Bluejay: The Protégé of Black Canary

The Androids

I began to panic and thrash when the salty ocean water filled my nose and mouth, and I thought I might be trapped under the persisting wall of water. To my relief, it suddenly stopped, and the pressure driving my body to the concrete halted.

Coughing and desperately trying to fill my lungs with air again, I wiped away the salt water from my eyes and looked around for my teammates. It was Kaldur who stood in front of me, his beautiful tattoos glowing a florescent blue and his arms stretched out in front of him. Gripping his two Water-Bearers and his forehead taught with concentration, he had directed the five heavy jets of water away from us, sending them back into the cavern.

I scrambled to my feet, using all of my senses to frantically search for the attacker, but there was no sign of an intruder. M'gann and Connor were nearby, their hair drenched and sticking to their foreheads. Wally had been swept of the platform and was at the bottom of the stairs, but he seemed to be mostly okay.

"Is everyone alright?" Kaldur shouted to us, releasing the water. But before anybody could respond, the water erupted again.

My first instinct was to flee, but it was like my joints were cemented in place as I saw two people burst from the water. One female. One male. But then I realized they weren't even people at all. Painted red and yellow with glowing eyes, they had perfect human proportions, no hair, and blank faces, resembling a figure I knew all too well. Water ran down their metal bodies as they rose from The Cave's grotto. They stood on the raised platform, the woman rising from the ground in a column of white hot fire. My mind zipped to the worst conclusion.

The Intergang.

My heart beat like a drum in my chest. My knees shook and my mind raced. How did they even get inside? My heart jumped. Were they here for me? I felt myself wanting to cry, but the logical part of my brain had seized control for the moment being.

"Bluejay, do you recognize them?" Kaldur asked me. M'gann had made the mind link. His voice snapped me out off my shock. Swallowing, I shook my head.

"No. They bear no special Intergang emblems. They look like Red Tornado more then anything else!" I observed.

When the male robot spoke, his voice was deep and flat. "Surrender now, or risk your own destruction."

A crease formed between Kaldur's eyebrows and Connor's fists balled. An unspoken agreement had been made within a split second. Surrender was never an option.

"Keep them apart. We don't know the extent of their abilities!" Kaldur commanded.

I watched as my my new friends heroically threw themselves at the intruders without a moment of hesitation, the bubbling sea of fear and panic rising in my stomach once more.

I stood staring at the robots, frozen and trying to come up with an explanation for all of this. Singling me out, the robot woman turned her head to my frozen state and opened her palms towards me. A column of fire erupted from her hands. My muscles seized, and I hurled my body off the top of the stairs, narrowly avoiding the blast of intense heat I felt through my suit.

I tucked and rolled, landing at the feet of the stairs. She went to take another shot, but was intercepted when Aqualad let out a battle cry, bringing a pair of heavy glowing hammers down on her body. But her metal skin didn't crumble under his blow like I expected it to. She blocked, her inhuman face revealing no emotion.

"How did they get in!?" M'gann exclaimed. No one had an explanation.

I ran for temporary shelter behind a wall, gripping my staff. I tried to control my breathing and to keep my heart from leaping out of my throat. Connor must have sensed the sudden buzz in my brain through the mind link, and heard the speed of my heart.