Mettle, Metal, Meddled - Chapter 31 - Stake out (Patreon)

Once we were done with our preparations and Batman had gone over the plan again the sun was starting to lower in the sky. We still had plenty of time to get into position though, so my teammates and I piled into Bioship, M’gann guiding the ship into the air. The air inside the sentient ship was tense, half of our team stuck in a pretty negative emotional loop, with the remaining three, including myself, unable to really do anything about it.

Eventually we were floating ten feet above Speedy’s apartment building in Star City, the sun still setting as we waited. Barely fifteen minutes later Batman contacted us through the radio communicators.

“We are in position, far enough back that we won't be spotted,” He confirmed before continuing. “Robin’s tracker will allow us to follow you as you follow Speedy. If anything goes wrong we will be less than a minute away at all times. Robin, I expect you to hit the panic button the moment something goes wrong.”

“Affirmative,” Robin confirmed, not looking particularly happy about it, but unable to refuse a direct order.

“Good. Going radio silent.”

With that the veteran hero’s voice faded and we were left alone. After a moment of silence Aqualad turned to M’gann.

“Does Bioship have sensors capable of observing the interior of the apartment complex?” He asked.

“Oh, yes! That shouldn't be too difficult. ” M’gann answered, her fingers moving slightly on the two white steering orbs.

After about thirty seconds of working a blob of amorphous blob of Bio-ship material slid down from the ceiling, directly in front of the clear window port, settled into a rectangular shape. After a moment a wireform image of  the apartment formed, showing off hundreds of people moving about. A few more taps on the control orbs and the image focused on one room. The scan was useless for showing what was in the apartment itself, but the form of a human laying down in bed was clear.

“This should be room sixty three,” M’gann said. “Sorry I couldn't get more detail but Bioships sensors aren't really tuned for this.”

“This is all we need,” Kaldur assured her, his chair turning so he was looking directly at the display.

We all watched Speedy sleep, which was a creepy experience in and of itself. After about twenty minutes he finally stirred, slowly pulling himself up and out of bed, beginning his morning process. I was happy to learn that he apparently preferred to shower in the evening, but M'gann blushed furiously and looked away when he used the toilet. When he was done waking up he started to put on his gear, immediately putting some clothes on over his uniform and sliding his bow and quiver into some sort of carrying case.

When he was finished working his way through his preparations he finally left his room, locking it up behind himself before making his way down and out of his apartment complex. He kept his head down, using the stairwell instead of the elevator and sneaking out a back entrance instead of using the front door. Once outside he hopped on a motorcycle, pulling out of the alley way the back door led to and driving down the road. M’gann’s eyes glowed as she directed Bioship through the air, the display screen still following the suspicious hero as he drove. He drove for a short while before pulling into the drive through of a fast food joint for breakfast.

Fifteen minutes of following Speedy later we were hovering above a really tall building, having watched as our target climbed up the fire ladder to sit on the roof edge to eat his breakfast. He silently opened and began eating as we all hover thirty feet up and back.

“So… do we give him a minute to eat?” I said, Kaldur shaking his head.

“No, Robin and myself will drop down now and begin talking to him,” He said, getting a nod from the younger hero. “M’gann, will you be able to tell if he begins to panic or shift his feelings?”

“If he feels extremely strongly I should be able to pick it up with a casual surface scan,” M’gann explained. “But that's only really, really strong emotions. I would need to scan deeper to pick up anything more subtle.”

“Very well. Keep a casual scan of him going while-”

“Guys… He isn't alone anymore.” Superboy said, getting everyone's attention.

Sure enough, someone was stepping out of the roof access door of the building he was sitting on. Speedy whirled around, hands going to his bow and to his quiver, nocking an arrow and pointing it at the newcomer, who shut the door behind him and stood confidently.

The new arrival was dressed in some sort of combat gear, with a full coverage mask and armor protecting his left arm and shoulder. He was clearly confident, even cocky, in his stature, even as Speedy yelled something at him.

“That’s Sportsmaster.” Robin said, standing up to look out the viewport. “What is he doing here in Star City?”

Before anyone could think through Robin's probably rhetorical question, Speedy’s body language shifted drastically. He went from dripping aggression and anger to completely calm, almost emotionless. He even lowered his bow and put his arrow back into his quiver. At first I assumed he was recognizing a secret ally, and my stomach dropped. Before I could say anything though, Speedy dropped his bow completely, the weapon bouncing and falling to the floor of the roof.

“That's not right.” Robin said, shaking his head. “Speedy would never willingly drop his bow like that.”

“I agree,” Kaldur said before turning back to M’gann. “Bring us closer and directly over them, and open us a drop hole.”

