Siberia

XX Days Earlier

Deep beneath northern Siberia, miles of stone and ice vanished in an instant. In their place was a hidden world in the twilight of underground caverns. The temperature, warmed by geothermal heat, created a prehistoric landscape illuminated by a soft glow.

Lush jungles stretched beneath an eternal twilight sky. Towering ferns and colossal trees formed a dense forest where dinosaurs roamed.

A lone Neanderthal, Gnarrk, moved cautiously through the ancient woods. He wore a patchwork of furs and skins and scanned his surroundings for both prey and predators.

Gnarrk pushed aside a thick frond and entered a clearing with a crystal-clear lake. At the water's edge, Hadrosaurs drank and watched for danger. Gnarrk crouched nearby.

A thunderous roar broke the calm. A Tyrannosaurus rex burst from the trees, its jaws wide. The Hadrosaurs fled, their cries echoing. Gnarrk's heart raced as he climbed the nearest tree, gripping the bark tightly.

From his perch, he watched the T-rex chase its prey. One Hadrosaur stumbled, and the predator struck, ending the hunt quickly.

Hours later, the dim light above cast shadows across the jungle. Gnarrk climbed down and returned to his hidden cave. The entrance, concealed by vines, led to a spacious chamber inside.

He sat by his fire pit and kindled a flame, its warmth a small comfort.

A rustling at the cave entrance interrupted his thoughts. He grabbed his spear and prepared for danger. Instead, a juvenile Triceratops appeared. The dinosaur sniffed the air and cautiously approached. Gnarrk stayed still. The Triceratops nuzzled his hand, seeking safety. Gnarrk stroked its rough hide, feeling a bond with the creature.

This ancient world, untouched by time, would one day meet the modern world. Its origins, known only to celestial creators, remained a mystery.

Planet Kwyzz

XX Days Ago

Green Lantern Bulletin:

Anomaly Detected in Sector 1136

The planet Kwyzz glowed softly as it orbited its Static Sun. Unlike any other, this sun did not emit light in the conventional sense. Instead, it pulsated with a steady, unchanging frequency throughout the cosmos, bathing Kwyzz in a constant, soothing hum.

Kwyzz was known as the most beautiful world in all transmission. Its landscapes shifted colors and patterns, a living tapestry woven from the very essence of electromagnetic waves. The White Noise Rapids, Kwyzz's oceans, churned and roared randomly. Even its inhabitants were composed entirely of electromagnetic waves. There was no defined shape to them, their bodies shifting and changing in rhythm with the world around them.

#

Krakkl streaked across the surface of Kwyzz at light speed. He suddenly stopped near the outskirts of Frequentalis, the heart of Kwyzz. There, lying in the radiant fields of shifting electromagnetic patterns, was a being unlike any Krakkl had ever seen. The stranger was an unconscious waveform, his structure foreign to the native inhabitants of Kwyzz. His appearance resembled a bronze scale, his limbs composed entirely of shimmering energy, each arm holding a scale, supporting his head.

Krakkl approached cautiously, his frequencies vibrating with curiosity and concern. He extended a waveform, gently shaking the stranger to wake him. The being stirred, his energy fluctuating erratically before settling into a more coherent pattern.

"Are you alright?" Krakkl asked, his frequencies soothing and steady.

The stranger's form brightened slightly as he awakened, his eyes—two radiant points of energy—opening slowly. He looked around, clearly disoriented and confused. "Where... where am I?"

"You're on Kwyzz," Krakkl replied. "My name is Krakkl. Who are you?"

The stranger blinked, his form flickering as he processed the question. "I... I am Libra." Despite his initial confusion, there was a gentleness to his presence, a passion that flickered within his energy.

"Libra," Krakkl repeated, his waveform resonating with a calming frequency. "You seem lost. How did you end up here?"

Libra took a moment to gather his thoughts, his scales shifting slightly as he stabilized his energy. "I was looking for my king..."

Suddenly, a new shadow had cast itself over the planet. All the planet's inhabitants stared up in shock and confusion. How did they get a new moon?

Brazil

In the dense heart of the rainforest, an ancient temple was hidden beneath a canopy of verdant foliage. Inside, the air was thick with the pungent scent of smoke and the heady aroma of pure, uncut cocaine.

At the head of the main chamber was a single white-haired man. He stood before an altar adorned with gleaming white powder, chanting fervent prayers to his cocaine god. His red eyes stared intently at the mountain of cocaine as if waiting for the answers to spring forth.

