfiction"And I fell from the pedestal, right down the rabbit hole. Long story short, it was a bad time. Pushed from the precipice, clung to the nearest lips. Long story short, it was the wrong guy." It's been five years. Five years since Vandal Savage and t...