“I’m pushing the button,” Robin said. “We have about a minute to do this ourselves.”

“M’gann link us up!”

Suddenly I could feel the low level connection between everyone again. It paled in comparison to the bond M’gann and I had but it was definitely noticeable. M’gann was focused on flying, having moved right over the building, a four foot wide hole opening in the floor of Bioship.

“M’gann, get to Speedy and protect him. Robin, Skarn, with me. Superboy, Kid Flash, hold back for now!”

I followed Kaldur out of the Bioship, Robin right behind me as we fell ten feet to the roof. Kaldur and I landed easily, while Robin had to flare his cape to slow himself, rolling to absorb more of the impact. Kaldur, now behind Sportsmaster, pulled out his waterbarers while Robin and I stood ready on either side of the villain. I watched and felt M’gann swooping down, circling around and floating right behind Speedy, who was still staring ahead, emotionless.

Sportsmaster took a step back as we all poured out of the ship, before Kaldur cut off his escape route.

“Fucking brats! What are you doing here?” The blonde, sports themed villain asked, grabbing something from his utility belt. “You-”

“Attack!” Aqualad said through the psychic connection.

I lunged at Sportsmaster, catching him off guard with my speed. He still reacted fast enough though, deploying a javelin from a small cylinder in his hand, he spun it like a quarterstaff, catching me across the face, making me stumble and roll past him. Kaldure attacked from behind, creating two maces that he swung forward, even as Sportsmaster hit me.

Kaldurs maces smashed into his back, launching him forward, forcing him to roll back to his feet. The villain's gaze swapped between Robin, Kaldur and I before he cursed again.

“Roy, kill your friends!” He shouted, and suddenly Speedy was moving.

The archer dropped and rolled, picking up his bow and nocking an arrow, firing the sharp pointed projectile directly at Robin's chest. Luckily I had recovered enough to pull my shield off of my back and stand in between my teammate and his friend, the arrow shattering on impact with the metal barrier.

“M’gann! Disarm him!” Kaldur mentally called out, even as he led the charge on Sportsmaster.

With a nod M’gann used her telekinesis to take all of Speedy’s arrows out of his quiver, while also attempting to yank his bow out of his hands. He managed to keep hold of his bow, but could do nothing as M’gann floated his arrows away, the martian quickly snapping them at the base, rendering them useless. Unfortunately Speedy couldn't resist the order even if he was disarmed, and he jumped to attack, ignoring me. It seemed as if he took Sportsmasters' command literally, and did not consider me to be a friend.

As he ran past I reached out and snagged the neck of his costume, using his momentum to yank him off of his feet and slam him into the ground. As I stopped their friend Robin and Kaldur focused on Sportsmaster, who was just barely managing to hold them off, now using a nasty looking metal ball on the end of a thick cable. He spun it behind himself and launched it at Aqualad, who only just managed to deflect the brutally dangerous weapon with one of his maces. I looked down at Speedy and on a whim shouted.

“Roy! Go to sleep!”

The red headed archer immediately closed his eyes and relaxed, as if he had just naturally fallen asleep. Hoping that that was enough to keep him out of the fight for now I turned and rushed back to help Robin and Aqualad.

Only to watch as his weapon was torn from his grip and the dangerous metal ball at the end shattered in Wonder Woman's hand. Behind her was Martian Manhunter, carrying Green Arrow and Black Canary up to the roof with his telekinesis.

“Shit…” The tall villain said, looking back and forth between us and the newly arrived adults.

For a moment it looked like he was about to charge back at us, probably assuming we would be the weakest links and there for his best chance at escape. Unfortunately it was then that Batman glided down from the building next door, flaring his cape open at the last moment to arrest his momentum and land on his feet.

“You’re outclassed Sportsmaster, surrender.” Batman said, his presence radiating menace as he stepped closer.

Sportsmaster reached down, his hand going for his belt. I was about to slide my foot to knock him off balance when Batman's hand moved in a blur, a batarang flying out to smack into his hand, knocking whatever gadget he was reaching for out of his grip and to the floor. After a short pause the villain let out a rough growl before lifting both of his arms into the air.

“Fine, ya bastards. You got me.”

---------------------------

We reconvened back at the cave, Batman having brought a thoroughly searched, scanned and blindfolded Sportsmaster in his own jet, while the rest of us made our way back on Bioship. We gathered in the central cave with a still sleeping and now restrained Speedy, floated in by the Martian Manhunter. He put him down in a chair that I had carried in, across from Sportsmaster. Wonder Woman remained silent but close, keeping a close eye on the forcibly slumbering Sportsmaster, who J’onn had knocked out with a touch of his finger.