He fixated on the swirling patterns in the powder. His devotion was absolute; every inhale filled him with divine power, and every exhale was a prayer of allegiance. But suddenly, he froze. The air shifted, carrying with it a whisper of unease. The man felt a sharp pang in his chest, a disturbance rippling through the metaphysical drug force.

He had learned long ago that there were gods for every concept: Good, Evil, Love, and War. The man who had given up his real name was a believer of the Stoned Ape Theory, that the transition from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens and the cognitive revolution was caused by the consumption of mushrooms around 100,000 years ago.

Drugs transformed Apes into man, which would once more transform man into something greater.

"No," he muttered, his voice low and dangerous. "Something... something is wrong."

His eyes narrowed, and he reached out with his mind, seeking the source of the disruption.

"WHAT DARES INTERRUPT MY PRAYERS TO THE WILL OF THE COCAINE GOD?!" The voice echoed through the temple, filled with righteous fury.

In his mind eye, he could sense them all: ketamine, MDMA, Adderall, Bromo-Dragonfly, heroin, coke, crack, codeine, oxys, percs, vikes, PCP, LSD, Dilaudid, mescaline, mushrooms, bath salts, cortisone, Toradol, molly, her sister Sandra, big Frank, steroids, birth control, Plan B, morphine, viagra, Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Venom, and Flintstone Gummies.

In an instant, he knew: Venom was slowed.

He clenched his fists, feeling the surge of power course through him. He would not allow this insult to stand. He would find the source of the disturbance and crush it beneath his heel.

The man slammed his face into the cocaine mountain. Like a human vacuum cleaner, he snorted at least double his body weight in cocaine. An infidel would argue that he was more cocaine than man.

As soon as the last bit of cocaine disappeared up his nose, the man shuddered a few times, and then he exploded into white and blue flames.

He walked outside the temple, cocaine powder dropping from his body with every step. With a single, powerful leap, he soared into the sky, leaving a trail of shimmering white powder in his wake. Like a shooting star, he rocketed North East, straight toward Santa Prisca. "YOU NOW FACE THE WRATH OF HIS LORDS MOST LOYAL ACOLYTE, SNOWFLAME!"

Caribbean Sea

July 22, 20:08 ECT

In the Bioship, Kid Flash turned toward Superboy, who wore... a rather tight uniform. "Uh... Are you comfortable there, SB?"

Instead of his usual black t-shirt with the Superman S on it, black pants, and boots, Superboy wore a black and navy blue version of his solar suit. "Yes. I've worn this type of clothing almost my entire life. Doctor Desmond personally designed my solar suit."

Wally pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course he did. It's... fitting." Was it him, or did it seem tighter from the back.?

"Thanks. Superman helped make it from the scraps of my old one."

Robin raised a brow. "He did?"

"Yeah. He offered to loosen up the design, but I told him it was designed to be aerodynamic.

"Right..."

"It's totally fly," chimed Miss Martian, who was clearly staring at the suit contours around his butt.

Superboy glanced over at her, and she stood up straighter and stopped leaning her head on her hand.

"In that, it will totally help you learn to fly," she covered badly.

Superboy smiled at the compliment, "Wanna hold my ankles while I stretch out my hamstrings?"

"Sure." Miss Martian squeaked.

#

She, Kid Flash, and Robin hit the ground with small thuds. Realizing Superboy was not beside them, they glanced up and yelped before diving to the side. They narrowly avoided Superboy as he hit the ground hard enough to create a boom and a two-foot-deep crater. "Nailed it, just like the simulations," he said confidently.

"And yet, creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the covert," Robin grumbled as he stood up from the base of the tree he threw himself into.

Kid Flash came out of the forest from the other direction, and Miss Martian returned to the ground.

"Aqualad, Drop B is a go." Miss Martian says.

#

It was supposed to be a covert recon mission only. The teens were only meant to observe and report the activity on the island. Unfortunately, disagreements over overleadership had led to a failure on their part.

Kid Flash activated his infrared goggles down over his eyes, immediately picking up on heat signatures further down the trail. "Got a squad of armed bozos incoming."

The three ran forward, ducking behind a rock and fallen tree to avoid being seen.

Superboy looked in the opposite direction of Kid Flash. "Two squads," he corrected. Then, he expanded his focus. "But they'll meet each other before they find us."

Gunfire started. They weren't on the same side.

Miss Martian cringed.

"No Super-Hearing required now." Kid commented.

Superboy's eyes narrowed. "They're spraying each other full of holes!"

"Not how I would put it..." replied KF.

"Swing wide, steer clear," Aqualad commanded as Kid stepped forward to be next to Superboy.

