X

Chapter 5 -X Marks The Spot-

Look. I tried okay?

I tried for four chapters.

Four chapters.

But apparently, it's just not meant to be.

Have at it you heathens, all 12,747 words of it, cuz I apparently can't friggin control myself. I PROMISED MY WORD COUNTS WOULD BE CONSISTENT BUT THE ONLY THING THEY'RE CONSISTENT AT IS BEING TOO MUCH.

*sigh* ya know it would be easier if I didn't like stories so much, but alas.

Enjoy my overactive imagination.

"The Green Lantern Corps has some experience with Xenothium and were able to contain the explosion without much damage to the earth's crust," Batman spoke as he debriefed the young team in the newly repurposed Mt. Justice. The staged attempt of escape went about as well as any of them had hoped, luckily without any world-ending explosions. But it also ended with a small traumatized child on the loose, an almost literal powerhouse that could be exploited if taken by anyone with nefarious agendas.

"Wait, hold on, time out," Kid Flash paused, hands making the T shape like he could pause the Caped Crusader as he frowned. He looked to his fellow teammates, trying to understand how no one else was freaking out over this. "So these Xenothium explosions can destabilize the earth's crust?!" (He swore he was joking when he mentioned the earth's crust opening up 2012 style.)

Batman didn't outwardly react beyond shifting his attention to the young speedster. Inwardly, he sighed. Working with the younger speedster was not unlike working with the older one. Quick on their feet, slow on the uptake. "In large quantities, the concentrated Xenothium can, yes. In its more raw form, while unpredictable, is less likely to cause world-ending catastrophes. The small explosion Richard detonated in the tunnels caused a chain reaction with the other containers of concentrated Xenothium. The Lantern Corps was able to stop the explosion from reaching the main storage of Xenothium, or else we'd be looking at an explosion so large and devastating it has the potential to wipe the entire west coast off the planet."

Aqualad looked uncomfortable with that information, "Why did we not bring Richard here if he is so volatile? He would be a great liability wherever he is."

"A sound argument Aqualad," Batman admitted, deciding to be glad that was the Atlantans knee jerk reaction to that kind of news instead of tired because it was the wrong conclusion. The team simply needed a bit of information and context. "As I mentioned earlier, the raw form of Xenothium is what Richard Grayson now shares his DNA with. He is unable to make explosions of that magnitude on his own and we now know he cannot access more than his teleporting abilities without using his blood or the radiation Cadmus used to harvest his Xenothium. Which is why we can afford to let Richard be on his own for now. And while we do not know if his mutated DNA reacts to his emotions, he is in a fragile state that needs to be approached with caution. He does not need to be hunted like a dog."

Batman noticeably paused, that last sentence coming out with a bit too much force. He wasn't sure why the outburst escaped him when these kids were not the people that that outburst was for.

He quickly moved on, decisively uncaring if the kids noticed his slip up. He pressed a few keys on the holo-keyboard, bringing up a large tactical map of Washington D.C. with coordinates of a red blinking dot that occasionally disappeared and reappeared in different areas on the screen. "I was able to create a device that can track Richard's location using the unique signature Xenothium radiates. The radiation level is low enough that it isn't harmful, not even for long periods of time, but it's traceable. We have an eye on him so if something goes wrong we can contain him with the help of the Lantern Corps. I am not unaware of the dangers of letting him loose, but it is imperative he comes to us on his own terms, not ours."