Batman was serious as he analyzed the reports from Kaldur, Robin, and Kid Flash. Normally, he would only request Kaldur's report as team leader and Robin's, but this time he was interested in Kid Flash's opinion on the team's first serious mission—fighting Cobra and his cult, Sportmaster, and an enhanced human dosed with serum. It was more than the League expected.
Batman picked up Kid Flash's report.
"Why not take Robin's or Aqualad's?" Hawkgirl asked, looking at Batman.
"Aqualad doesn't have all the situations, and Robin seems to have omitted some details where I know he made mistakes," he stated seriously. "But it seems Kid Flash had no issue accepting his own errors and writing them down," he added as he began to read the report.
Once we managed to enter the island undetected, Robin, Miss Martian, Superboy, and I got off the Bio-Ship, switching to stealth mode. Although Superboy didn't use the cable to rappel down, which ruined the element of surprise by creating a 0.5 magnitude tremor just a few meters from our location.
Batman stopped reading. Flash chuckled at the clone's blunder.
As a speedster, I was a bit impatient but had to move at the same pace as the rest of the team. That's when Superboy detected movement with his enhanced hearing—unidentified voices. Robin ordered both of us to use our infrared vision. I detected five signatures on my side and Superboy six on his.
Before we could decide what to do, Robin had already disappeared from around us.
Batman sighed at that, though he didn't show it. He felt the gazes of several members but didn't return them.
I suggested letting the two opposing groups—Bane's and Cobra's cult—fight it out and then go after the tired winner.
"That's not a bad tactic," Diana commented approvingly, with Arrow and Aquaman agreeing.
Once Bane's side won, I asked Superboy to knock Bane out while I distracted him. If Bane dodged, Miss Martian would restrain him mentally. Luckily, Plan B wasn't needed. Once Bane was subdued, Robin showed up with Aqualad.
Robin expressed his frustration that we didn't do things the way he thought we should. I noticed Superboy starting to lose his temper, so I stepped in to remind everyone of our mission priorities. Miss Martian tried to read Bane's mind, but apparently, the villain curriculum includes mental resistance. So we made a group decision to trust Bane—a mistake in my opinion, but as the saying goes: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Bane wanted his factory back, and we needed a guide to sabotage it.
The members exchanged looks. "Trusting Bane?" Arrow said. "Not the best call, but given the situation..." Aquaman added, reflecting on what they'd heard.
"Let's finish the report," Black Canary said.
Once we agreed to let Bane guide us through the island, Aqualad and Robin began arguing about who should take the lead. I preferred to stay quiet—too much hassle deciding stuff like that.
Flash snorted. "Always a slacker," he said. "Wonder who he learned that from," Hawkgirl added, making the women laugh.
When we got to the factory, we heard a helicopter land—Sportmaster and a guy who didn't stand out. They approached Cobra to buy Venom. We were about to act when—surprise—Bane jumped to attack Cobra's cult as they loaded the Venom onto the helicopter. While Robin vanished again, I made a call:
"Superboy, take care of that guy," I said when I saw the man with Sportmaster use Venom and become like that bastard Blockbuster. That left a bad taste in my mouth, reminding me of that damn worthless scientist.*
"I'll skip this page," murmured the Dark Knight.
"They're insults to that guy," Superman said, picking up the page Batman discarded.
Flash laughed under his breath at his protégé's antics. "Kid's got imagination," Diana muttered as she read the page.
Once Superboy bothered to deal with the enhanced guy, I took on the Cobra cultists, planting detonators in the Venom storage and blowing it up. While Superboy struggled with the enhanced man, Sportmaster tried to hit me with his mace. Like a good boy, I put him to sleep with a high-speed neck kick. He went out cold. I had to increase my body's speed so Cobra's bullets would pass through me without harming me. But since I couldn't keep that up for long, I had to fall back. I knocked Cobra out while he screamed nonsense about being a god and everyone being beneath him. Superboy and I ensured no one escaped the island. Then I realized something—we were alone. Just me and Superboy. Miss Martian, Robin, and Aqualad were nowhere to be found. Superboy was in trouble, so I ran circles around the enhanced guy and managed to land a high-speed punch with my brass knuckles—not very effective, but it bought Superboy enough time to land a stronger hit and knock the bastard out. After we secured Sportmaster, Cobra, and the enhanced guy, Superboy and I went to the factory and found the team.