“This issue is much deeper than we could have possibly predicted.” Martian Manhunter said. “Having spent only a few minutes studying Speedy’s mind I have already discovered some disturbing things. First, this is not Roy Harper. I believe it to be a clone of Roy, with artificial memories implanted into its mind.”

The room was silent for a full thirty seconds before Green Arrow finally broke free of the shock.

“Excuse me?” He asked, his eyes wide behind his domino mask. “What are you talking about?”

“His memories are unnatural, pushed into his brain by some unknown method, most likely a psychic capable individual. The work is tight but noticeable. The only reason this clone wouldn't realize it was living with false memories is because it has been mentally controlled into not paying attention to the discrepancies, as well as to ignore the fact that he likely see’s those false memories from a strange perspective.”

“How did this happen?” Batman asked.

“It appears Cadmus is responsible. He was cloned, his memories of the process and of anything prior to him waking up as Roy Harper were disconnected. They still exist in his mind, but he would not be able to access them without the help of another psychic,” J’onn explained. “He is programmed with several code words that shift him into a highly suggestible state, which would allow his handler, Sportsmaster, to extract information and give him instructions that his subconscious would push him into accomplishing.”

“He replaced Roy when he was kidnapped, didn't he?” Green Arrow asked.

“He did.”

Green Arrow stumbled as if he had been physically struck, only Black Canary’s support kept him on his feet. She helped him to a bench, rubbing the man's back as he shook his head.

“We need more details,” Batman said, keeping everyone focused on Speedy and Sportsmaster. “What else can you tell us from Speedy’s mind?”

“He shared minor bits of information with Sportsmaster, although he was under informed about the status of the New Titans. His main task was to prove himself worthy and join the Justice League. He hasn't been informed of what he would be doing at that point.”

“Does he have any idea who Sportsmaster was giving this information to?” Batman asked, with J’onn responding with a shake of his head. “Sportsmaster still has connections with the League of Shadows, but cloning and mental control like this is out of their wheelhouse. They would be much more likely to have an undercover agent, not something like this.”

“Perhaps it is time to wake Sportsmaster and ask him these questions,” Wonder Woman suggested. “That is after all why you involved me, is it not?”

“Can’t Martian Manhunter just do his thing?” Wally asked.

“Sportsmaster has been trained to create a powerful mental defense in his mind, even with him unconscious I would incur damage while pulling the information from his mind.” J’onn answered the young speedster. “Wonder Woman’s lasso is a much more efficient and ultimately less damaging option.”

“Agreed,” Batman said, stepping closer to the villain, reaching to pull off the blind fold secured around Sportsmasters eyes.

“Hold on a second,” I said, Batman looking over at me as I gestured to pull up the holo computer.

I tapped on the projected buttons for a moment before a shimmer filled the room, a projected dome of light surrounding everyone around the central platform. It reached up about thirty feet before sealing us in. A few more taps and a low hum filled the cave, hiding any ambient noise. With our location now protected I gestured to Sportsmaster, getting a nod from Batman.

Batman pulled off his blindfold and Martian Manhunter stepped forward to wake him up, putting a hand on his temple. The sports themed villain woke up with a start, immediately trying to force himself out of his restraints. When his struggle proved useless he eventually stopped, looking at everyone.

“Well isn't this a party,” He said. “I'm flattered.”

“Wonder Woman, if you would,” Batman said while stepping back, clearly having no interest in trading barbs with the blonde villain.

The Amazonian warrior nodded and wrapped her Lasso around Sportsmaster with a practiced flick of her wrist, the golden rope pulled tight with another.

“What was the true goal of this facade?” Wonder Woman asked, the Lasso of Truth glowing in response to her question.

“I-uhg grraaa to gain intelligence on the league and access to their secret base,” He answered, fighting the compulsion but eventually failing.

“And what of the original Roy Harper?” Wonder Woman asked, Green Arrow looking up.

“He… is… is stored at Cadmus, in a secondary secret level.” He answered, again struggling. “In a storage for genetic samples.”

A ripple of shock spread through the room, with Green Arrow letting out an inarticulate noise of relief. Batman, who seemed to be determined to keep the focus on the bigger picture, remained intent on Sportsmaster.

“Who do you work for?” Batman asked. “You used to work exclusively for the League of Shadows, but reports say that you're on loan. Who did the League of Shadows loan you to?”

Wonder Woman focused and the Lasso glowed, forcing Sportsmaster to speak. He struggled for longer, blood dripping from his lips as he tried to bite them to stay silent.

“The Light!” he shouted, finally breaking. “I work for The Light, a secret cabal of  villains and mercenaries!”