"Yeah- yeah, just as soon as I find Rob." Instead, Kid Flash vaulted over the tree, running down the trail. Sadly, the trail was wet, causing him to lose his footing, falling down the hill and right into the middle of the firefight.

Kid Flash took off his goggles and looked up, facing down the barrel of a gun wielded by Bane himself. "So much for the stealthy."

Suffice it to say that both criminal groups trained their guns on the hero.

Bane started firing rapidly at Kid Flash, and it was only thanks to his super speed that he didn't get hit. Now, he was running away from both groups of gunfire.

One by one, the teens appeared for support.

Superboy charged ahead, taking Bane's blind spot and tackling him to the ground—or at least attempting to. Bane got himself over the teen and slammed him into the soft ground. He went for a wrist-lock on his captive right arm but found Superboy overpowering him, grabbing his shirt and throwing him into a tree.

Robin dropped over a pair, uppercutting the other and following up with a sidekick.

Kid Flash hit another assailant, backing him up into the clearing. He then hit him with a front kick to the chin and completed a full flip before landing on the ground again.

Miss Martian threw another two assailants into the tree behind him telekinetically.

A Kobra soldier was stopped short by Aqualad dropping right before him. The Atlantean placed his hand on his chest, and his tattoos glowed before he zapped him right in the chest. He crushed the communicator that fell out of his hand under his barefoot.

It was clear that this new team still had kinks to iron out.

#

With the assailants tied to trees, Robin recognized the uniforms. They belonged to the Cult of The Kobra.

Kid Flash groaned. "At least we know who's causing the normal supply lines to be cut off."

Considering the earlier gunfight, it was clear that Kobra came here uninvited.

"So, Kobra wants super cultists," Kid Flash said confidently. Now, we can Radio Bats and complete the recon mission."

"These cultists aren't on Venom." Robin cut him off. "Kobra's hoarding the stuff." The boy was adamant about staying and wanted to know why.

Once more, things dissolved into bickering due to a lack of someone taking charge.

#

To the side, Miss Martian and Superboy could only look on in silence. Until Miss M spoke up. "Don't you want to lead?"

The Kryptonian shook his head and scoffed, then turned to look at Miss M out of the corner of his eye. "You?"

Miss M nearly leaned back and raised her hand as if to shove the idea away from her physically. "After the Mister Twister fiasco?"

Superboy smiled, looking at her directly. "You did alright."

Miss M's cheeks turned bright red as she looked away and tucked her hair behind her ear. However, Superboy doesn't notice as he hears someone come to behind him.

His super-hearing picked up on the Spanish with ease. "Míralos, argumenten. Liberarte y asumirlos mientras están distraídos." [Look at them argue. Free yourselves and take them while they're distracted.] It's one of Bane's lackeys.

"Callade! [Quiet!]" Bane hissed at the other man tied to the tree. "Por el momento lo llamaré. Y entonces me darán lo que necesito. [For now, I'll play along. And then, they'll give me what I need.]"

Superboy smirked, understanding every word and knowing just how to play Bane at his own game. However, he was mildly distracted when Kid Flash shouted again.

"Yeah? You don't even have SuperPowers!" he said. Kid Flash went to walk away from the conversation, but the Boy Wonder followed close behind.

"Neither does Batman!" is the thirteen-year-old's retort.

Kid Flash stopped. "Duh," he snapped, then rounds the Boy Wonder again. "You're not Batman."

"Chuh. I'm the closest thing we've got," Robin retorted, jabbing his thumb at himself to prove his point.

As Bane finally gave his consciousness away to the two teens, both boys snapped their heads in his direction. Kid Flash was still annoyed, but Robin's eyes went wide. "Such clever niños. But you only know half the story." Bane baited them. The whole team now stepped in so they could see Bane. "Let me show you the rest; get you into the factory via my secret entrance."

Miss Martian stepped up. "There is a secret entrance," she said, kneeling and placing her hand on her temple to concentrate. "But he's also hiding something," she said, her tone going sour and her eyes glowing white.

"Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane is not that easy," he said smugly.

Miss Martian's eyes still glowed, but she lost her intensity. "Oh," she groaned, pulling out of his mind. He's mentally reciting fútbol scores en Español." She looked over her shoulder at the boys. This could take a while."

Superboy nudged her aside. "Let me try. Doctor Desmond taught me how to perform advanced interrogation."

"Wait a minute, Superboy. He taught you what?" exclaimed Robin.

Bane raised a brow at the challenge. "Do your worst!"

He got down. "When you look into my eyes, you won't be able to deny what I want."

Bane blinked. 'Uh... what.'