"Where the hell were you?! We needed you back there!" I yelled at Kaldur for abandoning us.
"I told Miss Martian to tell you we were pulling back," Kaldur tried to explain.
"Well, we never got the message," I growled.
Once Superboy and I calmed down from being left alone in battle while capturing Bane...
"I hope Batman accepts that we were discovered," I said seriously.
"What could go wrong?" Kaldur asked.
I looked at him, shocked by his ignorance.
"Sportmaster has ties to the League of Shadows. If he knows about us, the League knows too," I told him seriously.
"Miss Martian, can't you erase that info from Bane or Cobra?" I asked, but Miss Martian shook her head.
"This is not good," I sighed. Luckily, I'm not the leader—that's Aqualad's problem now, not mine.*
Batman finished reading the report.
"Five hours ago, Kid Flash's head was marked with a $15 million bounty," he said seriously. "That's the price Cobra offered to whoever brings him Kid Flash's head."
"Fortunately, they haven't been able to identify him yet. Kid Flash has three identities—one in France, another in Mexico, and one in Japan, aside from his real one. It'll be hard for them to find him," Batman explained.
"You set those up for him?" Superman asked seriously.
"No. He got them by... less-than-legal means, which actually makes them more convincing," Batman replied seriously.
"He's not wrong. Now the team will be more well-known," said Martian Manhunter. "I'll need to help M'gann improve her powers," he added seriously.
"That's for the best," Diana nodded.
"Starting tomorrow, Black Canary will train them in hand-to-hand combat," Batman declared.
"Wally is a black belt and fights dirty—don't underestimate him," Flash added with a smile.
"You have a lot of faith in him," Black Canary said, looking at Flash, who just shrugged.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Flash said, shrugging again.
"Wally doesn't like being limited. He may be fast, but that doesn't mean his hits are soft," he added, touching his chin as if remembering an old fight. "A year ago, he surprised me with his brass knuckles and hit me in the jaw—almost made me spit out my teeth. Luckily, I could heal before losing them," he said seriously.
"You probably teased him, and he surprised you," Hawkwoman said.
But Flash's silence drew attention—especially when he removed his mask and showed his bare chest with a noticeable X-shaped scar.
"I don't know what he did, but I haven't been able to fully heal. It happened when I was under Grodd's control. He forced me to fight Wally, who had to knock me out. I don't know if Grodd underestimated him, but in less than a second, Wally made a hand signal and, in the blink of an eye, slashed my chest—cutting me free from Grodd's control. Grodd was shocked that my protégé would attack me so ferociously," Flash said as he put his suit back on.
"I could stop the bleeding and heal the damage, but the scar remains," he added seriously.
"That's because I gave him those blades," Zatara said. "They can heal wounds, but not the scars. They're called the Blades of Pride. One of the gifts I gave him for helping me. Those objects usually don't choose people, and it's dangerous to deny them once they do."
"As I said, he asked me for information. Those blades cancel almost any curse, and it seems they work on mind control too. A risky move—but well thought out," the magician of the League said calmly.
"And you didn't tell me?" Flash asked.
"You never asked, and I thought he would tell you. But it seems the boy likes his secrets. He's not just a kid—and he's not afraid to hurt someone to save them. Giving you that scar took real courage—either that or you really pissed him off," he added with a smile.
"I see your point. I won't underestimate him," Dinah said.
"He won't do that to you. I know him well enough to say he'd only do it if you made him angry," Flash said. "Just be careful in case you ever do," he added calmly.
While the members discussed among themselves, Batman was lost in thought.