~.: Tim's POV :.~
"Get back in position, Robin," Acacia snapped at me, shoving me aside as I came to Lexie's defense, "She needs to learn her place on this team before she gets someone killed. If she's gonna just sit there and be a fuck up because she's such a pussy, then I'll send her home and Nightwing can deal with her," I narrowed my eyes at my older sister as she stalked ahead, scouting the area for any signs of Hush. Lexie shifted her feet anxiously while Superboy and Riley followed after Acacia, serving as her back up which left Lexie and I at the rear of our squad formation. I get that Acacia wants this mission to go successfully- but she doesn't have to take things to the extreme with her team... I silently thought to myself, pursing my lips irritably as I waited for any updates from our fellow squad members. Nothing so far, other than radio silence.
I sighed softly, rubbing the back of my neck and shifting slightly so that Lexie had just enough room in our hiding spot. She looked pretty shaken up, her eyes watering in the dim light of the moon as she crouched beside me, and I felt my heart clench at seeing her this way. She's a newbie; it's not her fault that she's rattled over all of this. And my sister only made Lexie even more nervous, thanks to the her hostile lecture. I swallowed, frowning as Lexie caught my worried gaze before shyly turning away from me.
"Don't let Acacia get under your skin," I murmured softly, keeping my voice low while glancing around the area to make sure there wasn't anyone around. We'd split up, and the last thing that needed to happen was for us to give away our location while waiting for the other half of our squad to regroup. Lexie shot a confused look at me in response, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, "Is she always like that with everyone she goes on a mission with?" She hissed under her breath, leaning against me tentatively as a chilly breeze washed over us. I tried not to laugh as I nodded in reply.
"It's just how my sister is. She's really highstrung," I softly whispered back, keeping my gaze straight ahead in case Connor or Riley came to get us, "Plus, you're new to missions in general; it's not your fault and Acacia just wants to make sure you know the basics-"
Lexie frowned in discouragement, shifting slightly as she looked down at her ice-covered fingertips, "I don't know if I'll ever be good at the basics if she's gonna keep screaming at me like that..." she muttered, tentatively shaking her head. I glanced over at her in understanding.
"You don't have control of your powers yet, so it's not going to come as easy to you. But you'll learn," I gently reassured her, smiling slightly in an effort to show her everything was going to be okay, "And in my opinion, you're doing a pretty good job so far," A pale pink blush formed on Lexie's cheeks and I coughed awkwardly, shyly rubbing the back of my neck. Focus on the mission right now, Drake... Worry about her later. I determinedly thought as I tore my gaze away from her to observe our surroundings once more. It was still pretty quiet in the area Lexie and I were still watching, but there weren't any updates coming from my sister, Superboy, or Riley.
What's taking them so long to get back to us with updates? I wondered silently, tapping my 'R' insignia to activate its holographic program. Lexie watched curiously over my shoulder as I tracked down our teammates' positions. Everything must be going alright since they haven't contacted us for help- Narrowing my eyes, I shut off the hologram as a shuffling in the foliage nearby caused Lexie to let out a soft yelp. Putting a finger to my lips to warn her to be quiet, I slipped out my bo-staff in case one of Hush's minions had discovered our location. Lexie put her hand on my shoulder worriedly, her eyes round with anxiety.
"Shouldn't we contact Acacia-?" Her voice filled my mind through the telepathic link Miss Martian set up before our squad even left the Cave. Before I could answer, a familiar voice audibly screamed, tearing my concentration away from whatever had made the bushes rustle close to us.
"That sounded like Riley..." I responded to Lexie, ignoring her initial question as we raced toward the source of the screech.
"Do you think-?" Lexie cut herself off, shaking her head as though she didn't want to even consider something dangerous happening to our other squad members. Narrowing my eyes, I took the lead, Lexie at my heels as we closed in on Acacia's, Riley's, and Connor's location. There's no time to wait around and speculate.
Another shrill scream sounded just up ahead, followed by my sister's voice snapping irritably at Riley, "Would you shut up?! You're gonna sabotage our location!" Superboy cleared his throat to get their attention as Lexie and I approached.
"What happened?" I sighed, narrowing my eyes at Acacia as she crossed her arms over her chest. She merely tilted her head in the direction of a mound on the dirt nearest to her. A body laid in the foliage barely concealed by the undergrowth, scarlet blood dripping from several wounds. Lexie gagged at the sight while Riley whimpered and cuddled closer to Superboy for comfort.
"Found it as we were walking back towards your position," Acacia grunted, scowling irritably at Lexie and Riley while I cautiously approached the body. The blood covering the body as well as the carcass itself was cold, meaning that whoever this person was had happened to be killed a long while beforehand.
"W-Why would someone dump a dead body in the middle of nowhere?" Riley grumbled, rubbing her arms to soothe the visible goosebumps on her arms.
"To distract us from our main focus on this mission," Acacia snarled, kicking a rock closest to the dead body's head as I stepped away to search for the murder weapon if there was one nearby.
"But why would someone wanna throw us off guard so badly?" Lexie murmured, glancing reluctantly at our surroundings before shakily meeting Acacia's ice blue gaze.
"Thank about it, ditzy dumbass blondie," my sister seethed irritably, "Our main priority on this mission was to find out who the fuck this 'Hush' creep is and why he's mind controlling all these other villains. Would seem pretty convenient to throw a dead body so we'd be thrown off the trail of whoever this person is."
Lexie nodded, lowering her head submissively, "We should contact Nightwing and Spade then... right? If we're close to finding the Hush person, maybe they could help us...?"
Acacia glared at her in defiance, "If you're scared of being out here, then you shouldn't even be on this team- I can send you back right now if you wanna go running back to Nightwing and the cave so badly," she threatened, her eyes blazing furiously, "We're close to finding this guy by ourselves. We don't need Nightwing's interference."
As my sister finished speaking, however, a dark raspy chuckle sounded from the shadows nearest to Riley and she squealed, hiding behind Superboy as a hooded masked figure stepped forward.
"I'm paging Nightwing!" Lexie thought to me instinctively as she shot me a worriedly glance before pulling out her communicator and sending a distress signal to Nightwing, in hopes that he'd be able to help.
~.: De's POV :.~
I sighed softly as Aria walked out into the hallway to call Chelsea back, Wally trailing after her like a guard dog. "She's never going to listen, is she?" I murmured, pinching the bridge of my nose as Dick pulled out his communication device. Watching him tap on the alert notification and judging from his concerned expression, I knew that something must've gone wrong on Acacia's mission.
~.: TO BE CONTINUED :.~