Superboy got uncomfortably close. "Come on, Bane. We both know how this is gonna end. Try all you like."

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" The restrained Bane leaned away from the alien with each word, sweat dripping from his brow.

"Submit to my deep..." Closer.

Even the henchmen leaned away, believing they might be next.

"Hard..." Closer.

On the side, the others were apprehensive. "Should we stop him?" asked Kid Flash. "I think it's working."

A red-faced Megan covered Robin's mouth. "Hold on. Let him finish."

"Penetrating..." Even Closer. Superboy gazed down at the drug dealer with a sinister stare, the next word on the tip of his tongue.

Bane was the first to look away. "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you guys. Just keep that monster in front and my field of view at all times."

Superboy jumped to his feet with a grin. "Hah! Consider yourself penetrated!"

Bane shivered at that statement.

"Uh... Superboy." Robin pulled the Kryptonian away from the group as they prepared their next move. "What exactly were you about to say to Bane at the end there?"

"My Gaze." Superboy tilted his head. "Why? What did you think I was going to say?"

Robin opened his mouth only for nothing to come out. He sighed. "Nevermind..."

#

Unfortunately, it would all come to a head when they had to make a temporary truce with Bane to secretly enter his facility under Kobra's nose.

Bane needed to start his shipments. If he didn't, one of his major... sponsors might retaliate.

#

They were still creating Venom in the factory. "Sublime Master, he approaches," one of the soldiers said as Kobra stopped beside him.

"Activate the radio-jamming net. Nothing must interfere." Kobra instructs.

The soldier nods, bows, and leaves.

#

On top of a cliff, the Team and Bane could see the factory. Bane stopped about three feet from the edge, pointing. Both Robin and Kid Flash stepped up to get a closer look—Kid with his goggles, Robin with a pair of binoculars. What he saw was a forklift and containers by a helipad.

"Look at all that product," Robin muttered, shocked. "A buy is going down." Bane walked away, but the team remained. "But if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects, then-"

"We need to identify that buyer," Aqualad stated with conviction.

All three were observing Bane as he lifted a giant rock away from the entrance to an old mine. The only point of his efforts was a few grunts while Miss M and Superboy exchanged a slight look of confusion.

"Answers are this way," Bane said simply, gesturing down the mine tunnel. All five teens joined him to look down the tunnel. Bane said nothing as he headed towards the tunnel.

#

The Team and Bane walked down the mine until they came to a metal door. Bane used his fingerprint to unlock it, leading them to a door on the factory floor. Bane propped the door slightly, giving Robin enough room to look around the now-confirmed, empty floor.

"All clear," he vocalized before running out of the doorway. The others followed, but Robin was nowhere in sight once they got to another hidden location.

"Has that little fool already been captured?" Bane questioned, annoyance at the possibility of their infiltration being compromised rising.

"No," Aqualad assures, but his voice is giving away his annoyance. "He just does that."

Kid Flash slid his goggles over his eyes with ease. "Stay put. I'll get our intel and be back before Boy Wonder." By the time he finished the sentence, he was already running.

Aqualad reached out when he saw Kid Flash move but couldn't stop him. "Wait, Kid!"

Bane watched as the grey and red streak disappeared, looking at Aqualad with a smug smile. "Great chain of command."

#

Inside the command center, a Kobra agent was working on the computers. A Batarang hit the computer console beside him, sparking it. As he turned to look, green gas was released from the Batarang. The agent coughed and then passed out.

Robin held no qualms as he grabbed the back of his cloak and dropped his upper body to the ground with a thud. Then he took the chair and sat down at the computer.

#

Aqualad, Miss Martian, and Superboy were all crouched behind an unused assembly line while Bane hid in the shadows of a crate stack.

"It's a massive shipment," stated Aqualad.

"Yeah, but they're only taking new products off the line." Superboy observed." They're not touching this Venom."

Superboy's focus changed as he looked in the opposite direction they just were. "Helicopter's coming."

Bane's eyes narrowed as all four looked out at the small skylight.

It took a few moments, but then they started to be able to hear the helicopter's blades as it approached.

#

The computer beeped away as Robin ran over the chemical formula for the agent. Listing off HB2Ca4, Cs2Ho4, PH4Mo8, and Ca1Hg6.

Kid Flash zooms in, skidding to a stop, taking a bite out of something, then talking with food in his mouth.

Robin hunched closer to the keyboard as if that would help him work faster.

