Original (Roy Harper x OC)

Chapter Ten - LexCorp Farms

The Team all met up until the temporary hideout in Bludhaven, since the Cave had been blown up by Aqualad, waiting for Nightwing to brief us on the mission. I stood with the group, knowing Roy was lurking in the shadows by himself.

"Obviously any contact between the Reach and Lex Luthor is bad news, so Alpha squad is going undercover to recon LexCorp Farms. Robin, you'll be running Alpha," Nightwing explained.

"Me? Run Alpha? Uh, right. Who's on the squad?" Robin asks.

"Blue Beetle-"

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. I should not be in the field, Esé. What if the Scarab goes all Reach apocalypse on us?" Jaime questions.

"Your Scarab has had multiple opportunities to betray us. It hasn't. And right now, its connection to the Reach may be our best shot at identifying what they're up to"

"Well, if Blue's going, I'm going," Bart said.

"I assumed as much. And last but not least, Mastera and Arsenal. But, Arsenal, you'll have to travel lighter for your first mission, nothing that won't fit under civilian clothes. Any questions?"

"Just one," Roy spoke, stepping out of the shadows. He had shaved his hair off, leaving him with a buzz cut. "Why are we meeting in this dump?"

"With the Cave and the Hall Of Justice destroyed, we don't have many other options"

"Except the Watchtower. It's national news now. You can't pretend it doesn't exist"

"Only Justice Leaguers and Senior members of the team are authorized for the Watchtower. You don't qualify"

"Good to know where we stand"

We went to Smallville, where the farms were, each of us dressed in normal clothing. The tour guide was enthusiastic about everything.

"She can't be real, she's gotta be a robot," I whisper to Roy. "No one is that happy"

He chuckled.

"You know, you're like a different person without the mask," I mention.

"Really?"

"Mhmm"

We stopped, the others on the tour eating some fruits they had set out for us, and Robin went up to the tour guide.

"What's in those tubes?" He asks, pointing to the pink liquid floating around the plants through tubes.

"Just water, nutrients, and a little Reach/Lexcorp love. Our next stop is the Pluot orchard. That's right, Pluots, in April!"

"Time for a bathroom break," Robin told us after the guide walked off towards the others.

"I went before we left," Bart said, trying to sneak off with the group. Jaime stopped him. "Ah, Dude, they don't have Pluots in the future"

I wandered around, remaining invisible, waiting for everyone to be gone. When there was no one left I floated towards the boy's restroom, turning visible and knocking on the door.

Impulse opened the door. "We're good," I tell them.

We snuck down a hatch then found some of the Reach aliens working. The only one who could understand what they were saying was Jaime, thanks to his Scarab.

"What's she saying?" Robin asks.

"Ok. Uh, she's warning her technicians to go easy on the additive. Just a sec," he scanned the area then continued. "That's it. That's your additive"

He looked back over at Robin but Robin was already gone, going to steal a sample of the additive. A simple pink crystal.

"Got what we came for. Let's go," Robin said, joining us again.

We quietly ran around the stands of plants they were growing, stopping when the exit was in sight.

"Two guards, one door hack, and we're home free," Robin was about to run but Roy stopped him. "What?"

"Wait for it"

There was an explosion and the alarms started ringing. Chunks from the ceiling were falling and the guards were standing on high alert.

"You blew the lab? But this was a covert op! What were you thinking?"

"That I'm not about to let Lex Luthor and his alien space buddies poison the world just because we don't know exactly what poison they're using. Plus, I enjoy making Lex miserable," Roy answered with a smile.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his reasoning. Bart ran forward and attacked the guards and then Robin ran forward, trying to unlock the door.

"You just don't get it, do you? You went off mission. That was a huge mistake," Robin told Roy off.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," a deep but loud voice said from above us.

Black Beetle was there and he easily started taking each of us out. Nothing everyone else was doing was working. Not Impulse's fast speed, Robin electric bo staff, Arsenal's explosives and lasers, or even Blue Beetle's plasma cannon.

"Blue, what gives? Last time you threw down with this guy, you were hardcore!" Robin says.

"That wasn't me. The Scarab was in control," he paused then continued. "Believe me, I'd like nothing better than that. But not with Impulse's prophecy hanging over my head"

Bart ran around Black Beetle, creating a tornado of sorts. But Black Bertle shot some sort of large staple, pinning Impulse to the wall.

Robin blew a hole in the wall and we all escaped before Black Beetle could keep attacking. Bart ran over to us.

"Did the recon. Want the options? Cornfield or cornfield"

"Cornfield," Robin said.

We ran through the cornfield stepping out into an open area, and Black Beetle still found us. But as Blue backed away another Beetle, this one the colour green, appeared behind him.

"How many colours do these guys come in, anyway?" Impulse asks.

"Does that matter?" I ask. "The question is where do they keep coming from? And are they on our side or working for the Reach?"

"Form up. If we go down, we go down fighting," Robin ordered.

We had all backed up into each other, back to back, ready to fight the best we could.

"I'm betting that sounded way more inspirational in your head," Impulse says.

Green Beetle jumped over us and attacked Black Beetle, managing to keep up with the attacks. We watched in awe, not expecting him to be on our side.

"Uh, this guy? Not in history books," Impulse tells us.

"Then who is he? What is he?" Blue Beetle asks.

"Heroes of Earth. I established this link to better coordinate our attack," Green Beetle's voice said in our minds.

"Telepathy. That clinches it. This guy's the Blue-Green Beetle of Mars," Robin says.

"So another alien? Do we leave them to fight it out?" Arsenal asks.

"Move in, Blue, Mastera. Frontal assault. Keep Black busy," Robin said. "Impulse, our out the fire. Arsenal, use your laser on that plasma cannon. I want it out of commission"

"Right. Be prepared to move," Arsenal warned him.

I ran at Black Beetle with Blue Beetle, keeping him distracted. But he used his sonic cannon, aiming it straight at me. I couldn't density shift in time, so I was sent flying back over the cornfield, landing a fair distance away, unconscious.

I woke up in a bed, Arsenal sitting beside me, his mask no longer on his face. I turned on my side, looking over at him.

"You didn't have to stay," I tell him. "You could've gone home"

"I wasn't going to just leave you here"