Ever the science nerd, Kid Flash joins him at the computer. Kid Flash took another loud bite out of the bar in his hand. "This one's Venom," Kid Flash said as if he were talking to a three-year-old and using his bar to point at the screen. As the screen showed another compound, he continued. "this one's-" he cut himself off. "Whoa. The Blockbuster formula from Cadmus." They watched as the two merged on screen. "Mixed correctly, Kobra's new juice is three times stronger than Venom... and permanent." he realizes, horrified. He turns to Robin. "But how did Kobra get access to Project Blockbuster?"

"Our mystery buyer must also be Kobra's supplier!" Robin realized. "Using the cult to create the Blockbuster-Venom superformula," Robin stood up, his hand going to his ear. "Robin to Aqualad, we got—" Kid Flash turns away from the computer as he hears Robin stop. "... static," he mutters angrily.

#

The shadows cleared from the helicopter's opening doors, revealing a buff white man with blonde hair. He wore a black-on-black outfit, and a grey hockey mask covered his facial features. As he walked between two lines of the cult, his matching forearm and shoulder-upper arm guards showed.

"Lord Kobra." he greets.

"Sportsmaster." Kobra returned as the girl from before stepped up. "The shipment is ready." she opens the box to reveal the blue vials.

Sportsmaster took one, holding it up to examine it. "The new Kobra-Venom?" he asked.

Kobra gestures to Blockbuster. "A complete success. Our friends will not be disappointed."

"This is a game-changer." Sportsmaster proudly states, flipping the vial to catch it in his fist. "Finally, we can go mano-a-mano with the Justice League."

Above them, Miss Martian used her camouflage. "Aqualad, sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now." even though she was invisible, her eyes began to glow.

#

In the factory, on a catwalk. Bane and Superboy watched while Aqualad closed his eyes to see Miss M's telepathic image.

"Sportsmaster," he said, opening his eyes. "He is the buyer?" he questioned, looking at Superboy shocked. Then, he brought his hand up to his ear. "Aqualad to Red Tornado. Do you read?" He got the same results as Robin. He huffed in annoyance. "I can't reach the League, Robin, or Kid. Comm's jammed. We need a plan now."

Bane was all too pleased with his opening. "I have a suggestion," he said, then jumped over the rail with a battle cry.

Two Kobra agents looked to the source, shocked to see Bane. He landed just before them, shoving one to the side easily and pushing the other's arm to ensure his aim was only to the ceiling.

#

From outside, they hear the gunshots.

"What is he-" Aqualad began, only to be cut off by Blockbuster's battle cry, and he charged at the window behind them. Shattering it and taking down the catwalk. Both boys landed away from the rubble, but so did Blockbuster, who roared to catch everyone's attention.

"Destroy them," Kobra commanded. In an instant, Blockbuster charges at the three infiltrators.

Superboy met him halfway. Unlike Blockbuster, he's plenty small enough to get under his arms and catch his torso. However, Blockbuster efficiently grabbed Superboy's waist from behind due to the size difference.

Aqualad's tattoos began to glow as he reached behind his shoulders to take out his WaterBearers. The Kobra agents started firing on him but couldn't land a hit as he crouched behind a shield and used his other Water Bearer to fire non-lethal projectiles at their chests and knock them out.

Suddenly, as the two sides clashed, a new presence suddenly tore through the sky, drawing all eyes upward. The stranger descended like a comet, landing amid the fray with a resounding impact. A cloud of white powder erupted around him, and he rose from the ground, his eyes gleaming with vigorous intensity.

The fighting paused, both sides momentarily stunned by the dramatic entrance. The newcomer surveyed the scene, his gaze sweeping across the combatants.

"Oh, fuck, it's Snowflame," Bane growled, his eyes narrowing as he took in the new arrival.

The teen heroes stayed behind cover, each having the same confused look. "Who?"

Snowflame's lips curled into a wicked smile. "I am Snowflame, servant of the cocaine god." He turned to Bane. "My brother in substance, I felt your shipments in Venom stop across the globe. I take it that these snake-headed fools are the reason."

"Doesn't he know crack is whack?" Megan muttered to Superboy.

A smile grew on Bane. Maybe this could work out. Right? "Yes. They took over my factory and stopped all exports."

"That simply won't do."

Kobra stepped forward, his serpentine eyes narrowing. "You dare challenge the Kobra? We bow to no one!"

Snowflame reached into his pocket and snorted a handful of coke. His smile widened, his eyes flashing with manic energy. "THROUGH THE POWER OF COCAINE, I WILL GIVE YOU ONLY DEATH!"

From that point onward, this mission had officially gone FUBAR.

#

A/N: Special thanks to Jebest4781, Charles, vividlearner744, and Seana!

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